My Genealogy Hound

ALBERT KLECKNER. It is an undeniable truth that the life of any man is a great benefit to the community in which he resides when all his efforts are directed toward advancing its interests, and when he lives according to the highest principles of what he conceives to be right. Such a man is Albert Kleckner, who is a self-made, prosperous and leading citizen of Whitehall, where he is engaged as contractor of a stone quarry, which is used in connection with the Atlas Cement Company.

Our subject, who is a native of this county, was born December 17, 1846, and is the son of Ranadus and Sarah (Ringer) Kleckner, residing at the present time in this county, of which they are old residents. The first of the family who came to the United States from Germany were two brothers, one of whom located on land which is now occupied by the city of Allentown, and the other settled in Northampton County, Pa., and founded the village of Klecknersville. Our subject, who is descended from the former, was reared to man’s estate in this county, and has spent nearly his entire life working in the stone quarry. His father before him had been a contractor in iron-ore mining, and with him our subject early learned the business.

Mr. Kleckner received his early education in the schools near his home, and although not having the advantages offered to the youth of the present day, made the best of his opportunities and is to-day an intelligent citizen. The parental family included ten children. Matilda, Mrs. William Miller, lives at West Catasauqua, this state; Stephen makes his home in Carroll County, Ind.; Ellen is the wife of C. B. Putt, and lives m Covington, Ky.; Israel is a resident of Whitehall; Phaon also makes his home in this county; Charles is engaged in business in Logansport, Ind.; Sarah, Mrs. Jonas Rishel, lives in Montgomery County, this state; James is living in Logansport, Ind.; Nelson is a resident of Catasauqua; and Albert is the subject of this sketch.

In 1864 Mr. Kleckner became a soldier in the Union army, enlisting in Company H, Two Hundred and Ninth Pennsylvania Infantry, and with his regiment was sent to join the Army of the Potomac. He participated in many of the renowned battles of that period, among which were Bermuda Hundred, Ft. Steadman, siege of Petersburg, and he was under Grant’s command at Appomattox, and witnessed the surrender of Lee. Mr. Kleckner received his honorable discharge in May, 1865, after which he returned to his home in this county, where he has since resided. He was wounded while in the service, and now receives from the Government a pension of $12 a month.

After the close of the war our subject began railroading on the Catasauqua & Fogelsville Road, by whom he was employed for several years, and then finally again drifted into the stone-quarry and iron-ore work. He spent five years of his life, from 1886 to 1891, as the proprietor of a hotel at Whitehall, but since that time has been engaged in contract work in the stone quarry of the Atlas Cement Company, which position he is still efficiently holding.

The lady to whom our subject was married October 23, 1873, was Miss Mary J. A., daughter of William H. and Maria (Klotz) Romig. Mrs. Kleckner was born in this county, which was also the native place of her parents, and by her union with our subject has become the mother of five children, of whom Emma L., Mabel B. and William R. are living. The two deceased were Mary and Albert. In the spring of 1881 our subject moved to Whitehall, where he is now living. Socially he is a member of Colonel Fuller Post, G. A. R., at Catasauqua, and in religious affairs, with his wife, is connected with the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Kleckner is a member of the Ladies’ Aid Society in that denomination, and is a lady who is active in every kind of benevolent enterprise. Our subject is one of the most intelligent self-made men of Lehigh County, and in every walk in life has conducted himself in an upright and honorable manner.