History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 127

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418

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LETTER-BOXES .- Letter-boxes were put up at five places in Reading in Angust, 1864, for the purpose of enabling the citizens to drop letters to be collected by carriers. These were placed at the following stores, inside :

Yeich's store, Penn above Front; Ringler's store, Fourth and Spruce; Shalter's store, Seventh and Bingaman ; Zieber's store, Ninth and Penn ; Heffel- finger's, Eighth above Walnut.

The first collection was made on August 22d. Two collections were made daily, nine A.M. and three P.M. All letters had to be stamped with a three-cent stamp. And there were then two letter-carriers-one for delivery north of Penu and the other south. This postal accommoda- tion was introduced by the postmaster, Jacob Knabb.

MONEY ORDER SYSTEM .- The money order system was introduced about the same time, in pursuance of an act of Congress passed May 17, 1864. In this division of service at Reading, the following orders, etc., were issued and paid in 1885:

1 See Chap. XVIII., Internal Improvements, p. 47I.

1844

..:

...

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4809 domestic orders issued. $66,647.66

3262 postal notes issued. 6,404.87

22 Canadian orders issued 232.57

225 British orders issued. 2,582.21

313 German orders issued 4,058.92

8 Swiss orders issued. 120.38

61 Italian orders issued.

2,050.90

12 French orders issued

145.87

Amount of drafts on postmaster of New York. 19,200.00

6751 domestic orders paid. .$86,216.23

5081 postal notes paid. 10,362.17

73 Canadian orders paid. 931.44

19 British orders paid. 316.58

73 German orders paid. 2,174.03

8 Swiss orders paid. 186.73

2 Italian orders paid. 28.62

1 Queensland order paid. 3.16

1 Hawaiian Islands order paid ... ... 2.00

Postal-cards were introduced in 1873; two- cent postage began October 1, 1883, and special delivery October 1, 1885. In the postal service at Reading there are 17 carriers to deliver and collect letters, etc., and 115 boxes distributed throughout the city at different points, and in the post-office 10 clerks and 1 special delivery messenger are employed. The call boxes number 322, lock boxes 37, and lock drawers 6.

BUSINESS FOR 1885 .- The business of the office for 1885 was :

Receipts for stamps. $41,936.81

Number of letter carriers 13

Number of auxiliary carriers ap- pointed November 23 .. 2

Number of delivery trips daily ... 5

Number of collection trips daily, 5

Number of Sunday collection .... 1

Number of registered letters de- livered. 4078

Number of mail letters delivered 1,126,391

Number of mail postal-cards de- livered ..

256,569

Number of local letters delivered

130,739

Number of local postal cards de- livered :96,124

Number of newspapers and cir- culars delivered 735,083

Total number of pieces delivered by letter-carriers.

2,348,984

Number of letters collected by letter-carriers.

638,006

Number of postal-cards col- lected. 67

244,991

Number of newspapers and cir- culars collected 80,495

Total number of pieces collected 963,492

Total number of pieces delivered and collected by the letter-car- riers, 1885. 3,312,476

Total number of pieces delivered and collected by the letter-car- riers for 1884. 3,098,631

Increase over 1884. 213,845

Number of through register pouches sent to Philadelphia 319 Number of through register pouches from Philadelphia. 312

Number of registered letters received .. .. Number of registered letters made up ...... 4,101 Number of registered letters in transit .. ... Total of registered letters handled

15,733

Number of registered letters in transit handled by transfer clerk. 20,567

Total number of registered letters handled 1885 36,300

Total number of registered letters handled in 1884. 26,042

Increase of registers handled over 1884. 10,258

POSTMASTERS .- The following postmasters, by appointment from the President, officiated at the Reading post-office from the time of its establishment till now :

Postmasters. Date of appointment.

Gottlieb Jungman March 20, 1793

John Walter October 1, 1801

Samuel Ritter. August 11, 1829

Charles Troxell May 10, 1841

John K. Wright. June 19, 1845

Henry Rhoads April 17, 1849

Lewis H. Wunder .May 13, 1852

Philip K. Miller November 6, 1857

Jacob Knabb May 17, 1861

William Briner July 12, 1865

John Fritz. April 9, 1869

Matilda Fritz. March 13, 1871

George W. Grant February 26, 1875

George K. Whitner 1 May 31, 1882

GOTTLIEB JUNGMAN, first postmaster, serv- ing from 1793 to 1801, was a prominent pub- lisher of several newspapers at Reading. The last newspaper which he published here was the Weekly Herald, having issued it from 1811 to 1816, when he discontinued it and moved West.

