USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. I > Part 60
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In 1842 Lewis Graver was united in mar- riage to Leah Lauchner, who was born in 1820, in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and who is still living at. the advanced age of eighty-four years. Ten children were born to them, eight of whom grew to maturity, and those living at the pres- ent time (1904) are: Mrs. Elizabeth Seiler, Mrs. Alvenia Westlake, Henry A., Lafayette and
Mrs. Emma Thomas. Lewis Graver, father of these children, died January 20, 1892.
Henry A. Graver was born in Lehighton, Carbon county, September 17, 1858. He was reared and educated in his native town, and dur- ing his early life he assisted his father with the agricultural pursuits on the homestead, and also began his connection with the brick making busi- ness. His services were mostly in demand at the brickyard, where he delighted to work in the clay, and in this manner he gained a thorough knowledge of the details of the business. This proved most useful to him in the management of the works when he succeeded his father in 1884, and since that date he has continued to make brick of the finest building material. He has always taken an active interest in local affairs, especially in all pertaining to educational mat- ters, and has served as school director in the first ward of the borough of Lehighton. He is a member of the Knights of Malta.
On July 30, 1888, Mr. Graver was married to Catherine Hoats, born September 7, 1868, a daughter of George and Mary Hoats. Their chil- dren are: Ralph H., born in 1891 ; Stanley H., born in 1894; and Bertha, born in 1898.
. PHILIP STORM, an esteemed and repre- sentative citizen of Catasauqua, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, is well and favorably known in the community, and his high reputation and material prosperity are the reward of unusual natural ability, industriously applied. He prospered in his business career, and for the past fifteen years has been leading a life retired from active pur- suits. He was born on the Rhine, in Bavaria, Germany, September 12, 1829, a son of John and Elizabeth (Shaffer) Storm, both of whom were natives of Bavaria, where they lived and died, and their family consisted of eight children. John Strom (father) followed agricultural pursuits, and he also devoted considerable attention to the sale of wine, wheat, tobacco and hops. His death occurred in the year 1832.
Philip Storm obtained a practical education in his mother tongue, attending the common schools until he was fourteen years of age, when
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he began an apprenticeship at the trade of tailor, at which he worked until eighteen years of age. In 1848, after deciding to test the business oppor- tunities of the new world, he left Antwerp in a sailing vessel, and after a voyage of fifty days duration landed in New York city. He located in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and from there walked the entire distance to Catasauqua, Lehigh county, becoming one of the early settlers of that town. For a short period of time he was em- ployed on the canal under the supervision of Nathan Van Horn, and during the same year he went to Mauch Chunk, where for nine years he loaded coal on the boats along the wharf. In . 1858 he returned to Catasauqua and was em- ployed in the limestone quarries. During the dark days of the rebellion, when his adopted country was in danger of disruption, he willingly, in the face of friendly opposition, left his com- fortable home, his loving wife and five young children, to defend and maintain the integrity of the country to which he had sworn to be loyal. In October, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Seventy-sixth Regiment Penn- sylvania Infantry, and was mustered in for nine months service. The regiment was ordered to Virginia, where it performed provost duty at Suffolk and Norfolk, and he was honorably dis- charged from the service of the United States government, at Philadelphia, August 18, 1863.
After his return to civil life Mr. Storm se- cured employment as foreman with the Cata- sauqua Manufacturing Company, in which capac- ity he remained until 1889, when he started out on the road as the representative of the company, buying and selling scrap iron. During his twen- ty-six years service as foreman his duties were performed outside the store-house, the scales being in his charge, and he assisted in building the mill which was completed in December, 1863. He traveled through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York, shipping iron from all points. This department of the trade he con- ducted for himself, buying and shipping iron, and then selling it to the firm on contract. He achieved a well-merited success in the manage- ment of this enterprise, the proceeds from his
sales amounting to the large sum of eighty-five thousand dollars per year. In 1892 he erected his beautiful residence at the corner of Lehigh and Bridge streets, Catasauqua. He has also erected seven other residences, five of which are in the western part of the city and two in the main part. Mr. Storm was a member of the council for three years, was elected burgess in 1881, and re-elected the three successive years ; served as health officer for twelve years, and at the county convention of 1875, he was honored by the Republican party by being nominated for sheriff, but was defeated by his Democratic op- ponent. He holds membership in the Lutheran church, in which he was an elder for many years. He is a member of the Ancient, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, Royal Arch Masons, Allen Com- mandery, No. 20, Knights Templar, and Fuller Post, No. 378, Grand Army of the Republic. In 1874 Mr. Storm paid a visit to the scenes of his boyhood, the trip extending over a period of three months.
