Parsons/Taylor House (4th and Ferry Streets; … · Web viewParsons-Taylor House (60 South 4th, at Ferry Street) This is part of Original Town Lot No.176, as laid out by Easton founder

Parsons/Taylor House (4th and Ferry Streets; Trolley Stop: “St

PAGE

14

(Photos by Richard F. Hope)

Parsons-Taylor House (60 South 4th, at Ferry Street)

This is part of Original Town Lot No.176, as laid out by Easton founder William Parsons in 1752. By 1757, this small stone house had been built for Easton’s Founding Father William Parsons XE "Parsons, William"

XE "Centre Square" . The house may have actually been started by Parsons earlier, in 1753-54, and consequently it contends with the Bachmann Publick House and the Colonel Hooper House (at 5th and Northampton Streets) for the honor of being the oldest surviving house in Easton. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 22 August 1980. The style is “Georgian Colonial”.

William Parsons

William Parsons (1701 – 1757) began his career apprenticed as a shoemaker in England as a boy; he made his way to Philadelphia before his 21st birthday, and opened his own successful shop Philadelphia. Parsons taught himself mathematics and surveying, and became one of Benjamin Franklin’s associates, becoming a charter member of Franklin’s Union Fire Company, and in 1734 became the Librarian of Franklin’s Library Company. He also began making professional surveys in the 1730s, and was appointed Surveyor General of Pennsylvania from 1741-48. In 1750-51, he was a dominant member of the team that settled the disputed boundary line between Delaware and Maryland. In 1752, he was sent by his patrons, the Penn Family, to survey and lay out the new site for Easton, and remained in the new town as the Penns’s representative to sell land to settlers. He remained to direct Easton’s affairs and (as a Major in the militia) the defense of Northampton County during the first years of the French and Indian War.

Parsons initially lived in a log house in Easton, built on two property lots reserved for his use at the corner of Northampton and Hamilton (now 4th) Streets. He moved into his stone house on South 4th Street in 1757, and died in it in the same year. Although Parsons had become estranged from his wife and older children after their conversion to the Moravian Church, Parsons’s repeated contact with Moravians during his five years at Easton had kindled a new-found respect their religious views. From his deathbed, Parsons sent messages to reconcile with his wife and older children. At his request, his funeral service was conducted by his son-in-law, Jacob Rogers, a Moravian XE "Moravian Church" Reverend.

Parsons’s Successors – the Taylor Lease

As with the two lots where his log cabin was located, Parsons never obtained formal title to his stone house in Easton – perhaps because he was never happy about his appointment to Easton, despite his pivotal role in founding the town. Nearly a year after Parsons’s death, his Executor obtained a formal patent from the Penn Family for the stone house at an annual ground rent of 7 shillings, and sold the property several months later to Charles Swaine, a Philadelphia merchant. Swaine held the property until 1767, when he sold it for £200 to fellow Philadelphia merchant John Hughes. Hughes died in 1772, and his Executor and heirs sold it in 1780 to yet another Philadelphia merchant, Joseph Dean.

In 1780, George Taylor XE "Taylor, George" (a signer of the Declaration of Independence XE "Declaration of Independence" ) returned to Easton to lease the Parsons stone house from the Hughes Estate just before it was sold. Taylor himself died there the following year, after a residence of less than 11 months. In George Taylor’s day, the house and property were larger, including a “frame attachment” to the stone house. There were also outbuildings, which presumably included a stable for his horse and two cows, and quarters for the two slaves that Taylor owned before he died, named Tom and Sam (a cripple). These slaves had to be registered under Pennsylvania’s law of 1780 that gradually abolished slavery, and they were both 32 years of age in 1781 when they were sold by the Taylor’s estate after his death. They had not been registered earlier, because (as the recorder, Robert Trail, explained to Robert Levers) “Col. Taylor is not in Town otherwise would have got the names of his Negroes also.”

Taylor died on 23 February 1781. Although Taylor’s will appointed three executors to handle his estate after his death, Col. Robert Lettis Hooper, Jr. failed to qualify, and Robert Levers died in 1788, leaving Robert Traill as the only one who continued to serve until the estate was finally wound up in 1799. The estate was found to be insolvent.

“A Quaint, Old-Fashioned Thing”

It appears that property owner Joseph Dean made prompt plans to lease the house after Taylor’s death, and got his new tenant to bear most of the clean-up costs. On 19 June 1781, Abraham Horn applied for a tavern license, stating that he had “a large commodious Stone House at the Corner of Hamilton & [Ferry] Streets . . . on the Road leading towards Williams, Lower Saucon, and Bucks County, where there is good accommodation for Travellers and sufficient Stabling for Horses, having been at great Expense in making the same suitable for that purpose.” Given the reference to a “Stone House” on this corner, it would appear that Horn was probably referring to Taylor’s former residence.

Abraham Horn Sr. (1757 -- 1826) served in the ranks during the Revolution, and may have been a sergeant and/or a drummer. After the Revolution, he was employed (along with Jacob Shouse) by Jeremiah Piersoll as a ferryman at the Easton ferry across the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers. In 1790, Horn and Shouse acquired the rights, and subsequently Horn became the sole owner of the Lehigh River ferry, which he operated profitably. In 1795, he “conceived the scheme” of replacing the ferry with a bridge. As he was a Northampton County commissioner at that time, he caused abutments to be constructed. In 1797, he received the contract to erect the first bridge across the Lehigh River, which opened the following year. Made of wood with a single arch, it collapsed a “few days after completion”. The loss fell entirely upon Horn, because the Commissioners had not yet accepted the construction. With the help of friends, Horn promptly built a replacement with two stone piers in the River. In 1797 he was also the first President of the Humane Fire Company. In the War of 1812, he was the Lt. Colonel of the First Pennsylvania Riflemen. He was apparently promoted, because when he died in 1826, he was referred to as General Horn.

Property owner Joseph Dean’s financial affairs did not prosper. In 1790, a Commission of Bankruptcy organized “under the hand of his Excellency Benjamin Franklin Esquire President of the Supreme Executive Council” of Pennsylvania seized owner Joseph Dean’s property for unpaid debt, and allowed three of his creditors to sell the Parsons-Taylor House to “yeoman” Frederick Berthold. Berthold sold off the eastern half of Lot No.176 to clockmaker Nathan Gulick in 1809, but still held the stone house and the western half of the Lot at his death. His estate’s Administrator (and son), Alexander H. Berthold, was unable to find a buyer for the property in its entirety, and received court permission to sell it off in pieces. The corner property and stone house was sold in 1831 to saddler Jacob Yohe for $552. Another small strip was added to the eastern edge of the property by an agreement between Yohe and Isaac Levan, the neighboring landowner, allowing Yohe to acquire ownership and control of the private alley running from Ferry Street that had been laid out between the two properties. Yohe died 1855, and his estate put the property up for sale. A newspaper mused that the old stone house

“is a quaint, old-fashioned thing, and having so fine a situation, will no doubt have to make room before long for something more imposing and modern.”

