CHAPTER XXII.
BOROUGH OF CATASAUQUA
Matthews and Hungerford,
History of the Counties of Lehigh & Carbon, in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania 1884
This
vigorous little Vulcan of the valley has an interesting history, albeit it is
one which extends through scarcely more than two score years. It owes its
origin and growth to the successful solution of the long-vexed problem of how
to make iron by the use of anthracite coal as fuel. The Lehigh Crane Iron
Company began operations here in 1839, with David Thomas as their
superintendent. They sought to make iron with the fuel which nature had placed
in vast abundance in the Lehigh region, succeeded in a degree equal to their
most sanguine hopes, and the industry established by the company built up a
town on this favored spot which had for a hundred years been farming land, its
owners never anticipating the busy scenes to be enacted upon it.
Catasauqua
takes its name from the creek which empties into the Lehigh River below it,
though this appellation must have been originally applied by the Indians to
some tract of land upon its banks, for it means literally "dry
ground" or "burnt ground.''
It is not improbable that it was a term used to designate a spot which
the aboriginal inhabitants swept with fire in successive years, for the purpose
of destroying the undergrowth that they might better follow the chase. Such was
their custom in many localities. However this may have been, we find the name
first used by the whites to designate the small stream which is also marked on
some old maps " Mill Creek," from the fact that the first mill in the
neighborhood was built upon its bead-waters by Thomas Wilson in 1735. The name
was originally spelled "Catasocque,"
but it is probable that its proper pronunciation is better represented by the
present orthography.
For
a number of years after the settlement of the town it was called Craneville, in
honor of the Welsh ironmaster with whom David Thomas, the father of the works,
established here, had been associated in making his experiments with anthracite
coal as a furnace fuel. It is a fact not commonly known that in 1845, when the
idea of making a change was agitated, the name "Sideropolis" was
suggested as the name of the village, and actually used for a brief season. This Greek name meant Iron City.
Application is said to have been made to the Postmaster-General to have the
post-office name also changed from Craneville to "Sideropolis," but
if such petition was ever made it was not granted, and shortly afterwards the
soft and musical Indian appellation was happily adopted.
Origin
of Land Title. 1 — The
town is situated on a portion of a tract of land containing two thousand seven
hundred and twenty-three acres, and part of a tract of ten thousand acres. It was described as
follows: " Beginning at a
black oak standing on the east bank of the West Branch of the Delaware [the
Lehigh is always called the West Branch of the Delaware in old land warrants]
(about two hundred perches in a northerly direction from the northern point of
the large island in the Lehigh River (at Allentown), thence by land of Caspar
Wistar east two hundred and two perches to a small hickory; thence by vacant
land north 6¡ 47' west twelve hundred and eighty-eight perches to a post in a line of John
Page's other land; thence by the
same and land of William Allen west
four hundred and forty-two perches to a Cader standing on
ye bank of said West Branch (about forty
perches in a southerly direction from the mouth of Hockquandaugoa Creek, at the village of
Stemton); thence down the West
Branch, the several courses
thereof, to the place of beginning, containing two thousand seven hundred and twenty-three
acres, being part of ten thousand
acres devised by William Penn unto his daughter Letitia, who afterwards
intermarried with William Aubrey of the city of London."
The
ten thousand acre tract was afterwards transferred by William and Laetitia
Aubrey unto John Knight of the Liberty of Westminster, in the county of
Middlesex. England, by indenture bearing date 4th and 5th November, 1724, and
conveyed by them to John Page of Austin Fryars, London, by indenture bearing
date 4th and 5th November, 1730. The title of the ten thousand acre tract was
perfected on the 8th and 9th of February, 1731, by indenture tripartite made
between William and Laetitia Aubrey, of the first part, John, Thomas, and Richard Penn, of the second part, and John Page, of the third
part.
The
two thousand seven hundred and twenty-three acre tract was surveyed by Nicholas
Scull, Oct. 10, 1736, in pursuance of a warrant dated at London, Oct. 10, 1731,
in order to complete the residue and quantity of land conveyed to John Page.
The
patent from the proprietaries of Pennsylvania erected the tract into a manor by
the name of Chawton, and granted to Page and his heirs the power to "erect and constitute within the
said manor a Court Baron, "and leave "to have and to hold view of
Frank Pledges for the consideration of the Peace," etc., in consideration
of which Page or his heirs was to yield and pay to the proprietaries, their
"heirs and successors, one Red Rose
on the 24th of June in every year forever hereafter to such person or
persons as shall be from time to
time appointed to receive the
same."
John Page, by his will bearing date July
18, 1741, devised all his land and estate in Pennsylvania to Evan Patterson, of old Broad Street,
London, who, by letter of attorney
dated July 7, 1750, appointed
William Allen, of the city of Philadelphia, and William Webb, of the
county of Chester, his true and
lawful attorneys, to bargain, sell, or convey any lands in his manor.
Among
the names of the early settlers and purchasers of this tract are those of
Thomas Armstrong, Robert Gibson, Robert Clendennin, Joseph Wright, John
Elliott, Andrew Mann, George Taylor, and Nathaniel Taylor.
The
Armstrong tract contained about three hundred and thirty acres, the greater
part of which is now owned by Jacob Deily. This was purchased in 1760 by George
Taylor, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Robert
Gibson's tract contained one hundred and ninety-three and a half acres, and
included the farm afterwards owned by the Fausts.
That
portion of the tract which constitutes the Deily farm, adjoining the borough,
passed into the possession of one Eddy, of Philadelphia, about 1767. He sold to George Beisel, who
transferred it to George Geisinger about 1814, who in turn sold it to his
son-in-law, Jacob Deily.
That
portion of the tract on which the greater part of the town is built appears to
have passed into the possession of Andrew Hower, and Marks John Biddle secured
one hundred and ninety acres at sheriff's sale in 1795. From him Frederick
Biery made his first purchase in 1805. Biddle also sold some portions of his
lands to Zeigler, who sold to Biery and Kurtz. Hower retained a small amount of
land until 1823, when he sold to John Peters.
Early
Residents. — Prior to the
establishment of the iron-works the locality which was known as Biery 's Port
was settled in about the same degree as the surrounding country, the few
residents being farmers, with one or two exceptions. There were but four
families living upon the ground, which the town now covers, the Bierys, Fausts,
Peters, and Breischs, and of these one family (the Fausts) were beyond the
present borough limits. The Deilys lived in the old stone house south of the
creek, built in 1767, and Mr. Kurtz west of town, on the farm where he still
resides.
The
Bierys — Frederick and Henry — had come to the locality early in
the present century, and bought the stone mill now owned by William Younger,
who rebuilt it in 1869. Henry Biery soon removed to New York, and Frederick
remaining, exerted energy in making many improvements in the neighborhood. He
carried on what was known as Biery's Ferry, and in 1824 built a chain bridge,
which was swept away by the high water of 1841. It was rebuilt the same year,
and in the progress of the work Daniel Tombler received injuries from which he
died. This bridge, which was also
a chain structure, was destroyed by the flood of 1862, and the present
structure was then erected. He built a stone tavern (still standing and
occupied as a private house) in 1826, and a stone building of the same material
(also remaining) in 1835; also the stone house now occupied by James Thomas.
Thus a little cluster of buildings was in existence al the east end of Biery's
Bridge before the site of Catasauqua had been chosen for manufacturing
purposes. Frederick Biery was a man of ability, industry, and good character.
His sons were Daniel, Jonas, Solomon, David, and William; and his daughters
were the wives of N. Snyder.
Samuel Koehler, and Jacob Beihle. Solomon, whose widow (Mary Fredericks)
still resides in Catasauqua, seems to have inherited his father's energy, and
was during his whole life an active character. He carried on the tavern for
many years, and was postmaster.
Jonas, who was engaged in the lumber trade, is now represented in the
town by a son.
John
Peters lived at what is now the corner of Bridge and Front Streets, and this
Spot is still marked by his old stone barn. He moved to this location in 1823
from Heidelberg (where he was born in 1799), and bought his small farm of
Andrew Hower, at first occupying a house which had been built by John Zoundt,
and afterwards erected a stone dwelling. He followed weaving- for nine years,
and was one of the first lock-tenders for the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company. In 1851 he moved away, and now resides in Allentown with his daughter,
Mrs. Owen Schwartz.
The
Faust family, of which we have made mention, had been long settled where Walter
Faust now lives, just north of the borough boundary. The first representative
of the family here was John Philip Faust, great-grandfather of the present
occupant of the property. Jonas, his son, on the death of John Philip, about
1831, received his lands, and, dying two years later, the farm was accepted at
its appraised value of fifty dollars per acre by his son Paul, who lived upon
it until his death, in November, 1883. A portion of his land was divided and
sold in town lots.
The
following sketch of Paul Faust was contributed by Win. H. Glace, Esq., of
Catasauqua, the family solicitor:
"
The subject of this sketch was born Sept. 30, 1809, and died at the homestead
in Allen Township, Northampton Co., immediately outside of the limits of the
borough of Catasauqua on Nov. 12, 1883, aged seventy-four years, one month, and
twelve days.
"As
he had spent his whole life on the farm where he died, and as all that portion
of land comprised between Bridge Street, west of the Howertown road, up to
Swartz's dam, in Allen township, at one time belonged to him or to his
ancestors, with the exception of about eleven acres, which belonged to Henry
Breisch and was sold to the late David Thomas about 1847, it was thought a
brief sketch of the titles as well as of his life would not fail to prove
interesting to at least some of the older residents of this vicinity.
"
At the time of his birth and early manhood the surrounding country was but
thinly settled, his nearest neighbors on the south being John Peters and
Frederick Biery, the first named living at a point near the canal, some twenty
feet north of the plank walk leading to the canal bridge, the old barn
belonging to his place still standing opposite Boyer's store, while those on
the north were Michael Fenstermacher and John Swartz; on the east the Kurtzes,
and on the opposite side of
the river the Miller, Mickley,
Butz, and Biery families. His great-grandfather, Henry Faust, purchased
the farm — originally one hundred and ninety-three and a half
acres— of Robert Gibson, a Scotch-Irish settler, who owned two thousand
seven hundred and twenty-three acres in Allen Township, embracing all that land
from a point near Bridge Street to Stemton, west of the Howertown
"Prior
to the Revolution the lands hereabouts on the east side of the west branch of
the Delaware, as then called, was all owned by Scotch-Irish settlers; south of
Bridge Street to Taylor's land (now Deily's) was owned by Jos. Wright; that
east of Howertown road, in Hanover township, by Robert Clendennin, while that
north of Gibson's large tract being owned
by Andrew Mann.
"The
immense immigration from the Palatinate at the invitation of Penn and his
agents in the early part of the eighteenth century, as well as the large number
of Hessians who settled lower down the river after the battle of Trenton, began
to crowd out the Irish settlers even at that early day, until now there remains
but few of the broad acres of Northampton County in the possession of their
descendants.
"Their
large farms were cut up in smaller tracts, and under the stubborn will, patient
plodding, and untiring industry, characteristic of the race, transferred the
wilderness and forest into the rich agricultural lands of today.
"Among
these early settlers was Henry Faust, who was born in Albany township, Berks
Co., and was the son of one of two brothers, Bastian or John Faust, who had
landed at Philadelphia at an early
period of Penn's emigration from the Palatinate, and settled in Berks County. He died April
14th, 1795, leaving to survive him a widow and eight children. The eldest son, John Philip, the
grandfather of Paul Faust, accepted the land at the appraisement, which was
calculated in pounds, shillings, and pence.
"He
built the old stone mansion, still in good condition, and purchased five acres
which was afterwards sold to Mr. Kratzer, who sold to John Peter, who, in
addition to managing his small farm, carried on the business of weaving. In
addition, John Philip Faust purchased five acres of land from Yarrick Rockel,
being the land now bounded by Third, Pine, and Walnut Streets to Howertown
road, while about eleven acres were sold to the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company to build the dam and canal to supersede the floating of arks of coal
down the river.
" Upon his death, July 12,
1832, leaving to survive him a widow and four children, the eldest of whom,
Jonas Faust, accepted the land at the appraisement at fifty-five dollars per
acre, being the upper tract, while
Elizabeth Knauss, his sister, accepted the lower tract of sixty acres, and soon alter sold to John Peter, who thus increased his acres to
seventy-five, and all of which,
less some lots sold, passed into the
possession of the late David Thomas about 1850. Jonas Faust died the following year,
after acceptance of the farm, leaving to survive him a widow and seven
children, the eldest, Paul Faust, the subject of our article, accepted, on Jan.
24, 1834, the land at the appraisement of fifty dollars per acre. He was at
this time twenty-four years of age, and took upon himself a burden few, at that
time of scarcity of money and poor markets, would undertake, and a less
sturdier man would have despaired of retaining the land. For, in addition to the recognizances
entered into to secure his brothers and sisters their share, there were those
of his father's who had died soon after his acceptance of the land, and also
three dowers, viz.: his
great-grandmother, Catharine, widow of Henry Faust, who long lived on the place
in a small house, long afterwards occupied by Jesse Brown, at the lower spring,
now the site of F. W. Wint & Co.'s planing-mill, but who afterwards
remarried to a farmer named Huth, and died at an advanced age in Moore
township, near the Blue Mountain; the dower of his grandmother, Barbara, who
died Oct. 4, 1842, at the residence of her daughter, at the stone mansion still standing near the entrance of the
bridge across the Lehigh from
Stemton to Coplay; the dower of his
mother, who subsequently remarried Henry Breisch, and is remembered by the earlier
residents, who occupied the farm of eleven acres and old stone house, lately destroyed, at corner of Third
and Bridge Streets, which was
owned and built at an early day by a farmer named Gross.
"
The late David Thomas came here in 1839, and the town of Catasauqua was
commenced, but it was a half-mile across the fields from his farm to the works,
with the Peter's farm between. There was no road where Front Street now is; the
road led from the dam along the canal west of the house, crossed present Front
Street where Chapel Street intersects, and was laid out at an early day in a
direction due east, passing where the chapel of the First Presbyterian Church
stands, and along north side of the Breisch farm-house to the Howertown road
where it intersects with the road to Bethlehem, which passes the farm-house of
Henry Kurtz.
"Prior
to 1860, Paul Faust had sold a lot to the Catholic Church, and a few others
south of Chapel Street, on Front and Second Streets, which helped him to pay
off some of his liabilities; lots, however, were cheap, and it was not until
1865 that he was fairly out of debt. The last dower was paid off in 1870 upon
the death of his mother, the widow of Henry Breisch, who died at Allentown,
where, she had removed with her husband at the time of sale of their land to
the late David Thomas, about 1847, the previous year, at an advanced age.
"
By the rapid extension of the town northward, at the close of the war, the
deceased sold about forty-five acres, besides the new canal tract, to the Lehigh
Coal and Navigation Company for town lots, the greater portion lying in
Northampton County, and at the time of his death had accumulated considerable
wealth, his land, prior to the panic of 1873, being valued by good judges at
seventy-live thousand dollars.
