History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 142

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

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DANIEL R. CLYMER, the eldest son of Ed- ward T. Clymer, was born at the Clymer home-

He officiated as mayor of Reading for two stead, in Caernarvon township, Berks County,

Daniela. Cumer

terms-from 1867 to 1871. He was a prom- inent and very active member in a number of secret orders and took a warm interest in their affairs. In manner he was quiet and unpreten- tions, and his exemplary life won the highest regard of his fellow-citizens.

SAMUEL C. MYER was born in the city of Lancaster, Pa., April 17, 1824. At the age of seventeen years he became a citizen of Reading, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. For

on March 31, 1819. After receiving his edn- cation at Lititz, in Lancaster County, he came to Reading, and was employed as a clerk in the store of Messrs. William & Isaac Eckert, with whom he remained for some years. He then went to Philadelphia, where he was en- gaged in a wholesale dry-goods house until 1840, when he returned to Reading, and, in connection with his brother, William H. Cly- mer, opened a general dry-goods store in the

849

READING.

" Old Seyfert Building," now 518 Penn Street. Here they conducted business for a couple of years, when they removed to the building at the. southwest corner of Fifth and Penn Streets, which they had purchased. His brother Wil- liam withdrawing from the firm in 1845, he continued the business alone until 1852.

Mr. Clymer always took an active interest in the welfare and progress of Reading. In 1848 he was the Democratic candidate for mayor against General William H. Keim, the Whig candidate, but was defeated by a small majority. At that time the city was Whig in political sentiment, and continued so for some years. In 1852 he was again the Democratic candidate for mayor against Major George Getz, on the Whig ticket, who was then mayor and had held the office since 1849, and he was again defeated. The next year the party nominated him a third time, with John S. Richards, Esq., a prominent attorney, as his opponent on the Whig ticket, and he was elected. After serving in this posi- tion for one year, the party nominated him for a fourth time, and against the same candidate on the Whig ticket, who was run as an Independ- ent. In that year there were four candidates in the field, and an Independent Democrat caused Mr. Clymer's defeat.

In 1854 Mr. Clymer became interested in the forwarding and transportation business on the Schuylkill Canal, continuing in it for some years. Upon the completion of the East Penn- sylvania Railroad (with the construction of which his brother, Edward M. Clymer, was prominently identified) and the establishment of a ticket-office at the "Junction " (the pres- ent site of the Philadelphia and Reading main station), Mr. Clymer was appointed ticket agent, holding the position until 1869, when he re- signed. In the interval that occurred after dis- continuing the forwarding business and becoming ticket agent, he studied law, and was admitted to the bar August 20, 1857. He never engaged in active practice, however. He was also interested in the militia system of the connty, and was for a time captain of the " Reading Artillerists."

Mr. Clymer was married, in 1846, to Miss Delia Pierson, daughter of Silas Pierson, Esq., and a granddaughter of Hon. Benjamin Pier-

son, of Morristown, N. J. She was born Jan- uary 8, 1824, and died June 14, 1861. They had issue five children, all of whom are dead excepting one (Annie M. Clymer), who was intermarried with Mr. Edward Brooke, de- ceased, late of Birdsboro'.

HENRY A. TYSON, mayor of Reading from 1879 to 1881, is of English descent. His an- cestors were members of the Society of Friends, who came to America early in the eighteenth century. The American branch of the family is confined, with few exceptions, to the city of Philadelphia and the counties of Bucks, Ches- ter, Montgomery, Berks and Schuylkill, in Pennsylvania, and to Baltimore, in Maryland, and it has taken a prominent stand wherever its members located. Captain Tyson was an Arctic explorer, Dr. Henry Tyson is professor of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, and Robert and Jesse Tyson are prominent in the shipping interests at Baltimore.