The Yohe estate sold the property to Edward J. Seip the following year. Seip (1809 – 1874) owned a dry goods store at what became 436-38 Northampton Street. He also became a Major in the Pennsylvania militia, and the Treasurer of Northampton County. His wife was Mary Ann Odenwelder, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth Odenwelder; the Odenwelders owned the building on Northampton Street that became the basis for Laubach’s Department Store.

In late 1861 (at the start of the Civil War), Edward J. Seip lost five properties in Sheriff sales. One of these was the Parsons-Taylor House, purchased by Thomas J. Bergin for $650. The tenant in the building was Matilda Bodder, who ran a small grocery store there. Bergin sold the property for $834.81 at the end of the Civil War (in 1865) to Susan M. Innes, who held it until 1872. Susan Margaret (Butz) Innes was a granddaughter of Christian Butz, the early 19th Century proprietor of the predecessor to the Hotel Lafayette. Mrs. Innes married of James R. Innes, and the couple held other property in what is now the 200 block of Ferry Street.

Jacob Dachrodt

At about the time that Mrs. Innes purchased the building (or perhaps somewhat earlier), Jacob Dachrodt opened a meat market there. Dachrodt’s shop was remembered by some because when “slaughtered pigs were delivered to the shop and hung on racks along the curb, Dachrodt put a corn cob in each mouth and a pile of sawdust underneath to catch the drippings.” A “Samson-like” large man, he then hoisted each carcass inside, and butchered them himself. He sold hickory smoked hams and bologna, as well as “Pennsylvania Dutch” specialties such as “souse”, liver pudding, and scrapple; he was also known to skim “crackings” from his lard-rendering kettles out back to give to small children.

Jacob Dachrodt had been born in 1828, and learned the butcher’s trade from his father. He was also interested in politics. From his mid-20s until 1856, Dachrodt became the first representative of the West Ward on the Easton Borough Council. He also joined a private military unit known as the State Fencibles, and became known as “the best man in the ranks”. He was later elected Captain of the private military unit known alternatively as the “Citizen’s Artillery” or “Easton Artillerists”, which was organized in May of 1857. This unit (including Captain Dachrodt) and three other volunteer companies from Easton offered their services to the Governor of Pennsylvania on 15 April 1861, the same day that President Lincoln called for troops. They were organized into the First Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, with Jacob Dachrodt (Dachradt) and his men designated as Company B.

· A fellow officer from Easton was William H. Armstrong, the Captain of Company C. Armstrong later served with distinction as the Lt. Colonel of the 129th Pennsylvania Volunteers.

· Yet another fellow Captain was Charles A. Heckman, the Captain of Company D. He had been a sergeant with the 1st U.S. Voltigeurs during the Mexican War, and then Captain of the Easton “National Grays”, another of Easton’s four private military companies just before the Civil War. After returning from his service with the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment, by October 1861 Heckman was appointed Lt. Colonel of the 9th New Jersey Regiment, and joined General Burnside’s campaign against North Carolina. He was promoted to full Colonel on 10 Feb. 1862, and then to a Brigadier General of Volunteers in November of 1862. He frequently led his troops into battle. His “uniform was perforated with bullets on a number of occasions”, and he was wounded several times. “[I]t was widely believed by his men that he had a charmed life.” At Drewry’s Bluff, Va. on 16 May 1864, his brigade repelled five Confederate assaults but was ultimately overwhelmed by Confederate troops. Heckman was captured and sent to Libby Prison and other P.O.W. camps, until being exchanged on 25 Aug. 1864. After his exchange, he commanded the 2nd Division of the U.S. XVIII Corps at the capture of Fort Harrison.

Dachrodt’s men left Easton to join the Union Army on 20 April 1861. The 1st Pennsylvania Regiment enlisted for only three months duty; it mustered out of service on 23 July 1861, without having engaged in any major fighting.

Jacob Dachrodt rejoined the Union Army on 11 October 1862, and became Lieutenant Colonel of the 153rd Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. The 153rd Regiment’s Colonel, Charles Glanz, had been Captain of the private military company known as the “Easton Jaegers” before the War. In business, he had been Willibald Kuebler’s partner in Kuebler’s Brewery when it was established there in 1852. Col. Glanz was captured, and Lt. Col. Dachrodt was wounded, at the Battle of Chancellorsville when their Regiment had the misfortune to be the first unit to receive the celebrated flanking attack of Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson that defeated the Union Army on that day. Surrounded by Confederates on three sides, the recruits of the 153rd Regiment nevertheless stood their ground like veterans until ordered to retreat, “getting off one deadly accurate volley” in the process. The 153rd Regiment went on to be heavily engaged at the Battle of Gettysburg, fought after the enlistment period of many of its companies had technically ended. The Regiment initially fought the Confederates who swept the Union Army from the town, but the next day it held position on Cemetery Hill despite heavy artillery fire and a determined infantry attack. At one point the Regiment was driven from its first line of defense, and Confederate troops began reaching the supporting Union artillery guns. A leading Confederate soldier threw himself over the muzzle of one of the Union cannons, and told the gunners: “I take command of this gun”. One of the Union gunners, a German, replied: “Du sollst sie haben” (“you shall have it”), and fired the gun. “A second later, and the soul of the daring rebel had taken its flight.”

· Many men in the Regiment were primarily German-speakers, including Colonel Glanz and Lt. Colonel Dachrodt themselves. This was true of a large segment of Easton itself, even as late as the Civil War.

· Another Easton man in the 153rd Regiment was John P. Ricker, the Captain of Company E, who was wounded at Gettysburg. After the War, Captain Ricker was a long-time resident on Northampton Street, at the location where the Bishop Apartments Building (527-29) now stands.

Lt. Col. Dachrodt was finally mustered out of service with his Regiment upon their return to Harrisburg on 24 July 1863; the following day the men returned “in a body to Easton” where they disbanded after “an enthusiastic public reception”.

· William Henry Weaver, a Sergeant wounded at Chancellorsville, wrote a narrative of the war while convalescing from his wound. Weaver’s son, Ethan Allen Weaver – a prolific Easton historian – expanded his father’s work into one of the first military histories of the conflict.

After the Civil War, Dachrodt became a charter member and Vice Commander of the Lafayette Post (Easton, No.217) of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Civil War veterans’ group. Beginning in March of 1882, he received a relatively large government pension for his War wound to the right elbow: $30 per month, at a time when widows received $6 and another Easton veteran who had lost his leg (Abraham B. Howell) received $24. It is unclear how the story (related above) about Dachrodt hoisting pig carcasses reconciles with this government pension.

Jacob Dachrodt’s wife, Isabella, purchased the Parsons-Taylor House property in 1872, for $5,465.15. The large increase over the $834.81 paid by Susan Innes in 1865 (see above) may indicate that Mrs. Innes improved the property by adding the new brick building along Ferry Street – apparently in the location now occupied by the building that is numbered 357-61 Ferry Street. This Ferry Street building had not been in place prior to the Civil War, and the “Second Empire” style (complete with Mansard roof) of the building standing there today suggests that it was constructed shortly after the Civil War. Jacob Dachrodt moved his meat market and residence into the new brick building next door on Ferry Street in 1873, the year after he purchased the property. However, Dachrodt’s financial resources apparently became somewhat overextended. In 1878, he lost ownership of the entire corner property in a Sheriff’s sale to Jacob Moses. Dachrodt moved even farther East, to 353 Ferry Street (then owned by neighbor Samuel Barron).

