Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

LEVAN,
ABRAHAM F.

p. 1084

Surnames: LEVAN, DAVIS, LERCH, KEENE

Abraham F. Levan, who has been living retired since 1886, at his
home, midway between Jacksonwald and Esterly, was for many years engaged
in agricultural pursuits in Exeter township, where he was born Jan.
18, 1841.

Abraham F. Levan was reared on the old Levan
homestead at Jacksonwald, and received his education in the public
schools. On attaining his majority he began operating the old
homestead, which consisted of 193 acres, and there he continued
until 1885, when he built his present residence, on a one and
one-half acre tract. He is also the owner of 142 acres on the old
Philadelphia pike. In politics a stanch Democrat, Mr. Levan has
always been active in the ranks of that party, and has served as a
member of the school board.

On Sept. 26, 1871, Mr. Levan married Miss Sallie
Davis, daughter of Edward and Rebecca (Lerch) Davis, natives of
Maiden-creek and Bern townships, respectively, who spent their
married lives in Bern and Penn townships, and their declining years
in Reading. To Mr. and Mrs. Levan was born one child, Margaretta,
who died in infancy. They are members of the Reformed Church.

Edward Davis was in early life a farmer, but
later he followed school teaching, and died at the age of sixty-six
years in 1885. His wife, Rebecca Lerch, died in August, 1906, in
her eighty-fourth year, in the faith of the Reformed Church. To Mr.
and Mrs. Davis were born three children: Franklin, who died in
1899; Sallie, m. to Mr. Levan; and Rebecca who died July 13, 1894,
m. to Reuben Keene.

Luke Davis, grandfather of Mrs. Levan, was
reared in Maiden-creek township. He learned the trade of miller,
and later settled on a farm in Penn township, which he operated
until reaching an advanced age.

LEVAN, CYRUS
B.

p. 878

Surnames: LEVAN, BECHTEL, TROUT, BRUMBACH, POTT, BRUNNER, LUTZ

Cyrus B. Levan, a life-long resident of Exeter township, Berks
county, died July 16, 1890.
  The Levan family originated in France, where one branch
became identified with the Huguenots. Four brothers left their
native land to find a home in America, one of them, however dying
before his arrival here. The other three settled in Berks county,
one in Oley township, one in Maxatawny, and one in Exeter.

Isaac Levan, the brother who settled in Exeter,
became there the owner of a farm which has ever since remained in
the family. On this he worked at clearing and cultivating, after
the manner of other pioneers, experienced many hardships.

Jacob Levan, son of Isaac, succeeded to the
ownership of the farm, and passed his active years engaged in its
improvement and cultivation. He married and among his children was
a son named Abraham.

Abraham Levan, son of Jacob, was born on the
farm, and in turn became its owner. He was very prosperous, and
became very influential in public affairs. He married Maria
Bechtel, who bore him three sons and two daughters.

Joseph Levan, son of Abraham, was born on the
home farm in 1803, and became a farmer there, although he engaged
also in other lines, accumulating quite a competency. He was widely
known and very popular. As a staunch Democrat, he became a good
worker in the party, but would never hold office. He was a member
of the Reformed church, in which he served in a number of offices.
His wife, Caroline Matilda Bechtel, was a daughter of John Tetter
Bechtel. They had six sons and one daughter, namely: Joseph, who
died young; Abraham F., living retired in Exeter township; Jacob,
living retired at Jacksonwald; Cyrus B.; Nathan E., a retired
farmer living in Exeter township; David, an attorney at Reading;
and a daughter that died in infancy.

Cyrus B. Levan, son of Joseph and Caroline
Matilda (Bechtel), was born Dec. 18, 1849, and became one of Berks
countys prominent citizens. He was a life-long resident of Exeter
township, and at the time of his death, July 16, 1890, was serving
his second year as county commissioner, to which office he was
elected on the Democratic ticket. He had filled a number of
township offices, and was one of the most active men in public life
in his locality, always looking to the best interest of the people.
Mr. Levan was a member of the K. G. E., of Reading; Lexington
Commandery, of Reading, and of Washington Camp, No. 230, P. O. S.
of A. He belonged to the Schwartzwald Reformed church, in which he
held the office of deacon. His widow, whose maiden name was Susan
Trout, daughter of Benjamin, resides at Esterly with his sons,
Joseph Henry, George M. and William.

