Surnames: ZIEBER, SCHMELTZER, FRY
Philip S. Zieber, a prominent member of the Berks County Bar, bears a name familiar in the city of Reading, and indeed, throughout eastern Pennsylvania, his father and grandfather before him having been identified with the manufacturing interests of the city as makers of wool hats. His grandfather Philip Zieber was the pioneer in this industry in Berks county, while Samuel Zieber, father of Philip S., continued the business in New Holland, Lancaster county, though he maintained his residence in Reading. Samuel Zieber was born in that city in 1794, and died in 1868. He married Matilda Schmeltzer, daughter of Andrew, a farmer of Bethel township, Berks county, and to them were born three children, of whom Catherine and Emma still reside at home, while Philip S. is the third.
Philip S. Zieber was born June 30, 1861 in Reading, and was carefully schooled in his native city, graduating from the Reading high school in 1876, as valedictorian of his class. In 1879 he was sent to Lafayette College, at Easton entering the junior class, where he graduated in June, 1881. Returning to Reading he began reading law in the office of George F. Baer, then one of the leading attorneys of the city, but now president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company, and in November, 1884, successfully took the examination for admission to the Bar. Mr. Zieber won his spurs alone, and had established himself firmly when in 1889, he was asked to become a member of the firm of his former preceptor, then Baer & Snyder. His acceptance changed the firm name to Baer, Snyder & Zieber, and it remained so until Mr. Baer's election to the presidency of the railway company caused his retirement, when it became Snyder & Zieber. The firm has always enjoyed a large and select practice, serving such important concerns as the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company, the Reading Iron Company, the Farmers National Bank, Penn National Banks, and numerous smaller private corporations. It will be seen at a glance that Mr. Zieber bids fair to establish himself in the front rank of his chosen profession.
On Nov. 26, 1889, Mr. Zieber married Miss Annie Gillespie Fry, daughter of Rev. Jacob Fry, D. D., for thirty-five years the beloved and able pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church of Reading, and now occupying the chair of Homiletics and Scared History at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Mt. Airy. Two children came to brighten the Zieber home, one of whom, Anna, the younger daughter, passed away July 15, 1904, at the age of twelve years.
Catherine Fry Zieber, the surviving daughter, is a student at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.
In his private life Mr. Zieber is most exemplary, taking a lively interest in the welfare of the community. He holds membership in the Odd Fellows, is a director in the Penn National Bank and also of the Berkshire Country Club and votes with the Democratic party. In the religious life of the city he is equally helpful and prominent, being a vestryman of the Trinity Lutheran Church, and is identified with its national organization as a member of the Foreign Mission Board of the General Council of the Lutheran Church in North American, of which board he was treasurer for a number of years.
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Surnames: ZIEBER, KUSER, LEASE, HOYER, LEAF, JONES, KELLER, GARST, GILSON, WILSON, GERY, BECKER, CLEAVER, O'BRYAN, BROWN, WISLER, HERBINE, KEECH, HEINZE, SCHULTZE, SPITZ, BROSSMAN, SMITH, SNYDER, GOOD
William E. Zieber, one of the well-known hotel men of Berks county, Pa., who is conducting the "Milmont Hotel" in Cumru township, was born July 26, 1865, son of Henry L. and Annie (Kuser) Zieber.
John Zieber, grandfather of William E., was born July 28, 1798, in Sumneytown, Montgomery Co., Pa., and when fourteen years of age located in Reading, where he became a well-known paper manufacturer. He died June 19, 1887, at the age of eighty-eight years, ten months, twenty-one days, and was buried at Aulenbach's cemetery. He was a lifelong member of the Evangelical Church. He was one of the first members of the Rainbow Fire Company. Mr. Zieber married Maria Lease, who died Jan. 29, 1879, aged eighty-one years, and who was buried beside her husband. Their children were: Sufiah died unmarried; Peter, deceased, m. (first) Mary Hoyer, (second) Julia Leaf, and (third) Mrs. Mary Jones; Barbara m. John Keller; Mary m. George Garst; Israel went South; John m. Gemila Gilson; William m. Edith Wilson; Isabella m. Nathaniel Gery; Henry L.; Lease died in infancy; and Francis m. Lena Becker, and died in March 1907. The great-grandmother of William E. Zieber lived to be ninety-six years old and died in Reading. Derrick Cleaver, Mr. Zieber's great-grandfather on his mother's side, was a farmer in Oley township, where he died, and a soldier of the war of 1812.
Henry L. Zieber, father of William E., was born Feb. 11, 1836, in Reading, in the schools of which city he obtained his education. Early in life he learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed until twenty-nine years of age, then entering the Philadelphia & Reading car shops as a laborer, but later becoming a painter, his last work being at lettering and numbering cars. He continued the latter occupation until March, 1906, when he was put on the retired list and pensioned, since which time he has resided at No. 745 Lance place, Reading, where he owns his own home. On Feb. 4, 1864, Mr. Zieber married Annie C. Kuser, daughter of Henry and Mary (Cleaver) Kuser, and granddaughter of Peter Kuser, who was a cabinet maker of Oley township, Berks country. Henry Kuser was a miller at the old Sixpenny mill, and his death occurred at the age of thirty-two years, his widow surviving him until eighty-one years of age. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry L. Zieber, as follows: William E.; Mary E. m. John H. O'Bryan, of No. 1139 Church street, Reading, and has one son-Henry J.; Edwin Boone died in infancy; and Westley A. also died in infancy. Mr. Zieber is a member of the Philadelphia & Reading Relief Association, and of the Otterbein United Brethren Church.