Joseph Tyson, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born at Skippack, Mont- gomery County, Pa., March 22, 1771, and was married to Elizabeth Levering, who was born March 19, 1772, on North Second Street, Philadelphia. In 1798 he located at Reading, where he engaged extensively in the tan- ning business, at the head of Franklin Street, becoming a prominent owner of real-estate in that vicinity. He retired from business in 1826 and died in 1842. His wife died in 1857. Mary Snyder, of Philadelphia, aged eighty-three years, is the only survivor of his nine children.

John W. Tyson was the fourth child and only son. He was born at Reading July 3, 1801, and learned his father's business, which he continued for a time. He afterwards be- came a clerk in Eckert's store, at Fourth and Penn Streets, and there, for many years, he also carried on the occupation of gauger, being the only one in Reading who understood the busi- ness at that time. In 1844 he ran for the of- fice of county recorder on an independent ticket ; was elected and served his term of three years with great acceptance to the people. He was married, October 13, 1822, to Mary Fasig, daughter of William Fasig, of Reading. Of

850

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

their nine children, four survive,-William F. Tyson, eldest son, at present and for many years foreman of the Readinger Adler ; two daughters (Mrs. Emma C. Redgrave and Mrs. Mary E. Walker, of Philadelphia), and Henry A. Tyson. Albert L. Tyson, the second son (now deceased), was for many years, until his death, foreman of the Philadelphia Press and the Washington Chronicle, under John W. Forney.

until 1876, when he was elected on the Demo- cratic ticket to the office of city controller, to fill a vacancy. In 1877 he was elected at the regular election for a full term of two years, and served in the position with acknowledged ability. In 1879 he was nominated for the office of mayor, and elected by a majority of eleven hundred and eighty-one, the largest ever given to any candidate for that office. During his incumbency in the mayoralty many im-

Henry A. STyson

Henry A. Tyson was born December 14, | portant ordinances were passed by the City 1832, at Reading, on Franklin Street, near his present residence, in the vicinity of which he has resided all his life. He was educated in the public schools. In 1847 he went to live with his uncle, John Brown, of Reading (now living at the age of eighty-seven years), and under him learned the trade of a chair-maker, remaining with him until 1860. He was after- wards engaged in this occupation with Jacob R. Ritter and Sohl, Seidel & Co., of Reading,

Councils, new regulations instituted, and the government was so administered as to be con- ducive to the best interests of the city. During his official career, among other things, he ap- proved the ordinance granting the right to erect a soldiers' monument in Penn Square; the Antietam Reservoir was greatly enlarged ; in a special message he recommended public action looking to the erection of a public building here by the national government, since which

851

READING.

time particular efforts have been made in that behalf. Upon his retirement from political life he became interested in introducing the present satisfactory system of lighting the streets by electricity, having acted as secretary and treasurer of the company for a time, and all the original stock having been subscribed through his solicitation. He is now connected with his son, A. Harvey Tyson, Esq., in con- ducting, as a specialty, "Tyson's Real-Estate Title-Briefs."

He is a prominent Mason, being connected with Chandler Lodge, No. 227, of which he is a Past Master, and of which, also, he has been secretary for the last twenty years, and is now District Deputy Grand Master of the Seventh District, comprising Berks and Lebanon Counties. He has officiated as recorder of Reading Commandery, No 42, Knights Tem- plar, since 1872.

Mr. Tyson was married, December 23, 1855, to Miss Anna Shultz, of Reading, and has three children now living,-A. Harvey Tyson, Esq., a prominent civil engineer at Reading, who served as city engineer from 1881 to 1885 ; Charles H. Tyson, Esq., a practicing attorney at Reading, who was admitted to the bar in 1884 ; and Estelle L. Tyson, now the youngest pupil in Reading High School.

Mr. Tyson has always been an earnest advo- cate for progress in his native place, and in pub- lic life acquired a high reputation by his con- scientious administration of the trusts which the people had committed to him.

