USA > Pennsylvania > Carbon County > Portrait and biographical record of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties, Pennsylvania. : Containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 67
USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > Portrait and biographical record of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties, Pennsylvania. : Containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 67
USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > Portrait and biographical record of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties, Pennsylvania. : Containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 67
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The marriage of our subject occurred in 1878, at Bethlehem, when Miss Clara H. Steckel became his wife. She was born at Doylestown, Bucks Coun- ty, Pa., and died September 6, 1894, at Bethlehem, deeply regretted by her husband and many friends. She left one son, Willic R.
In recognition of his ability and integrity, Mr. Schnabel has been honored with several offices of trust. He was Councilman from the Fourth Ward on the Democratic ticket, and for three years was chairman of the Police Committee, besides serving on numerous other committces. He is a promi- nent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Royal Arcanum, and is one of the charter members of Grace Lutheran Church, and at the present time Secretary of the Sunday-school. He was one of the incorporators of the Bethlehem Board of Trade, and resides at No. 96 Broad Street.
The character of Mr. Schnabel needs no elabora-
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tion at the hands of the biographer. From the simple recital of the successive events of his career the future generations who may be interested in tracing his influence and position in Northampton County will be at no loss to form a just estimate of his true deserts.
EWIS A. STERNER. Farming and stock- raising have formed the chief occupation of this gentleman, and the wide-awake manner in which he has taken advantage of every method and idea tending toward enhancing the value of his property has had considerable to do with his success in life. He is now living in South Whitehall Township, where he was born October 16, 1840.
Adam and Maria (Yost) Sterner, the parents of our subject, were born respectively in Whitehall and Salisbury Townships, this county, and the grandfather of our subject, Abraham Sterner, was well known throughout the Lehigh Valley. His father was born in Germany, and came to America at a time when Indians were the principal occu- pants of the Keystone State.
The father of our subject departed this life in 1872, and his three sons and one daughter who sur- vive are: John; Jonathan; Elmina, widow of Levi Freeman; and Lewis A. He was a member of the Lutheran Church and bore his share in the up- building and development of the county, being ever found in the front rank of those enterprises calculated to promote the general welfare. In his political views he was a Democrat. Mrs. Maria Sterner preceded him by two years to the better land.
Lewis A., of this sketch, was reared to mature years in Whitehall Township, and during his early life attended the common schools near his home. He had not the advantages of a higher education, but has been a great reader through life, and his studies in private have made him a well informed man. Mr. Sterner was married, December 17, 1863, to Miss Sarah Lichtenwalner, who was born in this
township February 15, 1843. She was the daugh- ter of Charles and Eliza (Schaadt) Lichtenwalner, also natives of this county, and who were old and valued residents of Macungic Township. Mrs. Sterner's parents were also well known throughout this locality, and rcared a large family of children, of whom ten are living at the present time. They are Edwin, Sarah, Leonia, George, Amanda, Charles, Maria, James, Catherine and Lizzie.
To Mr. and Mrs. Sterner two children have been born, Edwin and Clement. In the spring of 1864 they came with their family to South Whitehall Township and located upon their present farm of one hundred and twenty acres. It is under good cultivation and the place is highly improved with substantial buildings and all modern accessories and conveniences. It is neat and thrifty in ap- pearancc and indicates the enterprise and public spirit of the owner.
Our subject and his wife are members of the Baptist Church at Wennersville and are greatly interested in church work. Mr. Sterner votes the Democratic ticket and is at all times interested in the welfare of the community and the advance- ment of its moral and educational interests. He has served for many years as a member of the School Board, and since his residence here his hon- orable and straightforward course has won the confidence and good wishes of a large circle of friends.
OHN FULLAGAR, the efficient and popular agent for the Lehigh Valley Railway Com- pany at Hokendauqua, and also Postmaster of this place, is a native of Schenectady County, N. Y., and was born October 11, 1833. He is of English lincage, his parents, John and Mary Fullagar, having been born in good old Eng- land. In the Empire State he grew to manhood, receiving an excellent education in the public schools of Schenectady.
His father having for many years engaged in the mercantile business at Schenectady, our sub- ject early gained a thorough knowledge of the de-
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tails of that trade, and for some time was in part- nership with his father at that place. During the war he was for two years in the commissary de- partment with the Army of the Potomac. In 1866 he secured a position as operator and station agent at Eatontown, N. J., and remained in that city two years or more. Thence he came to Hokendauqna, and has since been station agent for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. For a number of years he has officiated as Postmaster of the village.
