USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. I > Part 80
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Mr. Randolph was connected with the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey for thirty years, eighteen of which he was a conductor on passenger trains. He was one of the most trusted and faithful representatives of the company, and was retained in their employ until 1893 when he resigned his position and again took up the trade of a machinist, which he is now following as an employe in the Ingersol Works, where he is
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highly prized as a master workman, his ability in the line of his chosen pursuit being of a su- perior order.
In 1869, in the state of Illinois, Mr. Ran- dolph was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason, and he is now an active and worthy member of Dallas Lodge, No. 152, F. and A. M. He also belongs to Easton Chapter, No. 73, R. A. M., and Hugh DePayen Com- mandery, No. 19, K. T. He is also a member of Columbia Council, O. U. A. M .; the Order of Railway Conductors, No. 147; and LaFayette Post, No. 217, G. A. R., and of these various organizations is a loyal and valued representa- tive. In matters of citizenship he is public spir- ited and progressive, manifesting the same pa- triotic attachment to his country that he dis- played when he followed the old flag on south- ern battle fields.
In 1865 Mr. Randolph led to the marriage altar Miss Ellen, daughter of Allen and Ellen Bell. She is a native of the beautiful and pic- turesque Emerald Isle, her natal year being 1844. By her marriage she has become the mother of three children : Howard, born in 1866, Harriet, in 1868, and Walter, in 1873. Howard wedded Miss Mary Wolbach, and to them have been born two children, Harriet and William. Harriet, the only daughter, is now the wife of Howard L. Moore, and Walter married Miss Nellie Smith, and has two children, Carey and Donald.
AARON RASLEY, a well known and re- spected resident of Lower Mount Bethel town- ' ship, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, traces his descent through five generations of landhold- ers of the Lehigh Valley from one of the earliest German settlers. He is a farmer, and his liking for out-of-door occupations and preference for the independent life of the agriculturist is inborn.
The family of which he is a representative sprang from Conrad Rasley, a native of Germany, who came to Pennsylvania in the days before the Revolution, and whose sons grew up to take part in that great struggle. He took land in the new country and reared a large family, of whom the
names were as follows: John, Jacob, Conrad, Joseph, Henry, and a daughter who became the wife of the Rev. John Mann, a minister of the Reformed church. John, the oldest son of this family, was born in Bucks county, but moved to Bushkill, Northampton county, in early life, set- tling in Lower Mount Bethel township in 1814, where he bought three hundred acres of land. He was a teamster in the Continental army dur- ing the whole course of the Revolutionary war. He was only eighteen when he enlisted in the service, and he was one of the most faithful sup- porters of the patriot cause. His wife was Mag- daline Small, and both she and her husband were devoted members of the Reformed church. John died in October, 1838, and his wife in February, 1844. Their children were as follows, John, Henry, George, Jacob, Peter, Elizabeth, Margaret and Catherine.
John, oldest son of John and Magdaline (Small) Rasley, was born in Forks township in 1793. Like his fathers of the preceding genera- tions he was a considerable landholder, and a man of consequence in his community. He was captain of a company of state militia, and a dea- con and elder in the Reformed church. He mar- ried Sarah Sandt, who bore him fourteen chil- dren, of whom the following ten grew to matur- ity : Peter, Aaron, William, John, Adam, Susan, Mary, Catherine, Sarah, and Jeremiah. John, the father of this family, died in May, 1866, and his wife died May II, 1867.
Peter, oldest son of John and Sarah (Sandt) Rasley, was born in Lower Mount Bethel town- ship in 1817. He followed the family tradition in becoming a farmer, and was the owner of sixty acres of valuable land. He was a worthy and industrious citizen, and was universally re- spected. He was an interested member of the Reformed church, and always ready in the prac- tical support of his denomination. He married Mary Staufer, of Plainfield township, and of the union twelve children were born, namely, Wil- liam, John H., Emma (deceased), Aaron, Sarah M., Isaac L., Kate A. and Mary A., twins, Simon P., Edwin, and an unnamed infant.
Aaron, fourth child and third son of Peter
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and Mary (Staufer) Rasley, was born August IO, 1855, in Lower Mount Bethel township. He was educated in the local schools, and early de- termined to make farming his occupation. He has applied himself to his work with intelligence and perseverance, and it has yielded a good re- turn, not only as the means of a livelihood, but as a field of creative activity. He owns fifty acres of land which he cultivates carefully, believing that a small farm well tilled offers the most inde- pendent life. He is one of the most worthy and substantial citizens of the township.
