p. 1390
Surnames: LOTT, KUTZ, LENN, DERR, MILLER
William K. Lott, one of the old and honored residents of Reading, Pa., who is engaged in the grocery and tobacco business, was born in this city, Jan. 1, 1833, son of William and grandson of Nicholas Lott, the first stone-cutter of the town or borough of Reading.
Nicholas Lott came to this country from Germany and settled in Reading on Penn, above Ninth street, where he died at the age of eighty-seven years, he and his wife having four children, namely: Nicholas, William, Jacob and John.
William Lott, father of William K., was born in Reading, and when a young man learned the hatting business, which he followed successfully for a number of years on Penn street, being one of the first in the city to engage in that business. Mr. Lott died at the age of fifty-one years. He married Margaret Kutz, daughter of Adam Kutz, and their children were: Nicholas; William K.; Susan; Adam; Clara J.; Caroline and John.
William K. Lott attended the public schools of his native city, and under the tuition of his father learned the hatting trade, a business which he followed with much success for a period of fifty years in all. For several years he was engaged in the manufacture of hats with William Lenn on Penn street, and after this partnership was dissolved Mr. Lott embarked in the hotel business at Moss and Walnut streets. After continuing the hotel business for sixteen years, Mr. Lott, in 1885, located at this present place. Tenth and Walnut streets, and here engaged in the grocery and tobacco business, in which he has successfully continued to the present time. His property, which he purchased several years ago, has a frontage of thirty-four feet, six inches on Tenth street, and 110 feet on Walnut street, and is well appointed and stocked with a full line of first class goods.
Mr. Lott was married to Sarah Derr, daughter of Samuel Derr, and she died in 1872, leaving one child, Ellen, who is the wife of Monroe A. Miller, traveling salesman for Kline, Eppihimer & Company, of Reading.
Mr. Lott is a Mason, being a member of Chandler Lodge, No. 227, and was one of the first members of the Rainbow Fire Company, later joining the Ringgold Hose Company. He is a member of the Reformed Church. For a man of his advanced years Mr. Lott has a wonderful memory, and his many reminiscences of the earlier days of Reading are both interesting and instructing. He is highly esteemed in Reading, where he has a host of friends.
p. 591 Surnames: LOTZ, MIFFLIN, EVANS, YEAGER, BENSON, SHANAMAN, FICHTHORN, HAIN, EAST, MELCHER, FRANKS, COOK, HOYER, LIEB, LUDEN, RAEGER, SNYDER, HESS, HOFFMAN, SELTZER, BRIEMER, NAGLE, HOMAN, LEINBACH
The records of the Lotz family show that it was founded in America prior to the revolution by
(I) Nicholas Lotz, who was born Feb. 20, 1740, in the Palatinate, Germany. He emigrated to Pennsylvania when still a young man, first settling in the western section of the county of Berks. Some time previous to the breaking out of hostilities in the Revolution, he located at Wyomissing creek, where he became the owner of two miles at its mouth, a princely possession, and he conducted it very successfully.
When the struggle for independence demanded his services, he was prominently identified with the patriotic movement at Reading. In January, 1775, he was selected chairman of the standing committee. He served as delegate to the Provincial Conference in June, 1776, and upon his return home he took an active part in the enlistment of men. He himself was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, and took part in the campaign of the "Flying Camp" at New York, where he was engaged in the battle of Long Island and taken prisoner. He was admitted to parole within certain bounds on April 16, 1777, and exchanged on Sept. 10, 1779. He showed great interest in militia matters, being at the head of the battalion in the central section of the county from 1775 through a period of many years. In 1780 he was appointed commissioner of Forage, and as such purchased supplies for the army until the close of the war. The executive council addressed him as colonel, and recognized him as holding such rank. Col. Lotz represented Berks county in the General Assembly from 1784 to 1786, and again from 1790 to 1794, and he filled the office of associate judge of the county from 1795 to 1806. Gov. Thomas Mifflin gave him the appointment, not only because of his belief that he was the best man for the exalted position, but also because of the deep friendship which existed between them. While President Washington was a t Reading on his way to Carlisle, in 1794, Col. Lotz commanded the imposing parade which honored the presence of the distinguished visitor. The review took place in Penn square, and the President was stationed on the second story of the "Federal Inn" (now the site of the Farmers Bank building). Col. Lotz was a tall, finely proportioned man, over six feet in height, and weighing about 300 pounds, and upon that occasion, he attracted marked attention not only on account of his commanding presence, but also because of his military, political, and social prominence. Col. Lotz died at Reading Nov. 28, 1807, and his remains were interred in t he graveyard of the Reformed church, but later they were removed to the Charles Evans cemetery. Eight children survived Col. Lotz: Philip, Nicholas, Jacob, John, Henry, Michael, William and Rosa (m. to John Yeager).
