USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. II > Part 77
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PETER J. KERN, a resident farmer of Lower Nazareth township, Northampton county, belongs to the family long connected with agri- cultural interests in this portion of Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Peter Kern, was born in Mount Bethel township, and as a youth was a student in the public schools, subsequent to which time he became an active farmer, residing upon the old family homestead, where his last days were passed. He married Catherine Ott of the same township, and one child was born to them, to whom they gave the name of John S. Kern. The date of his birth was 1832 and his death occurred in 1903, so that his life record more than covered the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten. Having acquired his education in the district schools he followed farming throughout his en- tire business career. He voted with the Democ- racy, and for many terms filled the office of school director. John S. Kern was united in marriage to Pauline C. Roth, now deceased, a daughter of
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Joseph Roth, a resident farmer of Saucon town- ship, Northampton county. There were but two children of this marriage: Emma J., the wife of Jacob Knecht, by whom she has one child; and Peter J.
Peter J. Kern was born in the old family homestead in Upper Nazareth township, May 13, 1862, and when he had mastered the branches of learning taught in the common district schools he continued his studies in Bath and Nazareth, Pennsylvania. He then took up his abode upon the old homestead, and remained there until his father removed to Lower Nazareth township in 1901. He has since that time engaged in the oper- ation of a tract of eighty acres in the latter town- ship, and this farm is highly cultivated, indicating the supervision of a practical and progressive owner. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party, and he has held the office of auditor.
Mr. Kern was united in marriage in 1893 to Anna S. Nicholasen, widow of the late Jacob F. Henning, of Washington township. By this marriage there are two children: Clarence C. Henning and Eva M. Henning. Mr. Kern and his family attend the Reformed church at Heck- town.
AARON LERCH, a retired agriculturist and one of the public-spirited and influential cit- izens of East Allen township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, where he has resided for the past forty years, nineteen of which were de- voted to the cultivation and operation of his ex- tensive farm property, was born in Forks town- ship, Northampton county, November 1, 1829, a son of Jonas and Elizabeth (Abel) Lerch, and grandson of Michael Lerch.
Jonas Lerch (father) was also a native of Forks township, the year of his birth having been 1791, and after the completion of his com- mon school education he served an apprentice- ship at the trade of shoemaker, which line of in- dustry he followed with a large degree of suc- cess for several years, but later his tastes and inclinations led him to become a farmer, and the remainder of his life was spent in conducting
operations on a tract of land near the old home- stead. He was conscientious and honorable in all his transactions, was a member and served as elder in the Reformed church; was a Democrat in his political affiliations, and served as county commissioner for several years. Jonas Lerch and his wife, Elizabeth (Abel) Lerch, daughter of George Abel, reared a family of six children, all of whom attained years of maturity : Amandus, deceased, was engaged in agricultural pursuits ; Matilda, deceased, was the wife of Hiram Knecht ; Peter, deceased, was a farmer by occupation and during the year 1848 removed to the state of Ohio, where his death occurred; Sarah Ann, deceased, was the wife of Thomas Uhler; Mary Elizabeth, wife of John Schoch; and Aaron, mentioned at length hereinafter. Jonas Lerch, father of these children, died at his home in Forks township in 1853, and his widow survived him forty years, passing away in 1893 at the advanced age of eighty-two years.
Aaron Lerch resided on the old homestead until he attained the age of twenty-four years, and his educational advantages were obtained in the common schools adjacent to his home. In 1863 Mr. Lerch changed his place of residence to East Allen township, where he was employed as a farmer, and during the following nine years he accumulated sufficient capital by his industry and thrift to purchase the old Mulholland farm, which is located in the section known as the Irish Set- tlement. The farm consists of one hundred and thirty-one acres of finely improved land which he cultivated to a high state of perfection, and by careful and judicious management the estate yielded plentiful harvests which amply repaid him for the labor expended. He subsequently pur- chased a one-hundred-and-five-acre farm in the same township, conducted his operations upon an extensive scale, and the proceeds from both these pieces of property enabled him in 1883 to retire from active business pursuits with a handsome competency. In religion and politics Mr. Lerch adheres to the example set by his father, being a member of the Reformed church, in which he also serves as elder and deacon : and he is a firm advocate of the principles of the Democratic
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party. He has served his township as school director for three terms.
