310 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



grist mill, and Michael the oil mill. The 

 father removed to Upper Mount Betliel 

 where he died in 1805, leaving besides 

 the two boj-s four children by a second 

 marriage, Elizabeth, Magdalena. Solo- 

 mon and Daniel. He was buried at 

 Stone church in Mount Bethel town- 

 ship. After a few years Joseph sold his 

 mill to Michael, and moved to a mill 

 site along the Monocacy, in Hanover 

 township. Milchael was now the pos- 

 sessor of his father's entire tract of land 

 in Lower Saucon township, and which 

 is now embodied in the entire east side 

 of the main street in Hellertown. Mi- 

 chael was the father of a large family, 

 all of whom died in infancy, with the 

 exception of Paul and Tobias, who after 

 their father's failure removed to what is 

 now Lanark, Lehigh county, and built 

 the hotel known as Heller's Tavern. 

 _ Johan Michael Heller, above men- 

 tioned, was a direct ancestor of William 

 J. Heller, the subject of this sketch, and 

 was known as Michael, the elder (Alt 

 vater Mike). Early in life (1751) he 

 purchased a farm on Saucon creek, in 

 what is now the entire west side of the 

 main street in Hellertown. In the same 

 year he built a stone house which is 

 still standing. He became the founder 

 of Hellertown, and was an extensive 

 land owner, prospering in all his busi- 

 ness affairs, but lost very heavily 

 through the depreciation of currency 

 during the revolution, which, together 

 with his contributions to the revolution- 

 ary cause, and his gift of several hun- 

 dred-acre farms to each of his children, 

 left him comparatively a poor man at 

 the time of his death. His team was 

 the first to leave Saucon Valley loaded 

 with provisions for the starving army at 

 Valley Forge. However, he gave not 

 only assistance of this character, but 

 rendered active service in behalf of the 

 cause of liberty as a lieutenant in the 

 army. His children were: David, born 

 in 1751, served a period in the revolu- 

 tionary war, and was a farmer in Lower 

 Saucon township; Margaret, who mar- 

 ried Jacob Kreeling; Heob (Job), born 

 1765, and was a farmer in Upper Saucon ; 

 Simon, born in 1758, was a farmer, and 

 settled near Plainfield church: Michael, 

 who was known as "Creek Mike," was 

 born in 1757, and always remained at 

 the homestead, where he died in the 

 year 1828. 



David Heller, son of Johan Michael 

 Heller, was the great-great-grandfather 

 of William J. Heller. He married Eliza- 

 beth, daughter of John Ladenmacher, 

 and their children were: Catharine, born 

 in 1773, died in 1776: Susanna, born in 



1774, died in 1776; Elizabeth, born in 



1775, married Jacob Roth, who became 

 the owner of the homestead immediately 

 east of Hellertown; ]\Iichael, born in 

 1777, died in 1816, leaving several chil- 

 dren; his oldest son Michael lived and 



died in Cunningham valley; David, borm 

 in 1778, learned the trade of a tanner,, 

 and afterwards removed to Lehighton, 

 Carbon county; Job, born in 1780, diecf 

 in 1822. unmarried; Catharine, born in 

 1780, died in 1786; Yost, born in 1783; 

 Susanna, born in 1784; Maria, born in' 

 1786; Joseph, born in 1788, and at the 

 age of thirty years removed to Philadel- 

 phia, where he remained until his death; 

 Rosanna, born in 1789, died in 181 1. 



Yost Heller, the great-grandfather, 

 was reared upon the home farm, and irt 

 his early youth was full of life, fun and" 

 merriment. IVIany a laugh did he cause 

 in the neighborhood by his merry 

 pranks, but he also commanded the re- 

 spect of friends and neighbors, and as 

 the years advanced his attention was 

 given to work that proved of benefit to 

 the community along material and moral 

 lines. He was the most popular man 

 in Lower Saucon township, was the first 

 deacon of Appel's church, and reared his 

 family according to its teachings, while 

 its principles formed the rule of his own 

 conduct. He was married to Elizabeth' 

 Shaffer, of a prominent family of Lehigh 

 county, and their children were: Jacob, 

 Elizabeth, who became Mrs. Bachman, 

 and later Mrs. Flexer, and Mary, who- 

 became Mrs. Weiss, and afterward Mrs. 

 Rice. 



Jacob Heller, the grandfather, was 

 born in 1804, and died in Easton, in 1881. 

 Brought up in the faith of the church 

 according to its teachings, he alsc^ 

 reared his family in the same way. He 

 was the first elder in Appel's church. He- 

 married Sarah Bellis, of Lower Saucon, 

 a descendant of one of the original own- 

 ers of West Jersey, Lawrence Bellis, 

 and their children were: Elizabeth, born' 

 in 1825; William, born in 1827; Josiah 

 B., born in 1829; Jacob, Sarah, John,, 

 Susan and Emma. 



Josiah B. Heller, the father of Will- 

 iam J. Heller, was born in 1829, and 

 pursued his education in a school at 

 Hellertown, and under Dr. Vanderveer 

 at Easton. Subsequently he engaged in 

 teaching in Easton and in surroundings 

 townships, and he also was numbered 

 among the music instructors of the Le- 

 high Valley on his daj'. After devoting 

 a number of years to educational work 

 he engaged in farming for a decade, and' 

 then returned to Easton, where he con- 

 ducted a transfer freight line for many 

 years. He was one of the early mem- 

 bers of the Independent Order of Odd 

 Fellows at that place, and took a helpful 

 interest in promoting the lodge and its 

 growth. His political allegiance was 

 given to the Democracy, whch he con- 

 tinued to support until his death. De- 

 cember 5, 1898. He married Susan Hein- 

 Icin, of Forks township, a descendant of 

 George Heinlein. captain of the Durhami 

 township militia during the revolution^ 

 and a great-grandd lughter of Elizabeth 



