USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. II > Part 67
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
Saxony, Germany, October 29, 1730, and died September 4, 1795. His wife was Anna Rosina Wecheim, of the same place, born February 27, 1730, and her death occurred December 12, 1793. Peter and Anna Rosina (Geyer) Wolle started immediately after their marriage on their journey for the sea coast, and on the 20th of January,
1784, arrived at St. Croix, West Indies. Twen- ty-nine years were spent by them on the islands of St. Croix, St. John's and St. Thomas in mis- sionary labor for the Moravian church. On the 12th of April, 1812, they sailed for America, and retiring to private life established their home in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, November 20, 1813. Their children were as follows: John Frederick, born November 20, 1785, at Bethany, on the isl- and of St. John's in the West Indies, died at Beth- lehem, Pennsylvania, April 24, 1860; Jacob Chris- tian, born September 12, 1788, at Bethany, died April 17, 1863, at Bethlehem; Peter, a bishop in the Moravian church, born January 5, 1792, at New Herrnhut, on the Island of St. Thomas, died in Bethlehem, November 14, 1871; Johanna Sophia, born in Bethlehem, April 21, 1797, died three days later; Samuel Henry, born in Bethle- hem, January 27, 1799, died at Christiana Fur- nace, near Middletown, Pennsylvania, November 7, 1835.
John Frederick Wolle, who was the last in succession of the Moravian congregation store- keepers at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the ancestor in the third generation in the line of direct descent to Clarence A. Wolle, married Sabina Henry, a daughter of William Henry of Nazareth, Penn- sylvania. She was born there August 4, 1792, and died at Bethlehem, March 22, 1859. Her father was born March 12, 1757, and was mar- ried to Sabina Schropp, who was born November 25, 1759, a daughter of Matthew Schropp. Wil- liam Henry died April 21, 1821. He was a son of William Henry, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who was born May 19, 1729 and died at Lancaster, December 15, 1786. The last named was a son of John and Elizabeth (De Vinney) Henry. The children of John Frederick and Sabina (Henry) Wolle were ten in number ; William Henry, the eldest, born in Jacobsburg, near Nazareth, Pennsylvania, December 19, 1810, died in Bethlehem July 25, 1853. 2. Edwin Peter, born in Jacobsburg, October 22, 1812, died in Bethlehem. 3. Frederick, born in Jacobsburg, September 21, 1814, died at Nazareth, Pennsyl- vania, March 7, 1844. 4. Sylvester, born in Ja- cobsburg, March 1, 1816, died in Bethlehem, Au-
392
HISTORIC HOMES AND INSTITUTIONS.
gust 27, 1873. 5. Francis, born in Jacobsburg, December 17, 1817, died in Bethlehem, Feb- ruary 9, 1893. 6. Maria, born in Jacobsburg, November 7, 1819, died in Bethlehem. 7. Au- gustus, born at Nazareth, September 8, 1821, died in Bethlehem, August 11, 1878. 8. Lucien, born in Bethlehem, September 1, 1825, died in that place October 26, 1832. 9-10. Cornelia and Eliz- abeth, twins, were born in Bethlehem, October 4, 1829, and the former died October 31, 1832, while the latter passed away in 18 -.
Jacob Christian Wolle, the second son of Peter and Anna Rosina Wolle, was married first to Maria Magdelene Luch, who was born February 24, 1795. They had one child that died in in- fancy. He married for his second wife Eliza Horsfield, a daughter of Joseph Horsfield. She was born May 29, 1793, and they had one child, Eliza Augusta, who was born December 11, 1819, and became the wife of Rev. Francis Holland, who was born May 15, 1820, and by him she had seven children. The eldest William J. was born August 16, 1848. Mary E., born May 13, 1850, is the wife of Rev. Wm. Henry Rice, a son of James Rice, and they have two children, James and Rebecca. Anna Rosina was born July 17, 1852. Daniel Joseph was born February 5, 1854. Stephen Benezet, born September 1, 1855, died March 1, 1857. Sarah Horsfield, born August 10, 1859, died April 9, 1860. Jane Edith, the youngest, was born February 16, 1862.
