USA > Pennsylvania > Berks County > Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I > Part 100
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DANIEL F. KELCHNER, one of the leading business men of Fleetwood, proprietor of the Fleetwood Creamery, owner of a creamery at Moselem Springs, is a member of a family whose first representative came to Berks county between 1731 and 1741.
Matthias Kelchner was the first to settle in Richmond township, Berks county. Tradition says that four broth- ers, George, Matthias, Michael and Henry, emigrated be- tween 1731 and 1741. Records show that Hans George Kelchner crossed the ocean on the "Pennsylvania Mer- chant," landing at Philadelphia in the fall of 1731, and that he and Matthias were brothers. It is probable that Matthias was under twenty-one years of age in 1731, hence his name is not on the passenger list. On the "Pennsyl- vania Merchant," landing in 1733, was Michael Kelchner, whose brother Henry also came to America. These four settled in eastern Pennsylvania.
Michael Kelchner, son of Matthias, was a taxable in 1759, in Richmond township. He married Maria Eva Frey, whose tombstone bears the following inscription : "Maria Eva Freyin, wife Michael Kelchner, had 4 sons 1 daughter. In 1761 she married Peter Stetzler. With him she had 5 sons. She was married first in 1752. She was born June 24, 1730, died March 14, 1807, aged 76 years S mos. 10 days." She is buried at Zion's Church in Perry township. Three of Michael Kelchner's child- ren were: John m. and had a son, Henry; Jacob m. (first) Magdalena Wanner, and had children-Catharine, Maria Elizabeth and Daniel-and (second) Maria Wan- ner, and had children-Jacob, Samuel (who had an only son, Isaac), Mary and Hannah; Daniel. Michael Kelchner made his will Feb. 26, 1761 (See Book 1, p. 98) and his death occurred soon afterward. He gave to his wife, Maria Eva, one-third of his large estate. His father Matthias and his friend Christian Rothermel were his executors, It is probable that two of his children died young, as one item in his will is as follows: "That the three children shall be sent to church and school diligent- ly, and that they shall be instructed in English and Dutch."
George Kelchner, of Richmond township, on Dec. 13, 1794, made his will as recorded in Will Book B, p. 356, and witnessed by Casper Merkel and John Christ, with Peter Kelchner, son of George, and the latter's wife Agnes as executors. Peter Kelchner received the Rich- mond township home. The six children were: Peter ; Mrs. Jacob Yoh; Henry: John: Jacob; and Esther.
John Kelchner, probably a son of George, lived in Rock- land township. He made his will in October. 1836, and it was probated in November of the same year, and re- corded in Book 7, p. 400. His son, Benjamin, and Samuel Beaver were executors. Lcah Lorah, daughter of his wife, was remembered in the will.
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BIOGRAPHICAL
Jacob Kelchner was born in Richmond township, July 11, 1801. He passed the greater part of his life engaged in farming about one and a half miles from Fleetwood. In 1834 he married Anna Sheirer, who was born in Maxatawny township. Thirteen children were born of
Rev. Christopher Schultz, Sr., the youngest son of Mel- this union, namely : Samuel; Mary; Joel; Edwin; Martin; chior, was born at Lower Harpersdorf, Liegnitz, Silesia, Jacob; Hannah; Esther; Caroline; Isaac; Charles Augus- tus; Daniel F .; and Wilson R. The father died April 21, 1861. March 26, 1718. In the spring of 1726, owing to religious persecution, this family with others left home and pos- sessions and fled by night, arriving at Berthelsdorf, in Daniel F. Kelchner was born in Richmond township Oct. 6, 1852, and his education was acquired in the public schools of his native township and Keystone State Nor- mal School at Kutztown. He was but seventeen when he began teaching, a profession he continued in for three terms in Richmond and Ruscombmanor townships, and at the end of that time he accepted a clerkship in a general store at Fleetwood. He followed this business for ten years, and then began in the produce business, continuing in same up to the present time. He is also engaged in the operation of the Fleetwood Creamery, and of another at Moselem Springs, each of which ships about 5,000 pounds a year to the Philadelphia markets, where