Dachrodt moved back to the Parsons-Taylor House by 1881, and in the following year his father bought back ownership of that corner property. Jacob Dachrodt also served (from 1887-90) in the Pennsylvania State Senate, elected by a large majority on an independent nomination. By 1890, Dachrodt had moved his residence to 903 Northampton Street, while his son John and family had taken over the Parsons-Taylor House. The process to finance the building was repeated once again, when the elder Dachrodt sold ownership of the property once more to Jacob Moses in 1892. Moses resold it in 1896 to the First National Bank of Easton Pa. The supposition that these were loan transactions (rather than outright sales) is supported by the fact that the Dachrodt Family meat market listing remained for the corner property until approximately 1906.

Jacob Dachrodt is said to have actively operated the family meat market until 1899, when he was 70 years old, and the business continued to be listed in his name into the 20th Century. He was apparently assisted in later years by his son, John. The butcher shop business was acquired in approximately 1905 by William F. Spitznagle, who had previously worked in the shop and whose son, Harry P. Spitznagle, was born in 1902 in an upstairs room over the store. The business was later purchased and operated by Walter Schooley, and was known as Schooley’s Meat Market in 1908. Jacob Dachrodt died in 1909, at age 80. He is buried in Easton Cemetery Plot E-476.

Historical Site

Meanwhile, in 1897, the First National Bank of Easton sold title of the to the Parsons XE "Parsons, William" -Taylor House property to the Parsons Taylor Historical Society for $6,000. In 1902, title was returned to the Bank, and a year later sold to John S. Riegel. In 1904, David W. Nevin (the Easton lawyer and politician, Mayor, and developer of College Hill) bought the property, perhaps acting in part for Easton’s George Taylor Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (“D.A.R.”). In late 1905, Nevin separately sold off the Susan Innes Building next door (357-61 Ferry Street) to a private buyer. Nevin then formally sold the Parsons-Taylor House itself to the D.A.R. in 1906 for $2,825. A later article indicates that this sale price was just “for taxes”, further suggesting that Nevin had only been acting for the D.A.R. in purchasing the property in the first place.

After the meat market moved out, the D.A.R. renovated the house, and has held meetings there since 1908. Today, the D.A.R. maintains the Parsons/Taylor House as a historical landmark and museum. It contains period “artifacts such as a German-language Bible from the 1800s and what is purported to be a lock of George Washington’s hair.”

� Compare A.D. Chidsey, Jr., The Penn Patents in the Forks of the Delaware Plan of Easton, Map 2 (Vol. II of Publications of the Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society 1937) with Northampton County Tax Records map, www.ncpub.org. Accord, B.F. Fackenthal, Jr., “The Homes of George Taylor, Signer of the Declaration of Independence”, printed in 5 Papers Read Before the Bucks County Historical Society 112, at 126 (Paper Read Before the George Taylor Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, at Easton, PA, 6 Dec. 1922)(reprint in Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society Sigal Library), available online at www.archive.org/stream/homesofgeorgetay01fack#page/n3/mode/2up, originally obtained online from Penn State University Libraries, Digital Library Collections, 128.118.88.226/cdm4/page_text.php?CISOROOT=/digitalbks2&CISOPTR=21345&CISOBOX=0&OBJ=21391&ITEM=89 (copy begins at p.114, accessed 17 Dec. 2008).

� Marie & Frank Summa and Leonard Buscemi, Sr., Images of America: Historic Easton 17 (Arcadia Publishing 2000); A Brief History & Architectural Tour of EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA, www.easton-pa.com/History/HistoricEaston.htm “Parsons Taylor House” (accessed 2 Jan. 2005); Jim Deegan, “When, in the course of human events . . .”, Express-Times, 4 July 2007, posted 3 July 2007 at blog.pennlive.com/jimdeegan/2007/07/when_in_the_course_of_human_ev.html (accessed 19 June 2008).

� B.F. Fackenthal, Jr., “The Homes of George Taylor, Signer of the Declaration of Independence”, printed in 5 Papers Read Before the Bucks County Historical Society 112, at 126-27 (Paper Read Before the George Taylor Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, at Easton, PA, 6 Dec. 1922)(reprint in Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society Sigal Library at 21), available online at www.archive.org/stream/homesofgeorgetay01fack#page/n3/mode/2up. See also Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society, The 28th Annual House Tour 29 (3 May 2008)(house built in 1756, and “is the oldest property in Easton”).

� National Register of Historic Places, NRIS Item No.80003585 (22 Aug. 1980).

� Salvatore Patti, The Parsons-Taylor House Easton, Pennsylvania 1 (typewritten, library accession stamp 26 Mar. 1959). Mr. Patti indicated at that time, that it was one of only 4 “undestroyed” houses of Declaration of Independence signers left in Pennsylvania.

� A.D. Chidsey, Jr., A Frontier Village: Pre-Revolutionary Easton 77-83 (Vol. III of Publications of The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 1940).

� Chidsey, A Frontier Village, supra at 83-84.

� Chidsey, A Frontier Village, supra at 84-85, 89.

� Chidsey, A Frontier Village, supra at 89-93.

� See, e.g., separate www.WalkingEaston.com entries for the Pomp / Bixler Building at 401 Northampton Street and the Weygandt Building at 22-24 North 4th Street.

� William W. Carling, Northampton County Studies in Our Community 21 (Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society, sponsor; accession stamp from Easton Area Public Library dated 8 Apr. 1940); A.D. Chidsey, A Frontier Village: Pre-Revolutionry Easton 94, 110 (Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 1940).

� Chidsey, A Frontier Village, supra at 94. The details of the estragement are colorfully reported in William J. Heller, Historic Easton From the Window of a Trolley-Car 16 (The Express Printing Co., Inc., 1912, reprinted by Genealogical Researchers, 1984). According to Heller, William Parsons (a confirmed Atheist and member of Benjamin Franklin’s Junto) had objected to his wife and oldest daughter attending the Moravian revival meeting where they were converted. When his wife returned home (accompanied by the married eldest daughter for support), Parsons had already heard the news. “After they entered, he closed and locked the door and then taking the strap used at his shoemaker’s bench he whipped both of them severely; then opened the door, demanded them to leave and never return, to which they both religiously adhered. They never entered his door again until the day he was buried at Easton, more than nine years later.”

� See Deed, Timothy Horsfield, Executor of Will of William Parsons, to Meyer Hart, C1 15 (21 Mar. 1760)(reciting a Patent from the Penn Family in Patent Book A19 133 dated 20 Nov. 1759).

� See Chidsey, A Frontier Village, supra at 88.