Mr. Rasley married Martha Hutchinson in December, 1880. She was a daughter of Wil- liam and Crissy (Teal) Hutchinson, of Lower Mount Bethel township. Both he and his wife are active as members of the Reformed church, and contribute generously to its support. The children born of their marriage are as follows : Gertrude M., born January 22, 1883 ; Jennie A., born October 10, 1888; Elizabeth H., born No- vember 15, 1892.
ROBERT E. YOUNG, who follows farm- ing in Plainfield township, Northampton county, is a representative of one of the old families of Bucks county. His grandfather, Peter Young, removed from Bucks county at an early period in the history of Lehigh Valley, and selected East Allen township, Northampton county, as his place of residence. He was an experienced lime burner, following that pursuit when it was a lucrative business. For a number of years he carried on operations in that way, meeting with very good success. He married Miss Elizabeth Keifer, who belonged to one of the old families of Northampton county, and they became the parents of six children : James, William, Henry, Edwin, Mary and Jane. Of this number Edwin became superintendent of the schools of Le- high county ; Mary became the wife of
ducted a established and con- Frank Long, who select
school at Downingtown, Chester county, Pennsylvania ; and James Young, the eldest, was born in East Allen township, March 3, 1826. He did not own any great amount of farming land, but possessed property
in the town of Bath, Pennsylvania. In 1856 he married Miss Emeline Rhodes, who was born October 27, 1833. They became the parents of two sons, Robert E. and Allen, the latter born May 25, 1862. The father passed away in Sep- tember, 1893, but the mother is still living.
Robert E. Young was born in East Allen township, Northampton county, May 25, 1862, and spent his boyhood days under the parental roof. He remained with his father until he had attained his majority, and then started out in business on his own account. He was first em- ployed by W. W. Thurston, and subsequently turned his attention to farming. In 1896 he re- moved to Plainfield township, where he rented the farm upon which he now resides. After three years he purchased the property which was formerly a part of the Aaron Ackenbach estate, and is one of the oldest developed farms of this section of the valley. In his agricultural pur- suits he displays energy, enterprise and diligence, and his eighty acres of land constitutes a tract
· that yields to him golden harvests in reward for his labor. Mr. Young has filled the position of school director in Moore township, Northampton county, while at the present writing in 1903 he is serving as school director in Plainfield township. The cause of education finds in him a warm friend, and he exercises his official prerogatives through the substantial improvement of the schools. He and his family are members of the Evangelical church, and he is occupying the po- sition of superintendent of the Sunday school.
In 1879 Mr. Young was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Stauffer, who was born in Bush- hill township, Northampton county, November 6, 1856, a daughter of John and Kate Stauffer. By this marriage seven children have been born: Kate, Sallie, Emma, Charles, Mary, John and Ruth, and the family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death. Mary is the wife of Wil- liam Easterday; Sallie, the wife of George Et- terby ; and Emma, the wife of David Ruth.
ERASMUS A. HAHN, of Lafona, North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, is one of the most active men of Plainfield township, having the
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management of a mill, in addition to the culti- vation of his farm. He comes of an energetic and long established family of that section, his great-grandfather, Frederick Hahn, being among the earliest of the German settlers of the Lehigh Valley.
Peter, a son of Frederick Hahn, who was born in Plainfield township, lived there all his life and became a farmer of consequence. He owned two hundred acres of land in three separate farms, and did things on a larger scale than his neighbors. He was a worthy man as well as a practical farmer, and a valued member of the German Reformed church, in which he held of- fices of responsibility. His family consisted of the following children: Jonathan, Thomas, An- thony, George, Frederick, Hannah, Mrs. A. Himer, and Mrs. Gruner.
Jonathan, oldest child of Peter Hahn, was born in Plainfield township in 1827. He grew up to a farmer's life, and in time became the owner of one hundred and sixty-seven acres of land. He cultivated this land successfully, and' in 1868 he bought of his brothers, Thomas and Anthony, the mill they had built in 1851. He operated this mill up to the time of his death, when it fell into the hands of his son Erasmus A. He was an upright man and a good citizen, and a stanch supporter of the Reformed church, in which he held the office of elder. The wife of Jonathan Hahn was Angelica Stotz, and eight children were born of the marriage. The names of the children were as follows: Clarissa, Ellen. Elizabeth, Anna, and Peter J., all deceased ; Wil- liam F., Samuel (deceased), and Erasmus A., whose name appears at the head of this article. Jonathan Hahn died in 1900, and his wife died in 1880.
