Conrad Kresge

The date and place of birth of Conrad Kresge is not known, however; based on the earliest family records having been written in German it is likely he was born in Germany or Switzerland.  Conrad’s year of birth is estimated to have been in the early 1730s, based on his wife’s year of birth being 1735, and they were believed to have been similar in age.

Conrad Kresge married Margaret Kohl about 1762.  They first settled at the Easton-Forks Township area of Pennsylvania before moving on to what is now the Gilbert-Kresgeville area of present-day Monroe County, Pennsylvania, in the Poconos Mountains.  Margaret gave birth to 12 children during their marriage, of which ten survived to adulthood: John Philip, Sarah Margaret, William, Conrad Jr., Jacob, Catharine, Kate, Elizabeth, George and Abraham.  One child died in infancy, and their first child was killed in his childhood by Americans Indians during a raid on white settlers in the area.  A monument dedicated in 1915 memorializes this tragedy and marks the Kresge Family plot at the Salem Evangelical Church Cemetery at Gilbert.

Little is known of Conrad Kresge’s life.  The earliest record of Conrad Kresge in America is from the First Reformed Church of Easton, Pennsylvania, documenting the baptism of his daughter, Anna, October 22, 1763.  This record was originally in German and translated to English by a later pastor of the church, Reverend Henry Martyn Kieffer, in his book “Some of the First Settlers of the Forks of the Delaware and their Descendants being a Translation from the German of the Record Books of the First Reformed Church of Easton, Pennsylvania from 1760 to 1852.”  It is interesting to note that Reerend Kieffer translated Conrad’s surname as “Gressig (Gress?).”  Conrad’s surname was not standardized to “Kresge” until sometime after his death.  The 1772 tax list of Forks Township, spells Conrad’s surname as “Cresey.”  Conrad’s enlistment records provide further ambiguity in the spelling of his surname.

According to the Published Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Volume Eight, Conrad Kresge served as a Private Third Class three times in the local militia, engaged in patrolling the area of Chestnuthill Township, Pennsylvania (present-day Monroe County, but at that time was a part of Northampton County).  Each enlistment record lists a different way of spelling Conrad’s surname: Crasey, Crasy, and Casey.  Conrad’s was not the only surname to be confusing, he appears to have served under the same Captain and Colonel for all three enlistments, but their names are also slightly altered with each list.  The Company Captain’s name was John Gragery/Griggory; the Colonel’s names was Nickloss Kerns/Carn.

Conrad passed away in the first half of 1805.  An exact date is unknown, but his last will and testament, written in German, was probated June 4, 1805, which divided his belongings between his wife and descendants.  Conrad’s burial place is unknown, as the Salem Evangelical Church and, by extension, the Kresge plot, was not established until many years after Conrad’s death.

References: This biographical sketch relied heavily on Jeffrey Thomas’ website dedicated to Conrad Kresge (www.thomasgenweb.com/kresge_main.html) and “Descendants of Conrad Kresge, The Pioneer,” written in 1971 by the Kresge Reunion Committee.