History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 159

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 159

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JUSTICES OF THE PEACE .- Prior to 1840, the Justices of the Peace were elected for districts embracing several townships and their names will be found in the Civil List of the county.

From 1840 to the present time, the following incumbents have filled this office in the township: Solomon Gable, 18.10. Moses G. Hoffman, 1868- Henry Guth, 1840 93

Charles Hittel, 1842.

Calvin Guth, 1868-73

Daniel J. Rhoads, 1844. A. S. Heffner, 1873-78

John Eisenhard, 1845

John Smith, 1846

Daniel J. Rhoads, 1849-64.

Charles Guth, 1850-60

James F. Klein, 1860-65.

Frank J. Newhard,

1864-66.

John H. Nolf, 1865-68 William Walbert, 1866-68.

Llewellyn H. Guth, 1894- 1915

POLLING PLACE .- There is only one polling place in the township, which is situated at Wen- nersville, near the center of the township, and here the elections have been held from the be- ginning of this election district.

POST OFFICES .- The following post offices are maintained in the township:

Stettlersville and Orefield.

The following have been discontinued : Guth's Sta., Walbert's, Ringer's, Eckerts's, and Cetronia.

PROPOSED COUNTY SEAT .- When the move- ment was started in 1812 to establish a new county out of that portion of Northampton county which lay west of the Lehigh river, many prominent and influential men, who lived in the vicinity of Guthsville, exerted themselves to se- cure the selection of the village as the place best adapted for the county-seat on account of its situation in the geographical center of the large area of territory to be erected into sep- arate county, but their efforts proved unavailing and the advocates of Allentown were successful.

COUNTY ALMSHOUSE .- The public institu- tion, established by the county authorities for the

Milton R. Schaffer, 1878- 85

Aaron M. Greenawald, 1893-1914

Daniel H. Miller, 1885- 90.

O. E. Gruver, 1890-92 Joseph M. Gruver, 1892- 94

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HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

relief of the poor, was located by them in South Whitehall township, a short distance south of Dorney's Park. For complete description of it, see Chapter XVI, Public Charities.

PUBLIC ROADS .- The township is well sup- plied with public roads, and several prominent thoroughfares extend from Allentown; one westward through the central portion by way of Guthsville to Schnecksville, or to Lowhill; an-

LEIBELSPERGER HOMESTEAD ON HENRY LEH FARM.

other southwestward, via Cedarville to Fogels- ville; and a third, northward, the length of the township through the central portion, from Dor- neysville, via Wennersville and the cross-roads on Huckleberry Ridge, to Ironton and Slating- ton.

State Highway .- In 1911 the state road from Allentown to Walbert was extended to Guths- ville; in 1912, to Siegersville, and in 1913, to Schnecksville.

POPULATION .- The enumeration of the town- ship by the U. S. Census since its erection in No- vember. 1810, has been as follows:

1820,

1,623 1870, *2,748

1830, 1,952

1880, 2,884

1840, 2,290

1890, 2,204

1850, 2,913

1900, 2,472

1860, 4,085 19IO, 2,497

"Whitehall township was taken partly from this township in 1867; which will explain the marked reduction in ten years.

In 1880, the enumeration of the villages in the township was reported separately by the census as follows :

Cedarville, I35 Hoffmansville, 78

Crackersport, 65

Mechanicsville, 100

Guthsville, 138 Sherersville, 56

Griesemersville, 76 Siegersville, 36

'The inmates of the county almshouse were re- ported as numbering 286.

PATRIOTIC SPIRIT .- The militia organization was kept up actively in Guthsville and the sur- rounding township until the Civil War broke out

in 1861, the village having supplied a company of "Troopers," as well as of "Infantry"; then pug- nacity took the place of jocosity, and when Presi- dent Lincoln issued his call for troops, twenty- two men responded promptly.

