CHAPTER XXIV.
TOWAMENSING TOWNSHIP.
Pages 769 to 773
Count Zinzendorf, a
Moravian, came up along the Lehigh River in the year 1742, and held a treaty
with the Indians at the place on which, a few years later, the mission of
Gnadenhutten was established. He named
this section of country "Saint Anthony's Wilderness," and it is so
laid down on Evans' map of 1749. The
name however, did not obtain among the settlers. The term Towamensing, meaning the wilderness, or a county not
inhabited, was given to all that section north of the Blue Ridge, and was known
as Towamensing District. Northampton
County was erected in 1752, and at the October term of court in that year
Nicholas Opplinger was appointed constable.
Michael Stowers was appointed Sept. 26, 1755; Conrad Mehrkem, June, 1763;
Peter Strohl, 1764.
The dimensions of the
district are given in a petition made to the court for its division, June 22,
1758, as being thirty-six miles in length.
This petition asked that the "Lehi" River be the
division-line. A commission to divide
the district was appointed, and at the September term of court a report was
made which declared the district divided as requested by the petition. The territory west of the Lehigh was to
known as Penn Township, and that east of the river to retain the name of
Towamensing. The tax of the township in
1783 was Ł 22 9s.
Daniel Solt was the collector.
From 1768 the territory of Towamensing embraced all north and east of
the Lehigh River. Chestnut Hill was
taken from Towamensing before 1783, Tobyhanna still later, and in 1836 they
became a part of Monroe County, and in 1841 the lower part of it became Penn
Forest, which in 1843 was attached to Carbon County. In 1841 Towamensing was again divided, and Lower Towamensing was
set off. In 1851 Franklin was set off,
since which time the territory remained the same.
The list of names here
given are of those who resided within the limits of Towamensing township as it
then existed, embracing Upper and Lower Towamensing, Franklin, Penn Forest, and
Kidder townships; Tobyhanna township,
now of Monroe County, having been set off earlier.
The following names are
of persons assessed in Towamensing Dec. 27, 1781, by the commissioners of
Northampton County. Amount of tax
levied, Ł 72 1s 1d.
Michael Beltz Henry Davis
Peter Bloss Peter
Frantz
Stophel Bock Gottfried
Grieswig
Nicholas Box Maria Georgin
Jacob Haus Daniel
Solt, Jr.
John Haan Jacob
Seiberling
Nicholas Kern Stophel
Seiberling
John Klein John
Smith
Melchior Klos Abraham Smith
Conrad Merkum Michael Strohl
Leonard Ripp Elizabeth
Strohl
Peter Roth John
Wygand
Bastian Seiberd Michael Wetzel
John Solt, Jr. John Dunn
Samuel Summy Daniel Strohl
Gentleman's Land, or Unseated Lands
Daniel Solt Ditmer
Werner
John Solt Frederick
Serfass
Peter Woodring Frederick Guildner
Frederich Streckler Baltzer Hosh
Jacob Alleman John Bier
Stophel Buckler Henry Mathias
Jacob Houseknight Michael Holstein
Margaret Shneyderin Adam Fogleman
John Rudy
Single Freemen
Henry Davis Jacob
Mehrkem
The old families who
settled in the limits of the present township have but few descendants, and it
has been exceedingly difficult to obtain accurate information concerning
them. A few sketches are here given.
William Eckert, a native
of Germany, came to Northampton County, south of the Blue Mountains, where he
resided a few years. Between 1781 and
1786 he removed to what is now Lower Towamensing township, and lived near where
Charles Straub now resides. In this
latter year he was licensed by the court of Northampton County to keep a
tavern. He had two sons, - Adam and
William. Adam was born in 1784, lived
with his father many years, and later removed to Poho Poco Creek, where he
lived the remainder of his days, and died in 1868, aged ninety-four years. He had three sons, - John, Adam, and
Daniel. Adam, son of Adam, died in
November 1883, aged eighty years, leaving twelve children, of whom were Joseph,
Abraham, Samuel, and David.