"
He was the oldest of seven children, the others being Joseph Faust, South
Whitehall; Reuben Faust, Catasauqua; David Faust, president Union National Bank
of Philadelphia; William Faust, of Allentown, lately deceased; Elizabeth Laub,
Kreidersville; and Maria Koch, of Allentown.
"
Mr. Faust was married, Jan. 6, 1835, to Amelia Brenig, who was born Sept. 7,
1816, in Long Swamp township, Berks Co., Pa., and was one of twelve children,
having eight sisters and three brothers. She was the daughter of George Brenig
and Polly Wetzell. His widow
resides on the homestead, and the five children, viz., Amy Borger, at Peru,
Ill.; Walter, on the farm; Jane Koehler, in Easton; and M. Alice and Clara B.,
with their mother.
"
His form was a familiar one to all the residents here, and he possessed strong
physical and mental characteristics, which, if fortune had smiled more kindly
upon him in his earlier years, would have made him a successful man in any
sphere of life he might have chosen. Of more than average size, a positive man
of strong likes and dislikes, his confidence was slow to obtain, but when once
gained it could not easily be shaken. His nature was too kind and easy,
however, for that of a successful financier, and he was often imposed upon in
monetary matters by designing, unscrupulous men, as he was loath to impute
dishonesty to any one. He had strong domestic tastes, was retiring in his
habits, and his life was a singularly pure one, — a man of few words,
good judgment, and none can say that he was ever heard to speak disparagingly
of or to his fellow-men. Of methodical habits, careful in all his transactions,
leaving a record with his vouchers, and papers carefully kept and filed away,
slow to make a promise, yet when once made, he thought it his conscientious
duty to perform it, though at great pecuniary sacrifice.
"All of the original land-owners
here when the iron-works were first started have now passed away except John
Peters, who resides at Allentown, and Henry Kurtz, who, at a good old age,
resides upon his farm in Hanover township."
Henry
Breisch, who was a stone-mason, lived where Dr. Daniel Yoder now does, and
owned ten acres of land
surrounding his humble home. At the time the town was laid out a road extended
up the hill from the Faust farmhouse, past Breisch's home, and onward to the
Howertown road. The land on the gentle slope, where are now the best residences
of Catasauqua, was in part tilled and in part rough pasture land, in many
places overgrown with brush and
trees.
Among
the first settlers after the establishment of the iron-works were the Williams
family, the Fullers, James Lackey, Samuel Glace, Joshua Hunt, Joseph Laubach,
Peter Laux, Charles G. Schneller, and Nathan Fegley.
David
Williams, father of Thomas (who was killed on the railroad in 1872), of David
(now superintendent of the Union Foundry), of John (cashier of the Crane
Iron-Works), and of Oliver (president of the Catasauqua Manufacturing Company),
came here in 1840 from Wales, and took a contract for moulding with the Crane Company. His death
occurred in 1845.
James
W. Fuller, father of the well-known citizens Orange M., James W., Abbott F.,
and Clinton H., came from Freemansburg in 1842, and died in Catasauqua thirty
years later. He was a contractor and merchant. Four brothers of James W. Fuller
(Charles D., George W., Abbott, and Orlando) became residents of the town, and
their father, Chauncy D. Fuller, also settled here. He was a popular justice,
and long in office. He died in 1867. Of his sons, only one is living, —
Orlando, who is located in Bethlehem.
Samuel
Glace, of Luzerne County, who had been engaged with the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Company as early as 1828, entered the employ of the Crane Iron
Company in 1842, and settled here in that year. He is still living, a hale and
well-preserved man. William H. Glace, Esq., is his son, and Mrs. Dr. Yoder his
daughter.
Joshua
Hunt, a native of Chester County, came here in 1848, as the bookkeeper of the
Crane Iron Company.
James
Lackey, a native of Heading, came to Catsauqua about the time the operations
were commenced which developed the town, and was the first merchant drawn
hither by those operations. The Bierys and a man named Neilly had, however, previously
kept store here. Mr. Lackey had his stock of goods in a small frame house at
first, and afterwards in the stone house where George Deily now lives. He
remained in Catasauqua until 1858, when, having been elected prothonotary, he
removed to Allentown, where he now resides. One of his daughters (Mary
Margaret) married Esaias Rehrig, now president of the Allentown National Bank,
who carried on boat-building and the mercantile business in Catasauqua from
1852 to 1858.
Nathan
Fegley came to the promising new town soon after Mr. Lackey, and opened a store where Corwin
& Bro. now do business. Afterwards he kept a temperance hotel, and in
addition to his mercantile
business opened the first lumber and coal-yard in Catasauqua. He left in
1854, and his store passed into the possession of Weaver, Mickley & Co., a
firm which was composed of V. Weaver, Edwin Mickley, Samuel Thomas, and John Thomas.
In
1847, Joseph Laubach came Inn from Allen Township, Northampton and opened a
store near Biery's Bridge. In 1850 he bought his present property, and two
years later opened the Eagle House, which was the first hotel after that
carried on by the Bierys. In this connection we will add that the Catasauqua
House, of which Alfred S. Fry is proprietor, was built by Jesse Knauss about
the same time that Mr. Laubach became a Boniface, and that the present American
House, of which C. F. Bogh is landlord, was built by Solomon Biery in 1856,
while the Pennsylvania House, now kept by Mr. Guth, was erected about 1857.
The
oldest merchant of the town is now Charles G. Schneller, he having started in business in a small way on
Second Street and Mulberry Alley in 1848, and followed mercantile life without
intermission since. In 1854 he
moved to his present location on Front Street, where he has sold stoves and
hardware for thirty years. He is a native of Bethlehem, and came to Catasauqua
from Bucks County.
Other
early merchants were Getz & Gilbert, who established themselves in 1854;
Peter Laubach, who opened a store shortly afterwards; and Joseph and J. W.
Schwartz, who began, in 1856, the business which is still continued by the sons
of the former, — T. J. and
Preston F. Schwartz.
Morgan
Emanuel, a native of Wales, was another early resident, who did much towards
the development of the town. He
died April 11, 1884, aged nearly eighty years.
The
population increased quite rapidly from the founding of the town, and in 1853
the following persons all owned property here :
| George
Andrew, tailor. |
Henry
Fenstermacher. |
William
Miller, merchant. |
| John
Albright |
Nathan
Fegley. |
William
Minnick. |
| Nathan
Andreas. |
George
Foehler. |
John
Machette. |
| William
Biery, carpenter. |
Owen
Frederick, cabinet-maker. |
William
McLelland (3d). |
| Solomon
Biery. |
William
Fegley, carpenter. |
William
Neighley, carpenter. |
| Joseph
Brown, tailor. |
Augustus
Gilbert. |
James
Neverns. |
| John
Boyer. |
Henry
Gaetz. |
David
Neighley. |
| Hugh
Bratton, laborer. |
James
Ginder, boat-builder. |
Frederick
W Nagle. |
| Jonas
Biery. |
William
Gress, merchant and inn- keeper. |
Samuel
L. Nevaull. |
| Daniel
Biery. |
Peter
Hinley. |
Samuel
Old. |
| Jacob
Beil. |
Levi
Haas. |
Reuben
Patterson, shoemaker. |
| Aaron
Bart, carpenter |
Henry
Heck, saddler. |
Jacob
Ruthman, mason. |
| John
Brobst. |
John
Heck. |
William
Romig. |
| William
Bayard. |
Joshua
Hunt. |
Charles
W. Rau, saddler. |
| Charles
Becker, minister. |
William
Jones. |
John
Roth. |
| Washburn
Bough, boat-builder. |
John
Jones. |
Samuel
Romick. |
| Lewis
Bongh. |
David
D. Jones. |
Patrick
Roney. |
| Lucinda
Biers |
Aaron
Koch. |
Jacob
Leem, shoemaker. |
| Stephen
Biers |
Owen
Kuntz, blacksmith. |
Simon
Stearns, machinist. |
| David
Bedelmon, weaver. |
Jesse
Knauss, liveryman. |
Jonathan
Snyder, tinsmith. |
| Christian
Bough. |
William
Kreider. |
Charles
G. Schneider, mason. |
| Amos
Bushmeir, tailor. |
John
Kooon, blacksmith. |
Charles
Sigley. |
| John
Clark. |
Anthony
Knapp, mason. |
William
Stillwagon. |
| Samuel
Calver |
William
Kratzer. |
Nicholas
Snyder. |
| William
Cramsey. |
Reuben
Kratzer. |
Samuel
Still. |
| Jacob
Christ. |
Henry
Kurtz. |
Owen
Scwartz. |
| Charles
Deiler. |
Samuel
Koehler. |
Solomon
Swall. |
| Noah
Davis. |
James
Kerr. |
James
Snyder. |
| Daniel
Davis. |
A.
Kromer. |
Peter
Sheckler. |
| Reuben
Ditgard. |
Joseph
Lichtenwallner. |
George
Snyder. |
| George
Deily |
James
Lackey, merchant. |
Joseph
Troxell, shoemaker |
| Jacob
Deily, wheelwright. |
Widow
Leibort. |
David
A. Tumbler. |
| Frederick
Eberhard, contractor. |
Joseph
Laubach, innkeeper. |
David
Thomas. |
| Morgan
Emanuel. |
S.
H. Laciar, tinsmith. |
David
Thomas, Jr. |
| Samuel
Evans. |
John
Laubacb. |
John
Thomas. |
| John
Evans. |
Laciar
& Co., merchants. |
Samuel
Thomas. |
| Phillip
Fenstermacher. |
Jonas
Lilly. |
Maria
Troxell. |
| Paul
Faust. |
Robert
Mclntyre, contractor. |
Widow
Wyman. |
| James
W Fuller, contractor. |
Widow
McAllister. |
David
Williams. |
|
Nathan Frederick, innkeeper. |
John
Mclntyre. |
E.
P. Weiss, merchant. |
| Thomas
Frederick, merchant. |
Peter
Morey. |
Enos
Weaver. |
| Jacob
V. Fogel. |
Jacob
Miller. |
John
Wilson. |
| Reuben
Fenstemacher. |
William
McLelland. |
Henry
Youndt. |
| |
|
Enoch
Youndt. |
Among
the tenants at this time were Moses E. Albright and William Steckel, merchants;
Henry Bush and Charles Nolf, innkeepers; Benjamin Bush, miller; William Dice,
carpenter; Cornelius Earle, minister; and Martin Franklin, physician.
The
growth of the place and its closely concentrated interests had led many, as
early as 1850, to think that local government would best subserve the interests
of the town.
Incorporated
as a Borough. — Application was made
to the Court of Quarter Sessions of Lehigh County for the incorporation of
Catasauqua, April 1, 1851, and on Feb. 1, 1853, after being submitted to the
grand jury, the petition was granted and the village was made the incorporated
Borough of Catasauqua. The boundaries were as follows: "Beginning at a
point in the river Lehigh, at low-water mark; thence through land of Paul
Faust, on the line dividing the county of Lehigh from the county of Northampton
to the public road leading from the bridge to Howertown ; thence down the said
road in the middle thereof to a stone corner between lands of George Breinig
and Henry Kurtz; thence on the line between the said lands of the said Breinig
and Kurtz to Catasauqua Creek; thence down said creek the several courses and
distances thereof to its junction with
the river Lehigh; thence up the said river Lehigh, the several distances and courses
thereof at low-water mark to the
place of beginning."
The
court further directed that the election of borough officers should he held on
the third Friday of March, at the public-house of Charles Nolf, under the
superintendence of James Lackey as judge, and of Nathan Frederick and James W.
Fuller as inspectors.
The
first officers were Burgess, David Thomas; Secretary, Owen Rice; Treasurer,
Joshua Hunt; High Constable, Charles Sigley; Solicitor, James S. Reese.
In
consequence of necessary grading, and at places heavy excavations, in streets
and the building of a lock-up the
debt of the borough at the end of the
first fiscal year amounted to three thousand two hundred dollars, and in
consequence of paying land damages
for the opening of streets, interest, and further grading, the debt on the 1st
of April, 1855, amounted to four
thousand dollars. On the 1st of April 1868, it was five thousand dollars, and
from that time forward for a number of years the receipts were not sufficient
to pay the interest and current expenses, and there was an annual deficit. The
expense of building the town hall and purchasing fire apparatus, etc., amounted
to twenty-two thousand dollars; and there being an average annual deficit of
seven hundred dollars, the debt was found in April, 1874, to be thirty-six
thousand six hundred and nine dollars. The tax-levy had never amounted to more
than three thousand eight hundred dollars prior to 1874, but in that year the
triennial assessment showed a valuation of more than double the previous
assessments, and thus met a long-felt want, increasing the tax-levy so as to
pay current expenses.2
An
act of Assembly to amend the charter of the borough was passed March 25, 1861,
and other acts were passed from
time to time changing the place of
holding elections.
A
petition praying for the division of the borough into two wards, signed by
forty-nine citizens, was presented to the Court of Quarter Sessions in April
1876. This measure was opposed by
a number of citizens, but was accomplished, a decree of court being issued Jan.
19, 1877, dividing the town into the First and Second Wards.
The
town hall was built in 1868, by Fuller & Graffin, whose proposal therefor
was eleven thousand five hundred dollars. The ultimate cost was fourteen
thousand dollars, a number of changes from the original plan being made. The
building is a handsome two-story brick structure. The lower floor contains a
Council chamber and a large room by the Phoenix Fire Company, and the second
floor is finished as a public hall, which has a fine stage, used for dramatic and musical entertainments,
lectures, etc.
The
burgesses from 1853 to 1883 have been:
| 1853. David Thomas. |
1872-73. John Williams. |
| 1854. John Boyer |
1874. Melchior H. Horn. |
| 1855. Uriah Brunner. |
1875. George Bower. |
| 1856-57. David Thomas. |
1876. William H. Glace. |
| 1858-59. William Goetz. | |
1877. F. W. Wint. |
| 1860. A.C. Lewis. |
1878-79. Henry Davis. |
| 1861-69. John Williams. |
1880-83. Philip Storm. |
| 1870-71. James C. Beitel. |
|
The
justices of the peace of the borough of Catasauqua
from the time of its incorporation to the present
have been as follows:
| |
Comissioned |
|
Comissioned |
| James Hudders |
April 13, 1853 |
W. H. Glace |
Oct. 28, 1874 |
| C. D. Fuller |
April 10, 1855 |
A. F. Koons |
March 13, 1875 |
| George Frederick |
April 13.1858 |
R. C Hammersley |
March 13, 1875 |
| C. D. Fuller |
April10, 1860 |
Edwin Gilbert |
March 19,1877 |
| John H. Wolf |
April 15, 1862 |
James Courtney |
March 25, 1878 |
| H. D. Yeager |
May 11, 1864 |
William J. Craig |
March 27, 1879 |
| Joseph Hunter |
April 11, 1865 |
A. F. Koons |
April 1, 1880 |
| R. C. Hammersley |
April 11, 1865 |
R. C Hammersley |
March 30, 1880 |
| R. C. Hammersley |
April 8, 1870 |
A. F. Koons |
March 30, 1880 |
| W. H. Glace |
April 18, 1870 |
A. N. Uhlrich |
April 6, 1883 |
Through
the liberal and enterprising character of its inhabitants the town was provided
at an early period of its history with gas- and water-works.
