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 79

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846; J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1018

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 79

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On account of his prominent connection with the Phil- adelphia & Reading Railway Company, Mr. Baer quite naturally became an important factor in the management of the Reading Iron Company, the largest industrial enterprise at Reading next to the shops of the railway company, and after having advised this great corporation (whose costly establishments are situated in different parts of Pennsylvania, and give employment to thousands of men) during the same period of time while acting as solicitor of the railway company, he became its president and directed its extensive business affairs in a most suc- cessful manner for twelve years. . On account of his labors in connection with the Philadelphia & Reading and other railroads, he retired as president, but he has been officiating since as the chairman of its board of directors. His management resulted in making the cor- poration one of the largest producers of wrought-iron pipe of all sizes, bar-iron, sheet-iron, etc., in Pennsyl- vania, with large trading relations extending all over the world. He has also been prominently identified with the management of the Temple Iron Company, the Penn- sylvania Steel Company, and the Cambria Steel Com- pany, for a number of years as a director, acting as president of the first named since Jan. 1, 1901.

In 1886, Mr. Baer organized and established the Read- ing Paper Mills, and since then has operated them in a most successful manner. The corporation comprises three plants (one at the foot of Ringaman street, one at the foot of Court street, Reading, and the third opposite Reading at the mouth of the Tulpehocken creek), all . equipped with the best machinery for the production of the finest book and manilla papers, which are in con- stant demand. They employ three hundred hands and constitute one of Reading's important industries.

Mr. Baer co-operated with other public-spirited men of Reading in establishing the Penn National Bank in 1883; the Reading Hospital in 1884; the Reading Trust Company in 1886; the Penn Common in 1887; the Wy- omissing Club in 1890; the Reading Free Library in 1898; the Berkshire Club in 1899; and he has continued to take an active part in the management of all of them excepting the Penn Bank. His services were par- ticularly important. in securing Penn Common as the property of Reading from the possession of the County of Berks, and he has officiated as president of the Board of Park Commissioners since its creation by the City Council. Since 1895, he has served as one of the board of trustees of the Charles Evans Cemetery.

In 1900, Mr. Baer erected the first large modern fire- proof office-building in Reading, situated at the corner of Court and Church streets, seven stories high, and em- bracing eighty rooms, adjoining the rear of his office

During this long period of time, the services of Mr. Baer as a public speaker were in constant demand. Many of his more important addresses have been published in pamphlet form. They display the great scope of his learn- ing, the forcible and precise character of his rhetoric, and the boldness of his convictions. His diction is clear ; his manner of speaking straightforward, always extem- poraneous, void of dramatic flourish, and it commands the close attention of his audience from start to finish; and his logic leads to an inevitable conclusion which wins admiration if not approval. His numerous paper-books in carrying on litigation before the higher courts, both State and national, show great care, thorough prepara- tion, and complete knowledge of the respective cases; and they evidence in a high degree his superior literary culture as well as his comprehensive legal attainments. Among the numerous addresses and lectures delivered by him, the following may be mentioned :

LAND TENURE-Before the Law Department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, Oct. 25, 1887.

RELATION OF TARIFF TO WAGES-Before Single Tax So- ciety of Reading, Jan. 19, 1891.

ADDRESS OF WELCOME-Formation of Pennsylvania Ger- man Society at Lancaster (of which he was elected the first president), April 15, 1891.

INFLUENCE OF REFORMED CHURCH ON CIVIL GOVERNMENT -At dedication of new Theological Seminary of Frank- lin and Marshall College at Lancaster, May 10, 1894.

GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA-Before Teachers' Insti- tute of Berks county at Reading on Sept. 26, 1895.

BECHSTEIN GERMANIC LIBRARY-At opening of it for University of Pennsylvania, March 21, 1896 (being first of four addresses on that occasion).

APPEAL TO DEMOCRATS-Issued in summer of 1896, which resulted in organization of the "Gold Democrats" and aided materially in the defeat of the "Silver Democrats" who controlled the National Convention and nominated Bryan for President of the United States.

ORATION-Unveiling of Soldiers' and Sailors' Monu- ment at Allentown Oct. 19, 1899.

WORK IS WORSHIP' Before the Y. M. C. A., of Read- ing, on Jan. 1, 1900, and amplified and delivered before Franklin and Marshall College, on Jan. 16, 1902 (Mr. Baer having been then, and is still, president of the Board of Trustees).

