Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

KRIEBEL, ANDREW G.

p. 1473

Surnames; KRIEBEL, YEAKEL, DIEHL, SCHULTZ, WIEGNER, GRIESEMER,
GERY, URFFER, HEEBNER, WAREMKESSEL

Andrew G. Kriebel, butcher at Hereford, Hereford township, was born
Sept. 4, 1877, son of Henry Kriebel and a descendant of George
Kriebel.

(I) George Kriebel came to Pennsylvania in 1734, a member of the
little band of Schwenkfelders who emigrated hither from Silesia,
Germany. On Nov. 25, 1740, he married Susanna Kriebel, daughter of
Balthaser and Regina (Yeakel) Kriebel, and they had two sons:
George, born July 11, 1744; and Andrew, born Sept. 17, 1748. George
Kriebel died Sept. 2, 1778, and his wife, Susanna, Sept. 14, 1775.

(II) Andrew Kriebel, son of George, married May 6, 1771, Susanna,
daughter of Abraham Yeakel. She died April 22, 1808, aged
fifty-seven years, five months, fourteen days. He passed away April
17, 1830. They had nine children as follows: Rosanna, born 1773,
married, 1818, Daniel Diehl, and died 1836; Abraham, born Sept. 27,
1774; Samuel, born June 13, 1776; George, born Oct. 2, 1778, died
May 20, 1779; Regina, born June 25, 1780; David, born July 19,
1783; Sophia, born Nov. 1, 1785; Salome, born Dec. 9, 1787; and
Israel, born Sept. 14, 1790.

(III) Israel Kriebel, son of Andrew and Susanna, born Sept. 14,
1790, was a miller and lived near Chapel, in Hereford township,
Berks county. He died June 14, 1860. On May 6, 1819, he married
Sarah, daughter of Rev. John Schultz, and she died in March 1859.
They had thirteen children: Christina, born Oct. 12, 1820, died
Oct. 10, 1864; John, born Feb. 4, 1822; Samuel, born Nov. 11, 1823,
died June 16, 1825; Susanna, born Jan. 8, 1825; Elizabeth, born
Aug. 10, 1826; Henry, born March 25, 1828; Elias, born Oct. 13,
1829; Regina, born Oct. 7, 1831; Joseph, born in 1833 (died in
1858); Andrew, born Aug. 8, 1835; Anna, born in 1838 (died in
1845); and Mary, born July 14, 1846.

(IV) Henry Kriebel, son of Israel, born March 25, 1828, in
Washington township, Berks county, came with his parents to what is
now Kriebel’s mill in Hereford when a small boy. He lived the
remainder of his life there and died Nov. 10, 1893. As a young man
he became a miller, and he conducted the oil-mill and grist-mill
until his death, assuming charge of the mill when his father died.
At that time 125 acres of good land were connected with the mill
property, and this was divided into two tracts after the death of
Henry Kriebel in1893, the mill and twenty-five acres going to his
son, Lewis G., and the rest to another son, Calvin G.

Henry Kriebel manufactured much linseed oil,
employing five or six persons. The flax was hauled from Upper Berks
and Lehigh counties in large Conestoga wagons, with four horses.
The oil was sold in the surrounding country and was used in the
mixture of paints. The mill was operated by water-power, being
located on the north branch of the Perkiomen creek, and it was the
last oil-mill in the township. Mr. Kriebel was a member of the
Schwenkfelder Church, and was buried at Washington meeting-house.
He served the township as Republican committeeman for more than a
quarter of a century. He was a school director, assistant township
assessor, auditor, and at one time was the candidate of his party
for county treasurer. Mr. Kriebel was twice married. By his first
wife, Mary Wiegner, he had three children, of whom two died in
infancy, and the other, a son, Prof. Howard W., is now the
publisher of “The Pennsylvania German,” a widely circulated
magazine published at East Greenville. Mr. Kriebel married (second)
Elizabeth Griesemer, and nine children were born to this union,
namely: Dr. Elmer, located at Centre Point, Pa.; Lewis G., of
Hereford township; Calvin G., who lives on a part of the homestead;
Owen, who died in infancy; Regina, who married Horace Gery; Sallie,
who married Adam Urffer; Andrew G.; Dr. Asher G., who married
Bertha Heebner, and lives at Lynnville; and Henry G., of Alburtis.

(V) Andrew G. Kriebel received his education in the township
schools, was reared upon the farm, and also worked in the mill for
two years after his father’s death. In the spring of 1898 he began
as a butcher at Hereford on his own account, and he now has a
well-equipped establishment, modern and convenient, situated near
his residence on property which formerly belonged to the Griesemer
family. He engages two men to assist him, and keeps two teams
constantly on the street. Mr. Kriebel buys and kills over 2,300
calves annually, shipping them to the Philadelphia market, besides
hundreds of hogs, sheep and beeves. During his busy season he kills
ten beeves every week. Mr. Kriebel is not only a first class
butcher but also an excellent mechanic, a fact which is evident in
the machinery which he uses in his work, all of which is well
chosen and in desirable condition, facilitating the work to an
appreciable extent. He is respected for his industrious life, and
has prospered well through the most honorable means.

