Stephen Balliet (1781-1854)

Family

Stephen Balliet was born on October 27, 1781 to Stephen Balliet (1753-1821) and Magdalena Burgalter (1765-1805). Stephen was a member of the second generation of Balliets born in the United States. His grandfather Paulus Balliet (1717-1777) came to the United States in 1738.

Stephen Balliet married Susan Ihrie (1784-1852). They had eleven children, including Stephen, who died young, Susan Balliet 1806-1873 who married Dr. Jesse Hallman, Stephen Balliet Jr (1809-1860), Paul Balliet (1811-1886), Aaron Balliet (1813-1895), Maria Balliet (1815-1867), George Balliet, John Balliet (1819-1886), Charles, Sabina, and Caroline. Stephen's daughter, Maria, married Benjamin S. Levan, who for many years was the superintendent of the Lehigh Furnace, under the employment of Stephen Balliet, and continued to be active in the iron industry after Balliet's death.

Iron

In 1826, Stephen Balliet and Samuel Helffrich bought the land upon which the Lehigh Furnace would be built, purchasing 25 acres at the southern foot of the Blue Mountain from Christian Snyder and Christian Bloss. The spot was chosen because of its proximity to materials needed to produce iron — especially the wood for charcoal — on the mountain. At almost the same time as the Lehigh Furnace began operating, surface iron in the area was exhausted, prompting a switch to mines. In 1830, Helffrich died, and his shares in the iron business were bought by Stephen Balliet two years later. Stephen Balliet continued to operate the furnace until his death in 1854; his heirs then took over the business until they sold it to Cooper & Hewitt, of New York, several years later .

In 1828 Stephen Balliet and Helffrich erected the East Penn Forge on the north side of the Blue Mountain in East Penn Township, Carbon County. In 1837, Stephen Balliet purchased three thousand acres of land near the forge, built another furnace, and constructed additional housing for workers, bringing the total to eleven. His son, Aaron, was in charge of operations on the north side of the mountain from 1838 to 1855, until he sold it to Solomon Boyer and A.B. Nimson. In 1858, possession of the furnace and forge property came to John Balliet, another of Stephen Balliet's sons. Charles Nimson, the son of A.B. Nimson, is listed as the clerk at Lehigh Furnace in 1852 and is associated with management at East Penn Furnace and Forge in 1855.

In 1853, Stephen Balliet, along with Stephen Jr., Aaron Balliet, and Benjamin Levan purchased land on the west bank of Coplay Creek to build another furnace, later incorporated as the Lehigh Valley Iron Company; however, Stephen Balliet Sr.'s death about a year later ended his involvement in the project.

Other Enterprises

Stephen Balliet was the postmaster of Ballietsville for almost his entire life. In 1816, Stephen was elected the first president of the English School Society of Ballietsville. Prior to this, German was the only language taught in the local schools. According to a document listing business engaged in East Penn Township in 1830, Stephen Balliet was also associated with gristmills. Stephen also seems to have at one point owned much of the land of the village of Rockdale, including the sawmill.

References

• Mathews, Alfred, and Austin N Hungerford. 1884. History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Everts & Richards.
• Roberts, Charles Rhoads, John Baer Stoudt, Thomas H. Krick, and William J. Dietrich. 1914. History of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Its Families. Allentown, Pa.: Lehigh Valley publishing Company, Limited. https://books.google.com/books?id=mzQPAQAAMAAJ&dq=lehigh%20furnace&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false .