USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I > Part 161
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A tannery was established in 1829 by Peter Ludwig who operated it for a considerable time ; and it was subsequently carried on by his sons, Solomon and Charles. In 1884 the owner was William Young, of Allentown.
GREENAWALD, a suburb of Allentown, is in the township along the Slatington trolley line. It was established by A. M. Greenawald who lo- cated there on a forty-seven-acre farm in 1882, and subsequently increased his real estate hold- ings until he owned 180 acres; and a part of this land he laid out in building lots. Since 1882 fifteen substantial dwellings have been erected;
among them is the fine residence of Mr. Greena- wald (built in 1911), the South Whitehall Ben- eficial Association Hall (built in 1911), the Al- fred Lawfer store (the first business place) , the D. D. Trexler and Clinton Blose cement block resi- dences, and the F. O. Messinger bungalow (built in 1912). The village has 25 dwellings and is growing rapidly. A union chapel was organized there in the Fall of 1912 by the follow- ing persons: A. M. Greenawald, C. Sittler, Charles Albright, Solomon Fries and Rev. P. A. Behler. A public schoolhouse known as "Kratzer's," is two squares away.
SHERERSVILLE is situated near the northeastern line of the township, on the Jordan creek, and ad- joins the City of Allentown at the extremity of North Eighteenth street. The first settler here was Daniel Roth in 1737. Gottfried Knauss settled here in 1747 and in 1769 built a stone house, recently demolished. The land was owned by Judge Peter Rhoads from 1778 to 1814 and by his son John from 1814 to 1837. A hotel was established here in 1837 by John Sherer, after whom the village took its name, and he carried on the business for many years. He was succeeded by his son, Joseph, Henry Roth, Henry Schwentz -; er, Granville Gernert, Silas Seagreaves, Charles Hoch, and Walter S. Schneck. The last-named having died in possession, his widow has continued the business until now. The property includes eight acres of land.
SEIPLE'S STATION was established as a shipping point when the C. & F. R. R. was opened for traffic in 1857. Jacob Seipel erected a brick house there, near the township line, and securing a license for a hotel he carried on the business un- til after 1884. He was succeeded by Madison Strauss, Henry Kern, Joseph Metzger, William A. Wieder, Henry Zerfass, William Freyman, and Lewis Steckel, the last-named since 1912. Wieder secured a postoffice and officiated as the first postmaster from 1887 to 1890 when he re- moved to Whitehall (Cementon). In 1913 the village had 12 dwellings with a population, but no store.
MECHANICSVILLE is situated near the northeast corner of the township. The first dwelling was put up by John Scherer about the year 1829 on a part of the old Peter Moyer farm, having been a log house which afterward became the property of Samuel Troxell.
In 1850, John Scheetz established a large carriage factory, soon built up a large trade, and came to employ a number of mechanics from which the village took its name. Some years later another factory was started by Paul Kratzer and this has been continued to the present time by Levi Klotz, and Alfred J. Harmony; and since
902
HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
1890 by Henry A. Albright, who has employed from three to six hands.
In 1849 John Minnich erected a hotel, and soon afterwards also started a general store, which he conducted together for many years. Succeeding proprietors were Victor B. Schwartz, Thomas Smith, Charles Culp, Lewis Steckel, and Clarius Ritter, and since 1910, John C. Moyer.
In 1913, the village contained about 20 dwell- ings and 100 population.
sembled at only a few places, gushing out thence in greater volume and force. This range of hills is too low to furnish such supplies of water, but running as they do with the Blue mountains, it may be supposed that the few springs of the dry land come from the mountains and are here raised through subterranean canals, as by an elbowed-pipe."
OLDEST HOUSE IN COUNTY .- The oldest dwelling-house in Lehigh county is situated in
OLDEST HOUSE IN LEHIGH COUNTY, BUILT BY PETET TROXELL, IN 1744.
