USA > Pennsylvania > Carbon County > History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania; also containing a separate account of the several boroughs and townships in the county, with biographical sketches > Part 38
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He was the author of a handbook on Pennsylvania Dutch, a translation of Rip Van Winkle, and a number of other publications in that dialect.
He was probably the first, and certainly the most consistent, advocate of building a railroad to the Flag Staff, now a popular pleasure resort, towering on the mountain above Mauch Chunk, and he lived to par- ticipate in driving the golden spike, signalizing the completion of that project.
Mr. Rauch's most remarkable specialty was that of a handwriting expert. He was first called in this con- nection before a legal tribunal at Lebanon, about 1850. His success in this instance established his reputation, and he subsequently served in hundreds of similar cases in various parts of the Union.
Mr. Rauch was married in 1851 to Mrs. Theresa Cle- well, with whom he lived happily for nearly half a cen- tury. William H., Edward C., Lawrence L., and Rich- ard C. Rauch are their surviving children.
Captain Rauch enjoyed the acquaintance of most of the men prominent in public life in state and nation during two generations, while as an editor his name was familiar from one end of Pennsylvania to the other. His death occurred at Mauch Chunk on Sep- tember 8, 1902, in his eighty-third year.
Reese, Thomas R., an Audenried coal operator, and engaged in a number of other enterprises, was born near Merthyr Tidvil, Wales, April 30, 1861.
His father, Evan Reese, came to America with his family at the opening of the Civil War, settling at Ash-
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land, Schuylkill county. He came to 'Audenried in 1864 and became a mine foreman under George H. Meyers & Company, serving in that capacity for nearly twenty years. Later he conducted Weaver's Hotel, near Conyngham, Luzerne county. He was married to Mary Price, a native of Wales, and they had fifteen children. Mr. Reese died March 31, 1895, aged sixty years.
Thomas R. Reese began life as a slate picker on the breaker of the firm by whom his father was employed, at the tender age of nine. By successive promotions he finally became mine foreman and later a contract miner. He remained with this company for twenty- four years.
In 1893 Mr. Reese engaged in the livery business in partnership with Harry Taylor at Audenried. After four years he purchased the interest of Mr. Taylor, and has since conducted the business as sole owner.
In 1905 Mr. Reese purchased Pardee's old grist mill, for many years one of the landmarks of Hazleton, con- ducting a livery stable in the building. He disposed of this property in 1910.
Mr. Reese acquired the coal operation known as the Dusky Diamond Colliery, located at Beaver Brook, Lu- zerne county, from Thomas Morgan in 1901, and is still successfully engaged in the mining and shipping of coal at that place. He also has an interest in the Bangor Silk Mills, of Bangor, Northampton county.
Mr. Reese was united in wedlock to Miss Mary Smith, of Hazleton, on November 8, 1879. Their chil- dren are: Evan, Otto, Howard, Charles, William and May Reese.
The father of this family is a stalwart Republican and is now serving his third term as a supervisor of
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Banks township, in which Audenried is situated. He is recognized as a man of native force and ability.
Rehrig, Rev. W. M., pastor of St. John's Evangel- ical Lutheran church, of Mauch Chunk, and a man of broad public spirit and activity, is descended from Revolutionary stock, his great-grandfather, Conrad' Rehrig, having fought as a soldier under Washington. At the close of the war, he settled in what is now East Penn township, Carbon county, where some of his de- scendants are still engaged in agricultural pursuits.
The grandfather of the subject of this memoir was named John. His farm in East Penn township, con- sisted of four tracts, one of which originally belonged to William Thomas, whose estate was confiscated on the charge of treason during the war of Independence. Subsequently it was deeded to George Crossley by John Adams, then vice-president of the United States. After a number of transfers, it was in 1813 purchased by Mr. Rehrig, and he erected a log house and barn thereon.
It was in this house that Wilson Meyer Rehrig, son of Gideon and Susan (Meyer) Rehrig, was born on November 16, 1853. He prepared for college at the Lehighton Academy and in the academic department of Muhlenberg College, from which institution he was graduated in 1879. Entering the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, he completed his course in 1882, being ordained as a minister of the Lutheran church in June of the same year.