Calvin Goodman was recently appointed to succeed Mr. Whitner at the expiration of his term of four years.

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

JOHN WALTER, the second postmaster, who officiated for twenty-eight years, from 1801 to 1829, was born at Reading, and carried on for a number of years the trade of book-binding. He received the appointment of postmaster from President Jefferson in 1801, and he continued to hold this position by re-appointment of the succeeding Presidents till the time of President Jackson, when he was suspended on account of his active efforts for the election of John Quincy Adams as President. He lived on North Fifth street, near Walnut (now No. 140), and there kept the post-office. He died in 1836, aged sixty-nine years. He was married to Magdalena Lehman, from Germantown,

SAMUEL RITTER, the third postmaster who served for twelve years, was born in Exeter township on April 3, 1792, and educated in the schools of the township. He removed to Read- ing about the time he attained his majority, and for some years engaged in the grocery business at the Southwest corner of Seventh and Penn Streets. He served as deputy sheriff from 1821 to 1823, under Henry Betz, Esq., and then till 1829 as clerk in the Adler printing establish- ment. He held the office of postmaster of Read- ing during the administrations of Jackson and Van Buren, having in this time won the confi- dence and esteem of the community by his strict integrity and uniform courtesy in the discharge of his official duties. The post-office was in the Messersmith Building (now Lerch hardware- store). Afterward he was a clerk in the dis- patcher's office of the Philadelphia and Read- ing Railroad Company at Reading. He died of paralysis whilst occupying that position, on September 8, 1860, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. He was married to Catharine Kast, and left nine children-Joseph, Anna (married to Charles H. Fritz), Jacob, Henry, Hiram, Catharine (married to William Kerper), Amelia (married to Michael Locher), Ellen (married to Simon Seyfert), and Louisa (married to B. H. Brown).

GEORGE K. WHITNER is the great-grandson of George Whitner, who emigrated from Wür- temberg, Germany, and settled in Berks County as a minister of the Reformed Church. Among his children was a son, Abraham, who resided

in Columbia County, Pa., where he pursued the business of farming. He was twice married ; his only son by the first marriage was George, boru in Columbia County, who, at the age of eighteen, came to Berks County and learned the trade of a weaver in Albany township. Later, Reading became his place of residence; but in 1826 he made Amity township his home, con- tinuing to work at his trade in both localities. He, in 1827, married Christina, daughter of David Kline, of Amity township, whose sur- viving children are David, Rebecca, Abraham, Hiram, George K., Samuel, Sarah and Calvin. The year of his marriage, Mr. Whitner engaged in the hotel business in Amity township, and became the landlord of the popular hostelry known as " The Yellow House."

George K. Whitner was born on the 28th of December, 1837, in Amity township, and at the youthful age of four years removed to his father's farm in Oley township, where he re- mained until 1869, when he located in Reading. He received his earliest instruction at the com- mon schools of the township, and at the age of seventeen continued his studies at the Mount Pleasant Academy, Boyertown, Pa., finally be- coming a pupil of the Reading Institute and Normal School, conducted by Rev. William A. Good, after which, for five winters, he engaged in teaching. In 1863 he was appointed assistant assessor of internal revenue for the district em- braced in Oley, Pike and Rockland townships, Berks County, which position he held for a period of five years. In 1876 he was nominated for prothonotary of the county, which honor he declined, as he was the incumbent of the above office. Removing to Reading, he subsequently became associated with Eli S. Fox in the Read- ing Terra-Cotta Works, in which he is still interested. Mr. Whitner was, on the 26th of February, 1864, married to Ellen R., daughter of Eli S. Fox, of Reading. He is a Republican in politics, and has for years taken a decided stand in defense of the principles of his party. He has, however, held no office other than that of postmaster of the city of Reading, to which he was appointed May 31, 1882, and served a full term of four years. The admirable system introduced by Mr. Whitner into the manage-

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ment of the office has won for him the most cordial commendation from his superior officials. He is a director of the Keystone National Bank of Reading, and a member of the Reformed Church.

CEMETERIES .- The people of Reading were accustomed to burying their dead iu " burying- grounds " included in the several church prop- erties during the first two periods of the place as a town and borough. The grounds conspic-

Friends', W. side of Sixth, between Washington and Walnut Streets.