The
Flood of 1862. — Catasauqua was the
scene of great excitement during the flood of June 4th and 5th, 1862. The water here rose above its
usual level from twenty-four to twenty-seven feet, and was about four and a
half feet higher than the flood of 1841. All of the bridges, with several small
buildings, many thousand feet of lumber, wagons, fences, etc., were carried away.
A writer3 on the flood says, "The engineer of the Crane Iron
Company stayed in the engine-room, and was instrumental in rescuing one or two
persons from drowning. Many of the boats which were here loaded with ore from
New Jersey were lost, and with them, the boatmen engaged upon them lost their
all. A German family from Newark,
N. J., consisting of man, wife, and two children, were on their boat at
Parryville when the flood loosened it. They got to shore here, and when we saw
them their boat laid a complete wreck a little below the town. They had escaped
from death, but the only earthly possessions saved by them were the clothes
upon their backs. Another family,
from Stanhope. N. J., who were running an ore-boat, containing all of their
goods, lost it. They were all
knocked off the boat, and their infant child, about fourteen months old,
drowned; their other child was saved. The woman was rescued by some of the
hands employed by the Crane Iron Company, and the man found a refuge in the
engine-house. When morning
dawned, so that objects could be seen, two men were discovered upon a
cinder-bank in the middle of the stream; at another point a man and boy in one
tree. A father occupied another, while his daughter occupied one close by, and
a small girl was holding on to a resting-place at the archway at Biery's
Bridge. Attempts were made, by making a raft and attaching a rope to it, to
reach them, but owing to the strength of the current that and other means
failed. John Thomas, the superintendent of the Crane Iron Company, collecting a
lot of their carpenters together, had a flat-bottom boat built for the
occasion, in the short space of one hour and a half, by which means they were
all brought safely to shore about eight o'clock.
"In
speaking with a resident of this place, he remarked that 'the scene was an
awful one; while he, with others, stood on the river-bank, through the roar of
the angry elements they could distinctly hear the agonizing cry of men, women,
and children, as they were hurried past by the resistless torrent, on
boats, logs, etc.' It was
heartrending to listen, and feel they
were powerless to help. Had the means been at hand the floating masses
of boats and lumber on the rushing waters would not have permitted the efforts
without encountering almost certain destruction. One dwelling-house below the
town was carried off, and farther down, at Wheeler's lock, a house, a barn,
and several cows and horses were
swept away from one person, and
another lost house, barn, and all their
contents, with the exception of one horse."
The
Crane Iron-Works. See Crane
Iron Works History.
David
Thomas. David Thomas's life and times are thoroughly documented here. Much of
the material used in this Mathews and Hungerford article is found in these
articles.
Samuel Thomas. See the article on Samuel Thomas
appearing in the List of Biographies.
The
Catasauqua Manufacturing Company. See Catasauqua
Manufacturing Co..
The
Union Foundry and Machine Company. See Union Foundry and
Machine Co..
Davies
& Thomas' Foundry. See Davies
and Thomas.
The Lehigh Fire-Brick Company(Limited).—
Among the leading industries of the town is that carried on by the
Lehigh Fire-Brick Company, which
owe their origin to David Thomas, and their present extent and prosperous condition very
largely to Joshua Hunt. The works were started in 1868 by the late David
Thomas, the well-known iron manufacturer,
and Messrs. Oliver Ritter and Samuel McHose. The last two gentlemen
retiring, Mr. Thomas associated
with himself in 1873 his sons and son-in-law, Joshua Hunt. On Jan. 1,
1883, the property passed into the possession of a chartered company. This
change was scarcely more than
nominal, the company consisting of
Joshua Hunt, John Thomas, and representatives of the estate of David Thomas. With every facility for shipment by rail or canal that
could be desired, and a region contiguous in which there exists an especial
need for their wares, the company does a
thriving business. The well-known Woodbridge clay is used, and
fire-bricks are manufactured from it of every shape and for all purposes,
— furnaces, ovens, arches, linings, jams, boshes, cupolas, etc. The
buildings, which are of stone, two stories in height, are under one roof, and
cover an area of two hundred and
eight; by one hundred and sixty feet. There are also five kilns of large capacity, and the works are supplied with the best known
apparatus. About fifty men have
employment here, under the immediate supervision of Mr. David Hunt. Recently
an interesting and novel
experiment has been tried here with success, that of burning bricks with
petroleum, and it is not improbable that this fuel may be introduced upon a
large scale.
Joshua
Hunt Biography
Planing-Mill.
— Quite an extensive planing-mill
was started about twenty years ago by Schwartz & Yeager. The firm subsequently became Schwartz, Yeager
& Wint, then Yeager, Wint & Syphers, and, in 1873, Wint & Co. Mr.
F. W. Wint dying in 1881, the business was carried on by the representatives of
his estate, and O. F. Fatzinger and J. P. Wint. The firm, which still goes by
the name of F. W. Wint & Co., employs twenty men, and operates a saw-mill
and planing-mill, as well as conducting a large business in lumber and
coal.
Bryden
Forged Horse-Shoe Works. — The
newest manufacturing institution is that started by the Bryden Horse-Shoe
Company, which was organized in 1882, with a capital of sixty thousand dollars,
Joshua Hunt being president, Oliver Williams secretary and treasurer, and P. F.
Greenwood superintendent. The company was organized, and erected works for the
purpose of manufacturing horseshoes under patents issued to George Bryden, of
Hartford, Conn. All other machine-made shoes are rolled, and the heel and
toe-caulks arc then welded on by the blacksmith, whereas the Bryden shoe is
formed complete under the blows of a heavy hammer. The works employ about
thirty men, and have a capacity of from two and a half to three tons of horse-shoes
per day.
The
Younger Grist-Mill. — There has been
a grist- mill at this site for at least a century, but by whom the first
structure was built is not known. The property was long in possession of the Biery
family, and since 1855 has been owned by the firm of Younger & Berger, and
by Mr. William Younger alone. The present mill at Biery's bridge is a
four-story stone structure of most substantial character. The milling machinery
is of the latest improved variety, and Mr. Younger, who since 1871 has been the
sole proprietor, is thus enabled to turn out a large amount of the very best
flour.
Milton
Berger, who was for several years one of the proprietors of this mill, was the
son of John and Hannah Berger, and born in Upper Saucon township, Aug. 11,
1833. Subsequently he removed with his parents to Bethlehem, and was married in
1855 to Miss Anna Maria Reich. Their children are Charles E. (of the firm of
Roney & Berger, of Allentown), Ida V., and Milton. Mr. Berger was married a
second time, to Miss Caroline Reich, a sister of his first wife, whose children
are John F. and Robert J. He subsequently married Jane A. Lackey, of Allentown,
who survives him. Mr: Berer, after some year's experience as a clerk in
Bethlehem, in 1856 removed to Catasauqua, and, as member of the firm of Berger
& Younger, conducted an extensive milling business, which was continued
until his death in the thirty-ninth year of his age. He was in politics a
Republican, and held various minor offices in the borough, though not active in
the political field nor ambitious for official distinction. Both in official
and business life he evinced exceptional business capacity, was honorable in
all commercial transactions, and manifested a rare kindness and generosity when
opportunity occurred for the display of those virtues. He was a member of the
Reformed Church of Catasauqua, and formerly superintendent of the Sunday-
school. The death of Mr. Berger occurred Jan. 21, 1872, in his thirty-ninth
year.
William
Younger, present proprietor of the mill bearing his name, is a son of Casper
Younger, born in 1790, and an officer in the war of L812, who was a native of Bavaria, and having (migrated
with his parents to America, settled
with them in Lehigh County. He
married Catherine Fink, of Upper Saucon, and had children, — Elizabeth,
Elias, Edward, Louisa (Mrs. Samuel Eberts), and William. Mr. Younger was by
trade a carpenter, and followed his vocation successfully, both in Philadelphia
and in the Lehigh Valley. He died in 1869, in his seventy-ninth year. His son
William was born Nov. 25, 1825, in Upper Saucon, but when an infant removed
with his parents to Philadelphia. Here, on reaching a suitable age, and after
he had received the rudiments of an English education, he was apprenticed to a
silversmith. At the age of eighteen he returned to Upper Saucon, and with his
uncle, John Berger, engaged in milling enterprises. At the age of twenty-one he
returned to Philadelphia, and being inspired by a spirit of adventure enlisted
in 1847 in Company B, Third United States Dragoons, under Capt. Butler, for the
Mexican war. The company was principally engaged in guarding supply trains and
in occasional skirmishing, their camps being successively at Palo Alto,
Matamoras, and Mier, at the head of the Rio Grande. At the expiration of
eighteen months of service the company was discharged, in July 1848, at
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. For a brief interval Mr. Younger engaged in the
pursuit of his trade, but the love of adventure and travel predominating, he
started in 1850 for California, and returning in 1852, made a second trip in
1853. During the year 1855 be removed to Catasauqua, and deciding to devote the
remainder of his life to business, entered partnership with Milton Berger in
the milling business. His partner having died in 1871, Mr. Younger, at a later
date, purchased the remaining interest, which he has since controlled. He has
introduced all the modern appliances for manufacturing an improved grade of
flour, and enjoys an extensive and profitable trade.
Mr.
Younger was, in 1857, married to Miss Isabella, daughter of Henry Kurtz, of
Hanover Township, Lehigh Co. Their children are Amanda L., Emma J. (deceased),
Grant R. (deceased), William (deceased), Henry C., Ada I., Esther A., and
Ralph. Mr. Younger is a Democrat in politics, though not one of the active
workers in the party. He is in religion a supporter of the German Lutheran
Church.
National
Bank of Catasauqua.— This bank
was organized as a State
institution Sept. 9, 1857, with a
capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars. Its first board of
directors were Eli J. Saeger, David Thomas, John S. Hoffman, Charles A.
Luckenhach, Jacob P. Shall, David A. Tombler, Joshua Hunt, William Miller,
Jonas Biery, James W. Fuller, Robert Oberly, Samuel Laubach, and Jacob
Fatzinger, Sr., Eli J. Saeger, president; Melchior H. Horn, cashier; John O. Liehtenwallner, teller; and James W.
Mickly, clerk. Of the original directors and officers the following-named
directors and officers are now deceased: David Thomas, John L. Hoffman, Charles A. Luckenbach, William Miller,
Jonas Biery, James W. Fuller,
Robert Oberly, Samuel Laubach,
Jacob Fatzinger, Sr., John O. Lichtenwallner, and James W. Mickly.
The
bank was continued as a State institution until July 1865. Its capital stock
was increased during this period as follows: in 1860, to $120,000; in 1864,
to $180,600; it earned in
dividends $71,650, and carried to surplus $31,550.55 above expenses and losses
during this period. It was made a national bank in July, 1865, with a capital
stock of $180,600, which was increased, May, 1868, to $300,000; May, 1873,
to $400,000; November, 1873, to
$500,000. It has earned in dividends since its organization as a national
bank $631,264.67, and increased
its surplus to $88,000 above expenses, taxes, and losses.
It
owns the banking house and adjoining dwelling, which is occupied by the
cashier. It is a beautiful and substantial building, situated on Front Street;
its vaults and safes are all modern, and its interior arrangements are
suhstantial and convenient.
The
following-named persons have served as directors
of this bank at various periods since its organization,
those marked with an asterisk (*) being deceased:
| E.
J. Saeger. |
*Jacob
Fatzinger, Sr. |
Ashton
C. Borhek. |
| *John
L. Hoffman. |
William
R. Yeager. |
Welcome
B. Powell. |
| *Charles
A. Luckenbach. |
James
T. Borhek. |
*Thomas
Clendennin. |
| Jacob
P. Schall. |
*John
D. Lawall. |
Samuel
Straub. |
| *David
Thomas. |
Martin
Kennum. |
*John
Hunter. |
| David
A. Tombler. |
*Charles
D. Fuller. |
William
Kern. |
| Adam
Gemig. |
*Tilghman
H. Moyer. |
*Reuben
Bieber. |
| Franklin
P. Mickly. |
Samuel
Thomas. |
Charles
Glick. |
| J.
Allen Kramer. |
Reuben
A. Boyer. |
Franklin
Andreas. |
| David
Thomas, Jr. |
John
Thomas. |
William
D. Snyder. |
| James
Weiler. |
Jacob
S. Lawall. |
John
D. Stiles." |
| *Theodore
H. Green. |
David
O. Savior. |
Nathan
Laudenslager. |
| Joshua
Hunt. |
William
Trexler. |
William
Andrews. |
| *William
Miller. |
*Franklin
B. Martin. |
Charles
G. Schneller. |
| *Jonas
Birny. |
William
J. Craig. |
Henry
H. Riegel. |
| *John
W. Fuller. |
*Charles
Kline. |
Jacob
Fatzinger, Jr. |
| *Robert
Oberly. |
Joseph
Laubach. |
Samuel
I. Brown. |
| *Samuel
Laubach. |
*Henry
Hummel. |
Harry
G. Stiles. |
The
present officers of the bank are: President, Eli J. Saeger; Cashier, Melchior H.
Horn; Assistant Cashier, Frank M. Horn; Teller, John J. Glick ; Clerk, Charles R. Horn.
Melchior
H. Horn, cashier of this bank from its inception, is the grandson of Abram
Horn, who was of German descent, and a resident of Philadelphia. He held the commission of captain in
the war of the Revolution, and that of colonel of the First Pennsylvania
Regiment in the war of 1812; his eight sons and two sons-in-law also serving in
the latter war. His son, Abram,
was appointed postmaster of Easton under Gen. Jackson, and continued under the
Presidency of Martin Van Buren and William Henry Harrison. The same office was
filled by other members of the family under Presidents Polk, Pierce, and
Lincoln. Mr. Horn removed from Philadelphia to Easton, where he held the
appointment of State surveyor for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He
married Susan, daughter of Melchior Hay, and had children, eight sons and two
daughters, of whom Melchior was born in 1783, at Easton, where he engaged
extensively in business operations, and was generally known as a successful
stage-line proprietor. He married Isabella Traill, and had children, —
Sybilla, Robina, Robert T., John J., Isabella R., Melchior H., Enoch C, Philip
H., Sarah, and Maria L. He married, a second time, a Mrs. Stedinger, and had
one son, William Penn. His son, Melchior H., was born April 9, 1822, in Easton.
