USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume I > Part 52
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The Northampton Historical and Genealogical Society was organized at Easton, May 23, 1905. The first officers were Dr. B. Rush Field, presi- dent, and Henry D. Marx, secretary. An annual meeting is held, but there are outings and meetings during the summer season. At the second annual meeting, held February 5, 1907, Dr. B. Rush Field presided, and a paper was read by Rev. J. C. Clyde on "The Scotch-Irish Settlers of Northampton County." An annual meeting of the society was held February 4, 1908, and the Rev. John C. Clyde was elected president. The address of the evening was delivered by Rev. J. Maximillian Hark, his subject being "The Penn- sylvania Germans." At a meeting held November 12, 1908, nineteen new members were elected, and a paper was read by Dr. Charles McIntire, the subject being, "A Peep Into Easton in 1843." The fourth annual gathering of the society was held at the Public Library Auditorium, January 21, 1909; a paper on "The Rise and Decline of the First Lutheran Church at the Falls of the Delaware" was read by W. J. Heller. At a meeting held Febru-
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ary 3, 1913, W. J. Heller, the retiring president, presided ; papers were read by Rev. John Baer Stoudt and Dr. G. F. Fox. The Rev. John F. Stone- cipher was elected president. At the annual meeting January 18, 1914, a very interesting paper was read by Rev. W. H. Romig, the subject being "Bethlehem and Nazareth as Mission Centers." Important papers have been read and discussed at the late meetings of the society, among which we mention Parke H. Davis' paper on "Dr. Henry Detweiler"; Mrs. O. H. Meyers' "The First Half Century of Northampton County"; and W. J. Heller's paper, "Outlining the History of the American Flag." The present president of the association is Dr. Edward Hart.
Prominent among the charitable institutions of Easton is the Easton Hospital, opened for the reception of patients November 20, 1890. The original building was formerly the residence of John Brown and was pur- chased for $7,000, the larger portion having been raised from a fair held at the Opera House. The hospital originally constructed was a three-story frame structure, with large hallways extending through the first and second floors. It soon became evident that the building must be enlarged; a sub- scription paper was circulated asking for help; private individuals and indus- trial organizations came to the assistance of the institution, and a building fund of $10,000 was created. Extensive building was soon undertaken, new brick additions were added to the original building, a one-story wing on the west side for a receiving ward, and operating room; a two-story wing on the east side for a dispensary, private patient rooms and an executive hall; and a two-story kitchen building was also added on the south side. The institution has received at various times appropriations from the State. The first was for $5,000 in 1890, and the aggregate amount of the appro- priations in 1906 were $138,500. The Legislature of 1905 appropriated $70,000, but this was reduced to $45,000 by Governor Samuel Pennypacker, of which $25,000 was to be expended in new buildings, the balance to be used towards the expenses of the institution for two years. The sixteenth anniversary of the hospital, November 20, 1906, was the occasion of the dedication of their new buildings, the estimated value of the real estate holdings of the hospital being $75,000. The hospital at the present time, under able management, is still pursuing its work of charity and usefulness.
The first meeting for the purpose of establishing the Home for Friend- less Children was held in the lecture room of the Third Street Reformed Church, January 3, 1885, and an organization was effected. Miss Kate Green was elected president; Mrs. Fannie Titus, treasurer; Mrs. H. D. Lochenour, secretary. The annual fee for membership was fixed at three dollars. At a subsequent meeting arrangements were made to rent a house on the north side of Bushkill creek, which was opened for a home, April 6, 1885. It soon became evident that larger quarters were necessary, and a subscription paper was circulated which met with unexpected success. The most generous donors were Theodore Sitgreaves, of Easton, and Mrs. Wil- liam Firestone, of Glendon, who gave a site for a new building consisting of an entire block on Washington street. A building was constructed at a cost of $5,850, and opened for occupation December 28, 1885. A charter was obtained from the State, and the board of officers reorganized. This
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institution has received a number of appropriations from the State, and its history is simply years of usefulness, benevolence and kindness to unfortu- nate orphans and friendless children.