Episcopalian, S. E. corner of Sixth and Walnut Streets.

Episcopalian, W. side of Fifth, above Court Street. Catholic, E. side of Seventh, between Franklin and Chestnut Streets.

Burials were made in the first, third and fourth " grounds" from the beginning of Read- ing during a period of one hundred years. The several religious denominations buried their

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uous for this purpose were rather numerous, there having been no less than seven : 1

Trinity Lutheran, N. W. corner of Sixth and Washington Streets.

Trinity Lutheran, N. W. corner of Sixth and Wal- nut Streets.

German Reformed, N. E. corner of Sixth and Washington Streets.

1 The Jews claim to have had an early burying-ground on Schuylkill Avenue, near the railroad ; but I could not find any deed, record or data on the subject.

dead in their own grounds; and this distinctive feature was continued until the establishment of a general cemetery for the inhabitants. The number interred in them was large. In 1860 the Lutheran congregation removed the dead from the ground at Sixth and Walnut Streets ; and in 1870, the Reformed from Sixth and Washington Streets.

CHARLES EVANS' CEMETERY. - Charles Evans, a distinguished and wealthy member of

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

the Berks County bar, " not having any child of the many born to him left to inherit his fortune, exercised his mind with devising some such dispo- sition of a portion of his property as would re- dound to the benefit of the people of Reading. He finally determined that the establishment of a cemetery would be the practical form of benev- olence most beneficial to them and most agree- able to himself. Not postponing the execution of his project until after his death, as men too frequently do, he proceeded to select the site for a cemetery, purchase the land and appoint the trustees of his choice. The necessary legisla- tion having been obtained to incorporate those trustees, the company was organized on March 28, 1846, whereupon Mr. Evans made the con- veyance to it of twenty-five acres of land. His interest in the institution was not exhausted by this liberal gift ; for, besides a further gift of two thousand dollars iu money, in his will he bequeathed to it ten thousand dollars and six- eighths of the residue of his estate, which, upon final settlement, amounted to nearly sixty-seven thousand dollars, making, with the land, an aggregate endowment of over eighty-four thou- sand dollars-a benefaction to a single object of public utility so great as to have beeu exceeded but in a few instances, it is believed, in ·Penu- sylvania."

The trustees appointed by Mr. Evans were John Banks, John S. Hiester, Dr. Isaac Hies- ter, James L. Dunn, Samuel Bell, Dr. Hiester H. Muhlenberg, William Strong, Matthias S. Richards, William Darling, Dr. Diller Luther, William Eckert, Benneville Keim and Peter Filbert. They were incorporated by an act of Assembly, passed 24th of February, 1846, under the name of the " Charles Evans Ceme- tery Company." On the 28th of March follow- ing they organized the company by electing as the first officers of the board : John S. Hiester, president ; Samuel Bell, treasurer ; Matthias S. Richards, secretary. Upou this organization, Mr. Evans conveyed to the company twenty- five acres of ground, situated one mile north of Penn Square, on the eastern side of the Centre turnpike, to be used for the burial of the dead forever. The board addressed a letter of thanks to him for his liberal gift. In his

reply, dated July 11, 1846, he said, among other things,-

. That it is the duty of the living to provide for the becoming interment of the dead, is a senti- ment which seems to have been cherished by almost all nations from the earliest period of time. The Greeks, Romans and other nations manifested a laud- able desire to establish suitable places for the repose of the dead. Associations for these meritorious pur- poses have recently become prevalent in Pennsylva- nia. Such establishments afford opportunities for all to provide a decent place for the interment of their friends and the final repose of themselves. Rural cemeteries have long been considered of great utility and importance, and are subjects of deep and universal interest. Most ancient nations permitted no sepulture within their cities. Adrian and Theo- dosius, and other Roman Emperors, believing inter- ments in populous places to be detrimental to health, prohibited all burials within the walls of their cities. Regulations of this kind, which exempt the living from the miasma of the dead, have long been consid- ered indispensable to the health and happiness of the community.

"That the ground selected for the cemetery should have met with the unanimous approval of the trus- tees is to me a source of inexpressible gratification. In the hands of gentlemen so well qualified for the trust, the march of improvement will be unobstructed and the establishment rendered extensively useful. That such may be its fate is the sincere and ardent desire of him whose humble act has been abundantly rewarded by the very gratifying terms in which it has been accepted."