William E. Zieber attended the schools of Reading, after leaving which he engaged in farm work for Joseph Hartz, near Reading. He then became errand boy for Benjamin Brown, proprietor of a dry goods store, was next for two and one-half years in the employ of J. S. Wisler, a tobacconist, and subsequently was engaged with the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. For one year he drove a team through the country and clerked for Wells & Phillips, grocers, and for the four years following was employed by the Philadelphia & Reading Company, where he learned the car building trade, at which he was later employed by Harlan & Hollingsworth of Wilmington, Del., for one year, and the Pullman Car Company for four years. Mr. Zieber then went to Long Island City, N. Y., as assistant chief car inspector of the Long Island Railroad, a position he held for four years, at the end of which time he returned to the Pullman Car Company, with which he was connected for nine months. In 1892 Mr. Zieber returned to Reading and accepted a position as foreman in the Reading Knitting Mills, where he remained three years. He then entered into the knitting business under the firm name of Zieber, Herbine & Co., the members of the firm being William E. Zieber, Charles W. Herbine and Eugene Keech. After a successful business of a few years the Pennsylvania Knitting Mills of Reading incorporated under the laws of West Virginia, capital $50,000, was formed in order to accommodate the fast increasing trade. The officers were: Mr. Otto C. Heinze, president; Mr. Max Schultze, secretary and treasurer; Mr. Theodore Spitz, manager; William E. Zieber, superintendent. Later Mr. Zieber sold out his interest and returned to the employ of the Philadelphia & Reading Company, with whom he remained one year, subsequently spending a like period in selling cigars for John T. Brossman. For some time he was also engaged as a wine and liquor salesman for the S. W. Smith Company, Philadelphia, and on Sept. 10, 1906, he purchased his present place the well-known "Millmont Hotel," from Levi Snyder. Mr. Zieber's house has become one of the most popular hostelries in Cumru township. He fully understands the wants of the traveling public, and takes care that these wants shall be supplied. He has made many improvements on the property since obtaining possession of it, and is himself an ideal host, courteous, affable and genial.
In 1883 Mr. Zieber married Sallie J. Good, and three children have been born to this union; Grace, Edgar and Allen. In politics Mr. Zieber is a Republican. He and his family attend the United Brethren Church. Fraternally he is a popular member of the Reliance Lodge, No. 776, F. & A. M. of Brooklyn, N. Y., being made a Mason in 1890; of Camp No. 163, P. O. S. of A., and Aerie No. 66, F. O. E.
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Surnames: ZIEGLER, MYERS, HARVEY, SHEPLER, BENNETHUM
Capt. Aaron Ziegler, proprietor of one of the largest retail wall-paper establishments in the city of Reading, with business rooms at No. 355 Penn street, is one of the leading citizens of the city, and a man whose services to his country in the dark hour of her need were of such value that he merits highly the title by which he is always known. Captain Ziegler is an honored member of the old guard whose fast depleting ranks is a reminder that Time's ceaseless march is removing us farther and farther from one of the greatest wars of history-a war fought on both sides with a courage and tenacity of purpose unequaled, and befitting the Anglo-Saxon blood which, commingling in fratricidal strife, cemented the nation's disjointed parts into a splendid and magnificent compact structure, alike worshipped by her loyal people, and revered by the whole world. The story of Captain Ziegler's movements during the Civil war would, if told in all its lights and shadows, be worthy the pen of a novelist of the realistic school. The necessary brevity of this review precludes relating much of interest, but if the reader will "read between the lines," he will be ready to give credit where credit is due.
Of German ancestry, Captain Ziegler comes of a line of agriculturists who settled in Bunker Hill, Lebanon county, Pa., in pioneer times, and who in their different generations were distinguished by loyal service to the commonwealth. In this county Daniel Ziegler, grandfather of Captain Aaron, passed his life as a farmer. The father of the Captain, also named Daniel, was in his turn a contractor and builder, with residence at Myerstown, Pa. He lived to the advanced age of eighty-four, dying in 1883. His wife was Martha Shepler, daughter of Henry Shepler, a farmer of Lebanon county. The family of which the Captain was the youngest member consisted of nine children.
Captain Ziegler was born at Myerstown, Lebanon county, Feb. 20, 1841. His boyhood, passed in humble but honest toil, laid the foundation of a splendid physical constitution, without which he would no doubt have succumbed to the rigors of the war in which he was called to engage ere he had reached maturity. He became quite an expert at the trade of his father, while being helpful to him at odd times, giving his attention more to the artistic feature of decorating, in painting and paperhanging. It was while engaged at this occupation that the Captain heard the tocsin of war resounding through the country, and responded to the call of the President for the defense of "Old Glory."
Aaron Ziegler had as a boy and youth watched with keen interest the oncoming storm, and while the Presidential campaign was on, which precipitated it, his blood warmed for the inevitable struggle. During that winter he participated in the feverish anxiety of the people, and was ready when the call was made to offer his services to his country. It is true that like all the others of the first enlistment, the boy was mightily afraid the strife would be over before he could get to the front, but that does not detract from the bravery of the act. Suffice it that "he got to the front" in splendid style, and with such vigor as to carry him even beyond the lines for a period, during which he was an unwilling boarder at some of the famous, or rather infamous, Confederate "hotels." The first enlistment of the Captain was in the Myerstown Rifles, Captain Jerome Myers, for the three months service. This company was not attached to any regiment, and when they reached Harrisburg, the quota for the three months' service being filled, the company was ordered to Camp Curtin, where it remained until the passing of the Act organizing the Pennsylvania Reserves. He then re-enlisted in Company I, 7th Pennsylvania Reserves, the company being commanded by Captain Jerome Myers and the regiment by Colonel Elisha B. Harvey. To follow this company through the vicissitudes of the war which drew out its cruel length through the ensuing four years would be but the relation of battles fought and hardships endured. It is enough to say that it was with the Army of the Potomac in all of its struggles again Lee, acquitting itself nobly in the field and camp. This is vividly attested by the fact that of the ninety-five who marched out of Myerstown on that July day of 1861, but sixteen answered to roll-call as they stood again in their home town after the conflict. These ninety-five had been cut to thirty-three by the time of the Battle of the Wilderness, where the company together with the entire regiment was captured by the Confederates on May 5, 1864. Then ensued the horrors of Southern prison life, the rigors of which carried away seventeen of the company, the rest to be paroled in an emaciated and most pitiful condition. The Captain's personal experiences during these harrowing months were such as came to all, with the exception of those which occurred during an attempted escape from the prison at Columbia, S. C. Getting well away from his captors, he spent three weeks in the swamps and lowlands, pursued by fierce blood hounds and fiercer men.