Among the noted philanthropic institutions of Easton is the Home for Aged and Infirm Women. The first meeting was held by the ladies of Easton in November, 1890, to consider the organization of this institution. The following April a building was leased on North Second street. Two years later the association purchased on Northampton near Warren streets their present location at a cost of $1,600, which has been remodeled from time to time to suit their demands. The association has been assisted at different times with appropriations by the Legislature of the State.
The Board of Trade was reorganized at a preliminary meeting held January 15, 1909. The former board had become dormant, and efforts were revived to boom Easton and canvass the city for a new membership. Six hundred members were obtained, and Allen Carpenter and Charles A. Mor- rison were elected president and secretary. At the annual meeting in 1910, Fred R. Drake was chosen as president, and the secretary announced that the organization had raised a guarantee fund of $600,000 for the establish- ment of industries. Assistance had already been extended to the Bell Un- derwear Company, afterwards Lehman Brothers, and the Victor Balata Belting Company. These two industries gave employment to one hundred wage-earners, with a prospect of an increased force. The organization's good offices had also been extended in helping to procure a location for the Easton Tool and Machine Company and other small industries. The Board of Trade at this meeting went on record as being in favor of a commission form of government. The membership was increased in 19II to about seven hundred. At a banquet given February 14 of that year, speeches were made by Judge R. E. Stewart and A. Mitchell Palmer. The presiding officer was the newly elected president, C. K. Williams. The latter was succeeded in 1912 by Dr. B. Rush Field, and at the annual banquet of that year Charles M. Schwab was the principal speaker. The following have filled the office of president to 1917: W. Evan Chipman, Horace Lehr, John Rice and B. F. Cresson. The first secretary, Charles A. Morrison, served the association until his death in 1915, when Thomas A. H. Hay, the present incumbent, was chosen as his successor. There were three eras in the awakening of the manufacturing industries of Easton-first was the obtaining of the silk industries, then there was a dormant period, and the third era was marked by the reorganization of the Board of Trade and the establishment of a guarantee fund that now amounts to $760,500. Through the exertions of this association, important industries have been established, while others have been enlarged.
The Fire Insurance Company of Northampton County was incorporated March 12, 1830. The corporators were James M. Porter, John Green, Owen Rice, John Stewart, Daniel Stroud, Philip Mixsell, Anthony McCoy, Peter S. Michler, Christian J. Hutter, Matthias Riegel and George Barnet. The company is on a mutual principle. The company is still in existence, and has always done a conservative business.
As has been before stated, the first municipal election was carried by
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the Republicans. Mayor Chidsey was succeeded by Samuel S. Lesher, a Democrat. By the placing of Easton as a third-class city, the term of office for mayor was extended from one year to three years. Ex-Mayor Chidsey made an attempt to unseat his successful opponent by applying to the courts, which, however, decided that Mayor Lesher was duly elected and entitled to the office. At the next mayoralty election the Democrats elected Wil- liam Beidleman, who filled the office of mayor until 1893. The election in that year was close, Dr. B. Rush Field, a prominent Democrat, receiving a majority of only forty-six votes, and there was only a majority of two votes of that political party in the joint convention of the council. The election in 1896 was a triumph for the Republican party. Howard C. Hartzell was elected mayor with a majority of six hundred and four votes, and all the wards of the city were carried by the Republicans by substantial majorities. In the city elections two years later, though the Democrats made gains, the councils and school board were still controlled by the Republicans. In 1899 the Democrats were again successful in electing their candidate, Dr. R. Rush Field, as mayor, he having a majority of one hundred and eighty- seven votes. On joint ballot, however, the councils were still Republican. There was another victory for the Democrats in the election of 1902, Harri- son Lehr being elected mayor by a majority of one hundred and thirty-nine votes over his Republican opponent, Frederic W. Bell. The Republicans swept the city in the election of 1905, Francis A. Marsh, Jr., defeating the Democratic candidate, Parke A. Davis, by two hundred and eighty-three majority. The Republicans elected the members of the common and select councils in all the twelve wards with the exception of the ninth and twelfth. In the city election of 1907 there was a tie in the Ninth Ward, which was decided by flipping up a coin and the Republican candidate winning; the result was, the councils in joint convention were thirteen Republicans to eleven Democrats. The successful Democratic candidate for mayor, Henry McKeen, was inducted into office April 6, 1908. It required eighty-four ballots to elect Alfred P. Sands president of the common council. The Republicans in 1910, on account of a split in the Democratic party, they having two tickets in the field, had a complete walkover in electing their condidates for mayor and other city officers. David W. Nevins, the newly elected mayor, received 2,638 votes, the Democrats polling on their two tickets 2,800 votes. Decided gains, however, were made by the Democrats in the membership of the common and select councils, the joint ballot standing Republican, eighteen; Democrat, seventeen. Howard A. Hartzell was elected president of the councils on the one hundred and forty-third ballot. At the next mayoralty election, David W. Nevins was re-elected by a majority of a little over one hundred votes, defeating Howard A. Hartzell, and is the present incumbent of the office.