Immediately after his ordination he located at Girardville, Pa., where he organized a mission. Upon his resignation, in 1887, he had gathered a self-sustain- ing congregation of more than three hundred members.
Removing to Greenville, Mercer county, Pa., he as- sumed charge of a courtry parish, later becoming pas-
W. M. Relig.
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tor of the church of Thiel College, where he remained until 1898. During his pastorate here he was acting German professor of the college, besides being an in- structor in various other subjects. After leaving Greenville, Rev. Rehrig served the congregation of St. John's church, at Sayre, Pa., for two years, assum- ing the duties of his present charge on June 1, 1900. He has given his best efforts and, perhaps, the best years of his life to this congregation.
Rev. Rehrig served as president of the Wilkes-Barre Conference of the Lutheran church for a number of years, while he has been a member of the board of trustees of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia for about eight years. He is also presi- dent of the Slav Mission Board of the United States, which organization is maintained by the General Coun- cil of the Lutheran Church.
During the month of June, 1910, he attended the World's Missionary Conference, held at Edinburgh, Scotland, as the delegate of the churches of Carbon county, being accompanied by his wife, and making a general tour of Europe.
For post graduate work in philosophy, Thiel College conferred the degree of Ph.D. upon Rev. Rehrig, while the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Chicago hon- ored him with the degree of B.D.
He was married to Margaret M., daughter of Isaac M. English, of Harrisburg, February 26, 1884. Their two sons, John and Ralph, both died at the age of sev- enteen years.
Riegel, Johan A., a farmer and justice of the peace of Mahoning township, was there born, December 30, 1851. He traces his ancestry to Jacob Riegel, who emigrated from Germany to this country in 1747, he
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being one of four brothers who came to the United States together.
Jacob, the great-grandfather of Johan A. Riegel, settled in Bucks county, Pa. His son, Jacob Riegel, settled in Dauphin county, following the occupation of a farmer. One of his sons was Amos Riegel, father of the subject of this sketch, who was born in Dauphin county, July 15, 1815, and came to Carbon county in 1849. He owned much of the land on which James- town, a suburb of Lehighton, is now located. He was a successful farmer and cattle dealer. In 1858 he was elected by popular ballot to the office of sheriff of Car- bon county. In 1882, as a member of the Republican party, he was chosen as a county commissioner.
He was a veteran of the Rebellion, having gone to the front as second lieutenant of Company F, Thirty- fourth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, in response to the emergency call. He was honorably discharged at the expiration of his term of service.
Mr. Riegel was twice married, his first wife being Mary Hoffman, who died September 20, 1843, a short time subsequent to her marriage. In 1850 he was unit- ed in wedlock to Mrs. Abigal Hunsinger, of Mahoning township. Their children were as follows: Johan A., Jerome H., Tilghman and Sallie J. Riegel. The first and last named only survive, Sallie being unmarried and living in Lehighton.
Johan A. Riegel attended the public schools of Ma- honing township and of Mauch Chunk. Later he was a student at Millersville State Normal School, and in 1871 entered Palatinate College, Meyerstown, Pa. After completing his education he worked on his fa- ther's farm for a time, and in 1873 went west, spending nearly a quarter of a century in agricultural pursuits in the states of the middle west and of the Rocky moun- tain region.
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In the fall of 1896 he returned to Pennsylvania, lo- cating on the old homestead, where he has since re- mained. He was elected as a justice of the peace of Mahoning township in 1908. He is known as a man of independent thought and action, and is active in patri- otic society circles, being a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, the Sons of Veterans, the Order of Independent Americans and of the Junior Mechanics.
Mr. Riegel is an adherent of the Republican party and a member of the Reformed church. In 1877 he was married to Caroline Balliet, daughter of Paul Balliet and his wife Priscilla, of Garrett City, Indiana. Sarah H., whose birth occurred in 1885, is their only child. She remains at home.
Romig, Abraham J., superintendent of the plant of the Tide Water Pipe Company at Hudsondale, and senior member of the firm of A. J. Romig and Son, conducting an establishment for the repair and mainte- nance of automobiles and other vehicles, besides doing general blacksmithing, was born in Packer township on November 23, 1851. He is one of the ten children of Thomas and Caroline (Snyder) Romig, both life- long residents of Packer township.
