History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume III, Part 47

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 47


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In 1878 he began his business connection with Weston Dodson & Com- pany, which continued without interruption for forty years, or until his retire- ment from active affairs in 1918. Beginning as a bookkeeper, he was a few years later placed in charge of the private accounts of the Dodson Brothers. In 1888, when the Dodson Coal Company was organized, he was elected secretary and treasurer, and also served in this dual office in the score of subsidiary organizations of the company. In 1902, when the Dodson interests were reorganized under the title of Weston Dodson & Company, Inc., he was elected secretary and treasurer, and so served until his retiremnt, July 1, 1918, this date marking incidentally the passing of the sixty-sixth year of active business life.


Mr. Bachman had been a Republican since the party's organization, casting his first vote for President Lincoln. He was a member of the United Evangelical church of Freemansburg, and for many years was active in church and Sabbath school work. In 1888 he removed from Freemansburg to Beth- lehem, resided there continuously until his death, and was an active and useful factor in the city's development during the last three decades. He always took a stand with the Progressives in civic affairs, and was a consistent contributor to all worthy charitable objects.


Mr. Bachman's death, after a brief illness, occurred December 24, 1919, at the age of eighty-three years, six months and eleven days. The funeral of Josiah Bachman took place from his late residence, 302 Wall street, Decem- ber 27, 1919, with services at the house, the Rev. J. S. Heisler, of Bethlehem, and the Rev. S. K. DeBinder, of Fremansburg, officiating. Interment was made in the family plot in Nisky Hill Cemetery. The honorary pallbearers were: Truman M. Dodson, Alan C. Dodson, Major W. R. Coyle, G. Reginald


Abraham Stout, M. D.


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Radford, Captain Frank C. Stout and Harvey W. Kessler ; while C. F. Snyder, F. B. Hartman, C. B. Jacoby, W. F. Ehrgott, E. L. Mack, Mr. Gross, Mr. Search and Benson Hartney, fellow employees of Weston Dodson & Com- pany, Inc., were the active pallbearers.


JAMES BAKER-Since 1883, Mr. Baker has been a resident of East Bangor, Pennsylvania, where he has since been continuously identified with the slate mining interests. He is a son of James Baker, who left his English home in 1884 and joined his son in East Bangor, Pennsylvania, where he was employed in the slate quarries until his death in 1906. He became a citizen of the United States, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of East Bangor, and a man highly respected. His wife, Jane (Taylor) Baker, who accompanied him from England, died in East Bangor, in 1907. They were the parents of seven children: James (2), of further mention; Elizabeth Ann, deceased, married Harry Long; Hannah, deceased, married Henry Mil- ler ; Mary Jane, deceased, married Thomas Parsons; John, of East Bangor ; Samuel, of Easton Bangor ; and William, of Virginia.


James (2) Baker was born in Cornwall, England, May 21, 1866, and there spent the first seventeen years of his life. He became familiar with mines and mining in Cornwall, but in 1883 he decided to come to the United States. He made his way to East Bangor, Pennsylvania, and there became a State quarryman, a line of business he has continuously followed for thirty-six years, but in constantly increasing positions of responsibility. For the past three years he has been superintendent of the Colonial Slate Company at Windgap, Pennsylvania, and for five years previous had been superintendent for J. S. Myers & Company in one of their slate mills. He is thorough master of his business, and has won high reputation among slate quarry owners, slate manufacturers, and the quarrymen who work under his direction. In politics Mr. Baker is a Republican, and has held the office of justice of the peace since 1904. So careful is he to be just in his justice court decisions, and so well does he understand his rights, duties and privileges as a justice, and so sure are those against whom he is compelled to rule that justice has been rendered them, that it is a matter of record that no decisions which he has rendered as justice have ever been reversed, and appeals are. few. He has also served East Bangor as school director, tax collector and councilman. He is a member and a past chief official of Bangor Lodge No. 72, Loyal Order of Moose; past sachem of Tribe No. 332, Improved Order of Red Men; and past chief official of East Bangor Lodge, Knights of the Golden Eagle.


'Mr. Baker married Eliza Prout, daughter of Thomas and Mary Ann Prout, of East Bangor. Mr. and Mrs. Baker are the parents of two children : Bessie M., married George Bronatha, deceased, May 16, 1916; John P., of Hellertown, Pennsylvania, married Marion King.


