USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. II > Part 17
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September 12, 1843, Mr. Weinsheimer was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Saeger, the youngest daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Mick- ley) Saeger. To them were born seven children :
Jacob Frederick, now deceased, married Agnes Hausman and reared a large family ;. Alfred S. married Alice Beitel, and is secretary of the Pull- man Palace Car Company at Chicago, Illinois ; William Henry, of Allentown, is the third of the family and a history of his life is given below ; Oscar B. married Sallie Heinbach, and has one son, Edgar ; Margaret A. is the wife of Samuel Cortright ; Evelyn C. is living in Allentown ; and Clara C. is the wife of E. H. Remminger, by whom she has three children, Evelyn, Henry and Estelle.
Mr. Weinsheimer was ever devoted to his family, and for fifty-three years he and his wife traveled life's journey happily together. In Sep- tember, 1893, they quietly celebrated the golden anniversary of their marriage, and in less than three years, in January, 1896, Mrs. Weinsheimer was called to her final rest, and her loss was greatly felt by her husband, yet he bore his suf- fering and sorrow with the fortitude of a Chris- tian. He was always solicitous for the welfare of others, and even in his last years felt a deep and abiding interest in his family, his city and his church. He passed away December II, 1898, aged eighty-four years, two months and one day, and thus was closed a career of usefulness and honor, one which should serve as a source of in- spiration and as an example well worthy of emulation by the young.
WILLIAM HENRY WEINSHEIMER, active in the control of one of the important productive in- dustries of the Lehigh Valley, being the presi- dent of the Southdown Knitting Company, of Allentown, was born in that city and is a son of Henry and Rebecca (Saeger) Weinsheimer.
In his early boyhood he attended the public schools, and subsequently continued his educa- tion in Allentown Seminary. After putting aside his text books he entered upon his business career as an employe in the dry-goods house of Weins- heimer & Newhard, his father being the senior partner. In this establishment he gained his first knowledge of mercantile principles and methods. Later he became connected with the boot and
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shoe house of John E. Lentz, and until 1894 was a partner in this enterprise, under the firm style of J. E. Lentz & Company. In the year mentioned, however, he became connected with the manufacturing interests of Allentown, or- ganizing the Southdown Knitting Company for the manufacture of ladies' underwear. He has since conducted this enterprise, and has developed an extensive concern, giving employment to one hundred and fifty operatives throughout the en- tire year. As the president of the company he has been watchful of all the details of his busi- ness, and of all indications pointing toward pros- perity, and from the beginning has had an abid- ing faith in the ultimate success of his enter- prise. Justice has ever been maintained in his re- lations to patrons and employes, and he has thus gained for the house an unassailable reputation. He possesses untiring energy, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution, and his close application to his business and his ex- cellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is to-day his.
Mr. Weinsheimer has also directed his efforts to other fields of labor that have stimulated busi- ness activity and have been a direct benefit to the community. He is a director of the Lehigh Val- ley Trust Company, and for many years he has been the promoter of the educational interests of Allentown, serving as one of its school di- rectors. He belongs to the board of control of the city, and is identified with its social life as a member of the Livingston Club. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church.
Mr. Weinsheimer was married to Miss Mar- garet Balliett, a daughter of Stephen and Eliza- beth (Huntington) Balliett, whose family num- bered six children, namely: Mrs. Weinsheimer ; Mrs. E. G. Troxell, who has two children; Mrs. Emma Kohler, who has two children ; Mrs. Frank Troxell, who has two children; Mrs. M. L. Kauffman, who has two children; and Mrs. Ed- ward Balliett. Mr. and Mrs. Weinsheimer have two daughters, Blanche B. and Frances E.
HENRY LEH, who for many years was a representative of the shoe-manufacturing inter- ests at Allentown, and has also controlled large building operations, and has been extensively en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, was born June 24, 1834, near Slatington, Pennsylvania, in what was then Heidelberg township, Lehigh county.
