My Genealogy Hound

EDWIN MICKLEY, who is one of the prominent and representative citizens of Lehigh County, is descended from a family well known throughout the United States. He was born in the above county April 20, 1830, and is the son of Jacob and Anna (Kern) Mickley. The name was originally spelled Michelet, and was changed in the ship’s list, of Colonial records, to Muckli, later to the present form of Mickley.

Jean Jacques Michelet, son of Louis and Susane (Mangeot) Michelet, was born in Zweibrucken, Alsace-Lorraine, in 1697. He took passage on the ship “Hope” April 6, 1733, and arrived in Philadelphia August 28, 1733. He had left his native country on account of religions persecution, and after making his home with a relative in Berks County for a time, he came to this section and purchased land in North Whitehall Township, the deed to which was given by John Penn. A part of this property is now owned by the Thomas Iron Company, and other portions by Franklin P. Mickley, of Balliettsville, this county.

After residing on the farm for about two years, Jean J. Mickley located a short distance north of Egypt, where he made his home until his decease, August 18, 1769. Six years previous to his death occurred the celebrated Indian raid in Lehigh Valley, historically known as the Whitehall Indian raid, in which a number of persons were killed, two of his children, a son and daughter, among them. He married Miss Elizabeth Barbara Burkhalter, and to them were born seven children: J. Jacob, J. Martin, J. Peter, J. Henry, Barbara, Magdalena and Susanne.

The eldest son, John Jacob Mickley, 2d, was born in this county December 17, 1737. He married Miss Susanne Miller, and they became the parents of ten children: John J., Christian, Peter, Henry, Joseph, Daniel, Sarah, Anna, Catherine M. and Magdalena. John Jacob Mickley served in the Revolutionary War as a member of Capt. Benjamin Weiser’s Company, which was one of the first to go to the front. After serving in the army for a time, he returned home. November 11, 1776, he was made a member of the general committee of observation at Easton, this state, the duty of which was to assist the army in every way possible. He served as a member of this body until the close of the war, and was very prominent and influential in all its workings.

In September, 1777, by order of the Executive Council, the bells on the State House, Christ and St. Peter’s Churches (eleven in all), were removed from Philadelphia to Allentown by way of Bethlehem, as the Quaker City was threatened by an invasion from the British. John Jacob Mickley was delegated to superintend the removal of the bells, which were brought hither in Conrad Kreider’s Wagon Brigade, numbering five hundred and fifty wagons. This great number was necessary on account of the removal of much valuable property from Philadelphia to a safer place. The State House bell (now better known as the Liberty bell) had to be reloaded at Bethlehem, on account of the wagon breaking down. It was brought safely to Allentown, where it was concealed beneath the floor of the Zion Reformed Church, and remained there until the latter part of 1778, when it was returned to its original position in Philadelphia.

September 12, 1808, John Jacob Mickley was killed by a tree falling upon him. He was the proprietor of nearly eight hundred acres of land in what is now Whitehall Township, a portion of which is owned by the subject of this sketch and is termed Oczakow. The other three tracts which he purchased were known as Springfield, Pond Brook and Mt. Pleasant. Five hundred and fifty acres of the original purchase are still in the possession of different members of the family.

The eldest son of this gentleman, who also bore the name of John Jacob Mickley, 3d, was born in Whitehall Township, this county, April 13, 1766 and departed this life April 1, 1857. He married Eva Catherine Schreiber, and to them were born five children: Mary M., Jacob, Sarah, Anna and Joseph. At the age of eleven years Mr. Mickley rode on the wagon bearing the Liberty bell from Philadelphia to Allentown. During the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 he served as a soldier. He was one of the founders of the Reformed Church, generally known as Mickley's Church, in Whitehall Township.

