USA > Pennsylvania > Carbon County > History of the counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pt. 2 > Part 31
USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of the counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pt. 2 > Part 31
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The present church consistory is composed of the following on the Lutheran side: Manoah Hausman and Stephen Deibert, elders; and Levi Helffrich, John Schneck, Oliver Semmel, and Lewis Hausman, dea- cons; and on the Reformed side, Frank P. Mickley and William Kennel, elders; and William Reber, Francis Peter, Charles Wootring, and Willoughby Hoffman, deacons.
The congregations possess a large pipe-organ, which was originally purchased in 1821, and formerly stood in the old stone church. When that building was torn down, it was removed and repaired and two registers added ; it was then placed in the present church, and rededicated with it in 1872.
Thirty-eight years ago (in 1846) a Sunday-school was begun at Union Church by the late Rev. S. K. Brobst, l'eter Gross, Esq., and others, which has re- mained in full life ever since. For the past thirty years it has been under the superintendence of Mr. E. D. Rhoads, the organist of the church.
Many of the earliest settlers buried their dead on their farms, where their remains now rest, unmarked by any stone, upon spots undiscoverable at present. After the organization of Egypt and Uuiou Churches nearly all the interments took place on one or the other of the burying-places provided by these two : congregations. The first burial-ground lay to the rear and side of the old log church, and comprised the. area occupied by what is now known as the old ceme- tery. The latter lies on the side of the road opposite to the present church building, and is inclosed with a low stone wall. The inscriptions upon many of the old headstones, which were often at first of com- paratively soft stones and later of slate, have yielded to the influence of wind and weather, and are now partially or wholly undecipherable. The oldest legible one on the ground is that of Follatin (Val- entine) Remeli, 1770. On the 18th of May, 1866, the two congregations decided to lay out a new cemc- tery upon the church lands, and on the 9th of No- vember following, rules for the regulation of the same
were adopted. The present burial-ground contains an area of two acres of land in the rear of the church, and was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies by Rev. Jacob Schindel and Noah Strassburger. It is finely located and systematically arranged. Many beautiful shafts of marble already mark the resting- places of departed worshipers.
During the past year (1883) the congregations erected upon the church land a commodious barn. This is used for storing the bay and erops raised upon the glebe, the use of which, together with the old stone school-house, is enjoyed under a lease from the congregations by the schoolmaster and organist, Mr. Rhoads. The cost of erecting the barn has been fully paid, and the Union Church presents the commenda- ble example of- a community of Christian workers, owning large possessions entirely free from debt.
St. John's Church, at Laury's .- For several years previous to 1872, Rev. J. S. Reninger preached occa- sionally both to the Lutherans and Reformed of Laury's and the vicinity, and during 1871 he began holding services both in German and English regu- larly. His labors were fully appreciated by those under his ministrations, and on Christmas of that year they presented him with a substantial token of their esteem and love. Rev. S. A. Leimbach had also begun, about May, 1869, to hold services both in Ger- man and English in the school-house at Laury's, and continued to hold them every four weeks.
Most of the members belonged either to the Re- formed or Lutheran congregations of Union and Egypt Churches, but their desire to have a more con- venient place of worship became so strong, and their numbers increased so much that it was resolved to form a separate church, and to that end Hon. David Laury and Mr. David Scheirer were appointed a committee to draft a plan of organization and a con- stitution. This dratt was submitted to the members in February, 1872, and unanimously adopted, and an organization effected on the 12th of May, 1872, with Rev. S. A. Leimbach as the Reformed, and Rev. J. S. Reninger as the Lutheran pastor. The first Church Conneil consisted of Jacob D. Miller, Henry Hetfel- finger, Reformed elders ; Charles Loeser and Reuben Yantz, Lutheran elders; and of Moses Newhard, Thomas Newhard, David Scheirer, and Samuel Heiney, Reformed deacons; and Jacob B. Mauser, Thomas Schaffer, Samuel Shoch, and Eli Schumacher, Lutheran deacons.
Jacob Miller, Samuel Miller, and Moses Newhard each offered the two acres of land from their farms, which were desired by the association for church lands. That of Jacob Miller was finally accepted, after due consideration, and thus it happens that this church is sometimes called Miller's Church.
It was decided to ercet a church building at once, and a building committee was appointed, consisting of Joseph Roth and Joseph Peter from the Reformed side, and William J. Keck and David Laury from the
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NORTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP.