His father, Henry Leh, Sr., was born March 14, 1793, at North Whitehall, near Ballietsville, Pennsylvania. His brothers were John, who be- came a farmer of Sandusky, Ohio; and Daniel, who resided at Whitehall, Pennsylvania. His sisters were Mrs. Catherine Mussleman, of Phil- adelpia, Pennsylvania ; and Mrs. Sallie Diehl, of Philadelphia. The former resided with a family named Bartch, near Lockport, Pennsylvania, in her girlhood days, and afterward went to Phil- adelphia, where she was married. She had ten children, all of whom are now deceased with the exception of Mart Mussleman, of Frankford, Pennsylvania, the only living cousin of Henry Leh, of this review. Sallie Leh, sister of Henry, Sr., was first married to a Mr. Knight, and her second husband was Mr. Diehl. She, too, lived in Philadelphia, where she reared her family. Henry Leh was a farmer and distiller. His edu- cational privileges were limited to the advantages afforded by the common schools of those days, but he possessed a naturally strong intellect, com- bined with a wonderful retentive memory. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy and he served as county commissioner of Lehigh county from 1838 to 1841. He held membership with the Reformed congregation at Unionville, Pennsylvania, services being held there every four weeks. The early inhabitants of this part of the county belonged to the Reformed church, which had its origin prior to the year 1755, for it was in that year that the first house of worship was erected. This was a log structure built upon land donated by the Schlosser family, and the church was called Schlosser's Church until 1797. It was afterward known as Grundachlen Kirche (Ground-Acorn Church) until about 1839, when it became known as Union Church. The first house of worship was about fifty feet long, and
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the altar was built of stone. The seats had 110 backs, and there were elevated seats on three sides of the room. On November 7, 1795, the congregation decided to build a new stone church, and about that time the Lutherans of the neigh- borhood asked permission to join with the Re- formed people in building an edifice. The second church was dedicated in 1797, and was built of stone, being used for the purpose of worship until the 16th of April, 1871, when the last service was held therein. On Monday following the work of demolisning the church was begun, and the present house of worship was erected in 1871-72. It was with the Keformed branch of the Union Church that Henry Leh held member- ship. He married Catherine Kern, who was born May 7, 1798, in Heidelberg township, Lehigh county, near Slatington, upon a farm where their son Henry Leh, the subject of this review, wds born. This farm is now entirely covered by slate quarries. The father died at the age of seventy- nine years, and his father passed away at the age of seventy-five years.
Henry Leh had but limited school privileges, attending for only about six months in all his boyhood days. When eleven years of age he began working on the canal between Mauch Chunk, New York and Philadelphia, driving the horses for his brother Jeremiah. He was often employed in this way throughout the entire night. The hours of darkness were indeed a lonesome period, and on many occasions tears gathered in the boy's eyes but his sorrow was interrupted by the order which came from the boat to drive the horses faster. His principal article of diet furnished by the boat men was molasses bread. Desirous of advancing himself, he sought labor in another direction, and entered upon an ap- prenticeship at the tailor's trade at Saegersville, Pennsylvania, serving a term of three years. On the expiration of that period he established the first clothing store in Allentown, and sold the first ready-made clothing in this section of the state. When he had conducted business for two years; he sold out on account of failing health, and turned his attention to the shoe business as a manufacturer, jobber and retail dealer. The new
enterprise proved profitable, and many years later Mr. Leh composed an article for the Pennsyl- vania Shoe Manufacturers' Association, which convened in Allentown, on the early conditions of the shoe trade. He said that the men of that day all wore boots, and the children at four or five years, who were the pride of the family, were not in full dress without a pair of boots. Women wore shoes made of lasting, mostly in colors of brown and gray, while some of their footwear was made from tampico pebble goat and brush kid. For everyday wear ladies had shoes made of extra heavy kip and calf, which were nearly all handpegged bottoms. All heavy boots and brogans were made from the heaviest wax upper and kip, and were pegged, while Sunday boots were made of domestic calf and French calf, hand sewed and pegged. In 1866 boots and shoes were made to last a year, so that the heaviest leather was always selected by the customer. As the years advanced the manufacturing interests of Mr. Leh kept pace with the uniform progress in shoe manufacturing, and his business continued a most profitable enterprise. He also became a factor in financial circles as a director of the Allentown National Bank, and has been exten- sively interested in farming and also in large building operations, which have contributed in valued measure to the upbuilding and improve- ment of the city.
In all matters of citizenship, Mr. Leh has been found progressive and enterprising. He has served as school director of the Fourth Ward ; for two sessions was a member of the Council of Allentown and during that period served as chairman of the highway committee. He is also a trustee of the Allentown Hospital, and was instrumental in procuring the new site for Muh- lenberg College. About 1856 he joined the Pres- byterian church, with which he held membership for ten years, and then united with the Evangel- ical church, with which he has since been con- nected, and was chairman of the building com- mittee of the Trinity United Evangelical church.