In 1851 Mr. Storm was united in marriage to Gertrude Koch, a native of Germany, who died in 1883. They were the parents of five children : John, deceased; William, a resident of Potts- ville; Sarah, who became the wife of A. E. Seigfried, of Catasauqua : Mary, who became the wife of Peter Grishert ; and Lavina, who became the wife of Allen Heckman, of Catasauqua. On October 9, 1883, Mr. Storm married for his sec- ond wife Sarah A. (Trollinger) Miller, widow of John P. Miller, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and daughter of the late Samuel and Mary ( Hof- fert) Trollinger, natives of Doylestown and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, respectively. Mrs. Storm was the mother of a daughter by her former marriage, Emma, who became the wife of Mr. Cooper, of Pottsville.
HARRISON S. WIMMER, a popular hotel proprietor of Butztown, Pennsylvania, took up the business which his father had successfully conducted for a number of years. He is prom- inent in local affairs, and to the front in all measures conducive to the improvement and business advancement of the town.
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George Wimmer, the grandfather of Harri- son S. Wimmer, married a woman named Roth, and among his children was a son John, the father of Harrison S. John was brought up on his father's farm, and after a thorough elemen- tary education in the public schools, he learned the milling business. He worked as a miller until 1877, when he sold out his interests in the mill and began dealing in live stock. For five years he carried on a large business in the buying and selling of cattle, and then he assumed the management of a hotel in Bucks county. In 1887 he sold his business there and went to Farmers- ville, Northampton county, where he became manager and proprietor of the Farmersville Hotel. This hotel, with another which he subse- quently leased in Butztown, he conducted for six- teen years, when he retired from business life. In these years he has gained the hearty good will of the public he has served, and has a wide ac- quaintance in Northampton and adjoining coun- ties. He is a member of the Lutheran church. and gives his political support to the Democratic party.
John Wimmer married Sarah Snyder, daugh- ter of Peter and Catherine (Crouthamel) Sny- der, and had a family of six children, as fol- lows : I. Mary Ellen, who married Nathan Wam- bold, and has one child, Harry ; 2. Harvey, who married Tracie Nougesser, and has nine chil- dren,-Edward, Charles, Bertha, Harrison, Am- brose, Mabel, Robert, Harry, Clara; 3. Harrison S., who is spoken of elsewhere ; 4. Amanda Pris- cilla, who married Asher Laubach, but who has no children; 5. Andrew W., who married Lo- renda Koch and has one child, Howard; 6. Emma, who married Harry Flack.
Harrison S., third child and second son of John and Sarah (Snyder) Wimmer, was born in Bethlehem township, January 22, 1865. He was educated in the public schools, and served his time as a miller's apprentice. He did not, how- ever, choose to follow the milling business as a vocation and he assisted his father in the man- agement of his hotels until 1889. In that year he assumed the management of the Farmersville House and conducted it successfully for seven
years. He afterward came to Butztown and took control of the hotel there in January, 1903. His courtesy and his personal interest in the com- fort of all guests of his house, have made him a popular landlord, and won for him a large circle of friends. He is active in public affairs of the township, and a generous supporter of every good cause. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and his political affiliations are with the Demo- cratic party.
He married Mary Sibila Gogel, daughter of Jacob and Annie (Kleppinger) Gogel. Annie Kleppinger was the daughter of William and Lena (Etleman) Kleppinger, but of her hus- band's parentage there is no record. She was one of a family of three children, namely : Alice, who married first George Stout and had one child, Mary. Her second husband was Conrad Bender, to whom she bore one child, Charles. 2. Mary Sibila, who is the wife of Harrison S. Wimmer ; 3. Henry, who married Maggie Ellis and has four children,-Annie, Jennie, Hattie, and Ellen. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison S. Wimmer have one child, Nettie May.
