Full text of "History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh under supervision and revision of William J. Heller, assisted by an advisory board of editors.."

NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES

3 3433 08044024 5

\ V '-^

HISTORY OF

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIDllAnV

ASTOR. LENOX ANB

TILDES FOUNDATIONS

B • L

History of Northampton County

[PENNSYLVANIA]

and

The Grand Valley of the Lehigh

Under Supervision and Revision of

WILLIAM J. HELLER

Assisted by
AN ADVISORY BOARD OF EDITORS

VOLUME II

1920
THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO

THf

Pf^'BUC LIBRAftV

M^-^\

PULPIT ROCK, LEHIGH VALLEY

CHAPTER XXXV
BETHLEHEM— THE PENNSYLVANIA HOME OF THE MORAVIANS

The original township of Bethlehem was erected in 1746. It embraced
within its limits all of the area of Upper and Lower Nazareth townships,
and the boroughs of Bethlehem, Frcemansburg and Nazareth. Its present
boundaries are: On the north, Lower Nazareth; on the east, Palmer town-
ship; on the south, the Lehigh river, separating it from Lower Saucon
township ; and on the west by Hanover township and a portion of Lehigh
county. The township is watered by the Lehigh river, Monocacy creek,
and several smaller streams that empty into the Lehigh; one of them was
once called Nancy's Run, from an old colored fortune-teller who lived
about a half-mile up the creek.

The lands now embraced in the lower portion of the township were
formerly known as "Drylands," which were thought to be irreclaimable,
arid and barren, and deemed unfit for habitation ; they are now, however,
among the most productive of the county. This territory was a favorite place
for the hunting and fishing ground of the Indians, and it was between Frce-
mansburg and Bethlehem that their famous Minisink Path crossed the
Lehigh river. Arrow-heads and stone pestles and even tomahawks have
often been brought to light by the farmer's plough.

The first white settlements were made soon after 1730. In the next
decade the population had reached a total of forty souls. Among the first
of these pioneers were families by the name of Cleyder, Buss, Kocher, Ban-
stein, Hartzel and Hanshue, who settled at what was then known as the
"Drylands Pond," between the present points of Heckertown and Farmers-
ville. This was at that time an unbroken forest traveled by the Red Man,
who slew and sacrificed the white settlers. It was in 1740 that William
Allen sold a tract of land of six hundred acres to James Bingham, of Phila-
delphia, for a hunting ground and a sportsman's lodge. This tract was
situated on the north bank of the Lehigh river, nearly opposite Redington.
It finally became the permanent home of one of the Binghams, who married
a lady of Northampton county and became iirominently identified with the
interests of the early settlers.

The early history of the city of Bethlehem constitutes one of the most
interesting of the towns of Northampton. It was in the summer of 1740
that a party of Moravians was engaged in building a schoolhouse for George
Whilefield at Nazareth. Their leader repaired to Philadelphia to report
progress to Whitefield. Doctrinal difficulties came to light in the course
of the consultations between the two divines, and Whitefield dismissed the
Moravians from his employ and peremptorily ordered them to leave his lands.
The opportune arrival of Bishop David Nitschmann from Europe on Decem-
ber 15, 1740, relieved the Moravians from their troubles. Bishop Nitschmann
had been commissioned by the Moravian church in the Old World to begin
a settlement in Pennsylvania. He accordingly, .\inil 2. 1741. bouglil of

432 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

William Allen a tract of five hundred acres at the confluence of Lehigh river
and Monocacy creek. This purchase was deeded to Henry Antes, who acted
for Bishop Nitschmann.

In the meanwhile the settlers at Nazareth, before the tract of land passed
into their hands, began to fell the timber. The first tree was cut down by
David Nitschmann, Sr., an aide of the bishop, December 21, 1740. In the
beginning of the new year a cabin of hewn logs was built, 40 by 20 feet
in dimension, with a peaked gable and far-protecting roof. This structure
was the first house of Bethlehem ; in it lived the thirteen settlers, who were
the first inhabitants of Bethlehem. The place was named Beth-lechem, or
House on the Lehigh, and stood in the rear of what was once the Eagle
Hotel.

The thirteen settlers were Bishop David Nitschmann, whose father had
belonged to the Ancient Brethren Church. He was born at Zauchtenthal,
Moravia, December 27, 1696. After suffering persecution for the sake of
the Gospel, he fled from his native land to Herrnhut, Saxony. As one of the
first two missionaries of the Moravian church in 1732, he visited the West
Indies island of St. Thomas. He was consecrated bishop at Berlin, Germany,
March 13, 1735. The next thirt}- years of his life were spent in superintend-
ing the missions of the church and founding settlements. He died at
Bethlehem, October 8, 1772.

David Nitschmann, Sr., commonly known as Father Nitschmann, was
born at Zauchtenthal, Moravia, September 29, 1676. He suffered cruel treat-
ment and rigorous imprisonment on account of his faith. He escaped in a
miraculous manner from a dungeon in which he was imprisoned, and found
a refuge at Herrnhut, Saxony. He accompanied his nephew to Pennsyl-
vania, and was, as the biographer says, "the friend and joy of all men," and
lived and labored at Bethlehem until his death, April 14, 1758.

Christian Froehlich was born at Felsburg in Hesse Cassel, August 19,
171 5, and came to Pennsylvania with Bishop Nitschmann. 'He subsequently
labored as a missionary among Indians and in the West Indies, managed
for twenty years a large sugar refinery in New York City, and died at
Bethlehem, April 5, 1776.

Anthony Seiffert was a native of Thrulichen, Bohemia, emigrated to
Herrnhut, thence to Georgia in 1735, and came to Pennsylvania in 1740.
He was the first Moravian clergyman ordained in America, at Savannah,
Georgia, February 28, 1736. In 1745 he returned to Europe, where he
labored in England, Ireland and Holland, dying in the latter country on
June 19, 1785.

David and Anna Zeisberger were from Zauchtenthal, Moravia, whence,
in 1726, they fled to Herrnhut, Saxony. They emigrated to Georgia in
T736, and came to Pennsylvania in 1740. They both died in Bethlehem, the
former August 25, 1744, and the latter February 23, 1748. Their son David,
born at Zauchtenthal, April 11, 1721, became the most distinguished mis-
sionary of the Moravian church among the Indians, to whose conversion
he devoted more than sixty years of his life, laboring in New York, Penn-
sylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Canada. He died at Goshen, Ohio, November
7, 1808.

THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBIIAKY

ASTOI
K

•IRST HOL'SK AT IlKTHLEHEM
Ertctc-d 1741

9 t i

8 g I-

f^^mpk E

W. S g. Wf

.jfeS«^->fe^-

GEMEIN HAUS, HETHLEHEM
Erected 1741

BETHLEHEM 433

Matthew Seybold was a native of Wiirtemburg, emigrated to Georgia
in 1735, and came to Pennsylvania in 1739. He eventually returned to
Europe and died in 1787.

Martin Mack, born at Leysingen, Wiirtemburg, April 13, 1715, emigrated
to Georgia in 1735, and came to Pennsylvania in 1740. He became a cele-
brated missionary among the Indians and the negroes of the Danish West
Indies. He was appointed superintendent of the mission in these islands,
and in 1770 was consecrated a bishop. He died at Santa Cruz, January

9. 1784-

George Neisser, born at Schlen, Moravia, April 11, 1715, emigrated to

Herrnhut, and in 1735 to Georgia, whence he came to Pennsylvania in 1740,
where he entered the ministry of the Moravian church, and died in Phila-
delphia in 1784-

Hannah Hummel w^as a native of Purysburg, South Carolina, while
Benjamin Sommers and James (whose family name is unknown) were two
boys whom the Moravians adopted.

At the time of the building of the first house at Bethlehem, there were
only three other settlements of white men in its neighborhood, all situated
on the south bank of the Lehigh river — the Jennings farm, about one mile
above Bethlehem ; the farm and mill occupied by Nathaniel Irish, at the
mouth of Saucon creek, now Shimersville ; and the property of Isaac Yessel-
stein, in part the present location of the Bethlehem Steel Works. The
country to the north as far as the Blue Mountains was a primeval wilderness.

The foundation of Bethlehem was laid in the name and to the glory of
God. and was to be the center of missionary operations and a sanctuary
for the Gospel. The Lord's Supper was for the first time administered
June 27, 1 741, by Bishop Nitschmann. The following day preparations were
made to build the second house. It was two stories high, 45 by 30 feet,
constructed of hewn logs chinked with clay and straw. An addition of an
east wing was completed in 1743. This structure stood at the corner of
Church and Cedar streets, and was known as the Gemein Haus. After the
settlement increased, it became the residence of the bishops and clergy, and
also contained on the second floor the first chapel. The Moravian history
is fully written in another chapter, "The Moravians in Northampton County."

Nicholas Lewis, Count of Zinzendorf and Pottendorf, was born at Dres-
den, Saxony, May 6, 1700. He was a descendant of a very ancient line, and
through his wife, the Countess Reuss, was connected with several royal
houses of Europe. The Count had offered an asylum on his estate of
Bertheldorf to the persecuted members of the Ancient Brethren Church.
The town of Herrnhut in Upper Lusatia was built by them, and became the
center of the Renewed Brethren or Moravian Church. Zinzendorf relin-
quished all his worldly honors and prospects, and identified himself with its
interests, became its leading bishop, and stood at its head until his death at
Herrnhut, May 9, 1760. In 1741 he determined to visit America, and Decem-
ber I, accompanied by his oldest daughter. Countess Benigna, Jacob Mueller,
his secretary, David Bruce, Abraham and Judith Meining, Henry Mueller, a
printer, and Rosina Nitschmann, wife of the bishop, arrived at the settle-
ment on the Lehigh river. On Sunday, December 24th, this company.

wrrk-orntT _

434 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

together with the original settlers, assembled in the first house, celebrated
the Holy Communion, and kept the vigils of Christmas Eve. At the close
of the latter service, Count Zinzendorf led the congregation to an adjoining
stable where, with deep emotion, he sang a German hymn in which occurred
the following line, "Nicht Jerusalem sondcrn Bethlehem, nus dir kommet
was mir frommet" (Not from Jerusalem but Bethlehem comes that which
benefits my soul). This incident gave the settlement its present name.

A body of fifty-six emigrants known as "First Sea Congregation," which
had sailed on the Snow Catherine from London, England, March 15, 1742,
arrived at the settlement in June. They were under the leadership of
George Pilsch, the Rev. Peter Boehler being their chaplain. The following
roll sets forth their names and nationalities: Michael and Anna Joanna
Micksah, Michael and Anna Rosina Tanneberger, George Schneider and
Matthew Wiltke, all from Moravia; David and Ann Catherine Bischoff, the
Rev. Peter and Elizabeth Boehler, John Brandmiller, John and Mary Bar-
bara Brucker, Dr. Adolph Meyer, Joachim and Ann Catherine Senseman,
George and Elizabeth Harten, David and Mary Elizabeth Wahnert, John
George Endter, John C. Heyedecker, John C. Heyne, John M. Huber, George
Kaske, John Lischg, John P. Muerer, Joseph Moeller, Christian F. Post,
Gottlieb Pegold, John R. Ronner, Leonard Schnell, Nathaniel Seidel, Chris-
tian Werner and George Weisner, all from Germany and Switzerland ; the
Rev. Paul D. and Regina D. Pryzelius from Sweden ; Henry and Rosina
Aimers, Robert and Martha Hassey, Samuel and Martha Powell, Owen and
Elizabeth Rice, John and Elizabeth Turner, Thomas and Ann Yarrell, Hector
Gambold, John and William Okelj^ and Joseph Shaw, all from England and
Wales; and finally Andrew, a negro, the first convert of the church in St.

Thomas. The latter, while at Bethlehem, married Magdalene , of the

same island, returned to Europe in 1748, and died the following year. The his-
torical painting called the "First Fruits," preserved in the Bethlehem
Archives, represents the earliest converts from Bethlehem.

The German-speaking portion of these immigrants came to Bethlehem
on June 21, 1742, and two days later, the day after the celebration of the
festival of the Trinity, the inhabitants were formally organized as a Mora-
vian church. At the time of the organization the church consisted of eighty
members. It was divided into two parts: "The House Congregation," whose
members remained in the settlement and labored for its good ; and "The Pil-
grim Congregation," whose members itinerated as missionaries among the
white settlers and aborigines of Pennsylvania and other colonies. The latter
afterwards received the name of "fishers," from the New Eestament (Matthew
14:19) "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of Men."

The first marriage ceremony took place in Bethlehem, July 8, 1742, when
John William Zander was bound in holy wedlock to Joanna Magdalena
Mueller, of Germantown, Pennsylvania. The first baptism — that of Anna,
daughter of Rev. Paul D. Pryzeluis and his wife Regina Dorothea (nee
.Schilling) — was administered July i6th of the same year. The Rev. John
William Zander was on August 9, 1742, the first to be ordained a presbyter
of the church. The first death was John Mueller, whose burial took place
June 27, 1742. All necessary ceremonies in these events were performed by
Bishop Count Zinzendorf.

BETHLEHEM 435

During the first thirteen years of the settlement, five hundred acres
were brought under cultivation and two hundred additional acres were
cleared. The first wheat was cut July i6, 1742, and eleven days later the
first oats were harvested. The town had increased in 1755 to more than
twenty buildings, some of which, however, were stables and barns. The
population had not only been augmented by immigration but also by settlers
from Pennsylvania and New York. Trades were introduced, and in 1758
there existed a blacksmith shop, locksmith, nailsmith, pottery, tannery,
cabinet maker, turner shop, oil mill, grist mill, saw mill, a soap boiling and
weaving establishment.

Bethlehem soon began to attract the attention of the people of Pennsyl-
vania ; an influx of visitors arrived, as many as four hundred visiting the town
as early as 1743. Two hundred missionary tours were often taken in a single
year. The Indian Mission prospered, and the town became famous through-
out the hunting grounds of the natives. Many of them visited the town,
and a few were baptized in its chapel, the first being two Mohicans, David
and Joshua, on September 16. 1742, Bishop Count Zinzendorf, assisted by
Rev. Gottlieb Buettner, officiating. The last baptism occurred January 6,
1763, when Bishop Boehler baptized Salome, a Delaware girl. During this
period one hundred and thirty-five Indians were baptized at Bethlehem.
After the lapse of one hundred and four years an Indian baptism again
took place, when three grandchildren of John Ross, chief of the Cherokees,
v/ere baptized, February 28, 1867, in the old chapel, by Bishop E. de
Schweinitz. An Indian hamlet was built near the town, receiving the name
of Friedenshuetten, where lived a body of converts from Shekomeko, in
Dutchess county, New York. They subsequently moved to Gnadenhutten,
where the church established a mission. A large number of Indians visited
Bethlehem in 1751 and 1752, and two formal councils were held. These
negotiations with the Indians gave rise to rumors that the Moravians were
in league with the French. This was, however, disproved during the French
and Indian War, when the mission house at Gnadenhutten was attacked by
a troop of French Indians. Times of danger and darkness now began at
Bethlehem, the border settlements were deserted, and the two Moravian
towns were left exposed to the fury of the Red Man. They, however,
resolved not to bear arms except in defense of their wives and children. The
exposed portions of the town were stockaded, watch towers built, and guards
stationed by day and by night. Thus Bethlehem was constituted one of
the most important posts north of Philadelphia, an eyesore to the savages,
an asylum for refugees. Five years later, on the Pontiac conspiracy, Beth-
lehem passed through the same experience as that which had marked the
French and Indian War. It was again palisaded and watches set as before.
Two hundred refugees from Allen and Lehigh townships found shelter within
its defenses. Animosity, however, soon died out, and at the close of the
Pontiac conspiracy the Indian converts who had taken refuge in the town
were removed to Bradford county. After that, Bethlehem as a town was no
longer prominently connected with aboriginal history.

The abrogation of the Economy left each citizen the right to work for
himself and family, and carry on business in his own name. Some enter-

436 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

prises, however, were still carried on by the church, but Bethlehem remained
an exclusive Moravian settlement. Only members of the church were
allowed to hold real estate. At the close of 1762 the population numbered
six hundred and four souls, and the following additional trades, not previously
mentioned, existed: A dyeing and fulling establishment, a butcher shop, an
organ factory, druggist, shoemaker, tailor, hatter, cooper shop, worsted
and stocking weaving establishment, brick kiln, millwright shop, saddlery,
bakery, bell foundry and a house carpenter.

The arrangements made for the government of the church, the town,
and holding of the ecclesiastical property were peculiar and interesting.
The spiritual interests of the community were intrusted to a body of clergy-
men at whose head stood the presiding bishop of the American Moravian
Church, Bethlehem being the seat of government. The temporal interests
and the municipal government of the town were in the hands of a deacon
who bore the title of warden, and with whom were associated a board of
laymen designated as overseers, elected by the adult male population. On
occasions of importance relating to financial or municipal affairs, a council
of all the adult male members was convened. The entire real estate, includ-
ing that which belonged to the Moravian church at large, was held in their
own name as proprietors, and controlled by administrators. The same man
was often proprietor and administrator, and whenever this was not the case
the former gave the latter power of attorney, which enabled him to act.
The administrator had the original sale of town lots in his hands, and issued
the deeds in the name of the proprietor.

The first proprietor was the Right Rev. Nathaniel Seidel, the presiding
bishop, who had succeeded Bishop Peter Boehler in that office in 1764, who
had in turn succeeded Bishop Spangenberg in 1762. Bishop Seidel was a
distinguished evangelist laboring in North and South America, in the West
Indies, England and Germany. He was consecrated to the episcopacy in
1758, and settled permanently at Bethlehem in 1761, where he died May 17,
1782. His successors as presiding bishops were: John Ettwein, in 1782,
who was consecrated two years later; Right Rev. George H. Loskiel, 1802;
Right Rev. Charles G. Reichel, 1811; Right Rev. Christian G. HueiTel, 1818;
Right Rev. Daniel Anders in 1828; and Right Rev. Andrew Bemade, who
remained in office until 1849.

The first administrator was the Rev. John Christian Alexander de
Schweinitz. He was born on his father's estate of Nieder Leuba in Saxony,
came to Bethlehem in 1770, and for twenty-seven years exercised a quiet
but marked influence in the church and the community, especially in the
time of the Revolution, when he advocated submission to the new order of
affairs. At the time of his arrival in America, a division of the ecclesiastical
estates was consummated — one part being given to the Moravian church in
this country, and the other being held by him for the Moravian church at
large. He died at Herrnhut in 1802. He was followed as administrator in
1798 by Rev. John C. Cunow, the latter in 1822, by a son of the flrst adminis-
trator, Rev. Eewis D. de Schweinitz. The next to fill the office, in 1834, was
Rev. Philip H. Goepp ; during his incumbency the exclusive system was
given up, and the financial system wholly changed. The church at Beth-

ULIJ CllAl'KL, DKTIILEHEM
Receiving Vault

FIRST WATER WORKS IN UNITED STATES.
BETHLEHEM

THE NEW VORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOE. LENOX ANB

TlbnSN FOUNDATIONS

B ' L

BETHLEHEM 437

lehem was incorporated and therefore held its property in its own name.
The first warden was the Rev. Ferdinand Philip Jacob Detmers, who was
succeeded in 1771 by the Rev. Jeremiah Dencke ; the latter remained in
office until 1785. The next after Dencke was the Rev. John Schropp, from
1790 to 1805; the Rev. John Youngberg, from 1805 to 1808; the Rev. John
F. Stadiger, from 1808 to 1836 ; and the Rev. John C. Buchenstein, from
the latter date to the abolition of the office.

The community built other structures besides houses for religious wor-
ship. The first Brethren's House site was selected by Count Zinzendorf, was
built in 1742, and dedicated two years later. It was a massive stone building,
two stories high, with a sort of mansard roof. This was the home of the
unmarried men, or the "Single Brethren," as they were called, who formed a
distinct brotherhood at whose head stood a superintendent. The inmates
who were destined for the ministry engaged in suitable studies, the others
in various trades carried on for the benefit of the community. There was
nothing monastic in this brotherhood, and its members were bound by no
vows. A new and larger Brethren's House was built in 1748, but in 1815
the brotherhood gave up their house and establishment, but remained a dis-
tinct class of the membership of the church, under the special supervision
of their superintendent. The house vacated by the Brethren in 1748 was at
once occupied by the unmarried women, or the "Single Sisters," and thus
became the Sisters' House. A north wing was added in 1751-52, and an
eastern extension built in 1773. The sisterhood was constituted like the
brotherhood, having a deaconess for the superintendent. Beautiful embroid-
ery, needle work and knitting were the main industries. The sale of dried
apples was extensive, the Sisters' House owning a large orchard. A separate
building was built, known as the "Schnitz House," used for preparing the
apples. Its financial economy was abolished about 1840. The "Widows'
House" was on the same plans as the Brethren's and Sisters' Houses, except
that its inmates did not take their meals together in the dining room, but
were served from a common kitchen. The original cost of the building,
which was occupied September 11, 1769, was voluntarily contributed by
members of the church, both in America and in Europe. An east addition
to the building was added in 1794-95. Its former financial economy was
relinquished in 1840.

In a survey of Bethlehem about 1762: Starting at the Sisters* House
on the north side of Church street, whose wing connected with the north
side of Moravian Row, consisting of three contiguous buildings, the central
one, erected in 1745-46, was crowned with a turret, whose gilt van, an
"Agnus Dei," represented the device on the Episcopal seal of the church.
The eastern extension of the building was constructed in 1748, and the
western extension finished a year later. The first and second of these build-
ings were originally "family houses," but in the completion of the third
they were thrown into one and used as a Girls' Institute. Connecting with
the west end of this institute was the chai)el, and at the south end of the
latter the Gemein Haus. Still further west were two large two-story log-
houses used as "family houses." Continuing up what is now Main street,
on the east side was a one-story stone structure built in 1752, occupied by

438 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Dr. John Matthew Otto ; a short distance from his dwelling was a building
used by him for a laboratory. The next building, a three-story stone house,
was built in 1754 originally for families but afterwards used for school pur-
poses. Above the present corner of Main and Market streets was a watch
house, also a store opened in July, 1753, adjoining this a residence. Return-
ing to Main street, about five hundred feet north of the family house was a
horse stable, and about two hundred and twelve feet north of this was a tav-
ern, "The Sun," a large two-story stone building with a mansard roof, built
in 1758-59, whose first landlord was Peter Worbas. This was the second
built in Bethlehem; the first was "The Crown," built of logs in 1745, on
the south side of the Lehigh river, on the site of the present Union Depot.
The first landlord was Samuel Powell ; it was closed as an inn in 1794 and
became a farm house. On the other side of Main street, in line with the
lower end of the horse stable, farther back from the street, was the cooper
shop, and still traveling south was a large cattle yard, the original log cabin
built by the earliest settlers being the dwelling of the herdsmen; then came
five stables for horses, cows and hogs, also a commodious barn, which after-
wards became a site for a store and later of the Eagle Hotel, opened in 1832
by Charles D. Bishop. Continuing up what is now Water street, we come
to the grist mill, where the first grist was ground June 28, 1743, and crossing
the Monocacy creek, the Indian house, erected in 1752, with a log chapel
near by. Turning back to the mill and going south, were the butcher shop,
the spring house, the leather house, the three tannery buildings, and the oil
mill. The latter was built in 1745; linseed oil was first manufactured Feb-
ruary 12, 1745, also bark was ground for the tanner, and hemp was rubbed.
Beyond this mill on the banks of the Lehigh river was the Brethren's wash
house, and thence by the way of Monocacy Hill was the Brethren's House.
Proceeding up Main street, on the west side, was the joiners' and turners'
shop, next the pottery, where tile stoves were made ; then came the black-
smith shop, locksmith shop, and finally the hatmaker's establishment, wag-
oner's shop, and the lodging house for strangers. Back of these buildings
were the coal house and the nailsmith shop. This brings the survey again
to the Sisters' Home, from whence a path leads to the Monocacy creek,
where, in a saw mill, the first logs were sawed June 26, 1744. Due south
of it was the soaj) boilery, and to the southwest, on the banks of the Lehigh
river, was the Sisters' wash house.

In the time of the Revolution, Bethlehem constituted a prominent center.
At the beginning of the struggle the authorities issued the following state-
ment: "It is our desire to live at peace with all men. We wish well to the
country in which we dwell. Our declining to exercise in the use of arms is
no new thing, nor does it jiroceed from certain reasons, being rather a
fundamental principle of the Brethren's Church, a point of conscience which
our first settlers brought with them into this province. We never have nor
will we ever act inimically to this country. We will do nothing against its
peace and interest, nor oppose any civil code or regulation in the province
or country wherein we dwell. On the other hand, we will submit ourselves
to all things in which we can keep a good conscience, and not withdraw
our shoulders from the common burden." This declaration made Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM 439

a neutral point. Its inhabitants still advocated the principles of non-com-
batants, and undoubtedly regretted the war, but they were not Tories. On
the contrary, they merely claimed their right to remain neutral, and prepared
at once to submit in case the Colonies gained their independence. The
younger portion of the community, however, being mostly native Americans,
resented this neutrality, and were decided in their sympathy with the cause
of freedom. This might have led to an open rupture if Right Rev. Frederick
Betchel, a member of the executive council in Europe, on an official visit to
Bethlehem, had not succeeded in restoring harmony. Exorbitant fines, how-
ever, were paid in default of military service.

In the first year of the war, bodies of Maryland and Virginia militia
passed through Bethlehem to take part in the siege of Boston. These were
followed in the winter of 1776 by large numbers of prisoners taken in
Canada, and in the summer of that year militia from various parts of Penn-
sylvania passed through the town on their way to the flying camp at Amboy,
New Jersey. Then occurred the capture of the Americans, and General
Washington's retreat to the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware river. These
movements affected Bethlehem ; the Continental Hospital on December 4,
1776, was brought from Morristown, New Jersey. The middle building of
the Moravian Seminary for Ladies was used for a hospital base, and con-
tinued until March 29, 1777. In that period one hundred and ten of its
inmates died. Soon after the hospital had been removed to Bethlehem,
Generals Gates and Sullivan arrived with detachments of their commands.

The year of 1777 was marked with stirring events, hardly a week passing
that troops did not pass through Bethlehem. Generals Armstrong, Gates,
Schuyler, Mifflin, Greene, Knox and other prominent officers visited the
town. In September, 1777, two hundred and sixty British prisoners arrived
under a strong guard, and Baron de Kalb, with a corps of French engineers,
to select a position for the entire army nearby, if it became necessary to
make any other stand against the British. Military stores were brought to
the town, and towards the end of the year nine hundred army wagons were
encamped in its immediate vicinity. General Washington's baggage was kept
at a brick kiln on the Monocacy creek for several months, under a guard
of forty soldiers. On September 12, 1777, the Continental Hospital was
again brought to Bethlehem. Among the sick and wounded was General
Lafayette. The center building of the Young Ladies' Seminary was again
utilized. Of the seven hundred soldiers that arrived by the end of the year,
three hundred of them died in the course of the winter. Simultaneously
with the arrival of the hospital came a number of members of Congress,
who had fled from Philadelphia at the approach of Howe's army.

In the spring of 1778 the hospital was removed from Bethlehem, but
troops continued to pass through the town, and it was visited by many
notable men, among whom were Ethan Allen, Gouverneur Morris, Baron
Steuben, Count Pulaski; and in the autumn of the year. Monsieur Gerard,
the French ambassador, visited Bethlehem. Among the most interesting of
the visitors to Bethlehem was Lady Washington, who arrived June 15, 1778,
accompanied by Generals Sullivan and Maxwell and an escort. She was
shown the objects of interest, visited the clergy, attended divine service.

440 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

and left the following morning- for Virginia. Four years later, on July 25,
1782, General Washington came to Bethlehem on his way to headquarters
at Newburgh, New York. He was accompanied by only two aides-de-camp,
and spent the night at the Sun Tavern.

The town slowly increased ; at the opening of the nineteenth century the
population was five hundred and seventy-eight. After the construction of
the Lehigh Canal in 1S29 its progress was more rapid, and the exc jc e
service became a burden. Accordingly, after numerous preliminary con^ in --
tions, this system was abrogated on January 11, 1844, by the voting members
of the church in council assembled. As proprietor and administrator, Rev.
Philip H. Goepp continued in charge until 1856, when he deeded the Mora-
vian estate to Rev. Eugene A. FraucafF, with W. T. Roepper in charge as
cashier. In 1869 the remainder of the church's property was disposed of,
the business closed out, and the duties of administrator ended. The entire
membership of the Moravian congregation in 1851 numbered 1,007, ^^
increase of one hundred and nineteen since the organization of Bethlehem
as a borough.

Bethlehem was incorporated as a borough under act of the Legis-
lature, which was approved by Governor Francis H. Shunk, March 6,
1845. "T'l** «ict defines the limits and bounds as follows: "Beginning at
the river Lehigh, at the fording place immediately above Jones' Island ;
thence up the said river to the mouth of Monocacy creek ; thence along
said creek to the stone bridge at the Hanover township line in Northampton
county; thence along the center of the upper road, leading from Allentown
to Easton, to the intersection of the road leading from Nazareth to Phila-
delphia ; thence along the center of the road last named to the river Lehigh
to the place of beginning." These boundaries were extended by an act of
the T^egislature, approved by Governor James Pollock, March 24, 1856, as
follows : "Beginning at a stone the southeast corner of said borough in the
north side of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's Canal, it being a
joint corner of lands of the said Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company and
the lands of the United Brethren in the borough of Bethlehem and its
vicinity; thence through the lands of P. H. Goepp, the congregation of the
United Brethren, William Luckcnbach, now or late of Aaron W. Radley,
F. Fenner, north five and one-half degrees, cast two hundred and seventy-
eight perches; thence through the lands of F. Fenner, John Fritag, John J.
Levers and Daniel Desh to the forks of the Easton and Nazareth road,
where it reaches the present east line of the borough, north eighty-four and
one-half degrees west, a distance of one hundred and four and one-fourth
perches "

At the first election, Charles Augustus Luckcnbach was chosen chief
burgess ; Charles L. Knauss, treasurer ; and Samuel Brunner, clerk. The
growth of the borough was rapid, and in accordance with the census of 1850
there was a population of 1516 souls. The valuation of the assessed property
in 1853 was $1,004,369, the number of taxables being 405, the houses 207.
There were in the borough thirty-two stores of various kinds, two grist mills,
a distillery and brewery. The population of the borough steadily increased,
and in 1870 there were 4,512 souls. The advent of railroads also enhanced

BETHLEHEM 441

the commercial interests of Bethlehem; the Lehigh & Susquehanna and
North Pennsj'lvania railroads infused new life into the capitalists of the
borough, which resulted in the foundation of industries which contributed
largely to the prosperity of the town. The means of communication across
the Lehigh river dated back to the first settlement of Bethlehem. A ferry
;yas opened March 11, 1743, operated by poling a flatboat. Seven years
1 ,tl wharves were constructed, and in 1758 a rope was introduced, stretched
;i"e / jS the river between two points, which greatly facilitated the passage
across the river. The first bridge was erected in 1794; it was an uncovered
bridge built of hemlock, and opened for travel September 19, 1794. It was
removed in 1816 and a more durable one resting on four piers was con-
structed, the first carriage passing across October 19th of that year. The
Bethlehem Bridge Company was organized and incorporated in April, 1827,
and in 1841 the second bridge was carried away by a freshet, whereupon a
covered bridge was built, which was partially rebuilt after the freshet of
1862, and narrowly escaped destruction again in 1902. It was made a free
bridge November 8, 1892.

The New Street Bridge Company was incorporated May 3, 1864, anc)
built a bridge in 1866-67 o^'^^ the Lehigh river, connecting the boroughs of
Bethlehem and South Bethlehem at New street, at the cost of $60,000. The
bridge is 1,046 feet in length, its two ends rest in Northampton county,
wjiile the central piers stand in the county of Lehigh ; the entire width of
the latter county is spanned by the bridge. The structure is thirty-six feet
above low water mark, rests upon eight piers, spans the tracks of the
Lehigh & Susquehanna and the Lehigh railroads, the Lehigh canal, Lehigh
river, Monocacy creek, and Sand Island. It was opened for travel September
2, 1867. The company to construct the Broad Street Bridge was incorporated
May I, 1869. The structure was of iron, connecting the west side of Main
street with West tiethlehem, crossing above Monocacy creek sixty-seven
feet, carrying the travel high above the tracks of the Lehigh and Lackawanna
railroads. The length of the bridge is 460 feet, divided into three spans of
one hundred feet and two of eighty feet each. The bridge was open for
travel May 17, 1871. It was purchased by Lehigh and Northampton counties
in 1887, and the collection of tolls ceased May 14th that year. December i,
1909, a new modern reinforced concrete bridge was official!}- opened to
vehicles.

Bethlehem is celebrated for its schools. For the first forty years of its
existence, only children of the church were admitted as pupils. There existed
then a boys' boarding school, which was transferred to Nazareth in 1759.
There was also a girls' boarding school, which afterwards became the
Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies. This school was at the same time
the day school for the daughters of the Moravian families at Bethlehem, and
after the removal of the Boys' Institute to Nazareth there was also a boys'
day school established. These two schools were discontinued in 1857, when
they were combined into one parochial school. On the passage of the Com-
mon School Law of 1835, the Moravian schools were made in part common
schools. The first school building erected by the borough in 1862 was
located on Wall street : though it was subsequently enlarged and improved.

442 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

it was too small to accommodate the pupils, and another school building
was built on Garrison street. The Franklin School was erected in 1870 at
the cost of $75,000, at the corner of North and Centre streets, and the school
on Garrison street was discontinued. The schools were graded, and the
attendance in 1877 was 600 children, instructed by thirteen teachers in
twelve rooms.

The original supply of water at Bethlehem was by carriers from copious
and unfailing springs. The first water works, the oldest in Pennsylvan.'-j
and probably in the United States, were erected in 1754 by Hans Christopher
Christiansen, a Dane from Holstein. The water was forced by a pump
made of lignum vitae, and was conveyed by bored hemlock logs to a reservoir
located on the site of the Moravian church. A stone structure was erected
in 1761 for new machinery, consisting of three iron force pumps geared to
the shaft of an undershot water-wheel, and was put in operation July 6, 1762.
The distributing reservoir was a wooden tower on the old site of the
reservoir. In the course of years numerous improvements were made;
in 1803 the water tower was removed to Market street, and a new reservoir
was built in 1813 on that street. Here the works remained until 1832, in
which year a new and more powerful pump was procured and a more capa-
cious reservoir was made on Broad street. The Bethlehem Water Company,
organized in 1845, introduced steam as a pumping agent in 1868, and three
years later sold the works to the borough.

The Moravians early took precautionary measures for fire protection.
The first regular fire department was organized in May, 1762, and was under
the supervision of the warden and overseers of the community. The depart-
ment was supplied only with buckets and ladders. Probably the first fire
engine used in America was the "Perseverance," purchased in London by
the Moravian church for Ijj 12s. 2d. This engine was built in 1698, and
purchased by Capt. Christian Jacobson, brought over by him in the ship Hope
at an expense of £6 i8s. 3d., and delivered at Bethlehem, December 10, 1763.
The second engine, the "Diligence," was imported in 1792 from Newied on
the Rhine. Five fire companies were organized about 1808; the unmarried
men constituted one company and took the "Perseverance," the married
men taking the "Diligence." Soon after the organization of Bethlehem as a
borough, the company in charge of the "Perseverance" engine was reorgan-
ized, and the old apparatus was replaced by a more modern hand engine,
which in turn was superseded by a Silsby steamer. In 1873 the company
was again reorganized, a beautiful hose carriage purchased, and about 800
feet of leather hose. Trouble then commenced between the old company
and the town council, the former was suspended, and the latter took posses-
sion of the property. Thereupon the company, being an incorporated body,
brought suit in equity, which resulted in a verdict in the lower court for the
company for the amount claimed. This judgment was reversed in a higher
court on the ground of the suit being improperly brought, with additional
opinion that property purchased out of donations from people was trust
property and neither the company nor the borough could dispose of it, nor
divert it from its original purposes. Diligence Hose Company No. 2 was
equipped with a fine hose carriage and adequate hose. The first hose used

BETHLEHEM 443

in Bethlehem was made of hemp and brought from Germany in 1818; the
first leather hose was purchased in 1836 for the Reliance Steam Fire Engine
Company No. 3, which at that time was equipped with a Silsby steamer.
Nisky Hook and Ladder Company No. i had a handsome truck with several
hundred feet of ladders owned by the company. This was the status of the
fire department in 1877, the service being voluntary, excepting in the care
of the engine and repairs. The borough owned all the fire houses and all
the apparatus except one, on which it had a mortgage. The Perseverance
Company had its own horses, while the Reliance Company was furnished
them from an adjoining livery stable.

The streets of Bethlehem were lighted in the latter part of the eighteenth
century by oil lamps, which were paid for by private subscriptions. The
Bethlehem Gas Company was chartered February 7, 1853, with authorized
capital of $20,000. The company commenced to furnish gas January 26, 1854,
and on July 13th of that year gas was substituted for oil in street lighting.

The first postal arrangements, made in July, 1742, were strictly private.
George Neisser was the postmaster ; Henry Antes had charge of post horses ;
and Abraham Buringer, Andrew the negro. Christian Werner and George
Schneider, were postilions. The mail left Bethlehem every Monday morning
and arrived at Philadelphia on Wednesday morning, returning the same day,
reaching Bethlehem on Friday. The town depended upon this private enter-
prise ail through the colonial period, as there was no government post.
George Klein, in 1763, introduced a weekly stage wagon to Philadelphia,
but this was discontinued the following year. It was, however, the fore-
runner of numerous stage lines which subsequently came to Bethlehem until
the opening of railroads. The postal system developed slowly, and it was
not until 1792 that the first United States post-office was opened in Beth-
lehem. Joseph Horsfield was the first postmaster, and his successors have
been prominent and influential citizens.

The construction of the Lehigh Canal, which began at Bethlehem in
.August, 1827, necessitated many changes in the topography of the land in
the lower section of the town. The advent of the canal, followed by activities
of industrial enterprises, had a tendency to promote growth in that portion
of West Bethlehem which lies between the river and Monocacy creek. This
locality became known about 1830 as South Bethlehem. The Moravians in
early days purchased land contiguous to their settlement and became pos-
sessed of four large and valuable farms in Lower Saucon and Salisbury
townships, known as the Luckenbach, Jacobi, Fucher and Hoffert farms.
Without following the history of these purchases through the earlier years,
it is sufficient in regard to the annals of South Bethlehem that in 1847 these
census of 1870 shows the number of inhabitants to be 3,556.
four farms were sold by the Moravian Society to Charles A. Luckenbach,
excepting three small parcels aggregating less than six acres which had
been previously sold. Mr. Luckenbach disposed of portions of the tract, and
in 1852 laid out a town plot, naming it Augusta, which was in reality the
first commencement of South Bethlehem. The location of Augusta is de-
scribed as extending north and south from tracks of the North Pennsylvania
ir;i1road to Lehigh river, and east and west from Northampton to Poplar

444 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

streets. The first building lot was purchased for $200 by Levin C. Peysert.
The building era was inaugurated by the commencement of three large frame
houses, October 31, 1853, by Borhek and Knauss. Many other town lots
were sold, two parcels of four acres, respectively, to Samuel Wetherill and
the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Zinc Company. Thirty-five acres were dis-
posed of to Asa Packer for the use of the Lehigh Valley railroad. The vil-
lage site was rechristened Wetherill in 1854, which was not, however, of
long continuance, as it was succeeded by the designation of Bethlehem
.South, and on the organization of the borough this was abandoned for South
Bethlehem. The growth and progress of the town was rapid, largely due
to the opening of railroads, which resulted in the establishments of manu-
facturing industries on a large scale.

The incorporation of the borough of South Bethlehem was effected by
;i decree of the court of Quarter Sessions of Northampton county at the
.Vugust term in 1865. The corjiorate limits of the borough were defined as
follows: "Beginning at a point on the bank of the river Lehigh, opposite a
small island in the line of Northampton and Lehigh counties; thence fol-
lowing down the several courses of said river 427.45 perches to an oak oppo-
site the lieac! of Yssol.'^lein's Island ; thence smithcasterly thirty jierches to a
stone in the Hellertovvn road; thence along the lands of Asa Packer, westerly
and southwesterly t,;^^ perches to the northeast corner of said Asa Packer's
land; thence westerly 127.4 perches to the line of Lehigh county; and thence
northeasterly 130 perches along said line to the place of beginning."

At the first election for borough officials, James McMahon was chosen
burgess. A meeting of the council was held September 19, 1865, at the
Lehigh Valley House. A line of substantial improvements, among which
were paving and curbing the streets, was determined upon. The population
of the borough at the time of incorporation is not precisely known, but the

The South Bethlehem Gas and Water Compaii}' was organized in June,
1867, with a paid-up capital of $25,000, under a charter granted in 1864 by
the Legislature of Pennsylvania. The erection of the gas works was com-
menced in August, 1867, and during the fall of that year three miles of main
pipes were laid through the principal streets of the borough and up to
Fountain Hill. The works were completed in December of that year, and
the first gas was made December 24, 1867. The water works were not built
until 1875, when a steam pump was put up at the Bethlehem Iron Company's
Works, from which the pipes were laid through all the principal streets of
the borough, supplying thirty-three fire plugs, two railroad water stations,
and a large number of private consumers. The Protection Fire Company
was organized for the protection of property and life. The fire department
was increased July 31, 1875, by the organization of Centennial Hose Com-
pany No. I, Liberty Fire Company, May 3, 1876. and the Lehigh Hook and
Ladder Company. November 25, 1884. The South Bethlehem post-office
dates from June. 1866, the first postmaster being John Seem.

The first public school in South Bethlehem was erected in 1858, its size
being about 20 by 25 feet. The school director at that time prophesied that
it would accommodate the pupils for at least twenty years ; but instead of
twenty, it was only two years when a larger house was required. This was

BETHLEHEM 445

built in i860, but this in turn soon became inadequate and the Penrose
School on Vine street was built in 1867, and three years later the Melrose
School on Poplar street. The Penrose schoolhouse in 1892 was replaced by
the Central High School building. The Webster and Packer schools were
built at a later date.

Fountain Hill is a name given to that part of South Bethlehem lying
on the eastern and southeastern slope of Lehigh Mountain. The name had
its origin from the numerous springs flowing out of the upper part of the
hill, and was first applied in 1866. The tract was largely situated on the
Hoffert farm, purchased by Charles A. Luckenbach from the Mora-
vians. In 1854 a portion of the hill was purchased by Philadelphia parties
and a town plot was laid out. Soon after this, Robert H. Sayre, then super-
intendent of the Lehigh Valley railroad, purchased an extensive lot and built
the first residence after the town was plotted. Among the other buildings
on Fountain Hill at this time were the farmhouse and buildings of Augustus
Fiot, a retired music dealer of Philadelphia, a native of France, who in his
youth had resided near Fontainebleau, which name he gave to his villa.
With its stately old trees, beautiful flowers and fountains, Fontainebleau was
the most beautiful spot in the vicinity of Bethlehem. This property, after
the death of the owner, passed to his brother, Julius Fiot, who sold it to
Tinsley Jeter, who in 1867 conceived the idea of opening a girls' school and
tendered the property on favorable terms for this purpose. At a meeting
held by interested parties December 11, 1867, Mr. Jeter's offer was accepted
and the necessary steps at once taken. The school was established under
the auspices of the Episcopal church, and was opened September 5, 1868.
The name Bishopthorpe was suggested by Rev. William Bacon Stevens,
Bishop of Pennsylvania, who had lately been in England, where he was the
guest of the Archbishop of York at his country seat, Bishopthorpe. For a
period of several years prior to 1908 the school was discontinued, and on
October ist of that year it was reopened with Prof. Claude N. Wyant as
principal. There was also on Fountain Hill the water-cure hospital presided
over by Dr. Francis H. Oppeldt, a native of Germany, who came to America
in 1843 and located at Bethlehem. Attracted by the remarkable spring of
pure water, he applied to the Moravians for permission to erect a building,
which was completed in 1848. It was a hotel-like structure, with accommo-
dations for forty people, and the treatment consisted of hot and cold water
applications in various forms, internal as well as external. The place at
once acquired an extensive patronage which continued until 1871, when
financial reverses compelled the proprietor to dispose of the property. St.
Luke's Hospital was chartered by the Legislature in 1872, at the instance of
the Episcopal church authorities, and the board of trustees was made to
consist of the Episcopal bishop of the diocese and rectors, with
two or more lay members of the Episcopal churches in the Lehigh
Valley. The first members of the board from South Bethlehem were: Rev.
Cortlandt Whitehead, Robert H. Sayre, Tinsley Jeter and John Smylie. A
change was made in the charter in 1872 that the selection of trustees be
permitted from other denominations. The hospital was opened in October,
1873, a building being purchased and fitted up on Broad street, now Broad-

446 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

way, South Bethlehem. Through the kindly aid of Asa Packer and others,
the water-cure property with an adjacent tract was purchased in 1875, and
on May 24 the hospital was opened at its present location. In nearly half a
century of its existence this beneficent institution had done a remarkable
and useful work. Beautiful and extensive residences on Fountain Hill at
this period were the Freytage house, owned by O. H. Wheeler; the resi-
dences of W. H. Sayre, E. P. Wilbur, John Smylie and Dr. Frederick Martin.
The handsome residence of Dr. G. B. Linderman, with its graperies and green-
houses, was built in 1870, and afterwards became the property of Charles
M. Schwab, who made extensive alterations and improvements. These
residences were in that portion of Fountain Hill within the limits of
Northampton county.

On the completion of the Broad Street Bridge in 1871, the west side
of Monocacy creek, which had been separated by a gorge from Bethlehem
which made it a natural barrier, became available for homes. The growth
of the population became rapid and at a meeting held March 15, 1886, the
question of incorporation of the borough was discussed. A majority of the
citizens being in favor of the proposition, a charter was obtained, and became
effective September 16, 1886, under the title of West Bethlehem, including
the district heretofore known as Old South Bethlehem. At a borough elec-
tion held November 2, 1886, Marcus C. Felter was elected burgess. He
served three years and was succeeded by George H. Young for three years.
Mr. Felter again was burgess for five years; Leo A. Stem, three years; J. A.
Eberts, three years ; and A. C. Huff, one year.

A fire department was organized in 1887, styled Monocacy Hose Corn-
pan}-. After a corporate existence of eighteen years. West Bethlehem was
consolidated with Bethlehem, August 16, 1904, becoming- the Fifth, Sixth,
and Seventh Wards of that borough.

In the decades between 1870 and 1890, the Bethlehems regained their
industrial and financial life, which had been crippled by the disturbances
caused by the panic of 1873. ^Y the efforts of the newly constituted board of
trade, great industrial enterprises were attracted and located in their midst —
steel, silk, hosiery and worsted establishments becoming permanent local
industries. The memorable smallpox scourge of 1882 was an unprecedented
ordeal of that dreaded disease. In March of that year it became an epidemic,
spreading at an appalling rate. Many weeks of tribulation passed before it
disappeared.

Then came the dawn of the era of electricity. The Bethlehem Electric
Light Company was incorporated in September, 1883, and at the close of
the year their first private service was introduced. The borough gave its
first contract for lighting the streets in February, 1885. The Saucon Electric
Light Company of South Bethlehem was organized, and in April, 1886, was
incorporated. The clamor of years brought Bethlehem's curbstone market
to an end ; a market house was formally opened November 10, 1884, and
occupied by the venders three days later. An imposing building was also
erected on the south side for the purposes of a public market. Street im-
provements commenced to be agitated in 1884 and measures were taken to
macadamize them. The first charter for a street railway was taken out in

BETHLEHEM

447

1887, and in April 16, 1891, the electric railways on the streets of the
borough were legally authorized. In that year the first electric car entered
Bethlehem from Allentown, crossing Broad street bridge to New street. On
October 8th of the same year the cars passed over the Church street and
Main street lines. In September, 1891, the first exhibition was held on the
grounds of the Bethlehem Fair and Driving Association. The free postal
delivery was introduced into Bethlehem in 1887, and in November, three
years later, in South Bethlehem.

Improvements were made in fire protection and the water supply. A
new fire company was formed in 1884 in the north part of the borough, and
was named Fairview Hose Company No. 4. The water supply was improved
in 1889 by the introduction of the third of the successive pumps at the Beth-
lehem Iron Works. It was of far greater capacity than the preceding ones.
A large iron storage tank was built near the one erected in 1872. The
South Bethlehem Gas and Water Company constructed two large reservoirs
above the site of St. Luke's Hospital. Experiments were made for the draw-
ing of water from the Lehigh, filtered through the gravel from the river-bed.
Two pumps, with a combined capacity of 7,000,000 gallons daily, were in-
stalled, and a reservoir built, capable of holding 15,000,000 gallons, which
was supplied by a pumping station erected in 1898-99 on the south bank of
the river.

The grovirth of the population called for an increase in educational facili-
♦•jes. The Penn schoolhouse was erected in the summer of 1888 on the east
corner of Main and Fairview streets. The Jefferson schoolhouse, corner of
Maple and North streets, was finished and ready for occupancy m the autumn
of 1890. The old Wall street building was demolished in 1892 and the
George Neisser schoolhouse was built on its site and named in honor of
Bethlehem's first schoolmaster in 1742. The one hundred and fiftieth anni-
versary of the beginning of the Moravian missions to the heathens was
observed with appropriate ceremonies August 21, 1882. The celebration of
the one hundredth and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Bethlehem
commenced with services being held in the original log cabin, Christmas
Eve, 1891. The week of June 20-25, 1892, was set aside by the authorities
for the official celebration of the event. Religious services were held, chil-
dren's parades inaugurated, and a grand procession on the last day. Historic
tablets were placed on eighteen buildings and sites. The population of the
three boroughs in 1890 was as follows: Bethlehem, 6,750; South Bethlehem,
10,386; West Bethlehem, 2,757 — totaling, 19,893.

The first chapel in the Gemein Haus was used by the Moravians until
1751, when on July loth of that year a new chapel of unhewn stone was
built. This chapel forms the west side of Moravian road on Church street.
Its walls were adorned with paintings by the Moravian artist, Valentine
Hardt, representing incidents in the Saviour's life. The chapel remained
in use until the consecration of a church, May 18, 1806, on Church, corner of
Main street, which was erected at the cost of $70,000. This church, which
was 145 feet on Church street with a frontage of 75 feet on Main street at
the time of its construction, was looked upon as one of the wonders of the
county, it having the greatest width of unsupported ceiling of any building

448 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

in the State. The church, which was known as the Central Moravian
Church, was entirely renovated in 1867. The Moravian chapel mentioned
above was a^^ain devoted to religious purposes in 1856, its interior entirely
renovated, and was used for services in the German language, which was
discontinued in 1917.

The following clergymen other than bishops were engaged in ministerial
work in Bethlehem from 1742 to 1844: Anthony Seiffert, Daniel Pryzelius,
John C. Pyrlaeus, Christian H. Rauch, Samuel Krause, John M. Graff,
Amadeus P. Thrane, John A. Huebner, John A. Klingsohr, Jacob Van Vleck,
Christian F. Schaaf, Charles F. Seidel, John F. Frueauff, Lewis D. de
Schweinitz, John G. Herman and George F. Bahnson.

After the incorporation of the Moravian church, new rules were adopted,
which remained unaltered until 1890. The Rev. C. F. Seidel retired in
December, and Bishop William Henry Van Vleck took his place as senior
pastor, and Rev. Lewis F. Kaufman became junior ])astor. The death of
Bishop Van Vleck in 1853 recalled the veteran Pastor Seidel from his retire-
ment, until the arrival of the Rev. Samuel Reinke, who had served as senior
pastor from 1844 to 1847 under the old organization. His second term existed
only from November, 1853, to November, 1854, and the junior pastor, Kauf-
mann. retired in September, 1855. After a temporary supply of the pastorate
Rev. H. Shultz and Rev. David Bigler took charge of the congregation,
commencing their duties in the latter part of 1855, the first as a German
preacher, the second as an English preacher. The first-named remained
until June, 1865, the last-named until 1864. The congregation was in charge
from the above mentioned date to 1855 o^ Bishop Edward de Schweinitz,
who was succeeded by Bishop J. Mortimer Levering, the latter being
assitsed by Rev. Morris W. Lerbert. Bishop Levering was succeeded in
1892 by Rev. Arthur D. Thaeler, who resigned in 1918 to become principal
of Nazareth Hall. The present pastor is Rev. D. S. H. Gapp.

The Moravians established a Sabbath school in a district school in
South Bethlehem, May i, 1859, and the number in attendance was eleven.
A month after the opening of the school, preaching was commenced and
was continued until 1861 by diiiferent members of the faculty of Moravian
College and Theological Seminary. In that year Rev. L. F. Kauflfmann was
appointed pastor. He was succeeded by Rev. F. F. Hagen, who held divine
worship November 20, 1864, in the first church edifice erected by the Mora-
vians in South Bethlehem. It stood on the present campus of Lehigh
University in 1865, and is known as Christmas Hall.

A plain brick church was built in 1867 on Elm street near Packer
avenue. It was opened for divine worship March 9, 1868, Rev. H. J. Van
Vleck being in charge of the congregation since the resignation of Rev.
F. F. Hagen, March 12, 1866. Rev. Van Vleck was succeeded in June, 1874,
by Rev. William H. Oerton. The services were originally held in the Ger-
man language, but on April 26, 1868, an English congregation was formed,
under the charge of Rev. J. Albert Rondthaler. The German service was
discontinued a few 3'ears ago, and a new church was built in 1910. For a
number of years the Rev. D. H. E. Stocker was in charge of the congrega-
tion, and was succeeded in 1919 by Rev. Arthur Francke.

BETHLEHEM 449

The first religious activities on the west side of Bethlehem, formerly
known as West Bethlehem, were begun among the canal boatmen, who tied
up over Sunday in the town. The movement was started at the instance of
the Philadelphia Sabbath Association, the Rev. William Eberman officiating
at the first of a series of services held in a room over a store in old South
Bethlehem.

The students of the Moravian Theological Seminary held prayer meet-
ings in 1859 in the old Vineyard street schoolhouse. The following year, on
May 6th, a Sunday school was opened with thirty scholars, and this was
the beginning of the West Bethlehem Moravian Sunday School. A move-
ment was started in 1877 looking to the erection of a church, but nothing
was undertaken until August 6, 1883, when the cornerstone was laid for a
building on Third avenue. The chapel was formally dedicated and became
known as the Moravian Chapel. Alterations and improvements were made
in 1890, and it was reopened January 25, 1891. Rev. F. W. Stenzel, of Zoar,
Minnesota, accepted a call as first assistant pastor of Bethlehem's Moravian
congregation and assumed the oversight of the West End Chapel. He was
succeeded June 25, 191 1, by Rev. William H. Fluck, who was succeeded
in 1917 in charge of the congregation by Rev. D. C. Meinnert.

The cornerstone of the Laurel Street Moravian Chapel was laid October
9, 1887. and in December of that year the building was completed. The
consecration took place December 11, 1887; Bishop Edward de Schweinitz
ofificiated on the occasion, and the following Sunday he died suddenly at
his'home on Church street. For a number of years Rev. J. Taylor Hamilton,
then a professor in the Moravian College and Theological Seminary, now
president of that institution, conducted services in the Laurel Street Chapel.
Rev. George J. Crist, who was second assistant pastor of the Moravian
church in Bethlehem in 1900, had charge of the congregation, and was suc-
ceeded in 1905 by Rev. N. E. Kemper.

The theological students of the Seminary in 1904 opened a Sunday school
in Edgeboro, a recently annexed suburb of Bethlehem. Services were after-
wards conducted, and in 1917 a chapel was erected. Rev. Dr. W. V. Moses,
a member of the faculty of the Moravian College and Seminary, was placed
in charge of the congregation.

Members of the Lutheran church began to settle in Bethlehem in the
middle of the nineteenth century, and as their number increased they felt
the necessity of making provision for the worship of God according to their
faith, hi 1849 a number of preliminary meetings were held, which resulted
in the organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Bethlehem.
In October, 1849, the first regular service was held in the upper hall of the
Armory on Broad street. The sermon on this occasion was delivered by
Rev. Joshua Jaeger, of Allentown. The Rev. J. W. Richards, of Easton,
visited Bcthleliem, December 26, 1849, to assist in forming a constitution
lor a Union Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed church to be called
Salem, to be built in the borough of Bethlehem, in which divine worship
was to be conducted in the German and English languages. The Moravians
were friendly to the movers of the effort and assisted in the project. The
draft was signed by Rev. J. W. Richards, Lutheran minister; Rev. J. C.

NORTH.— 1—29.

450 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Becker, Reformed minister; Rev. H. A. Schultz, Moravian minister, and a
number of laymen. The constitution of the Union church was adopted
August 24, 1850. The congregations worshipped alternately in the Armory.
Efforts being successful in raising funds to build a church home, a site on
High street was purchased from the Moravians; on September i, 1850, the
cornerstone was laid, and on Easter Sunday, April 20, 185 1, the church was
consecrated to the service of the Triune God. At this time the church had
no steeple, clock, bell or pews. The windows were square at the top, port-
able wooden benches were used as seats, and the church was lighted by
common tallow candles.

For a time the congregation was supplied by the Rev. J. W. Richards,
the first regular pastor being C. F. Welden, who entered on his duties in
November, 1851. The congregation secured a charter September 27, 1852,
and the same j'car a steeple was added to the building, in which a clock
was placed, and in course of time the windows were altered to Gothic and
the whole interior frescoed.

In the spring of 1865, after serving the congregation for fourteen years,
Pastor Welden resigned and was succeeded by Rev. J. B. Rath. The separa-
tion of the congregations was proposed July 8, 1867, and on June 22, 1868,
it was effected. The Lutherans paid the Reformed congregation $4,850, and
old Salem Church became entirely Lutheran. From this time religious
services were held by the I^uthcrans every Sunday in both the German
and English languages.

The third pastor, F. W. Weiskotten, assumed charge of the congregation
in February, 1873, and two years later it was resolved to raise funds to
erect a new and more commodious house of worship, as the present one was
inadequate for the large and growing congregation of six hundred souls. The
old Salem Church was dismantled and the present church was erected. Rev.
F. W. Weiskotten resigned in 1881, and was succeeded by Rev. Enoch Smith,
who gave way in 1892 to Rev. C. F. W. Hoppe, who resigned in 1909, and
the following year Rev. H. C. Kline took charge of the congregation. The
parsonage was first occupied by the present pastor in December, 1910.
The official title of the church is the Evangelical Lutheran Salem Church.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, on East Broad street, was the
fruition of a desire for Lutheran services in English. In the early part of
1872, Rev. J. B. Rath, then pastor of Salem Church, whose ministrations
were almost exclusively in the German tongue, expressed himself as strongly
in favor of services in the language of the children, but found little support
for their introduction. He expressed his disappointment on a certain occa-
sion to John B. Zimmele, one of his active laymen, who, the very next
morning, took up the need of such services with a number of members, and
found them willing to assist even to the extent of forming, if need be, a
separate congregation. Their desire was duly presented to the mother church
and formal permission was granted them to go ahead with the movement.
On Reformation Day, October 31, 1872, the society was organized under the
name and title of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church by enrolling eighty-
eight persons, adopting a constitution and electing officers. On that same
eventful evening, Rev. J. B. Rath was unanimously chosen and called as the

BETHLEHEM

451

first pastor of this, the only English Lutheran Church outside of Easton in
Northampton county.

Prior to this the present site had been secured at a cost of $3;ooo, ground
broken for a church edifice, and the cornerstone laid, the date of the, last-
mentioned event having been August 25. The basement was first completed
and was consecrated on the first Sunday of January, 1873. This served as a
place of worship until the completion and dedication of the main sanctuary,
exactly twelve months later. The first auxiliary organization to be formed
was a Ladies' Aid Society; and in this connection it is interesting to note
that two years later they requested permission to furnish for the pastor a
suitable robe. Permission having been granted, one was imported from
London, England. It is still in good condition, and is a cherished heirloom
of the congregation.

Rev. Rath served faithfully and successfully until his death. August 5,
1885. For one year the pastorate remained vacant, the pulpit being supplied
by a number of clergymen, among them being the late Prof. Matthias
Richards, D.D. Finally, on August i, 1886, the Rev. Charles H. Hemsath
assumed charge of the congregation and continued until the close of 1890.
He was succeeded by the Rev. Franklin F. Fry, who entered upon his duties
on New Year's Day, 1891, and served until October 15, 1901. During his
incumbency the entire church building was extended sixteen feet, to provide
additional chancel space on the main auditorium floor and meeting rooms
in the basement ; the Sunday school department was enlarged and rearranged ;
and the present parsonage acquired and remodeled. The improvements
thus made and the refurnishings necessitated an outlay of upwards of
$20,000. On November 20, 1901, the congregation called Rev. Aden B. Mac-
intosh, of Spring City, to the pastorate. He accepted, and assumed the
charge on the first day of the following year. During 1904 the church was
again remodeled, this time by adding the present imposing stone front and
beautifying the interior. At the same time improvements were made to the
parsonage. These together cost in the vicinity of $27,000. In 1912, Rev.
Macintosh resigned to accept a call to Norristown. Then, following a brief
vacancy, Rev. Harry P. Miller was called from the Church of the Reforma-
tion, Brooklyn. He entered upon the pastorate January i, 1913, and is at
present in charge.

From its inception, Grace Church has been especially active along lines
of missionary and charitable effort, and numbers among its societies the
following: The Ladies' Aid, the Women's Missionary Society, Grace Mis-
sion Workers, the Dorcas Society, the Luther League, Grace Brotherhood
and Grace Mission Band. The enrollment of its Sunday school, according to
the "last report, is 456, and the membership of the congregation 750. The
value of its property is $60,000. Plans are now being considered for a
commodious parish house, which is to be erected on the property adjoining
the church on the east, the site having been secured for this purpose by a
number of progressive men of the congregation.

The founder and for many years the pastor of St. Peter's Evangelical
Lutheran Church was Rev. A. T. Geissenhainer. The cornerstone of the
first church was laid August 30, 1863. The building was of brick, 25 by 65

45- NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

feet in dimensions, situated on Vine street. On the occasion of holding the
first services, March 13, 1864, twenty persons signed their names as original
members of the church. The church was formally dedicated June 26, 1864.
to the services of the Triune God. In the spring of 1867 the first pastor
removed to Philadelphia, and Jacob Zentner served the congregation in
connection with St. Peter's of Allentown for little over a year. The church
was then connected with the Bethlehem charge and was served by Rev. J. B.
Rath, who continued to minister to the congregation until 1870, when Rev.
C. J. Cooper became the resident pastor. The latter was in charge of the
congregation sixteen years, and is living at present at Allentown, serving
St. Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran Church, also the missions at Friedsville
and Jerusalem, Lehigh county. The congregation decided in January, 1873,
to tear down the old church and erect a new one. The cornerstone of the
new building was laid June 22, 1873. The dimensions of the new church
were 41 by 71 feet, two stories high, the site being the present location on
Vine street and Packer avenue. On Christmas Eve, 1873, the first services
were held in the partially completed basement by the Sunday school, and
on Christmas morning the pastor preached the first sermon. On the follow-
ing Palm Sunday, March 29, 1874, this part of the building was dedicated,
Rev. A. T. Geissenhainer preaching the sermon. On account of the money
panic of 1873, the auditorium remained unfinished until 1878, when steps
were taken to complete it.

The successor of Rev. C. J. Cooper was Rev. William Francis Shoener.
He was born at Lewiston, Pennsylvania, October 18, 1859, graduated June
15, 1886, from Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He was or-
dained by the Ministerium of Pennsylvania, June 22, 1886, and became pastor
of St. Peter's, July 4th of that year. Owing to his enterprise and energy the
church building was enlarged in 1896, and a $4,000 organ installed. He
died while in charge of the congregation, July 2, 1901. The same year the
present pastor. Rev. J. C. Leibensperger, took charge of the congregation.
The fiftieth anniversar}' was celebrated during the week of August 31 to
September 3, 1913. St. Peter's is the mother church from which spring St.
Mark's, St. Paul's St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran churches.

A colony consisting of the English members of St. Peter's Evangelical
Lutheran Church in 1888 formed a congregation and was incorporated May
6, 1889, under the title of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church. A chapel
was immediately built, and occupied for worship January 20, 1889. The con-
struction of the church on Fourth street was commenced in 1895. The
present pastor is Rev. P. J. Hoh. The St. John Windish Evangelical Church
is a congregation of Bohemians whose place of worship is located on East
Fourth street. The present pastor is Rev. Ernst Shegler.

As early as 1886 there was a strong sentiment on the part of the
Lutheran constituency on the west side to have a place of worship of its
own. Services were conducted from time to time in the Moravian Chapel.
At a meeting held July 29, 1887, the congregation was duly organized, a
building committee appointed, and a unanimous call extended to Rev. Wil-
liam D. C. Keiter, of Allentown, who was installed as pastor September 4,
1887. The congregation became known as Trinity Evangelical Lutheran

BETHLEHEM 453

Church, and a site was purchased on Third avenue. The cornerstone for a
new building was laid with impressive ceremonies October 30, 1887. The
first services in the completed edifice were held on Palm Sunday, March 25,

1888. The formal consecration of the church took place April 8, 1888. Rev.
Keiter served as pastor until November 9, 1909, when he resigned to become
secretary of the board of trustees of Muhlenberg College. A call was ex-
tended to Rev. Luther D. Lazarus, who entered upon his labors January i,
1910, and is the present encumbent. The old church was demolished in
191 5 and a new building erected on the old site.

St. .Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran Church is situated at the corner of
Centre and Hill streets, where a small congregation worship regularly. These
are mini.-tercd to by Rev. C. J- Cooper.

Christ Reformed Church was associated with the Lutherans in the
building of .Salem Church. The founder of the congregation was Rev. Jacob
C. Becker, who was selected its first pastor. June 15, 185T. He was born in
Bremen. Germany, January 14, 1790. His father. Rev. Christian L. Becker,
an eloquent and esteemed minister of the Reformed church, emigrated to
America in 1793, locating at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where his .son was
educated at Franklin College. Rev. Jacob C. Becker was ordained at Ger-
mantown, Pennsylvania, and accepted a call to minister to congregations in
Northampton and Lehigh counties. He died of a iirotracted illness, August
18, 1858.

The full organization of the Reformed congregation took place May 18.
1851. The first communion was held November 9, 1851. on which occasion
thirty-five members partook of the Holy Supper. Services were held once
in four weeks, but an arrangement was soon completed for services every
two weeks. Dr. Becker resigned in 1837, and was succeeded by Rev. A. J.
G. Dubbs, of Allentown, who served the congregation about one year. The
third pastor. Rev. D. Y. Heisler, was elected January 12, 1858, entering upon
his duties April ist of that year. The eight years of Pastor Heisler's con-
nection with the congregation were devoted to work at Bethlehem, Heck-
town and Bath, and were accompanied with fruitful results. The member-
ship grew rapidly, and the records of the congregation in 1861 show the
names of 230 confirmed members and 175 baptized members. The congrega-
tion accepted the resignation of Pastor Heisler in June, 1866, and on the
following August i8th elected Rev. Isaac K. Loos as his successor.

After the sale of the congregation interests in the Salem Church, a lot
was bought on Centre street, and early in April. 1S69, ground was broken
for a new church. The basement was finished for occupancy and dedicated
January 3, 1870, and from that day the congregation worshipped in that part
of their new building. The audience room was completed before the follow-
ing Christmas, and on December 22, 1872, the consecration took place. Pastor
Loos preaching in German in the morning, and Rev. Thomas G. Apple in
the English language both morning and evening. The death of Rev. Isaac
K. Loos took place July 5, 1S89, and his successor, Rev. Gustava A. Schwedes,
who later anglicized his name to Swedes, was installed as pastor October 6,

1889. The church was subsequently rededicated, improvements made, and
a parsonage built on Broad street. Previous to January i, 1894, on alternate

454 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Sundays, only the German service was used, and after that date the first
Sunday was devoted to the Enghsh service. The North Bethlehem mission
was placed in charge of Christ Church in May, 1897. The next pastor was
Rev. J. R. Stem, who was elected December 5, 1910, resigned January i,
1917, and was succeeded by Rev. Henry R. Stahr, July 17, 1917, who assumed
charge of the congregation September 2d of that year. He is a graduate of
Franklin and Marshall College, class of 1901 ; of Easton Theological Semi-
nary of the Reformed Church, 1908; of Cornell Universit)', 1909. The mem-
bership of the church is 675. The church is being completely renovated at
the expense of $20,000. The services are now conducted only in the English
language.

There were in 1866 about thirteen or fourteen families of the Reformed
faith in the borough of South Bethlehem. The pastors of Christ Reformed
Church, Revs. D. Y. Heisler and Isaac K. Loos, in 1866-67 commenced to
hold services in the Lutheran church, but on December 22, 1867, a large and
comfortable hall on the third floor of the schoolhouse on Vine street was
secured. Before this, however, on October 13, 1867, after a formal organiza-
tion of membership, church officers were elected and the congregation be-
came what is now the First Reformed Church. The services were conducted
mostly in the German language, occasionally in English. The Lehigh river
was the dividing line between East Pennsylvania and Goshenhoppen Classis,
therefore the new church organization belonged to the latter.

The present church site was procured in March, 1870, and in the follow-
ing May, Rev. Henry Hess was appointed supply pastor, continuing for a
year. The congregation was incorporated August 22, 1871, and Rev. N. Z.
Snyder was installed as pastor, September 24, 1871. This was the commence-
ment of a pastorate that lasted twenty-one years. Under his efficient leader-
ship the little mission soon grew to be self-supporting. The first church
which served the congregation for a quarter of a century was dedicated
October 21-22, 1871. Rev. Dr. Snyder closed his official pastorate September
I, 1892, and until the following spring the congregation was without a pastor.
In May, 1893, the Rev. David Scheirer, of Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, was
installed as pastor by a committee of the Tohickon Classis, of which the'
church had been a member since 1873. The last services were held in the old
church April 12, 1895 ; it was then torn down and the erection of a new
edifice was begun. The first services were held in the basement of the new
church September 13, 1895. It was completed May 30, 1897, and dedicated
with appropriate and impressive services. The cost of the new building was
about $23,000. The resignation of Pastor Scheirer was accepted in June,
1903, and before his graduation the present pastor. Rev. David B. Clark,
was extended a call. He preached every two weeks, and Rev. Dr. Snyder
preached on the other Sundays. He was installed as pastor May 29, 1904. At
this time the services in German were held every second Sunday in the morn-
ing; later, only the first Sunday of the month. In the year 1910 they were
omitted entirely. The present parsonage was purchased in 1913. The
fiftieth anniversary was celebrated November lo-ii, 1917. During the fifty
years of the existence of the church over twenty-two hundred persons have
united with the congregation.

BETHLEHEM 455

The members of the Reformed church living in the west end of Bethle-
hem instituted, May 20, 1888, a Sunday school in the Fairvievv school build-
ing. The consistory of Christ Reformed Church in i8go purchased a lot on
Fourth avenue, whereon a chapel was erected at a cost of $2,400. The
cornerstone was laid October 26, 1890, and the following February the
Sunday school moved into its new quarters. The formal consecration took
place June 28, 1891, when the name Bethany Chapel was adopted. The con-
gregation was organized December 11, 1891, and became known as the
Bethany Reformed Church. Rev. John F. De Long was elected pastor
January 10, 1892, and served the congregation until 1897, when he was suc-
ceeded by Rev. Frank H. Moyer. The chapel was moved to the rear of the
lot in 1901, and in its place a brick edifice of a combined Gothic and Colonial
■ type of architecture was erected at the cost of $8,000. The new church was
completed April 27, 1902. Pastor Moyer served the congregation until 1908,
when he was succeeded by Rev. E. H. Laubach, who gave way March 31,
1911, to the present pastor. Rev. H. L Crow.

St. Paul's Reformed Church was organized December 4, 1888, by a
colony of members of the Christ Reformed Church, led by Rev. Isaac K.
Loos. The construction of their place of worship, corner of High and
North streets, was commenced on December, 1889, the cornerstone being
laid the fifteenh of that month and the church consecrated February 15,
1891. The second pastor was Rev. E. H. Laubach, who was succeeded in
1899 by the present incumbent, Rev. William H. Erb, who was formerly
pastor at Lanford, Pennsylvania. Through his painstaking labors the mem-
bership, which had greatly decreased, is now one hundred and fifty.

Shiloh Reformed Congregation, under the pastoral care of Rev. J. G.
Dubbs, is located on William street. Zion Reformed Church, on Shipman
street, is a small congregation in charge of the Rev. C. A. Butz. Magyar
Reformed Congregation on East Fourth street has an existence of about ten
years; the membership is confined principally to Hungarians, and the present
pastor is Rev. Emil Nagy.

The first regular services held in Bethlehem according to the order of
the Protestant Episcopal Church was conducted during the summer of 1855
in Temperance Hall. Previous to this, the Right Rev. Alonzo Potter visited
Bethlehem, and on November 24, 1854, held services and preached in the
Moravian church. Early in 1855, Dr. W. W. Spear, for some time rector
of St. Luke's and later of the Church of the Mediator in Philadelphia, held
one or more services and preached in the parlor of the Sun Inn. Other-
ministers of the Episcopalian denomination at various times held services
but it was not until the spring of 1861 that regular services were held either
in public halls or private residences.

In 1862 the Rev. Eliphalet Nott Potter came as a missionary to Bethle-
hem and Allentown. The most fruitful results were, however, obtained by
the Right Rev. William Bacon Stevens, the assistant bishop of the diocese.
He was encouraged by the evidence of activity, and urged the beginning of
a movement to erect a church and organize a parish. It was on the evening
of May 6, 1S62, that eight persons met at the home of R. H. Sayre, and it
was determined to open a Sunday school. The small station of the North

456 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Pennsylvania railroad was loaned by the company and used for a school for
fifty-two children until Christmas, 1864. The Rev. E. N. Potter officiated
on two Sundays in the station, but did not begin his regular duties until
September, 1S62. Holy Communion was celebrated for the first time in
South Bethlehem, October 19, 1862, by the Rev. Cummings, of Reading. An
appeal was made to the citizens in 1862 for the erection of a church in
South Bethlehem, as there was not at that time a church of any kind in the
place. This resulted in the purchase of an acre of land, and on June i, 1863,
the position of the church was decided on and Mr. Potter called as rector
In the following month of July the Diocesan Convention accepted the charter
and received the parish into union with itself. The cornerstone was laid in
the northeast buttress of the new church by the rector, August 6, 1863.
The consecration of the church, which became known as the Church of the
Nativity, took place April 9, 1865. The following year was marked by valu-
able accessions to membership and the erection of a dwelling for the use of
the rector. At Christmas, Mr. Potter tendered his resignation, to take
effect February 28, 1869, and the Rev. Robert J. Nevin was called to the
pastoral charge. Owing to impaired health, Mr. Nevin on August 16, 1869,
tendered his resignation to take effect September 30, 1869. The Rev. John
Irving Forbes officiated on September 19, 1869, and was asked to take charge
of the congregation. He accepted, and early in November entered on his
duties. He was a young man of fine character, of unusual abilities and at-
tainments, and of great promise. During his brief sojourn his mark was
made on the parish ; the seeds of consumption were, however, in his frame,
and his resignation was accepted to take place April i, 1870.

The next rector, Rev. Cortlandt Whitehead, entered on his duties No-
vember I, 1870. Then came years of prosperity and quietness, and after
declining two invitations to prominent city parishes, Dr. Whitehead was
elected, October 20, 1881, to the bishopric of Pittsburgh. The main statistics
of Dr. Whitehead's rectorship, covering a period of eleven years and three
months were : Three hundred baptized ; 248 confirmed ; 41 couples married ;
96 persons buried; services held, 3,700; sermons and addresses, 2,300; 8,500
visits; number of communicants in 1870, 99; transferred to Trinity in 1872,
37; number in 18S2, 195; contributions made for all purposes, over $91,000.

At the meeting held May 20, 1882, the committee appointed to secure a
rector reported unanimously in favor of Rev. C. Kinloch Nelson, Jr., of
the Church of St. John the Baptist, in Gennantown, Pennsylvania. After
due consideration he accepted the charge, and entered on his duties July i,
1882.

A movement for the enlargement of the church was commenced in
1884. The plans approved provided for an extension consisting of transepts
20 by 30 feet and a chancel 30 by 30 feet, with a sacristy and organ chamber,
affording seating capacity for 514, with the lower rooms for various purposes,
at an estimated cost of $30,500. These improvements were not completed
and opened for use until All Saints' Day, 1888. The Rev. C. K. Nelson
having been elected in 1891 to the bishopric of Georgia, tendered his resigna-
tion to take effect February 22, 1892. The fifth rector was Rev. Gilbert
Henry Sterling, who was succeeded in 1913 by Rev. Frederick W. Beekman,

BETHLEHEM 457

who in turn gave way in 1918 to the present rector, Rev. J. I. Blair Larned.
The Church of the Nativity v/as made a pro-cathedral in 1900.

As far back as February, 1871, the question of a possible chapel some-
where near the iron works was agitated. St. Joseph's Mission was opened
at the foot of Lehigh Mountain with three teachers and seventy-five persons,
under the charge of \V. W. Thurston as superintendent of the Sunday school.
A chape' was built, and though not completed, was opened for service January
20, 1884, was consecrated in that year, enlarged in 1897, ^"^ reconsecrated
in 1899. Services were held in this chapel until about two years ago. when
they were discontinued and the church building sold.

St. Mary's Chapel was consecrated April 19, 1875. The dimensions of
the original chapel were 56 by 24 feet. It is a mission in Lehigh county
under the charge of the Church of the Nativity.

There was a movement in 1869 to form a second Protestant Episcopal
parish, to be located in the borough of Bethlehem, distinct from the one in
South Bethlehem. This movement was put in practical form by Rev. John
Irving Forbes, and services were begun Sunday evenings in the hall of the
Young Men's Christian Association. At the end of the year 1870 the build-
ing of a church was decided upon, and on Christmas Day, 1871, the edifice
was completed. Trinity Church, situated on Market street, was formally
opened with Holy Communion on January 16, 1872, by Right Rev. M. A.
De Wolfe Howe. Early in the spring of that year steps were taken towards
an organization separate from the Church of the Nativity. Rev. Cortlandt
Whitehead resigned as rector, December i, 1872, and the Rev. Charles Morri-
son became his successor. The next rector. Rev. I. K. Mendenhall, com-
menced his labors October 15, 1875, and his resignation being accepted, he
was succeeded in temporary charge by Rev. Joseph M. Turner, who was
installed as the regular rector September 3, 1876. He was in charge of the
congregation until November 4, 1877, when he was succeeded by Rev. Henry
C. Mayer, who remained until August i, 1879. For the next twenty years
Rev. George P. Allen was rector of the congregation, and was instrumental
in increasing the membership and furthering the interests of the parish. He
resigned to take the charge of a suburban parish near Philadelphia. His
successor. Rev. Benjamin S. Sanderson, had charge of the parish until his
resignation in 191 1, when the Rev. Robert Johnstone succeeded him. The
latter died while in charge of the parish, in March, 1916. For the next two
years the parish was in charge of Rev. Julian D. Hamlin, who resigned in
1918, when the present rector, Rev. J. Arthur Glasier, commenced his labors.
He graduated from Wesleyan University, Middlctown. Connecticut, and in
1907 from the General Theological Seminary of New York City. Before
coming to Trinity Church he was curate at Trinity Church, Mount Vernon,
New York ; missioner in charge of parishes in Hamburg and Vernon, Sussex
county. New Jersey; also six years at Trinity Church, West Pittston,
Pennsylvania.

In this connection it is worthy of note that the borough of Fountain
Hill is the residence of the bishop of the diocese of Central Pennsylvania
of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Leonard Hall, located on Delaware
avenue, is maintained by the diocese as a school for the Episcopal clergy.

458 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

The beginning of Presbyterian activities in Bethlehem took place on
the South Side. The English congregation of the Moravian church under
the leadership of their pastor. Rev. J. Albert Rondthaler, some of whom had
previously been Presbyterians, in 1869 transferred their connection to that
denomination. They organized under the name of the Presbyterian Church
of Bethlehem. A religious house of worship was erected on the corner of
Fourth and Vine streets in 1870, and was first used in an unfinished state in
April, 1871, the first sermon being preached in the main body of the church.
May 5, 1872. The second pastor was the Rev. J. Thomas Osier, and among
his successors were Rev. Charles B. Chapin, and the present pastor, Rev.
R. S. Hittenger.

Some of the leading Presbyterians living on the North Side, where an
affiliated Sunday school was organized, commenced holding services in a
small meeting house located on Union street, built for the establishment of
a congregation of United Brethren, which came to naught. The First Pres-
byterian Church, with a membership of twenty, was organized by the com-
mittee of the Presbytery of Lehigh, November 14, 1875, in the parlor of the
Young Men's Christian Association. The church in Union street continued
to be used vmtil the dedication, April 7, 1878, of a place of worship in Centre
street, which was erected largely through the generous aid of Rev. G. W.
Musgrave of Philadelphia, and it was for some years commonly called Mus-
grave Chapel. The first located pastor, Rev. Alexander Moore, entered upon
his di:ties April 2, 1876. He remained in charge of the congregation until
August I, 1891, and his successor, Rev. Josiah Lincoln Litch, was installed
as pastor May 4, 1892, continuing his duties until his death, August 31, 1900.
The next to assume the duties of pastor was Rev. Francis Harvey Laird, who
was inducted into office February 15, 1901, and dismissed September 30,
1904. The present pastor. Rev. Dr. James Robinson, assumed charge of the
congregation January i, 1905. He graduated from Princeton Theological
Seminary in 1893, and in 1919 the Moravian College and Theological Semi-
nary conferred on him the degree of D.D., it being the first time that this
honor was conferred by that institution upon any other than a Moravian.
The chapel was demolished in 1912, and the following year a new church of
Gothic structure, with a seating capacity of 350, was erected on the corner
of North and Centre streets, at the cost of $35,000. Extensive improvements
consisting of extending the church and Sunday school buildings were com-
menced in 1919 at an expense of $40,000. The present membership of the
church is 500.

The Rev. Joslnia H. Turner, a member of the Philadelphia Conference,
on May 11, 1848, preached the first Methodist sermon in Bethlehem. The
services were held at the residence of James Lehr, a member of the Evan-
gelical Association, and said to be the only church member in Bethlehem at
that time outside of the Moravian congregation. Two weeks later another
service was held, but it was not until the fall of 1848 that there was anj'
other accommodation in the borough for another Methodist service, the
residence of James Lehr being utilized by the Evangelical minister. At that
time a Methodist family moved to Bethlebem from Allcntown, and permis-
sion was obtained to hold services at their residence, but owing to the preju-

BETHLEHEM 459

dices of the owner of the house against the denomination it was given up.
There was no more preaching by the Methodists in Bethlehem until the
spring of 1849, when David R. Thomas and the Rev. Stockton held services
in Odd Fellows' Hall once a month. The Rev. M. A. Day, in 1851, com^
menced to hold regular service in this hall. At this time there was but one
Methodist family in Behlehem — James K. Hillman, wife and daughter, all
members. Services were held every third Wednesday, and the congregation
gradually increased. The Allentown circuit, of which Bethlehem was then a
part, in the spring of 1852 appointed Rev. W. I-I. Brisbane to take charge of
the small congregation. He organized a class consisting of nine members,
and appointed Samtiel M. Ritter as leader. Services were held every second
Sabbath until the spring of 1853, when Rev. Samuel Irwin succeeded Rev.
Mr. Brisbane. Mr. Irwin's earnest labors awakened general interest, twenty
conversions being made, of whom seventeen joined the small class. In the
second year of his labors the first Methodist church was built on Centre
street. The cornerstone was laid in January, 1854, and the dedication serv-
ices preached January 8, 1855, Rev. M. Anderson, of Easton, assisted by
Rev. George W. Bundle, of Philadelphia, officiating. The title given to the
church was Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church. The second pastor was
the Rev. Henry A. Hobbs, and a number of conversions were made during
his labors. The old church was torn down in 1869, and a new one erected
on a part of the old lot. The lecture room was dedicated January 31, 1870,
and through the liberality of one of the church members, Mrs. Eliza H.
Yoder, the main audience hall was completed in 1875 and dedicated in July
of that year. The itinerancy of the Methodist clergymen is well known.
They, therefore, do not become identified with the historical interests of a
community. The resident pastor in 1918 was Rev. J. R. P. Gray.

The work of the Methodist Episcopal Church in South Bethlehem began
with the holding in 1887 of prayer meetings. This was followed in the next
year by services held in Bunker's Hall, when the first class was formed
and a Sunday school organized, both being under the charge of Charles
Laramy of Bethlehem. He was assisted by Rev. J. B. Grafford and Rev.
E. E. Burriss, pastors of Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church, and in 1889 a
separate congregation was formed and placed in charge of Rev. A. M. Stray-
horn. A building site was purchased on Packer avenue, a commodious and
attractive edifice, the gift of John Fritz, in memory of his mother, and was
consecrated March 26, 1893. The church is naturally known as the Fritz
Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church. The present pastor is Rev. Benja-
min La Pish.

The missionaries of the Evangelical Association found among the Ger-
man-speaking people of the Bethlchems a nucleus who desired their services
and a regular preaching place, which was established by the conference of
that denomination and Rev. J. Kramer began to hold services in Odd Fellows'
Hall, alternating Sundays with the Methodist ministers. The Bethlehem
appointment was filled in 1853 by Rev. F. Krecker, and in that year a board
of trustees was elected and an incorporation was secured later under the
title of the St. John's Church of the Evangelical Association. The corner-
stone of the church was laid June 5, 1854, at the corner of New and North

46o NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

streets. The church which now stands near that site was built in 1880, and
was consecrated December 19th of that year. From the work thus centered,
the several congregations of the Evangelical Association in its present two
divisions, which now exist in Bethlehem, emanated during the last decades
of the nineteenth centurj'. The resident jsastor of the church in 1919 is
Rev. A. N. Metzger.

St. Luke's Evangelical Church, at the corner of Pawnee and Seminole
streets, was the outcome of efforts commenced in 1885 by Rev. O. L. Saylor,
while pastor of St. John's Church. The construction of the church building
was commenced in June, 1887, the cornerstone laid August 7, 1887, and dedi-
cation services held December nth of that year. The church was not, how-
ever, completed until November 3, 1889. The Emmanuel United Evangelical
Church is situated at the corner of Cuncow and High streets. Its pastor in
1919 was the Rev. J. S. Heisler. Olivet United Evangelical Church is located
on Broad street, in the west end of Bethlehem. A church was erected and
occupied in 1913, when Rev. W. H. Christ was pastor. In the present year a
new church is in process of construction and Rev. G. W. Imboden is in
charge of the congregation.

The records show that the first Baptist organization in Bethlehem took
place April 6, 1869. Services were held in a private house and other times
in a hall. The work was fostered by Rev. E. Packwood, of Allentown, until
the Rev. I. P. Meeks, the first stationed pastor, took charge. A lot, corner
of New and Lehigh streets, was secured in 1872, and on September 17th of
that year a temporary structure which received the name of wigwam was
opened for religious services. Work on the foundation of the church com-
menced in October, 1873, but the financial panic of that year caused a long
delay in completing the building. The cornerstone was laid October 15,
1874. the Iniilding progressed slowly, and the church was completed and
dedicated February 3, 1884. This building was sold about ten years after
it was built, and another church was erected on Broadway; this also was
subsequently disposed of and the congregation now holds religious services
in Lorcnz Theatre. At the present time there is a German Baptist congrega-
tion that worships on Adams street, also a colored Baptist church.

The Mennonitc Brethren erected in 18S4 a temporary place of worship
on Garrison street ; later, services were held in a public hall. The congrega-
tion became known as Ebenezer Mennonite Brethren in Christ. Later a
church was built on West Laurel street, and dedicated November 10, 1888.
The Rev. W. B. Musselman was in temporary charge of the congregation in
February, 1887. The church on West Laurel street was disposed of in 1919,
and a brick church on the corner of Durham and Main streets is now in
process of erection.

There is also in the Bethlehems a sect under the teachings of Rev. D. H.
King, known as the Apostolic Holiness. The First Church of Christ Scien-
tist is located at Broad street and First avenue. Among the other religious
denominations established in Bethlehem is a Jewish congregation, which
was organized among the mixed population in the latter part of the nine-
teenth century. Their place of worship is the Termand Torch Synagogue
on Wood street. The present pastor of the congregation is Rabbi Abraham
Grandal.

BETHLEHEM 461

The important event in the history of the Bethlehems in the present
century was the incorporation, July 17, 1917. of the two boroughs, Bethlehem
and South Bethlehem, under a charter of a third-class city. The last borough
officers of Bethlehem were: Chief burgess, J. M. Yeagley ; president of the
council, A. M. Russi ; secretary, Victor E. Tice ; treasurer, T. F. Klein. Of
South Bethlehem: Burgess, P. J- Sheehan ; president of the council. E. H.
Megalathery ; treasurer, W. A. Wilbur ; secretary, Thomas Ganey. The total
assessed valuation of the new city was about $22,000,000. The bonded and
other debts of South Bethlehem were $823,207.12, of Bethlehem $402,367.59,
making a grand total on consolidation of $1,225,574.71, of which $954,000
was a bonded debt, leaving approximately $271,574.71 for which funds were
not provided.

While the former borough of Bethlehem had provided in the past several
years money to meet the annual sinking fund charges, which fund was in
good shape, the borough of South Bethlehem had failed to provide a sinking
fund to meet bonds at maturity, and also failed to take care of the interest
charges for 1917. This required the new city to meet an excessive sinking
fund charge for the next several years to make up for the failure of the
South Bethlehem borough to set aside money for this fund. In addition,
the new cit)' inherited uncompleted contracts for streets and sewers, amount-
ing to $89,555.43 for the South Side, and $5,669.34 for the North Side.

At an election held in the fall of 1917, the city being divided into sixteen
wards, the commission form of government having been adopted, Archibald
Johnston was elected mayor for four years, and Alexander C. Graham, Augus-
tus W. Schmich, James E. Matthews and Thomas Rowan were chosen a
board of commissioners for two years. The death of Mr. Graham caused
the election of Dr. W. P. Walker to fill the vacancy.

The borough of Bethlehem owned its water supply, and South Bethle-
hem was supplied by a privately owned corporation, but a proposition is
now before the citizens to purchase same, to be decided at the coming elec-
tion in November for $1,700,000. During the year 1918 considerable terri-
tory was annexed to the city. The eastern boundary was extended to the
borough of Freemansburg by the annexation of Elmwood and Edgeboro.
This comprised a territory of 997.7 acres, with a population of 1,351 persons
and an assessed valuation of $650,000. North Bethlehem, between Easton
road and Monocacy creek, extending three miles north, was also annexed.
This territory comprised 3,058.4 acres, with a population of 3,085 persons and
an assessed valuation of $1,199,850. The territory annexed to the west
extends to the center of the road, running north and south adjacent to the
Rittersville Hotel. It comprised 2,302 acres, having a population of 2,500
persons and an assessed valuation of $1,300,225.

The Bureau of Police, under the superintendency of C. A. Davies, is fully
equipped to provide for the observance of law and order in a polyglot popu-
lation comprising representatives of nearly all European and Asiatic nations.
A police matron is employed to give every protection to unfortunate women
and girls arrested. A finger-print photographer and Bertillon system for
the identification of criminals has been established, and dens of vice have
been eliminated.

462 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

The fire fighting forces of the city represent a total of 594 men, of whom
but fifty-one receive remuneration for their services, the remainder being
volunteers belonging to the eight companies, namely : The Reliance, Central,
Monocacy, Fairview, Lehigh No. 5, Protection, Liberty and Lehigh No. i.
The apparatus consists of four American La France triple combination
pumping, chemical and hose trucks ; four Brockway combination chemical
and hose trucks; two aerial ladder trucks, with Brockway tractor; two steam
fire engines, third class, horse drawn, in reserve ; one two-wheel hose cart,
in reserve. The total fire hydrants is two hundred and fifty.

The educational facilities of Bethlehem have been increased by the
building of the following graded schools: Quinn, Lafayette, Calypso, Cen-
tral, Fairview and Madison. A high school is in process of erection on the
North Side, at the corner of Elizabeth and Linden streets, at an estimated
ex]>cnsc of $1,200,000. This school will take care of the junior and senior
high school pupils. The Excelsior school on Fourth street. South Side, was
formerly a graded school, but was changed in 1919 into a vocational school
for boys twelve to fourteen years of age who had been pupils in the sixth
or lower grades. Machine shop work and electrical trades are mainly taught.
The school census of the city gives about 10.000 children of the age prescribed
by law.

Along both sides of the beautiful Saucon creek a tract of land comprising
about ninety acres and extending for a distance of about two and a half
miles, starting at the old Keller Mill on the Hellertown road and terminat-
ing in the vicinity of the Hellertown blast furnaces, has been acquired for a
public park. The donations of public-spirited business firms and citizens
has made this a possibility, and prominent amongst these donors are the
Bethlehem Steel Company, forty-six acres ; W. J. Heller, five acres ; Saver-
cool & Wright, four acres ; Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company,
eleven acres ; and in addition to this twenty-six acres have been secured by
purchase. Bethlehem, since its incorporation as a city, has had a healthy
and progressive growth, its estimated population being 60,000 souls.

PUBLIC imiARY

ASroR, LENOX ANB
L

VIEW THROUGH THE LECHAU-HICH-TOX GLEN
Easton's West End in the Distance

CHAPTER XXXVI
TOWNSHIPS

Lower Saucon Towyiship — This township is situated in the rich and fertile
valley of the Saucon. The name is derived from the Indian name Sakunk —
at the place of the creek's mouth. Every hill and dale in the township has
its specific name; the eastern part is called Swoveberg, from the fact the
early settlers came originally from .Suabia m Germany. In the southeastern
part is Kohlberg, named because of the large amount of charcoal made there
in the early days for the Durham Iron Works. The "Schnippe Thai" is the
name of a little dale in the southeastern part of the township, so called because
of the snipes that frequented the brook flowing through it. Spring Valley
is the name of a place below Bingen, in the southeastern part of the town-
ship, named after its clear crystal springs. Wassergas is the name of a road
leading from Hellertown in the easterly direction towards the Delaware ; it
received its name from the springy nature of the land. The Latwerg-strasse
in the northeastern portion of the township derives its name from the fact
that a large amount of apple butter was boiled in that vicinity. The town-
ship is bounded on the north by the Lehigh river, on the east by Williams
township, on the southeast by Bucks county, and southeast and west by
Lehigh county. The boroughs of South Bethlehem and Hellertown were
incorporated within its limits. The soil is chiefly limestone, and the rich
and fruitful fields are watered by the Saucon and the brooks that constitute
its tributaries. These beauiful fields, however, have been somewhat despoiled
and disfigured by debris, as the enterprising miner in his search after deposits
of iron ore left no stone unturned.

Lower Saucon was settled in the early part of the eighteenth century,
and land was first taken up along the Lehigh' by William Allen, Nathaniel
Irish and I. M. Ysselstein. These three tracts were situated in what are
now Fountain Hill, Bethlehem and Shimersville. Ysselstein was a hunter
and fisherman, and built himself a hut, about a mile below Bethlehem, which
was washed away by a freshet in 1739. At his death, July 26, 1742, his
remains were placed in a grave near the spot where he first settled. Nathaniel
Irish built a mill as early as J 738 at the mouth of the Saucon, and in 1743
the Moravians petitioned for a wagon road to the mill. In 1743 Irish sold
part of his tract to George Cruikshank ; the latter was from a noted family
of the Island of Montserrat, a man of some attainments, who figured promi-
nently in the township during the early period. He had a son. Dr. James
Cruikshank, who died without issue at Behlehem; and a daughter, who
married John Currie, a lawyer of Reading, who afterwards removed to
Shimersville and opened a ferry across the river which was known as
Currie's Ferry. Sullivan's army at the time of the Revolution was conveyed
across the river by this ferry. Dr. Cruikshank sold three large farms near
the intersection of the Shimersville and Bethlehem roads to Dr. Felix Lynn,
who was the only physician in the neighborhood in the latter part of the
eighteenth century, and had a large and lucrative practice.

464 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Saucon was erected a township of Bucks county in 1742, and originally
included Upper Saucon, now in Lehigh count}-. The division of the town-
ship was effected in 1743. The petitioners for its erection into a separate
township were George Hertzell. Henry Hcrtzell, Paul Frantz, Matthias
Riegel, Christian Laubach, John Danishaus, Jacob Hertzell, Jacob Maurer,
Matthias Mencher, Frederick Weber, Peter Kauss, Max Gumschaefer, Joerg
Frcimann, Rudolph Orwerle, George Peter Knecht, Michael Lintz, Peter
Risser, Joel Anniner and Rudolph Illig. It can be readily seen by this list
that Germans largely predominated the early settlement of the township, the
population at the time of the division being about two hundred inhabitants.
The Bachmans, one of the early settled families of the township, were de-
scended from Christian Bachman, a miller. Their German ancestor was the
Rev. Philip Boehm, who came from the Palatinate in 1720, and received two
hundred acres in Lower Saucon township from the Proprietaries in 1740.
This tract he deeded to his son Anthony, who settled in the township and
had a family of four sons and four daughters. Christopher Wagner, ancestor
of the Wagners of Saucon, came from Rotterdam in the same ship with the
Hellers, arriving in Philadelphia, September 15, 1738. He was captain of a
military company that went to Trenton in 1776. John Adam Schaus in 1736
came in the ship Harle from Rotterdam. He also came from the Palatinate
and soon after his arrival at Philadelphia came to Lower Saucon township
and opened the first tavern on the Lehigh river. He was a millwright, and
assisted in building in 1743 a grist-mill in Bethlehem. He later became a
resident of Easton. Peter Appel, a Palatine, ancestor of the Appel family
in Northampon and adjoining covmties, arrived at Philadelphia, September
29, 1733, in the ship Pink Mary, from Rotterdam. He brought with him two
sons, Philip and John, and a daughter. Philip and his sister died without
issue. John purchased 250 acres of land in Lower Saucon townshi]i near
what was called Appel's Church, and had five sons.

Benjamin Riegel took up a tract of land near Hellertown in 1734, and
was the father of four sons, Benjamin, Matthias, John and Jacob; the latter
removed to Ohio ; the descendants of the three other sons became prominently
identified with the afi^airs of Riegelsville, Bethlehem and Philadelphia.

The early settlers of Swoveberg were principally weavers from, Wur-
temberg. They took their wool to Martin Appel, who was the proprietor
of the first carding, fulling and printing mill in that section of the country,
about two and a half miles below Hellertown. These early settlers were
the Christines, Reicbards, Kunsmans, Zicners, Reisses. Wersts and Wassers.

The Hess family were originally of .Springfield, Bucks county. Nicholas
Hess, the ancestor, was born in Zweibrucken, Germany, in 1723, and came
in 1749 to America in the ship Ranicr. He had three sons, of whom John
George came to Lower Saucon in the latter part of the eighteenth century.
He bought a mill on the Saucon, which became known as Hess' Mill.

The township steadily progressed in population and was by the census
of 1870, 4,991. This was, however, reduced by the formation of the borough?
of South Bethlehem and Hellertown from within its boundaries, so that the
population had decreased in 1910 to 4,141 inhabitants.

Shimersville, at the mouth of the Saucon, the oldest village in the town-

TOWNSHIPS 465

ship, was named after Jacob Shimer, ancestor of the Shimer family. It is a
small gathering of dwellings that in earlier days was a place of some im-
portance. Near it was the furnace of the Northampton Iron Company. As
early as 1824, John Shimer built a mill for fulling, dyeing and finishing cloth.
This mill was enlarged in 1829 and leased to William Chamberlain. In 1837
George Shimer took charge of the mill. The freshet of 1842 washed away
the frame building and flooded the machinery, after which a new stone build-
ing was erected, and in 1846 improved machinery was added. Additions were
made two years later. The freshet of 1862 washed away the dam completely;
products of the mill at this time amounted to $60,000 worth of woolen goods
annually, but in 1872 the mills were removed to Allentown. The building
remained idle three years, when a foundry and machine business were estab-
lished and sad-irons, scales, chest-handles and small hardware in general
were manufactured.

Leithsville, another small hamlet in the southwestern part of the town-
ship, received its name from the Leiths, who were the principal property
holders in its vicinity. Bingen, named from the little village on the Rhine,
situated near the western boundary line of the township, grew out of the
organization of the North Pennsylvania Iron Company. This company was
organized mainly through the efforts of William R. Yeager; it was chartered
in 1869; the first furnace was blown June i, 1871, an explosion of the receivers
occurred July 8, 1872, by which accident four lives were lost. The largest
amount of pig metal manufactured in any one year was in 1874 — 10,777 tons.
The property later was acquired by the Bethlehem Steel Works. Bingen
became a post-office in 1871. Seidersville, a collection of about twenty houses
situated in the northwestern part of the township on the road from Bethle-
him and Friedensville, was named after Charles Seider, an early resident,
and became a post-office in 1855. Lower Saucon was formerl}^ a post-office
in the eastern part of the township, and before the days of railroads con-
siderable business was transacted at this point. Redington, first known as
Lime Ridge, on the Lehigh river, in the northeastern part of the township,
came into prominence by the establishment in 1869 of the Coleraine Iron
Company. This company at one time gave employment to 275 men and
owned ten ore mines — four in Northampton county, three in Lehigh and
three in Berks. There were two furnaces connected with the works, which
turn out annually about 26,000 tons of pig iron.

Lower Saucon Church was one of the oldest Reformed congregations
in Northampton county. The first notice of it is in the record of New Gos-
henhopper, in the handwriting of Rev. John Henry Goetschey, who men-
tions "Sacon" as one of the congregations constituting his charge. He
entered the field in 1730 and retired in 1739. In Rev. Michael Schlatter's
Journal, under date of June 28, 1747, he speaks of the congregation being
served by Rev. John Conrad Wirtz. The records of the congregation were
begun March 7, 1756, by Rev. Johannes Egiduis Hecker, who served until
1770, when he was succeeded by the Rev. John Daniel Gross, who remained
until 1773, when he was succeeded by Rev. Johan Wilhelm Pithan, who was
dismissed for intemperance. The next pastor was Rev. John William Ingold,
who after serving a short time became dissatisfied and left. The church was

NORTH.— 1—30.

466 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

then supplied by Rev. Casper Wack until 1782. He was the first minister
born, educated, licensed and ordained by the German Reformed Church in
this country. Rev. John H. Winckhaus supplied the congregation awhile,
and was followed by Rev. John Mann.

The stone church was built in 1751, and was situated on the east side of
the road, in the centre of a tract known as "Good Intent." It was originally
a Reformed congregation, but at the beginning of 1804, action was taken to
sell one-half interest in the church to the Lutherans. A new church was
built in 1816 on the west side of the road ; in 1873 this was torn down, and a
new church, with seating capacity of six hundred, was consecrated May 24,
1874.

Pastors who served the Reformed congregation after the retirement of
Rev. John Mann were: Rev. Hoffmeircr, 1795-1807; Rev. Thomas Pomp,
1807-32; Rev. Samuel Helfenstein, 1833-38; Rev. J. C. Becker, 1839-57; Rev.
A. J. G. Dubbs, 1859 ; Rev. J. S. Kessler, 1860-62 ; Rev. W. R. Hofford, 1863-70 ;
Rev. T. O. Stem, 1870-76; Rev. A. B. Koplin.

Among the early Lutheran pastors were Revs. Christian Endress, William
Rath and C. J. Cooper.

At Leithsville is the New Jerusalem Church, also called Appel's Church,
a Union (Reformed and Lutheran) church, built in 1834. Among the early
Lutheran pastors were : Revs. H. S. Miller, Benjamin German, William
German, J. F. Vogelbach, William Rath. The Reformed pastors were : Rev.
Samuel Hess, who preached from 1834 to 1864; Rev. S. M. K. Huber, from
1864 to 1868; and Rev. A. F. Ziegler.

Members of the Evangelical Church worshipped as early as 1845 in pri-
vate houses, the Rev. Israel Bast generally officiating; finally, in 1863, they
bought an old schoolhouse, which was used as a place of worship. In 1871
they built a church near the northern part of the township.

Upper Mount Bethel Tozvnship — This township was one of the oldest
settled portions of Northampton county. The Ulster-Scots founded about
1730 the old Hunter Settlement, by which name it was known for some
seventeen years. On July 8, 1746, the inhabitants living on the main branch
of the Delaware petitioned the Court of Quarter Sessions for the organiza-
tion of old Mount Bethel township, embracing the district from the mouth of
Turnami creek (probably Martin's creek) up the north branch of said creek,
upon the west side of Jeremiah Best's, to the Blue Mountains, thence by said
mountains to the north branch of said river, and thence by said branch to
the mouth of said Turnami creek, the point of commencement. This com-
posed the territory now included in the towns of Upper and Lower Mount
Bethel and that of Washington. With the organization of this township, the
name of Hunter Settlement passed into disuse. The names appearing on
the petition were : Peter Schur, Jonathan Miller, Arthur Coveandell, Thomas
Roady, Joseph Woodside, George Bogard, James Anderson, David Allen,
James Simpson, Peter Mumbower, Jonathan Garlinghaus, Jonathan Car-
michacl, Richard Quick, Joseph Fuston, Thomas Silleman, Lawrence Covean-
dell, Jeremiah Best, Manus Decher, Joseph Jones, Alexander Hunter, James
Bownons, Jacob Server, Joseph Coler, James Miller, Joseph Quick, Joseph

TOWNSHIPS 467

Ruckman, Thomas McCracen, Thomas Silleman, Coleus Quick, Joseph Car-
son, Edward Moody, Conrad Doll, Thomas Clark, Jonathan Rickey, James
Quick, Patrick Vence, and Robert Liles.

The home and scene of many of the labors of David and John Brainerd,
missionaries among^ the Indians, was in Mount Bethel township. Here the
former gathered around him a congregation of Indian converts and spent
his life traversing that region and administering to the spiritual and tem-
poral wants of the savages. After his death he was succeeded by his brother,
John Brainerd, who made a visit to the Susquehanna country and was on
social terms with the Moravians at Bethlehem.

The Spanish invasion in 1747 into the lower Delaware Bay caused the
colony of Pennsylvanians to make its first war preparations for defense
against an enemy. A call for volunteer militia was made and Bucks county,
notwithstanding a great number of its inhabitants were Quakers and Mora-
vians, promptly furnished its full quota of men. The first to respond were
the hardy Germans and the Scotch-Irish from the valleys of the Lehigh and
Delaware rivers, in sufficient number to head the Third Regiment, which
was the first one of the twenty to be formed north of Philadelphia. The
first defenders from the Forks of the Delaware, under the leadership of
Alexander Hunter, William Craig, James Martin, George Gray, Thomas Arm-
strong and Daniel Brodhead, reached Philadelphia and were part of the pro-
cession of the twenty regiments in review. Their ensign was a blue flag,
with the device of a dove flying from the clouds. Under this was a scroll
containing a Latin inscription, A Deo Victoria. This formidable array
caused the enemy to retreat, and the army was disbanded. Several of the
companies from the Forks country were, however, retained, and their serv-
ices were hired out to the governor of New York by the Pennsylvania
authorities for the purpose of strengthening the army of that colony in the
French and Indian War, and they took part in the siege and fall of Louisburg.

Among the first settlers in Mount Bethel were three brothers — Peter,
Charles and Abraham La Bar. They emigrated from France before 1730,
landed at Philadelphia, and went north in pursuit of a home. They finally
reached the southern base of the Blue Mountains, believing they had pene-
trated beyond the bounds of civilized man. They located a tract of land,
erected a log cabin, and settled about half a mile southwest of the present
village of Slateford. They were the first to clear land on the Delaware above
the mouth of the Lehigh. These hardy pioneers soon established friendly
relations with the Indians, but not long after they found out they were not
the only whites in that region. Nicholas Depui, then an old man, had set-
tled at a place called Shawanese, on the Minisink lands. The La Bar brothers
finally removed north of the Blue Mountains into what is now Monroe
county, where they permanently settled.

. On the erection of Northampton county, Mount Bethel came under its
jurisdiction. In 1757 the whole tax of the township was nine shillings and
six pence, but in 1773 the valuation of the township was £1,942, upon which
the taxes amounted to £26 3s. 2d. At that time it contained 153 taxable
and twenty-five single men. The first elections were held at Easton, but as
the sparsely settled country became more populated, Richmond became the

468 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

voting place. On the division of the old township, March 17, 1787, Williams-
burg became the voting place for Upper Mount Bethel township, and the
elections continued to be held there until 1874, when the township was divided
into two voting districts, Williamsburg and Delpsburg.

