Surnames: HESTON, TYSON, DE LONG, WEAVER, SHAFFER, HENSING, BEAVER, MILLER, WETZEL, HESTON, HUMMEL, HEIN
Augustus Heston, who passed from this world in 1898, at Reading, where he had resided for nearly thirty years, came of a Quaker family long identified with Philadelphia. His parents were William and Martha (Tyson) Heston.
Mr. Heston was born in West Philadelphia, March 14, 1832, and his education was acquired in the schools of Philadelphia proper, and later in Jenkintown, now a suburb of the former city. After the completion of his academic studies he began his preparations for his work as a pharmacist. At the end of his apprenticeship, he went to Buffalo, N. Y., where his brother Charles was engaged in the drug business, and he remained with him until the Civil war broke out Mr. Charles Heston enlisted, and, as it proved, served throughout the war, while his brother Augustus was left in charge of his affairs with directions to close out the business. This accomplished he returned to the old home farm at Jenkinton and lived there till 1869. In that year he located in Reading, which became his residence for the remainder of his life. He had no active business interests there, but was sufficiently occupied with the charge of his affairs.
Mr. Heston's marriage occurred the year that he came to Reading, when Miss Caroline De Long became his wife. No children were born to this union. Mr. and Mrs. Heston traveled extensively, through their own country going from ocean to ocean and visiting most of the health resorts in the Union, while in 1895 they spent five months abroad. In that time they journeyed through Ireland, Wales, England, Holland, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy, one point of special interest to them being their visit to the home of Mrs. Heston's paternal ancestors, the De Longs, who were originally of Alsace-Lorraine. Mrs. Heston made a second trip to Europe after her husband's death, at the time of the Paris Exposition in 1900. Mrs. Heston died Feb. 25, 1908, and in her will bequeathed land for a public park in Reading. This is situated at the junction of Mineral Spring road, Perkiomen avenue, and Thirteenth and Chestnut streets. During her lifetime she had many opportunities to sell this tract at practically her own figure, but she would never consider it, evidently having in mind this gift to her home city. The De Long family was founded in America about 1700, and Peter De Long, the emigrant ancestor, settled in Albany county, New York.
John De Long, son of Peter. located at Bowers Station, Berks Co., Pa., where he became one of the representative farmers of that section.
Joseph De Long, son of John, married Miss Susan Weaver, and had a large family as follows: Joseph (2); Elizabeth (m. Daniel De Long); Jacob (m. Miss Sarah Shaffer); Catherine (m. Peter Hensing); David (m. Miss Anna Beaver); Francis (m. Miss Esther Shaffer) and Jane (m. Reuben Miller). Joseph De Long (2), Son of Joseph. married Miss Anna Wetzel, and they had two daughters Caroline, Mrs. Heston; and Harriet. who married Isaac Hummel, of Lehigh county. Pa., and has two children, Alice and Grace, the latter the wife of David Hein. As a family the DeLongs were either Whigs or Republicans, and in religious belief belonged to the German Reformed Church, but Mrs. Heston was a member of St. Luke's Episcopal mission.
p. 721
Surnames: HETTINGER, MILLER, BROSSMAN, KURTZ, LAMBERT, SCHAFFER, GRIMES, MOYER, ZWEITZIG-LORAH, HAFER, STRECKER, TARRACH, MEE
Edwin L. Hettinger is a great-grandson of Heinrich Hettinger, a native of Reineck (later Bietigheim-the Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. VII, Second Series, page 637, spell it Betigheim), in the Kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, born in 1760-61, who came to America in 1805, from Amsterdam, landing at Philadelphia Sept. 5th. He made the voyage on the Catharine, then aged thirty-six years, and their five children: Heinrich, aged thirteen; Lorenz, aged twelve; Christina Eva, aged eleven; Bernard, aged eight; and Mathias, aged six.
After his arrival in this country Heinrich Hettinger lived some years in the vicinity of Philadelphia or in that city itself, later coming to Bernville, Berks county, where he died and is buried. His wife Catharine Miller, born in 1769, bore him seven children in all, the five previously mentioned having been born in the Fatherland and the youngest two in America. We have the following record of this family: Heinrich is mentioned below. Christina Eva probably married John Brossman, as one of the daughters of this family was married to him and the other to David Kurtz. Bernhard lived in Heidelberg township, following farming; his children were Jonathan, William, Levi, James and Mary Ann. Mathias, who lived in Centre township, near Belleman's Church, had children, Reuben, Adam, Henry, Kate, Julia and Susan. Christian lived and died in Penn township, where he owned a small farm; his children were John and Lizzie.
