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Full text of "<a href="/details/collectionofpape03buck">A collection of papers read before the Bucks County Historical Society</a>"
</h1>
<pre>UNIVERSITY
OF PITTSBURGH
LIBRARY
THIS BOOK PRESENTED BY
Alumni ^iving Plan
~^vyc_ks La\iv\\'y A^-s"
.x5*:.\
i,tyj iJoyiftstc
A COLLECTION OF PAPERS
READ BEFORE THE
BUCKS COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PUBLISHED FOR THE SOCIETY
BY
B. F. Fackenthal. Jr.
RIEGELSVILLE. PA.
1909
VOLUME III.
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Hon. Harman Yerkes Mrs. Agnes Williams Palmer
Henry C. Mercer Clarence D. Hotchkiss
Warren S. Ely B. F. Fackenthal, Jr.
Da.X
V.3
Press of
The Chemical Publishing Co.
Easton, Pa.
^
CONTENTS
Page
List of Illustrations vi
Officers of the Society vii
New Members since August i , igoS - viii
Necrology viii
Status of Membership August i , 1909 viii
PAPERS
Sketch of Log College Rev. D. K. Turner i
The Smith Plow Miss Ellen D. Smith 11
Two Old Horse Companies Rev. D. K. Turner 17
The Town of Bethlehem John A. Ruth 24
General John Lacey — Our Quaker Gen-
eral Gen. W. W. H. Davis 32
Reminiscences of Ouakertown and Its
People Dr. Joseph Thomas 42
Old Richland Settlers Ellwood Roberts 52
Prehistoric Bucks County Charles Laubach 61
The Parry Family of New Hope Richard Randolph Parry 69
William Penn's Children Rev. D. K. Turner 89
Bogart's Inn, An Old Hostelry Warren S. Ely 96
Wrightstown Settlers Mrs. Cynthia S. Holcomb 107
The German Element in Bucks County . -Prof. S. M. Rosenberger 118
Stone Implements ; Miss S. Newell Wardle 122
The Eastburn Family Eastburn Reeder 129
The Warminster Harts Gen. W. W. H. Davis 138
Biographical Notice of Rev. Douglas K.
Turner Rev. S. F. Hotchkin 148
The Wynkoop Family Capt. William Wynkoop 156
The Kenderdines of Bucks County Thaddeus S. Kenderdine 162
The Hilltown Thomas Family A. K. Thomas 170
Revolutionary Events about Newtown • • • Samuel Gordon Smyth 177
Judge Henry Wynkoop John Sparhawk Wurts 197
The Rodmans and Foxes Marshall R. Pugh 218
The Folwells of Bucks County Prof. William Watts Folwell • 232
IV CONTENTS
Historic " Summerseat " Dr. Richard H. S. Osborne. .. 237
Morrisville and Its Vicinity Dr. Robert S. Dana 242
Five Bucks County Generals Gen. W. W. H. Davis' 258
The "Virginia Riflemen '' a Misnomer- .John A. Ruth 261
The Old Pennypack Baptist Church Rev. S. F. Hotchkin 274
Newtown — Old and New Capt. William Wynkoop 287
The Tohickon Settlers Warren S. Ely 296
Keller Family History Edward Matthews 307
The Newtown Library George A. Jenks 316
Historical Reminiscences of Pineville
and Vicinity Matthias H. Hall 332
Law Governing the Settlement of New
Countries Gen. W. W. H. Davis 341
Robert Morris, Founder of Morrisville . -Ellis P. Oberholtzer 345
Morrisville the Capital Hon. Harman Yerkes 355
Founding of Morrisville William C. Ryan 361
Sharon and the Indian Legend Con-
nected Therewith Miss Belle VanSant 368
An Old Mowing Machine Thaddeus S. Kenderdine 373
The Colonial Origin of Some Bucks
County Families Samuel Gordon Smyth 379
Old Presbyterian Church at Newtown - - -CapL. William Wynkoop 392
Links in the Chain of Local History Gen. W. W. H. Davis 398
Phases of Library Life John W. Jordan, LL-D. 404
Jacob Jennings Brown, the "Fighting
Quaker " of Bucks County Mrs. A. Elizabeth Wager-Smith 416
The Dungan Ancestry Howard O. Folker 429
The Chapman-Mina Tragedy Thaddeus S. Kenderdine 454
Tools of the Nation Maker Henry C. Mercer 469
Flax and Its Culture Grier Scheetz 482
Brief History Talks Henry C. Mercer, et. al. 487
Mexico and the Montezumas Gen. W. W. H. Davis 487
Lord de la War's Scarf Mrs. Irvin Megargee James. . - 491
Cave Explorations Henry C. Mercer 491
The Lenape Stone Henry C. Mercer 492
Origin and Customs of Christmas Fes-
tivals Mrs. William R. Mercer, Jr. - - 493
Anti Slavery Days — Experiences of
Fugitives Hon. Harman Yerkes 504
Bucks County in Our Nation's History - -Capt. William Wynkoop 513
CONTENTS V
Firearms of Colonial Times Arthur Chapman 519
The Military Halberd of the Eighteenth
Century Frederick J. Shellenberger . . • 521
Henry Quinn, Author of "Temple of
Reason " B. F. Fackenthal, Jr 526
Old Shad Fisheries on the Delaware
River Dr. J. Ernest Scott 534
The Spirit Colony at Parkland Charles M. Meredith 542
Old New Hope, Formerly Coryell's
Ferry, Pa Richard Randolph Parry 547
Ivongstreth Family of Warminster Mrs. Anna Longstreth Tilney 565
History of Bee Culture Prof. J. Wilmer Pancoast 571
Silk Culture in Bucks County John A. Anderson 579
A House with a History Gen. W. W. H. Davis 586
The Ringing Rocks B. F. Fackenthal, Jr 590
Rev. Nathaniel Irwin Rev. D. K. Turner 592
Admiral John A. Dahlgren, U. S. N Rev. D. K. Turner 603
The Relations of the Pennsylvania Pro-
prietaries to the Colonists Rev. D. K. Turner 621
Oeneral Jean Victor Maria Moreau Rev. D. K. Turner 632
The Claim of Connecticut to Wyoming . . . Rev. D. K. Turner 644
General Andrew Pickens Rev. D. K. Turner 657
Old Doylestown Miss Mary L. DuBois 670
ILLUSTRATIONS
Pack
Henry C. Mercer (portrait) Frontispiece
Wooden Mould-board Plow 1 1
Smith Cast-Iron Mould-board Plow 1 1
The Durham Vigilant Society, Organized September 21, 1832,
Certificate of Membership 23
Richland Friends' Meeting-house, Ouakertown, Pa 42
Men's Gallery in same 42
Women's Gallery in same 42
The Old Parry Mansion, New Hope, Pa 69
The Washington Tree, at New Hope, Pa 69
Chimney Corner and Crane in Kitchen of Old Parry Mansion 88
Rev. D. K. Turner (portrait) 148
Judge Henry Wynkoop (portrait) 197
Tombstone of Henry Wynkoop 217
General Daniel Morgan ( portrait ) 258
Presbyterian Church, Newtown, Pa 392
Brick Hotel, Newtown, Pa 392
Tools of the Nation Maker —
1. Pioneer's Tree-felling Axe 469
2. Irish Rush Light 471
3. Whetting the Dutch Scythe 472
4. Pennsylvania German Fractur 474
5. Boat Shaped Hanging Lard Lamps 475
6. Striking Fire with the Tinder Box 477
7. Shovel Plow 479
8. Pennsylvania German Decorated Stove Plate 481
Tools and Processes for Preparing and Spinning Flax (5 views) 482
Military Halberd of the Eighteenth Century 521
Henry Quinn (silhouette) 526
Home of Henry Quinn in Durham Township 526
Shad Fishing on the Delaware River (5 views) 534
Ingham or Great Spring in Solebury Township 564
John Fitch Monument 569
A House with a History 586
Ringing Rocks of Bridgeton Township (2 views) 590
BUCKS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Organized November 20, 1880.
Incorporated February 23, 1885.
For Charter, Constitution, By-laws, and List of Members, see Vol. I.
OFFICERS
For the Year Ending January, 1910.
President
General W. W. H. Davis
Vice Presidents
John S. Williams Henry C. Mercer
Directors
Thomas C. Knowles Yardley, Pa.
Henry C. Mercer Doylestown , Pa.
Mrs. Richard Watson Doylestown, Pa.
(Term expires January, 1910)
General W. W. H. Davis Doylestown, Pa.
Captain William Wynkoop Newtown, Pa.
Miss Mary L. DuBois Doylestown, Pa.
(Term expires January, 1911)
Alfred Paschall West Chester, Pa.
John S. Williams New Hope, Pa.
Mrs. Harman Yerkes Doylestown, Pa.
(Term expires January, 1912) ,
Secretary and Treasurer Librarian and Curator
Clarence D. Hotchkiss, Warren S. Ely,
Doylestown, Pa. Doylestown, Pa.
BUCKS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
See Vol. I for list of members corrected to August i, 1908.
MEMBERS ELECTED SINCE AUG. 1, 1908, WHO HAVE QUALIFIED
BY PAYMENT OF INITIATION FEE
Name Address When qualified
Bache, Miss Mabel S Bound Brook, N. J June 7, 1909
Coryell, Torbert Lambertville, N.J June 7, 1909
DuBois, John L., Jr Doylestown June 20, 1909
Jones, Edward Russell Philadelphia Mar. 12, 1909
Jones, Stockton W Doylestown Nov. 19, 1908
Reeder, Watson K New Hope Jan. 20, 1909
Reeder, Mrs. Watson K New Hope Jan. 20, 1909.
Swope, Miss Laura R Erwinna Jan. 20, 1909
Tierney, Robert Philadelphia Jan. 20, 1909
NECROLOGY
Name Residence Date of death
Alburger, Mrs. Eliza M Andalusia Apr., 1908
Cadwallader, Capt. C. G Philadelphia Apr. 6, 1909,
Cunningham, Matthew C Philadelphia Feb. 15, 1909
Jenks, George A Newtown Apr. 2, 1909
Reeder, Mrs. Eastburn New Hope Apr. 3, 1909
Riegel, Warren N Philadelphia Dec. 9, 190S
Twining, Henry M Philadelphia
STATUS OF MEMBERSHIP AUGUST 1, 1909
Living Deceased
Men Women Total Men Women Total
Life members 313 315 628 79 26 105
Honorary life members 18 5 23 12 3 15
Total 331 320 651 91 29 120
Total enrollment 771
Deceased 120
Members living 651
Sketch of Log College.
BY REV. D. K. TURNER, HARTSVILLE, PA.
(Ambler Park Meeting, June lo, 1886.)
|00N after William Penn opened the Province of Penn-
sylvania for settlement, a little more than two hun-
dred years ago, many English people crossed the
ocean and found a new home in and around Phila-
delphia. They were followed somewhat later by immigrants
from the north of Ireland, who were of Scotch descent, and who
were attracted hither by the fertility and cheapness of the land,
the genial climate and the civil and religious liberty enjoyed
under the mild sway of the Proprietary.
Among them was Rev. William Tennent, born in or about
1673, in county Down, Ulster, Ireland. He received a thorough
cla'ssical education, and was ordained deacon and priest in the
established Episcopal church of his native country, where he was
chaplain to a nobleman. Having married the daughter of Rev.
Mr. Kennedy, a Presbyterian clergyman, and being dissatisfied
with Episcopacy, he turned his steps with his family to America,
where he arrived in 1716 or 1717, when he was in the vigor of
his manhood, about 43 or 44 years of age. In 17 18, a year or
two after he reached New York, he united with the Presbytery
in that city, giving the reasons that influenced him in making
the change in his ecclesiastical connections. From 1718 to 1726
he was minister of the Presbyterian church in Bedford, N. Y.,
as appears from the records of that church still in existence.
In the latter year he came by invitation to Bucks county, Pa.,
to the neighborhood of Neshaminy, now Hartsville. It is
uncertain whether he found a church already formed or gathered
one himself from the settlers, mostly his countrymen, who
had recently' been landing in large numbers in Penn's hospitable
domain. Settlements were forming rapidly on both sides of the
Delaware river and in Maryland and Virginia, and ministers
were needed to preach the gospel to the increasing population.
Some of that profes'sion came from Great Britain and some from
2 SKETCH OF LOG COLLEGE
New England, but too few adequately to supply the destitution.
A part of the synod of Philadelphia were decidedly in favor
of a liberally educated ministry and were opposed to receiving
any mto their number but such as had been trained at a uni-
versity ; while others, contemplating the wants of the country
and the lack of men thoroughly qualified, were ready to welcome
candidates who were endowed with competent talents and piety,
though their education was somewhat limited.
Mr. Tennent sympathized with the latter class and was deeply
impressed with the importance of having young men prepared
for the sacred office on our own shores. No theological seminary
had then been established in our land, nor was there any col-
lege west of the Hudson river. To meet the demand for intel-
ligent and devoted clergymen, he determined to open an insti-
tution in which instruction might be given in the Latin classics,
in the original language of the Scriptures. Greek and Hebrew,
and in the doctrines of Christianity. It was designed to be not
a mere academy nor a college for a scientific and classical course
alone, but to combine the advantages which such institutions
afford with training in theology. At what date Mr. Tennent com-
menced his efforts in this direction imperfect records fail to in-
form us, but it was probably not long after his settlement at
Neshaminy. We are equally in ignorance of the precise spot
where it was inaugurated. The site of the log structure, in
which it was held during the later years of its existence, was on
the "York turnpike, about a mile south of Hartsville, in Bucks
county, on ground now occupied by Mr. Warner, formerly
a part of the farm of Isaac Carrell. Mr. Tennent bought this
tract of lOO acres of John White, of Philadelphia, September
II, 1735, and in the deed conveying it to him he is spoken of
as a resident of Northampton. Hence he must have had his
seminary previous to 1735 in some other locality, perhaps in the
township of Northampton. But in what precise spot it wds be-
fore matters little. It was within the bounds of Neshaminy con-
gregation, of which he was the pastor, and therein were educated
many men eminent for learning, eloquence, talents and piety, who
shone as bright lights in the subsequent history of the Presbyterian
church. The building in which its exercises proceeded after
1735. stood three-quarters of a century or more, until it had
SKETCH OF LOG COLLEGE 3
become time-worn, when it was taken down and appropriated to
ignoble uses ; but a cane made from a part of it was deposited
by Rev. Robert B. Belville, formerly pastor at Neshaminy,
in the library of Princeton College, where it now is, a relic of
an edifice within whose humble walls the minds of men were
disciplined who became distinguished in the church and state.
Four ,sons of Mr. Tennent, Gilbert, William, John and Charles,
received all their training from their father, though the eldest,
Gilbert, was not strictly speaking a student in the college,
having reached the age of twenty-three when the family came
to Pennsylvania. He assisted in giving instruction at Neshaminy
in 1726 and became pastor of a church in New Brunswick, N.
J., the next year, where he remained till 1743, when he was called
to the Second Presbyterian church in Philadelphia, and there
closed his labors and his life in 1764, in the 62nd year of his
age. He was endowed with great mental ability, and preached
with remarkable power, not only in the cities where he resided,
but in Boston and other places in Massachusetts and Connecti-
cut, whither he went on long evangelistic tours, and occupied a
position among the most prominent in the land, which he ably
filled. Rev. George Whitfield, the celebrated evangelist, speaks
of him in the highest terms of commendation. Among other
remarks he says, "In New York I went to the meeting-house
to hear Rev. Gilbert Tennent preach, and never before heard
I such a searching sermon. He is a son of thunder and does
not regard the face of man." Dr. Alexander observes, "it is
doubtful whether Mr. Whitfield ever expressed so high an opin-
ion of any other preacher of any denomination. Indeed it
is probable that he never met with a man of a more perfectly
congenial spirit with his own." Gilbert Tennent was buried first
under the middle aisle of the second church in Philadelphia,
and when the building was remodeled his remains were depos-
ited in the grave-yard belonging to that church in Arch street,
between Fifth and Sixth streets, and in 1853 they were removed
to the cemetery of the Presbyterian church in Abington, Pa.,
where they now lie.
John Tennent was settled as minister to the church in Free-
hold, N. J., when only twenty-three years of age, but died two
years afterwards of consumption, when he had apparently but
4 SKETCH OF LOG COLLEGE
just begun his work. It has been said of him, '"Natural quick-
ness of apprehension, copiousness of fancy and fluency of ex-
pression served to quahfy him eminently for the office of a
preacher." If he had lived till middle life he would in all
probability have been in a high rank in the sacred profes-sion.
\\'illiam Tennent succeeded John at Freehold, N. J., in 1733.
Before his ordination, while pursuing his studies at the house of
his brother, Gilbert, in New Brunswick, he became unwell from
excessive mental application, and at length his life seemed to
be in danger. While in this state of extreme debility he sudden-
ly lost the power of motion, color left his face, his eyes closed,
his senses failed, breathing and pulsation ceased, and he appeared
to die. Every means was employed to recall the spark of anima-
tion, but in vain. After two or three days the body was pre-
pared for burial and invitations were sent out for the funeral,
but a young physician who had attended him thought he ob-
served an unusual warmth about the heart, and induced his
brother, Gilbert, to postpone the last rites till the following day.
Meantime the utmost exertions were made to reawaken vital-
ity without avail. The hour for the interment had a second time
arrived and the people were assembled, when the doctor, who
had been near the body constantly, unwilling to withdraw his
efforts for resuscitation, was putting some oil on the tongue,
which had become swollen and cracked. At this juncture, to
the alarm and astonishment of all present, the eyes, deep sunk
in their sockets, opened, a dreadful moan was heard and again
all was silence and apparent death. Thoughts of burial were
now exchanged for renewed attempts to recall life, and in a
few hours consciousness fully returned. For about six weeks, how-
ever, he continued so feeble that his final recovery seemed doubt-
ful, and a year elapsed before he was restored to ordinary health.
When he was able to walk about his room and converse some-
what, it was discovered that he had forgotten everything that
related to his previous life. He did not know how to read or
write, and Latin, which he could speak readily before, had
entirely gone from his recollection. He; had to be taught anew,
like a child. One day when he was reciting to his brother from
a Latin author, he put his hand quickly to his head and remarked
i:hat he felt a throb of pain there, and it seemed to him he
SKETCH OF LOG COLLEGE 5
had read that book before. From that time his memory gradu-
ally recovered its strength, his former history came again to his
recollection, and he could speak Latin as well as ever. He
always thought that during the period of suspended animation
his spirit was conducted by an angel to the confines of Heaven,
and that he saw some of its ineffable glories and heard the songs
of the ransomed, and it was a sore trial to him when he was
told that he must return to earth. H^is pastorate at Freehold
continued till his death in 1777, a period of forty-four years.
His attainments in the classical languages and in divinity were
of a high order, he was an earnest and impressive expounder of
the word from the sacred desk, displayed rare wisdom and
knowledge of human nature, and wielded a powerful influence
over the minds of his hearers. He was an ardent patriot, and
during the portion of the Revolutionary war in which he lived,
he exerted his influence to the utmost for the success of the
American Colonies in their struggle for independence.
Charles Tennent, the fourth son of Rev. William Tennent, Sen.,
was born in Ireland and came to this country when five or six
years old, with his father, by whom he was educated at home
and in Log College. In 1737 he was ordained and installed
at Vvhiteclay Creek, in Delaware, where he remained twenty-
five years, and in 1762 removed to Buckingham, Maryland,
serving the church there till about the time of his death in 1770
or 1 77 1. Though less distinguished than his brothers, he pos-
sessed a sound, clear mind, and was useful in the sacred calling
to which his life was devoted. His son, Rev. William M.
Tennent, was for many years pastor of the Presbyterian church
in Abington, in this county, and having acquired extensive learn-
ing he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Yale Col-
lege. He married Miss Susanna Rodgers, daughter of Rev. Dr.
John Rodgers, of New York.
Another student at Log College was Rev. Samuel Blair. Born
in Ireland in 1712, he was under Mr. Tennent's tuition between
1730 and 1735, and was first stationed at Shrewsbury, N. J.,
afterwards, in 1740, at New Londonderry, Pa., often called
Fagg's Manor. Here he established a school similar to that at
Neshaminy, after Mr. Tennent had become too old and infirm to
engage in that kind of labor. At this seminary, which may be
O SKETCH OF I,OG COLLEGE
regarded as a continuation of Log College, some men were
trained who rose to eminence in- the land. Among these were
Rev. Samuel Davies, the successor of Dr. Jonathan Edwards in
the presidency of Princeton College ; Rev. Alexander Cummings,
Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, Rev. James Finley and Rev. Hugh
Henry. President Davies visited Europe, and on his return he
was asked his opinion of the celebrated preachers he had heard
while he was abroad. After speaking in most favorable terms of
many, to whom he listened with much pleasure and profit, he
said, that "he had heard no one who in his judgment was su-
perior to his former teacher, Samuel P>lair."
Rev. John Blair, a younger brother of Samuel, was also a pu-
pil at Log College. He was pastor twelve or fourteen years
of three congregations in Cumberland county. Pa., one of which
was Big Spring, now Newville. When the French and Indian
war commenced, his home was in danger of attack by the sava-
ges, who were frequently making incursions against the frontier
settlements, and he was compelled to leave that part of the State.
.A.bout tliat time the church at Fagg's Manor vv'as made vacant
by the death of his brother Samuel, and he v/as called to that
field. Here he remained nine years, and besides performing his
clerical duties in an able manner, he superintended the school
his brother had established and prepared many 3'Oung men for
the ministry by instructing them in the languages, philosophy
and theology. When Dr. Finley, president of Princeton College,
died, he was chosen professor of Divinity, and subseciuently vice-
president of the college, and discharged the functions of the pres-
ident till the arrival of Dr. Witherspoon. As the funds of the
institution were at that time limited, and Dr Witherspoon was
an eminent divine fully qualified to instruct in theology, he re-
signed his professorshi]) and accepted an invitation to be minis-
ter at Wallkill, Orange county. N. Y.. where he died in 1771.
Rev. Samuel Finley. another of the students at Neshaminy,
was seventeen years pastor at Nottingham. ^Maryland, where
besides preaching the gospel with great fidelity and acceptance
he established a school like that of Mr. Tennent, and that of
the Blairs at Fagg's Manor. In it several men of a high order
of intellect were fitted for honor and usefulness in the churches
of America. Having proved himself able to conduct the educa-
SKETCH OF LOG COLLEGE 7
tion of brilliant young- men, as well as to move and edify an
audience from the pulpit, he was chosen president of Princeton
College, and succeeded Mr. Davies in that important position.
While there he became favorably known in Great Britain for
talents, learning and piety, and the degree of Doctor of Divin-
ity was conferred upon him by the University of Glasgow, which
was at that time an unprecedented honor for any American.
I might speak particularly of others who studied under Mr.
Tennent, as Rev. William Robinson and Rev. John Rowland,
but limited time forbids. I will pass on hastily to Rev. Charles
Beatty. His mother's maiden name was Christianna Clinton.
General George Clinton, of the Revolutionary army, eighteen
years governor of the State of New York and for two terms
Vice President of the United States, was her nephew, and De-
Witt Clinton, the projector of the Erie canal, was the son of
another nephew. Charles Beatty was brought over from Ire-
land when a child, and after he was sufficiently grown he traveled
as an itinerant peddler for several years. One day in the pur-
suit of this vocation he halted at Log College, and astonished
Mr. Tennent by addressing him in correct Latin. After much
conversation with him, in which he seemed to manifest talent,
piety and a tolerably good education, the venerable clergyman
said to him : "Go and sell the contents of your pack, and return
immediately and study with me : it will be a sin for you to con-
tinue a peddler, when you can be so much more useful in another
profession." He accepted the invitation, became a minister, and
the successor of Mr. Tennent himself at Neshaminy, where he
was ordained in 1743 and where he remained pastor till his
death, a period of twenty-nine years. During this time the
French and Indian war took place, and troops were raised in
Pennsylvania to defend the frontiers against the attacks of the
savages. A corps of 500 men was enlisted and placed under
the command of the philosopher. Benjamin Franklin, and Mr.
Beatty was appointed chaplain. They marched against the ene-
my early in January, 1756. While in this campaign of peril and
hardship, an amusing incident occurred, which is thus related
by Franklin himself. "W^e had for our chaplain a zealous
Presbyterian minister, Mr. Beatty, who complained to me that
the men did not generally attend his prayers and exhortations.
8 SKETCH OF LOG COLLKGE
When they enhsted they were promised, besides pay and provis-
ions, a gill of rum a day, which was punctually served out to
them, half in the morning and half in the evening, and I observed
they were punctual in attending to receive it, upon which I said
to Mr. Beatty, 'It is perhaps below the dignity of your profession
to act as the steward of the rum, but if you were to distribute it
out only just after prayers you would have them all about you.' He
liked the thought, undertook the task, and with the help of a few
hands to measure out the liquor executed it to satisfaction, and
never were prayers more generally and more punctually attended ;
so that I think this method preferable to the punishment inflicted
by some military laws for non-attendance on divine service."
From this expedition Mr. Beatty returned home early in the
spring of 1756, and as recruits were much needed for the army
he urged those of his people who could be spared to enlist and
serve against the barbarous and cruel foe, and tokb them that if
the synod would provide supplies for his pulpit he would offer
himself as chaplain, and should be glad to have some of his con-
gregation go with him. So forcible was his address that during
the following week about a hundred men agreed to accompany
him, and he was commissioned by the Lieutenant-Governor of
the State to be chaplain to the regiment of foot under Colonel
Clapham. The synod commended his course and provided for
the supply of his pulpit, and he was absent most of the summer
with the Provincial troops, going as far as the region west of the
Susquehanna river. In 1758 an expedition was sent against the
French and Indians in the western part of the State, consisting of
9.000 men under General Forbes, and Mr. Beatty was invited to
act as chaplain of the First Batallion of Pennsylvania Provincials.
These forces compelled the French, who had been deserted by
their Indian allies, to abandon Fort Du Ouesne and retreat in
boats down the Ohio. Our army took possession of the fort
November 25, and its name was changed to Fort Pitt, in honor
of William Pitt, nov/ Pittsburg. Mr. Beatty preached a thanks-
giving sermon after the triumphant occupation of the enemy's
fortification, before the whole army, no doubt the first thanks-
giving discourse, and perhaps the first Protestant sermon ever
delivered in the valley of the Mississippi.
In 1760 he was sent to Great Britain by the corporation of
SKETCH OF LOG COLLEGE 9
the fund for the widows and orphans of deceased ministers, to
sohcit contributions in aid of the fund. He left Philadelphia in
March and visited England, Scotland and the north of Ireland,
and crossed over the channel to Holland, preaching often, and
meeting with much encouragement in his efforts to collect money.
He witnessed the coronation of George HI October 25, was pre-
sented at court and received from his majesty a' handsome dona-
tion for the fund. He seems to have been absent in this work
two years, supplies being sent for his church by the synod.
In 1766 he was commissioned by the synod to go in company
with Rev. George Duffield, of Carlisle, to the western part of
Pennsylvania to visit the Indian tribes there and prepare the way
for the establishment of a mission among them. He penetrated
the wilderness on horseback one hundred and thirty miles beyond
Pittsburg, had several interviews with different sachems, to whom
he explained Christianity through an interpreter, and returned
after two months absence. In 1767, on account of the ill health
of Mrs. Beatty, he visited Great Britain a second time, being
absent, as before, about two years. He was treated with great
respect in Scotland, being elected free burgess of three important
towns in that country.
He manifested much interest in the prosperity of Princeton
College, of which institution he was a trustee nine years. In
1772 it was deemed advisable that some one should go to the
West India Islands, where many wealthy English planters resided,
to secure donations for the support of the college. As Dr. With-
erspoon, first appointed, could not leave his family, Mr. Beatty
was selected for the important and honorable task. He repaired
to Barbadoes, where he was taken sick of yellow fever and died
August 13, 1772. Dr. Sproats, of Philadelphia, preached a funer-
al sermon on his death, when intelligence of it reached this
country, and he was widely lamented as an able and highly useful
minister of the gospel.
I have thus spoken briefly of some of the alumni of Log College.
All of them, concerning whom we have knowledge, were accept-
able public speakers, and faithful in the discharge of the ministe-
rial office, and some rose to eminence and distinction. The institu-
tion was the germ of Princeton College, which was founded soon
after Rev. William Tennent, Sr., died, and located originally in
10 SKETCH OF LOG COLLEGE
Elizabethtown, N. J., in 1746, removed to Newark in 1748 and per-
manently to Princeton in 1756. Most of the members of the New-
Brunswick Presbytery at its formation had been students at
Neshaminy, and all of them held views similar to those of the
Tennents. They desired to have a college founded upon principles
which they deemed sound and adapted to promote the good of
men, and their efforts led to the establishment of the College of
New Jersey, which has been for almost one hundred and fifty
years a fountain sending forth streams of light and blessing to our
country and the world. Log College was the predecessor and
the origin of the two schools of a like character at Fagg's Manor
and Nottingham, Maryland, which were opened by its pupils,
and many noted men were educated wholly or in part in those sem-
inaries ; and it has been said that JeiTerson College, Hampden
Sidney and Washington College, in Virginia, sprang ultimately
from the obscure seat of learning at Neshaminy, for they were
all founded and conducted originally by graduates of Princeton.
When the general assembly of the Presbyterian church in the
United States determined in 181 1 to establish a theological sem-
inary, some were in favor of fixing its location where Log College
stood, to which the Presbyterian church owes so large a debt of
gratitude, and Rev. Nathaniel Irwin, then pastor at Neshaminy,
left in his will one thousand dollars to be given to the institution
on condition that that site was chosen. But it v;as deemed best
ultimately to place it at Princeton. It has been nearly a century
and a half since Mr. Tennent's humble school of the prophets
passed away, but it still lives in the important and beneficent
results that flowed from it.
WOODEN ^U)UIvD-BOARD PI,0\V.
rseded early in the nineteenth century by wrought-iron and cast-iron mould-boards.
Photograph from plow in museum of the Bucks County Historical Society.
CAST-IRON Mori.D-iiOAK]
Made by Mahlon Smith on the famous Smith mode
l.ow.
hich was the successor of the
wooden plow in Bucks county. The Smith mould-board was invented by Joseph Smith,
for which a patent was taken out by his l>rother Robert Smith, May m, iSoo.
Photograph from plow in museum of the Bucks County Historical Society.
The Smith Plow.
BY MISS ELLEN D. SMITH^ DOYLESTOVVN, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January 15, 1901.)
A little more than one hundred years ago a resident of Buck-
ingham township, a quiet, unassuming man, with a strong me-
chanical genius, and a Yankee's aptitude for handling a pocket
knife, amused himself by whittling out miniature models for a
plow. For some years he had given attention to the best curves
for a mould-board to turn a smooth furrow and of easy draught.
Up to that time (at least in this section of the world) the plow
was made wholly of wood, or, at its best, the mould-board was
only sheathed with iron, and the work done by such plows was
of a very rude and primitive sort.
This man who had set himself the task of improving the
plow was Joseph, son of Timothy Smith, who lived on a farm
about a mile and a quarter northeast of Pineville. After the
model was completed a patent for the mould-board was sought
and obtained by Robert Smith, a brother of Joseph. Just why
the patent was taken out in the name of Robert, instead of
Joseph, is not known, for no doubt seems to exist as to Joseph
having been the inventor, and moreover the invention was so
well known and so important to agriculture, as to lead to a
personal acquaintance with Thomas Jefiferson and other dis-
tinguished men of that time.
The patent sets forth that for certain improvements to the
plow, it was granted to Robert Smith, in the city of Philadelphia,
then the seat of Government of the United States, May 19, 1800,
and is signed by John Adams, President, and Charles Lee, Secre-
tary of State. The specifications which should accompany the
patent have disappeared, but enough letters and other documents
are still extant to prove the nature of the mould-board. An
inquiry addressed to the patent-office a few years ago brought
the reply that a patent for plow mould-board was granted to
Robert Smith, of Pennsylvania, on the date given, and also that
12 THE SMITH PLOW
"The records of this patent were destroyed in the fire of 1836,
and they have not been restored."
The patent, together with some of the old letters, have been
framed and may be found in the room of the Historical Society
at Doylestown, where there is also a Smith plow made by Mah-
lon, son of Joseph, who succeeded his father in the busuiess of
plow-making. Both patent and plow have been photographed
for the Society's album.
The first mould-boards made after the pattern furnished by
Joseph Smith were cast at the furnace of Charles Newbold,
in New Jersey, below Camden, but later an agreement for
casting them was made with Robeson & Paul, of Philadelphia.
The late Josiah B. Smith, in his genealogy of Robert Smith,
grandfather of Joseph, says :
"The miniature models for a plow -whittled out by him with a pocket
knife for amusement years before, when there was nothing else to do, at-
tracted attention to the man who made them. He had now an opportunity
of bringing his ideal plow to the test of a trial in the field, and went to
work earnestly feeling sure of success. As soon as he finished a pattern it
was taken to the foundry of Charles Newbold, below Camden, N. J., where
it was used in making the first cast iron moulds. The castings were
brought home and a plow finished ready for trial. The talk about the new
plow during the progress of the work of making it, excited much interest
to see it in motion. On the day of trial a large crowd of people came to the
field to see it turn a furrow. One who was present at the trial told the
writer, it was a proud day for the maker of the plow."
Joseph Smith's home was with his father, Timothy, who
united the two occupations of farmer and blacksmith. In the
shop on the farm, erected by Timothy soon after his marriage in
1745, Joseph also learned the trade of blacksmith, and it was
here the first plow of the new pattern was put together. The
farm is now owned and occupied by Heston J. Smith, a great-
grandson of Joseph. A few years ago in making excavations
near his buildings for a drain he came on the foundation walls
and stone sills of Timothy Smith's blacksmith shop. At a little
distance from the shop there are traces of an old lime-kiln,
supposed to have been erected by the Robert Smith to whom the
plow patent was granted, which was the first kiln in Bucks
county in which lime was burned.
The superiority of the iron mould -board over the wooden
the; smith plow , 13
one was so great that numbers of them were soon in use ; but
they were made and sold at distant places without regard to
the patent, and it was impossible to collect the royalty except
on those made comparatively near home, so the pecuniary benefit
to the inventor was small when compared to the number in use.
Mahlon Smith, born in 1783, who could well remember seeing
his father making the first pattern for the casting, said: "If the
whole royalty on the cast iron mould had been collected it
would have made all the family rich. But the plows came into
use so rapidly, there was not one person in ten who knew there
was a patent."
Robeson & Paul, the founders, rendered an account February i,
1804, for the preceding year. They had cast during the year
1,200 moulds of which all were sold except 135. This statement
of Robeson & Paul from 1804 to 1807, three years, shows a
royalty in that time of $2,617. -'^"^^ i" a letter from Robeson &
Paul, dated Philadelphia, March 11, 1808, they say that "many
persons are making and vending Smith moulds without any re-
gard to your patent."
In reference to prior claims to the invention of the cast iron
mould-board, Josiah B. Smith says : "A claim was afterward
made in England of'a priority of right in the plow, by discovery
and use. The claim excited a considerable degree of interest
at the time, but it was not sustained at a hearing of the case."
Mr. H. C. Mercer, in the description of the Smith plow in the
Historical Society's Catalog, "Tools of the Nation Maker,"
pp. 68 and 69, says :
"Plows made more or less of wood in Colonial Bucks county, and con-
tinuing into the present century were make-shifts and did not represent the
general development of the invention in regard to plows, wrought iron
shares, mould-boards and other parts of plows having been in use in the old
world at the time our colonists left it. In 1740 and 1785 James Small,
of Scotland, and Robert Ransom, of Ipswich, England, patented cast iron
mould-boards and shares to replace those of wrought iron previously used.
Newbold, of New Jersey obtained an iron plow patented in 1797, and iron
mould -board plows were in use in New York by 1800, but neither the
Smith's nor Newbold can claim the cast iron mould-board as an invention."*
* There is evidence among the original papers of the Durham iron-works, to show
that wrought-iron mould-boards were made prior to the cast-iron mould-boards invented by
Mr. Smith. A letter from Thomas Anderson of the Greenwich forge in New Jersey,
situated about two miles across the river from Durham, under date of July 7, 1788,
refers to sending "Six Share Moles & Land Sides." Editors.
14 THE SMITH PLOW
We have no reason to doubt the statements made ; they are
evidently correct, except the last. In those days of slow commu-
nication between different parts of the country, it might well
happen that an article would come into use in one neighborliood
long before it was known in another, or that two or more men,
m widely separated countries or neighborhoods, urged by the
same necessity, might invent the same implement, or improvement
on one already in use, and each be perfectly honest in so doing.
This might happen even in tliese days of lightning communica-
tion ; how much more likely a century ago. Joseph Smith may
have heard of the cast iron mould-board, but never saw one ; they
evidently were not in use in this section of the country. Neither
can we doubt he was an honest man and that the iron mould-
board as shaped by him was really and truly his own invention.
The time being ripe for its introduction, it soon came into gen-
eral use, so fast that as before stated it was made and sold re-
gardless of the patent, which was not renewed at the expiration
of the first term of years.
A subsequent claim to the invention was made by Jethro Wood,
of New York, who it was said invented the truly first iron, mould-
board in 1814, for which he obtained a patent in 1819. Alunn &
Co., editors and proprietors of The Scientific American, publish
a small hand book in which, but a few years ago, they gave
among a list of great American inventors, Jethro Wood, as the
inventor of the cast iron mould-board, and therefore one of the
greatest benefactors to his fellow men, as before his time the
plow was a mere stick of wood. Munn & Co., may have been
honest in their opinion, but Jethro Wood himself must have
known that iron mould-boards were made previous to his own,
as sometime after the date when he claimed to have invented it.
he wrote to Joseph Smith telling him of it, and making the propo-
sition they go into partnership for their manufacture. Joseph
Smith in reply said that as he had already obtained 'a patent years
before for an iron mould-board, which patent had expired by
limitation, he did not care to enter into any such partnership. Yet
Jethro Wood obtained a patent, and has generally been credited
with the invention. His family in after years was awarded
$25,000 by Congress for his great service to mankind.
Mahlon Smith said his father's idea of the proper siiape of
THE SMITH PLOW 1 5
a mould-board was that it should be a perfect screw, and Elihu
Smith, grandson of Robert, the patentee, said the lines of the
mould-board of the Syracuse Chilled Plow, the best modern
make of plows, were almost identical with those of the Smith
mould.
In 1802 Joseph Smith removed with his family from the
Buckingham home to a point on the Delaware river, in Tinicum
township, two miles above Point Pleasant, where he built dwel-
ling houses and shops for blacksmithing and plow-making, and
a mill for grinding grain. At that time there was no river road as
known at the present, and he was obliged to go inland somewhat
above the place he desired to reach, and return by a road which
led down to the river. A newspaper account at the time of his
death in 1826 says, "Selecting a rude and almost inaccessible
spot on the Delaware he subdued the torrent to useful purposes
and made his establishment the blessing of a large and populous
district." The place b(.'came known as Smithtown, and is
still so called, though the making of the canal at that narrow
place destroyed the village.
Bucks county is indebted to Joseph Smith for other things
beside the iron mould-board. The obituary notice before quoted
says : "His labors in introducing clover and the use of plaster
have proved a lasting source of wealth to his native country."
He was also the first person in Bucks county who succeeded in
burning anthracite coal for fuel. His experiments in this line
were made very early in the century. A wagon load of Lehigh
coal was hauled down the river to demonstrate whether it could
be burned in the blacksmith shop for making plow irons and
other heavy work. The first experiment was made by heating the
anthracite red hot with charcoal, but it was found the bellows
could not be blown fast enough to keep the anthracite burning
after the charcoal burned out. But he was not discouraged by
failures though several experiments were unsuccessful. He no-
ticed the draught was imperfect, and that it seemed to be choked
with something which could not be removed by simply blowing
the bellows, so it occurred to him that it might improve the
draught if an opening cou'ld be made under the fire. To
accomplish this he made a box with iron rods across the top
to support the coal and keep a passage open for air beneath.
l6 THE SMITH PLOW
This he sunk into the forge, then built a fire on top of the rods
or grate, and blew the bellows into the box, thus making a draught
up through the fire, instead of blowing directly into it which was
sufficient for charcoal. The effect was instantly apparent. The
important secret of igniting anthracite was solved. The discov-
ery, simple as it was, enabled Joseph Smith to obtain a much
greater heat than by the old method and also opened a market
for Lehigh coal. In 1814 he went from Smithtown to Philadel-
phia and spent two weeks superintending the construction of the
right kind of forges for burning anthracite coal, in some of the
larger shops and teaching the blacksmiths how to use it. To
show that, like the iron mould-board, the use of anthracite coal
increased rapidly when once it became known how to burn it,
I quote one more item from his obituary notice : "To him we
owe the introduction of anthracite coal into Bucks, and it is
greatly through his example, that our cities and manufactories
now enjoy a supply of this invaluable fuel."
A short sketch of his life may not be amiss. He was the son
of Timothy and Sarah (Kinsey) Smith, and grandson of Robert
and Phebe (Canby) Smith, and was born 7th-mo. 7th. 1753,
being the fourth one of seven children. He married Ann,
daughter of Samuel and Jane (Schofield) Smith, of Windy Bush,
iith-mo. 9th, 1774, this being the first union between the Smith
families of Wrightstown and Buckingham. Ann Smith lived
at the time with her parents in the old log house at Windy Bush
The wedding was consummated in Wrightstown meeting-house ;
the wedding dinner eaten at the home at Windy Bush; and, as
the house was small, it was, according to prevailing custom,
spread in the yard, and, remembering that the place was appro-
priately named, that the time was November, and the meals served
on pewter plates, we can well sympathize with the groom's say-
ing, "He would rather have gone without his dinner."
Joseph and Ann Smith had twelve children, all of whom lived
to marry and have children ; there being all told upwards of
eighty-four grandchildren, twenty of whom are still living.
Nearly all of the children lived to the allotted age of man, sev-
eral of them many years beyond. Daniel, the youngest son, died
in Doylestown in October, 1893, in the 98th year of his age.
The youngest, a daughter born in 1800, died in Doylestown,
TWO OLD HORSE COMPANIES 17
in August, 1897, and Mahlon, the second plow-maker, attained
the ripe age of 93.
Joseph died suddenly in 1826, aged 'j^ while away from home
on a visit to relatives in Makefield and Solebury. His body was
interred in the graveyard at Plumstead meeting-house. His
wife survived him twenty-eight years, dying in 1854 within
a few weeks of completing her looth year.
The Historical Society has adopted the custom of erecting
memorials to persons prominent in moulding the history of the
county, and of marking spots fraught with historic interest. It
would seem fitting that such a tribute be paid to Joseph Smith ;
and a suitable spot would be the site of the village of Smith-
town in the grass and weeds by the roadside. Near the foun-
dation walls of one of the original houses, lies one of the old
mill stones ; could not this be used in some way as part of a
memorial, either as a base for a stone with suitable inscription,
or, if it were set up on edge, as the background for a bronze
plate recording the service to humanity rendered by Bucks
county's blacksmith-farmer, Joseph Smith?
Two Old Horse CompanieSi
BY REV. D. K. TURNER, HARTSVILLE, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January 15, 1901.)
It is well to keep in mind and to transmit to posterity knowl-
edge of all the institutions of every neighborhood, by which the
social customs of the people are illustrated, especially if they
have attained to considerable age, and have embraced many citi-
zens within their limits. Nothing that has become venerable bv
antiquity and has entered into the life and habits of the community
ought to be regarded as unworthy of attention. Everything of
this character communicated to future generations will show them
how their predecessors lived, what their necessities and perils,
their pleasures and enjoyments were and how they provided
to meet them.
With this idea in view I desire to present a brief sketch of two
of the old horse companies of Bucks county.
Previous to the formation of these companies there had been
1 8 TWO OLD HORSE COMPANIES
not infrequent instances of the stealing of valuable horses through-
out the county and their total loss to their owners, for want of
some more certain and reliable dependence for their recovery
than the public authorities. The feeling was general that some
measures ought to be taken to put a stop to the evil or to reduce
it to a minimum. "The Warren Company for the recovery of
stolen horses and other property and the detection of the thieves,"
was organized by 32 men who formed an association for this
purpose, and subscribed a constitution and by-laws, most or all
of whom resided in the townships of Warwick, Warminster,
Warrington, Northampton, Southampton and Buckingham. Their
first meeting was held at the house of Mrs. Earl in Warwick,
March 22, 1824. The following officers were chosen: Presi-
dent, Thomas Beans ; Vice President, William B. VanHorn ;
Treasurer, John Hart ; Secretary, William H. Long. Commit-
tee of Accounts, John Davis, William Hart, Robert Darrah.
The other members were William Carr, Gaun Adams, Jona-
than Conrad, Joseph Carrell, Jonathan Walton, William Long,
Loto Search, Lewis F. Hart, John Polk, Charles G. Vansant,
Thomas Hart, Edwin Yerkes, Joshua D. Hart, Joseph Carr,
William A. Long, Thomas B. Craven, John Horner, John Thorn-
ton, Simon Banes, William Rubinkam, James Johnson, James
VanZant, Benjamin Montanye, James Horner, John Spencer.
That a horse or other property, which had been stolen, might
be recovered, it was necessary that some plan should be adopted
for riding and search and that part of the country be divided
into routes, which were assigned to different members of the
company respectively. Route No. i was to Philadelphia. No.
2, to Mitchell's and up the Delaware through Easton. No. 3.
through Norristown to Wilmington. No. 4, by the Trappe, now
Collegeville, toward Reading. No. 5, by Middle road, or Second
street road, to Kensington and all the ferries to Trenton. No.
6, through New Hope and down the river and across the country
toward Flemington. No. 7, through Doylestown by Ouakertown
and Allentown No. 8, through Newtown to Trenton and Prince-
ton. The region was divided into two main districts, as above
and below, and the members were classified in such a manner,
that the class, from whose bounds property was first stolen,
TWO OLD HORSE COMPANIES I9
should pursue first and afterwards alternately. The expenses
attending the apprehension and prosecution of thieves, it was pro-
vided, should be paid by the company. The second regular
meeting was held at the public house of Thomas Beans in War-
minster, January i, 1825. This Thomas Beans was a noted man
in his day; he owned and kept the tavern at the crossing of the
Old York and the Street roads in Warminster many years, and
it was much frequented by travelers and by farmers going to
Philadelphia to market. He was fond of fine horses and had a
race track on his property on which was tested the speed of the
most famous roadsters. A level half-mile of the Street road
just at hand was used for the same purpose.
He was chosen president of the Warren Company annually for
eighteen years, from 1824 to 1842. The other presidents in suc-
cession have been: Robert Darrah, General John Davis, (father
of Gen. W. W. H. Davis), John C. Beans, Joseph Barnsley, (who
was formerly a member of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, and
Collector of Internal Revenue of the United States for the Fifth
District of Pennsylvania), and John M. Darrah, who is president
at the present time.
The following have been elected vice-presidents, serving in
succession for different periods : William B. VanHorn, Robert
Darrah, General John Davis, William Hart, John C. Beans, Joseph
Carr, John Polk, Joseph Barnsley, Jonathan Davis, Ezra P. Car-
rell. Sen., J. Johnson Beans, (formerly sheriff of the county), and
H. Warren Hallowell, who is now vice-president.
The following have been treasurers, elected yearly, serving
different periods : 1824, John Hart ; 1840, William H. Hart ;
1851, Harman Yerkes; 1869, Samuel Davis; 1870, William J.
Kirk; 1884, T. B. Beans, now in office.
The following have been secretaries: 1824, William H. Long;
1832, James Horner, two or three years; 1851, William Glasgow;
1884, R. T. Engart, the present incumbent.
Hand bills containing the names of the members of the company
have been printed at various periods and put up extensively in
public places, that warning might be given the evil disposed of
the danger of arrest.
In 1850 Hugh Long, of Warrington, lost an old horse one night
from the pasture, but as it was not certainly known, whether it
20 TWO OLD HORSE COMPANIES
Strayed or was stolen, the company paid him $30 for it and made
no pursuit.
On March 2"], 1858, John Hobensack had a horse stolen but as
the matter was not brought to the attention 01 the company till
April 12. more than two weeks later, Rev. Jacob Belville made
a motion, which was adopted, that on account of the lapse of
time no pursuit of the animal be made, and it does not appear
that any compensation was offered.
In 1859 Chalkley Wood, of Warminster, had some harness
stolen. The company was sent out in pursuit of it, and the
thief arrested.
In 1888 Joshua Bennett lost a set of harness by the visit of a
thief to his premises and $15 was paid him for it by the company.
November 2-]. 1900, the house of Alfred Yerkes, of Warmin-
ster, was broken into by a burglar and property carried away
valued by him at $60. The company offered a reward of $50 in
the public journals and handbills were printed and circulated for
the arrest of the criminal.
During all the history of this company there have been but five
instances in which it has been necessary to take action. No doubt
the fact that the company had thrown protection around the
property of its members had a considerable influence in preventing
crimes of this character.
If a horse were stolen it was provided that a member having
no horse should be exonerated from riding for the stolen one.
The fee for admission into the company was fixed sometimes at
a sum equivalent to each member's proportion of the funds on
hand, and at other times it was fixed at $5.
To enforce regularity and punctuality in attendance at the
yearly meetings absence was fined fifty cents and tardiness after
roll call I2>^ cents.
In 1865 three of the original members being advanced in life,
John Polk, General John Davis and William Long, were ex-
cused from attendance except at their option.
In 1898 a committee was appointed to visit the Consolidated
Vigilance Society of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which met
at Trenton, and report the next year in regard to the propriety
of the Warren Company uniting with that society. Tlie com-
TWO OLD HORSE COMPANIES 21
mittee performed their duty and upon their favorable report
the union or confederation was effected.
The amount of money in the treasury of the company has
never been very large, usually less than $400 and most of it,
accruing from fees and fines, has been expended for the annual
supper.
Of the thirty original members not one is still lingering this
side the unseen shore. The number of members on the roll at
present is thirty-one, and for more than three-quarters of a cen-
tury it has included some of the most worthy, reputable and
intelligent citizens in that part of the country, in which it had
the theatre of its activities.
The yearly meeting in the early winter has been an occasion
not only for the transaction of the business of the company, but
for social intercourse. It has always been anticipated with
pleasure, new ideas on public affairs have been mutually im-
parted, agriculture, politics and government have been discussed,
and the views of the members on a great variety of subjects
have been broadened and corrected. It has been an honorable
and useful organization. Long may its flag wave in the breeze
of prosperity.
The other company of which I desire to speak is the Karts-
ville Protective Association which was formed at the public
house of Samuel Y. Addis in Hartsville, January 2Q, 1852. Its
object was the same as that of the Warren Company, viz., the
protection of its members from the depredations of thieves, and
the territory in which its field of action lay, was composed of
the same townships.
Its presidents in succession were Courtland Carr, Amos Sny-
der, Charles Ramsey, Theodore Flack. Its vice presidents :
James D. Brunner, James McKinstry, Thomas B. Spencer, Hugh
J. Carrell, Samuel M. Banes, T. Willett Boileau, Theodore Flack,
Henry McCluskey.
Its secretaries : John Blair, George Ramsey, T. Elwood
Flack, Dr. William E. Doughty.
Its treasurers : Hugh Long, Charles Ramsey, G. Wynkoop
Rubinkam.
As its constitution, by-laws and general regulations were simi-
lar to those of the Warren company, it is unnecessary that I
22 TWO OLD HORSE COMPANIES
should enlarge upon them. The whole number of members tha:
subscribed their names to the roll, was 95, and the largest num-
ber at any one period was about 40. They annually had a sup-
per together, transacted the business of the organization, elected
their officers and committees, marked out the routes, which were
to be followed by different pursuers, in case horses were stolen
from any of the members, and took all the precautions their
ingenuity could suggest to prevent the loss of live stock or other
property. The history of the company during the forty-two years
of its existence was honorable and worthy of commendation. It
never had a large amount of money in its treasury, ordinarily
less than $120, most of its income being used in defraying the
expenses of the annual meeting, including the supper.
In 1871 a horse was stolen from Hugh J. Carrell, of War-
wick, and the company oft'ered a reward of $50 for its recovery
and $100 for the arrest of the thief. Both these objects were
secured. $12.26 were paid for telegraphing, advertising and
horse hire, making the entire expense of the transaction, $162.26.
This was the only instance, so far as appears from the records,
in which a loss was sustained requiring the action of the asso-
ciation.
In 1894 the subject of disbanding was agitated as the telegraph,
telephone and electric railroad made the apprehension of thieves
more possible and it was therefore decided December i, of that
year to wind up its affairs and pass into the realm of history.
The members of the Hartsville Protective Associatioi con-
sisted of the following 95 persons: General William M.
White, William IVIaris, John C. Beans, Dr. William M. Mann,
Captain Thomas Dixey, Frederick A. Kennedy, Robert Ramsey,
Jr., James Wallace, Henry K. Ramsey, William H. Hart, Isaac
J. Beans, William A^anZant, Jacob L. Walton, William Glasgow,
John Engart, Thomas Bird, Charles Bird, Chalkey Wood, John
Ritchie, Stephen Yerkes, Ezra Yerkes, Ezra Carrell, Clarissa
Montanye, Amos Torbert, William L. Craven, Jonathan
Davis, Jonathan Stackhouse, Samuel Davis, Charles H.
Leedom, Robert Beans, C. Long, M. Long, John Hoben-
sack, Thomas Fetter, Thomas Torbert, Joseph Barnsley,
Rev. J. Belville. George C. Brock, Robert Laughlin. Rev. A. M.
Woods, John M. Darrah, Abraham Danenhower, William F.
TWO OLD HORSK COMPANIES
23
Fenton, Daniel Pidcock, R. H. Darrali, Stephen Yerkes, Korace
G. Phillips, R. Thompson Engart, J. Johnson Beans, William J.
Kirk, Alfred C. Yerkes, William Moon, Hiram Carr, Stephen
B. Cornell, Francis Matlack, Garrett Krusen, John Glasgow,
Charles Bond, Stacey B. Beans, Watson M. Worthington, George
Jamison, Samuel Hough, Denman Wilbur, Charles Trim-
mer, Watson Wood, Isaac Parry, William Long, Harman Mon-
tanye, Charles Parry, Samuel E. Robinson, Edward Randall,
George Slack, Isaac Bennett, Thomas Long, Joseph Bond, Thorn-
ton Stackhouse, H. Warner Hallowell, William Lewis, John Ben-
nett, Howard Meredith, Albert R. Fesmire, Charles T. Dager,
Hugh B. Mearns, Henry McClusky, William H. Malone. G.
W. Rubinkam, James T. Keith, Silas M. Yerkes, Henry Jami-
son, Isaac Gartenlaub, James J. Thompson, John C. Beans, Ezra
C. Carrell, OHver Parrv.
^\lant Unruly fri llic api if'itnlm^ •/ Jlor^e jinctn a iil olliti i tllmn^, 1 1 thtCnnUy of liu k';. Pa
II !l7ics» 01 rill, >,li Ihs J^i^i^^ ) <l<"/ of ij^r e r^ 1 ^^//
Z^^.-^^fTf^^
DURHAM VIGIL,ANT SOCIETY, CERTIFICATE OF MEMBERSHIP.
The Town of Bethlehem
BY JOHN A. RUTH, BETHLEHEM, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January 15, 1901.)
A visitor to the venerable town of Bethlehem at the junc-
tion of the Lehigh river and the Monocacy creek is soon im-
pressed with the fact that he is on historic ground. As he
wends his way through the older streets, he becomes aware
that he is among buildings that are relics of a former age.
Their massive walls suggest the days wdien every man's house
was his castle. Tablets of bronze and granite monuments di-
rect the attention to historic events, and if the visitor has any
interest at all in the history of our State, he at once realizes
that he has come to a place of more than ordinary interest. For
all history-loving people of Bucks county this old town should
possess special charms for the early history of Bethlehem is a
part of the history of Bucks, which was originally laid out in
1682, almost an empire in extent, and included within its in-
definite bounds, not only its present area but also that part of our
State now included in the counties of Northampton, Lehigh,
Monroe, Pike, Wayne, Carbon, Luzerne, Wyoming, Susquehanna,
and a part of Schuylkill and Northumberland.
The first settlers of Bethlehem were Moravians (members of
the United Fratrum or Moravian Church) wdio came to Penn-
sylvania from Georgia about 1740, and at first located at Naza-
reth. On account of some difficulty with the authorities at
that place they were ordered to leave, and in the spring ot
1741 David Nitschman and a small band of followers came to
the junction of the ' Lehigh and the IMonocacy and felled the
first trees to build the first house, which stood on the present
site of the Eagle hotel. This historic building became the farm
house of the Moravian community, and remained until 1823,
when it was removed. In 1741 was also started that ancient
looking group of buildings on Church street, built on three
sides of a square, some parts of which were not completed till
1773. The first house in Bethlehem was a log house, but the
THE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM 25
buildings on Church street were of stone, laid in well seasoned
mortar, having the consistency of cement, and capable of resist-
ing the elements. The "Gemein haus" was built in 1:742, is
still in excellent condition, and bids fair to outlast many a
more modern structure.
The settlement thus started in 1741 was soon joined by other
Moravians. In 1742 arrived what is known in the Moravian
annals as the "First Sea Congregation." These immigrants came
from England in the ship Catharine, landed at Philadelphia, and
numbered 56 persons, 21 of whom were in later years ordamed
to the ministry. Let it therefore be remembered that the foun-
ders of Bethlehem were not idle adventurers in search of fame
or fortune, but earnest, devoted missionaries, filled with zeal
for the spread of that pure gospel for which the early Mora-
vian church had sacrificed so much blood and treasure. A
"Second Sea Congregation" arrived in 1743, and later various
accessions joined the colony, so that in a fev/ years the town
had a population of about 500. These settlers were a thrifty,
industrious class of people, and a number of industries were
soon in successful operation. In 1743 a grist-mill was built on
the present site of Luckenbach's mill. It wae rebuilt in 175 1,
the iron work being brought from Durham furnace. The
first waterworks in the United States were built at Bethlehem
in 1750. A store was opened in 1753. A fulling-mill, dye-
house, tannery, and a brick and tile factory were operated at
various times. Before 1752 the Moravians were raising silk-
worms. Mission work among the Indians was carried on with
much success; the first convert was baptized September 16,
1742. To Count Zinzendorf, who was at Bethlehem in 1741,
is due the credit of organizing the settlement, and giving the
town its Scriptural name.
For the first twenty years the community worked in com-
mon; the church was the ruling power; all worked for it, and
it gave to all a comfortable home, and adequate support. This
period is known as the "Economy." The regulations govern-
ing the members were of the most rigid kind. General Davis
in his "History of Bucks County," referring to this period,
says :
26 the; town of bethlkhem
"The children were taken from their parents when very young and
given into the care of disabled brethren and sisters to watch over them.
They were not allowed to be out of their sight a moment even at recreation.
The boys were prohibited associating with the girls in any wise, and if they
ever met, they were not permitted to look at each other, and punishment
was sure to follow such offending. If a grown girl was caught
looking towards the men's side at church, she was called to
account for the misdemeanor. When they took walks along the
Lehigh Sunday afternoons, attended by their keepers, the sexes walked in
opposite directions so as not to meet, but if perchance they should meet,
both parties were commanded to look down or sideways. The girls were
never allowed to mention the name of any male, and it seems an effort was
made to have the sexes forget each other."
During these years the Moravian brethren estabhshed at
Bethlehem what is now the college and seminary for young
women, and the Parochial school. Both of these institutions
are as old as the town, and from them has gone forth an educa-
tional and refining influence that will continue to bear fruit for
years to come. Much attention was given to the cultivation of
music, both vocal and instrumental.
When Bethlehem was founded in 1742, it was on the frontier
of civilization. Here and there a settler had located betv/een
the Lehigh and the Kittatinny or Endless mountain, twenty miles
northward. A few, more venturesome, had penetrated the
mountains and settled in the wilderness beyond. This section
of the country, now one of the garden spots of America, was
acquired from the Indians by the "Great Walk" of 1737. The
Indians always insisted that they had been cheated by this trans-
action, and were very unwilling to leave the locality. The rapid
increase of settlers and the threats of their enemies, the Iroquois,
induced them to move westward, their hearts filled with resent-
ment, and they waited for the opportunity to take revenge.
Braddock's defeat in 1755 brought the opportunity. Loosed
from all restraint and emboldened by an unexpected victory,
bands of warriors came stealthily through the mountain passes
and fell upon the defenseless settlers. Many left their homes
and fled to the forts and block-houses that were hastily con-
structed. Others, less fortunate, fell into the hands of the
enemy and were massacred, or carried into a captivity, which
was worse than death. Bethlehem and Nazareth became places
of refuge for the fleeing settlers. Both places were enclosed
THE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM 2/
by stockades with watch-towers, on which sentries were posted.
A number of settlers were massacred, and the terror and con-
fusion in the Lehigh valley became so alarming that the gov-
ernment sent Benjamin Franklin as commissioner, to take charge
of the military operations against the enemy. Franklin came to
Bethlehem at once, and from there wrote to the Governor on
January 14, 1756, as follows:
"As we drew near this place we met a number of wagons and many
people moving off with their effects and families from the Irish settlement
and Lehigh township, being terrified by the defeat of Hay's Company and
the burnings and murders committed in the township on New Year's day.
We found this place filled with refugees, the workmen's shops, and even
cellars being crowded with women and children, and we learnt that L,ehigh
township is almost entirely abandoned by the inhabitants."
For the peace loving Moravians these were months of intense
anxiety ; some of their own number had fallen ; the refugees in
their midst were to be fed and cared for, and unceasing watch-
fulness was necessary to keep ofif the enemy. Tradition says
that on one occasion Indians were waiting on the outskirts of
the town, for day light, to make an attack. As the day began
to dawn, it was greeted by strains of trombone music, and the
Indians, supposing they were discovered, and that this was
the alarm, hastily retreated. Who will say that an overruling
Providence did not direct this event.
Franklin remained at Bethlehem but a few weeks, but in
that short time he restored order, commissioned officers,
organized an efficient system of defence, and then turned
over his command to Captain Clapham. The public does
not regard Franklin as a military man, but his work at Bethle-
hem shows his excellent ability in this direction.
Scarcely had the French and Indian War passed into history,
before the struggle for national independence began. Bethlehem
being on the great road leading from the South to the New
England States, was naturally on the line of march of troops
moving between these points, and it was not long before the
town once more witnessed the march of soldiery. Among these
were Morgan's Virginia Riflemen who halted at Bethlehem July
24 and 25, 1775, on their way to join Washington's army at
Cambridge.
28 THE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM
On December 3, 1776, Dr. Baldwin arrived, bringing with
him a letter to Rev. John Ettwein of ihe Moravian church, stating
that General Washington had ordered the removal of all sick
and wounded to Bethlehem. Two days later, on December 5,
these unfortunates began to arrive in charge of Surgeons War-
ren, Shippen and Morgan. They were quartered in the Smgle
•Brethren's House, now known as "Colonial Hall." the center of
the Moravian College and Seminary for Young Women. This
building and also several others, were used for hospital pur-
poses from December, 1776, to April, 1777, and again from
September, 1777, to April, 1778. As many as 1,000 bick and
wounded were cared for at a single time. Camp fever became
epidemic among tliem, and before the hospital was abandoned
more than 500 had died. These found their last resting place
on the hillside west of the Monocacy. Who they were the re-
cording angel only knows. For many years they slept in un-
marked graves. W'liat should now be a national cemetery, is
included in the borough of West Bethlehem, and only a small
block of granite marks the spot where these fallen heroes sleep.
General Lafayette was brought here from the battlefield of
Brandywine, to be treated for wounds. He was cared for at
the house of George Frederick Boeckel.*
The care of so many sick and wounded entailed upon the
Moravian brethren much labor and a great deal of annoyance.
Non-combative by principle, and exempted from military ser-
vice by legislative enactment, they nevertheless rendered ex-
cellent service in the cause of freedom. Their principles led to
their being much misunderstood and aroused not a little ani-
mosity against them in some quarters. It is said that General
Charles Lee made the threat that when he came to Bethlehem
he would clean out that "Moravian Nest." On December 18,
1776, General Sullivan came with Lee's division of the Conti-
nental army and camped on the present site of South Bethlehem,
but General Lee never arrived to carry out his sinister purpose.
He had been captured by the British several days previous.
On Christmas Eve. December 24, 1776, a train of 900 wagons,
the heavy baggage of the Continental army, arrived and cainped
for three months where South Bethlehem is located.
* The site of the present confectionery store of John F. Rauch, on Main street.
THE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM 29
The reverses suffered by Washington's army at German-
town and Brandywine, and the prospect of the British taking
Philadelphia, brought to Bethlehem a number of prominent men.
It was about this time that the Liberty Bell passed through
town on its way to Allentown, where it was secreted in the
Reformed church. It occupied one of the wagons of a train
of 700, all in charge of Colonel Polk and detachments of
North Carolina and Virginia troops, and reached Bethlehem,
September 23, 1777. While passing up Main street the wagon
which carried it broke down. A number of the members of the
Continental Congress found a temporary refuge in Bethlehem
at this time. Among them were John Hancock, Samuel
Adams, John Adams, Richard Henry Lee, and Henry Laurens
Military men of prominence were here frequently during these
years of struggle. Of these we can but name Generals Sulli-
van, Gates, Greene. Ethan Allen, Knox, Steuben, Baron de Kalb,
and Count Pulaski. The latter spent some time in BeHilehem
in 1778 while recruiting for his cavalry regiment, and while so
doing requested the Moravian sisters to make for him a
standard for his legion. This banner is now in the possession
of the Maryland Historical Society. The event has been im-
mortalized by the poet Longfellow in his "Hymn of the Mora-
vian Nuns of Bethlehem."
One of the most interesting spots in Bethlehem is the old
Moravian graveyard. Located in the centre of the tnvn, in
the midst of a busy, active community, it is the most quiet
and peaceful place imaginable in which to spend a summer af-
ternoon. Here "Each in his narrow cell forever laid," sleep
the Moravian founders of the town. Each sex is buried by
itself. The well kept walks are shaded by rows of majestic
tulip poplars. There is no distinction between the grave of the
rich man and the mound which holds the remains of his poorer
brother. On each grave lies a small tablet giving name and
dates, and often very interesting historical data. The harsh
word "died" is not seen, but is replaced by the truer and kinder
word "departed." As we enter at the northwestern gate we
are soon at the grave of David Nitschman, who felled the first
trees to build the first house of Bethlehem 165 years ago. In
this "God's Acre" are the graves of no less than twelve of the
30 THE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM
bishops of the Moravian church. Here some of the early mis-
sionaries rest from their labors. Of these we can but mention
George Henry Loskiel, whose "History of the Moravian Missions'*
is a book still prized by historians. Nor must we for-
get the Rev. John Heckewelder, whose "History of the Indian
Nations," is one of the publications of the Pennsylvania His-
torical Society. Side by side with the missionaries, sleep their
Indian converts, more than 150 of whom are buried here,
many of them from the Delaware nation. Most interesting of
all is the grave of Tschoop, who is said to be the hero of J.
Fennimore Cooper's novel, "The Last of the Mohicans." Tschoop
was a fierce, gigantic warrior, noted for his eloquence, and his
ability to drink whiskey. Christian Henry Ranch preached the
gospel to him, which at first had no apparent effect. Ranch,
however, remained near him for months, and at last the Chief
was converted. In a letter to his brethren he thus explains his
conversion :
"I have been a heathen, a preacher came to me and said, there is a God.
I said 'Do I not know that? Go back whence thou earnest.' Another
came to me and said it was ruin for me to lie and get drunk. I said 'Do
I not know that? Am I a fool?' Then Christian Rauch came to my hut
day after day and told me of Jesus who died to save me from my sins.
I said 'I will kill you?' But he said, 'I will trust in Jesus.' So one day he
laid down in my hut and fell asleep, and I said. 'What kind of a man is
this little fellow? I might kill him and throw him into the woods and no
man would regard it. Yet there he sleeps because Jesus will take care of
him. Who is this Jesus? I, too. will find the man.'"
Tschoop became a Christian, and for some years preached
the Gospel to his red brethren. He was buried in 1746 amid
strains of instrumental music. On his grave some kind hand
has planted a white rose bush.
Among the noted persons buried here, are Timothy Horse-
field, who was a justice of the peace, and a prominent man during
the early wars, and William Jones, who was Secretary of the
Navy under President Madison, and also the first president of
the Bank of the United States. Here are also the graves of a sur-
geon and a steward who served in the Continental hospital
and died of malignant fever, thus sacrificing their lives on
their country's altar just as truly as if they had fallen in
battle.
THE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM 3I
As Bethlehem was in the past, so it still is to-day — a Moravian
town. While some of the older customs are gone, others are
still retained and will long be characteristic of the place. The
"Economy," with its rigid rules of life and conduct, has given
way to more liberal ideas. Non-resistance is no longer ad-
hered to, and the small flags seen on many a mound on Memorial
Day, attest the patriotism and valor of Bethlehem's sons in
times of National peril. The customs connected with the cele-
bration of Christmas and Easter, have been handed down from
generation to generation, and are likely to be always retained.
Originally receiving its name from that older Bethlehem "on
Judea's plains" the town has thoroughly imbibed the Christmas
spirit. Here the Christmas ''putz" is yearly produced in hun-
dreds of homes in all its elaborateness. The early Easter ser-
vice is solemn and impressive, and once witnessed, is nevev
forgotten. On Easter morning, long before daylight, the trom-
bone choir plays at the street corners, calling the worshipers
to early service in the big church. The service begins before
daylight, the audience taking part in a beautiful liturgy. At a
signal, all that have assembled, solemnly leave the chuich and
make their way to the old graveyard, where the service is con-
cluded just as the sun rises above the eastern horizon. When a
member of the Moravian congregation dies the fact is announced
by the trombone choir playing on the belfry of the church.
Thus have the founders of Bethlehem left upon the town the
stamp of their customs and religious habits. Long may they
remain to cheer and bless all future generations, and help us
to hold in grateful remembrance the good and noble deeds of our
forefathers.
General John Lacey — Our Quaker General.
BY GEN. W. W. H. DAVIS, DOYI.ESTOWN_, PA.
(Point Pleasant Meeting, January 15, 1901.)
The Story of the Revolution cannot be too often told, nor
can we too frequently refer to the men who, in council and in
field, pledged to each other "their lives, their fortunes and their
sacred honor," to stand by the cause of their country.
The society of Friends were opposed to the war from the
beginning, because strife and bloodshed were against their re-
ligious tenets, but the authority of the fathers could not re-
strain the conviction of the sons. Many sympathized openly
with the Colonies, and not a few in this country entered the
military service. Among the latter we find the well-known
names of Janney, Brown, Linton, Shaw, Milnor, Hutchinson,
Bunting, Stackhouse, Canby, Lacey and others. We must do the
society the justice to say that it was consistent and treated all
alike, the same punishment being meted out to the martial
Quaker, whether he served King or Colony. Nevertheless,
their hand of charity was as open as the day,, and down to April,
1776, the society had distributed £3,900, principally to New
England, to relieve the distressed ; and Falls Meeting authoriz-
ed subscriptions for the suffering inhabitants of Philadelphia.
John Lacey, the hero of our story, was a descendant of
William Lacey, an early immigrant from the Isle of Wight,
England, who settled near Wrightstown. There was some dis-
pute as to the date of his birth, the popular time being given
as February 4, 1755, but the meeting records of Wrightstown
say he was born on the 4th of i2th-month,. 1752. He was the
son of John Lacey and Jane Chapman, and grandson of John
and Rachel Lacey. His grandmother, whose maiden name was
Heston, was a native of New England, whence the family came
at an early day. The ancestors of General Lacey were all far-
mers, and members of the society of Friends, in whose belief
he was brought up. Young Lacey enjoyed few advantages of
education. He was sent to such schools as the neighborhood
afforded, and records that the teacher of the school he attended
GENERAI, JOHN LACEY — OUR QUAKER GENERAL 33
could neither read nor write correctly; did not know the meaning
of grammar ; and the only books allowed to be used in the school
were the Bible, Testament and Dilworth's spelling-book. He
was kept at school until 13 or 14 years of age, when he was set
to work in his father's saw and grist-mills and cooper-shops, but
m.ade every effort to supply the defects of early education, by
reading and private study in his leisure from work.
For several years the youth of Lacey, as of others of his class,
passed with scarce a ripple to disturb "the noiseless tenor of
their way," but there was a change about the time he arrived
at twenty-one, which gave him a glimpse of the great outside
world. In July, 1773, his uncle, Zebulon Heston, minister among
Friends, made application to Wrightstown Monthly Meeting, for
permission to make a missionary visit to the Delaware Indians
in Ohio. This was granted and young Lacey allowed to accom-
pany him. They traveled the whole distance on horseback.
Leaving Philadelphia July 9, they reached Pittsburg the i8th ;
tarried there a couple of days, then set out for the Muskingum,
crossing the Allegheny river in a canoe, swimming their horses
and plunged into the great wilderness of the northwest.
The visit to the Indians being successful, they set out on their
return by way of Virginia, reaching Wrightstown September
14, having traveled upward of 1,000 miles, and been absent
two months and seven days. Lacey kept a journal in which he
noted down everything of interest that came under his obser-
vation. On his return he resumed work at his former occu-
pation, his father giving him the principal care and management
of the mills.
Lacey was thus employed until the spring of 1775, when the
difficulty between the Mother Country and her Colonies broke out.
As the trouble waxed warmer, the people began taking sides for
or against Great Britain. John Lacey, being a close observer
of passing events from the first, was not long in coming to a
conclusion that England was in the wrong, and soon announced
his determination to enroll himself on the side of his country
and assist in her defence. He was one of the first in the neigh-
borhood to announce himself, and in July, 1775, was chosen
standard bearer of the 2d battalion, Bucks county mihtia.
34 GENERAL JOHN LACEY — OUR QUAKER GENERAL.
About the same time the young men of the neighborhood or-
ganized a volunteer company and elected Lacey their captain.
This was such an advanced step that the society of Friends,
to which Lacey and many members of the company belonged,
could not allow it to pass without proper action. The meeting
took it up and called these erring ones back to duty. All obeyed
but Lacey, who stood by his colors ; neither the meeting nor per-
sonal friends could induce him to desert what he considered the
cause of his country. He was now formally read out of
meeting, but he would not }ield. His heart was torn by con-
flicting emotions, but the call of patriotism was louder than that
of sect. In a record which he left behind he says : "I alone
stood the ordeal of the Quaker Society, of which I was then a
member."
In the autumn of 1775. the Committee of Safety of Pennsyl-
vania, on the call of Congress then in session at Philadelphia,
authorized the organization of six regiments, which was her
quota of troops for the Continental army. Young Lacey was
commissioned a captain in this force, January 5, 1776; received
his recruiting orders on the 20th, and, despite the severe weather,
set about enlisting the men, and his company was filled by
February 12, eighty-five strong. They were principally young-
men of his acquaintance, farmers' sons, who had confidence in
him. The company was attached to the 4th Pennsylvania regi-
ment, commanded by Colonel Anthony Wayne. Captain Lacey
marched with his command for Chester, on the Delaware, Feb-
ruary 12, reaching Darby on the 14th, where they remained until
the 2ist of March, when they went to Chester, where they drew
their arms. The regiment was then ordered to New York, gomg
by shallops to Trenton, and overland to their destination, which
was reached on the 28th. They encamped on Long Island, where
Wayne joined them April 27th. Captain Lacey describes the
uniform of his company as follows : "Our regimental coats were
deep blue, faced with white, white vests and overalls, edged with
blue cloth; a very beautiful uniform, but, on experience, was
found much better adapted for parade than utility in the hardship
of a camp, as it too easily became soiled and was hard to clean."
Captain Lacey was among the first of Bucks county's sons to
be commissioned an officer in the Continental armv.
GENE;rAL JOHN LACEY — OUR QUAKER GENERAE 35
From Long Island Wayne's regiment proceeded to the Canada
frontier and took part in all the hardships and dangers of that
arduous campaign, lasting the summer and fall. On two occa-
sions Lacey was sent on special service ; once to carry despatches
from General Sullivan to General Arnold at Montreal ; the other,
in command of a party of ten men and an officer to communicate
with the American army down the St. Lawrence, where it had
met with a reverse and heavy loss, and he was complimented
for his fidelity in executing these missions. In his papers some
mention was made of these journeys. The trip to Montreal was
made in a calash, on foot and by boat. Of this he says : "At
every cross-roads or vicinity of a church was a cross or crucifix
attached to a post in the ground. As we passed my driver never
failed to pull ofif his hat and make a bow, turning his face to the
post, muttering a few words in French I did not understand." On
his return down the St. Lawrence his boat was upset in a squall,
but the water was shallow and they were able to wade ashore.
He mentions among other things, an invitation he received from
Colonel Wayne to dine with him, cotiched in the following terms :
"Col. Wayne's best compliments wait on Captain Lacey. and begs the
favor of his dining with him on a roasted pig at 2 o'clock, this after-
noon, by the edge of the woods."
No doubt the invitation was accepted.
In examining General Lacey's papers, many years ago, I
came across the following order of Colonel Anthony Wayne, of
September 19, 1776:
"The 4th Batallion are all to be under arms, on Sunday next, at 9
o'clock a. m.. and, as soap is now plenty, and new shirts ready to be de-
livered to such companies as are in want, no excuse can be admitted for
appearing dirty or indecent. All officers and soldiers will be particularly
careful on that day, tOi appear on the parade as neat as possible ; for which
purpose the officers will see that the men have their hair well powdered
and neatly tied and plaited."
On one occasion Captain Lacey was sent with 150 men and
50 bateaux to Crown Point to bring the 6th Pennsylvania bat-
talion to Ticonderoga. He gives a deplorable accounl. of the
sickness and suffering in camp, of the large n amber of deaths,
and the unfeeling way the dead were dumped into the trenches,
the rags they died in, being their only covering. Smallpox broke
out among the troops, and of the whole force of 5.000 not more
36 GENERAL JOHN LACEV — OUR QUAKER GENERAL
than one-third were fit for duty. The campaign closed in Novem-
ber and the troops went into winter quarters. Captain Lacey and
other officers were now ordered home on recruitmg service, one
for each company. They came across Lake George in boats,
walked to Albany, then down the North river 60 miles by water,
and the remainder of the way on foot, via Esopus, over the
Blue mountains, by the Wind Gap, Bethlehem and Durham,
reaching home in Buckingham about December the first.
Soon after Lacey reached home he put in execution a resolu-
tion he long contemplated, resigning his commission. Before
doing so he consulted his uncle, John Wilkinson, an active pa
triot, who had assisted to form the State Constitution and was
then a member of Assembly, who sanctioned his course. There
was much friction between Colonel Wayne and Captain Lacey,
and they were better off separated. He sent his resignation to
the Council of Safety, then in session in Philadelphia, wltli a
statement of his grievances. His resignation was not in accor-
dance with his feeling, but from a sense of duty to hmiself, and
his course was fully vindicated by subsequent events.
Captain Lacey did not remain long in private life. Under the
Constitution of 1776. each county was given one lieutenant and
four sub-lieutenants, to look after the militia and prepare them
for service. On March 22, 1777, Captain Lacey was commis-
sioned a sub-lieutenant of Bucks with the rank of lieutenant-
colonel, and entered immediately on duty. His knowledge of
military affairs enabled him to discharge his new duties with
great promptness, and he was complimented on being the first
to make returns. On Mav 6 he was appointed lieutenant-colonel
of the militia of his district. The summer of 1777 was a season
of great military activity in this immediate section. The British
were threatening Philadelphia ; the main Continental army was
keeping watch and ward on the Delaware-Schuylkill peninsula,
and the militia were called out to re-enforce it. The active cam-
paign was marked by two severe battles — Brandywine and Ger-
mantown. and other engagements of less importance. The
British took possession of Philadelphia, September 26, 1777.
Lieutenant-Colonel Lacey took part in the battle of German-
town as a volunteer, not having any command. In October he
was given a regiment and joined General Potter's brigade at
GENERAL JOHN LACEY — OUR QUAKER GENERAL 37
Whitemarsh, and was in touch with the enemy for several days.
Lacey participated in several of these combats, including the spirit-
ed action near the Gulph Mills on the west side of the Schuylkill,
where he made a narrow escape from capture, and Washington
compliments his regiment, in orders for its handsome conduct.
We next find Lacey the judge advocate of a court-martial, and
when that duty is over, was ordered to march to the Cross
Roads, the present Hartsville, where he encamped in a piece of
timber on December 20. He had been there but three days
when his regiment was ordered to the lower end of German-
town in light marching order without baggage, with three days
cooked rations, and one axe to each company. He now joined
in the attack on the enemy's outposts at the Northern Liberties
with cannon and small arms, and was back again at the Cross
Roads the last of December.
Higher honors awaited the Quaker patriot, and he was soon
called to the discharge of more arduous and important duties.
On January 9, 1778, he was appointed and commissioned a
brigadier general, probably the youngest officer of that rank in
service. Accompanying his commission was an official letter
from the Secretary of the Executive Council congratulating him
on his appointment, saying, "it does you honor in acknowledging
your merits as an officer," and expresses "a reasonable ground of
hope for benefit to the public by calling him into the field in an
important station," a handsome compliment, and the more flat-
tering to Lieutenant-Colonel Lacey as the appointment had come
to him unsolicited.
General Lacey shortly went on duty under his new commis-
sion, taking the troops lately in command of Major General
Armstrong. On joining them he says : "1 found the camp in
a deplorable condition, the troops reduced from 3,000 to 600,
equipments strewed everywhere, here a tent, there a tent, some
standing, some fallen down." His command was the country be-
tween the Delaware and Schuylkill. The British lay in snug
quarters in Philadelphia, the Continental army freezing and starv-
ing on the bleak hills at \^alley Forge, the intervening country
raided by the enemy for provisions, and the people in daily
practice of carrying their produce into the city and selling it
for a high price. The surrounding country was largely disaf-
38 GENERAL JOHN LACEY — OUR QUAKER GENERAL
fected and many of the inhabitants in open adhesion to
the enemy. These conditions stared the young Quaker Brigadier
in the face on assuming command. The situation was both deh-
cate and dangerous, but he was equal to the occasion.
Washington wrote Lacey from Valley Forge, January 23^
saying among other things : "Your want of wliiskey I cannot
remedy; we are in the same situation here, and nothing effec-
tive can be done until the arrival of the Committee of Con-
gress, whom we expect every day." General Lacey first estab-
lished headquarters at Graeme Park, on the county-line, but
shortly removed to the Rodman farm, Warwick, now owned by
the county. The depot of provisions and supplies was fixed at
Doylestown, where he stationed a guard to protect them. His
force at that time was about 370, very inadequate for the large
territory entrusted to him. At one time his force dwindled
down to 60 men lit for duty. On March 3 he again changed his
headquarters to the Crooked Billet, the present Hatboro. We
find him at Doylestown, March 19, and copy the following
from his order book : "Parole, Salem, Countersign, Wilming-
ton ; officer of the day to-morrow. Major Mitchell ; detail three
captains, three sergeants, four corporals and forty-eight privates.
Officers of all grades are cautioned not to quarter out of camp."
Lacey and his men did not want for the good things of life
while soldiering in Bucks county, if we are to believe the ac-
counts of the purchasing commissary, which cover payments
for veal, beef, flour, mutton, whiskey, not a rifled article, turkeys
and fowls.
General Lacey was occupied during the winter, spring and
early summer, while the British occupied Philadelphia, in pro-
tecting the country, between the Delaware ?.nd Schuylkill,
from the raids of the enemy, preventing the Tories from carry-
ing their produce into the city, and much other duty of the same
character. He wrote Washington on the 29th of March:
"Every kind of villainy is carried on by the people near the
enemy's lines ; antl, from their general conduct. I am induced
to believe but few real friends to America are left within ten
miles of Philadelphia. By the end of INIarch the intercourse
with the enemy, in Philadelphia, had reached such height and
become so injurious to the cause of the Colonies, that the plan
GENERAL JOHN LACEY — OUR QUAKER GENERAL 39
of depopulating the country between the Delaware and Schuyl-
kill for 15 miles around the city, was seriously considered. A
conference on the subject was held at the Spring House tavern,
March 23, between Generals Mcintosh and Lacey and several field
officers of the army, and the plan was laid before Washington.
General .Lacey's situation was very trying. With the nominal com-
mand of a brigade, which had dwindled away to 57 men present
for duty by April 2^, he had a territory nearly as large as Bucks
county to safeguard, watch the five main roads leading into the
city, furnish a detachment for headquarters and another to guard
the stores at Doylestown. His reward was in the satisfaction he
received from serving his country and in the commendation of
his superior officers, from Washington down. During this
harassing and fatiguing period, General Lacey was the most
conspicuous military figure between the Delaware and the Schuyl-
kill rivers.
We left General Lacey at the Crooked Billet the last of April,
where he was attacked by a large British force on the first of
May, and came near suffering a disastrous defeat. The country
was filled with spies, and the enemy made acquainted with all
his movements. Lacey had taken every precaution to guard his
camp and had patrols on all the roads. His force, about 500
strong, was on the east side of the York road, below the county-
line, and he with his aide-de-camp was quartered at a house
owned by a man named Gilbert, on the opposite, or west side
of York road near his command. The British troops, composed
of Major Simcoe's Queen's Rangers, and a large detachment
of light infantry and cavalry, the whole under Lieutenant Colonel
Abercrombie, left Philadelphia the evening before led by two
trusty guides. They made the attack on two sides, and by
reason of one of Lacey's patrols neglecting its duty, the
enemy was almost on him before he knew of his approach.
Mrs. Gilbert, not being able to sleep, got up before daylight,
and, on looking out the window, the night being starlight, she
discovered several British soldiers in the trees near the house.
She dressed immediately and aroused Lacey and his aide, who
fled to camp, and soon had the troops under arms. They
made a stubborn defence, fighting as they fell back. The com-
mand was saved but with considerable loss, twenty-six killed.
40 GENERAL JOHN LACEV — OUR QUAKER GENERAL
eight or ten wounded, and several captured. That of the enemy
is not known as their killed and wounded were hauled back to
Philadelphia in their wagons.
The worst feature about the action was the cruel treatment of
the wounded Americans by the British. Several of them had
crept into a large heap of buckwheat straw in a field of Thomas
Craven, on the north side of the county-line and were thrown
into the burning straw. This would seem too cruel to believe,
but General Lacey, in his official report to General Armstrong,
imder date of May 7, speaks of this circumstance in the follow-
ing manner :
â– â– So,me of the unfortunate, who fell into the merciless hands of
the British, were more cruelly and inhumanely butchered. Some were
set on fire with buckwheat straw, and others had their clothes burned
on their backs. Some of the surviving sufferers say they saw the enemy
set fire to wounded while yet alive, who struggled to put it out but
were too weak and expired under the torture. I saw those lying in the
buckwheat straw — they made a most melancholy appearance. Others I
saw, who, after being wounded with a ball, had received near a dozen
wounds with cutlasses and bayonets. I can find as msny witnesses to
the proof of the cruelties as there were people on the spot, and that was
no small number who came as spectators.''
Lacey's conduct was highly applauded by his military su-
periors, and the State Executive Council, Alay 16, wrote him :
"Your conduct is highly approved, and your" men have justly ac-
quired great reputation for their bravery."
While General Lacey was in this command he had frequent
occasion to pass through North Wales township, now Mont-
gomery county. At that time the family of Daniel Wister, of
Philadelphia, resided there while the British held the city. His
daughter, Sally, a sprightly girl, kept a journal, and General
Lacey must have been one of her callers, for she writes of him :
"No new occurrence to relate. Almost adventureless except Gen-
eral Lacey's riding along, and his fierce horse disdaining to go without
showing his airs, in expectation of drawing the attention of the mill
girls, in order to glad his master's eyes. Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! One would
have imagined that vanity had been buried within the shades of North
Wales. Lacey is tolerable ; but as ill luck would have it, I had been
busy, and my auburn ringlets were much dishevelled ; therefore I did
not glad his eyes, and cannot set down on the list of honors received
that of a bow from Brigadier General Lacey."
GENERAL JOHN LACEY — OUR QUAKER GENERAL 4I
This is a pleasant little glimpse inside the social ways of the
period, but how much they differed from the present I leave
the ladies to tell.
From this time forward, General Lacey had no command in
the field, according to his rank, but continued to discharge his
important duties as sub-lieutenant of the county. He exerted
himself to keep up an efficient organization of the militia, and
his brigade was called out to harass the retreating British after
the evacuation of Philadelphia, in June, 1778. He met his colo-
nels at Doylestown to receive their orders.
About this time General Lacey held the first political office,
that of one of the commissioners for Bucks oh confiscated es-
tates. The same fall. he was elected a member of the Assembly,
taking his seat in November, and in 1779 was chosen a inember
of the Executive Council of the State, holding the office for two
years. In the fall of 1781 the militia of the State were assem-
bled at Newtown, under command or General Lacey, to resist a
threatened attack on Pennsylvania, by the British army at New
York.
January 18, 1781, General Lacey married Anastatia Reynolds,
daughter of Colonel Thomas Reynolds, of New Mills, now Pem-
berton, Burlington county, N. J. In the fall of 1781, or the
beginning of '82, General Lacey removed from Pennsylvania to
New Mills, and entered extensively into the iron business, and
passed the remainder of his life there. He was soon ajiven a
prominent position at his new home, and was called to fill im-
portant public stations, including those of member of Assembly,
and judge and justice of the county in which he lived. 'He died
at New Mills, February 17, 1814, at the age of 59, leaving a
widow and four children. One of his daughters married the
late Dr. William Darlington, of West Chester, one of the most
distinguished botanists of the country. General Lacey, next to
General Daniel Morgan, played the most prominent part of any
son of Bucks county in the Revolution. He was a patriot from
principle, and of him it may be said. "Well done, good and faith-
ful servant."
Reminiscences of Quakertown and Its People.
BY DR. JOSEPH THOMAS, QUAKERTOWN, PA.
(Meeting in Friends' Meeting-house, Quakertown, May 28, 1901.)
About fifty years ago, when a young man I took up my
permanent residence at Applebachsville to practice the "heaHng
art." Quakertown was then a very primitive and inconsequen-
tial village, both in appearance and numerical strength, vastly
dififerent from the substantial town of to-day. There could
not have been within the geographical limits, embraced in the
town of to-day, more than one hundred and fifty or two hundred
inhabitants. Nor more than fifty dwellings all told. And many
of these were scattered farm buildings, located along the four
roads diverging from the Red Lion hotel, one road going toward
Allentown and Bethlehem, the second to Sellersville, the third
to Doylestown, and the fourth to Hellertown and Easton.
The road now called Main street, extending from the cross-
roads at the Red Lion hotel to the Friends' meleting-house,
where the Historical Society holds its session to-day, contained
most of the town. On the Doylestown road, now Broad street,
leading to the railroad station, were a few isolated habitations.
On the east corner stood the store and dwelling of Richard
R. Green, now the residence of his widow and daughter. A
little further on, on the south side of the road, stood the handsome
stone residence of Enoch Roberts, occupied at that time by Wil-
liam Van Houghten, now the estate of Joseph Hill, and occupied
by his daughter, Louisa. Still farther on stood the farm buildings
of Joshua Foulke ; the old dwelling house is still there, and is
owned by M. K. Afflerbach, near whose store it is located. A
few hundred yards farther on toward the railroad station, on
the south side of the street, stood the house and barn of Edward
Foulke; the buildings are still well preserved, and are occupied
by Joseph M. Hillegass ; they are owned by E. H. Blank, of
Allentown, Penna.
At the corner of Broad and Sixth streets there was standing an
old log house, but by whom owned the writer does not know.
The men's gallery.
The women's galler
RICHLAND FRIENDS' MEETING-HOUSE, QUAKERTOWN, PA.
On Main Street, Quakertown, erected in 1729; an addition was built in 1749 ; a second
addition size 20 ft.x26 ft. added to the north side in 1762, and a further addition made in
1795, leaving the building substantially as it is at present. This meeting-house is the
successor of a small frame house erected in 1721 or 1723 a mile below Quakertown.
(From photographs in Historical Society's album.)
REMINISCENCES OF OUAKERTOWN AND ITS PEOPLE 43
It was occupied by William Shafer, a shoemaker. The structure
at a later day was removed and a commodious frame house
built in its place. It is now owned by John A. Ozias. An old
log barn stood near the location of the foundry buildings, just
where the trolley leaves West Broad street. For a long time
this structure served as a home for tramps, and the abode of
Albert Lester, who was a vagrant around town at that time ; he
lodged there at night, but left it in the morning with a crowd
of roystering boys halloing "ham" at his heels, but maintain-
ing a respectable distance to avoid his missiles. Across from
the road, south, beyond a strip of timber, stood the farm buildings
of John Strawn. These constituted the habitations, at that time,
on this street as far as the North Penn railroad, which was
not yet built.
A considerable portion of the land along this road was un-
drained, swampy, and covered with timber, interspersed with
bushes and green briars, reminding one of the days when this
whole district was called the "Great Swamp." The road was
not piked, and in the spring of the year it was almost impassable
for teams. It was turnpiked, however, about 1863. It runs
nearly due east from the Red Lion hotel.
The Hellertown, or Easton, road, running due north, had on
the north corner a stone house, which either was or had been
a short time before, occupied by a store and dwelling. The
store was kept by the late Robert Stoneback, and John W. Mof-
fley, of Philadelphia, was his clerk. Soon after this property was
bought by William Green and the store was discontinued. It
was then occupied by Tobias Grant, who carried on the butcher-
ing business. In later years (1870) the Ouakertown Savings
Bank carried on business in this building, and the same Robert
Stoneback was its teller. A little farther out on this road stood
Samuel Shaw's farm buildings. The property is now owned by
Henry W. Weiss, who conducts a popular summer boarding
house.
The road running northwest to AUentown had several residences
and buildings located along it, and prominent among these, at
the border of the present borough line, stood the commodious
stone dwelling and farm buildings of John Lester. He had
a large family of children, boys and girls, but all are dead except
44 REMINISCENCES OF OUAKERTOWN AND ITS PEOPLE
the eldest son, Charles M. Lester, now living in the town, and
his sister, Abbie Cooley, formerly Abbie Lippincott, now residing
in California. The property was purchased by Jacob S. Cly-
mer, and later by Frank JM. Roth, who conducted for many years
an extensive dairy business, which w^ss a general milk depot for
the people of the town.
Nearer the Red Lion stood the farm buildings of Samuel J.
Levick, who for many years conducted the tannery and currying
business, in buildings wdiich stood on the north side of the street ;
It was once the residence of Shipley Lester. The dwelling house
IS still standing and is owned by Jacob S. Clymer. The tannery
buildings, however, have entirely disappeared and not a vestige
remains ; not even the vats to tell the story of their former bustle,
activity and glory. On the south side of this road stood a very
handsome frame edifice, the residence of Samuel J. Levick,
whic'n is now occupied and owned by Frank H. Fluck, the paper-
hanger.
There may have been a few more small houses on this street,
one of which was especially noticeable, the old log, or frame struc-
ture of Joseph R. Lancaster. It was ancient and time honored
looking enough to have been the first building in the settlement.
It was removed in 1891 to give place to a handsome brick
dwelling, owned and occupied at the present thv.e by Henry K.
Kline. Joseph R. Lancaster, the occupant of the old building,
had some resemblances to Rip Van Winkle after his twenty
years' sleep on the Highlands along the Hudson. He filled, at
one time, the honored position of postmaster at Quakertown anc
was also, in later years, chief burgess after its incorporation as
a borough in 1854. He was nominally a Friend, but his religious
faith was more that of a Swedenborgian. He served for many
years as sexton and grave-digger at the Friends' meeting-house.
While very industrious and temperate in his habits he died quite
poor.
The Red Lion hotel stood where it stands to-day, and was the
principal hotel of the town. In by-gone days, and at the
time referred to in this paper, it was kept very acceptably to the
community by Peter Smith. He took special care of the bar-
room and its revenues, sold whiskey at three cents a drink, and
reminisce;nces of quakertown and its peopee 45
his wife managed the rest of the estabhshment with great skill
and satisfaction.
There was a vacant lot where the drug business is now carried
en by Charles T. Leitch. Farther down on this street toward
the Friends' meeting-house stood a great number of dwellings,
more compact, as has already been stated, for along there was the
chief portion of the town, in both a business and social sense.
Before leaving the corners at the cross roads, a little more
must be said of the Richard R. Grier corner. This was famous
as an old store-stand, perhaps the first in the town, and was erec-
ted by William Green or his ancestor. It has attached to it on
the east side a very ancient structure in which tradition says a
hotel was once kept. But for many years past it was used as a
feed-store, conducted by Benjamin R. Edwards. More recently
it was renovated and has now a sign on the outside, with the
legend inscribed "Liberty Hall, 1772-1900." For many years
the Richland Library Company, which was chartered in 1795,
held its headquarters and books in this place. This library
served the commendable and worthy purpose of dissemmating
knowledge through the select and carefully chosen volumes it
contained. It may be difficult to estimate the amount of good it
accomplished in fostering a love for reading, and creating ambi-
tions in the young. This library to-day contains many valuable
volumes and is in a prosperous condition, under the fostering
care and direction of a few women of the town.
Coming back to Main street, there stood two large brick build-
ings on either side ; one was the residence of the late Samuel
Kinsey, and still belongs to his estate. A few years prior to the
date referred to in this paper a hostelry was kept there by Tena
Myers and her husband, in which the feats of "Punch and Judy"
were frequently exhibited by that famous, traveling show-man
"Lindsay." And it was also a stopping place for the stages
that plied between Allentown and Philadelphia. It was erected
by James Green and owned by George Custard.
The other building was owned by Enos Artman after he had
retired from his farm, and the office of county commissioner,
which he once filled. A part of it was used for a store, post-
office and express office. Manassah & E. T. Ochs kept the
store, and afterwards Major Enos A. Artman and E. T. Ochs.
46 REMINISCENCES OF OUAKERTOWN AND ITS PEOPLE
Charles C. Haring, the present cashier of the Ouakertown Nation-
al Bank, some thirty years ago served an apprenticeship of store
clerk under Edmund T. Ochs in this building.
Solomon Jacoby lived in a log structure where now stands
the home of Mrs. Charles Doll, a handsome brick building in
which the post-office is now kept by Charles F. Strawn, post-
master.
The next house was a large stone one occupied by Amos Ed-
wards. It is now the home of Elizabeth F. Hicks. Amos
Edwards had retired from his farm and in the course of time was
elected and served as chief burgess of the town. Then came
the handsome three-story residence of ex-member of the Legisla-
ture, Edward Thomas. The house is now occupied by his son
and daughter.
The large stone dwelling, now occupied by the children of David
U. Shelly, was the residence of John H. Kaull. Mr. Kaull once
kept the Continental hotel on the opposite side of the street, but
at the time I am speaking of it was kept by Jacob Kern ; the
post-office was also there at that time. It was discontinued as
a hotel, and in 1866 Jonas S. Harley who had come to the town
9 years before when a minor, built the extensive harness and
saddlery manufactory in it^ place. In this business he has been
signally successful. By the additions he has successively made
to the structure it has become the largest manufacturing building
in the upper portion of the county, if not anywhere in the entire
county. It contains 56,000 square feet of floor space and gives
room for more than 150 hands now employed in the plant. Just
south of the Continental liotel stood the brick building once the
house in which Richard ]\Ioore, in 1818, established a very
popular and successful school for boys. At a later period the
Rev. A. R. Home conducted a very largely patronized boarding
school for both sexes, and still later the Soldiers' Orphan Schoo),
was kept by Mr. Cort, and after him by. Fell & Marple. It is
now an annex of Jonas S. Harley's plant and owned by him.
Beyond this stood a fine stone residence owned by Dr. Charles
F. Lott, who came originally from Burlington county, N. J., and
died here in 1866. It is now owned by Mrs. Charles C. Haring,
his daughter. Where Manassah B. Fellman now resides, and
for a long time has carried on the store business, was the resi-
REMINISCENCES OF OUAKERTOWN AND ITS PEOPLE 47
dence of John Ball, who conducted a small private school. He
was justice of the peace and did some conveyancing.
South of the Friends' meeting-house, on the Philadelphia
turnpike, just outside of the borough limits, stood the imposing
residence of Richard Moore and John J., his son. It was for
a long time the largest and best looking house in upper Bucks
county. Near it stood their extensive pottery works where
earthenware was manufactured on a large scale. Opposite stood
the residence of James Hibberd, now occupied and owned by
Amos H. Snyder. .
Just along by the Friends' meeting-house, on a road now the
Quakertown and Trumbauersville turnpike, leading to Trum-
bauersville (as often called Charleston), stood the stone residence
of James Jackson, the father of Mrs. Richard R. Green and
William M. and Edwin A. Jackson, of New York. It is still
the property of the estate.
Next beyond stood the residence of Benjamin G. Foulke. Here
he resided and reared his family as his father, Caleb Foulke, had
done before him. In later years he sold the farm, retaining
a portion near the Friends' meeting-house, on which he erected
a handsome and substantial home, which is now occupied by
his widow and daughters.
One or two dwellings along Main street have been unintention-
ally omitted, viz : the residence of Dr. Samuel Carey and that
of David R. Jamison. The former stood on the north side of
the street, and was built of stone, pointed. It was likely built
by Dr. James Green, the elder, and the predecessor of Dr. Carey
in practice. Joshua Bullock has been the owner of this property
for over thirty years, and has greatly improved its appearance. He
and his daughters and granddaughters reside here at the present
time. Mr. Bullock is one of the oldest citizens of the place,
having attained the ripe age of ninety years and is still (1901)
hale and hearty. The other was a brick house near the corner
of Juniper and Main streets. Mr. Jamison was engaged when
the writer knew him, in the cattle business, and w^as known all
over the country as a dealer in cattle.
William Moss, ("Billy"), a watchmaker at that time, also lived
on this street, with his daughter Jane ; he was an eccentric char-
acter, but of much intelligence. Having been asked on a certain
48 REMINISCENCES OF OUAKERTOVVN AND ITS PEOPLE
occasion what occupation he followed, replied to the astonishment
of the inquirer, "an horologist." Having never heard of this
line of business before he did not press for further information.
Perhaps a few houses have 'been omitted in the account presented
above, but they are all the writer remembers at this time.
East Ouakertown, or tliat well built up portion east of the
railroad, had really no existence fifty years ago. A pottery
conducted by John Strawn, and a stone house where the Globe
hotel now stands, were tlie only buildings to the corner where
the Richlandtown road branched ofif from the Doylestown road.
Here at the corner was the store-stand of David Johnston, who
was a progressive and successful man of affairs. He was for
many years a very popular auctioneer. The store, in 1856, was
converted into a hotel, and became the headquarters for Richland
township. It was called Richland Centre, and rapidly grew in
size and population after tlie North Penn railroad was construc-
ted to Bethlehem in 1857. In 1870 Richland Centre was annex-
ed to the borough on petition of most of its citizens. Some op-
position, however, was expressed by some of the people of the
old town on account of changing the politics of the borough. By
this addition the borough would become Democratic in politics.
This opposition, however, did not assume any great proportions,
and annexation took place. In 1859 the turnpike was built
to Richlandtown.
Fifty years ago the only place of religious worship nearer
than Trumbauersville and Richlandtown was the Friends' mof^t-
ing-house. At that time the attendance at the First and week-
day meetings was much larger than to-day. The writer remem-
bers Wilson Dennis and his family, who resided in Ha}cock
township, driving over regularly to attend religious service here.
The Friends have not maintained their numbers in this part of
the county. They supported, and kept until recent years, s most
excellent school near the meeting-house. This was the only
school in the place except the select private school inaugurated
by Richard Moore in 18:8, and later by John Ball, and still later
by Rev. Dr. A. R. Home. The Friends' school therefore afford-
ed an excellent opportunity for the young of both sexes to ac-
quire a good education, which was not the case in other sections
of the upper districts of the county.
REMINISCENCES OF QUAKERTOWN AND ITS PEOPLE 49
There were three practicing physicians in Ouakertown, namely,
Drs. Samuel Carey, Samuel C. Bradshaw and Charles F. Mer-
edith. Dr. R. J. Linderman did not locate here until 1857. Dr.
James B. Green succeeded Drs. Carey and Btadshaw, but did not
continue long in active practice. He established the first drug
store in the town, and was engaged in that line of business for
several years.
Dr. Carey came from Plumstead and located originally
at Sellersville, but later came to Ouakeiriown, and succeeded the
elder Dr. Green. He was a popular and successful practitioner,
enjoying the reputation of being the best obstetrician in the com-
munity. He was elected to the vState convention to revise the
constitution of the State.
Dr. Samuel C. Bradshaw also came from Plumstead and
began practice in Haycock township at a place now called the
Mountain House. He afterwards came to Quakertown ami
formed a co-partnership in practice with Dr. Carey. Tn later
years he was elected to Congress to represent the district com-
posed of Bucks and Lehigh counties. The district was strongly
Democratic, but the doctor was elected by a fair majority. It
was at the time when the Know-Nothings upset things generally
in this portion of Bucks county. He was also a director for many
years of the Doylestown National Bank. He was a pleasant and
very agreeable gentleman.
Dr. Charles F. Meredith came from Gwynedd and began
practice at David Johnson's store, which was located where the
Eagle hotel now stands, on the east side of the railroad. He
enjoyed the reputation of being an excellent doctor and was
famed especially in those days for his treatment of typhoid fever,
and fevers generally. These were much more prevalent then
than they are to-day. He was a man well informed on general
subjects and was a great reader.
The writer recalls to mind a large number of persons here with
whom he was well acquainted, but most of them have long since
departed this life. There are a few, however, a half dozen,
perhaps, to whom memory clings with great tenacity. They
were Richard INIoore and his son, John J. jVToore. Benjamin G.
Foulke, Samuel J. Levick and Edmund T. Ochs. Richard Moore
was identified with the town for manv vears in almost everv in-
50 REMINISCENCES OF QUAKERTOWN AND ITS PEOPLE
terest and business, religious and social. He was a man of great
purity of character, noble nature and generous disposition. In
appearance he was portly and dignified in bearing, indicative of
the nobility of his true nature. He was closely identified with the
anti-slavery movement and was a station agent of the "under-
ground railroad" system which aided the escape of slaves on their
way to Canada, or secured safety for them in the community.
Many instances could be cited of this phase of his humane in-
stincts, but space will not admit to note them. He died in 1874,
regretted by every one who knew him.*
His son, John J. Moore, was a surveyor and conveyancer, and
carried on the business of making earthenware, in addition to
farming. He had many of the excellent qualities of his father,
and was noted as an amateur naturalist. In the study and obser-
vation of plants and birds he had quite a local reputation. He
was able to report the advent of the earliest bird in the spring-
time, and note the first flower that made its appearance.
Benjamin G. Foulke was gifted with an excellent mind. He
was, perhaps, the best authority on real estate titles of any peison
in the county. In writing wills, agreements, and preparing titles
for property he was most painstaking and accurate. Had he
adopted law as his profession he would have been the equal of
any in the county. His reputation as a surveyor was such that
he was employed by the authorities on the North Penn railroad
to fix the points and determine lines of the road and its holdings
from Bethlehem to Philadelphia. He was cautious and per-
sistent in his endeavors to reach the truth, but reticent in speech,
and kind in disposition and manner.
Samuel J. Levick is remembered by me' as a speaker in the
Friends meeting. He was exceedingly liberal and broad minded
in his views, not only of religion, but subjects generally. He
was a very fluent and eloquent speaker, especially when discoursing
upon moral, religious, social and political topics. He was a great
friend of the colored race and frequently aided them to escape
the penalties of severe laws. He was afifable and friendly in
manner, and just in his dealings with his fellow man. He was,
* For full account of the "Underground railroad" in Bucks county and the assistance
rendered by Mr. Moore see article by Dr. Edward H. Magill, Vol. II, page 493 of these
papers.
REMINISCENCES OE OUAKERTOWN AND ITS PEOPLE 5 1
at the time of his death, the secretary of the Society for the
Prevention of Cruehy to Animals. He died in Philadelphia.
Edmund T. Ochs was a warm personal friend whose many
good qualities of head and heart I remember with pleasure. He
was generous to a fault, and perhaps to his own disadvantage.
On one occasion, on a cold day in winter, when a poor tramp
accosted him in his store, asking for a pair of shoes to better
protect his feet, friend Ochs took his own shoes from his feet
and gave them to the imploring vagrant. He was quick and
impetuous in temper, but with a heart as tender as a woman's.
In politics he was an ardent Republican and saw very little good
in anyone of the opposite party. He was a warm friend of the
Union soldier, and, in fact, impoverished himself in his many acts
to assist them during the Civil War. At the time of his death,
he was postmaster at Ouakertown.
It is not my purpose to discuss the early settlement of Quaker-
town, or give the genealogy of the hardy pioneers who came here,
cleared the land, drained the swamp, and built their early homes.
All this may be found in Gen. Davis' "History of Bucks County,"
in Elwood Roberts' book, entitled "Old Richland Families,"
illustrated, published in 1898, and in Howard M. Jenkins' book,
entitled, "Historical Collections of Gwynedd."
Old Richland Settlers.
BY ELWOOD ROBERTS, NORRISTOWN, PA.
(Meeting ill Friends' Meeting-house, Quakertown, May 28, 1901.)
There is to me no more interesting locality than that which was
known two centuries ago and for a long time thereafter as the
"Great Swamp;" later as Richland, a name which the Monthly
Meeting and the township still retain, because of the fertility
of the soil ; and which as the village grew up, from small begin-
nings, very naturally came to be called Quakertown — a name
it is likely to bear for all time to come. No less than four of
my ancestors in the sixth generation from myself, Edward Rob-
erts, Thomas Lancaster, Samuel Thomas and Thomas Roberts,
were among the earlier settlers of the vicinity.
Two of these were noted ministers of the society of Friends,
Edward ' Roberts, the first of my own family in this country,
having begun to preach about 1725 in the log meeting-house
erected in 1723 on the site where William Shaw now lives, on
the road to Philadelphia about a mile south of the building in
which we are now assembled. He and my other Roberts' ances-
tor — Thomas — were not, so far as I know, connected by the ties
of consanguinity, but their descendants have so often intermar-
ried that the families frequently "run into" each other. I may
be pardoned perhaps, for giving a brief account of each of these
four men who exercised an important influence on the community
in their day and each of whom became the founder of a numerous
family.
Edward Roberts came from Wales when only twelve years of
age, tradition says "with his cousin (probably uncle) Thomas
Lawrence." They arrived in Philadelphia in 1699. Edward set-
tled in the vicinity of Abington meeting to which he attached
himself, marrying in due time Mary, daughter of Everard and
Elizabeth Bolton, who were prominent among the early settlers
of Cheltenham township. He came to "Great Suamp" in 1716,
through the influence, I imagine, of Morris Morris, who was
the principal land owner in the vicinity, and who, like Edward,
OLD RICHLAND SETTLERS 53
had originally settled at Abington, but had purchased from Penn,
at an early date, a thousand acres of land on part of which the
borough of Ouakertown is now located. The commissioners of
property, by letters patent dated 1728, confirmed this tract to
Morris, whose daughter Susanna became the wife of Abel
Roberts, Edward's son. It should be borne in mind that these
deeds from the commissioners were often executed many years
subsequent to the original grants by Penn, as was probably true
in this instance.
I may digress at this point to say that Morns Morris was a
man of literary ability as appears from his "Convincement of
Evan Alorris," his father, which appears in full in my '"Old
Richland Families," pages J'J to 82, the original paper in his
handwriting being in the possession 'of Eleanor Foulke. This
narrative of the sufferings of a faithful Friend who was stead-
fast in the midst of persecution, is written in the characteristic
style of the Welsh settlers, being pathetic in its simplicity. As
a mirror of the times in which Morris lived it possesses especial
value for us of the present day. Morris Morris had many
descendants, some of whom have achieved more or less distinction,
and most have been worthy men and women. He conveyed the
property on which stands the building in which we are now gath-
ered, to the meeting, the first structure on the site having been
built in 1730, 19 years before the deed from Morris was given.
The meeting-house was originally located in a fine grove of oaks,
the tradition being that the Indians, who were numerous here at
the time of the settlement of the place and always friendly to
the Quakers, were wont to make the shade of the wide-spreading
branches their resting place during the heats of summer. I may
add, in this connection, that an enlargement of the building took
place about 1760, and that it was further improved in 1795.
It was torn down in 1862, when this building was erected. The
first meetings in the settlement had been held at private houses,
notably that of Peter Lester.
Returning to Edward Roberts, it may be in order to narrate
something of his early experiences, because they will give an
idea of what befell others to a certain extent. Imagine a young
couple with an infant child, setting out from the vicinity of By-
berry and journeying all the way on horseback, carrying their
54 OLD RICHLAND SETTLERS
movables with them, to the new settlement at Richland. Gwy-
nedd, which was a stopping place on their way, had been settled
in 1698, eighteen years before, but its people were scattered
over a large area, the rude dwellings being scarcely within hail-
ing distance of each other. The journey of forty miles or more
occupied two days, and the couple found themselves in a very
sparsely settled neighborhood, with Indians for their neighbors,
kindly disposed towards the followers of Penn, it is true, but
because of their habits far from desirable as associates.
Smallpox, that scourge of the aborigines, happened to pre-
vail among the red men, and Mary, the wife of Edward, con-
tracted the disease. The husband saw no ray of hope for his
wife, without comfortable surroundings, medicine, nursing and
medical skill. These were not to be obtained at Great Swamp,
or anywhere else nearer than Philadelphia, but at North Wales,
now Gwynedd, there was a possibility of shelter and such treat-
ment as might prove effective in saving her life. The faithful
husband hesitated not an instant, but placing his sick wife and
child again on their horse, he returned along the Indian path
to the kindly Welsh brethren at North Wales, where she was
nursed back to health and in five or six weeks, they returned
joyously to Great Swamp, which was to be their home and that
of their descendants for several generations.
I have often followed this couple in imagination, on their
weary journey to North Wales, thinking with a tremor what
would have been the eft'ect had that mother of my race died
on the way. Their only child at that date was Martha, who mar-
ried in due time John Roberts, son of Thomas, already men-
tioned. My ancestor, David, was not born until 1722, six }ears
later. Had Edward been unsuccessful in saving the life of his
companion these annals of Richland would have been Wi'itten by
a different if not a worthier hand. Not only did Mary Roberts
survive the attack of that dread disease, but she became the
mother of seven more children, or eight in all, as follows : Martha,
who married John Roberts and reared a numerous family, dying
in 1768; Abel, born 1717, died 1808, married Susanna, daughter
of Morris Morris, as I have said; John, born 1719, died 1776.
married Margaret Gaskill. and became the founder of a numerous
family; David, my ancestor, who married Phoebe Lancaster,
OLD RICHLAND SETTLERS 55
daughter of Thomas Lancaster, and died in 1805 ; Everard, born
1725, who married and left a daughter who did not marry, that
Hne being now extinct; Nathan, born 1727, died 1806, unmar-
ried; Mary, born 1730, died 1787, married John Foulke and left
a numerous progeny; Jane, born 1732, died 1822, married Thomas
Foulke, a brother of John, both being sons of Hugh Foulke, and
left many descendants.
Most of the children of Edward and Mary Roberts, despite
their seemingly unfavorable surroundings at birth, lived to a
good old age it will be seen, Abel dying at 91, and nearly all
being more than 80. A climate and surroundings that were thus
promotive of longevity, were not to be made light of by any
means. Edward Roberts died in 1768, but his widow lived to
1784, when she passed away at the age of 96 years, 6 months
and 9 days.
Edward and Mary Roberts lived for some time in the rudest
and most primitive way, their permanent habitation not being
erected until 1729. Their farm was the one now owned and
occupied by my old friend, Stephen Foulke, and his children.
I have in my possession at Norristown the door which Edward
placed on the best room, having the old-fashioned iron knocker
of that day, combined with the rude latch. When the old house
was torn down, a few years ago, this door was preserved, and I
succeeded in obtaining it from Stephen Foulke. I have a num-
ber of relics of my Richland ancestors, but none that I value
more highly. The stone for this house was quarried, I have
been informed, on the farm formerly Abel Roberts', where
Aaron Penrose lived later. Until a more comfortable cabin
could be erected the Roberts home consisted of long strips of
bark, reared up, wigwam fashion, against one of the large
oak trees, then so common in that vicinity. It was amid such
surroundings that the forefathers of our race were reared. Ed-
ward became a speaker, as I have said, about 1725, "his min-
istry," to use the words of his surviving friends in preparing a
memorial of him, "being attended with divine sweetness and
energy, being a lively example of humility, plainness, temper-
ance, meekness and charity, and of justice and uprightness in
his dealings among men, which gained him the love and esteem
56 OLD RICHLAND SETTLKRS
of people of all denominations." He was nearly 82 years of age
when he died, and he had been a minister over 40 years.
I hope I may be pardoned for speaking more in detail of my
own ancestors than of others of early Richland settlers, be-
cause I naturally know more about them than I do of other peo-
ple's. I have dwelt upon the experiences of Edward Roberts
because they are doubtless somewhat similar to those of other
pioneers in this region. Of Thomas Lancaster, who settled in
Richland about 1740, many circumstances have been handed down
by tradition. They will be fully set forth, I suppose, in the
"Lancaster Famil}-," which will shortly be published by another
of his descendants, Harry F. Lancaster, of Columbia City,
Indiana. His story has been often told, he having been brought
from England when a lad of ten or twelve years of age, by Ann
Chapman, daughter of John Chapman, of Wrightstown, she
being a minister and engaged in a religious visit to that country.
He married Phebe Wardell. In 1750 he paid a religious visit
to Barbadoes, dying at sea on his way home. It is the testimony
of Richland Friends in a memorial concerning him, that he
was "sound in the ministry, and exercised his gift therein with
great fervency and zeal, his life and conversation corresponding
therewith." His children were John, born 1732; Phebe, my an-
cestor, 1734; Job, 173.6; Joseph, 1738; Jacob, 1740; Isaac, 1742;
Aaron, 1744; Moses, 1746; Elizabeth, 1748. Of most of those
of whom I am speaking it may be said that they were laid in
the cemetery yonder, where have been deposited for two cen-
turies the dead of the vicinity, especially Friendly people. In
the language of the poet :
"Beneath those rugged elms, that yevvtree's shade.
Where heaves the turf in many a moldering heap ;
Each in his narrow cell forever laid.
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep."
This is not true, however, of Thomas Lancaster. His body
was committed to the sea. Of Thomas Roberts I may say that
he came from Wales about 1725, landing in Philadelphia. With
a horse and cart and other necessaries purchased in that place,
they journeyed, like the Israelites of old, into the wilderness,
settling, it is said, in Milford township. Be that as it may, the
draft of Richland township made in 1734, shows that Thomas
OLD RICHLAND Se;TTLERS . 57
owned 250 acres of land. He died in 1767, leaving a number of
children of whom Alice, who married Edward Thomas, was my
ancestor, their daughter Margaret, having become the wife of
Amos Roberts. They were my great-grandparents. I know
less of the Thomases than of almost any of the earlier Richland
settlers. The will of Edward Thomas, "Old Richland Families,"
pages 97-8, shows him to have been possessed of some property.
The first house erected in the settlement was built by Morris
Morris. Peter Lester came to Pennsylvania in 1682. He ap-
pears to have settled first at or near Chester where he was mar-
ried in 1685. One of his daughters, Catharine, became the wife
of John Ball, at Abington, in 1710. His daughter Hannah had
become the wife of Abraham Griffith at the same place about
two years earlier. It could not have been long afterward that
Peter and his family, including Abraham Grifiith and
wife, removed to Great Swamp, for he and his wife
and daughter Elizabeth were given a certificate by Abing-
ton J\Ionthly Meeting to Gwynedd in 17 16. The descen-
dants of Peter have intermarried in the course of two centuries
with many of the more prominent families of eastern Penn-
sylvania. His home was the meeting place of Friends prior to
the building of the first place of worship in 1723. His origmal
purchase remained in the family name for five or six generations.
The name of Green does not occur in the earliest records of
the township, but they were here at a comparatively eaily date
Joseph Green, about 1855 prepared a paper, given in "Old Rich-
land Families," pages 162-3, in which he states that his great-
grandfather took up a large tract of land on Saucon creek in
Bucks county, "right among the Indians." He settled on it,
marrying "Widow Large," a daughter of Ellis Lewis (probably
the Ellis Lewis of Gwynedd). They had three sons, Francis,
James and Joseph, of whom Joseph remarried in the vicinity, the
others removing to Virginia. Joseph's son Benjamin had eleven
children, with whose names I will not take up your time, since
they and all the others of their name and kindred who were
members of the Richland meeting, are to be found in the
volume, "Old Richland Families," to which reference has been
made, and which contains all that the meeting records reveal
in regard to the settlers of Richland and their descendants.
5,8 OLD RICHLAND SLTTLERS
Joseph Green, in the paper already alhided to, corroborates
what I have said in regard to the longevity of early Richland
Friends. He says :
"My mother was a daughter of John and Martha Roberts, he one
of the early settlers of Richland. He died at the age of eighty-five years.
Edward Roberts, his eldest son, died at the age o.f 80 years, 4 months.
John the second son, died at the age of 89 years, 7 months. William,
the third son, died at the age of 85 years. 7 months, 20 days. Jane
Roberts Green, my mother, died at the age of 88 years, i month, 2 days.
Aunt Ann Penrose, another sister, died at the age of 96 years, 2 months,
12 days. Aunt Mary, Aunt Sarah and Aunt Martha all lived to a like
good old age. The average age of six of this Roberts family was nearly
ninety years, being an unusual instance of longevity in one family."
Hugh Foulke was one of the early settlers of Richland. He
was the second son of Edward and Eleanor who settled at
Penllyn, then Philadelphia, now Montgomery county, and was
born in Wales. He settled at Richland about the time that
Edward Roberts located there. His wife was Ann Williams, of
another well-known Welsh family. Their oldest child, Mary,
became the wife of James Boone, of Exeter, an uncle of Daniel
Boone, the celebrated pioneer of Kentucky. The second daugh-
ter, Martha, married William Edwards, and had a large family
of children. William dying, his widow married John Roberts,
whose wife and the mother of all his children, Martha, daugh-
ter of Edward and Mary Roberts, was also deceased. Of the
children of Hugh and Ann Foulke, Samuel was a most useful
member of the community. He was for 37 years the clerk of
Richland Monthly Meeting. He was a member of the Colonial
or Provincial Assembly of Pennsylvania, from 1761 to 1768. We
are indebted to him for the translation of earlier Friends records
from Welsh into English, he being familiar with both tongues.
He wrote many of the marriage certificates in his day for mem-
bers of Richland meeting. He wrote a beautiful, plain hand, as
appears from the marriage-certificate of my great-grandparents
and other documents written by him, in my possession, and many
others still in existence.
Two of Hugh Foulke's sons as I have said, married daugh-
ters of Edward and Mary Roberts, Mary becoming the wife
of John, and Jane of Thomas. Many of the descendants are
living among us, but a large number reside in the West. Everard
OLD RICHLAND SETTLERS 59
Foulke, son of Thomas and Jane, was one of the United States
assessors who were forced to abandon their duties during the
Fries rebelhon in 1798. He was long a justice of the peace
and a useful man in the community.
Theophilus Foulke, another son of Hugh, married Margaret
Thomas, and had many descendants, among them the Merediths,
Howard M. Jenkins and others.
William Foulke, another son of Hugh, married Priscilla Les-
ter. They had several children, but few of their descendants sur-
vive at the present time.
Charles Foulke, the husband of Catharine Foulke, a well
known minister, who resided at Stroudsburg (both now de-
ceased) was a descendant of John and Mary Roberts Foulke.
In the course of this paper I have incidentally mentioned many
names of early settlers at Richland. Other property own-
ers, as appears by a map dated 1734 were John Moore, Michael
Atkinson, Michael Lightfoot, Thomas Nixon, William Nixon,
William Jamison, William Morris, John Ball, Samuel Thomas
and others. Some of these were non-residents. Others sold out
their holdings, as appears by subsequent maps, and never became
permanently identified with the history of the locality.
The list of signers to road petitions about 1730 gives an idea
of the residents at- that time. They include : Hugh Foulke,
John Lester, John Adamson, Arnold Heacock, John Phillips,
Arthur Jones, William Nixon, John Ball, John Edwards, Thomas
Roberts Joshua Richards, William Jamison, Edmund Phillips,
Johannes Bleiler, Michael Everhart, Joseph Everhart, Abraham
Hill, Johannes Landis, Jacob Klein, John Clemmer, Jacob Mus-
selman, Jacob Sutar, Peter Cutz, Jacob Drissel, Henry Walp,
Samuel Yoder, George Hicks, John Zeitz, Heinrich Bitterly. The
proportion of German names shows how early this element had
learned of the fertile soil at Richland and hastened to avail them-
selves of the advantages possessed by the vicinity. Other names
appearing on maps and papers of the time are Duke Jackson,
Lawrence Growden, George Hyatt, John Lester, Thomas Heed,
Joseph Gilbert, James Logan, Joseph Pike, Griffith Jones, Samuel
Pierson and Henry Taylor some of them evidently those of
non-residents.
The descendants of the early English and Welsh settlers
60 OLD RICHLAND SETTLERS
of Richland are scattered over a wide area. It is impossible
in a paper of this kind to go fully into the details of a popula-
tion which was less compact than at present, many of the mem-
bers of the Friends' meecing at Richland having been residents
of the township at some distance from the principal settlement
and even of the adjoining townships, Springfield, Haycock,
Rockhill and Milford.
It is apparently true in the light of what has been said that
the training given by the Friends of Richland to their children,
in the past as well as in more recent times, has been productive
of good results. The simplicity and plainness which were
characteristic of earlier times not only promoted longevity, but
they aided in making good and useful citizens, wherever their lot
may have been cast.
One point which I have not mentioned is the distinction of
"Pot" and "Kettle" Robertses, which prevailed as between the
two families of Thomas and Edward Roberts, which have now
become more or less mixed by frequent intermarriages among
their members. The most plausible explanation of this is that
the designations were derived from the names of localities or
townships in Wales from which the heads of the two Roberts
families came respectively, the terms resembling the words "pot"
and "kettle" in sound, though differing in Orthography, particu-
larlv the latter.
Prehistoric Bucks County.
BY CHARLES LAUBACH, DURHAM, PA.
(Meeting in Friends' Meeting-house, Quakertown, May :8, 1901.)
The discovery and settlement of the valley of the Delaware
was prehistoric; the works and deeds of ancient man, his un-
recorded monuments, ruins and sculptured rocks were already
antiquated when the "Restless," built in 1614, commanded by
Cornelius Hendrickson, coasted along the western bank of the
Delaware river. Along the shore and some distance inland he
found numerous tribes of savages who called themselves "Lenni
Lenape" (the original people). This appellation, however, was
a misnomer, for as set forth by other explorers, we find that
when they asked these self-styled original people in regard to
the use of some of their rude or primitive stone implements, they
replied, "that they had used them but did not make them, and
they were here when they came into the locality;" in fact they
possessed no positive knowledge of the more primitive stone im-
plements, nor of their owners.
The locality to which I desire especially to call your atten-
tion was occupied as late as 1728-30 by a brave and turbulent
tribe of savages called the Shawnees. I have spent forty or
more years in the realm of natural science, assisted by Dr.
Swift, of Easton, in 1855-6, then personally looking up the
Indian village-sites, mounds, quarries, implement-manufac-
tories, mortuary-customs, etc.. in eastern Pennsylvania, until
1877, when I was assisted by Prof. R. F. Berlin, a noted
archaeologist of Allentown. In 1888 to 1893 I had the pleas-
ure of accompanying Dr. C. C. Abbott, of Trenton, and Prof.
