History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 156

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

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TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

Jolın P. Kaufman, and now owned by Samuel Kaufman. It is claimed by Benueville Gries- emer. that he used the first stationary steam- engine in Oley, in 1848, in furnishing power for a stave-factory. Finding it unprofitable, he sold the machinery to parties who moved it to Bucks County. The township formerly had half a dozen small tanneries, but some of them have been altogether discontinued. One of the largest was carried on by David Bear, at Fried- ensburg.

west of what is now the Yellow House. He brought with him a son named Abraliam, then fourteen years of age, aud who married Esther De Turk aud had a son John, who was married to a Miss Shenkel. John Shenkel Bertolette, a son by this marriage, was the father of Levi J. Bertolette. John S. Bertolette was the propri- etor of the iron-mill known as Spring Forge, near where Earlville is now located, and man- aged the forge and a farm at the same time. He was a man of energetic business qualities, firm in 1

LEVI JOHN BERTOLETTE.

LEVI JOHN BERTOLETTE was born at Spring | Forge, in Earl township, March 29, 1813. His father was John Shenkel Bertolette, and his mother, Mary Boyer. His paternal an- cestor, Jean Bertolette, emigrated to this country from the Palatinate, on the Rhine, in 1726. He was a native of Chateaudeux, in the Canton of Berne, Switzerland ; was a Hugue- not, and is said to have been a descendant of a French family driven from their native country during the persecution of the Huguenots in France. Jean Bertolette settled, upon his ar- rival in Pennsylvania, at a spot about one mile

purpose, and quick in execution. Levi J. Bertol- ette, hisson, before he was fifteen yearsofage, was placed by his father in charge of a six-horse team, with which he hauled iron blooms to Philadel- phia. At the early age of eighteen he was married to Henrietta Guldin, and was placed by his father in possession of a farm, which came to him in his own right but a short time after- ward, at his father's death. He lived upon this farm, which was part of the originally settled tract, all his life, and became one of the prominent men of his neighborhood and of the county. He varied his farm duties with those

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

of stock-raising and dealing in stock, and made frequent trips to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, buying up stock, bringing it home and selling it, the business proving lucrative. In stock raising his tastes ran toward fine driving horses, and he raised and turned out some of the fastest trotters and pacers in the county. At the time of the organization of the National Union Bank of Reading he became one of its directors, and filled that position for many years.

Politically, he was a Democrat of the Jack- sonian stripe, and never varied in his faith. He was a member of the Lutheran Church from his early youth. He had a sympathetic nature under a somewhat stern and severe ex- terior. He was a warm friend and held the respect of all his neighbors, and thoroughly enjoyed his long life. He was guarded and judicious in his business relations. He had a great taste for travel, which was never gratified to its fullest extent, though he made several trips to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. Throughout his life, and until his final sickness, he was a remarkable healthy and vigorous man. He was fond of reading, par- ticularly subjects relating to the deeds and achievements of great men, and was possessed of a disposition that looked upon the bright side of life. He died April 10, 1883, full of years, and leaving a beloved and honored memory to his family and friends. He was the father of eight children. His widow, two sons and a daughter survive him. The former lives in Reading. The eldest son, John C., is a suc- cessful ranchman in Colorado, a few miles from the city of Denver. The second, Levi A., is now residing in Wilmington, Del., and the daughter, Emma Josephine, is the wife of Samuel Heckman and lives at the old home- stead in Oley township, which she inherited. He left also fourteen surviving grandchildren.

CHURCHES.

In no other township of the county have there heen greater diversity of religious thought and freedom of opinion regarding doctrinal usages, than in Oley. Among the very earliest settlers there were a number of ultra-religionists,

and during the first half of the eighteenth cen- tury various sects, whose doctrines were in direct conflict with the beliefs of the older churches, found adherents in the township. Some of these maintained meetings for a short period in Oley, but did not succeed in effecting permanent organizations.

During the earlier history of Oley, about 1718, there prevailed for a time a certain relig- ious excitement, which was caused by a peculiar sect of people who styled themselves "New- Born." Their leader was a man named Mat- thias Bowman, who arrived from the Palatinate about that time for the purpose of conducting them in their religious belief. They professed sinless perfection and claimed that they "were sent of God to conform others." Their dispu- tations were frequently heard in the market- places of Philadelphia. Their leader was so forward as to carry his doctrines wherever he could. No person, howsoever retired, seemed to escape his visits. Even Conrad Beissel- the founder of the "Sieben Taeger"1-was oc- casionally annoyed by the importunity of him- self and of his disciples.2 It is probable that they continued for thirty years.