Lorenz Hettinger, grandfather of Edwin L. Hettinger, was born Nov. 22, 1792, in Bietigheim, Germany. Coming to America with his parents he lived in and around Philadelphia until about twenty-seven years old, following shoemaking, which he learned in young manhood. He then came to Berks county, locating in Bern township and later in Penn township, where he tended Hettinger's Locks, on the Union Canal, for many years. He died at Mount Pleasant in July, 1869, when about seventy-five years old, and is buried at Bern Church, of which he was a prominent Lutheran member, serving as deacon and elder of the congregation. His wife, Catharine Lambert, of Lower Heidelberg township, died when past fifty years of age. Their seven children were as follows: Mary Ann m. Samuel Schaffer; Henry lives in Reading; Augustus is a resident of Wyomissing; Harrison is out West; John died in Virginia, where his family still lives at Manassas; Lydia m. Benjamin Grimes of Robesonia, Pa.; Levi L. was the father of Edwin L. Hettinger.
Levi L. Hettinger was born April 3, 1846 at Mount Pleasant, Penn township, Berks county and was reared upon the farm. But when fourteen years old he commenced boating upon the now abandoned Union Canal, and he also did such work on the Pennsylvania and Schuylkill Canals, being employed at boating for four years. He then enlisted at Reading for service in the Union army, joining Company K, 42nd Pa. V. I., with which he served three months. After his return from the army he worked in a sawmill for about three years, and then learned the carpenter's trade from John Moyer, of Bernville. He has followed this trade ever since, working in western Berks county until 1882, when he settled in Reading. He and his family have resided in their own home at No. 129 South Tenth street for many years.
In January, 1870, Mr. Hettinger was married to Sarah A. Hafer, daughter of Jacob and Anna (Mee) Hafer, and granddaughter of Heinrich and Kate (Zweitzig-Lorah) Hafer, of Muhlenberg township, and five children were born to them: Rosanna, Charles (who died aged nineteen years, eight months, eleven days) Lillie J. (who died aged two years, four months, seven days), Edwin L. and Richard W. The last named was formerly a soldier in Puerto Rico and is now a clerk at headquarters, Division of the Philippine Islands, War Department. All of this family are members of Grace Lutheran Church at Reading of which Mr. Hettinger has been deacon, and he also officiated in that capacity at Bern Church.
Edwin L. Hettinger was born Jan. 27, 1879, in Mount Pleasant (Hettrichstown), Berks County, and received his education in the public schools of Reading. He graduated from the high school with the class of 1898, after which he entered the Inter-State Commercial College, at Reading. He had previously done good work in that line in the high school, having been on the honor roll in the commercial department in 1897. He was the high school captain in the Sesqui-Centennial parade in 1808. Upon leaving the Inter-State College, Mr. Hettinger became a clerk of the service of the Pennsylvania Optical Company with whom he remained four and a half years, when he became assistant credit man with Gately & Britton. He continued to serve in that capacity until the partnership was dissolved, after which he took his present position with the G. M. Britton Company, of Reading, as manager of the office outfitting department. Mr. Hettinger is commodore of the Reading Canoe Club, which holds annual river carnivals. Since 1906 he has been a member of the Berks county Historical Society. On June 7, 1900, Mr. Hettinger was married to Miss Eloise Strecker, daughter of Dr. Herman and Evelyn (Tarrach) Strecker of Reading. Her father was a noted sculptor and famous naturalist, and his collection of butterflies and moths, the largest in America, was sold seven years after his death to the Field Museum, of Chicago, for $20,000; during his lifetime he had refused several large offers for them. He was an authority on Lepidoptera. Dr. Strecker had two children, a son Paul, who resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Eloise, who married Mr. Hettinger. Mr. and Mrs. Hettinger have had four children: Herman S.; Edwin S. and Eveline S. (both of who died in infancy), and Eloise S. Mr. Hettinger is a member of Grace Lutheran Church and has been an active worker, having served several years as treasurer of the Sunday School. Mrs. Hettinger is a member of Christ Episcopal Church.
p. 1596
Surnames: HEYDT, MUTHART, REICHERT, SNYDER, WELLER, FROENE, DE FRAIN, BOLICH, FREDERICK, HOFFMAN, QUILLMAN, GEHRIS, BECKER, HERB, BECHTEL, RENNINGER, KOCH, MOSER, MAST, ECKERT, MOLL, RAPP, CONRAD, STAUFFER, OBERHOLTZER
The Heydt family of Berks county is descended from one George or Jacob Heydt, a German of high birth who emigrated to this country in pioneer times and on coming to this section first settled in the vicinity of what is now Bechtelsville. Later he lived in what is now District township, Berks county, owning the farm which is now the property of Joshua Heydt. He was an educated man, and was a "lehrer" or schoolmaster in Berks county long before the establishment of the public school system, following the profession for many years, so that he was well known to the youth of the early days. He was a true Christian man, well versed in the Scriptures, and a strict member of the Lutheran denomination. belonging to the Hill Church, where he and his family are buried. He married a Muthart, and they had eight children: Jacob, a blacksmith, who lived in District township, m. Maria Reichert, and they had thirteen children, Betzy, Catharine, Elijah, Maria, David, Jacob, Sally, Sophia, John, Rebecca, Joseph, Leah and Lydia. Abraham is mentioned in the next paragraph. John was a farmer in Washington township, where he died; his children were John, Henry, Helena, Sally and Abby. Daniel, a stone-mason and farmer, lived and died at Landis Store in District township; his children were John, Thomas, Daniel, George and Lewis. George, a mechanic, lived in the vicinity of Huff's Church; he had three children, George (whose son Horace is a judge of Carbon county, Pa., and who has the passport of his emigrant ancestor Heydt), Nathan and Jonas. Mathias, who located at Mahanoy City, Pa., had two sons. Catharine m. Henry Snyder. Peggy m. Philip Weller.