H. C. Mercer, of Doylestown, in their expeditions throughout
northern Bucks and New Jersey. Later through Prof. Holmes,
of Washington, D. C. ; Col. H. D. Paxson, of Philadelphia, and
various other experts in anthropological lines, I came into pos-
session of nearly every variety of pre-historic art; some of
which may be roughly classed as kitchen or tableware ; but by
far the larger portion consists of implements of war and agri-
62 PREHISTORIC BUCKS COUNTY
culture. The pots used by the Indians to stew their meat were
manufactured of clay, mixed with crushed shells and other
substances, and so carefully baked that they could withstand the
action of frost or fire ; they ranged from one to ten gallons in
capacity. At times instead of building a fire under the pot,
they heated stones and threw them into the pot boiling the
meat in that manner. To fit their corn for cooking they pound-
ed it in a mortar of stone or wood ; some of which were port-
able and others stationary. When hunting or traveling the
Indians simply picked up two flat stones with which they crushed
the corn or other food material to suit their purpose. Their
dishes were either flat stones or bowls made of birch-bark. The
spoons were generally of shells or gourds, shaped for the pur-
pose. To describe even a small part of their wares and imple-
ments of war or of the chase would lead us far beyond our
prescribed limits, therefore we must content ourselves with a
brief outline of a portion of the Shawnee camp-site, and a few
of the implements found during our investigations.
In the advent of the white man the locality along the west
bank of the Delaware river, extending from the foot of the second
spur of the South mountains to the palisades of Nockamixon
township in Bucks county, was occupied, as above noted, by a
large body of war-like savages, under the protection of the Dela-
wares, who resided on the eastern bank of the river, and closely
watched their vicious proteges in their various dubious man-
oeuvres, as is indicated by the numerous picket-camps abound-
ing in the vicinity. The aboriginal inhabitants being savages
and pagans, the early Colonists who came in contact with them
doubtless considered themselves saints, and the red men devils.
The Indians had two kinds of money — "sewan." made from the
black portion of the clam shell and called "suck ahack," which
was double the value of the white variety, "wampum," which
was made from the stem of the periwinkle or ear shell, the
black beads (sewan) were used as currency and for jewelry.
One hundred and seventy years have come and gone since
those who inhabited the large and beautifully located town of
Pechequoelin have passed away. The only traces left of the
presence of those dusky people are a few local names, and the
numerous stone implements strewn about, accompanied by jas-
PREHISTORIC BUCKS COUNTY 63
per and argillite chips on the work sites. By proper investi-
gation of these implements of stone we learn how primitive
man through countless ages slowly but surely developed in his
arts, habits and customs, and we also learn to know the Indian
as he was before coming in contact with his conquerors, the
white men.
Laying aside, for the present, the inquiry into the manner of
man's first appearance in America, let us look for a moment
at the geological changes occurring as the world forged along
through the successive ages. In delving down into the earth's
strata, we turn over the massive stone leaves of geological record
and read therein, in legible characters, the story of the evolu-
tion and progress of terrestrial life. We find that some of the
simplest primordial organisms, such as the pentacrini and other
radiata have survived with but little modification from the dawn
of the palaeozoic era to the present ; but as its ocean currents
and atmospheric temperatures changed, the law of development
produced successive races of animals tending to the possession
of higher and more complex structures. Some exceptions might
be noted, where through some occult limitations of capacity for
further progression, types matured, then declined gradually,
yielding their existence to more advanced species and finally
become extinct. At the close of the Tertiary period, this por-
tion of the United States was the home of the Mastodon and
allied monsters of the forests. The gradual change of climate
and the slowly advancing ice sheets caused the total extinction
of these formidable monsters. They fulfilled their allotted part,
passed away and in time were succeeded by a superior animal,
savage man, who closely followed them in leading an arboreal
life and slowly evolved to a cave and tent dweller. In the
fullness of time civilized man appeared, the highest animal yet
known, who now controls the earth. Will he, too, act out his
allotted part, become extinct and be succeeded by a still higher
and far superior being, who in the distant future may pry into
the quintenary formation, and, finding fossil man of the quar-
tenary period, marvel as to the manner of creature he was,
how he lived, where he came from, and what sort of cataclysm
•caused his extinction?
Anthropology' in its latest researches claims that the budding
64 PREHISTORIC BUCKS COUNTY
instinct of some of the higher animals is nearly equal to the
thinking of lowest man, and far less than that separating the
savage from the scientist or politician. Knowing then, that
the history of the earth for thousands of years is indelibly
written on tablets of stone, it must ever remain a gratification
and inspiration to the scientist as well as to the historian to read
not only in the record of the rocks the history and progressive
development of our home on earth ; but that we can trace the
process by that which has brought it about. It is not, however,
necessary that we become process mad, unable to see in and be-
hind the unfolding, the power that moves the wheels, for who
among us can rest content to know no more scientifically of
the wondrous world we mysteriously inhabit than did savage
man of the past?
Geologically, that portion of the Delaware valley under con-
sideration belongs to the Post-tertiary, or recent formation, and
is characterized by deposits of glacial, post-glacial drift, and
alluvium to a depth of from ten to sixty feet.
A large portion of the river bank, north of Durham cave,
wdiere primitive man had his dug-outs, fire-sites, pottery and
implement manufactory has been destroyed by floods, the con-
struction of the canal and other improvements in the vicinity of
the ancient village site.
The locality was. and is now an ideal one. the towering
South mountains to the north and east, the Pennsylvania pali-
sades and bend in the river to the southeast and the lofty Rattle-
snake hill to the south and west formed a fitting and grand
panorama, and a picturesque abode for primitive man, as it
does for the modern inhabitants of the present village. P)esides,
the historic Durham cave, located almost in the centre of the
ancient village, afforded a convenient shelter during periods
of intense cold or protracted bad weather. Prominent in geo-
graphical position, remarkable in its natural features and mineral
wealth, the locality early attracted the attention of savage man,
and later that of the European, the naturalist and explorer.
The settling of a tract consisting of over 5,000 acres of land as
early as 1682. 50 miles from Philadelphia, proves that the mineral
resources of the region were known to adventurers, while yet
the country was to a great extent occupied by the descendants
PREHISTORIC BUCKS COUNTY 65
of the aborigines. Hence these dusky children of nature had
but a Hmited time given them to remove their effects to more
congenial parts of the country, while their cleared fields and
the virgin forests were appropriated by the white man, the
Indians receiving payment in clothing, guns, ammunition, iron-
pots, whiskey, matches, etc. Yet they still were dissatisfied,
as the following extracts dated May 21, 1728, will show: In-
structions by Governor Gordon, of Pennsylvania, to John Smith
and Nicholas Skolehoven, messengers from Kakowwatchy, chief
of the Shawnees at Pechoquevalin.
"You are to tell my friend Kakowwatchy that I am glad to hear
from him. We have always understood him to be a wise good man,
inclined toward peace and a lover of Christians. That is, if these eleven
men were sent out to assist our Indians against the Flatheads, it was
kindly done of him. But these people behaved politely. It was not
becoming of our friends to come into the Christian's houses with guns
and pistols, and swords painted for war, and take away the poor people's
provision by force with great threatenings to those who opposed them.
This was not a behaviour becoming friends, nor what we expected from
the Shawnees, etc." * * * * "The Governor will be glad to see
Kakowwatchy at Durham some time this fall when treaties are over and
when the weather grows cooler. He will then treat him as a friend and
brother."
September 28, 1728, the Governor said, (the larger portion
of the Shawnees having left), "Inquire also after the Indians,
and if you can, see Kakowwatchy, know of him why his friends
left Pechoquevalin, after they had promised to meet me at Dur-
ham iron works."
December, 1731, the Governor addressed the Shawness at or
near Alleghening, and reminded them of the eld league and
covenant made 34 years previous between the Conestoga Indians,
William Penn and the Shawnees, giving them the privilege of
dwelling at Durham, and telling them in a friendly spirit that
the English had supplied them with all they wanted and had given
them good prices for their skins. Although there were a large
number of Delawares, Shawnees, Mingoes and Asseckales settled
at Alleghening from Durham and vicinity, a large number of the
more civilized ones remained, residing in huts along the streams
ekeing out a precarious living, until old age called them to the
"happy-hunting-ground."
3
66 PREHISTORIC BUCKS COUNTY
On November 26, 1678, a day of thanksgiving was set apart
by the General Assembly for the great deliverance of the
Colonies from a plot to murder the King and destroy the Protes-
tants ; for delivering the people from the smallpox and other
prevalent diseases, and from the Indians. Some evilly disposed
persons told the Indians that the smallpox was brought to
them by the Colonists trading match-coats, etc., on the lands
belonging to the Indians. The Indians forthwith held a consul-
tation ; one of their chiefs told them, while stretching his hands
towards the skies, "It came from thence." To this his hearers
assented with a grunt.
In our early days it was told us that on the annual approach
of Indian-summer the Indians in this locality held a grand
jubilee on the southern slope of Rattlesnake hill. It was the
belief of the Indians,
"That the departed ones returned from the spirit-land to their old
council-house and hunting-grounds, and found everything as they left
it, perhaps thousands of years previous. The spirits came trooping over
hill and vale in battalions of thousands. They passed and re-passed
on the trails, smoothed by the feet of countless generations that had lived
and trodden the path during the eons of the past. They again saw the
grand old forest in its transcendent autumnal glory; the native hills and
valleys w^here once they roamed and basked in the bright and glorious
sunlight. Rejuvenated, they departed again into the misty great un-
known."
There is a great deal to be learned in this line that ouglit t^o
have a place in history and year by year the records of these
dusky tribes are gradually fading, and will continue to fade un-
less preserved by that great educator, the press of our nation.
Should these questions be asked in our schools : What is
the archaeology of your district? Give a synopsis of the topog-
raphy and geology of the district. Also outlines of the
local history of your locality. If so the answer would probably
be: "Nothing worth consideration." So drift we on, and his-
tory and science ofttimes slumber.
In conclusion I will call your attention to the Indian mode
of fishing in the Delaware river in the locality under con-
sideration. The Shawnee Indians, evidently driven by necessity
to invent an apparatus to supply their larder with fish, invented
a device which was constructed in the following manner. In
PREHISTORIC BUCKS COUNTY 67
the river nearly midway between the Durham cave and the
northern ward of the village, was and is yet a ripple and strong
current, which in the latter part of summer, and at low water has
a depth of from one to three feet. About seventy yards from
the west shore of the river the Indians had erected a braided
incline, or fish-basket. This was composed of a series of slen-
der saplings about fifteen feet in length, woven together with
basket-willow to a width of six feet, with sides a foot high.
From this fish net or weir an oblique line of stones was
piled, extending a considerable distance toward the east or
New Jersey side of the river; on the west or Pennsylvania side
the stones were piled in a similar manner extending to the bank
of the river. Close to the weir a short semi-circular wall was
erected to form an eddy. Here they anchored a canoe as a
receptacle for the fish caught in the weir. In the spring of the
year, the lish generally came up the river in shoals, tumbling
over the walls they became bewildered and were then driven by
Indians into the narrow space at the weir, captured and thrown
into the canoe. In the fall of the year immense quantities of
eels and other migrating fish coming down the river were strand-
ed in the weir and easily captured.
After the Shawnee Indians had been driven to the Ohio coun-
try by orders of the Six Nations, the pioneer whites captured
immense quantities of fish in the same manner. Later in 1804,
the weir was remodeled by the pioneer residents in the vicinity.
They split the saplings and nailed them on a rude oak frame
which had been pinned together with wooden pins. In this
manner some of my own ancestors, assisted by the Stems,
Schanks, Tinsmans and others, caught large quantities of fish.
Along the steep river banks the Indians had cut dug-outs, which
were all located on the west bank of the river, and were about
eight feet in width by twelve feet in depth, opening towards the
river, and elevated sufficiently so that ordinary freshets seldom
reached them. Several of these dug-outs were cleaned out and
utilized by our pioneer ancestors when fishing, until the great
freshet of January 3, 1841, when a large portion of the river bank
Avas washed away, along with many towering sycamore trees,
which were, according to trustworthy evidence fully four feet
in diameter, six feet above the ground. When the fiood sub-
68 PREHISTORIC BUCKS COUNTY
sided the fish weir and most of the wing-walls were gone, and
as a new generation had arisen, which cared more for ease and
less for the hardships to be endured while fishing, it was de-
cided to no longer continue the old method.
Among the curiosities in early times were the Indian corn-
fields, trails, crematories, burial-grounds and the large quantities
of primitive art scattered about. The Durham cave might have
been classed among the seven wonders of the world. Tourists
from all sections had carved their initials on the flat entrance
stone and also in the interior of the cave. Queen Esther's
rooms, a portion of the subterranean chamber, were also to
some extent disfigured by carvings.
On the sloping banks, at the confluence of Durham creek
with the Delaware river, was built the first canoe-shaped Dur-
ham boat, so named after its artificer, Robert Durham, who was
connected with the early iron industry at Durham. The sloping
beach as described by our ancestors covered fully two acres of
ground, the sand was of almost pure silica. It was shaded by a
number of huge sycamores and must have been a grand working-
place for our pioneer boat-architect and builder.
THE OLD PARRY MANSION.
In New Hope, Bucks county. Pa. Built in 1784.
Residence of Richard Randolph Parry.
THP: WASHINGTON TREK.
On property of Paxson estate, on the north side of Old York road in the borough of
New Hope, Bucks county, Pa. This chestnut tree was about 150 yeans old, and measured
22 ft in circumference when it was cut down Nov. 28, 1S93. Under this tree, when it was
about 33 years old. Gen. Washington met Genls. Green and Alexander (Lord Sterling)
and first planned the battle of Trenton.
(From photograph by John A. Anderson.)
The Parry Family of New Hope.
BY RICHARD RANDOLPH PARRY, NEW HOPE, PA.
(Wrightstown Meeting, October i, 1901.)
Doubtless many of you have been familiar from childhood with
the ancient colonial double stone mansion standing alone at the
southwest corner of the Old York road and th.e Trenton or
River road, in New Hope borough, Bucks county, famous in
the days of the Revolution as "Coryell's Ferry." a name then,
and now, representing ideas of patriotism, valor and devotion
almost lost to the present generation. Few readers of history
to-day recognize Coryell's Ferry so often mentioned in mili-
tary dispatches, papers and letters of General Washington, Lord
Stirling and divers others of his generals, in its present name
of New Hope. Let us hope that the time may soon come when,
thanks to the efforts of the "Sons of the Revolution" and various
other patriotic bodies, all working to the same end, ideas of
veneration for all that belonged to those "times which tried
men's souls" will be so deeply and keenly felt, appreciated and
revived that a public sentiment in our midst will demand the re-
storation of the old things, and New Hope, divested of its al-
most meaningless name, again be known to the world as "Cor-
yell's Ferry;" for the able defense of which, in the year 1776,
General William Alexander, of the Continental army, better
known, however, as Lord Stirling, received the thanks of the
Continental Congress. The name of "Kings Bridge." "Dobb's
Ferry," and other places having Revolutionary interest, have
never been altered or changed.
The old colonial building to which I have referred, has bravely
stood through three centuries, and long has been known as "The
Old Parry Mansion," and has been the home of the Parrys
of New Hope for five generations, and in the present year,
1 90 1, an event so unusual in its character occurred beneath
its wide roof as to make it historic and worthy of passing
notice in the birth of a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Oliver
Parry, (named Margaret Kreamer Parry) in the same room
70 the; parry i-amily of new hopk
in which her great-grandfather, Ghver Parry, was born in 1794,
one hundred and seven years ago, and in the same old mansion
in which her great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Parry, born
March i, 1757, hved and died. Such events are of rare occur-
rence in x\merica, where the strong love of family homes and
their possessions does not have the same deep root wliicii
exists in our mother country of England, and in other foreign
lands. Seldom do we find homes in the United States passed
on beyond the second or third generations.
Descriptions of the "Old Parry Mansion" have been so often
given in print that it would seem superfluous to detain you with
an account of it at this time, and I would therefore refer any
one further interested to the "York Road, Old and New," by
the Rev. S. F. Hotchkin, for its history, with illustrations; to
General Davis' old and "Revised History of Bucks County."
soon to be published, and to other published works. An illus-
trated sketch of the "Old Parry Mansion," by the Historical
Editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, appeared in the columns of
that paper at a recent date. It also makes mention of two
different portions of this property having been in a state of
armed defense against the British troops, just before the battle
of Trenton.
Lord Stirling's (Gen. Alexander's) headquarters at New
Hope are said to have been in the old hip-roofed house now torn
down, on the site now occupied by the new hip-roofed house of
Phineas R. Slack, just opposite the avenue and entrance to
"Maple Grove," then and now owned by the Paxson family, one
of whom (Jane Paxson, daughter of Oliver Paxson) Benjamin
Parry married November 4, 1787, and immediately on their
return from their wedding trip took her to his home at
the Parry mansion, where they passed the remainder of their
lives.
It may be of interest to state that during the most of Decem-
ber, 1776. a considerable body of Continental troops was quar-
tered at New Hope, to defend which General Alexander (Lord
Stirling) threw up a strong redoubt on top of the hill across
the pond in a southwesterly direction from the old Parry man-
sion, and part of that estate. These earth works extended
from about where the yellow public school-house now stands
THE PARRY FAMILY OF NEW HOPE 7 1
in an easterly direction towards the Delaware river. Lord
Stirling also had another redoubt thrown up on the Old York
road at the corner of Ferry and the present Bridge streets,
opposite where the "Old Washington Tree" (cut down Nov.
28, 1893,) then stood. From this somewhat elevated position he
likewise commanded the approach from the ferry at the Dela-
ware river. At the river's brink, just above and below the
ferry landing, and also a part of the Parry estate, (purchased
of the Todds) stockade entrenchments were erected, and bat-
teries were placed. Such, you see, were the defenses of "Cor-
yell's Ferry," (now New Hope) in December, 1776. But who
can say that had it not been for the keenness and activity of
two patriotic young Jerseymen named Jerry Slack and Capt.
(afterward General) Daniel Bray, New Hope and the Ferry
â– might not have been captured, the battle of Trenton never
fought and dire disaster come to the American arms and cause.
Washington evacuated Fort Lee on the Hudson, November
26, 1776, and retreated through New Jersey before Lord Corn-
wallis' troops, arrived December 3d at the eastern bank of the
Delaware river, to find boats and floats ready to convey his
army across the river to Pennsylvania. All of these boats and
floats were secured by these two young men, acting under or-
ders, who had correct knowledge of every owner from Trenton
to Easton. General Washington was also several weeks later
indebted for the more numerous fleet procured, and which
ferried him over the river at McKonkey's ferry just alcove Tay-
lorsville, at the point now world-famous as "Washington's Cross-
ing."
The British troops, following on Washington's trail, arrived
but an hour later at the river landing in the city of Trenton,
only to find that the bird had flown, that the General with a
large body of soldiers had crossed over to the west side of the
Delaware, and that with no boats for British use, the pursuit
of Washington and his Continentals must be abandoned and
come to an untimely end. As the British found themselves un-
able to continue the pursuit or effect a crossing at Trenton, a
body of soldiers was ordered to march 16 miles up the Delaware
river to the present site of Lambertville, N. J., and endeavor to
get into Pennsylvania by crossing over at "Coryell's Ferry."
•Jl THE PARRY FAMILY OF NEW HOPE
Bvit here. too. they were disappointed and baffled, for as at
Trenton no boats or flats could be found or obtained, all having
been removed to the Pennsylvania side of the river and secreted
behind "Afalta Island." just below the present "Union Paper
]\Iilis." It is now mainland, but was then surrounded by water
and thickly wooded. All attempts of the British to enter
Pennsylvania either at Trenton or "Coryell's Ferry" were suc-
cessfully resisted, and from December 8, 1776, to the 25th, the
hostile armies "remained facing each other on oposite sides of
the river, and, as history states, the cause of Independence
was saved." Lord Cornwallis, who could never even have dream-
ed of a battle at Trenton, (and feeling sure of his prey) no
doubt had bright visions floating through his mind, of our
army hemmed in between his forces and the Delaware river,
marching on to their probable destruction, and but little recked-
of the true picture the camera would reveal v^hen turned on
the scene, to display his own troops defeated and broken,
many wounded and killed, stores, arms and cannon surrendered,
and all that went to make glorious the battle and victory at
Trenton. Cornwallis. at this period, doubtless thought the war
would be of brief duration, nor dreamed of his sun setting at
Yorktown long after.
The whole district of country at and about Xew Hope, dur-
ing the few weeks prior to the battle of Trenton, was bristling
with arms and the tramp and tread of armed men, a situation
hard to realize in these quiet and peaceful days, a century and a
quarter later ; but at that time, with Lord Stirling occupying
"Coryell's Ferry," there were General Knox and Captain Alexan-
der Hamilton (killed by Aaron Burr in their memorable duel) at
Dr. Chapman's, over Jericho hill to the north, just below New
Hope. A short distance beyond, on the road from Brownsburg to-
wards Newtown, we find Gen. Washington, with his headquarters
at the "Keith House," General Greene living in clover at ^lerrick's
farm-house, and General Sullivan quartered at Hayhurst's, but a
few fields away, all waiting, eager and anxious to bear their part
in the bloodv engagement which thev well knew was so near
at hand.
Tradition (which may perhaps be correct) informs us that
under the old 'A\'ashington Tree," in the Paxson field, opposite
THE PARRY FAMILY OF NEW HOPE 73
Stirling's headquarters, in New Hope, General Washington and
his trusted Generals, Knox, Stirling, Greene and Sullivan, first
talked over and first planned the battle of Trenton, and from
the time of the Revolution to November 28, 1893, (when it was
cut down to make way for improvements), it was always known
and spoken of as "The Old Washington Tree."
The brush of the artist has already placed upon canvas the
famous scene of "Washington's Crossing." What an opportunity
for poet and novelist still remains amid such surroundings as
can be depicted, to weave both in prose and in verse, stories of
those grand old days when brave deeds were enacted, the re-
cital of which would be the very poetry and romance of history
itself.
Thomas Parry, the grandfather of Benjamin Parry, already
mentioned, was born in Wales in the year A. D. 1680, came to
America towards the close of the seventeenth century, settled
in Pennsylvania in that part of Philadelphia county long after-
wards set aside as Montgomery county. There are several ac-
counts of this Thomas Parry, rendered perplexing to many
from the fact of there having been two or three Thomas
Parrys in Pennsylvania in his day. One account is that he
belonged to the Cardiganshire, South Wales, family of Parrys,
whose descent is traced from the ancient and honorable family of
Rhys (Reese) settled in Cardiganshire from very early times,
and that his progenitor was Thomas Rhys ap Harry, the Welsh
nomenclature of which when translated into English reading
Thomas Reese the son of Harry, thus Thomas ap Harry,
Thomas the son of Harry when Anglicised becoming Parry.
The accounts, however, handed down in the writer's branch
of the Parrys are that the said Thomas Parry was of the Caer-
narvonshire, North Wales, Parrys, and that he was born in
Caernarvonshire, near the Snowden mountains, in 1680, as stated.
He is recorded as having been the owner of over 1,000 acres
of land in Mongomery county, Pennsylvania, to a part of which
his son, John Parry, subsequently succeeded. Of the above
thousand acres Thomas Parry conveyed 200 acres to John
Van Buskirk by deed dated September 2, 1725, and 300 acres to
David Maltsby by deed dated December 29, 1726.
The wife of Thomas Parry is said to have been Jane Morris,
74 THE PARRY FAMILY OF NEW HOPE
whom he married in the year A. D. 1715, and by whom he had
issue ten children, all born between the years 17 16 and 1739,
inclusive, the exact dates of which I have. Eight of these were
sons, and two daughters, named Alary and Alartha. The
eldest son, Thomas, v\as born on July 26, 17 16. The third
child, John, the ancestor of the writer, was born July 25, 1721,
and Martha, the youngest, on March 3, 1739. The descendants
of Thomas and Jane Parry are to be found at the present day
not only in Pennsylvania but in parts of Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee,
New Jersey and Virginia. From early times they have held com-
missions for various honorable positions in both the civil and
military departments of the States and Federal governments. As
Whittier has it, "and this has worn the soldier's sword and that
the judge's gown." The American branch of the Parry family
in the United States has become allied by marriage and inter-
marriage with some of the oldest families of colonial times, such
as Tyson, Randolph, Morris, Waldrons, Garrish, Winslows and
others of note.
Thomas Parry was a man of excellent good sense and judg-
ment and he and his neighbor and acquaintance, Sir William
Weith Bart, of "Graeme Park," Proprietary Governor of Penn-
sylvania under the Penns, consulted together about their internal
local affairs, such as roads, etc., and certainly the roads were bad
enough in their day. It is only since comparatively late years
that there were turnpikes from Willow Grove to either New
Hope or to Doylestown. Philadelphia, Montgomery and Bucks
counties have much for which to thank the greatly abused Gov-
ernor Keith in the matter of public roads in which he felt and took
the deepest interest. Indian trails and bridal paths were frequent-
ly the best that they had before his day. In time came roads with
wagons and coaches. The first riding-chair in Bucks county
is said to have been owned and used by John Wells about A. D.
1739, although I think others have claimed precedence.
In the days of staging when the writer was a lad Willow
Grove was the first station where the horses were changed and
the old "Buck Hotel," still in existence, did a large and thriving
business with the country people and travelers in its various de-
partments, including the bar, for it was then deemed almost a
THE PARRY FAMII.Y OF NEW HOPE 75
point of honor to so patronize the wayside inns and thus con-
tribute to their support.
From early times Bucks county has always had many practi-
tioners at the bar, though in quite another sense, not a few of
whom have risen to distinction and among others we might note
the following who have been elevated to and worn the judicial
ermine, not only in the courts of Philadelphia, but the Supreme
Court of the State: Judge Bregy, from Centreville ; Judge
Briggs, of TuUytown, and Judges Paxson and Fell, of Buck-
ingham township, with still another eminent citizen and judge of
the capitol town of the county, already in nomination and per-
haps soon to be added to the list, though his gain would be our
loss. Nor must we omit from the list the names of our home
judges, the Rosses, Chapman and Watson, eminent for their
great learning and distinguished parts, or the Honorable George
Lear, attorney general of the State of Pennsylvania.
But I am again digressing and must return. An ancient
paper in my possession, stained yellow with age, recites quaintly
that "Thomas Parry died the thirtieth day of the Seventh Month,
in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty-
eight (1748)." Also that "Jane Parry departed this life the
sixth day of Ninth Month, in the year of our Lord one thousand
seven hundred and seventy-seven, in the eighty-second year of
her age (1777)." This would show that she was born in A.
D. 1685, her husband, Thomas, having been born 15 years earlier,
in the year 1680.
John Parry, of Moorland Manor, so styled to distinguish him
from another John of the same name, was the third child of
Thomas and Jane Parry, born 1680. He was born on July 25,
1721. and married Setember 21, 1751, Alargaret Tyson, daughter
of Derick and Ann Tysoh and granddaughter of that Renier
(sometimes also spelled Reynear) Tyson, who came to Ger-
mantown. Pa., from Crefeld, in Germany, in 1683, and was
twice chief burgess of that borough. In early days he removed
to Montgomery county, then a part of Philadelphia county, ac-
quired a large estate and was ancestor of the Pennsylvania and
Maryland Tysons.
John Parry and Margaret Tyson Parry, his wife, had seven
children, named Thomas, John, Benjamin, Phebe, Stephen, David
76 THE PARRY FAMILY OF NEW HOPE
and Daniel, the eldest born August 20, 1752, and Daniel, the
youngest, on April 21, 1774. John Parry lived on the back road
near the present Heaton station of the Northeast Penn R. R.,
the road running into the Old York road at about that point.
This estate was derived from his father, Thomas Parry, and his
house, a large double stone mansion, was not unlike the old
Parry mansion at New Hope. When the writer was a small
boy his father, Oliver Parry, in driving to or from Philadelphia
to New Plope would frequently turn off the Old York road to
drive by this property to show his son where his great-grand-
father, John Parry, had lived and where he died. This ancient
mansion still stands, but has since that time been altered by carry-
ing the attics up square, making it now a double three-story
structure ; the change, however, being a loss from an architec-
tural standpoint as well as in other respects, and the mind and
the heart of the writer cling to the old days and ways.
John Parry was an elder in the society of Friends and had
many city acquaintances whom he often entertained at his
home, being much given to hospitality, and a drive from Phila-
delphia being a pleasant day's diversion as to distance, and the
enjoyment of beautiful scenery, then, however, only in a primi-
tive state of nature. Since then under the landscape gardener's
care, stimulated and directed by the hand of great wealth, the
whole country has become cultivated and improved almost beyond
comparison. In early times the residents of that section at
and about Horsham, Abington, Jenkintown, etc., had no post-
office facilities nearer than Philadelphia, and one can imagine
how rapid was the mail delivery wdien in 1794 Lawrence Erb,
of Easton, ran stage coaches between Philadelphia and the for-
mer place, and the first day's journey was ended at Jenkintown
where they remained over night. Ten pounds of baggage was
allowed to each passenger. The stages started in Philadelphia
from the sign of "The Pennsylvania Arms," a tavern or inn
conducted on Third street between Vine street and Callowhill
street. Callowhill street was named in honor of the family of
William Penn's second wife, the Callowhills.
The writer, a great-grandson of this John Parry, has an
ancient oaken and iron-bound chest once owned by him and which
was used as a receptacle for various bottles of a bibulous kind.
the; parry family of new hope j'j
each having its separate place and most of them still unbroken.
They are very thin and bear curious devices, and the wine glasses
and two glass funnels are dotted with cut gilt stars ; they were,
no doubt, considered very handsome in their day and presumably
much admired. The writer also owns several books formerly
belonging to John Parry, containing his autograph and dated ; a
stout gold-headed walking stick or cane of John Parry's,
engraved with his name and dated 1751, was also in the possession
of his great-grandson. Judge William Parry, now deceased, and
doubtless is still preserved in the family.
John Parry, of Moorland Manor, died November 10, 1789,
his wife, Margaret Tyson, surviving him for eighteen years and
dying in 1807. They both lie buried in the old burying-ground
of Friends at Horsham, Montgomery county, and we might in
passing note that this and the grounds about the Friends' meet-
ing-houses at Abington and Byberry, in Montgomery county,
and at Fallsington, Wrightstown and Buckingham, in the county
of Bucks, are among the earliest cemeteries laid out in Penn-
sylvania.
The third child of Margaret and John Parry, of Moorland Man-
or, was Benjamin Parry, the progenitor of the Parrys of New
Hope. He was born March i, 1757, and obtaining from his father
considerable means settled in 1784 at "Coryell's Ferry." He was
an influential citizen of Bucks county during the latter part of
the i8th and early part of the 19th centuries, and is mentioned
at considerable length in General Davis' history of Bucks county
and in other printed and published works. In the chapter upon
New Hope in General Davis' history he says :
"The coming of Benjamin Parry to New Hope in 1784 gave a fresh
impetus to the business interests of that station. He was largely engaged
in various commercial enterprises and acquired a large estate for that
day. He was also a man of scientific attainments, having patented one
or more useful inventions, of varied and extensive reading, was public-
spirited and took deep interest in all that would improve his neighborhood
or the county. His death was a serious loss to the community."
Benjamin Parry was the original promoter of the New Hope
Delaware Bridge Company, and in A. D. 18 10 first agitated the
subject. At that early day he and his friend, the Hon. Samuel
D. Ingham, of Solebury, Secretary of the United States Treas-
ury under President Jackson realized the great importance
78 THE PARRV FAMILY OF NEW HOPE
of bridging the Delaware river at New Hope, and never
rested until it was accomplished in 18 14. Benjamin Parry
headed the subscription list and ]\Ir. Ingham signed as
second subscriber. The first public meeting, held towards this
end, was on September 25, 181 1, at the tavern of Garret Meldrum
in New Hope, at which time vigorous action was taken towards
securing the building of the bridge. The printed proceedings,
still in existence, I have among my papers. Benjamin
Parry and Mr. Ingham were the commissioners appointed to su-
perintend its construction as noted in the very interesting paper
by Rev. D. K. Turner upon our "Representatives of Bucks
County in Congress," read before this society on January 22,
1895. It was necessary to obtain charters from both the States
of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which were granted in 1812,
or about fifteen months after the first eventful meeting in Mel-
drum's tavern. The charter gave the company banking privi-
leges and acting under the written advice of their counsel, the
Kon. George M. Dallas, once vice-president of the United States
a banking business was conducted and bank bills were issued,
which became largely the currency of the country, both in
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Tlie first president of the New
Hope Delaware Bridge Company was the Hon. Samuel D. Ingham,
and Benjamin Parry was a member of its first board of managers
in 181 1. It may perhaps be of some interest to note that in
1901, 90 years later, the family is still closely connected with
this ancient bridge, and one of its members, a grandson of Ben-
jamin Parry, has been for a number of years president of the
company. Daniel Parry, a younger brother of Benjamin,
was treasurer of the company in 1814, having been elected on
November 22, of that year. The present treasurer is John S.
Williams, well known to you all.
Upon property at "Coryell's Ferry" purchased of the Todd
heirs Benjamin Parry had erected the colonial residence long
known as the "Old Parry Mansion." This structure was slowly
and carefully built that it might be well seasoned and staple and
sure in all its parts, and the walls still stand as true as then,
without crack or seam. This home he occupied until his death, a
period of nearly sixty years. On November 14, 1787, he married
Jane Paxson, daughter of Oliver Paxson, the elder of "A'iaple
the: parry family of nfw hopf 79
Grove," of Coryell's Ferry, and took her to his home and there
they passed the remainder of their lives.
Like many other men of strong and decided character Ben-
jamin Parry had a gentle and tender side to his nature not always
exhibited to every one. This is made quite apparent by various
mementos found after his death, one of which he wrote in
1786 to Jane Paxson before she became his wife, and is entitled
''A Lover's Acrostic."
* Inform me, shepherds of the green, where roams my lovely maid?
Enamoured of the birds that sing, she's sought some pleasant shade.
Not blooming meade or golden fields were ever half so fair.
Nor May, with all her fragrant flowers did e'er so bright appear.
Young as the morning her blushes far more dear.
Pure as the morning dew her breath that blows the fragrant flower,
And rubby lips a saint might kiss or infidel adore;
Xenophon wise, who scoft at love and mocked the lover's pains.
Saw never half so fair a maid or he had owned young Cupid's chains;
O'er hoary mountain tops I'd glide, from forest leaves I'd tear
Nor bars of steel obstruct my way, to keep me from my fair.
This rhapsody is perhaps high flown, but then as now a lover
must be allowed full license.
And that the deep feeling of affection between them was lasting
and did not wear itself out could be easily shown were any
evidence required by subsequent correspondence between them.
The concluding parts of two charmingly quaint letters written
some years after their marriage I will quote here.
Under date of June 28th, 1790, at Philadelphia, Jane Paxson
Parry thus writes to her husband, Benjamin Parry, at Coryell's
Ferry :
"Once more, my dear, is thy poor wife left alone and who can she
speak to or think of but her best beloved, who indeed is ever in my
remembrance."
"Two weeks, my dear, is a long time blowing over when separated
from those we dearly love and in whose welfare we are so deeply inter-
ested as I am in thine. I do so long to see thee once." Concluding
with — "Give my love to our father's family and visit them as often as
possible on my behalf. Reserve a large share of that love which has
ever subsisted between us for thy own dear self. From thy affectionate
wife, Jane Parry.
Benjamin Parry romantically concludes a reply to ihis lett-j'
as follows, but we must first remember that in 1790 public com-
munication between Coryell's Ferry and Philadelphia was very
infrequent and difficult, and many holes, quicksands, etc., tf> be
* The first letter " I " must be read in the old .style as " J " in order to make Jenny.
80 THE PARRY FAMILY OF NEW HOPE
overcome and the chair or chaise of their kinsmen, "B. Pax-
son," referred to by B. Parry, was considered a golden private
opportunity, no doubt, for this dear Httle wife to return to her
husband and home. He therefore tlius instructs her as to her
entering upon this perilous expedition :
"I expect that B. Paxson will go up to Solebury in a day or two in
a chair and perhaps there may be an opportunity for thee at his return
to write me, or come down thy own pretty self. From thy loving husband,
Benjamin Parry."
Jane Paxson was born at "Maple Grove," New Hope, in
1767, and died while visiting in Philadelphia on May 13, 1826.
When the wife of the celebrated Rufus Choate died he had the
hardihood to have graven upon her tomb that she was his only
wife. Benjamin Parry did not do this, though he privately en-
acted it, never contracting another marriage and livin"- a wid-
ower for many years, and to the day of his death deeply mourned
his loss.
From 1784 to about 181 5 Coryell's Ferry was admittedly the
most active and thriving town in Bucks county and the means
and influence and the hand of Benjamin Parry end his younger
brother, Daniel were those mainly who guided the helm. So
much so that in early times Benjamin Parry was known and
styled "The Father of Coryell's Ferry." Beside his linseed oil-
mills, flour-mills and saw -mills, etc., in Pennsylvania, he was own-
er of flour-mills in Amwell township, New Jersey, on the opposite
side of the river from New Hope, and interested with his relative,
Timothy Paxson, afterwards one of the executors of the rich
Stephen Girard. in the flour commission business in Philadelphia.
He had also timber lands in several counties bordering on the
upper Dela^vare river, from whence came principally the supply
of logs for his saw-mills. In 1788 a great freshet washed away
his flour-mill at New Hope, which proved a total loss, as no
insurance could be obtained against floods or can be at this day.
In the year 1790 a most disastrous fire destroyed his flour, oil
and saw-mills, and it was after this disaster and from these cir-
cumstances, and when his mills were rebuilt that the name of
"Coryell's Ferry" was changed to that of "New Hope," as an
incentive to new and fresh courage. On a private map made for
Benjamin Parry, dated 1798, it was called New Hope. A portion
THE Px\RRY FAMILY OF NEW HOPE 8l
of his business affairs was conducted under the style of Parry &
Cresson, and others as B. Parry & Co. A letter from the late
Martin Coryell, to the wr'iter, dated July 22, 1876, states as
follows :
"Benjamin Parry had a very large and profitable trade for the product
of his mills with the West Indies and other tropical countries, having
invented in 1810 a process by which malt, corn meal, etc., would resist
the heat and moisture of voyage through tropical climates and remain
sweet and wholesome, and that the amount of production was the only
limit for the demand in foreign ports."
The flour of General Washington's mills at Mt. Vernon had
also this similar high reputation abroad. Lossing in his "Mt.
Vernon and its associations" on page 82 states that any barrel
of flour stamped "George Washington, Mt. Vernon," was e.xenipt
from the customary inspection in the British West Indies ports.
In Mr. Coryell's letter he also mentions this curious circumstance,
that a shipment of corn-meal once made by Mr. Parry's firm to
the West Indies, a hogshead came back to New Hope long after
filled with molasses, having been purchased by one of the mer-
chants of New Hope. The head was stamped as when it was
originally shipped from New Hope, "B. Parry & Co., New Hope,
Pa., Kiln Dried Corn Meal." The patent from the United States
to Benjamin Parry for his "Kiln Drying Process" was issued
during the term of President James Madison, and bears the auto-
graph of Caesar A. Rodney, one of the signers of the Decic ration
of Independence. The patent is dated July 10, 1810, and is record-
ed in both Washington and Philadelphia, the recorder's ofiice
in Philadelphia book 25, "L. W." of Miscellaneous, page 67.
This process was not superseded for any different method for
a period of nearly 75 years.* This invention has been claimed
at different times of late years for Joseph ElHcott, of the family
of Ellicotts of the famed "Ellicott's Mills," in the State of Mary-
land, but as I have just shown this is an error, and the credit
belongs to a citizen of our own county of Bucks, though
doubtless the Ellicotts, who were also exporters of grain,
etc., needing the same kind of protection, did purchase
of Benjamin Parry the privilege of using this patent
right, thus giving an impression to some that it was an
* See paper in this volume on " Henry Quinn, Author of The Temple of Reason," for
account of his patent kiln for drying corn.
82 THE PARRY FAMILY OF NEW HOPE
invention of Joseph Ellicott, who was a man of great ingenu-
ity and skill. The Ellicotts moved originally from Solebury to
Maryland. Andrew Ellicott, son of this Joseph, born in Solebury
in 1754, was surveyor general of the United States and complet-
ed the laying out of the city of Washington, D. C, which Major
L'Enfant had planned. PJe was also at one time professor of
mathematics at the Military Academy, West Point, and died
there in 1820. The Ellicotts became both wealthy and promi-
nent in Maryland.
In both Benjamin Parry's day and that of his son, Oliver
Parry, the "Old Parry Mansion" was the scene or much hospital-
ity and its doors were thrown open wide upon many an occasion
to bid welcome to both city and country guests. In fact, during
the life time of the latter and of his hospitable and popular wife,
Rachel Randolph, daughter of Captain Edward F. Randolph,
again mentioned later on, this ancient homestead was affection-
ately called by their friends "Hotel de Parry," and sometimes
"Liberty Hall." Many distinguished persons have been enter-
tained beneath its broad roof and if it could speak it could tell
of many interesting events that have happened in three centuries.
Interesting mention of bygone days has been sacredly treasured
up and much old family furniture is yet preserved in this house,
some of it being nearly or quite 200 years old, and brought from
over the sea, and the ancient high clock standing half way up the
stairs on the broad landing has ticked in and out the lives of
many generations of the family and still shows upon its familiar
face the moon in all its phases.
On November 22, 1839, Benjamin Parry died in the old man-
sion and was buried in his family lot in the Friends' burying-
ground at Solebury, where many others of his nam-e and race
peacefully slumber in that last and final sleep which knows no
awakening until the resurrection morn.
Benjamin Parry's only son, Oliver was born at the "Old Parry
Mansion," Coryell's Ferry (New Hope) on December 20, 1794,
and married May i, 1827, Rachel Randolph, daughter of Captain
Edward F. Randolph, a patriot of 1776, who had served in many
of the principle battles of the Revolutionary War, and was an
eminent citizen of Philadelphia.
It may perhaps be interesting to note that this Capt. Randolph.
the; parry family of new hope 83
then a first lieutenant in Col. William Butler's Fourth Regiment
Infantry, Pennsylvania Line of the Continental army, command-
ed the outlying guard at the terrible battle and "Massacre of
Paoli," where he was desperately wounded and left upon the
field for dead, escaping by the merest chance. His portrait
in oil hangs upon the walls of the Historical Society of Pennsyl-
vania at Philadelphia.
Oliver and Rachel Randolph Parry had twelve children, four
sons and eight daughters, all born between March 24, 1828, and
August 17, 1848. Of the sons, Oliver Paxson Parry, born June
20, 1846, died in 1852, aged six years, and the others will be
noted later on. Oliver Parry, the elder, born December 20, 1794,
was a large land holder and his name appears upon the records
of Philadelphia county oftener, perhaps, than that of any other
person of his day. A part of his property was a large tract of
the once famous "Bush Hill Estate," Philadelphia, long the
residence of Governor Andrew Hamilton, in colonial times, which
he conjointly with his nephew, Nathaniel Randolph, purchased
and had improved, a process which in a few years converted
what had been broad acres into handsome streets, extended by
name from Broad street to the Schuylkill river, as Green street,
Spring Garden street. Mount A^ernon street, etc., in the
northwestern section of the town, a credit to the city
and much admired by strangers, as well as by Phila-
delphians. From 1856 to 1862 the writer was living in
the Territory and State of Minnesota and remembers in
the spring of 1857, while east on a visit, walking with his
father up Green street and seeing the whole square of ground
from Green street to Mount Vernon and from i6th street to
17th street in a field of rye, which Mr. Parry and Mr. Randolph
had planted. Later on in the Fremont and Dayton presidential
campaign they loaned the whole square to the psrty for political
purposes and it was covered over with canvas and called "The
Wigwam," and many were the sharp and exciting campaign
speeches delivered there by able men long since gone from works
to reward.
Rachel Randolph, the wife of Oliver Parry, died at "The Old
Parry Mansion" on September 9, 1866, his own death occurring
on February 20, 1874, at his town house. No. 1721 Arch street,
84 THE PARRY FAMILY OF NEW HOPE
Philadelphia. They both are buried in the family lot in the
Friends' burying-gronnd at Solebnry.
The close of an obituary notice of Oliver Pariy in a Philadel-
phia newspaper, thus paid tribute to his high character: "Born
a member of the society of Friends, he lived and died in that
faith, walking through life with a singleness and direct honesty
of purpose which made the name of Oliver Parry synonymous
with truth and honor."
Oliver Parry's eldest son. Major Edward Randolph Parry,
U. S. A., was a brave and gallant officer who served from the
beginning to the end of the Civil War of i86i. The following
notice of him appeared in many of the newspapers after his death,
which occurred at the "Old Parry Mansion."'
"Major Edward Randolph Parry, late of the United States Army, died
at his residence. New Hope, in this county, April 13, 1874, and was buried
on the i6th at Solebury burying ground. He was a son of the late
Oliver Parry, of Philadelphia and Bucks county, and was bo.rn July 27th,
1832. In May, 1861, he entered the army as first lieutenant in the nth
United States Infantry and served throughout the war with great credit.
In 1864 he was made captain in the nth; afterwards transferred to the
20th, and on re-organization of the army was promoted to a Majorality
for gallant services. He was in the terrible fighting along the line of the
Weldon railroad, and before Petersburg, Va., commanding his regiment
in several actions. In 1865 he was Assistant Adjutant General of the
Regular Brigade, Army of Potomac, and served upon the stafif of Gen-
eral Winthrop, when he was killed. At Lee's surrender he was attached
to army headquarters. In 1868 Major Parry commanded Forts Philip
and Jackson at the mouth of the Mississippi, and Fort Ripley in I\Iinne-
sota, in 1869. He resigned on account of ill health in 1871."
Major Parry's wife was Frances, daughter of General Justin
Dimick, U. S. A., whom he married in Boston, Mass., December
17th, 1863. She with one child, an unmarried daughter named
Catharine, survived him. Two other children, daughters, died
young.
Dr. George Randolph Parry, son of Rachel and Oliver
Parry, herein mentioned, died it the age of 54 years.
He was well known, had many friends and was greatly
beloved by his patients, many of whom still mourn his loss,
and to many he was not only the physician but kind friend as
well. The following notice is from one of the Doylestown
papers of the day :
the; parry family of new hopf 85
"A little after 11 o'clock on Monday morning last, Dr. G. R. Parry,
of New Hope, breathed his last. The Doctor was brought home from
Atlantic City in a very critical condition on Thursday of last week, where
he had gone for the benefit of his health. He was suffering from an
aggravated case of jaundice, coupled with other diseases.
"Dr. George Randolph Parry was the third son of Oliver and Rachel
Randolph Parry, and was born in Philadelphia, September 3, 1839. He
began the study of medicine in Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in
1859, and graduated in 1862. He entered the Medical Department of the
University of Pennsylvania in 1864, and was graduated in 1867. He be-
gan the practice of medicine the same year at Union Springs, N. Y.,
remaining there until 1880. He then located in New Hope, in the ances-
tral home, the "Old Parry Mansion," where he built up a large practice.
Dr. Parry was a member of the Bucks County Medical Association, and
the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He was married March 2, 1869,
to Miss Elizabeth VanEtten, by whom he had two daughters. Elizabeth
Randolph and Jane Paxson.
Dr. Parry was also a member of this society and of the Medical
Society of Hunterdon county, New Jersey, facts not stated, how-
ever, in this newspaper notice.
OHver and Rachel R. Parry's son, Richard, still survives and
owns and occupies the "Old Parry Mansion" at New Hope. He
married Ellen L. Read, of Portland, Maine, on October 11, 1866,
and they have three children, two daughters, Gertrude R. and
Adelaide R., and one son. This son, Oliver Randolph Parry,
born March 29, 1878, married Lida Mae Kreamer, and have one
child, Margaret, born May 3, 190 1. This is the child already
noted as having been born in the same room of the "Old Parry
Mansion" in which her great-grandfather Oliver Parry was born
one hundred and seven years ago.
The longevity of the Parry's of Bucks county as a rule has
been frequently noted and commented upon in private and in
the public press, and indeed the following memorandum shows
that a number of them have attained a green old age :
Benjamin Parry, born March 1st, 1757, and died in his
83d year.
Daniel Parry, brother of Benjamin, born 1774, and died aged
82 years.
David Parry, brother of Benjamin, born 1767, died aged 81
years.
Oliver Parry, son of Benjamin, born 1794, died aged 80 years.
86 THE PARRY FAMILY OF NEW HOPE
Ruth Parry, daughter of Benjamin, born 1794. died aged
89 years.
Jane Parry, daughter of Benjamin, born 1799, died in her
81st year.
David Parry, cousin of Benjamin, born 1778, died aged 97
years.
Charity Parry, sister of David, born 1781, died aged 98 years.
Tacy Parry, sister of David, was hving in 1877, then over
90 years.
Mercy Parry, sister of David, was hving in 1877, then over
90 years.
Hannah Parry, died 1876, aged 88 years.
Thomas F. Parry, of Attleborough, cousin of aboye Benjamin,
died March 27th, 1876, aged 85 years.
Daniel Parry, born April 21, 1774, and son of John Parry,
was more than 17 years younger than his brother, Benjamin,
and followed him to Coryell's Ferry several years later. He
was engaged with Benjamin in various business enterprises and
was a man of considerable estate. He was the owner or interest-
ed in large tracts of timber lands in Pennsylvania, in the counties
of Carbon, Wayne, Luzerne, etc., the title to some of which was
derived through the Marquis de Noailles, of France. Parryville,
Carbon county. Pa., was named for this Daniel Parry. It is
on the Lehigh river and was formerly an important point for
the shipment of anthracite coal. It was supposed it would become
a considerable town, but other places overshadowed it. Upon
the building of the Lehigh Valley Railroad it became, and is, one
of its stations. Daniel Parry married Martha Dilworth, of Dil-
worthtown. Pa., they had but one child, named for his grand-
father, John, who died in infancy. Mr. Parry's wife died April
3, 183 1, aged 53 years, and he survived her for 25 years, but never
married again. After his death there was found among his
effects a tiny half-worn shoe, which had been his infant son's
and which the father's loving and faithful heart had treasured
for half a century and was doubtless many a time bedewed
with his tears.
Daniel Parry was a man possessed of many lovable traits of
character, and in his intercourse with all, practiced a courtesy
the; parry family of new hopf 87
and kind consideration of manner such as was always to be found
in the true "gentleman of the old school."
He was extremely benevolent and his charities were wide and
many in the community in which he lived. The county papers
in noticing his death spoke of him "as a man of large benev-
olence and a generous friend to the destitute," and many poor
persons, indeed, mourned his taking away and felt that they
had lost a sincere friend, ever ready to help them.
In one of the chambers of the "Old Parry Mansion" styled
the "Antique Room" there hangs on the wall a framed sampler,
worked by Martha Dilworth Parry before her marriage, and
dated 1788, and it thus recites:
"This work in hand my friends may have when I am dead
and gone. Martha Dilworth, her work, in the eleventh year of
her age, in the year of our Lord, 1788," and it is with a strange
sensation that one reads from the wall the words and message
of this fair young girl, speaking to us through the misty and
far distant past of one hundred and thirteen years ago.
Long after their emigration to America from Great Britain
and other foreign lands the descendants of the early settlers
retained many of the customs and methods of their homes in
the old world, as shown by the Penn and Logan irredeemable
ground-rents, etc.^ the exaction of the annual red rose rental,
preserved by Lancaster county's, Pa., early iron founder, the
Baron Henry William Stiegel in his deed of gift to Zion Lutheran
Church, Manheim, in said county, of a plot of ground for the
church, in A. D. 1772. Also a somewhat similar quit rental
payment by the city of Easton, Pa., annually to the Penns, which
reservation was released by Granville John Penn, Esq., of Eng-
land, on his last visit to Pennsylvania some 30 or 40 years ago.
In "York Road Old and New," at page 369, Rev. Hotchkin
states that "an interesting bit of local history in this section lies
in the fact that an old family on the Pennsylvania side of the
Delaware river had a quit rent like the Penns on the Jersey
side, by which 32 shad per year were to be delivered to them for
one hundred years and this was faithfully carried out for the
century when it expired by its own limitation." I might add
that this reservation was held by the Parry family, that the
32 shad were received regularly during the life time of my
88 THE PARRY FAMILV OF NFW HOPE
grandfather Benjamin Parry, and my father Ohver Parry, and
were paid to me, as the active executor of my father, for some
dozen 'or more years after his death. It took many more
than the 32 shad during the season to supply the family table,
but somehow the surplus, which we had to pay for, did not seem
to have that extra fine flavor of the 32 which came and were
delivered to us as a matter of ownership and light.
Times, events, customs, all change, but the noble Delaware,
placid and changeless still flows on its tireless course to the sea,
as it did in the old days, and a happy and prosperous people
still abide on its banks at historic "Coryell's Ferry" as their
fathers did in the long ago. And still in the twentieth century,
as in the eighteenth, do we find the family herein named and
there let us leave them.
CHIMNEY CORNER AND CRANE IN KITCHEN OF Ol^D PARRY
MANSION; BUIIvT 17S4.
William Penn's Children.
BY REV. D. K. TURNER, HARTSVILLE, PA.
(Wrightstown Meeting, October i, 1901.)
It has been remarked that the children of eminent men rarely
attain the celebrity of their fathers. Though this may be true,
we are not destitute of curiosity to know something about the
posterity of those, who have written their names in large letters
on the tablets of fame. Particularly is this the fact in regard
to such as have lived in the region we inhabit, or have been
closely associated with it.
Few who have heard the deserved praises of William Penn,
the founder of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, know
much about his domestic history, or of those who have looked up
to him as their father. It may not be amiss, therefore, to
dwell for a brief period upon the children of him who was
once the proprietor of all the lands in our State, who felt a special
interest in our county, and who fixed one of his places of resi-
dence within its bounds.
Penn was married early in 1672, about a year and a half after
the death of his father, to Gulielma Maria Springfield, daughter
of Sir William Springfield. His first child was a daughter,
named for her mother, Gulielma Maria, who lived but a few
months. His next two children were twins, William and Mary,
born in 1673. William lived only about a year and died in 1674,
and Mary survived nine months longer, passing away during the
same year. The fourth child, named for his mother's family,
Springfield, was born in 1675, and lived to grow up to manhood,
dying in 1696, being at his death about twenty years of age. Thus
we find that the father had been sorely bereaved by the loss of
three children before the birth of the fourth, and before he
came to America. The fifth child of Penn was Letitia, born in
1678, at Worminghurst. She was a bright, healthy, lively girl
and lived to be an old woman. When Penn made his second
visit to America in 1699, she came with him and her stepmother,
and saw something of the New World and of the society of the
90 WILLIAM PENN S CHILDREN"
infant city of Philadelphia. It is reported of her that she was
taken by her father to the home of Thomas Evans in Gwynedd,
whither he went on some business. While there she heard men
threshing grain at the barn with a flail ; she went out to see the
operation and thought she could do that ; they let her try her
skill and she brought down the loose part of the implement in
a racket around her head and shoulders and ran back to the
house in a hurry. After being in Philadelphia and vicinity about
two years, William Masters, a young man, paid her special atten-
tion with a view to marriage and she seemed to favor the suit.
But the Proprietor put down his iron heel on the project and soon
the wide ocean parted the lovers. Probably this caused him
much regret subsequently, for in 1702 she married William Au-
brey, who sprang from a genteel family, but lacked sufficient
energy or disposition to maintain those who were dependent
upon him. He seemed to imagine that it behooved his father-in-
law to furnish him with the means of support, and made imperi-
ous demands for large sums of money at frequent intervals.
While Penn encountered great difficulties with the Council, his
agents and the settlers in Pennsylvania, and expended much of
his private resources for the benefit of the Province, and received
little pecuniary return. Aubrey insisted that a large amount from
the new world should be paid to him. Penn in one of his letters
says that he had given Aubrey ii.ioo and that "his treatment
of him was mad and bullying and that nothing but his rude and
tempestuous conduct would have forced it from him." The do-
â– mestic relations of Letitia to her husband were not always har-
monious and cloufls sometimes darkened their sk^^ She died
without children in 1746. aged 68 years. Aubrey preceded her
to the grave fifteen years, obeying the last summons in 1731.
The sixth child of Penn was named William, as one before
had been, born in 1680. at Worminghurst. The mansion on
this estate, surrounded by extensive grounds and beautifully
situated in the Southdowns. within a few miles of the sea. was
the home of the great philanthropist a protracted period. This
fine property, which came under his control through his wife,
was bequeathed by her at her death in 1694 to her son. William,
then fourteen years old. When he was twenty-six years of
age. in 1707, he sold it, but before his death he had squandered
WILLIAM pe;nn s children 91
the large sum he obtained for it. From this fact it would seem
that he was inclined to profuseness, if not to profligacy. He
married Mary Jones.
William Penn in his manhood possessed estates in England and
Ireland, derived from his father, Admiral Penn. These produced
an income of ii,500 a year, or about $7,500 annually, and were
generally esteemed more valuable than the lands in America. At
the death of the Founder William Penn in 1718, the estates in
Ireland were left to his son William, but after his decease differ-
ent claimants entered suit for them and the decision was not
rendered till 1800, when it was determined by court that they
belonged to the heirs of Peter Gaskill and Alexander Burden,
some of Penn's descendants.
The seventh of Penn's children was Gulielma ]\Iaria. She
was born in 1685. and died when four years of age, in 1689.
She was the fourth that was taken from him in early life. By
his first marriage he had seven children, only two of whom sur-
vived the perils of childhood and youth. The five that crossed
the dark river prematurely were laid away for final repose in
the family lot at Jordans.
Penn's first wife, Gulielma Maria Springfield, died in 1694,
when they had been married twenty-two years ; he wrote and
published a little volume in which he praised in warm terms her
virtuous, exemplary career and her peaceful. Christian death,
and took as the motto of it, "The memory of the just is blessed."
SECOND MARRIAGE OF WILLIAM PENN
Two years after the death of his first wife, being in sore need of
a discreet companion and of a competent lady at the head of his
large domestic establishment, he was joined in marriage to Han-
nah Callowhill, a member of the society of Friends, with which
most or all of her relatives were connected.
Not long subsequent to this, in 1697, he removed from Worm-
inghurst to Bristol, for which town the one in our own county
was named. It was the place of his residence when he sailed
to America on his second visit in 1699. The vessel met with
violent contrary winds, which delayed it so long that three months
elapsed before it reached Philadelphia. But he represents the
tempestuous weather, though most tedious and severe to the
92 WILLIAM PENN S CHILDREN
travelers, as the means of purifying the city of a dreadful visita-
tion of yellow fever, in the course of which no less than 215 per-
sons from that comparatively small settlement were carried ofif,
and which disappeared soon after he arrived. He first went to the
house of Edward Shippen, where he spent a month, and then
moved to Samuel Carpenter's, in Second street, south of Chest-
nut, in which his first child by his second marriage was born,
called John Penn, in 1699. Isaac Norris wrote thus about him
in a letter in 1701 : "The Governor, wife and daughter well.
Their little son is a lovely baby and has much of his father's
grace and air." John is reported to have remembered something
of the city of his birth in after years, though this seems problem-
atical, as he was only two years old when the family returned to
England. He was nineteen years of age when his father died.
He is described by Watson as "quite an amiable man," and
James Logan, who was Penn's agent, or deputy governor many
years, says that he was "the favorite of all the Proprietor's
children." He lived most of the time at Bristol, England, en-
gaged in trade with a cousin in the linen business, till 17 12, when
his father was disabled by paralysis. Though by the paternal
will the American possessions were devised to three sons, John,
Thomas and Richard, yet in the final agreement of affairs they
fell under the principal control of John and he is not infrequent-
ly spoken of as the "heir of Pennsylvania." However, he bore
his distinction and superior advantage with affability, avoiding
haughtiness and unbecoming pride. The Colonists immigrated
from the northern country, influenced to a large extent by a
desire to enjoy liberty, civil, social and religious, and they were
not averse to control, which they did not impose upon them-
selves. Penn gave them a system under which they chose repre-
sentatives to frame and execute laws, and they desired to do
this in their own way. They thought that as lands which had
been sold to them were liable to taxation to support the gov-
ernment, those large districts still owned by the Proprietaries
should be taxed likewise, as they were protected by the same
authority. Hence disputes arose, ill feeling was engendered and
harmony of counsels, between Penn or his sons on the one hand
and the settlers on the other, was often interrupted.
But John Penn was as popular as a ruler under such un favor-
WILIvIAM PENN S CHILDREN 93
able circumstances could be expected to be. He visited America
in 1734, when he was 35 years of age, and was received with the
honor due to the exalted position he occupied as the highest mag-
istrate of a noble, rapidly advancing Commonwealth. He died in
1776, at the age of jy, and left his estates to his brother, Thomas.
Thomas Penn, second son of the Founder by the second
marriage, was born March 9, 1702, in Bristol, in the house of
Thomas Callowhill, his maternal grandfather. At the age of
fifty he married Lady Tulianna Pernor, and had a daughter,
Sophia Margaret, who became the wife of Archbishop Stuart,
of Armagh, a descendant of the royal family of Stuart and Lord
Primate of all Ireland. This prelate suffered many years with
gout and having at one time called in the night for an opiate
to relieve his pain, his wife gave him the wrong medicine, which
soon was followed by his death. She was struck with horror at her
mistake, rushed into the street in her night dress and her hair
turned white. She never recovered her equanimity.
Thomas Penn owned the site of the city of Easton, Pa., and
gave to the young town two squares of ground for a court-house
and prison. In this it was stipulated that a red rose should be
given yearly at Christmas to the head of the Penn family. In
course of time the city fathers wished to remove the court-house
and prison and employ the ground for a public park. To ac-
complish this legally they were obliged to secure the consent of
the heir, who happened to be in America at the time. This was
granted the more readily, because they sent him a check for a con-
siderable sum of money.
Thomas Penn had a son, John, the last of the lire of that name,
who was a gentleman of fine taste, fond of curiosities and rare
and beautiful specimens in literature and art; a builder and
ornamenter of mansions. He published two volumes of poems,
elegantly printed and bound in expensive style. He was Gov-
ernor of the Island of Portland, off the coast of England, from
w^hich celebrated building stone is quarried, the material used
in the erection of the two Houses of Parliament. He built a
castle there and called it Pennsylvania Castle. While he re-
sided there and performed the duties of magistrate. King George
III sometimes came to Weymouth, adjoining the island, and John
was a member of the royal court. This grandson of the Founder
94 WILLIAM PE;nN S CHILDREN
visited the New World and erected the pretty dwelhng on the west
bank of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia opposite Fairmount Park,
called Solitude. This he occupied as a residence and employed
his time largely in elegant studies, in which he very much dis-
liked to be interrupted by the intrusion of curious strangers.
He had a younger brother, Granville, who was an author and
engaged in literary pursuits, and who inherited his rights in
Pennsylvania. The son of the latter, called Granville John Penn,
came to Pennsylvania in 175 1, and once afterwards. He realized
far less from the magnificent property in this State than he
should have done, as agents sold it at insignificant prices before
it was ripe for the market. While on this side the ocean many
honors were showered upon him by the mayor and councils of
Philadelphia, a public dinner was tendered and speeches were
made of rare elegance and classical taste.
His only brother, Thomas, the only survivor of the name of
Penn, died childless in 1869. The last of the Founder's de-
scendants bearing his name has passed away.
The poet Gray, author of the "Elegy in a Country Church-
yard," one of the most delightful, though melancholy poems,
ever written, lived on a farm belonging to the Penn estate and was
very highly esteemed by Granville John Penn. The original
manuscript of the Eleg}^ was preserved as a relic in Gray's
house. Granville John was many years a magistrate for Bucks
county, in England, and lived there a still longer period, and the
name of the district, in which we reside, is most intimately asso-
ciated with the family. He died in 1867, with a will in his hand
unsigned and his property descended to his brother, Thomas, who
was a clergyman of the established Episcopal Church of England,
but who possessed no inclination or capacity for the management
of financial afifairs, and at his decease it went to his nearest
relative, William Stuart, an ofifshoot of royalty.
Besides John and Thomas, concerning whom we have already
spoken, William Penn by his second wife had a daughter, Han-
nah Marfiarita, born in 1703, died in 1707, aged four years. A
son, Dennis, born 1706, died unmarried in 1722, aged 16 years,
four years after his father's decease. He was assigned a share
in the Pennsylvania property. A daughter, Hannah, born in
London, 1708, died in 1709, aged a few months. He also had a
WII.UAM Pe;nN S CHILDREN 95
daughter Margaret, who was born in 1704 and hved to maturity.
She married Thomas Fraeme, and died in England in 1751, aged
47 years. Her husband, Thomas Fraeme, was a captain of one
of the seven companies, raised in 1740 in Pennsylvania to take
part in an expedition against Carthagena, South America, in the
war with Spain, under Admiral Vernon.
The Fraeme family came to Philadelphia wuth John Penn,
in September, 1734, and lived there some years, and it was during
this residence that he was at the head of one of the Pennsylvania
battalions in the struggle with Spain.
Penn likewise had a son, Richard, born in 1705, who grew
up and married Hannah Lardner. He was one of the Propri-
etaries of Pennsylvania, and greatly interested in the prosperity
of the Province. A remarkable paper drawn up by Thomas Penn
and completed by Benjamin Franklin in 1759, reckons the value
of the lands and improvements in the Colony to be ten millions
of pounds, or fifty millions of dollars, a truly magnificent sum in
those days. Twenty years later, November 27, 1779, the Legis-
lature of Pennsylvania passed an act escheating it, or confiscating
it all to the Commonwealth. It was no longer to be undvr the con-
trol of or subject to dues from the Proprietaries. This wa.= far
more valuable than any other ever forfeited to the States, perhaps
more so than any ever forfeited by law in the whole world. By this
act, however, the private estates of the Proprietaries were re-
served to them and £130,000 sterling, or $650,000, was directed
to be paid to the legatees and divisees of Thomas and Richard
Penn on the termination of the Revolutionary War in remem-
brance of the enterprising spirit of the Founder, and in view
of the expectations and dependence of his descendants.
In addition to this the English Parliament in 1790 granted
an annuity of £4.000 or $20,000 per annum to the eldest male
descendant of William Penn by his second wife, to indemnify
the family for their loss in Pennsylvania.
John Penn. son of Richard, and grandson of the Founder, was
Governor of the Colony from 1763 to 1771, and from 1775 to
1776. He died in this county in 1795.
The amount of money received by Pennsylvania from the sale
of lands originally granted to Penn was £824.000 or $4,120,000.
As a summary of the statements in respect to Penn's family.
96 BOG art's inn, an old hostelry
it may be said that he had fourteen children, seven by each
marriage, of whom a large number died in very early childhood
and only a few survived to have a share in the labors and re-
sponsibilities of manhood and womanhood.
Bogart's Inn, An Old Hostelry.
BY WARREN S. ELY, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
(Wrightstown Meeting, October i, iqoi.)
There is something about the very word "Inn' that appeals to
the English speaking race. We are fully mindful of the fact
that m modern times many of our best citizens do not concern
themselves with the roadside inn except to file remonstrances
against the granting of license ; but it is the duty of the historian
to record what has taken place in the past : and the inn cannot
be eliminated from the records of our county without positive
detriment to local history. In fact the old time hostelry was a
most conspicuous institution so far as human habitations had to
do with the life and customs of the people. Some philosopher
has said "There is no hospitality in the world like that of the
inn." From time immemorial the inn has had its place in history
and romance. Who would eliminate the old "Blue Boar" from
the legends of Robin Hood and his merry men ? What man so
lacking in imagination and poetic sentiment that he cannot pic-
lure and appreciate the famous old inns of the English coaching
days with the light from glowing logs on the wide hearth re-
flected on pewter tankards and platters ; the savory roasts turn-
ing on the spit, the quaint paved courts and cool gardens?
And in our own country, in the early days when this great and
powerful Republic was struggling for its very life, what an at-
mosphere of romance surrounded the inn. Every cloaked and
mud-stained stranger seeking the hospitality of the inn was
watched by eagle-eyed, stern-faced men : and under smoke-
stained joists, by the light of a tallow dip were seen gathered for
mutual counsel the architects oi the grand Republic of which
we are so proud to-day.
The modern great piles we call hotels, with their tiled corri-
dors, myriads of glittering lights, luxurious furniture and uni-
bogart's inn, an old hostelry 97
formed lackeys are the resorts of politicians and statesmen, but
none of them is so closely associated with the life of the times
as was the humble inn, that witnessed the birth and evolution
of this great nation.
And so these ancient taverns become a subject of importance
to the student of local history. The relation of the country inn
or tavern, on one of the main thoroughfares, to the community
in which it was located, a century and a half ago, is an interest-
ing study. It was almost the sole point of contact with the
outside world to the isolated pioneer in the country districts. The
ponderous stage-coach, then the only public conveyance, dis-
charging its living freight at the doors of the country inn for a
single meal or night's lodging, brought to him glimpses of the
outside world, of the fashions of the cities and remote settle-
ments, as well as news of the progress of civilization in the new
country. The drover of cattle from the back settlements, seek-
ing u market for the product of the virgin meadows brought
to the home dweller the gossip and news from distant settle-
ments. The Provincial land-surveyor, on his return from laying-
out new tracts for settlement, brought news of a new conquest
of virgin forest and mead. The strolling fiddler beguiled the
winter evening for swain and damsel and won his way to
their hearts and pockets. And so, about the simple country inn,
gathered all sorts and conditions of men having a common in-
terest, coming in contact with each other and the outside world,
learned the great lesson of toleration, which is the corner-stone
of civil and religious liberty.
In our day of railroads, trolleys, telegraph and telephone lines
intersecting every rural district, it is hard to realize how much
of a necessity the old time tavern was to our great-grandsires;
nor do the present dwellers in this quiet neighborhood realize
that 150 years ago, the great highway of communication, not
only between New York and Philadelphia, but between New
England and the latter city and points South and West, ran
through our county.
Early in the second half of the eighteenth century a petition
for a license to keep a "House of Entertainment" at what is
now the home of Thomas H. Ruckman in Solebury township,
4
98 bogart's inn, an old hostelry
sets forth that the "appHcant is compelled to entertain nu-
merous drovers and other travellers from New Ingland, Vermont,
New York, and the Jersie States." And we recall an instance
where the petition for a license at Warwick Cross Roads, now
Hartsville, was signed by numerous residents ni New Jersey,
Forks of Delaware, and points beyond, who stated that they had
been entertained at that hostelry for many years ; it being,
"The end of their first day's journey" out from Philadelphia.
This was in 1755. when the license was withheld, supposedly
on account of the character of the applicant. The court in
those days evidently exercised a more careful discretion in the
granting of license than at a later period, and no mere grog-shop
was ever tolerated. Therefore, the character of the men who
obtained license was probably above that of the average hotel-
keeper of to-day. In fact the average inn-keeper was a leading
man in his community and exercised a wide influence therein.
We could refer to a number of colonial inn-keepers who achieved
distinction and left a record of civil and military service with-
out a blemish. A direct ancestor of Theodore Roosevelr was
for many years an inn-keeper within a few miles of thi'S place.
In our own Quaker community the attitude of the members
of the society of Friends toward the inn was not altogether
unfriendly, though the meeting very early manifested a strong
feeling against the use of intoxicating liquor. The Friends evi-
dently realized the necessity of the inn, since it relieved them
of the burden of entertaining numerous travelers wending their
tedious way across our county from the Jerseys and elsewhere ;
and we find the names of the most prominent Friends appended
to petitions for license to keep houses of entertainment. In
fact the names of many of them will be found on the lists of
inn-keepers in various parts of the county.
Buckingham towniship was without a tavern within its borders
for a longer period after its settlement than any other township in
the county. The first petition for license within the township, of
which we have a record, was in 1748, when Benjamin Kinsey
sought to obtain a "recommendation to his Excellency the Gouv-
ernor" to keep a house of entertainment at the present village
of Holicong, "Where one part of Durham Road crosses York
Road, that leads from Canby's Ferry to Philadelphia, and neare
BOGART S INN, AN OLD HOSTELRY 99
the Road that leads from said York Road to Butler's Mill and
North Wales." This petition though numerously signed by his
brethren and Quaker neighbors, the Byes, Pearsons, Scarbroughs,
Shavvs, Browns and others was turned down, as were a number
of other applications for several years following.
At the sessions of the court held June ii, 1752, George
Hughes, of Buckingham, presented his petition for license to
keep a house of entertainment where he lived at the junction of the
York and Durham roads and his petition was "allowed." This
was the first tavern in Buckingham, and stood where the farm-
house on the Hughesian farm now stands. At that time the
nearest taverns were Canby's, at the Ferry, now New Hope, on
the east; Joseph Smith's, at Wrightstown, on the southeast,
Neshaminy bridge on the south; Doyle's on the northwest,
and Patrick Poe's "Sign of the Plough" on the north. Hughes
does not seem to have been pleased with the venture, as he did
not renew his application until eleven years later. At the June
sessions, 1763, he again petitions for a license. This later peti-
tion is supplemented by a numerously signed recommendation
of his neighbors and others, setting forth that "Where George
Hughes is living is a suitable and convenient place for a publick
House of Entertainment, and where one is very much wanted,
and he having put himself to a considerable expence in buildings
and preparing of other necessaries to enable him to undertake
the business, they make bold to pray the Court, would be
pleased to grant such recommendation, &c." To this paper ap-
pear the names of 67 persons, comprising most of the adjacent
land owners and a few from Wrightstown, Warwick and Sole-
bury. Among them were the names Fell, Gillingham, Parry,
Brown, Church. Fenton. Chapman, Watson, Bye, Blaker, Ely,
and many other names still familiar in the neighborhood.
At the same session of court the petition of Henry Jami-
son was presented, setting forth that the petitioner "hath lately
purchased the House and Plantation of Samuel Blaker, adjoining
the Roads that lead from Philadelphia to New York and from
Newtown to Durham" and asks that he be recommended to
the Governor to obtain a license, &c. Like the petition of
Hughes, this one has appended to it the following supplement :
"The undersigned are acquainted with Henry Jamison and be-
lOO BOGART S INN, AN OLD HOSTELRY
lieve him to be a proper person to keep a House of Enter-
tainment * * '^ that there is no tavern within foure miles, &c."
This recommendation is signed by John Gregg, then sherifif
of the county, Joseph Ellicott, who became sheriff four years
later ; Samuel Harrold, William Corbet, Euchdes Scarbrough,
Matthew McMinn, Thomas, Samuel and Benjamin Kinsey, nine
in all, and all with the exception of the Kinseys and Ellicott, like
the petitioner, of Scotch-Irish origin. This petition was "al-
lowed" and Hughers' is marked "rejected."
Henry Jamison was born in the neighboring township of War-
wick in the year 1729, only a few years after the arrival of his
father, grandfather and uncles from county Tyrone, Ireland.
"The Plantation" referred to in the petition comprised 166
acres, embracing the present farm of Joseph Anderson and
all the land iying between it and the York road. It was a
part of the 1,000 acres "back in the woods." which Richard
Lundy received in exchange for 200 acres on the Delaware in
the year 1688. The 200 acres, of which the 166 acres were
a part, were conveyed by Lundy to Francis Rossel in 1692,
who devised it to the sons of his friend Samuel Burgess. John
Burgess conveyed it to Lawrence Pearson in 1702, who, in
the following year, conveyed a one-half interest therein to
his brother Enoch Pearson, reserving to the heirs of the said
Lawrence Pearson "the right to get limestone for their own
use, with free ingress and egress to fetch the same." The
Pearsons conveyed to Robert Saunders, he to Benjamin Hop-
per, Hopper to James Lennox, in 1724, Lennox to Thomas
Canby in 1729 and Canby to Samuel Blaker in 1747. As the
home of Thomas Canby. a prominent Friend, a justice of the
peace and member of Colonial Assembly, it became a place
of noted hospitality and local prominence.
Under the administration of Mine Host Jamison and his en-
terprising wdfe Mary, supposed to have been the sister of Sher-
iff Gregg, the Buckingham inn became profitable. No com-
plaint came from his Quaker neighlx)rs and we find it soon
became a popular stopping and meeting place for local, county
and State ofificials, it being a sort of "Half-way House" be-
tween the county-seat and the upper parts of the county. Hen-
ry Jamison died on June 29, 1776, and the license was trans-
BOGART S INN, AN OLD HOSTELRY lOI
ferred to his widow, ^lary Jamison, on September 15, 1767,
and she continued as the popular hostess until ten years later.
In the fall of 1767 Mrs. Jamison petitioned the court for
the sale of her husband's real estate, and herself became the
purchaser, through the medium of John Gregg, then a resi-
dent of New Jersey, who ofificiated as the "'Straw man," tak-
ing the title from the widow as administratrix and transfer-
ring it back to her as femme sole.
In the winter of 1772 the jolly landlady took unto herself a
new mate in the person of one, John Bogart, presumably a son
or grandson of Guysbert Bogart, Sr., of Solebury township, a
"Knickerbocker" who had migrated from the Dutch settlement
upon the Raritan to Solebury about 1740, and in 1742 purchased
of the Canbys a large tract of land along the Buckingham
line, at Lahaska. Jacob Bogart, Esq., was one of the justices
who recommended the granting of the license to Jamison in 1763,
and Guysbert Bogart was an innkeeper at "iforks of Dellawar"
(Easton) in 1750.
It was as "Bogart's tavern" that the inn was known during
the early part of the Revolution, the license having been issued
in his name in 1773 and successively until 1777.
Under date of Aug. 15, 1773, a distinguished traveler enters
in his diary: "House of Jamison's neat and clean, dinner indiffer-
ent, claret verv bad."
The first meeting of the "Bucks County Committee of Safety,"
after its full organization by representatives from each township,
was held at Bogart's tavern, on July 21, 1775, at which the field
officers of the "associated companies" of the county were selected.
This was one of the most important meetings ever held in the
county, as it was the first organized movement toward arming for
the conflict with the mother country. Then it was that the lead-
ers realized that pacific protests were unavailable. It represented
the parting-of-the-ways between the non-combatants and those
who had determined to enforce their rights bv force of arms if
necessary. Heretofore, a number of person? who had been selec-
ted to represent their townships in the committee, "being of the
People called Quakers and others, alleging scruples of conscience
relative to the business necessarily transacted by the committee
desired to be released from further attendance." Among those
I02 BOGART S INN_, AN OLD HOSTELRY
who retired at this meeting were Jacob Strawn, of Haycock; John
Wilkinson, of Wrightstown ; Thomas Foulke, of Richland ; Jona-
than Ingham, of Solebury ; John Chapman, of Upper Makefield ;
Joseph Watson, of Buckingham, and Thomas Jenks, of Middle-
town, Quakers, and Abraham Stout, of Rockhill, a Mennonite.
Their places were directed to be filled by election prior to the next
meeting of the committee on August 21st. At the following meet-
ing John Lacey, later the distinguished general, was returned in
place of \\^ilkinson ; John Coryell, of Solebury, in place of Ingham,
and William Carver, of Buckingham, in place of Joseph Watson.
The treasurer reported having received donations for the peo-
ple of Boston amounting to £75, 4s., 4d., and had forwarded
the same, producing the receipt of John Adams, one of the "Com-
mittee of the Town of Boston." for that amount. Complaint
was made against several persons for remarks derogatory of the
Continental Congress and the committee and the offenders were
examined by special committees, and the following is a sample
of the refutation they signed which is entered in full upon the
minutes of the committee :
"Whereas, I have spoken injuriously of the distressed People of the
Town of Boston and disrespectfully of the measures prosecuting for the
redress of American grievances, I do hereby declare that I am heartily
sorry for what I have done, voluntarily renouncing mj' former principles
and promise for the future to render my conduct incxceptable to my
Countrymen by strictly adhering to the measures of Congress."
(Signed) Thomas Meredith."
Thomas Smith, of Upper Makefield, was alleged to have said
that
"Measures of Congress had already enslaved America and done more
damage than all the Acts of Parliament were intended to lay upon us,
and the whole revolt was nothing but a scheme of hot-headed Presbyter-
ians * * * that the devil was at the bottom of the whole of it * * *
that taking up arms was the most scandalous thing a man could be guilty
of and more heinous than a hundred of the grossest offences against the
law."
A resolution was adopted denouncing him and declarini^ that
"he be con.^idered as an enemy of therightsnf British America and that all
persons break oft' every kind of dealing with him until he shall make proper
satisfaction to the Committee for his conduct."
Smith appeared at the next meeting, Sept. 11, 1775, and expres-
sed his sorrow for imprudent expressions and promised such
BOGART S INN, AN OLD HOSTELRY IO3
support as was consistent with the principles of Friends.
The meetings of the committee were held at Bogarts each
month almost continuously during the years 1775 and 1776 and
the minutes of their proceedings give abundant proof of the zeal
and patriotism of the members.
Bogart's tavern, was not only the headquarters of the Com-
mittee of Safety, but of many of the associated companies of
this section of the county, and the old roadside inn has no doubt
witnessed the evolutions of many an awkward squad of raw re-
cruits, training for service in the defence of their country. A
tragic incident that occurred at one of these trainings is related
by one of our local historians. A training was in progress at
the public house of John Bogart on Aug. 14, 1775, when Robert
Poque (Polk) and John Shannon two embryo patriots from the
neighboring township of Warwick, repaired to the house of Wil-
liam Ely, now the home of Albert S. Paxson, to borrow a gun to
use in the muster then going on, and having obtained the gun
Shannon in giving an exhibition of the exercise of training, acci-
dently discharged the firearm, the contents striking Polk in the
throat, killing him instantly. The Polks, the name then variously
spelled "Poque," "Poak," "Poke," were at that date large land
owners near Hartsville, and had emigrated from Carrickfergus,
Ireland, in 1725, and were without doubt of the same lineage as
President James K. Polk, one of the emigrant brothers bearing
the same given name as the ancestor of the President having re-
moved from Bucks county to the South about 1740. The inn
has not been without frequent glimpses of the main branch of the
Continental army under the great Commander-in-chief himself.
The movements of Washington and his army up and down the
York road to and from the Delaware are too much a matter of
history to need treatment here.
Gen. Gieene, when charged by Washington with the care and
safety of the boats on the river in December, \']'](), when our
country was threatened with an invasion by the British troops
from New Jersey, evidently had his headquarters for a time at
Bogart's as he writes from there under date of December 10,
1776, to General Ewing to send sixteen Durham boats and four
fiats down to McKonkey's ferry.
The Bogarts seem to have been verv zealous in the cause of
104 BOGART S INN, AN OLD HOSTI^LRY
independence, perhaps a little over zealous, in reporting to the
committee irrelevant and irresponsible remarks, made over a
convivial cup at the bar, as in at least one case reported by Mrs.
Bogart the committee decided that the "matter spoken and the
speaker were both too insignificant for the notice of this commit-
tee."
There is little doubt that certain members of the society of
Friends, the dominant class in this community, who only sought
to avoid taking up arms for reasons of religious conviction, suffer-
ed considerable injustice at the hands of a class of men suddenly
elevated to authority and actuated as much by the spirit of jeal-
ousy as of patriotism.
The P'ogarts disposed of the "Tavern and Plantation" to
William Bennett, of Wrightstown, in April, 1777, to whom the
license was issued in that year, and continuously until 1794, when
he rented the tavern property to Robert Meldrum, who continued
as landlord until 1797.
On April i, 1797, Bennett conveyed the tavern and fifteen acres
comprising the present lot on the south side of the York road
to Josiah Addis. The York road at that date swerved to the
right in front of the hotel, leaving "Lundy's line," and wound
in a long loop around the "Pond," striking its present route again
near its intersection with Broadhurst's lane. Bennett conveyed
that part of the tract lying across the York road, now occupied
by Frank Day's hall, shops. &c., to Jonathan Large, and when the
turnpike was laid out, practically on Lundy's line, the line of the
land remained unchanged.
The title and license of the tavern changed again in the spring
of 1805 wdien Josiah Addis conveyed it to Cornelius Van Horn
and John Marple. The license was issued to Van Horn, and he
purchased ]\Iarple's interest in the real estate in 1809, and con-
tinued as proprietor until his death, in February 18 14. His ex-
ecutors conveyed the property on April i, 1814, to ex-sheriff
Elisha Wilkinson, who remained the owner until his death in Feb-
ruary. 1846.
Col. Wilkinson, as he was familiarly known, was a son of John
Wilkinson before referred to and had already had several years
experience as an innkeeper. He came to Buckingham from New-
town in 1805, having purchased the tavern property, now known
bogart's inn, an old hostelry 105
as "The Bush," which he kept until after his election as slieriff
in 1809. He sold it in 181 1. He removed to the Centreville tav-
ern in the spring of 1814, and remained there for a period of 22
years. In the spring of 1836 he rented the tavern to Samuel
B. Willett, who kept it for the next two years and was succeeded
by Isaac McCarty, in 1838, he by Samuel Thatcher, who was the
tenant at the date of Col. Wilkinson's death in 1846. The tavern
was sold by the administrator of Wilkinson in 1856 to James
Vansant, who probably never occupied it, and dying about 1848
devised it to Edward Vansant, who held the license until 1852,
when he sold the property to Casper Yeager of Philadelphia. The
latter kept the hotel imtil July, 1856, when he conveyed it to
Francis B. Davis, who sold it the following year to William Cor-
son, who, after six years occupancy, conveyed it to the Righters,
who still hold the title and conduct the hotel.
This, in brief, is the official history of the ancient hostelry, now
nearly 140 years old. Its appearance to-day is greatly ch?.nged
from that of 100 years ago, it having been entirely remodeled
by the present owners in 1870. Though the original walls remain,
the long sloping roof was replaced by a mansard-roof, and the
kitchen end next the barn was raised to the level of the main
building. While under the administration of Sam.uel B. Willett,
Edward Hicks was employed to paint an elaborate sign repre-
senting Penn treating with the Indians which was erected upon a
pole in front of the tavern, where it remained for many years,
and during which period the inn was called "The Sign of Penn's
Treaty." Later it was known as "The Sign of Gen. Washington."
Under the administration of Col. Wilkinson the tavern became
widely known to the sporting fraternity, as the Colonel was a
great horse fancier and breeder. He introduced into the neigh-
borhood a very fine breed of Arabian horses. Soon after moving
to the tavern he purchased a tract of land across the York road,
then covered with timber, and laid out a quarter-mile track,
where his blooded colts were trained to run and trot. Samuel
Thatcher, a Jerseyman, who later became the landlord, was for
several years his trainer. Col. Wilkinson was a patron of the
turf for many years, and many of his racers won prizes at Long
Island and elsewhere.
The old stone house across the road, where George Hughes
io6 bogart's inn, an old hostelry
kept the tavern in 1752, and for which he sought to obtain a hcense
in 1763, was pulled down in the forties. It was built of rough
stone, pointed, and contained three rooms and hallway on the
lirst floor. It stood practically on the same site as the present
Hughesian farm-house. Old residents say that it looked at
least 100 years old in 1830, and it was probably the residence of
Matthew Hughes, the father of George, long before 1752, and
was probably occupied by both father and son at that date. Mat-
thew Hughes died in 1766, at a very advanced age, and devised
all his land south of the York road, comprising the Charles Wil-
liams and Hughesian farms, except 50 acres at the south corner,
to his son George. He had previously conveyed to George (1763)
100 acres, including the site of the inn. George Hughes died
in 1795, and by will dated in 1783, devised the "Stone house in
which I live and the meadow adjoining down to the big spring and
from there to the York road, making 50 acres in all," to the mother
of Amos Austin Hughes for life, then to Amos Austin Hughes
with all the rest of the plantation. He, however, made him a deed
for it in his life time, dated February 24, 1790.
At the death of Amos Austin Hughes, his housekeeper, Mary
Paxson, was left a life tenancy in the farm, and Thomas Broad-
hurst, her brother-in-law, removed there. Some years later a
story and a half addition was built to the end next the Durham
road, which was occupied by his daughter, Rachel Broadhurst,
as a store.
Wrightstown Settlers.
BV MRS. CYNTHIA S. HOLCOMB, PINEVILLE^ PA.
(Wrightstown Meeting, October i, 1901.)
Less than three hundred years ago the country about Wrights-
town was in a natural state, a wilderness as uncultivated as its
only occupants, the Indians, the untamed beasts and birds that
found refuge and subsistence from nature's stores. There was
no white settler north of Newtown until 1684, when John and
Jane Chapman, from Yorkshire, England, with their three chil-
dren, arrived near the close of the 12th month, which at that
day was called February, and not December, as it has been
called since the new style of computing time as prescribed by
an Act of Parliament in 1757, came into use. They were Friends
seeking religious liberty in the new country, and had purchased
500 acres of land before leaving England, upon a section of
which now stands the hamlet of Wrightstown, the meeting-house
and the graveyard. John Chapman presented four acres of
land to the meeting after it was established for its use. Until
they could build a log house this worthy family lived in a cave
in the woods, situated on what came to be the road from Wrights-
town to Penn's Park. In this cave twin sons were born and were
named Abraham and Joseph. They were always close adher-
ents to the religious faith of their parents. They had no neigh-
bors but Indians, with whom they always maintained friendly
relations.
The hardships that this pioneer family must have endured can
scarcely be realized in this day of ease and luxury. John Chap-
man died in 1694, at the age of 70 years, having lived only ten
years in this country. He was buried in the old graveyard at
Logtown (Penn's Park), the first burial-ground owned by
Wrightstown Friends. This old yard is no more. The wall
that surrounded it has long since been removed and over the
dust of the first white settlers of this township, John and Jane
Chapman, the plowman now turns the sod. But memory of the
good pair lives on. Their work is written in the historv of the
J08 WRIGHTSTOVVN SETTLERS
county and in the records of the meeting they so tirelessly served.
That they were sometimes ahiiost destitute of necessities is
shown from the fact that the Quarterly Aleeting appointed a com-
niittee to buy a cow to loan to John Chapman, which was done
at a cost of £4; th'vs occurred in 1694, the last year of his life.
Although the owner of 500 acres of land, until ii was under culti-
vation and markets within reach, it neither put money in his pock-
et nor milk in his cellar. The descendants of this family of
Chapmans at one time owned a large proportion of the land of
Wrightstown township, and were staunch members of the soci-
ety of Friends. The last member of the Wrightstown Monthly
Meeting by the name of Chapman wa'S Martha, who in 1884 pre-
sented the plot of ground to the Bucks County Historical Society
on which, in 1890, it erected a monument in memory of the cele-
brated great walk of 1737. Martha was an elder of the meeting
for many years, and died in 1888, at the advanced age of 92 years,
beloved and respected by all.
Within two years after the arrival of the Chapman family at
Wrightstown, William Smith came to share wi'Ji them the work
of making the wilderness blossom as a rose. Thomas "Croasdale,
John Penquite, William Lacey, Phineas Pemberton and others
with their families followed. They were all zealous Friends.
Their first meeting for worship was held at the house of John
Chapman by authority of Middletown Monthly Meeting, held 4th-
mo., 4th, 1686, and was to be held on First days once a month.
Until the Monthly and Quarterly Meetings were established at
Wrightstown in 1734, those devout Christians would walk to Falls
or Middletown to be found in their places and assist in worship
and discipline.
Notwithstanding so much of their time and not a little of then-
money were devoted to their religious requirements, yet they stead-
ily increased in basket and in store. They had sought the right-
eousness of God first and reaped the promised reward. Theri-
was no need for a sherifif or other officer to collect debts and
maintain order among the early Quakers. They had a law of jus-
tice and equity within themselves. Though there was no writ-
ten discipline, yet there was no lack of vigilance among Friends
in keeping their membership in the straight and narrow way.
One of the first concerns that weighed on the minds of Friends
WRIGHTSTOWN SETTLERS IO9
was the attendance at meeting. As early as 1686 the Quarterly
Meetings recommended the Monthly Meetings to "take care that
none who make professions of the truth and walk not accordingly,
but fall into looseness and negligence in coming to meeting, may
not be slightly paseed by, but that due notice of such things be
taken when they happen, and endeavors be used to regain them
to their former diligence and duty to Godward."
Non-attendance and drowsiness when assembled were sub-
jects of deep concern to the early Friends. The Yearly Meeting
cautioned Friends "to labor with such as are neglectful in attend-
ing meeting for divine worship and admonish such as are sub-
ject to drowsiness when met on these solemn occasions."'
The minutes of Wrightstown show that the Friends of this
meeting were not lacking in vigilance in these particulars. Those
who evidenced a "slackness in attending meetings" were treat-
ed with and disowned unless an improvement was promised
and manifested.
The Yearly Meetings, notably of 1763 and 1771, sent out
searching minutes to the effect that it was a wilful neglect to
forsake the attendance of religious meetings, and manifest in-
gratitude to Divine Being, contrary to the practice and example
of the primitive believers in Christ and our Christian testimony,
and it went upon record as the sense of the Yearly Meeting that
such persons "who are insensible of their religious duty disunit
themselves from Christian fellowship with Friends."
Could the old Friends of Wrightstown, who believed so firmly
in the testimonies they preached and practiced, look down from
their spiritual homes and see how the attendance of the meeting
they loved is now neglected, would they not reckon us as like unto
"the lost sheep of the house of Israel," which Jesus sent forth
his apostles to preach repentance to.
The proper education of the children was a weighty concern
of Friends in the olden time. The pious education of our youth
was frequently urged by the Yearly Meeting, as a necessity.
It was advised that schools be established and exemplary teachers
be employed and committees of solid Friends be chosen to dili-
gently attend to them and see that the requirements of Friends be
carried out. Several Friends feeling the importance of this mat-
ter left money by will, in sums varying from five to fifty pounds
no VVRIGHTSTOWN SETTLERS
to be placed at interest until a fund could be raised sufficient to
build a house and open a free school for Friends' children and
others whose parents could not afford to educate them. This
fund did not increase to a size sufficient to open a school until
]847. It then had accumulated until there was $7,782.86
available for this purpose. By that time some of the
virtue of the bequests was lost from the fact that the
free common school system had been established by the State,
and was in successful operation. Many Friends preferred to
send to the schools nearest home, they being deemed equal in
all particulars to Friends' schools.
The school-building erected at that time is still in use. There
is no record of the building of the first school-house at Wrights-
town. At the time when some bequests were made there was
a large stone school-house standing near the meeting-house which
was alluded to by some of the donors in their wills. From the
Monthly Meeting records of '1815 and 1816 it appears the old
school-house was taken down by direction of the meeting and
the material divided between two others, one of them two miles
above Wrightstown at the junction of the Philadelphia and New
Hope roads, and the other three-fourths of a mile below at the
junction of the Newtown and Alakefield roads, both in the town-
ship and under the care of committees of Friends. These were
not free schools, but the cost was moderate and Friends paid for
the tuition of such of the members as could not conveniently do
so. Several Friends' children were being educated in this way
in those schools most of the time. The liberality of the ancient
Friends of Wrightstown was unbounded. In 1789 the large
meeting-house, now in use, was built at a cost of £790; the money
was raised by subscriptions among the members who were numer-
ous at that day. In 1722 they assisted Shrewsbury Friends to
build a convenient meeting-house. In 1804 they forwarded
Wrightstown "s quota of £4,000 which the Yearly Meeting pro-
posed to raise to erect a Friends' boarding-school at Westtown.
In 1837 they donated $200 to assist in building the meeting-house
at Doylestown. Several subscription papers for raising money
for different purposes would be in the hands of the committees
at the same time. Some of them for Friends, who had lost by
fire, some for those in necessitous circumstances, or wherever
WRIGHTSTOWN SETTLERS III
there was a need, loving hands were ready to help. Money was
sent to John Hanson, a Friend of the eastern part of New Eng-
land, whose wife, four small children and servant woman were
carried away captive by the Indians, and all save one of his chil-
dren redeemed at a charge too heavy for the said John to bear.
These are a few of the many instances of their liberality. There
was no rivalry in dress among them, no expensive society func-
tions to sap their substance, and Friends cheerfully distributed
a portion of the means their moderate style of living afforded in
helpfulness to others.
In the middle of the i8th century the troublous war was loom-
ing up in the distance. In 1759 it was declared that assisting
or furnishing the army with wagons was inconsistent with their
principles, and Friends should be dealt with for the same. It
was advised by the Yearly Meeting in 1774, and the Yearly Meet-
ing's advice was law to the Friends,
"That Friends keep as much as possible from the people in their
public consultations as snares and dangers may arise from meetings of
that kind. It has been thought safest and most prudent for Friends to
forebear joining in any public subscription for the supply of the people
of Boston, but when we do it that it be done among ourselves, as we
may then be satisfied it Is appropriated as we wish for." Again in 1775
it was advised "that Friends in their respective meetings may speedily
and earnestly labor for the reclaiming of those professing the faith
among us who have deviated from our ancient testimony against wa'-,
and where such brotherly labor is so slighted and disregarded that by
persisting in their violation they manifest that they are not convinced of
our own christian principles, or are actuated by a spirit of temper in op-
position thereto, it is our duty to testify our disunion with them."
In 1776 the Yearly Meeting minutes contained the following:
"It now appearing that the powers and authority exercised at this
time over the several provinces within the compass of our Yearly Meeting
are founded and supported in the spirit of wars and fightings, we find it
necessary to give our sense and judgment that if any making profession
with us do accept of or continue in public office of any kind, eithier of
profit or trust, under the present commotions and unsettled state of pub-
lic affairs, such are acting therein contrary to the professions and prin-
ciples we have ever maintained since we were a religious society, and we
therefore think it necessary to advise and exhort our brethren against
being concerned in electing any persons or being themselves elected to
such places and stations. And, also, those who make religious profession
with us and do either openly or by conivance pay any fine, penalty or
tax in lieu of their personal services for carrying on the war under the
112 WRIGHTSTOWN SETTLERS
prevailing commotions, or who do consent to and allow their children,
apprentices or servants to act therein, do hereby violate our christian
testimony, and it is affectionately desired that Friends may be careful
to avoid engaging in any trade or business tending to promote war. and
particularly from sharing or partaking of the spoils of war, by buying or
sending prize goods of any kind."
It was recommended to the Monthly Meetings to keep a record
of all such suffering cases and send the accounts annually to the
Quarterly Aleeting and from thence to the meeting for sufferings,
that they may be laid before the Yearly Meeting when necessary.
Great and arduous as was the task at that time, the Friends of
Wrightstown faithfully endeavored to maintain the principle of
peace upon which the society of Friends was founded. The
behests of the Yearly Meeting were entered in their Monthly
Meeting minutes and religiously observed. Among the earliest
cases brought before the Monthly Meeting for discipline were
those of Isaac Heston and John Lacey, Jr., for entering the mili-
tary service. They were opened in the meeting 7th-mo. 7th, 1775
and after many months of kindly treatment with them, they
declining to make any acknowledgment of any sort, they were
disowned.
John Lacey came to be a general of considerable distinction in
the Revolutionary War. He died in 1814, nearly 60 years of age.
He endured many hardships in his chosen path, saw many revolt-
ing sights of bloodshed and stiffering, had variances with his
superior ofificers, helped to supply his men with strong drink and
was entirely outside the quiet, peaceful ways of his God-fearing
ancestors. It is a question whether he would not have lived
longer and been happier had he continued in the footsteps of his
fathers. At all events "Thou shalt not kill" had been ringing
down the ages from Sinai, and Christianity was ushered in with
the glad tidings of "Peace on earth and good will towards men."
Our Quaker ancestors were thoroughly grounded in the belief that
a true Christian cannot take up arms for the destruction of his
fellow-men, and they were willing to risk their popularity in the
world at large by fearlessly proclaiming their principles against
war.
At the Monthly Meetings during the Revolution, and for some
time after, cases were brought to the meeting's notice of Friends
who had in some wav encouraged the conflict. It might have
WRIGHTSTOWN SETTLERS II3
been by training or by paying a fine to avoid the same, or by
enlisting in the army or by serving as a member of some conven-
tion in the Province, or in other ways advancing the fighting spirit.
Fifty such cases were thus treated with, and thirty-three of them
disowned. Thirteen of them were opened in one Monthly Meet-
ing, loth-mo. 3d, 1 781, and with dauntless courage Friends treated
with every one.
That Friends were impartial in their deahngs with open viola-
tors of their testimonies against war, no careful reader of hi'Story
will deny. Many of them were young men, the flowers of the
flock, but whether they were sons of preachers, sons of elders or
sons of the most retiring members, all came under the meeting s
loving care. If they showed any disposition of mind to make
satisfaction to the meeting the case was deferred for month '^ and
even years, in the hope that the erring one might be reclaimed.
It was the most anxious and harassing time the Friends of
Wrightstown ever experienced. Devoted to their religious be-
liefs and detestation of wars and fightings which they sought ref-
uge in this country to shun, on the one hand, and saving the
young men, the beloved of their hearts, in their impulsive zeal
from straying away from the peaceable teachings of Christ, on
the other; stirred their souls with an anguish that we can scarcely
realize in this era of weaker religious convictions. The meeting's
minutes records a touching instance in the case of Thomas, Ross,
Jr., who had paid a fine demanded of him for not assisting in the
military exercises. The case had been before the meeting more
than a year and a testimony had been prepared against him, which
was read. After a considerable time had passed the pious old
father expressed a desire to visit his son, which the meeting ap-
proved, and delayed proceeding for another month. At the next
meeting Thomas Ross reported that he had taken an opportunity
of discoursing with his son concerning what he was under deal-
ings for, but not in so full a measure as he could have wished.
The case was therefore continued another month, but young
Thomas was intractable, neither the father nor the meeting
availed, and the testimony previously prepared was signed and
delivered.
The Friends of that day have sometime6 been called Tories, be-
cause they discountenanced the war; but it is an unjust charge.
114 WRIGHTSTOWN SETTI^ERS
It was taking up arms that they opposed. The society was
founded on non-resistant principles, and consistently stuck to
them while the fight was going on. It made no difference to
them whether a Friend espoused the cause of the King or of
the Colony, they could not assist in warfare and remain a member
of society. They had never given countenance to anything that
had a tendency to defraud the King of his customs and dues.
They put themselves on record as not willing to be instrumental
in the setting up or tearing down of any government, and they
stood loyally to their declaration against paying military fines and
taxes. The early Friend was a man of peace and he was just as
much so in time of war as at any other time.
We do not find this so true during the War of the Rebellion, or
during the late war for aggrandizement. No one could tell by
reading the minutes of Wrightstown Monthly Meeting in the six-
ties that there was a great civil conflict going on that was stirring
the country to its depths.
Such of us as were living at that day know that many Friends
engaged in the struggle, and were never subjects of the meeting's
admonitions or care. There are soldiers buried in Wrights-
town Friends' graveyard and their graves are decorated with
flowers and flags on Memorial day, and there are none to condemn.
The truth is, the latter day Quaker is not as fully inbued with
his principles as the ancient Friend. Wrightstown has no Friend
in the Phillippine war that we know of, but there are members
who voted to reinstate in place and power the promulgators and
supporters of this unholy strife, and pay their taxes for the same
uncomplainingly, and yet our answers to the query still reads
that we are careful to maintain our testimonies against war.
The old minutes of Wrightstown Monthly Meeting show that
its members were alive to the subject of treating the negroes as
human beings, and many of them were among the first advocates
of abolishing the slave trade.
William Penn. the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, was a
slave-holder, as were many others, but there is no record that I
have found that there were any among the early settlers of
Wrightstown who held slaves.
The cause of temperance and sobriety was taken up at an early
date. One of the first efforts of this meeting towards abating
WRIGHTSTOWN SETTLERS 11.5
the evils of the drink habit was the advice to cease handing out
Hquors at vendues to encourage lively bidding. From the intro-
duction of reform in the cause of temperance in the year 1729,
when the Yearly Meeting recommended that "strong liquors be
served but once at funerals and only to those that came from a
distance." Friends, as they saw the way, strengthened and re-
newed their testimonies against the drink habit. There is only
one point they have not yet warned their members against by
discipline, and that is sustaining the liquor license system by the
ballot.
The Friends of Wrightstown, however, are seeing for them-
selves the inconsistency of condemning the traffic by word and
making it legal by vote ; in disowning members for their diseased
appetites for rum, while they place the tempter before them by
supporting the license system. The larger part of the regular
attenders of the Wrightstown Monthly Meeting have gone ahead
of the discipline and washed their hands of any complicity in the
expensive and demoralizing traffic. In 1810 there were two dis-
tillers and one retailer of spirituous liquors members of this meet-
ing. There are none now.
I cannot close this abbreviated sketch of the early Quaker set-
tlers of Wrightstown without a glimpse of some of the preachers
who were widely known and respected in their day
Ann Parsons, daughter of John Chapman, who settled with her
parents when a child in the cave at Wrightstown, was among the
first. She appeared in the ministry in her youthful days and
continued faithfully until her death lO-mo. 9th, 1732, being 57
years of age. On her death bed she left valuable advice to young
Friends and others which her brother, Abraham Chapman, one
of the twins, took in writing and it, in part, is entered in the
meeting's minutes. Among other things she said :
"It has often wounded my spirit to see those that have made
profession of the truth and some of them children of good parents,
to take undue liberty, taking pleasure in vanity and folly, neg-
lecting that which would be to their everlasting peace."
She had traveled in gospel service several times through Nev/
England, the Jerseys, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, and
through England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We can scarcely
conceive the deprivations and exposures she must have endured
Il6 WRIGHTSTOWN SETTLERS
in her journeyings through these then only partially settled Colo-
nies, and across the seas, when slow sailing vessels, horse-back
or on foot were the only means of conveyance.
Agnes Penquite was a divinely favored Friend, and was in
the ministry above 70 years, to the general satisfaction of Friends.
She came here from Europe and brought a certificate dated 2nd-
mo. 6th, 1686. She died iith-mo. 20th, 1758, being upwards
of 100 years old. She attended meeting until a few years before
her death. She was engaged in the ministry the longest term of
•years of any we have upon record in this meeting.
A beautiful testimony is upon record of the life and service of
Lebulun Heston. He was called to public services at 27 years
of age. and continued until his death in the troublous war times
of 1776. In his last illness he said: "If the world would have
lived in love and unity one with another, it appears to me that no
good thing would have been withholden from us."' He expressed
his satisfaction in the dutiful deportment of his children towards
him as a parent, and gave them salutary advice, exhorting them
not to give their minds too much to temporal things nor seek
worldly enjoyments, but learn to get wisdom and understanding
which would make them shine as stars in the firmament. He
had traveled extensively in the ministry. In the year 1773, ac-
companied by his nephew, John Lacey, who afterwards left
Friends for the military service, he paid a religious visit to some
of the Indian tribes living to the westward of this Province and
brought back to the meeting a belt which they had given him, with
a copy of a speech made at the close of a meeting for worship by
an Indian chief called Captain White Eyes. It is headed New-
comerstown, on the river Menskinggum. 7th-mo. 20th, 1773,
"We are glad and rejoiced in our hearts to see our brothers, the
Quakers, standing and speaking before us, and what you have said we
believe to be right, and we heartily join in with it. Since our Savior came
a light into the world there has been a great stir amongst the people about
religion. Some are for one way and some for another. We have had
offers of religion many times, but would not accept of it till we had seen
our brothers, the Quakers, and heard what they would say to us. And
now you have come and opened the road, and we have heard what you
have said and we feel the grace that was in your hearts conveyed to us.
We think that as we two brothers, the Quakers and the Delawares, were
brought up together as the children of one man, and that it is our Savior's
will that we should be of one religion. Now you have come and opened
WRIGHTSTOWN SETTLERS 117
the road we expect to see the way from town to town quite over to the
great King over the water. Then our King will know that the Quakers and
Delawares are as one man, and make one religion. We are poor and
weak and not able to judge for ourselves and when we think of our poor
children it makes us sorry. We hope you will instruct us in the right
way, both in things of this life, as well as the life to come. Now what
we have said we hope to be strengthened to abide by."
They then delivered the belt to Lebulun Heston. In the latter
part of the i8th century Lebulun Heston, Jr., was also an esteem-
ed minister and useful member of Wrightstown Meeting.
Thomas Ross was an acceptable minister upward of 50 years.
He was born in the county of Tyrone, Ireland, and came to this
country when about 20 years of age. Was a member of the Epis-
copal church and lover of gayety. Soon after his arrival on these
shores he became convinced of the truth of the principles pro-
fessed by Friends and came to be a conspicuous example of plain-
ness, temperance, frugality and industry, being unwilling to eat
the bread of idleness. He traveled considerably in the ministry and
died 2nd-mo. 13th, 1786, at the house of Lindley Murray, Hol-
gate, England, at the age of 78 years. He was interred in Friends'
burying-grounds of that city.
Many more interesting things might be said of these and other
Godly men and women whose ministrations and examples were
cementing influences in the society at Wrightstown. They are
not forgotten. Truly they rest from their labors, and their
works do follow them. There is little or no land in this section
of the county but has some history connected with it of our Quak-
er ancestors. The blood of the old settlers is flowing in mv
veins and I value my birthright in the religious society that opened
the way and strengthened them to lay the foundation of religious
liberty in the State, as a priceless possession.
If there is one thing more than another that I should like to
keep alive and perpetuate it is the honest and industrious, the
humble-minded and devotional ways of our forefathers. I feel
sometimes that the successors of those self-denying, consecrated
people of the earlier days, have lost a large measure of the zeal and
steadfastness to convictions of truth that actuated them. May
there be an awakening, an inward illumination to show us the
way they found, that led to peace and prosperity for themselves,
and good to society at large.
The German Element in Bucks County.
BY PROF. S. M. ROSENBKRGER, OUAKERTOWN, PA.
(Doylestowu Meeting, January 21, 1902.)
Of the numerous peoples that have contributed to the heter-
ogeneous population of Pennsylvania, four important classes were
interested in the early settlement of Bucks county. These were
the English, the Germans, the Scotch-Irish and the Welsh. Of
those four the English were the first to settle, and as is well
known, they have, more than any other element, been instrumental
in giving character to the institutions and the administration of the
government of the county.
Closely following this first element came a second, namely, the
Germans, and these vied with the English in the early history
of the county, for the occupancy of the soil. And, while they
were not, owing largely to their retiring disposition, found in
the front in the affairs of the county, they nevertheless left a
permanent and not unimportant impress upon its history, and
their descendants of to-day are performing a large share in the
making of its current history.
Pennsylvania was a favorite Colony with the Germans. Hav-
ing been persecuted in their Fatherland for a century and a half,
they were eager for a share in Penn's "holy experiment." In
1725, fifty thousand had come to the Colony. They came from
Switzerland and Holland, from Swabia, Alsace and Saxony, but
mostly from the Palatinate. Germantown was for a long time
the home of these early settlers. Later immigrants began to
strike out into the wilderness. A wave of German emigration
swept up the Perkiomen valley, in Montgomery county, and
spread out over the counties of Bucks, Montgomery, Lehigh,
Berks, Northampton and Carbon.
The "great township of Milford," comprising in addition to
the present township of Milford, in Bucks county, now divided
into Upper Milford and Lower Milford, in Lehigh county, appears
THE GERMAN EEEMENT IN BUCKS COUNTY II9
to have been the most thickly settled portion of territory during the
first years of this emigration. The Germans settling firmly in the
northwestern corner of the county, principally INIilford and the
contiguous portions of the adjacent counties, they laid the founda-
tion for a career as a distinct class in the history of the county. As
previously indicated, they did not remain confined to this particu-
lar locality, but spread out, and took up soil in other portions.
They made rapid strides dovv^nward through the county until 1750,
when their rapid advance was checked. They had, by this time,
reached the line of Plumstead and New Britain. Since that time
the downward march has been less rapid, but each decade has no-
ticed some advance. The results of this have been that in many
portions of the upper and middle townships the English settle-
ments have been almost entirely supplanted. Richland was origi-
nally settled by English Friends, but in a short time the Germans
were in the majority, and Richland to-day is decidedly a German
township. Ouakertown, the original Quaker settlement, is prob-
ably to-day seven-eighths German.
The early Germans were farmers, and usually purchased large
tracts of the best farm lands available. These they tilled with
the utmost care and diligence, and the farms of the northern
middle parts of the county are among the finest to be found any-
where in the State. A historian of the county of a decade or more
ago observed of the township of Milford that "Dairying and
grazing receive much attention here. Everybody is employed and
nobody is in need of work. The result of patient, untiring indus-
try is seen in the substantial appearance of the farm buildings,
and the general air of comfort which seems to pervade the com-
munity."
Although settling in colonies in the early years was a character-
istic there was not much of a tendency until recently toward con-
centration in towns. Old villages are scattered over the northern
portion of the county, but they mostly have a small population.
Of late years, however, such towns as Ouakertown, Sellersville,
Perkasie and Telford have had a remarkable growth. While
the drift toward the cities has been less in this section of the
county than in others, nevertheless the farming interests have been
affected by it. The result of this, together with the increased
tendency toward concentration in towns of the county, has been
120 THE GERMAN^ ELEMENT IN BUCKS COUNTY
to leave some of the farms of the section uncultivated and
uncared for.
Most of the early Germans spoke the Pennsylvania German,
a dialect akin to a dialect used in South Germany to this day.*
This dialect of German, from which the Pennsylvania German is
said to originate, is claimed by an authority on the language. Rev.
Dr. A. R. Home, to be as old as the High German. The lan-
guage is still in many sections tenaciously adhered to. However,
the majority of the descendants are not slow in adopting the more
practical English for most purposes, while still cherishing the
language of their elders, and probably using it frequently socially
and in business intercourse.
Having left the Fatherland largely with a view of gaining
religious liberty, it was but natural that the establishment of their
faith should be one of the first things to claim the attention of
the new settlers. The religious denominations most strongly
represented by these early settlers were the Lutherans, German
Reformed and Mennonite. One of the first acts of the Mil ford
pioneers was to establish a church. The church founded was
the Swamp church, and its place of worship was situated just
across the ]Milford township line, in Lehigh county. It was at
first used by both the Lutherans and the Reformed. In 1738 it
fell exclusively to the Reformed church, the Lutherans with-
drawing and establishing a church near Spinnerstown, in Bucks
county.
Probably the first Lutheran church in Bucks county was at
Tohickon, in Bedminster township. This congregation was for
some time served by the venerable Rev. Henry IMuhlenburg. The
earliest Reformed pastor was probably Rev. Riesz, whose pastor-
ate began in 1749. One of the oldest, if not the oldest, of the
Mennonite congregations of the county was the Swamp congre-
gation, of Milford. Of the exact time of the founding of it we
are not aware, but we know that in 1727 there were regular
preaching services conducted by one Valentine Clemmcr. As
Clemmer is known to have settled in ]\Iilford in 1717, it may be
presumed that the organization of a congregation soon followed.
The first house of worship of the Milford Mennonites, erected in
* See " Story of the Pennsylvania Germans," page 102 et seq., bj' Wm. Beidelman, for
history of Pennsylvania German, a dialect of South Germany.
THE GERMAN ELEMENT IN BUCKS COUNTY 121
1735, Stood about half-way between the present West Swamp and
East Swamp churches.
The practice of uniting in the erection of a house of worship
is pecuhar to two denominations largely represented among the
Germans ; namely, the Lutherans and the Reformed. Some-
times, however, the Mennonites also had a snare, and Christ
church, in Springtown, Springfield township, was at one time
jointly held by Lutherans, Reformed, Mennonites and Presby-
terians. As was generally the case with the early settlers, the
Germans soon after their arrival, made provision for the educa-
tion of their children. Usually the early schools were established
at places of worship. Frequently the school-house came first and
served the double purpose of school and church. We know that
when a house-of-worship was erected, in 1771, where the present
East Swamp Mennonite church stands, a school-house was built
in connection with it.
Likewise, in 1819, the new house of worship, erected where the
present West Swamp church stands, served the double purpcTse
of church and school. These schools were generally pay schools,
and in them the three "R's" were taught. Instruction in the cate-
chism, the doctrines of the church, and singing were generally
required. In school affairs, at that early day, the clergy took a
leading part. In singing they were themselves often very pro-
ficient, and to this may be attributed the hearty church singing
that was characteristic of those days.
A leader among the Mennonites of ^STilford during the period
extending from the '40's through four or five decades, was John
H. Oberholtzer, a bishop of that denomination. Though making
his cictive life tell in many ways, it is simply to his pioneer work
in religious journalism among the Germans, especially those of
his own denomination, to which I wish to refer in this paper.
In 1852 he began to publish at Milford Square a paper called the
"Religioeser Botschaftes." It is interesting to notice the heroism
displayed by this man of God in his efforts to provide his people
with religious reading matter. He purchased a press with his
own hard earned money and set it up in his locksmith shop. After
learning how to set type, he undertook to publish his contemplated
paper. He was author, editor, compositor and printer. He
not infrequently w'orked whole nights in the printing oflice.
122 STONE impleme;nts
The modes of life of the early Germans were simple. They
cared nothing for ornamentation. They had the stern realities of
life constantly before themselves and so there was little room for
anything that was not intensely practical. The qualities for which
they have always been known are integrity, sobriety, industry,
and frugality. To these qualities their descendants may justly
claim to have fallen heir.
Stone Implements.
BY MISS. H. NEWSLL WARDLE, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, Januarj- 21, 1902.)
Over the wide expanse of our land — and I may add, of almost
every land — year after year the plow throws up an apparently
endless variety of bits of rock. Here, in your own Bucks county,
along with boulders and fragments of such, the observant
farmer notes stones of strange form, usually so symmetrical that
their artificial origin cannot be doubted. It is to the meaning and
purpose of these that I invite your attention.
Perhaps the most frequent of all such finds are those known
as Indian arrow-heads, rather flat triangular bits, varying from
half an inch to two and a half inches in length. When larger
than this they are classed as spear-heads, for their weight would
have seriously impeded the flight of an arrow.
I used to wonder that these pretty symmetrical points could be
culled so abundantly from the fields when there was apparently
no probability that the locality had been a village or a battle-
field. Even in the latter case, the small urchin would have found
many of these lost objects and have tried his luck with them till
at last they were broken. A remark of that immortal genius,
Frank Hamilton Gushing, offers a probable explanation. I wish
I could give it in the words he used during one of those memor-
able lectures, when he entertained his audience for two hours by
the charm of his personality and the wonder of his message — re-
plete with the lore of the ages. In substance it was this : As a
man becomes skillful and wise with the experience of age, so the
spirit of a knife is wiser and more skillful with the passage of
the years, and the ancient arrow goes more truly to its mark,
STONE IMPI^KMENTS 123
for has it not had the experience of many flights? Thus, while a
young arrow may learn to shoot better and better, one which goes
wide of its mark is deemed not only inapt but unfriendly. It
seems quite possible that, in accordance with thi-s reasoning, a
youthful arrow which refused to fiy true was not sought for, but
abandoned to its fate, viz : preservation in a glass-case.
The memory of a people who lack a written literature is com-
paratively short-lived, and the stone arrow-point is now a medi-
cine-stone or amulet to our steel-age American Indians. Tied to
the scalp-lock of the Camanche warrior, or knotted into the fringe
of the medicine-bag, it is rapidly assuming a supernatural origin.
Like all the other stone implements the arrow-point is character-
istic of the stone-age, although the use of many of them survived
into the succeeding period, and crops out sporadically even in the
iron-age in isolated localities.
It is scarcely necessary to state that when thi early students
of the prehistoric history of man had gathered many curious facts,
they cast about them for some one thing which might serve as a
measure of the advance made by the race, and they chose as this
character the "cutting edge." This it is which has always deter-
mined the conquest of one people by another more advanced ; the
superiority of its cutting edge more than the quality of its valour.
This it is which has forwarded civilization in the development of
the arts and the appliances of every day life. First, the chipped -
stone, then the polished stone tool, battered and ground into shape,
then copper treated at first like any other fragment of rock and
pounded into suitable form before that wonderful discovery was
made, quite by accident, I doubt not, that thie beautiful tawny rock
would melt and flow\ Later came the harder, keener bronze, then
iron, and last, steel, the present epoch. But it is only of the earli-
est of these divisions that I wish to speak to-day, the stone-age
group.
Here, in America, we are unable to draw those fine distinctions
between the old and the new stone-age, for both classes of im-
plements were in use in the hands of the same workman, and Prof.
W. H. Holmes, in that exhaustive monograph on "The Stone
Implements of the Potomac-Chesapeake Tidewater Province of
America," has shown that forms, identical with the paeolithic im-
plements of Europe, are rejectmenta thrown aside for some im-
124 STONE IMPLEMENTS
perfection, at various stages of manufacture. Still another noted
American archaeologist has not hesitated to claim a greater age for
the polished tools than for those which are simply chipped, on
the ground that the former is the easier process. European sci-
entists, however, have divided each of the two main classes into
several smaller periods, determined by the form of the flake, but
no such distinction is possible in this country, and the wide distri-
bution of all the varieties precludes even the probability that cer-
tain tribes were wedded to a given style, while other tribes
monopolized another type.
It is common to see these prehistoric "finds" spoken of as
flints by the European writers, a designation which arose because
the first objects of this description noted were of that substance
and flint from the chalk beds of England and France was one of
the most frequent materials employed in the manufacture of
stone tools. Nevertheless, wherever a rock of suitable fineness
of grain and convenient fracture occurred in such a position that
it could be worked with no more complex agencies than fire and
water and stone, there the man of the stone-age resorted for his
weapons, chipping out blanks to be carried home to the village and
that they might not weather and become unfit for use, buried until
such time as he should find it convenient to shape them into arrow-
points, spear-heads, knives, etc. Such is the meaning of those
quarry-sites, strewn with broken boulders, rejects and battered
hammer-stones ; such the purpose of the caches of "turtlebacks"
unearthed from time to time.
Comparatively simple as the problems which lie before the
American archaeologist seem to be. the classification into groups
according to use, is by no means without its pitfalls. Like the
latchkey and hairpin of the modern man and woman, a single
tool had many and varied functions. Consider the common ar-
row-point, it may be stemmed or not, barbed or not, sharp or
blunt, symmetrical or lopsided, but still it is universally recog-
nized as an arrow-head ; yet it may never have served as such.
C. C. Willoughby has recently called to notice the fact that flakes
of typical arrow-head form have been found hafted as knives in
the houses of clift'-dwellers. One remarkable example, a double-
bladed dagger.ii^ inches long, must have proved a formidable
weapon in a hand-to-hand encounter. Thus, in drawing the line
STONE IMPLEMENTS I25
between the knife and the arrow-point or spear-head, it is always
necessary to remember that the former is not invariably as sym-
metrical as or more rudely finished than the latter and that these
latter may have served the purpose of both. On the other hand it
is impossible to say just where the accidental flake ends and the
knife and scraper begin. Any chance fragment, selected from a
workshop-site, may have served in these capacities and the transi-
tion is so gradual that the only safe plan in the majority of cases
is to reject all those cruder forms which do not by this association
when found, or by unmistakable signs of wear, prove that thev
have been so used.
Of close kinship to the arrow-point, in fact often its change-
ling self, is the drill, perforator or borer. By one of these names
are classed the slender, slightly tapering points rising from a more
or less heavy base. They are frequently made from broken
arrow-points.
I mentioned above the hammer-stones found upon quarry-sites.
Such were mostly ordinary, elongated boulders, with a constriction
near their middle, either natural or pecked in for the purpose of
hafting them in scythe handles. Their battered condition usually
proclaimed their use, but both the groove and the bruising may
arise from natural causes. Such hammer-stones verge danger-
ously near upon the sinker, with which fishnets and weirs were
held in place, and the circumstances of the find must be invoked
here also to determine the usage. Any chance boulder of suitable
weight and form, a discarded axe or maul or mace-head could be
made to serve this end, and I think it extremely doubtful that
primitive man as a rule expended much time and labor upon an
object which when in use was concealed beneath the water. Nev-
ertheless, weighty ovoid objects of perfect symmetry have been
placed in this category ; these may have served at times as weights
for fell-traps, etc., but it is highly probable that heavy as they are
they were worn as ornaments by the men of the tribe, upon more
or less ceremonial occasions. There seems to be no limit to the
amount of discomfort man will undergo in order to be beautified.
The Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, possesses a
necklace of stone beads upwards of three-quarters of an inch in
diameter, whose breast ornament is an egg-shapped pendant some
four inches long. It would, however, be rash to conclude that
126 STONE IMPLEMENTS
all pendant-shapod stones were solely ornaments. Many of the
lighter ones may have been used as loom-weights in one of the
primitive weaving processes.
To return again to the hammer-stone, (for the lines of affinity
radiate in so many directions that were they tabulated they would
look like formula diagrams of the Swedish chemists) there is
another t)'pe usually known as the hand-hammer, a more or less
irregular discoid stone, bearing a shallow depression pecked in
near the centre of one or both flat surfaces. They are believed
to be so modeled that the hand of the workman might retain a
firmer grip upon them. Many though not all of these hand-
hammers or "tool-stones" are considerably battered upon the edge,
and when broken the fracture is through the depression. This
characteristic fracture, which follows the line of least resistance,
and the fact that many such stones show no signs of use upon
their edges, while others are far too weighty to have been readily
wielded, led W. J. Knowles to advance the theory that they were
"anvil-stones." or "rests for the core or piece of flint while being
operated on." I have never made the experiment, but I am strong-
ly of the opinion that this would interfere with the cleavage of
the flint in question, producing a more general shattering of the
stone. The whole process of flaking, as we know it, is aimed to
reduce the amount of vibration in the prospective implement, while
concentrating the force of the shock upon a given point. That
such hand-hammers, alias anvil-stones, have served indiscriminate-
ly as hammer and anvil for the cracking of nuts and bones, the
breakage of the shells of edible mollusks, etc., is highly probable.
They pass by imperceptible degrees into the paint-pot, in or
upon which the pigments for personal decoration were ground,
and, on the other hand, when symmetrical, bear a striking likeness
to the gamin-stones or discoidals, which are the pride of the
archaeological collector. Beautifully polished, usually double con-
caved, with flat or convex rims, it is difficult to believe that these
have seen much service in the ancient ceremonial game of chunke.
Let me pass on with the mere mention of the stone-mortars and
pestles for the grinding of maize, of mullers, rubbing-stones and
tool-sharpeners, etc.. to that implement so characteristic of the
stone-age. the celt, so called because of a mistaken notion that it
constituted the chief weapon of the ancient inhabitants of Britain.
STONE impi,e;me;nts 127
This object of remarkable form, widely distributed over both hem-
ispheres, is by turns chisel and grooveless-axe, according to wheth-
er or not it is hafted, and it grades into the adze, which is chiefly
distinguished by a more flattened face. There is little doubt that
from this simple tool were developed the pierced or socketed-axe
of Europe and the grooved-axe of the New World. While mainly
occurring in the areas indicated, each has representatives in the
domain of the other.
I must ask you to handle this venerable relic with reverence and
awe, for it is the thunderbolt of the lofty Zeus, the ever-return-
ing Miolnir of mighty Thor. Do you wish one for your collec-
tion? Mark carefully whom the lightning strikes and wait patient-
ly. It will not speed the discovery if you dig for it, fOr the bolt
has struck seven fathoms deep into the soil. Everytime the thun-
der rolls, slowly it moves upward — a fathom a year — and at
the end of seven long years you may find it upon, the surface.
Then guard it carefully for it possesses more than one magic
virtue; and should you carry it with you to Ireland, keep it in
an iron case that the fays may not filch it, for with such they
shoot man and beast. When the lightning gleams and the thunder
crashes, run your finger three times around the hole, and lifting
it high in air, cast it against the door, thus will the wrathful god-
of-storm see that you too wield the thunderbolt and he will not
strike a comrade. When I look at the youthful vigor of your
honored president I remember that there are many thunderstones
in the collection of this Historical Society, and I am not surprised,
for their proximity brings strength and youth, and the war god of
the skies grants many favors to so valiant a warrior. No fear of
rheumatism, for the touch of the thunder-axe will cure it, not
even a "stitch in the side," for a little powder rubbed from this
and drunk in a glass of water will dispel it, at least if you are not
an unbeliever in its wondrous efiicacy.
One other group I have purposely left till the last, a series
with a remarkable life history, the events of which I would gladly
lay before you did time permit. I refer to the "bannerstone."
Mr. Gushing made a study of this artefact in its diverse forms,
useful and ornamental. The results of that study have not yet
been published save in the labels and drawings of a museum series.
If I understand his meaning as thus expressed. I am not wholly
128 STONK IMPLRMENTS
at one with his conchision. but this is not the time nor the place
to discuss the point at issue. In the court of the ancient pile
dwellers off the coast of Florida. ]Mr. Gushing found a double-
bladed war-club, entirely of wood, which he believed to be the
prototype of the double-bladed stone war-axe of the mainland.
Somewhere in the course of its illustrious descent it ceased to be
a practical weapon and became a symbol of the warrior class, a
badge of honor. To the hollow stem of this ceremonial war-axe,
the calumet or peace-pipe traces its descent ; so the dust clouds
of the battle blend in the smoke of the camp-fire, and that
strange bent of the human mind to make of opposites a unity is
satisfied.
I have sketched this story in the baldest and barest outline in
the hope that it may interest some of you to seek a wider knowl-
edge of the subject. Study these tools and it is possible to
reconstruct the status of a vanished people. Here are the evi-
dences of hunting, of trapping, of fishing, of the dressmg of
skins and the weaving of mats and coarse cloth, of the manufacture
of weapons and the tilling of fields. (T have omitted the mention
of agricultural implements, but such there were though of the
simplest sort.) Here, too, are to be found the silent records of
war f.nd peace, of extended trade, of games and the solemn rites
of religious ceremonials. All this and more can be discerned if
we but look long and lovingly enough upon these bits of stone.
The Eastburn Family.
BY EASTBURN REEDER, SOLEBURY, PA.
(Doj-lestown Meeting, January 21, 1902.)
The first person of the name of Eastburn that I can find any
record of, is John Eastburn who brought a certificate to Middle-
town Monthly Meeting from the parish of Bingley, county of
York, England, dated Fifth-month 31st, 1684. He was a single
man and a laborer.
I find in the recorder's ofiice at Doylestown, Book 2, page 14,
the record of a deed from Hugh Marsh to John Eastburn, dated
Second-month 14th, 1693, in which it is set forth that Hugh Marsh
(husbandman) and Sarah Marsh, widow, and mother of said
Hugh Marsh, sold to John Eastburn (laborer) a certain piece
or parcel of land, lying in the township of Southampton, formerly
said to be the county of Philadelphia, and laid out for 300 acres,
being part of a tract of land granted and confirmed unto Robert
Marsh, father of Hugh Marsh, by a patent from William Penn
dated Fifth-month i6th, 1684, the consideration for which was
£40 or $200. The witnesses to the deed were Nicholas Walm,
Shadrack Malloy, John Stackhouse and Phineas Pemberton. John
Eastburn had then been living in this country about nine years and
probably had made money enough to purchase 300 acres of land.
John Eastburn married Margaret Jones, of Philadelphia,
Second-month 5th, 1694, and was ready to commence farming on
his own account. The Colonial Records, Vol. 2, page 182, make
mention of him as follows :
"At a council held at Philadelphia Twelfth-month 21st, 1704, John East-
burn, of Bucks county, petitioned Hon. John Evans, Lieutenant Governor,
and Edward Shippen, Samuel Carpenter, Thomas Story, Griffith Owen,
William Trent, Richard Hill and James Logan, Commissioners, to restrain
and stop the levjang of a certain execution obtained against him, and issued
by the court of said county, upon the petitioner's horses, cattle and winter
provisions, etc., by which he would be reduced to the greatest necessities.
After hearing the case it was ordered that the sheriff of Bucks county be
summoned to answer to the board for a breach of his duty, etc."
5
130 THE EASTBURN FAMILY
From records of births and deaths, I have obtained the follow-
ing in regard to the children of John and Margaret Eastburn :
Elizabeth Eastburn, born First-month i6th, 1695 ; John Eastburn,
born Sixth-month 22d, 1697; Peter Eastburn, born First-month
5th, 1699; Thomas Eastburn, born Ninth-month 22d, 1700. John
Eastburn and Margaret, his wife, probably died before the year
1740. the will of Margaret Eastburn being recorded in Philadel-
phia in the year 1740.
In deed book No. 7, pages 269 to 271, are recorded re-
lease-deeds, showing how the original 300 acres of John Eastburn
were divided between his sons, and also giving the names of
other children. The first is a deed made by Thomas Eastburn et.
al. to John Eastburn. dated May 24. 1746.
This deed among other things sets forth that Tliomas Eastburn
of Southampton, yeoman, and Sarah, his wife; Richard Studdam,
of Philadelphia, tailor, and Mary, his wife ; and Thomas Walton,
of the Manor of Moreland, in the county of Philadelphia, and
Elizabeth, his wife (which Thomas Eastburn, Mary Studdam and
Elizabeth Walton are the son and daughters of John Eastburn,
the elder, late of the township of Southampton, and Margaret,
his wife, both deceased) of the one part; and John Eastburn, of
Southampton aforesaid, clockmaker, eldest son of the aforemen-
tioned John Eastburn, the elder, and Margaret, his wife, conveyed
200 acres of the original 300 acres to said John Eastburn, the old-
est son. The survey of the land describes it as adjoining lands of
Isabel Cutler, John Naylor, Peter Groome, John Swift, Thomas
Herding, and land now in the tenure of Charles Biles. Then
follows the release-deed from John Eastburn and the aforemen-
tioned sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, to the younger brother, Thom-
as Eastburn, for the remaining 100 acres. Thomas Eastburn did
not live long after this; he died intestate. April 25th, 1748, Sarah
Eastburn, widow, then of Bensalem; filed letters of administration
with Henry Walmsley and William Ridge, both of Bensalem, as
bondsmen. In endeavoring to locate this 300 acres of John East-
burn, I was informed by Charles G. Knight that it was near the
land formerly owned and occupied by his father, the late Jonathan
Knight, of Southampton, and near the Buck hotel.
The deed of John Eastburn. Jr., recorded in Book 10, page
255. to Jonathan Knight, of Southampton, for 102 acres of the
the; eastburn family 131
original 300 acres of John Eastburn, the elder, contains the fol-
lowing recital :
"Whereas, John Eastburn. by his last will, dated Eighth-month 12th,
1 716, bequeathed said 300 acres of land to his wife, Margaret Eastburn,
and Margaret Eastburn by her last will, recorded in Philadelphia in 1740,
bequeaths 200 acres of said land to her son, John, and 100 acres to her son,
Thomas Eastburn."
The deed of John Eastburn, Jr., to Jonathan Knight is dated
April 17, 1761. The amount of land conveyed was 102 acres.
Consideration £350.
Robert and Sarah Eastburn came from England to Philadel-
phia, bringing with them a certificate from Brigham Monthly
Meeting, near Leeds, Yorkshire, England, dated Twelfth-month
6th, 1713, which included their minor children and was accepted
by Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. The names of their children
were not given in the certificate, but have been obtained from the
wills of Robert Eastburn, and the record of marriages of Abington
Monthly Meeting. They did not remain long in Philadelphia, re-
moving their certificate to Abington Second-month 26th, 1714.
They remained in Abington 14 years, removing to Philadelphia
Fourth-month 24th, 1728.
The children of Robert and Sarah Eastburn were : Esther, John,
Benjamin, Samuel, Robert, Jr., Sarah and Elizabeth Eastburn,
all but the last named being born in England before 1713. They
married as follows : Esther Eastburn married Jonathan Livezey
in 1717; John Eastburn married Grace Colston in 1721 ;
Benjamin Eastburn married Ann Thomas in 1722; Samuel
Eastburn married Elizabeth Gillingham in 1728; Robert Eastburn,
Jr., married Agnes Jones in 1733; Sarah Eastburn married Hugh
Thomas in 1734; Elizabeth Eastburn married David Clark in 1737.
Robert Eastburn's will was dated Eleventh-month ist, 1752, and
was probated Tenth-month 13th, 1755.
Benjamin Eastburn was born in England probably in 1700. He
came with his parents to Pennsylvania in 1713, and married Ann
Thomas, of Abington, Ninth-month, 1722. Benjamin Eastburn
and wife, Ann, removed their certificate from Abington to Rad-
nor Monthly Meeting Fifth-month, 26th, 1725. They lived at
Radnor nearly ten years, removing to Philadelphia Tenth-month
I2th, 1734.
132 THE EASTBURN FAMILY
Benjamin Eastburn was appointed surveyor general of the
Province of Pennsylvania by the Proprietaries, and was commis-
sioned October 29, 1733, he served in this office eight years, dying
in 1741. He was the surveyor at the time of the great "walking-
purchase" from the Indians in 1737. The History of Bucks
County by General Davis in describing the start of this walk,
says :
"The prominent figures of the company, besides the chosen pedestrians
of the Proprietors, Edward Marshall, James Yeates and Solomon Jennings,
were Sheriff Timothy Smith, Benjamin Eastburn and his two deputies,
Nicholas Scull, John Chapman and the nephew of James Steel, who were
to run the line to the Delaware river. The start was made at sunrise
from the chestnut tree near Wrightstown meeting-house, on September
19, 1737, and ended the next day at 2 o'clock p. m., on the north side of
Pocano or Broad Mountain. Alexander Brown and Enoch Pearson, both
mounted, were the watch carriers. The distance walked was 68 miles."
Benjamin Eastburn was surveyor at the time of running the
boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, which is de-
scribed in the Pennsylvania Archives, \'ol. i, pages 611 to 615.
from which I make a few extracts :
"Whereas, by a commission bearing date the 5th day of December last,
under the great seal of the Province of Pennsylvania, you, Lawrence
Growden, and Richard Peters, Esquires, were authorized and empowered
as Commissioners, and you, Benjamin Eastburn, as surveyor, to join Col.
Levi Gale and Samuel Chamberlain, appointed by the Governor of Mary-
land, tOi run the lines directed by his Majesty's order in council the 25th
day of May, 1738, to be the provisional and temporary limits between the
two provinces of Pennsylvania and Maryland, etc. Given under my hand
and the great seal of the Province of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia. May
I, 1739, and the twelfth year of his Majesty's reign.
"GEORGE THOMAS, Governor.
"Report of Commissioners and Surveyor: To Hon. George Thomas,
Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of Penn-
sylvania and counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex, on Delaware
(now State of Delaware). Report of Lawrence Growden and Richard
Peters, commissioners, and Benjamin Eastburn, surveyor, appointed by
your said commission, bearing date May i. 1739: The said commissioners
and surveyor do humbly report that in pursuance of said minute the sur-
veyors on the part of Pennsylvania, marking that hickory tree the place
of beginning, did on Tuesday the 8th day of May, run a due west line to-
wards the river (Patowmeck) with the same instruments, and variation cf
5 degrees 20 minutes, with which the line on the east side of the Su.tsque-
hannah river, in conjunction with the Maryland Commissioners, was run,
and causing trees on or near the line to be marked and blazed in the same
THE EASTBURN FAMILY 1 33
manner as was observed in that line. The surveyors proceeded from day to
day and extended the line to the top of the most western hill or range
of hills, called the Kit-toch-tinny hills (Blue Mountains), and distant from
the place of beginning 88 statute miles. And as this hill is one of the
boundaries of the lands purchased by our Honorable Proprietaries from
the Indians, and as no persons are to be permitted to settle beyond that
range of hills, we judged the line to be run far enough to settle the juris-
diction of the two provinces, and to answer all the purposes of our com-
mission, and therefore ordered the surveyors to end there, and several
trees to be marked with the initial letters of our Honorable Proprietaries,
as is usual at the close of boundary lines. Signed by Lawrence Growden,
Richard Peters, Commissioners, and Benjamin Eastburn, Surveyor, IMay
28. 1739."
The distance of the first survey from the borders of New Castle
county was 25 miles to the Susquehanna river, making altogether
113 miles. Supplemented to this report the commissioners add
that "Benjamin Eastburn hath behaved with so much skill and
prudence that we are in great hopes this hne will be abundantly
to your satisfaction and to the Proprietaries. We will write
further particulars of the line from Nottingham." The terminus
of the line was in Cumberland county where the Blue mountains
enter Maryland.
Benjamin Eastburn died iiitestate leaving no children. Some
of the descendants of Robert and Sarah Eastburn are now liying
at Bridgeport, Pa., near Norristown, from whom has been obtained
a copy of the Eastburn coat of arms. It is now in the possession
of A'mos Eastburn, of Philadelphia. On the shield are pictures
of dragons, surrounded on each side by cornucopias. Those who
are acquainted with heraldry and have seen it say that it must
have been bestowed upon the family during the reign of the Plan-
tagenet Kings, beginning with Henry II in 1164 and ending 1485.
with the accession to the throne of Henry VII, Henry Tudor.
Earl of Richmond.
Benjamin Eastburn died in 1741. The bond of Ann Eastburn,
widow and administratrix, was entered September 8, 1741. The
inventory of the goods and chattels taken Sept. 21, 1741, contains
among other things, a reflecting telescope, surveying compass, etc.
Legacies, consisting of household goods, were left to nieces in
the Thomas family.
That Benjamin Eastburn, the surveyor general, was a brother
of Samuel Eastburn, who removed his certificate from Abington
134 THK EASTBURN FAMILY
to Buckingham in 1729. and was the first of the name to own and
settle upon land in Solebury in 1734, is proven by an old letter,
now in the possession of Hetty Ann (Eastburn) Williams, of
Buckingham. It reads as follows :
Philadelphia. 5th -mo. 30, I737-
"Dear Brother : With salutations of love to thyself and wife and chil-
dren, these are in behalf of sister Betty (Elizabeth), to desire thy com-
pany with thy wife, at her marriage on the nth of next month (June),
being next Fifth-day come a week. We are generally in health and
hope thou with thy family are in the enjoyment of the same blessing. My
business at present will not allow me to enlarge at this time. Thy affec-
tionate brother.
"BENJAMIN EASTBURN."
This letter is an excellent specimen of penmanship, is in a
good state of preservation and was directed to "Samuel Eastburn,
Solebury, Bucks Co., Penna." The marriage referred to in
this letter was that of Elizabeth Eastburn and D&vid Clark, June
II. 1737, which was about three months before the survey of
the "walking purchase."
Robert Eastburn, Jr., Captain of Pennsylvania militia in the
French and Indian war, 1756 to 1758, was born in England in the
year 1710, and came to Pennsylvania with his parents in 1713.
He was married to Agnes Jones, of Germantown, at Abington
meeting in the year 1733. This member of the Eastburn family
does not appear to have retained his membership in the society
of Friends.
In the Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. 3, pages 480 to 489, Captain
Robert Eastburn is mentioned in a letter of Levi Frump to Gov-
ernor Denny, dated Fort Augusta, July 19, 1758, in which he
says that General Forbes has ordered Captain Robert Eastburn
and Captain Paul Jackson and their subaltern.N with 35 men each,
to march and join him at Raystown. A postscript to this letter
states that Captain Eastburn's detachment was ready to march on
the hostile Indians about 30 miles from Fort Augusta, (which was
somewhere on the Susquehanna). Other letters were written
from Carlisle, Shippensburg, Fort Johnson, etc. Great difificulty
was experienced in employing "battoemen" to take the troops
across the river. The scene of this war was mainly west of the
Susquehanna river, at a time when the subject of our sketch
was about 48 years old.
the; eastburn family 135
The children of Robert Eastburn, Jr., and Agnes, his wife, were
Sarah, Hannah, Thomas, Robert, John and Joseph. Joseph East-
burn, the youngest child, was born August ii, 1748. He became
a Presbyterian minister and founded the first Mariners' church in
Philadelphia in 1818. In his book, "Memoirs of Rev. Joseph
Eastburn," he says that his father was taken captive by the Ind-
ians, March, 1756, and taken by them to Canada, where he was
kept a prisoner until November, 1757. While a prisoner he lived
in great hardship and suffering, not having sufficient clothing. In
the preface to his memoirs, Rev. Joseph Eastburn says that his
father having been a prisoner among the Indians brought his
circumstances too low to afford his son more than a common
English education. The Rev. Joseph Eastburn died January 30,
1828. Of the other children of Robert Eastburn, Jr., the
daughter, Sarah, died in 1818, aged 83 years; Hannah died in
1773; Thomas died in 1802; Robert died in 1815, and John
died in 1816.
The certificate of membership of Agnes Eastburn, wife of
Robert Eastburn, Jr., was removed from Abington Monthly Meet-
ing to Philadelphia in the year 1733, which fact establishes their
residence in that city.
Robert Eastburn Jr., again appears in the annals of the Revo-
lution. He was then an old man, not fit for military duty, being
66 years old. In the Colonial Records, Vol. 10, page 633, is re-
corded that the Committee of Safety of Philadelphia, July 5, 1776,
resolved that "Robert Eastburn be employed to collect linen
from the good ladies of the city, as much as they can spare,
for lint and bandages for wounded soldiers." Again, on page
761. October 21, 1776, it was "Resolved that Captain Francis
Guerney be appointed to receive from Robert Eastburn all monies
now in his hands for salt sold by him by order of this Council.
Signed, David Rittenhouse. President of Council."
Robert Eastburn was further directed to deliver to Carpenter
Wharton, Esq. 500 bushels of salt, he paying at the rate of 15
shillings a bushel for the same. On November 9, 1776, Robert
Eastburn was directed by order of Council to deliver to the
inhabitants of the city and county of Philadelphia 300 bushels of
salt ; to each housekeeper not more than half a bushel. Again
on December 16, 1776, Robert Eastburn was directed to deliver
136 THE EASTBURN FAMILY
to James Elder, "one wagon load of salt for the use of the militia
in Cumberland county. Signed, David Rittenhouse, President."
From this it appears that Robert Eastburn had charge of the salt
supply of Philadelphia in the days of 1776.
Robert Eastburn, Jr., died in the year 1778, aged 68 years. His
wife, Agnes, died September 2"], 1784, aged 71 years.
Esther Eastburn was the oldest daughter of Robert Eastburn.
She married Jonathan Livezey, of Lower Dublin, in the year
1717. They had eight children, whose names and dates of
birth have been obtained from the Abington records as follows :
Jonathan, born Twelfth-month 8th, 1719; Joseph, born First-
month 23d, 1722; Sarah, born Tenth-month 12th, 1724; Benjamin,
born Fifth-month 31st, 1727; -Mary, born First-month 21st,
1730; Esther, born Seventh-month 14th. 1732; Martha, born
Sixth-month 15th, 1735; Nathan, born Fourth-month nth, 1739.
Jonathan Livezey, the elder, son of Thomas Livezey, who came
to Pennsylvania with William Penn, died Ninth-month 23rd,
1698, and was buried at Oxford, near Tacony bridge. Jonathan
Livezey, who married Esther Eastburn, died Eleventh-month 14th,
1789, aged 69 years.
The descendant of Samuel Eastburn, who married Elizabeth
Gillingham at Oxford meeting" in 1728. who brought certiii-
cate to Buckingham meeting in 1729, and settled in Solebury
and became a land owner in 1734, has been considered in the
early settlers of Solebury.
From information already obtained I regard it as settled that
John Eastburn who came to Southampton 1684, and Robert East-
burn, who came to Philadelphia in 1713, were brothers. John
Eastburn was a young man ; was here ten years before he bought
land, and was married, while Robert Eastburn was married in
England and brought with him a wife and six minor children
in 1713, so that the dates of their respective marriages were not
far apart.
An examination of the release-deeds made in 1746, in which
the original 300 acres of land of John Eastburn were divided
between his sons, John and Thomas (200 acres to the former and
100 acres to the latter) further shows that he had two daughters —
Mary, who had married Richard Studdam, of Philadelphia, and
the; eastburn family 137
Elizabeth, who had married Thomas Walton, of the Manor of
Moreland.
The last will of Robert Eastburn, made in 1755, after leaving
legacies to his children, made the following additional bequests :
"To my brother's son, John Eastburn, my clock and clock-case,
and to Elizabeth Walton, sister of the aforesaid John Eastburn,
the sum of £5." The present being the seventh generation from
the brothers John and Robert Eastburn, makes their descendants,
in the present generation, seventh cousins.
The descendants of John Eastburn, of Abington, who married
Grace, daughter of William Coulton, of Whitpain township. First-
month 1 6th, 1 72 1, have been ascertained from his will, dated July
28. 1772; probated September 19, 1772, and recorded in Philadel-
phia book P, page 302, as follows :
"I, John Eastburn, of Upper Merion, Philadelphia county, etc. To
my grandson. Benjamin Eastburn, son of my son, Samuel Eastburn, the
plantation and tract of land I now live on, containing 200 acres of land ;
he to pay his brother, John Eastburn, £100, and also^ to pay his grand-
mother £18 yearly : keep her a ccw. give her choice of room in the house,
find her firewood, etc. To my son, Robert Eastburn, the sum of £50. To
my son, Joseph Eastburn, the ground rents of my lots in the city of Phila-
delphia, on Sixth and Seventh streets, the income thereof for his main-
tenance, etc. To my son, Benjamin Eastburn, the sum of £50. To my
daughter, Mary Brooks, £100. To my daughter, Sarah Miller, £6 a year
during her life. To my daughter, Rachel Coats, £10 a year during her
life. To my granddaughter, Mary Norman, £100. To my granddaughter,
Sarah Ellis, £50. To my granddaughter, Hannah Shoemaker, £50. To
my grandson, Jesse Roberts, £300. To my granddaughter, Elizabeth East-
burn, daughter of my son, Robert Eastburn, £50. To my loving wife,
Grace Eastburn, £200. To my three grandsons, Nathan Brooks, Samuel
Roberts and Benjamin Coats, £10 each. To my three grandsons, John.
Jonathan and Samuel, sons of my son, Robert Eastburn, £ro each. To
my two grandsons, John and Robinson Eastburn, sons of my son. Benjamin
Eastburn. £10 each."
The executors of this will were grandsons, David Norman,
Benjamin Eastburn and Jesse Roberts. The witnesses were
Jonathan Roberts and Lindsay Coats.
The will of John Eastburn, of the Manor of Moreland, Phila-
delphia county. Pa., is dated November 30, 1774: probated Feb-
ruary 18, 1775, and recorded in Philadelphia in Book 2, page
109. It bequeathes :
138 THE WARMINSTER HARTS
"To Margaret Akinswiner, daughter of my brother, Thomas Eastburn,
i30. To my brother, John Eastburn, £25. (Evidently a mistake here in
the name of this brother). To my cousin, Mary Roberts' children. £15
each. To my sister. Mary Studdam, £50. To my sister, Elizabeth Wal-
ton, £30. To Margaret Purnell, £25. To Mary Alldridge, of Byberry,
£25. To my esteemed friends, Thomas Townsend, of Byberry, and John
Townsend. of Bensalem, all the residue of my estate for the use of the
people called Quakers, in unity with the meeting at Bj'berry, which shall
be applied to charitable purposes for members of that meeting."
The executors were Thomas Townsend and John Townsend.
There is no wife or children of the testator mentioned in this will.
The probability is he never married.
The Warminster Harts.
BY GEN. W. W. H. DAVIS, DOYLESTOWN^ PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January 21, 1902.)
Among the Quaker immigrants who came to Pennsylvania in
1682 and settled under the mild rule of William Penn was John
Hart, of Whitney, Oxfordshire. England. He was the son of
Christian and Mary Hart, and was born November 16, 165 1.
Whitney was the seat of a Roman town, noted for its manufacture
of blankets, and situated tmder the shadow of Blenheim. The
family consisted of three sons and one daughter, Robert, Joseph,
John and Mary. Of Robert and Joseph little is known. The
former is said to have settled in London, married, raised a family
and probably died there. The latter, Joseph, migrated to the
island of Jamaica, went into business and died unmarried, but
whether on the island or in England is not known. The sister,
Mary, accompanied her brother, John, to America and died un-
married.
John Hart evidently joined the society of Friends early, as his
name appears on the Whitney meeting records in 1675, and is
signed to the minutes of the Whitney Monthly, "ye 8th of iith-
month, 1676." The name was spelled at that time "Heart."
When William Penn comtemplated founding a colony under the
grant of territory from Charles H, John Hart resolved to accom-
pany him and seek his fortune in the new world. In view of
immigrating he purchased of Penn 1,000 acres of land to be located
the; WARMINSTER HARTS I39
in the new colony after his arrival. The deed was executed at
Worminghurst, county Sussex, England, October 11, 1681 ; con-
sideration — "five shillings of lawful money of England." Just
what time John Hart and his sister, Mary, sailed from England
and arrived in the Delaware is not known, but we have evidence
that approximates their time of leaving. I have in my posses-
sion, (obtained a number of years ago,) the certificate of the
clerk of the monthly meeting of Whitney, stating that John Hart's
name does not appear on the record there after ist-month 2d,
1682. It is family tradition that John Hart and his sister arrived
about two months in advance of Penn, who reached his new Colo-
ny about the last of October.
On John Hart's arrival he loc.ated 500 acres on the Poquessing.
anciently called the Poetquessink, in Byberry township. Phila-
delphia county, and the same quantity (500 acres) in Warminster
township, Bucks county ; the present village of Ivyland is built
on part of it. The Byberry tract was laid off by virtue of a war-
rant from Thomas Holme, Surveyor General of the Province,
dated September i, 1681, and that in Warminster by virtue of
a warrant "from ye Proprietary and Governor, dated ye 31st of
ye 5th-mo. last, issued at Philadelphia, this 25th of ye 7th-month,
1684." In addition, John Hart was allowed 20 acres in town lots,
which were laid out in one of the liberties of Philadelphia, no
trace of which has been found in the recorder's ofiice.
John Hart took a prominent part in the affairs of the Colony
from his arrival. He was elected a member of the first Assembly
from the county of Philadelphia, and took his seat at the first
session of that body, which met March 12, 1683, and his name
is attached to the first charter of government, dated February 25,
1683, which Penn granted the colonists. He was also a member
of the Assembly in 1684, and probably longer. About the time
John Hart settled in Byberry, came William and Aurelia Rush
with three sons and three daughters, and Mr. Hart took the
daughter Susannah to wife in the summer or fall of 1683. John,
the father of William Rush, commanded a troop of horse in Crom-
well's army ; the distinguished Dr. James Rush, of Revolutionary
fame, was his lineal descendant, and the watch and sword of
Captain John Rush fell to his possession. I believe William Rush
and family and John Hart and sister came over in the same
140 THE WARMINSTER HARTS
vessel, as Hart and Susannah Rush were engaged to be married
before saihng, of which I have evidence that cannot be disputed,
and it is altogether reasonable to suppose they would come to
the new world together.
As to John Hart and Susannah Rush being engaged to be
married prior to their coming to America, in 1682, I offer the
following documentary testimony in support of it.
Subsequent to my visit to England, 1878, including a very enjoy-
able visit to Whitney, the home of my ancestors, I had some cor-
respondence with a gentleman there, who sent me extracts from
that Monthly Meeting, embracing the following:
"At ye monthly meeting of ye 9th, nth-month, 1681. where were present:
Tho. Minchin, Thos. Leary, Ed. Franklin, Giles Titmaish, Jos. Richards,
Hen. Franklin, Rich. Scudder, Jo. Silman, Ed. Walter, Jo. Flexney : John
Hart, of Whitney, did then declare his intention of marriage with one
Susana Rush, of London, and he desired a certificate from our meeting
concerning his clearance from all other women in this respect ; therefore
we do order and appoint Thomas Seavy only to enquire and to inform our
next meeting and certifie us whether he be cleared or not."
"At ye monthly meeting ye 13th, i2th-month. 1681, where was present
Thos. Minchin, Tho. Harris, Jo. Harris, Alex. Harris, Ed. Franklin,
Fran. Dring, Jo. Hill, Jo. Clark, Rob. Clark, Jos. Richard, Ed. Carter,
Richard Scudder : it was ordered, etc., etc.," and then a certificate was
"granted to John Hart in order to accomplish his marriage."
We have already noted that John Hart occupied a prominent
place in politics, in organizing the government of the Colony, and
he was no less prominent in the meeting. He at once took a
leading- part with the society of Friends and was one of their
foremost preachers. The first meeting of Friends, in Byberry,
for religious worship, was held at John Hart's home ; then
changed to Giles Knight's, but the Monthly Meeting ordered it
removed back to John Hart's. Burials were made on John Hart's
land as early as 1683, and in 1786. A century later, John Hart's
grandson bequeathed this lot of one acre to the township of
Byberry as a burial place for its inhabitants forever. The Month-
ly Meetings were frequently held at John Hart's in 1683 to 1686
and he was clerk of the ^Monthly Meeting in 1687. In February,
1688, the German Quakers, at their meeting in Germantown,
adopted a declaration on the stibject of slavery, to the Monthly
Meeting, on which John Hart made the following report :
THE WARMINSTER HARTS 141
•
"At our Monthly Meeting at Dublin, ye 30th 2d-month, 1688, we have in-
spected ye matter above mentioned and considered of it, we find it so
weighty that we think it not expedient for us to meddle with it here, but
do rather commit to ye consideration of ye quarterly meeting; ye tenor
of it being related to ye truth.
"On behalf of ye Monthly Meeting.
(Signed) "JOHN HART."
John Hart maintained his activity and usefulness in the society
of Friends until the unfortunate George Keith schism of 1691
rent it asunder^ As Mr. Hart was one of their ablest ministers,
his los'S was severely felt. He took sides with Keith and carried
with him the greater part of his connections in the Province, in-
cluding the families of Rush and Collet. The breach became so
wide by 1692, ten of the leading Friends of London, including
William Penn, addressed a letter to John Hart and other leading
Keithians, in which they gave to those who had gone off with
Keith "much brotherly advice." In 1697 John Hart embraced
the principles of the Baptist religion, the ordinance of baptism
being administered by Thomas Rutter. He joined the Pennypack
Baptist church in 1702, and his preaching at John Swift's house,
in Southampton, laid the foundation of the Southampton Eapiist
church.
A note in Proud's History of Pennsylvania states: "Some of
the principal persons, who adhered to Keith and were of rank,
character and reputation in these provinces, and divers of them
great preachers and much followed, were Thomas Budd, GeiDrge
Hutchinson, Robert Turner, Francis Rawles, John Har^. , CTIiarles
Reade, etc."
Some time between 1693 and 1698 John Hart snld his real
estate in Byberry and removed with his family to Warminster
township, where he spent the remainder of his life, and died there
in September, 1714, in his 63d year. His widow probably re-
turned to Byberry and died among her kindred at Poetquessink,
February 27, 1725. He was the father of five children of whom
four survived him, John, Thomas, Josiah and ]\Iary, the latter
dying 1721 unmarried. The oldest son, John Hart, and his
descendants are the only offspring of John Hart, Sr., of whom
we have knowledge.
While John Hart the second did not occupy as important a
142 TPIE WARMINSTER HARTS
•
place in public estimation as his father, he held several posts of
honor. He was justice of the peace for many years and commis-
sioned hig-h sheriff in 1738, '39, '43, '44, '48, '49 and coroner in
1 74 1 and '42. He was one of the constituent members of the
Southampton Baptist church, when organized in 1746, and of the
56 names signed to the church covenant are those of John Hart
and Eleanor, his wife ; his sons Joseph and Oliver, and his
daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, the wife of his son, Joseph, all
became members. John Hart's wife was Eleanor Crispin, a
daughter of Silas and Hester Crispin, and a granddaughter of both
William Crispin, (Penn's first surveyor general of Pennsylvania,
but who did not live to get here,) and Thomas Holme, his suc-
cessor in the same office. William Crispin, who was a cap-
tain under Cromwell, and an officer in Admiral Penn's fleet,
was a first cousin of William Penn, their mothers being sisters,
daughters of John Jasper, a Rotterdam merchant. In 1750 John
Hart erected a handsome family mansion near the middle of his
Warminster tract, which is still { 1902 ) standing, occupied and in
good condition. The walls are of stone, pointed, and in the
double west gable is a date stone with the year and initials, J. E. H.
Joseph and Eleanor Hart, 1750.
We now come to the next generation of the Harts, the children
of John Hart the second and Eleanor Crispin, reaching through
the Revolutionary period, and to the close of the century. They
had ten children: John, Susannah, William, Joseph, Silas, Lucre-
tia, Oliver, Edith, Seth and Olive. Of these Joseph, born Septem-
ber I, 1715. and Oliver, born July 5, 1723, died December 31,
1795, made their mark. At the death of his father, Joseph took
possession of the Warminster homestead and assumed the position
belonging to the head of the family as the eldest son. At the age
of 25 he married his cousin, Elizabeth Collet, of Byberry, the
granddaughter of Jeremiah Collet, who came to America with
Penn and was a member of the first Colonial Council of 1683.
Joseph Hart was active and useful in church and colonial
affairs. He entered public life in 1749, as high sheriff of the
county, which he held several years, and was also justice of the
peace and judge of the common pleas and quarter ses-
sions. He was one of the founders of the Union Li-
THE WARMINSTER HARTS 143
brary at Hatboro^ 1755;. ^^^ ^ member of the Library
Company to his death. Beside Mr. Hart, the most active in this
work were Joseph Longstreth, the Rev. Charles Beatty, Joshua
Potts and John Lukens, all neighbors and close friends. Having
a taste for military affairs Joseph Hart was ensign of a company
of Bucks County Associators, and in 1755 was commissioned cap-
tain at the defeat of Braddock, when the militia were embodied
for the defence of the Province.
Joseph Hart's most valuable services were rendered during the
war for independence, 1776-83; was one of the first in the
Colony and county to take sides against the mother country, and,
in point of zeal and fidelity, had no superior. He was chairman of
the "Bucks County Committee of Safety," a delegate to the Car-
penter's Hall convention and a member of the committee that re-
commended a "Congress of Deputies." When steps were taken in
1776 to establish a State government for Pennsylvania Joseph
Hart was chosen one of the delegates from Bucks to the conven-
tion, of which he was vice president. He was twice chairman in
committee of the whole, and reported the resolution prescribing
the qualification of voters. When the Continental Congress, 1776,
established a "Flying Camp" of 10,000 men, Joseph Hart was
commissioned colonel and placed in command of the battalion of
400 men, the quota from Bucks county, which served in New
Jersey until sometime in December. On the 19th Washington
ordered Colonel Hart's battalion to march to Philadelphia and re-
port to General Putnam. In 1777 Colonel Hart was elected a
member of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, in
1780 was appointed register and lieutenant of the county, and in
1784 one of the judges of the court of common pleas, which he
held until his death.
Colonel Hart has now run his life of activity and usefulness,
and was buried in the family burying-ground at Southampton.
His wife had died on the 19th of the same month and was buried
at the same place. On the tombstone that marks their last rest-
ing place is inscribed the following:
"Here lie the remains of Joseph Hart, Esquire, who departed this life
the 25th day of February, 1788, aged 72 years; also the lemains of Eliza-
beth, his wife, who departed this life the 19th of February, 1788, aged 74
years. In their death they were not much divided. His long and useful
144 THE WARMINSTER HARTS
life was almost wholly devoted to the public service of his country, while
the lives of both were eminent for piety and virtue."
From what we learn of Colonel Joseph Hart he was one of
the most prominent citizens of eastern Pennsylvania, especially
during the trying Revolutionary period, and his descendants have
just cause to be proud of their ancestor. Many years ago I
interviewed Safety INIaghee, a neighbor and friend, who died at
the age of almost one hundred years, who said :
"I knew Colonel Joseph Hart. He was active through the Revolution
from the beginning; for a number of years he was so much engaged in
public affairs he employed an overseer to manage his plantation, which
was unusual at that day. When he rode out he always went armed. He
furnished a large quantity of provisions to the army. I was with him
in his last illness, and on his death bed he was cheerful. When he died
I went to Hopewell, New Jersey, to inform his brother, Oliver, of his
death, who came over to the funeral and I think preached the sermon. He
was considered a pretty stern character. At that time it was the custom
to serve out liquor to the guests at a funeral. When they arrived some one
was ready with the bottle and glasses to give them something to drink.
At Colonel Hart's funeral I carried the liquor around and treated the
people as they arrived."
Joseph Hart was the father of six children, all sons : William,
John. Silas, Josiah, Joseph the second, the first Joseph dying in in-
fancy, and William the eldest dying in 1760 at the age of nineteen,
unmarried. John married Rebecca, the daughter of David and
Margaret Rees, of the Crooked Billet, September 13, 1767. Silas
married Mary Daniels, Lower Dublin, Philadelphia, and Josiah
Hart married Nancy Watts, daughter of Arthur Watts, South-
ampton. John Hart, the second son of Colonel Joseph, born
November 29. 1743, and died June 5, 1786, attained .>onic local
prominence. He was deputy recorder in 1779 and treasurer.
1779-81. While he held the latter office, October 22, I7S[. it was
robbed of a considerable sum of public money by the Doan^ and
their confederates, who made their escape, but some of them were
afterward caught. The affair caused much excitement. Some of
the money was at the house in the room where the children slept,
and when the robbers entered they began crying. One of the
Doans said: "Don't be afraid, children, we will not hurt you, we
are only going to take the money up to the office to your father."
One of the children, Mrs. Elizabeth Hough, told me when a boy
that a pillow case was stripped from her bed to put the money in.
THE WARMINSTER HARTS I45
She thought one of the robbers had her father's great coat on
and wore it up to the office, so that the people whom they met
would believe it was the treasurer himself. John Hart died at
Newtown, this county.
Oliver Hart, fifth son and seventh child of John and Eleanor
Hart, was born at the family mansion, Warminster, July 5, 1723.
He became as prominent as his brother, Joseph, but on a different
line of usefulness — he entered the church. Brought up on his
father's plantation-, he pursued his studies in the intervals of
labor and afterward attended the classical school at the Southamp-
ton Baptist meeting-house, where a number of prominent men
were pupils, including Judge John Ross. This was a period of
great religious activity when Whitefield, the Tennants, Edwards
and other distinguished divines were stirring up the people to
their lost condition. At eighteen Mr. Hart was baptized and
joined the Southampton Baptist church, soon becoming a useful
and active member. In the old church book I find this record of
December 20, 1746: "Isaac Eaton and Oliver Hart were called
by the church to be on trial for the work of the ministry," and
"to exercise at the meetings of preparation, or in private meetings
that might for that purpose be appointed." Mr. Hart preached
in public for the first time at Southampton, Sunday, February
21, 1748, while the Rev. Joshua Potts "had the measles and per-
formed to satisfaction." On April i6th, the church gave him a
full call to preach in any place. He was married February 28,
1748. to Sarah Brese. of Bensalem.
In the fall of 1749 the destiny of Oliver Hart was suddenly
changed. The First Baptist church of Charleston, South Caro-
lina, being in want of a pastor, some of the members wrote to
Rev. Jenkins Jones, of Philadelphia, for a supply. Mr. Hart was
recommended and sent down on trial. He reached Charleston in
December. His first sermon made such an impression on his aud-
ience that he was invited to take full charge, which he accepted
February i6th ; Benedict, in his history of the Baptist's, says of this
event : "His ardent piety and active philanthropy, his discrimina-
ting mind and persuasive address raised him high in the esteem of
the public, and gave him a distinguished claim to the affections
of his brethren."
Mr. Hart labored in the Christian ministry in Charleston 30
146 THE WARMINSTER HARTS
years, and his efforts were crowned with great success. He
found the church weak and distracted, he left it wealthy and
influential. His preaching attracted great attention, the College
of Rhode Island acknowledging it by conferring on him the de-
gree of Master of Arts. His influence, as a Christian minister,
was widespread and the labors so increased that an assistant was
called to his aid. Mr. Hart's wife died in 1772, leaving four chil-
dren living, and in 18 months he married Mrs. Anne Maria Grim-
ball, a member of an influential South Carohna family. The
breaking out of the Revolution found Mr. Hart laboring in his
church, but when the tocsin of war sounded it filled him with the
same patriotic ardor as it did the members of his family in the
North. South Carolina immediately called his services into requi-
sition. In the summer of 1775 the Provincial Congress sent a
commission into the western counties of the State to endeavor to
settle the disputes between the people and unite them against the
claims of Great Britain ; those chosen for the delicate mission
were Hon. William Drayton and the Reverends Oliver Hart and
William Tennent. It was attended with great fatigue and great
personal danger, and the Congress gave its thanks for their im-
portant services. Mr. Hart maintained his activity until the
British captured Charleston, when he was obliged to flee the State
and came to Bucks county, where his family soon joined him.
The enemy left nothing but the wall of his church standing, and
most of his personal effects were destroyed, including his valuable
books and papers, among them a large volume of poems, princi-
pally of his own composition. Mr. Hart did not return to Charles-
ton, but accepted a call to Hopewell, N. J-, where he passed the
remainder of his life, dying there December 31, 1795, in his 73d
year, and was buried at Southampton. A number of eulogies
were pronounced on his virtues and abilities, one by Dr. William
Rogers, professor of English and Belles-Lettres in the University
of Pennsylvania.
The widow of the Rev. Oliver Hart remained at Hopewell, N,
J., until the spring of 1796, when she returned to South Carolina
with her young son, where she died October 5. 181 3, in her 73d
year. Oliver Hart was the father of ten children, eight by his
first wife and two by the second. Of these children but four
survived their father, all dying in infancy except one daughter,
THE WARMINSTER HARTS I47
who married and lived to the age of 32. They intermarried with
the famihes of Screven, Brockenton, Merrell and Clark, all of the
South, and their descendants are to be found from the Potomac
to the Gulf of Mexico and the Red river.
The descendants of John Hart, the elder, are very numerous,
numbering many thousands ; they can be found in many sections
of the Union and in every walk of life. The outbreak of the
Civil War developed in them the martial spirit of their ancestors.
They were on both sides of our stupendous family quarrel, and
were faithful to duty as they understood it. Ten young men, all
cousins and playmates when boys, and born and reared within a
mile of the family mansion in Warminster, and descended from
Colonel Joseph Hart, of the Revolution, entered the Union army,
most of them serving three years and more, Major James H.
Hart, who fell at almost the last shot fired at Five Forks, being
one of this patriotic group.
Biographical Notice of Rev. Douglas Kellogg Turner.
BY REV. S. F. HOTCHKIN, BUSTLETON, PA.
(Warminster Meeting, May 27, 1902.)
The birthplace of the Rev. Mr. Turner was Stockbridge, Massa-
chusetts ; a place so charming in its scenery that it has been called
"Eden." Monument Moun-
tain and Rose Hill lie in this
same zone of beauty, while
Ice Glen on Little ^Mountain
adds its charm.
Mrs. Sigourney wrote of
the Stockbridge pond :
"High set among the breezy hills
Where spotless marble glows,
It takes the tribute of the rills
Distill'd by mountain snows."
Among elms and maples
and blossoming apple-trees
and quiet streets our depart-
ed friends first saw the light.
The English novelist, G. P.
R. James, selected this spot
as a home, saying that he
REV. D. K. TURNER. , , , ,
had never seen elsewhere
such a lovely combination of landscape.
Miss Electa F. Jones has written a volume on the history of
Stockbridge, which was first an Indian mission, where the noble
missionary, John Sergeant, did a Christ-like work, which Great
Britain aided, influenced by the Apostolic Eliot.
A conch shell served for a church bell. The Indians, with
wandering feet, passed on to New York State, Ohio, Green Bay,
Wisconsin, and later to Lake Winnebago, Minnesota. On a bluff
overlooking a meadow, enclosed in a green hedge, the red-men
and the pale-faces rest together in a cemetery.
Stockbridge has a worthy Revolutionary history. The great
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICIi OF REV. D. K. TURNER 149
divine and scholar, President Jonathan Edwards, of Princeton
College, was once the minister of this parish in Berkshire county,
and a monument commemorates him. Stockbridge, about a cen-
tury ago, had an improvement association to plant trees and
flowers and its influence has spread over this land. But what a
spiritual stream has gone out from the place which the Fields
and the Byingtons and the Indian missionary, Samuel Kirkland,
have blessed with their presence.
Amid these grand mountains and lakes and grander men, in
this spot filled with memories of classic American times the Rev.
Mr. Turner was born on December 17, 1823. He was a descen-
dant of Elder Brewster, and the son of Bela and Mary Nash
Turner. In 1630, Nathaniel Turner came from England with
Governor Lathrop to Salem, Massachusetts ; he afterward moved
to Lynn, and later to New Haven, of which city he was a foun-
der. Bela, the father of Douglas Kellogg, went to Stockbridge
when he was eight years old, with his own father Jabez. Bela
died in Hartford.
Our "son of Berkshire" went to Yale College to pursue his
studies, where he seemed to have a right by primogeniture.,
Battle's History of Bucks county tells us that Captain Nathaniel
Turner was a sea captain before emigrating to America. In New
Haven colony he was a captain of military affairs. He had been
active in the Indian Pequot War of 1636-37. He held all the
offices of New Haven colony, and owned much land in that sec-
tion. Before his emigration to America he had earned a reputation
as a captain in the army, of Holland. He was a member of the
General Court of Boston. His daughter married the English emi-
grant, Thomas Yale, and her son was Elihu Yale.
In 1658, Thomas Yale went back to England, and Elibu never
returned to America. He became Governor of Fort St. George,
in Madras, India, and after returning to England, became Gov-
ernor of the East India company, and a Fellow of the Royal
Society. His gifts in books and money to Yale College are said
to have amounted to £500, but the help at that time was ex-
ceedingly valuable; the college began in 1701.
When Mr. Turner entered Yale College in 1839. at the early
age of 15 years, the celebrated mathematical writer, Rev. Dr.
Jeremiah Day was president. His son. Sherman Day, wrote an
150 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF REV. D. K. TURNER
historical work on Pennsylvania, published in 1843, called "His-
torical Collections of Pennsylvania."
Mr. Turner labored to improve his mind in the old brick
factory-like buildings which used to stand in the "City-of-the-
elms," in which beautiful trees now guard the new and more
costly architectural halls of learning.
About that time I note that the Rev. Dr. Francis Wharton,
Professor in Kenyon College. Ohio, and in Cambridge Episcopal
Theological School and Columbia University, Charles Astor
Bristed, Hamilton Lamphere Smith. Professor in Kenyon and
Hobart Colleges, and the late distinguished Professor of His-
tory and English Literature in the University of Pennsylvania and
Charles Janeway Stille, were students in Yale College. Some
of them may have been his friends, and pleasant college asso-
ciations sometimes continue through life.
Rev. Turner's father was a mechanic : he moved from Stock-
bridge to Hartford, and was steward of the Deaf and Dumb
Asylum, one of the noted and historic institutions of that de-
lightful city. The instruction of the unfortunate deaf and dumb
had interested England and France. Dr. F. M. Cogswell, of
Hartford, had a daughter named Alice, who became deaf, and
he investigated the need of such an asylum for others, and sent
the Rev. T. H. Gallaudet to England and Paris for information.
Laurent Clerc, a distinguished pupil of the Abbe Sicard. returned
with him, and in 1817 the Hartford Asylum opened with seven
scholars, increasing to thirty-three in a year. Congress donated
land to its aid. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Gallaudet, the son of the
founder of this asylum, has done a great work in the Episcopal
church in New York in overseeing the religious instruction of
this afflicted portion of our community, and his brother. Dr. E.
M. Gallaudet, who was my college classmate at Trinity College,
is at the head of the institution at Washington. The New
York institution, chartered on the very day that Hartford opened,
is on a fine elevated site, overlooking the Hudson, in Fort Wash-
ington, New York city; while the Mount Airy (Philadelphia)
school, with its fine and ample buildings, is well known. Thus
Christian people strive, in a human way. to imitate the divine
work of the Master.
In the Hartford institution Mr. Turner lived, having entered
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF REV. D. K. TURNER I5I
Hartford, as his sister, Mrs. Cornelia D. Lathrop, of Traverse
City, Michigan, writes me, when eleven years old. The lad's
uncle, the Rev. William W. Turner, had for years been an in-
structor there and later became the principal.
Mr. Turner's father united with the "Center church," under
the Rev. Dr. Joel Hawes. I well remember seeing this influential
Congregational divine in my college days. His large church
stood on Main street. Douglas, with two elder sisters, became
members of that church. The boy but fourteen or fifteen —
the sister thinks fourteen — becoming an example of early Chris-
tian devotion. The foolish proverb about sowing wild oats did
not apply here. Good farmers would be thought insane if they
sowed wild oats, and he had none to sow. He sowed good seed
and reaped an excellent harvest.
He was studious and conscientious as a boy ; and the good boy
was the father of the future good man. The Hartford Grammar
School was the place in which he fitted himself for college.
He had a good standing at Yale, delivering the salutatory
oration, the second honor of the class.
The collegian made use of his newly acquired learning in
teaching in the Hartford Grammar School a year ; and then re-
paired to Andover, Massachusetts, to continue his studies in
theology, "The Queen of the Sciences," in that ancient and hon-
ored seat of sacred learning. The Rev. Leonard Woods, an
author of note, was then president. The pleasant village of An-
dover derives its name from an English market town, and the
Anglo-Saxon word was Andeafaran, meaning the ferry over the
river Ande. The Phillips Academy and the Abbott Female
Academy are also located in this literary town.
In Andover Seminary I marked the following students in years
that might have touched his course, Rensellaer Chanceford Rob-
bins, D. D., Professor of Languages in Middleburg College, Ver-
mont, when I was a student there, this fine scholar was once the
librarian of Andover Seminary, and he edited Xenophon's Mem-
orabilia of Socrates, with his own notes ; the Rev. Darius Rich-
mond Brewer, who died as rector of Christ Church, Westerly,
Rhode Island, in 1881 ; and the noted clergyman and author,
the Rev. Dr. Edward A. Washburn, once rector of St. lohn's
152 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF REV. D. K. TURNER
Church, Hartford, but at his death in 1881, rector of Calvary
Church, New York.
Mr. Turner spent a year in Andover, and then returned to
New Haven, entering Yale Theological School in 1846. He was
licensed to preach by the Hampden East Association of Massa-
chusetts.
In 1846 he came to Hartsville, Bucks county, to teach a private
school, following the example of many sons of New England,
who have moved southward on a like errand. He taught a year
and a half, and occasionally preached in the Neshaminy church
of Warwick, to which he was later called to be its pastor and
was transferred from the East Hampden Congregational Asso-
ciation to the Fourth Presbytery of Philadelphia; he therefore
resigned his school to accept the call and was installed as pastor
in 1848, which position he faithfully held until 1873, a period of
25 years, which speaks well for both pastor and people in these
days of change. He was charitable and beloved by his rural flock,
was highly respected and influential in the neighborhood, laboring
for the good of the whole community.
He was trustee and treasurer of the Bucks County Bible So-
ciety, of which the devoted Dr. Charles R. King, of happy mem-
ory, was president. He was also a member of the Historical So-
ciety of Pennsylvania, and the Presbyterian Historical Society
of Philadelphia, of which he was secretary from 1883 to 1893.
He was also one of the most active and influential members of
the Bucks County Historical Society, was one of its charter mem-
bers February 23, 1885, and served on the board of directors
continuously until his decease.
The book of biographies of leading citizens of Bucks county,
from which I have gleaned, gives the following notes of his do-
mestic Hfe: "On May 14, 1856, he was joined in wedlock with
Rachel H. Darrah, a daughter of Robert and Catharine (Gait)
Darrah; she was called Home August 13, 1863. He formed a
second marital union May 28, 1868, with a sister of his former
wife, Rebecca Darrah, who has proved a true help-meet to
her worthy husband." I may add that she has kindly aided my
work in this narrative.
Mr. Turner's life is sketched in "Who's Who in America."
edited by John W. Leonard. Mr. Turner's father moved from
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF REV. D. K. TURNER 153
Hartford to Jackson, Michigan, and became a dealer in wool.
There he died, March 30, 1879. His wife was Mary Nash ; she
died November 3, 1863. The family were George, Mary, Eliza,
Douglas Kellogg, Susan, Cornelia, now Mrs. George H. Lathrop,
Sarah and Walter Henry, who died in childhood, as did Susan.
Mr. Turner was a man of strong feelings and decided charac-
ter, but, by the grace of God, he kept himself under constant
control. The still water ran deep, and in quiet confidence lay
his strength. He was very painstaking in hunting up historic
matter, and making it trustworthy. He loved country life,
where he saw God in His works. He was wrapped up in his
books, and was a constant student. He was gentle' among his
parishioners and took an interest in them as a father in his family,
or a shepherd in his flock.
Judge Harnian Yerkes, whose boyhood was spent near Harts-
ville, wrote thus to Mrs. Turner of her husband :
"I regarded him as the purest character of a man in all my broad ac-
quaintance, and I can conceive of no greater triumph in the battle of life
than to have lived as he lived for the good of his fellow men. and to die
as he died, honored and loved by all who knew him, without an enemy.
The death of such a man in any community produces a profound impres-
sion of loss, as necessarily such a life must have had great influence for
good."
Mr. Turner died, after a brief illness, on March 8, 1902, and
was buried on the 12th. The funeral services were held in the
Neshaminy Presbyterian church of Warwick. The Rev. W. K.
Preston, the present pastor, the Rev. S. G. Boardman, the Rev.
Dr. William L. Ledwith and the Rev. Richard Montgomery made
addresses ; the Rev. J. B. Krewson, of Forestville, and the Rev.
William B. McCollum. pastor of the Hartsville Presbyterian
church, ofifered prayers. A large congregation was present.
A memorial service was held in the church on the third Sunday
after his death by the Sunday school, led by G. W. Rubinkam,
in which addresses were made in regard to him as a pastor,
Sunday school superintendent, neighbor and true friend by dif-
ferent members of the congregation.
The Presbyterian Historical Society of Philadelphia passed a
minute honoring their former librarian and secretary; and the
corresponding secretary, the Rev. Dr. Samuel T. Lowrie, ex-
154 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF REV. D. K. TURNER
pressed his high personal regard for his clerical neighbor, as
he was once pastor at Abington.
Thus was rightly honored one who was, on his father's side,
descended, in the tenth generation from the famed Elder William
Brewster, of the Mayflower Pilgrims. Bradford says of the
Elder: "He was wise and discreet and well-spoken, having a
grave and deliberate utterance, of a very cheerful spirit, of an
humble and modest mind." Does not this well describe his descen-
dant, Mr. Turner, who belonged to the society of the Mayflower's
descendants ?
Mr. Turner was a fine linguist, reading French, German, Latin,
Greek and Hebrew, and perusing the Greek Testament daily, that
he might drink fresh draughts from the source of Divine In-
spiration.
His great work was the "History of Neshaminy Presbyterian
Church, of Warwick," which is really the history of the neighbor-
hood. I wish that every parish had such a chronicler.
Your president. General Davis, knew the value of that natural
thinker, Mr. Turner, and called from him a marvelous collection
of articles for the Bucks County Historical Society. You loved
to hear him, and when he rose, in quiet and dignified self-pos-
session, you knew that every sentence would instruct you ; but
you did not realize that those essays, polished as marble statues,
sometimes cost him months of willing toil in consulting libraries.
I wish that all the essays of the Bucks County Historical Society
could appear in printed volumes.
And now this noble work is done, this man of active brain,
firm-set mouth and quiet humor, is no more seen or heard in the
country village where God's providence led his youthful steps.
The other day I visited his Hartsville home. There was his
empty study and the vacant chair at the table where for years
he had handled his much loved books, and he was missed at the
family meal. The road where he so often walked or rode on
errands of mercv is there ; the hills which his eye had looked on.
clad in sparkling snow or covered with their raiment of "living
green" in the summer sunlight were there; but where was the
sacred teacher who loved them so well ?
I walked with his friend and mine, the Rev. Mr. Boardman,
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF REV. D. K. TURNER 155
along the beautiful Little Neshaminy, which like Milton's de-
scription, reminds one of
"Siloa's brook that flows.
Fast bv the oracle of God,"
as its living waters run by the old church, where Whitefield's
eloquent Christian words seem still to echo from 1739, when 1,000
persons heard his voice in the churchyard. We visit the ceme-
tery, and find in God's acre, where Tennent. of Log College fame,
and the Rev. Dr. James P. Wilson, Sr., of holy memory, and
many of Mr. Turner's former parishioners, and their ancestors
sleep. His own resurrection can be with the cry, "Lord, here
am L and the spiritual children whom Thou hast given me." The
heart of the pastor is now in the peace that "passeth all un-
derstanding," deeper than that he found in these encircling hills
and snow-white clouds, and refreshing earthly breezes, scented
with the fragrance of the clover.
"The Wisdom of Solomon," our All Saints' Day lesson, de-
clares that "the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,"
though "in the sight of the unwise they seemed to die." Our
query is answered, the Christian pastor lives with God in Christ,
and may we as the Collect for All Saints' day reads : pray God
for "grace so to follow Thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and
godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys which
Thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love Thee, through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
And so, my friend and my father's friend, I lay this tribute of
love on thy new-made grave, hoping that my soul may be with
thine in God's everlasting kingdom.
The Wynkoop Family.
BY CAPT. WILLIAM WYNKOOP^ NEWTOWN, PA.
(Warminster Meeting, Ma\' 27, 1902.)
In giving the origin of old families most writers commence
"Once on a time two brothers came over from the old country and
settled," etc. So the Wynkoop family dates back 'to 1639 and
1642, when Peter and Cornelius Wynkoop came to this country
from Utrecht, Holland, and settled near where the city of Albany,
N. Y., now stands.
Like many other old families we boast of our coat-of-arms,
yet the crest is the only part which savors of heraldry. The
name appears to be a contraction of Wynkooper, which in the
Dutch language signifies wine-merchant or wine-bearer.
When in Holland in 1889, my wife and I spent part of a day
in Utrecht, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the family
name is still in use there. We found the "koop" as a termina-
tion to several names such as "Vanderkoop," etc., but none with
full name of Wynkoop or Wynkooper.
It is not my purpose to write a genealogy of the family, for
our records embrace 867 names, extending down from 1642
through ten generations, but shall select a few persons who
from time to time figured prominently among the early settlers
and later on in the development of our country, either in legis-
lative, judicial, religious or in military life.
We are glad to be able to say no one of our ancestry was ever
hung, or convicted of any serious crime. Among the earliest
names were Peter, Abraham, David, Deborah and Daniel, show-
ing a reverence for the Bible and sacred records. The favorite
names as carried down were Peter, 20 times; Nicholas. 40; Cor-
nelius, 29: William, 28: Henry, 29; Catharine, 41 ; John, 39: and
Alary, 31. We find honorable mention of several in the early
history of New York State, but in 1717 Gerrit or Gerardus,
moved with his family to the township of ]\Ioreland, now Mont-
gomery county, Pennsylvania ; he was an elder of the church of
North and Southampton in our county in 1744-5, and his de-
THE WYNKOOP FAMILY I57
scendants now own and occupy land in Northampton township,
which has been in continuous possession of some of the family
ever since.
We can point with pardonable pride to a long line of elders and
ministers running through eight generations, who have been close-
ly identified with the religious element of o'.ir country as officers
in the local churches where they worshiped. Among them were
Rev. Silvester Wynkoop, pastor of the Dutch Reformed church
at Catskill, 1817, and of whom a fellow minister wrote "the
memory of Dominie Wynkoop was cherished with love and
respect by the entire community ;" Rev. Richard Wynkoop, pastor
of the Presbyterian church, at Yorktown, West Chester county, N.
Y., 1827-1834; Rev. Jefferson Wynkoop, pastor of the Dutch
Reformed church at Hempstead, N. Y., 1825-1836, filling several
other succeseful pastorates after these dates ; Rev. Stephen Rose,
son of David Wynkoop, who represented Bucks county in the
Legislature six or seven years, was pastor of the First Pres-
byterian church at Wilmington, Del., 1838-1858, and who in
1833-4 explored the western coast of Africa on behalf of the
American Board of Foreign Missions, and Rev. Theodore S.
Wynkoop, who was pastor of the Second Presbyterian church
at Huntingdon, L. I., in 1864; subsequently he went as a mis-
sionary to India, returned to this country for his health, was
elected pastor of a Presbyterian church in Washington, D. C.
and is now again in India.
Henry, son of David Wynkoop, lived and died in Bucks county.
He served as ruling elder in Thompson Memorial Church of
Solebury for 52 years, and was known only to be beloved by all
who knew him. His son, Henry, Jr.. married Emily G. Nippes,
a daughter of Anna Kenderdine and Henry Nippes. and Anna,
daughter of said Henry, Jr., married Lieut. George Marvell, so
the Bucks county branch of our family is to some extent re-
lated to the Kenderdine family, of whom we hear so favorably
to-day.
Ellen, a daughter of Henry, Sr., was recently married to
Samuel T. Buckman,. of Newtown. Two of her sisters, Louisa
Ann and Harriet, married and are still living in the suburbs
of Philadelphia. There are many other honored names of elders
and deacons who were identified with Presbyterian and Dutch
158 THE WYNKOOP FAMILY
Reformed churches, but time forbids a personal mention in this
paper.
We find among them several honored members of the bar and
judges on the bench. Cornelius C. was an attorney at law in
1795, practicing in the courts of New York City. Gerardus
was for 19 successive years a member of the House of General
Assembly of Pennsylvania and for a series of years its speaker;
he died in 1813. Dirk or Derick was a member of the committee
of safety, and of the second Provincial Congress which met at
New York November 14, 1775 ; he was appointed a judge of the
Common Pleas of Ulster county, N. Y., in 1777; was a member of
the New York Assembly 1 780-1 ; and in 1788 a member of
the State convention to which was submitted the Federal Con-
stitution.
Henry, son of Nicholas Wynkoop, was an ofificer in the Revolu-
tionary army, and at one time an associate judge of the Common
Pleas of Bucks county. He greatly distinguished himself by the
active and determined part he took in favor of our struggle for
independence. He served as a member of the First Provincial
Conference of Pennsylvania which convened in Carpenter's Hall,
Philadelphia, on June 18, 1776, and was elected a member of
the First Congress, which assembled at New York, on March 4,
1789. Judge Wynkoop's house was distinguished as the home
of Col. Monroe — afterward President — during the time he was
disabled by a wound received at the battle of Trenton. It was
the letter of General Washington, addressed to bis friend Wyn-
koop, that procured these hospitable quarters for Col. Monroe,
and for whom kind attention from the family of Judge Wyn-
koop, President Alonroe, as late as March 26, 1834, in a letter
expressed the most lively gratitude "for the kindness received,
during an interesting period of our Revolutionary War."
Gen. Alexander Hamilton and Judge Wynkoop were members
of the first Continental Congress. On one occasion while walk-
ing on Chestnut street, Philadelphia, the General was urging
very strongly the claims of a bill before the house, for which he
desired to secure his friend's support. But the Judge desiring
to avoid the discussion, because he was adverse to the measure,
changed the subject by calling the General's attention to two very
beautiful women who had just passed them. The conversation
THE WYNKOOP FAMILY 159
was not resumed; but forty-eight hours afterward Mrs. Wynkoop
arrived quite unexpectedly, having traveled all night in conse-
quence of a letter received from General Hamilton requesting
her immediate presence, as her husband was in a very dangerous
condition. The joke was well taken and caused great merriment
to all concerned.
At one time General Washington, who was in favor of styling
the President, "His Mightiness," asked General Muhlenburg for
his opinion concerning it ; General Muhlenburg replied : "H all
the incumbents were to have the commanding size and presence
of yourself, or of my friend Wynkoop here, the title might be
appropriate, but if applied here to some lesser men it would pro-
voke ridicule." The writer has in his parlor a chair used by the
Judge in his lifetime; also his commission as president judge of
the courts of Bucks county, dated Nov. i8, 1780. He died
March 25, 1816.
Many others might be named, but with mention of Richard, a
son of Rev. Richard Wynkoop. we will turn to the military
record of the family. He was born in 1829, educated at Rut-
ger's College, afterwards studied law in New York City, and was
admitted to the bar in 1852. He served for some time in the
New York custom house, under Collectors Barney, Draper and
Chester A. Arthur, afterwards President of the United States.
He wrote during his leisure hours a genealogy of the Wynkoop
family, to which the writer is indebted for many records in
this paper, and also was the author of several poetic effusions.
Besides those prominent in civil and religious life, the Wyn-
koop family has ever been loyal to our flag, and many of them
took up arms in their country's defense. We mention a few only.
Adrian, son of Cornelius Wynkoop, was elected major of the
First Regiment, Ulster county, N. Y., May i, 1776, and in
October, 1776, was placed in command of 200 m.en to guard the
passes of the Hudson.
Cornelius D. was appointed major of the Third Regiment,
same company, June 30, 1775, and promoted to lieut. col. of
the same regiment August 2, 1775. He was made colonel April
II, 1776, and received honorable mention in the archives of
that day.
Evert, a son of Cornelius. Jr.. was a captain in the old French
l60 THE WYNKOOP FAMILY
war and died of camp fever in 1750. Jacobus, son of Cornelius
Wynkoop, was elected captain of the 4th N. Y. Continental
Regiment, August 15, 1775, and transferred to naval service on
recommendation of Major General Schuyler, to take command of
all the vessels on the lakes George and Champlain, near Ticon-
deroga. He had the misfortune to offend Gen. Benedict Arnold
by reporting to Gen. Gates instead of to him. and was ordered
under arrest, but Gen. Schuyler had him reinstated and he retained
his command until the evacuation of Ticonderoga.
Francis Murray Wynkoop was born 1820 and on December 13,
1857, while hunting birds to tempt the delicate appetite of his
wife accidentally shot himself and died in half an hour. Dur-
ing the Mexican War he enlisted as a private under Gov. Shunk's
call for volunteers, was elected colonel of the regiment, was at
the capture of Vera Cruz, in the battles of Cerro Gordo and
Humantla. exhibiting great skill and bravery, and received hon-
orable mention in the autobiography of Gen. Winfield S. Scott.
Under President Pierce he was U. S. Marshall of the eastern
district of Pennsylvania. The honored president of our society,
Gen. W. W. H. Davis, fought by his side during the Mexican
War, and will bear testimony to his soldierly ability.
Edward H. Wynkoop, brother of Francis, was major of a
Colorado regiment, performed perilous and efficient service against
the rebels in New Mexico and against the Indians, and was one
of the members of the original Pike's Peak expedition.
Another of the Bucks county branch was John Estill Wynkoop,
colonel of the 20th Pennsylvania Cavalry, who commanded a
brigade at Cumberland, Md., in the Civil War of 1861-5. His
brother, George, was lieutenant-colonel of the 98th Pennsyl-
vania Infantry at Chancellorsville. where he was wounded and
resigned in consequence.
The writer of this paper served over three years in the war of
1861-5. as private, sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant and
captain : wa-s three times wounded, and at the time of his dis-
charge was on the staff of Brig. Gen. Davies, Greggs Cavalry
division, army of the Potomac, acting as assistant adjutant
general.
His brother, Thomas H.. was a member of Gen. W. W. H.
Davis' 104th regiment, from Bucks county, and was killed in
action June, 1862. The G. A. R. of Newtown was named in
the; wynkoop family i6i
his honor. A number of others of the name served honorably in
the wars of our country, but space forbids further mention.
Thomas L., father of the writer, always lived in Bucks coun-
ty; three of his children still survive, Catharine, William and
Samuel. He was for many years a prominent officer in the
Presbyterian church at Newtown; he died in 1879. His brother,
Gerardus, lived near Newtown during a long life and died in 1888.
Four children still survive him, viz. : Susan B., widow of Elias
E. Smith, M. D. ; Emeline, wife of William Patterson, of Doyles-
town; Mary A., wife of Elijah Torbert, and Matilda, wife of
John L. Janney.
One sister, Anna Maria, married N. J. Rubinkam, of Harts-
ville, and lived near Warminster, where we meet to-day. Two
of her sons were educated for the ministry; one of whom died
early in life, the other. Rev. N. I. Rubinkam, D. D., has been pas-
tor of churches in Philadelphia, Jamestown, N. Y., and Chicago.
Another son, Jesse, died recently of disease contracted in the
war of 1861. His brother, G. W. Rubinkam, Esq., is to-day an
active elder in the Presbyterian church of Neshaminy and favor-
ably known throughout Bucks county.
The temptation is great to continue these recollections, for there
are many others equally deserving of mention as the few selected,
but I must forbear. Hoping that my paper may not savor too
strongly of egotism, but that much may be excused as pardonable
pride of ancestry, I will close, knowing full well there are other
families in our county, whose history not yet written is fully
equal, if not more creditable, than our own.
The Kenderdines of Bucks County.
BY THADDKUS S. KENDERDINE, NEWTOWN, PA.
(Warminster Meeting, May 27, 1902.)
It has been my experience when hstening to the reading of
genealogies, before audiences of general character like this, to
find that the interest is confined to thoje who are members of the
family under treatment. The rest of the audiences simply tolerate
the theme or impatiently wait until it is over. Worse than this
the percentage of those interested in their own family history is
small, by reason of general indifference, due mainly from an
aversion to an inquisitive world having access to the birth records.
This sensitiveness goes to the extent of refusing needed informa-
tion, as any family historian can testify. In distinction from
these obstructors the genealogist himself, although starting coldly
upon his work, gathers enthusiasm as he proceeds, grows im-
patient at the lack of interest manifested by his kindred, then,
heedless of rebuffs when making personal inquiries, and of post-
age stamps which though optimistically cast on the waters, never
show up, he goes lonesomely and doggedly at his task, and with
"\'irtue is its own reward" as his motto, runs down his quarry
until the youngest innocent of the last generation is in the meshes
of his family history. Two years' experience in the business al-
luded to, justifies me in thus reasoning. Therefore when I was
asked to write this history I hesitated and was then lost in my
desire to please him who has been my friend for 45 years, the
honored president of the Bucks County Historical Society.
The lack of prominence of our family seemed to justify me
in not wishing to thrust it in the face of the public. The rank
of chief burgess of some minor borough, or of rural^ justice of
the peace or school director, is as high as any of them got in
political life ; in a religious way the stations of overseer and elder
were reached ; while in military ways, although the main body
were Friends, three of the name held commissions in the Union
army, one of whom had a brilliant career in the army of the
Southwest. But as in acting well one's part lies all the honor.
THK KENDERDINES OF BUCKS COUNTY 163
the credit due the Kenderdines, men and women, must go toward
that portion of them known as average humanity, for in their
roles of farmer, mechanic and housekeeper they did themselves
credit in these lines, which is better than being failures in high
callings. They were useful in constructing saw- and grist-mills with
rude tools out of rough materials ; clearing the wilderness that rich
harvests might succeed, where giant trees and close thickets had
been deeply rooted, and in housewifery, which showed forth
fabrics of wool and linen whose samples, still in existence, were
preserved for future generations, and carefully kept in well-
groomed sitting-rooms and parlors where guests shivered amid
frigid stateliness and wished themselves in the kitchen, where
savory viands were being prepared for the coming supper.
The Kenderdines came to America about 1700 from the town
of Llanedlas, sometimes called Llanidloes, in Montgomeryshire,
North Wales. It is wonderful what an amount of historical
space is devoted to that particular county, there being thirty
volumes of 400 pages each concerning it in the rooms of the
Pennsylvania Historical Society, the results of annual literary
gatherings in Montgomeryshire which are issued in the shape of
neat volumes as fast as the material is collected. For all this,
in the searches made for records I did not find our family name
once mentioned, although I scanned tax lists, the records of jailed
non-confonmists and lists of jurymen, which are given at length.
I do not find the name around Llanedlas now, although there are
several Kenderdines in the adjacent English county of Stafford.
The strong probability is that the family which came here had
moved to Llanedlas from Stafford, where they lived but a short
time, and then came to America, leaving none of the name be-
hind. Within my recollection there came a story of the last
of the name having died out in the old country in the shape of a
bachelor, who, of course, left a fabulous fortune, but the Welsh,
who are canny and cautious, are not given to such fakes, so the
thousands of pounds in the vaults of the bank of England were
never sought for by our family.
Thomas Kenderdine, the head of the American branch of
the family, was born about 1650. He married Margaret, daugh-
ter of John Robert, a blacksmith, before 1680. She died in 1710,
while Thomas died three vears later. Both, as well as two of
164 THE KEXDERDINES OF BUCKS COUNTY
their children, were buried in what was known as the "John
Hart burying-ground," but which is now the common grave-yard
of Byberry township, through a transfer made by a grandson,
John Hart, Jr., in 1790, to Byberry overseers of the poor. Friends
had quit burying there after the erection of Byberry meeting-
house, but the dead already there, many of them of prominence,
like the Rushes, were left; with the result that their graves have
become so overgrown with briars and large undergrowth that the
friends of the deceased paupers it was intended for were asham-
ed to give them sepulture at Harts, so that not a sod has been
turned there since 1850.
At the time of the coming of Thomas Kenderdine and Margaret
Kenderdine to America they had five children, Jenkin, John,
Richard, Thomas and Margaret ; two others, Mary and Joseph,
were born in America. These were all living before 1702, ex-
cept the last, as shown by John Robert's will. Two sons, Jenkin
and John, for some cause did not emigrate with their parents,
although John afterwards followed. Jenkin remained in Llaned-
las, where he married and had a son, Thomas, v/ho was remem-
bered in his uncle Richard's will to the amount of five pounds.
Thomas, the emigrant, settled near the Red Lion inn, on a farm
of 200 acres willed to him in 1702 by his father-in-law, John
Robert. This farm, which I cannot locate, went after his death
to his son, Thomas. I find no mention of Thomas Kenderdine,
the elder, until 171 1, when he was made overseer of Abington
meeting, which indicates that he joined Friends in Wales. Two
years later he is mentioned in the minutes as having been the
victim of harsh language from one Ellis Davis, but the latter
making an acknowledgment, the trouble ended. As Ellis got
into difficulty with another neighbor the same year, I am justified
in saying that grandfather Thomas was clear of all blame. In
straightening this last difiference, Thomas, as one of the overseers
must have had a delicate task, which I trust he came out of in
good shape. Ellis followed Thomas' sons to Horsham, where they
lived neighbors and without further disagreements so far as
meeting records show. The emigrant died in 1713, his son John
died the next year, and daughter, Margaret, died a few days
later. Margaret, Sr., had died in 1710, so in four years four of
the family were in their graves on the wooded shores of the
THE KENDERDINES OF BUCKS COUNTY 165
"Poetqtiessink." There is an arousing of sentiment at thoughts
of these wilderness funerals, the gathering of quaint people at
the meeting-house, the solemn words of the preacher, the sorrow
of the near survivors, the sad procession passing through the
primeval forest or recent clearing to the final resting place at
John Hart's.
So Thomas died, and in an unmarked grave he licth by the
side of his nearest kin and neighbors, for though they "buried in
rows," the quick taking of four of the early Kenderdines must
have allowed proximate burial. The minute relating to his pass-
ing away simply says : "Our Friend, Thomas Kenderdine. being
dead, Friends of Abbington have chosen Rice Peters in his room
as overseer." He is therefore no longer known In meeting annals,
and passes out of history. He lived, he died, and was replaced !
'Twas always thus and ever shall be, and this is all I know about
him.
The second son of Thomas was Richard, who was born in 1680,
and was living in 1702 in Chester, where his name is seen in a
list of contributors toward the building of St. Paul's Episcopal
church in that town. How he avoided disownment, under the
circumstances, is not known, although he might not have been a
member of Friends at the time, but an Episcopalian as were
generations of Kenderdines before him. He was the most promi-
nent of the name in meeting afifairs afterwards, being over-
seer of Horsham until 1727, and holding many minor appoint-
ments until his health failed in 1730. He was married to Sarah
Evans, of North Wales, in 1714, and died in 1732. They had five
children. The second of these, Sarah, married Enoch Morgan,
and left descendants.
The emigrant's third son, Thomas, came across the seas with
his father at the age of eight. After his father's death he bought
his Abington farm, but soon left it and moved to Horsham with
his brothers, Richard and Joseph, and in partnership with the lat-
ter, built what is now known as the Shay mill, on the Little
Neshaminy. He also owned what is known as the "Maid Kender-
dine's farm," also the farm on the Butler road below Prospect-
ville, now owned by Thomas Fillman. He left three sons and
four daughters. Joseph, the fourth son, owned, besides his in-
terest in the mill, 500 acres in Horsham. He married Mary
l66 THK KENDERDINES OF BUCKS COUNTY
Jarrett in 1738. Her father, John Jarrett, gave her a Bible
still in existence, and the oldest Bible I have found in the family ;
on the flyleaf is inscribed, "Mary Kenderdine, Her Book, Given
by her father, John Jarrett, and my desire is that the same may
be for the use of her and the heirs of her Body forever." Joseph
died in 1778, leaving one son and six daughters. Mary, the
youngest daughter of the emigrant, married Jacob Dubree, of
Philadelphia. They had but one son, Jacob, who died without
heirs in 1774. Jacob was a slave-holder, but before his death he
freed and made provision for all his slaves. He left a legacy to
the William Penn Charter School. This closes the second gen-
eration.
Until about 1772, the Kenderdines who came to this country
in 1713, lived in Horsham with the exception of Mary just men-
tioned. Their several homes in the first named year surrounded
the plantation of Archibald McLean on three sides, with but one
break in the link. There were ten of these holdings which gradually
went out of the family until there is but one left in the name.
There is but one voter of the name left in Horsham, although in
1820 there were twelve. In 1820 the Kenderdines were in the
greatest number of Horsham, there being 55 within a mile of
Babylon, the family center, 21 of whom were of school-going
age, while there were 20 more of the required age among the
Morgans and Gordon cousins who lived nearby ; enough to make
a good-sized school nowadays. I do not say these children
went to school, only that they were of school-going
age, as they were between six and twenty years. Parents
believed, in those days, more in getting work out of the
hands of their children than "book-larnin" into their heads, this
however was probably from necessity ; for all that, the Ken-
derdines and Morgans at Babylon school made up so large a
proportion of the pupils that woe to the English or Scotch boys
who made a tilt at their Welsh nationality by singing the song
of the beef stealing Taffy, so aggravating and suggestive in its
synonymity, which ran thus :
"Taify was a Welshman ; Taffy was a thief ;
Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of beef.
I went to Taffy's house ; Taffy was in bed ;
I up with a marrow bone and knocked him on the head."
the: kenderdines of bucks county 167
The Welsh were clannish and combative, and I warrant me,
Quakers though they were, when the Scotch Gordons and Jar-
retts and the English Pauls, though all were blood kin, sang
the above lines in the tantalizing way of the school boy to the
Welsh lads, their resentment oozed out through their finger
tips. As a loyal Welshman I never felt kindly towards the
author of Taffy. •
The generation of Kenderdines, born before those mentioned,
adding the related Morgans and Pauls, would also have formed
a fair sized school, for there were 20 children of these families
before 1800.
The location of the eight Kenderdine farms and one lot around
the 440 acre McLean farm was a singular circumstance, and looks
as if the Kenderdines were trying to inaugurate v/hat was known
during the Civil War as the "Anaconda Policy," to strangle
that plantation. Starting at the southwest and taking them
in their order, came the homes of John, Issachar and Joseph,
brothers ; Thomas, Enoch, brothers ; Paul, Eli, John and Joseph,
the last two being twins. On the northeast side was Babylon
school-house, but a mile from the farthest home, the walk to
which was therefore a short one for all. Babylon was the
metropolis of the Kenderdine settlement, where were the school-
house, store and blacksmith and wheelwright-sh.ops to supply
the mental and physical wants of the little community. In winter
time Babylon was the scene of the old-fashioned debating school.
The school-house sheltering the rustic speakers, some of them
were men of ability who in after years became prominent.
The first to begin the disintegration of the family circle around
the McLean plantation was Jacob Kenderdine, son of Thomas
second, who moved to Philadelphia in 1785. The next was
Joseph, who also settled in Philadelphia in 1829. Robert moved
away in 1826, Chalkley in 1828, and John E. Kenderdine in 1833.
As the old stock followed the course of nature toward Horsham
burying-ground the younger moved off until there is but one fam-
ily left in the township, where the Kenderdines once predomina-
ted, and that one is on a rented farm. Of the mills one is totally
obliterated, one was turned into a dwelling and the other, once the
main neighborhood grist-mill, is leading a precarious existence,
its mill-dams having been washed away. The stores and shops at
l68 THE KENDERDINES OF BUCKS COUNTY
Babylon have been leveled with the earth, as is the old school-
house, though a new one has taken its place, but where the
Kenderdine pupils once ruled the playground, not one of the name
is now found. To us of the name this is pathetic, while to those
outside it must arouse unpleasant interest.
The descendants of the sturdy mill-wrights, millers and far-
mers who bore the name of Kenderdine, and \Vho wielded the
broad axe, tended grist-mill and saw-mill, guided the plow and
subdued the forest of Horsham are now scattered to the winds.
Horsham meeting, which had Kenderdines on its roll of mem-
bership and where the name was frequently called out in con-
nection with some trustee, church office, or in the line of religious
visits, is now bare of the name, nor is there a Friend in all
Montgomery county named Kenderdine ; they are scattered and
live in California, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa
and Illinois, in the Virginias, Delaware and Maryland, as well as
among the other Eastern States. There were 5 persons bearing
the family name in America in 1702, 19 in 1750, 50 descendants
in 1800, 106 in 1850, and at the present time there are about 700.
Up to and including the fifth generation the family name was
held by half the descendants, numbering 90. At the same time
there were 23 Gordons, the remainder being divided among 12
other families. During the last century the name of Kenderdine
has greatly fallen off proportionately, so that out of the 1,100
descendants since 1 700, there have been but 270 Kenderdines born.
Among the professions, I do not know of any of the name
having been lawyers, and but one physician, although there have
been several among the inter-marriages. There were eight Ken-
derdines in the Union army during the Civil War, 3 holding
commissions, a colonel, major and lieutenant, not a bad propor-
tion in a peaceful sect, and considering the few of that name wliQ
were of military age during that period. Of these one was killed
and two were wounded.
Of those who moved to a distance Armitage Kenderdine went to
Illinois in 1826. He left several descendants. Hannah Kender-
dine of the fourth generation married William Kerr, of Hunter-
don, New Jersey, where there are also residing several families
descended from the first Thomas of Llanedlass, Wales. Jacob Ken-
derdine, also of the fourth generation, moved to Philadelphia in
THE KENDERDINES OF BUCKS COUNTY 169
1785. and left descendants living in Philadelphia, Delaware and
Missouri.
Of local interest was the removal of John E. Kenderdine from
Horsham in 1833. He settled on the Delaware at the point near-
est to Doylestown, thinking that would be of permanent impor-
tance, as water communication was the one mainly in vogue,
railroads being small factors 75 years ago. The lumber coming
down the Lehigh and Delaware by raft and canal boats supplied
the building wants of the people from the Delaware to near the
Schuylkill, until the construction of the North Penn railroad
and its Doylestown, Northeast Penn, and Newtown branches,
when the territory to be supplied extended inland but a few
miles westward from the Delaware and business greatly fell off.
John E. Kenderdine found a village consisting of two or three
dwelling houses, a hotel which occupied one-half of one of the
dwelling houses, a grist- and saw-mill, the last in ruins from the
lately constructed canal. The name of the settlement was "Hard
Times," the town was called the "Camel," which counterfeited on
a creaky sign, was suggestive of the loads the patrons could carry.
The mills were made new, the tavern turned into a dwelling, a
planing-mill, sash-factory, a second saw-mill and three new houses
built and for twenty-five years, under the name of Lumberton,
this riverside village flourished. Its lumber went 18 miles toward
the Schuylkill, as did its work, while it sent kiln-dried corn-
meal one year to Ireland and the West Indies. Dying in 1868
John E. Kenderdine has left behind him three generations, mainly
living in Bucks county.*
John M. Kenderdine, of the sixth generation, is living in Fort
Worth, Texas, where he has seven children. He was a soldier
in the Civil War.
Charles Starr Kenderdine, of the fourth generation, moved just
before the war to Iowa, and afterwards to Kansas where he was
at one time mayor of Topeka. Dying in 1894 he left several
children, one of whom, Major Henry M. Kenderdine, had a
brilliant war record in the army of the West. Charles S.. was
also in the Union army.
The Knights of Ambler; the Stouts. Cleavers, Brights and
Amblers, in and about Norristown. are descendants of the
Kenderdines.
* These mills at the time of publication of these papers (1909) are silent.
The Hilltown Thomas Family.
BY A. K. THOMAS, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
(Meeting in Wycombe Baptist Church, October 7, 1902.)
The name of Thomas was very common among the Welsh
speaking people of 200 years ago. The meaning of the name is
"A Twin." Tom is the popular form of Thomas, and has been
in vogue for many centuries. The Christian name, though not
used generally before the Norman conquest, is now one of the
commonest of baptismal appellatives and surnames. It has been
an abundant source of nicknames, represented in our family
nomenclature by Thomson, Thomerson, Thomason, and Thomp-
son. Some of the Welsh Thomas families are of antiquity, though
the surname is of comparatively recent assumption.
The Thomas family was represented among the earliest arrivals
in New England. Evan Thomas was a town officer in Boston,
and John Thomas came to New England about 1643. Another
John Thomas came to New England in the "Hopewell" in 1635.
By a perusal of the life sketches of many prominent men bearing
the family name it will be found that the Thomases have been
actively and intimately associated with the civil, industrial and
commercial afifairs of America. They have attained prominence
in the field of science and medicine, while in statesmanship the
family has produced men of thought and action. Some have
attained eminence at the bar and in the administration of justice,
while clergymen, educators and lecturers descended from the
ancestral tree have occupied high places. As heroes in the Colo-
nial, Revolutionary and later wars they have rendered to their
country patriotic service, each of whom has added lustre to
the name of Thomas.
So much for the origin and characteristics of the family as a
whole. In Bucks county there are several distinct and separate
branches of the Thomas family. They are mostly of Welsh
origin, but so far as I can learn these branches bear no relationship
other than that they are descended from Welsh ancestry.
My purpose, however, is to speak more particularly of one
the; hii^IvTown thomas family 171
branch of the Thomas family, whose emigrant ancestor settled
in Bucks county nearly two centuries ago, and from whom has
sprung a vast progeny, now scattered throughout the entire coun-
try, with living descendants in almost every State of the Union.
The name of this ancestor, of whom the writer is a descendant,
was William Thomas. This pioneer was a native of Wales. He
came to America in 1712. In his native country he was a preach-
er and exercised his talents in the ancient Baptist church at
Llanwenarth, organized in 1652. Because of severe religious
persecution in the old country, Rev. William Thomas, with many
others, was obliged to leave the land of his birth and seek relig-
ious liberty in the new country beyond the sea. Prior to 1695
these dissenters, including Baptists and Congregationalists, had
no place of worship in the mother country, and they were com-
pelled to meet in the most secluded spots among the mountains and
in the valleys of Wales. Many of these spots in Wales are now
historic as having been the refuge of those persecuted men and
women who longed for religious liberty. After weary years
of waiting this liberty was granted to an extent that the worship-
ers were permitted to hold public service, and the church at
Llanwenarth was dedicated. Rev. William Thomas was most
likely present at the dedication. The walls of the original build-
ing are still standing as a part of the present house of worship.
William Thomas, the father of the family of whom I am about
to speak, was a man of some means, or at least he possessed a
competency sufficient to warrant his seeking a new home in
America. He was a cooper by trade, and for some years after
settlement in this country followed that business in connection
with his calling as preacher of the Word. Remaining in Wales
until the death of his parents, he embarked for America
in the winter of 1712, landing in Philadelphia after a voyage of
several weeks. It is related that when Elder Thomas and his
family were ready to sail from Bristol, with their goods stored
away in the sailing vessel, they decided to visit some relatives in the
old country, intending to return before the time set for the vessel
to sail. They returned at the time assigned for the sailing, but
found to their great grief that the ship had departed, but was not
yet out of sight. Mr. Thomas secured passage on a smaller
craft and endeavored to overtake the ship, but all to no purpose.
1/2 THE HILLTOWN THOMAS FAMILY
The vessel was lost sight of and the family left destitute. They
took passage on the next vessel bound for America, arriving in
Philadelphia on February 14, 171 2. They made inquiry concern-
ing the vessel which contained all the valuables of the family, but
learned to their chagrin that the master of the ship had absconded
and the craft was in the possession of others. They even saw
some of their clothing on the backs of persons who had purchased
them of the dishonest master of the vessel, yet they were not able
to recover anything.
Thus reduced to poverty. Elder William Thomas and his young
family, consisting of a wife and one son, were face to face with
complete poverty. He was obliged to borrow money to pay for
his passage across the water, so that when he commenced life on
this side of the Atlantic he was absolutely penniless.
With a determination to make the best of things, ]\Ir. Thomas
sought a home at Radnor, Delaware county, where he carried on
the coopering business for some years, and by dint of the most
rigid economy managed to save a little money. Looking around
for an opening where he could purchase some land and establish
for himself a home, he came to Bucks county, and in 171 8
purchased 440 acres in Hilltown township, bordering on the
jMontgomery county line, near the present village of Hockertown.
Here he built a house and made his home. This house stood until
1812. Having attained a foothold in the new country, he made
other purchases in the same neighborhood, the last tract having
been secured in 1728. It was his aim to provide a farm for each
of his seven children, and before the close of his life his wish
was realized. The purchases comprised six tracts amounting to
1258 acres, all in the township of Hilltown, for which the sum
of £361 was paid. This land when Elder Thomas first set foot
on it was an unbroken wilderness, requiring m.uch hard labor
to clear and make fruitful.
After his arrival in America Elder William Thomas deposited
his membership with the ^Montgomery Baptist church, which
was established in 1719. Living quite a distance from the mother
church, the Elder set about to establish a house of worship nearer
home. Accordingly he set apart a piece of ground from his
extensive tract and prepared to build a meeting-house. With
his own hands he labored to build the house, which was
THK HIIvIvTOWN THOMAS FAMILY I73
completed in 1737. In this little log house he preached for
twenty years, or until 1757, and wherein his son John followed
him in the ministry.
In those days the Indians were somewhat troublesome at times.
It is related that the Elder, fearing an attack at an unguarded
moment, was accustomed to take with him to the meeting-house
his gun and ammunition and deposit it at the base of the log
pulpit, hewn from a gum tree. ,
This log house stood until the close of the Colonial period. In
1771 it was removed and a larger building erected of stone, and
this in turn has given way to the present neat structure known as
the Lower Hilltown Baptist church. The body of the founder of
the church lies in the graveyard near by, and the marble slab which
covers it bears the following inscription :
"In yonder meeting-house I spent my breath,
Now silent, mould'ring here I lie in Death;
These silent lips shall wake, and yon declare
A dread amen to truths they published there."
His wife, Ann, lies buried at his side, and his five sons and two
daughters likewise are buried in the yard near by, as well as
numerous descendants of the family down to the fifth and sixth
generation.
The children of Rev. William Thomas were as follows : Thom-
as, John, Ephraim, Manaseh, William, Jr., Ann, Gwentley. From
these seven children, have sprung a vast number of men and
women, located in nearly every State in the Union. Thomas, the
oldest, was born in Wales. He was a member of the Montgomery
Baptist church. He was twice married. His first wife was
Margaret Bates, of Montgomery, and the second Mary Williams.
Thirteen children were born to him — three by the first wife and
ten by the second. Thomas became an extensive landholder in
Hilltown. He inherited the old homestead, on wdiich he died
in 1780.
Rev. John Thomas, the second son of Elder William Thomas,
succeeded his father in the ministry. He was born one year after
the Elder's arrival in America. He preached for about 40 years in
the church at Hilltown with conspicuous success in the building up
of the congregation. His wife was Sarah James, of Radnor, by
whom he had four children — Ann, Rebecca, Leah and Sarah. The
1/4 THE HILLTOWN THOMAS FAMILY
salary or "living" of the pastor of the Montgomery and Hilltown
Baptist churches at that time was equivalent to £40 a year.
Ephraim, the third son, was born in 1719 and married Eleanor
Bates. He also spent his life in Hilltown. He was a devout
member of the Hilltown Baptist church, in which he was a ruling
elder. He had ten children, and among his descendants are
numbered the families of Morris, James, Milnor, Beck, Foster,
Lewis, Griffith, Mathews, Mathias, Rowland, McEwen, Hough,
Swartz, Foulke, Dungan, Hamilton, Riale, Lunn, Williams,
Kutcheon and many others.
Manaseh, the fourth son, was born in 1721. He married Eliz-
abeth Evans. He too was a member of the Hilltown church, and
spent his life on the old plantation inherited from his father. He
died in 1802, in the 8ist year of his age.
William, Jr.. was born in 1723 and married Abigail, daughter of
Joseph Day. He too inherited a portion of the land owned by his
father. He died in 1764, leaving three minor children.
Ann, one of the daughters of William Thomas, was born in
1719. She married Stephen Rowland, of Wales. She died with-
out leaving any children.
Gwentley, the other daughter, was born in 1716 and married
Morris Morris. She was the ancestor of several distinguished
descendants, among them being a member of Congress, prominent
educators and members of the Legislature. The names of some of
her descendants are Dungan, Mathias, Pugh, Kellar, Griffith,
Phillips, Lloyd and Magill.
It is a singular fact that while the descendants of Rev. William
Thomas were once so numerous in Hilltown and other parts of
Bucks county, very few are found in Hilltown to-day. Only a
single male descendant bearing the family name is residing within
Its limits. Many of them early in the last century moved to the
Western country, and from them have sprung families who have
never seen the ancestral homestead in Bucks county.
Rev. Jefiferson Harrison Jones, of Alliance, Ohio, is a descend-
ant of Leah Thomas, daughter of Rev. John Thomas. In June.
1902 Mr. Jones was 89 years old and his voice is still heard in
the pulpit. He began to preach when 14 years old, and was
known as the "Boy Preacher." In August this year he married
his 899th couple. He was regarded for years as the most elo-
the; hilIvTown thomas famii^y 175
quent preacher in Ohio. He was a close friend of the late
President Garfield, and pronounced a touching eulogy at his
grave.
Elias Thomas, Jr., grandson of Walter Thomas, who moved
from Bucks county to Indiana in 1837, is a prosperous farmer in
Jay county, in that State. He is a graduate of Liber College.
Howard Malcolm Kutchin, a descendant of the family through
Ephraim Thomas, was born at New Britain, Bucks county, in
1842. He is the eldest son of Thomas T. Kutchin, a Baptist
clergyman, once pastor of the New Britain church. Mr. Kutchin
is a newspaper man by profession, having owned and edited
several prominent papers in the West. He has been an active
Republican all his life and has occupied several government posi-
tions, including that of collector of internal revenue of Wisconsin
and postmaster of San Diego, Cal. In 1887 he was appointed
by President McKinley commissioner of fisheries of Alaska, and
is now returning from his annual visit to that country in the
interest of the United States Government.
Judge Albert Duy Thomas, of Crawfordsville, Ind., is descended
from the Thomas family of Hilltown through Ephraim Thomas.
His father, Horatio J. Thomas, emigrated from Philadelphia in
1836 and settled in Williamsport, that State. Judge Thomas is
a graduate of the Law School of Michigan, and has practiced law
in Indiana since 1866. He was elected judge of the common pleas
and afterward judge of the circuit court. His name has been
mentioned frequently in connection with the supreme bench.
When first elected he was the youngest judge in Indiana. At
this writing he is again the candidate of his party for judge of
the circuit court.
Captain Abel Thomas was descended from William Thomas
through Thomas and Asa. He lived in Bucks and Montgomery
counties. His father Asa was a soldier in the Revolutionary War
and did service at the battle of the Brandywine. Abel Thomas
was captain of several military organizations in Bucks county,
and in Montgomery was elected to the office of county commission-
er in 1838. Several of his children are still living.
Asa Thomas, the great-grandfather of the writer of this paper,
lived on the family tract in Hilltown all his life. When the war
of the Revolution broke out he was among the first from Bucks
1/6 THE HILIvTOWN THOMAS FAMILY
county to respond to the call of his country. He was commis-
sioned August 21, 1775, as a private, and on the same date Wil-
liam Thomas and Jonah Thomas, of Hilltown, joined the Conti-
nental army. Asa Thomas was 20 years old when mustered
into the service. He was at the battle of the Brandywine in
September. 1777. It is related that while engaged in guarding
the ford of the Brandywine the order was issued for every man
to get behind a tree, Indian fashion. In the retreat of the army
Mr. Thomas stopped at a tavern along the roadside. Not deem-
ing it safe to remain there, he went on to a private house, where
he rested and received some refreshments at the hands of a good
Quaker family. Looking back, Thomas saw the British soldiers
entering the inn at which he had stopped. The good Quaker
admonished him to flee quickly and hide behinJ a hedge in rear
of his house. He promptly obeyed and thus retained his liberty.
This Revolutionary soldier died in his 82d year and lies buried
in the Lower Hilltown Baptist burying-ground. His wife sur-
vived him some 15 years, dying in the 89th year of her age, April
14, 1854.
At the reunion of the descendants of Rev. William Thomas,
at Chalfont. in August of this year (1902) there were descend-
ants present from various States of the Union, and the writer is
in possession of many letters from members of the family now
scattered far and wide from ocean to ocean and from Canada to
Mexico. Thus from this single emigrant ancestor, who sought
civil and religious liberty in the new country nearly two centuries
ago, has sprung this vast progeny, now numbering many thous-
ands.
Revolutionary Events about Newtown.
BY SAMUEL GORDON SMYTH, WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, PA.
(Meeting in Wycombe Baptist Church, October 7, 1902.)
There are but few persons, comparatively speaking, outside of
students, investigators, novelists and the like, who, from choice,
are familiar with or are even interested in the wealth of facts
which may be found in those valuable series of State publications,
commonly called the "Colonial Records" and "Pennsylvania Ar-
chives."
It was a wise thought which suggested the preserving to us
and our posterity, in this manner, this interesting collection of
historic documents, correspondence, journals, military records,
&c., which embody not only the annals of colonial and provincial
times, but those of that intensely dramatic period which ended
in the establishment of our national independence.
Why should not these books be more frequently found in the
libraries of our schools, and such use made of them in the course
of study that would popularize the history of our State from its
very beginning? In that way the love of country would be
encouraged and its lessons impressed upon the young, while the
deeds and bravery of its people from the formative period to
its development as one of the free and independent common-
wealths of the United States, would be familiar to the mind of
every scholar in the land.
From the publications to which I have referred and from other
reliable authorities I will quote such references as relate to New-
town and its vicinity in the Revolutionary decade.
In Pennsylvania Archives, second series Vol. XV, page 343,
et seq., will be found a portion of the minutes of the Committee
of Bucks county, covering a period of about two years. A
perusal will show with what patience the inhabitants of this
county bore their share of the political abuses and tyrannous meas-
ures which were imposed upon the country by unwise Provincial
legislation, and the acts of Parliament enforced by the British
ministry.
178 REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN
Bucks county was among the first to voice her protest against
these wrongs. Passing from protest to sterner measures a call
was made for her inhabitants to meet at Newtown July 9, 1774,
where many prominent people gathered, some of whom were
destined to harder experiences than they ever dreamed of. Gil-
bert Hicks presided, and William Walters was made clerk. Pas-
sing over the explanation of the nature and purpose of their
gathering, "the meeting proceeded to the Business thereof," and
the "Resolves" of that first convention of the citizens in the cause
of American liberty are now a matter of history, viz :
"Resolved, That the inhabitants of this county have the same opinion of
the dangerous tendency of the claims of the British Parliament to make
laws, binding on the inhabitants of these Colonies in all cases whatsoever,
without their consent, as other of our fellow American subjects have.
Resolved, That it is the duty of every American, when oppressed by
measures either of Ministry, Parliament, or any other power, tO' use every
lawful endeavor to obtain relief, and to form and promote a plan of
union between the parent country and colonies in which the claim of the
parent country may be ascertained and the liberties of the colonies de-
fined and secured, and no cause of contention in future may arise to dis-
turb that harmony so necessary for the interests and happiness of both,
and that this will be best done in a General Congress to be composed of
delegates, to be appointed either by the respective Colony's Assembly, or
by the members thereof in convention."
John Kidd, Joseph Kirkbride, Joseph Hart, James Wallace,
Henry Wynkoop, Samuel Foulke and John Wilkinson were ap-
pointed a committee to meet with like committees from other
counties of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, July 15, 1774. One
of the resolutions of that Congress was to recommend the ap-
pointment of committees in the several towns and counties "to
observe the conduct of all persons, and recommending, a'so, to
the voting freeholders of the county, a number of persons to be
chosen for a new committee."
At Newtown, December 15th, following the election, the gentle-
men who were chosen to compose this important committee of
observation, met. They were ; Joseph Galloway, John Kidd,
Christian Minnick, John Bessonett, Joseph Kirkbride, Thomas
Harvey, Thomas Jenks, Henry Kroesen, Joseph Hart, James
Wallace, Richard Walker. John Wilkinson. Joshua Anderson,
John Chapman. Joseph Watson. Benjamin Fell. John Kelly. David
Wagner, Abraham Stout, Thomas Foulke. John Jamison, Jacob
REVOIvUTlONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN 1 79
Strahn, James Chapman, Henry Wynkoop, Jacob Beitleman,
Thomas Darrach, Robert Patterson and David Twining.
This committee was to have gotten together again at Newtown,
on December 29th, but "a great fall of snow" prevented attend-
ance; the meeting was therefore postponed to January 16, 1775.
Coincident with these proceedings at Newtown, similar action
was taken in other counties, all tending to crystallize public senti-
ment regarding the persecution which aimed to destroy their
liberties, and to unite the people into organized opposition to coer-
cion — that weapon of royal power now used by a military force
to subdue the Colonies and make them mere slave-like, tribute-
yielding dependencies of the crown.
In Massachusetts, where British soldiers — sent to enforce the
impositions of parliament — overran the Province, tlie people were
paralyzed with the burdens they had to bear. A situation little
short of starvation stared them in the face. Already martyrdom
for liberty's sake was suffered by citizens who dared to stand
steadfast in their rights under the English Constitution. That
they did not die in vain, we all know, for the blood they shed
served but to christen the infant Republic.
Such news, echoing the impending doom, swept through the
Colonies. The timid shrank and sought refuge behind the throne
of Britain, while those whose kindred fought on foreign fields
for principles such as these, rose, as by a common impulse, and
"resolved" now to be free, peacefully if possible, but by force,
if necessary.
When the gentlemen of Bucks county met on January 16, 1775,
Joseph Hart was elected chairman, and John Chapman, clerk.
The third "resolve" adopted at that meeting was as follows :
"That we hold it our bounden duty, both as Christians and as country-
men, to contribute toward the relief and support of the poor inhabitants of
the town of Boston, now suffering in the general cause of all the Colonies ;
and we do hereby recommend the raising a sum of money for that pur-
pose to every inhabitant or taxable in this county as soon as possible."
It will be seen that Bucks was as prompt to respond to the calls
for the relief of her distressed countrymen as she was to denounce
the evils inflicted by the parent country. By the following Octo-
ber, the sum of ii35 15s. 7d. had been collected for the sufferers
l8o REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN
by the Boston Port Act, and was forwarded by the treasurer,
Henry Wynkoop.
At this meeting it was voted that Joseph Hart, John Wilkinson,
Henry Wynkoop, Joseph Watson and John Chapman, or any
three of them, be a "Committee of Correspondence," and "that
Henry Wynkoop be treasurer and receive such charitable dona-
tions as may be collected in pursuance of the third resolve of
this committee."
The minutes of May 2. 1775, show "the alarming situation of
public afifairs, rendering it necessary that something should be
done toward warding off the oppressive measures now too
manifestly carrying into execution against us."
The alarming situation here referred to was the silent night
march of the British troops to Lexington on April 19th, the
ensuing conflict with "the embattled farmers" and the firing of
that shot that was "heard 'round the world." Even now Ethan
Allen and Benedict Arnold were before Ticonderoga, and Crown
Point was soon to fall !
On May 8th the Committee of Correspondence met -at the
house of Richard Leedom and appointed Messrs. Hart. Kidd,
Wynkoop, Kirkbride and Wallace as delegates to attend the second
Continental Congress to be convened in Carpenter's Hall two
days later. Here they for the first time met George Washington,
a representative from Mrginia, clad in the buff and blue regi-
mentals in which he had seen service on the frontier and on
Braddock's Field. He had ridden from his home prepared
for war. He had forseen that the time was at hand when no
man must halt between two opinions.
The Provincial Convention which met at Philadelphia January
23. 1 775- among other measures recommended the people to
"form themselves into associations to improve themselves in the
military art, that they might be rendered capable of affording
their country that aid which its particular necessities may at
any time require." So it came about that at a meeting of the
committee held June 12th, the officers of the different associate
companies were notified by Joseph Hart "to meet at the house of
John Bogart on the 20th of July, to choose field officers, and such
other purposes as shall be found necessary." John Bogart kept
REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN l8l
a tavern at Centreville, in Buckingham township, which was
frequently the rendezvous of the committee after this time.
While assembled at Bogart's the committee had to review sev-
eral accusations brought against persons in the county for acts
and expressions prejudicial to the cause of liberty, complaints
arising out of rivalry in the formation of companies, and also to
afford an opportunity for those holding views of non-resistance
to retire from the board ; as witness the following advertisement
which the committee instructed Henry Wynkoop to publish :
"Whereas, Several persons who were chosen members of this committee
in December last have hitherto- neglected to attend the same, and others
who have attended have, from scruples of conscience, made application to
be discharged, the committee therefore request that all those who do not
propose attending for the future to advertise their respective townships
with their determination, at the same time appointing some convenient
time and place for the inhabitants to meet, and choose other suitable per-
sons in their room, who are desired to meet the committee on Monday,
the 21 st of August, at the home of John Bogart, in Buckingham township."
When the committee met again at Bogart's, August 21st, these
changes were found to have been made in the personnel of the
committee : Jacob Strahan, of Haycock, and Abraham Stout, of
Rockhill, who had declined to act ; Philip Pearson and Samuel
Smith were chosen in their stead. John Wilkinson, Jonathan
Ingham, Thomas Foulke and John Chapman, being Quakers, and
having scruples of conscience were relieved from any further
attendance; their places were taken by Benjamin Siegel, of Rich-
,land, vice Foulke; James McNair, of Upper Makefield, vice Chap-
man ; Joseph Sacket, of Wrightstown, vice Wilkinson ; Augustine
Willet, of Middletown, vice Thomas Jenks ; John Coryell, of
Solebury, vice Ingham, and William Carver, of Buckingham, vice
Joseph Watson.
This meeting was important also in the fact that the lists of all
officers of the different districts were furnished the committee,
with the names of associators and non-associators. (For full
and complete list of associators and non-associators see Pennsyl-
vania Archives, Second Series, Vol XIV, pages 143, 227.)
Henry Wynkoop, writing from Bucks county, September 25th,
to Col. Daniel Roberdeau, states that he has received the returns
of the associators and non-associators for all but three town-
ships, and one company lately raised ; "and the number stands :
l82 REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN
Associators, 1.688; non-associators, 1,613. I have received some
of the association rules, but am afraid the signing will go heavily,
chiefly arising from the Quakers and others who chuse it staying
at home and doing nothing." Henry mentions that his "Cozin
Gerardus Wynkoop" is the bearer of this despatch.
In the minutes of this meeting, August 21st, it is noted also
that Treasurer Wynkoop reported having received donations for
the Boston sufferers to the amount of £75, 8s. 4d, which he had
paid to John Adams, one of the convention from Boston. At a
previous meeting a similar report had also been made that a
sum for the same purpose had been raised, £51, 15s. 4d, and
paid into the hands of Samuel Adams, "one of the delegates at
Continental Congress for the Province of Massachusetts Bay."
The following shows evidence of political disturbance at that
time in the neighborhood of Newtown :
"Sundry of the inhabitants of the township of Newtown offering to con-
test the election held there, it was recommended to them and agreed by
both parties to hold a new election of which the clerk is directed to
notify the electors of that township previous to the next meeting."
The committee met frequently now, alternating their sittings
between Newtown and Bogert's tavern. j\Iuch of their time was
taken up with the examination of persons who were considered
to have made disrespectful remarks regarding the cause of the
Colonies. One man in Upper Alakefield was charged with the
following intemperate expression : "That the whole was nothing
but a scheme of a parcel of hot-headed Presbyterians, and that
he believed the devil was at the bottom of the whole ; that the
taking up of arms was the most scandalous thing a man could
be guilty of and more heinous than a hundred of the grossest
offenses against the moral law, etc."
"Resolves'" were taken against this man and he was forced,
later, to publish his repentance.
On December 26, 1775, the new committee chosen at the various
township polling-places met. They were James McNair, Upper
jNIakefield ; Josiah Brian, Springfield ; Samuel Smith, Rockhill ;
John Lacey, Buckingham ; Henry Wynkoop, Northampton : Joseph
Sacket, Wrightstown ; John Kidd and James Benezet, for Bcnsa-
lem; John Coryell, Solebury ; Thomas Harvey and William Biles,
The Falls ; Joseph Mcllvain and John Cox, of Bristol ; Samuel
REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN 1 8.^
Yardley, Newtown ; Arthur Watts, Southampton ; Richard Walk-
er, Warrington ; Joseph Hart, Warminster ; Adam Lowdesleger,
Haycock; Robert Patterson, Tinicum, and James Wallace, War-
wick.
The committee organized by appointing Joseph Hart chairman,
and Henry Wynkoop, clerk and treasurer. Joseph Hart, James
Wallace, Samuel Yardley, Arthur Watts and Henry Wynkoop
were chosen a committee of correspondence for the ensuing year.
On January 22, 1776, James Biddle and Joseph Wharton,
members of the Provincial Committee of Safety, visited the Bucks
county committee, at Newtown, for the purpose of inducing the
manufacture of saltpetre among the inhabitants of Bucks county,
"who are desirous of being useful to their country at this impor-
tant and dangerous crisis of our affairs," and for this purpose
the general committee offered to pay the expenses of the persons
appointed by the Bucks county board, to and from Philadelphia,
to witness the method of its manufacture. Messrs. Wallace,
Kechline and Joseph Fenton, Jr., were selected to be instructed
in the making of saltpetre. Wallace was afterward appointed an
officer to receive the saltpetre "which shall be manufactured in
the county."
Durham, a new township being lately organized near North-
ampton county, desired representation on the board, and it was
ordered that the township choose a person for that purpose.
When the committee met at Bogart's tavern February 27, 1776,
a petition was presented asking the committee to extend the age
limit of associators from 50 to 60 years,
"As there are many able-bodied men between the ages of 50 and 60
years, possessed of large estates, who are entirely exempt from military
duty and expense, the tax upon non-associators is considered merely as
an equivalent for personal services, and the associators have not com-
pensation for their arms and accoutrements, not to mention the danger
they will be exposed to when called into actual service, your Petitioners
pray that an additional tax be laid upon the estates of non-associators
proportionate to the expenses of the associators necessarily incurred for
the general defense of property."
They also asked that
"The colonels draught from their battalions such number as shall from
time to time be requisite, thereby affording an opportunity for those
whose circumstances will not always admit their going, to get volunteers
l84 REVOLUTIOXARV KVfiNTS ABOUT NEWTOWN
in their stead, and at tlie same time using sufficient force in every part of
the country to quell any local insurrections."
March 2"/, 17/6, a letter from the Provincial Committee of
Safety, dated March 19th, was read, requesting that the asso-
ciators in this county be properly equipped so a-s to be in con-
dition to march at an hour's warning, and that a strict attention
be paid to their arms and accoutrements, "as there is the greatest
reason to apprehend that General Howe intend.:, to attack upon
this province."
General \\'ashington had written on March 17th, to Governor
Cooke, from Cambridge :
"I have the pleasure to inform you that this morning the ministerial
troops evacuated the town of Boston without destroying it, and that we
are now in full possession."
All the arms held by the non-associators were ordered pur-
chased by the committee and put into the hands of Henry Wyn-
koop. Orders were issued to have the battalions in readiness
if required to march immediately.
April 24. 1776, the committee met at Bogart's and agreed to
fine themselves is. 6d. each, "who shall not attend the meeting
of the committee within the space of one hour after the time
appointed for the meeting." Richard Walker was now chair-
man, Joseph Hart having become the colonel of the Second
Battalion ; Robert Shewell, lieutenant colonel ; James McMasters,
1st major; Gilbert Rodman. 2d major; Joseph Shaw, standard
bearer, and William Thompson, adjutant.
At the meeting of May 22d, at Bogart's, we find Gilbert Hicks
returned as a member from Middletown. He then lived at
"Four-Lanes-End." later called Attleborough and now Lang-
horne. An important item of business at that meeting was the
action taken relative to the sending of delegates to meet deputies
from other counties, at Philadelphia, "to agree upon and direct
the mode of electing members for a provincial convention, to
be held at such time and place as the said conference of com-
mittees may appoint, for the express purpose of establishing a
new form of government." At the next meeting, held at New-
town June 10. 1776. it was decided "by a large majority," to send
Joseph Hart, John Kidd, James Wallace. Benjamin Siegel and
Henry Wynkoop as delegates to the convention.
REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN 185
The minutes of the meeting held "July ye ist," at Bogart's,
state that from information received, sundry persons had refused
to surrender arms in their possession to the collectors. A resolu-
tion was then adopted authorizing the collectors to call upon the
militia to enforce the "resolves" regarding this matter.
July loth resolutions were adopted embodying about 400 asso-
ciators in this county, and making the following appointments :
Joseph Hart, colonel ; John Folwell, William Roberts, William
Hart, Valentine Opp and John Jamison, captains ; John Kroesen,
Henry Darragh, Hugh Long, Philip Trumbower and Tennis
Middlemart, ist lieutenants; Abram DuBois, James Shaw, Jacob
Drake, Samuel Drake, Samuel Deane and John Irvine, 2d lieu-
tenants ; William McKisseck, William Hines, Joseph Hart, Stoeffel
Kellar and John ]\lcCammon, ensigns; John Johnson, adjutant;
Joseph Benton, Jr., surgeon, and Alexander Benstead, quarter-
master. With such the "flying-camp" was constituted. Gerrett
Dungan was chosen to "cause all the firearms collected from non-
associators in this county to be immediately rendered fit for use,"
and Matthew Bennett for the ist battalion, and Jared Irvine for
the 2(1, 3d and 4th battalions, were to size the guns and mark
the same on the breech-pin, or lower end of the barrel.
Each battalion was to be furnished with two quarter-casks of
powder. The collectors turned in 39 guns from Rockhill, 13
from Bedminster and 2 from Haycock.
Major James AIcMasters, John McKonkey and John Keith
were appointed to collect firearms in Upper Makefield, vice
James Torbert, Barnet Vanhorne and John Burleigh, who had
declined.
At Bogart's, on the 29th of July, letters were read from
General Roberdeau, urging the immediate march of the militia.
The committee agreed to send the proportion for this county for
the "flying-camp" and facilitate their immediate march.
Complying with a recommendation of the General Committee of
Safety, that judicious persons be selected to distribute to dis-
tressed families, whose husbands were now in actual service, and
to give them such allowance a«3 they shall think reasonable, etc.,
the committee appointed the following gentlemen :
Benjamin Britten, Robert Patterson. Bristol borough and town-
ship; John Kidd, Bensalem ; John Sampler, Buckingham ; William
l86 REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN
Biles, Falls; Abram Mack, Lower Makefield; Gabriel Vanhorn,
Middletovvn ; Samuel Yardley, Newtown; Henry Kroesen, South-
ampton ; Isaac Hough, Warminster ; Richard Walker, Warring-
ton ; James Wallace, Warwick ; Joseph Sacket, Wrightstown ;
Thomas Dyer, Plumstead ; Robert Darragh, Robert Maneely,
Bedminster ; Alexander Finley, New Britain ; John Kelley, Tini-
cum ; Daniel Jamison, Nockamixon ; James Chapman, Springfield ;
Samuel Smith, Rockhill ; Thomas Foulke, Richland; Thomas
Long, Durham ; Gilliam Cornell, Northampton ; James McNair,
Upper Makefield ; John Coryell, Solebury ; Adam Louden:;leger,
Haycock; Andrew Trumbower, Milford.
In the record of that meeting appears the statement, that "as
many members of this board are going with the militia into the
Continental service, therefore. Resolved, that for the, future nine
members constitute a board." Fifteen had been the number
heretofore.
On August 12, 1776, the committee appointed Rev. Robert
Keith chaplain of the "flying-camp" under the command of
Colonel Hart. At a later meeting (of which there is some con-
fusion as to its date,) various sub-committees reported upon mat-
ters that had been referred to them at previous meetings of the
board. These chiefly related to troubles incident to the collecting
of arms, complaints of treasonable utterances by disaffected per-
sons, etc. The minutes of this meeting abruptly terminate when
about to record the "resolves,'' and leave us to speculate as to
the cause. Enough has already been given to show that for the
two years covered by these records, Newtown and Centreville
were exceedingly interesting localities during, at least, the fore-
part of the Revolutionary period ; and that which follows, while
it is compiled from fragmentary notes, is none the less so, in
that Newtown kept herself well before the public eye during
the remainder of that critical era.
As foreshadowed by the minutes of August 21, 1775, consid-
erable opposition had been manifested by disaffected persons
to the election of representatives, at the polls that year. This
feeling became more intense at the election held October i.
1776, at Newtown. Whatever may have been the direct cause,
the disturbance became very serious, as the following correspon-
dence may enable us to judge:
REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN 1 87
Bucks Co., Neshamany, Oct. 2, 1776.
To the Council— Gentlemen : Noe Doubt you have heard of an election
ben held Yesterday by the torey party at Nuetown in this county, the
Bearer, Capt. Sempell, I have sent to inform you of what he knows
concerning the Afifear, as he was at the Election.
Yr most Obed't Hu'ble Ser'nt.
WILLIAM BAXTER, U. Col.
On October 3d the Council addressed the following instructions
to Henry Wynkoop:
"We are informed that some evil-minded persons, disaffected to the
present government have attempted to prevent its establishment, by sup-
porting the late Government under authority of the King of Great Brit-
ain for which purpose they have proceeded to an election of representa-
tives under the said authority, in contempt and defiance of the authority
of the good people of this State. As such a measure, if carried into execu-
tion, cannot fail to defeat this virtuous opposition to the tyranny of the
King of Great Britain, it behooves us to take effectual measures to punish
such contumacious offenders against this State. You are therefore desired
to make inquiry concerning the said election and of the persons who are
principally concerned therein, and communicate the same to this Board
as soon as you conveniently can.
By order of the Council."
In the treasurer's reports for that year we find the sequel to
this matter, in entries such as these — under dates of October 23d,
24th and 25th,
"The Council of Pennsylvania directs Mr. Nesbit, the treasurer, to pay
Major McMaster £6, and charge the same to the State for expenses con-
cerning the Bucks county election; Capt. John Jameson, £8. 15s. 10 d., and
Capt. Thos. Wier £6 os. 4d., the expenses of their respective companies in
going to Newtown to suppress the election there on October ist and 2d,
and to disperse the people."
The payments were made on the avouchment of Lieut. Col.
William Baxter, who commanded the second battalion.
That Bucks county soldiers of the Revolution had their share of
service, with all its consequent hardships, there can be no ques-
tion. In the campaign of 1776, they formed part of the Fifth
Penna. regiment, under command of Col. Robert Magaw. This
regiment was composed of the full companies of Captains Beatty,
Benezet and Vansant. recruited in Bucks county ; Miller's, of
Philadelphia county ; Stuart's, of Montgomery county ; Spohn's
and Decker's, of Berks county ; and Richardson's, of Chester
county. The regiment was not in the disastrous defeat
l88 REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN
of the American forces on Long Island, August 27th, as
they were at the time stationed at Mount Washington in
New York, but they joined the main army on the 29th,
forming the rear-guard and covering-party of General Wash-
ington's masterly evacuation of Brooklyn. The Fifth Pennsyl-
vania regiment continued on the move till October i6th, when it
was ordered to take post at Fort Was'hington, while the main
army proceeded to White Plains. This regiment held the garrison
until the fatal i6th of November, when through the traitorous
perfidy of its adjutant, William Dement, General Howe invested
the fort with 3,000 men, made an assault upon it and compelled
surrender. The soldiers were confined in the Sugar House
prison, on Liberty street. New York, whose horrors have often
been told. Manv of them remained there for years. Among the
list of captured were many from Bucks county. Those from
Newtown were in Captain Vansant's company : Edward Hove-
den, ensign ; Thomas Stevenson, sergeant ; John Sproul, corporal ;
and John Eastwick, corporal. Lossing, in his "History of the
Revolution," gives very pathetic accounts of the sufferings of
these poor fellows in the following story of an eye witness :
"In the suffocating heat of the summer of 1777, I srw every aperture
of the strong walls filled with human heads, face above face, seeking a
portion of the external air. In July, 1777, a jail-fever carried many of
them off. They had no seats and their beds of straw were filled with
vermin. The prisoners were marched out in companies of twenty to
breathe the fresh air for half an hour, while those within divided
themselves into parties of six each and alternately enjoyed the privilege
of standing ten minutes at the windows. They might have exchanged
this place for the comfortable quarters of a British soldier by enlisting
in the King's service, but very few would thus yield their principles.
They preferred to be among the dozen bodies which were daily carried
out and cast into the ditches and morasses beyond the city limits."
Among the orders of Lewis Nichola, Town-Major of Phila-
delphia, December 8, 1776, is one commanding the Northern
district to send a corporal, and the six town companies a man
each ; these to parade before the court-house next day, to escort
some English prisoners to Newtown. The guard returned by
the i6th, and we find Major Nichola issuing an order requiring
them to turn in their arms to him on the following morning.
About this time Newtown became the base of supplies in
re;volutionary events about newtown 189
Washington's operations, which were intended to intercept the
British advance into Pennsylvania. The British had already
forced a retreat of the Continental army from the vicinity of
Princeton and New Brunswick, and were pushing on toward
Trenton and Philadelphia. By placing the river between them,
however, and posting troops at all the ferries and fords along
the whole front of Bucks county, and by securing the boats, Wash-
ington succeeding in keeping the enemy on the east bank.
On the 14th of December, General Washington moved up from
Barclay's, opposite Trenton, to Keith's house, in Upper Make-
field, where he established his headquarters "near the main body
of my small army," he writes. From this date till Christmas
day. Washington circulated between Keith's, Merrick's, and the
camps of the troops, who were rapidly concentrating in the
vicinity for the decisive stroke which the general was about to
inflict upon the unsuspecting enemy. On the night of December
25th. the Delaware was crossed at McKonkey's Ferry (now
Taylorsville) amid floating ice. the bitter winds sweeping down
the valley, chilling and benumbing with cold the 2,400 Conti-
nentals and militia, but they were inspired by the confidence and
example of their leader, one of the greatest generals of history.
Marching promptly before dawn to Trenton, they struck the blow
that glorified American arms and delayed the occupation of Phila-
delphia for nearly twelve months more. Such, in brief, are the
facts leading up to the 27th of December, when Washington, his
stafif, his troops, and his trophies of war, entered Newtown,
fresh from his victory at Trenton, bringing in his train nearly
1. 000 prisoners, many cannon and large quantities of munitions of
war. The Hessian captives filled the jail, the church, the inns
and other places of security till removed to Lancaster soon after.
For the next three days Newtown was in the midst of all the
excitement incidental to the presence of the commander-in-chief
and his conquering army. He made his headquarters in the house
of John Harris, on the west side of the creek, recently the prop-
erty of Alexander German. His official family, among whom
were Generals Greene, Sullivan. St Clair, Gates, Stirling, Mercer,
Stephens and others, lodging elsewhere about the village. The
troop of Philadelphia Light Horse, under command of Capt.
Samuel Morris, were in attendance upon headquarters, its mem-
IQO REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN
bers acting as bearers of dispatcher from Washington to his
generals.
A present-day evidence of the honor Newtown paid her dis-
tinguished, if transient residents, and symboHzing her patriotic
ardor, may be found in the names of the principal streets of the
borough, which are : Liberty, Congress, State, Penn, Washington,
Jefferson, Sterling, Greene, Mercer, Sullivan and Court streets.
For the first time since Washington took command of the army,
he was now able to send a congratulatory address to Congress,
"upon the success of an enterprise which I had formed against
a detachment of the enemy lying at Trenton."
General Washington left Newtown on December 30th in ad-
vance of his troops, crossed the Delaware at McKonkey's ferry
and marched with them to Trenton, where battle was given Lord
Cornwallis January 2, 1787; following up the advantage gained
there he routed the British at Princeton next day, and sent them
retreating across New Jersey. In the meanwhile Lord Stirling,
who had accompanied Washington in his successful expedition
against the Hessians, and had taken a cold thereby, was now laid up
at Newtown with rheumatism. He was however placed in com-
mand of the post and watched the fords of upper Bucks county.
He was there about two weeks and from his correspondence we
learn that many prisoners captured at Princeton passed through
Newtown enroute for Lancaster.
Newtown, after these incidents, so far as we know, lapses into
a quiescent state, but during June and July considerable corre-
spondence is found relating to the preparation of the different
classes of militia for marching, providing blankets and other
clothing. In this connection the following note is interesting:
New Town, Bucks Co., 3Jst July, 1777.
Sir : According to my Directions from Col. Kirkbride I have sent by
Samuel Rees, wagoner, 100 of the best and cleanest blankets of those
collected in our county, the remainder, about 200, shall send (this morn-
ing) to Thomas Jenks' Fulling, who says if the weather continues Dry
he will compleat them in a week. At which time shall expect orders for
the delivery of them.
(Sig.) JOHN BENEZET.
Directed to Timothy Matlack, Esq., Sec. Ex. Council.
N. B. The Blankets were continued in the hands of Col. James Mc-
Masters for the Militia of Billingsport.
REVOLUTIONARY e;vi;NTS about NEWTOWN I9I
Henry Wynkoop, on the 23d of August appointed committees
for the different townships for driving off stock. (The British were
approaching Pennsylvania by sea from another direction.) Peter
Leffertse and Abraham Johnson were selected for Newtown town-
ship. The next day, Colonel Kirkbride writes President Wharton
that he experiences difficulty in procuring substitutes in this
county, "even for the extravagant sum of 60 dollars, which I have
been forced to give for third class before I could get a man."
The defeat at Brandywine spread consternation through the
country. The Executive Council, in haste, sent orders to county
lieutenants to order out the reserves ; Bucks county was ordered
to send her 3d, 4th and 5th classes "with the utmost expedition
to Swedesford" (a crossing of the Schuylkill river, now Norris-
town, Pa.) ; "urge every man to turn out in this alarming occasion,
particularly those who are not in the classes now called out, and
promise them that if they now step forward to free their bleeding
country of these Ravages they shall hereafter be considered as
having taken their tour of duty, &c."
General Washington, writing to President Wharton, on Sep-
tember 13th, to thank him for his prompt action in mobilizing the
militia, adds the information that he is having the passes up the
river fortified under command of General Armstrong. At
Swedesford, where General Howe was expected to pass, earth-
works were thrown up to defend the ford. On the 14th the
American army left its camp at Falls of Schuylkill, crossed the
river at Matson's ford (now Conshohocken, Pa.), and maneu-
vered to intercept the British, but they passed down through
Valley Forge, crossed the river at Fatland ford, and marched tri-
umphantly to Philadelphia.
Notwithstanding the vigilance of the militia which encircled
Philadelphia during the British occupation of the city, the patience
of Generals Armstrong, Potter and Lacey was sorely tried by the
raiding parties which penetrated their lines and laid heavy hands
upon the persons and property of the neighboring counties, Bucks,
especially, suffering. As an instance of the daring of the English
soldiers and their Tory partisans, the following account is given
by Col. Walter Stewart, commanding the 13th Pennsylvania
regiment, who writes from his "Camp near Bustle Town" Feby.