(II) Philip Lotz, son of Col. Lotz, was a life-long resident of Reading and for many years he kept a hotel at Lutz Dam. By trade he was a saddler. In 1856-57 he represented the Southwest ward in the council. By his wife, Catherine, he had children as follows: Sarah m. Ivan Benson; Rebecca m. a Mr. Shanaman; Hannah m. George Fichthorn; Mary m. Paris Hain; Molly m. George East; Peter m. and his children wereMary, Henry, William, John and Peter (twins), Harry, James, Philip and Louise; Philip; William m. and had children?Barbara, Kathryn, Henry, Caroline, Philip, William, Casper and Emma.
(III) Philip Lotz, son of Philip Lotz, was born Nov. 24, 1802, and
died Aug. 9, 1858, aged fifty-five years. By trade he was a
butcher, and followed that occupation many years, residing at
Lutzs Dam where the sheet mill is now located. The old stone house
was built in 1811, and there all his children were born. This
landmark is still standing. Philip Lotz married Anna East, born
July 7, 1808, died May 20, 1882, aged seventy-four years. Their
children were: henry and Nathan died in infancy; Cyrus and Jeremiah
were killed in the Civil War; Mary Ann died in infancy; Sarah m.
Charles Melcher; Catherine m. Alfred Franks, of Reading; Michael
was killed in the Civil war; Ivans, born Nov. 11, 1842, died May
17, 1899; Andrew; and Anna m. Harry Cook, of Reading.
(IV) Andrew Lotz, son of Philip Lotz, was born in Reading April 6,
1844, and has always made this city his home. When only seventeen
years of age he commenced working on the old Schuylkill canal as a
laborer, and after two years began boating on the canal, under
Captain Aaron Hoyer. After several seasons they were in the employ
of the government in the vicinity of Washington, but upon the
outbreak of the Civil war, he sympathized with the struggle of the
government, and in 1864 enlisted in Company D, 198th Pa. V. I., and
served fifteen months. He was wounded in the leg at South Side
Railroad in Virginia, March 29, 1864. After the war he returned to
Reading and became bar clerk for several establishments, finally
establishing himself in the hotel business in which he continued
for twenty years, but he is now living retired at No. 458
Tulpehocken street, Reading. In 1865 Mr. Lotz married Ellen
Catherine Lieb, born March 8, 1850, daughter of Joshua Lieb of
Spring township. Mr. And Mrs. Lotz had these children: Sallie C.,
George E., Rosa, Annie, Edward, Joseph, Ella and Howard, all of
whom reside in Reading.
(V) George E. Lotz, son of Andrew Lotz, was born in Reading Aug. 16, 1869. He commenced working in a pipe foundry at Second and Court streets when only fourteen years old, and there remained for several years, when he went to work in a brick yard. After several years he engaged with the United States Express Company, and was with them for nine years, when he changed to the Adams Express Company, and remained with them for eighteen months. For one year he was in the employ of the Union Cab Company, and then for another year he was with a wholesale house. His next employer was W. H. Luden, the candy manufacturer of Reading, whose head teamster he was for three years. On Jan. 8, 1906, Mr. Lotz embarked in the hotel business, and is the proprietor of the popular hotel at No.153 North Tenth street, which he has since conducted so as to win for his hostelry a steady patronage, not only from the traveling public, but also from residents of the city.
For three years Mr. Lotz served as a member of the National Guard, and with Company I of the Fourth Regiment was at Drifton, and at Latimore, Pa. This company was first attached to the Eleventh regiment. He is now a member of the Sons of Veterans, Camp No. 16; the Old Guard Association; the Reading Turnverein; and Nest No. 116, American Order of Owls. He is also the representative of the Liquor Dealers Protective Association. Ever since old enough to cast his first vote, he has been a Democrat.