� Deed, Timothy Horsfield, Executor of the Will of William Parsons, to Charles Swaine, B2 51 (8 Feb. 1759)(reciting a patent to Horsfield from the Penn Family recorded in Patent Book A20 350 dated 20 Nov. 1758, at 7s. ground rent). See also Northamton County Warrant P28 issued to Timothy Horsfield, executor of the will of William Parsons (30 Oct. 1759, returned 20 Nov. 1759), indexed online for Northampton County p.136 Warrant No.28, www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/di/r17-88WarrantRegisters/NorthamptonPages/Northampton136.pdf, survey copied in Survey Book C155 241 (20 Nov. 1759)(William Parsons, additional entry with Timothy Horsfield’s name struck out on reverse side).

� Deed, Charles (Hannah) Swaine to John Hughes, B2 52 (28 May 1767)(both identified as Phildelphia merchants; sale price £200 for Lot 60’ X 220’ in size).

� Salvatore Patti, The Parsons-Taylor House Easton, Pennsylvania 5 (typewritten, Easton Area Public Library accession stamp 26 Mar. 1959)

� Deed, Isaac Hughes and Stephen Paschall to Joseph Dean, B2 53 (28 Sept. 1780). This deed recites that Isaac Hughes was a son of John Hughes, and his surviving Executor. Paschall was the Executor for John Hughes Jr., the other son who had since died. The sale price was, once again, £200.

� A Brief History of EASTON, supra; Carling, Northampton County Studies, supra at 23; B.F. Fackenthal, Jr., “The Homes of George Taylor, Signer of the Declaration of Independence”, printed in 5 Papers Read Before the Bucks County Historical Society 112, at 126-27 (Paper Read Before the George Taylor Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, at Easton, PA, 6 Dec. 1922)(reprint in Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society Sigal Library at 21-22), available online at www.archive.org/stream/homesofgeorgetay01fack#page/n3/mode/2up; Jim Deegan, “When, in the course of human events . . .”, Express-Times, 4 July 2007, posted 3 July 2007 at blog.pennlive.com/jimdeegan/2007/07/when_in_the_course_of_human_ev.html (accessed 19 June 2008).

A history of George Taylor’s earlier dealings in Easton is included in the separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for the Bachmann Publick House at 169 Northampton Street, which Taylor had owned.

� B.F. Fackenthal, Jr., “The Homes of George Taylor, Signer of the Declaration of Independence”, printed in 5 Papers Read Before the Bucks County Historical Society 112, at 126 (Paper Read Before the George Taylor Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, at Easton, PA, 6 Dec. 1922)(reprint in Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society Sigal Library at 21), available online at www.archive.org/stream/homesofgeorgetay01fack#page/n3/mode/2up (“frame attachment” based upon old engravings, and slaves registered with Clerk of Sessions after Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1780).

� B.F. Fackenthal, Jr., “The Homes of George Taylor, Signer of the Declaration of Independence”, printed in 5 Papers Read Before the Bucks County Historical Society 112, at 126 (Paper Read Before the George Taylor Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, at Easton, PA, 6 Dec. 1922)(reprint in Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society Sigal Library at 21), available online at www.archive.org/stream/homesofgeorgetay01fack#page/n3/mode/2up.

See also Ethan Allen Weaver, “The Forks of the Delaware” Illustrated xvi (Eschenbach Press 1900)(slaves named Tom and Sam in 1780, both age 30).

� Letter, Robert Traill to Robert Levers (21 Oct. 1780), transcribed in Ethan Allen Weaver, Northampton County in the Revolution Newspaper Notes and Sketches Item No.15 (copied from the original scrapbook at the Easton Public Library).



� Ethan Allen Weaver, Northampton County in the Revolution Newspaper Notes and Sketches Item No.16 (copied from the original scrapbook at the Easton Public Library).

� The owner was probably Abraham Horn Sr., because Abraham Horn Jr. was a small child in 1781. Junior died in Easton in May 1839, at the age of “about 60 years”. Henry F. Marx (compiler), I Marriages and Deaths Northampton County 1799 – 1851 Newspaper Extracts 11 (Easton Area Public Library 1929)(report of Sunday, 7 Jan. 1804, reported wedding “last Sunday” of Abraham Horn Jr. and Eliza Opp); see St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Parish Records (Easton Area Public Library code G) 276 (Easton: undated) (married 1 Jan. 1804); accord, William J. Heller (supervising editor), III History of Northampton County and The Grand Valley of the Lehigh Biographical 421 (The American Historical Society 1920)(Abraham Horn Jr., “first son of Abraham Horn, Sr., was born April 4, 1777”).

� William J. Heller (supervising editor), III History of Northampton County and The Grand Valley of the Lehigh Biographical 420-21 (The American Historical Society 1920).

� William J. Heller (supervising editor), I History of Northampton County and The Grand Valley of the Lehigh 104 & vol.III at 421 (The American Historical Society 1920).

� F.A.Davis (ed.), Capt. F. Ellis (Historian), History of Northampton County 154 (Peter Fritts 1877, reprint by Higginson Book Company); see also

� William J. Heller (supervising editor), III History of Northampton County and The Grand Valley of the Lehigh Biographical 421 (The American Historical Society 1920).

Heller also suggests that he was the proprietor of the Golden Swan Hotel (predecessor of the Hotel Stirling) on Northampton Street, but the deed history suggests that he owned the property next door, and that his son Abraham Horn Jr. was actually the Swan’s proprietor. See Deed, Catharine Opp (widow of Michael Opp), et al. (heirs of Michael Opp), to Abraham Horn, D3 1 (13 Dec. 1805), which provided for the joint use of an alley shared with Abraham Horn Jr. next door at the hotel location. See also www.WalkingEaston.com entries for the Hotel Stirling Building at 460 Northampton Street, and the Boas Beer Saloon and German Emigrant Boarding House at 464-68 Northampton Street, together with the sources cited therein.

� Ethan Allen Weaver, Northampton County in the Revolution Newspaper Notes and Sketches 84 (copied from the original scrapbook at the Easton Public Library)(died 22 May 1826, from article in Easton Centinel, Fri., 26 May 1826); see generally William J. Heller (supervising editor), III History of Northampton County and The Grand Valley of the Lehigh Biographical 421 (The American Historical Society 1920)(died in 1826).

� Deed, John Wharton, Jeremiah Warder, and Robert Ralston to Frederick Barthold, B2 55 (22 Jan. 1790).

� Deed, Frederick (Elizabeth) Barthold to Nathan Gulick, E3 301 (2 Dec. 1809)(and recitals; sale price $600 for property measuring 60’ X 110’, located along Ferry Street eastwards from Gulick’s remaining portion of the Lot, and stretching to a 20’ public alley (now known as Bank Street)).

� Deed, Alexander H. Berthold, Administrator of the Estate of Frederick Berthold, to Jacob Yohe, G5 392 (2 Apr. 1831)(parcel 21’ on South 4th Street X 65’ on Ferry Street).

