USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. I > Part 19
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I. Joel, born October 26, 1795, died February 2, 1860; he married Elisa Perkins Sparhawk, June 14, 1831.
2. Joseph Huntington, born August 24, 1797, died December 22, 1868; he married Anna M. Howell, October 12, 1826.
3. Fanny Huntington, born July 28, 1799; died December 13, 1893.
4. Margaret Emeline, born July 5, 1801, died in infancy.
5. Maria, born April 15, 1803; married Wil- liam Allis, of New York, November 17, 1831.
6. Eliza, born May 2, 1805, died July 6, 1854; married Joseph B. Wright, M. D., April 15, 1827.
7. Samuel Huntington, born February 18, 1807; died October 31, 1864.
8. Mary Joanna, born May 21, 1809, died September 28, 1837; she married the Rev. Osca Harris, September 4, 1837.
9. Mathew Hale, born September 11, 1811, died June 1, 1883; he married Mary E. Innes, January 10, 1843.
By intermarriages of members of the family named with others of prominence, their descend- ants have been brought into relationship with the Pitkin and Talcott families, whose ancestors were early settlers of the Connecticut and Massachu- setts Bay colonies in the years 1632 to 1636, and whose services were continually sought by the colonists as soldiers, legal advisers, and in many public capacities, in all of which they acquitted themselves most creditably and usefully.
The Jones family were stanch and rigid Pres- byterians, as an incident will pointedly illustrate. At the birth of Mathew Hale Jones, he was named for the local minister of that faith, Abiel Abbott. Mr. Abbott subsequently changed and embraced the Unitarian belief, which so outraged the par- ents of Mathew, who was then twelve years old, that they changed his name to Mathew Hale.
During the existence of the patriotic society known as the Children of the American Revolu- tion, Donald Kirkpatrick and William Hunting- ton, at the ages of nine and eleven years re- spectively, became members thereof, as lineal de- scendants in both parental lines of ancestors who had performed military service during the strug- gle for liberty.
CYRUS LAWALL; now deceased, was for more than forty years actively identified with the business interests of the city of Easton, and there maintained a foremost place in the public regard, not only on account of the success which he
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achieved, but for his wide usefulness, strict ad- herence to honorable methods, and personal ex- cellence of character.
Mr. Lawall was born in Lower Nazareth township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1822. He came from a sturdy ances- try, a family of French Protestants which settled in the Rhenish Palatinate prior to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and of whom Daniel La Wall was born in Er-Budesheim, Germany, in 1684. This transplantation to Germany had the result of changing the family name from its French form of LaWall to the German form of Lawall. In 1749 John Michael Lawall was of that large emigration which left the Palatinate to make new homes in America, there to become important factors in the development of the new world and in the creation of those institutions which have made glorious the history of the United States. Three years after the coming of John Michael Lawall (in 1752) came John Lud- wig and Daniel Lawall, who were presumably his brothers. They sailed from Rotterdam in the ship "Felix," which dropped anchor at Philadel- phia. Daniel established his home in Bethlehem township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, about midway between Bethlehem and Easton. His son, Henry, won distinction as a Revolution- ary soldier, serving as a captain of the Third Company of the Fifth Battalion of Northampton county troops. He was commissioned May 31, 1777, and was ordered into active service July 30, of the following year. Members of the family were actively connected with events in the history of Northampton county in the formative period following the establishment of the new republic.
Mr. Lawall passed his boyhood upon his fa- ther's farm until he was ten years old, at which early age he manifested a predisposition for mer- cantile rather than agricultural affairs, and he obtained employment in a store near the family home. In 1839, when seventeen years old, he went to Easton, where he entered the service of Peter Pompe, one of the early merchants of that city, located on Northampton street, near Fourth, determined upon learning the drug trade. That he proved a faithful and intelligent employee is
evidenced by the fact that he remained with Mr. Pompe for a period of twelve years. His worth won him recognition from the outset, and he was promoted from time to time to new duties and greater responsibilities, each advanced step af- fording him new opportunity for development and the acquisition of valuable knowledge concerning the trade in which he was immediately engaged, and with business methods generally.