Mr. Lerch was united in marriage, Novem- ber 16, 1852, to Margaret L. Weaver, a daugh- ter of Jacob Weaver, and they are the parents of the following named children : Ellen Susan, widow of the late Martin King, whose death oc- curred March 6, 1883; they were the parents of one child, Mary Margaret King, now the wife of Elmer C. Heberling, of Philadelphia. Martha M., wife of Philip C. Odenwelder, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Fanny, de- ceased, was the wife of Howard Kuntz, and their family consisted of three children-Frank, Rella and Chester. Oliver, actively connected with the hosiery mills at Bath, Pennsylvania, married Susan Engler, and three children have been the issue of this marriage-Aaron, Frances, and Mar- garet Lerch. Amanda, deceased. Mary, de- ceased. Thomas, a resident of Philadelphia and employed by the Lehigh Valley Railroad Com- pany ; he married Carrie Greissmayer, and they are the parents of four children-Florence, Rob- ert, James and David Lerch. The last son of Aaron Lerch, Frank, died in early life.
DAVID McKENNA is well known in con- nection with the material, political and social pro- gress of Slatington, and is a typical representative of his Scotch nationality. He was born near Newton Stewart, Wigtonshire, Scotland, Janu- ary 10, 1838.
His parents were David and Agnes McKenna. They received such education as the schools of their native country then afforded. They were zealous adherents of the Covenanter or Presby- terian faith. By his first wife, David McKenna had three children, William, Helen and Margaret ; and by his second wife but one child, David Mc- Kenna, of this review. His father died in Scot- land in 1841, when he was only three and a half years of age. The widow and her son came to America in 1843, and settled in Wyandotte county, Ohio, amongst friends who had emigrated from Scotland and located there some few years before, and there they made their home for thir- teen years.
Mr. McKenna was sent to the schools of his native parish in Scotland at a very early age, and at that time the Bible was about the only text- book in school. After settling in this country, he entered the public schools of Ohio, and availed himself of the limited educational opportunities of that region, and also studied at different times under private teachers. He was reared in the famous "Northwestern Territory," as that part of Ohio was then called, and early developed traits of industry and enterprise.
In 1856 he and his mother came to Pennsyl- vania and located at Slatington, when there were less than a score of houses in the village, his mother living with him until her decease in 1879, aged ninety-four years. He secured employment with the Lehigh Slate Company, the first char- tered organization of its kind in Pennsylvania, and of which Robert McDowell was superinten- dent and treasurer. After being employed by them in various capacities during the year he was appointed station agent for the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company early in 1857, and was also telegraph operator, mail carrier and express agent, devoting his time and energies to his mul- titudinous duties for eight years. Upon retiring from the railroad service he became assistant su- perintendent of the Lehigh Slate Company, and filled that position until the death of his father-in- law, Robert McDowell, in 1878, when he was elected superintendent of said company and served until 1880. He then engaged in business for himself, and was instrumental in the develop- ment of quite a number of slate quarries, the more prominent ones among them being the McDowell (now the Girard), the Brooklyn and the Meadow Brook. In company with other enterprising busi- ness men he purchased the large farm now known as the "Kern Farm Slate Property" on which six large quarries have been opened under lease and are now among the most profitable quarries in the Lehigh slate region.
In his early manhood he was imbued with the cause of anti-slavery, and as a young man he took an active interest in the campaign of Salmon P. Chase for the governorship of Ohio in 1855. Upon his arrival in Pennsylvania in 1856 he became a
yours Very Refitfully Guide Mottuna
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GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS.
warm enthusiast of the principles of the Republi- can party, which made its first presidential nom- ination in that year, and he has ever since been an energetic and loyal adherent of that party. He has been the recipient of many political honors. For many years he was a member of the county executive committee, and served a number of times as chairman of the county conventions ; was a delegate to the state convention at Lancaster which nominated General John F. Hartranft for governor, and also a delegate to the Harrisburg convention which nominated Henry M. Hoyt. He has always been prominent in political circles in the northern part of the county. His judgment carries weight in the councils of his party, and he commands the respect of his political opponents. His political enthusiasm from his boyhood days to the present has been one of his marked character- istics. He was appointed notary public by Gov- ernor Hartranft, and has filled that office up to the present time. He was nominated for assembly- man and afterwards for state senator, but, his party in the county being largely in the minority, he was not elected.