The marriage of Mr. Fullagar occurred May 16, 1878, at which time he was united with Miss Sophia Tettemcr, a native of New Jersey. She is the daughter of Samuel and Harriet Tettemer, the for- mer deceased, and the latter still a resident of New Jersey. One child, George C., blesses the union of Mr. and Mrs. Fullagar. The family is one of prominence in the social circles of Hoken- dauqua and Whitehall Township, and is univer- sally esteemed.
Mr. Fullagar is a man of large, generous nature, who never fails to lend a helping hand to the poor, and is ever ready to do all in his power to aid those who are struggling hard to succeed. Many and stanch are the friends he has. His name is as- sociated with various enterprises to promote the development of the interests of this section of the country. In him the Republican party finds one of its most earnest and intelligent supporters. He and his wife are identified with the Presbyterian Church and are active in all its good work. He has led an exemplary life, and whether as a public official, as a business man, or in his private capacity, his reputation is unblemished.
J. GERLACH, a merchant of Bethlehem, was born in Nazareth, Northampton Coun- ty, Pa., July 9, 1852. His father, Lewis A. Gerlach, was born in the same place, and was a tanner and currier there. Later he moved to Beth- lehem and ran the Bethlehem Tannery for a num- ber of years, remaining in this city until his death, at the age of seventy-two. In politics he was a
Republican. The grandfather, John G. Gerlach, was born in Saxony, Germany, and was married there. He was a dealer in pottery and a carpet- weaver, and after coming to this country located at Nazareth, where he followed the same pursuit. He died at that place.
Mrs. Louisa (Weaver) Gerlach, the mother of E. J., was born in Lower Saucon, and is the daughter of Kraft Weaver, who was a prominent farmer at that place. She now resides with her daughter, Mrs. Frances Flux, and is seventy-four years of age. There were seven children in her family, our subject being the fifth in order of birth. He was reared at Bethlehem, and attended the Moravian school there. While still a boy he learned the tan- ning business, and at the age of eighteen went to Coopersburg, where he worked for Samuel Kern. From Coopersburg he went to various other places in the state, still working as a journeyman. In the year 1877 he went to Hecktown, Northampton County, Pa., and there engaged in business for him- self as a wagon and coach manufacturer, remaining there until the spring of 1880, when he sold out and located at Bethlehem. At this place he formed a partnership with a Mr. Grube, and continued with him for two years, when he bought out his interest.
Mr. Gerlach has the natural capacity to promote his material interests and make a profitable future, but a disastrous fire which overtook him June 12, 1891, prevented for a time such a consummation. Undaunted by this catastrophe, he immediately commenced having a new three-story building erected, the dimensions of which are 30x100 feet. It contains an elevator and all modern equipments, and has a warehouse adjacent, its dimensions being 17x85 feet. He is now a dealer in cotton and woolen rags, cement, building and roofing paper, plaster, sand, marble dust and phosphate, and em- ploys about forty men.
The first marriage of Mr. Gerlach occurred at Limeport, Lchigh County, Pa., when he was united with Miss Castelia Betting, who was a native of that place. She died there in 1876, having become the mother of two children. Our subject was again married, at Bethlehem, this umion being with Miss Sarah N. Hartzell, who was born at Hecktown.
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There were three children by this marriage, Annie L., Edwin B. and Emma M. Mr. Gerlach is a prominent member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, Royal Arcanum, Knights of the Golden Eagle, and the Knights of the Mystic Chain. In politics he is a Republican.
D ANIEL C. MALONE, M. D., the oldest and one of the most successful physicians re- siding in South Bethlehem, has a large practice in his neighborhood and vicinity, and is well known as an able, intelligent citizen, one worthy of coufidence and esteem. He is a native of this state, having been born in Eastou, the date of his birth being January 27, 1845.
