USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. II > Part 20
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155
At the Grimville church, in Berks county, is buried Catharine Hoffman, who was married to
...
97
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.
Heinrich Billig. She was born June 7, 1780, and died Feb. 17, 1826.
Johannes Billig, son of Michael and Magdal- ena, was born Nov. 29, 1806, and died Oct. 31. 1852. His wife, Hannah, nee Schlenker, was born in 1805, and died in 1882. Both are buried at Grinville church. They lived upon a large farm in Greenwich township. Their children were: William, John, Catharine (died single). Maria (married John Bleiler), Sarah (married Fred Snayberger), and Amelia (married David Hoch.)
William Billig, son of Johannes, was born May 18, 1833. He was a farmer in Greenwich township. until in 1891, when he moved to Claussville, Lehigh county, and there he farmed until his death, April 16, 1893. His wife was Elizabeth Spohn, and their children were: Sarah (married Frank Kramer of Alburtis) ; Hettie (married S. J. Miller of Krumsville) ; Emma (married Geo. E. Rothermel of Guthsville) ; George (of Claussville), and Rosa (married James Lawrence. )
Heinrich Billig was a farmer on a tract of land upwards of 200 acres, situated in Lynn township, Lehigh county, one mile south-west of Lynnport, on the south side of the Ontelaunee creek, and this homestead is now the property of Benjamin Henry. He was a Lutheran mem- ber of the Jacksonville church. He was born March 1, 1777, and died October 3, 1859, aged over 82 years. His wife, Catharine Everett, was born September 12, 1784, and died Janu- ary 4, 1842, aged over 57 years. Among their children were: a daughter (m. David Fether- olf), Polly (m. Thomas Hess), Ann (m. David Stein), David, Jonas (1805-1845, married Abi- gail Kistler in 1833, who died February 2, 1845).
David Billig, son of Henry, was born in Lynn township July 31, 1802. In the early part of his life he lived near Lynnville church ; but later he bought a 58-acre farm in a hilly section of the township, locally known as "Die Schweitz," and there he died December 28, 1866, in the 67th year of his age. This farm now belongs to David H. Fetherolf. He and his family were members of the Lutheran con- gregation at the New Jerusalem church.
His wife was Eva Catharine Rausch, born December 27, 1800, and died July 21, 1851, in the 5Ist year of her age. They had eight chil- dren: Henry (died at Tamaqua), John (died in Ohio), Polly (died unmarried), Catharine (m. Daniel Wessner), Mary (m. Jackson Haas), William (in Schuylkill county.), Daniel, and Angelina (m. Samuel Becker.
VOL. II-7
Daniel Billig, youngest son of David, a farmer on the south side of the Schochary in Lynn township, was born October 11, 1840. In 1875 he purchased a farm of 106 acres, the homestead of Philip Roxtheimer (1792-1852), who had erected the dwelling-house on the place, but Mr. Billig put up the barn in 1880.
Mr. Billig and his family are members of the Lutheran congregation at the New Jerusa- lem church, which he served as deacon and trus- tee. In politics he is a Democrat. His wife was Luzetta, daughter of Daniel and Luzena (Greenawald) Myerly. She died December II, 1899, aged 51 years. They had eight children : Alue S, Alice (m. Henry A. Kistler), Katie (m. Wellington Dietrich, who live in Weisen- berg township), Annie (m. Robert Graver), Rosa (m. Solomon Bachman), Emma (m. Har- vey Bachman), Jennie (m. Oscar Snyder), and Clara.
