Johann Heinrich Bortz (1748 - 1820)

Born 1748 in Germany [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Catharina (Kramer) Bortz — married about 1768 in Germany [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 1820 at about age 72 in Wescosville, Lehigh, Pennsylvania, United States

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This person was created through the import of Shortened files.ged on 30 December 2010.

Occupation

Occupation: Miller, Hotel Owner

Notes

Note N00075Immigrated to U.S. (Philadephia) 1781BORTZ FAMILY From: History Of Lehigh County, Vol 1,2,& 3miller & hotel owner

http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?495,325589,325589#msg-325589

Key excerpts:  : "Bortz Family" From Anniversary History Of Lehigh County, Vol. II, Copyright 1914

Henry Bortz Sr was married to Lydia Reintzheimer in Germany. ...

His family consisted of nine children, six sons: John, Jacob, George, Philip, HENRY, Christopher; and four daughters; Maria, Margaretha, Magdalena, and Eva who married John Michael Mosser.

Henry Bortz, Jr., was twice married. By his first wife, Catharine Kromer, he had one son, named Nathan; by his second wife, who was a sister of Hon. John Fogel, he had a daughter named Lucy. He died in 1826. He was the owner of the hotel his father had built. In 1827 this property was sold to Philip Wescoe, after whom the village was named Wescoesville.

Nathan Bortz, son of Henry Jr., was a farmer in Lower Macungie, where he died, aged 68, and was buried at Trexlertown. He married Hettie Detweiler, who died at the age of 78 years.

Elias Solomon Bortz, son of Nathan, a farmer and miller of Lower Macungie township wasborn in Upper Macungie, 9/10/1865. He was educated in the local schools and was employed on the farm until 26 years of age, when he lived for at ime in Allentown. In 1893 he rented the old Riegel farm of 103 acres, owned by James J. Rienhard, located on the Little Lehigh river, which he has since conducted. In 1912 he rented the grist-mill nearby and still manages it. Mr. Bortz is one of the most enterprising farmers in this section and is a member with his family of the Trexlertown Lutheran congregation, and a Republican in politics. He married, in 1893, Sarah, daughter of Henry Otto. They had nine children: Willis W., dceased; Minnie, Curtis, Werner, Helen, Berry, Victor, Alvin and Willard.

"At an early day the Bortz family came into possession of this pearl among the springs and up to this time the best mill property in Lehigh County. The pioneer Bortz had emigrated to America from Europe bringing his family with him. For some time he had lived in the hill sections of Oley, PA. Like many others he had first settled in Oley in order to spy out the land from that point and to find a site for his future home. From Oley he wandered into the Kittatiny Valley, heard of the Cedar Springs, where already there was a small mill. Since the site pleased his fancy and he was rich, he purchased the mill property and much land in the vicinity and took up much vacant land reaching in the direction of and including what is now the village of Wescoesville. At first he operated the mill himself, but moved to Wescoesville where for many years he kept a hotel. He died at a good old age and lies buried at the Lehigh Church, near Alburtis. His aged widow when she was in the nineties, made a long journey in a Conestoga wagon to Bedford County, PA, whither several of her children had migrated. She died and lies buried there. Father Bortz had twelve children, six sons and six daughters, a number of whom had left the region of the Cedar-Creek. "