The eldest son of John Jacob Mickley, Jr., was Jacob Mickley, who was born March 27, 1794, and died June 2, 1888. He married Miss Anna Kern, and to them were born eleven children: Anna L., now deceased; Mary, the widow of the late Valentine Weaver, of this county; Rebecca, Mrs. Samuel Thomas, -of Catasauqua, deceased; Francesca, deceased; Ephraim, who married Elizabeth Deshler, both deceased; James W., who married Annie L. Cooper, and who died October 16, 1882; Edwin, who married Matilda E. Fogel; Catherine, whose home is in Allentown; Eliza, the wife of Rev. David Kuntz, of Nazareth, this state; Jane, who married Enoch Philips, of Pulaski City, Va.; and William J., who married Lucy Keck, and is deceased.

Jacob Mickley served in the War of 1812 as a member of Capt. John Rube’s company. He enlisted as a private when eighteen years of age, and was later commissioned Second Lieutenant of a troop of cavalry belonging to the Sixty-eighth Regiment of the Pennsylvania Militia. He was discharged from service August 3, 1828. The Mickley family were all Whigs in politics until the organization of the Republican party, since which time they have always cast their votes for its candidates. At the time of his death, Jacob Mickley was one of the last survivors of the War of 1812 in this county. He was looked upon as a man of sterling integrity and great worth, and was widely known throughout this section of the country. He aided in the organization of the Mickley Church. He was active in school matters, took a great interest in political affairs, and contributed liberally of his means toward charitable and religious purposes. He was one of the original stock holders of the Lockridge Iron Company, now the Thomas Iron Company.

Edwin Mickley, the third son of this gentleman and the subject of this sketch, was reared to man’s estate in this county, and received his education in the Kingston (Pa.) Seminary. In 1848 he entered the service of the Crane Iron Company at Catasauqua, and remained with them for several years, working in the capacity of a machinist. In 1854 he went to New York, and engaged with the Globe Iron Works. On his return to this county he engaged in the foundry and machine business at Fogelsville, which he carried on for two and a-half years. During that time he built the first engine used by the Pennsylvania & Lehigh Zinc Company at Friendensville, and after quitting the foundry business he engaged with the Thomas Iron Company at Hokendauqua, Pa., with which company he remained for thirty-three years as Mining Engineer. He resigned his position with the Thomas Iron Company in March, 1889, and after a tour of Europe, remodeled the homestead, where he takes much interest in his stock farm and dairy, giving much attention to practical farming and the organizing of the first Farmers’ Club of Lehigh County.

In June, 1863, Mr. Mickley enlisted in the Union army. He was commissioned First Lieutenant of Company B, Thirty-eighth Pennsylvania Militia, by Gov. Andrew G. Curtin, the late well known war Governor. The regiment were sent to the front, and after their return were ordered to Pottsville to enforce the draft. After this was accomplished, the regiment was honorably mustered out of the service.

September 27, 1853, Mr. Mickley married Miss Matilda E. Fogel, of Fogelsville, the daughter of Solomon Fogel, late a prominent citizen of this county. The four children comprising their family are: Anna D., who married Joseph P. Mickley, chief engineer in the United States Navy; Lillie E., the wife of Dr. H. M. Chance, of Wayne, this state; Minnie F. and John Jacob.

Mr. Mickley has always been prominent in school matters, and for a quarter of a century has rendered efficient service as President of the board. With his wife he is a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church at Hokendauqua, which he is serving as Elder. He is identified with Lieut. George Fuller Post No. 378, G. A. R., standing very high among the old soldiers, and is a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. He is the owner of a beautiful residence, which is considered one of the finest rural homes in Lehigh County.

Through the Liberty bell episode at Allentown, in which the ancestor of our subject took a prominent part, so much interest was manifested that the idea of having a new Liberty bell originated in the mind of Miss Minnie F. Mickley, the daughter of our subject, and a lady of rare literary attainments. When it was decided to exhibit the new bell at the World’s Fair in Chicago, she was appointed to represent the state of Pennsylvania, and was also made Secretary of the general committee composed of delegates from every state in the Union and every Republic in the world. She is officiating at the present time as Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Lehigh County, and is likewise Regent of the Mary Washington Memorial Association, and connected with the Alumni Association of the Elmira (N. Y.) College. The family to which he belongs is recognized as one of the historic and prominent families of the Lehigh Valley, and not only as a descendant of illustrious ancestors, but also on account of the position he has attained for himself he is esteemed by all.