Weak and almost exhausted from hunger and exposure, he one day became aware that they were close on his trail. With the blood hounds baying closely behind him, he attempted to vault a rail fence, and in his weakness fell in such a manner as to injure his right leg-and the game was up. He was recaptured and thenceforth treated with greater severity than ever. The injury was so severe that it will continue to cause the Captain trouble through all his life. During his prison experience the Captain was confined in the following places: Danville, Va.; Macon, Ga.; Savannah, Ga.; Charleston, S. C. (where 500 officers were confined and lay under fire of their own guns on Morris Island for three weeks, being in constant danger of exploding shells); and Goldsboro, N. C.; the time of imprisonment covering eleven weary months. Carrying 180 pounds not one of which was superfluous, strong and healthy at the time of his capture, Captain Ziegler returned after his parole broken in health and weighing but 120 pounds. The Captain's title came to him by brevet for gallant conduct at the battle of the Wilderness. He had risen by successive promotions from the ranks to second sergeant, to first sergeant, second lieutenant, and first lieutenant. He was in command of the company while first sergeant for five months, and for over a year while first lieutenant, and led it in many of its fiercest engagements.
"All honor to the Old Guard, They did their best; They have laid aside the old sword, Shall it not rest?" The war over, Captain Ziegler and his compatriots surprised many European critics by returning quietly to the avocations of peace. He took up the tangled threads where he had cast them aside four years before, and continued that line of work until 1871 in his home town, when he moved to Reading, where he has since resided. His business location was for a time at Seventh and Court streets, and later at No. 425 Penn street, where he operated successfully for eleven years, from which place he removed to his present location, N. 355 Penn street, where he conducts one of the largest wall paper and paint houses in the city.
A splendid solider, Captain Ziegler has been equally faithful as a citizen, ever true to his ideals of good government. A Republican in politics he has never sought office, though in 1890 he was prominently mentioned for appointment to the postmastership of the city. He hold membership in many of the best fraternities, notably the Odd Fellows, the Red Men, and the Knights of the Golden Eagle; and he of course is a popular member of the different soldier organizations,-the Grand Army of the Republic, the Veteran Legion, and the Ex-Prisoners of the War Association. His church affiliation is with the First Reformed Church of Reading.
On Nov. 25, 1866, Captain Ziegler married Miss Clara Bennethum, daughter of John L. Bennethum, who for many years conducted a hotel at Myerstown, and later was in the clothing business in Reading. To the Captain's marriage one son was born, named Aaron D., now in attendance in the public high school. Full of years, passing into a happy and peaceful old age, with many of the friends of his youth on this side to do him honor, this old soldier looks back on a life well spent, receiving the grateful acknowledgments of a united republic, and meriting the universal esteem which is accorded him.
Surnames: ZIEGLER, WEISER, TURNER, GERBER, LESSIG
Jarius Weiser Ziegler, who died May 13, 1909, was one of Readings well-to-do and well-known citizens, who with his son, was engaged in the wall paper business at No. 154 North Ninth street, under the firm name of J. & B. W. Ziegler. He was a native of Pottsville, Pa., where he was born July 8, 1856, son of Capt. Elijah Ziegler.
Capt. Elijah Ziegler was born near Fleetwood, Berks Co., Pa., and when a young man went to Schuylkill county, locating at Tamaqua, where he learned the carpenters trade. He was here married to Pricilla Turner, daughter of Abraham Turner, and after their union purchased a farm in Schuylkill county, living thereon for a few years. He was elected county commissioner, and soon thereafter removed to Pottsville, where he was later engaged in the hotel business, carrying on farming operations as a sideline for seven years. Removing to Pine Grove, he became engaged in the lumber business for seven years and then purchased a farm at Friedensburg, Schuylkill county, but six years later returned to Pottsville and served the county as prison warden for three years when to his death he was engaged in bridge contracting and in the cattle business. He died in 1902, at the age of sixty-two years. During his entire life he was a stanch Democrat, and he was one of his communitys most active and influential men. His children were as follows: Emma, Elmira, Loretta, Florenda, Clara, Jarius W. and Erasmus.
Jarius Weiser Ziegler was educated in the public schools of Schuylkill county, and continued in his fathers employ until coming to Reading in 1885, when he became a clerk. Later he engaged in business for himself, following painting and paper hanging for some time, and in 1900 opened his wall paper store. He and his son, in partnership, had about ten men in their employ and their business grew to large proportions. They were jobbers in water colors, art novelties, etc., and one of their specialties was the 16 x 20 frame.
In 1883 Mr. Ziegler was married to Miss Henrietta Gerber, daughter of Amos Gerber, of Reading, and one son, Bruno Weiser, was born to this union March 12, 1882. He married Elsie M. Lessig, daughter of George D. Lessig, of Reading, and they have one son, Howard. In politics Mr. Ziegler was a Democrat, and he and his family were members of the Reformed Church. Fraternally he was connected with Lodge No. 549, F. & A. M.; Reading Lodge of perfection; Philadelphia Consistory; and Rajah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.
Surnames: ZIEGLER, KERR, RASER, McFARLAND, ARBUCKLE, LIVINGOOD, GEIB, ZOOK
Dr. Philip M. Ziegler died at his home No. 524 Franklin street, Reading, Nov. 23, 1907, after a long life devoted to ministering to the sufferings of mankind. He was born near Annville, Lebanon county, Jan. 11, 1834, a representative of the fourth generation of the family in American, his great-grandfather, Philip Ziegler, having come to this country from Switzerland in 1734 and located in Berks county.
Dr. Ziegler's parents, Philip and Catharine Ziegler, moved from Lebanon country to near Mastersonville, Lancaster county, when the Doctor was but a boy. He attended Mt. Joy Academy and Litiz Academy. Returning then to Mt. Joy he read medicine under Dr. J. L. Ziegler, and after a course at the Pennsylvania Medical School, graduated from that institution in 1859. He located for practice in Elizabethtown, Lancaster county, and won a high place in the estimation of the people.
The Civil war broke out, and he became an assistant surgeon of the 62d Pa. V. I., and in that capacity served until the close of the war. When peace was declared, acting under the advice of the regimental surgeon, Dr. Kerr, he applied for a commission as surgeon in the regular army, but while this was pending, he purchased the drug store of Dr. J. Heyl Raser, at No. 526 Penn street, Reading, Pa. His commission arrived in due time, but he resigned it out of consideration to his family and his new enterprise, and continued in the drug business until his death, a period of more than forty-two years.