ALUE S. BILLIG, eldest son of Daniel, was born in Lynn township August 2, 1861. He learned the carpenter trade when nineteen years old and he has since carried it on as his regular employment. He was engaged for some years as a boss carpenter and often employed a con- siderable number of men in the erection of dwelling houses and barns in Lehigh, Berks and Schuylkill counties. In 1912 he built three dwellings for himself at Allentown. In 1890 he purchased a 30-acre tract in Lynn township and moved there in 1891, and there he lived until 1900, when he secured the Levi Reitz mill- property with 32 acres of land on the Onte- launee creek. The original mill on this site was built in 1782 by Jacob Wannamacher, Sr. It stood a short distance from the present mill, the breast-work of the dam and the old race- bed being still visible. The second mill occu- pied the site of the present one, which was also erected by a Wannamacher, and it remained there until 1898, when it was destroyed by fire. Five years afterward, Mr. Billig erected the present mill on the same foundation. He ope- rates a custom-mill, planing-mill and cider-press, and also carries on building and contracting, be- sides cultivating his farm. He is assisted by his five sons. The family are very industrious and energetic.
He and the family worship in the New Jerusa- lem church as members of the Lutheran congre- gation. In 1886 he was married to Mary, daughter of Joseph and Caroline ( Heintzelman ) Rauch of. Lynn township, and they have eight children: George, Hattie (m. Charles Lenhart, proprietor of the Mosser grist and saw-mill: which is situated farther down the Kistler Val- ley), Howard D. (m. Stella Hamm, and they .
98
HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
have a son, Preston), Stanley W. J., Beulah (who died young), Granville, Maggie, and Gor- man.
BINGAMAN FAMILY.
The Bingaman family originated in Germany. For generations the home of the family in the Pennsylvania has been in Berks county, Pa.
Peter Bingaman, the grandfather of our sub- ject, was a weaver by trade, and followed that occupation throughout his life. He lived and died in Reading, Pa. His mother was a daughter of Col. Nicholas Lotz, of Reading, who was a foremost citizen of Reading and Berks county, and prominent during the Revolutionary period, rendering his country active service at the front. He married Mary Oswalt. They were the par- ents of nine children: Jacob, Peter, Charles, David, William, Catherine, Mary, Elizabeth and Margaret.
William Bingaman, the fifth son of Peter and Mary (Oswalt) Bingaman, was born in 1822 at the corner of Eight and Walnut streets, Read- ing. He received his education in the public schools of Reading and when quite young learned the barber trade, which occupation he followed all his life. In 1842 he first engaged in business on his own account, on Penn street, below Sev- enth, and later on the South side.
For a period of twenty years he conducted business at No. 718 Penn street, where he be- came well known.
Owing to continuous indoor confinement, his failing health caused him to make a change of occupation and location. He purchased a small tract of land in Exeter township, where he re- sided about two years and a half, when his health had so much improved that he returned to Read- ing and opened a shop at No. 122 South Eighth street, and later removed to 343 North Eighth street, where he continued until his retirement from business, in 1881. He died at his home on June 2, 1901, at the age of 79 years; was in- terred in the Charles Evans cemetery.
He was married May 27, 1845, to Rebecca Graul, born Dec. 7, 1823, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Egge) Graul. Mr. Graul was by trade a bricklayer, and assisted in building the old freight depot of the P. & R. Company.
Their chidren were: Emma (Mrs. Harry Morris), Charles C., of whom below; Mary A., deceased; Elizabeth, a graduate of the Reading High school, class of 1871, and became a teacher in the public schools; Thomas, engaged in the barber business on Court street, Reading, mar- ried Martha Scull; Annie A. (Mrs. Martin L. Stroh), and Katie, who died aged seventeen years.
CHARLES C. BINGAMAN, eldest son of Wil- liam and Rebecca (Graul) Bingaman, was born at Reading, August 16, 1848. His boyhood days were passed in Reading, where he attended the public schools and at an early age learned the trade of barber, under the supervision of his father, and he continued in this business until he reached manhood.
In 1869 he removed to Allentown, Pa., and established himself in business on Hamilton street, where he successfully conducted a chair shop for a period of four years. In 1873 he entered the United States mail service as a railway postal clerk, which position of trust and responsibility he filled for a period of 14 years, running on various lines of roads throughout Pennsyvania.