Peter Wolle, the third son of Peter and Anna Rosina Wolle, married Maria Theresa Schober, of Salem, North Carolina, who was born June 3, 1799, and died at Lititz, Pennsylvania, April 8, 1853. They reared a large family. Emma Ern- estine, the eldest, born August 25, 1820, married Frederick Rickert and had five children: Ed- mond T., who was born June 4, 1846, and died December 16, 1846; Florence T., born April 7, 1848; William H., who was born August 27, 1854, and; died on the 22d of July following ; Gertrude E., born June 24, 1855, and died March 23, 1856; and Adelaide L., who was born July 28, 1858. Nathaniel Schober, the eldest son of Peter and Maria Theresa (Schober) Wolle, was born October 9, 1822, and married Angelica L.
Miksch, who was born February 17, 1823. Their children are Charles E., born July 18, 1848; Robert Nathaniel, born July 1, 1850; and Esther E., born October 3, 1854. Samuel C. Wolle, the next member of the family of Peter and Maria Theresa Wolle, is represented elsewhere in this. volume. Joseph Harvey, the third son, was born. May 7, 1828, and died June 26, 1875. He mar- ried Sarah S. Grosh, who was born April 23,. 1831, and died April 26, 1860, leaving three chil- dren : Estelle T., who was born June 25, 1856,- and died July 31, 1867; Louis T., born April 18,. 1858; and Samuel G., born April 20, 1860. For his second wife James Harvey Wolle married. Amelia C. Weiss, and their children were Wil- liam Sayre, born September 29, 1862; and Mary. Theodore Francis Wolle, the fourth son of Peter and Maria Theresa (Schober) Wolle, was mar- ried to Adelaide Sussdorf, of Salem, North Caro- lina, who was born January 6, 1841, and is the daughter of Christian Frederick and Louisa Cynthia (Hagen) Sussdorf. The children of this. marriage are Agnes, born July 28, 1866; and Caroline M., born March 10, 1874, and now the wife of Robert Sayre Taylor. Henry Herman Wolle, born March 7, 1836, married Gertrude Kimber, who was born November 15, 1835. Their children were Laura G., born May 31, 1857 ; and Fannie M., who was born in May, 1860, and died the same year. Samuel Henry Wolle, son of Peter and Maria Theresa Wolle, was married to Maria Henry, a daughter of Abraham Henry. She died in June, 1823, leaving a son Abraham, who was born December 8, 1821, and died May II, 1837. His second wife was Lisetta Ritter, a daughter of Jacob Ritter, born February 22, 1804.
Augustus Wolle, the father of Clarence A. Wolle, and a son of John Frederick and Sabina (Henry) Wolle, was born at Nazareth, Pennsyl- vania, September 8, 1821, and became a prom- inent merchant of Bethlehem. In 1845 he pur- chased the Moravian Congregation Store, and here continued actively engaged in the dry-goods and general store business until 1870. In 1852 his brother Francis was granted a patent on a paper bag machine, and, in partnership with his brother Augustus, soon after began the manu-
393.
GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
facture of paper bags under said patent. This patent was the first ever granted in the United States upon a machine for the manufacture of paper bags. About the year 1857, in company with several others, Augustus Wolle was one of the organ- izers of the Bethlehem Iron Company, and as the years passed he became largely interested in the mining of iron ore in lower Saucon. He was one of the incorporators of the Thomas Iron Com- pany of Hokendauqua. From 1864 until 1871 he was active in the management of the Union Paper Bag Machine Company, and within the same period was also instrumental in the incor- poration of the Chapman Slate Company and de- veloping other large slate interests at Pen Argyl. It was at the suggestion of Augustus Wolle and his brother Sylvester that Pen Argyl, in North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, was given its name, the word "Pen" being the Celtic for "mountain," while "Argyl" is from the Greek word meaning "slate rock." In 1857-58 Augustus Wolle pur- chased large tracts of land on the south side of the Lehigh river, and in connection with others made the original map for the town of South Bethlehem. He was a director of the Beth- lehem Iron Company for many years, and thus his business activity extended to many industries and to different lines of manu- facture and commerce. He possessed keen discernment and a ready adaptability, and intricate business problems were easily under- stood by him. His ideas were practical, his la- bors progressive, and as the years advanced he contributed largely to the business development of the section of the state in which he resided. He was likewise prominent in connection with educational and religious interests. He served as a trustee of the Moravian congregation at Beth- lehem, and was president of the school board of the same borough for a number of years.
Augustus Wolle was married on the 12th of August, 1845, to Cornelia Elizabeth Leinbach, a daughter of Traugott and Maria Theresa Lein- bach, of Salem, North Carolina. Mrs. Wolle was born February 3, 1827, and by this marriage there were eleven children, all ;born in Bethlehem.
I. Emily Theresa, the eldest, born August 17, 1846, died April 13, 1873. She was married October 26, 1866, to William S. Sieger, born March 1, 1842; their children are Jane Cornelia, who was born March 14, 1869, and Annie W., who was born August 6, 1870, and died on the 2Ist of September of the same year. 2. Francis L. born April 5, 1848, died August 10, 1902 ; he married Emma Torrence, born September 17, 1863, and their children were George, born April 9, 1886, Emily, Frances, Grace, Walter, Margaret and Helen. 3. Clarence Augustus. 4. Edward Samuel born February 8, 1852. 5. Alice Cor- nelia, born December 5, 1854, is the wife of John H. Clewell, of Salem, North Carolina, and their- children are: Clarence, born July 3, 1883 ; John,. born November 24, 1886; Reginald, and Aubrey. 6. Mary Eugenia, born November 17, 1857, is. the wife of Frank P. Wilde, born December 19,. 1856, at Port Richmond, Staten Island, and their children are: Frank W., born June 1, 1884 ;. James A., born February 28, 1886; Jennie, born February 1, 1899; Helen, born August 29, 1890, and Jolin. 7. Saralı Anna, born March 10, 1859, died November 27, 1860. 8. Edith Sabina, born September 22, 1860, is the wife of Edward J. Wessels, born August 6, 1858, and they have two- children : Charles, born September 22, 1887, and Ruth, born June 9, 1890. 9. Grace Agnes, born. October 23, 1862. 10. George Henry, born De- cember 3, 1864, superintendent of the Bethlehem Electric Light Company ; he married, December 19, 1890, in Galena, Illinois, Miss Lena C. Clauer .. She died, and Mr. Wolle married Miss Evelyn G. Williamson, who was born in Williamsport, Penn- sylvania. II. Elizabeth, born February 17, 1870, is the wife of Robert Morris Darrach, and has a daughter Elizabeth, born February 5, 1899.
Clarence A. Wolle was born in Bethlehem, October 14, 1349. He was reared in Bethlehem, and obtained his preliminary education in the Moravian schools at Bethlehem and Nazareth. while later he became a student in Lehigh Uni- versity, pursuing a course in analytical chemistry in connection with the class of 1869. Following his collegiate work he entered upon his business. career with his father, and so continued up to the-
394
HISTORIC HOMES AND INSTITUTIONS.