In describing the corner parcel sold to Yohe, the deed recites that Frederick Berthold died seized of the larger Lot No.176, but identifies that Lot’s size as being 60’ (on Hamilton [4th] Street) X 110’ (on Ferry Street), instead of the 220’ Ferry Street frontage of the original Lot shown in the earlier deeds (see above). This suggests that Frederick Berthold may have sold off the eastern half of Lot No.176 prior to his death. The same recital of the size of Lot No.176 at Frederick Berthold’s death appears in Deed, Alexander H. Berthold, Administrator of the Estate of Frederick Berthold, to William Down Baker, et al., Trustees of Methodist Episcopal Church, F5 412 (29 May 1830)(regarding Ferry Street parcel to the East of Yohe’s); Deed, Alexander H. Berthold, Administrator of the Estate of Frederick Berthold, to John Bowes, F5 414 (31 May 1830)(regarding strip that became 54 South 4th Street); Deed, Alexander H. Berthold, Administrator of the Estate of Frederick Berthold, to Charles L. Eberle, G5 152 (4 Nov. 1830)(regarding strip that became 56 South 4th Street).

� Agreement, Isaac Levan and Jacob Yohe, Misc.4 73 (Northampton County Deed Records 21 Aug. 1833).

� Henry F. Marx (compiler), IV Marriages and Deaths Northampton County 1852 – 1870 Newspaper Extracts 1012 (Easton Area Public Library 1934)(died 7 Feb. 1855).

� Article, “To Be Sold”, Easton Express, Wed., 28 Nov. 1855, p.2, col.2.

� Deed, Charles W. Mixsell, Administrator of the Estate of Jacob Yohe, to Edward J. Seip, D9 172 (1 Apr. 1856)(sale price $1610, but property evaluated in prior partition proceedings at $2500, although no family member agreed to take it at that valuation; partition found to be prejudicial to the overall value of the property).

Edward J. Seip was listed in his obituary in 1874 as a Major.

It also appears that his wife was Mary Ann Odenwelder, daughter of Philip Odenwelder, according to a newspaper marriage notice of 1832. Henry F. Marx (compiler), III Marriages and Deaths Northampton County 1799 – 1851 Newspaper Extracts 905 (Easton Area Public Library 1929). Philip Odenwelder was then a Forks Township resident, but had previously owned property on Northampton Street, which was then occupied by his grandson (and Mary Ann’s nephew), Michael Odenwelder. See separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for the Odenwelder House that was the original part of Laubach’s Department Store Building at 322 Northampton Street.

� FamilyTreeMaker User Home Page (on ancestry.com), “Descendants of Johann Jacob Seip”, familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/e/i/Craig-Seip/GENE1-0007.html (accessed 7 Oct. 2009); see also separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for the Kunsman Building at 436-38 Northampton Street and William H. Boyd, Boyd’s Directory of Reading, Easton, [Etc.] 129 (William H. Boyd 1860) 129 (Edward J. Seip, dry goods, at 162 Northampton Street under street numbering scheme in effect at that time, which later became 438 Northampton Street).

� FamilyTreeMaker User Home Page (on ancestry.com), “Descendants of Johann Jacob Seip”, familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/e/i/Craig-Seip/GENE1-0007.html (accessed 7 Oct. 2009)(born 21 May 1809, died 16 Jan. 1874); see also Jane S. Moyer (compiler), V Marriages and Deaths Northampton County 1885-1902 Newspaper Extracts 113 (Easton Area Public Library 1976)(death of Major Edward J. Seip, formerly of Easton, on 16 January 1874 near Nazareth, age 66).

� Henry F. Marx (compiler), III Marriages and Deaths Northampton County 1799 – 1851 Newspaper Extracts 905 (Easton Area Public Library 1929); FamilyTreeMaker User Home Page (on ancestry.com), “Descendants of Johann Jacob Seip”, familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/e/i/Craig-Seip/GENE1-0007.html (accessed 7 Oct. 2009)(married 29 Mar. 1832).

� See separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for Laubach’s Department Store Building at 322 Northampton Street.

� See Northampton County Deed Records, Sheriff 3 at 21 (to C.C. Field), 23 (to Thomas J. Bergin), 24 (to William H. Lawall), 28 (to Henry S. Cary), and 31 (to William H. Kunsman).

� Deed Poll, Thomas Heckman, Sheriff, for Edward J. Seip, to Thomas J. Bergin, Sheriff 3 23 (9 Nov. 1861)(NE corner of 4th and Ferry Streets, measuring 21’ on 4th Street X 67-1/2 ‘ on Ferry Street, with “two Story Stone dwelling house” and attached Stone Kitchen, for $650). This deed recites that the property to the North and East was owned by S. Barron, which is consistent with the deed record. See separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for Barron Homestead at 54 South 4th Street.

The Sheriff apparently also conveyed the Parsons-Taylor House – probably by mistake – to William H. Kunsman as well. Deed Poll, Thomas Heckman, Sheriff, for Edward J. Seip, to William H. Kunsman, G10 242 (3 Dec. 1862)(Tract No.3). The Sheriff also registered a deed that purportedly gave Thomas J. Bergin a property on Northampton Street that was actually conveyed to William H. Kunsman. Deed Poll, Thomas Heckman, Sheriff, for Edward J. Seip, to Thomas J. Bergin, C11 454 (26 Nov. 1861)(Tract No.1). See generally separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for the Kunsman Building at 436-38 Northampton Street. These offsetting entries appear to have been disregarded in later transactions!

� Harvey C. Morgenstern, This I Remember unnumbered p.25 picture caption (Easton: The Express)(Matilda Bodder ran a small grocery there until Col. Jacob Dachrodt came home from the Civil War and opened his meat market); accord, S.M. Parkhill, “Old house has a beefy history”, Morning Call, Thurs., 15 Oct. 1998, p.B-6.

� Deed, Thomas J. Bergin to Susan M. Innes, D11 278 (26 Dec. 1865).

� Deed, James R. (Susan) Innes to Isabella Dachrodt, A14 272 (4 Nov. 1872).

� See John Stover Arndt, The Story of the Arndts 205 (Philadelphia: Christopher Sower Company 1922)(married Susan Margaret Butz); see also Henry F. Marx (compiler), III Marriages and Deaths Northampton County 1871 – 1884 Newspaper Extracts 837 (Easton Area Public Library 1935)(death notice for Mary B. Innes, daughter of James R. Innes and Susan M. Innes).

� John Eyerman, The Ancestors of Marguerite Eyerman: A Study in Genealogy 30-31 (Free Press Book and Job Print 1898).

See also Obituary, “John A. Innes”, Easton Express, Thursday, 18 Oct. 1900, p.5, col.1. This obituary identifies Christian Butz as an uncle of John A. Innes, Samuel and Elizabeth Innes’s son. As we have seen, Samuel’s brother, James Innes, married a wife from the Butz family, so she must have been a sister to a Christian Butz. In fact, Eyerman’s genealogy shows that she did have a brother named Christian Butz, who was a grandson of the hotel proprietor.

� See separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for the Hotel Lafayette at 11 North 4th Street.

� Deed, Thomas J. Bergin to Susan W. Innes, D11 278 (26 Dec. 1865)(reciting that Susan Innes’s husband was James R. Innes).

� See separate www.WalkingEaston.com entries for the Elizabeth Innes House at 237 and Susan M. Innes House at 241 Ferry Street.

