History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 78

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 78

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

First Stores .- The first store (in those days called a shop), in Allentown was opened by David Deshler, in 1764, who had a beer shop connected with it. He soon after sold both businesses and devoted his attention to his grist and saw mills. Mordecai Martin also opened a

moved to Allentown and opened a store at the southeastern corner of Eighth and Hamilton streets, which he conducted for over fifty years. He died in 1835. Philip Boehm had a store here in 1776, but later removed to Lower Sau- con township. In 1786, Henry W. Archer con- ducted a store in the town, which, in 1788, was conducted by James Wilson, who lived here un- til his death in 1834. Peter Snyder, about 1798, opened a store at the northwest corner of Sev- enth street and Market Square, where Weiler's liquor store is now located.

First Taverns .- The first tavern-keeper of Al- lentown was George Wolf, who is rated as an inn-keeper in the tax lists. He was here as early as 1762, and in 1763 was made captain of the company raised for defense against the In- dians. His name does not appear after 1768. Frederick Schackler kept a tavern in 1765, but

TROUT HALL, BUILT IN 1770.

store in 1765, but remained in the town only two years. In 1765 Peter Rhoads opened a store, which he conducted until 1814. It was located at 107 North Seventh street and had a large number of customers from among the res- idents of the surrounding country, some coming even from beyond the Blue mountains. The journals of the business conducted from 1774 to 1814 are still in existence, owned by the writer.

Frederick Schackler conducted a shop for a few years, but soon removed to Allen township. George Schreiber opened a store in 1768, whichi he conducted until his death in 1800. Lewis Nicholas had a store here in 1772 and 1773. In 1774, George Graff, who had conducted a store at Egypt, with his brother-in-law, Peter Kohler,

changed his occupation in 1768 to that of store- keeper. George Schreiber opened a tavern in 1766 but by 1768 he also converted his tavern into a store.

Barthol Huber, who settled in Allentown in 1764, is assessed as an inn-keeper and shoemaker in 1765 and 1766. He is mentioned in the tax lists as an inn-keeper until 1773. In 1781 he is assessed as a tanner. Jacob Yohe kept a tav- ern in the town from 1768 to 1773.

In 1772, Nicholas Fox opened a tavern in a log building on the southwest corner of Seventh and Linden streets, called "The Rainbow," which he conducted until his death in 1809. It was a very popular resort and "battalion day" was usually held in its vicinity.

Henry Hagenbuch kept the "Cross Keys" in

4II

ALLENTOWN FROM 1762 TO 1811.

a stone building at the northwest corner of Eighth and Hamilton streets as early as 1772. This property was in the Hagenbuch family many years.

In 1776 there were six taverns in the town kept by Nicholas Fox, Henry Hagenbuch, Michael Kelchner, Michael Schroeder, George Weiss, and Philip Klotz. In 1781 Barthol Hit- tle, Widow Grumbach, Andrew Rieb and Henry Gross were also tavern-keepers and in 1788 George Miller is assessed as an innkeeper.

Ferry .- Christian Rinker, of Upper Saucon, petitioned the Northampton county court on March 18, 1766, for a license to keep a public house, stating that he intended "to move next spring to Allentown to the ferry, on the road leading from Easton to Reading, and from Beth- lehem to Allentown, so that his house will be a convenient stage for travelers on the said ferry and road." His petition was signed by Melchoir Kneppley, William Chilcott, David Owen, Wm. Samuel, Peter Kneppley, Aquilla Tool, Henry Brunner, Thomas Owen, Andreas Erdman, George Bachman, Philip Bahl, Caspar Weber, and Christian Jung, as recommenders. His re- quest was granted on Sept. 1, 1766.

Abraham Rinker was the ferry-keeper after Christian Rinker, and in 1781, Caspar Weaver is mentioned as owning the ferry. In 1795 Jacob Clader became ferryman and conducted it until the building of the first bridge in 1812. The point where the ferry crossed the river was a short distance south of the present bridge. Previous to the establishment of the ferry the river was crossed by a ford, the road leading over the island and fording the western stream.

