History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume III, Part 30

Author: Heller, William Jacob; American Historical Society, Inc
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Boston ; New York [etc.] : The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 574


USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume III > Part 30


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55


Mr. Brinker married, January 16, 1891, Mary A. Ealer, born in Easton, at the home of her parents on Washington street, daughter of George and Susanna (Hohn) Ealer. George Ealer was born in Bucks county, Pennsyl- vania, son of a farmer, and himself a farmer and quarryman. He married. Susanna Hohn, born in Palmer township, Northampton county, and soon afterward located in Easton, where he now lives retired. Mrs. Brinker is their only child. Mr. and Mrs. Brinker were the parents of a daughter, Nettie Mary Brinker, residing in Easton with her mother.


RICHARD FREMONT PASCOE-As warden of the Northampton County Jail, Mr. Pascoe is compiling a wonderful record in the administra- tion of his office in regard to the treatment of the inmates. One feature of


Richard Pascon


483


BIOGRAPHICAL


his administration is the out-of-door work he gives them at farm and other labor, this resulting in better health conditions and improved morale. What- ever the cause, it is a fact that no warden ever so won the confidence of his charges, and after release letters come from faraway points from many of the men who wish to keep in touch with their former warden, whom they regard as their friend. Kindness and justice have won him this affectionate respect, and the Northampton jail furnishes an object lesson to those inter- ested in prison reform.


Mr. Pascoe is a son of Richard W. Pascoe, who was born in Cornwall, England, and there grew to manhood, becoming an expert miner. About 1846 he was sent to Scotland to open up a copper deposit, and there he remained as superintendent of the mine until 1849. He married, while in Scotland, Jessie MacDougall Campbell, and in 1849 came to the United States, at- tracted no doubt by the rose-tinted stories of gold discoveries in California. He did not go to the gold mines, however, but meeting some coal operators in New York City he was prevailed upon by them to locate at Pottsville, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, and act as mine foreman for the William Kaska Mine. There he remained for one year, then was sent by a group of New York capitalists to open up a copper mine on Michipicoten Island in the Lake Superior region. He successfully opened the mine and superintended its development, then returned to Pottsville. His next large operation was the opening of a zinc mine at Friedensville for Joseph Wharton, a well known iron master, and J. Price Wetherell, both Philadelphia capitalists. He con- tinued superintendent of the zinc mine for several years, then accepted a com- mission from a syndicate to open up and operate a supposed gold deposit in South Carolina. This was in 1863, and while engaged in his work he was drafted into the Confederate Navy and stationed as a member of a gun crew on one of their war vessels. He served as a gunman until the close of the war in 1865, then returned North and was given his old position as superin- tendent of the Lehigh zinc mine at Friedensville. Later he located in Beth- lehem and formed a connection with the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, holding with that company until his death in 1887, and laying at final rest in Nisky Hill Cemetery at Bethlehem.


Richard W. Pascoe came alone to this country in 1849, but in 1850 sent for his wife, and until the southern experience she was the companion of all his moves. She was a Presbyterian in religion, he a Methodist, but creed never divided them. Her father, Col. Malcolm Campbell, was an officer in the British Army, serving in India and elsewhere. He was of ancient Scottish family. Jessie M. (Campbell) Pascoe died in Easton, Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 17, 1905, the mother of nine children: I. Archibald Campbell MacDougall, who died at the age of fifty-six years; married Pauline Rhinehart. 2. John Henry, born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1851, died in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1909; he was president of the Blue Ridge Pow- der Company ; president of the Mahoning Foundry Facing Company, and a prominent business man of Allentown for many years; he married, in 1880, Annie L. Reinsmeth. 3. Mary, died young. 4. Sarah, died young. 5. Joseph W., of mention elsewhere in this work. 6. Richard Fremont, of further men- tion. 7. William, died in 1917 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, aged fifty-seven years ; he married Alice Cooper, of Coopersburg, Pennsylvania. 8. Thomas, died in boyhood. 9. Benjamin, died in boyhood.