good returns result. In July, 1901, Mr. Kelchner added the manufacture of hosiery to his list of interests, and gives employment to eighty-five people in that line. He has an established reputation for honesty, and is industrious and energetic, quick to see the practical side of new methods and adopt them in his work. Saxony, May 1st. Here Christopher became a shepherd boy, but his humble circumstances did not quench his spirit or ambition. In his youth he evinced a burning de- sire for books. His kind friend, Rev. George Weiss, as- sisted him in his study of the Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages. He also had the kindly assistance of Court Zinzendorf: The three orphan boys, George, Melchior and Christopher Schultz, joining some forty Schwenkfelder families, forever turned their backs upon their native land, embarking for Philadelphia, where they arrived after a tedious voyage of about five months, Sept. 22, 1734. Young Christopher kept a diary ("Reise Beschreibung"), which is found in print in the "Erlauterung." At a com- paratively early period he was looked upon as a leading spirit among the Schwenkfelders, and was chosen their minister, serving as such efficiently and faithfully until the end of his days. He was the chief organizer of the Schwenkfelders into a religious body or congregation, composed the catechism still in use, compiled their hymn- books and wrote their constitution, as well as a "Com- pendium" of religious doctrines of faith of 600 octavo pages.
Mr. Kelchner was married Sept. 9, 1885, to Emily Peters, daughter of Joseph and Maria ( Hoch) Peters, the former of whom, now deceased, was engaged in a mercantile business in Molltown. Five children have been born to this union : Raymond, Harry, Walter, Daniel and Emily. Mr. and Mrs. Kelchner are members of the United Evangelical Church at Fleetwood, in which he has been a trustee some years. He is superintendent of the Sunday-school, and is very popular in its work. In politics he is a Republican, and for four years was school director, for six years a member of the borough council. In 1907 he was one of the organizers of the Fleetwood National Bank, of which he is now President. He is a large property owner, and is a leading useful citizen, thoroughly respected in both public and private life.
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SCHULTZ (Line of Melchior, 1680-1734) Hereford township, in the extreme eastern end of Berks county, and bounded on the east by Lehigh county and on the southeast by Montgomery county, is the home of a number of families belonging to the religious sect known as Schwenkfelders, founded by Kaspar Schwenkfeld (1490- 1561), a Silesian nobleman and mighty factor in the Reformation. Many of the Schultz, Kriebel, Yeakel and a few other Schwenkfelder families have their homes in this district of Berks county, while about thirty Schwenkfelder
families live in the adjoining region of upper Montgomery the end of about ten years, under the blessing of Provi- and western Lehigh counties.
The Schultz or Scholtze family is traced to one Mathias Schultz. who was born A. D. 1612, on a Sunday (In- vocavit), lived through the Thirty Years' war, and died A. D. 1682, in the seventieth year of his age, at Lower Harpersdorf, in what was then the principality (now a government district) of Liegnitz, Silesia. His son, Mel- chior Schultz, is said to have been born A. D. 1647, and died on a Sunday (Invocavit), A. D. 1708, in the sixty- first year of his age. And his son, also called Melchior Schultz, was born June 26, 1680, and died Feb. 15, 1734, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, at Berthelsdorf, Sax- ony, about two months before the emigration to this country, then being contemplated. The last-named Mel- chior Schultz was the father of George, Melchior and Christopher, all of whom married, and descendants of George and Christopher still flourish in Berks county.
George Schultz, son of Melchior, died Oct. 30, 1776, aged sixty-five years. On Jan. 31, 1744, he married Maria, daughter of Abraham Yeakel, and their children were Abraham and Melchior. The mother died Dec. 13, 1797, aged seventy-nine years.
Melchior Schultz, son of Melchior, died Sept. 1, 1787. He was twice married, first to Anna Maria Meschter and second to Maria Hartranft, but had no issue by either wife.
