USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. II > Part 68
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This company first engaged in the bag cleaning business, also manufactured and leased machines to cement companies throughout the United States. Later they invented and patented a ma- chine to fill and weigh bags of cement, plaster, etc. These machines are never sold only leased and the company's own men operate them.
He is a member of Bargar Lodge, No. 333, F. & A. M .; I. O. O. F .; Modern Woodmen of America, and of St. Peter's Reformed church. In politics he is a Republican.
Frederick W. Fegley married Jennie E. Nuss, daughter of Charles and Diana (Fullweiler) Nuss. Issue : Erma L .; Anna May ; Mildred.
SOLOMON FEHNEL.
Solomon Fehnel was born April 16, 1859, at Klecknersville, in Moore township, Northampton county. He was educated in the public schools and engaged at farming until he was 27 years of age. Then he secured employment with the Bethlehem Steel Company, where he was en- gaged as a fireman until promoted to engineer, which position he filled upward of five years. He next served as engineer of the Bethlehem Elec- trical Company for upwards of seven years; Le- high Valley Transit Company for one year; At- las Cement Company, at Northampton for nearly twelve years; Allentown Flint Bottle Works for one year ; and since 1911 with Arbogast & Bastian as engineer of the refrigerating department. .
Mr. Fehnel is a member of the American Order of Steam Engineers; of Knights of the Golden Eagle; and of the Lutheran Church. He mar- ried Alice Koehler, daughter of John and Mary (Williams) Koehler, of Moorestown, where she
was educated and reared. They have four chil- dren : Wilson, m. Ella Butz; Percival, m. Maria Grubb; Mabel, m. Edward Moyer; and Flossie, m. Ellsworth Patrick. They reside at No. 445 Tilghman street, Allentown.
Jacob Fehnel, his father, was born at Kleck- nersville in 1821, brought up on a farm and fol- lowed farming in an extensive manner on a large tract until his decease in 1900. He was married to Susan Shaffer, daughter of Theobold and Susan (Frankenfield) Schaffer. She died in 1898, aged 71 years. They had seven children : Peter ; Gideon ; Jacob ; Solomon ; John; Hannah, wife of Clinton Santee; and Cyrus.
The grandfather was also named Jacob, and followed farming at Klecknersville.
Mr. Fehnel founded the "Fehnel Family Re union" at Moorestown, where the first meeting was held Aug. 12, 1911. He was selected as president of the association, and has since filled this position.
PERCIVAL J. FEHNEL.
Percival J. Fehnel, a machinist, residing at 1114 Chew street, Allentown, was born Dec. 24, 1882, son of Solomon and Alice S. (Kæbler) Fehnel, who has followed farming and the en- gineering trade for thirty years. They have these children: Wilson E .; Percival J .; Mabel, mar- ried to Edward Moyer; and Flossie, married to Ellsworth Patrick.
The subject of this record was educated in the public and high schools of Allentown. After- wards he was employed as machinist with the Bethlehem Steel Company; Atlas Cement Com- pany; Lehigh Portland Cement Company ; Mack Motor Car Company; and for past several years has been connected with the Universal Auto Company, at Allentown.
He married Maria A. Grubb and they have two children: Percival J., and Beatrice A.
FEHR FAMILY.
Jacob Fehr, a native of the Rheinish Pala- tinate, emigrated to America on the ship Jamaica, which landed at Philadelphia, Feb. 7, 1739. He located in Lower Saucon township, in what is now Northampton county, Pennsylvania. He had a small farm and was a weaver. He is buried at the old Williams township Union church, of which he was a Lutheran member. His chil- dren were: Jacob and John, who lived in Forest township, Northampton county. He was a farm- er and among his children was a son, Michael.
