USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. II > Part 86
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HISTORIC HOMES AND INSTITUTIONS.
mained there until his father's death in 1877. He tiful home. His practice is a large and growing then closed out the merchandise, and gave his one. whole attention to the other portion of the busi- He married Emma Landis, a daughter of Jo- seph and Susanna (Dech) Landis. Mr. and Mrs. Butts have one daughter, Carrie, who became the wife of Robert Hittler. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hittler are Frank P., and Margaret Hittler. ness. He deals in coal and lumber and builders' supplies generally, and has one of the largest yards in his section. He is active in all measures for the extension of the business interests of the town and for its sanitary improvement. He has held many public offices, having served as bor- ough treasurer for twelve years and as justice of THE REV. OBADIAH LIGHT SAYLOR, M. D., D. D., who for the past twenty-one years has made his home at Bethlehem, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, where he has a host of friends and acquaintances and is held in high esteem, was born in Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, September 16, 1834, a son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Light) Saylor. the peace for fifteen years. Mr. Ritter is a popu- lar member of various fraternal organizations, and an active member of the Lutheran church. He is a strong advocate of the principles of the Democratic party. He is a member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, being affiliated with Lodge No. 124, Freemansburg, and a mem- ber of Teedyuscong Tribe, No. 117, Independent Order of Red Men.
November 13, 1884, he married Alice Treu- illa Snyder, a daughter of Adam Snyder of Ber- linsville. One child, a son named Chauncey Stewart, was born October 31, 1893.
W. BUTTS, a dentist of Hellertown, North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, having an exten- sive practice throughout that region of his native county, is a son of Franklin and Katharine (La Ros) Butts, his father being a farmer of Lehigh county.
W. Butts, son of Franklin and Katharine Butts, was born October 23, 1840. His early education was obtained in the public schools of Hellertown, and he was graduated from the Jersey high school. His tastes led him to take up the study of dentistry. At that time prepara- tion in a dental college was not required of an aspirant to the profession. Mr. Butts entered the office of Dr. Weller, a dentist at Trexlertown, where he remained as a student for several years. After finishing his course with Dr. Weller he took up his residence at Allentown, where he be- came assistant to Dr. LaRoche. At the end of a few years he was pronounced by Dr. LaRoche a competent practitioner, and he went back to Hellertown to establish himself in his profession. He opened an office and built for himself a beau-
Abraham Saylor (father) was also a native of Schuylkill county, and here he acquired his education and followed his trade of boat builder, which occupation enabled him to provide a com- fortable home for his family, which consisted of the following named children: Obadiah Light, mentioned hereinafter ; Theodore, Charles, Mor- ris, Sarah and Emma. Mr. Saylor, after a use- ful and honorable career, died at the age of sixty- eight years. His wife, Elizabeth (Light) Say- lor, who was a native of Lebanon county, Penn- sylvania, passed away at about the same age as her husband.
During his boyhood days Dr. Saylor attended the public schools of his native town, thereby acquiring a practical knowledge of the rudi- mentary branches of education. Later he matri- culated in the Jefferson Medical College, Phila- delphi, from which he was graduated in 1851. He at once commenced the practice of his pro- fession, continuing the same for a period of al- most fifty years. About the year 1870 he was ordained a minister of the Evangelical Associa- tion, and assumed the pastoral duties of the fol- lowing charges: Tremont, Easton, Lancaster, and Bethlehem, serving for three years at each of these places, and for twelve years was the pre- siding elder in the Bethlehem central district, Allentown district and Philadelphia district. In addition to his duties as pastor, the principal one
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of which is to look after the safety of the souls of his parishioners, he also attended to their ma- terial needs and the healing of their bodily ail- ments until a few years back, when he retired from active pursuits on account of falling health. He. possessed more than ordinary professional ability and skill, and was remarkably well read along the line of medicine and surgery. Throughout his active career he has been highly esteemed, not only by his various congregations, but also by all who knew him, irrespective of creed or nationality. He ever manifested a deep inter- est in the work in which he was engaged, and this accounts for the success which attended his ef- forts.
Rev. Dr. Saylor married. September 16, 1853, Susan Shock, who bore him four children, as fol- lows : Horace A., who is engaged in journalistic work in Bethlehem; married and has one child, Horace A. Saylor, Jr. Isabella, wife of James Kerman, and they are the parents of one child, James Kerman, Jr. Alfred C., deceased. One who died in infancy.