Dr. Ziegler was by profession a Presbyterian, and was one of the organizers of Olivet Church, at Reading, being elected an elder of same. He labored earnestly and efficiently in developing the congregation and placing it on a sure foundation. While at school he had become proficient in the classics, and never allowed this attainment to suffer by disuse. As a teacher of the Bible class in his chosen church, no matter what other helps he might use, his scholars received the benefit of his study of the lesson in original Greek. Though a man of warm impulses and kind heart, the decisiveness with which he expressed his convictions-and they were never wavering-often gave color to a severity not intentional. Eminently successful in his business his prosperity was based as much on his unflinching honesty as on sound business principles so that his store became known for honest drugs. Purity rather than price influenced his purchase, and if a salesman deceived and ventured to trade with him again, he found his reception very frigid, and if he persisted the interview would be terminated abruptly in a most startling manner. He was bashful in everything that called notice to personal merit, and seemed uncomfortable when paid a compliment. The earnestness with which he regarded everything in life was stamped on his countenance, giving it a look of severity, yet no man could laugh at a clean joke more heartily than he. While he undoubtedly felt much satisfaction in having been an officer in the Union army, he seemed to think the part he played was too humble to publish by joining any of the organizations based on army service, and it was a long time before he would consent to be mustered into Gen. William H. Keim Post, No. 76, G. A. R., and just the year before his death he became a companion of Pennsylvania Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion. He was one of the founders of the Reading Hospital, and among its most liberal contributors, and for many years was its treasurer and a manager until his business interests interfered. He was conducing his business with his usual energy, when suddenly stricken, and the whole community was shocked to hear of his death.
On July 13, 1871, Dr. Ziegler married Sarah Ann McFarland, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Arbuckle) McFarland. To this union were born two children: Howard P.; and Stella, wife of Dr. William W. Livingood, of Reading. He is also survived by two sisters, Mrs. Catharine Geib and Mrs. Isaac Zook, of Mastersonville, Lancaster county.
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Surnames: ZIMMERMAN, FISHER, HOTTENSTEIN, MILLER
Eldridge Zimmerman. The ancestors of Eldridge Zimmerman, prothonotary of Berks county, Pa., came to this county as early as 1743.
Isaac Zimmerman, grandfather of Eldridge, was born in Maxatawny township, Berks county, where his life was spent as a farmer.
Daniel Zimmerman, son of Isaac and father of Eldridge, was a farmer and hotel keeper. He was a school director at Kutztown, and was recorder of deeds for Berks county for the years 1879, 1880 and 1881. He died March 10, 1888, aged sixty-three years. He married Susan Caroline Fisher, daughter of Jacob Fisher, of Kutztown, where he kept a hotel. They had three children, viz.: Mary, wife of A. S. Hottenstein, a lawyer of Milton, Pa.: Jacob F., U. S. storekeeper and gauger at Kutztown; and Eldridge of Topton, Pennsylvania.
Eldridge Zimmerman was born April 13, 1852, in Maxatawny township. After completing the common school course at Kutztown, he attended the State Normal School there, and subsequently taught school for two terms. He then engaged in the grain, flour and coal business at Kutztown, in which he continued for three years, and then served as deputy recorded during the years 1879, 1880 and 1881. After retiring from this position he returned to the homestead and farmed until 1889, when he served as deputy treasurer for five month during that year. After retiring from this position he moved to Topton, Berks county, Pa., where he has since resided. Fro six years he served as school director in Maxatawny township, for fourteen years was justice of the peace in the same township, and for six years served in the same position in Topton. He was deputy prothonotary of Berks county during the years 1901-02-03-04-05-06, and in the fall of 1906 was elected to the office of prothonotary which he now fills, his term expiring the first Monday of January, 1910.
Mr. Zimmerman married Nov. 30, 1876, Louisa A. Miller, daughter of Charles Miller, a retired farmer, who died in May, 1905, aged ninety-nine years and twenty-eight days. They have one son, Charles D., born De. 25, 1880; he is a graduate of the Kutztown State Normal School, and taught school for several terms, but is now a clerk for the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company. Mr. Zimmerman is a member of the Lutheran denomination while his wife attends the Reformed church. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, having joined when twenty-one years and twenty-seven days old. He was the first Mason admitted to Huguenot Lodge, No. 377, F. & A. M., at Kutztown, and he also belongs to the Knights Templars and to the Nobles and Mystic Shrine. His son was raised a Mason when twenty one years and one day old, and is also a Knight Templar and a Shriner.
In politics Mr. Zimmerman is a Democrat as were his forefathers, and he has been an active worker in his party since attaining his majority. He is a man of upright character, liberal education and broad-minded views.
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Surnames: ZIMMERMAN, DIETRICH, KUNKEL, BROBST, GEORG, KELLER, STUMP, SNYDER, WEISNER, SHUGOR, KERCHNER, ADAM, ROTHERMEL, FENSTERMACHER, WESSNER, GROFF
The Zimmerman family in Albany township, Berks county, is descended from Heinrich Zimmerman, who came to this township from Maxatawny township, about the time of the organization of the county. In 1756 he was a taxable in Albany. He lived at Stony Run Hill, and his homestead is now owned by a descendant, Noah Zimmerman. Heinrich Zimmerman's son Johannes, born April 19, 1761, died on the home farm April 25, 1824, aged sixty-three years and six days. His wife Maria Barbara Dietrich (1769-1833) was a daughter of Adam Dietrich.
Johannes Zimmerman, son of Heinrich, succeeded his father to the homestead and was a farmer. His farm consisted of 177 acres. In 1822 he built the present large stone house. He and his wife were Lutherans, and are buried at Wessnersville. They had the following children: Maria Magdalena m. Daniel Kunkel; Mrs. Samuel Brobst; Mrs. Jacob Georg; Moses; John; Daniel and Michael.
Moses Zimmerman, son of Johannes, was born April 23, 1799, and died Dec. 17, 1840. He obtained the homestead, and there died. In 1841, his brother Michael bought it for $2,400. Among other children Moses Zimmerman had Polly and Jonas.
John Zimmerman, son of Johannes, lived in Albany township in the Stony Run, owning the farm now the property of Matthias Wessner, which farm was given to him by his father. His children were: Anna, Lydia, Eli, Aaron, Daniel, Gideon and Samuel.
Daniel Zimmerman, son of Johannes, was a farmer in Bern (now Tilden) township, where he had a large tract near St. Michael's church, and there he is buried. His wife was a Miss Keller, and among their children was a son, Samuel.
Michael Zimmerman, son of Johannes, was born Feb. 10, 1802, and died Feb. 1, 1878. He was a lifelong farmer owning the homestead on the Stony Run Hill. He built the present barn in 1848. He also operated a distillery on his farm. His wife, Sarah Stump (1813-1885), bore him five children, namely: William; Noah, Catharine m. Jacob Snyder, of Weisenburg township, Lehigh county' Mary Ann m. Nathan Weisner; and Sarah died young. Michael Zimmerman was a Democrat, and served as school director. He held church offices in Friedens' Church at Wessnersville, where the Zimmermans are buried.
