History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 149

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

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In 1885 there were eight public schools in the borough, graded as three primary, two secondary, two grammar and one High School. The average attendance was about four hundred. The school board was composed of R. J. M. Miller, president; O. J. Wolff, secretary ; J. Jerome Miller, treas- urer ; A. B. Shollenberger, D. A. Bauscher and Walter M. Raubenhold.

ASSOCIATIONS .- Company E, Fourth Regiment, National Guards of Pennsylvania, was organized April 13, 1875, with one hundred men and E. F. Smith as captain. The company owned its private uniforms and kept up the standard of its member- ship to one hundred for three years. In 1878 it accepted the State uniform for its guards and re- duced its membership to a maximum of sixty en- listed men. Captain Smith remained in command until 1882, when Charles F. Seaman was elected his successor, who has since retained that position. The company has kept up its organization to the legal standard. The other officers of the company then were B. F. Geres, first lieutenant; William S. Scott, second lieutenant ; William Fesig, order-

ly sergeant; Lewis Faust, color sergeant. The company then served as color company of the Fourth Regiment. In May, 1885, the company secured an armory on White Oak Street, forty by one hundred and ten feet, and fitted up the same for meeting purposes. This company has won a high reputation for coolness and devotion to duty when in actual service. It was out three months during the Scranton strike and ten days during the great strike of 1877. At Reading the company led the march through the railroad cut. In pass- ing through Penn Street upon that occasion, Cap- tain Smith was knocked down three times and Pri- vate John Koller seriously injured. The soldierly conduct of the company was warmly commended by the superior officers of the regiment and their bearing was generally commended by all law-abid- ing citizens. Connected with the company is a drum corps of three men. There is also in Ham- burg a well-trained corps of nine members, of which Samuel Shollenberger is the drum-major.

Hamburg has long been noted for the excellence of its musical organizations. As early as 1825 a band of nineteen members was organized, which was instructed by W. W. Wright, of New York, and played difficult music in so superior a style that the band was held up as a model for Reading to imitate. One of the most popular bands was the Hamburg Brass Band, organized in 1845. Under the instruction of Prof. J. B. Robotham, of Philadelphia, it attained a proficiency which made it the most noted band in the county at that time. Perry R. Shollenberger was the leader, and among the members were Peter Burkey, Edwin Shollen- berger, Geo. Seaman, Isaiah Derr, Geo. Shenk, Al- exander Shollenberger, John Derr, Elias Kum- mer, Nathan Bear and H. R. Shollenberger, the last-named having been its last musical director. The band visited Easton, New York City and Philadelphia, where it attracted great attention by its superior rendition of the most difficult music. It was disbanded during the late Civil War, many of its members having entered the military service.

The Hamburg Cornet Band was a musical body of note. It was organized in 1872, with twenty- five men, under the leadership of William Harris. Its standard was kept up until 1879, the band at- taining a popularity which caused its services to be in great demand. Engagements were filled at

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

the Lititz Springs, on the Fourth of July, for four successive years ; at the Firemen's Tournament at Reading; at the Grand Commandery of the Knights Templar at Philadelphia, one week, hav- ing then had the right on the line of march ; and at the meeting of the Grand Lodge of Odd-Fellows in Philadelphia in 1876, four days. In 1879 the membership of the band was decreased, and after the inauguration of President Garfield, in 1881, it was wholly disbanded. In 1883 six members of the old band, under the leadership of Peter Burkey, formed a new band. This has maintained its existence since, with a membership increased to eleven musicians.

Symmetry Lodge, No. 103, I. O. O. F., was in- stituted in 1844, with John F. Rhodes, William E. Shollenberger, Charles Lochman, Peter C. Baum and A. S. Fesig as members. In 1885 the lodge numbered one hundred and thirty-two members. Of this lodge H. R. Shollenberger has been secretary the past thirty-seven years. The meetings are held in a hall owned by the lodge. Its entire property aggregates twelve thousand dollars.

Hamburg Encampment, No. 106, I. O. O. F., was instituted in 1850, with seven members. In 1885 the number was thirty-two.

Its organization was kept up during the Civil War, and notwithstanding the loss of members by removals to the West. The encampment has funds invested, which indicates its flourishing condition.

Vaux Lodge, No. 406, A. Y. M., was instituted March 18, 1868.

In 1885 the lodge reported fifty-eight members.

The meetings are held in a rented hall. The lodge has been prosperous.

