Changing Landscapes People and Places in the Mill Creek Valley Lower Merion c.1870-c.1920

The Baltz and Megargee Property

Economics and Culture Around the Turn of the Century

 

Introduction

History is generally told in terms of huge events and larger than life individuals who shaped nations with words and swords, but this compelling group makes up a very small percent of those who lived before us.  We are attracted to events and people of magnitude because they help us to visualize history on a linear plane.  The Roman Empire proceeded the Byzantine empire, and Eisenhower succeeded Truman who Succeeded Roosevelt.  Bid event are what we know a lot about, they are what contemporaries and historians write volumes on however they are not what makes up most of history.  Most of the time throughout the rise and fall of great nations people have lived there lives – some in turmoil some in peace – but all people.  When we want to look at what life was like for the normal people of the world we do not research the Caesars and Attila’s; what we do is search for every scrap of information about the everyday people of the time.  Too really look at how normal people lived one have a narrow purview.  Take for instance the Baltz Family and Irwin N. Megargee of Mill Greek in Lower Merion Pennsylvania.  The former owned a 43 acre plot of land in Mill Creek[1], which they used for milling, which the latter later purchased[2] and turned into a horse and dairy farm.  Both this family and this man can tell us a lot about the rise up the economic ladder in, as well as the culture of Lower Merion around the turn of the Twentieth Century. 

Background

Though much can be learned from examining the minutia of People daily lives it is necessary to begin by establishing where in history we stand.  These two Example focused around one plot of land will be looked at primarily between 1880 and 1910.  This would mean that the area of history being examined covers roughly the space between the election and assassination of U.S. President James Garfield and the build up to the First World War.  These events have little impact on the greater part of the Lives of the Baltz Family or Irwin Megargee, but they do serve to ground this examination and impress where in history these people lived and worked.

John M. Baltz and Sons

Name

Positions in the family

Born

Died

Birthplace

John M. Baltz

Father, Husband

1821

1907

Baben, Germany

Elisabeth Baltz

Mother, Wife

1821

1898

Ireland

George P. Baltz

Son

1849

1928

Pennsylvania

Joseph M. Baltz

Son

1859

1927

Pennsylvania

Martha Baltz

Daughter

1865

?

Pennsylvania

John R. Baltz

Son

1858

1928

Pennsylvania

Elmer Baltz

Son

?

?

 

Table 1: information regarding the Baltz family[3][4][5][6][7][8]

John M. Baltz

Most of the available evidence paints John M. Baltz as a true example of what the American dream is supposed to be.  His life seems to have been one of the classic immigrant success stories and looking into it should prove to be a lesson in hard work paying off.  John Baltz was born, in 1821[9], in the small village of Baben – in what is now Germany – and, in 1847, immigrated to the United States.[10]  On the First of March, 1849, two years after arriving in The United States, John Married an Irish immigrant named Elizabeth Shelladay.[11]  By the time of the 1860 census John M. Baltz was working as a mill hand with an estimated real estate value of $125 and raising four children: George, Joseph, Martha, and John R. Baltz.[12]  He was registered for the draft during the American Civil War[13] in 1863.  But John Baltz’s success become evident in the 1870’s when he acquires a piece of land in the Mill Creek Valley.[14] 

Baltz Brother Mill

According to the Ardmore Atlases between 1873 and 1877 John R. Baltz purchased the land from a W. Meredith.  This land was on the Mill Creek – aptly named for the prominence of mills along its waterways – and Baltz, having experience as a mill hand dating back two decades, set to work to establish a mill of his own.  He and his sons would run the Baltz Brothers Mill.  Unfortunately the census information for John M. Baltz is not accessible between 1870 and 1890 and census information after this time stopped recording value of real estate so there is a dirt of hard government agency backed numbers to demonstrate how successful this mill was; all that can be made are speculations based on less direct sources.

The mill was likely in operation throughout the time Baltz and his sons owned the land.  The years of this mill were not special; in fact one could say they day to day operation was run of the mill.  However some events outside the operation of the mill can be found and they tell us a great deal about society at the time.  According to the Diaries of Charles Barker – some of the best preserve personal records of life in Lower Merion available – the Baltz Brothers Mill, like so many other buildings in the area, was damaged on several occasions by fire.  Due to the recent advent of electricity, coupled with the fact that architects and civil engineers had yet to master electrical wiring; lead to an outbreak of poorly wired buildings going up in flames.[15]  Charles Barker was uniquely intrigued by fire; so much so that the visitations section of some of his diaries is retitled “Visits of Fires”.[16] From his entries we can speculate as to the communal involvement in fire.  Barker writes as though fires – like those at Baltz Brothers’ Mill – were spectacles that the whole community came out to see.  We can gather that fires attracted great crowds at every time of day.[17]  Why people gathered is up for debate; whether it was to watches someone’s livelihood was destroyed or to assist in helping someone back on their feet is not stated in Barkers Diaries, but these Diaries do show that Baltz Brothers’ Mill had dealt with its fair share of fires.