ABRAHAM STOUT, M.D .- The history, and particularly the medical history of Northampton county, would be incomplete without extended men- tion of Dr. Abraham Stout, who for over a half century of active medical and surgical practice held place among the leaders of his chosen profession in Eastern Pennsylvania. He represented with honor a family long identi- fied with the county, and he was of its fourth generation. His great-grand- father, Jacob Stout, came from Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, shortly before the Revolutionary War, and settled in Williams township, where he became a prosperous farmer and worthy citizen. His son, Isaac Stout, also lived throughout a long lifetime on the old homestead farm, married, and had a son, Isaac, who was the father of Dr. Stout of this review.


Isaac Stout was a farmer and mill owner, and one of the influential men of his community. He served in the War of 1812 with the rank of major. He took an active part in public affairs, served for many years as justice of the


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peace, and as postmaster of the village of Stouts, named in honor of his family. In 1836 he represented his district in the Pennsylvania State Legis- lature. He married Catherine Clemens, a native of Doylestown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, member of one of Bucks county's old Scotch-Irish families.


Dr. Abraham Stout, son of Isaac and Catherine (Clemens) Stout, was born at the Williams township homestead, August 22, 1831. He died January 9, 1918, having passed his eighty-sixth birthday, and in this upheld the family tradition for longevity, his great-grandfather having lived to a great age, liis grandfather, Isaac (1) Stout, died at the age of eighty years, and his father, Isaac (2) Stout, at seventy years. Dr. Stout spent his early boyhood in the village of Stouts, and received his elementary education there. He prepared for college at the old Vandeveer Academy, Easton, Pennsylvania, under the tutelage of Dr. Vanderveer. In 1850 he entered Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he continued for one and a half years, and then began the study of medicine with his uncle, Dr. Abraham Stout, one of the most eminent physicians of his day. In 1852 he entered the inedical department of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with the class of 1855 with honors and the degree of M.D., and while there studied under the great Dr. Agnew. Returning to Bethlehem, he became associated in practice with his uncle and preceptor, and so continued until the elder's retirement.


In 1862 Dr. Stout tendered his services to the government and was appointed assistant surgeon of the One Hundred and Fifty-third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, with rank of first lieutenant, by Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania. He was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, and participated in the campaigns that included the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He resigned from the service and received honorable discharge, July, 1863, being subsequently tendered a commission of surgeon of cavalry, which appointment he declined on account of family and business affairs. Following his Civil War service he returned to Bethle- hem, in 1863, and from that date to the time a few years before his death, when failing health compelled his retirement from active practice, he held a position of leadership in the medical profession of this section of the State. He was for nine years surgeon-in-charge of St. Luke's Hospital, and con- sulting surgeon of that institution until his death; a member, and for years president, of the Lehigh Valley Association of Railway Surgeons; was a member and served as president of the Northampton County Medical Asso- ciation ; member and for many years treasurer of the Lehigh County Medical Association ; and member of the Pennsylvania State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. He was appointed by President Cleveland, United States pension examiner and continued in this service through subsequent administrations. He was a Mason of long standing, identified with Bethlehem Commandery, Knights Templar. He was one of the charter members of J. K. Taylor Post, Grand Army of the Republic; member of the Loyal Legion, and various other patriotic organizations, and a communicant of the Bethlehem Moravian Congregation.


Dr. Stout married Mary L. Cortright, daughter of Ira Cortright, a coal operator and for many years a leading railway builder and resident of Bethlehem. Of this marriage three sons were born: Ira, deceased; Dr. George Clymer Stout, and Dr. Charles Edward Stout. Dr. Stout's long residence in Bethlehem, covering a period of sixty-three years, comprises a record of high devotion to professional duty and the obligations of useful citizenship. In his death the medical profession lost one who had lived up to its strictest ethics, and the community one of its most honored citizens.


"WAS GRADUATED IN 1855"*


The grand old man of Bethlehem, Dr. Abraham Stout, in sending us his check for a renewal of his subscription, wrote these words on the bill in a clear, firm and vigorous


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script, a little flourish to the "d," the "i" dotted and the "t" crossed. It was an expression of an abiding faith significant of a long and useful life, and of love for his alma mater. What visions must have appeared on the curtain of his memory as the year 1855 was written?