Battalion Day was a great institution for the people of Guthsville and the surrounding county for miles, and they supported its annual celebra- tion in the village on Whitmonday with much enthusiasm; indeed, the merriment was so im- pressive to many that its effects were felt for many days afterward. Pure rye whiskey is re- ported to have been abundant at three cents a drink with a cigar thrown in; the evening was passed in vigorous dancing and uproarious jubi- lation; and at midnight there followed fighting and confusion. Hucksters were numerous who supplied home-made beer, cakes, and candies ; and many "merry-makers" had strings of copper pen- nies around their necks to increase the clatter by their jingling. And such were the "good old times" before the Civil War.

Soldiers of '61 .- Some of the soldiers who en- listed during the Civil War from Guthsville and the vicinity, whose names have been recalled in 1913, were the following :

Aaron Beissel Alfred Hoffman

Franklin Beissel

Moses Hoffman

Charles Beltz Henry Kern

John Culbertson Dr. Josiah Kern

Alfred Diehl

Edwin Miller

Daniel Farber

Franklin Miller

Henry Gruber

Matthias Miller

William Guth

Edwin Moyer

Harrison Guth

Eli Peter

Martin Guth

Edwin Reinert

Thomas Guth

Charles Resch

Phaon Guth

Amandus Sieger

David Guth

William Sieger

Moses Guth Franklin Schmidt

Eli Hartman

Tilghman Schmidt

John Hartman

Henry Seip

Edwin Hauser Henry Savitz

Thomas Hoffman Evan Strauss

One of the county veterans, now living near Guthsville in good health, is Charles Sauerwine, who was enlisted as a private in Co. A, 14th Regt. U. S. Vol. Inf., and served from March 3, 1862, to March 3, 1865, when he received his honorable discharge. He took a very active in- terest in the erection of the Soldier's Monument on the Jordan Lutheran Church cemetery.

Of the above, four were surviving in October, 1913: Henry Gruber and William Guth, of Siegersville; Thomas Guth, of Allentown, and Martin Guth, of California.

Soldiers' Monuments .- In 1893 a Soldiers' Monument, to commemorate the services of men from this vicinity who were enlisted in the sev- eral wars of the United States, was erected in the cemetery of the Jordan Reformed church,

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SOUTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP.

near the southeast corner of the building. It is made of concrete, in the form of an obelisk, about 20 feet high, (which is surrounded by a wooden frame on account of its cracked and crumbling condition), surmounted by three mus- kets, standing "stack arms," with four diminu- tive wooden cannon at the four corners of its base. Midway up the respective sides, four mar- ble tablets are set in the obelisk and on three of them the names of the soldiers are inscribed, as follows :

1776. East side.

Peter Gross

1812.

Henry Guth

Henry Resch

Conrad Kerschner Adam Hayberger

George Resch

1848.

Reuben' Benner

1861 North side.

Moses Hoffman,

Co. 1, 41 P. V.

E. J. Peters,

. Co. I, 41 P. V.

Alfred Diehl,

Co. K, 47 P. V.

Frederick Fisher, . Co. F, 47 P. V.

Samuel McCandless, . Co. G, 47 P. V.

Nicholas Helm, . Co. G, 176 P. V.

I86I South side.

Henry Kern, Co. E, 47 P. V.

Samuel A. Guth,

. Co. I, 47 P. V.

Charles Beltz,

Co. B, 176 P. V.

Henry M. Larosch,

. Co. E, 176 P. V.

Alfred Miller,

Co. D, 176 P. V.

Edgar A. Fink, . Co. I, 2 Inf.

Joseph Strasburger,

. Co. K, 4 N. Y. V. C.

In 1894, a similar Soldiers' Monument was es- tablished in the Jordan Lutheran church ceme- tery near the middle of the western line. It is a plain obelisk, 25 feet high, made of concrete, coated with cement, and surmounted by a bronze eagle with wings out-stretched; but its edges and the corners of the base show marked signs of decay. The cost was raised by subscriptions, the most active solicitor having been Charles Saur- wine, an old veteran, accompanied by his wife, who reside near Guthsville. The names of de- ceased soldiers from this community are inscribed on three sides as follows :

1776.