ADDRESS-Laying of corner-stone for new Science build- ing of Franklin and Marshall College, June 13, 1900.

PENNSYLVANIA THEORIES OF GOVERNMENT-Before Penn- sylvania Society of New York Dec. 12, 1902.

ARGUMENT before the Anthracite Coal Strike Commis- sion-made at Philadelphia April 8, 1904.

MINING OF COAL-Last lecture of a popular course of eighteen lectures delivered at different places in Schuyl- kill county, at Pottsville, April 8. 1905.

DEDICATION OF BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL-Reading, Thanks- giving Day, 1906.

RAILROAD LEGISLATION-Open letter to Pennsylvania Legislature, issued Feb. 7, 1907.

Mr. Baer has been prominently identified with Franklin and Marshall College since 1872, as a member of the board of trustees, officiating as president of the board since 1894. During this time he has labored efficiently for the advancement of the institution and contributed liberally toward its financial support. In 1886, the Col- lege conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws, and the Alumni Association, at its annual meeting in 1895, elected him as its vice-president.

Mr. Baer was brought up as a firm believer in the ster- ling principles of the Democratic party, and he has shown himself to be their fearless advocate. Upon locating at Reading, he interested himself in local politics, and gave narty welfare much of his time; but he was never am- bitious to fill any public office because he was too busily engaged with his large legal practice and business enter- prises. He has at all times been a generous contributor

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

toward the campaign expenses, and he has exerted a powerful influence in national politics, as well as in the county and State.

Immediately after coming to Reading Mr. Baer and his wife identified themselves with the Second Reform- ed Church, and they and their children have been de- voted members. When the church was rebuilt they were generous contributors. On all special occasions, the au- ditorium is profusely decorated with costly flowers from their conservatory, which elicit much praise and admira- tion.

In 1866, Mr. Baer was married to Emily Kimmel, daugh- ter of John O. Kimmel, attorney at Somerset, and Mary Parker, his wife. To this union have come five children : Marion married William N. Appel, an attorney at Lan- caster; Helen married William Griscom Coxe, of Wil- mington, Del .; Mary married Isaac Hiester, an attorney at Reading; Emily married Frank L. Connard, at Reading (he dying Jan. 21, 1908) ; Nellie married Heber L. Smith, of Philadelphia.

Mrs. Baer has taken a very active part in local chari- ties, more especially in the successful management of the Widows' Home, from its foundation in 1876. She has also taken much interest in the Woman's Club, the Book Club, and the Needle-Work Guild, serving each society as president. In social affairs she has been the acknowl- Isaac Eckert, son of Peter, was born in January, 1800, in Womelsdorf, and there received his early education in the public schools, later attending the grammar schools of the University of Pennsylvania. Before reaching his majority he became associated in business with his older brother, William, the sons succeeding their father in the grocery business, which they continued at Womelsdorf until 1828, in which year they moved their establishment to Reading. There they continued it until the year 1836, when Isaac Eckert withdrew from the firm to enter the iron manufacturing business in partnership with his young- er brother, Dr. George N. Eckert. In 1842-44 they erected the Henry Clay Furnace, at that time one of the largest anthracite furnaces in the country, and in the year 1855 a second stack was completed. After Dr. Eckert died, on June 28, 1865, Isaac Eckert became sole proprietor of edged leader for many years. Her receptions in their costly and beautiful home "Hawthorne," on Mineral Spring road, have been superb; and it was there, during the popular demonstrations in the historical celebration of the "Sesqui-Centennial of Reading," June, 1898, that she and her husband "displayed a remarkable spirit of lib- erality in welcoming and entertaining distinguished visi- tors, and affording them unusual opportunities of seeing and knowing the social, industrial and municipal affairs of Reading, and of realizing its growth, wealth and im- portance as a promising centre of population." When Mr. Baer became president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company in 1901, he secured a home in Phila- delphia, and he and his family have occupied it since, during the winter and spring of each year. Their home is embellished with a rare collection of books and paint- these works until his retirement, in 1873, when he passed ings.

Mr. Baer's father was Major Solomon Baer. He was born in 1794, in Northampton (now Lehigh) county, near Unionville, and when six years old he accompanied his parents in their removal to a farm in Maryland, near Cumberland. They remained there sixteen years, then settled on a farm in Somerset county, Pa., about twenty- five miles farther west. He died in 1882, aged eighty- eight years, having lived at Somerset from 1848.