Abraham Heydt, son of the emigrant, was the grandfather of Henry B. and Abraham M. Heydt, cousins, residents, respectively, of Earl township and Bechtelsville, Berks county. He was born Dec. 19, 1786, died Sept. 1, 1853, and is buried at the old Hill Church, of which he was a Lutheran member. He was an intelligent man, especially familiar with the Scriptures. Though a shoemaker by trade, he followed farming principally, living in what is now District township, where he owned a small farm; he also owned a farm in the Falkner Swamp. He married Maria De Frain, (Froene) daughter of Peter and Bevvy (Bolich) De Frain, and eight children were born to them: Benjamin is mentioned farther on; Joshua lived in District township; William is mentioned farther on; Benneville died young; Elizabeth m. a Frederick; Judith m. Joseph Hoffman; Harriet m. William Quillman; Catharine m. Lafayette Gehris.
Benjamin Heydt, son of Abraham, born in Hereford township Oct. 19, 1813, died in Washington township in March, 1887, in his seventy-fourth year, and is buried at the Hill Church. He was a shoemaker, but followed that trade only a short time, and worked out, hauling and burning wood, etc. He owned a farm of twenty-six acres. Mr. Heydt married Margaretha Becker, daughter of Henry Becker, born Sept. 11, 1819, died Feb. 20, 1903, aged eighty-three years, five months, ten days. Ten children were born to this union: Henry B.; Lavina, m. to Daniel Herb; Mary, born April 5, 1844, m. to Israel Weller; Elizabeth, born April 5, 1846, m. to Adam Herb (deceased); Benneville, born in 1849, who died in 1854; Fietta, born Jan. 25, 1851, m. to Esaias Heydt; Matthias, born in 1854, who died the same year; Carl, born Nov. 6, 1857, who lives in District township; Sarah, who died young, and Emma, born June 5, 1861, m. to Charles Bechtel.
Henry B. Heydt, son of Benjamin, was born July 11, 1838, in District township. He attended the old pay schools, and also had a few winters in the free school. In early youth he began to assist his father hauling wood, which was plentiful in those days, and which was converted into charcoal. The roads at that time were few and bad, and it required some skill to be a good teamster. When he was nineteen Mr. Heydt began to learn the trade of stone and brick mason, which he followed for twenty-three years, in 1880 settling down to farm life. That year he bought the W. Renninger tract of fifty-six acres in School District No. 5, Earl township, where he has since lived, and which place he and his family continue to cultivate. It was the property of David Koch before Mr. Renninger owned it. Mr. Heydt is a Democrat in political opinion, and has been quite active in his party, having served as delegate and held various local offices.
In 1861 Mr. Heydt married Lavina Moser, daughter
of Michael and Mary (Weller) Moser, of District township, and they
have three children: Fianna, who is unmarried; Jerome, a farmer in
Pike township, Berks county; and Andora, unmarried. Mr. Heydt and
his family are Lutheran members of the Hill Church.
Abraham M. Heydt, son of William, was born Sept. 7, 1853, in Rockland township and there and in Longswamp township received his education in the public schools. His teachers in Rockland were Isaac and Jonas Eckert. Upon commencing to earn his own living he worked in the ore mines in Longswamp township and also in Lehigh county, continuing thus for six years, and becoming an engineer. When twenty-five years old he learned the milling business, at Ludwig's, in Lehigh county, and then removed to Saegerstown, Crawford county, where he was in the milling business for two years. Returning to Berks county he located in Hereford township, where he in Christman's mill, in Spoon Valley, and later he was employed at Treichlersville, also at milling. He was next at the Rush mill for a year, thence coming to Oberholtzer's mill, near Bechtelsville, in Colebrookdale township. At that place he worked nineteen years for J. B. Oberholtzer, and in the spring of 1904 commenced the business on his own account, at Bechtelsville, being the proprietor of the Bechtelsville roller-mill. His establishment is well patronized and profitably conducted, and Mr. Heydt enjoys the reputation of being one of the substantial citizens and business men of the borough.
