Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

STOUDT,
GEORGE W.

p. 739

Surnames: STOUDT, KUTZ, MOYER, HARTMAN, PEIFER, DIEFFENBACH.
RENTSCHLER, GROFF, RISHEL, WENRICH

George W. Stoudt, a retired farmer living at Shartlesville, in
Upper Bern township, Berks county, owns a fine farm of 115 acres in
that township, where he followed agricultural pursuits for
twenty-four years before his retirement. Mr. Stoudt was born at
Rehrersburg, Berks county, June 9, 1850, son of Isaac K. Stoudt,
and grandson of George Stoudt. Both his father and grandfather were
natives of Berks county.

George Stoudt was born above Strausstown. He
farmed in Maiden-creek township for a time, later returning to
Rehrersburg, where he died. He married a Miss Kutz, of Kutztown,
and to them were born the following named children: William K.,
George K., Isaac K., John K., Mary, Sarah and Eliza.

Isaac K. Stoudt was born in Maiden-creek
township, and died at Rehrersburg. He, too was a farmer, and he
owned two farms, one of sixty-five acres and one of 100 acres, as
well as a smaller tract of twelve acres. He was a well-known man in
his day and a much respected citizen. His wife, Mary Moyer, was a
daughter of Peter Moyer. To Mr. and Mrs. Stoudt were born children
as follows: Adam W. is living at Rehrersburg; Mary m. (first)
Daniel Hartman and (second) Philip Peifer; George W.; Amelia m.
Adam Dieffenbach; Emma; Kate is deceased; and Franklin P. lives
near Millersburg, this State.

George W. Stoudt received his education in the
public schools, and was reared to farming, remaining with his
father until he reached the age of twenty-six years. He then
married, after which he began farming in Bethel township, this
county, where he remained for six years, moving thence to Upper
Bern township, where he bought the William G. Rentschler farm of
eighty-two acres. There he made his home and carried on general
farming for twenty-four years, meantime adding thirty-three acres
to the original tract. Though he has retired from active farm work
himself, Mr. Stoudt still retains the ownership of this land, which
is a valuable piece of property, well watered and well located. In
1908, Mr. Stoudt built himself a fine home on the main street, in
Shartlesville, and he also owns another good place, which he rents.
He takes an interest in the life of his community, being an active
member of St. Michael’s Reformed Church, which he has served as
deacon, and he has been a member of the board of school directors
of Upper Bern township. He is a Democrat in political sentiment.

Mr. Stoudt’s first wife was Annie Maria
Rentschler, daughter of William G. Rentschler. She died in 1896,
and is buried at St. Michael’s Church. Four children were born to
this union: Lucretia m. Harry Groff, and lives near Millersburg;
Robert m. Mary Rentschler, and lives in Upper Bern township, this
county; Carrie, unmarried, is living in Reading, Pa.; and Masie,
died at the age of ten years. For his second wife Mr. Stoudt
married Clara L. Rishel, daughter of William and Maria (Wenrich)
Rishel, and to them has been born one daughter, Sallie V., who is
attending school.

STOUDT,
JOHN BAER (REV.)

p. 804

Surnames: STOUDT, STAUDT, STOUT, VAN PRINCIS, SCHRADER, UMBENHAUER,
BROWN, KERSCHNER, BODY, SNYDER, MAURER, KUTZ, SCHUCKER, KNITTLE,
EBLING, WEIDENHAMMER, EHTEIGIE, GROSS, MOHN, MERTZ, MICKLY, LEACH,
AURANDT, WISE, BOWMAN, BORREL, SAUL, HAMPSHIRE, KOCH, GEHRET, LOBO,
YINGST, REPPERT, DIEHL, CARL, BAER, KEIFFER, LEASE, KLINE, WETZEL,
DELONG, YODER

Staudt (Stoudt, Stout) is one of the early Palatinate family names.
Members of the family figured prominently in some of the Crusades.
The family spread northward into Holland, where several members
obtained noble rank. During the persecutions of Bloody Alba some
members of the family fled to England, one of them, Richard by
name, enlisting in the English navy. Upon one of his visits to New
Amsterdam he met Penelope Van Princis, who later became his wife,
and they settled in Middletown, N. J., prior to 1688, becoming the
progenitors of a large and honorable family.

The Staudts of Pennsylvania come directly from
the Palatinate and seem to be divided into two groups, that of
Berks and that of Bucks county. On Aug. 30, 1737, there landed at
Philadelphia John Jacob, Johannes and Hans Adam Staudt, and on
Sept. 24th of the same year Peter Staudt. These four, it is
claimed, were brothers. The following year arrived Peter and
Daniel; in 1741 another Peter arrived, and in 1744 George Wilhelm
joined the group. It is believed that all the above named were
related. John Jacob settled at what is now Perkasie, and was the
father of the following children: Abraham, Henry K., Jacob, Hannah,
Magdalena, Annie Margret. Abraham was a man of prominence in his
day, serving during the Revolution as a member of the Committee of
Safety, also of the Committee of Observation, member of the
Constitutional Convention of 1787 and of the Convention of 1789-90.
The Stoudts of Lehigh and Northampton counties are descendants of
the Bucks group.

At the head of the Berks group stands John
Michael Staudt, who took the oath of allegiance at Philadelphia
Sept. 18, 1733. Tradition says that his father died at sea, and
that the headship of the family fell upon him, though he was only
twenty-one years of age. How large the family was we do not know,
but we know that Mathias, aged eight, and Johannes, probably still
younger, were in the group, and we have reason to think that the
family was even larger.

On Oct. 25, 1737, there was surveyed for John
Michael Staudt a tract of land in Bern township on the west bank of
the Schuylkill river, “opposite the flat meadows,” of 180 acres.
Later the estate was doubled. The place is known as Stoudts Ferry.
Johannes was probably never married. Mathias married Anna Margeret
Schrader, who was born Oct. 13, 1728, and died May 22, 1797. He was
born in 1725 an died in 1795. They resided in Bern township, and
raised the following children: John, Mathias, Abraham, Catherine
Maria (married Thomas Umbenhauer) and Elizabeth. Of these, Abraham,
born Jan. 25, 1757, died Oct. 9, 1824; to him and his wife Maria
Elizabeth (Brown), born June 22, 1756, died Aug. 15, 1824, were
born the following children: Mathias, John, Jacob, Catherine,
Magdalena, Anna Maria, and Sussanna. Johannes, Mathias and John
Michael were members of the Bern Church, where their ashes rest in
peace.

John Michael Staudt, the ancestor of Rev. John
Baer Stoudt, was born in 1712 and died May 13, 1776. To him and his
wife Barbara were born the following children: (1) Johannes
(1737-Oct. 13, 1801) married Maria Catherine Kerschner (1751-Dec.
21, 1826) and lived on a farm in Maiden-creek township. Their union
was blessed with the following children: George, Catherine (married
to Henry Body), Barbara (married to George Snyder), Elizabeth
(married to Daniel Maurer), Jacob, John, Daniel and Samuel. (2)
Jacob (1735-1802) moved in 1790 from Bern township to Richmond
township, having bought the farm now owned by Edwin Kutz. To him
and his wife Margaret were born the following children: John Jacob,
Adam, John Henry, Daniel, Barbara (married to John Schucker), Mary
(married to Michael Knittle), Catherine (who died unmarried),
Elizabeth (married to William Ebling). (3) Michael (1742-1807)
married Maria Elizabeth Brown (1759-1820) and had four sons and
five daughters. He received the old homestead. (4) George Wilhelm
(1748-1820) lived in Maiden-creek township, and became the
progenitor of a large posterity. He married Christina Weidenhammer
(1752-1817), daughter of Johannes Weidenhammer (1726-1804) and
Margareth (Ehteigie) (born in Kurpfalz in 1727-died in 1812), and
their children were: George, Margaret (married to Daniel Gross)*,
Magdalina (married to John Mohn), Daniel, Maria (married to Daniel
Mertz), Adam, Jacob, Catherine (married to Daniel Mickly). George
Wilhelm Staudt and his brother Jacob lie buried in the Kutztown
Union cemetery. (5) John George and his wife Anna Margreta moved to
Tulpehocken township. (6) Jost and his wife Mary Elizabeth lived in
Bern township. To them were born the following children: Jacob,
Margretha, Catherine and Magdalina. (7) Anna Barbara married
Baltzer Leach, of Bern township, and this union was blessed with
seven children. (8) Catherine married Christopher Leach and resided
in Heidelberg township. (9) Apolonia married Daniel Aurandt and
moved to Buffalo Valley. (10) Catherine Elizabeth married Peter
Wise and resided in Bern township.

[*Note: Per Judy, Margaret m. David Gross, not Daniel Gross.]

Daniel, son of Jacob (1735-1802), was a
distiller by trade. His declining years were spent in the vicinity
of Kutztown, where he died in 1853; he was buried in Hottenstein’s
private cemetery. He married a Miss Bowman, and this union was
blessed with the following children: Adam moved to Logansport,
Ind., where he died; George married Hannah Borrel and reared a
family of nine children; Reuben is mentioned below; Frank died
unmarried; Margaretha married Jacob Saul, of Molltown; Polly and
Hannah died unmarried; Maria married Joseph Hampshire and lived at
Bowers Station; Hettie Ester died young; Isaac served in the
Mexican war, and soon after his return left again for the Western
country.

Reuben, the third son of Daniel, married Hannah
Koch, daughter of John Koch and his wife Catherine (Gehret), and
this union was blessed with the following children: Benjamin, who
located at Pinegrove, Schuylkill county; Daniel, who located at
Circleville, Ohio; William, who located at Pottsville, Schuylkill
county; Henry; Kate, who died unmarried; Hannah, married to Mr.
Lobo and living in Chicago; Reuben, who was killed in the Civil
war; Samuel, who settled in Carlisle, Pa.; Charles, who died of
disease contracted in the Civil war; James, who served in the Civil
war and afterward located in California; Melinda and Ellen,
unmarried, who live at Reading; and Sarah, who married a Mr. Yingst
and lives at Carlisle.

Henry, son of Reuben, married Olivia Reppert,
daughter of Peter an Elizabeth (Diehl) Reppert, and this union was
blessed with six children, John, Hannah, Francis, Oliver, Daniel
and Lucius. Henry is said to have died of hiccough and he and his
wife lie buried at DeLong’s Reformed Church.

John R. Stoudt, son of Henry, was born Feb. 10,
1848. He married Anna Amanda, daughter of Charles and Anna (Carl)
Baer, the latter the daughter of George and Barbara (Keiffer) Carl.
This union was blessed with the following children: Henry, a molder
by trade, residing at Reading, married Minnie Lease and has two
children, Mabel and Charles; John Baer is mentioned below; George
Baer, a machinist by trade, residing at Topeka, Kans., has two
sons, Calvin and Francis; Jacob, of Fleetwood, Pa., a molder by
trade, is married to Kate, daughter of Adam Kline; Frederick and
Annie are at home with their mother, who lives at Fleetwood.

John Baer Stoudt, son of John R. and Anna Amanda
(Baer) Stoudt, was born Oct. 17, 1878, in Maxatawny township, and
later removed with his father to Richmond township, where he
attended the public schools of the township.

In 1896 he was licensed to teach, which
profession he followed for three years. In 1900 he graduated from
the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown, Pa., and in 1905 from
Franklin and Marshall College, at Lancaster, Pa. Both at the normal
school and at college he took an active interest in literary and
oratorical work, winning a number of prizes, collegiate and
inter-collegiate, among them the John W. Wetzel prize, second prize
in the inter-collegiate oratorical contest and the State Camp
oratorical contest of the P. O. S. of A. During the summer of 1906
he studied theology in the University of Chicago, and in 1908 was
graduated from the Eastern Theological Seminary of the Reformed
Church. He now resides at Emaus, Lehigh Co., Pa., where he is
pastor of three Reformed congregations. He is regarded as a pulpit
orator of more than ordinary ability.

On Oct. 15, 1908, Mr. Stoudt was married to Miss
Elizabeth A. DeLong, daughter of the late Joseph and Mary H.
(Yoder) DeLong, of Topton, Pennsylvania.

STOUDT, JOHN
B.

p. 1042

Surnames: STOUDT, OLIVER, ULRICH, SCHAEFFER, BARTO, ENGELHART,
ZERBE

John B. Stoudt, stove dealer, tinsmith and roofing and spouting
contractor of Womelsdorf, Berks county, was born March 26, 1852 in
Shelby county, Ohio, son of Simon and Catherine Oliver Stoudt, and
grandson of Daniel Stoudt.