On Oct. 25, 1897, Mr. Kriebel married Ellen C.
Gery, daughter of James L. and Elizabeth (Waremkessel) Gery, and
granddaughter of Ephraim Gery. Mr. and Mrs. Kriebel have had six
children: Emmarine, Ira, Verna, Asher, Russel (died in infancy) and
Lloyd. This family are true to the faith of their ancestors,
belonging to the Schwenkfelder Church. Mr. Kriebel is a Republican
in political sentiment, but he has given all his time to his
business and never has taken any active interest in public affairs,
even in his home locality. His home, a nice frame residence which
he erected in 1904, is situated on an acre of ground which he
bought from the homestead farm.

KRIEBEL, HOWARD
WIEGNER

p. 1118

Surnames: KRIEBEL, WIEGNER, SCHULTZ, YEAKEL

Howard Wiegner Kriebel, son of Henry Kriebel (Israel and Sarah, nee
Schultz, Kriebel) and Mary Ann Wiegner (Jacob and Rosina, nee
Yeakel, Wiegner), was born in Hereford township, Berks Co., Pa.,
1859, educated in the public schools of his native township, at the
Keystone State Normal School, Kutztown, Pa. (graduated, 1876), and
at Oberlin, Ohio. He was married to Thamar K. Schultz, daughter of
Thomas Schultz (Rev. Christopher and Susanna, nee Yeakel Schultz)
and Hannah Kriebel (Jacob and Anna, nee Yeakel, Kriebel), in 1884.
He taught in the public schools of his native township and at
Perkiomen Seminary, Pennsburg. Pa., where he served also as
bookkeeper, secretary and trustee. He resigned from this position
to write “The Schwenkfelders in Pennsylvania, A Historical
Sketch,” published in 1904 by the Pennsylvania German Society,
of which he is a member. Since 1906 he is publisher of The
Pennsylvania-German an illustrated monthly magazine devoted to
the biography, genealogy, history, folklore, literature and general
interests of German and Swiss settlers in Pennsylvania and other
States and their descendants.

KRIEBEL
FAMILY

p. 775

Surnames: KRIEBEL, YEAKEL, DIEHL, SCHULTZ, REICHENBACH, TRUMP,
KRAUSS, CONRAD, CLEMMER, WIAND, BAER, KNAUSS, KECK, SCHWENKFELD,
von OSSIG, MILLER, CASWELL, WIEAND, GRUBB, GILBERT, HERSH, HEEBNER,
JOHNSON, MESCHTER, SHELLY

Kriebel Family. The first of this name in America, (I) George
Kriebel, came to Pennsylvania in 1734, a member of the little band
of Schwenkfelders who emigrated hither from Silesia, Germany. On
Nov. 25, 1740, he married Susanna, daughter of Balthaser and Regina
Yeakel, and they had two sons: George, born July 11, 1744; and
Andrew, born Sept. 17, 1748. George Kriebel died Sept. 2, 1778, and
his wife, Susanna, died Sept. 14, 1775.

(II) Andrew Kriebel, son of George, the emigrant, married May 16,
1772, Susanna, daughter of Abraham Yeakel. She died April 22, 1808,
aged fifty-seven years, five months, fourteen days. He passed away
April 17, 1830. They had nine children, as follows: Rosanna, born
in 1773, m. in 1818 Daniel Diehl, and died in 1836; Abraham, born
Sept. 27, 1774, m. Christina Kriebel; Samuel, born June 13, 1776,
m. Christiina Schultz; George, born Oct. 2, 1778, died May 20,
1779; Regina, born June 25, 1780; David, born July 19, 1783, m.
Rosina Schultz; Sophia, born Nov. 1, 1785; Salome, born Dec. 9,
1787; and Israel, born Sept. 14, 1790.

(III) Israel Kriebel, born Sept. 14, 1790, was a miller and lived
near Chapel, in Hereford township, Berks county. He died June 14,
1860. On May 6, 1819, he married Sarah, daughter of Rev. John
Schultz, and she died in March, 1859. They had thirteen children:
Christina, born Oct. 12, 1820 (died Oct. 10, 1864); John, Feb. 4,
1822; Samuel, Nov. 11, 1823 (died June 16, 1825); Susanna, Jan. 8,
1825; Elizabeth, Aug. 10, 1826; Henry, March 25, 1828; Elias, Oct.
13, 1829; Regina, Oct. 7, 1831; Joseph, June 28, 1833 (died Dec.
29, 1859); Andrew, Aug. 8, 1835; Anna, 1838 (died 1845); Sarah,
1841 (died 1845); and Mary, July 14, 1846.

(IV) Andrew Kriebel, born in Hereford township Aug. 8, 1835, died
Oct. 10, 1876, on the farm in that township now owned by his son
Allen S. Kriebel. He is buried at Washington meeting-house. He was
engaged as miller in his father’s mill in early life, and later
gave all his time to the cultivation of his farm. He married
Christina Schultz, born March 8, 1840, daughter of Charles and
Polly (Reichenbach) Schultz, died March 6, 1906. To them were born
three children, as follows: Allen S., Oscar S., and Mary (m. to
Milton Schultz, a farmer of Upper Hanover township, Montgomery Co.,
Pennsylvania).

