Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

p. 1221

Surnames: ECK, DeLONG, SPECHT, HOFFMAN, SMITH

Among the well know residents and successful business men of
Reading, may be mentioned Charles Eck, who is extensively engaged
in contracting and building, and who resides at No. 416 North Ninth
street. Mr. Eck was born April 2, 1840, in Ruscombmanor township,
Berks county, son of the late George and Abelina Eck.

George Eck, who was a native of Berks county,
learned the tailor’s trade when a young man, but followed this only
a few years, owing to ill health. He was employed at different
occupations for the rest of his life, his death being caused by a
blast in a stone quarry at Allentown, Pa., in his seventy-first
year. His wife, Abelina, who died at the age of fifty-eight years,
bore him fifteen children, as follows: Hannah, born July 10, 1836;
Mary, deceased, born Aug. 23, 1837; Susanna, born Aug. 19, 1838;
Charles; Catherine, born Sept. 14, 1841; Leannah, deceased, born
March 9, 1843; Polly, deceased, born Sept. 10, 1844; Sarah, born
Jan. 8, 1846; Caroline, born Sept. 8, 1848; George, born Aug, 1849;
Jonas, born July 11, 1851; Wilson, deceased, born March 23, 1853;
Michael, born July 21, 1855; Rebecca A., born Aug. 6, 1858; and
Martha, born Dec. 13, 1860.

Charles Eck attended the public schools of his
native township, and until nineteen years of age worked on a farm.
He then went to Fairfield county, Ohio, where he learned the
building business in all of its details. Returning to Berks county
in 1874 he located in Reading, and here followed brick-laying for a
time and butchering for eight years, but finally engaged in the
building business which he has continued to the present time with
much success. Among many other structures erected by Mr. Eck, his
present handsome residence, built by him in 1887, is worthy of
mention. He is one of the self-made men of the city, and his
success in life is due entirely to his own efforts.

Mr. Eck was married to Elizabeth De Long,
daughter of Daniel and Rebecca (Specht) De Long, and to this union
have been born: Louisa, Celesta and Lucinda are deceased; Emma m.
M. J. Hoffman, and has two children, Marion and Emily; Lillie; and
Melvin m. Annie Smith, and has also two children, Erma and Carl.
Mr. Eck is independent in politics. His religious belief is that of
the Evangelical Church.

p. 1146

Surnames: ECK, ROTHERMEL, KASE, YORGY, HIESTER, WHITMAN

Jacob Eck (deceased), who was for many years engaged in
carpentering in Reading, Pa., although the last five years of his
business life were spent in conducting a grocery business, was born
in 1842, near Fleetwood, Richmond township, Berks county, son of
John and Kate (Rothermel) Eck.

Peter Eck, grandfather of Jacob, was a native of
France, and on coming to this country settled in Longswamp
township, Berks county, where he engaged in farming all of his
life. He and his wife, a Miss Kase, were devout Catholics, and were
buried at Bally. Their children were: Jacob, Peter, John, Nancy,
Magdalene, Lydia, Savilla, Sarah, Rachel and Leah.

John Eck, son of Peter and father of Jacob,
engaged in farming in Richmond township, were he was considered a
very prosperous man,. He married Kate Rothermel, and to them were
born a family of whom seven grew to maturity, as follows: Jacob,
Charles, Peter, Catherine, Sarah, Mary and Savilla.

Jacob Eck was reared in the home of his father,
and attended the schools of his native locality, after leaving
which he learned the carpenter’s trade, being employed by the
Philadelphia & Reading railroad for over thirty years. About
five years prior to his death he retired from active business life,
and opened up a grocery store, which his widow has conducted since
his death in 1895. Mr. Eck was a man of sterling qualifies of
character, and a faithful member of the Baptist Church. In
political matters he was a Republican, and fraternally he was
connected with the K. G. E.

In 1876 Mr. Eck was married to Miss Susan Yorgy,
daughter of Henry and Mary (Hiester) Yorgy, and to them were born
three children: William, who represents the Hooven Mercantile
Company, of New York, m. Magdalene Whitman, and has one child,
Lance; Catherine, and Mary.

Henry Yorgy, father of Mrs. Eck, was a well
known citizen and proprietor of a hotel near Amityville, Berks
county, being also by trade a tailor and clockmaker. He died in the
faith of the Lutheran Church in his seventy-sixth year, while his
wife, Mary Hiester, a member of the Reformed denomination, died
when seventy years old. Their children were: Sarah, Harriet and
Catherine, deceased; Mary, John; Amelia; Susan and Henry.

-ECKENROTH FAMILY,
p. 1609

Surnames: ECKENROAD, ECKENRODE, ECKENROTH, HECKENROAD,
HECKENROATH, SAUGNER, HARTMAN, TROSTLE, MOHN, MATZ, HENDEL,
DIETRICH, KEGERISE, SWEIGERT, RUTH, FISHER, SHARMAN, STIELY, HATT,
SMITH, WENRICH, HUNTZINGER, ULRICH, GROMIS, SCHNABEL, BOLTEN,
CLARK, SEILING, POFF, TEXTER, SMITH, KRICK, HASSLER, FITTERLING,
MOHN

The descendants of Zacharias Heckenrode, an early settler of Berks
county, spell the name in various ways. Eckenrode, Eckenroad,
Eckenroth, Heckenroad and Heckenroath being common forms among the
present day representatives of the family.

(I) Zacharias Heckenrode, who was the first ancestor in America of
this numerous family, was a resident of Tulpehocken township in
1759, in which year it is recorded he was a taxable there, paying
$2.66 federal tax. Many of the name still cling to the religious
faith of their forefathers, who were Catholics.

(II) Jacob Eckenroth, son of Zacharias, was a farmer in Heidelberg
township, Berks county. His children were Peter, Jacob, Henry,
Michael, Lewis, Lizzie and John.

(III) Henry Eckenroth, son of Jacob, born in Heidelberg township
about 1792, died about 1874, when eighty-two years, five months,
fifteen days, old. He lived in Cumru township, near Gouglersville,
owning a small tract of land, and though he attended to its
cultivation he was best known throughout lower Berks county as a
charcoal burner. He married Barbara Saugner, a native of western
Berks county, who died near Gouglersville about 1892, at the great
age of 103 years, fifteen days. She was known far and wide for her
remarkable vitality. Mr. and Mrs. Eckenroth were members of the
Catholic Church, and they are buried side by side in the Catholic
cemetery at Reading; their graves are unmarked. He was a man of
firm convictions, and strict with his children, rearing them to be
honest and industrious members of society. They were eleven in
number, as follows: Henry, George and Katie died unmarried; John,
who lived in the vicinity of Wernersville, married Mary Hartman;
Francis (born 1826 – died 1906) had children – Wallace, Edward,
Charles, Emma, Ida, Irwin and Harry (this family is mentioned
elsewhere); Thomas was next in the family; Lewis is mentioned
farther on in this article; Richard; Samuel is mentioned farther
on; Jacob; Reuben was born March 22, 1852.

