Misc: Blue Book Of Schuylkill County By Mrs. Ella Zerbey Elliott: Who Was Who and Why pages 149-189 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Shirley E. Ryan. 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. ___________________________________________________________ SCHUYLKILL COUNTY - BLUE BOOK _______________________________________________________________________________________ Who Was Who Page 149 _______________________________________________________________________________________ FIRST SETTLERS OF SCHUYLKILL COUNTY NEUFERTS, WHETSTONES, POTTS There were other settlers on the site of Pottsville before John Pott’s advent. He was an iron master and established the forge and furnaces, in 1806, before removing here, in what was known as the orchard, near the Schuylkill River. He was a prominent citizen and did much toward the early establishment of the borough. John Lesher, father of Maria Lesher, operated a furnace on Pine Creek and also a forge in Oley Township. John Lesher was a Deputy Wagon Master in the French and Indian War and a representative from Berks County to the Constitutional Convention, 1776, and a member of the General Assembly from 1776 to 1782. The Pott and Whitney families, of Pottsville, are descendants of Maria, daughter of John Lesher, and wife of John Pott. Wilhelm Pott came to America, from Germany, 1734. He first settled in Germantown, Philadelphia, but removed early to Oley Township, Berks County. He died in 1767, leaving two children, John Wilhelm and John Pott. John2 Pott married Maria Hock, 1755. John3 Pott was born January 16, 1759. He married Maria Lesher, July 9, 1765, and came to Pottsville from Oley, 1810. He laid out the borough, 1816, in the original plot, which included only the lots on each side of Centre Street, between Union and Race Streets, and the lots on both sides of Mahantongo as far as Sixth Street. He presented the lot to the borough, upon which the Grammar School building, North Centre Street, now stands, and the park in the rear, which was used as a _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 150 _______________________________________________________________________________________ cemetery and upon which a log school house was built, and also the lot, to the church authorities, upon which St. Patrick’s church is built. William Thompson, great grandfather of Lewis C. and William and Heber S. Thompson, deceased of Pottsville, was in the war of the Revolution. He was a farmer and lived near Thompsontown, Dauphin County, now Juniata, which was named for him. Two brothers, James and John, came from County Antrim, Ireland, and settled, in 1730, near what is now Lebanon, then Lancaster County, and before that Chester County, removing from there to Dauphin County. At Thompsontown, Juniata County, there stands an old mill, established in 1780. In the rear of it on a knoll is a stone house of the Revolutionary period. Here Samuel Thompson, of Pottsville, father of Lewis C., Heber and William Thompson, was born. A great nephew and a great grandson of the originator of this branch of the family live in the old homestead and bear the family name. KLOCKS, CHRISTS, BRESSLERS John Peter Klock came to America, in 1750, with his parents, being then seven years old. They settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania, John coming to Eldred Township in 1793. Six generations are represented in Schuylkill County. Dr. H.A. Klock, of Mahanoy City, and William J. of the Pitman farm, are descendants. Squire Klock was who was one of the early school teachers, of Pottsville, belonged to this family. One of the early pioneers of Eldred Township, when it ws included in Pinegrove, was John Kehler, who came here before 1800. Peter and Felix, of successive generations, lived on the same farm cleared by their grandfather John. They have been prominent and well to do family for five generations in Schuylkill County. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 151 _______________________________________________________________________________________ George Werner, of Reilly Township, who died in 1840, was a Revolutionary veteran. He was the father of Christopher Werner. Edwin Schlicher was born in Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County. He was of the fifth generation of Stoefel Schlicher, who came from the Palatinate, Germany, about 1740. His great grandfather, Henry Schlicher, served in the Revolutionary army. His grandfather, John, and his father, George, were farmers. Dr. J. H. Swaving’s children are lineal descendants of Stoefel Schlicher. George Simon Bressler, born in Manheim, Germany, February 22, 1722, came to Pennsylvania and the Tulpehocken, 1749. He died, 1802, and was buried at Hetzel’s church, near Pinegrove. He was one of the first settlers in Pinegrove Township. Emanuel Christ came to Berks County about 1750. He was a Captain in the Revolutionary War, Continental Line. He had a son Emanuel, whose son Isaac came to Mahantongo Valley, about 1780, when it was included in Pinegrove Township. He died in 1837. The Christs were prominent in the Civil War. George M. Christ, of Ashland, and Colonel Benjamin Christ, of Minersville, were descendants of Emanuel Christ. POTTS, HELMS, HESSERS Peter1 Helm, came from the Rhine Palatinate, sailing from London, 1709, with the one hundred and fifty families for New York, who settled in Livingstone Manor. He was among the seventeen hundred who died shortly after landing. He left a son, Simon, who was the head of the Helm family in New York and Pennsylvania. Peter7 D. Helms, of Pottsville, is a lineal descendant of Peter1 Helm (Peter 6, Peter5, Samuel4, Peter3, Simon2, Peter1.) Samuel4 Helm removed from Sullivan County, New York, where the Helm home - (Note - the figures 1, 2, 3, denote the number of the generation.) _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 152 _______________________________________________________________________________________ stead, erected 1715, is still in possession of one of the family, to Berks County, Pa., and from there migrated to Pike County, Pa., where Peter5 was born. The latter settled near McKeansburg, removing subsequently to Womelsdorf and thence to Myerstown, Pa., where Peter6 was born. Peter Helms with his son, Peter D. Helms, of Pottsville, removed to Schuylkill Haven, 1852. Peter D. Helms married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Richard Edwards, a pioneer Welsh preacher, by whom he had seven children. Samuel4 Helm was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The descendants of Simon and other children of Peter1 Helm are settled in Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and other states. The Helms of the fourth generation were numerous in the War of the Revolution. The Heplers, of Schuylkill County, are represented by five generations, in Eldred Township. They were of the earliest pioneers and came from Berks County, about 1780. A.A. Hesser, deceased, station agent at Schuylkill Haven, was a son of Henry Hesser, and a direct descendant of Frederick Hesser, a drummer boy in the Revolutionary War, buried in St. John’s cemetery, Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania. The Potts family came to Philadelphia, about 1682, emigrating from England with William Penn. John Potts was born there. His son Thomas married Elizabeth Luken, 1750. He was a member of the Continental Congress , 1775. His son Hugh H Potts, was born in New Jersey, 1773. He was the father of George H. Potts and an officer in the first United States Army. In 1800 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Captain John Hughes, who was in the Revolutionary War during the entire struggle. George H. Potts was born in Delaware, 1811, and removed to Pottsville, 1829, where he engaged in mining operations. He married a daughter of George M. Cumming, a sister of Attorney Benjamin Cum- (Note 1 - Pension Certificate and army record, Bureau of Pensions). _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 153 _______________________________________________________________________________________ ming, Sr., and of Mrs. G. W. Snyder. He removed to New York, 1853, where he died. Joseph Harris, deceased, President of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company, a former resident, was married to two of his daughters. George Potts, of Pottsville, now of New York, was a son of George H. Potts. William