This is the house Henry Krupp lived in for his last 18 years (1911-1929) He added the porch, and his home did not have additions at the left and rear. The house no longer has the porch, and the brick is painted white. First floor doors and windows changed in the 1940s. Door on the right changed to a window in the 1970s.
In my younger years I never thought much about my great-great grandfather, Henry Krupp, even though after marrying I moved into the house where he lived his last 18 years. The only story I remembered being told about him was that he died in one of our upstairs bedrooms at our 23 W. Chestnut St. home. I was first introduced to more about Henry when I portrayed him in a small role in a play for Souderton Mennonite Church’s 100th year anniversary (1979). Later, I learned that Henry kept a daily diary from 1888-1929, written in German, but translated into English by Raymond E. Hollenbach in 1967. The English translation omits some of the days, but covers every month of a very busy schedule, including the daily activities of this farmer, church leader, and family/community member. His first and last entry of every year would usually contain a statement about thanking God for his good health. The diary also includes details of a 5-week trip with his first wife to Ohio and as far west as Kansas, mainly by train. The trip included many visits to churches, staying overnight and visiting with extended family and friends; he noted few sightings. He did record that the train killed a girl on their return trip. I read his diary numerous times and appreciate the many details of his life in the Souderton/Telford area. I wish for more details.
Henry was born in 1848 and I know little about his life prior to age 40 and what I know is gleaned from the diary; he remained very active until months before his death at 81yrs. His last diary entry was 8 days before his death. After marrying Elizabeth Nice in 1869, he farmed land west of Souderton near the Cowpath Rd. Elizabeth died at age 52 in 1900 and one year later Henry married Lydia F. Hunsberger. He then left his farm to his only son, Benjamin, and moved to Telford with Lydia but continued to help his son on the farm. After about 10 years in Telford, he moved to Chestnut St., Souderton where he lived his remaining years. Lydia’s sister “boarded” with them until her death in 1926. To this date I have found no pictures of Henry.
Henry was the first deacon at Souderton Mennonite Church, chosen in 1891 and serving until his death; he was also a leader in Sunday School. He was one of the founders of Eastern Mennonite Home (now Souderton Mennonite Homes, Summit St.) and served as Treasurer from its beginning until his death. In 1916 he mentions land excavation for the Home “with 3 teams of horses and 2 scoops”. In 1917 he reported that “inmates” at the Home paid $3-$6/week. While these community positions were unpaid, his farming brought income from selling hay, milk, chicken, eggs, applebutter (homemade), etc. While living in Telford, part of his income came from his son paying mortgage for the farm.
Most amazing was that with all of his duties Henry still made time for diary keeping. His diary entries record many of his duties related to being a leader in the church e,g. visiting the sick (including names and illnesses), attending several funerals/month (many children and again often including ages, names, causes of death and places of burial), attending church meetings, and buying/distributing church literature. He makes numerous mentions of helping with housework, as each of his wives had health problems. Interesting costs of the times included: school taxes($7.95), apples(50 cents/bushel), $3.75 washstand (Christmas present for his wife) and trolley fares are among many recorded. His diary is full of names of visitors/dinner guests and travels to friends/churches, usually taking the trolley or train. In later life, he sometimes got car rides with others – he considered owning a car a waste of money.
One of the diary entries that got my attention was the blizzard of 1888 when he described 18 inches of snow preventing him from taking his milk to the creamery using the road, eventually going through the fields. He helped hand shovel the “pike” for 15 cents an hour. “The train was stuck in a cut above Souderton for one night and a day” and a passenger had a stroke and was taken to a nearby hotel. Other stories include him catching a run-away horse in Souderton (1895), giving meals in his home to 180 tramps in previous year (1896), and taking a child who died in December to a vault to await burial in the Spring. There were numerous reports of fatalities caused by trains or trolleys, many barn fires, and a few suicides. Medical diagnoses, unfamiliar today, were named e.g. “quinsy” or “dropsy”. His exact income/expenses in 1907 was given to the exact penny.
Hopefully this summary whets your appetite for getting a taste of many happenings in the Souderton/Telford area for a period of 41 years over 90 years ago. You can read Henry Krupp’s entire diary by visiting the library at the Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville.