(V) Allen S. Kriebel, a farmer in Hereford township, was born June
28, 1861, at the place he now lives, and was there reared. He
attended school in his native township, and spent his youth and
early manhood working on the farm for his parents. After reaching
his majority he rented from his mother and continued farming thus
for some years. In the fall of 1898 he purchased his father’s
homestead, where he has been doing well ever since. This property,
which consists of sixty acres of farm land and twenty acres of wood
land, is located near Treichlersville. The present stone dwelling
was built in 1862, by Andrew Kriebel, and the barn was put up the
following year, 1863. The stone house replaced a dwelling-part
wood, part log-which had stood for over a hundred years. Mr.
Kriebel has made a number of improvements on the place since it
came into his possession, and it presents a most attractive
appearance. In front of the house are two large pine trees and a
spruce tree in which he takes especial pride. Good water is one of
the valuable features of this farm, and as Mr. Kriebel has valuable
live stock he appreciates this fact particularly. He is a modern
farmer in every respect, having a full line of up-to-date
implements, including a first-class threshing outfit, as he does
considerable threshing in the neighborhood and surrounding
townships-his patrons being found in Berks, Bucks, Montgomery and
Lehigh counties. He has two gasoline engines, one of six and one of
twelve horse-power. In addition to such work, he saws wood, bales
hay, shreds cornstalks, etc., for the farmers of his section. He
has a telephone at his house, and every convenience for the
facilitation of his various enterprises.

In 1888 Mr. Kriebel married Keturah Schultz,
daughter of Manoah and Annette (Trump) Schultz, of Hereford, and to
them have been born eight children: Ada, Chester, Homer, Owen,
Irene, Norman, Raymond and Mary. Mr. and Mrs. Kriebel are much
interested in the education of their family. Their daughter Ada is
at present a student in the commercial department of the Perkiomen
Seminary. All the members of the Kriebel family have maintained
high standing for respectability and good citizenship, and well
deserve the respect in which they are held. Allen S. Kriebel and
his family belong to the Schwenkfelder Church, and they are also
connected with the Sunday-school, he being a member of the board of
managers, which consists of three members, corresponding to the
board of trustees of a church. He is a Republican in political
opinion.

One of the treasured possessions of this family
is an old grandfather’s clock, which formerly belonged to Rev.
William Schultz. It not only shows the time, but the day of the
month and the movements of the moon, and is a valuable relic.

Manoah Schultz, father of Mrs. Allen S. Kriebel,
was born Nov. 23, 1847, in Hereford, and was reared to farming,
which vocation he followed throughout his active years. From 1868
he was engaged on his own account, in 1873 obtaining the homestead
farm in Hereford, where he lived until the spring of 1906. He then
moved to Treichlersville, where he farmed a forty-acre tract for
one year, at the end of that time moving to the Abraham Krauss
tract, in Hereford township, which he bought, and where he is now
living retired. He is a Schwenkfelder in religious faith and has
been active in that denomination, having served as a manager of the
Sunday-school for many years.

Mr. Schultz married Annette Trump, born July 23,
1848, daughter of John and Sallie (Conrad) Trump, of District
township, died Nov. 6, 1875. By this union there were four
children: Katie m. Allen S. Kriebel; Ambrose met an accidental
death at the age of twenty-six; Sallie m. David F. Clemmer; Annie
Amanda died in infancy. Mr. Schultz’s second marriage was to Mary
Wiand, in 1878. The have had no children.

(V) Rev. Oscar S. Kriebel, A. M., D. D., minister of the
Schwenkfelder Church and principal of Perkiomen Seminary, is a
resident of Pennsburg, Montgomery Co., Pa. He was born Sept. 10,
1863, in Hereford township, Berks county, and there spent his
boyhood days upon the farm, receiving his early education meanwhile
in the local schools. For three or four years during this period he
was a very active member of the celebrated Hereford Township
Literary Society. His spare hours were devoted to preparing himself
to teach school, with such good results that in the summer of 1880,
when only in his seventeenth year, he passed a county examination
under Prof. S. A. Baer, Ph.D., then superintendent of Berks county,
and was licensed to teach in the public schools. He taught his
first term in Lower Milford township, Lehigh county, under
Superintendent J. O. Knauss in 1880-1881. The two terms following
he taught the Schultz school in his native township, under the
superintendency of Prof. D. S. Keck. In April, 1883, Mr. Kriebel
entered upon a preparatory course at Oberlin College, Oberlin,
Ohio, where he prepared for his college course, meantime teaching
two terms of school in Ohio and one nine months term in Stronach,
Mich., though he kept at his studies all the while. He graduated
with honors from Oberlin College in 1889, and from the Oberlin
Theological Seminary in 1902. During the first two years of his
theological course in Oberlin he also taught in the preparatory
department of the college. He spent the third year of his
theological course in Germany, studying at the University of
Berlin.

Mr. Kriebel was married in 1891, and he and his
wife spent the following year in travel and study in Europe, Mr.
Kriebel putting in most of his time at the University of Berlin,
Germany. Their journeyings took them through England, Scotland,
Holland and Germany, and in the latter country Mr. Kriebel gave
very special attention to studying the school system of the
country.

