History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume III, Part 5

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 5


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).


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MAURICE CLEMENS-Dr. Jacob Breckenbridge Clemens, father of Maurice Clemens, and son of James Wolfe and Eleanor (Sherrad) Clemens,


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was of Virginia birth, but prior to his marriage in 1850, moved to Easton, Pennsylvania, where his son Maurice was born. He completed his classical studies at Virginia Military Institute, then entered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated M.D. He con- tinued in the active general practice of medicine in Easton until his death, January II, 1867. He was an excellent physician and an expert entomologist, his entomologist collections, which he presented to the University of Penn- sylvania and to Lafayette College, being rare and valuable. In religious faith Dr. Clemens was an Episcopalian. He married Susan Burke Wagener, and they were the parents of four children: Mary W., deceased wife of George K. Sistare; Harold, deceased; James B., a practicing physician of New York City ; and Maurice, of further mention.


Susan Burke (Wagener) Clemens was a daughter of Hon. David and Mary (Knauss) Wagener, granddaughter of Judge Daniel and Eve (Opp) Wagener, and great-granddaughter of David Wagener, born in Silicia, Ger- many, May 24, 1736. David Wagener was brought from his native land, and on October 26, 1741, the family became residents of Worcester township in Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania. In manhood he moved to Northampton county, Pennsylvania, where he became a man of influence, serving from 1791 until his death in Easton, May 9, 1796, as associate judge of Northampton courts. He married Susannah Umsted, born February 2, 1734, died April 22, 1819. They were members of the Lutheran church.


Daniel Wagener, son of David and Susannah (Umsted) Wagener, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, near Doylestown, in the year 1766, and in 1777 was brought by his parents to Easton, where he lived until his death in 1842. He was identified with many interests of the city and county, en- gaged in milling and merchandising for a number of years. His father built the large grist-mill on the east side of Bushkill creek in 1792, his father having built a similar mill on the opposite side of the creek in 1780. He took an active part in public affairs, and like his father served the county of North- ampton, his term of office covering a period of thirty-nine years. He married, April 13, 1785, Eve Opp, and reared a family of three sons and two daughters.


David D. Wagener, son of Judge Daniel and Eve (Opp) Wagener, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, October II, 1792, and died in Easton, October 21, 1860. After his years of educational training were finished, he became his father's assistant in store and mill, and all his life was engaged in business affairs, although he took a deep interest in public affairs, was a leader of the Pennsylvania Democracy, and gave a great deal of his time to the public service, serving his district four terms in the national House of Representa- tives. From May 4, 1852, when he was elected president of the Easton Bank, until his death, October 21, 1860, he guided the destinies of that institution, and left it one of the strong, financial institutions of the State. In 1828 he was elected a member of the Pennsylvania House of Assembly, serving in 1829, 1830 and 1831, retiring upon his election to Congress in 1832. He was re-elected in 1834, 1836 and 1838, but upon the expiration of his fourth term in 1840, he retired from public life, and henceforth gave himself to his private business affairs. He was a trusted friend of General Jackson and of James A. Buchanan, and in a published estimate of his character, the Easton Argus of October 4, 1860, said :


He was not only a good man but a useful man. He was a kind and faithful friend, a safe counsellor, an indulgent and affectionate father, and an upright man in all relations of life. To the poor he was kind and liberal, and many a penniless beginner he started on his voyage to fight the battle of life, who has been cheered on by the kind assistance and good counsel of David D. Wagener. The possessor of an ample fortune, he was ever plain and simple in his habits, familiar and social in his intercourse with his fellow men, yet dignified in his bearing. He was a strictly upright man and scorned to do a dishonorable act in public or private life. He was constitutionally an honest man, and his word was as good as his bond. Few men have left behind them a brighter record or a more illustrious example than the Hon. David D. Wagener.


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Mr. Wagener's connection with the Easton Union Guard is interesting. He was elected captain of the Guard at its organization in 1816, and held that rank until its disbandment in 1829. In 1824 he led the Guard in the grand parade at Philadelphia, in connection with the reception to General Lafayette. He was the principal donor of the land upon which the county court house in Easton is built, and he was a liberal supporter of all good causes. He married Mary Knauss, and they were the parents of two sons and three daughters, including Susan Burke Wagener, born April 15, 1827, married, November 30, 1850, Dr. Jacob Breckenbridge Clemens, they the parents of Maurice Clemens, of Easton.


