The Balliet Family

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This page gives context to the activities of the Balliet family's iron-producing activities in the mid 1800s. More information on these individuals can be found on their respective pages.

Founded Establishments

In 1816, the Ballietsville English school was established. [1]

Aaron Balliet

In 1837 Aaron Balliet (1813-1895) erected a charcoal furnace in Carbon County and operated it for twenty years before relocating to Ballietsville[2]. Aaron Balliet, his brother Stephen Balliet (1809-1860), his brother-in-law Benjamin Levan (1806-1886), and his father Stephen Balliet (1781-1854) became incorporated to form Stephen Balliet & Co., with the purpose of building iron furnaces[3]. In 1854 his father died and the company admitted new partners and became the Lehigh Valley Iron Company [4]. In 1879, after various financial hardships, the company reincorporated as the Coplay Iron Company, with Aaron Balliet serving as a director of the company[5]. Aaron Balliet also managed mines with his brothers Paul Balliet (1811-1886) and John Balliet (1819-1886).

Benjamin Levan

Benjamin Levan (1806-1886) was married to Maria Balliet, daughter of Stephen Balliet (1781-1854)[6]. Levan became the superintendent of the Lehigh Furnace in Washington Township, PA, a position that he held for twenty-eight years[7]. Benjamin Levan later moved to Whitehall Township, where he was integral in establishing the furnace at the Lehigh Valley Iron Company. He remained with the company for thirty years serving as secretary, treasurer, superintendent, and general manager[8].

John Balliet

John Balliet (1819-1886) worked at the Lehigh Furnace, which was owned by his father Stephen Balliet (1781-1854)[9]. He later became the co-owner, alongside his brothers Paul Balliet (1811-1886) and Aaron Balliet (1813-1895), and superintendent of said property[10]. John Balliet moved to East Penn Township and became the superintendent of the East Penn Furnace, which was later partially destroyed by floods[11]. John Balliet rebuilt, leased, and successfully ran the furnace for many years. He also built and opened a store in 1872 [12].

Paul Balliet

Paul Balliet (1811-1886) managed a furnace that his father Stephen Balliet (1781-1854) owned. Along with his brothers Aaron Balliet (1813-1895) and John Balliet (1819-1886), Paul Balliet became involved in a mining enterprise in North Whitehall.

Stephen Balliet

In 1826 Stephen Balliet (1781-1854) and Samuel Helffrich bought the land upon which the Lehigh Furnace would be built, purchasing twenty-five acres at the southern foot of the Blue Mountain from Christian Snyder and Christian Bloss[13]. Stephen Balliet and Helffrich erected the East Penn Forge on the north side of the Blue Mountain in East Penn Township, Carbon County in 1828[14]. In 1830 Helffrich died[15], and his shares in the iron business were bought by Stephen Balliet two years later[16]. 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[17]. Stephen Balliet continued to operate the furnace until his death in 1854[18].

Balliet's came to Lehigh Valley around 1735. (page 6 Austin Matthews, Austin Ungerford; Histories of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)

Paulus Balliet was one of the first settlers along the Coplay Creek. He was born in Alsace, Germany in 1717 and came to America in 1738. He was the original landlord at Ballietsville. (page 511)

In 1816 the Ballietsville English School opened, which might indicate that the Balliet family had grown and attained enough money and influence to help establish an English school, which was unusual in that area since most schools in that area had instruction given in German. (page 73).

By the early 1800s the Balliet's were entering local politics, with Paull Balliet elected as commisioner in 1839 and Hiram Balliet elected commissioner in 1871. (page 50)

By 1854, L.B. Balliet graduated from the University of Pennsylvania as a physician, who returned to practice in the Lehigh Valley. (page 70)

Records seem to indicate that other Balliet's were physicians as well, since S.W. Balliet was a member of the Lehigh County Medical Society in 1865. (page 72)

In 1856 a planing-mill and lumber yard opened with the name Pretz, Balliet, Gausler & Co, which would indicate that a member of the Balliet family was involved in this business. (page 86)

In April 1856 a road was approved that went from Balliet's Furnace to Allentown, PA (page 278)

The original Balliet's Furnace was in operation in 1832 and was already being referred to as the "old Balliet furnace". It later became known as "old Lehigh Furnace." (page 279)

In 1853 Stephen Balliet, Stephen Balliet Jr. and Aaron Billiet, along with Benjamin Levan went into business together as Stephen Balliet & Co., to build and operate an iron furnace (page 504).


Paulus Balliet was one of the first settlers along the Coplay Creek. He was born in Alsace, Germany in 1717 and came to America in 1738. He was the original landlord at Ballietsville. (page 511)

https://explorepahistory.com/story.php?storyId=1-9-17&chapter=2#:~:text=By%201775%2C%20more%20than%202%2C000,Employees%20were%20a%20diverse%20lot.&text=Slaves%20were%20a%20minority%20of,slave%20owners%20in%20rural%20Pennsylvania. In the Pennsylvania Iron Industry in general, iron plantations required workers with a broad range of skills. Founders kept the furnace in blast, molders cast the iron into products, and the colliers heated the wood to make the charcoal that kept the furnace going. Less skilled workers were the woodcutters and teamsters. Founders and molders were highly skilled workers, so they were usually hard to find and difficult to replace if they left. (Source above: ExplorePAHistory.com)

Stephen Balliet

In 1853 Stephen Balliet (1809-1860), his brother Aaron Balliet (1813-1895), his brother-in-law Benjamin Levan (1806-1886), and his father Stephen Balliet (1781-1854) became incorporated to form Stephen Balliet & Co., beginning the Coplay Ironworks[19].

Stephen Balliet married Maria Anna Bieber (1811-1832) in 1831[20]. They had a son together, Lewis Bieber Balliet (1832-1913). Stephen Balliet's wife died in April of 1832. Following her death, he married Elizabeth Huntzinger and together they had eleven children, five of whom survived into adulthood: Sarah, Emma, Fannie, Margaret, and Arabella[21].

The Northampton Bank in Allentown, PA, chartered in 1814, began to fail in 1842 and shut its doors. The bank reopened in 1843[22], and Stephen Balliet was elected as the president of the bank on June 5 of that year[23].

Notes

  1. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 73
  2. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 505
  3. ↑ Roberts et al. 1914, 1:633
  4. ↑ Roberts et al. 1914, 1:633
  5. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 504
  6. ↑ Roberts et al. 1914, 2:51-54
  7. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 504
  8. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 504
  9. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 555
  10. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 555
  11. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 556
  12. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 767-768
  13. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 553
  14. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 722
  15. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 553
  16. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 722
  17. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 722
  18. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 553
  19. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 504
  20. ↑ Roberts et al. 1914, 2:49
  21. ↑ Roberts et al. 1914, 2:49
  22. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford, 145
  23. ↑ Mathews and Hungerford 1884, 146

References

  • Hellerich, Mahlon Howard. 1987. A History of Allentown: 1861-1865. In Allentown 1762-1987: A 225-Year History, edited by Mahlon Howard Hellerich, 91–180. Allentown, PA: Lehigh County Historical Society.
  • 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. Vol. I, Allentown, PA: Lehigh Valley Publishing Company, Limited.
  • 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. Vol. II, Allentown, PA: Lehigh Valley Publishing Company, Limited.
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