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CHARLES W. LAMBERT, a skilled me- chanic now with the Bethlehem Iron Works of Bethlehem, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, was born in Lower Saucon township in the same county. He traces his ancestry to a German fam- ily, three sons of which emigrated to America in the eighteenth century. Jacob Lambert, a carpenter, with his wife Christina, lived at Garo- weiht Filial (out-parish) of Groembach, ober amt Freudenstadt, Wurtemberg, Germany. The three sons were: Gottfried, born April 28, 1737; John George, born February 26, 1741 ; and John Mich- ael, born May 17, 1744. These brothers arrived at Philadelphia on the ship "Britannia," Septem- ber 26, 1764, and were put out to service to pay their passage across the Atlantic. In this way the brothers were separated, and nothing further is known of two of them nor of their descendants.
John Michael Lambert settled in Tinicum township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, not later than 1776. He afterward removed to Windsor township, York county, Pennsylvania, but re- turned to Tinicum township previous to April
28, 1782. He married Rosina Strauss, daughter of John Leonard and Philippina Strauss.
From this line is descended Charles W. Lam- bert, who was born February 22, 1852, in Lower Saucon township, Northampton county, Pennsyl- vania. He received his education in the public schools of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. After his schooling was finished he entered upon an ap- prenticeship as a tinsmith. He soon became pro- ficient in the trade, and engaged in business at Friedensville, Lehigh county, where he remained for five years. He then returned to Catasauqua to learn the iron manufacturing business. He re- mained there until he married, when he accepted a position with the Bethlehem Steel Company, which he has since held by virtue of his superior workmanship. His wife was Amanda Gange- were, a daughter of Charles Gangewere, of Fried- ensville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Gangewere was en- gaged in the tinsmithing trade for many years, and was well known throughout all that section. The children of Charles W. and Amanda (Gange- were) Lambert, were as follows: I. Ellen C., born April 13, -; 2. Emma E., born December 18, 1872; 3. Irwin A., born June 17, 1874; 4. Laura S., born May 25, 1876; 5. Thomas F., born December 4, 1879 ; 6. Maggie A., born Janu- ary 13, 1881 ; 7. William C., born November 4, 1890 ; 8. Marie G., born August 15, 1894.
JOSEPH DIEHL, a venerable and worthy citizen of Hellertown, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, has rounded out a life of more than four score years, and of varied activities, in the eastern counties of his native state.
Jacob Diehl, father of Joseph Diehl, was a large real estate owner in Lehigh county, where he lived for many years, and assisted Mr. Cro- mer. He served long as justice of the peace in his township, having been elected in the year 1812, and was well known as a man of practical sense and sound judgment. He married Catherine Gernet, and the following named children were born to them: Susanna, who became the wife of Jacob Laciar : Charles, who married Julian Rinehart : Polly, who became the wife of Wil- liam Shivler ; Christian, who died young ; Jacob,
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who married Sarah Derr, whose death occurred in 1883; and Joseph, mentioned hereinafter.
Joseph Diehl, only surviving child of Jacob and Catherine (Gernet) Diehl, was born in Salis- bury township, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, January 25, 1820. He received his education in the public schools of the county, and was ap- prenticed to the shoemaking trade. It was in the days before the introduction of machinery had relegated the honest old handmade shoe to the lost arts. After he had become a proficient work- man he abandoned the trade for the manufacture of plows. Being possessed of mechanical apti- tude, he took up carpentry in connection with plow manufacturing, and succeeded in establish- ing himself in the building business. Labor in these various lines had not only made Mr. Diehl a skillful all-around workman, but had resulted in the accumulation of a competence. He purchased a farm at Freidensville, where he worked for several- years, when it was found to contain a deposit of zinc. Mr. Diehl sold his title to the land to a company organized for opening up the mine, and was employed under Joseph Wharton at the zinc works, and later was made manager of the plant, which position he resigned in 1866. Later he superintended the mines of the Saucon Iron Company, which he helped to establish and in which he was a stockholder, but after seven years connection with this enterprise he retired. He then engaged in the real estate business, which he conducted for a number of years, and during this time he owned and developed tracts and built a number of houses. He retired from active busi- ness pursuits in 1888, and since then has lived a life of ease and comfort in his home, which he erected in 1867.