Dr. Kriebel has devoted much of his time to the
cause of the Schwenkfelder Church, of which he is a minister, being
the pastor of the followers of Caspar Schwenkfeld in the “Upper
District” of the church in Pennsylvania. He is very active in the
denomination, having been a member of the Home and Foreign Mission
Board of the church since its organization, and a member of the
Publication board, which has charge of all the church publications,
including the works and life of Caspar Schwenkfeld von Ossig, known
as the “Corpus Schwenkenfeldinorium,” which when completed
will consist of seventeen volumes. The first volume appeared in
1908. Dr. Kriebel is secretary of the Publication board.

As principal of Perkiomen Seminary since 1892
Dr. Kriebel has attained front rank among the educators of the
State, and he is a lecturer and public speaker of note. He is
deeply interested in all educational and intellectual movements
which tend to advance the civil or moral welfare of the country and
exerts a considerable influence in such circles. His practical work
along his chosen lines has been varied and efficient. He is a
member of the Civil Service Reform Association of Pennsylvania, and
has taken an active and prominent part in the good roads movement
wherever it has been propagated in Pennsylvania. In his home town
he is held in profound respect, and those who know him best speak
of him as a scholarly, broad-minded, public-spirited and exemplary
citizen, a Christian gentleman of the highest type.

In June 1907, Rev. Oscar S. Kriebel had the
honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity conferred upon him by
Franklin and Marshall College, of Lancaster, Pa. Prof. Kriebel has
also completed most of the required work for a Ph.D. degree in the
graduate department of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a
member of the Montgomery County Historical Society, of the
Pennsylvania German Society, of the National Geographical Society,
and has been for years president of the Private Secondary School
Association of Pennsylvania.

On June 30, 1891, Dr. Kriebel married Miss
Corinne Miller, of Castalia, Erie Co., Ohio, daughter of Capt. W.
W. and Mary (Caswell) Miller. They have had three children, Frieda,
Mary and Louisa, the eldest, Frieda, born in Berlin, Germany,
during the parents’ long sojourn abroad.

Mrs. Kriebel’s father, Capt. W. W. Miller,
served as a captain throughout the Civil war, being popularly
called the “Boy Captain” because of his youth. He was wounded at
Gettysburg. For ten years he was State Secretary of Agriculture of
Ohio. On the maternal side Mrs. Kriebel comes from a line of
patriotic ancestors who were ever ready to risk their lives in the
service of their country, her grandfather Caswell and his brothers
having served with distinction in the Civil war; her
great-grandfather in the war of 1812-15; and her
great-great-grandfather in the Revolutionary war.

Perkiomen Seminary. At Pennsburg, Montgomery
County, Pa., two and one-fourth miles from the Berks County line,
is located the famous Perkiomen Seminary, which was founded in 1887
by Rev. C. S. Wieand, of Pottstown, Pa., who was born and reared in
the Schwenkenfelder Church. In 1892, the school opened its doors
under the present management, with four teachers and nineteen
scholars. The growth of the school has been remarkable. In fifteen
years, the teaching force was increased to thirty and the total
enrollment to three hundred and sixty-one. During the last
seventeen years the school has enrolled 2,200 different students
from practically all the counties of Pennsylvania, from fifteen
different States of the Union, and from five foreign countries. Out
of a total of 491 graduates, since its reorganization in 1892, two
hundred and eighty-one have continued their studies in sixty-one
higher institutions of learning, including Harvard, Yale,
Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, Oberlin,
Ann Arbor and practically all the best institutions in the East and
middle West.

The institution is equipped with new modern
buildings, chemical and physical laboratories, gymnasium, athletic
field, etc. A Carnegie library is proposed, but not yet built. It
is located in the upper part of the rich and beautiful Perkiomen
Valley. Pure fresh air and an abundance of excellent spring water
supply the school which is heated by steam and lighted by
electricity.

The Perkiomen Railroad, a branch of the
Philadelphia and Reading system runs through Pennsburg, Pa. Since
1892 Rev. Dr. Oscar S. Kriebel has been principal of the school.
The institution is conducted under the auspices of the
Schwenkfelder church. It is managed by a board of trustees
consisting of thirteen members, elected by the Church. In 1908 the
trustees were: M. K. Gilbert, president; Rev. N. B. Grubb; Jacob D.
Heebner; Hon. John G. Hersh, M. D., vice-president; Adam Krauss,
secretary; Hiram K. Kriebel; Jesse S. Kriebel; Rev. E. E. S.
Johnson; Rev. O. S. Kriebel; Rev. G. K. Meschter, M. D.; B. B.
Schultz; E. K. Schultz, treasurer; and Rev. A. S. Shelly.

KRIEBEL,
JONAS S.

p. 1367

Surnames: KRIEBEL, SCHULTZ, HEEBNER, BREY, ANDERS, YEAKEL,
HEYDRICK, KRAUSS, HUBER GERHART

Jonas S. Kriebel. The Kriebel family was planted in Pennsylvania by
members of the Schwenkfelder band who came over from Silesia,
Germany, in 1734, and located in Towamensing township, Montgomery
county, Pennsylvania.

(I) Casper Kriebel, the ancestor of that branch of the family to
which Jonas S. Kriebel, of Hereford township, Berks county,
belongs, lived in Towamensing township, Montgomery county, on land
which he owned, and which is now in the possession of his
descendant, Abraham K. Kriebel. On his emigration to this country
he was accompanied by his wife, Susanna, who died April 17, 1769.
They had two children, George and Abraham.

