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SIEGFRIED
The following is a corrected copy of the SIEGFRIED entry which appears in Morton Montgomery's 1909 "History of Berks Co." p.969.
Corrections and additions noted by Leon F. Borst. Either Morton Montgomery in his editing or the submitter of the biography, wrongfully inserted Joseph Siegfried at the beginning of William Siegfried's line. It should be:
Johannes >John II >Jacob >Jonathan >Abraham >William
WILLIAM SIEGFRIED, formerly a leading citizen of Maxatawny township, was born on one of the Siegfried homesteads in Siegfried's Dale, Pa., Feb. 19, 1842, and died Oct. 25, 1886, aged forty-four years, eight months, six days. He passed his entire life in the home in which he was born. His parents were Abraham and Lydia (Zeigler) Siegfried. [BORST note: Actually the house where he died was the home of his Great Uncle, Benjamin Siegfried. William inherited the property at age 20 in 1862 when Benjamin Siegfried died].
The Siegfried family of Maxatawny township is representative of the best kind of old Berks county stock. While the larger number of its members are engaged in the pursuits pertaining to agriculture, there are also those who have become prominent in business and professional life. It was in 1752 that two brothers, John and Joseph Siegfried, settled in the section which for more than 100 years has born the name of Siegfried's Dale [BORST note: Joseph (b.1721) and John (b.1723) were born in Oley, the sons of Johannes (b.1690's) and Elizabeth Siegfried. Johannes moved his family from Oley to land the Indians called "Mach-set-Hanne" (Bear's path stream) about 1724 (eight years before the Penns purchased the land from the Indians in 1732). Johannes purchased his first land in "Maxatawny" from Casper Wister, a Brass Button Maker and Land Speculator from Philadelphia]. There they owned a large body of land, probably 1,000 acres.[BORST note: Johannes Siegfried owned 600 acres when he died in December of 1747 and willed each son 300 acres]. In 1759 John Siegfried paid a tax of twenty-one pounds and Joseph paid one of twenty pounds. They increased in numbers as a family and prospered and founded organizations which still bear their honored name. Siegfried's school and Siegfried's Church testify to their progress and the latter was so known for several years, but is now generally known as the Maxatawny Zion's Union Church. In Lehigh County[Borst note: This should be Northampton County], in the cement district, there is a pretty borough known as Siegfrieds, so named after a prominent member of this family. It has a population of about 1,000. [BORST note: When this was published in 1909, there was a covered bridge (built in1828} which replaced "Siegfried's Ferry" that crossed the Lehigh River. The village on the east side of the bridge was known as "Siegfried's Bridge" and later shortened to "Siegfrieds". In 1901, three contiguous villages (Siegfried, New Port, and Stempton) combined to form the town of "Alliance". In 1909, Alliance was renamed "Northampton". The prominent member they speak of is Col. John Siegfried(1745) who moved from Maxatawny, Berks Co. about 1770 to the east bank of the Lehigh River in Allen Township, Northampton, County where he owned a Tavern and operated the ferry]. In Siegfried's Dale, in Maxatawny township, about one-fourth mile due west of the school-house, is the private burial ground of this well-known family. It is about 100 square feet [BORST note: It is certainly larger than 100 sq.ft. (which would be a square 10ft. by 10ft.). I don't know the exact dimensions, but from my many visits there, I would estimate the dimensions at about 70 ft. by 70 ft. or 4,900 sq.ft., much more than the "about 100 sq.ft" mentioned by Montgomery.] and in that enclosure rest the remains of the early pioneers of this name, five generations sleeping there. It is well kept and evidently is regarded as a sacred spot by the present generation.
John Siegfried, brother of Joseph, and co-founder of the Siegfried family in Maxatawny township [BORST note: Johannes Siegfried, the father of brothers Joseph and John, was the founder of the Siegfrieds in Maxatawny], died late in the spring of 1766. His widow, Elizabeth [Borst note: It is true, Joseph's brother John did die in May1766, but his wife's name was Catherine (Federolf). Elizabeth is not his widow but his mother, widow of Johannes Siegfried who died in Dec 1747. Information that follows is about Elizabeth, mother of Joseph and John], made her last will and testament, June 17, 1766, and she died between that date and the filing of her will, Nov. 10, 1767 [Borst note: Elizabeth died in Sep 1767]. She designated her son, Joseph Siegfried, and her trusted and esteemed friend Sebastian Zimmerman as her executors. The children mentioned in the will were: Joseph; Margaret, m. to Jacob Moss, of Lynn township, Lehigh County; Catherine, m. to Frederick Raumich; Susanna, m. to Daniel Levan; Elizabeth, m. to John Rothermel; Magdalena, m. to Anthony Fisher; and Anna, m. to Jacob Fisher.[Borst note: Should be Jacob Deisher -- Will has "Teisher"]. [Borst note: This paragraph is meant to be about Johannes Siegfried (1790's - Dec 1747). Johannes was the founder of the Siegfried family in Maxatawny and not his sons, Joseph and John. As mentioned, Joseph & John are brothers and brother John died in May of 1766. The rest of the paragraph is not about brother John's widow (whose name was Catherine) but about Elizabeth, mother of Joseph and John and wife of Johannes the immigrant. The author fails to mention that "the heirs of my recently deceased son John" (the John that died in the Spring of 1766) was also mentioned by Elizabeth (d. May 1767) in her will. Elizabeth’s husband, Johannes died in Dec.1747].