On November 14, 1848, Mr. Diehl married Ella Nina Weaver, daughter of Thomas and Susanna ( Martin) Weaver, the latter named having been a daughter of Dr. Andrew Martin, of Allentown, Pennsylvania. To Joseph and Ella Nina (Weaver) Diehl were born the following named children : Amanda, who became the wife of Dr. J. B. Heller, of Hellertown, and their son, Austin D., is the superintendent of St. Luke's Hospital; and Jane, who became the wife of
Michael Fackenthal, of Brooklyn, New York, who is manager at Cooper & Evarts. They are the parents of three children-Harry, Joseph F., and Frank Fackenthal. Mrs. Diehl died in 1866, and her sister, Mary Ann Weaver, became the second wife of Joseph Diehl. The children of the second marriage are as follows: Morris Jo- seph, an engineer, who married Mary Reigle, and ten children were the issue of this union, eight of whom are living, namely: Walter, who married a Gangewere; Elsie, Henry, Helen, George, Mary, Nina, and Howard Diehl. 2. Emma, who married Horace Boyd, manager of the Thomas Iron Works, at Catasauqua, and one- child has been born to them, Marion Boyd. 3. Alfred Weaver, who married Jennie Ruthard, who bore him the following named children : Stella. Joseph, Grace, Franklin, deceased : Paul,. and Lloyd Diehl.
OSCAR B. PETER, who is engaged in the. hotel business and also dealing in coal in Wash- ington township, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, lives in a locality which has been the ancestral home of the family through several generations. His grandfather. Daniel Peter, was born in Washington township, pursued a common-school education, and then devoted his energies to farm- ing throughout his remaining days. He married, and his children were Monroe, Naro, Daniel, Sa- lina. Julia and Maria.
Monroe Peter, father of Oscar B. Peter, was born on the old family homestead. His school education was supplemented by the practical train- ing received on the home farm, and the knowl- edge of agriculture which he gained in early life served as an excellent foundation for his success- ful career as an agriculturist in later years. He- married Miss Flora German, a daughter of Owen German, a resident farmer of Heidelberg town- ship, Lehigh county. Their children are Ellen, Lewis, Mannette, Nathaniel, Oscar, Emma, Jere- miah, Catherine and Alvin.
Oscar B. Peter, whose birthplace was the old family homestead in Washington township, Le- high county, and whose natal day was January 8, 1867, was a student in the district schools near
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his home in early boyhood days, and later he con- tinued his education in the high school of Slat- ington, where he completed his literary course. He remained upon the old home farm until 1887, when he accepted a position as station agent at Best Station, on the Reading Railroad, where he has since been located. He afterward purchased the hotel at that place, and has since conducted it. He is also agent for the coal company doing busi- ness under the name of Peter & Brother, at Best Station, and his enterprise and energy in busi- ness affairs are bringing to him a desirable finan- cial return. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he is deeply interested in its success. He has held the office of assessor of Washington township, Lenigh county, and in 1900 was appointed postmaster of Best Station by President McKinley, and is yet the incumbent in that office. He belongs to the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. He and his fam- ily attend the Reformed church, and for some time he has been a member of its choir.
On the 15th of July, 1889, Mr. Peter mar- ried Miss Jane A. A. Heinzelman, a daughter of Owen and Leah (Rex) Heinzelman, of Hei- delberg township. Their children are Minnie M. J., Victor O., Raymond B .; Lawrence M., who died in infancy ; and Haddie T. A.
ANDREW A. LUCKENBACH, a promin- ent mill owner and flour merchant, was born De- cember 22, 1839, in the historic town of Bethle- hem, Pennsylvania. He came of an old family whose history is closely interwoven with the early growth and development of the Lehigh Val- ley region in the days when bakers carried their supply of flour on their backs along Indian trails, and when the primitive stage coach plied its way in a genial atmosphere which generated many a lifelong friendship between passengers who started upon the journey as strangers.
David Luckenbach, the paternal grandfather of Andrew Luckenbach, married the daughter of a wealthy farmer of South Bethlehem, and his maternal grandfather, Andrew Whitsell, for many years operated a stage coach between Naza-
reth and Philadelphia, before the railroad was yet in existence.
