USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume III > Part 12
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In politics Mr. Ritter is a Democrat, and since 1893 has been treasurer of the Borough of Freemansburg; a school treasurer since 1908; a justice of the peace since 1893 (twenty-six years) ; and is a member of the Democratic county committee. For five years he was president of the Lutheran church of Freemansburg, succeeding his father; and in fraternity, he is a member of Freemansburg Lodge of the Eagles and Red Men.
He married, November 13, 1884, Alice T., daughter of Adam Snyder, of Lehigh Gap, a retired farmer at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Ritter are the parents of a son, Chauncey S. Ritter, born October 31, 1893, a graduate of Muhlenberg College, class of 1913, engaged in business until entering the United States Army for service against Germany.
JOSEPH A. HORNER-Trained in electrical engineering at Lehigh University, and for five years identified with that profession in the West, the relation of Joseph A. Horner to the cement industry of Pennsylvania is a connection that was formed at the instance of favorable opportunity and without the long preparation and consideration that usually accompanies the choice of a career. How mutually successful and profitable that connection has been is testified by his present general managership of the Nazareth Cement Company, a prosperous and thriving concern, whose operations have been doubled during the twelve years he has been at its head.
Joseph A. Horner is the son of Hugh and Jane (Hayes) Horner, and grandson of Robert Horner, and the old home where his father spent the greater part of his life of seventy-four years is still in his possession. Hugh Horner was for many years an elder of the Presbyterian church of Weavers- ville, later filling the same office in the church at Bath, where he lived during his later years. His wife, Jane (Hayes) Horner, was a direct descendant of Capt. John Hayes, of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, who rendered valuable service to the Colonial cause in the Revolutionary War, and who erected and operated a stone and frame mill at Weaversville, which is still in active use. Children of Hugh and Jane (Hayes) Horner: Robert, a retired dental sur- geon of Philadelphia, resides in Bath, Pennsylvania, unmarried; Mary Jane, a resident of Germantown, Pennsylvania, unmarried; John King, engaged in the grocery business in Philadelphia, unmarried; and Joseph A., of whom further.
Joseph A. Horner was born in the Scotch-Irish village in Allen township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1866. After preparatory study he enrolled in electrical engineering at Lehigh University, and was graduated in the class of 1898, working for one year in Philadelphia and then going West. He remained in the western part of the country for five years (for the greater part of that time engaged in professional work on electrical construction), then returned to Philadelphia, where he passed another year. At the end of that time he became interested in real estate and building operations in his native county of Northampton, and in Allentown he platted a tract of one hundred and eighteen acres, known as Horner's Addition, which
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he disposed of mainly to builders, although he erected a number of resi- dences thereon. This operation was a most successful one, and the residen- tial section that he opened became a popular part of the city.
With the sale of three hundred and twenty acres of land to the Bath Portland Cement Company in 1904, Mr. Horner's connection with the cement industry began, for during his transactions with the officials of the company he became so interested in the project that he lent it financial support and became a member of the board of directors. This position he retains to the present time, and the prosperous record of the company has amply justi- fied his early confidence in its future. Mr. Horner is a director of the Nazareth Cement Company, the oldest concern of its kind in the region, and to this company he has given the major part of his time and attention for the past twelve years, directing its operations as general manager and treas- urer. He holds a worthy place in the cement manufacturing industry, which is so important a part of the industrial life of the locality, and has administered the affairs of the Nazareth plant with an ability and fairness that has created a most satisfactory spirit of co-operation at a time when such a condition is unfortunately rare between employers and employed. Mr. Horner's execu- tive capacities have been impressed into service by his associates in connec- tion with the Bath Bank, of which he has been a director for twelve years, during the past six years serving as president. This is a substantial institu- tion that for many years has served the locality in an efficient, modern manner, and that has been of material aid to the business interests of the county.
Joseph A. Horner married, in 1906, Caroline Jennie Blair, of Bath, Penn- sylvania, and they are the parents of Ruth Blair and Hugh.