(IV) Lewis Eckenroth, son of Henry and father of Albert L., was
born in Heidelberg township and died Oct. 10, 1880. He followed
farming in Heidelberg and Spring townships, and died in Cumru
township, where he owned a tract of fourteen acres. He married
Susan Trostle, daughter of Henry Trostle, of Brecknock township,
and they had children: Ellen, deceased, m. John Mohn; Frank is now
of Mohnton, Berks county; Ida died young; Cassie died age eight
years, three months; Albert L.; Lizzie m. Charles Fitterling;
Thomas; Nora m. Martin Matz; Charles lives at Mohnton; and Annie
died aged fourteen years.

(V) Albert L. Eckenroth, son of Lewis, was born May 15, 1868, in
Heidelberg township. He received his education in the district
schools, but he began to learn the hatter’s trade at an early age,
with Spatz, Hornberger & Co., of Mohnton, working with that
firm for eight years. He was next with John Hendel’s Sons, on South
Fifth street, at Reading, remaining in their employ for eleven
years, and since 1900 he has been working at hatting for J. G. Mohn
& Bros., well-known manufacturers of Reading. He is considered
one of the best tradesmen in his line in Berks county. Mr.
Eckenroth owns a farm comprising over twenty acres in Cumru
township, between Mohnton and Gouglersville, and he makes his home
on his farm in that township, where he is considered one of the
most progressive citizens of the day. He is an industrious man,
energetic and ambitious, shrewd and conservative in planning his
affairs and able in carrying out his ideas.

As a local worker in the Democratic party Mr.
Eckenroth is well known in the county. Since 1900 he has been a
member of the county standing committee from Cumru township; he was
a watchman at the Berks county prison for one year, and for three
years was a member of the township board of school directors.
During two years of that time he served as president of the board,
and it is but a just acknowledgment of his efforts to record that
his administration throughout was one of notable progress. During
his period of service as director two of the finest school
buildings in the county were erected. The one at Shillington was
built in 1901, and the one at Oakbrook in 1899. It was also during
his administration that the first township high school in Berks
county was established, under the new law, and this school is now
the leading institution of the kind in the county. It is under the
care of Prof. A. M. Dietrich. The salary of teachers was increased
and numerous other improvements were made in the school system
while Mr. Eckenroth was in office, and both teachers and pupils
have reason to remember his services with gratitude.

In fraternal connection Mr. Eckenroth is a
member of the P. O. S. of A., the Modern Woodmen and the I. O. O.
F. He assisted in organizing Camp No. 211, P. O. S. of A., of
Mohnton, and was its first president; is a member of Unamis Tribe,
No. 330, I. O. R. M., of Reading; belongs to Mt. Penn Lodge, Odd
Fellows, of Reading, and to the Junior Fire Company No. 2, of
Reading.

Mr. Eckenroth married Miss Clara Kegerise,
daughter of Elias and Elizabeth (Sweigert) Kegerise, who are now
deceased. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Eckenroth,
namely: Bonding, Harry, George W., Albert L., Jr., Charles and
Susan Elizabeth. Mr. Eckenroth and his family are Reformed members
of the Gouglersville Union Church.

(IV) Samuel Eckenroad, son of Henry, born Sept. 10, 1844, in
Brecknock township, died April 5, 1886, aged forty-one years, six
months, twenty-five days. He is buried at Sinking Spring. He lived
and died in Lower Heidelberg township, where he owned a tract of
land, and he engaged in stone quarrying, in his later years leasing
a quarry at Sinking Spring, which he was working at the time of his
death. Samuel Eckenroad married Mary Ann Ruth, born March 4, 1841,
daughter of Absalom and Ann (Fisher) Ruth, and five children were
born to them, namely: George S.; Charles A., a farmer residing near
Wernersville; Annie, unmarried, who lives with her mother; Harry
O., a cigar-maker, also living at home; and Edwin R., a school
teacher of Spring township, unmarried and living at home.

(V) George S. Eckenroad, son of Samuel, was born Jan. 19, 1867, in
Spring township, and obtained his schooling at Gaul’s school, in
Lower Heidelberg township. From the time he was fourteen until he
was eighteen he worked on the farm, and then went to learn the
blacksmith’s trade with David Sharman, of Fritztown, Berks county.
He has followed this business ever since, being located at
Fritztown, where he enjoys the good-will and patronage of a large
proportion of the people, doing horse-shoeing as well as general
blacksmith work. In 1904 he built a shop 24 x 36 feet, and has an
up-to-date establishment. He is a citizen of high repute, honest
and upright in his relations with his fellow men, and respected for
his honorable life. He has been successful in business, and besides
his shop owns two acres of valuable land at Fritztown, and two nice
residences in Sinking Spring, one being his own home, which he has
occupied since it was built in 1891. In the fall of 1906 he was one
of a company of men, the others being A. S. Stiely, J. S. Hatt,
Joseph Smith, N. M. Wenrich, B. F. Huntzinger and Frank C. Fisher,
who purchased a small tract of land at a discount from N. M.
Wenrich and thereon erected a building 26 x 36 feet in dimensions,
two and a half stories high, in which they have since carried on
the manufacture of hosiery.

On March 31, 1889, Mr. Eckenroad married Amelia
Matz, born Jan. 29, 1862, daughter of David and Mary Ann (Ulrich)
Matz, of Spring township, and three children have been born to
them: Charles, a molder, now living at Sinking Spring, who married
Laura Gromis; Paul M., learning the blacksmith trade with his
father; and William S., at school.

Mr. Eckenroad is active in the Democratic party,
and has held the various precinct offices with satisfaction to the
organization. Socially he belongs to Wernersville Lodge, No. 835,
I. O. O. F., and to Castle No. 334, K. G. E., of Sinking Spring.

(III) Lewis Eckenrode, son of Jacob, was a lifelong farmer, and
lived at various places, for a number of years making his home at
Churchtown, Lancaster county, where he died when about sixty-five
years old. He is buried in the Catholic cemetery at Reading. He
married Catharine Schnabel, and to them were born the following
children: Betzy, wife of Henry Bolten; Adam, mentioned farther on;
Christian, who died unmarried; Susan, Mrs. Clark; Catharine, wife
of Frank Seiling (she is a member of the Catholic Church); Annetta,
wife of Wellington Poff, of Reading; and Henry, a farmer of
Lancaster county, whose children were Albert, Maggie, Henrietta,
Rosa, Kate and Ida.

(IV) Adam Eckenroad, a retired farmer living in Lower Heidelberg
township, was born Jan. 15, 1831, in Lancaster county, near
Churchtown, and was reared to farming. For thirteen years he was
employed at the Mount Penn Furnace, but with that exception he
followed farming throughout his active years. In 1874 he purchased
the farm upon which he now lives, and two years later, in 1876, he
built the present barn upon the place. The house was erected by
Daniel Texter in 1852. The farm comprises 165 acres, and besides
this property Mr. Eckenroad owns a tract of forty acres in
Lancaster county. He attends the Reading Market, having stand No.
188, at the Bingaman Street Market House.