For many years, up to the end of the American Revo- lution, "Father" Schultz, as he was called, kept up cor- respondence with friends left in Germany. He lived in stirring times and had varied experiences. At the age of eighteen years we find him, with his two brothers, select- ing a site for their future home in a dense wood forty- two miles north of Philadelphia, two miles west of what is now the borough of East Greenville, where they had found an excellent spring of water. Here, in 1736, assisted by Melchior Newman, carpenter, they commenced felling the tall oaks, rolling them on a scaffold over a trench, sawed them by hand into three-inch planks, whereof the outside walls of their capacious two-story house were constructed. Wagon wheels were made of the same article, horse col- lars were skilfully plaited of straw, traces were made of hemp, the grubbing hoe preceded the plow with wooden moldboard. There was no sawmill or gristmill within fifteen miles, and every resource of the pioneer was taxed to the utmost to supply the many lacks experienced in a new country. For clothing the Schultzes raised their own flax and wool, spun it with the aid of a single spindle, erected a weaver's loom, and wove the yarn into cloth.
The three brothers lived in peace and harmony, and at dence, they had considerably extended their landed do- mains, increased their flocks and filled their coffers, so that the question which once engaged the attention of Abraham and Lot, at their parting, now confronted them. The result was that Melchior and Christopher sold out to their elder brother, George, the former going about three miles north, where he bought a farm; Christopher, having married in 1744, now bought and settled at Clay- ton, Berks county. Here he lived to the end of his life. Among the early records of Berks county we find the last will and testament of Christopher Schultz, a model of its kind. It is dated the 24th day of October, A. D. 1788, and is witnessed by his friends, Abraham Schultz, Gre- gory Schultz and George Kriebel; in it the testator, among other things, disposes of about 800 acres of land located in Berks, Montgomery and Northumberland counties, Pa., including two of the finest farms in eastern Berks; one of them, late that of his brother Melchior, had been bought by the testator for and in the name of his son Andrew. His family, all of whom survived him, con- sisted of his wife Rosina, a daughter of Baltzer Yeakel, and four children, Regina, Andrew, David and Susanna.
412
HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
It might well be asked how the one-time shepherd June 4, 1854, at St. Paul, Minn., and his remains were and weaver boy of Berthelsdorf came to have so much sent to Clayton, Pa., and interred at the Washington Meeting-house ). property at his disposal. Matt. 19: 29. He could work 011 the farm, or at the loom, perform deeds of kindness, courtesy and condescension, without compromising his dignity, which was unfailing. His life motto was "Soli Deo Gloria" ("To God alone the honor"). Father Schultz died on the 9th of May, 1789, aged seventy-one years, one month, thirteen days. The immediate cause of his death was apoplexy. His end was one of serene contentment and blessedness. He died as he had lived. His last words, barely audible to the family, were: "A little while and ye shall not see me, and again a little while and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." The Rev. Christopher Hoffman, of Skippack, preached the funeral sermon, taking for his text the words of Paul, II Timothy 4: 7-8, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith," etc.
Andrew Schultz, son of Rev. Christopher, born Jan. 29, 1753, died Feb. 5, 1802, aged forty-nine years, six days. In 1776 he married Charlotte Yeakel, who died Feb. 11, 1825, and they had issue: Christopher, Susanna, Regina, Esther, Maria, Christina and Henry.
David Schultz, son of Rev. Christopher, born April 10, 1757, died Ang. 4, 1833, aged seventy-six years. He're- sided in Hereford township, Berks county, immediately adjoining the Schwenkfelder meeting-house. In 1781 he married Anna Kriebel, and the following are the names and years of birth of their children: Susanna, 1782; An- drew, 1784; William, 1786: Rosina, 1788; Christopher K., 1790; Philip, 1793 (died 1817) ; Maria, 1795; Jere- miah, 1797; Christina, 1799; Regina, 1801.