The Brethren, or Dunkards, were quite nu- merous in Oley from 1724 till 1745, when many removed. No effort appears to have been made by them to establish a regular place of worship. About that time the Moravians ob- tained a foothold in the southwestern part of the township, holding their first general meetings in the barn of John De Turk, and it was in that building where a general meeting was held February 11, 1742, which was attended by Bishops David Nichtsman and Count Zinzen- dorf, who had then just arrived in America, and who there ordained Christian Henry Rauch and Gotlieb Buettner as deacons of the Mora- vian Church. The former was the missionary in Connecticut and was accompanied to this place by three Indians, who had been converted to the Christian religion, and who now sought

1 Seventh-day Baptists.

" Rupp's " Hist. Berks County," pp. 233, 234 and 235, see letter of Maria de Turk and opinion of Muhlenberg on this sect.

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TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

the rite of baptism at the hands of the bishops or of some authorized minister.

After the ordinatiou services, "the whole as- senibly being met, the three catechumens (In- dians) were placed in the midst and with fervent prayer and supplication devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ as his eternal property, upou which Rauch, with great emotion of heart, baptized these three firstlings of the North American Indians into the death of Jesus, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, calling Shahash, Abraham; Slein, Isaac; and Kiop, Jacob."1 This extraordinary meeting produced a marked effect upon the community, and was the means of giving the Moraviaus precedence in the next few years, so that a school-house and church building were erected some years afterward (1748) in the same neigh- borhood. It was located upon a tract of sixteen acres, which had been donated by John Diedrich Youngman, who had received a patent for the same from the Penns in 1735. Youngman was very zealous in this enterprise and it was mainly through his exertions that the buildings were erected.2 The larger building, commonly called the meeting-house, was forty-one feet square and three stories high. The lower story was divided into four apartments, each having a large open fire-place, and were, probably, the living-rooms of the teachers. The second story was devoted to church and school purposes, and the third story contained sleeping-rooms. Youngman died in 1747, and, as he was most interested in it, it was not kept up long afterward.

The large building became a farm-house, on the present Moyer place In 1776 a building was erected by Daniel Hoch and others upon a smaller tract of land, near the burying-

ground, which was thereafter known as the " Herrnhueter Schule Haus" (aud which is still standing), nominally as the property of the Moravians. In this building schools were maintained with considerable regularity until 1873; then it became a residence and has since been used as such.

From 1850 till 1872 the township rented the building at four dollars per year for public schools, the proceeds, in part, being ap- plied to the care of the property. The last school in it was taught in 1873 by Elijah Mer- kel. The cemetery is inclosed with a substan- tial fence and contains a number of graves, some of them marked with sand-stones, whose inscriptions have been effaced. The property comprises about three acres of land and is held in trust by Levi Merkel, Benneville Herbein and Jackson Snyder. Jared Hoch was long the treasurer of the school-house fund.

Dr. George De Benneville may be regarded as the first minister to take up his residence in the township for the purpose of teaching and preaching. He settled on what was known as the Peter Knabb farm. He built a spacious house, in which he taught and preached, and also frequently held services in the Moravian meeting-house. He was a medical practitioner ; thus he became well known and popular among the people, and, as he did not belong to any particular sect, he was called on to preach the funeral services of most of the early settlers. It was he who encouraged the custom of having private burial-grounds on the farms, as a mat- ter of convenience, since public cemeteries were few and far removed In belief he was a Res- torationist, but made no effort to establish that sect in Oley. Upon the breaking out of the Indian troubles, in 1755, he removed to near Philadelphia, where he died.