Audenried, son of Lewis Audenried, who emigrated from Switzerland, 1789, to Kutztown, Berks County, about 1810, was elected to the State Senate, 1824, having served as a Justice of the Peace for Brunswick Township for five years and as a member of the Legislature for two terms. To him is accredited having said, in that body, that “Schuylkill County had no coal, only a lot of black stone in its soil.” John Macomb Wetherill removed to Pottsville, from Philadelphia, 1846, at the age of eighteen years, engaging in the management of coal lands for the Wetherill family, who were large owners. His great grandfather, Samuel Wetherill, was a Quaker but discarded his religious tenets at the breaking out of the Revolutionary War and was at the head of the sect known as the Free or Fighting Quakers. He was never married and died in Pottsville, 1884. Francis Wade Hughes, Attorney at Law, was born in Montgomery County, 1817. His father, John Hughes, ws one of the family of that name who came over with the Penns. His mother was the daughter of Benjamin Bartholomew, who was a Captain of Cavalry during the Revolutionary War. John Hoffman came from the vicinity of Heidelberg, Germany, about 1740 and settled in Lancaster County, afterward Dauphin, 1785. His wife was of Huguenot stock and six generations inter-married with the descendants of those who had left Alsace and Lorraine after the edict of Nantes was revoked. Peter, of the second generation, was a Revolutionary soldier. The paternal names of John and Peter have alternated all along the line to the present bearer _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 154 _______________________________________________________________________________________ of the name, John R. Hoffman, formerly Assistant Manager of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, whose maternal ancestor was named Boyer, (Beyer). Other Hoffmans of the same family were in the War of the Revolution. Henry Kuhl Nichols, d., late chief engineer of the Reading Railway, was born in Pottsville, August 24, 1830; wife Sarah C. Donaldson. They had one daughter, Clara, d., wife of R. E. Tucker. Henry Nichols’ great grandfather was Michael Hillegas, Colonial Secretary and first Treasurer of the United States. Both of his grandfathers were officers in the Revolutionary War. Gen. Francis Nicholas, his grandfather, was presented with a sword by General Washington, the sword is now in possession of a nephew. His father, Lieut. F. B. Nicholas of the U. S. Navy, was active in the war of 1812, and died from the effects of wounds received on board the Chesapeake, commanded by Captain Lawrence at the time he was killed. Mr. Nichols’ brother, Gen. W. A. Nichols, served with distinction in the Mexican and Civil Wars, and a nephew, Major Nichols, was in the Spanish War and stationed at Manila. Mr. Nichols resided in Pottsville until 1883 when he removed to Philadelphia, where he died. THE MORRIS ANCESTRY The Morris’ are descended from Richard Morris, who came from England and settled in Westchester County, New York. He obtained a land grant of three thousand acres from Governor Fletcher, with manorial rights. He died 1673, leaving a son, Lewis, who became Chief Justice of New York, and subsequently Governor of New Jersey. From his is descended a representative of the Colonial Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Henry Morris, of Philadelphia, prominent in Schuylkill County’s early coal business, and after whom Morris Addition, Pottsville, was named; and Richard, John and Samuel Morris, _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 155 _______________________________________________________________________________________ deceased, of Pottsville, claimed descent from Richard Morris, Robert Morris, Mrs. G. W. Kennedy, Mrs. George Hoffman and others, of Pottsville, are descendants. Mrs. John Morris, Mrs. Samuel Thompson and Mrs. Morrison, mother of N. C. Morrison, were sisters, their family name being Cunningham. They were from Juniata County. Henry Aurand, of Huguenot ancestry, left Alsace, France when Louis XIV issued the revocation of the edict of Nanes and went to Holland, 1685, from where he removed to Heidelberg, Germany. At Dillenberg, a son, John was born, September 2, 1725. In 1753 John came to Pennsylvania, settling at Maiden Creek, Berks County, October 2. He was married three times and was the father of seven children, Henry, Daniel and Jacob were born in Germany; Peter, George, Dietrich and Elizabeth, in America. Peter was the great grandfather of Aquilla Aurand, of Tamaqua. Mrs. Mary Heilner and Mrs. Caroline Carter, of Tamaqua, were among the daughters. Henry K. Aurand was born in Sunbury, 1833. Daniel Aurand, cabinet maker, deceased, of Pottsville, belonged to the family. Prof. Livingstone Seltzer, County Superintendent of Public Schools in Schuylkill County is a lineal descendant of Balthasar Bock, of Brunswick Township, in the Revolutionary War. On the paternal side he is descended from a soldier for the British crown in that war. MAHLON BOYER, GULDIN, COLEMAN The Heebners, of Port Carbon, are descendants of George Heebner, of Montgomery County, a Revolutionary War soldier. He came to this county in 1816 and lived on a farm near the site of the County Home, where he conducted a mill. His son, Abraham Heebner, came to Port Carbon, in 1829, and was regarded as the founder of that place, being prominently identified with all its early affairs. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 156 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Peter Brown was a native of Alsace, France. He came to America and settled in Virginia before the Revolutionary War, in which he was engaged from the beginning to the end as a teamster, hauling supplies from Philadelphia to Virginia. He settled in Berks County, where his son, grandfather of P. J. Brown, of Reiner City, Schuylkill County, was born. Cal. Brower, of Tremont, was a native of Berks County. The old Brower homestead, near Douglassville, was in possession of the Browers, in 1750. Mahlon Boyer, of Pinegrove, was born near Reading. His great great grandfather removed there from near Philadelphia about 1750. His grandfather, when seven years old was captured by the Indians and then taken up the Susquehanna River. He was retained in captivity until sixteen years of age when he escaped. His son William was born in Reading, in 1800 (Indian Forts, Vol I.). Dr. B. C. Guldin, of Minersville, was the great great grandson of Daniel Guldin, of Oley Township, Berks County, who came to that region about 1760, from Switzerland. His grandfather was Benjamin C., who lived near Womelsdorf, where his father, Benjamin H., was born. The great grandfather of Samuel and William Mortimer, the former a Borough Treasurer of Pottsville, settled in Robeson Township, Berks County, prior to 1770, where he and his wife died. The family removed to the vicinity of Port Clinton, from where they went to different points. The children were: William, George, unmarried; John, d. St. Louis; Andrew and three daughters, Lydia, m. -- Scull and settled at Johnstown; one da., m., -- Pullman; Asbury Mortimer, of Pottsville, was a descendant of the above family. Andrew Mortimer was Chief Burgess of Pottsville and a member of Council. His children were: Nelson, Samuel, Borough Treasurer; Asher, Mrs. Hannah Stevens, Port Carbon; Mrs. Mary Kantner, and Andrew, Jr., who settled in Salt _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 157 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Lake City and became a Mormon. William Mortimer, Sr., was a member of the Legislature, 1838, and County Commissioner, 1833. William Mortimer - Sons: William, Michael, Washington, Morgan. William kept the White Horse Hotel. His sons later conducted the old Mortimer House, corner of Centre and West Norwegian Streets, William and Washington both engaging in the mercantile business for many years after their retirement from the hotel. The children of William Mortimer were: Charles, George Wesley, both deceased, Horace, jeweler; Frank, dry goods merchant, and Gilmour. The daughters were: Mrs. Tillie Engle, Mrs. Fannie Robinson, deceased, Mrs. Emma Muir, deceased, and Mrs. Susan Palmer. Mrs. Heber S. Zerbey, a daughter of Samuel Mortimer, has in her possession the Mortimer family coat of arms, an original armorial (bearing) of the date of 1001 A. D., which was brought to America by the first