Revolutionary Period .- On the eighth of July, 1776, an election was held in Allentown for members of the first constitutional conven- tion in Pennsylvania. The inhabitants of the townships west of the Lehigh river comprised the second election district of Northampton county and voted at Allentown. The judges of election were John Gerhart, David Deshler, and George Breinig. The men elected were Peter Rhoads, of Allentown, and Peter Burkhalter, of White- hall township.

The convention met at the State House in Philadelphia, on July 15, 1776.

The urgent appeal of the Deputies of the Provincial Conference held June 25th, 1776, aroused the people and four companies of men were raised in the county, one of which Capt. Henry Hagenbuch, of Allentown, commanded. This company participated in the battle of Long Island. Capt. George Graff, of Allentown, was in command of a company of the Flying Camp. from June to December, 1776, which saw serv- ice at Trenton and Princeton. A detailed his-

tory of the movements of these troops appears in the chapter on the Revolutionary War.

The Liberty Bell and the chimes of Christ church, Philadelphia, were secreted in Zion Re- formed church in September, 1777, and in the same month a laboratory for the manufacture of cartridges was removed to Allentown and many sick and wounded soldiers were quartered in the church building and in the homes of citi- zens. On September 18, 1777, Dr. Shippen, Di- rector General of the Continental Hospital, wrote that he required room for 2,000 sick and wounded at Bethlehem, Easton, and Allentown. The hospitals remained in these towns until April, 1778, when all were removed to Reading. In October, 1777, works were established at Allentown for repairing arms and the manufac- ture of saddles and scabbards for bayonets. Cap- tain Stiles was in charge of the depot for mili- tary supplies and the armourers employed by the state were John Tyler and Ebenezer Cowell. In the year 1778, the headquarters for a con- tinental wagon brigade was located on the south side of the Little Lehigh creek, in what is now the Twelfth ward of Allentown.

In February, 1777, the town was filled with soldiers, the battalion of militia of this district assembling here, numbering 600 men. They remained two weeks and marched off on the 15th of February. During the Revolution many prominent persons visited Allentown, either on business of the government or on their way to other towns. A full history of the Rev- olution is given in Chapter VIII.

Prominent Visitors .- On September 17, 1777, James Hamilton, former Colonial Governor of the Province and uncle to Mr. Allen, arrived at Trout Hall, where he was sent by resolve of Congress. He was very happy that he was so well situated, and remained here the entire win- ter.

On November 2. 1777, John Hancock passed through here on his way from York to Boston. He was escorted by a troop of fifteen horse- men.

On November 21, 1777, MIr. Allen wrote in his diary that "Mr. John Adams, who passed through here a week ago, said that independence was now unalterably settled." He adds, "The General Hospital is still here and the director general, Dr. Shippen, and his assistant, Dr. Bond, my old acquaintance, with my wife's cousin, T. Lawrence, make out a good society, and we endeavor to banish Politics."

On January 2, 1779, a troop of Pulaski's cavalry passed through here on the way to Leb- anon for winter quarters.

Mrs. Washington, or Lady Washington, as

412

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

she is called in the Moravian Diary, passed through here, with her escort, on June 16, 1779, when she left Bethlehem on her way to Vir- ginia.

On October 6, 1780, Joseph Reed, president of the Supreme Executive Council; John Bay- ard, speaker of the assembly, and David Ritten- house, state treasurer, escorted by twenty Bucks county militia, on horseback, passed through here on the way to Reading.

General George Washington passed through Allentown on July 25, 1782. An entry in Free- man's Journal, dated July 31, 1782, reads, "On Wednesday last his excellency General Wash- ington left this city (Philadelphia) in order to join the main army on the banks of the Hud- son."

From an entry in his expense account (the book is to be seen in the Congressional Library), it appears that his stopping place for the night of the 24th was at Pottsgrove (now Pottstown), thirty-six miles northwest of Philadelphia.