The first ten years of his life were spent in New Jersey, upon a farm to which
his parents had removed. He then returned to Easton, and received instruction
for three years at a private school, after which he entered his father's
office as clerk, and assumed
general charge of his stage
business. He later for four years filled a position of clerk in a
general store, and at the expiration of this period embarked in the selling of
groceries in Easton. Three years
later he accepted a position as a weighmaster on the Delaware Division of the
Pennsylvania Canal, where he was employed until 1852. He then resigned to
accept the position of teller of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Easton,
and in 1857 was made cashier of the Bank of Catasauqua. He was in 1861, made a
member of the staff of Governor Curtin, and detailed to special service,
rendering valuable assistance in the organization of the Pennsylvania Reserves;
he was subsequently commissioned as colonel of the Thirty-eighth Regiment
Pennsylvania Volunteers. Col. Horn continued to do active service in various
capacities, filling important and responsible duties, until the close of the
conflict, and resuming his labors in connection with the bank on his return,
where he still acts as cashier. He
is a Democrat in politics, and although frequently a delegate to State, and
suggested in Congressional
conventions for official honors, has declined to fill other than local
offices. He is director and general manager of the Blue Vein Slate Company of
Slatington, and otherwise identified with business measures. He is a Lutheran in his religions
views, and member of the Lutheran Church of Catasauqua. Col. Horn was married,
on the 13th of October 1845, to Matilda L., daughter of Jacob Heller. Their
children are William H., Edward T., Susan B. (Mrs. M. L. Dreisbach), Frank M.,
Harry Y., Isabella (deceased), and Charles R.
Newspapers. — The Catasauqua Herald was the first
journalistic venture made in the town. It was started in 1857 by Peter Kelchner
& Fry. In 1860, Arnold C. Lewis was the editor, and he succeeded in putting
the paper upon a paying basis, but going into the army in the following year he
left it in charge of his brother, who allowed it to run down. The Journal was
started soon after the close of the war by Thomas Lambert, but its life was
short, and it was not until 1870 that the two papers now in existence were
started. Of these the Catasauqua Dispatch was started by Edmund
Randall as a fortnightly advertising sheet, under the name of the Country
Merchant. This name was changed to the
Dispatch, July 24, 1871, and the paper was then issued as a seven-column
weekly, which in 1878 was enlarged to its present size, — eight columns.
It is a sprightly local journal, independent in politics.
The
Valley Record was established by its
present owner and editor, Capt. W. H. Bartholomew, who brought out the first
issue Aug. 15, 1870. Originally a seven-column sheet, it was soon enlarged to
eight columns, and about the same time it was made a supporter of Democratic
principles. It is conducted, however, as a live local newspaper rather than a
political journal, and every week places before its readers a detailed account
of the happenings in town and county.
The
Gas-Works were built and put in operation
by a company chartered April 18, 1856, composed of Joseph Laubach, John Thomas, William Samuel Glace,
John Williams, and Joshua Hunt. The officers first elected were Joshua Hunt,
president, Joseph Laubach, treasurer; John Williams, secretary. The works were erected
immediately after the organization of the company had been effected, and were
at once appreciated by the people and liberally patronized. They were
successful from the start. The
price per thousand cubic feet of gas was originally $4.50 and is now $2.35 The amount
consumed annually is about two and
a half million feet, which is
sufficient to allow manufacture with profit. Until 1880 the company used
bituminous coal for the production of gas, but since that time have made it
by the Lowe naphtha process. The
gas-works have cost to date, for construction and repairs, twenty-four thou
sand five hundred and twenty-five dollars. The business of the company is now
under the charge of Joshua Hunt, president, and John Williams, secretary and
treasurer.
The
Water-Works. — For its ample supply
of good water Catasauqua is indebted to the Crane Iron Company. The company
originally using water as the motive-power for the blast and machinery at its
works, extended pipes to the houses of several of its leading employees, and
under an act of the Assembly, approved April 24. 1857, a charter was obtained
to extend the water through the town, which was subsequently done. In 1873 the
company at an expense of between twenty-five thousand and thirty thousand
dollars erected new works, which are of incalculable value to the town. From an
extended account of those works in the Catasauqua Dispatch of Feb. 4, 1874, we
take the following:
"When
the Lehigh Crane Iron Company was induced to build furnaces at this point, the
Lehigh Navigation Company deeded them the right of water power from Swartz's
dam to Allentown. The first furnace was commenced in 1839, and blast was
furnished by waterpower, a large wheel being used for that purpose. To this
wheel was attached a pump, to force water for use about the furnaces, the tank
or reservoir being located on top of the works, and this arrangement remained
in use until after No. 3 was built. No.
2 was erected in 1841—42, and water was furnished to it in a
similar manner. But soon after the erection of No. 3 in 1844, these tanks were
dispensed with, and more extensive improvements commenced. A new pumping
apparatus was constructed, and four-inch pipes laid from the engine-house to
Wood Street, up Wood to Second, and from thence to a basin, which was located
at the top of Church Street. Alter years of use it was found very difficult to
retain water in this reservoir, as the limestone formation underneath
continually made crevices in the foundation and allowed leakage. Unsuccessful
attempts to remedy this evil were made, and it was decided to erect a temporary
wooden structure, which has answered the purpose for a time. New pipes were
laid as the town grew. In 1854 a four-inch main was laid on Front Street, as
far north as Bridge. In 1856 a three-inch main was extended up Second Street as
far Strawberry Alley. The
Front Street pipe was subsequently extended as far as Pine, then to the rolling
mill, and lastly as far as Puddlers' row. Thus, year after year, as demands
required, new pipes were laid, but none of larger dimensions than four inches
in diameter. The growth of the town and the requirements of water for six
furnaces taxed the reservoir to its utmost capacity, and in case of fire the
supply was not equal to the demand. Buildings in portions of the town of a
greater elevation were unable to obtain a water supply, and this want, coupled
with the rapidly-growing hounds of our borough, induced Mr. Joshua Hunt,
superintendent of the Crane Iron Company, to bring the matter before the board
of directors and asked that an extended improvement he made. The officers deliberated upon the
necessities of the case, and appropriated the sum of twenty-five thousand
dollars for the new works. Plans were at once completed, and proposals
solicited for the excavating and laying of eight-, ten-, and twelve-inch mains
in our streets, which contract was awarded to Messrs. George W. Smith .V Son,
of this place, who immediately commenced work. The pipes used were from the
works of Messrs. Starr, of Camden, N. J., and our citizens are perfectly
familiar with their look and capacity, as they were visible on our streets for
a number of weeks.
"On
Front Street, from Wood to Bridge, an eight-inch main supplies the water, while
on Second Street, from Union to Chapel, a ten-inch pipe was laid. Connections
were made on Union and Chapel Streets with the four-inch mains on Front, and
ten-inch pipes were laid on Bridge Street, from Front to Second, and on Walnut
to Fourth, where connections are made with the twelve-inch supply from the new
reservoir. Some thirty new fireplugs were erected at selected points, which can
be used in case of need. The old four-inch mains on Front Street, from Wood to
Bridge, were removed, and also those on Second, from Church to Walnut, but
extend from Wood south on Front and north from Bridge on Front. Streets not mentioned
have the old four-inch pipes as formerly, with the advantage of a greater head
and more abundant supply of water. The new reservoir is located on the
highest point of ground in
this neighborhood, and is situated
on a lot of ground purchased by the company many years ago, at Fifth and
Walnut Streets, is sixty feet square and ten feet deep from the overflow,
which, in case of necessity, empties the waste water into a deep well upon the
property. The capacity of the reservoir is two hundred thousand gallons, which,
allowing eighteen gallons per day to a person, would accommodate a city of
eleven thousand inhabitants. The construction of this reservoir was performed
in the most substantial
manner, and has given every satisfaction.
Excavations for the foundation were made about four feet under ground
and immense stones placed in the walls. The limestone masonry is four feet in
thickness, and rises to an elevation of twelve feet. Then a four-inch space was
allowed for concrete, and lastly a nine-inch brick wall, securely cemented. The
floor has a layer of
eighteen inches of small stone securely laid, upon which is a four-inch coating
of concrete. With pipes and
reservoir complete, there was need of greater pumping capacity, and
instructions were issued to
prepare proper machinery. The engine room adjoining the company's machine shop
is twenty- three by twenty-live feet in dimensions, and contains two
forcing-pumps and a beautiful stationary engine. The pumps are kept at a very slow motion of ten strokes per
minute, and have a capacity, at that rate of forcing one hundred and
eighty-live thousand gallons of water per day, and, doubling the stroke, twice
that quantity, but at the present motion the demands of the town are fully met
and tin reservoir kept full.
Street sprinkling requires a large amount of water during the summer
months, but the running of one pump was sufficient to insure an abundant
quantity. The pumps are propelled
by the large water wheel underneath, the canal furnishing the power and the
water required for the town. In case the canal should fail to furnish power, or
the machinery should break, the stationary engine can be attached and the
furnace furnishes steam as the motive power. The engine is of eighteen
horsepower, and can be used to pump water for the town and at the same time
propel the machinery in the shop adjoining. The engine and pumps were
manufactured by the company's employees, and all the castings necessary for the
water- works were turned out at the company's shops. To equalize the pressure
throughout the borough a high standpipe has been erected, and is located near
No. 6 Furnace. The water is forced into this pipe, and flows to a corresponding
elevation in pipes until it reaches the reservoir, into which it flows and
remains for use. Unequal flow is
avoided by the use of the standpipe.
The water from the pumps enters it, the street-pipes are supplied by a
steady pressure, and there is less strain on the pumps and pipes. The standpipe
is somewhat higher than the overflow of the reservoir, being one hundred and
thirty feet from its base. It is constructed of heavy plate iron, and is four
and one-half feet in diameter at the base by thirty-three inches at the top. It
is surmounted by a conical roof and railing, an iron ladder leading from the
base to the landing above. It has a capacity of about five thousand gallons of
water. To the pumps at the works a hose attachment can be made. Sections of
hose will be kept on a reel in the pumping-house, and, in case of need, an attachment
can readily be made and valuable service rendered. By the attachment of a
section of hose to a fireplug on Front Street, a stream can be thrown over any
house on the street, and Mr. David Thomas informs us that he was able to throw
a stream over his residence by attaching a section to plug in his yard. The
elevation of Mr. Thomas' house is above the average of houses on Second Street,
and it demonstrates the effectiveness of the new works. The water furnished is taken from
the canal, but only enters that conduit at the edge of town, at Swartz's dam,
and may be considered as pure Lehigh water as is obtainable. For household
purposes, it is superior to that furnished Allentown, which is of so hard a
nature as to be unfit for washing and general uses. And as to the supply, it is so abundant that a population of
eleven thousand could be accommodated with- out overtaxing the present works.
Therefore we can boast that we have one of the best, if not tin best, water
arrangements of any town in Pennsylvania.
Our borough has not been involved in debt to secure this great blessing.
The expenditures made the last season exceed thirty thousand dollars, and yet
the company added to our obligations as citizens by the purchase of a
first-class steamer tor use in case of fire, and have erected a hall to house
it which is a credit to any town. Catasauqua is largely indebted to Mr. Hunt
for the new works, as he urged the matter upon the attention of the company,
and supervised their construction. The master mechanic of the company, Thomas
E. Evans, planned and constructed the pump machinery."
Religious
Matters. — There are several
elements of population in Catasauqua, and as a consequence the number of
religious denominations is larger than might be expected in a town of the size.
The Welsh are Presbyterians, Congregationalists, or Baptists.4 The
Germans are Lutherans and Catholics, the former denomination claiming a
majority of them. The older native population forms largely the strength of the
Lutheran and German Reformed congregations, while the Evangelical Church is
principally composed of the descendants of those Germans whose predilections
were for the former churches. The Scotch are as a rule Old-School
Presbyterians, and the Irish people are divided between the Presbyterian and
Catholic Churches. There are many Swedes in the town, and they are, with few
exceptions, adherents of the Lutheran faith.
Historical
Sketch of the First Presbyterian Church of Catasauqua, Pa.— The First Presbyterian Church of Catasauqua
dates its beginning from about the time when the Crane Iron Company's works
were started in this place. In 1889, by invitation of that company, Mr. David
Thomas, a native of Wales, came here to begin the enterprise, out of the
successful prosecution of which the town of Catasauqua itself has grown.
For
the first few months after his arrival, and until a suitable dwelling house could be erected in
Catasauqua, Mr. Thomas resided in Allentown, and with his family worshiped in
the Presbyterian Church of that
place, then under the care of the Rev. Robert W. Landis
Mr.
Thomas was an ardent friend of Sabbath-schools and speedily organized one in
Catasauqua. To accommodate
this school, and also provide a place of worship nearer home, a church edifice
was deemed necessary. Accordingly a small triangular plot of ground in the rear of the old
reservoir, on what is now Church Street, was set apart by the company. By the
liberality of Mr. Thomas this plot was enlarged to a square, running from Church
Street north to Bridge Street, and measuring about two hundred feet in width by
three hundred and fifty feel in depth. On the south end of this plot, near the
reservoir and fronting on Church
Street, which thus derived its name, the
first church in Catasauqua was built.
The
corner stone was laid by the Rev. Mr. Landis on the last Sabbath of December
1839. The ceremony took place during a snow -storm, and the concluding
services, owing to the inclemency of the weather, were held in Mr. Thomas' new
house on Front Street (opposite No. 1 Furnace), to which little assembly
adjourned. This is the date of the first sermon in the English language ever
preached in this town, at least so far as is known.
A
little over two months sufficed in which to finish the building, and on the 22d day of March 1840,
it was dedicated to the
worship of God. It was a very unpretending whitewashed structure of un-planed
boards, set perpendicularly and battened. Its size at first was about
twenty-live by thirty-five feet, but it was afterwards lengthened by the
addition of ten or twelve feet. The adjacent ground was occupied as a
graveyard, and continued to be so used until Fairview Cemetery was laid out on
the opposite side of the Lehigh River. The bell to call the people
together (a present from Mr.
Thomas) was hung in the fork of an oak-tree, which stood at the south
right-hand corner of the building.
At
or about this time Rev. Mr. Landis organized the church, an English
Presbyterian, and ordained Mr. Thomas as the first elder. It numbered only
three members, viz.: Mr. David Thomas; his wife Elizabeth, and his oldest
daughter, Jane. All these survived until June 20, 1882, a period of forty-two
years. Then Mr. Thomas was called to his rest, greatly beloved and
honored.
As
Mr. Thomas was a Welshman, and his wife and children were only slightly
acquainted with the English language (although they very speedily acquired a
knowledge of it), and as he was soon to be followed by many of his nationality,
surprise has been expressed that he did not have the church organized as a Welsh church. To this his reply
always was: "English is the
language of this country, and I saw that the future of my children and of my
fellow- countrymen was identified with that language; and therefore sound
wisdom dictated a policy which would Americanize them as soon as possible."
This
far-sighted policy he always adhered to; and while proud of his Welsh origin,
he never to any great extent gave pecuniary aid or encouragement to the support
of separate Welsh organizations. He even opposed them as detrimental to the
best interests of his countrymen. He judged it wiser and better to have them at
once mingle as much as possible with Americans, that they might the sooner become
one with them.
By
an arrangement with Mr. Thomas, the Rev. Mr. Landis ministered to the little
church for some time after its organization; but in 1841 he discontinued his
labors in Catasauqua, and the church was for a while without regular preaching.