BIG SPRING .-- The following extract is taken from "Travels in the Confederation," 1783-84, by Johann David Schoepf, to show the early recognition of a great natural curiosity in this township. This was subsequently known for many years as Schantz's Spring, and in 1898 came to be the chief water-supply of the City of Allentown :
"Three miles from Allentown is the famous curiosity of the region, the so-called 'Big Spring,' which breaks out of the earth in a vein large as a man's leg and within the first hundred rods of its course sets three mills going. It appears that in this hilly and dry country the water is as-
this township at a point 500 feet from a turn in the public road before passing under the "Iron Bridge" on the C. & F. R. R. It is a two-story stone building, 30 feet front by 21 feet deep, with an attic, erected by Peter Troxell in 1744. The accompanying illustration shows its present ap- pearance. A commodious hearth occupied a large part of the kitchen and in its removal some years ago the mantelpiece was found to contain the figures "1744." The floors are of oak, and sev- eral of the small deep-seated windows still have the original oaken frames. Some of the original latches are still on the doors.
The builder was one of the first settlers of the
903
SOUTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP.
township, and in the early times his name was spelled variously, as Drachsel, Draxel, Droxel, Trachsel, Traxel, and Troxel. He was a native of Switzerland and emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1733, when 42 years old. He settled at Egypt in 1734, the birth of a son being mentioned in the Reformed church records of that place in that year, and he was a deacon in 1737. In the year 1743 he secured two tracts of land containing 100 acres, of which he then had possession, and in 1754 he borrowed £294 from Lynford Lard- ner, placing a mortgage on the property for se- curity, and there the land is described as "situ-
tural work is of heavy oak timber, all in a fine state of preservation.
BLUMER HISTORIC HOME .- Rev. Abraham Blumer was a distinguished divine who lived in South Whitehall for many years, and about 1785 erected a fine, two-story stone mansion which is still standing in a good state of preservation a short distance north of the "Iron Bridge" on the C. & L. R. R. It is readily recognized by five tall ever-green trees before it and by the orna- mental windows at either end, and this he occu- pied until his decease in 1822 at the age of 85 years.
TROXELL BARN, BUILT 1806.
ated on a branch of Lehi creek, called Indian creek."
In 1816, Peter Troxell (Jr.) conveyed a tract of 194 acres, including the old mansion to his sons, Daniel and Peter, who made partition of the property in 1817 and Daniel took the home- stead. A grandson, Daniel, became the owner in 1840, and he in 1854 sold it to Monelius Minnich, who is the present owner.
A most remarkable barn with stone gable ends is on the property, built by Peter Troxell, Jr., in 1806. Its dimensions are 74 feet long and 46 feet deep. On the front, there are 14 windows above the 8-foot overshoot; and in the ends, 16 long narrow windows for ventila- tion. The walls are two feet thick; the struc-
Rev. Blumer was born in Switzerland in 1736, and lived to become one of the most prominent clergymen of the Reformed church in its early history in America. He was matriculated at Basel in 1754, and ordained in 1756. After a distinguished career of 15 years, he emigrated to New York in 1771, and appearing before the Coetus, he was selected for the charge in Penn- sylvania which comprised four congregations, Egypt, Jordan, Schlosser's (Unionville), and Allentown. Until 1785, he lived in the parson- age of this charge, located in Moyer's Valley, but having then purchased a farm of 195 acres from Bartholomew Huber, he soon afterward built the house mentioned and moved into it. He con- tinued to preach in this charge for thirty years. until 1801, when he retired from the ministry.
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CHAPTER XLIII.
UPPER MACUNGIE TOWNSHIP. BY REV. FRANK P. LAROS.
ERECTION.
Macungie township was divided into Upper and Lower Macungie May 3, 1832. The town- ship of Upper Macungie, under this division, is bounded on the northeast by South Whitehall, on the southeast by Lower Macungie, on the north and northwest by Lowhill and Weisenberg, and on the southwest by Berks county. The area of the township is twenty-four and one-half square miles, or fifteen thousand, six hundred, and eighty arces. It is well populated. The population for the various decades is as follows : 1840-1,769; 1870-3,061; 1880-3,023; 1890-2,511; 1900, 2,081; 1910, 2,609.