(II) Abraham Kriebel, son of Casper, was born in Pennsylvania, Oct.
8, 1736. He died Jan. 30, 1801. He inherited the farm on which he
lived and died, at the Schwenkfelder meeting house, and this in
1879 was occupied by his grandson. In 1762, he married Susanna,
daughter of George Schultz, and she died in 1820. Their children
were: Christian (1764-1812) and Andrew.

(III) Andrew Kriebel, son of Abraham and Susanna, was born Oct. 5,
1765, and he died Oct. 15, 1853. In 1793 he married Maria, daughter
of George Heebner. She died in 1857, in the eighty-fifth year of
her age. Their children were: Lydia, Daniel, George, Hannah,
Abraham, Susanna and Sophia.

(II) Rev. George Kriebel, son of Casper the emigrant, was born in
Saxony, Germany, Nov. 3, 1732. He was well educated, and in his
younger days taught school. For many years he was a minister in the
Society of Schwenkfelders. He was frequently engaged as a
conveyancer and in settling differences in his vicinity. He lived
on property which in 1879 was owned by a man named Brey. The Rev.
Mr. Kriebel died Dec. 1, 1805. In 1758 he married Anna, daughter of
Balthaser Anders, and she died in 1822 in the eighty-seventh year
of her age, at their home in Lower Milford, Lehigh county. Their
children were: Abraham, born May 26, 1760; Susanna, July 1, 1761;
Jacob, Feb. 12, 1764; and Anna, Nov. 20, 1766.

(III) Abraham Kriebel, son of Rev. George, born May 26, 1760, owned
and lived on a farm that in 1879 was owned by Joel Yeakel, in the
Hosensack. In 1784 he married Salome Yeakel, who died in 1815. They
had eleven children: Benjamin, Lydia, Daniel, Jacob, Anthony,
Jonathan, Sophia, Anna, Samuel, Susanna and Rachel.

(IV) Jonathan Kriebel, son of Abraham, was born May 5, 1795, and
died April 10, 1873. On April 22, 1820, he married Anna, daughter
of George Heydrick, and she died April 9, 1836. Their children
were: George, born 1821, and died the same year; Charles, born
1828, and died 1838; and Abraham.

(V) Abraham Kriebel, son of Jonathan, was born in Lower Milford
township, Lehigh county, on his father’s farm, Aug. 22, 1823. He is
buried at Washington Schwenkfelder Church. He was a life long
farmer, and owned a 120 acre farm in Douglass township, Montgomery
county, immediately opposite the old Gehman farm. On Nov. 27, 1845,
he married Regina Schultz, daughter of Matthias Schultz. Their
children were: Susanna, born 1847, died unmarried, 1876; Jonas S.;
Charles, who lived on the homestead; Sarah, who died unmarried;
Samuel, born 1854, and died 1860; John; a daughter that died in
infancy; and William, born 1861 and died 1862.

(VI) Jonas S. Kriebel, son of Abraham and Regina, was born in
Douglass township, Montgomery county, Aug. 19, 1848. He attended
the township school, and one winter term he attended a school of
higher education at Wadsworth, Medina Co., Ohio. He remained with
his parents until he was of age, and then for three years hired out
among neighboring farmers. After his marriage in 1876 he began
farming on his present place, then the property of his father, and
this he tenanted until the latter’s death, when he purchased it
from the estate. The farm contains one hundred acres, and is well
located. The present set of buildings were erected by Christopher
Schultz.

Mr. Kriebel is a Republican, and was a director
of the Clayton Butter & Cheese Company for one year. Since its
organization in 1889 he has been one of the trustees of Union
Chapel, at Chapel. For three years he was a deacon in the
Schwenkfelder church, to which he and his family belong. Mr.
Kriebel has a grandfather’s clock that belonged to his parents.

On Jan. 8, 1876, Mr. Kriebel was married to
Annie H. Krauss, daughter of Aaron Krauss. Ten children have been
born to them, as follows: Harvey, a student at State College, Pa.;
Minerva; Alice, who married Harry Huber, of Norristown; Mary;
Amanda, who married George Gerhart, and lives in Worcester
township, Montgomery county; Adaline; Edna; Annie; Oswin; and
Irene.

KRIEBEL,
LEWIS G.

page 1664

Surnames: KRIEBEL, GRIESEMER, YEAKEL, WIEGNER, SCHULTZ, DIEHL,
LEATHERACK, ALDERFER, GERY, URFFER, HEEBNER, BITTENBENDER

Lewis G. Kreibel, a miller in the eastern section of Hereford
township, was born where he now resides, on the Israel Kriebel
homestead, Oct. 2, 1868, son of Henry and Elizabeth (Griesemer)
Kriebel.

(1) George Krieble came to Pennsylvania in 1734, a member of a
little band of Schwenkfelders who emigrated hither from Silesia,
Germany. On Nov. 25, 1740, he married Susanna Kriebel, daughter of
Balthaser and Regina (Yeakel) Kriebel, and they had two sons:
George, born July 11, 1744; and Andrew, Sept. 17, 1748. George
Kriebel died Sept. 2, 1778, and his wife Susanna, Sept. 14, 1775.