After leaving the service of Mr. Pompe, Mr. Lawall engaged in the drug business upon his own account, remaining in his first location until 1877, when he erected the building which is now occupied by the great wholesale and retail drug business of C. Lawall's Son & Company. This fine edifice was erected with special reference to the needs of the trade, and in these commodious quarters the business increased to large dimen- sions, becoming one of the leading and most im- portant mercantile establishments in the city. Mr. Lawall remained the active factor in its conduct for forty years, and to his masterly management. is to be credited its phenomenal success and splen- did prestige. In all this time he preserved a reputation for honorable conduct as merchant, employer and man. He was honored throughout the wide field of his trade for his honorable straightforward dealing, and was never known to betray a trust, evade an obligation, exact more than a reasonable price for his goods, oppress a customer, or take advantage of the necessities of a fellow in any transaction. To his servants he- was friend as well as master, and his considera- tion for them found expression not only in words but in deeds of kindness which aided not a few in making for themselves a home and establish- ing them independently in the world. Several years prior to his death, Mr. Lawall brought into partnership with himself his son, Walter S. La- ivall, and Cyrus L. Schlabach, the last named of whom had been in the employ of the senior La- wall from his boyhood days, and is yet a member of the firm which conducts the business in which he was brought up.
Close application, adaptability to the con- stantly changing conditions of business life, unfal- tering energy, were the salient features in the
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career of Mr. Lawall, and these traits found ex- emplification in all his conduct. While his at- tention was primarily directed to the development of the drug trade, he extended his effort to other fields which were fruitful of good not to himself alone but to the community at large. He became known as a judicious and successful promoter of commercial and financial enterprises of substan- tial worth, proving himself to be of that class of American citizens who found in necessity, com- petition and intricate business conditions, a spur to laudable ambition and a stimulus to effort that led to large successes. At one time he was a member of a firm extensively engaged in a lumber business. He was also president of the North- ampton County Bank, and at the time of his death was a director in the Easton National Bank.
Mr. Lawall was married, July 23, 1845, to Rebecca Rusling Schureman, who was born in Cokesburg, New Jersey, August 10, 1824, a daughter of John and Catherine (Scott) Schure- man. Her father was born in New York, and was baptized October 10, 1759. He was a descendant of Gerrit and Wynje (Van der Hoff) Schure- man, representatives of old New York families. John Schureman enlisted for service in the Revo- lutionary war when nineteen years of age as a member of a New Jersey troop, and served as a private under the command of Captain Allan and Colonel Malcolm. He was early left an orphan, and was reared by his aunt, Mrs. Steele. He was three times married, his third wife being Mrs. Catherine (Scott) Loder, widow of Benjamin Lo- der, the marriage occurring about 1823. Mrs. La- wall was born when her father was about sixty-five years of age, and she was eight years old when he died. She was a granddaughter of Lieutenant Robert and Sarah (Gardner) Scott. Lieutenant Scott was also a patriot soldier, enlisting July 9, 1776, four days after the signing of the Declara- tion of Independence, in Captain John Arndt's company of the Northampton County Pennsyl- vania Militia. He was quartermaster, and was also a lieutenant of the Pennsylvania Association under Captain Sanderson. It will be seen that Mrs. Lawall is a true Daughter of the American Revolution, by lineal descent, one of the very
few so distinguished who are now living. She is also a representative of another family of great military prominence-that of Scott, of which General Winfield Scott was a conspicuous mem- ber. She yet lives, at the advanced age of eighty years, retaining her mental and physical powers in a remarkable degree, resting peacefully in the affection of her children and grandchildren, and of a troop of friends who hold her in honor for her many virtues of character and lovely dispo- sition.
Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Lawall were the parents of six children : Isbon Benedict and Anna, who died in childhood; Henry Clement, deceased, whose wife was Miss Belle Pompe, and to whom were born two children-Nina, deceased, and Frederick Thompson ; Laura Louise, who is the wife of Dr. Joseph Edward Janvrin, of New York, and to whom have been born two children -Edmund Randolph Peaslee and Marguerite Lawall; Imogene Rebecca, who is the wife of Judge Henry W. Scott, of Easton; and Walter Scott, who married Dixie Jones, daughter of Emily H. Jones, who was the daughter of George Housel, of Easton, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Lawall died on August 10, 1892, in his seventy-first year. The sad event was deplored throughout the community, and among the ex- pressions of regret was that by the Board of Di- rectors of the Easton National Bank, who in a special meeting adopted the following resolutions by a unanimous vote :
"WHEREAS, A Divine Providence has seen fit in His all-loving wisdom to remove from our midst one of the members of this board ; therefore be it
"Resolved, That in the death of Cyrus Lawall, August 10, 1892, the board of directors of the Easton National Bank has met with a loss only measured by the fullest sense of the term ; a mem- ber faithful in all his duties, of strictest probity, highest integrity and unimpeachable honor: a Christian sincere and true, who had won the re- spect and esteem of all who were thrown in daily contact with him.
"Resolved, That we bow in humble submis- sion to the Divine will, and that we extend to the family of our deceased member our heartfelt sym-
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pathy and condolence in the dark hour of their affliction.
"Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the family, and also to the city papers as a mark of our respect, and that the board of di- rectors attend the funeral in a body."
As a mark of respect to the memory of the la- mented deceased, during the hours of the fu- neral obsequies all business places on Northamp- ton street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, were . closed. While the people at large thus testified to their regard for one who had been a most use- ful citizen and exemplary man, it remained for his family to bear a crushing weight of grief the burden of which was not lightened by the solici- tude of those who deeply sympathized with them. It was in his home that Mr. Lawall revealed the tender graces of his nature in surpassing degree. Eminently domestic in his instincts and tastes, he placed his family first in his every thought and action, and first the devoted wife and mother who had been his companion for the remarkable pericd of fifty-seven years. Devoted to the happiness of his household, he was not content to surround them with all the comforts that could be pur- chased. He brightened their lives with his pres- ence more than with all that money could pro- vide. No matter what might be his business harassments or anxieties, he never brought into his home a shadow of gloom, but only that warm sunlight of the heart which manifests itself in a bright countenance and a cheery voice. His life was a perpetual beendiction upon his loved ones, and in his death he left them with the memory of one whose life had been without blot or con- tamination.
JOHN FREDERICK GWINNER, a leading financier and highly respected citizen of Easton, Pennsylvania, is a great-grandson of Frederick Gwinner, who came to this country in 1758, and in October, 1765, was naturalized as a subject of King George in America. He was the father of a son, John Frederick, who was born May 10, 1765, and was a butcher and tobacconist. His place of business was situated on South Third street, where the Pomfret building now stands, near the old Bull's Head Hotel.
Francis Aaron Gwinner, son of John Freder- ick Gwinner, was born April 27, 1803. He was a chairmaker by trade, but later engaged in the manufacture of brick. The last brick manu- factured by him was for the Northampton county court house. He was one of the directors of the old Farmers' and Mechanics' (now the First National) Bank. That he was a man of influence and a leader in the affairs of the town is evident from the fact that he was a member of the town council. His religious belief was that of the Lutheran church, `to which he belonged. He married, September 5, 1831, Sarah Stauffer, who was born January 19, 1811, in Plainfield town- ship, came to Easton, learned the milliner's trade, and conducted the business for some years. Mr. and Mrs. Gwinner were the parents of two chil- dren : John Frederick, mentioned at length hereinafter; and Anna Catherine, born' June 17, 1837, died January 23, 1839. The death of Mr. Gwinner occurred April 15, 1863, and his wife survived him exactly eighteen years, passing away April 4, 1881.
John F. Gwinner, son of Francis Aaron and Sarah (Stauffer) Gwinner, was born April 9, 1833, in Easton, Pennsylvania. He received his primary education in the public schools of his native place, afterward attending a private school at Port Colden, New Jersey. After completing his education he taught school in Tannersville, Monroe county, Pennsylvania, for two winters, being occupied during the summers in acting as his father's assistant in the brick business. Hc then taught school in Easton until 1857, and at the same time was employed in meteorological work by Professor Coffin, of Lafayette College. July 8, 1857, he accepted a clerical position in the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank. Here he re- mained, his aptitude and diligence meeting with deserved recognition, and causing him to be ad- vanced from time to time to more advantageous positions. In 1865 the bank was merged into the First National Bank of Easton, and in 1876 Mr. Gwinner was promoted to the office of cashier, a position which he held until 1890, when he was chosen president. This office he still retains, and in financial circles is justly regarded as an author-
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ity by reason of his long experience and unques- tioned ability. At the outbreak of the Civil war he was elected treasurer of the borough of Easton, and he has served in the school board, and he has been a trustee of Pennsylvania Col- lege, at Gettysburg, for many years. He takes an active interest in local affairs. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, having been initiated on John's day was installed as junior warden of his lodge. He affiliates with Easton Lodge, No. 152, of which he is one of the oldest living members, and in which he holds the office of past master. In 1868 he became past high priest of Easton Chapter, No. 173, R. A. M., and is also past thrice illustrious grand master of Pomp Council, No. 20, R. and S. M. In 1894 he was made commander of Hugh De Payens Commandery, No. 19, K. T. In politics he is in sympathy with the doctrines and measures of the Republican party. He is a member of the Lutheran church.
Mr. Gwinner married, November 3, 1853, at Port Colden, Warren county, New Jersey, Mar- tha Jane, born October 13, 1832, daughter of Samuel Harris. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. P. L. Jacques. On November 3, 1903, they celebrated the golden anniversary of their marriage at their residence, 249 Spring Garden street, Easton. The house was beautifully deco- rated in smilax, yellow chrysanthemums and roses, the music was furnished by Miss Dorothy Johnson, a harpist from Philadelphia, and a deli- cious repast was served during the evening. More than two hundred guests extended their congratulations to the bride and bridegroom of fifty years, among whom were two persons who were present at the marriage-Mrs. Rebekah A. Annin, of Paterson, New Jersey, who was bridesmaid, and Mrs. Mary Riegel, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It is of interest to know that Mr. Gwinner and Miss Harris (now Mrs. Gwinner) attended Mrs. Riegel and her husband at their wedding, which occurred a short time before they were wedded. Many handsome remembrances were presented by their friends. The board of directors of the First National Bank of Easton presented them with fifty roses and a beautiful
gold tobacco box, the latter being inscribed with the following words: "Presented to John F. Gwinner on the occasion of his fiftieth wedding anniversary, by the Board of Directors of the First National Bank, Easton, Pennsylvania, November 3, 1903." The board of managers of the Home for Aged and Infirm Women, of which Mrs. Gwinner is a member, presented them with
St. John's day, 1857, and the following St. . a handsome picture. On December 25, 1903, the
Knights Templar and other members of the Ma- sonic fraternity who reside in Easton, Pennsyl- vania, assembled in the Masonic Temple to drink a toast to the health of the grand commander of the grand commandery of the Knights Templar of the United States. At this assemblage Mr. Gwinner was presented with a beautiful "grand- father's clock," his friends in the different Ma- sonic bodies having waited until that morning to present to him their remembrance of the celebration of his golden anniversary, and also to show the esteem in which he is held. The clock was made at Caldwell's, in Philadelphia ; the case is of mahogany, the dial has raised gold figures, and the large pendulum bears an appropriate in- scription. There were about one hundred and fifty Masons present. The proceedings were opened by P. C. Evans, who acted as master of ceremonies, and the gift was presented by Robert E. James, at the conclusion of an eloquent address.
J. ELWOOD BIXLER, deceased, for many years a prominent business man of Easton, Penn- sylvania, and a leader in all charitable and benevolent enterprises, traced his ancestry to Christian Bixler, Sr., who was the owner of a large tract of land in Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he was an active and important factor in industrial circles, owning and operating extensive grist and saw mills. Christian Bixler, Jr., son of Christian Bixler, Sr., was born in Robeson town- ship, Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1763, learned the silversmith and clock maker trade in early life, and in 1785 removed to Easton and estab- lished a jewelry business there which he con- ducted successfully during his entire life and which remained one hundred and ten years in the
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same location. Many of the old families in this section of the state have in their possession a tall wall clock, his specialty, with the name of the manufacturer, Christian Bixler on it.