21, 1778, to President Wliarton, at Lancaster, that he is "much
192 REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS AGOUT NEWTOWN
concerned to inform his Excellency that an express arrived in
camp yesterday afternoon, with the disagreeable news of a party of
light-horse belonging to the enemy, consisting of about 40, pushed
up to Newtown, Bucks county, and took my Major, with a small
party of men, prisoners, and all the clothing I had laid up there
for my regiment." The captured officers were : Major Francis
Murray, Lieutenant Henry Marsits, Ensign Joseph Cox. Murray
was with his family at the time. Two thousand yards of cloth
were also seized and carried off. Major Murray, who was one
of Newtown's notable men, enlisted early in the service of his
country. On an expedition to New York he was captured by the
British, but was released on December 8, 1776, and later in the
month was sent by Colonel Weedon to escort the Plessian prisoners
from Newtown to Lancaster. On the 6th of February, following,
he was commissioned as major by John Hancock, and attached
to Colonel Stewart's regiment. Here he remained until captured
by the British again, February 9, 1778; this time he was confined
to Flatbush, Long Island, and was not released until 1780.
Francis Murray, an Irishman by birth, was a keen man of
affairs. He settled early at Newtown in business, and by his
tact and shrewdness became both popular and wealthy. During
his long residence in Bucks county he held various offices of trust
and honor. After serving with distinction in the American army,
he returned to Newtown, where he was paid off March 24, 1781,
then ranking as lieutenant colonel. He was made county lieuten-
ant in 1783, and in 1790, general of the militia. His residence
and place of business were on Court street, in the house, until
recently owned by George Brooks. General Murray, who was
born about 1731, died in 1816, and was buried in the Presbyterian
churchyard — a church with which, in his lifetime, he was promi-
nently identified. A daughter of General Murray became the
first wife of Dr. Phineas Jenks, and a grandson was Col. Francis
Murray Wynkoop, a valorous soldier of the IMexican War.
A notable event connecting Newtown again with Revolutionary
affairs, occurred at the beginning of April, 1778, when commis-
sioners from the two armies met there to arrange a satisfactory
basis for the exchange of prisoners. For a lengthy account of
this conference, reference may be had to "The Notes of Elias
REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN I93
Boudinot, Esq.," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Bio-
graphy, July, 1900, p. 291, et. seq. Briefly, the facts are these:
"The exchange of civil and military prisoners of war was a
matter which continued in a very unsatisfactory state until the
appointment by Congress, in June, 1777, of Elias Boudinot, Esq.,
as Commissary General of Prisoners." The commission to ar-
range a general cartel was chosen in 1778. Those on the British
side were Col. Chas. O'Hara, Col. Humphrey Stephens and Capt.
Richard Fitzpatrick, of the Coldstream, First and Third Regi-
ments of Foot Guards, respectively. The American commission-
ers were : Col. William Grayson, Lieut. Colonels Alexander Ham-
ilton and Robert H. Harrison, of Washington's staff, and Elias
Boudinot, Esq. The Americans set out from Valley Forge on
the 31st of March, and proceeded to Germantown, where they
met the British delegation at the Benezet mansion, near the Market
Square. They held meetings here till the morning of April 6th,
when they adjourned to meet at the inn of Amos Strickland, in
Newtown — then called the Red Lion inn. The commission on
each side were attended by an escort of twelve light dragoons ; the
American troop was under command of Capt. Robert Smith, of
Baylor's regiment. They remained at Newtown till the 12th of
April, when, after vainly trying to reach an agreement, the confer-
ence closed without having reached a definite understanding.
On the loth of May, of that year, the officers of the Light
Horse of Bucks county were commissioned. The roll of the
troop, as it stood June 18, 1781, is as follows: Captain, Jacob
Bennett ; Lieutenant, David Forst ; Corporal, John Shaw.
Troopers : John Horner, Daniel Martin, William Ramsey,
Nathaniel Burrows, Joseph Hart, Jr., John Roberts, Thomas
Hughes, Joseph Sacket, Jr., Stacey Taylor, George Mitchell, Gab-
riel Vansant, John Fell, Peter Roberts, John Torbert, William
Bennett, John McCammon, John Shannon, Aaron Hagerman,
James Liddon, Jesse Britton, Robert Mearns, Benjamin Yoe-
man, Jacob Kintner, Robert Craige, John Armstrong, Thomas
Wilson, William McKonkey.
Early in the next year. Col. Thomas Proctor's regiment of
artillery, whose term of enlistment had expired, were at Newtown :
These numbered 96, and including Major James Parr, late of the
7
194 REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN
Seventh Regiment (Pa.), and Lieut. Col. Francis. Murray, late
of the Thirteenth Regiment (Pa.), were paid off by Messrs. Abm.
DuBois and William Goforth, auditors of Bucks county, on
March 24, 1781.
John Hart, writing to President Reed, April 3d, complains
that he finds it very difficult to get recruits at Newtown, owing
to the presence of an artillery regiment there. Attempts at re-
cruiting, were, however, kept up in that locality. We find that
Capt. Abraham G. Claypoole, of the Third Pennsylvania Regi-
ment, was sent to Newtown, by General St. Clair, on July 13,
1781, to receive recruits. Finding no commissary, no provis-
ions of quarters for himself, or any recruit that might be deliv-
ered to him, he writes to the Council of his lack of accommodation,
whereupon the Council, under date of July i8th, authorizes John
Hart, Esq., to "contract with some person to supply them, at as
reasonable rates as can be obtained, the payment to be made in
specie, which this board will endeaver to comply with."
In September the army had gone South, where, in conjunction
with the French fleet, it began the operation which ended in the
round-up of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. In the meantime
the infamous Arnold had planned an expedition under the British
flag against New England. For some reason apprehension was
felt that the movements of the enemy at New York threatened
another invasion of Pennsylvania. An alarm was sent out Sep-
tember nth and 12th to all the county lieutenants to prepare at
once to assemble their militia at Newtown. On the 28th the
orders came to rendezvous at that point "with the utmost expe-
dition."
The light-horse of Lancaster county, the battalions of the 2d
and 3d classes of Northumberland, objecting on account of the
defenseless condition of their frontier, three companies, armed and
unarmed, from Berks county, a troop of horse, under Campbell,
from Cumberland, two companies of artillery from Philadelphia
and some militia, with the men of Chester and Bucks counties,
turned out and were all encamped at Newtown by October nth,
under the command of General Lacey.
When Newtown folk saw the hungry legions gathering, they
must have felt some serious misgivings, probably lessons from
REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS ABOUT NEWTOWN 195
past experience, to have caused William McCalla, the commis-
sioner of purchases for Bucks county, to write the Council at
Philadelphia in this strain : "General Lacey and the Commissary
of Issues at the Post of Newtown are Calling for Meat and other
Supplys for the use of that post and it^ not in my Power to Sup-
ply them Without I be furnished with money aj the people are
Determined Not to Sell at Trust."
As the enemy hacl failed to materialize, the scare was over by
the 1 6th of October. General Lacey on that day paid off the
troops and dismissed them. An amusing incident in connection
with the disbandment of the post at Newtown, was the meeting
of a company of Col. MacVeagh's Philadelphia county battalion.
The day following their discharge, Capt. Bushkirk with Ensign
Strine, at the head of his company, marching to the tune of "The
Rogues' March," proceeded to the quarters of Commissary Gen-
eral Crispin and demanded their canteens filled with whiskey, for
each officer of the company, to use on his way home. On beincj
refused they threatened to blow up the magazine. While the
Commissary was defending this. Col. MacVeagh appeared upon
the scene, paid the price for the rum out of his own pocket, and
the men went their way rejoicing. Crispin demanded of General
Lacey a courtmartial of these men, and refers him for witnesses
to Capt. Craige, foragemaster, Lieut. Taylor, of the light-hopse
of Bucks county, and Quartermaster Samuel Davis.
Before concluding I desire to add a brief sketch of one whose
zeal and devotion to the county in her critical period — as a citi-
zen, soldier and judge — should stand in heroic measures upon
the pages of her history.
I refer to Henry Wynkoop who distinguished hiineelf in the
stirring times, to which I have referred. He was of Holland
ancestry ; a son of Nicholas and grandson of Gerardus or Gerit
Wynkoop, an early resident of Bucks county. Henry Wynkoop
soon became identified with the public affairs of his vicinity, and
as time progressed was recognized as one of its most active and
forceful citizens. Living in Northampton township at a time
when strong and determined men were required to assist in the
defense of the country, he was chosen to represent his township
upon the committee of safety, and, as we have seen, served them
196 REVOtUTlONARY EVKNTS ABOUT NEWTOWN
from 1774 to 1776 — as clerk, treasurer, &c. His membership
in both the PVovincial and Continental Congresses came as 1
result of his personal grasp and the close touch he had upon
public affairs. It brought him into intimate relation with most
all of the prominent men of the day, among whom Washington,
Hamilton, the Adamses, Monroe and others were reckoned his
personal friends. After serving some time as a lieutenant in the
Revolution (in 1777), he was appointed a justice of the common
pleas of Bucks county, and of which he was later president judge,
he was reappointed in 1784. In 1783 he had been selected as one
of the judges of the high court of error and appeal of Pennsyl-
vania, resigning lx)th positions when, after the adoption of the
Federal Constitution, he was elected the first representative from
Bucks county to the United States Congress, wdiich met at New
York in 1789. At the close of his term, in 1791, he was again
returned to the bench of Bucks county as its first associate judge.
^Henry Wynkoop was widely known and honored. A man of
high moral character and of profound religious convictions. His
was one of those strong personalities that leave such impress upon
the times in which they live, that its influence in the community
never entirely loses its power for good. He died in 181 6 in the
80th year of his age.
Note. — April 21, 1737, Hennericks, son of Nicklass Wynkoop,
was baptized in the Neshaminy church, by Rev. Cornelius \'an-
santvoort.
Neshaminv Church Records.
^L^,.^y^^y^^<yr^^^^
Judge Henry Wynkoop.
BY JOHN SPARHAWK WURTS, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
(Meeting in Wycombe Baptist Church, October 7, 1902.)
"It is in our Union that our salvation as a people depends.
It is the arcanum of our strength, a blessing that we ought to
prize as a gift from heaven."
These were the words of Henry Wynkoop, addressed to the
people of the county of Bucks at Newtown in 1777. To-day
we are met to recount the deeds of the early patriots, foremost
among whom was Henry Wynkoop, soldier, patriot, and jurist.
He was born in Northampton township, Bucks county, Penn-
sylvania, March 2, (old style), 1737.
He was the only son of Nicholas Wynkoop and Ann Kuypers,
his grandfather Gerardus, who had married Hilletje Fokker, hav-
ing settled in this neighborhood in 1717. Gerardus (who was the
third son of Cornelius Wynkoop and Maria Jans Langedyck
and perhaps the grandson of Peter Wynkoop) was an elder in
1744 of the church of North and South Hampton. He owned
500 acres of land along the Neshaminy, two miles west of New-
town, a portion of which is still occupied by his descendants and
is said to have been in continuous possession of the family since
it was purchased by this Gerardus in 171 7-
Whether Henry Wynkoop was born in the little "white house"
still standing, or in a log house long since torn down, is not now
precisely known. He was baptized April 21, 1737, by Rev.
Cornelius Van Santvoort, as shown by the church record of
Neshaminy and Bensalem, the name appearing "Hennerickes."
"Vredens Hoff," (Verdant Court) the home of the Wynkoops,
is one of those "specimens of early colonial architecture, which
every one admires and many try to imitate. Built by Nicholas
W^ynkoop in 1739. it is surrounded by 153 acres of land and com-
mands a magnificent view of the adjacent country, south, east,
and west. The building is substantially built of stone, not only
the exterior, but even the inside walls are of stone, and eighteen
inches thick ; the house contains 19 large rooms, there being
6 on the ground floor with a hall running through from south to
198 JUDGE HENRY VVVNKOOP
north. In the kitchen door is a knothole "where the servants
peeped at the clock." The place many years afterwards was sold
by Jonathan Wynkoop to William Camm, whose descendants now
own it. Near the house stands an ancient spring-house where
the dairy-work was done, a blacksmith-<shop in a good state of
preservation, a frame barn, and a stone stable.
When on the verge of manhood, Henry lost his father, who was
a farmer by occupation, and who died in 1759 at the age of 54,
a man universally loved and respected, and whose tomb bears
the loving tribute of his "weeping widow and bereaved son."
Henry Wynkoop is said to have had a classical education. We
know only that he prepared to enter Princeton College but which
for some reason he did not enter. His long and useful life, was
spent in his country's service extending from 1760, when a
member of the Provincial Assembly of Pennsylvania, until his
death in 1816, during which time he was unwearied in his devo-
tion to the public good.
From early hfe the bent of his mind was toward politics ; a
propensity which the state of the times, if it did not create, doubt-
less very much strengthened. Public subjects must have occupied
the thoughts and filled the conversation in the circles in which
he then moved ; and the interesting questions arising at that
time could not but seize on a mind like his, ardent, sanguine, and
patriotic.
At the early age of 23 the citizens of Bucks county
conferred upon him his first political distinction by elect-
ing him a member of the legislature of the Province of
Pennsylvania (then called the Provincial Assembly), in
which he had no sooner appeared than he distinguished him-
self by knowledge, capacity and promptitude. That his services
were acceptable to the community is shown by the fact that in
1 761 he was re-elected. He was a constant attendant on the
deliberations of that body and bore an active part in its important
measures. The same year he married Susannah Wanshaer,
daughter of John Wanshaer and Christina Egberts, of Essex
county, New Jersey.
In 1762, while John Gregg was sheriff of Bucks county, we
find Henry Wynkoop serving on the grand jury. In those early
JUDGE HENRY VVYNKOOP I99
days some of the justices of the peace, who were laymen, not
lawyers, were also appointed associate judges of the county courts.
Having been appointed a justice of the peace in 1764,
Henry Wynkoop, early in the following year, though barely 28
years old, was also made an associate judge of the county courts.
He was reappointed a justice of the peace in 1770 and again in
1774, and his name also appears as associate judge in 1766, 1767,
1771, and 1773. By this time the disputes between the Colonists
and the mother country had assumed alarming proportions. In
order to defend Canada and the Mississippi valley, which the
British had acquired from the French in 1760, Parliament laid
a tax on sugar and charged "stamp duties in the Colonies."
While the Americans had no objections to supporting the army,
they did object to being taxed by a body in which they were not
represented. So odious was the stamp-act to the Colonists that
they joined in signing written agreements to import no goods
from England. The consequent repeal of the stamp-act, the
taxing of other articles, the Boston riot, and the tea-party, the bill
closing Boston harbor to shipping, and the meeting of the first
Continental Congress are all matters of common knowledge.
In these stirring events Henry Wynkoop took the keenest
interest, and early decided to cast in his lot with the patriots. In
the summer of 1774, when the whole country was aroused by the
news that Boston was shut ofif from the world, a "Committee-of-
safety" was chosen in Bucks county. This committee in turn
chose Henry Wynkoop, John Kidd, Joseph Kirkbride, John Wil-
kinson, and James Wallace, to attend a Provincial conference
July 15, 1774. at Philadelphia.
It is curious to note the change of language used by our
forefathers prior to the Revolution. It began with a note of
sadness, but as soon as the Colonists found that their rights were
disregarded, their wrongs unredressed, and their liberties trampled
upon, it changed to one of defiance. But there was no defiance
in the first Provincial conference, for they resolved that "the in-
habitants of this Province are liege subjects of his majesty King
George III., to whom they and we owe, and will bear true and
faithful allegiance," and deplored the idea of a separation from the
mother country. But the second resolution sounds a warning
200 JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP
note, to which George III. and his ministers should have paid
heed, for the delegates to the conference resolve (if Congress
approves) to join an association of non-importation of goods from
Great Britain. They also drew up instructions for the delegates to
the first Continental Congress, reciting in dignified and lofty
language their wrongs and their fruitless appeal to Britain for
redress.
Later in the year 1774 the people of Bucks county choee a "Com-
mittee-of-observation," whose duty it was "attentively to observe
the conduct of all persons" and ascertain whether or not they were
favorable to the cause of liberty. The difference between the
"Committee-of-safety" and the "Committees-of-observation, in-
spection, and correspondence" was as follows : The former was
a conservative body, generally organized under the direction of
the Provincial legislatures ; while the latter was usually a radical
body, chosen by the people. Among those who served on each of
these committees was the ever-ready Henry Wynkoop, who enter-
ed with all his heart into the cause of liberty, and whose ability
and patriotism naturally drew upon him a large participation in
the most important concerns. Wherever Wynkoop was, there
was found a soul devoted to the cause, power to defend and main-
tain it, and willingness to incur all its hazards. He was
chosen by the people as one of the 28 members of the "Commit-
tee-of-observation," "to observe the conduct of all persons, "which
must have been a rather thankless and unpleasant task. This
committee was to meet on December 29, 1774, but, being prevented
by "a great fall of snow," did not come together until January 16,
1775, at which time it was resolved: (i) that they highly ap-
proved of the "pacific measure recommended by the Continental
Congress for the redress of American grievances;"" (2) that they
held themselves bound to keep the association of said Congress ;
and (3) that they held it their duty to contribute towards the
relief and support of the poor inhabitants of the town of Boston.
Then they voted that Henry Wynkoop and four others be ap-
pointed a "Committee-of-correspondence," and that Wynkoop be
treasurer to receive donations for the relief of the Boston suffer-
ers.
On May 8, 1775, being convinced that their application's for
JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP 20I
redress to Great Britain had been ''fruitless and vain," the com-
mittee recommended the people of Bucks county to form them-
selves into associations in their respective townships to improve
themselves in the military art, that they may be capable of afford-
ing their country that aid which its peculiar necessities may at
any time require."
Later in the year, Wynkoop, as treasurer of the "Committee-
of-safety," reported the receipt and delivery to Samuel Adams
of several sums of money aggregating over iioo, for the relief of
Boston's needy inhabitants, whom the rigorous "Boston Port Act"
had secluded from the world. About the same time he was made
clerk and treasurer for the ensuing year.
It was in one of the associated companies, above recommended
by the "Committee-of-safety," that we find the name of Henry
Wynkoop enrolled as a private, namely the Fourth Associated
Company, First Battalion. The aged Henry Lott was captain,
and Gerardus Wynkoop first-lieutenant. "Henry Wynkoop sub-
sequently gained the title of major, though it is not believed that
he ever held a commission," the records seem to show that he pre-
ferred to serve his country in another way.
Henry Wynkoop was a bold and fearless advocate, not only
a decided, but an early friend of independence. While others
yet doubted, he was resolved, while others hesitated he pressed
forward. He was eminently fitted for the part he was to per-
form. He possessed a bold spirit, which disregarded danger, and
a sanguine reliance on the justice of the cause, and the virtues of
the people, which led him to overlook all obstacles. His charac-
ter, too, had been formed in troubled times. He had been rocked
in the early storms of the controversy, and had acquired a de-
cision and a hardihood proportioned to the need of the times. He
not only loved the American cause devoutly, but had studied and
understood it. It was all familiar to him.
In a letter, dated September 25,1775, written to Colonel Daniel
Roberdeau, Henry Wynkoop states that he has received a return of
the "associators" and "non-associators" in certain townships of
Bucks county. That the loyalists in that year were almost equal
in number to the patriots, is shown by this return which places
the number of associators at 1,688 and of non-associators at 1.613.
202 JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP
But that was before Great Britain had resorted to sterner meas-
ures, and before Richard Henry Lee had offered a resokition in
Congress that these Colonies "are and of right ought to be free
and independent States." In this letter Major Wynkoop says:
"I have received some of the association rules, but am afraid
that the signing will go heavy, chiefly arising from the Quakers
and others, who chuse it staying at home and doing nothing," — a
habit their posterity have not altogether outgrown.
In the minutes of the "Bucks County Committee of Safety," for
July 21, 1775, we read : —
"John Lacey represented that Thos. Smith of Upper Makefield had
uttered expressions derogatory to the Continental Congress and inimical
to the liberties of America. The same being taken into consideration,
Joseph Hart. Richard Walker, James Wallace and Henry Wynkoop, or
any three of them, are appointed a sub-committee to examine into the
said complaints and report to the next meeting."
Early in the following year all the arms in the county were
ordered to be collected and placed in Henry Wynkoop's hands.
On June 18, 1776, the third Provincial conference met at- Car-
penters' Hall, Philadelphia. The delegates "for the committee of
Bucks County," according to the journal of the conference, were :
Mr. James Wallace, Mr. Benjamin Segle, John Kidd, Esq., Col.
Joseph Hart, Major Henry Wynkoop.
The proceedings of this body had a very important effect on
the history of our State. The delegates resolved that associators
who were 21 years old, taxpayers and residents for one year,
should have the franchise, and then, that "the present government
of this province is not competent to the exigencies of our affairs."
With a view to provide a suitable form of government, it was
decided to call a Provincial convention. The judges appointed for
Bucks county to decide the election of delegates to this proposed
convention were James Wallace, Joseph Hart and Henry Wyn-
koop. Although Wynkoop was connected with nearly every great
event or important delegation from Bucks county about that time,
he was hardly omnipresent, and, being clerk and treasurer of the
Committee-of-safety and judge of election, he could not very well
be chosen a member of the convention. This body, meeting in
the State-house on July 15th, proceeded to promulgate the con-
JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP 203
stitution of 1776 — Pennsylvania's first "Republican form of Gov-
ernment."
Before adjourning, the third Provincial conference, on June
25, 1776, had issued a thrilling address to the associators of Penn-
sylvania. After reciting the evils they had suffered at Great
Britain's hands, and prophesying that the year 1776 would be
a land mark in the history of the world as establishing liberty in
one quarter of the globe, they conclude with these stirring words :
"Remember the name of Pennsylvania ! Think of your ancestors
and of your posterity !"
Although Wynkoop, so far as we know, was not a member of
the convention which drew up the Constitution of Pennsylvania,
that body, nevertheless, elected him as the only delegate from
Bucks county to serve on the Council-of-safety for the State, of
which body he was a member for a year. To this council many
important matters, military and otherwise, were referred by the
State Legislature. In 1776 it was composed of 26 persons, who
received eight shillings a day for their services. By an ordinance
of September 3, 1776, David Rittenhouse, Timothy Matlack, Hen-
ry Wynkoop and the other members of this council were appoint-
ed justices of the peace for the entire State of Pennsylvania.
About that time, the county was infested with a villainous set
of men called "refugees," who, bemg acquainted with the resi-
dence of prominent citizens, were engaged by British officers to
point them out and assist in securing their persons, so that they
could be taken as prisoners to Philadelphia, the headquarters of
the army. Wynkoop escaped capture by being absent from
home. In August, 1776, his family were greally alarmed in
the dead of night by a party of Hessians breaking into the house.
A kick against the door of a back entry sent the lock with so
much force across the narrow space against at! opposite door
as to make an impression there which ever remained as a memen-
to of the foul deed. Mrs. Wynkoop, whose bed-room adjoined
that into which the entrance was made, was greatly overcome
by the shock. The only man about the place, a farm hand, es-
caped to the garret and hid under some flax. The children,
who slept upstairs, were aroused from their sleep by the noise,
and their first impulse was to get out of the window on to the
pent-house. But the eldest daughter aged 13 persuaded them to go
204 JUDGK HENRY WYNKOOP
down to their mother's room, though to get there they had to
pass through the parlor, where all the soldiers were. They found
their mother so much alarmed that it was impossible for her to
suppress her screams. A brutal soldier proposed that she should
be quieted by forcible means, but the officer spoke kindly to her,
telling her not to be alarmed, that she and the family should be
well treated, that the only object of their visit was to convey
Mr. Wynkoop to the city; and so after refreshing themselves
with what they could find to eat and drink, they left, taking
nothing more than a silver spoon, which one of the soldiers found,
and was remonstrated with by "Old Isabel." telling him he "musn't
take that." All the answer she got for her faithfulness was a
kick which sent her across the kitchen. This frightful scene so
affected Mrs. Wynkoop that, rushing from the house, she jump-
ed into the well and was killed. We read on her tombstone, "an
unfortunate victim to the public calamities of America." Her
grandson writes : "Her piety was of the highest order, and the
children who were old enough to remember her. regarded her
memory with the truest veneration."
After the battle of Trenton, Christmas night, 1776 — the fight
which so greatly revived the drooping spirits of the patriots —
Washington entered Newtown, only 9 miles from the scene of
action, and filled the church, the jail, and the inns with his
Hessian prisoners. James Monroe, afterwards President, then
but a youth of 18. was wounded in this battle, and, with Lieuten-
ant Wilmot. an Englishman who had been injured and captured,
was taken to the Wynkoop homestead. It was the letter of Gen-
eral Washington to his friend Wynkoop that secured for them
those hospitable quarters. Monroe obtained a captaincy for his
bravery in this engagement, and there is a tradition in the family
that he offered himself to Christina, eldest daughter of Henry
Wynkoop. but she preferred to marry Dr. Reading Beatty.
On June 4. 1776, the city committee had issued a significant
request to the justices of the Courts of Common Pleas and
Quarter Sessions to hold no further sessions until a new govern-
ment had been established. When the new government
was established under the Constitution of 1776, the courts of
Bucks county were thoroughly re-organized, and were opened for
the first time on September 9, 1777, with Henry Wynkoop pre-
JUDGK HE:NRY WYNKOOP 205
siding, probably by virtue of seniority, as president judges were
apparently not then provided for until afterward by act of aesem-
bly. In this capacity he delivered the first charge to the grand
jury of the county — a charge remarkable for its clearness and
conciseness, and the eloquence, reverence and patriotism it dis-
plays. In it he said :
"Gentlemen of the Grand Jury : The end and object of all good gov-
ernment is the happiness of the people ; when it fails in this, it becomes
tyranny and oppression ; and there is no time in civil life, in which we
can prove the integrity of our principles to each other more effectually,
than by uniting in and supporting such legal measures, by which we may
be enabled to render justice unto all men. I need not call to your atten-
tion the great difficulties under which we have long labored from the
want of having our courts of justice open, yet, at the same time I feel a
pleasure in declaring that the disposition of the generality of the inhabi-
tants of this county has been so honestly affected towards each other, as
to render the want of the public administration of justice, an evil of as
little inconvenience as possible. From this good omen I may venture to
infer that nothing will be wanting on your parts to give due authority and
execution to the business for which we are now met.
"I congratulate you, gentlemen, on this signal favor of heaven towards
us ; that at a time our country is threatened to be overrun by foreign
invaders, our liberties sacrificed to the ambition of an arbitrary court, and
our property given up to a hireling army ; that we can this day meet in
uninterrupted security, to prosecute the lawful business of the county.
May this blessed right be confirmed and increased to our posterity, that
they may look back upon us, their struggling ancestors, with pleasure
and veneration.
"When we consider the great cause we are engaged in, and take a re-
trospective view of our former condition under the English government,
our veneration therefor, and attachment thereto, together with the variety
of unforeseen causes productive of events equally unexpected, which have
at length brought us into our present state of independence, we are con-
strained to admire the disposal of Heaven. It would be impious in us to
question the unerring wisdom of Providence. The Almighty setteth
up. and he casteth down ; he breaks the sceptre and transfers the
dominion ; he has made choice of the present generation to erect the
American empire ; let each individual exert himself in this important
operation directed by Jehovah himself, for it is evident from a short re-
view, that the work was not the present design of man. Under such a
powerful ally we have nothing to fear, but to do our duty like men, and
to trust the event of His divine disposal, who in His own time will do
strict justice unto all men.
"But that, gentlemen, which I would at this time most strenuously
recommend to your attention, is the cultivation of good order, and a
2o6 JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP
serious, friendly deportment towards each other, in the execution of
public business. Courts of justice, next to places of Divine worship,
require a solemnity of carriage, as a mark of that awful respect which
we pay to the Creator of heaven and earth, at the time we are invoking
His aid. and making our appeal to Him as a witness of our integrity. And
in this place I would be understood to extend my charge to all persons
present, not doubting, but that you. g ntlemen of the jury, will by your
example endeavor to influence, and by your legal authority to support and
encourage, this so necessary and important a part of our duty.
"It would be a most extraordinary miracle, if the opinions of all men
as to modes and forms were to be the same ; but that government will
always be the most esteemed, which is the most distinguished by justice
and candor. Governments which are formed by the arbitrary will of one
man. or by the despotic and self-interested notions of a few, will never
be the favorite of the bulk of the people, because in those governments,
equal and perfect justice never can be obtained. The strong will triumph
over the weak, the crafty over the ignorant, and the litigations between the
rich will be decided by the longest purse. Justice will give way to favor,
and mankind will, by degrees, sink into slavery, under the form of law.
"The Constitution of our courts of justice now. is such, however men
may differ in opinion, no man need fear the want of equity. We have
been so long deprived of the advantage of the legal and public admin-
istration of justice, and men have been so much accustomed to live
without civil restraint, that it has now become one of the greatest obli-
gations we owe to society, to set an example of good order and obedience.
In this salutary measure all men are interested, it is that by which prop-
erty is made secure to the lawful owner ; the poor are thereby protected
from the encroachments of the rich ; and the rich from the lawless in-
vasions of the robber. However we may differ upon trifles, in modes and
forms, let us be careful to remember that the administration of justice,
on which our civil happiness depends ought, and must be, supported ;
otherwise there is no safety for any man, either rich or poor, and we sink
at once into confusion.
"It is therefore high time to come back to rule and order, and as our
worthy assembly for various salutary purposes, has proposed to take the
sense of the people, whether a new convention shall be called or not. for
the purpose of revising, altering, or amending the present constitution, I
conceive it my duty, as a magistrate, and for the preservation of the peace,
to recommend to all the inhabitants of this county, a cordial and brotherly
union, and a firm and unshaken determination to support the administra-
tion and execution of civil authority and public justice.
"Various and numberless have been the artifices of the enemies of
America to seduce us from our union, and involve us into parties. It
is in our union, that our salvation as a people depends. It is the arcanum
of our strength, a blessing that we ought to prize as a gift from heaven.
It is our duty to watch over it as the treasure of America, and shun
every measure and suppress every passion that has a tendency to destroy
JUDGE HUNRY WYNKOOP 207
it, as we would the poison of a serpent. Difference of opinion has arisen
concerning the present form of government, and differences of opinion
will always arise on that subject, let the form be what it may. I
would therefore recommend to every man to read and consider the
constitution for himself, and that you, gentlemen of the jury, after
you depart from this place, -would recommend the same conduct in your
several neighborhoods that when the voice and opinion of the people
come to be taken they may be able to give it with clearness and pre-
cision. I think it necessary at this crisis of affairs, to preface my charge
with these hints, because I would not be thought to abet a measure con-
trary to what should be judged the public good, nor to shrink from my
duty in supporting the just rights of the people. The well effected in-
habitants of this county have been remarkable for their firm attachment
to the cause of liberty, none have exceeded them in zeal and duty, and
what I am now anxious to caution them against is, that they would not
suffer little differences of opinion to grow into stubborn prejudices ; it
will sap our union and act against us with more mischievous efiicacy than
the whole army of our enemies.
"Let us, by no imprudence of our own, give any advantage to those
who are seeking to destroy us nor yet let us neglect th«- use
of such means, as the present Constitution puts in our power, for
the preservation of ourselves and the well ordering of our con-
duct. * * * * Twelve of you, at least, must agree in opinion that
the accused ought to undergo a public trial — so twelve other jurors are
to declare him innocent or guilty. Happy institution, whereby no man
can be declared a criminal, but by the concurring voices of at least four
and twenty men collected in the vicinage, upon their oaths to do justice.
Gentlemen, I do most cordially congratulate you, placed as you are in a
station honorable to yourselves, and beneficial to your country. Guard-
ians of the innocent, you are appointed to send the felon, the assaulter, the
beater, affrayer and rioter, together with the counterfeiter, the disorderly
public-house keeper, extortioner, defrauder of his country, and him who
is so lost to every patriotic feeling as to commit treason, to trial. Your
diligence in inquiring of such offenders is the source of your own honor,
and a means of your country's safety; and although no such offenses be
found, your laudable search will yet tender to curb a propensity to the
commission of such offenses.
"See, gentlemen, what great advantage may result from your vigilant
and patriotic conduct ! Your ears therefore ought to be shut to the peti-
tions of friendship, and the calls of consanguinity. But they ought to
be open to receive the complaints of your injured country, and the de-
mands of impartial justice."
On December 4, 1778, Wynkoop was chosen by the General
Assembly as one of the commissioners to settle the accounts of
county lieutenants.
208 JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP
Fearing that the judge might become idle if he did not fill two
or three offices at one time, he was, April 6, 1779, elected to the
Continental Congress to succeed Edward Biddle. Wynkoop did not
disappoint the people. Although he served as a delegate until
1783, and although Congress held sessions at Philadelphia, Prince-
ton, Annapolis, and New York, each of which Wynkoop attended,
the docket of the orphans' court of Bucks county seems to show
that the judge was absent only twice, namely, in March and
December, 1781, having even attended the special sessions.
On November 18, 1780, a commission was issued from Hon.
Joseph Reed, President of the Supreme Executive Council, to
Henry Wynkoop, to act as president judge of the Bucks county
courts. But a still greater honor was in store for him. In Feb-
ruary, 1780. while the Revolution was at its height, a tribunal
higher than the supreme court of Pennsylvania had been estab-
lished. Its province was to hear appeals from the supreme court,
the register's court, and the court of admiralty. It consisted of the
president of the supreme executive council, judges of the su-
preme court, and "three persons of known integrity and ability."
On November 20, 1780, Henry Wynkoop as one of the "three
persons of known integrity and ability" was commissioned a judge
of this court. He did not take his seat until April 9, 1783, very
probably because he was until that time a member of the Conti-
nental Congress, as well as president judge of the Bucks county
courts. With him were associated such famous men as Joseph
Reed, Thomas Mifflin, Francis Hopkinson, Edward Shippen, John
Dickinson, Jacob Rush, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas McKean.
In 1791, upon the adoption of the new State Constitution, this
court was reorganized, and on February 24, 1806, finally abol-
ished.
Henry Wynkoop was president judge of the Bucks county
courts from November 18, 1780, until June 27, 1789, when he
was elected a member of the first Congress of the United States.
In the docket of the orphans' court at Doylestown may be seen
a curious order issued by Judge Wynkoop in 1784. It shows
that he favored pomp and ceremony in the transaction of judicial
business. In it the constables are enjoined to appear in court
with their staves in their hands, and after adjournment "to walk
in procession with their staves before the sheriff to the door of
JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP 209
the justice room, where they shall deposit their staves until the
time of adjournment shall have expired, when they shall again
attend and walk to the court-house door as before directed."
Judge Wynkoop held the position of president judge of Bucks
county, and the more important post of justice of the high
court of errors and appeals until 1789. In that year he was
elected to the first Congress of the United States as one of
the representatives from the State of Pennsylvania. In a let-
ter, dated June 27, 1789, addressed to the Supreme Executive
Council of the State, he resigned both the offices of president
judge and of justice of the high court of errors and appeals,
about the same time resigning the eldership of the church of
North and Southampton. This first Congress convened March
4, 1789, and adjourned March 3, 1791. He served in this Con-
gress until its adjournment, then returned to his birthplace, to be
immediately appointed, by Governor Mifflin, an associate judge
of the Bucks county courts, which position he filled until the
removal of the courts to Doylestown in 1813.
Upon Judge Wynkoop's election to Congress, John Barclay was
appointed to succeed him, being the last lay president judge in
Bucks county.
Another Constitution was given Pennsylvania in 1790, and
under the Act of 1791 another change was made in the judiciary.
Under this act James Biddle was appointed first lay president
judge of the district comprising the counties of Philadelphia,
Montgomery, Chester and Bucks. In 1806, the same year that
the high courts of errors and appeals was abolished. Bird Wil-
son was made president judge of the courts in Bucks county.
Wynkoop was one of those rare characters whose influence on
the community is well marked. The handsome face, the fine
features, the firm chin, and the high forehead, all denote the
strong character of the man. Add to this intelligence, integrity,
and profound religious convictions, and we have a complete
picture of Henry Wynkoop — a character pre-eminently fit to be
loved, respected, and honored.
His grandson, John Beatty, writes:
"He was much interested in the cultivation of his farm, one of the
finest in the county, and planted a large orchard of the Virginia crab
apple, which made the finest of cider, and was sold in Philadelphia.
210 JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP
immediately from the press, at forty dollars a hogshead. It was sup-
posed that the recipient in the city sold it for champagne. His colored
man mentioned to some one that he was afraid his master was going
to fail, he saw so much cider put in the cellar and never saw any taken
out. He was not aware that it was passed through a process of fining
and decanting, and finally disposed of, greatly to his master's advantage,
in champagne bottles. The farm was planted with a variety of fruit. The
long lanes reaching from the buildings to roads on either side were lined
with a variety of the finest cherries, and his son also planted a number
of pear trees of twenty-seven varieties, besides a great variety of other
fruit."
Major Wynkoop was, of course, deeply interested in the Revo-
lutionary War, and was a great sufferer by it. When Wash-
ington's army passed through the lower part of the county, on
its way to winter quarters at Valley Forge, there lay in its line
of march a woolen factory near Newtown, where the soldiers,
finding a quantity of ready dressed wool, did not scruple to
apply it to their own use, and thus carried it away with them.
The owner, not being sufficiently interested in the good cause
to make this sacrifice, began to look around to see how he could
recover his lost property, or its value in money, and finally con-
cluded to apply to his neighbor, Wynkoop, for advice and assist-
ance. He. in the kindness of his heart, although ^it was cold
winter weather, and the roads were bad, consented to take a
journey to headquarters to see if anything could be done for his
friend and neighbor. On his arrival and making his errand known.
General Washington scanning his very ample vesture, facetiously
observed to him : "Why, Mr. Wynkoop. I don't think you stand
very greatly in need of cloth." Whether he succeeded in his
mission is not known.
After the war was over, and Washington had returned to
his beloved Mount Vernon to engage in farming, he wrote to
his friend Wynkoop, requesting him to send him a Bucks county
plough, which he had heard greatly praised. The article was pro-
cured and sent giving much satisfaction.
In a letter to his son-in-law. Dr. Reading Beatty, dated April
30, 1789, the judge, in describing the inauguration of Washing-
ton, pays the following tribute to the Nation's first Executive:
"The arrival of the President exhibited a scene more grand,
majestic, yet truly affecting, than any I had ever been witness
JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP 211
to. The conduct and behavior of this great character in that day
hath been consistent with that of his whole Hfe."
Washington, in his diary for the year 1790, makes frequent
mention of Henry Wynkoop and other great RevoJutionary lead-
ers, as having dined with him. And Senator Maclay, who was
the judge's friend and room-mate during the Congressional ses-
sion, has the following entry in his diary :
"Tuesday, April 28. 1789. At New York. This day I ought to note
with extraordinary mark. I had dressed and was about to set out when
General Washington, the greatest man in the world, paid me a visit. I
met him at the foot of the stairs. Mr. Henry Wynkoop just came in. We
asked him to take a seat. He excused himself on account of the num-
ber of his visits. We accompanied him to the door. He made us com-
plaisant bows — one before he mounted and the other as he went away on
horseback."
Judge Wynkoop was on like terms of intimacy with Hamil-
ton, Adams and other great men, particularly was this the case
with that great financier, Alexander Hamilton.
While both were members of the Continental Congress, in Phila-
delphia, they were walking along Chestnut street one day. Ham-
ilton, in his usual earnest manner, was ardently advocating a bill
before the House, for which he wished to secure the vote of his
friend. The judge, being unfavorable to the measure, changed
the subject by calling attention to two very beautiful women who
were passing. Two days later he was surprised by the arrival of
his wife, who had traveled all night in response to a message
from Hamilton that her husband was in a very dangerous condi-
tion: Not to be outdone by his friend, the judge sent a similar
letter to Mrs. Hamilton, who hurried from New York to her
husband. Mutual explanations followed and the families had a
merry visit with each other.
Referring to a title for the President of the United States,
General Muhlenberg tells us that Washington himself was in
favor of the style of "High Mightiness" used by the Stadtholder
of Holland, and that while the subject was under discussion in
Congress he dined with the President, and by a jest about it, for
a time he (Muhlenberg) lost his friendship. Among the guests
was Mr. Wynkoop, of Pennsylvania, who was noticeable for his
large and commanding figure. The resolutions before the two
212 JUDGE HENRY W.VNKOOP
Houses being- referred to, the President, in his usual dignified
manner, said, "Well, General Muhlenberg, what do you think
of the title of 'High Mightiness?' " Muhlenberg answered, laugh-
ing, "Why, General, if we were certain that the office would al-
ways be held by men as large as yourself, or our friend Wyn-
koop, it would be appropriate enough, but if by chance a Presi-
dent as small as my opposite neighbor should be elected, it would
become ridiculous. The evasive reply excited some merriment,
but the Chief looked grave, and his evident displeasure was in-
creased soon after by Muhlenberg's vote, in the House of Rep-
resentatives, against conferring any title whatever upon the Presi-
dent.
Wynkoop was six feet four inches in height, being two inches
taller than the Father-of-his-Country. In a company of gentle-
men one day, Mr. Hamilton observed, "We have all to look up
to Mr. Wynkoop." The latter courteously replied that he always
felt mortified when he had to look down upon Mr. Hamilton —
a man every one was disposed to revere and look up to.
From an old list of men connected with the government in
1789, we learn that Henry Wynkoop, member of Congress from
Pennsylvania, lived while in New York, "at Mr. A'andolsom's,
near Bear Market."
Judge Wynkoop married three times. His second wife, whom
he wedded in 1777, was Maria Cummings ; she died in 1781. In
1782 he married Sarah Newkirk, of Pittsgrove, New Jersey,
who died in 1813.
Judge Wynkoop had no brothers and only one sister, Helen, the
wife of the Rev. Jonathan DuBois, pastor of the Dutch Re-
formed church of North and Southampton. They had four
sons and four daughters. Judge Wynkoop had eight children,
and more than forty grandchildren.
Christina Wynkoop, the eldest child, was born August 18,
1763. Her husband. Dr. Reading Beatty, born December 23,
1757, was of Scotch descent. He was a son of the Rev. Charles
Beatty, of Log College fame. His mother was Ann Reading, a
daughter of Governor John Reading, of New Jersey.
The father of Dr. Beatty had intended that he should go to
Princeton College, but for some reason it was given up, and after
his father's death he began the study of medicine, and was thus
JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP 2I3
engaged when the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775. He
enHsted as a private, and was immediately appointed sergeant.
Through the influence of his elder brother, he obtained an en-
sign's commission, August 10, 1775, in the Fifth Pennsylvania
Battalion, commanded by Colonel Robert ]\Iagaw ; February 2.
1776, he was appointed a lieutenant, and in the course of the
campaign, in consequence of the sickness of his captain, had
command of the cc^mpany. Whether he was in any of the en-
gagements of the summer is not known, but he was taken
prisoner at the surrender of Fort Washington, November 16,
1776, and met with harsh treatment, indeed, almost losing his
life at the hands of a savage Hessian soldier, and had to be
shielded by a British officer. He was confined on the "Mersie"
prison ship, and held as a prisoner eighteen months until ]May 18,
1778, when he was exchanged. Having been diligent in the study
of medicine, he was appointed by Dr. Cochran, surgeon-gen-
eral, as a surgeon in the Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiment, and
his appointment was confirmed by Congress in a commission dated
November 8, 1780. On February 10, 1781, he received a com-
mission from Congress as surgeon of a regiment of artillery,
commanded by Colonel Proctor, in which capacity he served till
the end of the war. After the war he first settled as a practitioner
of medicine at Hart's Cross Roads, now Hartsville, Bucks county.
It was on April 20, 1786, that he married Christina, daughter
of Judge Wynkoop, who had been one of the executors of his
father's estate. They made their residence at Rockhill, Nocka-
mixon township, near Erwinna, where he practiced two or three
years. In 1788 they removed to the vicinity of Falsington.
Reading Beatty died October 29, 1831, and his wife died April
18, 1841. They had 8 children, among whom was Ann the wife
of Rev. Alexander Boyd ; Dr. Charles Clinton Beatty, who mar-
ried Rebecca Vanuxem ; Mary, the wife of Rev. Robert Steel ;
and John Beatty, born 1800, died 1894, whose children and grand-
children live at Germantown, Axilla Nova and Reading, Pennsyl-
vania.
Judge Wynkoop's second daughter, named Ann, born October
18, 1765, was married on August 17, 1790, to James Raguet.
They had 3 children, James, Henry and Claudine. Raguet wa*
214 JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP
a French exile, a Bonapartist. The judge's grandchildren ever
remembered the famous Fourth of July celebrations at Vreden's
Hoff. The jolly Frenchman, rather short and rotund, would roll
down the grassy banks for the amusement of the children. He
died suddenly. February 9, 1818, while conversing in a counting-
house in Philadelphia.
The Wynkoop family motto. "Jlrtutem Hilaritate Colere" —
"To adorn excellence with joyousness" — has been preserved up-
on a piece of silverware in the possession of Ann's granddaugh-
ter, Mrs. Leonard Mortimer Thorn. Mrs. James Raguet died
July 23, 1815.
Judge Wynkoop's daughter, Margaretta. born January 22, 1768.
was married at Churchville on November 24, 1789, to Herman Jos-
eph Lombaert, a merchant of Philadelphia, where he died of yel-
low fever, August 29, 1793, aged ^y ; he was a native of Flanders.
After his death Judge Wynkoop spoke of him as a man of "re-
markable cultivation and accomplishment." i\Irs. Lombaert re-
mained in Philadelphia for some years after the death of her hus-
band, and then removed to Easton. Pa. She is described as talented
and courtly in her manner. Her daughter, Susan Lombaert, be-
came the wife of James Vanuxem, Jr., of Morrisville, Pa., and
her son, Charles Lombaert, married Anna Arndt.
Nicholas, son of Heniy Wynkoop. was a physician. Born
March 25, 1770; died Alarch 30. 181 5. While out gunning with
a companion, the latter carelessly fired in such a manner as to
destroy the sight of one of his eyes. He married Francenia.
eldest daughter of General Francis Murray, of Newtown, and
after her death he married Sarah Campbell. He had seven
children, who left numerous descendants.
The judge's daughter, IMary Helen, born April 30, 1772,
a very pretty child, was one of the little girls who strewed
flowers before General Washington as he passed over the Assan-
pink bridge in Trenton on his way to New York to assume the
first presidency, was married July 9, 1793, to Christian Wirtz,
Jr. He was a merchant in Philadelphia and a member of the
City Troop. She died February 25, 1809; and her husband died
.April 27 of the same year. His father, Christian, Sr.. had come
from Baden to Lancaster, where he wa6 a major during the Revo-
JUDGE he;nry wynkoop 215
lution. This Wirtz family should be distinguished from the better
known family who are descendants of Rev. John Conrad Wurts of
Zurich, Switzerland, who was pastor at Egypt church, Bucks
coimty, as early as 1742, whose descendants of later days inter-
married with Judge Wynkoop's family.
John Wanshaer Wynkoop, son of Henry Wynkoop. Born July
II, 1774; died September 6, 1793, of yellow fever, while a student
of the law.
Judge Wynkoop's son, Jonathan. Born June 21, 1776; mar-
ried on April 27, 1809, Ann Dick, daughter of Campbell Dick
and Margaret Ledlie. He built a house in the village at New-
town, where he died February 21, 1842. They had seven chil-
dren, among whom were Margaret Ledlie, wife of Rev. James
C. Watson, and Isabella, wife of Rev. Winthrop Bailey. Edward
Vanuxem often spoke of the time he spent as a boy at the house
of his Uncle Jonathan.
Judge Wynkoop's youngest daughter, Susannah was born April
II, 1784. On October 13, 1808, she married Jan Lefiferts, son
of Arthur Lefferts and Adrianna Van Arsdalen, and removed
to New York State, where their descendants now live. Susannah
died March 2, 1849.
Thus have we located the descendants of Judge Wynkoop.
It would be unjust, while expressing our veneration for him
who is the immediate subject of this paper, were we to omit
a most respectful, afifectionate, and grateful mention of those other
great men, his colleagues, who stood with him and with the
same spirit, the same devotion, took part in the same transac-
tions. The traditions of our fathers are ours to enjoy, ours
to preserve, ours to transmit, and generations to come should hold
us responsible for this sacred trust.*
The grandfather's-clock bought in London in 1760 by the
Rev. Charles Beatty for his friend, Judge Henry Wynkoop;
his cane, curiously twisted, silver punch bowl, tiles from the
fire-place, his family Bible with silver clasps, several chairs, a
* As there is in preparation a volume on the life and times of Henry Wynkoop, we
would be indeed grateful for information tending to make the work accurate and com-
plete.
2l6 JUDGE HENRY WYNKOOP
table, and a magnificent oil portrait by Rembrandt Peale, are all
in the possession of his descendants.
In a series of letters, written from New York in 1789 and 1790
by Judge Wynkoop. to his son-in-law, Dr. Reading Beatty, and
fortunately preserved by the descendants, interesting mention is
made of the controversy as to the location of the capital of the
United States. He writes :
"From present appearances I am induced to believe it will be in
Pennsylvania somewhere, & from confidential Communications there is
a strong probal)ility at the Falls of the Delaware." In another letter he
says : "The Bill respecting the permanent Seat passed I think on Wed-
nesday for Susquehannah 31 to 17. It was taken up in Senate yester-
day, & this day stands amended with Germantown * * * what will be its
fate at last is yet uncertain. The Maneuvering of this Affair has been
so various & also interesting, that I confess myself heartily tired of it, yet
feel myself anctious for a Termination favourable to the ^tate. Ger-
mantown is certainly the first place in the National Scale, & the Fallse
of the Delaware with me is the next." And again : "Should the Sus-
quehannah fail, it goes either to Germantown or the Potowmack, most
probably the Latter."
In another letter he writes :
"Dining at the house of an old acquaintance yesterday, an old respect-
able gentleman, there hit upon a thought respecting Titles, so new &
singular that I cannot refrain mentioning it, that every succeeding Presi-
dent should be honored with the Title of Washington, thus the name
and virtues of this great man to be perpetuated in his otificial Successors as
that of Caesar became a Title to the Roman Emperors, & Pharoh that
of the Egyptian Kings. But this for Posterity."
This series of letters, some 46 in all, have recently been pre-
sented to the Bucks County Historical Society by one of his
descendants.
An old tax list shows that in 1779 Judge Wynkoop paid taxes
on 460 acres in Northampton township, and on a grist-mill and
144 acres in Southampton township, and he is thought to have
owned considerable property in Philadelphia. When he died
he left what was considered in those days a large fortune.
Vreden's Hofif and the farm he left to Jonathan, his youngest
and only living son.
That Judge Wynkoop was a man of kindly disposition is shown
by the fact that shortly before his death he set all his slaves
judge; henry wynkoop
217
free, but so well had they been treated that they absolutely re-
fused to leave the homestead. Under an ash tree, not far from
the house, they lie buried, the doings of "Granny Maria" and
"Old Isabel," being spoken of to this day.
On March 25, 1816, the busy life of Henry Wynkoop came
to an end. His body lies buried in the church-yard at Richboro.
Delegate to two most important Provincial Conventions, seven
times a member of the Continental Congress, member of the first
Congress of the United States, one of the General Council-of-
safety for the State of Pennsylvania, and of the Bucks county
committees of correspondence and safety, judge of the High Court
of Errors and Appeals, and for nearly half a century on the
bench of the Bucks county courts — thus was the life of Henry
Wynkoop devoted to his country.
He lived to a great age, dying 40 years after the Declaration of
Independence. He was both an early patriot and an aged and ven-
erable object of admiration and regard. Thus he finished his
course, and thus his freed spirit ascended to God who gave it.
His was a character worthy of emulation. May God send us
many such !
* A history of life and times of Judge Henry Wynkoop, in book form, is being pre-
pared for publication by John S. Wurts, Esq., 1109 I.and Title Building, Philadelphia,
who will be pleased to correspond with any one who may be interested in his publication.
\
'henry Wynkoop,
who departed ifii-^ Id'e
contented arid gJTatef'ui.
iruhefeO'^'vearoflifsade
The Rodmans and Foxes.
BY MARSHALL R. PUGH, GERMANTOWN, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January 20, 1903.)
Some enterprising individual with a mathematical turn of mind,
reasoning that since each of us possessed two parents, who in
turn had a like number of progenitors, a very simple calcula-
tion would prove that twenty generations back we had the re-
spectable number of 1,048,576 grandparents of that degree of
remoteness. It shows what an enormous population existed upon
earth at the time of Adam !
We shall not, like the amiable Diedrich Knickerbocker, at-
tempt to trace the Fox and Rodman families back to such an-
tiquity. Just a few incidents that stand out from the gathering
gloom of the past are here presented ; and yet, perhaps, they
may serve to show the personality of the men and the character-
istics of the times better than would ever so complete a record
of births, marriages and deaths.
John Rodman, the ancestor of the Rodmans in the New World,
is probably first met with in the year 1655. in a little episode in
keeping with the spirit of that age. Rodman was a Quaker,
and with tenacious adherence to the tenets of his sect, refused
to remove his hat when in attendance at the Assizes of New
Ross, an Irish town in the western part of county Wexford.
Committed to gaol by Judge Louder and kept there for three
months, he refused to purge himself of the contempt of court,
and was banished from the country.
Settling in the parish of Christ Church, Island of Barbadoes.
he became a planter. Plantation life in that summer isle is
described by a writer in 1708. who says "the planters live each
like little sovereigns on their plantations. They have their ser-
vants of the household and those of the field. Their tables
are spread every day with a variety of nice dishes, and their
attendants are more numerous than many of the nobility's in
England. Their equipages are rich, their liveries fine, their
coaches and horses answerable, their chairs, chaises, and all the
conveniences for their traveling magnificent.
THE RODMANS AND FOXES 219
Dr. John Rodman, son of the former, came to Newport, R.
I., in 1682, and subsequently settled on Block Island, a rugged,
billowy mass of rocky hills emerging from the Atlantic some 30
miles southwest of Newport. This was far from being the pleasant
summer resort that it now is. Pirates, privateers and a miscellan-
eous assortment of picturesque buccaneers and swash-bucklers
made life too theatrical for the good doctor, who is described as
"a gentleman of great ingenuity, and of an affable, engaging be-
havior, of the profession of them called Quakers." Affable
though his manners were, he had inherited his father's quiet
obstinacy and pertinacity. His son, John, narrates an incident
occurring in the summer of 1690, when a ship manned by a rabble
rout of French, English and Mustees, came sailing past the is-
land. Led by a renegade Englishman, they concealed their true
identity, and under some pretext or other got the unsuspecting
islanders to call out to them from shore the proper directions
for avoiding the hidden rocks, and so came safely to anchor.
Sending heavily-armed boat crews ashore, and making prisoners
of those whom they came across at the landing, among whom
was Dr. Rodman, they proceeded to their work of pillage and
plunder. Dr. Rodman secured permission to go home and see
to his family and was escorted to his house, which the scoun-
drels had used as an impromptu jail, the men being secured
upstairs and the women below. The doctor refused to leave
the latter to the tender mercy of the ruffians ; and in spite of
threats and finally a sword-thrust made by one of the party,
which was parried by another of his fellows, he remained fixed
in his resolve. Fearing the consequences of killing him,
one of the buccaneers went to the door, shot a fat hog, and
ordered Dr. Rodman to dress it. The latter said he had never
done such a thing in his life and knew not how, but that should
they realease the prisoners upstairs, some of them could doubt-
less do so. Finally, cowed by his unyielding and intrepid spirit,
they abandoned the execution of their fiendish designs, set the
islanders free, and departed with their booty.
Several analogous adventurers wearied the worthy doctor of
what too greatly resembled "A life on the ocean wave," and
making large purchases of land both in Long Island and in
Hunterdon county. New Jersey, he moved to the former place.
220 THE RODMANS AND FOXES
His son John, also a "Chirurgeon," made his home in Burling-
ton, and became the owner of land both in Eensalem and in
Warwick township, Bucks county. William, son of the youngest
John Rodman, resided on his father's plantation in Bensalem,
upon which a house had been erected about the year 1715.
Upon his marriage, in 1744, to Mary, daughter of Dr. John
Reeve, of Burlington, he made large additions to the house, which
was situated on the Neshaminy. about four miles from its
mouth ; and named the estate "Rodmanda." This name was
changed by his son William, at the beginning of the last century,
to "Flushing," as being more democratic, and i;ot savoring so
much of aristocracy.
The old house with its gable end stood until 1861 upon the
brow of a gentle slope about two hundred yards distant from
the Neshaminy creek. In former times a spring of water welled
forth at the foot of this slope, but one day. when the elder Wil-
liam Rodman was a young man, he was riding in a distant part
of the plantation and plucked up a young buttonwood sapling
to use as a riding whip. Upon his return he stopped at the spring
to refresh himself, and beside it planted the switch. This took
root and grew with the passing years to be a stately tree. Its
roots drank eagerly of the life-giving water, till at last naught
of the spring remains, while the tree has grown to be one of
the largest east of the Rocky Mountains, with its green foliage
and rugged boughs supported by a massive trunk thirty feet in
circumference.
William Rodman was a member of the Assembly from Bucks
county from 1763 to 1776. and was appointed one of a committee
of five to negotiate a treaty with the Indians at Fort Pitt in
1768, but declined, since his health and business aflairs prevented
so long and toilsome a journey through the wilderness.
Shortly after this came the exciting times of the Revolution.
The Friends, who formed so large a proportion of the inhabi-
tants in this region, were for the most part neutral, refusing to
take any active part in the struggle on account of conscientious
scruples ; but the Rodmans were ardent patriots, thereby in-
curring the discipline of the meeting. This section of the coun-
try was the scene of much military activity. From near here
Washington made his brilliant dash on Trenton and his march
THE RODMANS AND FOXES 221
on Princeton. The short distance between Flushing and Phila-
delphia made Flushing subject to marauding expeditions while
the British occupied that city, and frequently the cattle had to
be hastily driven away to prevent their falling into the hands of
the enemy.
The two sons of William Rodman, Gilbert and WiUiam, Jr.,
enlisted. In organizing for resistance to the British the patriots
of Bucks county generally met either at Newtown or in Buck-
ingham township, at the tavern of John Bogart, Centreville. At
the latter place, on July 20, 1775, the officers of various recently
formed companies met for the purpose of selecting field officers.
Those chosen for the second battalion were : Joseph Hart,
colonel ; Robert Shewell, lieutenant colonel ; James McMasters,
first major; Gilbert Rodman, second major; Joseph Shaw, stan-
dard bearer and William Thompson, adjutant. Colonel Hart
made return of this election to the Committee-of-safety at the
same patriotic tavern on April 24. 1776, and soon they took
the field.
After the evacuation of Boston by the British, Washington
went to New York and Brooklyn with his army, and a little
later on the British came sailing in from Halifax and landed on
Staten Island. Washington had already foreseen the gravity and
sternness of the struggle, and as a result of his exertions Con-
gress had passed a resolution that Continental regulars should
be enlisted for three years, and that meantime a flying-camp of
10,000 militia, furnished by Pennsylvania, Delaware and Mary-
land, to enlist by the first of December, should be stationed in
the Jerseys for the defense of the middle colonies. The greatest
danger of invasion was from Staten Island, where the British
were throwing up works, and from whence they might attempt to
cross to Amboy. In consequence of this danger, the flying-
camp was stationed there, and to this camp went Colonel Hart
and his regiment. On August 10, 1776, an entry in the diary
of Captain Loxley, of the Philadelphia artillery company, says "at
10 A. M. we paraded the men ; Captain Stiles joined us, and
marched down near Colonel Miles' house; there took the right
of the Bucks county battalion, commanded by Colonel Hart ;
formed the circle, and William Bradford, Jr., brigade major, by
222 THE RODMANS AND FOXES
order of General Roberdeau, read the address from General
Washington." And again.
"Headquarters, Amboy, August 19th.
â– 'Parole, ]\Iifflin ; countersign, war; field officer for tomorrow,
Colonel Hart."
Life in camp was varied by attempted attacks on the British,
which were rendered futile by lack of boats ; and when finally
the enemy had landed such an overwhelming force as to be un-
assailable, they could but take an occasional shot at a red-coat
across the water, or seek to damage Howe's vessel with fire-
ships. Instead of attacking Amboy the British crossed over to
Long Island, drove the Americans out and took possession of
New York. These are matters of history known to all.
Just north of the city, on the ridge separating the Hudson from
the Harlem river, the Americans still held Fort Washington, and
opposite, on the Jersey shore, Fort Lee. Geneial Washington,
who was at White Plains, gave discretionary orders for the
evacuation of Fort Washington, but the officers on the ground
thought best to maintain it. It was garrisoned chiefly by Penn-
sylvania troops, under the command of Colonel ]\Iagaw, who
felt confident of his ability to hold the place. As he had about
3,000 men under his command, and the fort itself would accom-
modate but a third of this number, the balance were disposed
about the outworks. To the eastward, among the rocks and
trees overlooking the Harlem, was Lieutenant Colonel Baxter
with a portion of Colonel Hart's Bucks county battalion, the re-
mainder of the battalion being still at the flying-camp. Howe
made four simultaneous attacks upon the devoted fortress. The
one from the east was under the command of General Mathew,
who crossed the river in flat-boats and was reinforced by Lord
Cornwallis, with the first and second grenadiers and a regiment
of light infantry. Scrambling, pushing, climbing, from rock to
rock and height to height, Cornwallis and Mathew hurled their
overwhelming force on the little band of Bucks county soldiers,
who made a desperate struggle to maintain their position. Col-
onel Baxter fell by the hand of a British officer while bravely
fighting at the head of his troops, and the few who survived were
driven into the fort. The same fate befell the Americans on all
THE RODMANS AND FOXES 223
sides, and the fort was taken. From across the river Washing-
ton, who had come down from White Plains, witnessed the dis-
aster, powerless to help; and when he saw the wounded Amer-
icans, begging for quarter, mercilessly bayonetted by the brutal
Hessians, he burst into tears, sobbing and weeping, says a con-
temporary, "with the tenderness of a child."
Just what part of Colonel Hart's regiment had left. Amboy and
was with Lieutenant-Colonel Baxter at Fort Washington I cannot
say; but it would seem almost certain that the Fifth Company,
Captain Jamison, was a part of his command; since in October
it had been sent under him to Newtown to suppress a Tory elec-
tion ; and subsequent to the capture of Fort Washington. Both
its captain, John Jamison, and the second lieutenant, John Irwin,
were prisoners in the hands of the British. It may be, also, that
the first major, James McMasters, was in the ill-fated detachment,
since he, too, was in the Newtown affair.
Three other Bucks county companies, though not from Hart's
battalion, certainly participated — those of Captains Beatty, Bene-
zet and Vansant, who were under Colonel Magaw.
The full strength of Colonel Hart's regiment at Amboy was
not kept up till winter. On December 8th the Colonel himself
was back home, probably on leave, and upon that day he wrote
the Committee-of-safety that no provision was made for the men
at the camp, and he says : "It will be impossible for them to lie
in the open air without tents or cover." The life of those at
Amboy, therefore, was no bed of roses. Their time of enlist-
ment had expired, and somewhere about the first of the year 1777
they were discharged.
For his participation in this campaign Gilbert Rodman was
disowned by the society of Friends. He afterwards engaged in
business in Philadelphia, but failing health compelled him to live
in the country, and he took up his residence at Spruce Hill farm,
in Warwick township, just below Doylestown, where he lived
till the death of his father-in-law, Richard Gibbs, in 1795. He
then purchased Edington, the home of the latter in Bensalem,
and in 1808 sold the Warwick farm to the county for an alms-
house. The old house in which he lived still stands on the south
side of the road leading from the Willow Grove pike to Castle
Valley.
224 THE RODMANS AND FOXES
His younger brother, William, also took an active part in the
Revolution. On October 4, 1781, he was appointed brigade
quartermaster of the militia vmder Brigadier-General Lacey,
stationed at Newtown, and served until the militia was disbanded,
shortly before the close of the war. For taking the oath of
allegiance and fidelity to the State of Pennsylvania, he, like his
father and elder brother, was disowned by Friends. Serving
subsequently in the State Senate and the United States Congress,
he occupied a prominent place in local affairs. The two brothers
were at one in their high views of public morality. In 1797 a
scheme none too savory had been suggested to William Rodman
by certain politicians whereby his brother Gilbert might be elected
to the Legislature. His reply was as follows :
"I laid your scheme before my brother yesterday afternoon. He
says that as the fair, voluntary, and unsolicited voice of his fellow
citizens can alone be expressive of their confidence, no other method of
obtaining their suffrages can be flattering or grateful to him. and having
no sinister ends to serve, he has no motive to induce him to wish for
the honor of a seat in the Legislature, if in the least tarnished by being
acquired in a clandestine way. This being his determination. I hope you
will excuse my not meeting you agreeably to your request."
The above few episodes serve to illustrate the character of the
Bucks county Rodmans. Quiet and peace-loving, they were
firm, nay stubborn, in their adherence to what they conceived
to be right, regardless of consequences.
Alargery, daughter of Gilbert Rodman, married the late Judge
John Fox, of Doylestown, a man who had inherited from both
father and mother an aggressive love of independence ; albeit
he was denominated by an aggrieved newspaper on the other side
of the fence "the political despot of Bucks county."
On August 20, 1641, the "Eyckenboom," one of those ponder-
ous Dutch craft whose breadth of beam rivaled that of the equally
ponderous "Burgomaster," arrived off IManhattan Island, having
on board Cornelis Melyn, the great-great-great-grandfather of
John Fox. An able and energetic merchant f r(jm Amsterdam ;
he came to this country as patroon of Staten Island, after sundry
vicissitudes on the way. His first expedition met with disaster,
his vessel being captured by pirates and he himself held for ran-
som ; but the "Eyckenboom" fared better, and carried him safely
to the Western World. Sailing up the bay, anchor was dropped
THE RODMANS AND FOXES 225
off the quaint little village of New Amsterdam, at that time con-
sisting of a score or so of steep-roofed houses clustering round
the stone and mud palisaded fort which manfully frowned down
upon the placid waters of the bay, though, if the truth were
known, those imposing ramparts were, in fact, in imminent peril
of destruction from the assults of the thrifty burgers' swine.
This secret undermining due to the porkers, while it greatly
disturbed the commandant, in no wise took away from the
picturesque aspect of the diminutive stronghold, with the high-
pitched roof of the Director-General's house, the flag-staff with
its orange, white and blue banner fluttering in the breeze, and the
old Dutch wind-mill ; all emerging above the protecting circuit of
the bastions.
Life in the little village moved peacefully in those times. The
monotony of the day was broken by the arrival of friendly Indians
in their canoes, who exchanged furs and peltries for the various
gew-gaws and trinkets dear to the savage heart In the long
summer evenings the burger sat in front of his house pufiing
contentedly, at his pipe, while his good vrouw knit industriously
as she watched the children playing about her.
The little community was all agog with excitement when the
good ship Eyckenboom came to anchor. Immediately upon ar-
riving Melyn paid his respects to Governor Kieft at the fort, and,
presenting his credentials, secured the patents for his new domain.
He began forthwith his work of colonization, which, under his
able management, progressed prosperously, when, thanks to the
bungling incompetency of Director General Kieft, the settlement
was embroiled in warfare with the Indians.
In 1639 the first outbreak had occurred, occasioned by Kieft's
injudicious conduct. Arbitrary despot though he was, he found,
like many a greater one, that war made it necessary to call on the
people for the sinews thereof. Absolute as he might wish to
be, the people over whom he ruled were tenacious of what they
considered their rights. In the Netherlands, since the thirteenth
century, every town below the grade of city was governed by a
"Tribunal of Well-born Men," elected by all the inhabitants en-
titled to votes. The number of well-born men varied, but was
usuallv nine.
226 THE RODMANS AND FOXES
A murder was committed by an Indian in revenge for the killing
of his uncle twenty years before ; the demand for his surrender by
Kieft, and a refusal on the part of the natives, started the trouble.
Kieft became alarmed at the increasing bloodshed and destruc-
tion, and called a popular assembly, who appointed a council or
tribunal of twelve to take cognizance of affairs. Matters were
settled after a fashion, but in 1643, when Melyn's colony was in
full activity, trouble began in earnest. Kieft, in cold blood, ord-
ered the massacre of. unoffending Indians; men, women and
children. The storm that burst on the Dutch was terrific, and
in the crisis Kieft had once more to call upon the people. A
board of eight men was chosen. Five were Dutchmen, Cornells,
Melyn, chairman of the board, being one ; one was a German,
Joachim Kuyter, from Darmstadt, who heartily backed up Melyn
in subsequent controversies with Kieft ; and two were English-
men. Six months of wrangling with the Director saw but little
or no improvement in the general situation. As a last resort the
"eight men" sent an eloquent letter to the States General. In it
they said :
"Our fields lie fallow and waste ; our dwellings and other buildings are
burned ; not a handful can be either planted or sown this autumn on the
deserted places ; the crops which God permitted to come forth during
the past summer remain on the fields standing and rotting * * * and
we sit here amid thousands of barbarians, from whom we find neither
peace nor mercy * * * All right-thinking men know here that these
Indians have lived as lambs among us, until a few years ago * * *
These hath the Directors, by various uncalled-for proceedings, so em-
bittered against the Netherlands nation, that we do not believe that any-
thing will bring them and peace back, unless the Lord, who bends all
men's hearts to His will, should propitiate them."
Of a voluminous report that Kieft had sent to the States
General, giving his version of the situation, the eight warn
their High Mightinesses.
"If we are correctly informed by those who have seen it," say they,
"it contains as many lies as lines." In conclusion, "It is impossible ever
to settle this country until a different system be introduced here, and a
new Governor be sent out.
As a result of this document Kieft was recalled and Peter
Stuyvesant appointed as his successor. Events in Melyn's career
moved rapidly after Stuyvesant's arrival. A very graphic ac-
THK RODMANS AND FOXES 227
count is given by Fiske, (see "The Dutch and Quaker Colonies
in America") which we will here reproduce.
"On the day when Kieft handed over his office to his successor, it
was proposed that the conventional vote of thanks should be given him
for his official conduct, whereupon two of the ablest of the Eight Men,
Kuyter and Melyn, spoke out boldly, saying they had no reason to thank
him, and would not. Presently these two gentlemen came forward with
a petition for a judicial inquiry into Kieft's policy and behavior from the
time in 1639, when he first tried to impose taxes upon the Indians."
* * * "Stuveysant was not so dull as to overlook the bearings of this
bold proposal. If such a weapon could be forged against Kieft another
of like metal might some day be sharpened against himself. The sacred-
ness of the Directorship must be sustained.
He at once took Kieft's part, declaring that to petition against
one's rulers was flat treason, no matter how much cause there
might be for it; he forced the rejection of Alelyn and Kuyter's
petition.
The guilty and alarmed Kieft, emboldened by this turn of
events, became plaintiff ; and charged Melyn and Kuyter with
being the authors of the memorial which had caused his removal ;
and which, he claimed, contained false statements, calculated to
bring the magistrates into contempt. Stuyvesant had worked
himself into a passion by this time, and made up his mind to
punish Melyn and Kuyter as an example. He ordered them to
appear to answer within 48 hours Kieft's complaint, being no
more than the accusation that the patroons had told the plain
truth about himself ; other charges were trumped up. Both were
convicted, with a shameless disregard of the evidence. Melyn
was sentenced to seven years' banishment and a fine of 300 guil-
ders, for treason and other heinous crimes ; Kuyter to three
years' banishment and a fine of 150 guilders. Stuyvesant wished
to have Melyn sentenced to death, but it was felt that this would
be going too far. The sentences were unjust and very unpopular.
Melyn declared his intention of appealing to the directors in
Holland, which increased Stuyvesant's anger to fury. "1{ I was
persuaded," he said to Melyn, "that you would appeal from my
sentences, or divulge them, I would have your head cut off, or
have you hanged on the highest tree in New Netherlands."
Nothing excited him so much as the contempt of his authority
involved in a threatened appeal to Holland. When any one
228 THE RODMANS AND FOXES
m^entioned the subject he became so angry that "the foam hung
on his beard."
And now occured a strangely just retribution. The ship
"Princess" lay at anchor in the East river ready to sail to Holland.
Ex-director General Kieft embarked to return home, and the
unfortunate patroons were sent aboard as prisoners. By some
error of reckoning the "Princess" got into the Bristol Channel,
-struck on a rock, and was beaten to pieces off the English coast.
It was night when the ship struck, and at daybreak she began to
go down. "And now," says Breeden Raedt, "this wicked Kieft,
seeing death before his eyes, sighed deeply, and, turning to these
two. said: 'Friends. I have been unjust towards you; can you
forgive me ?' "
His repentance came too late. Kieft and nearly all the ship's
company were drowned in the presence of hundreds of English-
men, who lined the strand and did what they could to rescue the
unfortunates. An anonymous work published in 1649. which is
ascribed to JMelyn himself, gives the following account of the
wreck by the Breeden Raedt :
"Jochem Pieterson Kuyter remained alone on a part of the ship on
which stood a cannon, which he took for a man : but speaking to^ it
and getting no answer, he supposed him dead. He was at last thrown on
land, together with the cannon, to the great astonishment of the English,
who crowded the strand, and iset up the ordnance as), a lasting memorial.
Melyn, floating on his hack, fell in with others who had remained on
a part of the wreck, till they were driven on a sandbank, which became
dry with the ebb.
Pertinacious and persistent, the two patroons would not leave
the scene of the wreck till, after three days' hard work dragging
the adjacent waters, they recovered the documents necessary to
prove their case. Armed with these they were enabled to com-
pletely justify themselves before the States General.
Returning triumphantly from Holland with a letter of safety
for himself from William H. Prince of Orange. IMelyn brought
with him a reversal of his sentence, obtained from their High
Mightinesses, together with a letter ordering Stuyvesant to ap-
pear in person or by proxy, at the Hague, to answer the accusa-
tions which he and Kuyter had brought against him. Melyn,
smarting under his ill-treatment, was not inclined to spare the
director. Upon his return a meeting of the citizens was held in
THE RODMANS AND FOXES 229
the church. There he went in company with his friends and
demanded that the reversal of his sentence be made as pubhc
as the sentence itself had been. A hot dispute arose between
Stuyvesant and his adherents on the one hand, and Melyn and
his associates on the other. A vote being taken upon the question,
the decision was in favor of Melyn. Van Hardenberg, a member
of the nine men (a council that had succeeded the old board of
eight), took the paper and rose to read it. In a terrible rage,
Stuyvesant lost all control of himself, declared that a copy of the
paper must first be served on him, rushed up to Van Harden-
berg and snatched the paper from his hand. Van Hardenberg
attempted to regain it, when the friends of each faction joined in
the fray, and in the uproar and confusion the official seal was torn
from the document. After an unseemly battle of some duration,
the more conservative men present convinced Stuyvesant that
his position could not be maintained. Melyn promised to furnish
him with a copy of the reversal, and Van Hardenberg was per-
mitted to read the torn and battle-scarred paper.
Such was some of the fighting blood which came down to
Judge Fox. His grandfather, an English army officer stationed
in Ireland, married a lady from Dublin, in T750, and had two
sons, Edward and Joseph. Some time before 1775 these two
young gentlemen became involved in an insurrection against the
English Government, and upon its failure were obliged to fly the
country. Joseph went to France and Edward came to this
country, where, possessing a liberal education and some means, he
at once became associated with persons of prominence. He was
on terms of intimacy with Robert Morris, and through his influ-
ence was made auditor general of Pennsylvania. He was the
first secretary and treasurer of the University of Pennsylvania,
holding that office for a period of 34 years. He also held many
other positions, political and otherwise, which it is not necessary
here to speak of. He died April ii, 1822, leaving four surviving
children, one of whom was John Fox.
Born in 1787 and graduating at the University of Pennsylvania
in 1803, John Fox studied law with Hon. Alexander J. Dallas,
after which he came to Bucks county and was admitted to the
bar June i, 1807, at Newtown, the county-seat. There he remain-
ed till 1813, when the seat-of-justice was removed to Doylestown.
230 THE RODMANS AND FOXES
Going to Doylestown with the court, he held the office of deputy
attorney general, as it was called, but now known as district
attorney. This office he continued to hold for fifteen years, with
the exception of his term of service in the army.
At the time of his removal to Doylestown the "War of 1812"
with England was taking place, and on land the incompetent
conduct of the war by the Americans culminated in the invasion
of Washington and the burning of the capitol, August 24, 18 14.
It is difficult for us to realize the great progress made in the 88
years that have passed since that time. It took two days for the
momentous news to reach Doylestown, but when, on Saturday,
August 26, the intelligence came that the city of Washington
was in possession of the British, excitement rose to a fever heat.
Court met the following Monday, Hon. Bird Wilson being
the president judge, and Hon. Samuel Hart one of the associate
judges. After court had convened. Deputy Attorney General
Fox arose and stated that the capitol of the country was in the
hands of the enemy ; Baltimore and Philadelphia were threat-
ened by them ; and that he thought the people had other and higher
duties to discharge that to be holding court at such a critical
time. He, therefore, moved that the court adjourn, but the
motion was refused by Judge Wilson. At this Mr. Fox took his
hat, made a low bow to the court, and stating that the country
needed his services elsewhere, walked out of the court-house.
Mr. Fox had sounded that sympathetic chord, and the hearts of
his hearers responded to the full. Judge Hart arose, followed
the rapidly retreating form of the speaker, and, accompanied by
the m^ijority of those in attendance on court, left the room,
which in a few moments was nearly emptied.
In front of the building Mr. Fox made a fiery speech, calling
on his hearers to come to their country's aid. His patriotic
action stimulated the military fervor. He himself left for New-
town, where he called a meeting to raise a volunteer company.
Shortly after he was elected second lieutenant in Captain Chris-
topher Vanartsdalen's company of Newtown light infantry, thirty-
second regiment of Pennsylvania militia. Colonel Lewis Bache.
He was soon appointed aide to Major General Worrall, with the
rank of major, and served till the close of the war.
He then resumed the practice of his profession, but still retained
the; RODMANS AND FOXES 23I
his interest in military matters, and on August 3, 1828, he was
made major general, second division, Pennsylvania militia. April
16, 1830, he was appointed president judge of the courts of
Bucks and Montgomery counties, which office he filled with mark-
ed ability for twelve years. His most noteworthy decision was
that upon negro suffrage, delivered by him December 28, 1837.
Abraham Fretz had been a candidate for county commissioner
and had received a majority of the votes, forty of which had been
cast by negroes, and without which his opponent's votes out-
numbered his own. After a masterly discussion of the legal
principles involved, the decision closed with the following words :
"For the reasons given, the court is of the opinion that a negro
in Pennsylvania has not the right of suffrage." This decision
created the greatest interest at the time, and the precedent held
until the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution
of the United States.
For many years Judge Fox took an active part in political
affairs, and indeed it is due to his influence that Hon. Samuel J.
Ingham had a seat in Jackson's cabinet. He was intimate with
many of the national leaders, and could have had high preferment
had he desired it, but, in the words of a contemporary, "During
the many warm political contests in which he was engaged, he
uniformly refused office, preferring, with wisdom, to devote
his time to that profession of which he was a distinguished mem-
ber."
I trust that these few sketches may serve to make real the
personality of some to whom this county owes in part its sterling
manhood. Though they have departed they are none the less
existent. "Is the past annihilated, then, or only past?" asks
Carlyle. "The curtains of yesterday drop down, the curtains of
to-morrow roll up ; but yesterday and to-morrow both are."
The Folwells of Bucks County.
BY PROF. WILLIAM WATTS FOLWELL, MINNEAPC-LIS, MINN.
(Doylestown Meeting, January 20, 1903.)
The following rough memoranda are prepared in the hope
that they may call out from the members of the Bucks County
Historical Society information which may lead to filling the gaps
and the correction of probable errors.
The first known appearance of the name Folwell in its earlier
Frencli dress, "Folvile," is on the roll of Battle Abbey (1066).
Much disconnected gossip is to be found in the publications of
the Camden Society, Vol. 4 ; in the papers of the Harleian Society,
\'ol. 18, and in Nichol's History of Leicestershire. Among other
items the following:
1. "The family of Folvile or Follevile * * * came out of Normandy
with the Conqueror and were seated here (in Ashby, Leicestershire) in
the reign of King Stephen (1135-1153.)
2. Sir Walter de Folvile, living in 1186, was succeeded by Sir William
Folvile, Knight, who, siding with the rebellious barons in 1216, had his
lands seized by the king * * * \yâ– ^â– ^^ j^g ^,^5 afterwards restored to them
and to the king's favor.
3. "In 1326 Eustace de Folvile and two of his brothers having been
threatened by Roger le Beler. one of the justices itinerant, and then very
old, they took the law into their own hands, and barbarously murdered
the judge in a valley near Reresby."
The wife of the writer suggested that here would be a conven-
ient point to suspend further inquiries into the history of his
possible ancestors. But it is proper to add that the Chronicle
relates that King Fl'enry, who was John's son, gave to Sir Eustace
de Folvile, Lord of Ashby-Folvile, a charter of pardon for divers
trespasses he had done against the king, and for slaying of his
chief justice. Sir Roger Beler, dated July 26, in the 51st year of
his reign. It is also added that Beler was an oppressor of church-
es and of his neighbors. In Nichol's description of Ashby church
it is recorded :
"In this church is an ancient and fair altar for one of the Folviles m
armor, under the south window, and is said to be for old Folvile, who
slew Beler."
THE FOIvWEELS OF BUCKS COUNTY 233
4. " * * * gi,- John Folvile, the first son of Mabell (Delamar),
aforesaid, had never issue; nevertheless he wedded an old ancient lady
of Yorkshire that was the wife of Lord Marmion, that he might dispend
yearly her seven hundred marks — and they kept a worthy household and
great at Ashby-Folvile."
5 "Dame Margaret, after the decease of Sir Christopher, her hus-
band, was in the household of Sir John Folville, her husband's brother,
and was Mickel cherished there and was with him in household at
Ashby-Folvile till he was dead ; and then she imagined false deeds and
let write them and ensealed them with his hand when he was dead, for
she had the seal of his arms, and all his deeds. And this false feofment
was made by her when Sir John Folvile was dead with the seal of his
arms, and, therefore, I suppose verily that she is in hell. Nevertheless she
delivered and made confession ere she died that she had made false
deeds."
In an account of her confession by a certain abbot elsewhere
given, Dame Margaret declared "that she had done such deed,
but by the evil counsel of men of law." All is forgiven, good
Dame. May your penitent soul still be at peace.
William de Folvile was born at Ashby-Folvile. He was bred
a Franciscan in the University of Cambridge, and engaged him-
self a great master of defense in that doughty quarrel pro pueris
induendis, that children under the age of eighteen ought not to
be admitted to monastic orders — one Folvile with more passion
than reason maintained the legality thereof. He died and was
buried among those of his order at Stamford, circa 1384.
The Ashby-Folvile estate probably passed to a collateral branch
in the fourteenth century and the last mention of it found is to
the efifect that in 1776 it was sold in lots. In 1800 the village
was reduced to thirty houses, and "a. pleasing mansion watered
with much taste."
The Cheshire branch mentioned in the Harleian papers is
worthy of notice from the appearance of Christian names still
familiar in this day. "John Folvile vulgo ffooil, of Middlewich,
had children, John, Thomas, William and Margaret."
The Folvile arms on account of simplicity and the absence of th.;
crest indicate an early origin. In the dialect of heraldry they are
"Party per fess, argent and or; a cross moline gules" — which, be-
ing interpreted, means, a red millers' cross on a field, half silver,
half gold.
It must be here confessed that the writer has but slight ground
234 THE FOLWELLS OF BUCKS COUNTY
for the expectation that a connection may be traced between the
plebeian Folwells of America and the ancient and knightly family
of Old England. But the object of this writing is to elicit in-
formation in America as to whether there survives in Bristol,
England, a family of Folwells.
In regard to the Folwells of the United States there is the
familiar tradition of "three brothers who came over with Wil-
liam Penn," but the writer has not found any mention or refer-
ence to such an immigration in the Pennsylvania Colonial records.
There is reason, however, for believing that there were three
brothers who near the close of the seventeenth century came over
to New Jersey at or about the same time. An encyclopedia
article relates that Lord Berkeley sold West Jersey to a firm of
Quakers who established a settlement at Salem in 1675 and soon
after another at Burlington. It may be surmised that the Folwell
immigrants were among those settlers.
The first of these brothers was William Folwell and he is said
to have settled in Salem, N. J. From him it is surmised have
descended a group of Folwell families, known in Morristown,
Mount Holly, and Mullica Hills, N. J. Of these the writer has
but slender and disconnected notes.
The second, Peter, was town clerk in Burlington, N. J., in 1702.
Of him nothing further is known. Mr. Thomas Service Folwell,
of Archdale, N. C, writes (1902) that his father's name was
Peter Folwell, and that he was born in Bucks county. Pa., in
1809. Query — Are these in the same line?
The third of the original emigrants — if three there were — was
Nathan Folwell, of Mansfield, Burlington county, N. J. Of his
identity there is no doubt, and he is the patriarch of a numerous
tribe. It is noteworthy that he capitalized his signature with two
"lower-case" "f's," fifolwell, after the fashion of the Cheshire
family in England.
One of the Cranford ladies said: "There was a deal in a name.
She had a cousin who spelt his name with two little fif's, and he
always looked down upon capital letters and said they belonged to
lately-invented families."
Nathan, of Mansfield, N. J., had eight children ; five sons,
Nathan. John. George, William, Joseph; and three daughters,
Mary, Hannah and Elizabeth. Of these the writer has no trace
THE FOLWELLS OF BUCKS COUNTY 235
except of the fourth son, WiUiam, who was born March 30, 1704,
and married Ann Potts December, 1727. Both were received
into the Southampton Baptist church July 20, 1755, a recorded
fact which suggests that the couple settled in Bucks county about
that time. From this pair have descended a numerous progeny,
far beyond the limits of this paper to detail.
His children were one daughter, Sarah, who became the wife
of Arthur Watts in 1758, and three sons, John, Joseph and Wil-
liam. John left no children. Joseph emigrated to Canada and
raised a large family. Thomas, born in 1737, married Elizabeth
Watts, and was one of the trustees of the Southampton Baptist
church when it was incorporated in 1794.
The four daughters of Thomas intermarried with Harts,
Purdys, Joneses and Reeders and disappear from the Folwell line.
His one son, William Watts Folwell, born January 28, 1768,
graduated from Brown University in 1796, married Jane Dun-
g-an the same year, appears to have resided in Bucks county till
1806, when he migrated to the "Genessee Country" in central
New York.
There is a romantic but sad story of a previous journey into
that region to consummate a large land purchase engineered by a
reverend gentleman of great fame, whose name need not now be
revealed. Folwell and Joseph Hart set out with the preacher and
traveled together to Williamsport, Pa. At that point the leader
made an excuse for leaving them, pretending it to be necessary to
have a personal interview with Courtlandt Van Rensselaer, the
patroon at Albany, a holder of large tracts in the interior. The
two others made their way to the rendezvous, (Sayre's tavern on
the east bank of Seneca lake,) where they learned that the rever-
end gentleman had not gone to Albany, but had traveled rapidly
by another route in advance of them. Also that he had disposed of
some effects and departed for the Carolinas. Folwell and his com-
panion returned at once to their home, called together the ten men
who were investing in the enterprise, and handed to each the pack-
age of money originally made up by him. Judge Wynkoop broke
open his package, to find nothing but the rags of a pair of satin
breeches. The others had been similarly rifled. A long and
vain pursuit, a return, a long wait in jail pending trial, a convey-
ance of certain properties, a payment of the balance in cash, and
236 THE FOLWELLS OF BUCKS COUNTY
an abandonment of prosecution complete the story. The importance
of it is that young Mr. Folwell was so enamored of the beautiful
region "between the Lakes" (Seneca and Cayuga) that he was
not content until he had established his permanent home there.
There he lived surrounded by a numerous group of descendants
till 1859, dying at the age of ninety-one. He was a typical
country gentleman of the old school, with manners which might
well be revived in these days of hurry and hustle.
Although attached to the Baptist church, he had the quiet
repose of a Quaker. The tradition is that the Folwells were
originally Friends. Here may have been a case of reversion.
He had two sons, who had families. Dr. Nathan Wright
Folwell and General Thomas Jefferson Folwell. Both lived to
the last on sections of the domain acquired by their father.' All
of their sons of military age with one exception served on the
Union side in the war of the Rebellion.
As this is partly a story of migrations, the writer may be
excused for reference to another in which he himself appears.
The son of General T. J. Folwell, just mentioned, (the writer
of this paper,) was born in 1833, graduated from Hobart College
in 1857, served through the war in the Fiftieth N. Y. Engineer^,
married in 1863 ; moved to Minnesota in 1869 to become president
of the University of Minnesota. After fifteen years in that
capacity he exchanged it for the professorship of political
science, which he still occupies. How large a group of Folwells
are to spring up in Minnesota cannot yet be guessed at.
The writer indulges the hope that members of the Bucks County
Historical Society who may accept this sketch, will be both able
and willing to furnish some of the information so conspicuously
necessary. The slightest notes will be welcome to one who
resides at so great a distance from the ancient home of his fathers.
Memorandum of variants on the name Folwell: Foil well,
Fallwell, Falwell, Folvile. Folevile. Follvile, Folleville, Favell,
Fauvel, Falvel, Faviell. Fawell, Faville, Fowell, Fauel, Fouel,
Yoghill, Vowell, Flavel, Fauville, Flavelle, Fowle, Fowler,
Fowls, Foule, Fovil, Foluile, ffovil, ffolvile, ffolwell.
Historic "Summerseat."
BY DR. RICHARD H. S. OSBORNE, MORRISVILLE, PA.
(Morrisville Meeting, May 26, 1903.)
The Bucks County Historical Society having been invited to
meet at "Summerseat" to-day it is only fitting that a brief
history of the property should be presented to it.
The earliest records indicate that the lands of Summerseat
formed a part of the property of a certain John Wood, an Eng-
lishman, who settled in Bucks county in 1678, and took up 478
acres of land oppos'te the falls. The succession of owners from
1678 to 1859 is as follows:
1678, John Wood; from 1684, John Ackerman ; 1687, Jos-
eph Wood; 1723, Josiah Wood, to 1770, William Wood; 1773,
Thomas Barclay; 1791, Robert Morris; 1798, George Clymer ;
1805, Henry Clymer; 1812, Elizabeth Waddell ; 1859, John
Humfrey Osborne.
Morrieville, the borough in which the property is partly in-
cluded, was originally known as '"Colvin's Ferry," which name
it retained until it came into the possession of Robert Morris,
who is said to have built a number of houses, and projected
other improvements in the settlement. Morrisville came very
near being the site of the National Capitol, and Summerseat
seems to have been the very spot selected, for "the high ground
lying west of the village" is mentioned in the description. In
fact the location was actually decided upon by resolution of Con-
gress in 1783, and commissioners had been appointed to lay out
the district ; but Washington disapproved of the scheme, and so
the matter was dropped.
In 1773 Thomas Barclay, of Philadelphia, purchased the prop-
erty, which then consisted of 221 acres, and erected the house
which remains to all intents and purposes as he left it, with the
exception of the wing to the north, which was added by Mr.
Waddell. Thomas Barclay was registered in 1782 as having 11
slaves.
In November, 1791, Summerseat passed into the hands of
238 HISTORIC "SUMMERSEAT"
Robert Morris, the "Financier of the RevoKition." He was
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence ; but
his dedication of time, talents and wealth to the cause of the
infant State has never been appreciated as it deserved.
Morrisville was called after him, and he lived for some time
in a fine mansion in "The Grove." He died in Philadelphia,
deserted and friendless. May 8, 1806. The house in "The
Grove" was afterwards the residence, for about three years, of
the French General Moreau, who doubtless was often found
among the company assembled at Summerseat. Moreau was
subsequently killed at the battle of Leipsic, in 1813, while con-
versing with the Emperor Alexander.
In 1798 George Clymer, another signer of the Declaration of
Independence, became the owner of the property, and died there
January 2^, 1813. He was buried in the Friends' meeting
ground, at the corner of Hanover and Montgomery streets,
Trenton, New Jersey.
In 1805 George Clymer made a deed of gift of the property
of Summerseat to his son, Henry Clymer.
The next owner, 1812, was Elizabeth Waddell (nee Pem-
berton), wife of Henry L. Waddell, a Frenchman. A brother
of Mr. Waddell was rector of St. Michael's church, Trenton,
New Jersey. Henry L. Waddell died in March, 1833. Eliza-
beth Waddell, his wife, died in 1859. For many years after
the death of Mr. Waddell the property was in the hands of ten-
ants, some of whom sadly neglected and abused the premises,
selling statuary, etone and iron-work, cutting down hedges, and
even whitewashing the rooms of the mansion and storing grain
upon its floors.
During Mr. Waddell's time, in 1824, Lafayette revisited the
United States, and received a hearty welcome, especially in
Trenton, Bristol and Philadelphia. On his way from Trenton
to Philadelphia he was entertained and spent a night at Summer-
seat, arriving in a barouche drawn by six cream-colored horses,
and escorted by a troop of cavalry. This troop of cavalry, ac-
cording to the statement of a very old resident, was drilled in
one of the fields adjoining the mansion. The statement that
Lafayette spent a night at Summerseat rests upon the authority
HISTORIC "SUMMERSEAT 239
of Mrs. Fetters, a daughter of Mr. Waddell. Mrs. Fetters paid
several visits to her old home, the last being about the year
1885, and she not only pointed out the room in which Lafayette
slepr, which was hung with pictures of French generals, but
spoke of the ball given here in his honor that evening. The
Marquis was escorted across the bridge by the Governor of
New Jersey and staff, and received on this side by the Governor
of Pennsylvania and staff, and Henry L. Waddell is mentioned
in the records as having been present. The Delaware Division
of the Pennsylvania canal was in process of digging at the time
of Lafayette's visit.
In the autumn of 1859 Summerseat was purchased by John
Humfrey Osborne. Mr. Osborne, though an Englishman, was
connected with one of the heroic figures of the American Revo-
lution, his great-grandmother on his mother's side having been
a sister of General Mercer. Dr. Hugh Mercer (for he was a
physician) was born at Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1721, and edu-
cated at its university. He was a surgeon in the army of Prince
Charles Stuart, and after the disastrous battle of Culloden came
to America in 1747. He practiced medicine for some years;
was present with Washington at Braddock's defeat ; in the
Revolutionary War was commissioned a brigadier general on
Washington's recommendation, and was killed leading a gallant
charge at the battle of Princeton. His remains were followcvi
to the grave in Philadelphia by thousands of people, and were
laid to rest in Christ churchyard, from whence in 1840, "with
unusual pomp," they were removed to Laurel Hill cemetery,
where a handsome monument was erected over them by St.
Andrew's Society. This monimient beare inscriptions upon its
four sides; that upon the east side quoting the words of Wash-
ington, who mourned his companion in arms as "the worthy and
brave Mercer." It may well be that General Mercer, who was
one of the officers crossing the Delaware with Washington, may
have been among the distinguished men, who have been enter-
tained at Summerseat. The United States Government is about
to erect a monument to his memory at Fredericksburg, Virginia,
where for a number of years he was settled as a physician.
Joseph Bonaparte, the ex-king of Spain, is said to have of-
240 HISTORIC SUMMERSEAT
fered a handsome price for Summerseat, but, finding he could
not buy it. he purchased the well-known property at Borden-
town, N. J.
The frame building near the canal bridge, at the north en-
trance to the property is the remains of the old school-house,
the land upon which it stands having been deeded to trustees,
in 1762, by Josiah Wood. The original building was of stone,
to which subsequently was put a frame addition. Many of the
old residents in this neighborhood were among the pupite who
received the first elements of their education under its roof. In
1858 the school-house property was sold to Mahlon M. Wright,
and by him in the same year to David W. Kelly, from whom
it was purchased by John H. Osborne in 1865, and restored to
the lands of Summerseat.
The oval grass-plot on the west side of the house, in the
centre of which was a sun-dial, was in Washington's time sur-
rounded by a post and chain fence. To these posts the officers
were accustomed to tie their horses.
The ruins at the north end of the garden ar-^ known as the
old slave-quarters, where the gardener and other servants were
housed. There is a tradition that a British soldier was buried
in the grounds near these quarters.
Beneath the house is a wine cellar, and four other cellars,
well lighted and capacious.
The approach to the place and the mansion and grounds have
been portrayed in the following words :
"A quiet village street ending in a rail-guarded bridge, across which
the street merges into the country highway ; glimpses of the Delaware
here and there through the trees, with low meadows between : nothing in
sight to suggest the present. Such are the surroundings to the home of
John H. Osborne, a place redolent of Colonial times and Revolutionary
interests. At the roadside entrance stands a small lodge-house, a hip-
roofed building, quaint in its plainness ; past which the long avenue, with
its quadruple row of cedars, winds up the hill to the well-kept, substantial
mansion at the top.- The house, of two and a half stories, facing the
river, consists of a main building, and a smaller wing; it is of a grey
color, well toned by time and weather; a broad piazza crosses the front,
upon which the windows of the lower rooms open to the floor. Within,
from the wide hall, four large, cheerful rooms open, two on either side,
the heavy timbered floors, the panelled doors, the high ceilings, the wain-
HISTORIC SUMMERSEAT 24I
scoting and mouldings, so well preserved, all bear substantial witness to
times when solidity was a reality and not an appearance. From the
windows, across the sloping fields and shining strip of river, lies Trenton,
with its hazy veil of smoke and present day activity, in contrast with its
neighbor on the Pennsylvania hillside. Passing through the hall and out
the opposite door, the house presents from this side a much quainter ap-
pearance; there is an irregularity in the position of the windows and
small hooded porch over the hall door with its latch and knocker, while
the wall of the smaller wing is broken by an arched recess opening upon
a brick pavement, where, at the moment, stood several figures, dogs and a
horse ready saddled, giving a characteristic touch to the picture. Many
interesting ornaments, showing the taste of past owners, at one time
adorned the place ; all are lo«g since scattered ; a pair of lions now guard-
ing the entrance to Fl. George's Hall, Philadelphia, came from here. But
as we saw it one blustering October day, the wind blowing the leaves
down in yellow showers, it seemed to us the place wanted no other adorn-
ment than the beautiful trees which surround it on all sides — tulips, pop-
lars, maples, ash, walnuts, chestnuts dropping their nuts with every wind,
tall cedars and pines OiUtlining the avenues and mingling their darker
foliage with the gay autumn tints on the lawn : they entirely conceal the
house, but make a landmark of a place to which each year is adding a
new interest."
Such was the picture, as seen through the eyes of an artist,
who made a note of her visit some ten years ago.
But the chief interest attaching to Summerseat is the fact that
it was the headquarters of General Washington from Sunday,
December 8, to Saturday, December 14. 1776. From Summer-
seat Washington removed his headquarters to the farm-house
of William Keith, near Newtown, from which place he went
into camp above Trenton falls on Friday, December 20th, and
on the following Wednesday. December 25th, a little before
midnight, made hie famous passage of the Delaware at McKon-
key's Ferry, now known as Taylorsville. On the day he arrived
at Mr. Barclay's he wrote a letter to the President of Congress,
dated: "At Mr. Berkeley's, Summerseat, Pennsylvania." On
December 9th he wrote in his diary : "General Mifflin at this
moment came up and tells me that all the military stores yet
remain in Philadelphia. This makes the immediate fortifying of
the city so necessary that I have desired General Mifflin to
return and take charge of the stores, and have ordered Major
General Putnam immediately down to superintend the work and
give the necessary directions." On December 13th he wrote to
242 MORRISVILLE AND ITS VICINITY
the President of Congress : "I shall remove further up the
river to be near the main body of my small army, with which
every possible opposition shall be given to any further approach
of the enemy towards Philadelphia."
The name of Washington is one of tho6e world-wide names
which can never be forgotten. The wonderful balance of his
character, his unshrinking devotion to duty, his steady hope-
fulness in adversity, his self-effacement in prosperity, his stern
veracity and unsullied virtue, combine to make him one of the
grandest figures that have ever appeared among the eons of
men. His memory rests like a golden shadow upon the land he
loved, and this imperial man, so modest and yet so sublimely
great, has left the impress of his magnificent personality as a
standard of manly perfectnes«s to all succeeding generations.
As Byron sing-; :
"The Cincinnatus of the West,
Whom envy dared not hate,
Bequeath'd the name of Washington
To make men blush there was but One !"
Morrisville and Its Vicinity.
BY DR. ROBERT S. DANA, MORRISVILLE, PA.
(Morrisville Meeting, May 26, 1903.)
The subject assigned to me, by your wortliy president, for
this paper "Morrisville and Its Vicinity" is one about which
a volume could be written. The geological history alone is very
inviting to any one who may have the time and inclination to ex-
amine it. It is also rich in prehistoric relics of races long
since passed away. Only a couple of days ago my son brought
me fine specimens of a stone-axe and a flint arrow-head just
then plowed up in my field north of Edge Hill. Some time
ago I found a meal-stone for fining the pounded corn and a
stone-pounder for doing the mashing, also a curious stone in
the shape of a portion of a back-bone of some ancient saurian,
the real nature of which has not yet been determined, but in the
vastness of the material at hand I have thought best to con-
MORRISVILI.E AND ITS VICINITY 243
fine my paper as far as possible to the relation of matters and
things of which history is silent or sparingly describes.
It is well known that the falls of the Delaware was a favorite
haun: of the red-men of the forest who lived by hunting and
fishing. Deer, wild turkeys and animals fit for food were abun-
dant, and the delicious shad swarmed at the falls in their season.
When the white-man came he soon found the desirableness of
the 6ituation. The climate was good and the rainfall more
evenly distributed here than in other parts of our globe.
The Dutch having taken Holland, turned their attention to the
other parts of the world, and trying to reach the North Pole or
some other region by a northwest passage, they landed up the
Hudson where Albany now rears its lofty and expensive
pile of State. Finding their way barred by shallows and the
water getting too fresh for them they gravitated back to New
York City which they called New Amsterdam. General Davis
in his history says that three of them (a Dutchman goes to
trading as soon as he strikes land) while after beaver skins, found
the head waters of the Delaware and came down the river in
1616. They passed the site on which Morrisville was afterwards
built and went on to the Schuylkill, (thus going further and faring
worse). They were made prisoners by the Mingoes and were
ransomed by Capt. Hendrickson with some old kettles, beads
and other things. The West India Trading Company in 1624
and 1625 had a trading-post just below the falls at which time
Morrisville may be said to have made a beginning. This post
was broken up, probably for cause in 1627, and a vessel only
remained, which was doubtless left as a matter of safety. I heard
years ago that a certain noted fur-trader on the Susquehanna used
to buy and sell by the pound, and the balance-scales being the
handiest, as they could be hung from a tree or almost any place,
and weights never being handy, he used his hand for one pound
and his foot for two pounds. The natives, or I should say the
Indians, found fault with his methods, and were very much in-
censed thereat, saying, "Heap much for skins and heap little for
goods."
In 1 83 1 the trading-post had been reinforced and re-estab-
lished with 12 servants. From that time on visitors were fre-
244 morrisville; and its vicinity
quenr. In 1638 Robert Evelin wrote to Lady Plowden across
the seas a glowing account of the fertility and beauty of the
country. Campanius, a Swede, in 1642 wrote an account of the
Delaware and stated that at the falls he found walnuts, chestnuts,
peaches, mulberries, plums, grapes, hemp, hops and the calabash
(pumpkin) and rattlesnakes.
Peter Lividstrom surveyed and mapped the Delaware from
the capes to the falls in 1654. The falls at that time bore the
name of ''Alummengh," which I suppose must have been an ap-
propriate Indian name for it. Parties from New Amsterdam
trying to find their way to the settlements down the Delaware
soon found that their shortest route was through the woods by
way of the falls. Governor Andros came through in May, 1765,
with a numerous retinue accompanying him ; as he crossed at
the falls he was met by the sheriff (Cantwell ) and proceeded
with him through Bristol to New Castle, where he held court,
at the session of which it was ordered that convenient ways
should be made between town and town. A ferry was therefore
established on the west side of the river. The fare for a man
was fixed at 10 slivers, equal to 18 cents, and for man with
horse, 2 guilders or 60 cents (according to Peterson's coin book).
In 1675, William Edmonson, a traveling Friend from Ireland
on a visit to his brother on the Delaware say^- : "At 9 a. m.
by the good hand of God we came to the falls and by his
providence found an Indian boy, man and woman with a canoe.
We hired him with some wampum-peg to take us over in the
canoe and swam our horses.
Lands were purchased by Andros in 1675 from Cold Spring
above Bristol to 9 miles above the falls making a river front of
18 miles, the falls being the centre of the tract, which being
on the line of the most traveled road, the Kings highway, was
beguming to be a place of some note. On this survey, lands
were granted in 1679 to several English settlers, and in 1680,
John Acreman & Son settled on a plot below the falls, contain-
ing 309 acres, Thomas Sibeley 105 acres, Robert Scoley 206
acres and Gilbert Wheeler, of London, with h.s wife, children
and servants 205 acres, William Biles 309 acres and so on down
to the lower end of the survey. John Wood, a Davis farmer
MORRISVILIvE AND ITS VICINITY 245
from Axerclip county, York, the first English settler known in
the county, in 1678 took 478 acres opposite the falls, and with
live children settled where the borough of Alorrisville now is
and including also the adjoining island. The river properties
were soon taken up, and also the lands back from the falls, toward
the Xeshaminy.
It is generally conceded that the first court-house was located
in Falls township, but its exact location seems to be unknown.
The nearest to a solution is a statement in History of Bucks
County, (1887) by J. H. Battle (p. 204) where it is stated that
Dr. E. D. Buckman made some research in regard to this
matter, and in a letter published in 1854, he says:
"The most substantial matter learned was a tradition by a Jacob Smith,
who then owned the first farm below Alorrisville, and showed us the
building that was said to have been the first court-house and jail in
Bucks county. It was situated on a part of his farm, about 200 yards
from the river bank, at the mouth of a small creek, and opposite to what
was then called Moon's island. The building was of logs, on a stone
foundation, and two stories in height, with an attic under the roof. It
was estimated to be about forty feet in length by twenty in width, and
was divided on the lower floor into two rooms, one large one about 20
feet square, the other, the width of the house, and from 12 to 15 feet in
depth. The floor of the room was laid in double plank fastened with pins ;
the two windows had been grated with iron bars, (long since removed,)
and the doorway entrance from the other and larger room had also been
grated ; the chimney that stood between the two rooms, built with a large
fire-place for a wood fire, had its throat also grated with iron bars, which
yet remained there. This room is said to have been used as a jail, and
the larger one as the court-room, and the second story for the accommo-
dation of the keeper."
The historian, J. H. Battle, goes on to say that "the author
of the letter does not lay great stress upon this evidence, and
this traditionary court-house does not accord with the facts found
in the records" and quotes the minutes of the session of the
court, under the date of Wednesday, December 2, 1693, at "Court
House near the falls," while sessions of the court at earlier
and later dates were held at other places, and suggests that there
may have been two court-houses in Falls before the one at
Bristol was built. Under date of October 4, 1692, the court
decided in the case of a prisoner that "it being the winter season,
and the prison inconvenient for the season it was good to order
246 MORRISVILLE AND ITS VICINITY
that the prisoner be let go on bail." also the 14th of the loth
month. 1692, an entry states that the court adjourned to the
house of Joseph Chorley, the court-room being equally with the
jail inconvenient for the season. In December, 1695. adjourn-
ment again was made to Chorley 's house. December, 1702, a
similar adjournment was made to the house of William Biles.
He being a merchant probably had ample accommodation,
and moreover there might have been other inducements, as
Chorley had a license to sell beer, etc., and William Biles also
was an importer and seller of rum.
Historians seem to have had the impression that the court
must of necessity have been located in the vicinity of William
Penn's mansion, as being the most central. In answer to these
observations I will say that according to the plan of the survey
ordered by Governor Andros and the actual settlements made, its
proximity to the crossing at falls and being at the head of tide
water, the location as now defined was the most favorable situa-
tion tor such an institution. Without mentioning their names
I will give the number of families from CoM Spring to the
location as now defined as 28, the number above to Taylorsville 24,
and adjoining ones, toward the rear from the river, 19. The
roads at that time were mere bridle paths and but little used,
boats and canoes being a more easy means of conveyance when
near the river. The location of the jail and court-house on or
near the creek as it is called, (it is really a portion of the river
flowing around and forming Moon's island), was convenient for
canoes. The water is now quite shallow at low tide and would
not float a boat when the river is low and the tide out. But
the tide comes up twice in 24 hours and I have been assured by
old settlers that sloops and other light boats used to come up
between Periwig island and Biles island at usual stages of water,
to load at Morrisville and Trenton. From the mills at Morris-
ville considerable flour and grain used to be shipped by water.
vessels loading close to the mill. Since I came to Morrisville
in 1866, Periwig island, which then had trees and a fish housi
on it, has disappeared leaving only a gravel bar in its place, and
the river gradually wearing away Duck island on the New
Jersey side, has made the principal channel there, and descend
morrisville; and its vicinity 247
the flow next to Biles island and throug-h the so-called creek
above.
Having a desire to ascertain something more satisfactory con-
cerning the court-house and jail, I applied to John Brooks now
in possession of the Smith farm. He showed me a stone (in his
wheat field) now covering the well at that place, and also said
that every time the field was plowed the large stones of the
foundation interfered with their work, they had been removed
as fast as they had been turned up, so that no part of the foun-
dation can now be seen. The surrounding soil is a gravelly loam
and sand, with no large stones in it. The extent of the foun-
dation agreed with the estimate of Dr. Buckman as far as could
be determined under the circumstances. Finding out that An-
drew Crozier at one time owned the place while the buildings
were still standing, I transferred my investigation to him, and
from him obtained a full description of the place, enabling me
to make a sketch showing the general appearance of the build-
ings when in his possession. The frame portion was reroofed
by Mr. Crozier and part of the floor relaid. It is not certain
when the frame part was put up.
The court-house and jail (one building for both) were built
by Jeremiah Langhorne by, or before 1686. It was of hewed
logs covered with clapboards. It was two stories high, with a
hipped roof, 20x40 feet on the ground. The frame house ad-
joining was the same in its dimensions and having a straight
instead of a hipped roof, the ridge of the two roofs being con-
tinuous. The court-house part had a door near the middle of
the front which was away from the river and toward the road
from Morrisville or Falls to the Manor ; over the door there
was n porch with a straight roof held up by two posts, between
each of which and extending to the building each side of the
door were seats for the court to rest upon. Dr. Buckman states
that the court-room was the largest and that the jail was 12
or 15 feet only in width in front. Jesse Morris, who says that
as a boy he used to visit his uncle who lived there, gives the
same idea that the jail-room was quite small on the front way.
Probably the actual fact is that the building was 40 feet long
248 MORRISVILLE AND ITS VICINITY
and the jail was 12 or 15 feet of that distance, the court-room
occupying the rest of the space, be it much or httle.
The only point now remaining to view being the covering of
the well, I thought best to locate that, and have made as accurate
measurement as possible from points least likely to be changed,
ascertained that it is 714 feet from the Manor road, 375 feet
below the present line of the borough of Morrisville, 87 feet
from the bank of what is called the creek. There is however
no creek there. What is described as the mouth of the creek,
is where the river flows into a channel cut around Moon's
island, and the distance to that ix)int on the main river Delaware,
following its devious turnings, a little east of north is 3,240 feet.
A lane passed the west end of the jail from the Manor road
to the creek, and under a shed at the rear of the jail was the
well, with a trough in the lane for watering animals ; a lane 8
feet wide also extended in front of the place to the T)arn, which
stood where the old barn and shed nearest the river now
stand. An entrance also extended from the barn tO' the Manor
road, corresponding to the one now there. The fields about the
Manor road were covered with a heavy growth of forest. The
lanes were enclosed with post and board fences. The ad-
journing of court to a more clement location, as I have shown,
took place in cold weather. Log-houses even when clap-boarded
were not very warm on a windy day. Two Hollanders, Jaspen
Danker and Peter Sluyter, visiting the Delaware in the fall of
1679, stayed all night with Mahlon Stacy, a well to do settler
near the Assanpink creek where Trenton now is. Stacy built
the first grist-mill on that creek, and was considered well off for
those days, but his palatial mansion was not very pretentious.
These Hollanders stated that the English houses along the river
were mostly built of clap-boards nailed outside of a frame, but
usually so far apart that they could stick their fingers through
them, and at Mr. Stacy's although they were too tired to eat,
they had to stand up all night, because there was not room
enough to lie down, and the house was so poorly made that
unless close enough to the fire to burn they could not keep
warm.
The earliest ferry was at the foot of Green street, in Morris-
MORRISVII.LE; AND ITS VICINITY 249
ville, which was later the stage road from Philadelphia to New
Yori< by way of Bristol. The ferry-man's house was the stone
building of one story and an attic, immediately in the rear of
what has been called the grove-house, and which served in later
years as a kitchen for that house. About the time of day that
stage-coaches were due to arrive, a boy by means of a lad-
der climbed to the top of a large tree on the rise of ground
above the ferry-house, and as soon as he saw the stage dust ris-
ing down the pike, he shouted to the men below who arranged
the scow so that the stage would not be delayed in getting over.
This ferry was designated on a map, or a copy of a map, drawn
by one of the Hessian engineers, which I saw not long ago
(August, 1902), in the Congressional library at Washington, as
the "Blazing Star ferry," generally known as "Pat Colvin's fer-
ry." Colvin had a ferry-house on each side of the river, the
one on the New Jersey side was two stories high and built of
stone. It is gone now ; I looked for it a few weeks ago and
founil only the Pennsylvania Railroad's new abutment of their
cut-off bridge over Fair street. I asked a friend whom I met
concerning its whereabouts, showing him a sketch taken from
Gen. Stryker's history, and he said "there it was," pointing to
a vacant corner. On the Morrisville side a portion only of the
cellar wall, 12x14 feet, of the ferry-house is still in view. The
same cut-off having knocked out both of Pat's ferry houses
at one swoop. Colvin's city mansion was located at the corner
of Fair and Ferry streets in Trenton.
The brick grove-house, as it was called, was pulled down some
time ago, the railroad company having taken every vestige of its
foundation grounds for an embankment for their railroad. It was
a fine building; was of brick two stories high on the south end.
and three stories high on the end toward the river, with a pillared
porch extending the whole front and river end ; it was fitted
up inside in good style with high ceilings, fine mouldings and
ornamental fireplaces. It had a ball-room and a bar ; was used
'for some time as a sort of club-house by parties from New York
and Philadelphia, who arrived in boats ; at times quite a fleet
would be gathered in the river for days at a time. Music and
dancing went on with all the usual accompaniments of a good
time, not even excepting the gout, but its glory has departed.
250 MORRISVILLE AND ITS VICINITY
The Hessian engineer who discovered Blazing Star ferry also
found a Joseph Kirkbride ferry opposite Bordentown. It has
been usually called "Charleys Ferry." There was also a ferry
at Calhoun street, Trenton at the time Washington punched
up the Hessians, which at that time was operated by Beatty, after-
wards by Joseph Kirkbride. A line of stages was run over this
ferry from Philadelphia in opposition to the one by way of Bristol
and which made better time ; it came by way of Frankford,
Bustleton, Hulmeville, Fallsington to Kirkbride's ferry and so on
through Trenton. The old stage tavern in Fallsington is still
standing among the trees just over the bridge farthest west over
the cut-off railroad ; an old barn, wagon house and corn crib, or
something like one, keep it company.
The Robert Morris mansion was in "the grove" (as it was,
and is yet called) but no trace of it remains except the old well
(about 2^ feet m diameter) and the depressions of what were
once the cellar and ice-house, which are now filled and strewn
with the debris of the neighborhood. I can find no description
of the building except that it was a brick structure, and can only
judge of the size of the house from my recollection of the cellar
as it was when I first saw it in 1866, and from its present ap-
pearance. By the best measurements that I can make now, it
was 60 feet each way in the form of a Greek cross, making a
centre of 20x20 feet and each arm of the cross 20x20 feet, out-
side measurement. How it was constructed inside there is no
means of knowing. The stone walls of the cellar were 6till
there when I first saw the place, and for several years after,
and the ice-house also was still in use for some years. The
ice-hcuse was about 20 feet in the rear of the mansion on the
brow of the hill, it was about 15 ft. in diameter, about 20 ft.
deep, walled with stone, and covered with a peaked low roof
coming within 3 feet of the ground on the up-hill "side, and
there was an opening on the north side and on the slope toward
the river that could be boarded up, affording easy access to the
ice. The well was just across the driveway in front of the house
and distant therefrom about 45 feet, and about 576 ft. from the
present (1903) railroad line. The well was used freely in the
picnic days of the grove.
MORRISVILLE AND ITS VICINITY 2^1
The brick ^tables were two stories high 123 feet long by 25
feet wide. 36 feet at each end of the building were divided
into stalls for animals, facing toward the east, making 72 feet for
the stables; the other 51 feet in the centre were divided into car-
riage rooms with arched double door entrances each side so that
carnages could run directly through to the east side where there
was a well about 50 feet from the centre of the building.
There were rooms over the carriage part for the stable-keeper's
family. There was also a harness-room on the first floor with a
cellar underneath. The stalls at the south end of the building
were removed by former occupants. The building was used as
a shop when the Pennsylvania railroad was being built from Mor-
risville to Bristol, afterward during the war, or probably earHer
it was used as an oil-cloth factory, and later as a pottery and
dish factory. When the building was transferred into a rubber
factory I assisted John Kinney a carpenter of Morrisville in mak-
ing the alterations. The dome, cupola, weather-vane, etc., remain
the same as formerly except the dome which has been re-tinned.
I think it had previously been covered with thin sheets painted
red. The roof was originally of shingles and was very much
out of repair until we (the Morrisville Manufacturing Rubber
Co.) covered it with slate. John Kinney, the carpenter, told me
that when a boy he used to be employed to watch from the
cupola to see when the car drawn by horses was coming from
Bristol, and when it appeared in the distance he rang a bell
(placed in the cupola) to notify the good people of Morrisville
and Trenton that the car was coming. The road was afterward
extended to Tacony and a locomotive used instead of horses and
the railroad was extended over the river into Trenton.
Either John Kinney or Phineas Jenkins, told me that about
the same time Prof. Morse had completed a telegraph line through
from. Washington to New York; that a controversy arose as to
the advantages of the telegraph for lengthy messages. A Presi-
dent's message was about to be presented to Congress, and it
was arranged that it should be 6ent by wire to New York, and
at the same time a special messenger was to take a copy to New
York where it was to be printed for the public before it could
be transmitted by wire!
252 MORRISVILLE AND ITS VICINITY
The man carrying the message in his hand-bag boarded a car,
attached to a locomotive ; the track was cleared and he started for
New York. A few days ago I was relating this occurrence to
Andrew Crozier who informed me that he was present at the
time and related sub-stantially what I had heard before, as fol-
lows : —
"The general public were all out in expectation. The time for the
passing at Morrisville had long gone by, when with a rush and a roar the
car passed over the Delaware river bridge at Morrisville. The curve in the
track at that point was formerly much shorter than it now is. On the
left side of the bend is still to be seen a row of houses. The table was
set for supper and the people were there either eating or waiting to see
the cars pass. The locomotive struck the curve, and with the speed "it
was carrying climbed over the track, and made straight for the build-
ing (taking the car along) which turned over outside while the locomo-
tive plunged into the house and into the cellar. As it entered the front
of the house the occupants inside went out the back door. One man was
injured in the overturn, but the express-man with his grip, gathered him-
self together, ran across the bridge without waiting to see what had
happened : got a hack to the other depot and was soon on his way to New
York."
I am sorry to relate that I do not know whether the express
or the telegraph beat.
The groimds around the mansion and the driveway through the
grove were ornamented with elaborately carved stones which set
on end, bore carved statuary on top, each stone with a hole
drilled in the centre of the top for fastening the ornament on.
Each stone was five feet high without the ornament on top.
For long time three of these -stones were to be seen lying
around ; one of them has been preserved by E. Wright of Mor-
risville. The others are out of sight. Squire Wright says that
they extended all along the drive-way at intervals. The main
entrance to the grounds was at Green street, then the post-road.
Double gates attached to huge posts, formed the enclosure, the
gates were some twelve feet or a little more inside of the fstreet
line forming a bowed entrance.
History relates that Robert Morris lost his great possessions,
was imprisoned for debt and his property sold. The Robert
Morris mansion then came eventually into the hands of Gen.
Jean AHctor Moreau. who exiled from France a-s one of Bona-
MORRISVILLE AND ITS VICINITY 253
parte's generals landed at Philadelphia September 24, 1805, with
his wife and two children. It is said Bonaparte pointed out
on a map the location of Morrisville and remarked to Gen. Mo-
reau: "That would be a desirable place in which to live." How-
ever this may be, IMoreau was favorably impressed with the loca-
tion when he arrived. He at first took up his residence at the
seat of a Mr. LeGuen, who lived in the vicinity. I have not been
able however to find the location of Mr. LeGuen's residence.
March 11, 1807, Moreau purchased three lots of land from
Paul Sieman, J. B. Sartori and J. Hutchinson, including mills,
etc. He lived in the mansion until Christmas morning, 1811.
Sometime in 1872 or 'j}, I was professionally attending Mrs.
Henrietta Smith nee Happette an elderly lady residing then at
the house of Mrs. Martindale in Morrisville. She told me that
when very young she was in a French convent, that a cousin
whose home was near Pittsburg, Pa., returned to France and
brought her away with him. On their way to America their
vessel (French) was attacked by a British vessel, captured and
the entire cargo including the property of the passengers was
confiscated, and the people put ashore at Jamaica and turned
loose. After two or three months they found passage to Bor-
dentown. From there they went to Brifstol where her cousin
left her and went back to Pittsburg. She took service with
Victor Moreau, and was placed in charge of his house, on
Christmas eve of 181 1, the servants being mostly absent on fes-
tivity bent, Gen. Moreau (having a valuable lot of choice flowers
in his conservatory and the weather being extremely cold), de-
cided to stay up to keep the fire in the wood furnace going, think-
ing that everything would be safe until morning; he retired at 2
or 3 o'clock. Some time later those in the house were ? roused
by the smell of smoke and the cracking of fire, and found the
stairway under the conservatory a mass of flames. No efiicient
help being near, the whole building with its contents was de-
stroyed, plants, furniture, valuable library, and all, a very small
portion of the furniture only being carried out and saved. A few
weeks ago I related this circumstance above stated to Henry
Buchanan, in charge of the State House library at Trenton, who
to my surprise, on looking over the files of newspapers published
254 MORRISVILLE AND ITS VICINITY
at that time found in the Federahst of December 30, 181 1, the
following in reference to the burning of the mansion of Moreau
in Alorrisville : —
"On Christmas morning the house of Gen. Jean Victor Moreau caught
fire from the heater. The servants being mostly away the fire soon gained
headway. Two fire engines from this city went over but from lack of
water and assistance could do but little. Some of the furniture and a
few other things were saved. But his fine library and most of the con-
tents were destroyed along with the house. Loss estimated at $10,000."
A few days ago I received a letter from Mahlon Carver of Car-
versville Bucks county ; a portion of which is of interest in
connection with this paper as follows
"I see by the papers that our Historical Society, of which I claim to
be the oldest member, is to hold its meeting at Morrisville. As I have
a large business to claim my attention, besides the infirmities of age,
will prevent me from attending. Thinking I could furnish some items of
interest as my great uncle kept the 'Robert Morris,' and John Carver,
of Byberry, visited his uncle, Mahlon Carver, often when the French
Gen. Moreau lived in Morrisville and used to tell us in the long winter
evenings of the pleasures he received in the acquaintance of that very
talented polite gentleman. He (Moreau) said on his banishment Pitchegre,
Dumauries, and the captain of the French cruiser had private instruction
to take his life before he reached America, but they were too honorable
to do such a deed. The captain warned him of his peril and he never
returned to France until Bonaparte was sent to St. Helena. Moreau was
a Republican. His regiments that served under him were much attached
to him and could not be trusted. Moreau said openly. LeClere was sent
(although a brother-in-law to Bonaparte) in a vain expedition to Hayti
or San Domingo to reconquer it and his troops and himself were
left to perish ; they grew sickly in that pestilential climate. The splendid
fleet returned to France and the blacks killed the fever-stricken brave
French soldiers. Moreau put up a fine set of stables and kept a fine
stable of horses. In person he was medium size, but walked stoop shoul-
dered. After he had been a few years in Morrisville his house was burnt
by incendiaries. Two young French officers came to Trenton from New
York, stayed the day in Trenton, but strolled along the river, passed over
to Morrisville and took a view of Moreau's property. At night they
left Trenton, and were seen to pass through Morrisville for Philadel-
phia. The writer's father saw them at the Red Lion Hotel. He said
they drove a fine horse and rode in a gig (a two-wheeled vehicle then the
prevalent conveyance). He said they were smart and intelligent, but re-
served. They wore the French blue uniform and were armed with swords
and pistols, the guards and hilts were of solid silver. In speaking to
Moreau after the destruction of his home, Moreau said that they were
MORRISVILLE AND ITS VICINITY 255
no doubt sent to destroy his life and property. Moreau entered the ser-
vice of the allies afterward and was killed near Dresden."
The history of the Jonathan Kirkbride house in Lower Make-
field township, now the office of the WilHam H. Moon Co. (Nur-
serymen) is of interest. The building is of stone one story high,
with a high pitched roof, windows at each end of the attic, a door
on the south side also an outside cellar-door and window, also a
window on each of the other three sides, a small cellar-window at
each end, a brick chimney on the east corner, and a corner fire
place on the inside. The "size of the building is i7/4 feet by 20^
feet on the outside. I am indebted to Mr. William H. Ivioon for
the following interesting account of this building taken from the
Kirkbride family history published some years since by Mahloti
Kirkbride, then residing on the premises :
"The house was at one time daily surrounded by armed men from the
camp on his farm, and when he saw his children amusing themselves by
throwing his apples from his garret windows among their war-worn
visitors, he enjoyed equally with his children seeing the guests scramble
for the much coveted fruit. The army passed away leaving all of his
property undisturbed. Jonathan Kirkbride was a minister in the Society
of Friends. At one time during the Revolutionary War, when he had
been away from home he was stopped by armed men in his own lane
(soldiers on guard) and was only allowed, after proving his identity, to
enter his house, where he was welcomed by Washington himself, with
whom he was personally acquainted. It is more than likely that Wash-
ington's letters and dispatches spoken of by Gen. Stryker in his history
of the battles of Trenton and Princeton, as dated for four days from
above Trenton falls, December 20, 21, 22 and 23d, were sent out from
Jonathan Kirkbride's house (especially as Kirkbride had apples). If they
had been sent out from headquarters at the Keith mansion as Gen.
Stryker supposes, he would never have dated them from camp above Tren-
ton falls. These dispatches might have been sent direct from head-
quarters at the camp, for the camp winter barracks extended from the
mouth of Potatoe creek, (later called Sinton's creek from Sinton, who
owned the property at one time,) and the line of the now borough of
Morrisville, which was some distance above the overflow of the canal
to the river just opposite to the falls."
Andrew Crozier says that these barracks were built of brick
and were made up of houses about 20 feet back and 20 feet front,
placed close end to end, each having a door and two windows
toward the river. They were probably as comfortable as most
hoiKes were at that time. At these barracks were several cases
256 MORRISVILLE AND ITS VICINITY
of smallpox and one or more of the soldiers died from it and were
buried on the hill some distance back of the barracks. The mouth
of Potatoe creek formed the boundary line of the northern por-
tion of the John Wood plot and the division line between him
and John Luffe or Luffs. This land came at an early day
through Robert Morris et. al. into Jonathan Kirkbride's hands,
who, in 181 1, built the house where I now live. His son, John
Kirkbride, operated the mill near the ferry at the mouth of the
creek, and his son, Joseph Kirkbride, operated the tannery a
little above on the same creek. At the time of the silk-worm
(morns multicaulis) craze, the buildings of the tannery were
used as a factory for unwinding cocoons, the product of the silk-
worm.* Jonathan Kirkbride transferred the house to his son Jos-
eph ; from him it went to John Miller, Miller to George Clymer,
Clymer to Farrand, Farrand to Dana. The deeds in my possession
cover the transfers of the property from. William Penn to the
present owner.