In public affairs in his own town Mr. McKenna is prominent and influential, is one of the active, progressive and liberal citizens, and is ever ready to do all he can to further its advancement. He served on the school board for upwards of twenty- five years, and as its president for fifteen years. He was nominated for chief burgess one year, but declined to accept. He is also a member of the Slatington Board of Trade.
He is an active and prominent Mason, and takes a great interest in the fraternity, belonging to Slatington Lodge No. 440, F. and A. M., hav- ing served as worshipful master for two terms; a member of Allen Chapter, No. 203, R. A. M .; Allen Council, No. 23, R. and S. M. ; Allen Com- inandery, No. 20, K. T., of Allentown ; and Rajah Temple A. A. O. N. M. S., of Reading, Pennsyl- vania. He is also a member of the Scotch-Irish Society of America, and is deeply interested in their history.
He has always been closely identified with the Presbyterian church of Slatington, having served as one of its elders and as superintendent of
the Sabbath school for over twenty-five years ; represented the Presbytery of Lehigh in the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church at Omaha, in 1887, and was a delegate to the Synod of Pennsylvania held at Wheeling in 1890.
In 1865 David McKenna was united in mar- riage to Rebecca Augusta McDowell, a daughter of Robert and Sarah E. ( Mulholland) McDowell, who were at one time residents of the old Irish Settlement near Bath, in Northampton county, where Mrs. McDowell's grandparents settled in 1743, but later took up their abode in Slatington. Mrs. McKenna was educated by a governess in her own home, and in Dow's Female Seminary at Easton, Pennsylvania, afterwards moved to Plainfield, New Jersey, where she graduated in 1858. Early in life she displayed great musical talent, and through its cultivation became very proficient in that art. She is a most earnest and active Presbyterian who has identified herself prominently with church work.
The children born to David and Rebecca McKenna were Sarah Agnes, Helen Augusta, Phebe Bergen and Stella Almira. The eldest daughter, Sarah, became the wife of Franklin Prince, of Philadelphia, in 1890, by whom she had a daughter Marguerite. Mr. Prince died in 1893, and his widow married Rev. Julius W. Brockway, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1901 ; one son was born to them who bears the name of David McKenna. Helen Augusta died in 1870, and Phebe Bergen died in 1890. Stella Almira is at home with her parents.
REUBEN D. BUTZ. The Butz family, of which Reuben D. Butz is the present head, were among the early settlers of eastern Pennsylvania.
They trace their descent from Peter Butz, a native of Switzerland, who about 1730 crossed the Atlantic with his wife (nee Carl) and son John, and settled in that part of Philadelphia county which has since become Longswamp town- ship, Berks county. In February, 1761, he pur- chased a farm of two hundred acres, lying in Lower Macungie township, Lehigh county. Thither he removed his family an his farm, situated in what is known as Butz Gass, or Butz
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valley, has ever since been in the possession of his descendants, who are quite numerous in this part of the state. Peter Butz had three sons : Peter, who settled in Whitehall; Samuel, who lived at Cedar Creek ; and John, who after the death of his father purchased the old homestead and resided there until his decease at a very advanced age in 1827.
John Butz married a Miss Miller, and they reared a family of four sons and four daughters- Abraham, Jonathan, John, Peter, Barbara, Eliza- beth, Catherine and Esther. The oldest son, Abraham, married Esther Egner, and removed to Hokendauqua. Jonathan married Elizabeth Dankel, and settling near the old homestead, en- gaged in farming. John and Peter Butz married sisters-Catherine and Elizabeth Schmoyer, daughters of Daniel Schmoyer. Peter died in 1847, and his son Stephen, one of nine children, inherited part of the old homestead farm on which he lived until 1877.
To John Butz (who inherited the remainder of the ancestral lands), and Catherine Schmoyer were born six children-Reuben, James, Mary, Catherine, Elizabeth and Rachel. Of these Reu- ben married Henrietta Dresher, and reared a family of six children-Sarah, who married Will- iam Deisher ; Caroline, who married Jacob Deish- er ; John D .; Reuben D .; Mary Etta, who mar- ried Charles Dresher ; and Samuel A.
The oldest son, John D., married Maria Zeig- ler. Their children are: Ida, widow of Harry Cooper ; Raymond D., a prominent physician of York, Pennsylvania; and Minnie, wife of Lewis Peters. He died in 1889.