(I) Joseph Siegfried, one of the founders of the family in Berks county[BORST note: Joseph's father, Johannes was the founder of this family in Berks.], and great-great-grandfather of the late William Siegfried [BORST note: Joseph's brother, John II, was the g-g-grandfather of William Siegfried], died before the close of the eighteenth century. The will of his widow, Anna Mary Siegfried, is dated Dec. 14, 1795, and was probated Jan 3. 1806. The executors of it were: Gideon Grim and Johannes Siegfried. The children of Joseph Siegfried were: Catherine, Magdalena (m. Abraham Levan), Johannes, Joseph, Henry (born April 17, 1751, died Aug. 9, 1822), Jacob, Abraham, Isaac, and Daniel [ Borst note: See below] (born Dec. 29, 1763, died Nov. 20, 1846, m. Magdalena Kline, born 1768, died 18(52). [Borst note: This paragraph IS about Joseph Siegfried (1721-1795) who was the son of Johannes Siegfried (b.1690’s), the founder of the family in Berks Co., but he is NOT the g-g-grandfather of William Siegfried. Joseph(1721)’s brother, Johannes ( John)II (1723), is the g-g-grandfather of William Siegfried. The Johannes mentioned is Joseph's Wife's will is her oldest child, Col. John Siegfried (1745 - 1793) and is mentioned in phrase, "children of my deceased son Johannes". The Daniel mentioned (b.1763) is not Joseph's son but the son of Joseph's brother, John II (b.1723). Joseph's son is Daniel R.(b.1767) who married Sarah Bechtel ].
(II) Johannes Siegfried, son of Joseph [BORST note: Not Joseph, but Johannes II ], born Oct. 1, 1758, died April 4, 1821, aged sixty-two years, six months, three days.
(III) Johannes Siegfried, son of Johannes, grandson of Joseph [BORST note: Not Joseph, but Johannes II], born Jan 20, 1782, died June 18, 1835, aged fifty-three years, five months, twenty-eight days. He was a farmer. In 1819 he erected a barn in Siegfried's Dale that was replaced in 1905 by a modern and improved building that is one of the best barns in Upper Berks County. He was married to Catherine Fetterolf (1776-1850), and they had five sons and two daughters, some of whom died young.
(IV) Johannes Siegfried, son of Johannes and Catherine, was born Aug. 27, 1802, and died July 30, 1840, aged thirty-seven years, eleven months, three days. He was a farmer on the homestead. By his wife, Hannah Grim (1803-1840), he had the following children: Mary; John; Jesse, residing at Allentown, has a son Harry; Alfred, residing at Allentown, has Robert, James and Henry; Hannah; and one died young.
(V) John Siegfried, son of Johannes and Hannah Siegfried, born in 1829, died in 1902. He was a life-long farmer on the Siegfried homestead, which, when he acquired it, contained 165 acres. He married Catherine Grim, daughter of Joshua Grim, born in 1837, and still living in Siegfried's Dale. Their seven children are: Hannah, John, Mary, Joshua, Sue, Celia, and Jacob.
[BORST note: Numbering starts over, since Jacob is also a son of John Siegfried II and Catherine Federolf. Their children were: Elizabeth (1754), m. Michael Werlin; Peter (1757), m.Catherine Munnig; Margaret (1758 ?). m. Henry Lantz; John III (1758), m. Maria Gertraud Sassaman; Susanna (1760), m.Albrecht Werlin; Jacob (1762), m.Dorothy Levan; Daniel (1763), m. Mary Magdalena Kline ].