In 1878 Mr. Heydt married Emeline R. Moll, daughter of Christophel and Susanna (Rapp) Moll, of Hereford township, and three children have been born to them: Katie S., m. to William R. Conrad, of Bechtelsville; Clara V., m. to Harvey W. Stauffer; and William, who died in infancy. This family are members of the Bechtelsville Lutheran Church, in which Mr. Heydt has been a prominent worker, having served sixteen years as a member of the church council.
Mr. Heydt is a stanch Democrat, and since 1905 has been the member from Bechtelsville on the Democratic county committee. He has frequently served as delegate to the county conventions, and for eight years was committeeman of Colebrookdale township. His activities have made him a well-known figure in county politics, and in 1903 he was a candidate for the office of county poor director. Mr. Heydt belongs to Camp No. 324, P. O. S. of A., at Bechtelsville, and to Council No. 1019, Order of Independent Americans, at Eshbach, Berks county.
p. 1407
Surnames: HEYDT, FRY, GRASSLEY, HOFFNER, CONRATH, WELLER, DERR
Isaac F. Heydt, who is engaged in the cultivation of a small tract of land in Pike township. Berks county was born in Greenwich township, Oct. 12, 1848, son David and Betzy (Fry) Heydt.
Mr. Heydt attended the old pay schools until he was about twenty years old. The teacher received two cents a day per head, and the school term was one and two months per year. Mr. Heydt spent his youth under the parental roof, and for three years he lived out among farmers. He learned the shoemaker's trade, an this he followed twenty years, in Washington township Perks county, two years in Macungie township, Lehigh county, and in 1876 he came to Pike township, Berks county, where he has lived ever since. He has thirty acres of land, which he has brought to a high state cultivation. Since 1876 he has lived here continuously with the exception of six years when he lived on his farm of 100 acres in District township. He owns a tract of nineteen acres of pasture land near Hill Church besides another small tract of six acres on which are good buildings. This latter tract belonged to our subject's father, and there his son Horace now lives. Mr. Heydt is one of the heaviest tax payers of the township. Politically Mr. Heydt is a Democrat. He and his family are Lutherans, and belong to Hill Church. He is regular in his church worship, and is very liberal in his contributions to all worthy causes.
On June 1, 1878, Mr. Heydt was married to Mary Grassley, born Sept. 2, 1860, daughter of Lenius and Mary (Hoffner) Grassley, of Rockland township. She died April 18, 1909, and was buried at Hill Church, where a monument marks the Heydt family lot. Four sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Heydt: Horace, living in Washington township, m. Emma Conrath, and has children-Mary and Lydia; William, of Reading. m. Alice Weller, and has had children-Clyde, Hettie, Olivia, Pearl (deceased), and two others died small; Harvey was born May 12, 1895; Henry was born March 13. 1898.
David Heydt, father of Isaac F., was born Oct. 8, 1820, in Washington township, Berks county, and died June 1, 1906, in District township near Landis Store. He was a forge man earlier in life, beginning when fifteen years old, and following that occupation twenty-three years in Lower Berks, in Richmond township and at Spring Forge, in Earl township. He was a member of Hill Church, where he is buried. His wife was Betzy Fry, daughter of John and Sally (Derr) Fry, who died in District township. Mrs. Heydt died April 25, 1888, aged sixty-six years, seven months. David and Betzy (Fry) Heydt had seventeen children: John, Sarah, Jacob, David, Percivil, Isaac, Priscilla, Hiram, Joseph, Elizabeth. Henry, Peter, Helena, Oliver, Maria and two died small.
Jacob Heydt was the father of David and grandfather of Isaac F.
p. 534
Surnames: HICKMAN, McCLELLAN, LAMBORN, McFARLAND, THOMPSON
Glyndeur Hickman, D. D. S., a prominent dentist of Reading, was born in Chester county, Pa., Sept. 6, 1863, son of John W. and Elizabeth (Lamborn) Hickman, and a grandson of Benjamin and Julia A. (McFarland) Hickman. Benjamin Hickman located at Brag Hill, Chester county, and there cultivated a farm all of his life.
Dr. Glyndeur Hickman was educated in the schools of Chester county, and then entered the office of Dr. R. L. McClellan, where he studied dentistry for five years. In 1885, he entered the Philadelphia Dental College, and graduated therefrom in 1886. Two years later he located in Reading, and here he has resided ever since, engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. His well appointed offices are located at No. 35 South Fifth street. Dr. Hickman is a member of the I. O. R. M. and the Royal Arcanum.
In 1887 Dr. Hickman married Mary E. Thompson, and two children have been born to this union, namely: J. Earl and Roy L. The Doctor is a member of the Baptist Church. In his political affiliations he is connected with the Republican party.