George Deily

Samuel Sieger

Christian Derr

Solomon Rabenold

Isaac Hamman

Henry Schantz

Peter Kline

Jacob Schantz

Andrew Krause

John Strauss

George Kuhns

George Xander

Lucas Rabenold

1861 North side.

John Deily, . Co. B, 176 Reg. P. V.

John Hahn,

32d Cavalry.

Edwin Houser, . Co. K, 47 Reg. P. V.

John Helfrich, . Co. G, 47 Reg. P. V.

Moses Klotz, . Co. K, 47 Reg. P. V.

Lewis Kratzer, Co. B, 176 Reg. P. V.

Jonas Rabenold, . Co. B, 47 Reg. P. V.

Lewis Seip, Co. B, 47 Reg. P. V.

William Sieger, . Co. B, 47 Reg. P. V.

Moses Guth,

1861 West side. Co. K, 54 Req. P. V. Co. B, 176 Reg. P. V.

Franklin Miller,

Both of these monuments were dedicated with appropriate ceremonies.

THE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN is being estab- lished in the township about 300 yards southeast from Cedarville. Building operations were be- gun in August, 1913, by laying the foundations of a large structure 180 feet long and 60 feet deep, and this is to be followed by other struc- tures.

GUTH HOME .- Lorentz Guth emigrated from the Palatinate to America in 1738, and by 1769 he had come to own 759 acres of land. He was the founder of the Jordan Reformed church, rear Walberts, having donated 56 acres for church purposes and a church farm. In 1745 he erected a two-story stone dwelling-house near the south side of the Jordan, which is still in a good state of preservation and used as a dwelling. His great-great-grandson, Elias J. Guth, is the pres- ent owner and occupant. Its walls are two feet thick. The windows were originally with four small panes of glass, but these have been re- placed by modern windows. The old windows were fastened to logs on the inside, so as to re- sist attacks by the Indians, during times of dan- ger, as in 1755 and 1763. The settlers of the neighborhood gathered here to spend the night in safety. Heavy plank-riveted doors were placed at the entrance. In the gable ends, loop-holes were constructed to enable riflemen to defend the property and its inmates. The original roof was thatched but in course of time it was changed to shingles. The ground floor was laid with brick, in mortar. The kitchen had a huge fire place, 14 feet long and 7 feet high, with a bake oven built in the rear; and over the fire place there was a smoke house. A wall stove was used to heat the parlor, which consisted of rough cast-iron plates, extended through the wall to the fire place.

A lot of ground containing 60 perches, adjoin- ing the house, was inclosed by a wall two feet thick, and seven feet high, which was used as a stockade for cattle, and also for defense when the settlement was invaded by Indians.

GROUSE HALL .- Lynford Lardner, (named after a friend and near relative of the family, Rev. Thomas Lynford, Rector of St. Nicholas's, Acon, and a Chaplain in Ordinary to King Wil- liam and Queen Mary) was born July 18, 1715, the son of Dr. John Lardner, a physician of Grace Church, St., London and Woodford, Ep- ping Forest, Sussex, and his wife, a Miss Win- stanley.

He spent some time at the University of Cam- bridge, but afterwards went into a counting- room in London. The family wished to obtain a government office for him, but in this they were unsuccessful, and the influence of his brother-in-law, Richard Penn (who married his

1812.

