Six Degrees of Separation

Inquiring minds wanted to know if William Kleintop, who becomes associate dean for business and management in the Division of Continuing and Graduate Studies in July, is a member of the extended Kleintop family of the Lehigh Valley, many of whom have graduated from Moravian. So we asked him.

He answered: “In 1753, two brothers, Johannes and Christopher Kleintop, disembarked from the good ship Patience in Philadelphia. They were met by a representative of the King, a surgeon, and Benjamin Franklin. They were medically cleared, then swore an oath to the King and an oath of abjuration, renouncing the Pope and pledging fidelity to the proprietor and laws of the province of Pennsylvania.

“Then they took off for the hinterlands of what was then Northamp-ton County (now Chestnut Hill Township in Monroe County). As the family grew and became integrated into the community, some became Moravians and others remained Lutherans. I’m from the Lutheran side. Most of the Nazareth-area Kleintops are from the Moravian side.

“My Moravian connection is through my wife, who graduated with a degree in biology in 1982. She is a Laury, from an old Northampton County family that also predates the Revolution.”

Above, Bill and Lisa Laury ’82 Kleintop, with their niece Amanda. Photo courtesy of Bill Kleintop.