History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 191

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

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Lei B. Smith

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TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

their landlord to renew their lease unless they would comply with the requirements of that hated act.

With her brother John came Mary Smith, who married Alexander Fulton, and to whom in due time was born a grandson, Robert Ful- ton, who has indissolubly linked his name with the history of steam navigation. John Smith died in 1765, aged seventy-nine years, and liis wife Susanna in 1767, aged seventy-six years.

Three elder brothers having sought their for- tunes elsewhere, the homestead in Uwchlan fell to Robert Smith, who was born at sea during the voyage to this country, and who had mar- ried, December 20, 1758, Margaretta, daughter of John Vaughn, of Red Lion, Uwchlan town- ship. Sergeant Robert Smith is reported in the public records of the time as " going to Reading to be qualified," when, in 1757, the war between the French and English made the Indians rest- less and aggressive. In August, 1775, when the colonial government was discussing means for the protection of Philadelphia, the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania returned thanks to Robert Smith for a model of a machine for handling chevaux-de-frise, with which to obstruct the channel of the Delaware River, just below Red Bank, N. J. He sat in the convention which, on September 28, 1776, adopted the first State Constitution of Pennsyl- vania.

Being a man of considerable means and of extensive influence, he was appointed, on the 12th of March, 1777, by the Supreme Execu- tive Council, to the position of lieutenant of Chester County, with the rank of colonel, and the charge of raising, arıning and provisioning the military contingent of his district, and pre- paring the troops to take the field. He retired from this position (which he had filled for nine most eventful years) March 21, 1786. He served for one term in the State Assembly in 1785, and in 1787 retired to his farm after twelve years of public life. He died in 1803, aged eighty-three years, and his wife died in 1822, at the age of eighty-seven.

Of their children, Jonathan was, for many years, honorably and prominently connected with the First and Second United States Banks

aud the Bank of Pennsylvania, as their cashier. John Smith, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born April 8, 1762. As a young man he was manager of Warwick Furnace, Chester County, for Colonel Thomas Bull, the proprietor. In December, 1790, he married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Colonel Thomas and Ann (Hunter) Bull, and settled at Dale Forge, Berks County, which he owned and carried on until about 1796, when he removed to Joanna Furnace, Berks County, where the remainder of his life was passed. He was an active and successful business man. He died April 2, 1815.

Of the children of John Smith, three were sons,-Thomas, Levi B. and John Vaughan. Levi B. was born at Joanna Furnace February 8, 1806. He received a liberal education, graduating with honor at Princeton College, N. J., in the class of 1824, studied law and graduated at the Litchfield Law School, Litch- field, Conn., and was admitted to practice at the bar of Berks County January 10, 1827, though not with any intention of devoting himself to the legal profession. He was married April 10, 1827, to Emily H. Badger, a native of Bucksport, Me., of Puritan descent, whose an- cestors emigrated to New England in 1635.

Soon after his marriage, he engaged in busi- ness, first at the Old Reading Hall, Chester County, and afterward at Mount Airy, about a mile southeast of Birdsboro. In 1833 he formed a partnership in the iron business at Joanna Furnace, with his brother-in-law, William Dar- ling, who was also a member of the bar, and better known as Judge Darling. The firm of Darling & Smith, which lasted more than thirty years, became known through the whole country for their manufacture of wood-stoves, some of which can still be seen in the homes of many families in the county, with the name of the firm cast upon them in raised letters. This firm was subsequently dissolved, and gave place to that of Levi B. Smith & Co., and later, to Levi B. Smith & Sons. The business interests of these firms, together with that of his sons, Bently, William, Heber, Horace and Stanley, associated as Smith & Bros., extended through the three counties of Berks, Lancaster and

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Chester, comprising the Joanna Furnace, in Berks, Isabella Furnace, in Chester, extensive iron-ore lands in Lancaster, with over six thou- sand acres of land.

