History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. II, Part 110

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: 948

USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. II > Part 110

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).

HON. MILTON C. HENNINGER was born at the old homestead about a mile beyond Emaus,

552

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

and after attending the public school he took a course at Freeland Seminary (now Ursinus Col- lege), at Collegeville. In 1870 he graduated at the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown, and later, in 1874, he graduated at Muhlenberg College. He immediately thereafter became a student at law in the office of Hon. John D. Stiles and was admitted as a member of the Bar of Le- high county on September 5, 1876. He has fol- lowed the profession of the law as an active prac- titioner ever since. He was elected district at- torney for the county of Lehigh in the fall of 1877 and served for one term of three years from the first Monday of January, 1878, to the first Monday of January, 1881. During his term as

MILTON C. HENNINGER, ESQ.

district attorney he served before three judges, Hon. A. B. Longaker, Hon. Edward Harvey and Hon. Edwin Albright. After the expiration of his term of office as district attorney in the fall of 1882 he was elected state senator of Le- high county; in the same year Hon. Robert E. Pattison was elected governor of Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Democratic state con- vention of that year which nominated Hon. Rob- ert E. Pattison Democratic candidate for gover- nor. He was thereafter re-elected state senator for two terms and served as state senator of Le- high county from the first of December, 1882, to the first of December, 1894. In the spring pri- mary election of 1912 he was a Democratic can-

didate for congress for the Berks-Lehigh counties congressional district. He received the second highest vote of the four candidates and was de- feated by the Hon. John H. Rothermel by a plurality of four hundred and two votes out of a total vote cast of 12,481 votes.

In the profession of the law among his fellow- practitioners, he is recognized as an able and safe adviser, eminently versed in the details and intri- cacies of the law and ethical in his conduct. Po- litically he has always been a consistent Democrat. His partisanship, however, never interfered with serving the people as a whole, irrespective of party affiliations, honestly and to the best of his ability and without partiality. Notwithstanding his strenuous and active career in politics and the practice of the law, he has found some spare mo- ments in the composition of Pennsylvania Ger- man poems. One of these, "Es Fahre in der Trehn," has been numerously quoted and copied in publications in that dialect.

In 1883 he was married to Mary Hausman, daughter of Hon. Boas Hausman, deceased, who was a member of the legislature in 1873. He has five daughters : M. Christine, Martha H., Louise A., Anna R. and Frances M., and one son, James Flynn. The oldest of these daughters, M. Christine, is married to Dr. George H. Rauch, who practices his profession at Noxen, Wyoming county, Pa. Anna is also married to J. Elmore Turrell, engaged in the lumbering business with Col. Harry C. Trexler, under the firm name of Trexler & Turrell, at Rickett's and Noxen, Pa. His son, James Flynn Henninger, is a second-year student in the law department of the University of Pennsylvania and will graduate for admission to the practice of the law in 1915.

The youngest son of Christian Henninger was Christian, who resided at Millerstown, now the borough of Macungie. He is now deceased. In his lifetime he was engaged in the business of iron ore mining in Lehigh county, when that industry Oliver S. and Morris, the latter of whom lives was in a flourishing condition. He had two sons, in Allentown and is engaged at the Allentown water works. The former, Oliver S. Henninger, now deceased, was a newspaper man all his life- time, starting as a typesetter, and later he was the editor of the Daily City Item, of Allentown, His aptitude for entertainment as an after-dinner speaker is well known, not only in Allentown, but far and wide. His widow, Ella J., the daughter of Daniel G. Gerhart, survives.

HENRITZY FAMILY.

Heinrich Henritzy came to what is now known as Washington township, Lehigh county, from the "Dryland" near Easton, and settled

553

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

near Slatedale where he acquired a large acreage of land upon which Slatedale is now situated. His holdings extended up to the Blue Mountains and embraced a part of the rich slate belt. He had a brother named Christopher Henritzy, who was born August 18, 1787, and died unmarried, aged 78 years, 9 months, and 14 days; also a sister, Anna, born March 10, 1785, and died Oct. 15, 1859.

Heinrich Henritzy was born Apr. 28, 1783 and died July 29, 1848. His wife, Barbara Kunkel, was born Oct. 30, 1781 and died Jan. 23, 1842. They were members of the Re- formed congregation of the Heidelberg church, where they are also buried. Their children were: Conrad; John George; Stephen; Henry; Rachel, married to Nathan Hoffman; Elizabeth, married to a Tubbs; Hannah, married to Charles Kunkel; and one daughter who was married to Levi Walter.