During the time that Rev. Mr. Landis served the people, but at what exact date
is not known, Mr. David Williams, Sr., was ordained elder, and filled the
office with great acceptance until his death, Aug. 14, 1845.
In
1842, Rev. Richard Walker succeeded Mr. Landis as pastor of the Allentown
Church, and preached to the Catasauqua people as stated supply, occupying the
pulpit in the afternoon of every alternate Sabbath. This arrangement continued for some years, during which
Messrs. Joshua Hunt and William J. Romig, M.D., were chosen elders and ordained
Sept. 13, 1846.
In
1850 the church, numbering about twenty-five members, obtained from the court
of Lehigh County an act of incorporation, dated December 3d of that year, under
the style and title of "New School Presbyterian Church of
Catasauqua." This was afterwards, Feb. 25, 1853, changed to " First
Presbyterian Church of Catasauqua," it being the first church organized
and incorporated in the town.
The
church at this time was under the care of the Third Presbytery of Philadelphia,
and so continued until a change of boundary lines brought it within the Fourth
Presbytery. About the time of its incorporation permission was obtained from
the Third Presbytery of
Philadelphia to have the services of a resident minister. Accordingly. Rev.
Charles Evans, a licentiate of the Presbytery of Wilmington, Del., was engaged
for six months. At the end of that time the Rev. Hugh Carlisle was employed and
served as stated supply for about one year and a half. While here be was elected pastor, but for
some reason the call was never
prosecuted, and he was not installed.
During his term of service, Messrs. William McClelland and David
Williams were chosen elders and set apart as such Dec. 8, 1851. Rev. Andrew Culver
of Manayunk, Pa., and Rev.
Cornelius Parle, of Unionville, Pa., were present, assisting in a protracted
meeting, and took part in the services of ordination, the latter giving the charge to the
people.
In
October 1852, Rev. Cornelius Earle resigned his charge in Unionville, Centre
Co., Pa., and on the 14th of the same month removed to Catasauqua, and as
pastor-elect began his labors in this place. In May 1863, he was formally
installed as pastor, being the first one so installed. On this occasion Rev.
Richard Walker presided as moderator and put the constitutional questions; Rev.
Ellis I. Richards, D.D., of Reading, Pa., preached the sermon; Rev. John
Patton, D.D., of Philadelphia, gave the charge to the pastor, and Rev. Duncan K. Turner, of Neshaminy, Pa., gave the charge to the
people.
The
congregation continued to occupy the old building erected in 1839-40 until
increase in numbers and wealth called for a new and better one. Accordingly a
building committee was appointed, consisting of the pastor, Rev. C. Earle, and
Messrs. D. Thomas, Joshua Hunt, Morgan Emanuel, and William McClelland. By an arrangement with Mr. Thomas, the
original donor, the plot of ground running from Church Street to Bridge Street
was exchanged for another deemed more eligible, situated on the north corner of
Second and Pine Streets, in size
one hundred and eighty by one
hundred and eighty feet. On this the corner-stone of the new church was laid at
half-past five o'clock Saturday afternoon, Sept. 23, 1854, by the pastor, Rev.
C. Earle; an address was delivered by the Rev. Richard Walker, of Allentown,
and Rev. Leslie Irwin, of Bath, took part in the services. At this time the
church numbered sixty communicant members, and the Sabbath-school was large and
flourishing.
The
new edifice, still occupied by the First Church, is of brick, semi-Gothic in
style, the main building forty by sixty-three, exclusive of tower and pulpit-
recess, and has a transept on the south side twenty by thirty feet, which forms
part of the audience-room, and an organ transept on the north side ten by
twenty feet. In this is a fine organ, the gift of Mr. David Thomas, valued at
two thousand five hundred dollars. The spire is about one hundred and fifty
feet high including the finial. In the tower is a fine-toned bell of Meneeley's
make.
The
building, although completed some time before was not opened for worship until
it could be dedicated free from debt.
Delay also took place that arrangements might be made to light it with
gas. This led to the incorporation of the Catasauqua Gas Company, a fact not
known to many. So that in a double sense the church has given light to the
town.
At
length the church was solemnly dedicated to the worship of God on Sabbath, the
11th day of May 1856. Rev. George Duffield, D.O., preached the dedicatory
sermon. Rev. C. Earle offered the dedicatory prayer, and Rev. R. Walker took
part in the services. In the
afternoon Rev. Jacob Becker, of the German Reformed Church, preached in the
German language.
The
old building was sold for thirty-five dollars, subject to removal. The pulpit
and pews were placed at the
disposal of Rev. C. Earle, and by him used at Hokendauqua, where about this
time be organized a Presbyterian Church, and to which he ministered for
thirteen years, and until the church at that place was built and the
lecture-room had been dedicated, and the congregation was large enough and
strong enough to have a pastor of its own.
The
pews in the new church at Catasauqua were distributed by lot among all who
desired regular sittings. The result was very satisfactory to the holders, many
of whom, surprising as it may seem, drew the very pews they had particularly
desired.
Provision
was made for the support of the gospel by voluntary contributions. This plan
was adhered to until 1868, when the rent system was adopted.
As
commemorative of the reunion of the Old and New School Assemblies of the
Presbyterian Church, a memorial chapel was built. The corner-stone of this was
laid by the pastor May 13, 1871, and dedicated by him December 10th of the same
year. The building is of brick, semi -Gothic, and in size is about thirty-five
by eighty-two. It contains rooms for all church purposes, and is used for
mid-week services and by the Sabbath-school. The Sabbath-school numbers about
three hundred members, teachers, and scholars. Mr. Joshua Hunt served as superintendent for nearly
thirty-six years. He resigned in 1882, and was succeeded by Mr. John Williams,
the present incumbent
On
the north of the church building, with a space of forty feet between the two
buildings and fronting on Second Street, is one of the most beautiful and
conveniently arranged manses in the State It is of brick, and in style
corresponds with the other buildings.
The congregation has always been remarkable for its punctuality and
promptitude in all things. It is claimed for it that during thirty years no
regular church service has ever been begun two minutes after the appointed
time, - a fact which deserves mention in its history.
At
a meeting of the church Nov. 26, 1874, Messrs. John Scudders, John Williams,
and William G.. Lewis were elected elders, and they were duly set apart on the
following Sabbath, Nov. 29, 1874.
Since
its organization, in 1839, about six hundred and ten persons have been
connected with it as communicant members. Of this number five hundred and thirty united under its
present pastor, viz.: three hundred and twelve on profession of faith, and two
hundred and eighteen by letters from other churches
Through
the labors of its pastor it has been particularly and directly identified with
the organization of the churches of Hokendauqua, Lockridge, Ferndale, and
Bethlehem. It has contributed liberally to every Protestant church in town, and
its own property is free from debt.
Present
pastor, Rev. Cornelius Earle. Former and present elders, David Thomas, David
Williams, Sr., Joshua Hunt, William J. Romig, M.D., William McClelland, David
Williams, Jr., John Hudders, John Williams, and William G. Lewis; Clerk of
Session, William G. Lewis; Superintendent of Sunday-school, John Williams;
Organist, Professor James Prescott.
Rev. Cornelius Earle. — As a
sketch of the First Presbyterian Church of Catasauqua, and an engraving of the first and second houses of worship used by that congregation appear in this work, it is
deemed fitting to also present a
portrait of their first, and up to this
time their only settled pastor, together with a brief biographical notice.
The
clergyman referred to, Rev. Cornelius Earle, son of Cornelius and Maria Lent
Earle, was born in New York City, July 11, 1823. He was the fifth of seven
children, viz., four sons and three daughters. His great-great-great-grandfather, Edward Earle, came from
England about 1672, and first appears in the official records of the Province
of New Jersey as the purchaser of the Island of Secaucus (in the Indian tongue
"Ci-ka-kus") for the sum of two thousand Dutch dollars, together with
the stock and "8 or 10 negro and Christian servants." The island
contained about three thousand acres, and in the history of those days is
described as "the bravest Plantation in the Province." Built into the
wall of the oldest house upon the island at the present time is a stone
inscribed "Edward Earle, 1678." It appears to have been taken from a
house built before the present one.
The family still preserves the ancestral crest handed down from John de
Erlegh, 1132, viz., a wounded lion, with the motto. "Vulvenitus non
victus." His mother, Maria Lent, was the great-great-granddaughter of
Baron Resolved Waldron, who came to New Amsterdam (now New York) in 1617, in
the suite of Governor Peter Stuyvesant. He was the Governor's private secretary,
and served in that capacity for sixteen years consecutively. The family records
show that the title and letters patent were granted by the Dutch government to
Rudolph Waldron, the head of the family, in 1120, and to his son, Baron Richard
Waldron, by the English government in 1156. The crest is a tiger rampant, and
the motto, "Nee beneficii immemor, nee injurise." The old family
mansion, built by Baron Resolved Waldron, in 1660, on the shore of the East
River, near the foot of the present Eighty eighth Street, was taken down so
recently as 1870, being two hundred and ten years old. These points are
referred to here as matters of antiquarian interest.
Coming
down to the subject of the present sketch, Rev. Cornelius Earle was born, as aforesaid,
in New York City. He pursued his preparatory studies in the University Grammar
School, of which Rev. Cyrus Mason, D.D., was at that time rector, and Rev.
Cornelius II. Edgar, D.D., now of Easton, Pa., and John Leekie of Edinburgh,
Scotland, were principal instructors. Rev. George H. Houghton, D.D., now rector
of the Church of the Transfiguration in New York City, was also one of his
tutors.
He
entered the Freshman Class of the University of the City of New York in 1841
and was graduated as an "Honor Man'' in 1845, having as his part "The
Philosophical Oration.''
Hon.
Theodore Frelinghuysen, LL.D., was al that time chancellor, and Tayler Lewis,
LL.D., E. A. John-son, LL.D., Rev. C. S. Henry, D.D., John Draper, M.D., LL.D.,
and B. F. Joslin, LL.D., were distinguished professors in that
institution.
In
the autumn of the same year he began his theological course in the Union
Theological Seminary, New York City, in which "school of the
prophets" Rev. Edward Robinson, D.D., Rev. Henry White, D.D., Rev. Thomas
H. Skinner, D.D., LL.D., and Rev.
Samuel H. Cox, D.D., LL.D., then taught.
Mr.
Earle was licensed to preach the gospel by the Third Presbytery of New York
City in 1848. He soon after transferred his relation to the Presbytery of Wilmington,
Del., in order that he might take charge of the church of Unionville, Chester
Co., Pa., and Kennett Square, then a mission station annexed to it. He was installed pastor Dec. 7, 1848.
He resigned his charge there Oct. 1, 1852, and removed to Catasauqua, Pa.,
October 14th, and began his labors there as "pastor elect." He was
installed pastor over the First Church of Catasauqua in May 1853.
The
congregation at that time worshiped in the little frame edifice of which an
engraving appears in this work.
The
church grew under his ministration, and on the 23d of September, 1864, the
corner-stone of the new house of worship was laid on the corner of Second and
Pine Streets. This building was dedicated May 11, 1856.
To
commemorate the reunion of the so-called " Old and New School"
branches of the Presbyterian Church (to the latter of which this church
belonged), the corner-stone of a "memorial chapel" was laid May 13, 1871, and the edifice duly
dedicated on Sunday, Dec. 10,
1871.
In
addition to his charge at Catasauqua, Mr. Earle originated several church
enterprises in neighboring
towns. Soon after the Thomas Iron Works were started at Hokendauqua, as
seven members of his church at Catasauqua had removed thither, he organized the
"Presbyterian Church of Hokendauqua." For a time religious services were held in a barn owned by
the company; afterwards, for a little while, in the room over the company's
office. Having served the little band for full twelve years under great
disadvantages, and wishing to lighten his labors, he secured the erection of
the building now owned and used by
the Presbyterian Church there. He at the same time obtained from the board of
directors the grant of an additional lot adjoining the church lot, "as the site of a parsonage,
whenever circumstances should call for the erection of one." Having
carried forward the enterprise until the new chinch was about completed, and
the lecture-room part of it had been dedicated, he announced to the people his
intention to withdraw, and requested them to secure the services of a pastor to
reside among them. This was done, and Mr. Earle's connection with them
ceased.
An
opportunity soon after this presenting itself to start a church at Lockridge
(or Alburtis), where a furnace was about this time built, and the nucleus of a
little town formed, the temptation was too great to be resisted, and he
commenced religious services there on Wednesday evenings, using an old
school-house which was fitted up for the purpose by Mr. Y. W. Weaver, superintendent of the works.
Having invited Rev. Mr. Little to co-operate with him, they preached there on
alternate Sabbaths, using for their transit a small locomotive which the Thomas
Iron Company generously placed at their disposal, and which, as the only
available means of reaching the place (seventeen miles distant from
Catasauqua), quietly bore them to and fro. Their Sabbath scruples in the case
were overcome by the consideration that it was the only way to cover
thirty-four miles of travel in the time they had to spare from other duties,
and involved less real work than the use of horses would have done. This
arrangement continued for a year or more, at the end of which time Rev. Mr.
Walker, of Allentown, being without a charge, was engaged, and both the other
clergymen withdrew, not, however, until Mr. Earle had obtained from the Thomas
Iron Company a grant of land for church and cemetery purposes, and a liberal
contribution of money for the infant enterprise.
Very
soon after withdrawing from the Lockridge mission, at the suggestion of Mr.
David Thomas, Rev. Mr. Earle began to hold religious services at Ferndale
(Fullerton), one mile below Catasauqua, worshiping at first in a small barn
which Mr. Thomas had fitted up for the purpose. At that place Mr. Earle
organized the "Ferndale Presbyterian Church," Oct. 14, 1871, it being the nineteenth
anniversary of his coming to Catasauqua. He continued to minister to it until
stricken down with a long and severe illness. After his recovery, feeling that
it was too heavy an addition to his other pastoral work, he was, at his own
request, relieved by the Presbytery of Lehigh, and on his recommendation Rev.
Mr. Little, who had officiated during Mr. Earle's illness, was given the charge
of it.
Several
years now passed, when, two or three of Mr. Earle's members having removed to
Bethlehem, he was led to look up the Presbyterians residing there. Binding the number sufficient to warrant
the organization of a Presbyterian Church in Bethlehem proper, in which there
was no church of that order at the time (although one had been organized in
South Bethlehem |, and having by personal visitation kindled their enthusiasm,
"The First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem" was duly organized
November, 1875, by a committee appointed for the purpose by the Presbytery of
Lehigh. To consolidate and watch over them until a pastor could be secured, Mr.
Earle acted as a volunteer pastor, and preached for them gratuitously every
Wednesday evening during the winter, and withdrew only when the present pastor,
Rev. A. D. Moore was ready to take
charge of the flock, which he did in 1876.
The
several enterprises above named begun by him and carried to a point where they
could stand alone, were not undertaken to "eke out his salary." The
liberality of his own church in Catasauqua rendered that unnecessary. They were
undertaken through his zeal for a cause dear to his heart, and to which he had devoted his life.
Rev.