In 1862 Mr. Smith relinquished the active management of these business enterprises to his sons and removed to Reading, where he became one of its most useful and honored citizens. He Mr. Smith's business connections in this city and county were of the most extensive charac- was, in politics, an Old Line Whig, and a Repub- lican from the formation of that party. He ter. He was ever ready to lend his aid to pro-

manifested a deep interest in politics, and in his younger days took an active part in Na- tional, State and County Conventions. He was frequently a delegate to these bodies, where his services were always of a valnable character. He was a candidate for Congress in 1860. His popularity thoughont the county, and particu- larly in the southern townships, ran him far ahead of the ticket. In Robeson, out of 543 votes he received 435; in Caernarvon, 140 out of 200. Mr. Smith was on the Lincoln electoral

ticket the same year, but in consequence of having been nominated for Congress he resigned. He was outspoken and fearless in his Republi- can principles, and assisted largely in establish- ing and maintaining the party in the county. He was a warm friend of the colored race and a sympathizer with them in their troubles.

mote public improvement. He was one of the founders of the First National Bank of Read- ing, and was its president from its organization till the time of his death. He was one of the managers of the Reading Gas Company, one of the founders of the Reading Fire Insurance Company, and a leading member of the Read- ing Library Company and the Reading-Room Association. He was an earnest and faithful member of the Episcopal Church and a member of the vestry of Christ Church at the time of

1157

TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

his death. For over thirty years he was a dele- gate to the Diocesan Conventions from St. Thomas' Church, Morgautown, and in 1858 a member of the General Convention which met in New York.

During the Rebellion but few men exhibited more spirit, energy and patriotism than he. He contributed liberally for the organization and equipment of companies to crush the Rebellion. Largely through his instrumentality three com- panies were sent out, each of which was com- mauded by one of the following sous: Bently H., L. Heber and William D. Smith.

In private life Mr. Smith hore an unblem- ished character, and was esteemed for his many virtues. He was a friend to the poor, a coun- selor to those in distress and a warm-hearted and pleasant companion. He died August 9, 1876, and left a widow and seven children, four sons (three named and Dr. Stanley Smith, och- list) and three daughters (Mrs. W. H. Clymer, Mrs. E. J. Richards and Miss Emily Smith).

L. HEBER SMITH, son of Levi B. Smith, was born on the homestead at Joanna Furnace, and, on the death of his father, succeeded to the iron interests at that place, of which he is now the exclusive proprietor and the first sole owner of the property. He indicated his patriotism dur- ing the late Rebellion by raising a company in July, 1862, afterward enrolled as Company A, of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regi- ment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, of which he became captain. Soon after the battle of An- tietam, in which this regiment participated, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy and was actively engaged at South Mountain and Chancellorsville. At the latter battle he was taken prisoner, and, after a short confinement in Libby Prison, he was paroled. Colonel Smith was married on the 17th of June, 1868, to Ella Jane, daughter of Clement B. Grubb, of Lan- caster City, Pa. Their children are Clement Grubb, Heber Levi, Mary Grubb, Daisy Emily and Stanley McDonald. Colonel Smith, in his political sentiments, is a stanch Republican, and, while an active and influential member of the party, has always declined office. He is a di- rector of the First National Bank of Reading, and identified with the leading business interests of the county.

Colonel Smith is a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, being a member of St. Thomas' Church, Morgantown, of which he is a vestryman.

CAERNARVON TOWNSHIP.

THE township of Caernarvon is situated in the extreme southern section of the county. The territory was settled by the Weish at a very early period. The township, by this name, had been erected before 1729, whilst still a part of Chester County. It is not known how early the first settlements were made. The discovery of iron and copper in this section of the Conestoga Valley may have attracted set- tlers here about 1700; but general immigra- tion would seem not to have been encouraged till 1732, because the Indians claimed the ter- ritory. The northerly line of the released land, fixed in 1718, was in this vicinity. In the erection of the township the whole of the Conestoga Valley was included, though it lay north of South Mountain,1 and though par- ticular settlements had not yet, it is believed, been effected. In 1729 it was described as being bounded by Salisbury township, Cadwal- lader Ellis' land, a township not named (sup- posed to have been Robeson), Earl township and Leacock township; and George Hudson was constable.

The Welsh gave this name to the township. Caernarvon was, and is still, the name of a county in the northern part of Wales, and, it having been the native place of the settlers, they naturally suggested it as a proper name for the section of country in which they esta- blished their new home.

When Berks County was erected, the western boundary line extended through this township. The portion which was cut to the county in- cluded about eight thousand five hundred acres and retained the same name. The area was not reduced at any time.

TAXABLES OF 1759 .- The following list comprises the taxable inhabitants of the town- ship for the year 1759. The tax levied was

1 The southerly range of the South Mountain chain.

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

£27, 19s. and John Light was the collector of taxes :

£ £

Adam Ash . 10

John Jones .

Matthias Broadsword . 10

Jacob Light . 22

John Brackin

Jacob Light, Sr 8

Valentine Carberry

John Light . 18

Joseph Davis 9

Christian Long . 10

John Dancey .

