USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania; genealogy-family history-biography; containing historical sketches of old families and of representative and prominent citizens, past and present, Volume I > Part 69
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Christopher Hess was born in Baden, Germany, and spent his early life in that country, coming to America when thirty-three years old. Settling at Columbia, Lancaster Co., Pa., he followed furnace work for many years, until 1866, when he moved to New Jersey and bought a farm. Thereafter he was engaged in farming until his death, which occurred when he was sixty- six years old, and he is buried in New Jersey. His wife, Elizabeth (Vickline); also died in New Jersey, reaching the advanced age of eighty-four years. They
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were the parents of four children: Sophia, who married Bernard Bollman; Christopher; Lambert; and Anna, who married Fred Berchdoldy.
Lambert Hess was a child when the family removed to New Jersey, and he received his education in the parochial schools there. He assisted his father with the farm work until seventeen years old, when he went to Philadelphia to learn the trade of baker, which he followed for some years in that city. Afterwards he became occupied with carpenter work, upon which his present business interests were practically established. Coming to Pottsville, Schuyl- kill county in 1888, he was employed at the Pioneer furnace there for about three years, after which for several years he worked with Andrew Baumgerten, before he engaged in contracting for himself. He does a general contracting business, and keeps from seven to ten men in his employ, his services being in demand wherever his work is known. The ice houses at Tumbling Run and Shenandoah are among the substantial structures which have been intrusted to him in Schuylkill county. His work and worth in this section are favorably recognized. He has been a resident of Mount Carbon for the last thirty years, and has taken a prominent part in the administration of public affairs in that borough, having been president of the council for the last fifteen years, and also a member of the school board. He has done reliable work in the interest of the community. Socially Mr. Hess belongs to Lodge No. 411, Loyal Order of Moose, of Pottsville, and is active in its work, being one of the trustees of that organization. He is also a member of the German Catholic Church of that borough.
Mr. Hess married Catherine Dassel, daughter of William Dassel, of Ger- many. Of the eight children born to this marriage seven died young, Lambert, Jr., being the survivor. The son, who resides at home, is also a carpenter by vocation.
DANIEL DECHERT, M. D., late of Schuylkill Haven, had a well rounded life which touched so many phases of the development of the county that the merest outline of his activities would necessarily contain references to some of the most important advancements made in the forty years of his resi- dence therein. He had the largest general practice of any physician in the county, and it would be difficult indeed to draw the line between his personal and his professional popularity. Among his brother physicians, as among his patients, he was not only held in affectionate esteem but looked up to for his attainments in the calling of his choice. Yet his extraordinary success in the various business ventures which claimed a large share of his attention was such as to establish the opinion that he was equally able in the management of financial concerns, and he made a record in the public service which alone would have entitled him to place among the most useful men of his day.
Dr. Dechert was a descendant of the Berks county family of the name, of German descent and founded in this country by Peter Dechert, who sailed from Rotterdam in 1752, coming to Pennsylvania. He settled in Cumru township, Berks county, where he owned a farm of 185 acres, in the cultivation of which he was engaged until his death, in 1784. He became the owner of the hotel at Sinking Spring Sept. 26, 1768. On July 19, 1784, his widow, Elizabeth, applied for an order of sale to dispose of certain real estate. In a later petition the children named are John, William, Jacob, Peter, Michael, Daniel and the petitioner, George. It is not apparent which of these was the ancestor of Dr. Dechert. Peter Dechert, the emigrant, was a captain in the Revolutionary
Dane Dechert 1
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war from Jan. 5, 1776, to Feb. 3, 1777. His company, which was raised in the vicinity of Reading, was in active service in New York, and on Nov. 16, 1776, was captured by Howe's army.
John Dechert, the Doctor's grandfather, was born near Reading, and engaged in farming near there throughout his active years. He died in 1865, at the age of eighty-seven, and his wife, whose maiden name was Strunck, lived to the age of ninety-three. She was born ncar Reading. They had a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters. In politics Mr. Dechert was a Whig, in religious connection a member of the German Re- formed Church.