Daniel Stoudt was born Oct. 26, 1785 and died
Jan. 18, 1855. He resided in North Heidelberg township, where he
was a shoemaker and where he also cultivated a seventy-five-acre
tract of land. Mr. Stoudt married Susanna Ulrich, born Nov. 4,
1787, who died July 1, 1841, aged fifty-three years, seven months,
twenty-seven days, and they had the following children: Daniel;
Peter had a son Frank, who resides at Myerstown, Pa.; Reuben, who
had a son William (now deceased), resides at Myerstown, and is in
his seventy-seventh year; Simon (also know as Samuel) is mentioned
below; Salome m. Andrew Zerbe; and Susanna m. John Schaeffer, a
farmer of North Heidelberg township.

Simon Stoudt, father of John B., was born in
Marion township, Berks county, in 1819, and died in 1892, at the
age of seventy-three years. He is buried at Houston Station, Ohio,
whither he had gone in middle life. Mr. Stoudt married Catherine
Oliver (born at Erie, Pa., in 1820, daughter of James Oliver, and
died in 1895), whom he met in Ohio. To this union were born the
following children: Sarah; Nancy and Susanna, twins; Daniel; James;
John B.; Simon B.; William; Reuben, and Mary Jane. They all
remained near Houston Station, Shelby Co., Ohio, with the exception
of John B., who came back to the land of his fathers.

John B. Stoudt was reared to agricultural
pursuits, which he followed until eighteen years of age, and then,
having returned East in company with his uncle Reuben Stoudt, who
had visited his brother, learned his trade at Myerstown, Pa. After
completing his apprenticeship Mr. Stoudt went to Lebanon, Pa.,
where he continued until 1897, and in this year located at
Womelsdorf, where he has since continued, having built up a large
trade. He employs two men, carries a large stock of tinware, and
enjoys an extensive patronage from the people of his town. He is a
Democrat in politics, and he and his family are members of the
Reformed Church, of which he has been deacon and is now elder.

In 1876 Mr. Stoudt was married to Emma Barto, of
Myerstown, Pa., daughter of Jeremiah and Rachel (Engelhart) Barto,
farming people. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stoudt,
namely Oliver, who died in 1884, at the age of nine years; and Eve,
born in 1890 who resides at home.

STOUDT,
JOSEPH

p. 1461

Surnames: STOUDT, KELCHNER, KOPP, YOE, SPOTTS, SCHELL, SCHOENER,
SHILLING, MADEIRA, MOUNTZ, BOYER, MUSSER

Joseph Stoudt, of Penn township, whose blacksmith establishment is
situated at Obold postoffice, Mt. Pleasant, Pa., was born April 3,
1852, in Lower Heidelberg township, Berks county, son of William
and Catherine (Kelchner) Stoudt.

Daniel Stoudt, the grandfather of Joseph, was a
farmer of Wernersville, Pa., where his death occurred, he being
buried at Hain’s Church. His children were: Daniel died in Dauphin
county; Henry lives in Michigan; William; Richard and Nathan live
in Schuylkill county; James and David live in Wernersville; Sarah
m. Mr. Kopp; Rebecca; Mary m. Henry Yoe; and Ann m. Jacob Spotts.

William Stoudt was born at Wernersville and
there learned the blacksmith’s trade, which he followed for some
time at Charming Forge, later engaging in business in Lower
Heidelberg township, where he remained fifteen years, when he came
to Obold and for five years worked for his son Joseph. He then went
to live with his son George in Marion township until his
retirement, when he went to the home of his son Conrad, in Reading,
where he died in 1898, being buried at Hain’s Church. He married
Catherine Kelchner, daughter of Joseph Kelchner, who died in 1877,
and they had these children: Richard lives in Dayton, Ohio; Ellen
m. Edward Schell, of Dayton, Ohio; William is also a resident of
Dayton; Joseph; Conrad lives at Third and Walnut streets, Reading;
Lizzie m. Tyrer Schoener; Daniel died at the age of fifteen years;
Sallie m. the late W. Shilling; Katie died young; and George lives
in Womelsdorf.

Joseph Stoudt attended the public schools of
Marion, Heidelberg and North Heidelberg townships, and when
seventeen years of age learned the blacksmith’s trade with his
father, with whom he remained three years, then engaging in farming
in North Heidelberg township for four years. Returning to his trade
he formed a partnership with his father in Heidelberg township, but
after four years this was dissolved and in 1881 Mr. Stoudt came to
Obold, where he purchased the business of Jacob Madeira, building a
new house and shop. He has a flourishing business, which requires
the help of one assistant.

Mr. Stoudt was married to Lizzie Mountz,
daughter of William and Annie (Boyer) Mountz, and they have had one
son: Irwin S., a graduate of the Keystone State Normal School and
the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. He lives at East St. Louis,
where he is a druggist and chemist. He married Margaret Musser.
Joseph Stoudt is a member of Hain’s Church. In political matters he
is a Republican and he has served a number of times as a member of
the election board.

STOUDT,
LEWIS B.

p. 1419

Surnames: STOUDT, BERNT, REESER, HILL, FORNEY, RICKENBACH, HUY,
HAWKINS, BROWN, HEFFNER, ADAMS, HIGH, SMITH, FREDERICK, KOLLER,
DUBSON, OSWALDT, SNYDER, LERCH

Lewis B. Stoudt, proprietor of the “Half-Way House,” near Blandon,
in Maiden-creek township, was born July 24, 1854, at Molltown, Pa.,
son of Benneville and Hettie (Bernt) Stoudt.

Jacob Stoudt, grandfather of Lewis B., who was a
farmer near Calcium, in Maiden-creek township, married a Miss
Reeser, and they had these children: Jacob m. a Miss Hill;
Benneville; Daniel m. Elizabeth Forney; Joel m. Eliza Rickenbach;
and Rebecca m. Isaac Huy.

Benneville Stoudt, who was also a farmer,
carried on operations near Molltown, in Maiden-creek township. He
married Hettie Bernt, and they had nine children, as follows: John,
a resident of Alburtis, m. Emma Hawkins, and they have six children
– Stanley, Benneville, John, Wilson, Victoria and Lizzie; William
m. Emma Brown and has had seven children – Alvin, David Benneville,
Oneida (deceased), Laura, Jennie and Carrie; Lewis B., Edwin B.;
George B.; Racy m Abraham Heffner and has four children – Samuel,
Mary, Sallie and Susan; Mary m. John Adams and has three children –
John Edgar and Hettie; Sallie m. Ezra High and has two children
-Hettie and Lena; and Wilson died when nearly twenty-one years old.

Lewis B. Stoudt was reared and educated in his
native township, and assisted his father upon the home farm until
attaining his majority, at which time he engaged in farming on his
own account. Subsequently, in 1890, he went to Fresno. Cal., where
he remained for three years, and after his return he engaged in the
hotel business at Molltown, later becoming the proprietor of the
“Black Horse Hotel.,” at Kutztown, and still later of the “Fair
Ground Hotel,” at Reading. For the past nine years he has been
conducting the well Known “Half-Way House,” near Blandon, where he
enjoys a large patronage.

Mr. Stoudt was married to Amanda Smith, daughter
of Peter Adam Smith, and to this union there were born four
children: Irvin, a farmer, m. Cora Frederick and has one child;
Robert, unmarried, resides at home; Harvey, unmarried is engaged in
farming in Heidelberg township; and Lydema, also unmarried, is
employed in a Reading store.

Mr. Stoudt and his family are members of the
Reformed Church. In his political belief he is a Democrat, but he
has never aspired to public office. He is fraternally connected
with the Knights of the Mystic Chain, and he was formerly a member
of the K. G. E., the P. O. S. of A. and the Berks County Liquor
Dealers’ Association.

Edwin B. Stoudt, brother of Lewis B., and son of
Benneville Stoudt, was born Jan. 18, 1860, on the old homestead in
Maiden-creek township, which he now owns and operates. He received
his education in the local schools, and spent one term at Reading.
Most of his life has been spent in agricultural pursuits, although
for seven years he kept a hotel in Blandon. He now resides on a
valuable farm in Maiden-creek township, and is known as one of the
section’s good, practical agriculturists and substantial men.

In 1880 Mr. Stoudt was married to Lucetta D.
Koller, daughter of John and Kate (Dubson) Koller, and to this
union four children have been born: Stella E., Howard W., Harry A.,
and John K. The children are all well educated, Howard and John
being graduates of the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown.
Mr. Stoudt and his family belong to Becker’s St. Peter’s Reformed
Church, in which he has served as deacon and elder. In politics a
Democrat, Mr. Stoudt has held various township offices, but has
never aspired to higher positions. He is fraternally connected with
Huguenot Lodge No. 377, F. & A. M., Kutztown; Camp No. 250, P.
O. S. of A.; Rock Castle No. 80, K. G. E., and Blandon Lodge, I. O.
O. F.

George B. Stoudt, brother of Lewis B. and Edwin
B., and son of Benneville Stoudt, was born on the old homestead,
June 27, 1864, and received his education in the common schools of
his native locality. He first engaged in farming, and later became
the owner of the “Six-Mile House,” which he conducted for eight
years, subsequently purchasing a farm in Maiden-creek township,
where he is now successfully engaged in cultivating the soil.

Mr. Stoudt was married March 22, 1884, to
Josephine M. Oswaldt, daughter of John and Sarah (Snyder) Oswaldt.
Four children have been born to this union: Lottie M., born Dec.
25, 1884, m. Willington Lerch, a painter and has one child,
Josephine Caroline; Warren O., born Dec. 18, 1887; George B., Nov.
20, 1897; and Sallie Ella, Feb. 25, 1900. The family are members of
Becker’s St. Peter’s Reformed Church. Mr. Stoudt is a member of
Blandon Lodge No. 1087, I. O. O. F., and I. O. R. M., Fleetwood. In
politics Mr. Stoudt is a Democrat, and has served as school
director.

STOUDT,
LUCIAN

p. 1682

Surnames: STOUDT, SEIDEL, REPPERT, STITZEL, BEAR, GOLMOYER, EMORE,
HILBERT, LONG, KERSHNER, HENNING, GINGER, CUSTER, BARNUM, SCHMECK.

Lucian Stoudt, one of the Alsace township’s representative
citizens, who in addition to carrying on farming and trucking is
engaged in blacksmithing at Seidel’s blacksmith shop, was born
April 14, 1857, in Maxatawny township, Berks county, Pa., son of
Henry Francis and Tillie (Reppert) Stoudt, and grandson of Reuben
Stoudt.

Henry Francis Stoudt was reared in Maxatawny
township, where he was married to Tillie Reppert, and to them the
following children were born: John, who died in March, 1907, on
Judge Stitzel’s farm in Richmond township (m. Amanda Bear, and they
had six children, — Jacob; Henry; John; George; Frederick and
Annie) Hannah (m. Charles Golmoyer, resides in Reading and has four
children, — Jacob, John, Asher and Llewellyn); Henry Francis (who
died at Kutztown, Berks County, m. Katie Emore, and they had five
children, — Harry, Bartolette, Francis, Lizzie and Annie); Oliver
(who is engaged as an auctioneer at Bowers, m. Sallie Hilbert, and
they have three children, — Franklin, William and Katie); Lucian;
Daniel (a liquor agent of Allentown, married Katie Long and has two
children,-Lillie and Daniel); and Louisa (m. William Kershner, a
blacksmith of Macungie, has four children, — Amelia, William,
Lillie and Louisa).

Lucian Stoudt was three years of age when his
father died, and he was taken charge of by his sponsor, Lucian
Ginger, who kept him until he was six years old, at which time he
went to live with John Henning, and worked around the iron ore
mines for some time. He subsequently learned blacksmithing, which
he has followed to the present time, also engaging in trucking and
farming. In 1873 he went with companions who had enlisted in the
regular army, and although too young to shoulder a gun, went with
them to Salt Lake City, Utah, to the Black Hills, and was for a
time with Custer’s army. He later joined Barnum’s circus troupe,
but finally returned to Berks county and settled down on a good
farm at Seidel’s blacksmith shop in Alsace township.

In 1877 Mr. Stoudt was married to Sarah Schmeck,
daughter of John and Catherine (Schmeck) Schmeck, and eight
children have been born to this union: Catherine (m. Samuel
Schmeck, a trucker of Alsace township, has five children, — Harry:
Helen; Frank; Clarence and Carrie); Ellsworth; John Lucian; Charles
Edward; Henry Francis; Sallie; Ruth Bertie; Oliver Gruber and
Lottie Ellen. In politics Mr. Stoudt is a Democrat, but he has
never been an office seeker. The family attend the Reformed Church.