The eldest child in the family, Jacob Edwin
Levan, of Esterly, is a weaver in the Brumbach Woolen Mills; he
married Elizabeth Pott, and has three children, Robert, Carl and
Luther.

Joseph Henry Levan, son of Cyrus B., was born
Feb. 27, 1880, was educated in the public schools and Prof. D. B.
Brunners Academy, Reading, and also in the Inter-State Commercial
College, from which he was graduated. He is a bookkeeper by
calling. After working five years for John F. Lutz, the undertaker,
at Reading, he started the furniture business for himself in which
he is now engaged. He is a member of Washington Camp, No. 230 P. O.
S. of A.; and of Lexington Commandery, Reading. He is a member and
financial secretary of the Schwartzwald Reformed church.

George M. Levan, son of Cyrus B., is a graduate
of the Inter-State Commercial College, and is a student in the
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.

William Levan, youngest child of Cyrus B., is
also a student of the Inter-State Commercial College, and of the
Keystone State Norman School at Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

LEVAN,
FRANCIS L.

p. 1160

Surnames: LEVAN, SCHAPPEL, LEGALHOFF, RITTER, ZIMMERMAN, HENRY,
CARROLL

Francis L. Levan, who, for the past thirty years has efficiently
held the responsible position of car inspector for the Philadelphia
& Reading Railway Company, at Reading, is a well-known citizen
whose pleasant home is located at No. 625 North Ninth street. He
was born near Lobachsville, Berks Co., Pa., in 1851, son of Jacob
K. and Mary (Schappel) Levan.

Jacob K. Levan came to Reading in 1854, and
worked at his trade of dyer for a short time, and then engaged with
the Keystone Iron Works at the foot of Pine street, where he
remained until he died in 1877, aged sixty-six years. His widow
lived to the age of seventy-three years, dying June 6, 1905. They
had four children: Francis L.; Malinda, m. to Samuel Legalhoff;
Anna, m. to William Ritter; and Ellen, m. to John Zimmerman. In
politics, Jacob K. Levan was affiliated with the Democratic party.
Both he and wife were members of the Methodist Church.

Francis L. Levan was education in the Reading
public schools. While still young he went to work, entering the
employ of the old West Reading rolling mill at the foot of Penn
street, where the Pennsylvania depot now stands. Upon resigning
this position he entered the employ of the Keystone Iron Company,
with which he continued for seven years. In 1877 he accepted his
present responsible position, one which carries with it much
danger, but he has never met with a serious accident.

Mr. Levan married Elmira Henry, daughter of
Jacob Henry, of Reading, and they had three children: Charles and
Alice are both deceased; and Rosie m. William Carroll, and has
three children, Stanley, Miriam and Catherine. Mrs. Levan is a
member of the Lutheran Church. Mr. Levan belongs to the Knights of
Malta, is a charter member of Mt. Penn Castle, No. 51, K. G., and
belongs to the Philadelphia & Reading Relief Association.

LEVAN,
FRANCIS W.

p. 1066

Surnames: LEVAN, ZINZENDORF, SCHLENKER, LEIBY, BAST, BILLICH, KEIM,
GRAVER, REITZ, GRAHAM, STUMP, SEIDEL, HEINLY, GRIFFITH, FINK,
KRAUSE, MOYER

Francis W. Levan a well-known young business man of Kutztown, Berks
county, who has been engaged in the droving business for some
years, was also well-known as the proprietor for some time of the
“Black Horse Hotel.”

Mr. Levan was born Nov. 29, 1879, at
Lenhartsville, Berks county.

Jacob Levan, the immigrant ancestor of this
family, came to America in 1717 with his two brothers. The Levans
were French Huguenots, and the father of the immigrants was driven
out of France because of his religious belief.