WILLIAM G. ROWE, mayor of the city of Reading from 1881 to 1885, was born August 13, 1841, at Newburg, in Cumberland County, Pa., to which place his parents had removed from Reading in 1840, and returned in 1846. His father was Henry B. Rowe, a blacksmith, who carried on that trade for many years at Reading, having made the shoeing of horses a specialty ; and was married to Elizabeth Zerbe. Both of his parents were born at Reading; the father died July 4, 1866, aged nearly fifty-four years, leaving a widow and two sons, William G. and Joseph Z.

Mr. Rowe was educated in the common schools of Reading, and learned the trade of

blacksmith under his father. During that time the Civil War broke out, and he enlisted as a private in Company G, commanded by Captain George W. Alexander, in the First Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. Upon returning from active military service he became a partner with his father in the blacksmithing business, and con- tinued with him till his decease; then he took sole control of it, and has since carried it on successfully at the old stand, on Cherry Street, below Fourth, where his father had been located for many years.

In 1874, Mr. Rowe became actively interested in the political affairs of Reading. Previously he had identified himself with the Republican party, and as he grew in years he became more and more a stanch advocate of its principles. Whilst a resident of the Fifth Ward he was solicited to run for Common Council, but he declined. Upon removing into the Sixth Ward his many friends, of both political parties, urged him for the same office, and consenting, they placed his name upon the Republican ticket and elected him over the Democratic nominee. This was a high compliment to him, for the ward was then largely Democratic. He was re-elected in 1876, serving altogether three years. In 1881 he was nominated upon the Republican ticket for mayor and elected over Henry A. Tyson, who at the previous election had been chosen to this office on the Democratic ticket by the un- precedented majority of 1181; and in 1883, he was re-elected. This election and re-election of Mayor Rowe exhibits in a high degree the pop- ularity which he enjoyed in Reading, the city having been, during that time and for some years previously, Democratic by about four hun- dred majority.

Mayor Rowe advocated earnestly numerous measures tending to develop the city in its various internal affairs. He issued permits for the erection of over two thousand new build- ings; he co-operated heartily with both branches of Councils in encouraging the entrance of the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley Railroad into Reading ; the proceedings for recovering posses- sion of the "Commons" and for instituting a public park received his earnest attention, re- commending in this behalf the raising of the

852

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

taxes to pay the costs and expenses incurred rather than borrow money and create indebt- edness for that purpose; hestrenuously opposed the movements of the "Consumers' Gas Com- pany " in the city towards laying down gas- pipes under special legislation, acting in har- mony with the wishes of the business people; and he was progressive in the matter of improved highways, investigating the question of a " steam road-roller " in conjunction with a special com-

making the shoeing of horses a specialty, for which he enjoys a high reputation, and has since followed it successfully at the old stand.

Mayor Rowe was married to Miss Sallie B. Kimes, of Philadelphia, with whom he has two daughters, Lizzie and Sallie.

JAMES K. GETZ, the present mayor of the city of Reading, was born on the 19th of Jan- uary, 1848, in Albany township, Berks County, Pa., and in 1854 removed with his parents to

Um 9 Rome

mittee appointed for that purpose, and recom- mending its introduction. He had a superior police force and preserved the general order of the community in a very successful manner; and as a magistrate he was firm and dignified on the one hand, but kind, just and sympa- thizing on the other. During his administration he enjoyed the high respect and confidence of the community, was popular in every section of the city and by his upright course won unto him- self many friends. Upon his retirement from office be resumed his business of a blacksmith,

Reading, where he became a pupil of the pub- lic school, and later spent a year at the Phila- delphia Classical Academy. He then entered the store of his father (who was a wholesale grocer) as book-keeper, and acted in that ca- pacity until 1869, when he succeeded his father in the firm of Getz & Grim. In 1874 he sold his half-interest to his partner and retired from the business. He then became interested with his father in the Reading steam marble-works, under the firm-name of H. S. Getz & Co., to which he devotes his almost exclusive attention.

READING.