Christian Bixler, Jr., conducted this business successfully until 1834, and then in connection with this enterprise he engaged extensively in mill- ing, erecting one of the first mills in this section on the Delaware river, and he was also a large owner of real estate. He conducted the jewelry business many years, and the family carried on the business from 1788 to 1888. He married, in 1789, Catherine Opp, who was born in 1772, daughter of Jacob and Anna Maria (Hoffman) Opp. Jacob Opp was born in Germany, in Chur-Paltz, in the year 1740, and had three daughters, who were the founders of three of the oldest families in Easton. After his arrival in this country when very young he lo- cated in Easton where he conducted and owned the inn on the present site of the Central Hotel, corner of Fourth and Northampton streets.
William Bixler, father of J. Elwood Bixler, was born May 21, 1793, lived all his life in Eas- ton and followed the trade of a jeweler. He died February 8, 1850. He married Sophia, daughter of Hugh and Hannah (McDonald) Tolan.
J. Elwood Bixler, son of William Bixler and grandson of Christian Bixler, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, February 26, 1849. He acquired a liberal education at the public schools of Easton, and during his boyhood days he learned the trade of a jeweler in the store established by his grandfather in 1788. Later he succeeded to the business which has been in the possession of the family for the past one hundred and ten years, and this occupation engrossed his entire time and attention up to the time of his death. He took an active interest and supported every enterprise that conduced to the benefit, upbuilding and im- provement of his native city of Easton, and he generously donated the property at the corner of Ferry and Washington streets for the erection of a home for destitute and homeless children, which property was deeded by William Penn to the original Bixler. During his early life he was a sergeant in the Easton Grays, a noted military
organization, and took an active part in that com- pany during the Reading riots in 1877.
On May II, 1876, Mr. Bixler married Emma Eilenberger, a daughter of Peter and Marietta C. (Smith) Eilenberger, the former a son of An- drew Eilenberger, of Monroe county, and the latter a daughter of Isaac Smith, of Moravian parentage, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Their chil- dren are: 1. William Opp Bixler, who attended the schools of Easton, and the University of Pennsylvania, and is now an electrician by trade ; he married Grace I. Simon, an adopted daughter of Herman Simon and they are the parents of one child, Hermina Bixler. 2. Edith, who resides at home with her mother. The family attend the First Presbyterian Church of Easton, to the sup- port of which Mr. Bixler contributed liberally both of his time and substance. His death oc- curred June 12, 1891, at his home in Easton, Pennsylvania. He was sincerely mourned by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and the city lost a valued citizen.
OLIVER L. FEHR, editor and publisher of the Argus, daily and semi-weekly, of Easton, was born at Millgrove, Bushkill township, North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1841. His ancestral history can be traced back to John Fehr, who was a resident of Bucks county, that state, whence he removed to Northampton county, becoming a large landowner in the township in which Mr. Oliver L. Fehr was born. He pur- chased three hundred and twenty acres of the original Clewell tract, and was extensively en- gaged in agricultural pursuits. He married a Miss Bowman, and died at the age of eighty-five years, while his wife died at the advanced age of ninety-seven years. They were members of the Lutheran church.
Their son, George Fehr, born in Plainfield township, Northampton county, was a weaver by trade, and followed that pursuit in connection with farming. His religious faith was that of his fathers, and his political belief was in har- mony with the principles of Democracy. He married a Miss Yohe, and their children were as follows : Charles ; Polly, wife of George Shiffer ;
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Sallie Ann, wife of Jacob J. Cope ; George, John, and Michael G. For his second wife George Fehr married Susanna Unangst, and their chil- dren were Joseph, Reuben, Frederick, Elizabeth, wife of Andrew L. Keller, and Jacob.
George Fehr, Jr., father of Oliver L. Fehr, was born in Plainfield township, Northampton county, October 21, 1812. He was a lock filer by trade, and was employed for the Henry gun factory in Bushkill township for a number of years, but subsequently engaged in agricultural pursuits. He served as school director for sev- eral years, and was interested in the cause of edu- cation. He, like his ancestors, was a Lutheran in religion, and a deacon in the church. In poli- tics he was a Democrat. In 1840 he wedded Miss Maria L. Siegfried, who was born in Bushkill township, Northampton county, June 20, 1820, a daughter of Paul Siegfried. She was a de- scendant of an old and honored family of Ger- man origin. Her American ancestor was Joseph Siegfried, who was a brother of Colonel John Siegfried, of Revolutionary fame.
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