The gray stones which mark the purchase of lands from the
Indians, known as the "Markham Walk," which took place about
three months before William Penn arrived, are at the point of
Edge Hill, a short distance below Potatoe creek, and a short
distance above the upper bridge, which crosses the river be-
tween Morrisville and Trenton.
In conclusion. I desire to mention the old Morris sign that
formerly hung at the Robert Morris hotel near the lower bridge.
Many citizens remember having seen the sign, but no one ap-
pears to recollect just how it looked, or the inscriptions which it
contained. I have, therefore, thought that the following, taken
from the "Business Directory and Gazetteer of Bucks County,"
published in 1871 by S. Hersey would be of interest.
"The old sign which swings backwards and forwards in front of the
hotel kept by John Cartile, is commemorative of Robert Morris. It
was painted by Edward Hicks, a Bucks county Quaker. The old sign
has been swinging to and fro for half a century, without a touch from
vandal hands. On the one side Morris is represented as standing talking
to a friend, and telling him of the distressed state of Washington's army,
and of the immediate necessity of $10,000. IMorris says to his friend,
'You must let me have the money ; my note and my honor will be your
* See paper in this volume on Silk Culture in Bucks County, by John A. Anderson.
MORRISVIIvLE AND ITS VICINITY 257
only security !' The friend replied, 'Robert, thou shalt have it !' On
the reverse side of the sign is the following : 'Robert Morris, a dis-
tinguished member of the illustrious Congress of 1776, for whose finan-
cial labors, next to Washington, America is indebted for turning the
tide of success in favor of the Revolution, in taking the Hessians at
Trenton, on Christmas morning, 1776* reviving the despairing cause of
liberty and independence."
The sign was long since taken down, and its whereabouts
at present cannot be ascertained.
After the long and strenuous efforts which Morris, the noble
patriot, had made on behalf of his country, pledging as he did,
his personal fortune to the cause, it seems at this distant day
rather ungrateful on the part of his country that he was allowed
to go to prison for debt, even if the indebtedness was not part of
the obligations incurred in behalf of his country. On February 5,
1798, he writes in great sadness. "My money is gone; my fur-
niture is to be sold, and my family to starve, and I am to go to
prison ; good night."
* The Hessians were taken the morning of December 26, not on Christmas morning.
Five Bucks County Generals.
BY GEN. W. W. H. DAVIS, DOYLESTOWN-, PA.
(Morrisville Meeting, May 26, 1903.)
The five heroes whom I make the subject of this paper Dan-
iel Morgan, Andrew Pickens, Zebulon M. Pike, Jacob Brown,
and Ward B. Burnett, played prominent parts in their day in
the drama of war, but to the general reader of to-day they
may be almost forgotten.
GENERAL DANIEL MORGAN.
Durham township, Bucks
county, rightfully claims,
as her own, General Daniel
Morgan, the son of James
and Sarah, who was born
near the Durham furnace
in 1736. He was the grand-
son of John Morgan who
settled in Durham in 1727.
This is the view taken by
Charles Laubach who now
lives on a portion of the
tract whereon Daniel Mor-
gan is said to have been
born. There is however
some dispute as to the an-
cestry of Daniel Morgan,
Warren S. Ely, also good
authority, claiming that
James Morgan, of Dur-
ham, an ironmaster, was the son of Thomas and Jennet Morgan,
of Providence township. Philadelphia, now Montgomery county,
and therefore not the father of Daniel Morgan. But whatever
be the difference of opinion as to the ancestry of Daniel Morgan,
there should be none as to his birthplace which was in the vi-
cinity of the Durham furnace. After the death of Daniel Mor-
GENERAL DANIEL MORGAN.
FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS 259.
gan's father, his home in Durham was occupied by Jonathan
Dillon, whose son, John, died August i, 1890, at the age of
91 years. Another witness may be called as to the birthplace
of Daniel Morgan, B. F. Fackenthal, Jr., of Riegelsville, who
says: "From what my father and grandfather told me, I think
General Morgan was born on plat No. i of the Durham survey
in 1773. (see Deed-of-partition with map, Recorders office at
Doylestown, Book No. i6, Page 192). The place pointed out is
on tract No. i about 30 yards south of the boundary line between
Nos. I and 30. No. i is on the north side of Durham creek, ni
the western angle formed by the small Laubach run where it
empties into the Durham creek."* The Morgans were Welsh
Baptists, who settled in Chester county, Pa., about 1700, possibly
earlier, whence John Morgan removed to Richland township,
Bucks county, and thence to Durham, where he died in 1743-
* Mr. t,aubach may have fallen into an error in stating that James Morgan described
in the title deeds of Durham iron-works as "Ironmaster", was the father of Gen. Daniel
Morgan; but that would not be sufficient to materially weaken the claim that Durham
was the birthplace of Daniel.
James Graham, his biographer, inclines to the belief that his birthplace was in Hun-
terdon county. New Jersey (in the winter of 1736). The claim on behalf of New Jersey
states that his father was a Welsh iron-worker, and was connected with the
forges along the Musconetcong creek, which empties into the Delaware river at Riegels-
ville, N. J. The forges in New Jersey referred to were situated but 3 or 4 miles distant
from the Durham furnace, and there is no contention that he was born elsewhere than
at either one of these two places, and that both were associated with the manufacture of
iron at Durham.
The evidence presented leads me to believe that he was born in Durham. At the time
of his birth, in 1736, there were a blast-furnace and three forges on the Durham property.
The blast-furnace manufactured pig-iron, part of which was converted into castings, and
the balance, by refining, converted into wrought-iron at the forges, all operations were
run by water-power derived from the Durham creek ; I can find no evidence that the
Greeriwich and Chelsea forges in New Jersey on the Musconetcong creek were estab-
lished as early as 1736, and moreover there were not then and are not now any iron-ore
mines in that vicinity. The forges were doubtless constructed to use Durham pig-iron,
and their management was doubtless closely connected with the Pennsylvania operation,
at any rate the records at Durham show that these New Jersey forges were controlled
from 1778 to ISoo by the same people who owned the Durham works.
My principal reason however for believing that Gen. Morgan was born in Durham con-
sists of written memorandums prepared by my father (B. F. Fackenthal, Esq., born 1S25,
died 1S93) which record in detail statements made to him lay his grandfather (Michael Fack-
enthal, Sr., born 1756, died 1S46) who stated that he was well acquainted with Daniel Mor-
gan, and was told by him that he was born at Durham His grandfather also told him that
he was a personal friend of Col. Thomas J. Rogers, who had been recorder of North-
ampton county, also a member of Congress for four terms, from 1.S17 to 1S25, inclusive,
that he often spoke of Col. Rogers, and among other things had called his attention to a
mistake in the first edition of his Biographical Dictionary ("A New American Biograph-
ical Dictionary of the Departed Heroes, Sages and Statesmen of America ") pviblished in
1813, in .stating that Gen. Morgan was born in New Jersev ; whereupon Col. Rogers said
he would correct the error in a subsequent edition of his 'book. He published a second
or supplementary edition in 1823, which makes no reference to Gen. Morgan, but in his
third edition published in 1824, page 351, the error is corrected and the statement made
by Col. Rogers, that Durham was the Isirthplace of Gen. Morgan. This correction was
made by reque.st of Michael Fackenthal, vSr., my great-grandfather, who was well ac-
quainted with Gen. Morgan, and who had told him that he was born in Durham.
The evidence produced on the mind of Col. Rogers was evidently of sufficient weight
to induce him to correct the error into which he had fallen in the first edition of his
Biographical Dictionary.
My father, B. F. Fackenthal, F;sq., was an attorney-at-law, practicing principally in
the courts of Northampton county, and I am sure that'his associates who may be living
will endorse my statement in saying that his memory in matters of this kind' was exact
and correct. B. F. Fackenthal, Jr., 1909.
260 FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS
Daniel Morgan began working- early at the Durham furnace,
but, becoming tired of his employment, went across the Delaware
into New Jersey and worked some time at the Chelsea forge.
This pleasing him no better, within a year, at the age of 17, he
followed his brother, John, to the Shenandoah valley, \^a., and
hired out to a farmer. Soon tirmg of this life, in 1755 we find
him driving a baggage wagon in General Braddock's disastrous
expedition to Fort DuQuesne, now Pittsburg, which fitted him
to some extent, for the military career he entered upon later.
When the war for independence broke out in 1775, Daniel
Morgan was living a quiet country life in the valley of Virginia,
but on receipt of the news of the fighting at Lexington, Con-
cord and Bunker Hill, he did not hesitate on which side to array
himself. He immediately relinquished the pursuit of peace and
organized a regiment of Virginia riflemen, unrivaled at that
day as marksmen, and marched for Boston, where he arrived
while Washington and his army were besieging the British.
Morgan and his riflemen served to the end of the war, much of
the time with the main army under the Commander-in-chief. No
corps rendered more valuable service. While the Continental
army lay on the Neshaminy, near Hartsville, this county, in
August, 1777, waiting developments of Lord Howe's plans,
whose fleet had sailed south from New York, Morgan's riflemen
were dispatched to Saratoga, to reinforce General Gates, and
are given the credit of turning the tide of battle on that hotly
contested field. Throughout the war he bore the same distin-
guished part, and was excelled by none in the "times that tried
men's souls."
In a recent turning over of the leaves of "Lossing's Field
Book of the Revolution," to refresh my memory of Morgan's
distinguished career, the author, in speaking of the assembling
of the American army at Cambridge, while the British held Bos-
ton, fsays :
"Some riflemen from Maryland, Virginia and western Pennsylvania,
enlisted under Congress, and led by Daniel Morgan, a man of powerful
frame and sterling courage, soon joined camp. Upon their breast they
wore the motto, 'Liberty or death.' These men attracted much atten-
tion, and, on account of their sure and deadly aim they became a terror
to the British. Wonderful stories of their exploits were sent to England,
FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS 26 1
and one of the riflemen, carried there a prisoner, was gazed at as a
great curiosity."
Lossing's Field Book, in enumerating the important services
of General Morgan, mentions the following:
"He was with Arnold in his Canada Expedition, 1775, and made prisoner
at Quebec; was at the battle of Beniis Heights, Stillwater, Saratoga,
Brandywine, Whitemarch and Monmouth ; under Green in North Caro-
lina, and fo.r his conduct at the battle of Cowpens, Congress voted him a
gold medal and appointed him a Brigadier General."
General Morgan was also at Yorktown, in one sense the Ome-
ga of the Revolution, and there played a conspicuous part. He
was for some time under General Lafayette, prior to the arrival
of the allied French and American armies, and on one occasion
it benig necessary to obtain reliable information from within
the British lines Morgan was sent as a spy to Cornwallis' camps,
remaming there several days as a deserter. On his return, he
refused to receive other reward than a gun which he highly
prized. At the close of the Revolution, General Morgan retired
to his farm, serving one session in Congress, and dying at
Winchester, Va., July 6, 1802, in the 67th year of his age.
The "Virginia Riflemen," a Misnomer.
(Communication from John A. Ruth, Bethlehem, Pa., July 11, 1903.)
General W. W. H. Davis' interesting paper ha-s suggested this
contribution which is written with the intention of correcting
some very generally accepted, but misleading statements relat-
ing to Gen. Daniel Morgan's celebrated "Virginia Riflemen."
At the opening of the Revolutionary War, Daniel Morgan,
then a resident of Virginia, recruited a company of riflemen,
and with his command joined Gen. Washington before Boston.
The march from Virginia northward was made by way of Beth-
lehem, Pa., where the command stopped on July 24 and 25,
1775. After joining Washington's army they were selected to
accompany Gen. Arnold on his ill-fated expedition against Que-
bec.
A most interesting account of this expedition may be found
in the diary of Judge John Joseph Henry, published at Lancas-
ter, Pa., 1812, and reprinted m Penna. Archives, Series H, Vol.
15. Judge Henry says:
262 FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS
"Col. Benedict Arnold was appointed the commander-in-chief of the
whole division. The detachment consisted of eleven hundred men. Enos
was second. Of this I know nothing but from report. Riflemen com-
posed a part of the detachment. These companies, from 65 to 75 strong,
were from the southward ; that is, Capt. Daniel Morgan's company from
Virginia; that of Captain William Hendricks from Cumberland county,
Pa., and Capt. Matthew Smith's company of the county of Lancaster in
the latter province. The residue and bulk of this corps consisted of troops
from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut."
Judge Henry's description of Arnold and Morgan are es-
pecially interesting. Of the former he says:
"Our commander, Arnold, was of a remarkable character. He was
brave, even to temerity, was beloved by the soldiery, perhaps for that
quality only ; he possessed great powers of persuasion, was complaisant,
but withal sordidly avaricious. Arnold was a short, handsome man, of
a florid complexion, stoutly made and forty years old at least."
Contrasting the two officers, Henry says :
"On the other hand ]\Iorgan was a large, strong bodied personage,
whose appearance gave the idea history has left us of Belisarius. His
manners were of the severer cast, but where he became attached he was
kind and truly afifectionate. This is said from experience of the most
sensitive and pleasing nature ; activity, spirit and courage in a soldier
procured his good will and esteem."
The expedition against Quebec was a failure, and ]\Iorgan
and his command were captured by the enemy. Further refer-
ence to Judge Henry's diary discloses the fact that Morgan and
his fellow prisoners returned from their captivity September 11,
1776, landing at Elizabethpoint, N. J. (Penna. Arch., Series H,
Vol. 15. pp. 186-89.) This was Gen. Morgan's first revolutionary
campaign, but the company he led to Quebec was not the celebrated
"Rifle Corps," so famous in Revolutionary history.
The credit for organizing Morgan's riflemen belongs to Gen.
Washington, who saw the need of such a corps, when Burgoyne's
army with its Indian allies approached through the wilderness
of northern New York. In a letter to Gen. Gates, dated August
20, 1777, Washington writes:
"From an apprehension of the Indian mode of fighting I have despatch-
ed Colonel Morgan with his corps of riflemen to your assistance, and
presume they will be with you in eight days from this date. This corps I
have great dependence on, and have no doubt but they will be exceed-
ingly useful as a check given to the savages, and keeping them within prop-
FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS 263
er bounds, will prevent General Burgoyne from getting intelligence as for-
merly, and animate your other troops from a sense of their being more
on an equality with the enemy."
The results achieved at Saratoga show that Washington's
judgment was not at fault. Morgan's riflemen did the work that
had been assigned to them, and did it well. It has been the
almost universal custom of historians to refer to Morgan's corps
as the "Virginia Riflemen." This has left a popular impression
that the organization was made up entirely of troops from that
State. A careful study of Penna. Archives, Series II, Vol. 10,
p. 318, presents this matter in a somewhat different light. It
appears that in the formation of this corps Gen. Washington se-
lected the best material his army could supply. Many of the
men were experienced Indian fighters, who had in former years
defended the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia,
again'st savage invasion. The appointment of Gen. Morgan to
this command is further evidence of Washington's military wis-
dom. The corps was made up as follows : Colonel, Daniel Mor-
gan, of Virginia; Lieutenant Colonel, Richard Butler, of the
Ninth Penna. Line ; Major, Joseph Morris, of New Jersey. The
eight companies which made up the command were as follows :
1. Capt. Samuel J. Cabell, afterwards promoted to lieut. colonel;
2. Capt. Pusey, promoted to brigadier general in 1792, and
later Governor of Indiana ; 3. Capt. Knox ; 4. Capt. Gabriel
Long, of Maryland ; 5. Capt. VanSwearingen, of the Eighth
Penna. Line ; G. Capt. James Parr, of the First Penna. ; 7. Capt.
Hawkins Boone, of the Twelfth Penna. ; 8. Capt. Matthew Hen-
depson, of the Ninth Penna. Of the total number of officers
and men, 163 were from Virginia, 65 from Maryland and 193
from Pennsylvania. It is evident that Pennsylvania supplied more
men than Virginia, and that the historic title "Virginia Riflemen"
is somewhat misleading.
GENERAIv ANDREW PICKENS.
The second of Bucks county's distinguished generals was
Andrew Pickens, of South Carolina. The family were French
Huguenots, who left France soon after the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes ; went to Scotland, then to the north of Ireland,
and finally settled in Bucks county, Pa., probably in the neigh-
264 FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS
borhood of Deep Run meeting-honse. The exact dates of these
removals are unknown, but supposed to have taken place in the
early part of the eighteenth century, not later than about 1730.
General Andrew Pickens is known to have been born in Bucks
county, September 13, 1739. How long the family remained
here is not known, but they subsequently removed to Augusta
county, Va., and then to the Waxhaw settlement, South Carolina,
prior to the Revolution, and numerous descendants are still
living in that State.
The Pickens family had not been long in South Carolina,
before the French and Indian War broke out, which the son.
Andrew, entered as a volunteer and soon developed the qualities
that, in after life, made him famous. After the war, the family
again changed their residence, going to what was then known as
the "Long Cane Settlement" and settled down to a pioneer's life.
Andrew Pickens was one of the first to protest against Great
Britain taxing her Colonies without their consent and, when the
clash of arms came, he entered the military service. He was
a ]:)atriot in principal and practice, and one of the most active :
the peer and companion of ]\Iarion, Sumter and Morgan.
During the long struggle for independence, Andrew Pickens
participated in some of the severest engagements in the South,
with the British and their Indian allies. In heroic bravery he
was excelled by none. Among the battles he took part in were
the Cowpens, the capture of Augusta, and the Eutaw Springs.
At the close of the Revolution, General Pickens was elected or
appointed to several important civil offices, including that of com •
missioner to make treaties with the Indian tribes, member of the
Constitutional convention ; was in the Legislature for several
terms, and in 1794 was elected to Congress, but declined re-
election. He enjoyed the confidence of Washington, and, during
his administration, was consulted as to the policy to be adopted
for civilizing the Indians and declined an election as governor.
General Pickens died October 11, 181 7, at the age of ^6.
Much of the information, touching the life of General Pickens,
is derived from Southern sources. A few years ago, the York-
ville, S. C, Enquirer printed a lengthy sketch of General Pick-
ens and hi^s career, which was afterward published in the Doyles-
FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS 265
town Democrat. To the latter Mr. MacReynolds, its local editor,
added additional information. While the name of Pickens is
not to be found on our county records, it does not prove that
the family were not residents of Bucks, for many of the early set-
tlers removed from the county without leaving a trace behind to
show they had ever lived in it.
GENERAL ZEBULON M. PIKE.
The third of our generals in the order of time and service, is
General Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who fell at York, Canada,
in 1 81 3 in the last war with Great Britain. The Pike family was
settled at the town of Woodbury, Middlesex county, New Jersey,
in 1699, where the name of Captain John Pike appears on
the original patent, and was a member of the Governor's Coun-
cil. General Pike was possibly born at Trenton, N. J., where
his father, Zebulon Pike, was living at the outbreak of the Revo-
lutionary War, and, about that time, he moved with his family
across into Bucks cqunty. He was living in this county in 1777, for
the 28th of June, of that year, he took the oath of allegiance
before Joseph Hart, Esq., of Warminster township. From that
time forward, for several years this county was the home of the
Pike family, which lived in a frame building at Lumberton, in
Solebury township. It was called the "Old Red House" prior
to 1784, and was torn down 1835. The records, of the Adju-
tant General's office, Washington, a transcript of which was
furnished me by Assistant Adjutant General Hall, show that
the father of General Pike served as captain in the Revolutionary
War. and subsequently in the U. S. army from 1791 to June 15,
181 5. when he was honorably discharged by reason of the corps
to which he belonged having disbanded. He reached the rank
of lieutenant colonel by brevet, and died near Laurenceburg,
Dearborn county, Ohio. July 27, 1834. at the age of 83. His
army life necessarily carried him away from Bucks county, and
we find him living near Cincinnati. Ohio, 1818.
While we know but little of the early life of General Zebulon
Montgomery Pike, not even his place of birth to a certainty, inas-
much as his father took the oath 'of allegiance here in 1777.
there seems hardly a reasonable doubt of the son having been
born in Bucks county, January 5. 1779, the alleged date of his
266 FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS
birth. Thi-s county was undoubtedly his residence until the age of
twelve or thirteen, and he attended school in the old stone school-
house at the present village of Centre Hill. A number of
traditions, much to General Pike's credit, while a boy, have been
handed down from that generation to the present. He was a
close student, fond of athletics and well liked by his school-
mates. While going to school in Solebury he heard the storv
of the Revolution rehearsed, and this, with the fact that his
father was an officer, may have induced young Pike to embrace
military life. It is said that the son, when quite young, en-
tered his father's company as a cadet when stationed on the west-
ern frontier.
The War Department records give the following as the ap-
pointments and promotions of General Pike, from his entry into
the service to his death : second lieutenant, 26. Infantry, March 3,
1799; first lieutenant, November i, 1799; transferred to ist In-
fantry, April I, 1802; promoted to captain, August 12, 1806 to
major, 6th Infantry, May 3, 1808, and to lieutenant-colonel,
4th Infantry, December 31, 1809 — rapid promotion for a young
officer. In the meantime he had performed important detached
service while a lieutenant.
As soon as the Lewis and Clark's expedition was fairly under
way, and was planned to explore the Mississippi to its source
on the recommendation of General Wilkinson, Lieutenant Pike
joined the expedition. He left St. Louis August 9, 1805, with
20 men of his own company and provisions and stores in a boat
which he was soon obliged to abandon. The expedition was a
trying one and dangerous, occupying 9 months instead of four,
the tmie thought necessary when it eet out. Two months after
Pike's return from the Mississippi exploration, the authorities,
meanwhile discovering what manner of man the young lieuten-
ant of 26 was, detailed him to make a second expedition, by
penetrating a region almost entirely unknown, and more dan-
gerous than the one he had just returned from. This time he
was to visit the interior of the vast territory, then known as
''Louisiana," recently purchased from France, in order to obtain
such accurate geographical information concerning it, as would
enable our government to settle the boundary line between this
FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENe;rALS 267
newly acquired territory and the Spanish provinces of North-
ern Mexico.
Pike set our on this expedition, July 15, 1806, accompanied
by Lieutenant Wilkinson, U. S. A., Dr. John H. Rolinson, a
volunteer for the occasion, 20 private soldiers and non-commis-
sioned officers, and an interpreter. He had also with him a large
party of Osage and Pawnee Indians which our government had re-
deemed from captivity among the Pottawatamies. Pike and his
party ascended the Missouri river to the Osage river, then fol-
lowed the course of that stream- to the foot-hills of the Rocky
mountains where he discovered what is known as "Pike's Peak,"
in Colorado, which was named after him. In that region he fell
in with a party of Spanish troops sent out to capture him, and
he and his companions were made prisoners. They were taken
to Santa Pe, New Mexico, where Pike was confined in a small
adobe building, at the north end of the Spanish palace, and which
was standing fifty years later when I lived in that section of
country. Lieutenant Pike attracted great attention there, as he
was the first red-headed man ever seen in New Mexico. From
Santa Fe, Pike and his party were taken to the city of Mexico,
where they were set at liberty and reached the United States
in safety.
On Lieutenant Pike's return home from this expedition, he
resumed his military duties, where new appointments and promo-
tions awaited him. He was deputy quartermaster general from
April 3 to July 3, 181 2, promoted to colonel of 15th Infantry,
July 6, 1812, and appointed brigadier, adjutant and inspector
general, March T2, 1813. When war with Great Britain broke
out, 1812, Colonel Pike was stationed with his regiment on the
Canadian frontier. On his promotion to brigadier general, 1813,
he was given command of the U. S. force destined to attack
York, the capital of Upper Canada. He landed and made the
assault the 27th of April, and was killed by the explosion of
the magazine after its capture, a heavy stone striking him on
the breast. His body was conveyed to Sackett's Harbor, where
it was buried at Fort Tompkins with that of his aide. Captain
Nicholson, who was mortally wounded at his side. Many years
ago a tablet was erected to the memory of General Pike at
268 FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS
St. Michaers church, Trenton, New Jersey, consisting of a
marble slab, 36 inches high by 20 inches wide, inserted in the
outer wall of the building.
GENERAL JACOB BROWN.
General Jacob Brown, the fourth of our group of generals,
was a descendant of George Brown, who came from Leicester-
shire, England, settling in Falls township, on Biles creek, near
the Delaware, 1679. The farm was owned by Benjamin P.
Brown in 1871. George Brown brought his intended wife,
Mercey, with him whom he married on their arrival, and died
in 1726 at the age of 83. They had a large family of children;
the son, Samuel, who married Ann Claim in 1718, became a
member of the Assembly and died Tenth-month 31st, 1769, aged
75. Samuel, son of John Brown, also a member of Assembly,
was fond of fox hunting, and kept a number of hounds. He
likewise had a large family, among the sons being Samuel
Brown, father of General Jacob Brown, who also served in the
Assembly. The General was born May 9, 1775, in the house
occupied in recent years by William Warner, three and a half
miles below Morrisville on the Delaware, where the family lived
until the son was grown, when they removed to western New
York and settled the town of Brownville, on the Black river,
Jefferson county. The descendants of George Brown, the im-
migrant, are numerous in the lower part of Bucks county.
Jacob Brown, our future general, lived and worked on his
father's farm for several years until war was declared against-
England, 1812. This aroused him to action, and, although a
member of the society of Friends, and despite his religious con-
victions, he resolved to take a hand in it. With this object in
view he made the long and fatiguing journey to Washington,
and presented himself to General Armstrong, secretary of war.
While we have no official account of what took place at thi^
interview, family tradition tells us that the following was the
substance of what was said. On being ushered into the office
of the Secretary of War he gave his name as Jacob Brown; said
he was a full-blooded Bucks county Quaker, but had an inclina-
tion to enter the military service, which he would do if the Sec-
FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS 269
retary would give him the command of a brigade ; that he
knew nothing of miHtary affairs, but beUeved he possessed every
other requisite of a soldier and an officer. The Secretary of
War, it is said, ofifered him a colonel's commission which Brown
declined without hesitation, saying: "I will be as good as my
word ; give me a brigade and you will not be disgraced, but
I will accept nothing less."
This closed the interview between the "Bucks County Ouatc-
er" and the Secretary of War, when Brown turned upon his
heel and retraced his steps homeward. He had not, however,
given up his military aspirations. He next made application to
the Governor of New York from whom he received the com-
mission of brigadier general of militia, and entered the service
with a command equal to his rank. Our "Quaker soldier" un-
doubtedly rendered good service, for the records of the war
department show that Jacob Brown was appointed a brigadier
general, U. S. A., July 19, 1813, within a year after the decla-
ration of war and Major General, U. S. A., January 24, 1814.
He served in the field to the end of the war, and after its
conclusion, rose to be commanding general of the army holding
the command to his death. He was buried in the Congressional
burial-ground, the following inscription appearing on the monu-
ment erected to his memory :
"Sacred to the memory of General Jacob Brown. He was
born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of May, 1775,
and died at the city of Washington, while Commanding General
of the Army, the 24th of February, 1828."
"Let him whoe'er in after days
Shall view this monument of praise,
For honor heave the patriot sigh
And for his Country learn to die."
The father of General Jacob Brown died at Brownville, New
York, September 24, 1813.
GENERAL WARD B. BURNETT.
Lacking information concerning the military record of Gen.
Ward B. Burnett, the fifth of our generals, I wrote to the adju-
tant general's office, Washington, which, with its usual courtesy,
gave me the following, under date of August 8:
2/0 FIVE BUCKS COUNTV GENERALS
"In reply to your letter of the 22d, ult. I beg to say that Ward B.
Burnett was admitted to the Military Academy (West Point) from New
Britain, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, July i, 1828. and was graduated and
appointed brevet 2d lieutenant, 2d Artillery, July i, 1832.
"The records do not show the date of his birth, but give his age as
18 years and 3 months when admitted. He was promoted to be 2d lieu-
tenant 2d Artillery April i, 1834, and resigned July 31, 1836. This covers
his services in the Regular Army. He was in the Black Hawk expedition
in 1832, but was not at the seat of war ; was on special duty at the
Military Academy for a time in 1832 ; in garrison at Fort Jackson, La.,
1832-33 ; Assistant Instructor of Infantry tactics at the Military Academy
November 4, 1833, to December 23, 1834 ; on topographical duty to January
21, 1836: and on ordnance duty in Florida in March, 1836, where he served
until July 31, 1836, when he resigned his commission in the Regular Army."
On resigning his commission in the United States army. Lieu-
tenant Burnett became a civil engineer, for which he was quahfied
by education: took up his residence in the city of New York, and
practiced his profession actively for several years. We learn
from the report of the "Senate Committee on Invalid Pensions,"
first session 49th Congress, something of the engineering work
Lieut. Burnett was engaged in. In 1837 he was engineer with Colo-
nel Abert, chief of topographical engineers on harbors ; was resi-
dent engineer of the Illinois and Michigan canal ; in 1849 President
Polk offered to appoint him commissioner to run the boundary
line between the United States and iMexico, but illness prevented
him from accepting. He was subsequently made chief engineer
for the Navy Yard dry-dock, which he completed in 1852; in
1855 he was in charge of the New York dry-dock, and the con-
struction of the workshop in New York navy-yard ; he made the
plans of the Brooklyn water-works, which were accepted; in 1857
he was made chief engineer of Norfolk navy-yard and Ports-
mouth water-works : drew plans for tunneling the Blue Ridge
mountains in Mrginia ; was surveyor-general of Kansas, Nebras-
ka, Colorado and Montana from 1856 to i860, and was also
superintendant of the dry-dock at the Philadelphia navy-yard.
These appointments, coming unsolicited, as was doubtle-ss the case,
Burnett being a graduate of West Point, were a compliment to
our national military school as well as to the recipient, and be-
speak his qualifications as an engineer.
On the breaking out of the Mexican War, in 1846. our New
i'ive; bucks county generals 271
Britain soldier laid down the weapons of peace and took up
those of war. He immediately called for volunteers, and in a
very short time, raised a regiment that was known as the ist
New York Volunteers ; himself commissioned the colonel Decem-
ber 3, 1846. Colonel Burnett and his regiment joined General
Scott's "Army of Invasion" at Vera Cruz, while he was preparing
to march to the Valley of Mexico, and he participated in that won-
derful campaign of victories from Cerro Gordo to the Garita of
Belen, at the entrance of the City of Mexico, Colonel Burnett be-
ing severely wounded at the battle of Churubusco, August 20.
1847. At the close of the war Colonel Burnett was mustered
out of service and returned to civil life.
It was my fortune to serve with General Burnett in the Mexi-
can War; our regiments brigaded together and we spent the
winter of 1847-48 in the same village, six miles from Mexico
City. His regiment had a couple of French poodles, Rolla and
Jack by name, for mascots, which seemed to possess an apt talent
for a military life. When the drum beat in the morning, for
turning off the guard, these poodles placed themselves, side by
side, in front of the drum-major and awaited his sig-
nal to march to the public square where the new guard was
paraded. There our quadruped heroes stepped to one side until
the old guard detail was brought in and ready to return to their
respective quarters. Now Rolla and Jack again placed them-
selves, side by side, in front of the drum-major, and, at the tap
of the drum, took up the step and conducted the detail of the
New York regiment back to their quarters. I believe they at-
tracted more attention than the soldiers engaged in this military
spectacle. These dogs had never received any instruction in their
military duties, but took to it naturally. Rolla and Jack were
both wounded in the battles in the Valley of Mexico and taken to
the hospital for treatment. I have, in my house, a couple of
pictures of these heroic dogs, which served their country so faith-
fully, one a colored lithograph taken in the City of Mexico, the
other done in oil by Thomas P. Otter, the artist. I believe these
dogs were never allowed a pension.
Subsequent to the Mexican War, Colonel Burnett received nu-
merous public and private recognitions of his gallantry on the
•Z-JZ FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS
field. On July 30, 1848, the corporation of the city of New
York presented him with a silver medal; on August 20, 1853,
the regiment he commanded in the Mexican War, presented hi'.n
with a gold medal ; in 1850 he received the thanks of the Legisla-
ture of New York, and in 1853 the Legislature made him a briga-
dier general, by brevet, of New^ York Volunteers, for "gallant and
distinguished service in the war with Mexico." In August, 1859,
by a vote of the surviving members of the regiment that he
commanded in Mexico, General Burnett was presented with the
gold snufif box, in which the freedom of the city of New York
had been presented to General Jackson, February 23, 1819, and
by him was bequeathed "to that patriot of New York City, who
should be adjudged, by his countrymen, to have been most dis-
tinguished in defence of his country's rights in the next war."
These honors are evidence that the New Britain cadet of 1828-32
made his mark in his day and generation, and honored both State
and county. In 1878 Congress passed a bill giving General Bur-
nett a pension of $72 per month, as a recognition of his services,
and after his death his widow was placed on the pension-roll,
probably for the same amount.
The closing years of General Burnett's life were passed quietly,
much of his time being spent at Washington, where he died
June 24, 1884. His health began to fail him on his retirement
to private life and he became a confirmed invalid. His death,
while not unexpected, was sudden, and his remains were con-
veyed to West Point for interment. His widow, a second wife,
who survived him a few years, also died at Washington.
As the War Department records give General Burnett's age,
at the time he entered West Point, as eighteen years and three
months, this would bring his birth in the year 1809, but we are
not certain where he was born nor do we know the Christian
names of his parents. The family were early settlers in Bucks
county, and Daniel Burnet, spelled with one "t," died in Bucking-
ham township in 1752, leaving a widow, Grace. At that time
Buckingham joined New Britain on her east border, and it would
have been an easy matter for the family to move across the line
and leave descendants behind them in New Britain township,
where Ward B. Burnett was born sixty years after the death
FIVE BUCKS COUNTY GENERALS 273
of this ancestor. He was appointed to West Point by the Hon-
orable Samuel D. Ingham, of Solebury township, who, at that
time, represented this district in Congress, and who later became
a member of General Jackson's cabinet. The settlement of the
estate of Daniel Burnet is on file in the register's office, Doyles-
town. his widow, Grace, administering to it, and wa'S valued at
£220.
General Burnett held no command under the United States
army in the Civil War, being too much of an invalid to take
the field, but rendered valuable service otherwise. During the
riots in New York he was put in command ; was badly wounded
and saved the United States mint. He was also active in or-
ganizing troops in that city. New Jersey, Delaware and else-
where. For this purpose he had a commission from President
Lincoln and received the thanks of Congress and the State of
New York for his services. General Burnett was a warm per-
sonal friend of Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster,
Abraham Lincoln and others of our leading statesmen. IMorgan,
Picken, Pike, Brown and Burnett form a group of soldiers whose
achievements would do honor to any county or State. If we
supplement these names with that of General John Lacey, the
Quaker soldier, we shall have a galaxy of martial heroes that
cannot be excelled in Pennsylvania. Honor to their memory, and
we hope our Bucks county boys of the present and future genera-
tions, when their services are needed will emulate their example.
Old Pennypack Baptist Church.
BY REV. S. F. HOTCHKIN, BUSTLETON, PA.
(Tohickon Park, Bedminster Meeting, October 6, 1903.)
General Davis in his "History of Bucks County" describes
the ancient pond at Cold Spring on the Delaware, above Bristol,
and below Penn's old home. The other day I visited the beauti-
ful spot with the Rev. George Peck, Jr., the pastor of Pennypack,
or Lower Dublin church. It is on the Norwitz place near Edge-
ly, formerly Cold Spring depot.
The water is remarkably clear and the green moss on the bot-
tom and on an old stone spring-house adjoining it, makes a pretty
picture, while springs bubble up continually.
We turn from the pool and a few rods distant look for the
remains of the ancient church-yard where Thomas Stanaland,
who probably gave the land, was buried, in 1753, as well as the
godly patriarch, the Rev. Thomas Dungan, the spiritual father
of all Pennsylvania Baptists, who died in 1688, and whose mem-
ory is preserved by a handsome stone monument in Southampton
Baptist church-yard ; Rev. Samuel Jones, parson at Pennypack,
who died December 16. 1722, and Rev. Joseph Wood in charge
of the same parish, who entered paradise September 15, 1747.
What was the amazement and indignation of my clerical friend
and myself to see the desecration of the sacred spot. Not only
were the walls of the old church and graveyard gone, but the
tombstones had also been removed, and the graves were over-
grown with grass, while a dwelling house has been erected on a
portion of the ground. I never saw a more striking example of
American greed which in this instance cannot spare room to
honor the dead.
We will turn our eyes from the beautiful Delaware, where
Father Dungan doubtless baptized his converts, with the sugges-
tion that, if a monument marks a human grave, an old church site
should bear a stone cross with an inscription that the crucified
and glorified Christ had there been worshiped as God, and the
hope that in the change of population a sacred edifice might
again rise on the spot.
THE OLD PENNYPACK BAPTIST CHURCH 275
To trace the history of Thomas Dungan we turn to the inval-
uable records of the Rev. Morgan Edwards, a Baptist pastor in
Philadelphia, who was perhaps never excelled in his ability to
ascertain the details of parish and clerical histories. He had a
burning desire to strengthen and unite the Baptists by means of
associations, and to make the lay and clerical brethren know and
love each other as sharers of the common Christian faith.
He was born in Wales in 1722, a minister at sixteen years of
age, ordained in Ireland; came to Philadelphia 1761. He sug-
gested and labored for Rhode Island College, which he deemed
very important for his denomination, and was a Fellow of the
College. Though a royalist in the Revolution he retained the
esteem of his brethren. Church records had been lost in the
Revolution, one volume of manuscripts was burned with Edwards'
house.
The indefatigable man, in 1771 and 1772, visited churches
from Pennsylvania to Georgia, tiring two horses in riding about
3,000 miles, gathering materials, sufficient for twelve volumes, but
cheerfully gave Mr. Backus some of his hard earned notes for
his History of the New England Baptists in 1777; and to Mr.
Leel the use of his papers for the History of the Baptists in the
Southern States.
The Pennsylvania Historical Society owns a lare and valu-
able volume, a duplicate of which was burned when the Baptist
Publication Society building was destroyed by fire. It contains
Edwards' notes on Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Professor
Newman, in his History of the Baptists, refers to this author's
works in "Rhode Island Historical Collections," Vol. VI, and
to the Delaware volume, published in Philadelphia in 1885.
Other manuscripts are in Crozier Theological Seminary.
The Rev. Thomas Dungan came from Rhode Island to Cold
Spring, about 1684, with his family, and gathered a church of
which nothing remains but a graveyard. The Dungans, Gard-
ners, Woods, Doyls and others belonged to it. He died in 1688,
and was buried in that yard. He left five sons and four daugh-
ters. When Edwards wrote his history, Dungan's descendants
amounted to six or seven hundred, what must be the present
number !
The genealogy of the Reading, Yerkes, Watts and other
276 THE OLD PENNYPACK BAPTIST CHURCH
families printed by the liberality of William L. Elkins, Esq., is
a luxurious and valuable work. It states that Thomas Dungan
was born in London about 1632. He sold 100 acres of land in
East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and 50 acres with buildings at
Newport. He had also owned land in Monmouth county, New
Jersey
Some Dungans were in Bristol before the clergyman came.
His son, William, went to Pennsylvania in advance of hi-s father,
and Penn's cousin, William Markham, granted him 200 acres
of land, in 1682, and Penn confirmed the sale in 1684. Thomas
Dungan attracted by the new colony, bought 200 acres of Penn,
coming here three years after Penn obtained his patent from
Charles II, as shown by Benedict's History of the Baptists. Air.
Dungan married Elizabeth Weaver, at Newport. She died at
Cold Spring, about 1690.
Dungan's mother was Frances Latham, an English lady of
high family. Her first husband was Lord Weston, and her sec-
ond William Dungan, a London merchant, her third Jeremiah
Clarke, and her fourth the Rev. William Vaughan, a Baptist
minister. Dungan came to New England with his step- father.
Jereroiah Clark, in 1637.
It is thought that Roger Williams taught Air. Dungan, as he
had a school for "the practice of Hebrew, Latin, Erench and
Dutch." It is supposed that the Rev. William Vaughan taught
him theology.
A colony of Welsh Baptists came from Rhode Island to Cold
Spring with Pastor Dungan. A stone church about fifty feet
square was built there. The parish must have been sparsely
settled and its width was checked by the river where the parson
could only preach to the fishes,- as St. Anthony did in the legend.
Another legend represents St. Francis D' Assisii as hearing the
birds singing praises to God, and stirring his companions to imi-
tate them, the good country parson may have had more such
watery and airy parishioners than human ones.
The little parish died in childhood, lasting only from 1684 tu
1702. Clergy were very scarce and the pastor's death may have
been a fatal blow to it.
At the close of the existence of this church, Pennypack became
the mother church of the region, and ie now the oldest existing
the; old PENNYPACK baptist church 2"]"]
Baptist parish in Pennsylvania. The first church of Philadel-
phia stands eighth in order of organization, though now the city
contains over fifty parishes.
Morgan Edwards describes the Pennypack church of his day
thus : "A neat stone building 33x30, with pews, galleries and a
stove," built in 1707, on an acre lot, given by Rev. Samuel Jones.
George Eaton added an acre and the church bought t\v^o acres
more. Ample horse sheds stood pn the ground on the opposite
side of the road from the church and a ''fine grove affording shade
in the summer and firewood in winter." This grove has been cut
down and the sheds removed. The land forms a new cemetery.
The church received some small legacies. The living was worth
£50 a year when Edwards wrote.
The parish was founded by sturdy Welshmen. The English
church historian. Fuller, says that "the poor Christian Britons,
(in Wales), living peaceably at home, there enjoyed God, the
Gospel and their mountains." Now they were to find new pleas-
ure in the gentle hills around the Pennypack.
About 1686 John Eaton, George Eaton and his wife, Sarah
and Samuel Jones, members of a Baptist church in Llandeuri
and Nantmel, in Radnorshire, where Henry Gregory was over-
seer, and John Baker, from Kilkenny, in Ireland, where Rev.
Christopher Blackwell was pastor, and Samuel Vous, from Eng-
land, settled on the banks of the Pennypack creek.
Morgan Edwards relates that Elias Keach, son of the famous
Baptist minister Benjamin Keach, one of the author's of Keach's
Baptist Catechism, of London, came hither, "a very wild spark,"
about 1686. He dressed in black and wore a band in order to
pass for a minister, as leading clergy then wore a gown and bands,
but in preaching fell to weeping, and declared he was imposing on
his audience, and only pretending to hold the sacred office ; but
his distress ended in his conversion, and he was baptized by the
Rev. Thomas Dungan, of Cold Spring, whom Keach styles "an
ancient disciple and teacher among Baptists." Keach became a
devoted and successful servant of Christ, and while at Pennypack
"traveled through Pennsylvania and the Jersies, preaching the
Gospel in the wilderness with great success, as the chief apostle
of the Baptists in these parts of America," as Edw^ards expresses
278 THE OLD PENNYPACK BAPTIST CHURCH
it. Keach's Catechism is in Hayner's book. "The Baptist Denomi-
nation."
In 1692 EHas Keach and his family went to England, he
"having resigned the care of the church for a considerable time
before to the Rev. John Watts."
Keach married Mary, daughter of the Hon. Nicholas Moore,
Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and president of the Free Society
of Traders and friend of Penn, who stood high in the offices of
the Province and gave name to the two Morelands, as owner
of the tract. He lived on the Green Spring plantation, near the
former toll-gate on the Bustleton and Somerton pike. The
late Honorable Horatio Gates Jones, in his valuable pamphlet,
"The Lower Dublin Baptist Church," issued in 1869, which will
be used in carrying on this history, remarks, that Keach's only
daughter. Hannah, married Revitt Harrison, in England, and
their son, John Elias Keach Harrison, "came to America about
the year 1734 and lived at Hatborough. and was a member of
the Baptist church of Southampton." He owned a part of the
Moreland estate. I have tried to trace this family without avail.
Keach, according to Mr. Jones, zealously preached at the Falls
of the Delaware (Trenton). Philadelphia, Chester. Burlington.
Middletown, Cohansey, Salem and other places, baptizing such
as gave evidence of true piety." Middletown is in Monmouth
county. New Jersey, not far from Red Bank, and Cohansey is
Roadstown, in Cumberland county, in the same State.
These parishes were connected as actual members of Penny-
pack, the mother church, who now has daughters all over
these two States. Semi-annual meetings were held, "in the
spring, at Salem, about May; and in the fall, at Pennypack, or
Burlington," when for lack of ministers "particular churches" had
not been organized. The Holy Communion was celebrated at the
"general meetings." that the scattered flocks might meet around
the Lord's table.
\"ariations arose at Pennypack, as also in Newport, Rhode
Island, as to the practice of confirmation, or laying on of hands ;
while at Pennypack psalm-singing and the observance of the
Seventh day as the Sabbath were points of difference also.
Rev. John Watts succeeded Elias Keach as pastor of Penny-
pack, though other gifted brethren had led in the services in
THE OLD PENNYPACK BAPTIST CHURCH 279
Keach's needful absences in his varied work in the different
parishes.
John Watts was born in Leeds, England, in 1661, and was
pastor at Pennypack from 1690 to 1702. He was buried at
Pennypack; the first Samuel Jones, Evan Morgan and Joseph
Wood were his assistants, there was a second parson of this
name. Mr. Watts married Sarah Eaton. The Roberts, Melchior,
Yerkes, Davis, Shull and Ingle families are connected with the
Watts family. Mr. Watts was a sound and learned divine.
His descendant, James Watts Mercur, Esq., of Wallingford, Pa.,
has given me further particulars. A tradition from Stephen
Watts, Jr., born about 1735, was, that John Watts was descended
from Sir John Watts, Lord Mayor of London in 1604, having
been High Sheriff of London, in 1596, and a m-jmber of the
Clothmakers' Guild. See "The Liveries of London" in the
library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Charles P.
Keith's "Councilors" notes this.
Ann, daughter of John Watts' son, Stephen, who had married an
Assheton, married Colonel Josiah Hart, son of Colonel Joseph
Hart, a Revolutionary soldier in the "flying-camp," and vice
president of the convention at Carpenter's Hall, and chairman of
the committee which recommended a meeting of the Colonies.
Amy Hart was Ann Hart's daughter, and she married General
John Davis, the father of your honored president. General
William Watts Hart Davis. There is a picture cf Watts' tomb
at Pennypack in the Elkins volume. The quaint inscription runs :
"Interred here I be
O that you could now see
How unto Jesus for to flee,
Not in sin still to be.
Warning in time pray take
And peace by Jesus make,
Th&n at the last when you awake
Sure on his right hand you'll partake."
The Revolutionary general, Frederick Watts, who came from
England and settled in Carlisle, Pa., was of the Pennypack Watts
family. He is noticed in the "History of Northumberland County."
John Watts left a very valuable library for a day when books
were scarce. His widow married Anthony Yerkes, who bought
28o THE OLD PENNYPACK BAPTIST CHURCH
300 acres of land iti Moreland manor, Montgomery county, about
1709. Judge Harman Yerkes is of this family.
When Mr. Watts took charge of Pennypack parish it was the
only Baptist parish in Pennsylvania, as Cold Spring church was
substantially disbanded after Mr. Dungan's death, in 1688. Mr.
Watts visited the New Jersey Baptists, in conjunction with
Pennypack, and for years was pastor of what became the First
Baptist church of Philadelphia.
During Mr. Watts' pastorate the Rev. Thomas Clayton, rector
of Christ church, Philadelphia, asked the Baptists to unite with
the English church without avail, but the Pennypack church
chose him as one of the arbitrators in a doctrinal dispute. Wat-
son's Annals of Philadelphia copies Morgan Edwards as to the
church unity matter, also see my history of the "Early Clergy of
Pennsylvania and Delaware."
In 1 701, some Welsh Baptists, with their minister, Thomas
Griffith, emigrated to Pennypack, but in 1703 many of them went
to the Welsh tract near Newark, Delaware, and established a
church. They differed with the Pennypack church in approving
confirmation, which Morgan Edwards approved, as well as Roger
Williams, as noted in Dr. Newman's "History of the Baptists."
The Rev. Owen Thomas, of this church, thrice anointed the sick
with success, and the Rev. Hugh Davis, of Great Valley, asked
the elders to anoint him with oil, according to St. James' Epistle
5 : 14-17, was permanently restored. German Baptists practiced
this rite.
Keach wrote from London to \\'atts of the miraculous cure of
a French girl reading of Christ's miracles, whose crooked body
was made straight, and a lame man converted at a sermon, and
leaping and praising God, who had healed soul and body.
The Rev. Evan Morgan was the third pastor at Pennypack,
from 1706 to 1709; he was born in Wales and became a follower
of George Keith, leaving the Friends. This "intelligent man,"
as Horatio Gates Jones styles him, died in 1709. and was buried
in the Pennypack graveyard.
Next comes the Rev. Samuel Jones, born July 9, 1657. in
Llanwi parish, Radnorshire, Wales ; he came to America about
1686. He held the parish from 1706 to 1722. and had been united
with Evan Morgan in the care of the church. His death occurred
THt OIvD ^ENNYPACK BAPTIST CHURCH 281
in 1722. He also lies buried in the Pennypack graveyard. He
gave the land for the church, and "a number of valuable books,
including 'Keach on the Parables.' "
John Hart and others assisted Mr. Jones. Mr. Hart was born
in 1 65 1, at Whitney, Oxfordshire, England, and preached among
Friends till 1691, when he joined the Veithians, and served them
in John Swift's house, in Southampton. About 1697, he became
a Baptist and in 1702 joined the Pennypack church. He mar-
ried Susannah Rush. The Crispin, Miles, Dungan and Paulin
families were his relatives. The eminent Rev. Oliver Hart, of
South Carolina, was of this connection.
The fifth pastor, Joseph Wood, was a native of England. His
birthplace was near Hull, in Yorkshire. He emigrated to Amer-
ica about 1684. Elias Keach baptized him in Burlington in 1691.
He was ordained in 1708. and "assisted Messrs. Morgan and
Jones in the ministry." His death took place in 1747, and his
burial was at Cold Spring. He was a good preacher.
The next pastor was Abel Morgan, born in 1673, at Alltgoch,
South Wales. He began preaching when 19 years old, and was
pastor from 171 1 to 1722, preaching alternately at Pennypack and
Philadelphia. He prepared a Welsh Concordaiice of the Bible,
published in Philadelphia, 8 years after his death. He also
published a Welsh Confession of Faith. He died in 1722, aged
49, and was buried "in the lot of the First Baptist Church in
Philadelphia, in Mount Moriah Cemetery," "where a stone is
erected to his memory." "A great and good man held in dear
remembrance."
Rev. Jenkin Jones, born in Wales about 1686, entered on his
work here in 1726, living in Philadelphia and officiating also in
the city which was called "a branch of Pennypek." WilHam
Kinnersley and Joseph Wood assisted him. Mr. Kinnersley was
born in England in 1669, and reached America in 1714. He had
been an accepted exhorter in Tuxbury, but was never ordained.
He died in 1734 and was interred at Pennypack. His son,
Ebenezer, born in Gloucester. England, in 171 1. was a minister
and was distinguished as a professor in the College of Philadel-
phia, having made, in connection with Dr. Franklin, many im-
portant discoveries in electricity, as Horatio Gates Jones records.
He and his father lie side bv side near a tree in the old cemetery.
282 THE OLD PENNYPACK BAPTIST CHURCH
The wife of Ebenezer was Sarah Dnffield. The Dufifield family
were friends of Benjamin Frankhn.
The Rev. Jenkin Jones ministered here from 1726 to 1746,
when he became the. first pastor of the Philadelphia church,
where he died in 1760. aged 74, and was laid to rest in Mount
Moriah Cemetery. He was a man of ability. He left a legacy
for a silver communion cup, and gave a part of the cost of the
building of the parsonage in Philadelphia.
Rev. Peter Peterson VanHorn was born in Middletown, in
Bucks county, holding the pastorate from 1747 to 1762. He died
as pastor of Salem church, in 1789, at the age of seventy-one.
George Eaton was an assistant and exhorter though not or-
dained; his wife was Mary Davis; he died in 1764. He gave
the church one acre of land and £5. On his tombstone, at
Pennypack, is the record of its erection "by his surviving and
pious widow-
We now approach the most remarkable pastorate in this
record of over two centuries and one that spans nearly one-fourth
of that period.
The Rev. Samuel Jones, D. D., was born at Cesen of Gelli,
Bettus Parish, Glamorganshire, South Wales, January 14. 1745.
His parents brought him to America in 1737. His father, the
Rev. Thomas Jones, was pastor of Tulepehocken church, in
Berks county, Pennsylvania. The son studied in the College of
Philadelphia, receiving the degree of Alaster of Arts in 1762,
and was ordained in the College hall in 1763, by the wish of the
First Baptist church of Philadelphia, where his membership was,
and that year assumed the charge of Pennypack and Southamp-
ton churches^: In 1770, he resigned Southampton, but held
Pennypack almost 51 years.
Horatio Gates Jones describes this godly man as "deservedly
honored and esteemed by all the churches of cur faith in the
country." He was learned, and his advise was sought by those
near and far. I myself have gone over some of his letters,
finding him a sort of Bishop among the Baptists. He aided in
preparing the charter at the founding of Rhode Island College,
at Warren, which was moved to Providence, and is now Brown
University. After the death of Dr. Manning he was offered the
presidency, which he declined. He taught young men theology
the: old pennypack baptist church 283
in his country home, near the church, and many of his students
"became distinguished preachers of the Gospel-"
Dr. Jones wrote several small books, but none printed except
his circular letters and a sermon, "The Doctrine of the Covenant,"
in 1783, and "A Century Sermon," in 1807, preached at the asso-
ciation, and a small handbill on "Laying on of Hands," which
called forth an answer from Rev. David Jones, of the Great Valley
church." Several colleges gave him degrees, Rhode Island Col-
lege, the Master of Arts, and the University of Pennsylvania,
Doctor of Divinity.
The doctor married Sylvia Spicer, of Cape May, and had a son
named Thomas.
The doctor's ordination sermon, and a narrative of the ordina-
tion was printed.
The Rev. Dr. Newman, in his "History of the Baptist," says
he was "the ablest and most trusted leader among the ministers
of the Philadelphia Association. He possessed ample learning,
a strong personality, a magnificent physique and practical wisdom
of the highest order. Eloquent and amiable, he won the hearts
of all, and to the close of his long life, in 1812 he was a Nestor
among his brethren."
Rev. William VanHorn, son of Peter VanHorn, who was pastor
at Southampton 13 years, was educated at Dr- Jones' Academy.
He was chaplain of a INIassachusetts brigade in the Revolutionary
War.
When Rev. Thomas Brown was in the academy he was devoted
to the foreign missionary movement. He became pastor at
Great Valley. These two cases are given in the wonderful "An-
nals of the American Pulpit," by the Rev. Dr. William Buell
Sprague, pastor of the Second Presbyterian church in Albany,
N. Y. There are nine octavo volumes, on different churches, the
Baptist one being volume six. I once saw the doctor in a pew in
St. Peter's church, Albany, a small man with a large brain and
a wide heart.
My walks and rides for years have taken me by the old stone
house on the animal farm given by Mrs. Ryerss to aid sick and
dumb creatures, and "Lynganoir." his later abode, occupied by
his descendants, Mrs. Dade and the Misses Henderson.
The next pastor, Jacob Grigg, was of English birth. He
284 THE OLD PEXNYPACK BAPTIST CHURCH
served the church from 181 5 to 1817. He had had a school in
Richmond. Virginia, and returned there to teach and preach as
an itinerant. He died in Sussex county, in that State in 1836.
He had a good mind and a strong memory, and is said to have
committed the Old and New Testament and Watts' Psalms to
memory, "while on the ocean."
The Rev. Joshua P. Slack (1817 to 1821), studied in Dr.
Staughton's theological school, Philadelphia. He died in Cin-
cinnati. His successor in his diary notes the grief of the people
here at his announcement of the death.
The Rev. David Jones, Jr., (1822 to 1833), was from North
Wales. He studied theology under Dr. Samuel Jones and became
pastor of the Frankford church, and afterward held a parish in
Newark, N. J., and "was much beloved wherever known." He
died where Samuel Megargle now lives. His widow married the
Rev. Thomas Roberts. She lived where Dr. Beyer resides. Wr.
Jones was a great singer and would raise himself on his toes in
his enthusiastic music.
The Rev. James Milbank Challis, (1838 to 1845), was born in
Philadelphia. After leaving Pennypack. he had charges in Mores-
town and Cohansey, N. J., and then retired and died in Bridge-
ton, N. J. The Rev. Dr. John R. Murphy wrote his memoir in a
volume. He was of Huguenot descent, of noble Christian martyr
ancestry. His worthy wife was Lydia Johnson. He owned the
present residence of Frank Masland, adjoining the churchyard
of the Memorial Episcopal church of St. Luke, the Beloved Physi-
cian, a beautiful memorial to Dr. Bernard Henry, erected by
his widow, Mrs. Pauline E. Henry. Mr. Challis' work was suc-
cessful, and a revival blessed his labors, though, in what he styled
the "Musical War," there was a contest as to the use of instru-
mental music in which "the stringed" instruments of the 150th
Psalm conquered.
The Rev. Thomas Roberts (1845 to 1847), next meets us, a
Welshman. He was ordained by the Rev. Dr. Staughton and Rev.
Messrs. David and Horatio G. Jones, the father of the local
historian from whom we are now culling inforrnation. He had
been with Rev. Evan Jones, a missionary to the Cherokee Indians.
He wrote an autobiography, which was published with several of
his sermons. In his native land Mr. Roberts had worked on a
the: old pennypack baptist church 285
farm and as a cooper. He once walked from Utica to Albany,
q6 miles, in three days, enjoying "much of the Lord's presence,"
in prayer for God's direction and composing sermons. Rev.
David Jones, chaplain in the Revolution, desired his aid in the
Great Valley church. He studied with Dr. Staughton and for a
year walked fortnightly, on Saturday evenings, 16 miles to the
country church, and every three months walked to Newark, N. J.,
to visit his family. Here was a Christian athlete. He labored
eight years in Great Valley among the descendants of the Welsh.
The missionary work among the Cherokees was deeply interesting
and fruitful in Christian comfort. Mr. Roberts afterward was
pastor at Middletown, N. J., and other parishes before his work
at Bustleton and Homesburg. Dr. Beyer's office was built for
his study. He died on his farm at Middletown at the age of 82.
The Rev. Richard Lewis, M. D., (1847 to 1852), was another
Welshman. He served Pennypack and then Homesburg and
studied medicine and practiced in Frankford. He was a succes-^;-
ful minister having revivals. The parsonage was built for him.
Then comes the Rev. William Hutchinson (1852 to 1856), born
in Drumlample, Londonderry county. Ireland, in 1794, coming to
America in 18 19. He worked for "The London Baptist Irish
Society," having returned to the old country ; but in 1827 came
again to this land and in 1828 was pastor in Brandon, Vermont,
where he started "The Vermont Telegraph," a weekly religious
newspaper. He was later pastor in Fayetteville and Oswego, in
New York. His daughter is Mrs. John Neville, of Bustleton.
The Rev. Alfred Harris (1857 to i860), is still another Welsh-
man, the son of a clergyman. He "labored with much success"
here, about J2 members being admitted at one time, and then
went to Hoboken, N. J. He wrote much for Vv^elsh magazines
and could preach in Welsh. He was a fine preacher.
The Rev. George Kempton, D. D., (i860 to 1865), was from
South Carolina. Several of his sermons were printed. He was
a very good preacher.
The Rev. William E. Cornwell (1866 to 1880). is a Philadel-
phian by birth, a graduate of the Theological Department of the
University at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Many were baptized by
him and the Fox Chase church was built in his pastorate. He is
at Jacobstown, N. J., formerly a charge of Mr. Challis. I
found him a worthv and faithful servant of Christ.
286 THE OLD PENNYPACK BAPTIST CHURCH
The Rev. Charles Warwick (1881 to 1893). The great event
connected with this pastorate was the zealous and determined
effort to construct an elegant stone church in the village of Bustle-
ton. In this arduous task great aid came from J. Morgan Dun-
gan, who gave the lot, and others followed his good deed; and
now the building stands surmounted by its cross and bell-tower as
a monument to him, who could look on this symbol of Christ's
pain for man's salvation as also a token of His glory when pain
was exchanged for joy.
The Rev. William K. Walling (1893 to 1894), resigned from
the ministry and entered the legal profession.
The Rev. Thomas P. Holloway (1894 to 1900), did a good
work here and, to the regret of his flock, left them for a parish
at Waverly, Baltimore, where success followed him.
The Rev. George W. Peck, Jr., (1900 to the present date,
1903). This clergyman came hither from Roselle, N. J. He
was a student in Princeton and Columbia Universities and Crozier
Theological Seminary. He is a faithful Christian, beloved by
his people, and the fifth pastor of my acquaintance, may we
all contend, as Lord Bacon expresses it, as the olive with the
vine as to which shall bear the most fruit.
The dignified old church, with its mullioned window in front,
guards the sleeping dead of centuries under summer's sun and
winter's snow, and Indians lie at its side. It used to see men
and women coming hither on horseback, or with white-topped
farm wagons, or in two-wheeled carts. Now the horse-block
has departed.
A log building is said to have first arisen. The present stone
edifice has the inscription :
"Built 1707.
Enlarged 1774,
Rebuilt 1805,
S. Jones, D. D.,
Pastor."
The Indian word Pemmapacka, now Pennypack, is said to
mean "water without a current." On a curve on the banks of
this creek, a short distance from the old church, is a large flat
stone which marks the old place of baptism, where generations
of clergy baptized generations of the laity into the Christian faith.
Newtown — Old and New.
BY CAPT. WILLIAM WYNKOOP, NEWTOWN, PA.
(Tohickon Park, Bedminster Meeting, October 6, 1903.)
The student of history desiring to visit Europe would, if he
sailed from New York to Liverpool, probably stop for a day in
the latter city, then proceed by railroad to London, via the old
town of Chester. Here he would stop long enough to take a
carriage drive to the old city walls and tower, the church of St.
John, the Baptist, founded A. D. 1070; thence by the castle to
the "Old Derby House," and cathedral, each of them showing
architecture of centuries ago.
After visiting enroute the home of Shakespeare, the cities of
Oxford and London, he would desire to cross o\er to the Conti-
nent and in turn look upon the famous Heidelburg castle ; the
wonderful cathedral at Cologne, which was over 600 years in
building, and the home of William Tell ; thence on to Rome,
where if he had a veneration for the "Old," he would view the
ruins of the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the Arch of Titus, the
Catacombs, dungeons and many other wonders dating back 2,000
years in the world's history. But we have no such field through
which to carry our hearers, for Newtown was only born 220
years ago, hence my subject will not admit of great and glowing
descriptions of men or events differing very much from other
towns in our county or State. Neither do I propose to confine
myself simply to its history. I desire to associate a partial
record of the past with some of the many interesting items
clustered around the names of some of the earlier residents
and narrate some things not heretofore given to the public, which
may prove of interest to my hearers.
To speak of "Newtown — Old and New," without mentioning
some of the old landmarks would not be possible. Some of these
have been partly covered by a paper read before this society in
1896 by J. P. Hutchinson, (since deceased,) entitled "Newtown
Prior to 1800,"* and others have been obtained from our older
residents and from other sources.
* Published in Vol. II, page 386 of these papers.
288 NEWTOWN — OLD AND NEW
Tradition says Penn not only devised plans for estab-
lishing a large city in the Province, but also for locating a number
of towns farther into the interior. One day with a party of
friends he rode several miles back from the Delaware river
and coming to the valley of what is now known as Newtown
creek, near where it empties into the Neshaminy, as the beauties
of the situation burst on his view he said to his companions :
"This is the place for my new town," hence the name, "New-
town."
This was about 1681, the town being laid out some two years
later, or 220 years ago, but was not incorporated into a borough
until 1838. Among the first settlers were Stephen Twining,
William Buckman, Thomas Hillborn, and James Yates, and the
descendants of these families are still in our midst.
One peculiar provision made by Penn with the early settlers
was reserving a piece of land lying on both sides the creek and
extending the whole length of the town, for the common use
alike of the inhabitants of the village and known as "Commons."
After the death of all the trustees named in the patent except
one, and the resignation of the trust by this one, the Legislature
passed an act incorporating the "Trustees of Newtown Com-
mons." This organization is still in existence and their services
are still occasionally needed in perfecting titles by the satisfac-
tion of an old mortgage, or the extinguishment of a ground-rent,
and has been a source of vexation to those of us who have acted
as conveyancers.
The two oldest institutions in Newtown are the "Presbyterian
Church" and the "Newtown Library." The former was organ-
ized and the first building erected on a corner of Alexander
German's estate, on the Swamp road, one mile west of the town,
in 1734. This building was a frame structure and was used
for church purposes 35 years. There was a graveyard attached,
but the old stones or slabs have all sunken and but few inscrip-
tions can be read, there being no descendants living in the vicinity
to care for the graves of those buried there.
The second church building was erected in 1769, on the west side
of Newtown creek, with shedding on the north side and a grave-
yard in rear of the lot. This building has undergone such
frequent repairs and changes that little more than the original
NEWTOWN — OLD AND NEW 289
walls remain. It is kept in good repair and has been used as a
place of worship continuously for 134 years. During this long
period, excepting for a few years when preaching was supplied,
the church has had but 13 pastors, as follows Hugh Carlisle, who
•served from 1734 for a term of four years ; James Campbell, 1747,
two years; Henry Martin, 1759, ten years; James Boyd, 1769,
forty-four years; James Joyce, 1813, two years; Alexander
Boyd, 1815, twenty-three years; Robert D. Morris, 1838, eighteen
years; George Burrows, D. D., 1856, three years; Henry F.
Lee, 1859, two years; Samuel J. Milhken, 1861, five years;
George C. Bush, 1866, ten years; A. McElroy Wylie, 1877, eleven
years; Thomas J. Elms, 1888, fifteen years, who is still (1903)
the pastor.
In 1855 the old Bucks County Academy was purchased by the
trustees and used for parochial and Sabbath school purposes for
31 years. In 1886 a farewell service was held, conducted by
the writer who was superintendent of the Sabbath school, and the
school removed to the handsome new chapel erected at the
corner of Washington avenue and Chancellor street.
"The Newtown Library" dates its organization back to 1760,
in the house now occupied by Mrs. Mitchell at the corner of
Court street and Centre avenue, Joseph Thornton being first
librarian. David Twining afterwards served as librarian, treas-
urer and director for a period of 27 years. The Library Com-
pany was incorporated March 2"], 1789, under the title of "The
Newtown Library Company." The present building is of brick,
on the lot opposite where the library company was first organ-
ized, the shelves are well filled with books and the interest well
maintained.
The county courts were held at Newtown from 1725 to 1813,
a period of 88 years. The court-house stood on Court street,
was built of stone two stories high, with the court-room on the
first floor, the second story being fitted up for jury rooms. The
first court under Act of Assembly of June 13, 1777, was held
September 9th, of the same year, and an able charge given to
the grand jury by Henry Wynkoop, the presiding justice in
keeping with the new order of things, the Colonies having de-
clared themselves free and independent of Great Britain.
10
290 NEWTOWN — OLD AND NEW
In October, 1896, the writer was asked by Charles A Hanna,
of Lincohi, Neb., "to furnish him a Hst of those buried in the
'old graveyard' of the Presbyterian church, whose tombstones
were still standing, who were born before 1800, with date of
death and age." To comply was no easy task, but the list was
furnished, and from the copy which I retained I find there are
some 155 graves marked. Of these the oldest person was Jemi-
ma, wife of Joseph Howell, aged 100 years; one other was 95;
two between 90 and 95 ; seven between 85 and 90 ; twenty-eight
between 80 and 85 ; thirteen between 75 and 80, and twenty-
eight between 70 and 75, showing that our grandfathers and
grandmothers knew how to live to a good old age, as well or
better than those of us who think we have advanced in knowl-
edge.
One of the noted men in his time was Major Joseph O. Arch-
ambault, who gave land enough for two streets to be cut through,
provided they should be named for his sons. Napoleon and
Lafayette. The streets were so named and known as such until
1853, when Napoleon street was, by ordinance of council, changed
to Green and Lafayette to Liberty. He also gave the ground
on which Newtown Hall now stands, and a "Free Meeting
House" was erected thereon. This was transferred to the
borough in 1842. with the proviso continued, "That no money
shall be collected therein for any other purpose than the expenses
of said house, and that all meetings held shall be free to all."
Also "that no society or person shall be entitled to make more
than one appointment for the future to the exclusion of any
other society or person." Many of the noted orators of the
olden time have spoken from this platform, and a lyceum was
successfully conducted there for years.
Major Archambault was born at Fontainbleau. France, in
1796, and being left an orphan he became, through family influ-
ence, a ward of the Empire. Napoleon, the First, placed him at the
military school at Saint Cyr. where he remained six or seven
years. Upon leaving the school he became a page in the suite,
first of the Emperor, then of the Empress during the exile of
the Emperor at Elba. When Napoleon returned to France,
young Archambault was again attached to him and from time to
time shared his eventful career. He was wounded at the battle
NEWTOWN — OLD AND NEW 2gi
of Waterloo and left on the field, but escaped capture, rejoined
the Emperor and was one of the twelve to accompany him to
St. Helena. He was ordered to surrender his sword as the
distinguished party went aboard the British war ship, but rather
than give it to an Englishman he broke it and threw the pieces
into the sea. He remained with the Emperor at St. Helena
about a year, when he was removed to the Cape of Good Hope,
and from there was sent to England. The French Govern-
ment refusing him permission to return to France, he obtained
a passport to the United States and arrived at New York, May
5, 1817. He was a frequent visitor at the house of Joseph
Bonaparte at Bordentown, N. ]., where by reason of his relation
to the Emperor, he was ever a welcome guest. Soon after his
marriage he removed first to Philadelphia, where his eldest son
was born and thence to Newtown, and kept a hotel still known
as the "Brick hotel" which he enlarged by raising a story higher
and built the present west end with ball-room above, dining-room
and bar below; at times he had from 50 to 75 boarders. In
1837 he sold the hotel to Oliver Cadwallader.
Almost immediately after his removal to Newtown he joined
the Union troop of cavalry, of which he was elected lieutenant
and subsequently captain, and served with the troop in quelling
the riots in Philadelphia in 1844. He served with the three
months men at the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion and
upon his return recruited a cavalry company for three years,
being captain of company A, Second Pennsylvania Cavalry, and
was promoted to major. He died in Philadelphia July 3, 1874,
but his sons and widow have since frequently visited Newtown as
guests of Mrs. Alfred Blaker.
Another noted man of Newtown was Judge Gilbert Hicks.
He was one of the justices for Bucks county from 1752 to 1776.
At the outbreak of the war for independence, being a "Friend,"
he was conscientiously opposed to bearing arms, and moreover
as his office was held under the Crown he read Howe's procla-
mation in front of the court-house at Newtown, and counselled
his friends to pause before it was too late, but his advice was not
taken and he was compelled to flee the county to prevent arrest,
Isaac Hicks was a son of Gilbert, and was closelv connected
with the business history of the town, for about 50 years.
292 NEWTOWN — OIvD AND NEW
Edward Hicks, son of Isaac, was a prominent minister of
the society of Friends, born in 1780.
Henry Wynkoop figured conspicuously in the early history
of "Old" Newtown, especially during the Revolutionary days.
He was familiarly known as Judge Wynkoop ; his original com-
mission bearing date November 18, 1780, is in possession of the
writer.
Col. Francis Murray was a large owner of real estate in
Newtown, and lived in the large stone dwelling on Court street,
immediately opposite the court-house, now the property of Hon.
Edward M. Paxson. He was one of the trustees of the Newtown
Commons ; also of the Bucks County Academy, and one of the
associate justices of the court in 18x3. He died November 30,
1816, aged 84 years, and was interred in the Presbyterian grave-
yard.
Hon. ]\Iichael H. Jenks, Dr. Phineas Jenks, (father of George
A Jenks, Esq.,) Jesse Heston, Dr. David Hutchinson, (father
of J. Pemberton and Edward S. Hutchinson,) Alfred Blaker,
Esq., all now deceased, were prominent men in their day, and
have left their impress on their native town.
"The Friends' meeting-house," dates back to 181 5, when
liberty was granted to hold an indulged meeting on First and
Third days. These meetings were held in the old court-house,
which was rented for that purpose. Application was made in
December, 181 5, to Wrightstown for liberty to build a meeting-
house, but it was not granted. The meetings were held in the
court-house until 181 7, when the present house was built and on
Dec. 30, 1818. Silas Cary, James Worstall, John Buckman, Jr.,
Zephaniah Mahan, Jacob Janney. Jesse Leedom and Joseph
Briggs, were appointed a committee to take a deed of trust for
the meeting property. In 1822 an effort was made to establish a
Friends' school, but it was not then successful. Soon afterwards the
Newtown Friends, with the aid of others, built what was known
as "The Neighbor's School," on the lot opposite the meeting-
house, afterwards used and known as the "Free School," and
which stood until a few years ago. They have since purchased
more land and made several improvements, including the addition
of a heating and ventilating apparatus. The society is in a flour-
ishine condition.
NEWTOWN — OLD AND NEW 293
The "Newtown of to-day" is a worthy successor of the old.
Many houses are still standing which figured prominently in
Revolutionary days, although much changed m appearance by
repairs. The house on the farm of Alexander German, now
deceased, was the headquarters of Washington from December
27 to 29. 1776, and some of his generals were also quartered here
at that time. Some of the Hessians captured at Trenton were
temporarily imprisoned in the Presbyterian church. The "Court
House Inn," now Mrs. Mitchells; the Brick hotel; and other
buildings date well back into the past.
"The Churches" of to-day embrace the Protestant Episcopal,
which has stood for many years on Washington avenue, facing
Liberty street, to which a new brick parish building has been
added and modern heating apparatus introduced in both church
and parish buildings. The Methodists sold their old church
building a few years ago to the borough school-board, who
changed it into a primary school, and erected a handsome church
building on the adjoining lot. They have a flourishing Sunday
school held in same building although separated from the main
audience room by sliding partitions. The Presbyterians still
hold their morning services in the old church building on Syca-
more street, but all other services including a large and flourishing
Sabbath school, are held in their new stone chapel, corner of
Washington avenue and Chancellor street.
The Roman Catholics some years ago built a large stone church
on lower Sycamore street, and have since erected a commodious
brick house adjoining, where the priest in charge makes his home.
The Baptists have recently organized a church and Sunday school,
meeting in Enterprise hall.
Newtown boasts of a large brick hall, built some years ago
on the lot where the "Free Church" once stood, permission to re-
move the restrictions on the latter having been obtained from the
Archambault family. It is lighted by electric lights, has a large
stage and will seat 700 persons.
"The Public School Buildings" embrace a large stone building
built at a cost, including grounds, of $20,000, the lot extending
through from Chancellor ' to Congress streets. The grounds
are large and well shaded, the building lighted by electric
lights and heated by the Smead and Wills heating and venti-
294 NEWTOWN — OLD AND NEW
lation system, with Smead's system of dry closets in the
basement. The primary school is on a lot 70x150 feet in size,
afifording the pupils a separate playground.
"The George School," situated on a beautiful plot of land a
short distance below the borough, is under the supervision of
the society of Friends. The grounds contain 227 acres, about
40 of which are thriving timber. The school buildings are
built of brick, the main building having a frontage of 242 feet
and a depth of 140 feet. There is a dormitory for boys 43 feet
by 58 feet, a gymnasium, reading rooms, large assembly room
with gallery seating 600 persons, a library, etc. Also separate
houses for the principal and some of the professors.
"The Friends Home" recently built at an expense for ground
and buildings of over $30,000, was the free gift of Hon. Edward
M. Paxson, and is a credit to the town and the donor as well.
The building is of stone, heated by steam and lighted by electric
lights throughout, with accommodations for about 30 persons,
and is well filled.
"The Newtown Enterprise," was established in 1868 by Eleazer
F. Church, who died in i8<93. His son, Watson P. Church,
assumed control in July of that year and still conducts it.
It has always sustained the reputation of being a good local news-
paper, while its advertising patronage and large circulation,
make it profitable to its owner.
The First National Bank, with a capital of $100,000, and a
surplus fund of $200,000, has always done a large and profitable
business and its stock has gradually increased in value.
Randal's carriage works have an extensive trade, their carriages
being sold not only locally, but throughout the South and West.
Mawson Brothers Incorporated have built up a very profitable
trade in manufacture of bobbins, spools, etc.
A cannery has been established the present season, the buildings,
well, lot, and machinery costing about $12,000 also an ice plant
and a china pottery both incorporated.
A. W. & W. M. Watson are doing a heavy business in hard
wood and other lumber. They also run to its full capacity a plan-
ing-mill and sash factory.
T. S. Kenderdine & Sons are running in connection with their
coal yards, a fertilizing plant and hay press and are always busy.
NEWTOWN — OLD AND NEW 295
Worstall Bros. & Co. have an extensive trade in coal, feed and
brick ; also a trade in flour manufactured in their merchant mill.
Our "New" town has an extensive water plant, supplying the
citizens and railroad engines with an abundance of excellent
water from artesian wells. Also an electric light plant, and has
recently become an important trolley centre. Connections are
made on State street for Doylestown, Bristol and Trenton. The
road from Trenton was built the present season and cars have
been running since July i, 1903. It will probably be extended to
Hatboro in the near future, thus placing the town in easy com-
munication with two cities as well as with the diiTerent parts of
our own county.
Much more might be said of "Newtown — Old and New," but
my paper has already been extended as far perhaps as time and
prudence will allow. The part taken by Newtown in the days
of the Revolution, presents great inducements to enlarge upon,
but I must refrain from doing so although the field is a tempting
one, and moreover this subject was well covered in the two
excellent papers read before our society last year at the Wy-
combe meeting, one by John S. Wurts of Germantown on "J^^dge
Henry Wynkoop," the other by one of Newtown's sons, Samuel
Gordon Smyth now of West Conshohocken entitled "Revolu-
tionary Events about Newtown."
The Tohickon Settlers.
BY WARREN S. ELY, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
(Tohickon Park, Bedminster Meeting, October 6, 1903.)
The place of our meeting to-day, while not the scene of
sanguinary strife in any of the warlike epochs of our history,
nor of any special event in the general history of the county or
State, nevertheless possesses special historic interest. It repre-
sents the extreme eastern shore line of the great tidal wave of
German immigration that, between the years 1730 and 1740,
swept over our county from the northwest, practically filling up
all the vacant land from the county-line to the Durham road
and from' New Britain and Plumstead to the Lehigh.
There were pretty distinct lines of demarcation as to national-
ity in the first settlement of our county. The English, mostly
Quakers, being first on the ground as permanent settlers, had
occupied practically all the land east of the Swamp road and
south of Plumstead prior to the arrival of either the Germans
or Scotch-Irish in any great number, and the more optimistic
of them had acquired large tracts of land far beyond these limits.
The Dutch from New Amsterdam and Staten Island had occupied
quite a large tract in North and Southampton by the end of the
first decade of the i8th century, while the Welsh overflow from
Gwynedd had pushed its way over the county-line into Xew
Britain and Hilltown. This left a vacant tract of some 10.000
acres along the upper Neshaminy in Warwick, Warrington and
New Britain which was quickly filled up by the Ulster Scots on
their arrival about 1730-5. There seems to have been a predi-
lection on the part of the latter race for the banks of streams,
and rugged hillsides, shunned by the earlier settlers. Having
taken up all the Neshaminy land then vacant, we find them swarm-
ing up the western banks of the Delaware from the mouth of
the Tohickon to the Lehigh and beyond ; rarely however, push-
ing inland from the river more than a few miles except where
they followed the course of one of its larger tributaries.
While the Germans were pushing eastward, the Quakers were
THE TOHICKON SETTLERS 297
expanding into Plunistead, luitil they, with a sprinkling of
Scotch-Irish and Welsh, had occupied practically the whole of
that township.
We therefore find that about the year 1750, near the spot of
our present meeting the three converging tides of immigration
met and turned back from each other. And from thenceforth
for half a century the lines marking the boundaries of the settle-
ments made by the three nationalities in upper Rucks, remained
practically unchanged. Draw a line from the upper Hne of
Plumstead near the Durham road to the northwest corner of
Durham township, and it will nearly represent the hne of division
between the land settled by the Germans and Scotch-Irish. Like
the water-shed of two great rivers, however, you will find this
line irregular at points where the two streams interlock each
other.
The changes of a century and a half have well nigh obliterated
these early lines, but in a singular manner, as practically all the
land originally settled by the Germans is still held by their lineal
descendants, while the hardy, frugal industrious progeny of Ger-
man sires have extended their holdings until they now occupy
i'lsciicallv -aW tlu- tinvnsliip (if Phmistead and the river town-
ships and a considerable portion of Buckingham and New Britain.
One of the reasons for this expansion of the Germans is their
homogeneity. Those of this particular locality were mostly Men-
nonites and by reason of their alien language and customs were
isolated from their English speaking neighbors. They neither
held nor sought office. The tenets of their lives and the memory
and traditions of the sufferings of their ancestors through politi-
cal strife, encouraged them to devote their whole energies to
their home life and the tilling of the soil. The more adven-
turous and ambitious Scotch-Irish, in strong contrast, seemed to
court strife, and the sons of the original settlers almost invaria-
bly sought homes on the extreme edge of civilization and were
always found in the vanguard in the conquest of the wilderness,
while the EngHsh descendants of craftsmen and tradesmen had
c: natural tendency for mercantile and manufacturing pursuits so
that the ranks of the husbandmen were constantly thinned to
make the merchants and manufacturers of our cities.
This spot had also in the early times, the distinction of being
2giS THE TOHICKON SETTI.ERS
upon the natural overland highway from the growing settlements
on the upper Delaware to Philadelphia and points further south.
It was the terminus of the Durham road as officially laid out from
1732 to 1744, when it was opened to Durham. During this inter-
val it was but an irregular trail beyond the Tohickon over which
the Durham teams dragged the product of the Durham furnace
to Philadelphia.
It is our purpose in this sketch to give some account of the
first settlers in this locality of all nationalities, though it will
be impossible to give any adequate account of the part they took
in the development of the county.
The township of Tinicum originally included two large tracts
surveyed in 1701. One of 4,448 acres surveyed to John or Jan
Streiper, of "Creveldt in the county of Cologne, on the Borders
of Germany," later of "Kalden-Kirchen in the county of Juliers,"
in the right of his purchase of 5,000 acres of William Penn, in
March, 1682. The extreme west corner of this tract was near the
point where the Durham road now crosses the Tohickon creek,
from which point it extended northeasterly 1,250 perches to near
Headquarters, thence southeasterly to the river, thence southwest
7,036 perches crossing the Tohickon into Plumstead, then north-
west recrossing the Tohickon 424 perches then again southwest
220 perches again crossing the Tohickon, this time into Bed-
minster township, and northwest 306 perches to the place of
beginning. The second tract containing 7,500 acres was sur-
veyed at the same time to Tobias Collet, Michael Russel, Daniel
Ouaire and Henry Goldney, of London, known as the "Pennsyl-
vania Land Company of London" but generally alluded to as
"The London Company." This tract beginning at the same point
as the Streiper tract extended northwest to what is now the upper
line of Tinicum then by that line to the river, down the river to
where the Streiper tract touched the river then northwest and
southwest by that tract to the beginning. Below the Streiper
tract was a triangular tract of perhaps 1,200 acres bounded on
the two other sides by the river and the Tohickon, which was
part of a tract referred to by Penn in the patent for the Streiper
tract as "reserved for my own use." It was patented about
1735 to Mathew Hughes, Lawrence and Enoch Pearson, Joseph
THE TOHICKON SETTLERS 299
Combes, Daniel Pennington and others in tracts varying from 50
to 250 acres.
The London Company tract was probably settled on by renters
and squatters to some extent about 1740, but the greater part of
it was unoccupied when put upon the market in 1762 by the
trustees appointed by an Act of Parliament passed in 1760, to
sell the land in Pennsylvania, belonging to the company. Even
at that date a large amount of it was purchased in large
tracts by land speculators and sold to actual settlers later. The
principal purchasers were Scotch-Irish, many of them sons of
settlers on the Streiper tract and elsewhere. Arthur Erwin who
had recently arrived from Ireland became the purchaser of
several large tracts in 1763 and 1765 and increased his holdings
later, until at the time of his tragic death June 9, 1791 he was
the owner of 1,600 acres. Robert Stewart, a grandson of Thomas
Stewart, an early Scotch-Irish settler in New Britain, became
the owner of several hundred acres, which he sold later and
removed to Stewartsville, N. J. Rachel and Robert Stewart, the
widow and son of Robert Stewart, of Warrington, also were
purchasers, as were Robert, Nicholas, Andrew and Alexander
Patterson, sons of John and Margaret Patterson, of the Streiper
tract. There was also a sprinkling of Germans among the set-
tlers in 1763.
Jan Streiper did not come to America to take possession of his
land, but prior to 1700 sent over his brother William to look after
his interests in Pennsylvania, with him came Rynier and Herman
Tysen, brothers of Jan Streiper's wife ; and his brothers-in-law,
Thones or Tunis Cunrads, Leonard Arets. and Paulus Custers.
Abraham, Herman and Isaac Opden Graef who arrived in 1687
and settled in Germantown were cousins of the Streipers. All
of these people have left numerous descendants in Bucks county.
Tunis Cunrads was the ancestor of most of the Conrads and
Conards of Bucks county as well as of many of other names, that
now reside in Bucks county. His son John married Trintje the
daughter of William Streiper and his daughter Enneke (Annie)
married Leonard Tysen the son of Reynier. Paulis Custers or
Kester as the name came to be spelled also has numerous
descendants in Bucks county; several of the name became early
settlers in Plumstead and Solebury and across the river in King-
300 THE TOHICKON SETIXERS
wood township, New Jersey. Five of one family intermarried
with the Hambleton family of Solebury. VVilHam Michener,
the ancestor of the Michener family of Plumstead, married Mary
Custers in 1720 and settled in Plumstead two years later.
The balance of Streiper's 5,000 acres was surveyed to him in
and around Germantown, with an allotment of two acres "Liber-
ty land" in the city of Philadelphia. The Tinicum tract contin-
ued to be the home of a remnant of the Delaware tribe of
Indians for upwards of twenty-five }ears after it was surveyed.
Among them' resided Ralph Wilson, an early Indian trader, who
did a thriving business with the tribes farther north who some-
times brought their pelts down the river and sojourned for a
time with their brethren on the Tohickon. Seven of the eight
sons of Ralph Wilson were land owners on or near the Tohickon
and his grandson John Wilson was for many years the proprietor
of the Harrow tavern.
To give a detailed account of the Streiper tract and the contro-
versy over it would fill a small volume and time will only permit
a brief summary thereof in this article. Jan Streiper prior to
his death in 171 5 conveyed his lands in Pennsylvania to his
brother, William Streiper, in order to vest a right of inheritance
under the English law, and William, like the cruel uncle of the
nursery tale, sought to divert it to his own use. Reynier Tysen
armed with a power of attorney from Jan Streiper, sought to
prevent this and the matter was further complicated by the death
of WilHam Streiper in 171 7. Finally in 1725. Tysen and the
heirs of William Streiper joined in a sale of the Tinicum tract
to James Logan, Penn's secretary. On July 27, 1726, a deed
was executed in Holland, purporting to be signed by the heirs of
Jan Streiper, conveying the land to Logan. The price was
£200 Sterling and ijo Penna. currency. In May, 1727, James
Logan presented his petition to the Proprietaries, setting forth
that Jan Streiper, being an alien, his children could not inherit,
whereby his title was defective, and further that the Indians
claimed title to the land, and praying that he might be permitted
to turn the land back to the Proprietors and have a like quantity
surveyed to him "in the new township of Durham." His petition
was granted and the Streiper tract reverted to the Penns, and so
remained until after the famous walk of 1737 had clearly defined
THE TOHICKON SETTLERS 3OI
the boundaries of the land purchased by Penn of the Indians,
50 years previously.
In May, 1738, the land was surveyed and divided into 25 tracts.
The warrantees were: (i,) Samuel Dyer, 226 acres; (2,) George
Cope, 191a. loop.; (3,) James Hayes, 315a. lo^p. ; (4.) John
Orr, i8oa. ; (5,) Joseph MacFarland, 200a.; (6,) George Albright,
20oa. ; (7,) vacant; (8,) James Whilly, 169a.; (9.) James Kelly.
150a. 37p. ; (10,) William Coulter, 201a. 57p. ; (11,) John Mc-
Laughlin, 309a.; (12,) Moses Marshall; (13.) John Wallace,
20oa. ; (14,) James Johnson, 150a. 45p. ; (15,) Christian Houk,
200a.; (16,) Margaret Patterson, 155a.; (17,) Nicholas Kern,
207a. 87p. ; (18,) John Sample, 175a. 64p. ; (19,) William Goodin,
175a. 64p. ; (20,) James Brooks, 175a. 64p. ; (21,) Edward Mar-
shall, 164a. I4ip. ; (22,) William Marshall, 165a. ii7p.; (2^,)
John May, 183a. I54p. ; (24,) David Griffith, T8ia. 2ip., and
(25,) Robert Wallace, 178a. i2op., a total of 4.840 acres and
63 perches.
It will be noticed that but three or four of these warrantees
were Germans and of these at least two, Christian Houk and
George Albright, never took up their lands. The tract of Houk
was resurveyed to James Davis in 1744, who had arrived a few
years previously from Drumquin, county Tyrone, Ireland, with
a wife and at least three sons, William, Patrick and James. Ten
other children were born to him in Tinicum. John Sample sold
his tract in 1746, and in 1759 it became the property of John Wil-
son. The George Cope tract, lying just across the Tohickon at the
Cabin Run ford, where a new iron bridge has been lately erected,
was sold by the sheriff to William Mains or Means who had come
with his father and three brothers from the north of Ireland
about 1730. William Mains died on his Tinicum plantation in
January, 1778, aged 84 years, and the property passed by will
to his youngest son of the same name. It was sold by the
sheriff ten years later to George Fox, and remained in the family
until quite recently. The John Wallace and James Whilly
tracts were repatented to Nicholas Wyker in 1783. John Orr's
tract included the site where this meeting is being held. About
one-half of the 180 acres lay across the Tohickon in Tinicum
township, but the buildings were on the Bedminster side, as
they are at present. This was known as John Orr's ford and
302 THE TOHICKON SETTLERS
was the point to which the Durham road was laid out in 1732 on
the petition of the then owners of the furnace at Durham.
John Orr was a native of Rapho Parish, county Donegal, Ire-
land, and only son of Humphrey Orr, who had emigrated to
America and settled in the township of New Britain where he
died in 1732. John Orr was still a resident of county Donegal in
1737 when he executed a power of attorney to Andrew Henderson
to collect his share of his father's estate. The affidavit of James
and Zachias Finley attached to the power of attorney states that
John was the son of Humphrey Orr and his wife "Eliza Orr als.
Simrell." John Orr was licensed to keep a house of entertain-
ment at the Tohickon ford in 1744 and probably a year earlier
as his application is not marked "new" as was customary with
new applications. His license was renewed from year to year
until his death in 1762, when he was succeeded by Henry Hoover.
It was one of the famous stopping places on the Durham road
and the first one licensed north of the "Sign of the Plough" at
Gardenville. In 1766 Robert Robinson obtained a license at the
site of Pipersville. and as no further mention is made of the inn
at the ford it was probably abandoned at that date. John Orr
left to survive him a widow Jane, one son Thomas, a daughter
Isabella Paterson, and two granddaughters, Rebecca Orr, daugh-
ter of his deceased son Alexander, who died in Northampton
township in 1753, and Rebecca Baker. The widow of his son
Alexander married Joseph Addis, of Northampton.
In the year 1764 Jan Hendrik Streiper and one Hannelever,
great-grandsons of Jan Streiper of Kalden Kirchen, came to
America and began proceedings to recover the land patented to Jan
in 1703. claiming it had been conveyed without the knowledge or
consent of his rightful heirs. The contest was carried through
the courts between them and Logan and resulted in favor of
the latter.
In August, 1768, James Parker, who was acting as attorney for
the Streiper heirs met them by appointment in Tinicum
to examine the land and a diary kept by him during this trip
gives an account of the persons then living on the tract as well as
the items of expenses at ferries and taverns. His principal stopping
place seems to have been at Bernard Sigman's who then kept an
inn at what is known as Smithtown on the River road. Another
THE TOHICKON SETTI.ERS 3O3
Stopping place was Captain Tenbrook's ferry and Widow Hart's.
He also mentions visiting John Gregg in Amwell, N. J., "late
Sheriff of Bucks county," who then owned the Davis tract which
he had leased to John Wilson for a term of five years.
The names of the owners in 1768 as given by Parker were
Henry Hoover, William Mains, Humphrey Laer, Michael Wor-
man, Solomon Carryl, James Brooks, Henry Preston, Patrick
Taylor, William Davis, Timothy Beans, Widow Ramsey, Bernard
Sigman, John Cooper and Jacob Fox. Timothy Beans, who had
purchased the Margaret Patterson Tract, was a native of War-
minster and married Rebecca Paxson, of Solebury. He removed
with his family to Fairfax, A^irg-inia, in 1785. John Cooper lived
on the Edward Marshall tract, the famous walker having pur-
chased a large tract in the London Company tract on which he
died and is interred with many other old residents of Tinicum in
a graveyard thereon that bears his name.* Most of the original
settlers on the Streiper tract were the petitioners for the organ-
ization of Tinicum' township in 1747 and many of them achieved
distinction in the Colonial and Revolutionary wars. In 1747
when the Indians were committing depredations all along our
frontiers, a military company was organized in Tinicum for the
defense of the Colonists with James McLaughlin as captain,
James Davis as lieutenant and John Hall as ensign. This
company saw active service on the frontiers of Northampton
county as shown by the colonial records. John Hall was later
a justice of the peace in Tinicum. In 1756 Patrick Davis, son
of James, was first lieutenant and later captain of a company
that did valiant service in the defense of the frontiers. He is
frequently mentioned by Major James Burd in his journal as
having rendered meritorious service. Returning to Tinicum at
the death of his father in 1762, he was commissioned a justice
of the peace but died in 1763. William Mains, and the Pattersons
were active in the organization of the militia, and Captain Ten-
brook saw active service in the French and Indian War. Among
the early German settlers in Tinicum were Henry Killian, the
father-in-law of Nicholas Wyker, who arrived from Rotterdam on
November 30, 1730, and Michael Worman, son of Johannes Wor-
man who arrived prior to 1740 and settled in Franconia township,
* For full account of Marshall's graveyard, see Vol. II, p. 348.
304 THE TOHICKON SETTLERS
removed to Rockhill in 1745, to Bedminster in 1754, and to Tini-
CLim in 1 761. John Worman was the father-in-law' of John
Heany, who owned and operated the mill at Church Hill and of
John Cooper before mentioned.
Bedminster has always been a distinctively German township.
In 1733, a tract of 6,653 acres was surveyed to William Allen,
Esq.. in right of his purchase of 10,000 acres of William Penn,
Jr. It embraced the whole central portion of the township and
was divided into about 50 farms varying in size from 100 acres
to 175 acres, and was sold on easy terms, mostly to Mennonist
emigrants from the Palatinate ; the earliest deeds to the Germans
are dated 1750, but the greater number of them bear date from
1762 to 1768.
The earliest deeds however refer to the grantees of 1762-3 as
already in possession in 1750, showing that there was some scheme
of sale which put the purchasers in possession long before they
obtained a free title. This was a favorite plan of William
Allen to encourage the settlement and improvement of his many
vast tracts of land. Among the earliest settlers was Jacob
Leatherman who arrived from Germany in the "Lydia," Septem-
ber 29. 1741, then aged 32 years, with his wife, Magdalene, and
two sons, Jacob and Abraham, the latter but two years of age.
Six other children were born to him, three sons, Michael, Henry
and John, and three daughters. Madalene, who married Jacob
High, of Hilltown ; Catharine and Ann who died single. The
land taken up by Jacob Leatherman consisted of over 300 acres
lying in two tracts immediately north of the Mennonite meeting-
house at Deep Run. Jacob Leatherman died February, 1769.
His wife, Magdalene survived him several years. 141 acres of
the land were conveyed by Allen to Jacob Leatherman for the
eldest son in 1767, and the other tract, 162 acres, was conveyed
to the executors of Jacob Leatherman. Sr., in 1770; the deed
recites an agreement to convey, etc. Abraham Leatherman, the
second son, died in 1823. aged 84 years. Tilman Kolb, Jr.. and
David Kolb. probably sons of the Skippack Dilman Kolb. Sr.,
obtained deeds for large tracts here in 1754. John Booz, who
arrived in the "Glasgow,"' September 9, 1738, purchased 250
acres near the southeast corner of the tract. Adjoining him
were W^illiam Moyer. David and Christopher Angeny. One of
THE TOHICKON SETTLERS 305
the largest purchases was by Abraham Swart^, ahas Black, who
owned several tracts in the neighborhood of the Deep Run Presby-
terian church. Ulrich Hockman, Jacob, Peter and Michael Ott,
Frederick Sallade, Henry Stouffer, Henry Crout, Henry Kramer
and Peter Loux were among other land owners in this tract ;
all of these have left numerous descendants still residing in Bucks
county. Henry Stauffer, the ancestor of our Bucks county Sto-
vers, arrived in Philadelphia September 9. 1749; his wife was
Barbara Hockman. An elaborate history of his descendants has
been recently compiled by Rev. A. J. Fretz, of Milton, N. J.
Between the Allen tract and 'the Tohickon was a strip of land
surveyed principally to residents lower down the county. Eben-
ezer Large had 500 acres on the lower boundary of Bedminster,
surveyed in 1727. Among others were John Britain, Joseph
Townsend, of Solebury, Charles Williams, Nicholas Dillon and
Francis McFall. The last two owned the land lying between
tliis point and Pipersville, the Durham road intersecting McFall's
tract diagonally, the present village being located on this tract.
East of McFall, and lying in the angle of the Streiper tract, were
276 acres patented to Thomas Good in 1737 and conveyed by
him to Nathan Preston and Thies or Tice Tinsman, Dinsman or
Tenchman, (as the name was variously spelled), who arrived
from Germany Septeniber 14, 1749. He also pwned about 100
acres in the east corner of the Allen tract ; he had 'Sons, John,
Adam and Peter.
John Fretz, the pioneer ancestor of the Bucks county family,
located on the eastern boundary of the Allen tract on land pat-
ented to Bartholomew Longstreth, of Warminster. Adjoining
the tract on two sides was a tract of 333 acres, patented to
Samuel Eastburn in 1742. In the northeast corner of Bedmin-
ster, much of the land was included in patents to Richard Hock-
ley and Richard Peters, who, about 1760 conveyed various tracts
to Hartman Tettemer, Bartel White, Philip and Adam Stein,
Conrad Mitman and Casper Nagle. Along the Tohickon, north
of the Allen tract, Ludwick Wildonger, who arrived September
14, 1737, (a Revolutionary soldier,) Valentine Switzer, Adam
Beysher, Rudolph Trach, Adam Klamfer, Henry Keller and Mich-
ael Yost, Mathew Rea and John Rea, who migrated from the Eso-
pus overland to Smithfield, now Monroe county, with the early
3o6 THE TOHICKON SETTLERS
Hollanders, were settlers in Bedminster, prior to its organization
as a township. John and William Graham and William Armstrong
from the north of Ireland obtained patents for large tracts of
land on both sides of the Tohickon near Church Hill. Valentine
Nicholas arrived in the ship Davy, October 24, 1738, and John
and Jacob Nicholas in the Ship "Marlborough'' September 2^,
1 74 1. All three located on the Tohickon in Haycock, adjoining
land with Henry Keller, who arrived in 1737. George Kintner
arrived September 2, 1749, and located in Nockamixon; his son,
Jacob Kintner was sheriff of Bucks county in 1824.
George Overbeck, who held the first license at Bucksville, was
born in Germany 1715, and died August 15, 1798. He was an
ensign of a Provincial company in 1748, of which John Wilson
was captain and Thomas Blair lieutenant. He was also ensign
of company of militia during the Revolution. James Hart, who
for many years kept the old tavern near Wismer, was lieutenant
of Capt. Charles Stewart's company in 1748 and his brother,
William, ensign.
Many of the early settlers in this vicinity are as well worthy of
mention, having served in defense of the county and filled
positions of trust meritoriously but time will not permit us to
enumerate them.
Keller Family History.
BY EDWARD MATTHEWS, LANSDALE, lA.
(Tohickon Park, Bedrainster Meeting, October 6, 1903.)
The Keller family are of German extraction, and are so numer-
ous in eastern Pennsylvania that it is reasonable to believe that
they are descendants of several different German immigrants.
The lists of arrivals of Germans in Pennsylvania, give the names
of over fifty of the name of Keller who arrived here between
the years 1729 and 1807.
The immigrant ancestor of most, if not all of the Kellers of
upper Bucks, was Henry or Heinrich Keller, who arrived in
Philadelphia on the good ship "Glasgow," September 9, 1738.
From the records of Keller's Church we have the following: —
"Heinrich Keller was born January 9, 1708, and died October 18, 1782, his
father's name was Willhelm Keller and his mother's name was Gertraut, in
Weierbach, out of Naumburch, Baaden, and came to America September 9,
1738. On October 20, 1728, he was married to Juliana, born in 171 1; her
father's name was Peter Kleindinst and mother's name Anna Maria, also
out of Weierbach, Naumburch. Her father held an ofi&ce there."
Their children, as shown by the same record, were : Johan
Peter, born November 20, 1729, died September 15', 1738;
Tohanes born Jan. 28. 1733, married Maria Drach, Oct. 30,
1755; Anna Margretha, born June 2, 1735, married Solomon
Gruver, Feby. 3, 1756; Maria Elizabeth, born Nov. 19, 1737,
married Philip Stever Oct. 8, 1756; Elizabeth Barbara, born
April 14, 1740, married first John Niemand in 1760, and second
Michael Steinbach in 1769; Anna Maria born Nov. 5, 1742,
married Adam Litzenberger April 24, 1770; John Heinrich,
born June 20, 1745. died in 1748; John Peter, born July 13, 1747,
baptized March 3, 1748; Dorothea, born Sept. 2, 1749, married
Henry Steinbach, died March 27, 1816; Christopher, born Dec.
15. 1751 died July 8, 1820; Heinrich, born May 10, 1755.
Heinrich Keller probably made his way to the banks of the
Tohickon soon after his arrival, though the first record of him
that we have discovered as a landholder was in 1750, when he
308 KELLER FAMILY HISTORY
purchased of Thomas and Richard Penn 150 acres of land in
Bedminster township, on the northwest side of the Ridge road,
about one mile southwest of Keller's Church. This tract he con-
veyed to Michael Yost in 1752. His residence at that date as
shown by the deed was Bedminster. In the year 1734, a tract
of 300 acres on the north side of the Tohickon, in Haycock
township, was surveyed to Griffith Davis, who, with Elizabeth,
his wife, conveyed the same to Henry Keller on Alay 10, 1757.
On November 5, 1754, Henry Keller obtained a warrant for the
survey of 21 acres and 136 perches at the northwest corner of
the above tract and the draft of survey, on file at Harrisburg,
fshows that the Davis tract was then in the tenure of Henry Keller.
It is therefore probable that Henry Keller took possession of the
tract soon after his sale of his Bedminster land in 1752, under
an agreement to purchase that was not completed until the date
of the deed 1757. This tract was directly opposite Keller's Church
and extended over the Tohickon into Bedminster township at two
or three points, caused by the curves of the creek, the lower line
being straight instead of conforming to the courses of the creek.
Of this tract of 300 acres purchased of Davis, Henry Keller and
Juliana, his wife, 1772, conveyed about 225 acres in three practi-
cally equal tracts to their sons Henry, Peter and Christopher.
His son John had purchased a large tract adjoining his father
in 1772 of David Graham. Henry Keller was a man of promi-
nence in his community. Pie was the first constable of Haycock
townsliip, and was frequently named by the court or selected by
the parties in interest to assist in the settlement of estates.
Henry Keller died October 8, 1782. aged nearly 75 years, and
is buried beside his wife, Juliana, in the grave-yard at Keller's
Church. His will, dated January 23, 1782, probated November
I. 1782, devises to his wife
"My dwelling house together with all other buildings as it is mentioned
in a certain article between Peter Keller and Christopher Keller, to-
gether with all incomes of my four sons, that is to say, John Keller, Peter
Keller, Christopher Keller and Henry Keller, as it is mentioned in a
certain article of agreement (together with her personal goods and his
personal estate) and 100 pounds shall stand upon interest if she should
want it, * * * all this she shall have so long as she shall remain my
wife."
KEtl^ER FAMII^Y HISTORY 309
To his four sons he devises 75 pounds each and to his five
daughters 50 pounds each.
Of these children, Col. John, the eldest son, married October 30,
1755, Maria Drach or Trauch, daughter of Rudolph Drach, who
had settled on another tract patented to Griffith Davis, on the
'South side of Tohickon, in Bedminster township. John Keller's
residence from the dace of his marriage to 1772 is unknown. In
the latter year he purchased 175 acres adjoining his father's tract
in Haycock, on the west, and resided thereon until his death,
when it was partitioned in the Orphans' Court and 140 acres ad-
judged to his son Henry, who conveyed it soon after to his broth-
er-in-law, John Ott, whose descendants of the name still own and
occupy it. The balance of the land was adjudged to John Keller,
the eldest son, and was again partitioned in 1813 among the chil-
dren of John, Jr., then a justice of the peace of Haycock town-
ship.
Col. John Keller died in 1792, and was survived by his wife,
Mary, and six children, though there were nine children born
to them, viz :
John, born September 14, 1756, and died June 6, 1813. Eliza-
beth, born January i, 1758; Henry, born January 15, 1760;
Jonathan, born May 18, 1762; Mary, married to John Ott, Sr. ;
Anna Magdalena, born June 12, 1768; Dorothy, born March 12,
1770, and died in 181 1, married John Ott, Jr., in 1792; Michael,
born November 2^, 1774; Jacob, born March 13, 1777. The offi-
cial and military record of Col. John Keller will be given later
in this narrative.
Solomon Gruver, who married Margaret Keller, February 3,
1756, was a son of Peter Gruver, one of the earliest German
settlers on the Tohickon, in Bedminster. Solomon was a resi-
dent of Richland and had at least three children, Philip Heinrich,
born September 22, 1758; a child born in 1762; and Peter, born
August 26, 1764.
Philip Stever, who married Elizabeth Keller, October 8. 1756,
was captain of a company in the Revolution. After the close
of the war he settled on a tract of 300 acres patented tO' him in
Haycock township. Many of his descendants are now residents
310 KELLER FAMILY HISTORY
of Bedminster and other parts of Bucks county. We have the
baptismal record of but three of his children.
baptized November 21, 1762. George, born October 6,
1766; John Adam, born December 2, 1771 ; Elizabeth Barbara
Keller married John Niemand, widower, March 4. 1760, and had
two children, John Philip, born November 26, 1762 and Elizabeth
Barbara, born Aug. 8, 1764. After the death of John Niemand,
his widow, Barbara, was married to Michael Steinbach. son of
John Christian Steinbach, May 23, 1769, and had one child, Eliza-
beth, born April 2^^, 1770.
Dorothea Keller married Henry Steinbach, but no marriage
record can be found. They both lie side by side at Keller's Church.
He was also a son of John Christian Steinbach, and was born
April 15, 1750, and died July 27, 1795. Their children were:
Christian, born August 11, 1775; Christian, born March 23.
1778; Anna Maria, born July 20, 1780; John, born August 2,
1782: Jacob, born January i, 1785; Johann George, born Aug.
18. 1789: and Elizabeth, born ^larch 17, 1792.
Anna Maria, fourth daughter of Heinrich Keller, born Novem-
ber 5, 1742, married Adam Litzenberger, a shoemaker, at the
house of Heinrich Keller, April 24, 1770. They had the follow-
ing children: John, born June i, 1771 ; Alaria Catharine, born
February 19, 1774; John Peter, born Alarch 19. 1776; Maria
Philippina. born July 25, 1778; John, born January 19. 1781.
died 1806; and Solomon, born July 11, 1784, died December 10.
1857. buried at Keller's Church ; his wife was Susanna Koder
and their son. Elias Litzenberger. still resides in Haycock town-
ship, being in his 84th year. The descendants of Peter Litzen-
berger are living in the vicinity of Allentown.
Peter Keller, born July 13, 1747, who always lived in Hay-
cock township was married three times, and his descendants far
outnumber any of Henry Keller's other children. Most of
them reside in the vicinity of Perkasie, Hagersville and Dublin,
others around Allentown, and some have gone to Ohio and the
West. His first wife was Sybilla (believed to be Funk). They
had two children: Catherine, born May 17, 1772. and Barbara,
born June 18, 1775.
His second wife was Elizabeth Wimmer. daughter of George
KELLER FAMILY HISTORY 3II
and lUizabeth Wimmer, born September 10, 1758. Their children
were: Elizabeth, born August 20, 1776; Peter, born December
14, 1782, died August 14, 1862; George, born May 8, 1783, died
January 19, 1789; a child born May 28, 1789, and baptized Aug-
ust 17, 1879. Peter Keller's first wife was Catharine Apple.
They had a very large family, but only the names of Jacob,
Henry, Mary and Elizabeth can be found on the records.
Samuel Keller, formerly of Danboro, now in Philadelphia, and
one of the county commissioners when the Bucks county court-
house was erected, and his brother, Mahlon Keller, living at
the Frog Hollow hotel, are positively identified with this branch
of the family, being the sons of George by the second marriage.
Christopher Keller, son of Heinrich, was married to Margaret
Trauch February 17, 1778; she was born 1759 and died Febru-
ary II, 181 1. Christopher lived all his life on what is now the
J. Afflebach farm in Haycock township. In 1776 he served as
an ensign of the Fourth Company of the Bucks County Battalion
of the "Flying-camp," during the Revolutionary War. He had
no children.
John, born June 12, 1781, died February 25, 1842; Henry, born
September 28, 1783, died July 9, 1831 ; Michael, born December
9, 1786, died November 25, 1853; Elizabeth, born August 19,
1788; Anna Catharine, born July 17, 1790; Samuel, born April
20, 1792, died January 28, 1861 : Joseph born November 10,
1794, died February 14, 1877; Sarah, born November 14, 1797,
and Daniel, born April 10, 1802.
John Keller, son of Christopher, was married to Mary
and had the following children; Sarah, born January 7, 1806,
married Samuel Frankenfield ; Elizabeth, born December 16, 1807,
married John Landis; Catharine, born August 9, 1810, died un-
married; Mary, born January 16, 1813, married EHas Nuna-
maker, buried at Tohickon church ; Susanna, born April 20,
1815; Robert, born September 5, 1817; Anna, born June 9, 1820.
died unmarried. Margaret, born June 2y, 1822, married Jesse
Koder ; John, moved to the West and raised a large family.
Amanda, died unmarried; Robert and Harriet (unmarried) are
still living at Keller's Church, and probably Mrs. Jesse Koder
in Bedminster township.
312 KELLER FAMILY HISTORY
Henry Keller married Catharine Fox and had the following
children : Mary, married William Myers ; Charity, married Levi
Sumstone ; Catharine, married John Sassaman ; Elizabeth, mar-
ried Peter Welder ; Isaac ; Charles : Jacob ; Henry ; Levi and
David. Of this family, three are living: Levi, at Hatboro;
Henry, near Wismer, and David, at Point Pleasant.
Michael Keller, born 1786, died 1853, niarried Sarah Wimmer,
who was born 1800, died 1874, and both are buried at Keller's
Church. They had eight children : John, born 1822, died 1886,
married Sophia Bosler : Elizabeth, born 1823, widow of Samuel
Mitman ; Israel, born 1827, married Catharine Kepler; Hannah,
born 1829, died 1887, buried in Doylestown cemetery; Stephen,
born 1832, died about 1899, married Sarah Frankenfield ; Felix,
born 1835. died 1901, married first Hannah Afflerbach, and second
Amanda Apple; Reuben, born 1837, married Mary Geil ; James,,
born 1840, married Ascha McCarty ; Elizabeth Keller married
Henry Wambold and lived near Indian Creek church ; both have
been dead many years, their only daughter married a man .by
the name of Weikel.
Anna Katherine Keller married Joseph Steely, they lived at
Stockertown, Pa. They had two daughters, one being Mrs.
Elizabeth Baker. Joseph Steely died and she married a second
time to a man named Algard. They lived at Mt. Bethel, Pa., and
had one son.
Samuel Keller married Elizabeth Kulp, born 1794, died 1875.
They lived at Applebachsville and are buried in the church-yard
at that place. They had the following children : Mrs. Annie
Gerhart. of Richlandtown ; Mrs. Mary Funk, Bloomsbury, N. J. ;
Samuel, Bloomsbury, N. J.; Aaron, buried at Applebachsville;
Hannah, buried at Applebachsville ; Eliza ; William, Jesse Elias
who lived and died in Bethlehem, one of his daughters is married
to Alfred J. Snyder, at Plumsteadville.
Joseph Keller, born 1794. died 1877, always lived in Haycock
township, married Anna Mary Applebach, who died in 1876, and
both are buried at Keller's church cemetery. They had nine
children: Ann Margaret, born, November 23, 1822, died 1902,
married John Shisler ; Abraham, born September, 1823, died
December 23, 1880, married Judith Myers for hvs first wife, and
KELLER FAMILY HISTORY 3 13
the widow of Franklin Stauffer for his second wife ; Catharine,
born November 8, 1825, married Thomas Htilshizer ; Diana, born
November 18, 1827, married Levi Stone; Tobias, born March 3,
1830, died 1896, married Miss Gerhart : Joseph, born March 17,
1832, died 1898, married Lydia Afflerbach; Sarah, born October
8, 1834, married Jacob Hesh first, then Samuel Dotterer. Marie,
born February 17, 1837, married William Sanies; Abednego,
born May 14, 1840, married Eliza Afflerbach; this family is
represented by Lewis Keller, the merchant of Bedminsterville ;
Mahlon Keller, of Perkasie ; Abraham Keller, of Doylestown ;
Eli Keller, north of Doylestown; Newberry Keller, at Garden-
denville ; William Sames, above Plumsteadville ; Harvey Keller,
near Keller's Church.
Daniel Keller by his marriage had a daughter, Mrs. Angeline
Gessler, and she had a son known as Dorsey Gessler, who mar-
ried a Miss Cressman.
Henry Keller, youngest son of Heinrich, born May 10, 1755,
married Margaret, the widow of Adam Laudenslauger, of Hay-
cock township. In 1783 he divided and sold his farm to his two
brothers, Peter and Christopher, and his nephew, John, the son
of his brother John, and moved to Hatfield township, Montgom-
ery county, Pa. It is believed he had two sons. Samuel mar-
ried Elizabeth Rotzel, and both are buried at Hilltown church.
Their descendants live in Lansdale and that vicinity. A second
son was Enoch, who lived and died near Lansdale, he left no
family, he and his wife Charlotte are buried at North Wales.
Of the prominent officers from Bucks county in the Revolution-
ary struggle, none rendered the county more faithful and assidu-
ous service than Col. John Keller, of Haycock, the eldest son
of Henry and Juliana Keller. He was born in 1733, in one of
the Rhine provinces of Germany and was therefore but five years
of age when he crossed the Atlantic with his parents, in the
good ship "Glasgow," in the summer of 1738. Of his pubHc life
prior to the breaking out of the Revolution we have no knowl-
edge. When in 1774, the clouds of war began to gather he was
in the prime of life, about 40 years of age.
Bucks county was among the first to organize its militia into
companies and battalions. By 1775 twenty-four townships had
514 KELLER FAMILY HISTORY
organized companie'S. The first battalion was commanded by-
Colonel Joseph Kirkbride and was composed of the companies
of the townships of Newtown, Bensalem, Lower Makefield, North-
ampton, jMiddletown, Southampton, Falls and Bristol. The sec-
ond battalion, commanded by Colonel John Beatty comprised
the militia of Buckingham, Wrightstown, Warrington, Hilltown,
Plumstead, Solebury, Upper Makefield, Warminster and New
Britain. The third battalion, commanded by Colonel John Kel-
ler, of Haycock, comprised the companies of Bedminster, Nock-
amixon, Tinicum, Rockhill, Springfield and Lower Milford. On
the reorganization of the militia in May, 1777, Bucks county had
five battalions, commanded respectively by Colonel Hugh Tomb,
Arthur Erwin, John Keller, William Roberts and John Mclllvaine.
The third battalion, commanded by Col. Keller comprised eight
companies. The total forces thus organized comprised five lieu-
tenant colonels, above named, five majors, forty captains, 119
subalterns, 160 sergeants, 40 drummers, 40 fifers and 2791 pri-
vates. Col. Keller's regiment had 551 men and was one of the
largest. On July 31, 1777, two of his companies, commanded
by Jacob Shoope, of Nockamixon, and Nicholas Patterson, of
Tinicum, were detached and sent to Bristol. They were followed
by the Rockhill company of 109 men commanded by Capt. David
Shellenberger, which was sent to Billingsport, N. J.
Tn May, 1780. another re-organization took place and Colonel
William Roberts, of New Britain, assumed command of the
third battalion, and Col. Keller was assigned to the second
battalion, though comprising the same eight companies. Of
these Col. Keller's brother-in-law, Captain Philip Stever, com-
manded the Bedminster company, Captain Abraham Kachline the
Rockhill company. Jacob Shoope, that of Nockamixon, Henry
Huber, that of Milford. Christian Weigner. that of Tinicum.
George Heinline. that of Durham, and David Mellinger, what had
been the Springfield company. The lieutenant of the latter com-
pany was John Fries, later notorious as the leader of the "Fries
Rebellion." Colonel Keller's battalion was in active service in
the fall of 1 78 1, then comprising 677 men, divided into eight
companies and commanded by Captains Gawen Adams. Manus
KELLKR FAMILY HISTORY 315
Yost, Elias Rader, Richard Stillwell, Daniel Hogeland, William
Erwin and Robert Patterson.
In addition to his military record, Col. John Keller has a
no less distinguished civil record. He was elected to the Penn-
sylvania Assembly in 1776, being the first of his nationality to
serve in that capacity from Bucks county. In the following
year he was returned as a member of the Supreme Executive
Council and again in 1778. In 1784 he was again elected to the
Council. He was also delegate to the first Constitutional Con-
vention of 1776. From an account rendered by him' it appears
that he acted as sub-lieutenant of Bucks county from March 10,
1781, to April I, 1783.
Col. John Keller the patriot and soldier, who had served his
country long and well, did not live to see old age. He died in
the year 1792, in his sixty-first year.
John Keller, eldest son of Colonel John Keller, born Septem-
ber 14, 1756, and died in 1813, was a justice of the peace in Hay-
cock township. His signature was found on a deed of John
Smith and wife, Mary, to John Buryer, dated April, 7, 1813.
His wife was Margaret, and they had the following children :
John Adam, born October 3, 1784, married Elizabeth Maust ;
Mary Elizabeth, born October 30, 1785, married Jacob Kurtz;
Heinrich, born May 14, 1786; Hannah, born February 19, 1788,
married Anthony Amey; John, born May i, 1790; Anna Mary,
born January 20, 1793; Sarah, born October 5, 1795; Samuel,
born — ■— 2^, 1801 ; William, born June 22, 1804; Anna Mar-
garet, born May 30, 1806.
It is said that there was a Mrs. Gerhart, Mrs. Dreesloch and
Mrs. Kercher in the family, and it is supposed that the descen-
dants of John Keller still live in the upper townships of Bucks.
Henry Keller, son of Colonel John, as before stated, was ad-
judged 140 acres of his father's land in the division. In 1804.
he and wife, Magdalena, were living in Tinicum, when they
conveyed 140 acres to his brother-in-law, John Ott, of Haycock,
weaver. The greater part of the tract is still owned by the
lineal descendants of Col. John Keller.
Concerning the lands of Heinrich Keller, the immigrant, in 1818
Christopher Keller, his son, sold the 93 acres owned by him to
3l6 THE NEWTOWN LIBRARY
John Henry Keller. They, in 1843, sold to Charles Keller. In
1846 Charles Keller conveyed to Michael Dech, he to Abraham
Applebach. whose son, John H. Applebach, now owns a portion
of it.
The author desires to acknowledge the assistance of Thomas
C. Atherholt. of Philadelphia, and Miss Mary E. Keller, of
Doylestown in the preparation of this paper.
The Newtown Library.
BY GEORGE A. JENKS, NEWTOWN, PA.*
(Doylestown Meeting, Jnnuary 19, 1904.)
While we cannot claim that Newtown is the oldest town in
Bucks county, we can justly claim that the Newtown library
is the oldest public library in Bucks county.
We have the minutes of the library from August 9, 1760, up
to the present date. And that date August 9, 1760, has generally
been held to be the date of the starting or founding of our li-
brary. This, however, is certainly a mistake.
The minutes of this first meeting clearly prove that there
must have been some prior meetings, as the following will
show :
"The Library Company met at the house of Joseph Thornton, Esq., in
Newtown, and chose the following persons to be Directors, Treasurer and
Secretary of said Company, until the last Seventh day oi the week in
October ensuing."
On the same day the newly elected directors met and passed
a resolution that the library of books, and the company's effects
were to be kept at the house of Joseph Thornton, in Newtown,
who was chosen librarian ; and that the stibscribers should meet
and make their first payment to the company's treasurer on the
last Seventh day in October next, being the time appointed for
their annual payments to be made, and for the yearly elections
to be held.
At the meeting held on October i, 1760, it was ordered that
any person inclining to join said library might sign the articles
thereof, applying to P. Thornton. From these minutes it is
clear that preliminary meetings had been held, articles of asso-
* George A, Jenks, Esq., the author of this paper was born October 9, 1829 and died
April 2, 1909.
THE NEWTOWN LIBRARY 317
ciation or by-laws adopted, and that the association at that time
had books and effects. When these prehminary meetings were
held we cannot now tell. They were probably held some little
time before the meeting of the members on August 9, 1760. If
the persons who signed these articles had possessed the fore-
knowledge that there would be in the hereafter a General Davis,
and a Bucks County Historical Society, all of these interesting
papers would doubtless have been preserved and we would now
have the benefit of them ; and possibly know to what persons
we are indebted for first suggesting a public library in Newtown.
It is probable that the meeting on August 9, 1760, was the
regular meeting for the permanent organization of the library,
and the election of officers to serve until the regular meeting in
October.
At this meeting of the Library Company, being the first of
which we have any record, the following persons were chosen
as officers to serve until the last Seventh day in the month of
October, ensuing, viz : Directors, Jonathan DuBois. Abraham
Chapman, Amos Strickland, David Twining and Henry Marge-
rum ; Treasurer, John Harris ; Secretary, John Chapman. On
this same day the newly elected directors held a meeting at which
only Amos Chapman, Amos Strickland and Henry Margerum
were present.
At the first, as well as at subsequent meetings the name on the
minute book was only the "Library Company," and the word
"Newtown" was not added until March 27, 1789, when it was
incorporated under the name of "The Newtown Library Com-
pany."
At a meeting of the directors on October i, 1760, it was order-
ed that the clerk do set up advertisements, giving notice to the
members of said company to meet at the house of Joseph Thorn-
ton, in Newtown, on the last Seventh day in October, inst., to
elect officers and make their annual payments, etc. At the
meeting of the company on October 25. 1760. the officers were
re-elected ; and on the same day the newly elected directors met
and a resolution was adopted that not any of the present books
should be kept out longer than six weeks. The librarian was
directed to give a list of the books then belonging to the com-
3i8 the; NEWTOWN library
pany, and the price thereof to the committee at their next meet-
ing, that they may be then able to settle with the purchasers
thereof.
At this same meeting the treasurer reported that the following
persons had paid into his hands the several sums annexed to
each of their names. These fees were each one pound. 1
suppose Pennsylvania currency which, I take for granted, was
the entrance fee.
These names together with those who paid on November 9th,
appear to be the original members of the Library Company:
Mark Watson, William Buckman, John Harris, Isaiah Linton,
Samuel Twining, Amos Strickland, Joseph Jenks, Samuel Smith,
Benj. Doane, John Thornton, Stephen Twining, Thomas Jenks
(my grandfather). William Chapman, Abraham Chapman, Jos-
eph Galloway, Benjamin Hamton, Joseph Chapman, John Chap-
man, John Gregg, John Watson and John Story.
These subscriptions at ii each make a total of £21 but I
cannot say whether this was for annual dues or advancement
or gift to the Library Company. I should suppose that it was
an advancement, as on the minutes of October 31, 1761, appears
the following, viz :
"This day the time of the company's articles for making their annual
payment the following persons have paid into the treasurer's hands the
several sums,"
Then follows fifteen names each credited with the payment of
ten shillings which appears to have been the annual dues at that
time. On the minutes of November 8, 1760:
"It appears by the receipts produced to the clerk, this day, the following
persons have paid into the hands of the treasurer the several sums annexed
to each of their names :"
£. s. d.
Jonathan DuBois £1, and to be allowed in advance ii . . . . 2 o o
Henry Wynkoop, ii and £2 3 o
William Pearson i
Henry Margerum, in advance 10
Amos Strickland i
David Twining, ii and advances 2s i 2
John Harris, advances i
Joseph Thornton, advances o 12 6
Making in all 10 4 6
THE NEWTOWN LIBRARY 319
The names of the parties included in the two above Hsts
appear to have been the original members of the Library Com-
pany. They have all long since passed away and sleep in un-
known graves. From this act alone in founding our library
(even though they did nothing more for the benefit of man-
kind), it can be truthfully said of them, that the little part of
the world in which they lived was the better for their having
lived in it. They have passed away, but their work still lives.
The present generation about Newtown has profited by it, and
we hope many future generations will profit by what they did
in this respect.
That money was needed for the purchase of books is shown
by the following extract from the minutes of November 9, 1760.
"Resolved, That Jonathan DuBois be allowed to advance 20 shillings ;
Henry Wynkoop, 40 shillings ; Henry Margerum, Amos Strickland, David
Twining, John Harris and Joseph Thornton, 20 shillings each ; and that
the sums be allowed to them out of their first yearly pa>ments according
to the same advances."
That these advances were needed is shown by the fact that
the sum expended for book»s up to January 22, 1761, was ^31,
4 s, 6 d, while the money received to that date, including these
advances, was £ 30, 9 s.
There is an interesting item in the minutes of this meeting, as
follows : "Jo^S'than DuBois, Abraham Chapman and David
Twining were appointed to go to Philadelphia to see on what
terms they can send to England for books, or whether it would
be more advantageous to buy them in town, and make return
to the committee at their next meeting of what discovery they
make "
At the next meeting on November 24, 1760, there was no
report from the committee, as far as the minutes show, but the
following was passed:
"Ordered the company's money be sent to England, for books, and that
Joseph Galloway, Esq., be appointed to send the same, and that Abraham
Chapman agree with him about it, and that he draws the money out of
the treasurer's hands and deliver it to said Galloway."
At the next meeting however on January 22. 1761, the fol-
lowing resolution was adopted, viz :
320 rut NEWTOWN LIBRARY
"It being found on further inquiry of the directors that it would be
best to purchase the books in Philadelphia. And the money being put into
the hands of Joseph Galloway, he purchased books to the value of £20,
14s. And said Galloway, with Abraham Chapman and Henry Wynkoop,
bought books to the value of £g, 15s., which books, as they stand in the
annexed lists, was produced this day at an extraordinary meeting of the
company and accepted of. and the directors and Abraham Chapman was
discharged from the money the said books was purchased with."
