Lives of Workers

Many workers were required to help the various forges and furnaces operate smoothly. A brief overview of some of the individuals who were involved with the Lehigh Furnace, East Penn Forge, and East Penn Furnace can be found below.

East Penn Township, Carbon County, PA

John Bachman

John Bachman was listed in the 1860 census as a collier in East Penn township. Colliers were essential to charcoal production and typically lived in collier huts. According to the 1860 Census, John Bachman was approximately forty years old and was living with his wife Mary, and his eleven children ages four months to nineteen years[1]. In the 1870 Census Mary was listed as keeping house with six children, aged eight to twenty-three[2].

Christian Freeby (circa 1825 - April 1887)

Christian Freeby was listed in the 1860 Census as a forgeman in East Penn Township. He was approximately thirty-five years old and was living with his wife Jeannette (Decker) Freeby, whom he married in July of 1848, and four children. He followed in his father's footsteps, as the elder Christian Freeby (1776-1880)[3] had been a forgeman also. The senior Freeby lived to be over one hundred and was still walking into town to get supplies in his nineties. Christian Freeby owned land adjacent to the Balliet family in East Penn Township. Prior to working as a forgeman, Christian Freeby was noted in the 1850 Census as being a blacksmith. Christian Freeby took time from his work to serve in the Civil War as a second lieutenant in Company A, Fourth Regiment of the Pennsylvania Cavalry, 64th Volunteers.

References

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 26 June 2020), memorial page for Christian Freeby (25 Dec 1776–4 Nov 1880), Find a Grave Memorial no. 39113054, citing Dinkey Memorial Cemetery, Lehighton, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Dawsonlm (contributor 47041997).[4]

• Pennsylvania Marriages, 1709-1940, database, FamilySearch [5] : 6 February 2020, Christian Freby, 1848.

• The Carbon Advocate. 1879. Local and Personal, August 16, 1879.[6]

• The Carbon Advocate. 1890. Orphans' Court Sale of Very Valuable Real Estate! December 6, 1890.[7]

• United States Census, 1850, database with images, FamilySearch [8] : 9 April 2016, Pennsylvania > Carbon > Mauch Chunk borough > image 35 of 61; citing NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• United States Census, 1860, database with images, FamilySearch [9] : 24 March 2017, Pennsylvania > Carbon > East Penn Township > image 1 of 22; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• United States Census, 1870, database with images, FamilySearch [10] : 15 June 2019, Pennsylvania > Carbon > East Penn > image 18 of 22; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• United States Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Citing multiple microfilm publications, Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.[11]

• United States Records of Headstones of Deceased Union Veterans, 1879-1903, database with images, FamilySearch [12] : 1 May 2020, Christian Freeby.