His grandfather was John Jacob Baer, of Northamp- ton county, where he was born on the homestead in 1761. He was brought up on a farm, and followed farming there until 1800, when he removed with his family to Maryland, and there carried on farming until his decease in 1823.

His great-grandfather was Christophel Baer, who emi- grated from Zweibruecken in 1743. Upon his arrival in Philadelphia, September 30th, he immediately proceeded to Northampton county, where he had purchased several tracts of land. The original patent issued to him de- scribes one of the tracts as "Bruin's Choice," a free trans- lation of the name of his ancestral home.

ISAAC ECKERT, until lately president of the Farmers National Bank of Reading, is one of the leading citizens of that place, a man of distinctive prominence in its com- mercial life, in which he maintains a name which has long been a synonym for worth and integrity, as well as marked business ability, in this part of Pennsylvania. The Eckert family is one of the oldest in Berks county, having been located here for almost two centuries. As the name implies, the Eckerts are of German origin.

Valentine Eckert, born in Langensalza, Hanover, Ger- many, in 1733, came to America with his parents in 1740, the family settling in the Tulpehocken Valley, in the west- ern part of Berks county. He became quite a prominent

man in his day, becoming a citizen of this country after twenty-one years' residence here. He took a leading part in the Revolution and the events leading up to and follow- ing that struggle. In June, 1776, he was one of ten who represented Berks county in the Provincial Conference, and the next month was one of a delegation of eight members from Berks county to the Provincial convention convoked for the purpose of framing a new form of government, founded on the authority of the people, to succeed the old proprietary form. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly in both 1776 and 1777. During the war he commanded a cavalry company, was wounded at the battle of Germantown, became sub-lieutenant of the county in 1777, and served as such until he became lieutenant of the county, in the year 1781. In 1784 he was appointed a judge of the court of Common Pleas, holding that office for seven years, until by the Constitution of 1790 a president judge took the places of the various judges. In 1816, though then very advanced in age, he removed to the State of Virginia, where he died, at Win- chester, in December, 1821, in his eighty-eighth year.

Peter Eckert, son of Valentine, passed all his life in Berks county, and engaged in farming and merchandising near Womeisdorf, the family home.

them over to his sons, Henry S. and George B. This was not his only connection in the iron manufacturing line. for in 1852 he became president of the Leesport Iron Company, of which he remained the executive head until his death, thus controlling and managing extensive iron interests, in which he was one of the largest stockholders. Naturally his influence extended to other business enter- prises, and he became especially well known as president of the Farmers Bank, an institution founded in 1814, of which he was chosen president in 1838. He served as such for the unusually long period of thirty-five years, and upon his death, which occurred Dec. 13, 1873, was suc- ceeded therein by his son Henry S. Eckert.

Mr. Eckert was just as active in matters affecting the general welfare as he was in commercial circles. He served many years as president of the Berks County Agricultural and Horticultural Society, of which he was one of the founders, and was interested deeply in other enterprises calculated to advance the best industries of this section. Originally a Whig in politics, he became a Republican upon the organization of the party, and in 1860 was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, held at Chicago, which placed Abraham Lincoln at the head of the ticket: in 1864 he was a Presidential elector from the State of Pennsylvania. Throughout the war he did his utmost to aid the Union cause, both by liberal contributions and by his influence in directing public senti- ment in his city.

Isaac Eckert married Judith Hahn, daughter of Dr. Hahn, of Montgomery county, and he was survived by his widow and three children, Henry S., George B. and Rebecca, the last named the wife of P. R. Stetson, of New York City. As a memorial, after Mr. Eckert's death this family presented a full chime of ten bells to Christ Episcopal Church of Reading, of which Mr. Eckert had been a member.

347

BIOGRAPHICAL

Henry S. Eckert, son of Isaac, was born in Reading, ued moral and mental

strength. Mr. Eckert was where he received his preparatory education in the public also president of the Deppen schools. He then became a student at Franklin and an important

Marshall College, from which he graduated, after which he entered business life. Becoming associated with his father in the iron business, he soon qualified so thor- oughly for its demands that he was able to take the management of the works himself, and on July 1, 1873, the year of their father's death, but shortly before that event, he and his brother George B. formed a partnership to engage in the iron business, under the firm name of Eckert & Brother. Before long the Henry Clay Furnace became their property, but with all their new responsibili- ties they passed successfully through the financial panic of 1873. They not only carried on the manufacturing business, but also owned the iron mines which supplied their works with the necessary ore, employing altogether, in the mines and works, over two hundred and fifty men.