Richard Fremont Pascoe was born in Friedensville, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and there grew to manhood. He attended the public schools there, his first teacher, Adam Markle. At the age of sixteen he left school to become a wage-earner, although he had employed his vacation period prior to that time driving a cart in the mine. He worked in the mines for some time after leaving school, but later he spent two terms at the Kutztown State Normal School. He then again engaged in mine work, but later deter- mined upon a trade and went to Reading, Pennsylvania, where he entered the


484


NORTHAMPTON COUNTY


Scott Works Machine Shops and there learned the trade of machinist. At the end of four years apprenticeship he worked as a journeyman machinist in many of the States of the Union, serving in some shops as foreman. His last position as a machinist was with the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company in their Easton shops. Later he was appointed special officer or railroad de- tective, and assigned to duty which compelled him to cover the entire Lehigh system. He continued in that position until April 1, 1916, when he resigned to accept appointment as warden of Northampton County Jail. In this posi- tion he has demonstrated remarkable fitness, and under his rule the jail is not a place of punishment but a reformatory institution where men are sent out to better ways of living. The small twenty-acre farm, which is leased by the county of Northampton, is utilized as part of the training system, and every day short-term men, and those whose terms are soon to expire, are to be seen at useful work and building up better bodies and cleaner minds.


From youth Mr. Pascoe has been actively interested in politics, and has the distinction of being the first Republican to fill the position of warden of the Northampton jail. He was elected a member of Easton Common Council from the Tenth Ward, and was the first Republican to carry that ward, which was considered the banner Democratic district of the county. He was con- tinuously re-elected to Council until, when serving his fifth year, the city adopted the commission form of government, and the Council passed into the realm of ancient history. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.


Mr. Pascoe married, in Easton, August 3, 1910, Mary Naomi Archer, daughter of Thomas E. and Mary A. Archer, of Easton. Mr. Pascoe, now in the full prime of his manhood, is wholly devoted to the work he has taken upon himself, and is rounding out a life filled with useful effort, and during its varied phases he has acquired a rich fund of experience which has taught him how to best deal with those committed to his care.


BIRDIS I. SCHAFFER-In South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the name Schaffer, is well known and honored. It first became prominent in that locality when Edward Schaffer, the pioneer undertaker of the town, out of all others in his section, was unafraid during the small-pox epidemic of 1872, and alone and without compensation buried three hundred and twenty vic- tims of that then dread disease. Edward Schaffer came to South Bethle- hem in 1865, and there died in 1905, but his memory will never die. He married Elizabeth Woodring, of Hellertown, Pennsylvania, sister of James T. Woodring, ex-district attorney of Northampton county. Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer were the parents of nine children, six of whom are living.


Birdis I. Schaffer, son of Edward and Elizabeth (Woodring) Schaffer, was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, July 23, 1873, and was educated in the public schools. After completing his studies he entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company in the telegraphic department. There he remained four years, and became an excellent operator. He next established a general insurance business in Bethlehem, and until May 19, 1915, con- ducted a very successful agency. On May 19, 1915, he was commissioned by Governor Brumbaugh, a justice of the peace. In the fall of the same year he was elected to the same position for a term of six years, and has since de- voted himself to the duties of that office. Squire Schaffer is a Democrat in his political faith and a member of the Reformed church. He is affilated with Bethlehem Lodge No. 191, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and is one of the interested, progressive men of Bethlehem, who 'bear their full share of the civic burden and kept "the home fires burning" by actively supporting every war authority.


He married August 5, 1905, in New York City, Ellen Rehrig, daughter of Jefferson and Rachel Rehrig, of Allentown. Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer are


485


BIOGRAPHICAL


the parents of five children: Gladys Henrietta, Paul Roosevelt, Mitchell Walter, Woodrow Wilson and Ruth Dorothy.


FRANKLIN HENRY BRUNNER-Heinrich Brunner, born in Zines- ville, Alsace, France, June 4, 1739, was the ancestor of Franklin Henry Brun- ncr, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Alsace, then a province of France, was wrested from her by Germany in 1870 and has just been freed from German rule and occupied by allied armies (November, 1918) and will be legally restored to the French people. Heinrich Brunner came to Pennsylvania in August, 1749, and for a time lived in Bethlehem, going thence to Nazareth in Northampton county. He became a well known builder and continued in ac- tive business until his retirement a few years priors to his death, June 29, 1818. He married on Ascension Day, May 20, 1773, Rosina Hartmann, daugh- ter of John George and Marie Christine (Baup) Hartmann, born in Salis- bury, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and they were the parents of eight children. The third child and eldest son was Christian Brunner, great- grandfather of Franklin H. Brunner.