The township is bounded on the north by Monroe county, on the east
and south by the Delaware river, and on the south and west b}' the town-
ships of Lower Mount Bethel and Washington. The early industries were
the veritable first grist-mill, built prior to the Revolutionary War, about
half a mile northwest of Williamsburg; it was built of logs, and contained
one run of stones. There was about 1790 an old fulling mill built by Rich-
ard Jacoby, who continued the fulling for a few years, when he converted
the old mill into a wooden factory, where business was conducted for a
number of \ears by Mr. Jacob}'' and his sons. It finally became a school-
slate factory. The early education of the young was confined to a German
school, which was maintained in an old log church a few months in the
winter, at Williamsburg, but this gave place about 1790 to the erection of
the first school-house where English was taught.

The boroughs of Portland and East Bangor have been established within
the boundaries of the township. Slateford. in the northeastern part of the
township at the mouth of Slateford creek, which falls into the Delaware just
south of the village, is a small collection of houses, and has been a post-office
since 1856. The houses were built by James M. Porter about 1805, who
owned and operated slate quarries at that place, and to the slate industry
the village owes all its energy and importance.

Johnsonville, a small village formerly known as Roxburg, founded by
Gilbert Johnson, from which it derived its name, is situated in the southern
portion of the township. The first log building was erected by John Strouss
about 1818. A pottery was started here in 1830 by a Mr. Keller, and about
1832 a small frame tavern was erected by William Mann. Jacobus creek
rises about one mile west of the village and. flowing east about seven miles,
falls into the Delaware at Portland. This creek a half century ago fur-
nished water power for four flouring mills, two saw mills, three slate fac-
tories and a foundry. Some of these industries have disappeared, but the
water-power is still used. The village at this time contained a store and post-
office, a tavern, a carriage shop, a hub and spoke factory, a blacksmith shop,
a cabinet shop, a pottery, and several neat dwellings.

Centreville was known as Brandy-Hook until about 1830, when its
present name was adopted. It was at one time a post-office, and was called
Stone Church, after the old stone church erected there in 1794, which dates
the commencement of the village. Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Centreville was organized previous to 1774, as several baptisms are recorded
in that year. There were present, March 6. 1774, at preparatory services,
forty-five persons, therefore it would seem, judging from the communicants,
that the congregation had been in existence some time. The church was a
log cabin in a large grove of trees, about ten miles north of Williamsburg.
The building becoming inadequate to the wants of the congregations
(Lutheran and Reformed), articles of agreement were entered into May 29,
1704, to build a stone church at Centreville. This edifice answered the pur-

TOWNSHIPS 469

pose for public worship until steps were taken to build a third church, the
cornerstone of which was laid May 6, 1832. Who the first ministers in the
old log church were is not known. The first records do not mention a pastor
until 1786, when Rev. Carl Benjamin Dana was in charge of the congrega-
tion. In the same year Rev. Friederick Niemeyer's name appears as pastor,
filling the position until 1792. The next sixteen years there seems to be a
vacancy in the pastorate, which was filled by supplies. On Good Friday,
April 12, 1805, the Lord's Supper was administered by the pastor, Rev. Chris-
tian Endress, and the following April the name of Rev. F. C. Dill appears as
pastor. The Rev. Carl Wilhelm Colson on Good Friday, 1818, administered
holy communion to 11 1 communicants. The next pastor's name to appear
on the records, May 22, 1819, was Rev. John Augustus Brobst. He preached
at Saucon, Forks, Plainfield and Mount Bethel ; this was his first and only
pastoral charge, and which he served until his death, ^larch 10, 1844, nearly
a quarter of a century. On August 10, 1844, Rev. Marcus Harpel was elected
pastor; after serving the congregation between two and three years he sent
his brother, Rev. Jeremiah Harpel, to serve in his place, which he did between
three and four years. He was not a member of the Synod of Pennsylvania,
to which the congregation had become associated in 1819 ; he was removed
as the regular pastor, and his friends and followers built a church for him at
Roxburg in 1849. Rev. G. A. Wenzel was elected pastor August 27, 1850,
and was succeeded in 1853 by the Rev. William Gerhard, who resigned after
a year of successful labor. On January i, 1855, the Rev. Jacob Albert entered
upon his duties as pastor, and the initiative steps were taken to build a par-
sonage. During his pastorate a congregation was organized and a church
built at Flickville. Rev. Mr. Albert resigned as pastor October i, 1859, and
was succeeded the following year by Rev. Nathan Zaegar, who served until
July I, 1863, when Rev. Ernst Lubkert became his successor. His labors
ceased September i, 1864, and on October 15th, Rev. B. F. Apple was unani-
mously elected pastor, having also charge of the Flickville and Lower Mount
Bethel congregations. The Reformed congregation in early days held its
first meetings jointly with members of the Lutheran Church in a private
house, also in a small log church, and the two churches at Centreville. The
name of only a few of the first Reformed pastors are obtainable ; Rev. Father
Vandersloot was pastor from about 1785 onward. He was succeeded by
Revs. T. L. Hofifeditz, Andrew Young, P. .S. Schorg, I. K. Loos, I. S. Weisz,
W. D. C. Rodrock, H. H. W. Hushman. The church was rebuilt in 1910.
The pastor of the Reformed congregation, in 1915, was Rev. Howard H.
Long; of the Lutheran congregation. Rev. W. F. Wenner.

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized at Centreville.
February ti, i860. Rev. J. J. Burrell, its first pastor, entered upon his duties
in April of that year. A church edifice was erected in i860. Rev. Mr. Bur-
rell continued his pastoral charge until the summer of 1875, when he was
succeeded by the Rev. H. R. Fleck. The centennial jubilee was celebrated
October 30-31 and November i, 1874.

Williamsburg has much of the general appearance of the neighboring
villages in the township. It was one of the three points of the location of
the Hunter Settlement, and became known as "Rum Corner." The earliest

470 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

records of Williamsburg have been lost or destroyed, which leaves much of
its early history traditionary. As early as 1825, Isaac Smith conrmenced
to manufacture cigars in this hamlet. Cigars in those days were cheap,
retailing at eighteen to twenty cents a hundred. In 1875 there were eleven
factories engaged in this industry in Williamsburg, employing thirty-six cigar
workers, manufacturing a yearly output of 2,500,000 cigars, which paid a
revenue tax of $12,600. Another important industry at this time was the
carriage works of Frank Hagerman, erected in 1847. The Williamsburg
Academy was conceived by a few citizens of the town, and in April, 1853,
a building was erected. Jonathan Moore became the first preceptor, which
position he filled twelve years. This school furnished the benefits of intel-
lectual training for many years. At Delpsburg, in the western portion of
the township, a Methodist Episcopal church was erected in 1873.

The population of Mount Bethel in 1870 was 3,764. This, by the organiza-
tion of the boroughs of East Bangor and Portland, has been decreased, and
in 1910 the population was 2,446.

Allen Tozvnship — Allen township is bounded on the north by Lehigh and
Moore townships, on the east by East Allen township, on the south by
Hanover township, and on the west by the Lehigh river, which separates it
from Lehigh county. East Allen township was a part of Allen township
until 1845, when it became a separate district.

The first permanent settlement in what is now Northampton county was
made in Allen township, on the banks of the Hokendauqua (searching for
land), and Catasauqua (the land is dry) creeks by a sturdy band of Scotch-
Irish in 1728. The center of this settlement was at Weaversville. The leader
was James Craig, a kinsman of William Allen, hence it is sometimes called
"Craig Settlement." Tradition has it that when the first settlers arrived, one
of them asked for a drink, whereupon an Indian squaw said, "Give me a
gourd and I will fetch you some," and that she disappeared and returned
with the gourd full of cool, sparkling water. This led to the discovery of a
fine spring, the finding of which led them to select the place for their future
homes. The first settlers were: James Craig, Thomas Craig, Hugh Wilson
and his three sons, Thomas, Samuel and Charles ; Thomas Armstrong, Robert
Gregg, James King, John McNair, John and Robert Walker, James Ralston,
John Hays, Arthur Lattimore, James Horner and James Kerr. Several
years later other families followed. They were all staunch Presbyterians,
and soon after their arrival erected a small log church in the meadow of
James Craig. Here that man of God, David Brainerd, occasionally preached
to the settlers and also to the Indians. On October 9, 1744, he writes in his
diary: "God was gracious to me, and I was much assisted in preaching (in
the settlement). I know not that ever God helped me to preach in a more
close and distinguished manner, for the trial of men's state. Through the
infinite goodness of God, I felt what I spoke and was enabled to treat the
truth with uncommon clearness."

It is recorded that after Brainerd preached, the people would retire to
pra}r among the hazel bushes which grew all around, and then he would come
and comfort them. Mrs. King (whose husband James died in 1745, and who
was the first whose remains were laid in the Settlement Cemetery) often

TOWNSHIPS 471

with a child in her arms would ride on horseback with others of the settlers
twenty miles to Alount Bethel to hear Brainerd preach. In his journal he
speaks of his labors and success among the Indians in the Forks as "the
wonders of God in the wilderness."

At the June term of court, 1746, the inhabitants living on the west branch
of the Delaware petitioned to have the boundary of a township fixed as fol-
lows : "From the mouth of Monokosey, up the middle branch of said creek
to the Blue Mountains, and thence by said mountains to the west branch of
the river (Lehigh), and thence down said branch to the mouth of the said
Monokosey." They further declare that they labor under great inconveni-
ence for want of roads to go to mills, market and the county court. The
petitioners were: Hugh Wilson, James Carruthers, George Gray, James Pal-
stone, Francis Linfield, Jonathan Riddle, William Young, James Horner,
Jonathan McNeely, 'Thomas Boyd, Samuel Barron, Christopher Ambrest,
Michael Favion, Joseph Latimore, William Clendinnen, Thomas Craig, Jona-
than Walker, James Alexander, Thomas Hutchinson, Joseph Kerr, Robert
Clendinnen, William Detur, James Allison, Arthur Latimore, .William Boyde,
Jonathan Ramsberry, Henry Deck, Peter Doll, Joseph Pell}-, Robert Latti-
more, William Craig, Jonathan McNair, James Craig, Jonathan Kerr, Samuel
Brown, Joseph Wright, Jonathan Delur, James Gray, William McConnel,
Thomas Thompson, Christian Doll, Roland Smith, Frederick Aldimus, Thomas
Biers, Jonathan Kennedy, William McCaa, Jonathan Cock, David Kerr,
James Kerr, Robert Dobbin, -Jonathan Boyd, Thomas Armstrong, Jonathan
Clendinnen, Jonathan McCartney, Michael Glide, James Kennedy, Simon
Drom, Christian Miller, Joseph Biers, Frederick Miller, Joseph Brown. The
township was first called Mill Creek, but was later changed to Allen.

The second church was a log structure, and stood on the north side of
the Bath road, opposite the house formerly occupied by Absalom Reichard.
It was erected about 1772. It was from its pulpit that Rev. Rosbrough
enlisted a company in the struggle for independence. In 1761 the congre-
gation purchased a farm of eighty-two acres, known today as the Muscoe
farm, on the Kreidersville road, from Samuel Wilson, for a parsonage farm ;
it was sold about 1802. Those who contributed towards its purchase were:
Samuel Wilson, James Craig, A. Latimore, Charles Wilson, John Walker,
James Kerr, William Heaslet, James Horner, John Riddle, David Chambers,
John Ralston, Mary King, Robert Latimore, William jMcNair, John McNair,
Alexander Dobbin and Thomas Herron. On September 3, 1796, the con-
gregation was granted a charter by the Legislature, on a petition signed at
a meeting of the congregation March 21, 1796, signed by John Hays, William
Carr, Samuel Wilson, Hugh Horner, John McNair, Thomas Horner, Joseph
Horner, James Kerr, John Walker, James Ralston, John Partridge, William
Lattimorc, James Hays, John Wilson, James Clyde, Joseph Burk, Robert
Andrews, James Doak, John Brown, Charles Mcloy, John Craig, Abraham
Mensch, Daniel Mulhatton, J. Ralston, Thomas McBurney, Mathu Duncan,
John Clyde, David Jolly.

In 1 791 a schoolhouse was erected, which was demolished in 1873. I*
was built by popular subscription, forty-one persons subscribing, amounts
ranging from a shilling to five pounds. The first trustees were Christian
Hagenbuch, James Carr and John McNair. The third church was com-

472 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

menced in 1813, but not completed until 1818. It is still standing, but no
longer used. The few remaining families of the early settlers worshipped
with the Presbyterian congregation at Bath. The burial ground nearby the
church is well kept, and is one of the oldest in the county. In earlier times
dead were brought from a great distance fur interment in it. Many promi-
nent persons are buried here. A few of the many interesting epitaphs are :

In memory of Hugh Wilson, Esq., who was born in Ireland, A.D. 1689.
Departed this life in the autumn of 1773, aged eighty-four years.

In memory of Jean, the wife of James Horner, who suffered death at the
hands of the savage Indians, eighth of October, 1763, aged fifty years.

Sacred to the memory of Dr. Matthew McHenry, who departed this life.
December 13th. 1783, in the 40th year of his age.

Sacred to the memory of General Robert Brown, a Patriot and Soldier
of the Revolution, died February 26th, 1823, aged 78 years and two months.

In memory of Mrs. Jane Rosbrugh, who departed this life March 27th, 1809,
aged 70 years. Relict of the Rev. John Rosbrugh, formerly pastor of this con-
gregation, who fell a victim to British cruelty at Trenton. January 2nd. 1777.

Both in times of peace and in war, in matters of church and state, this
little group of pioneers wielded an influence all out of proportion according
to their numbers. Gen. Thomas Craig was the first officer to offer his
services to the Continental Congress, of which James Ralston was a member.
John Craig, captain in the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment of Light Dra-
goons, was pronounced by Gen. Washington the best horseman in the Con-
tinental army. Practically every able-bodied male member of the congre-
gation served in the cause of Independence. Dr. Mathew McHenry was
surgeon to the Provincial ship Montgomery.

The church of Allen Township is a monument of that grand work of
our early days, which had such a vast influence upon the whole destiny of
our Presbyterianism. The first great settlement of the Scotch-Irish Presby-
terians was in the "Forks of the Delaware." and that region \na\ thcirfore
be considered as the old home of our church.

Even such an important colony as that of the C'umberhind \ alle\ can
look back to that locality as the birth of many of its most important families.
Our own Presbyter}^ of the Neshaminy received thence many of the founders
of its churches. Throughout our whole church some of the greatest and
best members trace the lines of their ancestry to that favored spot.

It appears that there was a division among the Presbyterians of the
colony at the middle of the eighteenth century. This caused a number to
withdraw from the old congregation and to erect a church on the farm lately
owned by John Laubach, at Howertown, known as the .Seceder's Church.
This division saddened many a heart, and was, we are told, the reason for
many of the members of both congregations to remove from the settlement.
They were, however, poor farmers as compared with their more industrious
and frugal German neighbors, who gradually acquired their farms, and they
drifted to the towns and cities and became merchants and professional men.
For a century and more the German element clung to the soil. They have
become anglicized, are found in the professions and in business, and the

TOWNSHIPS 473

Austrian-German, the Hungarian and the Slavonians of the recent immigra-
tion, who came here to labor in the cement mills, are beginning to supplant
them on the farms, like their forefathers did the Scotch-Irish.

Rev. John Rosbrugh, "the clerical martyr of the Revolution," was born
in 1714, shortly before his family left Scotland for the North of Ireland,
from where he and his elder brother William came to America. They set-
tled in New Jersey, where John attended Princeton College, graduating in
1761. His first pastorate was that of the Tennent or Brainerd church at
Greenwich. On April 3, 1769, Rev. Rosbrugh accepted a call from the Allen-
town (Allen township) congregation, and the following year he removed to
Allen township. Doubtless the influence that brought him here was that of
his wife's family, she being a daughter of James Ralston.

After the battle of Long Island, Northampton county was in a feverish
excitement; many of its sons had spilled their blood in the cause of liberty.
The Council of Safety of Pennsylvania authorized Gen. Washington to call
out all ablebodied men. Washington sent a most urgent appeal to Allen
township, where Col. John Siegfried lived. Rev. Rosbrugh having assem-
bled the congregation, read to them the call for reinforcement, and, ascend-
ing the pulpit, took for his text. Judges 5 : 23 : "Curse ye Meroz, saith the
angel of the Lord; curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they
came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty,"
and urged them to enlist and offered to accompany them as their chaplain.
They accepted his challenge, but insisted that he accompany them as their
commanding officer. He returned home, told his wife, whose brother-in-
law was a prisoner of war in one of the fatal prison ships at New York, of
his intentions, made his will, and arranged for his departure on the following
day. Practically all the congregation met the next day, and the ablebodied
men formed a company and under the leadership of their pastor marched
away, going toward Philadelphia, where they arrived December 24, 1776.
In the minutes of the Council of Safety, December 26, 1776, the following
i.s recorded: "Commission made out for Jno. Rosbrugh. as Chaplain to 3d
battalion of Northampton militia." Thus was he relieved of the command
of the company which he mustered and led to the seat of war, and Capt. John
Hays assumed the responsibility of this position. Rev. Rosbrugh's duties
were now those of chaplain, not simply to the company which he raised,
but to all those troops from Northampton county known as the Third Bat-
talion of militia under the command of Col. John Siegfried.

From "An account (•]' nujne} paid by Captain Hays of Northampton
County" to his company in the city of Philadelphia of their monthly wages
paid December 27, 1776, we have the following roll of his company:

Captain, Robert Ha\s: Lieutenant. Wiliiani Caruthers, discharged Jan.
9. ^777 > Ensign, Thomas Horner.

Privates: James Doak. William MafFitt, Alexander N'anhan, John Clyde,
discharged Jan. 17, 1777; James Lattimore. Benjamin Stuart. Moses Camp-
bell, discharged Jan. 17. 1777; John McFadden.*James Royd. George Gray,
Moses Cangleton, Rev. Mr. John Rosbrugh. discharged Tan. 3, 1777; Robert
T-attimore. Michael Mallo^-. William Kairns. Thoma'^ Herron, John Horner,
John Walker, Joseph Likens. Daniel McATullin. Robert Doak, John Over-
shimer, John Humes, Moses Cronklton. John Brisl^an, liischarged Jan. 14,
1777-

474 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Col. Thomas Craig, who rendered valuable service in the war for inde-
pendence, was born in Allen township, Northampton county, October 26,
1739. He was commissioned, January 5, 1776, captain of a company in Col.
Arthur St. Clair's Second Pennsylvania Battalion. This battalion saw stren-
uous service in Canada and participated in several engagements, the prin-
cipal one at Three Rivers. Captain Craig was promoted to lieutenant-colonel
on September 7, 1776; on August i, 1777, he was commissioned colonel of
the Third Penns3lvania Regiment. He participated in _the battles of Ger-
mantovv'H, Monmouth and Brandywine, and in his own words, "served faith-
fully from the commencement of the late war to the end of it." Colonel
Craig was at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78, and it was through him
that Mrs. Lydia Darragh conveyed to Washington the warning of Howe's
expected attack at Whitemarsh, she having overheard the plans discussed
by the British officers at her home. Colonel Craig was retired January i,
1783. On July I, 1783, he was appointed county lieutenant of Northampton
county. In 1784 he was appointed associate judge, clerk of courts and
recorder of Montgomery county. In 1789 he removed to Towamcnsing town-
ship. In 1798 he was commissioned major-general of the militia of the State,
which position he held at the opening of the War of 1812 and initil the year
1814. He removed to Allcntown, where he died January 13, 1832, aged
ninetv-two years, and was buried with military and Masonic honors. The
procession marched to the cemetery to the funeral strains of the Bethlehem
band, the tolling of bells and the firing of minute-guns. After the interment
and the friends had retired to the Lutheran Church, the Lehigh Artillerists
fired four salutes over the grave and then marched to the church, where the
sermon was delivered by Rev. Joshua Yeager. General Craig's remains now
rest in Fairview cemetery. He married Doroth}^ Breinig, a daughter of
Col. George Breinig.

In 1802 the Mennonite congregation of Whitehall and Allen townships,
which formerly worshipped in the log structure at Siegfried's Ferrj', erected
a new meeting house along the King's highway, leading from Howertown
to Kreidersville, on a plot of ground given by Thomas Horner and wife by
a deed dated February 11, 1802, "to Jacob Baer, Jacob Hiestand, John Zieg-
ler and Samuel Landis, in trust for the Mennonite congregation of White-
hall and Allen townships and in trust for church purposes or for schools
imder the yearly quit rent." At a congregational meeting held soon after
the passing of the deed, it was decided to proceed to the erection of a frame
building, 30 by 26 feet, and John Ziegler and Samuel Funk were appointed
a building committee. Twenty-eight persons subscribed to the building,
fund of £84 4s., in sums varying from 3s. 4d. to £12.

There are no records of the congregational life and activities of the wor-
shippers in this church. In former years there were regular preaching serv-
ices. The names of those who ministered to these people are: Valentine
Young, Samuel Museelman, Christian Bliem, John Bachtel, William Gch-
man, John Oberholtzer, Christian Clemmar, David Henning, William Shelly,
Henry Dichl, Jonas Musselman. Through death the congregation, which
was never large, gradually declined. The building was also used for school
purposes, and Rev. Cyrus J. Becker at one time taught in it. During the

TOWNSHIPS 475

last decade a Sunday school was held in the meeting house, and also an
occasional service. In later years there were occasional services, among
those preaching being Levi Young, Tilghman Seiple, Lewis Taylor, C. J.
Becker, Samuel Landis and J. Y. Schultz. The late Moses Gottshall related
how he was greatly annoyed by wasps on one occasion when conducting a
preaching service in the church. In 1884 the church was renovated and the
cemetery enclosed by a wall. The names of the burials in the cemetery
have been published in the "Life of Col. John Siegfried," by Rev. J. B. Stoudt.
The descendants of members of the congregation today, with a few excep-
tions, are members of the neighboring Reformed congregations, their nearest
kin in faith and practice. On July 14, 1908, William Landis, trustee ap-
pointed by the court, sold the meeting house to the Allen township school
district for the consideration of $500, which sum is held in trust by William
Landis, as trustee, "for beautifying and keeping in repair the cemetery
adjoining the old church." The school district has again sold the building
and it is now used as a dwelling.

To the north of Weaversville, at the crossing of the Kreidersville and
Bath roads, is a cluster of houses known as Howertown, taking its name
from the Hower family. Near it is located St. John Church (Union Church),
usually referred to as the Howertown Church, which was organized in 1833.
At the burial of Mrs. Beaver at Schoensvillc, in the winter of 1832-33, George
Hower suggested to Rev. J. C. Becker that the time had come for the erec-
tion of a church in the vicinity of Weaversville or Howertown, and that he
would donate the ground for the same. Similar offers were made by Jacob
Deshlcr, Peter Laubach and John Hagenbuch. At a meeting held at the
house of Peter Laubach, April 30, 1833, attended by sixteen persons, it was
resolved to accept the offer of Mr. Hagenbuch. At a second meeting at the
home of Jacob Bayer, February i, 1834, it was decided to erect a church. At
a third meeting, held December 29, 1834, a constitution was adopted, and
the L^nion Congregation was formally constituted. The following persons
constituted the first joint consistory : Reformed Elders George Weber and
Jacob Koch ; Deacons George Audenreid, Samuel Muffly, David Deshler and
Peter Strauss ; Trustee David Bliem ; Lutheran Elders Abraham Hartman
and Henry Kleim ; Deacons John Heberling, Daniel Spanglyer, Henry Miller
and George Schaeffcr; Trustee Conrad Beil. The cornerstone was laid June
8, 1835, and the edifice, 50 by 55 feet, was dedicated Christmas of the same
year. The total cost was $3,685.00. In 1847 ^ Sunday school was organ-
ized, which has continued ever since. The present beautiful house of wor-
ship was erected in 1905 at a cost of $26,000. The pastors of the congrega-
tions have been : Reformed — J. C. Becker, C. J. Becker, D. I. Schiery, G. J.
Laubach ; Lutheran — August Fuchs, S. A. Ziegenfuss, H. F. Kuder, D. F.
Green, J. D. Koch.

In 1862 a new cemetery was opened by Peter Laubach, across the street
from ihe old cemetery. Four years later the plot owners organized them-
selves into the Greenwood Cemetery Company, which was granted a charter
by the court of the county, April 22, 1867. The cemetery contains many fine
monuments, and is one of the most pretty and best kept cemeteries to be
found anywhere. A buriel record of both the old and new cemeteries has
been published by the congregation.

476 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Bethlehem Tozunship — The papulation of this township had increased in
1750 to 450 souls, and the next score of years it has reached 950; of these
there appears to have been 163 subject to taxation as property holders, of
whom eighteen were Aloravians. The real estate valuation of the town in
1773 was £3,671, of which £1,507 was held b}' Moravians. The Bethlehem
township tax in that year, including the villages, was £51 3s. There were
seventy-seven single men over twcnt\'-one years of age. The population in
1780 numbered 1,375, but the following decade it was decreased to 950, owing
to the erection of the township of Nazareth. At the middle of the nineteenth
century there were 2,104 inhabitants, divided into 405 families, who occu-
pied 371 dwelling houses and operated 153 farms. The yearly production
of tlie iriitcr was 49,023 bushels of wheat, 22,062 bushels of rye, 41,390 bushels
(jf corn. 18,460 bushels of oats, 9,607 bushels of potatoes, 48,045 pounds of
butler and J. 142 tons of hay. Tlic \'aluation of 12,524 acres of real estate
at $78.18 per acre was $979,126. The number of taxable persons was 670,
and the five hundred scholars attended eleven schools. The manufacturing
industries were limited to four sjrist-miils. four lime kilns, two boot and shoe
factories, one saw mill, one brick yard. The mercantile interests consisted
of six taverns and seven stores.

There are now in the townsjiip ten school houses, furnished with all
modern apparatus and apidiances of education. There are five small vil-
lages— Middletown, ufirth of Frecmansburg, has about sixteen dwellings;
Butztown, on the cement road between Easton and AUentown, is in the
center of the township, a post-office, with a tavern, store and about twenty
dwellings; Altona, one mile north of the cit\ of Bethlehem, is a small ham-
let, with about sixteen dw^ellings ; Brodhcad Station is in the northeastern
part ol the township, near the line of Lower Nazareth. Farmersville, in
the eastern part of the townshi]i, is situated on the trolley line between
Easton and Bethlehem ; here is about a dozen houses, a school, and St.
John's Church. This church owes its foundation to a meeting held in
Januar> , 1846, at the stone school house. It was resolved at this meeting
to purchase a lot and build a union church for the Lutheran and Reformed
congregations. The cornerstone was laid May 30-31. 1846, and the dedica-
tion took place the following January. The cost of the church was $3,500.

Among the Lutheran pastors were Revs. Marcus Harpel, Smith,

— ■ Bergenniyer, J. B. Rath and L W. Barber, who was pastor from

1871 to 1881. Some of the Reformed pastors were: Revs. Max Stein, D. F.
Brandlee, W. D. Rodrock, H. H. W. Hepburn. Shimmcrtown and Hopes-
ville, in the southern portion of the township, are two small hamlets. The
popul.Ttion of the township of Bethlehem by the census of 1910 was about
3,o<'h:).

JVilliams Totmiship — The organization of Williams townshii) in 1750
preceded the erection of Northampton county by two years. William Allen,
one of the early purchasers of colonial lands, took possession of lands beyond
the boundaries of those acquired by the Proprietaries, and in early days he
attempted to obtain possession of a large tract in the northern part of the
province belonging to the Indians, which lie was obliged to relinquish. He

TOWNSHIPS 477

purchased, August 29, 172S. a 20,000-acre tract, mostly situated in what is
now Williams township, and which became known as Williams' Land. This
had formerly belonged to William Penn, a descendant of the founder of the
colony, and had been bequeathed to him by the latter's will. The boundaries
of this tract was a subject of dispute, the white settlers claiming the Lehigh
Hills, the red men the river, but in an early day John Logan, the land agent
of the colony, established a southern line as a division between Bucks and
Northampton counties. The surface of the township is one continuous hill
and valley. The early German settlers simply took possession of whatever
lands they desired, without right and title, many of the titles not being per-
fected for nearly thirty years. Prominent among the hills was one named
by the early settlers as Hepikoft Hill. This hill was an Indian shrine, and
to the south of it in Bucks county was another hill known as Rattlesnake
Hill. On the latter hill was a jasper mine, from which was made spear-
heads by the Indians and was zealously guarded by a tribe of Shawnee
Indians. At the foot of Hepikoft Hill there are still to be found shavings
of jasper which were made in the manufacture of the spear-heads. At the
top of this hill is a natural rock formation which in the distance has all the
resemblance of a huge bear. Members of the western tribes of Indians
visited this locality for the purpose of purchasing jasper for their spear-
heads, but the source of the production was kept an inviolate secret. On
the arrival of the white settlers the jasper mines were discontinued, and the
location was given the name of Witch's Head. It has been the subject of
numerous weird and mysterious stories, which in course of time have died
out, being only revived at the present time by professors of witchcraft.

The township is situated in the southeastern corner of the county, and
is bordered on the north by the Lehigh river, separating it from Palmer
township and the city of Easton, on the east by the Delaware river, on the
south by Bucks county, and on the west by the township of Lower Saucon.
Nearly the entire surface of the township is covered by the Lehigh hills,
beginning at the Delaware and extending southwest. The soil along the
river is limestone land, which is very productive, while the hills are more
gravelly, but have been raised to a high state of cultivation by the farmers
utilizing the lime of the low lands.

At the time of the organization of the town the population was fully
one hundred and fifty. Among these were: Melchoir Hay, Michael Schu-
macher, Philip Bozzerd, Martin Lehr, George Raub, Uri Bast, Nicholas Bast,
Adam Merkle, Jeremiah Bast, George William Kale or Koehl, and George
Bast, all of German stock; there were, however, a few of the English speak-
ing race among the early settlers. In 1760 the population had increased to
250. In 1773 the total valuation of real estate in the township was £966;
in that year the taxes amounted to £9 5s. lod., and the number of taxables
was seventy-eight, the single men being five. The population in 1850 had
increased to 2,634, but by the census of 1870 there were only 2,428, an
apparent decrease of 206, but it must be remembered that in 1850 the popu-
lation of South Easton and Glendon was included in the township's popu-
lation. At the last census of 1910 the population was given at 1,819. The
iron ore deposits and furnaces have been dealt with elsewhere in this work.

478 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Along- the banks of the Delaware there is an inexhaustible supply of lime-
stone.

Raubsville, a post-office situated in the eastern part of the township on
the Delaware river, is a small gathering of dwellings. It was named for the
family of Raubs, who were the first settlers in that vicinity. Among the
early settlers of this hamlet was Dr. Peter Sailer. He was exiled from his
native land, Germany, for witchcraft, and on coming to America went to a
fellow countryman at Phillipsburg, New Jersey, but finally located at Raubs-
ville. He gained a reputation for his miraculous cures from Massachusetts
to Georgia, and of two of these we take note. Meeting on the road a set-
tler suffering from a cut made by an axe, he treated the wound, which was
in his foot, by gathering an herb or weed by the wayside, which he chewed
in his mouth and applied as a poultice, and after one or two treatments the
wound healed. Another case was a woman who had been given up to death
by Philadelphia practitioners. She was suffering with a throat disease, and
by squeezing her neck and applying medicine, in a short time, after several
treatments, she was restored to health. Dr. Sailer practiced medicine for
over fifty years at Raubsville, and administered to patients who sought his
advice not only in his immediate vicinity but to those who came a great
distance to receive relief. He died in 1805. His posterity gained an envi-
able reputation in the medical world, and at the present time Dr. Wilhelm
Sailer, of the fourth generation, a graduate of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, still practices at Raubsville. His predecessors had no established
fees for their services, but accepted whatever the patients chose to bestow
on them. Their services were in demand throughout the eastern section of
the country.

About four miles from the Delaware river, on a road leading from
Raubsville to Hellertown, is the Old Williams Township Church. In a field
at the foot of Morgan's Hill, on the site of the present reservoir, in what is
now Cedarville, stood a church in 1730, organized by Rev. John Casper
Stoever, Jr., and was called "Die Germande Am Delaware Revier von der
Luthensche Religin." The olden time church of logs was used several
years, but was finally demolished in December, 1762. This was probably
the largest Lutheran congregation of that period in America. Here wor-
shipped all the Lutherans of Upper Jersey. During the first few years serv-
ices were held only on important religious anniversaries. Later they were
held more frequently or whenever an itinerant preacher could be procured.
On the day preceding these special services, to notify the inhabitants of the
event, huge bonfires were built on the summit of Morgan's Hill, which
illuminated the country for fort}' miles around. The members of this
remarkable congregation, whose names are here recorded, constituted nearly
the entire population at the Forks and the regions round about :

George Raub, Jacob Raub, Peter Raub, Martin Manlin, Michael Raub,
Jacob Kister, John Lerch, Michael Meyer, John Bast, Jacob Bast, Jeremiah
Bast, Leonard Kister, John Adam Schnell, John Schuch, Magnus Decker,
Henrich Decker, Bernhard Wilhelm, Leonard Hartzell, George Wilhelm
Koehl, Adam Bayer, John Henrich Kleinhans, Balzer Hess, Peter Hess, Con-
rad Hess, Michael Hess, Frederich Hess, Michael Bernhard, Laurence Mer-

TOWNSHIPS 479

kel, Frederick Giehrast, Nicholas Ensel, Nicholas Kern, Wilhelm Gahr,
Wendel Brechbiehl, John Bleyler, John Feit, John Adam Schwartzwelder,
Peter Reiser, Powel Reiser, Mathais Bruch, Jacob Abel, Daniel Wormbsea,
Peter Quattlebaum, Leonard Vogelmann, Elias Hesel, John Berger, Frede-
rich Lunger, Dr. Peter Sailer, John Conrad Vogelman, Michael Wilhelm,
Jacob Geyer, Henry Frantz, Henry Giehrast, Paul Reeser, Jacob Roden-

hoster. Wilhelm Volbrecht, Peter Moelich, Johan Yost, Rothenber-

ger, Johan Michael Enders (Andrews), Wilhelm Kern, Johan Philip Oden-
vvelder, Jacob Maurer, Jacob Koch, Johan Frantz Mehrbos, Christian Miller,
Jacob Gukert, Powell Frantz, Jacob Brotzman, Christian Mohr, Bodrik De
Winne, Gerhardt Mohr, Peter Wohleber, Frederick Brotzman, Gottfried
Moelich, Michael Schumacher, Johan Schumacher, Godfried Reich, Jacob
Zug, Peter Lerch, Jacob Ritschy, Elias Meyer, Mathias Fraunfelder, John
Faas, Thomas Fein, Jacob Bentz, Rudolph Dantzeler, Henrich Luck, John
Adam Frickeroth, Jacob Beutelman, Wilhelm Kern, Christian Eckert,
Christopher Kintzel, Jacob Dech, John Alelchoir, Godfried Klein, Andrew
Grub, Peter Grub, Wilhelm Phillip, Elias Dietrich, George Mathias Otto,
Conrad Fritz, Adam Schmidt, John Weiler, John Feber, John Michael
Leder, Christopher Falkenburg, Leonard Kiefer, John Bartholomew, Peter
Lantz, Nicholas Lantz, Conrad Zeller, John Sherffenstein, Johan Peter
Richer, Jacob Schaup, John Bast, Mathias Unzinger, Johan Philip Dick,
Philip Bozzerd, Michael Koch, Jacob Paddendorfer, Valentine Schultz, Peter
Wolleber, George Reimel, John Peter Edelman, Andrew Miller, George Dit-
man, John Wildrick, Peter Herring, John Klackner, Johan Philip Weltz,
Jacob Miller, Sebastian Keyser, Mathias Schmidt, Mathias Pentz, Henry
Reimschmidt, Jacob Weltz, Johan Pohl, Jacob Reich, Jacob Trieb, Joseph
Aninger, Anton Hener, Johan Drumheller, George Shick, John Daniel Rein-
heimer, George Henry Unangst, Philip Opp, George Michael Krauss, John
Peter Schonfelter, John Christian Heil, Geo. Sickman, Jacob Kutzler, John
Enneger. Henry Schrenk, Jacob Loefflcr, Christopher Falkenberger, Lud-
wig Ditman, Johan Jacob Peisher, Henry Haudenshield, Jacob Ritter, John
Conrad Wollenweber, Jacob Rumfelt, John Ludwig Repsher, Philip Wen-
del Opp, Jacob Klipel, Powel Kuntz, Henry Salmon, Baltzer Dielman,
Frederich Kuhn, Mathias Unsinger, Jacob Zeller.

Not only these but their wives and grown children helped to swell the
membership, making a congregation of nearh^ three hundred people. The
later history of this church is given in an article on Easton, in this work.
The records of the church, which was organized in the middle part of the
eighteenth century, are still extant. Among the successors of the Rev. Dr.
Stoevcr were Johann Justus Birkinstock, who ceased his labors in 1749, when
Rev. Rudolph Heinrich Schrenk became pastor, and his charge of the con-
gregation continued until 1756, when he was succeeded by Rev. Johannes
Andreas Friederics, who preached the gospel to the congregation until 1760.
For the next nine years the Rev. Johann George Weisner officiated ; he was
succeeded in 1770 by Rev. Christian Streit. A new era of the church seems
to have begun with the adoption in 1792 of a "Church Discipline." From
1783 to 1826 the following ministers officiated: Revs. Johann Andreas
Friederics, John Conrad Yeager, Christian Endress, John Augustus Brobst,
John P. Flecht, and Johann Heinrich Hofifmeister ; the latter was pastor
in 1831. The church was formerly used by the Lutheran and Reformed
congregations, but afterwards became known as St. Luke's Lutheran Church.
In the early seventies of the past century it was remodeled, and the one
hundredth anniversary*was celebrated in 1913. From 1877 to 1913 the fol-
lowing were pastors: Revs. J. O. Upp, William Bieber, H. B. Ritter.

aSc) NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

There was standing in the township in 1S84 a stone structure built by
John Zeller, used by the Lutheran and Reformed congregations in an early
day, and called St. John's Church. On the old Philadelphia road was built
in 1872 a Methodist Episcopal church, a frame building with a stone base-
ment, on a site where a church had been erected in 1839. Located in Stout's
Valley was a small frame building built by the Methodist denomination.
The Raubsvillc Methodist Episcopal Church was erected about 1876.

Immediately south of Easton is what is known as Morgan's Hill, where
in the early part of the nineteenth century a store and tavern were main-
tained by Mrs. Morgan. She gained a wide reputation, and was in derision
called by some people a bad woman, a witch woman, but without any founda-
tion whatsoever. She was a refined and highly educated lady, her advice
being sought by her neighbors in any sickness or disputes that might arise,
and she became known as der mommy among the Germans, which, in her
day, was a great distinction. Her maiden name was Elizabeth Bell ; she was
the pretty daughter of Jacob and Ann Bell, Orthodo.x Quakers, residing
prior to the Revolutionary War on Front street, Philadelphia. There was
in that city at this time a young grocer, Hugh Bay, son of Rev. Andrew
Bay, a chaplain in the Provincial army, who succumbed to the charms of
the young Quaker maiden. Being not of their faith, his .suit was frowned
upon by her parents and he was refused admittance to the Bell domicile.
At the report of the British army coming towards Philadelphia, Elizabeth
removed the leaden weights from her father's clock and converted them into
bullets for her soldier lover, who was a member of the noted artillery com-
pany in the Continental service. This act caused a flurry in Quakerdom and
so enraged her father that he forthwith transferred her to Europe to finish
her education. Four years elapsed, and her father, thinking his daughter
had outlived her early infatuation, allowed her to return home. Elizabeth
was, however, true to her first love, and married Hugh Bay in Swedes'
Church, Philadelphia, August 16, 1781. This act so shocked the Orthodox
Quaker congregation that at a special meeting Elizabeth was expelled for
marrying a worldl_y man. Her father died a few years later, leaving her a
part of his wealth. Her husband maintained a fine home on a fashionable
street in Philadelphia, but unfortunately died three years after his marriage,
leaving one child. Anna. After six years of widowhood Elizabeth married,
September 2, 1790, Dr. Abel Morgan, a prominent physician of Philadelphia,
and formerly a surgeon in the Continental army. Two months later her
mother died, and with the exception of the birth of another daughter nothing
eventful transpired until 1793, the year of the great epidemic in Philadelphia.
Dr. Morgan removed his family from that city to the Lehigh Hills, leaving his
home in charge of colored servants. He selected for his retreat a hotel on
the top of a hill overlooking the "Forks of the Delaware." This location
was a favorite one of Dr. Morgan, as he encamped there with his regiment
during his military service. After seeing his family comfortably settled, he
returned to Philadelphia to help stamp out the epidemic. His wife not
receiving any communication for two months, and the quarantine of the cit)^
being removed, concluded to return home. On arriving in Philadelphia
she found the servants had decamped from her hom<?, ransacking and con-

TOWNSHIPS 481

liscating everything of value. Her husband had contracted the malady and
died within a few days after his arrival, being buried in the trench along
with those who had succumbed to the disease. This affliction required for-
titude on the part of the widow, who disposed of her home and all her
interests in Philadelphia and returned to the Hills in Williams township
with the purpose of living in quiet retirement with her two daughters. She
never returned to Philadelphia, but purchased the hotel property, where she
lived for upwards of fifty years. Mrs. Morgan made use of her excellent
education ; she possessed a fine library, and her favorite pastime was reading
law books, of which she had a complete set. These were kept on a bench
in the public room, where she would dispense law when occasion required.
This room in time became the popular retreat for those of her neighbors
who could not settle their difTerences themselves. They would invariably
refer their case to this improvised court. A request for her decision was
never refused ; both old and young respected her judgment and seldom was
there an appeal to a higher tribunal. This condition of affairs brought forth
a protest from the legal fraternity of Easton, who endeavored by various
methods to break up the practice. Reflections as to her character and the
character of the place were made, bringing her name into ridicule with the
unthinking. All this unkindness toward the "Widow Morgan" only in-
creased her popularity. Few of these gentry of the bar could boast of a
better legal education than Elizabeth Morgan, and none of a better univer-
sity training; her last will and testament (written by herself), for scholarly
composition and legal construction, is the peer of any like instrument of
any member of the legal fraternity of her day. Steeled to adversity, never
showing resentment towards her traducers, living a good and true life, a
kind and generous neighbor, ministering to the afflicted, adjusting neigh-
borly disputes for many years, she died October 16, 1839, aged eighty years,
and was buried in the Reformed cemetery on Mount Jefferson (now the site
of the new library). Her obsequies were attended by people from far and
near, her funeral cortege being nearly two miles long, reaching from the
cemetery gates to a point along the Philadelphia road beyond Lachenour
Heights, South Side.

Forks Township — Forks township is one of the original townships of
Northampton county, and was incorporated in 1754. Formerly it extended
westward to the townships of Bethlehem and Lower and Upper Nazareth,
and southward to the Lehigh river. The present boundaries are : on the
north, by Plainfield township; on the northeast and east by Lower Mount
Bethel and the Delaware river; on the south, by Easton; and on the west,
by Palmer township. The township is well watered and supplied with
power by the Bushkill creek and the smaller streams flowing into it.

The first settlers were chiefly German, which has always been the pre-
ponderating nationality in the township. Among the names of the first are
those of Melchoir Stecker, George Stecker, Michael Messinger, Jacob Shoe-
maker, George Messinger, David Owens, John Lefevre, a French Huguenot,
Jacob Young, Joseph Potts, William Bingham, Samuel Powell, John Van
Ettcn, James Young, John Young, William Smith, Jacob Uhler, and John

NORTH.— 1—31.

482 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Nicholas Kemmerer, Frederick Lerch, Valentine Uhler, and John Koehler,
as well as those of Sandt, Werkheiser, Schwartz, Fraunfelder, Sigman,
Kocker, Rippel, Raesley and others. Col. Jacob Arndt was not among the
first comers; he removed from Bucks county into the township in 1762,
locating a mill site at what is now Bushkill Park. He was a captain, after-
wards a colonel in the French and Indian wars, and was the father of Capt.
John Arndt, of Revolutionary fame. Among others who served in the Revo-
lutionary War were: Valentine Uhler, Sr., George Stacker, Henry Laux,
John N. Kemmerer, Henry Stecker, Andrew Stecker and others.

The pioneer mill, Friedensthal Mill, was one of the first put into opera-
tion in the county. It was built by the Moravians about 1746 and served its
purpose until 1791, when it gave place to a stone structure. This mill, as
well as one built in 1760 by Michael Messinger, was within the bounds of
Palmer township on its formation. Colonel Arndt owned and carried on
one of the oldest mills in Forks township ; it v^'as located on Bushkill creek,
and was destroyed by fire in 1866, but was rebuilt. Prior to the Revolution,
Jacob Shoemaker started a fulling mill about two miles from Easton, on
the Bushkill creek. These early industries have passed away and Forks
township is purely an agricultural district. It was the last of the original
townships of Northampton county to acquire a church. This was caused
principally by its environments, the peculiar formation and its close prox-
imity to Easton. The Forks church, while not located centrally in the town-
ship, is equidistant with the other township churches. For many years the
first settlers of the township attended church at Easton. Some in the
western district were members of the Dryland congregation.

Within the bounds of the township were established two burial grounds,
which became preaching places for the itinerant. One of these was Arndt's
and Messinger's burying ground ; the other was what became known as
Stocker's burying ground. The latter was begun as a private cemetery
when the property was in possession of John Lefevre, who resided a short
distance below in a stone house in which he conducted a hotel. This prop-
erty passed through various hands and was conveyed by deed to Andrew
Stocker, April 2, 1787. From this time on the burials became more numer-
ous. Congregational meetings were held in the barn of Andrew Stocker in
1798, and the probability is that the congregation was under the charge of
regular ministers, as none of the names of the persons living in the vicinity
occur in any other church records.

The Arndt and Messinger church is so named in honor of Jacob Arndt
and Michael Messinger, who donated the site for church and cemetery pur-
poses. The burial ground was laid out and used fifty years before a church
was erected. The first interment was that of Mrs. Arndt, wife of one of the
donors; she was buried there January 31, 1776. The first church building
was a stone structure erected in 1S12, intended to serve as a school as well
as a church. The building was demolished and a new building erected on
the same site in 1855. This gave place to the present church, the corner-
stone of which was laid October 25, 1914. The church was erected at the
cost of $17,000, and was reconstructed January 23, 1916. Since the erection
of the first church it has been occupied by the Luther^ and Reformed con-

TOWNSHIPS 483

gregations. Among those who have presided over the congregations wc
name the following: Reformed — Rev. Thomas Pomp, Rev. Theodore Hof-
fiditz, Rev. E. W. Reinecke and Rev. G. S. Kleckner ; Lutheran— Rev. John
.A.ugust Brobst, Rev. George Wentzell, Rev. David Kuntz and Rev. E. G.
Ehret.

Capt. John Arndt, son of Col. Jacob Arndt, was born June 3, 1748, and
died May 6, 1814. He was captain of the company credited to Forks town-
ship in the Revolutionary War, of which we give the muster roll :

Captain — John Arndt ; First Lieutenant — Joseph Martin ; Second Lieu-
tenant — Peter Kicklein ; Third Lieutenant — Isaac Shimer.

Sergeants — Robert Scott* ; Andrew HersterJ ; Philip Arndt* ; Andrew
KeiferJ.

Corporals — Jacob Kichline* ; George Edelman ; Peter Richter* ; Elijah
Crawford*.

Drummer — John Arndtf. Fifer — Henry AllshouseT.

Privates — Daniel Lewis*; Benjamin Depue* ; Thomas Sybert ; John
Wolft; James Hindshawt; John Middagh* ; Alex. Sylliman* ; Jacob Difford$;
Jacob McFarran*; Robert Lyle* ; John Rossf ; Richard OverfieldJ ; Jacob
Miller* ; Martin DerrJ ; Henry Siegel ; Christian Stout* ; Jacob Andrew ;
Joseph Stoutf ; Jacob WeidnechtJ ; Henry Onangst* ; George Fry$ ; John
Smith ; Jost Dornblaser ; John Bushf ; Macheas SteiningerJ ; Jacob Wagner* ;
Paul Reasert ; John Shurtzt ; Lawrence ErbJ ; Isaac Berlin! ; Adam Yohe* ;
Frederick Riegerf; J. McCracken* ; James Farrel* ; Jacob Englert ; Geo.
Ryman : Conrad Smith* ; Geo. Essigh* ; Val'n Yent* ; Philip Reeser ; Lewis
Collinst; Joseph Kellert; Peter Byer|; Conrad Metz ; Peter Kern$; Henry
Fatzinger* ; John Kessler* ; Geo. Shibly ; M. Kress* ; M. Kailor* ; Wm. War-
randf; F. Wilhelmt; Peter Lehr$; M. Deal*; Philip Bosh$ ; Peter FreesJ ;
Henry Wolf, Sr.t; Isaac Shoemaker*; Dan'l Sailor*; Fred'k Wagnerf; Sam'l
Curryt; Henry Fretzt ; Plenry Bosh, Jr.f; Henry Straussf; Isaac Koonf;
Chr. Harpelt; Joseph Minert; Bernh'd Miller J ; John Falstich ; Henry Weid-
knechtt; Ad. Weidknechtt; J. Fraunfeltert ; John Vent*; Geo. Eddingerf;
Ab. Peterl; Adam Bortzt ; Jacob Kreiderf; Christ'n Harpel, sdf ; Christian
Rotht: C(3n'd Bittenbendert ; Henry Bush. Sr.$ ; A. Frutchey$; Henry
Wolf, Jr.*; A. Everts; Jos'h Chassf ; John Harpel:}:; James Symonton*.

The population of Forks township in 1740 was about fifty souls, which
had reached, in 1770, more than four hundred. The valuation of real estate
in 1773 was £1,185 ^^d the amount of the tax was £13 3s. lod. There were
sixty-nine persons subject to taxation, and eleven single men. There were
then in operation two grist-mills, one owned by Jacob Arndt, the other by
H. Lesh. The population steadily increased and in 1850 there were 2,321
inhabitants, which represented 418 families residing in 391 dwellings, of
which 152 were located on farms. The value of the real estate was $1,185,-
038, which was an average of $74.18 an acre. The number of schools was
thirteen and the attendance was 650 pupils. The taxable persons residing
in the township were 632. The population, owing to formation of boroughs
and townships from its original area, decreased in 1870 to 1,450, and at the
last census in 1910 it still showed a further decline, being only 1,132.

* Rallied next day at Elizabethtown ; (33 men),
t Killed or taken prisoner at Fort Washington,
t Killed or taken prisoner at Long Island.

484 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Plainfield Tozvnship — This township is bounded on the north by Monroe
county; on the east by the townships of Washington and Lower Mount
Bethel; on the south by the townships of Forks and Palmer; on the west
by Bushkill township. The name Plainfield was given to it as describing
its appearance to the first settlers. The surface of the township is almost
devoid of trees, except on the margins of the watercourses, where a few dwarf
oaks and stunted evergreens grow on the higher lands. The township is
watered chiefly by the east branch of Bushkill creek; in the southern part
the lands are quite rolling, and in the north the Blue Mountains form a
natural barrier and stretch in an unbroken ridge along the northern border.
There is an opening, or pass, in the mountains, called by the German settlers
"Die Wind Kapf" (the Wind Gap), through whch no stream of water passes.
The crest line of the mountain is here depressed nearly as low as the country
on each side, forming a notch of peculiar convenience for the passage of
travelers and teams. It is the only crossing for wagon roads leading from
the township across the Blue Mountains.

The first settlers were Germans, who immigrated from their native land,
settled around Wind Gap, and erected a house of worship, though there are
no authentic records of their names except those of the Benden and Hiller fami-
lies. These were immediately followed by German settlers, and on Decem-
ber 24, 1762, a decree of the court authorized and ordered the laying out and
erection of the township. A survey was made and accepted. The entire
length of the boundary lines was thirty-four and a quarter miles, and within
these tracts were three hundred inhabitants.

The settlers suffered during the Indian troubles, a temporary fortifica-
tion being built as a place of refuge. Just before the Revolution the popula-
tion increased to more than five hundred. A grist-mill had been built by
Adam Heimer and a saw-mill by Jacob Heller. Settlements progressed
rapidly, and at the commencement of the nineteenth century, Belfast, in the
southern portion of the township, near the western boundary line, was re-
garded as a village, and Hellertown, named for Samuel Heller, who came in
1763 from North Saucon to that part of the township, was laid out in village
lots. The population in 1870 was nearly 2,000, and within the township
limits there were four grist-mills, two distilleries, one oil-mill, and seven
public houses. The development of the slate industry caused a new excess
to the population, the villages of Pen Argyl and Wind Gap became boroughs,
the influx of wage earners to operate the quarries materially increased the
population, and at the present day in the original limits of the township,
there are now over 7,000 souls.

St. Peter's Reformed and Lutheran Church dates back to the middle of
the eighteenth century. The regular records, however, are extant since 1763.
In that year Rev. Casper D. Weyberg became pastor, and installed as elders
Adam Dictz, Jacob Sorw^er, Casper Dole and Peter B. Llahn ; and as deacons,
Peter Metz, George Dietz, Leonhard Kern and Nicholas Dole. The original
founders of the church were principally Palatines, though there were some
Swiss and French Huguenots. The congregation was originally of the Re-
formed faith, but in 1832, when considerable of the endowment of landed
property was sold, a third church edifice was erected. The Lutherans, who

TOWNSHIPS 485

had held services in the church since 1885, were granted equal rights in the
church and landed property, and from that time it has been practically a
union church. The new church was constructed of brick, and had a seating
capacity of one thousand persons. It was entirely remodeled and repaired
in 1870. The pastors of the congregation on the Reformed side were : Rev.
Casper D. Weyberg, Frederick I.. Henop, John Wilhelm Pithan, J. W.
Weber, J. W. Ingold, L. F. Herman, Frederic William Vandersloot, Thomas
Pomp, G. H. Eichberger, E. Helfrich, E. H. Reinecke. The Lutheran pastors

were: Rev. John C. Rueg, Niemeyer, L. H. Colson, Rupert,

Henry Kunz, John A. Brobst, A. Fuchs, G. A. Stuntz, Charles Weber, M. J.
Kramlich.

Moore Tozvnship — Moore township is located in the northern part of
Northampton county, and is bounded on the north by Carbon county, on
the east by Bushkill township, on the south by the townships of Upper
Nazareth, East Allen and Allen, and on the west by the township of Lehigh.
At the time of the erection of Northampton county, this portion of it was
known as the "Adjacents of Allen." It was erected into a township in 1765,
and it was proposed to name it Penn, but the present name was given, in
honor of John Moore, a representative of the county in the Provincial Assem-
bly in 1761-62. The township comprises a territory nearly six miles square,
containing thirty-five square miles, about 22,506 acres of land, which are
drained by the springs and headwaters of Hockandauqua and Monocacy
creeks. The face of the country is hilly and rolling, the soil being either
gravel or slate, but the culture of cereals has yielded fair returns, especially
rye and buckwheat.

The first white settlements were made between 1740 and 1750, and in
the latter year there were about fifty persons living within its limits. Among
these early inhabitants were Christian Miller, Henry Diehl, Henry Shopp,
Nicholas Heil, Nicholas Sholl, Peter Doll and John Bauman. In a series of
depredations made by the Indians in 1756, many early settlers or members
of their household were killed. The population, however, had a steady
growth, and in 1770 had increased to five hundred. There were about this
time three grist-mills and two saw-mills in operation in the township.

There are numerous small villages located in the township. Near the
eastern line, is Moorestown, one of the prettiest villages in Northarrtpton
county, a hamlet of about two hundred population, containing a school, hotel
and two stores. West of the village stands Salem, or Big Moore Church.
This well-known Union church, Lutheran and Reformed, is located on a hill
that commands a view of the surrounding coimtry. The first church, built
of logs, was erected in 1772, and served its purpose until 1829, when it was
replaced by a stone structure. The log church was removed about six miles
west from its former site, and was used for religious worship. In distinction
from the new church, which was called Big Moore, it was called Little
Moore, and both churches have since been known by these names. In 1872
the Big Moore Church was remodeled, the pulpit moved from the south to
the east side, the seating capacity increased to eight hundred, and a new
steeple erected 105 feet high. In 1906. $I2,CXX) were spent in beautifying

486 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

the church edifice. An addition was built on the west side, the old gallery
was removed, and handsome memorial windows erected. On June 17 of
that year the rededication took place.

It was in 1774' that Rev. Conrad Steiner received a call from the con-
gregations on the Lehigh, and which he accepted the following year. His
charge consisted of congregations at Allentown (Stone Church), Moores-
town and Lehigh, which he served until his death, in 1782. At a meeting
of the Coetus at Reading, Pennsylvania, Rev. Paul Peter Pernisus was
assigned to the charge of the churches in Allen, Lehigh and Moore town-
ships. He was, however, in 1785 excluded from the gospel ministry, and the
congregation for the next fourteen years was under the spiritual charge of
Rev. Frederic William Van der Sloot. He was succeeded in 1802 by his only
son and namesake, who took up his residence in Allen township in Decem-
ber, 1802, and became the pastor of seven or eight congregations. The
younger Van der Sloot was an excellent linguist, well versed in German,
French, Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and was composer of many hymns and
poems. He was gifted with a voice that could be heard above all others in a
multitude, and generally was his own chorister. He resigned his pastorate
in 181 1, and died in York county, Pennsylvania, December 14, 1831. He was
succeeded by Rev. Jacob Christian Becker, a native of Bremen, Germany,
born January 14, 1790, and came with his parents to America when only
three years of age. He was ordained May 17, 1808. Under his pastorate the
church prospered and increased, and he served faithfully his charge until his
death. The next pastor was Rev. A. J. G. Dubbs, who preached his fare-
well sermon in 1857. He was succeeded by Rev. Robert A. Vancourt, who
served till 1859, when the Rev. J. Gantenbein was placed in charge. His
successor, in 1865, was the Rev. Robert Lisberger, who continued until 1871.
For the next four years there was no settled pastor. In 1875 Rev. David B.
Ernst responded to a call and commenced his labors SeptemlDer, 1875; his
term of service was short, his death occurring March 11, 1877.

On October 20th, 1877, Rev. Jonathan E. Smith was elected, and at once
entered upon the discharge of his duties. His charge consisted of four con-
gregations: Big Moore, Petersville, Little Moore and Bushkill Center. This
being his first charge, he was ordained in Big Moore Church, December
20, 1877. Rev. Jonathan E. Smith was born in Weisenburg township, Lehigh
county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1850, son of Elias and Salome Smith. His
early education was obtained in the public schools of his native township;
afterwards he attended the academy of Prof. Charles Swartz at Bethlehem,
also the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown, and Ursinus College
at Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Before entering college he taught five terms
in the public schools of Lehigh county, and three years after leaving college,
in the Northwestern University at Watertown, Wisconsin, a Lutheran insti-
tution. This university conferred on him the degree of Bachelor of Arts,
and in 1892 his alma mater conferred the honorary degree of Master of Arts,
and in 1901, the degree of Doctor of Divinity. On his return to Pennsyl-
vania he completed his theological course at Ursinus College, and was
licensed to preach the gospel in June, 1877. He was unanimously elected as
pastor of the four churches mentioned in this article, and his pastorate has

TOWNSHIPS 487

continued over forty years. It has been a very pleasant one, of undoubted
usefulness, and it is not difficult to see the fruits of his labors in the charge
of the congregations. He married, May 12, 1886, Miss Maria E. Bartholo-
mew, daughter of George and Amanda E. Bartholomew, of Bath, Pennsyl-
vania. Her death occurred January 16, 1890.

The Lutheran congregation that worshipped in the Big Moore Church
was organized in 1772, its members being located in the eastern part of
Moore township and the adjoining township of Bushkill. From 1772 to 1778
the congregation was served by the Rev. Christian Streit, pastor of the Easton
Lutheran congregation. At the beginning of the pastorate of Rev. Johann
Frederick Ernst, in 1780, a lengthy, strict and precise constitution was
adopted. It provided for four elders, two deacons, and a trustee, and that
the congregation must belong to the Ministerium of Pennsylvania, so, also,
its pastor. The Rev. Ernst served also the congregation at Easton and other
congregations on both sides of the Delaware river. He studied theology at
Strassburg, Germany ; was an energetic and zealous man, faithful in keeping
the records of the church. At the beginning of 1780 he was requested to
resign from charge of the Big Moore Church on account of his selfish and
scolding disposition. In the fall of that year. Rev. Carl Benjamin Danapfel
became pastor, and in 1790 he was succeeded by Rev. Frederick Niemeyer,
who served imtil 1796, when he gave place to Rev. John Casper Doill or
Diehl. His pastorage included Zion Stone Church at Kreidersville and Indian
Land Church (now St. Paul's) at Cherryville. On July 15, 1810, Rev.
Frederick W. Mendsen took charge, and served to July 18, 1852, a period
of forty-two years. He at one time served, in connection with this congre-
gation, ten others in Northampton, Lehigh, Monroe and Carbon counties.
Rev. Frederick W. Mendsen was a son of William and Helena Mendsen. He
was bom in Oldenburg, Denmark, December 8, 1780; received a thorough
education in his Fatherland, and emigrated to America, arriving at Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania, in 1805. He commenced the study of theology in
1808 under the direction of Revs. Henry Helmuth and John Smith, and was
licensed to preach by the Synod of Pennsylvania, June 29, 1810. He soon
after left for the field of his life work, and located near Cherryville, North-
ampton county. He was faithful and devoted to ministerial labors, preached
twice regularly, and sometimes three or four times on a Sunday, often travel-
ing thirty to forty miles on horseback to meet his engagements. He per-
formed during his ministry of over forty years 24,564 baptisms, 9,412 con-
firmations, 7,218 funerals, 4,148 marriages, and administered the Lord's Sup-
per to 76,482. He preached his last sermon and administered communion
November 20, 1870, for Rev. R. B. Kistler, in St. Paul's Church, Franklin
township. Carbon county. He died at Klecknersville, Pennsylvania, August

5. 1871.

The Rev. William Rath commenced his labors as pastor December 5,
1852, and continued until the spring of 1857. He was born in Upper Saucon,
Pennsylvania, September 23, 1826, taught school, and attended college at
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He studied theology with Rev. Jeremiah Schin-
del of Upper Saucon, and was ordained in June, 1852, by the Lutheran
ministerium of Pennsylvania. He had charge of four congregations in Lehigh

488 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

county; some of them he served until his death at Centre Valley, Pennsyl-
vania, July 2, 1880. His successor, in the spring of 1857, was the Rev. David
Kuntz, who commenced to preach as a supply while yet a student; he was
ordained the following year, and served the congregation faithfully until
January i, 1869. His successor was Rev. R. B. Kistler, who was pastor until
his death, August 25, 1876.

On invitation of the elders, William J. Andres, then a student of the
Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, preached as
a supply, beginning in February, 1877. He was ordained May 30, 1877, by
the Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Penns3dvania ; shortly afterwards
he was elected pastor without a dissenting vote. Rev. William J. Andres
was a son of Nathan and Sarah A. (Schantz) Andres, and was a native of
Lower Macungie township, Pennsylvania. His earl}- life was spent on a
farm, his education in his leisure time obtained at the district schools, sup-
plemented b_v attendance at the Keystone State Normal School, from which
institution he graduated in the scientific course in 1871. Prior to this he
taught school in his native township, and was assistant principal and after-
wards principal of the W^eaversville Academy at Weaversville, Pennsyl-
vania. Tiie next three years were devoted to pursuing theological studies in
the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and on
his being ordained he was elected pastor of the Salem Church, Moorestown,
Zion Church at Kreidersville, Christ Church, Moore township, and St. Peter's
Church, near Seemsville. It was his own ambition and energy of purpose
that crowned his success, as he was obliged to hew out his own pathway,
earning the money to educate himself. He died at Bath, Pennsylvania, De-
cember 17, 1909. Rev. A. E. Erdman of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, is now the
Lutheran minister.

Dannersville, in the southern part of the township, is the original home
of the family by that name. Among its early settlers were the Silfies, Huths,
Schalls, Reimers, Lindemans, Nolfs and Hoffmans. Here is the source of
the Catasauqua creek, named by the Indians, the word signifying "the earth
thirsts for rain," or "parched land." It enters the Lehigh river south of the
borough of Catasauqua. A mile from this hamlet was the home during the
Revolutionary War of George Palmer, who succeeded James Scull as deputy
surveyor of Northampton county in 1773, and was incumbent of the office
for fifty-one consecutive years, his land office being located at Bath, Penn-
.sylvania.

Beersville, in the extreme southwest corner of the township, is a small
gathering, and among early settlers in its neighborhood were the Beers,
Bush, Bell, Laub, Person, Danner, Huth, Huber, Young, Gross and Geiser
families. The beautiful winding Hockandauqua flows past this hamlet, its
source being midway up the Blue Motmtains, in the notch called Smith's
Gap, in Moore township. This stream in bygone days furnished power for
grist and sawmills, and years ago every mile of its length was utilized for
driving a flouring mill. The first to use the power was the Gross saw-mill,
about a mile from the base of the mountain ; a mile further was Scholl's grist-
mill; another mile, was Young's saw-mill; one mile further was Kleckner's
elegant mill; then came Kleppinger mill, which was destroyed by fire. Cress-

TOWNSHIPS 489

man's then followed ; then we reach the Petersville mill, originally built by
Abraham Kreider as a merchant mill. Thus to the early German settlers the
Hockandauqua was their Rhine, furnishing power to turn their mills and to
remind them of the rushing brooks of the Fatherland.

Petersville, on the western line of the township, has a population of
about one hundred and fifty inhabitants. It was originally named Kernsville.
Nearby is the Emmanuel Church of the Lutheran and Reformed congrega-
tion, which is claimed to be the oldest place of worship in the present limits
of Northampton county. This claim in the light of recent discoveries, how-
ever, cannot be maintained. A log building was erected about 1750, several
hundred feet southeast of the present edifice, situated on a beautiful eleva-
tion, where the monument to Rev. Hecker stands. While it is not certain
that the first church was built in 1723, there is proof that it was erected ali a
very early period, as it was still standing in 1772, though in a dilapidated
condition. The first pastors were Rev. Johann E. Hecker for the Reformed
congregation, and Rev. John A. Friedrich for the Lutheran. Rev. Johann
Egidus Hecker and his twin brother, Johann George, were born January 26,
1726, in Dillenburg, Nassau. Their parents were Johann Wigand Hecker,
equerry, and his wife, Juliana, who was of noble parentage. He studied theol-
ogy at the University of Herborn. In 1751 he came to Pennsylvania and
immediately began to supply vacant congregations. The following year
(1752) he applied to the Coetus for examination and ordination, "so that
hereafter he might go on laboring with honor and quietness of conscience."
Coetus replied that it had no authority to examine or ordain him, and that
according to the instructions from Holland it was compelled to ask him to
cease his ministrations. He, however, continued his pastoral activities, first
independently of Coetus, and finally in opposition. He opened a record of
baptisms, confirmations, marriages and burials, at Tohickon, April 19, 1756.
which continued until 1762. In addition to those of the Tohickon congrega-
tion, he also recorded classes, confirmed at Heidelberg, Springfield, Saucon,
in the Forks near Easton, and Drylands. His name appears on the church
register of the Upper Milford congregation in 1757. In 1762 he removed to
Allen township and became pastor of the congregations of Indian Land, In-
dian Creek and Petersville. Here, as in his previous field, his efforts seem
to have met with little success : his health was failing, and he is said to have
died about 17S5. According to the custom of the day, he was buried within
the chancel railing of the church. In 1873 the congregation erected a monu-
ment to his memory. The Rev. H. M. Muhlenberg writes concerning Rev.
Friedrich, in 1778, that he studied with him at Goettingen. Germany, and
that he was in a pitiable condition, being old, bedridden, and in poverty and
misery.

The old log church was not repaired nor a new building erected on the
original site for the reason that in 1772 the Salem church had been built in
Moorestown, St. Paul's near Cherryville, and a little earlier the Stone church
in Allen township, and many of their members joined these churches, espe-
cially the Stone church, which congregation became the custodian of the
records of the congregation, which were returned when the present church
was erected. The congregational school was continued after the holding of

490 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

divine services was abandoned. The members met annually and elected
trustees, who had the oversight of the school. The school had a large patron-
age, the number of pupils frequently exceeding that of seventy-five. It was
known as the college. In 1848 forty acres of the land were sold for $4,000,
which money was used in the erection of the present edifice. Therefore there
was no church at Petersville from 1772 to 1850, when the present brick build-
ing was erected. The first pastor to fill the pulpit of the Reformed congre-
gation of the new church was Rev. Erasmus H. Helfrich ; the second pastor,
Rev. J. Gantenbein, was elected November 6, 1859, continued until 1864, when
he was succeeded by Rev. Robert Lisberger, who in 1871 was replaced by
the Rev. J. Fritzinger. After his retirement in 1875 the congregation was in
charge of Revs. D. B. Ernst and Jonathan E. Smith of the Big Moore Church.

The Lutheran ministers of the church have been Revs. Augustus Fuchs,
David Kuntz, R. B. Kistler, G. A. Bruegel and James J. Reitz. The latter
was born near Lynnport, Pennsylvania, December 13, 1839, the son of Ben-
jamin and Leah (Phillips) Reitz. He is a descendant of one of the earlier
pioneer families of the township of Saucon, where his great-grandfather,
coming from Germany, settled in the middle of the eighteenth century. His
father was a miller by trade, to which later he added the occupation of
farmer. James J. was reared to agricultural pursuits, his primary education
being obtained in the public schools. On reaching the age of fifteen years
he graduated and was awarded a teacher's certificate. He taught school for
three winters, in the summer season attending Edinboro State Normal
School in Erie county, Pennsylvania. In 1880 he became a student in Muhlen-
berg College, in Allentown, Penns3dvania, took a four years' course, gradu-
ating with the class of '84 as Bachelor of Arts. In 1884 he entered the
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, graduating
three years later. In the fall of that year he took charge of the Lutheran
church in Walnutport, St. Paul's Church in Lehigh township, and Emmanuel
Church at Petersville. He is highly popular as a minister, having not only
the esteem of the members of his own chapel, but of all those he is brought
in personal contact with.

Klecknersville, in the territorial center of the township, with the neigh-
boring village of Crossroads, has about thirty dwellings, a village blacksmith,
store and enterprising creamery, owned by a stock company. Point Phillips,
originally known as Chubbsville, in the northern portion of the township, is
a small hamlet.

Lehigh Township — Lehigh township originally extended from the Lehigh
river east to the "Old Minisink road," at the Bushkill. and was until 1752
known as "Adjacents of Allen." Its present boundary lines, the Blue Moun-
tains on the north, Moore township on the east, Allen township on the south
and the Lehigh river on the west, were determined in 1765. The earliest
record of this part of Northampton is one touching the survey made in 1735
by order of Thomas Penn of 6,500 acres of land on which he had planned to
settle the Indians dwelling in the Forks, whence it received the name of
Indian Land. This and the Manor of Fcrnor were the only proprietaries'
reservations within the present limits of the county. The township is hillv
and is drained by Indian creek, a branch of the Hockandauqua creek and a few

TOWNSHIPS 491

smaller streams which flow into the Lehigh river. The Lehigh Water Gap,
where the river breaks through the Bhie Mountains, at the northwestern
corner of the township, is one of nature's beauty spots, and is frequented by
tourists and geologists. Near the eastern limit of the township is another
gap in the mountains known as the Little Gap or "Die Klee Kaft."

The early settlers were mostly Palatines, Alsatians and Swiss. The fol-
lowing table shows the increase in population: 1740, 30; 1750, 100; 1770, 350;
1780, 500; 1800, 884; 1820, 1,550; 1850, 2,343; 1870, 3,496. In 1773 the valua-
tion of real estate in the township was £853 and the taxation was iio 3s. 4d.
At the time there were three grist-mills in the township, owned and operated
by Thomas Wilson, Jost Driesbach and George Driesbach.

The earliest place of worship in the township was a small log church
known as the Driesbach Church, at Howersville. The location is not defi-
nitely known, but is supposed to have been near the old burial ground in the
field on the crest of the hill on the south side of the road leading to Cherry-
ville. Among the Reformed pastors who preached here were John Egcdio
Hecker, Casper D. Weyberg, John Daniel Gross, John Philip Leydich, Philip
Jacob Michael. The congregation, in union with the Lutheran and Reformed
settlers, who were supplanting the Scotch-Irish, united and erected the Stone
church at Kreidersville, as the following document shows :

On November 6, 1772, it was further resolved by the undersigned on the
Reformed side as follows :

We, the undersigned, hereby attest, that since we have united with
Moore township and Allen township to erect a union church and since the
church is now finished and we have abandoned the church at Jost Dries-
bach's, we deem it reasonable that we shall have no further use for the
church vessels here, but desire to transfer them to the new Stone church.
And that we hereby transfer and hand over the same to the Stone church at
the township line between Lehigh and Allen townships, namely : the bap-
tismal dish, the chalice, the table cloth and the collection bags (glingcl sccklein).
to be devoted there to the same use.

Jost Dreisbach, Henrich Strauss. Conrad Bachman, Simon Dreisbach.
Adam Dreisbach, Christian Lauffer.

A true copy made by me, Simon Dreisbach, F'ebruary i, 1781.

The change from Howersville to the present location of the congrega-
tion, the Stone Church, at the boundary line between Allen and Lehigh
townships, is accounted for in a letter written by Simon Driesbach to Rev.
John Henry Helfrich, dated January, 1773, which is here quoted in part:

Now I shall relate to you the beginning of this church and congrega-
tion, but as briefly as I can, in order that you may know the conditions here.

First of all, I must name the three congregations. There is the Inschen
Land (Indian Land) congregation which is located at the Blue Mountains,
on the Lehigh. Then there is our congregation, on the Inschen Creek (In-
dian Creek), at Jost Dreisbach's, in the centre and the strongest Reformed
congregation, and then there is the congregation of Moore township, where
now Rev. Hecker still lives and preaches. The Tndianland congregation has
not more than eight or nine men (on the Reformed side) and these are
almost half Lutheran. Those of Moore township have more people, but they
cannot make up even as m.xich as those of Indianland. Then there is our
old congregation which has also been unable to make up a large salary.
From this it can be seen that these three congregations were too weak to

492 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

keep up three churches and that they hardly make one good congregation.
This we have known for a long time and both parties (denominations)
always implored those of Moore township and those of Indianland to unite
with us in our church, but it was never done until about two years ago, when
the question was fully considered, especially because considerable number
of Germans had settled in Allen township.

Then they took counsel with some of the leading church members in
the three named congregations and for the first time our wish was fulfilled,
that all should unite with those of Allen township to build a union church.
I must mention some of these men. In the Indianland congregation there
was Conrad Schneider, who now lives in Heidelberg, a schoolmaster. He
was one of the first of the Indianland congregation (to agree to it) and he
promised at once five pounds. But later when he had the whole congrega-
tion together to sign for it, he alienated the whole congregation again. Then
there is Johannes Ditter, our old. above mentioned elder (Vorsteher), who
gave his consent until we began to build, then he turned against us. Then
some of Moore township, by the persuasion of Hecker, got the notion to
build up their church again, but it is still uncertain.

Thus the beginning was made according to our desire, but then the
enemy sowed more and more weeds among the wheat and now seeks to
choke out the wheat, but thanks be to God that the congregation grows still
and the church of God or the congregation is again rising and prospering
under all this tempest of afi^liction, so that now we are able, if God be gra-
cious to us to give a regular minister; the people of Indianland see now that
they have done wrong and those of Moore township do not know what they
will do, because daily more are leaving them.

As I have been for a long time an onlooker on church affairs in this
region, I cannot forbear mentioning some of the things in the hope that you
will patiently hear me.

About 17 years ago (1756) when I first came to live here, the church
attendance, or divine services were very irregular, for hardly half of the time
did the minister come when the services had been announced and the people
had assembled, hence most of the time the people had to go home without
a sermon, at which the people were much annoyed. At that time the people
of this region knew nothing of the Coetus Ministers. Then it was decided
to appeal to the Coetus for a minister, that, if one could be secured, and this
evil (of the irregular services) could be done away with, the effort would
not be in vain. This was done about 14 years ago (1759), when my father
(Simon Driesbach) and Johannes Ditter, the elders, went with much trouble
to Easton and Plainfield and Greenwich ( Gniuitsch) in order to induce said
congregation to unite with us in asking for a minister. This was done and
they went unitedly before the Coetus. A minister was promised to us, as
soon as one should come in (from Holland). Meanwhile Rev. Mr. Leydich
and Rev. Michael were to su]iply us trntil a minister should come in. Each
of these congregations gave 12 potmds to the said minister to come to us on
a week-day, every three weeks for one year, which was done and our con-
gregation got its share, until several ministers came in (Stapel 1761 and
Weyberg 1762). Meanwhile a congregation was gathered on the Dryland
and when Mr. Weinberg (Weyberg) preached at Easton, Greenwich and
Plainfield, he came several times to us. Afterwards they received the Dry-
land congregation (into the charge) but they abandoned us. Here we were
excluded and forgotten until Rev. Gross came. He supplied us the first two
years after he came to this country, on a week-day, but when he had enough,
he abandoned us utterly. That is the forgetting, of which I said that it
took place before.

What was the cause, we know not, for certain, but it is possible that at
that time we were too weak, and it was too far for them, it is now much

TOWNSHIPS 493

easier to reach us and we are certainly much stronger, for we constitute now
fullv a quarter and even more, yet we gave our fourth part just like Easton
and the rest. This angered the people very much and they turned again to
their former minister, Hecker. But, we always aimed how to strengthen
ourselves. Thus it has continued until now, nor could it be otherwise, be-
cause there are three churches here in a district of five miles, and since they
were so close together, that they have always been weak until now, wlien
more Germans have settled in Allen township. Now we have united with
them. We are in the centre of the above mentioned three congregations.
Two of the other congregations have united with us and those of Allen
township. This fills us with good hope, for it is the strongest congregation
of these three and nothing is lacking but a good minister.

On February 25th, 1771, a large number of citizens from Allen, Moore
and Lehigh townships met and decided to erect a Union church of stone
36 by 46 feet, at Indian Creek, along the King's highway at the township line
between Allen and Lehigh townships. Adam Driesbach, Caspar Erb and
Simon Driesbach (Reformed), and Valentine Waldman, George Edelman and
George Michael Sebastian (Lutheran) were appointed a building committee.
The church was dedicated November 15, 1772, Rev. John Henry Helfrich
(Reformed) and Rev. Frederick (Lutheran), officiating. Rev. Helfrich one
month later (December 15, 1772) administered the holy communion to the
Reformed congregation. The present edifice was erected in 1836, the corner-
stone was laid May 23, and the church was dedicated December lo-ii. The
cost was $2,720. It has been renovated several times and is in good state of
preservation. In 1870 the first reunion was held of the former pastors and
members, people coming from far and wide. These reunions have been
repeated every five years, and are increasing in popularity. Many of the
neighboring congregations have imitated the congregation in these quinten-
nial reunions.

A Sunday school was organized by Rev. J. C. Becker and Col. George
Weber in 1825, one of the first in the county.

The pastors who have served the congregations are: Reformed — 1772-75,
supplies, Helfrich, Blummer, Faber and Steiner ; 1777-81, Conrad Steiner ;
1782-86, supplies, Helfrich, Nalch ; 1787, F. W. Van der Sloot, Sr. ; 1782,

F. W. Van der Sloot, Jr. ; 1811, J. C. Becker; 1852, C. J. Becker; 1854, A. J. G.
Dubbs ; 1857, R. A. Vancourt ; 1859, J. Gauntenbein ; 1865, R. A. Liesberger ;
1870, S. A. Leinbach ; 1871, Charles Rittenhaus, J. N. Mayberry, H. A. Frantz,

G. E. Kopenhaver. Lutheran — J. A. Friederick, J. C. Yeager, H. A. Geisen-
heimer; 1812, F. W. Mendsen ; 1852, W. Rath; 1857, D. Kuntz ; 1870, R. B.
Kistler, W. J. Andres, Dallas Green, J. D. Koch.

A large and well-kept cemetery adjoins the church. A list of the inscrip-
tions on the tombstones has been published by the congregation.

The Union congregation of St. Paul's, near Cherryville, was founded,
according to Rev. Becker, about 1750. The Indian uprisings hindered its
progress. The Lutheran Protocol opens thus: "Krichenbuck for die Evan-
gelische Gemeinde an der Lagan, genannt auf dem Inschenland, aus Licht
gestellt im Jahr unsers Herrn und Heiland Jesus Christi 1762, den 8 ten Octo-
ber, und in zweiten Jahr der Regierung unsers Koenigs Georg dem III." At
that time Johannes Andreas Friedrich was pastor, and Michael Keppel, Con-

494 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

rad Geissel and Jacob Roth, elders of the Lutheran congregation. On the
gallery of the edifice hangs a large card, with the following inscription :

1st Church 3d Church

Built 1756 Built 1833

2nd Church 4th Church

Built 1772 Built 1876

Executed and designed with pen and ink by

George T. Oplinger, Slatington, Pa., presented May 19, 1877.

The second edifice was dedicated November 8, 1772, by Rev. Christian
Streit (Lutheran) and Rev. Johan Wilhelm Pithan (Reformed), of Dryland.
The cost of the log structure was £101 5d. The members of the consistories
were : Reformed — -Jobann Dom and Nicolaus Schneider, elders ; Jacob
Buchman and George Leibenguth, building committee ; Lutheran — Christo-
phel Feigner and Jacob Keppel, elders; Bernhardt Kuntz and Peter Anthony,
building committee.

A large and beautiful burial ground adjoins the church. A record of the
burials was published in 1808, which contains a record of 1,107 niarked
graves, giving dates of birth and death, and also states that there were about
1,300 unknown graves, i. e., without tombstones or inscription of any kind.
Since then a thousand more burials have been made in the cemetery.

The village of Cherryville, located on the old State highway leading
from Bethlehem to Mauch Chunk, about one and one-half miles from
Treichlers, is the oldest village in the township. It was before the days
of railroads, the centre of the township's life. Here was the old Indian Land
church, here dwelt the ministers and doctors, to the stores the produce was
brought for exchange, here the stage arrived and departed, here the mail was
obtained, and here the voting was done. It was the place for battalion meet-
ings and the shows. Its schools were of a high order, and the number of
men from the village who attained prominence are abundant proof. Besides
the old Indian Land church, treated elsewhere, the village has two Evan-
gelical congregations — Emmanual Church, erected in 1872, and Bethany in
1894.

The village of Kreidersville, on the old road from Bethlehem to Lehigh
Gap, and about one and one-half miles from Northampton, consists of a
tavern, store, foundry, and a score of dwellings. It takes its name from Con-
rad Krcider, a native of Switzerland, who settled here quite early. He was
born .September 7, 1736, came to Allen township as a young man, probably
with his parents, and was married to Regina Bastian. He died on the anni-
versary of his birth in 1828, having reached the age of 92 years. He con-
ducted a store and tavern, and owned and operated several mills on the
Hockandauqua creek. He was appointed "wagonmaster general" by the
justices of Northampton county, June 26, 1777. Having taken the census of
the wagons of Northampton county (which then included what is now Lehigh
county), Conrad Krcider reported that there were 550 wagons in that county.
On September 4, 1777, by executive council orders, 30 wagons were sent to
Philadelphia from Allentown, where the wagons were assembled. It has
been estimated that Northampton county, as then constituted, furnished
upwards of two hundred wagons during the Revolutionary War. Conrad

TOWNSHIPS 495

Kreider left a number of descendants, among whom were Conrad and
Abraham.

Danielsville, at the terminal of the Blue Ridge trolley line, is a village
of about 800 population. It lies at the foot of the Blue Mountains, on the
Lehigh and New England railway. It contains three churches, a Welsh
church, the services in which, however, have been abandoned, and two Evan-
gelical churches : the Brick Evangelical Church, erected in 1887, and the
New Evangelical Church, erected in 1897. The village is the home of two
physicians. Dr. E. E. Bush and Dr. M. E. Kemmerer.

The National Bank of Danielsville opened its doors for business in the
month of April. 1906. Its capital stock is $25,000, and its surplus almost the
same. It pays 5 per cent, dividends, and has total resources of $250,000. The
officers and directors are: S. J. Drumheller, president; Tilghman Henry,
vice-president; H. H. Hower, cashier; Lewis W. Green, A. W. Hower, H. T.
Marsh, E. E. Vogel.

The Allentown Silk Company ' operates a mill in the former pov^-er-
house of the traction company.

Berlinsville, a small village, lies in the center of the township, and in it
is located the township high school. It is a school of the second class, and
efforts are being made to make it a vocational school. The building was
erected in 191 5. Two Evangelical churches are located in the town, due to
the sad division that occurred a generation ago. Of these, Zion, the white
church, was erected in 1872, and the United Evangelical Church was erected
in 1887.

To the east of Berlinsville, along the trolley, is located the beautiful
park of Edgemond, and near it the place known as Harpers, where St.. Nich-
olas Catholic Church is located. To the south of the village is the hamlet
known as Benningers.

The village of Treichlers takes its name from Henry Treichler, who for
many years owned and operated a grist-mill. This mill now forms one of
the cham of mills of the Mauser Milling Company. The village, noted for
its fine residences, among which are the homes of G. B. Mauser, H. J. Lerch,
A. L. Lentz, W. W. Kuntz and J. J. Moyer, is located on the east bank of
the Lehigh river, and before the days of the railroad was known as Kuntz's
Ford. The Kuntz family, numerous in Lehigh township, is descended from
John Jacob Kuntz, who was born at Niederbroun, Alsace, February 19, 1692.
He migrated with his family to Pennsylvania and settled in the Oley Hills,
Berks county. His son Bernhard, whose ashes repose at the Indian Land
Church, was one of the early settlers of Lehigh township ; his son Frederick
was captain of a company of militia during the Revolutionary War. The
village has two stores, one conducted by Irvin Newhard, and the other by
Henry Frederick. Immediately beyond the village is the beautiful farm of
D. G. Derry, the silk manufacturer.

Lehigh township has fifteen public school buildings, employs twenty-
two teachers, and has an attendance of six hundred and sixty. The town-
ship has always taken pride in its schools, which explains why so many men
of prominence have come from it.

496 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Lower Mount Bethel Township — This township is bounded on the north-
west by Washington township, on the northeast by Upper Mount Bethel
township, on the southeast and south by the Delaware river, and on the
southwest and west by Forks and Plainfield townships. The surface is diver-
sified, some portions being hilly, others quite level. The soil in the southern
portion is of limestone formation, and is excellent farming land. The north-
ern portion is slate and gravel, and near the Delaware is iron ore deposit,
while h)draulic cement stone makes its appearance at Martin's creek. The
township is drained by Martin's creek and branches, and by Richmond creek,
which furnish power for grist and sawmills.

The township originally formed a part of old Mount Bethel, and on a
division of that township the erection of Lower Mount Bethel was con-
firmed, in 1787, by the September Court of Quarter Sessions. One of three
points selected by Alexander Hunter and his Presbyterian followers in 1730
for a permanent settlement was the fertile and heavily timbered section
adapted for farming purposes in the neighborhood of Martin's creek. Among
the early settlers were Miller, Moore, Lockard, Lyle, Moody, Martin, Nel-
son, Buchman, Hutchison, Ross, McFarren, McCracen, Silleman, Crawford,
Galbraith, Boyd and others. At a comparatively early day, after the settle-
ment of Mount Bethel, the spirit of emigration began to manifest itself to a
considerable extent. This spirit seemed to be characteristic of the Scotch-
Irish people. One of the results was that the name of some of the originally
large families are no longer found in the township. Members of the families
of Copland, Gaston, Moore, Galbraith, Wilson, Boyd, Hutton, Moody. Mor-
ris, Miller, McFarren, Mason, Nelson, Benward, Morr, Beard, Silleman,
Scott, Henderson, Covert and Foresman emigrated westward to undevel-
oped sections of the country.

Early in the eighteenth century a little band of devout worshippers sat
together for the first time in a small building of rude structure, and there
reverently worshipped the God of Israel. This was the germ from which
grew the Presbyterian church of Mount Bethel or, as it was originally called,
of the Forks North. The first building was a rude structure of logs, but this
soon gave way to a frame building. It was in September, 1738. that the con-
gregation asked the New Brunswick Presbytery for supplies, the Rev. Gil-
bert Tennent was assigned there in the fall to preach, and it is probable that
the church was organized at that time. The Rev. Mr. Tennent was an able
preacher, a great exhorter, and was the first to plant the standard of the
cross in Mount Bethel. From 1742 to 1746 the church was supplied by
members of the Presbytery conjointly with the church at the Irish Settle-
ment. Among the ministers supplying these churches were the Revs. James
Campbell, William Dean, Charles Beatty. At the request of the congrega-
tion, the Rev. Daniel Lawrence was sent to supply them for a year, with a
view to settlement. The call was accepted by Mr. Lawrence, who continued
until 1752, but he was compelled to resign on account of his health, not being
of robust constitution. The church was again served by supplies, among
whom were Revs. Charles Beatty, Richard Treat, Benjamin Chesnut, An-
drew Hunter, Benjamin Hait and William Kirkpatrick.

The next regularly called pastor was the Rev. John Clark, who was in-

TOWNSHIPS 497

stalled in October, 1762. Owing to opposition to him by a portion of the
congregation, also of failing health, he was released from his charge in
November, 1767. Early in the summer of 1769 the church of Mount Bethel
began to be served for a portion of his time by Rev. John Roseborough, of
Revolutionary fame. In February, 1774, Mount Bethel and Oxford churches
united in calling Rev. John Debow, who was installed May ig, 1775, but his
pastorate was short, and again the church was dependent upon the Presby-
tery for occasional supplies. The Rev. Francis Peppard was installed pastor
in August. 1783, and during his pastorate the frame church building was
enlarged. This was done in a singular manner. The old building was sawed
into two equal parts, the parts were separated some twenty or thirty feet,
and the intervening space filled up, the building being originally almost
square.

The next regularly installed pastor was the Rev. David Barclay. It was
during his ministry that the congregation was incorporated and a charter
obtained from the Legislature (February, 1809). The Rev. Mr. Barclay was
in charge eight years, when rumors were circulated alleging immorality on
his part. There was, however, no serious criminality proved against him,
but his indiscretion was so apparent to the Presbytery that he was restricted
from preaching on January 11, 1814. The sympathy of the majority of the
members of Lower Mount Bethel church seems to have been in favor of
Mr. Barclay, as they sent three petitions to the Presbytery desiring his
services be retained as pastor. From this time until 1839, the records show
that there were only stated supplies, among whom were the Revs. Benjamin
I. Lowe, John Gray, Robert Love, John McCullough, Azariah Prior and
James Clark.

It was during the pastorate of the Rev. Azariah Prior that a new church
was erected in the summer of 1838. In the old churches there were three
congregations that worshipped — the Presbyterians, Reformed and Lutherans
— but contention sprang up on the question of building a new church, and
a division was effected. The Rev. Andrew Tully was pastor from November,
1840, to October, 1853, ^"d previous to his pastorate the church had always
been associated with some other church or churches in the support of a
pastor or stated supply. The next to assume the duties of pastor was the
Rev. Robert B. Forsman, who began his labors on the first Sabbath of April,
1854, his pastoral relations continuing until the last Sabbath of December,
1872. The installation of the Rev. A. H. Holloway took place June 18, 1873.

Upper and Lower Nazareth — The religious followers of the staunch Bo-
hemian mart\r, John Huss, formed themselves in a close church fellowship
with like-minded believers from Moravia and assumed the name of the
"United Brethren." The descendants of these sorely tried professors of the
gospel threw off the shackles of oppression by leaving their native land,
escaping into the kingdom of Saxony, where they founded, in 1722, the town
of Herrnhut. Five years later saw the birth of the Renewed Brethren's
church, whose members are now commonly called Moravians. The first
Moravians crossed the Atlantic in 1735, landing- at Savannah in the province
of Georgia. Here they met the great Methodist preacher Whitefield, who

NORTH.— 1—32.

498 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

secured their services to erect a large building for a school for negro orphans
on a tract of five thousand acres of land in the Forks of the Delaware. He
had named this tract Nazareth, but it was also known as "The Barony,"
because when this purchase was released and confirmed by William Penn to
Sir John Fagg for the sole use of his beloved daughter, Letitia Aubrey, it
was done on the condition of the payment of one red rose yearly, if demanded,
in full for all services, customs and rents, with the privilege of holding therein
court baron and views of frank privilege pledge for the conservation of the
peace. It was on May 30, 1740, that a sinall band of hardy mechanics under
the leadership of Peter Boehler reached Nazareth and before the completion
of six months two log houses were built. The leader of the little band, Peter
Boehler, was born in Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, December 31, 1712.
He was intended by his father for the medical profession, but entered the
University of Jena as a divinity student. Here he made the acquaintance of
some Moravians, whose communion he joined, and in 1737 he was sent to
missionate among the negro slaves on the plantations near Savannah, Geor-
gia. Three years later he proceeded to Pennsylvania, which became the
principal field of his future activity. He visited Europe several times, and
died in London, England, in April, 1775.

Difficulties arose between the Moravians and Whitefield, and the latter
sold his estate to the Moravians. The main building, commenced in 1740,
was completed and named "Ephrata," or "The Whitefield House." Here
then was the first of that cordon of Moravian settlements gradually made
during the next twenty years in this section of the country. Taking Ephrata
as a starting point, we find old Nazareth, commenced in 1744, a few hundred
rods south. One mile westward was Gnadenthal, whose spacious buildings
were erected in 1745 and is the present site of the county almshouse. A
short distance south of this location is Christian Spring, laid out in 1748.
About a mile east of Ephrata was Friedenthal on the Lehicton (Bushkill).
The Rose Settlement, containing the first inn, was begun in 1752 on the
King's road ; the ancient hostelry was demolished in 1858.

The early history of Nazareth is interwoven with that of Bethlehem.
A petition was presented in 1787 to the December session of the Northamp-
ton county court, praying for the division of the township of Bethlehem.
The petition was granted, a commission was appointed, and the following
boundaries were adopted: "Beginning at the line of Allen township at a
hickory, corner of Thomas Graham's land ; east three hundred and sixty-six
perches to stone ; east one hundred and twenty-three perches to a stone on
H. Rehn's patented land ; north fifteen perches to a white oak ; and east two
hundred and fifty perches to a stone ; east eight hundred and seventy-three
perches to a post in the line of Forks township: in all five miles and twelve
perches." Two years after the erection of a township, its pojiulation was
889, and in 1800 it had increased to 1,130. On April 22, 1807, old Nazareth
township was divided into the present townships of Upper and I^ower Naza-
reth. Three years after the division the population of the two townships
was 1,300.

The township of Upper Nazareth is bounded on the north by Moore and
Bushkill townships; on the east by Palmer townshij); on the south by Lower

TOWNSHIPS 499

Nazareth ; and on the west by East Allen township. The first census re-
turns of Upper Nazareth gave its population as 663, which had increased in
1850 to 1,116; all these figures include the village of Nazareth. In that year
there were 181 farms; 158 dwelling houses, of which sixty-one were in the
village, and 186 families, of which number 83 were inhabitants of the village.
The agricultural products were 693 bushels of wheat, 22,624 bushels of rye,
19,949 bushels of corn, 10,693 bushels of oats, 8,712 bushels of potatoes, 282
bushels of buckwheat, 28,767 pounds of butter, 1,296 tons of hay, and 2,680
pounds of tobacco. The real estate, assessed on an average of $86.36 an acre,
amounted to $417,244. There were 294 taxable persons in the township,
three schools, two Moravian churches, two grist-mills, one foundry, one
brewery, one tannery, eleven stores, two taverns, and two slate quarries.

The German language was used by a large number of inhabitants. The
township is rich in many mineral productions. Just south of the village iron
and limestone abound, also good clay for bricks ; there are also beds of kaolin
and of mineral paints, and to the north and west there are the widespread
slate quarries, where the first discovery of that deposit was found in 1836 by
Christian Fell. They were called the Christian Spring Quarries and were
owned by the Moravians. The county almshouse roof in 1838 was covered
with slate from their quarries. When first worked, the quarries yielded a
product of two hundred squares per year, but its capacity was increased in
later years. There are two small villages in the township, the old historical
one of Shoeneck, which was first settled in 1761, and where an old stone
church was built in 1793, and Georgetown, which is located in the south-
western part of the township. The organization of the borough of Nazareth
decreased the population of the township in 1870 to 740, and it has remained
at about that figure to the present day.

Lower Nazareth township is bounded on the north by Upper Nazareth,
on the east by Palmer township, on the south by the township of Bethlehem,
and on the west by those of Hanover and East Allen. The first township
officers of Lower Nazareth after the separation were : Constable, Daniel
Clewell ; supervisors, George Keim and Nathaniel Clewell ; overseers of the
poor, Christian H. Miller, Paul Micksch. The first census report of the
township was made in 1820, at which time it contained 1,084 inhabitants.
This had increased in 1850 to 1,297. There were then in the township 312
persons subject to taxation, the assessed value of the real estate being $557,-
351. The 243 families in the township supported three taverns, one store,
and six schools, attended by 200 scholars. Hecktown, in the southern por-
tion of the township, is a small village of about sixteen dwellings, a hotel,
store, and a union church of the Lutheran and Reformed denominations.
Newburg, in the center of the township, has about a dozen dwellings, and
Smoketown, near the northern boundary line, about fifteen houses. Steuben
Station, in the southwest corner of the township, is on the line of the rail-
road. Steuben is a short distance from it, and Hollo or Nisky, in the north-
east corner, are all small hamlets. The population of the township has de-
creased since 1870, it averaging in the latter census reports about 1,000
inhabitants.

A —••-<-«.■

500 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Hanover Township — The form of this township is a triangle, and is bounded
on the north by East Allen, on the east and southwest by Lower Nazareth
and Bethlehem townships, and on the southwest by Lehigh county. Its
southeastern boundary is Monocacy creek, the only stream of any importance
within its limits. Hanover was taken from the territory' of old Allen town-
ship, August 8, 1798, and created into a township. At this time it had 736
inhabitants, but on the erection of Lehigh county a larger portion of the
population was included in the new county, leaving but 358 inhabitants in
the township of Hanover in Northampton county. In the past decades the
population has fluctuated, sometimes showing a decrease and other times
an increase. Its estimated population at the present time is in the neigh-
borhood of 700.

The greater part of the town is included in what was originally known
as the Manor of Fermor or Drylands, which in the early history of the
county was called the Barrens, and were covered with scrub-oak, the lands
being thinly inhabited and considered worthless. At the present time this
section contains some of the most fertile and productive lands in the State.

Among the early settlers of the township were Peter Smith, David
Hauseman, Peter Braidy, William Kammins, George Santee, John Johnson,
Zopher Johnson, William Anderson, Peter Shelp, James Perry, Anthony
Kleckner, Stephen Koehler, Martin Lazarus, besides others. Monocacy creek
in the early days furnished water power for several industrious grist and
saw-mills, one of which, built by John Peter in 1856, was of stone, three
stories high, and contained four run of stone and improved machinery. The
mill of J. & H. Hummel a half century ago was famous for its manufacture
of Bethlehem oatmeal and Bethlehem buckwheat flour.

Hanoverville, a post village, contains a tavern, store and a number of
dwellings. Schoenersville is a settlement situated on the line between Han-
over township in Lehigh county and Hanover township in Northampton
county. It derives its name from Adam Schoener, who settled there in
1784 and opened a tavern which he named "Blue Ball." The first store in the
village was opened about 1825 by Samuel Saylor, who came from Easton.
He became the first postmaster, the office having been opened in his store
in 1825, and was discontinued in 1908, due to its patrons being served by
rural free delivery from Allentown. A telephone line in 1908 was built to
the village from Catasauqua.

The oldest church organization in the town of Hanover in Lehigh and
Northampton counties is Christ Church, located at Schoenersville. The
church was organized in 1779 as a Lutheran and German Reformed Union
church, by Rev. Johann Friederich Ernst, a Lutheran preacher, and Rev.
Mr. Gross, a German Reformed pastor. Soon after the organization, efTorts
were made to erect a suitable house of worship. A plot of ground was
purchased April 10, 1779, a log building was built, and the two congregations
worshipped therein until 1819, when, on Ascension Day of that j^ear, a cor-
nerstone for a second church was laid. This edifice was of stone, and
answered the needs of the congregation until 1872, when it was torn down,
and on May 26, 1872. the cornerstone of the present brick church was laid.
The complete cost of the present new church was about $17,000.

TOWNSHIPS 501

The German Reformed pastors who have served the congregations are
as follows: Rev. Mr. Gross, 1784-94; Rev. Mr. Hofifmeier succeeded him,
served six years, and was followed by Rev. Mr. Van der Sloot, who remained
until 181 1, when Rev. Charles C. Becker was called. He served until his
death in 1858. His son, Cyrus Becker, served until 1902, and was succeeded
by Rev. F. A. Guth, who continued until 191 1, when Rev. J. S. Bartholomew
became pastor. The Lutheran congregation has been under the charge of
the following pastors: Rev. Johann Friederich Ernst, 1780-92; Rev. George
Joseph Wichterman, 1792-93; Rev. John Conrad Yeagle, 1793-1832; Rev.
Joshua Yeager, 1832-85; Rev. A. R. Home, 1885-1902 ; Rev. E. H. Eberts,
1903-04; Rev. A. O. Ebert, 1904-06: and in 1906 Rev. I. B. Ritter became
pastor.

Bushkill Tozimship — The surface of the township is undulating, and mostly
of a gravelly nature, overlaying limestone in the southern part. The lime
has had wonderful eflfect upon the unproductive soil, and where formerly
grains could not be raised, the wheat crop now averages from fifteen to
twenty bushels to the acre, rye fifteen to twenty, oats twenty to forty, corn
twenty to thirty, and buckwheat fifteen to twenty. The main branch of
Bushkill creek and many of its branches have their sources within the boun-
daries of the township, thus furnishing many excellent water powers and
pure ice cold springs.

The township of Bushkill was originally a part of Plainfield. and was
then known as "The Plains." It was erected into a separate township
August 13, 1813, bounded on the north by Monroe county, on the east by
Plainfield, south by Upper Nazareth, and west by Moore township. It was
early settled by the Germans ; the Moravians, however, owned land in the
southern part, and prior to 1770 erected a rude building where religious
meetings were held. This was succeeded by another edifice in which the
Moravians worshipped until 1793. The Moravians also built in 1752 what
was known as the "Rose Tavern," which was used as a place of refuge by
the inhabitants during the Indian troubles. Near this was a store or trading
post kept by William Edmonds, where traffic was carried on with Indians
and settlers as late as 1772, when it was removed to Nazareth.

One of the extreme outposts of the white settlements was a large stone
building which was located in Jacobsburg, a small hamlet near the eastern
boundary line of the township, and used as a tavern. On the opposite side
of the creek was originally the gun works of William Henry, a branch of
his factory at Nazareth. This was erected in 1799, made arms for the
United States and the State government, and continued to be used for barrel
boring and for the manufacture of gun locks for fourteen years, when it was
transformed into a grist-mill.

The records of the early settlers are very scant and imperfect. Jacob
Werner was a native of Sweden ; Jacob Titus removed from Philadelphia
to the township in 1776, and lived to a ripe old age, being over one hundred
years old at the time of his death ; George Tuen was a Hessian, and was a
soldier in the Revolutionary War. Another early settler was James Wil-
liamson, one of General Washington's staff officers. In the first census taken
after the erection of Bushkill. the ijojuilation is given at 1,262. It was

502 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

purely an agricultural district ; the increase in its inhabitants was slow, and
in 1870 had reached 1901. The great wealth that underlaid the surface had
not been developed at this time; the first attempts to quarry slate were
not a profitable undertaking. The average valuation of the land for agricul-
tural purposes was about $20 an acre, but as the slate beds became success-
fully worked, this valuation naturally was enhanced. At the base of the
mountain there were originally forests of chestnut, white, black and red oak,
and along the stream, maple, ash and hemlock were abundant. On the
banks of the creek and its branches were grist and saw mills. Charcoal
burning was at one time an important industry.

The German language was generally spoken throughout the township,
though in the north English prevailed to some extent. The first school in
the township was taught at the Union church in the German language, and
an English school was not opened until 1S20. There are several hamlets
located within the limits of the town, small in population, and consist gen-
erally of a store, a tavern and a few dwellings.

In the township of Bushkill is the Union Church, situated a short dis-
tance from Belfast, erected and dedicated in 1829, and at first used by three
denominations — Lutheran, Reformed and Moravian — but at the present time
the latter has not a settled minister. The Methodist Episcopal church was
erected in the northwestern part of the township in 1832, and was conse-
crated in September, that year, by Rev. Thomas Millard. The Canaan church
of the Evangelical Association was erected in 1851 and dedicated in Decem-
ber of that year by Rev. Frederick Crocker, who was the first minister.
The Lutheran and Reformed church at Bushkill Centre was erected in 1873
at a cost of $8,500. The cornerstone was laid in May, 1873, ^'^<i the church
dedicated in December of the same year. Of the four denominations the
Lutherans are the most numerous, while the Reformed stand next in rank
of members. The Methodists are located in the northern part of the town-
ship, while the Moravians live chiefly in the vicinity of Cherry Hill. The
population of the township in 1910 was 1,586, which shows a decrease of
about twenty per cent, in the last forty years.

East Allen Township — East Allen township was a part of Allen township
from the time of the settlement until 1845, when it became a separate organ-
ization. It is bounded on the north by Moore township, on the east by Upper
and Lower Nazareth townships, on the south by Hanover township, and on
the west by Allen township. The township consists of rich rolling farming
land, and is drained by the Catasauqua and Monocacy creeks. When Bath
became a borough, it left the township with only three villages, Jackson-
ville, Seemsville and Weaversville.

St. Peter's Church, usually called Schneider's church, is about three
miles from Weaversville and about ten miles from Bath. It is located on a
hill about two hundred and fifty feet above the beautiful level country stretch-
ing at its base. Here was located for many years prior to the erection of the
church, a school known as Schneider's school, hence the name Schneider's
church. The cornerstone of the church was laid August 2, 1874, and the
dedication took place June 6, 1875. The church was erected at a cost of
$7,000. The first pastors were Robert J. Liesberger, Reformed church, and

TOWNSHIPS 503

M. J. Kramlich, Lutheran. The present pastors are George Laubach, Re-
formed, and A. E. Erdman, Lutheran. The Presbyterian or settlement church
which is in this township is treated under Allen township. On the Henry
Heistand farm is a private cemetery formerly used by the Heistand and
Musselman families. The oldest burial is that of Jacob Musselman, born
November, 1730, died May 16, 1784; and on the Solomon Steinmetz farm is
the Gross burial ground. One of the headstones contains the inscription :
"Peter Gross born 1729 and died 1782.'"

Weaversville is an attractive rural village situated about two miles east
of Northampton in Allen township. It contains a tavern, a store and about
two dozen houses. It was at one time the center of culture and influence in
the western part of Northampton county. Here John Hay, Jr., erected a
grist mill in 1790, which passed into the possession of the Fatzinger family
in 1826. Near the mill is the very beautiful home of the late Jacob Fatzin-
ger, Jr., who was a well-known surveyor and historian, whose family still
resides on the homestead. Christofel Baer erected a mill on Hokendauqua
creek, in the upper part of the borough of Northampton, the year after the
Hay mill was erected. It passed into the possession of the Leh family, and
was recently demolished by one of the cement companies. It was known as
the Stoffe Baer mill.

Here was located the one-time famous Weaversville Academy. The
building, now a store, was erected in 1856, mainly through the influence of
a few well-to-do farmers and professional men, who appointed the following
persons to execute a contract for its erection : Jacob Fatzinger, Jacob Baer,
Isaac Baker, and John Laubach. The latter was selected as the builder.
The first trustees were: President, George Hower; secretary, Samuel
Weaver; E. F. Martin, M.D., Jacob Fatzinger, Daniel Biery, Jonas Lichten-
walner, and David Weaver. The catalogue for 1858 shows that during the
year there had been in attendance 137 pupils, of whom ninety-eight were male
and thirty-nine female. Among those who presided over the academy were
Hiram F. Savage, R. L. Buehrle, Ralph Pendeton, Abraham F. Kind, Rev.
F. P. Bender, C. E. Kummer, and Rev. Leo. F. Kunkel. The academy was
closed in 1888.

Gen. Robert Brown was a lieutenant in Colonel Magaw's regiment,
Flying Camp, and was captured at the surrender of Fort Washington, No-
vember 16, 1776. He and his companions fought for forty-eight hours with-
out food or water, surrendering only when their ammunition was completely
exhausted. They were driven like cattle into a church in New York, fitted
out for a prison. A handful of wormy crackers were given them several
hours after their imprisonment. Of the two thousand more than three hun-
dred died, some being buried while yet alive. After three days, Lieutenant
Brown and some of the others were removed to more humane quarters. He
was exchanged at Elizabethtown, January 25, 1781, and returned to his home
in East Allen township. His title of "general" he received from holding that
office in the militia under Governors Findley and McKean. He was the first
senator from Northampton county, and from 1796 to 1814 had represented
the district in Congress, declining renomination. He enjoyed the personal
friendship of Albert Gallatin, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and many other

504 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

men of political fame. His ashes repose in the Presbyterian cemetery in
Allen township. The unusual large Kentucky buckeye tree which over-
shadows his former residence grew from seed given him by Robert Morris.