OLEY REFORMED CHURCH was founded in the Manatawny Valley, in one of the richest sections of the township. A number of Cal- vinists lived there, and one of them, John Lesher, on the 13th of April, 1734, deeded one hundred and thirty-two perches of land to Gabriel Boyer and Casper Griesemer, "in trust for the society of Christian people inhabiting Oley, professing the doctrines and tenets of John

1 Loskiel.

" The Moravian schools of Germantown and of Frederick township were incorporated into this school. In August, 1750, the following pupils were transferred from the Fred- erick school to Oley : David Beck, of Bethlehem ; Abraham and John Bibighausen, George M. Graaf, Abraham Haller, Michael Kraemer, John Riehm and John Weber, all of Lan- caster County ; Jonathan and Peter Jones, of New Provi- dence township; Abraham Leiubach, Peter Vetter, of Oley ; Israel Horsfield, of Long Island ; Isaac Noble, of New York; Frederick Klemm, of Philadelphia; John Walton and Isaac, a Mohegan Indian, of Shecomeco. 80

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Calvin." Upon this lot a small log meeting- house was built in 1735, in which preached the visiting German Reformed ministers, and also, occasionally, a Lutheran minister. Among the former were the Rev. Henry Goetschy (who also preached before the church was built), Rev. George Michael Wiest, Rev. Johannes Bartholo- maes Rieger, Rev. J. B. Boehm, Rev. Michael Schlatter and Rev. - Leydick. In 1754 a new meeting-house was built by John Lesher, Casper Griesemer and Gabriel Boyer, which was used until the present edifice took its place, in 1822. The names of these members of the building committee were cut on the vane which adorned the roof of the church, and which was in the form of a huge rooster. The building was partly of stone and finished up with logs, making it more substantial than attractive. The floor was composed of bricks, about eight inches square and three inches thick. For a number of years there was no stove in it. In other respects it was like the churches of that day, having the old-fashioned pulpit and the usual number of side-doors. Whilst the second church was being built the congregation made an effort to secure a regular pastor, and, in 1755, appointed Elders John Lesher and Casper Griesemer to visit the Coetus at Lancas- ter and present a petition for a minister. Revs. Wiest, Schlatter, Leydick, Waldsmith and Steyner were appointed supplies for this congre- gation and congregations at Reading and other places in this part of the country. In 1761 Oley united with Reading in extending a call to the Rev. William Otterbein, which he de- clined, and no regular pastor was secured until 1771, when the Rev. John William Boos as- sumed that relation and preached eleven years. In 1782 the Rev. -- Nebling became the pastor, followed, in 1784, by Rev. Bernhart Willy, and by Rev. John William Ingold in 1786. A few years later the Rev. John Wil- liam Boos was again the pastor, and was fol- lowed by the Revs. Fred Herman, -- Dech- ant, Augustus Pauli, J. Sassaman Herman, Daniel E. Schoedler and the present, Rev. I. S. Stahr. The membership approximates four hundred and the congregation is in a flourish- ing condition. The Lutherans also worshipped

in the old church, but in 1821 they became a distinct body and erected a place of worship on an adjoining lot. The following year the Re- formed congregation vacated its old church, and in May, 1822, laid the corner-stone of the pres- ent brick edifice, which was erected by a build- ing committee having as its members Daniel Griesemer, Peter Knabb, Tobias Schall and Peter Guldin. It was dedicated late the same year and was used as built until 1880, when it was remodeled and made very attractive in its interior arrangements and embellishments.

CHRIST'S LUTHERAN CHURCH .- Having de- termined to erect their own house of worship, instead of uniting with the Reformed congrega- tion in building a new church in place of the old Oley Church, which had become unfitted by age, the Lutheran members selected as their building committee Henry J. Spang, Martin Yoder and William Trout, and began oper- ations early in 1821. A lot was procured from Jacob S. Spang, adjoining the old church, upon which was laid the corner-stone May 27, 1821, and the building was completed so far that a meeting was held in it on Christmas the same year. It is a plain structure, almost square, built of rough stone. It has been occupied since its consecration, May 27, 1822. It was repaired in 1878.

On January 6, 1822, Conrad Miller was in- stalled the first pastor, and the congregation adopted its constitution on the 31st of March following. Rev. Miller served until 1834. The subsequent pastors were,-

1834-39, Isaac Roeller. 1840, Daniel Kohler. 1841-44, Mark Harpel. 1845-48, A. T. Geisen- heimer.

1848-53, George F. Mil- ler.

1853-66, G. A. Hinterlei- ter.

Since December 16, 1866, the Rev. T. T. Iaegar has officiated as pastor. The congrega- tion is in a prosperous condition and has about the same number of members as the Reformed. In 1868 both churches were inclosed with a beautiful iron fence, costing two thousand five hundred dollars. It was built under the direc- tion of Benneville Griesemer and James Staple- ton.