ROBERT L. GITTINGS, D.C .- Among the systems of "drugless heal- ing," chiropracticy has many followers, and of that particular school Dr. Robert L .. Gittings, of Easton, is a leading practitioner, and he is demonstrat- ing most satisfactorily to his clientele the value of the system he employs, a method of restoring health by manipulation of the spinal column. Dr. Git- tings is a son of Dr. William H. and Lula (Reed) Gittings, his father now a successful practitioner of chiropracty at Allentown, Pennsylvania. Dr. William H. Gittings was born in Baltimore, Maryland, of an old family, and on the maternal side was descended from the Henry family of Virginia, of which Patrick Henry was representative. Mrs. Lula (Reed) Gittings was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the Reeds and their maternal lines tracing to earliest days in New England Colonial history.
Dr. Robert L. Gittings was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, November 7, 1892, and was educated in the public schools of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He completed his studies with graduation from high school, class of 1914, and then began professional study at Central Chiropractic College, Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated D.C. He began practice in Pittsburgh, but soon removed to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he was associated in practice with his father until the latter part of 1918, when they opened offices in Easton with Dr. Robert L. Gittings in charge. Dr. Gittings is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Methodist Epis- copal church, and in politics is an independent. He is a devotee of out-of- door sports, shooting, fishing, swimming and boating particularly appealing to him. On his high school team in Wilkes-Barre he played right guard.
Dr. Gittings married May 1, 1916, Hazel Anita Coba, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, who died December 21, 1917, leaving a daughter, Hazel Jean.
CHARLES EDWIN SNYDER-From the age of twenty-one years, Mr. Snyder has been engaged in commercial life, his activities having taken a wide range both in variety and location. He is now secretary and treasurer N. H. BIOG .- 24
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of Kurtz Brothers, manufacturers and contractors of Bethlehem, Pennsyl- vania, a position he has held since 1916. Charles E. Snyder is a son of Wil- liam H. Snyder, born August 1, 1833, at Bangor, Pennsylvania, son of Charles K. Snyder, and great-grandson of Leonard Snyder, a farmer of Plainfield township in Northampton county, Pennsylvania.
(I) Leonard Snyder married a Miss Abel, and they were the parents of four sons and two daughters: James, a blacksmith; Charles K., grandfather of Charles E. Snyder; Leonard, Jr., a substantial farmer of Forks township in the same county ; Joseph; Lena and Elizabeth, Mrs. Henry Messenger and Mrs. Hazzard, respectively. The family were highly esteemed members of their communities.
(II) Charles K. Snyder, son of Leonard Snyder, was born in Plainfield township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, April 18, 1807. He early learned the blacksmith trade, and for several years had a shop at Ackerman- ville. He also owned and cultivated a farm of one hundred and forty acres in South Bangor, and in 1843 settled in what is now the borough of Bangor. He purchased an additional fifty acres situated east of the borough, on which later a valuable slate quarry was opened, which is still being worked. Mr. Snyder did not foresee the great development that was to follow the opening of the slate quarries, and passed his life oblivious of the wealth lying beneath his acres, wealth that came abundantly to later owners. He was a member of the Mennonite church, a man of industry and uprightness, highly esteemed. He married Barbara Ackerman, who was born February 8, 1807, at Acker- manville, a village named in honor of the Ackermans. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder were the parents of four children, the only survivor a son, William H., of further mention. Charles K. Snyder died November 7, 1871; his wife died June 4, 1882.
(III) William H. Snyder, son of Charles K. and Barbara (Ackerman) Snyder, was born at Ackermanville, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1833, and there attended the public school until his twelfth year. In 1845 his family moved to Bangor, Pennsylvania, and there he finished his school life. He began his business life as his father's farm assistant, but later he began the manufac- ture of school slates, a business he continued for many years until his retire- ment. He is now living a quiet, retired life at his home, Broadway and Third street, Bangor, Pennsylvania. He has held many local offices, school director, election officer, town councilman and assessor, filling the fast named office for twelve years. He is a Republican in politics, a member of the Masonic order, and both he and his wife are members of the United Evan- gelical church. William H. Snyder married, October 25, 1856, Julia A. Miller, born in Bangor, who there died January 15, 1917. Mrs. Snyder was a daughter of Manasseh and Mary (La Bane) Miller, her mother a daughter of Daniel La Bane, one of northern Northampton's settlers. Manasseh Miller was a wheelwright by trade, a skilled workman and a man of education, at one time a teacher. Manasseh and Mary Miller were the parents of seven children, including Julia A., born in Upper Mount Bethel township in 1835, married William H. Snyder. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder were the parents of three children, two now living: Amanda, married George M. Slack, a merchant of Bangor, Pennsylvania, now retired; and Charles Edwin, of further mention.