LAND WARRANTS .- Following is a list of the land warrants in this township:
Acres.
Casper Blyler, April 29, 1746, 180
Conrad Bean, Aug. 16, 1756, 45
John Baar, Jan. 3, 1771, 73
Jacob Eagner, May 8, 1750, 153
Andrew Eisenhart, Dec. 9, 1767, 237
Andrew Eisenhart, Jan. 17, 1769, II2
George Free, March 4, 1745, 169
86
Christian Gorr, March 1, 1744, 103
Christian Gorr, Jan. 17, 1745, 70
Jacob Hoenberger, Sept. 12, 1744, 135
George Hoffman, Jan. 6, 1753, 27
Adam Heberly, Jan. 9, 1788, II6
Leonard Heychler, March 7, 1766, 27
John Jarrett, Oct. 26, 1752,
46
Edward Jarrett, April 12, 1771, . 90
Jacob Koller, Jr., Feb. 20, 1745, 67
Jacob Koller, Jr., Feb. 20, 1745,
50
Philip Kebler, Feb. 28, 1754, 45
George Kebler, June 4, 1754,
154
George Kerr, May 2, 1770,
44
George Moltz, Feb. 15, 1734,
78
George Mayne, July 18, 1750, .
25
John George Miller, Feb. 28, 1759
30
Henry Nobloch, Aug. 5, 1765,
46
John Adam Overcast, April 11, 1753, 151
John Reis, April 25, 1750, . 34
George Rupp, March 25, 1786, 145
Caspar Rels, March 13, 1752, I21
Anthony Rissell, June 7, 1753, 125
Valentine Shick, Sept. 4, 1745, 77
Jacob Shoemaker, Nov. 18, 1746, 30
Jacob Strong, Aug. 10, 1752, 78
Frederick Sikes, April 11, 1753, 33
Frederick Seitz, June 15, 1757, 20
Philip Shearer, Sept. 28, 1765, 34
Martin Speigle, Nov. 11, 1767, 48
Peter Trexler, Aug. 15, 1749, 96
Godfreidt Tippendewer, Aug. 22, 1754, . 200
Jacob Wagoner, Nov. 23, 1752, 39
Matthias Weaver, Dec. 10, 1792, 7
Jacob Witchner, Nov. 16, 1767, 19
PIONEER SETTLERS .- It is difficult to ascertain the names of those who first took possession of the land, as many of the old deeds cannot be found and the present owners are unable to furnish the data. The earliest grant of land of which there appears to be any record is that of George Moltz who received a warrant dated Feb. 15, 1734, for seventy acres.
A warrant, dated Aug. 23, 1735, for a certain tract of land situated near Maxatawny, contain- ing two hundred acres, with the usual allowance of six acres for roads, was granted to Stephen Starlan ; but not having complied with the con- ditions therein specified, upon application a war- rant for the same tract, dated March 14, 1742, was granted to George Haan. John Lichten- wallner, the ancestor of the Lichtenwalners, took possession of the tract of two hundred acres, to whom a patent of confirmation was issued, dated May 4, 1752, for the consideration of thirty-one pounds. This tract, together with three other contiguous tracts, containing in all four hundred and thirteen acres and three-quar- ters, John Lichtenwalner, the elder, granted unto his son, John, by deed dated March 15, 1765, who died intestate in 1796, and left real estate amounting to nine hundred and fifty-two acres, valued at five thousand and ninety pounds, which was equally divided among his ten children,- John, George, Peter, Christopher, Jacob, Cath- arine, married to Mathias Leibelsberger; Ann; Mary, married to George Schaeffer; Barbara, married to Philip Leibelsberger; Margaret; and Magdalena.
John accepted the two farms lying about half a mile west of Fogelsville. Upon his death they
904
Nicholas Free, Aug. 30, 1746,
905
UPPER MACUNGIE TOWNSHIP.
passed into the hands of his son, John, who be- queathed them to his two sons, John H. and William C. Lichtenwalner. The homestead of the Lichtenwalner family is now in the posses- sion of Peter R. Bear, Esq. Upon the death of William C. Lichtenwalner, his farm passed into the hands of his widow and children.
