[19-83] HOWARD WIEGNER KRIEBEL, b July 6, 1859; s Henry and Mary Ann (Wiegner) Kriebel [19-28a]; m Jan. 26, 1884, THAMAR KRIEBEL SCHULTZ, b Feb. 17, 1858; dau Thomas and Hannah (Kriebel) Schultz [70-11]. Ad. (1921), Pennsburg, Pa. No children.
Howard Wiegner Kriebel was born in Hereford Twp., Berks Co., Pa.; he was educated in the publie schools of his native twp., at the Keystone State Normal School, Kutztown, Pa. (graduating in 1876), and at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio.
He taught in the public schools of his native twp. and at Perkiomen Seminary, Pennsburg, Pa., which institution he helped to revive, where he served also as bookkeeper, secretary and trustee. He resigned from this position to write ‘‘The Schwenkfelders in Pennsylvania,’ an historical sketch published in 1904 by the Pennsylvania German Society.
Mr. Kriebel was the publisher of the ‘““Pennsylvania German,” (from 1906-1914), an illustrated monthly magazine devoted to the biography, history, folklore, literature, and general interests of German and Swiss settlers in Pa., and other states, and.their descendants. .
For a time Mr. Kriebel served as minister of the Society of Schwenkfelders, and for several years served as Secretary of the Conference of the Society. He was also one of the original members of the Board of Publication of the Schwenkfelder Church, serving as its Secretary for a number of years.
To Mr. Kriebel belongs the credit of originating numerous movements in the ‘‘Society of Schwenkfelders.”’
He first started the collection of valuable books and manuscripts in the Schwenkfelder families, -purehasing many at publie sales in order to preserve them, keeping them in his home until the present Historical Library Building was erected at Pennsburg, when he generously donated his valuable collection to the Library.
_ He was the first to suggest the idea of erecting a permanent building for the preservation of the Schwenkfelder books and manuseripts, and for twenty years kept agitating the idea, before it was finally accomplished.
For more than forty years Mr. Kriebel has been collecting data on the history of the Schwenkfelders, and he is the best informed man in the country today on the early history of the activities of the Schwenkfelders, after their arrival in Pennsylvania. All data collected by Mr. Kriebel during these many years was very kindly put at the disposal of the Editor of this work, and the Editor hereby wishes to acknowledge his hearty gratitude to Mr. Kriebel for his generosity and willingness to cooperate in every way to make this record as complete and comprehensive as possible. Most of the field work and research work done to assemble the material for this book was done by Mr. Kriebel under the direction of the Editor, and had it not been for Mr. Kriebel’s intuitive instinet for discovering clues to widely scattered families and his dogged persistence in following out these clues it would not have been possible to locate such a large number of families as are included in this book.
’ For the many hours of gratuitous service that Mr. Kriebel has rendered the Schwenkfelder Institutions, and for the many: ideas originated by him for the development of these institutions, the Schwenkfelders owe Mr. Kriebel a debt they never can pay.
Parents’ family: [19-28a] Henry Kriebel and Mary Ann Wiegner