His next stop was Bethlehem, to reach which place he must have passed through Allentown. The Moravian Diary says on July 25, 1782, that General Washington arrived quite unexpectedly, accompanied by two aides and no escort. These aides were Col. Trumbull and Major Walker. On the 27th he arrived at Newburg.

Joseph Hopkinson, the author of "Hail Co- lumbia," who practiced law at Easton for a time, visited Allentown in 1791, as the fol- lowing letter of introduction was handed by him to Judge Peter Rhoads. It reads:

PHILADELPHIA, June 4, 1791.

DEAR SIR: I expect this will be delivered to you by Mr. Joseph Hopkinson, who has regularly studied the law and been admitted an attorney of our Court of Common Pleas, after an examination at which I attended and in which he acquitted him- self much to our satisfaction. As he proposes settl- ing in your county, I beg you would favour him with your friendship. You will find him deserving of it and his clients will not be disappointed in the trust they repose in him. If I can get leisure at your June Term to pay one more visit to the land of trout and strawberries, you will probably see at Easton.

Your old friend, JAMES BIDDLE."

Early Churches .- The first church building erected in Allentown was a log building situated on the lot at the southeast corner of Hamilton and Church streets, which was granted for that purpose by the founder of the town. It was used as a house of worship by the Reformed and Lutheran inhabitants. The Reformed congrega- tion erected a stone structure from 1773 to 1776, after which the Lutheran congregation occupied the log building until 1794, when they erected a building on South Eighth street. The history

of these two congregations, Zion Reformed and St. Paul's Lutheran, appears in detail under the head of "Churches."

In 1767, John Ritter, John Godfried Enax, and others, petitioned the governor of the prov- ince for license to collect funds for building a church for the Roman Catholics living in Al- lentown, but the project was never carried out. Rev. Theodore Schneider, of Churchville, now Bally, Berks county, ministered to the Catho- lics of the town at that time.

Early Schools .- In the early days it was cus- tomary for the choir-leader or organist to teach the school which each congregation usually maintained. As early as 1767, if not earlier, a school was maintained in Allentown by the Reformed congregation, as Rev. Gros reported in 1768 that in each of his congregations was one winter school.

The first schoolmaster of whom there is any record was Francis Turner, who was school- master at Allentown, on October 1, 1774, when he purchased an A, B, C, book and a half-quire of paper at a store in the town. It is almost certain that he kept school in the log church building, which was used for a schoolhouse after the erection of the new stone church. Jacob Fischer was schoolmaster in 1777, but the next year removed to Lynn township. John Daniel Jaquet, the next schoolmaster of whom we have any record, taught here in 1783. In 1785, Rev. Blumer reported thirty-five scholars in the school. In this year also specific mention is made of the schoolhouse when window glass for the building was purchased by Jacob Spinner. In the year 1800, John Philip Grimm is recorded as the schoolmaster. Among the early English schoolmasters were one Brown, previous to 1795; Thatcher, from 1795 to 1800, who taught Eng- lish to the children of three families in 1797, and John Ryan, who taught in an octagonal school-house with steeple and bell, built for him by James Wilson, on the rear of the Wilson lot on Church street, opposite Zion Reformed church. This was known as the English school and was in existence at least thirty years, as Ryan was still here about 1825.

Growth of the Town. After the Revolu- tion, in 1782, there were fifty-nine houses in Allentown, the ownership of which is indicated by the following assessment list:

Houses.

Albert, Abraham, potter,

Dyler, John, laborer, .... I

Bishop, John, tailor,

Brenier, George, shoe-

maker,

Buchman, Jacob, laborer, I

Blank, George, tailor, . .

Preston, James, mason, . I

Bolzius, Gottfried, doctor, I

Bemper, Christian, shoe-

maker, I

Deshler, David, grist- and saw-mill and 75 acres of land,

Deshler, Charles, shop-

keeper,

Erhard, Michael, shoe-

maker,

Frolich, Martin, I

Fox, Nicholas, inn-keeper, I

413

ALLENTOWN FROM 1762 TO 1811.