On May 14, 1889, Mr. Lotz married Catherine Raeger, daughter of Henry and Emma (Snyder) Raeger, of Reading, and they have two children, Elwood H. And Walter A.
(III) William Lotz, son of Philip, and father of Casper Lotz, was born at Reading April 4, 1799. All of his life he spent in Reading, where he carried on a large and successful butchering business on North Fifth street at the location of the present Masonic Temple. Mr. Lotz was active in church work, assisting in building the First Reformed and St. Johns Reformed churches of Reading. He served on the building committees of both churches, and was very liberal in his contributions. Among other things he contributed the brick used in the erection of St. Johns Reformed church at Ninth and Chestnut streets. He married Sarah Hess, daughter of Casper Hess, of Reading, and they had these children: Barbara m. Rev. Henry Hoffman, a Reformed minister; Kathryn m. John H. Seltzer; Caroline died unmarried; William died in infancy; Henry is of Reading; Philip is of Reading; Casper H.; Emma m. Albert Briemer, of Reading.
(IV) Casper H. Lotz was born in Reading Oct. 27, 1839, and was educated in the public schools of Reading. He learned butchering from his father, following that line of business all of his active life in Reading. For years he attended t he Reading market on Penn Square, and was one of the well known butchers of the city for nearly half a century, and controlled the best trade, always carrying a very fine class of goods. He gave his personal supervision to the work. His butcher shop was on North Fifth street, the present location of the Masonic Temple. This property was the homestead of his grandfather, Casper Hess. Mr. Lotz built his residence on the southeast corner of Fifth and Windsor, and there he also had his shop and slaughter houses, which were very complete. Mr. Lotz retired from business in 1904, and the family now reside at No. 715 North Fourth street, Reading. In politics Mr. Lotz is a Republican, and in 1864 cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. He served in the common council from 1880 to 1884 from the Seventh ward. He and his family are members of the Reformed church. In 1860 Mr. Lotz married Rebecca Nagle, daughter of Henry and Mary (Homan) Nagle, and they had a family as follows: Alice m. Ellsworth Leinbach, of Reading; Harry W. Is engaged in a laundry business at Reading; Sue is at home William was accidentally killed on the Reading railroad at Blandon, PA., on June 5, 1904, leaving a daughter Edna. Mrs. Casper H. Lotz died suddenly Feb. 25, 1909.
p. 350
Surnames: LOTZ, MEYER, HIESTER, YEAGER, RAPP, HAIN, PAULI, MILLER, HOFFMAN, SNELL
Col. Nicholas Lotz, was born Feb. 20, 1740, and emigrated to Pennsylvania when a young man. He first settled in the western section of the county, and there married a young woman by the name of Meyer. Some time previous to the Revolution he located at Reading, and became the owner of the two mills at the mouth of the Wyomissing Creek, which he conducted very successfully. When the struggle for independence began, he was prominently identified with the patriotic movements at Berks county to the Provincial Conference, which assembled at Philadelphia in June 1776, and upon his return home, he took an active part in the enlistment of men. He was commissioned a Lieutenant-colonel, and participated in the movement of the "Flying Camp" from Philadelphia to New York, where he was engaged in the battle of Long Island and taken prisoner. He was admitted to parole within certain bounds on April 16, 1777, and exchanged on September 10, 1779. In 1780 he was appointed commissioner of Forage, and whilst serving this appointment he purchased a large amount of supplies for the army, consisting of flour, oats, cattle, sheep, etc. A receipt book of his still extant in 1893, shows receipts for money paid out from Aug. 12, 1780, to Dec. 5, 1781, aggregating $202,033. He advanced large sums of money from his own purse for the government, but unfortunately was never fully repaid.
Colonel Lotz represented Berks county in the General Assembly from 1784 to 1786, and again from 1790 to 1794; and he filled the appointment of associate judge of the county from 1795 to 1806, having succeeded Colonel Joseph Hiester in that office. He died Nov. 29, 1807. He left to survive him, eight children, seven sons---Philip , Nicholas, Jacob, John, Henry, Michael, and William---and one daughter---Rosa (m. John Yeager). His remains were buried in the grave yard of the First Reformed Church at Reading. and from thence removed to the Charles Evans' Cemetery. He was a man of splendid physique, well proportioned, six feet three inches tall, and weighed about three hundred pounds.