Palmer Township — The township of Palmer was originally a part of Forks
township until May 5, 1857, when it was declared by the court a separate
and independent township, and was named in honor of George Palmer, who
was surveyor of the State for many years. The township is situated in the
southeastern part of Northampton county, is about eight and three-quarters
miles long in a northerly and southerly direction, in width east and west is
about two miles, and embraces all that part of Forks township which is laid
on the right and lowest bank of Bushkill creek. A portion of the township
contiguous to Easton was annexed to that cit}-. The. township is bounded on
the north by Upper Nazareth and Plainfield townships, on the east by Forks
township, the dividing line being Bushkill creek and the city of Easton, on
the south by the borough of Glendon and Williams township, divided there-
from by the Lehigh river, and on the west by Bethlehem, Lower and Upper
Nazareth townships.

The township contains many fine farms, the soil being unsurpassed in
its fertility, and there are not fifty acres of waste land in the township that
cannot be used for agricultural purposes. Underlying the soil is a fine blue
limestone, and in various places rich deposits of hematite iron ore in large
quantities are found. There is plenty of water power furnished by the Lehigh
river and Bushkill creek. On the Bushkill creek in former days were located a
number of flour and grist mills, some of which arc still in operation. Of
the principal villages, Odenweldertown and Mutchlertown have become a
part of the borough of West Easton. Seipsvillo is a small village three miles
from Easton, and four miles from Nazareth.

The first fair and cattle show in Northampton county was held in the
fall of 1855 by the Northampton County Agricultural Society, on what is
now the southwest corner of Fifteenth and Butler streets in the city of Easton.
Then arose a controversy where the permanent buildings should be located,
Easton, Bethlehem and Nazareth were places spoken of, and each one
claimed and pressed its advantages. Finally Nazareth was selected, grounds
purchased and buildings erected. This caused dissatisfaction amongst the
citizens of Easton, and led to organization of the Farmers' and Mechanics'
Institute of Northampton County. A constitution was adopted October 24,
1855, and a committee appointed, who purchased twenty-nine acres of land
in Palmer township and erected buildings. The first fair was opened Septem-
ber 23, 1856, and was a grand financial success. During the spring and sum-
mer of 1861, Camp Washington was established on the grounds. The first to
occupy the camp was the First Regiment of Rhode Island Marine Artillery,
commanded by Col. Ambrose E. Burnside. On the departure of this regi-
ment to the seat of war, the camp was occupied by three regiments of the
Reserve Volunteers'of Pennsylvania, numbering nearly three thousand strong.

LIugh De Payens Commandery, Knights Templar, of Easton, gave in
1879 a ball in the hall of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Institute, which was
the most elaborate afTair ever given in Northampton county. The walls of
the building were extensively decorated, entirely obliterating the woodwork.

TOWNSHIPS 505

Washington Township — This township hes in the shape of an almost perfect
triangle, and is bounded on the northeast by Upper Mount Bethel township,
on the southeast b)- Lower Mount Bethel, on the west by Plainfield, and on
the north by Monroe county. It was formerly a part of Lower Mount Bethel,
and was erected into a separate township in 1871. The surface is principally
rolling and hill}-, underlaid with slate formations, except along the southern
side of the Blue Mountain ridge, where there is a marshy tract or valley,
which is a source of the springs that feed Martin's creek, which flows through
its center, nearly the entire length of the township, furnishing abundance of
water power for mills.

The settlement of the township dates back to 1730, at the time of the
Scotch-Irish settlement at Martin's creek, when a group of cabins was erected
at a point which is now Richmond. Other pioneers much later than this,
however, were Philip Shuck, who built a loghouse where Bangor is now
located ; and the Kerns, Alberts. Oberholtzs and Funks were old pioneer
families. Roads from Nazareth to the river were laid out before 1750, but
the first local roads were laid out and worked about 1802, one running
through Ackcrman.sville to Fox Gap, and two years later one from Henry's
Mill and Wind Gap to Williamsburg. A log mill was built at .Xckermans-
ville in 1788, which was soon afterwards followed by the erection of other
mills. The first post-ofifice was established in 1804 at Richmond, which is
located in the southeastern corner of the township. This is a small hamlet,
situated at a cross-roads, containing a hotel, general store, church, grist mill,
and a few residences. The Richmond Methodist Episcopal Church, of which
Rev. Charles H. Eyer was pastor in 1915, was organized and built an edifice
in 1840, with seating capacity for two hundred and fifty. It has a member-
ship of one hundred and thirty.

The southern half of the township is fertile and well adapted to purposes
of agriculture, but slate underlays the northern portion of the soil, making
it less valuable for farming. The exact population of the township at the
time of its erection from Lower Mount Bethel is hard to determine ; its historj-
previous to its separation is chiefly merged in the original township from
which it was formed. The erection of Bangor into a borough soon after the
incorporation of the township, has led to the growth of population in late
years in this borough rather than in the township. The slate industry, how-
ever, has not, as is the usual case in townships wholly devoted to agricultural
pursuits, decreased the population, but has materially increased it, as in 1910
there were 3,532 inhabitants in the township outside of the borough of
Bangor.

.'N.ckermansville, about two miles south of Bangor, in the western por-
tion of Washington township, is a small community of about fifty houses.
It is a station on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, with the
usual mercantile establishments of a village of its size. The Ackermansville
Evangelical Church is the only house of worship. Its pastor in 1915 was
Rev. Anton E. Miller.

Flicksville, about one mile south of Bangor, is in the center of the town-
ship. The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad passes through the
village, which consists of about forty-five houses. The public school is

5o6 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

located on the Martin's creek road. The Flicksville Lutheran and Reformed
Church, on the same road, was in 1915 under the charge of Rev. Howard A.
Long for the Reformed congregation, and Rev. William E. Werner for the
Lutheran. The membership of the Lutheran church was seventy-five, of the
Reformed, eleven. Factoryville is hardly more than a small hamlet.

Wilson Tozunship — The agitation for incorporating a new township from
Palmer township was consummated by the courts in 1914. This new sister
to the galaxy of Northampton townships was named Wilson, in honor of
Woodrow Wilson. The first supervisors appointed by the courts were Wil-
liam Hookway, James Martin, and William Moser. The present board of
supervisors are : David Stout, Harry Transue, John A. Yohe, E. O. Correll,
and Floyd Young. The borough adjoins the city of Fasten on the east, is
bounded on the south by the borough of West Easton, on the north and west
by Palmer township. The water supply for fire and domestic use is obtained
from the reservoir on Fifteenth street, the borough having one volunteer fire
company, viz., the Palmer Volunteer Company. The educational facilities
consist of a high school and two intermediate schools, having accommoda-
tions for about one thousand pupils. The estimated population of the town-
ship is 6,000.

Mainly through the efforts of a theological student of Ursinus Seminary,
a Sunday school branch was established on the west side of the city of
Easton. Meetings were held in public school buildings, and in 1897 a move-
ment was started to construct a brick church. The membership consisted
at the time of thirty-five, and the congregation was known as the Memorial
Reformed Church. The Rev. Wilson S. Hartzell took charge in 1891, and
resigned in February, igoo. He was succeeded by J. W. Gilds ; the present
pastor is Rev. John P. Diefifenderfer. The church is located at the corner of
Nineteenth street and Freemansburgh avenue.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, on Twentieth
and Washington streets, was consecrated and dedicated May 17, 1903. The
first pastor was Rev. Paul L Rodreck ; he was succeeded by Rev. J. A. Klick,
who was installed January 14, 1905. The next to assume charge was Rev.
Louis S. Trump, who was inducted into office January 22, 1908, and is at
present in charge.

T^-^Z.

COLONIAL WAREHOUSE ON DELAWARE

COLONL^L WAREHOUSES ON DELAWARE RIVER

CHAPTER XXXVII
BOROUGHS.

'South Easton — The location on the south bank of the Lehigh river opposite
Easton was plotted for a village as early as 1833, by the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company. It was originally a portion of the township of Wil-
liams, and a part of the site of the village was in years long past a farm
owned by Melchoir Hay, who bought the rights to seven hundred acres from
John Rush, the original purchaser from the Proprietaries. Hay was one of
the axemen who helped to clear away the thickets at the Forks of the Dela-
ware, when Parsons and Scull laid out the town of Easton.

It was incorporated as a borough under the name of South Easton by
an act of the Assembly passed May 27, 1840, and at the first election, held
July 4 of that year, Christian Martin was elected burgess ; William Nyce, Bar-
tholomew Murtha, Amos Rogers, Gilbert Valentine, George Savage, and
David Moyer, councilmen ; Jacob Deiley, high constable.

South Easton was a canal outlet, hence the establishment of the town to
utilize the extensive water power furnished by the canal. The initial enter-
prise before its organization as a borough was in 1832 the erection of a saw-
mill by A. Abbott and James McKeen. The following year a bucket factory
was started, but it was of short duration, and the enterprise, not being a
success, was converted into a grist mill. A second flour mill was erected in
1834, which continued business a score of years, when it was changed to a
foundry and machine business. The more recent industries of South Easton
have been dealt with in another part of this work.

The opening of the Lehigh Valley railroad in 1846 was a commencement
of a new era in the borough's prosperity. The location of the company's
round-house and machine shops within its limits gave new life and vigor to
all enterprises within the boundaries of the borough. By a decree of court
the borough in 1876 was divided into three wards. Needed improvements
were made; Canal street was macadamized its entire length, street lamps
erected, dangerous thoroughfares were guarded by substantial railings. The
borough extended along the banks of the Lehigh for a distance of two miles
to the borough of Glendon, and its average breadth was about two-thirds of
a mile. The entire borough in 1877, when its population was about 4,000,
was laid out in squares and these again divided into lots. South Easton,
though it received a backset at the time of the panic in 1873, soon revived
and continued its prosperous career until its annexation to the city of Easton,
since which time its history is a part of that community.

Bath — Bath, the namesake of Bath, England, the latter noted for the won-
derful cure of its waters and a fashionable pleasure resort, is located in the
loveliest of green valleys of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the centre borough
of Northampton county, eight miles north of Bethlehem and eleven north-
west from Easton. It is situated on the headwaters of the winding Mono-
quasy (Monocacy is now the prevalent form of the name), an Indian word
meaning "stream with several large bends."

5o8 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Bath was founded by the Scotch-Irish, or Ulster Scots, and is owned and
inhabited chiefly by the Pennsylvania Germans. Originally it formed part of
the Craig or "Irish Settlement," and the territory was named Allen town-
ship, in honor of Chief Justice William Allen, who became proprietor about
1740. The Craig, Ralston, Lattimore, McCord, McCook, McConnell, Brown,
Sterling, Horner, and Wilson families composed the pioneer band of Ulster
.Scots who first settled in Bath and the immediate vicinity.

The land cast of the Alouoquas)', upon which the greater part of Bath
stands, was originally the property of Chief Justice William Allen, who in
1766 conveyed it to his son, Andrew Allen. The latter by written articles
of agreement on May i, 1776, covenanted to convey the same to John Latti-
more. It comprised one hundred and fifty-nine acres and sixty perches, and
was sold for £4 los. per acre. Before Lattimore had paid all the purchase
money, Benjamin Franklin, then president of the Supreme Executive Council
of Pennsylvania, seized and confiscated all of Andrew Allen's land, accusing
Allen of high treason, "for having adhered to and knowingly and willingly
aided and assisted the Enemies of this State and of the United States by hav-
ing joined their armies, etc." His lands were sold by the State and bought
with Continental money. It should be remembered that in the Treaty of
Peace at Paris, September 3, 1783, it was agreed that the property of Tories
should be respected. This agreement was not kept, and the Tories were
treated so badly that within a few years many of them left the country. The
difficulty continued until the title thus acquired was disputed in 1809 by
the heirs of Andrew Allen, and the courts decided against the purchasers
under the State, so that they had to pay for their lands a second time. This
caused many of the Scotch-Irish to move away.

The land west of the Monoquasy, and upon which the remaining part
of Bath stands, was also confiscated by the State through Charles Biddle,
from Andrew Allen, 1778, and sold to John Sterling, after which it was con-
veyed to the Ralstons, Bergers, Siegfrieds, and Hirsts. The land east of
Bath was thrown open to settlement December 8, t77j, when it was pur-
chased by Philip Michael, Conrad Best, and Jacob Dech. It was a part of
the Barony of Nazareth, originally a five thousand acre tract of land, the
property of Lady Letitia Audrey, of Worminghurst, County Sussex, Eng-
land. She was the daughter of William Pcnn. and vi'as made owner and ruler
of the barony. Her title was confirmed by deed of her half-brothers, under
date September 25-26, 1731. "on yielding and jiaying therefor to the said
John Penn, Thomas Penn, and Richard Penn, their heirs and assigns, one
Red Rose, on the 24th day of June yearly, if the same shall be demanded, in
full for all services and rents." This deed is recorded in Philadelphia, in
Book F, Volume vi, page 121. Authentic copies of the deed are in existence,
and according to tradition the rent was formally paid with due ceremony
by Lady Letitia.

In r772, lacob Dech of Forks township. Conrad Best of Williams town-
ship, and Philip Michael, purchased of Nathaniel Seidel. of Bethlehem, five
hundred acres from the remote western end of the barony (which reaches to
the borough line), for $13.40 an acre, besides "yielding and pa\ing one Red
Rose on the 24th of June yearly," which is specified in the old deed. The

BOROUGHS 509

land south of Bath, or of the original Lattimore farm, was originally the
property of Joseph Horner and Hugh Wilson, whose descendant, Jennie
Horner, still owns the old homestead and resides in the "Settlement."

The aforesaid land titles were parts of the original Allen tract of five
thousand acres, which included the "Settlement," and which by a joint war-
rant of the proprietors in 1732 was deeded to Thomas Penn, who assigned it
the same day to one Joseph Turner, of Philadelphia, who transferred it three
years later to William Allen, whose eldest daughter Ann was the wife of
Governor John Penn. Another daughter, Margaret, married James De Lan-
cey, whose home was in Bath, England, and out of respect both to the Penn
and Allen families, the name Bath was taken in honor of her English home
city.

Long before the Aliens gained their warrant to these lands they had
become occupied by the Scotch-Irish squatters. In 1728 — antedating by
man}- years the settlement of Easton, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Allcntown —
a colony of these blue-blooded Scotch Presbyterians came to this portion of
Penn's wide woods, not knowing the map well enough to discover that they
had settled on the manors of Charlton and Fcrmor, and not troubling much
about the forms of law, as no clear title was obtained until the time of the
Allen ownership of these tracts, when conformity was yielded and settle-
ment duly made. Meanwhile possession was worth more than parchment
deeds, and if the crops at first were poor, the rents certainly were cheap.
But the Ulsterman has passed away, and today in this rich and delightful
section abound on every side the descendants of our thrifty German forbears,
who still speak, in the sixth or eighth generation, the smooth-flowing, musical
and quaint Saxon dialect that the first settlers brought over one hundred and
sixty years ago from the banks of the Rhine and Weser. It may be said that
the "Craig Settlement" is like a Celtic isle in a Saxon sea, about as large as
the Galilean lake. It has maintained its distinct architectural, linguistic and
religious characteristics for manj' generations, until by the law of the sur-
vival of the fittest the Saxon neighbor has either by marriage or inheritance
or by superior ability in the paying results of agriculture, gotten possession
of the once broad and rich acres of these stern and sturdy Scotch-Irish Pres-
byterians. The fine and proud old homesteads built spaciously of limestone
in ante-Revolutionary days by the wide-awake and epoch-making sons of
Scotland, have during the past generation or two been filling up with the
neighboring scions of Saxon origin. For it was in the Forks of the Delaware
and especially on the banks of the Lehigh and Monoquasy that during the
first half of the eighteenth century there was a strange neighborly com-
mingling in pioneer emergencies of four nationalities, the Indian, the English
land-holders, the Scotch-Irish, the Moravian and other Germans.

Fort Ralston is the oldest structure in this locality. It was built in 1757.
during the French and Indian War, as a house of refuge and defense against
the red men. It was strongly built of stone, provided with immense fire-
places on two floors, and had a spring in the cellar to provide the water, and
port-holes for the trusty pioneer's rifle, while about it circled a stockade from
which defense was made. "Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania" recites a horri-
ble tale of the bloodiest butchery that occurred in this place, in 1763, when

5IO NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

several white victims fell a prey to the savage tomahawk, and when Fort
Ralston played an important part in the sad drama. Among those cruelly
butchered was the wife of James Horner, whose grave is found in the old
■ Presbyterian church burial-grounds. The inscription on her tombstone reads
as follows:

In memory of Jane, wife of James Horner,

who suffered death by the hands of the savage Indians,

October eighth. Seventeen Hundred and Sixty-Three.

aged fifty years.

Near by this ancient place of sepulture, containing the tombs of all the old
worthies of this Ulster-Scot settlement, stood the first church of these devout
Presbyterians. It was erected about'^731, and several times replaced by rural
structures, so that the present edifice is the third in turn. The church received
a charter from the government of Great Britain, May 12, 1772. It witnessed
in its earlier days the preaching of Revs. Gilbert Tennent, James Campbell,
and David Brainerd, the celebrated Indian missionary. Rev. John Rosbrough,
who was pastor during the Revolutionary War period, accompanied his flock
to the front of battle as chaplain, and fell a victim of Hessian murderers at
Trenton, in January, 1777.

Another historic structure is the Wolf Academy, not that a Wolf built or
ever owned it, but simply because George Wolf, the seventh governor of
Pennsylvania, was possibly the most illustrious pupil it enrolled, or because
he was for a time its teacher. Other ancient buildings are the "Old White
Church," the Wesselhoeft, Kern, and Steckel homes, in Chestnut street, and
the Kreider, Engelman, Lattimore, Scott, Hirst, and Vogel homes, on Main
street.

Let us pause for a moment and take a retrospective view of Bath's promi-
nent personages during the past century or more: Gov. George Wolf, the
founder of the free school system of education in Pennsylvania; Lieut. -Gov.
Jacob Kern, and Joseph Hirst, friends of Wolf, and additional supporters of
the free school system ; Augustus Fox, linguist and pulpit orator ; Theodore
A. Seip, late president of Muhlenberg College; William Wesselhoeft, who
established here in 1829 the first homeopathic school of medicine in America;
Surveyor-General George Palmer; Gen. Conrad Kreider; Maj. William G.
Scott, senator, who was instrumental in securing the charter for Lafayette
College; Senators Engelman and De Walt; Lieutenant Steckel; Capt. James
Ralston, who was also a surveyor; Brittania D. Barnes, merchant; Daniel
Steckel, the centenarian; and Harvey E. Bartholomew, the "Boy Orator."
To Dr. William Wesselhoeft, in Bath, as medical students, came Joseph H.
Pulte, a graduate of the University of Marburg, later author of numerous
medical books, and founder of Pulte Medical College in Cincinnati; J. C.
Gosewisch, of the University of Gottingen, the first to introduce homeopathy
in the State of Delaware ; Gustav Reichelm, of the University of Halle, who
carried the new science across the Alleghanies and settled in Pittsburgh ;
John H. Floto, a university graduate and Lutheran minister, who made his
home at first in the South, but later in California ; besides these were Feren-
thielein, Adeliger and others. The majestic Dr. Constantine Hering came

BOROUGHS

also, not as a pupil, for he had studied with the great Hahnemann himself,
but to assist in laying plans to establish the North America Academy of the
homeopathic healing art at Allentown. This was in 1835, six years after the
opening of the Bath school, and the first faculty consisted of Drs. Hering,
Wesselhoeft, Freytag, Romig, Pulte, and Detweiler. In 1841, Dr. Wessel-
hoeft removed to Boston, where he became one of the most prominent physi-
cians in that city. He died in 1859, and left two sons, both natives of Bath,
to perpetuate the honor of his name. Among the prominent allopathic physi-
cians and surgeons were Dr. William Ellis Barnes, to whom credit is given
for successfully performing the first Caesarian operation in eastern Pennsyl-
vania; Dr. P. B. Breinig, the first to perform lithotomy and ovariotomy in
this section of the country ; Dr. Adam L. Kotz, long curator of St. Luke's
and of Easton Hospital, one of the best pathologists in America, and famous
for having discovered the influenza germ ; the Kerns, successful fever physi-
cians ; Drs. Mulhallon, Seip, Fox, and Berlin also stood high in their chosen
profession.

In 1816 Capt. James Ralston surveyed and laid out the village of Bath,
located in Allen township. There were not more than five dwellings in this
infant village, but it must have been a place of some business standing, as
it contained two stores, a tannery, a grist mill built in 1812 by Joseph Sieg-
fried, and a second mill built in 1817 by Jacob Vogel, also another store
was opened. It was incorporated as a borough February i, 1856. The first
borough ofificers were : Burgess, James Vliet ; members of the council, An-
drew Haupt, Jacob Shimer, Thomas Moser, John Mosey and Samuel Straub ;
clerk, Abraham S. Knecht; high constable, Benjamin Strat; street commis-
sioner, Daniel Miller; treasurer. Dr. G. P. Keim. A survey and plot of the
borough was authorized.

The first meeting for the purpose of building a house of worship in the
borough of Bath was held in the year 1833, when it was resolved to erect a
Union church to be used by the Reformed and Lutheran congregations. A
building committee was elected, a constitution adopted, and the church com-
pleted in October, 1834, and named "The Bath Kirche." In 1834 the Rev.
Augustus Fuchs was unanimously elected pastor of the Lutheran congrega-
tion. He was one of the most popular German preachers in Northampton
county, a native of Steddorf, Zeven county. Kingdom of Hanover. His natal
day was May 6, 1803. At the age of eight years his father. Dr. John C.
Fuchs, placed him in the gymnasium at Stade, Hanover. On the death of his
parents, he entered the Theological Seminary in that city. Here he con-
tinued his studies until he received appointment as a private tutor in the
family of a wealthy physician of Rothenburg, Bavaria. Soon after he accepted
a call as cantor at Altenburch, Hanover. At this time the missionary spirit
was prevailing in Germany, and he prepared himself for mission work among
the American Indians. Embarking for America, he arrived at Philadelphia,
proceeded to Baltimore, and under advice entered the Gettysburg Theological
Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Here he remained a while, when he
accepted an appointment in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, and while en-
gaged in this service he was licensed by the Ministerium of Pennsylvania,
June 4, 1833. He received and accepted a call to Bath, and became first

51-2 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

pastor of the Lutheran church that had been newly organized out of the
oldest congregation in the neighborhood. Besides, he served the congrega-
tions at Plainfield and Howertown. He visited the Fatherland in 1870, and
lingered awhile amid the scenes of his childhood. During the forty \ ears of
his ministrations the congregation, which had been small when he assumed
charge, became strong and numerous. He died at his residence in Bath,
December 20, 1879.

The Lutheran and Reformed congregation of Bath and vicinity occupied
jointly the Bath Kirche from the year of their founding (1833) ^ the time of
their friendly separation in 1876. The charter and constitution of St. John's
Lutheran Church were adopted December 11, 1875. The cornerstone of the
present church was laid on Whit-Sunday, 1876. The Rev. S. A. Ziegenfuss
became pastor November 5, 1875, continuing until January 3, 1892, when he
preached his farewell sermon, having accepted a call to the pastorate of St.
Michael's Lutheran Church, Germantown, Pennsylvania. The Rev. J. PL
Kuder became pastor, April i, 1892, and served until December 31, 1897, when
he resigned, to confine his labors to the remainder of his charge — Howertown
and Siegfried. The Rev. J. H. Ritter took charge August i, 1896, and was
succeeded by Rev. C. C. Miller, who in 1910 resigned his duties, and Rev. S.
E. Ochsenford, the present pastor, was installed.

The history of Christ Reformed Church is in common with that of the
Lutheran until their separation in 1876. The pastors before separation were
Revs. Helfenstein, Becker, Erasmus Helfrich, D. Y. Hessler and M. A. Smith.
In June, 1875, measures were taken for the erection of a house of worship,
and a committee was appointed to solicit aid. Subscriptions were soon
received amounting to $6,000, the building committee purchased a lot on
Chestnut street, and the work of building was vigorously prosecuted. The
cornerstone was laid in June, 1877, and the Rev. M. A. Smith became the
first pastor in the new church edifice. He was succeeded in 1886 by the Rev.
J. O. Lindeman, whose successor in 1898 was Rev. William U. Helffrich.
The latter was born at Fogelsville, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, January
4, 1873. He was prepared for college by his father, and entered Ursinus
College, graduating from the seminary connected with that institution in
June, 1896. He served his first charge in Dillsburg, York county, Pennsyl-
vania, leaving there in February, 1898, to accept a call from the Christ Re-
formed Church. The history of the Allen Township Presbyterian Church
has already appeared in another part of this publication.

Frcemanshurg — The first settler of the present bounds of Freemansburg,
formerly a part of the township of Bethlehem, was John Nance, an early
miller, from whom it derived the name of Nance's Mills. The Bachmans
were among the first families, and Peter Bachman, an early ancestor, erected
a stone building as early as 1760, which was the first structure that could be
considered as of much iiretension ; this was used as a tavern. The location
became known as Willow Grove, which was afterwards beautified and made
a popular resort. A year or two later a Bethlehem Moravian named liuber
erected a saw mill, also a distillery, at the north end of the borough.

The little hamlet began to assume some distant approach towards the

BOROUGHS 513

dignity of a village, when in 1830, just after the opening of the Lehigh canal,
Jacob Freeman built a second tavern, and the settlement gradually took the
name of Freemansburg, in honor of the new boniface. A mercantile business
was opened by Thomas and Fellows, and in the course of five years two
other stores located in the village. The business of boat building was intro-
duced, which at one time gave employment to a large number of men. The
first schoolhouse was built in 1838. The opening of railroads on both bides
of the river materially aided in the deveolpment and increase of population.

The incorporation of the borough took place January' 24. 185O, and at
the first election, March 21, George Bach man was elected chief burgess.
The members of the council were: William Gwinner, president; Amos Seip,
John Warg, Thomas Doney, and R. O. Lerch. The first borough tax levied
amounted to $455.32.

The j)rincipal manufacturing industries have been dealt with in the
preceding chapters. Besides those mentioned in 1875, there was the Lehigh
Valley Manufacturing Company, who manufactured family and toilet soaps,
candles and sundry toilet articles. The undertaking was started May 18,
1868, by Bachman & Clewell, but the firm title has been changed several
times. Among the popular brands of soap made were two, namely Erasive
and National, which gained quite a reputation. The works were totally de-
stroyed by fire, April 13, 1880. The other industries were limited to a
machine shop established in 1875 by Martin Weaver; a carriage manufac-
tory established in 1875 by G. & A. Bachman, and two brick grist mills.

The early inhabitants of Freemansburg attended divine services at the
Lower Saucon church. Later a building was erected for the pur])ose of
holding religious worship. A marble tablet in the front wall bore the inscrip-
tion, "The Communion Church of Freemansburg, erected 1842." In this
church the Lutheran, Reformed and Moravian ministers were permitted to
preach. The Moravian ministers of Bethlehem, previous to the erection of
this building, had been holding services in the village schoolhouse nearby.
After the erection of the new church. Rev. George Diehl of Easton, Rev.
C. F. Welden of Bethlehem, and Rev. John C. Schmidt, ministered to the
Lutherans. The Evangelical Lutheran church was formally organized No-
vember II, 1859, and Rev. E. Greenwald became pastor. His successor,
Rev. J. B. Bath of Bethlehem, took charge of the congregation April 14, 1867,
and served until October i, 1870, and the first of the following year the
Rev. C. J. Cooper of South Bethlehem was elected pastor.

The Reformed congregation during its earlier vears was served by dif-
ferent pastors, and for a long period the pastorate was vacant and the church
almost lost its identity. In 1864 the Rev. W. R. Hoffard became pastor,
and the congregation gained a steady growth in membership and efficiency.
The Rev. W. R. Hoffard served the congregation for a period of eight years,
when he was succeeded by Rev. A. Z. Snyder. The cornerstone of a new
church was laid May 16, 1875, and consecrated the following 3-ear. The
church property is owned jointly by the Lutherans and Reformed, and its
estimated value is about $15,000.

The first class of the Evangelical Association was organized in 1848 by
Rev. Daniel Weiand. The class consisted of four members, who held ser-

NORTH.— 1— 33.

514 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

vices in a warehouse, also in private houses, until late in the year 1849, when
rooms were rented. The requisite amount having been raised by subscrip-
tions, a brick church was erected and named Zion Church. On the com-
pletion of the church the membership had increased to thirty-five, and they
were supplied by different preachers, according to the ritual of the church.
It was connected with different other communities or circuits until the year
1869, when it became a self-supporting charge, the Rev. J. C. Bliem becoming
the settled pastor. Since his time it has been supplied by the Annual Con-
ference.

The population of the borough continued to increase, and by the census
of 1910 there were 1,147 inhabitants.

Nazareth — The incorporation of the borough of Nazareth took place April
14, 1863. At this time it was a village of about one thousand inhabitants.
The citizens, mostly of German descent, were contented to pursue their
various employments with but little ambition to spur them on to more active
and lucrative business. The German language predominated in common
conversation, the English, however, gradually coming into more general use.
The borough had all the usual professions and trades of a provincial village.
the manufacturing industries were limited to two brick yards, one guitar fac-
tory, one iron foundry, one machine shop for agricultural implements, one
sash factory and planing mill, two carriage factories.

The lease system of the Moravians was abolished in 1849 by the Gen-
eral Synod, and soon after this the town plan of Nazareth was enlarged,
property was offered to the highe.'-' bidders, and an impetus was thus given
to business in general which resulted in the erection of a number of well
built brick dwellings on several of the new streets that were then opened.
In the latter part of the eighteenth century water for {)ublic use was intro-
duced from several contiguous springs, brought to the consumers by a main
pipe. A reservoir was built in 1859 just west of the Evergreen Cemetery,
and the waters of John's spring some distance beyond was by iron pipes
distributed through the greater part of the village. The Nazareth Water
Company was chartered in 1870. The first hand fire engine was introduced
in 1790, and a second one about 1820. At different times various fire organi-
zations existed, but at the time of the incorporation of the borough there
was but one fire company, though both of the old engines were on hand,
with a large supply of hose for attachment to the fire plugs connected with
pipes leading from the reservoir.

Nazareth became a post town soon after the close of the War for Ameri-
can Independence. There were daily mail, stage and express facilities to
all parts of the country. It became the center of post roads and travel from
New York and Philadelphia to the northern parts of Pennsylvania. The
arrival and departure of the mail stage was a great event in the quiet com-
munity, especially during the time of the Troy coaches, when the postilion's
horn announced from afar the approach of travelers. This was, however,
changed by the advent of railroad facilities, though Nazareth at tlu' time
of its incorporation was five miles from the nearest railroad station. In the
latter part of 1771 the first inn (not taking into consideration the House of
Entertainment at the Rose Settlement) was built. It has been described as

OCTAGONAL SCHOOLHOUSE
Upper and Lower Nazareth Tovvnsliips (Near Bath). 1828-1878

ALLEN TOWNSHIP PRESBVTERLAN CHURCH
Near Weaversville, East Allen Township

Tlir, KT/V V01!.K
plir.LU' lioIlAllY

ASTOH, I.ENOX ANR
TILliEN FOrNUATlilNS

BOROUGHS 515

"a rather murky looking tenement," but in course of time it was improved
and enlarged. It was built on the site of the old Nazareth Hotel. The
American Hotel was opened in 1853, and the Franklin House in i860. The
prominent hotels of the present day are Nazareth Inn and Hotel Baronial.

A public market house was built on the Square about 1780, and was in
use until about 1857, when it was demolished. In the northern part of the
village the grounds of the Northampton County Agricultural Society were
located and laid out in 1854. The second floor of the Whitefield House is
devoted to the Library and Museum of Antiquities of the Moravian His-
torical Society, which was organized in 1857. The president of the society
is the Rev. W. N. Schwarze.

Among the early mutual fire insurance companies is the Farmers'
Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Northampton County. It was incor-
porated March 15, 1845, and commenced business March 23, 1848. The fire
risks of the company December 31, 1873, amounted to $10,700,000, and it had
received since its organization premiums amounting to $139,113.25, the ag-
gregate losses paid being $122,103.92. The officers were: Charles L. Whit-
sell, president; John Leibert, secretary. At an annual meeting held August
22, 1882, the company was reorganized and elected Asher D. Shemer, presi-
dent ; Peter Gross, treasurer ; John Leibert, secretary. The amount of insur-
ance in full, September i, 1919, was $26,000,000, and the total amount paid in
losses in the year 1918 was $43,011.37. The present officers of the company
are Samuel Hutchinson, president ; A. H. StofTlet, secretary and treasurer.

The Farmers' Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Pennsylvania
operates in Northampton and adjoining counties. The Legislature granted
the company a charter, and the first meeting was held June i, 1867. The
officers elected at this meeting were: Rudolph Deck, president; Jacob Baer,
secretary; Samuel S. Messinger, treasurer. The following have filled the
office of president: William Walton, Peter Edelman, and E. P. Buzzard,
elected June i, 1905. George Boyer, the second secretary, was succeeded
April 24, 1897, by Jacob H. Beck, and he in turn. December 24, 1901, by
Wilson E. Beck. The office of treasurer was filled for thirty-three years by
Samuel S. Messinger, his successor; one of the original directors, T. Frank
Butz, served until 1907. The present treasurer is C. C. Marsh. The total
receipts of the company to December 31, 1917, was $372,829.01; losses paid
$301,637.17; policy holders 4232; insurance in force, $6,391,336.90.

The church in which was held religious services by the Moravians of
Nazareth in an early day, is now a part of Nazareth Hall, and is used as a
gymnasium. The principals of the institution were the presiding pastors,
assisted in the early part of the nineteenth century by assistant pastors.
This office was filled in 1811-17 by Rev. Abraham Reinke ; his successor
was Rev. John F. Frueauff, who in 1819 gave way to Rev. Emanuel Rond-
thaler, who served until 1839. The next incumbent was Rev. Samuel
Reinke, who afterward became Bishop of the Moravian church, and died
at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1875. The last to fill the office
was Rev. William L. Lennert, 1853-60, at which time the new church was
built.

The present Moravian church was erected in Center .Square in i860.

5i6 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

The first pastor was Rev. Theophilus Wonderling, a former teacher at Naz-
areth Hall, and who died at Nazareth, April 8, 1864. His successor. Rev.
Edward T. Kluge, was in charge of the congregation from 1864 to 1S67. The
next pastor was Rev. Julius E. Wuensahe, who resigned after serving one
year. He was followed by Rev. Henry A. Shultz, afterwards a bishop of
the church. After serving the congregation three years he was succeeded
by Rev. John F. Worman, who after a short term as pastor gave way to
Rev. William Henry Rice, who remained pastor until 1879, when Rev.
Henry T. Bachman became his successor, resigning in 1882. He after-
ward became a bishop of the church, and died at Grace Hall. Iowa, Octo-
ber 8, 1896. The next pastor was Rev. Maximilian Eugene Gruncrt, who
after a year's service was succeeded by Rev. Edward T. Kluge ; he after-
ward became a professor in the Theological Seminary, and a member of the
governing board of the church. His successor. Rev. Paul de Schweinitz,
was pastor from 1891 to 1898. was also in 1910 a member of the governing
board of the church. The Rev. Charles A. Hacknele was pastor of the con-
gregation from 1898 to 1904, and was succeeded for one year by Rev. Samuel
Gapp. The next pastor was Rev. John Greenfield, who resigned in 1914,
when the present pastor, Rev. Paul S. Meinnert, commenced his labors. He
is a graduate of Moravian College, and Theological Seminary, class of 1898;
before coming to Nazareth he was in charge of congregations at De Forest,
Wisconsin, and Palmyra, New Jersey. An addition to the church was
built in 1916 for the Sunday school. The church has a membership of seven
hundred persons.

The Lutheran and Reformed congregations in 1859 built a Union church
on South Broad, corner of Prospect street. The first pastor of the St. John's
Evangelical Lutheran congregation was Rev. James B. Rath, who com-
menced his labors in March, i860, and resigned in May, 1865. The second
pastor was Rev. Reuben Shuller, installed January 20, 1867, and served until
April, 1869. In August that year Rev. David Kuntz became his successor
and had charge until July 21, 1901. The next to assume pastoral charge
was the Rev. Luther D. Lazarus, who commenced his labors January' i, 1905.
The Reformed congregation, in 1905 for $5,000, disposed of their interests in
the Union church to the Lutherans. The latter demolished the old church
and erected on the site the present church of Gothic style of architecture at
the cost of $60,000. The fifth pastor, the Rev. G. D. Druckenmiller, com-
menced his duties September i, 1905, and was dismissed September 2, 1910.
His successor, Rev. John Henry Miller, served from November i. 1910. to
May I, 1913, and on November 13th of that year the present pastor. Rev.
Milton M. Dry, was installed. Rev. Mr. Dry graduated from the Kutztown
Normal School, in 1904 from Muhlenberg College, and three years later from
Lutheran Theological Seminary. The membership of the church numbers
700, the congregation in the present year is renovating the church edifice at
the cost of $5,000.

The first pastor of St. John's Reformed Church was Rev. J. H. Dubbs,
and succeeded bv Rev. Abraham Bartholomew. The church was supplied
for a short time by Rev. F. W. Reinke, and Rev. M. A. Smith became the
regular pastor. The latter resigned in 1891, and since that time the congre-

BOROUGHS 517

gation has been in charge of Rev. W. H. Wotring. The present church
building of Indiana limestone, corner of Broad and Prospect streets, was dedi-
cated in igo6. The dimensions are 180 by 125 feet, and with the chapel it
has a seating capacity of 1,700. The membership of the church is esti-
mated as numbering 1,000.

The Evangelical denomination in 1877 had a place of worship, corner of
Broad and Walnut streets; the congregation at the present time is small and
there is no resident pastor. The Haman Memorial Church, named in mem-
ory of Bishop C. F. Haman, a native of Nazareth, is the place of worship for
the United Evangelical Church. This congregation was organized October
3, 1900, by Rev. W. F. Hill. The first pastor. Rev. S. P. Erisman, was ap-
pointed February i, 1901. The church, corner of Washington street and
Madison avenue, was built in that year at the cost of $14,000. The member-
ship of the church is about sixty, and the pastor since 191 5 is Rev. H. J.
Klein.

Grace Chapel, a mission of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, was estab-
lished in Nazareth in the eighties of the past century. The present chapel
on Broad street was built with a seating capacity of three hundred. The
present pastor. Rev. John G. Shireman, commenced his duties in the summer
of 1919. The adjacent dwelling to the church has been purchased for ri par-
sonage.

Nazareth has an estimated population at the present time of 4,000 inhabi-
tants. It is connected with the outside world by the Lehigh & New Eng-
land railroad, and the Bangor & Portland railroad, operated by the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western system. The borough is a trolley center, the lines of
the Northampton Transit Company, Lehigh Transit Company, Slate Belt
Line, and the Nazareth and Bath, converging at its center. Among the
industries not previously mentioned in this work are the Belfast Slate Com-
pany, Northampton Hard Vein Slate Company, Bowers' Bros, flouring mill,
Bushkill Milling Compan}', C. F. Martin & Company, guitar factory; Naza-
reth Cement Vault Company, and Nazareth Planing Mill.

Chapman' — The borough of Chapman is located on the west branch of
Monocacy creek, in the southern part of Moore township. The borough
derives its name from William Chapman, who was born in 1816 on the battle-
field of Waterloo, his mother having gone there to attend her wounded
husband. He is said to have discovered the slate deposits in this region, and
acquired the land for a dollar in money and a pint of gin. He formed a
company and amassed a snug fortune. The borough was incorporated in
1865, and in accordance with the census of 1870 contained 388 inhabitants.
In the next decade we note that the borough consisted of two churches, a
post-office, one store, a hotel, schoolhouse, machine shops, slate companies'
offices and shops, and about sixty dwellings, the greater part of which were
owned by the Chapman Slate Company. Quarrying and preparing slate for
market is a very interesting study, and has been fully developed in this
borough. The organization of the companies engaged in this industry have
been fully dealt with in another chapter of this work.

Glendon — Glendon originally formed a part of Williams township, and the

5i8 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

establishment of the Glendon Iron Works was the first cause of the village's
existence. It is situated about two miles above Easton, on the south side
of the Lehigh river, a station on the Lehigh Valley railroad. The Lehigh
canal passes through the borough. The Bests, Hays and other pioneers of
Williams township were original settlers and owners of the lands. The
early male residents were directly or indirectly engaged in the iron industry.
The first to build a house on the green was Frank Hughes, an employee of
the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company. He was soon joined by his brother
Daniel, and the opening and building up of early business enterprises soon
added to the population.

Glendon was incorporated as a borough December i8, 1867, and its first
chief burgess, James Morrison, was appointed by the court. The first bor-
ough census gave a population of 141, and in the census of 1870 it is credited
with 707 inhabitants.

Methodism in Glendon dates back to February, 1874, and the Methodist
Episcopal church was rededicated January 15, 1882. The congregation is
in existence at the present day, and has been in charge at various periods of
prominent ministers of that denomination. At the present day Glendon is
one of the suburbs of the city of Easton, connected with it by a trolley
railroad line, and the census of 1910 gave it a population of about 700.

Hellertown — Hellertown is situated in the center of Lower Saucon township
in the rich and fertile Saucon Valley, on the right bank of Saucon creek. The
original settlers were Christopher and Simon Heller, father and son, Germans,
who originally settled in Milford township, Lehigh county. They came across
the ocean in the ship Winter Gallen. from Rotterdam, arriving in this country
September 5, 1738, and were soon followed by five other sons. The lands
they originally settled amounted altogether to about fifteen hundred acres.
Christopher obtained the patent for his land September 8, 1742, and Simon
received his patent October 14, 1746. Anthony Boehm, the son of Rev. John
Philip Boehm, built one of the first houses in Hellertown.

In 1820 the village contained thirteen houses, eighteen families, three
taverns, two stores, one grist mill and seventy-three inhabitants. For many
years the growth of the place was slow ; educational matters, however, were
not neglected, although no separate school building was erected until 1845,
when John Rentzheimer presented a lot for that purpose in the center of
the village. Previous to this time a room was rented from one of the citizens
in his dwelling for school purposes. A new impetus was given to business
in 1856 by the completion of the North Pennsylvania railroad. The railroad
company originally promised the station should be placed at a certain loca-
tion, but Philadelphia parties instituted a real estate project, purchased a
farm in the opposite direction, laid 'out town lots, and called it Hampton.
This, however, did not prove a success, only one house being built on it
for a number of years, and the project was finally abandoned, the land being
resold to the original owner.

The Saucon Savings Bank was chartered by the Legislature May 10,
1871. Ihe capital stock was $20,000, and the stockholders were individually
liable for double the amount of their holdings. The first officers were: Dr.
P. B. Brenig, president; Jer. S. Hess, cashier; directors: P. B. Brenig, Thomas

BOROUGHS 519

R. Laubach, William R. Yeager, Rev. Samuel Hess and Jacob Markle. The
deposits at one time reached $125,000, but the bank was finally liquidated.

The iron industries have already been dealt with in another chapter of
this work. The other industries were confined to those that depended on
the products of the soil for raw materials. After considerable opposition on
the part of some of the old citizens, the village, by an order of the court,
was incorporated as a borough in 1872. The first election resulted in the
choice of the following officers: Chief burgess, Thomas R. Laubach; town
council : Charles Wagner, J. B. Leith, D. J. Weierbach, Moses Henninger,
W. F. Detwiller and T. S. Eisenhart; justice of the peace, P. B. I.ercli.

Members of the Reformed and Lutheran churches purchased a site for a
church on the southeast corner of Saucon and Northampton streets. A plain
substantial brick edifice was erected and dedicated May 28-29, 1871. The
Rev. T. O. Stem ofificiated for the Reformed congregation until September,
1876, when he offered his resignation, and was succeeded by Rev. A. B.
Koplin. The Rev. William Rath was the first pastor of the Lutheran con-
gregation. The church was called Christ Union Church, and services were
held in two languages, one-half German and one-half English.

Rev. N. Goebel was the first minister of the Evangelical church to
preach in Hellertown. He came to that village in 1850, and on being refused
the schoolhouse to preach in, he spoke in front of the building. After this,
religious services were held by members of this denomination in a dwelling
house, and various pastors from that time to 1870 were sent to preach to
them. In that year they purchased the old schoolhouse and converted it
into a house of worship. Among the regular pastors since 1870 were : Revs.
Henry Stetzel, Jacob Zern, Moses Dissinger and Danief Yiengst.

Two attempts to publish newspapers in the borough proved abortive.
Thomas R. Weber commenced the Hellertown Telegraph, an English and
German paper, in 1858, but it only survived a year. A monthly sheet,
The Saucon Advertiser, in 1875 succumbed to the inevitable after an existence
of a few months.

We find the population of Hellertown in 1880 to be about 550. It con-
tained five stores, two hardware stores, one drug store, two carriage factories,
one foundry, one grist mill, one saw mill, one planing mill, two furnace
stacks, three hotels, a coal and lumber yard, furniture manufactory, a towr^
hall, bank and two churches.

Bangor — The territoiy comprising this borough embraces about five hun-
dred and fifty acres, situated in the northern part of Washington township,
on Martin's creek. The borough owes its existence to the discovery and
successful working of slate quarries in its vicinity. The name of Bangor
was given to the locality on account of the similarity of its natural features
to the town and quarries of Bangor in Wales.

Bangor was incorporated as the eleventh borough in the county May 22,
1875, its population being at that time 1,500. It is described at this time as
containing three hotels, five grocery and dry-goods stores, one shoe store,
one drug store, one tailor shop, six churches, one grist mill and two black-
smith shops. The mechanics employed in manufacturing slates, who consti-
tuted the greater part of the population, were chiefly Welsh and English

S20 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

people of an industrious and moral character. There was erected in 1874
four fine churches, viz. : First Presbyterian, Welsh Presbyterian, Welsh Con-
gregational, and the English Methodist Episcopal Church. There were, be-
sides these, at this time, one Evangelical and one Mennonite church in the
borough.

The Bangor of today, snugly nestled in a valley, with its residences on
the sides of the hills, its handsome business blocks and slag piles of slate
quarries in the distance, is an active, ambitious and thriving community.
It is energetic and enterprising, the estimated population of about 6,000
being largely engaged in the slate industry, of which it is the center. The
steam and trolley transportation is furnished by the Delaware, Lackawanna
& Western, and the Lehigh & New England railroads, the Northampton
Traction Company, the Slate Belt Electric railway, and the Bangor &
Portland railroad.

The Bangor Board of Trade, with a guarantee fund of $150,000, is ener-
getically engaged in promoting and attracting industries to the borough.
The initiation fee is five dollars, with annual dues of one dollar. Ample fire
protection is secured by three companies — the Second Fire Company, Liberty
Fire Company, Rescue Fire Company. The school edifices for public educa-
tion are large and commodious buildings, consisting of a high school with
accommodations for six hundred students, the Garfield School, with two
hundred seats, the Lincoln School, accommodating four hundred pupils, the
McKinlcy School, with rooms for one hundred, and the Roosevelt School,
having seats for two hundred pupils. The educational system is in charge
of the school superintendent, with a competent staff of assistants. The finan-
cial institutions of the borough are housed in substantial, commodious and
handsome buildings erected by them. For a detailed history of these institu-
tions see the chapter on financial institutions in another part of this work.

Bangor has thirteen churches of different religious denominations: The
First Presbyterian Church, on North Second street, was organized and erected
a house of worshi]) in 1874, the first pastor being Rev. James M. Salmon; the
membership of the congregation in 191 5 was 140. The organization of the
present Pennell Welsh Presbyterian Church, located on North F'irst street,
was effected in 1874 with thirty-five members. The services were conducted
in the Welsh language, Rev. Morgan A. Ellis being the first pastor. Subse-
quently a church edifice was built with a seating cajtacity for four hundred
and fifty persons. The membership in 191 5 was over two hundred.

The Baptist denomination is represented by the Mackey Memorial
Church. At the time of organization, the membership was small and the
church property was heavily mortgaged and was advertised for foreclosure
in 1899, when George W. Mackey of Bangor, and his son, Henry A. Mackey
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, purchased the property, presenting it free of
all encumbrances to the congregation as a testimonial to their wife and
mother, Isabel C. Mackey. The church, on the corner of Second and Chestnut
streets, was renovated and refurnished and incorporated under its present
title. The church has a seating capacity of three hundred, and in 191 5. when
Rev. R. P. McPherson was in charge of the congregation, claimed to have a
membership of one hundred and twenty-five. There is no settled pastor at
the present time.

BOROUGHS 521

The cornerstone of the present Bangor Methodist Episcopal Church on
North Third street was laid May 31, 1874. The church has a seating capacity
of five hundred and seventy-five, and its membership in 191 5 was four hun-
dred and twelve. The Faith Methodist Episcopal Church was formerly a
branch of the Bangor Methodist Episcopal Church, and is situated on INIiller
and Xorthampton streets. A church edifice was built in 1907 to accommodate
two hundred worshippers. The organization of the Welsh Methodist Episco-
pal Church on South Fourth street was effected in 1889, with fifty-five mem-
bers. A church was built in 1891, the seating capacity being three hundred;
the membership of the congregation in 191 5 was one hundred and four.

The Bethel Welsh Congregational Church on the corner of First and
Market streets was organized in 1873, and the following year a house of
worship was erected accommodating three hundred worshippers. In 1915,
Rev. Ivor Thomas was in charge of the congregation, but at the present time
there is no settled pastor.

The cornerstone of St. John'.< Reformed Church on Market and Third
streets was laid August 30. 1879. The first pastor was Rev. H. J. W. Hib-
shani. The church erected was a large, imposing and commodious structure,
accommodating one thousand persons. The membership of the church in 191 5
was four hundred, and it was under ministerial charge of Rev. Edward W.
Lentz. The Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church on the corner of Broad-
way and Fifth streets dates its organization from 1865, when thirty was its
constituted membership. A house of worship was erected in 1878, with a
seating capacity of six hundred and thirty. The pastor in charge in 1915 was
Rev. E. A. Ychl. The present pastor is Rev. Dallas W. Greene. Salem
Evangelical Lutheran Clinrcli, located on South Main street near Broadway,
was built in 1863, its seating capacity being five hundred. The pastor in 1915
was Rev Caleb F. Weidner, and the membership was reported to be one hun-
dred and eighty-five. The congregation at the present time is under the
charge of Rev. C. N. Wolfe. St. David's Protestant Episcopal Church, at
the corner of Third and Chestnut streets, was erected in 1913. The Rev. John
Noble Doberstine was rector in 1914, the membership of the church being at
that time about thirty-five. The present rector is Rev. Richard M. Doubs.
The United Evangelical congregation dedicated a new church, November 26,
1899. Special services were held for a number of evenings, conducted by the
former pastors of the church. Revs. G. W. Gross, J. H. Shorey, E. E. Stauf-
fer, J. W'. Hoover, A. B. Snyder. The pastor in 1899 '''^'^^ Rev. H. W. Behney.
The Roman Catholic monaster}- and chapel of Our Lady of Good Counsel is
mentioned elsewhere in this work.

Portland — Portland, the most northerly of the boroughs of Northampton
count'. , is situated in the Delaware river, about five miles north of the Dela-
ware Water Gap. The borough was first known as Dill's Ferry, for the rea-
son that Henrj^ Dill in 181 7 kept a tavern and operated a ferry in that locality.
The piers for a bridge across the Delaware river were first built in 1817, but
collapsed, and it was not until 1868 that a bridge was comjaleted connecting
Portland with the other side of the Delaware river.

In the middle of the nineteenth century the location became known as
Columbia Station. In 1870 the first application was made for a borough char-

522 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

ter, the population being at this time five hundred and fifty inhabitants. This
was not, however, granted until 1876, in which year the borough, which was
formerly a part of Upper Mount Bethel township, was incorporated. The
first borough election was held November 21, 1876.

Portland at the present day has not shown any increase in population :
there are the usual mercantile establishments, a bank, three churches, a school
house, and a newspaper. It is a station on the Bangor & Portland branch of
the Pennsylvania system. The most important manufacturing industrj' is a
limestone quarry where fertilizer is made, giving employment to about
twenty men.

Portland Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1872, and dedicated
July 12, 1874. The Rev. H. T. Zeider was pastor in 191 5. The church in
1919 is in charge of the Rev. David W. Siegrist. Mount Bethel Baptist
Church of Portland was formally organized June 10, 1875. On the organiza-
tion of this church the congregation then worshipping at Johnsonville was
dissolved. A church edifice was built in 1878 at the cost of $2,250, the pastor
at that time being Rev. A. E. Spring. The Rev. J. Albert Crawn, the present
pastor, has had charge of the congregation for a number of years. The First
Presbyterian Church is without a resident pastor at the present time. The
chief burgess in 1919 is Frank C. Nacc ; the clerk, W. J. Transue.

Pen Argyl — The village of Pen Argyl was founded in the town of Plain-
field in 1868, by Welsh laborers employed by the Pennsylvania Slate Com-
pan}', who owned quarries in the vicinity. It was incorporated as a borough
in 1882, and at the first election Richard Jackson was chosen chief burgess
and Izariah Martin, clerk. At the time of the United States census of 1890,
there were 2,100 inhabitants in the borough. The year 1885 saw the estab-
lishment of two churches ; one, known at the present time as the Bethany
Evangelical Church, was dedicated August 24, 1885, and in the preceding
year a church was built with a seating capacity of four hundred. The mem-
bership of the church in 1905 was two hundred and thirty-six, and the Rev.
J. J. Kreisel was in charge. A Methodist Episcopal church, now known as
Zion Methodist Episcopal, was dedicated October 4, 1885; the present pastor
is Rev. William Powick. St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church was organ-
ized in 1883, and the following year built a house of worship with a seating
capacity of three hundred and thirt\ . The congregation had a membership
of two hundred in 1905. and was in charge of William F. Heist, the present
pastor. The First Presbyterian Church of Pen Argyl was founded in 1879,
and the following year built their present frame church edifice ; the congrega-
tion is in charge of Rev. A. P. Mershon. Faith Reformed Church is located
on the corner of Pennsylvania avenue and Heller street. It was organized in
January, 1902, and the following year the church was built, seating two hun-
dred and fifty. The membership in 191 5 was one hundred and forty, and was
in charge of Rev. William H. Brong. A barracks of the Salvation Army was
established in the borough in 1891.

Pen Argyl of the present day is a thriving business community, with its
organized Board of Trade, two national banks and numerous mercantile
houses. It is a station on the Lehigh & New England railroad, and a mile
west of the borough are the shops of that corporation. The Slate Belt trolley

BOROUGHS 523

line also passes through the borough. The estimated population is 5,000 in-
habitants ; the water supply and fire protection are adequate to the needs of
the community. The chief burgess in 1919 is Dr. C. F. Stofflet; the clerk,
J. Irving Weiss.

West Easfon — On the banks of the Lehigh river in the town of Palmer in
the middle of the past century were the villages of Odenweldertown and
Mutchlertown. The former was originally laid parallel with the Lehigh &
Susquehanna railroad by John Odenwelder. It adjoined the western part of
Easton, and no decided improvements occurred until the railroad was com-
pleted, when a substantial increase was made to its population. There was
in 1877 no less than sixty dwelling and tenant houses within its limits.
Southwest of the village was Mutchlertown, located on elevated grounds
plotted by Col. Valentine Mutchler, containing many neat and handsome frame
buildings.

These two villages in 1890 were incorporated as the borough of West
Easton. It is not, however, an attractive suburb of Easton for residential
purposes. The manufacturing industries of the Kuebler foundries, the Chip-
man knitting mills, the chemical works of Baker, Adamson Company, and the
machine shop of the Ingersoll Rand Company, furnish employment for most
of the adult population, which largely is of foreign extraction, Italians, Slavs,
and Hungarians predominating. The estimated population of the borough is
in the neighborhood of 800 souls. A brick school house, built in 1900, fur-
nished educational facilities. Water is supplied by the water company of
Easton, and the fire protection is a chemical engine which is operated bv a
volunteer company.

Tatamy — On a map of Friedensthal, a settlement of the Moravian Economy
made in 1758, appears near to the settlement, Tatamy's Land. The question
naturally arises, who was Tatamy. He was for many years a chief of the
Delaware Indians, a native of New Jersey, and in his youth removed to about
fifteen miles below Phillipsburg, New Jersey. He became useful to the whites
as interpreter in the business between the Indians and the whites. In recog-
nition of these services he was given as a gift three hundred acres of land. He
built a house near what is now the borough of Stockertown, where he lived,
engaged in agricultural pursuits. He married for his wife a white woman,
and sent his children to school with the neighbors' children.

Tatamy was a red man of persuasive powers, and by his native eloquence
he controlled the warlike spirit of his people. He was converted to the Chris-
tian religion by David Brainerd, and was baptized in 1747, receiving the name
of Moses Tatamy Funday. The grant of land to Tatamy was conferred on
him by the Penns, and was on the cast side of the west branch, from the
present borough of Tatamy northward to the northern limits of the present
Stockertown. At the time of the banishment of the Indians from the Forks,
at a council held at Philadelphia, November 20, 1742, Tatamy was present
and informed the governor he was in lawful possession of his three hundred
acres of land, and that he was desirous of continuing to live there in peace
and friendship with the English. The governor, after considering his request,
nil account of his good behavior towards the English, consented to his de-

524 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

mands if he could obtain permission from the Six Nations. He was success-
ful in obtaining their approval, and remained upon his grant to the end of his
davs. Tatamy was present at the treaty conference at Philadelphia in 1760,
after which his name disappears from history. He had two sons, William
and Nicholas; the former was fatally shot near the Irish settlement by a
youth of fifteen years; his father bore the loss with Christian resignation.
Nicholas inherited his father's property and lived with his wife and one son,
Moses, at the homestead until about 1790, when he went West with his son.

Time rolled away, the white settlers became concentrated in that portion
of Forks township, and in 1S93 in the furtherance of the desires of the in-
habitants, the borough of Tatamy was incorporated, it then being a part of
the townshi]) of Palmer. The original area embraced in the borough limits
was the property of Samuel S. Messinger, who had established a foundry and
grist mill on the banks of Bushkill creek. The first meeting of the borough
government was ]n1y 2"-. i8q.^ The first i>residcnt was Samuel S. Messin-
ger, and members of the council were: G. Frank Messinger, Charles S. Mes-
singer, Samuel S. Lerch, James S. Stecher, Martin Werkheiser, and Abraham
Sloyer. The secretary of the board was J. A. Happel. The following have
filled the office of president: Charles S. Messinger, G. Frank Messinger, J. A.
Happel. T. M. Stecher, D. S. Andrews, Howard Yeisley, and the present in-
cumbent. Edwin Bapx. Mr. FTappel was succeeded in 1900 as clerk of the
board bv Edwin Bapx, and in 1903 D. S. Andrews was the latter's successor.
Since igo6 E. W. Echart has filled the position.

Tatamy is five miles from Easton, on the Bushkill creek, a station on the
Easton & Northern railroad, operated by the Lehigh Valley railroad. The
borough consists of two parallel streets, commencing at the trolley junction
and running to the creek, on which are attractive dwelling houses surrounded
by well-kept lawns. Within its confines is a general store, a grocery, two
churches, and a brick schoolhouse accommodating one hundred and fifty
pupils taught by three teachers. The Messinger Manufacturing plant, already
mentioned, and the Soluble Cofl'ee Company, who manufacture coffee prod-
ucts, give emi)lovment to about twenty wage earners. This plant was totally
destroyed by fire, January 6. T919, but has been rebuilt. The estimated
population of the borough is seven hundred.

St. Peter's Reformed Church was organized in 1904. and a brick house of
worship was soon afterwards erected. The first pastor was Rev. Mr. Free-
man. He was succeeded by Rev. David Klein, who gave way to the present
incumbent. Rev. F. R. Schacffer. The first meeting for the organization of
St. John's Lutheran Church took place August 28, 1903. The following year
the Rev. L. D. Lazarus was settled over the congregation. The first action
towards building a church edifice was taken in August, 1905. The following
year the present stone church was completed, and the organization in Feb-
ruary, 1906, was duly incorporated. The second pastor was Rev. S. M. Win-
rich, who was succeeded by tin- |iresent incumbent, Rev. Victor J. Bauer.

Wind Gap — The borough of Wind Gaj) was organized from Plainfield
township and incorporated in 1893. At the first election, Benjamin F. Miller
was chosen chief burgess ; and Daniel Reed, clerk. The latter was succeeded
in 1895 by Samuel J. Heller, and he in turn in 1901 by William D. Werk-
heiser, the present incumbent.

BOROUGHS 525

The borough is two and a half miles in length, mainly on the main thor-
oughfare, interspersed with residences and vacant lots, surrounded in the
distance by slag piles of the slate industry, the important manufacturing
enterprise. There are three general stores, a bank, tavern, a post-ofiice with
one rural route, five churches, and a brick school house accommodating, with
a school in the council chamber, about six hundred pupils. The estimated
population is 1,100, a large percentage being of Italian and Welsh descent.

Wind Gap Methodist Episcopal Church was organized and built a church
edifice in 1888, having a seating capacity of three hundred, and a membership
at that time of sixty. The Rev. Alfred M. Kuder was in charge in 191 5. The
present pastor is Rev. Frank Mark. Trinity Chapel was organized in July,
1885; previous to this, religious services were held in the public school house.
A chapel was dedicated, October 23, 1887; in 1894 a church was built with a
seating capacity of one himdred and fifty. The church edifice is used bv the
Lutheran and Reformed congregations, and is now known as Trinity
Lutheran Reformed Church. The former is in charge of the Rev. P. G.
Beer, with a membership of sixty-five. The Reformed pastor is Rev. W. H.
Brong, with about seventy members. The First Congregational Church was
organized in 1897, and erected a church building seating two hundred and
fifty ; its present membership is in tlie neighborhood of fifty. The Rev. Ivor
Thomas was in charge of the congregation in 191 5, but at the present time
there is no settled pastor. The Wind Gap Welsh Presbyterian Church was
organized in 1889, in which year they built a church. The membership in
1915 was sixty; at present there is no settled minister.

The Italians of the borough in 1914 organized St. Mary's Protestant Epis-
copal Church, at the eastern extremity of the borough, and built a handsome
church edifice. The pastor is Rev. F. C. Cappozzi.

The borough depends for fire protection on a chemical engine, with no
organized company. At the eastern portion of the borough is Wind Gap
Park, owned by a private individual, which is devoted to amusement and
picnic purposes.

Stockertozvn — It was in 1749 that the Moravians, who had incurred annually
an expenditure of time and labor in transporting the bulk of the harvests of
the Barony of Nazareth to the Bethlehem Mill for grinding, the Christian
Spring Mill built two years previously being of limited capacity, decided to
erect a mill near at hand, fully appointed for the conversion of all the grain
grown on the plantations of Nazareth, Gnadenthal and Christian Spring. For
the solution of this question, the Brethren made application to John Nitsch-
mann, the president of the directing board, and he, accompanied by Henry
Antes, came from Bethlehem to Nazareth. They failing after making a sur-
vey to find a suitable site for the mill on the springs of the Menakes, within
the precincts of the Barony, turned eastward and, coming to the banks of a
stream named by the \^an Eogarts from Esopus, Bushkill. and by the Scotch-
Irish, Lefevre's creek, selected that spot for the site of the projected improve-
ment. This choice involved the purchase of 324 acres of land, which was
held by William Allen of Philadelphia. It had been conveyed to him by
Lawrence Growden, Jr., of the parish of St. Merryn, Cornwall, England, as
a portion of a great tract of 5,000 acres which William Penn granted by

526 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

indenture to his grandfather, Lawrence Growden, October 25, 1681. Negotia-
tions with Mr. Allen for the purchase of the tract were concluded January 3,
1754, the consideration being ^324 lawful money of the province. The deed
was made to Henry Antes, who in turn conveyed the tract to the then three
Joint proprietors of the Moravian Estates in this coimtry.

The tract of land was of an L shape, with the longer limb stretching east-
wardly from the Barony of Nazareth some three hundred and ninety rods,
full two hundred rods beyond the east bank of the Bushkill. In the angle of
this L were the lands of Johannes Lefevre. North to the Moravians' tract
stretched the Barrens, at this time vacant, owned by Chief Justice Allen. On
the eastern line of the L was the tract of Moses Tatamy Funday, the well-
known Delaware chieftain. The Lefevre tract in 1774 was held in part by
John Van Etten, and later by Andrew Stocker. In 1785 Frederick Diehl held
the bulk of the old farm ; subsequently it became the property of the Searles.
The Barrens in 1774 were held in part by Robert Matthews and Peter Kich-
lein, and in 1785 by Martin Kindt, Peter Ehrich, and George Stocker. The
Tatamy tract in 1776 was held by George Stecher. and in 1855 ^^ P^*"* by
Valentine Werkheiser.

The new plantation was named Friedensthal, which being interpreted is
"The Vale of Peace." The logging, grubbing and hauling of stones from the
quarries then commenced. Henry Antes was employed to build the mill ;
he had materially assisted the Moravians in the founding of Bethlehem,
superintending and constructing the first mills, aqueduct and ferry at that
place, as well as the mills at the Mahoning Mission and Christian Spring. In
the second week of August, 1750, the mill was completed and put in running
order. It was located on the left bank of the creek, a substantial limestone
structure with a frontage of thirty-five feet and a depth of forty-eight feet,
with four rooms, and valued at £800. It was furnished with an overshot
water wheel and had one run of stones. The inauguration of this finished
piece of millwright's handiwork was celebrated August 21. 1750. The dwell-
ing or farm house was ready for occupancy in the spring of 1751. It stood
directly cast of the mill, was built of logs 32 by 20, two stories high, had four
apartments, and was valued at £80. A flaring frame barn and three annexes,
one for horses, one for cows, and one for sheep, with a total frontage of
eighty-eight feet towards the south and a depth of thirty feet, eventually
flanked the dwelling on the east. Thus was formed a stockade mill in a
sequestered corner of the Forks which was cut off from the rest of the world,
there being but one King's road by which they were directly linked to out-
side neighbors, to wit : the highway which led to the Upper Ulster Scot Set-
tlement on Martin's creek. It is true, however, in December, 1754, the court
laid out a second King's road leading from Friedensthal past the Nazareth
lime kiln below Christian Spring saw mill and brewery, to a certain place
where the Brethren intended to build a saw mill on the westernmost branch
of Menakes on Nazareth Land. The olden time Moravian settlements were
modeled from those in the fatherland. They were quadrangular, enclosed
within solidlv built structures of wood and stone; on one side stabling and
stalls for horses, horned cattle, sheep and swine : on the second, a spacious
barn and .shelter for wain and carts: on the Ihird, a row of shops for the

BOROUGHS 527

baker, the cordwainer and the weaver ; a house for the curing and storing of
flax; a smithy, and a cider press ; and on the fourth, the dwellings of the hard-
working people — large lumbering structures of log or of frame and "brick
nogged," invariably hip-roofed, and one of them capped with a turret in which
swung a bell that rang out over hill and dale every day at sunrise and at
sunset. This was the type of buildings that were erected at Friedensthal,
which were demolished in 1840, there being no vestige left save a well in the
barnj^ard.

During the outbreak of the Indians in the winter of 1755-56, the Frieden-
sthal Economy was the refuge sought by seventy-five pitiful fugitives, men,
women, children, mostly Palatines; and again in April, 1757, when the sav-
ages were at their depredations in Allen and Lehigh townships, the hos-
pitable door was opened for refugees. In the summer of 1763, when the
Indians were marauding on the south side of the Blue Mountains, the Mora-
vians trembled for the safety of their homes. The palisades were reset, barn
guards were established, guard houses built, and the inhabitants of this peace-
ful vale girded on baldric and sword in defence of their firesides. An influx
of fugitives from the Ulster-Scot settlements in Lehigh and Allen townships
crowded the Friedensthal Mill.

In the spring of 1762 the social and financial ties which bound the Mora-
vians were abrogated by the General Economy. Friedensthal was dissolved
in March of 1764, and two years later, it becoming a source of financial loss
to the church, a tenant was obtained to rent the farm on shares, the mill being
conducted for the Brethren until the spring of 1771. On April 20th of that
year the property was sold for the sum of £2,000, and the Vale of Peace
passed into the hands of strangers.

Near to the former location of the Friedensthal Economy, on the main
road from Easton to the Wind Gap, six miles from the former place, is the
borough of Stockertown, laid out by Andrew Stocker, from whom it received
its name. The village in 1871 contained two hotels, two dry-goods and gro-
cery stores, two saddler}' and harness shops, one tin shop, two wheelwright
and blacksmith shops, one grist mill, one tannery, one schoolhouse and about
twent}- dwellings. It was incorporated as a borough by a decree of court,
December 17, 1900. The borough, which was originally a part of Forks,
afterwards of Palmer township, has an area of three hundred and fifty-five
acres and thirty-one perches. The first election for borough ofificials was held
February xg, 1901, when Wilson R. Romig was chosen chief burgess, and
A. H. Stoffret, clerk. The borough at the present day, with an estimated
population from five hundred to six hundred souls, presents a pleasing appear-
ance : the Northampton traction line from Easton to Bangor passes through
its center. At a short distance from the borough is the plant of the Vulcan
Cement Company, and between the boroughs of Stockertown and Tatamy
the manufacture of potash was at one time carried on : the plant is now, how-
ever, abandoned.

Northamptofi — This borough was incorporated May 6, 1901. It is a bustling
town of about 10,000 inhabitants, more than one-third of whom are of foreign
extraction. It is situated on the east bank of the Lehigh river, and on both
sides of the Hokendauqua creek, a tributary of the Lehigh river. Tt was

528 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

formed by tlie uniting of two towns, Stemton and Siegfried, which had grown
together, both of which had been centers of trade for more than a century.
These towns were a part of Allen township, and were the western end of the
famous Irish settlement of the Colonial period. The first white man to settle
at what is now Northampton appears to have been Irlugh Wilson. On August
20, 1739. William Allen obtained from the Penns, whose creditor he was.
a grant of 1,345 acres of land east of the I^ehigh river, on the Hokendauqua
creek, embracing most of what is now the borough of Northampton. Two
days later he sold of this grant 400 acres to Hugh Wilson. In the deed Mr.
Wilson is given the right and privilege to use the water, and construct a dam
and water courses for the erection and operation of a mill. This clearly indi-
cates that the jmrchase was made with the view of erecting a mill thereupon.
Hugh Wilson and his three sons, Thomas, Samuel and Charles, were among
the pioneers of the Irish Settlement. In 1752, Hugh Wilson conveyed the
mill, together with a number of acres of land and all the water rights and
courses, to his son Thomas, for "five shillings and natural love and affection."
After the mill passed out of the Wilson family it changed ownership fre-
quently until it came in the possession of the Plowell family, about seventy-
five years ago. In 1837, Joseph Howell razed the old mill, which was said
to have stood for almost a century, and erected another, at the time con-
sidered a modern mill. In 1844 Joseph sold a half interest to his brother
John, and in 1856 the other half. From John Howell the ownership passed to
his son, Captain Theodore Howell, and from him to the Atlas Cement Com-
pany. Though its walls are still standing, the water wheel is gone, and the
life of the old mill has departed.

The oldest building in the borough is the octagonal block house, stand-
ing amid the busy scenes of the Atlas Portland Cement plant, on the western
bank of the Hokendauqua creek, near Howell's mill. This miniature fort is
thought to have been erected by Thomas Wilson soon after the former's
return to his home from Bethlehem, whitherto he had fled in "the runaway"
from Lehigh, Allen and neighboring townships which followed the brutal
massacre by the Indians of eleven persons, at Gnadenhuetten on the Mahon-
ing, now Weissport, November 24, 1755. It was upon this mill, and the mill
at Howersville, owned and operated by Jost Dreisbach, that the settlers and
the soldiers on the frontier depended for flour. No doubt for the protection
of himself and family and for the mill, the blockhouse was erected. It is a
small eight-cornered stone building, the wall two feet thick. It had no win-
dows, but seven small portholes, and a door on the southern side; and is still
in its original condition. When the Atlas Portland Cement Company acquired
the mill property from Capt. Theodore Howell, they, through Mr. Seaman,
the superintendent, gave their word of honor to preserve it.

Northampton was the site of a famous Indian village many moons before
it became a pale-face settlement. The beautiful meadow in front of the home
of our fellow-townsman, John Smith, and the bus}' scene of the Atlas Port-
land Cement mills, were the site of the quiet and peaceful Indian village or
plantation of Hockyondocquay (Hokendauqua). This village was at the time
of the "Walking Purchase" the home of the famotis orator and "honest old
Indian." Chief ^ .■A])]-io\v\n7.o.

BOROUGHS 529

When the Lehigh & Susquehanna railroad, now the Central Railroad
of New Jersey, was built in 1866, workingmen discovered an Indian burial
place. It is said that toward the close of the month of August, about two
thousand feet above the Siegfried depot, in digging they came upon a skele-
ton, and that a few days later several more were unearthed ; and that on or
about September ist quite a number more, nineteen all told, were uncovered.
William Miller, Jr., who at the time was in the employ of the railway, in a
letter dated Siegfried's Bridge, November 5, 1879, relates how one of the
graves, under an old apple tree, was much larger, and the skeleton of unusual
size, which led them to believe that they had unearthed the remains of a
chief, and that they were further strengthened in this belief by the fact that
they found along with the bones and ashes a large number of pearls, mostly
white, and that about two dozen of them, some of which were blue in color,
were the size of sour cherries. Also, that they found in this same grave a
copper coin on which only the date (1724) was legible, a pipe, a tomahawk,
arrow heads, and other implements of war. He further states that in each
of the nineteen graves a pipe of white clay, several pearls and a number of
arrow heads were found. Their bones were not reinterred, because upon
being exposed to the air they soon crumbled.

The true history of any State, town or community must begin with its
first centers of worship, its venerable churches and well filled graveyards.
These were not only the first venerated and sacred places in the early settle-
ments, but have always been the centers to which the deepest thought of
men have tended, and from which have gone out those benign and moulding
influences which have made individuals, families, communities and states as
wealthy, worthy, prosperous and peaceful as they are. Such a center of influ-
ence and the nucleus for the town of Siegfried is found in the old Mennonite
meeting house which stood in a grove on what is now West Twenty-first
street, opposite the cemetery.

No definite data as to the settlement of the Mennonites in Whitehall and
Allen townships have been handed down to us, and the names of some of
them are entirely forgotten. That the Showalters, Baslers, Funks, Zeiglers,
Heistands, Siegfrieds and Landis are of Mennonite extraction is, however, a
known fact; these, no doubt, were the founders of the congregation, and the
people worshipped in the meeting house which stood on West Twenty-first
street. Jacob Showalter, Sr.. of Whitehall township, appears to have been
one of the leaders of the congregation. In 1759 he sold to William Allen his
farm of 450 acres, including the "undivided half" belonging to John Moore,
the high sheriff^ of Northampton county, situated between the Lehigh river
and the Deshler, Kern and Koehler plantations, and the Indian Falls in the
Lehigh river and the Schreiber plantation. In the same year Allen sold the
same again in four tracts, viz.: 150 acres to Joseph Showalter; 100 acres to
John Showalter, Sr. ; and 100 acres to Peter Bassler. This was apparently
only a paper transaction, for the purpose of giving the occupants a clear title
ad deed to their already established homes. These four families, as stated
above, were Mennonites, and probably the nucleus of the congregation. Flav-
ing obtained a lawful title to their possessions, they, no doubt, if it were
not already built, determined to erect a house of worship. It is therefore

NORTH.— 1—34.

530 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

probable that their meeting house was erected in 1760, or possibly a few
years prior, surely not later than 1761, for on an old land draft of that year
the church is already designated. Tradition describes it as a small log build-
ing, rudely constructed, and also tells us that the early worshippers were
frequently disturbed in their services by the Indians. During the summer
and when the building became insecure, services were held in the woods
adjoining. In 1771, Joseph Showalter sold his farm to Conrad Leisenring,
John Showalter to Christopher Kern, and Jacob Showalter, Jr., to George
Koehler, and removed to Lancaster county. A few years later Peter Bassler
sold his property to Philip Jacob Schreiber and joined his former neighbors
in their new homes. He is said to have been the last of the Mennonites in
Whitehall township. Through removal and death the congregation gradu-
ally declined, and the building became insecure and was finally abandoned.

The cemetery originally comprised one acre. It was conveyed March
10, 1770, "by Daniel Chambers to Joseph Showalter, Henry Funk, Peter Fried
and Jacob Baer, in trust and for the Mennonist congregation of Whitehall
and Allen Townships." When in 1802 the new meeting house along the road
from Wcaversville to Kreidersville was erected and the cemetery opened,
few interments, if an}', were made in the old plot. By a special Act of Assem-
bly, May 8, 1829, Jacob Funk, a surviving member of the old congregation,
was given permission to sell the unoccupied part of the cemetery and use the
proceeds to erect a stone fence around the part containing burials. On the
28th of the same month the unused part was conveyed to Daniel Siegfried, a
son of Col. John Siegfried. A stone wall three feet high and sixteen inches
wide was subsequently erected ; this wall was removed in 1885 and the present
iron fence erected. When Twenty-first street was raised, the cemetery was
also filled in to bring it up to the level of the street, and all the little mounds
were covered over, and even the headstones, with the exception of those of
John Siegfried and Jacob Baer, both of Revolutionary fame. The cemetery
is one of the few really old landmarks, and all that is left to remind the
present generation that the town was once the center of a peaceloving and
Godfearing Mcnnonite settlement. In it are said to repose the ashes of
almost a himdred of the early settlers.

Col. John Siegfried, the friend of General Washington, from whom the
village of Siegfried obtained its name, was of the Mennonite faith, and of
German, Swiss or Alsatian origin. His grandparents had settled in Oley,
Berks county, before 1719, whence they removed across the hills to Mexa-
tawny. Here, February 2, 1727, Joseph Siegfried, the father of the colonel,
was born, and here in 1745 the colonel was born. Comparatively little is
known of his boyhood education and training. He first came into public
notice in 1770, when he removed to the west bank of the Lehigh river, at
what became known as Siegfried's Bridge, where he conducted a store, a tav-
ern, and a ferry. The tavern was a one-and-one-half-story log house, and the
sign contained in large letters this inscription : "Entertainment for Man and
Beast." This tavern was favorably located. The ferry was the only means
of crossing the Lehigh river, which separated the two populous settlements
of Allen and Whitehall townships.

It was upon Colonel Siegfried that Washington depended in matters per-

BOROUGHS 531

taining to Northampton county during the campaign of 1777, in making his
urgent appeal for reinforcements to the yeomanry of Northampton county,
who promptly responded, and within seven days after the issuing of the call
the first division of Siegfried's battalion v*^as in Philadelphia, prepared to
take the field. Siegfried was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, and Rev. Ros-
brugh, chaplain, of the Third Battalion from Northampton county. The sol-
diers of Northampton county were assigned to the division of the army under
the command of Gen. Israel Putnam. They took part in the campaign which
resulted in the capture of one thousand Hessians at Trenton, but were unsuc-
cessful in their attempt to cross the Delaware river. In the fall of the year
1777 the militia of Northampton county were again called out in the famous
Pennsylvania campaign, and took part in the battles of Brandywine, German-
town, Red Bank, and Monmouth. During a part of this campaign the men
from Northampton county were under the command of Gen. John Armstrong and
of Brigadier-General James Irvine. After the battle of Germantown, Colonel
Siegfried returned home to attend to affairs in the county. While at home,
Washington wrote a letter to him, requesting him to collect blankets, cloth-
ing and provisions and forward them to the army at Valley Forge. This dutv
Colonel Siegfried performed, his hotel being the center for a collecting bureau.

The following summer, General Clinton, who had succeeded Howe,
alarmed by the coming of the French to aid the cause of freedom in America,
evacuated Philadelphia and hurried to New York City. Washington fol-
lowed, overtook and defeated him at Monmouth, New Jersey. According to
his diary, Siegfried also took part in this campaign which ended in Clinton
shutting himself up in New York, and Washington watching him from the
Highlands. In the spring of 1781, General Washington sent an officer to
Easton to confer with Colonel Siegfried, who was in command of a detach-
ment of militia at that place, in reference to sending a quota to the army.

Col. John Siegfried died November 27, 1793, and was buried in the old
Mennonite Cemetery. Shortly before his death he, together with Michael
Beaver, whose brother Jacob settled near the Western Salisbury Church, and
Abraham Levan, a kinsman of Mrs. Siegfried, all three natives of Berks
county, conveyed one hundred and twent3'-three and a half perches to Henry
Biel and Peter Butz in trust for a school. The schoolhouse was built of
logs, and was known as Levan's School. Colonel Siegfried served as high
sheriff of the county for one year, 1781 to 1782.

At a public meeting held in the high school auditorium. Gov. S. W.
Pennypacker was the principal speaker; sentiment favored the erection of a
monument to Col. John Siegfried in the cemetery and a committee was
appointed. On the 30th of May, 1914, a large granite monument was dedi-
cated, containing a bronze tablet with a suitable inscription.

The Tevan family, kinsmen of Colonel Siegfried, removed from Berks
county to Allen township about the same time. For a time they operated a
paper mill, and later erected the grist mill now operated by Richard Smith.
In 1858, Adam Laubach established a general store, coalyard, lumberyard
and sand depot at Siegfried. He was postmaster for Siegfried upwards of
forty years. In the spring of 1842 a Sunday school was organized in the vil-
lage schoolhouse, known as Levan's school. The first superintendent was

532 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

John Knerr. The Sunday school was Union, instruction was given in Eng-
lish and German, and it was supported by Lutherans and Reformed. On
June 5, 1892, the Sunday school dedicated a chapel, which is now the audi-
torium of Zion Lutheran Church. In it services were conducted by the
neighboring Reformed and Lutheran pastors. These services led to the
organization of the Union Zion Congregation of Siegfried.

Zion Evangelical Lutheran congregation was organized March 2, 1896,
under the leadership of Rev. Hiram Kuder, having acquired the interest of
the Reformed congregation in the building in which they had jointly wor-
shipped. The congregation was incorporated in 191 1 as the Zion Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Northampton, Pennsylvania. The cornerstone of the
renovated church was laid August 27, 191 1, and the edifice was dedicated
March 21, 1912. Rev. Allen R. Apple, who succeeded Rev. H. Kuder, is
the present pastor.

In 1896 St. Paul's congregation was organized. They called as their first
pastor the Rev. F. H. Moyer, who in two and a half years succeeded in bring-
ing the membership up to 240. He was succeeded by Rev. M. N. George.
During his pastorate the congregation sold its interest in Zion Chapel to
the Lutheran congregation, and in 1910 erected the beautiful edifice at the
corner of Nineteenth street and Lincoln avenue, at a cost of upwards of
$30,000. Rev. I. M. Bochman succeeded Rev. George in 1913. The mem-
bership is five hundred and forty.

Trinity United Evangelical Church was organized by Rev. E. Butz in
1896, in which year the church on Main street was erected. In 191 1 a par-
sonage was erected. The congregation numbers about one hundred, and is
served by Rev. L. O. Wiest.

The lower part of Northampton, formerly known as Stemton, was laid
out by George H. Stem in 1867, when George H. Stem & Company erected
the extensive car works later incorporated as the Lehigh Car Manufacturing
Company. For a time, farm and spring wagons were also manufactured. The
industry declined when steel cars began to displace those made of wood. The
shops were located west of the Derry Silk Mill, the place now being covered
by additional railway trackage. For many years prior the place was called
Laubach's, but before the formation of the borough the post-office and rail-
way station were changed from Stemton to Northampton, which is still the
name of the railway station. When the union of the two towns and the in-
corporation were proposed, the name Alliance was agreed upon. However,
it was found that another municipality had taken the same name. The
borough was finally called Northampton. The two post-offices of Northamp-
ton and Siegfried were continued until in 191 3, when the Siegfried office was
abolished and a more central location was obtained for the main office, with
sub-stations in the upper and lower part, and a general delivery system.

In 1796 Henry Biel, whose father, Baltzer Biel, had with his family
removed from Saucon township to Allen township, erected a grist mill near
the mouth of the Hockendauqua creek. Later it was known as Kearn's mill.
In 1822 Peter and Joseph Laubach acquired the property. It was owned and
operated by the Laubach family until within recent years, when it was pur-
chased by the Mauser Milling Company, who now operate it. In 1839, Joseph

BOROUGHS

533

Laubach removed from Easton to this place. The business was enlarged by
adding- a coal and lumber yard and general store. The place was known as
Laubach's. The post-office was in the storeroom. Joseph Laubach served as
postmaster for thirty-one years; he represented the county in the House of
Representatives in 1848-1849; in 1855 was elected State senator; and in i86r
was elected associate judge of the county, and was twice re-elected. Samuel
Laubach, son of Peter, succeeded his father in the ownership of the above-
mentioned properties, and he in turn was succeeded by his sons: Edward H.
Laubach, who served two terms in the State Senate; Peter J. Laubach, presi-
dent of the Laubach Company; and Samuel Laubach, who conducts the coal-
yard. The store building is now the property of the Northampton Improve-
ment Company, and is occupied by the Bundy cigar factory.

A Union Sunday school was organized in the Dry Run schoolhouse,
which stood at Fourth and Main streets, in 1864, and reorganized in 1867
by William Stem. When the public school building was erected in Stemton
in 1871, the sessions were held in it until the spring of 1896, when it passed
out of existence. In the fall of the same year, Grace Union Protestant Sun-
day school was organized in the public school. Upon the completion of Grace
Reformed Church, the Sunday school occupied the basement of the church.
On February 5, 1903. the Lutheran element withdrew from the school, and
it became an integral part of Grace Reformed congregation. The member-
ship is about four hundred. For upwards of seven years C. J. Troxell has
been its superintendent.

The neighboring Lutheran and Reformed pastors occasionally conducted
services in the public school building. The development of the cement indus-
try brought many people to the communit}', and the need of a house of
worship was felt. The proposition for a Union church having failed through
the lack of support by the Lutheran element, the erection of a Reformed
church was determined upon at a public meeting, July 5, 1897. On August
9, 1897, fifty-nine petitioners were formally organized as Grace Reformed
Church. Immediate steps were taken for the erection of a house of worship,
which was dedicated June 19, 1898. In 1906 a beautiful parsonage was
erected. The congregation numbers about four hundred. The pastors have
been Rev. J. G. Rupp (1898-1911), Rev. J. B. Stoudt (1911-).

Grace congregation opened its doors to and welcomed to its services the
Hungarians, who have come to reside in Northampton and vicinity. On
April 9, 1917, a number organized themselves into the First Reformed Hun-
garian congregation and called a pastor. They worship in Grace Church.
Their present pastor is Rev. John Sezgy. Their membership is sixty.

Holy Trinity Lutheran congregation grew out of the same circumstances
as Grace Reformed congregation, the Dry Run Sunday school, and the preach-
ing services in the Stemton public school building. At a meeting of a num-
ber of Lutherans, September 16, 1897, it was resolved to organize a Lutheran
congregation and erect a church. The cornerstone was laid October 24 the
same }ear, and on February 6 following, the church was dedicated. In 191 1
the beautiful parsonage was erected. The first pastor was the late Rev. H.
F. Sieger, November, 1908. The membership is about three hundred.

In 1901 Holy Trinity congregation invited the Slovacs of the community

534 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

to hold services in their church. This offer was accepted, and they continued
to worship in the church until 1906, when they erected their own church on
Washington avenue.

The borough of Northampton enjoys a very fine system of graded schools.
Upon incorporation it was made an independent school district, and Prof. W.
D. Landis was selected superintendent. The teaching force consists of forty-
four teachers, and the enrollment is about 1,600 pupils. The high school has
been classified by the Department of Public Instruction as first grade. The
number of graduates, 1902-1919, was 258. Musical supervision was inau-
gurated in 1912; medical inspection in 1913; manual training in 1915, and
domestic science in 1918. The schools are housed in five good buildings, up-
to-date in equipment and appointment. They are: The Washington, erected
in 1904 at a cost of $25,000; the Central, renovated in 1908 at a cost of $34,000;
the Franklin, erected in 1907 at a co.st of $38,000; the High School, erected
in 1909 at a cost of $90,000; the Wolf, erected in 1914 at a cost of $47,000.
The Board of Education and its officers are: President, C. H. Gross: vice-
president, John S. Renner; secretary, Samuel W. Snyder; treasurer, W. D.
Easterday ; Henry B. Reed, P. A. Christman, Arthur W. Heyman ; solicitor,
Edgar C. Nagle; superintendent of schools, Prof. W. D. Landis.

The officials for the borough of Northampton for 1920 are: Burgess,
A. H. 1-aros ; councilmen : Clinton Lindemoyer, president ; Reuben Cole, Wil-
liam Smith, J. M. Newhard, Amnion Mitman, Alfred Burger, Benjamin Cole-
man, and Theodore Schcpler ; secretary of council, J. G. Koch ; treasurer, W.
H. Newhard; solicitor, E. C. Nagle; engineer. L. J- Grossart; justices of the
peace, T. J- Rup and John Schierer.

The Young Men's Christian Association Red Triangle League ol North-
ampton maintained a service register during the late war, on the central
school grounds. It contains the names of two hundred and thirty persons
who had entered the service. The Roll of Honor contains the following
names: William H. Yoch, Nicholas Taros, John F. Gillespie, Edgar Smith,
Oliver J. Moser, Fred A. Snyder, John Beck, Franklin .A.. Scholl, Ross G.
Kiechel, Clayton J. Beers. Lieut. E. Floyd Kresge.

Northampton Heights — The borough of Northampton Heights was fonnerly
a part of the township of Lower Saucon. It is connected with the city of
Bethlehem by a bridge over the Lehigh Valley railroad, and extends for about
five blocks down two parallel streets. The population is estimated to be
about 1,200, mostly employes of the Bethlehem Steel Works. During the
late war the population was increased several thousands, a large percentage
being Greeks, Hungarians, and Russians. At a short distance from the
borough is located the Lehigh Coke Works, operated by the Bethlehem Steel
Company.

St. Mark's Evangelical and St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran congre-
gations, which at one time held religious services in the borough, have been
discontinued and their former houses of worship are occupied by foreign-
•speaking congregations. Shiloh Reformed Church, on Williams street, is at
present the only English service congregation in the borough.

Northampton Heights was incorporated in 1901. The chief burgess in
1919 is George Brown; the clerk, Harry Bodder. The Bethlehem Water

BOROUGHS 535

Works Company supplies the borough with water, the fire protection being
taken care of b}- a volunteer fire company, the department being equipped
with a fire steamer of approved pattern and a hose carriage.

North Catasauqua — This borou.q;h is contiguous, as the name indicates, to
Catasauqua, and the reason for its separate corporate existence is found in
the fact that North Catasauqua is in Northampton county, and Catasauqua
is a part of Lehigh county. In almost every way except legally, it is a part
of Catasauqua, and steps toward consolidation are being taken. North
Catasauqua was incorporated in iqo8. The boundary line between the two
boroughs is the old line between the townships of Allen and Hanover. This
in 1812 was made the line between Northampton and Lehigh counties. It
was in dispute for many years, and was finalh- determined by commission
appointed by the joint action of counties concerned. On the affidavit of
Daniel Fogel, the eastern terminus was fixed at a spot in the Monocacy
creek where the public road leading from Hanoversville to Bath crosses it;
and its western terminus, on the affidavits of Reuben Faust and Daniel Bur-
ger, at a point twenty perches south of Faust's ferry, on the Lehigh river.
Having determined these two points, the commissioners ran a straight line
between these points, which now constitutes the boundary line. It cuts diag-
onally through the Faust property, and cuts a small corner of the Bryden
horse shoe works property, thence it passes north of Theodore Bachman's
house and touches the bay window of Daniel Wilson's home ; it crosses Adam
Rau's premises so as to cut it into two equal triangles, and it also cuts off a
foot and a half of a corner of the stand-pipe.

The borough is part of the Manor of Chawton (not Charotin), which the
Penn heirs conveyed to John Page in 1731. The territory was a part of the
Irish Settlement. However, by 1800 they had been replaced all along the
river by the Pennsylvania Dutch, who were much better farmers. Christian
.Swartz of Longswamp, Berks county, purchased the Nathaniel Taylor tract
in 1787. Swartz Dam takes its name from this family. Henry Faust from
Albany, Berks county, purchased a tract of almost two hundred acres from
Robert Gibson; a part of this tract lies in Northampton, and a part in
North Catasauqua.

When the houses were few, the children attended the school at Dry Run,
now a part of Northampton ; later the township erected a two-room building
on the Faust tract, hence it was called the Faust school. The population
increased rapidl}', and on Thanksgiving Day, 1913, the very fine ten-room
school building was dedicated ; erected at a cost of $25,000.

The borough has a well equipped and well housed fire company. The
Charotin fire house was erected at the corner of Si.xth and Arch streets in
1911. The building contains a large assembly room on the second floor, an
apparatus and lounging room on the main floor, and a banquet hall in the
basement. The company is well equipped and has aflforded the borough ex-
cellent service.

Officers for 1919 are: Burgess, Daniel H. Harris; Councilmen — C. C.
Young, M. D. Ryan, Edward Ebcrhardt, Harvey F. Kidd, C. D. Peters, Wil-
liam Heilman, Preston Kuehncr : solicitor, William H. Srhncller; treasurer,

536 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

James E. Missmer ; secretary, Edward Steycrt ; borough engineers, Bascottt
and Sieger ; chief of police, John T. Small ; street commissioner, Joseph
Ernst.

Roscto — This, the youngest borough of Northampton county, was formerly
a part of Washington township, and joins Bangor on the west, the demarca-
tion line not being visible to the stranger's eye. It is one of the quaintest,
villages in the United States, and has been the subject of many magazine
articles. The strictly Italian population of twelve hundred are mostly em-
ployed in slate quarries, railroads, and manufacturing industries. It is situ-
ated thirteen miles north of Easton, and has two hotels, two justices of the
peace, one cigar manufacturer, six or seven storekeepers, several tailors, car-
penters, bakers, an occasional locksmith, mason, shoemaker, painter, lock-
smith, and barber. The borough, which was incorporated in 1910, is unique
in many ways — a bit of Italy transported to our shores, and probably the
only municipality in the United States administered by Italians, the majority
of whom are Roman Catholics.

The first Italian settler in this thriving town was Gerardo Ruggiero,
who came in 1883. He was followed a year later by Lawrence Falcone and
Nicola Roseto ; the latter built the first house, and the postal authorities
named the town after him. The majority of the citizens are naturalized or
American born. Sixty-six of the younger element during the late war joined
the army or navy, two of whom paid the supreme sacrifice. The inhabitants
subscribed about $1,000,000 to the various Liberty Loans. The Stella Coloniale
{Colonial Star), a newspaper printed in Italian, was established in 1901 by
James D. Caporaso.

IVahmtport — The borough of Walnutport is located on the east bank of
the Lehigh river, opposite the town of Slatington. Before incorporation it
was a part of Lehigh township. The first election for borough officials was
held in March, 1909. Samuel Griffith was the first burgess. The officers for
1919 are : Burgess, Dr. J. J. Reitz ; treasurer, Granville Kahn ; secretary, C. J.
Diebert; councilmen — James Mummey, H. E. Bradford, William Handwork,
Granville Zallnor, E. J. Schierer, Fred Fritzinger.

The population of Walnutport is about 1,100, and the assessment valua-
tion $336,000. In igio a fine municipal hall was erected, which also houses
the Diamond Volunteer Fire Company. The borough has two churches —
Christ Reformed Church, erected in 1903, which has a membership of about
one hundred ; and a meeting house for the Mennonite Brethren in Christ.
The schoolhouse, a four-room building, was erected in 1870.

BIOGRAPHICAL

PUBLIC UEIIARY

BIOGRAPHICAL

ASA PACKER — Judge Asa Packer, of Mauch Chunk, was during an
active career covering about one-half a century, one of the most conspicu-
ously useful men in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was
equally noted and honored as a master of large affairs, for his great public
spirit which made him a leader in the development of his State, for his
munificent liberalitv in the establishment and maintenance of educational and
benevolent institutions, and for those graces of personal character which
made his life a benediction upon the community at large.

He was born in Mystic, Connecticut, December 29, 1805. His early
education was extremely limited, being only such as he could obtain in the
primitive district schools of those early days. To compensate for deprivation
in this respect, he was possessed of a receptive mind and habits of thought
and observation, and through these he was enabled to acquire a generous
store of practical knowledge which proved ample equipment for his future
life, and gave him position side by side with many who had won college
honors. At the age of seventeen he packed all his worldly possessions, con-
sisting of a few simple articles of clothing, shouldered his humble pack, and
set out afoot to make his own way in the great world which was altogether
unknown to him. Trudging along the rugged roads of that almost primitive
time, the plucky lad walked the entire distance between his birthplace in the
land of blue laws and wooden nutmegs to Brooklyn, Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania. This first achievement was a fair index to his future ; the boy
was father of the man whom, once determined upon a course of action, no
obstacle could stay, whose purpose no discouragement could shake, to whom
could come no task too great to undertake. After many days of weary
walking, of climbing his way up rocky hills and toiling through dusty alleys,
in sunshine and in rain, the lad arrived, footsore, weary and hungry, at the
home of his cousin, Mr. Edward Packer, in Brooklyn. Mr. Packer was a
house carpenter, and young Asa determined to learn the trade under his
tutelage. He applied himself to his work with genuine enthusiasm and
characteristic thoroughness, and became an accomplished mechanic. No
master of the trade could push a plane truer or more rapidly, or send a nail
home with greater precision.

His apprenticeship ended and now a young grown man, Mr. Packer went
to New York, where he did journey work for a year. The life of the city
was distasteful to him, however, and he returned to Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania, settling in Springville township, where he worked at his trade
for some few years. Meantime, on January 23, 1828, he married Sarah M.
Blakslee. In 1833, learning that men were wanted to run coal boats on the
then just opened Lehigh canal, he drove in a primitive sled to Mauch Chunk,
made a satisfactory arrangement, and then returned home to close up his
affairs in time for the opening of navigation. In the spring he set out to
engage in his new undertaking, walking to Tunkhannock, on the Susque-
hanna river, where he boarded a raft which took him to Berwick, whence
he walked to Mauch Chunk. He was at once given charge of a canal boat,
and not long afterwards contracted for an additional vessel which he placed
under his brother-in-law, James I. Blakslee. During the summer he brought
his family to Mauch Chunk. His boating business proved so remunerative
that at the end of two years he withdrew from active effort in this line, but
retained an interest in the enterprise. With a portion of the means which
he had acquired, he bought the general store of E. W. Kimball, on the banks

4 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

of the Lehigh, making Mr. Blakslee its manager, while he himself estab-
lished a boat yard and engaged in the building of canal boats, a work for
which he was well adapted by reason of his former experience as a carpenter.
From this time on he prospered in all his undertakings, and in a few years
came to be regarded as a wealthy man, though his means were small com-
pared with what they afterwards became. About this time he placed in his
store a stock of goods amounting to $25,000 in value, which was a large
purchase for those days. He took large contracts for building locks on the
Upper Lehigh, which he completed with handsome profits in 1830. The
following year he and his brother Robert took large contracts from Stockton
& Stevens, of New Jersey, for building boats at Pottsville, Schuylkill county,
to run in the direct coal trade to New York. At the end of three years the
brothers dissolved partnership, Asa returning to ]\Iauch Chunk, and Robert
locating in Reading.

Mr. Packer next engaged in mining and shipping coal from the Nesque-
honing and other mines, unloading his products into his own boats from the
first named, at a point a little above where the East Mauch Chunk Bridge
now stands. Thenceforward his career was continuously and conspicuously
prosperous, and altogether the result of his own endeavor. In 1852 he took
up his greatest business enterprise, the building of the Lehigh Valley rail-
road. With rare foresight he discerned the vast results which would grow
out of such a highway, and he entered upon the gigantic undertaking unaided
and alone. He contended with difficulties, physical and financial, which
many pronounced insuperable, and at one time his entire fortune was seri-
ously imperiled. With almost superhuman courage and determination he
persisted in his work, and in 1885 his judgment was vindicated and his
victory won, in its completion.

At the time of his death, Judge Packer was regarded as one of Pennsyl-
vania's richest men. True, he accumulated vast wealth, but he administered
it with a liberal and enlightened judgment and a deeply sympathetic heart,
proving a great power in the development of his State, in the advancement
of civilization, and in bringing employment to thousands of families. His
personal benefactions were countless, but were so modestly bestowed that
they went unheralded by those recipients of his bounty who were helped to
homes and established in business, or found relief at his hands in their time
of sore need. Educational, religious and charitable institutions always held
a first place in his estimation, and such he aided with an unsparing hand.
St. fluke's Hospital in South Bethlehem was one of his favorite objects ; he
contributed to it liberally during his life, and at his death left it a bequest of
$300,000. To St. Mark's, in Mauch Chunk, in which he was for forty-four
years a warden and vestryman, he left the sum of $300,000. In this beautiful
temple now stands, erected in his memory by his widow and children, one
of the most beautiful reredos in all America.

His principal monument, however, is the magnificent Lehigh University.
Deprived, as has been seen, of a college training, he was desirous of affording
to the young of his State opportunities such as had been denied to him. The
wish of his heart he imparted to Bishop Stevens, and to him unfolded his
plans for the establishment, at some point in the Lehigh Valley, of a univer-
sity where young men of limited means might have an opportunity to secure
a thorough education, especially along technical lines. Accordingly, in 1865,
he set aside for the establishment of the proposed institution fifty-six acres
of land in South Bethlehem, and a sum of $500,000, a gift, it is believed, the
largest given in the United States for such a purpose up to that time. In
1875 he added fifty-two acres to the university tract, increasing it to one
hundred and fifteen acres, and also erected a fine library building at a cost
of $400,000 in memory of his daughter, Mrs. Lucy (Packer) Linderman. This
proved to be his last personal undertaking in connection with the institution,

'i'm }iFAV YORK

P'^'BLJC lIBKAliY

ASTOR. Lmox Am

TlLllES FOL'.NOATJONS

/ 3fJ-i^UfX^*^ X Sr^ -■/?'

-^-^^ s7>a-i'-S

BIOGRAPHICAL 5

his death occurring not long afterward. Under the provisions of his will
he left a permanent endowment of $1,500,000 for general maintenance, and
added $400,000 to this previous gift of $100,000 for library purposes, thereby
increasing that special endowment to a half million dollars, and the aggre-
gate of his university benefactions (land value included) to the princely sum
of three milHon dollars, and more than probably a similar amount was
received when his estate, which was held in trust, was distributed. In the
grounds of Lehigh University stands a most beautiful edifice, the Packer
Memorial Church, erected in 1886 by Judge Packer's last child, Mrs. Mary
Packer Cummings, at the cost of a quarter of a million dollars.

Judge Packer was prominent in political affairs, and wielded a potent
and salutary influence in the counsels of both State and nation, and in all
pertaining to commercial and educational interests. In 1841 he was elected
to the Legislature, and he was re-elected to succeed himself at the expiration
of his term. His retirement from the Legislature was followed in 1843 by
his appointment by Gov. David R. Porter to the position of associate judge
of his county. In 1852 he was elected to Congress, and he was re-elected in
1854. These official honors, though not solicited or even desired, were cheer-
fully accepted, and all their multifarious trusts and duties were wisely and
honorably discharged. In two instances he was brought prominently before
the State and nation, when he permitted his name to be used solely as a
matter of duty to his political friends, and where no reward was possible.
In 1868 he was named for the presidential nomination in the National Demo-
cratic Convention, and in the following year he was the Democratic candidate
for governor.

He was a member of various Masonic bodies, and Packer Commandery
No. 23. Knights Templar, of Mauch Qiunk, was named in honor of a member
of his family. Mauch Chunk and Packer are names inseparable, for it was
in the city named that he entered upon his career of phenomenal success and
usefulness, and there his interest centered throughout his life.

Judge Packer died May 17, 1879, in the seventy-fourth year of his age,
after a life of highest devotion to the interests of education and other laudable
objects. In his personal character he was most unassuming, and his wealth,
power and position never changed his outlook or bearing, but he was the
same brave, strong, kindly, simple-hearted and generous man to the last. His
toleration was marked. Strong as were his own opinions, he recognized the
right of as strong contrary opinions by others, and as long as thev were
honestly held they never affected his friendships. His observance of Sunday
as "The Lord's Day" was most marked, and it was some circumstance
entirely beyond his control which would keep him from attendance at the
services of his church.

Judge Packer was survived by his widow, whose death occurred in 1882,
three years after his passing away. The remains of the two, husband and
wife, repose in the Mauch Chunk Cemetery, and by their side the bodies of
their two sons — Robert, who died in 1883 ; and Harry Eldred, who died in
1884. The monument in the family plot stands prominently on the brow of
Mount Pisgah, just rearward from the old home, the erection of which was
begun b\' Judge Packer in i860, and where in 1878 he and his devoted wife
celebrated their golden wedding, one of the most delightful and touching
social events ever witnessed in the Lehigh Valley. The old home, about
which cling so many tender memories, is now the residence of the only sur-
viving child of Judge and Mrs. Packer, Mary (Packer) Cummings.

JOHN FRITZ, distinguished mechanical and metallurgical engineer, was
born August 21, 1822, in Londonderry, Chester county, Pennsylvania. His
father, George Fritz, a native of Hesse Cassel, was brought to this country
by his parents in 1802, with three brothers and a sister, to whom were sub-

6 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

sequently added three daughters born in America. The family settled in
Pennsylvania. George Fritz married the native-born daughter of a Scotch-
Irish Presbyterian immigrant in 1787, and they had four girls and three boys,
of whom John was the first. He was named after his grandfather, the foreign
form, Johannes Fritzius, being Americanized into John Fritz.

The "Autobiography of John Fritz," published in 191 1, bears unconscious
testimony to the effect of this environment upon innate genius. His father, a
millwright and mechanic, could not be content with farming, but repeatedly
followed the call of the trade which he loved better ; and the sons, inheriting
his talent and his predilection, after dutifully following the plough in their
youth, abandoned it for mechanical engineering, in which, educating them-
selves without the aid of technical schooling, they all achieved high position.
It should be added that both his ancestry and his early life endowed John
Fritz with splendid health and strength. Finally, we cannot omit to mention
(what John Fritz was wont, on all occasions, to emphasize) the moral influ-
ence of his God-fearing father and mother upon his whole life.

Like other American boys, he had the benefit of some schooling; but
his own epigrammatic summary, "Five days in the week, for three months
in the year, is too short a time for the study of Bennett's Arithmetic," tells
the whole story. In 1838, at the age of sixteen, he became an apprentice
in the trades of blacksmith and machinist — the latter comprising repairs of
agricultural and manufacturing machinery, including the simple blast-furnaces
of that day. At the end of this apprenticeship he returned to work for a
time on the paternal farm, with his mind made up to engage somehow in
the manufacture of iron, with special relation to its use on railroads. In 1884
he made an entrance upon this career by employment in a rolling-mill at
Norristown, then in process of erection. He was put in charge of all the
machinery, and discovered weak spots in design and construction which he
afterwards remedied either by his own inventions or by those which he
adopted and introduced. Meanwhile, he seized the opportunity to master
thoroughly the thing nearest to him, outside of his immediate task. This
happened to be the puddling-furnace. John Fritz worked through a long
day at his job as superintendent and repairer of machinery, and then spent
the evening in the exhausting work of a common puddler, studying, while he
rabbled or drew the glowing charge, the apparatus and the process.

Having learned what was to be learned in that particular business, he
accepted in 1849, with the sympathetic approval of Moore & Hooven, his
employers at Norristown, a position in a new rail-mill and blast-furnace at
Safe Harbor. The salary was smaller ($650 a year, instead of $1,000) ; but
he wanted to learn all about blast-furnace practice and the manufacture of
rails. His strenuous and successful work at Safe Harbor was cut short after
a few months by an attack of fever and ague. During this interval he made
a trip to Lake Superior, and saw the great Cleveland and Jackson iron-ore
deposits in the Marquette district. After his return he tried in vain to
interest Pennsylvania capitalists in Lake Superior iron mines, as a source
of supply even for Pennsylvania. He was told that he might as well dream
of bringing iron-ore from Kamchatka as from Marquette; to which he replied
that within ten years (this was in 1852) iron-ore from Lake Superior would
be sold in Philadelphia. One-half the Jackson mine could have been bought
then for $25,000.