Thomas Morgan 16

Robert Ellis

.15

Richard Phillp

John Evans 3

Mark Pealor .

John Farnon . 3

Charles Richardson 12

Charles Farnon

William Robeson 9

James Fisher

Aaron Rettew . 14

Daniel Fox

Moses Robeson

Daniel Gillis

.10

George Rasor

Jacob Hoffman .

John Stevens

Thomas Harper

Cornelius Shea . .10

David Jones . 22

Henry Talbert . . 12

Single Men.

Robert Cunningham.

John Morgan.

Daniel Davis.

John Talbert.

Thomas Fisher.

INDUSTRIES .- Although the volume of the streams of the township is not great, there are a number of mill-sites whose advantages were ap- preciated and improved soon after the settlement of the country. Near the head-waters of Con- estoga Creek are the Spring Mills, formerly owned by George Robeson, which have had many owners, and which are still in operation. Lower down the stream, in the valley proper, the Morgans improved the water-powers, which, together with some farming lands, became the property of the Clymers, Edward having the upper mill, and William the lower, where were an oil-mill and a distillery. In part of the mill-house an inn was kept. The Clymers sold the property to the Rev. Levi Bull, who discontinued the distillery; and the oil-mill was afterwards converted into a feed-mill by Isaac Graham. The Clymer homestead and the upper mill became the property of the Kurtzes, who still possess the same. The mill is still operated. At the confluence of the branches of the Conestoga, Dieter Bechtel had a mill, which is now the property of John P. Mast, who supplied roller machinery in 1885, and added steam-power in the spring of 1886, making it one of the best mills in this part of the country. On the left branch of the Cones- toga, near Morgantown, Joseph Broadbent em- ployed the power (which had been used to operate a flax-brake and carding-machine) to carry on the machinery of a woolen-factory in

1841, and enlarged the building in 1842. He manufactured all kinds of woolen goods, and discontinued it in 1864, the machinery having been removed soon afterward. Above this place was another carding-machine where Stephen Mast has had a clover-mill and a small mill for chopping feed ; and in the same local- ity sorghum syrup was manufactured, about 1864, by John P. Mast, in a building specially erected for that purpose.

In the hills beyond, iron-ore has been mined by E. & G. Brooke, a good quality being ob- tained ; and the Jones mines, three miles east- ward, among the oldest and most productive in the county, are still being worked.1

CHURCHES.

ST. THOMAS' CHURCH (EPISCOPAL) .-- Thomas Morgan, in his last will, dated Decem- ber 6, 1740, devised to his four sons, John, Francis, William and Jacob, and their heirs, in trust, one acre of ground in Caernarvon, for the purpose of erecting thereon a house of worship and for a burying-ground. He also devised a tract of ninety-three acres of land in the same township, the rent of which should be applied towards building the church and maintaining services in the same. This land was held in trust until 1832, when it was sold, and the principal put on interest until 1886, when it was applied towards the erection of a parsonage for the parish at Morgantown.

Some years after 1740 a church was built on the acre lot, situated south of Morgantown, on the present Adam Styer farm. It was called " St. Thomas' Chapel," and services were held in it according to the formns of the Church of . England. This chapel was neatly furnished in 1759, but had no settled minister, and Thomas Barton declared his purpose to visit the people the coming spring, with a view of securing an Episcopal minister for them. There was no regular rector before the accession of Dr. Levi Bull, some time before the close of the century. The chapel becoming too small, the State Assembly was petitioned for consent to estab- -

1 See Chap. II., Physical Geography, p. 28.

Peter Dix . 11

Francis Morgan

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TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

lish the chapel in that village, and the congre- gation became incorporated on March 6, 1786.

In 1792 Jacob Morgan donated lot No. 32, on Reading Street, in Morgantown, for church purposes. The chapel was built of logs on this lot, and so arranged as to forin two rooms, one serving for school purposes. This building was used until 1824, when the present church edifice was erected upon the same site. It is a plain stone building, almost square, having a basement and auditorium. When the old chapel was removed the burial-ground con- nected with it reverted to the farm of Benjamin Gehman, who had bought it from the Morgans, and the' lot was turned into a field, which was plowed over by Gehman. No trace of the spot now remains. It is supposed that Thomas Morgan was among those interred at that place. The grave-yard connected with the new church also contains many interments, among them be- ing the following before 1800: Jacob Morgan, Rachel Morgan, Alexander Laverty and Henry Mengel. It contains the grave of James Lin- coln, who was ninety-four years old ; John Sypherd, eighty six ; John Teater, eighty- four; Samuel Laverty, eighty ; and others whose years were more than three-score and ten. The school-house adjoining the church lot was built in 1827 and remodeled in 1879. For the past fifty years the public schools have been taught in it. It is one of the oldest build- ings of the kind now remaining in the county. The parish in 1886 had thirty-three members.