853

Mayor Getz has been affiliated with the Dem- ocratic party in politics since he cast his first vote and has been an influential factor in local po- litical measures. He was elected by a flattering majority, and in a district strongly Republican, to represent the Fifth Ward of Reading in the City Council in 1880, the second year filling the office of president of that body. In the spring of 1885 he was elected mayor of the city and is the present incumbent of the office. While |

Mayor Getz was married, in 1873, to Mary Agnes, daughter of John H. and Margaret A. Jones, of Sinking Spring, in Berks County.

PART X. CENSUS OF READING.1

LOCATION OF POPULATION .- The following

James af Gelo

his executive ability and business training eminently fit him for public life, he has heretofore refused to accept political office, preferring to devote his energies to his private business enterprises. Mr. Getz is an active Free-Mason, being a member of Lodge No. 62; of Reading Chapter, No. 152; of De Molay Commandery, No. 9; and of Creigh Council, No. 16. His religious creed is that of the Reformed Church, with which he is con- nected by membership.

table is interesting to show the locality of the population. The major part of the population of Reading has been south of Penn Street since 1840; but from 1850 till 1880 there was a gradual decrease, owing to the tendency of im- provements in northern sections of the city. Now the major part is north of Penn Street. Five wards are sitnated south of Penn Street and eight wards north :

1 See Census of Berks County, 644.

854

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

1830.

1840.

1850.

1860.

1870.

1880.

South of Penn ... 2162

4991 9901

13,113

17,912

22,111

North of Penn ... 34691 3419 5842

10,049

16,018

21,167

1572 4059

3,064

1,894

944

POPULATION IN 1847 .- In 1847, when the borough of Reading was incorporated into a city, the enumeration was made by J. Lawrence Getz, publisher of the Reading Gazette and Democrat, and published by him in a small pamphlet, which he then offered for sale at ten cents a copy. The result of his enumeration was as follows : 2

Males.

Females.

Total.

Houses.

Families.

N. E. Ward

1077 1014

2,091

355

402

N. W. Ward

1291 1252

2,543

396

409

S. E. Ward

1282 1203

2,485

416

489

S. W. Ward

1875 1906

3,781

573

685

6,024

4,206

Tenth

2,834

Eleventh

5,195

Total .

2235 2386 3462

4332

5866 8410 15,743

23,162

33,930| 43,278

NOTE .- In 1861 the names of the wards were changed from names to numerale. The Spruce Ward to First Ward, the Southwest to Second, the Southeast to Third, the Northeast to Fourth, and the Northwest to the Fifth. In 1864 the city was divided into nine warde; in 1876 two' wards were added,-the Tenth Ward having been taken from the Second, and the Eleventh from the Ninth ; and in 1885 the Eleventh Ward was divided into three wards.

TAXABLES in 1886 .- The following state- ment contains the taxable citizens of Reading in January, 1886, according to a computation or- dered by Hon. James K. Getz, mayor of the city, for the purpose of ascertaining the number of Councilmen to which each ward is entitled. It includes not only men, but also women and minors who are taxable :

WARDS.

Resident Owners.

Tenants.

Single Men.

Total.

First.

288

555

889

Second.

508

777

1,355

Third

498

575

150

1,223

Fourth

251

450

133

834

Fifth

283

564

928

Sixth

351

702

116

1,169

Seventh

462

538

138

1,138

Eighth

464

552

157

1,173

Ninth

541

573

106

1,220

Tenth

370

501

912

Elevent]

282

405

731

Twelfth

201

365

604

Thirteenth

169

324

545

Total

4668

6881

1172

12,721

2,834

3,044

Second

3,774

4,189

5,530

6,553

Third

3,166

4,905

3,732|

4,455

Fourth

3,204

5,760

2,611

2,826

Fifth

2,638

4,289

3,205

3,399

Sixth

2,763

3,762

Seventh .

3,541

4,130

Eighth

3,690

3,874

Ninth.

Spruce Ward.

1116 1028

2,144

398

413

6641 6403

13,044

2138

2398

North of Penn St.