Christian Brunner was born in Gnadenthal, near Nazareth, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, December 25, 1776. He married and left a son Samuel Brunner, born in Nazareth, June 10, 1807, who married Charlotte Amelia Rudolphi, daughter of Dr. John Frederick and Sophia Rudolphi. They were the parents of Christian Otto Brunner, born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, October 29, 1830, died September 7, 19II, the father of Franklin Henry Brunner. The Rudolphi ancestor, Dr. John Frederick Rudolphi, was the first medical missionary sent by the Moravian church to the East Indies, and in all these generations the family have been prominent in that sphere of life in which they moved.


Christian Otto Brunner, son of Samuel and Charlotte Amelia (Rudolphi) Brunner, was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the same house in which he died at the age of eighty years, ten months and nine days, on September 7, 19II. He first attended the Moravian Parochial School, then became a stu- dent under Ernest F. Bleck, who maintained a private school in Bethlehem for several years. After completing his studies he became clerk in the Taylor & Brock store, which later was owned by L. F. Beckel. In 1850 he went to Philadelphia, where he spent eighteen months as a salesman, holding two positions during that time. He then returned to Bethlehem and for the following five years was manager of the L. F. Beckel store. At about this time the production of anthracite coal was being taken seriously as a profitable business proposition, and "company" stores began to flourish. Mr. Brunner became manager of one of these "company" stories, and for a year was with Sharp, Weiss & Company, at Eckley, Pennsylvania, in that capacity. The next three years he spent in Bethlehem in the John Lerch store, then began his long and honorable term of service with the Bethlehem Iron Company, now the Bethlehem Steel Company.


In 1860, the Bethlehem Iron Company was organized, and under the management of John Fritz, attained to great heights of prosperity. From its beginning he was connected with the company in office position, and was the first official of the company. When ground was to be broken for the con- struction of the first furnace, John Fritz gave Brunner the honor of handling . the pick which turned the first earth for what was destined to become the greatest steel works on earth, the Bethlehem Steel Company's plant at Beth- lehem, Pennsylvania. He was a warm friend of John Fritz, and after both had retired from all active connection with the company, they kept up the very pretty custom of observing the day upon which they first met by call- ing in the morning and returning the call in the afternoon.


For forty-one years Mr. Brunner remained in the company employ, fill- ing several subordinate positions until July, 1870, when he was elected treas-


486


NORTHAMPTON COUNTY


urer of the company, a post he filled until retirement in 1901. This long term of service was recognized by a reception tendered him in July, 1901, by the officers of the company, a testimonial to his more than forty years of faithful service.


On March 28, 1847, he became a communicant of the Bethlehem congre- gation of the Moravian church by right of confirmation, and during the re- mainder of his life he was a member of that congregation and active in church work. For ten years he taught in the Sunday school, was a member of the church school board for twenty years, represented the church as dele- gate to the provincial synods, was a member of the board of elders, 1889- 1909, member of the advisory finance board of the Northern province from 1898-19II ; was for thirty years a director of the Society of the Propagation of the Gospel among the Heathen, 1881-19II; was treasurer of the Alaska Auxiliary Society from 1884, when the society was organized, until his death in IgII; was treasurer of the Young Men's Missionary Society, from 1846 to 1850; took an active interest in the Young Men's Christian Association, and in June, 1867, represented the society in the International Convention held in Montreal, Canada. From 1906 to 19II he was treasurer of the Charity Organization Society ; was a member of the Pennsylvania Historical Society ; and for many years was vice-president of the Moravian Historical Society. Thus his life was passed, not an opportunity wasted, but every hour of his long life representing duty well performed. He retained all his faculties until the end, and just before he passed away he repeated these beautiful words from the "Book of Life": "Let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his."


Christian Otto Brunner married, August 9, 1859, Sabina Melinda Mor- gan, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, daughter of James Henry and Mary Magdalene (Kilker) Morgan. She died October II, 1895, leaving a son, Franklin Henry, of further mention, and a daughter, Gertrude, wife of Albert Rau, of Bethlehem.