Samuel A. Butz, youngest child of Reuben and Henrietta Butz, is one of the leading lawyers of Lehigh county. After studying law with the late Peter Wyckoff, he was admitted to the bar in June, 1868, and by his studious habits, sterling in- tegrity and strict attention to the duties of his profession soon won an enviable reputation as a safe and judicious counselor, and secured a large and lucrative clientage. It has been said of him that he enjoys the confidence of certain substan- tial elements in the country districts to a greater
degree than any other member of the local bar. He manifests special ability in civil practice, and represents the best type of the successful office lawyer. He is a member of the Reformed church, and had been a generous supporter of her various institutions and a liberal contributor to every de- partment of religious, charitable and educational work. He served for a number of years as a mem- ber of the board of trustees of Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and is vice-president of the board of trustees of Allen- town College for Women. He is a stanch Re- publican, but devotion to his professional duties has kept him from taking an active part in poli- tics, despite the fact that his party has at various times recognized his possession of many of the qualities that make the successful politician.
In 1872 he married Myra Albright, who died in 1901. Their children are: Gertrude, wife of Professor Joseph C. Groff, of New York; and Edgar D., who has not yet attained his majority. After the death of his first wife he married Miss Charlotte Shafer, of Maryland.
Reuben D. Butz, second son of Reuben and Henrietta Butz, was born at the old homestead in Lower Macungie township, and acquired his edu- cation in the public schools and the Allentown Seminary. He followed agricultural pursuits un- til 1869 when he turned his attention to the lum- ber trade, removing for that purpose to Allen- town, where he has since resided. He still owns and operates the homestead farm. He has always taken an active and helpful interest in the affairs of the community, and enjoys to a remarkable degree the respect and confidence of his fellow townsmen. In 1874 he was elected a member of the city council, and served for one term, while for eight years he has been a member of the school board. He is a faithful and consistent member of the Reformed church, and an ardent Repub- lican.
He married Mary Anne Schwartz, daughter of Jacob and Hannah Seidel Schwartz, and their children are: Eva M., who is the wife of Marvin O. Kuntz, a prominent business man of Lehighton ; Laura M., who married George A.
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Prediger, a leading lawyer of Pittsfield, Massa- chusetts ; Reuben J .; George S. ; and Lillian H.
Reuben J. Butz, elder son of Reuben D, Butz, stands foremost in the group of brilliant young lawyers at the Lehigh county bar. He early dis- tinguished himself for scholarship, having been graduated from the Allentown High School in 1883, and from Muhlenberg College in 1887 with the highest honors of his class in the latter case. He then entered the law office of Hon. Robert E. Wright, was admitted to the bar in 1889, and be- gan the practice of his profession with his uncle, Samuel A. Butz. The studious habits which won for him distinction in his scholastic career, soon commanded the admiration of his colleagues, and he was speedily recognized as possessing a re- markably deep, thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the theory of law, while the skill- ful manner in which he conducted cases in which were arrayed against him the oldest and most ex- perienced members of his profession demonstra- ted his ability to cope successfully with the ablest lawyers at the bar. Studious, thorough and log- ical, keen, alert and resourceful in argument, ever rigidly honest and conscientious, he has won rec- ognition both as a safe and conservative counsel- lor and as a forceful and eloquent pleader. His devotion to the cause of his clients is a distin- guishing feature of his character. Their cause is his cause, and the profound care with which he studies every aspect of a case, the energy, force and zeal with which he conducts it, form the secret of his success as a lawyer. He occupies the import- ant position of trust officer of the Lehigh Valley Trust and Safe Deposit Company ; is solicitor for the public schools of Allentown, and an active member of the board of trustees of Muhlenberg College, taking a leading part in the present ex- tensive building operations of the college. He belongs to the Livingston Club, and has followed in the footsteps of his ancestors in his church re- lationship and political affiliations. In 1897 he married Mary E., daughter of Rev. J. D. Schindel, a prominent Lutheran clergyman of Allentown.
George S., younger son of Reuben D. Butz, is a graduate of the Allentown High School and Muh-
lenberg College, class of 1891. After spending three years of study in the Theological Semin- ary at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he was graduated in 1894, and ordained a minister of the Reformed church. The same year he was called to the pas- torate at Prospectville, Montgomery county, and since then he has assumed charge of six congre- gations in Northumberland county, residing at Paxinos. He is a young man of scholarly tastes and studious habits He is a profound student of Church history and for advanced study along this line, he spent the summer of 1904 in Europe. In 1894 he married Miss Kate Russ, of Lancaster. They have two sons, Harold A. and Carl Alfred.