Conrad Henritzy lived in Heidelberg town- ship where he followed the ocupation of farming. He had also learned the trade of weaving which he followed for some time. He was married to a Miss Fritzinger. They had only one daugh- ter, who died at an early age, leaving two chil- dren.

Stephen Henritzy, lived at Slatedale and later moved to Whitehall. He was a tailor by trade. He was married to a Peter, and had the fol- lowing children: Elias, David and Reuben.

Henry Henritzy lived at Slatedale on the old homestead where he followed the occupation of farming. He was born in 1818 and died in 1866. He was married to Rachael Handwerk, with whom he had the following children: Har- rison, Sarah and Rosa.

John George Henritzy, grandfather of Dr. Oscar E. Henritzy, was born at Slatedale in 1810, and died in 1856. He lived near the mountains at Slatedale and was a tiller of the soil. He was married to Lydia Miller, a daugh- ter of John Miller. She was born in 1814 and died in 1849. They had four children: Lewis, Sarah, wife of George Sholk; Jeremiah, who was a tailor in Allentown, and Joseph, who was a saddler near Slatington.

Lewis Henritzy, the oldest son of John George, was born Sept. 12, 1836. He learned the trade of a tailor at Germansville when he was sixteen years of age and followed his trade for many years at Weissport, Washington town- ship, Lehigh Gap and Slatington, in all 50 years, and after moving to Slatington in 1862, where he has since resided, he served as school direc- tor. He and family are members of the Evan- gelical Church, in which church he has been a faithful worker for many years, having served

the church as a Steward, Trustee, Exhorter, and Superintendent of the Sunday-school, having missed only a few Sundays in the last fifty years, being still a teacher and regular attendant in his old age.

In 1858 he was married to Mary M. Kistler, daughter of John Kistler. She died on June 10, 1913, aged 80 years, I month and 14 days. The following children were born to them: Allawil- da, James L., Martha L., Minnie J., Emma J., Dr. Oscar E., Carrie and the following who died in infancy ; Moses, Asher and Robert.

OSCAR HENRITZY, M. D., was born Dec. 28, 1871, at Slatington, and was educated in the public schools of that town, graduating from the High School at an early age. After being em- ployed in a drug store for two years, he entered the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, in which institution he graduated in 1892. In 1895 he entered the Medico-Chirurgical College, Phila- delphia, from which institution he graduated in- 1898, afterward he was appointed resident phy- sician of the Harrisburg City Hospital. In 1900 he started practicing at Slatington until Oct. I, 1912, when he removed to Antrim, Pa., assuming charge of a mining town as physician and sur- geon for the miners of the town of Antrim.

From 1903 to 1912 he held the office of health officer of Slatington. He was also the district examiner of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., for Slatington. He is a member of the fol- lowing organizations: Slatington Motor Club, Slatington Lodge No. 440, F. & A. M., Slat- ington Royal Arch Chapter No. 292; Slating- ton Lodge No. 624, I. O. O. F .; Modern Wood- men of America, and the Lehigh County Medi- cal Society. He was married June 16, 1902 to Mamie M. Hoffman, daughter of Owen and Amanda ( Mosser ) Hoffman. Mr. and Mrs. Henritzy have two children, Owen H. and Mil- dred M.

HERB FAMILY.

In 1790 Jacob Herp is recorded in the Federal census as the head of a family of seven persons, consisting of himself and wife, two sons-one above and one under sixteen years of age-and three daughters. The names of the daughters are not known, but the sons were Jacob and Abraham. Tradition says that Jacob Herp was of foreign birth, and that he and his brother Abraham came to the New World, locating in Berks county, Pa. Abraham settled in Hereford township, and died there in 1813, leaving 200 pounds in money for his wife Ann, who survived him, and a large estate in addition for his children: Peter Elizabeth, m. to Peter Hawk; Ann, m. to Henry Derr; Mary; and Sarah.

55+

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Jacob Herb, son of Jacob Herp, lived in Wash- ington township, Berks county, and there died some years after the close of the Civil War, when nearly seventy years of age. His wife died long before him, and both are buried at Hill church. He was a laborer. His children were: Jacob, who lived in District township; Daniel, mentioned below; Abraham, who lived in Dis- trict township ; Samuel, who also lived in District township, and was killed in a stone quarry; and Mrs. Lewis Weiser.

Daniel Herb, son of Jacob, was a resident of Pike township. He was born Feb. 28, 1816, and died Sept. 8, 1879, and is buried at Hill church. His wife, Elizabeth Fraunheiser, was born April 2, 1817, and died Feb. 9, 1863. They had chil- dren, as follows: Daniel, deceased; Catharine, m. to Ismal Weller; John, deceased ; Adam, de- ceased ; Samuel, deceased ; Henry F .; Nathan ; Sarah ; and Lizzie, deceased.