The father of our subject, John C. Malone, was born in Ireland, and when a boy emigrated to the United States with his parents, who immediately located in the above placc. He was given an ex- cellent education, and taught school first in New Jersey, and later in the above city. Subsequently he did contract work on the railroad and canal, and on abandoning this occupation removed to New Jersey, and engaged in farming in Warren County. He departed this life in 1875, when on a visit in Trenton, N. J. The mother of our sub- ject, who prior to her marriage was Miss Magda- lene Smalley, was born in Warren County, N. J., and died in South Bethlehem iu 1876. Daniel C. was the youngest in the parental family of eight children, only three of whom are living at the pres- ent time. His brother William during the late war served in a New Jersey regiment, and was Quartermaster-Sergeant of his company. He is now deceased, having departed this life in New Jersey.
The original of this sketch atteuded first the common and later the high school in Easton, after which he went to Philipsburg aud became a stu- dent in the Leui Lenate Institute. From there, in 1863, he went to Washington, D. C., where he was clerk in a branch of the Surgeon-General's office
until the close of the war. While therc he decided to follow a professional life, and in 1865 returned to Easton and began the study of medicine under the tutelage of Dr. C. C. Field. The following year he entered the medical department of the Pennsylvania University, from which he was grad- uated with high honors in 1868.
When ready to establish himself in the practice of his profession, our subject came to South Beth- lehiem and bought out the business of Dr. Hittlc. He located on Third Street, where he has resided ever since, and, as stated above, he enjoys the honor of being the oldest physician in the city. Since locating here the Doctor has taken a special course in the University Hospital of Pennsylvania. He is a skillful surgeon, and has built up an cx- tended and largely increasing practice, and won the regard of the general public. In religious af- fairs he is a member of the Church of the Holy In- fancy, and in politics is a believer in Democratic principles. He has never married.
ILLIAM MILLER. Iu compiling an account of the different business enter- prises of Whitehall we desire particu- larly to call our readers' attention to Mr. Miller, who, in company with William Weider, is one of the successful coal merchants of the place. He is a native of this state, and was born in Northampton County, October 27, 1837, to Jolin and Maria Miller, old residents of this county.
He whose name heads this sketch was reared to man's estate principally in Northampton County. He was deprived by death of his father when only nine years of age, after which he was thrown upon his own resources, and from that time on he was compelled to make his own way in the world. For many years he worked out on farms by the month, and at the age of twelve or fourteen began boat- ing on the Lehigh Canal. He was thus engaged for about fifteen years, and during a good portion of the time owned and operated his own boats.
As might be expected, Mr. Miller received only a very limited education, as far as attending school
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went, but being naturally of a studious turn of mind, he availed himself to the utmost of every opportunity for gaining knowledge, and has ac- quired a good idea of business and is a man of accurate judgment. In 1879 Mr. Miller opened up a hotel in Whitehall, of which he was proprietor until 1888, when he retired from that kind of business, and two years later, in company with William Weider, engaged in the eoal business at Whitehall, under the firm name of Miller & Weider. They are pleasant, genial and upright gentlemen, and their honorable conduet has won for them a large patronage.
The lady to whom Mr. Miller was married in 1858 was Miss Elvina L., daughter of Abraham Frantz, a native of this county. In social affairs our subject is identified with the Order of American Mechanies, and religiously is a devoted member of the Lutheran Church. Among the residents of this section none are more highly regarded for the traits of character which make up a good eitizen, kind neighbor and Christian man than the original of this sketch. IIe has shown what a man can accomplish by hard work and elose attention to whatever he may have in hand, and whatever man has done there is always a chance for man to do again.
U RIAH KURTZ, a prominent business man of Catasauqua, is proprictor of the flour- ing-mill at this place, and has been active in thic upbuilding of the city. His birth occurred in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, February 11, 1842, he being a son of Henry Kurtz, whose history appears in the sketch of Milton Kurtz, to be found elsewhere in this work. Uriah Kurtz is a farmer's son, and was reared on a farm and there inured to agricultural pursuits, his education being such as was afforded by the district schools of the neighborhood. At the age of seventeen lie commenced an apprenticeship in the milling busi- ness with the firm of Berger & Younger, in the
same mill which he now operates. At the end of eighteen months he was obliged to leave the busi- ness on account of poor health and return to the old homestead. In 1863 he enlisted as a member of Company B, Thirty-eighth -Pennsylvania Militia, being sent to Gettysburg, and on the expiration of his term of service he was mustered out at Read- ing.