So you see that the open country village of William Penn
received the profits on these books and the Newtown library
cut loose from England, fifteen years before the Colonies pro-
claimed their independence. At this meeting it was also ordered,
"That if any one of the Library Company keep any one book longer
than the time limited for the said book to be out. that he so keeping said
book pay unto> the company's librarian for the use of the company, six
pence per week, but if the book is returned within one week after the
time limited is expired, his fine shall be exempted. And the librarian
is not to let such person so keeping said book any book until he pays
his fine, and the librarian is to pay such fines into the hands of the
treasurer at the annual meeting."
By this, it appears, that if the delinquent repented in one week,
he was to be forgiven, otherwise the "whole pound of flesh"
was to be exacted.
Tt may be interesting to give the titles of the books purchased
the first year ; this will enable us to compare the literary taste of
our forefathers with our own.
This list is as follows :
Rollin's Roman History, 16 vols.; Burn's Justice. 3 vols.; Preceptor,
2 vols. ; Rowling's Philosophy. 2 vols. ; European Settlements. 2 vols. ;
Present State of Europe, i vol. ; Voyage to Senegal, i vol. ; Moral Mes-
cellanies. I vol.: Roderick Random. 2 \ols. ; Dictionary of Arts and
Sciences. 4 vols. ; Leland's View of Bolenbrook. i vol. ; Life of Oliver
Cromwell, i vol. ; Peerage of England, i vol. ; Dignity of Human Nature,
I vol. ; Swift's works. 8 vols. ; Paradise Lost, i vol. ; Harvey's Medita-
tions. 2 vols. ; Salmon's Gazeteer. i vol. : Salmon's Grammar, i vol. ;
Young's Works. 4 vols. ; IMonitor, 3 vols. : Row's Letters, i vol. ; Rowley's
History of England. 2 vols. ; Watt's Logic, i vol. ; Locke on Human Un-
derstanding. 2 vols.; Illiad. 4 vols.; Odessey. 4 vols; Pope's Works, 11
vols. ; Cato's Letters, 4 vols. ; Pilkington, 3 vols. ; Naval History, 4 vols. ;
Life of Peter the Great, i vol. : ]\Iedulla. i vol. ; Bolingbrook on Parties,
18 vols.
At the annual meeting in 1761 twenty-seven members paid
their annual dues.
THE NEWTOWN EIBRARY 321
As Joseph Thornton had moved from Newtown, the directors
on February lo, 1761, appointed the books to be kept at David
Twining's and he to be Hbrarian until the next annual meeting.
We have now reached a point where the library had been placed
in good working order. And I will pass over the minutes
rapidly, only giving such item.s as may be of general interest.
The minutes show regular annual meetings ; also meetings of
the directors to, and including the meeting of April 19, 1874.
With the exception of the minutes of two meetings there is
nothing special during that period.
At the meeting of the directors on November 26, 1771, we find
the following rule which has been continued to the present
time :
"Many oi the members living at a great distance from the library,
having complained they labored under great inconvenience by not being
permitted to take out more than one book at a time. It is therefore di-
rected that for the future the members may take out two volumes
at a time."
On May 14, 1772, it was ordered that the library be continued
upon the following terms, viz :
"The original subscribers to pay five shillings ye year, for the space of
ten years, to continue from the 27th of October, 1771, those who have
come in after the first subscription to pay ten shillings for the space of ten
years from the time of subscribing, and then five shillings until another
ten years are expired."
After the meeting on October 29, 1774, there was no other
meeting until October 25, 1783. This included the time of
the Revolutionary War. At this October meeting we find the
following minute, viz :
''In consequence of notice given by the former directors through Henry
Wynkoop, their secretary, the Library Company met and this being the
time fixed by their articles for the annual election, the following persons
were chosen directors, treasurer and secretary, viz. : David Twining,
Thomas Jenks, Timothy Taylor and Henry Wynkoop, directors ; David
Twining, treasurer, and Henry Wynkoop, secretary."
In the minute of November i, 1783, we find the following:
"Whereas, upon examining the state of the library it appears that a num-
ber of books are missing, and there is too much reason to apprehend
that during the late public commotions some volumes may be lost,
II
322 THE NEWTOWN LIBRARY
Ordered that the librarian request the members respectively to bring in
the boioks in their possession, that the real condition of the library may
be precisely ascertained."
"Commotions" appear to be rather a peculiar word with which
to describe our successful struggle for independence. More
especially, as these commotions had been sufficient to prevent any
meeting of the company or of the directors, during the whole
of this period. The secretary appears to have made no report
in regard to the books.
At the meeting on December 12, 1783. on complaint of new
members, the terms of admission of new members during the
year were fixed at £6, 5 s.
An annual meeting was held on October 27, 1787, and the
officers elected as usual. A meeting of the directors was held on
April 19, 1788, and the usual routine business was transacted.
Nothing unusual appeared. Yet on September 27, 1788, we find
this minute, which I give in full :
''A meeting of the directors. Present, David Twining, Joseph Chap-
man, Thomas Jenks and Henry Wynkoop. In consequence of notifica-
tion thirty-three of the members of the library company appeared at the
library room, either by themselves or by proxy, and having come to a
conclusion to dissolve the present company and to dispose of the books at
public sale for the purpose of making distribution of the proceeds in pro-
portion to what each member has actually paid, Joseph Chapman. David
Twining, Thomas Jenks, Francis Murray, Daniel Martin and Henry Wyn-
koop were appointed to superintendent the disposal of the books and the
making of the aforesaid distribution."
We have no report of this committee or of any sale or dis-
tribution. It however appeared as if this sale had been ordered
without due consideration, and that the members, or most of
them repented of their action. In the minute book under date
of November 18, 1788, we find this minute, which it is also
necessary to give in full in order to clearly understand the
situation of the company at that time.
"At a meeting of the new Library Company at Newtown in the Grand
Jury room, in the Court House, on the 18th of November, 1788, present
Henry Wynkoop, Francis Murray, Thomas Jenks, Daniel Martin, William
Buckman, James Boyd, William Linton, Samuel Benezet, Abraham Du-
Bois. Samuel Torbert, David Feaster, Henry Winner, James M. Raguet,
William Ewing. Henry W. Blackley, Andrew McMinn, Helena DuBois,
the; NEWTOWN LIBRARY 323
by her son Henry DuBois, James Hanna, Mark Hapenny, who agreed to
associate themselves into a Library Company, by such name, stile and title
as the Directors shall appoint, together with Joseph Chapman, Joseph
Thornton, Jr., Seth Chapman, Abraham Smith, Isaac Watson, Benjamin
Thornton and James De Normandie. on the following conditions, viz. :
Each member to pay twenty shillings entrance and ten shillings per an-
num towards the support of said library. And, whereas, sundry of the
members were likewise members of the old company and consequently en-
titled to stock. It is agreed to deposit the same in this library for the
use of the company and to be considered as so much advanced until ab-
sorbed by the above twenty shillings entrance, and ten shillings per an-
num, their annual payments then to commence in common with the other
subscribers.
"It was likewise agreed to make an application to the Legislature for
an act to incorporate this company. Agreed that five persons be annually
chosen by ballot on the last Saturday of October, between the hours of
two and five in the afternoon, as directors, three of whom to be a quorum,
and one person for Treasurer, the duty of which directors shall be at all
times to attend to the well ordering, good government and general interest
of said institution, and when incorporated, to enact by-laws for that
purpose. The duty of the treasurer shall be to receive all monies due
or that shall become due to said company, to pay the same in discharge
of the orders of the directors and to render accounts annually to them."
An election was held and the following persons were elected
directors, viz : Henry Wynkoop, Thomas Jenks, Francis Murray,
Samuel Benezet and Abraham DuBois.
Though in the minute this is called a "new Library Company,"
it was practically the old company. The books and other property
certainly had not been disposed of, nor the money distributed,
as in that case the old members would certainly have no stock
to turn in. The committee appointed on Sept. 27, 1788, were all
parties to this meeting. Of the members of the company as
shown by the list present at the meeting of January 19, 1789,
twenty-seven were old members and twenty-seven were new ones.
The catalogue of books in the library as published in 1828 con-
tained the names of 45 of the books first purchased for the
library in 1760 and 1761. It is evident therefore that this "new
Library Company" as it was called was only a re-organization
of the old library.
The act chartering this company under the name of "The
Newtown Library Company," was passed Ad^arch 27, 1789, and
was signed by Richard Peters, speaker, and Peter Zachary, clerk.
324 THE NEWTOWN LIBRARY
of the General Assembly. The act gave the company full
power as a corporation, with the right to receive and hold lands,
tenements, etc.. of the clear yearly value of i 500.
The reorganizing meeting of November 18, 1788, was held
at the grand jury room in the court-house. Before that time the
library had been kept at the house of David Twining who had
been librarian since February 5, 1761. He received for his ser-
vices and the keeping of the library at his house the sum of
i I per annum. His name does not appear in the list of members
in 1789. Whether he had died or did not continue in the re-or-
ganized company does not appear.
At the meeting on December 8. 1788, William Linton was
appointed secretary and librarian. And it wa6 ordered that
the library should be open every Saturday afternoon. This was
continued until a comparatively recent date. The library appears
to have fairly prospered from, the date of re-organization, and
1 will hastily go over the minutes, giving none of the routine
business, only stating such things as may appear interesting.
On December 4, 1790, the by-laws were finally approved and
the secretary was directed to furnish a copy thereof, with the
act of incorporation, catalogaie of books, and names of the mem-
bers, which were put in the hands of Henry Wynkoop and
Thomas Jenks to be printed, and the treasurer put into the hands
of Henry Wynkoop £ 15, for the purpose of purchasing books,
printing by-laws, etc.
At a meeting of the directors on March 25, 1791, Henry W^yn-
koop produced 200 printed copies of the charter, by-laws, etc.,
which had cost £5, 5 s, 9 d. No copies of this catalogue are now
in existence as far as can be ascertained.
The earliest printed copy of any charter, by-laws, list of books,
and members now in existence as far as known, was printed by
James Kelly, Doylestown, in 1829. This catalogue shows that at
that time there were 29 members, and 830 books in the library.
My grandfather, Thomas Jenks, had been a director from 177.]
to 1797. at the election in 1797 he was not re-elected.
On December 3, 1802. James Heath was appointed librarian
and treasurer, in the place of Abraham Chapman, resigned. In
1806, it was reported that the library consisted of 456 books.
THK NEWTOWN LIBRARY 325
At the meeting on February 13, 1806, I find the following entry:
"Samuel Heath is to receive the sum of sixteen dollars for removing
the library from its present place into his own house and the taking care
of the library until the last Saturday of October next."
The meeting for reorganization had been held in the grand
jury room. No minutes from that time made any mention of
the place of meeting, only saying "in the library room.''
On March i, 1806, Samuel Heath reported that he had re-
moved the book cases to his house. On that date it was resolved
that no person should be made a member until he had paid
down $5.00, and on January i. 1807, the price of a new share
was fixed at $6.00.
The minutes are missing from 1808 to 1813.
At the annual meeting held April 18, 1818, the officers were
elected. Among the directors appeared the name of my father,
Dr. Phineas Jenks. Asa Gary was appointed librarian. Trouble
appears to have arisen about this time, as the following appears
on the minutes :
''It being stated to the directors that some person or persons, without the
knowledge or direction of the former directors, have taken the liberty of
removing the library to another situation. On motion it was resolved
that the present librarian call on those persons to know by what authority
the library was removed, and with information that the directors ex-
pect the books and cases returned again to the old court-house."
Where the library had been removed to does not appear. But,
at a meeting of the directors on May 2d, of that year, John
Linton, Dr. Phineas Jenks and Abraham Bond were appointed
a committee, with the librarian to remove the library from the
present situation into the court-house, and arrange the books in
their proper places, and make out a catalogue of the present
books. The committee met, removed the books to the court-house
and made the catalogue.
At the meeting on November 18, 1819, a resolution was passed
to fine any director not attending any meeting of the board
in the sum of 25 cents. At a meeting on October 19, 182 1, my
father, Dr. Jenks, was fined for keeping a book twelve weeks
over time. I do not doubt but that he remembered this lesson
Until 1824 the library owned no library building. On May
29, 1824, the following resolutions were passed:
326 THE NEWTOWN LIBRARY
"Resolved that it is expedient to build a house for the library. Re-
solved, that the site be iixed for building on Isaac Hick's lot. Resolved,
that we draw up a subscription to raise funds for the building of a house.
Resolved, that the secretary take the subscription paper and take it to
absent members."
On June 12, 1824, the committee reported that the members
had subscribed $50.25, and the committee was directed to keep
the paper and get further subscriptions. At this meeting it was
resolved that the building should be 15 feet square, and 9 feet
high, and be lined with half-inch boards and sealed, to have a
chimney and three windows of 15 lights each, the front of the
building to be stained.
And this palatial building was used as a library until the
new building was erected on a lot at the northwest corner of
Court street and Centre avenue. Isaac Hicks, the old, well-
known justice of the peace in Newtown, for many years, donated
the lot fifteen feet square, at the northeast corner of his property
on Court street, and conveyed the same to the Library Company.
On October 30, 1824, the directors passed the following:
"Resolved, that in consideration of a donation of land made by Isaac
Hicks, Esq., to the Newtown Library Company, he be entitled to the use
of the books during his life gratis, subject to the by-laws relating to
the keeping of the books out of the library."
So we see Isaac was rewarded for his good work during his
lifetime, and did not have to wait for his reward until after his
death.
At a special meeting on May 14, 1825, Dr. Jenks was called to
the chair ; the committee reported that they had not raised money
enough by subscription to pay for the library house, whereupon
it was resolved that the directors be requested to draw their
order on the treasurer in favor of the building committee for
the amount of the debts owing by the company for the erection
of the library house. On October 29, 1825, an order was drawn
on the treasurer in favor of the building committee for $39.85.
On November 6, 1825, it was resolved,
"That the admittance money for shares in the Newtown Library Com-
pany shall hereafter be $5.00, in consideration of the expense of erecting a
suitable building for holding the books of said company."
The members of the company appeared to wish to have a neat
THE NEWTOWN LIBRARY 327
building- and at a special meeting of the company, date not given,
it was resolved,
"That Thomas Goslin is appointed to paint the front of the library-
house white and all the window shutters and door to be painted green,
the remainder of the woodwork to be white-washed, for which he is
to have $3.00."
The company, like most persons, wanted to present a fan-
front at least. I remember "Tommy" Goslin, as we boys then
called him. We all liked him, and he liked the boys. He was
a carriage painter. Thomas was also directed to point or dash
all the stone part of the library building, being the foundation
walls, and be paid out of the funds of the company. John
Buckman was to provide suitable step stones and fix them.
Chapman Buckman (we boys used to call him "Uncle Chappy")
was to provide two good posts, and set them part way in the
ground for hitching posts.
It appeared, however, that Tommy GosUn did not attend to
his duty promptly, and on the minutes of November 3, 1827, we
find the following:
"And as there has been an appointment to paint and white-wash the
library house, which hath been neglected some time, the directors ap-
pointed Thomas Goslin to paint and white-wash the said library house
within six weeks from this date or be fined for the same, at the dis-
cretion of said directors."
The fear of this fine appeared to stir Thomas up to a sense of
his duty, and he presented a bill for $8.25 for work done at
library house, which was ordered to be paid to him.
And now the library building was finished. Many now living
remember it well, with the painted sign over the door, with the
portrait of Benjamin Franklin and the name "Newtown Libra-
ry," surrounding it, which sign we now have in the present library
building. I think that it was painted by Edward Hicks, a noted
Quaker preacher and painter of Newtown.
The minutes from November 9, 1833, to January 11, 1845, ^^^
missing It, however, appears as though nothing more than
the usual routine business was transacted during that period,
as the meeting on January 11, 1845, was for the purpose of se-
lecting books. At the meeting of the directors on March 3, 1845.
only routine business was transacted, with this exception, that
328 the; NEWTOWN LIBRARY
the name of a distinguished citizen of this county appears. I
refer to Hon. Edward AI. Paxson, ex-Chief Justice of Pennsyl-
vania, who was then the editor and proprietor of the Newtown
Journal, a newspaper then pubhshed in Newtown. The minutes
were as follows. "On motion, it was ordered that the proposition
of Edward M. Paxson to strike off fifty copies of the catalogue
of books for a share in the library and five dollars be agreed to.
and that I. Hicks and J. Paul be a committee to attend to it."
And it appears by the minutes of April 18, of that year, "that
catalogue had been printed and they had paid Edward M. Paxson
five dollars and presented him with a share in the library." T
wonder whether my friend, the Judge, remembers this incident !
My name first appears on the minutes of a meeting held No-
vember 24, i860, when I was appointed one of a committee to
purchase books. I had gone to Philadelphia to college and re-
mained there reading and practicing law, until i860, when I
returned to Newtown. Until that time the books had been num-
bered consecutively, no division according to subjects, or arrange-
ment of the books in separate classes, and the subscribers had
dwindled to about thirty.
At the meeting on December 15. i860. Charles Willard. Thomas
J. Janney, Emmor K. Janney, Dr. G. T. Heston and myself were
appointed a committee to re-number, re-arrange and re-catalogue
the library books in such manner as we should deem best. The
librarian was directed "to prevent the further circulation of the
books until otherwise ordered by the directors." I remember very
well the job we had undertaken, and the work we had to do.
After grave deliberation we determined to divide the books into
eight divisions, viz : History, politics, biography, science, fiction,
poetry, travels and miscellaneous, and divide the library into 18
sections, devoting one or more sections to each division, com-
mencing each division with No. i.
We then took all the books from the shelves and placed them
on the floor and commenced dividing them in accordance
with the above plan, placing each division apart from the others.
It was then the miscellaneous section showed its importance, for
whenever we had doubt as to what section a book belonged, we
solved the doubt by putting it among the miscellaneous and a
THE NKWTOWN LIBRARY 329
considerable number of the books went into that section. Then
we took each section separately, numbered and catalogued each
book, placing them in proper order in their proper division. It
is needless to say that we were glad when our work was com-
pleted.
• We found that there were 434 complete volumes and 70
volumes of incomplete works in the library. On January 18,
1861, we made our report to the directors, which was accepted
with thanks, which each one appropriated to himself, and the
library was formally opened by the board of directors.
This action in re-arranging the books, as above mentioned, had
a good eiTect, and our library has steadily increased in mem-
bers since that date. I was first elected a director of the com-
pany in October, 1861, and have held that honorable office ever
since. In October, 1866, I was advanced to the office of presi-
dent, which, with the exception of five or six years, I have held
ever since.
I now come to an epoch in the history of our library. At the
Ii2th annual meeting of the company, held Oct. 6, 1872, women
were for the first time elected directors, and Miss Sallie E.
Bunting (now Mrs. Thomas C. Knowles), and Miss Mary Eyre
(now Mrs. Thomas Thompson), were the parties then elected.
Since then two of the directors have always been women. At
the present time (1904) the offices of secretary and treasurer are
also filled by women. It was a good day's work for the library
when we adopted this course and our library has profited by it.
I tell you it is nice to be the boss over such active, intelligent,
competent, efficient and honest women. When I appoint them
on committees I pay no more attention to the matter, as I well
know that their work will be promptly and faithfully done. I
can sincerely and earnestly advise other library companies to
follow our example in this respect.
The library continued to prosper and when the old building
became too small, the purchasing of a new lot, and erecting a new
building were seriously considered.
At a special meeting of the company, held at my office,
February 18, 1882, Jesse Leedom presented a deed donating
the lot on which the present library building is erected, situated
330 THE NEWTOWN LIBRARY
at the northwest corner of Court street and Centre avenue (for-
merly Sulhvan street), provided a hbrary building was erected
within two years from the date of the deed, February 8, 1882.
The gift was accepted and a committee appointed to solicit sub-
scriptions. The committee worked vigorously, fmd by the sub-
scriptions, the proceeds of a lecture given by General Davis, and
the proceeds of two entertainments in Newtown hall, the neces-
sary money was raised, and the building erected and furnished
at a total cost of $1,642.41. and in the fall of 1883 the library
was moved into the new library building.
The old building and lot was some time afterwards sold to Mr.
S. C. Keith, owner of the White Hall hotel, who tore down the
building and moved part of his stable to the lot.
From that time forward the history of the library can be con-
sidered as modern history, not necessary to be commented upon
in this paper. In looking over the minutes I find nothing more
than routine business transacted since the removal of the library
to the new building.
There are two matters of which I should speak in justice to the
persons who remembered the library and the cause of education
in their wills.
Mary Anna Williamson, of the borough of Langhorne, by her
will, dated October 22, 1886, gave to the Bucks County Trust
Company, in trust, the sum of $10,000, which they were di-
lected to safely invest and pay the interest on the same as follows,
viz : "To the Langhorne Library building the interest on $4,000
thereof. To the Yardleyville Library Company the interest on
$2,000 thereof. To the Newtown Library the interest on the re-
maining $4,000 thereof."
To these legacies were attached the following proviso : "The
said interest, when received by the said library companies to be
used and applied by them respectively in the purchase of books
of a standard and useful character and to the exclusion of the
light sensational useless and pernicious publications of the day."
Joseph Barnsley, of Hartsville, about the same time, died and
by his will the sum of $15,000 was left to his executors, in trust,
to invest the same and pay the income thereof to his widow dur-
ing her life and after her death to pay the said sum of $15,000
to the Newtown Library Company for the purpose of estab-
THE NEWTOWN LIBRARY 33I
lishing a free reading room, with the power to use $5,000 there-
of for the erection of a suitable building.
The Newtown library now has 146 members, and from 4,000
to 5,000 books on its shelves. The library is open every Wed-
nesday and Saturday afternoons and evenings for the use of its
members.
This then is the result to the present time of our library which
was established in 1760. And we cannot now estimate the great
number of persons who during this long period have been bene-
fited by the work of the founders of the Newtown library. Well
may it be said of them, that their works have lived after
them; and the intelligence of the community in and near New-
town has been improved as the result of their labors at that time.
Nothing more useful can be done than the improvement and
education of the minds of the individuals composing the State
or community. And thus our Legislature thought when the act
of incorporating our library was passed.
In the preamble to that act we find the following : "And where-
as, public libraries by diflfusing useful knowledge are beneficial
to the Commonwealth, as well as to individuals, and merit the en-
couragement of the Legislature ; therefore, be it resolved, etc."
I hope this paper has not been too long, but I feel a deep
interest and have great pride in our old library, from the found-
ing of which to the present time members of my family have
been members, and for many years directors of it, and I hope
to continue my efforts for its success and usefulness as long as
I am allowed to remain on this earth. If I have been too diffuse,
let this be my excuse.
Historical Reminiscences of Pineville and Vicinity.
BY MATTHIAS H. HALL, WRIGHTSTOWN, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January 19, 1904.)
What a great amount of history the early settlers of this
•neighborhood might have preserved, had they recorded it, but
they knew it and were content. Consequently, a great deal of
history that would be very interesting to us is lost.
We, too, may know of events and facts that may be interesting
to future generations, and if so we should record them. The
hi-story of this section, however, has probably been written
better than that of any other part of the country, leaving appar-
ently but little of importance to note.
Among the Indian villages that can be located, other than bv
their stone implements, there was one on or near the west end
of Bowman's hill, that was marked by many tortoise shells.
These tortoise shells w^ere seen by Rebecca Lewis while young,
and in her own expression "there were rack-wagon loads of
them." Admitting the extreme limit of these shells to last fifty
years, this village must have been there when the white people
settled in the neighborhood.
Rebecca Lewis married Peter Catell of whom a short but
pathetic story may be told. Peter was born in New York of
French parents : the family returned to France and later again
embarked for New York. On their way to America, his parents
were taken sick and died. Peter remembers seeing them thrown
overboard and when asked his name by the sailors, replied, "Peter
can't tell," and was ever after known as Peter Catell.
In the district under consideration there can yet be located
several Indian fields. One of these, in the most primitive condi-
tion may be seen on Wilson Woodman's farm, about 25 feet
northeast of the southwestern boundary line and about 200 yards
southeast of the public road. This field is somewhat grown up
with timber but formerly contained about 2>4 acres of cleared
land. According to reliable tradition several Indians were buried
in the timber land near the south side of this field.
REMINISCENCES OF PINEVII.LE AND VICINITY 333
A little farther to the south of the place where the camp was
located, Mary Worthington, (who was born in 1765 and after-
ward married Benjamin Smith and Hved on the farm,) remember-
ed seeing the wigwams. On cold winter nights the Indians
would come to the Worthington house and sleep on the floor,
with their feet next to the fire on the hearth.
These Indians, with the exception of "Indian Billie" and his
wife, Polly, were among those who went West with Isaac Still.
Billie and Polly were too old to go, and therefore remained and
lived on the charity of the neighborhood. Polly went around
with a brief containing four verses, only one of which can be
repeated :
"I am Indian Billie's wife,
Who loves me better than his life.
It is even said by some.
He loves me most as well as rum."
Billie's tomahawk or ax is now in possession of Mary Wood-
man.
Another of these fields containing about 5 acres is located in
the northern part of Watson's and Buckman's land, formerly a
part of the Hampton farm. Near the centre of this field there
used to be some chestnut trees which were cut down about 1830.
I ploughed that field almost every year from 1875 to 1880, which
was practically all the farming that has been done on it in the
memory of the oldest people. Few fields have I ever ploughed
more dearth of Indian relics.
In the memory of those now living there used to be a field
containing about 2J/2 acres on Eleazer Doane's farm, on the
southern slop of Jericho hill, near a good spring of water and the
eastern line of the farm; also one on Hettie Ann Williams' farm
at the foot of the same range and about 100 to 150 yards east
of the Windybush road. This field has entirely grown up with
timber. There was also another on Harry Large's farm at
Pool's Corner, near the east line of the farm and about 150 to 200
yards south of the road lying north of the farm. There was stili
another on Henry Watson's farm, in Buckingham, a short dist-
ance below the source of Mill creek and on the east side of the
stream. There is also evidence of there having been an Indian
camp near this field.
^T,4 REMINISCENCES OF PINEVILLE AND VICINITY
One coincident with these fields is that they are near the Hne
of the farms which makes it appear that the Hnes were run to
take them in or leave them out.
Perhaps the best defined Indian-path in Bucks county r^till in
a fair state of preservation is one over the Buckingham mountain.
This leaves the public road leading from Pineville to Bycot station
about 30 or 40 yards above the cross roads, bearing to the
right and crossing the road about half way down the mountain
on the north. Another Indian-path ran from Jericho to Lurgan.
This path crossed or left the public road about two-thirds of the
way up the south side of the hill and ran from there northeast
to the big rocks or "Fox Rocks," and from there to Lurgan.
Indians were encamped at these rocks after white people settled
in the neighborhood. Without doubt this path led from this
camp to the one on or near the west end of Bowman's hill. This
path could be traced through the woods as late as i860.
There was an Indian-field on top of the hill and near the "Fox
Rocks," but this is now grown up with trees large enough for
building purposes. In the Indian-path and near the "Fox Rocks"
Samuel Merrick trapped one of the last bears killed in that
neighborhood. A path said to be an Indian-path which was
almost connected with the one thar led to Bowman's hill, led
west along the south side of Jericho hill. White children trav-
eled this path to the school-house that used to stand on the farm
now owned by John M. Darrah.
A story may be told in connection with this old school-house.
A boy who attended the school had the misfortune to lose his
mother, and his father took it upon himself to marry again. The
lady's name was Hannah. This boy did not take kindly to his
step-mother, Hannah, and wrote on the school-house door: "When
the children of Israel wanted bread the Lord sent them manna,
but when old (giving his father's name) wanted a wife.
the devil sent him Hannah."
In the purchase of land of the Indians, in 1662, we are told the
corner white-oak stood near the head of a creek and by a path
that led to an Indian town called Playwicky. From this we may
know that the head of the creek, the white-oak and the Indian
path were all close together. John Watson has told us that the
white-oak stood on the Hampton farm. There are two streams ris-
re;miniscences of^ pinevii,Ive; and vicinity 335
ing on the Hampton farm ; one is a branch of Knowles' creek and
the other flows by the Anchor. The last mentioned rises so grad-
ually no one can tell just where it does rise. So the corner white-
oak must have stood at the head of the other stream.
Just at the head of this stream stands one of the largest white-
oaks in the neighborhood, measuring about 52 inches in diameter.
I find the tree has grown four inches in diameter in the last 25
years. Growing at that rate, the tree must have been 16 inches
in diameter at the time of the purchase. Then if this is the corner
white-oak marked "P" from^ what we have been told, the Indian-
path that led to an Indian town, Plavwicky must have been close
by.
Let us see how we can locate it. Up to 1876 there was a lane
that reached all the way across the Hampton and Lacey farms.
Commencing on the east side of the Hampton farm and about 100
yards from the road, leading from there west and passing 30
yards south of the big white-oak, and near the house and on to the
public road near the buildings on the Lacey farm, almost exactly
where Dr. Smith said, that according to tradition, Playwicky was
located.
Isaac Chapman, in his early history of Wrightstown, says the
early settlers traveled along the Indian-paths ; is it therefore not
reasonable to believe this lane was the path that led to Play-
wicky? There being no public road it was common for early
settlers to build their first house near a good spring of water when
it was possible to do so. Then, why did the Hestons build their
house where they did and carry their water so far, if it was
not to be near and have the advantage of this path ?
Some may claim this was a lane to the public road. If so, why
did they go half way and turn and travel along the park line
almost parallel with the roads? Besides, the Hestons lived there
fifty years and the Hamptons forty years before the road was
laid out. Why did they go west and cross two streams when by
going more to the south they need not have crossed any? The
Hestons and Hamptons were Quakers. Then, why did they make
their first lane to run east and west when their meeting and
older settlements lay more to the south? My answer is that
a well worn Indian-path passed in front of their door, and it was
33^ re;minisce;nce;s of pinevii^le and vicinity
easier to travel this path, though it was somewhat indirect, than
make a new road.
Wild pigeons flew in large flocks over this district in 1830, 1844
and again in 1848 or 49, some of these flocks were so large that
both ends could not be seen at once.
In 1830, quite a good many farmers were engaged in catching
pigeons. Amos Jolly caught them in great numbers in the Indian
field on the Hampton farm. In 184.1, William Tomlinson caught
many on Jericho hill. Late as 1830 wild pigeons built nests and
reared their young in trees on Jericho hill.
About the last week in August, 1858, great numbers of sea
plovers passed over this neighborhood. Their main course was
from east to west. They were nearly as large as pigeons. This
flight of birds was very strange. Old people then knew but very
little, if anything, about them and they have not passed this way
since. The moth mullein soon after made its appearance in this
neighborhood and as nearly all farmers then raised their own
grass seed, it is thought by some that these birds brought the
seed of this weed here.
There are several family graveyards in this district. One on
the land owned by Caroline Worthington, on the northwest side
of a stream that flows into Robin run, about a mile west of
Wycombe. Though it is said that 25 or 30 persons were buried
there, not more than one-fourth that number of graves are
marked at present. Hickes' and Radclifife's are among those that
are buried there. "Indian Billy" and his wife, Polly, were also
buried there. The graveyard at one time was walled in, but
the wall has since been torn down and hauled away. There is
another family graveyard on the John Walton farm, on the top
of Jericho range. Here six Tregoes, the early settlers of the
farm were buried and a John Trego, said to be in no way related
to the other family of that name. There is also a family grave-
yard on the Hettie Ann Williams farm in Upper Makefield,
where a number of graves were at. one time marked, at present
however only two are marked. The farmer's plow is encroach-
ing and probablv in a short time this graveyard will be known
only in history.
When Washington's army came to Upper Makefield in 1776,
a portion of it encamped on the Merrick farm almost opposite
REMINISCENCES OF PlNEVILLi; AND VICINITY 337
•and near where the Pineville road intersects the Newtown road.
They commenced to burn Merrick's fence. Merrick told General
Green that he would haul them wood if they would stop burning
his fence, which was done. They slept with their feet next to
a fire, yet it was so cold that a bucket of water, set between them
and the fire, was frozen over in the morning.
There was another camp near the bridge that crosses Knowles'
creek on the road to Brownsburg, and also another camp in the
woods north of Brownsburg between the river and the road and
near the township-line. The house owned by Aaron McCarty
was Washington's headquarters while visiting the camp. The
soldiers that died in camp were buried on the river bank, a little
to the north of this camp. While we spend thousands on other
burial places this one is almost entirely neglected. It would be
safe to say but very few people now living have visited it.
There were some Revolutionary soldiers buried on the river
bank on the VanHart farm below Taylorsville, north of and near
a small stream of water that empties into the river there.
Pineville was so named from a cluster of pine trees that stood
about 150 yards south of the cross roads. These trees were cut
down about 1846. The forging of the iron work for the county
jail at Doylestown, erected in 1812, was done at Pineville. The
iron was hauled from Bethlehem in farm wagons.
The wooden bridge that spans the Neshaminy on the road from
Penn's Park to Richboro is known as the chain-bridge, because
a chain-bridge once spanned the stream at that place and was
taken down about 1830. The chains on which the bridge was
suspended passed over a frame tower built on a pier in the centre
of the stream, the links of the chain varied in length from three
feet to ten or twelve feet long and were made from bars of iron
2Yx inches square.
The Hestons and Wiggins were among the early settlers of
this neighborhood. They came from Barnstable Bay, Massachu-
setts, each being surprised to find the other here. Benjamin
Wiggins, the first, was a great hunter ; even after he became old,
he would go with the Indians in the fall of the year to the moun-
tains on a hunting trip. When winter set in. with his clothes
all tattered and torn, he would return to the home of his son
33^ REMINISCENCES OE PINEVILLE AND VICINITY
who was a thrifty farmer residing a mile and a half east of
Pineville, and with whom he lived. His gun is now in possession
of Dr. Benjamin W. Home.
Zebulon Heston came from England to Barnstable Bay 1684.
He was a freeholder in Mercer county, N. ]., in 1703. He sold
his property there in 1707 and in 1711 bought a farm in Wrights-
town which Frank Doane now owns. In 17 19 he bought the
farm now owned by John M. Darrah in Upper Makefield. This
he bequeathed to his son, Zebulon, whose daughters carried sand
in bags on horseback from the Delaware river, a distance of about
three miles, to build a portion of the present house. His son,
Jacob, bought and occupied the farm now owned by Samuel
Piatt, near Pineville.
Three of Jacob's sons, Edward, Thomas and Isaac, served in
the Revolutionary army. Edward and Thomas rose to the rank
of colonel. Isaac and Thomas were extensively engaged in the
plumbing business in Philadelphia at the outbreak of the Revolu-
tion, but when the British army took possession of Philadelphia
in September, 1777, everything was lost, their furniture and other
property were confiscated. Isaac refusing to swear allegiance to
the king, was compelled to flee from the city, and pretending to
take a walk on the Sabbath with his wife and two small children
he managed to get to Bucks county, where he lived in an old
school-house for a season. Being in destitute circumstances it
is probable that he found refuge near his own people in the
neghborhood of Pineville.
It was Edward's misfortune at one time whih reconnoitering
the enemy's movements to be taken prisoner by a troop of British
horse, one of whom made a desperate blow with his sword
designing to take off his head. Edward stooped to escape the
blow but the sword took off a piece of his scalp the size of a
silver half dollar. He surrendered and was afterward sent to
Long Island where he was detained for 7 months as a prisoner
of war, but escaped on a dark, foggy night, knowing his course
by hearing the roosters crow on the opposite shore. He filled
several important public offices and in the biographical sketches
of great men of the United States, published in 1824, he was
reckoned among them. A small portion of his military equipment,
reminisce;nces of pineviIvIvE and vicinity 339
an official paper and letters written to him by his wife while he
was a prisoner of war, are in possession of the writer.
These three brothers, Edward, Thomas and Isaac, were Quak-
ers, and for taking part in the war were disowned by their
meeting. They with Enoch Betts, John Chapman, John and
Abner Buckman, Thomas Ross, Joseph and James Pearson, Sam-
uel Smith and others built a meeting-house in Philadelphia where
they went to worship and called themselves free Quakers, nick-
named fighting Quakers.
Jesse Heston fearing his cattle might fall in hands of the
British hid them in a cluster of green briars along a spring gutter
about 50 yards from where it crosses the line of the farm now
owned by Margaret Keyser. Some of these briars are still
standing.
For the same cause John Warner hid his cattle behind rocks and
beneath the shady spruce at Dark hollow. Some horses were hid-
den in Cavey hollow, in Upper Makefield, on land now owned
by Hettie Ann Williams. Is is said that during the Revolution
Tories and robbers had a cave and rendezvous there, hence the
name Cavey hollow. It is probable that the horses hidden there
were stolen by the band of robbers that rendezvoused there. John
Tomlinson's son was with them when they stole a horse from
William Simpson which they swam across the river into New
Jersey. They also stole two horses from James and Israel Ander-
son, of Buckingham, one from widow Keith, one from Colonel
Hart, and several others.
On the Saturday before the robbery of the county treasury
at Newtown, in 1781, the robbers who had assembled at John
Tomlinson's were in his barn cleaning their guns. On that da^^
Jesse Vicars went to Newtown with John Tomlinson to get John
Atkinson to mend a gun lock. Sunday morning these bandits
were to the rendezvous in a woods not far off. Solomon Vicars
was directed there by John Tomlinson and found the following
named persons there: Jesse Vicars, Moses and Aaron Doane.
John and Caleb Paul, Ned Connard, and two men by the name of
Woodward from New Jersey. In the afternoon Mahlon Doane,
Robert Steel. Jeremiah Cooper, of Jericho, and several others came
in. Mahlon Doane was supplied with gun-flints for the occasion
by Amos White. John Tomlinson carried food to them that day
340 REMINISCENCES OE PINEVIEEE AND VICINITY
and was with them the evening of the robbery just before they
set off, he was not with them at the robbery but drew his full
share of hard money at the school-house at Wrightstown, where
the money was divided. He entertained other robbers, concealed
British prisoners and carried one-half of a hog to the British
while they were at Philadelphia, traveling at night and hiding in
the wood during the day. He was hanged October 17, 1782, and
was buried on the hill overlooking Cavey hollow and a few feet
north of the east corner of my farm. Flowers that are said to
bloom but once a century have bloomed o'er his grave. His prop-
erty was confiscated March 12, 1783.
The Friends' meeting at Wrightstown forms a portion of the
history of this neighborhood. During the Revolution soldiers
were quartered in the meeting-house, and also some in the school-
house that stood a little to the northwest of the present store
property, the road now passing over the site, but at that time it
passed nearer the meeting-house and by the tan-yard that was
a little below the present toll-gate. Prior to 1845 there were
no marble headstones in the graveyard at that place. About the
year 1790, a young man living near Pineville had a vest made
of ground squirrel skins with tails hanging down. This he used
to wear to meeting.
One of the finest wagons that used to come to Wrightstown
meeting about 1820, was owned by Jonathan Heston. It was
a two-horse carriage weighing about 900 to 1,000 pounds, having
four wooden springs in the shape of a semicircle about 15 inches
in diameter with leather straps passing over them from front to
back, the body hanging on the straps.
There may be some who would wonder why the Friends' meet-
ing sold the burying-ground and building situated a little to the
west of Penn's Park. It was rented to a man that spent much of
his time at hotels, worked for a member of the meeting who,
with others, threw their influence in favor of the poor tenant.
The meeting had to pay for the repairs as it could get no rent,
the lot was sold to get rid of their trouble. In this burying-ground
some of the earliest settlers of the neighborhood were buried.
After enduring great hardships and privations they bequeathed
their land to their descendants, yet there is no room left for the
repose of their bones.
Law Governing the Settlement of New Countries.
BY GEN. W. W. H. DAVIS, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January i8, 1904.)
The settlement of new countries is governed by a law as well
defined as commerce or finance. From the earliest time that the
human family went abroad to found colonies down to the present
day, civilization has traveled up the valleys of rivers and their
tributaries, while the wealth developed by labor and capital, has
flowed down the same valleys to the sea. This law was observed
by our ancestors. Planting themselves on the Delaware, they
gradually extended up its valley and the valleys of the Poques-
sing, Pennypack and Neshaminy and penetrated the interior.
At the end of the second year after Penn's arrival, we find set-
tlers scattered here and there through the wilderness, as high
up as Wrightstown, Warrington and Upper Makefield.
Bucks county was settled by three distinctly marked races,
whose peculiarities are seen in their descendants, the English,
the Germans, and the Scotch-Irish. A fourth race, the Welsh,
followed the other three, and settled some portions of the upper
and middle sections of the county, but their descendants are
not so distinctly marked. They were generally Baptists, and,
while they did not introduce that worship into the county, they
added largely to its communion and strength. This mixture of
peoples gives our population a very composite character. The
first to arrive were the English, mostly Friends, who immediately
preceded, came with or followed William Penn and settled in
the lower parts of Chester, Philadelphia and Bucks. They were
the fathers and founders of the Commonwealth, and have left
their lasting impress on our society and laws. They were fol-
lowed by the Germans, who transported the language and customs
of the Rhine to the Schuylkill, the upper Delaware and the Lehigh,
and were of several religious denominations, the Lutherans, Re-
formed and Mennonites predominating.
The Germans came close upon the heels of the English Friends,
who had hardly seated themselves on the banks of the Delaware,
342 I.AW GOVERNING THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW COUNTRIES
when the language of Luther was heard on the Schuylkill. As
early as 1682-83, a few settled where Germantown stands and
to which they gave its name. They were followed by a number
of German Friends from Gersheim, near Worms, in 1686. They
came in considerable numbers soon after 1700. In the fall of
1705, two German agents came to view the land and went pretty
generally through the country, but returned without buying. In
the winter of 1704-5, Penn writes to James Logan that he has
an hundred families preparing to go to Pennsylvania, which will
buy thirty or forty thousand acres of land. In the summer of
1709, Penn announces to Logan the coming of the Palatines
(Germans,) and charges him to use them with "tenderness and
care;" says they are "a sober people, divers Mennonites, and will
neither swear nor fight," a recommendation with the found.er.
Tender and considerate William Penn ! He wants these strangers
treated with "tenderness and care," when they come to their
new home in the wilderness on the Delawere. Between 1708 and
1720 thousands of Germans arrived from the Palatinate.
About 1711, several thousand Germans, who had immigrated to
New York, left that Province and came to Pennsylvania, because
they were badly treated. After this no more Germans would
settle there. In 171 7, James Logan deprecates the great number
of Germans that are coming, which, he says, "gives the country
some uneasiness." He writes in 1714 that Sir William Keith,
the Governor, while at Albany two years before, invited the New
York Germans to come to Pennsylvania to increase his political
influence ; fears they may be willing to usurp the country to
themselves ; and. four years later, he is glad the influx of strangers
will attract the attention of Parliament. There may have been
genuine fear, on the part of the authorities, which complained that
the Germans were bold and indigent, and seized on the best
vacant tracts of land without paying for it. To discourage their
coming, the Provincial Assembly laid ?. tax of 20s. a head on each
newly arrived servant. The government had become so jealous
of the Germans and other immigrants, not English, by this time,
that all attempts at naturalization failed until 1724, under the
administration of Governor Keith.
The third race to arrive was the Scotch-Irish, as they are
generally called, but properly Scotch and not the ofifspring of the
LAW GOVERNING THE SETTLEMENT OE NEW COUNTRIES 343
marriage of Gaelic and Celt. They were almost exclusively
Presbyterians, the immigration of the Catholic-Irish setting in at
a later period. The Scotch-Irish began to arrive about 1716-18.
Timid James Logan had the same fear of these immigrants that
he had of the Germans. They came in such numbers, about 1729,
that he said it looked as if "Ireland is to send all her inhabitants
to this Province," and feared they would make themselves masters
of it. He charged them of possessing themselves of the Cones-
toga manor, ''in an audacious and disorderly manner," in 1730.
The 20s. head tax, laid the year before, had no effect to restrain
them, and the stream flowed on in spite of unfriendly legislation.
No wonder; it was an exodus from a land of oppression to one
of civil and religious liberty.
The Scotch-Irish have a history full of interest. In the six-
teenth century, the province of Ulster, in Ireland, which had been
nearly depopulated during the Irish rebellion in the reign of
Elizabeth, was peopled by immigrants from Scotland. The off'er
of land, and other inducements, soon drew a large population,
distinguished for thrift and industry, across the narrow strait
that separates the two countries ; they were Presbyterians and
built their first church in the county of Antrim, in 1613.
The population was largely increased the next fifty years under
the persecutions of Charles II, and James II, in their efforts to
establish the church of England over Scotland. There had been
but little intermarriage between the Irish and these Scotch-Sax-
ons and the race is nearly as distinct as the day it settled in
Ireland. In the course of time persecution followed these Scotch-
Irish into the land of their exile, and, after bearing it as long as
became men of spirit to bear, they resolved to seek new homes in
America, where they hoped to find a free and open field for their
industry and skill, and where there would be no interference
with their religious belief.
Their immigration commenced the first quarter of the eigh-
teenth century; 6,000 arrived in 1729, and, it is stated, that for
several years, prior to the middle of the century, 12,000 came
annually. A thousand families sailed from Belfast in 1736, and
it is estimated that 25,000 arrived between 1771 and 1773. Nearly
the whole of them were Presbyterians and they settled in Pennsyl-
vania. Many came into Bucks county in quest of homes, and in
344 LAW GOVERNINX. THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW COUNTRIES
a few years we find them in several sections, from the Neshaminy
to the mountains north of the Lehigh. They were the founders
of all the old Presbyterian churches in the county. We had no
class of immigrants that excelled them in energy, enterprise and
intelligence in peace, nor more courageous in war. They were
among the leaders in the council chamber and in the field in the
Revolution.
A considerable number of Hollanders settled in the lower
section of the county in the first quarter of the eighteenth century,
principally on the Neshaminy and its branches, but their de-
scendants have quite lost their racial characteristics in the hotch-
potch of many peoples. These several races came to the wilds
of Pennsylvania for a two-fold purpose, to better their worldly
condition and for freedom to worship God. William Penn was
favorably impressed with the Swedes, whom he found inhabiting
the Delaware and its tributaries. He wrote to England flattering
accounts of their treatment of himself and the English colonists.
He says they were principally given to husbandry, but had marie
very little progress in the propagation of fruit trees ; they were
comely and strong in body ; have fine children and plenty of them ;
and he sees "few young men more sober and industrious."
It must not be inferred, from what we have said, that
the English and cognate races were the earliest settlers on the
Delaware. The Dutch were there as early as 1609-1630, and
the latter year established a trading-post on a small island in the
Delaware just below Trenton. Down to 1738, the Dutch held
undisputed sway on the Delaware. They were followed by a
small Swedish colony under Peter Minuet, near where Wilming-
ton stands and subsequently on Tinicum island. The English,
destined to be the governing race on the Delaware, from the
mouth to its source, did not make their appearance until 1640.
Wlien Penn arrived, 1682. the entire population on the Delaware
and the creeks emptying in it was about three hundred.
The story of Penn's settlement and his colonists is too familiar
to be rehearsed to you.
Robert Morris Founder of Morrisville.
BY ELLIS P. OBERHOLTZER, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
(Centennial Celebration at Morrisville, May 24, 1904.)
It is with no ordinary sense of pride that we meet together on
this ground, hallowed by the memory of him whose name is borne
by this ancient Pennsylvania borough ; look out upon the green
slopes of these hills and the rippling surfaces of this noble river
and all the vernal beauties of the acres that sweep around us —
and that he looked upon with an owner's interest and satisfac-
tion; and interrupt the accustomed pursuits of our busy lives to
recall the services of one of the greatest of the patriv)t-. of the
i^merican Revolution.
I have come this morning from a city which for nearly sixty
years was the home of Robert Morris, the city in which he
achieved his most important triumphs and suffered his gigantic
defeats. From Philadelphia he was elected and re elected to the
Continental Congress. From that city he was taken to direct
the United States finances and provide the funds that brought
our war with England to an end ; from that city, too, he was sent
to the United States Senate. In Philadelphia he amassed, enjoyed
and lost by speculation a great fortune, to languish in the end for
three years, six months and ten days in a debtors' prison. The
most distinguished of Philadelphia's citizens of that time, barring
none unless it be Benjamin Franklin. We have yet, to our
great discredit erected no monument to commemorate his services,
and it is with peculiar pleasure thnt those who reverence his
name have viewed the preparations you have made through the
generosity of one of your townsmen, for the unveiling of the
statue to-day in this borough which shared with tlie great c:ty
so near your gates the feeling of pride in the successes and
distinctions of his useful life.
Mr. Morris was born in Liverpool, England, January 20, 1734.
He arrived in America when a lad of about 13 years of age.
His father, also Robert Morris, had preceded him as the Ameri-
can agent of a firm of English tobacco merchants, and the boy,
I
340 - ROBERT MORRIS FOUNDER OF MORRISVILLE
left at home with a grandmother, of whose kindnesses he was
afterwards often heard to speak, at the age of 13 was con-
signed to the care of a captain of one of the tobacco ships for
the voyage across the sea to Maryland. He was put to school
in that State, and later in Philadelphia, whither he came, and
where he remained until his death. Here he was commended to
the attention of Robert Greenway, who upon his father's death
became his guardian. His father lost his life from injuries sus-
tained by a shot prematurely discharged by a gunner on a ship in
Oxford harbor ; the surgery of that day was so wretched that
the wound, though it would now be considered slight, quickly
developed symtoms of blood poisoning, and before the boy could
reach Maryland his father was dead, and buried in White Marsh
churchyard in Talbot county.
Robert Morris was now in a new world without known kin and
practically friendless. With an insignificant inheritance, the
residue of an estate reduced by numerous small bequests, and
his native business acumen, he was compelled to choose an occu-
pation. He therefore entered the employ of Charles Willing, who
in 1854, desiring to escape further active part in his business, and
perceiving the value of young Morris (then 21 years of age) to
the firm, suggested a partnership with his son Thomas. Thus
was established the mercantile house of Willing & Morris, for
more than thirty years, the largest importing and exporting con-
cern in Philadelphia, and one of the richest and most enterpris-
ing in the American Colonies. Their ships carried merchandise
to and from all countries, and it was no idle boast when Mr.
Morris remarked, in reviewing his unusual life, as the twilight
shades settled about him, "I have owned more ships than any
man in America." His vessels under sail in the same sea would
have comprised a great fleet, and their operations gave him com-
mand of an ample fortune. He and his partner were accounted
wealthy men long before the outbreak of the Revolution, and, in
identifying themselves actively with that movement, were valued
accessions to the patriot ranks in Philadelphia, where so many
citizens of substance were still openly avowing their sympathies
for Great Britain.
It called for some sacrifice and renunciation on the part of an
ROBERT MORRIS FOUNDER OF MORRISVILLF 347
Englishman who, with affectionate feeling in the shadow of his
years, still spoke of his native country as "dear old England,"
and a merchant — though this view was contrary to some ac-
counts — who had much to lose by a war between Great Britain
and her Colonies, to ally himself prominently with the Revolution-
ists, or as we say reverently, the American patriots. Mr. Mor-
ris acted with boldness and decision in this matter, as was isual
with him in all matters, calling for a choice of alternatives. He.
was one of the committee from Philadelphia who, in 1765, visited
John Hughes, appointed upon Franklin's recommendation to sell
the odious stamps, and secured from that officer, (who at the
time was in bed with a grave sickness,) a pledge that he would not
be an instrument to collect this tax from his unwilling fellow-
citizens.
Robert Morris was early sent to the Continental Congress by
the Pennsylvania Legislature, where his counsels were strongly
against a complete rupture with Great Britain. He voted against
the Declaration of Independence as untimely, and as likely to
defeat that object which the Whigs of America so zealously
desired to attain. Of all the members of the Pennsylvania dele-
gation who voted adversely upon the question of separation from
England, he alone commanded enough popular confidence to be
returned to Congress at the next ensuing election, and once
embarked for the war he was a most uncompromising advocate of
its prosecution by every measure which would clear the country
of British troops and establish American liberty.
He was at once engaged in service of the greatest importance.
One of the unhappiest periods of the war — a crisis it was diffi-
cult to survive — was experienced in the winter of 1776 and
1777 when Washington was operating in this neighborhood, near
Trenton. Howe threatened Philadelphia, and Congress had fled
to Baltimore, leaving Morris at the head of a committee in the
capital of the war-torn Colonies to hurry forward the work upon
uncompleted ships at the Delaware yards, and, if possible, send
them to sea before the British should descend upon the city.
Morris, in truth, was that committee. With the loyal support of
his friend, John Hancock — another capable business man who
understood the impracticability of too much consultation and dis-
cussion when great objects were to be attained — he was for the
348 ROBERT MORRIS FOUNDER OF MORRISVILLE
time being, the entire American government on its civil side.
Whatever he may have done in strengthening the defenses of the
city, arranging with his exceptional experience as a shipmaster
for the quick despatch of the fleet down the bay to safety in the
open sea, in directing the citizens as they departed with their
movable goods to places of refuge in Lancaster, York, and other
parts of the State, it is not easily conceivable that any smaller
character could have secured upon a few hours notice, on his
private credit, the sum of $50,000 to forward the operations of
General Washington. That it was this money, procured by Mr.
Morris' single-handed exertions which induced the troops whose
time of enlistment had expired with the year, to continue in the
service, and which enabled the Commander-in-chief a second time
to steal up behind the British and Hessian forces near Trenton
and administer the defeat that effectually protected Philadelphia
from occupation by the enemy during that winter, may readily
be demonstrated. This service Washington never forgot, nor
should any American of this day value less the title to national
gratitude won by Mr. Morris on that occasion.
The winters at Trenton and Valley Forge having ended, no
other season was gloomier or more critical than 1781 when, after
five years of more or less unfruitful struggle, the public Conti-
nental currency had come to have so little value that it was used
to plaster the walls of barber-shops and to kindle fires under
oft'ensive Tory gentlemen. France had declared that she would
supply no more money to her American allies. The Whigs of
most talent and ability, who when the war began had come for-
ward generously to offer their services to their country, had left
the national council-halls to resume the direction of their private
affairs, long sorely neglected. The sessions of the Continental
Congress were slimly attended by men of no great degree of
attainment, and their acts commanded little public confidence. It
was at this juncture that Robert Morris appeared, being again
called to the head of the government to occupy a new office,
especially created to tempt him back into the public line, the
Superintendent of the United States Finances. A single official
was now to take the place of the old treasury board, whose mem-
bers consumed their energies in the fruitless discussion of ques-
ROBERT MORRIS FOUNDER OF MORRISVILLE 349
tions which they but imperfectly understood and were powerless
to enforce their numerous resolves.
Not content with any partial authority, Morris absorbed several
other offices and made himself at once the head of the marine and
commissary departments. Indeed, as the unfriendly Governor
Reed observed, "He exercised the powers really of the throe
great departments, (war, foreign affairs, and finance) and Con-
gress have only to give their fiat to his mandates." Once more
he bore almost the entire responsibility of government upon his
own shoulders. The war department had no more important task
than to secure pay and subsistence for the troops and the foreign
office had no duty to perform so necessary as the work of extort-
ing money from European governments.
Morris took all these lines of business into his own hands — vis-
ited Washington's camp ; coaxed from the States, under threat of
military seizure, food for the soldiers and horses that were soon
put in motion in New York for the descent upon Yorktown;
borrowing the money from Rochambeau to pay the mutinous
troops which if unpaid would not go farther south than the Head
of Elk; drew bills upon Franklin at Paris, Jay at Madrid, and
John Adams at the Hague, and sent them skurryin^^- to public and
private treasuries to find the money to prevent the dishonor of pro-
test ; conveyed specie from Boston by ox train to fill the tills of the
new Bank of North America in Philadelphia ; issued his own notes
in anticipation of the collection of taxes in the impotent States;
sold tobacco in Europe ; dispatched his agents to the Carolinas
for indigo and skins ; and sent ships to Cuba with flour to be dis-
posed of for cash to the Governor of Havana.
From May, 1781, when the credit of the country was at the
lowest point, until November, 1784, when peace was assured and
the army had been disbanded, Morris administered the office of
finance with a hand as successful as it was imperial. His justi-
fication was found in the triumph of his daring policies ; in the
life-long and warm friendships of Washington, Alexander Hamil-
ton, John Jay, Gouverneur Morris, and the entire Federalist ele-
ment ; in the respect of the people at large who revered his name,
and who sent him to the Constitutional Convention, and later to
the Senate of the United States from Pennsylvania to serve for
six years as the principal pillar of Washington's administration.
350 ROBERT MORRIS FOUNDER OF MORRISVILLE
Through his diary and letter-books which were but recently
made accessible to the public, and now repose in the Congression-
al library at Washington, we receive glimpses of a character which
was large, generous, and lovable, one that each man and woman of
us would recognize wherever we should meet its like for honesty
and worth. His enemies were malignant and pursued him re-
lentlessly until the end of his political career ; but to all of them
his effective response was faithful service and an indifferent atti-
tude in the face of insult, except when he was most deeply stung
by their unjust aspersions upon his morals as a public officer. "I
am not ignorant," he once wrote to a friend, "that many people
employ themselves in defaming men whom they do not know and
measures that they do not understand. To such illiberal char-
acters the best answer is to act well."
Robert Morris was the master of a direct and lucid literary
•style. His writings are sprightly, epigrammatic, and frequent-
ly humorous. In his letters to the States with which he so elo-
quently pleaded for money to prosecute the war he said :
"Men are less ashamed to do wrong than vexed to be told of it.
"We are not to expect perfect institutions from human wisdom and
must therefore console o.urselves with the determination to reform errors
as soon as experience points out the necessity for and the means of
amendment. A whole people seldom continue long in error.
"This language may not consist with the ideas of dignity which some
men entertain. But, sir, dignity is in duty and in virtue, not in the sound
of swelling expressions. Congress may dismiss their servants, and States
may dismiss their Congress, but it is by rectitude alone that man can
be respectable.
"Difficulties are always to be distinguished from possibilities. After
endeavoring by your utmost exertions to surmount them you will be
able to determine which of them are insurmountable.
"Men are more apt to trust one whom they can call to account than
three who do not hold themselves accountable, or three and thirty who
may appoint those three.
"The moral causes that may procrastinate or precipitate events are hid-
den from mortal view. But it is within the bounds of human knowl-
edge to determine that all earthly things have some limits which it is im-
prudent to exceed, others which it is dangerous to exceed, and some
which can never be exceeded."
No one at that time was, and no one since should have been
unmindful of Morris' great services to the country, not only in
lending to the public his personal credit and financial skill, but
ROBERT MORRIS FOUNDER OF MORRISVILLE 351
also in steadfastly upholding the dignity of office by his private
entertainments at his city and country homes at a time when the
prestige of the Colonies was at a low ebb in the sight of the
French and the Dutch, from whom we were seeking large loans
of money ; in the sight, too, of Americans who would have
thought him a much less potent financier if he had enjoyed his
wealth less showily.
That he later miscalculated the momentum of the economic
prosperity of the Republic he had done so much to found, and
overlook the dire consequences of the Napoleonic wars, was no
more than a misfortune brought on by his bold and optimistic
nature. That he should have lost his fortune by land speculation
including 7,234 building lots in the new District of Columbia;
two or three million acres of land in Pennsylvania now produc-
tive of large quantities of coal and petroleum ; six million acres in
Virginia, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Kentucky; and two or
three of the finest mansions ever up to that time erected on the
American Continent, is less a reflection upon the man than upon
the singular state of the times. It would probably have occurred
to a few men with the ability to accumulate this great amount of
property at a few cents per acre that a time might come when it
could not be sold or mortgaged somewhere in the money centres
of America or Europe for a sufficient sum to pay the interest
charges and taxes. To predict that it would have inestimable
value before many years should elapse needed no rare gift of
foresight. Yet this unexpected time did arrive, and very soon —
when no conceivable endeavor that he, his sons, and his other
agents were able to put forth could save him from the rapid and
complete dissolution of his fortune.
Everything must go to satisfy his creditors; and they were
still clamorous for millions more when the harsh bankruptcy
laws were enforced against him by some of the more implacable of
his enemies, who cared not for his public services or the true
worth of his character, though his accounts with them were
relatively small. On February 16, 1798, his time was at hand.
In the evening he wrote to his unfortunate partner, John Nichol-
son, from his mansion at the Hills on Schuylkill, "If writing
notes could relieve me you would do it sooner than any man in
352 ROBERT MORRIS FOUNDER OF MORRISVILLE
the world, but all you have said in these now before me, num-
bers 5 to 9, inclusive, amounts, when summed up, to notliing. Aly
money is gone. My furniture is to be sold. I am to go to prison
and my family to starve. Good night."
His long term in Philadelphia prison left him a broken down
old man. He was released in i8oi, to live for five years more,
a pensioner upon the bounty of his relatives and friends. It is
often said that for his countrymen to have permitted the State
of Pennsylvania to inflict such a penalty upon one who a few
years before had been the most honored and distinguished of all
its patriots, except Franklin, was a great national disgrace. General
Washington plainly regarded the event in this light, or he scarce-
ly would have visited his old friend and military coadjutor in
the prison-house. Thomas Jefferson, although a political adver-
sary, miist have been of a similar opinion, else he would not have
expressed a desire that Morris should be freed to become secre-
tary of the navy in his cabinet. Nor can more than a few of
the people of Philadelphia have considered such treatment de-
served, when a large body of mechanics offered to contribute
their savings to a fund to release the "Revolutionary financier"
from his confinement, which became the more irksome through
the ravages of the fatal fever that swept the city during these
years.
It must be remembered, however, that the law of that day in
all the States prescribed imprisonment as the eventual penalty
for the man who could not pay his debts, and ]\Iorris' were so
enormous — certainly not short of three millions of dollars — that
no one person or body of persons at that unhappy season could
well have assembled enough money for his ransom.
We raise a hand to-day in one place, and it is a place in which
the act is performed with great fitness, to atone for this long
neglect, to honor the name and recall the achievements of our
great financier. If it be the first, it certainly will not be the last
public memorial to a great and good man to whom the Republic
owes a debt it has never yet discharged. We have our monuments
everywhere to Washington and Franklin : the very children know
their names. Morris merits at our hands not less than they.
What Washington achieved upon the battlefield in gaining mili-
ROBERT MORRIS FOUNDER OF MORRISVILLE 353
tary victories, and Franklin at European courts in winning for-
eign sympathy and support, the financier accompHshed in Phila-
delphia in finding the money and credit at the most critical stages
of our great contest for independent nationality. This borough
to-day in celebrating the deeds of its founder again appeals for
justice to the name and memory of one of the greatest of our
Revolutionary figures.
As we scan this favored scene it is only human nature to
contrast the present aspect of that which is here spread out
around us with another picture, and consider what it might have
been if Robert Morris had achieved his purpose to make these
river shores the site of the capital of the United States. It was
but a throw of the dice. The capital in 1790 might have been
located upon the Delaware, Susquehanna, or the Potomac. Here
at the Falls the boats from the lower Delaware stopped and
discharged their cargo. Through this place stage-coaches, wag-
oners, and post-riders passed on their way from Philadelphia to
New York. At first the owner of but a small tract Mr. Morris
increased his holdings until he came to possess 2,500 acres, divid-
ed into fourteen farms. He found here at the time of purchase,
or later himself established in this vicinity, a grist-mill, a slitting-
mill, a rolling-mill, a trip-hammer, a wire-drawing plant, a snuflf-
mill, a mill for grinding plaster-of-parie, a hat manufactory, a
stone-quarry, a forge, and a malt-house, altogether called the
Delaware works. In the river there were shad fisheries, and
ferries conveyed passengers and freight to and from New Jer-
sey. A town had been begun about a large mansion which
]\Ir. Morris built for the use of his own family, and which
was occupied for several years by his eldest son, Robert Mor-
ris, Jr., who was put in charge of his father's interests at
that point. This house, like Morris' home in Philadelphia,
was equipped with ice-houses, then a novelty in the Colonies. It
was surrounded by beautiful gardens and there were stables, at
the time reckoned to be among the finest in America. The owner
often came here personally to inspect his properties and supervise
the operations of his agents, and in 1795 he built a large engine
in his mills, one of the first to be erected anywhere in the coun-
try, importing an English machinist to execute the work. It
354 ROBERT MORRIS FOUNDER OF MORRISVIELE
was to this incident that he alluded, when suffering keenly
from his financial distresses, he wrote to Benjamin Harrison, of
Virginia, "I am, as you say, beating hard up against wind and
tide, and I fear I shall be obliged to have recourse to steam to
get along, for I am building a steam engine at Morrisville."
But this site, well adapted as it was, to serve as the seat of
Federal Government, was not selected. The choice, for reasons
that reflect in no way upon the natural enjoyments of this neigh-
borhood or the political diligence and tact of Robert Morris, fell
to the South, and the great Capitol and other government build-
ings that we might have had in our presence here to-day were
erected in a wooded wilderness on the banks of the Potomac.
The household goods of the presidents are not shattered in
transit over the "infamous roads," as John Adams' were when he
removed from Philadelphia in 1800 to take up his residence in
the uncompleted White House in an uncleared forest. "It is a
beautiful spot capable of every improvement," his wife Abigail
Adams sarcastically wrote to a friend, which is suggestive of
what another observer said of Washington at this period of its
history. After reciting many of the discomforts of life in the
new Capitol, he summarizes his impressions by recommending
it as "the very best city in the world for a future residence."
Morrisville and its surrounding country offered a better site
for the Federal city, as many citizens of Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, New York, and the New England States then believed,
and as many think now, but regrets are unbecoming and reproach-
es idle.
On this anniversary we may only allude in passing to the
chance that prevented this from being the city of Washington in
the District of Columbia. It was no less a destiny that its
founder had in view for this town. It was but one of the
cherished enterprises of a man of bold designs and large purposes.
But his title to our gratitude rests upon no unaccomplished
objects of a minor kind that come to make less full and satisfy-
ing the cup of life that is deeply steeped in ambition. His fame
is established upon firmer foundations.
We gather here to honor his name and commemorate his
works as the fitting compeer in manhood, patriotism, and states-
manship of Washington. Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and
MORRISVILLE THE CAPITAL 355
Jefferson. This bust will be the lasting token that here for
long was centered much of the love of earth and many of the
commercial interests and aspirations of one of the greatest of
our nation's benefactors, a pure-minded, untiring servant of the
American Republic in its crucial yeans.
Morrisville the Capital.
BY HON. HARMAN YERKES, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
(Centennial Celebration at Morrisville, May 24, 1904.)
As measured by a human lifetime an hundred years marks a
wide period, but in the worlds history and in the affairs of com-
munities the time is but momentary and must indeed be eventful
to gain a page's notice upon the great record of lasting history.
To-day the little borough of Morrisville celebrates its one
hundredth anniversary, indicating that her inhabitants must find
something in the achievements of the last century to be proud of.
But the historian will frankly ask, what is there to record? What
of enterprise, achievement and progress is there to point to for
this century of time? Has this borough, with all her recognized
advantages of position, improved her opportunities? Has she
advanced or receded? Since her christening, other places with
less advantages, and then unknown have grown into great centres
of industry and wealth.
If the truth must be told, some one will say, Morrisville, situated
advantageously upon the banks of one of our noble rivers, lying
nearly midway between two of our greatest cities and upon the
greatest artery of trade and transportation of the new world,
appears to have been content to doze through a century of time,
permitting these waters, laden with great capabilities to evolve
industry and wealth, to roll by to the sea unharnessed and unused,
that for thirty days of each year it may enjoy the flavor of the
toothsome shad, watch the lubberly leaping of the infrequent
sturgeon or knaw the flesh of the boney herring. The same
place which a century ago aroused the interest of Bonaparte, Mor-
ris, Moreau, Clymer and others great in the worlds history has
stood unmoved.
Even old Trenton, starting the century with no point of interest
356 MORRISXaLLE THE CAPITAL
Other than the fact that by the accident of a drunken brawl by a
stupid Dutch General, it became the scene of a decisive action
that was a turning point in the country's history, regards her
neighbor with indifference.
During this century the Pennsylvania canal, with opportunities
for wealth and industry has come to serve its useful purpose
and is departing to give place to newer methods, without Morris-
ville profiting or being excited further than to once complain, by
indictment, that the waters oozing from the canal created stagnant
pools unpleasant to the senses of the sleeping burghers. Then
there has been the navigable river with its steamboats, and the
railroad, all carrying their wealth across the stream. Thus she has
fought the canal and the railroad, and neglected her riparian
advantages when elsewhere the same forces have been welcomed
;as assurances of wealth and progress.
It seems to be that relying with too much confidence upon her
great natural advantages which excited the interest of powerful
influences and brought promise of great results, her inhabitants,
first, inspired with high hopes, in the end, were doomed to serious
disappointment and angered ; in a blind and helpless sort of way
struggled against the very forces which would have benefited her.
T3ut unfortunate or discouraged at the loss of promised oppor-
tunities Morrisville has a history and with it has lived through
an hundred years of faith in her future. To-day she celebrates
over that history, and undaunted, clings to her faith and cherishes
more substantial hopes than ever before, that her merits are to
receive their due reward. New blood courses through her arteries
and wide awake, she is grasping every opportunity that appears.
With whatever regret she to-day records what might have been,
she buckles on her armor to fight for what she believes can and
will be. Few of the present generation may recall that this
locality, the scene of the organization of the first Monthly Meeting
of Friends in Bucks county, and the chosen home of the founder
of our Commonwealth almost reached the distinction of being
selected as the seat of Penn's great city, was nearly chosen the
Capital of the United States, was the first seat of our county
government, and by accident, failed of becoming the rallying
point of the faithful followers of the most remarkable man in
historv. There is strong historical ground for the assertion that
MORRISVIIvLE THE CAPITAL 357
when William Penn proposed to lay out his new city, his agents
with his approval selected Pennsbury as the site of the Capital
town. Watson, the historian informs us, that "Samuel Preston
says of his grandmother, that she said Phineas Pemberton sur-
veyed and laid out a town intended to have been Philadelphia,
up at Pennsbury and that the people who went there were dissat-
isfied with the change." Mr. Preston further declared that about
1786, "having occasion to hunt through the trunks containing sur-
veys of John Lukens, surveyor general of Pennsylvania, he and
Lukens then saw a ground-plot for the city of Philadelphia signed,
Phineas Pemberton, surveyor general, that fully appeared to have
been Pennsbury manor." While this locality lost Penns Capital
town, the first capital of the county of Bucks was undoubtedly
here. Although the exact spot is not marked, it was near the
falls of the Delaware. Dr. Buckman has located the first
court-house on a farm formerly owned by Jacob Smith, below
the town near the mouth of the creek that empties into the
Delaware at Moon's island.
The first murder trial was here and the execution is supposed
to have occurred at Tyburn.
A French historian informs us that while at dinner with a
number of officers of whom Gen. Moreau was one. Napoleon
Bonaparte, then first consul, conversing of America, pointed to the
Delaware falls as the strategic point of the United States, from
which to keep in easy communication with aflfairs, and that
Moreau when, afterward through plotting against Napoleon, he
was compelled to flee from France, recalled the remarks of his
former companion in arms and selected Morrisville as his home.
Both Louis Mallard and Richard C. McMuntrie, Esq., are
authority for the statement from Joseph Bonaparte that Napoleon
before his down-fall, in discussing the contingency of being forced
to abandon France, opened a map and pointing to the falls of the
Delaware, said that if ever compelled to leave France he would
go to America and locate somewhere between New York and
Philadelphia, where he could receive the earliest intelligence from
France, by ships arriving at either port. Joseph first contem-
plated settling here but was pursuaded by Commodore Stewart to
select Bordentown. But Morrisville almost reached the greater
358 MORRISVILI^E THE CAPITAL
difstinction of being chosen as the Capital of the greatest of
Repubhcs.
At the time the national capital was selected, Pennsylvania
was represented in the United States Senate by Robert Morris
and William ]\IcClay. the later a descendant of John Harris the
founder of Harrisburg. McClay left a diary which contains
interesting matter upon the question of the choice of a permanent
residence for the Government. The two Senators quarrelled over
the location, one contending for the Delaware and the other for
the Susquehanna. To this unfriendliness and to as discredit-
able a deal engineered by Alexander Hamilton, as can be charged
to any modern politicians can be ascribed the failure of Morris
to secure the capital here.
Under date of August 25, 1789, McClay says,
"On Saturday I proposed to Mr. Morris to bring forward all the
places which had been mentioned for the permanent residence of Con-
gress at one time, he answered rather gruffly, let those that are fond of
them bring them forward. I will bring forward the Falls of Delaware.
He presented the draft of the Falls to the Chair, and a few days after-
ward I (McClay) presented a draft of Lancaster, and also nominated
Wrights ferry, York, Carlisle, Harrisburg. Reading and Germantown."
On September 2d, after giving in some detail, an account of
bargains with the New England men and Virginians over the
question, McClay says :
"Mr. Morris however has not quitted the game, he told me that all the
New England men and York delegation were now met and they would, on
the terms of the original proposals, name a place in Pennsjdvania, for they
had actually agreed on one which he had no doubt was the Falls of
Delaware."
McClay continued to work for the Susquehanna and some ex-
pressions from his diary show that the fight waxed warm, he says.
"Mr. Morris did not speak to me this morning, left his usual seat to
avoid me. Wynkoop cannot sit with me this evening ; he is caballing
downstairs. Morris wanted to bring forward Germantown and the Falls
of Delaware. Fitzsimmons began telling me what the Pennsylvanians had
agreed to do. Abandon the Susquehanna and try for the Falls of Dela-
ware or Germantown. McClay declared if he could not get the Sus-
quehanna he would go to the Potomac. Fitzsimmons then told him five
Pennsylvanians were for the Falls of the Delaware."
McClay warmly discusses the manipulations of Morris, Wyn-
koop. Clymer and other Pennsylvania members, to defeat his
MORRISVILI^E THE CAPITAL 359
Susquehanna project and shows that Morris was in a fair way
to carry his point, when much to McClay's satisfaction along-
came Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the treasury, in search of
voters for his financial scheme, and seeing that New York had
lost the Capital, he deftly made a bargain with the Virginians
and Southern men, that if they would support his financial plan,
the New Yorkers would vote for the Potomac as the seat of
government. Thus by a log-rolling scheme Morrisville lost the
Capital, and Washington City won. Had the federal government
come here or had Napoleon escaped to America the changed
conditions would baffle the wildest imagination to suggest the
results.
What would have been the effect upon the war of the Rebel-
lion : the irrepressible conflict, with the Capital so far North ? It
is a curious circumstance that while Washington City defeated
all efforts to take her, three of the places named on the Susque-
hanna were captured by Lee's forces. Had Bonaparte arrived,
and only accident prevented, the change upon the community and
its progress would have been great. This would have been the
central rallying point of a remarkable immigration. That great
man would have drawn after him thousands of his brave and
powerful followers from France and Central Europe. Here
would have eminated schemes and plans that would have dis-
turbed all Europe. And that feverish brain might have conceived
designs that would have changed materially our own restless
enterprise. But a reality more important than all in shaping the
character of our State was the holding of the first Monthly
Meeting of Friends at the house of William Biles on the 20th.
of 3d month, 1683, in Bucks county.
That the spot where these activities should exist would have
become important and far famed goes without saying. But these
happenings, so probable, were not to be, and Morrisville at the
end of an uneventful century is yet to achieve her greatness.
That this place was so often regarded with favor, was not
due to accident. The position at the head of the tide water upon
the Delaware and at the lowest natural point of crossing the
stream, other than by navigation, connected with a location upon
a great trunk line has always given to both Morrisville and Tren-
ton many advantages.
360 MORRISVILLe THE CAPITAL
But methods of trade have greatly changed. The railroad has
supplanted the canal and the steamboat ; within a few years there
have converged here great lines of transportation between the
East and the West and from the North to the South and West.
Lying between two great ports and at the point of distribution
of all kinds of merchandise this locality possesses greater com-
parative advantages than in the days of William Penn, Robert
Morris and Napoleon Bonaparte. With enterprise and liberality
there is no reason why in the near future, it should not leap for-
ward and become the Manchester of America, with its smoke-
stacks of manufacturing industries piercing the skies for miles
around.
The rift of light has appeared in the overclouded skies and
hope eternal, and faith born anew, record the history of failures
and disappointments with a confident assurance, that there is
in sight, a new and different capital town than once promised,
that instead of the city of politics, statesmanship and ambitious
aspirations for power there is to spring up the capital city of
commerce dependent upon the skill of the artisan and the honest
product of labor. And with these aided by combinations of
great capital, Morrisville is to be reckoned with in the next cen-
tury.
Founding of Morrisville.
BY WILLIAM C. RYAN, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
(Centennial Celebration, Morrisville, Pa., May 24, 1904.)
The origin and growth of a municipahty are always profitable
subjects for research. It is instructive as well as interesting to
note the causes which led to its establishment, the influences which
operated upon and effected its developments and the vicissitudes
of human experience, which are interwoven in its history. "There
is no history, only biography," says Emerson. Every narration
of events is after all but an account of the achievements of in-
dividuals.
The selection of the site of a town is never a matter of chance.
It is not due to mere accident that the busy capital of New Jer-
sey crowns the opposite bank of this noble river, or that the chief
city of our Commonwealth sits enthroned upon its western shore
a few miles below. The choice of the situation of this thriving
borough was, as is always the fact, due to controlling circum.-
stances.
There is frequent mention of the Falls of the Delaware in
the contemporary records of the fifty years preceding the coming
of William Penn. While yet the silence of the wilderness rested
upon these shores, and forests covered the spot upon which we
have gathered, and the fertile fields that stretch away in every
direction, a thin line of travel from the colonies on the northeast
found its way through the well-nigh "pathless woods" to the
Delaware at this point, and crossing here, passed on down the
west bank to the settlements below. Travelers from Manhattan
usually came by boat to Elizabeth and thence overland to the
river. Here they either resumed the journey by boat or rode
or marched south along the river bank. Runners bearing let-
ters between the distant settlements generally took this route. In
1656 a small detachment of soldiers under the command of one
Dick Smith, an expedition against the Indians came overland
and crossed the river here. The ne^t year another company of
forty men, under the command of Captain Kryger, escorting a
362 FOUNDING OF MORRISVILLE
party of settlers on their way south, passed over this route. In
May, 1675, Governor Edmond Andros, accompanied by a numer-
ous retinue, visited the Delaware settlements. He was met here by
the then sheriff of the district on the river, Captain Edmond
Cantrell, who accompanied him to New Castle. An Indian
council was held there on the 13th of the month, which was
attended by chiefs from both sides of the river. Among the
matters which received attention at the time was the establish-
ment of a ferry at the Falls. It was ordered that "a ferry
boate be maytaned at the Falls on the west side." The rates of
toll were fixed at two guilders (twenty-four cents) for a man
and horse and ten stivers (six cents) for a man.
About this time William Edmondson, an Irish Friend, passed
this way with a party. He has left m his journal an account of
his journey, which describes the conditions then prevailing in this
region. In reference to their crossing he says :
"About nine in the morning, by the good hand ot God we came to the
falls, and by his Providence found an Indian man, a woman and a boy
with a canoe. We hired him for some wampum, to help us over in the
canoe ; we swam our horses, and though the river was broad, yet got
well over and. by the directions we received from Friends, travelled
toward Delaware town along the west side of the river. When we rode
some miles, we baited our horses and refreshed ourselves with such pro-
visions as we had. for as yet we were not yet come to any inhabitants.
Here came to us a Finland man, well horsed, who could speak English.
He soon perceived what we were and gave us an account of several
Friends. His home was as far as we could go that day; he took us there
and lodged us kindly."
Here is a picture of lower Bucks county in 1675. Edmond-
son regarded it as providential that the Indians with the canoe
were found here on his arrival ; otherwise it is evident he could
not have crossed the river. It may be inferred that the region
round about was uninhabited at that time. The house of the
Finland man, the first inhabitant that Edmondson and his party
met, was almost a day's journey from this point.
In 1679 two intelligent and observant Dutchmen, Jasper Dan-
kers and Peter Sluyter, visited this region. They kept a journal,
which gives a very graphic description of tne country between
Morrisville and New Castle as they found it in November and
December of that year. They were members of a communistic
religious sect in Germany called Labadists, and at the time were
FOUNDING OF MORRISVILI.E 36,3
in search of a place to which their sect might remove and es-
tabHsh a settlement. This was ultimately done in Maryland.
Bankers and Sluyter came over the usual route from New York
and arrived at the river on Saturday, November 18, 1679. They
took a boat from the opposite side and went down to Burlington,
where they arrived on Sunday. They*were careful to note that
it was then and there that they first tasted peach brandy, an
event which appears to have made a marked impression on them.
It may be a mere coincidence, but the journal shows that they
did not succeed in getting away from the place until the follow-
ing Tuesday. They then went down the river to New Castle, and
thence proceeded to Maryland. When they returned to New
Castle on December 15th they had considerable difficulty in se-
curing a boat for the return trip up the river. They succeeded
in getting one at last and reached the island near Burlington
December 28th. On the 29th they crossed to the west bank
and followed a path along it for some miles. They recrossed at
Bordentown and followed a path and a cart road on the east
shore until they reached the new grist mill then recently built
by Mahlon Stacy. From that point they retraced their way to
New York. They mention houses at intervals constructed in a
very primitive style, but for the most part the region was
without inhabitanrs.
In June, 1681, Lieutenant Governor Markham reached New
York and later he arrived at the Delaware settlements, bearing
with his credentials from William Penn, a letter from Deputy
Governor Brockholls, at New York, io the settlers here, announc-
ing the grant of Pennsylvania. On August 3, 1681, he organiz-
ed a council at Upland, which was the beginning of the gov-
ernment of the colony of Pennsylvania. When Penn arrived in
September of the following year, he found English settlers al-
ready here. They had acquired their lands from Sir Edmond
Andros, as the representative of the Duke of York in 1679 and
1680. Among them were John Acreman, who, with his son, own-
ed 309 acres; Richard Ridgway, who owned 218 acres; William
Biles, 309 acres ; Robert Lucas, 145 acres ; Gilbert Wheeler, 205
acres ; and John Wood, 478 acres, all of which lands bordered on
the river. John Wood's tract included at least a part of the
present site of Morrisville. According to Holmes' map made in
364 FOUNDING OF MORRISVILLE
1681-84 it adjoined John Lufte on the north, Jeffrey Haukis and
Ann Millcomb on the west and David Brindsly on the south,
with a front on the river, including the ferry. John Wood was
a farmer from Axerchf, county of York, England, who, with
his five children, settled upon the river in 1678. General Davis
states that he was at that time the only known English settler in
this county. In 1703 a patent for six hundred and sixty-four
and a half acres was issued to Joseph Wood, who is supposed to
have been his son. This grant probably included that to the
father and confirmed the son's title to it. The property remained
in the family until 1764, when seventy acres therefrom were sold
to Adam Hoops. In 1772-73 a mill was built upon this part of
the property. In 1772 Patrick Colvin became the owner of part
of the tract, including the ferry, and it continued in his possession
until* 1792. During Colvin's ownership of the tract, which in-
cluded two hundred and sixty-four acres, this place was some-
times called Colvin's ferry, but it was also quite as well known
as the Falls. There is no evidence that there was as much as a
cluster of houses here at the time. The ferry landing was at the
end of Green street, or the old post road, the eastern part of
which has recently been vacated, at the point where the stone arch
bridge of the Pennsylvania Railroad rests upon the Pennsylvania
shore. Mention has already been made of the order of Governor
Andros made in 1675 in relation to the keeping of a boat at this
point and the regulation of the tolls charged. In 17 18 an act of As-
sembly was passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature establishing
a ferry at that point. In 1782 another ferry was established
about half a mile above the falls by John Burrows and George
Beatty. This was called the Trenton and Beatty's ferry. The
promoters inserted a notice in the Trenton "Gazette," of August
14, 1782, soliciting patronage, as follows :
"The subscribers, having at length obtained a road laid out by authority
from Bristol road to the new Trenton ferry the shortest way, a pleasant,
sandy, dry road at all seasons of the year, inform the public that they
have good boats. Whoever please to favor them with their custom,
please turn to the left at the cross roads, near Patrick Colvin's ferry, to
Colonel Bird's mill sixty rods above Colvin's ferry, thence near half a
mile up the river to the ferry above the falls, and almost opposite Trenton^
where constant attendance is given by their humble servants.
"JOHN BURROWS.
GEORGE BEATTY."
FOUNDING OF MORRISVILIvF 365
An interesting episode in the history of the river at this place
is the crossing of the Continental army in December, 1776, after
its disheartening retreat across New Jersey, it reached Trenton
on December 3d. Washington, with his usual foresight, had
assembled the Pennsylvania militia in this vicinity and had col-
lected and withdrawn all the boats from the New Jersey to the
Pennsylvania shore as far up the river as Coryell's ferry, now New
Hope. The army began transferring the baggage and heavy stores
at once, but the Commander-in-chief with the rear guard did not
cross until Sunday morning, the 8th. Later in the forenoon the
British appeared on the opposite shore, but the Americans had all
the boats. Washington took up his headquarters about a mile from
the river. He appears to have been here on the 9th, the 13th,
the 20th and 24th* and at other points along the river farther
inland on the intervening dates. The reason for his presence
here the day before the attack at Trenton may be surmised.
After the battle the Americans brought their prisoners into this
countv, but did not cross here. It is generally accepted that they
recrossed at McKonkey's ferry, where boats for the purpose were
probably available.
Morrisville will always be associated with the pathetic story
of the misfortunes of Robert Morris. In 1789 he began the
acquisition of real estate here. In that year he purchased from
Samuel Ogden the Delaware mills, with a tract of 450
acres and another tract of about 400 acres from John
Nixon. In 1791 he purchased Summerseat with its tract
of 271 acres. In 1792 he acquired the Colvin tract, with
the ferry, containing on the Pennsylvania side 264^ acres.
He afterwards purchased other lands, until in 1795 he was
the owner of about 2,500 acres here. He undertook an operation
which in those times was no doubt regarded a very extensive
one. Here he had a grist-mill, a rolling-mill, a snuff-mill, a hat
factory and numerous other establishments. He built a large
mansion in the village and surrounded it with beautiful grounds.
His "Stables were among the finest in America. His son, Robert
Morris, Jr., who had charge of the operations at Morrisville,
resided in the mansion several years. But Morris did not realize
all his expectations and misfortune swept from him his fortune
and consigned him to a debtor's prison in his old age. His-
366 FOUNDING OF MORRISVltLE
property here was sold by the sheriff on June 9, 1798, to George
Clymer and Thomas Fitzsimmons, for $41,000. Clymer at this
■itifne held a mortgage from Morris for £27,405, covering the Mor-
•risville properties above referred to, which had been executed in
1795, and is on record at Doylestown. Clymer was a signer of
-'-the Declaration of Independence, a member of the Constitutional
•''C^rivention of 1787 and a member of the first Congress. He
engaged in business here with Fitzsimmons after the sale, and in
1799 they erected a new grist-mill in the village. Clymer resided
here until his death January 23, 1813. He was buried in the
Friends' burying-ground at Trenton.
Morrisville was known by that name in 1795, which appears
by the mortgage given to Clymer above referred to. It had
become a village and in 1804 was ambitious to secure corporate
•existence. Accordingly, there was introduced in the Legislature
of that year a bill creating it a borough. Simon Snyder, after-
ward governor of the Commonwealth, was then speaker of the
House of Representatives and Robert Whitehill was speaker of
the Senate. Thomas McKean occupied the gubernatorial chair.
The bill was duly passed and became a law, with the approval of
the Governor, on March 29, 1804. It is entitled "An Act to
erect the town of Morrisville into a borough." Its first section
provided "that the town of Morrisville and its vicinity in the
county of Bucks, shall be, and the same is hereby erected into
a borough, which shall be called the borough of Morrisville,
bounded and limited as follows, that is to say :
"Beginning at the upper comer of the township of Falls, at the river
Delaware, thence along the line of the township of Lower Makefield,
south fifty degrees, west one hundred and twenty perches to the Newtown
road ; thence cutting off a corner of William Jenk's land, so as to take
the back line of Lewis Le Guen's and Henry Clymer's lands ; south twenty-
seven and a half degrcs, east two hundred perches to Clymer's corner;
thence thro' his and Mahlon Milnor's land, and cutting off a small corner
of Mahlon Longstreth's land, south thirty-two degrees east two hundred
and seventy perches, into other land of said Le Guen. to a corner at
twenty perches distance from the line of John Carlisle's land ; thence at
that distance parallel therewith (where a street is to be opened) north
sixty degrees east one hundred and twenty perches to the creek ;
thence up the said creek to its junction with the river ; thence up the
river, taking in the island, to the place of beginning.
. ' FOUNDING OF MORRISVILLE 367
The elections for borough officers were to be held on the
third Monday of April of every year at the school-house and be
conducted by two judges, one inspector and two clerks. The
electors must have been entitled to vote for members of the
Legislature and have resided in the borough for twelve months
previous to the election. One reputable person was to be chosen
burgess, five reputable persons "to be a town council" and one
reputable person a high constable. To refuse to serve as burgess
was to incur a penalty of a fine of twenty dollars. The constable
of Falls was authorized to act as constable at the first election.
Under the provisions of the last section of the act, any person
who thought himself aggrieved by anything done in pursuance
of the act of incorporation was given the privilege of appealing
to the next Court of Quarter Sessions, upon giving security to
prosecute his appeal with efifect. It does not appear from the
record that anybody did appeal, however much opposition to the
proceeding or dissatisfaction with it there may have been.
The first election for borough officers was held in the old
school-house, which is still standing, near the Smith street canal
bridge, on April 16, 1804. The following officers were elected:
Council, Samuel Eastburn, Jonathan Good, Henry Clymer, Ed-
ward Nutt and William Kirkpatrick; town clerk and treasurer,
Abraham Warner ; high constable, Thomas Powers. Council
organized on June 4, 1804, by electing Samuel Eastburn president.
At the first census following incorporation, in 18 10, the popula-
tion was found to be 266. In 1850 it was 565. In 1900 it had
grown to 1,371.
It is not the purpose of this paper to note the changes which
100 years have wrought. While Morrisville has not grown to
be a city, in some measure the dream of Robert Morris has been
realized. A great stone structure, a monument to modern en-
gineering skill, spans the river where once the old ferry plied
from shore to shore, and over it rush the swift trains of a great
railroad system. Within its corporate limits are established great
industries and through its streets glide the electric cars. On
every hand are the evidences of prosperity and progress. But
while her citizens take a just pride in these things, they should
not forget that better than material wealth is a conscientious and
enlightened citizenship.
"Sharon" and the Indian Legend Connected Therewith.
EY MISS BELLE VAN SANT, NEWTOWN, PA. '
(Meeting at "Sharon" near Newtown, October 4, 1904.)
In 18 1 3 James Worth, a Philadelphia hardware merchant, pur-
'chased the property which he subsequently named "Sharon" at
public sale, from the estate of Dr. James Tate, who had owned
it since February 17, 1782, when it was conveyed to him as
part of the estate of* his father, Anthony Teate, who had pur-
chased this particular tract in 1756.
It had for nearly half a century previous to this been the prop-
erty of the Nelson family, and comprised originally 450 acres.
It was devised in 1744 to his son, Thomas, and soon after, through
various conveyances, practically the whole tract, as well as sever-
al other tracts, became the property of Anthony Tate, who
owned at the time of his death nearly 600 acres of land in and
around Newtown, which descended to his son, Dr. James Teate,
and to his five daughters.
Dr. James Tate was an officer in the Continental army during
the Revolutionary War. and was a physician of more than ordi-
nary ability.
Tradition has it that when the farm was "knocked down" by
the auctioneer, Mr. Worth took out of his pocket a goose-quill
and out of it drew one bill sufficient to pay for the farm,
$20,000; but John Wildman, formerly of Langhorne, tells the
story somewhat differently, he says that his father was one of
three men asked to come to Newtown to see Mr. Worth count
out the twenty-thousand dollars : instead of which he took from
his pocket a goose-quill with which he signed a check for the
whole amount, an unusual sight in those days.
Soon after the purchase Mr. Worth moved from Philadelphia
to his farm and lived there until his death in 1844. From that
time his widow, Margaret Worth, was in possession of the prop-
erty until her death,, when it came into the hands of her daughter,
Mrs. Millimetta C. Thornton.
On February 13, 1892, the trustees of the John M. George
"SHARON" AND THE INDIAN I^EGEND 369
bequest purchased of Mrs. Thornton 227 acres of the "Sharon"
property for $38,000 for a site upon which to locate a school.
The main building was erected on this site in 1893, and other
buildings necessary for the growth of the institution have since
been added.
Mrs. Thornton retained 60 acres including the mansion, barn
and tenant house. After the sale was completed she presented
to George School an avenue 100 feet wide leading from the
road to the farm house — this is now known as Sharon avenue.
The mansion, a fine old colonial structure, was built by Dr.
Tate in 1804, the glass for it being brought from England. The
original building consisted of a large open hall with rooms on
either eide, the kitchen being in the basement under the back
parlor where remains of an open fire-place may still be seen.
The back buildings were added by Mr. Worth in 1814 since
which time no material changes have been made. The third
story was originally a weird structure. Dark closets extended
under the eaves with doors leading into other closets, and con-
cealed doors entered the loft that extends over the back part of
the house, a favorite place for bats and flying-squirrels and
uncanny sounds.
The barn and tenant house were also built by Mr. Worth. Dr.
Tate had fine imported horses, but they were kept in sheds,
and the grain was stored in the house.
The lawn as laid out and planted by Mr. Worth was quite
different from what it is at present. The bank in front of the
property was walled, with a spruce hedge on top. Two gate-
ways one on either side of the lawn with square wooden posts
surmounted by large urn-shaped knobs, were connected by a
semi-circular drive leading to the front porch ; and in a straight
line from the front door to a small gate at the road was a
foot path with box-bush on either side, the same that is now
in front of the lawn. At that time the lawn was a perfect jungle
of rare trees and shrubs, many of which were destroyed by a
cyclone about forty years ago ; and although there are still
a number of splendid specimens, those familiar with the place
mourn for the grand old magnolia grandiflora, and franklain,
the frinare trees, laurels and Scotch broom.
370 SHARON AND THE INDIAN LEGEND
In the early part of the past century Mr. Ridgley, a son-in-
law of Mr. Worth became much interested in silk-worm culture.
Mulberry trees were planted and a culture-house was erected
in the meadow between Newtown creek and the Neshaminy, on
the Campbell Bridge road. The enterprise was fruitless, but
many still remember the low shackling building long known as
the "cocoonery."'*
For a period of 15 years, from 1870 to 1885, the mansion was
unoccupied, and during that time it was the proverbial "haunted
house" of the neighborhood, and not without reason too; for
the story goes that at one time Dr. Tate dissected the body of a
Hessian soldier, and buried his remains in the cellar, and that
for years afterwards in the dead of night his restless spirit
might be heard tramping up the stairs and along the halls, and
it is a well authenticated fact that if you walk on the spot
where he is buried with a lighted candle the flame will immedi-
ately be extinguished.
About 1880 the woods and meadows along Newtown creek
were leased to a party in Newtown, and for four years, "Sharon
Park" flourished.
In 1 89 1, the Thornton family returned a second time, repaired
the house, and lived there until Mr. Thornton's death in 1901.
In the spring of 1902, Mrs. Thornton sold the property to
Miss Elizabeth Roberts, afterwards Mrs. J. Herman Barnsley,
and Mr. and Mrs. Barnsley resided there for about nine months,
when it was again sold to Mr. John J. Tierney, of West Virginia,
by whom the Historical Society is being so beautifully enter-
tained to-day.
It would hardly seem proper to give an account of Sharon and
leave out the Indian legend which is so closely associated with
the open space in the woods near the George School farm-house,
long known as the "Indian Field."
AN INDIAN LEGEND.
Here dwelt in years long ago the Indian chieftain, Mahpeah,
the Sky, with his beautiful daughter, Ottawanda, the Deer-footed,
so named from her fleetness of foot as she bounded over
mountain and dale, running stream or from rock to rock along
* See paper on "Silk Culture in Bucks County" by John A. Anderson in this volume.
'SHARON AND THE INDIAN LEGEND 37I
the banks of the Neshaminy, on the borders of which her tribe
pitched their wigwams. The residence of the chief was mounted
upon this open knoll, where the beautiful springs of clear water
near by and the woods surrounding his tepee afforded drink
and shelter for his family. Here he hunted and fished, while the
lovely Ottawanda cooked his venison and made moccasins with
her own fair hands. Many braves had sought her favor and
wished to take her to their own wigwams, farther up the banks
of the stream, where most of the tribe dwelt ; but Ottawanda was
glad to remain with the old chief. The most ardent of her
lovers were Ojewaba, (the Fox,) and Katinda, (the White
Cloud,) and their canoes were often stranded upon the bank
below the blufif where the beautiful Ottawanda lived.
One day the old chief called his daughter to him and said :
"Ottawanda, thy father is growing old and will soon pass beyond
the clouds to the eternal hunting-grounds. Who will hunt the
deer for thee when I am gone? The Cloud and the Fox
would both take care of thee — which wilt thou follow?" Now,
Ottawanda loved neither the White Cloud nor the Fox, but a
white hunter from the north, who had smoked the pipe-of-peace
with Mahpeah, and who came down the Neshaminy from above
the forks to see his daughter. "Father," said Ottawanda, "when
the maize is gathered and the full moon rises above, I will
run like the deer to the Rock of the Sun, and he who overtakes
and passes me, him will I follow to his wigwam." Many were
the young braves who were ready to' strive for the prize. The
white hunter came down from the north, but none knew but
Ottawanda how swift of foot was the young stranger.
The Rock of the Sun was a huge boulder that hung over the
bank of the Neshaminy about two miles above the Indian field,
and below it the water was deep and black. It jutted out from
the bank and seemed to catch the first rays of the sun as he
peeps above the opposite horizon, from which its name, "The
Sun Rock," was given.
Ottawanda was to start from the mouth of the Newtown creek
where it empties its waters into the Neshaminy, and she well
knew who could outrun her Indian wooers. The first bend in
the stream had scarcely been reached before the white hunter
372 SHARON AND THE INDIAN LEGlIND
had passed his fleet-footed companions, but as Ottawanda turned
to slacken her speed the white lover, followed by the Fox, fell
to the earth pierced by an arrow from behind. There was no
wavering- from Ottawanda ; on she sped, pursued by the Indian,
who seemed to fly through the air, and almost to gain her as
she reached the rock. Swiftly she glided upon it. Her light
figure, like a zephyr swaying upon the ragged point in the
moonlight, was sharply defined against the dark background. As
she poised upon her nimble feet she looked to the south, where
the Indian field with her father's wigwam lay, then waved her
hand in farewell and leaped far out into the deep black pool
below.
And now they say that when the moon is at its full, her
spirit rises from the water and she paddles her canoe down the
Neshaminy until she reaches a point just opposite the Indian
field, when she moors her phantom bark and wanders silently
for an hour in the little enclosure encircled by trees.
Of late years a few straggling bushes have encroached upon
the spot, but it has never taken kindly to cultivation. The for-
mer owners of Sharon introduced it to the plow and planting of
barley and buckwheat, while the present authorities made every
efifort to enrich it with rare botanical specimens, but like its
first proprietor, the Indian, it refuses to be civilized or to re-
spond to the touch of the white man. But here in constant
succession may be found the most beautiful wild flowers, from
the modest little "quaker-lady" and the deepest blue violets of
the early spring to the asters and golden-rods of the late au-
tumn.
Now when the spirit of the fair Indian girl turns her phan-
tom vision northward and beholds the electric lights of George
School illuminating the woodlands of her tribe, is it not possible
that she longs to enter its portals of learning and with a sad-
dened gaze silently steals away to her home beneath the rocks,
at Schofield's ford.
An Old Mowing Machine.
BY THADDEUS S. KENDERDINE, NEWTOWN_, PA.
^Meetingat "Sharon" near Newtown, October 4, 1904.)
Eighty years ago, around and on the field between the Sharon
homestead and where is now the toll-gate, were scenes and sounds
causing excitement in those dull days, when there was not a
railroad in the land, and not even a stage-coach rolled down the
Bristol road, where now a trolley-car makes hourly glides and a
railroad bisects the same old farm over which the locomotive rocks
and roars. At the time mentioned, neighbors were gathered for
miles around. Their saddle-horses were hitched to fence-posts
and around the barn, while gigs and white-covered springless
wagons were in evidence as bearers of the curious and doubting
to see the attempt to run the first mowing machine ever tried in
Bucks county.
It was before the era of inventions, and it requires but little
imagination to picture the excitement brought out in the human
line-up along the fence as well as among the more venturesome
who followed the new-fangled thing which, like a cross between an
old-time war-chariot and a saw-mill with a circular saw went
charging at the lines of plumed timothy stalks, or halting when
a cog slipped or a knife broke off on striking a stone left unpicked
by the farm boys the previous April. We can picture the trials of
Inventor Bailey, who must have been on the grounds, as well as
the agents for the sale of the machine, when the grand conglom-
eration of wooden cog-wheels, revolving saw, rude levers and
second-hand wagon wheels took a stunt of working well and
eliciting applause from well-wishers among the audience. The
late John Buckman, the last survivor among those who saw the
trial, and the only one from whom I could get any personal infor-
mation about the affair, was a boy at the time, and accompanied
his father to see the show, but was not of an age to give particu-
lars, except to notice that the two horses drawing the machine
were driven tandem to hug the standing grass and thereby ease
the side-draft, and that the main trouble about the working was
374 AN OLD MOWING MACHINE
when the "shoe," which was used to keep the cutting arrange-
ment from the ground, got in surface depressions and stopped
the machine. The agent on hand was probably Edmund Kinsey,
of Aloreland, he being the nearest, as there was no Bucks county
agent, but he made no neighborhood sales, so the farmers here-
about swung their scythes for almost a generation longer, for it
was not until the early 50's that mowing machines got in use
among them.
Before that time groups of slowly-moving lines of stooping
â– men might have been seen in seasons of ripened grass laying low
the fields of timothy and clover. No ten-hour-days were those,
but turning the grindstone and bearing on the ringing scythe from
dawn till breakfast : mowing till ten o'clock ; shaking up hay
and raking around windrows till noon ; hauling-in until supper
time ; and after supper mowing till set of sun, was the rule.
There was a sentiment clinging around those old-time days of
hay and harvest which the clatter of mowing and reaping machines
lias driven away, never to return, and when I think of those
scenes and sounds ; the early start in the dewy grass ; the falling
into swath of the lithe lines of clover and timothy over the
reiterated swishes of the curved blades in the zigzag rows of the
stooped mowers; the "wetting the banter" by a peculiar clip
of the rifle or whetstone, wherein a hidden challenge was given
to the rest; the mortification of the luckless wight who was
"mowed 'round" at the risk of amputation of one or more legs;
the luncheon brought out in mid forenoon, a meal of pie, "Dutch
cheese" and ginger cake, washed down by a nectar composed of
ginger, nutmeg and water, the whole, except to such unscientific
lunchers, a begetter of dyspepsia ; the raking 'round : the hauUng
in of the sun-baked hay ; the pitching off ; the group of tired and
sweat-stained men around the supper table ; and as all these come
up before me, pleasant reminiscences come therewith, despite
stubble-pricked feet and other ills which farm boys were heir to
in those far-away times.
But I must stop these comparisons and come down to my sub-
ject — the "Old Mowing Machine," one of which had its short-
lived day in the field below old "Sharon." This was so unique
in construction, the trial was so far back, the hiatus so prolonged
tmtil such machinery became a success, and the locality appropri-
AN OI.D MOWING MACHINE) 375
ate, that I need no apology for making the "Bailey Mowing
Machine" the under subject of my heading.
But there were older machines than the Bailey, as there were
poets before Homer, even if its origin goes back to the year 1822.
Pliney saw one in A. D. 60. This was a reaper. It was a low,
cart-like affair, pushed by an ox, in front of which was a comb,
which raked off the heads of grain and dropped them in a box.
In the year 1786 a man named Pitt improved on this by arranging
a revolving toothed cylinder in place of the comb, which drew
the grain heads into the cart body. The next we hear of is
Jeremiah Bailey's, which was invented one year before the cutter-
bar machine of Henry Ogle, of Alnwick, England. Hussey's was
built in 1833, and McCormick's in 1834, but it was twenty years
before that style of machine was much used.*
As of local historical interest I must make mention of a machine
for mowing, built by William and Charles Crook, at New Hope,
in 1852, and modeled after the Pitt and Pliney machines, inasmuch
as it was a "cart-before-the-horse" affair. The team of two or
more horses pushed the cutter-bar, the end of the rear-pointing
tongue being supported by a steering-wheel, over which the driver
rode and guided the cumbersome affair, which necessarily required
much room for turning, and required some knowledge of naviga-
tion by the man at the wheel. Avoidance of side draft
developed the invention of this mower, which from its weight and
difficulty of handling, became unpopular, and soon went out of
use, as lighter machines were introduced. The cost was $140,
and the cutter-bar was of wood.
While the Bailey machine is definitely described hereafter, the
general construction takes us back to old times when all machine-
ry was, as far as possible, built of wood. Keying iron wheels on
round shafting had not then come in vogue. A square was forged
on a round shaft, when a round one was not used, and the wheel
wedged thereon with thin iron wedges, much of which work wavS
within the province of the village blacksmith. One of the cog-
wheels was known as a "wallower," and was a bird-cage looking
* From information furnished by Cyrus H. McCormick, president of the International
Harvester Co. of America, I learn that the McCormick machine was first manufactured
in 1831, and was in operation that year, also in 1S32 and 1S33, although it was not patented
until 1834. By 1847, 13 years after the patent, it was extensively used in the West, nearly
1,000 machines having been built in 1847. Bailey's patent was taken out in 1822, but was
never restored after the fire in the patent-office in 1836. B. F. F., Jr.
376 AN OLD MOWING MACHINE
affair, the long cogs coming handy when the knife disc was
raised or lowered, and was hung on a squared iron shaft and
bound with iron bands. The machine was evidently made by a
millwright, but one of the wheels was evidently obtained by de-
stroying the symmetry of a farm wagon. The machine could have
been built without the aid of a machine shop.
Though people were evidently not wanting then to give testi-
monials for what was probably useless, as even in these later days,
the Bailey machine was necessarily in use but a short time. The
field must -be level as a lawn, for whenever the step of the cutter
shaft got into a rut the knives would strike dirt and choke down
until the man at the lever bore down and relieved the trouble.
The absence of a cutter-bar finger required sharp knives and gave
them free play at stones and other obstructions.
The following extract is from the American Farmer, published
in Baltimore in 1828. The "beg leaves" and "respectfully in-
forms" were more prevalent then than now ; but the ability to
sign anything in the shape of a testimonial was the same as in
these later days. The strange part of the thing is that a machine
which worked such wonders — that swathed like a cradle, and
which was in satisfactory use for three years, should have gone
out of use, and the back-breaking scythe retained in use for
another generation.
The following is an extract from Bailey's advertisement :
"Jeremiah Bailey begs leave to state to farmers his belief that the
machine which he has invented and devoted many years of his life to the
improvement of, is now as worthy of their attention as any other im-
plement of husbandry, as being the cheapest and most expeditious mode
of cutting grain and grasses. A comparative estimate has been made of
its performance with that of manual labor. When the grass is heavy
and much lodged it is believed this machine will be equal to the labor of
twelve men. When the grass is lighter, to that of six men. The machine
has been much simplified in its construction, and the diameter of the cut-
ting wheel has been increased from five feet six inches to. seven feet,
which gives it a decided advantage in the cutting of both grass and grain,
as its performance is in proportion to the diameter and the distance it
progresses in a given time. Farmers are respectively invited to view the
machine at Daniel Buckley's. Esq., Pequea township, Lancaster county,
Pa. ; Edward Duffield's and Samuel Newbold's, Moreland township, Phila-
delphia county, who have had the machine in use for three years, and
where information can be obtained ; also at Clayton Newbold's and John
AN OLD MOWING MACHINE; 377
Black's. Upper Springfield township, Burlington county. N. J. Orders di-
rected to Edmund Kinsej', Moreland township. Philadelphia county; Clay-
ton Newbold, Upper Sringfield township, Burlington county, N. J., or to
the inventor, on Market street, near Schuylkill Sixth street, will be prompt-
ly attended to. The following certificates from respectable and practical
farmers will show their opinions of the utility of this machine:
We, the subscriber6, having this day witnessed with much satisfaction
the operation of the mowing machine invented and operated by Jeremiah
Bailey, of Chester county, on a timothy field of Edward Duflfield, Esq.,
do hereby certify that the cutting was clear and uniform and the swath
handsomely laid over with great expedition, we doubt not, at the rate of
six acres a day. We consider it as one of the greatest labor-saving ma-
chines for agricultural use hitherto invented, and have no doubt that its
power can equally as well be applied to the cutting of grain crops of any
kind that could be cradled.
W. J. MILLER,
R. M. LEWIS,
Philadelphia County, July, 1825. LAWRENCE LEWIS."
"We, the subscribers, have no hesitation to state to farmers and the
public generally that we have had the mowing machine invented by Jere-
miah Bailey in use for three years for mowing our grass crops. He has
this year had it adapted to^ cutting and laying in regular swaths both wheat
and oats, which adds very much to the value of the machine, and from
our experience we recommend it to the attention of farmers as a valuable
labor-saving machine where the land is regularly prepared for its use.
EDWARD DUFFIELD,
SAMUEL NEWBOLD."
Moreland Township, Philadelphia, September 13th, 1825.
"We, the undersigned inhabitants of Byberry and Aloreland, in Philadel-
phia county, having seen the operations of Jeremiah Bailey's mowing ma-
chine in this neighborhood, do certify in our opinion that it fully answers
the purpose intended, both for grass and grain — the former, though lodged
and bent down by both wind and rain, it cuts without difficulty, and
nearly as fast as when it stands upright, and the latter, from an ex-
periment made on wheat, we have not only seen cut clean but laid in
swaths so straight and even that it might be raked and bound as readily
as if cut by the best cradle and sickle. We recommend it to the atten-
tion of farmers as a valuable improvement.
THORNTON WALTON,
JAMES THORNTON,
CYRUS PIERCE,
JOHN COMLY,
JOSIAH WALTON,
Eighth mo., 19th. 1825. JAMES WALTON."
3/8 AX OLD MOWING MACHINE
"We, the subscribers, having seen the above-mentioned machine in opera-
tion in cutting grass, do fully concur in the above statement. From the
accounts we have had of its operations in cutting grain have no doubts
of its answering a very good purpose.
NATHANIEL RICHARDSON, JR.,
JAMES BONNER,
JOSHUA GILBERT, JR.,
JOHN P. TOWN SEND,
Eighth month, 19th. 1825." JAMES TOWNSEND."
The best of modern mowers and reapers could not have much
better recommendations than these.
Gilbert Cope, of West Chester, Pa., thus describes the con-
struction and operations of the Bailey mowing machine :
"A rectangular frame five feet five inches long by nine feet ten inches,
of white oak stuff, two and one-fourth by six inches, well mortised at
the corners, divided lengthways by another piece of the same stuff, is
supported by two stout wagon wheels about four feet two in diameter.
The wheel on the off side is on an ordinary wooden axle, and stands out-
side the frame. The other, or driving wheel, is inside the frame on an
iron shaft, which revolves on bearings at each end about thirteen and
one-half inches further forward than the off-wheel, and has spuds on the
tire to prevent slipping, while outside the heavy felloe is bolted a circle
of cogs three inches inside the circumference. These cogs gear into a
cogwheel eighteen inches in diameter, on a horizontal shaft four feet in
length, at the other end of which is a crown wheel, two feet one in
diameter, gearing into a wooden trundle or wallower above the frame,
fifteen inches in l-^nrrtVi and the same in diameter, hooped with iron at the
Tieads and fast on a vertical shaft, at the bottom oi which is the cut-
ting-wheel. This may be likened to a broad-rimmed, low-crowned hat;
the crown three feet five and one-half inches in diameter and about
â– nine inches high ; the brim of sheet iron with a light facing of wood at
the edge and ten and one-half inches wide exclusive of the knives, which
increases the diameter of the whole to five feet and a half. These
Icnives are segments of a circle, and being fastened to the edge of the
wheel by screws can be removed for sharpening. When in operation the
wheel rests on a narrow shoe, which keeps it at a proper distance from
the ground, and which, extending backwards, is bolted to a wooden
brace sloping from the rear of the frame. To elevate the wheel when
•not in use, a long wooden lever is attached by a twisted iron strap socket
to the top of the shaft and extends back to a slotted post on the rear of
the frame. The horizontal post passes through a post in the side of the
frame near the driving wheel. This post fits loosely in a mortise, and
by the use of a wedge in front or back of it the machine is thrown in
or out of gear as desired. When in operation the horses walk close to
the edge of the standing grass, and the off-wheel followed a little inside
of the track covered by the cutting wheel." *
* Pennsylvania agricultural report for 1892 contains at pp. 79 and So, excellent half-
tone illustrations of the Bailey mowing-machine.
The Colonial Origin of Some Bucks County Families.
BY SAMUEL GORDON SMYTH, WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, PA.
(Meeting at "Sharon" near Newtown, October 4, 1904.)
I take peculiar pleasure in meeting with you to-day, and in
greeting, under such favorable and distinguished auspices, many
of the friends and acquaintances of my boyhood.
To me, in that dreamy and ambitionless past, personal names
meant simply the marks of distinction between each of you as
we met or played, or worked ; to-day, I understand them different-
ly-
Those familiar surnames of long ago abound with a deeper sig-
nificance in connection with the history of this vicinity than they
did and have since absorbed my interest and much of my attention.
I read your newspapers and follow your individual careers as if T
lived among you still; and to a certain extent, although out of
your sight and probably out of your mind, I have studied your
progress as well as the history of your forbears. I am now here
to lift, in part, the veil that enveloped the early movements of
many of those ancestors in mystery, speculation and doubt.
Charles Wagner, in his delightful little volume, entitled "The
Simple Life," says :
"The very base of family feeling is respect for the past ; for the best
possessions of a family are its common memories. * * * We must
learn again to value our domestic traditions. A precious care has pre-
served certain monuments of the past. So antique dress, provincial dia-
lects, old folk songs, have found appreciative hands to gather them up'
before they should disappear from the earth. What a good deed to guard
these crumbs of a great past — these vestiges of the souls of our ancestors.
Let us do the same for our family traditions, save and guard as much
as possible of the patriarchal — whatever its form."
In a study of the racial elements introduced into Pennsylvania
through the operation of William Penn's scheme — wise and phil-
anthropic as it was — we learn how one of the highest attain-
ments in provincial colonization was peacefully and successfully-
achieved ; and how, by the rapid and extensive diffusion of those
elements, all diversities of language, religion, classes and customs
380 COLOXIAL ORIGIN' OF SOME BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES
were assimilated to produce, in future years, that composite char-
acter of unique and complex quality, called the American citizen.
One needs but to look at the conquests — not of war, but of
peace — within the past decade or two, to realize the world-strides
our country has taken toward the foremost place on the map of
the nations. Such a position is not the accomplishment of men
newly come across seas out of the oppressed and overburdened
East! But of men begotten of the trials and throes of a War
for Independence, and the no less patriotic, but pioneer-
spent lives of those who had to maintain what their fath-
ers had won. By them these possessions were made to render
out of the treasury of their resources rich tribute to its masters ;
hence the pack-horse, the wagon-train and the swift development
of vast areas, as we come down the generations. These were the
men who inherited from sturdy, fearless sires, the breath of
liberty: who reared at their firesides, as they pushed from ocean
to ocean, and from the rock-ribbed North to the sunny Gulf, al-
tars to God and freedom, and children, as well, to defend them;
and in whose posterity burns to-day the same inalienable spirit
of patriotism as ardent, unquenchable and enduring as the fabled
fires of Prometheus. Of such qualities were many of the early
settlers of Bucks county.
Many years before Penn was born, the Dutch, one of the then
world-powers, had carefully explored, taken possession of and
peopled a vast province, extending from the Connecticut to the
farther shores of the South (Delaware) river. This great colonial
dominion was called New Netherland almost from the day, in
1609, when Henry Hudson (an English navigator in the employ
of the Dutch West India Company) ascended the mountainous
confines of the North river in his attempt to discover the long-
sought passage to the western sea, and continued (barring an
intermittent period of English rule) until her power was finally
overthrown in the days of the erratic Governor, Jacob Leisler, in
1689, the dawn of the Briton's supremacy, which ran nearly the
length of a century, or until the rise of the Republic.
In all these years of Dutch influence there cam.e steadily from
the provinces and cities of Holland a stream of enterprising
traders and burghers — men of thrift, respectability and progress,
who found along the bays and waterways of New Amsterdam
COI.ONIAL ORIGIN OF SOME) BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES 381
snug harbors and havens so like those they left beyond the sea.
They overflowed to the western end of Long Island, and mingled
with the vanguard of New England whalemen whom they found
cruising down from the bleak North ; then the tide flowed toward
the Jersey shores, where Communipaw, Bergen, and other nearby
points mark their landing. Wherever they set foot ashore, little
towns were established, erecting their homes, their wind and
water-mills, until such communities as New Utrecht, Flatbush,
Gowanus, Gravesend, Brooklyn and other places interlaced each
other. Here the peltry hunters and the rivermen, prospering in
their trade in the marts of Manhattan came to abide in shady
bouwerij which stretched from the ferry to the Sound shores
eastward, and northward beside the stately Hudson ; down the
Staten and Coney's islands and across the Kill-von-Kull and into
the Scotch English settlements on Newark bay beyond.
Pushing aside mere village limitations, the forward movement
advanced to far-distant points. Grants of lands of princely size
were made far up the river, back into the forest, and to the ver>'
rim of the Great Lakes. With these came the introduction of
patroonships and the translation of a feudalism, patterned from
the baronies of the Rhine. Perhaps the most notable of these
lordly Dutch domains was that of Renssalearwyk, on a portion of
which stands, to-day, the present city of Albany, called by the
Dutch New Orange.
Throughout the whole dominion the Dutch spirit of barter
soon permeated, drawing largess from the tribes inhabiting its
uttermost parts, and it even knew no bounds. Here was laid
the foundation of that commercialism which has long since made
New York dominant in the Western world, and ensnared and en-
slaved the hearts and souls of her people.
In the second decade of the latter half of the seventeenth
century, a settlement was formed, by some French Huguenot
emigrants and Hollanders who had found their way up the Hud-
son from Manhattan and its neighboring villages — at a point in
the Catskill lowlands, eighty odd miles above the bay. In a
little fertile valley, watered by the Wallkill and Esopus, with an
area of perhaps 3,000 acres, running toward the interior; these
people founded five small settlements, known as Esopus, Hurley,
^82 COLONIAL ORIGIN OF SOME BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES
Marbletown. Kingston and New Paltz, but collectively called the
New Paltz region.
Within a short time, as a result of peaceable communal inter-
course, the Dutch and the French refugees fraternized ; forgot
their political jealousies, social and religious differences, and
entered into harmonious relations with each other ; and
this condition was still further advanced and strength-
ened through intermarriage and its resultant kinship, so that
before the first native generation had reached maturity the Dutch
tongue had been adopted for use in official and ecclesiastical
affairs, while the French served for social and domestic inter-
course.
There was one church — the Dutch Reformed, at Kingston —
where all might worship. Here was kept, with a fidelity rare for
the times, and by different pastors, the records of births and mar-
riages of three communities in common.
These records have been carefully and systematically edited
and published, and to-day form a valuable index of the mixed
inhabitants of Ulster county, N. Y., from 1663, to a comparatively
recent time. In looking over this register I have found a col-
lection of names which I take to be of unusual and singular
interest to some of their descendants in Bucks county. Our local
histories and genealogies have, in the main, and in a generalizing
sort of way, credited the colonial origin of some of your fore-
fathers to New York, Albany, Bergen, and places other than the
real point of migration, and I do not find our pleasant little New
Paltz valley mentioned as one of these. While it is probable
that at the end of their voyage from the fatherland, some of
these ancestors may have landed and stopped for a time among
friends living in New Amsterdam, or its adjacent towns, or
whatever may have been their wanderings prior to the dates
found on the Kingston register, it is nevertheless certain that
the New Paltz region furnished some very desirable and re-
spectable of her citizens toward the settlement of that section
of Bucks county lying between the Poquessing and Neshaminy
creeks, and running westerly from the Delaware to this vicinity,
but more particularly to Southampton township. The Kingston
records contain the names of several whom you will no doubt at
once recognize. Among the Dutch inhabitants were : Wynkoop,
COLONIAL ORIGIN OF SOME BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES 383
Tenbroeck, Bogard, Sleght, (Slack), Van Buskirk, Newkirk,
A'andergrift (Vandegrift). Among those of French nativity-
were: DuBois, Hasbrouck, Lefevre, Ferree and LaMetre.
Incidentally and curiously enough, too, I find that the two
great political leaders in the present campaign (1904) Roosevelt
and Parker — are parties to my subject, not only because they
represent ideals in American citizenship, but also for these two
facts, namely, the Republican candidate's Dutch ancestors, the
Roosevelts, Bogarts and Van Schaicks, were contemporary resi-
dents of Esopus with your own sires, and therein, it may be, he is
related to you ! And the other fact is that the Democratic nominee
at present is a resident of the same town. Thus the past, with
its associations, is interwoven with the present and its actualities.
About 171 1, local history tells us, there was a movement of
many thousands of Germans from New York to Pennsylvania,
partly because of bad treatment received in the former, and partly
to take advantage of the liberal terms the Proprietary was offer-
ing his Dutch kindred in this Province ; in this way a number of
Hollanders came to settle about that time in the lower portion of
Bucks county, principally on the Neshaminy and its branches.
This is amply verified by the recently published church records of
the Bensalem and Neshaminy congregation, covering a period
from 1 7 10 to 1758. It appears that there was at this time an
overland path to and from New York and the falls of the Dela-
ware (Trenton) via the Raritans (New Brunswick.) This trail
has been identified as the site of the present turnpike which
â– extends from Morrisville to Philadelphia; but in 1675 the trail, as
it continued to the Swedish settlements on the lower Delaware,
thence into Maryland, was called the "King's Path." It was
probably the route by which the Dutch contingent reached Penn-
sylvania, for Bensalem and Moreland manors were the first to
receive from it the nucleus of their future population, and later,
the more distant and outlying townships.
Of the Dutch families coming here the Wynkoops may be
reckoned the foremost in the way of prominence, and Peter is said
to have been the first of the name to come to America from Hol-
land, which was in 1640. He had settled at Albany by 1644.
where he was commissioned by the Patroon to purchase land about
the Catskills from the natives. It is in the Catskill region, at
384 COLONIAI, ORIGIN OF SOME BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES
Kingston, that we tind the next generation of this family, and
several of them were there in 1683 — Cornelius, Elizabeth, Chris-
tina and others, who intermarried with the Newkirks, de la
Meters, Tenbroecks, &c., but the progenitors of the Bucks county
branch were Cornelius Wynkoop and his wife Marie Jansen;
their son Gerritt married Helena, daughter of Gerritt and Jacom-
yntje (Sleght) Fokker, the issue of whom consisted of nine
children, born in the Paltz between the years 1694 and 1713.
Gerritt Wynkoop sold his land at Esopus in 171 7 and removed
to Moreland manor, Philadelphia county, where he was afterward
know as Gerardus. He was an elder in the Abington Presby-
terian church in 1728, and in 1734 was assessed for 200 acres, and
his son Cornelius for 100 acres of land, in this township. The
most of his children married in Moreland and from there dispersed
to other parts. Gerardus finally removed to Northampton town-
ship. As much has already been said of this family from about
this time, I will confine my further reference to them, to those
who have not heretofore been mentioned in the addresses before
this society.
Ann Wynkoop baptized August 21, 1698, married about 1717
Isaac VanMeter, of Salem, N. J., and went there to live. The
subsequent history of this couple would fill pages of very interest-
ing reading, for a generation later they went pioneering into the
wilderness of Virginia, where the family figured extensively in
the annals of its western development.
They, with their sons Henry and Garrett, and their daughter,
Sarah Richman, were among the organizers of the Pilesgrove, N.
J., Presbyterian church, in 1741. In 1744 Isaac ofifered his
Salem lands and improvements (about 1,000 acres) for sale, and
with his older sons departed for the south branch of the Potomac.
He took up a part of the immense grant which he and his brother
John VanMeter obtained in 1730, from Governor Gooch, of
Virginia, consisting of 40,000 acres, but which they subsequently
disposed of to Jost Heydt — "old Baron Heydt," as he was called.
The land VanMeter now settled upon was in what is called "ye
Trough," mention of which is made by George Washington in
his "Journal of My Journey Over the Mountains." Isaac Van-
Meter was killed by the Indians in 1757. His will, which is
upon record at Trenton, disposes of his great possessions in
COLONIAL ORIGIN OF SOME) BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES 385
detail among his widow and children — Henry, Garrett, Jacob,
Sarah, Catharine, Helita and Rebecca. Henry and Garrett were
the two sons who remained in Virginia, and Rebecca, who married
one of Jost Heydt's sons. The two brothers became very famous as
frontiersmen and traders, and during the progress of the Revolu-
tion supplied vast quantities of forage to the Continental army.
They, with their sons, served in the Indian border wars, and also
in the Revolution; and it was to this family of hardy borderers
that Governor Pennypacker recently paid marked tribute in con-
necting them with Boone, Brady, Wetzel, Filson and other pioneers
in the winning of the West.
Henry Wynkoop, baptized October 19, 1707, also went to Salem,
N. J., but he remained a bachelor for many years. He was a
large landowner at Salem and was otherwise prominent. The
following curious advertisement appeared in one of the Pennsyl-
vania newspapers in 1737, referring to the disappearance of one
of his help, and it is a marvel in the way of description :
"Ran away on the 27th of March last, from Henry Wynkoop, of Salem,
an Irish servt. man named John MacNeal, aged about 21 years of mid-
dle stature ; he has a smooth Face and a Fresh Colour. He had on When
he went away, a brown Coat and Jacket, both of them much mended, with
Metal Buttons to the Jacket ; Buckskin Breeches, double seamed within
the Thigh ; a new Tow Shirt ; Brown stockings ; good Shoes ; and a
Castor Hat. Whoever takes him up and secures said Servant so that his
master may have him again, shall have Forty Shillings Reward and all
reasonable charges.
Paid. By Henry Wynkoop."
On 7th mo. I2th, of same year, 1737, Henry married Sarah
DuBois, daughter of Isaac DuBois, of Perkiomen, Philadelphia
county, Pa., and in 1741, his nephew, Henry VanMeter, son of
his sister Ann, married Sarah]s sister, Rebecca DuBois — Henry
thus becoming brother-in-law to his own nephew.
The Dubois family into which the Wynkoops married, sprang
from Louis deBoyes, one of the twelve patentees of New Paltz,
in 1660. He, too, had a numerous family, who are frequentl)/'
noted in the Kingston records. It was his daughter Sarah who
married John VanMeter, brother of Isaac, who had married Ann
Wynkoop. Isaac and John, jointly, with Sarah and Jacob DuBois,
took up 6,000 acres of land at Salem, N. J., about 171 7. Barent
13
386 COLONIAL ORIGIN OF SOME BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES
DuBois, the son of this Jacob, married Jacomyntje, the daughter
of Solomon DuBois. She was his double cousin. He, with his
wife, his brothers, Louis and Garrett DuBois, and a son, Jacob
DuBois, Jr., were all associated with the VanMeters in the organ-
ization of the Pilesgrove church, under pastor David Evans.
Among the eight children of Barent and Jemima DuBois, was
the son Jonathan, who was born in 1727, and who married El-
eanor, daughter of Nicholas Wynkoop, of Bucks county. Pa. Jon-
athan was the pastor of the Dutch Reformed church, at Southamp-
ton, from 1752 to 1772, and was the father of the Rev. Uriah Du-
Bois, of the Doylestown Presbyterian church ; the grandfather of
Chas. E. DuBoie, one of the parents of the late John L. DuBois,
Esq., an esteemed lawyer of this county, and a distinguished and
much lamented elder of this Presbytery.
