USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume II > Part 51
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HOWARD RINEK-The Rinek family in Easton dates from the coming of Jacob Rinck, who was one of the most prominent of the business men of his day. He was the son of John and Elizabeth Rinek, of Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, his father being a veteran of the War of 1812. Elizabeth, his wife, who was of noble lineage, emigrated from Germany, and was a widow when their marriage took place in Philadelphia, her first marriage having been against the wishes of her family, the intended one being a music teacher supposedly her inferior. They eloped, however, and came to this country, where the
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husband died, leaving his wife and one son, James Gans, a ropemaker with small means. After his death the family continued their residence in Phila- delphia, and there their son, Jacob Rinek, was born.
Jacob Rinek was born in 1805, and died in Easton, Pennsylvania, January 24, 1868. He came to Easton in youthful manhood, and being twenty-three years of age, had already gained an expert knowledge of rope-making, both as a trade and as a business. He was employed by a Mr. Keller, whom he afterward succeeded in business through purchase about the year 1840, and from the business he conducted a large and prosperous cordage business grew. The store which was operated in connection with the cordage business was at the corner of Third street and Centre square. He was also instrumental ist the establishing of iron manufacture and in the building of the old forge, what is now No. 77 Bank street, the rear of the Karldon Hotel. He founded the firm, Rinek-Semple & Company, dealers in iron, and was interested in a planing mill located on the Lehigh river, Easton, Pennsylvania. He was a director of the old Dime Savings Bank, dealt heavily in real estate, and was largely responsible for the building up of the west end of Easton. In 1863 he organized with his son the firm of Jacob Rinek & Son. In 1864 the firm be- came known as Jacob Rinck & Sons, his sons John and Henry being added to the firm. In 1868, Jacob Rinek having died, the firm became known as Jacob Rinek's Sons. His son Howard became a member of the firm in 1873.
Jacob Rinek was most energetic and progressive, full of life, and as keenly appreciating a joke as he did the serious side of life. He was con- nected with the Olive Park Association & Improvement Company, and with other companies for municipal improvement, being always alive to his respon- sibilities as one of the wealthy, leading citizens of the city. He raised the money needed for the purchase of a site for the county court house and jail, which was presented to the county, was a member of the Third Street Re- formed Church, and a liberal supporter, and was a charter member of Lehicton Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics, Jacob Rinek was a Republican, and no man was more deeply interested in public affairs, but he claimed he served his party best as a private citizen, and he never listened to those who would have him accept public office. He was a just and upright man, a citizen in the best sense and loyal to every obligation, public or private.
Jacob Rinek married Anna Maria Bonstein, of Bethlehem township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, a granddaughter of Jacob Bonstein, a Hessian soldier of the War of the Revolution, who deserted from the English army and joined the American forces, with whom he later fought for liberty's cause, suffering a severe wound. He later settled in Bethlehem township, where he owned a large farm in the Drylands section, and there he lived and died. He married Katrina Schnabel, who bore him nine children, among them a son John, who died in 1852, in Easton, where he made his home for many of his years, seventy. John Bonstein was the father of Anna Maria Bonstein, who married Jacob Rinek, of Easton. Mr. and Mrs. Rinek were the parents of nine children: John, of whom further mention is made; Henry ; Mary, married S. Leigh Rodenbaugh, of Easton ; Thomas, a former president of the Northampton County National Bank, and prominent in city public life : Jacob ; Susan ; Emma ; Anna ; and Howard, of whom further mention is made, all being deceased except Anna and Howard. Three of the sons, Henry, Jacob and Thomas, served in the Union Army during the Civil War, Jacob dying while in the army. John also enlisted. but his father, needing his serv- ices badly, secured a substitute who served in the young man's place, and he returned to Easton.