Hamburg Council, No. 74, Order U. A. M., was organized on February 8, 1848. Its meetings have been regularly held for the past twenty-five years in the Shomo Block. The hall is well fur- nished, and the property of the council is valued at four thousand dollars. In 1885 there were seventy-three members.

Washington Camp, No. 78, P. O. S. of A., was instituted in 1866. In 1885 there were seventy- three members, and it had two thousand one hun- dred and eighty-nine dollars invested.

The meetings are held in Mechanics' Hall.

Friendship, was instituted January 26, 1885, with thirteen charter members. Since that time forty- seven additional names have been added to the roll.

General John A. Rawlins Post, No. 157, G. A R., was instituted in 1868, and attained a membership of forty-five. William R. Smith was one of the first Commanders. Owing to loss of members by removals from Hamburg, the post surrendered its charter in 1872.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

WILLIAM HARRIS was born February 8, 1843, in Hemlock township, Columbia County, Pa., and is the oldest son of Jacob Harris, who, during his lifetime, was a prominent citizen of that county, having served as treasurer two terms, and as a justice of the peace for twenty- five years. The subject of this sketch was edu- cated in the common schools, at Greenwood Seminary, in Columbia County, and Dickinson Seminary, at Williamsport, Pa. He is also a graduate of the Iron City College, of Pitts- burgh, where he taught book-keeping and pen- manship for two years.

He was a successful teacher in the common schools and received a professional certificate from William Burgess, the first county superin- tendent of Columbia County. From his boy- hood he was engaged in mercantile business in his father's store, at Buckhorn, Pa., and upon attaining his majority was made a member of the firm.

He read medicine with Dr. M. Reynolds, but, preferring the drug business to the practice of medicine, chose that as his vocation, and re- moved to Hamburg, Berks County, in 1869 where he has since resided and established a prosperous business.

He was one of the first members of the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Society, and has, at various times, served on important commit- tees. Dr. Harris has become widely known as chairman of the Democratic Standing Committee of his county, to which position he has been chosen for seven successive years. He has ability as a public speaker, an organizer and leader.

He conducted the Hamburg Band, a well- Arcadia Chamber, No. 20, Order Knights of kuown organization, for seven years. At the

BOROUGHS OF COUNTY.

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formation of the Berks County Merchants' As- sociation he was chosen its president. He has served as school director, and has been for four years burgess of the borough of Hamburg and is now acting as postmaster.

Dr. Harris was married, February 20, 1868, to Ella, daughter of Robert Hagenbush, of Bloomsburg, Pa., and has three children,-two sons, James Albert and Charles Caleb, and a daughter, Mary Elizabeth. Dr. Harris is a mem-

the villages of Brooklyn, Beidlertown, Lincoln- ville and Silverton. It is on both sides of Hay Creek. It was formed out of parts of Union and Robeson townships; and, though founded nearly one hundred and thirty years ago, it has had the most of its growth within the last three decades. In 1850 the population was two hundred and fifty, and in 1886 the inhabitants numbered fully two thousand more. This increase was brought about mainly by the development of the iron business at that place,

ImHarris

ber of Symmetry Lodge, No. 103, of Inde- pendent Order of Odd-Fellows, and of the Grand Lodge. He is connected by member- ship with the Reformed Church of Hamburg, and conducts the music of the Sunday-school as its organist.

BIRDSBORO.

The flourishing borough of Birdsboro is on the southern bank of the Schuylkill, nine miles below Reading, and includes, within its corporate limits,

through Messrs. Edward and George Brooke, and by becoming a station on three lines of railways. The oldest station is on the Reading Railroad, on the opposite side of the river, where new and attractive buildings were erected in 1883, by L. H. Focht, contractor for the company. On the Wilmington Railroad, Raymund Moore erected a superior station in 1885, as contractor for the com- pany ; and during the same year the handsome station of the Pennsylvania Railroad was built. The architecture of these buildings has had a wholesome effect upon the place, causing a pleasing

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

diversity of style in the new homes erected, in which respect Birdsboro surpasses all the other boroughs in the county.