Mortimer, who came from England, 1685, and settled in Boston, Massachusetts, where he died and is buried. He is said to have been the grandfather of the only Mortimer who settled in Berks County. Cornelius Coleman, of Llewellyn, is the great great great grandson of Carl Coleman, who settled in Louisiana, in 1704, then a French Province. His grandfather was born in Berks County, where the family removed and later to Dauphin County. His great grandfather, John, was a Revolutionary soldier under Lafayette. He died in Lykens, 1839. Daniel DeFrehn was born near where Tuscarora stands, 1791. His parents were Huguenots and came to America and settled in Berks County, from where they removed to near what is now New Philadelphia, Schuylkill County, in 1790. He removed to Orwigsburg where he settled and raised, a large family, working at his trade of carpenter and con- _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 158 _______________________________________________________________________________________ tractor. Of his five sons, Joseph and Daniel, father of George DeFrehn, cashier of the Miners’ National Bank, of Pottsville, both were prominent and well known citizens. William Koch was born in Philadelphia, 1747, but settled in Oley Township and in Womelsdorf, Berks County. He removed to Brunswick Township, where he operated what is since known as Kunkle’s saw mill. His son, Henry, was the father of Mrs. Charles T. Bowen, deceased. He was married to a daughter of Balthaser Bock. His son, Daniel, father of Richard, was a member of the State Legislature, 1860. Balthaser Bock was born, in 1746, in Alde Hassan Grafschaft, Hanan, Germany. He came to this country, 1754, with his father, the latter engaging in the French and Indian War, 1755. The family settled in Windsor Township, Berks County. Balthasar was sold to a farmer near Pinegrove to pay his passage. Serving his time he rejoined the family on the other side of the Blue Mountains. Although a lame man, he served in the Revolutionary War. He settled in McKeansburg, where he died, 1827, and is buried there. He was a man of remarkable energy and has many descendants in Schuylkill County. Baltzer Bock bought a tract of land, 1791, from Peter Orwig for eight hundred and fifty pounds. It was part of the original John Webb tract, patented 1750, situated near what is now McKeansburg. Franklin P. Weiser, of Ashland and James Weiser, of Minersville, also the Weiser’s formerly of Orwigsburg, now of Ohio, are lineal descendants of Conrad Weiser. William Donaldson, grandfather of William Donaldson, of Pottsville, served in the Revolutionary War from Northumberland County. He is buried in the Baber cemetery, Pottsville, his remains having been removed here from Danville. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 159 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Isaac DeTurck settled on the Quassick Creek, Duchess County, New York, emigrating from the Rhine with the twelve hundred Palatines, 1709-1710, as a husbandman at the age of twenty-three and unmarried. He left New York, 1711, and settled with the little band of Huguenots in Oley Township, Berks County, 1712. The Hocks and Yoders took up land there, in the Penn Grants, about the same time. Descendants of the Hoy Family, in Berks and Schuylkill, are from this branch of the Hochs, the name in the original having frequently been spelled “Hoy” and this spelling has been retained by some of the family. Samuel DeTurck, d. of Friedensburg, was a direct descendant of Isaac DeTurck. Ulrich Heiser lived at Focht’s Forge, near McKeansburg, about 1780. He was the son of Ulrich Heiser, of Oley Township. He removed to Manheim Township, near the site of Schuylkill Haven, where George, the father of Veterinary Surgeon Edward Heiser, deceased, 87 years of age, was born, as was also his father. Christian Luther settled in Lancaster County, 1751, Diller Luther, with two brothers, all doctors, came from there to Orwigsburg but returned to Reading, where the former practiced from 1832, to 1838. Diller Luther entered the coal business, in which he was engaged for a quarter of a century. His brothers, John and Martin Luther, practised medicine and were prominent in their profession. John died at Harrisburg, 1811. Martin Luther, of Reading, was a very successful surgeon. Roland Luther, deceased, of Pottsville, General Manager of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, who married Theresa Yuengling, was of this family, a son of Peter Luther. Hans Jacob Neuferdt came to America from Wurtemburg on the ship Nancy, September 27, 1752, and took the oath of allegiance at Philadelphia. His son, Johan Jacob, born 1765, came to Rush Township, Schuylkill County, 1797, _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 160 _______________________________________________________________________________________ then Northampton County. He had a son, John Jacob, whose sons were: Peter, George and John. They were of the earliest settlers in Rush Township. The Whetstones were other early settler of Schuylkill County. Isaac Whetstone (Whetstine) was a Captain in the Revolutionary army. He was the progenitor of the Whetstones, of Tamaqua, and came to America from Wurtemburg, Germany. (Revolutionary War, second part.) He was one of the earliest settlers and original owners of land near McKeansburg. John George Huntsinger came from Rotterdam, 1743, to Berks County, immigrating to Hegins Township, then Pinegrove Township, about 1780. He was the grandfather of Prof. Emanuel Huntsinger, of Hartford, Conn., and has a numerous line of descendants in Hegins, all prosperous and well known. D. B. Green was born in Reading. His parents were John and Catharine Bright Green., He was admitted to the Bar and began practice in Schuylkill County, where he was appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 1871, and elected Additional Law Judge, 1881. He died in 1892. William Green, grandfather of Judge D. B. Green, 1810, owned a tract of land near McKeansburg, where he lived for a time subsequently removing to Orwigsburg, where he kept the Rising Sun Hotel in the big square, and removed from there to Reading. JOHN R. AND BENJAMIN B. BANNAN Benjamin (1) Bannan, born near Belfast, Ireland, March 17, 1770, died near Molatton, Pa., October, 1816. He was a farmer in summer and taught school in winter. The old Swede church was used as a school house and here Francis Rawn Shunk, Governor, 1845- ’48, of Pennsylvania, also taught school. His wife was Sarah ---, born April 12, 1762, died _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 161 _______________________________________________________________________________________ November 20, 1825. Both are buried in the Episcopal cemetery, Douglassville. Their children were: Abraham, a school teacher in Union Township, Berks County, who studied law and removed to Orwigsburg, where he practised for a time. Benjamin2 Bannan (Benjamin1), also taught school before he learned the trade of printer with former Congressman Getz, at Reading, on the Reading ‘Gazette.” Benjamin2 Bannan purchased the Pottsville ‘Miner’s Journal, “ 1829. He was thrice married and left two daughters. A daughter of Benjamin1 was married to Dr. George Douglas, of Orwigsburg. John2 R. Bannan (Benjamin1), born September 19, 1796, located at Orwigsburg and was admitted to the Schuylkill County Bar, 1818. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. He made a study of the land laws, acquiring title to valuable coal lands. He removed with his family to Pottsville about 1850, from the large red brick mansion, in the big square, Orwigsburg, now owned by Solomon Moyher, to his newly erected old colonial mansion, Cloud Home, on Sharp Mountain, still occupied by members of the family, where he died May 3, 1868. He made the plans for the Orwigsburg Academy, completed 1813, and supervised its erection and presented the ground to the Borough on which was erected the Henry Clay Monument. He married Sarah Ann Ridgway, born December 31, 1806, who died November, 1879. Their children were: Thomas R. and Douglass R., both graduates of Yale College, the former a prominent lawyer, wf. Alice Johnson; the latter entered the U.S. navy; Zeliz R., Francis B., Mary J. and Martha R., all deceased with the exception of the latter and Francis B. Bannan, who married Mary T., daughter of George Reppelier, an individual coal operator, of Pottsville. They had six children, four of whom are living. Daniel Yoder was born in Oley, Berks County, 1789. His father, Peter Yoder, was an early settler. The former removed to Pottsville before it was erected as a borough and _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 162 _______________________________________________________________________________________ lived on the brow of the hill, now the corner of East Norwegian and Wolf Streets. He was an inventive genius and took out a patent upon a pump which had a large sale before hydrants came into general use. William L. Yoder, of Mahanoy City, deceased, who removed to Virginia, was a grandson of Peter Yoder and son of Daniel. George Yoder settled in Eldred Township prior to 1809. He had a son William and his sons were Abraham and Nathan. George Yoder came from Oley Berks County. Dr. George K. Binkley, of Orwigsburg, was born in Berks County, where his father, Benneville, was born, 1818. His grandfather, Henry, was an early Sheriff of Berks County. EARLY SETTLERS, WHO THEY WERE Peter Dreher came to this county with the earliest settlers. He was the great grandfather of Dr. C. B. Dreher, of Tamaqua. Drehersville was named for him and the descendants of that family. He was a native of Austria and on coming to this country served in the Revolutionary War and was wounded at the battle of Brandywine. Mrs. Arthur Shay, wife of late Judge of the Schuylkill Courts, is a descendant. John R. Diehm, deceased, was of Revolutionary stock. His great great grandfather settled in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with the early Palatines. His son, William, was born there, 1764. The family removed to Reading, 1780, where William was appointed Sheriff. John Springer was the maternal great grandfather of the late Jesse Turner, of Port Carbon. He served three years in the Revolutionary War and was at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, at Yorktown. The family lived in Delaware. Alexander S. Faust, deceased, was the son of Samuel Faust, of Bern Township. His great grandfather came to this country, 1776. He was a soldier for the British crown. He became a prosperous farmer and had a numerous progeny. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 163 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Henry Bast came to Manheim Township from Berks County, where he was born, 1818. Jeremiah F. is a son and the third generation are now living in Schuylkill County and are prosperous citizens. Michael Hoppes was born, 1752, in West Penn Township, when it was a part of Northampton County. He was a Revolutionary soldier and lived, died and is buried there. A large number of descendants from his son, Christian, are settled in that county. John W. Roseberry, Sr., was admitted to the Berks County Bar in 1811. He removed to Orwigsburg, where his son, John, Jr., was born and where after his death his widow conducted a private school for girls. The latter, John W. Roseberry, was admitted to the Schuylkill County Bar and was a prominent citizen of Pottsville. The Matz’s were of the earliest settlers in Brunswick Township. William Matz, a Sheriff of Schuylkill County, in 1855, was born 1801. William J. Matz was born in 1838, the latter was elected Sheriff in 1877. There were five generations of this family in this locality, near McKeansburg. Mrs. Thomas Walker, Mrs. Sarah Bartholomew, Mrs. Kate Bender, d., Mrs. Jesse Drumheller and others, of Pottsville, are of the family from Brunswick. George Matz, an ancestor, was in the Revolutionary War. LINDEMUTH Michael Lindemuth and brother, Wolfe, came from the German Palatine to Berks County, September 22, 1752, locating in Windsor Township. Colonel Lindemuth is known on his tombstone and in the Pennsylvania Archives as, John Michael, and as Michael, in the Revolutionary War records. Michael Lindemuth married Marie Eva Noecker, June 17, 1760. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 164 _______________________________________________________________________________________ (Stoever’s records:--Martin Noecker’s will 1, says: “To the children of my deceased daughter, Eve, wife of Michael Lindemuth, I give and bequeath, “ etc. (These children were the two sons of Colonel Michael Lindemuth referred to as drummer boys in the Revolutionary War. 2 ). Michael Lindemuth was married three times. His second wife was Catharine Gerschwein (Geschwein.). The will of Margaret, widow of Eberhardt ‘Geschweid,” of Bern Township, as recorded says” I give and bequeath my daughter, Catharine, wife of Michael Lindemuth.” There are no children mentioned in Michael Lindemuth’s will, probated October 25, 1785, by his only brother, Wolfe Lindemuth, of Bern Township, the widow Anna Maria, renouncing. The will of Wolfe Lindemuth shows he had no issue. Colonel Michael Lindemuth (3) died suddenly while enroute to the seat of government to collect a claim be held against it for a large sum of money advanced to the commissary department for supplies for the men in his command. His mysterious death is a matter of history. Jacob Lindemuth, deceased, landlord of the Exchange and other Pottsville hotels, frequently related “how his great grandfather was found dead beside his faithful horse, who stood watch over him and that his saddle bags had been rifled of these claims by unknown persons.” Michael Lindemuth died October, 1785. (Note - 1 - Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia, Book 365, p. 521. (Note - 2 - Revolutionary War Records, Part 1. (Note 3 - Revolutionary War Record, Par 1. (Note - the figures above the surname denote the number of the generation. The abbreviations commonly used in genealogical tables are; da., daughter; bap., baptized;., g. f. grandfather; m., married; rec. records; g. g. f. great grandfather; wf., wife; spon., sponsor; g. g. g. f. great, great grandfather.) _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 165 _______________________________________________________________________________________ The two sons of Michael Lindemuth, above referred to as drummer boys, lived in Bern Township; their records, however, have not been discovered in the old Bernville church but are doubtless in one of the Windsor Township churches where Michael first settled. John Jacob removed to Hamburg, the other son remained in Bern Township. John2 Jacob Lindemuth (Michael 1, wife Maria Eva Noecker), born 1766, died 1839; wife Catharine Boyer, born 1768, died 1851. He was one of the drummer boys referred to in the Revolutionary War records. He settled at Hamburg, where he followed farming, and raised a family of sixteen children: George, Henry, Daniel, Joseph, Thomas, William, other sons and a number of daughters, Mrs. Jane Davis, Lewistown, Mifflin County (no issue), Mrs. Catharine Crosland, Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Hannah Kepner, Mrs. Sarah Jennings, Mrs. Susan Gager, of Pottsville, deceased, where descendants of a son of this man who lived near Tamaqua. William2 Lindemuth, (John2 Jacob, Michael 1, wife Elizabeth Cake), issue: Susan, married ---Spangler; Romanus; Matilda, married I. Wolfe; Caroline, married J. Valentine; and William. He lived at Hamburg and followed the occupation of shoemaker and locktender. William4 Lindemuth, settled at Stouchsburg, Berks County; born March 22, 1820; died October 10, 1887; wife Mary Brendle, born April 10, 1824; died July 4, 1857; children: Clara, Charles I., Elizabeth, William Johan, Edward and Samuel. Charles I. Lindemuth and brothers are cigar makers and work at the factory established by Reilly Zerbe, retired. Charles is in antiquarian and has a large collection of antiques at his home in that place. He and Samuel are unmarried. Charles Lindemuth is the maker of the map of the early settlers of 1723, in this volume. One of the sons married a Rieth (Reed) and has several children. She belongs to _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 166 _______________________________________________________________________________________ the historical family, where heads came over 1710, and settled at Strouchsburg. ---2 Lindemuth (second son of Michael Lindemuth) and wife Eve Noecker; drummer boy in Revolutionary war); children: William, Samuel, Jacob and Maria. William3 Lindemuth, (----2, Michael 1 ), born at Bernville, 1799; wife Rachael of Scotch descent; children: Susan, William J. (formerly of Minersville, a merchant), Henrietta, James, Zacharia, Samuel, Mary