(II) George Kriebel, son of George and Susanna, born July 11, 1744,
was killed by a stone falling on his head while he was clearing out
his well, Sept. 14, 1792. He married Esther, daughter of George
Wiegner, and she died Feb. 13, 1816. They had four children;
Christopher, born Sept. 27, 1774, died June 2, 1779; George, born
July 28, 1777, died May 28, 1779; Christopher (2), born Oct. 8,
1779; and Susanna, born Nov. 11, 1782, died Feb. 15, 1789.

(III) Christopher Kriebel, son of George and Esther, born Oct. 8,
1779, died Sept. 12, 1822. He married Regina, widow of Isaac
Kriebel, and daughter of Rev. Melchoir Schultz, the ceremony taking
place Nov. 12, 1807. She died Feb. 28, 1870. They had two children;
Susanna, born Sept. 21, 1808, died May 27, 1875; and Bathsheba,
born July 8, 1819.

(II) Andrew Kriebel, son of George the emigrant, married, May 6,
1771, Susanna, daughter of Abraham Yeakel. She died April 22, 1808,
aged fifty-seven years, five months, fourteen days. He passed away
April 17, 1830. They had nine children as follows: Rosanna, born
1773, married 1818, Daniel Diehl, and died 1836; Abraham, born
Sept. 27, 1774; Samuel, born June 13, 1776; George, born Oct. 2,
1778, died May 20, 1779; Regina, born June 25, 1780; David, born
July 19, 1783; Sophia, born Nov. 1, 1785; Salome, born Dec. 9,
1787; and Israel, born Sept. 14, 1790.

(III) Abraham Kriebel, son of Andrew and Susanna, born Sept. 27,
1774, was a miller and owned the mill property now in the
possession of William Kriebel, in Worcester township, Montgomery
county. He died April 7, 1844. On June 4, 1801, he married
Christina, daughter of Abraham Kriebel, and their children were;
Sophia, born Nov. 23, 1802; Isaac, March 20, 1804; Maria, March 17,
1806; Sophia (2), April 17, 1810; Catharine, June 9, 1813; Anna,
Feb. 20, 1818; and Sarah (1821-1848).

(III) Samuel Kriebel, son of Andrew and Susanna, born June 13,
1776, died Feb. 1, 1841. On Jan. 3, 1802, he married Christina,
daughter of Melchoir Schultz, and she died April 21, 1819, the
mother of Sarah, Susanna, Lydia, Elizabeth and William. He married
(second) July 24, 1824, Catharine, daughter of Henry Leatherack,
and to this union was born one daughter, Sophia.

(III) David Kriebel, son of Andrew and Susanna, born July 19, 1783,
died July 1, 1842. On May 24, 1819, he married Rosina, daughter of
David Schultz and she died Dec. 27, 1827, the mother of three
children: Anna, Mary and Philip. David Kriebel married (second) in
1819, Elizabeth Alderfer, who died Aug. 12, 1878. The children of
the second marriage were: Henry, Susanna, Magdalena, Septimus,
Barbara, Hannah and Elizabeth.

(III) Israel Kriebel, son of Andrew and Susanna, born Sept. 14,
1790, was a miller and lived near Chapel, in Hereford township,
Berks county. He died June 14, 1860. On May 6, 1819, he married
Sarah, daughter of Rev. John Schultz, and she died in March, 1859.
They had thirteen children: Christina, born Oct. 12, 1820, died
Oct. 10, 1864; John, born Feb. 4, 1822; Samuel, born Nov. 11, 1823,
died June 16, 1825; Susanna, born Jan. 8, 1825; Elizabeth, born
Aug. 10, 1826; Henry, March 25, 1828; Elias, Oct. 13, 1829; Regina,
Oct. 7, 1831; Joseph, 1833 (died 1858); Andrew, Aug. 8, 1835; Anna,
1838 (died 1845); Sarah, 1841 (died 1845); and Mary, July 14, 1846.

(IV) Henry Kriebel, son of Israel, born March 25, 1828, in
Washington township, Berks county, came with his parents to what is
now Kriebel’s Mill in Hereford when a small boy. He lived the
remainder of his life there and died Nov. 10, 1893. As a young man
he became a miller and he conducted the oil mill and grist mill
until his death, assuming charge of the mill when his father died.
At that time 125 acres of good land were connected with the mill
property, and this was divided into two tracts after the death of
Henry Kriebel in 1893, the mill and twenty-five acres going to the
son Lewis G., and the rest to a son Calvin G. Henry Kriebel
manufactured much linseed oil, employing five or six persons. The
flax was hauled from Upper Berks and Lehigh counties in large
conestoga wagons, with four horses. The oil was sold in the
surrounding country and was used in the mixture of paints. The mill
was operated by water power, being located on the north branch of
the Perkiomen creek, and it was the last oil mill in the township.
Mr. Kriebel was a member of the Schwenkfelder church and was buried
at Washington Meeting House. He served the township as Republican
committeeman for more than a quarter of a century. He was school
director, assistant township assessor, auditor, and at one time was
the candidate of his party for county treasurer. Mr. Kriebel was
twice married. By his first wife, Mary Wiegner, he had three
children of whom two died in infancy, and the other, a son, Prof.
Howard W., us now the publisher of the Pennsylvania German, a
widely circulated magazine published at East Greenville. Mr.
Kriebel married (second) Elizabeth Griesemer, daughter of Gabriel
Griesemer, and nine children were born of this union, namely: Dr.
Elmer, located at Centre Point, Pa.; Lewis G.; Calvin G., who lives
on a part of the homestead; Owen, who died in infancy; Regina, who
married Horace Gery; Sallie, who married Adam Urffer; Andrew G., a
butcher in Hereford township, who married Ellen Gery; Dr. Asher G.,
who married Bertha Heebner, and lives at Lynnville; and Henry G.,
of Alburtis.