Mr. Eckenroad married Sarah Smith, of Sinking
Spring, daughter of Frederick Smith, the latter a member of the
Catholic Church, to which Mr. Eckenroad also belongs, his
membership being in St. Peter’s Church at Reading. Mr. and Mrs.
Eckenroad have three children, namely: Christian, born Nov. 23,
1874, assists his father with the work of the farm; Lizzie is the
wife of Nelson Krick, who is employed in Reading, and they live
with the Eckenroads; Kate is the wife of David Hassler, of
Blainsport, Pennsylvania.

p. 1544

Surnames: ECKENROAD, HARTMAN, HAIN, FISHER, FOCHT, SMITH, GEIGER,
HILL, SEIDEL, KEMP

Francis H. Eckenroad, whose death occurred Dec. 11, 1906, at the
age of eighty years, at his residence, No. 631 Laurel street,
Reading, was an old resident of the city, having spent practically
his whole active business life within its limits. He was born Dec.
11, 1826, when his parents, John and Mary (Hartman) Eckenroad, were
living near “Hartman’s Hotel,” in the vicinity of Wernersville.

Mr. Eckenroad was unable to avail himself of even
the limited educational advantages which were to be had in that
early day, and his school days lasted but two weeks. So good,
however, were his natural abilities, that even hampered thus by
lack of training he became known as one of the best business men in
the city. He came to Reading about fifty-two years ago, and having
learned the shoemaker’s trade early in life followed that
occupation steadily till he retired, about eight years before his
death, being located in the same shop for forty-five consecutive
years. He invested his earnings, and was so uniformly successful in
his undertakings that he accumulated a good property.

In 1852 Mr. Eckenroad married Miss Elvina Hain,
daughter of George and Eva (Fisher) Hain. Ten children were born to
this union, of whom the following six are living: G. Wallace is a
wheelwright and wagon-maker at Gouglersville, PA.; H. Edward, who
was superintendent for L. H. Focht, builder, opened a millinery
business in March, 1909, at No. 39 North Ninth street, Reading, and
also has a store at No. 5153 Haverford avenue, Philadelphia;
Charles is a blacksmith; Ida m. Charles Smith; Irvin is a
wheelwright; and Harry E., a well-known musician and teacher of
instrumental music in the Academy of Music at Reading, has given a
number of amateur productions. One daughter, Emma, m. G. Smith
Geiger, and died May 13, 1909. Mr. Eckenroad was also survived by
two sisters, Mrs. Mary Hill and Mrs. Elizabeth Hill; two
half-sisters, Mrs. Susan Seidel and Mrs. Levina Kemp; and three
half-brothers, Thomas, Michael and Wilson Eckenroad.

Mr. Eckenroad was formerly a member of Salome
Lodge, I. O. O. F., continuing in its ranks until it disbanded. In
religious connection, he was a member of Faith Reformed Church, and
was treasurer of its Sabbath-school for twenty-seven years. In the
many years he was identified with the city of Reading he earned the
respect of the community, and he is mourned by many friends.

ECKERT,
CONRAD (CAPT.)

p. 796

Surnames: ECKERT, HALLER, PUTNAM, HAIN, COPENHAVEN, REESER, BROWN,
HIESTER, TREVOR, BENSON, GOOD

Capt. Conrad Eckert (grandfather of Isaac Eckert, whose sketch
appears in this publication) was born at Langenselbold, in the
Kingdom of Hanover, Feb. 6, 1741. During that year his father, John
Eckert, emigrated to Pennsylvania, and settled in Heidelberg
township, Lancaster (now Berks) county. He was brought up to
farming, and when a young man became a blacksmith, which calling he
pursued for some time. At the outbreak of the Revolution he was one
of the active Associators of the county. As such he commanded a
company which was raised in Heidelberg township, and became a part
of the 1st Battalion, commanded by Col. Henry Haller. This
battalion marched to service in New Jersey in December, 1776, but
the companies returned home without permission, because they had
not been paid according to the terms of their enlistment. Captain
Eckert is the “Captain Echard” mentioned by General Israel Putnam
as one of the captains who informed him that “their companies had
run away to a man, excepting a lieutenant, sergeant and drummer.”

Captain Eckert’s company afterward formed a part
of Spyker’s Battalion, and participated in the campaign at and
about Germantown and White Marsh during the fall of 1777. He was
wounded in the battle at Germantown, and his health in consequence
became so impaired that he never fully recovered. Subsequently, in
1778 and 1780, his company was connected with the 4th Battalion of
county militia.

He officiated as a county commissioner from 1785
to the time of his death in 1791. It is said that during the
Revolution he carried on a powder-mill in the southern extremity of
Heidelberg township, along the head waters of Spring creek. His
farm where he resided adjoined the “Corner Church” property on the
east.

Upon his return from military service, Captain
Eckert carried on farming on the Eckert homestead, near Robesonia,
until his death, Aug. 25, 1791. He was married to Elizabeth Hain,
daughter of _______ Hain, in Heidelberg township, by whom he had
seven sons — John, Peter, George, David, Daniel, Solomon and
Conrad — and two daughters — Catherine (m. to Henry Copenhaven)
and Barbara (m. to Daniel Reeser). His remains were buried in the
graveyard connected with Hain’s Church. Col. Valentine Eckert,
whose sketch appears in this publication, was an elder brother.

Peter Eckert; for many years a prominent and
successful merchant at Womelsdorf, and grandfather of George B.
Eckert, was born on the Eckert homestead in Heidelberg township,
several miles east of Womelsdorf, Nov. 12, 1771. He was brought up
on the farm and worked as clerk in a country store until he became
of age. He then embarked in the store business for himself at
Womelsdorf, which he followed very successfully until his decease,
covering a period of upward of forty years. His trading relations
extended over a wide stretch of country, even reaching into the
Southern States. He was of an enterprising spirit and appreciating
the importance of education, sent his children to Philadelphia to
give them the advantages of the most advanced schools of that time.
He owned a large tract of coal land in Schuylkill county and was
one of the first persons to use anthracite coal for domestic
purposes. This was hauled to Womelsdorf by his own teams.

Mr. Eckert was married to Susan Phillipina
Brown, daughter of George Brown of Millbach, Lebanon county, who
removed to Erie, Pa., and there died. Mr. and Mrs. Eckert had ten
children, two dying in infancy; David, who died at Philadelphia,
unmarried, at the age of thirty years; William, m. to Rebecca
Hiester; Isaac (whose sketch appears in this publication); Dr.
George Nicholas, a graduate physician, member of Congress from the
Philadelphia district in 1849-50, and director of the United States
Mint at Philadelphia, m. to Emily Trevor; Peter, who died at the
age of seventeen years; Mary, who died unmarried; Eliza, m. to Dr.
Lot Benson; and Susan, m. to Rev. William A. Good. Peter Eckert
died in 1839, aged sixty-eight years, and his wife in 1851, aged
eighty years.

p. 797

Surnames: ECKERT, STETSON, TREXLER, POTTS

George Brown Eckert, iron-master at Reading for nearly thirty
years, was born at Reading Sept. 5, 1840. He received his education
in the local schools in the Balmar French Academy at West Chester,
PA., and in an advanced preparatory school at Danbury, Conn. When
the Civil war broke out his patriotic spirit was aroused with that
of some of his associates, and while the Ringgold Light Artillery
was preparing for the front in a building near his home on Fifth
street, he enlisted as a volunteer of this company, which was
mustered into the United States
service at Harrisburg April 16, 1861, and he served his term of
three months with the company, when he was honorably discharged.
This enlistment made him one of the First Defenders, so recognized
throughout the United States, and as such he received from Congress
a medal of honor and a vote of thanks. Upon his discharge from the
service mentioned, prominent military officials appreciated his
spirit and character so highly that he was commissioned lieutenant
of the 3d Regiment, United States Infantry, and he continued in
active service until near the termination of the war. By reason of
his military service he became a member of the First Defenders
Association, of Post No. 76, G. A. R., and of the Loyal Legion,
with all of which organizations he was prominently identified until
his decease. Mr. Eckert was a member of the Berks County Historical
Society, and upon his decease an appropriate sketch was read before
the meeting Oct. 10, 1899, which included the following remarks
relating to his military services in the regular army:

“He was appointed second lieutenant, 3d U. S.
Infantry, Aug. 5, 1861, and assigned to Company I; promoted to
first lieutenant March 12, 1862, participating in the Peninsular
campaign, in the advance on Chickahominy, Fair Oaks, Gaine’s Mills,
Seven Pines, Seven Days’ battles, South Mountain, Antietam,
Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. In May, 1863, he was ordered
to report to Colonel Buchanan, 4th U. S. Infantry, for mustering
duty at Trenton, N. J. Lieutenant Eckert resigned from the army
Nov. 10, 1864.”

Upon his return home from the Civil war, he
entered the employ of his father (who was then engaged in operating
the Henry Clay Furnace which he and his brother Dr. George N.
Eckert had erected in the southern part of Reading in 1842), and he
served as a clerk in the works until 1873, when he and his brother
Henry S. Eckert formed a co-partnership under the name of Eckert
& Bro., purchased the furnace property, and carried it on very
successfully until his brother’s decease in 1894. He afterward
continued its operation for himself and his brother’s estate until
May, 1899, when the plant was sold to the Empire Iron & Steel
Company of New York.

Mr. Eckert became a director of the Farmers
National Bank in 1874, and filled that position until his death in
1899. Upon the death of his brother Henry S. Eckert (who had served
as president of the bank from 1873 to 1894), he succeeded to the
presidency, but on account of the condition of his health was
obliged to resign after filling the office for seventeen months.

In his young manhood Mr. Eckert identified
himself with Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, and he continued
in active membership until his decease, filling various positions
in the management of the church, more especially on the finance
committee. Upon the death of his father, he united with his brother
Henry S. Eckert, and sister Mrs. Rebecca Stetson in presenting the
chimes in the church steeple as a memorial to their father. He was
a member of the Wyomissing Club of Reading, of the Union League of
Philadelphia, and of the Iron-Masters Association of America, in
which he was highly appreciated for his sociability and culture.

Mr. Eckert was married to Mary Ann Trexler,
daughter of Horatio Trexler (a prominent iron-master at Reading for
many years, and president of the National Union Bank of Reading
from 1873 to 1900), the they had three children: William Brown;
Sarah Hunter (m. to Howard Jewell Potts), and Henry S. (who died in
1893, aged twenty-one years). He died July 5, 1899. [For earlier
generations see sketch of Isaac Eckert, his father, in this
publication.]

p. 825

Surnames: ECKERT, BECK, RESLEY, STRONG, GERHARD, CAPP, ZIMMERMAN,
HUNTER, ALEXANDER, KOCH, STETSON

George J. Eckert, one of the most useful, progressive and patriotic
citizens of Reading, where he was at the head of a large brick
manufactory, died Feb. 10, 1900, and was buried in the Charles
Evans cemetery. He was a man of strong personality, sound judgment
and sterling integrity, and took an active part in public affairs.

Philip Eckert, grandfather of George J., was
born June 18, 1756, and died Sept. 10, 1828. His wife, Lydia Beck,
was born June 17, 1762. Their children were: George, born Sept. 9,
1782; Mary, 1784; Susanna, 1785; Catherine, 1788; Peter, 1790;
Sarah, 1792; Margaret, 1794; Elizabeth, 1795; Catherine (2), 1799;
and Hannah, 1803.

George Eckert, son of Philip, was born near
Schaefferstown, Lebanon county, Sept. 9, 1782, and died Jan. 19,
1854. On Jan. 26, 1809, he married Sarah Resley, born Dec. 16,
1787, died Jan. 12, 1879, daughter of Rudolph Resley, of Lebanon
county. Their children were: Catherine, born 1809; Elizabeth, 1811;
Mary, 1813; George, 1815; Cyrus, 1817; Philip, 1820; William 1822;
Rudolph, 1825; George John, 1827; and Aaron T., 1830.

George John Eckert, son of George, was born Feb.
14, 1827, in Lebanon county. He acquired his education in the
public schools of Lebanon, and in Marshall College, Mercersburg,
graduating from the latter institution in the fall of 1852. He came
at once to Reading, and having determined upon a professional
career, placed himself under the instruction of the Hon. William
Strong, the well-known lawyer, and he was admitted to the Bar of
Berks county April 28, 1855. Until 1865 he labored faithfully at
his profession, but it was not congenial, and he abandoned his
practice to devote his entire time to his fire brick factory, which
he had established in 1863. This he enlarged and extended until it
became one of the important industries of the city, with a high
reputation for turning out a first class product.

Mr. Eckert was a very successful man, but in the
midst of his wide personal interests he found time to take an
active and intelligent interest in the affairs of his town and
country. During the Civil war he was instrumental in raising and
equipping troops, and when Pennsylvania was invaded he shouldered a
musket himself, being in the service ninety days. On July 6, 1863,
he was commissioned a second lieutenant of Company C, 42d P.V.I. As
a stalwart Republican he did his party great service. In 1863 he
was a delegate to the State convention at Pittsburg; and in 1868 to
the National Convention at Chicago. He was a member of the select
council of Reading from 1866 to 1869, and of the common council
from 1876 to 1878. Mr. Eckert was one of the promoters of the Union
Bank of Reading, and for three years was one of its directors. His
religious connection was with the First Reformed Congregation of
Reading, which he served a long time as trustee, and he was
chairman of the building committee when the church was remodeled in
1874-1875.

On Nov. 26, 1857, Mr. Eckert was married to
Rebecca Gerhard, born March 28, 1838, daughter of Isaac M. Gerhard,
and his wife, Catherine (Capp). Isaac M. Gerhard was the owner of
three large farms in Lebanon county, and one in Berks, and he is
buried at Newmanstown; his children were: Elizabeth (died
unmarried), Rebecca, Katie (wife of George Zimmerman), Mary Ann
(died in childhood), and Emma (m. to Nicholas Hunter, of Sheridan,
Pa.). To Mr. and Mrs. George J. Eckert were born the following
children: Isaac G. m. Elizabeth Smith, and lives at Drifton, Pa.;
Rudolph R. is employed by the George W. Alexander Hat Company of
West Reading; Mintie S. and Emma R. are at home; George m. Amy
Koch, and lives at Philadelphia, where he is employed at the John
B. Stetson Co., hat manufacturers; William died at the age of five;
and Ellen is a skilled artist, whose pen sketch of the old Eckert
Fire Brick factory deserves to rank as a masterpiece. In 1876 Mr.
Eckert erected his beautiful home at West Reading, where his widow,
son and daughters now reside. The mansion is modern in every
particular, contains twenty-two charming rooms, all tastefully
furnished, and it has many relics of the Revolution. Mrs. Eckert
has the old “swallow nest” pulpit of the old historic Host Church
of Berks county, now (1909) over one hundred and fifty years old.
The home is surrounded by several acres of land, on which is a fine
garden, vineyard, and all kinds of choice fruit. This is one of the
most beautiful places in the county, and Mrs. Eckert and her family
are very popular among a wide circle of friends.