In 1794 Gen. Washington, then President of the United States, visited Reading while on his way to Carlisle. Col. Lotz was at the head of a party of prominent men who arranged a military parade in honor of Washington. The latter reviewed the parade from a second story window of Federal Inn, the building now occupied by the Farmers' Bank.
Philip Lotz was the son of Col. Nichols. His family Bible is in an excellent state of preservation, and the entries were made by himself. We copy these entries: My father, Nicholas Lotz, died on Nov. 29, 1807, aged 67 years, 9 months and 8 days. My dearest wife, Catharina Lotz, died March 13, 1821, aged 41 years and 14 days. His marriage record is as follows: April 16, 1797, Philip Lotz and Catharina Rapp were married. Philip Lotz had eleven children. The oldest was William, born April 4, 1799, who resided many years at No. 213 North Sixth street, Reading, and who aided largely in erecting the present St. John's Reformed church. Next to the youngest child was Mary, the late widow of Peres Hain, a well-known member of St. Paul's church. She was confirmed by Rev. William Pauli in the First church 1834, soon after its erection.
The Bible mentioned above is the property of Daniel Miller, author of "History of the Reformed Church in Reading," who also is the happy possessor of a large volume in German, which was the property of Col. Nicholas Lotz. It is a book of sermons which explain the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the catechism. It was published in Jena in 1658. Col. Lotz gave this book to his son John. On the fly leaf in the beginning of the book is this transfer: "This book belongs to John Lotz after my death. Witness my hand, written on the twenty-third day of November, 1806. Nicholas Lotz." On Jan. 18, 1808, John Lotz transferred the book to his brother Philip Lotz.
The descendants of Col. Nicholas Lotz are numerous in Reading. Mrs. Hoffman, wife of the late Rev. Henry Hoffman, was a great-grandchild. Mr. Chas. K. Snell, present secretary of the First church consistory, is a great-great-grandson.
p. 671
Surnames: LOTZ, SHANAMAN, HESS, HUES, SHEAFFER, LOTT, AUMAN, SULLIVAN
Philip H. Lotz, now living a retired life at his home in Reading, No. 941 Elm street, was for many years identified with various business ventures in this city. Mr. Lotz was born in 1835, in Reading, son of William Lotz, and comes of one of the oldest families of this section.
Col. Nicholas Lotz, great-grandfather of Philip H., was born in Germany in 1740, and emigrated to America, settling in Reading prior to the Revolution. He served as a delegate to the Provincial Conference in June, 1776, and later took an active part in the enlistment of men for the army. He became a Lieutenant Colonel, and was a participant in the campaign of the "Flying Camp" at New York, where he was engaged in the battle of Long Island and taken prisoner. He was at the head of the militia Battalions for many years. In 1780 he was appointed a commissioner of forage and purchased supplies for the army until the close of the war. He represented Berks in the General Assembly from 1784 to 1786, and again from 1790 to 1806. He died Nov. 28, 1807, and his remains were interred in the graveyard of the First Reformed Church and removed from there to Charles Evans cemetery.
The old Shanaman mill property, at the mouth of the Wyomissing creek, opposite Reading, was the place where Col. Nicholas Lotz made flour for the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. Col. Nicholas Lotz sold the grist mill and twelve acres of land, part of a tract of 200 acres, to Peter Bauman.
Philip Lotz, son of Col. Nicholas, was born in Berks county and was a saddler by trade, an occupation which he followed for several years on Penn street, above Third. He and his wife both died in Reading, and were buried in the Charles Evans cemetery.
William Lotz, father of Philip H., was born in Reading, and in this city received his education. For a number of years he was successfully engaged in the butchering business on North Fifth street, where the Masonic Temple now stands. Mr. Lotz died at the age of eighty-seven years. He married Sarah Hess, and their children were: Barbara; Catherine; Caroline, deceased; William, deceased; Henry; Philip H.; Casper and Emma.