Mr. Earle was twice married. The first time, Nov. 12, 1S49, by Rev. Joseph C.
Stiles, D.D., pastor of Mercer Street Church, New York City, to Miss Maria
Louisa Lent, daughter of John A. and Catharine Van Beuren Lent, all of New York
City. This most estimable lady died in Catasauqua, Dec 18, 1856. Two children
were born of this marriage, viz.:
Alletta M. Earle, in Unionville, Pa., Aug. 22, 1851; died in Catasauqua,
Dec. 28, 1872; and Edward M.
Earle, now of Cleveland, Ohio, born in Catasauqua, Pa., April 13,
1855.
After
an interval of over three years, Mr. Earle was married a second time, April 26,
1860, by Rev. William Payne, D D., rector of St. George's Church, Schenectady,
N. Y., to Miss Elizabeth Zullagar, daughter of John and Mary Langley Zullagar,
all of the above-named place.
The
second Mrs. Earle, like her predecessor, greatly beloved and deeply lamented,
died in Catasauqua, April 29, 1872.
In
secular matters Mr. Earle has been closely identified with several enterprises
of local interest. That the new church on Pine Street might he lighted with
gas, he brought about the organization of the "Catasauqua Gas
Company," before unthought of, and which owes its origin at the time it
was formed to Mr. Earle's persistence in the purpose not to use the church
until it could be thus lighted.
On
in the fall of Fort Sumter, Col. M. H. Horn and Mr. Earle called the first
public meeting in High-School Hall, and Mr. Earle made the first speech and
the first call for volunteers
on that occasion The bugle call thus sounded, the First Church and its pastor
together during all the weary struggle again and again the old church-bell rang out the peal
of victory, or summoned the friends of the Union to fresh efforts in its
defense until peace came.
On
the suggestion of Mr. Samuel Thomas that a soldier- monument should be erected,
Mr. Earle organized the "Monument Association," and served its
secretary. He drew up the constitution and by-laws, named its members, arranged
the inscriptions and singularly appropriate texts on the four sides of the
monument; also the order of exercises on the day of dedication, and delivered
the historical oration, Maj. Calhoun being the orator of the day. That neither his name nor that of any
civilian member of the committee appears anywhere on the monument is due to the
decision that "no man's name should be inscribed on the monument unless he
had been sworn into the service of the United States, and had been under the
enemy's fire." Hence it is just what it purports to be. a "Soldiers'
Monument."
For
the past seven or eight years Mr. Earle has been the chaplain of the Fourth
Regiment National Guards of
Pennsylvania, commissioned by Governor
Hoyt.
His
pastorate has been as happy and harmonious as it has been long, and has been
blessed with repeated revivals. The length of it, and the harmony which for
more than thirty-one years has prevailed, are the more noteworthy when it is
borne in mind that during that time the town and country have passed through
labor crises and political crises of the severest kind. Moreover, that the
church itself is composed of five or six different nationalities, and as many
denominations; and that the rich and the poor, the employer and the employed,
during all these years, have peacefully worshiped together.
The
official records of the denomination show that in the numbers added to its
membership, and in the amount of money contributed for home support and to the
benevolent cause of the denomination, the First Church is behind few, and in
advance of many sister churches, if judged by its numbers and ability.
It
possesses a valuable property, consisting of church, chapel, and manse,
beautiful for situation, and beautiful in themselves. This is particularly true
of the manse. When about to build, a definite sum was placed at Mr. Earle's
disposal, and he was simply told to "build to suit yourself, and it will
suit us." He did so and
"it is a house to live in."
The
buildings owe their existence very largely to his zeal and foresight, and in
the style and arrangement of them, within and without, they are monuments of
the largeness of heart of the people, and the taste and executive ability and
steadfastness of purpose of the pastor. All things considered, his pastorate
may be claimed to be a fairly successful one, and for the length of it in these
times of change, and the results of it, worthy of record in this history of the
Lehigh Valley.
Bridge
Street Presbyterian Church. — The planting
of Presbyterianism, so early as 1736 in that part of Northampton County widely
known as the "Irish Settlement" (so called from the nationality of
its first population) led to the organization of the Bridge Street Presbyterian
Church, Catasauqua. The territory occupied by the "Allen Township" or
" Settlement" congregation extended from Bath to the Lehigh River,
and within these limits the Crane Iron Company established its works in 1839.
This new and great industry
at once attracted large numbers of workmen and their families from Presbyterian
Ulster, in the North of Ireland, who naturally looked for Christian fellowship
among the descendants of their countrymen, then the thrifty fanners of the rich
and prosperous "Settlement." The mother church at that time had for
pastor the Rev. Leslie Irwin, himself a native of Ireland, and a graduate of
Belfast Royal Institution. He was a most faithful and devoted minister of the
gospel, and from the beginning extended his watchful and loving pastoral care
to the new colony on the Lehigh. At great personal inconvenience, and in the
most inclement seasons, he visited the families from house to house, and once
every Sabbath preached to them the gospel of the kingdom. In compliance with a
petition from the people, the Presbytery of Newton, in August 1850, organized
the church with thirty-two members, and ordained James McClelland its first
ruling elder. Mr. Irwin continued
his ministry for a period of fifteen years after its organization, during which
time he had the satisfaction of seeing the good fruits of his labors in the
increase of the membership and Christian usefulness of the church. He was
succeeded by Rev. James Lewers, who labored in word and doctrine with great
fidelity and encouraging success till stricken down by the hand of death on
Aug. 23, 1868, in the third year
of his pastorate. During the period of his ministerial services the church
enjoyed great prosperity. It grew in numbers and in grace and in good works,
and then erected that substantial and costly edifice in which the church
worships at the present time. In the fall of 1868 the Rev. William Fulton was
chosen pastor, and soon thereafter entered this field of labor. He was an able
and acceptable minister of the New Testament, and under his ministry the church
became stronger still in numbers and resources and spiritual activity. The
large debt which encumbered its property was much reduced. The financial
embarrassments which at that time affected the public industries of Catasauqua,
followed by unhappy divisions which then crept in among the people, had a most
injurious influence on the peace and harmony and prosperity which had
previously characterized its history. As a consequence the church suffered
seriously in loss of members and loss of means. Mr. Pulton resigned his
pastoral charge in October 1875, and in May, 1876, the Rev. D. Harbison, the
present pastor, was duly installed by the Presbytery of Lehigh. The church,
though weakened by previous division, is now united and growing, has recently
succeeded in paying off the indebtedness which for many years was a heavy and
oppressive burden, and in the enjoyment of tokens of the divine favor, is
endeavoring to be faithful to her high trust.
Methodist
Episcopal Church. — It was in the
year 1845 that the first Methodist
sermon was preached in
Catasauqua. Isaac Larash had built a small frame house on what is now
known as Church Street, in which two rooms could temporarily be thrown into
one. Here Newton Heston, then stationed in Allentown, preached the first
sermon, George Quigley and Thomas Murphy also preached occasionally while
stationed at Allentown, as did Samuel Irvine. The congregation soon became too
large for its meetings to be held in the house of Mr. Larash, and Mrs. Jeanette
Frederick and Mrs. Amelia Matchett obtained the use of the Second Street school-house. From this time on,
for several years, there was occasional preaching at various places by the
Revs. A. H. Hobbs, H. H. Hickman,
and F. D. Eagan. At the time the latter preached here there were nine members,
among whom were Jeanette Frederick, Amelia Matchett, Margaret Rogers, and
Samuel Steel. It was under Mr. Eagan's preaching that the church edifice was
built, in 1859, and dedicated on Christmas day of that year, although the upper
part was not finished until 1867, when a re- dedication took place. The first trustees' meeting was held
at the house of Joseph Reichert, April 17, 1860, the members present being
Charles Graffin, Arthur Campbell, and Joseph Reichert, In November of the same
year a charter of incorporation was granted. The church was supplied by
ministers from Allentown and elsewhere until 1864, when C. H. Bickley was
appointed pastor. He served until 1865. Since then the succession of pastors
has been as follows: 1865, H. F. Isett; 1866, S. B. Best; 1869, J. J. Jones;
1871, William P. Howell; 1874, Jeremiah Pastorfield; 1876, G. Oram; 1879, D. M.
Young; 1881, L. B. Hoffman (six
months); 1881, S. O. Garrison. The church, though for several years leading a
struggling and somewhat feeble existence, is now in excellent condition. There
is a Sunday school in connection with the church, of which the first meeting
was held Feb. 25, 1860. It is at present in charge of James Thomas.
Emanuel's
German Evangelical Church. — There
was preaching in Catasauqua by Henry Bucks and Noah McLain, of this
denomination, in 1848, and the same year the first church of this denomination
was built on the Howertown road, between Union and Wood Streets. It was a brick
structure about thirty by thirty-eight feet in dimensions, and cost eight
hundred dollars, while the lot cost enough more to make the entire expense
nearly one thousand dollars. The
trustees at the time the church was built were Charles G. Schneller, William
Neighley, and Henry Youndt. The church society had been organized six years
prior to the date of building, or in 1842, though it had not reached a very
promising condition until the date with which we have seen fit to open this
brief sketch. The original members were Henry Youndt and wife, Enoch Youndt and
wife, Abram Youndt and wife,
Joseph Youndt and wife, Valentine Knoll,
Matthias Knoll and wife, and Sebastian Knoll. By 1870 the society had
received so many accessions that
its old house of worship was no longer adequate for its accommodation, and the
present structure on the corner of Second and Walnut Streets was erected. This is a handsome brick church with a
wooden dome, and is of ample size for the congregation. It cost about ten
thousand dollars, and its erection was superintended by William Michael, David
Tombler, Owen Schwartz, C. G. Schneller, and Aaron Klick, who were at that time
trustees. A lot with a good house upon it, which has since been used as a
parsonage, was purchased in 1874.
The
pastors who have served this congregation have been as follows; Revs. William
Hessart, Francis Hoffman, John Kramer, Henry Bucks, and Noah McLain, Micheal Singlinger, Samuel
Rhoads, Christian Hummel, Jacob Gross, Christian Myers, George Knerr, Moses Dissenger, George Haines,
John Schell, John Koehl, .lames
Lehr, C. B. Fleager, George Knerr,
Jacob Adams, George- Haines, C. Breyogel,
and R. Lichtenwallner, the present incumbent. The church has now about
two hundred members, and a flourishing Sunday school, under the superintendence
of E. V. Schwartz.
The
German Reformed Church. — We would naturally expect the Reformed
Church represented here, surrounded as the town is with numerous churches
belonging to that denomination. Indeed, it would be expected that this
denomination should be the first one on the ground to organize a congregation;
but the Reformed people moving into the town continued to hold their membership
in the congregations from which they moved, though that may have been from a
mile to six and sometimes more from town; there was therefore no necessity felt
for a congregation here until people felt the inconvenience of attending
service at such a distance. In the mean time the Presbyterians, many of whom
came from great distances, immediately felt the need of a house for public
worship, and hence they erected for themselves a chapel in 1839-40, and thus
they were the first to start church enterprise here. The Reformed people,
feeling that to attend divine service nearer home would afford much comfort
and, ease, yet loving the church of their fathers, they were granted the use of
the Presbyterian chapel on such days or hours when the Presbyterians had no
service, and thus they worshiped here from time to time until a proper
organization was formed by them under the ministerial functions of Rev. Cyrus
J. Becker, D.D., in 1848. We
must not omit to notice here that much credit is due to Mr. Nicholas Balliet in
bringing the church interest of the Reformed people to such definite shape. He
was a zealous laborer in the cause of the Christian religion, and in the
Reformed Church.
After
an organization was once effected, a movement was soon set on foot to build a
church, but its membership being only about one hundred, covenanted with the
Lutheran people, who started the same time under the pastoral charge of Rev.
Schindel, and they agreed to buy a lot and build on it jointly, hence a union
church was built in 1852, on a lot bought from Mr. Henry Kurtz, lying on
Howertown road. It was surmounted with a handsome steeple and bell.
In
1868 the Reformed congregation made an overture to the Lutheran to buy or sell;
the Lutherans buying out the Reformed, the Reformed built for itself a church
on a lot donated by Mr. Joseph Laubach on corner of Third and Walnut
Streets. The corner stone of this
church was laid in April 1869, and it was dedicated in the fall of the same
year. This congregation was known as the First Reformed Church of Catasauqua,
Pa. Dissensions arose very soon in the congregation, which resulted in the
resignation of the pastor. Rev. C. Becker, and which further resulted in
weakening the organization to but a small number. In the winter of 1873, Rev.
A. P. Koplin was called by the East Pennsylvania Classis to look after the
Reformed interest, and he succeeded in effecting a new organization under the
former title. It soon had a membership of over one hundred, but the property
being burdened with a heavy
debt, its growth was retarded, and in 1880 the property was sold by the
sheriff, and the organization, under the title of First Reformed Church,
disbanded; but in April of the same year, at a public meeting called for the
purpose of organizing a Reformed Church, a new organization was effected, under
the title of Salem's Reformed Church of Catasauqua.
This
new organization bought the property from the sheriff, and efforts were at once
put forth to pay for the property, and last year (1883) the congregation
succeeded in paying off all indebtedness. In all this time there was small progress in the increase of
the membership, and now (1884) its membership is about one hundred and eighty.
But the debt, which had been the chief hindrance, now being paid, there is a
prospect of a more rapid increase of the membership. As has been already observed,
the pastor of the first organization was Rev. C. J. Becker. After his death, he was followed by his son Cyrus,
who served the congregation until his resignation, in 1870. From this date to
1873 the congregation was without a regular pastor. In the fall or winter of
that year Rev. A. B. Koplin was called, and he served the congregation until
1877, when he was called to another field, and the congregation called the Rev. J. J. Crist. When the new
organization was formed, under the title of Salem's Reformed Church, he was
newly elected, and he has been serving the congregation up to this time.
St.
Paul's Lutheran Church. — St. Paul's
Lutheran Church, Catasauqua, dates its origin from the latter part of the year
1851. About that time Rev. Jeremiah Schindel, Lutheran, and Rev. J. C. Becker,
D.D., Reformed, began to preach to the two respective congregations that
afterwards erected the St. Paul's
Union Church. In the beginning of the year 1852 the two congregations were
regularly organized and the two clergymen mentioned elected as the first
regular pastors. The church building was soon commenced, the corner stone being
laid on July 4, 1852, and the dedication taking place on Christmas day of the
same year. The building committee consisted of George Breinig, Solomon Biery,
Samuel Koehler, and Charles Nolf. This Union Church continued until March,
1868, when the Reformed sold out their interest, and the Lutherans became sole
owners of the property.
The
first Lutheran Church council was composed of George Breinig and George
Frederick, Sr., as elders; Reuben Patterson and Jonathan Snyder, as deacons. In
1854, Rev. Jeremiah Schindel resigned, and was succeeded by Rev. William Rath,
who served the congregation until July 7, 1861, when Rev. F. J. F. Schantz became pastor, and remained
such until Sept. 30, 1866. From this date until June 1, 1867, the congregation
was supplied by Conference, — Rev. Carl Schlenker serving the same in
German, and Rev. E. J. Koons, in English. From June 1, 1867, Rev. J. D. Schindel,
a son of the first pastor of the congregation, assumed charge of the same, and
yet serves the congregation.