Abraham Schultz, son of George Schultz, the elder brother of Rev. Christopher Schultz, was born March 23, 1747, in Upper Hanover, Montgomery Co., Pa. He was a great lover of books, and, having a retentive memory and comprehensive mind, he became one of the best educated men of his time. He was a member of the Schwenkfelder religious society, and served it in the capacity of trustee, school inspector, teacher and cate- chist. The community frequently called his services into requisition as scrivener and counselor. In 1796 he was elected a member of the General Assembly from Mont- gomery county. He died on Dec. 25, 1822. In 1771 he married Regina Yeakel, daughter of Christopher Yeakel, and their children were: Benjamin, born July 20, 1772 (died March 20, 1802) ; Adam, Sept. 20, 1775; Isaac, March 4, 1778; Abraham, Feb. 18, 1781 (died March 23, 1802) : Frederick, Aug. 10, 1784 (died Dec. 17, 1794) ; Joseph, Jan. 22. 1787; and Melchior, June 23, 1789.
Rev. Melchior Schultz, the other son of George Schultz, born March 25, 1756, died June 11, 1826, aged seventy years, two months, sixteen days. In 1781 he married Salome Wagner, and they had children : Christina, Regina, Maria, Henry W., Sarah, Frederick and Susanna (twins) and Rosina. Rev. Melchior Schultz was a minister of the society of Schwenkfelders for a long time, and he was likewise a farmer, living in Worcester township, Mont- gomery county.
Enoch K. Schultz, son of Adam, was born March 31, 1816, on one of his father's farms in Hereford township, and died on the farm where he was born Ang. 31, 1885, aged sixty-nine years, five months. He was a farmer and also carried on sawmilling from his youth until his death, a period of over fifty years. His sawmill, now operated by his son, Daniel N. Schultz, was conducted before 1800 by one Doris Eck, whose child was drowned in the mill penstock. Adam Schultz purchased this property in 1801 or 1802, and a sawmill had been established there long before. The present mill is the third on the site, and was erected by Enoch Schultz in 1874. He also put up the present large brick dwelling, in 1877, and had previously built the barn, in 1854. This property was in the Schultz name from 1785, and was purchased by Abraham Schultz and Casper Yeakel from Charles Maberry in 1785. In 1800 Abraham Schultz bought Casper Yeakel's share of the farm. Enoch K. Schultz was a Republican in politics, and in religion a member of the Schwenkfelder Church, in which he held the office of deacon.
On Nov. 14, 1841, Mr. Schultz married Leah K. Neu- man, daughter of Samuel and Regina ( Krauss) Neuman, of Upper Hanover township, Montgomery county, the former of whom was a chairmaker by trade, and also made pipe organs. Mr. Neuman made an organ for each of his three daughters. Mrs. Neuman lived to be nearly one hundred years old. Mr. and Mrs. Enoch K. Schultz became the parents of ten children, namely: Sarah m. Abraham S. Krauss; Lydia mn. Enos S. Schultz; Levi m. Sallie Reiff ; Erwin N. is mentioned below; Regina m. Nathan M. Schultz; Susanna m. William S. Schultz; Daniel m. Susan G. Schultz; Esther died unmarried, of typhoid fever. aged twenty-one years, twenty-one days ; Mary m. Samuel R. Seibert, and died Sept. 6, 1902; Emma died unmarried of scarlet fever. Enoch K. Schultz died Aug. 31. 1885, and his wife passed away March 31, 1907, aged eighty-five years, six months, three days.
ERWIN N. SCHULTZ, of Chapel, Hereford township. Berks county, proprietor of the Chapel Planing Mill, was born July 26, 1847, on the Enoch K. Schultz homestead in Hereford township. and there attended the public schools. His boyhood days were spent in work upon the farm, and he continued to work for his parents until he was thirty years old, learning the carpenter's trade at home, and also gaining considerable experience in the sawmill business, in which his father was engaged. After leaving home he took up the carpenter's trade, which he followed over a district covered by a radius of eight miles, working as boss carpenter and employing as many as nine men. He was principally engaged in building houses and barns, his principal contract being for the Perkiomen Seminary, at Pennsburg, Montgomery county, a large institution which he put up in 1892, and on which a force of twelve men was employed from August until April. In 1882 he built an addition to the Palm roller- mill.
