Jesse Grim

History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

JESSE GRIM.

Gideon Grim, the great-grandfather of Jesse, emigrated from Germany. His son, Henry, who accompanied his father, became a farmer in Macungie, Lehigh Co. (then a portion of Northampton County). His children were five sons and two daughter, of whom Jacob, the eldest, was born on the homestead, and married Catharine Huddenstein. Their children were five sons and two daughters, among whom was Jesse, the subject of this biography, born Nov. 5, 1794, in Macungie, where not only his boyhood but the greater portion of his later life was passed. After a period of youth spent at the public school of the neighborhood and in New Jersey, he engaged with his father in labor on the farm, which subsequently became his by inheritance, and which he continued to cultivate until his removal to Allentown, in 1847. Here he found a field for his energies in the erection of buildings, and in the cultivation of land in the suburbs, which was later embraced within the city limits. He is still a resident of Allentown, and in a vigorous old age (being in his ninetieth year) finds active employment for his willing hands. Mr. Grim was married, in 1818, to Miss Mary Knabb, daughter of Peter Knabb. Their children are Ephraim, Jacob, William, Walter I., and Deborah (Mrs. William Edelman). The death of Mrs. Grim occurred in June, 1864. Mr. Grim, as a relaxation from the daily routine of labor, in early life devoted some attention to the political issues of the day. He was, as a representative of the Anti-Masonic party, elected to the State Legislature in 1888-84, and was also appointed commissioner to purchase lands for the county poor-house. He was afterwards made director of the poor, which office he filled with fidelity and ability. On the formation of the Republican party he became one of its active supporters. Mr. Grim, among his building enterprises, erected the Eagle Hotel in Allentown, which was consumed by fire in 1848, and rebuilt by him. He is in his religious convictions a Lutheran, and member of St. Michael’s German Lutheran Church at Allentown.

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History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Alfred Mathews and Austin N. Hungerford

J. B. Lippincott & Co., Pennsylvania. 1884

Transcribed by Annette Bame Peebles

The Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Biographies Project – http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~arkbios/Lehigh/index.html.

Date of Transcription: 11 June 2007