STOUDT, NATHANIEL P.

p.
1462

Surnames: STOUDT, OBOLD, SCHELLHAMMER, MOSSER, REBER, YODER,
BRITTON, POTTEIGER. STRAUSE, KLINE, WILHELM

Nathaniel P. Stoudt, who for more than twenty years has been
engaged in supplying meat to the residents of Bernville, is one of
the best known men in his line of business in Penn township. Mr.
Stoudt was born Dec. 6, 1855, in Penn township, Berks county, Pa.,
son of Jared and Sophia (Obold) Stoudt.

Abraham Stoudt, the grandfather of Nathaniel P.,
was a farmer in Bern (now Penn) township, owning a tract of 150
acres about one mile south of Bernville. He married Barbara
Schellhammer, and to them there were born two children: Jared; and
Abraham, a saddler by trade who later engaged in the grocery
business in Reading, where he died. Abraham Stoudt married a Miss
Mosser, and to them there were born these children: Milton, lives
in the West; Mary m. Harrison Reber; James m. a Miss Yoder and
resides in Reading; and Elizabeth m. G. M. Britton, the well-known
Reading merchant.

Jared Stoudt was born on the Stoudt family
homestead in Penn township, March 18, 1826, and died there Feb. 19,
1862, being buried at the Union Cemetery at Bernville. His whole
life was spent in agricultural pursuits. Jared Stoudt married
Sophia Obold, born Aug 9, 1827, a daughter of Philip Obold, and she
died nine weeks before the death of her husband. They had these
children: Emma, who resides in Bernville; Elias, who died at the
age of eleven years; Nathaniel P.; Harrison A., deceased; and Mary
S., also deceased.

Nathaniel P. Stoudt was accorded a fair public
school education, but losing his parents when still a youth, he was
forced to shift for himself, and at the age of eighteen years
learned the trade of a butcher, engaging in business on his own
account in 1886, since which time he has built up a large
patronage, supplying the best trade in Bernville and engaging the
use of three wagons and four employes. He has a comfortable
residence on Main street, and is known as a reliable and
public-spirited citizen. A Republican in politics, he has served
the borough as school director and councilman and has shown himself
to be a conscientious public official. With his family, he belongs
to the Reformed Church.

Mr. Stoudt was married to Diana Potteiger,
daughter of Daniel and Rebecca (Strause) Potteiger, the former of
whom was a miller by trade, an occupation which he followed near
Hamburg, Pa., for some years; subsequently he came to Bernville,
where until his death he was engaged in the hotel business. Mr. and
Mrs. Stoudt have had these children: Edwin; Bertha, m. to Milton
Kline; Anna, m. to S. P. Wilhelm; Charles A.; William; Albert;
Warren; John, who died at the age of seven years; an infant
daughter, deceased; Sallie and Mary.

STOUT,
DAVID ENGLE

p. 505

Surnames: STOUT/STAUDT, KEIM, DUEY, KERPER, MCCOY, PIDGEON, ENGLE,
KERSHNER, BODY, SNYDER

David Engle Stout, deceased, paymaster of the Philadelphia &
Reading Railroad Company for forty years, was born in Muhlenberg
township, Berks county, six miles north of Reading, Feb. 10, 1820.
He was educated in the local schools and at an early age became a
clerk in the hardware store of John M. Keim, at Reading, where he
continued until 1844, when he entered the employ of the
Philadelphia & Reading Company. In 1847 he was appointed
paymaster, and this responsible position he filled in a most
satisfactory manner for forty years, retiring in 1887, with the
highest respect of the officials. He lived retired from that time
until his death at Ocean Grove, N. J., Sept. 12, 1894.

Mr. Stout took an active part in the local
affairs of Reading for many years, more especially of a financial
nature, having assisted in the organization of the Union Bank, the
Reading Gas Company and the Reading Trust Company and he served as
a director in each. He also served as a school controller for
several terms. In his early manhood he was interested in the Union
Fire Company, acting for a time as secretary. He became a member of
Christ Episcopal Church at an early age, and showed a constant
interest in the welfare of the congregation, officiating for a time
as superintendent of the Sunday-school, and as vestryman and warden
of this church, and of other parishes with which he was
subsequently identified for upward of fifty years. He was also
greatly interested in the charitable societies of Reading,
contributing liberally toward their success.

In politics Mr. Stout started as a Whig and
became a Republican upon the formation of that party. He
represented the Berks district of Pennsylvania in the national
Republican Convention of 1860, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for
President; and in 1864 he was a member of the Pennsylvania
Electoral College on the Republican ticket headed by Lincoln. The
several positions which he filled at Reading for many consecutive
years evidence his prominence and superiority as a man in the
community. He was identified with the Free Masons for a long while;
was a charter member of the De Molay Commandery; and a member of
the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania, having for a time officiated
as District-Deputy Grand-Master of Berks county.

In 1848 Mr. Stout was married to Margaretta
Duey, of Philadelphia, by whom he had five children: Emily D., who
married Samuel R. Kerper; Edward H., who married Katherine Kerper;
David D.; William H., who married Mary McCoy; and Charles E., who
married Mary Pidgeon.

His father was John Stout, born at Schuylkill
Bend, in Maiden-creek township and he carried on farming. He
married Elizabeth Engle, and had ten children: Mary, John, Solomon,
Esther, Valentine, James, Jacob, David, Caroline, and Alfred.

His grandfather was John Stout, who was born in
Bern township, in 1737, and who was brought up to farming. In 1772
he purchased a farm of 162 acres in Maiden-creek township, and then
moved there carrying on the cultivation of this land until his
death, in 1801. He was married to Maria Catharine Kershner, by whom
he had eight children: George, Jacob, John, Daniel, Samuel,
Catharine (who married Henry Body), Barbara (who married George
Snyder) and Elizabeth.

His great-grandfather was John Michael Staudt,
who emigrated with his father from Germany in 1733, when twenty-two
years of age, and settled at Schuylkill Bend, above Reading (now
Stout’s Ferry), where he carried on farming until his death in
1776. He had nine children: John Jacob, Michael, George William,
John George, Jost, Anna Barbara, Catharine Elizabeth, Appolonia and
Catharine.

STOYER,
HENRY

p. 493

Surnames: STOYER, FOCHT, RAUBENHOLD, MILLER, KEPNER, BILLMAN,
DEISHER, WEIDNER, SCHMELTZER, SCHRECK, PEIFFER, MOORE, KLINE,
SNYDER, STRAUSSE, RESH, REBER, KOLLER, DUNKEL, BROWN, SCHIFFERT,
BICKEL, BRIEDEGAM

Henry Stoyer, manufacturer of paper boxes at Shoemakersville and
Fleetwood, Berks Co., Pa., who has been placed prominently before
the public in business and political life, was born Oct. 14, 1848,
at Hamburg, this county, son of Samuel F. Stoyer.

Samuel Stoyer, of Greenwich township,
grandfather of Henry, married Catherine Focht, of Windsor township,
and to this union there were born children as follows: Samuel F.;
Benneville m Catherine Raubenhold; Daniel m. Anna Miller; Elizabeth
m. Jacob Kepner; Hannah m. William Kepner, Catherine m. John
Billman; and Sallie m. William Deisher.

Samuel F. Stoyer, son of Samuel and now of
Bethel township, where he had been a farmer for thirty years, was
born and reared at Hamburg. He married Catherine Weidner, daughter
of Jonathan Weidner, and to them were born twelve children: Henry;
Susan m. Andrew Schmeltzer; Franklin m. Mary Schreck; Sarah m. John
Peiffer; Charles m. Clara Moore; Caroline m. Werren F. Kline;
Amanda m. George Snyder; Ida m. Samuel Strausse; Anna m. Charles
Strausse; Samuel m. Clara Resh; Joel m. Mame Reber; and John died
in infancy.

Henry Stoyer received his education in the
public school of his native place, upon leaving which, while still
a boy, he assisted at butchering and store-keeping until his
twentieth year, then going to Centreport, where, after serving as a
clerk in the butchering business for two years, and for four years
in the general store of James A. Koller, he engaged in the
huckstering business for nineteen years. While engaged at the
latter occupation, Mr. Stoyer came to know the whole northwestern
section of the county, and this acquaintanceship was afterwards of
great political assistance to him, for in 1893 he secured the
nomination for county commissioner on the Democratic ticket, and
was elected. He served in this important county office for a term
of three years, for 1894 to 1897. Upon the erection of the borough
of Centreport, in 1884, Mr. Stoyer served in the council for three
terms, and also in the school board for the same period; and when
his name was on the Democratic ticket for election, there was no
nomination against him on the opposition ticket. He receiving the
unanimous vote of the electors, an exceptional honor.

Upon assuming the office of county commissioner,
Mr. Stoyer removed to Reading so as to be able to devote all of
this time to the interests of the county, and he served his term
with great fidelity to his trust. At the expiration of his term, he
served as collector of ward and county taxes for four years. In
1902 he purchased the Acme Paper Box Factory at Shoemakersville,
and in 1907 he purchased the Fleetwood Paper Box Factory which he
has been operating successfully to the present time. He
manufactures all sizes of paper boxes, which are supplied to the
mills in the village and vicinity. He retains his residence in
Reading, traveling to and fro daily in operating his business.

Mr. Stoyer married Catherine Dunkel, daughter of
Jacob Dunkel, of Upper Bern township. She died in 1870, leaving one
daughter, Sallie (m. W. P. Brown). Mr. Stoyer m. (second) Annie
Schieffert, daughter of Reuben Schiffert, of Perry township, and to
this union were born: Katie (m. Tomas Bickel); Tamah (m. Harry A.
Breidegam); and Annie (died in infancy).

STRASSER
FAMILY

p. 586

Surnames: STRASSER, STRASCHER, VON SCHENCK, MEHRING, VON SPANHEIM,
VON ELRICHSHOUSEN, MASTLIN, BOONE, PETERS, SCHULL, HOUSKNECHT,
RAUSCH, HUMMEL, SHEIDY, KNITTLE, FOCHT, BAUSCHER, SONTAG, KITTLING,
HUMBERT, BALDY, FRITZ, KUTZ, WANNER, VAN SCHEETZ, SCHEIDT, SNYDER,
BUTZ, KRAFT, KOSER, CHRIST, MERKEL, BEAVER, CHRISTMAN, MESSERSMITH,
BIEBER, BAER, HELFRICH, GRIM, KROUSE, ADAM, ABOLD, BAILER, KERCHER,
VON KOENERITZ, MEININGER, SCHIPPEN, DRY, SCHAEFFER, SCHIPPEN,
WEAVER, WALTER, ALSOVER, SCHEIDY, MABRY, SCHAEFFER, KOCH, KEMP,
SUNDAY, HERBST, GREASEMER, STETTLER, HARMAN, ALBRIGHT, DREIBELBIS,
ROTHERMEL, SCHEIDT, GERASCHE, TREXLER

Strasser. The biography of the individual man is but the history of
the human race and his family, plus his environments.

Since the beginning of time our sun and the
myriads of shining stars have been oscillating and radiating energy
in the form of wireless waves into the ether of infinite space.
Primitive man viewed them with superstitious awe and framed
supernatural myths. Science regards them as an electro-magnetic
displacement or disturbance of the ether, periodic in space and
time, traveling 186,500 miles per second. The ether being the
source and reservoir of all energy, there is a constant interchange
of energy from ether to matter, and matter to ether, transforming
it at one time into kinetic, at another into potential energy, thus
causing or constituting all the phenomena of the material universe
and known as the science of Natural Philosophy. But the loftiest
ideal of man conceives them as symbols of infinite Wisdom, Power
and Love, and as wireless telephonic messages of glad tidings of
peace on earth and good-will toward men.

“The works of God are fair for naught Unless our
eyes, in seeing, See hidden in the thing the thought That animates
its being.”

Mother Nature, the patient teacher, is ever
beckoning to man the imitator, and ready to unlock her secrets. But
how blind and deaf a pupil is man!

Thunders rolled and lightning flashed for ages
before he heard or saw how to use these wireless waves to perform
the recent wonders of the X-ray, the wireless telegraph and
wireless telephone. Nature never sleeps. Her essence is motion.
Ether, matter and motion acting and reacting, forming and
transforming are the bases of all phenomena in time and space. The
highest and most mysterious is life with all its environments.

Thus is man, his energy, his powers, his
physical and mental characteristics-all that he is-indirectly
indebted to the wireless ether waves of space. Wave motion is
cyclic-crest and trough, nodes and loops of energy. Such is the
story of the Universe and Life. Exaltation alternating debasement
with intermediate nodes of equilibrium-in fine, evolution,
involution, dissolution.

Tradition is ever rife, but vague and mythical,
hence the data here given are only such as are based on authentic
records.

