Church: St Paul's/SalemStone Church 100th Anniversary: Salem Twp, Luzerne Co, PA File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Dalice Fadden Dalice@ccomm.com USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. ____________________________________________________________ HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF SALEM TOWNSHIP'S OLDEST CHURCH SALEM STONE AND ST. PAUL'S LUTHERAN In 1924 the Salem Church celebrated its one hundredth anniversary and published a 32-page booklet containing bits of historical information. Most of this information is from the church record itself. However, the booklet also contains short historical sketches of 17 of the early families. A resume of these sketches is given here: SEYBERT FAMILY - This family came from Germany before the Revolutionary War. Sebastian SEYBERT was one of the first settlers of Salem Township. He was married to a Miss BAUMAN of Lehigh County, actually of Towamensing, Northampton County. They had the following children: Michael, Henry, Sebastian, Bernard, Nicholas, Polly, Betsy, Peggy and Hunteter. Hunteter, the 4th son, married a Miss ZIMMERMAN and they had the following children: Nancy, Ruben, Polly, James, Wallace, Bowman and Savilla. Ruben, the oldest son, married Lydia LONGENBERGER. They had 16 children. BOND FAMILY - Thomas BOND, of English descent, settled in Northampton County. Among his children were three sons, Jacob, Samuel and John. John BOND came to Mifflin Township, Columbia County and married Elizabeth LANTZ. They had six sons and five daughters. MEIXELL FAMILY - Among the first settlers of Salem Township were Philip MEIXELL and his wife Elizabeth WERNER. They came from Bushkill Township in Northampton County in 1810. Philip MEIXELL Jr. married Catherine LENHART, also of Northampton County. They had 11 children, of whom 9 grew to maturity: Elizabeth, Samuel, Peter, Polly, William, Maria, Philip, Michael and George Washington. Peter MEIXELL, the 2nd son, married, first, Elizabeth WEISS and had five children: Jacob W., Adeline, William M., Lydia and Sarah. He married, 2nd, Elizabeth FENSTERMACHER, and had six children, all of whom died, except Peter A. who was a lawyer in Wilkes-Barre. KISNER FAMILY - Jacob KISNER was the pioneer of this family in Salem Township. He was married to Margaret SEYBERT, a daughter of Sebastian. They had the following children: Kate, John, Susan, Polly, William, Sally, Betsy and Ruben. Ruben, the youngest son, was born on October 20, 1816. He married on September 20, 1851, Cordelia, a daughter of Nicholas and Catherine (BEAM) SEYBERT of Briar Creek, Columbia County. KEEN-SEELY FAMILIES - Frederick KEEN (KUHN) was born in Berks County, February 12, 1784. He married Maria STUMP who was also born in Berks County, January 31, 1792. They came to Salem Township in 1816. He was a shoemaker by trade but also a farmer. They were the parents of one child, Leah, who married Jacob SEELY. Frederick KEEN died March 17, 1876. Leah, his daughter was born May 3, 1810 and died October 25, 1889. SEELY FAMILY - Michael SEELY, the ancestor of this family came to Salem Township in 1801. They say he was born in New Jersey in 1750. However, he was probably a son of Michael SEELIG, who arrived at Philadelphia, September 24, 1753. He was married to a Miss DePUI and they had the following children: John, Samuel, Jacob, Susan (Mrs. GARRISON), Mathias, Mary (Mrs. PARKER), and Sarah (Mrs. GARRISON). John SEELY, the oldest son, married Mary WELTZ. Their children were: Jacob, Desiah (Mrs. Samuel POLLOCK), Elsie (Mrs. David COPE), Mary (Mrs. Henry HARMON), and Hulda (Mrs. Adam DREISBACH). Jacob SEELY, the oldest son of John, was born July 24, 1803 on the old Nathan BEACH farm. He married Leah KEEN, and they had the following children: Frederick K., John W., Samuel P., Philip H., Edwin C., Martha A. (Mrs. J.E. PATTERSON), Rachel (Mrs. T.E. EDWARDS), Leah D., (Mrs. N.W. HESS), Henry J., Minerva J. (Mrs. Wilson HESS) and Cecilia E. (Mrs. C.B. SMETHERS). FENSTERMACHER FAMILY - John FENSTERMACHER, Sr. was one of the pioneers of Salem Township. He came from Heidelberg Township, Northampton County in 1815. John FENSTERMACHER Jr. was born August 13, 1813 and died September 10, 1896. REMENSNYDER FAMILY - Adam REMENSNYDER and his wife