Jacob Fehr, son of Jacob, was born in 1741. He had his father's homestead and was a weaver. He was a Lutheran member of the Williams township church and died in old age. Elizabeth
340
HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Beischlein, his wife, came from a family who moved beyond Hazleton into the Butler Valley. Their children were: (1). Jacob, who died aged forty years. (2). Conrad, a weaver, who lived near Williams township church. (3). John, who lived at Nockamixon, Bucks county, and was a well-digger and pump-maker. (4). Eva, married Jacob Strauss, and lived in the Mahon- ing Valley, near Summit Hill. She died during the seventies, aged 105 years. (5). Margaret, married David Lambert, a farmer in Williams township. (6). Sarah, the wife of Jacob Wot- ring, lived in Williams township, near Easton. (7). Mrs. Lerch, who settled and died in Arm- strong county. (8). Mrs. Wyandt, who also settled and died in Armstrong county. (9). Mi- chael, a farmer in Lower Saucon township. (10). Abraham.
Abraham Fehr was born on the original home- stead of the family, July 12, 1788. He was a weaver and farmer. In 1813 he built a house on his premises in which his nineteen children were born. He served his township as super- visor some years. In the year 1842, under the preachings of Reverends Danner, Dotterer and Joseph Saylor, ministers of the Evangelical As- sociation, he was converted, being active in that Church until his death, July 23, 1868, in his eightieth year. He is buried at Springtown, Bucks county, on the Evangelical cemetery.
His first marriage was on May 31, 1814, with Mary Kline, by whom he had eight children, two dying in childhood. The others were: Lydia, married Samuel Schloyer ; Thomas, married Het- tie Reichard; Solomon, married Christiana Woodring; Abraham, married Sarah Young; David, married Lucy Ann Mantz; Margaret, married Jacob Steinmetz. All of the above fam- ily are deceased except Lucy Ann Mantz, who is very old.
Abraham Fehr married, second, Oct. 19, 1828, Catharine, daughter of John Jacob and Cath- arine (Mohr) Koch, of German parentage. This wife died June 27, 1861, aged sixty-two years, three months and ten days, and is buried at Springtown. Their eleven children follow :
Name.
Born.
Died.
Jacob,
Oct. 19, 1828
Nov. 12, 1832
Sarah Ann,
Sept. 5, 1831 Aug. 28, 1906
Eliza,
Jan. 31, 1833 Oct. 14, 1834
Levi, Feb. 2. 1834 Jan. 6, 1887
Julian,
Feb. 16, 1835
July 10, 1906 Jacob,
Mar. 15, 1836
Living
Catharine,
Aug. 31, 1837 July II, 1845
Charles K.,
Jan. 13, 1839 Living
Francis L.
Sept. 5, 1840 Living
Jeremiah, Nov. 16, 1842 Living
Joseph, Mar. 19, 1844 Living
Sarah Ann was the wife of Anthony Esterly.
REV. CHARLES K. FEHR, an aged Evangelical minister, of Allentown, was born Jan. 13, 1839. He was reared upon the farm and followed farming until twenty-one years old, then was called to the ministry of the Evangelical Church in 1861. His first charge was on the North- ampton circuit, which comprised Bath, Naza- reth, Bushkill, Bangor, Roxburg and Millers' churches. In 1862, he was appointed on the Lehigh circuit, which embraced Catasauqua, Emaus, Schnecksville, Cedarville, Wescoesville, Texas, and others. In 1863, he was appointed on the Womelsdorf circuit, in Berks county, comprising Womelsdorf, Bernville, and Center-
G. K. Falar
port. In 1865, he was appointed to the Fair- ville circuit, which in 1866 was changed to the Brownstown circuit. In 1867, he was appointed to the Milford circuit, and lived at Old Zions- ville, which comprised Milford, Hosensack, Greenville, New Berlinville and others. In 1869, he was appointed to Terra Hill station, in Lan- caster county, which formerly was called Fair- ville circuit. In 1871, he was appointed to Har- risburg Mission, and in 1873 to Lebanon sta- tion. The following year he was elected pre- siding elder and stationed on Harrisburg district.
341
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.