After the youngest child had become of age, according to the stipulation of the will of Wil- liam Lichtenwalner, the farm was sold. On Dec. 9, 1899, Jonas Moyer bought the farm from the Lichtenwalner estate. After the death of Jonas Moyer, February, 1891, by the provision of his will it passed into the possession of his son, Frank. At the death of Frank Moyer, Aug. 13, 1903, who died intestate, the farm became the property of his brothers, Alfred and Richard Moyer. Alfred Moyer died the 18th of Janu- ary, and having died intestate, the farm became the property of his brother, Richard Moyer, in whose possession the farm is at this time.
Moyer's land at Fogelsville was among the earliest settled. On Aug. 23, 1735, a warrant was issued to John Michael Koontz, for one hundred and fifty acres, and surveyed Sept. 6, 1736; but failing to comply with the conditions thereof, "sold and assigned his right, if any he had, to Abraham Yeakle, of Macongy," who had it surveyed by Edward Scull, Sept. 7, 1736.
Yeakle entered upon it and improved it, and sold it to Hans Jacob Meyer ( Moyer), May 10, 1737. Another tract of land containing forty- nine acres and eighty-four perches, in pursuance of a warrant dated Oct. 12, 1738, was surveyed to Hans Jacob Meyer, Nov. 14, 1739. These two tracts Meyer occupied as one plantation or farm, which he granted to his eldest son, Nicho- las, by deed dated June 22, 1761. In 1783 Nich- olas Meyer died, and it now became the property of his son, Jacob. Solomon and Daniel Moyer inherited the farm from Jacob, their uncle, and upon the death of Solomon Moyer it passed into the possession of Daniel Moyer. Jacob Moyer died the 8th of March, 1852. He was buried in a private burial ground on his farm. This farm is now in possession of the Lehigh Portland Ce- ment Company.
The farm now in possession of Robert A. Reichard, of Allentown, and formerly owned by Levi Kramlich, known as the Keck farm, con- taining one hundred and forty acres, was war- ranted April 30, 1740, to Balthazer Yeakle. Conrad Keck received a patent for it, Feb. 21, 1812. Upon his death it passed into the posses- sion of his son, John, who died in 1847, when his oldest son, Ephraim, purchased the property, and sold it the same year to Joseph Miller.
Richard Hockley, a merchant of Philadelphia,
received a warrant dated Feb. 8, 1742, for a tract of land containing four hundred acres, situated near Fogelsville, formerly the properties of the Mohrs, and the property of the Lehigh Portland Cement Company. This tract was sold by Rich- ard Hockley to Richard Johnson, of German- town, Jan. 11, 1743. William Morry, of Up- per Saucon, purchased the land from Johnson, in 1749. After Morry's death his sons, Jacob and William, became the owners. On Dec. 29, 1760, Herman Mohr, the ancestor of the Mohrs, purchased the 400-acre tract for five hundred and fifty pounds. Nicholas and Herman, sons of Herman Mohr, received the estate upon the death of their father in 1777, except twenty acres, which was given to his son, John. Herman Mohr had nine sons: Nicholas, Herman, Frederick, John, Jacob, Henry, Peter, William, and Chris- topher. Before any division of the property was made Nicholas died, being drowned when at- tempting to ford the Brandywine in a freshet during the War of the Revolution. He was en- gaged in the wagon-service to provision the Con- tinental Army in response to a requisition from Washington, when only eighteen years of age. His brother, Herman, went to search for his body, but found only a few bags of grain which had lodged in the branches of a tree. This oc- curred in 1777, shortly before the army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge. The un- divided half of the farm was bought by his brother, Henry, for fifteen hundred pounds.
Philipp Gabriel Fogel, the ancestor of the Fogel family, was one of the early settlers, hav- ing landed at Philadelphia, in 1731. A sketch of the family follows in the second volume of the county history.