The
organists during this time were the following: John S. P. Faust, Edward Broder, John Leonhard, Martin
Frankenfield, T. S. P. Steiner (for twelve years), Norman C. Shaffer, and the
present organist, John C. Schafer.
During
these thirty-one years the congregation has had a varied experience, but has
always shown life and growth. In 1863 the building was handsomely repaired, and
in 1871 a basement was made under it.
In 1873 the dead buried in the adjoining lot were re-moved. In the same
year a part of the congregation severed their connection, and organized the
English Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity.
Ever
since the organization of the congregation both the German and English
languages have been used in the services. At first the English was used
occasionally, but at present the two languages stand on an equality. The
present membership of the congregation is something over seven hundred, and the
Sunday-school numbers something over five hundred. It has a valuable property and no debts. The present church
council consists of, — Pastor, J. D. Schindel; Elders, Frederick Eberhard
and William Wolf; Deacons, James Seyfried, William F. Koehler, Samuel Everitt,
and Sylvester B. Harte; Trustees, Philip Storm and James C. Beitel ; Secretary,
Samuel J. Koehler; and Treasurer,
Samuel M. Snyder. The officers of the Sunday-school are, the pastor of the
congregation as superintendent; Samuel J. Koehler and Paul C. Brodbeck,
assistants; Tilghman F. Frederick, secretary; and Edwin Kleibscheidel and
Monroe Snyder, librarians.
The
Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity.
— On Wednesday, Jan. 1,
1873, the annual congregational meeting of St. Paul's Lutheran Church was held
in their church. At this meeting a resolution was adopted reducing the English
services in the church from five to four times each month. It was the opinion
of ten English members that this action was not called for by existing
circumstances, and as the congregation had been growing rapidly by the
introduction of English preaching in the church, as the Sunday-school attached
to the church was conducted in the English language, and as the children of the
church were educated entirely in that language, considerable dissatisfaction
was manifested on the part of those who believed that the church should keep up
with the demands of the times ; and after
repeated requests on their part made to the German portion of the church to recede from
the action taken, without effect,
a portion of the congregation retired from the meeting to discuss the situation. M. H. Horn was called
to the chair. George Bower, Edwin Schlench and M. H. Horn were appointed a
committee to report upon the situation
at a future meeting to be called by
the chairman. A meeting was called for Monday evening, Jan. 6, 1873, at
the residence of M. H. Horn, and was largely attended. It was agreed to make
one more effort to arrange with the German portion of the congregation, and
endeavor to get them to recede from the action taken Jan. 1, 1873. Accordingly,
Messrs. George Bower, Thomas Frederick, Charles F. Beck, Edwin Schlench, and
Harry J. Eckensberger were appointed a committee to meet the church council of,
St. Paul's Church, for the above-named purpose, and to report at a meeting to
be held Jan. 10, 1873.
January
10th the committee reported that the church council
of St. Paul's Church refused to recede from the
action taken at the meeting of January 1st. The meeting
then resolved to organize an English Lutheran congregation
and procure a suitable place for worship. A committee
was appointed on organization and supplies. Subsequently
the German Reformed Church was procured as the place
of worship, and on Sunday, January 14th. Rev. John
Kohler, one of the oldest members of the German
Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania,
preached both morning and evening. The Sunday-school
in connection with the church was organized, with
about eighty children, on the 12th of January, with
M. H. Horn, superintendent; E. H. Breder,
assistant superintendent; Robert A. Lyttle, superintendent
of infant department; Edwin Schlench, H, J. Echensberger,
Charles F. Beck, C. D. Boner, and Thomas W. Frederick,
librarians. On Feb. 10, 1873 a constitution and
by-laws were adopted, and the following-named persons
were elected church officers: Elders, George Boner
and Thomas Frederick; Deacons, Edwin Schlench, Jacob
B. Werley, H. J. Eckensberger, and O. Person; Trustees,
Charles F. Beck, E. B. Breder; Treasurer, M,
H. Horn; Secretary, William H. Horn.
The pulpit was regularly supplied by the
following-named ministers until a regular pastor
was elected:
Rev. F. A. Muhlenberg, D.D, Rev. D. N. Kepner,
Rev. Edmund Belfour, Rev. Joseph A. Seiss, D.D.,
Rev. Sibolte, Rev. William Frick, Rev. C. J. Cooper,
Rev. S. A. Ziegenfuss, Rev. R. Weidner, and Rev.
David Guissinger.
On Sunday, May 14, 1878, the first communion services
were held by Rev. Joseph A. Seiss, D.D. of Philadelphia.
The following- named persons communed:
| George
Bower |
Catharine Beck |
Robert A. Lyttle |
|
Mrs. A. D. Bower |
Jacob B. Werley |
Edwin Schlench |
|
C. D. W. Bower |
Abbie R. Werley |
Mrs. Schlench |
|
Myra Bower |
Orantus Pierson |
Mullin Overpeck |
|
Melchior H. Horn |
Elizabeth Pierson |
Joseph H. Shipe |
|
Matilda S. Horn |
Henry J. Eckensberger |
Emily C. Shipe |
|
William H. Horn |
Amanda Eckensberger |
George Frederick |
|
Frank M. Horn |
Jacob L. Lawall |
Effie J. Frederick |
|
Thomas Frederick |
Anna C. Lawall |
Mary Fenstermacher |
|
Catharine Frederick |
E. H. Breder |
William H. Bender. |
|
Thomas W. Frederick |
Mary C. Breder |
|
|
Charles F. Beck |
Benjamin B. Lynn |
|
Monday,
May 26, 1873, Rev. John R. Plitt was unanimously elected pastor of the
congregation. Rev. Plitt served the congregation until the fall of 1877, when
he resigned to take charge of a congregation in West Philadelphia. From that
time until April 9, 1883, the congregation was served by Rev. M. H. Richards as
a missionary supply, when a call was unanimously extended to Rev. George W. Landt,
of Easton, Pa., who was subsequently unanimously elected pastor. Soon thereafter he formally took charge
of the congregation and was duly installed pastor; Rev. David Gininger, of
Easton, and Rev. J. D. Schindel, of St. Paul's Lutheran Chinch of Catasauqua,
officiating.
In
the fall of 1873 the corner-stone of the present church edifice was laid with
appropriate ceremonies, Rev. J. D. Schindel, Rev. J. R. Plitt, Rev. Dr.
Muhlenberg, and other Lutheran clergymen taking part. In the spring of 1874,
the church building was formally dedicated, — Rev. C. P. Krauth, D.D.,
Rev. F. A. Muhlenberg. D.D., Rev.
J. D. Schindel, Rev. J. R, Plitt, and other clergymen participating. The church
is fifty by seventy feet in dimensions, built of pressed brick, with a large
Sunday-school room in the basement, is of modern style, and one of the best
built and handsomest
churches in the Lehigh Valley: the cost of the church and lot was about sixteen
thousand dollars. It is situated on the northeast corner of Bridge and Third
Streets. During the year 1876, the congregation became considerably embarrassed
by the effects of the panic of 1873, 1874, 1875, and 1876, and the church
building was finally sold to pay debts due thereon; it was purchased by M. H. Horn, and subsequently sold by him to
the congregation at the price he paid for it. The congregation was chartered by
the court of Lehigh County June 16, 1882, and since the election of Rev. George
W. Sandt, and his taking charge of the same, new life has been infused, and
considerable growth has already shown itself in the addition of
membership.
The following-named persons are now the
officers of the church: Frank M. Horn, Henry J. Hornbeck, George Beck, C. D. W.
Boner. J. H. Mushlitz, Henry J. Eckensberger, E. J. Boyer, and Owen Fatzinger;
of the first communicants of the congregation the following named have since
died: Thomas Frederick, Catharine Frederick, Orantus Pierson, Anna C. Lawall;
and of the members subsequently joining the church the deaths have been: Isabella
T. Horn and Mrs. John Royer. The congregation carries upon its rolls about
sixty members; the Sunday-School, one hundred and sixty pupils, and twenty-four
officers and teachers.
The
following-named persons have served as officers
at various times since its first organization:
| George Boner |
George Frederick |
| Thomas Frederick |
Tilghman Fenstermacher |
| Edwin Schlench |
Frank J. Grover |
| J. B. Werley |
Hiram Beitelman |
| H.J. Eckensberger |
J. H. Mushlitz |
| Oratus Pierson |
Joseph H. Shipe |
| Charles F. Beck |
Frank M. Horn |
| E. H. Broder |
C. D. W. Boner |
| M. H. Horn |
Henry J. Hornbeck |
| William H. Horn |
Owen Fatzinger |
| Jacob S. Lawall |
E. J. Boyer |
| M. E. Kreidler |
George F. Beck. |
Bethel
Welsh Congregational Church. — On
Nov. 28, 1882, the Bethel Welsh
Congregational Church was organized with thirty members, and Rev. David R.
Griffith chosen pastor. The members, feeling the want of religious services
conducted in their native language, formed the new congregation, and secured
the building formerly used by the Welsh Baptist Church, on Third Street, above
Walnut, for a place of worship. They regularly met in that building until Dec.
2, 1883, when they dedicated with appropriate ceremonies their new church
building at Fourth and Pine Streets. At ten o'clock a.m. the services were in
the Welsh language, and Rev. R. S. Jones, of Providence, and Rev. D. Todd
Jones, of Shenandoah, preached. In the afternoon, at two o'clock, English
services were held, Rev. T. C. Edwards, of Kingston preaching. At six p.m., Welsh
services were held, Revs. R. S. Jones and Edwards preaching. The congregation
has steadily increased in membership until had swelled to sixty-four
communicant members, and the Sunday-school numbers one hundred and eighteen
scholars.
Material
aid was afforded the new congregation, and they dedicated their new house free
of debt. Mrs. David Thomas took an earnest interest in the new project and was
very active in securing her fellow countrymen a place of worship, and her
liberality aided in a large measure in placing in their hands the much-desired church building. The
building committee chosen by the congregation were Messrs. Samuel Thomas,
William P. Hopkins, David D. Thomas, and Rev. David R. Griffith, and the
building erected is a credit to their taste and experience.
Ground
was broken for the new building in May 1883, and on Sunday, June 17th, the
foundation walls were completed and the corner-stone laid with appropriate
ceremonies. Rev. D. Todd Jones, of Shenandoah, and Revs. Griffith, Harbison,
Garrison, and Crist took part in the exercises, and Mrs. Thomas laid the
stone.
The
plat of ground, ninety by one hundred and eleven feet, on which the new church
stands, is eligibly located at Fourth and Pine Streets. The building was
partially designed by L. S. Jacoby, architect, of Allentown; the erection
contracted by Mr. Cain Semmels, builder, this place; the slating by Mr. T. F.
Laubach; the painting and
frescoing by Goth Brothers, Bethlehem ; the heaters and gas-fitting by Mr.
Henry Souders; and other tradesmen furnished materials and performed work. The structure is of the
Gothic style, built of brick, with steep roof, covered with black slate,
surmounted by a neat open spire, placed in a transverse position. The building
faces Pine Street, is thirty by fifty feet in dimensions, with entrance porch
ten by ten feet, and a wing extending on Fourth Street, sixteen by twenty feet,
with entrance six by eight feet.
The
Catasauqua School District— Prior to
the incorporation of Catasauqua as a borough, the district was embraced within
the Hanover Township School District. A mixed school was established at or near
the corner of the Howertown road, and the road leading to Bethlehem (now Race
Street), on the land of Frederick Biery, and it was called the Biery's Bridge
School. Later this school was removed to a frame building on the land of the
Crane Iron Company, situated at what is now the corner of Church and Bridge
Streets. In 1848 a building was erected on the corner of Bridge Street and Howertown
road by the Presbyterian congregation, on land bought from John Peters. It was
occupied by the two branches of the Presbyterian Church until Catasauqua was
incorporated into a borough, when it was purchased by the school district, and
fitted up to accommodate two schools of sixty pupils each. In the year 1854 a
lot was purchased from Jonas Biery, on the corner of Second Street and School
Alley, on which the district erected a two-story building with two rooms to
accommodate one hundred and twenty pupils. In 1859 a lot was purchased from
Adrian Barber, on the corner of Second and Walnut Streets, on which a building
with six rooms was erected to accommodate three hundred pupils. In 1868 a lot
was purchased from John L. Manchett, on Front Street, between Wood and Union
Streets, and a building was erected thereon to accommodate two hundred
pupils.
The
school buildings are all of brick and of modern structure, all finished with
modem furniture. All have large grounds planted with shade trees, and are
pleasantly and conveniently located.
Previous
to the year 1858 the records of the district were not carefully kept, so that
it is not possible to give a correct history of the board's doings. April 2,
1858, Joshua Hunt and M. H. Horn were elected members of the board. The former
was chosen president, and the latter secretary, and from that day regular
minutes of the board are on record. The old members of the board holding over
were Frederick Eberhart, John Mclntyre, Charles G. Schneller, and William Miller.
At that date there were one hundred and eighty pupils on the school lists. The
schools were all mixed, and taught by A. W. Kinsy, W. H. Barton, Eliza McKee,
and Anna Phillips.
Prior
to 1858, David Thomas, Samuel Glace, Owen Schwartz, John Mclntyre, William
Miller, Frederick Eberhard, and
Charles G. Schneller had served as
school directors. Of this number David Thomas, Schwartz, and Miller have
since died. April 9, 1858, at a regular meeting of the board, on motion of
Miller and Schweller, the following resolution was unanimously passed:
"Resolved, That Joshua Hunt, M. H. Horn, and John
Mclntyre be a committee to examine all the pupils now attending our schools,
and any others who may apply for admission into our schools, and report to our
board with a view of classifying and grading of the pupils."
This
committee subsequently reported the result of their examinations, and
recommended the establishing of one grammar, two secondary, and two primary
schools.
May
10, 1858, Charles L. Russel was elected teacher of the grammar school; Alonzo
W. Kinsy and William H. Barton, teachers of the secondary schools; and Eliza
McKee and Anna Phillips, teachers of the primary schools.
Aug.
2, 1858, Mr. Russel having resigned as teacher of the grammar school, Mr. R.
Clay Hammersly was elected to fill the vacancy. This school was regraded and
classified. The more advanced pupils were assigned to Mr. Hammersly and formed
the high school; the others were taught by Mr. John Porter and constituted the
grammar school. An additional school was organized of primary scholars and
taught by Miss Gwenney Leibert. Dec. 16, 1858, John Porter, teacher of the
grammar school, was superseded by F. Herschkoll, of New York City. June 30,
1858, there were 300 pupils registered as attending the schools; in 1859, 325
pupils; in 1860, 365 pupils; in 1861, 408 pupils; in 1862, 450 pupils; in 1863,
474 pupils.