He was engaged in 1852 to superintend the rebuilding of the Kunzie
blast-furnace on the Schuylkill, about twelve miles from Philadelphia. This
involved the new method of manufacturing pig-iron with anthracite instead
of charcoal or coke as fuel, a scheme which had just been proved practical
by David Thomas and William Firmstone, in the Lehigh Valley. Mr. Fritz,
though not the designer of the new furnace, was called upon to remedy
defects, and managed to the satisfaction of the proprietors and without losing

BIOGRAPHICAL 7

the friendship of the engineer, whose opinion he had contradicted. In 1853,
Mr. Fritz joined his brother George and others in building- at Catasauqua a
foundry and machine-shop to supply blast-furnaces and rolling-miljs. In the
following year he was invited, through David Reeves, to go to the Cambria
Iron Works, Johnstown, as general superintendent. This was the turning-
point of his career. His preparation for it had occupied sixteen years, dur-
ing which he had mastered every part of the manufacture of iron into
commercial forms, while he had also learned the higher art of commanding'
the enthusiastic loyalty of workmen, and the highest art of all, perhaps —
that of securing the confidence of employers. He met successively the
problems of technical authority and rcsponsibilit\', temporary repair and
reform of an old plant, improvement in quality of product, and the procure-
ment of means for new and needed construction. When these problems had
been so far solved that the mill was running well and making some money,
the property was attached under judgments upon former claims. Fritz per-
suaded all parties to allow the work to go on, and he was the only man
upon whom all parties could agree as an agent to protect the rights of all.
Under his management operations went on under the shadow of impending
bankruptcy until a reorganization was decided upon. The capital was sub-
scribed, and operations were resumed. He determined to put into the works
a three-high roll-train, in accordance with his prophetic vision of earlier
years ; and this plan was opposed by many of the stockholders, who were
supported by the opinions of leading iron-masters and the declarations of
the laboring "heaters" and "rollers," and it was by sheer force of personal
character that he secured authority for the execution of his plan. He intro-
duced the three-high rolls into the Cambria company's mill, laying thereby
the foundation not only of unexampled prosperity but also of an improve-
ment which was rapidly adopted through this country and the world, and
has been justly called the last great step of progress in iron manufacture
preceding the Bessemer process.

But this triumph was followed by further trials. The day after the
success of the three-high rolls had been demonstrated in the Cambria mill,
the mill itself was destroyed by fire. Fortunately the demonstration had
been conclusive. Inside of thirty days, Mr. Fritz had the mill running ac:ain,
though without a roof to cover it ; and it was one of the proudest recollections
of his after-life that he subsequentl}- erected a building i.ooo feet long by
100 feet wide, with trussed and slated roof — the finest rolling-mill building
at that time in the United States — without interrupting the running of the
mill which it covered, and without injury to a single person. In the progres-
sive reconstruction of the Cambria Works, Fritz introduced many improve-
ments which he had conceived in previous years — improvements in puddling-
furnaces, gearing, boilers, etc.

After six years with the Cambria Iron Company, Mr. Fritz accepted in
July, i860, the position of general superintendent and chief engineer of the
Bethlehem Iron Company. The works of this company, designed and
erected by Mr. Fritz, were so far completed by September, 1863, as to begin
the rolling of rails made from the product of its own blast and puddling
furnaces. The first of his improvements was the introduction of high-pressurs'
blast in the iron blast-furnace. His horizontal blowing engines were mutli
criticized at the time, but they have run continuously, day and night, for
more than thirty years, blowing from 10 to 12 lbs. pressure, and frequently
more. He was so well satisfied with the result of his innovations in blast-
furnace practice that he designed a larger furnace with an engine that would
supply a 20 to 30 lb. blast; but the directors of the company were too con-
servative to authorize this experiment.

During the Civil War the government needed a rolling-mill somewhere
in the South in which twisted rails could be rolled. It was probably the

8 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

advice of Abram S. Hewitt which led to the selection of Mr. Fritz as one
who could procure the necessary machinery and secure the erection of the
mill with the least possible delay. He was surprised in March, 1864, by his
appointment to this place with almost unlimited powers, the War Depart-
ment declaring that "any arrangements" he might make would be "fully
carried out" by the government. Mr. Fritz immediately prepared the plans
and secured the necessary machinery for the mill, which was built at Chatta-
nooga, Tennessee, and of which his brother William was made superintend-
ent. William Fritz had been employed at Cambria and at Bethlehem until
1861, when he enlisted in the Union army, and in 1864 he was on furlough,
recovering from a serious wound. He ran the Chattanooga mill successfully
until the end of the year.

During nearly thirtj' years of work with the Bethlehem Iron Company,
Mr. Fritz, supported by the faith and courage which he inspired in other
men, made that enterprise one of the most famous in the world. The intro-
duction of open-hearth furnaces and of the Thomas basic process ; the pro-
gressive improvements of strength, simplicity and automatic handling in the
rolling mills ; the adoption of the Whitworth forging press ; the manufacture
of armor plate; the erection of a i2S-ton steam-hammer; and innumerable
other improvements in the manufacture of iron and steel, owe their present
perfection in large degree to him. The stamp of his mind may be found on
almost every detail of construction and operation throughout a wide range
of processes and products.

In 1892, at the age of seventy, he retired from the responsible and arduous
work at Bethlehem. For nearly twenty years longer he lived to enjoy the
fame and friendship which he had amply earned. Indeed, he had received
world-wide recognition before his retirement, and that event elicited numerf
ous public expressions of the pre-existing fact. The American Institute of
Mining Engineers elected him president in 1894, and he made the following
contributions to the "Transactions": "Remarks on the Fracture of Steel
Rails," 1875; "Remarks on the Bessemer Process," 1890; "Early Days of the
Iron Manufacture" (Presidential Address), 1894; "Remarks on Rail-Sections,"
1899. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers made him an honorary
member in 1892, and president in 1895; the American Society of Civil Engi-
neers conferred honorary membership upon him in 1S99; the Iron and Steel
Institute of Great Britain made him an honorary member in 1893, and a
perpetual honorary vice-president in 1909; and the recently organized Ameri-
can Iron and Steel Institute elected him an honorary member in 1910. Mean-
while, he had received the bronze medal of the United States Centennial
Exposition in 1876; in 1893 the Bessemer gold medal of the Iron and Steel
Institute; in 1902 the John Fritz medal, the fund for which was established
by subscription, to honor his eightieth birthday, by awarding a gold medal
annually "for notable scientific or industrial achievement," the frrst medal
being bestowed with enthusiastic unanimity upon John Fritz himself ; in
1904 the bronze medal of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, in connection
with which he served as honorary expert on iron and steel ; and in 1910 the
Elliott Cres.son gold medal of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, "for
distinguished leading and directive work in the advancement of the iron and
steel industries." And he received honoris causa the following academic de-
grees: M.A., Columbia University, 1895; D.S., University of Pennsylvania,
1906; D.E., Stevens Institute of Technology, 1907; and D.S., Temple Uni-
versity, 1910.

But these official distinctions could not tell fully the story of love and
praise which pressed for the utterance which it found on two memorable
occasions — celebrations of his seventieth and eightieth birthdav anniversaries.
in which hundreds of his friends and professional colleagues participated.
The first took place at Bethlehem in 1892, and the second at New York in

BIOGRAPHICAL 9

1902. On the latter occasion, as has been said above, he received the first
"John Fritz Medal." The conferment of honorary degrees by institutions of
learning upon this self-educated workingman was a recognition not merely
of his professional achievements, but also of his wise and generous aid to
the cause of technical education, some account of which may fitly close this
story of his life.

Lehigh University was founded in 1866 by a Pennsylvanian, Asa Packer,
who knew and appreciated the great qualities of John Fritz, and who named
him as one of the original board of trustees. For a wholly self-educated,
self-cultured man, he was remarkably broad in his conceptions of education.
While not wealthy in the modern sense of the term, Mr. Fritz, who, though
generous, was thrifty, enjoyed a comfortable competence in his old age; and
one day in the spring of 1909 he astonished President Drinker by saying:
"In my will I have left Lehigh University a certain sum of mone>' to be
expended in your discretion. I now intend to revoke that bequest, and
instead of leaving money for you to spend after I am gone, I'm going to
have the fun of spending it with you and Charley Taylor (Mr. Taylor being
a co-trustee of Lehigh with Mr. Fritz, and an old and valued friend — a former
partner of Andrew Carnegie). I have long watched the career of a number
of Lehigh graduates, and I have been impressed by the value of the training
they have received at Lehigh. But you need an up-to-date laboratory, and
I intend to build one for you."

Mr. Fritz acted as his own architect, designed the building (substantially
on the lines of the large shop he had built at the Bethlehem Steel Works),
and selected, purchased and installed the superb testing equipment. At his
death it was found that, after making generous provision for his near rela-
tives and for bequests to the Free Libraries of the Bethlehems, to St. Luke's'
Hospital at South Bethlehem, to Temple College at Philadelphia, to the
Methodist Hospital at Philadelphia, to the American University at Washing-
ton, and to other charitable purposes, he had bequeathed his residuary estate,
about $150,000, to Lehigh University, as an endowment fund for the mainte-
nance and operation of his laboratory.

Mr. Fritz retained much of his mental vigor and activity up to the
autumn of 191 1. He took frequent trips alone to Philadelphia and New York,
and attended many gatherings of his old engineering friends and associates.
In the spring of 191 1 he decided, at the urgent solicitation of friends, to
put into shape the notes of incidents in his life, which he had been making
for years. This was done largely on the insistence of friends during the
summer of 191 1 in Bethlehem. The penciled notes, in his own handwriting
on yellow slips, were arranged chronologically by his nephew, George A.
Chandler, who as an engineer had had a close lifelong association with Mr.
Fritz ; then Dr. Drinker, who was admitted to participation in the task, pro-
cured a competent stenographer, and they, with Mr. N. M. Emery, another
friend, spent day after day during the summer vacation season on the task.
This literary work finished, the laboratory built, his affairs in good order,
Mr. Fritz began to fail. He suffered from recurring attacks of bronchitis,
and finally an abscess formed on his chest. The abscess was opened by his
physician, Dr. John H. Wilson, in February, 1912. In March, 1912, his medi-
cal attendants "expressed the opinion that unless he would submit to a drastic
operation for the removal of pus on his chest, blood-poisoning would set in
and death must soon follow ; and Dr. Drinker was appealed to bv the family
to exert his personal influence as a friend to persuade Mr. Fritz to submit to
the operation. In this he was successful, and the operation was performed
April 15, 1912, by Dr. William L. Estes, Mr. Fritz's old and intimate friend,
with Dr. Edward Martin, of Philadelphia, as consulting surgeon, and Dr.
John H. Wilson, as physician. The operation was highly successful in
averting the immediate threatened danger. Mr. Fritz wished to live, and

lo NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

his life was prolonged until February 13, 1913, when he quietly passed
away without apparent pain. His funeral at Bethlehem, February 17, was
attended by a lars^e concourse of his friends, and he lies at rest in the beauti-
ful Nisk)' Hill Cemetery of his home town, beside his only daughter, who
died in childhood, and his beloved wife. So lived and died a great man — •
strong, wise, brave, invincible; a good man — simple, generous, tender and
true; a loving husband, a loyal friend, a public-spirited citizen, a real philan_-
thropist, giving "himself with his gift." To us who miss and mourn him
now the man shines even more illustrious than the famous engineer.

Mr. Fritz married Ellen W. Maxwell, born in White Marsh, June 8,
1833, died at Bethlehem, January 29, 1908. Their only child, Gertrude, born
in 1853, died in i860.

(Condensed from narrative by Rossiter W. Raymond, New York City, New York,
and Henry Stiirgis Drinker, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.)

CHARLES M. SCHWAB— During the critical years of the European
War there was no name more often on the public tongue and in the daily
and periodical press in connection with events of world-wide import than
that of Charles M. Schwab. Prior to that period, he had come into interna-
tional fame as the greatest steelmaster of his time, an industrial leader and
magnate without a peer. But there was in store for him richer opportunity,
larger service, than industry and commerce could supply. As the head of a
vast enterprise he had consummated business deals that had brought him into
touch with the leaders of many European governments. With the entry of
the United States into the war and the establishment of close co-operative
arrangements between the government and the Bethlehem plants, Mr. Schwab
became the advisor of the Administration in regard to engines of war and
munitions. In the mammoth plants under his control he achieved results
in the manufacture of war materials that made even experts stand amazed,
and placed in the hands of the soldiers and sailors of the United States a
large share of the instruments of victory. He entered into the shipbuilding
industry upon the same gigantic scale, and attained so commanding a position
in that field that he was called in April, 1918, to the post of director-general
of the Emergency Fleet Corporation.

But the mere recital of his war-time activities would require a volume in
themselves. Aside from the potent influence of his steel works and ship yards
was his splendid marshaling of the forces of labor in support of the govern-
ment, the strong impetus he gave to all five Liberty Loans, the inspiration
of his wholehearted, generous support and leadership of Red Cross campaigns
and the work of all relief organizations and those formed for personal work
among the soldiers and sailors of the country. All this and more he did
with the infectious enthusiasm, the abounding good-will, the sincere earnest-
ness, the indomitable forcefulness that characterize all his actions. Men,
women and children in all classes of society came to look upon Charles M.
Schwab as a personal friend, to speak of him. intimately, and to constitute a
rampart of sujiport on all occasions. The following record can but faintJv
suggest the high place he has come to fill, not only, as one of his biographers
writes, as a "Field Marshal of Industry," as the greatest industrialist of the
world, but as a man and an American.

Charles M. Schwab was born in Williamsburg, Blair county. Pennsvl-
vania, February 18, 1862, his parents, John and Pauline (Farabaugh) Schwab,
moving to Loretto, Cambria county. Pennsjdvania, when he was a small boy.
He attended the local schools, completing his studies in St. Francis's College.
His father had engaged in business in Loretto, and also held a government
contract for carr\ing the mail between Loretto and the nearby town of
Cresson .Station, and for a time the son, Charles M., drove the stage between
these places. In 1881 he entered the employ of the Carnegie Steel Comi>anv

/r-

BIOGR^VPHICAL ii

in the Edgar Thomson Works at Braddock, where his industry and his
application to duty quickly attracted the attention of Capt. William R. Jones,
then superintendent of the Edgar Thomson Works, and whose important
share in the development of the modern steel industry and remarkable genius
as an organizer and leader of men makes him one of the best remembered
figures in the history of steel-making. Captain Jones was unsurpassed as a
judge of a man's ability, and soon discovered the indications of the mechani-
cal genius and the capacity for the management of men and affairs which
were great factors in Mr. Schwab's later success. So the young man was
given new and greater responsibilities month by month, gladly assuming
every task assigned him — tireless, studious, cheerful. At each new station
he learned other details of steel-making and mill management, and in less
than a year he was Captain Jones's chief assistant, and, upon the death of
Captain Jones, Mr. Schwab was appointed superintendent of the Edgar
Thomson Works.

In 1883 he married Emma Eurana Dinkey, of Braddock, Pennsylvania,
and Mrs. Schwab, to use Mr. .Schwab's own words, has been "aid, counsellor
and friend," at once his inspiration and his guiding star, and whose quiet
benefactions and unheralded charities supplement and round out those of
Mr. Schwab himself.

In 1892 he was made superintendent of the Homestead Works also, and
at that particular period the Homestead Steel Works presented a problem
in management such as has seldom pressed upon any man for solution. Mr.
Schwab proved to be a genius of organization and of administrative tact, and
his work then and afterwards was so thorough in the management of affairs
and men that in 1896 he was made a member of the board of managers of
the Carnegie Company, being elected its president the following }ear. He
had thus, at the age of thirty-five, become the chief executive of what was
then the greatest manufacturing corporation in America, and had attained
that place in sixteen years from a very modest beginning. He had earned the
place, for in all the thousands that had entered the Carnegie emplov, he had
shown the best results in the open tournament of brains. The j-ears of his
employ had been the years when the minds and energies of all the leaders
in the industry had been chiefly directed toward the problem of making
more steel and better steel, and to quicker production. In the attainment
of this end, Mr. Schwab contributed most successfully, and the presidency of
the Carnegie Company was the prize he had gained in that competition.
As president he made the position of the company increasinglj' strong, and
its dominance of the steel situation more and more complete.

At this time he broached the plan, long formed and perfected in his
mind, to unite into one harmonious unit the various steel producing plants
throughout the countr)-, with their correlated ore mines, coking plants, lime-
stone quarries and their service railroads, and he made the first step by
inviting J. P. Morgan, head of the banking firm of J. P. Morgan c1- Company,
to prepare the financial details.

Mr. Morgan was used to doing things on a magnificent scale, but this
proposition staggered him. However, Mr. Schwab had the facts and the
figures, and, what was almost equally important, the prestige of success,
with the phenomenal growth and dominating influence of the Carnegie i^lants
under his management furnishing a concrete example of what he had done
and a tangible demonstration of what he could do. Mr. Morgan then agreed
that the plan was not only practicable, but of the most vital interest not
only to the steel trade, but in its stimulating and progressive effect to the
business interests of the whole country.

Among the steel producers, Mr. Schwab changed the sceptical into the
most earnest supporters; he won over to his plan the fearful and the timid,
removed doubts and allayed jealousies. These strides towards the goal, pro-

12 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

digious as they were, were as nothing to the task yet to be undertaken. The
various outside steelmakers were won over to the plan, the Morgan group
were in hearty accord, the arch needed but tiie keystone to make it firm
and enduring.

The question was: What would Air. Carnegie do? He needed no aid,
and sought no alliances. His interests easily dominated the steel trade ; no
outside alliance could affect him, and without him no alliance could stand.
Mr. Schwab had taken all this into account, and his calm presentation of
the situation to Mr. Carnegie, his forceful array of the benefits to accrue,
not to the steel trade alone but to the business interests of the whole country
and its general welfare, induced Mr. Carnegie to take under consideration
from Charles M. Schwab a proposition that from anj-body else he would
have laughed to scorn. So Mr. Carnegie consented, not for gain, not to
conserve a position long unassailable and, so far as human foresight could
tell, absolutely impregnable, but as a sound business proposition joined to
an affectionate tribute to the genius and ability of the man who had made
the Carnegie interests what they were. With Mr. Carnegie's consenting to
join in the movement, it remained only necessary to arrange the details, and
it was Mr. Schwab's array of facts and figures, and his cogent arguments
that convinced the negotiants of the enormous value of the Carnegie plants,
and persuaded them to pay the price, which at first they had regarded as
absolutely prohibitive, at which the Carnegie interests were offered.

Thus from the fertile brain of Charles M. Schwab was born the mighty
United States Steel Corporation, the like of which the world has never seen.
When the consolidation was efi'ected, Mr. Schwab, at the age of thirty-nine,
became its first president, and for this organization he gathered together the
most gigantic working force and created the most complete industrial system
ever serving a private corporation. When, after three years, he resigned the
presidency, he had made the system a marvel of co-ordinating forces and an
industrial organization without an equal.

After leaving the presidency of that corporation, Mr. Schwab obtained a
controlling interest in the Bethlehem Steel Company, which marked a new
era in a career unequalled in achievement and usefulness in the history of
industry. Established by John Fritz, the plant of the company had been
built from a small rail mill to one of the leading steel mills of the world,
holding government contracts for the manufacture of big army and naval
guns, and armor plate for the ships of the new nav}-. Under Mr. Schwab's
direction its leadership in this line was maintained, departments already
established greatly expanded, and extensive new departments were added, so
that the plant's output became enormously large in pig iron, rails, structural
steel, forgings, castings of steel, iron, brass and Ijronze, gas engines, power
machinery, tool steel, bar steel and iron, special allo)^ and crucible steel.

With a plant unexcelled in the industry and capable of supplying any
demands made upon it, Mr. Schwab soon gained a reputation as a business
"getter" equal to his prestige as an industrial organizer. He went to all
parts of the world in the acquisition of contracts for steel materials of all
kinds, and conducted deals with the leading business and public men of many
countries. The outbreak of the European War and the awarding of heavy
contracts to the Bethlehem plant caused the establishment of many addi-
tional departments for the manufacture of ammunition and ordnance for the
Allies, and all kinds of war materials were produced in vast quantity. Mr.
Schwab was in close touch with the heads of the war dej^iartments and min-
isters of munitions of the European countries comprising the Allies, and his
plants constituted their chief source of American supplies of guns and
munitions.

A great policy of expansion had been followed by the Bethlehem interests
prior to this time, Mr. Schwab organizing the Bethlehem Steel Corporation

BIOGRAPHICAL 13

and assuming- the direction of both companies as chairman of the board of
the Bethlehem Steel Company and of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Th^
holdings of these companies had largely increased, new plants had been
erected, and when the United States entered the war, Mr. Schwab was able
to place at the service of the government a wonderfully efficient organization,
trained and experienced in the production of war supplies, capable of expan-
sion to a degree that would make it the foremost gun forging and ammuni-
tion manufacturing plant in the world. And this expansion is exactly what
history has recorded. In consultation with the president and the heads of
the war-working departments of the government, Mr. Schwab outlined the
possibilities of the Bethlehem plants, and from the declaration of war until
the signing of the armistice these plants were operated at maximum speed
every hour of the twenty-four, seven days a week, the performances of
separate departments and of the plant in general a revelation even to indus-
trial veterans. Mr. Schwab's spirit permeated all of the plants of the com-
pany, and "Service for Victory" was the slogan that brought labor squarely
behind the government with a loyal and enthusiastic purpose that the most
liberal system of bonuses, in ordinary times, could not have made possible.
As for Mr. Schwab, supported by lieutenants of tried ability and proved
fidelity, he was tirelessly and constantly at work on the many movements
that directly and indirectly were to make victory certain. Himself a sub-
scriber in millions to all of the Liberty Loans, he was a leader in every drive,
and was instrumental in securing additional millions in subscriptions. To
the American Red Cross he gave not only of his time and his means, but
turned over the lower floors of his Riverside Drive home in New York City
for use as a chapter work room. All of the organizations working personally
among the soldiers and sailors knew his generous support, and there was
never a call to which he did not respond, whether to make a speech, appear
in a parade, make a contribution, or serve on a committee. His war work
was on the same wide scale as his business and industrial activities, and he
was a potent factor in the creation of loyal sentiment and government sup-
port throughout the nation.

Entering into shipbuilding just when the need of organized effort in that
field became apparent, the Bethlehem interests acquired control of yards
that placed them in a leading position in this industry, and under Mr. Schwab's
dynamic influence the yards controlled by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Cor-
poration established standards of speed and efficiency in ship construction
that far surpassed any previous records. The numerous contests and prizes
for records were in many instances of his inspiration, and in the shipyards,
as in all the Bethlehem plants, his sincere friendliness, genuine cordiality and
devoted patriotism brought him close to the hearts of his men, who came to
consider him as an intimate associate and a partner in their work.

On April 16, 1918, Mr. Schwab was called into conference by President
Wilson, and his appointment as director-general of the Emergency Fleet
Corporation followed, a tribute both to his organizing genius and industrial
leadership, and to his whole-hearted patriotism. With the need for ships
looming up as the most formidable obstacle in the road to victory, he took
over the direction of all the shipbuilding plants of the United States, and his
accomplishments in this capacity were a repetition of his fruitful labors in
many fields. He grasped the entire situation, and in an incredibly short time
co-ordinated the whole shipbuilding industry, speeding up production, one
launching following another, sometimes singly, sometimes in groups, with a
rapidity that brought relief to anxious, waiting forces in the field, and to the
national leaders renewed confidence and elation. Mr. Schwab's name became
a household word throughout the country, and his shipbuilding accomplish-
ments a subject of wonder and jubilation. The news of the launching carni-
val at all yards on the Fourth of July, 1918, came with the cheering effect

14 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

of a decisive victory to the troops in France. An incident at the time of
Mr. Schwab's acceptance of his high post is indicative of the spirit that
permeated and was maintained throughout his entire administration. Turn-
ing to his associates of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, he asked, "Boys,
will you stick by me and help?" and the response of those usually calm and
dignified generals of business and finance was vociferous cheering and loud-
shouted assurances of support. "You bet we will, Charlie," came the answer,
and in this steadfast support Mr. Schwab found one of the main instruments
of his strength.

One of the shipbuilding feats he accom-plished, and not the least among
them, was his turning out fleets of submarines, fully equipped, before the
Allies thought the hulls were even well under way, and these terrors of the
deep, under their own power, crossed the ocean and calmly shoved their
noses into the waters of an Allied sea base to do their share in the great
conflict for justice and humanity, long before the time the Allied Powers
had believed it possible even to launch them. For the mighty aid he gave
them throughout the war, the Allied governments vied in honoring him,
and one of the most signal of these recognitions of his services was when,
at his country home at Loretto, where thousands of his friends had gathered
to do him honor, the ambassador and minister plenipotentiary from France,
in the name of the French government and people, created him a Chevalier
of the l,egion of Honor.

Such was the advance of Charles M. Schwab from obscurity to the posi-
tion of the world's greatest industrialist and one of the foremost Americans
of his time. The above record is of work that has made him of national
and international reputation, while he is the center of activity of particular
interest to Bethlehem and Pennsylvania. He has a residence in Bethlehem,
also, and is a most generous friend of many worthy Bethlehem institutions.
He is the chief guarantor of the Bach Choir, a trustee of St. Luke's Hospital,
and has made numerous large gifts to Lehigh University, of which also he
is a trustee. Among his many benefactions are the gift of a Roman Catholic
church to Loretto, Pennsylvania, the scene of his boyhood years and the
location of his present summer home — which is one of the most beautiful
church edifices of the State; the Convent House at Cresson ; a church at
Braddock, Pennsylvania; an industrial school at Homestead, Pennsylvania;
a school at Weathcrly, Pennsylvania; an auditorium to the Pennsylvania
State College; a recreation park and sanatorium for children on Staten
Island ; and numerous others, the wisdom of their choice and enduring influ-
ence for good, the evidence of his earnest thought. Between Loretto and
Cresson he caused a modern road to be constructed, and in civic afTairs of the
city of Bethlehem he is an interested participant, is a member of the City
Planning Commission, and made the largest individual contribution to the
$2,500,000 "hill-to-hill" bridge connecting Bethlehem, West Bethlehem and
South Bethlehem, and was chiefly instrumental in causing the consolidation
of the three Bethlehems named under a city form of government, which
came into existence January i, 1918. He has been honored by Lehigh
University with the degree of Doctor of Engineering, conferred in 1916, and
Cornell University, of which he is also a trustee, conferred the same degree
upon him ; while from Lincoln Memorial University he received the degree of
Doctor of Laws in 191 7, and from New York University the degree of Doctor
of Commercial Science in 1918.

In addition to his chairmanship of the boards of the Bethlehem Steel
Company, the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and the Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Cor]5oration, Mr. Schwab is a director of many large corporations. He is a
member of numerous clubs, a director in the American Iron and Steel Insti-
tute, and a member of the Iron and Steel Institute of London, England.

Besides his residence in Bethlehem and his Riverside Drive home in

PUBLIC LIBIUKY

ASTOR. LEf^ox Am

TlUlEN F0UNDATJ0N3

^mmY

BIOGRAPHICAL 15

New York, Mr. Schwab has one of tlie most beautiful summer homes in the
country at Loretto, Pennsylvania, where he lived as a boy.

No review of Mr. Schwab's activities could be even fairly descri))tive
without at least a brief allusion to some of the other thinj^^s that, aside from
his achievements as engineer, financier, manufacturer, orf^anizer, adminis-
trator and executive, add interest to his career and personality. Few know
that he is a finished musician, quite capable himself of wieldinsj the leader's
baton, and that upon occasion he has done so in the most accomplished
manner. Occasionally, too, he is induced to contribute a short article on
some current topic of interest. And a careful resume of his characteristics
brings out what at first does not attract the attention of the most careful
observer. This is his wonderful mastery of himself. Amidst scenes and
surroundings well calculated to shake the strongest in time of stress and
strain, he moves calm, serene, imperturbable.

EUGENE GIFFORD GRACE— As the history of the Bethlehem com-
panies, steel and shipbuilding, is the most remarkable in the industrial world,
so do the records of their officials furnish a chapter rich in accomplishment
bej'ond precedent, and of interest to everyone within the widespread sphere
of influence of these gigantic industries. In no small measure is this true of
Eugene Gifford Grace, president of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the
Bethlehem Steel Company, and the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Ltd.
■ During the great expansion period of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in.
times of peace and throughout the stupendous growth of this and allied
corporations in the course of the European War, volumes of space in news-
papers and periodicals have been devoted to the di.scussion of these corpora-
tions and their personnel. This, record, a narrative of the life of Mr. Grace,
takes its place amorjg the business and industrial leaders of Northampton
Connty, the scene of his schooling and early industrial labors, where he is
esteemed and honored as an; adopted son.

.^- '■ Eugene Gifford Grace, son of John W. and Rebecca (Morris) Grace,
was born at Goshen, Cape May county. New Jersey, August 27, 1876, his
father a retired sea captain and merchant. He prepared for college at Pen-
nington Seminary, Pennington, New Jersey, then entering the electrical
engineering department of Lehigh University. ■ At Lehigh he devoted him-
self to his courses and athletics with a degree of success in both' that was
unusual, making the varsity baseball team in his first year and playing every
year thereafter, captaining the team for two years, and distinguishing himself
as well in scholastic work, graduating with valedictory honors and the award
of the Wilbur scholarship and the prize in mathematics.

Immediately after graduation, there began the connection with the Beth-
lehem Steel Company that has endured to the present, and that has taken
him from the place of a minor employee to the presidency of its vast interests.
He became a member of the force of the electrical department, June 29, 1899,
his first work the operation of an electric crane. On January 16, 1900, he
was transferred to the steel-making department, and on June 8, 1902, was
appointed superintendent of yards and transportation. One of his duties in
his new capacity was to systematize the handling of material in the im-
mense yards and to plan the best organization and application of the general
labor and transportation facilities and forces. The first part of this he did
so thoroughly and at the saving of so large a sum, that it was the direct
cause of his receiving from Mr. Schwab a commission to reorganize the
Juragua Iron Cornpany of Cuba, a subsidiary concern supplying much of
the iron ore used by the Bethlehem Steel Company. While yard superin-
tendent, he caused the planting of grass, flowers and shrubs wherever practi-
cable, and did much to relieve the dreary aspect of the smoke-blackened
plant, a feature that has been considerably enlarged upon since inau^uratecf
by him.

i6 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

From September 2, 1905, until February 21, 1906, he was general super-
intendent of the Cuban concern located at Santiago, on the latter date enter-
ing upon the duties of assistant to the general superintendent of the Bethle-
heml Steel Company in charge of the construction of the vast Saucon plant.
His appointment as general superintendent followed on June 27, 1906, and
on October 22, 1908, he was elected general manager and a director of the
Bethlehem Steel Company. He was elected to the directorate of the Beth-
lehem Steel Corporation, April 4, 191 1, and on September 18, of the same
year, became vice-president and general manager of the Bethlehem Steel
Company. Succeeding to the presidency on April i, 1913, there were added
to his weighty responsibilities the presidency of the Bethlehem Steel Cor-
poration. February 17, 1916, and the presidency of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Corporation, October 30, 1917.

Mr. Grace has been the close intimate of Mr. Schwab throughout his
entire career, and with him has worked in the formation and execution of
the plans that made the Bethlehem steel works the industrial marvel of the
world. With him, also, he entered into shipbuilding on a scale that com-
pletely dwarfed all previous enterprise in that line, and successfully completed
emergency construction incredible in prospect. Through their wonderful
production of munitions, ordnance, ships and all of the sinews of war, the
Bethlehem interests have been for many months a familiar topic to every
school boy, while men old in the steel and shipbuilding lines stood in amaze-
ment at the audacious courage of the Bethlehem leaders in the attempt of
the seemingly impossible.

The predominating characteristic of Mr. Grace in his rise to commanding
position has been his capacity for unremitting toil, and at all times he has
been at his post, accepting increasingly heavy duties and responsibilities, first
for the prosperity and advancement of the company in which his life work
has been done, and then with the compelling incentive of service to his
countrv in her direst need. During the participation of the United States
in the World War, he took time from pressing affairs to organize and lead a
series of demonstrations of labor's patriotic loyalty to the cause, and in a great
degree aided in the establishment of production records in the Bethlehem
plants, impossible without the stimulus of a national crisis and the advantage
of sympathetic leadership. In the development of departments for the special
service of the government, and in co-operation with the War and Navy
departments in the production of cannon, armor-plate, ships and ammunition,
Mr. Grace worked in close touch with the Administration, placing at its
disposal the resources and records of the Bethlehem plants for the most
equitable and satisfactory arrangements. He was called upon by Cabinet
members and committees of the House and Senate for technical information,
and in every manner within his power devoted himself to the common cause —
Victory.

A national, and in manj' respects a world figure, Mr. Grace has relin-
quished no part of his interest in the city of his adoption. He is the loyal
friend of many of Bethlehem's organizations for charity and social service,
and is the generous supporter and trustee of St. Luke's Hospital. His attach-
ment to Lehigh University has been sincere and sustained, and he is an
active member of its board of trustees. He is a member of the Northampton
County Country Club, and is devoted to all out-of-door sports. In 1917 he
won the Hay Cup (the championship trophy) in his Country Club golf tourna-
ment. His social memberships other than local, and many golf and country
clubs throughout the East, are in the Metropolitan Club of New York City,
and the Maryland Club of Baltimore, Maryland. He is a director of the Guar-
anty Trust Company of New York, and is also a member and director of the
American Iron and Steel Institute and the Iron and Steel Institute of Great
Britain, and belongs to the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and
the Bankers' Club of America.

TH?. -

ASTOR, LENOX AND
TILDBM FOUNDATIONS

■/^■9^//

BIOGRAPHICAL 17

Mr. Grace married, June 12, 1902, Marion, daughter of Charles F. and
Emeline Brown, of South Bethlehem. Their three children are: Emeline
Grace, Charles Brown Grace, and Eugene Gififord Grace, Jr.

JUDGE WILLIAM S. KIRKPATRICK— New England had the Pilgrim
Fathers, New York the Protestant Emigration and the Huguenot refugees
from France, all of whom aided in laj'ing the foundations of the great nation
and moulding our free institutions. Pennsylvania has been credited so
largely to the Society of Friends, beginning with William Penn, that sufifi-
cient credit has not been given to the Presbyterian emigrants from Scotland
and the North of Ireland, known as the Scotch and the Scotch-Irish, for the
powerful influence for good which they have exerted. Thoroughly trained
in religious creed and doctrine, familiar with the Bible from youth, and
chastened by fierce persecution, they were among the firmest and most intelli-
gent supporters of Evangelical religion, popular education and good govern-
ment. One of these families which came in the early part of the eighteenth
century was the Kirkpatrick family, headed by Alexander, who settled near
Baskingridge, Somerset county. New Jersey ; he is the American ancestor
of Judge William S. Kirkpatrick. of Easton, Pennsjdvania, ex-congressman,
ex-presiding judge of the Third Judicial District of Pennsylvania, ex-attorney
general of the State of Pennsylvania, a lawyer recognized as one of the ablest
practitioners in the State, and one of Pennsylvania's most eminent citizens.

The Kirkpatrick famil}' possessed estates in Scotland in the ninth cen-
tury, the earliest of record, Ivone Kirkpatrick, who was a witness to a
charter of Robert Bruce. The family bore arms thus described:

Arms — .Urgent, a saltire and chief, azure, the last charged with three cushions, or.
Crest — A hand holding a dagger, in pale, distilling drops of blood.
Motto — I make sure.

The American ancestor, Alexander Kirkpatrick, was born in Watties
Neath, Dumfrieshire, Scotland. After the birth of his fifth child, David, he
moved with his wife Elizabeth, sons Andrew and David, to Belfast, Ireland;
this was about the }ear 1725. He enjoyed the greater liberty of conscience
there until the spring of 17,36, when he came from Belfast to America. Thir-
teen weeks were consumed in the passage, his vessel finally landing at New
Castle, Delaware. Alexander and his family finally settled near Baskingridge,
New Jersey, where he erected a log house by a spring of water, by the side
of what later was known as Mine Brook. There he lived until his death,
leaving a goodly estate to his family, naming in his will his wife Elizabeth,
sons Andrew, David and Alexander, son-in-law Duncan McEowen, youngest
daughter Mary, and grandson Alexander. Alexander and Fllizabeth Kirk-
patrick were the parents of three sons and two daughters: 1. Andrew, who
inherited the "Mine Brook" homestead, but who later sold it to his brother
David, and rempved to Washington county, Pennsylvania; he married, in
Somerset county. New Jersey, Margaret Gaston, daughter of Joseph Gaston,
of Sussex county, and they were the parents of a son, Alexander, and of
seven daughters. 2. Alexander, who became a merchant of Peapack, New
Jersey; married Margaret Anderson, of Bound Brook, New Jersey. 3. Jennet,
married Duncan McEowcn, and removed to the State of IMaryland. 4. Mary;
married John Bigger, and had two sons, John and David, also four daughters.
5. David, of further mention, ancestor of Judge William S. Kirkpatrick.

David Kirkpatrick, son of Alexander Kirkpatrick. was born at Watties
Neath, Dumfrieshire, Scotland. February 17, 1724, died at Mine Brook, Somer-
set county. New Jersey, March 19, 1814. He became owner of the homestead
by purchase from his elder brother Andrew, and there resided all the years
following. He was a man of great energy and sound judgment, a devoted
Christian and 'sterling citizen, serving in the State Legislature. He built

N. H. BIGG.— 2

i8 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

the substantial stone house at the homestead, which has stood since 1765.
He married, March 31, 1748, Mary McEowen, born in Argyleshire, Scotland,
August I, 1728, died November 2, 1795, daughter of Daniel McEowen. They
were the parents of four sons and four daughters: i. Elizabeth, born Septem-
ber 27, 1749, died December 13, 1829; married (first) Henry Sloan, (second)
Capt. John Maxwell, of Remington, New Jersey, brother of Gen. William
Maxwell, who never married; she was Capt. John Maxwell's third wife.
2. Alexander, through whom Judge Kirkpatrick traces descent, of further
mention. 3. Hugh, born September 2, 1753, died unmarried, January 9, 1782.

4. Andrew, born February 17, 1756, died January 7, 1831 ; he was a member
of the New Jersey Assembly in 1797, became Justice of the Supreme Court
of the State in 1797, Chief Justice in 1803, a learned and able jurist whose
decisions stand ; married Jane, daughter of Col. B. Baj'ard, of New Brunswick.

5. David (captain), born November i, 1758, died December 11, 1828, a life-
long resident of Mine Brook; married Mary Fanard, of Morris county.

6. Mary, born November 23, 1761, died July i, 1842; married (first) Hugh
Gaston, Jr. (his third wife), and (second) April 15, 1819, George Todd.

7. Ann, born March 10, 1764, married Capt. Moses Este, of Morristown,
New Jersey. 8. Jennet, born July 9, 1769, married Dickenson Miller, of
Somerville, New Jersey.

Alexander Kirkpatrick, eldest son of David Kirkpatrick, son of Alexander
Kirkpatiick, the founder, was born at the homestead in Somerset county,
New Jersey, September 3, 1751, died at his farm in the northern part of
Warren township, Somerset county, New Jerse}', September 24, 1827. He
married Sarah Carle, born 1760, died February 15, 1842, daughter of Judge
John Carle, of Long Hill, Morris county, New Jersey. After their marriage
the young couple settled upon a farm of four hundred acres, set off from the
large landed estate of Judge Carle, and thirteen children were born to them :
I. David, born December 24, 1776, married Sarah Cooper, of f-^ong Hill, New
Jersey. 2. Mary, born April 25, 1778, married Lafferty Cross, of Baskingridge,
New Jersey. 3. Jacob, of further mention, grandfather of Judge William S.
Kirkpatrick. 4. John, born July 24, 1783, married Mary Aycrs, and died
December 11, 1855. 5. Sarah, born September 22, 1787, married William
Annin. 6. Elizabeth, born September 21, 1789, married (first) Alexander
Vail, (second) William Gaston. 7. Lydia, born December 20, 1791, married
Peter Dcmott. 8. Anne, born January 27, 1794, married John Stelle. 9. Re-
becca, born June 15, 1796, married Squire Terrill. 10. Jane, born May 20,
1798, married John Cory. 11. Alexander, born August 10, 1800, married
Miss Tingley. 12. Martha, born October 8, 1802, married Israel Squires.
13. Robert Finley, born July 22, 1803, married Charity Terrill.

Jacob Kirkpatrick (Rev. Jacob Kirkpatrick, D.D.) was born at the pater-
nal home, six miles southeast of Baskingridge, Somerset county. New Jersej',
August 8, 1780, died at the parsonage of the Amwell United First Church,
Amwell, New Jersey, May 2, 1S66. His boyhood was spent upon the farm
and in attendance upon the district school, his classical education beginning
in 1799, when he became a member of the first class of four boys at Basking-
ridge Academy, their teacher. Rev. Robert Finley, pastor of the village
Presbyterian church. There he remained until 1802, when he entered the
junior class of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), there continuing until
graduated in September, 1804. He studied law for three years, then relin-
quisiiing the law ond consecrating himself to the ministry. There being no
tJieological seminaries, he studied under Rev. John Woodhull, D.D., of Free-
hold, New Jersey, for two j'ears, then, on August 8, 1809, was licensed to
]/rcach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick. He was ordained a minister
of the Presbyterian church, June 20, 1810, and on June 16, 1815, he was
installed pastor of the Amwell (New Jersey) Church, the ceremony being
held in the Old Stone Church.

BIOGRAPHICAL 19

Dr. Kirkpatrick's field of labor originally extended from the Delaware
river at Lambertville to the Somerset county line. On this wide field he
"made full proof of his ministry," in cold and heat, sunshine and storm, by
day and by night, doing the work of a missionary. Often he was compelled
to do a large part of the study on horseback, or in his carriage when riding
from place to place within the limits of his parish or to answer calls from a
distance. Whatever reputation he might have gained as a finished orator
or a profound scholar was sacrificed to calls upon the sick, the dying and-
the afflicted; to social visits to the families of his charge; to religious meet-
ings on week-day evenings and to the preaching of funeral sermons beyond
as well as within the bounds of his own parish. So great was his popularity
as a preacher that his services were in constant demand,' especially for re-
vivals of religion. This evangelistic work in various New Jersey and Penn-
sylvania cities and towns would fill up no small part of his fifty-six years in
the Christian ministry, and from that labor a most bountiful harvest of souls
were gathered. Mild, easy and courteous of manner, he was rigidly exact
in the keeping of a promise, the meeting of an engagement and fulfilling
of any appointment. He abounded in shrewd sayings and humorous anec-
dotes, and wherever he went he was welcome ; he preached about eleven
thousand sermons; during his ministry attended nine hundred funerals; held
ten revivals in his own church and received about seven hundred members
into the Amwell First and Second churches, of which he was in sole charge
as pastor until 1853, when he relinquished one hundred dollars of his salary
to secure the settlement of a colleague. For more than forty years he preached
alternately in the United First and Second churches, then until his death
was pastor of the Amwell United First Church. He was one of the founders
of the Hunterdon County Bible Societv in 1816, and for many years, until
his death, its secretary. He was an energetic promoter of the Temperance
Reformation, and to his people was a helper in every way. He wrote their
wills, deeds and leases, gave them such legal counsel as he was able, and
with rare tact advised them in both temporal and spiritual matters. He
resided in the parsonage at Ringoes, and there his people would come to
him as children would come to a father, and there he passed quietly away,
his arms folded upon his breast. Six years previously, he preached an histori-
cal sermon in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of his generation.

Dr. Kirkpatrick married, December 20, 1809, Mary Burroughs Howell,
daughter of John Sutfin. of Freehold, New Jersey, who survived him,. He
was ordained to the ministry the June following, and soon they were settled
in the village of Ringoes, Hunterdon county. New Jersey, where, on Decem-
ber 30, 1859, they celebrated the golden anniversary of their wedding day.
In his address to the guests on that occasion he said that since his own mar-
riage he had married six hundred and thirty couples, and in some cases had
officiated at the marriage of parents, children and grandchildren (at his death
about seven years later, the number was seven hundred and five couples).
Dr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick were the parents of thirteen children: i. Alexander.
2. David Bishop. 3. Dr. Henry Augustus, a graduate of Jefferson Medical
College, in practice at Stanton, New Jersey, until his death, September 29,
1851. 4. Calvin. 5. Newton, of further mention. 6. Charles Whitehead.
7. Mary. 8. Lydia B., married Dr. Justus Lessey, of Philadelphia. 9. Sarah,
married J. Gardiner Bownc, of Oakdale, New Jersey. 10. Frances J., mar-
ried Edward H. Schenck, of New Brunswick, New Jersey. 11. Anne ¥.,
married Henry Schenck, of New Brunswick, New Jersey. 12. Elizabeth G.,
married Martin Nevius, of Blawenburg, New Jersey. 13. Rev. Jacob (2),
born October 6, 1828, died October 27, 1859, a gifted minister of the Presby-
terian church, pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church of Trenton, New
Jersey; he married, in 1853, Sarah Catherine Van Liew, born June 14, 1827,
died March 20, if

20 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Newton Kirkpatrick, son of Rev. Jacob, son of Alexander, son of David,
son of Alexander Kirkpatrick, the founder, was born at the parsonage in
the village of Ringoes, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, March 23, 1820, died
in Easton, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1863. He was a pupil and afterwards an
assistant teacher in the well known academy of Rev. John Vanderveer, D.D..
at Easton, and also attended Lafayette College as a student therein. He
was afterwards, for many years, a successful and highly esteemed teacher
in the public schools of Easton. He married, early in 1843, Susan Sebring,
born September 18, 1822, died February 23, 1909, a daughter of Judge Wil-
liam L. Sebring, a prominent lawyer and distinguished citizen of Easton.
There were three children of this marriage, two sons, William S., of further
mention, and Morris, and a daughter, Viola, intermarried with George R. Coe.

William Sebring Kirkpatrick, son of Newton and Susan (Sebring) Kirk-
patrick, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, April 21, 1844, and there still
resides, engaged in the active practice of his profession. He obtained his
early preparatory education in the public schools of Easton, then entered
Lafayette College, where he pursued his studies in the classical course, re-
ceiving his academic degree of A.B. as of the class of 1863. He at once began
the study of law under the preceptorship of Hon. H. D. Maxwell, a former
presideni judge of the Third Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and on Octo-
ber 5, 1865, was admitted to the Northampton county bar. He immediately
began the practice of the law in Easton and so continues, having closely con-
fined himself to the law for over half a century. His practice has always
been large, extending to all State and I'edcral courts of the district, as well
as to the Supreme Court of the United States, and to him have come the
honors and emoluments of a profession which richly rewards her faithful,
capable sons.

For several years during his early career at the bar Judge Kirkpatrick
was solicitor for the city of Easton, an office which brought him prominently
before the people and gave him instant reputation as a young lawyer of
brilliant promise. That reputation he constantly added to, and early in 1874
a vacancy occuring, he was appointed president judge of the Third Judicial
District of Pennsylvania, a high judicial position he ably filled until 1875.
the period for which he was appointed then expiring. After fifty years of
practice he is a recognized leader of the Northampton bar and head of the
law firm of Kirk]iatrick & Maxwell.

Judge Kirkpatrick, since attaining his majority, has always been an
adherent of the Republican Party ; he was frequently a delegate to the State
conventions of his party, and in 1882 presided over the State Convention at
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as temporary chairman. He was a delegate to the
National Republican Convention of 1884, held in Chicago, which nominated
James G. Blaine for the presidency, and by appointment of Governor Beaver,
held the office of attorney general of the State of Pennsylvania from January
18, 1887, until January, 1891. He was the nominee of the party for the
Fifty-Fifth Congress from the Eighth Pennsylvania District in 1806, and al-
though that district had been uniformlv Democratic by majorities running
into the thousands, it gave Judge Kirkpatrick a majority of three hundred
and twenty-nine. He served his term with honor, then returned to his first
and only professional love, the law.

An alumnus of Lafayette and at one time president of the .Mumni Asso-
ciation, he has always retained a deep interest in his alma mater, and has
displayed that interest in her service. During the years from 1877 to 1884.
he was professor of municipal law at the college, and since 1890 has been a
member of the board of trustees, and is at present the vice-president of the
board. Twice he has been called to the temporary presidency of the college,
serving altogether as such for about two years, and Lafayette has no more
loyal son. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Pennsvl-

BIOGRAPHICAL 21

vania State Bar Association, member and president of the Northampton Bar
Association, member of the Pomfret Ckib of Easton, and a member of the
Union League Club of New York. He is a Presbyterian in religious faith,
and affiliated with the Brainerd-Union Presbyterian Church of Easton. In
1902 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Washington and Jefferson
College.

Judge Kirkpatrick married. May 20, 1873, Elizabeth Huntington Jones,
daughter of Matthew Hale Jones, of Easton. Thev were the parents of two
sons : William Huntington, born October 2, 1885, later a member of the
Northampton bar, associated with his father as a partner; and Donald Morris.
born March 17, 1887. The former son was graduated at Lafayette College
as a member of the class of 1905, and afterwards pursued the study of the
law under the tuition of his father and attended the law school at the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania. He was admitted to the bar of the county of
Northampton, October 5, 1908, and became a member of the firm of Kirk-
patrick & Maxwell, since which time he has been actively engaged in the
practice of the law and in the conduct and trial of many cases in the courts
of this and neighboring counties, in the Supreme and Superior courts of the
State of Pennsylvania, and the United States courts of this Federal circuit.
In September, 1918, he entered the army of the United States, being com-
missioned as a judge advocate with the rank of major, and subsequently
was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and duly commissioned as
such. Upon his appointment he was assigned to the office of the judge
advocate general at Washington, D. C. and has since served as a memljer of
the Board of Review in the Chief Military Justice Division of the said
department. The duties of this board are in the nature of those of an
appellate tribunal, in review of all proceedings and all general courts-martial
of the United States Army returned and received in the said department.
After the close of the war with Germany, he received his honorable discharge,
and has resumed the practice of the law as a member of the firm of Kirk-
patrick & Maxwell.

Donald Morris Kirkpatrick, the younger of the sons, was born March 17,
1887, and is a graduate of Lafayette College, class of 1908, and of the School
of Architecture of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1912 he competed for
the Paris international prize in architecture, and out of a large number of
competing architects throughout the United States, received the award of the
prize, which, with the large sum of money awarded, carried a two years' course
in the celebrated Beaux Arts School at Paris. Upon his return, at the break-
ing out of the European War of 1914, while engaged in business in Phila-
delphia, he entered the Officers' Training Camp at Fort Niagara, and in 1918
was commissioned a first lieutenant and sent to France, where he was as-
signed to the First Division, United States Army, and while in service was
promoted to a captaincy in same division, was wounded at Soissons, and
after his recovery, went through the battles of the Argonne Forest, and in
June, 1919, was honorably discharged from the service and returned to
America, where he is now engaged in his profession as an architect in the
city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was cited several times for distin-
guished service during his campaigns abroad.

STOUDT FAMILY— The name Staudt (Stoudt, Stout) is one of the
early Palatinate names. Members of the family figured prominently in some
of the Crusades. The family .spread northward into Holland, where several
members obtained noble rank. During the persecutions of Bloody Alba,
some members of the family fled to England, one of them, Richard by name,
enlisted in the English Navy. Upon one of his visits to New Amsterdam
he met Penelope Van Princis, who later became his wife, and they settled
in Middletown, New Jersey, prior to 1688, becoming the progenitors of a
large and honorable family.

22 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

The Staudts of Penns^dvania come directly from the Palatinate, and
seem to be divided into two groups, that of Berks and that of Bucks county.
On August 30, 1737, there landed at Philadelphia, John Jacob, Johannes
and Haiis Adarrt Staudt, and on September 24, of the same year, Peter Staudt.
These four, it is believed, were brothers. The following year Peter and
Daniel arrived, and in 1741 another Peter, and these were joined in 1744 by
George Wilhelm. It is believed that all of the above named were related.

Jacob Stout (Staudt) was born October 10, 1710, in the Palatinate, and
settled at Pcrkesie, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He was a potter by trade.
He married the widow of John Lacey. To them were born the following
children: i. Abraham, who became a man of prominence, serving during
the Revolutionary War as a member of the Committee of Safety, the Com-
mittee of Observation, the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and the Con-
vention of 1789-go. 2. Isaac, who removed to Williams township, Northamp-
ton county, where the name is perpetuated by Stout's Mill, Stout's School
District, and the post-office of Stout's; he was the father of eleven children:
Jacob, George, Isaac, Abraham, Catherine, married Henry Stover ; Barbara,
married Henry Stover ; Magdalena, married David Lcrch ; Susanna, Mrs.
Yerker ; Jacob ; Salome, married Gabriel Schwartzlander, of New Britain ;
Catherine, married to Jacob Schlieffer.

Peter Stout, of the above mentioned immigrants, settled in Plainficld
township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, having taken out a patent for
land on April 8, 1752. He made a will which was probated May 25, 1795, in
which he mentions his wife, Eva Elizabeth, and the following children:
Christian, Joseph, Peter, Catherine, married Nicholas Happel ; Maria Elisa-
beth, married George Ouier; Anna Maria, married Leonard Schertzer ; Mar-
garet, married Jacob Rauschenberger ; Hannah, married George Geberich.
Of the above. Christian and Joseph were members of Colonel Kichlein's Fly-
ing Camp, and participated in the battle of Long Island in the American
Revolution. Joseph, who was killed in this battle, left two sons: John and.
Christian. The Stouts of Lehigh and Northampton counties are chiefly,
descendants of the Bucks group.

At the head of the Berks group stands John Michael Stnudt, who took
the oath of allegiance at Philadelphia, September 18, 1733. Tradition says
that his father died at sea, and that the headship of the family fell upon
him, though he was only twenty-one years of age. How large the family
was is not known, but that Mathias, aged eight, and Johannes, probably still
younger, were in the group is certain, and it is quite probable that the family
was even larger.

John Michael Staudt was born 1711 or 1712, and died May 13, 1776, aged

sixty-three years, five months and days. His body and that of his

wife Barbara were buried at the Berne Church, of which he is said to have
been one of the founders. On October 25, 1737, there was surveyed for
John Michael Staudt, a tract of land consisting of one hundred and eighty
acres on the west bank of the Schuylkill river opposite the "flat meadows."
Later this number of acres was almost doubled. The estate is beautifully
located, sloping towards the south and the river. The dwelling, a substan-
tial stone building, was built over a fine spring of water, no doubt in order
to have water in case of an Indian attack. The scenery along the river is
romantic, a bridge now spans the river where formerly a ferry was the
means of crossing. The bridge is known as Stoudt's Ferry Bridge, and is
said to be the longest single span wooden bridge known. To him and his
good wife Barbara were born the following children : Johannes, Jacob,
Michael, George, William, John George, Jost, Anna Barbara, Catherine, Apo-
lonia and Elisabeth. John Michael Staudt frequently acted as sponsor and
guarflian, the first act thus recorded is found in the baptismal record of Rev.
John Casper Stoever, when he, John Michael Staudt and Elisabeth Brauer,

BIOGRAPHICAL

stood sponsor for Elisabeth, a daughter of Jacob Amman, of Schuylkill, on
April 29, 1735. He was naturalized as a citizen of Berks county on April
10 or II, 1761, at which time he had declared he had taken the Sacrament
on April i, 1761.

Mathias Staudt (1725-95) married Anna IMargaret Schradcr, born Octo-
ber 13, 1728, died May 22, 1797. They lived in Berne township, and were
members of the Berne Reformed congregation, where their ashes repose.
To them were born five children: John, Mathias, Jacob, Catharine Maria,
married Thomas Umbenhauer; and Elizabeth.

John (Johannes) Stoudt settled in Brunswick township, now Schuylkill
county, where he had an estate of one hundred acres. He died prior to
October 28, 1773. At this time his eldest son John, about fourteen years of
age, petitioned the court that his uncle, Michael Staudt, of Berne township,
be appointed his guardian. November 11, 1773, Michael Staudt was also
appointed guardian for the other three children of John Staudt, of Brunswick
— Daniel, thirteen years of age ; Jacob, eleven years of age ; and Anna Mar-
greth, eight and one-half years of age.

Jacob Staudt, son of Michael Staudt, was born in Berne township, No-
vember 12, 1738, and died in Richmond township, January 20, 1802. His
remains and those of his wife lie buried at St. John's Union Church, Kutz-
town, Penns\lvania. He is recorded as having a tract of land consisting of
ninety-five acres in Berne township in 1768. In 1790 he moved from Berne
townshiD to Richmond township, having purchased the farm now owned by
Edwin Kutz. Margaretha, wife of Jacob Staudt, died cir. 1819, and was
also buried at Kutztown. To them were born the following children : John
Jacob, born Maj- 17, 1776; Adam, born 1777, died 1853; John Henry, born
May 17, 1780; Daniel; Barbara, married John Schucker ; Mary, married
Michael Knittle; Catharine, born October 27, 1793, died May 28, 1804; and
Elizabeth, married William Ebling.

Daniel Staudt, son of Jacob Staudt, and grandson of Michael Staudt,
was a distiller by trade. He resided in Maiden Creek township, but his
declining years were spent in and about Kutztown, where he died in 1853,
and was buried in Hottenstein's private cemetery. His wife, a Miss Bowman,
whose parents removed to Ohio, and lived neighbors to the Breyfogel family,
is said to have been one of the best spinners of her day, both as to quality
and quantity. Their children were : Adam, moved to Logansport, Indiana,
where he died ; George, married Hannah Borrel, and reared a family of nine
children; Reuben, mentioned below; Frank, died unmarried; Margaretha,
married Jacob Saul, of MoUtown ; Polly and Hannah, died unmarried ; Maria,
married Joseph Hampshire, and lived at Bower's Station ; Hettie Esther,
died young; Isaac, served in the Mexican War, and soon after his return
left again for the Western country.

Reuben Stoudt, third son of Daniel Staudt, married Hannah Koch,
daughter of John Koch, and his wife Catharine (Gehret) Koch, of Huguenot
extraction. This union was blessed with the following children: Benjamin,
who located at Pine Grove. Schuylkill county; Daniel, who located at Circle^
ville, Ohio; William, who located at Pottstown, Schuylkill county; Henry;
Kate, who died unmarried ; Hannah, married a Mr. Lobo, and removed to
Chicago; Reuben, who was killed in the Civil War; James, who served in
the Civil War, and afterwards located in California; Samuel, who settled in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania ; Charles, who died of disease contracted in the Civil
War; Melinda and Ellen, unmarried, who live at Reading; and Sarah, who
married a Mr. Yingst, and lives at Carlisle.

Henry Stoudt, son of Reuben Stoudt, was born ]\Iarch 27, 1827. and
died September 23, 1859. He was married to Otilla, a daughter of Peter
and Elizabeth (Oswald) Reppert. She was born December 12, 1827, and
died August 3, 1877. Their remains were buried at DeLong Reformed

24 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Church, of which they were members. They resided at Topton. This union
was blessed with six children: John R., Hannah, Francis, Oliver, Daniel and
Lucius.

John R. Stoudt, son of Henry and Otilla Stoudt, was born February lo,
1848. He was reared on the farm, received but a common school education,
and later learned the art of milling. On June 10, 1876, he was married to
Anna Amanda, dau,e:hter of Charles Baer and Aima Carl, whose ancestors
were Huguenots. The following year he engaged in farming, which occupa-
tion he continued up to the time of his death, Februar)' 3, 1907. Mr. and
Mrs. Stoudt were members of the Reformed church, and were confirmed
at DeLong's church, Bowers, Berks county. After the death of her husband.
Mrs. Stoudt removed to Fleetwood, where she and the family reside. To
Mr. and Mrs. Stoudt were born six children: i. Charles Henry, member of
the police force of Reading, Pennsylvania; married Minnie Lease; has two
children, Mabel and Charles ; resides in Reading. 2. Rev. John Baer, see
below. 3. George B., a machinist, resides at Topeka, Kansas ; married, and
has sons : Calvin, Francis, Paul and Kenneth. 4. Jacob, a moulder, married
Katie Kline, resides at Fleetwood and has two daughters, Anna and Esther.
5. Annie L., who departed this life May, 1916; she married John Herring, a
member of the State constabulary; their union was blessed with one son,
Harold Robert. 6. Lieut. Frederick M., who served one and one-half years
as a lieutenant in the Motor Transport Corps, with the American Expedi-
tionary Forces in France.

Rev. John Baer Stoudt, pastor of Grace Reformed congregation, was
born in Maxatawny township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1S78,
and later removed with his parents to Richmond township, near Fleetwood.
He was reared on the farm, attended the local public schools and the Fleet-
wood Fligh School. In 1896 he was licensed to teach in the public schools,
which profession he followed for three years. He was graduated from the
Keystone Normal School in 1900, and Franklin and Marshall College in 1905.
While at the normal school and college he took an active interest in literary
and oratorical work, winning a nimiber of collegiate and inter-collegiate
prizes. After graduating from college, he entered the Eastern Theological
Seminary of the Reformed Church, from which he was graduated with honors
in 1908. During the summer of 1906 he studied theology in the University'
of Chicago. On June 3, 1908, he was examined and licensed to preach the
Gospel by Lehigh Classis of Jacksonville, Lehigh county. On September ist,
of the same year, he accepted a call from the Salisbury charge, Emaus, Penn
sylvania, consisting of the congregations of New Jerusalem, Western Salis-
bury ; St. John's, Emaus ; and .St. Marks, South Allentown, and was ordained
and installed on .Sunday evening, September zy . in St. Mark's Church, South
Allentown. Having received a unanimous call from Grace Reformed congre-
gation, Northampton, Pennsylvania, he removed from Emaus to Northamp-
ton, February 9, 191 1, in which field of labor he still continues.

Though popular as a preacher and pastor. Rev. Stoudt is known to the
public-at-large as an antiquarian and historian. He is frequently called for
sermons and addresses on anniversary occasions, historical gatherings and
family reunions. He was the organizer and first president of the Huguenot
.Society of Pennsylvania ; a member of the executive committee of the Penn-
sylvania German Society ; the council of the Historical Society of the Re-
formed Church in the United States ; and a member of the Lehigh, Lancaster
and Berks County Historical societies, and is archivist of the borough of
Northampton. During the recent war he served on mfiny local committees,
and is a member of the committee for Christian Service in France and
Belgium of the Federal Council of Churches. Plis contributions to the his-
tory of his State are many and varied. The principal works are: "The
History of the Western Salisbury Reformed Congregation," "The History

■> ^^r;. yJO^

^^^T^^^^-i0'^V.^^^;2^

. THE NE'.V YORK
PUBLIC LIDIIAKY

ASTOR, LKNOX AND
TIWlEN F01/NUAT1U-N8

THE mw YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND
TILDEN F»L-NDAT10Na

'XMy^

BIOGRAPHICAL 25

of the Grace Reformed Church, Northampton, Pennsylvania," "Michael
Schlatter in the Valley of the Lehigh," "Rev. Philip Jacob Michael, a Revo-
lutionary Chaplain," "The Moravians in the Oley Valley," "The Life and
Services of Col. John Siegfried," "The Dispersion of the Kocherthal Colony,''
"The Borough of Northampton in the World War," "The Pottery Inscrip-
tions of the Pennsylvania Germans," "The Folklore of the Pennsylvania
Germans," and v^'as joint author of the "Centennial History of Lehigh
County" (3 vols.).

On October 15, 1908, he was united in holy wedlock with Elizabeth A.
DeLong, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Yoder) DeLong. This union is
blessed with one son, John Joseph, born March 11, 191 1. Mrs. Stoudt is a
member of the Libert}' Bell Chapter, ]])aughters of the American Revolution.
During the war she served on man}- local committees of the American Red
Cross, Liberty Loan campaigns, etc.

JOHN M. DIEFENDERFER— In youth, Mr. Diefenderfer gave himself
to the teaching profession, and is one of the educators of the city of Bethle-
hem who have made the schools of that city noted for the high ])lanc of
efficiency attained and for the splendid spirit permeating the teaching corps.
He is of ancient lineage, the records stating that his family derives its name
from the village of Dubendorf, situated on the left side of the Glett river
in a district belonging to the city of Zurich, Switzerland. The church at
Dubendorf is mentioned as early as 1420, but the records were destroyed b\-
a fire in 1690 and no records of the ancient home of this family prior to i6go
are extant. John Michael and Alexander Diefenderfer, sons of John Diefen-
derfer, were born at Nershcim, near Heidelberg, Germany, both these sons
coming to the Province of Pennsylvania, on the ship IVilliam and Sarah, arriv-
ing at Philadelphia, September 18, 1727. John Michael Diefenderfer settled
in New Holland, Lancaster county, his descendants there and in the western
part of Pennsylvania spelling the name Diffenderffer.

Alexander Diefenderfer (the spelling in this branch) arrived on the
li'Uliam and Sarah, September 18. 1727, with his brother John Michael, and
on June i, 1734, is recorded as receiving a warrant for one hundred and fifty
acres of land, then in Bucks countv, but now partly in Bucks and partly in
Lehigh counties. He w-as naturalized in September. 1740, farmed his tract
of land industriously, and was a man of influence in his community. Ho
was a member of Great Swamp Reformed Church, and was buried in the
church burying ground. Pie died November 29, 1768. His widow, Gertrudc<
died in 1789. They had five children: Anna Margaret, Godfrey, Gertrude,
Alexander and John. This record deals with Godfrey, the eldest son, the
ancestor of John M. Diefenderfer, principal of the Jefferson School of Beth-
lehem, Pennsylvania.

Godfrey Diefenderfer was born February 19, 1730, and about 1750 moved
to Macungie township, in Lehigh county, where he seciired a tract of one
hundred acres by warrant of August 22, 1734, to which he added to until his
farm contained two hundred acres. He and his sons, John and Jacob, were
enrolled as privates in Captain Greenmeyer's company of the First Battalion
of Northampton county militia, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Stciihcn Balliet
in 1 781 and 1782. He was confirmed a member of the Great Swamp_ Re-
formed Church, and in 1784 was one of the founders and an elder of the
Reformed Church at Trexlertown. He died April 16, 1806, and was buried
in the Trexlertown church graveyard. He married. May 3, 1753. Anna Mar-
garet Mattern, born October 6, '1727, died April 6, 1801, daughter of Peter
and Catherine Mattern. Godfrey and Anna Margaret (Mattern) Diefenderfer
were the parents of seven children: John, Gertrude, Jacob. Margaret, Henry,
Anna, Elizabeth and Philip. Descent is through the eldest son, John.

John Diefenderfer was born at the homestead in Macungie township.

26 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Lehi"-h county, January 25, 1754. and died at his farm, which is now included
within the limits of the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, March 27, 1815,
and was buried in the old graveyard at Tenth and Linden streets. In 1784
he bought a tract of two hundred acres along the Lehigh river, then a part
of Salisbury township, but which later became a part of Northampton town-
ship. On this tract was a story and a half log house with a long slanting
roof, above which towered a great black walnut tree. A fine spring bubbled
out of the ground close by the house, its overflow running into the Lehigh
river, until the building of the barn, which destroyed the spring. "Diefen-
derfer's Spring" was a famous picnic ground, and many political meetings
were held there prior to 1830. Later the farm was the site of the Allentowri
Iron Company's furnaces. The family lived in the old log house, and the
father, John Diefenderfer, was one of the pillars of Zion Reformed Church
of Allentown. He married, in Macungie township, February 6, 1781, Char-
lotte Elizabeth Shankweiler, born March 25, 1759, died June 27, 1821, daugh-
ter of Jacob and Anna Louisa Shankweiler. They were the parents of ,six
children: Anna Margaret, Abraham, Salome, John, of whom further; Isaac,
died in infancy ; and Jacob.

John (2) Diefenderfer was born at the homestead on the Lehigh river,
now part of the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, March 17, 1788, and diecl
at his farm in Whitehall township, Lehigh county, June 5, 1862. He remained
at the homestead until 1830, then purchased a farm near Fullerton, in
Whitehall township, which he cultivated until his death. He married Salome
.Sterner, born in Whitehall township, August 4, 1795. died November 22,
1856, daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth Sterner. They were the parents
of twelve children, the eldest dying aged two weeks, the youngest at the
age of eleven months. The ten hereinafter mentioned all married and reared
families: Moses, Solomon, Esther, married Adam Berlin; Ephram ; John (3),
of further mention; Sally, married James W. Snyder; Lucetta S., married
Jesse Reichard ; Owen, Aaron, Matilda, married Lewis Biery. Of these
children, Moses, Solomon. John, Sally, Owen and Aaron settled each on a
portion of their father's land in Whitehall township; Esther, at Bcrlinsville,
in Northampton county ; Ephram, at Allentown ; Lucetta S., upon a portion
of the Jacob Yundt tract; Matilda, on a tract lying along Coplay creek, in
Lehigh county.

John (3) Diefenderfer was born at the homestead near Allentown, Penn-
sylvania, January 21, 1821, died September 22, 1901. He located upon a
part of his father's farm in Whitehall township, and there spent his lif^
engaged in agriculture. He married Sarah A. Reichard, born October 25,
1825, died Fcljruary 24, 1882. They were the parents of eight children: I.
Moses H., born August 16, 1846, died from the effects of a stroke of apo-
plexy, February 27, 1901. He began his education in the public schools,
entered Allentown Academy in 1868, Franklin and Marshall College, Lan-
caster, Pennsylvania, in 1869, and was graduated from the last-named institu-
tion, class of 1873. He pursued theological studies at the Reformed Church
Seminary until graduation. May 9, 1876, and was licensed to preach by the
East Pennsylvania Classis. May 25, 1876. PTe was ordained a minister of
the Reformed church hv Clarion Classis, having accented the pastorate of
the Plum Creek Church in Armstrong county. In 1881 he accepted a call
from Somerset count^^ Pennsylvania, and there labored for three years, when
he resigned, being unable to withstand the rigors of the climate. On July 15,
1884. he was installed pastor of Christ Reformed Church, Allentown, Penn-
sylvania, which he most faithfully and acceptably served until December 31.
1900. when ill health caused his resignation. During his pastorate the present
handsome church edifice, in which that congregation worships, was erected.
For twelve years he was stated clerk and treasurer of the Lehigh Classis.
He inarrii'd, September 24, 1878, Salome H. Alshousc, of South Bend, Arm-

BIOGRAPHICAL 27

strong county, Pennsylvania, and they were the parents of two sons : Alplia
A. ; and Walter, who died when ten years of age. Alpha A., a graduate of
Allentown High School and Lehigh University, is now associate professor of
quantitative analjsis and assaying at Lehigh University. He is an authority,
and frequently called in consultation. Other children of John (3) and Sarah
A. (Reichard) Diefenderfer are: Eliza A., born June 29, 1849, died December
26, 1918, aged sixty-nine years, five months and twenty-seven da\'s, married
Alfred Nagle, of Fullerton, Pennsylvania; Mary Jane, born December 27,
1851, died June 5, 1916, aged sixty-four years, five months and eight days,
married Dr. Theo. J. Koehler, of Easton, Pennsylvania, now deceased ; Men-
tana, a graduate of Allentown Female College, class of 1878, taught school
for several years, and is now assistant postmaster at Fullerton and resides
W'ith her brother, Eugene E. ; Eugene E., for many years master mechanic4
of the Bryden Horse Siioe Works at Catasauqua, later was with the Cadillac
Motor Compan\- of Allentown, now with the Bethlehem Steel Company, and
married Omie Tilden, of South Easton, and they are the parents of seven
children : Emily, Bessie, Florence, Margaret, Omie, Paul and Carl ; Sarah,
married James W. Graffin, and now resides on the Owen Diefenderfer farm,
now owned by Thomas F. Diefenderfer, Esq., of Allentown. and they are
the parents of a daughter, Helen Graffin, who married Plarry Roth, of Fuller-
ton ; Josephine, born March 7, 1858, a graduate of Allentown Female College,
class of 1878, and married Israel Schadt, of Allentown, whom she survives
with a daughter, Anna Schadt. who is now supervising principal of drawing
in Allentown public schools; John M., of whom further and extended mention
is made.

John M. Diefenderfer was born at the homestead near Fullerton, White-
hall township, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, December 29, 1855. Fle attended
the district school until twelve years of age, then became a pupil in the
preparatory school for Muhlenberg College at Allentown. After completing
his studies at Muhlenberg, he began teaching, and in August, 1888. came to
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and for three years was principal of the Neisser
School. The next four years he was principal of the Penn School, then was
transferred to the Jefferson School, as principal, he having held that position
for the past twenty-four years, 1S95-1919. Mr. Diefenderfer is also secretary
and treasurer of the Krause Hardware Company, an office to which he was
elected upon the incorporation of the company in 1909. All through his
career as thus briefly outlined there has been a parallel current of usefulness
never conflicting, but rather benefiting and aiding Mr. Diefenderfer in his
pedagogical work. When a boy he developed a passion for music which the
years but intensified. While at Muhlenberg he took a course in music under
Professor Ettinger, of Allentown, and a similar course under Professor Her-
man of the same city. He was also a musical student in New York City
under Dr. Mason. He became a thoroughly skilled and trained performer on
the pipe organ; his first position as organist and choirmaster was in the
Salem Reformed Church, on Chew street, Allentown, Pennsylvania, Dr. A. J. G.
Dubbs, pastor, and in 1880 became organist and choir leader of the Reformed
Church ai Schoenersville and Rittersville churches, where he was also teaching
school. In Bethlehem he has been most active in musical circles. For eight years
(1888-96) he was organist of Christ Reformed Church, his next position being
with the Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church. There he was responsible for the
entire scheme of the new pipe organ installed in the church at Centre and
Wall streets. The action of the organ is tubular pneumatic throughout and
was built from specification drawn bv Mr. Diefenderfer, who also supervised
its construction and installation. The organ was dedicated January 11, iqo6,
a chorus of fifty voices rendering the sacred cantata "Ruth," by Dudley
Buck, as part of the dedicatory programme. Mr. Diefenderfer presiding at
the organ. In addition to his work as an organist, he was for a long time

28 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

leader of the famous Brotherhood Glee Club of Christ Reformed Church, an
organization which sang at many festive occasions in the city and surrounding
country and was very popular. He formerly and for many years gave private
instructions on violin, organ and piano, but several years ago retired as a
teacher. He is an active member of the Reformed church, is a Democrat in
politics and a member of the college fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta. He is an
ardent disciple of Isaac Walton, his special pleasure being bass fishing, his
record being an admirable one. He also enjoys a day's outing with rifle or
shotgun, his aim being quick and true.

John M. Diefenderfer married, at Bath, March 21, 1878, Melissa R. New-
hart, daughter of Abraham and Mary (Schall) Newhart, of AUentown, Penn-
sylvania, her father an accountant with C. A. Dorney & Company, furniturq
dealers, until his death, September 5, 1894. He married Mary Schall, born-
March 24, 1839, at Moorstown, Pennsylvania, who is living. Mrs. Diefen-
derfer has been a member of the Reformed church from childhood, and has
been a teacher in the Sunday school for thirty-five years, and for about
twenty years has taught an adult Bible class in Christ Reformed Sunday
.School. She is also an active member of the Missionary Society of Christ
Reformed Church. Mr. and Mrs. Diefenderfer are the parents of four chil-
dren : I. Adelaide Jane, married Alonzo W. Clemens, draughtsman with the
Bethlehem Steel Company. 2. Alfred J., owner of the Commercial Body &
Truck Company, 1872 Broadway, New York City ; president and secretary
of the Hayes-Diefenderfer Company; he married Rosalind R. Richmond, of
New York; he is a Mason and also a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.
3. John H., formerly instructor in mathematics at Culver Militarj' Academy
(Indiana), trained in the Officers' Training Camp at Camp Taylor, Louisville,
Kentucky, was commissioned a lieutenant in the Artillery Division, later
serving with the Sixty-Sixth Field Artillery, Camp Kearney, California, and
is now studying law at the University of Pennsylvania; he is also a Mason
and belongs to Kappa Sigma fraternity. 4. Robert Newhart, born July g,
1895; a graduate of the Bethlehem High School in 1912; was in the employ
of the American Coke Company, No. 2 Rector street, New York City, as
expert engineer in design, erection and operation of by-product coke ovens
and by-product recovery apparatus and appliance, being engaged at Joliet,.
Illinois, ))reparatory to departing for British Columbia, where he was to be
engaged in the capacity of a supervising engineer in the erection of a two
and a half million dollar by-product coke plant. He had made remarkable
progress in his profession and had been given responsibilities rarely entrusted
to other than men much his senior. His death occurred October 4, 1918,
during the influenza epidemic. He was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.
These three sons are all graduates of the Bethlehem High School and Lehigh
University. Mrs. Clemens, the only daughter, is a graduate of Bethlehem
High School, Moravian Seminary and Kutztown State Normal.

WILLIAM JOHN FIELLER, son of James W. Heller (1842-1888), was
born at Bath, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and educated in the public
schools there. When sixteen years of age he came to Bethlehem. After
working in a store for about a year he entered the employ of the Lehigh
Valley National Bank, where he remained for upwards of eighteen years.

When Mr. Schwab acquired the Bethlehem Steel Company in 1904, Mr.
Heller became convinced that there were possibilities in Bethlehem real
estate. That his judgment was sound has since been proved. H. A. Foering,
who was at the time headmaster of the Bethlehem Preparatory School, was
similarly convinced. They became associated as partners. While Mr. Heller
was still in the employ of the Ijank, the firm acquired real estate and be,gan
erecting houses, Mr. Heller planning and managing the business, first
after banking hours, subsequently giving his entire time to the business.

The AmsriionfitaPjrical S-jcisf't

': EW^ PhntQ

€^.k.^yy9fl.^^.^

THR NKW YORK
PUBLIC LlBUAllY

ASTOR, LENOX ANt)
TILIIEN F()LNI)AT1I1N8

BIOGRAPHICAL 29

The firm has to its credit the erection of Inmdreds of houses, and the
development of many acres of land into improved and valuable building'
tracts. Mr. Heller would never countenance the methods of the averag'e
real estate speculator. The improvements on the tracts in which he was
interested were always kept in advance of the sales.

As is shown by the county records, Mr. Heller personally has boucjht
and sold real estate more extensively perhaps than any other man in either
Lehigh or Northampton county. The titles to several thousands of acres of
land, representing more than a million dollars, together with man\ dwellings
and building lots, were acquired and sold by him, this being aside from the
transactions of his firm, which have been as extensive as those of any firm
in the Lehigh Valley.

He has always interested himself in municipal and civic affairs, and has
been aggressively in favor of all questions pertaining to the advancement
and betterment of Bethlehem. In politics he has aUvays been a Republican.
In 1907 he was elected a member of the old Borough Council from the then
First Ward. He served as councilman continuously thereafter until the
consolidation of Bethlehem and South Bethlehem, which went into effect
in 1918. Mr. Heller gave active support to the movement for the consolida-
tion of the boroughs of Bethlehem and South Bethlehem into a city of the
third class. Later, as chairman of the annexation committee of the Chamber
of Commerce, he had charge of the movement for the annexation of the
Edgeboro, North Bethlehem, Hanover township and Lower Saucon township
districts to the city, which was successfully concluded. He took an active
part in the several drives for war relief, and is vice-president of the Bethlehem
War Chest Association. On September 26, 191S, he was appointed, by J. H.
Cummings, chairman of the War Resources Committee, a member of the
committee representing Sub-Region No. 3, Region No. 4, Bethlehem, Penn-
sylvania, comprising the counties of Northampton, Carbon and Lehigh.

Mr. Heller was instrumental in the building of the Minsi Trail Bridge,
and is now a director of the Bridge Company, being also its secretary. He
is a director of the Lehigh Valley National Bank, the Bethlehem Securities
Company and the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce; president of the Mel-
rose Land Company and of the Bethlehem Cemetery. He is a member oi
the Bethlehem Club, of which he is at this time a director, also a member
of the Rotary Club. He has long been interested in local history and
genealogy, and is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the
Northampton County Historical Society, and the Moravian Historical Society.

Mr. Heller's ancestors have always lived in that section of the State
now included in Northampton county, although at the time the original
Hellers settled here it was still a portion of Bucks county. The countv
records show that his early Heller ancestors in America were very exten-
sive land owners. This trait of his ancestors is perhaps reflected in Mr.
Heller's choice of real estate as a business.

(GENEALOGY)

Christopher Heller (1688-1778), aged 50, the progenitor of this family in .\inerica,
and his son Simon, aged 17, landed in Philadelphia from Rotterdam on September ;
1738, as is shown on the Colonial records. The law required only the registration of
all riiale immigrants above sixteen years of age, which undoubtedly accounts for the
fact that there is no record of any other members of Christopher's family at the port
of entry. The earlv records of the Lower Saucon Church show that Cliristoplier had
six sons: John Dietrich, Simon, Nfichael, Daniel, Ludwig and Christopher, Jr. .lust
why the name of John Dietrich, the eldest son, is not with those of his f.ather and
brother on the records at the port of entry is not known. He may have arrived at a
subsequent date. • t, 1 .

Christopher settled in Lower Saucon township, which was tiicn in Bucks county,
at the foot of the south slope of the Lehigh Mountain, not far from the present
village of Seidersville. The tract upon which he erected his commodious log house
and large log barn and outbuildings was an original purchase of 176 acres under war-

3°

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

rant dated September 8, 1742. This plantation, as it was then called, was known as
"Delay." The original log house is still standing. The large log barn was razed a
few years ago. In its day it was a large and commodious habitation. Now it is
but a mute, decrepit reminder of days fast being forgotten. Until a few years ago
the house was in rather a good state of preservation. Now it is rapidly falling into
decay and is entirely uninhabitable save, perchance, by an easy stretch of the visitor's
imagination, by the spirits of its pioneer inhabitants of the early days — days of the
invincible Heart and steady nerve. Christopher lies buried in the ancient cemetery
at the Lime Kiln Schoolhouse in Lower Saucon township.

Simon Heller (1721-1783), Christopher's second child and second son, on warrant
dated October 3, 1746, took up a tract of land in Lower Saucon township, on which
he built a saw mill, to which he later added a grist mill. Subscciucntly he added
additional land, until his holdings amounted to 215 acres. A mill is still on the site
of the original mill. After taking up his abode on Saucon creek he was instrumental
in organizing the Lower Saucon Reformed congregation, which, prior to his time,
held its services in private houses, principally in the house of George Hartzell. The
congregation's burying ground was the cemetery at what is now known as the Lime
Kiln Schoolhouse, immediately west of the furnace near Hcllertown. Simon was one
of the first trustees of the congregation, and purchased the book in which the first
records of the congregation were kept, wherein he entered the names of his father
and all of the sons, also all the baptisms in the Heller family prior to the year 1765.
A number of Simon's brothers also settled in the immediate neighborhood, along the
beautiful Saucon creek. This early Heller settlement has since developed into the
present borough of Hellertown.

Simon, in 1764, disposed of his mill site and farm, and moved with his entire
family to Plainfield township, then also in Bucks county, where he purchased a large
tract of 600 acres lying along the King's Highwav. Here, too, he was a prime mover in
organizing a church — the Plainfield Reformed Church — as sliown by the old church
records. He also acted in various interests of the government in border afifairs. He
was the principal man on the board of viewers to lay out the road through the
Wind Gap and on to Wyoming. It was over this road that Sullivan passed with his
army. It is known to this day as Sullivan's Trail.

Simon's wife, who was Louisa Dictz, of Milford township, died and was buried
at Plainfield Church. Simon, in due time, married a second wife. Shortly afterward
he transferred all of his property in Plainfield township to his eldest son, Jacob, and
moved over the mountain into Hamilton township to a plantation of 500 acres which
he had purchased some time previously. Here also he caused a church to be organ-
ized — the Reformed Congregation of Hamilton Township. With his second wife he
also had a number of children. The Blue Ridge divided the two branches of Simon's
descendants. His children were: Saphronia, Elizabeth, Jacob, Abraham, Peter, Mar-
parct, Sarah, Daniel, John, Anthony, Cathran, Maria, Anthony (2d), Daniel (2d),
Simon, and Louisa. He died in 1783 and was buried by the side of his first wife in
the cemetery adjoining the Plainfield cluirch. Chiseled in stone over the grave of
Simon is the following inscription:

Here rests In God, Johan Simon Heller, born June 18, 1721, In Germany, at Petershelm, In
Palatinate, died May 20, 1783. In his marriage he begat 16 cliildren. He lived to see sixteen
grandcliildren and tifty-four great-grandchildren, and reached the age of sixty-four years, less
five weelts and two days. Hia selected funeral text was 4th chapter Romans, 1st verse. (Then
follows a German rhyme taken from a German hymn book of that date and which, translated,
means as follows:) The body In the earth shall rest until the final day. Grant to me a joyful
resurrection and Intercession at the judgment.

Simon's interest in cluirch affairs is indicative of his Christian character, and
that this sturdy pioneer considered himself one of tlie forbears of a family in this
country is shown by his attention to the church records, the inscription on his tomb-
stone, and his selected funeral text. It is due to the records left by liim that the
family is able to Iiave a complete genealogical record.

Jacob Heller (1750-1822), Simon's tliird cliild and eldest son, to whom Simon had
transferred all of his plantation on the south side of the Blue Mountains, consisting
of 600 acres, conducted his affairs profitably. At the time of his death., according to
his will recorded at Easton, his estate consisted of five contiguous tracts of land
situated in Plainfield and Bushkill townships, containing all told 002 A. 73 P. strict
measure. Jacob conducted the Post House along the King's Highway at a point
near Wind Gap in tlie Blue Mountains (now the Woodley House, Wind Gap Borough).
Sullivan, on liis march to Wyoming, spent a night at this hostelry, while his army
bivouacked along the Highway. Jacob was captain of a company of rangers along the
frontier during the Revolution. He had eleven children : Susanna, George, Charles,
Samuel, John, Jacob, William, Eliza, Rebecca, Catharine and Thomas. Fie is buried

at Plainfield Church. He married Susanna (maiden name unknown), who

was born in 1757 and died in 1707, and lies buried beside her husband.

George Heller (1783-1864), Jacob's second child and eldest son, lived in Plainfield
township, in or near Belfast. George is the first of this line of whom there is a
likeness known to be in existence. A daguerreotype portrait of him is in the posses-

BIOGRAPHICAL 31

sion of William John Heller, as is also his family Bible — a large English Bible, in
which the Apochrypha is included, published in 1825 at Philadclpliia by H. C. Carey
and I. Lea, publishers, in which were faithfully kept comprehensive genealogical
records. The first records were entered by George, later by others, finally by his
son Samuel. The entries made by George state that he is a son of Jacob and his wife
Susanna. It also gives his marriage record and the records of his children's births,
marriages, etc. His records are all fully substantiated by the church records of
Plainficld township church, as shown by the published translation by Rev. Henry
Martyn KiefFcr, D.D., pastor of the church, 1902. On May 4, 1806, George married
Susanna Appel (1785-1833), widow of Philip Appel, daughter of David Beidelman.
George had eight children: Mary Magdalcna, Hannah, Susanna, George, Sanmel,
Eliza Ann. Thomas Edward and Jacob Daniel. He is buried in Dryland Cemetery
at Hccktown.

Samuel Heller (1815-189,5), the fifth child and second son of George, on June 2,
1838, married Margaret Gold (1818-1903). He resided for a time in Plainfield town-
ship. He followed farming for a period near Hccktown, and later moved to Bath.
Samuel had eight children: Valentine, James Washington, Owen, Lewis, Susanna,
Maria, Oliver Theodore, Matilda Ellen and Lovin Albert. He and his wife Margaret
are both buried at Hccktown.

James W. Heller (1842-1888), second child and second son of Samuel, was born
in Plainfield township. When a boy he clerked in a general store. When seventeen
years of age he enlisted in Company D, 129th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers.
Shortly after being mustered out of the service he married Anna M. Heckman (1847-
1912), daughter of loiin and Louisa Kemmercr Heckman, of Nazareth. Prior to
his marriage he had entered into the general merchandising business for himself at
Bath, where his was tlie principal business establishment. He was also interested, in
partnership with several others, in several slate quarries in the Chapman slate region.
James W. had four children: Charles Grant, William John, Anna Louisa and Elizabeth
Margaret. James W. and his wife Anna M. are buried in Greenmound Cemetery
at Bath.

FRANK REEDER, JR., third of his name to practice law in Easton,
son of General Frank Reeder and grandson of Governor Andrew Horatio
Reeder, he comes from a race of lawyers, and is bred to the law. His grand-
father's fame as a lawyer was nation-wide, and his father possessed that
rare quality known as a judicial mind. As secretary of the Commonwealth
and in other phases of his public career. General Frank Reeder filed opinions
on many questions, a number of which were reported. He was a great
lawyer, and would have made a great judge had he not declined a position
on the Superior Court bench. In politics he was a leader, and his extensive
travels in Europe and America added to his intimate acquaintance among
prominent men, and his fondness for good literature gave an additional
culture to a man of education and natural refinement. The earliest known
ancestor of this branch of the Reeder family was John Reeder, who came
from England prior to 1656 and settled at Newtown, Long Island, his name
being found among the residents of the town in that year. His son, John (2)
Reeder, came to Ewing, New Jersey, near Trenton, in the early part of the
eighteenth century, and married Hannah Burroughs, daughter of Isaac.
They were the parents of a son, Isaac Reeder, whose name is signed to an
agreement August 26, 1703. Isaac Reeder purchased a farm from Zebulon
Heston, tipon which he lived, and which long continued in the family. Isaac
Reeder married (second) Joanna Hunt, and among their children was a son,
John (3) Reeder, who married Hannah Mcrshon. John (3) and Hannah
Reeder were the parents of: Absalom Reeder, who married (Dctober 16, 1788,
Christina Smith, of Easton, Pennsylvania. There Absalom Reeder lived
all his after life and is buried in the First Presbyterian graveyard, having
been laid there after his removal from Easton cemetery. He was the father
of Governor Andrew H. Reeder.

Said General W. E. Doster, who, in his address presenting a portrait of
Governor Andrew H. Reeder to the County of Northampton, September 23,
igoi, and which now hangs on the walls of the court-house at Easton:

As a boy, and as far back as I remember anything, I heard the name of Andrew
Reeder mentioned as a staunch Democrat, and leader of that party in the "Tenth Legion,"

32 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

read of his speeches on behalf of Polk, when running for tlie Presidency against Clay,
for Cass when running against Taylor, and for Pierce when running against Scott, in
the campaigns of 184.1, i.S-|8, and 1852— of his supporting David J. Porter. Shunk and
Bigler, when they ran for the Governorship of the State — of his political bouts with
James' M. Porter, once Secretary of War. I also knew and read much of the part he
took in the famous Miller will case— of his defence in the celebrated conspiracy trial, which
divided all Easton into hostile camps— his connection with the opening of the Delaware
to steam navigation— his efforts on behalf of the opening of the Lehigh Valley and what
is now the North Penn. Railroad, and later his opposition to the removal of the old Court
House into what he was pleased to call "the first corn-field on the Bethlehem road."

I first saw and heard Mr. Reeder while he was making a speech at Bethlehem in
i8.i2, advocating the claims of Franklin Pierce, in the course of which he uiunercifully
ridiculed the Whig party, to which my family belonged. I smarted under his lash, but
could not help admiring the way he cracked it and laid it on, and his wonderful power as
a speaker. I made his personal acquaintance first in 1855, while he was acting as my
father's general counsel, and frequently afterwards, when he represented my father's
executors. His office was on the first floor of a building standing on the southeast corner
of the Square, next to the county offices, and opposite the front door of the Court House.
The front oflice was occupied by his long and slender young partner. Green (destined to
become Chief Justice), the inner room by himself. The Governor was muscular, rather
portly, and stood six feet in height, although his commanding air gave the impression of
being taller. His shoulders were square and broad, his carriage erect and proud, with
a look of determination but kindness in his face.

While he was uniformly respectful to judges, he knew very well how to sustain the
dignity of a member of the bar, and it was out of the power of any judge, however arbi-
trary, to overawe him, or cause him to flinch one inch from the position that he believed
to be right. In his addresses to the jury he was clear and logical, rather than persuasive
or passionate. Although he was a great master of the power of ridicule, exact expres-
sion and vehement delivery, his sentences were devoid of the literary graces which adorned
the orations of Rufus Choate, or the opinions of Gibson, and were rather moulded in the
ponderous manner of Daniel Webster or William M. Meredith. In repartee or power of
apt classic quotation, he was no match for Brown, nor, in adroitness and humor, for
Porter, but when it came to sledgehammer blows of the argument, delivered with giant
force, he was irresistible, and, as a rule, carried off the verdict. In brief, from my knowl-
edge of what his professional income was, and how he stood as an advocate in Eastern
Pennsylvania, from 1855 to 1864, I believe I can confidently say, without drawing invidious
distinctions, that his professional income was larger, and his fame as a lawyer more
extended, than that of any member of our bar of his time, and it was a bar famous for
able men. In private life he seemed to aim at the same excellence that he did in his
professional career. His financial credit was always of the best. He was a director
of the old Easton Bank, and made only safe investments. He kept an exact account
of his expenses, written in a beautiful hand, and paid everybody as he went. On the
other hand, he was extremely generous to his friends, and after the dinner hour it was
seldom that someone did not come in and ask for assistance in pecuniary way, and get it.

Andrew Horatio Reeder, son of Absalom and Christina (Smith) Reeder,
was born in Easton, July 12, 1807, and died there July 5, 1864. He graduated
from Lawrenceville (New Jersey) High School, and prepared for the practice
of law under the preceptorship of Peter Ihrie, one of Ea?ton's leading law-
yers. Andrew H. Reeder was admitted to the bar in i8j8, and began practice
in Easton, giving strict attention to the law from that date until 1854. He
rose to high ])osition as a lawyer, and was a familiar figure in all State and
Federal Courts of his district, and of frequent appearance in other County
Courts. Had his fame rested alone upon his reputation as a learned and
able lawyer, it would have been secure. But an incident in his life brought
him his greatest fame and prominence, and it is as governor of the territory
of Kansas, appointed in 1854, that he is known best. Franklin Pierce was
then President of the United States ; Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War ;
Stephen A. Douglas, a United Slates Senaltu-; and A.sa Fjaker of Pennsyl-
vania, a member of Congress. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, which practically
repealed the Missouri Compromise, had been passed, an act which as a
Democrat, Mr. Reeder approved. There then began that bitter struggle
between those who wanted to iriake Kansas "free soil" and those who wanted
it "slave territory," and into this turmoil Andrew H. Reeder was plunged,
without any solicitation on his part, by his appointment as Ciovernor of
Kansas, then a territory. He stood between the two factions reiiresenting

BIOGRAPHICAL 33

law and order, and anarchy and disorder; and while he might have pur-
chased place and ease by surrendering to the slave owners, he stood by his
honor as an honest, patriotic Democrat, and as a result was removed from
office after refusing to resign. But feeling that the cause needed him,
Governor Reeder returned to Kansas and was elected to Congress as "terri-
torial delegate," but was refused his seat upon appearing in Washington.
While a Congressional committee was taking testimony in Kansas, a charge
made by Judge LeCompte, chief justice of the territory, to a grand jury,
caused that body to indict Governor Reeder for treason, no evidence being
taken by the grand jury. He defied the marshal to arrest him, but the pro-
slavery men were determined to "get" him, and, disguised as a laborer, the
former governor escaped to free soil. He returned to Easton, and resumed
the practice of law. During Buchanan's administration he was at first silent
on politics ; as he saw the drift of events, he publicly announced his adhesion
to the Republican party.

His course at the Chicago convention, as chairman of the Pennsylvania
delegation which nominated Abraham Lincoln, in i860, for president (and
also honored him, notwithstanding his protest against the consideration of
his name, with the third highest vote for the vice-presidential nomination),
and his success in having Simon Cameron appointed Secretary of War, kept
the eyes of the country on him, so that no one was surprised when President
Lincoln, in 1861, turned to him as a man whose character, revealed in Kansas,
indicated that he had the sort of temper needed to deal with armed rebellion,
and appointed him brigadier-general in the regular army. As is well known,
the Governor declined because he had not sufficient military education, except
that he had been captain of a military company at Easton. In 1864 he was
again chairman of Pennsylvania's delegation to the Republican convention,
which renominated President Lincoln. He stood high in the President's esteem
and was always a welcome caller at the White House. Unfortunately, he
was not destined to live to see the day of triumph, April 9, 1865. On July 5,
1864, while Grant was still confronting Lee before Richmond, and Sherman
advancing on Hood, the country was startled to hear that the man who had
felt the first onset of the rebellion in our territories, and the eloquent advocate
of freedom and union, had passed away at the comparatively early age of
fifty-seven years. His work as chairman of the commission to investigate
the charges against Surgeon-General Hammond had been too much for his
strength.

G-overnor Reeder married at Easton, Pennsylvania, September 13, 1831,
Fredericka Amalia Hutter, born at Easton, October 7, 1810, and there died
August 16, 1878, daughter of Colonel Christian Jacob and Maria Charlotte
(Bauer) Hutter. Her father, Colonel Hutter, was the founder of the Easton
Centinel, July i, 1817. Christian Jacob Hutter was bom May 17, 1771, at
New Deitendorf, in Saxe-Gotha, Germany. His father, Johann Ludwig
Hutter, born May 5, 1726, at Frishborn, on the Vogelsberg, was a manufac-
turer of leather, and managed a large tannery for the Moravian brethren.
He was married in 1767 to Anna Maria Kuntz, born March 5, 1729. In
1773 he located at Zeist, in the Province of Utrecht, in the United Nether-
lands, with his wife and two sons, the youngest of whom was Christian
Jacob, Here he also met with success in his business and was considered a
man of fortune. He died on March 23, 1791, and his wife on September 30,
1805. The elder son, Johann Ludwig, born January 24, 1769, died September
4, 1820, continued the business of his father. The youngest son, Christian
Jacob Hutter, on October 20, 1789, was sent by the Moravians of Zeist to
their American settlement at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in
business, and where, on August 4, 1791, he married his first wife, Maria
Magdalene Huber.

In 1799, Mr. Hutter, at Lancaster, founded Der Lancaster Correspondent,

N. H. BIGG.— 3

34 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

the first number of which was issued May 25, I/OQ, and the last on September
3, 1803, whereupon he removed to Easton and founded there, early in 1806,
Dcr Norlliamptoti Correspondent, to which journal he transferred the motto
of his Lancaster venture, "Frey, Standhaft and Gemaszigt." On August 10,
1808, he established the Pennsylvcma Herald and Eeston Intelligencer, which
lived two years, and was followed by The People's Instructor, also probably
short-lived. The Centincl was his fourth journalistic venture, but after his
financial reverses in 1821, he pave little personal attention to journalism, his
sons and sons-in-law having succeeded him. Mr. Hutter, in addition to his
newspaper interests, was engaged in a variety of mercantile pursuits, but
chiefly as an apothecary. He also took an active interest in military and
political matters. He was actively engaged in the War of 1812 as a lieutenant-
general in command of the Northampton, Lehigh and Pike Counties' militia.
From 1822 to 1825 he was a member of the State House of Representatives,
and in 1829 was County Recorder of Deeds. He was one of the founders
and the first worshipful master of Easton Lodge of Masons. Colonel Hutter,
by his first marriage, August 4, 1791, with Maria Magdalene Huber, born
March 31, 1769, died December 7, 1804, had issue as follows: i. Charles
Lewis Hutter, born May 25, 1792, died September 22, 1830. Early in the
century he published Dcr Unahhanglge Rcpublikaner imd Lecha County Frei-
heits Freund, at Allentown. July 19, 1812, he married Maria Wilson, born
August 21, 1791. 2. George Christian LIutter, born November 11, 1793,
served as a lieutenant of volunteers in the War of 1812. After the termina-
tion of this war he was appointed a lieutenant in the regular army, served
in the Seminole War in Florida, in the Black Hawk War, and later in the
Mexican War as captain in the Sixth U. S. Infantry. At the close of the Mexi-
can War he was promoted to the rank of major and paymaster; he was
stationed at Charleston, South Carolina, from 1857 to 1861, and as paymaster
made the last payment before the bombardment of Fort Sumter to Major
Anderson's command, by permission of the Governor of South Carolina.
He resigned his commission in April, 1861, refused a commission of high
rank in the Confederate Army, and lived in retirement during the war on
his plantation "Sanduskey," near La nchburg, Virginia, where he died in 1880.
He was married July 6, 1830, to Harriet James Risque, born at Fincastle.
Virginia, November 6, 1807, daughter of James B. Risque, a distinguished
lawyer of Virginia, who served through the War of 1812 as major of a
Battalion of Virginia \'^olunteers, acting as General Andrew Jackson's body-
guard. 3. Henry August Hutter. 4. Frederick William Hutter. These two
twin brothers were born July 25, 1800. Both died unmarried, the former on
March i, 1824, the latter on December 21, 1824. They were associated with
their father in the editorial and business management of his newspaper
publications, and for some time the two brothers were the publishers of the
Pennsylvania Herald. The People's Instructor and the Centincl. Both brothers
were members of the Easton Guards. 5. Maria Henrietta Hutter, born at
Easton, Pennsylvania, August 7, 1802. She married July 27, 1822, at Easton,
Pennsylvania, Alexander Wallace, born February 18, 1797.

Colonel Christian Jacob Hutter married (second) on December 9, 1805,
Maria Charlotte Bauer, born April i, 1774, died August 10, 1829, and they
were the ]iarents of the following children : 6. Charlotte Louisa Hutter, born
at Easton, Pennsylvania, December 23, iSori, died at Easton, Pennsylvania,
March 22, 1865. She married December o, 1823, at Easton, Pennsylvania,
Frederick William Muller, born July 5, 1800, died March 24, 1861, a well-
known journalist of his day. 7. I'erdinand Quintus Hutter, born at Easton,
Penn.sylvania, August 10, 1808, died January 11, 1832. During his short life
he was actively connected with the management of his father's newspaper
publications. He died unmarried. 8. hVedericka Amalia Hutter, born at
Easton, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1810. Educated at Moravian Female Semi-

BIOGRAPHICAL 35

nary, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She married at Easton, Pennsylvania, Sep-
tember 13, 1831, Andrew Horatio Reeder. g. Edward Sixtus Hutter, born
at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, September 6, 1812. Married at "Poplar Forest,"
Virs^inia, October 7, 1840, Emma Williams Cobbs, born at "Glen Alpin," Vir-
ginia, October 25, 1822; she was the only child of William Cobbs, of "Glen
Alpin" and "Poplar Forest," Virginia, and died at "Poplar Forest," November
7, 1875. Edward Sixtus Hutter was educated at Mount Airy College, Ger-
mantown, Pennsylvania ; was commissioned as midshipman in the U. S. Navy
by President Andrew Jackson, on February 24, 1832 ; was an officer of the
United States steamship Peacock when she was wrecked off the coast of Arabia,
and he, together with other officers of the crew of the vessel, was the recipient of
great kindness at the hand of the sultan, a man-of-v.'ar with armament, etc., com-
plete. He vv'as commissioned passed midshipman by President Martin Van Buren,
on June 23, 1838. He resigned his commission in 1844 to give his entire
attention to his large landed interests in Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri.
The landed estate of "Poplar Forest," Virginia, was formerly the property
of President Thomas Jefferson, and the fine mansion on the place was built
by President Jefferson on precisely the same mode! or design as the house
previously built by him and universally known as "Monticello." He died at
"Poplar Forest," Virginia, November 7, 1875. Colonel Christian Jacob Hutter
married (third) February 28, 1833, Elizabeth Gobrecht, born May 2, 1783.
One daughter, Adaline Hutter, was born of this marriage, March 25, 1834,
and died December 3, 1847.

Governor Andrew FT. Reeder had children: i. Ida Titus Reeder, born
at Eastnn, Pennsylvania, May 22, 1837, married at Easton, Pennsylvania, May
25, 1858, William Wallace Marsh, lawyer of Schooleys Mountain, New Jer-
sey, born August 13, 1827, graduate of Princeton College, class of 1842, died
August 30, 1802. 2. George Marchand Reeder, born at Easton, October 26,
1839, served during the Civil War as captain of the First Regiment, Kansas
Volunteer Infantry; married in New York City, December i, 1849. He was
publisher and editor of the Easton Daily News. 3. Emma Hutter Reeder,
born at Easton, Pennsylvania. March 25, 1841, married at Easton, May 14,
1861, J. Charles Ferriday, of Concordia Parish, Louisiana (Lafayette College,
class of 1850) ; died May 12, 1865. 4. Howard James Reeder, born at Easton,
Pennsylvania, December 11, 1843. Educated at Princeton College, class of
1863. and Harvard Law School. Served in the Civil War as lieutenant. First
Regiment, U. S. Infantry, and captain 153d Regiment, Pennsylvania Volun-
teers. Wounded at battle of New Madrid, Missouri, March 13, 1862. Married
at Easton, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1867, Helen Burke, born at Easton, Penn-
sylvania, May 26, 1845. Commissioner of Fisheries of the State of Pennsyl-
vania, 1873-1881. Delegate to Republican National Convention of 1872, 1876,
1880. Judge of Court' of Common Pleas, Third Judicial District of Penn-
sylvania, 1881-1882 and 1884-1894. Judge of Su])crior Court of Pennsylvania,
189s to date of death, December 28, 1898. 5. General Frank Reeder, of whom
further extended mention is made. 6. Andrew Jackson Reeder, born at
Easton, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1847, died February 17, 1849.

Frank Reeder, born in Easton, May 22, 1845, died at his home in the
city of h=s birth, December 7, 1912. He attended the Easton public schools,
Edge Hill School, Princeton, and Lawrenceville Preparatory School. Law-
renceville. New Jersey, entering Lafayette College in 1859, but transferring
in April, 1861, to the' Princeton College, sophomore class. He continued at
Princeton until 1862, then enlisted as a private in the Fifth Pennsylvania
Regiment of Infantry, and later transferred to the 174th Regiment Pennsyl-
vania Infantry, serving as adjutant. He served also on the staffs of Generals
Peck and Vogdes, and was with the Tenth and Eighteenth Army Corps in
their operations against Charleston, South Carolina, under General Foster.
He then aided in recruiting the Nineteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry,

36 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

in October, 1863, and went to the front as captain, and with that reg^iment
he saw the most active service on Southern battlefields in raiding' and in
provost duty at New Orleans, the regiment being the last volunteer organiza-
tion to be mustered out. Captain Reeder had risen to the rank of lieutenant-
colonel, and was in command of the Nineteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania
Cavalrv, until mustered out, May 14, 1866. Colonel Reeder brought his com-
mand to Philadelphia by steamer, the final muster-out being accomplished
Tune 13, less than a month after his twenty-first birthday. They had marched,
ridden and traveled 25,000 miles as comrades in arms, had fought in twenty-
five battles and innumerable skirmishes, and at the battle of Nashville, De-
cember 17, 1864, he was wounded. In 1864, when but nineteen years of age,
he commanded a brigade in action.

The veteran colonel, promoted for "conspicuous gallantry" in action, on
his return from the war in 1866 was barely a voter, and at once entered
Albany Law School to prepare for the battle of life. He was admitted to
the bar in March, 1868, and at once began practice in New York City, his
partner being Chester A. Arthur, later President of the United States. In
the fall of 1869, Colonel Reeder returned to Easton, and as Reeder & Reeder
engaged in practice with his brother, Howard J. Reeder, later a judge. His
career at the bar was an honorable one, and had he not taken so prominent a
part in Pennsylvania political life he would have been more widely known
as an able and learned lawyer. After Howard J. Reeder became judge, the
law firm of Reeder & Reeder was dissolved, George F. Coffin succeeding
the judge, the firm name becoming Reeder & Coffin. Reeder & Reeder,
however, had a reincarnation when in 1912 the firm of Reeder & Coffin was
dissolved and Frank (2) Reeder was admitted to a partnership v/ith his
father, their of^ces being in the Reeder building on South Third street, the
son yet an honored member of the Northampton bar, the third Reeder to
practice law in the county.

In February, 1873, Colonel Reeder was appointed collector of internal
revenue for the Eleventh Pennsylvania district, an office he held until 1876.
In 1874 he was commissioned by Governor Plartranft a brigadier-general, and
placed in command of the Fifth Brigade, Second Division, Pennsylvania
National Guard, and after the divisions were consolidated, became commander
of the Second Brigade. During the railroad strikes of 1877 ^'^d consequent
rioting he was in command of the brigade at Reading, and after a short but
bloody fight with the rioters restored order and saved the city from heavy
loss. In 18S1, General Reeder resigned from the National Guard.

A stalwart Republican, General Reeder was in the thick of many political
contests, and won the respect of even his enemies by his honorable methods,
although he was a most formidable antagonist. It remained for Matthew S.
Quay, whose staunch friend and supporter he always had been, to be the only
man who ever dared to imi^ute unworthy action to General Reeder. The
accusation of treachery publicly made by Quay at a meeting in Harrisburg
was promptly denied in a manner more vigorous and emphatic than the
general's friends had ever heard him speak. The friendship between the two
men was permanently broken, although it is known that Senator Quay
deeply regretted his action and admitted later that his accusation was untrue.
Efforts were made on the part of Quay to heal the breach, but they were
never really successful. He was a power in the party, and Senator Quay's
ingratitude greatly depressed the general, for he had made personal sacrifices
in Quay's behalf and stood by him when only party loyalty could have held
him, for the Senator's ways were not the general's ways. General Reeder
was chairman of the Republican State Committee in the early nineties, and
in 1895 was appointed secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by
Governor Hastings, .serving until 1898. He was a delegate to the Republican
National Conventions of 1888, 1892, 1896, 1900 and 1904.

