Weiss, Jacob, 1750-1839

The Weiss family was prominent in the coal business in eastern Pennsylvania during the late 1700s and the 1800s. Colonel Jacob Weiss (1750-1839) was born in Philadelphia, the son of a German immigrant who was passionate about the causes of the American Revolution. Not surprisingly, Jacob Weiss volunteered for service in the Continental Army, first in a company of Philadelphia volunteers, then as deputy quartermaster-general, and finally as assistant deputy quartermaster-general at Easton, Pennsylvania, a post he served from 1780 until the end of the war in 1783.

Following the war, Weiss purchased land on the Lehigh River, at the time known as Gnadenhutten and later called Weissport, and became involved in farming, the lumber business, science, geology, and eventually, the coal business. Weiss, along with Charles Cist and Michael Hillegas, formed the Lehigh Coal-Mine Company, the first company for mining and marketing anthracite coal. This company was not particularly successful, however, when the Lehigh Coal and Navigation purchased the company, "coal was sent to market in sufficient quantities and at prices which at length attracted the attention of the public," (Mathews, pp. 777-780). At the time of his death on January 9, 1839 at the age of 89, Weiss was remembered as "a man of liberal education, strong mind, remarkable memory and generous disposition," (Mathews, pp. 777-780). His son, Francis Weiss (1773-1845), was a surveyor and businessman, while his grandson, Francis Weiss (1819-1888), followed him in the coal business, joining "the engineers’ corps of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, beginning as an axe man and working his way up until he had charge of the corps," ( Portrait, pp. 205-206). He was also involved with surveying the Lehigh and Morriss Canals and the Lehigh Valley Railroad, building the Gravity Railroad, mining, and owning and serving as president of the Alton (or Alden) Coal Company. He died on February 14, 1889.

Bibliography:

Mathews, Alfred and Austin N. Hungerford. The History of the Counties of Lehigh & Carbon, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . Philadelphia: 1884.

Portrait and Biographical Record of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon Counties, Pennsylvania. Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the Counties, Together with Biographies and Portraits of all the Presidents of the United States . Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co., 1894.

From the guide to the Weiss family of Weissport, Pennsylvania papers, 1777-1916, (Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia)