USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. I > Part 47
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D. GEORGE DERY, one of the leading busi- ness men in the Lehigh Valley, is an example of what a young man can accomplish who possesses brains, honesty and perseverance. At the pres- ent time (1904) he is at the head of three of the largest silk industries in the valley, and is giving constant employment to about one thousand hands in the operation of these plants. His knowledge of the silk business is second to none in this coun- try, he having had a wide experience in his na- tive land before he came to the new world. In Europe he studied the art of silk weaving, and had charge of the operation of various plants there.
In 1886 he came to the United States, and at once assumed charge of a silk mill at Paterson, New Jersey, remaining the superintendent of the same up to 1892, when having saved up and ac- quired some capital he embarked in business on his own account. He built and operated a silk mill, which was conducted under his name in Paterson up to 1897, when he moved the plant to Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, and established his home and the base of his future operations. Up
to that time the city of Paterson had and still has the lead in silk manufacturing in this country, but now this section of the Lehigh Valley is fast taking a leading place in this industry. In 1897 he built his first plant in the valley at Catasauqua, which gives employment to three hundred and fifty operators. The plant is of brick and well equipped with all the latest improved machinery for the purpose of manufacturing silk dress goods and staple silks. In 1900 he acquired the plant at East Mauch Chunk, which is on a more exten- sive scale, and employs five hundred hands in the conduct of their business. Still the demands of his trade were in excess of the product of his vari- ous plants, and in 1902 he built the silk mill at Allentown, where more than one hundred hands are now constantly employed. All of the mills are substantial structures, well equipped for the suc- cessful conduct of the line of business for which they are built, and add materially to the growth and welfare of the sections where they are located, and thus the Lehigh Valley has benefited by the energy of one man.
Mr. Dery is an authority in his line, is of a modest and retiring disposition, and possesses a strong domestic taste. He erected a handsome and commodious house in the finest residential section of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, where he has become much valued as a citizen. He is fond of reading, is well informed on the topics of the day, and although but thirty-eight years of age he has gained an enviable reputation as a solid man of affairs. He is a member of the Liv- ingston Club of Allentown, the Catasauqua Club of that town, and the Hamilton Club of Paterson, New Jersey.
GENERAL ROBERT SAMUEL BROWN, who is living in Bethlehem township, Northamp- ton county, is of Scotch-Irish ancestry. The first representative of the family in America was Sam- uel Brown, who was born in Ireland, but was of Scotch parentage, representatives of the family in earlier generations having lived in Colstown, Scotland.
Samuel Brown, desiring to establish his home in the new world, crossed the Atlantic to Phil-
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adelphia in 1720, and became a landowner of this state. About 1728 he removed to Allen town- ship, and was one of the founders of this borough, assisting in the establishment of a Scotch-Irish settlement here. He aided in shaping the early policy of the entire community and in carrying forward its work along progressive lines of sub- stantial upbuilding. He was of the Presbyterian faith, and died June II, 1798. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Jane Boyd, was born in 1720, and died March 12, 1812, at the advanced age of about ninety-two years. Her birth oc- curred in Scotland, and her parents were John and Jane (Craig) Boyd, who were pioneer set- tlers of Allen township. Jane (Craig) Boyd was a sister of Daniel Craig, who was an ancestor of President Roosevelt. The ancestry of the Boyd family can be traced back to Thomas Boyd, who wedded Mary, a daughter of King James II of Scotland, who ruled between the years 1423-1460. Among his descendants was Adam Boyd, who with the rank of captain was sent from Scotland to Ireland by King Charles I in 1649. John and Jane (Craig) Boyd had two children. The son, John, married Elizabeth, a daughter of Sir Wil- liam Young, while Jane became the wife of Sam- uel Brown. The children of Samuel and Jane (Boyd) Brown were General Robert Brown ; Sa- rah, who married Lieutenant James Hays ; Esther, who became the wife of Robert Craig ; William, who married Jean Hays ; Elizabeth, who married William Craig; Jane, who became the wife of Thomas Herron; Joseph, who wedded Mary Lattimore ; and John, who married Eliza- beth Doke.
Robert Brown, the grandfather of General Robert Samuel Brown, and a son of Samuel Brown, the founder of the family in America; became a distinguished citizen of Pennsylvania. He won the rank of general in military service, and was also a member of congress for many years. His birth occurred in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, December 25, 1744, and at the commencement of the Revolutionary war he was appointed commander of Pennsylvania troops at Flying Camp. He was taken prisoner on Long Island, and while held in captivity he worked at
the blacksmith trade, the money thus earned be- ing used to buy food for his fellow prisoners. Later he was put aboard the prison ship "Judith," and subsequently was incarcerated in the old city hall in New York city. General Brown of this review has the parole which was granted to him on board the prison ship December 10, 1777, and he also has a copy of his commission as lieutenant dated September 10, 1776, as he went from Allen township under Captain Peter Rundio's command in Flying Camp. A firm and inflexible adherent of the American cause, a patriot of unfaltering loyalty, he enjoyed the esteem of all who knew him, and whether in days of peace or days of war he was equally true to his country and its per- manent good. Honored and respected by all, he had a marked influence on public thought and feeling, and his fellow townsmen rejoiced in his advancement, gladly bestowing upon him the of- ficial preferments within their power. He filled a number of positions, was sent by his district to the Pennsylvania senate, where he served for several terms, and was afterward a member of the house of representatives of the United States for seventeen years. While serving in the coun- cil chambers of the nation the question of a sec- ond war with Great Britain came before con- gress, and he voted to engage in hostilities. He became a. brigadier-general of Pennsylvania troops, and was thus prominently identified with political and military interests. His was a high order of citizenship and of statesmanship, and his clear strong views concerning the questions which came up for settlement in the national legislative halls showed that he had thoroughly mastered the subject and had the welfare of his country close at heart. He died at his home in Allen township, Northampton county, February 26, 1823, at the age of seventy-nine years. While in congress he formed the acquaintance of many of the most eminent men of the nation, and friend- ships which had their root in these meetings con- tinued in existence throughout his life. While a member of congress he was invited to dine with Thomas Jefferson, then president of the United States. The invitation was dated Tuesday, Feb- ruary 18, 1803, and read "To dine on Friday at
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3 :30, or whatever later hour the house may rise." He also received an invitation to dine with James Madison, dated November 4, 1812. He married Catherine Snyder, of Northampton county, a dis- tant relative of Governor Snyder, and they had but one child, William Brown, born August 14, 1792.
William Brown, father of General Robert Samuel Brown, was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, August 14, 1792. After attaining to manhood his attention was largely given to the supervision of the estates belonging to his father and his wife near Bath, where he lived for a number of years. He afterward removed to Bethlehem, where his death occurred, January 10, 1867. He married Susan Shimer, a sister of General Shimer, her death occurred near Bath, Pennsylvania, where she passed away on the 18th of March, 1834, at the age of thirty-nine years. The children of that marriage were Eliza, who married Peter Wycoff, and Robert Samuel, the former now deceased. For his second wife Wil- liam Brown chose Susan Conrad, of Maryland, and their only child, Gulielma, now residing in Philadelphia, is the widow of Mr. Hyndman. Her only son, Roy Hyndman, resides at Freder- ick, Maryland.
General Robert Samuel Brown was born near Bath, Pennsylvania, August 14, 1817, pursued his education in the public schools and academy there, and afterward continued his studies at Lititz and Nazareth. Entering upon his business career, he gave his attention to the supervision of his fa- ther's estate and to dealing in property. He is, however, a lawyer by profession, having been ad- mitted to practice at the Lehigh and Northamp- ton county bars. A number of years ago he re- tired from active practice and since then has de- voted his leisure hours largely to intellectual pur- suits and the superintendence of his farms, in which he has always taken the greatest interest.
Like his grandfather, for whom he was named, General Brown rose from the ranks in military service to be major-general of militia of the Sev- enth Division of the Pennsylvania troops, com- posed of the companies of Lehigh and Northamp-
ton counties. At the outbreak of the Civil war he patriotically tendered the services of himself and his command, but owing to a determination to appoint only West Point graduates in command this offer was not accepted by the government. In his political affiliations he has always been a strong Democrat, inflexible in his adherence to the principles of the party. In 1869 he was nom- inated by acclamation in the Democratic conven- tion for state senator, and was elected by over five thousand majority, representing Lehigh and Northampton counties for three years with such ability and distinction as to win the highest com- pliments from his political adversaries. He was also the president of the first board of prison in- spectors of Northampton county, and for many years was president of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He has also been prominent in church affairs, and for a long period has been an elder in the First Presbyterian church of Beth- lehem.
On the 9th of January, 1838, General Brown was married to Miss Caroline Matilda Grim, a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Shimer) Grim, of Friedensville, Lehigh county. They resided in Allentown for a number of years, and in 1842 re- moved to the home which is yet occupied by Gen- eral Brown. His wife died July 3, 1887. Their children were Oliver and Clara, who died in child- hood; Mary E., who died in 1879; Alfred, a phy- sician of Hellertown, who married Miss Amanda Person, and died September 10, 1899, leaving three children-Myrtle, wife of J. C. Lease ; Rob- ert, of Reading, Pennsylvania; and Wye P. Brown, at home; Flora S., the only surviving child of General Brown, resides with her father. She is the wife of Henry J. Brown, a descendant of Samuel Brown through his son William and Jean (Hays) Brown, of the settlement.
WILLIAM VINCENT KNAUSS, who is treasurer of the E. P. Wilbur Trust Company, of South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and whose con- nection with the business covers a period of thirty-nine years, is a representative of an old family of German lineage, the ancestry being
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traced back to Samuel and Maria (Dengler) Knauss, in whose family were six children : Maria, who was born November 7, 1810, and be- came the wife of Sasseman ; George, born October 28, 1812; Mrs. Sarah Ann Maurer, born February 27, 1815; Charles, born October 5, 1817; Hannah, born June 12, 1820; and Lucy Ann, who was born October II, 1822, and became the wife of John Nonnemacher. Her death oc- curred on the Ist of August, 1879.
George Knauss, the eldest son of Samuel and Maria Knauss, was born at Coalbrookdale, Berks county, Pennsylvania, on the 28th of October, 1812, and was reared and educated there. On putting aside his text books he learned the tan- ner's trade, and afterward followed that business on his own account in Jacobsburg, Pennsylvania. Subsequently, in 1844, he removed to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in active busi- ness for a number of years. In politics he was a Democrat, and while residing in Nazareth he was received into the Moravian church. His death was occasioned by paralysis, on the 14th of May, 1888. Following his removal to Nazareth, he was married, on the 27th of July, 1845, to Anna- bella Beitel, whose birth occurred September 13, 1813. She was a daughter of John and Anna Magdalena (Romig) Beitel.
William Vincent Knauss, the only child of George and Annabella Knauss, was reared in Nazareth, and obtained his education in the parochial school there. He came to Bethlehem at the age of fourteen years to take his place in the business world, and was first employed by H. T. Milchsack as telegraph operator. For five years he remained with that gentleman and the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, and then be- came connected with the E. P. Wilbur Trust Company, an association which has been main- tained up to the present time, covering a period of thirty-nine consecutive years. His close ap- plication, his fidelity to duty and his business adaptability led to his promotion from time to time and he is now the treasurer of the company.
During the Civil war Mr. Knauss enlisted for nine months' service, becoming a member of Com- pany C, Forty-sixth Regiment of Pennsylvania
Volunteers. He was also for three months in the Union League Regiment under Colonel Neff. His political support is given to the Democracy, and he has served as borough treasurer for eleven years, proving a most capable and trustworthy official. Socially he is a Mason, and is now treas- urer of Bethlehem Lodge, No. 283, F. and A. M. He belongs to the Moravian church, of which he has been sacristan for twenty-eight years. That he has the entire confidence of all with whom he has been associated is shown by the fact that to him have been intrusted financial interests in busi- ness, political and social circles, and no word has ever been uttered against his integrity and hon- esty of purpose.
On the 19th of October, 1871, William V. Knauss was united in marriage to Miss Maria L. Wilhelm, a daughter of Dr. B. and Frederica (Paulus) Wilhelm. She was born in Bethlehem, April 28, 1850, and by her marriage became the mother of a daughter, Emily Frederica, who was born September 15, 1872, and was married June 9, 1903, to Albert G. Connelly. For his second wife Mr. Knauss chose Matilda A. Luckenbach, a daughter of Jacob and Mary Luckenbach. She is a representative of one of the old families of Pennsylvania, tracing her ancestry from Adam Luckenbach, who was born in 1713, and died in 1785. His son, David Adam Luckenbach, mar- ried Elizabeth Clewell, and to them was born a son, Adam Luckenbach, who wedded Maria Whitesell. Among their children was Jacob Luckenbach, the father of Mrs. Knauss. He was born April 2, 1805. Mrs. Knauss was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and pursued her edu- cation in the parochial school there. By this mar- riage there was one child that died in infancy.
JOHN TAYLOR. The death of John Tay- lor, at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, November 2, 1895, ended a life of high endeavor and faithful service. He lived to a fulness of experience and a consummate knowledge of life, but he died be- fore a man may be accounted old in years. He was a man of wide sympathies, and he carried the standards of his private life into his business and his citizenship. His forty-one years of service
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with the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, in the course of which he worked from humble place to important posts, were marked by respect for authority and unfailing consideration for those who stood below him.
Edmond Taylor, father of John Taylor, was born August 4, 1804, in the parish of Alynge- moor, Hertfordshire, England, youngest of the fourteen children of John and Sarah Taylor. The oldest of this family fought with Admiral Nelson at Trafalgar, the famous naval battle that gave to Great Britain the control of Gibraltar. The names of the children were as follows : Charles, Samuel, Frank, Richard, Henry, Joseph, William, John, Thomas, Robert, Arnold, Elizabeth, Ann, Ed- mond. Edmond Taylor came to America as a child, his parents having settled in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, about 1813. He was edu- cated in the public schools, and learned the sad- dler's trade. He worked at his trade in Wilkes- Barre, where despite his obscure calling he made himself a force in public life. He was a man of large capacity which gained substantial recogni- tion. He was elected to the offices of treasurer and assessor in Luzerne county, and was after- ward made associate judge. Judge Taylor died in 1880, one of the most respected citizens of the county. He married Mary Ann Wilson at Wilkes- Barre, December 26, 1828. She was born at Kingston, Luzerne county, August 1I, 1804, the daughter of Elnathan and Elizabeth Wilson. The marriage ceremony was performed by the Rev. Samuel Carver. Six children were born to the couple : I. Mary Ann, born September 27, 1829, who became the wife of Samuel White, of Haver- hill, Massachusetts, and had one child that died in infancy ; 2. John, born January 16, 1832; 3. Elizabeth, born September 28, 1833, married Ed- ward Chase of Massachusetts, and became the mother of four children,-Harold, Ethel, Samuel, and Francis ; 4. Ellen, born October 25, 1835, and died December 18, 1836 : 5. Thomas, born Decem- ber 16, 1837, married Amelia -, and has two children, William and Frank ; 6. Edmond, born August II, 1839, married Elizabeth Duryea.
John, second child and first son of Judge Ed-
mond and Mary Ann (Wilson) Taylor, was born at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, January 16, 1832. He was given good school advantages and was an apt scholar. He attended school at Wilkes-Barre and at Gray, Pennsylvania. He was himself a teacher for a time, but he soon decided to seek business opportunities, and went to New York city, where he found employment. It was not long before he secured a place with an engineer- ing corps working on the construction of the Le- high Valley Railroad. He served with this corps until the completion of the road, when he became an express agent in its employ. Scon he was promoted to ticket and freight agent, a position he held for seven years, when he was made general freight agent. He was finally made general traffic manager, which position he held at the time of his death. He was greatly respected by his em- ployees, among whom he had a name for fair dealing. It was said of him that he never dis- charged a man except for serious cause. He was a man of strong religious convictions, which he sought to exemplify in his life. He was an active member of the First Presbyterian church of Bethlehem, and well-known for his liberality in all good works. But his experience had made him a judge of men, and he was discriminating in his charities. He was a Democrat, and a leader in local politics as well as a close observer of na- tional issues.
He married, January 16, 1858, Annie, daugh- ter of George and Elizabeth (Hunsberg) Esser. She was of German descent, her earliest ancestor in this country being John Esser, who with his brother George, came to Pennsylvania about the middle of the eighteenth century. John Esser had a son named George, who married Hannah Seipel, and became the father of another George. This son, born about 1818, married Elizabeth Huns- berg, and they were the parents of Annie, George, Eugene, who died young, John, Byron and Ed- mond, twins, and Harry, who died in infancy. Annie was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, September 5, 1841, and reared at Mauch Chunk, where she was educated at Park Seminary. Nine children were born of her marriage with John
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Taylor, as follows : I. Harry Esser, born January 23, 1859 ; married Amy Jex, born in Belize, Brit- ish Honduras. 2. Edmund Kenneth, born March 5, 1861 ; married Caroline Hatch, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin ; they reside in New York city ; they had three children-Anna, born September 3, 1890; Elizabeth, born June 14, 1892; Mary, born in Bensonhurst, Long Island, January 30, 1894, now deceased. 3. Annie, born January 12, 1863. 4. George Smylie, born January 28, 1865. 5. Eliza- beth, born March 15, 1867. 6. Mary White, born November 13, 1869, married Harry Steinman Snyder of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and is the mother of two children,-John Taylor, born De- cember 23, 1893, and Mary Taylor born Septem- ber 6, 1896; 7. John, Jr., born December 9, 1871. 8. Robert Sayre, born December 17, 1873. 9. Rich- ard Ferrier, born December 4, 1878.