In 1887 he resigned his position and estab- lished himself in the mercantile business in Allen- town, opening a store at Fifth and Union streets. Here he conducted a grocery store for four years, at the end of this period he was appointed by Mayor Allison a sanitary inspector of the city of Allentown, Pa., he being the first appointee in this department. After a period of about one year, he was appointed superintendent of the city water works, and in 1897 he accepted the position of superintendent of the Allentown Steam Heat and Power Company, located at South Hall . street. Since assuming this responsible position, the plant has been greatly improved and en- larged; at this date having twelve boilers and two and one-half miles of pipe line.
Mr. Bingaman is a person of much energy and force of character. In politics he is a staunch Republican; was chairman of the city and county committee during the Mckinley cam- paign.
He is a member of the Knights of Malta, is liberal in his religious views, his motto being the "Golden Rule."
In 1868 he was united in marriage to Alice Wetherold, a native of Allentown, daughter of William H. Wetherold. Their children were: One who died in infancy; William, who died in young manhood; Mary (May) who married John F. Miller, an employee of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, residing at Har- risburg, Pa .; and Maude, who died at the age of three years.
BITTNER FAMILY.
Andreas Bittner was born in Germany, Oct. 10, 1759, and when a mere child was accom- panied by his widowed mother to America. She settled in Lowhill township, then Northampton county, Pa. There she married a second time and young Andreas Bittner was then reared in a family by the name of Holben. He learned the
--------
99
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.
weaving trade and became the owner of a large farm in Lowhill township which is still in the family name and at present occupied by William Bittner. This pioneer was a devoted member of the Lutheran faith and served as a member of the building committee that built the Weisen- berg church and he had been always actively iden- tified with the administrative affairs of the con- gregation. He was loyal to his adopted country; and during the Revolutionary War served as a private in Capt. Matthias Probst's Company, of the Sixth Battalion, commanded by Col. Henry Geiger, of Heidelberg township.
In due time he was married to Maria Schnei- der (Snyder ) who was born in 1769, and died on Aug. 31, 1826. He died in his 72d year of age. They were first buried on the old graveyard at the Weisenberg church, but in 1911 their re- mains were removed to the new cemetery and buried on the family plot of their son, Jacob Bittner. It is said their union was blessed with ten children, but the names of only nine can be recorded, as follows: John, Jacob, Andreas, Henry, Peter, Benjamin, Daniel, Lydia, married to Sebastian Werley; and Maria, married to Dewald Werley.
John Bittner, the oldest son of Andreas, the pioneer, was a farmer in Weisenberg township and was known as a great horseman. He was married and had the following children: John, Andreas, and Mrs. Elias Snyder.
Jacob Bittner, son of Andreas and Maria (Snyder ) Bittner, was born in Lowhill township, Dec. 17, 1791. He lived on a farm along the Jordan creek, situated about one and one-half miles south of Bittner's Corner until 1840. Aft- erwards B. Shoemaker purchased this farm and Jacob Bittner acquired what was then known as Becker's grist-mill, later the mill became known as "Bittner's Mill." It was located at the con- fluence of the Jordan and Sweitzer creeks in Lowhill. This property consisted of about 90 acres, and had as improvements a grist-mill, a saw-mill, a clover mill, and a wool-carding mill.
In 1867 he was succeeded by his son, Jacob, and moved to Pleasant Corner, where he lived with his son, Elias, until he died on Aug. 25, 1874, aged 82 years, 8 months, and 8 days. He was buried at the Weisenberg church, where he had been a member of the Lutheran congregation, and for many years held various offices. He was a Democrat, was overseer of the poor, school direc- tor, and frequently county delegate.
Jacob Bittner was married June 15, 1815, to Sarah Werley, a daughter of Andreas Werley. She was born May 16, 1797, and died on July 9, 1859. They had the following children:
Maria, born June 14, 1819, married Solomon
Zimmerman ; Eliza, born Sept. 25, 1821, married Elias Schneider; Sallie, born March 11, 1824, married Owen Hunsicker; Jacob, born Oct. 30, 1826, married Louisa Seibert; Jonas, born Sept. 22, 1829, married Elemina Krum; Peter, mar- ried first to Lydia Long, second to Maria Werley, a twin to Jonas ; Lydia, born April 6, 1832, mar- ried to Joseph Kressly; Elias.