Lutheran. On the 23d of June, 1872, the corner- stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies, con- ducted by Revs. William Notz and Noah Strassburger, assisted by the pastors, Revs. Leinbach and Reninger. The church was finished in the following year, and on the 13th and 14th days of September, 1873, was dedicated to the service of God by Revs. L. Groh, J. B. Fox, and J. S. Reninger, Lutheran ministers, and Revs. Thomas Leinbach, A. J. G. Dubbs, and S. A. Leinbach, Reformed ministers. The collections amounted to $175.08.
The church is of frame, forty feet in width by sixty in depth, and has a basement and steeple. It is painted white, and, standing on a commanding emi- mence, resembles a shining ark of refuge for the weary and sin-laden. The contract for its construc- tion was awarded to Tilghman Zellner, and the cost of construction was about six thousand dollars.
The congregation number about one hundred and sixty members, evenly divided between Lutherans and Reformed.
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Rev. Reninger is still the Lutheran pastor. Rev. Leinbach resigned his office as Reformed pastor on the 10th of November, 1883, the resignation to take effeet on the Ist of Jannary, 1884. On the latter day he was succeeded in the office by Rev. William R. Hofford, of Allentown, Pa.
The church council consists at present of Henry Heffelfinger and Samuel Miller, Reformed elders ; J. B. Mauser, Lutheran elder ; Moses Newhard and Henry Broder, Reformed deacons; and A. C. P. Loury, Calvin F. Keck, and August H. Eichler, Lutheran deacons. The trustees are David Swartz (Reformed) and Adam Anthony ( Lutheran). Mr. David Scheirer has been the choir-leader since May, 1879.
A cemetery was laid out immediately after the purchase of the church lands, and rules for its reg- ulation were adopted by the congregations in the spring of 1872.
In 1838, the Hon. David Laury and Robert Me- Dowell (both now deceased) established a Sunday- school, which held its meetings in the school-house, Quarry Sunday-school." The exercises were at first conducted entirely in English, but later in English and German. It was the first Sunday-school projected in Lehigh County outside of Allentown. After the completion of St. John's Church the meeting-place was transferred to the basement of the latter build- ing, and there the meetings have since been held. Judge Laury was the superintendent up to the time of his death, in 1883.
Preaching Station at Ironton .- A preaching sta- tion was established early in the fall of 1867. Services were held regularly the first Sabbath-days of each month in the old school-house, near Ballietsville, by the Rev. Dr. J. W. Wood and Rev. Richard Walker, then Presbyterian ministers at Allentown, Pa., both
now deceased. This place of meeting was only tem- porary, and about the Ist of January, 1868, soon after the public school buildings at Ironton were completed, the serviees began to be held there, and have been held in them ever since. About the 1st of April, 1868, Rev. Richard Walker began preaching, coming regu- larly on the third Sabbath of every month, and con- tinued in this service for four years, when he was succeeded by Rev. J. A. Little, of Hokendauqua, Pa. Dr. Wood continued in his labors here until about the 1st of October, 1876, when he was also succeeded by Rev. Mr. Little. Since that time the latter has held services here regularly on the first and third Sab- bath afternoons of every month. The salaries of these pastors have always been paid out of the treasury of the Ironton Railroad Company. In the month of March, 1876, the Rev. S. A. Leinbach, of Coplay, Pa., began preaching here, and continued to do so until Jan. 1, 1884. He preached once a month, and re- ccived fifty dollars a year for his services, which sum was raised by subscription.
No church organization has been attempted. The worshipers are members of congregations of different faiths. The services are not sectarian. No denomi- national books are used, the lessons being drawn di- rectly from the Bible. Communion services are not held, and there is no interference with the pastors of neighboring churches. The faithful labors of Rev. Little, as well as those of Rev. Leinbach, are bearing rich fruit in increased membership and more living interests. Among the prominent workers both in the meetings and the Sunday-school are Mr. William An- drews, of the Presbyterian Church of Allentown ; Mr. P. Frank Brown, of Egypt Reformed ; and Mr. Walter M. Kuhns, of Jordan Lutheran. Of the original leading spirits in the work, Capt. Joseph Andrews (Presbyterian), Mrs. William Andrews ( Presbyte- rian ), and Mrs. P. Frank Brown (German Reformed ), have (besides Dr. Wood and Rev. Walker) departed to a better home, while John G. Wink ( Evangelieal) and Dr. J. N. E. Shoemaker have moved away.