Daniel, son of Adam, died
in 1879, and left ten children, of whom are Daniel, Joseph, Reuben, and Thomas.
William Eckert, the son
of William, and brother of Adam, died many years ago, and left five sons, -
John, William, Adam, Solomon, and Daniel.
The descendants of Adam
and William are in this and adjoining townships.
Abraham and John Smith,
of Easton, came to the township with their parents in 1781, and settled near
what is now Stemlersville. Adam later
settled on land now owned by Anthony Snyder.
He died in 1853, aged eight-two years.
His sons were John,…
…George, Charles, and Solomon. John and George settled in the township, Charles in Penn Forest, and Solomon at Lehigh Gap.
The ancestors of the Beer
family, who came to this township soon after 1781, were of English descent, and
emigrated first to New Jersey. The name
of the original settler is not known.
Capt. George Beer, one of the oldest remembered, lived where his son, Reuben,
now lives. His other sons were Thomas,
William, Joseph, Benjamin, Elias, and Jonas, who all live in the township. In 1843 the following were in the township: George Beer was in possession of 510 acres
of land and a saw-mill; John Beer, 200
acres; Adam Beer, 150 acres; Abraham Beer, 120 acres; George Beer, Jr., 40 acres; Paul Beer, 140 acres; and Jacob Beer, 34 acres.
The following names,
number of acres, and professions are taken from the assessment-roll made in
1843-44, the next year after the county was erected:
Innkeepers - John D. Bauman, Jr., John
Jarrard, Andreas Siegfried, William Walp.
Daniel Arner, Jr., farmer, 119 acres
Daniel Arner, carpenter
Thomas Arner, carpenter, 62 acres,
turning-machine
Peter Andreas, farmer, 92 acres
James Anthony, superintendent
Daniel Ahner, cordwainer
Joseph Albright, 212 acres
Abraham Ahner, cordwainer
John E. Boyer, keeper
J. D. Bauman, Jr., farmer, 384 acres,
saw-mill
David Becker, farmer, 70 acres
George Beer, Jr., farmer, 40 acres
John Beer, farmer, 200 acres
Abraham Beer, 120 acres
Jacob Beer, 34 acres
Adam Beer, 150 acres
David Buch, cordwainer, 41 acres
Peter Beltz, farmer, 311 acres
Andreas Buck, 64 acres
Paul Beer, 140 acres
George Beer, farmer, 510 acres, saw-mill
Charles Belfort, farmer, 66 acres
John G. Boyer, for Stephen Balliet, 64
acres
Charles Blose, farmer, 53 acres
Henry Bauman, 300 acres
J. D. Bauman, 93 acres improved and 40 acres
at the Fire Line, 150 acres at Zerley's
James Brown, carpenter, 38 acres
David Bauman, merchant, 73 acres
Blose & Reichelderfer, 212 acres
Melchior Christman, farmer, 64 acres
Simon Christman, farmer, 96 acres
Joseph Christman, 135 acres
James M. Connor, carpenter
Christian Corby, refiner
Daniel Dreisbach, farmer, 88 acres,
clover-mill
Peter Dreisbach, farmer, 109 acres,
saw-mill
George Derrhainer, tailor
James Dick, lawyer
Dreisbach & Solt, 297 acres woodland and
saw-mill
Simon Dreisbach, carpenter
Adam Eckhart, Jr., farmer, 100 acres
Daniel Eckhart, farmer, 70 acres
William Eckhart, 44 acres
John Eckhart, 400 acres
Joseph C. Fields, sawyer
Samuel B. Finch, superintendent
Henry Greenzweig, 29 acres
John D. Greenzweig, farmer, 80 acres
Samuel Greenzweig, farmer, 70 acres