Andreas Bittner, son of Andrew and Maria Bittner, was born shortly before 1800, and was a farmer near Weidasville. He was a member of the Weisenberg Lutheran church, and was buried in the old cemetery. He married Eliza- beth Werley. Issue: Stephen, Lewis, Elias, Jonas, who settled at Akron, Ohio, after the Civil War; Sallie (Mrs. Nathan Wuchter), Mary (Mrs. Levi Shumaker), and Mrs. Charles Wieand.
Henry Bittner, son of Andreas and Maria Bittner, was born in Weisenberg township, Sept. 1, 1802. He was a farmer and owned the homestead which was located on the line of this and Lowhill township all his lifetime. He possessed 120 acres, now owned by his son, Wil- liam. He never was involved in a single court proceeding, directly or indirectly. The family were members of the Lutheran Church of which he was for years a deacon and an elder. He died in his seventy-fourth year.
Mr. Bittner married Mary, daughter of Ben- jamin Baer, a descendant of Christophel; the lat- ter was the ancestor of the late George F. Baer, for many years the very able and popular presi- dent of the P. and R. R. Co. Issue: Mary (Mrs. Jonas Snyder) ; Nathan, Amandes, Wil- liam, Phaon, Anna ( Mrs. Elias Hensinger), Henry, Sarah (Mrs. Willoughby Stein), and Lydia ( Mrs. Harrison German).
Peter Bittner, son of Andreas and Maria Bitt- ner, lived on a farm in the valley between Low- hill and Weisenberg churches in Lowhill town- ship. His children were: Reuben, Frank, Jacob, Willoughby, Jonas, Edwin, and three daughters, one of whom was Julia.
Benjamin Bittner, son of Andreas and Maria Bittner, lived upon a farm in the valley above the Weisenberg church. He was married to a Miss Holben and had an only daughter.
Daniel Bittner, son of Andreas and Maria Bittner, was a miller and merchant until his re- moval to Allentown where he conducted the City Hotel, and afterward the Pennsylvania Hotel. He was very active in political affairs of the county, and was a county commissioner in 1861. His wife, Polly Zimmerman, bore him the fol- lowing children: Amanda, married to Joseph Hartman; the wife of C. B. Maberry, who was
1
100
HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
sheriff of Lehigh county in 1881 ; and Anna, who was married and removed to Ohio.
.
Stephen Bittner, son of Andreas, was born near Lyon Valley, Lehigh county, in 1819. He attended the common schools and for years was a teamster for Jacob Zimmerman, a merchant at Lyon Valley. Subsequently he conducted the grist- and saw-mill above Jordan Valley. He built the present mills and drew his water supply from the big sand spring. The grist-mill was often operated during the night. His sons had charge of the new mill. He carried on milling for thirty years, selling the property with six- teen acres of land in 1871. He then bought a sixty-seven acre farm between Germansville and New Tripoli, conducting it for some years, then sold it and purchased a house near New Tripoli where he lived in retirement until his decease in 1898. Interment was at the Heidelberg Lu- theran church of which he was a member. He was married to Rebecca, daughter of William and Elizabeth ( Peter) Wuchter. Issue: Wil- liam F .; Anna M. (Mrs. Frank Hollenbach) ; Elmira ( Mrs. David G. Williams) ; Edwin W .; Phaon; Masseta ( Mrs. Frank P. Heil), who died shortly after her marriage) ; James L .; and Henry W.