William Zimmerman, son of Michael, was born Nov. 13, 1833, and died May 12, 1906. He lived across the line from Albany, in Lynn township, Lehigh county. He was a farmer, and carefully husbanded his resources, becoming very well-to-do. He married Mary Ann Weisner, and their children were: Sarah Ann (1858-1861); Nathan m. Mary Dietrich, Amanda m. Reuben Shugor; Caroline m. Phaon Kerchner; Mary Ann m. Reuben Shugor, after the death of her sister Amanda; Daniel m. Kate Adam; Jonathan lives on the homestead; and Sinora Rothermel.
Noah Zimmerman, son of Michael, born in Albany Oct. 17, 1836 has been living retired at Wessnersville since 1895. He owns the homestead which he farmed until he retired in comfortable circumstances. He and family are esteemed members of the Lutheran congregation at Wessnersville. In 1869 he married Mary Ann Fenstermacher, daughter of Daniel and Polly (Dietrich) Fenstermacher, and they have had four daughters, viz.: Emma m. Jeremiah Wessner; Amanda m. Tilghman Groff; Alice m. Richard Groff; and Annie V. died in infancy.
Surnames: ZIMMERMAN, GIBBS, STRONG, KAUFFMAN, HALDEMAN, HARTRAFT, CAMERON, ROTHERMEL, PORTER, HORNE, WHITE, LEARNED, PICK
Thomas C. Zimmerman, known all over Berks county as the talented editor of The Reading Times, is an enterprising and aggressive newspaper man, a clear-headed thinker, and an able and versatile writer. His best works, by which he as achieved distinction as a literary genius, have been his translations of German poetical masterpieces into English, and his rendering of English poems into the Pennsylvania German vernacular. In these two fields of work he is acknowledged by the best authorities to be without an equal. He is a poet by natural instinct, self-training being the means by which he has developed his native powers of expression. In presenting, through the columns of The Reading Times, his translations of English poems into Pennsylvania German, he has proved himself entitled to the highest regard of the class of worthy citizens of the Keystone State allied with him by race, in whose interests he has ever been an earnest and indefatigable worker.
The only school education Mr. Zimmerman ever enjoyed was the public school training he received during the years of his boyhood in Lebanon, Pa., where his birth occurred Jan. 23, 1838. Thus he never had the advantages of a classical education, and therefore all the more credit is due him for making such splendid use of his talents and opportunities. When thirteen years of age he was apprenticed to the printing trade, in the newspaper establishment of the Lebanon Courier. Upon the completion of his term of service he went to Philadelphia, and worked on the Philadelphia Inquirer a short time, until Jan. 8, 1856, when he entered the office of The Berks and SchuyIkill Journal, in Reading, as a journeyman printer. In 1859 Mr. Zimmerman removed to Columbia, S. C., where he worked on the State laws, in the printing establishment of Dr. Robert Gibbs, who afterward became surgeon-general of the Confederate Army. In March, 1860, Mr. Zimmerman returned to Reading, as the anti-Northern sentiment had become so intense and virulent in South Carolina, the hotbed of secession, that his life was endangered, though he never openly opposed the course of the Secessionists while in that section. Upon his return to Reading he once more entered the employ of The Berks and SchuyIkill Journal. Under its proprietor, Jacob Knabb, who became postmaster of Reading in May, 1860, he acted as clerk until the close of his superior's term of office, in July 1865. During this period Mr. Zimmerman contributed some striking articles on postal reform to the United States Mail and other journals, which called out a correspondence with the then postmaster-general, Mr. Dennison, and some of the suggestions solicited were incorporated into that official's report.
When he finished his connection with the post-office he resumed his work in the Journal office, and in January, 1866, became co-proprietor and associate editor of the paper. Up to the year 1869 the firm bore the name of J. Knabb & Co.; in that year they also became the proprietors of the Daily Times, which, in 1871, was consolidated with the Evening Dispatch, under the title The Times and Dispatch. The Reading Times Publishing Company was organized in 1897, with Mr. Zimmerman as president and editor. This paper is one of the foremost journals in the State, and exerts the strongest kind of influence upon the moral and material development of its city, standing in high esteem with the political leaders in the State and at Washington. After more than half a century of journalistic work in Reading, he retired in October, 1908. In commemoration of the event a public subscription dinner was given him at the "Mineral Springs Hotel," in which upward of eighty leading citizens of Reading and adjoining cities participated.
Mr. Zimmerman was happy in the choice of his vocation and his home. He is a great lover of nature, and evidently believes, with a distinguished writer and fellow-pedestrian, that "the shining angels second and accompany the man who goes afoot, while all the dark sprits are ever looking out for a chance to ride." It was his habit for nearly forty years to take daily walks into the country, accompanied often only by his favorite dog, returning after a long excursion to his editorial desk by noon. Nothing turned him aside from the calling for which he was so eminently fitted. He had many flattering offers to engage in other fields of work, but in all cases these were declined. In his early manhood he had arranged to enter the law office of Hon. William Strong, and was also importuned to study for the ministry; his manifest destiny, however, made and kept him a journalist and writer of no mean ability. A brother editor comments on the journalistic abilities of Mr. Zimmerman in this language: Mr. Zimmerman is a writer of force and ability. His writings are pure, easy and graceful. He is witty and humorous when occasion demands. In controversy he is gentlemanly at all times, and in argument he is fair and generous to his opponents. He has a genuine taste for literature, poetry and the fine arts, as many of his articles attest. He is one of the ablest writers in the old Commonwealth. Many of his articles show alike the eye of the artist, and the hand of the litterateur." One of these productions, that most widely published and copied, was a sketch of his visit to the Luray Caverns in Virginia; the merits of this inspiration of the moment were seen by the Hotel and Cave Company, who caused to be published upward of sixty thousand copies in illustrated pamphlet form for general circulation. The newspapers of Richmond, Va., copied this article, and the favor it met with called out the request that Mr. Zimmerman also write up the undeveloped resources of Alabama.