Ashbury Gilham, collier
Ezekiel Gilham, collier
C. S. German, doctor
Daniel Heberling, merchant
Joseph Hartman, 45 acres
Samuel Hartman, carpenter
Jonas Halm, blacksmith
Charles Hote, 200 acres
John Houseknecht, tanner, 100 acres
John and George Hote, 100 acres
Benjamin Jarrard, miller
Henry Kibler, 63 acres
Jonathan Kibler, 75 acres
Kibler & Beer, saw-mill
Christian Krum, mason, 12 acres
Joseph Kern, carpenter, 45 acres
William Kern, carpenter, 141 acres
Peter Kibler for Charles Biddle, 428 acres
Peter Krum, mason, 20 acres
Charles Klotz, carpenter
John Kelchner, 30 acres
Daniel Kemerer, clerk
William Lilly, clerk
James Laury, clerk
David S. Lovett, farmer, 1394 acres and
saw-mill
William Lilly, Jr. clerk
Godfrey Laury, clerk
Jacob Moyer, wheelwright
Frederick Minor, miller, grist-mill,
saw-mill
Samuel & Jesse Mills, colliers
Robert McDaniel, carpenter
Charles Moyer, wheelwright, 17 acres
Jacob Oswald, carpenter
Pine Forest Company, 230 acres, grist-mill,
saw-mill
Peter Reiner, farmer, 50 acres
John Roth, sawyer
Charles Roth, carpenter
Lewis Roth, tailor
Joseph Richter, wheelwright
Augustus Roth, tailor
Josiah Ruch, blacksmith
George Ruple, wheelwright
Francis Reed, carpenter
George Schnell, 32 acres
Lewis
Schnell, 28 acres
William Schnell, 33 acres, weaver
Simon F. Snyder, farmer, 300 acres
Daniel Schaeffer, farmer, 102 acres
Thomas Schaeffer, 102 acres
Abram Smith, farmer, 98 acres
John A. Solt, 25 acres
Jacob Snyder, 108
David and Reuben Solt, 49 acres
Jacob Solt, Jr., weaver, 62 acres
John J. Solt, farmer, 171 acres
John Solt, farmer, 163 acres
Daniel Solt, farmer, 203 acres
Paul Solt, Jr., carpenter, 11 acres
Henry Sower, collier
Daniel Stemler, farmer, 470 acres,
saw-mill, clover-mill
David Schaeffer, carpenter, 66 acres
Justus L. Schreiber, carpenter
George Sponeheimer
Smith & Caldwell, 2687 acres, furnace,
forge
William Solt, tailor, 19 acres
Nathaniel Serfas, farmer, 130 acres
Thomas Schwaab, farmer, 77 acres
Matthias Geyfest, blacksmith
John Solt, Jr., 22 acres
Jacob Sevitz, cordwainer, 40
Peter P. Strohl & Sons, 56 acres
Peter Snyder, Jr., 100 acres
John A. Schoenberger, tailor
Thomas Solt, 33 acres
Andreas Siegfried
Hyman L. Stine, carpenter
Daniel Smith, sawyer
John
Smith, farmer, 100 acres
William Tilghman, 106 acres, non-resident
Weiss estate, 3077 acres
George Welch, farmer, 197 acres, saw-mill
Daniel Welch, farmer, 120 acres
William Walp, innkeeper
Francis Weiss, Sr., surveyor
Thomas Weiss, tanner
Daniel Wentz, farmer, 84 acres
Lewis Weiss, merchant
Solomon Welch, 74 acres
Francis Weiss, Jr., surveyor
George Wagner, Jr., farmer, 140 acres
Charles Welch, carpenter
Edward Weiss, merchant
John Ziegenfuss, 226 acres, saw-mill
Simon Ziegenfuss, miller
Thomas Ziegenfuss, 45 acres
Jacob Ziegenfuss, 50 acres
The school privilege in
this township was very meager at an early day, as no church school was within
its limits. The nearest was the John's
congregation. The township accepted the
school law in 1841, at which time the school directors were James Anthony and
John Solt, who were elected for three years,
William Walp two years, and John Smith and David Shiffer one year.