The family name Strasser (or Strascher) is of
ancient origin extensively disseminated, and its influence in
church and State, in both the Old and the New world was no small
factor. The genealogical and heraldry records (Vol. VI, Page 87) at
Vienna, Austria, date the origin of the family to the age of
Knighthood and Chivalry. In A. D. 1143 they were found at
Mergentheim, Swabia (the headquarters of the order of Teutonic
Knights in the year 1386), and vicinity, where a Knight Templar
whose birthplace and home was Mergentheim, after long and strenuous
service in the Holy Land, and being disabled for further service
from wounds, returning, took unto himself an orphaned nephew, named
Edward Strasser. He taught him Astronomy, Astrology, Alchemy and
other occult arts he had learned in the East. Edward practiced
these arts among many rich Counts and Princesses, compiled books on
these subjects and acquired great wealth and fame. He united in
matrimony with Jutta Von Schenck, and died at Mergentheim, A. D.
1197, leaving one son Rudiger Strasser, who loved arms more than
the arts of peace. He sold his father’s books and possessions, and
as a man of war roamed over many lands with a company of mounted
knights called the Black Band. Only after he had had enough of the
warrior’s life did he marry Euphragine Mehring, the wealthy widow
of a patrician at Zweibr Here he lived until his death, A. D.
1252, and left three sons, viz.: Arnold, Gunther and Frederick.
Arnold, being of delicate health, entered a cloister, and there is
no further record of him, nor of Frederick, who, after a duel with
Count Von Spanheim, whom he killed, fled and was never after heard
from. Gunther, however, remained at Zweibrof which he was Mayor
(Stadtfocht), and was married to Sophia Von Elrichshousen, of a
good Frankish or Franconian noble family. He died A. D. 1315,
leaving one son John Strasser. The latter had no love for arms,
engaged himself with books, music, literary work and the fine arts,
and lived a quiet private life. His wife was Elizabeth Mastlin of
humble birth, but had wealth of beauty and mind. In A. D. 1335,
during a violent storm, his house was destroyed by fire, and his
wife and five children perished, only one small boy being rescued.
In consequence of this misfortune the circumstances and standing of
this family were greatly reduced, and later we find the family
mostly as farmers, mechanics and merchants in the vicinity of
Zweibr Alsace and the Palatinates in which regions they were still
found in the beginning of the 18th century, but accurate and
connected records are wanting. The American Strasser family is
without a doubt of German ancestry. Their nativity and time of
emigration cannot now be definitely fixed. Tradition has the
ancestral home at Wurtemberg, Rhenish Palatinate and Zweibr and
the time antedates the American Revolution, for we find them
enrolled as soldiers of the war for independence as well as all the
wars for the defense and preservation of the Union.

According to Colonial Records, on Nov. 3, 1749,
John Nicholas Strasser enters a caveat against the acceptance of a
survey on that piece of land which he holds by warrant of 27th of
March-made to George Boone, until he hears as to his claim, signed
Richard Peters, to Nicholas Schull, Surveyor General. Also warrants
of land surveyor May 7, 1753, Oct. 6, 1773, etc. The same John
Nicholas Strasser, of Albany, Berks Co., Pa., was naturalized April
11, 1763, and as early as 1754 he is assessed 18, 4s., 6d. tax in
Albany township, and his name appears for successive years to 1790,
with the additional names of John, Jr., a weaver, Henry, Peter
George.

Not until 1772 does the name of Conrad Strasser
appear as a taxable married man in Windsor township. This is the
great-grandfather of Dr. Thomas A. Strasser, of Reading, and
Strasser’s Thal or Valley, Windsor township, Berks Co., Pa., was
the permanent if not the original homestead of this family. What
was the relationship of this family and the Albany family is not
now known, but from the similarity of the names of their children
as we shall see it must have been close.

The church books of Zion’s Church at or near
Windsor Castle record the baptisms of seven children, the parents
being Conrad Strascher and his wife Catharina. They are Conrad,
born August, 1744; sponsors, Conrad Strascher and wife Catharina,
the parents; Andon, July 1, 1746, sponsor Andon —–; Elizabeth,
born Nov. 1, 1747, sponsor Elizabeth —–; Peter, born April 9,
1749; sponsors: Peter Rothermel and wife Sabylla; Mathias, born
July 22, 1751, sponsor Mathias —–; Phillipus, born 1753; and
Johanes, born April 20, 1756. Where these baptisms took place is
not stated, by Zion’s Church was not then organized. Another record
is the baptism of John Henry Strasser, born April 11, 1777;
sponsors, Conrad Strasser and wife Dorethy.

Conrad Strasser was twice married; his first
wife, Dorethy (Housknecht), bore him six children, viz.: Conrad,
born in 1768; John, 1770; Magdalena; John Nicholas, died previous
to 1795; John Henry; and George. His second wife, Christina (Rausch
or Hummel?) also bore him two daughters and four sons.

They were: Elizabeth, Catharine, Frederick,
Michael (grandfather of our subject), Peter and Daniel.

Accordingly, there was Conrad, the first, father
of seven children; Conrad, the second, father of twelve children;
and Conrad, the third, oldest son of Conrad the second and brother
of Michael. Conrad, the third, was thrice married, first to a Miss
Sheidy, by whom he had a son John; second to a Miss Hummel, by whom
he had one daughter, Rosina; third to Rosina Hummel, a sister of
second wife, and they had nine children, Jeremiah, Jacob, Isaac (m.
to Hannah Knittle), Hetty, Sallie, Catharine, Polly, Rachael and
Leah.

On Nov. 9, 1790, Conrad Strasser, the second,
petitioned the Orphans’ court of Berks county, to appoint guardians
for his sons, John Henry and George, they being minors under the
age of fourteen years. On the same day Magdalena, a daughter, John
(Johanes), John Nicholas, minors above the age of fourteen years,
petitioned court to choose guardians; they chose Conrad, the
father, and the court approved and appointed him for all the above
children. Conrad, the third and oldest son, born in 1768, being of
age, was not included in the above. On May 5, 1802, Christina
Strasser, widow and relict of Conrad Strasser, late of Windsor
township, petitioned the courts-says her husband died and left
issue eleven children (John Nicholas having died between 1790 and
1795), that Frederick, Michael, Peter and Daniel are minors under
age of fourteen years and have no guardians to care for their
persons and estates; the court appointed John George Focht. The
same day appeared Elizabeth Strasser and Catharine Strasser,
daughters of the aforesaid Conrad Strasser, they being minors above
the age of fourteen years; they chose Peter Bauscher, which choice
was approved by the court. This accounts for the twelve children of
Conrad Strasser, the second. The court records show that Magdalena
Strasser gave a power of attorney to John Strasser, her next
friend, both then living in Paxton township, Dauphin county, dated
1795, to collect that share of inheritance due her from her
mother’s estate through the death of John Nicholas (Honnickel)
Strasser, her brother.

Elizabeth Strasser was married to — Adam (no
farther record). Catharine was born Sept. 16, 1785, and married
George Sontag, the progenitor of the Windsor Sundays, and died
March 5, 1850 (tombstone record, Zion’s Church). Frederick’s name
is on the tax lists of Greenwich township from 1810 to 1813, when
it disappears. Peter settled at Roaring Creek, Columbia county, and
his wife’s tombstone at Zion’s Churchyard records-“mother of
seventeen children.” Daniel lived on one of the original Conrad
Strasser farms, died there about 1840, leaving a large family.

Michael Strasser, the grandfather of Dr. Thomas
Augustus, the seventh son of Conrad, the second, and his second
wife, Christina, was born at the old homestead in Strasser’s
Valley, Windsor township, about the year 1791. He was confirmed in
the Lutheran faith at Zion’s Church. His father having died about
January, 1799 (his will probated Feb. 12, 1799), and he being one
of the three youngest sons mentioned in above will, who were to
learn a trade arriving at the age of sixteen years, he accordingly
became a carpenter and cabinetmaker and his name appears as a
taxable single man in Maxatawny from 1810 to 1815. At this time
Kutztown was incorporated as a borough and it was here he made his
permanent home and carried on his trade. He was a member of the
first fire company of Kutztown organized in 1815, and built one of
the first three houses in Freetown, upper Main street, above
Baldy’s lane. He was married to Sarah Kittling, about 1816, a
native of Mifflinburg, Pa., a sister of Mrs. Jacob Humbert, mother
of Rev. David Humbert, Bowers Station. Mrs. Jacob Baldy and Mrs.
Peter Fritz of Kutztown were aunts. Jacob of Mifflin burg, was a
brother and so was William, of near Blandon. Michael was successful
in business, had just finished a new home, and had a promising
future, but in the prime of life he became the victim of a typhoid
fever epidemic and died about December, 1821. His remains were
interred in the old Union Churchyard at Kutztown, but his
resting-place cannot now be located. Letters of administration were
granted to John Wanner and Solomon Kutz, Jan. 7, 1822. He left his
widow and one son, Isaac Kittling Strasser, and one daughter,
Abigail. The widow was remarried to Solomon Kutz, a widower with a
large family. Their issue was seven children: among them, Louisa
E., born in 1826, m. Daniel B. Kutz, in 1850, both living over
fifty years in the house built by Michael Strasser; Lydia m. John
Van Scheetz; Susan, born Sept. 3, 1832, m. Harry Scheidt. Sarah,
mother of the above and maternal grandmother of our subject, died
on her birthday, on June 29, about the year 1846, aged exactly
fifty years. Abigail, only daughter of Michael Strasser, was born
Sept. 10, 1821, and was married to John Snyder. They reared a large
family. Mr. Snyder dying, she married Egedius Butz. She survived
him and died in 1908, aged almost eighty-seven years.

Isaac K. Strasser was born on his father’s
(Michael) homestead at Kutztown, Pa., Aug. 3, 1817. Orphaned at an
early age, he lived with his mother until he was apprenticed to a
Mr. Kraft at Reading, Pa., serving four years as a saddler and
harness maker. Returning to Kutztown he bought the property now the
corner of Main street and Strasser Alley, where he lived over half
a century, reared a large family, and carried on his business.

In 1842, he married Flora Anna Koser, a daughter
of John George Koser and wife Esther (Christ) of Greenwich
township. Esther was the oldest daughter of Jacob Christ and wife
(nee Merkel). She is buried at Bethel or Zion’s Church, Grimville,
Pa., and her tombstone records: “Esther Koser, daughter of Jacob
Christ, born March 21st, 1794, married Dec. 26th, 1811. Had 3
children, 1 son and 2 daughters. Died Jan. 24th, 1832, aged 37
years, 10 months, and 3 days. Text, St. John 5-24.” Her sisters
were Rachel m. Daniel Beaver, and moved to Tulpehocken; Kate m. a
Christman; Polly m. a Messersmith, of Fleetwood; and Hannah m.
Martin Wanner, she aged over ninety years. Her brothers were
Jonathan, m. to Susan Bieber; Daniel, Jacob and Solomon (the
grandfather of Nathan C. Schaeffer, State Superintendent of
Pennsylvania Schools).

John George Koser, maternal grandfather of Dr.
Thomas A. Strasser, was born in Greenwich township, Jan. 7, 1787,
on the old homestead, and died at Kutztown Nov. 28, 1872. He was
the son of John George Koser of Greenwich and his second wife a
Baer, of Albany. His second wife was Anna Maria Helfrich, widow of
Sam Helfrich, and sister of Colonel Daniel Grim, and a born Krouse.
She had four daughters, Anna Maria, Sallie, Amelia and Betzy
Helfrich, and died at Kutztown about 1865. His sisters were:
Regina, wife of Henry Adam, who went West; Barbara, wife of A.
Schearer of Windsor; another married to a Mr. Bailer; and one
married to a Kercher, moved to Lehigh Gap. The Koser family were
pioneer settlers of Greenwich and extensive land owners. In 1754
George Koser is taxed 16, 4s., 5d.; in 1759, John Koser, 20, and
later we have names of John, Jacob, and George. One Jacob Koser
(according to Colonial records), aged twenty-three years, qualified
Sept. 23, 1734, having emigrated in ship “Hope” from Rotterdam; and
Christopher Koser, aged thirty-six years, in the ship “Mary” of
London, qualified Sept. 6, 1732.

John Koser was naturalized at Northern
Liberties, Philadelphia county, on the 24th and 25th of Sept.,
1764. The Kosers who first emigrated were natives of Wurtemberg,
Swabia.