and Jerome. Mary died in Philadelphia, aged 85 years, as did also Henrietta. They lived at 1427 North 57th Street. Rev. Jerome4 Lindemuth, (William3, ----2 Lindemuth, Michael 1 ) a Methodist minister; born June 7, 1831, at Strouchsburg, Berks County; wife Caroline Holmes Stuart, daughter of George Stuart, of Ireland; children: Carrie S. Mitchell, Glenolden, Pa., ; Mary F. Hewes, Chester, Pa., ; William Holmes. Rev. William5 H. Lindemuth, D. D., pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church, Pottsville, Pa., ; born at Reading and reared at Lebanon, (Jerome4, William3, --2 Lindemuth, Michael 1 ); wife Emma Thomas Karcher; children: Emma K., Caroline S., deceased; Edmund K., George H. Jacob4 Lindemuth, a former landlord of the Exchange and other hotels of Pottsville, deceased, was born near Womelsdorf, Berks County. (---, John2, Jacob, Michael 1 ). His father settled in Northumberland County, from where the family removed to near New Castle where they kept hotel. The children of Jacob and Eleanor Lindemuth were: Eleanor, widow of Samuel Keiter; Anna G. and Clara A., a son and daughter, deceased. Mary, wife of George Moll, of Pottsville, daughter of Ella and Samuel Keiter, has one son. Joseph4 Lindenmuth, (Daniel3, John, Jacob2, Michael 1 ); born June 4, 1816; died April 16, 1901; wife Rebecca Heisler, of Lewistown (Tuyful’s Loch); born November _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 167 _______________________________________________________________________________________ 4, 1818; died January 22, 1878. She was the daughter of Jacob and Susanna Heisler. Joseph Lindenmuth was a teamster and owned his own teams doing hauling for contractors and working about the mines. He removed to Pottsville about 1845, where they raised a large family; children: Sarah and Ella, deceased; William, Charles, Sybilla and Annie. Wm. Lindenmuth, wife Rebecca Speacht; children: Theodore, Howard, a daughter deceased, and William, Jr., who married Rachael Jenkins; children: Edward, Louise, Anna, Eleanora, single. Charles Lindenmuth, wife Levina Jenkins; children: Mamie, single; Warren, deceased, and Gertrude, wife of James Mullen, one child, Dorothy. Sybilla Lindenmuth, wife of Valentine Glassmire; first husband, George Rogers; children of the latter: George, single; Lillian, wife of Lyde Garnet. The children of Valentine Glassmire: Verna. Annie Lindenmuth, wife of Lehman Walters; children: Harry, married to Mary Evans; children: Harry, James, Kenneth, Ellsworth and Anna, single; Lulu, married to Roy Yeager, no children. Howard (William Sr. ), wife Katie Collins; children: Conrad and George. Theodore (William Sr. ), wife Mary Weiss; children: Florence, May, Frances, Dora. Florence (Theodore), wife of Charles Pettit; children: Newton. The ship records also show that three other Lindemuths came to Berks County, Pa., 1749. Hans, William and, perhaps, a Jacob or Michael, but no trace of these men has been found. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 168 _______________________________________________________________________________________ THE BRAUN - BROWN FAMILY John Brown (Braun), wife Catharine, came from the Palatinate, Germany, to this country, October 20, 1752, on the ship Duke, Daniel Montpelier, Capatain, (Ship Lists). He settled in Berks County, north of the Blue Mountain, in one of the fertile valleys between what is now the Summit and Auburn, Schuylkill County. He was a veterinary surgeon. He had three sons: John, John Adam and John George. His signature to a deed to this land, 1804, is recorded in the Berks County court house. The Black Horse Hotel, Wayne Township, which has been in possession of the Brown family for several generations, stands upon part of the original tract. There is no record of the date of his death. His name appears on the original list of subscribers to the St. Paul’s Lutheran and Reformed Church, South Manheim Township, (Summer Berg), as having given ten shillings to the erection of this church, 1782, and he and his wife are buried here among the many unmarked and unknown graves. The Brauns were Huguenots and left Alsace and Lorraine after the revocation of the edict of Nantes. They were of the Reformed faith. The father, John1, and two sons, John2, and John2 Adam were in the Revolutionary War. On his return John Adam brought with him a twelve pound cannon ball which is a relic in the Brown family today. Jacob’s church records, near Pinegrove, show Johann Braun to have stood sponsor with his wife Catharine, June 24, 1804. Other records are: (Note - A Phillip Braun came to New York 1709-1710. He and his wife were sponsors, in Schoharie, for Conrad Weiser’s first child and son, September 7, 1722. He settled in Berks County, 1723. Phillip Braun (Pioneer Homesteads, _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 169 _______________________________________________________________________________________ map), one of the signers for the road, 1727, came to Tulpehocken Township, 1723. When Conrad Weiser came (1729) he took up a tract of land adjoining Braun’s.) Braun--Margaretha, baptized April 14, 1805. Parents Johann and Elizabeth. They buried a son, born January 14, 1819, aged 1 month, 25 days. Another child of the same parents were baptized December 25, 1808. Johann1 Braun is supposed to have died 1804. Johann2 Braun, born November 12, 1756, died December 13, 1838. He is buried in Dreisbach cemetery, Union County, Pennsylvania. Prof. Robert Braun, of Pottsville, of the Braun School of Music, of Pottville and Reading, is a descendant of Johann2 Braun; Robert 5 Braun; (Charles4 Theodore, Charles3, Johann2, Johann1.) John2 Adam Brown, born February 2, 1759; died August 3, 1837, and is buried in St. Paul’s Summer Hill cemetery., His son, Valentine, born February 8, 1783; died August 26, 1857. He was the owner of the Black Horse Hotel and to him is attributed the founding of a public school in Wayne and South Manheim Townships. In 1829 a young teacher, Christian Meyer, from Strasburg, Germany, came to the hotel and stated his vocation to the proprietor, Valentine Brown. There was then no school in that section of the county and Mr. Brown said: “I will give you board and lodging free in my house if you stay here and open a school.” The young man accepted the offer, Mr. brown went to see his neighbors and the result was a little log school house on Summer Hill, four miles south of Brown’s, and an equal distance west from the Summit, where a small private school was opened. George Brown, brother of Valentine, donated the ground, on the crest of Summer Hill, and also donated material for the building. Christian Meyers taught school in these townships, public _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 170 _______________________________________________________________________________________ and private, for forty-one years. He was the organist of the Summer Hill Church and also followed the occupation of farmer. W.4 W. Brown, a prominent citizen of that part of Schuylkill County, and an elder of St. Paul’s Church, married a daughter of Christian Meyers, who died October 25, 1910, leaving no issue. W.4 W. Brown, (Valentine3, John 2 Adam, John 1.) FILBERT FAMILY John Samuel Philbert, born January 8, 1710; died September 25, 1786. His name occurs on the ship lists, ship Samuel from Rotterdam, August 03, 1737, from Wittenberg, Saxony1; wife Susanna, born March 10, 1704, died January 4, 1771. He had five sons and three daughters: John Thomas, born February 1, 1737; died November 8, 1784; married Catharine Potteiker; Maria Caterina, married to John Heinrich Ache; Anne Elizabeth, married to John Heinrich Weber; (tombstone inscription at Host’s, John Heinrich Weber, b. November 28, 1735, in Hochstadt, Germany; d. April 10, 1815; Elizabeth Weber, geborn Filbert, December 6, 1741, d. February 7, 1813. Captain in Revolutionary War.) John Phillip Filbert, born December 7, 1743, (Captain in the War of the Revolution), married to Anna Maria Meyer; died August 30, 1817. John Peter, born August 22, 1746; married Polly Ludwig; Maria Christina, married Jost Ruth. Captain John2 Phillip Filbert, (John1, Samuel), who kept an old time tavern near Bernville, had three children: Samuel, born 1770, died 1795; John Filbert and a daugther, Catharine, married to William Machimer. John Filbert was the progenitor of the Womelsdorf branch and his son, Samuel, was the father of