History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 126

Author: Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, John Baer, 1878- joint comp; Krick, Thomas H., 1868- joint comp; Dietrich, William Joseph, 1875- joint comp; Lehigh County Historical Society
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Allentown, Pa. : Lehigh Valley Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1158

USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I > Part 126

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Olivet United Evangelical Church.

Another church having a strong organization on the west side is the Olivet United Evangelical Church. At present they have in course of erec- tion on Broad Street a beautiful edifice which will be ready for occupancy before the close of the year 1913. Rev. W. H. Christ is the pastor.

SCHOOLS.

The early school history of West Bethlehem for want of exact records is rather obscure. In

1853 the school directors of Hanover township erected a one-story school house on King's Alley, midway between Vineyard and Spring Streets, at a cost of $2,000. The building contained only one room, but answered the purpose for which it had been constructed for more than ten years. About the year 1868 a more modern and commod- ious two-story school house was erected on Spring Street, and for some unaccountable reason was christened "The Vineyard Street School-house." From a village the community gradually grew into a town, and with the increase in population came a strong sentiment in favor of a ten-months school term. Sessions had previously been held only five months in the year, and when the ques- tion of an independent school district came up, it was bitterly opposed by the township directors. The residents of the town finally won out, and secured at the same time the extra school facilities sought. In 1884, after several additions had been made to the Vineyard Street building, the Fairview building was erected on Fourth Ave- nue. Owen R. Wilt, the present superintendent of the South Bethlehem schools, was elected prin- cipal and served about five years. His successor was Principal Huttel, who remained to see sev- eral classes graduate. With the incorporation of the borough in 1886, came a better organiza- tion of the school system, and in 1887, C. T. Bender was elected principal, with general super- vision of all the schools. He served in this capac- ity until 1904. So rapidly did the town grow that it was very soon again necessary to provide enlarged school facilities, and in 1891 the hand- some Higbee School-house was ready for oc- cupancy. After consolidation with Bethlehem borough in 1904, the school districts were merged and are now under the efficient supervision of Superintendent W. C. Sampson.

BETHLEHEM PREPARATORY SCHOOL.

The Bethlehem Preparatory School was found- ed in 1878 by William Ulrich, Ph.D., a gradu- ate of the University of Berlin, and an officer in the German army during the Franco-Prus- sian war. Upon the death of Prof. Ulrich, in 1897, Prof. H. A. Foering, B.S., a graduate of Lehigh University, succeeded to the principalship of the school, and so rapidly did the school grow under his efficient management that it was found desirable to remove the school from its old quar- ters at the corner of New and Cunow Streets, Bethlehem, to its present site on Eighth Avenue, West Bethlehem. Here commodious buildings were erected for class-rooms and living rooms, as well as an up-to-date gymnasium, while out- door sports were encouraged by the laying out

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HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

of grounds for football, base-ball and tennis. Among the list of graduates appear the names of many notable men.

CORPORATE HISTORY.

The real growth of the community began with the completion of the Broad Street bridge in 1871, the gorge formed by the Monocasy having served as a natural barrier until the bridge made available for homes the lands on the hill to the west.

The question of incorporating as a Borough was discussed at a meeting of citizens held on March 15, 1886, when a committee was appoint- ed to look into the matter, and ascertain the views of the taxpayers. At a subsequent meeting held on May 4, the committee reported a major- ity of the citizens as being in favor of the project, and it was decided to proceed at once. The char- ter became effective on September 16, 1886, and included the district heretofore referred to, known as "Old South Bethlehem." At a bor- ough election held on November 2, Marcus C. Fetter was elected burgess; and William H. Foltz, George W. Grube, Charles T. Hess, Asher Hower, William Mann and William Walp, members of council. Mr. Fetter served as burgess three years, and was succeeded by the late George H. Young for three years. Mr. Fetter again served five years, Leo A. Stem three years, J. A. Eberts three years, and A. C. Huff one year. The last town council of West Beth- lehem Borough was composed of the following members: H. D. Snyder, Charles Auer, G. Fred Keller, Joseph R. Craig, Jacob Frankenfield, Frank V. Kleckner, George W. Grube, John M. Herbig, and George H. Olpp.