East Pennsylvania Conference. In 1878, he was re-elected and placed on Allentown district; and in 1882 he was re-elected and placed again for two years on Harrisburg district, after which he was stationed on the Philadelphia district. In 1886, he was re-elected and placed on Philadel- phia district two years; and on Pottstown dis- trict one year, when he resigned. In 1888, he was elected superintendent of the Ebenezer Orphans' Home, located at Flat Rock, Seneca county, Ohio. In 1891, he was again appointed to Terra Hill station. In 1894, he was stationed at Catasauqua station. In 1897, he was ap- pointed to the Coplay Mission. In 1898, he had Lehigh circuit. In 1900, he was placed at South Bethlehem Mission. In 1903, he was assigned on the Cherryville circuit. In 1904, on the Weissport and Lehighton circuit. In 1905-6, he served the Parryville circuit, after which he took superannuated relation until the present time. Rev. Fehr, in 1869, had a great revival at Terra Hill, when fifty new-born souls were added to the church. At Brownstown, in the same year, he likewise had a great revival. In appearance he is tall, massive, and robust. He had a strong, well modulated and pleasing voice. He was an orator, and made a fine and dignified appearance upon the pulpit. In the eventide of his life, Reverend Father Fehr has the friendship of many people both in and out of the church.
He was married, Feb. 21, 1863, to Annie S. Stahl, daughter of Daniel and Mary (Stauffer) Stahl, of Milford township. She died Jan. 21, 1912, aged seventy-one years and five months. She is buried on the family plot on Greenwood cemetery. Their children follow : I. Professor Charles D., an instructor at State College, since 1906. His wife is Emily Benner. Their chil- dren are: Leroy and Carl. 2. Emma C., mar- ried Rev. G. Berstecher, assistant editor of the Christlicha Botschafter, published at Cleveland, Ohio. 3. Dr. Howard A., mentioned later. Carrie May, the wife of Prof. Robert R. Fritsch, of Muhlenberg College, Allentown.
DR. HOWARD A. FEHR, Allentown, was born at Terra Hill, Lancaster county, Pa., Aug. 17, 1869. He was educated in the public schools, graduated from the Allentown Business College in 1886, and accepted a position for about one year with a furniture house in Allentown. In January, 1888, he entered Dickinson Theological Seminary, as a sophomore, graduating in 1890. After this time, at the urgent call of the Evan- gelical Association he went to Flat Rock, Ohio, where he graded the Orphanage School, of that Church, and taught in that institution with marked success for a year. At the end of this time he entered Hahnemann Medical College,
Philadelphia, graduating in 1894. He then lo- cated at Allentown, where he built up a lucra- tive practice. He resides at the southeast corner of Ninth and Turner streets. He was elected, as a Republican, to the office of school director, representing the Fourth ward.
Dr. Fehr is a member of the Lehigh Medical Society and the State Homeopathic Medical So- ciety. In the county society he served all the offices except treasurer, which he now holds.
He and family worship in Bethany United Evangelical church, which he served on the offi- cial board, and also as Sunday school superinten- dent.
He married, in 1896, Elizabeth M. Holbach, daughter of Charles and Isabella ( Marks) Hol- bach, of Catasauqua. They had two sons: Paul H., who died in infancy; and George C.
FEHR FAMILY.
Fehr, originally spelled Feer, is an old German and Swiss name, the name of John Fehr occurring in ancient records in Switzerland as early as 1187. Jacob Fehr, a native of the Palatinate, was born in 1704, and emigrated to America in the ship Jamaica, arriving in Philadelphia, Feb. 7, 1739. He settled in Lower Saucon township, Northampton county, near the Williams town- ship line, where he pursued the occupations of a farmer and weaver. He died at an advanced age and was buried at the Williams township church, of which he was a member of the Lu- theran branch. He had two sons: Jacob and John.