892

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

sister, Hannah Lardner) made an opening for him in Pennsylvania. When about 25 years of age, he emigrated to America, sailing from Gravesend on May 5, 1740, and arrived at Phil- adelphia in the beginning of September. He re- sided for some time on the Penn property, and as a member of the Land Office participated in the management of the wild regions of which that family were lords paramount, and to some extent he was also their commercial agent. He succeed- ed James Steele in the position of Receiver-Gen- eral or Collector of Quit-rents, Purchase Mon-

John Swift, so often mayor of Philadelphia) ; John Wallace (son of a Scotch clergyman) and John Inglis. Social entertainments had always been a feature of provincial life, and the arrival of a governor, the close of a mayoralty, or an official conference, was the occasion of gathering around a well-covered board. The stately minuet, more- over, had been learned by the gayer ladies and gentlemen, and parties had been given by John Sober and others at the Bachelor's Hall; but in 1748 it was thought that a subscription ball, in which married men might join, would be a de-

HOME OF LORENTZ GUTH, BUILT 1745.

eys, &c .; and in 1746 was made Keeper of the Great Seal of the Province, holding both offices several years. The Receiver-General had a sal- ary of from £300 to £400 and the Keeper was paid in fees for attesting the laws.

In 1746, Lardner became the owner of Colli- day's paper-mill in Springfield township, and afterwards was interested in the manufacture of iron ; but at no time was he in the mercantile busi- ness. In the winter of 1748-9, the dancing as- sembly was instituted, which, with intermissions, has been kept up for upwards of 150 years, and Lardner was manager of the first assembly, the other managers being John Swift (ancestor of

lightful institution. The tax was 40 shillings, and this paid for an entertainment every Thurs- day, from the first of January to the first of May, beginning "precisely at six in the evening and not by any means to exceed twelve the same night," and for complimentary tickets to the ladies. The entertainment was moderate, con- sisting chiefly of something to drink. There were 59 subscribers, including the managers.

Lardner was made a Justice for Lancaster county in 1752, and about that time relinquished the Seal. He was called to the provincial coun- cil, June 13, 1755. In March, 1756, he was chosen lieutenant of the troop of horse, organ-

893

SOUTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP.

ized in connection with two companies of foot and one company of artillery for the defense of the city. He was also one of the Commissioners to spend the money which the Assembly about this time voted for the King's use. He declined re-appointment the following year, but served subsequently in the same capacity. He was some time a trustee of the College of Philadelphia and a member of the American Philosophical Society. After his marriage he resided on the west side of Second street, above Arch, and owned several houses in that locality, besides farms outside the city. His country seat was "Somerset," part of which is known as "Lardner's Point," on the Delaware, near Tacony.

Lardner had a shooting box on one of his tracts in Northampton county, to which he gave the name "Grouse Hall." He was also a mem- ber of a club which hunted foxes in the neigh- borhood of Gloucester, N. J. His obituary no- tice said, "It was the business, the purpose of his being next to obeying Him to whom he is gone, to please and instruct. Kindness and a desire of making all around him happy, were the mo- tives of his actions, and with all the capacity requisite for making a figure in a contentious world, moderation, cheerfulness, affability and temperance were the acts of his excellent life." He died October 6, 1774, and was buried at Christ church. He married, October 17, 1749, Elizabeth, daughter of William Branson, a merchant of Philadelphia, and a man of wealth, a letter of 1743 saying that he was worth £4,000 a year in course of trade, besides £400 a year in rent of houses in town. Mrs. Lardner was born in 1732 and died August 26, 1761. Mr. Lard- ner married the second time, May 29, 1766, Catharine Lawrence, who survived him. He had seven children.

As residents of Lehigh county, that part of Mr. Lardner's life history connected with Grouse Hall is of more interest to us than is that of his life elsewhere. The first owner of the tract was George Rowe, who secured it by a warrant from Thomas and Richard Penn, dated October 13, 1737. By non-compliance with the terms of the warrant it became void and Lynford Lardner se- cured it by a warrant, dated August 9, 1745, and also an adjoining tract by a warrant of September 10, 1747. These tracts were united into one tract and a patent dated September 10, 1747, was issued for them, containing 195 acres.

Quoting the words of the patent, we find the following: "And whereas, said Lynford Lard- ner hath caused sundry buildings and improve- ments to be made and erected upon said 195 acres, now called or known by the name of Grouse Hall, now, at the request of said Lynford

Lardner, we would be pleased to grant him a confirmation of the same." Lardner was re- quired to pay £30, 4sh., and 6d. Grouse Hall was apparently known as such as early as 1747, and a building had been erected by that time.