BIOGRAPHICAL 37

General Reeder had many offers of prominent positions in business life,
and was offered the choice of three important diplomatic posts by Secretary
of State, James G. Blaine, but he firmly declined "any office which would
compel him to bury himself in a foreig^n land." To his everlasting regret he
did accept a business oft'er and enp^aged in an unfortunate banking- connection
in Philadelphia. Through no fault of General Reeder's this was a financial
failure, but this did not exempt him from the severe criticism of a Philadel-
phia newspaper. A libel suit brought vindication for the general from the
courts, but the whole affair brought him down with nervous prostration
which eventually shortened his days.

General Reeder received the degrees A.B. and A.M. from Princeton
University after the war, and the degree LL.B. from Albany Law School.
At the time of his death he was president of the Pomfrct Club of Easton,
member of the Northampton County Country Club, Lafayette Post, Grand
Army of the Republic, and was one of the most generous and charitable of
men. He had a most pleasing personality, and to know him was to love him.
He married, October 21, 1868, Grace E. Thompson, born June 17, 1848,
daughter of Charles Thompson of Boston, Massachusetts, and at the old
Reeder home a charming hospitality was dispensed, and there General Reed-
er's happiest hours were spent. General and Mrs. Reeder were the parents
of three sons, all born in Easton: i. Andrew Horatio (2), born September Q,
1869, a graduate of Lafayette, class of i8go, later superintendent of the Vir-
gfinia Iron, Coke & Coal Company, and still later chief of the department of
fuel and mines of the Canadian Pacific Railway, with headquarters and home
at Nelson, British Columbia. He married at Easton, November ig, 1895,
Esther Longstreet Eckard, born at Chefoo, China, August 27, 1872. Children:
Andrew Horatio (3), born at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, August 21, 1896;
Elizabeth Bax'ard, born at Georgel, Virginia, April 18, 1903. 2. Frank (2) of
further mention. 3. Douglas Weyman, born August 25, 1883, a graduate
of Lafayette, class of 1905. He married at Crestline, Ohio, Ruth Lashels on
November 16, 1914. Issue : Ruth Lashels, born August, igi8.

Upon formal announcement of General Reeder's death, court was ad-
journed in respect to his memory, and the bar associations at a special meeting
drafted suitable resolutions. Eulogies were delivered by friends of a life-
time, particular stress being paid to his ability as a lawyer. The State press
paid glowing tribute to his public service, and a city mourned the loss of an
eminent citizen. The directors of the Easton Trust Company, of which he
was a director and one of the founders, adopted resolutions of respect, as
did many other organizations. Men of prominence in the State, county and
city joined personal friends in the funeral services. He is buried in Easton
Cemetery.

Frank (2) Reeder was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, May 4, 1880. After
preparation in Easton Academy he entered Lafayette College in 1897, and
was graduated Ph.B., class of igoi. He prepared for the legal profession
under the preceptorship of his honored father, and on February 13, 1905,
was admitted to the Northampton county bar. During the years 1906-08 he
served as assistant district attorne3% but has, with that exception, been
engaged in general private practice. On November i, 191 2, he became
associated with his father. General Frank Reeder, in the jiractice of law under
the firm name of Reeder & Reeder, which on December 7, 1912, was dissolved
by the death of the former. Frank (2) Reeder is a member of the county
and State bar associations, and is rated with the capable men of the ])rcsent
day. He has taken an active part in the war activities of the present, and
has rendered valued service as a member of the Pennsylvania Council of
National Defence and Committee of Public Safety, as executive secretary
for Northampton county, as county chairman of Four Minute Men, chairman
of the Bureau of Speakers, and as assistant chief of the local branch of the

38 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

American Protective Leag^ue, a branch of the Secret Service of the United
States. He is a member of the Sons of Veterans, and of Pomfret and North-
ampton County Country Chibs, a director of and soHcitor for the Easton
Trust Company, but has few business interests outside of his profess-on.

Mr. Reeder married, April 12, 1909, Sara Seitz, daucj^hter of William
and Frances (Hemmingway) Seitz. They are the parents of two daug;hters :
Gwendolyn Frances and Marie Louise Reeder.

DALLETT HEMPHILL WILSON— As city solicitor for the city of
Bethlehem, Mr. Wilson has come prominently into the public eye, althouofh
his private practice is large, and ever since cominn;- to Bethlehem in 1913 he
has enjoj'cd the confidence of many of the prominent men of the city, his
clientele includinpf Charles M. Schwab and several of the other Icadin^f
officials of the Bethlehem Steel Company. He has specialized in corporation
law, and prior to coming- to Bethlehem had conducted the law business of
large corporations. In Bethlehem his championship of the project known
as the "hill to hill bridge" was the deciding factor in securing that improve-
ment for the city, and below is the quoted opinion of Mayor Archibald John-
son, first vice-president of the Bethlehem Steel Company, and chairman of the
Bethlehem Bridge Committee :

No matter what any one may say, no matter -what any one may think, the "hill
to hill" project would not be the assured fact tliat it is wore it not for Dallctt H.
Wilson. In the last three years he has spent many days of his time and a great deal
of money to accomplish this most needed civic improvement. He has met every
obstacle that has confronted him, has brushed tliem all aside, disposed of them to the
satisfaction of the best thinking people, and through his energy and displomacy has
this great improvement been made possible, and the people of these communities
cannot give him too much credit.

In the foregoing, the speaker has described the characteristics which
have made Mr. Wilson the successful lawyer that he is — energy, abilitv,
tact and tenacity of purpose. He would have delighted the heart of Com-
modore John Paul Jones, who when sorely pressed and called upon to
surrender replied : "I have just begun to fight." Notwithstanding the fact
that he only became a citizen of the city in 1913, he is recognized as a leader
by the people, and he has won a secure place in their regard.

Mr. Wilson is a son of John S. and Kate D. (Hemphill) Wilson, of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his father having been for many years general
traffic manager and vice-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Companv-,
president of the Baltimore, Chesapeake & Atlantic Railroad Company, and a
director of the Colonial Trust Company of Baltimore.

Dallett Hemphill Wilson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, De-
cember 3, 1879. He was a student in the Forsvth and Delancy schools of
Philadelphia, and following his courses in those schools came three years
of study abroad, those years being devoted principally to the study of lan-
guages. After his return from Europe he prepared for the profession of
law, was graduated fron-i the law department of the University of Maryland,
and was admitted to the Maryland bar January 2, 1901. Later he was ad-
mitted to practice in Pennsylvania and in New York, and to all the State
and Federal courts. He began practice in Baltiiuore, and Avas connected
with the legal department of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company; was a
member of the law firm, Willis, Hotuer, France & Smith; was connected
with the law business of the Standard Oil Companv, and while with that
corporation was associated with the trial of a number of important cases.
Froti-i the .Standard Oil he transferred to the law department of the Lchiph &
Hudson River Railroad Company, as assistant to the general counsel of that
road, and of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company. He remained with
the last named corporation until 1913, when he resigned and locatcfl in
■private practice in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he has secured a large
and infiucntial clientele.

^S^i^^^^iCv^

THE NE\y YORK
PUBLIC LIDSlAilY

ASTOK, LENOX ANB

TILIIBN FOUNDATIONS

K - I-

BIOGRAPHICAL 39

As solicitor and assistant corporation counsel for many years, he tjained
excellent experience and intimate knowledfje of public service, commission
law and practice, this being- particularly valuable in his long conflict to
secure the "hill to hill bridge" for Bethlehem. He argued the case success-
fully before the Pennsylvania State Public Service Commission, securing
their consent, then led in the movement among the citizens, which resulted
in the raising of nearly one and a quarter millions of dollars to build the
bridge. His untiring labor, extending over a period of three years, won him
the commendation of Bethlehem citizens. Mayor Archibald Johnston and
Charles M. Schwab among others expressing themselves in very appreciative
letters. Mr. Wilson also gave hearty support to the movement which resulted
in the consolidation of South Bethlehem and Bethlehem, then boroughs in
the city of Bethlehem. The various war drives and war chest strongly-
appealed to him, and he joined in these patriotic movements with even more
than his usual energy.

Although a lawyer devoted to his profession, Mr. Wilson has imiiortant
business interests and is connected with several Bethlehem corporations. Pie
is majority stock owner and president of the Bethlehem Construction Com-
pany; half owner and vice-president of the Bethlehem Cleaning & Dyeing
Companv; president and owner of the controlling interest in the Times Pub-
lishing Company; president and majority stock owner of the Ross-Common
Water Company; director and general counsel of the Henry Irwin & Sons
Company; director and general counsel of the Steel City Amusement Com-
pany; director of the Bethlehem Trust Company; president of the Bethlehem
Chamber of Commerce. Since January, i, 1918, he has served the city of
Bethlehem as its solicitor. On May T, igi8, he was appointed United States
Attorney for this district, having in charge the legal affairs in connection
with the project of constructing three thousand houses for war workers. In
September, 1919, he was elected general counsel for J. H. & C. K. Eagle, Inc.,
silk manufacturers.

In politics he is a Democrat, but has never taken an active part in j-jublic
affairs further than as a private citizen interested in good government. He
is fond of the out-of-doors, enjoys long walks and drives, and the game of
golf appeals to him. But genuine, useful, helpful work is his real hobbv,
and a recreation must be strenuous to attract him. Progressive, ])ublic
spirited and broad-minded, he is the ideal American, and not yet in the prime
of his powers the future iiolds for him nothing but promise. He is a mem-
ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, his friendly, generous
nature responding to the appeal of that order. His clubs are the Bethlehem
and the Northampton County Country. His religious connection is with
the Protestant Episcopal church.

Mr. Wilson married, October 10, 1909, Esther, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Walter A. Evans, of New York City.

TIMOTHY ADAM STOTZ— As senior member of the firm Stotz Broth-
ers, liardM'are, stoves and heating systems, Timothy A. Stotz is intimately
connected with the business which he founded thirtv years ago in connection
with his brother, William A. Stotz. This business has wonderfully increased
in size and scope since its founding in 18S8, and is now the largest of its
kind in the county of Northampton. There has been no change in the firm
name, although another brother, Clemens L. Stotz, has been admitted, and
the brothers are in full control of the business the-i' founded. Timothv A.
Stotz is the eldest son of Reuben Jeremiah .Stotz, a veteran of the Civil War,
son of Timothy Stotz, son of Joseph Stotz, a farnier of Nazareth, North-
ampton county, son of Ludwig Stotz, the founder of the family in Pennsyl-
vania, who came from Hcinheim in Saxony, Germany, about T755, with the
Moravian Colony sent out by Count Zinzendorf. Ludwig Stotz married

40 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Henrietta Weisbrod, also of Heinheim, and they were the parents of sons
and daug:hters who have perpetuated the name of this, one of the oldest
Moravian families in Pennsylvania.

Joseph Stotz, son of Ludwig and Henrietta (Weisbrod) Stotz, was born
near Nazareth, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, November 3, 1759, and
died January 4, 1S25. He married Julianna Eigcnbrodt, and the}' were the
parents of Timothy, mentioned below.

Timothy Stotz, son of Joseph and Julianna (Eigenbrodt) Stotz, was born
in 1S07. He married a Miss Hartzel, and had sons: Reuben Jeremiah, men-
tioned below, and Franklin.

Reuben Jeremiah Stotz, youngest son of Timothy and (Hartzel)

Stotz, was born at Wind Gap, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, m 18.36,
died April 13, 1878. He was educated in the public schools and at the
famous Nazareth Hall, and in early life became a merchant, devoting his
adult years mainly to the mercantile business. He served in the Civil War
with honor, attaining the rank of second lieutenant of Company I, North-
ampton's "Own," the 153d Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.
Lieutenant Stotz was engaged with his regiment in many of the hard-fought
battles of the war, notably Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, came through
without serious injury, and returned to his home. His after life was one of
prominence as a merchant and local leader of the Democracy during his
active years. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
took a deep interest in its welfare. He married Mary Ann Heimer, daughter
of Adam and Sarah (Hohn) Heimer, of Plainfield township, Northampton
county. Children : The eldest child died in infancy ; Timothy Adam, men-
tioned below ; Harrison Franklin, who died in infancy ; Clemens L. and Wil-
liam A., sketches of whom follow ; Robert Anthony, a sketch of whom
appears elsewhere; Joseph A., M.D., eminent physician of Brodheadsville,
Pennsylvania; and Ella Rebecca, deceased.

Timothy Adam Stotz, son of Reuben Jeremiah and Mary Ann (Heimer)
Stotz, was born at Wind Gap, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1863. His public
school education was obtained in the schools of Plainfield township. He
later took technical courses in sheet metal working and ventilating systems,
and was regularly apprenticed to the painter's trade, which he followed until
1888 as journeyman and contractor, removing in that year to Easton. There
he joined with his brother, William A., in establishing the business which
yet continues under the firm name Stotz Brothers, at Second and Northamp-
ton streets. The brothers' original place of business was on College Hill,
but in i8q6 was removed to its present location. A very large business in
heating ajiparatus and plumbing and heating contracts is transacted, many
of the most imjjortant heating and ventilating contracts given out in their
city having been executed by Stotz Brothers. Mr. Stotz is a member of
the Easton Board of Trade ; Dallas Lodge No. 396, Free and Accepted
Masons ; Lehman's Fishing Club of Pike county, Pennsylvania ; the Young
Men's Christian Association (charter member) ; Sons of Veterans ; and St.
Peter's Lutheran Church, serving for many years as vice-president of the
church council and as treasurer. Mr. Stotz finds his most pleasurable recrea-
tion in hunting and fishing, hence his membership in Lehman's Pike county
club, having its club house and large preserves in Pike county, Pennsylvania.
He is one of the city's pioneer motorists, and is one of Easton's progressive,
public-spirited men, active in public and civic affairs. During the Liberty,
Loan and War Chest campaigns he bore an interested, active part, and could
always be relied upon for disinterested public service. In politics a Demo-
crat, he served for three years in Common Council, representing the Third
Ward of Easton, retiring from office when Council was abolished by the
adoption of the commission form of government.

Mr. Stotz married, November 29, 1883, Addie Amelia Fellenzer, daugh-

BIOGRAPHICAL 41

ter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Kammerer) Fellenzer, of Saylorsburg, Monroe
county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Stotz is active in Red Cross, Younfj Women's
Christian Association, church, and charitable work. They are the parents
of two children : Ralph Timothy, associated with the business of Stotz
Brothers, married Rebecca Morley ; Helen Fellenzer, married Dr. Austin H.
Coleman, of Clinton, New Jersey, and has two children, Phila Jane and
Helen Louise.

CLEMENS LEWIS STOTZ— The firm of Stotz Brothers, stoves, hard-
ware and heating- systems, was increased in personnel in 1896 by the admis-
sion of a third brother, Clemens L. Stotz, the firm then, as now, composed
of Timothy Adam, William Albert and Clemens Lewis Stotz, sons of
Reuben Jeremiah and Mary Ann (Heimer) Stotz.

Clemens Lewis Stotz was born at Wind Gap, Pennsylvania, December
24, 1867. He was educated in the school of Plainfield township, Lerch's
Academy, Easton, and Keystone State Normal School. After graduation
from the last-named institution he taught for five years in the public schools,
and then completed a commercial course of study at Pierce's Business Col-
lege, Philadelphia, finishing in 1890. The years 1892-96 were spent as book-
keeper with the firm of Jacob Rech & Son, Philadelphia, and at the expiration
of that period Mr. Stotz joined his brothers, Timothy A. and William A., in
Easton. In 1896 he was admitted to a partnership, he taking charge of the
office and credit department. The firm continued as Stotz Brothers, each
having his own department of the business in his full charge and each an
important factor in the success of the business as a whole. There is no
better known or more highly regarded firm in the city, its thirty years of
business existence under the same name with constantly enlarging borders
being its highest eulogv. Stoves, heating systems and hardware are the
lines carried, this including an extensive contracting department, the two
original partners being practical mechanics. Clemens L. Stotz has been a
member of the Easton Board of Trade since its organization. In his political
faith he is a Democrat, but most independent in his action. He is a member
of Grace Reformed Church, charter member of the Young Men's Christian
Association, member of Dallas Lodge No. 396, Free and Accepted Masons,
Easton Chapter No. 173, Royal Arch Masons, Judson Kilpatrick Camp, Sons
of Veterans, Northampton County Historical Society, and the Kiwanis Club.
He is a man of fine literary taste. Shakespeare and the standard authors are
his favorites, motoring and fishing are his recreations, and he holds the high
regard of a wide circle of friends.

Mr. Stotz married, February 9, 1907, Olga L. Judd, daughter of Oscar
M. and Melvina (Obenhour) Judd, of Washington, D. C, her father for
many years connected with the United States Treasury Dei)artment. Mrs.
Stotz is a member of the New Century Club, is an accomplished violinist,
studying her art under Prof. Hermann Rakaman, of Washington, D. C. She
was formerly a teacher of the violin at Charlottesville, Virginia, Conserva-
tory of Music, and has frequently appeared in orchestra and concert. She is
active in mission and charitable work of her church, the Grace Reformed,
and interested in all good works. Mr. and Mrs. Stotz are the parents of a
daughter, Olga Judd, born in Easton, Pennsylvania.

WILLIAM ALBERT STOTZ— William Albert Stotz, son of Reuben
Jeremiah and Mary Ann (Heimer) Stotz, was born at Pen Argyl, Pennsyl-
vania. November 2, 1869. He attended the old Cross Roads school house in
Plainfield township, and after completing his studies began learning the
plumbing and metal working trades, and during this period also completed
a commercial course at Easton Business College. In 188S, in company with
his brother, Timothy A. Stotz, he began a small stove and heating business

42 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

on College Hill, Easton. The business was continued on that location for
eight years, then in 1896 larger quarters had become a necessity and removal
was made to the present large store at the corner of Second and Northamp-
ton streets. This business has wonderfully expanded in the past years, and
is todav the largest of its kind in the count}'. Heating and plumbing con-
tracts have been executed for many of the finest residences and largest office
buildings, schools, churches and public buildings in the Easton section, and
the reputation of the firm is of the highest.

William A. Stotz is a director of the Easton Hospital, member of Easton
Board of Trade, Rotary Club, director of the Easton Young Men's Christian
Association, Sons of Veterans, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
the Wj'gadt Canoe Club, of which he was an organizer. He is a member of
Grace Reformed Church, for several years was chorister of that church and
for twent)' years was superintendent of the Sunday school. For eight years
he was superintendent of the Northampton County Sunday School Associa-
tion, and is now a member of the finance and executive committees of the
association. He was one of the organizers of the Young Men's Christian
Association in Easton, is a present member of its membership committee,
and one of its liberal supporters. He served on the building committee for
Easton Hospital, and was team member during Liberty Loan, Red Cross
and War Chest drives during the recent war with Gcrmanw

Mr. Stotz married, January i, igoo, Daisy Alice Gradwohl, of Easton,
daughter of Adam and Priscilla (Lerch) Gradwohl, of Easton. Mrs. Stotz
is a talented musician, for several years was a successful teacher of the piano,
and for a number of years was organist of Grace Reformed Church. She is
still an active church worker, a director of the Young Women's Christian
Association, member of the New Century Club, Navy League and very active
in war work, ])articularly interested in the Civilian Relief Committee work.
Mr. and Mrs. .Stotz are the parents of five children : Alberta Priscilla, Wil-
liam Albert, Jr.. died in infancy; Vincent Gradwohl, Thomas Byron, Grace
Har\'ene. The family home is at No. 34 Cattell street. College Hill, Easton.
Their summer home is at Carpentersville, New Jersey. There Mr. Stotz in-
dulges his taste for gardening and his great love for out-of-doors life.

WILLIAM F. MAGEE — The best introduction which can be made to
the career of William F. Magce is a history of the institution to which so
many years of his life have been devoted. A male child born in Bethlehem
the year Mr. Magee came to South Bethlehem Business College would now
be a legal voter, and all but a very short period of those twenty-two years
Mr. Magee has been owner and principal of the school. At the end of the
summer session of 1918 the college dropped the word "South" from its
coriiorati\-e title and is now known as the Bethlehem Business College.

The consolidation of the Bethlehcms and the proposed merging of the
two ]50st-officcs under the name Bethlehem made the change desirable. In
the early days of the school, when most of the young persons in attendance
were from the south side, the old name seemed appropriate; but the college
has long ago ceased to be a local institution and now draws students from
a very wide territory. The college was established in 1897, and occupied
rooms in the South Bethlehem National Bank building. In igo6 it was
removed to its present location with larger quarters in the O'Reilly building,
Third and New streets. The present principal, William F. Magee. has been
in charge of the school since its organization, twenty-two years ago. W. L.
McCulloh has had charge of the shorthand department since 1S98. The
school started under rather discouraging circumstances with a small equip-
ment, two teachers and not many students. Thorough instruction and the
general deniand for business education, however, brought more students.
In fact, without a single exception, each year has shown an increased

7k^7.rL^

THE NEW YOEK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, U;nu.\ ami
TILDBN FOL'NDATtllNS

BIOGRAPHICAL 43

attendance over the previous one. Last year five hundred and fifty-three
students were enrolled, about equally divided between the day and evening
session. Preparations are being made for an increased attendance this fall.
A force of twelve experienced teachers has been employed, nine of whom
held the position of principal before engaging with this college. The aim of
the institution is to give its students a thorough and practical training for
business in a reasonable time. English and other necessary subjects, slighted
in many commercial schools, all receive the attention their importance de-
serves ; but the student spends no time on fads, untried theories and branches
of no practical use. Instruction is given both individually and in classes,
and the work is so planned that each student advances independently of the
others. Modern courses of study, good teachers, central location, splendid
equipment and judicious management have all contributed to the .success of
the school ; but promises fulfilled, students satisfied, graduates prepared to
do what the business world wants done, and the kind words and influence
of patrons have done more. These, together with thorough instruction and
fair dealing, have won for the college the respect and confidence of all.

The Alumni Association of this college now has an active membership of
over one thousand, and a more loyal body of graduates a school could hardly
hope to have; June 30, 1918, it was one thousand and thirty-three, and of
this membership four hundred and forty-eight are local and five hundred
and eighty-five are non-resident students. Year in and year out these former
students continue to recommend the school to young persons desiring to
pursue a commercial course, as well as to firms needings business-trained
help. l"he Alumni Association offers prizes annually to the students attain-
ing highest averages, and in many other ways manifests much interest in
the success of the college. The management deeply appreciates the great
help which the association has given the school, and hopes by conscientious
work to merit a continuance of the good will and the confidence of every
member. During the past school year (September i, 1917, to July i, iqi8)
there were enrolled in day and evening sessions five hundred and sixty-eight
students. About fifty enrolled for both sessions, leaving a net enrollment of
more than five hundred dift'erent students, the largest in the history of the
school. The night school attendance was a trifle larger than that of the day
session, but the day school showed the greater increase in enrollment over
the previous year. From September to April, more applied for admission
than could be accommodated. Additional furniture and more typewriters
were purchased and extra teachers were employed, but even then many
persons were turned away.

William F. Magee, son of Lewis and Ellen (Zollers) RIagec, was born
in Union county, Pennsylvania, February 10, 1S66. He was educated in
the public schools of the district, at Bloomsburg State Normal School and
Hazleton Business College. His Bloomsburg Normal School diploma entitled
him to teach in the public schools of Pennsylvania, and for a few years he
taught in Union county and Luzerne county public schools, winning success
as an instructor of youth. He then began his long and eminent connection
with that class of institution so favorably known in the United States, the
business college, which prepares young men and young women for practical
business life through special courses under special instructors.

Mr. Magee began his specialized work in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, with
Shamokin Business College, where he remained from i8Sg until 1S97, when
he resigned his position to accept another with South Bethlehem Business
College, which first opened for the admission of students on May 17, 1897.
Mr. Magee was a member of the faculty, and from the beginning his reputa-
tion and ability as an instructor were a prime factor in the school's early
success. But soon after its opening he became owner of the school by pur-
chase, and three years later, June 18, 1900, the school was incorporated as

44 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

the South Bethlehem Business college. Under that name the school has had
twenty-two years of unexampled prosperity, and now passes away, the
present year (1918), to reappear immediately as the Bethlehem Business
College, in keeping with the spirit which has consolidated the three Bethlehem
boroughs into one city under the common name Bethlehem. Mr. Magec is
principal of the college, and teacher of advanced bookkeeping, commercial
law, business systems and customs. He has made the college a fitting
monument of a life-long career as a pedagogue, and at no time has he divided
his time with any other profession. He has won a leading place among
the educators of Pennsylvania and in that way has added to the glory of
his State and citizenship.

Mr. Magee is a member of the Reformed church ; H. Stanley Goodwin
Lodge No. 648, Free and Accepted Masons ; Ezra Chapter, Royal Arch
Masons; Bethlehem Council, Royal and Select Masters. He married, July 5,
i8q2, Ida S., daughter of Simon and Rosetta Boyer, of Union county, Penn-
sylvania. They are the parents of two sons : Harold T. and Frank L., both
of whom served their country in France.

REV. TITUS CLAYTON STROCK— The long ministry of Rev. Titus
Clayton Strock is one that was interrupted by ill health, during which time
he engaged in educational pursuits, but which is nevertheless a chronicle of
usefulness and service, with many material monuments to his devotion to his
cause in church edifices erected and church institutions founded. His present
charge is the Calvary Reformed Church of Bethlehem, a new congregation
of which he is the founder and organizer. Mr. Strock is a son of Samuel M.
and Mary Magdalene (Judd) Strock, and was born at Hellertown, Pennsyl-
vania, February i, 1855. He attended the public schools of Springtown,
Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and completed his general education at Ursinus
College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated in the class of
1885. Upon graduation he founded the Springtown Academy, filling the posi-
tion of principal for two years, at the end of which time he entered the theo-
logical department of Ursinus College, having previously prepared himself
for this course by solitary study. He was graduated in the class of 1888,
and his first charge after his ordination into the ministry of the Reformed
church was at Tinicum, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. For four years he min-
istered to this congregation, and was then in charge of the church at James
Creek, Huntingdon county, for a similar period. From James Creek he was
called to Blaine, Perry county, and during his pastorate at that place he
secured ground and caused to be erected a church home for the congregation,
the work of which had been seriously handicapped by unsuitable quarters.
At Trcmont, Pennsylvania, the next church of which he was pastor, he de-
voted himself so diligently and unsparingly to the work before him that his
health failed. His labors in this field were richly blessed, and besides the
aid and comfort that a minister is able to render as a mutual confidence and
unknown to the others of his community in which his ministry abounded,
there were tangible results in the lifting of a debt upon the parsonage and
the securing of a large fund for the erection of a new church building.

It was Mr. Strock's intention at this time to spend a year in recuperating
from the ill effects of his close application to his ministerial work, but he
was strongly pressed to accept the office of principal of the Springfield
Central High School and so entered upon the discharge of his duties in this
capacity long before his period of rest was past. For three terms he directed
affairs in the Springfield school, then becoming principal of the high school
and supervising principal of the schools of Saucon township, an office he held
for two years, and he was subsequently assistant to the supervising princi]5al
of the high school of Lansdale, Penn.sylvania, for one year. His educational
work served to strengthen and refresh him to such an extent that in igii

TUV \-

PL'S:

(;;y^l>^a-'£^ \

BIOGRAPHICAL

he felt able to resume his ministerial activities, the true sphere for his
endeavors, despite his usefulness and success ni educational lines.

Mr. Strock v^'as elected to the pastorate of the Shiloh Reformed Church
of Northampton Heights in 191 1, and during the six years of his continuance
as the leader of this congregation, its membership was doubled. The giving
over of this section to the foreign element of the city caused the removal
of the members to the eastern part of Bethlehem, where Mr. Strock organ-
ized a new congregation. A bungalow was purchased for use as a temporary
meeting place, and church work in as many departments as possible was
begun. In the year of its existence the congregation has come to number
one hundred and forty members, and work has been commenced on a church
building to cost forty thousand dollars. The difficulties always attending a
new venture, and particularly the organization of a new congregation, have
been met under his leadership with the calm of courage and the strength of
faith, and the assurance of success has been but an added spur to their
determination to complete a work that shall be a worthy labor in the name
of the great Head of the church.

Mr. Strock's interpretation of his pastoral duties has included an active
interest and participation in all of the public movements affecting his people,
and as a supporter of the Democratic party he follows with lively interest
the trend of political and civic opinion. He is treasurer of the Dry Federa-
tion of Northampton county at this time (1919), and has long been a worker
in the cause of temperance. As a minister he is faithful and devoted to his
people, and as a citizen he is equally able and conscientious in his support
of those influences that make for good in his community.

Rev. Titus Clayton Strock married, August 24, 1876, Salome S., daugh-
ter of Peter and Louisa (Seifert) Bogel, of Northampton county, Pennsyl-
vania. The parents of Mrs. Strock were residents of Bethlehem, where her
mother died December 5, 191 1, aged eighty-two years, her father having died
at the age of sixty-nine years. Children of Titus Clayton and Salome S.
(Bogel) Strock: Carrie Alice, married Rev. J- Kern McKee, of Zion Re-
formed Church, York, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of one child,
Katherine Mildred, born June 4, 1905; Christine Marion, died in infancy;
Wilmer Casper, a commercial traveller in the employ of a Pittsburgh firm.
Mr. Strock is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and has been active in
all public movements for the good of Bethlehem. He was also a director of
the school board at Marklesbvirg.

ROBERT SAYRE TAYLOR— Robert Sayre Taylor, B.S., of Lehigh
University, Pennsylvania, graduate of the New York Law School, and now
one of the leading attorneys of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in which city he
has been in successful and ever-increasing legal practice for twenty years,
comes of a family which for three generations has had residence in America.
He was born December 17, 1873, at Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, the son of
John and Annie (Esser) Taylor, and grandson of Edmund Taylor, a native
of PTertfordshire, England, who came to this country in 1819, and settled
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, eventually marrying into an old New Eng-
land fam.ily of the name of Wilson. Edmund Taylor appears to have perma-
nently settled in Wilkes-Barre, notwithstanding that records show that for a
time he and his wife resided in England. Their son, John Taylor, father of
Robert Sayre, was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on January 4, 1832,
and in that city most of their other children were born. John Taylor's
business career was a meritorious one, and was closely connected with the
earlv history and development of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. He was in
the "employ "of that company for more than forty years, starting in humble
capacity in 1852 and gradually rising until four years before he died he had
reached one of the highest executive offices of the corporation. One of his

46 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

first employments was with the engineering corps that surveyed the railroad
from Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, to Easton, so that with Robert H. Sayre,
James P. Donnelly of Easton, and H. Stanley Goodwin he may be considered
to have been one of the pioneers of the road. John Taylor, at the outset of
his association with the Lehigh Valley Railroad, was a conductor; later he
became ticket clerk and express agent, undertaking these offices concurrently,
and he gradually rose from one post of responsibility to another of greater
until he was eventually entrusted with the general traffic management of the
road. He worked hard, was an able administrator, and by his personality
and example was able to get whole-hearted co-operation from most of the
men with whom he worked. In 1891 he was appointed general manager of
the Consolidated Anthracite Railroad, and held that office until his death,
which occurred in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 1895. John
Taylor was an ardent Democrat, and followed the national politics closely.
He never, however, accepted political office excepting that of chairman of
the Democratic county committee. Religiously, he was a Presbyterian, and
fraternally was a Mason of high degree — thirty-second. His wife, Annie,
daughter of George and Elizabeth Esser, was born in Allentown, Pennsyl-
vania, on September 3, 1841, and although now nearing octogenarian age she
is still active and in good health, living in Bethlehem, where she is near most
of her children. John and Annie (Esser) Taylor were the parents of the
fnllowinsr children: Harry E., who was born in 1859, and now lives in Beth-
lehem; Edmund K., who died in New York City in 1910; Annie E., who is
unmarried and lives with her mother in Bethlehem; George S., who died in
New York City in 1905; Elizabeth, who married George W. Plalliwell, for-
mer cashier of the Lehigh Valley Bank, and is referred to in more detail,
elsewhere in this volume; Mary W., who married H. S. Snyder, regarding
whom also further description is contained elsewhere in this publication;
John, who was born on December 9, 1871, eventually married Alice Prince,
and lives in Bethlehem; Robert Sayre, of whom further; and Richard F.,
who was born on December 4, 1878, and lives in Bethlehem.

It is worthy of note herein that Charles Taylor, great-uncle of above
named children, had the distinction of being with Lord Nelson in the Battle
of Trafalgar, in 1805.

Robert Sayre Taylor was born December 17, 187.^, in Mauch Chunk, but
to all intents and purposes he is a native of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for
soon after his birth, the Taylor family moved to that city, and there Robert
S. received all his elementary and intermediate education. He passed through
the public school of Bethlehem, graduated at the Bethlehem High School in
1890, and was prepared for college at Ulrich's preparatory school. In 1891
he entered Lehigh University. His university career was noteworthy; he was
one of the honor men of his year, 1895, when graduation brought him the
degree of B.S. He was admitted, in 1895, to membership in the Phi Beta
Kappa honorary fraternity.

Entering professional life. Robert S. Taylor became a registered law
student in the office of R. E. Wright, one of the leading attorneys of Allen-
town, Pennsylvania. As an indentured student he remained associated with
the Allentown attorney for three years, during that period, however, attend-
ing the New York Law School, which at that time was conducted in the old
Equitable building. New York City. After successfully graduating from that
well known law school, Robert Sayre Taylor, having completed his articled
term of study with the Allentown lawyer, was admitted to practice at the
legal bar of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. The date of his admittance to
practice was June 7, 1897. A week later, having satisfactorily passed the
qualifying examination, he was also admitted to practice at the Northampton
county court. Mr. Taylor has always been in business by himself. He
occupies offices in the same building as when he first entered into practice,

BIOGRAPHICAL 47

but the suite of offices has £jro\vn in proportion to the development of the
practice, which during the twenty years of good service has been substantial.

It is not only in activities connected with the court and legal affairs of
Northampton county that Mr. Taylor has come into prominence in Betiile-
hem ; he is a man of aggressive optimistic spirit, and has ever been wilhng
to give his time to matters that have bearing on the public welfare. This is
evident from the reading of his public record since 1900. He was borough
solicitor, 1 900-0 1 ; burgess, 1903-06; and was school director for six years,
retiring in 191 7. When chairman of the recreation committee, he inaugurated
supervised play in Bethlehem, and he has been so prominently identified with
the beginnings of so many important jiublic movements in Bethlehem that
he will be recognized as one of its leading residents. Mr. Taylor was chair-
man of the civic committee of Greater Bethlehem Association, and chairman
of the campaign to form the Chamber of Comm.erce ; he was treasurer for
the Bethlehem Charity Organization during the first four years of its estab-
lishment; he was one of the organizers of the Rotary Club, and became its
first president; was a member of the first Bridge Commission of Bethlehem,
and a member of the former Industrial Commission ; he has been president
of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, member of executive committee of
Committee of Public Safety and National Defence ; chairman of the execu-
tive committee of the Organization Committee of Home Defence ; and chair-
man of the Speakers' Bureau and Four Minute Men of Bethlehem district.
In almost all local campaigns of the last decade Mr. Taylor has taken active
part ; he was captain in the Hill to Hill Bridge campaign ; was major on
the north side in the consolidation campaign ; and was a member of the
executive committee. Knights of Columbus campaign. He is a director of
the Associated Charities, and is director of some of the leading financial and
industrial corporations of Bethlehem, including the Bethlehem Securities
Company, the First National Bank of Bethlehem, and the Minsi Trail Bridge
Company. Professionally he is well regarded, holding the respect of the bar
and court, which is indicated by his appointment to the committee to revise
the rules of the court of Northampton county.

Mr. Taylor is a Democrat in national politics, and has taken active
interest in political campaigns, but, like his father, he has never sought office.
In 1916, however, he accepted the responsibility of representing his district
as delegate to the National Democratic Convention in St. Louis, which
nominated President Wilson for the second term.

Mr. Taylor is a member of the Presbyterian church, and a man of definite
religious convictions. By his marriage to Miss Caroline M. Wolle, he also
came into close relationship with dignitaries of the Moravian church. His
wife, nee Caroline M. Wolle. whom he married on June 28, 1899, at Bethle-
hem, is granddaughter of Bishop Peter Wolle of the Moravian church, and
daughter of Theodore and Adelaide (Sussdorf) Wolle, of Winston-Salem,
North Carolina. Bishop Wolle has the distinction of being one of the first
clas.-; to graduate from the Moravian Seminary. His son, Theodore, father
of Mrs. Taylor, was for many years professor of music in the college for
young women at Bethlehem, and also organist of the Moravian church.
Mrs. Tavlor herself is a graduate of the Moravian school, and both her chil-
dren have graduated from the Moravian Preparatory School. Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Sayre Taylor have two children : Frances, who was born on Septem-
ber 27, 1900, and Robert S., Jr., who was born April 15, 1903.

THOMAS A. H. HAY— Beginning with the year 173S the name of Hay
became a well known one in Williams township, Northampton county, Penn-
sylvania, the family seat being now the site of South Easton. Melchoir Hay,
the founder, was captain of a company of one hundred and four men raised
in Williams township to fight for independence, and was also a member of

48 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

the committee of public safet3^ He came from a patriotic Scotch ancestor,
his father being Colonel Malcolm Hay. Melchoir Hay became, with his two
brothers, the American founder of the Hay family in Amerca. Captain
Melchoir Hay imbibed the military ardor of his ancestors, although he spent
the greater part of his life as a farmer. This military spirit continued strong
in his descendants, and in every war in which the United States has since
been engaged they have been found with colors on the field of conflict. With
Captain Jacob Hay, a great-grandson of Captain Melchoir Hay, the name
became a prominent one in Easton's commercial circles as founder of a large
wholesale dry-goods business and also afterward of a wholesale shoe store.
He purchased large holdings of city real estate near the farm properties
formerly owned in the family and became one of the most progressive, public
spirited men of his day. Following the example of his father, Thomas A. H.
Hay, with his brother, William O. Hay, devoted a large part of his life to
those lines of business activity v/hich benefit the public, and during the last
twenty-five years of a life, hardly yet more than in its prime, has been a
leading factor in all the great public service transportation companies of the
Lehigh Valley. He has achieved much in his selected line of business opera-
tion and is as vigorously planning greater things for the city of his birth
as he was a quarter of a century ago when with his brother he organized the
Easton Power Company, the first hydro-electric plant in this section of Penn-
sylvania. He has been equally prominent in civic life, and there has been no
department of Easton's public life but has had for him a deep interest.

Returning to the American ancestor, Captain Melchoir Hay, the records
show that with two brothers he came to Pennsylvania in 1738, located on
land now a part of South Easton, and in 1752 aided in the layout of the
town of Easton. In 1771 he bought twenty-six acres from Israel Morris of
Philadelphia, and later in the same year three hundred and seventy-five acres
from Peter Rush, all being formerly owned by William Penn. This property
was bought outright, as shown by the deed dated August, 1771, and was
held by Captain Hay until 1796, when he sold it. His public spirit was
manifested in other ways than by his Revolutionary services. He donated
a large lot and land for a burying-ground to the Reformed church, the edifice
erected on the lot still being known as Hay's Chapel, and the land as Hay's
Burying-Ground. After the Revolution he bought a large farm in the Dry-
lands district, three miles west of Easton, some of which is yet owned in the
family. Captain Hay married and left a son, Melchoir (2).

(II) Melchoir (2) Hay, son of Captain Melchoir Play, succeeded his father
and in turn gave to Northampton county sons who added to the family honor
and perpetuated the name. These sons were: Abraham Horn, of further
mention; Peter, George, Melchoir (3), Charles and John.

(III) Abraham Horn Hay, son of Melchoir (2) Hay, was one of the sub-
stantial men of his day. He married and was the father of four sons : Peter,
Andrew, Thomas J. and Jacob, all of whom became useful and prominent
citizens of Easton.

(IV) Captain Jacob Hay, son of Abraham Horn Play, was the founder of
that residential part of Easton lying west of Twelfth street, where he spent
$150,000 mainly in the interest of the public, furnishing them a park and
beautiful walks and drives. He was born April 27, 1829, and after completing
his studies entered mercantile life in Easton. He was very successful in
business and became the owner of much Easton real estate. Pie was head
of the dry-goods house of J. Hay and Sons, founded in 1866, the first in the
State outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and of the wholesale boot and
shoe house, Hapgood, Hay & Company, founded in 1875. He ranked high
as a broad-minded, progressive merchant, sotmd in judgment and strong in
principle. In his realty dealings he jjlanned largely for Easton's needs in
the future, and bought extensively of unimproved land within and without

BIOGFL-\PHICAL 49

the limits of the city, intendinj^ to create a residential section of the hisjhest
order. He improved a great deal of this land, laid out beautiful drives and
walks at heavy cost to himself, and then generously gave the streets and
walks to the public free of charge, an unusual thing in that day. He died
full of years and honors, November 17, 1894. Captain Jacob Hay married
in 1854, Annie Wilson, born October 29, 1831, died August, 1910, daughter
of Alexander Wilson, of Easton, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Their children
were: Thomas A. H., of further mention: Annie W.. married Colonel Asa
W. Dickenson; Ida Wilson, married William C. Atvvater. of New York;
William O., a prominent business man of Easton. (See following sketch.)

(V) Thomas A. H. Hay, eldest son of Captain Jacob and Annie (Wilson)
Hay, was born in Easton, July i, 1855, and is yet an honored resident of his
native city. He completed a public school course with high school graduation
in 1872, then entered Lafayette College, whence he was graduated A.B., class
of 1876. The following three years were spent in the territory of Montana
in company with his college friend, Russel B. Harrison, son of Benjamin
Harrison, later President of the United States. \\'hile in Montana he was
employed in the Helena assay office as assistant superintendent, and married
Helen Moore Ruger, elder daughter of Major-General Thom.as H. Ruger,
U. S. Army. He returned to Easton in 1879, and for the ensuing ten years
was engaged in the mercantile enterprises with which his father was so
prominently connected, and was also associated with him in real estate opera-
tions. In 1889 he was appointed by President Harrison as postage agent at
New York, and in that office was in charge of the distribution of postage
stamps to all the post-offices in the United States. He continued in office
until the advent of the second Cleveland administration in 1893. Mr. Hav
was the originator of the idea of commemorating prominent events in our
national history by a series of special of jubilee stamps, the first of these
scries being the Columbian, commemorating the four hundredth anniversary
of the landing of Columbus.

The Easton Power Company of Pennsylvania and New Jersey was
organized by Thomas A. H. and William O. Hay in August, 1895, Thomas
A. H. being elected its first president. In 1897 the same brothers built the
first interurban street railway in their section of the State, that first line
connecting Easton with Bethlehem. This was the beginning of a great con-
structive program which was continued in 1899 by the construction of an
electric line from Easton to Nazareth, in 1901 by the building of the Easton-
Bangor line, and in 1903 the Phillipsburg-Washington electric line was built.
The Delaware Valley railroad from Stroudsburg to Bushkill was constructed
by Mr. Hay in connection with Easton and Stroudsburg capitalists in 1904,
Mr. Hay being elected first vice-president. He has continued his interest in
street transportation and other public utilities and has held many official posi-
tions, among others a member of the board of directors of the Easton, Palmer
and Bethlehem; Easton and Nazareth, Easton, Tatamy and Bangor, and
Slate Belt Street Railway companies ; Northampton, Easton and Washington
Traction Company ; Northampton Traction Company, the Montgomery Trac-
tion Company, Easton and Doylestown Street Railway companies. He is
also president of the board of trustees of the Bangor and Portland Traction
Company, and Northampton, Easton and Washington Traction Company.
W'hen the Wahnetah Silk Company, of Catasauqua. Pennsylvania, was incor-
porated in 1905, Mr. Hay was among its original stockholders and is now one
of its directors. The converting of the grounds of the Easton Fair Associa-
tion into one of Easton's fine residential sections was accomplished by Mr.
Hay and his brother William, they buying the grounds in 1899 and converting
them into residence sites in a practical, modern manner. More genuine
public improvement has rarely been compressed into a similar number of
years than the above record shows, and it is to Mr. Hay's credit that he is

N. H. BIGG.— t

50 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

not resting upon past achievement as well as he might, but is actively "in
the harness" and leading the way for younger men.

In younger years Mr. Hay was a member of the Pennsylvania National
Guard and as a second sergeant of Company C, Fourth Regiment, was on
duty during the disastrous and bloody railroad strike of the year 1877. He
was heart and soul in his country's service during the World's War and did
all in his power to aid his country's cause as chairman of the Pennsylvania
Council of National Defense and Committee of Public Safety. He is classed
among the Progressive Republicans, who followed the Roosevelt leadership,
and in 1912 to 1913 served as a delegate to the National Republican Conven-
tion in June, and the following August, as a Progressive, also State
delegate at large in 1916 to tlie National Progressive Convention. He cham-
pioned the reforms of that day and supported with his influence the creation
of a Public Service Commission, favored a Workman's Compensation and
Employer's Liability Act, a bill to regulate women's hours of labor as well
as children's, and was equally interested in the passage of laws regulating
primary elections and preserving the purity of the ballot-box. In religious
faith he is a Piesbyterian and in fraternity he is affiliated with Easton Lodge
No. 152, Free and Accepted Masons; Easton Chapter No. 173, Royal Arch
Masons ; Pomp Council No. 20, Royal and Select Masters ; Hugh De Payens
Commandery No. 19, Knights Templar ; Ouator Coronatis Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons of London; England, and Easton Lodge No. 121, Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks. His clubs are the Pomfret of Easton,
Art of Philadelphia, Quaint and Zeta Psi of New York. For a quarter of a
century he was president of the Orpheus Club and the Orators Society of
Easton, and for a lifetime has been a lover of music, this love and taste
having been greatly strengthened through his connection with the Orpheus
and Oratorio societies. A hobby with Mr. Hay has been "seeing America
first," and there are no parts of the United States which he has not visited
or no province of Canada which he has not partially explored with the
possil)le exception of Prince Edward Island.

Mr. Hay married, September 7, 1881, Helen M. Ruger, born in Wisconsin
in 1859, daughter of Major-General Thomas H. Ruger, U. S. Army, born in
Lima, New York, April 2, 1833. General Ruger was a graduate of West
Point, class of 1854, was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Third Regi-
ment of Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry in 1861, having resigned from the
regular army and adopted the law as his profession. He rose to the rank of
major-general of volunteers, and for gallantry at Gettysburg was brevetted
brigadier-general in the regular army. He was superintendent of West Point
Military Academy from 1871 to 1876 and in important command until his
retirement in 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Hay are the parents of: Helen Ruger Hay,
a graduate of Wilson College, married J. Mark Smith, and is living in Cuba;
Anna Ruger Hay, a graduate of Goucher College, Baltimore, married George
Fred Wilson, and is living in Easton; Ruger Wilson Hay, a graduate of
Lafayette College, class of 1906, later a mining engineer of Calumet, Arizona,
and in 1918 captain in the U. S. Engineers, Chemical Warfare Service de-
partment, at the front in France, and is the third Captain Hay in this
immediate family to fight for his country and for the liberty of men.

WILLIAM OSCAR HAY^A life-long Eastonian and intimately con-
nected v.ith Ins father in his commercial enterprises and v.'ith his brother,
Thomas A. H. Hay, in many constructive activities, William O. Hay is one
of the fifth generation bearing the name. Hay, who have contributed" largely
to the upbuilding of the county of Northampton and its principal city, Easton.
Me is a son of the late Captain Jacob and Annie (Wilson) Hay, the Hay
family history given at length in the preceding sketch.

William O. Hay was born in Easton, I'ennsylvania, May 21, 1861, and

BIOGRAPHICAL 51

is still a resident of the city which gave him birth. He was educated in the
public schools of Easton, his poor eyesight in youth forbidding his continu-
ance in college after entering Lafayette. He early entered mercantile life
with his honored father and in 1882, upon his twenty-first birthday, he became
a partner of the firm of J. Hay e*l' Sons. This firm was founded in 1866
by Captain Jacob Hay, who admitted his sons, Thomas A. H. and William O.,
it being the first wholesale drygoods house in Pennsylvania, outside of Phila-
delphia and Pittsburgh. For ten years William O. Hay was purchasing
agent for J. Hay & Sons, and in 1889 engaged with his father in the whole-
sale boot and shoe business, founded in 1878 by Jacob Play, and until the
death of Captain Hay in 1894, father and sons were closely associated. The
dry goods business was sold in 1896 but the brothers continued the Hay
Boot and Shoe Company until 1910, William O., the buyer and general man-
ager. The ground upon which the store stood was owned in the Hay family
as early as 1856 and has always been utilized for business purposes.

In 1896 Thomas A. H. and William O. Hay organized the Easton Power
Company of which Thomas was president; William, secretary and treasurer.
They took over the abandoned cotton mills and by the use of modern turbine
water wheels developed the water power of the Lehigh river, formerly used
by the old Lehigh Cotton Mills and the Stewart Wire Company, making the
Power Company a profitable concern, which later was consolidated witli the
old Edison Illuminating Company. In 1897, with the aid of New England
capitalists, the Hay brothers built the first interurban street railway in this
section, the line connecting Easton and Bethlehem. In 1898 they organized a
company to build the line from Easton to Nazareth and from Nazareth to
Bangor, and the same year began the construction of the Easton and Nazareth
line, completing it in 1901. The Easton, Tatamy and Bangor street line was
begun in 1902 and in 1903 being completed was consolidated with the Easton
and Nazareth line as the Northampton Traction Company, the consolidated
company operating from Easton to Nazareth and to .Bangor. Thomas was
the first president of the company, William O., its secretary. In 1905 they
built the Northampton-Easton and Washington Traction Company, from
Phillipsburg, New Jersey, through Washington to Port Murray, New Jersey.
At the present time Mr. W. O. Hay is vice-president and general manager
of the Northampton Traction and the Bangor and Portland Traction Com-
pany of Pennsylvania, and the Northampton-Easton and Washington Trac-
tion Company of New Jersey, embracing a mileage of about fifty-five miles.
The Delaware Valley Railroad was another road in which the Hay Brothers
were interested in building. Other enterprises have claimed Mr. Hay's
attention and he was a director in many operating public utility corporations
including the original Easton Power Company, of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, afterwards absorbed in the Pennsylvania Utilities Company. In 1889
the brothers purchased the abandoned Easton Fair Grounds and laid out
Fairview Park, this purchase with the land bought by their father giving
them title to nearly all the ground between Twelfth and .Seventeenth streets,
north of Northampton street, and from Seventeenth to Twenty-first street,
south of Northampton street, a most valuable and beautiful residential sec-
tion in the western portion of Easton, now beautifully decorated with trees
of their own planting and built up with hundreds of homes.

He is a member of Easton Lodge, No. 152, Free and Accepted Masons;
Easton Chapter, No. 173, Royal Arch Masons; Hugh de Paycns Command-
ery. No. 19, Knights Templar; the Sons of Veterans, the American Electric
Railway Association, Easton Rotary Club, Easton City Planning Commis-
sion, a director of the Easton Cemetery, trustee of the Easton Young Men's
Christian Association, and of the Easton's Children's liome, and is an elder
and trustee of the Brainard Union Presbyterian Church. He is a leader of
the War Garden Movement started in Easton in 1917, with over one thou-

52 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

sand three hundred successful war gardens planted by children and adults ;
chairman of the Navy Information Bureau of Easton during the World War
and active in all the Liberty Loan campaigns. He is a man of fine business
quality, energetic, progressive and public-spirited, a worthy scion of one of
Northampton's eminent families.

William O. Hay married. June ii, iSgo, Margaret Vance Hurt, born
October 4, 1866, daughter of Floyd B. and Catherine (Fulkerson) Hurt, of
Abingdon, Virginia. They are the parents of three sons and three daughters :
William O., Jr., born April 15, 1891, enlisted in the United States Navy,
May, IQ17, and attained the rank of senior lieutenant, United States Naval
Reserve Force, as division officer on Battleship United States Steamship
Kearsargc. Katherine Fulkerson, born November 11, 1893. James Hurt
Wilson, born September 11, 1897; enlisted in United States Naval Reserves,
1918. Alexander Wilson, born February 10, 1899: enlisted in United States
Naval Reserves, 1918. Margaret Vance, born October 22, igoi. .'\nna
Wilson, born September 20, 1903.

THOMAS A. L. HAY — Five generations of this branch of the Hay
family have been closely identified with the history of Northampton county,
and the city of Easton, beginning with Captain Melchoir Hay, who came in
1738. From him in direct descent comes Thomas A. L. Hay, through the
founder's son, Melchoir (2) Hay ; his son, Abraham Horn Hay ; his son,
Thomas J. Hay ; his son, Thomas A. L. Hay, present prothonotary of North-
ampton county. All have been men of substance and standing in their com-
munity, and the name Hay is writ large upon the page of local history.

Thomas J. Hay, son of Abraham Horn Hay, was born in Palmer town-
ship, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, August 22, 1824, and died April 21,
1900. He was a merchant of Easton, and all his active life associated with
his brother Captain Jacob Flay. Thomas J. was deeply interested in public
afifairs, served on the City Council, and aided in many of the enterprises with
which the Hay name is connected. He was an official member of St. John's
Lutheran Church, a man of upright life, and held in high esteem by his
townsmen. He married Christina L. Kreidler, born August 25, 1836, died
January 9, 1912, and they were the parents of a daughter. Susan, married
A. L. Kotz, of Easton, and of a son, Thomas Abraham Lincoln Hay, who
is of further mention.

Thomas A. L. Hay, son of Thomas J. and Christina (Kreidler) Hay,
was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1864. He was educated in
the public schools, and at the age of thirteen years was graduated from
Easton High School. He then entered his father's employ, and until the year
igcx), when his father died, they continued a close business association.
In 1900 Mr. Hay retired from mercantile life and entered the public service
of the county as deputy to the prothonotary's office in 1902, serving there
as deputy until 1906, when he was elected prothonotary of Northampton
county. Twelve years have since intervened and he still holds that office,
having been three times re-elected, the prothonotary term being three years.
This speaks louder than words, and is the most convincing and eloquent
testimony concerning his administration of the ofifice conferred upon him by
the ballots of his fellow citizens.

Mr. Hay is a member of Dallas Lodge No. 374, Free and Accepted
Masons; Easton Chapter No. 173. Royal Arch Masons; Pomp Council No.
19, Knights Templar; Rajah Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Reading,
the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, of Lebanon; Easton Lodge No. 121, Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks; Vanderveer Lodge No. 175, Lidepcndcnt Order
of Odd Fellows; and the Jacksonian Democratic Association. He adheres to
the Lutheran faith, and is affiliated with St. John's Church of Easton. In
politics he is a Democrat. He married, February 21, 1896, Wilhelmina Daub,

THE XE-v VOiiK
PUBLIC Lir.r.AIlY

ASTOB, LENOX AND

TILUBN FOUNDATIONS

K • L

'l£^HteZc^

BIOGRAPHICAL 53

of Notting-en, Germany, and they are the parents of two daug'hters : Chris-
tina C. and Wilhelmina M., both graduates of Easton High School. The
family residence is No. 124 North Tenth street, Easton.

MICHAEL COYLE DRENNAN, M.D.— When graduated M.D. in 1863,
Dr. Drennan immediately volunteered for medical service in the United States
Navy, and from that year until his retirement at the legal limit of age he
remained in that service. He rose from the rank, assistant-surgeon, to all
the honors the navy can bestow upon its medical men, and was retired Octo-
ber 24, 1899, with the rank of rear admiral. He was a son of Cornelius and
Bridget (Cook) Drennan, Cornelius Drennan was born in County Cavan,
Ireland, and there married Bridget Cook, of the same county. They came
to the United States from Ballymague, County Cavan, Ireland, and settled
in Easton, Pennsylvania, where Cornelius Drennan became a contractor,
having a home on Walnut street. He died in Easton, a comparatively young
man, January 11, 1845. His wife died July 26, 1854. They were the parents
of three children : Michael Coyle, of further mention ; Ellen, died unmarried ;
and Johanna, died unmarried.

Michael Coyle Drennan was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, October 10,
T838, died in the city of his birth, March 23, 1915. He attended the private
schools of the town, finishing at Minerva Academy, a school conducted by
the Rev. John Vandeveer, D.D. .\fter completing his classical study he
entered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, his pre-
ceptor, Dr. Cridland Crocker Field. He was graduated M.D. from the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, class of 1863, and entered the United States Navy,
the same year having been appointed acting assistant-surgeon. His Civil
War service was with the blockading squadron with the York river flotilla,
and at the naval rendezvous at Philadelphia. In 1868 he was appointed assis-
tant-surgeon, and in 1869 was on duty on the practice ship, Macedonian.
During a part of 1869 and 1870 he was stationed at the naval hospital, Nor-
folk; at Nantasket with the North Atlantic Station, 1871-72, being then past
assistant-surgeon, a promotion conferred in 1870. From 1872 until 1874 he
was stationed at Portsmouth, Washington, on the flagship, Lancaster, and
IVasp on the South .'Xtlantic station; also on the Pawnee on the North Atlan-
tic station. He served on the Ashuelot with the Asiatic fleet, 1875-77; Naval
Hospital, Yokohoma, Japan, 1877-78; New London, Connecticut, 1879-82;
promoted surgeon in April, 1879; ser\'ed on the Kearsarge, European station,
1882-85; receiving ship Ne7t' Hampshire, 1885-87; Atlanta Special service.
1888-91; Navy Yard, Norfolk, July 1892- April, 1893; receiving ship Vermont,
April, 1893-95 ; surgeon of the fleet ; promoted to medical inspector in May,
1895 ;' ordered to New York as surgeon to the fleet, August, 1895, remaining
until 1898. He served on board and on recruiting duty, 1898-99; promoted
medical director in April, 1899, and retired October 24, 1899, with the rank
of rear admiral.

Dr. Drennan married, June 29, 1864. in Trinity Episcopal Church, Las-
ton, Rev. Joseph Elsegood, rector, officiating, Ellen Johnston, who died
December 28. 1914, daughter of William and Cassandra M. (Sherlock) John-
ston. Mrs. Drennan was a great-granddaughter of William Johnston, who
came to this country from Ireland prior to 1754. and settled at Trenton, New
Jersey. Later the family moved to Johnstonburg, Warren county. New
jersey. His son, Abraham Johnston, was born at Trenton, April 5, 1754,
died at Wyoming, Luzerne "countv, Pennsylvania, July 27, 1823, and was
buried in Forty Fort Cemetery. He was a captain of the First Regiment,
Sussex County (New Jersev) Militia, during the Revolutionary War. He
married Jean La Bar, daughter of Colonel Abraham La Bar, and his wife,
Mar'^aret (Gordon) La Bar. They were the parents of ten children: I.
Margaret, born January 9, 1790. married A. Ferguson. 2. Elizabeth, born

54 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

September 23, 1791, died unmarried. 3. Mary, born March 29, 1794, died
immarried. 4. William, of further mention. 5. Jerusha, born September 25,
1798, married John Breese. 6. Catherine, born March 6, 1801, died unmar-
ried. 7. Sarah, born July 10, 1803, married Henry Breese. 8. John, born
April 24, 1805, married Polly Chapin. 9. Johanna, born October 20, 1808,
married Daniel Gore. 10. Caroline, born October 10, 1810, married Shepherd
Goodwin.

William Johnston was born in Johnstonburg, New Jersey, July 9, 1796,
died at Easton, Pennsylvania, January 9, 1872. He was major of militia
in Luzerne county in 1828, and a man of influence. H^e married Cassandra
Marg-aret, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Carr) Sherlock, of Martins
Creek, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and they were the parents of
three daughters: i. Ellen, who married Dr. Michael Coyle Drennan. 2.
Elizabeth Sherlock, married William Henry Wyker, son of Abraham and
Eva (Schuyler) Wyker; he served with distinction during the Civil War,
serving from the beginning until the end of the war; he died in Easton,
September 2, 1907. 3. Sue W.

William Sherlock was an officer in the English Army and saw service in
the Revolution. After the war he returned to the United States and pur-
chased land extending from the Weygat to Martins Creek, where he built a
fine stone residence, a mill, and a dwelling for his employees, these buildings
yet standing. He married Diana Jones and had a son William (2). William
Sherlock, the father, died in England, while there on a visit to his brother.
William (2) Sherlock was born at Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, May 24,
1786, and married Elizabeth Carr, born July 27, 1787. He served during the
entire period of the War of 1812 with the American forces. Later he moved
to Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, and still later to Piqua, Ohio, where he
owned a large tract of land. Soon afterward both he and his wife were
attacked with malaria fever and died within a few days. Children : Cas-
sandra Margaret, married William Johnston, and died August 20, 1854;
Samuel Sherlock, born October 4, 1822, served in the Mexican War, and at
the outbreak of the Civil War enlisted in the Eighty-first Regiment, Penn-
sylvania Volunteer Infantry, and went to the front as a captain ; he was
killed at the battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia, June 15, 1862, and is buried at
Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Michael C. and Ellen (Johnston) Drennan were the parents of three
children : Helen Margaret ; Francis William, who died in infancy ; Mabel,
died aged seven years, her father never seeing her until her third year.
After his marriage Dr. Drennan established a home in Easton, and although
compelled to be away on duty he took advantage of every opportunity to
be with his' family. After his retirement Easton was his permanent home
until his death. He was an ardent Democrat, and a man of high character,
greatly beloved by all who knew him. His daughter, Helen Margaret Dren-
nan, the only living member of her immediate family, resides at No. 124
North Third street, Easton. She is a member of the Daughters of the
American Revolution, and of Trinity Episcopal Church.

AARON GOLDSMITH— When, in 1887, the city of Easton chose the
first city solicitor to serve her legal necessities, the choice fell upon Aaron
Goldsmith, a general practitioner at the Northampton bar, who had been
admitted to practice four years earlier. Thirty-five years have elapsed since
1883, auvl the same man, now a veteran of many a legal battle in State and
Federal courts, is still in practice in Easton, an honored member of the
Northampton bar, and has his offices in the Easton Trust Company building.

Aaron Goldsmith was born in Easton, January 27, 1861, and prepared
for college in the Easton public schools. Fie then entered Lafaj^ette College,
whence he was graduated, A.B., class of 1880. Choosing the legal profes-

iiiuiani jcnit,^f<in

THE NF.'V YOllK

ASTOR. LENOX AN»
TILIlBN FUCNDATIOKS j

BIOGRAPHICAL 55

sion as his life work he entered Columbia Law School, and in 18S3 was gradu-
ated LL.B. He was admitted to the Northampton county bar the same
year, and at once began practice in Easton. He was elected city solicitor in
1887, and re-elected for a second term, but otherwise his practice has been
private and general in its character. Admission to the Superior and Supreme
courts of the State, and to the United States Circuit and United States
Supreme courts followed as applied for, and in all he frequently appears. He
is a member of the County, State and National bar associations, and is
a lawyer of high reputation, thoroughly respected by his brethren of the
bench and bar. He is a member of the Masonic order, affiliated with Easton
Lodge of Easton. He is a member of Pomfret and Northampton County
Country Club. His recreations are bridge and golf.

Mr. Goldsmith married Ella Laubach, daughter of one of Easton's olden
time merchants. They are the parents of two sons, John Francis and Robert
Goldsmith. The family home is in the College Hill district of Easton.

REV. WILLIAM S. HOTTEL— Near Coopersburg, a borough of Le-
high county, Pennsylvania, on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, Rev.
William S. Hottel was born and educated, and there his father, Henry
Hottel, yet resides, aged sixty-five years and actively engaged in carpenter-
ing. At the age of twenty-one William S. Hottcll left the farm where he
had helped his father during the days of his yoimg manhood, to take up
ministerial work, a form of Christian duty which has ever held him. He
embraced the ministry of the Mennonite church with all the ardor of his
manly nature and since 1914 has been pastor of the church in Bethlehem,
his work there having been greatly blessed in the increased interest taken in
matters religious as shown by the greatly augmented congregations at all
services of the church.

Henrj' Hottel married Mary Weiss, who died in 191 1, and is at rest in
the family plot at Coopersburg. They are the parents of six children : i.
William S., of further mention. 2. Titus, manager of The Orphanage Home
at Center Valley, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and has also been licensed
to preach by the quarterly meeting of the Mennonite church. He married
Katie Kauffman, of Zion Hill, Pennsylvania, and has two sons, Timothy and
Arthur. 3. Charles, in the employ of the Bethlehem Steel Company,
Alton, now with the Silvex Company, and a good musician. He was selected
for military service, but on account of defective eyesight was at first rejected,
but later was accepted and played with the United States Army Band. 4.
Sallie, married Stewart Miller, of the Bethlehem Steel Works and has two
daughters, Alverta and Martha. 5. Katie, 6. Ida, residing at home with
their parents, Two daughters died in childhood.

William S. Hottel was born at the homestead near Coopersburg, Lehigh
county, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1878. He began his education in the pub-
lic schools and passed all grades until graduated from Coopersburg High
School. He was his father's farm assistant until attaining his majority, those
years being also devoted to study and reading, all bearing upon the holy
calling to which he had consecrated his life, the Christian ministry. He had
been brought up in the faith of the Mennonite church, accepted and loved
its doctrines and its teachings, and when he was finally authorized to preach
the gospel he went forth gladly and proudly. He be?an in that work for
which laborers are too few, the mission field, and at Washington, New Jer-
sey, helped in the work of the first Mennonite mission, as well as at Hacketts-
town. New Jersey, mission. At Phillipsburg, New Jersey, he established
another mission, and later took charge of the mission at Nazareth, Penn-
sylvania, continuing in charge of these and a number of other charges until
October, 1914, when he became pastor of the Bethlehem Mennonite Church,
his present charge. The spiritual growth of the church has increased the

56 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

congregations to a size far in excess of the capacity of the church edifice to
accommodate them, this condition forcing the trustees to purchase a large
ground site and begin preparatory working and planning for an edifice in
keeping with the size and wealth of the congregation. The pastor is also
vice-presiding elder of the Mennonitc conference for the district; member of
the board of examiners before whom applicants for preachers' credentials
must appear ; member of the conference board of foreign missions ; member
of the board of trustees of The Orphanage Home ; offices all of deep im-
portance to the welfare of the church.

Not only with his ]nilpit ability and managerial talent docs he serve the
cause he loves, but his able, prolific and interesting pen is an equally powerful
agent for good. He is associate editor of the Eastern Gospel Banner, and
editor of the Christian Life scries of Sunday school literature for Bible
teachers especially, and for four years has held that place of honor. His
published books are many and have met with a favorable reception from
authorites. They all deal with religious subjects of interest and are a dis-
tinct addition to the literature of the church; they are: "The Present-Day
Apostasy," "Is There a Better Day Coming? If So, When?" "Typical Truth
in the tabernacle," "The Word-Made Flesh," "Until He Comes, What?"
"The Secret of the Interest and Success in the Work of the Lord," and "The
Moving Energy of the Age." He is also a contributor to the Gospel Herald
and to the IV onderful Word magazine. Ever a student, the reverend writer
has delved deep into the heart of each subject which he has discussed in
these works, and has brought forth views and facts which lead the writer
into deeper self-communion ar.d more thorough Biblical study. So in puljjit
preparation and Bible study, in literary and editorial work, and in the per-
sonal pastoral relation with his congregation, his life is as entirely devoted
as it is thoroughly consecrated. Although he is hardly yet in the prime of
life, the future holds bright promise for valuable work to be done in his
Master's service.

Rev. William S. Hottel married, July 12, 1902, at Reading, Pennsylvania,
Mary High, daughter of Ezra B. and Amelia (Detweiler) High, of Reading.
Her father is still living at the age of eighty-two years (1Q19) ; her mother
died in 1898. Mrs. Hottel is deeply interested in church work and is a true
helpmate. They have an adopted daughter, Mabel, born in 1904, a student
in high school.

JOHN SAMUEL KRAUSE— From youth John Samuel Krause has
been interested in and actively identified with the development of Bethlehem,
and there has been no movement for the betterment of conditions in the
city of his birth but has had his support. Now president of the leading
financial institution of the city, the First National Bank, his influence, counsel
and personal aid are as freely given as when he was less able to accomplish
the good he craved for Bethlehem. He is a man of strong business ability,
but were he of less talent he would still be among the leaders, for he
possesses that greatest of all talents, the ability to work with untiring zeal,
and that quality has been one of the greatest contributing factors in his rise
to the topmost rounds of business success.

Mr. Krause is a descendant of Matthew Krause, whose son, John Samuel
Krause, was born in Northampton, Pennsylvania, in 1782. In 1796, when a
boy of fourteen, he located in Bethlehem, where he learned the trade of
watchmaker and silversmith, and there he continued in business until his
death in 1815. He married Maria Louisa Schropp, and they were the
parents of Matthew Krause and grandparents of J. Samuel Krause.

Matthew Krause was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on August 16,
1814, and died there November 20, 1865. He was deprived of a father's care
when but a year old, but his excellent mother was equal to the task of

'-4 M

't.

■

^^l^«^

■a^2^^

THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRAEY

ASTOR, LENOX AND

TILPEN FUL-NI>ATlnNS

BIOGRAPHICAL 57

rearing her son, and he became one of Bethlehem's prominent business men
and useful citizens. He chose a mercantile career, and as a dry-g'oods
merchant gained both fortune and high standing. His business was one of
the most important of the borough and was widely known throughout the
district tributary to Bethlehem. As a citizen, he was helpful and outspoken
in favor of the right, and all good causes found in him a friend and advocate.
He was reared in the Moravian faith, educated in the church schools, and
all his life was a strong pillar of support to that church. He long served as
treasurer of the congregation and of the Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel. Matthew Krause married Adeline Eggert, born July 23, 1821,
died June 13, 1867, daughter of Benjamin and Maria Elizabeth (Freytag)
Eggert. Mr. and Mrs. Krause were the parents of a daughter, Mary Eliza-
beth, born April 4, 1844, married Granville Henry, and their only child was a
daughter, Mary Adeline. Mr. and Mrs. Krause were also the parents of a son,
J. Samuel Krause, whose career is herein traced.

J. Samuel Krause was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, February 22,
1848, and now, at the age of seventy, is a resident and influential business
man of that city. He was educated in the Moravian Parochial School, now
known as the Preparatory School, and when schooldays were over, he began
at the age of sixteen to learn the machinist's trade at the old Bethlehem
Iron Works. He continued a machinist until the age of twenty-two, then,
in 1870, entered into a partnership with Owen A. Luckenbach, and as
Luckcnbach & Krause they established a retail hardware business. They
operated very successfully as a partnership for nineteen years, 1870-18S9,
then Mr. Luckenbach retired, and Mr. Krause continued alone until loog,
when the business was incorporated as the J. S. Krause Hardware Company,
and moved to its present location. No. 41 South Main street, the old store
being but a short distance away at No. 25 South Main street. He is presi-
dent of the company, for which nearly half a century ago he laid the
foundation, with some doubts and misgivings as to the fate of his venture
into mercantile life.

Other business interests have claimed Mr. Krause's attention, and he
holds an influential position in several corporations of great importance in
the business world. Notable among them is the First National Bank, of
which he was long a director, then vice-president, 1904-1915, and since the
latter year, its able president. He is also a director of the Thomas Iron
Company, of the Gucrber Engineering Company, and was president of the
Upper and Lower Saucon Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He is a member
of the Bethlehem Bridge Commission, appointed by the Pennsylvania Pub-
lic Service Commission. While he is a loyal Republican, political office has
held no attraction for him. In the church of his choice, the Moravian, he
takes a deep interest and fills a position once held by his honored father,
that of treasurer. He is interested also in the management of the Widows
Society, an insurance order of the Moravian- church for the benefit of widows
and orphans of the congregation. He is also a member of lodge, chapter,
council and commandery of the Masonic order, and holds membership of
the Knights Templar with Hugh de Payen Commandery, of Easton. His
friends are many, and in both business and social life his standing has always
been of the highest. Honor and uprightness have attended him all through
life, and the success which is his has been fairly earned and richly deserved.
' Mr. Krause married, February 28, 1871, Frances C. Luckenbach, born
February 22, 1851, tenth child of William and Elizabeth (Rice) Luckenbach,
a direct descendant of Adam and Eva (Spies) Luckenbach, who came to
Pennsylvania from Germany in 1740. The line of descent from the founder,
Adam Luckenbach, is through his son, John Ludwig, born in Germany in
1738, married Magdalen Hottel, and died in 1795; their son, John Adam,
born' in Pennsylvania in 1761, died in 1842, married Mary Magdalen Becker;

58 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

their son, John David, born in 1783, died 1850, married Elizabeth Clewell;
their son, William Luckenbach, father of Frances C. (Luckenbach) Krause.
William Luckenbach, born August 6, 1807, spent the gTcater part of his
minority cngasred in farm duties at the large Moravian farm on the south
side of the Lehigh river. Later he learned the carpenter's trade, and until
after 1850 was engaged in building operations in Bethlehem. He then
entered mercantile life and was a successful merchant of Bethlehem until
his retirement in 1871, when he was succeeded by his son, Owen A. Lucken-
bach, and his son-in-law, J. Samuel Krause. From his retirement in 1871
until his death in Bethlehem, July 28, 1893, he engaged solely in the man-
agement of his own estate, to which he added largely through judicious
purchases of Bethlehem real estate. He was a man of great, energy and
became one of the influential men of his town. By his first wife, Elizabeth
Rice, he had ten children, of whom Frances vi'as the youngest.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Samuel Krause are the parents of three daughters and a
son: I. Adeline E., born December 20, 1871, married Frank E. Hammann,
and has four children ; Elizabeth O. ; John S. K. ; Henry M., deceased ; and
Frances E. Hammann. 2. Margaret, born May 24, 1873, married Henry T.
Morris, and they have six children : John A., died in infancy ; Frances K. ;
Margaret A. ; Robert C, died in infancy ; Matthew K. ; and Joseph C. Morris.
3. ]\iatthew, born October 21. 1875, died December 27, 1878. 4. Helen L.,
born January 13, 1877, married Fred T. McCain, and they are the parents
of Fred T. (2), Samuel K., and Susan J. McCain. The children of Mr.
and Mrs. Krause are all members of the Moravian church. The following
is an echo from the past which is worthy of preservation :

City Councilman A. W. Srhmich recently unearthed an old cannon and its mount in
the stable back of the north side of city hall. The cannon was assembled and its parts
painted a maroon red. The cannon, of the cast iron type, has a four-inch bore, and is
53/4 inches in length. At its priming end, the weapon is loYz inches in thickness. The
old field piece has a history. It was purchased by private subscriptions from Bethlehem
citizens, led by the late Matthew Krauze, father of J. Samuel Krause, banker and hard-
ware merchant, about 1840. It was used on the Fourth of July and election day and
on other important occasions. It finally became the possession of the older Krause. For
many years it lay in the market building on East Broad street, and finally found its way
to the stable, where eventually it would have been sent to the scrap heap, had it not been
found by Commissioner Sclunich. The latter intends to beautify the space between the
city hall and the old market building on East Broad street, which are now connected
by an overhead bridge, with a flower bed. The cannon will be given a prominent position
near the bed. The Yo Eddie Club has been granted permission by Mr. Schmich to make
use of it at the South Side carnival this week.

FRANCIS H. LEHR— For nearly one-half a century Mr. Lehr has
been engaged in the practice of law in Easton, Pennsylvania, most of his
business during that period having been in the Orphan's court, that branch
of the law particularly appealing to him. He serves a large clientele, and
is highly esteemed by his brethren of the profession, both bench and bar.
Originally the name was spelled Loehr, and was so borne by the father and
grandfather of Francis H. Lehr. The name was brought to Northampton
county by Frederick P. Loehr, born in Bavaria in 1784, who came to the
United States about 1804, a young man. He located in Upper Mount Bethel
township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, where he followed his trade,
tailoring, and operated a farm. He was a Lutheran in religion, a man of
industrious habits and upright life. Frederick P. Loehr married Susannah
Keiser, born December g, 1787, died October 15, 181Q. He died December
28, 1851. They were the parents of: Joseph, John, Catherine, Rebecca and
Sarah Loehr, the second son, John, being the father of Francis H. Lehr, of
Easton, Pennsylvania.

John Loehr was born in Northatnpton county, Pennsylvania, October 28,
181 1, died April 19, 1889, a successful farmer located in Forks township, in his

BIOGRAPHICAL 59

rative collnt^^ Both John Loehr and his wife, EHzabeth Schoch Loehr, were
members of the Lutheran church, .ei'odly people, and hig^hly respected by
all who knew them. They were the parents of four children : William, a
farmer, who died in Michigan ; Caroline, deceased, wife of Lewis Kahler ;
Francis H., whose career forms the subject for this review; Emma, residing
at No. 625 Walnut street, Easton, Pennsylvania.

Francis H. Lehr was born near Bangor, Pennsylvania, January 4, 1842,
and since 1867 has been a resident of Easton, his present home (1919). He
attended the public schools of Forks township, in Northampton county,
until thirteen years of age, then for three winters attended the pay schools
of Easton. At the age of sixteen he began teaching in the county public
schools, teaching in different public schools for eight years. The succeeding
four years were spent as a teacher in Easton schools, he, during that period,
studying law under the preceptorship of Judge Henry D. Maxwell, of the
Northampton bar. He passed the necessary examinations, and on August
29, 1871, was admitted to the Northampton bar.

Immediately upon being admitted to the bar, Mr. Lehr began practice
in Easton, and so continues an eminent member of the Northampton bar,
one of the older members still in practice. He is a member of the local and
State bar associations, is an able exponent of probate and property law,
and, as far as practical, confines his practice to the Orphans' Court. He has
all his life been deeply interested in religious works, and for thirty years
was superintendent of the Sunday school of St. Paul's Lutheran Church.
Politically he is a Democrat, has served several terms in council upon the
school board, and in other positions has testified that in public spirit and civic
pride he is not lacking.

Mr. Lehr married, January 5, 1867, Ellen E. Walter, daughter of Michael
and Elizabeth (Helleck) Walter. Mr. and Mrs. Lehr are the parents of two
sons and a daughter: i. Horace (q.v. ). 2. Walter Lehr, died February 23, 1918,
aged forty-six years, a partner with his brother in the piano manufacturhig
hrm, H. Lehr & Co., until his death ; he married Henrietta Barber, who
survives him with four children: Francis H. (2) Lehr, a soldier in the U. S.
Army, ranking as sergeant of the 149th Machine Gun Battalion; Emily H.,
married Lieutenant Thomas Burley, now located at Vancouver. Washington ;
Virginia; and Frederick B. Lehr. 3. Frances E., married William G. Ing-
ham, silk manufacturer of Phillipsburg, New Jersey. They are the parents
of John and Joyce Ingham. The Lehr family home is at No. 1148 Butler
street, his offices at No. 609 Walnut avenue, Easton.

HORACE LEHR— The firm, H. Lehr & Company, was establislicd in
Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1890, by Horace and Walter Lehr, sons of Francis
H. Lehr, whose life history is given at length in preceding sketch. Walter
Lehr has been gathered to "that innumerable host" who have journeyed to
"that bourne from whence no traveler returns," and Horace Lehr continues
owner of the business now conducted by the Lehr Piano Company of Easton,
Pennsvlvania, which has made the Lehr piano a notable factor in the music
trade of Pennsylvania and the entire Central and Eastern states. A success-
ful business man and public-spirited, progressive citizen, Horace Lehr has
won public confidence and respect to an unusual degree, he having been
called to the highest office in the city government, and as chief executive
of the city he fully justified the confidence reposed in him.

Horace Lehr, son of Francis H. and Ellen E. (Walter) Lehr, was born
in Easton, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1868. He was educated in the ijublic
.schools, Easton Academy and Lafayette College, the last-named institution
conferring upon him the' degree A. 15. at graduation, with the class of 1R87.
For two' years thereafter he studied law under the preceptorship of his
father, an eminent member of the Northampton bar; but he was not content

6o NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

with the thought of a professional life, all his desires centering in a business
career. He chose wisely, entered the business world as secretar3r-treasurer
of the Lawrence Organ Company of Easton, manufacturers of piano-cased
organs, and for six months bent all his energies to mastering the detail of
organ manufacturing. In 1890 he organized the firm H. Lehr & Co., erected
a factory, and began the manufacture of the Lehr piano. The business then
begun has grown to one of importance, and the Lehr piano has won its place
in the musical world for its excellence of tone, easy touch and durability.
The piano is endorsed by the musical trade and art journals, by conservatory
teachers and by private users, all testifying to its admirable quality.

With his business firmly established and his place won in the commer-
cial world, Horace Lehr gave a portion of his time to public service, although
he never sought public office. Neither did he decline a duty, and when
solicited to allow his name to be used as a candidate for common council
he consented, and for five years he served in that body, three years being
president of council. Later he served as a member of select council, and in
1902 was elected mayor for a term of three years, he being but thirty-three
years of age when elected. He administered the affairs of the office from
the standpoint of the capable business man, and every department of the
city government felt the influence of his strong personality. He has always
been an efTective member of the Easton Board of Trade, and in February,
1914, was elected its president. A Democrat in politics and in full sympathy
with the administration, he was appointed postmaster of Easton by Presi-
dent Wilson, April i, 1915, an appointment which gave general satisfaction
to the patrons of the oi^ce. He is a member of the Pennsylvania State
Association of Presidential Postmasters, and in September, 1916, was elected
president of that body, an office he yet holds. Upon assuming the duties
of postmaster, Mr. Lehr withdrew from the active management of the affairs
of H. Lehr & Co., his brother and partner, Walter Lehr, assuming the
management, so continuing tmtil his death in 1918, Horace Lehr's son,
Horace A., then coming into control. Horace Lehr is a director of the
Northampton Bank. He is a member of the various Masonic bodies, lodge,
chapter, council and commandery, is a communicant of St. Paul's Lutheran
Church, and a member of the Pomfret Club. He married, February 22, 1892,
Irene Algert of Easton, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Lehr are the parents of
two sons and two daughters : Horace A., associated with his father in the
Lehr Piano Manufacturing Company, and in the late World's War held a
lieutenant's commission with the U. S. Ordnance Reserves ; Henry S., now
at Naval Aviation Training School, Seattle, Washington; Elizabeth, residing
at home; Irene, a student at the Sargent School, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The family home is at No. 1144 Butler street, Easton.

There are several items of interest in connection with Mr. Lehr's public
service as mayor and postmaster, which it would be an injustice to him to
omit from the story of his life. As mayor he compelled public utility com-
panies to pay the city for franchises granted, a percentage of gross receipts
being the compensation exacted ; he secured the passage of a law regulating
building construction and creating a fire zone ; he accomplished the purchase
and improvement of the property known as the "City Hall of Easton." As
postmaster he reorganized the financial system and thoroughly reorganized
the delivery system, making it more efficient, and in these changes eft'ected
an annual saving of some thousands of dollars, while both departments were
greatly improved. He established the present Auto Parcels Post delivery ;
the Star Route, early auto service from South Bethlehem, whereb}' all
Philadelphia and Southern mail regularly reaches the Easton post-office in
time foi the first delivery, and he has otherwise conserved the public good.

ERNEST A. STEIGLER, Ph.D., D.D.— Dr. Ernest A. Steigler, an emi-
nent divine of the Lutheran church in America, doctor of philosophy of

O^j^. ^- (^l^^<^-^^ayJt<:...^^U,^_^

PUBLIC LISRARY

ASTOR. LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

BIOGRAPHICAL 6i

Odenburg University, Hungary, and of notable ecclesiastical record in Europe,
is the beloved pastor of St, John's Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, a man
whose influence is great among Americans of foreign birth, an influence
sincerely and efTectively devoted to the guidance and Americanization of his
hard-working, industrious parishioners. His efforts during the national
stress just ended have been much appreciated, particularly by the people
of Bethlehem.

Dr. Steigler was born in Odenburg, Hungary, February 6, 1888, and
although young in ministerial charge he has shown himself to be possessed
of marked ability in that direction and to be adding a creditable chapter to
the history of the Steigler family, which has had notable connection with the
church in former generations. He is the son of the Rev. Gustave and Emma
(Loog) Steigler, of Odenburg, Hungary, and in the maternal line his lineage
is noble. His father, the Rev. Gustave Steigler, was the premier prelate
of the ancient city of Odenburg, Hungary, and for twenty-five years was
minister of the oldest church of that place. A graduate of Pressburg Uni-
versity, the Rev. Gustave Steigler comes notably into Hvmgarian church
history by reason of a catechism of which he was the author, which cate-
chism has since become almost the standard work in general use in the
churches of Hungary. He was a learned man, devout in his religion and
universally respected throughout the region in which he labored. His demise
occurred in 1903 in Odenburg, Hungary, and the resulting obseqviies mani-
fested strikingly the esteem in which he was held in the community. His
wife, Emma Loog, of gentle birth, was the daughter of John and Teresa
(Kolbenheimer) Loog. Her father and mother were both of aristocratic
birth, and the former, following the custom of scions of Hungarian noble
families, entered the army in commissioned grade, eventually becoming a
captain in the Hungarian guard. In 1848 he participated in the war against
Austria for the independence of Hungary, and was wounded in battle at
Komaron ; the wound affected him throughout his life, for he partially lost
the use of his arm. Mrs. Emma (Loog) Steigler, widow of the Rev. Gustave
Steigler, is still alive and resides in Odenburg, Hungary, where some of her
children also live. She is the mother of five children ; the offspring of the
Rev. Gustave and Emma (Loog) Steigler are: Gustave, a prominent attor-
ney of Odenburg, Hungary, is married and has one child ; Margaret, who
married Louis Baliko, a Lutheran minister in active charge in Koszeg, Hun-
gary, and they have four children ; Emma, who married Arnold Urban, of
Budapest, Hungary, superintendent of a steel plant at that place, and they
have three children ; Helen, who is unmarried and lives with her mother in
Odenburg; and Ernest A., the subject of this article.

Dr. Ernest A. Steigler was afforded every educational advantage in his
youth. He was aided in his studies by his talented father, who, however,
did not live to guide his son far beyond the elementary stage. However,
with the worthy example of his parent ever before him, young Steigler
applied himself assiduously to his studies, and advanced rapidly ; so rapidlv
that at the age of twenty-two years he became a doctor of philosophy. His
academic education was obtained principally in schools of Odenburg, where
he passed through primary, preparatory and collegiate institutions, eventually
graduating from Odenburg College. His desire was to follow his father
into service of the church^ and after graduating at Odenburg College he
took the theological course at Maechenburg University, from vyhich eventually
in 1910 he was graduated with the degree of doctor of divinity. His uni-
versity record was a meritorious one, and it secured him early and important
place in ecclesiastical work; he was appointed chaplain to Bishop Frank
Gyuracz, in Papsa, Hungary, in which clerical office he remained for more
than a year. In 1912 he received a call from an American church of the
same fa'ith, and soon thereafter came to the United States and immediately

62 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

assumed ministerial charge of the Huncfarian Lutheran Church in New
Brunswick, New Jersey. In that charge he manifested good promise and an
ability to instill in parishioners a clearer and more earnest recognition of
their part in and responsibility for church work and development. In two
years he raised the membership of the New Brunswick church from three
hundred fifty to more than six hundred members. In 1914 he left that church
in a prosperous condition and came to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to take up
equally hard, if not more difficult work in a Hungarian Lutheran church in
that city. Since 1914 Dr. Steigler has labored unceasingly among Bethlehem
residents who are of Hungarian birth or antecedents, and among the people
of the foreign section of Bethlehem Dr. Steigler is becoming increasingly
influential. His good reputation at New Brunswick had preceded him, so
that when he arrived at Bethlehem in 1914 he found more than three hun-
dred people of his faith assembled at the railway station to greet him and
to welcome him to his new charge. He has increased the membership of
St. John's Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, from three hundred to thirteen
hundred since he came, and has so improved the church propertj' that it is
now free from debt. Dr. Steigler is an able administrator, a forceful speaker
and a convincing expounder of the Scriptures. Withal, he is a good pastor,
entering with interest into the home life of his people and particularly aiding
them in their desire to become good Americans. In an industrial community
such as is Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where so many workers of foreign
birth and little academic education are employed, the presence among them
of a man of the type of Dr. Steigler is of great value. Dr. Steigler held a
powerful influence for good and continued industrial effort during a time of
grave international unrest, and his efforts have brought prosperity to his
church and people, and honor to himself. In 191 5 he was instrumental in
organizing a sick benefit society among his church members and the foreign-
speaking section of Bethlehem in general, and the society was soon strongly
based financiall)'. It has corporate powers, has four hundred fifty members,
and benefits to an aggregate of $5,000 yearly have been paid from its funds,
the society now owning its own building. Dr. Steigler also founded in 1915
a parochial school in which special attention is given to the teaching of the
English language, as well as church history, to the children of members of
the Lutheran church. Three teachers are employed, and there are more
than one hundred pupils. Dr. Steigler's energy, persuasiveness and adminis-
tration made it iiossible some time ago to install in the church a new organ,
the cost of which was $2,500, and al,«o to equip the church with chimes which
cost $1,500, both of which expenditures were promptly met by funds raised
among the members who are mostly workers in the Bethlehem Steel plants.
He has benefitted the workers to an appreciable degree by the establish-
ment of night schools, at which even elderly immigrants are students. Dr.
Steigler is interested in all projects that tend to bring intellectual good to
the Hungarians who have come to this country to start life anew, and he is
an active member of many societies that have this end in view ; and as an
educational factor, the magazine Harangszo, of which Dr. Steigler was appointed
editor by the General Church Council in Philadelphia, is an undoubted suc-
cess, holding Americans of Hungarian birth or origin true to their own
church, and injecting American ideas in the people by the readiest method,
the Ilungarian language with which al! are familiar.

Dr. Steigler is prominently identified with Masonic activities in Bethle-
hem, being a member of the G. Stanley Lodge No. 258. He has attained the
thirty-second degree in that fraternal organization. He is also a member
of the Knights Templar.

Generally, his labors within the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, since
1914 have been a factor of importance to that community.

Dr. Steigler recently married, October 19, 1918, in Bethlehem, Ida S.

BIOGRAPHICAL 63

Frater, born in Newark, New Jersey. Her father, Georj^e Frater, lives with
his wife. Bertha, in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Mrs. Steif^ler's grandfather,
Emeric Frater, is now Supreme Court judge of Budapest.

OSCAR MENTON RICHARDS, M.D.— As one of the skilled and
honored physicians of Easton, Pennsylvania, Dr. Richards is fulfilling the
promise of a quarter of a century ago, when he located in South Easton
and began the upbuilding of a professional reputation. The years have
dealt kindly with him, and the hopes of the young ]5hysician have been
fully realized in professional eminence in a large clientele, and in the high
esteem of the community in which his quarter of a century has been passed.
He is of old- Northampton county family, although at the time of his birth
his parents were residing in Bucks county, Pennsylvania.

Joseph Richards, the founder of the family, came from England to
Pennsylvania prior to the Revolution, and in Williams township, Northamp-
ton county, found a home. He married, and upon his own farm of one
hundred twenty acres reared his family. Later he was gathered to his
fathers, and his son Joseph (2) Richards became head of the family in
Williams township.

Joseph (2) Richards was born in that township, and there spent his
life in the quiet pursuit of a farmei. One great excitement, however, came
into his life, and during the second war with Great Britain he left the quiet
and peace of the farm for the scene of conflict and served valiantly the
cause of his country. He married Mary Elizabeth Miller, also born in
Williams township, and they were the parents of John, William, Joseph,
Charles, Aaron, Henry and Elizabeth. Joseph, the father, was a man of
honorable upright life, very popular in his neighborhood. His sons were
carefully reared, and they became men of high standing, and many of their
descendants are now prominent in the professional and business life of the
county.

Aaron Richards, fifth son of Joseph (2) and Marj' Elizabeth (Miller)
Richards, was born at the home farm in Williams township, September 28,
1837. He grew to manhood at the homestead, obtaining a good education
in the district school and at Easton academy. He became very familiar
with the work of the farm, and also taught school in his youth, but he aspired
to a business career and for five years engaged as a merchant. He then
moved to Bursonville, Bucks county, Pennsjdvania, where he was proprietor
of a hotel until 1876, when he sold his property in Bursonville and removed
to Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania, where he was for several years a merchant,
thence he went to Black Horse Hotel, which he conducted three years, and
then moved to South Easton, where he again became a merchant . He
became one of the substantial merchants of that place — then borough, now
a city — winning with business success high standing as a man of integrity
and force of character. He served the Lutheran church as elder and treas-
urer, and was also treasurer of the Cemetery Association. Aaron Richards
married in 1864, Sarah J. Shank, born in Springfield township, Bucks county,
Pennsylvania, daughter of Ephraim and Catherine Shank. They were the
parents of Dr. Oscar M. Richards, whose life and career is the inspiration
of this review; Lillian E. ; Newton B.; and a child who died in infancy.
Newton B., the youngest son, prepared for a professional career and attained
the degree of D.D.S., but he practiced dentistry only for a time, then became
his father's business associate.

'Oscar M. Richards, eldest son of Aaron and Sarah J. (Shank) Richards,
was born at Bursonville, Bucks county, Pennsvlvania. January 15, 1865, and
attended public school at South Easton in 1876. He was graduated from
Easton High School in 1883, then entered Lafayette College, specializing in
chemistry, and in 1887 was awarded his B.S. degree. He then decided

64 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

upon a profession, entered the medical department of the University of
Pennsylvania, and there continued until he graduated M.D., class of i8qo.
Three years were then spent at the Presbyterian Hospital, Philadelphia, one
as interne, two in charge of the surgical dispensary, after which he returned
to his home in South Easton, and in 1894 began private practice in the
profession for which he had so fully prepared. He is a member of and
president of Easton Protective Association of Physicians and belongs also
to the Northampton County Medical Society, Pennsylvania State Medical
Society, American Medical Association, and he is highly regarded by his
professional brethren. Success has come to him abundantly, and he is one
of Easton's most honored professional men. He is a surgeon to the Lehigh
Valley Railroad, surgeon to the Brotherhood of Locomtive Engineers, and
secretary to the board of United States pension examiners of Easton, while
his private practice is very large.

Dr. Richards is a Republican in politics, and under the borough form
of government served South Easton as councilman. After annexation, he
served the city of Easton as a select councilman. lie is a member of St.
Paul's Lutheran Church, is a member of the board of trustees of Easton's
Board of Trade, member of the Masonic order, the Pomfret Club, the McKin-
ley Club, and the college fraternitv. Phi Delta Theta. When at college the
doctor was very much interested in field sports, played on the college
baseball team, and he yet retains his fondness for out-of-door sports. His
favored recreations are motoring and fishing.

Dr. Richards married, June 12, 1890, Sarah Turner, daughter of Amos
and Anna (Godley) Turner, and a cousin of Captain Godley, commander of
the famous Easton Guards. Mrs. Richards is active in Red Cross and
church charitable works, and is vice-president of the Easton New Centuiy
Club.

ARJAY DAVIES — When elected to the presidency of the H. G. Tom-
bler Grocer Company of Easton, Pennsylvania, Mr. Davies came as a mer-
chant with a record of efificiency and success achieved with large business
houses in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and in New Jersey. Nor was the H. G.
Tombler Grocery Company a new, untried enterprise, but like Mr. Davies
had passed through many experiences, having been founded in 1857, and
incorporated in 1891, with a capital of $250,000. To this company Mr. Davies
came as president in 1907, and during the eleven years that he has been in
executive control the business of the company, wholesale groceries, has
more than doubled. A radius of perhaps seventy-five miles is covered bv
the seven traveling salesmen of the company, and from its headquarters at
Nos. 230- 234 Ferry street, Easton, a constant stream of groceries flow into
the channel of trade awaiting them. The officers of the company are :
Arjay Davies, president; William A. Titus, vice-president and manager;
Henry G. Tombler, secretary-treasurer. The board of directors comprise
the above, together with Henry G. Siegfried.

Arjay Davies is a son of John R. and Jane (Eynon) Davies, the former
born in Wales, his father a mine superintendent after coming to Pennsyl-
vania and settling in Lackawanna county, his home in Scranton. He was a
man of education and literary ability, and until his death was a valued
contributor to the Welsh newspapers. Both parents are now at rest. Arjay
Davies was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1865, and there
attended the public schools. After completing the commercial course at
Wyoming Seminary, near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, with graduation, he
began his business as clerk in a Scranton general store. He developed the
commercial instinct, and advanced so rapidly that his next position, which
soon came, was that of manager of one of the two general stores owned
and operated by Carson & Davis of Scranton.

THE

PUBLIC Ljnp^^^^^,

^^^-7

BIOGRAPHICAL 65

In 1890 Mr. Davies accepted the offer made to him bj- Robert F. Oram
& Co. of Port Oram, New Jersey, resigned his position in Scranton, and
until i8cj8 was manager of the Oram Company store at Port Oram. His
reputation was made as an energetic, capable manager, but high as it was,
it was greatly enhanced during the next nine years, 189S-1907, as manager
of the Hibernia Supply Company, located at Hibernia, New Jerse}'. During
this nine years' period the business under his management increased four
hundred per cent., and three additional stores were added, one in New
Jersey, one in Pennsylvania, and one in New York State. Mr. Davies
maintained his home residence at Rockaway, New Jersey, a beautiful loca-
tion forty miles west of New York City, on the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad.

With the surrendering of his position with the Hibernia Supply Com-
pany in 1907, Mr. Davies passed from the ranks of employee to the
presidency of the H. G. Tombler Grocery Company of Easton, and in that
capacity he has repeated the successes of former years, but with his enlarged
powers has greatly exceeded the record of his former years. In addition
to his responsibilities, Mr. Davies is a director of the Easton Trust Company,
vice-president of the Easton Board of Trade, chairman of its transportation
committee, was two years president of the local Lehigh Valley Wholesale
Grocers' Association, two years president of the Lehigh Valley Association
of Credit Men, was elected a third time to the presidency of the Tri-State
Association, more properly the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware
Wholesale Grocers' Association, one of the most successful State organiza-
tions of merchants in the entire country. While serving his third term as
president of the Tri-State, he was elected president of the National Whole-
sale Grocers' Association of the United States, at their 1918 convention at
Cleveland, Ohio. This is an association of more than thirteen hundred
members, representing the leading wholesale grocers of every State in the
Union. These statements convey volumes, and present Mr. Davies as a
State and national figure among merchants of prominence from all parts
of the United States." He is affiliated with the Masonic order, is a Republi-
can in politics, and with his family worships at Brainerd Union Church,
Easton.

Mr. Davies married, December 20, 1888, Alice Watkins of Scranton,
and has a very interesting family from present-day patriotic standards. He
is interested in all movements tending to increase the power of our army
and navy. Mrs. Davies is chairman of the executive committee of Easton's
chapter of the Red Cross, president of the Young Women's Christian Asso-
ciation, and is affiliated with many other charitable and civic organizations.
Ewart G., their eldest son, is in the U. S. Army; Robert W., the second
son, is chief army inspector of the Ordnance Department on trench warfare
materials : Margaret Eynon was graduated from Emma Willard School,
and is now attending Connecticut College, at New London, Connecticut;
Paul G.. the youngest son, too young for service, is at the Tome School.
Mr. Davies has won high standing among the public-spirited men of his
adopted city, and has a ready, willing hand extended to aid in all worthy
movements for civic improvement. The family home is at No. 325 Reeder
street, Easton.

WILLIAM HENRY JENNINGS— William Henry Jennings, late of
Nazareth, Pennsvlvania, was one of the most prominent business men of
this community and for a number of years closely identified with the great
Portland cement industry in this country, his death, which occurred January
2T 1918, being felt as a' severe loss both in industrial circles generally and
Tn'the life of the community in which he had chosen to reside. William II.
Jennings was a native of South Orange, New Jersey, where his birth

N. H. BIGG.— 5

66 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

occurred July 15, 1876, a son of William H. and Marion A. (Carter) Jen-
nings, old and hijjhly respected residents of that place. The early education
of Mr. Jennings was obtained in the local public schools, and upon comi^lct-
ing his studies at these institutions he attended Stevens Institute at Hobo-
ken, and at that famous institution studied for his degree as M.E. He suc-
cessfully completed this course and almost immediately afterward engaged
in the business of constructing cement plants in association with the late
Robert F. Wentz, of Nazareth. His first important work was the building
and equipment of the Nazareth Cement Company plant at Nazareth, Penn-
sylvania, the first of the local enterprises of this kind.

From that time Mr. Jennings continued to be very active in this line of
business at Nazareth and assisted in the building and outfitting, as well as
the organization of all the cement plants in this vicinity. So successful was
Mr. Jennings in his work that before a great time had passed, he became
well known outside of the immediate district in which he had been active,
and it was not long before he was in demand as the designer and constructor
of cement plants in various other parts of the country. He w-as engaged
on a large scale at Bay City, Michigan, in the erection of these mills, and
won the attention and approbation of the Allis-Chalmers Company of Chi-
cago. When that great concern decided to establish cement works in
Spain, Mr. Jennings was secured to conduct these operations and went to
Barcelona in the year 1902, spending that and the following two years in
Spain. The difficulties of construction in that country were much greater
than any that he had met with in America up to that time, and involved a
great many problems which he had no experience with ; but the young man
exhibited positive genius in overcoming these, and brought the work to a
highly successful conclusion. One of the greatest difficulties he surmounted
was the problem of transportation of the heavy incumbent machinery used
in these plants. He imported these from America, and the transportation
was a comparatively easy matter as far as the ocean voyage was concerned,
but the plant itself was erected among the mountains far back from the
coast, and it was between these latter that it was so difficult. The machin-
ery had to be taken apart to the last point possible, and even then many of
the pieces were so heavy that it made their transportation by mule almost
impossible. However, it was eventually accomplished and this became the
nucleus of such manufactories in Spain, proving a brilliant success, and
eventually resulting in the establishment of a large industry there. Upon
his return to the United States, Mr. Jennings went to Easton, Pennsylvania,
where he was appointed assistant of construction of the Atlas No. 2 plant
there. Upon bringing this to a successful termination he then was sent to
Riverside, California, by the same company, where he was assistant engineer
in the erection of the Southern California Cement plant. He was then
appointed superintendent of the Allentown, Pennsylvania, Portland Cement
plant, where he remained for one year and then returned to Nazareth as
superintendent of the Atlantic Potash Works, a concern that was formerly
the Stockertown Cement Company, and in the original construction of which
he had assisted. Mr. Jennings was thus engaged when he was taken with
pneumonia, to which he finally succumbed after only thirty-six hours of
sickness. Mr. Jennings was in the prime of life at the tme of his death, his
mental and physical powers and abilities at their height, and the future
promised great and brilliant successes for him. It was, therefore, the more
tragic that a career so brilliantly begun should be brought to so abrupt a
termination, and the entire community felt keenly the loss of one of its most
representative and energetic citizens.

William H. Jennings was united in marriage December 25, IQOI, with
Ellen A. Mack, a daughter of the late Professor Edwin T. Mack, of Nazareth
Hall Military Academy, Nazareth, Pennsylvania, who is himself the subject

PUBL/r re I

C^. J, '^ cc-^c^

BIOGRAPHICAL 67

of extended mention in the following sketch. To Mr. and Mrs. Jennings
three children were born as follows: Albert Edward, born in Barcelona,
Spain, on April 8, 1904; William Henry, born in Easton, Pennsylvania,
November 16, 1905; and Marion Augusta, born August 10, 1912, at Nazareth.

PROF. EDWIN TIMOTHY MACK— There has been no more com-
manding figure in the life of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, during the generation
just passed, nor any more respected and loved than that of Professor Edwin
T. Mack, for many years identified with the famous Nazareth Hall Military
Academy of this place, where his influence upon the youth of the community
and of those other communities that have sent children to study at this
institution, has been of the greatest value, not only in their individual lives
but in planting in each one his high ideals and motives which unfailingly
in later years formed petals for expanding culture and Christian sympathies
in whatever part of the world they may find their home. Professor Mack
was born at the town of Canaan, in the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory,
June 15, 1851. He was a son of the Rev. Edward Mack, a missionary to
the Cherokees, and was sent out to preach among those people by the
Moravian church from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. At the outbreak
of the Civil War he was compelled to abandon his work among the Indians,
and withdrew during that period to Missouri, from which place he later
returned to North Carolina. His son. Professor Edwin T. ]\Iack. of this
sketch, was sent to the famous Moravian school, Nazareth Hall, which he
entered August 15, 1865, as a pupil. He graduated from this institution with
the class of 1868, and the following autumn became a member of its teaching
staff. Professor Mack was naturally qualified for his chosen profession and
became very closely identified with the school, maintaining his position there
as professor and instructor for more than half a century. At the end of
that long time Professor Mack's health, which was failing rapidly, compelled
him to suspend his staff work at the end of the first month in 1918, and his
death occurred April 30 of that year, only a few weeks later. A fellow
classmate of Professor Mack, who with him was graduated in 1868, the Rev.
Dr. Samuel Blum, also became identified with the teaching force of Nazareth
Hall and was his coadjutor in that school and its principal for twenty
years. For several years after beginning his duties at Nazareth Hall, Pro-
fessor Mack, then a young prefector, lived at the Hall and thus came into
the closest contact with his pupils. This relationship with its daily associa-
tion was unquestionably one of the greatest value and exercised a most
beneficent influence upon the youthful minds of which he had charge. His
strong personality made him naturally a leader, and the high ideals which
he represented found a ready acceptance among the young people brought
in intimate contact with them. Throughout his long career at Nazareth
Hall he was looked up to and respected in an unusual degree by the under-
graduate forces, and he enjoyed no less completely the respect and affection
of his colleagues, who recognized in him a form of unusual potency for the
maintenance and preservation of the highest traditions of the institution.

Professor Edwin T. Mack was united in marriage on March 20. 1876,
with Marv Milchsack, a daughter of Henry T. and Ellen A. (Beitel) Milch-
sack, old 'and highly respected residents of Nazareth. Mrs. Mack survives
her husband, as do four children as follows: Ellen A., who became the wife
of William H. Jennings, of Nazareth, himself a subject of extended mention
on preceding pages; Edith L., who is following the profession of trained
nurse, and is now employed at the Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia;
Edwin A., who is now employed as a draftsman at Ingersoll-Rand, in Easton,
Pennsylvania; Eugene, who lately was with the First Army Engmeers,
U. S Army, at Brest, France. A brother of Professor Mack, Mr. Samuel
Mack is engaged in business on a large scale as contractor at Bethlehem,

68 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Penns)-lvania, and at that place also resides a sister of his, Mrs. Emma Smith.
It is difficult to overestimate the value of the services of the true educator,
for they are formed of that intansijible stuff to which we can apply no definite
standard of measurement. They are unlike those of the business man or
financier v.-hich maj^ be measured to a large degree in dollars and cents, or
even from those of the inventor which may be gauged in a measure by
potent and material progress gained. The educator, on the contrary, like
the office, contributes towards spiritual things which can be expressed only
in terms of increased human happiness and the exaltation of human ideals
which it is bej^ond the power of any man to reckon out. It was such an
influence that Professor Mack inserted in the community where he lived
and worked for so manj' j-ears. He was a man of the highest cultural
attainment, the t3'pical scholar who loved the subject in which he dealt.
But he was more than this ; he possessed that rare combination of strength
of character and insight into the character of others which makes the ideal
teacher, or the transmitter of knowledge, an enlightenment so that his suc-
cess in his chosen line was quite phenomenal. He gave up his best to the
young folks who came under his charge, and felt his influence most potently,
and of this influence you can say only in addition to the facts that it was a
great one, that it is continuing and is still today, after his death, producing
its effect upon the community at large through the lives of many, who,
coming in contact with it, have been given a higher outlook on life and a
better imderstanding of their own worth and the value of service.

HERBERT F. LAUB — George has been a persistent name in the Laub
family of Northampton, and with the middle letter, W, leads to the con-
clusion that Washington, the greatest of all Americans, was the model the
first George Laub presented for his children to follow. Herbert F. Laub,
of Easton, Pennsylvania, an honored attorney of the Northampton bar, is a
son of George W., grandson of George W., and great-grandson of George
Laub, the founder of the family in Pennsylvania, he settling in Moore
township, Northampton county. George W. Laub, son of George, was born
in Moore township, Northampton county, in 1818, was a farmer all his
active life, and in 1891 passed to his reward. He was an active member
of the Lutheran church, a man highh^ respected and esteemed in his com-
munity. He married Annie M. Leisenring, born in Lehigh county. Penn-
sylvania. They were the parents of a large family, several of their children
dying at an early age. Others who grew to manhood and womanhood were :
George W. (2), who is of further mention; John A., of Belfast, Pennsylvania,
a stone worker; Elmer W., of Belfast, a merchant; Edwin P., superintendent
of a slate quarry at Belfast, and Alavesta, married Stephen Fehnel, of Moore
township, whom she survives.

