History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume III, Part 44

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 44


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CHARLES KOFFMAN WILLIAMS-The business founded by Joseph T. Williams in a small way in Easton, in 1875, has been developed by his son, Charles K. Williams, until C. K. Williams & Company is one of the important enterprises of the country. The business, begun in a small way, consisted of a flour-mill, which has since 1885 been under the management of Frank C. Williams, of Easton, a paint mill and a mill for the production of talc, the latter business being the one developed by Joseph T. and Charles K. Williams. Joseph T. Williams was a farmer of Jarrettown, Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania, and he owned and cultivated the old Williams homestead farm until 1875, when he moved to Easton and began the business operations which have been so successfully developed and managed by his sons.


Charles Koffman Williams was born at the Williams homestead in Jar- rettown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1862, son of Joseph T. and Margaret Jane (Butler) Williams. He was educated in Jarrettown public and private schools, and at Knight's Sunnyside Academy, Amber, Penn- sylvania. After completing his school years he became an apprentice to the machinist trade for four years. He then came to Easton and joined his father. There he gained his first mill experience and developed the ambition which has carried him to most important position among manufacturers and execu- tives. Four years were spent in gaining the experience which was later a valuable asset. He then entered the manufacturing department of his father's business, and that business, then in its infancy, is now a great one, drawing its supplies of crude materials from many States of the Union and import- ing from England, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey and Persia. There are plants


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Nos. 1, 2, 3, in Easton, a plant in Allentown, and they are largely interested in several plants engaged in the production of paper-making chemicals at various paper manufacturing centers, quarries and mines in Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Florida, and British clays imported in shiploads, all this and more from the ramifications of a wonderful business. One of the strik- ing features of the C. K. Williams & Company's Easton plant is its great stack towering 375 feet in the air, a landmark for several miles away and noted as the second highest in the country and the third highest in the world. While Mr. Williams is president and treasurer and C. K. Williams & Com- pany, he is the financial head of others, serving as treasurer of the Paper Makers' Chemical Company; Western Paper Makers' Chemical Company ; Eastern Paper Makers' Chemical Company; Immaculate Kaolin Company ; Florida China Clay Corporation; Easton Explosive Company ; National Mill- ing & Chemical Company; Point Milling & Manufacturing Company; and Paper Makers' Importing Company. The names of these companies indicate their wide scope of action, and of all Mr. Williams is treasurer. He was one of the founders of the Easton Board of Trade, serving as president in 1912, and is a member of the National Manufacturers' Association of the United States of America.


Although essentially a business man, Mr. Williams is well known and deeply appreciated for his public-spirited effort along lines of public and civic improvement. Few men have given more freely and unselfishly of their time, means and energy for the cause of the common good than he, for he stands as champion for all movements looking toward a better Easton. He invested his energies whole-heartedly in the Liberty Loan drives, the War Chest Drive, and all other drives of the war period. He served the govern- ment as United States Food Administrator of Northampton county ; and for several months devoted the greater part of his valuable time to the duties of this office.


Mr. Williams is a member of Dallas Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Easton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Pomp Council, Royal and Select Mas- ters ; Hugh de Payen Commandery, Knights Templar ; Rajah Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Rotary, Pomfret and Northamp- ton County Country clubs ; and the Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia. He is a director of the Young Men's Christian Association, of Easton. He is a Republican in politics, and is a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church.


Mr. Williams married, June 1, 1887, Ida L., daughter of Jerome and Catherine Wilson. Mrs. Williams is an active member of the First Presbyte- rian Church, a director of the Easton Home for Aged Women, a member of the Woman's Club, and is a willing worker in the mission activities of her church. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are the parents of two children: I. Myra Jeanette, a graduate of Vassar College, class of 1913. 2. Morris R., a student at Lafayette College, class of 1921, taking the mechanical and engineering course; he enlisted in 1918 in the Students' Training Corps of the United States Navy for four years, but was released in December, 1918.


NEWTON WOLFE-Aiding his father in the business established by John Wolfe in the long ago, Newton Wolfe later became its head, and still conducts in Bangor a modern mortuary establishment.