Maurice Clemens was born in Easton, December 17, 1865, and there has spent his life. After public school attendance in Easton, he prepared for college at Chelterham Military College, at Elkins, Pennsylvania, 1880-84, then entered Lafayette College as a member of the class of 1888. He gave many years of his life to the management of the family estate, and not until 1907 did he give himself to a private business. Since 1907 he has conducted a general insurance and real estate business, and has made it a successful enterprise. Mr. Clemens early became an enlisted member of the Pennsyl- vania National Guard, and in 1898 he enlisted with his regiment for service in the Spanish-American War, but the command was not mustered into the United States service. On February 7, 1902, he was elected captain of Com- pany I, Thirteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard, and on Decem- ber 20, 1917, he was appointed captain of Company A, Second Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserve Militia, by Gov. William Sproul. Himself a talented musician, Mr. Clemens has always taken a deep interest in musical affairs, and all his life has been a student, teacher and leader. He studied under noted music masters of New York City, and as a leader of large choruses he is well known, and as a choral leader has more than a local reputation. He is a member of Easton Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Easton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Pomp Council, Royal and Select Masters; Hugh De Payen Commandery, Knights Templar; Rajah Temple, Ancient Arabic Or- der Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Easton Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Zeta Psi fraternity ; the Pomfret Club; Northampton County Country Club; Trinity Episcopal Church of Easton; and in politics is a Democrat.


Mr. Clemens married, February 10, 1906, Sue Pomp Maxwell, who died April 10, 1913.


HARRY J. OSTERSTOCK-EDWARD L. OSTERSTOCK-The fam- ily name was brought to America by Matthias Ostertag, who arrived in Philadelphia, September 13, 1749, and to Easton by Thomas Osterstock, born in 1750, died in 1773. He married Mary Elizabeth Wolf, and had children : Leonard, Henry, Mary, Thomas, John and Elizabeth. This John is supposedly the great-grandfather of Harry J. and Edward L. Osterstock, who are grandsons of John Stephen and Rachel (Lawall) Osterstock, and sons of John Stephen and Mary Etta ( Kichline) Osterstock. John Oster- stock died on his farm near Butztown, Pennsylvania, having settled there upon his arrival from Germany, in company with his brother Stephen, who settled in Forks township.


John S. (2) Osterstock, father of Harry J. and Edward L. Osterstock, was born in Butztown, a village of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, two miles from Freemansburg, July 3, 1846. He was educated in the public schools, and began business life as clerk in the general store of William Lawall. Later he established in business for himself as a hardware merchant at No. 22 Centre Square, Easton, a location at which he conducted a success- ful business for thirty years. He died in the full tide of business success, December 31, 1914. He was a lifelong Democrat, a member of the First


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Reformed Church, Dallas Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and the Im- proved Order of Red Men. He married, in Easton, September 3, 1848, Mary Etta Kichline, daughter of Thomas and Anna Maria (Fraunfelter) Kichline. Mrs. Osterstock died in Easton, March 28, 1896, leaving five children : Harry J., of further mention; Edward L., of further mention; Fanny, secretary to the principal of Easton High School; Helen, a bookkeeper with her brother, Harry J .; Edith M., assistant to the registrar of Lafayette College.


The Kichlines are one of the oldest families of Easton, the first of the name, Peter Kichline, coming prior to the Revolution. He was born in Ger- many, October 8, 1722, and died in Easton, November 27, 1789. He built the first grist-mill within the limits of the town of Easton, was a hotelkeeper, and rented his large room in his new house to the county commissioners for holding court, elections or other public business. Fleeing from a land of op- pression, he was among the first to espouse the cause of Liberty, and in 1774 was elected a member of Northampton County Committee of Safety. He had previously served in the Indian War, and in the Revolution he was one of the hardest of fighters. He was a lieutenant of the Northampton Company, and at the Brooklyn fight was taken prisoner, but soon returned to his home and continued his efforts to advance the Colonial cause. He became a colonel of militia, was county commissioner, 1759, sheriff, 1762, member of Assembly, 1774, and justice of the peace. His mill property on the Bushkill, back of Mount Jefferson, passed into the hands of his son, Andrew Kichline, and he spent his last year with his son, Peter Kichline, at his farm two miles north of Easton.