John Rinek, born February 22, 1832, died on his eighty-second birthday. From the age of twelve he was associated with his father in rope manufacture, learning the business so thoroughly that he ranked as one of the most expert ropemakers in the United States. He followed the business until 1901, then
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retired. He was granted two patents for valuable inventions, one for prepar- ing hemp sliver ready for the spinning, and the other for forming rope strands. He devoted himself solely to his business, never sought public office, but con- sistently supported the candidates of the Republican party. John Rinek mar- ried Sarah Myers, daughter of Philip and Lavinia (Lott) Myers, her mother the daughter of Jeremiah and Elizabeth Lott. Jeremiah Lott was a trumpeter attached to General Washington's staff, not only as a soldier, but his trump- eter, being a personal friend of General Washington. Mr. and Mrs. John Rinek were the parents of sons, William H. and Harry, both residents of Easton.
Howard Rinek, son of Jacob and Anna Maria (Bonstein) Rinek, was born in Easton, December 5, 1852, was educated in the Easton schools, and has spent his years, sixty-five, in the city of his birth. He early became associated with his brothers in the Easton cordage business and later in the modern form of the same company, J. Rinek's Sons. The cordage business owned by the Rinek sons about 1890 was sold to the National Cordage Company, and was then leased to J. Rinek's Sons for a term of ninety-nine years. In 1893 the United States Cordage Company purchased all the plants and foundries of the National Cordage Company, the lease of J. Rinek's Sons continuing with the United States Cordage Company. In 1910 the business, J. Rinek's Sons, was incorporated as the Rinek Cordage Company, with a capital of $50,000, Howard Rinek, president; Norvin Rinek, secretary and general manager ; II. Bethman, treasurer. Outside of the business with which he has long been connected and of which he is the head, Howard Rinek has had business con- nections and experiences which entitles him to recognition as one of the useful, progressive men of the city.
The first incandescent electric lights installed in Easton for residence lighting were placed in his home on College Hill, the current being supplied from a small plant of his own. The success of his own plant was such that later on he organized the Edison Illuminating Company, and for nine years was both general manager and treasurer of the company, the capital of the company expanding from $50,000 to $350,000. Mr. Rinek, in speaking of the early days of electrie lighting, stated it was almost impossible at the time to obtain subscriptions for capital stock, and after canvassing the city only $4,000 were obtained. After several meetings of citizens called to consider the matter, Mr. J. T. Knight, a wealthy Eastonian and at the time treasurer of the Thomas Iron Company, advised Mr. Rinek to go ahead with the work, which was done, charter being obtained, buildings erected and contract made for the necessary machinery. Before the machinery was installed, the stock was not only subscribed but oversubscribed, and the demand for light and power exceeded the capacity of the plant. In view of the fact that the day load of the plant was small as compared with the night load, Mr. Rinck gave considerable consideration to furnishing power for electric street railways. At that time a small electric road using the Daft system was operated on College Hill from the foot of College Hill to the end of Chestnut street. The Daft system was not a success on account of using a double wire trolley with 220 volts. This was changed to a 500-volt single trolley, and Mr. Rinek secured the contract for power. The electric road going up College Hill was just a step in electrifying the railway system of both Easton and Phillipsburg. Mr. Knight, who was vice-president of the Edison Illuminating Company, urged Mr. Rinek to secure options on railway systems in both Easton and Phillips- burg. The stock of the Easton Horse Car Line was owned by the Lehigh Valley railroad and was purchased from that company, while the stock of the Phillipsburg Horse Car Line was bought of James Long and Samuel Boileau, who owned the greater portion of the stock. The difficulty of com- bining the roads was finally overcome by discovering that the road leading from Centre square to the Delaware Bridge was a separate road and owned
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by the Phillipsburg Horse Car Company, consequently this road was used as a connecting system between the Easton system and that of Phillipsburg. With this difficulty solved, the Easton Transit Company was chartered, Mr. Rinek having full charge of electrifying the different street railroads, he choosing the Westinghouse system for the equipment. Contracts were also made with the Edison company for furnishing power. The College Hill road, which was owned by Scranton people, was leased for ninety-nine years, so that the Easton Transit Company owned practically all the railroads in Easton and Phillipsburg.