George W. Laub, son of George W. and Annie M. (Leisenring) Laub,
was born at the homestead in Moore township, Northampton, Pennsyl-
vania, July II, 1849, and now is a resident of Nazareth, Pennsylvania,
deeply engrossed in business enterprises, although nearing his seventieth
year. He was educated in the district schools, a private school in Bethlehem,
and Keystone State Normal at Kutztown. Pennsylvania, finishing at the last-
named school, then teaching for a time in ]\Ioore township. He began his
business career as a clerk in the general store of Owen Reyer, at Beersville,
Penns3'lvania. continuing with that well known mercantile house in that
capacity for thirteen years. Pie was then admitted a partner, the firm name
becoming Reyer & Laub. He continued in business until 1887, then dis-
posed of his interests there, and moved to Belfast. Pennsylvania, where he
opened a general store. There he prospered greatlj', and in addition to his
merchandising became financially interested in important enterprises of that
section. His store in Belfast was the business center of the village and the

THE

A«;0«, LE.VO.Y ^^„

BIOGRAPHICAL 69

post-office, Mr. Laub being postmaster for many years. He prospered in
his undertaking, finally retiring from mercantile life and removing to Naza-
reth, his present home. He retains several of his old-time interests, particu-
larly in the slate quarries, and is now? vice-president of the Phoenix Portland
Cement Company, president of the Northampton Hard Vein Slate Company,
a director of the Nazareth National Bank, and ranks with the substantial,
progressive men of his section. A Republican in politics, Mr. Laub was
postmaster of Belfast from 1889 until 1895, and in religious faith is a
Lutheran. He is a member of Aluta Lodge No. 488, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows ; and Washington Camp, Patriotic Order Sons of America.

George W. Laub married Annie M. Geiser, daughter of Samuel Geiser,
of Lehigh township, Northampton county, and they are the parents of two
daughters : Amy F. and Ella C, both residing at home ; and a son, Herbert
F., who is of further mention ; a fcfurth child died in infancy.

Herbert F. Laub, only son of George W. and Annie M. (Geiser) Laub,
was born at Beersville, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, December 26,
1881, and there spent the first six years of his life. In 1887 his parents
removed to Belfast, Pennsylvania, and in 1895 removed to Nazareth, Penn-
sylvania, and there he completed the courses of the grade and high schools,
finishing with graduation, class of 1898. After a year of preparation at
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, he entered Lafayette College, whence he was
graduated A.B., class of 1903. He prepared for the profession of law at
Dickinson Law School, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and graduated from there in
1906, with the degree of LL.B. He was admitted to practice at the North-
ampton county bar on October i, 1906, and is now a qualified practitioner
in the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme courts, and in the United States
District and United States Court of Appeals. He conducts a general law
practice, has a large clientele, and is one of the strong men of the Northamp-
ton bar. The law to him is a jealous mistress, and he has few outside
interests of a political or business nature. He is a member of the county
bar association and enjoys the social side of life in fraternity and club. He
is affiliated with Whitfield Lodge No. 622, Free and Accepted Masons;
Easton Chapter No. 173, Royal Arch Masons; Hugh De Payens Com-
mandery No. 19, Knights Templar ; Nazareth Lodge No. 1099, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows ; the Pomfret Club ; Phi Delta Theta, and Delta Chi
fraternities ; and College Hill Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Laub married, October 20, 1909, Hannah A. Cooley, and they are
the parents of a son, George C, and a daughter, Marjorie W. Laub. Mr.
Laub is a member of the law firm, Smith, Pafi^ & Laub, with offices in the
Easton Trust Company building. The Laub family home is at 215 Pierce
street, Easton.

REV. JOHN EDWARD McCANN— Although Father McCann's resi-
dence in Easton began only in 1914, when he became rector of St. Bernard's
Roman Catholic Church, he has endeared himself to his own people, and
has won the friendship of many outside his faith. An orator of more than
ordinary force and ability, he is frequently called upon for addresses, and
it is possible that no clergyman in the city has taken active part in more
public demonstrations, and it may be truthfully said that no man in any
walk of life has given so generously of his time and energy to any and all
movements whose object was civic progress and public good.

Father McCann is a son of James McCann, born in .Stackallen, County
Meath, Ireland, who came to the United States when sixteen years of age,
and located in New York City. Later he removed to Trenton, New Jersey,
and there as a member of the firm, McCann & O'Brien, became noted as a
manufacturer of saws of a superior quality. He remained in Trenton until
1870, then went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he formed a connec-

70 NORTHAMPTOxN COUNTY

tion with the great saw manufacturing corporation, Henry Disston & Sons,
being superintendent of their Philadelphia plant for forty-eight years. He
retired in IQ09 and now (1919) reviews his long and useful life of eighty-two
years from the safe vantage of his own comfortable home in Tacony. He
is a son of Nicholas McCann, a man of fine character who cultivated his
own lands in County Meath, Ireland. James McCann married Catherine
Seery, born in Navan, County Meath, and came to the United States when
but nine years of age, a relative of Bishop Nulty. They celebrated the
golden anniversary of their wedding-day in the Tacony home, receiving a
cable of congratulation and blessing from his holiness Pope Pius X.
Three months later the wife suddenly passed away at the age of sixty-eight.
Thirteen children were born to James and Catherine McCann, four sons
and nine daughters ; seven of these children are now living. Father McCann
is the seventh child in order of birth.

John Edward McCann was born in the Port Richmond section of the
city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 7, 1873. His early education
was obtained in the parochial schools of St. Anne, Sisters of St. Joseph,
Brothers of the Christian Schools, the Henry Disston public school for four
years, and the Christian Brothers La Salle College. He was afterwards
employed in the saw department of the Henry Disston Works for eight '
months. Then in 1889, at the age of sixteen years, he began his special
study for the priesthood of the Roman Catholic church. He first entered
St. Charles Rorromeo Seminary, and there pursued classics and humanities,
and philosophical and theological studies until ordained a priest, September
23, 1899, finishing one year ahead of his class. The following day he cele-
brated his first mass in St. Leo's Church at Tacony, Pennsylvania, after
which he returned to the seminary as prefect under Monsignor Garvey,
remaining one year, until his class was graduated and ordained in May. 1890.
During that year he served also as a mission supply for foreign parishes in
Carbon and Northampton counties, Pennsylvania. Among his teachers at
the seminary were Bishop McCort, Archbishop Kennedy and Archbishop
Denis Dougherty, D.D., of Philadelphia, Monsignors Garvey and Henry,
Lit.D., and James Roberts, elocutionist. During his years at the seminary.
Father McCann was awarded thirteen scholarship medals, for his standing
as a student was unusually high. On the fifth anniversary of Father Mc-
Cann's ordination, Samuel Disston, a member of the saw firm and a Protes-
tant, presented him with a valuable solid gold chalice made in France, to
show his pride in Father McCann's being a former employee. During the
year 1900 he was for seven months assistant to the pastor of the Cathedral
of St. Peter and St. Paul, Philadelphia, and conducted a successful_ kermess
for the Cathedral Day Nursery. Later he was assistant at St. Elizabeth's,
where he was in charge of the school. The following four years were spent
as assistant at St. Mary's in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where he received
a puse of gold as a testimonial, and from 1905 to 1912 he was connected
with the parish of St. Teresa in Philadelphia, whose clergy and laity pre-
sented him a gold watch. For five of those years he was local director of
the girls L H. M. high school center, teaching English composition, Latin
and Christian doctrine; and for two years he was president of the Catholic
Total Abstinence Union of Philadelphia. During the same period he was
treasurer of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America, and chaplain
of Brownson Council of the Knights of Columbus, and on the fifth anniver-
sary of his chaplainship he was presented with a handsome engraved purse
containing $200 in gold, the gift of his friends of the council. He is also
one of the leaders of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union in the United
States, and has lectured throughout the East. From February, 1912. to
November, 1914, he was assistant to Father Mellon. Vicar General, and to
Monsignor Trainor at St. Thomas Aquinas, South Philadelphia, whose Holy

THE XEW roilK
PDBLIC IISRAIIY

ASTOB. LENOX ASB
TILDES F0LT\DAT1(>N8
L

BIOGRAPHICAL 71

Name Society sent him an addressograph when he went East on his birthday,
November 7, 1914, and was transferred to the parish of St. Bernard's, Easton,
f'ennsylvania, as pastor pro tcm; and following the death of the venerable
rector, Rev. James McGeveram, June 7, 1915, Father McCann was installed
permanently. During the few years that have since intervened he has
lifted the debt of $20,000 which rested upon the church, expended $1,200
for improvements and repairs, purchased a high school building, and has
greatly increased the efficiency of the parish, common and high schools, the
standard of the latter, taught by sisters of I. H. M. order, having been
greatly raised. The good Father is seemingly interested in everything that
interests his fellow men. He is a member of the Easton Board of Trade,
vice-chairman of the Easton Chapter for Northampton County Junior Red
Cross Society, chairman of St. Bernard's Unit of the Red Cross, a director
of the Visiting Nurses' Association, director of various parish societies, chari-
table and religious; chairman of the St. Bernard's branch of the Alliance
of Catholic Women ; organized the only men's first aid among the first
classes in first aid work at the beginning of the World War; one of the
organizers of the First Liberty Loan parade ; chairman of the executive
committee of the Knights of Columbus War Fund drive; member of the
City Council, Easton Boy Scouts of America; chaplain to Camp Lafayette
vocational and student corps, and the first priest to celebrate mass upon the
college campus; was active in the campaign to raise funds for Easton
Hospital; is local superintendent of the Easton Catholic High School, and of
St. Bernard's and Gethsemane cemeteries; a member of the Catholic His-
torical Society, and it is no exaggeration to affirm that he is active in all
good works. He has been appointed by the courts on various occasions as
custodian of wayward youths, and he literally "goes about doing good."
His parish has benefited financially and spiritually through his coming, and
public opinions number him among most useful citizens.

AMBROSE MARTIN KEIM, M.D.— The coming of Dr. Keim to
Bethlehem in 1882 was entirely unpremeditated, but when he found that
borough struggling in the grasp of an epidemic of smallpox, all his chival-
rous and humane instinct arose, and he entered the fight with those other
heroes ot his profession who were performing deeds of self-sacrifice and
valor unsurpassed on any battlefield. When the epidemic was subdued he
remained, and until ill health caused his retirement, he was in continuous
and successful practice in Bethlehem. His passing was a distinct loss to his
community, for all had learned to respect and to love the "good doctor,"
whose life was an example of self-sacrificing devotion to duty.

Few American families can trace their lineage through as many centuries
as the Keims of Eastern Pennsylvania. An ancient manuscript in the
German language, brought to America by Johannes Keim in 1706, and held
priceless as an heirloom, refers to the family as being one of the oldest and
most noted of the German nobility, and already famous in the year 1020 A. D.
In that year Gottschalck Keim was advanced to knightly honors by the
German King, Conrad II, and invested with the castle and lands of Gerolsek,
not far distant from Strasburg. The old manuscript referred to, continues
down to the Thirty Years War, and thirty years thereafter when the name
still survives in Speier, from which region came Ludwig Hencourt Keim,
an officer in the army of the Grand Duke of Saxewcimar during the Thirty
Years War, 1618-1648. Twelve years later Ludwig Hencourt Keim married,
and to his bride gave a jewelry case inscribed, "Anno Domino MDCLX,
Ludwig Hencourt and Bertha Keim," with the motto:

I love in secret to acquire
A treasure I alone desire.

72 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Ludvvig and Bertha Keim had two sons, George and Joseph. George
had a son, Johannes Keim, who, after the French army had devastated the
Palatinate^ came to America with his bride, Catherine de Lurch, and settled
at Oley, Berks county. They came in 1706, and with them came
the precious ancient manuscript and the jewelry casket which was
handed down until quite recently, when it was presented by Miss Harriet V.
De Benneville Keim (a lineal descendant) to the Museum of the National
Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, in Washington, D. C.
From Johannes and Catherine Keim descends a long line of military, pro-
fessional and business men, one of these, Dr. Ambrose Martin Keini, being
the principal character of this review. He was a son of Samuel and Caroline
(Jacoby) Keim, his father a blacksmith and farmer located near Shimers
Station, Bethlehem township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania.

Ambrose Martin Keim was born near Shimers Station, Bethlehem, Penn-
sylvania, January 17, 1854, died in the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
February 13, 1916, having been an invalid for several years. He attended the
local schools, Weaverville Academy, and Worcester (Massachusetts) Prepar-
atory School, and acquired a good classical education, then began the study of
medicine, receiving his degree M.D. from Jefferson Medical College, Phila-
delphia, at graduation with the class of 1877. He began practice in Ebens-
burg, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, but after a few years there he went
abroad, and until 1882 was a student at the University of Berlin, and else-
where, perfecting himself in professional knowledge. In 1882 he returned
to Pennsylvania, but at South Bethlehem was detained through the non-
arrival of his baggage. This delay caused a complete change in his life-
work, and instead of returning to Ebensburg as he intended, he located in
Bethlehem, rendered valuable service in fighting the smallpox epidmic, and
there resided until his death. He continued in active practice until the
complete failure of his health ; he was an invalid for several years, and death
finally resulted from heart trouble. He was one of the influential Democrats
of his section, and for twelve years was coroner of Northampton county.
He was a skillful physician, very sympathetic and friendly, the confidant of
the young and the comforter of the old. He held the respect and confidence
of his brethren of the profession, holding memberships with them in the
local and State medical societies. He was a member of Grace Lutheran
Church and of Damascus Commandery No. 50, Knights of Malta, of South
Bethlehem.

Dr. Keim married June 26, 1886, Flora Agnes Illick, daughter of Reuben
and Diana Illick of Northampton county. Reuben Illick was a farmer of
Northampton county, and died in igoB, aged seventy-three. His wife, Diana,
died in 1897, aged fifty-seven. They were the parents of two daughters :
Blanche, born March 15, 1888, and Frances Keim, born February i, 1897.
Frances married, September, 1918, Hiram Deily, Jr., and lives with her
mother, Mrs. Keim. Mrs. Keim survives ber husband and continues her resi-
dence in Bethlehem, at 27 South Seventh avenue.

RUSSELL CHARLES MAUCH, LL.B., M.A.— Russell Charles Mauch,
Master of Arts, Bachelor of Law, well regarded and capable member of the
legal bar of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and a promising young attor-
ney of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was born in that city September 4, 18S8,
the son of John Wesley and Millie (Bright) Mauch, both of whom belonged
to old Northampton county families. In the maternal line also his lineage
connects with a distinguished soldier of the War of 1812. John Wesley
Mauch, who died in 1898, was prominent throughout his life in the public
affairs of Northampton county. A staunch Democrat, he was a man of much
influence in his district, and served the party and the county faithfully
throughout his active life. He was prominently identified with the county

BIOGRAPHICAL y^

leaders, was for many years a member of the Democratic County committee,
and for six years was deputy clerk in the Orphans' Court of Northampton
county. He was a Mason of higch degree, member of local lodges, and
religiously he was of the Reformed church. His wife, who still lives, is the
daughter of Charles H. and Elizabeth (Wagner) Bright of Hellertown.
There were three children to the marriage of John Wesley and IMillic
(Bright) ]\Iauch: i. Mary, married Warren Eisenhart, of Hellertown, who is
by profession an engineer, and is in the employ of the Bethlehem Steel
Company; they have one son, Edward, now two years of age. 2. Eliza-
beth C, who is unmarried, and lives with her mother at Hellertown. 3. Rus-
sell Charles, the subject of this article.

Attorney R. C. Mauch had a distinguished collegiate career ; after ele-
mentary education at Hellertown public school, and the necessary prepara-
tory instruction had been obtained, he entered Muhlenburg College. In 1907
he graduated therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was one
of the honor men of his j^ear and had distinguished himself particularly in
the debating class, so that he was chosen to deliver an oration at the gradua-
tion ceremonies. His promise at Muhlenburg was maintained in his subse-
quent period as a law student at Dickinson Law School, from which he
graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Law in 1910, in the same year
receiving his major academic degree. Master of Arts. It is worthy of note
that he was then only twenty-two years of age, and not yet twenty-three
years of age when he was admitted to practice at the legal bar of Northamp-
ton county. For a few years Mr. Mauch practiced in Hellertown, but later
became associated in law practice with the late Harry E. Cyphers, a well
known attorney of Bethlehem. The two remained associated until the death
of Mr. Cyphers in 1917, when Mr. Mauch constituted the only member of
the law firm, the whole of the clientele of which he took over. Mr. Mauch
now enjoys a large and growing practice, and has a promising career
before him.

He is progressive, active, broad-minded, logical in his opinions, and
possessed of a way of expressing those opinions so that they are at once
clear to his hearers. And he is an earnest publicist and church worker. He
has never sought political office, but more than one local office has been
offered him ; he is solicitor for Hellertown borough, for the Hellertown
school district, and the Lower Saucon township school district, which is one
of the largest in the county. In fraternal activities Mr. Mauch comes in
contact with the Independent Order of Odds Fellows, having passed through
the chairs of Hellertown Lodge, of which he is now recording secretary, and
also with the Eagles, being a member of the local branch.

In January, 1913, Attorney Mauch was married to Bessie J., daughter
of Titus M. and Mary Ruch, of Hellertown, whose worthy family record is
elsewhere reported in this history. Mrs. Mauch is a graduate of Hellertown
High School, and with her husband gives much of her time to church work.
They are Lutherans, and Attorney Mauch has a Bible class, the member-
ship of which exceeds one hundred. His professional office is in the Brodhead
building, Bethlehem, but the family reside in Hellertown. They have three
children, Meryl, Charles and Doris.

SAMUEL TAYLOR WILSON— This branch of the Wilson family in
America was founded bv Thomas Wilson, a minister of the Society of
Friends, who came from England and settled in Northern Delaware not long
after the coming of William Pcnn to Pennsylvania in 17S2. The Wilsons
came at the opening of the eighteenth century. This branch of the descen-
dants of Thomas Wilson, the hVicnd preacher, settled near Rising Sun, a
village of Cecil county, Maryland, fifty-two miles from Baltimore. The first
Wilson settler there was Samuel Wilson, born in 1802, father of Thomas J.

74 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Wilson, and grandfather of Samuel Taylor Wilson, of Easton, president and
treasurer of the Tippitt & Wood Company, of Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania.

Samuel Taylor Wilson was born in Rising Sun, Cecil county, Maryland,
October 12, 1868, son of Thomas J. and Adeline H. (Kirk) Wilson. His
father is yet a retired resident of Rising Sun. Samuel T. began his education
in the public school and prepared for college at West Nottingham Academy.
He completed full courses of study at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsyl-
vania, and was graduated, C.E., class of 1893. After completing his college
engineering course he entered the employ of Tippitt & Wood, as a draughts-
man, and his responsibilities were continually added to until he was the firm's
chief engineer. Tippitt & Wood, builders of steel bridges, water towers,
stand pipes, steam boilers, blast furnaces, and mill work, was organized in
1868. and has had a career of unexampled prosperity. In 1901 Mr. Wilson
was elected vice-president of the company, two years later, in 1903, was
elected president, and in 1918, treasurer, his present office (1919). He is a
director of the New Jersey Manufacturers Casualty Insurance Company,
member of the Easton Board of Trade, and of that important combined busi-
ness and social organization, the Rotary Club, of Easton. Plis success has
been won through a thorough mastery of the details and technicalities of
the engineering business, and through an unusual faculty for securing per-
fect co-operation between the different departments and those associated
with or employed by him. Perhaps no large plant in the country has experi-
enced such immunity from labor troubles since Mr. Wilson became con-
nected with it in official capacity, and that condition has not been accom-
plished through accident. Long before the true relation which should exist
between mill worker and operator was recognized, Tippett & Wood Com-
pany had inaugurated a system of welfare work, the sick and injured were
quickly and tenderly cared for, and the best of feeling existed. The years
have strengthened this feeling, and naught but good fellowship exists at
the plant.

There are few interests of the city of Easton calling for broad-minded
and liberal men that Mr. Wilson is not associated with. He is active in the
church, Sunday school, and societies of the First Methodist Episcopal
Church ; is a member of the board of managers of the Young Men's Christian
Association; member of the board of trustees of Easton Social Service
League; is active in the societies and movements for prosecuting and financ-
ing the great war in which his country engaged ; is a member of Northampton
County Country Club, Phillipsburg Manufacturer's Club, the Alumni Asso-
ciation of Lafayette College, serving on the executive committee ; and is a
member of Delta Upsilon college fraternity. His sports are those of the out-
of-doors, and the}' are all enjoyed, among which motoring, golf, hunting, and
fishing are favored recreations, each in their proper season.

Mr. Wilson married, October 2, i8g6, Anna W. Bryan, daugther of James
E. and Anna Virginia (Smith) Bryan, of Rising Sun, Maryland. The family
home is at No. 322 Reeder street. College Hill, Easton.

LAUBACH FAMILY — Christian Laubach, immigrant ancestor of
George A. Laubach, accompanied by his wife, Susan Laubach, and six cliil-
dren, sai'ed in August, 1738, from the Palatinate, Germany, and landed in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 16, 1738, on the ship Queen EUzahcth.
They settled on the banks of a small stream in Saucon township, Northamp-
ton county, Pennsylvania, where he shortly afterward erected a saw and
grist mill. Christian Laubach was a blacksmith and iron dealer, and fur-
nished large quantities of material to the Durham furnaces. Subsequently
he became the owner of five tracts of land which are still in the possession
of his descendants.

John George Laubach, son of Christian and Susan Laubach, was born

TEE NEW YOllK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOa, LENOX ANB

TlLOiiN FOUNDATIONS

8 ' ^

T^^^^^l

BIOGRAPHICAL 75

November 4, 1723, married, and reared a family. He received one hundred
pounds as his share in the estate of his father. Children : Susan, born
November 7, 1757; Michael, born No\ ember 28, 1759; John, born Auf^ust 25,
1761 ; John Christian, born June 30, 1762; Anna Mary, born October 21,
1764; Adam, of further mention; John Conrad, born March 3, 1768; Ann
Margaret, born January 19, 1770; Catherine, born February 26, 1772; John
George, Jr., born March 5, 1774; and Walter, born February 15, 1776.

Adam Laubach, son of John George Laubach, was born December 23,
1766, and settled in Saucon township, where he was a farmer and a black-
smith. He married and had children: Jacob, who died at the age of eighty-
five years; John, born October 2, 1789, died at the age of eighty-two years;
Christian, died aged eighty-three years; George, born November 14, 1794,
lived to be seventy-five years of age; Samuel, born May 24, 1706, died aged
thirty-eight years; Joseph, attained the age df sixty-four; Daniel, born
August 12, 1801, died aged thirty-five years; Elizabeth, who was eighty-
three years old at the time of her death ; Isaac, born March 8, 1806, died
aged sixty-five years; Abraham, of further mention.

Abraham Laubach, youngest child of Adam Laubach, was born in Wil-
liams township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1808, and
died September 15, 1890. In early life he served an apprenticeship to the
trade of harness-making, which he pursued in the township of Plainfield for
about fifteen years, after which he returned to Williams township and en-
gaged in farming and milling. Being successful in both of these enterprises,
Mr. Laubach acquired a sufficient competence to enable him to retire from
active business pursuits, and he located in the city of Easton. where he spent
his declining years in the enjoyment of ease and luxury. He was a deacon
and elder in the Reformed church of Williams township. Mr. Laubach mar-
ried Lydia Beidleman, who died April 30, 1895. They had children: William,
of further mention; Peggy Ann, born July 12, 1835, married Richard Decmer;
Robert, born April 27, 1837; Stephen, born June 9, 1839, became a jihysician^
Susan, born February 19, 1842; Abraham A., born May 3, 1844: Owen, born
July 16, 1846, died September 24, 1888.

Elias Beidleman, great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Lydia (Beidleman)
Laubach, was born in the Palatinate, Germany, September 27, 1707, and
arrived in the city of Philadelphia in September, 1730. He remained in
Philadelphia county a number of years, removing in 1748 to Springfield
township, now Pleasant Valley township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania.
There he built the first mill in the northern part of Bucks county, and
resided in that vicinity until his death, which occurred October 25, 1781
Elias, son of Elias Beidleman, married Catherine Kiss, of Lower Saucon
township, and later removed from that locality to ^lonroe county. Pennsyl-
vania. Samuel, son of Elias (2) Beidleman, was born in 1748. resided in
Chestnut Hill township during the French and Indian War, and joined
Sullivan's army when that command went against the Six .Vations. He
subsequently settled in the Chemung Valley, New York, where he resided
until his decease in 1836. Abraham, son of Samuel Beidleman. and father
of Mrs. Laubach, was born November 20., 1772, and while a lad in his teens
returned to Pennsylvania, where he first settled in Plainfield township.
Later he returned to Williams township, and there became the possessor
of a large tract of land in the vicinity of Raubsville, Northampton county,
where his death occurred April 11, 1857.

William Laubach, eldest son of Abraham and Lydia (Beidleman) Lau-
bach, was born in Plainfield township, February 18, 1833, and died of general
debility after an illness of almost a year, at his home. Second and Bu^hkill
streets', Easton, Pennsylvania, July 30, 1914. His health had been declining
for some time, and May 18 and 19 witnessed his presence for the last time
in the establishment he had built up in his very active business career. He

76 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

had been in active business in Easton for a period of fifty-four years. On
April 6, 1910, the firm celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in an appropriate
manner, devoting two weeks to the observance. His success as a business
man was founded on close application, absolute thoroughness, careful atten-
tion to details, and personal supervision. He originated the one-priced sys-
tem in Easton, and built up his business by thoroughness and reliability in
dealing with his trade. He was an honorable man in all his transactions,
was cordial in his greetings to customers and business associates, and pos-
sessed a wide circle of acquaintances who all deeply and sincerely regretted
his death.

In his boyhood Mr. Laubach attended the district school and worked
on the farm of his father. When he was fifteen years of age he took a
position in a country store at Kesslerville, where he remained until 1853,
when he came to Easton and entered the store of the late Jacob Hay, then a
prominent dealer in dry-goods, with whom he remained about five years,
fitting himself under his employer's methodical manner of conducting busi-
ness for a more extended experience later. A short time after this Mr.
Laubach entered the establishment of Jacob Rader, then among the oldest
and most extensive business houses of Easton, as clerk. Here he continued
for about one year. On April 6, i860, Mr. Laubach decided to engage in
business for himself, and in spite of limited resources, opened a dry-goods
store in a room only 12 by 40 feet in size, on a part of the site of the huge
business house which he occupied in his later years. In the spring of 1861
the young merchant moved his stock to the building at Eourth and North-
ampton streets, on the site of the present Northampton National Bank
building. The store remained there until November, 1S72, when Mr. Lau-
1:)ach erected a building on Northampton street on the j)resent site, 28 by 170
feet, the front of which was three stories high and the rear one story. On
November 21, 1872, what was then known as "Laubach's Trade Palace"
was opened. Many Eastonians will recall that special opening, which was
held in the evening. No goods were sold, and an orchestra furnished music,
which was something altogether new and original with the shopping public
of the city in those days. In 1881 an addition of fifty feet was added to the
rear, giving the store a depth of two hundred twenty feet, with a uniform
width of twenty-eight feet. In 1891 the property known as the Hunt build-
ing, on the corner of Bank and Northampton streets, was added to meet
the demands for greater space. Again in 1895 ari extensive addition was
made to the Laubach store. The M. J. Riegcl building, on the west side.
was acquired, giving a seventy-four-foot frontage on Northampton street.
Even that fine, large, spacious store was soon outgrown, and 1809 found
Mr. Laubach again engaged in adding a basement department for the hous-
ing of stocks of china and glassware, bric-a-brac and various lines of house
furnishing goods. Two years later, in November, igoi, Mr. Laubach pur-
chased the Timmins and Hess properties on the west side of his store. It
was not, however, until. 1905, that other improvements were made which
brought the frontage of the store to a total of one hundred seven feet, as
it is now. In 1910 further improvements were made to the store building
by adding a large building to the rear, and also tearing down the Hunt prop-
ert> on the east, and a handsome building was erected thereon to conform
with the remainder of the property front on Northampton street, making a
uniform building with three floors and basement throughout and a frontage
of one hundred seven feet. The entire property, as the store now stands, is
occupied by the firm. It has a floor space exceeding sixty thousand square
feet, as compared with the original selling space of four hundred and eighty
square feet. The size of the present store makes the growth seem almost
marvelous.

George A. Laubach, eldest son of William Laubach, entered the business

BIOGRAPHICAL 17

as an employe July i, 1881, and was taken into the firm iu iSSg. The firm
was then known as William Laubach & Son. The four younger sons entered
the business as employes during the following years: William Horn, April,
1888; Charles Madison, July, 1897; Frederick Horn, June, 1901 ; Henry Bei-
dleman, June, igoi ; and in iQoS they were admitted to partnership. On
July 24. 1908, a charter was granted to the father and five sons under the
laws of Pennsylvania, to incorporate, the firm name to be William Laubach
& Sons.

In 1914 the firm suiifered an irreparable loss in the death of the senior
member, but the five sons assumed the entire responsibility of the business
and forged ahead, expanding their department store, thus creating a living
memorial to the wisdom and foresight of their father, who had so success-
fully founded and continued the business during the first fiftj'-four years
of its existence. In 191 5 a seven-story addition was built in the rear of the
store fronting on Pine street, with a depth of seventy feet, to which was
removed the duplicate stock and workrooms, giving all the main floor space
of the three floors and basement for salesrooms. The office was removed to
the third floor, and millinery and furniture departments were added to the
list already included in the store. The second story of the building at the
corner of Bank and Pine streets was also leased and to this were moved
the alteration workrooms connected with the cloak and suit department.
The continued increase in business made it advisable to plan for more store
space, so in 1916 the Clifton property, 50 by 70 feet, fronting on Pine street,
was purchased, and in 1917 a three-story addition with a basement was
built, conforming in structure to the balance of the building. In the latter
part of the same year the Mutchler property, Nos. 15 and 17 Bank street,
which had formerly been occupied by the Easton Express Publishing Com-
pany, was purchased, and the year 1918 found William T^aubach &• Sons
using the entire block (with the exception of a space 28 by 70 feet on the
first floor, corner of Bank and Pine streets), from Northampton to Pine,
with Bank street on the east and Able Opera House on the west.

William Laubach was prominent as a Mason, his fraternal connection
being with Easton Lodge No. 152, Free and Accepted Masons; Easton
Chapter No. 173, Royal Arch Masons; Hugh De Payens Commandery No.
19, Knights Templar of Easton; and Rajah Temple, Ancient Arabic Order
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Reading. For sixty years Mr. Laubach was a
member of the First Reformed Church and took an active interest in all the
affairs of the congregation. He served for many years as an officer and
member of the consistory. In the old borough days he was elected a member
of the school board from the Seventh Ward and served one term. He was
a director of the Northampton National Bank for twenty-eight years, member
of the Pennsylvania German Society, and of the Easton Board of Trade. He
was always interested in everything which promised to uplift the business,
industrial, educational, moral and spiritual welfare of the commnnity. His
counsel was often sought, and his opinions were freely accepted, although
he was defei;ential, and he never advanced his personal ideas exce])t in a
modest and courteous manner. He was of inestimable service to the com-
munity, and held the respect, and in his later daj's the veneration, of the
people of the entire section. He was a liberal donor to the church, and his
charity in this community was limited only by his good judgment. Plisto-
rians will ever refer to William Laubach as a shining light in the mercantile
life of Easton.

Mr. Laubach married, August 19, i860. Mary Frances Horn, born in
Easton, Pennsylvania, February 5, 1839, daughter of George and Annie Horn.
Children: Edward Horn, born June 9, 1861, flied December 15, 1861 ; George
A., of further mention; Annie B., born April 29, 1864, married John Wesley
Nute, who died October 5, 1908, children: George H., born October 7, 1889;

78 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

William Laubach, born December 29, 1890; Harold, born June 2, 1894; Jen-
nie, born February I, 1866, married Brigadier-General Edgar Jadwin, U. S.
Army, and has children: Charlotte Frances, born August 23, 1894, and
Cornelius C, born March 22, 1896. Sarah, born August 20, 1867, married
Harry A. McFadden, of Hollidaysburg, who died September 15, 1910; chil-
dren: Harriet Elizabeth, born April 8, 1895; Harry A., Jr., born September
19, 1896; and Mary Frances, born November i, 1902. Mary, born January
10, 1870, died November 20, 1909, married Samuel K. Green, who died Janu-
ary 6, 1910. William H., born May 8, 1871, married Lydie Gano ; children:
John Wesley, who died September 12, 1901, and Richard G., born January
10, 1903. Ella, born February 14, 1874, married February 7, 1905, A. Gold-
smith; children: John Francis, born March 5, 1906, and Robert, born Janu-
ary 21, 1914. Frank Edward, born February 2^, 1876, died April 20, 1884.
Charles Madison, born March 27, 1878, married Sallie Leyrer, of Easton ;
children: Mary Louisa, born May 18, 1907, and Eleanor, born April 5, 1911.
Frederick H., born June 29, 1880, married June 15, 1904, Zelda Wilhelm;
children : Frederick H., Jr., born August 11, 1905 ; Dorothy W., born Novem-
ber 8, igoS, died August 25, 1910; and Mary Elizabeth, born June 7, 191 1.
Henry B., born November 29, 1881, married April 30, 1907, Edith Bixler;
children: Elwood Bixler, born December 23, 1915, and Marion Edith, born
August 10, 1918.

A man of decided business genius, strong character and pleasing per-
sonality and keenly alive to the responsibilities his position entails, George
A. Laubach in business worthily fills the post left vacant by the death of
his honored father, and in civic affairs is the loyal, patriotic, progressive
citizen, anxious for the welfare of the city with which the Laubach name
has so long been connected. He is the eldest son of William and Mary
Frances (Horn) Laubach.

George A. Laubach was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1862,
his birthplace the present site of Northampton National Bank. Fie was
educated in the public schools of Easton, completing the course with gradua-
tion from high school, class of 1879. He then finished a two years' course
at Lafayette College, class of 1883. On July i, 1881, he began" his business
career in his father's store, starting from the bottom of the ladder and advanc-
ing to better positions as he qualified. He grew with the business, and in
both buying and selling gained the experience which was to be his capital
in the future. On February i, 1S89, he was admitted as a partner, the firm
name then becoming William Laubach & Son. The business grew with
each succeeding year, the firm also being increased by the admission of the
four younger sons of William Laubach. In 1908 the business was incor-
porated under the name William Laubach & Sons, with William Laubach,
president and general manager; George A. Laubach, secretary and treasurer.
After the death of his father, the president, on July 30, 1914, he succeeded to
that office, and now as executive head of the company, manages the largest
department store in Easton.

In his citizenship, Mr. Laubach stands for that which is in the line of
progress, realizing that like a business a community cannot stand still, but
must either advance or retrograde. Every civil, industrial and moral move-
ment tending to Easton's benefit has his support, and he can always be
relied upon to champion any good cause. He served twice on the guaranty
fund of the board of trade, $750,000 being raised during his service for the
establishment of new industries in Easton. During the 1915 campaio-n for
the raising of a building fund for the Easton Hospital, he was chairman^of the
business men's teams, and in all the Liberty Bond campaigns he took an
active part. He is a director of the Northampton National Bank and a
trustee of the board of trade.

Quite recently Mr. Laubach celebrated fifty years of attendance and

k/cc < Cl . c>^^^Vu^t^(^A^

THE NliW YOilK
PUBLIC LIBIIAKY

ASTOR. LENOX AM)

TILDBN KOINIIATIDNS

K ■ L

BIOGRAPHICAL 79

service in the Sunday school of the First Reformed Church, lie has long
been a member, and is now an elder of that church, and in 1913 was vice-
president of the Eastern Synod of tlie Reformed church. lie is a member
of Easton Lodge No. 152, Free and Accepted Masons; Easton Cha])ter No.
173, Royal Arch Masons; Pomp Council, No. 20, Royal and Select Masters;
Hugh De Payens Commandery, No. 19, Knights Templar; Rajah Temple
(Reading), Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Northamp-
ton Historical Society; Pennsylvania German Society; Phi Kappa Sigma
fraternity; and the Young Men's Christian Association, which he serves as
director and treasurer. His clubs are the Pomfret, Northampton County
Country, and Rotary.

Mr. Laubach married, February 26, 1891, Laura Louise Grim, of Read-
ing, Pennsylvania, daughter of Jonathan R. and Susan (Kemp) Grim. Mr.
and Mrs. Laubach are the parents of two sons and a daughter: George A.,
Jr., born May 9, 1892, died February 22, 1918; Frances Louise, born June
18, 1894; Donald Grim, born September i, 1S98, was commissioned .-iecond
lieutenant, U. S. Army, at Plattsburg, September, 1918, and served in the
army until mustered out after the signing of the armistice, at Camp Grant,
Illinois. The family home is at No. 133 North Second street, Easton,
Pennsylvania.

CLIFFORD SETON JOSHUA— CliiTord Seton Joshua, pastor of the
First Baptist Church of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, comes of a family long
associated with church activities and internationally known in evangelical
and ecclesiastical history. The family for two generations has been particu-
larly prominent in the Baptist church in Wales ; the Rev. Seth Joshua is an
uncle of the Bethlehem divine, and has for a generation been famed as an
evangelist, his standing being sufficiently indicated by his official connection,
that of evangelist, with the Free Church Council of Great Britain. Anotb.er
uncle is the Rev. Frank Joshua, who for thirty-five years has held the pastor-
ate of the same church at Neath, South Wales ; while the father of the sub-
ject of this article, the Rev. Caleb Joshua, has been one of the leaders of the
Baptist ministry in the capital of Wales for more than forty years. Fie
undertook many important missions in the national service during the serious
and strenuous period, 1914-18. The Rev. Caleb Joshua, who is still in active
ministerial work at Cardifi', South Wales, graduated at a noted Welsh semi-
nary, Pontypool College, and soon thereafter rose to a place among the leaders
of the Baptist church in Wales. It cannot always be so indicated, but it
may generally be inferred that a pastor who has held office in only a few
churches during a long period of service in the ministry is a man of high
calibre; the Rev. Caleb Joshua, in his four decades of service in the ministry,
has held only three charges, and in the capital of Wales he is a factor of
consequence in manj^ phases of public work. He was a recognized leader
of the Liberal party of Wales, and was a valued colleague of the Right Hon.
David Lloyd George during his long struggle to disestablish the Church of
England in Wales, a measure which sought to distribute the centuries-old
state endowments equall3% without discrimination as to sect or denomination,
among the churches in which the people of the present day worshipped.
In 1909 the Rev. Caleb Joshua was honored by ai)pointment to the office of
preacher for the Baptist Association of Wales ; and during the four years of
war he worked indefatigably for the national cause, one of his official govern-
mental connections being that of chaplain of the home forces, embracing
Cardiff and vicinity, an office to which he was appointed by Lord Kitchener
in 191.S.

Clifford Seton Joshua, son of Caleb and Louiza (Vaughan) Joshua, was
born in the ancient town of Desborough, Northam])tonshire, England, July
31, 1883, soon thereafter being taken by his parents to Landoce, a Welsh

8o NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

town which is situated near the port of Swansea and to some extent parallels,
in its throbbing and unceasinc: industry, the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvr.nia,
where the subject of this writing now is. Maybe his early environment had
some bearing on his subsequent active life, for he developed manly attributes
while still in his early teens; he was only fourteen years of age when he
preached his first sermon, and it then became clearly evident that he would
eventually worthily follow his talented father into the ministry. His ele-
mentary education was obtained at Brynhyfryd, Wales, and the higher aca-
demic education he received at Swansea gave him a more comprehensive
base of general knowledge with which to enter upon his life work with good
prospects. To further his academic knowledge he became a teacher in the
Swansea schools after he had graduated, and continued in that occupation
for two years, concurrently applying himself to theological research and
ministerial practice. He was still quite a young man, only twent3r-three
years old. when he took notable part in the historic Welsh Revival of 1006,
when Evan Roberts swept through Wales and parts of England, gaining
converts to the church in numbers such as had never been equalled in British
church history. Evan Roberts was aided in his work by the association
with him of members of the Joshua family, particularly the Rev. C. S. Joshua,
and his uncle, the Rev. Seth Joshua; in fact, it was the latter, at that time
an evangelist of great power, who was responsible for the conversion of the
great revivalist, whom they both supported, encouraged and guided through
the early months of his religious effort. Evan Roberts was of frail constitu-
tion, highly strong and not physically able to bear the brunt of the exhaustive
and wiidespread revival planned by his associates ; but he was fortunate in
having such talented, enthusiastic and self-effacing associates at his right
hand, and the cause of Christ, and particularly the Nonconformist churches
of Wales, benefitted enormously by the brief but wonderful campaign, which
may be said to have originated in the activities of members of the Joshua
family. Clifford Scton Joshua, though not at that time regularly in the
ministry, participated with whole heart and able enthusiasm. The part he
took in the great revival brought much gratification to his father, the Rev.
Caleb Joshua, and would undoubtedly have been the source of justifiable
pride to his mother had she been alive ; but her demise had occurred many
years prior to that time; indeed, Clifford S. was still in early infancy when
he lost forever the loving care of his fond mother. After the revival, young
Joshua pursued Bible study even more closely, and in 1908 entered the Bible
Training College of Glasgow, which is affiliated with Glasgow University.
Two years later, in igio, he graduated with honors, and his collegiate place
brought him promptly three calls to the ministry in Wales. He had, how-
ever, determined to come to America, and did so in December of that year,
sailing on the liner Adriatic. Possessed of such good credentials, there was
little chance of his failing to reach notable success in an American charge.
For a time after landing he was the guest of Dr. W. W. White, of New York
City, president of the Bible Teachers' Training School of New York City ;
but soon he was called to active duty in an American pastorate. His first
charge was at Charleroi, Pennsylvania, First Baptist Church ; there he re-
mained for one year, resigning to accept the more responsible charge at the
Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, First Baptist Church, where he gave note-
worthy service for three years, at the end of which period he removed to
Newcastle, Pennsylvania, where he remained for three years and eight
months as pastor of the First Baptist Church of that place. He is helcl in
high esteem by the Baptist Association, and his record in each charge has
been good, and has increased the membership and prosperity'- in each case
coming to the church as the result of his labors. The membership of the
Newcastle church was increased ninety per cent, during his association with
it, and its indebtedness much reduced. When it became known that he

BIOGRAPHICAL 8i

would be leaving Newcastle, several of its prominent citizens moved to
recognize his labors while among them, and the movement eventuated in
the presentation of a splendid testimonial to Mr. Joshua, a fitting tribute to
his unselfish and successful work among the people of Newcastle. He has
ever been an indefatigable church worker, and a strong Temperance advo-
cate. He was elected moderator of the Beaver Baptist Association in 1916-17,
and while at Newcastle was secretary of the Ministerial Association, so that
he had reached a creditable place in the American ministry since his ordina-
tion, which was on May 26, 1910, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In November,
1917, he assumed charge of the First Baptist Church of Bethlehem, Penn-
sylvania, and has since that time, by his work, become j)opular, highly
regarded and well supported in that city. A new church has been built, and
there is every prospect that under his guidance the aflfairs of the church will
continue to prosper. Mr. Joshua has taken keen interest in fraternal move-
ments; he is chaplain of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Bethle-
hem, and is identified with the Knights of Pythias of tliat place. He preached
a memorable sermon on April 28. 1918, at the occasion of the ninety-ninth
anniversary of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the audience
was the largest ever assembled on such an occasion. And another memo-
rable occasion at which he delivered the sermon was at the gathering at
Bethlehem of the Grand Army of the Republic, on May 26, 1918.

As a man of British origin and of personal acquaintance with the great-
est Briton of the present day, David Lloyd George, it might have been
expected that his thoughts, expressions and efiforts in behalf of the cause of
the Allies would take a definite and emphatic form. During the four years
of war, and especially since this country entered into it, he championed the
cause of the Allies; his voice has been fearless in denunciation of the mili-
tarists of Germany since and before the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915; he
came into great prominence by his war speeches, and was very effective as a
member of the Four-Iilinute Men of Bethlehem. And his interest in the
war also, from the outset, centred in the Allied cause by reason of the active
part taken therein by so many of his British relatives. His father, in a minis-
terial way as chaplain, w-as connected with the British military forces, but
his own brothers were actively and directly in the British army ; one brother,
Charles, was in the Royal Engineers, and another brother, Gethin. in the
Royal Army ]\Iedical Corps, the latter being decorated in 1918 for liravery
in France. Then his sister, Alay, for a long time during the stay of Belgian
refugees in Britain, gave her time to teaching them, and to giving aid to
them in other ways. The Rev. C. S. Joshua risked the submarine danger
by crossing the ocean in 1915; his wife crossed on the last safe trip of the
liner Lusitania, and he would have followed her on the fateful next voyage of
that ship had not ministerial duties and sjjccial church meetings arisen,
compelling him to cancel the passage for which he had been booked. He
crossed a little while later without eventful happening, but on the return
trip with his wife and baby on the liner Orduna, had the harrowing yet satisfy-
ing experience of being aboard a ship that was almost torpedoed ; the trap
set by the submarines for the S. S. Orduna failed by only about ten feet. While
in Europe, Mr. Joshua saw much of the effect of war ; he visited several of
the British camps in which German prisoners were held. One pleasant expe-
rience of the trip was a church service held at Neath, Wales, at which five
ministers of the name of Joshua ])articii)ated.

On April 6, 191 1, while in the ministry at Charleroi, Pennsylvania, Mr.
Joshua was married to Margaret May, daughter of Thomas and Ruth James,
of Wales, both of whom died there. Mrs. Joshua is an intellectual woman of
strong character and much talent. She is an elocutionist of some note, and
attained much distinction in that art even before she reached this country;
she won many prizes for excellence in elocution at contests held at various

N. H. BIOG.— 8

82 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

eisteddfods in Wales, and she is often on the public platform and in the pul-
pit. Her addresses upon a wide range of subjects are well received. Like
her husband, she also had many relatives actively ens^aged in war work
during- the recent struggle. Her sister, Catherine, graduate of Swansea
College, and school principal there until her marriage to William John, wa§
often in her thoughts, for the husband was in France, a commissioned offi-
cer of the Royal Engineers. Another sister, Gwendoline, was married to
William Bellin, mining instructor for the county of Carmarthenshire.

To the Rev. and Mrs. C. S.- Joshua have been born two children : Ruth
Frances, who was born on March 25, 1913 ; and Elizabeth May, who was born
on October 25, 191 5.

HERBERT THRELKELD EDWARDS, M.D.— The medical profes-
sion of Pennsylvania has no more representative member than Dr. tlerbert
T. Edwards, of Bethlehem, who came to his practice in this city after study
in universities of the East and West, and after membership in the faculty
of the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. H. T. Edwards
has devoted special study to roentgenology, in which he is a pioneer in this
section, and is the inventor of the first American screen for intensifying the
X-rays. Under his direction the modern laboratory of St. Luke's Hospital
was founded, and he was the first director there. IDuring the period of war
activity he devoted his entire time to work for the government along this
line and rendered valuable service to the medical department.

Dr. Edwards is a son of George Clayton Edwards, born in England, now
living retired in Los Angeles, California, after an active career in real estate
dealing. George C. Edwards married Jane Butt, who died in England when
Dr. Edwards was very young.

Herbert Threlkeld Edwards was born at Esher, Surrey, England, March
30, 1870. He studied under tutors in his native land, also attending Surrey
Academy, and at the age of sixteen years he accompanied his father to the
United States. He first studied three years in the University of Southern
California, then enrolled in the medical department of the University of
Pennsylvania and was graduated in the class of 1892. He was later demon-
strator of pathology at the University of Pennsylvania for several years.
Serving his interneship at St. Luke's Hospital, Bethlehem, Dr. Edwards was
connected with this institution for a period of two years, after which he
became demonstrator in pathology in the University of Pennsylvania. For
two years he remained a member of the faculty of the university, then
engaging in general 'practice in Bethlehem, where he has since continued
in extensive professional endeavor. Dr. Edwards is a member of the national.
State and county medical associations; also the Philadelphia Roentgen Ray
Association, the American Roentgen Ray Association, the Philadelphia Medi-
cal Club, and social clubs of Philadeljihia and Bethlehem. He is active in
all of the movements creating stronger intercourse and relationships among
the members of the profession. Even under heavy professional demands he
has retained his habits of study and scientific research, and, as previously
stated, he is the inventor of a method of intensifying the strength of Roent-
gen Rays that has come into general and extensive use. The screen he
invented was used by the American Expeditionary Forces in France. The
advance of medicine and surgery under the pressure of war conditions is a
subject tliat he has followed carefully, at the same time giving prodigally
of his time and labor in the devoted effort that has achieved this advance in
the hospitals and laboratories at home and abroad. Dr. Edwards is a com-
municant of the Episcopal church.

Dr. Llerbert T. Edwards married (first) Louise Llopewell Nichols, de-
scendant of a Revolutionary family, who bore him a daughter, Rhoda T., wife
of Lieut. Gerald Thorpe, born January 9, 1896, of L^ethlehem. Lieutenant

J^a:i

BIOGRAPHICAL 83

Thorpe, of East Orange, N. J., is a graduate in cheimstry of Lehigh Univer-
sity, class of 1916, a lieutenant in the chemical service of the United States
Army. His second wife is Laura Elizabeth Stem, whom he married January 2,
1899, daughter of William and Eliza (Kemmerer) Stem, of Northampton
county, where William Stem is a car builder. Mrs. Edwards, descendant of a
Revolutionary ancestor, was educated in the Allentown College for Women,
and subsequently attended the St. I,uke's Hospital College for Nurses, follow-
ing her calling for a few years after graduation. She has numerous interests
in civic and philanthropic enterprises, is secretary of the Day Nursery, a
director and ex-president of the Children's Home, and has been prominent
in the work of the American Red Cross throughout the war, serving as
supervisor of surgical dressings, work for which her professional training
gave her special qualifications. She is president of the Needle Work Guild
and a loyal supporter of civic improvement and reform movements in Beth-
lehem. Dr. and Mrs. Edwards arc the parents of one son, Herbert Threlkeld,
Jr., born August 19, 1900, a graduate of Bethlehem Preparatory School.

ALBERT G. CONNOLLY— Albert G. Connolly, one of the most promi-
nent citizens of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and the president and general man-
ager of the State Belt Telegraph and Telephone Company, with which con-
cern he has been associated for many years, is a native of Lakemont, New
York, where his birth occurred August 29, 1871. Mr. Connolly passed his
childhood and early life on his father's farm in that neighborhood, and it
was there that he gained his formal education, attending for that purpose
the local public schools and Starkey Seminary. In the year 1889, being at
that time eighteen years of age, the young man found his first employment
off the farm as an axeman on the original survey party working on the
right of way for the Lehigh Valley railroad between the towns of Sayre
and Buffalo, New York. He held various positions in connection with the
engineering department of the Valley until the work was completed in 1903,
when he was transferred to the maintenance department, where he remained
until November, 1904. He was then transferred to the office of Charles E.
Webster, the chief engineer of the company, located at Bethlehem, where
he was employed until August, 1907, when he left the Valley to accept a
position with the Carbon Iron and Steel Company at Parryville, Pennsyl-
vania, to supervise the rebuilding of their blast furnace, the laying of a new
track and building of a concrete bridge across the canal for a new cinder
dump. This work being completed, he returned to Bethlehem on December
I, 1907, where he was again employed by the Valley as clerk in the office
of Thomas O. Cole, car accountant. In the month of February, 1898, he
joined the Fourth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania, for service in
the Spanish-American War. He went out with his regiment on Ajiril 28,
and eventually to Porto Rico. He was assigned to the quartermaster's
department, serving in a clerical capacity, later being advanced to the rank
of regimental quartermaster sergeant. He was honorably discharged when
his regiment was mustered out of service in November, 1898, and upon
returning to civil life returned to his position with the Lehigh Valley Rail-
road Company. In February, 1899, he was transferred to a more responsible
position as accountant in the office of M. B. Cutter, superintendent of trans-
portation, and went with him when promoted to general manager. In
March, 1900, however, he was obliged to give up office work on account of
eye trouble, and entered the employ of the Bethlehem Steel Compan . , being
emploved thereby in construction work of various kinds, as assistant to M.
A. Halliday, then superintendent of construction, until this department was
abolished, when he was employed at the forge department under John

84 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

T.eibert. Later he was placed in charge of a department of No. I mill, under
the late William Stubblebine. In the autumn of 1902, after the death of
H. H. Dash, Mr. Connolly purchased the stock and fixtures of the cigar store
and poolroom at the corner of Broad and Main streets, which he conducted
very successfully until February, 1904, when he sold the business to Frank
E. Fenner. He then took a position as salesman with the Bell Telephone
Compan)', being connected with its office at Bethlehem. Here he proved
himself so valuable that in July, 1904, he was made the local manager of
this office, a post that he held for about three years, during which time he
had the satisfaction of seeing the subscribers list increase nearly one hundred
per cent. On August i, 1907, he resigned from the Bell Company to accept
a position with the Slate Belt Telegraph and Telephone Company, with
offices at Nazareth, Mr. Conrad Miller, the owner of that concern, having
sought him with a very tempting ofl:er of a position as manager of the
concern, which was at that time known as an independent company ; but in
1909 an arrangement was made betv.-een Mr. Connolly's company and the
Bell Telephone Company for a traffic agreement, which gave the Slate Belt
subscribers Bell service and eliminated the double telephone nuisance. Mr.
Miller died in March, 1912. and Mr. Connolly was notified b}^ the executors
of his estate that they did not wish to retain the telephone interests, offering
him an option on the purchase of the whole concern. This Mr. Connolly
accepted, and shortly afterwards purchased the plant, associating himself
in this deal with a few of the prominent business men of the territory. His
ability as a manager and executive began to make itself felt in the prosperity
of the concern, and it gained a new lease of life, for the property has been
since conducted with a high degree of success. Many improvements have
been made in the plant and a large extension of the business. The value of
the property has greatly increased during his time, and Mr. Connolly is
justly regarded as one of the most successful and capable business men of
this region. Mr. Connolly has not indeed confined his activities to this
particular business, but has many other interests in and about Nazareth
which occupy considerable of his attention and time. He is a director of
the Northampton County Agricultural Society and takes an active part in
the organization and management of the large county fair held under the
auspices of the society each year. He is president of the board of health
of Nazareth. He made himself exceedingly active in the war activities
during the participation of the United States in the European War, is a
member of the Public Safety Committee, all the Liberty Loan comm.ittees,
and held the responsible post of Food Administrator for Nazareth. He is
also a trustee of the Nazareth Hall Military Academy, and manages the
grain and dairy farm connected with that institution, and is a director of
the Nazareth Young Men's Christian Association. In politics Mr. Connolly
is a Republican and has been an ardent follower of the late Theodore
Roosevelt for many years.

Albert G. Connolly was united in marriage June 9, 190.'^, at Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, with Emily F. Knauss, of that city, a daughter of the late
William V. and Maria (Wilhelm) Knauss. old and highly respected residents
of Bethlehem, the former being treasurer of the E. P. Wilbur Trust Com-
pany of South Bethlehem for many years. To Mr. and Mrs. Connolly three
children have been born as follows: William A., born February 16, 1907;
John S., born October 8, 1909 ; and Anna, who died in infancy. Mt. and
Mrs. Connolly and their children are all members of the Moravian church,
attending the church of that denomination at Nazareth. Mr. Connolly is
prominently associated with all the Masonic bodies of this region.

WILLIAM MALCOLM McKEEN— Son of a soldier of the Union who
gave his life that men might be free. Judge McKeen was endowed with a

BIOGRAPHICAL 85

birthrig-ht of love of freedom and independence which is strikingly illustrated
in his public career. He was elected by the people to the high judicial
office he now holds, judge of the Court of Common Picas, for Northamjiton
county. This right to independence of thought which he claims for himself
he as freely grants to others, and takes issue with no man in matters purely
personal. As a lawyer he won the respect of his brethren of the profession,
and the confidence of a large clientele, while as judge, he has been just and
fearless in his decisions, fairly dealing with all having^ law business to
transact in the court over which he presides. Aside from his professional
eminence he has high standing socially, his pleasing personality, his inde-
pendence and energy winning him a wealth of personal friends. Not yet
at the zenith of life, the future is assured ; he can look forward with a great
confidence, and can review his past with satisfaction.

This branch of the McKcen family in Pennsylvania was among the early
settlers of Northampton county, coming from the north of Ireland. Judge
McKeen is a grandson of Henry McKeen, who for years was a wholesale
jeweler of the city of Philadelphia, he coming from Ireland to that city
when a young man. Although he always retained his residence in Philadel-
phia, he was for many years engaged in cotton manufacturing in .South
Easton. Judge McKeen is of Easton birth, son of Lieutenant William M.
and Annie L. (Adler) ]\IcKeen, both now deceased. William AT. McKeen,
born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, died at the youthful age of thirty-three,
death resulting from the eflfects of wounds received in the battle of Shepherds-
town. He enlisted in Company K, ii8th Regiment, Pennsylvania \'ohm-
teers (Corn Exchange Regiment), of Philadelphia, August 21, 1862, as
lieutenant, saw severe fighting, was wounded in battle, and was honorably
discharged from the service March 25, 1863. After the war, Lieutenant
McKeen located in South Easton, and there, in connection with his father,
Henry McKeen, engaged in cotton manufacturing until his death. His
memory is perpetuated in Easton by McKeen Post No. 576, Grand Army
of the Republic. His wife, Annie L. (Adler) McKeen, also was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were the parents of sons and daughters :
Jessie L., married Jacob L. Peters, of Philadelphia; Anna L., married Clar-
ence E. Seitz, of Easton, whom she survives; William M. (2), of further
mention ; Henry B., of Easton. After the death of Mr. McKeen, Mrs.
McKeen married Abraham S. Knecht, attorney-at-law, of Easton, Penn-
sylvania.

William M. McKeen, third child of Lieutenant William M. McKeen,
was born in South Easton, Pennsylvania, January 27, i86g. He attended
Easton public schools, completed his preparatory education at Trach's Acad-
emy, then entered Lafayette College, class of 1888. Having made choice
of the law as his profession, he studied under his stepfather, A. S. Knecht,
of the Northampton bar, and at Cohmibia University Law School, New York
City. He was admitted to the Xnrthami)ton bar, October 2, 1893, and ere
this work is completed will have fini.shed his quarter of a century of continu-
ous professional work in the courts of that county, the stripling lawyer of
1893, the learned judge of 1919. He began his professional career as a law-
yer alone, but in January, 1895, he became partner with his former preceptor,
A. S. Knecht, under the firm name, Knecht & McKeen, that association
continuing until the death of the senior partner, January 27,^ 1908. This
connection was of the greatest benefit to the young man, Mr. Knecht repay-
ing richly in experience and wisdom for the youthful energy and enthusiasm
the younger man brought into the partnershij). Just prior to his i)artncr's
death, Mr. McKeen had been elected district attorney, an office which he
assumed in January, 1908, and held for four years. lie then returned to
private practice in Easton, so continuing until the campaign of 19 15, when
he entered the lists as a candidate for judge of the Court of Common Picas.

86 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

He was not sponsored by either of the leading parties of the county, but
made the race running upon a purely independent, non-partisan ticket. He
was awarded the verdict of the polls and took his seat upon the county
bench on the first Monday of January, 1916. His political preferences are
Democratic, but his independence is strongly marked, and he is in no sense
a political judge. He is learned in the law, just and upright, his one con-
sideration being that justice shall be meted out in its proper proportions to
all offenders and litigants. He is a member of a number of social and fra-
ternal organizations, and greatly enjoys the social side of life as exemplified
in fraternity and club. He is deeply interested in all that pertains to the
cause of the public good, and in a broad-minded, public-spirited way aids in
all good causes.

Judge McKeen married, January 7, iSgg, Catherine D. (Tice) Kutz,
widow oi John Kutz and mother of Natalie C. Kutz, who became Judge
McKeen's legally adopted daughter, and is the wife of Dean B. Hale, of
Akron, Ohio.

WILLIAM E. CHURCHMAN— In July, igii. there was added to
Easton's already splendid list of educational institutions another school for
training young men and for special branches of work, a school which dur-
ing the years that have since passed has fully justified its creation and
more than met the expectations of its founders, William E. Churchman and
Russell E. Eckcrt, owners, principal and vice-principal of Churchman Busi-
ness College. The college is unique in one particular at least in that the
proprietors are teachers, superintending the various departments, but also
going regularly to their classes. The advantage in that is the coming in
contact with each student and becoming familiar with the problems of each.
This is a practical way of training a worker for practical work, and that is
the great educational idea now prevailing in all schools.

William E. Churchman, son of Charles and Marv E. (Moore) Church-
man, was born in Cecil county, Maryland, May 16, 1881. His father is now
a resident of Wilmington, Delaware, but Mrs. Churchman is deceased. After
courses in the county public schools and North East High School, the young
man was a student at St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland, for a time,
then began a course of business college training which fully equipped him
for his future career as an educator along special lines. He is a graduate
of Goldey Commercial College, Wilmington, Delaware, and Wilmington
Business School, finishing in 1900. He taught in the last-named institution
for one year. In 1901 he accepted a position with the Easton School of Busi-
ness as head of the department of shorthand, and from that year dates his
Easton residence. For seven years he continued with the Easton School of
Business as department manager, then in 1908 was appointed manager of the
school. He continued the managing head of the institution until July, 191 1,
when in association with Russell E. Eckcrt he founded Churchman Business
College, which has enjoyed a prosperous career during the seven years of
its existence.

The college was located in Easton's best and finest fireproof building,
the Northampton National Bank building, occupying commodious quarters
on the third floor. April i, 1919, the college removed to the corner of
Fourth and Pine streets, where they have commodious quarters occupying
two floors, with all modern facilities, etc. The college is open the entire
year, and from September until March a night school is in session three
nights in each week. The faculty consists of Mr. Churchman and Mr. Eckert
with eight assistants, all teachers of many years' experience. The courses
are commercial, business administration, stenographic, secretarial and Eng-
lish, all well balanced, thorough and complete. The college is taxed to
capacity and their experiment of a summer school, Easton's first, has proved

BIOGRAPHICAL 87

most successful. An added course, public accounting, is in charfje of Mr.
Eckert, who for the past seventeen years has practiced public accounting-.
Mi. Churchman was one of the orjjanizers of Easton's Rotary Club and
its secretary from its inception in February, 1915, until June, IQ18. He has
taken lEctive part in Easton's "Win the War" movements and is interested
in othtr city movements. He married, September 21, IQ06, M. Lcttie Reed,
oi Shjimokin, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of Charles E. and
Claire,' E. Churchman. The family home is No. 310 North Tenth street,
Eastc^i.

RUSSELL E. ECKERT— As vice-president of Churchman Business Col-
lege and a partner in its ownership and management, Mr. Eckert occupies a
position as business man and educator, for which his many years of business
experience eminently qualify him. He is, moreover, as is Mr. Churchman,
his partner, a teacher in the college in the practical accounting department
and has his private work in accounting as well as his college classes. He
is a son of Milton E. and Araminta (Nicholas) Eckert, both born in Easton,
Pennsylvania, of ancient Pennsylvania family, and both deceased. Mrs.
Eckert was a daughter of Captain Joseph Nicholas, of Northampton county,
Pennsylvania, a veteran of the Mexican War. Milton E. Eckert spent his
life in Easton, a man of industrious habits and upright life. He was a mem-
ber of the Baptist church and passed away in 1916, surviving his wife
sixteen years.

Russell E. Eckert was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, January 28, 1881,
and was educated in the public schools of the city. After completing his
studies, he became cashier with the Grand Union Tea Company, at their
Easton store, and for three years he held that, his first position in the busi-
ness world. From that company he passed to the Northampton Portland
Cement Company as timekeeper, and from that position received successive
promotion until reaching that of chief clerk. He continued with that com-
pany for seven years, and during that period gave special study to the science
of accounting and finance. For a time after leaving the cement company
he was in the accounting department of the Bethlehem Steel Company, but
soon resigned to enter the employ of the Zearfoss and Hilliard Lumber
Company, serving that company as manager for a term of eighteen months.
He had steadily continued his study in expert accounting and finance and
had reached a point where he felt justified in announcing himself a public
accountant, which he did.

In July, 191 1, he made perhaps the most important move of life hitherto,
when, in association with William E. Churchman, an ex])crienced business
college teacher and manager, they founded Churchman's Business College,
each of the owners also taking classes in the studies in which they were
specialists. To his seventeen years as an accountant Mr. Eckert now adds
seven years as a teacher, and he is but thirty-seven years of age. He is
well known as a public accountant, having a number of firms that depend
u]Don him as an expert, and this with his college classes and management
fill his time to the full. He is most energetic and untiring, the secret of his
success being his determination to succeed.

He has given freely of his energy to the prosecution of the various
movements known as war activities, and in the 1917 and 1918 "war drives"
in Easton was in charge of the accounts. He so systematized the handling
of the materials and the supplies for the Easton Chapter of the Red Cross
that a saving in time and money was effected, and he serves the chapter as
auditing treasurer. He performed a similar service for the War Chest Fund
by systematizing and auditing the accounts, assistance which he will con-
tinue to render during the period of the war. He is a member of the
Northampton County Historical Society, the Pomfret Club, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, the Rotary Club and Arndt's Lutheran Church.

88 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Mr. Eckert married, November 22, 1900, Marie E. Walter, dau-lfjhter of
Enos and Clementine Walter, of Palmer township, Northampton county.
They are the parents of a daughter, Margaret A. Eckert. The family home
is at No. 710 Brodhead street, Easton.

JOHN MITCHELL TUGGEY— The grandfather of John M. Tuggey,
head master of Bethlehem Preparatory School, was David Tuggey, who
came from the south of England many years ago and located in the town
part of the Province of Quebec. His wife, Elizabeth A. Tuggey, was born
in the same section of England and was a true pioneer. They reared a
family in the wilds of a new country and thoroughly furnished them for
the battle of life. Among their sons was Charles, who fou:ided in the United
States the family of which John M. Tuggey is a representative.

Charles Tuggey was born in Canada, and during his active life was a
prosperous carriage manufacturer. He is now living a retired life at Con-
stable, New York, thoroughly enjoying his evening of life. He is a Demo-
crat in politics and one time active in local affairs, always public-spirited
and progressive. He married Elizabeth Mitchell, born in Montreal, Canada,
of Scotch parentage. ?Ier father, John Mitchell, was born in the Highlands
of Scotland; her mother, Janet (Houston) Mitchell, was born in Glasgow,
Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Tuggey were the parents of three sons :
John Mitchell, of further mention; David Charles, a farmer, of Constable,
Franklin county. New York ; Robert Alexander, a hardware merchant, of
Montreal, Canada. They also have a daughter, Elizabeth, wife of George
Bruce, a merchant of Constable, New York. Constable lies near the Cana-
dian line, and the family is gathered around the old home and their honored
parents.

John Mitchell Tuggey was born at Norton's Creek, near Montreal,
Canada, February 18, 1878. When he was quite young his parents moved
to Franklin county, New York, and in the town of Franklin, he completed
high school study. He also was a student at Franklin Academy, in Malone,
New York, passing thence to Union University, at Schenectady, New York,
whence he was graduated, A.B., class of 1900. The year following gradua-
tion he taught at "The Perkiomen School," at Pennsburg, Pennsylvania,
and then the two succeeding years was an instructor at "The Gunnery,"
Washington, Connecticut. From the Gunnery he went to The Thurston
School, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, there teaching for five years, then in
1908 became head master at The Boys' Collegiate School in Pittsburgh. For
seven years he continued the highly esteemed head of the Collegiate School,
then resigned to accept the head mastership of Bethlehem Preparatory School,
an institution of much more than local fame, situated in Bethlehem, Penn-
sylvania. In 1912 he was awarded the master's degree in the School of
Education of the University of Pittsburgh. These years have imparted a
wealth of experience and confidence to the young teacher, and from the
novice have transformed him, although yet a young man, into the veteran
educator. Arguing from the past into the future, there is naught in the
coming years but will add to the brightness of the career so auspiciously
begun and continued until the present. Professor Tuggey is an Independent
in politics, bound by no ties save his own judgment of men and measures;
a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, the Rotary Club, the North-
ampton Country Club, Bethlehem Club, University Club, and several pro-
fessional societies.

He married (first) Florence McGibbon, September 17, 1902, in Con-
stable, New York, and they had a son, John Mitchell Tuggey, born June 19,
1903. The first wife died January, 1906. He married (second), December
24, 1908, in Brooklyn, New York, Ellen Noble Farnam, daughter of George
W. and Elenor Farnam, of Brooklyn, both parents now deceased, her father

■rCr^ /?K>.b^:.^

THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRAKY

ASTOR. LENOX AND
TILIiKN F0LNDAT10N8

BIOGRAPHICAL 89

a prominent business man of Danbury, Connecticut, and New York City,
also a veteran of the Civil War. They are the parents of one son.

DAVID WILLIAMSON NEVIN— Ranking: hi?h both as professional
man and citizen, Mr. Nevin, in addition to his two fold distinction, has been
of extraordinary value to his country durin.f;; the strenuous period from which
we are so proudly emerging, as a member of the board in charge of the
selection of soldiers to go to the front. His official service to his adopted
city has been rendered in Common Council, and, as mayor of Easton, he won
the commendation of all lovers of good government, and they so heartily
rallied to his support that he enjoys the distinction of having held the
mayoralty for a longer period than any other man in the histor}' of the city.
His residence in Easton dates from September, 1S70, and that date he re-
gards as a red letter day in his calendar of life, the city being also a gainer
in the opinion of his many friends.

David W. Nevin, son of Samuel Williamson and Harriet (Balch) Nevin.
was born near Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, September g, 1853. His educa-
tion begun in the public school was continued in Tuscarora Academy, Cham-
bersburg Academy, and Lafayette College. He entered the last-named insti-
tution with the class of 1874, and completed his sophomore year, then was
stricken with an illness which, for the time being, terminated his college
career. Upon recovery, he was employed in the United States Pension Ofiice
at Philadelphia, later returning to Lafayette, whence he was graduated,
A.B., class of 1S75, and A.M., in 1878. He then pursued courses of legal
study under the direction of Edward J. Fox, Sf-,' and on June 14, 1S77, was
admitted to the Northampton county bar. Being located in Easton he began
practice the same year, becoming so Well known professionally that he was
made the candidate of the Pepublican party in 1877 for district attorney.
From that year dates his political career, and wdiile his first candidacy was
unsuccessful, it in no way lessened his popularity. While he has continued
in the practice of his profession all these years, now numbering more than
forty, his political activity has brought him so prominently into the public
eye that it is in the capacity of a city official that he is best known to his
fellow citizens. In 1879 he was elected town clerk of Easton for a term of
three years and also secretary of the board of health for five years. In 18S6
he was elected from the Second Ward to the Easton Borough Council,
and when the city went under the provisions of a city charter in 1887, he
was elected to represent the same ward in the first city Common Council,
and has the distinction of having been chosen its first president. He repre-
sented the Third Ward in 1893, and again in 1897 represented the same
ward in Common Council. In 1897 he was appointed deputy prothonotary
of Northampton county, and in that ofSce continued until igoo. In 1905
he was elected to represent the Third Ward in Select Council for a term
of four vears, and in 191 r, was elected by his fellow citizens to the highest
city office within their gift, and for four years he most satisfactorily served
them as their chief executive. In 191 5, he was again chosen mayor for
another four years, and is at present mayor, his term expiring January, 1920.

Three years of his second term have already passed, and during the
seven years which he has held the office of mayor, he has more than met
the expectations of his friends as an executive of rare administrative power.
This is true also of each of the many responsible offices which he has filled,
and it is a source of gratification to him that his efforts to have the citv
substantially benefit through his tenure of office are so fully ajiiJreciatcd and
endorsed by all friends of good government. In addition to his profes-
sional work and official duties he has business interests of ini|)ortance, and
to him is due the construction of the first electric railroad, not only in Easton,
but the road he there built in 1887 antedated those of either New York or

90 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Philadelphia. He was a director of the Easton National Bank for fourteen
years, vice-president, 1915, and acting president from August, 1917, to Octo-
ber, 1917, when he resigned all his bank offices. He is secretary-treasurer of
the Easton and South Easton Suspension Bridge Company ; secretary-treas-
urer of the Lehigh Bridge Company, and the Weygadt Mountain Railroad
Companj". On June 22, 1917, he was appointed a member of the United
.States Selective Service Board, and to the duties of that office he has given
devoted attention until the end of the war rendered the duties viseless. His
public service includes much attendance on public gatherings with conse-
quent delivering of set speeches and addresses, over two hundred speeches
having been delivered during his seven years in the mayoralty. One of these
was made upon the presentation of Easton's official flag, and the presenta-
tion of a sword to General Payton C. March on May 30, 1918. in iDehalf of
the citizens of Easton, Penns}dvan!a. He was present on November 19,
1863, and heard President Lincoln deliver his famous Gettysburg speech.
He has been a promoter of many worthy movements, and perhaps more
than any living man has contributed towards Easton's development. Filled
with vim and vigor, he is daunted by no obstacle, and everything he under-
takes he finishes.

He built the first fraternity house at Lafayette College for Sigma Chi,
of which he was a member, and for twenty years it was in use before out-
grown. Then for sentimental reasons Mr. Nevins bought the building and
converted it into a dwelling. He was the means of saving the historic Taylor
house for the Daughters of the American Revolution, and was one of the
founders of College Hill Presb^'terian Church in 1891., and through his efforts
the chapel was built which was the forerunner of the present church edifice.
He was chairman of the committee in charge of the building of the present
church, and is ruling elder of the congregation. He has been an active Sun-
day school worker for thirty years, and has frequently been chosen delegate
to church conventions and synods. He also inherits the family musical
talent, the Nevin name being well known through the compositions of
George Balch Nevin, brother of Mayor Nevin, and a cousin, Ethelbert Nevin,
is also a composer of note.

Mr. Nevin married, June 10, 1879, Lillias G., daughter of John D.
Patterson, a merchant and representative of an old Easton family. Mr.
and Mrs. Nevin are the parents of three sons: i. John Denison, now a cap-
tain in the United States Marine Corps, stationed at Washington, D. C.
Captain Nevin, married Florence M. McDufTee, and has three children,
John Denison (2), Louis McDuffee and Alice McDuffee Nevin. 2. Lieuten-
ant Samuel W. Williamson, a chemist, enlisted for Red Cross service in
the present war. 3. D. Burrowes, a florist, of Easton.

Such are the high spots in the busy life of David W. Nevin, lawyer,
public official, and worthy citizen. He comes of that sturdy Scotch-Irish
stock which helped to lay the foundation of the Commonwealth of Penn-
sylvania, and has nobly carried forward the work their forefathers began.
Hardly past the full prime of life, many years of usefulness remain for him.

WILLIAM H. RENTZHEIMER, M.D.— William H. Rcntzheimer,
M.D., highly regarded jihysician of Northampton county, Pennsylvania,
where he has been in active practice for more than thirty-five years, is a
native of the county, his home town being Hellertown, prominently con-
nected v/ith the early history of which his ancestors have place.

Dr. William H. Rcntzheimer was born in Hellertown on March 15, i860,
the son of Tobias E. and Suzanna (Roth) Rcntzheimer. In the maternal
as well as the paternal lines. Dr. Rcntzheimer is descended from early
pioneers in the State of Pennsylvania ; and in the direct line, his American
lineage goes back to his great-grandfather, Carl Rcntzheimer, who came to

BIOGRAPHICAL

the United States from Germany to settle in the latter half of the eighteenth
century; to be exact, in 1774. He settled in the vicinity of Hellertown, and
thi-ee succeeding generations of the Rentzheimer family all had birth in that
place. As, of course was customary, in fact necessary among the early
settlers, Carl Rentzheimer tilled the soil, gaining title to a sufficient acre-
age only by his own hard labor. His son, Tobias E., also became a farmer,
and succeeded to the paternal acres which eventually passed to his son,
Tobias E., father of William H. Tobias E. Rentzheimer although now
nearing nonogenarian age is still moderately active and vigorous, and of
clear mind. He was born in Hellertown, August 30, 1832, and with the
exception of his schooldays, and the last forty years which have been spent
in retirement, Tobias E. Rentzheimer followed agricultural pursuits, but
since he gave up active farming he has resided mainly in Hellertown with
his only son. Dr. William H., the subject of this article.

William H. Rentzheimer passed through the usual course in the public
schools of his native place, and entered Muhlcnburg College. He left that
institution as a Junior, having determined immediately to take up medical
studies. With that object he proceeded to the University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, and in due course, in 1882, gained by his graduation the degree
of Doctor of ]\Iedicine, and the right to enter as soon as he desired into
active ])ractice of that profession.

Dr. Rentzheimer lost no time ; he entered into general i)ractice in Fried-
ensville, Pennsylvania, but a year or so later came to his home town, Heller-
town, and opened office. That was in 1883, since which year his professional
practice has been almost wholly devoted to a wide practice centering in
Hellertown. Throughout the county, Dr. Rentzheimer is well known and
esteemed, both in his professional catagory, and as a gentleman who is ever
ready to extend help, whether professional or otherwise, to any needy person.
As a physician, Dr. Rentzheimer is held in much respect in professional
circles, and he holds membership in many professional societies, including:
The American Medical Association; Lehigh Valley Medical Association; the
Northamiiton County Medical Association, and the Medical Association of
the State of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Rentzheimer is a Democrat in politics, but has not been able to
devote any time to active participation in national work; but in community
affairs and local politics. Dr. Rentzheimer has been prominent. Had he the
inclination and the time, he might have had almost any of the local offices,
but the demands of his extensive professional practice compelled him to
limit his outside undertakings. Still, for twenty-one years he undertook
the onorous duties of secretary of the school board, and for five years was
treasurer of the borough. Fraternally, Dr. Rentzheimer is connected with
many organizations. He is past master, Hellertown Lodge, No. 563; past
high priest, Zingendorf Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; past high priest, Ezra
Chapter, South Bethlehem; past illustrious master, Bethlehem Council; past
commander, AUentown Commandery, No. 20, Allentown ; is now past com-
mander, Bethlehem Commandery, No. 70, Knights of Pythias; has been
through the chairs of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; and belongs
also to the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Knights of the Golden
Eagle. His college fraternity is Chi Phi. Throughout his life Dr. Rentz-
heimer has manifested good Christianlike characteristics; he is a member of
the Lutheran church, and has unselfishly devoted himself to the affairs of
the local church, of which he has been an elder for ten years.

Dr. Rentzheimer was married, in August. 1880, to Ellen E. Beidleman,
daughter of Abraham Beidleman, of Bethlehem township, NoTthami)ton
county, Pennsylvania. Two children have been born to the marriage: May
Irene, who is a graduate of the Allentown College for Women; and Stille
Agnew, who is a graduate of Muhlenburg College. Both children live at

92 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

home. Neither ever married. Dr. Rentzheimer was chairman and medical
member of the local draft board, No. 3, State of Pennsylvania, Northampton
county, with headquarters at South Bethlehem from the beginning of the
war till its close and quite a time after. This is the sixth largest board
in the United States.

REV. FRANKLIN K. FRETZ, Ph.D.— As pastor of St. John's Lutheran
Church, Dr. Frctz has become well and favorably known in Easton, as an
able, eloquent preacher, a man of great force of character, and a deep thinker.
He is a descendant of John Fretz, who with his brother. Christian, came to
Pennsylvania from Manheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, about 1710,
and settled first in Upper Salford township, Montgomery county, where he
married Barbara Meyer. In 1738 he bought two hundred and thirty acres
of partly improved land in Bcdminster township, Bucks county, Pennsyl-
vania, and there resided until his death in February, 1772. BarlDara Meyer
Fretz died in 1740, leaving four sons: John, Jacob, Christian, Abraham,
and also a daughter, Elizabeth.

Jacob Fretz, second son of John and Barbara (Meyer) Fretz, married in
1755, Catharine Nash, daughter of William Nash, and after living elsewhere
in Pennsylvania, returned to Bedminster township, in Bucks county. They
were the parents of ten children, among whom was a son, Abraham, who
was the second child in order of birth.

Abraham Fretz was born January i, 1758, died February 14, 1839. When
he was seventeen years of age, a team and wagon belonging to his father was
impressed by the government to carry powder and stores for the American
Army from Trenton, New Jersey, to 'Boston, and he was taken along in
charge of the team as driver. While away he witnessed the battle of Bunker
Hill, and remained with the army for three months. After his return home
he became a farmer, and after his marriage settled in Hilltown township,
Bucks county, near Leidy town, and there spent his life farming and weav-
ing. He married, March 14, 1786, Elizabeth Harmon, who survived him
four years until 1843.

John Fretz, second son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Harmon) Fretz,
was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, September 28, 1795, died Novem-
ber 18, 1874. He was a prosperous farmer of Bucks county, a man of good
character and reputation. He married in 1827, Elizabeth Kerns, born Janu-
ary 19, 1805, died January 7, 1843. He married (second), Mary Landis,
who died January 18, 1889. They were members of the Mennonite church.
John and Mary (Landis) Fretz were the parents of three sons: Henry L.,
John L., and William L.

Henry L. Fretz, eldest of these three sons, was born in Hilltown town-
ship, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, November 14, 1846. He was educated in
the district schools, spent his youth on the farm, and in early manhood was
a stock buyer and shipper. Later he became sole owner of the Clear Springs
House, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and also was a merchant. He married,
December 10, 1873, Wilhelmina Kline, born January 7, 1855. They are the
parents of following children: Franklin K., of further mention; Joseph H. ; Mary
Irene; Ida; Arthur Alonzo ; John Paul; Frances Grace, a teacher; Flora;
Fidelia; Lydia Viola, and Elsie Naomi. Two of these daughters are with
the Red Cross forces in France, and one of the sons in the U. S. Army.

Franklin K. Frctz, eldest son of Henry L. and Wilhelmina (Kline)
PVetz, was born in Doylestown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, April 6, 1S76.
After public school study in Doylestown, he entered North Wales Academy,
and there spent six years as a student. He then entered Muhlenburg Col-
lege, whence he was graduated A.B., class of 1897. He then pursued studies
in divinity at Philadelphia Theological Seminary, was ordained a minister
of the Lutheran church in 1900, and for five years thereafter was pastor of

ASTOR. LENOX Av

'' J

BIOGRAPHICAL 93

St. John's Lutheran Church at Quakertown. From 1905-iJ he was pastor
of St. Alark's Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, Penn.sylvania. In 1906-07 he
was engas:ed as a social worker in Philadelphia. In 1900 he or.sfanizcd a
psychological clinic in Temple University, Philadelphia, and from igog to
the present he has held the chair of sociology in that institution. In IQ09
he received from the University of Pennsylvania the degree Ph.D.

In 1912 Dr. Fretz accepted a call from St. John's Lutheran Church of
Easton, and is the honored pastor of that congregation at this date (Novem-
ber, 1919). St. John's has a membership of twelve hundred souls, the largest
in Easton, maintains a school, and is very progressive. The pastor is popular
and is accomplishing great good. Lie is chairman of the ministerial com-
mittee of the Kiwanis Club. At Muhlenburg he took part in athletics, and
made the football team, but was particularly prominent in the literary work
of the college, editing the year book, and Muhlciihurg, the college periodical.
In politics he is a Republican.

Dr. Fretz married, November 6, igoo, Cora V. Werkel, daughter of
Henry and Amanda (Hartman) Werkel. Mrs. Fretz is a graduate of Temple
University, and of Samaritan Hospital ; she is active in Red Cross, church
and charitable work, is president of the Home Missionary Society of the
church, and treasurer of the Northern Conference Llome, a branch of the home
missionary work. Dr. and Mrs. Fretz are the parents of a daughter. Barbara
Catherine.

CHARLES HERBERT KNIGHT— The coming of one man into an
established community seems a trifling matter, and often is, but the coming
of Charles H. Knight to Easton, was an event, for upon his advent in 1900
he at once became identified with C. K. Williams, and in the eighteen years
which have since intervened he has aided wonderfully in the development
of many corporations that have added to the wealth of the country and
freed a great industry from dependency upon foreign supply of raw material.
His own success in life is explained by his constant effort to make an inten-
sive study of his customers' needs, and by his close application to the
technical study necessary to equip him for service in the industries he has
done so much to develop. Outside his private business interests few men
have given more time and thought to the "little things" that in the aggregate
help to make the world a better place to live in. He loves boys and young
men, and for many years he has been deeply interested in aiding to mould
their characters and guide them into useful paths of life. This interest led
him into the "White Cross" movement, and for many years he was actively
interested in that society devoted to boy welfare.

Charles Herbert Knight was born at Newton, le Willows, Lancastershire.
England, June 20, 1876, son of John and Annie (Winstanley) Knight, eighth
in "their family of sixteen sons and daughters. He spent the first eleven
years of his life in England, attended the private schools until the family
came to Springfield, Alassachusetts, in 1887. There he attended also the
public school and pursued special courses in chemistry, a branch of study in
which he became quite proficient. He began business life as a clerk in the
dry-goods store of Forbes & Wallace, of Springfield, and there remained
several years. His father, John Knight, established at Springfield a ball
and china clay importing business, with which Charles H. later became iden-
tified. In the year 1900 he came to Easton, Pennsylvania, and has become a
leader among the business men of the city and in civic affairs.

The Paper Makers Chemical Company, now one of the important indus-
trial corporations of the United States, began business very modestly in the
"old Butz Mill" on Bushnell creek, Easton, and from the first enjoyed a good
patronage, and in 1907 Charles Herbert Knight and his associates of the
Paper Makers Chemical Company took over the English clay importing

94 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

business, founded by John Knight, and continued under the title. The Paper
Makers Importing Company. That company has wonderfully expanded, and
is now the largest American importer of ball and china clays, bringing that
needed raw material into this country by full shiploads. In addition to
these, the same interests have plants at Kalamazoo, Michigan ; Holyoke,
Massachusetts ; Watertown, New York ; and Easton, the last-named under
the ownership of the Eastern Paper Makers Chemical Company. Four plants
are located in paper manufacturing centers, for the basic idea of such loca-
tion is prompt service, and a minimum of difficulty and delay in shipping.
Mr. Knight is secretary of the Paper Makers Chemical Company, president
of the Eastern Paper Makers Chemical Company, secretary of the Paper
Makers Importing Company, president of the Western Paper Makers Chemi-
cal Company, secretary of the Florida China Clay Company, and secretary
of the Immaculate Kaoline Company.

The Immaculate Kaoline Company operates at Langley, South Carolina,
mines which have been developed and equipped with the most modern
machinery adapted to such mining, and their clay is produced equal to the
best imported quality, and this clay, with the product of the Florida China
Clay Manufacturing Company, is to a large extent rapidly supplanting the
foreign clay. In all these enterprises Mr. Knight has been a leading spirit,
and to him their rapid development is largely due. They constitute practi-
cally a new American industry, for the materials furnished to papcrmakers
and potterymakers not only uncover a new source of national wealth but
have also divorced the American paper-making industry from its dependence
upon a foreign source of supply of raw material. He is a man of national
reputation, recognized as a leader, and among the men who may claim the
proud title, "self-made," he has earned a leading rank. He claims his success
is due largely to his ability to select and surround himself with men of
abilitv, and to all he is sympathetic and genial.

Mr. Knight is a firm believer in inspiration and faith in himself and
mankind, and cheerfulness is one of the cardinal virtues of his life. He is a
man of the type who can "never say die," and he possesses to a large degree
those fine qualities of optimism and application. He is a member of the
Easton Board of Trade; Dallas Lodge No. 123, Free and Accepted Masons,
Easton ; the Rotary Club of Easton ; and the Trinity Protestant Episcopal
Church.

He married, January 14, 1903, Ethel Gibbons, daughter of Francis Joseph
and Alice (Hamby) Gibbons, of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They are the
parents of six children: Marjorie Constance, John Gibbons, Barbara Mary,
Joscpliine, Frederick Charles, and Gwendolyn.

ROBERT A. STOTZ — Among the leaders of a younger generation of
lawyers practicing at the Northampton bar, Mr. Stotz has been awarded a
generous share of the litigation contested before the courts in Vv'hich he
practices. He has won his way to the honorable position which he occupies
through his own indomitable will and ambition, being from youth dependent
upon his own resources, in securing his classical and professional education.
This crucial period of his life was successfully passed, and the trials but
developed a stronger, more self-reliant man. He is of the old Moravian
family long seated in Northampton county, a son of Reuben J. Stotz, and a
grandson of Timothy Stotz, a descendant of Ludwig Stotz of Saxony, who
came to America from Saxony in 1755. His wife was Henrietta Weisfodt.
Reuben J. Stotz was born at Windgap, Northampton county, in 1S36, and
there died in 1879. He was a merchant of Windga]^ after the Civil War,
in which he served, ranking as second lieutenant of Company I, 153d Regi-
ment, Pennsj'lvania Volunteers. He fought in two of the bloody battles of
the war, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and came through both unscathed.

BIOGRAPHICAL 95

He was an influential Democrat and leader of his party in his district. He
married Mary A. Heimer, who died in 1897, ag-ed seventy-eisht, daughter
of Adam Heimer.

Robert A. Stotz was born at Windgap, Pennsylvania, March 29, 1872,
and began his education in the public schools of the district. He was also a
student at Fairview Academy and Keystone State Normal School at Kutz-
town, receiving a teacher's license upon graduation from the last-named
institution. He taught for five years in order to finance a college course,
and in 1897 was graduated from Lafayette College, Ph.D., and in igoo re-
ceived the degree M.S. from the same institution. He studied under the
eminent lawyer, General Frank Reeder, and in 1900 was admitted to the
Northampton county bar. He began practice in Easton the same year, and
in turn was admitted to all State and Federal courts of the district and to
the United States Supreme Court, having appeared before that body, his
admission to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dating from January 5, 1903.
His practice is general in character, but he has a large corporation clientele,
being counsel for the Easton Transit Company, the First National Bank of
Easton, the Northampton Trust Company of Easton, and is Easton's
legal representative of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He is a member of the
county, State and national bar associations, and is held in high regard by
his brethren of the profession.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Stotz has served as a member of the board
of education in 1905-06-07, was district attorney for Northampton county,
and in 1903-04 United States commissioner for the Eastern district of
Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the National Republican Convention
held in Chicago in 1916, which nominated Charles E. Hughes for the Presi-
dency, and he has long been active in the county organizations of his party.
Fishing is his favored recreation, and hunting is another of the sports he
engages in while spending vacation periods at his Canadian club, the Yana-
nuck Fishing Club of Georgian bay. He is also a member of the Easton
Anglers' Association, the Northampton Country, the Pomfret, and the
Kiwanis clubs of Easton.

Mr. Stotz married, October 29, 1902, Caroline M. Louder, daughter of
George F'. and Margaret (Mumma) Louder, of Easton, Pennsylvania, but
formerly of Altoona, Pennsylvania. George P. Louder was an engineer
and a veteran of the Fifteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was
engaged at Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Chicka-
mauga, and was with Sherman in his march to the sea. Mrs. Stotz is an
active member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, the Women's Club,
and she is interested in all the war activities of Easton's Red Cross chapter.
They are the parents of a daughter, Caroline L. Stotz.

PAUL DE SCHWEINITZ, D.D.— Since 1770 this family has had a
distinguished representative in this county, four generations of which have
been ministers of the IMoravian church, high in ecclesiastical position, uni-
versally respected throughout the church, and held in highest esteem by
all classes in their communities. In Euro])e the family traces in unbroken
line to the year 1350, is of noble rank, and eminent in church and state.
The founder of the family in the United States is Hans Christian Alexander
von Schweinitz, born at the ancestral estate of Nieder-Leuba, in Silesia,
Germany, October 17, 1740, a descendant of the ancient and noble family of
that name. He was a senior civilis in the Unilas Fratrwn, or Moravian church,
and administrator of its estates in the American colonies. He came to
Bethlehem. Pennsylvania, in 1770, and became one of the most distinguished
men of the Moravian church. His wife, Dorothea Elizabeth von .Schweinitz.
was b}' birth a I'>aroncss von Watteville and a granddaughter of Nicolas
Louis, Count Zinzcndorf, a Saxon nobleman under whose influence the

96 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Bohemian-Moravian Brethren's Church ( Uniias Fratrum ) was revived and re-
stored to usefuhiess. The line to Paul de Schweinitz of Bethlehem, the
twentieth century representative of the family in the United States, is
through the founder's son, the first of the line of American birth.

Lewis David von Schweinitz was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
February 13, 1780, and there died February 8, 1834. He was, like his honored
father, a senior civilis, Unitas Fratrum, member of the governing board of the
Umta's Fratrum, or Moravian church in America, administrator and nominal
proprietor of its estates, and senior pastor of the church of Bethlehem. At
the time of his death he was the most eminent clergyman of his church, and
one of the most distinguished cryptogamic botanists of the nineteenth century.
At the age of seven he began attending the Moravian school at Nazareth,
Pennsylvania, and during the following eleven years he developed an intense
interest in botany, catafoguing the flora of Nazareth and vicinity. In 1798
his father was recalled to^Germany, and until 1812 the family resided in the
Province of Lusatia, Silesia. The young Lewis David comijleted his theo-
logical studies in the college at Niesky, and after finishing his course there
became a teacher. He wrote much on the doctrine and form of government
of his church, but continued his botanical studies so thoroughly that in
1805 he, in connection with a member of the faculty, published a work in
Latin on the fungi of Lusatia. In 1807 he was appointed superintendent
of the unmarried men, or "Single Brethren," of the Moravian congregation
at Gnadenberg, near Niesky, and in 1808 was called to preach at Gnadau
in Saxony. In 1812 he was appointed general agent of the Moravian church in
southern United States, and before leaving for his post of duty was married,
in Niesky, to Louisa Amelia Le Doux, of Stettin, of French Huguenot par-
entage. Before leaving, the University of Kiel conferred on him the clegree
Ph.D. as a tribute to his learning. Dr. von Schweinitz located in Salem,
North Carolina, where he attended to his church duties, preached occasionally,
and carried on botanical research. He published a work on North Carolina
fungi in 1818, and remained in that State until 1821. when he removed to
Bethlehem, his birthplace, to take charge of the Moravian Seminary for
Young Ladies, and to become senior pastor of the Bethlehem Moravian congre-
gation. The next year he was appointed administrator and nominal pro-
prietor of the church's estates in the North, and from that time until his
death, February 8, 1834, he devoted himself to two things: the general
agency for the brethren, and the completion of a synopsis of North American
fungi, which was published in 1832 by the American Philosophical Society
of Philadelphia. This contains descriptions of three thousand ninety-eight
species belonging to two hundred forty-six genera, and of this number, one
thousand two hundred three species and seven genera had been discovered
by the author. By research and by purchase he acquired the most extensive
private herbarium in the United States, comprising twenty-three thousand
species of phanerogamia, and many thousand cryptogamia from all parts of
the world. This collection was bequeathed to the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia. A North American plant (sweet wine sap),
Schzveinitzis odorata, was named in his honor by Stephen Elliott, the naturalist,
and in North Carolina a beautiful waterfall, discovered by him, bears his
name. His "Memoir," by W. R. Johnston, appeared in London in 1835 and
1836, and a sketch of his life and scientific work appeared in the Journal of
the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society of the University of North Carolina.
He was senior pastor of the church at Bethlehem, member of the Academy
of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, member of the American Philosophical
Society, corresponding member of the Linnean Society of Paris, and of the
Society of Natural Sciences of Leipsig. He was one of the most famous
clergymen and cryptogamic botanists of his day, and left an enduring fame.
The next in line of this distinguished family is Robert dc Schweinitz, son
of Lewis David and Louisa Amelia (Le Doux) von Schweinitz.

BIOGRAPHICAL 97

Robert de Schweinitz was born in Salem, North Carolina, September 20,
1819, died in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, October 29, igoi. lie was a clerjjy-
man of the Moravian church, and for years was enijaged in educational work
of the church as principal of the Salem (North Carolina) Female Academy,
and of Nazareth Hall, a boarding school for boys at Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
For more than twelve years he was president of the governing board for
the Moravian church in America, and then until 1898 was general church
treasurer. He held many subsidiary offices and served the church in official
capacity for sixty years. He was a man of most honorable life and character,
highly esteemed by all who came within the circle of his influence. He
married Marie Louise von Tschirschky, of the house of Tschirschky-Boegen-
dorff, and on her mother's side of the house of Schocnberg-Briban, of un-
broken noble descent from the Middle Ages. The family estate was called
Wilka, in Silesia, Germany. These are the three generations : father, grand-
father and great-grandfather of Paul de Schweinitz, also a Moravian
clergyman.

Paul de Schweinitz, son of Robert and Marie Louise (von Tschirschky)
de Schweinitz, was born in Salem, North Carolina, March 16, 1863. He was
educated in the Moravian Parochial -School, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; at
Nazareth Hall, Nazareth, Pennsylvania; Moravian College and Theological
Seminary, at Bethlehem; and the University of Halle, Germany. He was
ordained a deacon of the church of his fathers. Unitas Fratrum, or Moravian,
September 12, 1886, and on September 23, 1888, was ordained a presbj'ter.
His first pastorate was at Nortinleld, Minnesota, where he served the church
as pastor from 1886 until i8go. In iSgo he began a pastorate of more than
eight years with the Moravian church at Nazareth, Pennsylvania, but in
1898 he withdrew from active pastoral work to accept the office of secretary
and treasurer of the governing board of the American Moravian Church,
North. Later he was chosen to fill the several offices which he yet holds,
secretary of missions for the American Moravian Church, vice-president and
treasurer of the Society of United Brethren for Propagating the Gospel
among the Heathen, treasurer of the ]\Ioravian College and Theological
Seminary, and president of the Moravian Aid Society, since disbanded, be-
sides various subsidiary trusteeships and directorships.

In 1904, at the eleventh annual session of the Foreign Missions' Confer-
ence of North America, he proposed the organization of a permanent com-
mittee representing all the foreign missions' boards of the United States and
Canada, which should be in a position to act for all the foreign missionary
interests of the country in negotiation with governments, or in any cases
W'hcre united action was desirable. During the years 1904 to 1907 he took a
prominent part in organizing this committee, which is now called "The
Committee of Reference and Counsel," and is the incorporated Executive
Committee of the Foreign Missions' Conference of North America, and has
become the most effective body in federative and co-operative foreign mis-
sionary work. With the exception of an interval of three years, he has been
a member of this committee since its final organization in 1907, and at the
present time (1919) is the recording secretary thereof. He was a member
of the American Executive Committee which organized the World Mission-
ary Conference of 1910 at Edinburgh, and was a member of and one of the
set program speakers at the Panama Congress of Christian Workers in
Latin America in 1916. He was president of the twenty-fifth annual session
ot the Foreign Missions' Conference of North America in 1918. He has
served on various commissions and committees of the Federal Council of the
Churches of Christ in America, and has been identified in various ways with
the World Conference on Faith and Order, and with the Conference on the
Organic Union of the Evangelical Churches of the United States, and is like-

N. H. BIOO.— 7

98 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

wise servinsj on sundry comnattces of the Home Missions' Council of the
United States.

Beyond his church societ'es and connections he has many affiliations,
including: membership in the PennsjTvania German Society, of which he is a
charter member, and a vice-president of the Moravian Historical Society,
which he serves as a member of the executive committee. He is also vice-
president of the Pennsylvania Hup'uenot Society, orfjanized in 1917. He is
one of the strong men of the Moravian Church and worthily bears an honored
name which, in his keepinfj, is secure from deterioration. On the occasion
of the centenary of his alma mater, the Moravian College and Theological
Seminary at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1907, the degree of Doctor Divinitatis,
honoris caiisa, was conferred upon him and upon two bishops of the Moravian
church. This was the first time in the century of this institution's existence
that this degree was conferred.

In 191 5 he was elected a trustee of St. fluke's Hospital of South Bethle-
hem, Pennsvlvania. He is likewise a director of the Lehigh Valley National
Bank of Bethlehem. He was one of the vice-presidents of the executive com-
mittee of the great overhead Hill-to-Hill Bridge Campaign in Bethlehem,
in October, 1916, which marked a new epoch in the history of Bethlehem,
and was the beginning of the movement which resulted in the consolidation
of the borough of Bethlehem and South Bethlehem into the city of Bethlehem
in IQ18. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Bethlehem, an honorary
member of the Lehigh University Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa (the Beta
of Pennsylvania), a trustee of St. Luke's Hospital, and a director of the
Lehigh Valley National Bank.

The Rev. Paul de Schweinitz married, at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
January 27, 1887, Mar)' Catherine Daniel, daughter of Charles B. Daniel, a
pioneer of the slate industry in Northampton county, one of the organizers
of the Bethlehem Iron Company, now the famous Bethlehem Steel Company,
and one of the most prominent business men of eastern Pennsylvania.
Charles B. Daniel married Eliza Riegel. Both the Daniel and Riegel families
were in Pennsylvania prior to the Revolution. Mary C. Daniel was educated
in the Moravian Parochial School at Bethlehem and at Linden Hall Seminary,
a Moravian boarding school for girls at Litltz, Pennsylvania. The Rev. and
Mrs. de Schweinitz are the parents of two children, born at Northfield, Min-
nesota, and two at Nazareth, Pennsylvania: Karl, born November 26, 1S87;
Helena, born May 18, 1889; Dorothea, born September 5, 1891 ; and Louise,
born August 13, 1897. The family home is at Bethlehem.

BENJAMIN HAYTOCK— The rapid progress made in silk manufactur-
ing in the LTnited States during the last quarter of the nineteenth century
and the opening years of the twentieth century was due to the energy ot
man and not to fortunate location or new discovery. Men said that silk
could be made in the United States, and a great industry sprang into being.
Among the men who were pioneers in establishing silk manufacture in the
United States, the name of Benjamin Haytock always is found, and it is to
him and the four sons whom he inducted into the business that this and the
following articles will deal. The father has many inventions to his credit,
and during his active career as a manufacturer he originated many methods
which simplified the detail of manufacture, sped up looms and increased
production. But his best gift to the country of his adoption was his four
capable sons, who, following in his footsteps, are all engaged in silk manu-
facture, and continue the name of Haytock, an honored one in the silk
trade. The family is English and Scotch, Benjamin and his three eldest
sons — John, William R. and Hartley J., all born in the city of Glasgow, Scot-
land. The father has gone t<"' his reward, but the three sons named, and
Benjamin (2), born in this country, remain the active heads of large silk

•THE KEW v„„^r--j

ASTOR,

LE.VOX ASB

T'''' ^o,.,,r.,^s

J^ltrpC^^ J^^^^nyJa^^

BIOGRAPHICAL

manufacturing companies of Northampton county, Penns^'lvania, and Phil-
lipsburg, New Jersey.

Benjamin Haytock, the elder, was born in Nelson, England, in 1841,
^oing to Glasgow in his twentieth year, and died of pneumonia in Easton,
Pennsylvania, January 7, 1916. He became a textile worker in his native
land, residing in Glasgow, where he married and spent the first seventeen
years of his married life. In the year 1S79 he came to the United States
with his family, locating in Lawrence, RIassachusetts, spending the first
two years with the Arlington Mills of that city. He then removed to
Paterson, New Jersey, the silk city of the United States, and formed an
association with Dexter, Lambert & Co. Later he was with Chapin & Co.,
succeeded by the Standard Silk Company, and finally became superintendent
of the Hess, Goldsmith & Co. plant. All through these years he was con-
stantly bringing forward new ideas and methods, but alwavs for the benefit
of his employers. Finally he left Paterson ard located in Phillipsburg, New
Jersey, as assistant superintendent of the Standard Silk Co., of that place.
Later he organized the Phillipsburg Silk Mill Co., and until his settlement
several years prior to his death was vice-president and manager of that large
and important silk manufacturing company, now known as the Stewart
Silk Co. This brief review does scant justice to the remarkable career of
Benjamin Haytock in his relation to silk manufacture in the United States.
He was widely known throughout the silk trade as the originator of the
best crepe constructions known to silk manufacturing in this country. He
was the able pioneer and the originator of the process of steaming crepe
twist, an idea which revolutionized the crepe industry here. Pie patented
a mechanical motion for making grenadines, which was a great success, and
the idea which he originated for twisting plain work in frames saved from
one to two days per warp over the old way. He applied the first stop motion
to a silk loom, and a volume would not be sufficient to describe the varied
benefits which he conferred upon the silk industry. He was a man of
strong will and determined character, nothing daunted him, and difficulties
but spurred him to greater effort. He was honored among men, but in his
family he found his great source of happiness. He married in Scotland,
Helen Richardson, who survives him, a resident of Easton. Two daughters,
Mrs. Alexander Smith and Mrs. William Gunning survive their father, as
do four sons : John, vice-president of the liaytock-Cronemeyer Company, the
Haytock Silk Throwing Company, and the Avoca Silk Company ; William R.,
president of the Flaytock-Cronemeyer Company, the Haytock Silk Throwing
Company, and the Avoca Silk Company; Hartley J., secretary-treasurer of
the Northampton .Silk Company, treasurer of the Avoca Silk Company ; Ben-
jamin, Jr., secretary-treasurer of the Haytock Silk Throwing Company, treas-
urer of the Haytock-Cronemeyer Company, secretary and general manager
of the Avoca Silk Company, all worthy sons of an honored father.

JOHN HAYTOCK— At the age of sixteen years, John Haytock. now a
leading manufacturer and business man of Easton, Pennsylvania, left his
native Scotland and came to the United States. He had the advantage of
association with his capable father, whose memory he honors, but his suc-
cess in the silk manufacturing business may be more justly attributed to
his close application during those years of training and study of the finer
technicalities of silk manufacture. He is an authority in the trade, but a
greater asset is his strict sense of justice and his ability to win the confi-
dence and co-operation of those who are associated with him and subject
to his direction. He is the eldest son of Benjamin and Helen (Richardson)
Haytock, previously mentioned in this work.

John Haytock was born in Glasgow, Scotland, October 17, 1863, and
there attended the city schools until he was fourteen years of age. In 1877

loo NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

he went to Nelson, near Manchester, England, where he became an appren-
tice to the weaver's trade in the employ of his uncle. He remained in Nelson
until 1879, then came to the United States with his parents and family who
located in Lawrence, Massachusetts. There the lad, John, joined his father
in the Arlington Mills, and in 1882 removd with him to Paterson, New
Jersey, there becoming an employe of Dexter, Lambert & Co., in the silk
weaving department. He remained with that company two years, then was
with the Standard Silk Company of Paterson until 1891. In January, 1892,
he had charge over the warping department of the Standard Silk Company's
plant at Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Later, in 1900, he joined his father in
the Phillipsburg Silk Company, and three years were thus spent in the
closest and most intimate relation. In 1903 he aided in organizing the Easton
Silk Company, now the Haytock-Cronemeyer Company, and became its first
vice-president in charge of mill operation, a post he has most ably filled for
the past fifteen years. He was also one of the incorporators of the Haytock
Silk Throwing Company, of which he is vice-president, and of the Avoca
Silk Company, with which he holds the same relation. He is also vice-
president of the Haytock Brothers and Cronemeyer Silk Dyeing Company.
He is a member of the I'^aston Board of Trade, and for some time served as
chairman of its manufacturers' committee. He has other financial interests
outside silk manufacturing; he is a trustee of the First Baptist Church of
Easton, and in politics is a Republican, neither holding nor desiring public
office.

John Haytock married in Paterson, New Jersey, June 20, 1889, Mary S.
Stevenson, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (McCleary) Stevenson. The
Stevensons, like the Haytocks, were a Scotch family who came in 1866 to
New York City, where Mrs. Haytock was born. She is active in church
work and related charities, in Red Cross and Women's War Work. Mr.
and Mrs. Haytock are the parents of three daughters and a son: Elizabeth
M., a graduate of the Drexel Institute School of Domestic Science and Arts;
Helen R. ; Evelyn M. ; and Benjamin L.

WILLIAM R. HAYTOCK— From the heights of assured business, Mr.
Haytock reviews a connection with silk manufacture which began when he
was a youth under the direction of his honored father. He is the third son
of Benjamin and Helen (Richardson) Haytock, and the last of their sons
born in Scotland. He has risen from the bottom of the manufacturing ladder
to the very top, being president of all the companies bearing the Haytock
name.

