Thomas H.
Ritter
Portrait and Biographical Record ~ Pages
Kindly submitted by: Lea Nissley
Thomas H. Ritter
has
made a fine success of the the butcher’s business, having one of
the finest markets to be found in Bethlehem. He superintends the
buying of his stock personally, selects only the finest to be
had, and justly merit’s the fine trade he has acquired. A
gentleman in the best sense of the word, he is active in local
affairs and numbers a host of warm friends.
The birth of Mr. Ritter occurred March 22, 1859, in Freemansburg.
His great-grandfather Ritter, a native of Germany, was a farmer
and an early settler in Rittersville. Grandfather Henry Ritter
was born in that village, where he kept a hotel, and it was for
him that the town was names. For some years he served as
Postmaster of the place, and was a good business man. His wife,
who died at the age of eighty-six years, was a devoted Lutheran,
to which faith he also adhered. Lewis Ritter, the father of
Thomas H., was also born in Rittersville, and followed the
occupation of blacksmithing. Locating in Freemansburg, he
carried on a shop at that place until the Northampton Furnace
was built, when he took charge of the blacksmith department. He
was accidentally killed, being run over by a passenger engine in
1871, when in the prime of life, aged forty-six years. His wife,
who in her girlhood was Mary Henn, was born in Lower Saucon,
Northampton County, and was a daughter of George Henn, a farmer
in that locality, and also a Mason. Mrs. Lewis Ritter is still
living, making her home at Freemansburg. Four of her six
children are living: George; Ellen, Mrs. Knipe; Thomas H. and
Oscar - all in this city.
Mr. Ritter, the subject of this sketch, was reared in
Freemansburg until his thirteenth year, receiving a
common-school education. Then he went to Easton, where for
nearly four years he was a clerk for Owen Reich, a grocer. Later
coming to Bethlehem, He served an apprenticeship as a machinist
under Henry Truwbower, of the Bethlehem Iron Company. Nine years
of steady work with that concern followed, when, on account of
overwork, and owing to the fact that he could no longer endure
the gas, he was obliged to leave the business, and in the fall
of 1884 started in his present occupation. In the spring of 1885
he located on East Goepp Street, where he bought and built a
place. Beginning on a small scale, with only one wagon for
delivery, his trade gradually increased, and in a year’s time he
was running two wagons. The third year his business was
enlarged, and in 1888 he took in, as a partner, William Winsch,
the firm being known as Ritter & Winsch until 1890, when Mr.
Ritter purchased his partner’s interest, and has since continued
alone. In addition to his regular line of trade, he has built up
a slaughter-house refrigerator. The latter is 24 x 24 feet in
dimensions, with a capacity of two hundred tons of ice, and the
slaughter-house is 30 x 65 feet in dimensions. In connection
with this are the smokehouses, sheds, stables, etc. For general
purposes steam-power is used with a four-horse engine and an
eight horse-power boiler. The refrigerator is Brower’s patent,
the best known for the business. In addition to his local trade
he sends meats to Freemansburg and other near points. On the 16th of March 1879, Mr. Ritter married Miss
Dora Keiper, the daughter of Jacob Keiper, a bricklayer of this
city. They are the parents of three children: Emily, Raymond and
Robert. The family attend the Bethany Evangelical Church, of
which Mr. Ritter is a trustee and Steward. A trueblue
Republican, he is also a member of the Royal Arcanum. Actively
interested in local affairs, he is connected with the Masonic
Building and Loan Association, and supports all useful
enterprises.
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