Mr. Zimmerman was united in marriage with Tamsie T. Kauffman of Reading, on June 11, 1867. Several years previous, in 1863, he enlisted in Company C, 42d Pa. V. I., but the company did not see active service. He was one of the founders of the Pennsylvania German Society, as well as one of the reorganizers, in 1898, of the Historical Society of Berks County. He has been for many years a member of the Board of Trustees of the Asylum for the Chronic Insane of Pennsylvania, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Reading Free Public Library. The degree of L. H. D. (Doctor of the Humanities) was conferred upon him by Muhlenberg College in 1904. He was also a member of the 27th National Conference of Charities and Corrections-office at Chicago; was also elected President of the Pennsylvania Association of Superintendents and Trustees of the Insane Asylums and Feeble-Minded of the Sate of Pennsylvania, 1908-09. In October, 1908, he was elected president of the Pennsylvania German Society.
Mr. Zimmerman had delivered quite a number of addresses on public occasions. He has been selected half a dozen times or more to speak before the Pennsylvania German Society : Once in the court-house at Lancaster, where the Society was organized; once in the court-house at York, in response to the address of welcome, and in the evening of the same day at the banquet in the same city; once at Lebanon; once at Harrisburg; and twice at Allentown, besides numerous occasions in Reading. He was subsequently selected by the Society as its special representative before the Chautauqua Assembly at Mt. Gretna, at which time he was elected one of the vice-presidents of that body in honor of the occasion. Within the last ten years Mr. Zimmerman has made upward of a hundred public addresses in various parts of the Commonwealth. He has frequently been mentioned as an available candidate for mayor of Reading, and twice his name was presented for the Congressional nomination from the Berks Legislative district, both of which honors he declined. He is a well-known figure in Reading, and has a host of devoted friends, who were won by his lofty, manly spirit, universal friendship of heart, and strong sense of right and duty; he is in particular favor with the Germans, in whose behalf he has written and spoken much.
Very early in life Mr. Zimmerman began to read poetry for the intellectual pleasure and profit which its elevated diction afforded him, and at the age of eighteen he had already made considerable progress in a predetermined systematic perusal of the whole line of English poets, or of as many of them as lay within his reach. The instinct of the translator asserted itself in marvelous maturity, when he began to make this one of the prominent features of The Reading times. Hundreds of these matchless translations for the German classics into English appeared from time to time, the Saturday issue of the paper invariably containing a translation into English of some German poem, the original and translation appearing close together in parallel columns; in recognition of their merit he had been made the recipient of many presents, from friends at home and abroad. Worthy of mention among these are seventy-five volumes of German poetry from an admirer, residing in Berlin, Germany; his collection of tobacco pipes from Germany, England, Ireland, France, Denmark, Finland and Holland is palpable evidence of the widespread influence his work has had upon readers. Mr. Zimmerman has shown remarkable aptitude and poetic skill in all his translations, preserving with remarkable fidelity the exact measure of the original poems, and the rhythmical beat of each syllable with remarkable fidelity.
One of his most noted translations from the German, viz., The Prussian National Battle Hymn, appeared in the Berlin (Germany) Times, with a half-tone portrait of the author of the translation.
Some very original work has been done by Mr. Zimmerman in his translations of English classics into Pennsylvania German, that curious mixture of German dialects and English words which continues to be the chief spoken language of over half of the inhabitants of Berks county. His first attempt, Clement C. Moore's "Twas the Night before Christmas," caught the fancy of the press at once, and its favorable mention brought him congratulatory letters from such men as Prof. Haldeman, the eminent philologist of the University of Pennsylvania; Hon. Simon Cameron; Gen. Hartraft; P. F. Rothermel, painter of the "Battle of Gettysburg"; Prof. Porter of Lafayette College; Prof. Horne of Muhlenberg College, and other men of prominence in the literary world. Poems of Tom Hood, Oliver Goldsmith, Heine and Longfellow followed, and were received with hearty interest by the German people.
"Luther's Battle Hymn," a translation from the German into English, was a wonderful inspiration, and fairly ran up and down the country, as soon as it was given to the public through The Reading Times. In five weeks it brought eighteen columns of letters to the paper that published it, from eminent divines, professors, publicists, poets, historians and others in the higher walks of society. Notwithstanding there are some seventy or eighty translations of this magnificent poem, Mr. Zimmerman's effort has been characterized by Rev. Dr. Pick, the publisher of these translations, as "the newest and best that has been made." The new version was especially favored by being sung with enlarged choirs in different denominations of town and city, and sermons here and there were delivered on the translation. Following is Mr. Zimmerman's translation of the famous hymn:
"A rock-bound fortress is our God, A good defense and weapon, He helps us out of every need That doth us press or threaten. The old, wicked foe, With zeal now doth glow; Much craft and great might Prepare him for the fight, On earth there is none like him.
"With our own strength there's nothing done, We're well nigh lost, dejected: For us doth fight the proper One, Whom God himself elected. Dost ask for his name? The Lord of Sabaoth, The world no other hath; This field must He be holding.
"And were the world with devils filled, With wish to quite devour us, We need not be so sore afraid, Since they can not o'erpower us. The Prince of this World, In madness though whirled, Can harm you nor me; Because adjuded is he. A little word can fell him.
"This Word shall they now let remain, No thanks therefor attending; He is with up upon the plain, His gifts and spirit lending. Though th' body be ta'en, Goods, child, wife and fame; Go-life, wealth and kin! They yet can nothing win: For us remaineth the Kingdom."
Mr. Zimmerman's translation of Schiller's "The Song of the Bell"
met with even more favor from the public; no less than twenty
columns of newspaper matter made up of letters from all over the
world came to the translator, and though twenty years have elapsed
since its first appearance, Mr. Zimmerman receives continued
inquiries for the translation from far and near. The Philadelphia
Ledger says: "Mr. Zimmerman's translations have been highly
commended by literary authorities at home and abroad. He has shown
a special gift for making his English readers familiar with the
spirit of the best German poets. Even those who are well at home in
German will find a special interest in comparing the translation
with the original, for he is sure to find that Mr. Zimmerman has
not only seized the meaning of the author, but he has so put it
into an English clothing as to show that the real bone and sinew of
the original still lives in its new dress." Hon. Andrew D. White,
U. S. Minister to Germany, in a letter to Mr. Zimmerman about his
translations writes: "They have greatly interested me, as you seem
to have caught their spirit and rendered them admirably. I am not
sufficiently strong in literary criticism to compare them with
other translations, but they seem to me to be thoroughly well done.