Egidius Grim purchased between seven and eight hundred acres of land in the western part of the township, in the vicinity of the Ziegel's church. A patent deed from the proprietaries of Pennsylvania for three hundred and fifty acres is dated Feb. 14, 1743. The tract was be- queathed in 1760, to his two sons, Jacob and Heinrich, the former receiving two-thirds and the latter one-third of the tract. In 1793, Heinrich Grim left to his son, Jacob, father of Sem Grim, who resided at Allentown, a tract "containing two hundred and sixty acres and thirty-three perches, together with all the build- ings, which was valued at that time at eight hun- dred and fifty pounds.
Jacob Schwartz received a warrant dated Feb. 3, 1768, for a tract of land near Trexlertown, containing one hundred and fifty acres. His son, Isaac, purchased the property in 1792. Jacob, son of Isaac Schwartz, came into the possession of the farm upon his father's death. When Jacob
906
HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Schwartz died the property passed into the hands of his son, Henry, who sold it to George S. Albright. It is now in the possession of Peter Albright, the son of George S. Albright.
George Rupp, the ancestor of the Rupps, came from Germany in 1750 and settled near the pres- ent village of Chapman's, on a farm containing several hundred acres. He was married Jan. 23, 1750, to Ursula von Peterholtz. The old family Bible now in the possession of Lewis Rupp, one of the descendants, contains the name of Her- man Rupp, a son of George, who was born in the township, Nov. 7, 1756, and was married to Barbara, daughter of Michael Biery. Herman Rupp had one son, Jacob, who was born July 13, 1787. He was married to Polly Fogel, and had three sons, Herman, Benjamin, and Tilghman, and three daughters: Sallie, married to John Gibbons, a lawyer; Mary, married to David Schall; Eliza, married to Victor Blumer. The old home of Jacob Rupp was for a number of years in the possession of Joseph Rupp. It was sold by him to Henry Fenstermacher.
George Ludwig Breinig, whose descendants are among the most prosperous and esteemed in the township, came from Germany, and pur- chased the farm at Breinigsville, now in the pos- session of Philip Moatz. He was born Jan. 31, 1733, and died May 12, 1812, aged 79 years, and 12 days. His wife Christiana, was born July 8, 1734, and died Oct. 31, 1816, aged 82 years, 3 months, and 23 days. Their remains are buried in the cemetery of the Lehigh church. They had three sons: George, Peter, and Jacob, and sev- eral daughters.
Upon the death of his father, George received the old homestead, and engaged in farming. He was born June 7, 1764, and died April 20, 1823, aged 53 years, 10 months, and 13 days. He was married to Anna Elizabeth Egner, who died in 1848, aged 81 years.
George Breinig had three sons and one daugh- ter. George, who moved to Hanover township; Benjamin, who settled in Whitehall ; Jesse, who died at Breinigsville. Jesse Breinig had two daughters. One died young and the other be- came the wife of Dr. David Moser, whose two children resided in Ohio. Jacob, son of George Ludwig Breinig, came into the possession of the two tracts containing about two hundred acres, now the property of William and Charles Brein- ig. Jacob was born May 27, 1767, and died March 16, 1823, aged 55 years, 9 months, and 17 days. He was married to Barbara, daughter of John Butz, who died Dec. 30, 1857, aged 82 years, II months, and 20 days. There were four sons and three daughters born to them: John, William, Jonathan, Jacob, Elizabeth, married to
Nathan Grim; Hettie, married to Jacob Shimer, of Williams township, Northampton county ; Polly, who became the wife of Solomon Fogel. Jacob, the oldest son, resided on the old home- stead, near Breinigsville, until his death. The farm is now in the possession of his son, Wil- liam.
Peter, the youngest son of George Ludwig Breinig, became the owner of a farm contain- ing one hundred and twenty acres, which is now the property of the Jonathan L. Butz estate. He built the tavern in Breinigsville, and carried on the hotel business for some years. He was born Feb. 22, 1771. In 1792 he was married to Mag- dalena Egner; they had four sons, Peter, Jacob, Isaac, and David, and several daughters. Jacob and Isaac moved to Allentown. Their descend- ants reside there still. David was a physician and moved to New York, where he died. Peter is the father of Thomas C. and Dr. P. H. Breinig, deceased, formerly of Bethlehem. The elder Peter Breinig died Dec. 8, 1827, aged 56 years, 9 months, and 16 days, and lies buried at the Le- . high church.