EDWIN W. BITTNER, son of Stephen, was born in Heidelberg township, Dec. 15, 1854. He attended the public schools and at the age of twelve years began to work in his father's mills. During the '73 panic he labored upon the farm. From 1876-77 he was in the West doing farm work. In 1878 he lived in Philadelphia, and then farmed in Washington township for his father-in-law, eighteen years. In 1900 he began to operate the Saegersville Slate vein, known as the Bittner quarry, and has twenty-five employ- ees. It produces only beg-vein slate. They are 260 feet deep. The output is roofing and black- board slate. In politics Mr. Bittner is a Repub- lican, and was for six years an assessor. He is a member of the Knights of Malta and the state grange. He belongs to the Lutheran congrega- tion at Slatedale, was on the building committee which erected the present Union church, served as a deacon and has been treasurer for many years. He also owns a sixty-eight acre farm in Washington township which is a part of the Rex homestead on which he erected all the present buildings. In 1908 he built the fine mansion in Slatedale where he resides. In 1878, Mr. Bitt- ner was married to Leanna, daughter of Reuben and Lucy Ann ( Peter) Rex. They were blessed with six children : Minnie S. ( Mrs. Orville W. Bucks), Lovina ( Mrs. George E. Kistler), Rosa L. A., Cora R., Sadie V., and Jane M., who de- parted this life at the age of four years.
James L. Bittner was born in Heidelberg township Nov. 26, 1860. He attended the pub- lic schools and assisted his father on the farm for some time after he had attained his majority. He then worked in the Lehigh Valley car shops at Packerton. In 1899 he became the faithful sexton of the Ebenezer church at New Tripoli, and in 1908 put the neglected old cemetery into its present excellent condition at the cost of a tremendous amount of most arduous and self- sacrificing toil. He straightened up the leaning tombstones, supplanted the weeds, thorns and briars with green grass, using eighty loads of earth to fill up the sunken graves and level the grounds. From 1909-11 he was janitor of the church. He is a devoted church member.
Henry W. Bittner was born in Jordan Valley, Heidelberg township, Aug. 1, 1863. He attend- ed the local schools until ten years of age, when he was hired out on farms till he was twenty years old, then he went to Philadelphia and learned telegraphy. After a year's service in the P. R. R. station at Witmers, near Lancaster, he found the work too confining, resigned, and en- gaged for four years in the manufacture of cigars at Philadelphia. He then embarked in the wholesale produce business on a commission basis, in which he has continued ever since. He mar- ried Jennie L., daughter of Morris Trexler, of Lehighton. They are the parents of these chil- dren : Raymond and Madaline.
Lewis Bittner, the second son of Andreas, was born in Lowhill township, July 5, 1833. He at- tended the common schools and remained at home until he married, when he removed to "Kline's mill," now a part of Col. Trexler's deer park. He then purchased the Lyon Valley mill, oper- ated it for three years, then sold it, and located at Pleasant Corner, where he worked as a mill- wright and manufactured agricultural imple- ments. He afterward purchased the Neffsville hotel and conducted it about five years. He died Jan. 2, 1888. He was a Republican, and a mem- ber and deacon of the Weisenberg church, where he was buried. He married (first), Amanda Bitt- ner. Issue : Alice ( Mrs. George Dressler ), Adam E., and Wilson H. (deceased). He married, second, Kate Benninghoff, a daughter of Joel and Kate (Spohn) Benninghoff, of Grimmville, Pa. Issue: Harvey J., and Ellen ( Mrs. How- ard C. Benner ).
ADAM E. BITTNER, citizen of Allentown, was born in Lowhill township, June 24, 1863. He attended the public schools and in early life work- ed in his father's machine shop. At the age of fifteen he began clerking in a general store at Lyon Valley for C. W. Haas and served three and a half years. In 1881 he came to Allentown and
вам. Е. Вший
IOI
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.
worked in Koch Brothers' shoe store. In his nineteenth year he and his brother-in-law, George Dressler, purchased the old Kramer gro- cery store, corner of Sixth and Hamilton streets. After five years the partnership was dissolved and he then continued. in the same business at 214 North Fifth street for a period of almost twenty years. He was elected county commissioner in 1905 and re-elected in 1908. During his admin- istration an addition to the county jail was built, the large concrete bridge at Bethlehem was con- structed, the Slatington and Walnutport bridge over the Lehigh river was built, and at the alms- house an electric light system was installed, and a sewerage disposal plant was constructed; also all the turnpikes were all freed throughout the entire county. He is treasurer of the Bittner Slate Company since 1901. He was treas- urer of the Retail Merchants' Association for twelve years and trustee of the Lehigh Saenger- bund since 1896. He was also president of the Board of Prison Inspectors for two years, during which time many improvements were made. The addition to the Allentown jail was made in 1908. In 1911 he was appointed by the court as ad- juster to close up the business of the Allentown Mercantile Company. He is at present serving his third year as city school-tax receiver. He is a Republican and has always taken an active in- terest in matters political. He was one of the charter members of Washington Camp, P. O. S. of A., No. 406, and was its treasurer. He has been a member of the I. O. O. F. for many years as well as of the Royal Arcanum, in which he has filled every office. He is a member of St. Michael's Lutheran congregation, Allentown, and has served it as an elder.