On returning from the war Mr. Kurtz went baek to the farm, and for a year and a-half was employed again in a mill. However, it seemed best that he should turn his attention to carrying on a farm, whieli he did for a number of years, the old homestead, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, being still in -the possession of the family. From 1875 to 1891 Mr. Kurtz eondueted a success- ful dairy business, selling milk in this city during a period of fifteen years, and acquiring a comfort- able competence. In 1891 he leased the mill which he now runs and returned to the trade he had learned in his youth. The mill is run by water- power from the Lehigh River, and the improved processes of the day are used, the capacity of the mill being eighty barrels per day. The special brands known as " Pride of the Valley " and " Safe Harbor " have a wide reputation for purity and uniformity of quality. Four men are employed in the mill, and the trade is constantly increasing.
The old home whieli adjoins the eity is still operated by Mr. Kurtz, and in 1871 he laid out forty acres in borough lots, of which he has sold all but twelve acres. He has himself built five houses on this land on Howertown and Bridge Streets. Kurtz Street was named for the family. In 1893 our subject laid out the whole farm in lots, of which he is sole agent, and the property is meet- ing with a ready sale.
In 1870 Mr. Kurtz was married in Allentown to Miss Catherine, daughter of William Ruch, a farmer, whose death occurred in 1893. Having no children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz have taken two children of the latter's brother to bring up, their names being Jennie and Harley R. A member of Fuller Post, G. A. R., our subject is also affiliated with the Republican party. He has been Assessor for two years of Catasauqua, and has served on grand and petit juries. A leading
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member of the German Reformed Church, he has served in the offices of Deacon and Trustee, at one time was Sunday-school Superintendent, and is now an Elder in the church. He is a man of strict integrity, honorable and upright in all his business dealings.
AMES THOMAS. The Lehigh Valley has few industries of greater importance than the Davies-Thomas Foundry and Machine Works, which is one of the most successful enterprises of Catasauqua. It was established in 1865 by the firm of Davies, Thomas & Co., who conducted it for three years. In 1868 the senior partner and his son bought the interest of Mr.
. Thomas, and the business was carried on under the firm title of Davies & Son until the death of the elder Mr. Davies in 1876. Since that time Davies, Thomas & Co. have been the proprietors . The works are situated on the east bank of Cata- sauqua Creek, adjoining the borough limits, and cover about five acres of floor space. The works. contain every convenience for the successful pros- ecution of the work, and the quality of the prod- ucts is inferior to none.
The success of this enterprise is duc in no small measure to the energy and business ability of the junior partner, the subject of this sketch. A rec- ord of his lineage and life will therefore possess for our readers more than ordinary interest. He is of Welsh parentage, his father, Hopkin Thomas, having been born in Glamorganshire, South Wales in 1793. The latter remained on the home farm , until about sixteen years of age, when he was ap- prenticed to the Neath Abbey Works, near Neath, South Wales, to learn the trade of a machinist. Possessing more than ordinary ability, it was not long after the expiration of his apprenticeship be- fore he was promoted to a high position by his employers.
While he met with fair success in Wales, Hop- kin Thomas realized that America offered better opportunities than his own country, and therefore in 1834 he emigrated hither. Landing in Phila-
delphia, he obtained employment without difficulty in the Baldwin Locomotive Works, and later en- tered the shops of Garrett & Eastwick. His next position was as Master Mechanic of the roads and mines of the Beaver Meadow Railway Company, and while thus employed his inventive genius was further developed. In his mechanical inventions and appliances he was conceded to be the pioneer of the Lehigh Valley. Through one of these in- ventions anthracite coal was first made available for use in locomotives, and in the application of coal as a fuel he was at least twenty years in ad- vance of all others. He invented and successfully used the chilled cast-iron carwheel, as also the most improved and successful mine pumps and machinery of the day. In mechanical matters, in railroad and in coal interests he may justly be re- garded as a public benefactor.
Notwithstanding his unusual ability, Mr. Thomas was peculiarly modest and unassuming in his char- acter, and it was this fact that prevented him from gaining fame and wealth. Content to elevate humanity and benefit mankind, he gave no care to realizing from his inventions. In his business relations he was upright, in his social intercourse genial, and in his home the typical head of a happy domestic circle. He married Miss Cath- erina Richards, of Merthyr-Tydvil, South Wales. They were the parents of the following children: William R .; Mary, Mrs. James H. McKee; Helen, Mrs. John Thomas; James; and Kate M., wife of James W. Fuller. The father of this family died in Catasauqua May 12, 1878. He had been a resi- dent of this borough since 1853, when he was ap- pointed Master Mechanic of the Crane Iron Works.
