- Born: June 13, 1809
- Died: February 19, 1899 (Buried at Union-West End Cemetery, Allentown PA)
- Spouse: Hannah Renner
- Born: April 7, 1803
- Died: Nov. 27, 1890 (Buried a St. John’s Lutheran Church Ridge Valley)
- Parents: Adam Renner & Elizabeth Renner
- Married: June 28, 1829 at the Tohickon Reformed Church
- Occupation: Farmer, shoemaker
- Children: Jeremiah, Hannah, Nathan, Lucinda, Uriah
Nathan is something of an enigma; there is a surprising lack of information regarding him, which has made researching his life and his family difficult.
Except for his tombstone in Allentown, no written record of his birth has been found to date. Record of his marriage to Hannah Renner on June 28, 1829 at Tohickon Union Church exists in the records of this church. He and Hannah are listed as sponsors at the baptism of one of their children at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Ridge Valley. His name appears alongside that of his wife in the 1850 Census, but in the 1860 and 1870 Censuses he is no longer listed with Hannah. In 1860, Hannah was living with her brother, John Renner, and in 1870 she was living with her son, Jeremiah.
Nathan’s obituary, which appeared on page 1 of the February 20, 1899 edition of Allentown’s Morning Call, provides an explanation from this apparent disappearance from his family unit:
Nathan Thomas, one of the oldest residents of Allentown, died yesterday morning at the home of his granddaughter, Mrs. James Swinton, No. 20 Hamilton Street. For the past four months he suffered much from dropsy, which affection, complicated with other ills due to his advanced years, caused his death. Deceased was born in Rockhill township, Bucks County, June 13, 1809, and was, therefore, in his 89th year. Early in life he learned the trade of shoemaking, which he followed up to the time he retired from active business pursuits, about fifteen years ago. At different times he was located in towns in Bucks County. For several years prior to his removal to this city, twenty-two years ago, he followed his trade at Wesnersville, Berks county. His wife preceded him to the grave about eight years ago. He was the last surviving member of the family. The following children survive: Jeremiah Thomas, Tylersport, Montgomery County; Mrs. Hannah Gerhart, Hatfield, and Mrs. William Moll, of Philadelphia; Ex-Police Officer Uriah Thomas, father of M. F. Thomas, the barber, who died four years ago, was a son. There are also twenty-five grandchildren, twenty-six great grandchildren and one great great grandchild surviving. The deceased lived to see five generations of his descendants. The funeral will be held on Wednesday at 1:30 pm. Services will be held at his late home, Revs. F.D. Geary and Joseph Specht officiating.
Indeed, the 1860 Census confirms Nathan’s residence as Quakertown in Bucks County, and the 1870 Census places him in Albany Township in Berks County. Both records indicate that he was living with his son, Uriah, who was also married and had several children by that time. As for why Nathan decided to leave and pursue work in neighboring counties, we may never know. By the time he moved to Quakertown, his children were already old enough to have begun families and lives of their own; there was hardly a need for Nathan to stay at home to provide for young children. However, Nathan was also 50 years old at this time, and it is odd that he decided to move his trade elsewhere at this point in his life.
Nathan’s wife, Hannah, was the daughter of Adam (1780-1823) and Elizabeth (1775-1819) Renner and was one of at least ten children. Church records indicate that she is buried at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Ridge Valley with many of her children and grandchildren.
Confirming Nathan’s Parents
The problem with having no record of Nathan’s birth (such as a birth certificate or baptismal record) is that the names of his parents become a mystery. I have inferred that Nathan is Josiah’s son after extensive research, but no document has yet been found that confirms this relationship.
There are several reasons why I believe that Josiah, the great-grandson of Elder William Thomas, was Nathan’s father. The first is that I have extensively researched every other Thomas family that lived in Southeastern Pennsylvania from Colonial times through the mid-nineteenth century. The name Nathan almost never appeared in these other family lines, and the one or two other Nathans that did appear were not born around 1809, did not marry someone by the name of Hannah Renner, and did not have a son named Jeremiah. These are facts about “our” Nathan that are confirmed by his obituary and what few church records exist. Without meeting these criteria, any other Nathan Thomas is not the Nathan buried in Allentown, and thus is not “our” Nathan.
It is also very possible that Nathan was born out of wedlock. Josiah and Elizabeth were married on November 21st, 1809, but Nathan was born a few months earlier, on June 13 of the same year. This theory is supported by the 1810 census. While these early census records did not give names besides that of the head of the household, they did tell how many other people resided in the household. In 1810, three people resided in Josiah’s household: Josiah, one adult female (we shall presume his wife, Elizabeth), and one male child under the age of ten. We know that Josiah and Elizabeth’s other children were not born until 1811 or later, and we know that at the time of the 1810 census the couple had been married for only a few months. Therefore, this young male child was likely born prior to their marriage. This may well be the first record we have of Nathan’s existence.
While the occasion of a child’s birth before its parents’ marriage is certainly not unheard of at any point in history, one must consider the reaction of the family and of the community in general in the early nineteenth century, and, no less, in a region of the country steeped in strong religious beliefs. How would Josiah’s family, descended from the strict Welsh Baptist minister, have reacted? Would the child have even been permitted to have been baptized? Would he have been permitted to be buried in sacred church ground? Would he have been permitted to be an active member of a church community? I have asked these questions of several ministers, and though unsure, they did believe it possible that Nathan may have been forbidden from any church activity or membership depending on the stringency of the minister or parish. If Nathan’s participation in a church was limited, it would explain the surprising lack of church records, as well as why his funeral took place in his home and why he was buried in a city cemetery rather than with his family in Ridge Valley.
It is also a striking coincidence that Josiah, Nathan, and Nathan’s son, Jeremiah, were all married at the Tohickon Reformed Church. This was the only apparent activity of any of these families at that church. Perhaps, since Josiah had been married here, the church permitted the marriage of Nathan and his son? Or, perhaps it was a family tradition to be wed in this church? We may never know, but it is another link between Nathan and Josiah.
Children of Nathan Thomas and Hannah Renner
Jeremiah is discussed here.
Hannah was born on August 6, 1835 and died on October 19, 1907. It can be inferred from Nathan’s obituary that she married a Mr. Gerhart.
Lucinda lived from 1843-1862. From Nathan’s obituary we know that she married a Mr. William Moll.
Nathan was born on January 5, 1846 and died July 30, 1878. He married a woman by the name of Maggie. They, and an infant son named William Milton who was born and died in 1871, are buried in the Ridge Valley Cemetery.
Uriah married a woman named Sarah. According to Nathan’s obituary he was a police officer and had a son “M. F. Thomas” who was a barber.
More on “The Trouble with Nathan”
I have chronicled my research into “The Nathan Problem” in a series of blogs:
Leaves on the Tree 