Mr. Rinek, who had charge of the construction work, pushed matters so rapidly that a car was sent over the line from the western part of the city to South Easton on Thanksgiving night. With the passing away of Mr. Knight, who with Mr. Rinek were officials of both companies, friction developed be- tween the two companies due to the power question. The cars, on account of the steep grade, used an excessive amount of current, and some of the mem- bers of the transit company believed that the cost of the power was excessive and that it could be manufactured at less cost if they had their own plant. Mr. Rinek tried to bring the two companies together, forming a third corpora- tion or holding company. Although the directors of the Edison company were friendly disposed toward the matter, some of the members of the transit company could not agree with them as to the advisability. Electric light com- panies and gas companies were being bought up all over the State. Mr. Rinek, believing sooner or later overture would be made for buying the Edison plant, obtained from the majority of the Edison stockholders an option of their stock with an agreement that the stock should not be sold less than par. With a continuation of the friction between the directors of the two companies, and believing that a consolidation was impossible, Mr. Rinek sent a combined balance sheet of both companies to Stern & Silverman, of Phila- delphia, who were then doing a large promoting business in the buying up of plants in the State. Mr. Rinek received a phone message from Mr. Stern, stating that he had received the balance sheet and that he considered it a very good investment and requested a conference with Mr. Rinek at the banking house of E. B. Smith & Company, of Philadelphia. As a result of the confer- ence, both companies were sold to E. B. Smith & Company. Mr. Rinek then returned to the manufacture of cordage.
In 1906, Mr. Rinek, with his son Norvin, became interested in the build- ing of acroplane engines, organizing the Rinek Aero Company, with Norvin Rinek as president. In addition to building fifteen engines, they also built a plane modeled after the one in which Henri Farman made his flight at the training field Issey, Les Moisleueax, France. The plane was built almost exclusively of lightweight steel and was used for trying out the engines. The engines designed and built by the company were the first eight-cylinder water-cooled engines built in the country, being built entirely of an aluminum alloy. Due to the fact hat aeroplanes at that time were used principally for exhibition purposes, the company discontinued the work.
Mr. Rinek was married in 1880 to Georgia Gross, daughter of Reuben Gross, of Easton, who was one of the owners of the old stage line between Philadelphia and Easton. They are the parents of Norvin, born June 1888, now secretary and general manager of the Rinek Cordage Company. He married Marion Iless, daughter of John Iless, of Easton. Both Mr. Rinek, Sr., and Mr. Rinek, Jr., now reside on Paxinosa avenue, Easton, Pennsylvania.
WILLIAM MARSH MICHLER-For a century and three-quarters Michlers have added to the Moravian church and business history of North- ampton county, Pennsylvania. William M. Michler, of Easton, a well known and gifted architect, is a twentieth century representative of the family, and of the fifth generation of the family in America. The family history began
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in this country in the South, when in 1743 there landed at Savannah, Georgia, from a foreign ship two men of different faith, but both on a mission of reli- gious importance. These two men were John Wesley, the founder of Metho- dism, and John Michler, a bishop of the Moravian church, and the ancestor of William Marsh Michler, of Easton.
(I) Bishop Michler, born in Würtemberg, Germany, October 25, 1720, came to America at the head of a band of Moravian missionaries for work among the Indians, and from Savannah went to Salem, North Carolina, thence to Pennsylvania, locating first in Bethlehem, then in Nazareth, finally in Lebanon, where he died, having planted the Moravian faith in many locali- ties, and where already planted had strengthened its influence. Bishop Mich- ler married and was succeeded by his son Nathaniel.
(II) Nathaniel Michler, son of Bishop Michler, was born in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, an important man of his day. He spent his youth and early manhood at Jacobsburg, in Bushkill township, Northampton county, and while living there was elected justice of the peace, a very important office in that early day. Later he was a resident of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and taught Latin at the famed Moravian school, Nazareth Hall. He served as register of wills and recorder of deeds for Northampton county by appoint- ment of Governor Snyder, and for many years was clerk of the Orphans' Court. He took active part in public affairs and was a presidential elector.
(III) Peter S. Michler, son of Nathaniel Michler, was born in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, a merchant of Easton, and one of the founders of the First National Bank of Easton, of which he was president many years, also being the first president of the Thomas Iron Company. He was engaged as an extensive coal operator in the Upper Lehigh Valley, and a man of great enterprise and public-spirit. He died in Easton. He married a Miss Hart, a descendant of John Hart, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Three of their sons were in the Union Army, one becoming a general, one a division surgeon, and one a captain of cavalry.