P. K. Filbert, D. D. S., of Pottsville. (Note 1 - Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, Vol 17, pp. 131, 133.) _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 171 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Samuel3 Filbert, ancestor of the Pinegrove branch, had two children: Joseph, and Peter Filbert, born 1794, wife Elizabeth Staudt, daughter of Phillip Staudt. Peter’s children were: Samuel P., Edward T., Peter A., William H., of Pinegrove; John A., of Schuylkill Haven; daughters, Leah, wife of Dr. John Kitzmiller; Sarah, wife of Richard Musser, and Rebecca, wife of F. W. Conrad, editor for many years of the “Lutheran Observe.” J. H. Filbert, attorney-at-law, of Pottsville, is a son of John A., and a great great grandson of Captain Phillip Filbert. WEIDMANS, KREBS, TYSONS Major John Weidman was born in Lancaster County, 1756. He served in the Continental line in the Revolutionary War. Dr. Murray Weidman, of Reading; Judge Mason Weidman and Barge Weidman, of Pottsville, all deceased, were descendants. John Krebs was born in Long Swamp, Berks County, and came to Manheim Township before 1800. He owned part of the farm upon which the Schuylkill County Almshouse now stands. The family attended church at Zion’s (Red Church) and it is related that it being the nearest and about five miles distant, the family repaired thither on the Sabbath in a cart drawn by oxen. This was no uncommon occurrence. Many of the roads were nothing more than bridle paths through the forests and horse back riding was not possible to the infirm or aged. As late as 1860 lumber hauling in some parts of Schuylkill County was done by oxen teams. The Krebs, of Schuylkill County are descendants of this family. The Medlars are of Huguenot stock and settled in Berks county about 1760. Daniel Medlar came to Hamburg before 1800. He is supposed to have been a son of George Medlar (Revolutionary War Record.) Dr. S. Medlar, of Orwigsburg, was an early settler. The Medlars, of McKeansburg, Drehers- _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 172 _______________________________________________________________________________________ ville, Pottsville and Mahanoy City are all of this branch. James A. Medlar, Vice President of the Schuylkill Trust Company, Pottsville, is a descendant. Henry Auman came to this country as a British soldier, for the British crown. He was taken prisoner by General Washington at Trenton, New Jersey, and after the Revolutionary War settled in Amity Township, Berks County. He was a great grandfather of the late Samuel and Lieutenant William Auman, of Pottsville, the latter of the United States army, retired and living in New York. Daniel Dreibelbeis came from Hammesthal, Germany, 1740, settling in Richmond Township. His sons were Daniel, Abraham, Jacob and Martin. The latter came from Moselem, Berks County, to what is now Schuylkill Haven and was its first permanent settler. One of the sons was married to Catharine “Markel,” daughter of George Merkle, a leading pioneer in Richmond Township, who settled there about the above date and took out a patent for one thousand acres of land. Cornelius Tyson came from England, about 1683, and was one of the first settlers of Germanstown. He belonged to the Society of Friends. His tombstone, the oldest in Germantown, gives his age as sixty-three years and the date of this death as 1716. Another branch of the family name came from the Rhine Palatinate, they were German Menonites and neither line engaged in the early wars, their religious principles forbidding it. Cornelius and Hannah Smith Tyson’s marriage is recorded, March 30, 1751. They lived in Montgomery County, then Chester, where Joseph Tyson was born, February 16, 1751. Dr. Henry Tyson, of Reading, was born 1815. He was a Professor in the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Henry Tyson had a brother Cornelius, who died at the age of twenty-five years. Captain Tyson was an Arctic _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 173 _______________________________________________________________________________________ explorer. The large Berks County family of this name, and Cornelius Tyson, deceased, of Potttsville, are descended from Cornelius and Hannah Tyson. The Tyson homestead, near the Oley, Exeter and Amity Township lines, is still maintained by a member of the family name. Eli5 L. Heisler, (George4 Jacob, Joseph3, George2, George1 Jacob Heisler.) The latter came from the Austrian border to Berks County about 1770, removing to Montgomery County. A branch of the family lived at Lewistown, Schuylkill County. George Jacob Heisler was a paymaster in the Revolutionary War and carried a rifle in the battle of Stony Point. Marshall Heisler, who did good service in the Reading Company Coal and Iron Police, Minersville, during the Mollie Maguire troubles, was a lineal descendant. George Jacob, father of Eli Heisler, of Pottsville, while papering and painting a house in Montgomery County, after the Civil War, found behind a washboard, a record of the oath of allegiance taken by Melchoir Fritz, 1763, to the British crown, in London, where he took the communion in the Church of England before coming to this country. He settled in Robeson Township, Berks County. This paper Mr. Heisler presented to Ezekiah J. Fritz, of Pottsville, a lineal descendant. THE SPOHN FAMILY Henry2 Spohn (Joseph1), born in Cumru Township, Berks County, March 10, 1720; died January 21, 1813 1. His wife, Catharine ----, born March 12, 1736, died January 25, 1810. They had sons: Adam, b. January 25, d. January 18, 1831; Phillip, a Revolutionary soldier; -----John, Captain in the Revolutionary War; and several daughters. Trinity Church records, Reading, show Henry Spohn and wife, Catharine, to have stood sponsors eight times at baptisms from 1768 to ‘93, which show the date and also the family names of friends and relatives. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 174 _______________________________________________________________________________________ John Spohn and wife, Mary ----, stood sponsors at the baptism of John Spohn, son of Adam (Henry 1), b. November 7, 1790. This John Spohn was probably the man who settled on Broad Mountain, (Schuylkill County), and died at the age of forty-seven, in Pottsville, 1847. His wife was Margaret Horuff, and the surviving children are: Mrs. Eliza Dennebaum and Mrs. Val. Stichter; deceased Moncure, Frank, and several others. Captain John Spohn, wf. Catharine, daughter of Conrad Bower, deceased. He was born in Cumru Township, January 10, 1754, and married Maria Biddle. He died April 19, 1822, at Reading. His company and that of Captain Peter Decker were captured at the taking of Fort Washington, November 1776. Phillip Spohn and wf., Mary, baptized four daughters and one son, John William, between August 17, 1771, and February 28, 1790. The sponsors for the latter were the grandparents, Henry and Catharine Spohn. 1 BECHTELS, PALMERS John Bechtel, father of Hon. O. P. Bechtel, lived in Berks County, were he kept the “Half Way House, “ between Reading and Kutztown. He removed from there to Northumberland County, where his tract of land was known as “Warrior Run farm.” In 1847 he removed to Middleport, Schuylkill County. John Bechtel was born in Bucks County, 1798. He was postmaster of Middleport during the Pierce administration. Nathan Palmer was a lineal descendant of Miles Standish. He was born in Plainfield, Connecticut, but removed early to Pennsylvania. The sympathies of the Palmer family were the British and they were not represented in the War of the Revolution. His son was Judge Strange (Note 1 - Hain’s Church Records.) _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 175 _______________________________________________________________________________________ N. Palmer, who came to Pottsville, 1829. His son, Robert Palmer, State Senator, was appointed minister to the Argentine Republic, 1861. His health failed and he died, 1862, on his return trip home and was buried at sea. Of his children, Strange, Charles T., (a prominent physician), Robert, Laura, Bertha, wife of Harry Stinear, and Frnak N., the latter alone survives. THE KAERCHERS, KEPNERS, SHIPPENS Conrad Roth, or Roads, came from Germany and settled in Chester County. He resided in Reading, 1760, where he died. His son, John, setttled in Hamburg where Franklin Roads, of Minersville, and Jacob O. Roads, the