Wilhelm Heintz ( Haines), came from Ger- many in 1751, when he was about eighteen years of age, and settled near Trexlertown, where he soon purchased about two hundred acres of land, some of which was formerly in the possession of Benjamin Haines, now the property of Horace Lichtenwalner. He was married to Barbara Wink. There were six sons and two daughters born to them: William, Jacob, George, John, Peter, Adam, Sarah, married to John Koch; and Maria, married to a Bechtel, and, upon his death, became the wife of Erdel. The land now in the possession of William Yoder was also the prop- erty of Wilhelm Haines. The hotel property formerly owned by William Yoder, now the property of H. W. Haring, was also owned by Haines. It was built by Jeremiah Trexler, and enlarged by Benjamin Haines. The elder Haines (Wilhelm) also purchased two farms, one con- taining one hundred and thirty acres, and the other one hundred acres, which passed into the hands of his children, the one farm becoming the property of Jacob Steininger, now owned by E. M. N. Minnich, and the other the property of Eli Lichtenwalner. Wilhelm Haines was one of the building committee of the Trexlertown church, the cornerstone of which was laid in 1784. He was buried in the cemetery adjoin- ing.
Peter Haines, one of the sons of Wilhelm Haines, was born Aug. 29, 1765. He purchased a tract of six acres and thirty perches of land near Trexlertown, in 1798, from his father, for four dollars, where he first lived. He was mar-
UPPER MACUNGIE TOWNSHIP.
907
ried to Maria Barbara, daughter of Gottlieb Becker, March 25, 1799. He died Oct. 5, 1829, aged 64 years, 1 month, and 6 days.
Daniel Schmoyer purchased a tract of land con- taining two hundred acres and three perches, which is now in the possession of Samuel Butz, Esq., of Allentown. The deed is dated May I, 1798, and was given them by Caspar Wistar Haines and Catherine Haines, of Germantown. This was a part of a tract containing nine hun- dred and fifty acres, which Caspar Wistar, of Germantown, had patented Sept. 1, 1729, and left to his daughter, Margaret Haines, and in 1793 left by her last will and testament to her four children : Caspar Wistar Haines, Catherine Haines, Josiah Haines, and Reuben Haines. The farm is situated about a mile northeast of Brein- igsville.
Hon. Herman Rupp was the son of Jacob Rupp, whose grandfather came from Germany. He was born in Upper Macungie, near Rupps- ville, where George Rupp, the ancestor of the Rupps, had settled.
Herman Rupp was popular among all classes and was called to fill various positions of trust. He served as brigadier-general of the militia of Pennsylvania from 1849 to 1859. The Allen- town Democrat, in an obituary notice of him, published a few days after Mr. Rupp's death, contained the following: "He was a man of many friends and widely known. He was uni- versally esteemed for his kind and generous dispo- sition and fine social qualities. He was a man who formed strong ties of friendship, and was very popular among all classes of people .... He was a farmer by occupation, and owned one of the finest plantations in his township. He was a public-spirited citizen, and ever took a deep in- terest in politics. An ardent Democrat by pro- fession, he always followed the fortunes of his party, and on several occasions shared its honors. He was elected to the lower House of the Legis- lature for the sessions of 1855-56-57, and per- formed his duties with and to the entire satis- faction of his constituents. Besides the above he frequently held other positions of honor and responsibility, at the time of his death being one of the justices of his township. He was often called upon to take charge of important trusts, and frequently appointed by the court to serve as road-viewer and in similar capacities, in which his sound judgment was called into requisition. He maintained a high social position, and from his habits of industry and general demeanor so built himself up in the esteem of the people as to create a high respect for his character as an in- telligent and honest man and valuable citizen." He died Aug. 8, 1877, and brought his age to
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