Erasmus A., youngest child of Jonathan and Angelica (Stotz) Hahn, was born in Plain- field township in 1866. He was brought up here and educated in the neighborhood schools, occu- pying himself outside of schooldays on his fa- ther's farm and in the mill. At the age of twenty he decided to make milling his occupation and be- gan work in his father's mill with that end in view. He has improved the original plant and
modernized the machinery, so that now his mill has a capacity of one hundred bushels a day. He has put in a cider mill of the latest and most im- proved kind, with which he can produce seventy- five barrels of cider in a day. The mill is equipped with both water and steam power, the water-wheel being of twenty horse-power, and the engine of twelve horse-power. Mr. Hahn also cultivates fifty-three acres of land. He has natural mechanical ability, and is entirely at home in the management of complicated machinery. He is an enterprising man of business, and a sub- stantial citizen, being openhanded in any worthy cause.
In 1901 he married Carrie Lehman, of Plain- field township. Mr. and Mrs. Lehman are the parents of two children-Celia A., born March 13, 1902, and an infant, born June 30, 1903. 1
PETER WILLIAMSON, proprietor of the Belfast Hotel at Belfast, Pennsylvania, is of En- glish lineage. His paternal grandfather, Frank Williamson, was a native of England, who, cross- ing the Atlantic to America, settled in Northamp- ton county, where he followed his trade of shoe- making. His son, William Williamson, the fa- ther of Peter Williamson, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, and for nearly thirty years was proprietor of a hotel. He also engaged in oper- ating slate quarries in early life, but on the break- ing out of the Civil war abandoned his slate busi- ness and offered his services to the government, becoming a private of the Forty-seventh Regi- ment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He re- mained with the army for four years, and was then honorably discharged. He married Miss Anna Switzer, a native of Plainfield township, Northampton county, and his death occurred in 190I, when he was seventy-three years of age. His widow, however, still resides in Belfast. They were the parents of thirteen children, ten of whom are yet residents of Northampton county and four of the sons are engaged in the hotel business. The ten living children are Mary, Peter, William S., Charles E., John B., Fred, Raymond M., Bertha, Clara and Emma.
Peter Williamson was born in Belfast, North-
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ampton county, January 30, 1869, and the days of his boyhood and youth were spent in his par- ents' home. He entered upon his business career in connection with merchandising, and conducted a store in Belfast for three years, while for three succeeding years he was proprietor of a store in Bushkill Center. For ten years he has been con- nected with the hotel business, first as proprietor of the Stockertown Hotel, afterward of the Ash- land House at Belfast, and now is the owner and proprietor of the Belfast Hotel. This is a fine house, having been erected with every regard for the convenience and comfort of the guests, and has a capacity for the entertainment of thirty. It is supplied with all the modern improvements of a city hotel, in addition to the advantages of a country inn. The house was erected by Mr. Williamson in 1901, and he has made it one of the leading hostelries in this section of North- ampton county. Mr. Williamson is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, the Sons of Veterans and the Patriotic Order of Sons of America.
He was married December II, 1886, to Miss Emma Young, a daughter of William and Mary Young, and a native of Bushkill township, North- ampton county. Six children graced this union : Mamie, Stewart, Anna, Helen, Ellis and Floyd.
WATSON G. FRUTCHEY, who owns and conducts a farm of one hundred and eighty-two acres of well cultivated land lying west of Port- land and north of Mount Bethel, in Upper Mount Bethel township, is a descendant of Peter Frutchey, who was born in Northampton county in 1776, and was of the first generation of the family native in this locality. His father had settled in Saucon township in 1750. Some be- lieved that the family is of German lineage, others of French, while still others claim a Swiss origin. In the year 1800 Peter Frutchey and his two brothers removed to Mount Bethel township. He learned the trade of a tanner in Easton, Pennsyl- vania, and followed that pursuit for many years, owning and operating a tannery at Williamsburg, Pennsylvania. In public affairs he was influen- tial, and for fifteen years served his township as
justice of the peace. His death occurred in 1876, when he had reached the extreme old age of one hundred years. His wife bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Bowers, and they reared a family of nine children, one of whom, William Frutchey, lived to the age of ninety-nine years.