The successive pastors of St. Michael's Chapel have been the following : Revs. Levi Bull, D.D., James Woodward, Jr., Flower, Edward Lycett, Henry M. Stewart, Francis E. Arnold, William R. Gries, Henry R. Smith, John Ireland and Samuel McElwee.

THE MORGANTOWN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH .- The edifice at present occupied by the Methodists of Morgantown and vicinity was dedicated November 3, 1878. It is a two-story sand-stone structure, and cost eight thousand dollars. The interior is handsomely finished, with frescoed walls. At the time the edifice was erected, the Rev. Edward Devine was the pastor. The succeeding ministers were Revs. William W. Smith, W. W. Cookman

and, since April, 1886, the Rev. Amos A. Ar- thur. The members number one hundred and fifteen, constituting two classes, led by Adam Styer and L. B. Foreman.

The first church was built in 1832, on the same lot, part of which forms a burial-ground. It was a small, one-story stone building and used until the present church took its place. For many years the membership of the church was small.

HARMONY MEETING-HOUSE was erected in the fall of 1871, to accommodate such denomi- nations as might wish to worship in that local- ity. Though Union in nature, it has been occu- pied chiefly by the Methodists, the minister serving this charge in connection with appoint- ments in Chester County. The building is of brown sandstone and has sittings for two hun- dred and fifty persons. The members occupying it are few in number. It stands on the site of an old stone house, which was small and very plainly finished. The church lot was donated by Colonel L. Heber Smith, of Joanna Furnace, near which place the church is located.

Several miles south from this place is a small Baptist meeting-house, occupied by a congrega- tion of that faith, whose membership is also small.

CAERNARVON CEMETERY, opposite Saint Thomas' church-yard, at Morgantown, was laid out in July, 1882, by J. Howard Jacobs, Esq., of Reading, and has an area of three acres, laid out in fourteen sections, containing four hun- dred and ten lots. Fine monuments have been erected by the Jacobs and Kurtz families.

MORGANTOWN, the only village in the township, and one of the oldest in the county, is located in the beautiful Conestoga Valley, near the Lancaster County line. It was named after Jacob Morgan, who laid out the town about 1770. He was a son of Thomas Morgan, a native of Wales, who was a captain in the French and Indian War, and who had become the owner of a large tract of the choicest land in what is now Caernarvon. In 1765 Jacob Morgan was a merchant at Philadelphia, but he must have settled in this township soon after- ward. He died at Morgantown in 1792, at the age of seventy-six years, and his wife, Rachel,

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

in 1791, aged sixty-eight years. They had sons named Jacob and Benjamin and several daugh- ters, one of whom was Rebecca (Price), who in- termarried with the Wetherill family, of Phila- delphia. Jacob Morgan took an active part in the Revolutionary War. Thomas Morgan was a brother of Jacob, and the father of sons named John, Francis, Jacob and William, most of whom figured in the early history of the vil- lage.

The original plat of the village embraced thirty-two lots, located on both sides of a street eighty feet wide, except on Centre Square, which was forty feet wide. These lots were each sixty by two hundred and sixty feet. In 1802 they were owned by Abner Lewis, Lott Evans, Joseph Ashton, Mary Hudson and Wil- liam Morgan. In 1835 the lot-owners on the south side of the street were Charles Brooke, E. Rees, D. Morgan, S. Dingler, R. Laverty, E. Morgan, J. Jenkins, J. Morgan, W. Grier, John Dougherty, J. Good and the Methodist Church. On the north side, from the west, J. Sands, A. Fobes, D. Morgan, B. Clemson, John Morgan, David Finger, J. and S. Roberts, John Roberts, D. Morgan and Ann Clymer. Jehu Jones lived on Reading Street. One of the above-named, John Sands, a cabinet-maker, is still living at Morgantown, aged eighty-seven years. David Finger was another early cabinet- maker, an occupation which is now carried on by H. G. Weaver. Other pioneer tradesmen were Wilson and William Hamilton, wheel- wrights ; John Pawling, blacksmith ; Frank and John Gillespie and John Dougherty, tai- lors ; James Quinn and John Mason, shoe- makers ; Edward Wells, carpenter ; Henry Clark, cooper ; David Gilmore, tinsmith ; John Kelcher, mason. There was another mason, remembered only as " Wee Billy," who built several of the stone houses with clay mortar, which, it is said, the hogs in the street mixed for him. He prepared a bed of clay mortar, in which he threw a lot of shelled corn, which tempted the hogs to wallow in the clay until it was thoroughly mixed. This ingenious mason removed at an early day.