On April 18, 1886, Mr. Bittner married Ad- die, daughter of Phaon and Lucy (Werley) Rab- enold, which happy union was blessed with the following five children: Harry L .; Helen M., graduated from the Allentown high school ; Fred P .; Adam A .; and Lucy E.
Elias Bittner was born about 1824. He was a farmer. He married Elizabeth German. Issue : Reuben, who married Drusilla Fritzinger ; Louisa (Mrs. James Kerschner) ; Mary (Mrs. Owen Smith) ; Aaron, who married Louisa Friebolin ; Nathan ; Amanda - (Mrs. Reuben Sensinger ) ; Alvin, who settled in the West; Laura (Mrs. David Sittler) ; and Jane ( Mrs. Andrew Sny- der ).
HARVEY J. BITTNER, painter and paper hanger, of Allentown, Pa., was born at Neffsville, June 24, 1884, son of Lewis and Kate (Bennighoff) Bittner, and a grandson of Andreas Bittner.
Harvey J. Bittner attended the public schools and at the age of twenty years learned the paint-
ing and paper hanging trade at Allentown, where he worked as journeyman until 1913, at which time he engaged in business for himself, employ- ing now four skilled mechanics. Socially he has membership in these lodges: Livingstone Castle, No. 258, K. G. E .; Liberty Chapter, No. 245, K. of F. He is a Republican in politics and he and his family are active members of Grace United Evangelical Church and Sunday school. He was married, Dec. 21, 1907, to Ella J. Ben- field, a daughter of John and Emma (Nuss) Benfield. They have a daughter, Olive Lillian Bittner.
Nathan Bittner was born in Heidelberg town- ship. He attended the public schools and be- came a successful farmer. He married (first) Lucy Rauch, and (second) Emelina Hamm. He had two sons: Oliver and Henry A.
HENRY A. BITTNER was born in Heidelberg township, June 12, 1875. He attended the pub- lic schools and at an early age was for seven years hired out among the farmers of Heidelberg and Lowhill townships, after which he was em- ployed two years in Saylor's Cement factory. He owns a farm of 54 acres on the line of the Saegersville R. F. D., which he has in a high state of cultivation. He is a most prosperous farmer and markets his produce and fruit at Mauch Chunk, making weekly trips. His entire family are members of the Heidelberg Lutheran church, which he served one term as a deacon. He is a member of Haak's Sunday school, which he served as superintendent. Mr. Bittner mar- ried, Feb. 29, 1896, Alice F. D., daughter of Cornelius Snyder. They are blessed with the fol- lowing children : Ida L., Alverta M., Clarence H. (died aged eight years), and Lulu A.
Nathan Bittner, son of Henry, was born March 4, 1833. He attended the common schools and learned tanning at Saegersville. In 1861 he and his brother Phaon purchased the Benjamin Kocher farm of 185 acres, in Lowhill, from Ben- jamin Seibert, and conducted it until 1867, when he became the sole owner of it. He was a suc- cessful farmer, improved the house, and in 1874 erected a modern barn, which is said to be one of the finest in the county. He raised from 3,500 to 4,000 bushels of potatoes annually. His fine team of four heavy horses enroute to Allentown with big loads of potatoes, hay or grain, was very much admired. He was a handsome man, six feet tall, and weighed 200 pounds. He served six years as school director. He died March 22, 1897.
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.