Jacob Levan became the owner of large tracts of
land in and around Kutztown, his residence being at the old Levan
Mill, near Eagle Point. He was a man of great prominence, was a
judge of Berks county for ten years, and during the French and
Indian war was directed by the English to provision Fort Allen. In
1742 he was visited by Count Zinzendorf, the distinguished Lutheran
missionary, who preached from the balcony of the old mill to a
large concourse of people. Sebastian Levan, elder son of the
immigrant, was the most distinguished man in all northeastern
Berks, serving as a Colonel in the Revolutionary war, and as a
member of the Committee of Safety, and of the Executive Council. He
lived on the old mill homestead.

Jacob Levan (2), son of Jacob the immigrant,
died in middle life, and is buried in the old graveyard on the
David Levan farm. He had children: Jacob, Daniel, John and Maria.

Of these, John Levan, son of Jacob (2), had
these children: Daniel, who lived in Whitehall, Lehigh county;
Gideon, who lived near Kutztown, Pa.; John, who lived in Maxatawny
township; Samuel, who lived in Zanesville, Ohio; David, who died on
the old homestead; Harrison; Perry, who lived in Kutztown; six
daughters; and one son, Benjamin, who died in infancy.

Harrison Levan, son of John and grandfather of
Francis W., was born in Maxatawny township in 1812, and is the
oldest citizen in that township. He came to Lenhartsville when a
young man, and has been a resident and agriculturist thereof all of
his life. In his advanced years Mr. Levan is very active and spry,
and is still able to dance a “jig,” which he occasionally does to
the intense delight of his friends. To him and his wife Maria were
born: James m. Judith Schlenker; Jacob m. Sally Leiby; John m.
Isabella Bast; Daniel resides at Findlay, Ohio; William B. is the
father of Francis W.; Francis m. Missouri Billich; Frederick m.
Ellen Keim; Alvin m. Valaria Graver; Mary. m. John Reitz; and
Hettie m. James Graham.

William B. Levan, son of Harrison, a well-known
drover of Lenhartsville, was born on the farm on which he now
resides. He is extensively engaged in the cattle business, handling
every year about 3,000 head, and also owns several valuable
properties near Lenhartsville. He married Mary Stump, of Greenwich
township, and to them were born the following children: Sallie m.
Wilson Seidel; Wallace R. m. Ellen Heinly; Wilson M. m. Ellen
Griffith; Francis W.; Alice M. m. Samuel Fink; Mamie m. Elwood G.
Krause; and Annie is single.

Francis W. Levan was educated in the common
schools of his native village, and in his boyhood days assisted his
father in the cattle business, which he has followed ever since,
except in the spring and summer of 1906, when he was proprietor of
the “Black Horse Hotel, Kutztown.” Although a young man, Mr. Levan
has through thrift and economy accumulated some valuable property,
and has a residence on Noble street, Kutztown.

On Nov. 3, 1901, Mr. Levan married Mamie A.
Moyer, daughter of William L. and Susan (Seidel) Moyer, and two
children have been born to them, Helen Marie and Mary Susanna.

LEVAN,
GEORGE K.

p. 1190

Surnames: LEVAN, LeVAN, WISE, SCHNEIDER, MATTERN, KLINE, BUBP,
YODER, WHITE, BIRCH, MAUGER

George K. Levan, in his lifetime a merchant of Reading who played a
conspicuous part in the commercial history of his city, came of
stanch Huguenot stock that left the familiar scenes of the
Palatinate and vicinity, to find religious liberty and peace under
the beneficent laws of the Colony of the Penns.

In the summer of 1727 Daniel LeVan embarked at
Rotterdam, in the good ship “William & Sarah,” Captain William
Hill. The ship touched port at Dover, England, and then started on
the long voyage to Philadelphia, where it arrived early in
September. On the 21st of that month, all the male passengers over
sixteen years of age, subscribed to the following declaration: “We,
the subscribers, natives and inhabitants of the Palatinate, or the
Rhine places adjacent, having transported ourselves and families
into this province of Pennsylvania, a colony subject to the crown
of Great Britain, in hopes and expectation of finding a retreat and
peaceable settlement there, Do solemnly promise and engage, that we
will be faithful, and bear true allegiance to his present Majesty
King George the Second, and his successors, Kings of Great Britain,
and will be faithful to the proprietors of this province, and that
we will demean ourselves peaceably to all his Majesty’s subjects,
and strictly observe, and conform to the laws of England and of
this Province, to the utmost of our power and the best of our
understanding.” There were upwards of 300 persons on the ship, of
which 117 were males over sixteen years old, and of this number
sixty-two were ill on board at the time of arrival, and four had
died on the voyage. Those who were well signed the above
Declaration themselves, and the names of the sixty-two, who were
ill, were signed by the clerk of the Board of the Provincial
Council, held at Philadelphia, Sept. 21, 1727; among the latter so
signed was that of Daniel LeVan. Before leaving the Fatherland
these followers of the German Reformed faith had engaged the Rev.
George Michael Wise, V. D. M., to accompany them, and he was for
many years pastor of German Reformed Churches in Philadelphia,
Germantown, etc.