William R. Haytock was born in Glasgow, Scotland, October 6, 1873,
and there resided until 1879, when he was brought to this country by his
parents, who settled in Lawrence, Massachusetts, remaining there less than
three years. The lad, William, attended the public school during that period,
and after the family removed to Paterson, New Jersey, in 1882, he continued
study in the public schools of that city. In Paterson he began his appren-
ticeship to the silk business, continuing under his father's watchful, expert
supervision until the removal to Phillipsburg, New Jersey. There father
and son were again associated in the Standard Silk Company. William R.
was advanced to positions of increasing responsibility during the six years
he was there employed. He tlien joined his father and eldest brother in the
organization known as the Phillijisburg Silk Company, there continuing until
1903. In that year he was the ruling spirit in organizing the Haytock-
Cronemeyer Company, and for two years was secretary-treasurer of that
company, being elected president in igo.S- In 1906 he joined with his
brothers in incorporating the Flaytock Silk Throwing Company, and has
been president of that company from its beginning. He holds both these
important chief executive positions, and is one of the foremost factors in

■/r^ A

Tin; Ni:'' vouk
PUBLIC IIBIUUY

ASTQlt. LENUX ANH
TILnliN KOUNDATIONS

BIOGRAPHICAL - loi

the silk industry of this section of the State of Pennsylvania. In 1913 he
organized the HaytocK Brothers and Cronemeyer, Inc., silk dyers and finish-
ers, doing all the dyeing for the Haytock-Cronemeyer Company as well as
accepting commissions. He holds other important positions in the business
life of his district, being president of the Avoca Silk Company, vice-president
of the South Easton Water Company, and a director of the Easton Trust
Company.

He is president of the Easton Board of Trade, and one of the men who
can be relied upon for efficient service and timely aid when Easton's welfare
is at stake. He is fond of the great out-of-doors, delights in horseback riding,
enjoys motoring, and is a patron of all healthful outdoor sports. For many
years he has been a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of
Phillipsburg, and an efficient member of its board of trustees. Politically
he is a Republican, but takes little part in public life, being content to serve
his city in a private cr'pacity. Flis clubs are the Pomfret of Easton, and the
Manhattan of New York City. His fraternity is the Benevolent and Protec-
tive Order of Elks.

V/illiam R. Haytock married, June 10, 1896, Ella M. Dalrymple, daugh-
ter of David and Elizabeth (Gardner) Dalrymple, of Phillipsburg, New
Jersey. Mrs. Haytock is an active member of the church, is interested in
Red Cross work and social life, and is also secretary of the Century Club,
of Easton.

HARTLEY J. HAYTOCK— From the age of thirteen years a worker
in silk, Mr. Haytock, second of the sons of Benjamin and Helen (Richardson)
Haytock, may be said literally to have grown up in the business, for, after
graduation as a worker, he at once advanced to the ranks of manufacturers,
and is now the honored, financial head of silk manufacturing companies. If
asked the secret of his success he would probably tell the inquirer that it was
through close application, thorough mastering of all the intimate details of
his business, and a sincere interest in the welfare of his emiiloyes. Just
what this last clause means may be ascertained by comparing conditions in
the difl'erent mills, and then remembering that strikes are expensive. Mr.
Haytock is a leader among those further advanced in modern thought on
factory and mill management, in relation to healthful working conditions
and ample financial protection for those injured while employed. While
the whole trend is toward mutual understanding and co-operation, Mr. Hay-
tock makes it his close study, and keeps in closest touch with his factory
force.

Hartley J. Haytock was born in Glasgow, Scotland, September 22, 1868,
and there attended the public schools until the coming of the family to
Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1879. In Lawrence he was a pupil in the public
school for two years. After the removal to Paterson, New Jersey, he became
a worker in the silk mills. He early became an expert, and by the time he
was eighteen he was holding a responsible position with the Standard Silk
Company, who sold their Paterson plant to the Hcss-Goldsmith Company.
After spending ten years with that company, he then spent a year with a
ribbon manufacturing company in New York. The next seven years were
passed with M. J. Green, as superintendent of his silk manufacturing mill,
this bringing him to the year 1905, when he came to Easton. Here he aided
in organizing and incorporating "the Northampton Silk Company. He was
elected the first secretary of that company, and in 1906 was chosen treasurer,
the two offices being combined. In addition to his dual duties as secretary-
treasurer, he is the operating head of the plant, a position he has held ever
since the beginning. The plant was started with a force of fifty hands, and
now employs more than two hundred and fifty. The company also operates a
mill at Perkasie, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania; that plant ranks fourth in

I02 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

the district in the amount of silk produced. A feature of the manaj2:ement
of the Northampton Silk Company is the carryin.s^ of employe's ins'irance in
addition to the State liability requirements. Insurance of five hundred dollars
is carried after three months, increasinfj to one thousand dollars at the end
of five years. This was extended to include a'l employes who were in
the service of their country during the World War. During' the thirteen
years of the company's existence there have been no Inbor troubles at their
mills, a record which is perhaps not equalled in the State. The wants of
employes are anticipated, and their welfar'; is carefully considered.

Mr. Haj'tock is also treasurer of the Avoca Silk Throwinfj Com]iany,
and chairman of the employers' committee of the Easton Board of Trade.
As a member of the executive committee of the Liberty Loan for Northamp-
ton, Pike and Monroe counties by appointment of the United States Treas-
ury Department, he rendered valuable service, beinsf in charg'e of the special
industries comniittee during the first Liberty Loan period, and a team cap-
tain during the second and third loan periods. He is a member of the
Penns\lvania Manufacturers' Association, the National Association of Manu-
facturers, and of the Silk Manufacturers' Association of America. He is a
member of the Rotary and Pomfret clubs of Easton, St. Bernard's Roman
Catholic Church, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in politi-
cal preference is a Republican, but is very independent in exercising the
franchise. His favorite recreation is motoring. He is deeply interested in
good roads, and is a member and chairman of the board of trustees of Easton,
and Motors Association of Easton, Pennsylvania. He is one of the directors
of the War Chest of Easton, and is a Licasion member of the Rotary Club.

Mr. Haytock married Miss Mary A. Green, of Paterson, New Jersey.
They have one son. Hartley J., Jr. The family home is at No. 147 James street.

BENJAMIN HAYTOCK, JR.— Youngest of the sons of Benjamin and
Helen (Richardson) Haytock, their only American-born son, Benjamin, Jr.,
came upon the scene under more favorable financial conditions, and was
able to complete a full course of college work before being called upon to
take his place in the family business — silk manufacturing. He advanced rap-
idly, and is associated with his brothers in the management of the Haytock
companies, and an important factor in their success.

Benjamin (2) Haytock was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, March 17,
1882, and the same year was taken by his parents to Paterson, New Jersey.
His education was begun there, but it was mainly in Phillipsburg, New
Jersey, that he obtained his public school training. He completed college
preparation in the Lerck School in Easton, then, in pursuance of a long-
cherished plan, he entered the dental department of the University of Penn-
sylvania, whence he was graduated D.D.S., class of igo2. He practiced his
profession in Easton for two years, and then entered the business interprises
with which his brothers, John and William, were associated. He has closely
identified himself with silk manufacture during the years which have since
elapsed, and he is winning high reputation in the silk trade. Although yet
young in years, in comparison with many others, he capably fills the posi-
tions for which he has been chosen, and is an important factor in their
management. He is treasurer of the Haytock Brothers and Cronemeyer Com-
pany, secretary and general manager of the Haytock Silk Throwing Com-
pany, secretary and general manager of the Avoca Silk Company of Avoca,
Pennsylvania, and a member of the directorates of all of the above-mentioned
corporations.

Mr. Haytock is a very active member of the Easton Board of Trade, was
a member of the Exemption Board, and secretary of Local Board No. 2 of
Northampton county. He is active in Red Cross work, aided greatly in
filling Easton's War Chest, and bears his full share of public patriotic work.

^*',

UdytMr:

TlbDBN FOUNDATIONS

BIOGRAPHICAl. 103

In politics he is a Republican. His chih i? the Pomfret of Easton. He
married, ]\Iay 17, 1916, M. Edra Raul, dautrhtor of Eouis and Jennie (Morley)
Raul, of Easton. ^Mrs. Haytock is a member of the Woman's Club, the
Easton Chapter of the Red Cross, and is active in all. They are the parents
of two daughters: Ethel Raul and Jane Richardson.

JOHN R. BEERS — Now one of the veterans of Easton, but active, hale
and hearty, Alderman Beers reviews a lonrc and active life beginning when a
boy amid scenes of the Civil War. He is a son of Stephen Beers, born in
Stewartsville, New Jersey, in 1818, who died at Harmon3% New Jersey, at
the age of eighty-two. His wife, who died at the age of sixty-five, was a
daughter of John T. Rerrick, who in the long ago was proprietor of the
Lenni Lenape Hotel, in Phillipsburg. Pier mother was Sophia Brakeley.
Stephen and Anna Elizabeth (Rerrick) Beers were the parents of two sons:
John R., who is of further mention, and George, who died young; their
daughter, Mary, educated in Easton Pligh School, was a teacher, but died at
the age of twenty-one years.

John R. Beers, son of Stephen and Anna E. (Rerrick) Beers, was born
in Stewartsville, Warren county, New Jersey, November 17, 1848, but since
1870 has been a resident of the city of Easton. Pennsylvania. He was six
years of age when his parents moved to Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and there
he attended the public schools, where his first teacher was Miss Emma
Ross. His father was a wheelwright by trade, but became a bridge builder
and assistant to Henry Naphey, a superintendent of bridge construction for
the United States Government during the Civil War. During the last years of
the war, 1863-64-65, Mr. Beers was taken to Alexandria, Virginia, by Mr.
Naphey to assist him on the bridge there, and, a boy being needed, John
Beers, a lad of fifteen, was taken along as a water boy and tool gatherer.
So he saw a great deal of the war from its more peaceful side, one of the
jobs that he worked on being the erection of two large water tanks at the
battlefield of Bull Run for the Orange and Alexandria railroad. When the
war was ended, father and son returned to their Phillipsburg home, John R.
entering the machine shops of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, there
serving an apprenticeship of four years under John Alpaugh, master me-
chanic of the shops. After finishing his years of a])prenticcship at the
machinist trade he started upon a travel tour of the machine shops of the
West, and during the thirteen months he was absent worked at the trade
in seventeen shops in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago. With
this valuable experience he returned to Easton and entered the shops of the
Lehigh A'^alley railroad, and for twenty-five years continued in that employ,
having been promoted foreman of the new engine building dej^artnient at
the end of the first five years.

This brought him to the year 1895, and a radical change in his business
life. He left the railroad shop, purchased the Court House Hotel, and for
ten years was the owner and proprietor. He then sold the hotel and bought
out Thomas Runyon's wholesale liquor store on Northampton street, Easton,
and for seven years was its proprietor, selling out in 1910 to O'Hay Brothers.
He has not engaged in private business during the years which have since
elapsed, but has given his time and business ex]icrience to city affairs
through the medium of the office he hold.s — alderman from the Sixth Ward.
He was appointed by the governor to fill out the unexpired term of John
Bitters, and at the end of his appointed term in 1914 was elected to succeed
himself for a term of six years to expire in 1920. He is a Democrat in
politics, his first presidential vote having been cast in 1864 for Genera!
George B. McClellan.

Mr. Beers married in Easton, October 18. 1870, Mary Eckcrt, born in
the Sixth Ward of Easton, June 15, 1853, daughter of Reuben and Margaret

I04 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

(Arnold) Eckert, of Easton. Mr. and Mrs. Beers are the parents of a
daughter. Margaret, who married Frederick Kutz, of Easton, and has a daughter,
Margaret, who is proof reader in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of
Northampton count)', and in October, igi8, was appointed as stamp agent
for the government for sale of revenue stamps for the Eastern district ;
Charles P., an adopted son of Mr. and Mi'S. Beers, resides in New York City.
He conducts a public dance-hall on Forty-second street, New York City, and
served in the Spanish-American War.

REV. JAMES OLIVER LEIBENSPERGER— St. Peter's Evangelical
Lutheran Church of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was organized in 186.S,
and in 1913 celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its founding, beginning on
Sunday, August 31, and continuing until September 3. At that time the roll
of pastors was as follows: 1863-67, Rev. A. T. Geisenheiner ; 1867-68, Rev.
Jacob Zentner; 1868-70. Rev. ]'. B. Rath; 1870-86, Rev. C. J. Cooper, D.D. ;
1886-1901, Rev. W. F. Schoener; 1901-1:^, Rev. J. O. Leibensperger. There
has been no change in this roll since, although six years have since elapsed,
the pastor, then Rev. J. O. Leibensperger, still remaining, his term, eighteen
years, exceeding that of any of his predecessors. Leibensperger is an old
Berks county family name, Rev. James O. being a son of Stephen and a
grandson of Daniel Leibensperger, both natives of that county. Daniel mar-
ried Anna Butz, and their son, Stephen, was born February 5, 1832, spent
his entire life in Berks county, and there died June 2, 1887. He was for
many years an elder of Zion Lutheran Church. He married Susan Deisher,
born in the same neighborhood as her husband, in June, 1835, died in Febru-
ary, i8nS. They were the parents of the following children: Eugene P.. a
retired farmer of Maxatawney township, Berks county, but still active and
interested in public affairs, serving as road supervisor; he married Alice
Guldin; Stephen S., born August 2, 1859, a retired farmer residing at Kutz-
town, Pennsylvania, married Susan Warmkessel, who died in 1914, leaving a
daughter, Clara, who married Adam Bleiler, of Weisenberg township, Berks
county, and has a son Richard ; Edna, residing with her father ; James, mar-
ried Miss Heffner, and lives at Kutztown, Pennsylvania; Mary and Stephen,
residing with their father; James Oliver, of further mention; Alice E., mar-
ried Henry Heilman, of Kutztown, a retired merchant, and has a daughter,
Eva, who'married Fred Fisher, of Kutztown, a lumber merchant; Ambrose
W., associate pastor of Salem Lutheran Church of Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
He married Elizabeth Frederick, daughter of Rev. George F. and Anna Fred-
erick, of Philadelphia, her father deceased. They are the parents of a
daughter of Catherine, a graduate of Lebanon High School, class of 1918.

James Oliver Leibensperger was born at the home farm in Maxatawney
township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, March 26, 1862, and began his educa-
tion in the township school. He completed courses of study at Kutztown
State Normal School, then entered Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsyl-
vania, whence he was graduated with honors, class of 1884. He began the
study of theology the following fall at Evangelical Lutheran Theological
Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, continuing until graduation. May 31.
1887. He was ordained a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church by
the ecclesiastical body governing, on June 6, 1887, the ordination ceremonies
being held in Zion Lutheran Church on Fr?nklin street. Philadcl]ihia.

His first pastorate was over Zion Lutheran Church of Girardville,
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, his term there ending in July, 1889, the
church which he found in a weak and dependent condition being left in a
strong and self-supporting state. He then became pastor at Denver. Penn-
sylvania, organizing there St. John's Lutheran Church, and laying the cor-
nerstone for a new church building early in 1890. His pastorate also in-
cluded the Swamp Church near Reinholds, and later the church at Lincoln

BIOGRAPHICAL 105

was added to the circuit. He served those churches until 1901, his work-
being greatly blessed. The church at Lincoln sold its interest in a union
church and became an independent body, and all branches of church work
showed the deep interest the pastor had awakened among his people.

On December i, looi. he became pastor of St. Peter's Evangelical
Lutheran Church at South Bethlehem, and there continues until the present.
1919. That church has prospered wonderfully under his pastoral care, the
church structure having been enlarged, and a new front completed in igi6.
Forty-eight thousand dollars have been expended in the improvements, which
have made St. Peter's the finest church on the south side. All this was
accomplished without the cessation of religious worship, the Sunday school
room being utilized while the additions to the church were being made.
Services are held alternately in English and German.

Rev. James O. Leibensperger married, September 22, 1887, at Topton,
Pennsylvania, Fianna Eleanor Miller, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Zeigler)
Miller, her father a retired farmer of Topton, who died in August, 1890, his
widow surviving until February 14, 1918. Mr. and Mrs. Miller were
parents of the following children: W. Oscar Miller, of Reading, Pennsyl-
vania, ex-State Senator ; Sarah I., married Louis A. Stein, of Kutztown,
Pennsylvania, a shoe manufacturer ; Mantana, widow of A. S. Haffner, of
Topton, Pennsylvania, who died in 1900, a coal and lumber dealer; Alvin J.
Miller, a retired farmer of Topton; George I. Miller, died in 1903; Fiaima
Eleanor, married Rev. James 0. Leibensperger.

HARRY CHESTER POHL, M.D.— Dr. Pohl has been a practicing
physician of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, since 1902, when he began his profes-
sional labors in that place. He came not as a stranger to Nazareth and its
people, for he was well known as a former member of famous old Nazareth
Hall's faculty. During the seventeen years of his active professional work
in this place he has gained a large practice, whose demands he ably fills,
and he also takes an interested part in the work of the medical societies,
county. State and national.

Dr. Pohl is a son of William J. and Louisa (Breinig) Pohl, and grand-
son of Anthony Pohl, a sieve-maker in calling, and for many years a justice
of the peace in Easton, Pennsylvania. William J. Pohl was born in Easton
and there has passed practical!}' all of his mature years, an expert mechanic
in the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. After the death of
Louisa (Breinig) Pohl, Mr. Pohl married a second time, and he and his
wife, Emma (Schlechter) Pohl, are residents of Easton, South Side.

Harry Chester Pohl was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, February 19,
1875. His mother's death occurred when he was a boy of five years of age.
He attended the Easton public schools, graduating from the Easton High
School in the class of 1891, and he continued his studies in Lafayette College,
whence he was graduated in the class of 1895. After graduation he accepted
a place upon the faculty of Nazareth Hall, at Nazareth, having classes in
physiology, Latin and English, and during the four years of his connection
with the hall he pursued post-graduate work in Lafayette College, which
subsequently was allowed as one year's credit upon his medical course.
Thus, entering Medico-Chirurgical Institute, in Philadelphia, he was awarder!
his degree of M.D. in the class of 1902, after three years of study.

Dr. Pohl chose Nazareth, the scene of his pedagogical labors, as his
professional field, and since 1902 he has given all of his time to a practice
general in character, in Nazareth and vicinity. His ])rofessional standing is
the result of a love of his work and his diligent application thereto, and
he is held in aiifectionate regard in the many families into whose innermost
circles his duties have called him. He is a member of the Northampton
County Medical Society, the Lehigh Valley Medical Society, and the Ameri-

io6 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

can Medical Association, having^ been vice-president of the first-named orp^ani-
zation. Dr. Pohl also holds membership in the Academy of Sciences, whose
meetings are coincident in time and place with those of the American
Medical Association.

Dr. Harry C. Pohl married, in 1902, Amelia Giering-, of Nazareth, who
was educated in the Moravian schools of this place, and is Dr. Pohl's efficient
assistant in his minor surgical operations. They are the parents of one
child, Millicent.

WILLIAM MEAD CORNWELL— Although one of the youngest mer-
chants in Easton, Mr. Cornwell, head of the Oriental Art Company, has taken
his place among the progressive men of his city, and has won his right to
the position he holds. He is the son of Rev. George and Mary (Mead)
Cornweil. the latter a daughter of William and Louisa (White) Mead. Rev.
George Cornwell was a regularly ordained minister of the Presbyterian
church, and during the year 1892 was pastor of the Presbyterian church
at Poundridge in Westchester county. New York, forty-two miles from
New York City. There his son, William Mead Cornwell, was born, and
from there he started on his long journey to China, after having been
appointed a missionary and assigned to duty at Chefoo, China. He remained
faithfully at his post of duty until the year 1909, when his life was sacrificed
in the cholera epidemic of that year. His wife died three days after her
husband, and both are buried in Chefoo, China. The burial place is marked
by a double headstone in the form of an arch, surmounted by a cross. This
was erected by his admiring friends among the Chinese. On the front, the
inscription is in Chinese; on the other side, in English. They were the
parents of nine children, one of their sons, John Nevins Cornwell, an artillery-
man, seeing service with the 104th Artillery, Twenty-seventh Division, New
York, with the American Expeditionary Forces in France.

William Mead Cornwell was born in the village of Poundridge, West-
chester county. New York, April 17, 1892, shortlj^ before his parents sailed
for their post of duty, Chefoo China. When departure was finally made he
was taken along, an infant in arms, and in China the first sixteen 3'ears of
his life were passed. He was educated in the mission schools and learned
to speak the Chinese tongue like a native. After his return to the United
States in 1908, he prepared at Blair Academy and entered Lafayette College,
class of 1916. He completed his freshman and sophomore year, but in the
junior year he resigned his hopes for a college degree and entered busi-
ness life.

Before leaving China he had been employed for a time by one of the
largest silk and art houses of the Orient, and there gained a knowledge of
r)riental laces, silks and art goods, also acquiring the friendship of merchants
in those lines, men who v/ere later to become his valuable allies in establish-
ing a business. Upon leaving college he carried into effect long and well-laid
plans for opening a store for the sale of Oriental goods, and after securing
the financial aid of his business friends in China, who shipped him all the
goods he needed, he opened in the First National Bank building the first
Oriental art store in Easton. His venture proved successful, and he has
developed it along the best lines of modern merchandising, and made his
large store on South Third street, to which he removed in April, 1917, the
scat of a business to be proud of. He removed from the First National
Bank building to North Fourth street, there remaining until the present
store was ready for occupancy. His knowledge of Oriental goods and Orien-
tal ways have been of great advantage to him in securing the best import
lines and prices, as well as enabling him to display and sell more intelli-
gently than others without his exjiericnce, the result being that few stores
can be found outside of the great cities with so varied a stock so well chosen

^/^ ^^^.^..cco^.

THE NE\V YORK
PUP. Lie LIDRARY

ASTOR. I.BNOX AND

TIUJEN FOUNDATIONS
B ' L

BIOGRAPHICAL

107

or displayed in so large a store. The business is conducted under the trade
name, Oriental Art Company, of which Mr. Cornwell is its founder, owner
and manager.

Mr. Cornwell has in contemplation a change in his plan of business
operations whereby he will spend a greater part of his time in China, repre-
senting his own business interests as well as Easton manufacturers, and act-
ing as a buying agent for imports into the United States.

While in college, Mr. Cornwell was interested in athletic sports, particu-
larly soccer football and gymnasium work. He was later a member of the
Easton soccer team, and is still a devotee of out-of-door sports. He is a
member of the Young Alen's Christian Association, and the year before enter-
ing college he was boys' secretary of the Newport. Rhode Island, Young
Men's Christian Association. He is a member of the Easton Board of Trade,
Easton Rotary Club, Phi Delta Theta, Blairstown Lodge No. 165, Free and
Accepted Masons ; Lehicton Lodge No. 244, Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows; is a communicant of the First Presbyterian Church and superintendent
of the Sunday school of that church.

Mr. Cornwell married. June i, 1917, Jessie E., daughter of Jonas E. and
Lena V. (Babbitt) Bair, of Blairstown, New Jersey. She was a classmate
of her husband at Blair Academy. Mr. Cornwell is an active worker of the
church and the Young Men's Christian Association, and is a teacher in the
Simday school of the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. and Mrs. Cornwell
are the parents of a son, William Mead (2) Cornwell.

JOHN ROLLA BARR — Now retired from active business life, Mr. Barr
is enjoying the fruits of an active, well-spent life. He is one of the success-
ful men of his city, and is as well and favorably known as was his honored
father. Mr. Barr is a descendant of James Barr, of French-Irish ancestry,
who was born in Wilmington, Delaware, married Dorcas Jnraqucft, daughter
of Major and Eliza (Price) Jaraquett. Major Jaraquett, born April 6, 1755,
died September 13, 1834. He entered the service of the colonies in 1776 and
fought under General Washington in all the battles in lower New York,
New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He was also under General De Kalb at the
battle of Camden, and was one of the two officers of the regiment left
unwounded to direct the fight. After the \\'a.r of Independence was won
he returned to Delaware and with his wife, Eliza (Price) Jaraquett, passed a
quiet, contented old age on the paternal estate, their marriage occurring
in 1782.

Samuel Barr, son of James and Dorcas (Jaraquett) Barr, was born in
Delaware about the year 1800. He learned the shoemaker's trade and for
many years was a prosperous dealer in boots and shoes. He married Mar-
garet Cummings, of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Joseph A.
Cummings, a Revolutionary soldier, and his wife, Mary A. Cummings, who
lived to the great age of one hundred and four years. Joseph A. Cummings
and wife were the parents of three sons: Peter, Ahraliam and Xathan ; and of
a daughter, Margaret Cummings, who married .^amuel Barr. Samuel and
Margaret (Cummings) Barr were the parents of three sons: i. William I., a
captain of Philadelphia troops, going to the front as captain of the first regi-
ment to leave Philadelphia, and serving until the close of the war; he then
returned to Philadelphia and lived to the age of seventy-three years. 2. Joseph
C, a ropemaker, who died in early manhood. 3. John R.. of further mention.

John R. Barr, youngest son of Samuel and Alargaret (Cummings) Barr,
was born in Philadelphia, November 7, 1829, died in Easton. Pennsylvania,
February 8, 1917. He was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia,
then learned the painter's trade, specializing in ornamental and decorative
work, becoming one of the best men of his trade in Pennsylvania. Until
1850 he remained in Philadelphia, then moved to Easton, Pennsylvania,

io8 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

where for twenty years he was in the employ of David Garris. He then
entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, and for thirty
years, 1870-1900. continued in the service of that company, en.a:a,a:ed in the
car decorating department. In 1900 he retired, having attained the age of
seventy-one years, and during his life having had but three cm])lovers: The
firm with whom he learned his trade in Philadelphia until 1850; Davis Gar-
ris in Easton, 1850-70; and the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, 1870-1900.
During this one-half of a century as a journeyman he was often tempted with
flattering offers, but he was always paid the highest wages and so well
treated that he felt that he must repay in loyalty and good service the extra
favors he received. Really his employers were but two after becoming a
journeyman. He served Easton as councilman for twelve years, was a
member of the Masonic Order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the
Order of United American Mechanics and the Improved Order of Red Men.
John R. Barr married, in 1852, Sarah A. Weaver, born near Freemansburg,
Pennsylvania, in 1832. Mr. and Mrs. Barr trod life's pathway together for
fifty-three years; she died in August, 1915; their home was a handsome
residence at No. 811 Berwick street, Easton. They were the parents of
seven children: i. William, died in Easton, leaving a widow, Mrs. Emma
(Shultz) Barr. 2. Rebecca, married Peter O'Connell, and died in Philadel-
phia in May, 1918. 3. John Rolla, of further mention. 4. Mary, married
Eugene Mutchler, and resides in Easton. 5. Annie, married Ascher Mutch-
ler, and died in 1896. 6. Lincoln, died 1899; married Caroline Bach. 7. Sarah,
died yoimg.

John Rolla Barr, son of John R. and Sarah A. (Weaver) Barr, was born
in South Easton, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1856. He began his education
under Miss Fine, a teacher in the public school, and until fourteen years old
his school attendance was very regular. South Easton was in that day
little more than a huge market garden and the farmers gladly employed all
the boys they could get during the months the schools were closed. In this
way the lad spent his school vacation, and until he was sixteen he had no
other occupation. He then entered the Lehigh Valley railroad car shops to
learn the painter's trade and there served four years. After completing his
apjirenticeship and serving one year as a journeyman, the company granted
him leave of absence, during which he toured the Western States, stopping
off at any point which interested him. One of these places was David City,
Butler county, Nebraska, where he bought lots and remained a year, and
then returned to Easton, which has since been his home.

Upon his return from the West, Mr. Barr was made foreman of the
Lehigh Valley paint shops at Delano, there remaining two years before
returning to Easton. He was next placed in charge of the decorating depart-
ment of the Easton shops, a position he held until the company moved
that department to Sayre, Pennsylvania. During those years he had acquired
an interest in a slate quarry in Moore township, near Point Philip, and this
quarry he developed until finally he sold out at a good profit. For a few
years he lived a practically retired life, but his energetic nature demanded
action, and he again established in business as a painting contractor. He
continued actively in business until recent years, but is now living free
from business cares. He has always been an active public-spirited citizen,
and for years has served as an election official and on registration boards.
Fie is a Republican in politics, a member of Easton Lodge No. 152, Free
and Accepted Masons ; Lehighton Lodge No. 242, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows ; and the Order of American Mechanics.

Mr. Barr married in Easton, September 24, 1880, Cornelia Stocker,
daughter of Vv'illiam and Sarah (Laubach) Stocker, of Easton. Mr. and
Mrs. Barr are the parents of five children: i. Laila, married Frank H. Raub,
and died April 14, 1918, aged thirty-six years. 2. Leslie, died aged nine

BIOGRAPHICAL 109

years. 3. Rolla, died aged four years. 4. Elvin, born in South Easton,
November 9, 1894, and was educated in the grade and high schools of Easton,
and at Lafayette College, taking a special course in chemical engineering,
finishing with graduation, class of 1918; he then entered the service of his
country, trained at Officers' Camp, at Fort Niagara, and at the Coast Artil-
lery School at Fortress Monroe ; he qualified, was commissioned second
lieutenant of the Seventh United States Anti-Aircraft Battalion, and went
overseas ; he was promoted first lieutenant, February, 1918 ; he married in
Easton, August 24, 191 7, Margaret Magee, daughter of Frank and Catherine
Magee. 5. Marian Ethel, was a member of Easton High School, graduating
in class of 1918. The family home is at No. 1032 Berwick street. South
Side, Easton.

WILLIAM MOCK, V.S. — While the veterinary surgeon has now come
into his own and has demonstrated his value to the farming industry and
stock owners, the animal hospital and infirmary are not yet so common
that they fail to excite comment. Dr. Mock has brought such an institution
to Easton, and on Northwest street has a building well equipped with all
modern aids for the treatment of animals, injured or sick. He is a graduate
of Ontario Veterinary College, of Canada, and since 1892 has practiced his
profession in Easton. His practice is large, and his professional standing
is high. He is a son of Dr. John Mock, a practicing M.D. of Easton, North-
ampton county, Pennsylvania, and grandson of William Mock, a contractor
of masonry, who met his death through a premature explosion in a stone
quarry in 1869. That William Mock resided in what is now West Easton,
and laid the first paving in the city of Easton, having a contract with the
city to pave Northampton street for a certain distance with cobblestones.
He was the contractor for the stone work on the Masonic Hall in Easton,
for the piers which support the Glendon bridge, and was one of the leading
business men of his day, holding the respect and esteem of his fellowmcn.
He was but forty-nine years of age when he met accidental death, and his
loss cast deep gloom over the city in which he had proven his worth as a
builder and citizen. He came to Northampton county from Chester county,
Pennsylvania. William Mock married Amanda Trittenhach, and both were
members of the Lutheran church. They were the parents of an only son,
Dr. John Mock, and an only daughter, Mary M., now the widow of Dr. C.
C. Disbrow.

Dr. John Mock was a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; his private precejitor was Dr. Field of Easton. He practiced
his professcion in Easton until his death at the age of fifty-nine years. He
married Josephine Drew, and they were the parents of an only child. Wil-
liam (2) Mock, of Easton.

William (2) Mock was born in the village of Williamsburg, Upper
Mount Bethel township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, August 9, 1869,
and attended private schools. He chose the profession of medicine, but
prepared for veterinary practice instead of the regular school of medicine as
practiced by his father. He received his degree, V.S., from Ontario Veteri-
nary College, Canada, at the end of a complete course, March, 1892, and the
same year he opened an office in Easton. Pennsylvania, and is located there
yet at No. 53 North Fourth street, with his hospital and infirmary on
Southwest street. He is a skilled veterinarian whose services are in constant
demand from stock owners in a wide section around Easton. He is also
connected with the Messenger Teaming Company, of which he is secretary.
Dr. Mock is a member of the American Veterinarj' Association, the Penn-
sylvania Veterinary Association, the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, and in politics is independent.

no NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

WILLIAM B. BURG— William B. Burg, alderman of Bethlehem, Sec-
ond Ward, South Side, is a native of the city, having been born in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, on March 6, 1877. And he has spent practically the whole of
his life in the city, the greater part of his business life being seriously
handicapped and at times incapacitated l)y the effect of an injury he received
on the football field when a boy.

William B. Burg is the son of Peter and Catherine (Cressman) Burg.
His father was from the French province of Alsace, and came to America
with his brother, when in his teens. For a time the brothers settled in
Philadelphia, and conducted a successful merchandising business in that
city. Several years later the brothers, Peter and Charles Burg, removed to
South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. That was in the early fifties, and they
established what was then the first business of its kind in Bethlehem, or in
Eastern Pennsylvania. They were greengrocers, and established a splendid
business in Bethlehem. Eventually the brothers dissolved partnership, and
Peter became sole owner, continuing the business alone for many years, in
fact, until he was so old that he could not effectively continue it longer.
He was one of the pioneer residents of Bethlehem, and when he died in
October, 1917, he was seventy-six years old, and had been a merchant in
Bethlehem for more than half a century, esteemed and respected by all with
whom he came in contact. His wife, Catherine Cressman, survived him, but
died November 3, 1918, aged seventy-three years. Her parents were Jesse
and Catherine Cressman, the former a prosperous farmer at Zeiglersville,
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and one of the pioneers of that district.
The children of Peter and Catherine (Cressman) Burg, other than William B.
Burg, were. i. Harvey, who died in infancy. 2 and 3. Matthew and Genevieve,
who both succumbed in infancy. 4. Alfred, who is identified with the Allentown
High School, and is now conducting the high school cafeteria, married Ida Cash-
ner, of South Bethlehem. Their sons, Robert and Richard, died in infancy, but
their daughter, Ruth, graduated from the Allentown Pligh School, and is now
employed in stenographic capacity by the International Motor Company, of
Allentown, and their second daughter, Esther, is still in public school. 5.
Charles Burg, who is a traveling salesman for the Van Camp Packing Com-
pany, of Pittsburgh, married Emma Baum, formerly of Wilkes-Barre. They
have three children living: Catherine, Charles, Jr., and John. 6. Harold, who
is in the employ of the Bethlehem Steel Company, married Florence Dottier,
of Allentown, who bore him three children: Robert, Althea and Caroline;
all live with Mrs. Catherine (Cressman) Burg, and Alderman William B.
Burg, at Bethlehem.

William B. Burg, the subject of this article, received his elementary
education in the public school of Bethlehem. That closed his academic edu-
cation, though he had studious inclinations and perhaps felt that he might
by his own efforts be able to take a college course. It may have been with
this thought that he became an employe of the Lehigh University Library.
As library boy he retained connection with the university for two years,
when came the accident which was to have such bearing on his after life.
He injured his knee joint during a football game, and for twenty-five years
thereafter was lame ; in fact, it eventually became necessary to amputate the
leg. The operation took place in 1916, twenty-five years after the accident
had occurred. Not able after his injury to take active outdoor occupations,
or to continue in his library work which necessitated much movement, Wil-
liam B. Burg took employment in clerical capacity with the Lehigh Valley
Railroad Company, with which company he remained for eight years, although
during the period he had to attend many hospitals for treatment. Later he
was for two years in the employ of the Bell Telephone Company, as solicitor.
For four years he worked in the office of the recorder of deeds at Easton,
Pennsylvania, and during the illness of the borough secretarj^ William B.

THE NRW YORK
PUBLIC LIi;!L\liY

ASTOK. I,BN()X AND
TILDEN FOUNriATKVNS

BIOGRAPHICAL in

Bur^, for a term temporarily filled that office with much credit to himself.
When the two Bethlehem borou,e^hs were consolidated in January, iqi8,
William B. Burs^ took office as alderman of Bethlehem, Second Ward, South
Side, which office he will probably hold for many years, since his iio]ndarity
in the ward is strong:.

Alderman Burg' is staunch in his allecjiance to the Democratic party,
in the local aft'airs of which he has always taken some part. In his ward his
influence is strong, and in the city generally he is much respected by those
who know him. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and conscientious
in his observance of its doctrines. Both he and his mother take much interest
in church aft'airs.

WILLIA.M WERNER— Thoroughly democratic, kindly disposed and
friendly, William Werner, of Easton, is one of the substantial men of the
city whom prosperity has not unfavorably affected, but, as a generous friend
and supporter of all that is of interest to his fellowmen, he holds closely the
friends he has made during a lifetime of business activity. His father, John
E. Werner, when a young man came with his wife from Germany to escape
militarism and settled in Whitehall township, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania.
He was for many years a contractor at the Lehigh Carwhecl Company of
Fullerton, Pennsylvania, and passed away at a ripe old age.

William Werner was born in Whitehall township, Lehigh county. Penn-
sylvania, and until eleven years of age attended the public schools of Pleasant
Hill, nearby. He then studied under private teachers until beginning busi-
ness life under the direction of his father, contractor at the Lehigh Car-
wheel Company. He continued with that company until 1877, then located
at Nazareth in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, there beginning his
aj^prenticeship to the watchmaker's trade. He completed the years he had
contracted to serve with Richard O. Beitel in Nazareth. He then went to
Bangor, Pennsylvania, started in the jewelry business, taking his brother,
George A. Werner, in partnership under the firm name of Werner Brothers.
A music department was added to the Bangor jewelry store, and prosperity
attended both. In 1895 a branch music store was opened at Easton, and
when later Werner Brothers dissolved, William Werner took the Easton
store as his share of the division, while George S. retained the Bangor estab-
lishment.

The original Werner music store in Easton was in the Drake building
on Third street, but two years later it was removed to the Warren I'uilding
on NorthamjJton street. After becoming well established the business grew
rapidly, and larger quarters were then found at the corner of Northampton
and Fourth streets. In igo6 the present commodious modcrnlj' equipped
building at Nos. 432 and 434 Northampton street, was occupied, and to the
former music department was added a line of Phonograjihs, The Werner
Company being the first jobbing agency ever established by the Thomas A.
Edison Company. In 1908 a complete line of fine furniture was added to
the business, and at a factory and warehouse, on Bushncll street, devoted to
the repair and refinishing of furniture, orders arc filled for pianos of special
design and wood. The same year, 1908, the business was incorporated as The
Werner Company, with William Werner, president; Walter Loux, secrctarv-
treasurer, and William Werner's three .sons, and one brother, John H.
Werner, as directors.

The founding and developing. of the business known as The Werner
Company have been the crowning work of William Werner's life, but by no
means does it represent its full scope and interest. He is a man of broad
mind, and through various agencies has kept in close touch with the great
world outside his own circle. He is a member of the National Retail Piano
Merchants' Association, and of the National Talking Machine Dealers' Asso-

112

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

elation. Through these he has kept The Werner Company alive to the
needs of modernizing every department, and the business has always been
most intelligently directed' When the time came that his close personal
attention was nJt urgently demanded he began indulging a long-cherished
ambition, and with his appreciative wife, he has toured the United States,
Canada, Continental luirope, Great Britain, Cuba, the Bahamas, and other
parts of the West Indies. He is a member of Easton's Board of Trade, and
has always been a supporter of the movements for a better and improved
Easton. 'Hc is affiliated with lodge, chapter, council and commandery of
the Masonic order, is an Independent in politics, and a member of the Luth-
eran church. All good causes appeal to him, and he is one of the most
highly esteemed men of his city.

William Werner married May 28, 1884, Anna F. Heller, a graduate of
Trach's Academy, daughter of Stephen A. and Sibylla (Bowers) Heller, of
Windgap, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Werner are the parents of four
children: George W., born February 24, 1885, associated with his father in
The Werner Company, and a member of the board of directors of the same ;
Charles and Robert, twins, born February 3, 1887, also associated with The
Werner Company, and directors of the same. Charles is now (1918) ser-
p-eant in the United States Army at Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, South
Carolina. He married Ethel McKenna, of Chicago. Robert, twin with
Charles, also was in the United States Army at Camp Meade, Maryland, but
illness compelled his honorable discharge from the service, and he died
October 11. 1918, at "Willana Lodge," Pocono Pines. Dorothy, the only
daughter, resides with her parents.

The city home of the Werners is on Burke street. College Hill, Easton,
and their summer home, "Willana Lodge," is at Lake Naomi, Pocono moun-
tains. There the summers are spent, and Mr. Werner indulges there in his
favorite recreation, fishing, and there his sons delight in fall hunting and
winter sports.

HOWARD ROBERT McNEILL— On both maternal and paternal lines,
Howard R. McNeill traces to Scotch grandparents. His paternal grand-
father, came from Scotland, his birthplace, in 1830, and settled on a farm
in the State of Ohio. His maternal grandfather, Daniel Fee, was born in
Scotland, and also settled in Ohio. Their children, James McNeill and
Mary Fee married in Ohio, and settled in Richmond, Indiana, and there
their son. Howard Robert McNeill, president of the McNeill Cooperage
Company, of Easton, was born and spent his youth. Lie is a son of Pro-
fessor lames McNeill, and a grandson of Harbison McNeill, the latter born
in Scotland, and the founder of this branch of the family in the United
States. James McNeill, son of Harbison McNeill, was born at Point Pleasant,
Clermont county, Ohio, a village twenty-five miles above Cincinnati, on
the Ohio river, noted as the birthplace of General Ulysses S. Grant. James
McNeill was a man of education and culture, a college professor, and during
his later active years was superintendent of schools in Richmond, capital
of Wayne county, Indiana, an important industrial center and seat of Earl-
ham College, under the direction of Friends. Professor McNeill married
Mary Fee,' daughter of Daniel and Matilda (Lane) Fee. Both her parents
were born in Scotland.

Howard Robert McNeill, youngest of the four sons of Professor James
and Mary (Fee) McNeill, was born in Richmond, Indiana, September 11,
1860, and was there educated. After completing his years of educational
preparation for the battle of life he entered the employ of the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company, became an expert telegrapher, and for eight years was
employed in that capacity on several of the railroads of the West and North-
west. " He then established in the cooperage business in Cleveland, Ohio.

BIOGRAPHICAL 113

there continuing until 191 1, when he removed to Easton, Pennsylvania, his
present location. In Easton he has continued in the same business, and as
president of the McNeill Cooperape Company is head of a very large and
prosperous business enterprise. The company has a plant located across
the Delaware in Phillipsburg, another at Elizabeth, New Jersey, with mills
in the timber districts of Virginia and South Carolina. At the mills the
staves and parts used in the barrels, casks, hogsheads, tanks, etc., manufac-
tured by the company, are sawed from a log, and at the Elizabeth and Phil-
lipsburg plants are converted into the manufactured product and shipped by
sea and rail to distant points. The business of the company is very large,
and, as its managing head, Mr. McNeill most thoroughly demonstrates his
executive ability. He is a member of the Associated Cooperage Industries
of the United States, and of the New Jersey Manufacturers' Association.
He is a man of energy and public spirit, aiding with his influence and jicrsonal
effort the advancement of all good causes.

A Republican in politics, he serves his party and his city only in private
capacity, for the strife of political conflict and the cares of public office hold
no attraction for him, although he is mindful of his every obligation as a
good citizen. He is a member of the Easton Board of Trade, and Rotary
Club, two organizations whose primary object is the advancement of Easton's
best interests. In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of the
Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and is a noble of Rajah Temple, Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine, Reading, Pennsylvania; and is a member of the Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks. Golf and motoring are his favorite
recreations, but he continues to apply himself closely to his business, and
through an intimate knowledge of its technicalities has mastered its prob-
lems and won success. His social club is the Pomfret, of Easton.

Mr. McNeill married, June 21, 1893, Ella M. Hastings, daughter of
John M. and Jeannette (Elliott) Hastings, of Dublin, Indiana. Mrs. McNeill
takes a prominent part in Red Cross and charitable work, is a member of the
Woman's Club, and of the board of managers of the Old Ladies' Home.
Both Mr. and Mrs. McNeill are birthright members of the Society of Friends.

WILLIAM REESER — In 191 5 William Reeser retired from mercantile
business, having been a grocer's clerk and pro])rietor of his own store for
nearly half a century, 1866-1915. Fifteen of those years were si)ent as clerk,
the remainder as owner and manager. The business he founded he turned
over to his son Floyd, who, in turn, was succeeded by Joseph H. Brown, a
son-in-law of William Reeser. The old firm name, William Reeser, is yet
borne by the present management, and is a silent tribute to the business
ability of the founder.

William Reeser is a son of Charles and Eliza (Bauer) Reeser, and a
grandson of Philip Reeser, a farmer of Northampton county. Pennsylvania.
Charles Reeser was born at the Northampton county farm of his parents and
spent his life engaged in agriculture, his farm just outside the limits of the
city of Easton. He married Eliza Bauer, who died aged seventy, he dyinp
aged seventy-two years, both members of the Arndt Lutheran Church. They
were the parents of nine children: William, who is of further mention;
Edwin, Charles, Jacob, Emmeline, Christian, Jane, Susan and Mary, all liv-
ing save the last named and Jane.

William Reeser, eldest son of Charles nnrl Eliza (Bauer) Reeser. was
born at the home farm near Easton, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1844, -Ti'l now
is living a retired life at No. 138 South Fourth street, Easton. He grew to
manhood at the home farm, obtained his education in the public school and
continued his father's assistant until reaching his twenty-second year. In
1866, he left the farm to become a grocer's clerk, and has ever since made that
city his home. He continued in the grocery business as a clerk for fifteen

N. H. BIGG.— 8

114 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

years, then, in 1881, established in the same line of business under his own
name. He prospered abundantly, built up a very profitable business, and
gave himself wholly to its management. For thirty-four years he continued
its capable head, then having attained man's allotted "three score years and
ten" and secured a competency, he retired from business, and was succeeded
by his son. He is a member of St. John's Lutheran Church, of long standing,
his service to the church including membership on the official board. He is
affiliated with the Improved Order of Red Men, and in his political faith
is a Democrat.

William Reeser married, December 25, 1875, Annie E. Hay, daughter of
Peter and Juliana Hay. They are the parents of a son, Floyd H., and a
daughter, Helen. Floyd H. Reeser was for many years his father's assistant,
and in 1915, his successor in business. He is now a silk manufacturer asso-
ciated with Rowland Pettinger & Company of Easton. He married Mar-
garet Anner, and they are the parents of a son, William H., and a daughter,
Anna Elizabeth Reeser. Helen Reeser married Joseph Brown, of Easton,
who succeeded Floyd H. Reeser in the grocery business founded by William
Reeser, his wife's father. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of a son.
William H. Brown.

CLINTON THIELENS MILLIARD— Although a young man in point
of years, Mr. Hilliard is a veteran in business experience and responsibility,
and the positions he fills are numerous and exceedingly weighty. Even
prior to the death of his honored father in 1914, the young man had practi-
cally transferred the business burdens of the father to his own capable should-
ers, and since that year he has succeeded to the executive control and direc-
torial management of important corporations including the Zearfoss-Hilliard
Lumber Company, and the Seitz Brewing Company. He is a grandson of
Edward and Sabina (Sandt) Hilliard of Northampton county, Pennsylvania,
and a son of Clinton Hilliard, who, until his death, was one of Easton's
prominent and progressive business men.

Clinton Hilliard was born at the home in Easton, Pennsylvania, Febru-
ary 5, 1854, and died at his home there. August 11, 1914. He prepared in
the city public schools, finishing with graduation from high school in 1870,
then entered Lafayette College, whence he was graduated. Civil Engineer,
class of '74. He was variously employed until 1880, then formed a partner-
ship with James R. Zearfoss, and engaged in the lumber business under the
firm name, Zearfoss & Hilliard. They conducted a large and prosperous
business as a firm until 1903, when they incorporated as The Zearfoss-Hilliard
Limiber Company; Mr. Zearfoss, ]Dresident ; Mr. Hilliard, secretary-treasurer.
Three years later Mr. Zearfoss passed to join the "innumerable caravan"
and was succeeded in the presidency of the company by Mr. Hilliard. The
executive management of a great lumber company was but a part of the
business burden carried by Mr. Hilliard. He was vice-president of the Seitz
Brewing Company, a director of the First National Bank, succeeding his
father, Edward Hilliard ; one of the organizers and director of the Northamp-
ton Trust Company, and secretary-treasurer of the Delaware Ice Company.

Genial, generous and friendh', he sought means by which he could add
to the happiness of his fellowmen, and make Easton a "better place to live
in." To that end he co-operated with the Board of Trade and with philan-
thropic institutions in their efforts, and was ready to aid any forward move-
ment. A movement entirely his own, was the creation of a public bathing
beach at "Eddyside" on the Delaware river, and "Eddyside" became a popular
resort visited by thousands of grateful bathers during the summer months.

In JMasonry, Mr. Hilliard held all degrees of the York Rite, being affili-
ated with and a past master of Dallas Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons;
past high priest of Easton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; past thrice illus-

PUBLIC UBluiiY

ASTOR. LE.VOX AND

C^d^^f^^^r^

BIOGRAPHICAL 115

trious master, Pomp Council, Royal and Select Masters ; past eminent com-
mander of Hugh De Payne Commandery, Kniphts Templar; and was a
noble of Lulu Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia. He
was a Heptasoph, a Phi Gamma Delta, a member of the Pennsylvania Lum-
berman's Association, and the Ponifret Club. He was a deeply interested
citizen, but sought no office, and was strictly independent in political activi-
ties. In rclig-ious connection he was a member of Christ Lutheran Church.

Clinton Hilliard married, in 1882, Marie Louise Thielcns, daughter of
Edward and Emma (Perrin) Thielcns. Her father was born in Louvain, that
now stricken Belgian City, and her mother was born in Paris, France. Mr.
and Mrs. Hilliard were the parents of a son, Clinton T., of whom further
mention, and a daughter, Marie Louise, a graduate of Dana Hall. Mrs.
Hilliard continues her residence in Easton.

Clinton T. Hilliard, only son of Clinton and Marie Louise (Thielcns)
Hilliard. was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1884. After finish-
ing public school courses he prepared at Lcrch Academy, then entered Lafa-
yette College, taking an electric engineering course which he completed with
graduation, class of '04. The third year following graduation he spent at the
General Electric Company's school as designing engineer, and his work was
confined to direct current motors and generators. He returned to Easton in
1908. and at once took his place in the large business enteri)rise of which his
honored father was head. In 1909 Clinton T. was elected treasurer of th6
Zearfoss-Hilliard Lumber Company, and in 1914 succeeded his father as
president and treasurer of the company. In 1915 he was elected vice-presi-
dent of the Seitz Brewing Company, and in 1916 became president, secretary
and treasurer. In 1914, he succeeded his father on the directorate of the
First National Bank, and the Northampton Trust Company, and since 1914
has carried all the burdens of managing the estate and business interests
left by Clinton Hilliard. He has developed into the strong, self-reliant man
of affairs, and is a young man who can be relied upon to bear his full share
of any burden in any emergency.

During his college years, Mr. Hilliard was prominent in athletics, and
made both the football and baseball teams. He has never lost that interest,
and is a patron of all out-of-door recreations, and might even be termed a
devotee of the same. He supports all good causes, and was particularly
active in the War Chest and Liberty Loan campaigns. He is a member of
the Easton Board of Trade, Easton Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club, Pom fret
Club, Easton Anglers' Association, Phi Gamma Delta; Christ Evangelical
Church, and president of the church council.

Clinton T. Hilliard married, October 19, 191 5, Mary Sleator Willson,
daughter of Harvey and Fannie (Sleator). Willson, of Richmond, \'irginia.

JOSEPH W. PASCO E— When Harry G. Seip's death created a vacancy
in the office of chairman of the Republican Central Committee for North-
ampton county, Josejih W. Pascoe, ex-postmaster of Easton and general
contractor, was chosen to succeed to the honor, one which he had once before
held for a term of two j'ears. Mr. Pascoe is a man eminently qualified to
lead, his long years of experience under varying conditions in fliffercnt sec-
tions of the country giving a broad outlook in life, while the years have
matured his judgment and added to his wisdom. Joseph W. is a son of
Richard W. and Jessie MacDougall (Campbell) Pascoe, his father of English
and his mother of Scotch parentage and ancestry.

Richard W. Pascoe was born in Cornwall, England, and there spent his
minor jears. He was engaged in mine operation there and became well
known as a man of great ability in his business. About the year 1846, he
was selected to go to Scotland, and to open up and develop a copper mine
which was owned in England. While there engaged, he met and married

ii6 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Jessie MacDougall Campbell, and in 1849, leaving his wife in Scotland, he
came to the United States. This was the year of the California .sfold dis-
covery, but he was not carried away by the excitement, goino: instead to
Pottsville, Pennsylvania, at the solicitation of coal operators whom he met
in New York. At Pottsville he was coal mine foreman, there remaining one
year. In 18^0 he sent for Mrs. Pascoe who joined him in Pottsville. Ilis
life from that time forward was one of honorable achievement as a mininij
expert, and during its course he developed a copper mine in the Lake Superior
region, opened a zinc mine at Friedensville, in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania,
for the Wharton and Wetherell interests of Philadelphia, and superintended
its operation for several years; attempted the development of an alleged gold
mine in South Carolina; again connected with the Freidensville zinc mine,
and finally was connected with the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company until
his death in 1887. His gold mining venture in the South, undertaken in 1863,
resulted in his being conscripted for service in the Confederate Army, and
it was not until the close of the war in 1865 that he was freed from military
duty. He then returned to Freidensville and his old position as superinten-
dent. During his Lehigh connection he resided in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
and there died and is buried.

Jessie MacDougall (Campbell) Pascoe was a Presbyterian in religious
faith and reared her sons in that belief. Her father, Colonel Malcolm Camp-
bell, was an officer of the British Army in active service in India and else-
where. Mrs. Pascoe died in Easton, the mother of nine children : Archibald
Campbell MacDougall, died at the age of fifty-six, married Pauline Rhine-
hart; John Henry, born August 25, 1851, died in 1909, married Annie L.
Reinsmeth ; Mary, died young; Sarah, died young; Joseph W., to whom this
review is inscribed; Richard F., now (1918) warden of Northampton county
prison and of mention elsewhere in this work; William, died in 1917, in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, aged fifty-nine, married Alice Cooper; Thomas, died
in boyhood; Benjamin, died in youth.

Joseph W. Pascoe was born in Freidensville, Lehigh county, Pennsyl-
vania. He there attended public schools then taught by the well remembered
Adam Markle, a teacher who firmly believed with Solomon, that to spare
the rod was to spoil the child, and no children were spoiled under his instruc-
tion. After the Freidensville school, he entered Kutztown State Normal
School where he completed his studies in 1875. He did not attend continu-
ously, however, but worked at times in the zinc mine where his father was
superintendent. After the State Normal School, he returned to the zinc
mine and was there employed until 1878. This zinc mine was a very valuable
property, said to be the richest in the world in its deposits free of arsenic.
It was opened and developed by Richard W. Pascoe, and both before and
after his Civil War experience was operated by him as superintendent.

In 1878 Mr. Pascoe left Freidensville to go to Iowa City, Iowa, and
there installed the machinery at the plant of the Iowa City Packing Com-
pany. After completing that assignment, he returned to Chicago where until
1882 he was in charge of the core department of the Chicago Malleable Iron
Company. In 1882 he returned to Pennsylvania, located at Bethlehem, where
for fifteen years he was superintendent in charge of the construction of
bridges and buildings for the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. He efficiently
and capably fulfilled his obligations to the Lehigh until 1897, then located in
Easton and became a private contractor, a business he has most successfully
conducted until the present (October, igiB), with the exception of four
years during which he served Easton as postmaster.

Since attaining his majority, Mr. Pascoe has been an active worker in
the Republican party and deeply interested in public affairs. Fle was chosen
to represent his district upon the County Republican Central Committee and
for two years was its capable chairman. That position was resigned when

BIOGRAPHICAL 117

he was appointed, February 16, 191 1, postmaster of Easton, he holding
that posit on under appointment of President Taft until 1915. He is a
memlcr of the Republican clubs of the city and county, and since castinsj his
first presidental vote in 1876 for Rutherford B. Hayes, has been a consistent
and loy-J supporter of the Republican candidates. In September, 1918, he
was asrain chosen leader of the Republican forces of Northampton county
and ns ch.airman of the county committee is a potent force in the campaigns
■vvapcd in the coimty.

''n 1911 Mr. Pascoe was made a Mason and is now affiliated with Easton
Lodsrc, No. 152, Free and Accepted Masons; Easton Chapter, Royal Arch
Masons ; Pomp Council, Royal and Select Masters ; Hugh de Payens Com-
manf'ery, Kniffhts Templar; and with all bodies of the Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite in which he holds the thirty-second degree. He is a charter
memlier of Easton Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; is past
president of Eastern Eyrie, Fraternal Order of Eagles ; member of Easton
Lodge. Loyal Order of Moose. He was one of the first ten charter members
of the Kiwanis Club and is one of the men who can always be counted upon
to suiiport any worthy movement for civic improvement. Mr. Pascoe has
never nmrried.

VAN SELAN WALTER— In Forks township, Northampton county,
within a nuartcr of a mile of his present residence on Cattell street, I^aston,
Van Selan Walter was born. The Walter family early settled in Northamp-
ton coimty where their residence outdates the Revolutionary War. Van
Selan is a son of William H. Walter, and a grandson of Frederic Walter,
both br.rn in the county. William H. Walter, born in Forks township, near
the birthplace of his son, Van Selan, was a land owner, farmer, and distiller.
He met his death by accident, drowning at the age of thirty-two years; he
w^as born in 1810, died in 1842. He married Elizabeth Rerger and they were
the parents of five children, two now living: Edward Walter, of Easton, and
Van Selan Walter, to wdiom this review is inscribed.

Van .Selan W^alter was born in Forks township, Northampton county,
Pennsyhania, January 3, 1839, and is now living a retired life at his home in
the city <"f Easton. close by the home of his childhood. He attended public
school and Lesher's Academy, in Easton, but from the time he was ten years
of age, he was employed on the canal as a driver during the summer months
and until the canal was closed for the winter. He was but a boy of three
years when h's father died, and as soon as possible he began aiding his mother
in her ta.'^k of providing for five young children. He drove a team on the
canal until he was fifteen years of age, then was his mother's assistant in
other ways, and for a time taught a country school. He next spent three
years learning the carpenter's trade, and after becoming an expert workman
and well informed on all building problems he engaged in business for him-
self as a contractor. When he was twenty-three years of age, his work was
interrui)ted bv his patriotic service in defence of the flag. He enlisted in
December. 1862, in Company E, 153rd Regiment. Pennsylvania Infantry.
John P. Ricker was captain of Company E, and Charles Glanz. colonel of
the rec^imcnt. They were engaged at Chancellorsville, April 30. 1863, and the
regiment suffered severely, and Colonel Glanz was taken jirisoner. They
were again engaged at Gettysburg, where Captain Ricker was wounded and
many of Company E captured by the Confederates, Corporal Walter being
amonp- the number. He soon escaped and was mustered out of the service
with h's regiment July 23, 1863.

After return'ng from the army, Mr. Walter again engaged in contracting
and building in Easton, and so continued until 1913, when he retired. He had
begun a-; a wage earner on the canal in 1849, a lad of ten years, and sixty-
four years later, he retired, the veteran contractor, aged seventy-four years.

ii8 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Those sixtj'-four years had been years of trial, and from his early stru,2;,a:lc
he emerged the strong, self-reliant young man, able to direct his course through
life, and in old age retired with an established reputation and with a sufficient
competence. To this, add ten months of valiant service to his country in
her hour of need, and you have the condensed life story of one of the men
who have literally built a city and whose work shall endure. Monuments
to his skill and integrity as a contractor and builder exist everywhere in
Easton, for a full half century has been devoted to his work in that city.

Mr. Walter is a Democrat on State and national issues, but in local
affairs has always been extremely independent. He was a member of the
board of trustees of St. Peter's Lutheran Church and is yet an active member
of the congregation. He has always kept in touch with his army comrades
through the medium of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic
to which he belongs, and has long been a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows. He married, July 20, 1866, Sallie A. La Ras, born in Forks
township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, near the Mount Bethel town-
ship line, February 15, 1848, daughter of Martin and Mary Susan (Levers)
La Ras. Mrs. Walter is a granddaughter of John George La Ras, a pioneer
undertaker. Her father, Martin La Ras, also, was engaged in the undertaking
business, until his death at the age of sixty. Mrs. Martin La Ras died at the
age of fifty-eight years.

Mr. and Mrs. Van Selan Walter are the parents of five children: i.
Reverend Clinton Elmer Walter, a minister of the Lutheran church, of York,
Pennsylvania, married Elizabeth Cox and has three children: Clinton Elmer
(2), now with the American Expeditionary Forces in France, ' Rainbow
Division, Company E; Gorilla Lawrence; and Martha Tyson. 2. Flora Eliza-
beth Walter, deceased. 3. Stewart Edward Walter, deceased, married Mary
Kutz and left two children : Fayette Elizabeth, and Marie, of Easton. 4.
Mary Susan Walter, married Reverend Philip H. Pearson, of the Lutheran
ministry, a native of Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, stationed at Collingswood,
New Jersey. 5. Anna May Walter, deceased.

FLOYD HAY REESER— When chosen president of the Roehlen, Pit-
tenger Silk Company of Easton, Mr. Reeser withdrew from the management
of the grocery business with which he had been associated from school days,
and to which he succeeded upon the retirement of his honored father, William
Reeser, who founded the business in 1881, and gave it the name it yet bears,
William Reeser, groceries. The founder conducted the business thirty-four
years, 1S81-1915, then retired in favor of his son, Floyd H., who, when
assuming other responsibilities, was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Joseph
Brown. As a silk manufacturer the son is meeting with the same success
as when a grocer, and the name Reeser bids fair to shine as brightly in the
business firmament of Easton during the coming century as it has during
the past half-century. Floyd H. Reeser is a great-grandson of Philip Reeser,
a farmer of Northampton county. The farm, known as the Reeser homestead,
lying just outside the city limits of Easton, and first owned by Charles
Reeser, son of Philip, was the birthplace of his son, William, and his grand-
son, Floyd Flay Reeser.

Charles Reeser cultivated the homestead farm until his death at the
age of seventy-two years, his entire life from boyhood having been spent in
farming, He married Eliza Bauer, who died aged seventy. Both were mem-
bers of Arndt Lutheran Church. They were the parents of nine children :
William., Edwin, Charles, Jacob, Emmeline, Christian, Jane, Susan, and Mary,
all living except the last named.

William Reeser, the oldest son of Charles and Eliza (Bauer) Reeser,
was born at the homestead near Easton, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1844, and is
now a retired merchant of Easton, residing at No. 138 South Fourth street.

BIOGRAPHICAL 119

He attended public school, and remained at the homestead until 1866, then
forsook the farm for mercantile life, becominsj a grocer's clerk in Easton and
so continuing' for fifteen years. He established the retail grocery house of
William Reeser, in 1881, and for thirty-four years was its capable and pros-
perous owner and manager. In IQ15 he retired, turning his management over
to his former energetic and efficient assistant, Floyd 11. Reeser. Mr. Reeser
is a member of St. John's Lutheran Church, and is a man of upright life and
kindly disposition. He married, in December, 1875, Annie E., daughter of
Peter and Julianna Hay. They are the parents of a son, Floyd IL, and a
daughter, Helen, wife of Joseph Brown, the mother of a son, William P.
Brown.

Floyd Hay Reeser was born at the homestead near Easton, Pennsylvania,
Jul}' 10, 1881. He was educated in the grade and high schools and Wood's
Business College, all of Easton, completing a two years' course at the last
named institution. From the school he went into his father's grocerj' store
as clerk, and in time became his trusted assistant, and able to carry a good
share of the burdens of the business, thereby relieving the older shoulders
which had borne them so long. In 191 5 William Reeser retired from busi-
ness, leaving his son at its head. He continued under the same firm name
until 1918, when he established in the silk manufacturing business, organiz-
ing and becoming president of the Roehlen, Pittengcr Silk Company of
Easton, an enterprise which is fast taking rank among the important indus-
tries of Easton. He is a member of Easton Lodge, No. 121, Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks ; Easton Lodge, No. 45, Loyal Order of Moose, and
St. John's Lutheran Church. In his political bias he is a Republican.

Mr. Reeser married, in Easton, January i, 191 5. Margaret Anner, of
Phillipsburg, New Jersey, daughter of Henry and Margaret Anncr. Mr.
and Mrs. Reeser are the parents of two children : Anna Elizabeth and William
H. Reeser.

WILLIAM OSCAR WOLFRAM — Winning success in one business is
considered a fair test of a man's ability, but Mr. Wolfram, after winning
high reputation as a machinist, abandoned his trade and established the busi-
ness of mechanical dentistry, attaining in that line even a greater success and
higher reputation. He is one of Easton's native sons, and when a young
man passed through an experience that he will never forget, and one that
will be told so long as the story shall be told of the great blizzard of 1889,
which damaged the suspension bridge spanning the Lehigh between North
and South .side, Easton. Mr. Wolfram was on the bridge when the crash
came and was thrown into the icy river. Luckily he escaped bodily iniury,
and was able to swim to the shore, but he has never fully recovered from the
effects of his winter swim and its attendant shock. He is a grandson of
Gunther Wolfram, who came from his native Bierenbcrg, Hanover, (lermany,
in 1834, with his wife Mary Catharine (Vosbrink) Wolfram, and their chil-
dren. They settled in New York City on Houston street, where he followed
his trade of tailor until their removal to Easton. Pennsylvania. In Easton he
established a tailoring business of his own. At one time he with his son
operated a boat on the canal between Mauch Chunk and Philadelphia. He
died in New York City while on one of his regular trips to that city. His
wife died in South Easton, aged about seventy-six years.

Richard Wolfram, son of Gunther and Mary Catharine (Yosbrink) Wolf-
ram, was born in New York City, April 11, 1836, and that city w-as the fam-
ily residence until 1842, their home being on Houston street. They came to
Easton in that year, and for a time he attended the public school. He then
went with his father and brothers on the canal, and from a boat boy became a
blacksmith's apprentice, under Amos Rodgers, with whom he worked about
five years. He then became an employee of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and

120 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

for fifty years was employed in their Easton shops as a machinist, retiring'
in January, igii. He married Ellen Lj'nch, born in Frenchtown, New Jer-
sey, in 1838, her parents moving to Easton when their daup;hter was eleven
years of age. Her father, Wil'iam Lynch, a shoemaker, died in South Easton
at the age of seventy-five. His wife, Elizabeth (Fisher) Lynch, born in
Bloomsbury, New Jersey, died in South Easton, Pennsylvania, aged seventy-
six. Mrs. Ellen (Lynch) Wolfram died in Easton, in . January, 1911, her
husband then going to the home of his son, William Oscar, where he yet
resides. Richard and Ellen Wolfram were the parents of five children:
William Oscar, of further mention ; Charles Elmer, who died in South Easton;
aged twenty-four years, leaving a widow, Rebecca (Lantz) Wolfram; Mary
Martha, died in childhood ; Gcor-re Henry, now of Newark, New Jersey, mar-
ried Lilly Yarrington, of South Easton ; and Wilbur Burrell, of Philadeli)hia,
who married Lillis Jones, of Carversville, Pennsylvania.

William Oscar Wolfram, eldest son of Richard and Ellen (Lynch) Wolf-
ram, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1862, the family home then
being on the site of the present Lehigh Valley Railroad roundhouse. He
began school attendance in the old building used as a town hall in South
Easton, he then being five years of age. His first teacher was John Eckert,
an olden time teacher who believed that to spare the rod was to spoil the
child. The boy improved his time, and as he was able to attend regularly
nine months out of each year until fifteen years of age he consequently
obtained a good education, two years being devoted to high school study
under J. J. Cressman, a Lutheran minister. The lad spent his vacation
months working on the farms which then comprised most of the area now
known as Easton's South Side, and for this work he sometimes received a
quarter of a dollar week!}', in addition to his board, and sometimes a bushel
of apples to take home. From his fifteenth year to his eighteenth he was
variously employed, driving team? or clerking, but at the age of eighteen he
became a machinist's apprentice in the Lehigh Valley Railroad shops under
John L Kinsey, then master mechanic of the shops. He served four years
as an ai)]^rentice, and then continued as a journeyman machinist for ten
years, becoming a skilled and reliable worker in metal. He then abandoned
the machinist's trade and established in an entirely new line, mechanical
dentistry. He thoroughly mastered the details of that business, and has
long been rated as one of the best in his line. For eight years he had his
plant on South Third street, but in IQ02 he erected a two and a half-story
double dwelling and there conducts his business. He is a Republican in
politics, a member of St. Peter's Reformed Church, and of the Junior Order
of United American Mechanics.

Mr. Wolfram married, in Easton, in 1882, Sallie Hay, born at the Hay
homestead on Fourth street, Easton, in 1861, daughter of Adam Louis and
Elizabeth Eve (Smith) Hay. They are the parents of three children: i.
Richard Louis, born in Easton, July 27, 1883; educated in the public school;
at the age of fifteen he left school and became associated with his father in
mechanical dentistry and so continues ; he is a member of St. Peter's Re-
formed Church, and a Republican in his political faith ; he married Lelah
Hopper, of Easton, October 8, 1910, she a daughter of John and Rose
Hopper. 2. Elizabeth Ellen, married J. Floyd Eichlin, and resides in Williams
township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, her husband a farmer; they
are the parents of two sons, Joseph Oscar and Richard Floyd Eichlin. 3.
Isabel Grace, married Edward A. Mewhinney, and resides at Attleboro,
Massachusetts; they are the parents of a son, William Edward Mewhinney.

JOHN BROWN — The two men who in their day and generation con-
tributed most largely to the wonderful develojiment of the slate industry of
Northampton county were John Brown and his son, Robert S. Brown, both

T7\sA^enean Wistpnesl 5(Wi9Tv

i*iy OyJTC (MCio-'s 4 ff-» WV

Tl.l. ' ' nllK

PUBLIC IIDUARY

ASTOB. LENOX ANB
TlLriEN FOUNDATIONS

BIOGRAPHICAL 121

residents of Eastcn, and both long since passed to their reward. John Brown
came to Pennsylvania from New York State, but Robert S. was a native son,
and at the time of his death in igog was president of the American Slate
Compan)^ a corporation which controlled sixty per cent, of the Bansjor slate
output. John Brown passed through a wide business experience, and was
the possessor of an ample fortune when he entered the slate business, but
Robert S. entered the business in youth and was his father's assistant before
he succeeded him at his death in i88g. They were two strong men and made
honorable names for themselves in the business world.

Arms — 'Sable three lions passant between two 1)en(llets argent and as many trefoils
slipped ermine.

Crest — A buck's head sable attired or, issuing from a crown, paly, Kold.
Motto — Si sit pnidentia.

John Brown was born at Newburgh, New York, June g, 1808, died at
Easton, Pennsylvania, November 4, 18S9, and is buried in Easton Cemetery.
He was reared tipon the home farm, and attended public school until four-
teen years of age, then obtained permission to leave home anil work upon the
Delaware & Hudson Canal, wdiich was then being built. After the com])letion
of the canal he did not return to the farm, but continued in ]>ublic emi>loy-
ment, finding a minor position with the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company.
There he developed strong qualities and began a rise in position which led
him to one of the best and most profitable places within the company's
gift. For forty years he continued with the company and ranked among
the leading men of the corporation. During his connection with the Lehigh
Coal & Navigation Company he resided in White Haven, Pennsylvania, but
after resigning his position moved to Easton, where he built a handsome
residence wdiich was his home until the end of life came.

In Easton Mr. Brown found that he had been such an active worker
for so many years that time hung heavy on his hands. Gradually he be-
came interested in the slate quarries at Bangor, and began investing in the
stock of various companies until his stock and actual quarry holdings were
larger perhaps than any other resident of Easton. The active management
of most of the properties which he controlled he turned over to his son,
Robert S. Brown, but kept in personal touch with the business all his life.
He had other business interests as well, and several well known Easton
industrial and manufacturing corporations claimed his interest as an in-
vestor. He was also interested in the Lehigh Valley, the Lehigh & Sus-
quehanna and the Bangor & Portland railroads, and when the time came
to pay the last honors to his mortal remains, officials of these corporations
and many other business men with whom Mr. Brown had been associated
came to render homage to their fallen comrade.

Mr. Brown married Maria Stoddart, born at Stoddartsville. Pennsylvania,
named in the family honor, July 23, 1819, died in Easton, March 11, 188.^.
daughter of Leonard and Sarah (Ellis) Stoddart, of ancient Pennsylvania
family, the Ellis an English family, the Browns of Scotch-Irish blood.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown were members of Brainerd-Union Presbyterian Church
and its liberal supporters. They were the parents of four children: i. Sarah.
born September 20, 1840, died in the Yosemite Valley, in June, iqii ; wife of
Dr. E. L. Diefenderfer. 2. Elizabeth, the only survivor of the family, a
resident of Easton, her home at No. 12.^ North Thir<l street; she is a lady
of quiet life and gentle manner, a devoted member of Brainerd-Union Pres-
byterian Church, and deeply interested, in the work of the Red Cross and
the Navy League, to both of which she belongs. 3. Maria Louisa, died
unmarried, April i, 1914. 4. Robert S., of further mention. The family
home was on Wolf street, Easton, and there both John Brown and his wife
passed away. The old home is now the site of Easton Hospital.

122 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Robert S. Brown, only son of John and Maria (Stoddart) Brown, was
born at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, August 27, 1857. While quite young
his parents moved to White Haven, Pennsylvania, and there he attended
public school and business college, his education also including military
school training. He began business life under the preceptorship of his able
and honored father, taking charge of his slate quarrying interests while
still a ver}^ 3'oung man. After the death of John Brown in 18S9, Robert S.
succeeded him, rose to the very front rank among slate operators, and was
one of the best known men in the slate business. He was president and
owner of the American Slate Company, and through his holdings in that
company owned or controlled the Bangor Excelsior. Slate Companj^ of which
he was president ; president of the Bangor Union Slate Company, Pennsyl-
vania Structural Slate Company, and was lessee of the Albion quarry at
Pen Argjd, the North Bangor quarry, and the Keenan Structural Slate Com-
pany. He was also president and general manager of the Genuine Bangor
Slate Company. He managed his various slate properties with judgment
and skill, causing them to return liberally in dividends. In addition he was
largely interested in Easton financial institutions, serving as director of the
Easton National Bank, the Northampton Trust Company, and the North-
ampton National Bank. He maintained a suite of offices in the Drake build-
ing in Easton, and there a large force of clerks were kept busy in the various
departments of his business. He gave his close personal attention to his
large interests and was essentially the business man, self-reliant and strong
in his ability to plan and to execute. He gave liberally to all worthy causes,
but quietly and unostentatiousl3% few knowing the extent of his benefactions.
He was a member of Easton Lodge, No. 121, Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, and of the Pomfret Club.

Robert S. Brown was survived by his second wife, Ida Keiper Brown,
who died in Easton in the early part of the year 1918. They were the parents
of four children: i. Robert S. (2), residing in Easton. 2. Frank R., died in
Easton in igi6. 3. Elizabeth M., of Easton. 4. L. Renton, of Easton.

JOHN SANFORD NOBLE— When a young man. Frederick Waldo
Noble came to Easton from his Connecticut home, and until his death, at
the age of sixty-seven, was a prominent citizen of Easton, identified with
the business and public life of the city. He left an only son, John Sanford
Noble, who, since his father's death, has been the Easton representative of
this old and honorable New England family founded in 1632 by Thomas
Noble, who died in Westfield, Massachusetts, January 20. 1704.

(I) Thomas Noble was admitted an inhabitant of Boston, Massachu-
setts, January 5, 1653, but removed the same j'ear to Springfield, Massa-
chusetts, where he resided until 1689, going thence to Westfield, where he
died fifteen years later. He married November i, 1660, Hannah Warriner.
The line of descent is through the founder's son, John (i), his son. John
(2), his son, Thomas (2), his son, Sylvanus, his son. Rev. Birdseye Glover.
his son. John Waldo, his son, John Sanford Noble of the eighth American
generation.

(II) John Noble of the second generation, was born in Springfield,
Massachusetts, March 6, 1662, died in New Milford, Connecticut, August 17,
1714. He married (second) in 1684, Mary, daughter of Richard Goodman,
of Hadley, Massachusetts.

(HI) John (2) Noble was born February 15, 1685. and died at the
great age of eighty-eight. He was captain of the train band at Milford,
Connecticut, in 1732. and in August, 1720, united with the Milford Con-
grcp-atimal Church. He married (first) Hannah, daughter of Thomas Pickett,
who d!od March i, 1716.

(IV) Thomas (2) Noble was born January 16, 1712, died November 4,

■y/r/.r/ ■/"fylrr.n

THi- K

PUBLIC Lir,LlAUY

ASTOR. LENOX AND

Tll^IlEN FOUNDATIONS
B ■ L

BIOGRAPHICAL 123

17S3. He erected the first house in New Milford north o^ Gallows Hill, and
there resided until death, a wealthy property owner and influential man.
He was selectman in 1771, and was representative five sessions cndin.c: in
1774. He married, June 29, 1737, Mary, daughter of Cai)tain 'Jhonias Curtis,
of Kensington, Connecticut.

(V) Sylvanus Noble was born at the homestead in X'cw Milford, Con-
necticut, July II, 1756, died March 26, 1837. He married July 11, 1790,
Elizabeth Glover, of Newtown, Connecticut.

(VI) Rev. Birdseye Glover Noble was bom in New Milford, Connecti-
cut, April 26, 1791, died in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1848. He was a
graduate of Yale College, class of 1810, and studied theology at the general
seminary of the Episcopal church in New York City. In 1813 he was ordained
rector of Christ Church, Middletown, Connecticut, and later was a trustee
of Washington College, now Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut. He was
a man of scholarly attainment, high intellectual power, and was a power for
good in whatever sphere he moved. He married Charlotte, daughter of John
and Amy (Northrop) Sanford. They were the parents of five children:
William Henry Noble, brevet brigadier-general and eminent citizen of Bridge-
port, Connecticut; John Sanford, a hardware merchant, of Easton. Pennsyl-
vania; Charlotte Elizabeth, married Rev. Charles H. Force, a Presbyterian
minister; Frederick Waldo, of further mention; Edward Sylvanus, died
young.

(VII) Frederick Waldo Noble was born at Middletown, Connecticut,
May 15, 1821, died in Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1887. He was educated in
the public and private schools of New England, and was variously engaged
until 1846, when he located in Easton, Pennsylvania, there engaging in the
hardware business, his store located at the corner of South Third street and
Center square, the Easton Trust Company building now occupying the site.
He continued in the hardware business until 1868, then sold out. Later, in
partnership with his brother, John S. Noble, and others, under the firm
name Noble, Kellogg & Company, he built the Geneva Fox River Railroad.
He was one of the organizers of the Merchants Bank of Easton, and a
member of its original board of directors. He was identified with other
public enterprises of note and was one of the progressive, public-spirited
men of his day whose word endures. He was the owner of a fine stock
farm, actively interested in the Farmer's Institute, and in the annual agri-
culttiral fairs held in Easton. He was a Whig, later a Republican, and a
member of the Protestant Episcopal church, a faith in which he was reared.
Frederick W. Noble married, September 20, 1849, Anna Sebring. born at
Easton, September 10, 1829, died in 1892, daughter of William and Elizabeth
(Davis) Sebring, her father an eminent lawyer, and public man. Mr. and
Mrs. Noble were the parents of four children: John Sanford, of further
mention; Elizabeth Sebring, born April 27, 1853, died December 21. 1875;
Nina, born November 26, 1854, died July 4, 1871 ; Edith, born March 26, i8.s7-

(VIII) John Sanford Noble was born in Easton. Pennsylvania, March
2, 1851. only son of Frederick Waldo and Anna (Sebring) Noble. He com-
pleted public school courses with graduation from Easton High School, class
of 1868. He then entered Lafayette College, completed the first year of the
scientific course, then withdrew to join an engineering corps connected with
a railroad enterprise in which his father was interested in Ottawa, Illinois.
He spent two years in the West, then returned to Easton, and after a special
course of study at Lafayette he engaged in the hardware business with his
uncle, also John Sanford Noble. They operated under the firm name. Noble
& Company, for five years, then the junior jiartner withdrew and began
the study of law. He soon gave up the law and engaged in business, open-
ing insurance, conveyancing, and brokerage offices. In 1899 he formed a
partnership with H. T. Buckley, in the private banking firm, H. 'I. Buckley &

124 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Company of Easton. For more than forty years he has been a notary public;
for several years he was city clerk ; was one of tlie orj^anizers of the Easton
Board of Trade, and its first secretary ; and was one of the leading- factors in
inducing the location of the Simon Silk Mills at Easton. He has aided in a
public-spirited manner all movements tending to better conditions in his
native city, and he ranks with commercial and financial leaders of Easton.
Mr. Noble is a Republican in politics, and has served in Common Coun-
cil as city clerk, and for twenty-three years as a return judge of election.
?Ie is affiiliated vi'ith Saranac Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men; member
of the McKinley Club ; and is a communicant of Trinity Protestant Episcopal
Church. He married in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, April i8, 1883, Florence
Baldwin, daughter of Isaac and Charlotte (Holland) Baldwin. i\'Irs. Noble
died in Easton in 1908, a most devout church woman. Children: Charlotte,
residing with her father; John Sanford (3), a sergeant in Battery A, 107th
Regiment, United States Field Artillery, now serving in France with the
American Army of Occupation. He was in the hard fighting at the St.
Mehiel salient, Chateau Thierry, and Argonne Forest, but came through
safely from those desperate conflicts which proved the American soldier to
be of the finest quality.

EDWARD MASON HILL— The passing of Alvin Hill removed a
prominent and interesting figure from Bethlehem's list of business men, one
who had been active in the upbuilding and development of the city. He
was of an old New England family, reared in the school of experience, and
was one of the strong men of his city. His great-grandfather. Henry Hill, was
a farmer, of Maine. His grandfather, Benjamin Hill, died in Maine, aged forty-
two years, the father of nine children, two of whom, Joseph and Alvin, located
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Alvin Hill, son of Benjamin and Huldah (Parker) Hill, was born at
Brownfield, Oxford county, Maine, December 9, 1843, died in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, January, 1912. His father and grandfather were both born in
the State of Maine: his mother, who died in 1870, was a daugh.ter of Caleb
Parker, a soldier of the War of 1812. He passed his youth until sixteen
years of age on the paternal farm and in attendance at the district school.
In 1859 he went to Boston, and being then thrown upon his own resources,
he rapidly developed a strong, self-reliant character and a strong faith in
his own ability to make his way in the world. In the spring of 1864, he
enlisted for ninety days in a military company known as the Old Fusiliers,
that company being stationed at Fort Warren for the protection of Boston
Harbor. In the same year he married, in Boston, Ruth J. Annis, born in
Benton, New Hampshire, but grew to womanhood in Stoneham, Massa-
chusetts, daughter of Pearley Annis, a farmer. The young couj^le resided in
Stoneham until 1874. Mr. Hill was engaged in the manufacture of boots
and shoes. In 1874 he located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and became a
a hide and tallow dealer, being associated in that business with his brother,
Joseph Hill, now too deceased. Joseph Hill had previously purchased a tan-
nery on Monocacy creek, and m 1875 at the old Moravian Tannery, probably
the first in Pennsylvania, the brother conducted a profitable business until
1882, when the death of Joseph Hill dissolved the partnership. Alvin Hill
then operated the plant under his own name until 1904, when he admitted
his son, Edward, to a partnership; the latter is now his father's successor.
Alvin Hill was a good business man, had every confidence in his own judg-
ment, and never hesitated to embark in any business enterprise that his judg-
ment apjiroved. Thus he acquired large holdings of Bethlehem real estate,
both improved and unimproved. He was a director of the First National
Bank, and a heavy stockholder in the Bethlehem Electric Light Company,
the Bethlehem and Nazareth Street Railway Company, and the former Mont-

BIOGRAPHICAL 125

gomery Traction Company. He was one of the incorporators of the Cutter
Silk Mill Company, the former mill on River street, owned by that company,
now the property of Saaquoit Silk Mill Manufacturins: Company, of Phila-
delphia. He was also interested in and a stockholder of the old Bethlehem
Fair and Driving Association. He was very progressive in his ideas and
never refused an investment ofTered him because it was "new fangled." He
gave every proposition careful consideration and made up his own mind
concerning the value of the proposal to him. He prospered ahundantlv and
was held in high esteem by contemporaries.

In 1888 Mr. Hill was elected a member of the Borough Council from the
Third Ward of Bethlehem, served three years, and in iSgi was re-elected for a
similar period. During his six years in council he served on many important
regular and special committees, and was chairman of the committees, water
and streets. He was a member of Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church,
and from 1877 was a member of the board of trustees. He gave liberally to
all good causes, and every church need or benevolence always had his gener-
ous support. He was a member of Lehigh Council, No. 356, Royal Arcanum ;
and of Bethlehem Conclave, Improved Order of Heptasojjhs. He was of
friendly social nature, made friends easilj' and always retained them. In
politics he was a Democrat in early years, but eventually leaned towards
Republicanism, but was independent.

Alvin Hill married in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1864, Ruth J. Annis,
who died in Bethlehem in 1889, the mother of seven children, two of whom
are yet living: Edward M., of Bethlehem, and Joseph E., of Philadeljihia.
Mr. Hill married (second) in 1890, Elizabeth Gangewere, daughter of Dr.
Benjamin F. and Hannah Gangewere, who were then residing in Catasauqua,
Pennsylvania. By his second marriage Mr. Hill had two children : Lloyd
Benjamin, an inspector of the Bethlehem Steel W^orks, married Lillian Fah-
renhold and has two children, Bettie and John; the second son, Russell
Parker Hill, is in the United States service, enlisted in the Naval Reserve.
Russell married, March, 1919, I-oretta R}an, of Troy, New York. Mrs. Hill
survives her husband.

Dr. Harvey Hill, a son of Alvin and Ruth J. (Annis) Hill, a practicing
physician of Northampton, Pennsylvania, died at the age of thirty-one, un-
married. One of the two living sons of Alvin Hill, Joseph E. Hill, resides in
Philadelphia. He married Mabel Jahannette and has two children: Bettie
and Joseph.

The second living son, Edward Mason Ilill, was born in Stoncham,
Massachusetts, March 31, 1869, and was brought to Bethlehem by his parents
in 1874. He was educated in the Bethlehem public schools and Schwartz
Academy. He became associated with his father in business, and in 1904
was admitted a partner. Mr. Hill has always remained in the business of
Alvin Hill & Son, and at present is proprietor of the same. I-ldward M. Hill
married, in 1904, in New York City, Nancy Smith, who was born in Cana<la.
They have one child, Alvin Mason Hill, born December 9, 1906. Mr. Hill
is a lover of all out-door sports, such as football and baseball, the latter
especially. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
the Bethlehem Club, and the Moravian congregation.

JOHN RICE — Now executive head of the General Crushed Stone Com-
pany of Easton, a corporation to which he came as general superintendent
in 1900, Mr. Rice, in the imjjortance of the work which he is doing, is fol-
lowing in the footsteps of his honored father, George Rice, and his grand-
father, John Rice, both of whom were leading constructive engineers, con-
tractors and builders of their day. John Rice was identified with the build-
ing interests of the city of Philadelphia during his lifetime. George Rice
sought a broader field and became a great constructive engineer identified

126 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

with works of national importance, such as the Chicago Drainage Canal,
the Philadelphia subway, the Philadelphia and Reading railroad, work
which resulted in the abolition of hundreds of grade crossings in the city
of Philadelphia, with great engineering enterprises in many other localities.
The first of this family of builders has long since passed away, also his
son, George Rice, who died in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, the city in which
his wife Isabella Hitner (Potts) Rice was born and which was named in
honor of her ancestor, John. She is of the famed Potts family, of Penn-
sylvania, founded by Thomas Potts, a family now in its ninth generation in
America. The third of this trio of builders, John Rice, right at life's prime,
has gone far along the road to professional and business success, and with
the past as a criterion his future seems bright. The first of this family
in the United States was William Rice, who came from Ireland when a
young man and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He married and had
a son, John Rice, born in Philadelphia, the grandfather of John Rice, of
Easton, Pennsylvania.

John Rice, of Philadelphia, became a leading contractor and builder of
that city and rose to importance both in business and civic life. He was
a member of the Fairmount Park Commission of Philadelphia, a director
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, chairman of the Public Buildings
Commission, and one of the founders of the Union League of Philadelphia.
It is an interesting fact in connection with the last statement that George
Rice, son of John Rice, before his death in 1918, was the oldest living
member of the Union League of Philadelphia. John Rice married Mary
Brown Kennerdine, daughter of Jacob Kennerdinc, with whom John Rice
first became associated in the contracting business.

George Rice, son of John and Mary Brown (Kennerdine) Rice was
born in Philadelphia, August i, 1838, and resided in Pottstown, Pennsyl-
vania, at the time of his death, 1918. During his active years he was a
leader among Pennsylvania's civil engineers and won his reputation through
achievement of the highest order. He completed his education, won his
spurs, and entered the engineering department of the Philadelphia and Read-
ing railroad, and was advanced to resident engineer. In 1863 the Phila-
delphia and Reading raised a company of infantry, of which Mr. Rice was
appointed captain after the completion of his service in the ranks. A mem-
ber of the Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, he compiled a record of sol-
dierly merit. .A^fter his term of service ended, he returned to Pottstown,
with the Philadelphia and Reading railroad, and until the years bore heavily
was actively engaged in business connected with his profession — ci\il engi-
neering and construction work. He was for years vice-president of E. D.
Smith & Company, builders of the great Chicago Drainage Canal, the
Philadelphia subway, the Philadelphia and Reading subway, and of other
noted works in different ])arts of the United States. George Rice was
chief engineer of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, chief engineer
of the Street Railway Companies of Pittsburgh, and in charge of the con-
struction of the original cable and electric railway system in that city. In
addition he was identified with many other important enterprises, and as
constructing engineer his services were always in demand, and were even
so up to the last, as consultant. Finally he retired, and at his Pottstown
home reviewed a life of honorable achievement.

George Rice married Isabella Hitner Potts, born June 5, 1836, daughter
of Henry and Isabella (Hitner) Potts, a descendant "of Thomas Potts, the
founder of the family in America. The family is historic in Pennsylvania,
their fame forever preserved by the important cities, Pottstown and Pott.s-
ville. and by the worthy deeds of nearly two centuries of men and women
bearing the name. George and Isabella Hitner (Potts) Rice are the parents
of a son, John Rice, of whom further mention follows, and a daughter,

THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIDIIAKY

ASTOR, LENOX AND
TZLDHW FiniNDATJONS
B

BIOGRAPHICAL 127

Helen, wife of H. Hammer, deceased. Mr. George Rice died Thursday,
September 27, 1918, at his home at Pottstown, Pennsylvania, after an illness
of two years.

John Rice, of the fourth generation of the Rice family and of the ninth
generation of the Potts family in America, was born in Pottstown, Mont-
gomery county, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1866. He prepared for college in
the well known Hill School of Pottstown, going thence to Sheffield Scien-
tific School, Yale University, there continuing until graduated I'h.B., class
of 1885. Immediately after graduation he began his business career by
entering the service of the Philadelphia Bridge Com])any of Pottstown,
Pennsylvania, there remaining four years in the draughting department. He
then joined his father in Pittsburgh, and in association with him installed
the Pittsburgh system of electric railways, and for ten years was engaged
in electric railway, general construction and engineering work in I'ittslnirgh
and other American cities.

In the year 1900 John Rice was appointed general superintendent f>i the
General Crushed Stone Company of Easton, Pennsylvania, and since that
year has made Easton his home. He was advanced to the rank of vice-presi-
dent in 1901, and in 1909 was elected president of the corporation, his present
office. The company is an important and prosperous one, the great advance
in road building and concrete construction taxing the resources of the stone
crushing companies to their limit. He is also president of the Amies Road
Company and had other business interests of importance. He is a member
of the Easton Board of Trade and interested in all that ])crtains to Easton's
commercial development. He was appointed, October, 191 7, county chair-
man of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, of the United States Fuel
Administration.

A good red-blooded man, Mr. Rice delights in out-of-doors recreation —
golf, motoring and fishing most appealing to him. A list of his clubs includes
the Rotary, Pomfret, Northampton County Country and Easton Anglers,
all of Epston; the University and St. Anthony's, of Philadelphia; St. An-
thony's and Yale, of New York City; Graduates, of New Haven; and the
Bethlehem, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His college fraternity is Delta
Psi ; his political preference, Republican. In 1912 he was Presidential elec-
tor, and he served a term in Easton City Council.

Mr. Rice married, January 5, 1898, Carrie Arndt Drake, daughter of
Samuel Drake, of Easton, whose career is elsewhere traced in this work.
Mrs. Rice is active in the Woman's Club of Easton, and in Red Cross
work, and bore her share of the extra burdens imposed by the late war.
Thev are the parents of two children : Virginia, a graduate of the Misses
Masters School at Dobbs F"erry, New York, in 1918; and John, j)rcparing for
Yale at the Hill School, Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

MARTIN JOSEPH RIEGEL— For more than half a century Martin
J. Riegel, now living in honored retirement in Easton, Pennsylvania, was
in the book and stationery business in Easton. Riegel's was headquarters
for school books for Easton children until "free textbooks" took that busi-
ness away from the retailers. That void was quickly filled by a line of
musical instruments which compensated for the loss of the school book.
Mr. Riegel came to Easton in 1856 a young man of twenty-one. a coach
builder by trade, but mercantile life attracted him, and until his recent
retirem.ent he was continuously in the book, stationery and musical instru-
ment business, the first eight years, 1856-1864, as clerk, then about half a
century as proprietor. To a long and honored business career in Easton,
Mr. Riegel has added public service of importance, and as a member of the
First Reformed Church of Easton he has proved that he was not a man
whose sole interest was in business. He is now well into octogenarian
ranks, but his appearance would indicate a much younger man. He can

128 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

review his life in retrospect with the cahn satisfaction that rightfully fol-
lows the knowledge that duty has been well performed and responsibility

fully met. , . _. . , . „. ,

]\Iartin ]. Riesjel is a son of Joseph and a grandson of Matthias Riegel,
who lived and died in Hellertown. Pennsylvania. He was a farmer many
years of his life, and a man well liked by all. He married Miss Cram, and
among their children was a son, Joseph, of further mention.

Joseph Ricgel was born at the homestead in Lower Saucon township
at Hellertown, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in August, 1807, died m
Hellertown, August 3. 1885. He spent his early life on the farm and obtained
his education in the district school, and in the Vanderveer School in Easton.
As a young man he taught school, then returned to farming for a time,
finally devoting his entire time and energy to mercantile business. He was
postmaster for twenty-five years, justice of the peace many years, and a
member of the Reformed church. He was a Whig in politics until the
downfall of that party, when he became a Republican, remaining loyal in
his devotion to that political body until the end of his life. He was a candi-
date for sheriff at one time, but the county was normally strongly Demo-
cratic, and he was defeated. As justice of the peace he did much legal
business for his neighbors, but his advice to them was always to avoid
litigation. Joseph Riegel married Mary Newcomber, born in Upper Saucon
tovvnshio, Lehigh countv, Pennsvlvania, March 11. 1812, died at the Heller-
town home, June 26, 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Riegel were the parents of five
children: Catherine, born August 26, 1830, died April 25, igoo, married
Daniel H. Smith, of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Henry Matthias, born
July, 1833, died October, 1863; Martin Joseph, of further mention; Samuel
Peter, born November, 1837, died in 1855 ; Charles Jacob, born January 28.
1841, who removed to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Martin Joseph Riegel was born in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, December
II, 1835, and now (January, 1919) is residing in Easton, Pennsylvania, a
retired merchant. He attended the village school, where his first teacher
was a Mr. Shorter. The schoolhouse was of stone, rough casted without
and very bare within. Long benches before sloping desks were the seating
accommodations; the curriculum, the three "Rs." One of the readers used
was printed in German, called the "German Friend." This book the lad
translated in part into English when he was twelve years of age. His public
school attendance was limited to but a few months each year, according to
the custom of that day, but Joseph Riegel, the father, was greatly in favor
of education and wanted his children to have all possible advantages. When
the public school was closed he sent them to a private school taught by
Plato Stout. At the age of fifteen Martin J. left home and went to Bethle-
hem. Pennsylvania, where he served a three years' apprenticeship to the
coach builder's trade under Lehr & Sellars. He had not completed his
term when he was taken sick and returned home and remained there until
his health was regained.

This brought him to the age of twenty-one and the year 1856. a year
which marked the beginning of his mercantile career. In that year he
came to Easton and entered the employ of William Maxwell, a book seller
whose store stood on the present site of the northeast corner of the Square.
For eight years he continued with Mr. Maxwell as a clerk, and during that
period decided that it was a business he should like to make his permanent
lifework. In 1864 he started in the book and stationery business for him-
self, the transition from clerk to proprietor being very easily effected. He
soon developed a profitable business along general lines, especially in school
books and supplies, continuing those lines until the era of "free textbooks."
In 1884 he added a musical department, and in time his sale of pianos,
organs and other instruments, with the supplies they necessitated, became a

BIOGRAPHICAL 129

most important item of the store business. He dealt very successfully for
about fift}^ years, and then full of years and honor retired to a well-earned rest.

In addition to his private business. Mr. Riej^el aided in founding many
of the enterprises of the city, notably the Easton Improvement Association,
the Northampton Improvement Association, of which he was president; the
Easton Heights Cemetery Association ; also was helpful in aiding Mr. Simon
in locating his silk mill in Easton, an industry which has been a strong
factor in Easton prosperity, the mill starting with two hundred emj^loycs,
the payroll since having so swollen that it now contains fifteen hundred
names. For his untiring efforts in securing the amount asked for to secure
the mill, Mr. Riegel received a public vote of thanks.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Riegel, under the borough form of gov-
ernment, served Easton as councilman for a term of three years. When
the city adopted a charter he was elected to represent his ward in the first
City Council, and was chairman of the highway committee. For more than
fifty years he has been a member of the First Reformed Church, has been a
member of the Consistory since 1869, was member of the board of deacons,
and about 1900 was elected an elder. He is a member of lodge, chapter,
council and commandery of the Masonic order, also is an Odd Fellow.

Martin J. Riegel married, in Easton, November 11, 1861, Anna L. Hess,
daughter of Owen W. and Anna Maria (Hoover) Hess, and a granddaughter
of Judge Hess of the Circuit bench. Mrs. Riegel died December 11, 1904,
and is buried in Easton Cemetery. She was also a devout member of the
First Reformed Church of Easton. Mr. and Mrs. Riegel were the parents
of a son, Henry Martin Riegel, born in Easton, March 3, 1864, a graduate
of Lafayette College, class of 1884. A classmate of his was General Peyton
C. March, United States Army. Immediately after graduation he became
his father's store assistant, continuing with him until March 3, 1900, when
he became manager of the musical literature department of the (j. Schirmer
music store, New York City. He continued in that position for fifteen years,
then with broken health returned home and died September 11, 1914. After
graduation he kept up his studies and was master of twelve languages, his
knowledge of eight of these qualifying him to teach them. When the New
York publishing house, Henry Holt and Sons, were about to publish a trans-
lation of "Parsifal," they sent for Mr. Riegel, stating that they wished his
judgment on the manuscript, in these words: "You know more about this
than anyone else in the United States." He approved the translation after
examination, and it went to the presses, Mr. Riegel receiving a handsome
copy of the first edition by Mr. Holt, Jr. He was a studious lad, it being'
remembered by his father that at the age of eight he asked if he could not
have a Webster's Unabridged Dictionary for his own. His request was
granted and the boy rejoiced in his new acquisition. He was unmarried..
About T878 Mr. Riegel was one of the prime movers in organizing St.
Mark's Lutheran Church. ,

GABRIEL SCOTT BROWN— One of the leaders in Northampton's in-
dustrial development, Mr. Brown has become conspicuous through his inti-
mate connection with that greatest of factors in modern constructive enter-
prises — Portland cement, its manufacture and sale. He came to the Alpha
Portland Cement Company, of Easton, in 1898, an inexperienced man, and six-
teen years later he was elected president of the company, a record of honorable
achievement. He is of Scotch parentage, son of Thomas Mitchell and Jane
(Lorimc--) Brown, born at Lochmaben, Scotland. Thomas M. Brown came
to the United States in 1840, settled in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, and
until his death in 1902, at the age of seventy-five, engaged in farming. His
widow died in 1916, aged seventy-three years.

Gabriel Scott Brown was born at the home farm in Dreher township,

N. H. BIGG.— 9

I30 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Wavne, county, Pennsylvania, November lo, 1870, and there attended public
schools' until his seventeenth year. He then entered Plillman Academy,
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to complete his college preparation, and en-
tered Princeton University, where he received his degree, C. E., with the
graduating class of 1894. The same year he entered the service of the
Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company at Lebanon and Cornwall, Pennsylvania,
remaining with that company in positions of increasing responsibility until
1898. In November, 1898, he came to Easton as chief clerk in the offices
of the Alpha Portland Cement Company. He met the demands made upon
his abilitv and skill so satisfactotrily to the company that the year following
he was elected secretary-treasurer, and on January 18, 1906, was elected
member of the board of directors. For twelve years, until 191 1, he con-
tinued in that dual capacity, then was chosen second vice-president in charge
of production and construction work. In November, 1914, he was advanced
to the highest office within the gift of the board of directors, and as the
executive head of this now great company, the fourth largest cement manu-
facturing company in the United States, he directs vast operations, and is
an important figure in an industry which in no small way he has been
instrumental in developing from one of feeble proportions and uncertain life.

Air. Brown is largely interested in various other enterprises of import-
ance. He is a director of the First National Bank of Easton ; is a director,
treasurer and member of the executive committee of the Portland Cement
Association of the United States and Canada, one of the most efficient of
America's trade organizations ; is one of the most active members of the
Easton Board of Trade, and was (1918) its efficient president. He is a
member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society
for Testing Materials, and the Princeton Engineering Association, having
served the last-named as president. His club membership is with the Pom-
fret of Easton, and member of board of governors ; Princeton, of New York
City; Princeton, of Philadelphia; Nassau, of Princeton; the Rotary, of
Easton : and the Northampton County Country Club. He is a member
of College Hill Presbyterian Church, and in political preference is a Repub-
lican.

Mr. Brown married, October 14, i8g6, Grace Little, daughter of Harlan
Page and Mary (Hager) Little, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is active
in society, church and charity, devotedly interested in the work of Easton
Hospital and the Red Cross, having for many years been a member of the
hospital board of trustees. Of patriotic ancestry, she is eligible to the vari-
ous orders based upon early military service, and is a member of Easton
Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. A woman of broad
mind and culture, all forms of useful service appeal to her. Another of her
activities is the Woman's Club of Easton, of which she has long been a
member. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of sons and daughters:
Elizabeth, a junior at Smith College, class of 1920; Frances; Mary Little;
Lorimer Hager; and Thomas Mitchell (2).

While Mr. Brown's advancement in the business world has been rapid,
it has been made solely upon merit. His thorough professional training
and unremitting industry would have won success even under adverse con-
ditions, but he happily caught the tide ready to turn, and on its flood he
launched his fortunes. The great demand for Portland cement found him
ready, and although the industry grew by leaps and bounds, it never found
him unprepared, and he ranks todav as a leader among leaders in the indus-
try with which he is connected. He stands for all that is best in civic life
and belongs to that large body of citizens whose proudest title is that of
American business men.

HARRY WINTER COOLEY--On the site of the present Rader store,
on Northampton street, Easton, Harry W. Cooley was born, and in that sec-

BIOGRAPHICAL 131

tion of Easton his business life was spent, he beinp for several years a
partner in the Hapgood Shoe Company, wholesale dealers in shoes and allied
lines. He was a man of influence in his city and was highly esteemed by
his business associates as a man of sound judgment and honorable, upright
life. His years of usefulness were cut short while he was just in the prime
of life, but he accomplished much and won an honorable position in the
life of his native city.

The Cooleys, upon leaving England, came to America, the original
American ancestor coming as a land agent for English interests. His chief
patron was a nobleman. He also invested in land for his own account and
became the owner of several tracts in New Jersey. He was the ancestor of
Harry Winter Cooley, of Easton, to whom this review is dedicated, the line
of descent being traced through Samuel Cooley of the second generation
in New Jersey.

Samuel Cooley was born in New Jersey, located in Milford in that
State, and there lived all his life after, serving for twenty-five years as
justice of the peace. He married Abigail Britton, and they were the parents
of six children. One of his daughters married a Mr. Hulsizer and located
in Illinois, when it was the Far West. Later he settled on ground upon
which Chicago was later built, but finally located near the preesnt site of
Peoria, Illinois, becoming very wealthy through the rise in land values.
The line of descent from Samuel Cooley is through his son, Samuel L. Cooley.

Samuel L. Cooley was born in Milford, New Jersey, in 1825. He was
educated for the profession of law at the MacCartney Law School, and
practiced his profession at Easton until his death, attaining eminence at
the Northampton bar. He was an ardent Republican, and from the founding
of the party was one of the delegates which sat in that first Republican
convention in 1856, which nominated John C. Fremont for the Presidency
of the United .States. When the Whig party finally gave up the ghost and
left the way clear for the successor, Samuel Cooley gave it his enthusiastic
support and continued allegiance until his death. He married May 10, 1854,
Caroline Wilking, born in Easton, October 26, 1833. She was educated in
the public schools and at Moravian Seminary, Bethlehem, and grew to
•womanhood at the Wilking home, No. 210 Ferry street, where she was born.
Mr. and Mrs. Cooley were the parents of two sons: Wilking Britton, born
in Easton, May 18, 1855, a graduate of Lafayette College, assistant chief
of the United States Post Office money order department at Washington,
and at his death in New York City in 191 1 was manager of a dei)artinent
of the John Wanamaker store. He married Florence Stemm, of Easton, who
survives him with a daughter, Helen Cooley; and Harry Winter Cof)ley,
whose life is the inspiration of this review.

Jacob Henry Wilking, father of Mrs. Samuel L. Cooley, was a son of
William Henry Wilking, of Stettin, Prussia, who came to America to escape
service in the German army during the Napoleonic Wars. He married
Annie Abel and located on Cherry street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Later
he settled in Easton, where he followed his trade — tailoring — all his life.
Both he and his wife died in Easton. Jacob Henry Wilking was horn at
the Philadelphia home on Cherry street, in 1808. He marrierl Margaret
Schlough, daughter of Samuel .Schlough, a large carriage manufacturer of
Easton, Pennsylvania, in the early days. Mr. Wilking, in Easton, engaged
in the clothing business at No. 208 Northampton street and continued in
business until his death in 1874. He was a T^utheran in religion, a Republi-
can in politics, and belonged to both the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
and Masonic lodp-es. His wife died in 1865. They were the parents of
three children: Henry, who was born, lived and died in Easton, a clothing
. mcrchan*. married .'\mv Fine; Caroline, married Samuel L. Cooley, of previ-
ous mention ; Anna, married Dr. Charles Voorhis.

132 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Harry Winter Cooley was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, June 12, 1857,
died in the city of his birth, January 2, 1904. He attended the public
schools of the city, but he was fonder of work than of study, consequently
he was little more than a boy when he began his business career as a clerk
in the office of Mr. Cummings of the Easton Gas Company. Pie rema.med
with Mr. Cummings for two years, then became bookkeeper for H. A. Sage,
his relations with Mr. Sage continuing without interruption for several years.
He had now reached an age of sound judgment and business discretion and
deemed it time that he began the founding of a business connection which
would be permanent. This he found with the Hapgood Shoe Company, an
Easton wholesale shoe house to which he was admitted a partner. He con-
tinued in business with unvarying success, until his death, in the Plapgood
Shoe Company, his chief business interest and one to which he gave his
personal attention. He had other large interests, and was vice-president of
the Seitz Brewing Company. Finally his call came and he passed to eternal
rest universally esteemed and deeply regretted. He was a Republican in
politics, took an active part in public affairs, being a member of City Council
several terms, and president of that body; was a director of Easton Trust
Companv, and active in all things for the public good. He was a member
of Pomf'ret Club, one of the first Elks in Easton, and was vice-president of
the .A.merican Wholesale Shoe As.sociation. His business and his home
filled his life to the full.

Mr. Cooley married in Easton. Pennsylvania, Alice Wmd, daughter of
Harry F. and Virginia (Morlin) Wind. Mrs. Cooley, Sr., is a great-grand-
daughter of Jacob Abel, who built his home at the "Point," now Scott Park,
the house he built there yet standing. After the battle of Trenton, Wash-
ington is said to have been ferried across the Delaware and to have been
entertained over night at the Abel home, which was then run as a public
house.

Mrs. Cooley, Jr., survives her husband with two children : Bessie, mar-
ried Senator Clayton Hackett, and has a daughter, Ann ; Donald, manager
of the Hackett store, married Hellen Warner, and has a son, Harry.

EDWARD GEORGE AICHER— As a member of the firm, Aicher
Brothers, wall paper merchants and decorators, of Easton, Pennsylvania,
and as president and general manager of the South Easton Water Company,
Mr. Aicher is well known in Northampton business circles. He is a son
of Frederick Aicher, born in the Wurtemburg district of Germany in 1824,
and came to Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1841, there following his trade as a
shoemaker. He was a man of industry and intelligence, rearing a large
family, of whom Edward George was the youngest of thirteen children. His
wife, Magdalena (Fisher) Aicher, was born in the same district as her
husband, and is still living in Easton, aged eighty-six years.