The Koser family is of Greek origin. In the year
1102 one Herman Abolde, a crusader, armourer and farrier returning
homeward from the east, took a Cyprian youth captive in the
mountains of the Isle of Cyprus, and brought him safely through
Italy and Switzerland to his home in Saltzbug, Germany. Here the
Bishop Eustachius, after a consultation, himself baptized and named
him Herman Koser-signifying, “the rescued, or the redeemed.” He
learned the trade of his captor and later became a great warrior,
and by his valor became the chief of a large troop of knights he
massed in Bohmen, Ungarn and Sclavonia, with which he made many
destructive invasions into Baiern, Schlesien and Sachsen. In
Schlesien he stole and married a lady of noble family whose name
was Isabella Von Koeneritz. During an engagement in the vicinity of
Regentsburg, while following up the enemy and rashly crossing the
Danube at a dangerous place, he was drowned in the year 1145. His
four sons followed the footsteps of their father and three remained
in the many violent battles they fought. The fourth and youngest,
named Ferdinand Koser, joined the Crusades and returning he found
most of his property at Saltzburg destroyed. He sold the rest at a
small price and moved to Augsburg and from there to Donauworth,
where he married Dorethe Meininger, and on his death, A. D. 1203,
he left one son Karl Koser. He married Elenora Schippen of
Innsbruck, and left several sons, whose descendants were decimated
by famine, pestilence and the sword during thew Thirty Years’ war,
so that (according to the genealogicial tables at Vienna, Vol. III,
Page 202), in the year 1654, only two remained. These two were
distantly related and the one, Albert Koser, was a magistrate or
judge (Schultheiss Zu Soflingen) at Ulm, and his descendants were
scattered in Upper Swabia and Switzerland. The other one was John
George Koser, who was primus or principal (Kloisterfocht) of a
monastery at Frankfurt-on-the-Main. In the middle of the eighteenth
century his descendants are found at Frankfurt and also in other
places on the Main, and the Rhine, and in various circumstances.

Flora Anna Koser had one brother, Daniel, who
died March 18, 1821, in his ninth year. She was born March 2, 1822,
on the original Koser homestead, in Greenwich township. She had one
sister, Hannah, born July 12, 1824, married to Joseph Dry, of
Drysville. She raised a family of ten children, and is now living
at Reading, Pa., in her eighty-fifth year.

Isaac K. Strassr and his wife, Flora Anna, were
the parents of eleven children as follows: (1) Charles Koser, born
July 19, 1843, died in infancy. (2) Dr. Thomas Augustus was born
Dec. 24, 1845. (3) Anna Familia Caroline, born Sept. 23, 1847, is
the deceased wife of William Weaver, a traveling salesman (left no
issue). (4) Sarah Sabina C., born Oct. 27, 1849, (first) m. Eugene
D. Bieber, of Kutztown (had children: Rev. Herbert Walter, a
Presbyterian minister at Bradford, Pa., and Stella Louisa, m. to
Mr. Robert Alsover, of Big Stone Gap, Va.), and (second) Charles
Messersmith, deceased (children: George Strasser Messersmith and
Lieutenant Robert Eugene Messersmith of the U. S. Marine service).
(5) Horace William, born March 23, 1852, a railroad engineer and
former clerk in a mercantile house, died in Reading in October,
1885. He m. Mary Scheidy, and left no children. (6) Leander
Gustave, born Feb. 27, 1854, died in infancy. (7) Ellen Esther,
born Feb. 10, 1855, died at Kutztown in July, 1876, aged over
twenty-one years. (8) Clara Louisa, born March 28, 1857, m. Levi S.
Mabry, of Mertztown, at one time a justice of the peace and deputy
treasurer and later Register of Wills of Berks county. They have
none son Roy, a graduate of Keystone State Normal School, and of
Ursinus College. (9) Annie Lydia, born Nov. 8, 1858, m. Nathan S.
Schaeffer, a merchant of Fleetwood, and they have one daughter
Helen. (10) Elizabeth Alice, born Sept. 10, 1861, m. Josiah Koch, a
contractor and builder of Reading, and died the mother of Harry,
Elsie, Floyd and Evelyn. (11) Avila Maria, born April 22, 1864,
died in infancy. Isaac K. Strasser, father of above, died at
Fleetwood, June, 1897, aged seventy-nine years and ten months. His
wife Flora Anna died in August, 1896, aged seventy-four years. Both
are resting in Hope Cemetery, at Kutztown.

Dr. Thomas Augustus Strasser was born at
Kutztown, Berks Co., Pa., on Dec. 24, 1845. From boyhood he loved
books and Nature, and evinced a desire for study, preferring the
field of Science. His ambition was to obtain a classical or higher
university education but circumstances were not favorable as he was
the oldest of a large family. He felt it incumbent to assist his
parents rather than impose a burden. He regularly attended the
public and private schools at Kutztown and at the age of fourteen,
the Allentown Seminary, now Muhlenberg College. Against his own
inclination, but to comply with his father’s wishes, he served as a
clerk in the store of G. Y. Kemp and Jacob Sunday from the Spring
of 1861 to the Fall of 1862. At this time a business life being
distasteful and not conducive to study, he resolved to enter upon
teaching as a stepping-stone to a learned profession. He secured
the Lockridge school, Longswamp township, and in the spring of 1863
returning home he continued his studies at Maxatawny and Fairview
Seminary (now Keystone State Normal School), until fall, when he
taught two successive terms in the Kutztown public schools, in the
meantime continuing his studies at Fairview Seminary during the
summer and private tutoring while teaching. In the spring of 1865
he entered the office of Drs. Gerasche and Trexler as a medical
student and in the following October matriculated in and attended
the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, sessions
1865-66. Returning to Kutztown in the Spring of this year he opened
a private school having 75 to 85 pupils on the roll, continuing the
same time his medical studies with his preceptors. In October,
1866, he re-entered the University and took his degree in Medicine
on March 14, 1867. The following May he located at Pleasant Corner,
Lehigh county; the field being contracted and isolated and not
adapted for a permanent home he returned to his native place to
await the opportunity of a more promising field. On Oct. 21, 1868,
he located at Millerstown, Lehigh county (now Macungie), where by
January, 1869, he had succeeded in establishing himself in an
extensive and lucrative practice, and here he remained for a period
of seventeen years, having a career of continued success. This
success he ascribes in a large measure to the advice of his mother:
Remember the poor, be kind and considerate, the Lord is their
paymaster. During this time he succeeded Dr. William Herbst, of
Trexlertown, as physician and surgeon to the Lehigh County
Almshouse and hospital, serving nine years. In 1870 he became a
member of Lehigh Lodge, No. 326, F. & A. M., Trexlertown, and
other organizations. He served fourteen years as a school director
of Macungie. The most important events here were his marriage and
the birth of his three children. On May 17, 1870 Dr. Strasser
united himself in hymeneal bonds with Alawilda Catharine Elizabeth
Greasemer, only daughter of Dr. Abraham Greasemer, a dentist of
Allentown and his wife Sarah (Stettler) and sister of their only
son, Asher B., a physician and dentist. Dr. Greasemer was born in
Hereford township, Nov. 4, 1822, and is still living. His wife
Sarah was born December, 1826, near Ziegels church, Weisenburg,
Lehigh county, and died Aug. 7, 1907.

The children of Dr. and Mrs. Strasser are: (1)
Charles William Thomas, born March 22, 1871, is a graduate of
Allentown high school, Muhlenberg College, attended Mt. Airy
Lutheran Theological Seminary and graduated from Divinity
Department, Yale University. He has served over ten years the
Hamilton charge, Monroe county. He was married to Minnie Harman, of
the same place. (2) Robert Eugene, born June 5, 1873, a successful
physician at Reading, is mentioned farther on. (3) Ellen Esther,
born Aug. 8, 1876, a graduate of the Reading high school, is the
wife of H. M. Albright, a manufacturer and wholesale shoe merchant,
at No. 335 Penn street, Reading. They have one daughter, Elizabeth
Strasser Albright.

A Reading medical practitioner expressing an
urgent desire to retire from practice, induced Dr. Strasser to buy
the house at No. 210 North Sixth street, on condition that they
enter into partnership for a short time until he introduced him
into the practice, when he was to relinquish in his favor.
Accordingly Dr. Strasser moved from Macungie to the above place on
Oct. 5, 1885, but the latter part of the above contract never
having been fulfilled, this move proved neither agreeable nor
profitable, but entailed a great financial sacrifice on the part of
Dr. Strasser. In October, 1888 he moved to No. 31 South Ninth
street, and attended special courses on eye, ear, nose and throat
diseases at the Philadelphia and New York Polyclinic and
post-graduate schools. His practice steadily increased and in
April, 1891, he located at No. 914 Penn street, and in May, 1899,
he moved to No. 931 Penn street, where having relinquished general
practice he still continues the treatment of eye, ear, nose and
throat and chronic diseases.

Dr. Strasser is now past sixty-three years and
is still a lover of books and nature and although his youthful
aspirations for a higher university training were not realized he
has more than compensated for it by his studious life and a library
of standard authors. As a relaxation from his professional duties,
he has engaged in original research in signalling through space,
direct conversions of the energy of coal (crystallized sunlight)
into electricity, local and long-distance electric stethoscopy for
diagnosis of diseases of heart and lungs, transportation of
electric power, navigation of space, heating and lighting, aids of
hearing for the deaf, means of a literature for the blind, the
phonograph and other fascinating and interesting subjects. In 1899
he discovered the principle of long-distance telegraphy and
telephony, by means of loading the lines thereby neutralizing the
electrostatic capacity with the electro-magnetic induction and
sending along the wires distortionless waves suffering equal
attenuation. He was anticipated by Prof. Pupin, of Columbia
University, who realized over one million dollars from the idea. In
the spring of 1900 he designed a self-restoring or automatic eye or
ear for the detection of wireless telegraphic and telephonic waves,
and later found it was used in the Italian navy and was the coherer
used by Signor Marconi to receive the first wireless signal across
the Atlantic on Dec. 12, 1901. He has since continued the work and
his experiments, and invented transmitters, repeaters and receivers
embodying an entire new and broad principle for telephony, with and
without wires, and foresees the possibility at a day not far
distant of talking across the Atlantic and the Continent as easily
as we talk to New York or Chicago.

Dr. Strasser, having considered through life
that the acquisition of knowledge for the betterment of society or
race and the conscientious discharge of the duties of his
self-sacrificing profession are paramount, found no time for the
acquisition of wealth.

Dr. Robert Eugene Strasser began his education
at the common schools of Macungie and Reading, to which city he had
come with his father when a boy, and later attended the high
school. He took up the reading of medicine with his father,
following with courses in the Medico-Chirurgical College of
Philadelphia, and the Baltimore Medical University, from which
latter he graduated in 1894. After that he did post-graduate work
at the University of Vermont, graduating therefrom in 1895, and
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, graduating from the latter
in 1896. While there he was on the hospital staff as clinical
assistant in the eye and surgical department of Jefferson College
Hospital. He commenced practice in Lehigh county in July, 1896,
remaining at his father’s old location in Macungie until Sept. 28,
1898, when he came to Reading, becoming a member of the staff of
Reading Hospital, where he served for a period of five years.
Meantime he had entered upon general practice as assistant to his
successful father, and his increasing practice made it necessary
for him to resign from his hospital duties at the end of that time.
Dr. Strasser is a general practitioner, and has been very
successful in his treatment of many complicated cases, giving most
careful attention to his patients, sparing himself in no way when
life or health are in the balance. Thus he has won the confidence
and affection of the community, and he enjoys as much practice as
he is able to handle. He was nominated as candidate for Coroner of
Berks county on June 5, 1906, his thirty-third birthday, and was
elected the following fall, being his first candidacy and the
winner over five competitors. It was his lot to officiate at the
Boyertown fire which occurred Jan. 13, 1908, and where 171 lives
perished. The Doctor is a close student and has associated himself
with the various medical organizations of his county and State,
including the Lehigh County Medical Society, the Reading Medical
Society and the Pennsylvania State Medical Association. The
Doctor’s offices are located at No. 1024 Elm Street, where he also
has his home. In politics he is a Democrat.

Dr. Strasser married Miss Laura E. Dreibelbis,
daughter of Dr. Samuel L. Dreibelbis, and one child has been born
to this union, a daughter, Hazel.

STRASSER
FAMILY

p. 1082

Surnames: STRASSER, SCHAPPEL, FOCHT/VOIGT, SMITH, HUMMEL, KRAMER,
MILLER, MENGEL, RITTER, DREIBELBIS, REICHELDERFER, ENGEL, STEIN,
TREXLER, HOCH, HEFFNER, SPOHN, DIETRICH, STUMP, WISSNER, REINHART,
HEINLY, HAGENBACH, PENMAN, BRYAN, SEIDEL, BALTHASER

The name of Strasser has been identified with the development of
Berks county, and especially with Windsor township, where for
generations through one hundred and fifty years property has been
handed down from father to son.