Lardner's plantation of the grange, in North- ampton county (now included in Lehigh), was formed of three tracts, the first of which was warranted August 25, 1738, to Reese Phillips, described as a tract near Macungie. The second was warranted to Henry Deering on May 20, 1743. Neither complied with the conditions of the warrants and they became void. September 16, 1749, a warrant was issued to Lynford Lard- ner for these tracts and a third tract, and on September 26, 1750, a patent was issued to him for three tracts lying contiguous, forming one tract of 30572 acres, called the Grange, of the manor of Pennsburg.

Lardner's will, executed September 30, 1774, was probated October 25, 1774. To his son, James, he gave all his rights in warrants of land received. Then follows this clause: "Item, Whereas, I have lately formed a plan to divide my two contiguous plantations in the County of Northampton, one of them called Grouse Hall and the other called the Grange," etc. He then directs that 150 acres be surveyed off to make another plantation, called Springwood, and de- vised the same to his son, James, to whom he also bequeathed his paper mill in Springfield township. To his daughter, Frances, he be- queathed his plantation of Grouse Hall, "now in tenure of George Rough," and to his daughter, Hannah, the Grange, "now in the tenure of John Rough."

It is probable that the names Rowe and Rough refer to the same man, namely, George Ruch who, in the tax list of 1764, was taxed for 400 acres of lands on which he lived, but did not own; and in 1772 was taxed £12 for land he lived on, while John Ruch was taxed £10, 16sh., for the land on which he lived.

James Lardner having died in his minority, the four remaining heirs of Lardner, conveyed to Henry Reitz, of Whitehall township, on March II, 1794, for £957, 18 sh., the plantation of Springwood, containing 15472 acres, "together with liberty if found necessary for watering the meadow on the hereby granted premises to dam the water of Little Cedar creek as high as a large stone, now standing in the said creek. near the small spring between the line and William Lohr's fence." Henry Reitz and his wife, Mag- dalena, on April 1, 1797, conveyed to Samuel Probst, their son-in-law, a messuage and 122 acres and 123 perches, and to Daniel Probst a messuage and 104 acres and 137 perches of this

894

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

tract. From the Probsts it descended into the Xander family, then into the possession of the late Joseph E. Balliet; now it is owned by Col. H. C. Trexler, who has converted it into a beautiful and attractive spot.

The plantation of Grouse Hall, then described as containing 278 acres and 14 perches, was sold November 20, 1805, by John and William Lard- ner, executors of their sister, Frances, to Cas- par Schoenebruch, and Schoenebruch sold parts of the tract to various persons, among them Joseph Bock and John Krack; and to Joseph Henry he sold a messuage and tract of 122 acres and 98 perches on May 16, 1812. Henry sold his tract to Henry Strauss on April 5, 1814. From the Strauss family it passed to Tilghman H. and John Dorney; now it is owned by Robert R. Ritter.

vania, were written by Lynford Lardner to Wil- liam Farsons, of Easton :

PHILADELPHIA, May 10, 1753.

"DEAR SIR: The bearer is my tenant at Grouse Hall. He agreed with a person who lives upon a part of the same tract to clear annually a quantity of meadow ground in lieu of rent. This he has not only neglected to do, but has likewise sowed two following crops of wheat upon the same spot, spends most of his time abroad and has destroyed a con- siderable quantity of young timber to make fences for the security of his wheat, when at a small dis- tance an abundance of that more proper for the purpose might be collected. In short, I am a great sufferer through his idleness and rascality. I would therefore, beg you to apply to Mr. Gordon in this affair and give him any fee you think proper in the case. Your affectionate friend,

LYNFORD LARDNER. WINDSOR, Dec. 29, 1753

"This will be delivered to you by Peter Troxel, who bound himself in a bond and warrant with

HOUSE BUILT BY DANIEL TROXELL, 1800.