On
July 3, 1863, there was no regular meeting of the board, in consequence of the
fact that four of the six members, viz., Messrs. Hunt, Miller, Schneller, and
Horn, had answered the call of the President of the United States, and
volunteered in Company B of the Thirty-eighth Regiment for the defense of the
State.
On
Aug. 22, 1863, the high school was regularly established, with R. Clay
Hammeresly as teacher. From that
date on the schools have been in a very prosperous condition.
The
seating capacity of the school-rooms in the district is 725. Number of pupils in attendance March
7, 1884, 678, divided as follows: One high school, 45; two intermediate
schools, 75; two grammar, 86; three secondary, 137; two advanced primary and
four primary, 335; number of teachers employed, 14; term, 10 months, divided
into two sessions. Salaries, high school, $90; intermediate, $70; grammar, $60; secondary, $40; primary, $32 per
month. The value of the school property is $68,000; funded debt at four per
cent, interest, $15,000.
Since
1857 the following named persons have served as
directors of the board (those marked with * are
now dead):
| Frederick
Eberhard, six years. |
H.
D. Yeager, three years. |
| *William
Miller, nine years, and as president three years.
|
*John
Hudders, six years, as president six years.
|
| John
Mclntyre, three years. |
*Milton
Berger, two years. |
| Joshua
Hunt, six years, and as president three years.
|
A.
H. Gilbert, twelve years, as president five
years. |
| Charles
G. Schneller, nine years, and as treasurer six
years. |
David
Davis, ten years, as secretary five years. |
| M.
H. Horn, twenty-four years, and as secretary
sixteen years, as treasurer three years, as
president two years. |
James
W. Schwartz, six years, as secretary five years.
|
| Levi
Oberholtzer, one year. |
Joseph
Matchett, two years. |
| F.
F. Geiring, five years. |
James
C. Beitel, three years, as treasurer two years.
|
| *Charles
D. Fuller, three years. |
C.
W. Chapman, eight years, as president two years.
|
| David
A. Tombler, three years. |
H.
H. Reigel, three years. |
| *William
Getz, two years. |
C.
J. Keim, three years. |
| R.
Clay Hammersly, six years, and as treasurer
three years, as president three years. |
Samuel
J. Koehler, three years. |
| *Thomas
Frederick, three years. |
*A.
T. Eberhard, two years. |
| *Joseph
Schwartz, three years. |
David
Williams, three years. |
| John
Boyer, three years, as treasurer one year. |
|
The
present board is composed of (C. W. Chapman (president., David Davis
(secretary), M. H. Horn, A. H. Gilbert,
David Williams, B. C. Hammersly, David J. Williams, Jr.
The
following-named persons have graduated from the high school:
1868,
Alletta M. Earle, Frank M. Horn
1869, Sarah Davis, Mary Lewars, Margaret A. Depue,
Margaret A. Quig
1870, Amanda J. Funk, Elizabeth Wilson. Sarah Bear,
Mary A. Halbach
1871, Sarah J. Mclntyre, Rebecca McMonegal, John
F. Halbach, Alice James, George Halbach
1872, Hannah Davis, Ella D. Boyd, Esther Bear, Sarah
Minnich, Emma Hison, Emma Schneller, Jane McClelland,
Charles Brunner, Edward D. Boyer, C. D. W. Bower.
J. W. S. Souder
1873, Mary James, Hannah McGee, Amanda Bough, Ida
M. Harte, Elizabeth Morrow, Michael J. Brady
1874, Sarah A. Kay, Cora C. Creveling, Anna C. Creveling,
Delia Mealy, Mary McGee, Margaret McClay, Mary M.
Craig, Lillian A. Harte, Mary A. Hudders, Eliza
J. Bear, Louise Taylor, Jacob F. Becker, George
W. Bower, Frank Mclntyre
1875, Henry F. Funk, Elizabeth Nevins, Martha J.
Streahm, Sarah J. Gillespie, Jane F. Miller, Agnes
L. Swartz, Harry T. Horn, Jennie Weisley, Matilda
Price
1876, Clara L. Bear, Elizabeth M. Souder. Minnie
S. Boyer, M. Alice Breder, Isabella T. Horn, Edward
J. Frederick, Roger Hunt, Clifford H. Riegel, George
F. Beck, George L. Plitt, Austin A. Glick, Edward
J. Lawall, Frank J. Savin, Mark W. Halbach
1877, Emma Nevins, Mary M. Schneller, Alice Kay,
William H. Emanuel, William Tretch, Albert J. Hiscon,
Frank Clark
1878, Jesse H. Harbinson, Sarah McHenry, Anna B.
Gibson, Margaret A. Nevins, Julia A. M. Carson,
Gertrude E. Williams, Elizabeth A. Harbison, Solon
J. Harte, Albert J. Misley, James Clugston, Jr.,
John A. Funk, William Overton, Jr., Albert A. Koons,
Samuel A. Campbell
1879, Winnie Williams, Margaret Gillespie, Edwin
O. Moyer, Charles R. Horn, Horace Boyd, Thomas H.
Milson, Cassius C. Andress, Richard Foly, Frank
S. Bower
1880, Ida E. Corvin, Nancy McAndless, Maria Thomas,
Anna M. Funk, Clara E. Schlanch, Margaret A. Funk,
Hannah E. Stock, James G. Lucy, Charles E. Frick,
Franklin P. Frederick, Archibald Harte, William
H. Laubach. Jr., William J. Snyder, Jr., William
A. Reigel
1881, Della F. Lawall, Emma M. Engler, Minnie M.
Bower, Cora E. Eberhart. Mattie McHenry, Elizabeth
Hunter
1882, William J. Funk, Laura M. Hock, Anna M. Craig,
Elizabeth Clugston
1883, Laura Bower, Soleri Birtel, Elizabeth Gillespie,
Winnie Hopkins, Huldah Schlanch, Agnes William,
Anna Fuller, Francis Kopp, Emily Lawall, Elizabeth
Milson, Elizabeth Williams, David Folan. Senior
class of 1884, Laura Eberhard, Elsie Mclntyre, Mary
App, Sallie Church, Matilda Wolf, Clara Clampbell,
Anna Lucy, Cora Schual, Elizabeth Bartholomew, William
Dyatt, Abner Buck, Benjamin Campbell, William Sieger,
Osborn Snyder, James Troxell, David Griffiths, Edward
Rohn.
The
following-named persons have been employed as teachers
at different times since 1857:
| Alonzo
W. Kinny |
Kate Y. M. Smith |
Maggie Depeu |
|
William H. Barton |
W. H. Halderman |
Kate McMonegal |
|
Charles H. Russell |
L. C. Wonderly |
William T. Morris |
|
Eliza McKee |
Sallie Wilson |
Esther Bear |
|
Anna Phillips |
Walter J. McFarland |
Alice Hammersly |
|
R. C. Hammersly |
Anna McKibbin |
T. F. Frederick |
|
Gwenney Leibert |
Robert McClean |
O. B. Pearson |
|
John Porter |
Harte Gilbert |
Jennie McClelland |
|
F. Herschkill |
B. C. Snyder |
J. H. Mushlitz |
|
Anna Evans |
John Hill |
Hannah Davis |
|
Eliza Hammersly |
E. H. Breder |
Sarah Kay |
|
Reuben Lichtenwallner |
Charlotte Bear |
Alice Kay |
|
Mary Ann Davis |
Martha Wilson |
Mary Craig |
|
Mary Duff |
Sarah Davis |
Ellen Johnson |
|
Naomi Phillips |
Rebecca McMonegal |
John Depeu |
|
Mary Evans |
Maggie Quig |
Charles H. Bertel |
|
Rebecca Sigley |
Sarah Bear |
George J. Benner |
|
Mrs. John Clark |
Irene Reich |
Sallie McHenry |
|
Milton O. George |
John Kendlehart |
Delia Mealy |
|
Jennie Corwin |
Carrie Wilson |
T. W. Bevan |
|
Anna M. Smith |
C. McMonegal |
J. F. Moyer |
|
Jennie Click |
Amanda Funk |
I. Frank Barr |
|
Robert A. Lyttle |
Sallie Mclntyre |
Paul Hirsh. |
|
A. P. Garler |
A. N. Uhlrich |
|
The
teachers now employed are T. W. Bevan, high school; J. H. Mushlitz, Kate Y.
Smith, intermediate schools; J. F. Moyer, I. Frank Barr, grammar schools;
Sallie J. Mclntyre, Anna M. Smith, Hannah Davis, secondary schools; Alice Kay,
Rebecca McMonegal, Sarah McHenry, Mary Craig, Martha Wilson, Eliza J. Bear,
Delia Mealy, primary schools.
Fairview
Cemetery. — On the west side of the
Lehigh River, opposite the town, and occupying a beautiful location, is the
Fairview Cemetery, laid out and cared for by an association chartered Jan. 1,
1877, and then consisting of M. H. Horn, David A. Tombler, R. Clay Hammersley,
R. A. Boyer, John Thomas, James W. Schwartz, W. H. Laubach, and Orange M.
Fuller. The property was owned by James W. Fuller, Esq., who set it apart as a
burying-ground, and sold to the association upon its organization. The cemetery
is now kept in excellent condition, and is one of the most beautiful in the
valley. In the cemetery is a
soldiers' monument, erected in 1866 by the people of Catasauqua.
Masonic
Lodges. -— Porter Lodge, No. 284, F.
and A. M., was originally instituted as No. 152, on Sept. 5, 1853, and named alter Hon. James M.
Porter; was fully organized June 30, 1854, with the following officers, viz.:
W. M., Robert Mclntyre; S. W., Levi Kraft; J. W., James McLeary; Sec, A. H.
Gilbert; Treas., Charles H. Nolf; S. D., F. B. Martin; J. D., Charles Allen; S.
M. C, William Getz; J. M. C, James Clugston; Tyler. William Biery. This lodge,
an offshoot from Easton Lodge, has been the parent of four lodges, viz.,
Lehigh, of Trexlertown, organized in April 1858; Barger, of Allentown, in
April, 1859; Monoquesy, of Bath, in April, 1861; and Slatington Lodge, in April
1861. Porter Lodge, in 1868, furnished a new hall, its present meeting-place,
in Fuller's Block, at a cost of nearly sixteen hundred dollars. From the time of its organization to
the present two hundred and forty-nine persons have been initiated to
membership, and the number now on the roll is about ninety.
The
Past Masters have been as follows: W. R.
Houser, Daniel Yoder, M.D., George Bower, B. F. Wonderly, H. H. Riegel,
M.D., Charles Corwin, William H. Ainey, Henry Souder, Henry Davis, George
Mclntyre, J. P. Griffith, A, F. Koons, F.J. Grover, William Williams, J.
Fatzinger, Joseph Matchett, David Williams, Charles W. Chapman.
At
the present writing the officers of Porter Lodge are as follows: Robert E.
Williams, W. M.; John B. Davis, S.
W.; Preston E. Stem, J. W.; Daniel Yoder, Treas.; Edmund Randall, Sec; Joseph
Matchette, Chap.; David H. Thomas, S. D.; John W. Hopkins, J. D.; Charles D. W.
Bower, Purs. ; Owen F. Fatzinger, J. M. of C.; Frank B. Keiser, S. M. of C.;
Henry Souder, Tyler; Trustees, H. H. Riegel, chairman; Charles Corwin, James C.
Beitel.
I.
O. O. F. Lodge and Encampment—
Catasauqua Lodge, No. 269, 1. O. O. F., was instituted Oct. 6, 1847, on which
occasion the following officers were elected, viz.: N. G., Reuben Seip; V. G.,
Aaron Bart; Sec, Samuel Colver ; Asst. Sec, David A. Tombler; Treas., Nathan Frederick. Since the beginning
four hundred and thirty-six members have been initiated into this lodge, and it
now has ninety-six. The present officers are: N. G., Edward Davis; V. G., F. H.
Reichel ; Sec, A. R. Dieter; Asst. Sec, Robert J. Morris; Treas., H. A.
Beitleman.
Fraternity
Encampment, No. 156, I. O. O. F., was instituted June 6, 1867, on which occasion
the following officers were elected: C. P., George Bower; H. P., M. H. Horn; C.
W., D. A. Tombler; J. W., Daniel Gillespie; Treas., F. M. Eagle; Scribe, A. F.
Koons; O. S., Phillip Storm; I. S., Aaron Snyder; G., Henry Souder; 1st W.,
William Beiry; 2d W., John Hunter; 3d W., F. F. Giering; 4th W., Henry
Eckensberger; 1st G. of T., Franklin Bower; 2d G. of T., James Hutchinson;
Trustees, Henry Eckensberger, F. F.
Giering, William Shoeneberger.
The
present officers are as follows: C. P., W. H. Horn; H. P., Edward Edwards; S. W., W. H. Scanlin; J. W.,
Edward Davis; Treas.. F. M.Eagle; Scribe, Thomas Jones; G., J. B. Davis; O. S.,
J. H. Chryst; 1. S., F. H.
Kiechel; 1st W., Alexander Morrow; 2d W., Joseph Wresley, Jr.; 3d W., D. P.
Tombler, Sr.; 4th W., Samuel Everett; 1st G. of T., Frederick C. Yeaser; 2d G. of T., David Gillespie;
Trustees, Phillip Storm, William Williams, and Edward Edwards; P. C. P.'s,
George Power, D. A. Tombler, Thomas Jones, Joseph Reichard, Amandus R. Dieter,
William Williams, William H. Horn, David Gillespie, Tilghman Fenstermacher,
Edward Edwards, David G. Morris,
William H. Griffiths, Daniel Davies, John B. Davis, David K. Williams, Franklin
H. Dieter.
Grand
Army of the Republic. — Fuller Post,
No. 378, is a recent institution,
but there was a Grand Army post of the same name, and known as No. 71, in
Catasauqua many years ago. It was organized Aug. 19, 1867, and disbanded Oct.
15, 1869. The officers first elected were: P. C, Edward Gilbert; S. V. C, Spencer
Tetemer; J. V. C. William H. Myers; Adjt., Aaron McHose; Q. M., John W.
Heberling. The post was reorganized April 18, 1872, and again disbanded Oct.
15, 1876. The recent organization was elected Sept. 10, 1883. The name which it
bears was bestowed in honor of Lieut. George W. Fuller of this place. The
present officers of the post are: Com., Edwin Gilbert; S. V. C, Charles Laramy;
J. V. C, Frank H. Wilson; Adjt., Edmund Randall; Q. M., Joseph H. Schwab;
Chap., Joseph Matchett ; O. D.,
Joseph Wray; O. G., John Matchett.
By
special act of Congress, approved May 15, 1875, the government donated to this
post for the ornamentation of burial lots in the cemetery four-iron cannon and
sixteen cannon balls.
References
1. From an article by the late Jacob Fatzinger
2. Report of Burgess William H. Glace for 1877.
3. The author of the little pamphlet called
"Incident of the Freshet on the Lehigh River, Sixth month, 4th and 5th,
1862", for which we are indebted to Mr. D. T. Williams, of Catasauqua.
4. The Welsh Baptists do not at present maintain an
active organization.
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