FIRE DEPARTMENT.

The first fire department, styled "Monocasy Hose Company," was organized in 1887, and housed in the new municipal building erected on Prospect Avenue. The company has rendered valiant service in fighting the grim fire fiend whenever its services were required, the writer having in mind particularly the fire of March 8, 1897, which destroyed West Bethlehem's first playhouse, the Bijou Theatre ; the two fires of November 28, 1907, and February 2, 1908, which completely destroyed the large frame coal sheds at F. B. King's coal yard on Vineyard Street ; and still later the plants of the Pure

Oil Company and Pettinos Brothers, and more recently the plant of the De Berg Oil Company and the old saw mill property on Sand Island. The disastrous fires enumerated above, all of which occurred in the lower section of the town, prompted the residents of that section to organ- ize a second hose company. At a meeting held on February 7, 1908, at the home of Alvin Garis, No. 97 Lehigh Avenue, an organization was ef- fected. Subsequently the name "Lehigh Hose Company" was adopted, and quarters secured on Vineyard Street, which several years later were destroyed by fire. The company now occupies a new building recently completed for them by the borough.

CONSOLIDATION.

On August 16, 1904, after a corporate exist- ence of eighteen years, West Bethlehem consoli- dated with Bethlehem proper. The former now comprises the fifth, sixth and seventh wards of Bethlehem borough, represented by the following persons in town council: Fifth ward-William Witmeyer, Claude M. Kresge and Milton T. Knadler; Sixth ward-A. C. Huff, Aaron M. Rush and Robert J. Lilly; Seventh ward-Stan- ley K. Weaver, John Clark and Samuel F. Hap- pel

Bethlehem, West Side, in recent years has grown beyond the expectations of any one. On all sides homes are springing up, and before many years the title "City of Homes" may well be applied to what was formerly a quiet village. and at a still earlier period, the lurking place of savage Indians, with hearts breathing venge- ance on the peaceful settlers in the mother town on the hill east of the Monocasy.

Many of the foregoing facts. relating to the early history of West Bethlehem are based upon the findings of the late Bishop J. Mortimer Lev- ering, contained in "A History of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1741-1892." Bishop Levering possessed qualifications which eminently fitted him for the performance of a task such as the publication of the above work involved, and as custodian of the archives of the Bethlehem Mor- avian congregation at that time, had access to a veritable storehouse of historical treasures. With painstaking care he delved into the diaries and other manuscript records, and unearthed many a hidden gem of historical worth which pos- terity might have searched for in vain.

CHAPTER XXXIII, HANOVER TOWNSHIP.

COMPILED BY WILBUR L. KING.

Hanover township was originally a part of Allen township, which, in 1748, was erected into a separate township by a decree of the Bucks County court upon a petition of numerous in- habitants who settled within its limits down to that period. At the January term of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Northampton County, in the year 1798, petition was made by a number of the people living in the lower part of Allen township for a new township. The court ac- cepted the petition and appointed Samuel Rea, John Barnet, and John Horn to view the ter- ritory and report to the court as to the expedi- ency of such a division. The viewers made a re- port at the August session following, which re- port, with the action of the court, is here given : "We all three met at the house of Abraham Mensch's on the tenth day of April, 1798, in Allen township but had no time to view the same; therefore agreeable to our report and your order we all three met at the house aforesaid on the fourth day of June, 1798, and reviewed the same township of Allen and think that there were occation of a Divition and have Divided the same, beginning at a stone in the Nazareth town- ship line near the house of John Fogel and thence south sixty-five degrees west one hundred and fifty-two perches to a post and stone at the east side of the river Lehi, twenty perches below Philip Foust's Ferry. A Draft of which return was confirmed, to wit, Aug. 15, 1798, by con- sent and the lower part of the township which has been struck off and named 'Hanover' by the Court." The name "Hanover" was apparently selected in memory of the former home in the "Fatherland" of German settlers residing in the newly created township.