A post-office was established at Easton March 20, 1793, under an act of Congress passed February 20, 1792, which established among the routes one from Philadelphia to Bethlehem, Bethlehem to Easton and Sussex Court House, and one from Sussex Court House to Elizabethtown, inter- secting there the post road from Wiscasset, Maine, to Savannah, Georgia. The first postmaster was Henry Shering, a scrivener, and one of the most
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prominent citizens of the county at the close of the eighteenth century. His successors have been some of the most prominent citizens, among whom mention is made of John Ross, a member of Congress and judge of the Supreme Court of the State; Thomas B. Dick, a lawyer of prominence; George Wolf, a governor of the State; Philip H. Mattes, for many years cashier of the Branch Bank of the State of Pennsylvania; Abraham Horn, a veteran of the War of 1812; Col. William H. Hutter, cashier of the Northampton County Savings Bank; Capt. John J. Horn, a Civil War veteran ; James K. Dawes, publisher of Easton Free Press, besides many others. It was during Postmaster Dawes' incumbency of the office in December, 1873, that the free postal delivery system was established in Easton, the offices at South Easton, Glendon, Williamsburgh and Odenweldertown being discontinued. Special postal delivery was inaugurated October 1, 1885, a rural route in 1902, and the following year two more were added, the present number being six. The present site of the post-office was purchased by the government in 1907, an appropriation having been granted of $100,000, and later one for $150,000 for the building. The new post-office was occu- pied for temporary quarters in 1908. The thirty-fifth anniversary of free postal delivery in Easton was celebrated December 5, 1908, by a banquet ; the number of carriers in 1873 was six, and in the year the celebration was held there were twenty-three.
Before the organization of the Easton Water Company the citizens of Easton were dependent for water from wells and springs. The new com- pany was incorporated by an act of Assembly, March 24, 1817. The water was brought in wooden pipes from an elevated spring on Chestnut Hill, about a mile from Easton, and conveyed to a reservoir on the top of a hill at what is now Sixth street. This supply was wholly inadequate for the demands of the inhabitants, who principally had to rely on their wells and pumps. On this account, in 1840 new water works were erected on the Delaware river just above the mouth of Bushkill creek. Two steam engines were installed to force the water into a reservoir on College Hill, about a half mile distant. Though the supply was ample, the pressure could not overcome the elevation necessary to supply the West Ward, and so the West Ward Water Company was incorporated May 4, 1854. A house and the necessary pumping and forcing apparatus were erected on a bank of the Lehigh river near the borough line. A supplement to the act of incor- poration was passed May 5, 1855, giving the company the right to supply the inhabitants of the whole borough. They purchased all of the works of the Easton Water Company, excepting that part that was erected in 1817.
The Lehigh Water Company was chartered in March, 1860, with a capital of $200,000; its first president and secretary were Charles Roden- burgh and Henry Green. The company purchased the franchises and prop- erty of the West Ward Company, and in 1905 owned the entire water sys- tem of the city for personal, industrial and public uses. The water is taken from Lehigh river and raised two hundred feet to a reservoir on Fifteenth and Northampton streets. Later the waters of the Delaware river were used for the water supply. A standpipe was erected and a pumping station was established on Chestnut Hill; water was supplied to consumers in
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Palmer township as far as the County Club from the old reservoir. The supply is now ample for every necessity, and the head is so great that it can be carried over the top of the buildings in the lower portions of the city.