� Harvey C. Morgenstern, This I Remember unnumbered p.25 picture caption (Easton: The Express)(Matilda Bodder ran a small grocery there until Col. Jacob Dachrodt came home from the Civil War and opened his meat market); see Fitzgerald & Dillon, Easton Directory for 1870-71 36 (Ringwalt & Brown 1870)(Jacob Dachrodt, butcher at the corner of Ferry and South Fourth Streets); Jeremiah H. Lant, The Northampton County Directory for 1873 63 (1873)(Jacob Dachrodt butcher shop and home at former of 4th and Ferry Streets).

Jacob Dachrodt had been listed as a butcher at 23 South 5th Street in 1855 (under the numbering scheme in effect at that time), and his residence was listed at 37 South 6th Street in 1860. He did not appear at all in the 1864-65 City Directory – perhaps he was in the Army during the Civil War. See C[harles] Kitchen, A General Directory of the Borough of Easton PA 24 (Cole & Eichman’s Office, 1855)(Jacob Dachrodt, butcher, 23 South 5th Street); William H. Boyd, Boyd’s Directory of Reading, Easton, [Etc.] 120 (William H. Boyd 1860)(Jacob Dachrodt, butcher, home at 37 South 6th Street); Talbot’s Lehigh Valley Gazetteer and Business Directory 1864-65 9 (Press of Wynkoop & Hallenbeck 1864)(no listing for Jacob Dachrodt).

� S.M. Parkhill, “Old House Has a Beefy History”, Morning Call, Thurs., 15 Oct. 1998, p.B-6.

� S.M. Parkhill, “Dachrodt Led Easton Into Civil War”, Morning Call, Thurs., 22 Oct. 1998, p.B-3; see also James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective G (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004)(served on Town Council).

� S.M. Parkhill, “Dachrodt Led Easton Into Civil War”, Morning Call, Thurs., 22 Oct. 1998, p.B-3.

� Rev. Uzal W. Condit, The History of Easton, Penn’a 215 (George W. West 1885 / 1889)(Citizen’s Artillery); see F.A.Davis (ed.), Capt. F. Ellis (Historian), History of Northampton County 169 (Peter Fritts 1877, reprint by Higginson Book Company)(Easton Artillerists).

� Samuel P. Bates, I History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 13, 17 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1869); Rev. Uzal W. Condit, The History of Easton, Penn’a 225-26 (George W. West 1885 / 1889); see also James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective G (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004).

� James Wright, The Civil War: A Northampton County Perspective 32 (Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004)(William H. Armstrong, Captain of Company c, First Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry); Henry F. Marx (compiler), I Marriages and Deaths Northampton County 1852-1870 Newspaper Extracts 25 (Easton Area Public Library 1934).

� Samuel P. Bates, History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers: 1861 – 1865 184-87 (Harrisburg: B. Singerly, State Printer 1870, reprinted by Broadfoot Publishing Company 1994); see Rev. Uzal W. Condit, The History of Easton, Penn’a 256, 258 (George W. West 1885 / 1889); see also Obituary, Easton Express, supra (was promoted Colonel during the War – presumably referring to his Lt. Colonel’s rank with the 129th Regiment).

� Samuel P. Bates, I History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 13, 18 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1869); James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective 4 (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004).

� Historical Data Systems (comp.), American Civil War General Officers (online database, Provo, Utah: The Generations Network, Inc. 1999)(accessed through www.ancestry.com); accord, James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective 4 (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004).

� F.A.Davis (ed.), Capt. F. Ellis (Historian), History of Northampton County 169 (Peter Fritts 1877, reprint by Higginson Book Company).

� James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective 4 (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004); Historical Data Systems (comp.), American Civil War General Officers (online database, Provo, Utah: The Generations Network, Inc. 1999)(accessed through www.ancestry.com); but see Historical Data Systems (comp.), American Civil War Soldiers (online database, Provo, Utah: The Generations Network, Inc. 1999)(accessed through www.ancestry.com)(first enlisted as a Major on 3 Oct. 1861 at age 39, in 9th New Jersey Infantry Regiment).

� Kerry Webb, U.S. Civil War Generals, sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/ung_h.html (accessed 6 May 2009); accord, Historical Data Systems (comp.), American Civil War General Officers (online database, Provo, Utah: The Generations Network, Inc. 1999)(accessed through www.ancestry.com).

� James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective 4 (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004).

� Kerry Webb, U.S. Civil War Generals, sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/ung_h.html (accessed 6 May 2009); accord, Historical Data Systems (comp.), American Civil War General Officers (online database, Provo, Utah: The Generations Network, Inc. 1999)(accessed through www.ancestry.com)(29 Nov. 1862).

Historian James Wright states that Heckman’s promotion to General was won through his “participation in the terrible six-days’ fighting in the Goldsboro Expedition”. James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective 4-5 (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004). However, the three major battles of that campaign (also known as Foster’s Raid) took place in December, and historian Wright admits that Heckman’s promotion occurred on 29 November – before the major fighting of that campaign. See Matthew D. Parker, “Goldboro Expedition”, thomaslegion.net/goldsboroexpeditionakagoldsboroughexpedition.html (accessed 25 May 2009); accord, “Kinston Civil War North Carolina American Civil War December 14, 1862”, americancivilwar.com/statepic/nc/nc007.html (accessed 25 May 2009)(Brigadier General John G. Foster left New Berne in December 1862 to attack Goldsborough).


� See Historical Data Systems (comp.), American Civil War General Officers (online database, Provo, Utah: The Generations Network, Inc. 1999)(accessed through www.ancestry.com); James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective 5 (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004); see also Kerry Webb, U.S. Civil War Generals, sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/ung_h.html (accessed 6 May 2009)(exchanged in Sept. 1864).

� Kerry Webb, U.S. Civil War Generals, sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/ung_h.html (accessed 6 May 2009)(exchanged in Sept. 1864); see Historical Data Systems (comp.), American Civil War General Officers (online database, Provo, Utah: The Generations Network, Inc. 1999)(accessed through www.ancestry.com).

� Rev. Uzal W. Condit, The History of Easton, Penn’a 225 (George W. West 1885 / 1889); Samuel P. Bates, I History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 17 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1869).

� Samuel P. Bates, I History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 15 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1869); see James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective 32 (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004); Rev. Uzal W. Condit, The History of Easton, Penn’a 234-36 (George W. West 1885 / 1889).

� Alice J. Gayley, 153rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, www.pa-roots.com/pacw/infantry/153rd/153dofficers.html (accessed 25 May 2009); James Wright and Kim Kromer, Nazareth’s Company A, 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War 6, 22 (Nazareth (PA)Keepsakes No.19: Moravian Hall Square Museum/Craft Shop Dec. 2004); Samuel P. Bates, IV History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 775 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1870); S.M. Parkhill, “Dachrodt Led Easton Into Civil War”, Morning Call, Thurs., 22 Oct. 1998, p.B-3; Edwin B. Coddington, The Role of the 153rd Regiment, Pa. Volunteers Infantry, in the Civil War, 1862 – 1863 (Bethlehem Main Local History Pamphlets).