I have also been especially interested in your translations into
Pennsylvania German of some of the poems. Although not a
philologist, the reading of them has also greatly interested me,
and they, too, seem very spirited and in all respects interesting."
Prof. Marion D. Learned, of the Department of Philosophy,
University of Pennsylvania, says: "A masterful hand is visible in
all the translations.
The following ably written criticism is from the
pen of J. B. Ker, who, while a resident of Scotland, once stood for
Parliament: "To Col. T. C. Zimmerman-Sir: Having read and studied
your noble translation of Schiller's 'Song of the Bell,' I have
been forcibly impressed by the music of the language into which you
have rendered the poem. This is a merit of capital importance in
the translation of this poem. In estimating the value of
translations of the great German poems, it is necessary to bear in
mind the weight which the literary and critical consciousness of
Germany attached to the ancient classical cannons of poetry. There
is no question here as to whether the ancients were right. The
point for us is that their influence was loyally acknowledged as of
high authority during the Augustan age of German literature. Proof
of this can be found in Goethe as distinctly as it super-abundantly
appears in Lessing's famous 'Dramatic Notes,' where the poetic
dieta of Aristotle are treated with profound respect. In the study
of Aristotle's work on the Poetic, nothing is perhaps more striking
than his dictum that poetry is imitation, with the explanation or
enlargement so aptly given by Pope in the words:
"'Tis not enough no harshness gives offense, The sound must seem an echo to the sense, Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows, And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows; But when loud surges lash the sounding shore, The hoarse, rough waves should like the torrent roar; When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw, The line, too, labors, and the words move slow, Not so, when swift Camilla sours the main, Flies o'er the unbending corn, or skims along the plain.'
"Not knowing the German recognition of the law and acknowledging its realization in the works of the leading Teutonic poets, one of the crucial tests of a translation of a great German poet is, Does the language into which the original is rendered form an 'echo to the sense'? It seems to me that one of the strongest points in your translation of the 'Bell' is that the words which you have selected and gathered have sounds, which, like the music of a skillful musical composer, convey a signification independently of their literal meaning. Not to protract these remarks unduly, few words could more appropriately refer to the music of strong and distant bells than your rending- 'That from the metal's unmixed foundling Clear and full may the bell be sounding.
"Very slight poetic capacity must admit the music of these words as eminently happy in the 'Song of the Bell.' The echo to the sense is also striking in the sound of the word-symbols in many places throughout the rendering where the poet describes the occurrences conceived in connection with the bell's imagined history. Speaking of the visions of love, 'O, that they would be never-ending, These vernal days with lovelight blending,' The way in which the penult of the word 'ending' conveys the idea of finality, while the affix of the present participle yet prolongs the word as though loth to let it depart, is a beautiful and enviable realization of the Aristotelian rule, a prolongation of the words which express doubly a prolongation of desire. The four lines reading:
'Blind raging, like the thunder's crashing It bursts its fractured bed of earth As if from out hell's jaws fierce flashing, It spewed its flaming ruin forth,' Have a vehement strength and a rough and even a painful and horrid sound which apply with singular propriety to the horrible images by which the poet presents the catastrophe to our quickened apprehensions. The beautiful lines, 'Joy to me now God hath given,' etc., in which the bell founder exults, avoiding, as they do, the deeper vowel sounds and preserving as it were a series of high musical notes save where the gift descends from heaven to earth, when the vowel sounds fall from high to low, form a delightful resonance of the happy sentiment they embody. The general experience of translations is that they are more prosy than sonorous or musical. Few, however, if any, will deny the melody of your language in many places and its remarkable appropriateness in others, and those who have worked on similar translations can best judge how great is the success you have accomplished in this valuable contribution to Anglo-Saxon literature."
Mr. Zimmerman published a collection of his addresses, sketches of Out-Door Life, translations and original poems in two volumes, entitled "Olla Podrida." The volumes, which were published in the fall of 1903, were received with great favor, almost the entire edition having been sold in a month's time, a number of the public libraries having become purchasers.
We present to our readers a few short selections from Mr. Zimmerman's translation of "The Song of the Bell":
"Firmly walled in earth and steady, Stands the mold of well-burnt clay. Quick, now, workmen, be ye ready! Forth must come the bell today! Hot from forehead's glow Must the sweat-drops flow, Should the master praise be given; Yet the blessing comes from Heaven.
"The work prepared with so much ardor May well an earnest word
become; When good discourse attends the labor, Then flows
employment briskly on. Observe with care, then, what arises-See
what from feeble strength escapes; The man so poor, each one
despises, Who ne'er foresees the form he shapes. 'Tis this that man
so well adorneth, For mind hath he to understand That in his inner
heart he feeleth Whate'er he fashions with his hand.
Following is Reading's Official Sesqui-Centennial Hymn, as written by Thomas C. Zimmerman, and sung on Tuesday evening, June 6, 1898, by a chorus of 600 voices to an audience of 20,000 people, assembled on Penn's Common:
"All hail to Reading's name and fame! And let the welkin ring With song and shout and roundelay, As we together sing. And may our songs, with glad acclaim, To heav'n, like incense rise, While glowing hearts in tones proclaim Her glory to the skies.
"Tis sev'n score years ago and then Since this fair town was born; Its sweet young life must have exhaled A breath like rosy morn. So let us sing till yonder hills Send back the joyous song' Till echoing dales and rippling rills The gladsome sound prolong.
"Let others tread life's stately halls, Where princely pleasures flow; Give us our homes, like jewels set In evening's sunset glow. And may our hearts, in swelling pride, Forget not those of old-The men of Reading's pristine days-Whose hearts have long frown cold.
"Let all, therefore, with mingled voice, Repeat the glad refrain; Let civic pride, in flowing tide, Rejoice with might and main, And God, the Father of us all, With His protecting care, Will bless us while we praise in song Our city, bright and fair."
Mr. Zimmerman also wrote the Sesqui-Centennial of Berks, which was adopted by the Historical Society of Berks as the official hymn. Following is the translation:
Air: - "America." "Hail, beauteous Berks! To thee Let song and minstrelsy Their tribute pay! Let joy in rapture break Till echoing hills awake, And woodland summits shake, On this glad day.
"Our sires, long since at rest, With mem'ries, sweet and blest, Were at thy birth. With axe and brawn and brain, They toiled, with might and main, A dear loved home to gain On this green earth.