On the 24th of August, 1859, by Rev. Jud- kins, a Presbyterian minister, Mr. Leh was mar- ried in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Miss Sallie
& a stanoful
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A. Trexler, and they live at 933 Hamilton street during the winter, one of the finest homes in Allentown, at Fulton and Hamilton streets, being their summer residence. Mrs. Leh in her early girlhood was a student in the country schools of Upper Milford and afterward attended the Acad- emy at Belvidere, New Jersey. She is a daughter of Reuben and Sarah (Mattern) Trexler, and a sister of Edwin, Jonas and Willoughby Trexler, the first and last named deceased. Willoughby was a veteran of the Civil war. Edwin Trexler was the father of Col. H. C. Trexler, Edwin G. Trexler and Judge Frank Trexler. The brothers were formerly extensively engaged in the lumber business.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Leh were born three children : Sallie, born June 10, 1861, attended the public schools of Allentown, where she was grad- uated in 1879, and then entered Mount Holyoke Seminary at Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts. She was married July 22, 1886, to Horatio Koch, a member of the firm of H. Leh & Company, shoe manufacturers and proprietors of a department store. He is a trustee and member of the build- ing committee of Christ Lutheran church, be- longs to the Livingston Club, and is popular in social as well as business circles. They reside at No. 1204 Hamilton street, and have four chil- dren-Florence Leh, Mildred S., Dorothy and Henry T. Koch.
George H. Len, the elder son of Henry Leh, was born June 17, 1865, was a student in the public schools of Allentown, and also in the seminaries at Danville, New York, and East Hampton, Massachusetts. He, too, is a member of the firm of H. Leh & Company, and is thus connected with manufacturing and mercantile interests in Allentown. He resides at No. 929 Hamilton street. In February, 1891, he married Emma E. Minnich and they have two children, Henry William, and Joyce Minnich Leh. John I.er, the younger son of Henry Leh, was born May 22, 1867, entered the Allentown public schools, and was graduated in 1884. He is as- sociated with his father, his brother and his brother-in-law in the conduct of the shoe manu- facturing enterprise and of the department store,
and is a director of the Merchants' National Bank. He resides at No. 1549 Hamilton street, and was chosen the first representative of the Eleventh Ward in the city council, serving two terms. He has also been school director of the Seventh Ward. He was married January 17, 1893, to Irene E. Keck, and they have two sons- John Henry and George Edward Leh.
E. A. STANSFIELD, superintendent of the Keystone Silk Mills at Emaus, was born in Eng- land in 1843, and there learned the silk weaving trade, becoming familiar with every department. of this industrial pursuit. Indeed, he had been born into the business, for his father and grand- father, both of whom bore the name of James and were natives of England, spending their, entire lives there, were silk weavers, and followed that calling throughout their business careers.
In 1869, when a young man of about twenty- six years, E. A. Stansfield, emigrated to America, locating in Paterson New Jersey, and later estab- lished himself in a silk manufacturing enterprise in Midland Park, New Jersey, where he continued to carry on the business on his own account for four years, the product of his mill being superior in material design and finish. In 1892 he was called upon to take charge of his present office, and under his supervision the Keystone Silk Mills have proven a profitable enterprise, his thorough knowledge of the business in its practical work- ings, enabling him to so direct the labors of those employed as to produce a maximum result at minimum effort. In the factory are manufactured plain and printed foulards, taffetas, liberty silks. liberty satins, draperies, and novelties in ladies' neckwear. The mill was established in September, 1892, by Paul Gumbinner. native of Berlin, who for twenty years a had been engaged in the silk business in New York in the manufacture of ladies' neckwear. Two hundred and fifty operatives are employed in the mill at Emaus, devoting their time to the weaving of silk dress goods and rib- bons. In the supervision of this enterprise Mr. Stansfield keeps abreast with modern improve- ments and progre.3, is fair and just in his deal-
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ings with the employes, and has won their respect and good will.