John Fehr, son of John, was born April 15, 1752, and died Jan. 24, 1839. He settled in that part of Plainfield township, now Bushkill township, where he was a prominent farmer. His wife, Eva Bowman, was born Feb. 10, 1757, and died Oct. 4, 1853, aged 96 years. His son, Mi- chael Fehr, was born April 8, 1797, and died April 6, 1865. His wife, Elizabeth, was born Aug. 15, 1795, and died Jan. 13, 1878. Their son, Michael M. Fehr, was born in Bushkill township in 1829. He received a common school education and at the age of sixteen began learn- ing the trade of a gunsmith, in which occupation he was engaged for 45 years, having, in later years, a small factory in Bushkill township, where he employed several men in manufacturing cer- tain parts of guns, which he sold to the Henry Gun Works. He served in the Civil War an enlistment in the 202d Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment. He died in 1889, and was buried at Schoeneck. Mr. Fehr married Anna Caroline, daughter of John A. and Elizabeth ( Haney) Edmonds. They had five children: Robert and Anson, deceased ; Catharine, who married J. H.
342
HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Stofflet, of Stroudsburg; Alonzo, of South Nor- walk, Conn .; and Harrison R.
HARRISON R. FEHR was born near Nazareth, Northampton county, March 20, 1863, and was educated in the Moravian schools at that place. He taught in the public schools from 1880 to 1883, when he entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company as a rodman in the civil engineering department, and in 1886 was pro- moted as transit-man in charge of the Lehigh Division, from Mauch Chunk to Easton, and in 1889 became assistant engineer in charge of that division, reporting directly to the chief engineer. His work embraced relocation of tracks, right of way surveys, maintenance of way work, construc- tion of branch roads and the line by contract through the city of Allentown. In this year, he was also construction engineer of a system of water works for Lehighton, and prepared plans and specifications for gravity supply and storage reservoirs. In the spring of 1890 he made sur- veys and designed a system of water works for Annville and Palmyra. From May, 1890, to October, 1891, he was in the employ of the bridge department of the Lehigh Valley road as engineer in charge of the New Jersey, Lehigh and Wyoming divisions and coal branch roads. From October, 1891, to September, 1899, he was city engineer and commissioner of highways of the city of Easton. During a portion of this time he also acted as engineer for the Easton Board of Trade and the boroughs of South Eas- ton and Pen Argyl, and designed and built a storage reservoir and three miles of water mains for the Stroudsburg Water Company. From 1899 to January, 1901, he was engineer for the Easton Transit Company, and from the latter date to September, 1902, was chief engineer of the Trenton & New Brunswick Railroad Com- pany. From September, 1902, to May, 1904, he was a consulting and contracting engineer.
In May, 1904, Mr. Fehr became general man- ager, and in 1906 also president of the Easton Transit Company, operating about 54 miles of electric street railway in Easton, Bethlehem, South Bethlehem and Nazareth, Pa., and Phil- lipsburg, N. J., which office he filled until Octo- ber, 1913, when he removed to Allentown, and became president and general manager of the Le- high Valley Transit and affiliated companies. which operates 220 miles of electric railway from Phillipsburg, N. J., to Slatington, Pa., and south to Philadelphia, and also distributes electric light and power through the Lehigh Valley and as far south as North Wales.
Mr. Fehr is a member of the American So- ciety of Civil Engineers and is a past president of the Pennsylvania Street Railway Association.
He is a member of Dallas Lodge, No. 396, F. & A. M .; Easton Chapter, No. 173, R. A. M .; Pomp Council, No. 20, R. & S. M. M .; Hugh DePayens Commandery, No. 19, K. T .; B. P. O. Elks; Royal Arcanum and General Judson Kilpatrick Camp, No. 233, Sons of Veterans, all of Easton; Rajah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Reading; Lehigh Country Club; Country Club of Northampton County ; Livingston Club, of Allentown; Pomfret Club, of Easton; Manu- facturer's Club, of Philadelphia; and the Na- tional Geographic Society.
Mr. Fehr married Miss Achshaw Walter, daughter of William Walter, of Bethlehem township, Northampton county, and had three children, one of whom, Walter Robert, died in infancy. His two sons are Willard Russell, who was educated at the Bethlehem Preparatory School, Lafayette College, and Rensselaer Poly- technic Institute, and was engaged in civil engi- neering until March, 1914, when he became gen- eral storekeeper for the Lehigh Valley Transit Company, and who married Margaret Worden, of Harrisburg, Pa .; and Harrison Robert, Jr., who was educated in and graduated from Naza- reth Hall and the Bethlehem Preparatory School, and is now attending Lafayette College, where he is pursuing a course in electrical engineering.