Adam Schultz, son of Abraham, was born Sept. 20, 1775, In the spring of 1878 Mr. Schultz came to his present home in Hereford township, which he bought from his father-in-law, Joshua Schultz, the following year. Here he has his home and business, having remodeled the house and barn, built several additions to the buildings and put up the present planing-mill, where he keeps three men constantly employed. He makes doors, sashes, window- frames, blinds, shutters, and other planing-mill products, which he sells in the surrounding towns and district, and he is a man whose personal integrity and high standards command the respect and good-will of all who know him. He is tall and well built, robust in constitution and commanding in presence, and is well known through- out the region. in Upper Hanover township, Montgomery Co., Pa., and died Aug. 30, 1831, of typhoid fever, on his farm near Treichlersville, in Hereford township. His two sons died but a short time afterward, of the same disease. He owned 160 acres there, where the sawmill is located, and engaged in both farming and sawmilling, likewise operat- ing a distillery, making apple-jack and rye whiskey. He also owned 214 acres in Washington township, now owned by Mary Ann Schultz. Like all his family, he was a Schwenkfelder in religious faith. On May 21, 1801, Mr. Schultz married Regina Kriebel, born June 25, 1780, daugh- ter of Andrew Kriebel, died May 3, 1858. They had children as follows: Abraham, born April 12, 1803 (died Dec. 5, 1814) ; Israel, June 4, 1805: Jesse, April 8, 1808 On Nov. 10, 1877, Mr. Schultz married Susanna S. Schultz, born March 10, 1842, daughter of Rev. Joshua Schultz, died Oct. 17, 1905, aged sixty-three years, seven months, seven days. Two children were born to this (died Nov. 7, 1831) ; Adam, Sept. 21, 1810 (died Nov. 12, 1831) ; Andrew, May 19, 1813; Enoch K., March 31, 1816: Sarah, Sept. 1, 1818 (was drowned May 11, 1820) ; Regina, Oct. 9, 1821; and Solomon, Nov. 9, 1824 (died union, Cora S. and Oscar S. Mr. Schultz's second mar-
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BIOGRAPHICAL
riage was to Mrs. Emma S. (Schultz) Yeakel, widow of
His grandfather was David Schneider, farmer of Oley, William K. Yeakel, whom he wedded May 4, 1907. The along the Monocacy creek, about a mile above the "Oley family home is a comfortable residence on the Green Lane & Goshenhoppen turnpike. Mr. Schultz and his family are members of the Schwenkfelder Church, in which he is now serving his second term as deacon. He is a Republi- can in political opinion.
JEFFERSON SNYDER, attorney at law at Reading since 1875, was born in Exeter township, Berks county, at what is now known as the village of St. Lawrence, Nov. 6, 1848. After receiving his preliminary education in the local schools and attending the Freeland Seminary (now Ursinus College), he took a regular course at Lafayette College, and graduated with distinction in 1872, having received the highest honors of his class and delivered the valedictory in the graduating exercises. He then served as a tutor in the college for one year. With this pre- paration, he entered the law offices of George F. Baer, Esq., as a clerk and student, and, after a course of read- ing for two years, was admitted to the Bar Aug. 9, 1875. He then opened an office and carried on an introductory practice for two years, when he was selected by Mr. Baer to become his assistant. Mr. Snyder's ability and character came to be so highly appreciated by Mr. Baer in the course of a few years that he formed a law part- nership with him, and Mr. Baer continued a partner in the business until 1901, when he became the president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company, and on that account was obliged to discontinue the practice of law at Reading.
The law business was very large and diversified, and as Mr. Baer became more and more engaged in enterprises of various kinds, of a public as well as of a private character, the responsibilities of its management were gradually thrown upon Mr. Snyder, and he proved him- self thoroughly competent to take care of it. Philip S. Zieber, Esq., was admitted into the firm in 1898 (he hav-' ing been a student and admitted to practice as a lawyer from the same office in 1884, and having become familiar with the business by assisting in the office work until that time), and the name was then changed to Baer, Sny- der & Zieber, being thus continued until Mr. Baer with- drew, when it became Snyder & Zieber; and as such they have carried on a very active and lucrative practice until the present time. The intricate and extensive legal af- fairs of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company, and of the Reading Iron Company, in Berks county, have been looked after and directed in this office since 1870, which evidences the superior character and professional accomplishments of these attorneys; and the law reports of the State during this long period of nearly forty years show the great volume of litigation conducted by them be- fore the several courts. Mr. Snyder's son, Thomas Iaeger Snyder, Esq., has been a member of the firm since 1902, having studied law in this office and then been admitted to practice before the several courts of the county.