The greater portion of this township was not settled until long after most of the other town- ships in the county were settled. The reason for its late occupancy was owing to the fact that the greater part of it was embraced in the "Manor of Fermor" which contained 23,000 acres of its choicest land. This tract had been surveyed, by the Penns, originally for their pri- vate use and it was not made subject to public settlement until June, 1795. Previous to that time, however, a considerable number of squatters

had settled on portions of the tract. Some of these had located themselves probably as early as 1743. Such occupation was made in spite of the protests of the representatives of the proprie- taries who claimed that the land was not open to public entry, as the title was vested in the original proprietors, and not in the state. The applications of the squatters for patents to the land they occupied were also refused by the pub- lic land office of the state which seemed to con- firm the contention of the proprietaries. In 1779, the Legislature of the state of Pennsyl- vania passed a law vesting all the estates of the proprietaries in the Commonwealth. A prece- dent had already been established by the Legisla- ture in a previous act which confiscated the es- tates of the "Tories" who, during the Revolu- tionary War, had given sympathy and support to the British side and forfeited them to the use of the Commonwealth.

The Act of 1779 provided compensation for the loss sustained by the proprietaries in conse- quence of the vesting of the proprietary estates in the state. The act likewise reserved proprietary manors from its operation. The legal question was raised that the Manor of Fermor did not possess the essentials of a proprietary manor, and therefore did not come within the reserva- tion of the act of 1779, and as a consequence the lands embraced by it were subject to public en- try, and the squatters on the land contended that they were entitled to patents for the same by paying the price therefor fixed by law. Under these circumstances the proprietaries and their successors were compelled to bring actions of ejectment against the settlers on the land in dis- pute to determine the question in controversy.

As to what constituted a manor had already been defined by the courts of the United States in the following language: "A manor is a tract of land originally granted as a manor, and let by the proprietor to tenants in perpetuity, for life, in money, services, or in kind." The Manor of Fermor was a part of the general grant by the Crown to William Penn and inherited by Thomas and John Penn, and did not seem to come within the legal definition of a manor, as previously defined, and it was upon these grounds

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HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

that the settlers defended themselves against the proprietaries, claiming that the lands were vested in the state under the Act of 1779. The occu- pants were willing to pay for the land occupied by them upon obtaining title thereto but they de- sired to know to whom the money was to be paid.

The ejectment suits which had been brought in the United States Circuit Court at Philadelphia were reached for trial in June, 1795, a jury was empanneled and sworn, when after a brief parley the litigants agreed upon a settlement, with the assent of the. Commonwealth, so that the legal question raised was not judicially deter- mined. The controversy was adjusted in the fol- lowing manner; each of the litigants paid one- half of the costs and the settlers were to pay for the land at the rate of £65, IOs for every hun- dred acres. At the value of an English pound at that time in United States money, the land cost the settlers about $1.75 an acre. This agree- ment was concluded at Easton, June 25, 1795. After the settlement of the ejectment suits, the land of the manor was re-surveyed and divided into one hundred and ninety-six tracts, in ac- ceptance with the several tracts occupied by the settlers.

The territory which was set off in compliance with the petition of 1798 embraced the present townships of Hanover in Lehigh and Northamp- ton counties and the defendants to the ejectment suits of 1795 were settlers in the combined ter- ritory. Among the defendants we note the names of Hartzell, Frankenfield, Ritter, Ehrig, Smith, Santee, Johnson and Koehler. The town- ship remained, with its original territory, until the year 1812, when Lehigh county was erected and Hanover township was divided, about two- thirds of its territory being formed into Han- over township in Lehigh county.

Hanover township is the only township in Le- high county lying east of the Lehigh River. It is bounded on the north and east by Northampton county, on the south by the Lehigh River and Salisbury township and on the west by the Lehigh River and Whitehall township.