George Frutchey, the father of William G. Frutchey, was born in Mount Bethel township, Northampton county, in 1814, and in his youth learned the tanner's trade under the direction of his father, giving his entire attention to the busi- ness. He married Miss Anna Hess, a daughter of Jeremiah Hess, and they became the parents of three sons : Jeremiah, born in 1835 ; Peter G. in 1838 ; and Watson in 1842. The first named is a very successful school teacher, and the others are following farming.
Watson G. Frutchey has throughout his bus- iness career carried on agricultural pursuits, and has prospered in his undertakings, being now the possessor of a very valuable tract of land com- prising one hundred and eighty-two acres lying west of Portland and north of Mount Bethel. This is a well cultivated farm, substantial im- provements having been placed upon it, while the fields are tilled and planted to the crops best adapted to soil and climate. In all of his farm work he is progressive and practical, and his labors have brought to him a gratifying income.
Watson G. Frutchey was married in 1863 to Miss Catherine Roberts, and they have become the parents of seven children : William J. R., born in 1865 ; Marcus P. in 1867; George W. in 1869; Edgar in 1871; Charles in 1873; Arthur in 1875 ; and Catherine in 1893. The parents have every reason to be proud of their family, for two of the sons, William J. R. and Marcus P., are now hold- ing responsible positions in the employ of John Wanamaker, while the others are equally well situated in life.
IRWIN EYER, justice of the peace of Mount Bethel, is a representative of a family that had its origin in Germany, and which was founded in America by Jacob and Barbara Oyer, in which form the paternal name originally ap- pears. Jolın Martin Oyer, one of the sons of
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HISTORIC HOMES AND INSTITUTIONS.
Jacob and Barbara Oyer, was born in Feltbach, in Lower Alsace, Germany, June 6, 1731. He was married November 7, 1754, to Dorotha Bysher, who was born June 28, 1736, a daugh- ter of Adam and Barbara Bysher. They emi- grated to America and reared a family of sons who became men of strong character and broad intelligence, some teachers and others preachers, and who settled in various parts of the American colonies, some founding a home in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and others in Northampton county.
William Oyer, the grandfather of Irwin Eyer, was born in Upper Mount Bethel township in 1786. His wife was Catherine Berger, and unto them were born eight children: John, Jacob, Catherine, Mary, Margaret, Malinda, Elizabeth and Louisa. Of this number Catherine and Ma- linda are living. The father was a farmer by oc- cupation, and followed that pursuit in Upper Mount Bethel township until he removed to Illi- nois, where his death occurred.
John Eyer, for so the family name appears in this generation, was born in Upper Mount Bethel township in 1807, there pursued his education, and became familiar with the work of the farm. He was a practical agriculturist who believed in doing everything to the best of his ability, and his energy was manifested in the splendid ap- pearance of his home property. He held some minor offices in his township. His wife bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Fenner, who was born in Upper Mount Bethel township, Northampton county, in 1805. John Eyer passed away in 1877, but his wife survived him until 1896. They had but two children : William, who was born in 1829 and died in 1876; and Irwin.
Irwin Eyer was born on the old family home- stead in Upper Mount Bethel township in 1846, and here his entire life has been passed, although it has been unmarked by any event of exciting in- terest. His career has been characterized by fi- delity in citizenship and integrity in all relations of life. He owns a small farm of fifty acres of well improved and highly cultivated land adja- cent to the village of Mount Bethel, and is a practical, progressive and enterprising farmer.
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His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to several public offices, and he has served as auditor and township clerk. in addition to the office of justice of the peace. He is now the oldest justice in his section of the county, serving his fourth term in this office. He is a man of strong intelligence and excellent ex- ecutive ability, and his fairness and equity are manifested in the decisions which he renders. His political support is given to the Democracy.
Mr. Eyer was united in marriage to Miss Emma L. Paul, who was born in 1849, a daughter of Jacob and Mary Paul, and unto this union have been born : Lizzie M., the wife of Ed- ward Frutchey; Howard J., who wedded Julia Abel; Jacob H., who married Nettie Sandt; George I .; Charles O .; Grace M., the wife of Chester Ayers; Walker A .; Cora L .; and Paul W.