p. 798

Surnames: ECKERT, HUNTER, BENADE, DEVLAN, SPANG, SHEARER

Henry S. Eckert, banker and iron manufacturer at Reading from 1873
to 1894, was born at Reading in 1830, son of Isaac Eckert. He
received his preparatory education at Reading, and then entered
Marshall College at Mercersburg, graduating from that institution.
Upon his return home his father placed him at the Henry Clay
Furnace to learn the iron business, and in a comparatively short
time he was given the active management of the plant, a position he
continued to fill until July 1, 1873, when he and his brother,
George B. Eckert, formed a copartnership, under the firm name of
Eckert & Bro., for the purpose of carrying on the business, and
their father sold the works to them. They operated this large plant
very successfully until the decease of Henry S. in 1894. Their
enterprise included extensive mining operations, and they employed
altogether from 200 to 300 men.

Mr. Henry S. Eckert took an active interest in
political matters, local, State and National for thirty years. His
valuable business affairs inclined him to advocate protection to
home industry, and on that account he was an ardent Republican.
During the Civil war he was active in supporting the national
government, and in 1862 was one of the Emergency Men from Reading
to assist in repelling the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania. In
1866 the Republican party of the county gave him the nomination for
Congress, and his popularity was shown by his obtaining a majority
of the votes of Reading over the Democratic nominee. He represented
the Eighth ward in the select council from 1872 to 1875,
officiating as president of that body from 1873 to 1875.

The cause of education received the earnest
attention of Mr. Eckert for many years, and he represented the
Eighth ward in the school board, having officiated as president of
the board continuously from 1872 until 1888. In 1873 one of the
large public school buildings, situated on North Tenth street, near
Washington, was named after him. Art was largely patronized by Mr.
Eckert, especially productions of home talent, and his art gallery,
which was built as an annex to his elegant home on Perkiomen
avenue, contained a choice collection of superior paintings by
Benade, Devlan, Spang, and Shearer.

Mr. Eckert encouraged the substantial
development of Reading and vicinity by the establishment of
internal improvements, having cooperated with other enterprising
men in constructing the Berks County Railroad, the Wilmington &
Northern Railroad, and the Penn Street Passenger Railway, and he
officiated as a director. He succeeded his father as president of
the Farmers National Bank of Reading in 1873, and filled the
position in a most satisfactory manner until his decease in 1894.
He was prominently identified with the Union Trust Company and the
Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Philadelphia; the
Pennsylvania Bolt & Nut Works at Lebanon; the Charles Evans
Cemetery; and the Reading Hospital. He served as president of the
Eastern Pig Iron Association for a number of years, having aided in
its organization in 1883.

Mr. Eckert was married in 1857 to Carrie Hunter,
daughter of Nicholas Hunter, an iron-master of Reading, by whom he
had four children: Isaac, Helen, Hunter and Kate. He died Jan. 10,
1894, and his wife March 28, 1880.

p. 346

Surnames: ECKERT, HAHN, STETSON, GETZ, HUNTER, MEIGS, REEVES,
KAUFMAN, HIESTER, BARBEY

Isaac Eckert, until lately president of the Farmers National Bank
of Reading, is one of the leading citizens of that place, a man of
distinctive prominence in its commercial life, in which he
maintains a name which has long been a synonym for worth and
integrity, as well as marked business ability, in this part of
Pennsylvania. The Eckert family is one of the oldest in Berks
county, having been located here for almost two centuries. As the
name implies, the Eckerts are of German origin.

Valentine Eckert, born in Langensalza, Hanover,
Germany, in 1733, came to America with his parents in 1740, the
family settling in the Tulpehocken Valley, in the western part of
Berks county. He became quite a prominent man in his day, becoming
a citizen of this country after twenty-one years’ residence here.
He took a leading part in the Revolution and the events leading up
to and following that struggle. In June, 1776, he was one of ten
who represented Berks county in the Provincial Conference, and the
next month was one of a delegation of eight members from Berks
county to the Provincial convention convoked for the purpose of
framing a new form of government, founded on the authority of the
people, to succeed the old proprietary form. He was a member of the
Provincial Assembly in both 1776 and 1777. During the war he
commanded a cavalry company, was wounded at the battle of
Germantown, became sub-lieutenant of the county in 1777, and served
as such until he became lieutenant of the county, in the year 1781.
In 1784 he was appointed a judge of the court of Common Pleas,
holding that office for seven years, until by the Constitution of
1790 a president judge took the places of the various judges. In
1816, though then very advanced in age, he removed to the State of
Virginia, where he died, at Winchester, in December, 1821, in his
eighty-eighth year.

Peter Eckert, son of Valentine, passed all his
life in Berks county, and engaged in farming and merchandising near
Womelsdorf, the family home.

Isaac Eckert, son of Peter, was born in January
1800, in Womelsdorf, and there received his early education in the
public schools, later attending the grammar schools of the
University of Pennsylvania. Before reaching his majority he became
associated in business with his older brother, William, the sons
succeeding their father in the grocery business, which they
continued at Womelsdorf until 1828, in which year they moved their
establishment to Reading. There they continued it until the year
1836, when Isaac Eckert withdrew from the firm to enter the iron
manufacturing business in partnership with his younger brother, Dr.
George N. Eckert. In 1842-44 they erected the Henry Clay Furnace,
at that time one of the largest anthracite furnaces in the country,
and in the year 1855 a second stack was completed. After Dr. Eckert
died, on June 28, 1865, Isaac Eckert became sole proprietor of
these works until his retirement, in 1873, when he passed them over
to his sons, Henry S. and George B. This was not his only
connection in the iron manufacturing line, for in 1852 he became
president of the Leesport Iron Company, of which he remained the
executive head until his death, thus controlling and managing
extensive iron interests, in which he was one of the largest
stockholders. Naturally his influence extended to other business
enterprises, and he became especially well known as president of
the Farmers Bank, an institution founded in 1814, of which he was
chosen president in 1838. He served as such for the unusually long
period of thirty-five years, and upon his death, which occurred
Dec. 13, 1873, was succeeded therein by his son Henry S. Eckert.

Mr. Eckert was just as active in matters
affecting the general welfare as he was in commercial circles. He
served many years as president of the Berks County Agricultural and
Horticultural Society, of which he was one of the founders, and was
interested deeply in other enterprises calculated to advance the
best industries of this section. Originally a Whig in politics, he
became a Republican upon the organization of the party, and in 1860
was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, held at
Chicago, which placed Abraham Lincoln at the head of the ticket; in
1864 he was a Presidential elector from the State of Pennsylvania.
Throughout the war he did his utmost to aid the Union cause, both
by liberal contributions and by his influence in directing public
sentiment in his city.

Isaac Eckert married Judith Hahn, daughter of
Dr. Hahn, of Montgomery county, and he was survived by his widow
and three children, Henry S., George B. and Rebecca, the last named
the wife of P. R. Stetson, of New York City. As a memorial, after
Mr. Eckert’s death this family presented a full chime of ten bells
to Christ Episcopal Church of Reading, of which Mr. Eckert had been
a member.