Elijah Dechert, son of John, was born in 1826 near Reading, Berks county, and died April 10, 1893, at Myerstown, Lebanon Co., Pa., where he had settled many years before. He married Mary Kochenberger, and they became the parents of fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters, namely : John, of Myerstown, Lebanon county ; Mrs. George Foesig, of Myerstown; Daniel ; Sarah, who married John Miller, of Philadelphia ; Elijah, living in Lebanon, Pa .; Elizabeth, deceased; Isaac, who died in Myerstown; Adam, of Bethle- hem, Pa., who is employed at the steel plant there; George, of Hershey, Pa .; Annie, wife of John Keeny, living at Myerstown; William, who died at Myers- town in February, 1914; Polly, Mrs. Peiffer; Emma, Mrs. Showers, she and her husband living at Philadelphia; and Amanda, deceased wife of Jacob Kriner.
Daniel Dechert was born at Myerstown Feb. 7, 1846, and began his education in the public schools there. When a boy he worked for a time on the towpath of the Union canal. He completed a course in the Myerstown Academy, and though little more than a boy during the Civil war, served on the Union side under two enlistments, the first time for three months during 1863. He enlisted at Harrisburg, for emergency service during Lee's invasion, and was in the State troops. Subsequently he became a private in Company H. 186th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served until after the close of the war, being honorably discharged in September, 1865. For four years after- wards he was engaged in teaching school, and then commenced to prepare him- self for the medical profession, studying for a time in the office of Drs. Jacob and J. S. Tryon, at Rehrersburg, Berks Co., Pa. He, finished his course in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1871, and the same year located at Cressona, where he was in practice for the next eighteen years. In 1889 he removed to the borough of Schuylkill Haven, which was thereafter his home and professional and business headquarters. He was deputy coroner under Drs. G. H. Halberstadt, D. S. Marshall and Gillars, serving two terms under the latter. Though a stanch Republican, he was in 1879 appointed county almshouse physician, serving three years, and in 1884 was reappointed (again under a Democratic administration), serving one year. In 1904 he was appointed county medical inspector by Dr. Benjamin Lee, head of the State board, and he also served in that capacity under Dr. Samuel G. Dixon, State commissioner of health, resigning on account of the loss of his arm. He was one of the organizers of the Schuylkill Haven board of health, and acted as its president until his death. When Schuylkill county was visited by smallpox along in the early part of 1903 and 1904 Dr. Dechert did noble work in helping to stamp out the disease, giving freely of his time and skill. For years he was surgeon for the Reading and Pennsylvania Railroad Companies. A prominent mem- Vol. I-30
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ber of the Schuylkill County Medical Society, he was its delegate to the con- vention of the American Medical Association held at Chicago in 1893.
Dr. Dechert's political honors came to him unsolicited, and beginning in young manhood he was associated with the administration of government in his locality for a long period. In 1870 he was apointed census enumerator of the largest district in Berks county, and the work occupied fifty-seven days, as he covered the territory on foot. He served one term as treasurer of Schuylkill county ; for seventeen years was a member of the school board at Cressona, during eight years of the time being president of that body; and for several years was a member of the school board of Schuylkill Haven.
With all his professional and public responsibilities Dr. Dechert had time and taste for business. He acquired the ownership of two farms, one at Cressona and another of 200 acres at Jefferson station, this county, and was at one time interested in the Diston Manufacturing Company at Williamsport, Pa., being a large stockholder and one of the directors. He was one of the founders of the Union Safe Deposit Bank of Pottsville, this county, and continued to serve as one of the directors from the time of its establishment until his death. He was an organizer of the Schuylkill Haven Trust Company and the first vice president of that institution, holding that position also until his death; was one of the organizers of the concern which operated the Palisade Amusement Park and a stockholder in same; and owned a block of real estate on Long Island. Fraternally he was at Knight Templar Mason, belonging to Cressona Lodge, No. 426, F. & A. M., and to Constantine Com- mandery, of Pottsville ; a member of the B. P. O. Elks lodge at Pottsville ; of Jere Helms Post, G. A. R., and was preparing to enter the Sons of the Amer- ican Revolution, but was prevented by ill health from carrying out his plan.
In 1907 Dr. Dechert contracted blood poisoning by infection of the thumb of his left hand, and had to undergo amputation of the arm to save his life. However, he maintained active connection with his various undertakings as before, until his death, Oct. 4, 1911. He is buried at Cressona.
