History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 46

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 46

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Always faithful in the discharge of whatever of duty devolved upon him, and always kind and considerate to all with whom he has come into contact, he commanded the respect and affection of the people in the community in which

he passed the adult years of a long life. Few men had more friends; few shown their worthi- ness of having them by so numerous unselfish labors for the good of individuals and institutions. It can be said. of Mr. Wright that he was un- ceasingly a public benefactor.

Mr. Wright married, July 19, 1835, Maria, daughter of Charles L. Hutter, of Allentown, and had nine children. He died Jan. 10, 1886.

Henry C. Longnecker, one of the best-known attorneys of his time, was born in Cumberland County, Pa., April 17, 1821. He was placed at school at Wilbraham, Mass., from whence he entered the Norwich Military University of Vermont, and was subsequently graduated at Lafayette College, Easton, Pa. After he grad- uated he chose the law as his profession, and en- tered upon its study in the office of Hon. James M. Porter. He was called to the bar Jan. 26, 1843. After the appointment of Mr. Porter as Secretary of War in the cabinet of President Tyler, Mr. Longnecker took charge of his law business, and conducted the same with entire satisfaction until the return of Mr. Porter from Washington, after which Mr. Longnecker con- cluded to make his residence in Lehigh county, and accordingly was admitted to the bar here on the 30th of January, 1844, and soon entered upon a successful practice. Upon the breaking out of the war with Mexico, Mr. Longnecker volunteered, serving as lieutenant and afterward as adjutant of his regiment. He participated in all the principal engagements under Gen. Scott, which ended in the triumphal entry of the United States army into the city of Mexico. Upon his return from Mexico he was elected dis- trict attorney of Lehigh County by a very flat- tering vote, and in this capacity he acquitted himself with satisfaction. In 1851 and 1854, Col. Longnecker was a delegate to the State Democratic convention of those years. In 1856 the trouble in Kansas assumed a grave aspect, and Mr. Longnecker, like many earnest and con- scientious Democrats of that day, opposed the principles by which his party was made the means of extending the area of slavery, and was afterward an ardent advocate of the measures of the Republican party. In 1858, Mr. Long- necker was elected a representative from Penn- sylvania in the Thirty-sixth Congress from the Sixth District, which was then decidedly Demo- cratic, and served as a member of the Commit- tee on Military Affairs. In the war of the Re- bellion he became colonel of the Ninth Pennsyl- vania Infantry, and as such commanded a brig- ade in Western Virginia in 1861. He subse- quently commanded a brigade at the battle of Antietam. Col. Longnecker was no ordinary

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man. In addition to the liberal education which he received he was endowed with a sound judg- ment upon public affairs, and his counsels were often invoked by those in power during the dark days of rebellion.

He died Sept. 16, 1871, and left a widow (a daughter of Mr. Samuel Lewis) and two chil- dren.

John D. Stiles was born in Luzerne county, Jan. 15, 1823. He settled at Allentown in the practice of his profession in 1844, and was a very successful lawyer. He was (as the civil list in the preceding chapter will show) three times elected to Congress, the last time in 1868. On the expiration of his term, in 1871, he returned to the practice of law, in which he engaged until his death, Oct. 29, 1896. He had been three times a delegate to Democratic national conven- tions, the first being the convention of 1856, when he aided actively in the nomination of James Buchanan, as he afterward did in his elec- tion.

C. M. Runk was a native of Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar at Allentown, Aug. 31, 1846. He had a successful practice.

James S. Reese was one of the successful prac- titioners at the Lehigh bar, and became a mem- ber of the Legislature, as will be seen by ref- erence to the preceding chapter giving the civil list of the county. He would doubtless have reached higher stations in the gift of the people had his life been spared, but he died quite young. He was a native of Easton.

E. J. More, who was admitted to practice in 1849, the year after Mr. Reese, was a native of Allentown, and died there. He studied his pro- fession with Samuel Runk, and became quite a popular lawyer, especially as a counselor.