(IV) Charles Edwin Snyder, son of William H. and Julia A. (Miller) Snyder, was born in Bangor, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1859, and there at- tended public schools. From the Bangor schools he passed to the Pennsyl- vania State Normal School at Kutztown, and there qualified for a teacher's position. After graduation from State Normal he taught in the Bangor schools until attaining legal age, then entered mercantile life as clerk. His first position was with J. E. Long & Company, general merchants of Bangor, his term with that firm covering a period of three years. From Bangor he went to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where for a number of years he was en-
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gaged in the dry-goods business. In 1885 he returned to Bangor and there he was a partner with his father in slate manufacturing. In 1888 they dis- solved, and Charles E. Snyder accepted a position as bookkeeper with the Bangor Slate Company. Two years later he was appointed superintendent and manager of the same company, holding that position for five years, until 1895, in which year he located in Shirley, Indiana, where with a partner, F. C. Grote, of Cincinnati, Ohio, he established a plant for the manufacture of chemicals, an enterprise with which Mr. Snyder was connected until 1899. He had gained four years valuable experience in chemical manufacture, and after leaving Shirley entered the employ of the Indiana Chemical Company at Fortville, Indiana, holding a responsible position with that company until 1903, when he transferred his services to the Du Pont Powder Company at Bluffton, Indiana, as assistant manager. He remained with the powder com- pany but a short time, then accepted appointment as auditor of the Muncie, Hartford & Fort Wayne Railroad Company, with office headquarters at Eaton, Indiana. He remained in the auditor's office until 1906, when the road was consolidated with the Indiana Union Traction Company, Mr. Snyder then being transferred to the position of chief claim adjuster of the merged roads, with office headquarters at Anderson, Indiana. He only re- mained in the adjuster's office six months, then resigned and became general manager of Indiana Normal University at Muncie, Indiana. After conclud- ing his engagement with the university, he returned to Bangor, and was for a short time office manager for the Bangor Silk Mill Company. In 1912 he entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Utilities Company at Easton, Pennsylvania, but in July of the same year he became assistant treasurer of the Macan Junior Company, jobbers of mill supplies. He efficiently filled that position, as he had all others, until elected, December 1, 1917, secretary- treasurer of the Kurtz Brothers Company, manufacturers and contractors of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
This wonderfuly extended and varied business experience has left Mr. Snyder thoroughly furnished, self-reliant and unafraid in the face of any emergency. That hard school of experience has toughened and trained every faculty to its highest efficiency, and he is yet but in the prime of his splendid powers. He resides in Easton, and there is deeply interested in the United Evangelical Church Sunday school and societies. He is superintendent of the Mission Sunday school, president of the Christian Endeavor Society, chorister of the Sunday school, and in 1917 was president of the Northampton County Christian Endeavor Union. He is independent in political action, guiding his course with clear judgment, as different men and policies are presented for his consideration. He is a member of the fraternal order of Easton, Mystic. Circle No. 2131, and was one of the charter members of Herd No. I, Loyal Order of Buffaloes, of Bangor, also serving for three years as trustee.
Mr. Snyder married, October 1, 1891, in Bethlehem, Mrs. Mary A. Martin, of Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are the parents of four children : I. Miriam O., born October 17, 1893. 2. Raymond C., born June 7, 1899; an enlisted soldier of the United States, was with the American Expedi- tionary Forces in France, returned home on his twentieth birthday, after serving eighteen months, fifteen months in France, most of this time with the air defense at Camp Le Bourget, France, designed to protect Paris from air raids. 3. Teressa C., born January 1, 1901, a graduate of Easton High School, class of 1918. 4. Cleo E., born December 19, 1904.