time of the latter's death. In 1878 he entered into partnership with Felix W. Leinbach in the stock brokerage and real estate business, and in 1885, in company with F. W. Leinbach and Jacob B. Kemerer, purchased the Fetter farm and adjoin- ing property and developed the tract of about fifty-two acres of land which is now a part of the borough of West Bethlehem, extending between Sixth and Tenth avenues and from Broad to Spring street. They were joint inventors of the Sachel bottom self-opening square paper bag, and machines for the manufacture of the same. In 1885 they successfully organ- ized a company and equipped two large factories with their machines, one at Will- iamsburg, New York, and another at Plantsville, Connecticut, for the manufacture of the new bag, which immediately met with popular favor, and the business was prosecuted with great success for a period of about twelve years. The product of grocery paper bags from these fac- tories during 1897 consumed twenty-three tons of paper per day, making nearly seven hundred million bags per annum. This business was sold in 1897 to the Union Paper Bag Company. In 1883, Mr. Wolle was one of the originators and incorporators of the Bethlehem Electric Light plant, and was active in its management up to the time of its lease to the Allentown Electric Light Company, in 1899. In 1889, he secured options on the franchises for an electric road be- tween Allentown and Bethlehem, and Behtlehem and South Bethlehem, and also an option for the purchase of the Allentown City Horse Car Rail- way, which was then in operation. During 1890 he interested capital sufficient for the construction of the electric railway in Allentown, from Allen- town to Bethlehem and South Bethlehem, and from Allentown to Catasauqua. This has since become the principal part of the Lehigh Valley Traction system. In 1897, assisted by his brother George H. Wolle, he projected and organized the companies that engaged in the construction of the electric railways from Bethlehem to Nazareth and from Nazareth to Wind Gap, Pen Argyl and Bangor, under the titles of the Bethlehem & Nazareth Passenger Railway Company, and the
Slate Belt Electric Street Railway Company. He was likewise in 1901 one of the organizers of the Gueber Engineering Company of West Bethlehem.
From 1895 to the present date (1904) he has been actively engaged in the development of a new automatic composing machine for making cold pressed type on bars of type metal for stereotyping and printing in all kinds of news- paper and publishing work.
His business interests have been of an impor- tant character, and he is a man possessing strong judgment and hrm determination. In matters pertaining to his locality he is deeply interested, and affords his aid to every movement which he believes will prove of public benefit. He served one term as a member of Bethlehem borough council.
Clarence Augustus Wolle was married De- cember 18, 1890, to Clara M. (King) Evans, who was born in Logan, Iowa, on the 22d of April, 1855, the daughter of Stephen and Frances L. (Marsh) King. They have one child, Dorothy Jane Bevan, who was born at Bethlehem, Penn- sylvania, January 3, 1896.
EDWIN AMMON KRAUSE, proprietor of a leading meat market at Allentown, was born in Heidelberg township, Lehigh county, and is a son of Levi and Maria (Miller) Krause. His paternal grandfather, Frederick Krause, married a Miss Miller, and his maternal grandfather, Peter Miller, married Sallie Saeger. In the fam- ily of Levi and Maria Krause were six children : I. Frederick, who married Sophia Krum; they had three children-Lillie, who is the wife of Wil- liam Miller, and has one son, Carlton; Mamie, who is the wife of Daniel Clase, and has two daughters, Evelyn and Pauline ; and George, who married Barbara 2. Milton, married Kate Hoffman. 3. Franz, married Mrs. Missouri Schindler, who was a widow with five children. 4. Mary, married Tilghman Handwork, and has two children-Della, who married Oscar Hen- singner, and Samuel. 5. Edwin A. 6. Lizzie, married Fred Bimler, and has two children, Flor- ence and Marguerite.
In early life Edwin A. Krause attended the
Е. А. Клаин
395
GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
public schools, and then assisted his father on the home farm until he was twenty-one years of age. He then left the parental roof and went to 'Lansford with W. D. Saynor, of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, with whom he was con- nected in a business way for two years. The suc- ceeding year was passed upon the home farm, his assistance being given to his father. At the age of twenty-four years he was married, and soon afterward removed to Allentown, where he learned the butchering business under Edward Miller. After a brief interval, however, he joined J. B. Haas, with whom he remained for two years, and on severing that business connection he be- came a partner of his brother, Milton Krause, in the establishment and conduct of a meat market. This was opened by them in 1889, and from the beginning the enterprise proved a profitable one. They purchased live stock, and did their own killing, and thus gave to the public perfectly fresh meats. They were together in business for eight years, and at the end of that time the partnership was dissolved, and Edwin A. Krause has since been alone. His business has been marked by steady and continuous growth, and to-day he uses in the market trade each week ten head of cattle, thirty hogs, twelve calves and five sheep. He has one of the best appointed markets in the city, equipped with all modern conveniences for the care and preservation of his meats.