Harry J. Osterstock was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1872. He was educated in the public schools, attending high school one year under Professor Sandt. When a boy, he began assisting his father in store work, and finally became his trusted assistant. When, on December 31, 1914, John Stephen Osterstock passed away, his sons succeeded him, and the business is yet continued, Harry J. being the active head. The business is strictly hardware and allied lines, located at No. 22 Centre Square. Harry J. Oster- stock has won high and honorable standing as a business man, and thoroughly understands the hardware business, having come through all grades, from a boy's job to sole managing head. He is a member of Dallas Lodge No. 376, Free and Accepted Masons; Easton Chapter No. 52, Royal Arch Masons; Pomp Council, Royal and Select Masters; Hugh De Payen Commandery, Knights Templar; Rajah Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Lehicton Lodge No. 244, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Rotary Club, and in politics is an independent. He has served four years as a member of the City School Board, and is interested in the cause of good government.


Mr. Osterstock married, in Portland, Pennsylvania, September 22, 1896, Daisy M. Dietrich, daughter of Jeremiah and Mary Dietrich. Mr. and Mrs. Osterstock have a son, John Stephen (3), born February 28, 1902, a graduate of Easton High School.


Edward L. Osterstock was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, December 23, 1877, the family home then being on Ferry street in the Sixth Ward. He was educated in the public schools of Easton, finishing with graduation from high school, class of 1895. He then entered Lafayette College, whence he was graduated in 1899. He began business life as a clerk in Easton National Bank, continuing until 1909, when he resigned and accepted his present posi- tion, superintendent of the Jackson Mills Emery Company of Easton. He has capably filled that position, and is one of Easton's far-sighted, progressive business men. He is a member and treasurer of the First Reformed Church, member of Dallas Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Easton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Pomp Council, Royal and Select Masters; Hugh De Payen Commanderv, Knights Templar ; and Rajah Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Foresters of America, and in politics a Democrat.


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HARRY ULYSSES SHERMAN, M.D .- More than half a century ago, Dr. Austin Birchard Sherman was graduated from Jefferson College, Phila- delphia, and with his newly acquired degree of M.D. he located at Girardville, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, there practicing until his death at the age of seventy-seven. He became not only one of the leading physicians, but also one of the most eminent surgeons of that section of Pennsylvania, and while living inspired his son, Dr. Harry U. Sherman, with his spirit of devo- tion to the medical profession, and with a desire to emulate the example of his honored father and give himself to the mission of alleviating the suffering of humanity. He, too, claims Jefferson College as his alma mater, and for a quarter of a century he has practiced the healing art, fifteen of those years in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he is a successful specialist in diseases of the nose and throat.


Dr. Austin Birchard Sherman was born in Susquehanna county, Penn- sylvania, July 8, 1829, died in Girardville, Pennsylvania, December 10, 1906. He was a graduate of Jefferson College, class of 1855, and a lifelong general' practitioner of Schuylkill county, and ever eminent as a surgeon. He married Belinda M. Boyer, born September 28, 1830, died February 4, 1917, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Dreisbach) Boyer, of Weaversville, Northampton county, Pennsylvania. Dr. and Mrs. Sherman were the parents of three children : Hattie, died in infancy ; Austin C., a leading attorney of Mahoney City, Penn- sylvania, who died August 4, 1917; and Harry Ulysses, of whom further.


Dr. Harry Ulysses Sherman was born in Girardville, Pennsylvania, De- cember II, 1869. He there completed his public school education. He com- pleted study at Fremont Seminary in 1887, then entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, whence he was graduated M.D., class of 1892. During the two following years he was interne, then house physician to St. Luke's Hospital, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, after which service he located for private practice in Mahoney City, Pennsylvania. He practiced there two years, then moved to New York City, where he was in practice eight years, this bringing him to 1903, the year of his removal to Easton, which has since been his home and the seat of his very successful practice. While earlier his practice was general in character, it is now confined to consultation on the special diseases of the nose and throat. He is a member of the local and State medical societies, Easton Young Men's Christian Association, Kiscoe Lodge No. 708, Free and Accepted Masons; Easton Lodge No. 121, Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks; and the Presbyterian church. He has devoted himself closely to the duties of his exacting profession, but recrea- tion periods are not infrequent, and with rod and gun he finds his healthful out-of-door enjoyment.


Dr. Sherman married, June 6, 1896, Julia Keyes Miller, who died June 10, 1902.


WILSON H. BOEHM-Now retired from active business, Wilson H. Boehm, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, reviews a long and busy life as farmer's boy, Bethlehem steel mill worker and truck farmer. He is a descendant of Rev. John Philip Boehm, the first Reformed minister in Pennsylvania, who owned lands in Northampton county, although his own home was in Whitpain township, Montgomery county. This Northampton land was deeded to his eldest son, Anthony William Boehm, before his father's death in 1749, but later in life Anthony W. removed to Hellertown, where he built a house referred to as the "oldest" in Hellertown. Wilson H. Boehm is a son of James Monroe Boehm, son of Philip (2) Boehm, son of Philip (I) Boehm, son of Anthony William Boehm, son of Rev. John Philip Boehm, the founder of the family in America.