Mr. Stansfield is a director of the First Na- tional Bank of Emaus and of the Emaus Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and in his business career has made rapid and satisfactory advance- ment during the period of his residence in Amer- ica, gaining desirable success as the legitimate outcome of his unfaltering labor and enterprise. As a citizen Mr. Stansfield is public-spirited and progressive, and in 1900 was elected chief bur- gess of Emaus for a term of three years, which office he filled with credit to himself and satis- faction to his constituents. He has also been a member of the board of health. Socially he is connected with the Masonic fraternity, has filled all the offices in the blue lodge, and is a member of Rajah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He was reared in the faith of the established Church of England, and has always endeavored to make the golden rule the guiding principle of his life.
In the year of his emgration to America, Mr. Stansfield was married in England to Miss Mary H. Kniveton. Their voyage to America was supposed to be merely a wedding journey, but they decided not to return to England. Their children are Mary A., Ernest J., who is assistant foreman of the Keystone Silk Mills ; Harold W., who is foreman in the warping department ; Mrs. Isabelle Messenger ; Mrs. Annie Stevenson; Al- bert E., who is a loom repairer in the silk mills; Clarence, a student of medicine ; Robert, a twister in the mills; Sophia, a cloth inspector ; and Per- cival, a mechanical engineer. Mrs. Mary H. K. Stansfield died in November, 1897.
LEWIS O. SHANKWEILER, a representa- tive of the commercial interests of Allentown, has worked his way upward from a humble clerkship to a position of leadership in connection with im- portant mercantile interests of the city in which he has made his home from early manhood to the present. He was born and reared near Albertus, Pennsylvania, and his ancestors had long resided in this state.
His paternal grandparents were Daniel and Eva (Wetzel) Shankweiler, in whose family were
seven children. Reuben, the eldest, married Nancy Weindling, and had three children : Amelia, who is the wife of Jacob Steininge, and has six children ; Mary, who is the wife of Daniel Hallman, and has four children; and Sarah. Daniel (2) married Eliza Ann Gerrish, and had six children: Matilda, the wife of Stephen Weeder, and the mother of eight children ; Kittie, who married Stephen Rhowbach and has four children; William, who married Miss Seiger ; Rush, who married Miss Bloch ; James ; and Jef- ferson. Nathan (3) is the father of Lewis O. Shankweiler. Jacob (4) married Annie Romig, and has two children : Mrs. Anna Gibbs and Jen- nie, the wife of Jacob Sawyer. Charles (5) mar- ried Katie Hemminger, and has six children : Montana, the wife of William Birch; Florinda, the wife of John Miller; Mrs. Agnes Peters; Peter, who married Louisa Weindling; Howard; and Herschell, who married Miss Mostello. La- vina (6) is the wife of Charles Weiler and has seven children: Wilson, who married; Emma, the wife of John Shade; Mary, the wife of Mano Fritch ; Henry, who married Isabelle Dingle, and has one child ; Rosa, who is the wife of Mr. Hall- man, and has one child; Myra, the wife of Mr. Mostetter, and the mother of two children ; Ida, who married Charles Sell, and has two children. Henry (7) married Eliza Ann Walbert, and has eight children : Susan, who is the wife of Richard Stuben, and has four children ; Laura, who mar- ried Charles Hoffman, and has four children; Levi, who married Alice Harl, and has four chil- dren ; Louisa, who married Joseph Edwine, and has one child; Anna, who married William Hueber, and has three children ; Lillie, who mar- ried Ballis Luken, and has two children ; Ida, the wife of Willis Hoch; and Effie, wife of Ralph Mailley.
Nathan Shankweiler married Elizabeth Ham- mon and they had seven children, of whom Lewis O. Shankweiler of this review is the youngest. The others are: Wilson C., who wedded Mary Steiler, and has five children ; Martha, who is the wife of Hyram Roth, and has two children ; and Eliza, who is the wife of Jacob Knauss, and has two children.
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Lewis O. Shankweiler was reared in the lo- cality where his birth occurred, and his advan- tages, educational and otherwise, were somewhat limited. He had opportunity of attending only the public schools, and after he had mastered the branches of learning therein taught, he was sent to Allentown to learn a trade and thus prepare to meet the practical and responsible duties of life. His brother, Wilson C. Shankweiler, had come to this city and had become engaged in the tailoring business in the firm of Koch & Shankweiler, and it was in their employ that Lewis O. Shankweiler served his apprenticeship and gained an intimate knowledge of the business which he has made his life work and in which consecutive progress had led him out of small beginnings to large successes. The firm by whom he was employed engaged not only in tailoring, but also conducted a store, hand- ling all kinds of men's and children's furnishings. In that establishment Lewis O. Shankweiler spent eight years as an employe, and was then admitted to a partnership, the firm then being composed of the two Koch brothers, Thomas and Frank, and the two Shankweiler brothers. This relation- ship was maintained until 1891, when the firm was dissolved by mutual consent, Mr. W. C. Shankweiler havin died in the meantime.