"And now, with upturned eyes, Your children's gladsome cries Their homage bring. From all our mines and mills, From Manatawny's hills, And Ontelaunee's rills, Let praises ring.
"Then hail the natal day When Heaven's fav'ring ray Shone on thy face. Let joy, in civic pride, Gush forth, on every side, And music's swelling tide Add strength and grace.
"Our fathers' God! May we Be ever true to thee Through all our days. Thy Name be glorified, Our hearts be sanctified, As, with exultant pride, We sing thy praise."
Mr. Zimmerman was also the author of the memorial hymn sung at the dedication of the McKinley monument in the City Park, in the presence of one of the largest audiences ever assembled in Reading.
One of the proudest achievements of Mr. Zimmerman's journalistic career was the erection of a monument to Stephen C. Foster, at his home in Pittsburg, which according to the Pittsburg papers, had its real inception in an editorial prepared by Mr. Zimmerman for the Reading Times, after a visit to that city and finding no memorial to perpetuate the memory of the world's greatest writer of Negro melodies. This editorial was republished in the Pittsburg Press and indorsed by that paper, which also started a fund to provide a suitable memorial and called on the public for popular subscriptions, the ultimate result being the statue which now adorns Highland Park, in that city. The following from the Pittsburg Times, in a personal notice of Mr. Zimmerman's visit to that Park several years ago, said: "Out at Highland Park yesterday passerby noticed a handsome, military looking gentleman making a minute study of the Stephen C. Foster statue.
Every feature of this artistic bit of sculpture, from Foster's splendid face to Uncle Ned and the broken string of his banjo, was examined with affectionate interest. The man was Co. Thomas C. Zimmerman, editor of the Reading (Pa.) Times and the statue was the fruition of his fondest wish.
Col. Zimmerman has been for many years one of the staunchest admirers of Foster's imperishable songs and melodies. Sixteen years ago while in Pittsburg visiting the late Major E. A, Montooth, he asked the latter to show him the monument to Foster, and was painfully surprised to discover that no such memorial existed. Shortly after his return to Reading he wrote an editorial for his paper, calling the attention of the world in general and Pittsburg in particular to the neglect of Foster's memory."
p. 1071
Surnames: ZOOK, STOLZFUS, STOLTZFUS, LANTZ, MAST, HERTZLER, MEGERT, ZUG, KANNABELL, DODEREAS, MISSLER, MILLER, KAUFFMAN, BLANK, KURTZ, SUMMERS, TROYER
Christian Zook, of Caernarvon township, who died Dec. 27, 1898, was a representative of an old and honored German family that has lived in Pennsylvania since 1742. He was born near Malvern, Chester Co., Pa., April 27, 1831. On Dec. 19, 1859, he married Susan (Stolzfus), born Oct. 2, 1841, daughter of Christian and Susan (Lantz) Stolzfus, one of Pennsylvania's old and highly esteemed families. To this union were born children as follows: Henry, born in 1861, is in the mercantile business at Elverson (m. Miss Lizzie Stoltzfus); Christiana, born in 1863 (m. John S. Mast, lives on one of the Mast farms, and has had three children--Christian Z. born Nov. 4, 1885; John, born Nov. 9. 1890, died Jan. 13, 1892); and Malinda, born July 16, 1869 (m. Amos Hertzler, lives on the old homestead, and has had children--Susan Ella, born Dec. 11, 1894; Elmira, born Aug. 16, 1896; Ada Christina, born Oct. 12, 1898, died Feb. 17, 1899; and Alfred, born April 11, 1900). Mrs. Zook has also given a home to an orphan child, Anna Megert, who is now twenty years of age. Mrs. Zook now makes her home on the old Zook homestead, a fine property of 102 acres, on which is situated a handsome residence surrounded by a beautiful, well-kept lawn. She and her children also own an adjoining farm of eighty acres of limestone land, now occupied by one of Mrs. Zook's daughters, Mrs. John S. Mast.
John Zook (Zug), great-great-grandfather of Christian Zook, was of Darmstadt, Germany. He was a son of Hans Zook (Zug), an elder in the Mennonite Church at Berne, Switzerland, where in 1659 he and six other preachers of that faith were arrested and thrown into prison. They were detained until 1671, and then released on their promise to leave that section. From Berne Hans Zook moved to Canton Zug, Switzerland, and later to Darmstadt, Germany, where he died.
Christian Zook (Zug), son of John, and great-grandfather of Christian, was born near Darmstadt, Germany. Accompanied by two brothers, Moritz and Johannes, he arrived in Philadelphia, Sept. 21, 1742, later settling in Whiteland township, Chester Co., Pa., where he died in December, 1787. He was twice married, (first) to Anna Kannabell, and (second) to Anna (Dodereas) Missler, a widow. Christian Zook's children, all by his first wife were: a daughter who married a Miller and had descendants; Barbara, who married Henry Kauffman, and also had descendants; Elizabeth, who married a Miller; John, whose wife's given name was Catherine; Jacob; Yost; and Christian.
Christian Zook, son of Christian, was born April 20, 1752, in Bern township, Berks county, where he spent his life in agricultural pursuits, being also a minister in the Amish Church. He died Oct. 8, 1826. He married Miss Magdalena Blank, born in Lancaster county, Pa., in 1751, who died Aug. 8, 1833. To them were born the following children: John (m. Elizabeth Kurtz); Christian (m. Magdalena Zug); Barbara (m. Daniel Hertzler); Magdalena (m. Jacob Hertzler); Nancy (m. Christian Hertzler); Jacob (m. Anna Summers); Christiana (m. John Summers); and Henry.
Henry Zook, son of Christian and father of Christian of Caernarvon township, Berks county, was born near Malvern, Pa., March 18, 1794, and died at Burkleys Bridge, Pa., in 1865. He married Christiana Kurtz, born Sept. 21, 1801, and died March 23, 1874. They had the following children: Jacob K. born Nov. 24, 1823, died in August, 1904 (m. Nov. 21, 1846, Lydia Mast, born Sept. 21, 1824); Magdalena, born March 11, 1826, (m. Jacob Troyer, born May 8, 1834, in Holmes county, Ohio); Anna, born Jan. 12, 1828, died July 4, aged four years; Christiana, born April 10, 1836 (m. Levi Mast, born July 19, 1835); Sara, born Dec. 6, 1839, died May 5, 1878 (m. Samuel Lantz); and Nicholas, the youngest, died at the age of three years.