Houses.

Gangwere, George,

Nonnemacher, Henry,

weaver (and 23 acres of land),

Newhard, Jacob, joiner, .. I

Nagle, Leonard, laborer, . 2 Rudolph Shmitt,

Gabel, Frederick, carpen-

ter, I

Gross, Henry, inn-keeper, I Gangwere, Matthew, wheel- wright,

Huber, Barthol, tanner, . I

Horn, John, hatter, I

Ringel, Matthew, smith, . Rinker, Abraham, hatter, . I

Shick, Christian, laborer,

Shreiber, George, (and 25 acres of land), I

I Shade, Henry, 2

Shrader, Michael, I

Steer, Richard, skin-dress- er I

Spade, John, laborer, I

Smith, Joseph, shoemaker, I

Weiss, George, inn-keep- er,

keeper,

Weiss, Jacob, tailor, I Wartinton, Joseph, tailor,

Worman, Conrad, 200 acres of land,

Winsch, Frederick, laborer, Weaver, Caspar, ferry and 80 acres of land,

Yeohl, Jacob, I Moll, John, tailor, I Miller, John, joiner, I

Greenleaf, Isaac, (200 acres of land),

maker, H Mewhorter, Thomas, tan- of land),

ner,

Single Men.

John Widder.

Henry Heisser.

Jacob Fink.

George Ad. Blank.

Rudolph Smith.

John Reesomer. Samuel Greter.

John Gabel. Jacob Knauss.

Bernhard Kline. John Smith.

Nearly every family seems to have owned a cow, the enumeration showing one hundred and two, while of horses there were but eight owned in the town.

The tax list for 1788 contains the following names :

Albert, Abraham, potter.

Bollzius, Gottlieb, Dr.

Blanck, George, taylor.

Bachman, Jacob.

Brousen, Widow.

Deshler, Charles, inn-holder,

Derr, Joseph, wheelwright, Shener, Peter,

Ehrhard, Michael, cord- wainer.

Fox, Nicholas, innkeeper.

Folk, Valentine,

Gangwair, Andrew, taylor, Gross, Henry, innholder, Gangewair, Jacob, Geable, Frederick, baker, Ginginger, Daniel,

Ginginger, Christian, Graff, George, store, Henry, Abraham, skin- dresser.

Hover, Conrad, sadler.

Houck, Peter, cordwainer. Hagenbuch, Henry, Hertz, Peter, Doctor Bond's house. Horn, John, hatter,

Jung, Andrew, cordwainer, Tung Deobald, saddler. Kuns, Michael, joiner, Kauffman, George, turner, Kauffman & Kuns, Keipper, John, tobacconist, Keiper, Peter, cordwainer, Klotz, Philip,

Meckley, Jacob, Miller, John, joiner,

Murphy, John, clockmaker, Miller, George, innholder, Mohawter, Thomas, tanner, Miller, John, taylor,

Mohr, John, joiner, Meyer, Nicholas, blue dyer, Neuhard, Jacob, joiner, Nagle, Leonard, butcher, Nunemacher, weaver, Ott Nicholas, mason, Preston, James, mason, Rhoads, Peter, Esq'r, store, Rincker, Abraham, batter, Reeser, George, weaver, Reeb, Andrew, Ritter, Philip,

Shantz, Henry, joiner, Steahr, Richard, skindresser, Spinner, Jacob, Shmitt, Casper. brickmaker, Shriver, George, cordwainer, Shreader, Michael, black- smith,

Shade, Henry, cordwainer, Shmitt, George, taylor, Turnbleaser, Jost,

Wilson, James, storekeeper, Frederick, George, black- smith,

Geiger, Jacob, clockmaker, Miller, John, cordwainer, Bishop, Anthony,

Single Freemen.