Besides his important connection with the firm of Eckert & Brother Mr. Eckert's iron interests led him into other associations of even greater prominence, and he served as president of the Eastern Pig Iron Association, as president of the Topton Furnace Company of Topton, and president of the Pennsylvania Bolt & Nut Works of Lebanon. As to local enterprises, it has already been stated that he succeeded his father in the presidency of the Farmers Bank in 1873, and he continued to hold that position until his own death, in 1893, when his son Isaac succeeded to the incumbency. He was also a trustee of the Union Trust Company and of the Penn 'Mutual Life Insurance Company, the latter a Philadelphia institution. He was one of the promoters of the Penn Street Passenger Railway, which was put into operation in 1874, and which played so important a part in the improvement of East Reading. He was one of the projectors of the Berks County railroad, from Reading to Slatington, becoming a member of the board of directors upon the organization of the company, and he also served as a director of the Wilmington & Northern Railroad Company. He was a director of the Reading Hospital and of the Charles Evans cemetery. For over twenty years he gave his services as president of the school board of control, and in recognition of his valuable work the Eckert school, erected in 1873, was named in his honor.

As a large manufacturer Mr. Eckert was naturally in- clined to a belief in the principles of protection, and ac- cordingly upheld the tenets of the Republican party, in whose workings he took an active and efficient part. In 1866 he was the Republican nominee for Congressman from his district, running against J. Lawrence Getz, but although supported handsomely by his home city, which gave him a majority, he could not overcome the normal Democratic vote in the district.

In 1857 Mr. Eckert married Carrie Hunter, daughter of Nicholas Hunter, an ironmaster of Reading, and four children were born to them, viz .: Isaac, Helen (Mrs. Herman Meigs), Hunter and Kate M. (Mrs. Reeves). The mother passed away March 28, 1880. Mr. Eckert served as vestryman for a number of years before his death, and he was a zealous worker in all its enterprises.

business concern of the city, but this, too. he resigned on account of failing health; he occupies a high position among the most substantial citizens of the present day. However, he is not active in either politics or outside matters to the extent his father and grandfather were, though he is a man of high public spirit and ready to lend his influence or financial aid to worthy projects which have the advancement of the city or the general welfare as their object. He is a Republican in political sentiment, and interested in local government, particularly municipal affairs.

In 1879 Mr. Eckert, married Eliza Kaufman, daughter of William M. Kaufman, and they have had two children, William K. and Carrie.

WILLIAM K. ECKERT, of Reading, is interested in numerous enterprises in the city. He is a native of Read- ing, born in 1879, son of Isaac and Eliza (Kaufman) Eckert. In his youth he attended the local grammar and high schools, graduating from the latter in 1898, when he went to Cornell University. There he spent two years, at the end of which time he returned to Reading and read law with Isaac Hiester. On Dec. 12, 1901, he took the position of secretary-treasurer and general manager of the Deppen Brewing Company, which position he resigned in 1908, to enter the banking business, which is his present occupation. He is a director of the Farmers National Bank and of the Colonial Trust Company, two of the strongest financial institutions of the city, and in 1906 was chosen second vice-president of the former institution, with which his family have been so long associated. He is one of the most successful young business men of his native city, where he has a host of friends.

Mr. Eckert married, Dec. 12, 1905, in Reading, Miss Mary L. Barbey, whose family is mentioned else- where, the Barbeys being among the old and prominent families of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Eckert reside at No. 812 North Fifth street, Reading, and are well known and much esteemed in that locality. They are members of the Episcopal Church.

WILLIAM A. GOOD, first County Superintendent of Public Schools of Berks county, from 1854 to 1860, was born in Philadelphia in 1810. He was educated in the Reading Academy, studied theology in the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church at York, Pa., and was regularly ordained and licensed to preach in 1833. Soon afterward he accepted a call from the Reformed Church at Hagerstown, Md., where he officiated as pastor for sev- eral years. From that congregation he went to Mercers- burg, Pa., to serve as rector of the Preparatory Depart- ment of Marshall College. After remaining there six years, he returned to Hagerstown and served as principal of the Hagerstown Academy for five years. He was then called to the pastorate of the Reformed Church at York, Pa., in which field he labored earnestly for six years.