William Samuel Marx, in his time a leader of the bar, was born at Wescosville, Lehigh Co., March 1, 1829, and was the son of Samuel and Magdalena (Beary) Marx. His father held several offices of public trust and honor and while register of wills for Lehigh County re- moved to Allentown, residing opposite the court- house. William received his early education and preparation for college at the Allentown Acad- emy, then under the charge of Mr. Chas. A. Douglass. He was ready for the freshman class at Princeton at the age of fourteen years, but on account of his youth was put off for a year, after which delay he was entered there. He was grad- uated regularly in the class of 1848, having for his classmates, among others, Rev. W. C. Cat- tell, D.D., late president of Lafayette College, and Henry C. Pitney, vice-chancellor of New Jersey.

He entered the law-office of Hon. Henry C. Longnecker, at Allentown, immediately, and after faithful study was admitted to the bar of his native county Feb. 5, 1850, before he was fully of age. He was characterized by great en- ergy and determination, and early established himself as a force among his brethren at the bar. At that date the courts were regularly at- tended by Judge J. M. Porter, Hon. A. E. Browne, A. H. Reeder, and others, leaders of the Easton bar, and with them the younger men hesitated to contend; but Mr. Marx early dem- onstrated his willingness and ability to meet and cope with them in the trial of cases and with more than ordinary success. He was appointed sheriff's attorney by Sheriff Nathan Weiler in 1853, and in 1856 was nominated and elected district attorney, and served the full term. His labors were arduous, because of an increase of important cases growing out of riots during the construction of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and in securing the conviction of some ringleaders he, by overwork, laid the foundation of ill health, which, later, culminated in the disease which carried him off. Among his associates of the . bar he was early regarded chief, and had one of the most successful and lucrative practices before he had been ten years admitted. About 1860, on account of ill health, he associated with him in practice Hon. C. M. Runk, and continued the partnership until the autumn of 1864. In April, 1866, while trying an important case at Easton, he contracted a severe cold, and, unable to have it at once checked because of his duty to his client, it took a hold on his system which could not be shaken off, and after five months of sick- ness he died, Sept. 2, 1866, at the early age of thirty-seven and a half years. Mr. Marx was in politics an ardent Democrat up to the war, and in the campaign of 1860 a follower and great admirer of Stephen A. Douglas, and cast one of the thirteen straight ballots given in Allen- town to that Presidential candidate. When the South chose the arbitrament of war, he was prompt to range himself on the side of the gov- ernment, and never swerved in the fiercest con- tests of partianship of the succeeding years to aid by voice and vote the administration of Ab- raham Lincoln in vindicating the constitutional supremacy of the laws. This course separated him widely from his party, then and now domi- nant in his native county. His later votes were consequently given to the Republican candidate. His nature was such that he always entered ar- dently into and pushed whatever he undertook, and, nothing of a politician, it was always easy to understand where he stood upon any question

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of the day. His circle of friends and admirers was large, and many of them surviving can tell of interesting incidents in his career.

May 18, 1854, he was married to Josephine W. Baldwin, of Bloomfield, N. J., by whom he had four sons and one daughter. His widow and four children survived him.

Another strong lawyer, who, like Mr. Marx, died very young was John H. Oliver. He was born at Easton, received his early education at Vandever's private school in that place, and then entered Franklin and Marshall College, at Lan- caster, from which he graduated, standing high in his class. Immediately commencing practice -he was admitted Nov. 3, 1856-at Allentown, he rose rapidly in his profession. He was popu- lar and a good speaker, and therefore it was not strange that in 1870 he became the choice of the Republicans of the district for Congress. He lacked only about one hundred and fifty votes of defeating his opponent, E. L. Ackerman, al- though the Democratic majority in the district was very heavy. During the war Mr. Oliver was major of the Fourth Regiment Pennsylvania Militia. He died not long after his candidature for Congress, at the age of thirty-four, very widely and deeply lamented, and in his death the Lehigh bar lost one of its most brilliant or- naments. He was a man of strong character and yet very fine intellectual fibre,-a scholarly and polished gentleman.

George B. Schall, one of the members of the bar who has passed away, was a native of Trex- lertown, and a graduate of Princeton College. He was admitted to practice in 1857, became successively district attorney and State senator.