In the same year Lewis O. Shankweiler, in company with W. C. Lehr, one of the ablest salesmen and cutters in the employ of the old concern, started in business for himself, at No. 643 Hamilton street. They occupied a small store of only about fifteen hundred square feet of floor space, doing custom tailoring, and also carrying a line of ready-made goods, including all kinds of men's furnishings. When they began business they did their own selling, and worked very hard to build up a large and profitable busi- ness. Their extensive enterprise to-day is the visible evidence of their patience, persistence, un- remitting diligence and strict attention to the trade. In 1898 their patronage had so increased that the business had outgrown their original quarters, and they removed to their present loca- tion, where they occupy two floors of nearly five thousand square feet each, and in addition have a workshop on the fourth floor in which they em-
ploy between thirty and forty operatives and ex- perienced tailors in making garments, either for stock or custom trade. They are now about to secure the basement at their present location which will be used for a storeroom, and they will then have one of the largest and most com- plete establishments in their line in the city. They employ from four to six cutters, from sixteen to twenty clerks, and about fifty people who work at their homes, besides the tailors on the fourth floor, making in all about one hundred and fifty employes, largely engaged in the manufacture of men's and boys' clothing. Mr. Shankweiler is also identified with financial interests of the city as a director in the Lehigh Valley Trust Com- pany. His business career has been characterized by keen discernment, by a continuous progress resulting from careful management and unre- mitting diligence, and his place among the sub- stantial residents of Allentown has been well won and is richly merited. He is likewise inter- ested in the political and moral development as well as the material growth of the city, and gives his political allegiance to the Republican party, while his religious support is given to the Luth- eran church, of which he has long been a member.
Mr. Shankweiler was married to Miss Annie Grim, and they have four children, Claude, Edna, Raymond and Anna.
WILLIAM CHARLES LEHR is the junior member of the firm of Shankweiler & Lehr, tailors and dealers in men's furnishing goods in Allen- town. This is his native city and he is a son of Horace B. and Mary ( Knappenberger) Lehr.
The ancestry of the family can be traced back to Peter and Margaret (Volk) Lehr, who were the great-grandparents of William Charles Lehr, and according to the early records of the family now in possession of Samuel D. Lehr, of Allen- town, Mrs. Margaret (Volk) Lehr was born in 1771, and was the daughter of Johann Valentine and Eva Marie (Kadels) Volk, while her pater- nal grandfather was Johannes Volk, and her ma- ternal grandfather was Johann Phillip Kadels. Johann Valentine Volk and Eva Marie Kadels were married in Reichelsheim, Bavaria, on IIth of
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May, 1764. It was their daughter Margaret who became the wife of Peter Lehr and the mother of Joseph Lehr. The last named was the grand- father of William C. Lehr. Joseph Lehr was united in marriage to Miss Louis Newhard, and had a family of nine children, five of whom have reached years of maturity and have reared fam- ilies of their own. Charles, the eldest, married Eliza Paul, and had two children-Grace, who is married, and a son that died when about twen- ty-one years of age. Christianna became the wife of Ephraim Roth, and has a family. Horace is the father of William .C. Lehr. Samuel Daniel, one of the most prominent architects of Allen- town and the Lehigh Valley, and also well known in military and political circles, was married to Elizabeth Engelman, and has one daughter, Cora May, who is the wife of Arnon P. Miller, and has two children, Margaret and Samuel. Henry N. Lehr, the youngest surviving son of Joseph Lehr, married Susan Wetstein, and they have two chil- dren, Willis and John.
Horace B. Lehr married Miss Mary Knappen- berger, a daughter of Charles and Lucy (Seip) Knappenberger. By this marriage there were two children, but the daughter, sallie, is now de- ceased. She became the wife of Alvin Dierman, and they had one child that died in infancy, and the mother's death occurred about the same time.
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