FIRST SETTLEMENT BY WILLIAM BIRD .- Iron-works were established at Birdsboro among the earliest in the country. In 1740 William Bird bought a tract of land lying along Hay Creek, where it empties into the Schuylkill River, including several water-powers. Here he built the first forge, and took out warrants for adjoining lands, until at the time of his death, about 1760, he owned three thousand acres of land, three forges, a grist-mill and saw-mill. His son, Mark Bird, succeeded him in the business, built Hope- well Furnace and increased his boundaries, until in 1785 they included eight thousand acres. He also built a rolling and slitting-mill, which was one of the first mills of the kind in the country, and stood upon the same ground that the present rolling-mill occupies. A nail-factory was also in operation here at an early date making nails, by cutting them from plates of iron and heading them by hand. Mark Bird became embarrassed in business, and in 1788 transferred the greater part of his property to John Nixon, who sold to Cad- wallader Morris and James Old, and, after passing through other hands, James Wilson, in 1794, became possessed of nearly all the estate. He was the brother-in-law of Mark Bird, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. James Wilson sold the forges, with two thousand two hundred acres of land, in 1796, to John Louis Barde, the grand- father of the present proprietors. He came to Birdsboro in the year 1788, and had been running the forges under a lease. John Louis Barde was born in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1756, and edu- cated in England at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He entered the English army and accompanied the expedition to this country with the troops sent to operate against the Spaniards in their attack on Pensacola, in 1779, where he married the daughter of Major Robert Farmar, the English Governor of West Florida. . He came North in 1782, sold his commission, and became a citizen of the United States. He died at Birds- boro in 1799, and the property came into the hands of Matthew Brooke, who afterwards married his daughter, and was the father of Edward and George Brooke.

Matthew Brooke had purchased the Birdsboro farm in 1796, and in the year 1800 he, together with his brother, Thomas Brooke, and Daniel Buckley (who was married to their sister), pur- chased Hopewell Furnace from Judge Wilson. The forefathers of the Brooke family came from Yorkshire, England, in 1698.

DEVELOPMENT OF BIRDSBORO BY THE BROOKES. -John Brooke and Frances, his wife, with their two sons, James and Matthew, arrived in the Delaware River in the above year, but in consequence of a contagious disease on board the vessel, the pass- engers were not permitted to come to Philadelphia, but disembarked lower down the river, where the parents died soon after landing and were buried in the grave-yard at Haddonfield, N. J. They were of the Society of Friends, and before leaving England John Brooke had purchased of William Penn one thousand five hundred acres of land, to be taken up anywhere between the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers, where vacant land should be found. James and Matthew took up the land in Limerick township, Montgomery County, and settled there. Matthew Brooke, of Birdsboro, was the grandson of this Matthew, and the third of that name. The old mansion-house, which was built by William Bird in 1751, and still standing, was the residence of all the early proprietors of the works. It was in its time one of the finest country-seats in the State. The front, which was of cut sandstone, faced the Schuylkill, with a lawn stretching to its banks. On the side along Hay Creek stood a grove of large old trees which Mark Bird had fenced up and used as a deer-park. When the canal was built in front of the house it became unsuitable for a residence, and one near the lower forge was used for that purpose. The latter was torn down in 1879 to make room for the enlarge -. ment of the rolling-mill.

Matthew Brooke left two sons and three daughters, two of whom died young, and the third married the Hon. Hiester Clymer, of Reading. His sons, Edward and George Brooke, took charge of the property in 1837. The works then consisted of two forges, one of which was called the " refinery," where the pig-iron was converted into what were termed " Anchovies," being blooms hammered down into a bar at one end for convenience of handling and taken to the other forge, called the

Geo Brooke

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BOROUGHS OF COUNTY.

" chafery," where they were heated and hammered into various kinds of bar-iron. The whole pro- duction was only about two hundred tons per annum.

After building the residence now occupied by Mrs. Edward Brooke and a large flour-mill, they turned their attention to enlarging the production of iron. In 1846 they built a charcoal furnace where old Hampton Forge had stood, with the object of using their wood to make pig-iron in place of operating the forges. In 1848 they commenced building the rolling-mill and nail-factory, which were put in operation the next year. No. 1 Anthracite Furnace was built in 1852, and two other furnaces in 1870 and 1873. The furnaces are supplied with ores chiefly from the French Creek, Warwick and Jones' Mines, in which the firm own nearly one-half interest. These mines are situated ten to fifteen miles south of Birdsboro, and are connected with the furnaces by the Wil- mington and Northern Railroad. In 1864 E. and G. Brooke, in connection with Seyfert, McManus & Co. and Samuel E. Griscom, opened the William Penn Colliery, near Shenandoah, Schuylkill County, Pa., which has since come into the sole possession of Edward and George Brooke. It is one of the best mines in the coal region, both for quality of coal and large production. It has for a number of years been managed by William H. Lewis.