About the same time with the preaching station, the Union Sunday-school was organized, being so near Laury's, and which was known as the "Slate- : called by reason of the uniting of members of dif- ferent churches for the purpose of organizing. Many in the neighborhood were opposed to the project at the beginning, but despite their opposition the work was successfully begun on the second Sunday of January, 1868, with J. Calvin Welling as superin- tendent. He was the prime mover in this labor of love, and in his efforts was ably seconded by those named above. He was then a clerk in the railroad office at Ironton, and now resides at Chicago, Il., holding a responsible position with the Ilinois Cen- tral Railway. He held the office of superintendent for two years, and was succeeded by G. G. Roney for a half year. Mr. William Andrews then held the office for one and a half years, and was succeeded by Mr. George Spence, who served for six months. Mr.
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HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
P. F. Brown was then eleeted, and has served con- tinuously from that time to this, a period of eleven and a half years. To his activity and faithfulness are due much of the present prosperity of the school. The average attendance each Sabbath from the open- ing to the present time has been sixty-five. The roll now numbers one hundred and twenty, and the school is in a flourishing condition. Denominational books are not touched, the Bible and the publications of the American Sunday-School Union alone being used. The pastors have always assisted in the work. The present organist is Mr. Alfred Kuhns, a member of Jordan Lutheran congregation.
The amount of good that this preaching station and Sunday-school have done for the people of Iron- ton and the vicinity is incalculable.
St. Patrick's, at Ironton, takes its origin from the meetings of Catholics held at James Reilly's house, in Ironton, in March, 1863. Monthly services were celebrated by the Rev. Father MeKee, now of Phila- delphia, for a period of two years, beginning with this date. In 1865 the present chapel, which had been built by John Campbell, and had been used for some time by the Methodists, became the property of Horace Balliet, and was by him sold to the Catholies. The church was called St. Patrick's, in memory and honor of Patrick Dempsey and Patrick McCann, who were prominent among the original members. Ser- vices have been held regularly by Father Mckee since 1865, and later by Fathers John and Burns. The Rev. Father McFadden has at present charge of the church. A parish school, with a large number of pupils, is conducted in connection with the church.
At Schnecksville and Saegersville preaching stations have also been established. At the former place Rev. J. S. Reninger has been preaching since the spring of 1876 to meetings of members of the Union Church, held in the school-house. No organ- ization as a congregation has yet been effected.
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The United Brethren also have a small church at Schnecksville. This has taken the place of a church building which formerly stood on Henry Leh's land. 'The congregation consists of about half a dozen fam- 1872.
Siegers, the Bleilers, the Metzgers, and others. No regular organization has yet been made. Rev. Joshua Derr, of Allentown, was the first pastor. He was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Steek, and he by the Rev. O. N. Leopold, after a vacancy of several years. Rev. E. J. Fogel commenced preaching about six years ago, and still continues to do so.
The Sunday-School .- Besides the Sunday-schools at Union Church, Ironton, and Laury's, already men- tioned, others have been organized in various parts of the township. As a general rule, the meetings are held in the public school-houses. At Schnecksville a Sunday-school was organized in the spring of 1847, by Peter Gross, Esq., and Henry Roekel. It is in a flourishing condition, and is at present under the superintendence of Henry D. Gross, Esq., and Jonas Acker. Following is a list of all the Sunday-schools in the township, with the name of the superintendent, the number of scholars, and the faith which is taught :
Selmecksville, Frank Scherer, Intheran and Reformed 50
Neff's, Richard D. Wotring, Lutheran and Reformed. 70 Schnecksville, Hiram Croll, Evangelical. ... Laury's, William S. Haas, Lutheran and Reformed ... 85 Laury's. H. A. Frantz, Lutheran and Keformed. 55 Nell's ( Union Church), E. D. Rhoads, Lutheran and Reformed 70 Schnecksville, 11. D. Gross, Lutheran and Reformed. 65 Ballietsville, or Ironton, F. P. Brown, Lutheran and Reformed. 65
Ballietsville, John Kuebner, Lutheran and Reformned, 45
Selmeeksville, Asa Knorr, Lutheran and Reformed.
55
Lanry's, Jacob Linderman, Lutheran and Reformed.
