- Frederick Bicking
Frederick Bicking was born in
Winterburg , a municipality in the district ofBad Kreuznach inRhineland-Palatinate , in westernGermany and came probably first to Philadelphia and then to East Brandywine Township,Chester County, Pennsylvania , before the revolution.In Pennsylvania he owned and operated a paper mill, establishing the Bicking paper dynasty that would last well into the 19th century. Bicking also operated the Sheetz, or "Dove Mill", which was thought to be the oldest or second oldest paper mill (to the Rittinghouse mill) in the colonies. The
Continental Congress allocated funds to purchase Bicking's paper for currency production. He is mentioned in several of the minutes of the Continental Congress and in theGeorge Washington Papers.Frederick Bicking married Mary Catherine Unverzagt of
Otwiller, Germany on May 26, 1752 at St. Michael's & Zion Lutheran Church inGermantown, Pennsylvania . Mary Catherine Unverzagt, daughter of Johannes Unverzagt, was also a German Palatine.Of Frederick Bicking's five sons, three were paper makers in Pennsylvania.
Frederick's son, John Bicking, had a paper mill near present day Fisherville.
External links
* [http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/texts/1888_pla.html A Brief History of Lower Merion Township]
Sources
* Bicking, Frank Parke.
* Develin, Dora Harvey. "Historic Lower Merion and Blockley"
* Drake, Clinton J.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.