Sixty-one years of continuous warfare against the malignant forces which, for want of a better name, we call diseases; which strike at innocence in the cradle, youth in its blossom, and manhood in its strength. Engaged in a warfare against which even the most ardent peace propagandists advocate preparedness. A good physician, whose hours were from dawn to dawn, through winter snow and summer heat, as a saviour, and, in too many cases, without recompense. That was, and is, the life of the practitioner beside whom the laboratory mole may become a greater scientist, but may be a lesser man.


* From Old Penn, May 6, 1916. Editorial by R. E. Nitzche, Editor.


ALVIN HARVEY RICE-While during his years, forty-eight, Mr. Rice has engaged in various occupations, his real interest is expressed by the business in which he is now engaged, the gathering of antiques and historical information from the pioneer homes of the Lehigh Valley, and in their classi- fication, cataloguing and disposal. His headquarters are in Bethlehem, Penn- sylvania, and is well known among collectors and dealers in antiques.


Alvin Harvey Rice, son of Elias B. and Ellen (Buss) Rice, was born in Bethlehem township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, April 9, 1870. His parents were both born in Bethlehem township, of an ancient fam- ily in that county, his mother's ancestor, John Buss, dying in Bethlehem township in 1821, survived by his widow Catherine and many children and grandchildren. Alvin H. Rice was educated in Bethlehem public schools and Schwartz Academy, then returned to the farm, continuing as an agriculturist until about the time of his marriage in 1892. Not long afterward he was treated by Dr. Estes, of St. Luke's Hospital, Bethlehem, and so well satisfied was he with the treatment received at the hospital, that he remained there for some time as ambulance driver. From that position he went to the Bethlehem Iron Company, in their yard railroad department, remaining four years, then became an agent of the Prudential Life Insurance Company, at Bethlehem. A term as a grocer was followed by a period of three years as proprietor of a bowling alley, located on New street, adjoining his home. For more than a quarter of a century, Mr. Rice has been a collector of antiques and curios, the acquiring of such being his passion. With acquisi- tion came the desire for intimate knowledge, and he knows the historical value of the articles he handles. In 1901 he disposed of his other business interests and has since devoted himself to the search for antiques, their pur- chase and sale. He has become an authority on all forms of curios found in the pioneer localities of Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New York and New Jersey, glassware, pottery and stove plates particularly interesting him. On June 17, 1916, he read a most interesting paper before the Bucks County Historical Society in session at Doylestown, the subject of the paper, "Stove Plate Hunting." This later was published in 1917, in vol. iv, of "A Collec- tion of Papers," read before the Bucks County Historical Society. Glass, pottery and china also attracts his attention as an expert, and he was able to be of great assistance in furnishing both information and specimens to Edwin A. Barber, Ph.D., who since 1907 has been director of the Pennsyl- vania Museum and School of Industrial Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose published works is on "The Tulip Ware of the Pennsylvania German Potters," and "Anglo-American Pottery," devoted to old English china.


Mr. Rice married, June 25, 1892, Clara J. Rockel, also an enthusiastic collector of antiques, and a daughter of Peter and Anna Rockel, a prominent Northampton county family, founded in Eastern Pennsylvania by Balser Rockel, who settled in the village of Shoenersville, where the inscription upon their gravestones is clearly discernible :


N. H. BIOG .- 38


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Balser Rockel, born November 10, 1707, died July 9, 1800, aged 91 years, 8 mos.


Elizabeth Kehler (wife of Balser Rockel), born June 24, 1719, died October 16, 1794, aged 75 years.


Mrs. Clara J. (Rockel) Rice died May 6, 1916, leaving six children : Stanley A., was a soldier in the United States Army; Asher; Sterling Henry ; Edward and Davis Rice; one child, Harvey, died in infancy. Mr. Rice is an independent Democrat, and a member of St. Stephen's Lutheran Church.


ALBERT NEWTON CLEAVER-Albert Newton Cleaver, whose resi- dence in Bethlehem has extended over a half century, a half century devoted to a great diversity of activities in connection with the city's business, civic, church, philanthropic and educational development, is a native of Norwich, Vermont, born February 25, 1848, the son of John Oliver and Elizabeth (Newton) Cleaver. Both on his paternal and maternal sides Mr. Cleaver descends from old American stock, the Newton family having been founded in Massachusetts in 1640, and the Cleaver family in Pennsylvania in 1682, both families of English ancestry.