(I) He is a descendant from the German Emigrant Wolfe, who came from the lower Palatinate and founded a home and family in Allen township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, where among his children were two sons, Philip, of whom further, and George. George Wolf (his name spelled with- out the final "e") was born in Allen township, Northampton county, Penn- sylvania, August 12, 1777, obtained a good education, studied law, and under President Jefferson was postmaster of Easton. He was elected to Congress in 1824, 1826 and 1828, and in 1829 was elected governor of Pennsylvania,


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and re-elected, but was defeated for a third term. He was then appointed by President Jackson first comptroller of the United States Treasury, and by President Van Buren as collector of the port of Philadelphia. He died March II, 1840, but his great work and the crowning act of his gubernatorial career was the strength and force with which he urged in his messages the estab- lishment of the present public school system of Pennsylvania, which he finally secured in 1834. James Buchanan wrote: "If ever the passion of envy could be excused a man ambitious of true glory, he might almost be justified in envying the fame of that favored individual whoever he may be whom Provi- dence intends to make the instrument in establishing common schools throughout the commonwealth." Providence selected George Wolf, and in 1834 the act was passed, and on April 1, 1834, was signed by him as governor of the State of Pennsylvania. On September 28, 1888, the Wolf Memorial Gateway, built from granite taken from the farm he owned in 1834 and paid for by the pupils of the public school of Easton, was dedicated.


(II) Philip Wolfe, eldest son of the emigrant, and brother of Governor Wolf, passed his life near Bath, Pennsylvania, where he owned and culti- vated a farm. He was a man of sound judgment and industrious life, winning in his own sphere as great a success as his illustrious brother. He married and had issue, among whom was William, of whom further.


(III) William Wolfe, son of Philip Wolfe, and nephew of Gov. George Wolf, was born in Allen township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and there followed the cooper's trade in connection with farming. He married Annie M. Van Horn, and they were the parents of the following children : Susanna, married (first) George Root, (second) John Morse; John, of whom further ; Henrietta, married Joel Davidson, of Philadelphia; Josephine, mar- ried Absalom Hess; Sarah, married David Murtrie; Cornelia, second wife of Benjamin Johnson; Maria, married Jesse Smith; Salvina, married Mahlon Rodenbush; Elizabeth, married Ephraim Rutt; Franklin G., of Easton; Theo- dore, of New Jersey ; William J., a practicing physician of Chatham, New Jersey ; Ella, unmarried ; and Ernestine, married Daniel Clifford.


(IV) John Wolfe, eldest son of William and Annie M. (Van Horn) Wolfe, was born in Upper Mount Bethel township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in September, 1838, and died in Bangor, Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 1, 1908. In early life he learned the cooper's trade and worked with his father. In connection with his cabinet-making shop he established an undertaking business, and at Johnsonville conducted both branches. Later he moved to Bangor, and there was engaged as an undertaker until his death. He was a man highly esteemed, was an ardent Democrat, holding the office of postmaster of Bangor, under the Cleveland administration, and also served his town as councilman, and as a member of the school board. He married Matilda Bach, daughter of Joseph and Susan (Oyer) Bach. Children: Jose- phine, died in infancy ; Lily, married Jacob F. Spear, of Easton, Pennsylvania : Cyrus, a resident of Bangor, Pennsylvania ; Oscar, residing in Bangor, Penn- sylvania; Horace, a resident of Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania; Newton, of whom further ; Charles, deceased; Edward E., a resident of Easton; Harriet, mar- ried Milton V. Miller, of Chicago, Illinois; Lizzie, deceased; and Stella, deceased.


(V) Newton Wolfe, sixth child of John and Matilda (Bach) Wolfe, was born in Johnsonville, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in 1870, but four years later his parents moved to Bangor, which has since been his home. He attended the public schools until attaining a suitable age, then began working with his father in his cabinet-making, furniture and undertaking business. He became an expert woodworker, and valued assistant in the undertaking department, continuing with his father until death severed their close relations. Since the death of John Wolfe, September 1, 1908, Newton Wolfe has been head of the business, which he was a strong factor in devel-


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oping. In addition to his business as undertaker and funeral director, he has an awning factory and supplies a large amount of surrounding territory with awnings of varied description. He is one of the successful men of Bangor, and stands high in the estimation of a host of warm, personal friends. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in politics is true to the faith handed down from the second generation when George Wolf was elected a governor of Pennsylvania, on the Democratic ticket, and also held office under those bulwarks of the Democracy, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson.