HENRY HARRIS GREINER-Since leaving the schoolroom, Henry H. Greiner has been connected with the retail jewelry business as apprentice, journeyman and merchant, being now Bethlehem's leading jeweler. He began in his native Lebanon, and there and in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, his
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entire life has been spent. He is a son of Henry B. Greiner, who for thirty- two years was a manufacturer and dealer in harness in Lebanon, Pennsyl- vania. He died March II, 1907, in Bethlehem. He married Margaret A. Harris, who survives him, residing with her only child, Henry H., in Bethle- hem, Pennsylvania.ยป
Henry Harris Greiner was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, November 24, 1879, and there obtained a good public school education. After leaving school he at once became a jeweler's apprentice, and for four years he was under the instruction of J: C. Schmidt, who pronounced him a capable watchmaker at the end of his term of apprenticeship. He began his experience as a journeyman watchmaker with Caesar Spiegler, of Bethlehem, a well known jeweler, with whom he remained another four years, then on May 1, 1904, began business in his own name. He has prospered abundantly, and his fine jewelry stores with handsome furnishings and carefully selected stock are Bethlehem's most attractive and popular stores. On April 1, 1916, he pur- chased the building at No. 12 East Third street, Bethlehem, South Side, and there opened his second jewelry store. At this time he also bought the building in which his Bethlehem store was located, and his investment in the two buildings, exclusive of stock, was over $40,000. On November 18, 1918, he moved into still larger quarters in the new Kurtz building, and this magnificent store is one of the most beautifully equipped jewelry stores in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Greiner is affiliated with Bethlehem Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Zinzendorf Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Bethlehem Council, Royal and Select Masters; Bethlehem Commandery, Knights Templar; and in the Scottish Rite has attained the thirty-second degree, being affiliated with Bloomsburg Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He is also a noble of the Mystic Shrine, Rajah Temple, at Reading, Pennsylvania. Other fra- ternal orders with which he is affiliated are the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Tall Cedars of Lebanon, the latter of Easton. He is a member of the Rotary Club; Owl Social Club; Yo Eddie Club of Bethlehem, the latter a club formed to supply the local soldiers at the front with tobacco and other comforts, and was largely responsible for the reception and enter- tainment of Bethlehem's returning soldiers and sailors. He is a member of Salem Lutheran Church; the American Optical Society of Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania; and Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of Bethlehem Lodge No. 191, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. .
Mr. Greiner married, June 29, 1904, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ida A. Sandt, of Bethlehem, daughter of John L. and Eliza S. (Rohn) Sandt, both parents deceased. They are the parents of a son, Henry Sandt, born April 18, 1914. . The family home is at No. 71 East Broad street. Mr. Greiner has a farm of one hundred and sixty-seven acres, located in Bethlehem township, and his interest in the upbuilding and cultivation of this property never wanes. It is, in fact, his present-day hobby.
HENRY KRAEMER-Henry Kraemer, retired manufacturer of Naza- reth, Pennsylvania, may almost be termed one of the pioneers of that borough ; certainly he may be described as one of its pioneer manufacturers and also as perhaps its leading manufacturer. His hosiery mill, which he established in 1886, was the second industry to be established in Nazareth, and only a few months after the first industry, a lace mill, owned by Sahnesbeli, had been started. At the time of his coming, Nazareth had a population of only about. seven hundred, but is now a town of more than five thousand, a recognized industrial centre.
Henry Kraemer was born in Berleburg, Westphalia, on March 14, 1859. and came to the United States in 1878. Soon after landing he joined his uncle at Reading, Pennsylvania, where his uncle was prospering in independent
H. Kraemer
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business. Young Kraemer soon familiarized himself with the details of the business, and remained as bookkeeper in the employ of his relative for seven years. In 1886 he decided to venture into business for himself and removed to Nazareth for that purpose. His capital was only a few hundred dollars, but he was possessed of an optimistic spirit and marked enterprise. He was also a man of the balance necessary to know full well the true value of a dollar. His enterprise, therefore, began unostentatiously, bearing right pro- portion to his capital, and so he built firmly. His first hosiery mill was estab- lished in an abandoned machine shop, and there being a good market he soon found steady employment for about forty people. Although his manufac- tured product found a ready and good market, it may be imagined that the business needed very close attention during its early years because of the smallness of his capital; it nevertheless went steadily ahead, and in a few years outgrew its original quarters. A second building was erected, and in 1892 the number of persons who found steady employment in the mills of Mr. Kraemer had increased to one hundred and fifty. In that year fire de- stroyed the whole plant, buildings, machinery and stock thus becoming a total loss. However, earnest, indefatigable business application and foresight had given Mr. Kraemer such protection that, coupled with excellent credit, he was able to rebuild his plant, and on a larger scale, without delay. Very soon the plant was again in full operation, and had capacity for two hundred employees. For twenty-five years Mr. Kraemer continued to give the closest application to the business and enjoyed consistent prosperity, and at the end of that time felt that he might safely place some of the responsibility for the proper conduct of the mills upon other shoulders. An incorporated company was organized, in which Mr. Kraemer became the principal stockholder, and he held a directing hand by holding a seat on the board of the company, but the arrangement enabled him to pass most of the detail work of the factory onto others. The mill still stands as one of the leading industries of Nazareth.