The Oley Cemetery is controlled by an asso-

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TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

ciation chartered in 1870. The present officers are Samuel Hoch, president ; Dr. A. N. Fegley, secretary ; and John B. Yingling, treasurer. It comprises about four acres, which are neatly kept. Some fine monnments have been erected.

A Sunday-school was instituted here on June 6, 1852, after some opposition had been man- ifested against it.

Upon part of the old Reformed lot are the ruins of the old stone parochial school-house, which was used before the adoption of the free- school system. In it were taught some good schools, for the times in which they were main- tained. It also served as the home of the or- ganist for some years.

Each church has provided ample shed-room for the horses of its members.

FRIEDEN'S CHURCH1 (Reformed and Inth- eran) .- Members of these denominations, re- siding in the northern and western parts of Oley, and desiring a more convenient place of wor- ship than the neighboring churches afforded, decided, at a meeting held January 1, 1830, to build a church of their own at a place in the township now Friedensburg, and appointed John Laucks, Henry Dengler, Gideon Schneider and Abraham De Turk a building committee. A few days later (January 5th) Henry Dengler executed a deed in trust for one hundred and thirty-three perches of land, to Jacob H. Reiff, Johu Hunter, Sr., Solomon Boyer and Abraham Haas, " for the use of a church in which the Christian religion might be taught in German, according to the several doctrines of the Lutheran and Calvinist, or German Reformed Churches." Church regulations were now drawn up and the plan of the organization set forth as being purely fraternal, whence the name " Friedens " was suggested for the new building. Provision was also made to erect a school-house at the same time, which was to be controlled wholly by the trustees ; and all these interests were to be " independent of synodical connection until the end of all time." The corner-stone of the church was laid May 23, 1830, and the two buildings were completed the following year at a cost of $1678.11}.

This amount was exclusive of the work gratui- tously done, which aided materially in the con- struction. The frames of the doors and windows were procured from a large oak, which stood on the farm of David Levan (now Mahlon De Turk), this having been cut down by the mem- bers and converted into lumber at a neighboring saw-mill.

On the 13th of August, 1831, the first bap- tism in the church took place, Solomon S. Reider receiving that rite; and the first com- munion was held October 23d of the same year. On August 30, 1854, the church and cemetery connected with it became an incorporated body. Then the cemetery was enlarged, comprising now more than three acres, which have been attractively improved. The trustees in 1886 were J. B. Leinbach, P. L. Glase, Stephen Reider, Daniel Link, George Brownmiller, John R. Adelman and John Dengler.

The congregations have prospered and in- creased in membership (each having about three hundred) so that the old church was no longer a fit earthly temple, and it was decided to erect a new one of larger capacity, and better suited to the requirements of the times. On April 5, 1886, the work of demolishing the old church was begun and on its site a new structure of brick will be erected, with a capacity for eight hundred persons. The tower is to be one hun- dred and three feet high, and is to contain a bell weighing eighteen hundred pounds. The committee charged with building this house are Henry Dellecker, Jacob Hoch, Charles Reiff, Joel Haas, P. L. Glase and J. B. Herbein. While it is being built the congregations will worship in the " Union Church," below Friedens- burg, and the Sunday-school, which was organ- ized and held for a time in the church school- house, will be held in the public school building. Until 1867 it was held in summer only, but since that time it has been continued all year. H. Van Sickle and J. H. Major were the first two superintendents ; and D. D. Hoch and J. L. Endy the last two. The school is well attended.

The following have been the pastors of the church and the years they began to teach :

1 From data by J. B. Herbein.

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Reformed.

1830, Carl Herman.

1839, Aug. Herman.

1841, Isaac Miesse.

1848, N. S. Strassburger.

1861, Isaac Miesse.

1862, P. P. A. Hoffman. 1879, Daniel E. Schoed- ler. 1884, I. S. Stahr (present pastor).

Lutheran.

1830, Isaac Roeller.

1853, A. J. Hinterleiter.

1838, Daniel Kohler.

1866, T. T. Iaeger.

1848, A. T. Geisenheimer.

1849, George F. Miller.

1883, U. P. Heilman (pre-ent pastor).

From the organization of the congregations until 1882 the services were almost exclusively in German, but since the latter date one-fourth of the preaching has been English.

ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH is located at Pleasantville, aud is an attractive brick edi- fice, having capacity for four hundred people. It was erected in 1879, and dedicated Novem- ber 23, 1879, at a cost of about twenty-four hundred dollars. A neat spire embellishes the outside appearance of the building. The con- gregation occupying it was organized, in 1868, of members who belonged to the Lobachsville and Hill Churches, and who adhered to the Rev. Alfred D. Croll when he withdrew from the old Lutheran Synod of Pennsylvania and connected himself with the class known as New Lutheran. The membership was at first small, but increased until forty belonged, which is the number reported in 1886. The meetings were held in the Odd-Fellows' Hall until the church was completed, and the Rev. Croll was the pastor until his death, in 1876. Since that time the pastors have been Revs. William Cutter, Edward Darron, William H. Lewars, John A. Singmaster, and the present, George W. Fritsch. The church controls a cemetery of one acre, part of which was the old burial- ground of the Yoder family.

EBENEZER EVANGELICAL CHURCH is a small, plain frame building, erected in 1869, at the same place. At that time there were thirty-five members, and Rev. Frank Sechrist was the preacher in charge of the Friedens- burg Circuit, which supplies this church. From the records at hand it appears that in 1853 a class of the association was organized at that place, which had twenty-two members, Jacob Bertolet as a local preacher, and S. Brei-

fogel as the leader. They were known as the Maxatawny Class, of the Milford Circuit, and Henry Bucks was the preacher in charge. Since that time, among the Evangelical preachers in this section have been Revs. Wiland, Specht, Gold, Hess, Ziegenfuss, Gingrich, Zorn, Se- christ, Adams, Harber, Glick and the present, R. Deisher. In 1886 there were fifty-four mem- bers. Its trustees then were Albert Cleaver, Reuben Sharer and Irwin Kline.

SALEM CHURCH OF THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION at Friedeusburg was built in 1881. The congregation occupying it was or- ganized about 1840, and was one of the fruits of the religious excitement which prevailed in the township at that period. Meetings were first held at the house of Daniel Bertolet, Sr., in the barns of the members or in nature's own temple, the leafy woods. But, soon afterward, Daniel Bertolet erected a union meeting-house, in the locality of his home, one mile from Friedensburg, in which the meetings of the Association were statedly held for some ten years, when an acre of land was purchased, at Friedensburg, for church and cemetery pur- poses, upon which was erected a plain, stone church. This was occupied until 1881, when it was demolished and the material used in the present edifice. The corner-stone was laid in July of that year, and the church dedicated o: January 29, 1882, by the Rev. I. E. Knerr. It is a brick building, with a spire ninety-five feet high, which includes a bell weighing one thousand pounds. The building committee comprised W. H. Butterweck, William Schroe- der and Amos Manwiller. Rev. Thomas Harber was the preacher in charge of the circuit at that time. The present trustees are B. R. High, William Schroeder and George Schaerer. The members number fifty, constituting a class of which Lewis Hoeffer is the leader. The Sun- day-school has seventy-five members and George Dellecker is the superintendent. This church also belongs to Friedensburg Circuit, and, in addition to the pastors named in the Eman- uel Church, the Revs. Moses Dissinger, John Koehl and Joseph Sayler preached, in the latter when the stone church was built.

Union Church (mentioned in connection with

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TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

Salem Church) is used by various denomina- tions, besides the Evangelicals. The property is held in trust by the heirs of Dauiel Bertolet, who thus carry out the purpose of the founder. A cemetery is connected with it, in which are interred many people of that part of the town- ship.

OLEY ACADEMY.

This institution had its origin in the desire of many of the best people of Oley to have in their midst a school where iustruction in the higher branches might be obtained. An effort was made as early as 1850 to establish such a school at Friedensburg, which failed, owing to the want of enterprise and forethought on the part of some of the members of the School Board serving at that time.

The free-school system was accepted in 1849, and when school buildings had to be provided, the following year, Dr. Peter G. Bertolet (one of the most progressive citizens of the township), as a member of the School Board, urged the erection of a two-story building, in which a graded school should be taught, promising, on the part of the people of Friedensburg, that if such a school building were erected there, the citizens would defray one-half of the expense. He was warmly seconded by Martin Yoder ; but the prejudice against such schools overcame the judgment of the majority of the directors and the proposition was defeated.

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 156

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