2368 2266

4,634

751

811

South of Penn St.

3273 4137

8,410|1387 1587

POPULATION IN 1876 .- Edgar M. Levan, Esq., publisher of the Reading Sunday Review, caused a census of Reading to be taken in De- cember, 1876, from the 18th to the 23d. The result was as follows :

MALES.

FEMALES.

Over 21 years.

Under 21 years.

692

1,374

816

703

1,519

2,893

1249 1382

2,631

1,392 1357

2,749|

5,380

1097

994

2,091

1,201 1128

2,329

4,420

4th

676

521

1,197

871

581

1,452

2,649

5th

810

755

1,565

911

766

1,677

3,242

6th

921

959

1,880

962

876

1,838

3,718

7th

999

766

1,765

1,135

840

1,975

3,740

8th

1012

932

1,944

1,018

953

1,971

3,915

9th

908 1022

1,930

1,010

945

1,955

3,885

10th

527

638

1,165

530

590

1,120

2,285

11th

884 1126

2,010

938 1034

1,972

3,982

Total

9765 9787

19,552

10,784 9773

20,557

40,109

Buildings: Stores, 1044; occupied dwellings, 7732 ;

1 Colored, 192. In 1840 it was 221; in 1850, 357; in 1860. 285 ; and in 1870, 311.

2 Reading Gazette and Democrat, August 17, 1850.

vacant dwellings, 454; manufactories, 117; places of amusement, 6.

Number of persons to each inhabited dwelling, 5.19.

SEXES OF POPULATION .- The population of Reading by sexes was as follows :

Male.

Female.

1830

2,785

2,846

1840

4,098

4,837

1850

7,760

7,983

1860

11,183

11,979

1870

16,525

17,405

1880

21,099

22,179

CENSUS OF READING, 1790 TO 1880.

WARDS.

1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

First

2,962

4,019

Total.

Over 21 years.

Under 21 years

Total.

Total each ward.

1st ward

682

855

BOROUGHS OF COUNTY.

CHAPTER XXIV. BOROUGHS OF COUNTY.

THE following nine boroughs have been erected in Berks County, and the historical narrative of each appears in the order mentioned : Kutztown, Womelsdorf, Hamburg, Boyertown, Bernville, Birdsboro', Fleetwood, Topton and Centreport.

KUTZTOWN.

The borough of Kutztown is situated on Sacony Creek, in the southern part of Maxatawny town- ship. The lands in this locality were patented April 10, 1728, to Peter Wentz, and embraced a tract of one thousand acres, of which five hundred and fifty acres were devised to his son Jacob. On June 16, 1755, Jacob Wentz and his wife, Eliza- beth, conveyed one hundred and thirty acres of this land, lying along the Sacony, to George Kutz, a farmer. Twenty four years later, in February, 1779, the latter laid out a town to which he gave the name of Kutztown. The plan embraced one hundred and five acres in-lots and a like number of out-lots, all of which were subject to a perpetual ground-rent. The lots located on Front, or Main Street, were fifty feet wide and one hundred and sixty feet deep, subject to a rental of 58. 3d. On the lots on White Oak and the other streets of the original town the rental was 28. 9d., and on the out-lots 58. Towards the close of the last century Henry Kohler became the proprietor of Kutztown, and such lots as have not been released of this ground-rent are still subject to the demands for its annual payment. The first payment was made on May 27, 1779. South of the original plan and beyond the lane called " Baldy's (after a black- smith who lived there) an addition was laid out without any ground-rent, which, in consequence received the name of " Freetown." The place grew slowly. Dr. John D. Schoep, who traveled through this part of Berks County in 1783, expressed himself as follows in reference to the naming of Kutztown: "A wealthy German, in order to tickle his ears with the agreeable sound of his name, gave the land for this place, which was first settled three years ago, and which has only a few small houses." 1