Newton Wolfe married Abbie Bruch, who died November 20, 1912, daughter of Adam Bruch. Children: Lillian, born April 30, 1895; Helen, November 4, 1903; Mildred, March 10, 1905. The family home is in Bangor, Pennsylvania.


FREDERICK BRANT HENDERSHOT-From the age of fourteen Mr. Hendershot has been connected with silk manufacture in some capacity, beginning in the weaving department of a silk mill in Newton, Sussex county, New Jersey. He soon rose to responsible position, and in silk mills of New Jersey and Pennsylvania has held managerial rank, his present association being with the Northampton Silk Company, of Easton, as acting super- intendent. He is a son of James G. and Mary (Jenkins) Hendershot, his mother born in England, dying in 1892, a comparatively young woman. James G. and Mary (Jenkins) Hendershot were the parents of four sons : William, David, Robert and Frederick B.


Frederick B. Hendershot was born in Franklin, Sussex county, New Jersey, December 22, 1888. His boyhood was spent in Newton, the county seat, and there he attended public school until fourteen years of age. His wage-earning life there began in the weaving room of a Newton silk mill, where he became quite expert in that branch. From Newton he went to Wharton, New Jersey, obtaining employment with the Ross Silk Manufac- turing Company as a weaver. He held that position until 1905, when he transferred his services to the Standard Silk Mill Company of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, there remaining as weaver for two years. His next position was with the Stewart Silk Company of Easton, with whom he remained for six months, then connected himself as helper with the weaving department of the Lehigh Valley Silk Company, after which he went to Towanda, Penn- sylvania, as weaver in the mill of the Seneca Silk Mill Company, remaining for a period of nine months. He then went to Oliphant, Pennsylvania, as weaver with the Oliphant Silk Company, and later transferred to the Con- tinental Silk Company of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, remaining for two years. He then went to Bangor, Pennsylvania, and was loom fixer with the Penn- sylvania Silk Company for a period of nearly two years. He then went to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where for eighteen months he was employed as loom fixer with the Gallia Silk Company. He then secured employment with the Valentine & Bentley Silk Company as loom fixer, with whom he remained but a short time, going thence to the quilling department of the Eagle Brothers' Silk Company at Shamokin, Pennsylvania, from which he resigned at the end of six months' service. He spent a short time in Allen- town, then returned to the Valentine & Bentley Mill at Phillipsburg, which had resumed work. Soon afterward he located in Easton, and secured employ- ment as loom fixer with the Northampton Silk Company; later he was appointed foreman. In politics Mr. Hendershot is an independent.


Mr. Hendershot married, in Easton, May 29, 1917, Hazel Kirkesner, daughter of Lewis and Julia (Schrack) Kirkesner. They are the parents of a daughter, Ruth Irene. Mrs. Hendershot is a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church.


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ROBERT WILLIAM HUNSICKER-Among the young business men of the city who have won for themselves reputation and business success, Robert W. Hunsicker, owner and manager of the West Side Garage & Chandler Service Station, desires special mention. He perfected himself in automobile operation and construction, then by regular gradations reached his present position. He is a son of Mahlon and Rebecca Hunsicker, resi- dents of West Bethlehem.


Robert W. Hunsicker was born January 16, 1891, and was educated in the public schools of the Bethlehems. He early mastered the intricacies of the gasoline engine and its relation to the automobile, becoming an appren- tice in an auto repair shop in 1907, continuing until rated an expert. In the repair shop he made many influential friends, and finally he accepted a posi- tion with E. G. Grace, president of the Bethlehem Steel Company, as chauf- feur, a position he held for about two years. He then became chauffeur to Charles M. Schwab, the great iron master, and for seven years drove his cars. But the young man was ambitious to have a permanent business of his own, and in May, 1917, he purchased from William J. Hummel the West Side Garage, an established agency for the Chandler and Monroe cars, and a service station, handling all auto supplies. In connection with the above line he conducts a general repair department, maintains a well equipped garage with a floor space, 60 by 150 feet, fine display rooms and office. The business is prosperous, and the young man is meeting with the success his energy and ambition deserves. He is a member of Salem Lutheran Church, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in his politics is inde- pendent.