Mr. Romig learned the trade of a blacksmith and wheelwright, which he followed for years. For the term of eight years he was employed at the powder mills of the Lafflin and Rand Company, situated in the western portion of Quakake Valley. He was also for a time employed by the Lehigh Valley Railroad Com- pany, at Weatherly, and by the Jeanesville Iron Works Company at Jeanesville.
About twenty-six years ago he entered the employ of the Tide Water Pipe Company, engaged in the transmission of petroleum between the oil fields and
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tide water, and maintaining a large pumping station at Hudsondale. After successive promotions, he became the local superintendent of this company, in which ca- pacity he has served for about seven years.
In association with his son, Charles, he, in 1911, es- tablished the shops of which he is the head. Both are mechanical geniuses, and they have built up a good trade.
On January 19, 1872, Mr. Romig was married to Catharine, a daughter of Charles Keiper, of Hudson- dale. They have seven children, as follows: Albert, Priscilla, the wife of Jonas Wetzel; Charles, Valentine, Cora, wife of Lewis Krop; Susan and Rosa.
Mr. Romig is a staunch Democrat, and is a member of the Reformed church.
Rosenstock, John E., engaged in the general insur- ance and real estate business at Weatherly, is the son of Casper and Elizabeth (Derr) Rosenstock.
The father emigrated to this country from Germany with his widowed mother and two sisters when but thirteen years of age, locating at Stockton, Luzerne county, and becoming the bread-winner of the family.
In 1854 he entered the service of the Beaver Meadow Railroad as a brakeman. When that road was merged with the Lehigh Valley, he continued in the employ of the new company, soon becoming a locomotive engineer and spending the remainder of his active life with this corporation. He retired in 1910, after a continuous service of about fifty-six years.
John E. Rosenstock is one of a family of ten chil- dren, and was born at Weatherly on November 4, 1860. Educated in the common schools, he mastered the trade of a molder, which he followed in the foundry of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Weatherly for many years. In 1892 he took charge of a department in a pipe foun-
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dry at Utica, N. Y., where he remained for a short time. He was one of the promoters of the National Spool and Bobbin Works, established at Weatherly in 1904, and was the superintendent of the plant while it continued in operation. Later he was with the Weatherly Foun- dry and Machine Company. He established himself in his present business in 1911.
Mr. Rosenstock has long taken an active part in the municipal affairs of his native town. He has held the offices of school director and assessor, while serving as the borough secretary since 1898. He is also a mem- ber of the fire department, and is identified with the board of trade and the improvement society. For a number of years he was a member of the board of auditors of the Middle Coal Field Poor District.
Affiliating with the Republican party, he has been associated with its county committee.
In 1884 Mr. Rosenstock was married to Nellie, daughter of J. A. Beers, of Weatherly. They became the parents of two daughters, Jennie, the wife of H. A. Young, and Mabel, who married Elmer Young. Mrs. Rosenstock died early in 1913.
Ross, Ira G., cashier of the Mauch Chunk National Bank, and for many years prominently identified with the financial interests of that place, is descended from Colonial ancestors.
His paternal forefathers were of Scottish lineage, while his father, James S. Ross, was born in Lehigh county, coming to Mauch Chunk in 1864. Entering the service of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com- pany in a clerical capacity, he, after a time became the general boating agent of that corporation.
He was married to Flora Osmun, of Allentown, whose father was of English extraction, while her
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mother was descended from Pennsylvania German stock.
Ira G. Ross was born at Bethlehem, Pa., February 23, 1861. He was for a time a student at St. Mark's Academy, at Mauch Chunk, and later, entering the high school of that borough, he was graduated with honors in 1879.
Beginning life as a clerk for the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, he was so engaged for about a year; and, in 1880, he entered the First National Bank of Mauch Chunk as a bookkeeper. He successively filled the various positions in the bank, and was finally appointed assistant cashier.
After the consolidation of the First National and the Linderman National Banks, in 1903, under the name of the Mauch Chunk National Bank, he was ap- pointed assistant cashier of the consolidation, holding that title until 1912, when he became cashier.
Mr. Ross was married to Mary, the youngest daugh- ter of Leonard Yeager, one of Mauch Chunk's oldest and most esteemed residents, on October 28, 1884. Their children are Helen, Katherine, and Ira G. Ross, Jr. The former is a graduate of the Mauch Chunk high school.