Franklin Henry Brunner, only son of Christian Otto and Sabina Melinda (Morgan) Brunner, was born October 8, 1860, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and there prepared for college in Moravian Parochial, now Moravian Pre- paratory School. He then entered Lehigh University, and was a member of the class of 1880. He began business life in the Bethlehem Post Office and later was with the Bethlehem Steel Company, and for twenty-two years in the sales department of that company, ranking as assistant to the vice- president and manager of sales. In 1901 he resigned and was for a time with the Nazareth Foundry & Machine Company at Nazareth. From 1902 up to October 1, 1918, he was connected with the Guerber Engineering Com- pany, and was secretary of that important corporation for twelve years. Mr. Brunner is at present occupied as manager of the Bethlehem agency of the Aetna Life Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut.


Mr. Brunner is a member of the board of trustees of the Moravian Semi- nary and College for Women, and is vice-president of the executive com- mittee ; auditor of the Moravian Congregation in Bethlehem ; Moravian Pre- paratory School, and Moravian Poor Fund; vice-president of the Alaska Auxiliary Society ; life member of the Moravian Historical Society, member of Phi Delta Theta; member of the Pennsylvania German Historical So- ciety ; life member of the Young Men's Missionary Society of Bethlehem; is sacristan in the Moravian Congregation ; member of the Bethlehem Cham- ber of Commerce; and a member of the Pennsylvania State Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the advisory finance board of the North- ern province of the Moravian church.


Mr. Brunner married Benigna Magdalene de Schweinitz, daughter of the Rt. Rev. Edmund de Schweinitz, a bishop of the Moravian church. Their one child, Rev. Edmund de Schweinitz, married Mary Vogler, daughter of


John Ringhoffer


487


BIOGRAPHICAL


Rev. William H. Vogler, a minister of the Moravian church. They are the parents of two sons: Edwin de Schweinitz, and Wilford.


FRANKLIN SUTTON-Born in the neighboring county of Bucks, Mr. Sutton has been a resident of Hellertown, Pennsylvania, since his ninth year, and on January 1, 1918, was chosen chief burgess of the borough. He had previously been postmaster of Hellertown for a term of ten years, and he was the first postmaster of that borough to receive his appoint- ment from the president. . Franklin is a son of Isaac Sutton, born in Springtown, New Jersey, September 1, 1842, a furnace-maker all his active years, but now retired. He is a veteran of the Civil War, in which he served from Bull Run to Appomattox with Company A, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment, New York Highlanders, and was honorably dis- charged and mustered out at the end of the war, in 1865. It is said that Jacob Sutton, brother of Isaac, also a Union soldier, fired the last shot of the Civil War, and a leading New York newspaper investigated the story and wrote it up. Isaac Sutton married Mary Sherrer, born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in September, 1865, and in September, 1915, they celebrated the golden anniversary of their wedding day. They are now, January, 1919, residing in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, the parents of eleven children, seven of whom are living.


Franklin Sutton was born in Durham, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, De- cember 25, 1868, and there spent the first nine years of his life. The family then moved to Hellertown, Northampton county, where he finished grammar school courses in the public schools. After leaving school he was clerk in a grocery store for some time, then for three years was employed in an iron works. He then learned the barber's trade, and in 1904 began business in Hellertown under his own name. From that year until the present (1919) he has continued in successful business, and his is the leading shop of the borough. For ten years, 1904 to 1914, he was postmaster of Hellertown, and in January, 1918, he took his seat as chief burgess of the borough. He is one of the leading men of the town, and his popularity is based upon a lifetime of upright, honorable living in the community which has thus hon- ored him. In politics he is a Republican. His barber shop, at No. 518 Main street, is one of the finest appointed concerns of a place this size in Penn- sylvania.


Mr. Sutton married, January 1, 1895, Margaret Lambert, daughter of Ely and Lena (Marqued) Lambert, of Northampton. Mr. and Mrs. Sutton are the parents of two children : Marian, born December 18, 1895, a graduate of Hellertown High School; Russel F., born January 5, 1898, a graduate of Hellertown High School, Bethlehem Preparatory School, and is now a stu- dent at Lafayette College, class of 1921.