JAMES MADISON PORTER. Robert Porter, the first representative of the name in America, came from the isle of Bert, Ireland, in 1720, his home having been about nine miles from the city of Londonderry. Like most people of that period he followed the occupation of farm- ing, and the land which he owned and operated is now in possession of some of his descendants who still remain in Londonderry. The ruins of the original dwelling are also to be seen there amid one of the most beautiful and picturesque local- ities of that fair land. Robert Porter arrived in Londonderry, New Hampshire, but soon after- ward removed to a farm in which is now Wor- cester township, Montgomery county, Pennsyl- vania, his place being about four miles from Nor- ristown. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in July, 1770, when he was seventy-two years of age. He had a family of nine sons and five daughters, some of whom removed to the west and others to the south, becoming farmers and tradesmen.
The most successful and prominent of his sons was Andrew Porter, who was born on his father's farm near Norristown, September 4, 1743. Un- like his brothers and father, he displayed no fond- ness for an agricultural life or for industrial pur- suits, but manifested instead special interest in books, especially upon mathematical and scientific subjects. He was continually seeking out oppor- tunities for indulging his love of study, and he
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profited by the assistance and guidance of Patrick Mennon, who was. a skilled teacher in his district. He made rapid progress, and his ability in this di- rection attracted the attention of Dr. David Rit- tenhouse, who secured for him a position as teacher in an English mathematical school in 1767. This work he conducted with marked abil- ity, making for himself an excellent reputation as an educator. He was thus occupied until the spring of 1776, when in response to the call of the Continental congress to aid in establishing liberty in the new world he enlisted in the army. He was at that time at the head of a school of about one hundred pupils, which afforded a liberal support for himself and his five motherless chil- dren. He had also continued his own studies dur- ing his residence in Philadelphia, and became an expert astronomer. On the 19th of June, 1776, however, he was commissioned by congress as a captain of marines, but not finding the service such as he desired he was transferred to the ar- tillery force, for which he was better qualified by reason of his previous occupation and broad knowledge. He served as a captain in an artillery organization until March, 1782, when he was pro- moted, his commission to be dated from the 19th of April, 1781. Then came successive promotions through the rank of lieutenant; lieutenant-colonel and colonel, and was commander of the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment of Artillery, acting in that capacity until the army was disbanded. He took a prominent part in the battles of Brandywine, Princeton and Germantown, also at Trenton, and was personally commended by General Washing- ton for his conduct in action at the battle of Ger- mantown, where most of his company were either killed or taken prisoner. In 1779, in conjunction with Generals Sullivan and Clinton, he was active in removing and destroying the Indian settlement in and around Tioga Point. He was also engaged in superintending the laboratory at Philadelphia where the different kinds of ammunition were prepared.
After peace was declared, Colonel Forter re- tired to his farm, and was recognized as an influ- ential and leading resident of his community by reason of the helpful part which he took in public
affairs. His knowledge of astronomy made his services sought in many directions, and in '1809 Governor Snyder selected him for the office of sur- veyor-general of Pennsylvania, which position he filled up to the time of his death. In 1800 he was appointed brigadier-general of the First Brigade, Second Division, Pennsylvania Militia, and on the removal of General Peter Muhlenberg soon afterward, he became major-general of the di- vision. During the years 1812 and 1813 he de- clined the position of brigadier-general in the army, and also that of secretary of war of the United States, owing to his advanced age and the manifold duties which these positions involved. In connection with David Rittenhouse he was ap- pointed in 1775 by the city council of Philadel- phia one of the commissioners to mark and settle the boundary lines in the western part of the state. This work was accomplished in the face of great hardships and suffering, owing to the unbroken condition of the country, but the work was done to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. His public service was all of an important and varied character, and he thus left the impress of his in- dividuality upon many events which have contrib- uted to the well being of the state and nation, having found record on the pages of history. Gen- eral Porter was twice married. He first wedded Elizabeth McDowell, on the Ioth of March, 1767; and after her death, which occurred April 9, 1773, he was married to Elizabeth Parker, on the 20th of May, 1777. By his first wife he had five chil- dren, and eight were born of the second union.
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