Indeed, very interesting. I been near there several times in the past, as my son attended a near by college. It is sad that I knew nothing of my ancestors who may have lived so close. Dr. Bob! Njbalmer@aol.com wrote: > Ancient Pennsylvania Landmarks Known to Leonhart Kegel, 1732-54 Era > Oley Township, Berks County, PA > > Oley Township, a few miles east of Reading, in Berks co., PA, is te only > township in America which has been added to the National Register of > Historic Places, as an entire Township. Its settlement dates back as far as > 1699, and it ancient German and French Huguenot homesteads have building > standing dated from 1706. It was already a generation old, and a thriving > settlement, when the Cagles arrived from Germany in 1730s; and was nearly a > half-century old when John "Dutchman" Cagle lived in Oley in the early 1750s. > Leonhart Kegel, the 1732 immigrant, and believed to be father of John > "Dutchman" Cagle, acquired land in Oley Twonship in 1737; at that time, > however, old Oley Township encompassed more territory than does the present > Oley Twp., and section in which Leonhart lived was later made into Alsace > Township. > The economy of Oley Twonship was based, originally, on farming in the broad > Oley Valley, and on iron-working in the scenic hills which ring the valley. > Of the iron furnaces and forges in Oley, perhaps the most famous was that of > Iaeger Family (later Anglicized to "Hunter"), headed by Nicholas Hunter. In > an obscure court case, dating for 1753, Berks Co. records sho that Nicholas > Henter, on one occasion, filed sutie against a JOhn Kegle, believed to be > John "Dutchman" Cagle, who later moved to North Carolina in 1754-55. Oldest > homestead in Oley is that of Johannes Keim, built 1706; he was the ancestor > of the Kime family of Guilford Co., NC. Oley Township furnished a number of > families to central North Carolina during the 1740s adn 1750s including the > Keim, Cagle, and Stutts Families. > (The Nicholas Hunter homestead in Oley Twp., neat the ruins of the famed Oley > Forge. The Oley Lutheran Church stands nearby, but its early recors are lost. > One of the most memorable sights in teh city of Reading, Berks Co., PA, is > Alsace Hill in the northern part of town, capped by the twin towers of the > alsace Lutheran and Alsace German Reformed Churches. The two churches, > identical in construction, stand on either side of a common parking lot, and > share a common graveyard. From date of founding in 1732, until construction > of the present buildings in 1907, the two congrrefations worshipped in a > single building, at alternatin times, under a "Union Church" arrangement. > The Alsace churches stand on the homestead of Dewalt Baum, closest neighbor > of Leonhart Cagle, during Leonard's period of residence, 1737-1748, in Alsace > Twonship. The Cagles may will have been members of the Alsace Lutheran > Church, but this cannot be verified, as early records of the Church have been > lost. > There is a replica of the original Alsace Church building, which served the > congragtion form ca.1737-1753; replaced by a stone church in 1753. The log > church was in use during the period of Leonard Cagle's residence in the > township, and stood about a quarter-mile from his home. The present Alsace > Lutheran Church, in use since 1907. and identical building, standing > adjacent, is the German Ref. church. > Here is a paragraph from the published history of the Alsace Church describes > the expansion of the Church in the era of 1748-1754. In 1748, the year of > the founding of reading, PA, Leonard Cagle, vacted his homstead in Alsace and > move a few miles distant to Brecknock Township, in Berks Co. > > (I found this in one or the Cagle Journal of Historical Inquiry's,) (July > 1987 pg. 2) by; John G. Cagle of Little Rock , Arkansas. > > I just thougt this was interesting. > > Nancy jane > Tarzana, CA. > April > > ==== CAGLE Mailing List ==== > > Cagle Family Genealogy Forum > http://genforum.familytreemaker.com/cagle/