Mr. Ross is prominent in Masonic circles, being a .past officer in all the bodies of that order in Mauch Chunk, and belonging to Irem Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Wilkes-Barre. He has been the representative of Carbon Lodge to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania for a number of years.
He is a member and vestryman of St. Mark's Epis- copal church, of Mauch Chunk, and is treasurer of the parish. He was borough treasurer for six or seven years, and was a member of the board of education for a number of terms, having successively been secretary,
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treasurer, and president of that body. In addition to his other duties, he is secretary and treasurer of the Mauch Chunk Heat, Power and Electric Light Com- pany, and is a member of the board of directors of that company.
Schaefer, Joseph, Carbon county's best known hotel man, now living at East Mauch Chunk, was born at Easton, Pa., April 5, 1861, the youngest son of Bern- hard and Theresa (Pfeffer) Schaefer.
His parents were natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, whence they emigrated to the United States about 1850, their marriage having been celebrated in the fatherland.
Joseph acquired his early training in the German parochial schools of South Easton, subsequently pur- suing a general business course in the city of his birth. He was first employed in a general store at Easton, beginning at the age of twelve years.
His connection with the hotel business of Carbon county dates back to 1879, when he entered the service of P. H. Schweibinz, owner of the European Hotel, since known as the Central, at Mauch Chunk.
In association with E. I. J. Paetzel, a former pro- thonotary of the county, he, in 1894, secured a lease of the Armbruster House, conducting it for five years. At the expiration of that time, Mr. Schaefer became the landlord of the Central Hotel, continuing as such until the fall of 1911, when he retired, after an unin- terrupted and prosperous career of thirty-three years on the same square.
His hospitable nature and the homelike atmosphere which pervaded his hostelry were the prime factors in his success.
On November 29, 1893, he was married to Annie M., daughter of Anthony Armbruster, of East Mauch
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Chunk. They have two sons, Bernhard and Joseph. A daughter, Marie, died at the age of ten years.
Mr. Schaefer is identified with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Eagles, and a number of German societies. His political allegiance is given to the Democracy.
Schaeffer, Samuel, a Weatherly contractor and build- er, was born in the Mahoning Valley, Schuylkill county, Pa., on March 2, 1861. He is the son of Samuel and Juda Troxel Schaeffer, both natives of Lehigh county. Educated in the public schools and at the Normal In- stitute, situated in his native valley, he learned the carpenter trade.
Coming to Weatherly at the age of twenty years, he entered the car shops of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, where he remained for seven years. Subsequently he was engaged in general work in line with his calling, finally becoming a contractor and builder. In order to better qualify himself for the duties and demands of this wider field, he mastered a course in architecture during his spare time at home.
He has erected many modern dwelling houses and buildings of a public nature in various parts of Carbon county, usually employing quite a force of men.
Mr. Schaeffer has served as a school director of Weatherly, and was for a time a foreman in the volun- teer fire department of the town, being also a member of its board of trade.
In 1883 he was married to Ellen, daughter of Charles Shafer, of Monroe county. Five daughters and six sons have been born of this marriage.
Scott, E. E., a lawyer of Summit Hill, is one of the leading home builders of Carbon county, having been prominently connected with the organization of three very successful building and loan associations in the
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Panther Creek Valley section-one at Coal Dale, an- other at Lansford and the other at Summit Hill. The last named is the Homestead Building and Loan Asso- ciation, which furnishes the funds for the building of thirty homes a year on an average. It has assets of $380,000, and undivided profits in the sum of $80,000. It is over seventeen years old and Mr. Scott has been the secretary for over thirteen years.
Joseph, the father of E. E. Scott, was born in Ire- land, and emigrating to America, located at Mauch Chunk, where, in the early fifties, he married Fanny Crummer, also a native of the Emerald Isle. For thirty years he served in various capacities for the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.
Their children were: Joseph, who is a dentist at Avoca, Pa .; Ellsworth E., William C., who is a dentist at Lansford; Leighton C., an attorney of the same place, and Mary E. Scott, a former successful teacher of Lansford, now a resident of the same place.