Jacob LeVan settled in Maxatawny township, Berks
county, in an early day. He became one of the leading men of the
county, and was judge of the Courts from 1752 to 1762. He was the
father of two children-Colonel Sebastian and Jacob.

Colonel Sebastian LeVan was born about 1734, and
he died in August, 1794. On Dec. 5, 1774, he was elected a member
of the Berks County Committee of Observation, upon which he served
as one of the fifteen members. He was a delegate to the Provincial
Convention, Jan. 2, 1775, appointed lieutenant-colonel 7th
Battalion, Berks county, 1775-76; delegate to the Lancaster
Convention, in July, 1776; representative on the Standing
Committee, serving alter in the State Assembly during 1779-1780;
councilor on the Supreme Executive Council from 1782-84. As a
member of such executive bodies he was exempt from bearing arms.
The records show an order from the Council of Safety to pay him
88-2s-6d. for arms taken from non-associates, Dec. 6, 1776. His
wife was Christiana Schneider, and they had three children: Jacob,
John and Margaret who married John Mattern.

John LeVan, son of Col. Sebastian, married
Christine Kline, and they had a son, George K. George K. Levan was
born in Maxatawny township, Berks county. In Reading he attained a
high place as a merchant, being the founder of the dry goods store
now owned by John E. Bubp & Sons on Penn street. Mr. Bubp was
his clerk at first, and later Mr. Levan sold out to him. He,
himself, then engaged in business on Penn street, near the Farmer’s
National Bank Building, opening the first queensware store in the
city of Reading, and he also carried a line of dry goods. He was a
man of pronounced business ability, and was a buyer of great
sagacity. His mercantile life ended in 1869 with his election as
prothonotary of Berks county, an office he held until 1872, after
which he retired, making his home at his comfortable residence on
Eighth street, near Franklin. His death occurred suddenly, after he
returned home from church, when he was aged sixty years.

Mr. Levan married Nov. 6, 1845, Margaret B.
Yoder, daughter of David Yoder, and a representative of an early
settled Berks county family. She died in 1900, and is buried beside
her husband in the Charles Evans cemetery. They were active workers
in, and early members of the Second Reformed Church.

They had five children: Annie E., who died in
1880, married James S. White, and had a daughter, Edith, who
married Prof. R. S. Birch; Morris Y. died at the age of
twenty-tree; Miss Martha Y.; Ida died in infancy; and Mary married
D. Lorah Mauger, district passenger agent of the Philadelphia &
Reading Company, with his office in Reading, and they have two
children, Margaret A. and George L. They reside at No. 813 North
Fourth street, Reading.

LEVAN, HARRY
E.

p. 1414

Surnames: LEVAN, RUTH

Harry E. Levan (deceased), who for a number of years was employed
as a machinist at the Reading Hardware Company, and in which
capacity he was serving at the time of his death, July 18, 1899,
was born Aug 1, 1866, in Reading.

Mr. Levan received his educational raining in
the schools of his native city, after leaving which he learned the
trade of machinist. He soon secured a position with the Reading
Hardware Company, and remained with this firm all of his active
period. His services were highly valued by the officers of the
company, who knew him to be a skilled mechanic and faithful
workman, and among his fellow employees he was very popular. In
religious belief he was a member of the Second Reformed Church,
while his widow attends the church of the Lutheran denomination. In
political belief he was a Republican, and his fraternal connections
were with the Rainbow Fire Company.