father of George and Oliver Roads, of Pottsville, were born. Other Roths or Roads, in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, were the descendants of one of three brothers who settled in Amity Township, about 1725, Jacob having a numerous progeny. Colonel Jones, of the Continental line, Revolutionary War, was a maternal ancestor of George and Oliver Roads. It was said of Colonel Jones that “one half of the prominent people of Reading, in the early days, were descended from him; among them the Hon’s Glancy and Richmond L. Jones, and in Pottsville the Morris, Roseberry, Roads, N. C. Morrison, Thompson, Mrs. George Ryon and Nathan Evans’ families, and others claim descent from his man; Jonathan Jones m. Margaret Davis. They had eleven children, five sons and six daughters. Hamburg was first called Kaerchertown. Martin Kaercher lived here in 1785. William, George and Daniel, sons of Martin, were taxpayers in 1793. Daniel removed to Friedensburg, Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, where Franklin B. Kaercher, the father of Frank D.., Edward E., William H., Samuel H. (deceased), D. W., and Mrs. Ida Day, was born. Martin Kergher, John and Christian Kercher _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 176 _______________________________________________________________________________________ (Kaercher) (Revolutionary War Record.) The Derrs, Shomos, Yeagers, Seidels and other Pottsvillians, claim Hamburg as the seat of their nativity. The Kepners, W. C., deceased, and Sol. Kepner, of Orwigsburg, are descended from a family that lived in the southern part of Schuylkill County long before it was known by that name. They belonged for several generations to that thrifty element that represents the typical Pennsylvania German citizen. Kepners, a village on the branch of the Lehigh Valley Railway, was named after the family. Bernhard Kepner kept a tavern on the Catawissa road, one mile north of McKeansburg, then Northampton County. He was in the Revolutionary War and is buried at McKeansburg. Attorney L. D. Haughawout, of Pottsville, claims two members of his family as having been in the Revolutionary War and others in the later wars in which the United States was involved. Henry Spannuth was in the War of the Revolution. On Christmas night, 1776, he was among those of the British emissaries captured by General Washington after crossing the Delaware. Released, he took up arms at once for the Continental cause. He settled in Lebanon County. Jacob5 Spanuth, (Henry4, Emanuel3, George2, Henry1), Jacob, antiquarian, of Pottsville, is descended from Henry 1, who came over, 1776, with the British forces and becamse an exemplary citizen in his adopted country. Daniel Focht, clerk for John Pott, lived in one of the first houses erected at the Forge, 1806, old Orchard, Greenwood basin, near the site of Pottsville. Focht’s forge, near New Ringold, was owned by this family of which the James Focht and Daniel Focht families are a branch. Edward B. Hubley, born 1792, at Reading, son of Attorney Joseph Hubley, admitted to the Bar 1820, was twice _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 177 _______________________________________________________________________________________ elected to Congress from Berks and Schuylkill Counties, 1835 to 1839. He lived at Orwigsburg, removing to Reading, then to Philadelphia, where he died. John4 P. Hobart, (Nathaniel3 P., Robert2, Enoch1), came to Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County, 1838. He was born in Pottstown, Montgomery County, 1814, and married Anne Smith. He was a lawyer and practised in the Schuylkill County courts, coming to Pottsville when the county seat was removed from Orwigsburg, where he lived until his death. They had two sons and two daughters. Nathaniel3 Potts Hobart, a lawyer, was Auditor General of Pennsylvania, 1836, under Governor Joseph Ritner. He was in the War of 1812-’14. He built the mansion for a homestead on the hill at Pottstown, afterward used as a school for boys by Col. Meiggs. Here the family resided. He married Johanna Holland. Nathaniel Hobart was a grandson of Enoch Hobart, a sea captain from Philadelphia to Liverpool. There was a Peter Hobart, who came to Hingham, Mass., 1635. he had sixteen children who settled in different states. Enoch Hobart may have been one of the sons, but the connection has not been proven. Shippen, John, and wife Margaret McCall, came to Pottsville, 1830. He was a descendant of Edward Shippen, the first Colonial Mayor, of Philadelphia. A daughter of this historic family, a great belle and beauty, married General Benedict Arnold, who was a traitor to his country. The Shippens were loyalists. The children of John Shippen were: Edward, Samuel and Elizabeth, the latter being the last of her family and died May 20, 1914, in Philadelphia, where she resided the last years of her life; the family home on the site of the Philadelphia and Reading Company building, Mahantongo Street, Pottsville, being owned and occupied by them for fifty years. John Shippen was President of the Miners’ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 178 _______________________________________________________________________________________ National Bank, of Pottsville, from March 4, 1831, succeeding Francis B. Nicholas, resigned, February 25, 1831. The Miners Bank was incorporated, 1828, and he was its second president serving almost a half century. Mrs. Elizabeth Swift Shippen, through inheritance amassed considerable wealth, her estate being valued at more than $2,000, 000. The Pottsville Hospital received $272,000 from her estate with other bequests; the hospital having been practically founded by her in memory of her parents. Bequests were given other local and some Philadelphia institutions. Thomas James Baird married the daughter of Matthew Carey, of Philadelphia. His wife, Eliza C. Baird, was a sister of Henry C. Carey, the noted political economist and writer. They came to Pottsville, 1835, where Mr. Baird acted as agent for the Carey’s who owned the controlling interest in the York Farm, Eyre and St. Clair coal tracts. Mr. Baird was a graduate of the United States Military Academy, 1814, and served in the war of 1812-14, as a Lieutenant of Artillery. He remained in the service until 1838 when he resigned as Captain of the 3rd Regiment United States Artillery. In 1838 he was electged Captain of the National Light Infantry, of Pottsville. Their children were Augusta, wife of Dr. A. H. Halberstadt, and Edward Carey Baird, married to Emily Thompson, daughter of Samuel C. Thompson. E. C. Baird was a Major on General Meade’s staf during the War of the Rebellion serving with distinction throughout the entire period. Ashael Powers, grandfather of Rev. J. F. Powers, pastor of Trinity Episcopal church, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War from Springfield, Vermont. Christian Burkert was born in Berks County, 1751, where he died, 1840. He was in the Revolutionary War. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 179 _______________________________________________________________________________________ He was the grandfather of Elias P. Burkert, of Ashland, Schuylkill County. Dr. Jonathan Potts was born at Pottstown, Montgomery County, 1747. He was a surgeon general in the Revolutionary army. His son William was the grandfather of Hon. W. Ramsey Potts, of Pottsville. William and William B. Potts are both buried at Pottstown, which was named after Jonathan Potts. James Patterson settled in Chester County, (Conestoga, Lancaster County, ) 1717. His son, James Patterson, removed to Juniata County, and settled on the banks of the river Juniata, where he built a stone house that was used as a fort against the Indians with whom he traded. He was a Captain in the French and Indian War. His son, Geroge Patterson, married Jane Burd, daughter of the Colonel of his father’s regiment, and Sarah Shippen, a descendant of the first mayor of Philadelphia. His son, Burd Patterson, came to Pottsville, 1824, and was one of its foremost residents. The family in Pottsville was a large and prominent one, but is now almost wholly extinct here. Burd S. Patterson, of Pittsburg, is a grandson of Burd Patterson, his father was Joseph Patterson. George Patterson, brother of Burd, was married twice. His sons were: Stuart, Edward, Frederick and William, of the first wife, and John and Theodore, of the