Roland Family Hatters of Reading, Pennsylvania

The town of Reading, in Berks County, Pennsylvania is renowned for its hat-making businesses, and hatters from the Roland family were plentiful throughout the 1800s.

Reading was founded in 1748, with William Penn’s sons Richard and Thomas helping Conrad Weiser lay out the new town. Four years later, Berks County was created, at which time Reading became the county seat.^[1] In the first decade of the 1800s, there were no fewer than 40 hat makers located in Reading.^[2] An impressive quantity for a town with a population of just 2,386 in the 1800 census. Production was running at the rate of about 56,000 hats per year, of which 2,000 were made of fur and 54,000 were made of wool. Reading’s wool hat industry became so successful that wool hats were commonly called “Reading Hat” throughout the country. The typical wool hat weighed 11 to 12 ounces, 4 ½ to 6 inches high, 3 ½ to 4-inch brim, and 1/8 to 3/8 inches thick.^[3]

Roland Families in Berks County

David Roland is the earliest known person of this genetic line to settle in the area. He was born about 1742, had settled in Berks County by the mid-1760s, and passed away in 1820. His probate file lists his occupation as a tanner, and it names all 11 of his children. His birthplace and heritage are unknown, but he and his family are believed to be of German descent, as were most of the residents of Berks County prior to 1800.

The first United States census of 1790 enumerated two Roland households in Berks County – David and his son Matthias. The family quantities grew over the ensuing decades with four Roland households in both the 1800 census and 1810 census, six in 1820, eleven in 1830, and 15 in the 1840 census.

The 1850 census was the first census that listed family members and occupations. The Berks County census for 1850 had seventeen Roland households and 82 individuals with the Roland surname. Of these, 17 had occupations listed, and “Hatter” was the most common occupation with a quantity of eight. There were also two blacksmiths, a butcher, a tobacconist, a painter, a moulder, and two laborers. The Berks County wills and probate files identify some of the Roland men that passed away before 1850 as hatters.

As mentioned previously, the David Roland who died in 1820 had 11 children. One of those children was Matthias Rowland. Matthias was born in 1767 and passed away in 1843, spending his entire life in Reading. His probate files list his occupation as a farmer, and he was the father of 16 children, many of who became hatters.

Many descendants of this line remained in Berks County. The Roland population there peaked in the 1920 census, which enumerated 260 Roland individuals. The census counts include 100 Rolands in 1860, 107 in 1870, 104 in 1880, 101 in 1900, 161 in 1910, 205 in 1920, and 169 in 1940. Additionally, there are 326 Find-A-Grave memorials for Roland burials in Berks County. Other descendants of David Roland migrated west to locations including Boone County Indiana; Ogle and Whiteside counties of Illinois; Greene, Polk, and Poweshiek counties of Iowa; and Colorado.

Berks County Estate Files

The following wills and probate files can be found in the Berks County Estate files:^[4]

John Roland, 1817, Hatter (images 984-989)
David Roland, 1820, Tanner (images 929-947)
David Roland, 1828, Hatter (images 948-966)
John W Roland, 1841 (images 990-1006)
Matthias Roland, 1843, Farmer (images 1010-1051)
Samuel Roland, 1844 (images 1052-1063)
Israel Roland, 1847, Inn Keeper (images 967-983)
Abraham Roland, 1848, Inn Keeper (images 865-905)
Justina Roland, 1848 (images 1007-1009)

The following Roland individuals and businesses are mentioned in “History of Reading, Pennsylvania, and the Anniversary Proceedings of the Sesquicentennial,” June 5-12, 1898:^[5]

Roland & Leader, a home builder in the 1800s (p 125)
H. H. Roland – prominent cigar manufacturer in 1898 (p 130)
Roland, Francis & Co. – manufacturer of turbine water wheels 1872-1878 (p 171)
Walter G Roland – Reading Board of Trade member (c 1889) (p 287)
Francis Roland, Jr., Reading School Board Secretary 1898 (p 290)
August Rolland, a Frenchman not related to the Roland family, owner of Rolland Umbrella Factory (p 206)

Roland Y-DNA

There are currently 357 descendants of David Roland with WikiTree profiles, of which 79 should carry his Y-DNA, and possibly hundreds of living Rolands with the same Y-DNA. However, at this time, no male Roland descendants from this line have taken a Y-DNA test and joined the Rowland Xref Project. As such, the Roland Berks County DNA Group^[6] is categorized as “DNA Group Untested”. If you are a male Roland descendant of this line, then please contact us about participating in the Xref Project.

Our research into the Roland family of Berks County continues as there are still numerous WikiTree profiles that are not connected to this (or other potential lines) and many Find-A-Grave memorials without a corresponding WikiTree profile.