Mr. Kraemer has always been ready to further with his financial support and administrative experience any worthy enterprise that held prospects of advancement for the borough. When it was proposed to develop the known cement deposits, Mr. Kraemer entered enthusiastically into the project, be- coming a substantial stockholder in the first enterprise, co-operating with the late Dr. Bachman and W. B. Shaffer. They supported the venture until its value had been fully demonstrated, by which time several such industries had been started, all enhancing the prosperity of Nazareth. Mr. Kraemer has never been by inclination a monopolist, and has been quite content in seeing others with whom he co-operated and aided being as well off as him- self. He has given financial assistance and advice to many a man whose industry might otherwise have failed to bring the full returns for earlier efforts, and he has thus steadily kept the town of his adoption in consistent healthy growth. And he interested himself in the civic affairs of the com- munity. For fifteen years continuously he sat on the school board, and during the period the steady growth of the place made essential extensions of the educational facilities necessary. That the board kept pace with the demand was in great measure due to the optimism and foresight of Mr. Kraemer and of others such as he who were his colleagues. For three years he consented to act as chief burgess of Nazareth, introducing many improvements during his period of office, such as sewage and water systems, street lighting, police and fire departments.
Although he is keenly interested in politics, Mr. Kraemer has never sought office in national politics. He is a Democrat of unfaltering type, but has not had time to participate in national campaigns. For five years, how- ever, he sat on the County Prison Board.
Mr. Kraemer's home, which was erected twenty-two years ago, is pleas- antly situated on Centre square, in the heart of the town. His hospitality is
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so well known and so genuine, and Mr. Kraemer has for so long been one of the leaders of the community, that it is perhaps not surprising to find Mr. Kraemer's home the centre and meeting place of a host of friends of long standing. Mr. Kraemer is a good sportsman, and the walls of his house are adorned by many specimens of the furred and feathered specie's that inhabit the wild, unfrequented parts of the State and have fallen to the gun of Mr. Kraemer and been admirably preserved by taxidermic skill. Mr. Kraemer has also during his active life been prominently identified with the local pro- ceedings of fraternal organizations ; he is a master Mason and an Elk, and has given good support to the local lodges.
Mr. Kraemer married (first), November 1, 1883, at Reading, Pennsyl- vania, Anna Mack, of that place. She died in 1893, and Mr. Kraemer married (second), Anna Laura Mauger, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Mr. Kraemer has four children, all of whom were born to his first wife. They are: I. Louisa, unmarried, and lives at home. 2. Emma, unmarried and living at home. 3. Carl, unmarried, who early enlisted in the United States Army during the World War. 4. Will, unmarried, who is superintendent of a National Ash Plant at Stockerton, Pennsylvania. He served in the One Hundred and Forty-fifth United States Infantry, and saw active service in the Lorraine, and was wounded in action.
LAFAYETTE STEUBEN GARNIER-The Garniers are an ancient French family of Normandy, Vendome being the home of several generations. The grandfather of Lafayette S. Garnier, merchant of Easton, was born in Vendome, and for many years drove an express route between Paris and Ven- dome, his team of Normandy horses always hitched in tandem style. When the vandal Prussians came he lost all his property, and he joined his son, Adrian B., in this country. He died in Rutherford, New Jersey. He had five children : Anatole, Alfred, Adrian B., of further mention ; Albert, a soldier of the Union, who died in the United States Soldiers' Home at Kearney, New Jersey; Augusta, came to the United States and married. Albert Garnier, the famous French billiard expert, was a member of the same family, and the beautiful opera house in. Paris was the design of another member, both second cousins of Lafayette S. Garnier, of Easton.
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