Adam Woolever was a descendant of a fam- ily among the pioneers to this country from the Palatinate, named Wohlleber (Well-liver ), numbering several brothers, one of whom first settled in what is now Columbia County, where a town located by them was given the name of "Woolever-Stettle" (Woolever-town). Another planted his home in the Mohawk Valley, N. Y., while another nestled down amid the hills of New Jersey, within sight of the Delaware, and in the original home of the proud Lenni Le- napés. These hardy pioneers, having by hard labor founded a home, cleared the forests, and broken up the soil in Columbia County, antici- pating rest and comfort in the days to come, had scarcely time to enjoy the fruits of their toil be- fore the hand of oppression reaching across the broad ocean again grasped them, and by the un- just taxation of her Majesty Queen Anne, and some technical plan in the titles of land they oc- cupied, deprived them of their rights and homes and compelled them to renew their efforts else-

where. Almost disheartened, but braving the dangers and trials awaiting them, with Spartan energy they packed their humble furniture on sleds and, in the midst of a severe winter, wend- ed their way through an unbroken and almost trackless way to the Mohawk Valley, where they settled once more. From this hardy and deter- mined race, sprang Adam Woolever, the subject of this sketch, born in Franklin township, War- ren Co. N. J., on the 7th of March, 1833, and the son of Adam and Diana Woolever. In his boyhood he enjoyed excellent education advan- tages and at the age of about fifteen he entered a store in Easton as clerk. After remaining for a time he entered the office of Judge Joseph Vliet, of Washington, N. J., and read law for one year. With a view to better opportunities for study he left Washington, and removing to Easton, entered the law-office of the Hon. Judge McCartney, one of the most eminent lawyers of the day. Here he read law until u855, when he was admitted to the bar. In March, 1855, he removed to Catasauqua and opened an office, continuing in practice until 1859, when in the fall of that year he was appointed by Sheriff Haines as his attorney, and served three years in that capacity. At the end of his terin, in 1862, he was elected district attorney, in which official relation he served creditably for three years. In 1866 he, in connection with David O. Saylor and Esaias Rehrig, conceived the idea of starting the Coplay Cement-Works, now so well and favor- ably known, and which project proved success- ful. While thus engaged in manufacturing in- terests he continued the practice of law, and in the fall of 1869 was elected to the Legislature, serving creditably during the years 1870-72. In 1872 he was nominated in the Democratic cau- cus for Speaker of the House, but the Republi- cans having a majority, one of their number was chosen. In 1875 he was elected chief clerk of the House of Representatives, in which capacity he served until the spring of 1877, when the Re- publicans gained the ascendency and ended his term. From that time he lived a more or less retired life. He was also a candidate for the office of State senator and at one time mentioned for the gubernatorial chair.

In 1876, Mr. Woolever published a very mer- itorious book entitled "Treasury of Wit and Humor," containing sayings of 931 authors, I,- 393 subjects, and 10,299 quotations,-a work favorably received by the press, as also by liter- ary and professional men. He was a fine scholar, devoted much of his time to books, and was as thoroughly versed in the standard and light lit- erature of the day as any man in the city of his residence. His social nature and genial temper

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made numerous friends, and rendered his home the almost daily meeting-place of many kindred spirits. His word ever was regarded as a law unto him. A man of generous, kindly impulses, with the hand of charity ever open for the needy and deserving, the poor ever found in him a prac- tical helper and friend. As a citizen he was plain and unassuming, treating the poor and humble with the same deference as the rich and exalted. His simple and polite demeanor made him universally esteemed by all who knew him.

There were excellencies of character displayed in his private life, there were traits of goodness and kindness and genial warmth and brightness exhibited in his social intercourse with those friends whose "adoption he had tried," which the world knew not of. Few men exhibit the best that is in them to the world. Those who have mingled in the strife of politics and have done battle in the arena in which selfishness and hard- ness and cynicism are a part of the armor of successful combatants, hide the better feelings of their nature from the gaze of the multitude. It was so with Adam Woolever. It was only to those with whom he was on terms of closest in- timacy that he spoke without reserve of those things of which he thought most deeply. They only knew the enthusiastic love he had for all that is strong and pure and beautiful in human- ity, and his detestation for falsehood, cruelty, and deception. He had the manliness of a man united with the tenderness of a woman. He was as straightforward and honest in the warmth of his friendships and the intensity of his dislikes as a child. He was bluff and hearty in his ways, with a keenly humorous instinct, but with an undercurrent of grave, old-fashioned courtesy and thoughtful consideration for the feelings of others. A gentleman because he possessed a gen- tle, kind heart, he was utterly incapable of mean and despicable things. His knowledge of history was remarkable; he had studied it as one who looks beneath the surface to discover the hidden springs of action which have changed the cur- rent of national life. He believed in the uni- versal brotherhood of man, and all forms of op- pression outraged the fine sense of justice which was a prominent trait in his character.