Adam F. Herb, son of Daniel, was born in Pike township, Berks county, May 12, 1844, and died in 1897, aged 53 years. He is buried at Hill church, of which he was a Lutheran mem- ber, serving it as deacon and elder. By trade he was a carpenter, but later farmed a 56-acre farm, now in possession of his widow. He had been elected as school director by the Republican party. His wife was Elizabeth, a daughter of Benjamin and Miss (Becker) Heydt, their issue being Sarah, married to David Heydt, of near Boyertown, Pa .; Henry H .; and Elmira, wife of Jacob Lesher, of Northampton, Pa.

DR. HENRY H. HERB, of Trexlertown, Lehigh county, is a son of Adam F., and was born in Pike township, Berks county, May 15, 1871. He graduated from the Keystone State Normal, Kutztown, in 1897, thereafter taking a post- graduate course in Perkiomen Seminary. In 1900, he registered at Medico-Chi College, Phila- delphia, graduating therefrom in 1904. He then performed substitute work for Dr. W. F. Long, at Shamrock ; for Dr. L. F. Wagner, the present coroner of Berks county; at the Berks county almshouse; and for Dr. L. H. Hain, at Shilling- ton. From there he went and assisted Dr. George A. Weida, at Frederick, Montgomery county, who was serving as a member of the House of Representatives at Harrisburg. On April 20, 1905, he located at Breinigsville, removing to Trexlertown, Pa., March 12, 1907, where he built up a large practice. He is a member of Maxatawny Castle, No. 461, K. G. E .; Fogels- ville Lodge of Odd Fellows; and the Lutheran Church. He was secretary of the St. Joseph Union Sunday school of Hill church for fifteen years. On Dec. 6, 1898, he married Ella L., a daughter of James W. and Laanda (Weidner)

Long, of Lobachsville, Pa., from which marriage there is no issue.

HERBER FAMILY.

Peter Herber settled in Weisenberg prior to 1750. He took an active part in the formation of the Weisenberg congregation, and was chosen the first elder on the Reformed side. Later, when the difficulty arose between the Reformed and Lutheran elements of the congregation which led to the building of the Lowhill church by the Reformed the Herbers remained with the Weisenberg congregation.

Peter Herber had a son Jacob, who lived in the vicinity of the Weisenberg church, and served it as a deacon and elder. He was married to Dorothea Sassaman, daughter of Jost Heinrich Sassamanhausen. He left a number of children, among whom were Heinrich, Anna Maria, Jo- hannes, Jacob, Anna Kunigunda, Catharine, Andreas, John Philip.

John Philip Herber, the youngest son of Jacob his father's homestead near the Weisenberg Herber, was born Sept. 7, 1770. He obtained church, and there his children were born and reared. His wife was Catharine Hoffman, born in 1771 and died in 1852, and they had issue: John, Jacob, Heinrich, Daniel, Peter, John, Catharine Kraesley and Molly Ebert. Of these, Jacob, John, Peter and Daniel obtained the homestead, dividing it into four parts. John sold his part to his brother Jacob, and Peter sold his part to Benjamin Bittner. John Peter, Dan- iel and Catharine became very old.

Jacob Herber, the second son of J. Philip, was born June 1, 1796 and died Nov. 1, 1882. He married Christiana Kressly and they had five children : Jonas, 1825-1906; Frank P., Sarah, Lydia and Lucy.

Jonas Herber married Mary Gehringer, but they had no grown up children. They were farming people and are buried at the Weisenberg church, of which he was an elder. Frank P. Herber was born Feb. 1, 1835 and died Jan. 18, 1894. His wife was Sarah Hollenbach. He was a school teacher for many years. Their children were: Frank J., and Martha (wife of Chester Herber) ; Sarah married Samuel Lerch, of Kreidersville, Pa .; Lydia married Albert Guth; Lucy married Joseph Dengler and have one daughter, Mrs. H. Schaeffer.

Peter Herber, son of J. Philip, married a Shellhammer and their children were: George (of Alburtis) ; Rev. . William (of Shamokin, Pa.) ; Edwin (of Allentown) ; Samuel; and Amos (who lives in Weisenberg).

John Herber, son of J. Philip, married Katie

555

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

Hentz, and they had two children: Elias and David, of Claussville, this county.

Daniel Herber, son of J. Philip, was born in 1808 in Weisenberg, where he followed farm- ing. He was married to Kressly, and died in 1889. Their children were: Israel (car- penter of Mattoon, Ill.) ; Levi; Lafeyette; Na- than; Gideon; Fianna; Polly; Sallie; Mary; Amanda, and Amelia.