(I) Rev. John Philip Boehm was a son of Rev. Philip Lewis Boehm, a Reformed minister at Machenbuchen, near Hanan, a town of Prussia in Hesse-


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Wilson A. Boehm


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Nassau, on the Kinzig river. He was born, it is believed, in the year 1683, came to Pennsylvania not later than 1720, and died in Hellertown, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, April 29, 1749. Driven from his native land by perse- cution, he came to the land of the Penns, which had been heralded all over Europe as a home where freedom of religious thought was allowed. On his arrival, he located in Whitpain township, then in Philadelphia, now in Mont- gomery county, in the neighborhood now marked by "Boehm's church." He was a man of education, and soon became a leader in his community, particu- larly marked as a man of deep piety. There were no ordained ministers to minister to the spiritual needs of the Germans of that neighborhood in their own tongue, and they appealed to Boehm, the pious schoolmaster, to act as their pastor in order that they might have the consolation of religion. He hesitated, for he was not an ordained minister of the Gospel, and believed it would be against church law and order. But finally he yielded to their tear- ful entreaties, and near the close of the year 1725 became the unordained pastor at Falckner's Swamp, Skippack and White Marsh. He drew up a constitution for the government of these three congregations, which was undoubtedly the earliest form of discipline adopted by the German Reformed congregations in America. It was doctrinely sound, and provided for all forms of services, ceremonies and government, that constituted the pure German Reformed doctrine according to the confession of faith of that church, and provided for the use of the Heidelberg catechism.


In September, 1727, George Michael Weiss, an ordained minister, was sent to this country by the "Upper Consistory or Classis of the Palatinate." This at once brought on a conflict between ordained and unordained minis- terial authority, and the friends of John Philip Boehm sought advice from the Classis of Amsterdam ( Holland). That body, after duly considering the matter, declared all the ministerial acts of John Philip Boehm to be valid, but further decreed that, "he must be ordained to the ministry according to ecclesiastical authority." He at once complied with the ruling of the Amsterdam Classis, and on November 23, 1729, John Philip Boehm' was ordained, in New York, a minister of the Reformed church. He continued ministerial work in his own congregations and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. It was recorded that as early as 1734 he preached for the Reformed congre- gation in Philadelphia in a house rented jointly with the Lutheran congre- gation. On August 1, 1746, Michael Schalter arrived in Pennsylvania, hav- ing been sent by the church in the fatherland as mission superintendent. Rev. Boehm heartily seconded the missionary effort, and made many jour- neys with Schalter, preaching, administering sacrament, and upbuilding congregations in various places.


When John Philip Boehm first began preaching, his own house in Whit- pain township was the meeting place. In 1740 he aided in erecting a small stone church which stood where the present Boehm's church now stands. There he preached, also in Philadelphia and Germantown until 1747, when, at his own request, owing to the growing infirmities of old age, he was relieved by Rev. Michael Schalter, whom he solemnly installed as his suc- cessor. Henceforth his labors were confined to a narrow circle. He served as stated clerk of the First German Reformed Synod held in Philadelphia in September, 1747, and continued zealous and fervid for the two years follow- ing when death overtook him at the home of his son, Anthony William, in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. He was buried within the precincts of the church which he had helped to rear with his own hands, in Whitpain town- ship, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. It is not known who preached the funeral sermon. Rev. Michael Schalter, the pastor, was absent on a missionary tour, but upon his return he preached a memorial sermon in which his friend and contemporary was warmly eulogized. This little "Boehm's church" which he founded, now has a membership of three


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hundred, and supports its own pastor. He acquired some three hundred acres of farm land in Montgomery county, and blessings both spiritual and material attended his life and work. The three hundred acres in Lehigh were conveyed in 1747 by Rev. John Philip and Anna Maria Boehm to their eldest son, Anthony William Boehm, "for and in consideration of the natural love and affection which they have and do bear for and toward their son."


John Philip Boehm married, in Germany, Anna Maria Sherrer, and they were the parents of six children: Anthony William, of further men- tion; Anna Maria, married Adam Moser; Sebina, married Ludwig Bitting; Elizabeth, married George Shamboh; Maria Philippina, married Cornelius Dewees; and John Philip, married, August 2, 1753, Anna Maria Yost.