In politics Mr. Woolever was always a Dem- ocrat. He took an active part in every State campaign, and was popular with the masses as a speaker. With a clear perception of the issues involved, a lucid style of speaking, and a pleas- ing address, he combined an agreeable modicum of facetiousness, never failing to attract and hold the attention of his auditors. He was also equally successful as a lecturer; his productions evincing close thought, careful study, and great purity of

language. He believed in "woman's rights," and the injustice and inequality of the laws of the various States with regard to women and their property was a subject upon which he could quote an array of facts absolutely unanswerable.

Mr. Woolever was married in January, 1857, to Miss Eliza Ann Saylor, only daughter of Samuel Saylor, of Hanover township. Their children are Lilly, Ida, Samuel S., Harry, Mag- gie, and three who are deceased. The death of Adam Woolever occurred on the 24th of Sep- tember 1882, in his fiftieth year. The virtues of his true heart were apparent in all his life to those who knew him best, and to them is known how much constancy, truth, and manli- ness, how much tenderness, kindness and charity, are buried in his grave.

Hiram H. Schwartz who was admitted to practice in 1858, now a resident of Berks county, was a native of North Whitehall. He was, as will be seen by reference to the civil list, at one time superintendent of schools of Le- high county. Removing to Kutztown, he was thrice elected as the representative of Berks county in the State Legislature. He was elect- ed judge of the Orphans' Court of Berks county in 1883.

The late Alfred B. Schwartz, brother of Hir- am H., was born in North Whitehall, graduated from Franklin and Marshall College, was ad- mitted to practice in 1859, and by the time the war broke out had attained a very respectable clientage. He entered the army as captain of a company in the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Regiment, and after considerable service re- turned home and died.

Thomas B. Metzger was the son of Nathan and Rebecca (Worman) Metzger, the former a native of North Whitehall and the latter of Allentown, being a descendant of the pioneer Ab- raham Worman, who settled at and owned Crys- tal Springs. Mr. Metzger removed to Allen- town in 1830, when fifteen years of age, and his son was born there Dec. 25, 1839. He received his general education at the Allentown Academy under those excellent instructors, McClanachan, Chandler and Gregory. Having very early formed the intention of studying law, he bent his energies toward that end. He taught school at Ruchsville, and subsequently, by invitation of Mr. C. W. Cooper, became instructor in the Allentown Grammar School. In 1859, when eighteen years of age, he realized his hope, and began reading law with Hon. Samuel A. Bridges. In 1860 and 1861 he continued his studies in the Law Department of the University of Pennsyl- vania, and, concluding the course, returned to Allentown, and was admitted to the bar on April

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7, 1862. The success which attended him al- most from the start proved the choice of pro- fession to have been a wise one. His practice in- creased evenly and with satisfactory rapidity from year to year as also did his personal popularity. In 1868 he was elected district attorney, and he discharged the duties of that office until 1871. Twice he was elected city solicitor, the two terms being separated by a period of several years. He was a delegate to several State Conventions of his party from this district, and in 1876 was the district delegate of his native county to the Na- tional Convention at St. Louis, which nominated Hon. Samuel J. Tilden for President. Official or political life, however, had but little attraction for Mr. Metzger, and a large clientage claimed the greater part of his time and energies. He had an extensive practice in the Lehigh and other Eastern Pennsylvania courts and in the Supreme Court, and was extensively intrusted with the settlement of estates. Mr. Metzger was married Sept. 1, 1863, to Susan R., daughter of Simon Sweitzer. He died Oct. 2, 1908.

Morris L. Kauffman, attorney and financier, was born June 11, 1848, at Allentown. He re- ceived his preliminary education in the local schools, and afterward attended the Highland Military Academy in Massachusetts, and the Claverack College in New York. He then studied law under Robert E. Wright, Esq., and was admitted to the bar in 1870. During his early practice he was first associated with Hon. J. S. Biery as a partner, and then with E. H. Reninger until 1887, when he embarked in pro- fessional business for himself and secured a large and lucrative practice, which he conducted very successfully until his decease in 1900. He was a most excellent speaker and debater.