In the early history of the village there were numerous public-houses. One was near the

Methodist Church, called the " Hamilton House," which was kept by John Gray, Thomas Jones and others. The well of the tavern was in the street. On one occasion a great excite- ment was created when a horseman rode into it, hut fortunately without injury to beast or rider. The site of Odd-Fellows' Hall was occupied by a store and tavern, as was also the place where is now Dr. Plank's residence. David Morgan built a part of the old hotel in 1799 and kept it about thirty years. It was extended to its present condition by Daniel K. Plank and has always been used as a tavern. Stores were also kept in it by John and James Morgan and others until 1841. In the " Hoffman House " Dieter Bechtel was an early landlord. Rees Evans was at the same place. For many years it was a residence. In 1878 it was again devoted to tavern purposes. Among the early merchants, Dr. McFarland was one of the first after the Morgans. He traded in the present Kenney residence, which he built. He also followed his profession, leaving the village about 1809. Later merchants at that place were James Byers and William Ross. Samuel Laverty and Rob- ert Laverty traded in the old Foreman house, while Thomas Crews and later John C. Evans had stores in the John Plank residence. Wil- liam Morris and his son James were the mer- chants in the Broadbent residence. The Duch- man store was erected as a hall, for a boarding- school, by Alexander Tutton, about 1853, but not proving profitable, William Corbet converted it into a store a few years afterward. Here is kept the Morgantown post-office, established in 1806, the fourth office in the county. There are two mails per day. At one time six mail routes concentrated here, and Morgantown was the centre for a large scope of country. In " Odd- Fellows' Hall " stores have been kept since 1868, the first being Webb & Austin's.

The manufacture of cigars has lately been added to the interests of the place, factories being carried on by Emil Myers, Foreman & Kenney and W. S. Duchman. Twenty-five hands are employed in this business.

Dr. Hopperstetter was, next to Dr. McFar- land, a practitioner at Morgantown. Later physicians were Dr. John S. Seltzer and Dr.

RESIDENCE OF LT. COL. JONATHAN JONES, Caernarvon Township, Berks Co., Penna., 1776.

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TOWNSHIPS OF COUNTY.

Henry Woodruff. Dr. D. Heber Plank has been in active practice at Morgantown since 1869, being the only resident physician.

The old buildings of the village have lately been beautified, and with the addition of several new ones, the place has been made attractive.

Union Lodge, No. 66, F. and A. M., was in- stituted at Morgantown in 1797, but it never had a strong membership. In 1816 there were twenty members and in 1833, when the last meeting was held before suspending, only five members were present, John C. Evans being the last Master. From that time until Novem- ber 10, 1870, there was no Masonic body at Morgantown. Union Lodge, No. 479, was then instituted. In 1886 there were thirty- eight members, whose meetings were held in Odd-Fellows' Hall.

Caernarvon Lodge, No. 557, I. O. O. F., was instituted December 17, 1859, and has at present thirty-six members and assets amount- ing to three thousand six hundred dollars.

The hall was erected in 1868 by the Mor- gantown Hall Association, who sold out to the Odd-Fellows. The building is of stone, three stories high, and originally had the second and third stories set aside for hall purposes, the second being used for public gatherings. The hall used by the above lodges is spacious and furnished in good style.

Conestoga Vigilant Company is an associa- tion of horse-owners for protection against theft. It was founded in 1822 and has at pres- ent a membership of fifty. The quarterly meetings are held at Morgantown, where its principal officers reside.

JOANNA STATION, on the Wilmington and Northern Railroad, is in the northeastern part of the township, near the Jones Iron-Mines. It contains but a few buildings, one of them being the store of Allison Fosnacht, where is kept the Joanna Furnace post-office, established at the iron-works whose name it bears in De- cember, 1830. From this place the Morgan- town mail is supplied. Southeast from this place country stores have been kept for short periods, and on the Conestoga pike, Daniel Ubil had an inn soon after 1800, this being now a farm-house on the Abraham Kurtz place.

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 191

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