Mr. Krause is recognized as one of the Repub- lican leaders of Allentown, and is now serving for the second term as a member of the common council, to which he was elected in 1903. He was nominated for county sheriff September 3. 1904, by a very strong showing, and in the following November, was elected sheriff of Lehigh county by an overwhelming majority, although the county is normally largely Democratic, and he is an active Republican. He belongs to Ben- jamin Harrison Lodge, Mystic Chain, and Yeager Post, No. 13, Sons of Veterans, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Lutheran church.
Mr. Krause was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hunsicker, a daughter of Paul and Cathe- rine (Mosser) Hunsicker. Her grandparents in
the paternal line were Peter and Sarah (Bach- man) Hunsicker, while her maternal grandpar- ents were David and Elizabeth (Smith) Mosser, the former a son of Jacob Mosser. In the fam- ily of Paul and Catherine ( Mosser) Hunsicker were nine children: Louisa married Solomon Knerr, and has six children, Edgar, Carrie, Eva, Anson, Martha and a baby. Emma is the wife of Edward Geisenger, by whom she has five chil- dren, Hilda, Ella, Lessles, Elton and Paul. Mary is the wife of our subject. John married Lizzie Wertman, and has six children, Emma, Werner, Luella, Clifford, Leo and Arline. Paul, the fifth member of the family, is single. George first married Angeline Kistler, by whom he had one child, and afterward chose Emma Hunsicker, and they have become the parents of three chil- dren, Floyd, Harold and Paul. Annie is un- married. Ella is the wife of Benjamin Newhard, and has one child, Lucian. Tevillia is the young- est child, and is unmarried. The children of Ed- win A. and Mary (Hunsicker) Krause are four in number-Bertha, Pearl, Maria and Edmund.
DAVID DAVIS, the oldest resident, and one of the most respected and esteemed citizens in Weatherly, was born on January 14, 1814, near Merthyr-Tydvil, Wales. In the year 1836 he was married to Elizabeth Thomas, who died at Weath- erly July 23, 1896.
When a boy he was apprenticed to the black- smith trade, of which he afterward became a. master hand. On Easter Sunday, April 4th, in the year 1847, he started from Merthyr-Tydvil for Swansea, and took passage across the Atlan- tic, accompanied by his wife and three children, arriving in New York City on June 2, having had a rough passage. He took up a residence in New York City, working at his trade, but remained there only several months. From there he went to Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, where he worked for Hopkin Thomas, for whom he had worked in Wales.
In the spring of 1849 he came to Weatherly, where he has resided ever since, with the excep- tion of short periods spent at Catasauqua and Pinegrove, Pennsylvania. On his arrival at
396
HISTORIC HOMES AND INSTITUTIONS.
Weatherly he became foreman of the blacksmith shop of the Beaver Meadow Railroad Company, which afterward became part of the Lehigh Val- ley Railroad Company. He served as foreman for fifty years for these two companies, working under seven different master mechanics. He
worked at his trade continuously for a period of seventy years. The first locomotive boiler ever built in Weatherly was made by Mr. Davis. It was the boiler of engine No. 8, which was contin- uously in service for seventeen years. He was an expert in his line. He is a member of the Presby- terian church. About five years ago Mr. Davis retired from active service, and is now enjoying the fruits of his labor, living in ease and comfort at his home on Railroad street. He is very active for a man of his age. He reads the daily papers, and is well posted on the happenings of the day. His memory is exceptionally bright, and he can recall incidents that happened all through his life.