(I) The first of the name to come to Pennsylvania was Conrad
Strasser, who emigrated from Germany some time prior to 1750, and
located in Windsor township, Berks county. He became the owner of
about 2,500 acres, and he erected some good farm buildings on his
estate, traces of the first buildings still being found. These were
located about 500 yards west of the present homestead, and the
foundations still remain under the sod. Conrad Strasser made a will
which was probated Feb. 12, 1799, soon after his death, which
occurred when he was advanced in years. This will was witnessed by
Jacob Schappel and Johann George Focht (also spelled Voigt). The
executors of the will were Conrad Strasser (the eldest son) and
Andrew Smith, a friend. Conrad Strasser and his wife Christine had
a number of children, but the names of Conrad and Johannes alone
are mentioned in the will. This will also says that the three
youngest Sons shall learn a trade when sixteen years old. Son
Conrad obtained the original homestead farm, and Johannes obtained
another large tract. The latter was to give his mother yearly
during her lifetime the following items: “Plant one-half acre of
potatoes, plant one-half acre of flax, give forty bushels of rye,
give three bushels of wheat, give twenty bushels of buckwheat, give
twenty bushels of Indian corn and give six sheep.”

(II) Conrad Strasser, son of Conrad, was born in Windsor township
Oct. 27,1768, and passed his whole life on his farm there, his
share of his father’s estate being 375 acres. In 1803 he married
Rosina Hummel, who was born Dec. 26, 1778, and who died Feb. 12,
1869, at the ripe old age of ninety years, one month and sixteen
days. Conrad Strasser died Aug. 28,1847, aged seventy-eight years,
ten months and one day. They were the parents of eleven children,
of whom there is record of nine, namely: Michael; Jacob; Isaac;
Jeremiah; Rachel, who married Jacob Miller; Polly m. John Kramer;
Kate m. Jesse Mengel; Sally m. Frederick Ritter; and Leah m. Simon
Dreibelbis.

(III) Jeremiah Strasser was born April 22,1815. After his father’s
death he became the owner of the homestead, and built thereon the
house, barn and outbuildings that are in use at the present time.
He was a prominent man in his day, and was a stanch believer in the
principles of the Democratic party. For many years he served as
school director of his township. He died March 8,1887, near the
close of his seventy-second year. His wife, whose maiden name was
Elizabeth Reichelderfer, born May 23, 1818, died five years later
than her husband, April 20, 1892, when nearly seventy-four years of
age. Their children were: Rebecca, m. to Israel Engel; Simon, m. to
Maria Stein; Alfred, m. to Sarah Trexler; Cornelius R.; Conrad, who
was burned to death when about four years old; Elizabeth, who died
young; and Joseph, m. to Sarah Hoch.

(IV) Cornelius R. Strasser, son of Jeremiah, was, like his
ancestors, a life-long farmer on the old homestead where he was
born Aug. 15,1850. One hundred and sixteen acres of the property
was his share, and on it he was engaged mainly in potato raising,
for the land, a fertile gravel, is better adapted to that crop than
is any other part of the county. Mr. Strasser’s life was cut short
in its prime, and he passed away Jan.13,1895. He was a quiet,
unassuming man and devoted member of Zion Lutheran Church, with
which the family have always been connected, and in whose
churchyard lie the remains of preceding generations of the family.
Cornelius R. Strasser m. Miss Amelia Heffner, daughter of Jacob and
Annie (Spohn) Heffner, and granddaughter of Jacob and Becky
(Dietrich) Heffner. She bore her husband children as follows:
Alvin, m. Camelia Smith; Wilson H.; Elizabeth, m. Charles Stump;
Cornelius H.; Annie, died Sept. 9, 1906, aged twenty-four years;
Ellen, m. Herbert Wissner; and Clara, m. Jacob Miller.

(V) Wilson H. Strasser, son of Cornelius R., was born on the old
Strasser homestead in Windsor township, April 3, 1876. He was
brought up on the farm, and worked for his parents until he was
nineteen years old, and then for the next two years was given wages
by his father. When he attained his majority he entered Brunner’s
Reading Academy and Business College, which he attended one year.
At the close of that year he was married and then learned the trade
of carpenter and millwright from Charles Reinhart, of Hamburg, and
this has since engaged his attention with the exception of three
years when he was employed as motorman (1902- 03-04) on the trolley
lines in Reading, to which city he had removed in 1899. He is an
excellent mechanic, and is thorough in all that he does. He belongs
to the Grand Fraternity-a social order-and is very popular with all
who know him.

Mr. Strasser and his family belong to St. Paul’s
Lutheran Church in Reading, and are active in its work. In his
political belief he is independent, and believes in looking to
qualification and integrity of purpose rather than to partisanship.

On June 9,1898, Mr. Strasser married Miss Eva B.
Heinly, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Hagenbach) Heinly, of Waltham
township, LaSalle Co., Ill., and grand-daughter of Charles and
Julia Hagenbach, farming people of Illinois. Jacob Heinly was born
in Upper Berks county, son of the late David Heinly of Albany
township, and in his young manhood went to Illinois, where he
married and had children: Cora (m. Charles Penman), Warren (of
Illinois), Eva B. (Mrs. Strasser), Irene (m. Harry Bryan), Harry
and Arthur. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Strasser,
namely: Marian H., Irene A., Edward A., Dorothy E. (who died in the
fall of 1905, in her sixth year) and Grace Olga.

(V) Cornelius H. Strasser, son of Cornelius R., was seventeen years
old when his father died, and up to that time had been in the
public schools. By that sad event he was compelled to leave school
and under the direction of his older brother, Wilson H., carry on
the farm. Young though he was he proved himself fully equal to the
arduous demands upon him and he won the respect of all by the
capable and successful way he assisted his brother in managing the
place, and in caring for the mother. Since 1900 he has been farming
for himself, beginning with only a few acres, which he planted in
potatoes. He has increased his acreage gradually and now has from
twelve to fifteen from which he gets from 2.500 to 3,500 bushels
annually. He is a good citizen, an earnest member of Zion Church
and one of the promising young men of the district.

In the year 1901 Cornelius H. Strasser married Miss Katie Seidel,
daughter of Henry G. and Emma (Balthaser) Seidel, and granddaughter
of William and Susanna (Dreibelbis) Seidel. Four children have been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Strasser, as follows: George William, March 4.
1902; Mabel Rebecca, May 16, 1903; Clarence Henry, June, 1904; and
Esther Catherine, Aug. 11, 1905.

STRAUSER,
THOMAS

p. 1703

Surnames: STRAUSER, ADAMS/ADAM, HUMMEL, MILLER, KRAMER, MENGEL,
RITTERS, DREIBELBIS, DRIES, CLOUSER, HIMMELREICH, KREAMER, BECKER,
WOOMER, BLOFFER, OLINGER, HIGH

Thomas Strauser was born July 3, 1861, in Perry township, son of
Reuben and Polly (Adams) Strauser.

The immigrant ancestor of this family, Conrad
Strauser, owned 2500 acres of land originally, and was well-to-do.
His son also named Conrad was a prominent man in Perry township, a
leading member of Lion’s Lutheran Church, and a well-to-do and
highly respected citizen. His building stood near where the present
buildings of the late Cornelius Strauser’s homestead are now
located. Benneville Strauser, son of Conrad, was born Oct. 27,
1768, and died Aug. 28, 1847. In 1803 he was married to Rosina
Hummer., born Dec. 28, 1778, who died Feb. 12, 1869. They were
married for more than forty-four years, and had eleven children as
follows: Isaac; Jacob; Jeremiah; Benneville; Rachel, m. to Jacob
Miller; Polly, m. to John Kramer; Katie, m. to Jesse Mengel; Sally,
m. to Frederick Ritters; Leah, m. to Simon Dreibelbis; and two
whose names are unknown. Benneville Strauser was a successful
farmer and well known citizen in Windsor (now Perry)township, and
was highly esteemed by all who knew him.

Reuben Strauser, of Perry township, who was
engaged as a building contractor all of his life, was born in 1826,
and died in 1882. He was married (first) to Polly Adams, daughter
of Jacob Adams, of Richmond township, and granddaughter of Peter
Adam, who was a son of Anthony Adam, who came from Germany. Ten
children were born to this union: Wilson. Mary Dries; Cornelius m.
Sallie Clouser; Alfred m. Harriet Himmelreich; Emanuel m. Sallie
Kreamer; Thomas; Mary m. James Becker; and two boys and two girls
died young. Mr. Strauser’s second marriage was to Mary Woomer, and
to this union were born five children: Rufus is single; Catherine.
Peter Bloffer; Ella m. Thomas Olinger; and two boys, Jacob and
Franklin died young.

Thomas Strauser received his education in the
township schools and was reared on the farm, learning the trade of
carpenter under the tuition of his father. He followed his trade in
the vicinity of his father’s home for three years, at the end of
which time he went to Reading and worked as a journeyman for two
years. With this experience he started in business as a building
contractor, and he carried on this occupation for eleven years,
putting up in Reading during this time over 1,000 dwelling for
numerous parties. He then removed to Pittsburg for the purpose of
carrying on his operations more extensively, and within two years
superintended the erection of three hundred dwellings, but not
liking the “Iron City of the West,” he returned to Reading, and
concluding to retire from the business, he purchased the
“Metropolitan House” at Shoemakersville, taking possession April 2,
1906. He immediately made extensive improvements, costing over
$5,000, and it became one of the largest, best-equipped and best-
conducted hotels in the county. Mr. Strauser is now located in
Spokane, Washington.

In 1882 Mr. Strauser married Catherine High,
daughter of Aaron High, or Reading, and there have been four
children born to this union: Beulah; Oran, an enterprising young
carpenter of Spokane, Wash., and the owner and operator of a
200-acres farm; Ada, and Carroll. His family are members of the
Lutheran church.

STRAUSS, B. MORRIS

p. 386

Surnames: STRAUSS, ZERBE, KLOSS/KLOHS, SCHNEIDER, SPENGLER,
SCHEOP/SHEPP, HUYETT, DIEHM, BRECHT, MADERY, SCHABER, LONG, KEPNER,
KEBNER, REIMER, GICKER, SCHRECK, WENRICH, GOTTEL, UMBENHAUER,
HENNE, GREIM, REDCAY, SHELLHAMMER, SNAVELY, BATDORF, SMITH,
EISENHAUER, FETTERHAFF, HEBERLING, ZELLER, BUCKS, SCHREINER,
BENSON, LAYTON

B. Morris Strauss. Strauss is the name of one of the old and
honored families in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who members
in their different generations have been prominent in the public
life of their local communities, and several of wider fame
throughout the State and nation. Thrift seems to have followed the
history of the family since its first coming to America from the
Fatherland, back in the eighteenth century, and many of its members
have been men of wealth and influence in the financial world. This
review has chiefly to do with the gentleman whose name is mentioned
above, but it is entirely proper to mention first some of the more
salient points in the family history.

On Sept. 26, 1732, there landed in the city of
Philadelphia from Wurtenberg, Germany, two brothers of the name
Strauss, Albrecht and John Philip. They were mere boys, the elder,
(I) Albrecht, swearing in his oath of allegiance, then necessary to
take on landing, that he was but twenty, while (Ia) John Philip
left a record in his family Bible that he was born on Sept. 13,
1713. They soon appeared in Berks county, Pa., where in the
vicinity of what is now Bernville they each took up large tracts of
land, a part of the original acres still being held by members of
the present generation. They were both Lutherans, so that their
later marriages, the births of their children, and indeed the whole
Strauss family history, became a part of the records of that
church.