JOHN RINGHOFFER-When John Ringhoffer, of Bethlehem, Penn- sylvania, first left his native Austria-Hungary in 1891, it was not to North, but to South America that he sailed, and in that country he lost all his pos- sessions and barely escaped with his life, coming as near being pronounced dead and hurried to cremation as was possible, and yet be saved. Brazil was then in a lawless, unsettled condition politically, and there was no redress for him through the process of law, but he was told that he could take the law into his own hands and either kill the parties who had drugged and robbed him, or be killed by them. He took the wiser course and left the country, returning to Germany. Three years after his first emigration he came to the United States, settled in Bethlehem, and there now resides, a prosperous dealer in real estate, his specialty, the purchase, improvement and sale of city property. He brought little to this country except his family, but by industry and thrift has won a substantial success.


488


NORTHAMPTON COUNTY


John Ringhoffer was born in Austria-Hungary, May 6, 1857, son of Jacob and Anna (Swheger) Ringhoffer, his father a farmer of German blood, his mother of French parentage. He grew to manhood in his native land, there married, and in 1881, with his wite, daughter Mary, and other children emigrated to Brazil, South America, arriving first in Rio Janeiro, the capital, then went inland to Province Rio, granted Desol, Prolagua and Shohwere, but owing to the unsettled condition of the country at that time, there was little opportunity for business activity ; neither was life or property safe. They did not understand the language, and altogether had such trying experiences that Mr. Ringhoffer decided to leave the country. He made his way to the coast, Rio Janeiro, and when they arrived, his family remained on board. Mr. Ringhoffer went into the city to purchase a ticket for the next steamer, to return to his native country. In the city of Rio Janeiro he was lured into a saloon, although not a drinking man, and was persuaded to drink something mild. That something was heavily drugged, and in that condition he was first robbed and then left. When found he was taken to a hospital, pro- nounced dead, and an order given to have the body at once prepared for cremation, that being the prevalent method of disposing of the dead in that city. Fearing they were moving too hastily, six hours' postponement of the cremation was ordered, and before that time had expired a German came in, and, recognizing a countryman, aided in reviving Mr. Ringhoffer and restoring him to his family. In the meantime Mrs. Ringhoffer had done all in her power, even to holding the ship for two days, while search was being made for her husband. When reunited, the family remained in the city, and he took a position, which he was offered by the government, and worked until he had enough money to return home. Owing to the unhealthy climate, they buried three children in a short time. They returned to their former home via Africa, Italy and Belgium, then overland to their home.


In 1894, Mr. Ringhoffer again became an emigrant, this time seeking a new home in the United States and locating in South Bethlehem, Pennsyl- vania. There he remained five years in the employ of the Bethlehem Iron Company, then moved to Passaic, New Jersey, where he resided two years, then returned to South Bethlehem, which has since been his home. From the time of his return from New Jersey until 1906 he was employed in Mill No. 2 of the Bethlehem Steel plant, at good wages, from which he accumu- lated sufficient capital to purchase the old Mease farm and retire from the mill. For two years he cultivated the farm, then sold it, the property now being owned by the street car company and used by that corporation for the site of car barns, residence lots and University Park. From the farm Mr. Ringhoffer moved with his family to the property he had purchased and improved at the corner of North and Railroad streets. From that time he has made real estate operating his sole business, and has been very success- ful. He has bought with good judgment, and invariably his investments have been realized upon at a good profit. He is well known and respected in his community, and is highly regarded as an authority on real estate values.


Mr. Ringhoffer married, in Austria-Hungary, January 25, 1881, Maria Felenbeak, born in Nanas-Wessbrin, a town of Hungary in Wessbrin county, her birthplace near that of her husband. Mrs. Ringhoffer was the daughter of S. John and Anna Felenbeak, natives of Wessbrin county, a central county of Hungary, rich in coin and cattle. She died in South Bethlehem, Penn- sylvania, January 18, 1909, the mother of fourteen children, among whom were: I. Mary, born in Austria-Hungary, and when six years of age was taken to Brazil by her parents, and remembers well the trials and hardships of life in that country and of the return journey to Hungary. She was brought by them again to South Bethlehem, where she married and had three children: Catherine, Johannes and Joseph, these children bearing the name Ringhoffer, the marriage not proving a happy one. The mother had


.


489




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.