The following is a list
of the names of the school directors of the township since the erection of
Carbon County:
1844 - Francis Weiss, Jr., Daniel Wentz,
Daniel Solt, Charles Blow
1845 - M. Christman, D. Stemler, D.
Heberling
1846 - Alex. Lentz, Adam Beer
1847 - Thomas Stout, William Kern
1848 - George Wagner, Joseph Christman
1849 - Lewis Weiss, Paul Beers
1850 - David Bowman, James Lowry
1851 - Daniel Stemler, Adam Beer, Reuben
Hawk, Samuel Greensweig
1852 - Daniel Eckhart, Daniel Walp
1853 - James Lowry, David Griffith
1854 - David Stemler, James Lowry
1855 - James Walp, David Becker
1856 - David Griffith, J. H. Rickert
1857 - J. J. Kemmerer, Daniel Stemler,
Simon Trach
1858 - George Beer, Adam Beer, Samuel
Greensweig
1859 - David Griffith, Edward Raber
1860 - Paul Beer, J. J. Kemerer
1861 - John Herman, Joel Strohl, David
Christman
1862 - George Wagner, William Schoenberger
1863 - Solomon Stemler, David Becker
1864 - J. J. Kemerer, Solomon Stemler
1865 - Daniel Stemler, Amos Beer
1866 - William Eckhardt, Joseph Christman
1867 - Robert McDaniel, Josiah Harfle
1868 - Peter Bock, Paul Kresge
1869 - John Behler, David Griffith
1870 - Solomon Stemler, John Shobold
1871 - Paul Kresge, H. F. Greensweig
1872 - Frank Smith, Paul Smith
1873 - Charles Meinhard, J. K. Fetherolf
1874 - John Pickford, William Shaffer
1875 - Nathan Stemler, Harrison Smith
1876 - Joel Strohl, Jonah Hasble, Solomon
Stuber
1877 - John H. Weiss, Samuel Eckhardt
1878 - John Stedder, Frederick Beer
1879 - Reuben Eckhardt, William
Shoenberger
1880 - Charles Schoeffer, Ebenzel Shinke
1881 - George Haydt, Benjamin Greensweig
1882 - Nathan Smith, August Kirchner, A. J.
Christman
1883 - Paul Kresge, Solomon Stemler
The township was
originally divided into five school districts.
Stemlersville, No. 1 - A log school-house
was erected by the saw-mill about 1840, which was used till 1850, when it was
taken down and moved to the present school site, and there used till 1864, when
the present brick house was built, at a cost of three hundred and sixty-five
dollars.
No. 2 - a district was erected, known as
"Big Creek," which included the Shoenberger, Pine Run, and Kibler
district. A school-house was built near
Kemerer's, and used till 1868, when the three districts mentioned were made,
and this house was abandoned.
The School-house at
Shoenberger's, now Lovett's, was built in 1868, and is still in use.
Kibler's - In 1868 the present school-house was
built near John Eckert's.
Pine Run District was embraced from its
erection in 1868 to 1875 the present districts of Upper and Lower Pine
Run. In the latter year Upper Pine Run
was taken off.
The school-house of Lower
Pine Run was erected in 1868, and the Upper Pine Run in 1875.
District No. 3 - known as Greensweig,
was one of the original districts. A
school-house was erected on the present site, which was used till 1883, when
the present building was erected.
No. 4 - This district, known as Eckert's, was
established upon the acceptance of the school law, and a school-house erected
near Eckert's which was in use till 1872, when the present stone building was
erected.
No. 5 - At this district, known as Beer's, a
building was erected and used till 1864, when an edifice which had been erected
for the use of an Evangelical Church society was purchased and remodeled for
school purposes, and used for the school-house till the present.