(IV) Francis Michler, son of Peter S. and (Hart) Michler, was admitted to the bar, and began practice in Easton. He later abandoned his profession and engaged very successfully in the coal business until 1865, when he retired. He married Julia Lachenour, born in Easton, daughter of Dr. Daniel Lachenour, born in Salem, North Carolina, a graduate of the medi- cal department of the University of Pennsylvania, and one of Easton's most prominent physicians until his death in 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Michler were the parents of six children, one of whom was William Marsh.
(V) William Marsh Michler, son of Francis and Julia (Lachenour) Mich- ler, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1868. He prepared for the battle of life in the public schools, Lerch Academy, and Lafayette College, C.E., 1893, M.S., 1895, and in 1895 received from the University of Pennsyl- vania the degree of B.S.A. at the end of a four years' course in architecture. He pursued architectural study abroad in 1912. In 1895 he opened an office in Easton for the practice of his profession, and for over twenty-four years has been so engaged in his native city. Ile is a well known architect and highly rated in his profession. Among the best known public buildings which he designed and superintended during their construction are the Laubach store, Chipman Knitting Mills, the Chipman residences, llotel Huntington, Hotel Easton, the State Armory, Easton Hospital, Pardee Hall, which he restored, and the Zeta Psi fraternity building. Among the residences of par- ticular note which he designed are the Simons, Howard R. Reigle, E. J. Fox, the Country Club and Elks Club buildings, the Markle and the Pardee resi- dences, and many others in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania could be named, including several for officials of the Bethlehem Steel Company at Bethlehem. He is a member of professional societies, Easton Board of Trade, the Pomfret, Rotary, Elks, and Country clubs of Northampton county ; Trin-
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ity Protestant Episcopal Church, and in politics he is an Independent Republican.
Mr. Michler married, October 4, 1899, Matilda Runkle Bacon, daughter of John and Emile (Burke) Bacon, of Easton. Mrs. Michler is also a member of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, and a Red Cross worker. They are the parents of three children : I. John Francis, class of Lafayette, 1920; in 1918 was in training at Plattsburg, New York, Officers' Training Camp; returned to Lafayette as sergeant, and was an officer in the Students' Army Training Corps at Lafayette ; after demobilization he again took up his studies with his class. 2. Emilie Bacon, a high school student, class of 1920. 3. Margaret Henry, Easton High School, class of 1922.
BENJAMIN RUSH FIELD, M.D .- Benjamin Rush Field, M.D., of Easton, Pennsylvania, physician and author, comes of a long line of honor- able ancestry whose history is interwoven with that of England and the United States, and it is a noteworthy fact that among his ancestors in both lines were a number of his own profession.
The ancient history of the Field family was exhaustively written by one of its members, the Rev. Henry M. Field, D.D., of New York City (a brother of Cyrus W. Field, the projector of the first Atlantic cable), in a volume which he wrote and distributed privately. In this the author quoted Osgood Field, Esq., an American gentleman long resident in London, England, as follows :
Hubertus de la Feld was in England within a year or two of the Conquest, and in all probability came over with the Conqueror. He was of the family of Counts De la Feld of Colmar, in Alsatia, on the German border of France, who trace back to the darkest period of the middle ages, about the sixth century. Probably not a dozen families in Europe can prove so high an antiquity. The ancestors of the English de la Felds had been seated on the Chateau de la Feld for centuries before, and so early as the gloomiest times that followed the fall of the Roman Empire. They held lands (according to the feudal system) probably granted to them for military services by William the Conqueror- the original spelling of the family name "Feld" being derived from the verb to fell, field land being opposed to wood land, and meaning land where the trees have been felled.