Edward Brooke was born at Birdsboro, and died there, deeply regretted by all who knew him, on Christmas day, 1878. He was distin- guished for his business ability and ambition, and united boldness and foresight in projecting enter- prises with carefulness and prudence in their exe- cution. To his success in life his extended scientific knowledge largely contributed, and in all business affairs he manifested great industry, perseverance and sound judgment. He was by nature kind and genial, honorable in all his dealings and generous to every one in word and deed. The welfare of Birds- boro was always a matter of interest to him, and, in co-operation with his brother, he was wise and liberal in devising and effecting its advance- ment. Through his efforts the Wilmington and Reading Railroad was constructed, passing through Birdsboro, and he was its first president. He was one of the original projectors of the First National

Bank of Reading, and one of its directors until his death. He married Annie M. Clymer, daughter of Daniel R. Clymer, of Reading, and left one daughter, Annie C., and three sons,-Robert Ed- ward, George Clymer and Frederick Hiester. In order to continue the business after his death, it was organized into two companies, under the title of the Edward and George Brooke Iron Company and the Edward and George Brooke Land Company, all the property remaining in the same ownership. Geo. Brooke was made president of the two companies, and Geo. W. Harrison, treasurer, and Richard T. Leaf, secretary. Under this arrangement the busi- ness has since been conducted, and kept up fully to the progress of the times. A steel plant is now being erected at No. 2 Blast Furnace, with the intention of converting the molten iron directly into steel, which will be used to make nails. A new train of rolls will also be put into the rolling-mill and other alterations made to work steel.

The capacity of the works has been gradually increased until now they are capable of producing fifty thousand tons of pig-iron and two hundred and fifty thousand kegs of nails per annum. About six hundred and seventy-five men and boys are employed at the works and iron-mines, who earn about twenty-eight thousand dollars per month. One hundred and seventy houses belonging to the firm are occupied by workmen employed, and about one hundred other houses are owned by the em- ployees, who have built them out of the savings of their wages. At the William Penn Colliery five hundred and seventy-five men are employed, earn- ing about twenty-two thousand dollars per month, and about two hundred and forty thousand tons of coal are mined annually.

George Brooke was also born at Birdsboro, and has always taken the same interest with his brother in the substantial and moral improvement of the place. He is a member of the Town Council and School Board, giving his assistance and advice in their deliberations. Beside his engagements in the iron business, he is president of the First National Bank of Reading, a director in the Wilmington and Northern Railroad and in the Schuylkill Navigation Company, president of the Penn- sylvania Diamond Drill Company, and treasurer of the Keystone Coal Company of West Virginia. In 1862 he married Mary B. Irwin, the grand-

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

daughter of Captain Stephen Baldwin, a well- known and highly-respected ship-owner and mer- chant of Philadelphia, and daughter of John H. Irwin, a grandson of Frederick Augustus Muhlen- berg, the first Speaker of the House of Representa- tives. They have two sons,-Edward and George.

GENERAL INDUSTRIES, STORES AND HOTELS .- The present Brooke flouring-mill is the third occupying that site. It was begun in 1844 and completed the following year. In the fall of 1844 a Henry Clay meeting was held in the building, there being at that time no hall to ac- commodate such a gathering. In 1879 and 1882 the mill was remodeled and supplied with modern machinery and steam-power. Its capacity has been much enlarged. Another mill was started in the borough in 1876, when J. R. Kerst supplied the old Bland building with mill machinery. It was operated till 1885, when work was discontinued, and the machinery removed the following year.

In 1867 the Birdsboro Iron Foundry Company, a joint-stock association, was formed, with David Knaur as president, and Edward Parlaman as secretary. In 1868 they erected a large building for manufacturing purposes, and this was enlarged in 1869 by the addition of a wing, when forty-five men were afforded employment. Stoves were manufactured, a specialty being made of the " Enterprise " pattern, and machine-castings were also produced. In 1869 the works were leased to A. R. Young and Joseph R. Kerst. Soon after- ward they were operated by the former alone ; and he then began the manufacture of fine cast- ings for the Boston market. In 1871 work was discontinued and the buildings were sold to E. and G. Brooke. After standing idle till 1885, they came to be then occupied by the Pennsylvania Diamond Drill Company, which removed their works to that place from Pottsville The company is engaged in the manufacture of diamond drilling- machines, mining tools and high-speed electric light engines. Thirty-five men are employed.