GEORGE WALTON, prominently and ac- tively identified with the industrial, political and social interests of Northampton county since early manhood, and for almost half a century a well known and influential resident of Butztown, is a native of that section of the State, having been born in Bushkill township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, July 12, 1832.
Abraham Walton, grandfather of George Walton, was an active and public-spirited man, who served with credit and distinction during the greater part of the war of 1812, and at the close of hostilities received from the American gov- ernment a tract of land in the vicinity of Spring- field, Illinois, which consisted of one hundred and sixty acres, which he sold. He resided in Lower Nazareth, Northampton county, and reared a family of children, among whom was a son, Enoch Walton.
Enoch Walton, father of George Walton, after acquiring a public school education, began his business career as a miller, but did not pur-
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sue this line of industry as a means of liveli- hood, for after serving his apprenticeship he lo- cated in New York state, and later devoted his time and attention to general business pursuits. He was an honorable and upright man in all the relations of life, an active and consistent member of the Reformed church, and an ardent Democrat in his political views. Enoch Walton and his wife, Catherine (Kindt) Walton, a daughter of Abraham and Sarah (Lawall) Kindt, were respected and esteemed by all who had the honor of their acquaintance.
George Walton, only child of Enoch and Catherine Walton, pursued his studies in the public schools in Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth. and his course of instruction qualified him for the position of school teacher, which he acceptably filled for a number of years, in the meantime learning the trade of carpenter. In 1862 he estab- lished a carpentering and building business in Bethlehem township, Pennsylvania, and many of the handsome residences and large buildings in that vicinity are evidences of his skill and abil- ity in that particular line of trade. In 1859 he purchased the farm upon which he now resides, which consists of ten acres of rich and produc- tive land, and at the present time (1904) he is conducting agricultural pursuits. He is a direc- tor in the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany of Northampton county. Mr. Walton is public-spirited, has always taken a keen inter- est in the welfare and development of the com- munity in which he resides. He was for three years auditor of the township of Bethlehem, served as assessor for four years, and in 1873 was elected justice of the peace, and has held the office continuously ever since-his present term of appointment will not expire until 1908. For nine years he served in the capacity of in- spector of prisons for Northampton county. Mr. Walton is a member of Hulda Lodge, No. 364, Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Walton was united in marriage, March 13. 1855, to Mary Ann Barnet, daughter of Jacob and Susanna (Newhart) Barnet, the former named being the son of Michael and Magdalene Barnet, and the latter the daughter of Michael
and Margaret Newhart. The following named children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Walton- I. Henry J., born February 2, 1856, who is an architect, and resides in Bethlehem; he married Amanda R. Hoch, daughter of James and Saralı Hoch, and they are the parents of four children -Harry G., Paul E., Hilda M., and Trueman O. Walton. 2. Ida A., born April 7, 1859, died November 17, 1897 ; she was the wife of J. Llewel- len Laubach, son of John Laubach, and three children were the issue of this union-Emma E., Ezra W., and Elwood J. Laubach. 3. Mary R., born March 19, 1861, unmarried, who is a mil- liner. 4. Emma C., born May 6, 1867, died July 9, 1876. 5. Susan C., born November 20, 1871, died July 12, 1876.
CYRUS KUNTZ combined in his nature the elements which rendered him a natural leader of men and a director of public opinion, as a jour- nalist-the editor and proprietor of the Daily City Item, and the Evening Telegram, of Allen- town-he exercised an influence in community affairs that will long be felt. He entered upon the active duties of life unaided by influential friends or adventitious circumstances. He was the sole architect of his own fortune, molding his own character, and shaping his own destiny. His labors were not restricted, however, to the ad- vancement of his personal interests, for he ex- tended his effort to various fields in which as an acknowledged leader he championed the high- est interests of the municipality and of the people at large, and with such success that his name came to be held in high honor while he lived, and his untimely death was regretted with a sorrow that was at once general and sincere.