The principal streams of the township are the Lehigh River which flows by its western and southern border and the Monocacy creek which separates the township from Northampton county on the east. This creek derived its name from the Indian language, "Monocacy," or "Manoquesy," as it is sometimes spelled, signi- fying "a stream containing several large bends." The Central Railroad of New Jersey follows the Lehigh River through the township, the Lehigh and New England Railroad runs along its east-

ern border, and the Lehigh Canal extends within its limits from East Allentown to Bethlehem.

One of the prominent incidences in the early history of provincial Pennsylvania was brought about through the first purchase of land, from the Indians, above the Neshaminy, in Bucks county, made by William Penn through his agent, William Markham, in 1682, and its subsequent extension beyond what was believed by the In- dians to be the original boundaries covered by the deed. The encroachments of the settlers into disputed territory made a new understanding desirable and a treaty was therefore held at Dur- ham in 1734, continued at Pennsbury in 1735, and concluded at Philadelphia in August, 1737, in which the limits of the tract, as described in the deed of 1682, were confirmed. It was also arranged to perform the "walk" which was to determine the limits of the land deeded. This resulted in the famous walk of 1737 and known as the "Walking Purchase." Two different routes covered by the walkers have been indicated by various writers. The popular theory, as recorded by Ellis in the "History of Northamp- ton County," published in 1877, states that the route was through Bethlehem and the gap in Moore township. The other route, and no doubt the correct one, is of particular historical interest to the township inasmuch as the route was much further west and passed through Hanover town- ship. This route is briefly stated in Egle's "His- tory of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," page 967, as follows:

'A map, however, drawn by Thomas Holme, sometime surveyor of the Province, illustrating this historic walk, which, together with other valuable documents bearing on the transaction, was purchased from the heirs of the Penn family, a few years ago, by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, has, once for all put to rest the many erroneous statements extant in books in reference to the day and half day's walk. Set- ting out from Wrightstown, as was stated, on the morning of the 19th of September, 1737, the walkers pursued a northerly course, keeping along the old Durham road to Durham creek, thence deployed westerly, at about two o'clock P. M., and forded the Lehigh a half mile below Beth- lehem, thence walked on in a north-westerly line through the plot of the present borough of Beth- lehem, and passing through the north-east angle of Hanover township, Lehigh county, into Allen township, halted at sun-down, not far from the site of Howell's mill on the Hockendauqua."

PIONEER SETTLERS.

Among the pioneer settlers in the township we find some whose descendants are still living with-

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HANOVER TOWNSHIP.

in its boundaries; others have left no descend- ants or have moved to other parts.

In addition to such persons as Clader, Dewalt, Fatzinger, Kurtz, Laubach, Quier, Reichard, Sterner and Yeager, which are noted in the bio- graphical sketches, a number of other early set- tlers are here noted.

THOMAS ARMSTRONG lived not far from Cata- sauqua on a farm which has since passed into the possession of Samuel Koehler. He was a man of prominence, having held the office of coroner in colonial times, his commission being dated Oct. 4th, 1755. He was an elder of the Presbyterian . congregation at the Irish settlement. His wife Margaret survived him. He had four daughters, Jeanne, Mary, Elizabeth, and Margaret, who was the wife of Rev. Robert Russell, sixth pastor of the settlement church. The records do not show that he left any male descendants.

JACOB BAST emigrated from Germany in 1774 with his parents at the age of five. They settled on the east side of Monocacy creek. His son, Jacob, married Polly Clader, daughter of Jacob, and settled near the Clader farm on the road from Bethlehem to Allentown. He died in 1862, aged 82 years. His sons were Jacob, Martin, and John. Jacob settled on the homestead, Mar- tin in Manheim, Lancaster county, and John in Saucon township.

HEINRICH BRADER was an early settler in the present township of Hanover and his brothers, Philip and Laurence, in Hanover township, Northampton county. Heinrich settled on the farm owned by John Mitmar. He had sons among whom were Daniel and George who set- tled on the homestead and near there. Their de- scendants are in different parts of the county.