Mr. Kauffman became largely interested in local real estate and erected many buildings for business and dwelling purposes. He was fond of travel and made a number of trips to Europe. Having been familiar with military matters and prominently identified with the Republican party of Lehigh county, his efficiency and influence were so highly appreciated that he received the appointment of aide-de-camp under Gen. John F. Hartranft, division commander of N. G. P., with the rank of major, and since then he was generally so addressed.

Major Kauffman was largely interested in and identified with many local enterprises and finan- cial institutions, which aided materially in the development and enrichment of Allentown. He was one of the organizers of the Livingston club, and officiated as its second president. He was affiliated with Greenleaf Lodge No. 561, F. & A.

M., and also Allen Commandery No. 20, K. T., of which he became a past eminent com- mander, and with Lehigh Lodge No. 83, I. O. O. F. He was a member of St. John's Lutheran church.

He was married to Arabella Balliet, daughter of Stephen Balliet, who was a prominent iron master of Lehigh county in its early history, and they had two daughters, Leila M. and Adela B. He died March 10, 1900.

Hon. James S. Biery, attorney-at-law and member of congress from the Montgomery-Le- high district of Pennsylvania, 1871-73, was born March 2, 1839, in Venango county, Pa. His parents had removed to that county from Salis- bury township, in Lehigh county, in 1837. He was reared on a farm and received his education in the local schools and Emlenton Academy, after which he followed teaching for eleven years, mostly at Allentown. He then studied for the ministry for a time, but he changed his mind and prepared himself to become an attorney, and after following a course of studies in the offices of Edwin Albright, Esq. (afterward judge of the county ), he was admitted to practice in 1868. He developed a large business, became identified with many notable cases, among them the great and long-continued legal contest in the Evan- gelical Association, for the Association, in which he was successful. A number of lawyers were admitted to the bar who received their prepara- tion in his office.

He was a Republican in politics and took an active interest in that party for forty years. He represented the Montgomery-Lehigh district of Pennsylvania in congress from 1871 to 1873. During the subsequent agitation of the tariff he wrote many superior articles on the subject, which were published in the Chronicle and News, and copied in other newspaper with favorable comments. A literary effort of his, worthy of mention, was a satire on "King Grover," which had a wide circulation.

Mr. Biery was a member of Lehigh Lodge No. 83, I. O. O. F., and of the Linden Street M. E. church. He was married to Anna Mertz, daugh- ter of Elias Mertz, of South Whitehall township, and they had one son. Mr. Biery died Dec. 3, 1904.

John Rupp, attorney, was born in Weisenberg township, Lehigh county, near Seipstown. He was reared on his father's farm, and after at- tending the township school, received his higher education in the Allentown Academy, and Franklin and Marshall College. He then studied law in the office of Adam Woolever, Esq., and was admitted to the bar of Lehigh

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county in 1865. He developed a large and lu- crative practice, and carried on a very successful career at the bar for upwards of forty years until his decease, on March 2, 1906. He served as solicitor of the sheriff of the county, and also of the city, and he was the legal advisor for large industrial and financial concerns. He acted with great distinction as master in the legal proceed- ings of the Old Colony Trust Company of Bos- ton against the Allentown and Bethlehem Transit Company, his decisions which involved large sums of money having been sustained by the courts.

Mr. Rupp was married to Ella S. Zellner. He was a brother of Alvin Rupp, superintendent of public schools of Lehigh county, and of Sol F. Rupp, justice of the peace of Weisenberg town- ship, in whose sketches (Vol. II) the family genealogy appears.

Mr. Rupp was a member of the St. John's Re- formed church of Allentown, and of the Allen- town Lodge No. 90, Knights of Pythias.

Hon. William Henry Sowden was born on June 6, 1840, at Liskeard, in the parish of St. Cleer, Cornwall county, England. His parents were Samuel Sowden and his wife Mary, who was a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Elliot. Mrs. Sowden died at Liskeard in 1842, at the age of 35 years. In 1846, four years after the death of his mother, he came with his father to America, and for a time resided in Philadelphia. He then went to live with the family of Major George Fry, of Allentown, where he continued to reside until he started his own home.

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History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 46

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