On Jan. 16, 1868, Dr. Dechert married Virginia Kline, daughter of Ben- jamin and Katherine Kline, of Rehrersburg, Berks county, and she died May 31, 1884, at the age of thirty-five years, leaving one daughter, Eva M .; the latter attended the West Chester Normal School and the Moravian Semi- nary at Bethlehem, Pa. On Oct. 15, 1885, Dr. Dechert married (second) Ada S. Beck, by whom he had four children: Clare B., now living at home with her mother, who was educated at Bradford Academy, graduating with the class of 1907; Daniel, now a student at Franklin and Marshall Academy, Lancaster, Pa .; Mary M., at home; and Robert B. Dr. Dechert belonged to St. John's Reformed Church at Schuylkill Haven, with which his widow and family are also associated, and he served as trustee for many years, until his death. Mrs. Dechert continues to occupy their old home in the borough.
Dr. Dechert was one of those physicians whose personality is felt in all their professional work. A type of the old school, kind, sympathetic, a coun- selor as well as physician, he yet had the progressive tendency which made it a pleasure for him to keep in touch with the advancements of science, and he followed the most approved modern methods in his medical work. He was never too busy to maintain a humane interest in his fellowmen, and opened his office to a number of aspiring young men, having trained six who became creditable members of the profession.
Jacob Beck, grandfather of Mrs. Dechert, was a native of Wurtemberg,
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Germany, and on coming to this country settled at what is now known as Beckville, in North Manheim township, Schuylkill Co., Pa. He was the founder of that town, having taken up a tract of land there in the year 1811, and dealt quite extensively in timber. By profession a civil engineer, he sur- veyed the line of the Mine Hill railroad. Above the average in intelligence and enterprise, he took a deep interest in the subject of education and was an carly advocate of the free school system, then little understood and unpopular with the very classes it was most intended to benefit. In religion he was a Lutheran, and active in church work. His family consisted of five sons and three daughters: Elizabeth, Frederick, John J., George, Mary, Catherine, William and Edward. The sons were all notably capable men ; Frederick was steward of the county almshouse for many years.
William Beck, son of Jacob, received his education in the public schools, learned and followed the trade of carpenter, and subsequently learned milling, for many years operating Beck's mill very successfully, besides dealing exten- sively in flour and feed. He lived at Beckville, and was station agent for the Lehigh Valley Railway Company at that point. Like his father, he took a keen interest in the matter of public educational facilities, and served as member of the school board of North Manheim township for the long period of thirty- four years. A Democrat, and very prominent in politics, he invariably repre- sented his district in the county conventions, and wielded a strong influence in local affairs. In 1880 he received the nomination of his party for sheriff of Schuylkill county. In his day there was hardly a better known man in Schuylkill county, and he commanded the highest respect. He was a charter member of Tribe No. 82, Improved Order of Red Men, and served as sachem of that organization : was a prominent Mason, belonging to Cressona Lodge, No. 426, F. & A. M .; Mountain City Chapter, R. A. M. (past high priest ), Constantine Commandery, No. 41, K. T., of Pottsville (past commander), and Rajah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Reading.
By his marriage to Matilda Strauch, Mr. Beck had the following children : Ada S., widow of Dr. Dechert; John J., of Reading, Pa .; Catherine A .. Blanche M. and Anna M., all unmarried and living at Cressona; Mabel, who married Edward Silliman, a well known man of Mahanoy City, where they reside ; Clarence F., who is in the employ of the Kingston Coal Company, of Kingston, Pa .; and Effie M., who became the wife of George Stichter, and died in 1905.
JOSEPH S. HOPPES has farmed in West Penn township throughout his active years, though his operations are not now as extensive as formerly and he has sold considerable of his land. As a citizen Mr. Hoppes has always ranked with the best. In public spirit, intelligence, enterprise and thrift, he is a typical member of one of the oldest families in this region, founded here by his great-grandfather, Jonas Hoppes, who as a reward for his services in the Revolution received a grant of land from the Commonwealth of Penn- sylvania, 150 acres, which he located in what is now the township of West Penn, Schuylkill county. Few families can show a more consistent record of fidelity in military duty during the country's hour of need.