Nathan Herber, the fourth son of Daniel, was born Aug. 6, 1836. He is a farmer near the Weisenberg church, where he built himself a home and now occupies it. His wife was Aba- gail Sander, and they have seven children: Phaon F., Alfred J., Tevillia E., John P., Laura A., 'Tilghman F., and George D.

ALFRED J. HERBER, a veteran school teacher+ of Heidelberg township, was born near the Weisenberg church, Sept. 16, 1862. He was edu- cated in the public schools; and before he was seventeen years old he attended the "Summer Normal School" at Lynnville and later at New Tripoli. Alvin Rupp (still serving as the county superintendent) prepared him with many other young men for the profession of teaching. In the fall of 1879 he began his career as a teacher in his native township-Weisenberg, at a salary of $24 per month, and the school term was then only four months. The following year he taught in the same township; the next four terms in Lowhill, and the following twenty-eight terms till now he has been an honored teacher in Heid- elberg, where he has been teaching the Peter's school for twenty-six years. He has also been the superintendent of the Sunday-school at the same place for twenty years. He works upon his small farm during the summer months, be- ing situated one mile east of Jordan, P. O., in Heidelberg. He and his family are members of the Reformed congregation of the Weisenberg church, which he served as a deacon and is now an elder of it. In 1911 he was elected as a Democrat to the office of assessor.

On Oct. 10, 1886, he married Amanda M. Sieger of Grimville, Pa., and they have fourteen children, eleven of them are still living, and three of them have already entered the teaching profession and have also taught in Heidelberg township. The following are the children : Henry J .; George F .; Emma T .; Robert D .; Walter N .; Cora L .; Oliver J .; Warren A .; Elmer C .; Howard T .; Helen E .; Florence M .; and Paul J. The eighth child died in infancy.

HENRY H. HERBST, M.D.

Dr. Henry Herbert Herbst, late of Allentown, for many years one of the best known physicians of the city and one of the very foremost citizens of

the community, was a descendant of a long line of distinguished ancestors. The family for cen- turies past had been seated in Altenberg, Mussel- witz, Saxony, Germany, where they were active and prominent, the principal factors in the growth and improvement of the sections wherein they resided.

Dr. Frederick William Herbst, grandfather of Dr. H. Herbert Herbst, and of Senator E. M. Herbst, M.D., of Oley, Berks county, Pennsyl- vania, was born in Altenberg, Germany, Feb. 3, 1804; died in the year 1880. He emigrated to the United States in 1826, after obtaining an ex- cellent literary education, and located in Phila- dalphia, Pennsylvania, and there under the guid- ance of a prominent physician, he began the study of mediciie, continuing with him until his gradu- ation from Jefferson Medical College. He lo- cated in the Oley Valley in the section now em- braced in Pike township, Berks county, and there for forty years devoted himself to his profession. Not only did he become a leading physician, but he became a prominent public spirited citizen and one of the intellectual leaders of his community. The last two years of his life were spent in re- tirement. He was a Democrat in politics, and in 1861 was elected county treasurer. He mar- ried Catharine Schall, born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, April 20, 1799, died in 1882, daughter of David Schall. Children: 1. Cap- tain George S., born in 1830; became the mana- ger of the Rockland Iron Forge, and when the Civil War broke out, was one of the first to answer President Lincoln's call for men ; he was mustered into service, April 23, 1861, becoming captain of Company D, Seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry ; he contracted sickness while in service, and after a lingering illness passed away Dec. 26, 1865; in 1854 he married Vio- letta Maurer and they had one son, Dr. Edwin M., who is now serving his third term in the State Senate from Berks county. 2. Willianı, of whom further.

Dr. William Herbst, son of Dr. Frederick William Herbst, was born in 1833, died in 1880. He was reared in Berks county, Pennsyl- vania, attended the schools in the neighbor- hood of his home, and later attended Willis- ton Seminary in East Hampton, Massachusetts, remaining two years. At the age of eighteen years he began reading medicine with his father in Berks county, and later took a course at the Jeff- erson Medical College, Philadelphia, graduating in 1855. He located at Trexlertown in the spring of 1855 and there built up a large and lucrative practice, being a foremost physician of the county until his death. He served for thirteen years as physician at the almshouse, filled the chair of botany at Muhlenberg Col-

556

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

lege for upwards of seven years, and was con- nected with the various local medical societies, serving as the secretary of the Lehigh County Medical Society for a number of years. He was a Lutheran in religion, a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Masonic fraternity. He married Elenora Schall, daughter of David and Mary (Rupp) Schall, representatives of families the members of which were prominent in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars of this country. Children: Henry Herbert, of whom further; Caroline E.