Among the first transfers of lots were those made in 1785 to Adam Deitrich and Henry Schweier (an inn-keeper), the former having bought seven in-lots and ten out-lots, and the latter six in-Jots and eleven out-lots, and then part of the Kutz farm (seventy-four acres and one hundred perches, embraced in the one hundred and thirty acres) was sold to George Kutz, Jr. These persons having bought a number of lots, it is likely that they had speculative purposes in view. The first house was a one-story log building, near the Sacony Creek, on the lot now occupied by the residence of Daniel Sharadin. It was demolished about 1850. Half a mile south of it, on Main Street, where is now the residence of J. Daniel Wanner, Esq., the log house of Jacob Baldy was situated-removed about thirty years ago.

The Esser house is one of the oldest buildings standing, and was put up about a century ago by Jacob Esser. The Captain Daniel Bieber house, on Main Street, also ranks as one of the oldest. Most of the old landmarks have given way to fine, substantial buildings. The progress of the village is thus noted by Prof. Ermentrout :

"Our esteemed friend, Fayette Schoedler, informs us that, in 1817, from the stone house next to Baldy's Lane, clear out to the southern limits of the town, and far beyond, nothing but woodland: greeted the eye of the traveler; whilst the people not unfrequently gathered in their strength to assist some luckless horses in dragging out of the deep mud the farmer's wagon and the laborer's cart. In Freetown, on that side of the street where now stands the new erected mansion of J. D. Wanner, Esq., down to 1830, there were built three houses only, those of Messrs. Baldy, Sander and Strasser,-a tract of land which is now beautified by private residences of every description, whilst farther out stand the residences of Jonathan Biehl, William Kutz, David Sharadin, the splendid houses of John G. Wink and Colonel Thomas D. Fis- ter, and, towering above them all, the Keystone Nor- mal School, whose cupola, during a crisp winter's night, seems almost a globe of crystal suspended in mid-air. In 1800 was built the stone house now known as Siegfried's by Adam Kutz, who owned the land on both sides of the street, from Baldy's Lane to where now lives William Hein. In Kutztown, in 1817, taverns were kept by George Pfister, Daniel Levan and Isaac Levan."

INCORPORATION .- Kutztown was incorporated as a borough March 1, 1815, by an act similar to the act of 1783, by which Reading was incorpor-

15 Penna. Mag. of History, p. 75.

856

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

ated into a borough. Henry Heist and Jacob Levan were appointed to supervise the first elec- tion at the house of Daniel Levan. The first burgess was Henry Heist. The other officers were: Town Council, Jacob Levan, Esq. (presi- dent), Moth Wilson, Dewalt Wink, Peter Gift, George Fister, Jonathan Grim and John Kutz; Jacob Levan (merchant), treasurer; James Scull, town clerk ; Solomon Kutz, collector ; Jacob Humbert and George Breyfogel, supervis- ors ; George Bieber and Thomas Lightfoot, regu- lators; Jacob Graff, High Constable.

The following list comprises the chief burgesses and town clerks since 1816:

Term. Burgess.

1816-17 .Dewalt Bieber

James Scull.

1818 .Daniel Levan

John Fister.

1819

George Breyfogle.

John Fister.

1820-21

.George Breyfogle.

James Donagan.

1822. Henry Heist ..

James Donagan.

1824. Jonathan Prime.

Loyd Wharton.

1825-26 John Palsgrove.

.James Donagan.

1828. Geo. A. Odenheimer James Donagan. .

1829 John Fister. James Donagan.

1830.

Daniel Bieber James Donagan.

1831 John Palsgrove James Donagan.

1832

John Fister

James Donagan.

1833 Peter Gift.

Henry Heist.

1834 John Fister James Donagan.

1835 John Fister

George Bieber.

1836 William Heidenreich ..

.. George Bieber.

1837 Peter Gift. Wm. F. Sellers.

1838

George Bieber

Wm. F. Sellers.

1839 Daniel Bieber. Wm. F. Sellers.

1840 John V. Houck. Wm. F. Sellers.

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 142

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