A new, massive treatment of the regiment was published in 2014. Jeffrey D. Stocker, We Fought Desperate: A History of the 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment (self-published 2014), see Website, http://153pa.com.

� Alice J. Gayley, 153rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, www.pa-roots.com/pacw/infantry/153rd/153dofficers.html (accessed 25 May 2009); James Wright and Kim Kromer, Nazareth’s Company A, 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War 6, 22 (Nazareth (PA)Keepsakes No.19: Moravian Hall Square Museum/Craft Shop Dec. 2004); Samuel P. Bates, IV History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 772 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1870); S.M. Parkhill, “Dachrodt Led Easton Into Civil War”, Morning Call, Thurs., 22 Oct. 1998, p.B-3.

� F.A.Davis (ed.), Capt. F. Ellis (Historian), History of Northampton County 169 (Peter Fritts 1877, reprint by Higginson Book Company).

� American Journal of Progress, “Greater Easton of To-day” 19 (originally printed c.1903 during Mayor B. Rush Field’s second 2-year term, reprinted courtesy of W-Graphics)(founded in 1852 by Willibald Kuebler and Charles Glantz); S.M. Pakhill, “New brewery continues tradition”, Morning Call, Tuesday, 11 Nov. 1997, p.B1 (brewery founded by Charles Glantz and Willibald Kuebler in 1852).

� Alice J. Gayley, 153rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, www.pa-roots.com/pacw/infantry/153rd/153dofficers.html (accessed 25 May 2009); James Wright and Kim Kromer, Nazareth’s Company A, 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War 6, 22 (Nazareth (PA)Keepsakes No.19: Moravian Hall Square Museum/Craft Shop Dec. 2004); Samuel P. Bates, IV History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 775 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1870); S.M. Parkhill, “Dachrodt Led Easton Into Civil War”, Morning Call, Thurs., 22 Oct. 1998, p.B-3.

� Samuel P. Bates, IV History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 773-75 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1870); James Wright and Kim Kromer, Nazareth’s Company A, 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War 6, 11, 13-14, 22 (Nazareth (PA)Keepsakes No.19: Moravian Hall Square Museum/Craft Shop Dec. 2004).

� Samuel P. Bates, IV History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 776 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1870).


� James Wright and Kim Kromer, Nazareth’s Company A, 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War 15-17 (Nazareth (PA)Keepsakes No.19: Moravian Hall Square Museum/Craft Shop Dec. 2004); see Samuel P. Bates, IV History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 775-76 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1870)(six companies enlistment having expired, requested release after the Battle of Gettysburg while pursuing the Confederate forces).



� See separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for the Bishop Apartments Building at 527-29 Northampton Street.

� Samuel P. Bates, IV History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5 776-77 (P. Singerly, State Printer 1870); see Alice J. Gayley, 153rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, www.pa-roots.com/pacw/infantry/153rd/153dofficers.html (accessed 25 May 2009); James Wright and Kim Kromer, Nazareth’s Company A, 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War 6, 22 (Nazareth (PA)Keepsakes No.19: Moravian Hall Square Museum/Craft Shop Dec. 2004); S.M. Parkhill, “Dachrodt Led Easton Into Civil War”, Morning Call, Thurs., 22 Oct. 1998, p.B-3.

� James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective G (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004)(caption to picture).

� James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective G, 31-32 (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004)(includes a photograph).

� II List of Pensioners on the Roll 739 (Washington: Government Printing Office 1 Jan. 1883)(“sh. W. r. elbow” for a pension of $30/month, which began in March of 1882).

� A photograph dated to 1861 shows only a shed next to the Parsons-Taylor House on Ferry Street. Ronald W. Wynkoop, Sr., Forks of the Delaware Area 76 (self published 1966).

� See photograph in separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for 457-61 Ferry Street.

� That architectural style was popular after the Civil War, being greatly favored by General (later President) Grant for government buildings. It fell out of favor in the mid-1870s, amid the economic recession and the correuption scandals of the Grant Administration. See Jackie Craven, “The Mansard Roof and the Second Empire Style”, About.com, Architecture, architecture.about.com/library/weekly/aa100900b.htm (accessed 21 May 2011).

� See Article, “The New Numbers”, Easton Daily Free Press, Tues., 2 Dec. 1873, p.3, cols. 6-7; Webb’s Easton and Phillipsburg Directory 1875-6 39 (Webb Bros. & Co. 1875)(Jacob Dachrodt, butcher, business at 359 Ferry Street and John Dachrodt, butcher, residence at the same address); J.H. Lant, Easton [Etc,] Directory for 1877 65 (M.J. Riegel 1877)(Jacob Dachrodt, butcher, at 361 Ferry Street, home at 359 Ferry Street).

But see S.M. Parkhill, “Old house has a beefy history”, Morning Call, Thurs., 15 Oct. 1998, p.B-6 (In 1880, Dachrodt built a brick building (no longer standing) in the yard along Ferry Street, and put his meat preparation activities in its basement).

� Deed Poll, James R. Innes, Sheriff, for Jacob (Isabella) Dachrodt, to Jacob Moses, 5 Sheriff 36 (2 Feb. 1878)(sale price $4500 for corner property measuring 21’ X 67’ 6”) and H15 173 (19 Feb. 1787)(same). Perhaps not surprisingly, earlier searchers have not been able to uncover a deed record relating to the Dachrodt ownership of the house. See Salvatore Patti, The Parsons-Taylor House Easton, Pennsylvania 6 (typewritten, Easton Area Public Library accession stamp 26 Mar. 1959)(found no deeds between 1881 and 1897).

� J.H. Lant, Easton [Etc.] Directory for 1879 69 (M.J. Riegel 1879)(Jacob Dachrodt, butcher, 353 Ferry Street). See generally Deed, Henry A. Levan and Charles A. Levan to Samuel Barron, F8 378 (1 Jan. 1853) and separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for 351 Ferry Street.

� J.H. Lant & Son, Easton [Etc.] Directory for 1881-2 31 (J.H. Lant 1881)(J. Dachrodt, butcher, at 4th and Ferry Street, home at 363 Ferry Street); see also Leonard S. Buscemi, Sr., Easton Remembered 104 (Buscemi Enterprises 2007). See generally 1880 Census, Series T9, Roll 1161, p.368D (Jacob Dachrodt, butcher, age 51, with wife Isabella, son John and his family, and a niece, no address listed).

� Deed, Jacob (Bertha) Moses to John Dachradt, C17 136 (11 May 1882)(note slightly different spelling). John Dachrodt/Dachradt, who is also also listed in City Directories as a butcher, was Jacob Dachrodt’s father. See Jane S. Moyer (compiler), IV Marriages and Deaths Northampton County 1885-1902 Newspaper Extracts 2 (Easton Area Public Library 1976)(death of Anna E. Dachrodt, whose father was John Dachrodt and whose brothers included Jacob Dachrodt).

� The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Daar to Dail”, politicalgraveyard.com/bio/daba-daigre.html#S4R154JAZ (entry for “Jacob Dachrodt” accessed 25 May 2009); see also James Wright, The Civil War: Northampton County Perspective G (The Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society 2004).