The pupils in the
different districts are as follows;
Stemlersville, 60; Schoenberger, 10; Kibler, 25; Lower Pine
Run, 30;
Upper Pine Run, 30; Greensweig's, 45; Eckert's, 40; Beer's,
41. Total, 281.
Justices of the Peace- The justices of the
peace prior to 1840 will be found in the civil list of the county, in the
districts in which the townships were assigned. From 1845 to 1883 they have been as follows:
David Bauman, March, 1845
Edward Weiss, March, 1850
George Beer, March, 1851
George Wagner, March, 1851
George Beer, March, 1856
George Wagner, March, 1856
Lynford Troch, March, 1859
Henry Deppe, March, 1861
Joseph M. Roberts, March, 1862
Peter Jones, Jr., March, 1863
W. H. Jones, March, 1865 ; March, 1866
Paul Krisge, March, 1868
John Behler, October, 1870
Benjamin Beer, March, 1872 ; March, 1877
Paul Kresge, March, 1878 ; March, 1883
Jerusalem Church - The church, the only
one in Towamensing township, is located near Trochsville, was built of frame,
forty by fifty feet, with a gallery on three sides, in the year 1848. The society is union, and composed of
members of the Lutheran and German Reformed Churches. Among the pastors of the Lutheran have been Rev. Frederick W. Mendson
(1848-52), E. A. Bauer, and A. M. Strauss, the present pastor.
The pastors of the German
Reformed were the Rev. John Helffrich, Rev. Charles Eichenberg, after whom the
pulpit was supplied for several years.
The present pastor is the Rev. Joseph H. Schlappig.
Stemlerville - About 1795, Gen.
Thomas Craig purchased property embracing what is now Stemlerville. He erected the old house that is still
standing, and in 1814 removed to Lehigh Gap.
The property passed to others, among whom was one Frederick, who kept a
tavern at the old house.
Daniel Stemler, of
Northampton County, in 1829, purchased the property, and later purchased
extensively adjoining. Mr. Stemler at
the time of his purchase was recently married, and, upon taking possession of the
property, he opened the old tavern again as a public-house, which he kept till
1852, when the present brick hotel was built.
This he also kept till his death, in 1871. It has since been kept by his son, Nathan.
An old mill, known as the
Stemler Mill, is on the creek near Stemlerville, and before 1833 was in
possession of Frederick Bachman. In
that year he sold it to Thomas Craig, and April 6, 1842, he sold the property
to Daniel Stemler, by whose heirs it is still owned. In 1864, Daniel Stemler erected the brick building now used as a
store, and in 1866, Paul Kresge, his son-in-law, opened a store, which is still
carried on.
A stage and mail route
was opened about 1855 through the place, and a post-office was established,
with Daniel Stemler as postmaster.
After many years William Shoenberger was appointed, and held for a few
months, and Robert Laubach was appointed.
the office was returned to the Stemler Hotel, and Nathan Stemler was
appointed deputy postmaster. It so
remained until December, 1866, when Paul Kresge, the present postmaster, was
appointed, and the office was removed to his store.
Trochsville, called after Lynford
Troch, who lived there and owned the land.
Walp's tavern-stand, a short distance from there, was a noted old
tavern-stand, and when Jacob Rickert, about 1854, built the present
tavern-stand at Trochsville the old Walp stand was abandoned as tavern
property. Rickert kept the tavern a few
years and sold to Lynford Troch, who went to the war as captain and was
killed. The property was rented for
years, and is now owned by parties in Easton, and kept by Thomas Snyder.
About 1856, Lynford Troch
started a store at the place, and a post-office was established, with Troch as
postmaster. The office was after a time
abandoned, and later re-established as Carbon Post-Office, which it still
remains. John Behler served as
postmaster,…
…and was succeeded by Harrison Kunkel, the present postmaster, who also keeps the hotel and store.
On the road from Trochsville
to Little Gap, Peter Jones, many years ago, erected a brick house, which he
opened as a hotel. The place became
known as Jonesville. The hotel was kept
for a number of years, and is now used as a dwelling.
********************************************************************************
The History of the Counties
of Lehigh & Carbon, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
By
Alfred Mathews & Austin
N. Hungerford
Published in Philadelphia,
Pa., in 1884
Transcribed from the
original in November 2003 by
Shirley Kuntz
Proofing
&
web page by
November 2003