Catherine WENTZEL, came from Germany in 1856. They were married at Hazleton, Pa. Their 8 children were as follows: Lewis, John, Elizabeth, Catherine, Dorothy, George, Margaret and Henry. The family were originally Reformed, but when that denomination disbanded at Salem, they joined the Lutheran Church. SMETHERS FAMILY - This family, so frequently mentioned in the Salem Records, is descended from Wilhelm SCHMETTER who settled in Allemengel, the Albany-Lynn Township district of Berks and Lehigh Counties. Wilhelm SCHMETTER of Albany Township died in April 1760, and his will was probated at Reading. He left a widow Maria and the following children: John, William, Aaron, George, Jacob, Christian, Anna Elisabeth, Mary, and Valentine. His widow married Jacob BACHMAN of Lowhill Township, Northampton County. Henry SMETHERS, a descendant of Wilhelm, came to Salem Township before 1796. He married Mary HARMON (HERMAN) and they had the following children: Samuel, Josiah, Henry, Jacob, John, Jeremiah, Lavina HESS, Salomia STOUT, and Lydia KEEN. Henry SMETHERS died March 3, 1853. His wife died November 25, 1846. Samuel SMETHERS, son of Henry, married Margaret RABERT, who was born May 21, 1815 and died February 25, 1899. Samuel SMETHERS died December 3, 1874. RABERT FAMILY - The ancestors of the RABERT family came from Heidelberg, now Washington Township, Lehigh County. George RABERT was born March 23, 1779 and died Septeber 20, 1863. He was married to Margaretha SCHNEIDER who was born in 1780 and died August 30, 1849, aged 68 years 10 months. He was a cabinet maker and undertaker and made the furniture for the old Salem Church. They had the following children: Peggy, Polly, Betsy, Lidia, Jonas, and Michael. Jonas RABERT was born March 8, 1805. He married Lydia BILLHEIMER, whose father donated the land on which Salem Church was built. Jonas and Lydia had the following children: Margaret, Amanda, John, Amos, Sylvester, Kate, and Samuel. KLEINTOP FAMILY - Christopher KLINETOP was born in Northampton County, August 17, 1785. He died November 7, 1874. His wife, Catherine HETLER, was born May 21, 1786 and died February 27, 1882. They had the following children: Daniel, Nathan, William, Christopher Jr., Jude KECK, Katie RICHARD, and Hetty PERSON. HARRIS FAMILY - The HARRIS family are descendants of three brothers - Matthias, William and John. These three brothers married sisters of the HOOVER (HUBER) family. THOMAS FAMILY - Henry Thomas, a son of Evan and Sarah (TROUGH) THOMAS, married Margaret RABERT. They were the ancestors of the THOMAS family of Salem Township. Henry THOMAS was a cabinet maker, and together with George RABERT, made the furniture for the old Salem Church. BLANK FAMILY - The BLANK family are descendants of Adam BLANK who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1734, and settled in Bucks County. Later he moved into what was Northampton County and from there descendants of the family came to the vicinity of Nescopeck about 1812. George Adam BLANK Jr. came to Nescopeck about 1812. His wife's name was Magdalena. They had the following children: George and Joseph, who married Maria BITTENBENDER. George Adam BLANK Jr. later moved to Mercer County where he joined a religious community. Joseph BLANK, his son, remained in the Nescopeck area. PROBST-BROBST FAMILY - This family came from Northampton County by way of Catawissa. Daniel PROBST who married Sarah SHAFFER, came to Salem Township about 1848. HARMON-HERMANN FAMILY - The family claim Conrad HARMON as a member of the Hessian Army, but this has not been proven. A Conrad HERMAN arrived in Pennsylvania, November 7, 1754. Conrad HARMAN is said to have settled in what is now Schuylkill County, and with his wife, Margaret HAUSER, came to Salem Township in 1799. They had the following children: John, John Adam, Mary, Molly, Margaret, Mary Elizabeth, and Catherine. John Adam HARMON, 2nd son of Conrad, was born in Schuylkill County, in 1797. He married, first Catherine SMETHERS, widow of his brother John; and 2nd, Sarah VARNER (WERNER). The children with his first wife were: Henry, John, Caroline, Catherine, Samuel, Mary, Margaret; and with his 2nd wife: Solomon, Susan BLOSS, Elisabeth BLOSS, and Sevilla GARRISON. -------------------------------------------------------