Mr. Fehr, through his mother, is a direct de- scendant and great-great-grandson of William Edmonds, one of the most prominent men in the early history of Northampton county. William Edmonds was born Oct. 24, 1708, at Coleford, in the parish of Newland, hundred of St. Bria- vel's, Gloucestershire, England, and was baptized in the Anglican Church. He was the only son of William Edmonds, a merchant, by his third wife, Hannah. At the age of ten years he was confirmed by the Bishop of Gloucester. His fa- ther gave him a liberal education and he became a noted linguist, having been able to read Latin at the early age of ten years, and German as well as his own vernacular, English. He was ap- prenticed to a white leather tanner in Mon- mouth, and in 1736 emigrated to New York, where he continued his trade until 1747. There, in 1741, he became acquainted with the Mora- vians, attended their meetings, and in 1744 was admitted to their communion.
After the death of his first wife, in 1747, he removed to Bethlehem, and in 1748 made a voy- age to Holland and England, in the "Irene," the first transport vessel built by the Moravian Church in America. On his return to Bethle- hem he was employed in the tannery and then at the ferry. In 1754 he was appointed store- keeper of the Church store, which position brought him in contact with the Indian chief-
343
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.
tains that frequently visited the town, and through his personal acquaintance and influence with them, between the years 1756 and 1758, his serv- ices were in constant demand on behalf of the Province. In January, 1756, he accompanied Franklin on his journey to the frontiers to erect a chain of forts and in July was one of the com- missioners to the Indian Treaty at Easton. In 1754 he was inspector of election for Bethlehem township, and in 1755 he was elected to repre- sent Northampton county in the assembly.
In 1763 he took charge of the store near the Rose Inn, near Nazareth, a building of unhewn logs, thirty feet square, which stood on the Mini- sink road. On Oct. 26, 1772, he removed the stock and fixtures to the new store building in Nazareth, where he remained until his retire- ment in 1773, after a service of nearly twenty years in the stores of the Moravian Church. In 1770 he was again elected to the assembly, and re-elected to the sessions of '71, '72, '73 and '74. He was one of the four delegates from North- ampton county to the Provincial convention held at Philadelphia on July 15, 1774, and in 1775, was appointed a member of the Committee of Safety of the State, serving from June 30th to October 19th. His advanced age precluded him from participating in the operations of the army, but he gave his time and influence in its behalf, and was a whole-souled patriot. The last eleven years of his life were spent in retirement at Naza- reth. He died Sept. 15, 1786, a son, two daugh- ters, and three grandchildren surviving him. He was twice married. His first wife was Rebecca de Beauvoise, of Huguenot ancestry, whom he married in New York in 1739, and by her had four children, who were baptized by Rev. John C. Pyrlaeus. She died in 1747. His second wife, Margaret, daughter of Henry and Eva Anthony, was born in New York in 1721. She married Mr. Edmonds at Bethlehem, March 31, 1755, and died at Nazareth, Feb. 26, 1773.
His son, John Edmonds, was born in New York City, Jan. 27, 1743, and died near Schoe- neck, where he is buried, April 2, 1824. His wife, Barbara Edmonds, was born Oct. 9, 1755, and died July 29, 1836. Their son, John Augus- tus Edmonds, married Elizabeth, daughter of Captain Haney, and had seventeen children, twelve sons, three of whom died in infancy, and five daughters. One of the daughters, Anna Car- oline, married Michael M. Fehr.
HERMAN J. FELDHEGE.