45
Rockdale, E. W. Yell, Lutheran and Reformed .. 4.5
The love of the church instilled by the original settlers into the breasts of their descendants has not died out, but, on the contrary, has increased with the passing of generations, and to-day hardly any adults can be found in the township who are not members of the Christian Church, and living in the open pro- fession of the principles, as well as in the practices, taught by Luther and Calvin.
The Schools .- The early German and Swiss set- tlers came with a fair share of connon-school learn- ing, and there were but few among them who could not read and write. They recognized the advantages that instrnetion, even of a primary nature, would con- fer on their children. Hardly were they established as a community before they resolved to erect a place of worship, and with it the school-house. This, as oldest school-house within the present limits of the township was the one erected at what is now Union- ville, about the year 1755. It was a low building of logs, with small windows, and consequently poor light and ventilation. It stood in the meadow opposite the church building, near a walnut-tree, which is still preserved. The building was double, one side being occupied by the teacher and his family, and the other being used for school purposes. Instruction was of the most primitive description, and entirely in Ger- man. The only books used were an A, B, C book, or primer, the Psalter, and the New Testament. Some of the teachers were edneated men from Germany, but generally their qualifications for the position of
ilies, and has been holding services regularly since elsewhere, was the case in North Whitehall. The
In the year 1852 members of the Jordan Reformed and Lutheran congregations, residing at or near Saegersville, associated themselves, under the name of the Union School and Meeting Institute, for the purpose of erecting a school-house, which should also serve as a meeting-place for holding divine services. Samuel Saeger (now deceased) and Reuben Gacken- bach were appointed a building committee, and the cost of construction was defrayed by the collection of contributions. After its completion, a bell was placed in the steeple by the late Peter Sieger, of Philadel- phia. After a number of years the original owners turned the property into a stock arrangement, of which the principal shares are now held by the | teacher were of a limited degree. Besides having the
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NORTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP.
charge of the school, the teachers were also the organ- ists of the congregation. There may have been other schools in the township at this early date, but we have not found any record of them. This first house at Unionville was succeeded, about 1808, by a more pre- tentious structure of stone, the expense of erecting which was defrayed by holding a lottery, authorized by an act of Assembly passed the 15th day of February, 1808. This was successfully conducted by a commit- tee composed of Daniel Snyder, Frederick Hausman, Peter Kern, Michael Deiber, Stephen Balliet, and Peter Butz. Like its predecessor, it was a parochial school, and was conducted upon the same methods. It is still standing, owned by the Unionville congre- gation, and is now used as a residence by Mr. E. D. Rhoads, the present teacher of the public school at Unionville.
The present school-house is a brick building, and has been constructed since the passage of the school law of 1834. It stands on land owned by the congregation, devoted to this purpose. There are two schools, graded. The teachers at Unionville since the earliest times have been Diehl, - Krout, Adam Gilbert, Yost Muckenhaupt, Daniel Koener, and John Rinker.
As already stated, German was the ouly language taught in all the schools up to 1816, when the first English school was established at Ballietsville. In that year the English School Society was formed, and at a meeting held on the 29th of March, Stephen Bal- liet was elected president, and George Deichman, Jacob Schneider, and Christian Troxell were elected managers. Peter Romich and Peter Butz were the secretaries of the meeting. It was resolved to build a house, twenty by twenty-four feet in extent, and that each of the twenty subscribers to the house deliver one short and one long log towards its construction by the Ist of May following. Besides the officers already named, the subscribers were composed of the follow- ing : Nicholas Wotring, Peter Wotring, Samuel Sny- der, Abraham Jacob, Wilhelm Rinker, Nicholas Scheirer, Michael Frack, Peter Graff, Joseph Balliet, Frederick Hansman, Solomon Graff, George Frantz, Peter Rumble, and John Lanry. The building was erected about one hundred yards southeast of Balliets- ville, and was plastered within. Along the three walls of the interior were placed long desks, sloping up to the wall, with high benches without backs. One of these benches was occupied by the grown-up boys, another by the larger girls, and the third by the smaller boys and girls who were just beginning to read and write. In the centre of the room, around a clumsy wood-stove, sat on two rows of benches with- out backs the smallest children, who had nothing but their printers to handle. Near the stove, and along the fourth side of the building, was the teacher's desk, painted red, about five feet high, with a bench of cor- responding altitude. Behind his desk, on the wall, were hung the hats, shawls, and scarfs of the scholars.