� Easton City Northampton Co. 1890, www.bethlehempaonline.com/beth1890/eastoncityabc.html (accessed 25 May 2009), based on Joseph H. Werner, Census Directory (1891)(based upon 1890 Census, whose data was burned up in a fire); see George W. West (compiler), Directory of Easton City [Etc.] Year 1906 55 (George W. West 1906)(Jacob and Isabel Dachrodt, butcher, now at 903 Northampton Street).

� Deed, John (Caroline) Dachradt to Jacob Moses, F23 239 (7 Dec. 1892)(sale price $5,883.88). The odd price suggests that Jacob Moses may have been a lender, and the sale price was in fact the outstanding balance on a loan being secured by the property.

� Deed, Jacob (Bertha) Moses to First National Bank of Easton Pa, B27 492 (17 July 1896)(sale price $6,000 for corner property 21’ X 67’ 6”).

� Compare George W. West (compiler), Directory of Easton City [Etc.] Year 1904 31 (George W. West 1906)(J. Dachrodt, butcher at 4th and Ferry Streets, home at 363 Ferry Street – apparently the Parsons-Taylor House) with George W. West (compiler), Directory of Easton City [Etc.] Year 1906 55 (George W. West 1906)(Jacob and Isabel Dachrodt, butcher, now at 903 Northampton Street); see also Article, “D.A.R. Chapter Derives Name from Signer”, Easton Express, Saturday, 12 June 1937, Jubilee Section B p.16 (remained until 1907); George W. West (compiler), West’s Directory of Easton [Etc.] 60 (George W. West 1892)(John Dachrodt, butcher, corner 4th and Ferry Street).


� Compare George W. West (compiler), Directory of Easton City [Etc.] Year 1904 31 (George W. West 1906)(J. Dachrodt, butcher at 4th and Ferry Streets, home at 363 Ferry Street – apparently the Parsons-Taylor House) with George W. West (compiler), Directory of Easton City [Etc.] Year 1906 55 (George W. West 1906)(Jacob and Isabel Dachrodt, butcher, now at 903 Northampton Street); see also Article, “D.A.R. Chapter Derives Name from Signer”, Easton Express, Saturday, 12 June 1937, Jubilee Section B p.16 (remained until 1907).

� See George W. West (compiler), West’s Directory of Easton [Etc.] 60 (George W. West 1892)(John Dachrodt, butcher, corner 4th and Ferry Street); Easton City Northampton Co. 1890, www.bethlehempaonline.com/beth1890/eastoncityabc.html (accessed 25 May 2009), based on Joseph H. Werner, Census Directory (1891)(based upon 1890 Census, whose data was burned up in a fire)(Jacob Dachrodt at 903 Northampton Street, John Dachrodt at 4th and Ferry Street).

� Harvey C. Morgenstern, This I Remember unnumbered p.25 picture caption (Easton: The Express)(relates that Spitznagle’s son, Harry P. Spitznagle, was born on 1 Jan. 1902 in an upstairs room over the store, and dates Schooley’s acquisition to approximately 1905).

� See Ronald W. Wynkoop, Sr., It Seems Like Yesterday 308 (self published 1989)(photo and caption).

� Obituary, “DACHRODT”, Easton Express, Fri., 4 June 1909, p.4, col.3 (died 4 June 1909, “in his 81st year”); see S.M. Parkhill, “Dachrodt Led Easton Into Civil War”, Morning Call, Thurs., 22 Oct. 1998, p.B-3.

� Sandra S. Froberg (transcriber), I Cemetery Record Books of the Easton Cemetery Company 114 (Easton Area Public Library and District Center, Easton Cemetery Company, and Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society Jan. 1993).

� Deed, Firsrt National Bank of Easton to The Parsons Taylor Historical Society, G27 503 (1 Jan. 1897).

A study of the Parsons-Taylor House done in approximately 1959 was unable to discover any deeds for the property earlier than this 1897 indenture, and concluded that none of the earlier deeds were recorded. As shown above, this conclusion was not correct. Savatore Patti (State Teachers College, East Stroudsburg), The Parsons-Taylor House Easton, Pennsylvania 6 (typewritten, library date stap 26 Mar. 1959).

� Deed, Parsons Taylor Historical Society of Easton Pennstylvania to First National Bank of Easton, B32 630 (19 Mar. 1902)(sale price $5,000, property measurements 21’ X 67’ 6”).

� Deed, First National Bank of Easton to John S. Riegel, E32 592 (28 Feb. 1902)(sale price $6,000).

� Rev. Uzal W. Condit, The History of Easton, Penn’a 470 (George W. West 1885 / 1889)( )(first President of Easton’s Common Council when it was incorporated as a city in 1887); Obituary, “David W. Nevin”, The Express, 31 March 1945, p.1 (Easton’s Mayor from 1911 – 20). See generally separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for Nevin Town House at 111-13 North 4th Street.

� College Hill Neighborhood Association, Tour Route & Narrator Script, www.collegehillna.org/hollyroute.htm (2002 Holly Trolley Itinerary, accessed 10 July 2005); Leonard Buscemi Sr., The Easton-Phillipsburg 1999 Calendar 58 (Buscemi Enterprises 1998). See generally separate www.WalkingEaston.com entry for Nevin Town House at 111-13 North 4th Street.

� Deed, John S. (Diana S.) Riegel to David W. Nevin, E33 421 (3 Mar. 1904)(sale price $6,300).

� It has been claimed that the D.A.R. in fact purchased the Parsons-Taylor House in 1904. Article, “D.A.R. Chapter Derives Name from Signer”, Easton Express, Saturday, 12 June 1937, Jubilee Section B p.16. If true, this must be a reference to the Nevin purchase deed. Easton’s Chapter of the D.A.R. was organized in 1895, with Mrs. Henry D. Maxwell as organizing regent. Id.

� Deed, D.W. (Lillias G.) Nevin to Mary J. Garren, D35 145 (5 Dec. 1905)(sale price $4,000; recital notes that Nevin continued to own the “Taylor Building” next door).

� Deed, David W. (Lillias) Nevin to DAR George Taylor House Association, C35 428 (15 Jan. 1906)(sale price $2825).

� Salvatore Patti, The Parsons-Taylor House Easton, Pennsylvania 6 (typewritten, library accession stamp 26 Mar. 1959).

� Article, “D.A.R. Chapter Derives Name from Signer”, Easton Express, Saturday, 12 June 1937, Jubilee Section B p.16.

� A Brief History of EASTON, supra. See also Chidsey, A Frontier Village, supra at 235, 239.

This is apparently the house shown in Timothy George Hare, Easton Inkscapes No.7 (Easton: Inkwell Publications 1989).

� Jim Deegan, “When, in the course of human events . . .”, Express-Times, 4 July 2007, posted 3 July 2007 at blog.pennlive.com/jimdeegan/2007/07/when_in_the_course_of_human_ev.html (accessed 19 June 2008).

Documents

Parsons/Taylor House (4th and Ferry Streets; … · Web viewParsons-Taylor House (60 South 4th, at Ferry Street) This is part of Original Town Lot No.176, as laid out by Easton founder