Herman J. Feldhege, one of the most suc- cessful silk manufacturers of the Lehigh Val- ley, was born May 12; 1875, at Westphalia, in Germany. He received a thorough education in
the schools of his native place and attended St. Albert's College at Vanlos, Holland, the same in- stitution in which Monsignor Peter Masson also was a student. He pursued a special course in the study of textile machinery and emigrated to New York in 1900. After working in silk mills at New York City, Paterson, N. J., South Beth- lehem, Pa., and Kingston, Pa., he filled the posi- tion of president and manager of the Central Silk Company, of Siegfrieds for four years. In 1912 he organized the Feldhege Silk Company of Egypt which employs 250 hands. In 1913 he started a silk mill at Walnutport which employs 300 hands. During the same year the mill at Siegfrieds and a second mill at Walnutport was started. Mr. Feldhege is the sole owner of the two mills at Walnutport. He understands the manufacturing of silk thoroughly in all its various details and is considered an expert in the same. He is a man of strong personality and business foresight.
He is held in high respect by his hundreds of employees and his association is with the best citi- zenship of the county. He resides in Allentown. He is a member of the Livingstone Club and B. P. O. E., of Allentown, and the Catasauqua Club.
Mr. Feldhege was married to Dora Palmer, daughter of Frederick and Mary (Heck) Palmer, of Union Hill, N. J., and they have one child, a son named Henry.
Henry Feldhege, his father, was a prominent public official and banker at Westphalia, and also large land-owner and farmer there, having served as mayor of that city for 38 years until his death in 1905, aged 79, and as president of a savings institution for upwards of 20 years. He was married to Bernadine Wessling and they had five children: Ferdinand; Henry, retired army officer ; Anna, mother-superior of a hospital ; Bern- adine, m. Schulze Rieping, reserve army officer, land-owner and farmer; and Herman J.
FENSTERMACHER FAMILY.
The name Fenstermacher, as all students of German well know, is derived from a like word in that language signifying "windowmaker." By many members of the family it is spelled "Fen- stermaker," and the writer of this sketch has heard of at least one instance where the still more anglicized form "Glazier" was adopted. In one of the early Berks county tax lists, the clerk who copied the record, perhaps in a spirit of humor, wrote the name "Windowmaker."
The Fenstermacher family with which we are most familiar, and whose representatives are quite numerous in this and nearby counties, has its origin in Mathias Fenstermacher, a native of the German Palatinate, who crossed the sea on
344
HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
the good ship "Glasgow" which landed at Phil- adelphia, Sept. 9, 1738. On the original list of passengers his age is given as sixty years, and he was therefore born about 1678. He was accom- panied to America by his two sons, Jacob, then twenty-nine years of age, and Wilhelm, twenty- five years of age. These three were preceded to the new world by a third son, Philip, who was removed to Alburtis and there carried on a gen- eral store business until he died in 1909. Alto- gether he followed the life of an enterprising, successful merchant for upwards of forty years. a passenger on the good ship, Samuel, and quali- fied at Philadelphia, Aug. 30, 1737. He was then twenty-four years of age.
There is a tradition that the family first set- tled in Oley township, Berks county. The first positive record we have, however, is in the Berks county tax list of 1753, where Longswamp town- ship is given as the residence of the father and of his two sons, Jacob and Philip. Concerning the other son, Wilhelm, who accompanied his father to the new world, nothing further is known at this time. The name of Mathias Fen- stermacher appears in the early tax lists as late as 1761, at which time he probably died, being then eighty-three years old.
Jacob Fenstermacher, the eldest son of Mathias, was one of the founders of the Long- swamp Reformed church. The proprietary re- turn of 1767 shows that he was the owner of one hundred acres of land in that township, and his name appears in the federal census of 1790, in- dicating that he was then still living. We have no record as to the date of his death and he had no will. He was twice married, his second wife being the Widow Koehler, and we know of at least seven children: (1) William; (2) Anna Maria, b. May 16, 1740 (?), d. May 10, 1801 (wife of Michael Bieber, b. Feb. 1I, 1740, d. Oct. 26, 1832); (3) Christian; (4) Joseph ; (5) Jacob; (6) Anna Barbara; and (7) Jo- hannes.
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