Albrecht Strauss, the elder of the brothers, was
the great-great-grandfather of B. Morris Strauss. He took up a
tract of 350 acres, upon which he settled and reared a large
family, eleven children in all, their mother, whom he married in
1734, being Anna Margaret Zerbe, who came with her father, Martin
Zerbe, from Schoharie, New York, in 1723. The children were as
follows: (1) Maria Barbara, born Nov. 16, 1735, m. June 2, 1754,
John Kloss (now Klohs), born in Brechkebel, Hanau, Germany, Dec. 6,
1723, son of Thomas and Margaret Kloss, with whom he came to
America in 1738. They resided a little north of Reading and were
the parents of ten children, six of whom survived and left issue,
viz.: Maria Elizabeth, m. to Abraham Schneider; Maria Barbara, m.
John Adam Spengler; Maria Christina, m. Conrad Scheop (Shepp);
Maria Magdalena, m. Philip Huyett; Maria Catherine, m. William
Diehm; and Jacob – all leaving numerous descendants. (2) John Jacob
Strauss, born May 5, 1737, m. Elizabeth Brecht, Aug. 21, 1759. They
lived on a part of the homestead acres north of Bernville and
became the parents of nine children, viz.: Albrecht, who remained
on the homestead; John who settled near Orwigsburg, Schuylkill
county; David; Elizabeth; Philip; Jacob; Samuel; Michael; and
Catharine. This branch also became very numerous. (3) Maria
Elizabeth (twin to John Jacob), born May 5, 1737, m. John Daniel
Madery, May 4, 1760. So far as known, three children were born to
them, viz.: Maria Eva Rosina, John Thomas and Michael. (4) Anna
Elizabeth was born March 25, 1739. (5) John Casper, born Aug. 5,
1741, died in infancy. (6) Maria Eva Rosina, born Nov. 6, 1742, m.
Christopher Schaber, Nov. 9, 1762. The records of the Old Red
Church, near Orwigsburg, Pa., show the baptism of five of their
children, viz.: Maria Elizabeth, March 29, 1771; John, Oct. 4,
1772; John Philip, Feb.9, 1775; Eva Rosina, April 4, 1779; and
Daniel, March 4, 1781. (7) Maria Catharine, born March 6, 1745, m.
John Long, Nov.9, 1762, and their son John Jacob, was born Aug. 7,
1763. (8) John Philip born Jun. 4. 1748, m. Sevilla, daughter of
Benedict and Maria Salone Kepner, April 21, 1771. They moved to
Cumberland (now Juniata) county, Pa., before the Revolution,
purchasing 400 acres of land along the Juniata river, the homestead
residence being at Mexico Station on the Pennsylvania Railroad.
They had eight children, viz.: John; Jacob, born Oct. 5, 1775; who
walked out to Ohio in 1779 and settled in Pickaway county, and left
numerous and influential descendants; Polly; Betsey; Catharine;
David, one of whose descendants, Philip, still owns the ancestral
homestead; Susannah, and Sidney. (9) Maria Christina was born July
26, 1751. (10) Maria Susanna, born Oct. 5, 1753, m Benjamin Kebner,
May 24, 1884, and they also resided in the Juniata Valley, near
Mexico. (11) John Samuel.

Albrecht Strauss was a prominent man of the
locality during his time; and his penmanship denoted that he was an
educated man. He was naturalized by the “Supream Court” of the
Province on Sept. 25, 1755, the certificate thereof now being in
the possession of our subject. He died a short time previous to May
7, 1787, that being the date of the filing of his administration
papers. His wife died about the same time.

(Ia) John Philip Strauss, the younger of the emigrant brothers,
took up about 250 acres of land including (1908) Rev. Mr. Trexler’s
farm and the tract of Adam W. Strauss. On Feb. 28, 1744, he married
Anna Margaret Reimer. He died shortly before May 28, 1792, (the
date of the probate of his will). His wife is mentioned in his will
and must then have been still living. Their nine children were: (1)
Anna Magdalena, born Dec. 21, 1744, m. John George Thomas, born
July 1, 1746, son of John and Barbara Long. Their children were:
John, Anna Margaret, Maria Catharine, Christian, Maria Elizabeth,
John Philip, Jacob, Thomas and Daniel. She died April 5, 1823; and
he, May 20, 1823. (2) Anna Elizabeth, born Sept. 18, 1746, m.
George Daniel Gicker, Nov. 26, 1776. They had children. (3) Maria
Christina, born Feb. 20, 1749, m. on June 3, 1773, Christian Zerbe,
born Dec. 25, 1750, son of John and Catharine Zerbe. They moved to
White Deer township, Northumberland (now Union) county, Pa. They
had a family of eleven children: John George, John, Maria
Catharine, Susanna, Jacob, Maria Christina, Henry, Mary Salome,
Elizabeth, Anna Maria and Samuel. (4) Casper, born Jan. 27, 1751,
married Elizabeth Schreck. They left issue, viz.: John (Dec. 2,
1780 – April 7, 1876), Ludwig Benjamin, Matilda, Susanna, and Anna
Maria. (5) Maria Catharine was born Dec. 22, 1752. (6) John Philip,
born Nov.9, 1754, m. Susanna Wenrich, Sept. 23, 1783. He obtained
the homestead and died there July 20, 1816. Their children so far
as known were: John, Susanna, Joseph, Philip (Feb. 1, 1790 -May 12,
1885), Daniel, Elizabeth, Sybilla, Anna Margaret and Mary
Magdalena. (7) John Jacob, born May 5, 1757, m. Barbara Zerbe, June
14, 1785. He died Oct. 22, 1822, his wife probably preceding him in
death as she is not mentioned in his will. They had the following
children so far as known: Catharine, Barbara, Daniel, Magdalena,
Peter, Sarah, Adam and Susanna. (8) Christian, born June 16, 1760,
m. Aug. 4, 1794, Catharine, daughter of Joseph Schneider. They had
as far as known two children, Elizabeth and Catharine. (9) John
Matthias, born April 16, 1762, m. (first) Magdalena Schneider, on
May 25, 1790. After the death of his wife he m. (second), Sept. 10,
1797, Frederica Gottle. He died March 4, 1819, and his wife
survived him.

(II) John Samuel Strauss, youngest child of Albrecht and
great-grandfather of B. Morris, was born May 13, 1756. On Nov. 10,
1784, he married Catharine Elizabeth (born May 10, 1758), daughter
of Balthaser and Maria Appalonia Umbenhauer, the owner of a large
tract of land including the site of Bernville, Pa. He became the
owner of the homestead by purchase on Aug. 5, 1784, whereon they
resided all their life. He, as also did his cousin, John Philip,
son of Philip, served actively in the Revolutionary struggle and
was an influential and useful citizen of his locality. He died
March 25, 1835, his wife having preceded him, Dec. 16, 1821. They
had a family of thirteen children, viz.: John, the founder of
Strausstown; Maria Magdalena, m. to Tobias Henne; John Philip
(Sept. 26, 178-Feb 12, 1865); Samuel; Johanna, m. Samuel Greim;
John Jacob (Nov. 23, 1788-Nov. 9. 1877); Elizabeth Strauss (Feb 21,
1790-Aug. 19, 1875), m. to Elias Redcay; Susanna; Joseph; John
William (Oct 26, 1795-Oct 13, 1885); Catharine; Benjamin (April 30,
1800 -Dec.14, 1886); and Jonathan. This family was noted for their
longevity.

(III) Benjamin Strauss, son of John Samuel, was born on the old
homestead April 30, 1800, and at its division by John Samuel, his
father, before his death, he was allotted a share thereof. He
married on Dec. 12, 1829, Rebecca, daughter of Jacob and Juliana
(Shellhammer) Long, born April 20, 1811. In his youth he lived in
Virginia for some time. He returned to his native place and
followed the trade of a tailor. He afterward purchased a large farm
(the dwelling-house on which place, a large, commodious and
substantial one and one-half story log building, was known in
Colonial times as “Casper Snavely’s Indian Fort,” where a posse of
soldiers were regularly stationed to protect the settlers during
that perilous period) adjoining now Meckville, Bethel township,
Pa., on which he resided the rest of his lifetime. His wife died
Dec. 3, 1861. The had two sons, Percival Long and Joel.

(IV) Percival Long Strauss was the eldest son of Benjamin and is
now living retired in Reading after an active life in the
mercantile, building and lumber business. His wife, Malinda, who
died on April 16, 1896, was the daughter of Jacob and Mary Ann
(Batdorf) Smith, farmers of Bethel township. They were both
descendants of the earliest settlers, his ancestors Smith,
Eisenhauer, Fetterhaff and Heberling have been prominent at and
during the making of the first white settlements in Bethel, while
her ancestors Batdorf and Zeller came from Schoharie, New York, in
1723, and were of the leaders in the making of the first settlement
at Tulpehocken. To Percival L.; and Malinda (Smith) Strauss were
born twelve children: Harry, who died aged ten years; Sophia who
died at thirty-five; J. Franklin a Lebanon county builder and
contractor; Mary Ann and Emma Rebecca, at home; John, of Kansas
City, Mo.; James a hotel-keeper, Reading; Lavina, wife of Dr. Frank
W. Bucks, Reading; William, a merchant at Rehrerburg, Berks county;
Elizabeth, wife of George Schreiner, at the Baldwin Locomotive
Works of Philadelphia; Percival S., a graduate of the West Chester
State Normal School and the University of Pennsylvania, and now a
teacher in the Philadelphia high school; and B. Morris. These
children are all occupying responsible positions in life and are
all living up to the record made by former generations.

(V) B. Morris Strauss was born on the family homestead in Bethel
township, Sept. 20, 1855. He passed the early part of his boyhood
on the home farm, securing the rudiments of his education in the
common schools. Later he attended the Swatara Institute at
Jonestown, and afterward the Millersville State Normal School. He
finished his literary education at the Palatinate College,
Myerstown; and taught school for a while afterward. Having decided
on the law as a profession, he now took up its study with John
Benson as his preceptor and on May 26, 1880, was admitted to the
Lebanon County Bar. His admission to the Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania followed in 1885, and to the Supreme Court of the
United States, Oct. 11, 1897. He became a member of the Berks
County Bar in 1898. He is also admitted to practice in the Superior
Court of the State. Mr. Strauss lived and practised his profession
with success at Lebanon, where he was prominent in local affairs,
having served a term as clerk of the water board of that city, and
then located at Reading, where he has since maintained offices at
No. 30 North Sixth street.

Mr. Strauss has been a lifelong Democrat, and
takes an active interest in the political life of the city, county,
and State. He is a member of the Hope Lutheran Church, and is
interested in several societies which have for the object the
preservation of family, county and national history. He is thus a
member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Berks County
and the Lebanon County Historical Societies and the Pennsylvania
German Society. In April, 1903, he with several others started a
movement among the descendants of the two original emigrants,
Albrecht and John Philip Strauss, to interest all the members of
the family in a yearly reunion. All the meetings have proved a
source of great pleasure to all and are always largely attended,
the latest one have been held at Strausstown, founded by John
Strauss, a grand-uncle of our subject. From the number of the
members that have been gathered it is safe to estimate that the
descendants of these two early emigrants number from 8,000 to
10,000, most numerously found in Berks and Schuylkill counties, yet
settled in almost every State of the Union.

Mr. Strauss married (second) Miss Hannah S.,
daughter of Elwood S. and Sarah R. Layton, and they are the parents
of one daughter, Anna Margaret.

STRAUSS, CAMERON E.

p.
1057

Surnames: STRAUSS, MILLER, WRAY, LABE, SCHAEFFER, HIESTER, SCHWARTZ

Cameron E. Strauss, of the real estate firm of Strauss &
Company, Reading, Pa., is a descendant of the Strauss family which
settled Strausstown, Berks county. Two brothers came to America
from Germany–John and Philip–as early as 1700, and took up large
estates. Our subject’s grandfather, Solomon, lived at Strausstown,
and there spent his life in farming.

Joel S. Strauss, the father of Cameron E., was a
merchant tailor at one time, and also followed farming near
Strausstown, the land there still being in the possession of the
family. He enlisted in the Civil war, and served gallantly
throughout that long struggle, at the close of which he received
his honorable discharge. He married Amelia R. Miller, daughter of
William L. Miller, a marble dealer of Myerstown, and six children
were born to this union, two of whom, Elizabeth and William, died
in early childhood. The survivors are: Charles A., assistant
superintendent of the Prudential Life, at Baltimore; Laura, wife of
W. Wray, of Bridgeport, Conn.; Sallie K., wife of William Labe, of
Myerstown; and Cameron E.

Cameron E. Strauss was born in Myerstown, May 5,
1869. He was educated in the public schools of Reading, graduating
from the high school in 1886. He then became stenographer for C. H.
Schaeffer, and drifted into the real estate business, trading as
Strauss & Co., E. Carroll Schaeffer being the partner. Mr.
Strauss is a member of the P. O. S. of A., the Knights of
Friendship, the Sons of Veterans, and Isaac Hiester Lodge, No. 660,
F. & A. M. In politics he is a Republican, and since January,
1891, has held five commissions as notary public.

Mr. Strauss married Minnie I. Schwartz, daughter
of Charles and Carrie B. Schwartz, of Allentown, Pennsylvania.

STRAUSS,
JAMES

p. 1108

Surnames: STRAUSS, FRANKS

James Strauss, a popular citizen of Reading, Pa., who is proprietor
of the well known “Berkshire Hotel,” was born in Bethel township,
Berks county, in 18654, son of Percival L. Strauss, and was but
four years of age when he went to Lebanon county with his father,
there receiving his education.

