Historical Sketch of Nazareth Hall from 1755 to 1869 ... in Memory of Alumni who fell in the late rebellion

362 Pages·1869·13.214 MB·English

by  William C. Reichel

HISTORICAL SKETCH
Nazareth Hall
From 1755 to 1869;
WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE
REUNIONS OF FORMER PUPILS
AND OF THE
INAUGURATION OF A MONUMENT AT NAZARETH
ON THE iiTH OF JUNE, 1868
ERECTED IX MEMORY OF ALUMNI WHO FELL IN
THE LATE REBELLION.
By WILLIAM C. REICHEL
'>7.C.
Class of 1834. 0"^
PRINTED FOR THE
REUNION SOCIETY OF NAZARETH HALL
By J, B. LiPPiNCOTT & Co.. Philadelphia.
1869.
Entered according to Act ofCongress,in the year 1869,by
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.,
FOR THE REUNION SOCIETY OF NAZARETH HAI.I,,
Inthe Clerk's Officeofthe District Court ofthe United States, forthe Eastern
District ofPennsylvania.
ippincott'8 press,
I.
I'HI1.ALKLPIIIA.
1501
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TO ITS FORMER PUPILS,
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HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NAZARETH HALL,
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•n WHICH HAS EXISTED DURING A PERIOD OF MORE THAN
g ONE HUNDRED YEARS,
Is Affectionately Dedicated.
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PREFACE.
A RESOLUTION adopted by the "Union Society of Nazareth
Hall," at its second meeting, on the 8th of June, 1855, recom-
mended the publication of a "Historical Sketch of Nazareth
Hall, from 1755 to 1855," prepared by Rev. Levin T. Reichel, a
former principal of that institution, then of Salem, N. C. It
was suggested, furthermore, to incorporate the acts of the re-
unions of former pupils with this narrative. Mr. Ernest F.
Bleck, of Bethlehem, Pa., undertook the arrangement of the
materials, and in the summer of 1855 the first edition of "Naz-
areth Hall and its Reunions" appeared, at the expense of a
member.
A desire expressed by its Alumni to possess an authentic
account ofthe eight reunions held during the past twelve years,
and of the proceedings of the nth of June, 1868, which day
witnessed the inauguration of a monument erected in memory
of such former pupils of the institution as had fallen fighting for
their countryand its constitutional liberties during the late rebel-
lion, was the occasion of this rewriting of "Nazareth Hall and
its Reunions."
No funds having been provided for this purpose, and the
balance remaining in the hands of the treasurer of the Monu-
ment Fund being sufficient only for the stereotype plates, the
cost of printing this volume has been defrayed by the same
member of the Society who issued the edition of 1855.
7
8 PREFACE.
The writer has made a few additions to, but no material alter-
ations in, i\Ir. Reichel's outline history. The facts bearing on
the reunions have been reproduced as faithfully as possible from
the Minute Book of the Society, and from the chronicles of its
authorized historians. To the accounts of reporters of various
public journals present on the occasion he is indebted for the
data on which is based the narrative of the Reunion of June
II, 1868, and of the proceedings at the inauguration on that day
of a memorial in honor of patriotic sons of Nazareth Hall.
The catalogue of pupils and teachers is brought down in full
to December 31, 1868, and personal notices have been amended
wherever such change was rendered necessary by the vicissi-
tudes which time and life bring with them.
W. C. Reichel.
Bethlehem, Penna., February i, 1869.
;;
NAZARETH HALL.
A FRAGMENT.
Bythelate Right Rev. W. H.Van Vleck, its Fifth Principal.
'Tismorn. Behold! with earlyradiance crowned,
The king of dayascends the easternsky,
Gildingwithroseate hue themountain-tops,
Thefootstool of hishighceruleanthrone.
He comes, oncemore, torule thislowerworld,
Andusherinanother checkeredday
Of hopes and fears, of pleasure andoftoil
Arousing fromthe armsofsweetrepose
Tosweeterramblesin theflowerypath
Of knowledge, all her youthfulvotaries,
The inmatesof thisacademicdome.
Arise, mysoul! obeythebright behest,
Andearlypaythemorningsacrifice!
Refresh'dwithbalmysleep,thatrenovates
Bothmindandbody wornwithdailytoils
(Thankstothat Powerdivine, whoseangel-guards
Theirnightlyvigilsroundmypillowkept),
Iwanderforthtobreathethevernalair.
Andlistthewoodlandwarblers' matinsong.
Yonverdant hill, thatrisesinthewest.
Whosebrowfullmany asacredtombadorns.
Invitesmysteps. Igainthesteepascent,
Andthere,withmute, ineffable delight,
Igazeuponthescenethatsmiles around.
Sooftadmired, and yetforevernew.
Allhail! thouancient, venerablepile,
Sacredto Him, who fillstheheav'nofheav'ns,
And yetdelightswithmortal man todwell
Whoseglitteringspirethesixteenthvernalsun
lO NAZARETH HALL.
Nowgilds, since erstwithin thy hallowed walls
Mytenderyouthasweetasylum found.
All hail ! thoucradle of myinfantmind!
Wherechildhood, happiestage, withgoldendreams
Full manyaswift-revolving daybeguiled.
Thousacredroof, beneathwhose ample shade
Two heaven-born sisters. ArtandScience, dwell,
Where, deeplysmitten with celestial charms
I learnedtoglow, and vowedallegiancetrue.
There first withrapt'rous eye, the pagesublime
Of classic Rome and Greece Iwandered o'er
;
Nowdared, withventurous pencil, toportray
Fair Nature'ssmilingface in mimichues.
Orfrommyyouthful lyre, withtrembling hand,
Unpractis'd, rude, discordantaccents flung.
But ah! fargreater debt than mortal skill
Orhuman knowledge do I oweto thee,
Thou hallowed temple of the living God.
'Twas here mytendermind wasfirstimprest
With Revelation's awfultruthsdivine
;
'Twas herethaton thedarkness of mysoul
Firstdawn'd Religion'sdoubt-di-spellingray,
Andmyenfranchis'd heart, with rapture fired,
Was taughttopray, topraise, and toadore!
Such is thevastamount forwhich Istand
Eternallyindebted. Thisthe soil
Where once with care was sown what now I reap.'
Hithermygrateful thoughtsshall e'erreturn
;
Norabsence, lapse of time, or changeefface
WhatGratitude haswrittenin mybreast.
Nazareth, 1815.
Nazareth Hall.
THE
spot now crowned by the stately structure of
Nazareth Hallw^as,a centuryago, still covered with
primeval forest, and its immediate vicinity, the abode of
Delawares orFork Indians, as theywere commonlycalled
in those days of the Province. Just without the limits of
the present borough ofNazareth therewas in 1740 a pop-
ulous village ofthese aborigines, under thejurisdiction of
one " Captain John," who perversely disputed the right
of Moravian occupancy until the verdict of the Iroquois,
his liege lords, compelled him to relinquish his obstinate
tenure. The discomfited chieftain now built him a hut
some miles to the north, near the '" Deep Hole," on Le-
hietan Creek, and, burying past differences, brought his
venison statedlyto Bethlehem to market, until death over-
took him in his woodland cabin in August of 1747* ^^
Moravian carpenter at the Gnadenthal settlement (now
the site of the county almshouse) made the coffin of the
shrewd old Ishmaelite, who, in accordance with his dying
request, was buried after the Christian mode ofburial.
The Delawares called the Nazareth tract "Welaga-
mika," or Fat Lands. The abundanceofflintarrowheads
U