The subject of this sketch was born in Philadel- phia, September 22, 1836, and is the youngest son of his parents. He accompanied his parents to Catasauqua, and from this place, about 1859, he went to Parryville to take the superintendency of the Carbon Iron Works. In 1871 he went to Jef- ferson County, Ala., and while there held the po- sition of Manager of the Irondale and Eureka Iron Companies, and enjoys the distinction of having made the first coke iron in Alabama. Re- turning to Catasanqua in 1879, he formed a part- tership with George Davies under the firm name
JOHN BUZZARD, M. D.
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of Davies & Thomas. The works have been en- larged from time to time and are now among the most extensive and best equipped of their kind in the state.
With every enterprise calculated to promote the prosperity of Catasauqua Mr. Thomas is promi- nently identified and in warm sympathy. Through his efforts the borough seeured the Electric Light and Power Company, of which he is one of the principal owners. He is President of the Wahne- tah Silk Mill Company. Though not taking an active part in politics, he has frequently been chosen to occupy positions of trust and responsi- bility, and represented the Republican party as delegate to the national convention at Minneap- olis. He takes an active interest in the welfare of the sehool system, and served for some years on the School Board. In religious belief he is con- neeted with the Methodist Episcopal Church at Catasauqua, and was instrumental in securing the ereetion of the edifice adorning the corner of Fifth and Walnut Streets.
J OHN BUZZARD, M. D., is a successful phy- sician, and has a large praetiee in Bangor, where he has been located since 1875. He is proprietor of the Opera House Drug Store, the largest of the kind in this part of the state. He was one of the organizers of the Bangor Bank, which was subsequently merged into the First Na- tional Bank, in which eoneern he was a Director for eight years. He was also President of the Merchants' Bank after its organization for some two years, and was a Director in the Bangor & Portland Railroad for a period of ten years. With the last-named company he has been for years a surgeon, and is now Surgeon-in-Chief.
The Buzzard family originated in Germany, and the Doctor's great-grandfather was one of the early settlers of this eounty, being a locksmith by trade. His grandfather, who bore the Christian name of John, was a native of the county, and lived about a mile east of Bangor. He was a suc-
cessful farmer, and also was_master of the gun- smith's trade. On his demise, his remains were buried in the old Mennonite Cemetery in the bor- ough of Bangor. He was a Whig, and a devoted adherent of the Mennonite faith. Of his six chil- dren, one only survives.
George Buzzard, the Doctor's_father, was born in this place, and followed his trade of a black- smith throughout his life. He was a Republican, and a member of the Evangelieal Church. For his wife he chose Mary Gruver, daughter of Will- iam Gruver, of this county, and to them were born eleven children. Isaae, who first married a Miss Chamberlain, after her decease wedded Miss Ho- henshild; Josiah, whose wife was formerly Miss Chamberlain, resides in Stroudsburg, Pa .; Amos, now living at Bangor, married Miss Aekman; George died in Florida; Caroline is Mrs. Harrison Shannon, of Windsor, Conn .; Mary, deceased, was the wife of Christian Bruch; Sarah is Mrs. Marsh- all Hutchison; Louisa is Mrs. P. J. Albert, of Bangor; Susie and Emma, deceased, were wives re- speetively of A. Swayze, of New Jersey, and Rev. Walter Piper, of Iowa; and John, our subject, completes the family. Isaae, the eldest son, was a Captain in Company K, One Hundred and Fifty- third Pennsylvania Infantry, during the late war, and fought in the engagements at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, receiving slight wounds during the latter battle. He has been Justice of the Peace, and is now engaged in the insurance business. Jo- siah was also a wearer of the blue during the war, and marched with Sherman to the sea.
Dr. John Buzzard was born in Upper Mt. Bethel, this county, September 21, 1851. At the age of sixteen years he began teaching school, and taught in the public school of Bangor. He followed the teacher's profession in Northampton County for a time, and later took a normal and scientific course at Kutztown. He began reading medicine with Dr. A. A. Seem, of Bangor, and in 1873 entered the Long Island Medieal College, from which he graduated two years later. Soon afterward he be- gan practice in this place, which has been the field of his labors ever since. In 1892 he took the regu- lar course in the Medical School of New York City, and subsequently, in the same institution,
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