In 1886 Mr. Levan was married to Mary E. Ruth,
the estimable daughter of Daniel H. Ruth, and to them were born
five children, as follows: John Y.; Florence E.; Daniel H.; Ruth M.
and Harry E., Jr. In April, 1904, Mrs. Levan removed from her home
in Oakbrook, to her present residence in Reading, that she might
better care for her interests in this city. She owns here residence
at No. 505 Oley street as well as six residence properties at
Thirteenth and Kenney streets.

LEVAN, HENRY
B.

p. 494

Surnames: LEVAN, BEAU, BRUMBACH, FEATHER, FEGELEY, GANSER, GOODMAN,
KERSHNER, KNORR, KURST, LEESE, LUDWIG, RIGHTMEYER, SCHAEFFER,
STITZEL, WEIN, WEISER, WERNER, WOLLISON

Henry B. Levan is descended from Huguenot ancestry. His
great-great-great grandfather, Daniel Levan, fled from France to
Amsterdam, Holland, during the time when the Huguenots were
persecuted. He was married in France to Marie Beau.

Isaac Levan, son of Daniel and Marie, emigrated
from Amsterdam, Holland, and located in Exeter township, Berks Co.,
Pa., in about 1730, being one of the first settlers there. He was
engaged in farming until the latter period of his life, when in
1770, he moved to Reading, Pa., where he died in August, 1786. He
and his wife, Mary Margaret, had the following children: Abraham,
Isaac, Daniel, Jacob, Mary (wife of Peter Feather) and Judith (wife
of Samuel Weiser).

Jacob Levan Sr. , son of the emigrant, was born
at the old homestead in Exeter township, Berks Co., Pa., about 1736
and died there in January, 1814. He was engaged in farming all his
life. He was married to Susannah Ludwig, and had the following
children: Abraham, Daniel, Jacob, Margaret (m. (first) Peter
Rightmeyer, (second) John Wollison), Judith (m. Henry Leese),
Susannah (m. John Stitzel), Elizabeth (m. Samuel Kurst), Mary (m.
Henry Werner), Hannah (m. Godfrey Kershner), Catherine (m. Jacob
Goodman), and Sarah (m. Adam Stitzel).

Jacob L. Levan, Jr., grandson of the emigrant,
Isaac Levan, was born at the old homestead in Exeter township, Jan.
1852. He was married to Catherine Fegeley, of Richmond township,
Berks Co., Pa., and they had the following children: Isaac; and
Anna, who m. Capt. Henry Schaeffer.

Isaac Levan, son of Jacob L., was born at the
old homestead in Exeter township, July 21, 1816, and died Jan. 7,
1837. He was married (first) to Rebecca Brumbach, daughter of Jacob
Brumbach, and (second) to Louisa Wein, daughter of Henry Wein. His
children were as follows: William, Jacob, Isaac, George (deceased),
Henry B., Daniel (who died in infancy), and Rebecca (m. John
Knorr).

Henry B. Levan, son of Isaac and Rebecca
(Brumbach) Levan, has for nearly a quarter of a century been
postmaster at Lorane, Exeter township, Berks county, where he has
been engaged in a general merchandise and hotel business. He was
born in Exeter township June 20, 1850, and was educated in the
public schools. After the death of his father he went to live with
Joseph Levan, his guardian, with whom he remained until nineteen
years of age, when he entered the employ of the Philadelphia &
Reading Railway Company, as telegraph operator. He spent about
eleven years in that employment. In 1883 he purchased property in
Lorane, where he has since been located in business with the
exception of two years. In addition to his mercantile business Mr.
Levan has also dealt extensively in coal and feed, has served as
postmaster since 1883, with the exception of the two years that he
was out of business and has done much toward making Lorane the
hustling, enterprising village that it is. He has always been
esteemed and respected by his fellow-citizens, whose recognize and
appreciate his many sterling qualities of character. In politics he
is a Democrat, while fraternally he is connected with Reading
Lodge, No. 62, F. & A. M.