second. His daughters were Matilda, Mary and Dollie. Samuel Lewis, son of Griffith and Lydia Lewis, was born October 13, 1791. He was married to Rebecca Phillips, October 18, 1820. They had five children, one of who died in early manhood. Charles M., father of Charles M. Lewis, manager Philadelphia and Reading Telegraph Company lines, Reading; and Edgar P. Lewis, of Pottsville was born October 13, 1823, and died 1880. Samuel Lewis was twice married, his first wife having died November 9, 1857 (was born July 12, 1788). The second union, to Miss Miller, a public school _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 180 _______________________________________________________________________________________ teacher, took place May 26, 1859. From this marriage one son, William Allison, was born, January 8, 1867. Samuel Lewis died August 22, 1878. His wife, Rose M. Lewis, died at Rutherford, N. J., January 6, 1915, and is buried in Pottsville. Samuel Lewis, borough surveyor, and the compiler of several original borough and county maps, traced his lineage back in a clear line of descent to Evean Lewis, who was born in or near Nathlage Parish, Pembroke Shire, Wales, British Isles. He and his wife Magdelene, emigrated to America in 1713 and settled in the great valley in Whitelaw Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, where they purchased a tract of land from Richard Thomas. They had four children, one son Griffith and three daughters. The line extended down through the above Griffith to Samuel, his son, and to Samuel’s son Griffith, who in turn had a son, Samuel, the subject of this sketch, and the fifth generation up to the time of this death and the seventh in a direct line of descent of the Lewis family up to the present time. ZELLERS, RAHNS, SEITZINGERS John Henry Sellaire (Zeller), Huguenot, came to New York, 1710, with the one thousand immigrants. His name and that of his son John is on the list of settlers at Livingstone manor. He was in Queen Anne’s war, 1711 1. He died 1756. John Henry Zeller came from the Schohaire, N. Y., to Chester County, Penn., (Berks), 1727. He built the block house as a refuge from the Indians (part of which is still standing) on the mill creek, between Womelsdorf and Strouchsburg. Zeller, John Henry, wf. Anna Maria; c. John George, John Henry, John David, Hartman (Martin, ) John, Anna Maria Salzberger, Barbara, Catharine Pontus, Anna Elizabeth Battdorf. His son John George lived on the homestead in Marion Twp., between Winersville and Stouchsburg. (Note 1 - Roster of companies, Part 1.) _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 181 _______________________________________________________________________________________ George M. Zeller, a direct descentant of John Henry, is the landlord of the hotel, Stouchsburg. He m. Lizzie J. Bright; they have one son. Jacob1 Rahn, b. Aug. 8, 1827, wf. Margaretta, b. Aug. 4, 1714; c. Jacob and Adam. Jacob2 Rahn (Jacob1 ), b. July 16, 1757, d. 1823, m. Elizabeth Schneider. They had four sons and four daughters. Jacob2 was a soldier in the war of the Revolution (Part I.) Jacob2 was the father of George Rahn who came early to Orwigsburg from Kutztown, Berks County. He was one of the fist associate judges of Schuylkil County and Sheriff, 1820-1831. His children where Richard, Charles A. (Clerk of the Schuylkill courts, ) Mrs. Matilda Filbert, Oscar, and one da. Jacob Siegfried., Jacob’s name is found upon the Revolutionary war roster (Part I.) Michael, Andreas, John, Henry, Joseph and Jacob all took the oath of allegiance, 1777 1. Nicholas Seitzinger, wf. Barbara Setley, of Perry County, Pa., had seven sons and a number of daughters. He was a taxable, 1759, in Bethel Township, Berks County, and in 1795 owned land in Butler Township (Mahantongo) He was in the Revolutionary war. Children: George, m. to Catharine Kantner; Daniel m. Mary Ream; John m. ----Roland; Jacob m. Elizabeth Moyer, West Brunswick Township; Samuel m. ----Dreibelbeis; Nicholas m. -----Rowe, of Reading; Henry d. single; Catharine m. James Scott, father of Samuel Scott, wf. Mary Beyerle. Harvey3 Scott, (Samuel2, James1 ), retired merchant of Pottsville, m. Ella Lindenmuth; c. Effie, wf. of Charles Seltzer, one da., son d.; Laura, m., deceased; da. Laura. The daughters of Jacob2 Seitzinger (Nicholas1 ) were: Mrs. Robert Palmer, Mrs. Fred. Fernsler, Mrs. Annetta Schuyler, and Mrs. Adelia Hipple. (Note 1 - List of names, Berks Historical Society.) _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 182 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Jeremiah3 Seitzinger, County Commissioner and Court Crier, (Jacob2, Nicholas1 ), b. 1802 at Bull’s Head, m. Amanda, da. of Joseph Morgan, of Orwigsburg; their children were: Marcus, Aurora and Annie, wf. of G. Wesley Mortimer, d. Nicholas2 Seitzinger (Nicholas1 ), was an Associate Judge of Schuylkill County and lived at Tamaqua, Pa. Jacob lived on a farm at Bull’s Head. He built the first brick house in Pottsville, one the site of the Merchants’ Bank, opposite the Episcopal Church. His brick yard was located where the old Pennsylvania freight depot stands. He owned the lots where the Exhcnage Hotel is and constructed it from bricks made at his yard. The family lived in what is now the Eber building. Of other notable citizens among the early settlers of Pottsville, the majority were Pennsylvanians and claimed the seat of their nativity in one of the three original counties of 1682, Chester, Bucks and Philadelphia, from which devolved Lancaster, York, Montgomery, Dauphin, Lebanon, Northampton, Northumberland, Berks and other counties and are nearly all on record as citizens of Eastern Pennsylvania. The esoteric rights of the foregoing to Revolutionary and Colonial ancestry have been accepted by the writer, through personal assertion, hearsay evidence and tradition; no attempt having been made to establish their claims, except these noted and those that are correlative with established records found elswhere in these pages. (In the Pennsylvania Archives, War Department Records, Pension Bureau, etc. ) The great amount of labor required in such a research being left to such as are personally interested in verifying them. Nor has an effort been made by the author to individualize all of the early families that belonged to the maternal family of Berks County and settled in the eastern and northeastern part, now known as Schuylkill County, or of those mentioned whose descendants settled later in her environ- _______________________________________________________________________________________ Page 183 _______________________________________________________________________________________ ments. The foregoing, perhaps, are but a tithe of those who sprang from the nucleus of early settlers, when the division of counties in Eastern Pennsylvania was unknown or confined to the original three, Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks Counties, but sufficient have been given to prove the resiliency of their claims and their hereditary right to an ancestry, that through succeeding generations, has aided in propragating civilization in almost every State in the Union. Patrician or proletariat by heritage, the mission of the early settler in Pennsylvania was the same and the results speak for themselves. RETROSPECTIVE History is necessarily a work of compilation and research and is never fully complete. From its adolescent period up to the present time, to establish facts and their recurrence, a personal visitation and investigation, of the ground gone over, is imperative. During the years occupied in this research, the author traveled many miles, spending weeks in the principal historical libraries, of the State and inspected the church and court house records in the different counties involved in the historical and genealogical annals; many homesteads, too, were visited and individuals, personally, were interviewed upon the subjects treated upon in these pages. Of the hundreds of letters written to persons, many of which were not deemed of sufficient importance by the receivers to send a response; and from those received from others who kindly furnished what they knew, many facts relevant to the subject were gleaned. While the writer is painfully conscious of the ofttimes imperfect result of these researches, yet much original light _______________________________________________________________________________________