Jacob, son of David Luckenbach, born and bred in Bethlehem, was a prominent factor in the industrial growth of the village through a long life of eighty-three years from 1806 to 1888. He possessed remarkable versatility, winning repute as a miller, distiller, and carriage builder, and enjoyed the high esteem of his fellow-citizens as a man of unusual cleverness. There were seven children born to him: 1. Augusta, born Febru- ary II, 1832, died in 1891, aged fifty-nine years. 2. David, born August 7, 1833, died in 1903, aged seventy years ; he married Ellen Meyers, a cousin to Judge Meyers, of Easton, and daughter of William Meyers, of the same city. 3. Emma E., who married Lewis Doster, a brother of General Doster, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. 4. Angel, born October 30, 1837, died in 1892 ; she married Albert Rihl (deceased). 5. Andrew, born De- cember 22, 1839, to be further written of here- after. 6. Matilda, who became the wife of Wil- liam V. Knauss, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. 7. Jacob, born July, 1850, died November 21, 1897.
Andrew A. Luckenbach, fifth child of Jacob and Mary (Whitsell) Luckenbach, born of goodly parentage, and allied by marriage with some of the best families of the neighborhood, received his early education in the private schools of Bethlehem, and on the completion of his school course engaged in the milling business with his father in the old mill established by the paternal energy and industry. There he remained until his father's retirement, when he reorganized the business in partnership with his brother and ex- panded it into the well known firm of Lucken- bach Brothers Flour Milling Company. There was an interval of exchange from business cares for the arduous duties, dangers and hardships of a soldier's life, when, stirred by the patriotic fer- vor which characterized his family, the rising merchant left his home to serve his country in the Civil war of 1861-1865, enlisting in Company C, One Hundred Twenty-ninth Regiment Penn- sylvania Volunteers, under Colonel Frick and Captain Luckenbach (his brother). This regi-
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ment formed a part of the First Brigade, Third Division, Fifth Army Corps, and bore a gallant part in the many arduous campaigns and bitterly contested battles which adorn the history of the magnificent Army of the Potomac.
GEORGE KEIFER, a practical and pro- gressive agriculturist who gained a large degree of prosperity through his own earnest and un- aided efforts, resides on the old homestead in Lower Mount Bethel township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, this property having been in the possession of the Keifer family since it was purchased by Peter Keifer in the year 1799.
Peter Keifer, great-grandfather of George Keifer, resided during the early years of his life in Saucon township, but subsequently removed to Lower Mount Bethel township where he pur- chased a one hundred and thirty-seven acre farm located on the banks of the Delaware river and this property has descended from father to son down to the present time (1903), it being now in the possession of George Keifer by legal pur- chase. In 1799 Peter Keifer removed thither with his family, consisting of a wife and nine chil- dren, and here the remainder of his life was spent in the cultivation and improvement of his land.
Joseph Keifer, grandfather of George Keifer, was born in Saucon township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in 1783, and his childhood and boyhood up to the age of sixteen years was spent in that vicinity. Then his parents removed to the farm on the banks of the Delaware river, and like his father, he confined himself to agri- cultural pursuits, in which vocation he was pre- eminently successful. He was an honest and in- dustrious man, and a faithful adherent and liberal supporter of the German Reformed church, in which he held the office of deacon and elder for a number of years. Mr. Keifer was united in marriage to Sarah Kline, and the issue of this union was nine children, eight of whom attained years of maturity. The names of the children were: Charles, deceased; Peter, deceased ; Jo- seph, deceased ; Jackson, deceased ; Samuel, who resides in the vicinity of Newark, New Jersey,
where he is engaged in "trucking;" Sarah, de- ceased ; Catherine, deceased ; Elizabeth, deceased ; and a child who died in early life. Joseph Kei- fer, father of these children, died in 1873, at the advanced age of ninety years, and his wife passed away in 1866.
Joseph Keifer, of the family last named, and father of George Keifer, was a native of Lower Mount Bethel township, Northampton county, having been born April 20, 1820, in the house in which George Keifer, his son, now resides, and which was erected in the year 1808. He was reared in his native township and chose the occu- pation of a farmer, which he followed through- out the active years of his long and useful career. He was the owner of two hundred and forty-five acres of valuable farming land, and by careful and judicious management this estate yielded a large amount of the staple articles for which this section of the county is noted. He was not un- mindful of his duties as a citizen, took an active interest in township affairs, and for over twenty consecutive years was the incumbent of the office of school director. In 1845 Mr. Keifer married Malinda Schrech, a native of Upper Bount Bethel and to this union were born the following named children : Irvin, deceased ; Calvin, Lenora, Sarah, Marshall, Ida, Mary, Estella, Wesley, and George. Mr. Keifer and his wife held member- ship in the Lutheran chruch, Mr. Keifer having served in the capacity of deacon and elder for a number of years. The death of Mr. Keifer, which occurred in 1897, was sincerely mourned by his family and a large circle of friends and ac- quaintances in the community where he had re- sided during his entire lifetime. His wife, Ma- linda (Schrech) Keifer, is living at the present time (1903).