Mr. Hunsicker married, April 22, 1913, Elizabeth Scheele, and they are the parents of a son, Robert William, Jr., born May 25, 1918.


FREDERICK JACOB RICE-There is no name more worthy of honor in the Lehigh Valley than that of Rice, borne by many succeeding genera- tions of the family founded by Rev. Owen Rice, one of the early pastors of the Nazareth congregation of the Moravian church. On maternal lines Fred- erick J. Rice was a descendant of Rev. John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder, famous Moravian missionary to the Indians, mediator, guide and interpreter for the government in their intercourse with the Indian tribes of that section. Rev. Owen Rice was pastor of the Fetter Lane Moravian Church, London, England. He came to this country and was the first pastor of the Moravian congregation in New York City and Philadelphia, also serving as pastor of the church at Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Later he returned to London, where he died.


Owen (2) Rice, son of Rev. Owen (I) Rice, was born in London, Eng- land, and was one of the first merchants of the Lehigh Valley, his store occupying the old Horsefield House on Market street, Bethlehem, built in 1753.


Joseph Rice, son of Owen (2) Rice, was proprietor for many years of the historic Nazareth Inn at Nazareth, Pennsylvania, but later he moved to Bethlehem, where he served for several years, and until his death, as post- master. Joseph Rice married Anna Salome Heckewelder, daughter of John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder, the Moravian Indian missionary and inter- preter, previously mentioned.


John Heckewelder Rice, son of Joseph and Anna Salome (Heckewelder) Rice, was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and became a well known cabinet- maker and later a builder of canal boats for the Lehigh canal. He enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving for three years as second and first lieutenant. He returned from the army broken in health, having been stricken with a fever during the closing months. For a time after the war he was engaged in general merchandising in Hazelton, Pennsylvania,


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then returned to Bethlehem, where he died at the age of fifty years. He married Clarissa Mease.


Frederick Jacob Rice, son of John Heckewelder and Clarissa (Mease) Rice, was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, June 28, 1843, and died in the city of his birth, November 15, 1910. He was educated at the Moravian Parochial School, and began his business career as clerk in the store of William Luckenbach. He served in the Union Army under two enlistments, first with Company D, Thirty-fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania State Militia, enlisting June 29, 1863, that regiment being recruited in response to Governor Curtin's call for men to repel General Lee's threatened invasion of Pennsyl- vania, which materialized the following July. He was honorably discharged from the service under this enlistment, August 10, 1863. He enlisted again in April, 1864, joining Company K, Tenth Regiment, New Jersey Infantry, and was honorably discharged the following August.


After his return from the army a second time, Mr. Rice began an appren- ticeship to the plumbers' trade, serving a full term of years under the instruc- tion of his brother, Thomas J. Rice, who was a well established plumbing contractor of Bethlehem. Later Frederick J. Rice began business for himself as a contractor of plumbing, building up a good business, to which he added that of his brother Thomas upon the latter's death. He continued in business in Bethlehem until his death, and gained honorable position as one of the city's substantial, capable and successful business men. Mr. Rice was a lifelong member and active worker in the Moravian church, and for many years a member of the Frohsin Saengerbund. In August, 1869, he became a member of J. K. Taylor Post No. 182, Grand Army of the Republic, depart- ment of Pennsylvania, and from that date until his death was one of the most zealous and useful members of that organization. He served the post as quartermaster and commander, while in committee work he was invaluable, being invariably in charge of entertainment and participation in patriotic events.


Mr. Rice married, June 4, 1891, Carrie A. Clewell, a descendant of one of Northampton's prominent pioneer families, dating back to 1745.


Louise Frackle Clavell, or Clavel, as the name was originally spelled, came from Auenbach, Baden, Germany, to Pennsylvania, landing in Phila- delphia with her two young sons, George Craft and John Franz, in October, 1737. Both sons were bound to masters, as was then the custom with those without means to pay their passage to America. The two sons came as "redemptioners," and were bound to their masters until the money advanced for their passage was repaid.