His father, John Oliver Cleaver, an engineer by profession, was one of the pioneer anthracite coal operators of Pennsylvania, having operated the Coleraine Colliery at Beaver Meadow. He later removed his residence to Mauch Chunk, where his death occurred in 1853. Albert Newton Cleaver received his elementary education in a private school in Mauch Chunk, enter- ing in 1859 Saunders Military Academy at Philadelphia and later attended 'Eagleswood Military Academy near Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He has been identified with the anthracite coal business during his entire active lifetime, his first employment after leaving school being in the capacity of salesman for one of the large Pennsylvania collieries. In 1869 he came to Bethlehem, and on the organization of the Lehigh Valley National Bank in 1872 was elected its first cashier, a post he held for the following year and a half, when he was tendered by Dr. Linderman, president of the bank, the position of manager of the coal firm of Linderman, Skeer & Company, serving in this capacity until 1896. He next became connected with the wholesale and retail coal business of W. C. Mason & Company, Inc., with offices in Hartford. Connecticut, and New York City, of which organization he was elected and still serves as president. In 1915 he was appointed manager of the wholesale coal firm of Robinson, Hayden & Company, of New York City. Mr. Cleaver is financially interested in a number of other business and financial institu- tions, is vice-president and a director of the Lehigh Valley National Bank, having been elected to the vice-presidency in 1919. He is a director of many years standing of the E. P. Wilbur Trust Company, and from 1902 to 1907 was president of the Jeansville Iron Works Company, at Hazelton, Pennsyl- vania, and is president of Sayre Mining & Manufacturing Company, colliery operators in the Birmingham, Alabama, district. Aside from strictly busi- ness interests few men have given so freely of their time, means and energy to the city's civic affairs. He has served for years as a trustee of Lehigh University, and is a trustee and one of the staunchest friends of St. Luke's Hospital. He has been for a long period on the board of managers, treasurer and a guarantor of Bach Choir; also one of the organizers and a director of the Associated Charities of Bethlehem, organized to consolidate the entire city's charitable activities under one responsible and well trained philan- thropic head. He is a member of the Episcopal Pro-Cathedral Church of the Nativity, one of its most zealous lay workers, is a vestryman and senior warden, and from 1907 to 1919 served as one of the lay deputies from the diocese of Bethlehem to the General Conventions of the Episcopal church. For thirty years he has been deputy from the Nativity parish to the diocesan conventions. He is a member of the Bethlehem Club, the Northampton


açuchave.


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County Country Club, the Pennsylvania Society of New York, Pennsylvania Branch Sons of the Revolution, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.


Mr. Cleaver married, June 1, 1876, Elizabeth K. Sayre, daughter of the late Robert H. and Evelyn (Smith) Sayre. Mrs. Cleaver is one of the most active of the women of Bethlehem in civic, church and philanthropic affairs, and a member of the Associated Charities, the Woman's Club, Ladies' Aid Society of St. Luke's Hospital, and devoted to the interests of the Public Library. Mr. Cleaver is universally recognized as a business man of excep- tional ability, a worthy and valuable citizen of broad public spirit, whose share in the upbuilding of his adopted city has been and is highly appreciated by his fellow citizens.


JOHN ASHBY CHRISTIE-At the age of fifteen years, in 1901, Mr. Christie entered the employ of R. G. Dun & Company, in Philadelphia, and from that age he has known no other business interest, being now (1919) manager of the Easton (Pennsylvania) agency of the company. His father, James Christie, a contractor and builder of Philadelphia, was also prominent in the political activities of city and State. He married Elizabeth Ashby, and they were the parents of a son, John Ashby, and a daughter, Elizabeth. John Ashby Christie was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1886. He was educated in the public schools, finishing in high school, later attending night classes at the Wharton School, University of Pennsyl- vania. He began his connection with R. G. Dun & Company in 1901, his first position being at the very foot of the business, junior office boy. He soon rose to better position, and also added to his education equipment by night class study. He was advanced in rank and enrollment several times, and in 1912 was appointed a contracting solicitor, covering the mill industry of Philadelphia. He continued in that position until 1918, and in April of that year was made local manager and placed in charge of the Easton office of the company. He has fairly won his promotion, and with his youth, enthusiasm and recognized ability the future holds brilliant promise for him. Mr. Christie is a member of the Easton Board of Trade, Easton Rotary Club, Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, and in political action is an independent. In his school days a skillful basketball player, Mr. Christie has always re- tained a keen interest in athletic sports. He is entirely devoted to the business which has claimed him from boyhood, and at a recent meeting of the Rotary Club he gave a most interesting address upon the history of the inception and growth of that great commercial agency, R. G. Dun & Company, which he locally manages.


