Milton Snavely Hershey

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR “COUSINS” …
“THE FATHER OF AMERICAN CHOCOLATE”
Milton Snavely Hershey (1857 – 1945)
Milton B. Hershey was born September 13,
1857, on a farm in central Pennsylvania. A
descendant of Mennonite immigrants from
Germany and Switzerland, he grew up
speaking the “Pennsylvania Dutch” (i.e.,
Deutch) dialect. He also inherited this group’s
characteristic enthusiasm for hard work,
diligence, and thriftiness.
While he was a child, Hershey’s family moved
frequently. As a result, he only finished the
Visits to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
June 28–30, 1996 (with José Baquiran, Albert and
Edna Mae Rymph)
May 28‒30, 2011 (with José Baquiran)
Text and photos © 2010 by Bradley B. Rymph
— Bradley Rymph
fourth grade. He dropped out of school when
he turned 13 years old and was apprenticed
to a printer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Hershey quickly realized that he disliked the
printing trade. After he intentionally let his
hat fall into the printing press, his internship
was terminated.
Hershey then served a four-year
apprenticeship with a Lancaster candy maker,
Joseph Royer. The candy-making was clearly
more to his liking. Once he finished his
apprenticeship, he established his own, first
candy-making business in Philadelphia.
Hershey’s first attempts at launching his own
business failed. His Philadelphia company was
a failure, as were ventures in Denver, New
“IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR ANCESTORS …” HOME PAGE: http://www.bradleyrymph.com
Milton Hershey, c. 1896
Postage stamp honoring
Milton Hershey, issued by the
United States Postal Service
in 1995 as part of its
“Great Americans” series.
York, Chicago, and New Orleans. In Denver,
however, he learned an important fact in the
candy business— fresh milk makes good
candy.
When he was almost 40, Hershey returned to
Lancaster. He was so penniless that he lacked
even the money to ship his possessions back
with him. With his mother’s and aunt’s help,
he began experimenting with developing a
new caramel candy, which he named
“Hershey’s Crystal A.” The candy was such a
success that he received a large order from an
English candy importer, who paid him with a
check for 500 English pounds.
Hershey soon made his first million dollars.
Then, on a trip to the 1893 World’s
Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, he became
fascinated with some German chocolatemaking equipment. Hershey bought the
machinery and moved it to Lancaster. He
began making chocolate with a passion —
producing 114 different varieties!
Hershey decided that his future was in
chocolate, not caramel. In 1900, he sold his
Lancaster Caramel Company and committed
his business full-time to chocolate. In 1903,
he broke ground for a new chocolate factory
in Derry County, Pennsylvania, adjoining
Bradley Rymph, Edna Mae
Rymph, and Albert Rymph
visiting Hershey,
Pennsylvania, in June 1996.
HOW WE’RE RELATED: Milton Snavely Hershey
Milton Snavely Hershey was my fourth cousin, twice removed, through my father,
Albert James Rymph.
Andrew Hershey
(1702 – 1792)
◄◄◄◄◄◄◄
▼
▼
John B.
Hershey
(1741 – 4/4/1811)
Mary Catherine Schnabley
(1703 – 1759)
▼
Jacob
Hershey
(1742 –
4/11/1825)
Magdalena
Hoover
(12/16/1744 –
1/16/1808)
=
=
=
Anna
Newcomer
(1752 – 1832)
Isaac Hershey
(c. 1745 – 1845)
Susannah
Hershey
(11/8/1785 –
2/8/1858)
▼
▼
▼
▼
▼
▼
▼
David Hershey
(1786 – 1860)
=
Christian
Hershey
(6/20/1780 –
8/5/1843)
Christiana Rohrer
(c. 1787 –
bef 1860)
=
▼
David Hershey
(12/2/1797 –
8/2/1859)
=
▼
Mary Magdalena
Hershey
(11/2/1805 –
9/12/1852)
▼
Jacob
Hershey
(9/22/1802 –
5/5/1877)
=
Nancy
Hershey
(1/22/1808 –
11/3/1869)
▼
Ezra David
Hershey
(9/14/1827 –
12/22/1906)
=
Amanda
Guthridge
(4/22/1833 –
3/29/1921)
▼
Henry H.
Hershey
(1/4/1829 –
2/18/1904)
=
Fannie Emma
Cage
(5/26/1862 –
4/27/1914)
Milton Snavely
Hershey
(9/13/1857 –
10/13/1945)
▼
Levi Budd Rymph
(6/10/1901 – 12/8/1987)
=
Jessie Mae Hershey
(3/26/1903 – 11/15/1991)
=
Edna Mae Heath
(living)
=
José Verzosa Baquiran III
(living)
▼
Albert James Rymph
(living)
▼
Bradley Budd Rymph
(living)
David Hershey
(12/2/1797 –
8/2/1859)
▼
=
Veronica (Fanny)
Buckwalter Snavely
(9/4/1835 –
3/11/1920)
=
Catherine Elizabeth
Sweeney
(7/6/1872 –
3/25/1915)
▼
Walter Ritchie
Hershey
(3/20/1862 –
4/26/1944)
►
▼
▼
Ezra David
Hershey
(continued under
descendants of
John B. Hershey)
= Barbara Stauffer
(1756 –
10/23/1845)
=
Mary Magdalena
Hershey
(11/2/1805 –
9/12/1852)
Lancaster County. The Hershey Chocolate
Company had become what it would remain
to the present day, one of the United States’
most successful and internationally famous
food companies.
Hershey was somewhat of a social visionary.
After conceiving to build a complete
community around his factory site, “he built
a model town for his employees that
included comfortable homes, an inexpensive
public transportation system, a quality public
school system and extensive recreational and
cultural opportunities” (quoting Wikipedia).
Because he was concerned that residents of
his town would need adequate recreation
opportunities, he built HersheyPark, which
opened on April 24, 1907.
Hershey was also a dedicated philanthropist.
When it became clear that he and his wife,
Catherine Elizabeth (Sweeney) Hershey, were
unable to have children of their own, they
established the Hershey Industrial School to
benefit other children. After Catherine died
in 1915, Milton Hershey transferred the
majority of his assets, including control of the
Hershey Chocolate Company, to the Milton
Hershey School Trust Fund. The school
continues to have control of the chocolate
company.
TO LEARN MORE
Hershey Chocolate Company. “Discover
Hershey: Milton S. Hershey.” (http://
www.hersheys.com/discover/milton/
milton.asp)
Hershey Community Archives. (http://
www.hersheyarchives.org)
Shippen, Katherine B., and Wallace, Paul A.
W. Milton S. Hershey. New York: Random
House, 1959.
Wikipedia. “Milton S. Hershey.” (http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_S._Hershey)
2014-06-18