Henry S. Eckert, son of Isaac, was born in
Reading, where he received his preparatory education in the public
schools. He then became a student at Franklin and Marshall College,
from which he graduated, after which he entered business life.
Becoming associated with his father in the iron business, he soon
qualified so thoroughly for its demands that he was able to take
the management of the works himself, and on July 1, 1873, the year
of their father’s death, but shortly before that event, he and his
brother George B. formed a partnership to engage in the iron
business, under the firm name of Eckert & Brother. Before long
the Henry Clay Furnace became their property, but with all their
new responsibilities they passed successfully through the financial
panic of 1873. They not only carried on the manufacturing business,
but also owned the iron mines which supplied their works with the
necessary ore, employing altogether, in the mines and works, over
two hundred and fifty men.

Besides his important connection with the firm
of Eckert & Brother Mr. Eckert’s iron interests led him into
other associations of even greater prominence, and he served as
president of the Eastern Pig Iron Association, as president of the
Topton Furnace Company of Topton, and president of the Pennsylvania
Bolt & Nut Works of Lebanon. As to local enterprises, it has
already been stated that he succeeded his father in the presidency
of the Farmers Bank in 1873, and he continued to hold that position
until his own death, in 1893, when his son Isaac succeeded to the
incumbency. He was also a trustee of the Union Trust Company and of
the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, the latter a Philadelphia
institution. He was one of the promoters of the Penn Street
Passenger Railway, which was put into operation in 1874, and which
played so important a part in the improvement of East Reading. He
was one of the projectors of the Berks County railroad, from
Reading to Slatington, becoming a member of the board of directors
upon the organization of the company, and he also served as a
director of the Wilmington & Northern Railroad Company. He was
a director of the Reading Hospital and of the Charles Evans
cemetery. For over twenty years he gave his services as president
of the school board of control, and in recognition of his valuable
work the Eckert school, erected in 1873, was named in his honor.

As a large manufacturer Mr. Eckert was naturally
inclined to a belief in the principles of protection, and
accordingly upheld the tenets of the Republican party, in whose
workings he took an active and efficient part. In 1866 he was the
Republican nominee for Congressman from his district, running
against J. Lawrence Getz, but although supported handsomely by his
home city, which gave him a majority, he could not overcome the
normal Democratic vote in the district.

In 1857 Mr. Eckert married Carrie Hunter,
daughter of Nicholas Hunter, an ironmaster of Reading, and four
children were born to them, viz.: Isaac, Helen (Mrs. Herman Miegs),
Hunter and Kate M. (Mrs. Reeves). The mother passed away March 28,
1880. Mr. Eckert was a member of Christ Episcopal Church, in which
he served as vestryman for a number of years before his death, and
he was a zealous worker in all its enterprises.

Isaac Eckert, at present one of the most notable
figures in the business life of the city of Reading, was born there
May 27, 1859. He received his education in the public schools of
the city and at Lafayette College, from which institution he was
graduated in 1879, after which he immediately turned his energies
to the line of business which his ancestors have followed for
generations. The business was sold to the Empire Iron & Steel
Company. Mr. Eckert served from 1893 until 1908, when he resigned
owing to ill health, as president of the Farmers Bank, now the
Farmers National Bank, which was presided over by a member of this
family for almost seventy years, Isaac Eckert being of the third
generation of the family to occupy that office. The circumstance is
remarkable, not only for the unusual length of time the position
was held in the family but as indicative of continued moral and
mental strength. Mr. Eckert was also president of the Deppen
Brewing Company, an important business concern of the city, but
this, too, he resigned on account of failing health; he occupies a
high position among the most substantial citizens of the present
day. However, he is not active in either politics or outside
matters to the extent his father and grandfather were, though he is
a man of high public spirit and ready to lend his influence or
financial aid to worthy project which have the advancement of the
city or the general welfare as their object. He is a Republican in
political sentiment, and interested in local government,
particularly municipal affairs.

In 1879 Mr. Eckert married Eliza Kaufman,
daughter of William M. Kaufman, and they have had two children,
William K. and Carrie.

William K. Eckert, of Reading is interested in
numerous enterprises in the city. He is a native of Reading, born
in 1879, son of Isaac and Eliza (Kaufman) Eckert. In his youth he
attended the local grammar and high schools, graduating from the
latter in 1898, when he went to Cornell University. There he spent
two years, at the end of which time he returned to Reading and read
law with Isaac Hiester. On Dec. 12, 1901, he took the position of
secretary-treasurer and general manager of the Deppen Brewing
Company, which position he resigned in 1908, to enter the banking
business, which is his present occupation. He is a director of the
Farmers’ National Bank and of the Colonial Trust Company, two of
the strongest financial institutions of the city, and in 1906 was
chosen second vice-president of the former institution, with which
his family have been so long associated. He is one of the most
successful young business men of his native city, where he has a
host of friends.

Mr. Eckert married, Dec. 12, 1905, in Reading,
Miss Mary L. Barbey, whose family is mentioned elsewhere, the
Barbeys being among the old and prominent families of the city. Mr.
and Mrs. Eckert reside at No. 812 North Fifth street, Reading, and
are well known and much esteemed in that locality. They are members
of the Episcopal Church.

p. 796

Surnames: HAHN, STETSON, HIESTER

Isaac Eckert (father of George B. Eckert) was born Jan. 26, 1800,
at Womelsdorf, Berks county, and was brought up on a farm, and
educated in the local schools and the preparatory school of the
University of Pennsylvania. In his young manhood he entered the
large general store of his father, Peter Eckert, at Womelsdorf. He
showed so much proficiency in business affairs that his father
transferred the store to him and his elder brother William before
he became of age. In 1828 they removed to Reading, and established
their store at the northwest corner of Fourth and Penn streets,
where they traded successfully until 1836. Isaac Eckert then
retired from the store business to associate with his younger
brother, Dr. George N. Eckert, in the manufacture of iron. In
1841-44, they erected the Henry Clay Furnace along the Schuylkill
river in the southern section of Reading, then one of the largest
anthracite furnaces in Pennsylvania, and this is said to have been
the first furnace at which anthracite coal was used in the
manufacture of iron. In 1855 they erected a second furnace near by,
which they operated until the younger brother’s decease in 1865.
The surviving partner then purchased his brother’s interest, and
carried on the plant very successfully until 1873, when he sold it
to his two sons, Henry S., and George B., whom he had educated for
the business. He died shortly afterward, Dec. 13, 1873.

Isaac Eckert was also prominently identified
with other industrial affairs relating to the manufacture of iron
for many years, more especially with the Leesport Iron Company at
Leesport, and in the mining of iron ore in different parts of Berks
county, whereby he became the owner of many hundred acres of land.
He was one of the founders of the Berks County Agricultural
Society, and served as president for a number of years. He took
great interest in the best breeds of live stock and the finest
varieties of standard fruits, and during his presidency superior
specimens of them constituted the chief attractions at the annual
fairs.

Mr. Eckert’s success as a merchant and
manufacturer attracted the respect and confidence of the directors
of the Farmers’ Bank of Reading to such a degree for a number of
years that they selected him as president, beginning in 1836, and
he continued to fill this important and responsible position in a
most successful and creditable manner for nearly forty years (until
his decease in 1873), notwithstanding the trying fluctuations of
financial affairs at Reading, more especially the panics of 1837
and 1857.