John Franz Clewell, born September 27, 1720, died January 24, 1798; came to the Moravian settlement at Oley, Pennsylvania, after completing five years service necessary to free him from debt, and there in September, 1744, he married Salome Kuerchle and settled in Oley Hills. In 1745 they moved to Northampton county, and settled on what became known as the Clewell homestead, one and a half miles north of Nazareth. He was devotedly religious, and it was in his little frontier home that the first Moravian con- gregations of Schoeneck worshipped. John Franz Clewell dropped the John from his name, and his descendants are known as the Franz Clewell branch, to distinguish them from those of his brother, George Craft Clewell, who com- prise the George Clewell branch. Franz and Salome (Kuerchle) Clewell were the parents of thirteen children, the eldest son, John Clewell, the next in line.


John Clewell, son of Franz and Salome (Kuerchle) Clewell, was born April 21, 1750, and died April 28, 1828. He married Anna Johanna Klein, and their nine children all grew to mature years.


Jacob L. Clewell, eighth child of John and Anna Johanna (Klein) Clewell, was born October II, 1799, and died January 30, 1871. His youth was spent on the Nazareth Hall farm, of which his father was manager, but later he


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learned the cabinet-maker's trade, and became noted for his skill as a fine woodworker. He was also an inventive genius and mined the compound which he placed upon the market under the trade mark name, "Mineral Black Paint." He inherited the family musical talent, and was the leader of "The Frenchman's Band," most of the members of the organization being Clewells. Until reaching the age of sixty-five years, he was a member of the Moravian Trombone Choir, was a staunch supporter of the Moravian church, and for many years a member of its board of trustees. Jacob L. Clewell married Rebecca Seyfried, and reared a family of seven children.


Their second son, Henry C. Clewell, was born June 19, 1826, and died November 3, 1897. He spent his entire life in Nazareth, his sterling character and worth there being fully understood and appreciated. He was educated at Nazareth Hall, learned the cabinet-maker's trade, and was later for many years the leading funeral director of the town. He was active in public affairs, served for a long time in the Borough Council, and was one of the most interested members of the school board. He was a devoted member of the Nazareth Moravian Church, for a quarter of a century served as head sexton, for several years as trustee and elder, and member of the parochial school board. He married Eliza S. Peisert, who survived him many years, she dying February 18, 1917, aged ninety years and six days. They were the parents of six children, Carrie A., now widow of Frederick J. Rice, being the eldest.


Mrs. Carrie A. (Clewell) Rice, in accordance with family customs and tradition, was early confirmed in the Moravian church, and has all her life been a devoted worker in a great variety of church activities. She has been a member of the choir continuously for fifty-two years, has aided in every charitable endeavor, is a member of the King's Daughters, and since its organization has been a member of the famous Bach Choir.


RAY LESTER CROSLAND-Since graduation from business college, Mr. Crosland, although a man young in years, has held important positions, fourteen of those years having been spent with those two great corpora- tions of the Lehigh Valley, the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company and the Bethlehem Steel Company. That he was in a responsible position with those corporations opened the way for greater advancement and made the transi- tion to the present position easy of accomplishment. He is manager of the Ross Common Water Company of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a position to which he was appointed. He is a son of Wilson Crosland, was all his active years an employee of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, serving continuously for twenty-two years, when an accident disabled him and caused his retire- ment. He married Harriet E. Williams, born in Slatington, Pennsylvania, of a pioneer family. The Croslands are also an early family in Pennsylvania, having long been seated in the anthracite coal region. Mr. and Mrs. Cros- land are the parents of the following children: Ray Lester, of further men- tion; Myrtle A. B., married Walter B. Krause, chemist with the American Steel Company, at Chester, Pennsylvania; Kenneth Russell, connected with the housing department of the Bethlehem Steel Company, and a member of the Committee of Public Safety.


Ray Lester Crosland was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, September 2, 1884, and was there educated in the grade and high schools, finishing with a course in Bethlehem Business College. Upon completing his studies, he entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, and for twelve years was continuously in the service of that corporation, as investigator. At the end of that period he transferred his allegiance to the Bethlehem Steel Company, continuing in the employ of the company in the same capacity for two years. He then accepted the position of manager with the Ross Common Water Company, but later again became connected with the Bethlehem Steel Company.




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