In 1883 Mr. Levan was married to Isabella
Ganser, daughter of Joseph Ganser, of Reading, and she died in
1893, when thirty-seven years of age. She was the mother of one
child, Harvey Ralph, who is employed by his father in the store.
Mr. Levan is a member of the Schwartzwald Reformed Church.

LEVAN, JACOB
B.

p. 1052

Surnames: LEVAN, BEAU, FISHER, FEATHER, WISER, LUDWIG, RIGHTMEYER,
WOOLISON, STITZEL, KURST, WERNER, KERSHNER, GOODMAN, LEESE, FEGLEY,
SCHAEFFER, BRUMBACH, WEIN, KNORR, DETURK, BITTING, STAUFFER, VAN
BUSKIRK, WENTZEL, DINKEL

Jacob B. Levan. One of the oldest and most honored families of
Berks county, Pa., is that of Levan, members of which have
distinguished themselves in the various works of life. A worthy
representative of this family is found in Jacob B. Levan, a
prominent and influential citizen of St. Lawrence, Exeter township.

Daniel Levan, great-great-great-grandfather of
Jacob B., left France, and settled in Amsterdam, Holland, during
the Huguenot persecution. He married in France Marie Beau.

The first of the family to come to America was
Isaac Levan, son of Daniel and Marie (Beau) Levan, who was born in
Holland in about 1700. He came to America in about 1730, this fact
being established by the records of land grants made to him bearing
the dates of 1731 and 1734 and 1737-38, as well as grants made him
along the Schuylkill river, this land aggregating in all upward of
1,000 acres, most of which lay in Exeter township. Isaac Levan, the
emigrant, built the tannery on the second land grant on the site
where now the Brumbach Bros. Woolen Mill stands in St. Lawrence,
and in 1758 sold it with nine acres to John Fisher, and afterward
conveyed the first grant and remaining 123 acres of the second
grant to his son Jacob Levan, great-grandfather of Jacob B. Isaac
Levan and his wife Mary Margaret had these children: Abraham,
Isaac, Daniel, Jacob, Mary (m. Peter Feather) and Judith (m. Samuel
Wiser). Isaac Levan died in 1786 in the borough of Reading.

Jacob Levan, great-grandfather of Jacob B., born
between 1736 and 1740, fell heir to a goodly portion of his
father’s estate, his possessions including the old homestead, known
as the Cyrus Levan estate, in Exeter township. He also added to his
original property by purchase, and at the time of his death, when
he had been living retired for some years, he was considered one of
the most substantial men and largest landowners in this section of
Berks county. He married Susannah Ludwig, and they had a family of
eleven children, three sons and eight daughters, namely: Abraham;
Jacob L.; Daniel; Margaret m. (first) Peter Rightmeyer, (second)
John Woolison; Susannah m. John Stitzel; Elizabeth m. Samuel Kurst;
Mary m. Henry Werner; Hannah m. Godfrey Kershner; Catharine m.
Jacob Goodman; Sarah m. Adam Stitzel; Judith m. Henry Leese. Jacob
Levan died in 1814 was buried on the old homestead in a private
graveyard located on his first land grant in Exeter township.

Jacob L. Levan, grandfather of Jacob B., was
born in 1784. He was a farmer and owned between 500 to 600 acres of
land, all in one body. He died in 1851 in the faith of the Reformed
Church. Mr. Levan married Catherine Fegley, and she bore him two
children: Anna m. Capt. Henry Schaeffer, of Exeter township; and
Isaac.

Isaac Levan, son of Jacob, was an agriculturist
all of his life in Exeter township, where he was a stanch Democrat
and leading member of the Reformed Church. He died in 1857, at the
age of forty-one years. Mr. Levan was married (first) to Rebecca
Brumbach, daughter of Jacob Brumbach, and she died in 1853, when
thirty-three years of age, having borne her husband these children:
William, of the Reading National Bank; Jacob B.; Isaac B., a
resident of Manheim, Lancaster county; George, who died in
childhood; Daniel, who died in infancy, and Henry B., a merchant at
Lorane. In 1856 Mr. Levan was married (second) to Louisa Wein, and
one child was born to this union, Rebecca, wife of John Knorr, of
Reading.