Thus were the Wynkoops, Van Meters and the DuBois families
doubly and trebly related.
The Slacks (Sleghts) too, were evidently among the earliest
inhabitants of New Palz, as there are a number of intermarriages
recorded there and several entries of the baptism of children.
One of the earliest entries is that of Henry and Elsje Sleght, who
were sponsors of Roelof, the child of Jan and Jacomyntje (Sleght)
Elting, baptized 1681. Anthony Sleght and Neeltje Bogard,
sponsors of Alida Elting, baptized 1724. Then we find Cornelis
Sleght and his wife, Johanna Van de Water having their son Ben-
jamin baptized at Maidenhead, West Jersey. June 15, 1712; and
at the Neshaminy church Jenke, the son of Jacob Sleght and his
wife, Elizabet VanHooren, baptized the 14th of April, 1735.
Johannes Sleght was a sermon reader in the Neshaminy
church in 1732. Anthony Sleght's name was perpetuated in the
person of Anthony T. Slack, son of Capt. Slack, of Upper Make-
field, who removed to Indiana in 1837.
The foregoing are but a few from among the good old Dutch
families in the Catskill valleys, whose sons and daughters came
hither to make fair the virgin soil of Bucks.
The Corsons, one of the best known families of lower Bucks, is
also conspicuous for the high percentage of its professional mem-
bers. They are now widely dispersed over the country, and
wherever they have gone the prestige of an honored name has been
cherished and maintained.
COLONIAL ORIGIN OF SOME BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES 38/
The first of the name (and its variations are legion) found in
the annals of Pennsylvania, was Arent Corrsen, one of the official
household of the doughty and placid Gov. Wouter VanTwiller,
of New Amsterdam. Corrsen came first to New Jersey as com-
missary at Fort Nassua, on the South river. He was afterward
commissioned to treat with the chiefs on the western side of the
Schuylkill, in 1648 for the purchase of lands there, and to obtain
trading privileges upon its waters. In these matters he was
successful, but was less fortunate, a few years later, when Govern-
or Keift undertook to send him on a mission to Holland. He
embarked at New Haven and started upon his voyage, but
neither the ship nor Arent Corrsen was ever heard of again.
It has been customary in writing of the Corson family of Bucks
and Montgomery counties, and those of South Jersey, to attribute
their colonial origin to circumstances attending the casting away
of a vessel bearing French Huguenot emigrants on their way to
the Carolinas, on the sands of Staten Island, about 1685, and
from among whose passengers are found the names of Coursen,
Larzelere, Dubois, Cruzen and others, refugees fleeing from
France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. This tra-
dition is based mainly upon a statement found in the second
volume of Weiss' History of the French Protestant Refugees.
In the pursuit of data for tracing the origin of the South Jersey
Corsons, I found it necessary to consult many genealogical au-
thorities and examine many original documents, and from which,
facts are developed to show that the Corsons were here much ear-
lier than the period stated by Weiss, and perhaps, were not French
Huguenots at all.
The ancestors of the Bucks and Montgomery county Corsons
are traced back to New Amsterdam, where the Widow Corson
was living in 1657, with her three sons : Cornelius, born 1645 ;
Peter, born 165 1; Henry, born 1654; and a daughter, Catharine.
In 1657 the widow married Fred. Lubbertse.
This Cornelius Corson was the forefather of our local Corsons.
He married, March 11, 1666, Maritje, daughter of Jacob Vander-
grift, of Wallabout (Brooklyn), and went to live near his father-
in-law, and where he later became a citizen of more than ordinary
station. On December 30, 1680, he obtained from Governor An-
dros a patent for 400 acres of land on Mill creek, on the north
388 COLONIAL ORIGIN OF SOME BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES
shore of Staten Island, where he very soon after settled, and on
the 28th of February, 1683-4, he purchased from the Lords Pro-
prietors extensive tracts of river lands on both sides of the
Raritan, in the Province of East Jersey, which he divided,
on the same day, with his brother, Hendrix Corson and
Pieter Van Ness — Henry 6 wife's brother; but Cornehus
remained on Staten Island, where he was a justice of the
peace for Richmond county and a captain of militia. He died
in 1693, leaving his widow Maritje, and six children: Jacob, Cor-
nelius, Jr., Christian, Cornelia, Daniel and either John or Ben-
jamin ; historians do not agree which of these two names was
the correct one for the younger son, but as Benjamin has been
generally accepted I will not question it further.
Benjamin married first Blafidina Vile, of Staten Island. Their
children were : Jacob, Daniel, Cornelius and Benjamin, Jr., who
was born in 1718, and came to Bucks county with his father about
1726. The father was installed as an elder of the Neshaminy
church on May 30, 1730. Benjamin married second Maritje,
daughter of Ryk Hendrickse, of West Jersey, and her sister,
Christina, married John Bennett, of Bucks county. Another sis-
ter, Ida, married John Van Meter, of the Middlesex county
family of that name.
Benjamin Corson, Jr., married on the 2d of January, 1741-2.
Marie Suydam, and they were the parents of the first generation
of native born Bucks county Corsons. Here I will drop further
consideration of this family, as their genealogy, from this time
is no doubt known to you.
Hendrix Corson, brother of Captain Cornelius, of Staten Island,
was also formerly a resident of Wallabout, where he married
Josina, the sister of Peter Van Ness, co-grantee of the Raritan
lands. He afterward married Judith Rapilye, and removed to the
Raritan, in the vicinity of Rahway, about 1690, where he died
prior to 1698. Some of his children assumed the name of Vroom,
according to Stiles' "History of Brooklyn," and Bergen's "Kings
County Settlers," and one of these was the ancestor of Governor
Vroom, of New Jersey. Rachel, a daughter of Hendrix Corson,
retained the Corson name until it was changed by her marriage to
Christopher VanSandt, after which she and her husband came,
with the influx of Hollanders, to our locality, and in 1710-11, were
COLONIAL ORIGIN OF SOME BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES 389
received, by certificate, into the Neshaminy congregation, and
where, for many years, Vansant was an elder. Hence the name of
Vansant is common now in these parts.
Peter Corson, the youngest brother of Henry and Captain Cor-
neUus, married, about 1679, Catharine Van der Beck, a widow
residing in Brooklyn. For a time they, too, were residents of
Staten Island, but removed back to Brooklyn, where Peter was a
judge of the Kings county courts. From Brooklyn they finally
removed to New York, where they spent the remainder of their
days.
These brothers, with their mother, Tryntje, were members of
the Dutch Reformed church at Flatbush, Long Island, until they
dispersed to homes in other localities.
Other Corsons, probably of the same stock, were living in the
Brooklyn villages in these early times, one of whom was Jan
Corson, whom I find first, at Albany, in 1653, as a patentee under
Governor Stuyvesant, for land ; in the next decade he had re-
turned to Flatbush, and from thence to Gravesend, where, it
appears, Cornelius Corson, too, had been in his earUer days. Jan
had large holdings at Gravesend between the years 1677 and 1695.
He was the father of John and Peter Corson, who emigrated to
the Cape May settlements prior to 1690, and they, in turn, were
the ancestors of the present dynasty of Corsons in South Jersey.
These people, like those of their kindred of Staten Island, were
highly popular, and filled many important public positions. Both
families were intensely patriotic, as may be seen from the
following facts. In the expedition to Canada, in 1715, the Staten
Island family sent twelve of their number as officers and privates,
and the Cape May county branch had eleven of their kinsmen in
Captain Willett's company Cape May County Brigade in the War
of the Revolution. In religion the Staten Island Corsons were of
the Dutch Reformed church, while those that went to South Jersey
became Friends, and were members of the Egg Harbor Meeting.
Elizabeth Corson, another resident of one of the Long Island
towns, and contemporaneous with those previously mentioned,
married Isaac Bennett, of Gowanus, rnd very soon joined in the
pilgrimage to New Holland in Bucks county. The father of
Isaac was Arience Bennett, an English settler of New Utrecht;
from thence he joined the Dutch colony on the Raritan, became
390 COLONIAL ORIGIN OF SOME BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES
an elder in their congregation in 1710, but came to Bucks county
in the following year.
In passing, I may add that the first marriage recorded at
Neshaminy church was that of Josua Corson and Catharine Brow-
ers, on September 24, 1710, and their child, Josua, Jr., was bap-
tized there August 5, 1711.
As to the Cornells, of whom there are now very many living
beyond the Neshaminy, they appear to have derived their descent
from one Pieter Cornell, of Flatbush, Long Island. He
had three sons : Cornelis, William and Peter, Jr. William seems
to have been the first to reach New Holland, in Northampton
township. I find his name first mentioned among the Long Island
records, wherein it is stated that John and Peter Corson, then of
Cape May, disposed of certain allotments, held jointly, on Gis-
bert's Island (east end of Coney Island), in 1694, to Kornelise
Willemse, as the Dutch form for William Cornell was rendered.
By 1 7 10 Kornelise Willemse had drifted into the Dutch settlement
at Six Mile run, on the Raritan. His wife's name was Geertje
Guluck. He was identified with the Dutch Reformed congrega-
tion, and there he had his son Samuel baptized on August 8, 17 10.
From this locality I have been unable 1.0 fix the date of his removal
to Bucks county.
Herman Van Barkalow, who was a member of Neshaminy
congregation, was a son of Herman and Willemtji Van Barkalow.
He came from Constable's Hook (Bergen, N. J.,), in 1694.
Dereck Hoogtland, another Northampton pioneer, came hither
from New York. He was a mariner, and the son of Christopher
and Catharine Hoogtland. Dereck first settled at Flatbush, and
married, in 1662, Ann Bergen, a widow. After this time it
appears he first went to Manhattan to live, and finally reached
this part of the country before 1729. Elias Hogeland, a former
sheriff of this county, was one of his descendants.
I might continue the enumeration and the genealogical history
of many more of your foreparents who journeyed from the wave-
washed shores of New York to this beautiful pastoral country,
but I must desist after a word or two more in reference to their
influence in this locality.
The Dutch Reformed church of Pennsylvania owes its inception
to the pilgrims from the dyke-bound lands of the Zuyder Zee.
COLONIAL ORIGIN OF SOME BUCKS COUNTY FAMILIES 39 1
Those who came here, after various wanderings and periods of
unrest, formed the nucleus of the congregation of Neshaminy and
Bensalem, which was organized on May 20, 1710, by the Rev.
Paulus Van Vlecq, in the vicinity of Churchville. From these
modest beginnings the denomination has extended its influence
far and wide until other churches, like the Abington and the
Bensalem Presbyterian churches, came to honor it as their parent.
With the incoming of settlers of other nationalities, who soon
followed the Hollanders into this promising land and affiliated
with the Dutch congregation, the church, as well as the locality,
took on a more cosmopolitan character. The ancient records of
Churchville, the oldest in Pennsylvania — barring those of the
Quakers — disclose the names and dates of reception of the Davis,
Morgans, Stones, Coopers, Seeds, Pickens, Fosters, Whites, and
many others, indicative of the infusion of Welsh, English and
Scotch-Irish blood among its membership. These, with a few of
French Huguenot extraction, such as de Normandie, de Hart,
Conte, and the like, intermingled and intermarried, and, in time,
evolved a type of citizen that has given you merited distinction
among the inhabitants of Pennsylvania.
Foremost in settlement, rapid and upward in development and
industry, coupled with habits and qualities inherited from God-
honoring sires and here expanded into the broad ways of useful-
ness, have made you what you are. We may travel the State
over and nowhere find more exemplary lives, a higher standard of
domestic and public virtue, more comfortable homes, or thriftier
landscapes, than are made manifest in the reputation, growth and
material prosperity which mark the scene of your nativity. Even
Lancaster county, your reputed rival in agricultural eminence,
with all its exaltation and success attained by kindred blood, is
not more great, nor more glorious in the things which make for
its renown than this, my native county, which your Dutch ancestry
have converted, by toil and tilth, into a fairy region, whose fair
fields and rolling slopes, with their abundant harvests, bespeak
your praise in the bounteousness of their tribute.
Old Presbyterian Church at Newtown.
BY CAPT. WII^UAM WYNKOOP, NEWTOWN, PA.
(Meeting at "Sharon" near Newtown, October 4, 1904.)
One of the benefits derived by the citizens of Bucks county
from the Historical Society is the love and veneration instilled
for that which is "old." We live in a wonderful age of invention
and progress — old things are passed away, behold all things
are become new. Many of the common kitchen utensils used
by our grandparents have now become curiosities and are con-
sidered worthy of a place in our historical museum.
This veneration for the old extends to almost every depart-
ment of domestic life and we look with wonder on the old tin
lanterns, the old tallow rod and dip, the brimstone match, (con-
sidered a great invention in its day,) the foot-stove used in church,
the warming-pan for the bachelor's bed, or the machinery for
making homespun garments.
Never in the history of our country have more handsome
churches been erected than in recent years, yet none of them
attracts more visitors than the old Presbyterian church of New-
town, and when this old landmark was assigned me by the liter-
ary committee as the subject of my paper I at once accepted it
as a labor of love, for in common with our many visitors who
seem to be inspired with a veneration for its old walls and love
to worship with us, we are all proud to learn and to know its
history, which extends back over a period of 170 years.
When the Presbyterians built their beautiful chapel over in
the heart of the town, the building was set well back on the
lot to allow room for a new church in front. But we have
found, whenever its erection was agitated, many of our older
members were so much in love with the old church building and
the hallowed associations of past years that no action has yet been
taken to transfer our place of meeting except for Sabbath school
and evening meetings.
The first building was erected in 1734 on the Swamp road,
nearly a mile west of Newtown. Many of the earlier docu-
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, NEWTOWN, PA.
On west side of Newtown creek, built in 1769. Hessian prisoners were quartered here
after the battle of Trenton. Building repaired in 1842, also at other times, but greater
part of the original walls remains. This stone church is the succes.sor of a frame building
erected in 1734 on the Swamp road, one mile west of Newtown.
BRICK HOTEL, NEWTOWN, PA.
Built in 1704 by Amos Strickland on site of Red Lion inn. The third story, also the
brick addition on west end built about 18.-57, by Capt. Joseph Archambault, a page of
Napoleon's. Continental soldiers and Hessian officers quartered here after the battle of
Trenton.
(From photographs in Historical Society's album.)
OLD PRE;SBYTe;RIAN church at NEWTOWN 393
mentary records have unfortunately been lost, so we cannot
say how many members were connected with the church at its
first organization 170 years ago.
On December i, 1744, Nathaniel Twining and his wife, Sarah,
deeded to George Logan, Anthony Tate and James Cumings,
one acre of land in trust only to and for the benefit and use
of the people called Presbyterians to build a meeting-house and
church thereon and for a burying-place.
On July 20, 1769, (George Logan and James Cumings being-
deceased) Anthony Tate deeded this same acre to John Harris,
Thomas Buckman, James Tate, Robert Keith and John Sample,
they to hold the property in trust for the benefit and purposes
before described, namely, to build a church thereon and for a
burying-place.
The following named men were some of the members of the
Presbyterian congregation at the time this trust was accepted
by the above mentioned trustees : Reverend James Boyd, James
Sample, William Keith, Abraham Slack, Cornelius Vansant, Char-
les Stewart, John Thompson, Robert Thompson, James McNair,
Lamb Torbert, John Wilson, Henry VanHorn, Barnard Van-
Horn and William McConky.
Among the early members of the Newtown Presbyterian church
were Rev. Isaac Stockton Keith and John Keith, each of whom
bequeathed a scholarship to Princeton Seminary, three of the
descendants of William Keith having had the benefit therefrom.
The building was a frame structure, its location being still
marked by several graves with inscriptions on the stones, almost
illegible and there seems to be none of their descendants living
in the vicinity to care for them. This building was used for
â– church purposes for 35 years and was afterward sold and re-
moved to the farm near what has been known as the chain bridge
over the Neshaminy, where it did service as a wagon-house.
The present stone church building was erected in 1769, the
heavy walls constructed of large well-dressed blocks, are still
standing and in good repair. The writer remembers the entrance
on the south side which was changed to the east end in 1842,
the high pulpit on the north side and the high box pews, where
as a boy he sat many a weary hour, his father requiring him
394 OLD PRESBYTERIAN- CHURCH AT NEWTOWN
to sit erect and woe betide him if his closed eyeUds gave
evidence of inattention. In the early days of this church, funds
were occasionally raised for the expenses of repairs by holding-
lotteries under authority from the State.
The following is a copy of one of these lottery tickets:
Newtown Presbyterian Church Lottery
1 761 — No. 104.
This ticket entitles the bearer to such prize as may be drawn against its
number if demanded within six months after the drawing is finished, sub-
ject to such deduction as is mentioned in the scheme.
(Signed) JNO. DE. NORMANDIE.
Although the original walls are still standing the building has
been repaired and changes made during the 135 years that it
has been used for worship by the congregation ; the more promi-
nent repairs were made in 1842, 1850 and 1870. In December,
1901, two stained glass memorial windows were placed each
side of the pulpit alcove, the organ and choir placed in alcove
fronting the congregation, and the whole interior painted and
frescoed. A legacy has recently been received from one of
the oldest members, the income by terms of the will, to be used
in keeping the property in order ; the building will therefore
doubtless be used for morning services of the congregation, ex-
cept in mid-winter, for many years to come.
There are no records to show who the pastors were previous to
1743, but for the last 160 years the succession is almost unbroken.
Rev. Hugh Carlisle was chosen in 1743, serving the church four
years. James Campbell, 1747, 12 years; Henry Martin, in 1759,
10 years; James Boyd, 1769, 44 years; James Joyce, 1813, 2
years; Alexander Boyd, 1815, 23 years; Robert D. Morris,
D. D., in 1838, 18 years; George Burroughs, D. D., 1856,
3 years; Henry F. Lee, 1859, 2 years; Samuel J. Milli-
ken, 1861, 5 years; George C. Bush, 1866, 10 years; A. Mc-
Elroy Wylie, 1877, 11 years, and in 1888, Thomas J. Elms was
chosen and has now (1904) almost completed his sixteenth year
of service.
Of several of the earliest pastors we know but little owing
to loss of church records. Rev. James Boyd, who held the
sacred office for 44 years, came to this country in his youth from
Ireland.
OLD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AT NEWTOWN 395
Rev. Alexander Boyd, who was pastor 23 years, was born in
Chester county, Pa., graduated in Dickinson College, and came to
the Newtown church in 1815 ; his wife was a granddaughter of Dr.
Beatty, of Log College fame, and sister of the late John Beatty,
a venerable elder of the Doylestown church.
Rev. Dr. Robert D. Morris, after serving the church 18 years,
became principal of Oxford Female Seminary in Ohio, and
held the position for about 25 years, when he died.
Rev. George Burroughs, D. D., after leaving Newtown, became
professor m a college in San Francisco, Cal. He was not only
a fine preacher and scholar, but wrote among other books a
popular commentary of the Song of Solomon.
Rev. Samuel J. Milliken, after leaving Newtown, accepted a
charge in Huntingdon Presbytery, then at Fox Chase, Philadel-
phia and Titusville, N. J. A short time before his death he
went to Japan and engaged in missionary work, assisting his
daughter. Miss Bessie Milliken, who was successfully engaged
there until his death.
Rev. A. McElroy Wylie was a man of more than ordinary
ability, both as preacher and writer, and belonged to a family
embracing several distinguished lawyers, judges and ministers.
He died a few years after leaving Newtown. His eldest son,
Henry, now deceased, was a very successful business man, buying
and selling real estate in New York city. His youngest son,
Andrew, is one of the rising young lawyers of Philadelphia.
But the success of the church for so long a period could not
depend on the ministers alone, but on the ruling elders as well.
Previous to 1838 the roll is not complete, but the following
named persons are known to have served as elders at or before
that date, viz: James Slack, Anthony Torbert, Reading Beatty,
M. D., David S. McNair, Abraham Slack, Solomon McNair,
Lamb Torbert and David Taggart. Since then William H. Slack
was elected in 1838; James M. Torbert, 1838; WiUiam Ben-
nett, T838; Isaac Vanartsdalen, 1838; Jonathan Wynkoop, 1839;
James M. McNair, 1839; James S. McNair, 1854; David Mc-
Nair, 1866; Cyrus T. Vanartsdalen, 1866; James Anderson,
1872; William D. Stewart, 1872; William Wynkoop. 1872;
396 OLD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AT NEWTOWN
William T. Seal, 1872; Ashbel W. Watson, 1888; Charles Cra-
ven, 1888; Harry A. Smith, 1888.
Of these all but three continued active until their death or
removal from the bounds of the church. The present session em-
braces Messrs, Vanartsdalen, Wynkoop, Watson, Craven and
Smith,
Three of the Torbert family and five of the McNair family
in the successive generations have held the office of elder in
this old historic church.
In the Vanartsdalens we find father and sons in this church,
the line having been continued in other churches back to the fifth
generation, numbering two ministers and seven elders in their
several churches.
The Wynkoops can trace their connection with the Reformed
or Presbyterian churches for eight generations and in these var-
ious churches many of them were either ministers or elders.
Thomas L. was an active trustee of the Newtown church for
about fifty years. Many others worthy of honorable mention
served faithfully as trustees or as members, but time forbids an
extended notice of them.
The present board of trustees consists of I. Wilson Merrick,
Isaac T, Vanartsdalen, Horace D. Hogeland, William M. Wat-
son, James S. Hutchinson and Garret B. Girton. The deacons
are James T, Keith, William M, Watson, Horace B. Hogeland
and Frank B. Craven.
The trustees care for the temporal interests of the congregation,
the deacons having oversight over the poorer members and all
of them are proving themselves worthy successors of the noble
line of men who have preceded them.
Much of the continued prosperity through all these years has
been due to the loyal, intelligent co-operation of the women of
the organization. Home and Foreign Missionary Societies have
been maintained and were never more perfectly organized than
at present ; and a Ladies' Social Aid Society is doing much in
helping on the work and raising the necessary funds for repairs
to the parsonage and other buildings.
In 1855 the congregation purchased the old Bucks County
Academy which was used for educational and religious purposes
OLD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AT NEWTOWN 397
for 31 years. The Sabbath school held its meetings here
most of this time, but in 1886 a modern stone chapel was erected
in the town at -a cost of about $9,000 and the Sabbath school
removed thereto in January, 1887. The Wednesday and Sun-
day evening services have also been held in the chapel since that
date. The church also built a neat frame chapel at Edgewood
in 1884, at a cost of about $2,000, where a prosperous Sab-
bath school has since been maintained and preaching services con-
ducted once a month. The graveyard in the rear of the church
contains over 150 graves of persons born before 1800, but since
the organization of Newtown cemetery, some 50 years ago, there
have been comparatively few interments there.
Much more might be said of its history ; of the Hessian prison-
ers confined within its walls for a few days after the battle of
Trenton; of the organization of the Sabbath school in 1817,
and the meetings in the galleries of the old church, but we must
forbear.
Can anyone wonder that the members of such a church with
its record extending back as it does for 170 years, should manifest
a love and veneration for the present building in which services
have been held continuously for 135 years.
There is no pretensions to architectural beauty, but everything
though plain is substantial and surrounded by lofty shade trees
under which in summer a cool breeze is ever present to cool
the heated brow after a rather long walk; and so while the
town has reversed history by extending eastward instead of
westward and the walks to the church are not as good as we
might desire yet withal we still love to meet where our fathers
and mothers were wont to assemble, and unite in praising God
for his goodness to us as a people in preserving this "Old
Presbyterian Church of Newtown."
Links in the Chain of Local History.
^ BY GEN. W. W. H. DAVIS, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
(Silver Anniversarj' Meeting, Doylestown Courthouse, Jan. 17, 1905.)
The part, assigned to me, on this interesting occasion, that of
presenting to the audience the historic sequence accomphshed by
the Bucks County Historical Society, in a quarter of a century, is
a duty and a pleasure. In other words, I am expected to present to
you an intelligible rehearsal of what this society has accomplish-
ed since its organization, to advance the cause of local history.
No portion of Pennsylvania is richer in events that make up
its history, from its settlement to the present day, than this
county, frequently spoken of as "Penn's beloved Bucks." It is
redolent of the very essence of historic lore. From the early
settlement of our county, much was done to preserve current
history from the despoiler; subsequently, greater success was
achieved by organized efforts in whose footsteps the Bucks County
Historical Society and every kindred association, have trod. In
this work the Friends were the pioneers, followed by other agen-
cies in the order of their coming, the Bible, the church and the
court records being their main reliance in handing down historic
events to those who come after them.
Gradually family history made its appearance, and at last,
organized effort took possession of the field and local history had
come to stay. Still later the genealogist, with his science, makes
his appearance, and from which our Librarian gets much con-
genial learning, and not infrequently makes use of it in tracing
back our pioneer families and telling us whence they came.
Denominational pioneers followed the Friends almost in the
order named, the English and Welsh Baptists, Dutch Presbyter-
ians, German Lutheran and Reformed, Moravians and Mennon-
ites. Gathering these bits of history, handed down from the
pioneers, those fond of such research began organizing societies
like our own. and soon had capital to begin business with, and,
from this small beginning, the historian soon had an occupation
creditable to the individual and the family ; the pursuit has almost
LINKS IN THE CHAIN OF LOCAL HISTORY 399
reached the realm of science, the professor thereof is made wiser
and happier, while a few even grow rich. The quieter the histo-
rian goes about his or her mission, the more successful he or she
will become, but it should never be forgotten, that the occupation
is almost a sacred calling. In concluding this branch of my
subject permit me to say, this region is so rich in history of the
most interesting character, they, who seek it should never halt
at the threshold but follow it to the end.
Our society is young compared with many others. It is however
the oldest in the county having passed its 25th birthday, and with
its age it is growing in interest and usefulness.
The question of organizing the society had been discussed for
some time by those friendly to it, but the movement first took
shape at a meeting held in the library room, Lenape building, at
Doylestown, on the afternoon of January 20, 1880. There is no
complete list extant of the persons present on that occasion, but,
from the treasurer's records, the following persons who were
there and took part in the proceedings, may be considered the
founders of this now popular institution, as they are recorded;
Josiah B. Smith, Mahlon Carver, Henry C. Mercer, Dr. A. M.
Dickie, Dr. Joseph B. Walter, Capt. John S. Bailey, George S.
McDowell, Alfred Paschall, Richard M. Lyman, Thomas P. Ot-
ter, Jesse Leedom and W. W. H. Davis. Five of these persons
are known to be dead, Bailey, Smith, Otter, Leedom and Dickie,
the last named meeting a violent death.
The meeting was organized by calling Josiah B. Smith, of
Newtown, to the chair and appointing Henry C. Mercer, Secre-
tary. A brief draft of a constitution and by-laws, was submitted
by Mr. Davis and adopted, the organization was then completed
by the election of the following officers : President, W. W. H.
Davis ; Secretary, Richard M. Lyman, and Treasurer, Alfred
Paschall. The society shortly entered upon its assigned work
of holding meetings and making a collection of curios of historic
interest and value. On February 23, 1885, a charter was granted
by the Court of Common Pleas and, since that time, the society
has been active in its labors and become a recognized educator
of the county. When Mr. Lyman resigned the office of secretary
he was succeeded by Alfred Paschall who still holds the office, as
400 LINKS IN THE CHAIN OF LOCAL HISTORY
well as that of treasurer, and Mr. Mercer was elected a trustee
and is etill in office.
While the Bucks County Historical Society was the first to be
organized in the county, one other similar institution was close
behind it — the "Buckwampum Historical and Literary Associa-
tion" of Durham, Springfield, Nockamixon and the neighboring
townships. Its inception was on September 25, 1885; its first
meeting was held in June, 1888, and subsequent meetings yearly,
about the same date. William J. Buck, an historian of
long practice and good repute, was the head and from,
while Charles Laubach, (now deceased), C. E. Hindenach,
Miss Margaret J. Moffat, John A. Ruth, Miss Emily A. Boyer,
Lewis Sigafoos, Rev. O. H. Melchoir, A. B. Haring, Asa
Frankenfield and a few others were his mainstays. Papers
were read at every meeting, while Mr. Buck was living, and
sometimes diversified with music. The death of Mr. Buck
(February 13, 1901,) was a great loss to the associa-
tion and occasional meetings only have been held since.*
The Buckwampum Society gave new life to local history in that
section and we hope to see it in working order again in the near
future. I would suggest that our two societies be united into one,
the trolley lines bringing us closer together than in the past. They
would then be a powerful organization. The upper-end of the
county is rich in history.
For several years our meetings were held quarterly, but, find-
ing them too frequent for the best interests of the society, they
were reduced to two, midwinter and midsummer, the former in
the court-room where we are assembled to-day, by courtesy of
the board of county commissioners. While our meetings were
held quarterly there was something of a struggle at times to
bring together a proper audience befitting the occasion and the
necessary papers to be read. On one occasion the society nearly
gave up the ghost and it seemed that it had passed into history.
This was a midsummer meeting in Solebury, one of the most intel-
ligent townships in the county. There were but three persons
present, Mrs. Davis, Mr. Bailey, who assisted to organize the
* The Buckwamputa Historical and Literary Association held its first meeting on
Buckwampum Mountain June 14, 188S, and its last meeting at Springtown, Pa., August
15, 1903. It held 16 meetings during the time of its existence, at which iSo papers were
presented and read by 82 authors. Editors.
UNKS IN THE CHAIN OF LOCAL HISTORY 4OI
society, and myself and we met in a beautiful grove. Two papers
were read and the president had no trouble keeping the audience
quiet. After the literary exercises were disposed of, Mrs. Davis
opened her lunch basket, a napkin was spread on the ground, we
partook of the refreshments and the audience dispersed. On this
occasion the society was at the lowest ebb it ever reached, but we
did not dispair ; there are always some to look at the bright side
and, in the end, we triumphed, as faith and hope always will if
persisted in. In evidence, as to how our meetings fluctuated in
audiences during the formative period, about that time we met on
the summit of Buckingham mountain, where the number present
was estimated at one thousand. The inquiry may be made what
caused the difference in attendance between Solebury and Bucking-
ham mountain? That mountain has a good deal of history about it,
and hobgoblins, spooks, etc., are talked of in connection with it,
which may have induced some to attend the meeting to get a peep
at them. Under the amended constitution of recent date the Bucks
County Historical Society holds three regular meetings yearly,
January, May and October, that in January being known as the
"Annual Meeting." In recent years the ladies have taken increas-
ed interest in the society and the attendance thereby enlarged.
At the last report from the secretary he had issued over six
hundred certificates to members, with a,bout one hundred addition-
al, eligible to membership.
The Bucks County Historical Society is prospering on every
line but one, which I will mention later, and the membership is
probably as large, if not larger, than any county society in the
State. The museum connected with it, is the most attractive
feature to the general visitor, and it is astonishing with what
interest visitors look at the articles on exhibition. That section
of the museum, known as the "Tools of the Nation Maker," is the
most attractive feature and nothing elsewhere in this country com-
pares with it. The founder of this branch of our exhibits, and
large contributor to it, was Mr. Henry C. Mercer, who in the
early days of our society prepared the handsomely illustrated
catalog containing 761 articles which he published at his own ex-
pense in 1897. It has both an English and German index, and
also an "introduction" and "postscript" in English, in explanation
of the contents. To this collection frequent additions have been
4b2 LINKS IN THE^ CHAIN OF LOCAL HISTORY
made until the number is much increased. This exhibit, to some
extent, duplicates the famous Museum of Cluny in Paris, and
these articles and tools of ours, are almost an epitome of the
implements, etc., that assisted in driving savagery from Bucks
county at its settlement and introducing civilization. A copy of
the handsome edition of "The Tools of the Nation Maker" at
their request, adorns the Congressional Library, Washington.
Besides the publication named, Mr. Mercer has published several
other pamphlets which (including the' "Tools of the Nation Mak-
er") were presented to our historical society; "The Survival of
the Mediaeval Art of Illuminative Writing among the Germans,"
the "Decorated Stove Plates of Durham," "Light and Fire
Making," "The Decorated Stove Plates of the Pennsylvania
Germans." In all, Mr. Mercer has published 48 pamphlets on
colonial, archaeological, geological and other subjects of interest
among them being that of "Cave Hills of Yucatan." Five of
these pamphlets Mr. Mercer contributed to the Bucks County
Historical Society, and some of them are yet on sale. One con-
tains 60 pages and another 20 pages.
Down to the present time no official acknowledgment or ref-
erence has been made to this member of our society to whom we
are indebted for this collection. One who knows something of
the pecuniary value of such a collection, has stated that ours
would bring $100,000 at public auction. Independent of this, a
gentleman of Philadelphia, who visited our museum two or three
years ago, told me that our collection of the "Tools of the Nation
Maker," would be worth half a million dollars, in a century.
Now, let us make allowance for extreme enthusiasm and esti-
mate the value at one tenth of the first sum or $10,000, it would
be a splendid gift. Therefore, it is not flattery to say that to none
of our members, or contributors, is the society more deeply indebt-
ed than to Mr. Mercer. Under these circumstances, it would
not be out of place but a simple act of justice to see a resolution
recognizing this obligation, spread upon the record ; it would be
an act of justice and a stimulation to others.
Some years ago, a member of our society, about to read a paper
before it at the Plumstead meeting-house, quoted a famous writer,
as follows, giving "The Object of a Local Historical Society:"*
* See paper by Henry C. Michener, Vol. i, page 297.
LINKS IN THE CHAIN OF LOCAL HISTORY 403
"The true historian must see ordinary men as they appear in their
ordinary business and in their ordinary pleasures ; he must obtain admit-
tance to the convivial table and the domestic hearth ; he must bear with
vulgar expressions ; fle must not shrink from exploring even the retreat
-of misery ; he considers no anecdote, no peculiarity of manner, no familiar
saying, as too insignificant to illustrate the operation of laws of educa-
tion, of religion and mark the human mind. Men will not merely be
described, but will be made intimately known to us."
This extract may suggest to some the object and aims of some
historical societies, but that of Bucks county, we are pleased to
say, has a higher aim.
As we have mentioned a few things the Bucks County Histor-
ical Society has accomplished, it will not be out of place to
present the other side of the picture, and show what we "have
not done." We are criticised by our contemporaries and histo-
rians, generally, for failing to publish, in some enduring form, the
product of our historic investigations. The; failure militates
against us. The Montgomery historical society, much to its
credit, has published two large and handsome volumes, which
adorn our shelves, but we have nothing to present in exchange.
This can easily be remedied by us with little cost. After each
meeting at which papers are read and published in our newspapers,
we should have a given number struck ofif in leaflet form and
bound in volumes. In a membership of nearly 700, we could not
fail to get enough subscribers from them to cover the expense
of imposing the forms and binding. These we could exchange
with other societies. The number of papers, read before the
Bucks county society, since its organization, including the Mav
meeting, 1904, is enough to make several interesting volumes.
The works of art and other illustrations, that embellish our
walls, are very attractive and much admired, but, when they are
hung on the walls of our new building, they will be more appre-
ciated. Independent of the "Rescue of the Colors," and a few
other paintings of decent size, the engravings number about one
hundred and fifty. The following exhibits are among the "Tools
of the Nation Maker :" Suspended, in the middle of the room,
is a wooden plow, and a few feet from it, on the wall in a frame,
is a patent for the Smith plow, signed by John Adams. 1800,
then President of the United States ; near by is a painting by
Edward Hicks, of "Washington Crossing the Delaware," Christ-
404 PHASKS OF LIBRARY hlF^
mas night, 1776; in one of the glass cases is Edward Marshall's^
famous rifle he carried in the "Walking Purchase," of 1737; a
pasteboard box, that carried the wedding bonijet of the mother of
Hugh Mearns, Warwick, 150 years old; suspended, between two
windows, is a uniform coat worn by Joseph Archambault who was
at the battle of Waterloo, 181 5, and left for dead on the field.
Archambault belonged to the household of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Such a collection is not duplicated in this country.
Phases of Library Life.
BY JOHN W. JORDAN, LL. D., PHILADELPHIA, PA.
(Silver Anniversary Meeting, Doylestown Courthouse, Jan. 17, 1905.)
On this anniversary occasion, permit me to congratulate you
on the zeal, prosperity and usefulness of the work in which
you are engaged, and furthermore, to participate with you in
the satisfaction which you must feel, that after many days, you
will soon be enjoying a beautiful home of your own for the
display and protection of the treasures which you have gathered.
As the usefulness of your labors becomes more widely known,
I hope that your membership may be increased, and with it
your income, for you are entitled to substantial recognition in
a generous support.
Before taking up the subject on which I am to address you, I
desire to call your attention to a very important organization that
was effected two weeks ago at Harrisburg — the Pennsylvania
Federation of Historical Societies. The objects of the federa-
tion are to bring the various historical societies of the State
together and enable them to become more familiar with the
historical work that is being done, to exchange duplicate publi-
cations of interest and value, and the preparation of a Bibliog-
raphy of Pennsylvania. About fifty representatives of societies
were present, and much enthusiasm prevailed. I hope that your
society will become a member of the federation.
Facts are the materials of experience and the basis of science.
They are collected from observations of the present time and
acquaintance with the records of the past. History is as truly
PHASES OB" UBRARY LIFE 405
a science as mathematics, and in its larger sense, applies to all
the facts which fall within the reach of universal experience.
Biography is next in order of comprehensiveness, and perhaps
of dignity, but more limited in its scope than history. Whether
the object to be attained, be disinterested or selfish, of personal
aggrandizement or enlarged philanthropy, whether actuated by
religious zeal or military ambition, the first participants draw
around them the thoughtful consideration of students.
In genealogy, we recognize the close relations existing with
history and biography, and in the law, and even in fiction, it
bears an important part. Eighty years ago, when the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania was founded, only five out of the three
thousand and more American genealogies that now exist, had
been published.
How many are aware, or if aware of it, appreciate the fact
from an historical point of view, how completely the Proprietary
government of Pennsylvania had become a family affair before
it ceased to exist?
William Allen, who was made chief justice in 1750, and had
laid the foundation of a large fortune, by assisting the Penn
family to pay the mortgage William Penn had been obliged to
place on the Province, when in financial difficulties, married
the daughter of Andrew Hamilton, the legal counselor of the
Penns and attorney general of the Province. Through this mar-
riage, it came to pass that James Hamilton, the deputy governor
from 1746 to 1749, and again from 1754 to 1763, the son of
Andrew, was the brother-in-law of the Chief Justice. Later, Ann,
the daughter of William Allen, married John Penn, one of the
Proprietors, who was also deputy governor from 1763 to 1771,
and from 1773 to the Revolution; his brother Richard, (who mar-
ried Mary Masters, the daughter of Mary Lawrence, whose
brother John was the father-in-law of James Allen) serving in
the interim, from 1771 to 1773.
William Allen, Jr., the son of the Chief Justice, and brother-
in-law of Governor John Penn, became attorney general. Besides
this, William Allen, Chief Justice, and the wife of Edward Ship-
pen, of Lancaster, were first cousins ; and Edward Shippen, Jr.,
(chief justice after the Revolution,) married the daughter of
Tench Francis. Another daughter of. Tench Francis married
406 PHASES OF LIBRARY LIFE
John Lawrence, and their daughter married James, the son
of WilHam AUen. Another daughter of Tench Francis mar-
ried James Tilghman, secretary of the land office, the bro-
ther of Edward, who married the sister of Benjamin Chew,
who succeeded Tench Francis as attorney general, and subse-
quently became chief justice. Tench Francis, Jr., the son of
the attorney general, married the daughter of Charles Willing and
A-nn Shippen Willing, the latter the sister of Edward Shippen of
Lancaster and mother of Thomas Willing, the eminent merchant,
who, as early as 1761, was one of the justices of the Supreme
Court.
In 1771, James Hamilton, Benjamin Chew, Lynford Lardner,
James Tilghman, Andrew Allen, (another son of the former chief
justice) and Edward Shippen, Jr., were all members of the
Governor's council, or, in other words, the large majority of
his advisers on public measures were in some way connected with
his family.
With such relationships existing between the families I have
named, is it any wonder that when Edward Shippen, of Lancaster,
felt some doubt as to his being continued in the office of pro-
thonotary of the Lancaster court, and wrote to Chief Justice
Allen on the subject, the latter, after assuring him that the office
was always a life appointment, should have added, "But in case
the Proprietor should contemplate such a step, can you believe
that your interest with the present Governor and his friends,
your alliance with Mr. Francis and his family, to say no more,
would not be sufficient to prevent any thing of the sort being
put into execution? Believe me, I think you are as safe from
any danger of removal as I am from being dispossessed of the
house in which I live."
Family connections by blood also had a great efifect in New
York colonial politics, from the end of the seventeenth century,
through the eighteenth, down to the end of the Revolution. But,
unlike the same thing in Pennsylvania, it was mixed with religion.
The same influences were powerful in Maryland, Virginia and
South Carolina.
It was only a few years ago that the principal historical socie-
ties of the country were asked to employ persons to search
newspapers and church records of a certain period to find evi-
PHASES OF UBRARY LIFE) \OJ
dence of the marriage of Col. Richard Maitland, fourth son
of the sixth Earl of Lauderdale in the peerage of Scotland, to
Mary McAdam, of New York. Richard Maitland was born in
1724 and died in 1772. He entered the British army in
1764, and was twice appointed adjutant general of the British
forces in America. At the time of his death, the evidence of
his marriage either was wanting, or possibly, from the fact that
he was a younger son, was not of importance. In the course of
time, however, by the extinction of the elder branch of the family,
the estates became vested in his representatives, and they were
finally awarded to his descendant, Frederick Henry Maitland,
who through investigations made on this side of the Atlantic,
proved that Col. Maitland was his ancestor, and that he had been
married on his death bed, July 11, 1772, to Mary McAdam,.
making the children that had been born to them, his legal descen-
dants.
In the year 1800, James Moore, of Philadelphia, who had been
a colonel in the Revolution, made an assignment of all his prop-
erty for the benefit of his creditors, and removed to Virginia.
He never returned to live in Philadelphia, and only visited it
occasionally. After his debts were paid, a balance of $1,327.23
was, in 1821, by order of the court, paid into the hands of a
receiver, to be held for the benefit of those entitled to it under
the deed of assignment. In 1891, this balance, having been
invested and reinvested, amounted to over $i8,coo, and an at-
tempt was made to escheat it to the State. Upon this, two sets
of claimants appeared, one representing his collateral heirs in
Philadelphia, and the other claiming to be his direct heirs in
Maryland. The latter, in support of their case, submitted, among
other things, a family Bible, containing a lineage of a James
Moore, with his signature on the title-page. The Philadelphia
claimants showed that their collateral ancestor had been a colonel
in the Revolution, and a member of the State Society of the Cin-
cinnati of Pennsylvania, and, by a sketch of Col. Moore, written
as early as 1805, that in 1784 he was at Wyoming, with troops
sent there to suppress the difficulties between the Connecticut and
Pennsylvania settlers. From the fact that the Philadelphia claim-
ants did not submit, in support of their claim, the signature of
Col. Moore attached to the list of members of the Cincinnati,
408 PHASES OF LIBRARY 1,1^15
f
the attorney who represented the Maryland claimants, concluded
that it was not the same as the signature attached to the deed of
assignment; and to prove this, which, if true, would upset the
claim of the collateral heirs, he at once set himself to work to
discover an autograph of Col. James Moore of the Revolution.
In this he was successful, but it proved exactly what he did not
wish it to prove, namely, that Col. Moore of the Revolution and
James Moore, the assignee, were one and the same. In other
words, he had won the case for his opponents, and the money
was ordered to be distributed among his collateral heirs.
The case having attracted some attention, the attorney gave the
facts to a reporter, and the next day an article appeared in one
of our newspapers headed, "Won by a 1784 Signature." Less
than two months later, our attorney received a letter from Texas
referring to the article which had been copied by a New Orleans
paper, stating that the writer was a grand-daughter of Col. James
Moore, and her letter contained such inherent evidence of the
truth of this, that Mr. Attorney knew that at last he was on the
right track. The order for the distribution of the money among
the collateral heirs of Col. Moore was revoked, and it was finally
distributed among upwards of fifty of his lineal descendants.
Thackeray, the novelist, must have been a born genealogist,
notwithstanding the fact that he kills the mother of Lord Farin-
tosh on one page, and brings her to life on another ; but what
genealogist has not been guilty of a like slip? It is also true that
he has his fling at the study and all connected with it ; nevertheless,
it is done in such a kindly spirit, that it disarms the sarcasm of its
sting. John Pendennis, he said, framed his Cornish pedigree,
reaching back to the Druids and showing intermarriages with the
Normans. It is in Esmond and the Virginians, however, that
genealogy is used with the greatest effect, and so admirably is
this done, that I know of a lady who became so interested in the
wonderful intricacy of the plot, that she drew out a pedigree
of the Castlewood family, to understand the story better.
The story of The Wandering Heir, by Charles Reade, is
gathered from the life of James Anneslay, son and heir to the
Earl of Anglesey, of the Irish peerage, whose career has more
than a general interest to Pennsylvanians. At the instiga-
tion of his uncle, the next heir to the estate, he was
PHASES OF" LIBRARY UFE 409
kidnapped and sent to America, where he Hved from 1728 to
1742, mainly in Lancaster county. The story of his Ufe is also
said to have been used by Smollett in his Roderick Random,
and by Sir Walter Scott in Guy Mannering. Family history has
certainly been used with telling effect in Hugh Wynne.
You are famiHar with "Diary of Christopher Marshall," which
he wrote in Philadelphia and Lancaster, during the Revolution,
and for many years the only continuous journal of local events
in print. To this have been added the equally valuable journals
of Sally Wistar, written for the edification of a friend ; Elizabeth
Drinker's, (1759-1807) ; and Jacob Hiltzheimer's, the latter filled
with many bits of jolly social life.
Do you recall the humor which pervades Sally Wistar's jour-
nal, and are you not inclined to believe that one of the American
officers had made an impression upon the heart of the jolly
little Quakeress ? But fate had marked her for a spinster ! Recent-
ly two additional volumes of her diary were discovered in New
England, and now repose in the library of his Excellency, the
Governor of our Commonwealth.* But alas! you will miss in
them the sprightly flavor of those of an earlier date ; her thoughts
have turned to religion and poetry.
The original manuscript of the journal of Elizabeth Drinker,
was submitted to me for criticism, before its publication, and I
regret to add, that much valuable data has been omitted by the
editor. Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Drinker kept a faithful
record of the visits of her future husband — "H. D. was here this
evening until 10 o'clock," so runs the usual record. After they
had "passed meeting," the first time, it will be observed that,
Henry prolonged his visits to eleven o'clock, an hour later. But
one entry, "H. D. was not here this evening," made an impression
on my mind, of irritation or disappointment of the journalist
which had its solution in the "Diary of Jacob Hiltzheimer,"
which I subsequently edited for publication. Referring to the
same date in the Hiltzheimer diary, I ascertained the reason
for Henry's absence from Elizabeth — he had accompanied
some friends to Greenwich Point, on the Delaware, to a beef-
steak and punch supper.
There are women who visit my Library to-day who are famil-
* Gov. Samuel Whittaker Pennypacker.
4IO PHASES OF LIBRARY LIFE
iar, in a general way, with the construction of the colonial
governments and who will discourse learnedly regarding the
members of the governor's council, or of the duties of a forester
pr ranger, and can tell you in what colonies such and such an
officer was appointed, and they are familiar with all the important
events in our history. But a little more than a decade ago, such
was not the rule, and many family traditions proved disastrous
on investigation.
The founders of patriotic hereditary societies, by women, were
earnest and enterprising. Having been instrumental in organiz-
ing one of these societies, the officers frequently called on me
for advice. In the matter of an insignia, it was proposed to
design a clasp for each ancestor from whom a member was
ieligible, but it was shown that if this should be adopted, some
members would wear a string of clasps, reaching from the
shoulder to below the waist. This design was abandoned for
prudential reasons.
There next developed a difference of opinion as to eligible
ancestors. Some ladies insisted that high sheriffs be included,
while others vehemently opposed, on the ground that he was a
hangman. Again an arbitrator was sought who decided favor-
ably to the high sheriff party. If the high sheriff was ineligible,
then the governor was also, for he signed the death warrant, and
the high sheriff executed the warrant through the public hangman,
in colonial days.
Another difference, of more importance, was submitted for
settlement. "When did the Colonial period end ? On the Decla-
ration of Independence, July 4, 1776, or on the ratification of the
Treaty of Peace between the United States and Great Britain?
(Sept. 3, 1 783). "The question was propounded by the president of
the society, a matron of majestic presence, and an all around hust-
ler. I gave my opinion at once, in favor of July 4, 1776. and very
soon found that Madam President was of the 1783 way of
thinking, for she remarked, "Dr. Jordan, if you were not seated
at your desk, I'd give you a good shaking." It is the ambition
of every member of the society to find a civil or mihtary record
for all their male ancestors, prior to the Revolution, and neces-
sarily much time and patience is devoted to historical and
genealogical research. One of its officers, sensitive of the rivalry
phase;s of ubrary lifb 411
that had been developed, requested me to aid her on a new Hne
of ancestry on which she was working. Coming to my desk one
day, in great glee, she informed me that she had found an
ancestor who held an office new to her, and requested an explana-
tion. Pointing to a line in a volume of vital records of a Massa-
chusetts town, I read, "Ezra Blank, cordwainer, Captain of Train
Band." "What was the nature of this office," she inquired,
still pointing to the word cordwainer. Perceiving that she was
really ignorant of the meaning of the word, and that she believed
it to be the designation of a civil office, new to her, I explained
that, in the olden time, the trade of shoemaker was divided into
two branches; the man who made the shoes was called a cord-
wainer, and he who patched them, a cobbler, and that her ancestor
was a cordwainer by trade. "Why, sir," she excitedly replied,
"all my ancestors were born gentlemen." "I do not dispute that,"
I rejoined, "but the official records give his occupation, and it
cannot be changed by you." "Well sir," she retorted, "he will
not go in ;" meaning that she would not add a cordwainer to the
galaxy of her eligible ancestors.
Curiosity prompted me to follow for three generations, the
descendants of Ezra Blank, cordwainer. First, I found that Ezra
in addition to being captain of the train band, filled for a number
of years, the office of town clerk, both highly responsible posi-
tions ; that a son was a reputable citizen, filling both civil and
military positions with credit, and that a grandson became the
colonel of a regiment in the Massachusetts Continental Line, Old
Ezra was the last to follow the occupation of a cordwainer.
I do not believe there is the least probability that the influences
exercised by these patriotic-hereditary societies will be ephemeral.
I am in accord with Daniel Webster's views, that it is wise for
us to recur to the history of our ancestors. To be faithful to
ourselves, we must keep our ancestors and posterity within the
reach and grasp of our thoughts and affections. Eiving in the
memory and retrospect of the past, and hoping with affection
and care for those who are to come after us, we are true to
ourselves only, when we act with becoming pride for the blood
we inherit, and which we are to transmit to those who are to
fill our places.
The ccrrespondence that passes through my hands daily, is
412 PHASES OF LIBRARY UFE
largely composed of genealogical inquiries from all sections of
our country, and perhaps, I cannot do better than read a few
selections, to enable you to comprehend their vanity and scope.
From a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union,
of Walla Walla, State of Washington, this modest demand on
my time was received.
"I wish the records searched for all names of the Baker family, I had
an ancestor, Benjamin Baker, who enlisted in the Continental Army in
1775. Please give the name, date of Birth and Death, place of residence,
where from and whence to, of the males of the Baker family, but the
females also, and to whom married. Also did any of them own property
to any extent, and if so, where? Be careful to take down this last. A
reply is anxiously awaited for, as the business involved in this request
needs immediate attention."
To this request the regulation reply was made — that the
Historical Society does not undertake genealogical investigations
looking to the recovery of estates, that the services of an attorney
were needed. The following reply was received :
"To the President or the Secretary of the Historical Society of Penn-
sylvania : — Some time since I wrote to the Librarian of the Society, asking
for certain records to be searched, for which I proposed to pay (which
she did not, and furthermore we never make any charges for investiga-
tions). His reply was a refusal so short, that for a time I left off all
efforts to search for what I wished. But thinking I might find in one
or the other of you a gentleman and a man of principle, I appeal to you.
What I wish is this : Search the historical records first, then any other
records or documents which may contain desired information. I will be
honest with you, and tell you plainly this, I have in my possession records
of my family genealogy on my mother's side, who was a granddaughter
of one Benjamin Baker, a son of Benjamin Baker. Both served in the
early wars — one in the Revolution. From certain things I remember of
my mother having said (she is now dead) I am convinced of the fact that
she was a direct heir to a large estate in that part of the country some-
where. On reading in the papers of the estate of Col. Jacob Baker, at
Philadelphia, I was convinced that that was the one of whom my mother
spoke, claiming to be an heir. I am a poor woman, not able to employ
a lawyer who would go and investigate, but am willing to pay you the
fee you will probably charge to search the records. Please to find the
names oi the three brothers of Jacob Baker, and the names of the present
known claimants, and it might be best to trace the lines of each of the
three brothers down to the present time. Some members of mother's
family lived in New Hampshire. I have about all of these records and
only mention it for fear you might get things wrong. Others of her family
of the Bakers removed to Pennsylvania. She was raised in Pennsylvania,
phase;s of ubrary life 413
"her tnother once Mary or Polly Baker, after having married Samuel
Cilly, made their future home there. My records of the Baker family
are incomplete. Now if you will do' this for me and charge a reasonable
fee, I will pay you. What will such a charge be? Again another propo-
sition will be that, if I ever should be able to prove myself one of the
heirs, through any efforts of yours, I will double tO' you dollars for cents.
Kindly reply at earliest convenience, otherwise, I may write to some one
•else."
For many months I had received so many letters of a similar
'Character from the West, that my curiosity was excited, and I
finally ascertained from a correspondent that, the editor of the
Inter Ocean, of Chicago, in charge of its Genealogical Depart-
ment, habitually referred all claimants to estates, to the Librarian
of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. It was a species of
advertising, no doubt well intended, but undesirable. We cheer-
fully respond to general queries, but decline all overtures to aid
in recovering estates or to connect families with royalty.
From Knightstown, Henry county, Indiana, also comes this
modest request :
"I write to you in regard to some old history that I am trying to get.
Have you any history of a family by name Gunkle, who emigrated from
•Germany and settled in Penna. during the seventeen hundreds, The
father's name was John and he had a son named Jacob. Some of this
family spelled their names with a G others with a K. Can you find in
your books where they came from in Germany and in what year they
came over, and how much land did they own, either from the Govern-
ment or the State of Penna., and where was it located. Can you give
me the date when Jacob Gunkle was married to his wife Susanna. Have
you any record of an estate coming to the family from Penna. or Ger-
many. What will you charge me for the same ?
"Is there any history on your books of a family by name of Beakler,
whose son Henry married Catherine Gunkle; a daughter of this Jacob
Gunkle? Is there any history of Henry Beakler, and whether any estate
is coming to him from the State of Penna. or from Germany? What
will you charge for the same?
"There was a man by the name of Keys, his given name was Lemuel —
I think but not sure — who came to America as a soldier with the English
army and settled in Penna. After the war of 1776, he married a lady
by the name of Swope. I think her given name was Mary or Elizabeth.
They was married in Penna. and years after moved to Ohio, where they
died. Is there any history of the Keys or Swope family on your books?
This Mr. Keys came from Dublin, Ireland. Is there any estate coming
to this family? And what will you charge me for a copy of the same?"
414 PHASES OF LIBRARY LIFE
A lonely widow of Orange, New Jersey, in the belief that
she is related to the distinguished General Nathaniel Greene, of
the Continental Army, writes as follows :
"It is with becoming timidity that I address you, in order to prefer
my request; for I can scarce credit the assurance that was given me^
that you will search the records in your possession to discover through
numerous branches a Family Tree.
•'I am not a Native Philadelphian, but as 'Adoption strives with Nature,''
I find myself clinging to it with the indissoluble ties of thirty years
creating.
"Through a strange fatality all my family records were destroyed ; and
I find myself 'the last leaf on the Tree,' unable to trace my ancestry.
"I believe myself related to General Greene of Revolutionary Fame and'
would like to crystallize the belief into a fact.
"I am sorry that divested of every record, and bereaved of every knowre
relative, I can only trace my lineage to a grandfather, whose name was^
Caleb C. Greene, of Newport. Rhode Island.
"As my father, his son, if living, would be about one hundred years old,.
the date of my grandfather's birth or somewhat near it may be deter-
mined.
"I shall be very grateful if any investigation can — and would be — made
from this clew. Should compensation be expected for the labor entailed
through the search, please drop me a line to that effect."
During Christmas week, a motherly looking old lady spent
one morning delving among some of our genealogical works, and
observing that she had been apparently unsuccessful in her
quest, on inquiry suggested that she should examine our abstracts
of Chester county wills, when she informed me that she had done
so, but she was "certain that her grandfather had died of an
administration !"
A London book-man pestered me for six months to purchase
for our Genealogical Department "A Heraldic and Physiological
Curiosity" — thirty-nine children of one father and mother (seven
sons and thirty-two daughters), amply proved, and with all
rights reserved. I failed to respond.
From Delaware a lady wrote : "I have been given me by our
Century Club of which I am a member, a paper to prepare on
the subject "The unfulfilled promises of the Nineteenth Century."
Can you help me?" I regret to say that, the vastness of the
subject, impelled me to ask that I be excused. Of a different
character came an oflfer from the capital of the Dominion of
PHASES OF LIBRARY LIFE 415
Canada, to furnish the Library with a petrified woman, weighing
about 400 pounds. But the enterprising Canadian having failed
to give the pedigree of his specimen, I could not give her case
room.
From Middle Fork, Indiana, comes this query:
"Will you please tell me the names of all the ships that brought the
Quakers from London to America? I woiuld like to know if Jaushua and
Thomas Kenworthy were with the Pilgrim Fathers, and the name of the
ship Thomas went back on?"
From Barnwell, South Carolina, comes the following:
"I am hunting an old ancestor, Lord Newport. His daughter, Sally,
ran away with and married Peter Head, of Virginia. Her parents were
never friendly with her after this, and the young couple moved to this
State, and their descendants ignored this, keeping up with their ances-
tors, and kept no records whatever, only a few things handed down from
one generation to the next. I am of the fifth generation and am
anxious to know something of my relatives. I have no dates of births,
marriages and deaths, except those of my grandmother, who was Sally
Newport. Any help you can give me will be appreciated. I think Lord
Newport's Christian name was William F., but do not know what the F.
is for. It is said that the records were burnt with the city of Richmond,
during the Civil War."
I have given you some incidents connected with one of the
many phases of library work, and I do not believe that it would
be hard for me to convince any one, that the general activity
in genealogical research is not a fad to procure transitory hap-
piness.
Jacob Jennings Brown, the "Fighting Quaker" of Bucks County^
BY MRS. A. EUZABETH WAGER-SMITH, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January i6, 1906.)
As "Old Mortality" passed from stone to stone, restoring and
deepening the impressions nearly obliterated by the ravages of
time, so should those of each generation, who reverence the
heroes in our country's history, re-carve the record of their
achievements, that a younger generation may read the story as
they reach the stone. •
Therefore, it becomes not only a pleasure, but a duty for the
chisellers of this generation to restore to the view of those who
are passing, the record of a most valiant hero in battle, and inval-
uable citizen in peace, an example to his contemporaries, an in-
spiration to posterity, Jacob Jennings Brown, the Fighting Quaker
of Bucks county.
Two years before the Great-Proprietor had obtained his charter
from Charles I., George Brown of Leicestershire, England, had
sailed for the new country with his affianced bride. His choice
had fallen on an elder sister, but the prospect of life in the wil-
derness appalled her, and she declined to accompany him. Phil-
osophical and undaunted, he transferred his invitation to Mercy^
a younger sister, who accepted.
Arriving at New Castle, they were married and then sailed up
the river to the land George Brown had purchased of Sir Edmund
Andros, representing the Duke of York. Tradition says, they
first located in a dugout on the west bank of the Delaware.
Mercy proved a true helpmate. Together they traveled through
the forest, across streams and over swamps to procure a cow,
driving it home before them. And when they sought to replenish
their larder by hunting game, as the lock of their one gun had
become disabled, Mercy held the torch until George had placed
his aim aright, then at his signal, touched it to the priming.
They soon left the dugout and removed their gun and "hominy-
block" to an elevation overlooking the Delaware where George had
built a house. His land adjoined that of Phineas Pemberton,
GENERAL BROWN, THE EIGHTING QUAKER 417
afterwards the "Morris place" at the falls of the Delaware.
Perm's manor was one of its boundaries. Here was the first
permanent settlement of Bucks county.
Sir Edmund Andros had appointed George Brown justice of
the peace in June, 1680, which office he held until Captain Wil-
Ham Markham (Penn's cousin) became deputy governor and
re-organized the court. As Brown was not a Friend, he was
superseded.
George and Mercy Brown had eleven children and their de-
scendants down to the present day have been distinguished by
sterling traits of character left as an inheritance by this brave
pair.
Their son, Samuel, became a Friend and a member of the Col-
onial Assembly. He married Ann Clark, a member of Friends'
meeting.
Samuel's son, John, married Ann Field. This John was called
the "fox-hunter," a notable man of his day. His house was
between Emilie and Fallsington and as recently as 1898 the
"stone-end" was visible in the brick structure of a more recent
date. The church and the school-house of Emilie of to-day are
built on his land. John, the fox-hunter, was a prominent figure
in the Colonial government.
His son, Samuel, married Abi White, in Friends' meeting.
Jacob Jennings Brown, the "Fighting Quaker," was their eldest
son.
Jacob Jennings Brown's inheritance was remarkable in many
particulars, and the deeds of his relatives, connections and de-
scendants benefited their own and future generations. So num-
erous are their descendants that even a recital of their names at
this time is impossible, but a brief account of some of Jacob
Brown's ancestors may show from whence he obtained many
of his characteristic traits.
Miss Abi White who married Samuel Brown, was a daughter
of Joseph White, a Quaker preacher of renown. She is said to
have possessed a degree of intelligence and strength of mind
seldom equalled in her day — qualities which were developed in
her son, Jacob Jennings Brown at an early period and which
shone conspicuously through his life.
14
4l8 GENERAL BROWN, THE ''FIGHTING QUAKER^'
Samuel Jennings was a Quaker preacher, in London, for twelve
years. William Penn induced him to come in 1680 to govern
West Jersey. After serving as deputy governor, he was elected
governor ; served in the Provincial Assembly, and headed the list
of the "Council of Proprietors." His home at "Green Hill"
near Burlington, from which he ruled for 28 years was standing
until a recent date. After removing to Philadelphia, he was ap-
pointed receiver general of Pennsylvania. He was one of a
committee of two appointed to go to London and lay matters
affecting the Friends before the council there assembled, and
returned successful in the undertaking. He was a strong char-
acter, vigorous for right, as he saw it, and was called "imperious"
by those who could not rule him. Historians say of him that
he was endowed with both spiritual and temporal wisdom, a
suppressor of vice, and encourager of virtue.
His daughter, Sarah, the widow Pennington, married Thomas
Stevenson, third, whose granddaughter married John Brown, the
"fox-hunter."
The Revolution of the Celestial Orbs (in which Copernicus
overthrew the mystery of Ptolemy which had ruled the world for
2,000 years,) was left as a legacy to the world. The first copy
was brought to him on his death-bed 12 years after John Field
the English mathematician and astronomer published the first
astronomical-tables in England and made the true system of
the universe familiar to the dawning science of Great Britain.
Philip and Alary authorized him to bear as a crest over his
family arms (therefore a sheaf-of-wheat) "a dexter arm, habited
gules, issuing from clouds, supporting a golden globe."
This Sir John Field married Jane Arnvas of London, afterwards
living at Ardsley. Sir John's son was Matthew. INIatthew's son
was James. James' son was Robert who w'ent to Newport, R. L,
in 1635 and was afterward patentee of Flushing, L. L The
American line is thus : Robert, Anthony. Anthony 2d, Benja-
min, Benjamin 2d.
Benjamin 2d was of Chesterfield, New Jersey, afterwards re-
moved to Bucks county. He was recorder of Bucks, a member
of the Penn Assembly from 1738-1745. He married Sarah
Stevenson, great-granddaughter of Thomas Stevenson ist. Their
daughter Anna Field, married John Brown, the fox-hunter.
GENERAL BROWN, THE EIGHTING QUAKER 419
Thomas Stevenson was a son of an officer in the army o£
WilHam the Conqueror and fought in the battle of Hastings. A
signet ring and silver plate engraved with his coat-of-arms are
in the possession of a lineal descendant. He first came to Vir-
ginia, and afterwards went to New York, and served under Capt-
ain John Underhill in his campaign against the Indians, who
were descending on New York. Underhill, returning to his home
in Connecticut, Stevenson accompanied him, and afterward joined
the Connecticut Colony to settle Southold, L. I. There he mar-
ried Maria (Bullock) Bernard, of New York, a widow. He was
a large land owner but the times were troublous on account of
jealousies between the Dutch and English neighbors. He died
about 1665.
Thomas Stevenson, 2d, son of above, lived at Newtown, L. I.
He held nearly all the offices of that town and other positions of
trust. He married Elizabeth Lawrence, daughter of William
Lawrence, of Flushing, L. I. After her death he married Ann
Field, a kinswoman of Robert Field. He then became a Friend,
probably through the influence of Samuel Jennings, who had visit-
ed Long Island, preaching to the people. Thomas Stevenson, 2d,
made large purchases of land in New Jersey and four of his
sons moved there.
Thomas Stevenson, 3d., of Bucks county, was a member of
the Pennsylvania Assembly from 1710-1719; justice of the peace,
one of the Council of Proprietors of West Jersey, and was a
large land owner. He married Sarah, daughter of Governor
Samuel Jennings, whose first husband was Edward Pennington,
son of Isaac Pennington, once lord mayor of London and one of
the judges who condemned Charles I.; he was. related to William
Penn through the Springetts. Three Stevenson brothers married
the three daughters of Governor Jennings.
Sarah Stevenson, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Jennings
Stevenson, married Benjamin Field of Middletown, Pa. Their
daughter, Anna Field, married John Brown, the "fox-hunter,"
of Fallsington, Bucks county.
In the Lawrence family, the numberless lines may be traced
through English families to Egbert I., first king of England, also
to royal ancestry in various other countries. From Egbert,
through Kings, Barons and Earls to the Magna-Charta Barons and
420 GENERAL BROWN, THE FIGHTING QUAKER
down to Lady Elizabeth Seagrauss, granddaughter of Edward I.
She married John Baron de Mowbray, who was also of royal
descent. Their daughter Lady Mary de Welles, married John
Lawrence, Esq., of Rexton, Lancastershire. Their daughter, Mar-
garet married Robert Lawrence. This Robert was born in Rome,
Italy, and emigrated to Lancastershire. He was an officer attend-
ing Richard I, and accompanied him on the Crusade. For prowess
in the East he was knighted and received Ashton Hall and was per-
mitted to bear arms, and to wear Ermine, and was called "Law-
rence of Lancaster." He married Margaret Lawrence as above.
The line then ran : William, William, John, William, Henry, Wil-
liam, who married Joan. After William's death, Joan Lawrence
with her children came to New England. Her son, William,
called Captain Lawrence, became a patentee of Flushing, L. L,
and a magistrate. His daughter, Elizabeth, married Thomas
Stevenson, 2d. William Lawrence's widow married Sir. Philip
Carteret. Elizabethtown was named after hex-. (His daughter
and his second wife were both named Elizabeth.) Such was
Jacob Brown's inheritance. It now remains for us to read the
story of his life, to see what use he made of such valuable assets.
He was born in that significant year, 1775. Reared on the
farm in the simple home life of the Friends, without ostentation
or incentive to notoriety. Who can know if in the long winter
evenings, sitting before the great fire-place of blazing logs he
might not have been tracing in the coals the picture of a modern
crusader or a staunch governor of a province, or a pioneer settling
a new country and making a wilderness bloom?
From his early youth he showed a disposition to go forth and
find work fit for his accomplishments. Little is found concerning
his childhood, but at 18 years of age, having obtained the begin-
nings of an education at Trenton, he commenced teaching school
at Crosswicks, N. J., just across the river from his home ; and
in his spare time, he studied surveying. At 21, he was appointed
surveyor of Government lands in Ohio, the task occupying two
years. He returned to his home, but soon opened a private school
in New York city. At the same time, he commenced the study
of law, and for pastime, wrote an occasional political article
for the press, presumably for the "Advertiser," of which Noah
Webster was editor.
GENERAL BROWN, THE "FIGHTING QUAKER" 421
These articles attracted the notice of Alexander Hamilton, who
sought their author and invited his acquaintance.
In view of the anticipated war with France, Hamilton was
strengthening the fortifications of New York harbor, and he
engaged young Brown as military secretary.
Thus commenced his military training which was to him and
to his country so providential an acquisition at a later period.
Here, he also met Gouverneur Morris, whose friendship he
held through life. The French trouble passing, the provisional
army disbanded, and Jacob Brown looked about him for the next
step. He met Ralph Tillier, agent for the Chassanis lands in the
Black river country and decided to make a venture. He per-
suaded his father and two brothers to join him and purchased a
large tract at $2 an acre.
Turning his back on the elusive excitement of political life, he
and his brother John started in March, 1799, for the forest wilds,
as his progenitor had done 120 years before him. He was then
24 years old, the journey nearly 500 miles through a spansely
settled country, and beyond Utica, (their last civilized stopping-
place) northward, was the primeval forest. On horse-back they ap-
proached their possessions and reached the place where Philomel
creek dashes its waters over a rocky bank twenty feet high, into
the majestic Ka-hu-ah-go, modernly called Black river. The
high cedar-crowned banks on either side, the beauty of the water-
fall, the deep black of the mighty river, the out-spread below, en-
tranced and delighted them. "We will locate here !" cried Jacob,
and dismounting they encamped upon the spot. The immense
water-power showed them the value of their purchase.
They commenced to clear the land to build a log house. The
father and brother Samuel joined them and other settlers came.
A saw-mill and a grist-mill were erected. And in 1802 the first
bridge over Black river was built. Then as all was in readiness.
Jacob Brown rode south to Utica for a wife. She was Pamelia,
daughter of Captain Judah Williams, formerly of Massathusetts.
As she crossed the new bridge, her girlish figure mounted on a
white horse, the rare teakettle hanging from her arm. her bright
eyes peering forth on her new home, she must have presented a
charming picture to the settlers assembled to give her a welcome
home. And from that minute until she died, over 90 years of
422 GENERAL BROWN, THE EIGHTING QUAKER
age, her voice was never unheeded by Brownville ears, her coun-
sels never disregarded by Brownville hearts.
Later Jacob Brown commenced the magnificent grey stone
mansion on an elevation overlooking village and river, and
occupied by members of his family until i86i. It is still occu-
pied and in a perfect state of preservation.
The year he married 1802, Brownville was incorporated as a
town, the opposite side of the river being called Pamelia in compli-
ment to his bride.
From that time until 181 1, both town and village grew and flour-
ished under the wise guidance of its founder, the details of which
are given in the histories of Jefferson county. New York. A
militia company was formed and Jacob Brown's brief mihtary
training was fortunate, for here too, he became a leader. In
1809 he was a colonel, and in 1810, a brigadier general.
He prepared his men, it is said, with especial care, though
hoping peace might ensue, without loss of honor. In a letter
to Governor Tompkins of New York, in July 181 1, he declares
himself in the following terms :
"I am not one of those that believe a war with Great Britain
the best thing that can happen to my country. But to my humble
vision, it appears that we must fight or cease to prate about
national sovereignty, and national honor and national dignity."
He thus concludes, "I am serious in my application to be upon
duty, if there be war."
He was appointed commander of the frontier from Oswego to
St. Francis, a water line of 200 miles in extent, with headquarters
at Ogdensburg, where he successfully repelled an attack by land
and water in the spring of 18 12, although the enemy far out-
numbered the defending force ;and he was only a brigadier-general
of militia, of Quaker ancestry and training, who had never seen
a battle, and was opposed to war ! For his prowess on this occa-
sion, he was offered a regiment in the regular service, but he
declined the lesser title, preferring to remain a brigadier-general
of militia than a colonel of regulars. Possibly, too. he recalled
that it was the Bucks county militia who came to Washington's
aid, and helped him to win the battle of Trenton. Still, he felt
himself capable of a larger command with increased responsi-
bilities and wrote to General Armstrong in the following terms:
GENERAL BROWN, THE FIGHTING QUAKER 423
"I am a full-blooded Bucks County Quaker, knowing nothing of
military affairs ; but I believe myself possessed of every other
requisite for a soldier and an officer. I will be as good as my
word. If you give me a brigade, you shall not be disgraced, but
I will accept nothing less."
Like Samuel Jennings, his worthy ancestor, he was self-
respecting, firm and fearless as to the opinions of others when
he knew he was right, and had confidence in his own ability to
meet any situation which might arise.
In July of the same year, rumors of an attack on Sackett's
Harbor reached him and he hastened to that point and again
repelled the invader. He now changed his headquarters from
Ogdensburg to Sackett's Harbor, where were stored all the
military and naval supplies of the frontier. During a brief
absence to his home, May 28, 1813, leaving Colonel Backus in
charge, runners brought word to the fort that a squadron under
Sir James Yeo was sailing from Kingston. A fleet messenger
was sent in the night to the general at Brownville. With a
hasty good-bye to his biave wife Pamelia, he mounted and dashed
through his little village, across the covered bridge, up the short
hill, and down the road, 10 miles distant, to Sacketts at breakneck
speed. Sending express riders in all directions to summon his
militia, ordering the village bells rung to arouse the inhabitants,
and making what preparations he could, daylight found him in
readiness to meet the enemy. Before the fateful news an
additional force had started from Oswego in boats, to strengthen
the feeble garrison, but they had not yet been sighted. As the
militia men arrived. Brown posted them behind a ridge com-
manding the landing (about where the light-house now stands)
the volunteers on their right. In all they numbered about 500.
The small force at the fort was drawn up in order at their
camp about a mile from the landing to protect the stores. Towards
noon, the six vessels and 40 bateaux with 300 Indians appeared.
The Indians seeing the boats from Oswego making for the harbor,
pursued them and nearly all abandoned their boats far below to
save their scalps, for fear of the Indians was above every other
fear. Prevost with 1,000 regulars landed and at the first fire, the
militia broke and took to the woods. The volunteers stood fire at
first but were obliged to retreat. At this sight, the officers at the
424 GENERAL BROWN, THE "FIGHTING QUAKER"
fort seeing Sacketts was about to fall into the hands of the Britisii
set fire to the store-house and to the frigate "New Orleans"
on the stocks and to a captured British vessel lying in the bay.
No one but General Brown could have turned such a disaster
into victory! But, John the "fox-hunter" had his share in this
game.
General Brown galloped after the fleeing- company, but
the on-rush was so wild he could not at first succeed in
rounding them. Fortunately, a miUtiaman (son of a Revolu-
tionary soldier) who was borne on against hie will, bethought
himself of a cry to give them pause, and cried loudly, "The
Indians ! An ambush !" which succeeded in partially check-
ing them. It would have been but momentary, however, had not
General Brown's militiamen had confidence in their command-
er. "Stop ! My brave fellows !" he called. Would you run just
as we are winning! Come back and share in the victory!" So
assuring was his voice, so victorious in tone, they turned, and
he led them back on a run.
General Prevost had mounted a stump to survey the field. The
dense smoke hid the background from view, and he saw Brown
returning at the head of what appeared a large body of troops
firing steadily as they advanced. He thought reinforcements had
arrived and hastily gave the order to sound the retreat. So
hurried was their flight, that they left dead and wounded on the
field. The timbers of the "New Orleans" was so green the
fire was quickly extinguished and it was on exhibition until long
after the Civil War.
Sackett's Harbor was never again attacked, and remained the
base of supplies for the northern frontier until the close of the
war.
The President now gave Jacob Brown the brigade to which he
was so justly entitled, with the rank of brigadier-general in the
regular army.
On the following January, 1814. he was promoted to the rank
of major-general and placed in command at Niagara. His mili-
tary career was marked by a series of victories, and it is
on record that he was never defeated. The details of his various
engagements would fill a volume, but brief reference to the more
important ones will portray his character.
GENERAI, BROWN, THE "FIGHTING QUAKER" 425
In March, Generals Brown and Scott moved the troops from
Plattsburg to the Niagara frontier. After reaching Utica, Gen-
eral Brown went to Sackett's Harbor to march the troops from
that post. Their route lay through a rattlesnake infested forest,
only a log hut marking the present site of Rochester. Both
divisions reached Buffalo late in June. Crossing the river both
above and below Fort Erie, July 3d, it surrendered to Brown
with 170 prisoners.
The following day, although weary with the long march,
immediately succeeded by the taking of Fort Erie, General Brown
inspired his men with reference to the significance of the day,
July 4th, and they enthusiastically marched on Chippewa, 16
miles away, where with General Riall's command were also Red
Jacket and his Indians. "Nothing but Buffalo militia!" sneered
Riall, as he saw them advancing. But Jacob Brown was their
leader, and the British retreat became a disorderly flight.
General Brown then turned back towards Fort Erie to strength-
en its defenses. It was nearly sunset, as they wended their
way through Lundy's Lane, Brown as usual, riding far in ad-
vance. Suddenly there burst upon his view, British troops drawn
tip in line. But Jacob Brown was never daunted and never missed
an opportunity. Hastily riding back to his men he acquainted
them with the situation. "We must fight !" he said. "No retreat-
ing! Form ranks! Advance!" Hastily forming, they followed
their intrepid commander, and then took place that most extraordi-
nary battle by night. Commencing at sunset and lasting 12 hours.
The night grew dark, the battle-field was lighted only by the
fitful flashes of the firing guns. Brown was desperately wounded
1>ut would not leave the field. The British finally retreated.
There were 4,500 British and 2,600 Americans engaged in this
battle of Lundy's Lane.
Another instance of Jacob Brown's valor was in September of
the same year. His wounds hardly healed, when in Fort Erie they
were besieged by General Drummond, who attempted to retake
the fort, but was repulsed with heavy loss. In the night. Brown,
with a small company made a sortie, and leaping into the
enemy's works exploded the magazines, dismounted the guns,
captured several prisoners and returned in safety to the fort.
It might perhaps be mentioned in this place that during this
426 GENERAL BROWN, THE "EIGHTING OUAKER"
Niagara campaign a British officer who was slain, left a little
daughter alone in a foreign land. She fell into General Brown's
hands and he sent her to Brownville where under the charge of
Mrs. Brown she was taught and cherished with their own little
daughters until her relatives in England could be reached. This
is but one of many instances of his kind-heartedness, not general-
ly known.
The city of New York voted General Brown the freedom of
the city in a gold casket, and also ordered a full length portrait
of him to be executed and placed in the City Hall. The New
York Legislature voted him a gold-hilted sword. He received
the special thanks of Congress, and a gold medal emblematic of
his victories was struck in his honor. He had successfully de-
fended the frontier from Pennsylvania on the southwest to
the extreme northern border on the northeast.
At the close of the war, he was retained in command of the
"Northern Division," as Andrew Jackson was of the "Southern
Division." The "Fighting Quaker" had saved his country and
could now rest on his laurels.
In March, 1821, he was appointed General-in-chief of the
United States army which office he held, until he was gathered to
that peace he so ardently loved.
His funeral pageant in Washington was magnificent. An af-
fecting incident was that of his old steed Niagara, (on which
he had made the Niagara campaign) following close behind his
old master, saddled and bridled and bearing his arms reversed.
His remains were interred in the Congressional cemetery where a
suitably-inscribed column marks his resting place.
Jacob Jennings Brown was an example of a man who never
sought to rise by the failures of his compatriots; of one who
could live a public life with integrity of purpose and of action;
whose private life was without a blemish ; and who could assem-
ble the best traits of his ancestors into one harmonious whole, and
by using them aright benefit the entire Commonwealth.
A letter from Lafayette to Jacob Brown's widow will give an
idea of how he was viewed from a personal standpoint.
Paris, March 30, 1828.
My Dear Madam :
Amid the many heavy blows I have had to bear on this side of the At-
GENERAL BROWN, THE "FIGHTING QUAKER" 427
lantic by the loss of a young and beloved grand-daughter and of an old
friend and relative, the melancholy account from Washington has filled
my heart with inexpressible grief.
Previous information had led me to hope for improvement in the state
â– of the excellent General's health, and has rendered the lamentable event
still more painful to me. You know, dear madam, the intimate and con-
fidential friendship that had formed between us.
Our personal acquaintance was recent, although our characters had long
been known to each other; but no old intimacy could be more affectionate,
no mutual confidence better established.
While I deeply regret him on my own account, be assured dear madam
that I most affectionately sympathize in your affliction and the feelings of
your family.
My son and Monsieur L. Vasseur beg to be remembered and I am most
'Cordially Your aff. mourning friend,
LAFAYETTE.
While this letter gives but a personal view, the character of
the writer, and the fact of his being a foreigner and a man of
rank, gives it value.
But the testimony of the Secretary of War, which but voiced
the general sentiment of the nation, is conclusive as to the high
â– esteem in which General Brown was held by his countrymen.
February 28, 1828.
The Secretary of War by direction of the President of the United
.'States announces to the army, the painful intelligence of the decease of
Major-General Brown on February 24.
To say he was one of the men who have rendered most important ser-
vices to his country would fall far short of the tribute due to his
â– character.
Uniting with the most unaffected simplicity of character, the highest
â– degree of personal valor, and of intellectual energy, he stands pre-eminent
before the world, and for future ages, in that land of heroic spirits, who
upon the ocean and the land, formed and sustained during the second war
with Great Britain, the martial reputation of their country.
To this high and honorable purpose General Brown may be said to have
sacrificed his life ; for the disease which abridged his days and has ter-
minated his career (a period scarcely beyond the meridian of manhood)
undoubtedly originated in the hardships of his campaigns on the Canada
frontier ; and in that glorious wound which though desperate could not
remove him from the field of battle until it was won.
Quick to perceive, sagacious to anticipate, prompt to decide, and daring
in execution, he was born with the qualities which constitute a great
commander.
His military coup d'oeil, his intuitive penetration, his knowledge of
men, and his capacity to control them, were known to all his companions
428 GENERAL BROWN, THE "FIGHTING QUAKER'""
in arms, and commanded their respect ; while the gentleness of his dis-
position, the courtesy of his deportment, his scrupulous regard for their
rights, his constant attention to their wants and his affectionate attach-
ment to their persons, invariably won their hearts and bound them to him
as a father.
Calm and collected in the presence of the enemy, he was withal tender of
human life, in the roar of battle more sparing of the blood of the soldier
than of his own.
In the hour of victory, the vanquished enemy found in him a human
and compassionate friend. Not a drop of blood shed in wantonness or
cruelty sullies the purity of his fame.
Defeat he was never called on to endure, but in the crisis of difficulty
and danger, he displayed untiring patience and fortitude, not to be over-
come.
Such was the great accomplished Captain whose loss the Army has now
in common with their fellow citizens of all classes to deplore. While
indulging the kindly impulses of nature and yielding the tribute of a tear
upon his grave, let it not be permitted to close upon his bright example
as it must upon his mortal remains.
Let him be more nobly sepulchred in the hearts of his fellow soldiers,
and his imperishable monument be found in their endeavors to emulate
his virtues.
The officers of the army will wear the badge of mourning for six
months on the left arm, and the hilt of the sword.
Guns will be fired at each military post at intervals of 30 minutes from
the rising to the setting of the sun, on the day succeeding the arrival of
this order, during which the national flag will be displayed at half-mast.
JAMES BARBOUR.
You have heard how those who knew General Brown in life
regarded him. But what of this generation? The hero of New
Orleans is honored by the observance of an anniversary in his
memory. But what of the hero of Sackett's Harbor? Of Chip-
pewa? Of Lundy's Lane?
If our fellow countrymen seem to have forgotten this noble
patriot and conqueror ; if Pennsylvania has neglected to do him
honor; may not Bucks county seek to make amends by reserving
one day from the busy year and devoting it to the memory of this
the most glorious of all her sons, Jacob Jennings Brown, the
"Fighting Quaker" of Bucks county.
The Dungan Ancestry.
BY HOWARD O. I^OLKER, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January i6, 1906.)
The following paper was prepared in consequence of a request
made by our honored president, and to which request assent
was given by the writer, with little idea of the possible range
that could be given to the subject. Such a wealth of interesting
detail confronted him that in an effort to avoid the charge of
prolaxity much material germane to the subject has not been used
because of the necessary limitations of this paper.
We are sensible, also, of the current belief that when a man
begins to hunt industriously for notable ancestors he is uncon-
sciously trying to find some counter-balance to his own deficien-
cies, however, it is a work that has neither pride of ancestry, nor
hope of posterity. Yet this effort is in no sense a genealogy of our
family, but rather memoirs collected in the few idle moments of a
busy life. It is to be hoped that members of the family and others
having data and records pertinent to the subject will communicate
with the writer.
The variants on the name of Dungan : O'Donaghan, O'Don-
egan, Dunnegan, Donnagan, Donagan, Donegan, Dungen, Dun-
gin, Dongan and Dungan.
The transition from Dongan to Dungan was easy and occurred
when a branch of the family removed from Ireland to England
about the year 1600. The change was not universal as is seen
by the official documents pertaining to Governor Thomas Don-
gan, of New York. Also, as late as 181 1, the name of Rev. Thom-
as Dungan is spelled "Dongan." — See "A Picture of Philadel-
phia,'" by James Mease, M. D., page 204.
Ask an Irishman from whom he is descended and he will
answer "from Heremon," that pagan sovereign, first king of Ire-
land, ruling jointly with Heber, but who ruled alone after B. C.
1699. It is claimed by interested parties that we are of Irish
extraction, which, if true, permits us to claim descent from a
line of kings flourishing before the Christian era, but, as ancient
430 THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY
Irish history is both mystical and mythical, we venture the sug-
gestion that the historian is in error by not less than i,ooo years.
Speaking of the ancient kings of Ireland, Keating says :
"The chief of each noble family in Ireland was always styled as king,
the only title in use among the Irish to distinguish the nobility from the
inferior gentry, until the English introduced the titles of earl, viscount,
baron, etc."
iThe early records of Ireland are not of an ofificial character,
and are generally but family traditions grossly flavored in many
instances to suit personal vanity. Being of so doubtful a nature
many were cast aside by the writer as worthless because of their
manifest unreliability. The first mention worthy of credence
of the family is made by Connellan, the next by O'Hart. From
them we learn that O'Donegan (Dongan) was prince of Aradle,
of the race of Heremon. The O'Donegans were styled princes
of Mulscrith Tire, now Lower Ormond, in Tipperary; and pos-
sessed Aradh Cleach, now the barony of Owney and Arra, also
in Tipperary. The tenth ancient chief mentioned of county Cork
is Donegan (Dongan) chief of "Muscry of the Three Plains,"
now the half barony Orrery, in county Cork. Again, of the
chiefs and clans mentioned of Tirowen, the ninth was O'Donegan
or Dongan, a chief of Tealach Ainbith and of Muinter Birn,
districts in the baronies of Dungannon and Strabane.
By some it is averred that our ancestry is of English origin,
and there is basis for the claim that our forbears partook in
the Norman occupation of Ireland in the twelfth century, but
not prominently enough, however, to invite Froude's attention.
It is probable that their elders accompanied the Duke of Nor-
mandy when he overran England and gained for himself the title
of "The Conqueror."
Existing documents declare the Dungan family in Ireland dur-
ing the thirteenth century to have been of English extraction.
Quoting from Connellan, the following were the chief families
of Anglo-Norman and early English settlers in the counties of
Eimerick and Clare: Wolfes, Dongans, Rices. O'Hart, in 1876,
speaking of Kildare says : The other chief families of English
descent have been Burroughs, Boyces, Dungans or Dongans. An-
other writer says, "The following have been the noble families
THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY 43 1
of Limerick: The Dungans, earls of Limerick." That the
Dungans were of the nobility we have ample evidence.
Of records available to the writer the next mention, speaking'
chronologically, is from "Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ire-
land, 1536 to 1810," which mentions will of Richard Dungan,
barrister, Dublin, 1574. The record is to-day in an imperfect
state, and its condition is such as to prevent clear testimentary
details. We do know his brother, Sir John Dungan, died in
1592 after a life of unusual activity in municipal affairs of the
city of Dublin. He was created Earl of Dungannon by Queen
Bess, and his coat-of-arms is thus described : Az. six plates,
three, two, and one, on a chief or, a demi lion ramp. gu. Crest-
An ar, banded and surmounted by a cross pattee or.
His second son, William, was a member of the bar, and was
recorder of the city of Dublin. Burke describes the Dungan
arms thus : same as foregoing, with a crescent for a diff., and
'impaling O'Brien. The significance of the crest has its origin
not in the assumption that O'Brien was slain in personal combat,
but from the fact that he was worsted by Sir William in a pas-
sage-at-arms of a professional nature before the High Court of
Dublin, of which both were members. Sir William died Decem-
ber II, and was buried in St. John's church, Dublin, December
19, 1622. The title descended to son Joshua Dungan, of Caple-
town, Clain Barony. He had a brother Thomas, a well-known
Dublin barrister, and who died in 1663, leaving a widow Anne.
The latter dying in 1670 left behind her a reputation for phi-
lanthropy and activity in the interest of the poorer classes of
that city. A patent of nobility was also granted by James 1,
to Walter Dungan, Esq., of Castleton, county Kildare, a cousin of
Sir William Dungan, of Dublin. Letters were granted him undet
the privy signet bearing date of Westminster, July 8, 1623 ; patent.
Dublin Oct. 23, 1623. It is believed the royal favor was con-
ferred on Sir Walter for his energetic work in the crown's be-
half during the 1 yrone rebellion. As commander of a local regi-
ment he did much to restore order in that disaffected region.
Large tracts of land had been forfeited to the English crown and
this land was now given by royal grant to English and Scotch
settlers and to Irish favorites. Sir Walter received an extensive
tract at Castleton, county Kildare. He died in 1627.
432 THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY
John Dungan resided at Curihills, near to Castleton, and was
of the landed gentry. He died in 1636 at a ripe old age.
Edward was a magistrate and held minor court at Kiltaghan,
county Kildare, and died in 1639. His will is on file in Dublin.
William removed to London, attracted there by the promise of
royal favor from the "Wisest fool in Europe." James' well-known
weakness of character prompts us to believe William Dungan
was disappointed. That he turned to mercantile pursuits we
1<novv, for in his will he styled himself "merchant." He died
in 1636, and was the father of Thomas Dungan, who is the
central figure in this sketch.
I Permit us to digress so far as to follow the changing fortunes
of the ennobled family of Dungans remaining in Ireland. On
the death of Sir Walter Dungan in 1627, the title descended to
his son, John. He was a strong partisan of the house of Stuart,
yet his loyalty was no bar to the rapacity of Charles when land
was needed for the homesteading of his alien soldiery, for the
Irish author Prendergast (p. 209, Cromwellian Settlement) says
138 acres of profitable land were so seized of this Irish pro-
prietor in 1641, and styles him "Sir John Dungan, Knt. of
Norbynstown." Sir John commanded a regiment at the battle
of Naseby, where Charles I. went down in disaster and was
taken prisoner. For his faithful adherence to Charles, his
estates were ordered confiscated. Being the head of one of the
most influential families in the province of Ulster, he was,
though attainted, the most prominent figure in civil affairs, yet
withal he refused to participate in the outbreak of 1647. These
malcontents under General Preston were that year entirely defeat-
ed by an English army under Jones at Dungan Hill, a few
miles west of Dublin. For his forbearance his estates were
restored, as shown by the enumeration of forfeiting properties
under the Cromwellian settlement, as entitled to lands for-
feited to the Commonwealth on order of October 14, 1655.
Under means from Lord Protector's Council for the affairs of
Ireland. The excerpt is from O'Hart's "Irish Landed Gentry
when Cromwell came to Ireland."
Sir John Dungan, Knight, Kildare ; Sir Joshua Dungan,
Knight, Capletown ; Edward Dungan, Esq., Blockwood, Clain
THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY 433
Barony; Sir Walter Dungan, Knight, Capletown ; Dame Mary
Dungan, Castletown, near Cellbridge, barony of Salt, Kildare ;
Edward Dungan, Blockwood, KilcuUen.
This restoration of Sir John's lands is confirmed by Dublin
records marked 1821-1825 styled "Inrollments of the Decrees
of Innocents under the Commonwealth Rule in Ireland." Cisley
Dungan, James Dungan, John Dungan, and Sir John Dungan.
Sir John died in 1663 at the baronial hall, Castletown, county
Kildare. A copy of his will is on file in Dublin.
His eldest son and heir was William Dungan, who had spent
several years in the French army on the continent and returned
to claim his inheritance after the accession of Charles II., and
which had been recently enlarged by the restoration of many
estates when monarchy was established in Ireland. The wrongs
and cruelties inflicted by Cromwell upon that unfortunate island
led as many as 40,000 to enlist in the armies of Continental Eu-
rope by which they sought freedom from the Protector's tyranny.
Prendergast says : Sir Walter Dungan and others got liberty
to beat their drums in different garrisons to a rallying of their
men that laid down arms with them in order to rendezvous, and
to depart for Spain. They got permission to march their men
together to the different parts, their pipers perhaps playing "Ha
til, Ha til, me tilidh," we return, we return no more ; or more
probably after their first burst of passionate grief at leaving home
and friends forever was over, marching gaily to the lively 6trains
of Garryowen. This was nine years before the death of the
patriarchic head of the family. Sir John. His son William, his
brother Thomas and his grandson W^alter, were among those
voluntarily expatriated. Thomas led a regiment of his compatri-
ots in the army of that selfish ally of the . unfortunate house of
Stuart, Louis XIV. We extract from the de la Ponce MSS.,
in the library of the Royal Irish Academy, of a list of Irishmen
who served in that army, "Colonel Dungan, ent. 1677, Regt.
d'Irlandais." He was afterward Governor of New York.
A writer of London in 1870 in speaking of the family says :
"The family of Dungan, distinguished in the 17th century by its exten-
sive landed property, high connections and honorable civil and military
pasts, was equally remarkable for its loyalty to the Crown in the Par-
liamentarian and Cromwellian wars, and its adherence to the Stuarts,
434 THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY
during their exile on the continent after the execution of Charles I. It
was among the few Irish families who were restored to their estates
when monarchy was re-established, under King Charles II. In 1685, its
head, William Dungan, was created, by King James II., Viscount Dun-
gan of Claine, in the county of Kildare, and Earl of Limerick. The ar-
morial insignia were same as Sir John Dungan who died in 1592, — Crest- A
lion pass or supporting with the dexter foot a close helmet ar. gar-
nished gold. Supporters — Two lions ramp. ar. gutte desang, each charged
on the shoulder with a pellet."
His Lordship was also made a member of the Royal Privy
Council for Ireland, Lord Lieutenant of the county of Kildare^
and Governor of the province of Munster; and upon the break-
ing out of the Revolution, he adhered to King James. He sat
together with his son Walter in the House of Lords of the Par-
liament convened by that monarch in Dublin, according to a work
printed in London in 1691, which in a list of the Lords and
Commons that sat in King James' Parliament, commencing on
the 7th of May, 1687, includes Lord Dungan, Earl of Limerick,
also. Lord Dungan and Charles White from county Kildare,
Borough of Xass, the former being William and the latter
Walter. From a quaint list consulted taken from "The State
of the Protestants in Ireland, under King James' Government,"
comprising all men of note that came with that monarchy out
of France, or that followed him after, so far as could be col-
lected, we find the names of Lord William Dungan, Capt. John
Dungan, and Lord Thomas Dungan, Col. of ist Dragoons.
O'Callaghan says, "Sir William was colonel of the king's regiment of
dismounted dragoons, which was called the Earl of Limerick's dragoons,
and which appointment he held till the spring of 1689, when his advanced
period of life, and the bad state of his health, unfitting him for the active
military exertion that would be required in the warm contest which was
then approaching, about the middle of April that year, he resigned his
command ; and the colonelship of the regiment was transferred to his son,
the Lord Walter Dungan, who was subsequently killed. After the loss of
his only son Walter, just mentioned and hereafter more particularly no-
ticed, at the Boyne, the earl proceeded with the rest of the Irish Jacobites
to Limerick. He was consequently attainted by the Revolutionists, or
Williamites, in April, 1691 : but continuing steadfast to the royal cause,
retired to France. There Captain Peter Drake, of Drakeroth, in the county
of Meath, his exiled relative (and whose father, the Earl, before the
Revolution, had appointed, at Limerick, one of the commissioners of cus-
toms, and chief comptroller of the mint,) speaks warmly of the Lordship's
THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY 435
.good nature; mentioning him, in the year 1694, as 'My best friend,
William, Earl of Limerick, who took me to his house, and there supported
me ;' and, in 1696, it is added, sent him, with a recommendation for a mili-
tary provision, to Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Barnwell, of the Queen's
E.egiment of Dragoons, commanded by Colonel Oliver O'Gara, and then
forming part of the French Army of Catalonia, under the Duke of Ven-
•dome."
By following his banished sovereign to France rather than
.acknowledge the revolutionary government by remaining in Ire-
land, the Earl of Limerick forfeited a noble estate in the counties
of Kildare, Dublin, Carlow, Meath, Kilkenny, Longford, Tip-
perary and Queens, containing 26,480 acres, besides house prop-
erty in the city of Dublin, and many tithes ; all of which (and
much more) were granted, as a reward for his success against
the Irish, to the Dutch Lieutenant General Baron de Ginkell,
•created Earl of Athlone.
Under King James' administration in Ireland, the Earl of
Limerick's son, Lord Walter Dungan, held by deputy and sub-
deputy, the civil situation of clerk of the Common Pleas in the
Irish court of the exchequer; was, as before narrated, with
Charles White, Esq., of Leixley castle, one of the mernbers of the
borough of Nass, in the county of Kildare, in the parliament of
1689; and in the national army, colonel of the regiment of dra-
;goons bearing his name. The regiment was part of the small
Irish force despatched early in 1689, by King James' govern-
ment against the revolutionists of Ulster. With that small force
it assisted to beat the superior numbers of the Williamites out
of the field of Derry; was at the blockade of that place; and
after the disembarkation of the Prince of Orange's commander,
the Marshal Duke of Schonberg, in Ulster, and his advance to
Dundalk, is noticed in the Irish official account as one of the
best cavalry regiments in the army, by which that campaign
was brought to its miserable termination on the side of the in-
vaders. Next year, 1690, the regiment was at the engagement
oi the Boyne, where the death of their Colonel by a cannon-bail
as they were going into action, produced such depressing effects
upon them, that King James in his account of the conduct of the
Irish cavalry there, which, with the exception of these and the
Clare dragoons, he describes as excellent, says "Lord Dungan
436 THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY
being slaine, at their first going on, by a great shot, his dragoons
could not be got to doe anything." His lordship's body was
conveyed from the field to the family mansion of his father, the
Earl of Limerick, at Castletown, near Cellbridge, in the county
of Kildare, where on the retreat of the Jacobite troops from
Dublin to Limerick, the day after the battle was devoted to the
ceremony of the funeral, the troops on the next resuming their
journey to the south.
Thus while the Dungans in Ireland were fighting to retain
their estates and armorial bearings and were shedding their life's
blood for their earthly king, their kinsman. Rev. Thomas Dun-
gan, in America was adding stars to Heaven's Crown, planting
seed of the church at Cold Spring, which has brought forth fruit
the angels might covet the privilege of gathering.
Lord Walter Dungan was succeeded in command of the regi-
ment by his relative, Walter Nugent, of the county of Meatli,
son of Francis Xugent, Esq., of Dardistown. and Lady Nugent,
sister of Wm. Dungan, Earl of Limerick. Of this marriage
three sons were officers of eminence ; Christopher, attaining the
rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of Horse under King James H., and
of Mayor General of Cavalry in France ; Patrick, after serving
as Captain in I^rd Dungan's Dragoons, becoming Lieut-Colonel
to the Duke of Berwick's regiment in France: and Walter (who
was the elder brother of Patrick) succeeding as Colonel to his
cousin. Lord Dungan ; Colonel Walter Nugent was slain at the
battle of Kilconnell in July, 1691.
According to legal documents connected with the family of
Dungan, William Dungan, Earl of Limerick, died in 1698, with-
out leaving issue ; his only child, as before stated, Lord Walter
Dungan, colonel of dragoons, having been killed at the Boyne,
or Aughrim, in 1690.
A word or two about Dungan Hall. It was situated at Castle-
town, county of Kildare, and being a castle gave to town nearbv
its name ; was twelve miles due west of Dublin and overlooked
the beautiful river Liffey. To-day it is but a pile of ruins, though
of a size to indicate the original massive proportions of the baro-
nial seat. Its present dilapidated condition prompts us to quote
Barry Cornwall, from "Footsteps of the Normans."
THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY 437
"The weeds mourn on the castle wall;
The grass lies on the Chamber floor,
And on the earth, and in the hall.
Where m.erry music danced of yore !
And the blood red wine no longer
Runs — (how it used to run!)
And the shadows within grow stronger,
Look black on the mid-day sun !
And the steed no longer neigheth,
Nor paws the startled ground ;
And the dum-hound no longer bayeth,
But death is all around."
On the death of William, Earl of Limerick, in 1698, the title
came to Colonel Thomas Dungan, who was borh in 1634. The
latter, under the will of his father. Sir John Dungan, bart, in-
herited an estate in the Queens county, and served in the army
of Louis XIV. till 1678, as colonel of an Irish regiment, worth
to him "about £ 5000 per annum." He had from Charles II. a
life pension of £ 500 a year ; was made Lieut-Governor of Tan-
gier, in Morocco ; and subsequently Governor of New York in
America. From American Historical Record, vol. i, p. 128, we
learn he held that office from 1683 to 1688. He was sent out
by the Duke of York, brother of Charles II., to call an Assembly.
It was convened Oct., 17, 1683, and was the first gathering of
popular representatives since the Province had passed into the
hands of the English. Then it was that the Province was di-
vided into twelve counties. Dungan was an enlightened man,
and a sincere well-wisher of the American Colonies. He was
a "Professed Papist," a character which the colonists had been
taught to abhor; but his personal goodness and liberal public
policy soon made the most bigoted opponents of his faith forget
that he was a Roman Catholic. He promoted popular liberty
as much as he could. He gave a charter to the city of Albany.
To Robert Livingstone, a Scotch immigrant, he gave a feudal
principality on the banks of the Hudson, and he encouraged im-
migration in every way. But his chief distinction as a magis-
trate was the wise course pursued toward the Indians, espe-
cially those of the Iroquois Confederacy of the Six Nations over
whom the French were exerting a powerful influence. Had he
been properly supported by his King (James II.) he might have
438 THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY
speedily ended the French dominion in America, and saved the
blood and treasure so fearfully wasted afterward in inter-colonial
wars. The influence of the French King, through the medium
of religious considerations, over the weak English monarch was
such that Dungan, who for wise State purposes and with patri-
otic zeal, had done all in his power to obstruct the operations of
the French Jesuits among the Indians, was recalled in 1688,
and the government was placed in the hands of Sir Edmund
Andros, a narrow-minded tyrant. Dungan was on terms of inti-
macy with Wm. Penn who, knowing the strong friendship held
for him by the Iroquois, had him act as his agent in securing
title from that confederacy to central and northern Pennsylvania
drained by the Susquehanna. (See Colonial Records.) From
Rupp's History of Northumberland county we learn :
"Penn before his return to England, in 1684, adopted measures to
purchase the lands on the Susquehanna from the Five Nations, who pre-
tended a right to them, having conquered the people formerly settled
there. The Five Nations resided principally in New York ; and Penn's
time being too much engrossed to visit them personally, he engaged
Thomas Dungan, Governor of New York, to purchase from the Indians,
all that tract of land lying on both sides of the river Susquehanna, and
the lakes adjacent in or near the Province of Pennsylvania."
Dungan effected a purchased, and conveyed the same to William
Penn, January 13, 1696, "in consideration of one hundred pounds
sterling." (See Recorder of Deeds files, Philadelphia.)
Additional record of Col. Thomas Dungan's public services is
contained in the Carte Manuscripts, 228 volumes, in the Bodlein
Library, Oxford, England, to this effect: Among the petitions
to the House of Commons in May, 1701, was Thomas Dungan,
Earl of Limerick, who had "Spent the greater part of his life
in foreign countries, and for the most part in the service of
England." He petitioned Parliament for £ 17000 "Owing to
him by the Government for disbursements against the French
and Indians of Canada in America, and for arrears of a pension
of £500 per annum, granted him by the late King Charles II.,
in consideration of his losses, by leaving the service of the French
King and entering into the service of England." Sir Thomas
died in Ireland in Dec. 1715, leaving no issue, and the title of
Earl of Limerick thereby became extinct in the Dungan family.
the; dungan ancestry 439
The descendants of another Thomas Dungan (1803-1869, who
was treasurer of Bucks county in 1847), wife Rebecca Ustick
Montanye, will learn with interest that it was their early an-
cestor's cousin who, as Governor of New York, patented to
Jean Montaigne in 1686 the 200 acres of Harlem flats which
he had purchased October 7, 1638, for 1700 guilder from the
estate of his uncle, Henry DeForest. These flats were contained
m what is known as the Mascotta grant made to DeForest and
others in 1636 by the Dutch director Van Twiller. (See Ri-
ker's Harlem.)
The members of the family in Ireland no longer had armorial
bearings emblazoned on their shields, yet for another one hun-
dred and fifty years were prominent figures in military and
civil affairs. The absence of an escutcheon has not prevented
them in later years from becoming factors in public matters. In-
deed there was no more influential member of the Irish Nation-
alist party after 1828 than Robert Dungan, Esq., who, though
an active Presbyterian, organized and presided at many meetings
held in the interest of Daniel O'Connell, the Emancipator. The
late Thomas Delahanty, of Philadelphia, himself a native of
Kildare, personally informed the writer that the Dungan intimates
of his youthful days were most estimable characters, always in
the van of every popular movement for Irish progression.
We have already said that William Dungan removed from Ire-
land to London. The removal occurred circa 1620. He became
a trader and merchant, and resided after marriage, at St. Mar-
tin's-in-the-Fields, in that city. In 1627 he married Lady Fran-
ces Weston, widow of Lord Weston and daughter of Lewis La-
tham. From the Reading- Watts genealogy, an edition de luxe
by Col. Leach, of Philadelphia, we glean, by permission, much
interesting history of the family in that era. Mrs. Dungan'-:
father, Lewis Latham, was born 1570 at Elstow, a parish of
England, two miles south of Bedford, and in county of latter
name. Elstow is a small town of about six hundred souls, and
whose chief claim to distinction lies in the fact that John Bunyan,
author of Pilgrim's Progress, was born here in 1628, and was
thereby a contemporary of Lewis Latham. The name Elstow
has been transferred to America and is perpetuated in Elstow
440 THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY
Park, the magnificent estate near Philadelphia founded by the
late Wm. L. Elkins, a descendant of Frances Latham, and to
whose munificence we owe largely a home for the Bucks County
Historical Society. Lewis Latham, gent., was not only the an-
cestor of many American families, but also of many English fam-
ilies of influence. The most distinguished was possibly the late
Robert Gordon Latham, M. D., F. R. S., an eminent philologist
and ethnologist, born 1812. His well known work, English
Language, was published in 1841, and has gone through numer-
ous editions.
Latham was of a cadet branch of the Lathams of county Lan-
caster, England, and bore the arms of the family. The senior
branch ended with Isabella, daughter and heiress of Thomas La-
tham, of Lathom. The latter died in 1385 and his daughter
Isabella married Sir John Stanley, knight, from whom were the
Stanleys earls of Derby. The estate, Latham House, remained
in the Stanley family nearly four centuries, when Henrietta,
Lady Ashburnham, daughter and co-heiress of the ninth earl of
Derby, sold it to Henry Furness, Esq., from whom it was pur-
chased in 1724 by Sir Thomas Bootle, of Melling, chancellor to
the Prince of Wales. In 1750 Sir Thomas Bootle rebuilt the
manor house. The Lathams exerted a powerful influence in
the county of Lancaster, and the manor, which bears the family
name, and in which the ancestors of Lewis Latham lived, must
ever be cherished with interest by his descendants.
Of the early life of Lewis Latham nothing is known ; but from
that which is recorded of him it is evident that he was bred a
gentleman and trained in the art of falconry. He was falconer
to Richard Berrick, and under-falconer to Charles, Prince of
Wales, who on ascending the throne as Charles I. retained his
falconers, and in 1627 promoted Latham to sergeant-falconer.
Latham doubtless remained in office until his decease in 1655.
Evidence of his service in such capacity is furnished in the
following from the Calendars of State Papers. (British.)
"1625, July 15, Warrant from Sect'y Conway to Attorney
General Heath to prepare grants of the sergeant of the hawks,
to Lewis Latham, with £65 per annum and the place he held
of Falconer to Richard Berrick." From the same source it is
the; dungan ancestry 441
ascertained that his widow called "Wife of Latham, the King's
Sergeant Falconer," presented a petition to the King for arrears
of salary due her husband. Her patron on this occasion was
Sir Lewis Dyne, the royalist and defender of Sherbourne Castle.
The art of falconry required careful and patient study, and
the office of falconer was one of importance and distinction.
The master falconer to Charles 1. was Sir Patrick Home, who
had 33 other gentlemen associated with him as falconers. Sy-
mon Latham, a brother of Lewis, was a falconer, and his work
on falconry is the only authority cited on the subject in the
Encyclopaedia Britannica. Three editions of his work (1615-1633-
1652) are in the British Museum. The title page of one of
these is curiously illustrative of its purpose. It reads "Latham's
Falconry, or the Falconer's Lure and Cure in two books. The
first containing the ordering and training of all Hawks in gener-
al ; especially the Haggard, the Faucon gentle. The second
teaching approved medicines for the diseases in them. Gathered
by long practice and experience and published for the delight
of noble minds, and instruction of Falconers in things pertain-
ing to the princely art. By Symon Latham, gent."
The parish register of Elstow, under date of 1655, notes the
death of Lewis Latham as follows: Lewys Lathame, gent., buried
15th of May. His will dated May 6, 1653, proved at London,
Sept. I, 1655, and registered in the prerogative court at Canter-
bury, 1316 Aylett, is as follows:
"In the name of God, Amen. In the sixth day of May in the year of
our Lord one thousand six hundred and fifty-three, I, Lewis Latham of
Elstow, in the county oi Bedford, gentleman, being in perfect health and
memory doe make and ordain this my last will and Testament in man-
ner and form following, that is to say, First and especially I bequeath
my soule in the hands of Jesus Christ my Saviour and Redeemer with
the full and certain assurance of the free pardon and remission of all
my sins in and by and through the merits, death and passion of Jesus
Christ my Saviour and Redeemer and my body to the earth from which
it came to be buried at the discretion of my Executrix hereafter named
and for my worldly goods as f olloweth : Imprimis, I give and bequeath
to my two sons Henry Latham and John Latham twelve pence apiece, if
they come to demand it. Item — I give and bequeath to my daughters
Ann Seager, Frances Clark, Catharine Garrett and Elizabeth Bibble
twelve pence apiece, if they come to demand it. Item — I give and be-
queath to Ellen Sherringham my daughter, twelve pence if she come to
442 THK DUNGAN ANCESTRY
demand it. Item, I give to Winifred Downes one bedstead without fur-
niture thereto belonging. All the rest of my goods, chattels, cattel
whatsoever I give and bequeath to Winifred my loving wife whom I
make my Executrix of this my last will and Testament, and I do hereby
utterly revoke and disannul and make voide all and every other and former
will whatsoever heretofore made by me the said Lewis Latham. In
witness whereof I the sayd Lewis Latham have hereunto set my hand
and scale the day and year first above written. The marke of Lewis
Latham read signed and sealed and delivered in the presence of Robert
Fernall, Jane Fernall, Susanna Fernall."
From the small estate bequeathed to his children, it is inferred
that he previously provided for them, although it is possible
that they had in some way incurred his displeasure, and so were
cut off with a few pence each. His wife Winifred survived him,
and was living as late as 1662, when she applied, as before
mentioned, for the arrears of salary due her husband as ser-
geant falconer to his Majesty. She w^ould appear to have been
the second or third wife of Latham, and his children were
doubtless by a former marriage. A portrait of Lewis Latham
painted in his advanced years, was brought to America by his
daughter Frances, and has since remained in the possession of
his descendants. For a long time it was in the Washington home
of Dr. Mays Dungan, but at his death it passed into possession
of the Elkins family. Whether the portrait was ever owned by
Dr. Dungan is doubtful, but Col. Irvine Dungan, of Ohio, says
he frequently saw it on the parlor wall of 'that home. We, how-
ever, learn from the person who negotiated on behalf of Mr. El-
kins the purchase of the picture that it was at that time owned
by Mr. Randall Holden, a direct descendant of Francis Latham
Dungan, and who parted with it only after securing a figure well
up in the thousands and also a painted copy by a well known artist.
The copy has been pronounced by experts to be far superior to
the original. In one corner of the canvas are the words: "The
effigy of the Honorable Lewis Latham, follower to his Majesty,
King Charles I., who died at the age of 100 years."
It is believed that the inscription was written long after Lewis
Latham died, and that the estimate of his age is exaggerated.
The portrait also bears the Latham arms, which are clearly a
part of the original painting, so faded by time, however, as to
be almost indistinguishable, but may be thus described :
THK DUNGAN ANCESTRY 443
"Perfess. indented az. or in chief three plates. Crest — an eagle dis-
played looking to. the sinister or, above a child's cradle gu." In an old
visitation of Lancashire, recorded in the College of Arms, it is stated
that a child was found in an eagle's nest on the estate and adopted by
one of the Lathams. This it is assumed, was the origin of the crest.
It will be seen that the bearings are substantially those of the Lathams,
or Latham, which are entered by Burke thus : or, the chief indented az.
three plates (but occasionally three bezants, as in Sir Harris Nicholas'
Tournament Rail. temp. 3 Edward III) Crest — an eagle reguard or, rising
from a child's cradle, gu. Depicted in ancient windows of Astbury
Church, county Chester."
Lewis Latham had two sons and four daughters. The third
child and oldest daughter being Frances, who was baptized in
the parish Kempston, county Bedford, England, Feb. 15, 1609-10;
died at Newport, Rhode Island, "ye first week in Sept. 1677."
Her first husband was Lord Weston ; in 1627 she married Wil-
liam Dungan ; in 1637 Jeremiah Clarke ; in 1655 Rev. William
Vaughan. In a manuscript written in the eighteenth century
by James Barker, one of Frances Latham's descendants, is the
following mention: Frances, wife of William Vaughan, died
September, 1677, in the 67th year of her age. She was a daught-
er of Lewis Latham. She was sometime wife of Lord Weston,
then wife of William Dungan, by whom she had one son and
three daughters. Her son, Thomas Dungan, married and settled
in Pennsylvania, and was the first Baptist minister in those parts.
Her daughter, Barbara, married James Barker, of Rhode Island.
After Wm. Dungan dipd she married Mr. Jeremiah Clarke, and
came over to New England with the children above named.
She had by her husband Clarke five sons. After he died she mar-
ried William Vaughan. The identity of the particular Lord
Weston who married Frances Latham is not known. He proba-
bly died shortly after their marriage.
Frances Latham has been aptly named "the mother of Ameri-
can governors." We can enumerate 24 governors and lieut.-gov-
ernors, either direct or by marriage, among her descendants.
William Dungan, her second husband, died in 1636. His will
on file in London, dated Sept. 13th. and proved Oct. 5th, 1636,
names his wife Frances and children Barbara, William, Frances
and Thomas, to each of whom he gave a legacy of seventy
pounds, and the remainder, "be it goods, chattels, leases, ready
444 THE DUNCAN ANCESTRY
money, plate or other of any substance whatsoever," he bequeath-
ed to his wife, whom he appointed executrix. Air. Thomas Gib-
son and Mr. Samuel Smith were appointed overseers of the
will, to each of whom Mr. Dungan gave ten shillings for the
purchase of mourning rings.
Children of Frances Latham by her second husband, William
Dungan all born in England :
Barbara born about 1629 married Honorable James Barker,
died Newport 1702.
William Dungan.
Frances Dungan, born about 1630 died 1679. Alarried Hon-
orable Randall Holden.
Thomas Dungan, born about 1632; died 1688; married Eliz-
abeth Weaver.
Within a twelfth-month after Wm. Dungan's death his widow
married Capt. Jeremiah Clarke, and in 1637 he and the four chil-
dren of Wm. Dungan with the mother emigrated to America.
He settled in Rhode Island, where he was admitted an inhabitant
in 1638. The Baptist historians all make the common error of
giving Ireland as Thos, Dungan's place of birth. He was born
in England, though his father William was born in the former
land.
Just three years before the arrival of Capt. Clarke there came
to the colony at Providence the founder of Rhode Island, Roger
Williams. He emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Col-
ony, and being a man of advanced opinions in right of individual
judgment in matters of religion he soon awakened the
ire of the Puritans who could not brook any criticism
of creed discipline — forbidding in themselves a toleration
the prohibition of which in others had brought them here
to enjoy. Truly these were "the pious New England colonists
who voted : Firstly, the earth belongs to the saints ; second-
ly, we are the saints." Williams was successively driven from
Salem and Plymouth. The old records contain more than one ac-
count of his clashings with the intolerant and vigorous theocra-
cy which was at this early day flourishing in Massachusetts. In
1635 being banished from the colony he settled at Providence on
land purchased from the Indians, and founded that city. In 1639
THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY 445
he founded the First Baptist church of Providence, the first
Baptist community in America. To this church were connected
the individual members of Captain Clarke's family. Capt. Clarke
died about 1650; in 1655 his widow, Frances, married Rev.
William Vaughan, who was pastor of the First Baptist church
of Newport and which numbered as members Randall Holden,
who had married Frances Dungan, and Wihiam Freeborn, whose
daughter Mary married Clement Weaver. In 1656, according
to Backus, the Second Baptist church of Newport was organized.
The constituent members all came from the First Baptist church,
from which they had seceded. The first pastor was Rev. Wm.
Vaughan, stepfather of Thomas Dungan, and from whom the
latter received instruction in theology. Mr. Dungan had doubt-
less remained during childhood and youth a member of his
mother's family at Newport. The prominent position held by
the family leads to the belief that he enjoyed the best educa-
tional advantages which Newport possessed, and it is thoughc
that he came under the instruction of Roger Williams, who estab-
lished a school in Rhode Island for "the practice of Hebrew.
Latin, French and Dutch," which he had mastered at Oxford.
England, while a law student under Coke. Mr. Dungan easily
imbibed the Baptist faith (how could he avoid it in such an
atmosphere?) and entered the ministry of that denomination.
In 1656 he was admitted a freeman of the colony, and in 167 1
was a juryman. Shortly after the settlement of Monmouth
county, New Jersey, by the English, Mr. Dungan became the
owner of lands in that county, which he sold in 1674. On Oct.
31, 1677, the town of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, was incor-
porated. Mr. Dungan is among the patentees named in the
charter, and at the first general election held in the town, 1678,
he was chosen one of the two representatives to the Rhode
Island assembly, his brother-in-law. Sergeant Clement Weaver,
being the other. Sometime previous he had been appointed
sergeant of the Newport militia, by which title he is styled in
the colonial records, at the time of his election to the assembly.
He was re-elected to the latter body in 1681.
The grant of the charter for Pennsylvania to William Penn
in 1 68 1, and the settlement of that Province attracted wide at-
446 THE DUNCAN ANCESTRY
tention throughout the American colonies. Among those thus-
attracted was Air. Dungan. The greater portion of the first
Pennsylvania colonists were Quakers ; with them, however, were
a number of Baptists, which fact suggested Pennsylvania as
a larger field for evangelical work than Rhode Island afforded,
and led Mr. Dungan to remove to the domain of the great Quak-
er. Admiral Penn, the father of William, was an English Baptist.
William Penn himself, though a Quaker, entertained strong
Baptist sentiments. In enacting laws for the government of
Pennsylvania he recognized those rights for which Baptists have
so earnestly contended, and which had already been incorporated'
by Roger Williams in the statutes of Rhode Island. With this
change in view, mainly brought about by the foregoing considera-
tion, Mr. Dungan in the spring of 1682 sent his eldest son
William to visit the new colony and to make report on the
country. He was impressed with the new section and lost no
time in acquiring two hundred acres of land in what now is
Bristol township, which were granted him by William Markham
under warrant dated 6th-mo. 1682, two months before Penn's
arrival in America, and which were confirmed to him by the
latter under patent dated July 26, 1684. The father in Rhode-
Island now prepared to follow the son to Pennsylvania and on'
June 28, 1682, he conveyed his estate of 100 acres at E. Greenwich
to Thomas Weaver, of Newport, and on the 25th of September
of the same year sold his Newport homestead of fifty acres-
with the buildings and "gardens" appurtenant thereto, to John
Bailey. Shortly afterwards he removed with his family and
settled on the Delaware, at Cold Spring, Bucks county, Penn-
sylvania, where he founded a Baptist church, the first in that
colony and the first one west of New England except one in-
Charlestown, S. C, constituted in 1683. The tract of land on-
which Mr. Dungan settled in Pennsylvania consisted of two
hundred acres, which he purchased of William Penn. A small
colony of Welsh Baptists from Rhode Island had preceded him
to Cold Spring and these soon formed a congregation which
was kept together till 1702.
The Tory minister. Rev. Morgan Edwards, whose character
as a man has frequently been impeached but whose work as a
THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY 447
liistorian stands unexcelled unless it be by that of Backus, in
.Tiis history of the Baptist published in 1770, thus mentions Mr.
Dungan and his family:
"Of this venerable father I can learn no more than that he came from
Rhode Island about the year 1684. That he and his family settled at
Cold Spring, where he gathered a church, of which nothing remains but
a graveyard and the names of the families which belonged to it, viz.,
Dungans, Gardners, Woods, Doyles, etc. That he died in 1688 and was
buried in the said graveyard. That his children were five sons and four
daughters. First, William, who married into the Whing family of Rhode
Island, and had five children ; second, Clement, who died childless ; third,
Thomas, who married into the Drake family and had nine children ; fourth,
Jeremiah, who married into the same family and had eight children ;
fifth, Elizabeth, who married into the West family and had four children;
sixth, Mary, who married into the Richards family and had three children ;
seventh, John, who died childless ; eighth, Rebecca, who married into the
Doyle family and had three children ; ninth, Sarah, who married into the
Kerrills and had six children, in all thirty-eight. To mention the names,
alliances and offspring of these would tend toi make an endless genealogy."
The following is worthy of insertion, as giving the names
of some of the early residents of the county:
"The first grand jury of this county was summoned for the June session
-of 1684, and consisted of Henry Baker, foreman, William Darke, Joshua
Boare, Richard Ridgeway, Lawrence Banner, Henry Marjerum, Joseph
Milner, Lionel Brittain, James Paxson, William Paxson, Joseph English,
Thomas Stackhouse, Thomas Atkinson, James Bogden, Henry Bowman,
Thomas Dungan, William Dungan, Thomas Rowland, Edmund Lovett,
Thomas Wolfe, Randolph Blackshaw and William Haycock."
Mr. Dungan died at Cold Spring in 1687. His will, one
of the oldest on record in Bucks county, is as follows :
"To wife all household goods, as linen. Wooling, Bedding, brass, pewter :
only my son Clement his bed, my daughter Marie's Bed and two brass
TCettles excepted. To wife my house and considering her natural Life
for the bringing up of my children, and after her death to my three
sons, Thomas. Jeremiah and John, to be divided by honest men chosen by
them; or if my wife wishes to sell the house and lands, she to have one-
third and the other two-thirds to my sons Thomas, Jeremiah and John ;
they paying each to their sisters Mary, Rebecca and Sarah Dungan, five
-pounds each. To sons William and Clement and daughter Elizabeth
West each five shillings.
Wife to be sole executrix." Dated 3rd of 12 mo. 1686.
Made his mark, S-c.
Witnesses Arthur Cooke, John Cook, Will Dungan. . Administration
44^ THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY
granted to Elizabeth Diingan, widow, 13th of 11 mo. 1687. Inventory by-
Edmund Lovet and Abraham Cox. 4th of 12 mo. 1687.
Total £167-1-0. Recorded 1st of 2 mo. 1688 (old style).
The Latin scnlpsit (s-c) after Mr. Dungane name indicates
that he was overcome by physical weakness and could only make
his mark. There is no suspicion that "he engraved it" because
of deficient education.
So coeval with the history of the Dungan family is that
of the Baptists and of the Baptist churthes in both eastern
and western Pennsylvania, that any account of the one must
necessarily be a record of the other. This is particularly true of
the churches at Cold Spring, Lower Dublin, Philadelphia, South-
ampton and Xew Britain, and of the Baptist community in West-
moreland, now Beaver. A brief notice of Cold Spring is prin-
cipally in order ; Davis says :
"This spring, one of the finest in Bucks county, is near the river bank,^
three miles above Bristol and covers an area of about fifty feet square.
It is surrounded by a stone wall, is well shaded, and constantly dis-
charges about one hundred and fifty gallons per minute of clear, cold water,,
whose temperature is the same all the year around. It is thought by some
to possess qualities of great medicinal value. Tradition tells us that the
Indians were accustomed to assemble about it twice a year, and bring
the sick to enjoy its healing qualities. At the change of the seasons, the
time of their semi-annual gatherings, a mist would form over the spring,
which to the Indian fancy, assumed the shape of a spirit, whose good
will they desired to enjoy."
Dieck says :
"From time immemorial the spring was known to the Indians as the
sacred spring of the Delawares on account of its healing power."
The surrounding land of 200 acres belonging to Mr. Dungan
has had its area both reduced and extended by the mutations of
time. The following from William J. Buck is of interest.
"Will be exposed to sale, or public vendue, on the premises, the second
of April next, in the forenoon, A plantation situated on the river Delaware,
within three miles of the borough of Bristol, in the county of Bucks,
known by the name of Cold Springs, adjoining the plantation the sub-
scriber lives on, and lands of John Pemberton, containing 100 acres, about
half cleared : a stream of water running near the door, a fishery at the
landing, where shad, herring, and other fish have been caught with a seine.
Thomas Stanaland. March, 1774."
THE DUNCAN ANCESTRY 449
I am not informed who was the purchaser at above sale, but
about 1870 the late William L. Elkins, a lineal descendant of
Mr. Dungan, acquired it with enlarged boundaries making 260
acres. Its historical associations not only influenced Mr. Elkin-s
in making the purchase, but the excellent properties of the spring
water had proved very beneficial to him. In 1872 he sold the
property to Dr. E. Morwitz, the proprietor and editor of The
Philadelphia Democrat. On the death of the latter it passed
into possession of his son Joseph, who is the present owner.
The name of the Pennsylvania railroad station has been changed
from "Cold Spring" to "Edgely;" though officially the former
name is but a memory, in local annals it can never be obliterated.
Of the church Gen. Davis says, "But Httle is known of its
history. If a building was ever erected it has entirely passed
away." We incline to the belief that the meetings were held
at the houses of the members. We are fortified in this belief by
several reasons — the scattered community of meagre numbers,
the small means of the members, the river Delaware dividing
their domiciles — some of Mr. Dungan's family lived out beyond
Burlington. Then, too, the short span of life granted Mr. Dun-
gan before he went to his reward.
Dr. Cathcart says :
"Mr. Dungan built a meeting-house. In 1770 nothing remained of the
Cold Spring church but a grave-yard (vide Edwards). Nothing belonging
to his church edifice or cemetery now remains to mark a spot so full of
interest to Pennsylvania Baptist except some foundations which can be
distinctly traced across and on one side of a road which passes by the
celebrated Cold Spring. The church-site is two miles from Tullytown,
Bucks county, and about two rods from the pike leading to it, and the
same distance from the toll-gate on the Tullytown road."