Cyrus Kuntz was born in Washington town- ship, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1853, and as the name indicates was of German, lineage. The founders of the Kuntz family in America were Jacob Kuntz and his wife, Mary Mosser, who came from Prussia. His grand- parents were Jacob and Rachel (Butz) Kuntz. His parents were Moses and Leah Kuntz, the former now deceased, but the latter still living. The mother was a granddaughter of Balser Wert,
Bather, N.Y
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GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
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who came from Germany, and a daughter of Conrad and Mary (Farber) Wert. The father conducted a slate quarry, and was thus for a number of years actively connected with indus- trial interests of the Lehigh valley. The only brother of Cyrus Kuntz was Henry Kuntz, who was killed in a railroad accident at Lehigh Gap about twenty years ago. He is survived, how- ever, by the following named sisters : Mrs. John A. Lentz, of Allentown; and Mrs. Dr. R. W. Young and Mrs. Jennie Weygandt, both of Slat- ington, Pennsylvania.
In his boyhood days Cyrus Kuntz, when not engaged with the duties of the school-room, worked in his father's slate quarry, but believing that he would find another occupation more con- genial he entered the office of the Slatington News, where he learned the printer's trade. About 1874 he came to Allentown and entered the office of the Herald, being first employed as a com- positor and afterward as a reporter. He also: occupied a position for a short period in the for- warding office of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Packerton, and for a brief period worked at the printer's trade in Philadelphia. It was on the Ist of January, 1878, that the Daily City Item of Allentown was established on a co-operative plan by five practical printers, N. E. Worman, Charles H. Kramer, D. D. Holden, Oscar Schwartz and Robert Vogt, while Cyrus Kuntz was engaged as editor. The enterprise, how- ever, proved unsuccessful, and the prime movers in the business gradually withdrew, until Mr. Kuntz, Charles A. J. Hartman and Mr. Schwartz were left as owners of the paper. The last died a few years later, and Mr. Hartman's death occurred September 1, 1890, at which time Mr. Kuntz became sole proprietor. From the be- ginning he labored untiringly for the develop- ment and success of this journal, and continued his effort with such ability that the Item has long been recognized as one.of the leading newspapers of the Lehigh Valley. One who was long asso- ciated with him in business said: "As an editor he was very conservative, tactful and diplomatic, with a fine and honorable regard for the rights of others, as he was jealous of his own rights. In
truth, he was often charged with ultra conserva- tism, but if success is the measure of judgment, as it always is in so delicately poised an enter- prise as that of conducting a newspaper, then Mr. Kuntz could point to the edifice he wrought as a monument to his wisdom and the accuracy of his judgment. He was always cool and dispassion- ate. The natural measure of a man's power is the resistance of circumstances. He carefully scanned the line that led from cause to effect, and few could deceive him as to the motives which gave rise to a cause, and the effect of cir- cumstance it produced. If they did not comport with his strict sense of honor, he refused to give it support, no matter how plausible they ap- peared. His power of analysis in that direction was keener than many men gave him credit for. He was rarely deceived in a man, and less in his motives."
October II, 1879, Mr. Kuntz was united in marriage to Miss Laura M. Dornblaser, a daugh- ter of Stephen and Eliza Dornblaser, who were residents of Allentown, but the former is now de- ceased. The wedding ceremony was performed by the Rev. B. N. Schmauk, and they became the parents of five daughters : Maude I., who is the wife of Walter E. Graffin, the business man- ager of the Item, by whom she has one son, John Cyrus ; Helen L., Grace O., Edna M., and Ruth A., all of whom are with their mother. Mr. Kuntz's devotion to his family was almost ideal. His interest centered in his home, and he re- garded no personal sacrifice or labor on his part too great if it would enhance the welfare of his wife and daughters. He was equally loyal to whom he gave his trust and confidence, and he held friendship inviolable. In his daily life he exemplified his faith in the Christian religion, and he was long a consistent member of St Michael's Lutheran church, and served as one of its board of trustees. He also held member- ship relations with Lehigh Lodge, No. 83, I. O. O. F., and was identified with the Livingston Club and the Board of Trade. Although he never sought political preferment he was a most active representative of the Democracy of his county, giving to it his stalwart support because
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HISTORIC HOMES AND INSTITUTIONS.
