In an era when women and girls were expected to follow strict social norms, it may have surprised newspaper readers to learn the story of 15-year-old Fannie Riegel.
In the summer of 1876, Riegel was apparently a visitor to Hellertown from Philadelphia, where her family were members of the city’s burgeoning middle and upper classes.
The dramatic story of how she rescued a friend from going over a mill pond dam notes that she was the daughter of Stephen Riegel, who worked for Jacob Riegel & Co.
Jacob Riegel (1822-1880) was a Hellertown native who achieved great financial success during his lifetime, rising from an apprentice dry good salesman to become the head of a business that employed 125 people and recorded sales of more than $6 million a year.
According to his obituary, listed on FindAGrave, “Mr. Riegel was a man of ceaseless energy and unbounded enterprise. At the time of his death he was treasurer of the Saucon Iron Company of Hellertown, and was a heavy stockholder in the Bethlehem Iron and Steel Works, was interested in slate quarries and as a stockholder, in many other enterprises, to all of which he managed to give attention.” The obituary notes that at the time of his death, his personal wealth was estimated at nearly $2 million, which today would be equal to more than $53 million.
It’s unclear whether Stephen and Jacob were related, but it would help explain Fannie’s summer visit to Hellertown if they were.
According to FindAGrave, Fannie (or “Fanny”) Riegel would go on to marry banker Howard Kennard Dunn in Philadelphia in 1886. Records indicate that with him she had two children, including a son, Howard Jr., who was killed at the age of 26 while serving in the Ambulance Corps in France during World War I.
Fannie Riegel Dunn died in 1942 and is buried in Philadelphia’s Woodlands Cemetery.
The above story about Fannie Riegel’s daring rescue of a friend in Hellertown appeared in the Aug. 10, 1876 edition of the Lancaster Intelligencer-Journal newspaper.
About this column: Olden Days is a Saucon Source series in which newspaper articles in the public domain are used to recall area news from the late 1800s and early 1900s. You can help support “Olden Days” by making a voluntary contribution and becoming a Saucon Source member today. Learn more here. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter, to receive the latest news delivered to your inbox three evenings per week.