According to the authority heretofore noted, a branch of the family probably went from Saxony through France to England. The first appear- ance of the Field family without the prefix "de la" was in that part of the West Riding of Yorkshire which borders upon Lancashire. John Field, paternal great-grandfather of Dr. B. Rush Field, said to have been a centena- rian, went from Saxony to Yorkshire, England, taking with him his infant son Richard. Richard Field was brought up at Dudley Hill, Bradford, York- shire, and after graduating from the University of London became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons. He spent the latter years of his life in America. His wife, Phoebe (Cridland) Field, was born in Leicestershire, England ; her father was an extensive wool manufacturer. The Cridland fam- ily have held positions of trust in England, and several British consuls in America were of that stock.
Dr. Cridland Crocker Field, son of Richard and Phoche (Cridland) Field, was born February 18, 1819, on board the American ship Ann, upon which his parents came to this country. The birth occurred just as the vessel had come into Long Island waters, within the bounds of Queens county, and the cap- tain wrapped a United States flag about the infant, who received from him his middle name, Crocker. The parents went to Northampton county, Penn- sylvania, and thence to Philadelphia, where the father practiced medicine in association with Dr. Physick, Dr. McClellan and others. He also held close personal and professional relations with Profs. William E. Horner, William Gibson, D. Hayes Agnew and Samuel Gross. These gentlemen exercised a potent influence over young Field, who entered upon the study of medicine with all of them as his friends, and some of the number as his instructors, notably Professor Horner, an accomplished anatomist and author of a stand- ard work upon his particular subject.
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Cridland C. Field graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at the early age of eighteen, and entered upon a professional career which covered the long period of fifty years, and was marked by conspicuous usefulness in both the fields of medicine and surgery. His surgical operations were fre- quently referred to in lectures in the university, and were favorably com- mented upon by the London Lancet, which made him the subject of a highly appreciative obituary notice. "His name became widely known for the suc- cessful performance of many of the most difficult operations in surgery. Those which made him most famous were the removal of a cervival tumor with ligation and excision of a considerable part of the jugular vein ; excision of the entire femur, an operation unique in the annals of surgery ; excision of the entire radius; and extirpation of the parotid gland, which difficult opera- tion he performed several times. These operations placed him in the front rank of modern surgeons. His favorite region of operations was the neck, from which he removed tumors that encompassed the carotid artery. As a teacher, Dr. Field has not been surpassed, he having sent more students to his favorite institution, the University of Pennsylvania, than any ph sician in the Lehigh Valley" (New York Herald, December 4, 1886). His death occurred December 3, 1886.
In 1837, the year of his graduation, he married Susannah Freeman, who was educated in the Moravian schools of Bethlehem. She was a woman of most amiable disposition, and was held in affection by all who knew hier for her openhanded benevolences. She was a native of Freemansburg, North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Jacob and Susannah (Butz) Freeman. The village which witnessed her birth was named for her father, who was a man of ability and means. He was owner of most of the land in the vicinity, and was elected to various public offices. He was a descendant of Richard Freeman, who came from England about 1660, settling in Mary- land, whence he removed to Northampton, Pennsylvania. In the maternal lines Mrs. Field (mother of Dr. B. Rush Field) was descended from Michael and Elizabeth Messinger, and Michael Messinger was a member of the "committee of observation" of Northampton county, formed at Easton, Dec- ember 21, 1774, with the view of furthering the cause of American independ- ence.
Cridland Crocker and Susannah (Freeman) Field were the parents of seven children, and among whom were two: William Gibson and Benjamin Rush Field, who attained distinction in letters as well as in their respective professions. The former named, residing in Enfield, Connecticut, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1841. He graduated from the Easton High School in 1858, from Lafayette College in 1862, and from Harvard in 1863. He at once entered the Harvard Law School, from which he grad- uated in 1865. In the same year he entered upon practice at Easton, and was so occupied until 1887, when he removed to Brooklyn, New York, and ten years later to his present home. While a resident of Easton, he was active in public and educational affairs. He was founder and editor of the Easton Daily Dispatch, for five terms secretary of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Institute of Northampton County, for several years a member of the Board of Education, and for a time its president. He was a frequent contributor to leading newspapers and magazines upon educational and literary topics, and he often delivered addresses upon these subjects before various societies and public assemblages. Another brother, Dr. George B. Wood, graduated from the Easton High School in 1876, and from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania with high honors in 1881. He practices medicine and surgery in Easton, Pennsylvania.
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