(II) Jacob Siegfried, son of Joseph [BORST note: Not Joseph but Johannes II. Joseph did have a son Jacob who was born n 1753 and married Maria Barbara Graul ], the first settler[BORST note; Not the first settler], and great-grandfather to William, was a native of Siegfried's Dale in Maxatawny township. There he was born Aug. 19, 1762, and died March 28, 1829, aged sixty-six years, seven months, nine days.[Borst note: Death date and age on tombstone in error - should be March 28 1830 with age sixty seven years, seven months, nine days]. On June 15, 1784, he married Dorothea Levan, born Feb. 2, 1765, died March 14, 1831, aged sixty-six years, one month, twelve days. Their children were: Alexander settled at Sunbury, PA; William, born 1797, died 1826, m. Maria Reiser; Samuel; Benjamin; Jonathan; George, who was blind, lived in Ohio[BORST note: No record of a George has ever been found. I believe the name George should be Jacob, who moved to Ohio in 1827, and had a son that was blind]. and several daughters (names not preserved) [BORST note: Jacob (1762) had daughters Catherine, Sarah and Elizabeth]. Jacob Siegfried and wife were interred in Siegfried's Burial Ground.
(III) Jonathan Siegfried, son of Jacob, was born Oct. 28, 1790, in Maxatawny township, and died in June 1853, near Rebersburg, Schuylkill county [BORST note: Should be Rhersburg, Berks County – see page 154 of 1850 US census for Bethel Township, Berks County, Pa.]. and is buried at the Bethel Church. He owned a farm and kept an inn across the Blue Mountains [BORST note: I doubt this - he had an Inn in Rehresburg] from Rebersburg [Rehersburg] and was a well-known man. He married Barbara Fiegol (1787-1854). They had the following children: Abraham; William, of Harrisburg; Sarah, born June 25, 1827, m. Philip Boltz, of Annville; B. Matilda, born Jan 8, 1825, m. (first) an Overholtzer, had one son, Alfred (killed in the Civil war), and m. (second) Thomas Straub (died at Perryville), and they had fifteen children; and Daniel, born Nov.30 1818, m. a Kauffman [ BORST note: Daniel married Sarah Kauffman on 12 Feb !846 at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jonestown, Lebanon County, PA ] and went West (after his father's death), where he died [ Borst note: Daniel moved to Iowa in 1827. His son, Benjamin, according to family lore, had a horse deal go bad, moved to Ceres, CA and changed his name to Kauffman (his mother's maiden name)].
(IV) Abraham Siegfried [BORST note: Son of Jonathan], father of the late William Siegfried, was born Aug. 29, 1813, in Siegfried's Dale, and died Jan 31, 1895, aged eighty-one years, five months, two days. He was a farmer and drover, and for many years was supervisor of Maxatawny Township. He owned a farm of seventy acres in Greenwich Township, from which he subsequently moved to Topton and later to Reading, where he died at the home of a daughter, Mrs. John Fisher. He was buried at the Maxatawny Zion Church. He married (first Lydia Ziegler, born April 24, 1816, in Lehigh County, and died June 7, 1873. They had two children: Amelia, m. John Fisher, who died at Reading June 27, 1907, aged seventy-five years, ten months, eighteen days; and William. Abraham Siegfried m. (second) Mrs. Sally Ann Kramlich, daughter of Solomon Kuhns, and they had one daughter Kate.
(V) William Siegfried attended the early schools of his neighborhood and grew to manhood with a knowledge of farming and stock raising. He was a farmer and drover and dealt largely in horses and cattle for many years. He was a man of fine business capacity and of excellent judgment and was frequently elected to local offices on the Democratic ticket. He served Maxatawny Township as assessor and also as tax collector and performed his full duty on every occasion. He was a leading member of the Maxatawny Zion Union Church, belonging to the Reformed congregation, and served some years as a deacon, and then was made an elder, sustaining that relation at the time of his death. For a number of years he was the Sunday-school superintendent, and always gave liberally for all religious purposes. In every relation of life he was a most worthy man.
On April 5, 1856, William Siegfried was married to Mary Ellen Hoch, daughter of William and Sallie (Bieber) Hoch, of Maxatawny Township, and a granddaughter of Abraham and Hannah (Doumayer) Hoch of Richmond Township. Five children were born to William Siegfried and wife, namely: Sallie H; Mary Ellen, m. Dr. C. Q. Hillegars [BORST note: Married a Dentist, Dr. Charles Quentin Hillegass], of Pennsburg; William H. lives in Pennsburg; Edwin A. H. resides in Maxatawny township; and Victor G. H. manages the home farm for his mother.
Compiled by
Leon F, Borsr
Chester Coumty, PA
2 January 2002
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