The first store, independent of the iron-works, was opened about 1829, by Geiger & Umstead, in a building which stood on the site of the present mill-shed. In 1837 the Brookes opened a store in the mansion, in the same locality, but soon afterward occupied a store-room which they erected at the canal lock. In 1875 a fine business-stand

opposite the mill was erected by the Brookes, but it was burned out when nearly ready for occu- pancy. It was immediately rebuilt. The third story contains a large auditorium, known as ". Brooke Hall." The lower stories form spacious business rooms, now occupied by Brooke & Co.

In 1850 Caleb Harrison erected a business house on Schuylkill Street, which was occupied as a store for six years by John Bland. In 1876 it was converted into a steam grist-mill by J. R. Kerst.

Opposite this place Jacob E. Hook erected a business house, where L. R. Bland was long in trade, and where Harry E. Hook & Bro. are now merchandising. In a part of the block is situated the Washington House, now the oldest hotel in the place. For many years the public-house of Birdsboro was in the old Bird mansion, and since 1882 it has been occupied by I. G. Steinrock.

In 1859 George Brinley established a business and it is still carried on by John H. Brinley. Other business men, prominent in the borough, are F. B. Kern, James S. Brusstar, Raymond Moore and A. S. East.

The Birdsboro co-operative store was in opera- tion from 1875 to 1886, I. L. Pauling being the president of the association.

The borough has had three building and loan associations, two of which, the " Birdsboro " and the " Keystone," have closed up their business with satisfactory results ; the third, the " Enterprise," is now in operation, having one thousand shares at four hundred dollars eaclı. Its officers are George W. Harrison, president ; James S. Brusstar, sec- retary ; and C. K. Rhoads, treasurer.

The Birdsboro post-office was established Jan- uary 6, 1851, and has had S. B. Hafer as post- master since July, 1885. There are six mails per day and since July, 1884, the office has been a postal money-order office. Other postmasters have been William Lincoln, Sarah Evans and Reese Evans.

INCORPORATION .- On the 11th day of July, 1872, sixty-five freeholders and forty-four tenant citizens of Birdsboro and its outlying villages petitioned the Court of Quarter Sessions of Berks County for a decree of incorporation as a borough; and, on the 14th day of August of the same year, the grand jury recommended that the prayer of

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the petitioners be granted. The court made the decree on November 23, 1872, and directed that the first election of officers should be held March 11, 1873, having appointed Joseph R. Kerst judge, and Levi R. Bland and Benjamin Grubb inspectors. The first election resulted in the choice of George W. Hain as burgess; Edward Brooke, Henry A. Beandencup, George W. Harrison, Geo. R. Brinley, B. F. Bunn and John Mock, Coun- cilmen. Caleb K. Rhoads was appointed the clerk and treasurer, and he has since been annually ap- pointed to the same offices. The following have been the burgesses : 1874-75, James Liggett ; 1876, George Beard ; 1877, D. K. Miller ; 1878, George W. Hook ; 1879-80, H. B Brusstar ; 1881-82, C. B. Beard ; 1883, Cyrus Painter ; 1884, Michael Hoffman ; 1885-86, A S. East. The presidents of the Council for the same period have been Edward Brooke, B. F. Bunn, John Mock, George Brooke and A. S. East. The clerk and treasurer from 1873 till now has been C. K. Rhoads. The Coun- cilmen in 1886 were George Brooke, George E. Hook, I. G. Steinrock, Isaac Huyett and Isaac March. The justices of the peace have been J. R. Kerst and J. S. Brusstar.

The borough was incorporated with the following bounds : S. 24º 15' W., 5118 feet ; S. 74º 40' E., 7128 feet ; N. 14° 13' E., 6349 feet ; thence up the Schuylkill River to the place of beginning, con- taining eight hundred and five square acres. The survey was made by Kendall Bros., and the entire incorporation cost $133.50.

From the records of the borough the following extracts, relating to its affairs, have been taken : George R. Brinley and George W. Harrison were appointed a committee to name the streets. The latter, B. F. Bunn and John Mock, were appointed a committee to secure fire-ladders and other means of protection against loss from fire, which were ordered to be purchased April 19, 1873.

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 149

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