The fruits of his marriage were ten children- John F., deceased, Thomas D., Mrs. Priscilla S. Hooven, Jefferson, Miss Annie J., and Mrs. John T. Trevaskis. Four children died in infancy. There are sixteen grandchildren and ten great- grandchildren living.
Since writing this sketch David Davis de- parted this life on June 6, 1904. His death was due to the effects of a fall in his garden.
E. B. RADER, actively connected with one of the leading productive industries of Coplay, where for a number of years he has been engaged in the manufacture of brick, was born at Bath, Pennsyl- vania, on the 13th of August, 1848.
His parents, S. D. and Helena (Flick) Rader, were also natives of Bath. The father possessed considerable mechanical ingenuity and business ability, and was connected at various times with business enterprises of importance. In early life he learned the blacksmith's trade and became an expert workman, but discontinued his labors in that line in order to take up the study of medicine. He practiced for seven years as a representative of the homeopathic school, and for twelve years he was extensively engaged in the lumber business
in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He was also a manufacturer of brick, with which business he be- came connected while residing in Bath. He fol- lowed that pursuit altogether for about thirty-five years, and by his intelligent and well-directed ef- forts gained a fair competency. His death oc- curred in March, 1899, while his wife passed away in 1895. Their family numbered nine children, four of whom are yet living, namely : James E. B., Mrs. Lerch and Mrs. Nagle.
During his boyhood and youth, E. B. Rader accompanied his parents on their removal to vari- ous places. Much of his young life, however, was. passed in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where his education was acquired in the public schools and' where he remained until reaching his nineteenth year. His father was engaged in brick manu- facturing, and through practical experience in the yard Mr. Rader gained a comprehensive and ac- curate knowledge of the business. In 1890 he established a brick manufacturing plant of his: own at Coylay, and has since conducted the indus- try with growing success. His plant covers four acres, and his machinery is operated by a twenty- horse power engine. The output per annum amounts to one million brick, and his market cov- ers Lehigh and adjacent counties. He furnishes employment to twenty workmen throughout the- entire year, and has secured a trade which is ex- tensive and lucrative. In the conduct of the enter -- prise he has followed modern business methods,. and his progressive spirit and practical ideas com- bined with straightforward dealing have proven the foundation upon which he has builded the su- perstructure of his success.
In 1871 Mr. Rader was united in marriage to, Miss Mary C. Ricker, a daughter of William and. . Susan Ricker. Unto them were born two chil -- dren, but only one is now living: William, who- is in his father's employ in the manufacture of brick. He married Miss Mabel Zellner, and they occupy a pleasant home in Coplay. Mr. Rader- and his family are members of the Reformed church, in which he is now filling the office of treasurer. He enjoys the confidence of his fellow- men by reason of his activity and integrity in business, and his devotion to the public welfare
397
GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
has manifested a loyal citizenship resulting in active co-operation in movements for the general good.
GEORGE KERCHNER who follows farm- ing in Lehigh county, is descended in the fifth generation from Frederick W. Kerchner, a na- tive of Germany who married Barbara Federman also of that country. They became the founders of the family in America, and one of their sons, William Kerchner, was born April 26, 1776, dur- ing their residence in Long Swamp township, Berks county. William Kerchner afterward be- came a resident of Lower Macungie township, Lehigh county, where he owned and operated about ninety acres of land, becoming a prosperous and extensive farmer. He married a Miss Egner, and they had one son and two daughters-John, Susanna and Mrs. Eisenhard.
John Kerchner, grandfather of George F. Kerchner, was born in Berks county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1803, and died in 1888 at an advanced age. His wife, Maria Christman, had passed away many years before. Their children were William, Frank, John, Jacob, Mrs. Mary Bastion, Mrs. Salome Eberhard, Mrs. Amanda Faust, Mrs. Schantz and Susanna.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.