John Michael Hoppes, the emigrant ancestor, came to this country from Baden, Germany, it is said about 1740, but the family history of that period is incomplete. He made his home in what is now West Penn township, Schuylkill county, then included in Northampton county, Pa. He had four
1
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sons. Life in this region was full of dangers in those days, for the settlers were never safe from Indian raids, and the father of this family eventually lost his life defending his home against the savages. A band of Indians surrounded and attacked the Hoppes home one night, and in the fight which ensued John Michael Hoppes and two of his sons were killed. The other two sons fought until the attackers withdrew defeated, and saved the mother and daughters. The three victims were buried next day under a pine tree near by, and the survivors decided to break up the home, being thoroughly discouraged by the evil turn of their fortune. One of the sons moved to Virginia and made a permanent settlement there. He succeeded in life, acquiring the ownership of a valuable plantation, and owned slaves. The other son, Jonas, remained in Pennsylvania. Born Jan. 12, 1753, he spent his life in Pennsylvania. When the Revolution broke out he took up arms in the cause of the Colonies, serving seven years. He was in a cavalry regiment and under Washington's command. In the retreat from Philadelphia he was captured by the British and kept without food for three days, was rescued by Lafayette's army, and returned to the service. After the war he became a prosperous farmer in West Penn township, Northampton (now Schuylkill) county, building a log house and barn on his tract, a considerable portion of which he succeeded in clearing. He farmed throughout his active years. His death occurred July 30, 1833, his wife, Catherine (Harr), who was born April 7, 1755, passing away July 5, 1823. They are buried at Zion's Church in West Penn township, and his grave is always decorated on Memorial Day. Mr. Hoppes was one of the most zealous members of Zion's Church, giving the land for the building site and cemetery plot, and he assisted in the erection of the church.
Christian Hoppes, son of Jonas, was born Aug. 16, 1787, in West Penn township, where he was reared and educated. He assisted his father on the home farm, and after his marriage bought a tract comprising 150 acres, of which he cleared a great portion. He had a sawmill which he operated besides cultivating his land, and remained there until his death, Aug. 2, 1856. His wife, Salome (Steigerwalt), born May 28, 1786, died March 31, 1861. They had twelve children, six sons and six daughters, and we have record of: Andrew, who married Susanna Moser or Mosser; Solomon, father of Joseph S. Hoppes; Salome, Mrs. Daniel Nothstein; Rebecca, Mrs. Henry Nothstein; Lydia, Mrs. David Hartung; and Katie, Mrs. Hiram Wehr. It is said the other six children died of dysentery. Christian Hoppes was origi- nally a Democrat, finally a Republican, in politics. He was a prominent mem- ber of the Lutheran congregation of Zion's Church, West Penn township, served as elder and deacon, and assisted in building the present stone church in West Penn township.
Solomon Hoppes, son of Christian, was born July 13, 1809, in West Penn township, where he grew to manhood and received his education. He worked for his father up to the time of his marriage, when he bought twenty acres with a gristmill and sawmill, in New Mahoning township, Carbon Co., Pa. (now owned by Frank Klingerman). Later he bought three hundred acres in West Penn township, Schuylkill county, where his son Joseph now lives, and remained on this tract for fifty years, eventually selling the property to his son Joseph S. and removing to Carbon county, where he died Dec. II, 1860. His wife, Magdalene (Schneider), born Dec. 30, 1810, daughter of Michael and Polly (Sanders) Schneider, died May 5, 1899, and they are
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buried at Zion's Church. Like his father, Mr. Hoppes was an elder and deacon of Zion's Lutheran congregation, in which he was an active worker for many years. Politically he was a Republican. For thirteen years he was captain of a militia cavalry company and attended the battalion meetings regularly. During the Civil war he served in Company E, 27th Pennsylvania Regiment. He and his wife reared a large family: Leah married Eli Noth- stein, and both are deceased; Lydia, deceased, married David Kistler; Salome married Daniel Ziegler, and both are deceased; Polly married David Long- acre, and both are deceased; Fianna died young; Carolina died young ; Daniel married Katie Ziegler, and lives at Allentown, Pa .; Joseph S. is next in the family; Eli, deceased, married Maria Klingerman, of Wanamakers, Pa., and their children are Albert K. (a rural free delivery carrier at Germansville, Pa.), Dr. Dillon K. (a dentist of Tamaqua, Pa., married to Sue Brode) and Minnie ( Mrs. Irwin Reinhart of Wanamakers) ; Solomon, deceased, married Katie Stitzer, of Reading, Pa .; Washington married Annie Straub, and they are residents of Carbon county.