(V) Lewis G. Kriebel, son of Henry, received his education in the
public schools of his native township, and was only a boy when he
learned the milling trade from his father. He worked for his father
until he was twenty-one years old, and as his father died soon
after he assumed charge of the mill, and since the spring of 1895
has been conducting it, enjoying a good trade. As stated above
there is a twenty-five acre tract of land connected with the mill.
The present brick house was built in 1845 by Israel Kriebel, and
the stone house near the mill by Henry Kriebel. The present mill
was built in 1837 by Israel Kriebel, and was formerly used for oil,
but since 1894 this part has been abandoned, and it is now used
wholly as a grist mill. Mr. Kriebel is a very successful young
business man, and he takes a keen interest in whatever is going on
about him. From 1895 to 1907 he kept two men busy crushing stone.
In politics he is a Republican, and since the spring of 1908 he has
been the committeeman of his township, and he is also served as
inspector of his precinct, and census enumerator. He is a member of
the Schwenkfelder Church. He belongs to Perkiomen Lodge, No. 595,
F. & A. M., of East Greenville. Mr. Kriebel is a musician and
he plays the clarinet in the East Greenville Band. During the ten
years existence of the Hereford Band he was its leader.

On Dec. 24, 1888, Mr. Kriebel was married to
Katie Bittenbender, of Siesholtzville, and the only child of this
union, Florence, is now deceased.

KRONINGER
FAMILY

p. 1022

Surnames: KRONINGER, KOB, FRY, REIFINGER, MERKEL, OTT, LUTZ,
GRUBER, HEISER, SCHLONECKER, LAUTENSTEIN, LEIBY, SCHLENKER, LESHER,
KUNKEL, HAAS, SCHWARTZ, SCHMICK, SAUL, BORTZ, TROLLINGER, DUNKEL,
SCHMOYER, EASTMAN, ANGSTADT, KEMP, LOCH, DIETRICH, FISHER

The good ship “Peggy,” which landed at Philadelphia, Sept. 24,
1753, had on board 108 passengers, one of whom was Jacob Kroninger,
from the German Palatinate, who was then thirty years old, as
appears in the State records. He settled in Macungie township,
Northampton (now Lehigh) county, shortly after landing. There is
record of his four sons, as follows: (1) Nicholas and (2) Henry
both settled in Mahanoy township, Northumberland county, prior to
1783, in which year Nicholas owned 100 acres of land and had two
horses and four head of cattle, and paid the federal tax of 4, 8s.
Henry had one cow and paid a tax of 3s. (3) The third son,
tradition says, as does also a brief reference in history, was
carried away by the Indians. (4) Daniel lived in Macungie township,
Lehigh county, until 1787. In 1785 in the federal tax register, in
the Pennsylvania archives, he is recorded as having owned 100 acres
of land, two horses, one cow, and paid a tax of 1, 1s. He was a
carpenter by occupation. His children were: John (1775-1853);
Peter, who settled in Ohio; Margaret; Susan; and three sons who
died close together.

John Kroninger, son of Daniel and grandson of
Jacob, the emigrant, was born in Macungie township Oct. 4, 1775,
and there he lived until he was twelve years of age. His parents
then removed to Weisenburg township, Lehigh county, and there young
John lived until he attained his majority. He married Margaret Kob,
born Christmas Day, 1779, who died April 1, 1864. Mr. Kroninger was
a soldier in the war of 1812. For many years he lived on the road
leading from Roth’s school house to Grimville, in Greenwich
township, on the farm now the property of John M. Fry. Here his
death occurred May 17, 1853. His children were: (1) Daniel
(1803-1884) m., in 1824, Esther Reifinger (April 15, 1808-April 23,
1901, aged ninety-three years, eight days) and had five sons and
six daughters. (2) Jonas died in childhood. (3) Maria (1801-1878)
m. (first) Abraham Merkel and (second) Charles Ott. (4) Catharine
m. Jacob Lutz. (5) John settled at Delaware, Ohio, in 1835, and
there m. and reared a family. (6) David m. (first) Maria Gruber and
(second) Harriet Heiser. (7) Joseph m. Eliza Schlonecker, and
settled in Chickasaw county, Iowa. (8) Miss Lydia, born May 3,
1827, has lived in Reading since 1856. (9) Johan Peter (Aug. 18,
1824-Oct. 28, 1906, aged 82 years, 2 months, 10 days) lived two
miles east of Grimville, where his death occurred. His wife,
Rebecca Lautenstein, preceded him to the grave at the age of
sixty-nine. Their children were: Elmer T., Mrs. Charles Leiby, Mrs.
Peter Schlenker (all of Grimsville); Morris, of Philadelphia;
Sylvester, of Weedsport, N. Y.; Frank, of Auburn, N. Y.; and Mrs.
Ellen Leiby, of Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania.