Jacob B. Levan was born Jan. 8, 1844, in Exeter
township, where he attended the public schools, and later went to
Oley Academy. In 1858 he went to live with his guardian, Josiah
DeTurk, with whom he continued until he was nineteen years of age,
and thereafter spent some time farming with Joseph Levan. At the
age of twenty-four years Mr. Levan engaged in a hotel and
mercantile business at Lorane, where he continued for four years,
then engaging in farming, at which he continued until 1896. He
became the owner of several farms, all of which he has since sold,
and since 1896 he has been engaged at various occupations. He has
always been active in movements having for their object the
betterment of conditions in his community, has erected eight houses
in St. Lawrence, was a promoter of the St. Lawrence

Water Company and attends to the plumbing
therefor, and platted most of the land and sold the lots for the
village of St. Lawrence. For fifteen years he served efficiently as
township auditor.

On April 25, 1869, Mr. Levan was united in
marriage with Miss Emma Stauffer, daughter of Abraham and Mariah
(Bitting) Stauffer, of Bechtelsville and Allentown, and five
children have been born to this union, namely: William lives in Mt.
Penn borough; Rebecca m. William Van Buskirk, of Lebanon,
superintendent of the cold punch department of the American Iron
and Steel Company at Lebanon, and they have one son, Arthur; Jacob,
who is engaged in butchering in the city of Reading, m. Cora
Wentzel, and they have two children, Bessie and Margaret; George,
and employe of the cold punch department of the American Iron and
Steel Company at Lebanon, m. Minnie Dinkel, and has three children,
Catherine, Charles and Amie R.; and Victor, who completed his
fourth year in the United States Navy in May, 1908, has cruised in
Asiatic waters, and is now an able seaman. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob B.
Levan are member of the Schwartzwald Reformed Church, and Mr. Levan
is a member of the cemetery board.

LEVAN, JACOB
K.

p. 1546

Surnames: LEVAN, KAUFFMAN, DeTURCK, MOYER, HILBERT, MUTHART,
BERTOLET, EBERHART

Jacob K. Levan lived on the old Levan homestead in Oley township,
where he was born Aug. 23, 1849, and he died Dec. 24, 1905.

Daniel H. Levan, his father, was born Aug. 9,
1815, and he obtained the old family homestead from his father. He
was a lifelong farmer, and his death occurred in March 1874. He
married Hannah Kauffman, born Feb. 13, 1818, and they had three
children: Ezra, of Friedensburg; Susan, who married Mahlon DeTurck;
and Jacob K.

Jacob K. Levan was reared on the farm of which
he later became the owner, and he devoted his life to agricultural
pursuits. This farm contains 180 acres of good land; the barn was
built by Mr. Levan’s father, Daniel H., and the house was erected
one hundred years ago by an earlier Levan. At his death Mr. Levan
was laid to rest in Union cemetery. He was a member of Friedens
Church (Reformed). In his political affiliations he was a Democrat;
he was a school director in his district, being president of the
board at the time of his death. In 1905 Mr. Levan commenced the
erection of a comfortable modern home at Friedensburg, but this was
not completed and had not been occupied when he died. The next
spring his widow and family moved in, and they still reside there.

On May 16, 1874, Mr. Levan married Elizabeth H.
Moyer, daughter of Nathan and Emeline (Hilbert) Moyer, and
granddaughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Muthart) Moyer, both the
father and grandfather being of Rockland township. Twelve children
were born of this union: Charles, Daniel, Sallie, Kate (who married
Hayman Bertolet, of Philadelphia, and has a daughter, Lena), Annie
(who married Benneville Eberhart, foreman in the hosiery mills at
Friedensburg), Lott, Minnie, Ada, Paul, Lizzie, Howard and Hester.
Of these, four–Lizzie, Charles, Lott and Ada–died within
twenty-four hours of diphtheria, and three more–Daniel, Sallie and
Paul–about a week later of the same dread disease, and all seven
are buried in a row in Union cemetery.

Mrs. Levan’s home is charming, and it contains a
number of heirlooms that are priceless. She has a set of china and
an old corner closet that belonged to Mrs. Daniel H. Levan, to whom
they descended through the Kauffmans.