In 1867 and also in 1873 Mr. Eckert made
extensive tours through the principal countries of Europe, and
acquired much practical information upon many subjects. In the
latter year, he served as one of the commissioners to the Vienna
Exposition, having been appointed by President Grant. He also
served as one of the two commissioners from the Berks District for
the organization of the board of finance under which the Centennial
Exposition of 1876 was successfully conducted.

Mr. Eckert took great interest in the success of
the political principles in which he had been educated, and to
which he adhered through life, first as a Whig and afterward as a
Republican. His influence and wealth were freely used for the
benefit of his party. During the Rebellion he contributed liberally
of his means to encourage the national administration in
successfully prosecuting the war for the preservation of the Union,
and in this behalf he took an active part with other prominent men
of Reading at public and private meetings to develop proper
sentiments in the community favorable to the great cause. In 1860
he was a delegate to the National Convention at Chicago, when
Abraham Lincoln was nominated for President on the Republican
ticket, and in 1864 he served as one of the Presidential Electors
for the State of Pennsylvania. Politically he was universally
respected, and personally he was highly esteemed for his many
admirable traits of character.

Mr. Eckert was a member of Christ Episcopal
Church at Reading, and a liberal contributor to the endowment fund
of the diocese of Central Pennsylvania. He was distinguished for
cheerfulness of disposition, and he possessed pleasing manners in
his social and business intercourse. A full chime of ten superior
bells, weighing over five tons, was presented by his children to
the church as a memorial to him, and placed in the Gothic spire of
that elegant and costly structure.

Mr. Eckert was married to Judith Hahn (daughter
of Dr. John Hahn, of New Hanover township, Montgomery county, a
graduate physician of the University of Pennsylvania, member of
Congress from 1815-17, and a lineal descendant of Philip Hahn, who
emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1729). To Mr. and Mrs. Eckert were
born three children: Henry S., George B., and Rebecca (married to
P. R. Stetson, of New York). Mr. Eckert died Dec. 13, 1873, and his
wife Nov. 5, 1875, aged sixty-nine years. Dr. John Hahn was the son
of Philip Hahn, a captain in the Revolution, whose mother was Anna
Margaretha Hiester, a daughter of Daniel Hiester, of Montgomery
county.

p. 796

Surnames: ECKERT, HICKS, DECKER, GERNANT, RUTH, HEHN, TROUTMAN

John Eckert, the progenitor of the family to which George B. Eckert
belongs, was born in October, 1707, in the parish of Spielburg,
Germany, in a country of fine farms and magnificent forests, near
Frankfort-on-the-Main, and there learned trade of blacksmith. In
1732 he married Angelia Hicks, and in 1741 emigrated with his wife
and four children to Pennsylvania, settling in Heidelberg township,
where he continued his trade as blacksmith and brought up his sons
to the same trade. He died in July, 1770, and his well, disposing
of a considerable property, was probated Aug. 13, 1770. In this
document the names of his children are given as follows: Johanna
Magdalena, m. to the Rev. Henry Decker; Valentine, m. to Elizabeth
Gernant; Jonas, m. to Mary Catharine Ruth; Conrad, m. to Elizabeth
Hehn; Nicholas; Mary Christina, m. to George Troutman; and Ann
Mary, m. to Frederick Hehn. In the release, relating to the
settlement of the estate, the sons are described as blacksmiths by
occupation. In the several generations of this family its members
were prominently identified with the iron business in Berks county
for upward of 150 years.

p. 796

Surnames: ECKERT, BROWN, HIESTER, TREVOR, BENSON, GOOD

Peter Eckert; for many years a prominent and successful merchant at
Womelsdorf, and grandfather of George B. Eckert, was born on the
Eckert homestead in Heidelberg township, several miles east of
Womelsdorf, Nov. 12, 1771. He was brought up on the farm and worked
as a clerk in a country store until he became of age. He then
embarked in the store business for himself in Womelsdorf, which he
followed very successfully until his decease, covering a period of
upward of forty years. His trading relations extended over a wide
stretch of country, even reaching into the Southern States. He was
of an enterprising spirit and appreciating the importance of
education, sent his children to Philadelphia to give them the
advantages of the most advanced schools of that time. He owned a
large tract of coal land in Schuylkill county and was one of the
first persons to use anthracite coal for domestic purposes. This
was hauled to Womelsdorf by his own teams.

Mr. Eckert was married to Susan Phillipina
Brown, daughter of George Brown of Millbach, Lebanon county, who
removed to Erie, Pa., and there died. Mr. and Mrs. Eckert had ten
children, two dying in infancy; David, who died at Philadelphia,
unmarried, at the age of thirty years; William, m. to Rebecca
Hiester; Isaac (whose sketch appears in this publication); Dr.
George Nicholas, a graduate physician, member of Congress from the
Philadelphia district in 1849-50, and director of the United States
Mint at Philadelphia, m. to Emily Trevor; Peter, who died at the
age of seventeen years; Mary, who died unmarried; Eliza, m. to Dr.
Lot Benson; and Susan, m. to Rev. William A. Good. Peter Eckert
died in 1839, aged sixty-eight years, and his wife in 1851, aged
eighty years.

p. 798

Surnames: ECKERT

Valentine Eckert, prominent in the Revolutionary war from Berks
county, was born at Langenselbold, in the Kingdom of Hanover, in
1733. He came to America with his parents in 1741, who settled in
the Tulpehocken Valley at a point east of where Womelsdorf is now
situated. He was naturalized in September 1761. In June 1776, he
was one of the ten members of the Provincial Conference who
represented Berks county in that important body; and in July
following, he was selected as a delegate from the county to the
Provincial convention which was assembled for the purpose of
framing a new government founded on the authority of the people. In
1776 and 1779 he represented the county in the Provincial Assembly.
He was a resident of Cumru township, and a blacksmith by
occupation. He offered his services to the government in the
Revolutionary war, and commanded a company of Cavalry Associators
for a time. He and his company participated in the battle of
Germantown, in October 1777, where he was wounded. He was appointed
sub-lieutenant of the county on March 21, 1777, and served in that
office until his promotion to lieutenant of the county in January
1781, a position he filled until the close of the war. While
serving as sub-lieutenant, he also acted as a commissioner for the
purchase of army supplies. In 1784, he was appointed judge of the
court of Common Pleas of the county, and occupied that office for a
term of seven years, when, by the Constitution of 1790, a president
judge of all the courts was appointed to take the place of the
several judges. In the Pennsylvania militia, he was brigade
inspector for the county for a period of twenty years, from April
11, 1793. About the year 1816, he moved to Virginia, and died at
Winchester, that State, in December 1821, in the eighty-eighth year
of his age. He was a brother of Capt. Conrad Eckert, whose sketch
appears in this publication.

,
p. 878 Surnames: ECKERT, LOTZ, HIESTER, BECK, RESLEY, STRONG,
GERHARD, HAAK, SHEPP, KLOHS, HENNE, KRICK, SPICHER, HOYER, LEID,
HERTZOG, MOHLER, BITZER, REBER, STOUDT

William J. Eckert, a substantial farmer in Heidelberg township
where he owns a fine farm that has been in the Eckert name for
several generations, was born there April 7, 1862.