Philip H. Lotz attended the public schools of Reading, and then engaged in clerking in a dry goods store. Two years later he engaged in the butchering business with his father, and continued therein for a period of twenty years, he and his brother Casper, being in partnership one year. He then engaged with George W. Hues, who was in the liquor business on eighth and Penn streets, and later removed to No. 805 Penn street. He then became employed with a Mr. Jones in the same line of business, continuing with him for a period of fifteen years, then engaging with Martin Sheaffer. In 1900 Mr. Lotz retired from business. He married Caroline Lott, daughter of Nicholas, and she died in 1888, their children being: Sallie J., m. William Auman, has a family of six children; and George m. a Miss Sullivan, has two children, and resides in Reading. Mr. Lotz is a Republican in his political views, but takes little interest in public matters. He is a member of the Reformed Church.
p. 685
Surnames: LOWE, BERRET, SNYDER
Lewis Napoleon Lowe, assistant city treasurer of the city of Reading, Pa., was born in Philadelphia, Dec. 9, 1863, one of the eight children born to Louis and Sarah (Berret) Lowe, the others being: Anna E., widow of Charles Snyder, of Philadelphia, (brother of Brigadier-General Snyder, of Reading, and a grandson of Governor Snyder of Pennsylvania); Margaret J., of Philadelphia; Frank S., of Philadelphia; Sallie B., of Atlantic City; and three, Walter, Charles and Edward, who all died in early childhood.
Lewis N. Lowe graduated from the Reading high school in the class of 1878, and he started his business life as a machinist with the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, then becoming chief time keeper for that company, spending twelve or thirteen years in the railroad service. He was appointed clerk to the city treasurer in 1902, a position which he efficiently filled until 1908, when he was appointed assistant city treasurer. Fraternally Mr. Lowe is a member of the P. O. S. of A., he is a member of the Universalist Church. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat.
Mr. Lowe is descended from English ancestry on his father's side, and on his mother's from French, this accounting for his name. His father's people were natives of North Carolina, our subject's grandfather owning a large plantation and many slaves. The Civil war reversed the family fortune, and four of the sons came North, all of whom are now deceased.
p. 1124
Surnames: LOY, LEY, BEHLER, SECHLER, LENHART, SCHMIT, FOCHT, HENDRICKS, UNGER, BAILEY, GRAVER, REINHARD, BROBST, MILLER, BAUSCHER, KUNKEL
Phaon Loy, a farmer along the Ontelaunee, above Trexler in Albany township, Berks county, was born at New Bethel Church, in Albany township, July 6, 1852, son of Michael and Polly (Behler) Loy.
The name Loy was originally spelled Ley. From the records in the Berks county courthouse is gleaned the following: Mathias Loy, of Greenwich township, died in 1783, and his will is recorded in Book B, page 74, his wife Anna Maria and son George being the executors of his large estate. The following children are mentioned - George, to whom was given 150 acres of land; Mathias, who had a wife Mary, and to them was given a tract of 150 acres; Adam; Margaret; Catherine and Mary. The widow Anna Maria made her will in 1786, and died in 1787.
Adam Loy, grandfather of Phaon, lived in Albany township and there owned the farm that is now the property of Levi Sechler, near the New Bethel (Corner) Church. He was an officer in the church, overseer of the poor for Albany township in 1817, and was a prominent and highly esteemed man. He died in Albany township in 1844, and his will was probated April 22, 1844, its witnesses being Benjamin Lenhart and Heinrich Schmit. He married Susanna Focht, and their children were: Jeremias, Joseph, Michael, Adam, William, Samuel, Jacob, Elizabeth (m. Michael Hendricks), Polly (m. Samuel Unger) and Susanna.
Michael Loy, son of Adam. was born on his father's farm in Albany township. He began farming on the home farm and after some years sold it and purchased what is now the Wallace E. Bailey farm, where he lived three years. He then purchased the farm on which he died, and which is now the property of his son, Phaon. In politics he was a Democrat, and for many years served as supervisor and as tax collector. He was a Lutheran in religious belief, belonging to New Bethel Church in which he served as deacon, elder, trustee and member of the building committee. He married Polly Behler, and their children were: Louisa lives with her brother Phaon; William, deceased, m. Mary Graver, and had children - James, Clara, Annie, Mary and Herbert; Phaon; and Ellen m. Lenius Reinhard, a carpenter at Trexlertown.