Henry Zettle,

Robert Young,

George Giess, Christian Ginginger, Mathias Knepply, Valentine Wieder, Abraham Spinner,

George Neids,

Ott, Nicholas, mason, I Riller, Philip, laborer, .. I Rhoads, Peter, shop-keep- er, I

Reeser, George, laborer, .

Reel, Andrew, inn-keeper, I

Hertz, Peter, laborer, I Hauck, Lawrence, laborer, 2 Horbach, Peter, laborer, 1 Hagenbuch, Henry, inn- keeper,

Hauck, Peter, shoemaker, I Henry, Abrabam, skin-

dresser, I

Huber, Jacob, shoemaker, I Hettle, Barthol, inn-keep- er, I

Krumbach, Widow, inn-

Klotz, Philip, shoemaker, I Krumbach, Conrad (and 50 acres of land) I Kuntz, Michael, joiner, I Keiper, John, tobacconist, I Young, Andrew, shoemak- er, I

Zettle, Conrad (200 acres of land and I grist mill), . Dornblaeser, Yost, laborer, Allen, Elizabeth, I Miller, Peter, tailor, I Murphy, John, watch-

Turney, Adam (90 acres

Houses.

Gall, William,

Groff, George, I

Gews, Jacob, laborer, I Gangwere, Andrew, tailor,

Dr. John David Schoepf, of Ansbach, Ger- many, who traveled through Pennsylvania in 1783 and 1784, wrote of Allentown and vi- cinity, as follows :

"Six miles from Quaker-town, we arrived at a little village of 10-12 houses and a mill, named for the first settler, Stoffel Wagner's, and after we had driven through more lonesome woods and between more high hills, and had crossed Sau- con creek, there opened up a splendid valley, its mellow, fat soil presenting everywhere a cheerful prospect ; and soon after we came to the quiet, but magnificent Leheigh. The last hills between Quaker-town and this valley have the same name as the river, that is, are called the Leheigh hills; so far as I could see they do not form one connected chain, but are broken ridges and heights, quite separate or meeting by their jutties, and in appearance ranged in sharp lines from east to west, but really they fall in with the other hills and are part of a broken chain running northeast to southwest. The surface of the higher hills was partly of the blueish stone mentioned and partly of a sort of laminated gneiss. But in the valley there appeared a grey limestone, quite without petrifactions. A mile perhaps across the valley, and one reaches the banks of the Leheigh, which with a magical beauty show united every charm of a delectable reguin. Almost all the finest North American shrubs and trees push forward to lend the scene heightened grace, their branches flung far over the river and shadows cast-the calamus, the rhododendron, cephalanthus, sassafras, aselea, tu- lip tree, magnolia, and many others which we de- sire cunsumedly as guests in our gardens. The Leheigh river is not more than 100 yards wide, a soft, clear, pure, stream, flowing over a rocky bottom. Soon we caught sight of Bethlehem lying near, the first view of which, from its situation, and from the orderliness (for America) of its large houses, made from a distance the best im- pression, and all the more because to reach this excellently chosen site so long a road through such wild regions must be followed.

"The whole way from Philadelphia we saw only a few birds in the forests, chiefly wood- peckers and certain birds of pray. We had met with no wild beast nor with any other indigenous quadruped. Moreover, very few flowers ap- peared along the road, and no great variety of plants. The woods are in large part composed of the several kinds of North American oaks, the

Dawall Young. John Moor. Caspar Smith.

Mull, John, gunsmith,

414

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

sassafras, tulip tree, sour gum, chestnut, birch, wild-ash, and other which are commonly found along the coast as well. Nor did we find many mature seeds nor many seed-bearing plants, so that we became uneasy, thinking that if we had no better fortune farther on, our journey would afford us little pleasure in these respects. And especially, we had seen nothing thus far which as a product of the country might be highly rec- ommended for adoption in other lands. In most places the soil seemed to be only of a mod- erate goodness, in the valleys and flats a few conspicuously fertile spots. The inhabitants of such a country might, to be sure, call themselves under a mild government, so long as they lived by the yield of their lands in peace and satisfied with very inconsiderable returns, extensive pos- sessions balancing want of natural fertility and unskilful cultivation. I do not yet observe any exclusive advantage of this country in itself, be- yond that arising from the sparseness of the population-that is to say, the diminished dif- ficulty that people of a certain condition find in accumulating a landed estate has been hitherto the especial allurement held out by America, and this may be the case for a long time to come, but not everywhere equally so.