He next removed to Reading and assumed charge of a select school for young ladies. At the expiration of the

was a member of Christ Episcopal Church, in which he fifth year he became principal of the Reading Institute

Isaac Eckert, at present one of the most notable figures in the business life of the city of Reading, was born there office. Most of the people of the county were members May 27, 1859. He received his education in the public schools of the city and at Lafayette College, from which institution he was graduated in 1879, after which he im- mediately turned his energies to the line of business which his ancestors have followed for generations. The business was sold to the Empire Iron & Steel Company. Mr. Eckert served from 1893 until 1908, when he resigned owing to ill health, as president of the Farmers Bank, now the Farmers National Bank, which was presided over by a member of this family for almost seventy years, Isaac Eckert being of the third generation of the family to occupy that office. The circumstance is remark- able, not only for the unusual length of time the posi- tion was held in the family but as indicative of contin-

and Normal School, and remained there three years. In the meantime he was elected superintendent of the com- mon schools of Berks county, being the first to fill that of the Reformed and Lutheran Churches, and averse to the new order of things. It was feared that in the rural districts the superintendent would encounter much oppo- sition, but he understood the peculiarities of the people, and instead of raising a storm of opposition won their confidence and support, and he was re-elected for a second term. While thus engaged in the school affairs of the county, he also officiated as pastor of the Bernville, North Heidelberg and Princeton congregations, serving these churches altogether for eight years. He was one of the most zealous Sunday school workers in Berks county, and while superintendent of the common schools, en- deavored, in his private intercourse with the people, to interest them in the cause of Sunday schools, in this man-

Brewing Company,

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

ner coming to be instrumental in founding many of the his term, the Legislature had established a District Court Sunday schools of the county. He was one of the found- ers of St. John's Reformed Mission Sunday school, and this he conducted with the aid of his wife for nearly six years, and it eventually became a self-supporting and flourishing congregation.

The Rev. Mr. Good married in 1840, Susan B. Eckert, daughter of Peter and Susan Eckert, of Womelsdorf, Berks county. He died in 1873. He had two sons, Wil- liam Eckert and James Isaac.

WARREN J. WOODWARD, second President Judge of Berks county, from 1861 to 1874, under the amended Constitution of Pennsylvania, was born Sept. 24, 1819, at Bethany, Wayne Co., Pa. His father, John K. Woodward, was a civil engineer and journalist, and at the time of his decease, in 1825, was prothonotary of Wayne county. His grandfather was an associate judge of that county for fifteen years, and sheriff in 1807.

After acquiring an academic education at Wilkes Barre, Warren J. Woodward taught school for several terms in his native county. At the age of seventeen years he directed his attention to newspaper publications, and con- tinned his connection with them till 1840. He then re- turned to Wilkes Barre, and selecting the law as his profession, entered the office of his uncle, George W. Woodward, a practising attorney at the Luzerne county Bar, for the purpose of pursuing the necessary course of study. Whilst in this office his uncle was elected to the Bench as president judge of the 4th Judicial District of Pennsylvania. His preparation was completed under the preceptorship of Hon. Edmund L. Dana, and he was ad- mitted to the Bar Aug. 1, 1842. He continued in active and successful practice for fourteen years. In April, 1856, the Legislature erected a new judicial district out of Co- lumbia, Sullivan and Wyoming counties-the 26th in the State-and the Governor appointed him to the position of president judge; and in October following he was elected for the term of ten years. His reputation spread rapidly into adjoining districts. Half of his term had not ex- pired, yet some of the old districts offered him the nomina- tion for the president judgeship on the Democratic ticket. This was a flattering recognition of his judicial character and ability ; but he declined the honor. In 1861, the term of the president judge in Berks county was about to ex- pire, and the major part of the attorneys gave him a pressing invitation to become his successor. The Demo- cratic convention held at Reading, Ang. 31, 1861, gave him the nomination by acclamation, and this he accepted. In his letter of acceptance, besides expressing his gratitude for the high honor conferred upon him, and his opinion about the impropriety of law judges participating in political struggles, he informed the committee that in the matter of the Civil War then raging he was most positive- ly for the preservation of the Union of all the States, and for the enforcement of the Constitution. His sentiments were highly approved, and in October following he was elected by a large majority over a local candidate for the same position.

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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 79

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846; J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1018

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846; J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1018