(II) Anthony William Boehm, son of John Philip Boehm, was born in Worms, Germany, April 27, 1714, and died at his farm in Upper Saucon township, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, April 6, 1766. He received the farm in Upper Saucon township from his father, and that with all else he acquired in the way of real estate passed to his only; son, Philip. ยก His wife, Hannah Philis Boehm, survived him with her only child, Philip. Anthony W. Boehm was buried in a private cemetery on his own farm.


(III) Philip Boehm, only son of Anthony William and Hannah Philis Boehm, was born at the homestead in Upper Saucon township, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, December 14, 1747, and died January 10, 1816. He was the first to dispose of any of the land first owned by Rev. John Philip Boehm, consequently he did not leave the family so well endowed with land as his predecessors, but he did leave a larger family, and from him sprang a numerous family. He was a man of more than ordinary intelli- gence, owning considerable property in Upper Saucon township, then Northampton, now Lehigh county, and according to the tax list of 1782 for Lower Saucon township, Northampton county, he owned a tanyard, three horses, four cows, and four sheep. In 1779 he was assistant collector of taxes for Lower Saucon, and at an election held October 10, 1780, he was elected coroner of Northampton county. From 1779 to 1785 he is also described in the records as an inn keeper of Lower Saucon township. Philip (I) Boehm was also lieutenant-colonel of Colonel Guger's battalion of Northampton county militia, and from Colonial records, Volume XI, page 279, this extract is taken : "On motion agreed that Philip Boehm be appointed paymaster of the Militia of the County of Northampton." (Minutes of the Supreme Council, August 27, 1777.) There are many references to him in connection with the military affairs of the county, and although he sold much of the land inherited from his father, realizing $12,000, he was not a wealthy man, probably being paid in Continental money, there being a tradition that he left a chest full of that worthless money. He married Anna Barbara Schreiber, born November 2, 1747, who survived him sixteen years, dying October 10, 1832. By stipulation with the buyers she continued her resi- dence in the old home, a stone house, now standing on what is known as the Geissenger farm. Philip and Anna Barbara Boehm were both buried at Lower Saucon Reformed Church graveyard. They were the parents of eight children: Anthony, married Catherine Geissenger; Philip, married Elizabeth Wasser; John, of whom further; David; Catherine, married Jacob Kramm; Susanna, married Jacob Ochs; Mary, married Jacob Haas; and Elizabeth, married Jacob Miller.


(IV) Philip (2) Boehm, second son of Philip (1) and Anna Barbara (Schreiber) Boehm, was born at the homestead, March 7, 1770, and died January 28, 1869. He was a farmer of Lower Saucon township, and there spent his life. He married Elizabeth Wasser, born August 18, 1781, died January 6, 1850. They were the parents of nine children: John Peter, mar- ried Anna Maria Orner; Thomas M., married Lucinda F. Hall; James


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Monroe, of further mention; Mary, married Daniel Frey; Sarah, married Stephen Balbert; Polly, married George Stuber; Catherine, married George Ruth; Julianna, married Jesse Bellheimer; and Elizabeth, married George Henn.


(V) James Monroe Boehm, third son of Philip (2) and Elizabeth (Wasser) Boehm, was born at the home farm in Lower Saucon township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, September 10, 1815, and died March 7, 1891. He was a farmer all his life. He married, October 21, 1837, Maria Desh, born in Macungie township, Northampton county, November 8, 1816, died November 6, 1893. Both are buried in the churchyard of Lower Sau- con church. James M. and Maria (Desh) Boehm were the parents of seven children: I. Lucy A., born in Lower Saucon township, February 8, 1839; married, May 31, 1857, Charles Kichline. 2. Wilson H., of further mention. 3. Ellen E., born August 1, 1842; married, August 3, 1861, Lawrence Hoffert. 4. Henry M., born March 20, 1847; married, August 1, 1868, Saraetta Ehrig and has children : Harvey P., Anna M., Wilson H., Ammon A., Celeste M., Ellen S., Carrie I., and Milton W. 5. William A., born April 2, 1851 ; mar- ried, November 10, 1872, Mary A. Hillegass; children: Calvin J., Peter J., Edward R., Elwood J., Howard W., Steward A., Charles H., and Maria E. 6. George W., born February 22, 1853; married, August 2, 1879, Isabella Young; children: William J. and Harry W. 7. Alfred J., whose sketch follows.




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