In the corner stood a wooden bucket filled with water, to which the children often journeyed during the long school hours, which lasted from eight in the morning till half-past four or five in the afternoon, with an in- termission of an hour at noon for dinner. This was generally taken by the children in the school-room, and during school hours the baskets and receptacles in which it was brought stood in a tempting row, flank- ing the water-bucket. The teachers were chosen by the neighbors, or sometimes began keeping school without consulting the wishes of the community in the matter at all. If the teaching of one of this latter kind was not agreeable to the parents they would not send their children, and thus effectually " freeze" out the self-constituted master by stopping his salary. Some of the teachers were well educated, but many were nothing better than the "tramp" of the present day, who, being out of a job, opened a school for lack of other employment. The course of instruction in these early schools embraced reading, writing. spelling, and arithmetic. The books used were Comly's " Primer and Spelling-Book," Murray's "Introduc- tion to the English Reader," " English Reader, and Sequel," Frost's " United States History," and " Pike's Arithmetic." Grammar and geography were unknown sciences. The discipline in the early schools was in- necessarily severe, and at times even cruel. School terms were seldom longer than four months, and many of the children were not sent to school longer than for one-fourth of that time. The schools were opened and closed with singing and prayer, after the good old German fashion. The exercises for each half of the day consisted of reading twice and spell- ing once, with writing and ciphering at their seats in the intervals by the older scholars. Little attention was paid to penmanship, writing was done with quills, and the making and mending of these was one of the principal qualifications demanded in the teacher. The teachers of the early parochial schools were paid by the parents of the pupils, but took out a great por- tion of their remuneration by " boarding around," as it was called.
The English school building at Ballietsville was used till about 1865, when, upon the erection of a sub- stantial new briek school-house on top of the hill overlooking the village, it was transformed into a dwelling-house, and is now so used. The teachers at Ballietsville have been Dalton, Wallace, Roberts, Custis, Ellis, MeCarthy, Handwerk, Douahue, Frazer, Bissing, Jolmn Barton, Peter Weida (now living at Allentown), Adolph Bocking (of Düsseldorf, Prussia), C. Williams, M.D. (of Coplay), John Clifton (of Easton), Revs. Alfred Dubs and 1. 11. Dnbs, Bow- man, Pilneger, Kluge, T. F. Emmens (at present editor of the Easton Express), Ward, Gruver, 11. S. Moyer, George F. Hottel, and Wilson.
Other school-houses, generally of logs, with no pre- tensions to architecture, and with no regard to light or ventilation, were also erected in the early part of
.
536
HISTORY OF LEHIGHI COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
this century at the Union Slate-Quarries, in Deibert's Valley, at Schneeksville, and near Siegersville.
The poor were often unable in the early times to send their children to the schools provided, even for the short terms they were, and we find in the ac- counts of the county treasurer the following credits allowed for amounts paid for the edueation of the poor in North Whitehall, in accordance with the pro- visions of the act of March 29, 1824: For the year 1828, $15.01; for 1830, $13.29; for 1833, $8.07; for 1834, $25.59; for 1835, $73.91; for 1836, $51.35; for 1837, $121.21 ; for 1838, 8114.15 ; and for 1839, 8118.05.
Previous to the enactment of the general school law of 1834 it was the custom in communities which had erected school-houses to elect, generally in the spring, trustees to take charge of the school interests. Thus the records of the court show that on the 19th of May, 1825, no trustees having been elected in North Whitehall, the following were appointed for that purpose by the court, viz. : Peter Ruch, to serve for one year, Peter Gross, Esq., for two years, and George Scheurer, for three years. The first full board of which there is a record was composed of Dr. Wil- liam Kohler, Dr. H. O. Wilson, Daniel Scager, Esq., Rev. Joseph S. Dubbs, and David Laury.
After the acceptance, in the year 1843, of the pro- visions of the act of 1834, the schools attained a degree of prosperity and discipline they had not known before. More and better school-houses were built, until at the present time they number seven- teen, all substantial buildings of briek, and mostly fur- nished with modern school appliances. These accom- modate eight hundred and two children, who are divided among twenty schools, fourteen of which are mixed and six graded. These schools are generally named after the localities in which they are found, and follow below, with the teachers in charge during the winter of 1883-844:
Teacher.
1. Siegersville ... R. M. Henninger.
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