"Allen-town, of which the official name is Northampton, numbers 40-50 houses: the first name was that of a fort which in the war before the last stood several miles away towards the mountains, as defence against the Indians, called Fort Allen and now in ruins.

"The road from here to Reading leads over the ridges of connected hills, which are counted a part of the afore-mentioned Dry Land. Per- haps three miles from Allen-town 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 assembled 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 (and therefore more considerable) springs of the Dry Land come from the mountains, and are here raised through subterranean canals, as by an elbowed pipe.

"Ten miles from Allen-town is Maguntchy, a village of few houses-its name is Indian. Not far off is Cedar creek which also rises in a very large spring. The Leheigh hills are now to the left and pretty near; they appear to make a continuous parallel course with the Blue mount- ains, which are constantly in sight at a distance

of 8-10 miles running uniformly; whereas the summits of the Leheigh hills are more cut into and of a wave formation. The land hereabouts is fairly good; fields and meadows of a fertile appearance, the latter conspicuously green at this time. The farm management seems pretty or- derly. One gets a glimpse of many good stone houses, many of them very neat, and everything about the premises shows order and attention. The people are mainly Germans, who speak bad English and distressing German. The buck- wheat, greatly seeded here after wheat for the second harvest, stood in full bloom and with the pennyroyal (Cunila pulegiodes) so common on all the roads made a strong and pleasant eve- ning odor.

"America is indeed the land of the oak. All the forests are largely oak, but the trees are no- where either large or strong. What we have seen yesterday and to-day would be counted young wood, but this is hardly probable, because we observed no old stumps. Besides, the thin trunks do not stand very close together; the dry soil of these hills does not give any superfluous nourishment. And this was confirmed by the accounts of the inhabitants who say they rarely find an oak more than six inches through. Hence they are obliged to fetch their fence rails 4-6 miles, split chestnut-rails being used for this pur- pose, the oak rotting faster especially if the bark is left on."

That improvements were making in and near the town is shown by the following petition for a bridge across the Jordan creek; the petitioners apparently desired the bridge to be erected at Hamilton street; this, in the following remon- strance, is strongly resisted; the reasons given for this resistance, notwithstanding they were proper at that time, will, to the present genera- tion, be very interesting, particularly that part stating that the inhabitants, by having the bridge erected, "would entail upon themselves a bur- den of expenses so enormous and intolerable that they are entirely incapable of undergoing it." The effect of the remonstrance was that the bridge was erected further down the stream:

"Petition presented to March Sessions, 1788, of Northampton county Court, respecting a bridge over Jordan creek, at the town of Allen- town, in said county, &c.

"Your petitioners find themselves greatly ag- grieved by a grant of a petition preferred by sundry inhabitants of Salisbury township afore- said, for the laying out a road from the town of Northampton to the ferry over the Lehigh, and erecting a bridge over Jordan creek, which petition was signed, and the prayer thereof granted, in so short a time that the subscribers

415

ALLENTOWN FROM 1762 TO 1811.

could not possibly state their objections against it.

"That your petitioners now beg leave to lay before your worships the reasons why they con- ceive that the said road and bridge, if laid out and erected on the place proposed, is a great grievance to the township of Salisbury, viz :

"That the road to be laid out from the church to the place where the bridge is to be built will cost a great sum in making it passable, on ac- count of the steepness of the hill: that the an- nual repairs of the same will create great ex- pense ; and that on account of the clay soil, it will be next to impossible to keep the said road passable for many seasons.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 78

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