Now what can a string of fires say? The answer is very little but one can speculate that any business that has dealt with frequent fires has the stability and good financial footing to get back on its feet after it hits hard times which speak to the economic success of the owner.  Unfortunately Barker notes a fire in 1893[18] and the land is sold shortly after that.[19]  However there are many possible explanations for this.  The Baltz Brothers had started purchasing land of their own[20] and this coupled with John M. Baltz’s age – he was nearing 75 at the time – may have done more to contribute to the move than the damage form the fire, however the next owner did not use the property as a mill.

John M. Baltz’s Death and the American Dream

Though little can be said about John M. Baltz’s life with certainty – save for the fact that he rose from an immigrant mill hand to the owner and operator of his own mill – John Baltz’s will paints a picture of the success he had in life.  John M. Baltz Split all of his estate real and personal evenly between his Five children – male and female – and made arrangements that the spouse or children of his children would receive an equal share of their relatives portion of the will if he survived any of his children.[21]  In addition to this he also left them each a sum of $1,000 which was a modest about in the early twentieth century.  When John M. Baltz died in 1907[22] his will progressively treated his daughter as equal to his sons.  The only son to receive anything extra was George, his first born, who received his father’s bed.  The giving of your bedframe to your firstborn son is an old tradition of inheritance.  John M. Baltz also included, in his will, provisions for if his sons George and Joshua had not paid back there loans to him.[23]  He had lent George $1,000 dollars as surety and Joshua $3,000 dollars to aid in the purchase of his property on state road.  He provided in his will that, in the event either of his sons had failed to repay his debt that their $1,000 shall go toward their debt to his estate.  Now while this may seem greedy beyond the grave, what it really demonstrates is a commitment to treating his children equally and aiding in there success.  Their debts to him are to their father and not a bank, because John M. Baltz had made something of himself.  He had succeeded to the point that he could see to his own needs and those of his children, that he could help them achieve what he had.  He had achieved the American Dream.

The Turn of the Century with Irwin N. Megargee II

Name

Relation

Birth

Death

Birthplace

Irwin N. Megargee

Head

1862

1905

Pennsylvania

Miriam Megargee

Wife

1864

?

Pennsylvania

Hazel Megargee

Daughter

1886

?

Pennsylvania

Alice Megargee

Daughter

1889

?

Pennsylvania

Lorna Megargee

Daughter

1891

1941

Pennsylvania

Meriam Megargee

Daughter

1895

?

Pennsylvania

Irwin N. Megargee III

Son

1897

1908

Pennsylvania

Table 2: information regarding the Megargee family[24][25][26][27]

Irwin N. Megargee II and the Paper industry

Irwin N. Megargee the first, with the rest of the Megargee clan of the time, was a major paper manufacturer from revolutionary time into the early nineteenth century.[28]  By the age of nineteen Irwin N. Megargee II was fatherless[29] and the family paper company had dissolved.[30]  Irwin N. Megargee II’s story serves as a foil to John Baltz.  While one started as a newcomer to this country and made his way to a place where he could support his children, the other started from a line of success that reached the birth of the nation. 

Irwin Megargee II went on to restart the Family business with his Brother U. S. Grant Megargee.  He married Miriam Rossiter Megargee 1985[31] and they went on to have four daughters: Hazel, Alice, Lorna, and Merian and one Son: Irwin N. Megargee III.[32]

Folly Farm and Pen y Bryn

[33]

Megargee acquired John M. Baltz’s 43 acres of land at some point between 1893 and 1896.[34]  Folly Farm – a Gentleman’s Dairy and Horse Farm – was built and soon redesigned by architect Minerva Parker Nichols into Pen y Bryn.[35] This Manor and the surrounding farm show how the higher society of the time lived. Pen y Bryn means “top of the hill” in Welch and was likely given the name as part of Lower Merion’s move towards a higher class.  Many place around the mainline adopted Welsh or Gaelic names – for instance: Bryn Mawr and Ardmore, Respectively – in an attempt to attract the higher society.[36]  The various activities on the farm included Fox Hunting and horsing, however the farm was a working Dairy farm.  The Megargees used the farm as a summer home while Irwin Megargee II conducted most of his business in Philadelphia.

Death and Debt, The Demise of the Megargees

Irwin N. Megargee came down with an Attack of “Nervous Prostration” in October 1905 while resting at his summer home.[37]  He was survived by his wife and five children, who were taken care of by William Rossiter, however he did not leave a will; forcing his estate to be settled in the Orphan Courts.  Unfortunately before his death Megargee had taken out a rather hefty loan that it took his entire estate to repay, leaving his wife and children with a legal battle to maintain the wealthy standard of living they had become accustomed to.[38] 

So where Baltz started from nothing and used this property to provide a stable platform for himself and his children to succeed Megargee Used the property as a luxury good to use the success he started with.

