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Below is a family biography included in the book, Portrait and biographical record of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties, Pennsylvania published in 1894 by Chapman Publishing Company. These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary. Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more. There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.
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THEODORE LORENZO SEIP, D. D., President of Muhlenberg College of Allentown, was born in Easton, Pa., June 25, 1842, and is a son of Reuben L. and Sarah A. Seip. His ancestors emigrated from Germany to Northampton County, Pa., early in the eighteenth century, and members of the family served in the Revolution and the War of 1812. Our subject attended the private and public schools of Easton and Bath, Pa., and was carefully reared by his parents, especially by his devoted mother. At the age of sixteen, he began preparing for college in Weaversville Academy, and afterward was sent to Pennsylvania College, at Gettysburg. In 1863, when General Lee invaded Pennsylvania, he joined the college company, which was mustered into service as Company A, Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Infantry. He was detailed for duty at headquarters with the staff of Maj-Gen. D. N. Couch, then in command of the Department of the Susquehanna, with whom he served until his company was mustered out. During the spring vacation of 1864 he was a delegate of the United States Christian Commission in Tennessee and Georgia, having charge of the hospitals in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Later he went to Chattanooga, and was sent with General Sherman on his way to Atlanta. When his service with the United States Christian Commission had expired, he returned to college, and was graduated in the Class of ‘64.
In October following Mr. Seip entered the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and the following year, as agent of the United States Sanitary Commission, he was sent on an inspection tour to Grant’s army. After his graduation at the seminary, in 1867, he was called to Muhlenberg College, and was elected Principal of the academic department and Adjunct Professor of Greek. He thus served until June, 1872, when he was elected Professor of the Latin and Greek languages and literature, in which office he served until 1876. The financial condition of the school was then pretty bad, and he was made financial agent. His labors soon restored confidence in the college, and the ruin that threatened was prevented. In 1885 Dr. Seip was elected President of the college, and entered upon his duties the following January. He has been connected with this school from its beginning, and its success is due greatly to his untiring and earnest efforts. He has taught in its various departments, and is acknowledged a most able instructor. He wins the confidence and respect of his pupils, and leaves upon their lives an influence for good which is never forgotten.
In 1866 Dr. Seip married Miss Emma Elizabeth Shimer, of Bath, Pa., who was confirmed in the same class with her husband. She died in the year 1873, leaving four children: Howard Shimer, A. M., D. D. S., a skilled dentist of Allentown; Rev. Frank Muhlenberg, A. M., pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church of Lebanon; Annie Elizabeth, a graduate of the Allentown High School and the Lutherville Female Seminary; and Theodore Lorenzo, who died in early infancy. In 1877 Dr. Seip married Miss Rebecca Keck, of Allentown, who is a faithful companion and helpmate. In his family he is a kind and loving husband and father, among his friends is a courteous, genial gentleman, and is a Christian always. He is untiring in the work of the Lutheran Church, and though he has never been pastor of a congregation, few ministers have done more toward inducing the young to enter the path of righteousness than Dr. Seip. In politics he is a Republican.
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This family biography is one of numerous biographies included in the book, Portrait and biographical record of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties, Pennsylvania published in 1894 by Chapman Publishing Company.
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