The progenitor of the Eckert family in Berks
county, Pa., was (I) Johan Conrad Eckert, who settled in Heidelberg
township where in 1759 he was assessed equal to $66.50) federal
tax. On May 17, 1777, he was captain of the 6th Company. Col.
Nicholas Lotz’s 4th Battalion, of Berks county militia, in the
Revolution. 0n May 10, 1780, he was captain of Lieut. Col. Joseph
Hiester’s 6th Battalion. The Pennsylvania Archives, 5th Series.
Vol. V, p. 231, give John Eckert as ensign of the company. Among
his children were : Philip and Johannes (John).

(II) Philip Eckert, son of Johan Conrad, was born June 18, 1756,
and he died Sept. 10, 1828. He was married to Lydia Beck, born June
17, 1762, and their children were: George. born Sept. 9, 1782 (died
Jan 19, 1854); Mary, 1784; Susanna, 1785; Catharine, 1788; Peter,
1790; Sarah, 1792; Margaret, 1794; Elizabeth, 1795; Catharine (2).
1799; and Hannah, 1803.

(III) George Eckert. son of Philip, born Sept. 9, 1782. died Jan.
19. 1854. He married Sarah. born Dec. 16, 1787, daughter of Rudolph
Resley, of South Lebanon township, Lebanon Co., Pa. She died Jan.
12, 1879. Their children were: Catharine. born 1809; Elizabeth,
1811; Mary, 1813; George, 1815; Cyrus, 1817; Philip, 1820; William.
1822; Rudolph, 1825; George John, 1827; and Aaron T., 1830.

(IV) George John Eckert, son of George and Sarah, was born Feb. 14,
1827, in North Lebanon township, Lebanon county. He graduated from
Marshall College, Mercersburg, Sept. 6, 1852. and studied law in
Hon. William Strong’s office at Reading, being admitted to practice
April 28, 1855. In 1865 he left a large practice to engage in
business, in which he was very successful. On Nov. 26, 1857 he was
married to Rebecca, daughter of Isaac M. Gerhard, of Sheridan. Pa.,
and their children were: Isaac G., Rudolph R., Mintie S., Emma R.,
George, William (deceased) and Ellen.

(II) John Eckert, son of Johan Conrad, the progenitor was born Oct.
13, 1766, and passed his entire life engaged in farming on the land
owned by his father and still in the family, it being now owned by
William J. Eckert, and his brother Aaron. The land is the finest in
the township, and has splendid water. John Eckert died Dec 14,
1857. In 1792 he married Catharine Haak, born Aug 7, 1774, who died
Aug. 16, 1848, after fifty-six years of wedded life. They became
the parents of five sons and four daughters. as follows: Jacob,
William, Rebecca, John (Dec. 8, 1799-Jan. 27, 1871), Benjamin,
Isaac, Sarah, Mary and Catharine (June 3, 1808 – Oct. 31, 1829).

(III) Jacob Eckert, son of John, was born Sept. 7, 1793. He became
the owner of the old homestead, upon which in 1810 he erected a
stone house. He was very successful in his farming, and the
improvements be made on the home place greatly enhanced its value.
In religious work he was prominent as a member of the Corner
Church, and there he now lies buried. He married Sarah Shepp, born
July 15, 1806, daughter of Conrad Shepp, a native of
Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, who came over during the Revolution, and
instead of returning to the country that had sold his military
services became a farmer near Reading, Pa. Conrad Shepp married a
Klohs, and was the father of Daniel, Elizabeth and Catherine,
besides Mrs. Eckert. Mrs. Eckert died Aug 1. 1866. her husband
surviving her but ten months. They had children: James; Marry, born
April 4, 1828, who married Daniel Henne (Aug. 8, 1827-Sept. 29,
1894), and died Dec. 10, 1905: Jacob, who married Susan Krick, and
lived in Wernersville; and Amanda, born Feb. 28, 1845, who died
Jan. 17, 1866.

(IV) James Eckert. son of Jacob, was born in Heidelberg township
Sept. 20, 1832. He received such education as the common schools
afforded, and worked on the home farm until twenty-eight years of
age, or until his marriage, when he began for himself on the
homestead. Here he continued until 1883, when he moved to a smaller
place. known as the John Spicher farm. He is now living in a
comfortable little home at Ephrata. Lancaster Co., Pa., having no
active employment other than looking after his real estate. Mr.
Eckert has been twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth Hoyer,
born Nov. 2, 1841, daughter of Simon and Catharine Hoyer. She died
April 25, 1864, the mother of two children, namely: William J.,
born April 7, 1862; and Emma, born in February, 1864, who married
Adam Leid. a farmer of Chester county, Pa., and has one son, James.
In November, 1865, Mr. Eckert married (second) Lydia Hertzog, and
to this union were born: Aaron, who is mentioned below, and Ida,
born March 16, 1874. The family were reared in the German Baptist
faith. In politics Mr. Eckert has been an active worker for
Republican principles.

(V) William J. Eckert, son of James and Elizabeth (Hoyer), received
his education in the public schools, and then turned his attention
to the cultivation of the old homestead. He is now the owner of
this property, which has come to him in direct line from Johan
Conrad, the successive owners being John, son of Johan Conrad;
Jacob, son of John; James, son of Jacob; and William J., son of
James. This farm has been improved by each succeeding generation,
and in 1901 William J. Eckert remodeled the house, practically
tearing down the old structure with the exception of the gable end
to the west, where just below the cornice is a stone bearing the
inscription: “Erected in 1810 by Jacob and Sarah Eckert.” The
present house is modern and commodious, with large porches. A
well-kept lawn, crossed by good stone walks, surrounds it, and
makes it one of the most attractive places in the township. The
barn, 45 x 86 feet, was erected in 1882. Mr. Eckert thoroughly
understands farming, and he disposes of his produce at the Reading
market, attending twice a week. His stand is No. 108, Kissinger’s
market house. He has also engaged in the raising of fancy poultry,
and has a good dairy, keeping about twenty cows. Mr. Eckert is a
Republican and for nine consecutive years served his township as
school director, for eight years being treasurer of the board.
During this time two new school houses were erected — Mountain in
1900, and Fannery in 1905.

On May 25, 18~2, Mr. Eckert married Fianna
Mohler, born Aug. 5, 1859, daughter of Levi and Magdalena (Bitzer)
Mohler, of Lancaster county, and four children have blessed this
union: Louisa, born March 24, 1883; Levi J., July 22, 1887; Mabel
A., April 15, 1890; and Verda E., March 9, 1899.

(V) Aaron Eckert, son of James and Lydia (Hertzog), was born on the
old Eckert homestead April 5, 1867. He attended the Showers school
and was at the Trappe one term. Farming has always been his
occupation, and he gave his services to his father until he
attained his majority, at which time he came into possession of one
of his father’s farms. This consists of sixty-nine acres of good
land, which Mr. Eckert keeps in good condition and has
well-stocked. In 1887 he married Annie Reber, daughter of William
and Henrietta (Stoudt) Reber, of Bernville. They have no children.
Both Mr. Eckert and his wife are members of the German Baptist
church at Richland. They are highly esteemed people, and have many
friends.