Daniel Kroninger, son of John, was born in 1803,
and his death occurred in 1884. In 1824 he was united in marriage
with Miss Esther Reifinger, who was born April 15, 1808, and died
April 23, 1901, at the advanced age of ninety-three years and eight
days, Eleven children, five sons and six daughters, blessed their
union, as follows: (1) Florenda m. Samuel Lesher, of Mohrsville.
(2) David J. m. Catharine Kunkel, and they lived in Weisenburg.
Their children are: Mary, Emma, and Penrose. (3) Brigetta m. J. P.
T. Haas, of Eagle Point and Lancaster. (4) Daniel P. m. Lavina
Schwartz, and lives at Eagle Point. Their children are: Elmer,
Alonzo, Howard, Arthur O. and Richard. (5) Noah is mentioned below.
(6) John m. Sarah Schmick, and resides at Allentown. Their children
are: Edward, Laura, Daniel, Regina, Mame, Amelia, and Stella. (7)
Sarah m. Daniel Saul, and lived at Eagle Point. (8) Annie m.
Augustus Bortz, of Temple. (9) A son. (10) Esther. (11) Amelia m.
James Trollinger. The youngest three children preceded their mother
to the grave.

Noah Kroninger, son of Daniel, was born in
Maxatawny township, in March, 1845. For some years he lived in
“Yammerthal” in Greenwich township. This village was formerly
called Kroningersville, after this family. Noah Kroninger married
Hettie Dunkel, daughter of David and Annie (Lesher) Dunkel, of near
Mohrsville. Their children are: Nora m. Ben Schmoyer of
Breinigsville, and they live in Allentown, where he has a bakery
business; Theodore J.; Lizzie m. Wallace Kunkel, of Westfield,
Tioga Co., Pa.; Oscar m. May Eastman, of Chico, Cal., where they
reside; George and Elton both died in childhood; Irwin is a clerk
in a foundry at Kutztown; and Daisy, the youngest, is a graduate of
the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown.

Theodore Joseph Kroninger, son of Noah and the
subject of this sketch, was born in Greenwich township, Jan 30,
1876. He obtained a good practical education in the public schools
of his district which he attended until he was twenty-one years of
age. Under his cousin, Edwin Kroninger, of Allentown, he learned
the florist’s business and followed this vocation for some time. He
traveled in nearly all the counties in eastern Pennsylvania for
pleasure and business combined, all the while learning new methods
and customs from them. These he put into practical use when he
returned to is native county in 1899. He then worked as a servant
for Clinton Angstadt, who lived upon the Pierce Kemp farm in
Maxatawny township, remaining in that position for four years. In
the spring of 1902 he began farming where he had lived the
preceding four years as a servant. He is in the best sense of the
term a self-made man. He owns valuable farm stock, and is
prospering as the result of his intelligent and well directed
efforts. The milk from his dairy is sold daily in Kutztown. In all
his work he is very exact, and in his business relations he is
scrupulously honest, and he and his wife are highly esteemed in the
community. They attend the Lutheran Church at Kutztown.

On Dec. 25, 1902, Mr. Kroninger was united in
marriage with Katie Judith Loch, who was born Nov. 4, 1877, eldest
daughter of Joel and Hettie (Dietrich) Loch, farming people of
Seiberlingville, Lehigh county, and granddaughter of Joel, Sr., and
Bevvy (Fisher) Loch, also farming people of Lehigh county.

KRUM, WILSON
P.

p.915

Surnames: KRUM, KISTLER, PETERS, OWENS

Wilson P. Krum, one of the well-known residents of Krumsville,
Greenwich township, Berks Co., Pa., where he is prominently
identified with business interests, was born July 2, 1841, at
Saegersville, Lehigh county, son of Jonas and Catherine (Peter)
Krum.

At the early age of fourteen years Wilson P.
Krum left home to make his own way in the world. He attended the
public schools of his native locality for several terms, later
enrolled as a student in the Allentown Seminary, and subsequently
took the prescribed course at the Millville Normal school at
Millville, Columbia Co., Pa., after which he taught school for five
terms in Columbia county and two terms in Lehigh county. In 1867 he
came to Berks county, and began the mercantile business ass a clerk
in the Smithville store and after one year purchased the store at
Wessnersville, which he conducted until 1876, at which time he sold
out to E. D. Kistler and removed to Slatington, Lehigh county,
engaging in the mercantile and slate business. In 1889, however he
returned to Berks county, and settled at Krumsville, where he has
since been located.

By close attention to business and perseverance,
Mr. Krum has amassed quite a competency. He is interested in the E.
D. Peters & Co. Ltd. General Merchandise Company, at
Slatington, Pa., and also owns a large slate factory at Slatington.
It requires five engines to operate the factory and the quarries.
He has his office at Krumsville, where he solicits orders for
roofing and slate material. As his business card says of these
products: “Strictly unfading-a test proof sixty years-where used no
other wanted.” In addition to these interests, Mr. Krum is
interested in the Blue Mountain Slate Company, in which he is
associated with James Owens, and is president of the Berks and
Lehigh Fire Insurance Company. He owns a beautiful home in
Krumsville, a large store building, the hotel, and a large farm of
fertile land. In politics he is a Republican, and he is the
Republican committeeman of his township. He is a member of Bethel’s
Zions Reformed Church, at Grimville, Pa., and for more than sixteen
years has been a member of the church consistory.