CHRISTIAN YOUNG was a native of Bucks county and came to Hanover about 1800 and opened a store east of the limekilns, on the road from Allentown to Bethlehem. In 1812 he opened the "Black Horse" Tavern, which he kept until his removal to Bucks county about 1818. His sons were Samuel, a physician, Jo- seph, and William, all residents of Allentown.

The Keiper family, that in 1800 were prom- inent in the township, are still represented there, but are not as numerous as in the olden time. Charles Ludwig Keiper, born Dec. 15, 1737, died Sept. 9, 1815, settled in what is now Han- over township. He was the son of Carl Lud- wig Keiper, who owned a tract of 250 acres in Milford township, valued at the time of his

death, in 1753, at £500, which Michael Keiper, the eldest son, purchased. Other children of the senior Keiper were Catherine, wife of Michael Heller, Elizabeth, wife of Christopher Heller, and Mary wife of Daniel Heller. Charles Lud- wig Keiper, Jr., married Maria Catherine Ort, who was born March 12, 1737, and died Sept. 17, 1818. They had the following children : Joseph, Abraham, John, Jacob, Catharine, Helena, Anna Elizabeth, Anna Margaret, and Maria Barbara.

The name Knauss appears in 1812. This was John Knauss whose father, Abraham, was born at Emaus in 1754 and married Elizabeth Boeckel in 1780. Abraham Knauss was a Huffschmid (horse shoer) and located in the "Drylands." He died at the age of 82 years in 1836. He had two sons and a daughter, John born 1794, Anna Maria and Anthony. John married Sarah, daughter of Abraham Mensch and settled on a farm near Schoenersville. He had three chil- dren, Abraham, Anna M., and John H. Later a John Knauss, a windmill maker, located at Rittersville. He was a Justice of the Peace and died in 1866, aged 71 years. His son Lewis set- tled in North Whitehall.

PETER KELCHNER was a resident here when the township was erected in 1798. He died July 21, 1848, at the age of 75 years and is buried with his wife Margaret, nee Meyer, at Ritters- ville. They had sons, John, Joseph and Peter.

JOHN KEIM was a settler near the east line of the township while Hanover was yet a part of Allentown. He was born in 1754 and died in 1815. Many of the family lived to an advanced age. Elizabeth, probably his wife, was born in 1756 and died in 1839, aged 80 years. Both are buried at Schoenersville.

JONATHAN OTT, a native of Germany, pur- chased 152 acres of land prior to 1800 of George Ervenreider, on the Lehigh river, later owned by A. & S. Keck. He had three sons, Owen, who settled in Allen township, Northampton county ; Tilghman, who located in Allentown, and George who remained in the township and a daughter, Mrs. Franklin Butz, of Whitehall.

CHARLES COLVER, a German, settled on a farm near Rittersville, prior to 1781. His sons went west with the exception of Jacob, who mar- ried Susanna Miller, settled on a farm at Ritters- ville, raised a family of eleven children, and died Nov. 20, 1828.

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HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

FIRST TAXABLES .- The first assessment roll of the original Hanover township of Northamp- ton county, was made in the year 1799, and con- tains the names of one hundred and twenty-six free-holders and twenty single freemen. The amount of the tax to be raised was $222.92. Matthias Hummel was the collector. The names here given are of those who resided in the portion set off to Lehigh county in 1812 and are from the assessment list of that year which assessment was made prior to the division of the township.

RESIDENTS OF 1812.

Joseph Abrecht

George Iundt

Jacob Alshouse

George Keck

Jacob Bast

John Keim

Michael Bauer

John Kelchner

Frederick Bearey

Michael Kelchner

Felix Beissell

Nicholas Kreamer

John Beissell

Peter Kelchner

Christian Bechtel

Jacob Keiper

Henry Bicker

John Keiper

Nicholas Bickert

Ludwig Keiper

Nicholas Brang

Joseph Kidd

Henry Brolder

Andrew Kichlin

George Brolder

Philip Kleckner

Jacob Cleder

John Knauss

Jacob Clewell, Sr.

