BIOGRAPHIES

Source:
History of Berks County, Pennsylvania
 in the Revolution from 1774 to 1783,
by Morton L. Montgomery,
Vols. I & II,
publ. Reading, PA: Chas. F. Haage, Printer, Seventh and Court Streets,
1894

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Geo. Nagel

GEORGE NAGEL.  Joachim Nagel was born at Eisenberg, a town situated three miles from Coblentz, in the southern district of the Rhenish Province, on Feb. 21, 1706.  He married a young woman of that vicinity, and had by her four sons, George, Frederick, Peter and John; and two daughters, Margaret (married to ____ Geyer), and Catharine (married to Elias Youngman).  How many of the children were born there, I was not able to ascertain.  By way of anticipating his emigration, he sent his eldest son, George, to Pennsylvania in 1748 for the purpose of examining the country.  The report was evidently favorable, for he and his wife, and the children still with him, emigrated in 1751, landing at Philadelphia in the Fall of that year.  Thence he went to Berks County, where he settled on a tract of land situated in Douglass township, at the confluence of the Maxatawny creek and its lower tributary, the Ironstone, and erected a grist mill, which he carried on until his death, July 26, 1795, in the 90th year of his age.      George Nagel was born at Eisenberg, about the year 1728.  He located at Reading about 1755, and engaged at blacksmithing.  He was enlisted in the French and Indian War was an ensign, and for a time was stationed at Fort Augusta.  He continued in service until the close of the war in 1763, when he returned to Reading and resumed his trade.  When the Revolution began, he was imbued with a high patriotic spirit, and raised the first company of men in Berks County, which participated in the Massachusetts campaign at and about Cambridge.  He continued in active service until 1783, rising to the rank of colonel.  [See page 77.]      Upon his return to Reading, he engaged in the mercantile business, which he carried on until his death in March, 1789.  The inventory in the settlement of his estate shows many unpaid book accounts.  His remains were buried in the Reformed graveyard.  He was married to Rebecca, a daughter of Mordecai Lincoln, of Exeter township, by whom he had two children, a son, Jacob, and a daughter, who was married to Thomas McCartle, of Westminster, Maryland. Source:  History of Berks County, Pennsylvania in the Revolution from 1774 to 1783, by Morton L. Montgomery, Vols. I & II, publ. Reading, PA: Chas. F. Haage, Printer, Seventh and Court Streets, 1894 - Page 254

Peter Nagel

PETER NAGEL was one of the four sons of Joachim Nagel.  He was born Oct. 31, 1750, at Eisenberg, and emigrated with his father to Douglass township, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in September, 1751.  When a young man, he moved to Reading and learned the trade of hatter, serving an apprenticeship of seven years under Samuel Jackson, the first hat manufacturer at Reading.  He carried on this occupation for some years as a journeyman, and then as a successful manufacturer until 1804.      He was prominently identified with the County Militia during the Revolution, his name appearing as a captain in the Returns from 1777 to 1783.  The company under his command guarded prisoners of war at Reading upon different occasions.  He was appointed a justice of the peace in 1793 by Gov. Thomas Mifflin (who was a warm personal friend), and he continued to serve this position by reappointment until his decease, a period covering over forty years.  In 1803, when the County of Berks was divided into districts for justices of the peace, Reading was made the first district, and Peter Nagel was selected as one of the four appointees.  He also officiated as coroner of the county from 1781 to 1787, and as treasurer of Reading from 1815 to 1828.  His son, Peter Nagel officiated as county treasurer from 1835 to 1843; his grandson, Henry Nagel, fro m1843 to 1845, and his great-grandson, Dr. Hiester M. Nagel from 1873 to 1875.      When Washington was at Reading in 1794, Peter Nagel participated in the review of the military parade in honor of the distinguished visitor.  Upon that occasion he held a reception at his residence (which was situated on North Fifty street, east side on the second lot south of Washington, now constituting the lower half of the Post Office property), to enable the citizens to meet the great hero of the Revolution.  Another incident is that he and his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, attended one of Washington's receptions at Philadelphia.      Capt. Nagel was a portly man, nearly six feet tall, of fine personal appearance and commanding presence.  He died Nov. 30, 1834, and his remains were interred in the Reformed burying ground, whence they were removed to Charles Evans Cemetery.  He was married twice, first to Barbara Ann Imler, with whom he had eight children: one who died in infancy; Elizabeth (married to William Old, who was a grandson of Baron Henry William Stiegel), Sarah (married to Jacob R. Boyer), Mary (married to George Buehler), Rebecca (married to Nicholas Coleman,) Catharine (married to Isaac Kimmel), Peter Nagel and George Nagel; and then to the widow of Isaac High (who was the daughter of William Hottenstein, and the mother of Gen'l William High, a prominent man of the Militia of Berks County), with whom he had three children: Harriet (married to Daniel Mears), Susan (married to Jacob Boyer), and John High Nagel. Source:  History of Berks County, Pennsylvania in the Revolution from 1774 to 1783, by Morton L. Montgomery, Vols. I & II, publ. Reading, PA: Chas. F. Haage, Printer, Seventh and Court Streets, 1894 - Page 255