After leaving school Mr. Strauss assisted his
father in the hotel business until 1889, in which year he moved to
Reading, and was employed for a period of fifteen years at the
“Penn Hotel,” his services being efficient and faithful. At the end
of this time, May 9, 1904, Mr. Strauss took charge of the well
known “Lafayette Hotel,” Nos. 721-727 Franklin street, Reading,
making many improvements and changing the name to that it now
bears–the “Berkshire Hotel.” Mr. Strauss has spared no pains to
make this one of the finest hotels of its size in Reading, and many
out-of-town visitors make the “Berkshire” their headquarters while
in the city. Mr. Strauss is a genial and jovial host, and he has
made many friends since coming to this city.

In 1894 Mr. James Strauss married Miss Catherine
E. Franks, daughter of Alfred Franks, a sketch of whom will be
found elsewhere. Mr. and Mrs. Strauss are connected with the
Reformed Church. He takes much interest in political matters, and
casts his vote with the Democratic party.

STROHECKER, ALBERT J.

p.
1449

Surnames: STROHECKER, BRUMBACH, WETHERHOLD, SCHLEGEL, HOSKINS

Albert J. Strohecker, of Reading, who is proprietor of the
Pennsylvania Rubber Tire Company, with office and factory located
at Nos. 42-43 Moss street, was born in Reading April 27, 1880, son
of J. A. and Emma (Brumbach) Strohecker.

J. A. Strohecker, whose death occurred in
Reading Feb. 27, 1909, was born in Spring township, Berks county,
seventy-two years ago. When a young man he learned the butchering
business, which he followed in Reading until his retirement in
1896. He was a Lutheran in religious belief; and was a Democrat
politically being prominent in the ranks of that party, having
served as councilman from the Eighth ward, where he was very well
and favorably known. He was a member of the park board for ten
years. He is survived by these children: Mary, wife of Robert
Wetherhold, of Reading; Edward, an employe of the city engineer’s
office in Reading; Emma, wife of Dr. Schlegel, a dentist of the
city; and Albert J.

Albert J. Strohecker attended the public schools
of Reading, after leaving which he engaged in learning the carriage
building business. Acquainting himself thoroughly in all the
branches of this trade, in 1897 he opened up the first rubber tire
works in Reading, or, in fact, in Berks county, and in this line he
has continued very successfully to the present time. He builds both
heavy and light express wagons, and the excellent quality of the
work has won him the confidence and patronage of the community.

Mr. Strohecker was married in 1903 to Miss
Millie Hoskins, daughter of the late George H. Hoskins, and to this
union there has been born one son, Albert J., Jr. In political
matters Mr. Strohecker is a Democrat, like his father, but so far
has given all of his time and attention to his growing business. He
and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church. He is connected
with the Junior Fire Company.

STROHECKER, JOHN A.

p.
1390

Surnames: STROHECKER, HAFER, YEAGER, CUSTER, FASIG, MURINGER,
REGENFUSE

John A. Strohecker, one of the foremost citizens of Reading, Pa.,
who is engaged in the painting and decorating business at No. 439
North Eleventh street, has also been prominent in the public life
of the city, and was recently Democratic candidate from the
Eleventh ward for the select council. Mr. Strohecker was born in
Reading July 6, 1867, son of Edward and Ellen (Hafer) Strohecker.

Edward Strohecker, father of John A., was born
in Reading, where for upward of thirty years he was engaged in the
butchering business, retiring some years prior to his death. He was
married to Ellen Hafer, and they became the parents of these
children: Emma, who married Sherman Yeager; Rosa,, who married
Jacob Custer; Sallie, who is single; John A.; and Edwin, who
resides in Reading.

John A. Strohecker received his education in the
public schools of his native city, after leaving which he learned
the painter’s trade with Edward Fasig, in whose employ he remained
for four years. He then engaged in business on his own account at
Phoenixville, Chester county, continuing there successfully for
three years, at the end of which time he went to Oneonta, N. Y.,
and there spent a like period. On his return to Reading he
established himself in business at No. 439 North Eleventh street,
where he has one of the leading business houses of its kind in the
city. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Strohecker has always been an
unswerving supporter of his party’s principles, and his enterprise
and public spirit make him the leading candidate for the office he
is seeking. He was one of the first members of Reading Encampment
of Progressive Americans, No. 1, and is also connected with Mt.
Penn Lodge, No. 65, Knights of Pythias. With his family he attends
the Reformed Church.

In 1891 Mr. Strohecker was married to Annie
Muringer, daughter of Sebastian and Matilda (Regenfuse) Muringer,
of French ancestry, and one son has been born to this union,
namely: Raymond.

STRONG,
WILLIAM

p. 343

Surnames: STRONG

William Strong, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States from 1870 to 1878, was born at Somers, Conn., May 6,
1808. When sixteen years of age he entered Yale College, and was
graduated in 1828. He subsequently taught a classical and
mathematical school, occupying his leisure hours in the study of
the law, and so continued until February, 1832, when he entered the
Law Department of Yale College. In October, 1832, he was admitted
to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Connecticut; and in November of
the same year he opened a law office at Reading, and made that
place his residence. In political faith he was a Democrat, and as
such served several terms as a member of the city councils and was
one of the controllers of the public schools. In 1846 he was
elected as the representative to Congress from the Berks county
district and re-elected in 1848. In 1850, he declined a re-election
and returned to the practice of his profession. In 1857, he was
elected a judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania for the term
of fifteen years, but he resigned this position Oct. 1, 1868, to
resume the practice of his profession at Philadelphia. On Feb. 18,
1870, he was appointed by President Grant an associate justice of
the Supreme Court of the United States, which high position he held
till 1878, when he was retired under the Act of Congress. While a
resident of Reading he was for many years a director of the Farmers
Bank. He was counsel for the Philadelphia & Reading Railway
Company until he was elevated to the Supreme Bench. In religious
faith he was a Presbyterian, and for many years a ruling elder. For
several years he was one of the vice presidents of the American
Bible Society and also of the American Sunday-school Union; and in
1873 he was elected president of the American Tract Society. He
received in 1867 the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from
Lafayette College, at Easton, and in 1870 the same honorary diploma
was granted him by Nassau Hall, Princeton, N. J., and also by his
Alma Mater, Yale College. His remains were brought to Reading and
buried in the Charles Evans Cemetery.

STROUD,
EDWARD

p. 1681

Surnames: STROUD, HIGH, KLINE, HETTRICK, BROWNBECK

Edward Stroud, who for a number of years was engaged in the brick
manufacturing and draying business in the city of Reading, passed
away in that city, in 1878. Mr. Stroud was born Dec. 2, 1818, and
received his education in the common schools. He worked his way up
from a humble start, accumulating through honest methods a handsome
competency. His brick yard was located on a property owned by Mrs.
High, near where Simon Kline’s brick yard is now located. Mr.
Stroud was noted for his moral habits and his honesty and
generosity. He was averse to liquor in any form, and used but
sparingly of tobacco.

In 1844 Mr. Stroud was married to Susan
Hettrick, who was born Aug. 20, 1820, daughter of Henry Hettrick,
and the following children were born to this union: Catherine, wife
of Penrose Brownbeck; Albert; Clara; Charles, deceased; Emily,
Alice; Edward. Mr. and Mrs. Stroud were members of the Lutheran
Church. In his political belief Mr. Stroud was a Democrat, but was
not a radical, voting rather for the man than the party. He was a
great lover of home and family, and had few or no connections with
fraternal or secret societies. Mr. Stroud was buried in the Charles
Evans cemetery. Mrs. Stroud died Aug. 12, 1907.

STROUP,
JOHN

p. 1050

Surnames: STROUP, THOMAS, FRANCIS, McCLELLAND, RIGHTER, HELLER,
WHITNER, CUTLER, HOMAN

John Stroup, a highly esteemed citizen of Wyomissing, Pa., where he
now holds the position of school director, was born Jan. 14, 1870,
at Harrisburg, Pa., son of John and Anna (Thomas) Stroup.

John Stroup, father of John, was born Jan. 1,
1818, in Mifflin county, Pa., and in his young manhood learned the
trade of stair-builder, which he followed all of his life. He was a
skilled mechanic, and did much work at the State Capitol at
Harrisburg, becoming one of the best-known men in his line in this
section of the country. A remarkable example of his skill is a
large walnut sideboard upon which is carved the coat of arms of
Pennsylvania, made by Mr. Stroup when seventy years old, and which
is now one of the valued possessions of his son John. Mr. Stroup
died at Reading Feb. 14, 1896, aged seventy-eight years, one month,
thirteen days, and is buried in the Charles Evans cemetery. He
married Anna Thomas, born Nov. 3, 1838, who still survives her
husband and makes her home with her son John, being well preserved
both in body and mind. five children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Stroup, namely: Sallie T. m. George W. Francis, of Reading; Anna
died young; Carrie M. m. William McClelland, formerly of New York
and now of East Orange, N. J.; Herbert lives in Reading; and John.

John Stroup received his education in the
schools of Reading, whither his parents had come when he was a
child, and when only eleven years old he became an errand boy in
the millinery establishment of J. K. Righter at No. 514 Penn
street, where he remained two years. He then learned the
book-binding trade with Charles F. Heller, with whom he also
remained two years, and in 1885 entered the employ of C. K.
Whitner, dry-goods merchant at Reading. The following year, 1886,
Mr. Stroup became a salesman in the dress goods department of Kline
& Eppihimer’s dry goods establishment at No. 522 Penn street,
Reading, and in 1891 was placed in charge of the silk department, a
position which he has since occupied. He has entire charge of the
buying of silks for the department, in which capacity he is called
upon to exercise his knowledge of the business.

In 1895 Mr. Stroup located in Wyomissing, having
formerly lived at No. 815 Front street, Reading, and on Sept. 18th
of that year moved to his fine new residence, which he had erected
in the spring. Mr. Stroup is a member and Past Master of Reading
Lodge No. 549, F. & A. M. In politics he is an independent
Republican, and became one of the first school directors of
Wyomissing, serving in the office one year, and in February, 1907,
he was elected to a full term of three years. He is a member of the
Wyomissing Civic League, and was prominent in the incorporation of
the town into a borough.

On Sept. 14, 1898, Mr. Stroup was married to
Miss Jennie M. Cutler, estimable daughter of James Q. and Salinda
(Homan) Cutler, of Reading, and to this union there had been born
two bright children: Anna K. and Robert. C.

STROUSE, JONATHAN M.

p.
1468

Surnames: STROUSE, MECK, BENSING, SPANNUTH, SCHOLL, HOLSBURG,
SMITH, HAAS, KRONINGER

Jonathan M. Strouse, proprietor of the “Marion House,” at
Stouchsburg, is a native of Bethel township, Berks county, born
Dec. 6, 1864, son of Joel and Elizabeth (Meck) Strouse.

Joel Strouse, the father, was also a native of
Berks county, and he now rests from his earthly labors in the
cemetery at Klopp’s Church. He was a farmer, and became the owner
of the farm to which he had come with his parents at the age of
twelve years. In his political affiliations he was a Democrat. For
many years he was an official of Klopp’s church. He married
Elizabeth Meck, daughter of Benjamin Meck, and they became the
parents of ten children: Rebecca m. William Bensing; Benjamin m.
Lydia Spannuth; Peter died aged twenty-one years; Willoughby died
young; Jonathan M.; Alice m. Jacob Scholl; Jane m. Dr. William
Holsburg; Charles m. Ida Smith; and Lizzie and Minnie both died
young. The only ones now living are Benjamin, Jonathan M. and
Charles.

Jonathan M. Strouse received such educational
advantages as were afforded by the district school, and from his
boyhood was familiar with the work of carrying on a farm. He
remained at home until he was thirty-one years of age, and then
moved to Reading, where for six years he was employed in the bolt
and nut works. At the end of that time he returned to Bethel
township, and became the proprietor of the “Black Bear Inn,” a
stand he conducted with great success for five years. In the spring
of 1907 he assumed charge of the “Marion House” at Stouchsburg,
which he had previously purchased. This contains sixteen rooms, all
of which are newly furnished, and Mr. Strouse has twelve regular
boarders, to say nothing of a good transient trade. He sets an
excellent table, and is very popular with his guests.

Mr. Strouse is an ardent Democrat, and has been
actively interested in the success of his party. He and his family
are Reformed members of Klopp’s Church, at Hamlin, Lebanon county.

Mr. Strouse married Kate Haas, daughter of J. P.
T. Haas. To this union has been born one son, Robert P., a
stenographer in the employ of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad
Company. Jonathan Haas, of Topton, grandfather of Mrs. Strouse, was
a justice of the peace for many years, and was very favorably known
all over the county.

J. P. T. Haas, the father of Mrs. Strouse,
married Brigitta Kroninger, and their children were: Oliver,
Orlando, Jonathan, Howard, Peter (deceased), Emma, Katie L., Annie,
Maggie, and Ellenora (deceased).