Dr. Henry Herbert Herbst, son of Dr. Wil- liam Herbst, was born in Trexlertown, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, May 22, 1858, died Sept. 23, 1911. He pursued his collegiate preparations at Williston Seminary, and was a student at Muhlenberg College, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the class of 1878, receiving the degree of Master of Arts in due course. He then entered the medical department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, was president of his class during the first year and class secretary the last year, and at his graduation in 1881 re- ceived honorable mention for a thesis upon the subject of "Alimentation." He was also one of the founders and its first president of the H. C. Wood Medical Society of the university. For a year after his graduation he was examining sur- geon for the Pennsylvania Railroad at Wilming- ton, then returned to Allentown, where he was engaged in active practice until his death. In addition to his practice, which was both exten- sive and renumerative, he served as physician to the coroner; was city physician for the Poor Di- rectors; president of the Board of Health from 1890 to 1895, and served on the United States Board of Pension Examiners from 1888 to 1897. He took an active interest in the Tuberculosis convention held in Allentown, and was largely responsible for the success of the project. He served at the Allentown Hospital, and was Pro- fessor of Physical Education at Mhulenberg Col- lege for fourteen years. He was the author of "Etiology of Diphtheria," "Physical Education," and "School Hygiene." He was a member of the American Academy of Medicine, president of the medical section of the Pennsylvania State Medi- cal Society, and a first vice-president of the so- ciety when they met at Allentown, president of the Muhlenberg College Alumni Association.

Dr. Herbst was a member of the Board of Control from the Ninth ward for twenty years, and served as its president for nine years, and when he was elected first the board was Repub- lican by two majority. He devoted considerable time to the interests of the public schools, and it can be truthfully said that he took a great

pride in the upbuilding of the public schools in the city of Allentown. He was the father of medical inspection in schools, having worked for it for five years before it was instituted. He was twice a Democratic candidate for the office of mayor of Allentown. In 1893 he was de- feated by Hon. H. W. Allison, and in the pri- mary election for the same office, June 23, 1908, he won out over Colonel S. D. Lehr, receiving 2,402 votes and his opponent 1,498. In the gen- eral election following he was unfortunate again, going down to defeat, Mayor Hunsicker winning by 4,863 votes to 4,578. When Mayor Harry G. Stiles died in office, Nov. 8, 1908, the Demo- crats in city councils turned to Dr. Herbst as their man for mayor and he was named at a cau- cus on the fourth ballot by twelve votes to ten for Colonel Lehr, N. E. Worman, Hon. H. E. Crilly and H. B. Schall had received one, two and one votes respectively on earlier ballots. At a meet- ing of city councils, Nov. 17, 1908, Dr. Herbst was elected mayor over E. M. Young, the Repub- lican nominee, by a vote of twenty-two to four- teen. He administered the affairs of office with signal ability and credit, winning the approba- tion of his colleagues and constituents. He re- signed from the Board of Control, of which he was president, to assume the duties of this office, and was later returned to that body.

Dr. Herbst stood high in Masonic circles, having attained the thirty-second degree. He was also a charter member and one of the first Board of Governors of the Livingston Club, and a mem- ber of the Clover Club.

Dr. Herbst married, in 1881, Annie A. Frill, of Reading, Pennsylvania, who survives him. Children: 1. Dr. William Frederick, graduated from Allentown high school, 1903, then entered Williston Seminary, from which he graduated in 1905, then entered the University of Pennsyl- vania, graduating from the medical department in 1910, now a successful practitioner, assuming charge of his father's practice. 2. Henry, who was killed in 1908 by an automobile at Jefferson and Hamilton streets, Allentown.

Dr. Herbst died Sept. 23, 1911, and his funeral was attended by many of the noted citizens of Allentown, also by noted physicians from Phila- delphia and other cities of the eastern part of Pennsylvania. The school board met in special session on Friday evening, Sept. 23, 1911, and adopted the following resolutions :

"Whereas, Death has removed from our midst Dr. H. H. Herbst, who was a member of this board since 1891, with a slight interim, and served as president of the body for a number of years, and was intimately known by this body as a progressive school man, ever ready to give his time and attention to the interests of the

A. Herbar Nerbet

557

GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

schools. He was a man of conviction and prin- ciple, but ready to concede, when led to see that some other course was preferable. Before medi- cal inspection of pupils was made compulsory, he was instrumental in having it introduced in the schools of this city, and gave his time and attention together with statistics showing the necessity of such a step.

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. II, Part 110

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: 948

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: 948