LEWIS WILSON SNYDER, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was born November 1, 1848, in Lehigh Gap, Carbon county, Pennsylvania. His paternal great-grandfather, Nicholas Snyder, was of German lineage, and was reared near Cherry- ville, Pennsylvania. He was a farmer by occu- pation, but at the time of the Revolutionary war put aside business and personal consideration and became a member of the patriot army. He held membership in the German Reformed church. His wife bore the maiden name of Eliza- beth Kern, and was reared near Slatington, Penn- sylvania. She, too, belonged to the German Re- formed church. Peter Snyder, a son of Nicholas, was united in marriage to Miss Mary Solt, a daughter of Conrad Solt, and their children were Eliza, Marian, Katherine, Rachel, Charles and Monroe. The last named was the father of Lewis Wilson Snyder.
Monroe Snyder was born January 31, 1820, in Lehigh Gap, Carbon county, Pennsylvania, and died on the 21st of February, 1873. He married Anna Maria Beil, who was a daughter of Jacob and Mary Magdalena (Biery) Beil. Her birth occurred in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1820, and her death on the 14th of Au- gust, 1892. Monroe Snyder was an agriculturist, who throughout his entire life engaged in the
tilling of the soil in order to provide for his family. He belonged to the Reformed church, and was a Republican in his political affiliations. To him and his wife were born three children : William H., Amanda E., and Lewis W.
Lewis Wilson Snyder began his education in the public schools of his native township, and con- tinued his studies in Dickinson Seminary, at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He also pursued a business course in the commercial college at Williamsport, and entered upon his business ca- reer as a clerk in a dry-goods store. Subsequently he engaged in business as a druggist. Later his time and attention were devoted to official service in the position of United States deputy revenue collector, which he held from September 9, 1889, to March 31, 1894, and in that of postmaster of Bethlehem, which he held from February 1, 1900, to February 15, 1904. His appointments came under Republican administrations, Mr. Snyder having ever been a loyal advocate of the princi- ples of the party. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in Christ Reformed church, of Bethlehem. Socially he is connected with Bethlehem Lodge, No. 283, F. and A. M., in which he served as master in 1885; and with Zinzendorf Chapter, No. 216, R. A. M., of Beth- lehem, of which he was high priest in 1889. He has ever been an exemplary representative of the craft, and in his life displays its beneficent principles.
On the 23d of March, 1880, in Bethlehem, Mr. Snyder was united in marriage to Ella Jane Harwi, a daughter of Charles and Eliza Harwi. Her father was a contractor and builder. Mrs. Snyder obtained her education in the public schools of Bethlehem. By this marriage there is one son, Oran C. Snyder, who was born in Beth- lehem, February 20, 1881. He attended the pub- lic schools of his native town, was graduated from the Bethlehem high school with the class of 1898, and completed a course in the Bethlehem prepara- tory school with the class of 1899. For several years he attended Lehigh University, but com- pleted his education in the Pennsylvania State College, class of 1904, taking the degree of Bach- elor of Science in the mechanical department.
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FRANCIS E. LUCKENBACH. The pro- genitors of the large and influential family of Luckenbachs of Bethlehem, Adam and Eva Maria (Spiess) Luckenbach, leaving their home in Win- kelbach, Germany, came to America, in the year 1740. Adam Luckenbach engaged at various times in teaching school in Montgomery, Lan- caster and Northampton counties, and spent his declining year with his son, John Ludwig Luck- enbach, who lived on a farm on the south side of the Lehigh river, opposite Bethlehem. Although not a Moravian, at the desire of his children he was laid to rest in the "God's acre" at Bethlehem, his death occurring October 15, 1785. He had a son and two daughters, the latter being Eva Cath- erine, who died in 1748, and Elizabeth, who mar- ried a Mr. Rauschenberger.
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