George Keifer, son of Joseph and Malinda Keifer, was born in the house in which he now resides in Lower Mount Bethel township, North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, in 1855. He at- tended the common schools adjacent to his home, and being reared upon a farm and therefore thor- oughly familiar with all the details of that line of industry, he chose that occupation for his life work. During tlie years that he was employed on
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the old homestead, by dint of industry and thrift, he saved enough capital to enable him in 1897 to purchase the old estate, which he has extensively operated ever since and which returns to him a handsome income for the labor and care bestowed upon it. Mr. Keifer is held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens, and has been repeatedly chosen by them to serve as their representative at the county conventions ; he has also been a member of the school board of the independent district of the township, creditably filling the office for a period of twelve years. He is a stanch sup- porter of the principles of Democracy.
Mr. Keifer was united in marriage, in 1882, to Lizzie Boyer, who was born at Bridgeville, Warren county, New Jersey, September 20, 1858, a daughter of Thomas M. and Elizabeth Boyer. They are the parents of one son, Roy Keifer, born June 18, 1885. The family hold member- ship in the Lutheran church, taking an active and prominent part in the work of the various societies connected with it, and Mr. Keifer holds the office of elder.
MAHLON S. KEMMERER, for many years an active and potent factor in the coal and iron interests of the state of Pennsylvania, where he was born and has always resided, is of German antecedents, the family having been among the pioneer settlers in Cherry Valley, Monroe county, Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Conrad Kem- merer, a resident of the above named county, was the father of several children, among whom was Charles Kemmerer, father of Mahlon S., a native of Cherry Valley, and a mill- wright by occupation. His wife, Mary Ann (Price) Kemmerer, a daughter of John J. Price, an early lumberman of the vicinity, bore him two children-Mahlon S., mentioned here- inafter ; and Annie, who became the wife of W. W. Watson, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Kemmerer, after the decease of her husband, be- came the wife of Walter Leisenring, and they were the parents of five children, namely : . Ger- trude H., who became the wife of T. M. Righter ; Ada L., Mary W., Albert C., and Walter Leisen- ring.
Mahlon S. Kemmerer was born in Cherry Valley, Monroe county, Pennsylvania, August 27, 1843. In early youth he became a resident of Carbon county, same state, and his education was acquired by attendance at the common schools and Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport. At the age of fourteen he accepted a clerkship in a colliery store at Summit Hill, Carbon county, remaining until 1862. The heavy freshets of that year suspended operations in the coal regions, and he then joined a corps of engineers employed by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, and engaged in repairs connected with the prop- erty of the company. This corps then undertook the survey of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Rail- road, Mr. Kemmerer remaining with them for four years in the capacity of assistant engineer. He then accepted a position as mining engineer and assistant superintendent of the Upper Le- high Coal Company, and after four years' service in their employ began an active business career as a member of the firm of Whitney, McCreary & Kemmerer, shippers of coal, the firm subse- quently becoming Whitney & Kemmerer.
In 1876 he engaged in the mining of coal at Sandy Run, and later at Harleigh, Pond Creek and other collieries, achieving large financial gain as a result of reliable meth- ods and honorable transactions. He pur- chased considerable stock in the Connells- ville Coke and Iron Company, the Car- bon Iron and Pipe Company, and the Carbon Rolling-Mill Company, in all of which enterprises he served in the capacity of director. He also served as secretary and treasurer of the Virginia Coal and Iron Company, and director of the Al- den Coal Company of Wilkes-Barre. Governor Pattison appointed Mr. Kemmerer one of the commissioners to revise the mining laws of the state. Mr. Kemmerer attends the Presbyterian chruch, his views on religion being in accord with the tenets of that body. He is a stanch adherent of the principles of Republicanism, giving his support to its candidates and measures, but never seeking or desiring political office, as he preferred the routine of business life.
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