The trustees then adopted a plan for laying out and permanently inclosing the ground and for a gateway as the main entrance into the cemetery. This gateway presents an imposing front, and it possesses the enduring merit of being thoroughly well built of the best materials. Its cost was $18,879.78. It was built in 1847- 49. Upon its completion they erected the side- wings and also a dwelling-house within for the superintendent.

In 1852 they erected a chapel of red free- stone. Its cost was $18,818.96.

Since the death of the founder the area has been increased by additional purchases of laud adjoining the cemetery to the east and north. Now it embraces one hundred and twenty-seven acres.

From the opening of the cemetery till Janu- ary 1, 1864, the removals from other grounds and the burials together numbered three thou-

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sand two hundred and sixty-three, an average of two hundred and four interments per annum. During 1861, 1862 and 1863 the average was two hundred and seventy. From the beginning till now it is estimated that fifteen thousand burials have been made in the cemetery.

The cemetery contains many fine monuments. The Evans lot is situated in the central section of the cemetery, surrounded by a heavy iron railing. In it are four large trees, two graves, small plain head and foot-stones for each grave, and a plain marble shaft resting upon two plain marble blocks. Near the top of the shaft, on the east side, is a medallion bust of Charles Evans; and the inscriptions on it are as follows :

CHARLES EVANS.

The founder of this cemetery which justly bears his name, an Eminent Lawyer Learned, faithful, eloquent, An exemplary citizen, Publick spirited and generous, and in every sphere of his long and useful life conscientious, upright and honorable. Born 30 of March, 1768 Died 5 of September, 1847. In the Christian's hope of a glorious immortality.

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MARY EVANS, wife of CHARLES EVANS. Eminent for the powers of her mind And the benevolence of her heart. She died beloved and lamented, 30 August, 1838,

++++

In the seventieth year of her age.

CHARLES EVANS was born in Philadelphia on March 30, 1768. His parents were David Evans, of Philadelphia, and Letitia Thomas, of Radnor, both members of the Society of Friends. He received a good education, "which Friends never failed to give their children," and entered the office of Benjamin Chew, Esq., a distinguished lawyer at Philadelphia, for the purpose of reading law, when he was twenty years of age. He was admitted to the bar in June, 1791, and two months afterward went to Reading to practice law. In his profession he

was faithful, capable and diligent, and “ in ten years after his admission he had won his right- ful place in the front rank of this bar. At that day and in that rank his compeers were lawyers of the severe school, who studied law in the original sources of statutes and reports." He continued in full and active business till 1828, and then retired with an ample fortune. Occa- sionally afterward he appeared in court to try a case or argue a rule. His last elaborate discus-

CHARLES EVANS.

sion of a question of law was in 1840, and his latest appearance in conrt in 1843. In 1846 he founded the "Charles Evans Cemetery," situated in Reading, and established it firmly by large donations of money and grants of property. He died September 5, 1847, and " was buried in the cemetery of his endowment, where a fitting monument marks his final resting-place and transmits to after-times the features of the man and a just and truthful tribute to his worth." He was married to Mary Keene, a daughter of Reynold Keene and Christiana Stille, both of Philadelphia, but had no surviving children. He was the first philanthropist at Reading whose heart was moved by a generous sponta- neous impulse toward the general welfare of this growing community. But, strange to say, notwithstanding this wonderful incentive to others of his day and generation, who were en- gaged here in business, accumulated fortunes

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

and survived him, " to go and do likewise" in some other field in which philanthropy could be equally beneficial to the public, not a single individual since has been moved to make a lib- eral gift, donation or grant for a public cause.

OTHER CEMETERIES. - Two cemeteries were laid ont and established in 1849 on the northern slope of Neversink,-Trinity Lutheran and Roman Catholic. The former was extended by the addition of St. John's German Lutheran, both being together.

The Aulenbach Cemetery was established in 1851, and was named after Charles Aulenbach, who owned the land and laid it out in lots for burial purposes. The original tract numbered four hundred and thirty-two lots. The ceme- tery company was incorporated May 17, 1853. The cemetery has been enlarged and much improved and now numbers one thousand nine hundred and sixty lots. It is situated at the eastern boundary of Reading.

The Hebrew Cemetery is a small inclosure on South Street, opposite the Roman Catholic Cemetery.