JOHN FRITZ. In no country in the world has there been so great achievement along in- ventive and industrial lines as in America, and John Fritz stands as an exponent of this national progress. He has won the most distinguished honors in connection with the development of the iron industry of the country, to which he has devoted his entire life, and the value of his service has been recognized by the crowned heads of Europe as well as by leading men of his native land. He is now more than eighty years of age, and long after he shall have passed away his name will figure on the pages of history as one whose efforts have been a most forceful element in the promotion of an industry which has largely revo- lutionized the trade relations of the world.
Pennsylvania may well be proud to number John Fritz among her native sons. His birth oc- curred in Londonderry township, Chester county, August 21, 1822, and of a family of three broth- ers and four sisters he was the eldest. His fa- ther, George Fritz, who was born in Germany, came with his parents to America when in his eighth year, and after attaining adult age wedded Mary Mehary, who was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, and was of Scotch-Irish parentage.
Mr. and Mrs. Fritz resided upon a farm in
John Frity
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GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
Londonderry township, and there John Fritz spent the first sixteen years of his life, working in the fields, looking after the farm stock, and acquiring during the winter months such educa- tion as the limited facilities of the time afforded. Prompted by a desire to know more of mechanical pursuits, he left home in 1838 and went to Parkersburg, Pennsylvania, where he was apprenticed to learn the trades of black-
smith and machinist. From there in 1840 he went to Norristown, Pennsylvania, and assisted in building the Norristown Iron Works, of which he after a few years prac- tically became the superintendent. From Nor- ristown he removed to Safe Harbor, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1849, and there entered the employ of Reeves Abbot & Company as an engineer, and assisted in the building and putting into operation what was known as the Safe Har- bor Iron Works. In 1851 he was induced by David Reeves to take charge of the Kunzie (an- thracite) blast furnace, and after remodelling this and placing it in working condition he con- ducted it for a time and subsequently returned to Norristown. In 1853, however he went to Cata- sauqua, where in company with his brother George and his two brothers-in-law, Messrs. Stroud and Chandler, he built and operated a small foundry and machine shop. In 1854, by the request of David Reeves, his former employer, Mr. Fritz went to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, as superintendent of what has since become known as the Cambria Iron Works. He was employed to remodel and rebuild the plant. When Mr. Fritz took charge the mill was of such designing and construction, and was so incomplete in many ways that he found it impossible to make the rolling of rails in the ordinary way a commercial success with such iron as was furnished him. He thereupon asked the proprietors to allow him to build a mill of new design, one of three high rolls driven direct off the end of the flywheel shaft, but to this plan they objected, insisting on building an old fashioned geared two high mill on the same principle as the mills then in general use and which had given him so much trouble.
Satisfied in his own mind that it would not be possible to make perfect rails out of the material at hand in a mill of such construction, Mr. Fritz absolutely refused to comply with the wishes of the company, well knowing that it would be a loss of time and of money unwisely spent to do so. He persisted in this course, and later was granted permission to erect a mill such as he had recommended. This mill was built, and it worked admirably, although in his plans he had received the opposition of stockholders and directors and even of men engaged in the iron business. With the introduction of the three high system of roll- ing and many other modern changes and im- provements, the Cambria Iron Works at once became the' greatest plant of the kind in the world, and continued to hold that position until iron was superseded by that marvelous process invented by Sir Henry Bessemer.
In 1860 Mr. Fritz was called to Bethlehem to design and erect the plant of what was known as the Bethlehem Iron Company, now the Bethle- hem Steel Company, the largest of its kind in America up to a comparatively recent date. In 1871 the Bessemer plant of the concern was built. in 1877-78 the erection of the great forge and armor plate plant of these works, conceived and designed by Mr. Fritz, was begun and completed several years later. It was the product of these works that made possible to the United States navy the great victories of Santiago and Manila Bay. In 1863 Mr. Fritz was commissioned by the United States government to build a mill for re-rolling rails at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and was authorized to use any machinery necessary for the quickest construction of the plant. In 1897 he was ordered by the United States navy department to furnish plans and specifications and cost of an armor plate plant for the govern- ment. His plans were accepted, and he completed the plant to the entire satisfaction of the depart- ment.
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