It was in 1892 that T. A. H. Hay and his brother, W. O. Hay, turned their attention to the development of the Easton Power Company, that owned franchises for operating in Easton, South Easton and Phillipsburg. T. A. H. Hay was president of the company and W. O. Hay secretary. After years of preparation, the company on December 6, 1899, publicly placed their big power plant on the south side of the city in running order for the distribution of electricity generated by water power from the waters of the Lehigh river.
The organization for the extinguishment of fires in Easton dates back to the establishment of the Easton Humane Fire Company in 1797. Previ- ous to this, the only means of extinguishing fires was the old hand bucket which was passed from hand to hand. The Easton Humane Fire Com- pany was furnished with a hand engine that was filled for use by means of buckets. After the establishment of the reservoir on Sixth street, a hose company was started, the theory being that with the great head and fall of the water, fires could be extinguished without the aid of forcing apparatus, which would have been true if the supply had been sufficient. The number of hose companies in 1830 was five, and with the introduction of the increased supply of water in 1840 the old idea was revived, relying on the pressure given by the great height of the reservoir, and every company in the borough at this time was a hose company. The introduction of steam apparatus has changed all this, and nothing short of steam power is considered reliable for the extinguishment of fires. A paid fire department was inaugurated November 1, 1879, and the city is equipped at the present time with a depart- ment not equalled by any city of its size in the United States.
The streets of Easton in early days were lighted by lamps which burned oil made from pine knots, and resembled turpentine. The Easton Gas Com- pany was incorporated March 14, 1850, with a capital stock of $40,000. The works of the company were built by P. H. Deily, of Philadelphia, and were completed in the latter part of 1851. The first superintendent was Charles Weyant, and in 1852 the fifty-two old street lights were connected with the gas mains. The gas was manufactured from bituminous coal, but in 1861, when the works were enlarged, water gas was substituted. The capital was increased to $200,000, and street mains have been extended to adjacent suburbs.
The military spirit has always been one of the active features of Easton. Just after the conclusion of our Second War with England, the Easton Union Guards was organized, and from that time until its dissolution in 1829 was commanded by David D. Wagener. Easton could boast at this time of several volunteer companies. The military spirit was high, and many of the most prominent citizens were in the ranks of the companies. The Easton Artillerists was a noted company, principally of young men. A military encampment was held in September, 1842, the ground for the camp being on the south side of the Lehigh river, on a hill overlooking the borough of Easton. Two days were spent in company and regimental drills, and on
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the latter day the soldiers were reviewed by Governor Porter. The Demo- cratic Artillerists under the command of Captain Reeder and the National Guards under command of Captain Yohe were members of the Second Regi- ment, commanded by Colonel Smith of Philadelphia. There were from seven hundred to eight hundred soldiers encamped, and from fifteen thousand to twenty thousand spectators were daily present.
At the riot of the boatmen in 1843 for an advance of wages, their actions obstructed navigation, and the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company suf- fered great loss. All efforts of a compromise were unavailing. The boatmen would not yield ; it became necessary to call out the militia, and in the melée the disaffected boatmen attacked Asa Packer, who was knocked into the river, but he succeeded in making his escape without serious injuries. The Easton National Guards was organized September 12, 1848, and was for a time the sole military company of Easton. In May, 1857, the Citizens' Artil- lery was organized, and later the Easton Jaegers, with Charles Glanz as cap- tain, composed mostly of Germans, which attracted much attention by their novel uniform and soldierly appearance. These companies, also the National Grays, became a part of the Union army at the time of the Civil War.
The Easton Grays, reorganized in July, 1873, became the successor of the old Easton Grays, whose ranks were broken by the Civil War. The company was officially known on the muster rolls of Pennsylvania as Company F. Fourth Regiment. This company, owing to lack of interest in its members in times of peace, became disorganized, and in 1898 the Easton City Guards was organized. A new armory was dedicated October 17, 1907, the cost of the building and lot being $30,000. The tenth anniversary was celebrated by a banquet at the armory, June 25, 1908. On the order of the general government in 1916, the Easton City Guards went into camp and became Company L of the Fourth Pennsylvania National Guard, for service on the Mexican border. The company returned to Easton that same year, and in 1917 were mustered into the United States service to take part in the war between the Allies and Central Powers.