The location of the building, called Grouse Hall, has been fixed by different writers in dif- ferent localities.

One writer gives the house, built by Peter Troxell, in 1744, near the Jordan, as the place. Troxell purchased this land from Caspar Wistar as early as 1743. Another writer fixed the loca- tion at Guthsville, while a third stated that the land was owned by the Wenner family. The last statement comes nearest to the facts as the Wenner family purchased part of the Grouse Hall tract.

The following letters in the manuscript col- lections of the Historical Society of Pennsyl-

Jacob Wert for 287 pounds. He informs me only one-half of the stock at Grouse Hall lies as yet under an execution. If so, I consent that he takes any legal method to secure the other one-half to himself, exclusive of household goods, as the onl", satisfaction he is likely to obtain from his brother bondsman. This much I have promised to write you.' LYNFORD LARDNER.

It seems probable that Troxell lost the amount of the bond, as on Jan. 12, 1754, he mortgaged his house and 200 acres of land to Lynford Lard- ner for 294 pounds.

On Scull's map of Pennsylvania in 1770, Grouse Hall is located between the Cedar and Jordan creeks. By the survey of a road, laid

895

SOUTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP.

out in 1753, from Lower Milford to Kern's Mill, now Slatington, over 25 miles in length, we find that the road passed through the Jordan creek and land of Peter Troxell, Lynford Lard- ner, and vacant land, to the Cedar creek, the distance from Jordan creek to Lardner's planta- tion being 284 perches and from there to the Cedar creek two miles.

A distance of 284 perches from the Jordan ex- tends to the lane running west through land be- longing for many years to the Wenner family now the property of John Eckert, and years ago this lane apparently ran some distance farther than it does to-day, for, if extended, it would reach Grouse Hall, and it was evidently the only outlet.

In conversation with Mr. David Schoudt, of Allentown, in 1909, when 90 years of age, he stated that he had heard old people say that Lardner's house was a long, low building.

In 1909 Charles Wenner stated that the greater part of this house was still standing. It was built of stone with graveled sides, originally 43 feet long and 25 feet wide, a part having crumbled away. The interior is one long room with a small cellar under the southern end, where a splendid spring is still active. At the northern end is a large fireplace, capable of roast- ing an entire deer. A staircase leads to a small attic.

INDIAN TROUBLES .- Like most of the early settlements in the upper portion of the county, it appears that this township was also visited by the Indians in their cruel incursions during the French and Indian War, more especially in 1763, when Governor Hamilton called the attention of the Pennsylvania Assembly to the sad condition of its settlers, reporting "that their houses were destroyed, and their farms laid waste."

In the Hallische Nachrichten, (German Ed.) p. 1125, it is stated that at a meeting of Synod of the Lutheran Church of Pennsylvania held in 1763, at Philadelphia, no delegates or represent- ative from the Jordan congregation could attend that body on account of the dangerous situation of affairs caused by the Indians.

INDIAN HOLE .- The eastern extremity of "Huckleberry Ridge" is near the village of Guthsville and the sloping woodland is locally known as the "Green Mountain." At its base there are patches of ground where the Indians evidently prepared spears and arrow-heads, tom- ahawks, etc., out of flint, because so many small particles of this hard material or "chippings" are still found in that locality, and numerous completed specimens are exhibited as having been discovered by relic-hunters. And the "Indian- Hole," 'a large lime-stone fissure, of supposed

great depth, is east of the village, near the north side of the Allentown road, where, it is said, an "Indian Princess" had her home. The entrance is at the foot of an embankment in a field, and its sloping, semi-circular surface has the appearance of having been washed away by the raging, swirl- ing floods of the Jordan valley. The creek is not far away and when its banks become over-flooded the surplus waters rush along a ravine to this entrance and disappear through the large fissure in the limestone strata. This peculiar, natural formation has' attracted much attention; but its depth has not been fathomed.

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History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 159

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