John Artman

John Bunding

George Koch

John Clewell, Sr.

John Keiffer

Charles Colver

Daniel Klauss

Jacob Colver

George Kortz

Isaac Dacker

George Kreidler

William Daniel Peter Dick

George Laubach

Abraham Diffenderfer

Leonard Laubach

John Ehrhard

David Luckenbach

Peter Ehrett

Peter Minnich

George Ehrig

John Newhard

George Evenreider

Joseph Dewald

Michael Everhard

Peter Ossenbach

Anthony Faas

Elizabeth Quier

Jacob Fatzinger

Daniel Quier

Henry Fatzinger

George Quier

George Faust

Jacob Quier

Henry Frey

George Reichard

Joseph Frey

Michael Reichard

Daniel Gangeware

Henry Reiss

David Gold

George Rockel

Philip Gross

John Rockel

James Hall John Hall

Christian Young

Christian Hartman

Joseph Scherrer

Christian Houser

Frederick Dieffert

Frederick Heller

Conrad Seiple

Jeremiah Heller

Jacob Seiple

George Heley

John Seiple

Michael Herwich

John Sterner, Sr.

Aaron Hillman

Abraham Sterner

Joseph Daniel, Jr.

Abraham Sterner, Jr.

Jacob Hower

John Sterner, Jr. Joseph Sterner

Jonathan Hower John Huber

Philip Strohm

Abraham Huber

Jacob Stuber

George Ising

Isaiah Troxell

Conrad I. Jeager

Henry Vogelman

Daniel Iundt

John Walter

David Weinland

Peter Ritter

Andrew Zechner

Abraham Smith

Martin Zechner

John Riegle

Abraham Ziegler

John Kain

Mathias Rigel

Jacob Kolb

Abraham Keiper

George Sterner Peter Evenreiter

Joseph Keiper

Joseph Quer

John Herwig

Frederick Herman

John Fatzinger

John Neuhard

Joseph Sterner

Jacob Neuhard

Abraham Keisser, Sr.

Joseph Cleader

Joseph Keisser

Henry Shnyder

Daniel Reigert

John Kremser

David Gold

William Licht Isaac Keller

Henry Shoener John Erd

Daniel Blim

Joseph Bachman

John Andreas

Christian Ritter

John Moore

John Reigle

EARLY ROADS AND BRIDGES.

In 1746, the first unofficial road from Beth- lehem to Gnadenhuetten was traced through the woods by John Levering and Shebosh* but it did not prove permanent, as it was soon ob- structed by fences. In June of the following year, the Court of Bucks county authorized the laying out of a road which was to extend from Bethlehem to the Gnadenhuetten Moravian Mission, north of the Blue Ridge, now the site of Lehighton, Carbon county. An attempt was made in September, to carry out the order of the court, by Jasper Payne and John Brownfield of Bethlehem, Solomon Jennings and sundry men along the line to establish a convenient and di- rect course but, on account of unreasonable ob- struction set forth by some members of the com- mittee, nothing definite was accomplished. A new committee was appointed by the court who took up the work in November and completed the work. This road was approved by court in March, 1748. It had a total length of twenty- five miles. It was used by the mission until its destruction in 1755 and from that time until 1761 it was used as a military road, after which, for many years, it was practically abandoned.

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History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 126

Author: Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, John Baer, 1878- joint comp; Krick, Thomas H., 1868- joint comp; Dietrich, William Joseph, 1875- joint comp; Lehigh County Historical Society Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Allentown, Pa. : Lehigh Valley Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1158

Author: Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, John Baer, 1878- joint comp; Krick, Thomas H., 1868- joint comp; Dietrich, William Joseph, 1875- joint comp; Lehigh County Historical Society
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Allentown, Pa. : Lehigh Valley Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1158