Phaon Loy grew to manhood after the manner of farmer boys, working on the home farm and attending the district school. In the spring of 1878 he began farming for himself in Jackson county, Iowa, where he lived for five years. In 1883 he returned to Berks county, and began the cultivation of his father's farm, where he now lives. Until 1901 he rented the farm, and in that year bought it from the estate. It consists of 141 acres, located along the road from Kempton via Trexler to Wanamakers. The present set of buildings were built by a former owner, Samuel Brobst. Mr. Loy plants from fifteen to eighteen acres in potatoes.
In politics Mr. Loy is a Democrat, and for four years served as school director. during which time he was president and treasurer of the board. Fraternally he belongs to Lodge No. 544, Independent Americans, at Kempton. He and his family are Lutheran members of New Bethel (Corner) Church, in which for a number of years he was deacon and elder.
On March 1, 1879, Mr. Loy married Louisa Miller, daughter of Moses and Sibylla (Miller) Miller, granddaughter of Major William Miller, of Hamburg. To this union have been born: Albert L., m. to Mary Bauscher, of Kempton; Sallie, m. to William Kunkel, of Albany township; William M., a graduate of the Keystone State Normal School, Kutztown, class of 1908, and now teaching in Albany township; Mahlon O.; Verna E., a student in the Normal School; and Arline M.
p. 1030
Surnames: LOY, BAVER, FOCHT, NAGEL, MENGEL, CONFER, BREININGER
Walter Joseph Loy, one of the well-known citizens of Hamburg borough, who is engaged as a furniture dealer and in the undertaking business, was born Jan. 8, 1870, in Windsor township, Berks Co., Pa., son of Justice Walter S. and Elementa (Baver) Loy, well known in the Perry township.
Adam Loy, the great-grandfather of Walter J., was a weaver and farmer of Albany township, and the owner of a farm consisting of 10 acres of land. He married Catherine Focht, and among their children was a son, Joseph.
Joseph Loy, son of Adam, was born Oct. 25, 1825, in Albany township. He was a farmer and wheelwright in Albany township for many years, and is still living, and considering his advanced age, is very well preserved. He has lived retired for a number of years, being well-to-do, and makes his home with his only son, Walter S.
Walter S. Loy was born Nov. 8, 185, in Windsor township, was reared on the farm of his father, and received his education in the local schools and the Keystone State Normal school at Kutztown. He taught school for a number of years, later learning the trade of wheelwright with his father, and is now located successfully as a farmer in Perry township, where he is also serving as a justice of the peace. He married Elementa Baver, daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann (Focht) Baver, and their only child was Walter J., whose name heads this sketch.
Walter J. Loy was reared on the farm and he received his intellectual training in the public schools of his native township. At the age of eighteen years he learned the trade of house-painting, which he followed in addition to farming for some years, and has also a practical knowledge of the machinist's trade, having "set up" many different pieces of farm machinery. In 1889 he became a clerk in Peter Nagel's liquor store, and the following year accepted a clerkship in N. A. Confer's variety store in Hamburg, where he remained for nine years. On Nov. 2, 1899, Mr. Loy purchased the good-will and fixtures of Mahlon Mengel's furniture store and undertaking establishment on South Fourth street, Hamburg, and since that time has been successfully engaged in business. The great flood of Aug. 3, 1906, completely ruined his buildings, furniture and new hearse. His loss was the heaviest of any individual citizen of Hamburg, it amounting to $10,000. During the great flood Mr. Loy displayed wonderful presence of mind, and did heroic service in the rescuing of life and property. He was not dismayed or discouraged by his loss, but at once set about to retrieve his fortune.
Mr. Loy is a member of the Board of Trade, and a director of the Hamburg Building Association, No. 3. He was a consistent member of St. John's Lutheran Church, of which he has been a deacon for seven years, and is also serving as a trustee. He has been secretary of the Church for the past four years. Mr. Loy was married Nov. 6, 1894, to Lizzie Mengel, daughter of Harrison and Caroline (Breininger) Mengel. 126-738 Loy, Walter S.
p. 738
Surnames: LOY, SMITH, LEY, BOSSART, FOCHT, BILLIG, LEIBY, FOLK, SECHLER, KLINE, MERKEL, ADAM
Walter S. Loy, a prosperous farmer and justice of the peace of Perry township, was born Nov. 8, 1850, in Windsor township, near Windsor Castle, Berks county, son of Joseph and Catherine (Smith) Loy.