Ellsworth E. Scott was born at Upper Mauch Chunk, December 23, 1861. At the age of nine years he be- came a wage earner as a slate picker on the boats of the Lehigh Canal at Mauch Chunk. The family moved to Coal Dale where he followed the same occupation. At fourteen he went inside as a door and sheet tender, and was finally promoted to bell boy at the head of the slope on the night shift. This permitted him to attend the public schools for several hours each day. He filled various positions about the mines until he became twenty-one years of age when he went to Millersville Normal School for a short time. After one year's ex- perience as a teacher at Penn Haven Junction school, he returned to the mines as a fireman because of better pay. Three years later he again took up teaching, having been elected to the Jamestown Grammar School
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at Summit Hill, which he taught for eleven years. He served four years as principal of the Summit Hill schools, resigning this position to study law in the of- fices of Messrs. Bertolette and Barber, and was ad- mitted to the bar January 13, 1902.
Mr. Scott has been the solicitor for the borough and school district for several years. He is a vestryman of St. Philip's Protestant Episcopal church at Summit Hill and belongs to the Tamaqua Masonic Lodge. He is also a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of Amer- ica.
He was married to Mary L., daughter of Rev. Henry Margetts, of Cambria Center, N. Y., August 5, 1886. Three children have been born to them: Leighton Pearson, a Princeton honor graduate of the class of 1909, and a graduate of the law department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, now practising his profession in Philadelphia; Evelyn M. F., a graduate of Perkio- men Seminary, and now stenographer in her father's office; W. H. Eldon Scott, attending the Summit Hill Grammar School.
Mr. Scott was elected a director of the Citizens' Na- tional Bank of Lansford at its organization and has been the secretary of the board of directors ever since. He is also secretary of the Summit Hill Water Com- pany. He stands for every movement for the better- ment of the town and has been connected with the pub- lic schools for the past twenty-five years, either as teacher, director or solicitor. It was mainly through his grit, foresight and effort that the grand new higli school building of the town became possible. The boys and girls of the future will have cause to grate- fully remember him.
Seidle, Hon. Charles H., formerly an associate judge of Carbon county, and for many years prominently
C. 1%. Seiale
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identified with the business and financial interests of the southern portion of the county, was born in Ma- honing township, December 8, 1842.
His parents were Jonathan and Sallie (Kocher) Seidle, natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in Northampton county and the latter in Carbon. His ancestors, both paternal and maternal, were among the early settlers of the Lehigh Valley, with the develop- ment of which their names are intimately associated.
C. H. Seidle is the eldest of a family of six children. Growing to maturity in the locality of his birth, he en- joyed no educational advantages beyond those afforded by the public schools. Being imbued with a thirst for knowledge, however, he atoned for his lack of early training by self-culture. He began life as a school teacher, following this calling during the winter months for five years, also conducting a summer school at Lehighton for a short time.
In 1863 he entered the employ of Daniel Nothstein, a dealer in general merchandise at Normal Square, Mahoning township, as a clerk.
On New Year's Day, 1865, he married Catharine A. Nothstein, the merchant's only daughter, succeeding to the business upon the death of his father-in-law, eight years later, and conducting it to the present time.
Judge Seidle, as he is familiarly known, was the postmaster at Normal until the introduction of the free delivery system in the township, in 1903. The post- office was kept at his store, and other members of his family held the office at various times.
He was elected to the associate judgeship as the nom- inee of the Democratic party in 1888, serving for the term of five years. He was one of the original stock- holders of the First National Bank of Lehighton, be- coming a member of its board of directors.
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In 1902 he actively promoted the establishment of the Citizens' National Bank, of the same place, and was elected as the first president of that institution. He resigned from the directorate of this bank in the fall of 1911.
When Lee invaded Pennsylvania, in 1863, Mr. Sei- dle enlisted for the emergency, becoming a corporal in Company F, Thirty-fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia, performing guard duty at Reading and at Philadelphia.
Of the three children born to him and his wife, one is deceased. Emma L., their only daughter is the wife of N. M. Balliet, a member of the Carbon county bar, with whom Ira E., the only son, who is also a lawyer, is associated under the firm name of Balliet and Seidle. They have their offices in Lehighton.
Mr. Seidle is the owner of a farm in Mahoning town- ship, which he manages in connection with his other in- terests. He is one of the elders of Ben Salem Lutheran church, situated in the Lizard Creek Valley.
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