Bedford County PA Archives Biographies.....Diehl, Henry P.
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HENRY P. DIEHL, one of the best known and most influential 
citizens of Colerain township, Bedford County, has for more 
than half a century been prominently identified with its 
agricultural, financial, and political interests.  He was 
born in this township, July 12, 1825, a son of Solomon Diehl 
and a descendant in the fourth generation from Samuel Diehl, 
the founder of the Diehl family of this part of the Union.
 Samuel Diehl, who was of German ancestry, probably of 
German parentage, was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 
1740.  In 1784 he came with his family to Bedford County, 
Pennsylvania, where he became a pioneer of Friend's Cove.  
Rearing his cabin in the wilderness, he labored with the 
persistent energy characteristic of the brave men of those 
days to redeem a homestead, heroically enduring the 
hardships and trials that go to the building up of a 
frontier farm.  He succeeded in his efforts, and there 
continued his residence until his death in 1812.  Prior to 
coming to Pennsylvania, he married a Miss Ritchey, by whom 
he had eleven children. 
  Of these the first-born, John, a native of Loudon County, 
Virginia, was the next in line of descent.  When John Diehl 
was thirteen years old, he came with his parents to Friend's 
Cove, where he spent the rest of his life.  Of his union 
with Mandalene Harclerode eleven children were born, namely: 
Solomon, father of Henry P.; John; Daniel; Philip; Elias; 
Joseph H.; Emanuel J.; Catherine; Eve; Christena; and Mary 
Ann.
  Solomon Diehl (called "Swamp Sol" to distinguish him from 
his cousin Solomon, who was known as "Red Sol") was a 
lifelong farmer of Colerain township, having started out for 
himself in early manhood by purchasing a tract of wild land, 
which he had to clear before he could commence operations as 
a tiller of the soil.  Making an opening in the forest, he 
built a log house for his first dwelling, and in course of 
time improved a comfortable and well-appointed farm.  He was 
a man of energy and industry, and ever took an intelligent 
interest in local matters, assisting by every means in his 
power the development of the township.  His first wife, 
Catherine Koontz, a daughter of David Koontz, died leaving 
one child, Julia Ann, now deceased.  He subsequently married 
Louisa Pensyl, who bore him eleven children, eight of whom 
have passed to the life beyond, namely: Philip, Cornelius, 
Julia Ann, Sophia, Catherine, Rebecca, Susanna, and Hester.  
The three remaining children are : Henry P., the subject of 
this sketch; Zachariah, of Rainsburg, Pa.; and Solomon F., 
of Snake Spring, Pa.
  Henry P. Diehl was educated in the public schools of 
Colerain township, and subsequently taught school five 
winters in the district in which he was reared.  From his 
earliest manhood he has been engaged in agricultural 
pursuits, and during twenty-five or more of his active years 
he dealt extensively in cattle, buying and selling large 
lots, and also carried on a large business in butchering.  
He owns four hundred and forty-eight acres of land, which by 
judicious toil he has converted into a valuable and 
productive farming property, one of the most desirable in 
this locality.
  Mr. Diehl has been intimately associated with various 
business organizations of the town and county, and has 
served his fellow-townsmen in many offices of trust.  He was 
the leading promoter and the organizer of the Friend's Cove 
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, his name appearing first on 
the charter granted to the company.  Having been elected as 
its first president, he served in that capacity the 
following seventeen years, being at the same time agent for 
the company and a member of its Executive Committee.  He is 
still interested in the same line of business, being an 
agent for the German-American Fire Insurance Company of New 
York City.  For a number of years he was a member of the 
Democratic County Committee, and he is still a Democrat with 
liberal views.  For six successive years he was a School 
Director of Colerain township, and for fifteen was Township 
Auditor.  He was at one time nominated as County 
Commissioner, but withdrew from the contest for reasons best 
known to himself.  Actively interested in religious work, he 
is a valued member of the German Reformed church, in which 
he has faithfully served as an Elder for many years.
  Mr. Diehl married on November 22, 1849, Martha Jane, 
daughter of the late Samuel Smith, of Colerain township.  A 
most estimable woman, accomplished in all domestic arts, she 
guided the affairs of her household with a sweet authority 
that was pleasant and refreshing to witness.  She died May 
11, 1892, leaving seven children, namely: William N., of 
Bedford township; Solomon S., of Colerain; Allen Alexander, 
of Colerain; Hester E., wife of Nicholas N. Kegg; Samuel F., 
of Colerain; Edward M., of Colerain; and Philip C., also of 
Colerain township.


Source: Bedford Biographical Review, 1899, Bedford Co., Pa