Mr. Christie married, October 15, 1913, Alma J. Templeman, daughter of John L. and Margaret (Cummings) Templeman, of Aberdeen, Maryland. They are the parents of two children: William T. and John J.


DODSON FAMILY-Among the contributions of this early Penn- sylvania family to the history of the State have been the records of many men prominent in business and industrial life and the professions. The line was founded in America by three children of Daniel and Susanne Dodson- John, Mary and Thomas-who came from Yorkshire, England, in 1667 with a company of Quakers, settling at Burlington, New Jersey.


(I) The ancestor of the branch herein recorded was John Dodson, born in Yorkshire, England, in 1655, who left New Jersey about 1682 and made his home in Cheltenham township, then Philadelphia county, and transactions wherein his name appears are recorded in the county records as late as 1725.


(II) Thomas Dodson, son of John Dodson, located in Chester county. Pennsylvania, about 1723. He married, in 1718, Mary Prigg, the ceremony being performed in the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, and they were the parents of twelve children.


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(III) The eleventh of these children was Samuel Dodson, who was born in 1738 and died in 1796. He married Elizabeth Rhodes, in 1762, and soon afterward moved to a section of old Northampton county, now in Lehigh county, establishing his home on Mahoning Creek. This was close to the Bethlehem Moravian settlement and the family united with that church. Their second daughter, Abigail, is noted in local history as having been captured by the Indians, being rescued after five years passed with various tribes; she was educated by the Moravians.


(IV) John (2) Dodson, fourth child and second son of Samuel and Eliza- beth (Rhodes) Dodson, was born February 26, 1771, and died May 9, 1859. After his father's death, in 1796, he became the virtual head of the family of ten children. In his twenty-first year he left the Mahoning homestead and moved to Huntington, Luzerne county, where he purchased a farm and resided to the end of a long life of eighty-eight years. He was a man of sterling worth and character who took special interest in public affairs, pro- moting the common welfare in many ways-in the establishment and main- tenance of public schools, the building and improvement of highways, and the encouragement of local industries. He was an old line Whig in politics, but upon the organization of the Republican party espoused its cause and principles. As "Squire" Dodson he held the office of justice of the peace for many years through appointment of successive governors. His hospitality and generosity were a byword in the region, and his charity for those less fortunate than he, was limited only by his means. He was an admirable type of the old school gentleman and received the tribute of the quaint sobriquet, "Gentleman John," by which he was known to thousands. John (2) Dodson married (first) Clarissa Harrison, daughter of Stephen and Susan (Franklin) Harrison, her mother a cousin of Benjamin Franklin. She died in 1820, and he married (second), in 1821, Sophronia Monroe. Children of his first marriage : Nancy, Ann, Amanda Susannah, Samuel, Elizabeth, Sarah, Stephen Harrison, Miner, Stephen Harrison (2) and Clarissa Harrison. Chil- dren of his second marriage: Miner Delanson, Weston, a sketch of whom follows; Dr. Nathan Monroe, J. Quincy Adams, Truman Monroe, a sketch of whom follows; Dr. Franklin, Mary, Charles Millard, a sketch of whom follows; and Joseph Seymour. Of these children Weston, Truman Monroe and Charles Millard eventually settled in Bethlehem, and their careers were of strong influence upon the city's development.


WESTON DODSON-Founder of the coal mining and distributing organization, Weston Dodson & Company, Weston Dodson was born on the Luzerne county homestead, April 2, 1824, and died in Bethlehem, December 8, 1889. He was educated in the schools of Luzerne county, and in young man- hood came to Freemansburg, where he engaged in business. He made Beth- lehem the seat of his operations in 1859, entering the anthracite coal business and conducting his dealings as Weston Dodson. When, in 1863, he was joined by his brother, Charles M., the firm title became Weston Dodson & Brother. A few years afterward the collieries at Audenried and Morea, Penn- sylvania, were opened, and the future operations of the concern were as Weston Dodson & Company. In the properties of the Dodson interests the new era of coal mining first found welcome, with the installation of the latest development in mine machinery, and the adoption of many safety appliances. Comfortable homes for the employees were also built and every possible effort made to provide for the safety and comfort of the mine workers. The follow- ing is quoted from a printed tribute of one who knew Mr. Dodson intimately :




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