Joseph S. Hoppes was born April 7, 1843, in West Penn township, where he grew up and received his education. He was employed with his father until he enlisted in the Union service. He was first assigned to duty as a teamster, driving four horses, hauling wood to different hospitals and prisons. He set out for Fairfax Court House as driver of an ammunition wagon, but the shipment was watched by Colonel Mosby's guerrillas and four teams were captured, the men, however, escaping. Mr. Hoppes' leader horse was shot. He returned to Washington and was given another team to drive until taken sick. He returned to his father's farm in West Penn township for a time, later reenlisting Aug. 24, 1864, for one year or during the war, in Company A, 202d Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. L. D. Laciar. This regiment was recruited at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, and was under Col. Charles A. Albright. It was organized Sept. 3. 1864, proceeded to Camp Couch, near Chambersburg, Pa., Sept. 10, 1864; on Sept. 23, 1864, was led out on a three days' march for exercise; proceeded via Washington Sept. 29, 1864, to Alexandria, Va .; and was sent to duty at Manassas Gap, taking posi- tion along the road from Thoroughfare Gap to Rectortown. This duty was arduous and the troops were harassed by Mosby and his guerrillas. They participated in a number of skirmishes, and the actions at Salem, Oct. 8th and 16th resulted in some loss. A party of Confederates succeeded in throw- ing trains off the track and poured a volley upon the victims. Then Colonel Albright ordered every building to be burned within a radius of one mile. After the railroad was abandoned they removed the ties and rails to Alex- andria, Va., making their headquarters at Fairfax Station, where they pro- tected the men chopping and the teams moving the wood. Toward the close of May, 1865. the regiment was ordered to Philadelphia, Pa., and was then sent to the coal regions, with headquarters at Tamaqua, Pa. Early in July, Company A was sent to Pittsburgh, Pa., and late that month assembled at Harrisburg. At Occoquan Mr. Hoppes was wounded in the left leg, below the knee, was mustered out with the company. and honorably discharged Aug. 3, 1865.
Returning from the army Mr. Hoppes bought his father's place of 300 acres, part of which was cleared, and he himself had 170 acres under culti- vation. He carried on general farming extensively and profitably until 1913. when he sold 104 acres to Frank Troxell, and is now operating the rest of the
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original tract. He has attended markets at Summer Hill and Nesquehoning. He has assisted in the administration of township affairs in the capacity of school director, and he has been a devoted worker for the promotion of proper educational facilities in his section, having served twenty-two years as treasurer of the school board. In political faith he is a Republican. He adheres to the church of his ancestors, being a leading member of the Lutheran congregation at Zion's Church, which he serves as deacon. Socially he holds membership in the G. A. R., Bertolet Post, No. 484, at Lehighton, and in Washington Camp No. 615, P. O. S. of A., at Andreas ( Sittler), Pa .; he is a charter member of the latter organization.
On May 5, 1867, Mr. Hoppes married Sarah Sittler, who was born Sept. 13, 1839, and died Nov. 16, 1870; she is buried at Zion's Church there. She was a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Everett) Sittler. Mr. and Mrs. Hoppes had one child, Sadie, born Nov. 22, 1869, who is married to James Gehry, a farmer of Germansville, Lehigh Co., Pa .; they have one adopted child, Alice Miller, now the wife of Henry Nothstein. Mrs. Gehry was edu- cated in West Penn township and the academy at Myerstown, and lived at home until her marriage. On Sept. 6, 1873, Mr. Hoppes was married (second) to Elavina Klingaman, born Feb. 24, 1850, daughter of Jeremiah and Leah (Moser) Klingaman. There are no children by this union.
It will be observed that the members of the Hoppes family have a con- sistent record of patriotism and loyalty to the country in times of need, as previously stated. The first American ancestor died as one of the defenders of the frontier ; his son had an unusually long service in the Revolution; and they have been represented in all the wars of the nation since, four serving in the Civil war.
Mr. Hoppes has always been keenly interested in history, and he treas- ures a number of relics of the early days which have come into his possession ; he has a sleigh, the runners of which were made from the first rails that were used on the railroad between Philadelphia and Pottsville; he has the bit that was on the first horse killed at the first battle of Bull Run; an old schooner wagon with which his father hauled produce from West Penn township to Philadelphia, many years ago, using six horses and taking nearly a week to make the round trip; an old buggy with wooden springs, which at one time was the property of an old Revolutionary soldier by the name of Fenster- macher; and an ancient flagstaff tip consisting of spear and axe, used to pro- tect the flag, captured at Trenton, N. J., from the British at the time of the crossing of the Delaware by General Washington.
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