Edward George Aicher was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, November
17. 1875, and was there educated in the public schools. He became a
painter's apprentice early in life, becoming an expert interior decorator,
a branch of the trade in which he specialized. He became a member of the
firm, Aicher Brothers, when a young man, and continued in intimate con-
nection with that successful firm of wall paper merchants and decorators
until 1913, when his interests became divided. He then became financially
concerned in the welfare of the South Easton Water Company, and was
chosen its first president. Later, when the company reorganized, he was
again elected president and general manager of the company, a position he
most ablv fills. I-Ie is a member of the Easton Board of Trade, serving on
the legislative committee, and has been very active in past committee work
of the board.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Aicher has been much in the public eye

ASTOR, LEKnx AW!)
B ■ • ^

BIOGRAPHICAL 133

as member of the school board and select council, serving^ on the former
durinj? the years 1909-1910, and in the latter body, 1911-1912. In 1916 he
was the candidate of his party for the State Legislature. In Masonry he is
affiliated with lodge, chapter, council and commandcry of the York Rite,
with Bloomsburg Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and with
Rajah Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Reading, Pennsylvania. He is
a charter member of Easton Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, member of the Pomfret Club, and the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion. His favored recreation is motoring.

Edward G. Aicher married, February 22, 1903, Elizabeth Sheppard,
daughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Dilts) Sheppard, of Easton. Her father
was one of the owners of the old Glendon Iron Works, and a prominent
business man. Mr. and Mrs. Aicher are the parents of a son, Edward
Franklin Aicher, born October 30, 1912.

THOMAS RICHARD POMP— The family was brought to Pennsyl-
vania in 1760 by Rev. Nicholas Pomp, to Easton, in 1796, by his son, Rev.
Thomas Pomp, and was worthily born by the latter's son, Thomas Richard
Pomp, who, departing from the holy calling of his fathers, engaged in secu-
lar pursuits. All have gone to their eternal home, but the name is an honored
one to which Eastonians are glad to render homage.

Rev. Nicholas Pomp was born January 20, 1734. He pursued regular
courses of scientific and theological training at the University of Halle,
founded in 1694, at Halle, a city of Prussian Saxony, after which he was
sent to America under the auspices of the Fathers in Holland. He came
in 1760 and began his ministerial work at Faulkner Swamp Church and its
several affiliated congregations in different localities. He continued his work
very successfully in Pennsylvania until 1783, then accepted a call to Balti-
more, Maryland, where he found a disorganized congregation. He labored
there most satisfactorih-, faithfully, and acceptably, reuniting discordant
element and restoring harmony and peace. In 1789 he retired from the min-
istry, the infirmities of age being upon him, and came to Easton to spend
the evening of his life with his son, Rev. Thomas Pomp. He died in Easton,
September i, 1819, and was buried by the side of his wife in the German
Reformed Cemetery. Later the monument and bodies were removed to the
Easton Cemetery, where a monument marks the spot, thus described :

In Memory of
Rev. Nichola.s Pomp

Who was born

Jan. 20, A. D.. 17,^4.

And Departed This Life

Sept. I, A. D., 1819;

Aged 85 years, 7 months

and 27 Days.

Rev. Nicholas Pomp married Elizabeth Antes, a widow, who bore him
a son, Thomas, the beloved Rev. Thomas Pomp, of Easton. There are many
stories yet told of Father Pomp, as he was lovingly called, one of them which
is here preserved :

One Sabbath day while riding lo fill a pulpit engagement he saw two young men of
his congregation out with their gnns after wild pigeons. The young men saw their
pastor approaching, and, fearing rebuke, laid their guns behind a log but not before they
had been seen. They were walking sedately away as their pastor rode up. At that
moment a large flock of pigeons alighted in a nearby tree, and. Father Pomp observing
them, said. "Boys, hand me one of those guns." The blushing lafls handed him a gun
and the old pastor, riding up within range, fired, and brought down a goodly number of
pigeons. Returning the gun to the lad with a smile he said : "Boys, you must kill pigeons
when they are here, you can't kill thtm when they are not here. Take them home to your
mother and tell her to cook them for my dinner."

134 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Rev. Thomas Pomp was born in Skeppack township, Montgomery
county, Pennsylvania, February 4, 1773, died in Easton, Pennsylvania, April
22, 1852. His father was then pastor of several congregations in the county
and there the lad passed the first ten years of his life. Baltimore was next
the family home, and there under a broader, intellectual and moral outlook
he grew to manhood, pursuing under most favorable conditions higher liter-
ary and theological studies. His education, both classical and theological,
was acquired under the immediate care and supervision of his honored,
devoted and well educated father, and in the year 1793 he entered the holy
ministry to the great joy of his pious parents, who had looked forward with
deep concern for the future of their son, hoping and praying that he would
choose his father's calling.

Seldom, indeed, and only at long and uncertain intervals, does the church
produce a character whose private and public life presented so beautiful and
faultless a picture as that of Rev. Thomas Pomp, whose memory is yet green
in Easton, the city he served for more than half a century. He entered the
ministry at the age of twenty, in 1793, served German Reformed congrega-
tion in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, for three years, then accepted a
call from the Easton church, entering upon his duties as pastor there in July,
1796. The charge then consisted of four congregations, Easton, Plainfield,
Dryland, and Upper Mount Bethel. But after coming to Easton he supplied
several pulpits in the neighborhood imtil a fall from his horse occasioned
injuries which prevented him from either horseback or carriage riding. Yet
so anxious were the people to have the Word preached to them that on more
than one occasion strong men came to Easton with a litter and carried him
a distance of twelve miles on their shoulders to the church in which he was
to preach. For fifty-six years he continued pastor of that charge, although
several changes were made in his field towards the close of his ministry.
In 1833 he gave up the congregation in Lower Saucon township, which had
been added twenty-five years earlier, and an assistant was granted him at
the close of forty years' service. In 1848 or 1849 the Plainfield congrega-
tion was resigned, and two years later the Dryland or Hecktown congrega-
tion was also dropped. It was with extreme reluctance that he finally con-
sented to give up preaching "the Gospel of the Grace of God" to the dear
people he had so long and faithfully served, and also with such universal
acceptance, and to whom he was bound by the strongest and tenderest ties
of Christian love and affection. On April 22, 1852, he died in Easton, aged
seventy-nine jears, two months and eighteen days. During his fiftv-six
years in the ministry he baptized 7,870 persons, confirmed 3,616, married
2,059 couples, and officiated at 1,670 funerals. These figures taken in con-
nection with the thousands of miles traveled in sunshine and in storm, the
exposure and all circumstances attending country travel in that day^ gave
some idea of the nature and great extent of his official labor. He was lov-
ingly known as Father Pomp, and numbered his friends among all classes
and creeds. He was buried in Easton Cemetery, where a beautiful marble
monument, erected by the German Reformed Church, marks the spot. On
the west side of the monument is this inscription :

In Menlor^' of

Rev. Thomas Pomp.

He was born in Montgomery county. Pa.,

Feb. 4, 1773, died April 22, 18.S2.

In the 80th year of his age and the

Sgth year of his ministry.

And on the north side was this inscription :

The only son of one of the founders of the German Reformed church in America.
He early consecrated himself to the services of the church of his father. He was
ordained to the ministry of the Gospel in 1793. In July, 1796, he became pastor

-^ f ,

ein. U/to77ta^ c/ot}i/i

THE Kl.V \OKK

AfrrOR. LENOX AND
TILDBN FOllNDATJONS

BIOGR.A.PHICAL i.VS

of the German Reformed church of Easton, Pennsylvania, in which capacity he scivnl
the congregation until enfeebled by age and called to an Eternal reward. llis Iomh ami
arduous ministerial labors and personal worth will ever be held in affectionate rcnuiii
brance by a grateful people.

Rev. Thomas Pomp married Mary Catharine Jansen, born May 26, 177'>,
who survived him until September i, 1865, and was then buried by his side.
They were the parents of ten children: Nicholas Peter, born in 1798, died
in Easton, August 18, 1836; Elizabeth, born April 18, 1799, married Sanuu-I
Kinsey, and died at her home, Hokendauqua, April 28, 1876; Rebecca, horn
in 1801, died June 8, iSo'^; Sophia, born May 4, 1803, married Rev. Joseph II.
Gross, and died June 7, 1874; Susanna Wilhelmina, born March 20, i8(i(),
died in Easton, 1898; Mary Catherine, born in April, iSoS, died in Easlon in
1892; Frederick William Henn,', born January 4, 181 1, married Mary A.
Young, and died July 26, 1878; Amelia, born May 12, 1813, married, and
died aged fifty-nine years; Eleanora, born October 16, 1815, married Josejih
F. Berg, and died July 19. 1883; and Thomas Richard, to whose memory
this review of an honored Easton family is dedicated. Such were the hon-
ored sires of Thomas Richard Pomp, who inherited many of his fatlier's
traits, although he chose a business life and ministered to men's bodies,
being in the drug business. But he was of the same plain, practical type
of man, devoted to his business but doing his full duty by his fellow-men
and contributing to the upbuilding of the city of his birth.

Thomas Richard Pomp was born in Easton, March 7, 1818, and tlierc
died August 18, 1862. He attended the Easton schools until thoroughly pre-
pared, then entered Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
where he completed his education. He had a brother, Peter Pomp, in the
drug business in Easton, located in what is known as the Pomp building,
and after finishing his college course he entered the employ of that brother,
thoroughly learning the drug business before leaving. Pie then opened ;i
drug store in York, Pennsylvania ; later he returned to Easton and opened a
drug store on Northampton street, now Fourth street. He was very suc-
cessful in the management of that business, and continued its head until Mu:
end of his life. He was a man of strong character, deeply concerned and
helpful in all that pertained to Easton's welfare, and in a liberal, public-
spirited wav aided in all forward movements. He was a thorough rnusician,
both vocal and instrumental, inheriting his love of music from his fatiicr,
who was devoted to his violin. This love of music is a family trait. Me
was a member of the German Reformed church of which his father was
pastor during all but the last ten years of his son's life, the organization
being known as the First Reformed Church of Easton. In politics he was

a Republican. , ,. , /-mi

Thomas R. Pomp married in Easton, October 23, 1849, Julia Anna Obcile.
born at the Oberle farm homestead near Easton in 1814, and educated hi
the public and private schools, finishing at a seminary in Easton. Mrs.
Pomp was a daughter of George H. and Elizabeth (Schwitzcr) Oberle and
the mother of four children: George Oberle, died aged seven years; Maty
Elizabeth, died aged five years; a third child who died m mfancy ; Aiuia
Julia, a resident of Easton, active in all branches of church work.

HORACE ABRAHAM SAYLOR— Horace Abraham Saylor. an cnK-r-
prising aggressive, and capable young business man of Bethlehem, I'nin-
sylvani'a who came particularly into prominence in the city by his public
work of patriotic character during the European War. is a scion of -in ..I.I
Pennsylvania family. His father was very well known in the citv of l.,-lli .-
hem; so, also, was his grandfather, who was instrumental in causmfj the
erection of three of Bethlehem's churches.

Horace A. Saylor was born in the city, July 27, 1891, and has speni Ins

136 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

whole life in it ; and it is more than probable that he will continue to live
in it for many years, seeing that he is now satisfactorily established in inde-
pendent business of apparently permanent stability and promising- develop-
ment. He is the son of Horace A. and Estella (Wolfe) Saylor, of Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, and grandson of the Rev. O. L. Saylor, of Schuylkill county,
Penns\'lvania, and later of Bethlehem. The grandfather, O. L. Sa\lor, was
a man of many attainments and wide experience. In his early days he was
a physician, and held the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and it was in that
professional capacity that he gave national service to the cause of the Union
during the Civil War ; he held an honorable record as an army surgeon, and
for some time during the campaign was attached to the Schuylkill County,
Pennsylvania, Volunteers. He must have been a man of unusual calibre and
wide learning, and also a man of strong, upright character, for his record
shows that soon after the close of the Civil War he entered the ministry;
and it was as a Doctor of Divinity instead of Doctor of Medicine that he sub-
sequently labored. He became the presiding elder of the Evangelical church,
and to his efforts mainly may be attributed the erection of three of th*
churches that now stand in Bethlehem. The Rev. O. L. Saylor was a promi-
nent Mason, and by his work, both in a professional capacity and as a citizen,
did much to aid the development of Bethlehem. He died in 1902. His son,
Horace A. Saylor, father of Horace Abraham, the subject of this article, was
born in Schuylkill county in 1862, and survived his father only two years,
death coming in 1904, at Bethlehem. His activities also were professional)
though in the literary world instead of medical or clerical. For twenty-two
years he had a distinct part in the promotion of public projects in the cityi
of Bethlehem, for during that period he was associated with the editorial
department of the Bethlehem Times, and his reportorial activities did much
to keep that paper to the front, and also to keep the people of Bethlehem
well informed on subjects that were of vital interest and importance to them
as taxpayers. Mr. Saylor was possessed of abundant energ}', and his pen
was a force ; he became very well regarded in the city, and popular among
those with whom he intimately associated. He was a member of the Evan-
gelical church, and prominently identified with the functioning of local
branches of many fraternal organizations, being a member of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, of the Eoyal Order of Moose, and the Eagles.
Almost to the day of his death he was an active member of the stafT of the
Times, always keen to be the first to report news of consequence, and his
somewhat early death, being only forty-two years old when that occurred,
may have been hastened by his inclination to forget physical limits in his keen
and strenuous efforts to give the public "the whole story," and to be the first
to give it. His widow, Estella (Wolfe) Saylor, still lives, and resides in
Bethlehem with her only child, Horace Abraham. There were two children
of the marriage of Horace A. and Estella (Wolfe) Saylor, but the other child,
James, died at the age of seven years.

Plorace Abraham Saylor, subject of this writing, was educated in the
public schools of Bethlehem, and in course of time entered upon a business
career. He was first employed in the treasury department of the Bethlehem
Steel Company, in the employ of which company he remained for two years
in that capacity, and for a further, like period was connected with the con-
struction of a coke oven plant at the Bethlehem Works. In 1914 an oppor-
tunity to enter into independent business came to him, and he joined the firm
of Miller & Cunningham, cigar merchants, and owners of the well-known
cigar store of that name on Broad street, Bethlehem. His partners are not
actively connected with the business; Mr. Miller is secretary to Charles M.
Schwab, president of the Bethlehem Steel Company, and Mr. Cunningham
was one of the early volunteers for military service, and eventually served in
France, as sergeant of an ammunition truck train in France and 103d Train,

BIOGRAPHICAL

137

28th Division. Mr. Saylor, however, has proved that he possesses fjood
executive ability and superabundant cnerg-y, together with a cheerful opti-
mism and a manner of approach that brings him many friends and much
business.

Mr. Saylor has also proved during the years of war that he is a good
organizer of public movements. He is president of the Yo Eddie Club of
Bethlehem, the achievements of which have been noteworthy and commend-
able. The club was formed during the trouble in Mexico, when so many of
the National Guard troops of the United States had to go into active service
on the Mexican border, and some into Mexico with General Pershing. Its
object was to furnish comforts and tobacco to local troops then in active
service, and its members which at the outset were only forty-two were wont
to collect money on the streets of Bethlehem to accomplish that purpose.
Bethlehem furnished a company of troops for the army of General Pershing
in Mexico, and during the whole period of the service of that company in
Mexico, the Yo Eddie Club kept its members well supplied with tobacco.
And upon the return of Company "M" to Bethlehem, a magnificent banquet
was given to the whole company, the funds to defray the cost of which had
been raised mainly from the proceeds of a vaudeville performance at the
Broad Theatre, most of the performers being members of the Yo Eddie Club.
When the United States was ultimately drawn into the great World War
the Yo Eddie Club again became active, adopting as the "Object and Pur-
pose" of the club "to do beneficial work for patriotic causes, for the duration
of the Great World War." The administration of the club was in the hands
of a board of trustees, of which Mr. .Saylor was president from the outset.
Soon after the country's entry into the war, the members of the club became
active, spent $200 in advertising their purpose, and did not hesitate to sing
on street corners to achieve their purpose to raise Company "M" to war
strength. When that company left Bethlehem, it had been recruited to full
war strength, principally through the efforts of members of the club. And
through the effort, mainly, of one of the trustees of the club, Fred C. Kline,
who organized a ball game between Com])any "M" and Battery "A," which'
netted $1,800 profit, both military units left with their mess funds increased
substantially, each unit taking half of the proceeds of the game. The next
noteworthy undertaking of the club was a minstrel show which ran for three
nights, playing to crowded houses each night, and netting a total profit of
$2,500, which was to provide a tobacco fund for Bethlehem soldiers. And the
Yo Eddie Club did not confine its efforts only to Bethlehem and soldiers of
that district; the members forming the minstrel show gave a jjcrformance
in Easton, Pennsylvania, for the benefit of the mothers of 1917, and raised
in Easton for that purpose a satisfactory sum. However, the selective service
draft called so many — fwenty-six — of the minstrels into military service that
further performances by the troupe were not possible. Later the Yo Eddie
Club organized two successful carnivals, with a resultant profit of $4,500.
The efforts of the club were endorsed by the City Council, bv the Chamber
of Commerce, by the Bethlehem Club, and all classes of Bethlehem residents
support its work. Latterly, it has reached a membership of thirteen hun-
dred, including Charles M. Schwab, and it was the only patriotic organiza-
tion allowed to function in Bethlehem after the last drive of the combined
war charities organizations. Each soldier upon leaving Bethlehem for camp
was given an American flag, and a tobacco kit, and in addition a good "send-
oflf"; and returning, furloughed soldiers found their tobacco needs well pro-
vided for, whilst those in active service were maintained in smoking com-
fort up to the limit of the funds of the club, which were continually aug-
mented bv the aggressive, enterprising work of its members. More than.
2,500 soldiers were on the register of the club, and received tobacco kits in
turn; and after going overseas, where the sending of tobacco was forbidden,

138 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

the club furnished the men, through their respective commanding officers,
with money orders with which they could purchase their tobacco needs from
their canteens at the expense of the people of Bethlehem. Altogether, the
work of the Yo Eddie Club has been commendable, and its successful work
must reflect creditably the personality and administrative ability of Mr. Sav-
ior, its president.

Mr. Say lor is a member of the Evangelical church, and fraternally be-
longs to the Elks, Lodge No. 191, of Bethlehem, and the Eagles, Eerie No.
284, Bethlehem. On January 13, 191 5, he married Lillian May, daughter of
Daniel Hartman, of Allentown. She died December 10, 1918, and is buried
in Nisky Hill Cemetery'.

HOWARD P. KINSEY— In business himself for nearly half a century,
Mr. Kinsey has a store which is one of Easton's historic landmarks, and the
very oldest store from the standpoint of continuous location. It was estab-
lished by Mr. Kinsey's maternal grandfather, James Black, certainly about
1812, for business records of the store bear that date. James Black was an
expert coppersmith, and the products of his shop were in demand from points
even as far distant from Easton as one hundred miles. Howard P. is a son
of Phineas, son of Samuel, son of Ingham Kinsey, the pioneer of the family
in Easton. He is supposed to have been engaged in teaching school in
Easton. His son, Samuel, was in the office of the Thomas Iron Company.
He died at Hokendauqua, Pennsylvania. Phineas Kinsey was for many
years in the drug business in Easton. He married Margaret Black, a daugh-
ter of James and Mary (Kechline) Black. Her father was born in Bath,
Northampton county, Pennsylvania, but in youthful manhood settled in
Easton, where he became noted as a coppersmith. Phineas and Margaret
(Black) Kinsey were the parents of three children: Mary H. Kinsey, a resi-
dent of Easton; James Black Kinsey, born in Easton in 1850, died in 1892,
associated all his business life with his brother, the latter of further mention.

Howard P. Kinsey was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, April 13, 1853,
and at the age of seventeen was graduated from the Easton high school. He
was prepared to enter Lafayette College, but the death of an uncle caused
him to forego further educational advantages, and at once enter upon his
business career. This was in 1870, and Mr. Kinsey is still in business at the
same location in which he began his business career forty-eight years ago,
entering the store as a clerk with his uncle, Daniel Black, who was the son
of the founder of the business, James Black. The latter died in early life,
about 1825. His widow continued the business vmtil her son, Daniel, had
arrived at suitable age to take over the business, which he in turn carried
on until his death, in 1896, when Howard P. Kinsey succeeded to the business,
which he continues at the present, 1919. The business has undergone vari-
ous transformations. It was originally a coppersmithing and tin store.
Eventually tin roofing became the principal line of business, together with
heating arrangements for private homes. This line has gradually merged
into a supply establishment for tinners and plumbers, in which branch a
large business is conducted in both wholesale and retail. The store carries
a full line of household articles in cooking utensils, etc. Mr. Kinsey con-
ducts also a manufacturing and re]5air shop in tin and galvanized iron work.

Mr. Kinsey has been a member of Easton's Board of Trade since its
organization, and is a member of the Rotary Club. For years he was a
member of the board of governors, of the Pomfret Club, and yet retains his
club membership. He is also a member of the Northampton County Country
Club and the Easton Anglers' Association. Spending stated vacation periods
at the club preserves in the Pocono Mountains, his favorite recreation has
alwavs been with rod and reel. In religious connection he is affiliated with
the First Reformed Church. He is a director of Northampton National Bank

BIOGRAPHICAL

139

and president of the Fire Insurance Cumjiany of Northampton Countv, and
is a director of the Delaware ^■alley railroad and a director of the Easton
Delaware Bridge Company.

Mr. Kinsey married, January 29, 1884, Katherine Fuller, daughter of
John and Elizabeth Fuller. They have no children. The family home is at
No. 226 Northampton street.

JEREMIAH S. HESS— Jeremiah S. Hess, principal of the coal and lum-
ber business he established in Hellertown more than fifty years ajjo, which
business is now and for many years has been one of the larp^est in the county,
has had a unique career in many respects. He has been a Sunday school
superintendent for fifty years; was a church organist for twenty-five years;
was a trustee of a well-known college for a generation ; was in academic
occupation for some time ; has studied for the ministry ; has traveled exten-
sively in foreign countries ; was a post-graduate student in Cicrman uni-
versities ; and notwithstanding all his professional, academic, theological,
church and business activities, he found time to enter determinedly into pub-
lic affairs of political character. And his record in local office eventually
brought him election to the State Senate ; truly a full and varied, as well as a
useful and creditable life-record.

Jeremiah S. Hess was born in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, December 3,
1843, the son of Samuel and Lucetta (Klein) Hess. His mother was a native
of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and she survived her husbantl by nineteen
years, her death coming in 1894. The Rev. Samuel Hess, father of Jeremiah
S., was born on the old family estate known as Pless Mill, near Hellertown,
Pennsylvania. He was a prominent member of the Reformed Church minis-
try, and for forty years was pastor in Bucks county. He organized three
churches, and was very highly regarded throughout Eastern Pennsylvania
among members of the Reformed church, although his pastorate was in
reality in only one community throughout the forty j'ears of his ministerial
activity. He was prominent among Pennsjlvanians of German origin, as
he might well have been, for the American progenitor of the Hess family was
one of the pioneer settlers of Bucks county, and a resident within the State
as early as 1741, he, Nicholas Hess, having in that year left Zweibrucken,
Germany. He settled in Springfield, Bucks county, and his son, George,
bought the mill, near Hellertown, that bears the family name, and in which
the Rev. Samuel Hess, father of Jeremiah S., was born.

Jeremiah S. Hess received his elementary education in the public schools
of Hellertown, and had preparatory instruction in the Allcntown Seminary
and the Bethlehem Seminary. He must also have studied privately, for he
entered the Franklin and Marshall College at an unusually early age. and at
his graduation therefrom, in 1862, he was the youngest in his class, being
only a little over eighteen years old. Pie intended eventually to enter the
ministry, but for a while after graduating from the Franklin and Marshall
College voung Hess accepted an education appointment in the Allcntown
Seminary. In 1864, however, he entered the Theological Seminary in Mer-
cersburg, remaining there for one year. For two years thereafter he was
in Europe taking post-graduate academic instruction in German universi-
ties, Berlin, Bonn, and Tubingen, Germany. During his period in Europe, he
traveled extensively on that continent, passing through Germany, Switzer-
land, France, and England. He wished to obtain the broadest possible edu-
cation before starting his life-work in the ministry, at which there was every
prospect that he would succeed. But a physical breakdown in the fall of
1867 caused him to return to the United States, and give up his studious
occupations for a time. Eventually, in the following year, he had to forsake
altogether the intention of entering the church ministry, for his health would
not permit him safely to do so. He then applied himself aggressively to

140 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

business, and established himself, in a small way, in the coal and lumber
business in his home town, Hellertown. He has remained there ever since,
and, while incidentally his coal and lumber business developed until it be-
came one of the most substantial in the county, he has not permitted busi-
ness interests to absorb his whole time. Indeed, the record of his additional
activities within the community would make it almost appear that his busi-
ness was not his chief interest. Certainly, Mr. Hess has placed the church
first among the additional activities he found time to participate in. He be-
came superintendent of the Christ Union Sunday School, Hellertown, in
1868, and remained its superintendent until 1918. He organized the Sunday
school in 1868 with one hundred and two members ; its present strength is
more than five hundred. A local newspaper, recording his fifty years of
Sunday school office, stated: "During his superintendency he missed very
few Sundays, and then only because of illness." That, coupled with twenty-
five years as organist of the church, is a remarkable record for a busy man of
business. But he also had many other public and community duties and
interests which took much of his time. He is a "died in the wool" Demo-
crat; one of the staunch, unbending type, true to the highest principles for
which the Democratic party stands, which is so often forgotten in the stress
of party exigencies by less consciencious political leaders. Mr. Hess has been
active in furthering the real principles of the Democratic party all his life.,
and has been preferred to office many times ; he has held almost all local
offices, including that of burgess, member of council and school board, and
for one term sat in the State Senate, being elected senator in 1882, and
serving as such for four years. He was the county chairman of the party
for several years, and many times attended the State convention as delegate;
and was sent as delegate to the National convention ; so that his place among
the political leaders of Northampton county is sufficiently clear. Mr. Hess
has apparently been indefatigable ; for twenty-five years he served as trustee
of the Theological Seminary at Lancaster, and was secretary of its board
for twenty j'ears. He is an honorary member of the Phi Beta Kappa col-
lege fraternity, and had prominent place in the class records at Franklin and
Marshall College, being second honor man in his year; and has had an
active record in the functions of the local Masonic bodies, having been sec-
retary of the Blue Lodge for twenty-five years, and being one of the charter
members of the Hellertown body. He also belongs to the chapter, Zenderg-
dorf, Bethlehem, of which he is past high priest. But failing eyesight dur-
ing the last year or so has caused him to relinquish his active part in almost
all these institutions. He still is able, though, to attend to most of the prin-
cipal business affairs connected with his coal and lumber interests, and bear-
ing in mind his age, seventy-six years, he is still in remarkable health.

Mr. Hess was married, at Hellertown, in 1875, to Tillie Henningcr,
daughter of Moses and Rebecca Henninger, of that place. His wife still
lives, and they are the parents of four children: i. Herbert H., who was born
on April 30, 1876, and married Emily Lindley, of New Brunswick, New Jer-
sey. 2. Clara, who is unmarried, and lives with her parents, was for five
years a student under Rafael Joseffy, the great Russian pianist. She is now
giving piano lessons. She is treasurer of the Liberty Bell Chapter. Allen-
town, of the Daughters of the American I^evolution. 3. Mary L., who also
lives at home, is unmarried, and is a teacher in the Bethlehem High School.
4. Samuel, deceased, whose promising career was cut short by his acci-
dental death during a football match in which he was playing while a senior
at Lehigh University. For three years he conducted a private school in
Hellertown, and a number of these students have since risen to high posi-
tion in the commonwealth.

TRYON DRY FRITCH— The milling firm of T. D. Fritch c^ Sons, of
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is the monument Tryon D. Fritch erected in the

ASTon, LENOX ANB
TILDKN FOUNUATIONB

BIOGRAPHICAL 141

business world, and althoutfh he surrendered the active management to
younp:er men in 1908, tiie lines alon^ which he operated arc close! v adhered
to, and his spirit of energy, progressivcness and integrity pervades its every
department. Tryon D. was the son of another miller, Nathan Fritch, the son
of John George Fritch, who learned the milling business from his father,
Johannes Fritch, who came from Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, to Pennsyl-»
vania in 1764 and established a homestead in Long-a-thal (Long's Valley),
Longswamp township, Berks county, Pennsylvania. Johannes Fritch was
born in Hesse Darmstadt, June 14, 1744. came to Pennsylvania at age twentv,
and five years later (1769) married Maria Palsgrove, of Montgomery county,
Pennsylvania. They settled on a farm in Long's Vallev and there Johannes
Fritch owned and operated a grist mill in connection with his farming opera-
tion. Fie prospered and founded a family which in this branch has con-
tinued the founder's choice of a business, and in each generation they have
been millers and mill owners. Tryon D. Fritch, now retired, is of the fourth
generation in Pennsylvania. Johannes and Maria (Palsgrove) Fritch were!
the parents of four sons and a daughter: John, born in 1771: Elizabeth,
born in 1772; Jacob, born in 1779; John Henry, born in 1781 ; John George,
born in 1786. Descent in this branch is through the youngest son, John
George Fritch, grandfather of Tryon D. Fritch, of Bethlehem. John George
Fritch was born at the homestead in Long's Valley, Longswamp township,
Berks county, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1786, died in Kutztown, Berks
count3% in 1862. He spent his life engaged in milling, learning the trade in
his father's great mill in Longswamp township, and many years were there
spent. Finally he retired and spent the last \ears of his life in Kutztown,
Pennsylvania. John George Fritch married (first) Nancj- Schwarz and they
were the parents of four sons and two daughters. He married (second) Mrs.
Dinah (Weida) Matthias and they were the parents of a son, Allen. Chil-
dren of first marriage: Nathan, through whom the line continues to Tyron
D. Fritch; George, married Diana Matthias; John, married Mary Glassmever ;
Levi, married Sarah Long; Anna, married Reuben Howetter and moved to
Illinois ; Henrietta, married Aaron Long.

Nathan F'ritch, eldest son of John G. Fritch and his wife Nancy Schwarz,
was born at the homestead in Longswamp township, Berks county, Penn-
sylvania, September 10, 1806, and died in June, 1883. Following the example
of his father and grandfather, he became a miller and for many years owned
and operated the old Fritch grist mill, then retired, and in time passed the
business over to his son, Tryon D. Nathan Fritch married Mary, daughter
of Jonathan Dry, and thev were the parents of nine children: i. Frank D..
wdio still operates the old Fritch mill in Longswamp township, married
Sarah Wisser. 2. Jonas, married (first) Mary Bogh, second Martha Auche.
3. Tryon D., whose career is hereinafter traced. 4. David D., a graduate,
"M.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1876, but after two years practice in the
village of Longswamp, Pennsylvania, he engaged in the milling business
at Macungie, Pennsylvania, and continues in that line a successful manu-
facturer of wheat and rye flour; he is also a large land owner and well
known potato grower. 5. Nathan D., married Joanna Warmkessel. 6. Mary,
married Dr. Peter Wertz. 7. Sarah, married John Mohr. 8. Susan, died
unmarried, aged twent.v-two years. 9- Emma, married Harry Bogh, lived
several years in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and died at the home of her
brother. Dr. David D. Fritch, in 1902. Jonathan Dry, father of Mrs. Nathan.
Fritch, was born in Rockland, Berks county, Pennsylvania, May 22, 1787,
and died November 23, 1872. He married .^usan Romig, born January 16,
1788, died July 26, 1857, and they were the parents of nine children : George.
Moses, Jonathan, Joseph, David,' Mary Marie Nathan Fritch, Hannah. Eliza-
beth and Judith. ^ . ^ . , ,

Tryon Dry Fritch, son of Nathan and Mary (Dry) Fntrh. was born at

142 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

the homestead in Long's Valley, Longswamp township, Berks county,
Pennsylvania, October ii, 1844, died in Bethlehem, June 7, 1914. After
completing his school years he began learning the miller's trade under the
direction of his father in the old Fritch grist mill in Longswamp township,
there becoming an experienced and expert miller. Finally he left the old
mill (which with the homestead is yet owned in the family, and operated
by Frank Fritch) and located in Norristown, Pennsylvania, there continu-
ing the milling business in partnership with his brother, Jonas D. They
operated the Stutzingcr mill, known to an earlier generation as the Hubener
mill, but four years^ later, in 1887, Tryon D. retired from the partnership,
removed to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and there, in partnership with his
brother, Dr. David Fritch, operating as Dr. Fritch & Company, built up a
very large and prosperous milling business. In Bethlehem he built the
Diamond Roller Mills at the corner of South Main and River streets, which
he conducted from 1889 until his retirement. The firm, D. D. Fritch &
Company, was succeeded in 1880 by the firm Fritch & Enger, the brothers
David D. and Nathan D. Fritch withdrawing, and Tryon D. continuing.
In IQ04 the business was reorganized and became an exclusive Fxitch
concern under the name T. D. Fritch & Sons.

The Diamond mills, with a daily capacity of two hundred barrels of
high-grade flour, was built in 1886 and began business in 1887. In 1892
an elevator was added, and in 1908 another addition was built. The mill
now is four stories in height, with a ground plan 50 by 120 feet. The firm,
in addition to their large milling business, own and operate the Lehigh
Coal Company of Bethlehem, theirs the largest retail coal business of the
city. Tryon D. Fritch continued the active head of the business until 1908,
when ill health compelled him to withdraw in favor of his able sons, who
were the fifth generation to engage actively and practically in the business
of flour milling. Mr. Fritch is a director of the Bethlehem Trust Company,
which he aided in organizing, a director of the United Cemetery Associa-
tion, and a director of the Macungie Silk Mills Company. He was a member
of the Salem Lutheran Church, and for several years a member of the
church council. He was a man of upright, honorable life, and was highly
esteemed as a business man and citizen.

Tryon D. Fritch married, August 28, 1886, Adelaide Bortz, who sur-
vives him, daughter of Jonas and Caroline (Wetzel) Bortz. They were the
parents of following children: Peter Harvey, died aged twenty-four;
Lillian, Agnes, and Preston, died in infancy ; Ella, married Rev. Victor
Tames Bauer, a clergyman of the Lutheran church, pastor of the church at
Bethlehem; they are" the parents of two children, Nathan Fritch Bauer, died
aged twenty days, and Tyron Fritch Bauer ; Charles, died aged twenty-nine
years, leaving a daughter. Helen; Sarah, died in infancy; Nathan, married
Delia' Lauer, and has a daughter, Marion Lauer ; Harry J., married Wmi--
fred M. Applegate ; Walter M., married Thalia Koons. Mrs. Tryon D.
Fritch continues her residence in Bethlehem, where her daughter Ella, and.
.son-in-law. Rev. Victor J. Bauer, make their home with her.

WILLIAM WHITE COTTINGHAM, A.M., LL.D.— From birth until
his death, which followed eightv-nine years later, William W. Cottingham
was a re-sident of Easton. In 1834, when the law regarding public schools
went into elifect in the State of Pennsylvania, he was a boy of eleven, and
he became one of the first pupils of the first public schools in Easton, a
school taught by Josiah Davis. That was his introduction to the public
schools, and eighteen years later, in 1852, he began his long and most
valuable connection with the city public schools, which only terminated
with his death sixty-one years later. He first taught a school in South
Easton, continuing until 1853, when he was unanimously elected superin-

BIOGRAPHICAL 143

tendent of the Easton school, and ever afterward received the iinaiiiinous
vote of the school board at every recurring election of the superintendent,
thus presenting the unique experience of a public official holding for sixty
years an ofifice which he never sought and for which he never electioneered
nor solicited a nomination, nor the vote of a director, nor the influence of a
friend. When he entered upon the duties of his office in September. 1852,
twenty-eight teachers constituted the city's teaching corps, and under their
instruction sat twelve hundred scholars, housed chiefly in ill adapted church
basements and in old, abandoned frame structures originally designed and
used for military drill rooms. It is a sad commentary that al though the
public school law had been in operation in Easton about twenty years, not
one cent of public money had been expended in the erection of schoolhouses,
nor could the school district at that time claim ownership of real estate to
the value of one dollar. At the close of Dr. Cottingham's term, many teach-
ers were emploj'ed in Easton public schools and many scholars were receiv-
ing instruction in specially designed and constructed buildings modcrnly
equipped with courses of study ranging from kindergarten to high school,
scholars going from the latter to college without other preparation. Under
him the pupils were first graded and properly ])laced in classes and rooms,
and in 1854 he suggested a plan which still governs the management of
the schools, a plan projiosing the establishment of a high school, the syste-
matic arrangement of the subordinate schools, and a thorough course for
each. That original plan of work has been enlarged, imi>ro\ed antl ex-
tended, but the basic element still remains. It was through his efforts
that four scholarships to Lafayette College were obtained and offered as
prizes in the high school. He secured from the board the plan of awarding
diplomas, and designed the certificate of graduation which is now given to
each high school student vvho completes the course. An analysis of his
life's work reveals a man of scholarly attainments and strong intellectuality,
thoroughl}^ consecrated to his work.

Moreover, Dr. Cottingham loved his work, and in return was held in
highest respect and veneration by the thousands who have attended the
public schools, and by all who had been in any way associated with school
affairs in Easton. His counsel and advice were sought constantly by men
charged with the guidance of the afl'airs of the school district, and rio
important step was ever taken without first consulting him.

Easton always delighted to honor her veteran educator, but perhaps
the honor which he held in fondest memory was the celebration tendered
him upon reaching the thirty-third anniversary of his su])erintendcncy. On
April 28, 1887, the board of control, teachers, pupils, high school alumni
and citizens generally united in an elaborate celebration in honor of his
third of a century connection with the schools of Easton as superintendent,
and in demonstration of their appreciation of his labors in elevating them
to such a high standard of educational value. On October 28, the fiftieth
anniversary of his election as superintendent was celebrated by a public
demonstration in which the state superintendents and deputy state super-
intendents of public instruction and other prominent educators of the State,
the boards of control, teachers, high school alumni and citizens of Easton,
together with the faculty of Laifayette College and the entire teaching
force of Northampton cou'ntv united in paying honor to him as the organizer
and administrator of the Easton schools. He died in the harness after
sixty years of service as superintendent of .schools, the oldest in the State,
if not in the world, both in vears of service and actual age. On the morning
of his funeral his body lay in state in the Easton High School building.
and was viewed by thousands of school children of the city, who marched
with their teachers from the school buildings of the district.

Dr. Cottingham was second of the nine children of Robert an<l Sophia

144 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

(White) Cottinp:ham, of Easton, his mother a daughter of William anrl
Susan (Everhart) White, her father a one-time sheriff of Northampton
county and proprietor of the old White's Hotel, which was located in the
northeast corner of Center Square, a hotel in which General William Harri-
son (Tippecanoe) was entertained when a candidate for the Presidency.
Robert (Tottingham was born in Maryland in 1799, came to Easton in 1820,
engaged in the dry-goods and grocery business, and died June 28, 1880.

William W. Cottingham was born in Easton, December 6, 1824, and
died in his native city at his home, No. 34 South Fifth street, March i,' 1913,
after a month's illness. He was educated in Easton's public schools, a
private academy, Lafayette College (A.B., 1848), and Princeton Seminary.
After graduation from Lafayette in 1848 he was a tutor at the college in
184S and 1849, and after leaving Princeton he was principal of an academy
at Haddonfield, New Jersey. Prior to his college term he had been his
father's assistant in his dry-goods and grocery store, two years sufficing to
convince both father and son that the latter's talent did not lie in that line
of efl'ovt. While teaching at Haddonfield he accepted a recall from the
trustees of Lafayette and returned to the college as a tutor, but he soon
resigned and, during the school year 1852-53, taught school in South
Easton. There he became interested in the work of teaching the boys
employed on the canal, and quite decided to devote his time to that service.
But in August, 1853, he was elected superintendent of the Easton public
schools, an office he held until his death nearly sixty years later.

In addition to his duties as superintendent, which were exceedingly
weighty, for the system had to be built up from practically nothing. Dr.
Cottingham, in 1864 secured for the use of the Easton schools district the
transfer of the building and library of the Easton Library Company, which
had been closed and unused for several years, and maintained the same
under his personal supervision as a circulating library for many years for
the use of the public schools. This library later became the nucleus of
the Carnegie Free Library, now owned and operated by the city. In 1869
he was instrumental in effecting for the first time in this country a union
between the public schools by influencing the board of trustees of Lafayette
College in granting a number of free scholarships as prizes to graduates
of the Easton High School. He was continually studying to benefit the
schools, to broaden the system and to make the work of education in Eastotf
of more practical and far-reaching benefit. But while he was systematizing
the school, the transactions of the school board were conducted utterly
without method. The papers were thrown into old boxes or baskets and
stored in room or cellar in a way to insure their never being found in the
future, when their value would be appreciated. Dr. Cottingham suggested
the use of books for the recording of all transactions of the board, and for
its account and regular business. He offered to keep the accounts and
records of the board complete, and thus the present set of books in use
by the school board came into being. Furthermore, he took all the olcl
records, bills, petitions and receipts, filed them with care and put them in a
place of safety. For a number of years he also performed the clerical work
now done by the secretary and librarian, and the manifold duties which
devolved upon him in this connection often caused him to write busily in
his office until midnight, after the arduous duties of the day. This extra
duty he performed without compensation until 1873, when he was relieved
by the appointment of a secretary. In 1892 he succeeded, after repeated
and strenuous efforts, in ingrafting vocal music as an essential and permanent
study in the curriculum of the Easton schools. His capacity for work was
enormous, and Easton can never forget his self-sacrificing devotion to the
labor of upbuilding the public school system, now the city's pride. No
city ever had an abler superintendent of public instruction, and few men

BIOGRAPHICAL 145

so won the love of those under him as did Dr. Cottinpham. Tlie city of
Easton early recosjnized the value and importance of official school super-
vision, and was the first locality in the State of Pcnns Ivania to establish
the office of superintendent of schools. That appointment antedated even
that of_ the state superintendent, as the latter at that time was simply an
ex-officio attachment to the state secretaryship, having- been erected a sep-
arate and independent State department in 1854, a year after Dr. Cottino--
ham's appointment in Easton. His career, therefore, spans that of all state
superintendents of public instruction up to the date of his death, igi-?. The
present status of the Easton public schools reflects faithfully the life work
bestowed upon them by Dr. Cottingham, and upon its thoroughly organized
educational system with a high school distinguished for its efficiency as an
educational agency, and upon an adequate supply of modern and thoroughly
equipped school buildings his fame securely rests.

When eight\'-six years of age, Dr. Cottingham was elected secretary
of Dallas Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, for the forty-fourth term, an
office held by Dr. W. H. Kinney from the chartering of the lodge in 1867
until later in the same year. Then Dr. Cottingham, a charter member, was
elected secretary and served continuously for forty-five years, when he
declined another election. One of Dr. Cottingham's accomplishments was a
beautiful style of penmanship, as clear-cut as copper plate. In igoi Lafayette
College conferred upon her son the honorary degree of LL.D. Tie was a
companion of Easton Chapter No. 172. Royal Arch Masons; a Sir Knight
of Hugh De Payens Lodge No. 19, Knights Templar; and a member of
the United Order of American Mechanics. In iSgi, upon the organization
of the citv and borough superintendents convention of Pennsylvania, he
was elected its first president. In religious affiliation he was the oldest
member of the First Presbyterian Church of Easton at the time of his death,
as he was also the oldest m.ember of the Masonic order in the citv.

Dr. Cottingham married, March 20, 1855, Louisa Catherine Abel, born
in Easton. August 6, 1835, died at the home of her son. No. 671 Ferry street,
in February, 1915, surviving her husband two years. Mrs. Cottingham
was a daughter of John and Maria E. Abel, and possessed a wide circle
of devoted friends. She was a long time member of the First Presbvtcrian
Church, and was widely known and sincerely loved. Dr. and Mrs. Cotting^
ham were the parents of three daughters and a son: i. Laura Stewart,
married Joseph Morrison, of .St. Albans, Vermont, where he is chief engi-
neer of the New England Southern railwav; Mrs. Morrison died at the
home of her parents, December 31, 1912, while home on a visit. 2. Annie
White, married Charles Herbert Talmadge, of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
3. Jennie Belle, married Allen L. Vories, of New Orleans. 4. William
White (2), of further mention.

William White (2) Cottingham, only son of William Wliite (j) and
Louisa Catherine (Abel) Cottingham, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania.
September 30, 1874. He finished graded and high school courses with
graduation with the class of 1891, entcrcfl Lafayette College, class of
1895, completing three years of the engineering course. He then bcfan
practical engineering work, forming a connection with the Wabash railroad
system with headquarters at Kansas Citv. Missouri. Later he was with
the American Biscuit i^- Manufacturing Compan-.- of Mcmnliis, Trnnesscc,
going from Memphis to St. Paul, Minnesota, with the National Biscuit
Company, which had absorbed the American. For a time he was the St.
Paul factory superintendent, then became a traveling salesman for the com-
pany, his territory lying in the South. He next became superintendent of
freight and customs department of the Southern New England railwav at
St. Albans, Vermont, there continuing until 1000, when he returned to Easton
as office manager of the Macan Company. He continued in that position

N. H. BIGG.— 10

146 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

until 1912, when he became assistant treasurer and a member of the board
of directors, his present connection. Mr. Cottingham is a member of Dallas
Lodge No. 396, Free and Accepted Masons ; member of the Tall Cedars of
Lebanon ; Northampton County Republican Club ; and of the First Presby-
terian Church.

Mr. Cottingham married, January 22, 1919, Anna May, daughter of
Ferdinand R. and Alice (Baum) Bell, of Easton.

ARNOLD FREDERICK GERSTELL— The twentieth century has
witnessed few greater wonders tlicn the growth of the Portland cement in-
dustry. The growth of great public works, the building of public roads, the
construction of subways and railway tunnels, all produced a wonderful
demand for concrete in all its forms, and with it for its prime material,
I'ortland cement. This brought about a tremendous development in the
industry and brought with it a new group of men with new ideas, broad-
ened views and wider scope. To them the industry owes a debt. This
group of men, numbering among their leaders T. Rogers Maxwell, formerly
of the Atlas Portland Cement Company, Colonel Trexler and E. M. Young,
of the Lehigh Portland Cement Company, Edward M. Hagar, of the Uni-
versal Portland Cement Company, and finally Arnold F. Gerstell, of the
Alpha Portland Cement Company, were the men to whose management
and broad views the great modern growth of the industry is largly due.
The change in the cement industry meant cost, economy and greater effi-
ciency. It brought about greater competition at lower prices, and it was
due to the work of the men named in these lines of great mechanical
efficiency that the United States produces alone as much cement per annum
as the rest of the world, and that cement here is rapidly superseding iron,
steel, brick, lumber and stone in all the fields of engineering and construction.
Among the group of men named, Arnold F. Gerstell was a leader in,
resourcefulness, courag^e, energy, activity and verity. Coming into the
management of the Alpha Portland Cement Company in 1899, after a career
as sales-manager for the Standard Oil Company in various cities of Mary-
land, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, he brought his family to Easton,
and as vice-president and general manager of the Alpha Company, soon
made his influence felt. Easton was his home until death, and he won not
only the highest distinction in business life as president of the Alpha Com-
jianv, but equal distinction as a man and citizen. His social and business
qualities, that rare combination of the clear and definite, well-poised business
man with the gentle, humane and sensitive nature of the Southerner, made
him very dear to all with whom he was associated in a social or business
way, and he will long he remembered in the industry of which he was so
distinguished an ornament, and which owes so much to him as one of that
group of men who have been responsible for its modern greatness.

Arnold Frederick Gerstell was born at Westernport, Maryland, near
Keyser, West Virginia, in 1861. He died very suddenly at his home on
College Ffill, Easton, Pennsylvania, October 16, 1914. He was the son of
Dr. Arnold Frederick Gerstell, who was born in Germany, and Hannah
(Cresap) Gerstell. his mother coming of an old Revolutionary family. He
was educated at Highland Falls Academy. New York, and Hillsdale College,
Michigan. He specialized in civil engineering, and for twelve years after
leaving college was engaged with the engineering corps of the West Virginia
railroad, and other railroads in Maryland and West Virginia. In 1889 he
entered the employ of the .Standard Oil Company, and until 1899 be was
with that compan-,-, filling positions as manager at Cumberland, Maryland;
Wheeling, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania.

In 189Q he was elected president of the Alpha Portland Cf-'-ncnt Com-
pany, the plant of that company then consisting of one small mill at Alpha,

BIOGRAPHICAL 147

New Jersey, producing .^00,000 barrels yearly. After fifteen years of liis
management, the company's plant consisted of one mill at Alpha, two at
Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, one at Manheim, West Virginia, one at Ce-
menton, New York, with a total capacity of 7,ooo,oDO barrels yearly. The
single mill at Alpha began at once to take on new life and vigor; new
methods were adopted, additions were made, and an active sales campaign
instituted. Not content with the additions made to the original plant, Mr.
Gerstell bought for his company the old Martins Creek Cement Company
and the Higginbotham mills at Alartins Creek, acquiring wonderful <iuarrics
of rock well suited to the manufacture of Portland cement. He recon-
structed both plants, developed electrical installation for their operations,
and gave the business of the company a decided im])etus. Next he acquired
the cement works of the Buckhorn Portland Cement Company at Man-
heim, West Virginia, and the plant of the Catskill Cement Compan\- on the
Hudson, about one hundred miles from New York City. These plants he
reconstructed and converted into successful, profitable mills. In 1909, upon
the deach of Mr. McKelvey, Mr. Gerstell succeeded him as president of the
Alpha Portland Cement Company. It was at about this time that the forma-
tion of the North American Portland Cement Company, which bought the
Hurry & Seaman rotary kiln patents, was accomplished, Mr. Gerstell having
a leading part in the negotiations which led to the organization of that
company. Later, during the years the company controlled the patents
above named, he was one of the vice-presidents and active in the manage-
ment.

Combining the qualities of the civil engineering experiences gained iff
railroad construction with the selling abilities that marked him as the
trained and successful Standard Oil sales-manager, Mr. Gerstell was particu-
larly fitted for the high position he filled. Closely in touch with the market,
alwa\s quick to respond to its requirements in specifications, transportation
•ind price, he at the same time developed remarkable qualities as a manu-
facturer, and was always prompt in availing himself of the very latest
improvement in machiner}-. He was among the first to adopt electrical
installation, also among the leaders in installing in his plants gas engines
and turbines, and in all things kept the Alpha mills and quarries up to the
highest standard of economical and successful production of uniform quality
cement.

In addition to his duties as chief executive and director of the Alpha
Portland Cement Company, Mr. Gerstell was a director of the I'irst National
Bank of Easton, Northampton Trust Company, Alpha Supply Company,
member of the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, and of the .'\meri-
can Association of Portland Cement Manufacturers (vice-president and
member of the executive committee). He was an attendant of College HiU
Presbyterian Church, and most generous in the support of any worthy
cause. His clubs were the Manufacturers of Philadelphia, Livingston of
Allentown, Pomfret of Easton, Northampton County Country and Lehigh
Countv Country. He wms a member of the Lafayette College Athletic
Association, Travelers Protective Association, Easton Board of Trade,
Easton Young Men's Christian Association, Pennsylvania Society of New
York, National Geographic Society, American Highway Association, Navy
League of the United States, director of St. Luke's Hospital, South Beth-
lehem ; member of International Peace Forum ; Wheeling Lodge. Free and
Accepted Masons; advisory board of Easton Hospital, and at one time of
the Easton School Board. He was a man of influence in all of these
organizations, and in many held important office. Sound in judgment, he
was often consulted by the officials and gave freely of his business ability
and experience when asked.

Mr. Gerstell married in 1891, Fannie Brown Buxton, a niece of ex-

148 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Senator Henry G. Davis, of West Virginia, and of Col. Thomas B. Davis,
of West Virginia. Her mother, Eliza A. (Davis) Buxton, a daughter of
Caleb D. Davis, son of Robert Davis, son of Thomas Davis, th s Davis
family coming from Maryland to West Virginia. Thomas Davis, an exten-
sive land owner of Maryland, married Mary Pierrepont, and reared a large
family. Robert Davis, their son, lived at "Ranters Ridge," near Woodstock,
Maryland. He married Ruth Garter, and they were the parents of five .sons;
including Caleb D., who at one time was a prosperous merchant of Balti-
more. Later Caleb D. Davis moved to Howard county, Maryland, and
engaged in farming on the banks of the Patapsco. Later he took contracts
for railroad work, and for building in the village of Woodstock. He married
Louisa, daughter of John Riggs and Sarah (Gassaway) Browne. Mrs. Davis,
sister of Elizabeth Browne, was the mother of Arthur Pue Gorman, United
States senator from Maryland, sitting in the United States Senate with his
cousin, Henry Gassaway Davis, senator from West Virginia. Caleb D. and
Louisa (Browne) Davis were the parents of five children: John B. Davis,
who died February 11, 1889; Henry Gassaway Davis, United States senator,
Democratic candidate for vice-president, and father-in-law of Senator Ste-
phen B. Elkins, the Republican leader of West Virginia; William R. Davis,
died in 1879; Col. Thomas B. Davis; and an only daughter, Eliza A., who
married Upton M. Buxton. They were the parents of Fannie Brown Bux-.
ton, widow of Arnold F. Gerstell, residing in Easton, the family home at
the corner of Lafayette and Meixell streets, College Hill. She has two
children: Robert Sinclair Gerstell, a graduate of Princeton, class of T017;
Mary Louise Gerstell, a graduate of the Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr,
Pennsylvania.

The following are not time-worn formalities, but the heartfelt expression
of men who knew Mr. Gerstell, office employees of the Alpha Portland
Cement Company:

ARNOLD FREDERICK GERSTELL

"Everybody loved him." Thus did one who had worked with our President for more
than a dozen years, express the relations existing between him and his associates.

A born leader, he set us a high standard of efficiency, doing more himself than he
required others to do.

By his broad-minded trust, he earned a confidence, a respect, and a loyalty tliat few
employers have received. Withal, he demonstrated that an employer may be gr.icious
while being insistent on strict performance of duty — on exact work.

He was ever an inspiring example of the tireless leader who would have none but
the best, at the same time possessing a gentleness and a generosity that made him a friend
of every employee of the Alpha Cement Company. We did not know how much he
meant to us until his chair was empty, and wc realized that we must go on without his
leadership, but we do know the example of his life will never be forgotten.

He knew that we loved him and respected him, and would have gone to the uttermost
for him, and we believe that this knowledge bore him up and sustained him in many
trying moments.

We take this means of expressing to the family of our beloved President. Arnold
Frederick Gerstell. and to the directors of the Alpha Portland Cement Company, our
sympathy, also our gratitude for the privilege of having worked with him, our feeling of
personal loss, and the respect with which we shall always hold his memory.

The following resolutions, beautifully engrossed, illuminated and bound,
were sent to Mrs. Gerstell :

At a meeting of the Association of American Portland Cement Manufacturers, held
in New York City, December 0. 1014, the following minutes were adopted:

Wheheas: This Association through the death of Arnold Frederick Gerstell, which
occurred on October 16. 1914, has been deprived of one of its most useful and esteemed
members: therefore be it

Resolved: That the Association give expression to the sincere sorrow and regret
occasioned by his untimely demise, and that wc take this occasion to pay to the memory
of the deceased the tribute so fully deserved by his high character, his sincere fricndsbip
for members of the Association, and unselfish devotion to its best interests; and be it further

Tilt.

PUBLIC ;

ASTOn. LHNOX A Nil

TILDBN FOUNDAriONS

B - L

. '^K \\

<■■<

"American M^slonral iocii^ly

S'tc t^SCMUians A'E-oK'

BIOGRAPHICAL 149

Resi-i.ved: That these resolutions he spread upon the Minutes and a copy of same
sent to the bereaved family of the deceased.
Percy H. Wilson,

Secretary. John B. L. ,

President.

At a meetins2f of the board of directors of the Alpha Portland Cement
Company, held November 18, 1914, the followinc^ minutes were unanimously
adopted :

It was with feelings of profound regret we learned of the death of our esteemed
president, Arnold Frederick GersfcU, which occurred on Friday, October i6, 1914.

Mr. Gerstell entered the service of this company sixteen years ago as vice-president,
and continued in its Fervice to the day of his death. In May, iQog, he hccamc its presi-
dent. Urder his guidance and management the business of the company increased greatly,
so that at the time of his death it is twenty-tivc times larger than when he entered its
employ and the manufacturing plants increased from one to si.\. There can be no better
testimonial of his great business capacity, his executive ability and his management of
men than these facts.

The success of his company was the ideal of his life, and with that end in view he
threw into his work all the power and force of his mind and body. He was truly without
a peer in the cement industry. By his frankness, fair dealing, honesty, and courage he
commardcd confidence. Whilst aggressive in business he was not offensive. By his
suavity of manner ard charming diplomacy personal to him he accomplished his purpose
without leavirg any sore spots, and always retained the confidence, esteem, respect, and
friendship of his competitors in trade. He was of quick, keen, business perception; he
presented his views and suggestions with sound argument, never assertive, and if any
suggestions were made which appealed to him as better than his own he was quick to
perceive and adopt them. By his own personality, his sound judgment, his broad-minded
g-rasp and genial disposition, he drew us all very close to him and our association with
him in the business of this company has been one of our greatest pleasures, and in all
time to crme will be one of our most pleasant memories.

Owirg to the guidance and administration the company today is thoroughly organized,
and in most excellent condition. He walked out of our lives in the very glory and con-
summatioii of his work.

He was a devoted husband and father, and to his dear wife and children we extend
our sincere condolence.

In social life he was a lovable character; he was a true friend, strong in purpose
and gentle as a child. He was honest, considerate of the weakness of others, faithful
in every trust, by his strong magnetism all he drew to him became his friends. Like the
strirgs of a well tuned instrument he blended into a delightful harmony. To the ending
of such a life death hath no sting, the grave no victory; his life labor was well done; he
laid down the work and passed to life Eternal. "Well done thou good and faithful
servant."

F. M. CooG.^N,

Secretary. G. S. Brown,

President.

DAVID JUNKIN GODSHALK— David J. Godshalk, one of the promi-
nent newspaper men of Pennsylvania during the generation just passed,
editor of the Globe of South Bethlehem and other periodicals in this part
of the State, was a member of one of the oldest, if not the very oldest family
in Pennsylvania, where it was founded as early as 1694. The immigrant
ancestor was George Godshalk, who formed one of the colony founded at
Germantown ten years before by a band of Mcnnonites and other sects of a
similar belief. Although the majority of these came from Germany, as the
name of the settlement indicates, there were many who were of Dutch and
Swiss orig'n besides a considerable number of English Quakers. The
Quakers and Mennonites had much in common in their religion, and they
were alwa s friendly, and often settled in the same region, so that their
descendants became indistinguishable. There are, for instance, a number of
families, the origin of which was originally thought to be German, now
known to have come from Holland and Switzerland. George Godshalk
himsp'f came from I ondon : the spelling of the name suggests a long period
of residence in England, althoucrh the origin of the family was unf|ucstion-
ablv Dutch. From Germantown the family spread throughout the State,

I50 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

where it is now so numerous as to make it appear probable that there were
several ancestors in the early days coming independently from abroad.

From this ancient and much to be respected family, David J. Godshalk
was descended, his immediate parents being Benjamin and Anna Rosina
(Unangst) Godshalk, old and highly esteemed residents of Williams town-
ship, Northampton county. It was there that David J. Godshalk was born
December 23, 1836, and it was there that the first few years of his life were
passed. He was still a child when the famih^ removed to Easton, and it was
at the public schools of that place that he received his education. When the
lad had reached the age of thirteen years, his father apprenticed him to his
uncle, Frank P. Sellers, of Doylestown, who published a temperance journal
called the Olhr Branch, and there the boy learned the printer's trade. After-
wards, Mr. Sellers' printing establishment was sold to a Air. Moj-er, who
transferred it to Norristown, Pennsylvania, and there turned the paper into
an abolitionist journal, although the original name was retained. Young Mr.
Godshalk went with the paper to Norristown, and continued to work for it
until 185T, gaining a large experience in his work and becoming familiar
with every detail of publishing a paper. In that year he secured a position
in the printing house of John A. Gray, of New York City, and for a number
of years was employed in that and other establishments in the metropolitan
city. He was connected for a time with the New York Times, in a number
of capacities, including those of compositor and proofreader, and he also
acted as a correspondent with that paper occasionally. Another connection
of Mr. Godshalk at about this time was that with B. F. Coles, of Kennett
square, publisher of the Kennett Square Free Press. The paper was owned by
the late Dr. Frank Taylor, and Mr. Godshalk assisted Mr. Coles in the repor-
torial and editorial departments, and with the general management thereof.
The Kennett Square Free Press was a most ably conducted sheet, and such
men as the late Dr. Stebbins and Barcley Pennock, a companion of Bayard
Taylor in many of his travels, were contributors to it. In the 3'ear i860, Mr.
Godshalk went to Norristown again and there took charge of the publication
of a small paper known as the National Defender, owned by Edwin Schall,
an old and intimate friend. The National Defender was concerned with the
many great issues that just then were agitating the nation, and Mr. Godshalk
had a great opportunity to exhibit his talents as a writer, as well as his skill
in publishing. He renewed his connection with the New York Times at this
time, and was employed in that and other metropolitan offices during the
exciting months preceding the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency.
He continued in active newspaper work for a time after the outbreak of the
Civil War, until his intense patriotism caused him to enlist in Company I,
Twenty-Second Regiment, New York National Guard, in 1863. For three
months he was with his regiment at the front, and took part in the campaign
at Harper's Ferry and Winchester, Virginia. The Twenty-Second was then
sent Ijack to New York to assist in quelling the draft riots in that city under
General Canb}'. Later it formed a part of the provisional corps of General
Smith at the Battle of Gettysburg, but was not actually engaged in that
great struggle. At the close of hostilities, Mr. Godshalk was mustered out
and returned to New York City, where he was engaged in newspaper work
for a time. From New York he returned to Pennsylvania to his old home
town of Easton, where, in association with William Eichman, he founded the
Easton Daily Express and opened a job printing shop. Not long after.
General W. E. Doster suggested to the two young men that they carry on
their enterprise in the flourishing city of Bethlehem, advice that appealed to
them as excellent, and they accordingly removed to this place and commenced
the publication of a weekly journal called the Chronicle. It was in 1865 that
the first daily paper in Bethlehem was founded by Mr. Godshalk, and on
February 4, of that year, the first issue of the Daily Times appeared. For

Tin:

Pl'B

' — L

'/I ^cl£^ d^/

BIOGRAPHICAL 151

twenty-two years he remained at the head of this verv successful sheet, but
in 1887 sold it to the present Times Publishing Companx. He went to
Trenton, New Jersey, immediately afterward, and there formed an associa-
tion with Edward Fitz George, with whom he conducted the Trenton Times.
This association did not last quite a year, however, and Mr. Godshalk sold
his interest in that publication and purchased from Howard Mutchler a half
interest in the Easton Daily Express. But Mr. Godshalk had labored hard,
at high nervous tension, for a long period of years, and his health began to
give such unmistakable signs of failing that he was unable to continue, and
was obliged to give up active life for a time. It soon appeared that it was
nothing beyond overwork, however, and in 1889 he came back into the saddle
and purchased the South Bethlehena Star from M. S. Grim and J. S. Harlacher.
This paper he edited himself until igoi, when he first came to be associated
with the South Bethlehem Globe. The ownership of the Globe was changed
just about that time and Mr. Godshalk became its editor, a post he continued
to fill with great distinction until the time of his death. Under his masterly
direction the Globe became one of the best and most influential papers, not
only in this city, but throughout the State, and through its columns the orig-
inal and brilliant personality of Mr. Godshalk made itself potently felt.

Mr. Godshalk was a conspicuous figure in the general life of the com-
munity and was particularly prominent in fraternal circles here and elsewhere
in the State. He was actively affiliated with the Masonic order, and was
past master of Bethlehem Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; past
high priest of Zinzendorf Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; past thrice illustri-
ous master of Bethlehem Council. Royal and Select Masters; and a member
of the PTugh de Payen Commandery, Knights Templar, of Easton. Besides
these Masonic bodies he was affiliated with the J. K. Taylor Post, Grand
Army of the Republic, and a past commander of the same ; a charter mem-
ber of the Lehigh Council, Royal Arcanum, of Bethlehem; and of Bethlehem
Conclave, of Improved Order of Heptasophs. He served as senior major
and aide-de-camp of Major-General W. J. Bolton, commanding the Second
Division, National Guard of Penns}-lvania. He was honorably discharged
November 18, 1876, after a period of service of fifteen years in the National
Guard of Pennsylvania and New York. He was appointed as sergeant-
major by Governor John F. Hartranft, of Pennsylvania, September 8, 1874.
The Second Division comprised Montgomery, IBucks, Berks, Lehigh, and
Northampton counties. He was a member of Northampton Club, and for
many years was a member of the Pomfret Club, of Easton. He belonged also
to the State and National Editorial Associations. His death occurred January
29, 191 1. Mr. Godshalk was fond of travel, and during the latter years of his
life made several trips abroad in order to restore his somewhat impaired
health.

David J. Godshalk was united in marriage h'ebruary 23, 1858, in New
York City, with Susan A. .Seely, a native of Orange county, New York. Mrs.
Godshalk died in 1861. They were the parents of one child, a daughter,
Hannah Elizabeth Godshalk, a most gifted and cultured woman who in the
past assisted her father in his ncwspajicr work. She was his regular assistant
when he was editing the Star in .South Bethlehem, and is at the present time
a member of the Globe staff. She has made many trips to Europe, con-
ducting parties there, and has made herself remarkably conversant with
architecture, history, and many kindred subjects. This knowledge she has
arranged in the form of a number of lectures which she has delivered in
various places in the Lehigh Valley and elsewhere.

TRAILL GREEN, M.D., LL.D.— "Types of all that is best in the med-
ical profession merit more than passing notice because of their raritv and
their power in guiding the masses, both within and without the fold. Types

152 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

in certain particulars are not infrequent, but types of the full rounded physi-
cian .srafted upon a complete manhood are less common." To this latter
class beloncved Dr. Traill Green. His was a wondrous natural endowment;
a bod that withstood the battles of life far beyond its extreme limit; a mind
that never flagged till the passing of his latest breath; and a soul that rose
above every discouragement, firm in its faith in the ultimate triumph of
rectitude, truth, honor, and godliness. All this endowment, during his four-
score of years, was freel placed at the service of his fellows. In the broadest
and best sense he was ever a teacher, a teacher of the people, young and old,
in all matters pertaining to their best interests; a teacher of teachers who
lived and taught as the had been inspired by him.

Could a score of men each pen a biography of Dr. Traill Green there
would be found a wealth of tribute and appreciation that would cover a wide
and varied field of human knowledge and endeavor, for the elements of his
life were so many that he found points of contact and friendship where appar-
ently onl dissimilarit'. of views and nature existed. Thus there were those
who knew him best as the learned physician, others who- regarded his educa-
tional work as his greatest movement, another class who venerated him for
his deeds of charity and benevolence, still others who most admired his high
minded zeal in public service, more who saw in his love of nature the clearer
index of true greatness, and so on, for there was that in Dr. Green that Isoth
proA oked and responded to the greatness of other men, giving him a kinship
with his fellows that was their most cherished possession.

Descendant of an English family old in the eastern part of the country,
Dr. Traill Green was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1813, son of
Beniamin and Elizabeth (Traill) Green, and died April 29, 1897. He attended
the Easton Union Academy and Minerva Academy, in the latter institution
coming under the teaching of the Rev. John Van Derveer, a Christian gen-
tleman whose exemplary life was a great inspiration to the yoimg student.
There he diligently applied himself to study, and a copy of Buffois Natural
T-Tistorv falling into his hands he decided to make nature the study of his
life. The study of medicine he felt to be the key to this realm of mysteries,
and he registered with Dr. Joseph K. Swift as a student of medicine. He
then went to the University of Pennsylvania, and after two full courses, under
the advice of his preceptor, enrolled himself under Dr. J. K. Mitchell, pro-
fessor of medicine in Chapman's Institute. After three full courses in that
tmiversity and Chapman's Institute he was graduated in 1835 with the degree
of ]\T.D. After graduation he was appointed physician of the Fifth Street
Dispensary, attending outdoor patients and holding clinics, and in that period
formed tlie habit of keeping exhaustive records of his cases, a practice he
continued throughout his entire professional life.

After this valuable preliminary experience in the dispensary he returned
to Easton in 1836, having determined, in the course of his medical studies,
to be a teacher of chemistry. In Easton he formed a class of young people
and their parents and taught them chemistry in his office at night. His enthu-
siasm in this subiect was probablv the cause of his being elected, in 1837'
professor of chemistry of Lafayette College, wdien his long and notable con-
nection with the college began. Even as a teacher he remained the tireless
student. Potany had long been a well loved subject, and after returning to
Easton he studied ninerology under his old preceptor, whose fine collection
of minerals is now the propertv of Lafavette College. Dr. Green at this time
bep'an his own collections, which is an interesting and valuable one. Geology
and zoology came in for their ftdl share of attention, and he also observed
accurately the climatic conditions, retaining his variety of interests even
under the most adverse conditions.

Tn 184T Dr. Green accepted a ca'l from Marshall College, Mercersburg,
to the chair of Natural Sciences. Eor seven years he labored under tb^^

BIOGRAPHICAL 153

pleasantest circumstances in Mercersburg-, devotin": his entire time to the
teachino: of his favorite subjects, the sciences. Withthc excc[>tion of a course
of lectures on physiology and hygiene and an occasional call as consultant
in difficult cases, he had no medical duties at the college. He returned to
Easton in 1848. and in 1849 was reappointed to the chair of Chemistry in
Lafayette College. In addition to his lecture course at the college and an
extensive practice he found time for other work, "in the flower season a;-,
often as he could running out to hold converse in their wild haunts with the
sweet gifts of our loving- Father." He had classes of bovs and girls in bot-
any, and it was a rare season when he was not instructing someone in the
natural sciences.

Lafayette College was literally engraved on his heart. It can be said
without fear of successful contradiction that no man has made a finer, few
as fine, contribution to the college than it was his delight to make. For more
than half a century he gave with cheerful, unselfish devotion of his service, monev,
time and influence to add to its greatness and usefulness, and he filled its everj'
official position, professor of chemistry, trustee, acting president, chairman
of the building committee, member of the prudential committee, dean and
general advisor. He gave his professional service to evervonc connected wHh
the faculty for absolutely nothing during all his professional life. The Ob-
servatory was his gift, the buildings and furnishings being given on the con-
dition that his name should be unmentioned. President W.C. Cattell. speak-
ing at the laying of the cornerstone, said in his u.sual happy vein, that "the
donor was too modest to allow his name to be mentioned and he felt that
he could not violate confidence, but he knew that whoever he was, his name
would be green in the memories of all true lovers of Lafayette." His lifo
held the story of many sacrifices for this college that filled so large a place
in his love, and even his death brought the gift of his books and collection
of minerals. There is not a timber in Lafa' ette College which has not been
hallowed by the loving care and fervent prayers of Dr. Green.

In the relation of the citizen to his city and State, Dr. Green met the
most exacting requirements. He paved the way for many reforms by public
lectures, his speeches on the evils of graveyards in crowded places suggest-
ing a movement for the establishment of the Easton Cemetery. There is not
an instance in his whole life which illustrates better his firmness than his
resistance of the attempts of the Easton and Northern Raih'oad to lay its
tracks through the cemetery grounds. He fought this desecration of the
"city of the dead" for many years, and the company was compelled to run
its tracks along other surveys. His lectures on public lighting had much to
do with the successful introduction of gas in Easton ; his firm stand against
public wells crystallized an opposition which resulted in their abolition; he
fought, supported bv the scientific truths and facts that only a phvsician can
really appreciate, the liquor traffic and was president of the Temperance
Society in his county. He never was interested in politics, as more fertile
fields claimed him, but when his fellows placed him in official position he laid
aside his preferences and gave of his best. His knowledge of educational
matters and his standing in the world of letters caused them to place him on
the Board of Control, on which he served for ten years, retiring voluntarily
after serving for eight years as president of the board. For twcntv four
years he used his professional knowledge in the service of the State as trustee
of the Insane Hospital at Harrisburg. having been appointed successivciv bv
Governors Geary. Ilartranft, Hoyt, Beaver and Pattisnn, and in 1R6S the
Legislature appointed him one of the commissioners to build a new insane
hospital at Danville. In 1892 Dr. Green was a presidential elector.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Dr. Green took a stand that was at
once a credit to his ])atriotic ancestry and in keeping with the lofty plane of
his life. With purse and pen, with inspiring enthusiasm, he bent his every

154 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

energy to the support of the Union, and in professional fields he found his
greatest opportunit_v. In the early part of the war surgeons were accepted
indiscriminately for service with the State troops, and soon the costh' error
of this course being discovered an examining board of which Dr. Green was
a member met in Washington, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, to examine all
surgeons who were attached to Pennsylvania troops, whether they were
already in the service or simply applicants for admission. The records of this
weeding out process show that the danger to the troops was not bv any
means entirely from the enemy. As a member of the State Medical Board,
he did all in his power to keep medical and surgical standards in the armv on
a high plane.

Dr. Green was an early and strong advocate of higher education for
women, and although the regulations of Lafayette prevented his receiving
them as students it was no unusual thing for women to be his guests during
his lecture courses. His private classes of girls, which were always free, are
remembered with pleasure by those who sat under his teaching, and were one
of his contributions to a cause he believed right. In natural sequence he
became tlie champion of women in medicine, and he stood by the colors until
their equalitv in the colleges, in the medical societies, and in the profession
was an established fact.

In 1876 Dr. Green was one of the founders of the American Academy of
Medicine, of which he was the first president, and whose object was the eleva-
tion of general educational standards in the profession and the adaptation of
college curricula to better prepare for medical work. He was a member and
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science from
the time of its formation until his death, and many scientific societies vied to
lionor him. Scientific organizations among students fovmd him, despite his
heavy duties, always ready to aid and guide them and he was an honorary
member of many such.

One of the strongest traits of Dr. Traill Green's character was his
abounding generosity. From the first days of his practice his free list was a
large one and no collector ever handled his bills. In addition to his profes-
sional gifts he had many benefactions, but so unostentatiously were his chari-
ties made, with such strict injunction to secrecy, that little is actually known
of his benefactions, except where life membership was conferred for contribu-
tions. The American Bible Society, the American Seaman's Friend Society,
the American Tract Society are among those which knew him as a loyal
friend. His answer to those asking him to head a subscription list often was
this : "If you allow me to write 'cash,' the subscription will be much larger
than if you persist in requiring me to write my name."

His writings and his services won him recognition and honor from many
sources, which was pleasing to him only as it reflected credit upon his pro-
fession and his associates. Rutgers College conferred the degree of Master
of Arts upon him in 1841. and in 1866 Washington and Jefferson College made
him a Doctor of Laws, while learned and scientific societies j^aid him their
highest tributes. His death marked the passing of a man of wonderful parts,
beloved for all that is best and truest in mankind. The Rev. Haines in speak-
ing on Dr. Green's life took as his text a most significant verse from the
Acts of the Apostles that epitomizes admiraldy the strong, virtuous simplicity
of the man : "For he was a good man and ftdl of the Holy Spirit and of faith."

Dr. Traill Green married, in 1844, Harriet Moore, of Morristown, New
Jersey, who had been a student in one of his classes in botany, and who, like
him, was an ardent lover of nature.

RUSSELL NEVIN KOPLIN— Since 1893 a member of the bar of North-
ampton county, Mr. Kojilin, as a member of the Hellertown community, has
been active in professional labor and public service, the second of his line to

BIOGRAPHICAL

155

occupy prominent place in the public view of Northampton. A jiart of his
service has been contemporary with the long- and richly useful pastorate of
hjs father in the Reformed church, the memory of the Rev. Abraham Baughman
Koplin. D.D., endurins: as a tender memory in the hearts of the many to
whom he ministered and to whom his devoted, godly life was a source of joy
and inspiration. For three-score years the elder Mr. Koplin occupied pulpits
and served congregations in Ohio and Pennsylvania, the spiritual head of the
Hellertown church for forty years, and at the time of his death, in 1917, he
was the fifth oldest pastor of the Reformed church in the United States and
the oldest in point of continuous active service. The review of his life which
follows can contain only the physical events of his remarkable career— its
full beauty and value have enduring monuments in the lives and deeds of
those men and women who under his teaching learned the lessons of sacri-
fice and the joy of service.

Russell N. Koplin is a son of the Rev. Abraham Baughman and Harriet
A. (Custer) Koplin, and grandson of Abraham and Rachel (Baughman) Kop-
lin. Rev. Abraham Baughman Koplin was born in Summit county, Ohio,
July 7, 1835, and died March 4, 19:7. aged eighty-one years, seven months,
and twenty-seven days. After preliminary studies he entered Heidelberg
Academy, at Tiffin, Ohio, whence he was graduated in the class of 1855.
Early in life he had elected the ministry of the Reformed church as his field
of life labor and he was licensed to j)reach on May 20, 1856, although dur-
ing his seminary training he had supplied numerous pulpits. His ordination
followed on June 9, 1857, and from the time of his installation as pastor of
the Stoyestown church until his death there was never a time when he did
not bear the responsibilities of a pulpit in addition to his other activities in
behalf of his denomination. He was subsequently pastor at Elk T,ick, Somer-
set county, Pennsylvania, Defiance, Ohio, then returning to Elk Eick, then
to Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, in 1874, and in 1877 he accepted a call to the
Lower Saucon charge, where he continued in active and well rewarded
service for forty years.

Dr. Koplin was the organizer of the Shiloh congregation of the Heights,
and not only was he the executive head of this movement, the man with the
vision that brought it to accomplishment, but for manv days he assisted the
workers in the excavation for the foundation and the erection of the building.
Pie was also the founder of the "Phoebe Deaconess and Old I'olks' Home"
at Allentown, Pennsylvania, and was the first and only president of the board
of trustees. ■

The fire of Dr. Koplin's enthusiasm and his love of his work were infec-
tious, and a most important ])art of his connection with the denomination was
his influencing many men of fortune to support the activities of the church
and to finance its jjolicies of extension. He was a devoted friend of Franklin
and Marshall College and he secured for this institution, by will of the Wil-
helms, several hundreds of acres of coal land, now valued at millions. The
various charitable organizations of the church benefited largely by the bene-
factions of men of means whom he interested in their work, men whose lile-
long friendship Dr. Koplin held because of his own tireless labors and because
of the opportunities for service he had opened to them. Giving of his own
comparatively small possessions with such prodigality and of his labors
without stint, he came before them with a conscience clear in the perform-
ance of duty, and there were few men who could resist an appeal from him
for the support of the many worthy causes he championed.

Heidelberg L^niversity. in 1885, honored him with the degree of D.D.,
and he was repeatedly called into the highest councils of the church for infor-
mation and counsel. He was a man of profound thought, a pastor who lived
close to his people and close to his Master, and in the pulpit he spoke with
an inspired eloquence that went straight to the hearts of his listeners.

156 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

Although his mniistry extended over such a long period, his views and
methods were ever in accordance with modern demands, and he made use
of the past not alone for precedent but to profit by its mistakes. Dr. Koplin
was a frequent contributor to the periodicals of the church, and was the
author of many more essays, sermons, and verses which he never published.
He was the editor of a work entitled "A Live Church," which he dedicated
to the holy cause of missions.

During his ministry it was frequently necessary for him to travel con^
siderable distances to reach his congregations, and no matter what the condi-
tions he never failed, with one exception, to meet his congregation, however
large or small it may have been. This one time was when he was serving
the Paradise charge of Somerset county, and it was necessary for him to
cross the Alleghanies and the Pennsylvania line into Maryland, a distance
of sixteen miles. The time was the dead of winter, and the previous day a
heavy rain had fallen on a deep snow and during the night had frozen.
Travel on horseback was the only means of making the journey, but Dr.
Koplin started the trip, only turning back when, after several miles of break-
ing through the knife-edged crust, he saw that his horse's legs had been
cruelly cut. This was the only time he failed to be present at a service he
had scheduled and the indomitable perseverance that this characterized led
him to success many times when the obtacles seemed almost insurmountable
and the opposition impregnable. Such was the life he lived, guided by the
bright star of duty and strengthened by the constant conviction that "God's
in his Heaven, all's right with the world." It is written that "he fell peace-
fully asleep" at the great age of more than four-score years, bringing to a
close "a ministry . . . that was rich in comfort, inspiration, love and
service."

Dr. Abraham Baughman Koplin married. June 9, 1857, Harriet Ann Cus-
ter, born October 22, 1833, of Stoyestown, Somerset countv, Pennsylvania,
and they were the parents of : Naomi, married Rev. Silas F. Laury, deceased ;
Emma B., married C. J. Gitt, deceased ; Wortha V., married Aaron Hostetter.
deceased; Irene May, married William H. Clark; and Russell N., of whom
further. Mrs. Koplin still survives her husband. She is a first cousin of
General Custer of Civil War and "Custer Massacre" fame.

Russell N. Koplin was born in Defiance, Ohio, October 27, 1865. He
attended a private school in Hellertown, where his father filled the pulpit
of the Reformed church, and he was afterward a student in Ulrich's Prepara-
tory School at Bethlehem. Entering Franklin and Marshall College, he was
graduated in the class of 1886 with the degree A.M., and, taking up the study
of law, he was, in 1892, admitted to the bar of Monroe county. His admis-
sion to the Northampton bar came in the following year and he began gen-
eral practice in Hellertown, where he has since continued in his profession.
His private practice became a busy one and Mr. Koplin has been called as
well to positions in the county for which his professional standing and abili-
ties have qualified him. For eighteen years he has been solicitor for the
borough of Hellertown, serving for a like length of time as supervisor of the
township. He is a member of the various bar associations and is a supporter
of Democratic political principles. He is an active member of the County
Committee of that party, but has never accepted public office apart from the
service of his own town. He affiliates with the Reformed church, in whose
annals the name of Koplin has so secure a place, and in his own profession
honorably represents that name.

Mr. Koplin married, July 12, 1899, Alice Knauss, daughter of Calvin and
Maria (Texter) Knauss, her father assistant suiierintcndent of the Thomas
Iron Works at Coplay, Pennsylvania, until his death in 1888. Calvin Knauss
is survived (1919) by his widow.

THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIDIIARY

ASTOR. LENOX AND

TILOEN FlilNIMTJONS

B • L

7 l?u£ G minama R Br.-- NY

BIOGRAPHICAL 157

WILLIAM HENRY ERWIN— One of tlic prominent figures in the
business and industrial life of the Lehigh Valley rct3;ion of the State of Penn-
sylvania is William Henry Erwin of Bethlehem, in which city he has been
engasred in the manufacture of paint for a number of years. Mr. Erwin comes
of a family which for a long period has held a conspicuous place in this local-
ity and has always possessed the esteem of the community at larcfe. The
family was founded here by John Erwin, the grandfather of the Mr. Erwin
of this sketch, who was a native of Count}^ Derry, Ireland, but of Scottish
descent. He came to the United States in 1843 and settled at Summit Hill,
Carbon county, where he found employment in the coal mines and eventually
purchased a farm near Lehighton. He married Nancy Dougherty, a daughter
of William and Margaret (Davis) Dougherty, also natives of Ireland, and
they were the parents of seven children, one of whom was Henry Erwin, who
is mentioned below.

Henry Erwin, the father of William Henry Erwin, was born in County
Derry, Ireland, in 1842, but was brought by his ])arcnts to the United States
when yet an infant in arms. He grew to manhood in the Lehigh \'alley and
when eighteen years of age learned the trade of blacksmith at Mauch Chunk.
He then came to Janesville and was employed as a machinist and boiler maker
in the Janesville Locomotive Shops. In 1864 he secured a position with a
concern engaged in coal mining at Yorktown and was placed in charge of
the mining machinery there. Ambitious and full of enterprise, he then re-
moved to Lchighton and opened a blacksmith shop of his own and conducted
it for about one vear. His attention had been called in the meantime to the
great opportunities offered to the enterprising by the mining industry in this
section of the country and, accordingly, in 1867, he came to Bethlehem, leased
a tract of land near Bath and there began the mining of iron ore, at first on a
small scale. He changed his location from time to time and eventuali>
became the owner of the metallic paint and iron ore mine at Lehigh Gap,
Carbon county. He began at Bethlehem the manufacture of some thirty
shades of paint, using for this purpose about fifteen 'different minerals, some
of which had to be imported by him. His business rapidly grew in size and
he steadily increased his property holdings, until he owned and operated
mines in various parts of the State as well as in New Jersey and Virginia.
When the Bermuda Ochre Company was organized, with a cai)ital of thirtv-
two thousand dollars and holdings amounting to nine hundred acres, Mr.
Erwin was chosen its president and served in that capacity until about IQO.^,
when he retired from business life. His death occurred about nine years
later, on Februarv 12, 1912. Mr. Erwin married Jennie Ciormley, of Ncsque-
honing Valley, Pennsvlvania, a daughter of Joseph and Margaret rMont-
gomery) Gormley, and thev became the parents of the following children:
Jennie, who became the wife of George H. Waltman ; Harry; John, who set-
tled in' Brooklyn and there practiced dentistry ; Josc])h, who is practicmg den-
tistry at Bethlehem: Margaret, who became the wife of Judson Small of
Brooklyn ; William H., with whose career we are especially concerned.

William Plenry Erwin. son of Henry and lennie (Gormley) Erwin, was
born November .-^o, i8f/., at Lehighton, Penn.sylvania. At the age of one year
he was brought 'bv his i.arents to Bethlehem, and it was there that Ins child,
hood and earlv life were passed. He attended the schools of his home town
and after completing his studies at these institutions, entered his fathers
establishment, where he learned the craft of paint manufacture. .M the end
of his apprenticeship he was admitted into partnership with the elder man.
as was also his brother Harry, and the f^rm became known as Henry Erwm
& Sons In 1903, upon the withdrawal from active life of the founder of the
concern the two young men took over the ownership and management
thereof and since that time have conducted it with an ever increasing degree,
of success The original quarters soon became inadequate to house it and

158 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

it was necessary to make many large and extensive modifications and addi-
tions. Many thousands of barrels are produced there every year, the majority
of which are marketed in New York and Chicago, although some portion of
them find their way into nearly every section of the country. Harry Erwin
withdrew from the business in 1912, leaving it entirely in the hands of Wil-
liam H. Erwin, who has continued to conduct it under the old firm name up
to the present time. In July, 1918, the business was incorporated, retaining
the firm name, with a capital of $300,000. Although interested in public ques-
tions and matters of community interest, Mr. Erwin has never taken an active
part in local afi'airs, and is quite without political ambition. In his religious
belief he is a Methodist.

William Henry Erwin was united in marriage, in 1897, with Olivia S.
Stem, born March 10, 1871, a daughter of William and Eliza (Kemmerer)
Stem, her father having served as treasurer of Northampton county at one
time. To Mr. and Mrs. Erwin five children have been born, as follows:
George Henry, who is a student at Lehigh University, class of 1920, where
he is taking a course in chemical engineering; Eliza Jane, who attended the
Mary Baldwin School at Staunton, Virginia, where she took courses in music,
French, domestic science, dancing, sewing, military drill, etc., then, entering
Finch School. New York City, in 1919, taking language courses ; Henry, who
died in infancy; Margaret Montgomery, a student in the Bethlehem High
School and Beechwood School, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania; William Stem,
now attending the Bethlehem Preparatory School. Mrs. Erwin's death oc-
curred January 10, 1919.

ROBERT C. KING— Robert C. King, M.D., graduate in medicine of the
historic New York institution, Bellevue Hospital Medical College, which was
at the time Dr. King attended it, probably the leading medical school of the
United States, is a native of Hcllcrtown, Northampton county, where he still
is in practice.

Dr. Robert C. King was born on October 25, 1856, the son of Aaron D.
and Susanna (Ruch) King, of Hellertown, and nephew of Thomas King, who
had an honorable record of national service during the Civil War. Aaron D.
King was born January 3, 1830, and followed agricultural occupations all his
life, specializing in livestock. In his younger daj's he often took the road as
a drover, and the healthy outdoor life he lived is manifest in his condition
and activities now. Although for many years he has lived in retirement, he
is still active, notwithstanding that he is almost a nonogenarian. His wife,
.Susanna, was the daughter of Christian Ruch, and belonged to one of the
old families of Hellertown, which is referred to elsewhere in this volume. Of
the eight children born to Aaron D. and Susanna (Ruch) King, six still live.

Robert C. King was educated in the local schools and the Kutztown Normal
School, and for his professional studies went to New York City, there becom-
ing an undergraduate in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College. He was one
of the first students of Dr. Heller, of Hellertown. and at the New York
Medical College was able to obtain valuable clinical ach-antages, so that when
he graduated, in 18/8. and was in a position to enter into general practice, he
probably had a more comprehensive knowledge of medicine and surgery than
most young doctors just out of college.

Dr. King practiced for twenty-six years in Limeport, Lehigh county,
Pennsylvania, and for fourteen years in Hellertown. He has been success-
ful in his practice; has given his services unsparingly to those needing his
professional attention, whether able to recompense him for such service or
not; and he has lived a good, honorable, gentlemanly life, in keeping with
the ethics of his profession. He has l)cen signally honored by his profes-
sional confreres, having been elected to the presidency of the Lehigh County
Medical Society ; and he is also a member of the Pennsylvania State Medical
Association, and the American Medical Association.

BIOGRAPHICAL IS9

Dr. King is a Democrat, and has given some time from his busy practice
to political affairs, but he has never been able to accept long-term office in
national or State affairs, although in local administration he was a council-
man for twelve years. He, however, was a delegate for his district to the
State conventions at Harrisburg, and he has been able to follow actively the
functions of local fraternal organizations ; for thirty-five years he has been a
member of Milford Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and he is identified with the
Golden Eagle and Red Men orders. The doctor is a member of the Reformed
church.

Dr. King married, in 1878, Adelaide Reihman, daughter of Francis Reih-
man, of Hellertown. His wife, through her mother, Susan (Moll) Reihman,
comes of one of the pioneer families of Hellertown. Mrs. King died in March,
1915, having borne to her husband four children, only one of whom, how-
ever, survives. Their four children were: Austin Flint, who was named after
the distinguished New York City physician of that name, who at the time
Dr. King was a student was one of the principal professors, if not the dean
of the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, and was, apparently, thus early in
life, intended eventually to follow his father into the practice of medicine, but
he was not destined to become a physician, however, for he died in 1899,
while a student in the Baltimore Medical College. Robert and Russel, the
other sons of Dr. and Mrs. King, both died as children, the former when six
years old, and the latter when only three years, so that the descent centers
in Marion S., the only daughter of Dr. and Mrs. King. She was born in
Limeport, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, where Dr. King then practiced, and
eventually married John Baker, son of Squire Baker, of East Bangor. Their
children are: Eleanor King, born July 23, 1914; Adelaide Prout, born June
28, 1915; Robert James, born July 5, 1916; and Marion Bessie, born May 21,
1918. Mr. Baker during the war was connected with the Ordnance Depart-
ment, and had important duties at the Bethlehem Steel Works.

SUSAN HARTZELL — Beyond doubt one of the best known and most
popular figures in the religious and social life of Nazareth, Pennsylvania,
where she had made her home for many years, is Mrs. Susan Hartzell, long
identified with many aspects of the life of the community and the possessor
of a host of friends. Mrs. Hartzell, who before her marriage was Susan
Schefifler, was born September 6, 1835, on her father's farm about two miles
west of Newburgh, and it was there that her childhood and earlv youth were
spent. She is a daughter of Joseph and Christian (Heberling) Scheffler, the
former a prominent farmer and butcher in this region, whose death occurred
at the age of seventy-four years. His wife, who was a member of an old and
highly respected family of this district, died at the age of eighty-two years.
Mrs. Hartzell, as a child, obtained her education at the schools of her native
place, and at the age of nineteen she married Daniel Lechtenwaldcr, a yourig
man three years her senior, who resided at Hanover, where he was engaged in
farming. Her married life with Mr. Lechtenwaldcr continued eighteen years
and was passed on a farm which he owned situated about one mile away
from Nazareth. At the end of that period Mr. Lechtenwaldcr died and is
buried in the Lutheran Cemetery at Nazareth. One daughter was born of
this union, namely, Elmira, who is further mentioned later in this sketch.
After her widowhood, lasting six years, Mrs. Lechtenwaldcr became the wife
of John Hartzell, a native ofNewburgh, who died at the age of seventy-eight,
after eighteen years of married life with his wife. No children were horn of
this second union. Mrs. Hartzell's daughter by her first marriage, Elmira
Lechtenwaldcr, was married at the age of nineteen years to William Shorts,
a prominent farmer, whose place was situated about two miles from Nazareth,
where he conducted successful agricultural operations. Mr. Shorts was
fifteen years the senior of his wife, and after twenty years of married life

i6o NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

with her, died and was buried at Nazareth. After the deatli of her husband,
Mrs. Shorts sold his valuable farm, and coming to Nazareth built here the
handsome three-story double brick business block situated on Main street,
at the cost of sixteen thousand dollars. This she named in honor of her hus-
band, calling it the Shorts block, and made her home in one of its well
equipped apartments. Here she resided with her mother, Mrs. Hartzell, but
was unfortunately unable to enjoy her new home for more than one 3'ear, for
she also was called to answer the universal summons, her death occurring;
December 21, 1912. Mrs. Shorts held a warm place in the heart of a wide
circle of friends in Nazareth and the surrounding neighborhood, and her un-
timel • death, which was greatly lamented, has changed things in the social
life of this place. She was a woman of strong religious belief, very ardent
in church work, and a liberal supporter of many philanthropic and benevolent
undertakings. Mrs. Shorts was richly endowed with the womanly graces
which made her a general favorite with all who knew her and won for her
univer?al respect and affection throughout the community. With thoughts of
the welfare of others ever in her mind, Mrs. Shorts adopted and made a home
for an orphan girl nine years of age, whom she reared and educated with a
tender solicitude. This adopted daughter, Mamie Schefifler, by name, secured
as a young girl a position as saleswoman in Easton's store at Nazareth, but
failing health compelled her to give up this position, where she had a legion
of friends. Her health did not improve, however, but still grew worse until
she died, at the age of twenty-two years. Mrs. Shorts insisted upon her
mother, Mrs. Hartzell, making her home with her and provided handsomely
for her remaining years, by assigning to her use the Shorts block mentioned
above, where at the present time she lives in comfort and freedom from finan-
cial worries of all kinds. Mrs. Shorts further provided that when the property
can be of no further service to Mrs. Hartzell it is to be used for caring for
the later years of her former pastor, the Rev. Mr. John Henry Miller. Mrs.
Hartzell surviving, as she does, two husbands and a daughter, as well as her
daughter's adopted child, Mamie Schefflcr, whom she looked upon in the
light almost of a daughter, at times experiences a deep feeling of loneliness.
She is, however, very fortunate and happy in the possession of a genial dis-
position and a host of sincere and warm friends, and she finds further con-
solation in her simple faith as a Christian and awaits the call to return to her
loved companions without fear but with the full assurance of future solicitude.

ELMER JOHN KREIDLER— Mr. Kreidlcr has been for more than fif-
teen years identified with the mercantile interests of Newburg. Pennsylvania,
and is a descendant in the fourth generation of the family of which Frederick
Kreidler, who came to the Pennsylvania Colony from his German home with
his father in 1745, was a member. From this Frederick, who was but seven
years of age at the time of the American founding of the line, his descent is
through Jacob Kreidler, to John JCreidlcr, to John Jacob Kreidler, father of
Elmer John Kreidler. Agriculture was the calling pursued in all genera-
tions of the line and their operations were uniformly successful.

John Jacob Kreidler was born in Nazareth townshiji. Northampton
county. November I, 1833, and died in Februar--, 1895. Like his Americaii
forbears, he spent the greater part of his life in farming, and to this devoted
himself exclusively, as far as his private interests were concerned, but he was
elected to many important positions in his community and in the county. For
twenty years, in his early life, he was a school teaclicr. He filled the offices
of tax collector, justice of the peace, school director, countv auditor, and in
his incumbency of public office created a record for faithful and capable ad-
ministration. He was a popular official, his popularity based no more on his
genial friendliness than on his strict integritv and incorruptible uprightness.
He was a veteran of the Union Army in the Civil War. enlisting in 1S63 and

THE NEW VORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOB, LENOX AND
TILDBH FOUNDATIONS

BIOGRAPHICAL i6i

beinj^ honorably discharged from the service nine months afterward. For
several years prior to his death he lived in quiet retirement on his farm. He
married Malinda Gold, daughter of Christian and Elizabeth (Knecht) Gold,
and they were the parents of: Elmer John, of whom further; Edna Elizabeth,
married William Henry Johnson, a farmer of Newburg, and they are the
parents of one son, George, born in April, 1S98, employed by the Bethlehem
Steel Company.

Elmer John Kreidler, son of John Jacob and Malinda (Gold) Kreidler,
was born in Nazareth township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, June
23, 1865. He attended the public schools of the township and as a youth of
sixteen years entered the store of William G. Beck, of which he is now the
proprietor, as a clerk. Although he is now the owner of this property, Mr.
Kreidler's connection with the store has not been continuous, for after five
years he resigned his position as clerk with Mr. Beck and became his father's
assistant on the home farm. Remaining at home for five years, he felt aeain
the desire to enter business, and for three years, from 1890 to 1893, he engaged
in general mercantile dealings in Hecktown, Pennsylvania, selling his busi-
ness in the latter year and moving to Bethlehem. He remained in Bethlehem
for ten years, then returned to Newburg and purchased the business in which
he had first been employed. The principal need of the business was the intro-
duction of modern ideas and methods, for its reputation and patronage were
sound, and this element Mr. Kreidler supplied, improving the property to a
great e.Ktent and operating an establishment that would be a credit to any
community. Like his father, Mr. Kreidler is a supporter of the Democratic
party, and in 1896 and 1897 he filled the office of township assessor. He is a
member of the Royal Arcanum, the Sons of Veterans, the United American
Mechanics, of which he was the first councillor in 1891, and the Knights of
the Golden Eagle. He is a communicant of the Lutheran church and was
secretary of the council of the Bethlehem church.

Mr. Kreidler married, August 4, 1887. at Newburg, Pennsylvania, Sarah
Elizabeth Beck, daughter of Jacob and Susanna (Keinheimer) Beck, and a
sister of Dr. Beck, of Newburg, and they are the parents of: Mark John,
born September 4, 1889, and Miriam Susan, born June 9, 1896, married, June
28, 1919, Stewart L. Weidman. Mark John Kreidler is an assistant chemist
in the employ of the Bethlehem Steel Company. He married Lottie Smith,
daughter of Henry Smith, of Bethlehem, and they have children: Elwood
John, born December 29, 1913; Ruth Isabel, born July 15, 1915; and Henry
Arthur, born January 23, 1917.

VICTOR J. ABEL — Although one of the young members of the North-
ampton bar, Mr. Abel, in the short time he has been in practice in Bethlehem,
has gained the generous appreciation of the public, many of whom have be-
come_ his clients. Mr. Abel is descended from one of the county's oldest
families, a grandson of Michael Abel, being of the family of Easton's earliest
pioneers. He is a son of Granville Abel, born in May, 1857, now with the
Brown & Borhek Lumber Company. He is a member of the Board of Edu-
cation, secretary of the fire company, member of the Improved Order of Red
Men and Fraternal Order of Eagles. He married Amelia Harwi, of Heller-
town, daughter of Jacob and Barbara (Hess) Harwi. Mr. and Mrs. Abel
are the parents of five children: i. Florence Ella, a teacher in the public
schools, who died in 1917, aged thirty-five. 2. Victor J., of further mention.
3. Anna Barbara, married I. Crilly ?Icnderson, of the Bethlehem Steel Com-
pany; they have two daughters, Barbara Abel and Virginia Amelia. 4.
Martha, private secretary to B. F. McAtee, attorney, of Bethlehem, residing
with her parents. 5. Stuart Granville, a graduate of the University of Penn-
sylvania Dental Department, D.D.S., class of 1916, an enlisted soldier of the
N. H. BIGG.— 11

1 62 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

United States, on duty with the Medical Reserve Corps. Dr. Abel entered
professional practice in January, 1919, at Hellertown, Pennsylvania.

Victor J. Abel, eldest son of Granville and Amelia (Harwi) Abel, was
born in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, July 17, 1883. He completed public school
study with fjraduation from Hellertown High School, class of 1899, then
entered Bethlehem Preparatory School, continuing there until graduated in
1905, his attendance not continuous, he filling several positions during these
years which provided him with funds to continue. He then entered Ursinus
College, Collegeville, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, received his A.B.
from that college at graduation, class of 1909. He then began the study of
law, and in 1912 entered the law department of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, whence he was graduated LL.B., class of 191 5. The same year he was
admitted to the bar of Philadelphia county, and to the Northampton county
bar, beginning his professional career in Philadelphia as a member of the
legal staff of the Bell Telephone Company in Philadelphia. In 1916 he
located in Bethlehem, and has gained a very good clientele during the less
than three years in which he has been in private practice. He is a young man
of energy and force of character, devoted to his profession, and has won for
himself high reputation as professional man and citizen.

Mr. Abel is a Republican in politics and was a leading candidate for the
State Legislature the present year (1918). He is secretary of the borough of
HcUertinvn, member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, Phi Delta Thcta, and is a communicant of the Re-
formed church.

JAMES OLIVER MILLER — In the almost quarter century of his asso-
ciation with the paint manufacturing concern of Henry Erwin & Sons, James
Oliver Miller has filled all of the intermediate positions from day laborer to
superintendent, the latter his present position. He came from his work 011
the farm to the plant of the company, an industry fotmded in 1880, and apiilied
himself to his work with such diligence and perseverance that, with a thor-
ough knowledge of the buincss, responsibilities naturally came to him, and
these have been administered with a fidelity and efficiency that has been of
incalculable value to his firm. Mr. Miller is a son of James and Lillie (King)
Miller, his father a native of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, an iron moulder in
calling, and a property owner of Freemansburg, Pennsylvania.

James Oliver Miller was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, December 18,
1876, and there attended the public schools. At the completion of his studies
he worked for a time on a farm, in 1895 entering the employ of the firm of
Henry Erwin & Sons, paint manufacturers of Bethlehem, then a concern of
fifteen years' standing. He had no qualifications of training or experience for
this business and in consequence started at the lowest point, as a laborer, his
first wage a dollar and fifteen cents a day. There is nothing of the spectacular
in his rise in the company, for it has been due simply to his tireless atten-
tion to business and his capacity for ably discharging the more important
duties that from time to time were entrusted to him, until he was placed in
executive position and there proved his worth. As superintendent of the
plant he is in full charge of the business administration of the firm's affairs,
although he is in constant and intimate touch with conditions in the factory.
Mr. Miller is a Democrat in political action, a communicant of the Reformed
church, and fraternizes with the Loyal Order of Moose and the Modern
Woodmen of the World.

James Oliver Miller married (first) in 1897, Bertha C. Miller, daughter
of ITenrv and Elmnia (Halekoffer) Miller, of Bethlehem, and they are the
parents of four children: Edith, born May 5, 1902; James, born in July, 1904;
Helen, horn in August, 1905; Stella, born in July, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Miller
have also had four children who are now deceased : Bertha, died aged four

BIOGRAPHICAL 163

years; Roy, drowned at the ag'e of four years, while carrying his father's ain-'
ner to him at the factory ; Charlie, died of scarlet fever at the age of four
years; Arthur, died aged thirteen months. Mrs. Miller died in IQ14 at the
age of thirty-two years. Mr. Miller married (second) in December, 1918,
Mamie Gross.

HARVEY F. MACK — The Eschenbach Printing Company is unique in
the fact that it draws patronage from all over the world, although naturally
the great volume of their trade comes from the United States. They are gen-
eral job and book printers, but a specialty of the house has long been the
printing of scientific books and publications, and so strongly is their reputa-
tion entrenched for accurac}- and neatness that a constant demand for such
work is made upon the plant. The business was installed by George W.
Eschenbach, and on December 30, igoi, was incorporated as the Eschenbach
Printing Company, with a capital of $15,000. The incorporators were:
George W. Eschenbach; Henry AIcKeen, now deceased; and A. D. Chidsey,
In igo2 Mr. Mack became one of the stockholders and was elected secretary
and treasurer, becoming an active factor in the operation of the business.
In 1907 Mr. Mack acquired control of the business and became president ami
treasurer. The present officers are: Harvey F. Mack, president-treasurer;
Mrs. Harvey F. Mack, secretary ; and Miss Helen W. Smith, vice-president.
These comprise also the board of directors. The plant, located at No. 207-211
Church street, Easton, is modernly equipped in every detail, and gives em-
ployment to about fifty people.

Harvey F. Mack, president of the company, was born in Phillipsburg,
New Jersey, November 6, 1878, son of Frank W. and Luella S. (Snyder)
Mack, of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and Union county. New Jer-
sey, now residing at No. 30 North Ninth street, Easton. Having been a
painter all his active years until 191 1, when he came to his present position,
Frank W. Mack is associated with his son in the printing business. Mr. and
Mrs. Frank W. Mack are the parents of five children : Harvey F., of further
mention ; Robert A., an accountant at the Bethlehem Steel Works; Frank H.,
engaged with the Ingersoll-Rand Company of Easton; Lena M., married M.
J. Fairhurst, of East Orange, New Jersey; Olive L., married J. H. Burroughs,
of Buffalo, New York.

Harvey F. Mack was educated in the grade and high schools of Easton,
and after completing his school years was for two years employed at office
work, and in 1900 became a part of the office force of a printing establish-
ment. He soon became familiar with the mechanical department of the plant
as well as the office, and in 1902 gained an interest in the Eschenbach Print-
ing Company, of which he is now the controlling head. He has been very
successful in his business enterprise and ranks high among the business men
of the city. He is active in Young Men's Christian Association work, and is
a director of the Easton branch ; is a trustee of the First Methodist Episcopal
Church, and is particularly active in the Sunday school, which he serves as
librarian. His club is the Kiwanis. He devotes himself closely to his busi-
ness, and that fact accounts largely for the success with which he has met.
In politics he is a Republican.

Mr. Mack married, June 7, 191 1, Florence S. Smith, daughter of Henr}'
P. and Hannah R. Smith, both deceased. The family home is No. 501 Mc-
Cartney street, Easton.

MILTON J. HESS— Milton J. Hess, partner with his brother, former
Senator Jeremiah S. Hess, in the Hellertown Lumber & Coal Company, of
Hellertown, Pennsylvania, has lived a long life in conformit;/ with the good
repute the family has earned by residence and public work within North-
ampton county for more than three generations. The public record of Milton

1 64 NORTHAMPTON COUNTY

J. Hess includes service on the school boards of Bethlehem and Hellertown,
ten years as burgess, twelve years as assessor, and forty years as elder in
Hellertown Reformed Church.

Milton J. Hess was born in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, August 19, 1847,
the son of Rev. Samuel and Lucetta (Klein) Hess, of that place, and descend-
ant of Nicholas Hess, who in 1741 came from Zweibrucken, Germany, and
settled in Pennsylvania, at Springfield, Bucks county. His son John pur-
chased the property which later became known as Hess Mill, near Heller-
town, Northampton count}'. There the branch of the Hess family to which
Milton J. belongs lived, and in that old home Samuel Hess, father of Milton
J., was born. The Rev. Samuel Hess died in 1875, after a service of forty
years in the ministry of the Reformed church. He was an able organizer, a
capable minister, and a learned divine, whose memory is revered'in Heller-
town, in which community most of his ministerial activity was centered.
Lucetta (Klein) Hess was a native of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and came
from a prominent family of that part of the State. She lived nntil the year
1894, nineteen years after her husband's demise.

After the usual public school course, which he obtained in the place o£
his nativity, Hellertown, Milton J. Hess was placed, when fifteen years old,
in the Allentown Seminary, after graduating from which he taught in the
Hellertown public school for a time. In 1866, however, he continued his aca-
demic education, becoming an undergraduate in the Franklin and Marshall
College at Lancaster. In 1869 he was graduated therefrom, and in the same
year entered the drug store of Charles E. Shoemaker, of Bethlehem, having
decided to enter the pharmaceutical profession. While still in the employ
of the Bethlehem druggist he was able to follow the course of the Philadelphia
College of Pharmacy, and eventually he became a registered pharmacist,
then forming business partnership with his former employer. Dr. Shoemaker,
of Bethlehem. In 1872, Dr. Shoemaker withdrew altogether from interest
in the drug store business, to continue which Mr. Hess then formed partner-
ship with another professional man, Lewis W. Snyder. However, after the
death of his father in 1873, Milton J. Lless disposed of his interest in the drug
store business, and soon afterwards entered into business partnership with
his brother, Jeremiah S., in the coal and lumber business established by the
latter in Hellertown four or five years prior to that time. Since that year the
brothers have continued in business partnership in the Helle