The popular tradition that two brothers came from the Rhine Valley in Germany, is confirmed in this case by record, and tradition also has it that they were still single. On the same ship on which Matthias Loy emigrated in 1733 to the land of his adoption, was Anna Maria Ley (Loy), who is supposed to have been his sister, and who was then twenty-four years old. The other brother's name was Hans Jurick (George) Ley, who was then, in 1733, recorded as twenty-eight years old. He settled in Windsor township, and owned the farm of 220 acres now in possession of Joseph L. Smith. His wife was Barbara Bossart, of Windsor township, and they had children: Susanna, m. to John George Focht, who purchased Mr. Loy's farm; Molly, who died single; Jacob, m. to a Miss Billig, and father of Leah, Charles and Nathan; Charles, m. to Deborah Leiby, and father of Catherine, Henry W. and Alfred W. (m. Esther Anna Folk, and had two sons, Alfred B. and William D. F.).
Matthias Loy, great-grandfather of Walter S., was the first of that name to settle in Albany township, locating in that district prior to the Revolutionary war. He was a farmer and owned the original homestead, which is now in the possession of Levi Sechler. As far as is known Mathias Loy had two sons: Adam; and Michael, who had two sons, William and Phalon, who resides in Albany township. Michael owned and cultivated a farm of 154 acres, also in Albany township.
Adam Loy was a weaver and farmer in Albany township, owning the Loy homestead, on which he was born and reared, and on which he lived and died. Adam Loy and wife had twelve children, viz.: Samuel, Michael, George, Jacob, Jessee, Jeremiah, William, Mary, Susan, Adam, Elizabeth and Joseph.
Joseph Loy, son of Adam, was born Oct. 25, 1828, in Albany township, Berks county, and came to Windsor township when sixteen years of age; here he acquired land and engaged in farming. He was also a wheelwright by trade and did much of this work for the farmers of his vicinity. Mr. Loy, who is well preserved for a man of his years, resides with his son. He married Catherine Smith, who died Dec. 29, 1905, in her eighty-first year, and to this union there was born but one child, Walter S.
Walter S. Loy obtained his education in the public schools and at the Keystone State Normal School, teaching school in his native township from 1871 to 1874, but the following year engaged in wheelwrighting, a trade which he learned from his father. He had a shop near Dreibelbis Station, which he conducted successfully for five years, then purchasing the 115-acre farm on which he now resides. This property he greatly improved, remodelling the barn and beautifying the entire premises, and after the destruction of his house by fire, he erected a handsome brick residence. He now has one of the finest places in the township, his farm being in good condition, fertile, well-managed and productive. Mr. Loy is a Democrat in politics. He is an active worker in the interests of his party, having served as delegate to a number of county conventions, as school director in Perry township, and in other minor offices. In the spring of 1904, he was elected justice of the peace, in which capacity he has rendered valuable service to the community. Mr. Loy occupies a prominent position in his locality. He is a man of influence and means, is public-spirited, enterprising, and a good citizen, and has won the friendship and esteem of a large number of acquaintances.
On Oct. 20, 1877, Mr. Loy married Hettie M. Kline, daughter of Charles A. and Caroline (Merkel) Kline, and to this union there have been born four children, two sons and two daughters, namely: (1) Alice died in infancy; (2) Sylvester K., was educated in the local schools and the Keystone State Normal School, from which he was graduated in 1898. He then taught school for two terms, after which he entered Franklin and Marshall College at Lancaster, Pa., graduating in 1905, and he is now attending Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. (3) Carrie m. in June 1906, Monroe B. Adam, an enterprising citizen and prominent business man of Virginville, Pa. they have one child, Esther Senora, born Dec. 16, 1907. (4) Joseph was educated in the public schools and is now attending the Keystone State Normal School at Kutztown, Pennsylvania.