The colored people buried in the burying- ground attached to the African M. E. Church, on North Tenth Street, near Washington, and also in burying-ground attached to the Wash- ington Street Presbyterian Church for many years ; but since 1874 in Charles Evans' Ceme- tery.

GAS AND ELECTRIC LIGHT .- Our fore- fathers nsed a very simple sort of light. It was produced from tallow and oil. Caudles were in universal use. And they continued in use during the first and second periods of Read- ing. The inhabitants did not require a superior light, for they performed their labor and trans- acted their business during the hours of the day in which the sun shone, -- from "snn-rise " to " sun-set,"-carrying out the divine injunction, " work while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work." From this, however, we are not to infer that the night was not nsed to some extent, as it is now, for amusement at least, if not so much for labor and business. "Country life," as distingnished from "town- life," clung to the inhabitants with remarkable tenacity. This arose from their condition. They

were mostly of the laboring class. They had simple habits. A great proportion also carried on agriculture in connection with their trades and occupations. Generally inclined, if not forced, to exercise economy, they avoided ex- pense beyond the necessaries of life. Naturally, therefore, a simple, cheap light was sufficient for their purposes. A demand for an improvement did not arise; hence, it was not thought of. If, perchance, it occurred to some men of enter- prise and advanced thought, it was certainly during these periods impracticable. The time had not yet come, and the population had not yet reached the number to justify the experi- ment and expense.

Immediately after the erection of the borough into a city an improvement was made. And this was by the introduction of gas, for which a company was formed in 1848, under the name of the " Reading Gas Company." It continued to supply many citizens and business places and the streets of the city with gas from that time till November, 1885, when the "Consumers' Gas Company " took possession of its extensive and costly plant under a lease. This latter company is now supplying gas to the community. The Reading Company began their enterprise with five miles of pipes and sixteen lamps in the central part of the city, and supplied the gas from a gasometer with a capacity of fifty thou- sand feet. The works then had only nine retorts. As time advanced, the demands for gas increased and the retorts multiplied, advancing in number from nine to sixty. In 1861 a telescope gasom- eter was erected with a capacity of one hundred thonsand feet, and afterward a similar one was substituted in the place of the original one. In 1873 the company erected at Fourth and Elm Streets a large distributing telescope gasometer, with a capacity of three hundred and sixty thou- sand feet. Its works are situated in the south- ern section of the city, at the foot of Fifth Street. Dr. Isaac Hiester was the first president and Matthias S. Richards the first secretary and treasurer. Horatio Trexler has officiated as president since 1860; and Edward D. Smith as secretary and treasurer since 1859. Its organi- zation is maintained notwithstanding the trans- fer. In November, 1885, there were thirty-

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nine miles of pipes and two hundred and fifty- five gas lamps.

Naphtha gas was introduced in 1879. By this process about three hundred lamps are lit, be- ing located in the outer portions of the city and along the alleys.

A company was formed in 1883 for the purpose of supplying Reading with electric light and power, and it has been in successful operation since. At present the company has in use four- teen miles of wire, and is supplying electric light to the city and certain business men; total number of city lamps being seventy-eight, and business lights forty-two. The company began to supply the city with light at the more prom- inent intersection of streets on Sept. 1, 1883. This company is now finishing a large and sub- stantial brick building on Seventh Street near Chestnut, to supply the increasing demands for their superior light. The engine is four hun- dred and fifty horse power, capable of carrying one hundred and twenty-two arc lights and two thousand four hundred incandescent lights. The officers of the company are Thomas P. Merritt, president, and Joshua K. Righter, secretary and treasurer.

HALLS .- The people of Reading had a na- tural fondness for amusement from its very be- ginning as a prominent centre. During its first period as a town there were no buildings set apart expressly for meetings and amusements. Every tavern had a large room, in which the landlord encouraged parties to assemble for dancing, an amusement which was indulged in quite frequently during the year by the young people, and which was especially conspicuous on "Fair-Days." Public meetings assembled at the court-house, and also to a certain extent in the Reading Academy, a building erected in 1810 for educational purposes. And during its second period as a borough the situation in this respect was not much improved. The "State-House" was erected in 1793, at the northeast corner of Fifth and Penn Streets, and included two large rooms on the second floor ; but these rooms were never converted into " halls" for dancing, theatres, etc.,-the one having been mostly used for a Sunday-school, from about 1820 till 1846, and the other

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 127

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards Number of Pages: 1418

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418