In 1877 Mr. Snyder married Anna Lizzie Iaeger, daugh- ter of Rev. Thomas T. Iaeger, of Reading, and Mary A. (Palsgrove), his wife, of Mercersburg, Pa., and they have three children : Mary, mi to Dr. John M. Brister, sur- geon in the United States navy; Thomas Iaeger, attorney at Reading; and John Kendig, who is studying music at the New England Musical Institute, at Boston.
Mr. Snyder's father was Benjamin Leinbach Schneider, farmer, merchant and manufacturer of woolen goods in Exeter township, along the Antietam creek, near "Black Bear." He died in 1860, aged thirty-five years. He mar- ried Rachel Schmehl, daughter of Jacob Schmehl and Bar- bara (Breidegam), his wife, of Ruscombmanor township. She died in 1901, aged seventy-seven years. They had seven children : Adaline, m. to Harrison Seidel; Jeffer- son; Emma Louisa, m. to Harry Creen, of Philadelphia; Amelia Amanda, who died in 1867, in her girlhood; Agnes, m. to Jacob Happel; Mary Olivia, m. to Isaac Deturck; and Stockton, m. to Ida Brumbach, both of whom were killed in the "Honda Wreck" on the Southern Pacific railroad in California May 11, 1907.
Line" hotel. He died in 1866, aged sixty-nine years. He married Mary Magdalena Leinbach, daughter of Thomas .Leinbach, farmer, of Oley, and they had seven children : Simon, Benjamin, Joel, Jackson, Rachel (m. to William Brumbach), Mary Ann (m. to Harrison Yoder), and Emma (m. to Daniel Happel).
Mr. Snyder's wife's father, Rev. Thomas T. Iaeger, was an active and influential Lutheran minister in Berks county for many years. His father was Rev. Gottfried Frederick Immanuel Iaeger, for sixty years an honored minister of the Lutheran Church in Berks county, born at Illigen, in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1796, emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1817; located at Hamburg, Berks county, in 1818, where he then began to preach as a minister of the Lutheran Church; and died at Hamburg in 1879. In 1820 he married Mary Audenried, daughter of Lewis Audenried, of McKeansburg, in Schuylkill county, Pa., and they had eleven children, including Rev. Thomas T. His wife died in 1888, aged ninety-one years.
THOMAS MYERS RICHARDS, for fifty years con- nected with the Reading Railway Company, and from 1905 until his death, Sept. 5, 1908, vice-president of the Philadel- phia & Reading Coal and Iron Company, was born at Pottsville, Pa., Oct. 27, 1835.
Mr. Richards attended the public schools of Pottsville until 1842, when his parents removed to Reading, and he there attended the local schools until he was thirteen years old. He then worked in different stores for ten years, and he entered the employ of the Philadelphia & Read- ing Railway Company, Oct. 3, 1858, as a clerk in the of- fice of the master machinist, and he was afterward con- nected with this great railroad, with the exception of the time of his service in the army. In 1867, he was transferred to Port Richmond to take charge of the ship- ment of coal, and he continued there until 1875, when he was promoted to the head of the coal sales department of the P. & R. Coal and Iron Co., with quarters in the . general office building, No. 227 South Fourth street, Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania. His services were so highly ap- preciated that March 15, 1905, he was elected second vice- president of the company, and April 2, 1906, first vice- president. His employment with the company covers an extraordinary period of time, and his promotion to the head of the coal department, which is the largest in the country, in point of traffic, attests in the highest degree, not only his superior ability in the discharge of his re- sponsible duties, but his great fidelity to the enormous financial interests of the company.
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