It was in 1593 that Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes, which gave religious liberty to the Protestants. This edict was revoked by Louis XIV, who ordered all Protestants to return to the Roman Catholic church. The Palatinate, a German province that had been torn from Ger- many by France, contained a large population of German Reformed people. It was in 1709 that William Penn sent word to these people offering them asylum in Pennsylvania. This invitation was accepted, and the kind recep- tion they received from the Quakers made Pennsylvania to them like a paradise. These German people were not able to bring a minister with them, but they did bring a catechism, hymn books, bibles, and pious school teachers. Many of these early immigrants of the Reformed Church found a new home for themselves in what was old Northampton county.
The Rev. Michael Schlatter was sent in 1746 by the Synod of Holland for the purpose of visiting and gathering together the scattered members of the church, to organize congregations, and to be the high official of the church in the colonies. Rev. Mr. Schlatter was born in St. Gall, in a lovely valley on the banks of the Steinach, in Switzerland, July 14, 1716. In his
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fourteenth year he was confirmed and admitted to full communion in the Reformed Church. Of a natural roving disposition, he was induced to visit relatives in Holland, where he heard of the destitute conditions of the Ger- mans in Pennsylvania. The Synods of North and South Holland licensed him and commissioned him to preach the gospel in the land of William Penn. He arrived in America in 1746, and found thirty thousand members of the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Vir- ginia. In passing through these scattered congregations, which he visited on horseback, he could see no hope of relief for their religious and educa- tional wants only by a mission to Europe. Returning to the Old World, he wrote a powerful appeal to the churches of Holland, Germany, England. and Scotland, which resulted in the raising of a large contribution for the needy churches amid the forests of the New World.
Mr. Schlatter named forty-six congregations that he visited before he went to Europe; among them was one at the Forks of the Delaware, and from the proceeds of the fund raised a log church and school house were partly built in 1755. This was the first building erected for religious pur- poses in Easton. The first regular pastor of this church was Rev. Dr. Casper Deitrich Weyberg, who took charge of the congregation in 1763; his ministry was, however, of short duration, terminating in six months. This vacancy was not filled until the beginning of 1766, when Rev. Frederick L. Henop became pastor. The pastoral charge at this time was in connection with Greenwich, New Jersey, Dryland and Plainfield. The Rev. Mr. Henop re- moved October 8, 1769, to Frederick, Maryland, and his successor was Rev. Johan Wilhelm Pithan, who had been received conditionally into the Synod and was located over Easton and the other congregations on trial. The synod the following year received complaints against him, but on his prom- ising to do better he was retained. Failing to keep his promises, he resigned and was removed in 1771. The church was without a pastor until 1776, and during this vacancy the congregation, in union with the German Lutheran congregation, began to take measures for the erection of a church. The two congregations joined and built a church on what is now known as North Third street, which was completed in 1776 and dedicated November 17th of that year. The pews were of the high-backed, narrow-seated style, not made to lounge or sleep in, but to keep the occupants upright and awake.
The vacancy caused in the pastorate of the congregation by the removal of Rev. Pithan was not supplied until 1776, when Rev. John Williams Ingold became the incumbent. His successor was Rev. Frederick Hermann, who became pastor in the fall of 1786. He was a man of ability and culture, but the labors of his charge were too severe for his strength, and after serving the congregation about four years he resigned in October, 1790. The re- moval of Dr. Hermann was followed again by a vacancy which continued until August, 1793, when Rev. Dr. Jacob Christian Becker became pastor. He was a man of extraordinary eloquence, and was much beloved by the congregation. His ministry was of short duration. After preaching eighteen months, he received a call from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and removed from Easton in March, 1795. The next pastor was Rev. Thomas Nicholas Pomp. the only son of Rev. Nicholas Pomp, who was one of the four mission-
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