Legacy of the Baltz and Megargee Property

After his Death the Megargee property shifted to a family friend and was then Purchased by C. Paul Hagenlocher.  He Maintained the gentleman’s farm until he was forced to sell by the economic downturn in the thirties.  The property was later incorporated into Rolling Hills Park.[39]



[1]Plate 9. Scale: unknown. In: G.W.M. Baist. Atlas of Properties Along The Schuylhill Valley: From Philadelphia to Norristown. Philadelphia: J.L. Smith, 1886.

[2]Plate 15. Scale: unknown. In: Ellis Kiser and C.A. Potts. Atlas of Lower Merion Montgomery Co. Including Part of Delaware Co. and Overbrook Farms, Winnfield & Overbrook Impr. Co. Philadelphia Philadelphia: A.H. Mueller, 1896.

[3] Year: 1860; Census Place: Lower Merion, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1145; Page: 231; Image: 238; Family History Library Film: 805145

[4] Year: 1900; Census Place: Lower Merion, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1443; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0211; FHL microfilm: 1241443

[5] Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

[6] Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

[7] Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[8] “Last Will and Testament of John M. Baltz” Montgomery Counter Historical Society Record Office, RW 25496

[9] Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[10] Year: 1860; Census Place: Lower Merion, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1145; Page: 231; Image: 238; Family History Library Film: 805145

[11] Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Collection Name: Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records; Reel: 375

[12] Year: 1860; Census Place: Lower Merion, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1145; Page: 231; Image: 238; Family History Library Film: 805145

[13] National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War); Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); ARC Identifier: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 3 of 3

[14] Plate 9. Scale: unknown. In: G.W.M. Baist. Atlas of Properties Along The Schuylhill Valley: From Philadelphia to Norristown. Philadelphia: J.L. Smith, 1886.

[15] Craig Bailey, “Ardmore, Fire and Community: Merion Fire Co. No 1” Lecture delivered at Villanova University in Tolentine hall, March 2015

[16] Charles Reed Barker. Charles Reed Barker Diary, Index: Visits of Fire. 1893

[17] Bailey. “Ardmore, Fires…”

[18] Barker, Diary, 1893

[19] Plate 15. Scale: unknown. In: Ellis Kiser and C.A. Potts. Atlas of Lower Merion Montgomery Co. Including Part of Delaware Co. and Overbrook Farms, Winnfield & Overbrook Impr. Co. Philadelphia Philadelphia: A.H. Mueller, 1896.

[20] Plate 15. Scale: unknown. In: Ellis Kiser and C.A. Potts. Atlas of Lower Merion Montgomery Co. Including Part of Delaware Co. and Overbrook Farms, Winnfield & Overbrook Impr. Co. Philadelphia Philadelphia: A.H. Mueller, 1896.

[21] “Last Will and Testament of John M. Baltz” Montgomery Counter Historical Society Record Office, RW 25496

[22] Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[23] “Last Will and Testament of John M. Baltz” Montgomery Counter Historical Society Record Office, RW 25496

[24] Year: 1900; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 7, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1455; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0132; FHL microfilm: 1241455

[25] Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

[26] Ancestry.com. U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

[27] "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803–1915." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2008, 2010. From originals housed at the Philadelphia City Archives. "Death Records.".

[28] “Mortuary Notice” Sunday, October 15, 1905. Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) Volume: 153 Issue: 107 Section: First Page: 9

[29] Year: 1880; Census Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1186; Family History Film: 1255186; Page: 290C; Enumeration District: 589; Image: 0573

[30] “Mortuary Notice” Sunday, October 15, 1905. Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) Volume: 153 Issue: 107 Section: First Page: 9

[31] "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Marriage Index, 1885–1951." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009. Philadelphia County Pennsylvania Clerk of the Orphans' Court. "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia marriage license index, 1885-1951." Clerk of the Orphans’ Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[32] Year: 1900; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 7, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1455; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0132; FHL microfilm: 1241455

[33] “Pen-y-Bryn, Home of Irwin N. Megargee, Gladwyne” W. Robert Swartz Collection, Binder: 5 http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/photodb/web/html2/268-1.html

[34] Plate 15. Scale: unknown. In: Ellis Kiser and C.A. Potts. Atlas of Lower Merion Montgomery Co. Including Part of Delaware Co. and Overbrook Farms, Winnfield & Overbrook Impr. Co. Philadelphia Philadelphia: A.H. Mueller, 1896.

[35] The Lower Merion Historical Society. “The Residents” accessed April 15th 2015: http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/texts/first300/part31.html

[36] Craig Bailey, “Lower Merion” Lectures given at Villanova University in Tolentine Hall in January 2015

[37] “Mortuary Notice” Sunday, October 15, 1905. Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) Volume: 153 Issue: 107 Section: First Page: 9

[38] Montgomery County Historical Society: OC 43980

[39] The Lower Merion Historical Society. “The Residents” accessed April 15th 2015: http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/texts/first300/part31.html