he believed it to be the duty of every American citizen to uphold the principles which in his opin- ion contained the best elements of good govern- ment. His aspirations and ambitions were not along political lines, and yet he was several times a candidate for councilman and school director of the Fourth Ward of Allentown. He served for several terms as a member of the Democratic city committee, and yet it was through the columns of this paper that hc exercised the strongest in- fluence in support of the principles of Democ- racy. The writer from whom we have before quoted said :
"He was not a Democrat by birth or inherit- ance, but he was one because he believed in its tenets and its principles. His first vote was cast for the great reformer, Samuel J. Tilden, in 1876, and ever since he has voted the straight Demo- cratic ticket. He was a free and generous con- tributor to his party's campaign funds, and his paper ever gave strenuous and active support to its candidates. He served as city committeeman of the second district of the fourth ward, and no man worked harder than he in gettting out the full Democratic vote and in seeing to it that the men nominated in that ward for the various city offices were worthy the support of the party. For twenty-five years he never missed a county meet- ing until the last one. In all the years of his active career, both as a journalist and a Demo- crat, he never was a candidate for public office ; he never asked any favors at the hands of his party save those few he was justly entitled to as the proprietor of the party's organ. He fought the battles of Democracy in this county with un- questioned skill, ability and effectiveness, and the columns of the Item were always open to the advocacy of its measures and its men. Never did there live a more unselfish Democrat or one ani- mated by loftier and purer motives. He became a Democrat when he reached his majority, and when there was neither hope of gain nor reward for him."
Death came to Mr. Kuntz suddenly July 7, 1903. He had been in ill health for almost a year, up to June 5, 1902. He had been untiring in his devotion to his business, but on that day he suffered a paralytic stroke from which he later largely recovered. Because of his ill health, however, he retired from the active edi-
torship of his paper, and devoted his time to its general supervision. His was a life of intense and well directed activity, in which he struggled upward from a humble position to one of afflu- ence. He drew upon the resources of mind and body for the development of a journal that in the course of years he made a most potent factor in the development of the community as the champion of its highest and best interest. As the result of his unflagging perseverance and enter- prise he reaped success which should always crown honorable labor, and at the time of his demise he had in process of erection a fine four story business block, a part of which was to be occupied as offices by the printing plant. It is said that as an employer he was ever kind and in- dulgent. overlooking many faults and forgiving more. He had in his employ at the time of his death men who had been in his service for a quarter of a century, and who gave to him and his interests their fullest measure of devotion and fidelity. His success was of a higher and more ethical character than that which is represented merely by money, for he retained the esteem and friendship of men amidst the heat of political disputations, the clash of opposing measures and the bitterness of factional opposition. It is said "His family and his paper were the center and circumference of his life. Beyond and outside those spheres he had no desires, no ambitions, no aspirations. They were his all in all. They filled his life to its fullest measure, and beyond that he cared nothing. To his family he yielded a devo- and an affection which was as beautiful as it is rare. The daily routine of his life for a quarter of a century was from his home to his office and from his office to his home. In all these years he had practically only one vacation. He was often warned what the consequences would be of his close and unceasing application to the control and direction of his paper. Work, however, was a second nature with him. The Item was the child of his affection. He had lifted it out of the slough of poverty and despondency, from a weak, struggling paper, which more than once excited the derision of its early contemporaries. and made it a journal of wealth and power. All
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this took the hardest kind of work, the most in- tense application, and executive ability of the highest order. When he could have taken his east and lain back on his oars, work had become to him as a cloak not easily cast off, and he could not, and had no desire, to break the habits which stern necessity had forged for him in the days of his early manhood. The calm equipoise of his mind was never disturbed. That strength of character which remained unbroken through all the varying fortunes of his life, remained un- shaken when the great day of trial came, and the peace of death fell upon a singularly blameless career. "His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world 'This was a man.'"
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