The Doctor has confused the graveyard wall with what he
assumes to be church foundations no doubt. Another writer
makes the unreliable statement that, "A stone church about fifty
feet square was built there." There is no authority for this
statement. We, however, heartily second his suggestion that
the supposed site should be marked for posterity with a cross
suitably inscribed. The Baptists of Pennsylvania, a strong and
wealthy denomination, should take the initiative and the Bucks
15
450 THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY
County Historical Society should aid in marking this foot-print
of time — a spot Hnked to the days of our fathers and which
should be cherished by us, unless we are wholly indifferent to
the past.
Of the cemetery. Davis, writing thirty years ago, eays:
"But the graveyard, overgrown with briars and trees, and a few dilapi-
dated tombstones remain. The land was probably given by Thomas
Stanaland, who died March i6, 1753, and was buried in it. Thomas
Dungan, the pastor, died in 1688, and was buried in the yard, but several
years afterward a handsome stone was erected to his memory at South-
ampton."
The stone referred to was placed over the remains of his
grandson Joseph Dungan and his wife Mary (Ohl) by their
two sons, Col. Thomas Dungan, of Germantown, and Joshtia
Dungan, of Bucks county. In 1875, the historian, Rev. David
Spencer, visited Cold Spring, at which time the exact site of
church and burial place was not indicated, and the last vestige
of both, he says, has been removed. The father of the cele-
brated Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Decla-
ration of Independence, was interred here. Nathaniel West,
who had married Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. Dungan and his
first-born, died at his home in New Jersey in 169-, and toward
the close of the century his widow expired at her late husband's
home near Burlington ; both were buried at Cold Spring. In
1 71 3, William Dungan, Rev. Thomas' oldest son, was laid here.
The following two pastors of Pennypack found sepulchre also
here, Rev. Samuel Jones dying in 1722, and Rev. Joseph Wood
dying in 1747. The latter's gravestone was removed and is
now in use as a buttetr stand in the adjoining spring-house, and,
though the Rush headstone marked the grave as late as 1807
it is now a back door step for a neighboring dwelling. Several
other stones employed to n.ark graves are now in possession of
persons in the vicinity, and some are hidden in the foundations
of their dwellings.
The cemetery proper is now appropriated by a florist whose
specialty is the propagation and prodtiction of a novel variety
of roses advertised far and near as the "Queen of Edgely."
While the conversion of purpose is a desecration we are con-
the; dungan ancestry 451
soled by the reflection that nothing more fitting could be cul-
tured on this hallowed soil than beautiful roses.
Mr Dungan must have been about 55 years of age when he
arrived at Cold Spring. The minutes of the Lower Dublin church,
the Cold Spring church's successor, call him "An ancient dis-
ciple and teacher among Baptists." In 1684 he baptized at
Cold Spring his son Thomas, who was thereby the first person
to be immersed in Pennsylvania. The site of his baptism is one
of the most beautiful, for such a purpose, to be found along the
Delaware. The sloping bank with its pebbly bottom, and the
bend m the river giving a view up and down for miles is very
fine. From then until the present, the same location has fre
quently been the scene of Bible baptism. To-day the Christian
church of Tullytown, baptizes its candidates here. "From the
records at hand of Mr. Dungan's family we learn the last mem-
bers of it baptized here were . William Dungan and his wife
Mary in 1731, and who united with the Lower Dublin church.
William was son of William and Deborah, the former oldest son
of Mr. Dungan. It is known that the latter held services at
Burlington on the opposite bank of New Jersey, and that he ad-
ministered the rite of baptism there.
Mr. Dungan was enabled to guide Elias Keech, son of the
famous Rev. Benjamin Keech, of London, when distressed in
guilt, to the Savior. He baptized him, and he was sent forth
a minister of Jesus from the Cold Spring church, and he soon
thereafter established the Lower Dublin church. On Nov. 21,
1687, he baptized four persons, one of whom, John Watts, be-
came the second pastor at Lower Dublin, and the founder, as
well as the first pastor of the First Baptist church in Philadel-
phia. Rev. John Watts was born at Leeds, Kent county, England,
settled at Lower Dublin in 1686 and the following year married
Sally Eaton. He died on the 27th of Aug. 1702, and was buried
in the graveyard adjoining the church. Elias Keech and John
Watts took up the work at Cold Spring and preached there as
often as possible. We find that Deborah, wife of William Dun-
gan, was baptized at Burlington in 1690, and in 169T, Clement,
brother of William was baptized. The officiating minister was
no doubt Elias Keech. The latter, according to Rev. Horatio
452 THE DUNCAN ANCESTRY
Gates Jones, preached after Mr. Dung-an's death at Falls of the
Delaware, Philadelphia and Chester in Pennsylvania, and at Bur-
lington, Middleton, Cohansey and Salem in New Jersey and
at other places, baptizing such as gave evidence of conversion.
Keech in the following year, 1692, returned with his family to
England. In the minutes of the Pennypack church of same year,
the names of five of the Cold Spring members are given, among
which is Elizabeth, widow of the late pastor. Mr. Dungan. This
fact indicated an approaching merger of the two congregations
— one rapidly diminishing in numbers, the other growing in
strength — and which occurred in 1702, when the church at Cold
Spring was abandoned, after an existence of eighteen years as
the First Baptist church of Pennsylvania. The two events just
narrated, the departure of Keech for England in 1692 and the
death of Watts in 1702, were strong factors in uniting the
distant charges, which made Lower Dublin in continuous ex-
istence the oldest Baptist church in the State, yet for many years
after the disbanding of the former organization there were mem-
bers of the latter church living at Cold Spring.
Thomas Dungan, who landed in Rhode Island in 1637, became
the progenitor of a family which has been extraordinarily prolific
in men of high ability and distinction in both church and State.
His descendants have always taken a conspicuous part in public
afifairs. and many of them through the female line as well as the
male, have attained high rank in our army and navy. In the male
line there have been two state governors, several congressmen,
states senators and judges, a general and several colonels of the
army, and two rear-admirals and a lieutenant of the navy.
Prof. Karl Pearson claims that, as a rule, ability, probity,
geniality and other physical characteristics are inherited from par-
ents, just as truly as physical characteristics are. He concludes,
therefore, that intelligence may be trained and aided by education,
but that schooling cannot create it. It is a product of breeding,
and no nation that finds itself falling behind in the intellectual
race can save itself through educational machinery. It must go
back of the schools and look out for the quality of its human
stock.
One fact is always apparent in every generation of the Dungan
THE DUNGAN ANCESTRY 453
family, and that is, one member is a pioneer — always a little in
advance of his fellows. It seems to be a heritage from Rev.
Thomas, himself a pioneer of the church. This trait is strik-
ingly displayed in the career of Levi Dungan, the first settler in
Beaver county, in 1772, and ever since shown by a long hne of
Dungans who have participated in the "Winning of the West" as
colonists of the Ohio and Alississippi valleys and to Nebraska
and California.'"
* Two additional installments of this paper on "The Dungan Ancestry" were pre-
sented and read by Mr. Folker at subsequent meetings of the society, which will be in-
cluded in its future publications.
The Chapman-Mina Tragedy.
BY THADDHUS S. Ki;NDKRDINJ<;, NEWTOWN, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January i6, 1907.)
Few events have left the impress on Bucks county people
as did the poisoning of Dr. William Chapman, of Andalusia : the
trials of his wife and her accomplice, the Spaniard, Mina ; and
the hanging of the latter as the convicted murderer, which took
place in the years 183 1 and 1832. Twelve years later the talk
about the affair had not ceased, so that as a young lad I well
remember it. One reason of this impressiveness was the atro-
ciousness of the crime; another the fact that an execution had
not taken place in the county for 140 years ; the third was the
display made at the execution, the latter appealing from its
details to the lovers of the melo-dramatic.
The following account is gleaned from a verbatum report of
the trial, published immediately after, and of which but two copies
are known to exist ; from contemporary newspapers ; from the
lips of those who were present at the hanging, and long since
gone ; and from those still living who were ten to fifteen years old
at the time. While much of the detail is necessarily gruesome,
some of it may seem of lightsome vein ; but then the affair was
a tragedy in which was an after admixture of opera-bouffe, or
rather it was like the theatricals of the times, when an over
serious play was followed by a comedy to take the bad taste out of
the mouth, and the county authorities may in view of this have
shown consideration. At any event, the fact that 10,000 people,
in enlightened Bucks county, were drawn together to see a
miserable wretch swung off to eternity, with a guard of twenty
companies of soldiers for their protection, is worthy of narration.
Dr. William Chapman, a man of respectability, was living in
Bensalem, near what is now Cornwell's station, on the Pennsyl-
vania railroad, where he had a school for the cure of stammering,
by a process for which he claimed a patent. Of pupils of both
sexes and of all ages, over 400 had been under his care. He was
a native of England, and was 53 years old. He had a wife and
THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY 455
five children, one of whom according to Mrs. Chapman's testimony
was but ID years old at the tmie of the trial. The wife, Lucretia.
was a Winslow, from New England, and her letters to Mina,
(read at the trial,) though gushing and of stilted phrase, showed
intelligence and versatility. Her character must have been un-
known to the doctor for it eventuated that she belonged to a
notorious family of criminals ; her father, three brothers and two
listens, having at different times been guilty of forging and count-
erfeiting; Mrs. Chapman being a skilled penman, was the
one deputed to sign the notes. No wonder that theft and infidelity
followed, and at last murder. It is not known how long she had
covered up her tracks, but though far from home, it is said that
at the time of her flight from Andalusia, officers were in search
of her for past misdeeds.
On June 9, 1831, a "stroller," in the language of the time, or
what would now be called a "tramp," came to the Chapman
residence and asked for a night's lodging, saying that accommo-
dations had been refused him at the hotel, near-by, his mone>
being gone.
He told a most wonderful story, saying that he was a son of
General Mina, the Mexican, Governor of Upper California, and a
man of fabulous wealth, mainly in gold and silver mines in Mex-
ico. Being the only son and heir, his father thought best that one
in his station in life, on coming of age, should see something of
the world.
He therefore started on his travels in charge of a physician,
and with a commensurate amount of spending money. In Paris
his caretaker met with a sudden death from apoplexy. Alone and
friendless, and with little or no knowledge of any language but
his own, he was overwhelmed with grief, and in a half insane
mood, he changed his rich apparel for common clothing, and thus
arrayed he was discovered by the English Consul, who was a
personal friend of his caretaker. In his official capacity the
Consul proceeded to seal and remove the belongings he found, as
those of his deceased friend, despite the protestations of the young
Mexican that they were his, and that the doctor was simply his
caretaker. He said that one of his trunks contained $30,000 of his
means of travel. And so it happened "Don Lino" (as he came to be
known,) was left penniless in a strange land. Some stranger,
456 THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGE;dY
however, took pity on him and gave him $ioo, with which he sail-
ed at once for Boston, where hved a friend who would help him on
his way. With his usual luck he found that this person had just
gone to Philadelphia, whither he followed him. Having missed
finding him, he was now on his way to visit another personal
friend, who was no less than Joseph Bonaparte, the late King
of Spain, and who was then living at Bordentown, and to whom he
had an important mission, but weak from travel and poverty, he
was now halted. Such was the tale of woe the young tramp
recited, and on hearing it he was taken care of by the Chapmans.
The young stranger was poorly dressed, in fact partly in rags.
In figure he was undersized, he had a youthful, rather repellant
face, his head surmounted by a shock of outstanding black hair, at
least so his pictures show him, but too much must not be taken
for granted as in those days the cuts used in country newspapers
did common duty for people in all walks of life, from murderers
to governors, so there is no knowing that it was a correct
likeness.
Mrs. Chapman, and eventually her husband, as well as the
children, seemed possessed with a sudden infatuation for the
tramp, and commenced by making him one of the family, giving
him a prominent seat at the table with them, and when night came,
a lodging fit for company. Instead of going on to Bonaparte's
the next morning, he prolonged his stay under various pretexts,
and was treated as an adopted son by Mrs. Chapman. Dr.
Chapman believed his story, and opened up a correspondence with
his alleged father in Santa Barbara, as well as with notables in
Mexico, at the same time thriftily trying to work up business
therein for his school, whose success he exploited. Whatever lov-,^
Mrs. Chapman had for the doctor now seemed to turn to contempt
and hatred, so that she gave expression to wishes for his death,
while her afifection for Mina grew more and more. The children
also seemed hypnotized by the Spaniard ; ten-year-old Lucretia
being a witness for him at the trial.
He wrote forged letters to Mrs. Chapman, signed by prominent
Mexicans to substantiate his stories about his wealth and high
standing, in one of which his fortune was stated at $1,500,000.
While sick and under her care he willed her all this, although some
THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY 457
thought his sickness shammed. Their several letters read in court
were llowery and affected, and showed intelligence on both sides.
It was thought however that they might have been copied from -i
"letter writer" of the period, the style of which they imitated.
On June i6, 1831, one week after he arrived at the Chapman
home Alina went to Philadelphia and there bought some arsenic,
professing to be a taxidermist. The next day Mr. Chapman
was taken with a slight ailment, but grew better, and on the 20th
his wife prepared him some chicken soup, which she gave him
at different times. Shortly after he complained of violent pains,
and a neighbor who was called in, advised sending for a doctor,
at which Mrs. Chapman took offence and asked him to leave the
house, as the patient grew worse a doctor was sent for but the
wife refused to give the medicine.
Chapman died in great agony on June 23d, but suspicions of
poisoning did not arise.
At the funeral, Mrs, Chapman, when asked by the undertaker
whom she would walk with, selected Mina, but this was objected to,
apparently as much on account of incompatibility of size, as from
its incongruity. Don Lino (alias Mina) therefore walked with
one of the daughters. Ten days after the funeral Mina and the
widow were married, but not even that seemed to arouse the
community, as it was in keeping with previous actions of the pair
which were overlooked before. Not until three months after-
wards were suspicions sufificiently aroused to cause an investiga-
tion, when the body of the dead man was exhumed, a post-mortem
made and evidences of arsenical poisoning found. Warrants were
procured for the accused pair, who in the meantime had fled, but
both w^ere caught, Mina in Boston, and his wife in Erie, where she
had obtained a position as governess. Mina was brought to Doyles-
town on October 6th, his wife five days later, she coming all the
way by stage. No prisoners were ever jailed at Doylestown with
more detestation than Mina and Mrs. Chapman as, to the disgust
of the public, she now called herself. An "Intelligencer" cor-
respondent, called it an outrage to defile the good name of Dr.
Chapman by associating it with that belonging to Mina.
The correspondence between the guilty pair, aired at the trial,
was mainly that which they carried on after their marriage, and
458 THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY
the latter portion when Mina was proving his inconstancy, by
growing tired of his wife ; he was spending all her available money
as well as bestowing her watch and jewelry, on other women.
Were it not for the obviousness of the wife's guilt, the pleadings
and reproaches in her letters to the scamp Don Lino, would pro-
voke sympathy and pity. These letters seem like paraphrasings
from those in Jane Porter's novels, which so affected the readers
of fiction two or three generations ago, so gushing, so reproachful,
and so endearing were they by turns, as the conditions of her
moods changed ; and italicized words and sentences so frequently
used. Thus we find some phrases as, "Why does Lino practice
so much deception on his Lucretia," and "the worst wish that
Lucretia sends after you is that you may be happy," and further,
"That my rings doubtless now decorate the fingers of one whom
you sincerely love," "of that female friend you speak of in your
last." After their first separation Don Lino's letters are as
grandiloquent and vaporing as those of Don Quixote, which he
had evidently read, and full of the most brazen lies as to his
wealth, and promises of what he will do for his "Dear Lucretia."
as soon as he gets his remittance of $45,000 from the General, his
father, while he gets money of her to go on one of his expeditions
to see the INIexican officials in Philadelphia or Washington. The
correspondence more resembles that between young even-aged
lovers, than a man of twenty-two and a woman who had been
married fifteen years.
Some time after the incarceration of Mina a sensation was
created by his escape from jail, which was accomplished by
burning a hole through the floor of an adjoining cell, into which he
had been carelessly allowed to get. He then had the assistance
of William Brown, another prisoner, and with an ax they broke
the jail-wall-gate and escaped, notwithstanding the fact that they
were seen by Sheriff Morris and his family. Pursuit was at
once made, and Brown was caught a mile out of town and brought
back. The county authorities offered a reward of $40 for the
capture of Mina, "and all reasonable charges paid." less than
would now be offered for a runaway horse-thief. He was finally
captured in Hilltown. while in a store buying a pair of shoes.
One who knows the condition of the ancient jail, and old time
carelessness, need not wonder at Mina's escape.
TH£; CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY 459
There was one postponement of the trial of the accused, so
that it did not take place until February 14, 1832. The rush to
see it was so great that many failed to gain entrance to the
court-room, and so crowded were they inside that one of the
constables, William Reeder of Wrightstown had some of his
ribs stove in and was nearly killed in the rush. The judge was
John Fox ; his associates William Watts and William Long. The
indictment read like one of the Middle Ages, when "in the
absence of the fear of God and the instigation and seduction of
the Devil" held place therein. For such was one of its wordings.
It was charged "that the said accused did concoct an admixture
of arsenic and chicken-broth, so mixed that when the said William
Chapman did drink and swallow the same down into his body,
its action did make sick and greatly distemper him." Mina was
indicted under the name of Lino Emalio Espos Y. Mina, alias
Celistino Armantario, alias Emalio Zarrier, formidable sounding
fictitious names, his real name being Entrealgo. Instead of
]>eing" the son of the governor of California, as he represented,
his father was a \ enezuelan "fiscal" or constable, and Mina
had been a criiuinal when but a youth. From Venezuela he went
to Cuba, where he continued his evil career, coming afterwards
to the United States, to again commit crime, for which he was
arrested and convicted. He was released from the penitentiary
the very morning he came to Dr. Chapman's. He was ^bouc
22 years old, about half the age of Mrs. Chapman. He was full
of conceit ; said he would easily get clear ; marry another American
woman, and go back to his home. If it was ordered that he
should hang, he said three successive floods would revenge his
death, and when those of 1841, 1846 and 1865 came, the last to
swell the Neshaminy, (along side of whose shores he was hung,)
as it never had risen before, the superstitious and gullible
believed him to have been a prophet. Mrs. Chapman was in-
dicted as Lucretia Espos Y. Mina. but in this narrative the culprits
are known simply as Mina and Mrs. Chapman.
In a chapter in the "Forum," written by David Paul Brown in
1856, is an interesting account of Mrs. Chapman's trial, which
the author says was of note both at home and abroad. That
great criminal lawyer was her attorney, and it was due to his
46o THK CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY
efforts, together from the disHke to hang a woman, that her
hfe was not forfeited at the same time as Mina's. Mr. Brown
speaks about her coming to his office after her arrest, in company
with a legal care-taker, and when he asked her whom he had the
pleasure of addressing, she burst into tears with the words "Mrs.
Chapman," as if the knowledge of her notorious name would bar
him from takmg up her case. Instead of that, on hearing her
story, he at once promised to defend her, seemingly with the idea
that he could convince a jury of her innocence, as the merits of
the case did not much affect him. Mr. Brown was then merging
toward the height of his fame as a criminal lawyer. He selected
Peter McCall, a young attorney of much promise to assist in
the defence. Mr. Brown claims that his defense of her was
simply one of love of justice, as the scamp, "Don Lino" had got
hold of what portable property Mrs. Chapman possessed. Mina's
counsel were Samuel Rush, of Philadelphia and Eleazer T. Mc-
Dowell of Doylestown. The Commonwealth was represented
by the Assistant Attorney General of the State, now called
District Attorney, Thomas Ross, and William B. Reed, of
Philadelphia. Among such an array of talent an interesting
trial was foreshadowed.
It required considerable time to select a jury. Mina claimed
that to do him justice, one-half of the jurymen should be for-
eigners, which of course was not agreed to. There were many
members of the society of Friends in the jury-wheel, and the
Commonwealth argued that as they were non-resistants, and nec-
essarily opposed to capital punishment, they should be debarred
from serving. Claiming that the Book of Discipline of Friends
did not so specify, the court overruled this contention, and there
were several Friendly names on the jury, so that all affirmed but
one ; even John B. Balderston, a leading orthodox Friend from
Fallsington having no conscientious scruples about the matter,
and who was made foreman. In the several murder trials in
Bucks county since these I doubt if there has been a single member
of that society on the jury. The crime was so unnatural, how-
ever, and the public desire for the riddance of the monsters so
great, that there must be some allowance made for the willingness
of Friends to serve. There were twenty challenges made by the
defence, and two by the Commonwealth.
THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY 461
There was much dispute as to whether they should have joint
or separate trials, but separate trials were decided on; Mrs. Chap-
man was tried first, eight months after the commission of the
crime. Singular enough Mrs. Chapman was cleared after three
days trial, in spite of the evidence and prejudice, the credibility
of two of the opposing witnesses being questioned in regard to
her relationship with Mina, and there was no positive proof that
she had a hand in the poisoning, although circumstances were
strongly against her. Sentiment against hanging a woman, how-
ever, doubtless entered into the decision, as well as the fact that
eleven of the jurymen affirmed, besides there was some sympathy
for the woman because Mina deserted her after their marriage,
but more than all her clearance came because her conviction
involved the sacrifice of an unborn, innocent life.
Mrs. Chapman went home after her discharge. She afterward
led a vagrant life, thinking she would profit by her notoriety,
lecturing and on the stage, she having been a bright woman. She
also cut profiles, or silhouettes, from paper, a profession in the
early part of the last century, and came to Newtown for that
])urpose, but in one instance was ordered out of the house of a
prominent citizen. She realized that the way of the transgressor
was hard. Her children accompanied her to Newtown as well
as to Doylestown, where they gave musical entertainments. A
son, William Z. W. Chapman, was a student of Lafayette Col-
lege, class of 1847, and afterwards practiced dentistry. Mrs.
Chapman went South, and died in Florida about 1811. Her
first name was suggestive of the Lucretia, of the notorious
Borgia family of Italy, who as a prisoner plied her trade 400
years ago.
The hungry public was balked in not seeing Mina tried in
February, but it had the pleasure when April court came around,
v^hen there was another rush. Seven of the jury affirmed ; viz.
Jacob Stover, Henry Baringer, Clayton N. Richardson, John
Webster, Jonathan Ely, John Headly and Ezra Buckman, some
of whom were Friends, or that way inclined, and John Robbarts,
Amos Torbert, George Trauger, John T. Neely and John Beatty,
who were sworn ; the preponderance of those taking the oath
over those on the former trial being perhaps the cause of the
462 THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY
difference of the verdicts, for the conviction of JVIina followed,
and the court pronounced the death sentence on May i, 1832.
The pleading-s of the lawyers and the charge of the judge take up
many pages of the published papers, and it is doubtful if before
or since, ther.e was ever so many prominent lawyers in Doyles-
town on one trial, Reed and Brown being the leaders. Mina,
whose nerve had been great until now sobbed aloud on hearing
the sentence read. The execution was fixed for June 21, 1832.
The murder had been dramatically sensational, the trial most
entertaining, as most free shows are. although there was a cruel
mistake in not having lx)th of the accused tried at once, to bo
followed by a double execution if convicted, and now came the
best thing of all, the hanging. Not since July, 1693 had such a
thing happened in Bucks county, when Derrick Jones, (what
suggestiveness in the first name,) was hanged at Tyburn, an
event, which afterwards gave name to the town, but that hardly
counted, a> there were too few there to make the affair enjov-
able. It is even said that the local jail, a temporary ramshackle
aff'air, below where Morrisville -lo^v i^ was so insecure tliat the
authorities hurried up that hanging for fear Derrick might get
away before his allotted time came. The job was so unpopular
tbat the sheriff, Taylor, from his name a Friend, begged to be.
excused from acting as executioner whereupon he was relieved
from his office. But there were no resignations by those who
were to participate in the coming entertainment on the banks of
the Neshaminy, from the humble turnkey to the high sheriff, or
from the private soldier to the major general of the Bucks county
militia. They shirked not their duty.
The hanging was billed to take place on the right bank of the
Neshaminy, just alxwe the bridge on the |x)or-house farm. Take
the aff'air all around, the selection of the ground for visual
purposes, the employment of troops and their number, and the
vast audience, in which women and children were mixed
with the men, and the cool conceit of the centre of attraction, I
doubt if there has been another such an execution in the United
States, before or since. It was the second hanging in the county,
and so disgusted the general public, that it was perhaps the last
open air affair of the kind in the State. There were about
the; chapman-mina tragedy 463
10,000 persons present, besides 20 companies of soldiers, cavalry
and infantry. There was not the least excuse for the military
display, although from wild ideas in the heads of the public,
from Mina's bombast, Venezuela was so bent on preventing
the hanging of so important a citizen that troops would be for-
warded for that purpose, and it was necessary to be prepared by
surrounding the scaffold with the brave militia of the countv of
Bucks. When it is known that but one of these organizations,
the Doylestown guards, was ready to go to the front at the
opening of the Civil War, it would look as if Mina's rescue
v\'ould not have been difficult.
So on the longest day of the year, as well as on one of the
brightest and warmest, came the long wished for event for so
many except Mina. The good public came near being cheated
out of their entertainment, however, for the convict had three
times tried to avoid it, twice by opening a vein, and once by eating
glass, independent of his efforts to escape, but in each case he
seemed to have been providently spared to make a Roman holi-
day for the Bucks county people. For weeks a depraved public
had been eagerly waiting the execution, and now that Mina
had failed in his attempts at self-destruction, all that the public
dreaded on this day of days was that a foaming steed should gallop
up in the stereotyped Avay, bearing a rider with the governor's
reprieve of Mina. But this thing was not to be.
Nothing was left undone to make the "show" a success either
by nature or by man. The weather was perfect, a little too
warm perhaps, the sky was bright, the location of the grounds
afforded ample room, their stage and amphitheatre were perfect,
where thousands could witness the death of the condemned, for
not only were the morbidly curious from Bucks and adjoining
counties to be cared for, but those from New Jersey also. A
circus had come to Doylestown the day before, thinking to
make something out of the crowd, which had already begun to
form, but its advent fell flat, for it was one thing at a time
with that public ; and then circuses came once a year, while it had
waited 140 years for one hanging, and it might wait equally as
long for another.
Next to Mina, who as the hero of the hour was an easy first,
came the ex-official hangman. Sheriff Benjamin Morris, famil-
4^4 THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY
iarly known as Benny. Morris died in 1850. I well knew him
when I was a boy of ten, when he kept the "Ship" tavern,
where Lenape hall now* stands, and which was then one of three
hotels at that street's intersection. The "Ship" was my father's
stopping place when at Doylestown, and he being a bank director
I sometimes got there with him. Benny was typical of Dickens'
creation in his line, as a stout rubicond. genial landlord, and as
a sheriff, to paraphrase,
"As mild a mannered gentleman
As ever made a noose or pulled a trap."
to say nothing- of distraints or selling out delinquent widows. He
set a good table, which made the "Ship" the beloved of jurors in
court week, and Mrs. Morris' mince-pies were made for men.
The low bar-room I can see now, with its open work fly-paper
hanging from the ceiling, the stove in its setting of saw dust ;
the bar, with its pungent odors, and the vari-colored hand-bills
on the walls. These, in red, blue, yellow and green, when their
dates were over, were given to me by "Benny," and temporarily
treasured. There is also a remembered odor of tobacco, lemons
and liquor fumes which pervaded that old-time bar-room, even
to the hand-bills. That sheriff was not a born hangman, but
while he dreaded the coming task, he did not sliirk it, as did
his predecessor, sheriff Taylor at Tyburn, and for nights, after
the awful job was done, it was said he saw the black-hooded
form of the Spaniard swinging before him in his dreams. This,
told me as a boy, made me sort of dread "Benny," despite his
jolly face, and his generosity in the hand-bill line.
Sheriff Morris was blamed as the one who invited the military
to assemble at Mina's hanging. The "Intelligencer" came out in
an editorial before the event strongly condemning this barbarous
display, and, introductory to an article by "Citizen," for those
were the days when that anonymous gentleman, with his
classical named colaborers : 'Humanitas,' 'Veritas' and 'Pro Bono
Publico' wrote for the papers. "Citizen" wrote a personal letter
to Morris, and tried to shame him into leaving the soldiery out of
the program, but in vain. The invitations were out, the hotels
had made their preparations, and it was too late. The writer
claimed that one or two companies could easily keep order, and
THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY 465
scathed General Rodgers, then a young man, but a major general
of the Bucks county militia, for his vanity in heading the military
display, and calls it "leading his soldiers to the gallows field."
Hearing that many women of the first families were going to
attend the show, "A Friend of the Sex" comes out in a "broad-
side" on June 4th and unmercifully scores those who intend to
go. He says "some Ladies of the last families may turn out, or
'first hucksters' from the city, or mayhap some hired women,
and here and there a 'gray mare', whose good man will be willing
to stay home and mind the babies." He asks Doylestown ladies
to draw the front curtains and retire to the back parlors when
the procession passes, and in a joking mood tells of a colored
woman who gave as a reason for going to a hanging, "jest to
see what we's all will come to."
The afternoon previous to the hanging the military display
began, as sort of rival to the circus which had just arrived. The
first to come was the Union Troop of cavalry, and these went out
the Upper State road to meet the Montgomery county contingent
of three companies, and escort them to the borough. It is
supposed that the Lehigh county troopers also came then. The
fifteen other companies being local could reach Doylestown the
next morning before the "entertainment" began. These from
their names appear to have been mainly from the upper-end
of the county, but there was one company each from Yardley,
New Hope and the "Bear." They bore such names as the
"Blues," "Grays," "Hussars," "Rangers," "Guards," "Dragoons,"
etc. It was the largest body of uniformed soldiers which had
assembled in Bucks county since the Revolution. They were
variously clothed ; pointed coat-tails, stifif varnished high caps
with pompons and brass chains on the front, and epaulets were
the most prominent features.
The military took up the line of march at 9.30 A. M., and it
was more like a procession escorting a conqueror on a triumphal
march, than the taking of a condemned murderer to his execution,
for Mina thought himself honored by the attention given him.
The notables rode in a dearborn wagon, an open vehicle : the
prisoner, with his spiritual advisor, Father Toolhouse, on the
rear seat, the sheriff in front with the driver. Nothing was
spared by what we might call the "executive committee" to make
466 THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY
the display effective. Mina, instead of the conqueror's wreath
adorning his brow, which from his "proud looks" would have
been more in order, had the fateful noose around his neck while
the "slack" was coiled artistically around his shoulders. All that
was lacking was his coffin for a seat, which is not mentioned by
the reporter. Remember, as an excuse for this impressive dis-
play, that it had been a long time between hangings, and that
such another event might not occur in the lifetime of the youngest
child there, so the civil military authorities must make the most
of the present opportunity. The reporter speaks of the central fig-
ure of the show as having been lately "barbered," of being neatly
dressed, and, suggestively, of his coat collar being turned down.
And so they started through Doylestown, during which space of
time it is hoped the "first families" sought the seclusion which the
rear parlors granted, with the front curtains down, as suggested
by "Humanitas," though I fear there were some surreptitious
peeping done, the dearborn surrounded by soldiers and constables
and their staffs, for even the constables were provided with
underlinings. so our sympathies must go out to that Wrightstown
official whose ribs were wrecked at the first trial to such an extent
that he could not be in at the death. It is written that "the
cortege moved dignified and slow." The most of the civilian.^
were forced to the fields, among whom was a small boy who, as
a man reported this section of the account to me, where they
were crowded by those having the right of way, which shows
an absence of dignity. And so they moved on, and at the fatal
halting place found everything in readiness. A troop of cavalry,
which had gone ahead of the procession, had surrounded the
scaffold with a hollow square. With the Neshaminy flat for a
stage, the sloping hillside made a fine gallery, while the woods
formed the background.
There was a provoking delay of an hour, which, while it helped
the refreshment stands, the audience illy endured. It had in
mind the vision of the traditional horseman on his foaming steed,
with Governor Wolf's reprieve held aloft in his hand. Mina
did his best to entertain the crowd and fill in the break, but he
seemed to be a "party criminal" to kill time for the arrival of
the dreaded missive from Harrisburg. He chatted with his
lawyer and the sheriff, and was indifferent when the death
THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY 467
warrant was read to him. Then, as if bored with the proceed-
ings, he said, "Is there no music? In that my soul deHghts."
Now the reporter does not say whether this remark was sarcast-
ically made, in that the din of horn and drum were too much for
his trained ears, or that there had been a hiatus in the music of
the military. This episode past, he was asked if he had anything
more to say, when he said through an interpreter, as he could
speak but little English :
"You see before you an innocent victim ; I want as many as thirst for
my blood to know this. As they hope God to pardon them, I ask all those
whom I have wronged to pardon me. Don't think I fear death because
I tremble. I am weak and feeble, (he had lately tried self destruc-
tion) I want to shake hands with all whoi wish it."
Then there was the strange sight of the compliance with such
a request at such a time, as some of the spectators pressed through
the crowd to shake hands with a murderer. He next thanked
General Rodgers for the good order he had maintained. He said
that the place was well suited for such an affair, and asked how
many were there, civil and military ; he liked to see soldiers,
as he had once been a soldier himself ; it gladdened his soul,
but the uniforms seemed strange. He criticised the height of the
platform and the size of his coffin, which had been placed before
him ; asked how long it would take him to die, and how long they
would let him hang, and added it makes no difference anyhow.
He wanted his funeral put off till next day that the public could
all see him. He requested the sheriff to send away an adverse
witness he saw before him. He wanted his hands left unbound,
i)ut told the sheriff' to do his duty. The rope was uncoiled from
his shoulders, when there was another delay, which made the
audience again uneasy in thinking they would yet be cheated.
The wretch wanted a drink, which befitting the run of the enter-
tainment should have been on a stand beside him, as for any
other lecturer. There being none, a messenger was sent with
a pitcher for the nearest spring, but messenger like he was slow,
when Mina, considerately thinking of the people's impatience,
said he could do without it, then waving his hand to the audience,
saying: "Poor Mina, Poor Mina. He dies innocent." Then the
drop was loosened, and the murderer's life was soon ended, while
not a sound came from the vast concourse, nor did one face
468 THE CHAPMAN-MINA TRAGEDY
show a look of pity. When death was assured, the body was
taken down and buried in the adjacent poorhouse woods.
But this, generally the final earthly ceremony, did not end all.
The tendency was to prolong the gruesome doings of the day.
Some 18 years before, it had been asserted, that one Peter
]\Iathias who had been executed had secretly been bi-ought to
life by a galvanic battery, his neck not haviiig been broken, so
a group of doctors were allowed to exhume the body of Mina
and make efforts to bring it to life. This fortunately was a
failure, and all the satisfaction the professionals got out of the
Spaniard's remains was the skeleton. Its location was long
known, but luckily it is now forgotten.
After the execution the "Intelligencer" spoke with unstinted
condemnation of the affair, blaming the county officials for the un-
necessary display, but thankful that there were but one hundred
women and six drunks in the immense gathering. "Humanitas"
comes out with a long letter in the same paper, treating of the
horrors of the day, from the advent at the jail door down to the
wretched experiment after the burial, and asks what would have
been the outcome if they had been successful, a second hanging,
or the monster turned loose on society again, from the improb-
ability of the murderer being tried the second time for the same
offense. He hopes such a disgraceful punishment will never oc-
cur again in the State, a hope probably fulfilled, as I have not
learned that a public execution ever again occurred in Pennsyl-
vania.
The following is a copy of Mina's death warrant, the original
of which is in the hands of H. H. Gilkyson, of Phoenixviile,
who was a son of the late James Gilkyson of Doylestown, who
settled the estate of ex-Sheriff Morris, and which with other
papers, came into his hands.
"Now, therefore this is to authorize and require you the said Ben-
jamin Morris. Sheriff of said County of Bucks, to cause the sentence of
the said Court to be executed upon the said Lino Amalia Espos Y. Mina,
otherwise called Celestine Armentarius, otherwise called Amalia Gregoria
Zarrier, between the hours of nine of the clock A. Meredian and twelve of
the clock Meredian of Thursday the twenty-first day of June next."
The Tools of the Nation Maker.
BY HENRY C. MERCER, DOYEESTOWN, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, May 28, 1907.)
The first time that I had the honor of trying to caU your at-
tention to the value of the collection of time-stained tools and
implements, which hangs around you upon these walls, you were
probably unwilling listeners. It was at Galloway's Ford, on
the 20th of July in the year 1897. We had a great number of
objects hung up upon the trees in the woods, and when we were
suddenly attacked by a thunder storm, we ran away as the rain
fell. But some of us had to come back, pull down the collection
and help hurry it away into one of the pavilions nearby, where
I tried to give you an account of it. Inasmuch as this first
presentation of the subject was a failure, I endeavored to present
the matter again on the 7th of October of the same year, 1897.
in the court-house at Doylestown where a certain number of fellow
citizens, representing a past generation, illustrated
rthe uses of these implements before your eyes.* But
there never was half the opportunity now presented
of demonstrating to you the value of the collection
for tlie reason that we are now able to cite the
public spirit and generosity of Mr. George W. Elk-
ins, and of his father, Mr. William L. Elkins as
PIONEER'S TREE FEI.I.ING AXE.
Destroyer of the American forest, invented in the United States
through evolution from the long bitted axes brought over in the May-
flower and by William Penti. Unknown in other countries. Home
made in Bucks county until about 1830.
our proof. It is because they realized the value of this gathering
of tools, implements and utensils, standing for a past age, that
they gave us this building to keep it in.
No one who is concerned for the future welfare of this society
could say anything here to-day without thanking them as I now
do in the most heartfelt manner. When we look about us upon
the new building, which owing to their kindness, we can call our
* See Vol. II, page 480, of the.se papers.
4/0 THE TOOLS OK THE NATION MAKER
own, we feel templed to glance back for a moment at some of the
difficulties we have encountered in the past. For my part T am
always conscience stricken when I think of a certain period in the
history of this society which threatened us with paralysis. The
attendance at the meetings had fallen oft' to the last limit. No "^ne
produced papers or seemed to want to read them and we had
only one thing to fall back upon, the indomitable energy,
perseverance, and hopefulness of our beloved founder and pres-
ident. General Davis, who fanned a dying spark at this critical
moment and kept the fire from going out.
Having survived this danger, to our deliverance from which
I feel that I, myself contributed absolutely nothing, we can all
remember the time without going back very far, when aftei tiic
generous bequests and donations of the family of Mr. Greir, of
Mr. Longstreth and others and even of Mr. Elkins, after we
had bought our lot and after our building was constructed, when
we were confrontefl with further difficulty and danger. It was
at this time when a great chasm, as it were, yawned around the
building, which had to be terraced in with earth, when the trea.-iwy
was empty, when we had no fence and our property was a <on
of rubbish heap or dumping ground for the whole town and when
finally the society itself was dis-united by serious disagreements
and misunderstandings, which had been kept more or less secret,
it was at this time that Judge Yerkes came to the front and with-
out worrying ]\Ir. Klkins about any of these things, worried him-
self in no small degree, by taking charge of the details of con-
struction and of presentation and in a kindly manner smoothing
down a lot of animosities so that we could get together again and
work for the general good.
Inasmuch as we may be asked some day to describe how, when,
where and under what circumstances I made this collection, hang-
ing above your heads, which has been called the "Tools of the
Nation Maker" it would be well to begin with a date. Let us
say that it was somewhere very early in the spring of the year
1897. and about one year before a certain authoress published a
certain volume, the beginning of a series, illustrated with pictures
of similar objects, some of which were subsequently photographed
from our collection. I would also like to bring out the further fact
1
m
THE TOOLS OF THE NATION MAKER 47 I
that this collection was made, presented and described to you at
Galloway's Ford and further classified and arranged in the form
of a printed catalog two or three years before the Pennsylvania
German Society, having derived its inspira-
tion from the presentation of the subject at
these meetings, sent a photographer about the
country photographing a number of objects of
this kind, which were published as illustra-
tions in one of the volumes of its proceedings
without any acknowledgment to us whatso-
ever.
IRISH RUSH I,IGHT.
Burning greased pitch of the bullrush. From the Connemara
county, Galway, Ireland, as used by Irish colonists in Bucks
county before iSoo.
It was then probably one day in February or March of the
spring of 1897 that I went to the premises of one of our fellow-
citizens, who had been in the habit of going to country sales and
at die last moment buying what they called "penny lots." that is
to say valueless masses of obsolete utensils or objects which were
regarded as useless, or valuable only as old iron or kindling wood,
things which fortunately have been preserved among us for two
noteworthy reasons, first because of the existence in our country
of several of these unthanked and non-mercenary hoarders, and
second because of the abundance of wood and consequently of
outbuildings such as are lacking in Europe adapted to the preser-
vation of perishable heirlooms. The particular object of the
visit above mentioned, was to buy a pair of tongs for an old
fashioned fire place, but when I came to hunt out the tongs from
the midst of a disordered pile of old wagons, gum-tree salt-boxes,
flax-brakes, straw beehives, tin dinner-horns, rope-machines and
spinning-wheels, things that I had heard of but never collectively
saw before, the idea occurred to me that the history of Pennsyl-
vania was here profusely illustrated and from a new point of
view. I was seized with a new enthusiasm and hurried over the
county, rummaging the bake-ovens, wagon-houses, cellars, hay-
lofts, smoke-houses, garrets, and chimney-corners, on this side of
the Delaware valley. When having gathered together a great
mass of these things, I first stored them in and upon our old
472
THK TOOLS OF THE NATION MAKER
room in the Bucks county court-house some of you very nat-
urally rebelled and we had to go to Galloway's Ford and examine
the objects again at the next meeting in the court-house at
Doylestown in the autumn of 1897 and classify" them and ex-
plain them before it was fair to expect you to keep them.
In a rough way as you now see them, I then classified them.
Here is the cutting down of the forest and the building of the
log cabin. There are utensils concerned with the preparation of
food, that is to say cooking appliances together with apparatus
for making and producing light. Next we have the production of
clothing, illustrated by spinning and weaving and the adaptation
of vegetable fibre for these purposes. Then comes the relation
of man to animals, in the way of domesticating them or killing
them and expelling them from the region. Agriculture is rep-
resented by a multitude of implements which stand at the very
bottom of man's effort to keep himself alive, and we have next
the great variety of utensils, home and hand made, produced by
the man of the land on his own farm before the factory existed,
before the country store came
into being and before a wave
of mechanical inventive gen-
ius took possession of the
American people about the
year 1820. By way of the
fabrication of utensils of
burnt clay we come finally to
a lot of objects illustrating
learning and amusement at a
time when the pioneer had
little time for aught save the
removal of the forest and the
general struggle for exist-
ence.
WHETTING THE DUTCH SCYTHE. With uiuch to say and but
Ancient malleable scythe in use since the fgw moments tO Say it in, I
middle ages, sharpened by hammering it cold -'
on iron anvil driven into a stump and honed ^VOUld like tO dwcU StrOUglv
upon a .stone carried in a cow horn. Introduced ^ -
from Germany. Disused in Bucks county about j^|pQj-j ^\-iq significance of tllis
collection for several reasons.
Here we have history in the first place presented from a new
THK TOOLS OF THE NATION MAKER 473
point of view. Air. Bancroft wrote the history of the United
States and dwelt with great vividness upon the Revolutionary
War but no history can show as these things show, that during
that war a hundred thousand hands armed with these sickles
were reaping wheat and rye so as to make any kind of a war
possible by the production of bread without which all the com-
batants on both sides would have been unable to fight. You may
go down into Independence hall in Philadelphia, and stand in
the room in which the Declaration of Independence was signed
and there look up at the portraits of the signers. But do you
think you are any nearer the essence of the matter there than
you are here when you realize that ten hundred thousand
arms, seizing upon axes of this type, with an immense amount
of labor and effort made it worth while to have a Declaration of
Independence by cutting down one of the greatest forests in the
North Temperate Zone. You may go to hear a lecture on the
subject of Naval Battles or the War of 1812 at the Pennsylvania
Historical Society but do you think that you are more vividly
confronted with the truth of the whole story than you are here
when you realize, looking at those spinning-wheels, that once upon
a time there was a vast noise of humming from the work of ten
hundred thousand women at least, spinning upon these wheels
that actually took place, and was needed to make it possible for
men to be adequately protected from the cold so that they could
go out and fight any battles at all by sea or by land.
(At this point the following objects displayed before the meeting were
described and explained : A leaf fork used to collect masses of leaves from
the woods for the bedding of cattle when straw was scarce. Disused in
Nockaniixon about i860. A Bread tray adzed from a native log from Plum-
stead township antedating the country store and the year 1830. A pounding
apparatus for mashing the outer husk of flax used before 1850 when linen
was homemade. A flint lock gun; a shovel plow, as illustrated above, used
for plowing newly cleared land, a sickle used for reaping wheat and rye,
without important change between the years 1800 A. D. and 2000 B. C. The
specimen typified those used in Bucks county until 1800. An axe of in-
digenous form evolved from the longer bitted English types of the first colon-
ists—destroyer of the American forest and probably in general use by 1750.
A spinning wheel as the successor of the still earlier distaff and spindle used
by the wives of some of the first settlers. )
Perhaps these thmgs can be included or adequately described
by history but a sight of the actual object conveys an impression,
474
THE TOOLS OF THE NATION MAKER
Otherwise indescribable. Moreover a multitude of words have
passed out of the language and become obsolete since these ob-
jects ceased to be used and this too is history.
(At this point the following objects exhibited before the meeting were
described, explained and compared : An ancient clay lamp of about 200 B.C.
found in an Etruscan grave at Orvieto, and several bronze boat shaped
lamps together vi^ith a standard reproduced from originals excavated at
Pompeii and now in the museum at Naples, compared with a typical boat
shaped lard lamp of iron found in an old farm-house in Plumstead township,
Bucks county, and in use there until 1830. A typical sieve meshed with
wooded splints from older Bucks county compared with an ancient type
made of punctured rawhide from the Island of Inishnee, county Galway,
Ireland. A potter's quern for grinding metallic colors by twisting one stone
upon another used in New Britain township until 1880, compared with the
painter's rubbing stone of old Bucks county and the pestle and mortar of
the North American Indian, as a food grinding implement of immense an-
tiquity and the origin of all modern flour mills. A dinner horn formed of a
conch shell blown upon to illustrate the origin of forms of trumpet and horn
of great antiquity where the sound is produced by vibration of the lips— as
a musical instrument two or three thousand years old at least. Still in use
to signal open lock on the Delaware canal. A light is struck on scorched
linen with a tinder box after a method several thousand years old derived
from the prehistoric striking of flint against native iron — in use in Buck.s
county until 1820.)
You may say that the history of man as exemplified and illus-
trated by his artefacts is after all archaeology and that we are
already familiar with
archaeology. So we
are. But the arch-
aeology of the mu-
seums of Europe and
America begins at the
past, presents us with
the remains of man
thousands of years
old, and pretends to
lead us to the present.
Generally speaking
you might say that
they put the cart be-
fore the horse. But here on the other hand we look from the
present backward to the past. Beginning at the doorstep of our
SPECIMEN OF PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN
FRACTUR OR ILLUMINATED WRITING.
Made with native vegetable colors, quill pens and
cat tail brushes. A survival of the Mediaeval art of
book illumination di.sused in Bucks county after 1840.
THE TOOLS OP THE NATION MAKER
475
grandfathers we go back to Roman and Egyptian times. This
therefore is archaeology turned upside down, reversed, revolu-
tionized. What seems obscure and dark in the museums which
we have visited is here rendered plain. It is a very easy matter
for friends of ours still living to explain the uses of these things
to us. When they have done so we have learned more of arch-
aeology, by means of the kindergarten method, as you might say
in a few hours than we otherwise could have mastered by the
study of books and museums, from the other pomt of view, in
months.
Because a great number of these things before your eyes have
been in use by man without any very important change since the
BOAT SHAPED HANGING I^ARD I.AMPS OF IKON.
A.s u.sed by the Greeks, Romans and Egj'ptians. In type three thousand
years old, used in Bedminster, Plumstead and Rockhill
townships until about 1830.
time the pyramids of Egypt were built, because man reaped with
sickles of this general pattern, made fire in this general way, wove
thread, prepared the fiber of vegetables for spinning, dug in the
ground, cooked food, practiced many of the common crafts of
every day life after this manner for thousands of years, and be-
cause the child of nature, the primitive savage continues to utilize
utensils of this sort at the present moment, for these reasons it
may be said that having easily familiarized yourselves with the
uses of these things, the whole range of your observation wherever
in your travels you take a broad view of the panorama of human
life will be much increased. Enlightened by this knowledge,
whether in the cave of the troHidite or in the hut of the savage.
476 THE TOOLS OF THE NATION MAKER
whether upon the steppes of Tartary or upon the banks of the
Congo, whether among the habitations of the Eskimo, or the
forest dwelhng-s of the Amazon, you are no longer a stranger.
Everywhere you see famihar objects. The same story is repeated.
You are at home again in Bucks county.
But if I fail in all else I hope I may succeed in impressing
the thought that this collection is of significance because it is the
child of a remarkable opportunity. I have tried several times to
illustrate the fact tliat in so far as the equipment of man with
tools and utensils is concerned a greater change has taken place
in the last two or three generations than took place in any fifteen
or twenty generations preceding. This sort of thing is very
often said in connection with a great many events referred to in
addresses of this sort. But in this instance no patriotism or
desire to boast, or spirit of the Fourth of July oration, clouds the
actual truth, namely that in this respect there is a greater differ-
ence between our lives and the life of George Washington than
between his life and the life of William the Conqueror. Many
of our lives reach back into this period which, though only re-
moved from us by about a century, practically stands for an
antiquity of a thousand years. Equipped as his ancestors had
' been for centuries in the old world with these very tools and uten-
sils, the pioneer came to America. Armed with these things he
cut down the forest, contended with the forces of nature, and
worked out his lifo and destiny until about the year 1820, when
a wave of inventive mechanical genius having siezed him, he cast
them all aside, and equipped himself with the products of a new
machinery. If the followers of William Penn hunting about
among the heir-looms of their time, three or four hundred years
old, had tried to make a collection of this significance, they could
not have done so, inasmuch as the objects collected by them,
no matter how old, would have more or less closely resembled
the things in use at their own time, so that no vivid and startling
lessons would have been taught. The conestoga wagon suspended
above your heads presented to us by Mrs. Richard Hovenden used
by her husband as a painter's model in the picture by him known
as "Westward Ho !" in the capitol at Washington, stands for an
immense change in the daily life of man. although it is not more
the; tooIvS of the nation maker
477
than a hundred years old. Because a great many of us have
outUved this change, because the transformation has taken place
under our eyes as it were, it is none the less momentous and im-
portant, and the tact that we got to work to collect these perish-
able objects at this particular moment is what we should wish
to set forth as a thing of great importance. This conestoga wag-
on standing for the whole westward march of the Anglo Saxon
colonization, and the transportation of all merchandise over
mountains and plains toward the setting sun, before the birth of
railroads ; these spin-
ning wheels, these
flax brakes, illustrat-
ing the whole equip-
ment of mankind
with clothing, these
shovel plows, clover-
strippers, rope-ma-
chines, leaf-forks,
long bitted axes, flint-
lock guns, cranes and
bake-irons will never
be made again. Be-
cause they came to an
end so suddenly and
so near our own
lives, they are still within reach, but they are vanishing fast, and
we must gather them together now or never. I have been told
that if we tried to make this collection now after a lapse of ten
years we could not do it, and the statement may be true, but
whether absolutely true or not we know that the difficulty of gath-
ering these things together has increased very greatly since they
were first shown you at Galloway's Ford. For these reasons we
say that this singular collection is the child of an opportunity
which has not occurred until it did occur for the last thousand
years, and which will certainly never occur again. And if we
are convinced of this fact let us be inspired to cease destroying
historical specimens, and further to realize that we now have only
about ten more years, in which to note down first hand and save
the unique and universal yet unrecorded information explanatory
STRIKING FIRE WITH THE TINDER BOX.
Fire process surviving from prehistoric times until
about 1830. Strike flint against steel circlet throwing
spark into scorched linen.
478 THE TOOLS OF THK NATION MAKER
of these things still surviving in the memories of men now about
eig-hty years old, but doomed to perish, if unnoted, as surely as
perished the classical learning burned by Arabs in the Library
of Alexandria.
Having said this much we may ask why has not someone else
made a collection of this sort, and if we do we can not answer
the question. We can only say that they have not done so. The
series of volumes containing illustrations of similar objects, wheth-
er produced by the authoress to whom I have referred or the
Pennsylvania German Society, do not stand for collections gath-
ered together and classified. The collections at Deerfield, Mass.,
and at Indian Hill near Newburyport are confined to objects of
a more or less picturesque character relating to the household or
cookery or to certain phases of village life and do not cover the
the broad ethnological field represented here. In Europe there
is a gathering- of peasant costumes in Sicily, of ancient light-
ing appliances in Vienna, and of certain peasant utensils and
appliances in Munich, but neither in Italy nor Spain where a re-
markable opportunity now exists for making a collection of this
kind nor in England, nor Ireland, nor France, nor Holland has
any such thing been done. One remarkable exception however
must be cited. In the fact that somewhere about the time of
the beginning of this collection, or earlier, although I never
heard of the matter until last summer. Dr. Herselius, of Stock-
holm, conceived the idea of gathering together just such a show-
ing as this. The Swedish government came to his rescue, they
granted him a large portion of one of the public parks and gave
him money to lift up whole buildings of historic interest, place
them within the inclosure and fill them with tools and implements
of an earlier make and kind. Inasmuch as his fellow country-
men regarded it as a patriotic duty to help him, his collection
increased rapidly and continued after his death until it has now
become a source of pride and glory for his native city and coun-
try. If this collection at Stockholm were more important, or
valued, or significant than ours, it would be no serious cause for
lamentation, but when all is considered it may be fairly said
without patriotism or boasting, that the collection before your
eyes for the reason that it stands for a momentous and complete
THE TOOI<S OF THE NATION MAKER
479
SHOVEL PLOW.
After an ancient Roman original for plowing newly
cleared land, and for plowing out potatoes in Plum-
stead and Bedminster until 1880.
change in the destinies of a great number of European nations,
brought together here in the United States and transmuted as it
were in a great
cauldron, conveys a
broader object les-
son than a similar
collection would in
Sweden where there
has been no such in-
flux of immigration
or gathering to-
gether of other na-
tions, and where
Swedes have re-
mained Swedes
from time immem-
orial.
The last ques-
tion of all in connection with the matter, namely, what
are we going to do with the collection, ought to be answered
practically. In the first place take up this wooden floor and re-
place it with a fire proof pavement, remove the useless, combusti-
ble ceiling and fire proof the roof itself, so that the collection can
be augmented in this room by hanging more objects all over the
beams of the ceiling, or supporting them above our heads upon
columns. Safeguard the library from any possible chance from
fire, get the wood out of the stair-case and bedrooms, and fire
proof the whole building so that no one will ever be able to say
to us that with the best intentions in the world he would be un-
willing to deposit such and such a valuable collection in a build-
ing which was liable to burn down at any moment.
Over and above this we should have a keeper under a salary
to preserve these objects, clean them, refresh their labels, care
for and catalog new donations as they come in and protect what
we have from danger and decay. We may make the mistake of
turning our energies toward the collection of a library or join-
ing forces with the town library, but there are a thousand and
one other towns and other historical societies that have libraries
480 THFC TOOLS OV THE NATION MAKER
and it will take us a long time to catch up to many of them. We
may devote a great deal of time to genealogical research but the
Pennsylvania Historical Society is far ahead of us there. We
may work for the expensive publication of documents of histori-
cal records, etc., without realizing that in these matters we are in
hopeless competition with a number of other organizations al-
ready far ahead of us, but the point I earnestly desire to make,
even if I fail to convince you of anything else at all, is, that in
this collection called "the Tools of the Nation Maker" we are
ahead of everybody, we are original, alone and unique. If any
other historical society or individual shall undertake to compete
with us we are so far ahead that with a reasonable amount of
efifort on our part it will be a hopeless task for them to catch
up with us. If we were to say that this collection would be
worth its weight in gold a hundred years hence, it would be no
very great exaggeration, but we need not look so far ahead to
imagine the time when if we do anything like our duty, the
student of these things, whoever he may be, will not go to
Washington, Boston, New York, Chicago or anywhere else in
the country to study American history from this fresh point of
view, but will be compelled to come to Doylestown.
Have you walked out upon the splendid enclosure which
surrounds this building and now belongs to us? If so you have
seen a beautiful natural amphitheatre where the Greeks would
have built a theatre a thousand years ago. Fronting toward the
south, looking over the roofs of modern American houses into
the valley of the Neshaminy, the place would delight the heart
of a botanist. Here is wet ground, dry ground, cold ground,
warm ground, high ground, low ground, adapted for the planting
of all sorts of trees, shrubs and flowers. We dreamed of this
building a long time ago and the dream came true. Why not
dream now of a n'onderful garden, a botanical park devoted to
the past, surrounded by a high wall behind which we can forget
the railroad and the trolley, the modern newspaper and the tele-
graph, the automobile and the megaphone and look upon the trees
and plants which were associated with the lives of the colonists
and closely involved with his struggle for life, or upon the herbs
which cured him of disease, or the flowers which he brought from
I
the; tooIvS of the nation maker
481
the old world to embellish
his new home in the wilder-
ness until they themselves
escaped from his dominion
and ran wild in the woods.
In the middle of this grove
fit for the best meditations
of a philosopher, upon an
open sward the etho botanist
might come to teach the uses
of plants and their relation
to humanity to his pupils.
Is this dream a hopeless or
impossible thing? We have
the land and having fenced
it in in a temporary manner
for the present so that we
are safe from pastured ani-
mals and the game of base-
ball, we are ready for the
botanists, and the trees and the wall. What we want are friends.
Let them lend a hand. Our small village in which many of us were
born has a court-house with a handsome steeple, but so have a
hundred other villages in this and other states. We have a
certain number of banks, so have they. We are perched upon
the top of a hill with a fine view and. we may be more or less
proud of some of these things, although we are not pre-eminent
in any one of them, but here around and about us is something
that is unique, an educational institution that no other town pos-
sesses, and if our citizens are not proud of it to-day their children
and grand-children will be. Here is a rare and remarkable tree
in good condition, just planted, watch over it, guard it, save it,
prune and water it until it spreads its noble shade, not only over
this little town and over this State of Pennsylvania, but over the
whole nation.
PENNSYI,VANIA GERMAN DECO-
RATED STOVEPI.ATE.
lUustrating marriage ceremony with in-
scription, from a Moravian collection at
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Part of a stove
composed of five plates without a smoke
pipe or door, protruding into the room
which it heated, and emitting smoke back-
ward through an orifice in the wall. Origin
of all iron stoves in the United States. Dis-
used in Durham, Plumstead and Bedmins-
ter townships and in Philadelphia, Berks
and Northampton counties about 1770.
Flax and Its Culture.*
BY GRIER SCHEETZ, PERKASIE, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, May 28, 1907.)
To the remotest period of the world's history we can trace
the raising of flax, and the manufacture of hnen products. It
is mentioned in the book of Exodus as one of the productions of
Eg-ypt during the time of the Pharoahs, and it has been ascer-
tained by miscroscopic examinations that the cloth in which
the mummies of Egypt are enveloped is made of the finest linen.
Solomon purchased linen yarn in Egypt ; Herodotus speaks of
the great flax trade of Egypt, and great quantities are grown
in that country to-day. Flax has been cultivated from time im-
memorial as a winter crop in India, for its seed only. Ireland
raises more flax than any other European country.
Flax or lint is made into linen thread, cloth of the finest and
coarsest fabrics, delicate cambrics, or exquisite lace, or coarsest
sail cloth. Flanders in which the most beautiful flax in the
whole world is produced, is employed for the manufacture of
the famous Brussels lace, and sold for the purpose at a price
of from $500 to $900 per ton. The crop prepared for market
ofttimes exceeds the value of the land on which it is produced.
Flax is also used for the manufacture of our choicest writing
paper. I have in my possession four pages of linen paper made
and printed at the Ephrata Cloister, Lancaster county, Pa.,
(where the first Bible in America was printed.) These pages
were printed many years before the Revolution, a lot of the same
kind was carted to and used at the battle of the Brandywine
by the soldiers of Washington for gun wadding, and what was
left afterwards carted back again to Ephrata. This paper was
made from the ofi;'al of linen clippings made by the sisters at
the Ephrata Cloister.
From flax-seed are made large quantities of linseed oil for the
mixing of paints, and the manufacture of printers'-ink. No
plant not used for food is more useful to man than the flax
* For an interesting- paper with illnstrations. on " FIpx Cnlture and its Utility'," by
Rev. EH Keller, D.D., see "The Pennsylvania German," Vol. IX. page 266.
Swingling
Flail— Breaker— Swingle— Wheel— Reels.
.Spinning
OI,D TIME TOOI.S AND PROCESSES FOR PREPARING AND SPINNING FL,AX.
(From photographs in Historical Society's album.)
FLAX AND ITS CULTURE) 483
plant. When the supply of cotton was cut short during the
Rebellion, efforts were made in some sections to substitute flax
and spin and weave it by means of machinery employed in the
manufacture of cotton fabrics, but the results were not satisfac-
tory, the two products requiring different treatment.
The flax plant grows in any part of the United States. It
requires a greater amount of labor than most other crops, and
unless great care is exercised at every step the value of the
crop will be seriously impaired.
Flax has been cultivated in this country from its earliest
settlement, but is now principally raised for its seed. In 1870
thirty million pounds of seed were produced in this country,
amounting to nearly $10,000,000 in value.
The last flax-mill to pass its usefulness in this section was
located at Frenchtown, N. J., in the early seventies, and the last
linseed oil mill in Bucks county was located near Tylersport, Pa.,
and known as Deetz's mill where the oil was extracted from the
seed, and the oil-cake was crushed, ground, and used as an ex-
cellent food for the cattle both to produce milk, and for fattening
them. This mill also quit in the seventies.
The flax when in blossom is a beautiful sky-blue color. It
opens early in the morning, and lasts until about nine a. m. when
it closes and goes to sleep.
When flax is ready to pull (for all flax must be pulled up by
the roots,) the seeds or bolls begin to change from a green to
a pale brown. This is considered the best time for flax pulling.
After pulling it is tied into small bundles the thickness of a man's
arm, and thrown on small heaps when it is put into shocks same
as wheat and left to dry in the hot sun for a day or two so as
to thoroughly ripen the bolls, when it is hauled to the barn
where the bolls are pounded with a maul by the handful, or
a bed of about three inches thick spread upon the barn floor,
and crushed with a heavy block of wood thirty inches long by
six inches wide and four thick, having a handle inserted at
about an angle of forty-five degrees.
In pulling flax one-fourth of an acre was considered a full
day's work. If any one lagged behind, the rest pulled the flax
around him leaving a square patch, and this was called the
"lazy acre."
484 FlyAX AND ITS CULTURE
We now have the curing of the flax before it can be broken
which consists of spreading the flax on the grass for a number
of days, and at various times turning it. This is called "dew
rotting." I have seen the curing of flax in all its stages, have
pulled large quantities, and hammered or crushed the bolls to
extract the seeds for days at a time when a boy. The labor
connected with it is both laborious and tedious, and only men
and women of strong constitutions and muscle, were able to do
this difficult and hard work, as the curing of flax up to the time
it enters the cloth requires at least twenty-two different opera-
tions.
In the early fall of the year all the old stumps on the farm were
gathered, and split up to be used for the drying of flax previous to
its "breaking," for it had to be dried very brittle. The stumps
and old roots would give but very little flame if any, as you can
not dry flax with an ordinary wood fire on account of the flame
it produces.
Each farm in the olden time had a flax-kiln constructed
(many of which are still in existence in the upper end of Bucks
county). The flax-kiln consisted of a wall about five feet high,
six feet long with wings of about four feet forming the letter E
and generally facing the midday sun. Across this wall were
thrown two or more green poles upon which a thin layer of flax
was spread while the pieces of roots and stumps were burning
the flax was turned again and again so as to thoroughly
heat and dry it by the heat and smoke of the stump fire. To
these flax-kilns came the orioles for supplies with which to build
their nests.
Great care had to be exercised in curing and drying flax, for
sad was the man all day who burned a "bed of flax, as it was
called, and his comrades would berate him for his carelessness.
Many of the best men of our land have worshiped at the
shrine of the flax god, and at break of day were kindling their
fires, and preparing their flax for the day's labor. One hundred
handfuls was considered a full day's work, which lasted from
dawn to dusk, the price being regulated for a day's labor by the
market price of a bushel of wheat, which sold for from 40 to 50
cents per bushel. In the earlier days this hard work was often
FLAX AND ITS CULTURE 4^5
performed by women. After the flax had been broken then
followed the "scoutching" or "swingling" as it was ofttimes
called.
The machinery consisted of an upright board nailed to a block
of wood, and a wooden knife known as a "scoutching knife."
This was used to beat upon the flax with the sharp edge to
extract the rotten particles contained inside the fibre, or flax,
which the breaking had not loosened. Later a wheel as large
as a wagon wheel with four or five knives of wood fixed into
the edge, and worked by treadle, was used instead of the hand
work.
The flax after being thoroughly beaten was placed on piles
from whence it went to the "hatchels." The first, for coarse
tow from which wagon covers and bags were made; the second,
for a finer grade of tow from which trousers and skirts for
field work, and bed ticking were made; the third, for men and
women's suiting, towels and shirtings ; fourth, for thread and
fine linen from which fine shirts were also made.
In the earlier days buttons were very scarce and pieces of
leather were made to do service instead; they were shaped at
one end like an arrow with a slit, and a knob at the other end.
This made the best kind of a shirt button.
The "hatchels" were made about fifteen inches long by four
inches wide, in which sharp pointed nails were driven, over and
through this the handfuls of scoutched and beaten flax werei
pulled to remove the tow, and to divide the flax into beautiful
silky strands.
I have seen trousers made of tow that when new were sd
closely woven as to stand upright without a man in them. This
material was also made into ladies' skirts for the field workers
who invariably helped their husbands with the crops in upper
Bucks county as late as 1870, following the reapers and binding
the sheaves of grain. For the growing boy trousers were made
with tucks of about one inch wide and every year one of these
tucks was left out, the trousers ofttimes lasting from five to ten
years. Young girls also had tucks sewed in their skirts and
as they grew taller the same were left out.
In colonial days spinning was one of the accomplishments.
486 FLAX AND ITS CULTURE
Nowhere was it done so perfectly as it was done by the Pennsyl-
vania German women of upper Bucks county, and to this day
we have quite a number who still are expert at spinning, and as
many will testify, arising at 4 a. m., and spinning by candlelight
until 9 p. m.
After spinning and filling a spool, the reel was used, which
upon turning a certain number of times, or until the hickory
strip located along the upright part of the reel gave the signal by
a sharp rap which designated a hank or cut. The yarn upon the
reel was then tied in several places, and removed from the reel,,
and the same method repeated. The spinning of eighteen cuts
was considered a full day's labor, but Susan Fretz, of Hilltown
township, daughter of Martin Fretz, ofttimes spun as many as
twenty cuts per day. But with many other operators of the
spinning wheel this was a rare occurrence.
After the spinning came the bleaching of the yarn. This
required an exceptional amount of labor and experience. First
the yarn was put into a large iron kettle and boiled, to make it
soft and pliable. From thence it was taken to a stream of
running water and thoroughly washed and rinsed ; then hung
upon the fence to dry, and bleached. After it had thoroughly
dried it was taken through the^flax brake so as to make it more
soft and pliable. From there it went into the weavers' hands.
For half linen, or linsey for winter wear, one part wool and
one part linen yarn were used. If a grey color was desired the
wool of both white and black sheep was used, equal parts of
each. For brown the wool was colored with a decoction made
from black walnut hulls. All those old methods have passed
away, and not many years hence no one will remember the old
days of flax and its culture in Bucks county.
Brief History Talks.
firs: special meetiintg for historical study and discussion.
(Doylestown Museum, December 12, 1907.)
Historical talks brief and decidedly interesting were given at
the first history social, held Friday evening, in the museum of
the Bucks County Historical Society, which were thoroughly
enjoyed by an audience which took up every seat which had
been provided. It was a positive success and the best evidence
that residents of this part of the country are interested in the
society and historical research. Those who had the affair in
charge were delighted with the attendance and those who at-
tended were equally as much pleased with the program pre-
sented.
The first paper presented was by Gen. Davis president of the
society which was read by his daughter Miss Eleanor H. Davis
and which is given in full as follows.
Mexico of the Montezumas.
BY GEN. W. W. H. DAVIS.
The Bucks County Historical Society, having seen proper to
open a course of free lectures, in connection therewith in their
building at Doylestown, where we have met, it becomes my lot,
as president of the society, to announce its opening, which
I do with much pleasure, under the title of "Mexico of the
Montezumas," with which I became somewhat familiar during
the war between the United States and Mexico, during the
years 1846, and 1848.
Mexico is the most interesting portion of the New World that
acknowledges the authority of Spain. To the general reader,
it is almost a fabled land. In the tales that are told of its mar-
velous wealth, the salubrity of its climate, the grandeur of its
mountain scenery and the beauty of its fertile valleys, the grace
of its dark-eyed senoritas, and the proud bearing of its gay
caballeroes, we have history with all the charms of romance; but
488 BRIEF HISTORY TALKS •
when we return to the history of the Montezumas, it reads ahiiost
Hke a tale of the Arabian Nights and has all the surroundings
necessary for dramatic effect.
Four-fifths of Mexico's population are the descendants of
the people which fought Cortes in the streets of the Aztec
capital and on the plains of Otumba, and are sunk in ignorance
and superstition. From whatever standpoint it is viewed, Mex-
ico is overwhelmed by a cloud that has no "silver lining." Her
future is a problem of the deepest interest, and the American
statesman who does not give his attention will neglect and for-
get his duty. How long Alexico will be permitted to stand a
political irritant on our border is a question for the future
to answer, but the ultimate destiny of Mexico can hardly be
mistaken. In the coming time, when the tide of Anglo-Amer-
ican immigration shall be turned back from the shores of the
Pacific to seek new fields, the stream will flow down the ocean-
bound peninsula to the land of the Montezumas and carry to
their descendants a higher civilization, purer morals and a bet-
ter government.
In Mexico, nevertheless, there is much to please the eye and
gratify the taste of the cultivated traveler. Their capital the
city of Mexico occupying the site of the Montezumas, and
rising from the lakes like Venice from the sea, is the most
beautiful city of Spanish America. Broad and shaded cause-
ways connect it with the main land. The streets are reasonably
wide and straight and the houses of the rich, built of stone,
with flat roof, of from two to four stories high, having neither
chimneys nor hearthstones, are elegant in their appointments.
Besides the great square in the centre of the city, which the un-
fortunate Empress Carlotta caused to be laid out with so much
taste, it has a beautiful park and two pleasant drives, where the
beauty and fashion of the city are to be seen every afternoon.
Among the most attractive public buildings are the Cathedral,
rivaling in size and decoration those of Europe ; the National
Palace, containing the halls of legislation; the Museum, where
is preserved the sacrificial stone of the Aztecs ; the old Itirbide
Palace, the University, the College of Mines, the Mint and
brie:f history talks 489
the National Theatre. A broad canal skirts one of the cause-
ways and is covered with flower boats coming to the city.
A stroll through the streets of the city of Mexico reveals
much that is quaint and new, and much of the civilization of
the Aztec, the ]\Ioor and of modern Europe is seen at every
turn. We meet swarms of professional beggars, who ask for
alms for the love of God; priests, in long robes and stovepipe
hats ; water carriers, with great earthen jars strapped to their
backs, and troops of Indians carrying heavy burdens and drag-
ging large timbers. The passing carriage is drawn by mules,
whose driver, booted and spurred, sits astride of one, while the
animals' tails are nicely wrapped with worsted binding and put
into ornamental leather bags.
The traveling letter writer, who writes love letters for those
who do not possess this accomplishment, a convenient fellov/
to have about, challenges our attention. The street corner is
his place of business and his price suits all customers. A de-
claration on tinted paper costs twelve cents, and twenty cents
for a letter that breathes jealousy and daggers in every line.
The Hill of Chapultepec overlooks the modern capital, and
Montezuma's spring supplies it with water. The environs of
Mexico are delightful and numerous, and charming villages are
•the r..bode of the rich and cultivated.
Mexico's patron saint, the Virgin of Guadelupe, is as much
venerated as was the great Quetzalcoatl of the Aztecs. Her
appearance to an Indian more than 350 years ago on the site
of the small village of Guadelupe Hidailgo, four miles north of
the city, is treated as a miracle. She proved her annunciation
by picking roses from the barren rock of Tepeac, and while the
Indian was carrying them to the Bishop of Mexico in his apron,
they were miraculously spirited away, and in their stead was
a beautiful likeness of the Virgin. On every 12th of December
a great religious festival is held on the spot where she made
her appearance.
The Mexico of to-day barely yields the palm of interest to
the land of the Montezumas. It has the same delightful climate,
the same rich soil, and varied productions, and its mines yield
the same precious metals that wooed Cortez and his cavaliers
490 BRIEF* HISTORY TALKS
from old Castile. But, where nature has done so much, man
has done but little. In any other hands, Mexico would be
an el Dorado. The boon of political liberty is almost a curse
to the people, for, while her revolution released Mexico from
the power of Spain, it opened the gates of anarchy at home.
Rebellion has become almost chronic and her pretended Repub-
lican system is little better than a burlesque upon all constitu-
tional forms.
Nevertheless, say what we please, there is much in the
Mexico of to-day that commands our attention, good will and
neighborly friendship, to say nothing of her history. The Az-
tec kings had a romantic and melancholy interest rarely equaled
and the pages of history contain few more attractive narratives.
Henry C. Mercer commented upon the General's paper,
speaking of his wide experience in Mexico in early days, hi?
part in the Mexican War and his valuable literary work in
translating many Spanish manuscripts which he discovered in
an old court-house in New Mexico and saved, for which he
was complimented by the historian, Bancroft.
Mr. Mercer said that it is not necessary in these special meet-
ings to present long papers or addresses which tire everyone.
Many families doubtless have some interesting objects which are
of historical value and just as interesting and important as
the history of battles and the legislative progress of the nation,
and by holding these meetings we can save much which must
otherwise be lost. We have made this great collection here with
the idea of bringing out facts represented by objects, the for-
gotten thoughts of the nation's early history. Meetings of this-
kind will get the people interested and that is what we want.
Now that we have this fine property and building and are having
our library catalogued, these meetings should inaugurate a new
beginning and ought to infuse new life.
Mr. Mercei- urged the value of getting the facts associated
with the objects collected, as it is these things which are neces-
sary to establish the steps in scientific development which the
relics represent.
Mrs. Irvin Megargee James was introduced and gave an
interesting talk about an old scarf she possesses as follows :
BRIEF HISTORY TALKS 49 1
Lord de la War's Scarf.
BY MRS. IRVIN MEGARGEE JAMES.
This scarf belonged to and was worn by Thomas West,
'Lord de-la-War,' or Delaware, during colonial times when
he was governor and captain general of Virginia. It is loaned
to the historical society by Mrs. Elizabeth Doan Randall, a
descendant of Lord Delaware through the Fentons. The first
Fenton coming to this country came over with Lord Delaware.
He was an only son, and came to America and settled at
Burlington, supposedly because his mother, who had married
a barrister for her second husband, cheated the son out of a
great part of the vast estates in England. The stains on the
scarf are probably blood stains, according to tradition in the
family, but nothing definite has ever been related in regard to
them, and as far as I can find in history no account is given
of Lord Delaware ever having been wounded. William Fenton,
a grandfather of the present owner of this relic, kept a record
and genealogy of the family, also some interesting facts in
regard to this sash but after his death the book was either lost
or sold at a sale.
A reliable woman, who now lives in Bucks county, told me
that William Fenton, 'Squire of Buckingham, had told her of
the direct line from Lord Delaware, also his connection to Ben-
jamin West, who was a first cousin to his mother. This rec-
ord is a verbal one, but has been handed down from one gen-
eration to another. As Lord Delaware came to America in
1609 this sash or scarf which was worn over one shoulder and
under the other arm, is almost 300 years old.
Cave Explorations.
BY HENRY C. MERCER.
Henry C. Mercer next reviewed his investigations in caves and
gravel banks for remains of the prehistoric man. He introduced
his remarks by telling of the lively discussion among archaeologists
as to how long ago man inhabited North America, and what
animals existed in the period called post-glacial. He told of the
finding of bones of the musk-ox, reindeer and mastodon in a
492 BRIEP* HISTORY TALKS
gravel bank along the Delaware by Dr. Charles C. Abbott, of
Trenton, whether or not they were associated with human re-
mains. He then spoke of the beginning of his investigations in
caves. Savage man, he said, usually occupied them and each
layer or stratum of cave earth had its record of what men and
animals existed at the time of its formation. Far down rough
stone implements were found and these were succeeded
in layers toward the surface by polished stones, then bronze im-
plements and then objects of iron. His examinations of Ameri-
can caves began at Hartman's cave near Stroudsburg, but that
seemed to be a place where animals went to die as it was too
dark and damp for human habitation. At Durham cave, the
iron-works had so demolished that structure that investigations
amounted to but little, although in Queen Esther's drawing-room
remains of the extinct peccary were found.
Learning that bones and teeth of the extinct mammoth had
been discovered, associated with human remains, near Beeville,
in Texas, he went to the spot and found a number of these things,
including tusks so large that they could not readily be carried by
one man, bedded together with Indian arrow-heads and pottery.
Here, however, he soon discovered that the arrow-heads and pot-
tery had dropped out of a modern stratum at the top of the
cliff. With this investigation finished, he returned, bringing
with him a tooth of the mammoth, which was exhibited, to
Tennessee where in the Lookout Cave he found remains of the
extinct tapir but no certain association with man.
The Lenape Stone.
As Dr. F. B. Swartzlander failed to appear to talk on "An
Interesting Gold Coin," Mr. Mercer took the time to explain the
history of "The Lenape Stone," but before entering upon his
discussion he emphasized the fact that Lenape is pronounced
with the accent on the second syllable. The Lenape stone, which
is about 4>^ by 2 inches in size, has been fully described by
him in his paper read before the society. (See "The Red Man's
Bucks County," Vol. II, page 267.)
To illustrate his talk Mr. Mercer had a large colored drawing
of the stone, showing the remarkable inscriptions upon it. There
was the elephant with an arrow sticking in its side and apparently
ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS OF CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS 493
a man being killed by the animal. There were marks which looked
as though they were meant for lightning, stars, the sun and the
moon.* Capt. John S. Bailey, late of Buckingham, finally saw
the stone and presented two excellent papers before the society
and eventually Mr. Mercer brought the matter to the attention of
Dr. D. G. Brinton, but that authority pronounced it valueless and
a forgery. "But I am not satisfied," said Mr. Mercer. "I be-
lieve that Dr. Brinton, who made other mistakes of this kind,,
could have been made to acknowledge the genuineness of the
stone if I had been able to argue it out with him again before
he died.
* See "Our Stone Age," by Capt. John S. Bailey, Vol. I, page 45 of these papers.
Origin and Customs of Christmas Festivals.
BY MRS. WILLIAM R. MERCER, JR., DOYLESTOWN, PA.
Special Meeting for Historical Study and Discussion.
(Doylestown Museum, December 20, 1907.)
I have been asked to give a little talk on the origins of the
Christmas festival and though I feel unable to do justice to such
a vast subject, still I think it interesting at this season to trace
in a small way to be sure, back to their source, some of the
ancient customs that have done so much toward our enjoyment
of the day. I would like to show how much there is of original-
ity in our keeping Christmas and how much has been borrowed
from other countries.
Perhaps few realize that our American Christmas and partic-
ularly the Christmas celebrated here in Pennsylvania, has come
down to us through four channels ; the first of these dates from
pagan times. Long before the birth of Christ, the pagans cele-
brated the season of the winter-solstice, the turn of the year.
"Yule" the Scandinavians called it and with the Romans it
was known as the "Saturnalia." The Jewish feast of Lamps
also took place at this time and far away in German forests
barbarians would light great bon-fires in honor of the first length-
ening days. It was the moment when all hearts turned toward
spring among those accustomed to watch the signs of nature.
The Romans would decorate their houses with green boughs
494 ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS OF CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS
and indulge in games and revelry. The Norseman called this
sacred time "The Peace of the Gods" or the time when the
deities of Walhalla would descend to earth and be on familiar
terms with men.
The next source, and of course the fundamental one was the
birth of Christ. When the day of that sacred time was finally
set, it coincided with the winter-solstice and many of the ancient
customs became engrafted on the Christmas festival. Again, and
of course much later, we owe to the German Christmas and ta
the English one most of the picturesque attributes that surround
our own festivities. The German Christmas in particular is
interesting to us who live in Pennsylvania where so many of the
fatherland have brought the quaint customs.
Let us begin first with the origin of the word Christmas. It
is derived from Christ and the Saxon word moesse, meaning the
mass or a feast. The Christmas holidays began on Christmas
eve and lasted until twelfth-night, the interesting days being
filled with merry making. In early days the idea of the Nativity
occupied the greatest prominence. It was the feast of the Christ-
child and purely a religious festival in honor of His birth. No
presents were given or received, there were no rejoicings apart
from the church ceremonies. Gradually a change crept in and
of this change I shall now speak.
The influence of St. Nicholas is one of those curious evolu-
tions, the beginning of which we have to go very far back to
find. He who has become particularly the patron of the day in
so many countries, has really no connection with it. His feast
is on December 6th and his legend dates from the fourth century.
He is represented as dowering the daughters of a nobleman by
giving them purses of gold. From that act of his sprang the
idea of gift-giving that we associate with Christmas day as I
shall show you later. It became the custom to place presents
in shoes and stockings on the day of the festival of St. Nicholas,
which custom became gradually absorbed in the Christmas cele-
brations. In Italy even now on the day of St. Nicholas
at the houses of certain noblemen there is a ceremony call-
ed "Zopata" from the Spanish word meaning shoe. Presents
are hidden in the shoes or slippers in such a manner
as to surprise their owners. As for the hanging up of stockings,
ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS OF CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS 49$
^e who are accustomed to hang them around the fireplace or on
the bedpost would be surprised to hear of their being hung out
of the window, yet this is sometimes done in Germany where
stoves for the most part reign supreme and the chimney corner
does not exist. I have heard that sometimes even night-dresses
were folded in such a way as to be convenient receptacles for
St. Nicholas' gifts.
Thus you see how very early in the history of Christmas the
idea of the Christ-child began to be dominated by other ideas
that had no real connection with the day. St. Nicholas, the
young bishop of the fourth century, was first introduced as
bringing gifts. Gradually this idea was transferred to Christ-
mas day in some countries and now I shall tell you the most
curious thing of all. You have all, living here in Doylestown^
surely heard of "Belznickle," have all probably seen him. I
believe this Christmas he is even to appear in Plumsteadville — the
little old man clothed in skins who carries switches for the
naughty children. Some might easily think him a parody of the
good saint, but St. Nicholas was not an old man, he was not
clothed in skins and there is no evidence of his bringing anything
but good things. When and where did this Belznickle spring
from ? To answer this question we will have to go far back to the
old Scandinavian times when the wood-demon Nick, as he was
called, reigned supreme in the forests. To him we owe the
transformation of St. Nicholas into an old man and yet he is
an entirely different person from the Saint. This German fairy
or gnome, as I must call him, is so well known and popular in the
Hartz mountains of Germany that the miners have given his
name to the metal nickel. He is also called Pelzbube, the boy
with skins and perhaps you may have heard the old Philadelphia
child's rhyme. Here I stand Belzebub, and in my hand I carry
a club." Our expression "Old Nick" comes fiom the same
demon, also "nickname" and some say the word "nixie." In
Germany he is likewise known as the "Koboe" or wood-elf
and cobalt was named for him by the same superstitious miners.
How little do we think of these things when Belzebub appears
on Christmas eve, and how strange it seems to think of this
gnome taking possession of the greatest of Christian festivals !
Here I would like to read an extract from a letter written by
496 ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS OF CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS
M. A. F. Berlin, of Allentown ; he describes the way Christmas
was kept in his home about the year i860.
"In my childhood days 'Belsnigl' visited our house on the night before
Christmas. He brought with him a quantity of nuts and a long switch.
We were plied with questions as to our behavior through the year, and
the elders around us always answered for us, telling him how good we had
been. At the same time we were in mortal fear of the switch. After the
quiz, 'Belsnigl' threw on the floor his nuts, but if we attempted to
pick them up received a blow on our hands or body from his switch. After
he left we picked up his nuts, and were at the same time reminded of the
narrow escape we had in being saved from a good trouncing. Then, at
our house, no presents were given. Mother baked for us the animal shaped
cakes of which we always had more than we cared for. Chestnuts, but-
ternuts, walnuts, shellbarks, and hazelnuts as we called them, we gathered
ourselves. After butchering, we gathered the bristles of the hogs. These
we carefully cleaned and took them tO' the store and exchanged them
for clear toy candy. We were paid six cents an ounce for the bristles.
You can imagine how much of this candy our share was. We as children
at home were nicely dressed and very well fed, but we did without
presents, and we were well satisfied for we knew no better. How times
have changed !
As children we had no love for 'Belsnigl' because we feared his switch.
Kind words never came from him. My father and mother never cared
for his visits for the above reason, and always remained at home on that
evening and answered for us."
I think his reference to the Belznickle of those days is very
interesting. Now we will turn to the pleasanter Christmas genius
called Kris Kingle.
This time the childish imagination soars above religious instruc-
tion for Kris Kingle as you know is a corruption of Christ
Kindlein or Christ-child. He is the Pennsylvania German form
of Santa Claus which is the Dutch name for St. Nicholas and
has hardly penetrated outside of Pennsylvania if at all. For
instance Kris Kingle is practically unknown to New England.
This time he is represented as coming down the chimney laden
with toys to put in the stockings and the bells of his reindeer
are heard outside. I am sure you have all read the stirring poem :
'Twas the night before Christmas
When all through the house.
Not a creature was stirring,
' Not even a mouse.
This was written about 1845 by Clement C. Moore and many
ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS OF CHRISTMAS Fe;STIVALS 497
â– of the modern attributes of St. Nicholas may be traced to those
vivid Hnes.
In parts of Germany and Austria we find still another curious
character, Knecht Rupprecht, which means the servant Rupprecht.
He usually appeared on St. Nicholas day but I have also heard
of him on Christmas eve in other parts of the country, dressed in
a white gown with a mask and white wig ; he goes from house to
house and is received by the parents. He then inquires for the
children and according to their character he gives nuts and ap-
ples to the good and a stick perhaps to the bad ones.
Some say North Amsterdam, N. Y., had the honor of first
harboring Santa Claus in America, and in the little Moravian
village Emaus in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, Kris Kingle
or Belznickle visits personally all the houses and distributes
gifts to the children. Another custom among the Pennsylvania
Germans was to cry "Christmas Gift" or veinacht geschenk
instead of "Merry Christmas," and young people on Christmas
eve would go about jingling sleigh-bells and leaving presents.
This last has been done in Doylestown but I fancy not lately.
One hears also sometimes of the custom called "barring-out."
The pupils fasten themselves in the school-house and keep the
teacher out to obtain presents from him. It does not relate how
many presents are extorted by this method, but it seems rather
hard on the teacher.
Now we're coming to one of the most attractive features of
our modern Christmas celebration, I mean by this a Christmas
tree.
There is a tree a wondrous tree,
That never never grows
Save in December's bitter cold
Among the frozen snows.
Its fruit is strange and varied too,
Of every color bright,
It buds and bears and yields its crop
All in its single night.
There is endless discussion as to the origin of the Christmas
tree. Some see in it reminiscence of the pine trees of the Roman
Saturnalia, others see a relic of the pageants of the middle ages.
There is a tradition in one part of Germany that was originated
by Martin Luther, and Mr. H. C. Mercer has a picture of Luther
498 ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS OF CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS.
seated under a Christmas tree. On the other hand Mr. Wilman,
of Edison, sends me the following translation from a German
paper. It is called the "Jubilee of the Christmas Tree" and
contains the following: "This year we may celebrate the three
hundred and first jubilee of the Christmas tree." Our imagina-
tion would like to have it much older, as for instance the poet;
Scheffel mentions it in his novel Ekkehart, but the newer histor-
ians, for instance, Prof. George Rietshel, have proved that the
first Christmas tree or pine tree is mentioned in the year 1606 ini
the city of Strasburg. "The different opinions do not agree-
from whence it came, but one thing is certain the Christmas tree-
is no part of the old Germanic customs." The custom does not
seem to have taken its way from the North to the South, but
vice versa.
The notes of a man from the year 1606, who spent his younger
days in Alsatia says among other things "In Strasburg they set
up Christmas trees in their rooms and fasten to them roses cut
from many colored paper, apples, waters, imitation-gold sugar,
etc." No mention is made of candles until 1737.
Godfrey Kissling, a lawyer of Witenburg, tells about a woman
on a farm near Zettan on Christmas eve sat up in her rooms
as many trees as persons she intended to surprise. Each could
guess from the size, decoration and placing of the tree which
one belonged to them. As soon as the presents had been divided
and laid under the trees and the lights on and around the trees
had been lit, they opened the doors and all came in and took
possession of tree and presents. After that the servants were-
called in and received presents also. At any rate whatever may
have been its origin the Christmas tree is now known all over
Germany and in all countries where German influence has been
felt.
Of course it came to America with Santa Claus and Kris
Kingle but in England we hear of it only since the marriage of
Queen Victoria to Prince Albert, evidently a part of his German
education. Though very popular in England still it is not so
universally seen as in Germany where rich and poor consider it
a part of Christmas rejoicing. In Russia there was also a
curious custom concerning the Christmas tree. In some villages
a large growing tree is selected on the branches of which sit
ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS OF CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS 499
heavily veiled the young marriageable women of the community.
Those v^ho are looking for wives approach and selecting one
which pleases them the most, take her away to marry her. It
is said that marriages of this sort turn out usually very well. This
custom must have penetrated into Germany as there is a picture
called the "V einachts-Baum" illustrating it.
In France we do not often see the Christmas tree for the day
is purely a religious festival. No presents are given until New
Year's day though I believe now the custom is creeping in.
Christmas eve, or the vigil of Christmas, in former days in
France and nowadays, almost always in country villages, was
occupied in sitting about the fire until it was time to go to the
midnight mass. This was celebrated as the clock struck twelve
when the choir would burst forth into carols, or noels as they are
called, in honor of the day. In France, as in England, the carols
were very popular in the country villages where groups of wan-
dering musicians would go from house to house during the
Christmas holidays and sing outside the windows, hoping for
recompense. In the middle ages the peasants would act little
dramas in which these songs would be introduced celebrating the
birth of Christ. Some would be like cradle songs representing
the Child Jesus in the manger, others are general airs of rejoicing
over the season.
The custom of placing a manger or crib in the church is of
very ancient date and is supposed to have been introduced by
St. Frances of Assisi in Italy. There as well as in Germany
one may see the most beautiful little representations exquisitely
carved in wood. In the museum in Munich there is a special
exhibition of these ornaments or krippcn, as they are called,
that have been collected from all parts of Europe.
In our part of the world, in and about Bethlehem, Pa., where
there are so many Moravians, Christmas is also ushered in by
an interesting church service. The chapel is beautifully decora-
ted with Christmas greens and with an accompaniment of
appropriate music, the brethren partake of the love feast con-
sisting of cake and coffee — then when the choir sings in German
the words "Arise it becomes light : for Thy light cometh and the
glory of the Lord ariseth," large trays of lighted tapers aro
brought in from the eastern side of the chapel and distributed
5O0 ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS OF CHRISTMAS FEISTIVAI^S
to the children. It must indeed be a beautiful scene to see these
sometimes hundreds of tapers lighting up young and old, but I
believe the custom is dying out gradually, as a more mixed
population creeps in.
The English Christmas is still different from the ones we have
just seen. As it is only lately practically, that the tree has been
introduced Christmas came and went without St. Nicholas and
his attendant legends. Yule reigned supreme and this ancient
name given by the Goths to the festival to the winter solstice
which became incorporated into Christmas, is still the Scottish
designation of Christmas time. The burning of the Yule log and
the ceremonies attendant on bringing it from the forest to place
in the chimney on Christmas eve. This was an ancient Scandinav-
ian custom and though now shorn of much of its pomp still con-
tinues in some parts of the country. This great log sometimes the
finest of the forest was drawn in triumph to the castle. Those
meeting it on its way always raised their hats in respect, and bards,
clustered round its entrance feting it with their songs. It was
carried to the huge chimney place and there lighted from last
year's brand amid the joyful cries of the assembly. There it
would burn merrily until far into the night when its charred
remains would be carefully preserved to light the Yule log on the
following year. The observance of this last custom was con-
sidered a safe guard for the year against fire. As an accompani-
ment of the Yule log an enormous candle the "Yule candle"
shed its light on the assembly and in Oxford at St. John's College
there is still preserved one of the ancient candle sockets. This
Yule candle was burned every evening until "twelfth-night." In
Devonshire the Ashton-faggot took the place of the Yule log.
It is composed of a bundle of ash sticks and is burned with the
same joyful ceremony. It is needless to say that in those days,
the chimney was always cleaned before Christmas !
Another curious old English custom still practiced in parts
of Devon is for the farmer, his family and friends to proceed to-
the orchard bearing hot cakes and cider as an offering to the
principle apple tree. This took place on Christmas eve. The
cake was deposited on the fork of the tree, the cider thrown over
it, while the men fired off guns and pistols and all sang
ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS O? CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS 50I
"Apples and pears with right good corn
Corne in plenty to every one.
Eat and drink good cake and hot ale
Give earth to drink and she'll not fail."
The custom of decorating churches and dweUings with ever-
greens is so ancient that some claim its descent from the Romans.
During the SaturnaHa their homes were ornamented with green
branches and it is for this reason that early ecclesiastical au-
thorities forbade the members of the church to do likewise.
However, the custom was so instinctive with human nature that
it later became a part of the Christian ceremonies and we find
the Christmas decoration playing a large part in the celebration
of the day. Holly, bay, rosemare and laurel were the favorites
used for church decoration. The famous mistletoe was not used
except in houses as its early druidical associations rendered it
inappropriate to a Christian church. In the days of the Druids
it grew on the oak and was one of their most sacred plants.
During the winter solstice they would go in procession to an
oak tree and with great ceremony, sometimes attended by human
sacrifice, the mistletoe would be cut from it and pieces distributed
to the assembly. These would be hung over the entrance to
dwellings as propitiation to the evil spirits. Nowadays the mistle-
toe is rarely found growing on the oak, but in England it flour-
ishes often on the apple tree and in France on the poplar. Its
English name is supposed to come from the Anglo Saxon mistel,
meaning mist or gloom and taeo (twig). The American species
(phoradcndron) is similar to the European and yet dififers
enough to be called by another name in classifying it. There
is a Christian legend connected with the mistletoe. It was
believed to have furnished the wood for the cross and therefore
was condemned for evermore to be a parasite. That may have
also been one reason why it was not used in churches. I will
not enlarge on the quaint custom concerning the mistletoe that
has been handed down to us from our English ancestors. I
hardly like to mention anything so frivolous before the members
of the historical society, particularly as they were all probably-
well aware of it. In England the quaint legend exists that unless a
maiden is kissed under the mistletoe on Christmas eve, she will
502 ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS OF CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS
not be married during the year. You can imagine in what con-
venient places it was hung.
I shall not go into any details of the Christmas games or
various forms of merrymaking as it would take too long and
would have no real bearing on our subject. I will only mention in
passing the mummers or masqueraders who paraded about on
Christmas eve. I believe in Philadelphia they are to be seen
at New Years and they are undoubtedly descended from the old
English ones. The word mummer comes from the old Danish
word mummc or masking. The practice was greatly in vogue
among the Romans who during the Saturnalia would go about
masked and in derision of this the early Christians on New
Year's would disguise themselves as some pagan deity. The
favorite subjects among the English mummers would be the dis-
guise of Father Christmas, St. George and the Dragon, The
Grand Turk, etc., and this goes on until this day in remoter parts
of England.
Christmas carols come to us from time immemorial. The word
carol comes from the Latin cantaire (to sing) and rola (an excla-
mation of joy). We have seen how the French shepherds would
act little dramas interspersed with carols. In Italy during Ad-
vent the peasants from the Abruzzi and Calabrian mountains
come down into the cities dressed in their curious costumes to
announce by carols the time of Christ's birth. These are called
the Pifferari that is to say minstrels and they accompany their
quaint songs by a wild discordant air played on the fife or bag-
pipes. The English embody the same idea in the wakes or
serenaders who patrol the streets during the night for two or
three weeks before Christmas. In the accounts of the Durham
cathedral for the year 1397, appears the entry "to the singers
playing before the Nativity," but very few old carols are now
sung. In Worcester or Cornwall one still hears some ancient
ones such as the one beginning
"God bless you merrie gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
For Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Was born on Christmas Day."
In Yorkshire on Christmas day the children march about
carrying Christmas trees and singing. The money collected on
I
ORIGIN AND CUSTOMS 01^ CHRISTMAS FESTIVALS 503
these tours is spent in merrymaking on twelfth-day. Curious to
relate one finds scarcely any traces of carol singing in Scotland.
In Germany many beautiful carols are heard in particular the one
called Heiligenacht. It is usually sung by children on Christmas
eve sometimes outside the windows and has undoubtedly been
brought over here.
It is not possible to go into the details of Christmas-fare in
the olden time for that would mean a volume to itself. I will
only speak of mince-pies that were already popular in England
in 1596 though under the name of mutton-pie, while plum-pudding
does not appear until 100 years later.
I must not forget in this brief sketch of Christmas to mention
some of the beautiful legends attached to the day. The cock
was said to crow at night to ward off evil spirits. In Lapland
and Norway a cock made of Yule straw is suspended over the
Christmas-table and the ancient Scandinavians sacrificed cocks
at the Yule feast. This cock crowing is mentioned in Hamlet
most beautifully.
"Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes,
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long,
And then they say no spirit can walk abroad.
The nights are wholesome then, no planets strike,
No fairy takes nor witch hath power to charm.
So hallowed and so gracious is the time."
In Devonshire the belief was long current that on Christmas
eve at midnight the cattle in their stalls knelt in adoration of the
infant Saviour. These are said to sing all night and bread
baked on Christmas never becomes moldy. In parts of Germanv
and Austria the peasants to this day keep lights burning all night
in their windows. Some even prepare food and hay for the
Christ-child and His mother who with the animals of the
manger are supposed to pass through villages on Christmas eve.
It would be easy for one to continue indefinitely telling about
Christmas and its fascinating customs, but with such a vast sub-
ject if one cannot go into detail, it is better to give a short
sketch. You may be inspired to find out for yourselves the many
curious and beautiful things that have been said and done in
honor of Christmas day. Perhaps some of you think that too
504 ANTI SLAVERY DAYS — EXPERIENCE OF FUGITIVES
much is made of the festival, too much money wasted, too many
tired people the day after. It may be so, but as some one has
said it seems to me "better a little excess of sentimentality than
an iron hardness of heart; better an exhausted treasury than a
blind-eye to the wants of others; better a slight indigestion than
not a slice of turkey or a solitary mince-pie." With these last
words I will wish you all a very "Merrie Christmas."
Anti Slavery Days — Experiences of Fugitives.
BY HON. HARMAN YERKES, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
(Doj'lestown Meeting, January 21, 1908.)
I am little inclined to indulge in reminiscences. I have al-
ways regarded those people who are in the habit of doing so, as
having reached that period in life when they are getting into
the sere and yellow leaf, living in the past instead of the present,
when the future no longer has any attractions for them. I
will therefore premise what I have to say. having had this sub-
ject particularly forced upon me, by the declaration that I
do not consent voluntarily to be put in that class whose useful-
ness in this life is ended ; and who can only contribute to the
enjoyment and welfare or discomfort of their fellows by calling
up the past as being better than the present.
But, at the same time, if it were not for reminiscences the
world would be of little interest to us and of little enjoyment
in the future. What is history but tradition or reminiscences,
and history to the young and old alike, but more especially
to the young, is probably the most attractive of the literary pur-
suits in which we engage in our studies of life, our country, and
uur people. I confess that in giving a little time to the considera-
tion of some matters of the past, as occur to me, I have taken
greater interest on account of my desire to encourage the Bucks
County Historical Society, in comparison superior to all other
societies of this character, in the manner in which it has elected
to instruct the people in the history of the country and the
community. For I think I can safely say that this society has
reached a point when it has become an attraction, not only to
ANTI SI.AVERY DAYS — e;XPE:rie;nCE: OF FUGITIVES 505
the community in which it was organized, but to the country at
large. Nowhere else within the broad expanse of America can
there be found gathered together such a collection as you may
see in this room. Nowhere else can you study history from
the standpoint, if I may use the expression, of the kindergarten,
as you may here. These old reminders of the past, which some
people irreverently call "junk," are brimful of history and historic
interest and reminiscences. They attract the attention, not only
of the old, some of whom here are yet familiar with them and
their uses, but of the young as well, and will become, as time
goes on, more attractive to the generations to come who will
practically know nothing of what they were for or their actual
uses.
Mr. Mercer has the first honor of having supplemented the
great work of the president, who is here today presiding over
us and looking with calm satisfaction upon the culmination of
his work as the organizer of the society. This supplemental
work has taken the form of increasing the interest in this as-
sociation by collecting and contributing, and stimulating others
to collect and contribute, largely from this vicinity, the articles
and implements we see around us. He has lately taken up the
idea of disarming and suppressing that prejudice which exists
in the minds of those who refer to this collection as "junk"
by taking up some little article stowed away in some corner
here as an illustrative reminder of what the history of our county
has been. Since I had suggested to me the subject of "rem-
iniscences" I had thought of laying my hand upon some article
here which would give me a subject upon which to enlarge.
I came down here this afternoon to look for what? Something
that is here somewhere if it has not been stolen, something
which is of itself of no value, but which is suggestive of very
much in the history of our county.
As I could not find it, and knew it had a mate, I sent out
to see if I could not find that. As you see, it is an old shoe.
That shoe recalls to my mind not reminiscences but history.
A long period has intervened since the days of anti-slavery
agitation, longer than intervened between the Revolutionary War
and the birth of the president of this society. We now look
5o6 ANTI SLAVERY DAYS — EXPERIENCE OF FUGITIVES
upon the Revolutionary War and the events connected with it
as parts of a dim and far distant past. We are even reachino-
the stage when the thrilling incidents in our own community
during the anti-slavery days are growing indistinct in our minds
and fading into the same remote period as are those of the
Revolutionary War.
I remember when I was a boy playing with some other chil-
dren at the end of my father's lane, in Warminster township,
I saw coming down the Street road, a strange looking creature,
in the distance appearing to our visions almost as large as an ele-
phant and moving slowly along the highway. Gradually it came
nearer, and said something in a mumbling voice to us. Terrified,
we ran scattering to our homes. There we were told it must have
been Big Ben, the runaway slave who roamed about the countrv
in my boyhood and died in the almshouse thirty or forty years
ago.
This, one of his shoes, will indicate to you something of
his size. He was about eight feet in height. He was a slave
from the State of Maryland. This being on the line of what
was known as the "Underground Railroad," when he escaped
he came here. Considered of especial value on account of his
strength he was pursued by his master, overtaken in the town-
ship of Buckingham, and taken away by force. Mr. Mercer
has brought here to-day an eyewitness of the event to relate to
this audience the circumstances of the capture and taking of
Big Ben back to Maryland. After he had been returned to
his master the people of the community raised $800, I think,
and bought his freedom. He then returned here. Whether
spoiled by the attention, or not, he wandered about the county,
practically in the character of a worthless tramp, as when I saw
him on the occasion I have mentioned, our first and last intro-
duction. This is illustrative that it does not always do to
shower upon men attention and consideration, or you may spoil
what good there may be in them. Before I proceed to the sec-
ond subject this old shoe has called up, I will ask this old lady
to tell us what she knows about the capture of Big Ben.
MRS. CILES' STORY.
Mrs. Giles, an aged colored woman, of Buckingham, was then
I
ANTI SIvAVERY DAYS — EXPERIENCE OE FUGITIVES 507
presented and related her personal experience with "Big Ben"
Jones as follows :
"I knew Big Ben. When I was nothing but an infant my father and
mother lived in Quakertown, where we were all born and bred. We
were not slaves ourselves, but born and bred in Quakertown. Benjamin
Jones had a brother by the name of Levi and both fled from bondage
and came to our father's house and nursed us when we were nothing but
babies. After I came to Buckingham they visited us many a time and
nursed the children. When I was a little girl I lived with Johnson Pax-
son on the Samuel Brown farm, just below Lahaska, adjoining the
station. The slaveholders came one day and hunted Ben but did not hap-
pen to find him just about there, so they wandered about the country
and finally came upon Ben in the woods near Forest Grove, where he
was at work cutting wood by the cord. They overtook him in that woods.
They surrounded him there and there was a terrific battle in the woods.
He fought and cut a good many with his axe so that they never got over
it. At length they got behind him and cut his suspenders or loosened his
clothing in some way so that they fell down around his feet and interfered
with his movements so that they got him. They brought him to Doyles-
town and kept him over night and then took him to Maryland. Some of
them lived and some died from the effects of his treatment. Then the
people missed him so in Buckingham they made up $600, if I remember
rightly, and brought him back. He then lived around there, but he had
some infection from the treatment he had received and always had a slight
lameness, and finally went to the Almshouse. He stayed there many years
and married a woman there and they came back to around Buckingham and
kept house several years. Then he became so poorly they decided to go
back to the Almshouse. They went back and both died in the Almshouse,
and I suppose were buried there. He was a man who was kind-hearted
and good to everybody. He was a very stout man, and was about seven
or eight feet tall, so tall he could not come into our common doors with-
out stooping. When my father moved into Plumstead, near Landisville,
he often came there and sometimes laid down on the settee with his feet
hanging over the end of it. My mother was combing her head one Sun-
day when he was there. In that time they used to wear headbands. She
had hers off and while he was lying there asleep she measured with it
from the crown of his head to his jaw. It measured this much" (about
eighteen inches.)
ABOEITIONISTS' FINED.
Judge Yerkes took np his address and said :
The relation of this lady's experience of this old man brings
us back to the realities of the past. They made an impression
upon her mind that will never be effaced, and will satisfy you
that you may accept her statement as more reliable than mine
508 ANTI SLAVERY DAYS — EXPERIENCE OE FUGITIVES
as to what it cost to procure Ben his freedom. This circum-
stance of the rescue of Ben by his friends from his master re-
minds me of another event in my own neighborhood.
About 1822, when slavery had not been entirely abolished in
New Jersey, there came over to Horsham, in Montgomery coun-
ty, a man whose first name was John, who lived as a farm-
hand with the Kenderdine family, the grandfather or some rela-
tive at least of Thaddeus S. Kenderdine, who is here today.
After he had dwelt there some years his owners learned of
his whereabouts and, as the story was related to me by Dr. John
H. Hill, came to Hatboro to effect his capture. They started out
in the evening, five of them, one of whom was one of the New
Jersey Skillmans, and drove along the road until they were oppo-
site the Kenderdine house. Then they made an alarm, crying that
the linch-pin had fallen out of the wagon, and calling for a lantern
and assistance. Some of the Kenderdine family came out, and
gathered around the wagon, among them this man holding a lan-
tern. The New Jersey people seized him, put him in the wagon,
and started off. One of the Kenderdines, Issachar, I think, called
out to them and reminded them they had no right to take him
away until they had brought him before a judge and identified
him and proved their property. They replied that their power
was authority enough, and drove off. There were there at the
time Robert and John Iredell, John E. Kenderdine, Issachar
Kenderdine. and a man named Tompkins, who, belonging to
what Dr. Mitchell calls the "fighting Quaker" class, were un-
willing to have the man taken away without legal process. They
pursued the wagon to Hatboro, where they overtook and sur-
rounded it. The New Jersey men were treated so roughly that
finally they submitted and went before a judge who found they
had not proved their ownership in the man. They were then
immediately arrested upon a counter-charge of kidnapping and
put under heavy bail. They went to Newtown, these slave-
owners, think of it, procured bondsmen there, and came back
and entered bail, were tried at Norristown and acquitted. They
then went into the United States Court at Philadelphia, and
brought suit against the young men who had intercepted them
and recovered some $4,000 damages against them for having in-
ANTI SLAVERY DAYS — EXPERIENCE OF FUGITIVES 509
terfered with them in the capture of this fugitive slave. Dr.
Hill related to me that he was the intermediary between the
parties in effecting a settlement of the matter ; and that it re-
sulted in the payment of some $2,000 to satisfy the men for
the interference with them in their attempt to re-capture this
slave. I have learned since coming here to-day that the event
lias been written into permanent history by Thaddeus Kender-
•dine and is in a book in the library of this society, and therefore
I need not dwell upon it. ]Mr. Kenderdine's father was one of
the active parties in the interference with running that man
away. All of the parties General Davis and I knew very well in
our younger days. They were not of the class of men to be trifled
with when the freedom of a man was at stake, even in the en-
forcement of a law which they did not agree with.
There was another incident which appears to me as having
"been very strange. Standing at the same place, on the afternoon
•of a summer day, upon the Street road, when I was a boy,
Tny attention was aroused by a great cloud of dust coming down
the road. It was a man driving a fast horse, and he was shout-
ing at the horse to encourage his speed. That man was well
known through the lower end of Bucks and Montgomery coun-
ties, and all eastern Pennsylvania. It was Robert Purvis, who
visited friends in a family near there named Hanscom. I also
saw him in Philadelphia a few years before his death. Last
summer, when I boarded a ship in Boston to cross the Atlantic
I saw in the crowd a man I thought I knew, and on looking
'Over the list of the ship's passengers found the name of a Dr.
Purvis among them. In a few days I mustered up courage to
introduce myself to him. I asked him if he was the Dr. Purvis
named on the list of passengers, saying that I had knoyvn a man
named Robert Purvis, whom he resembled. He was the son
of that Robert Purvis, a professor of the Howard University in
Washington, with a residence in Massachusetts, a man of great
educational prominence and high culture. We indulged in remin-
iscences that evening, as we sat upon the steamship, skirting the
-coast of Africa where no doubt he recalled that some of his an-
cestors had once lived. We talked of the anti-slavery days in this
locality, and he recalled to me people and events I had almost for-
5IO ANTI SLAVERY DAYS — EXPERIENCE OF FUGITIVES
g-otten, Lucretia Mott, Charles C. Burleigh, and others. It remind-
ed me of my youth and the stirring events of those times. He
recalled to me this incident of the rescue of a fugitive slave
by his father. Two boys by the name of Dawson were fugi-
tive slaves, living in Bensalem township, one was picked up
by his master and brought to Doylestown to be produced before
Judge Fox to be identified and claimed as a slave. Mr. Purvis
was notified, hastened to Doylestown, and employed Thomas
Ross, I think, secured a writ of habeas corpus, and then drove
a fast horse to Philadelphia and brought up David Paul Brown.
When the boy named was brought before the judge and his
identity was proved and the fugitive slave law was cited, his
counsel interposed and said "This may all be true, but there
is wanting here the proof of one fact ; this law provides that
a fugitive from a slave State shall be returned upon proof made
as required by it, but we require the claimants in this case
to prove that Maryland is a slave State. There is no evidence
in this case that Maryland is a slave State." The proof not
being forthcoming, he was handed over to Purvis, who hastened
him on to Canada, where his freedom was secure. It may be
remarked that this occurred before judges claimed the right to
take "judicial notice" of historic facts, not proved.
I have only related some of these incidents as illustrative of
the value of the kindergarten system even in local history. If
this old shoe, or its mate, which I saw some time ago in Dr.
Swartzlander's office, and this accidental meeting with Dr. Pur-
vis, had not recalled these incidents they would have passed out
of my mind as they have no doubt from the minds of many here
to-day : but they served the purpose to recall to me incidents of
my youth, and to revive recollections of forgotten history.
The next time that I met Dr. Purvis was in Rome, not the
Rome of Caesar or of the Republic, but that of to-day, of King
Victor Emanuel ; one of the model cities of the world, that can set
an example of government and order to any in America. I met
him there and while we stood upon the beautiful street circling the
Viminal hill, we discussed the people of that city and its gov-
ernment, comparing it. in many ways, to our disadvantage, to the
luxury and corruption of our own cities. I thought as I parted
ANTI SI.AVERY DAYS — EXPERIENCE OF FUGITIVES 5 II
with him of how the time had changed. "Here am I, a repre-
sentative of the old pro-slavery democracy, and I have been talk-
ing with this descendant of an anti-slavery agitator and organizer
of the "Underground Railroad," we have stood for hours discuss-
ing, upon common ground, the welfare of respective peoples as
derived from good or bad government." We are entering upon
a new and wonderful time in the history of our country. Our
people are now joined hand in hand. Prejudices are buried, and
we are moving on toward a grand and illustrious future, pro-
vided that the principles of our fathers, their honesty, industry,
and frugality, can be maintained in these times of struggle for
the mastery that is ruining the characters of so many of our
people. Let us not forget that these articles that have been col-
lected by the energy, care, and forethought of the members of
this society are of great value and should be cherished and pre-
served. They illustrate a period of change which occurred in
this country as a result of inventions and improvements, the
like of which may never occur again in our history. They take
us back to a past which is in danger of being forgotten. It
is our duty to educate ourselves and those growing up abouc
us in sincere respect for the men who blazed the way by which
we have become the great and happy people that we are. Look
around you at the evidences of the labor and the patient skill
T)y which our country was developed. Let us follow in the steps
of the people of the older countries in collecting such evidences
of the thrift and skilful industry of the people of the past. I
heard a lady say to-day that the great whale-boat, the cider-press,
and the old gigs downstairs ought to be removed so that we
would have a place in which to set our lunch-tables. What is
lunch after all but the mere gratification of a temporary appetite?
Go to the great Cluny museum, or any of the other great mu-
seums of Europe, and see how the people assemble there from
all parts of the world to study and ponder over the fabrics and
mechanism of the rare and curious craftsmanship of the past, the
wonderful and intricate iron-work and carvings and tapestries,
while we apparently are wanting to forget that our fathers made
cider with that old press or rode in gigs such as these, or that
iipon the bleak New England coasts men took their lives in their
512 ANTI SLAVERY DAYS — EXPERIENCE OF FUGITIVES
hands and v^ent out for years at a time to gather in by means
of whale-boats like that dov^nstairs a scanty subsistence for their
families living" along that barren coast. And to-day we are told
that these evidences of that labor and care and honest industry
commemorative of the past to the minds of posterity should b2
removed to make room for the gratification of a passing appe-
tite ! Let us not only cherish these things ; let us add to them.
Where, for instance, is there an example of the old-style revolving
horserake? There should be one here to illustrate how, when
in our boyhood days we followed them, and, suddenly striking
a clod or stone, were thrown nearly over the horses' heads.
Let the farmer's sons of to-day have something to illustrate to
them that it was not upon trolley cars between the hours of
six and six that their parents had to work, but with Conestoga
wagons such as that one, or with those heavy sleds or that
clumsy machinery, from sun to sun, indeed often into the night.
That honesty, industry, and frugal toil have made their descen-
dants the vigorous, sturdy-minded people they are ; and that
indulgence in luxuries is to be avoided lest we deteriorate into
a class of which their children's children will not be proud tO'
be the representatives, as we are of those who preceded us.
Bucks County in Our Nation's History.
BY CAPTAIN WII^LIAM WYNKOOP, NKWTOWN, PA.
(Doylestown Meeting, January 21, 1908.)
During my visit to Jamestown Exposition last September I
took a trolley ride from Norfolk, Va., to view the spot where
300 years previous, a little band of English colonists landed
at Cape Henry, on the Atlantic coast, after a long and tedious
voyage. A more desolate sandy beach, exposed to storms and
high winds, with nothing inviting in the prospect, could hardly
be imagined. Leaving the bleak shore they sailed up what is
now known as Hampton Roads, landing near where Fortress
Monroe now stands, and finding it so much more comfortable,
they named it Point Comfort.
Again they took to their ships and sailing up the Powhattan,
now James river, they landed and efifected a settlement at James-
town, the first permanent English settlement in America. As
we viewed the original tower of the first church erected there, and
had pointed out to us the spot where Pocahontas was baptized
in 1614, we felt we were standing in truly historic ground. No
wonder the U. S. Government has just completed a monument
to mark the sacred spot. What a wonderful history our nation
has since made. On these same inland waters where this little
band of English colonists sailed enroute to Jamestown, now
known as Hampton Roads, we saw a number of our modern
battleships at anchor, and only a few weeks ago witnessed tha
greatest naval display the world has ever seen. Our nation
from a mere infant has grown to full manhood, one of the lead-
ing powers of the world.
In 1865. after a four years' service in bloody warfare, the
Northern army, returning home victorious, marched in review
through Washington, brigade followed brigade, division after
division, corps after corps, while the representatives of other
nations looked on in amazement at the remaining strength in
reserve as shown by the numbers in line.
17
514 BUCKS COUNTY IN OUR NATION S HISTORY
Among the government exhibits at Jamestown were shown
some of our immense siege-guns, and rifled-cannon, modern gat-
Hng-guns, post-office railway trains, and in other buildings im-
mense locomotives and cars for transporting our products over
our railroads. Our government had just completed a pier there
at the cost of $400,000, they own about 80 acres of land on which
Fortress Monroe stands with immense navy-yards at Norfolk
and Portsmouth ; and as we viewed these tokens of our nation's
growth and power, we felt like adopting as our own, the words :
"Breathes there the man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself has said.
This is my own, my Native Land."
r)ticks county has contributed its share to our nation's great-
ness. In early days it was the home of William Penn, who
arrived with other permanent settlers from England in 1683.
He insisted upon purchasing the land of the Indians and
cultivated peaceful relations with them. Our Bucks county
Quakers, as they were then called, have reason to be proud of
such an illustrious predecessor. His influence has been felt in
neighboring states, and who knows how much our nation is
indebted to his peaceful teachings and his exainple of fair, honest
dealing.
Bucks county has exerted a wide induence for good on educa-
tional lines. Large numbers of our young men who have in the
past been educated in our schools, have gone West and North
and attained high, honorable positions. We recall from memory
such names as Clarence B. Buckman, now of Minnesota, who
has been prominent in the State Legislature, also as a inember
of the 58th and 59th Congresses ; B. F. Blaker, now of Kansas,
and filling the position of State Senator ; his brother, Alfred
Blaker, also of Kansas, who has served a term in the Legislature
there ; Howard B. Merrick, now one of the professors in Ann
Arbor University, Mich. ; John B. Craven and Chas G. Ellis,
both of them Newtown boys, filling honorable positions as pastors
of prominent Presbyterian churches, the former at Wilkes-Barre,
Pa., the latter at Kingston, N. Y. ; Captain C. B.
Dahlgren, V. S. N., son of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, U.
S. N., who was born at Hartsville, and is present at this meeting.
BUCKS COUNTY IN OUR NATION S HISTORY 5 15
Another son of Admiral Dahlgren, born at Hartsville, was Col.
Ulric Dahlgren, U. S. A., who was killed March 2, 1864, in
front of Richmond, beside prominent educators in Philadelphia,
our normal schools and other places. The list might be extended
but we leave it to our hearers to duplicate.
One of our most noted educational institutions as measured by
results, the influence of which is still felt throughout the land,
was "The Log College," founded in 1735. The little rustic log
building has long since disappeared, but its successors, Princeton
University and Theological Seminary are still shedding an in-
fluence for good throughout our nation.
The founding of "Log College" was celebrated September 5,
1889, on its original site below Plartsville. Committees to arrange
details were appointed in October, 1888, with the following per-
sons as chairmen, who also constituted an executive committee :
Rev. Thomas Murphy, D. D., of Frankford, on speakers and pro-
gram ; Rev. D. K. Turner on selecting place ; William Wynkoop,
Esq., on finance; Charles B. Adamson, Esq., on railroads; Rev.
G. H. Nimmo, on entertainment, and John L. DuBois, on music.
The day was beautiful and early in the forenoon every road
was lined with vehicles wending their way to grounds selected.
Special trains brought multitudes, and at Noble station the dis-
tinguished visitors, including President Benjamin Harrison and
wife, John Wanamaker, Postmaster General, and wife; James A.
Beaver, Governor of State and others were met by the First
Regiment band of 42 pieces and led the procession through
Abington and Hatboro, 150 carriages following the President and
party. At Hatboro, the G. A. R. Post, No. loi, met the Presi-
dent accompanied by a band, and under their guidance reached
the grounds, again to be greeted by the 25,000 people there as-
sembled.
At the public exercises a choir of over 100 voices led by Prof.
Sweeney, and accompanied by a full orchestra, furnished music ;
a paper on "Log College" was read by Rev. D. K. Turner, of
Hartsville, and addresses made by President Harrison, Governor
Beaver, Postmaster General Wanamaker, Dr. Knox, President
of Lafayette College, and others. It was a day never to be
forgotten and entitles Bucks county to a prominent place in
our nation's history, not only as a display, but from the influence
5l6 BUCKS COUNTY IN OUR NATIOn's HISTORY
exerted in favor of the hig-her education, still manifested in our
colleges and universities.
Bucks county has been the home of many eminent lawyers,
judges and others who have been prominent in our State or
nation's history. Henry Wynkoop was commissioned president
judge of the Bucks county courts as early as November i8,
1780, his original commission being in possession of the writer.
James R. Slack removed to Indiana, and served as circuit judge
in that State: Henry W. Scott, L.L. D., (a Newtown boy) is now
serving his third term as judge of Northampton county, of our
own State. Still more recently might be named Chief -justice Ed-
ward M. Paxson : George Lear, at one time attorney general
of Pennsylvania; Thomas Ross and Robert "SI. Yardley, mem-
bers of Congress ; Judges Briggs. Fell, Biddle and Ma-
gill in the Philadelphia courts ; B. F. Gilkeson, commis-
sioner of banking : Webster Grim, state senator, and others.
But as I am not pretending to write a history of the distinguish-
ed members of our own bar, and am selecting only a few of
the many who have won distinction beyond our borders, possibly
we have proven our point, that Bucks county has had an honor-
able part in moulding the history of the times, and to some
extent of our nation.
You could hardly expect the writer to close this paper without
reference to the part our county has taken when war threatened
our existence as a nation. We need not remind you of the active
part assumed during the Revolutionary War. Here Washington
with a portion of his army encamped in those dark days of
December, 1776. From these camps extending up the west side
of the Delaware from Newtown to Coryell's ferry, the attack
on the Hessians at Trenton was planned. The point where the
river was crossed has acquired a national fame and is to-day
known as "Washington's Crossing." At another camp near
Hartsville Lafayette first joined Washington's forces, and al-
though there were Tories in those days, yet to the credit of our
own county be it said the great majority of our citizens were
loyal to Independence.
In the War of 181 2 Jacob Jennings Brown, of our county,
made a national record and at the time of his death in 1828 was
Commander of the L'. S. Arm v.
BUCKS COUNTY IN OUR NATION S HISTORY 5 17
The war with Mexico found several from our county in the
ranks, wiUing to assist the government in avenging the insults
offered us ; among them our beloved and revered president, Gen.
W. W. H. Davis.
In our recent Civil War, when efforts were made to destrov
our Union, our county during the four years of bloody strife
did its full share. General Davis first raised a company for three
months' service, and afterwards recruited a full regiment,
i<nown as the 104th Pa. Volunteers, numbering by October
25, 1861, over 1,000 men, mostly from Bucks county. The
number was afterwards increased to over 1,100, citizens
of all parties tendering their assistance. Public meetings
were held in various parts of the county and were well attended.
The one held in Northampton township was the largest, some
S.ooo people being present. General John Davis, father of W.
W. H. Davis, presided and patriotic speeches were made by
George Lear, Esq., and Rev. Jacob Bellville with others from
Philadelphia. Many of us had near and dear relatives on the
roll of this noble band, who never came back to us, but they did
not sacrifice their Hves in vain, for victory crowned their efforts
and a prosperous reunited country is their reward.
The citizens of Newtown and vicinity took action immediately
after Fort Sumpter was fired upon April 12, 1861. On April
19th, a public meeting was held in the hall, presided over by
John Barnsley, Esq., with Capt. Joseph Eyre, George A. Jenks,
Esq., and Dr. M. P. Linton as vice-presidents. It was agreed to
raise a company, David V. Feaster heading the roll with 33
others following at close of meeting. A committee was appointed
to secure additional names, and another committee of five from
Newtown and five from Yardley to raise funds for equipment
and support of families of the volunteers while on duty. The
committee from Newtown named was George A. Jenks, Lewis
Buckman, Benjamin B. Buckman, Dr. M. P. Linton and David
V. Feaster ; from Yardley, David Howell, Thomas Heed, A. S.
Cadwallader, Joseph A. Vanhorn and John F. Brown.
On April 22d, a second meeting was held at the hall, when
$1,250 was pledged, 44 more persons volunteered, and George
A. Jenks was made treasurer of the fund raised. David Y.
5l8 BUCKS COUNTY IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY
Feaster was elected captain, Strickland Yardley, first lieutenant,
and Joseph B. Roberts, second lieutenant.
On June lo, 1861, the company was mustered in as Co. C,
32d Regiment, Penna. \'^ols., known as "Third Penna. Reserves."
Horatio G. Sickel, of Philadelphia, was made colonel, William
S. Thompson, of Bucks county, lieutenant colonel, the regiment
serving three years and was mustered out June 17, 1864. Their
record like that of the 104th Pa., reflected credit on both officers
and men, but many valuable lives were lost on the field or in
hospital. Bucks county did nobly her part in furnishing these
two commands, beside those who joined other organizations.
Among those who served with other regiments were James H.
Hart, John Hobensack. William Wynkoop, Robert N. Boyd,
Edward H. Parry and Charles McKinstry, all officers in First
N. J. Cavalry; also Franklin Cornell, James N. Stradling. W.
yi. Raisner, Jesse Rubinkam, Cephas Ross and others from just
over the Montgomery county-line, in all 95 men forming Co. A,
of that regiment. Over half of these owned and took with them
their own horses, and belonged to good Quaker families. By
their valor on the field they won for the company the name
of "The Fighting Quakers."
Thomas P. Chambers served first in 104th Regiment, after-
wards as an officer in 20th Pa. Cavalry, John E. Wynkoop col-
onel. The many others who helped to give Bucks county a place
in the nation's history must be omitted for want of time and
space, but are not forgotten. The influence exerted by William
Penn is still felt beyond the limits of our county, and his
followers are everywhere ranked among our best citizens. The
prominent position assumed in our earlier history through "The
Log College ;" ouf many noted men who have acquired distinction
beyond our borders ; the large number of brave, loyal men who
responded to the call of their country, all prove that Bucks
county's part in the nation's history is one of which we may
well feel proud.
Firearms of Colonial Times.
BY ARTHUR CHAPMAN, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
(Doylestown Museum, April 25, 1908.)
Arthur Chapman, Esq., gave an address at the symposium held
in the building of the Bucks County Historical Society, April 25,
1908, on "Firearms of Colonial Times," in which he said:
Before the year 1818 all firearms were operated by means of
a flint-lock. After that time the percussion-cap was discovered,
and on account of the great facility and ease of its use the
flint-lock soon went out of use. Many were changed into per-
cussion locks : some escaped this change and we iiave them now
as relics.
The great differences in the form and shape of these rifles arose
from the fact that they were made by different individual mak-
ers, who were more common at that time than at present.
The main rifle in the United States was the Lancaster or
Kentucky rifle. This weapon (exhibiting a rifle), although not
a Lancaster rifle, approaches its conformation more closely than
anything I have ever seen. It was made at Canadensis, Monroe
county, this State. It belonged to two deer-hunters with whom
I was acquainted, and it is of such accuracy that in their hands,
at a shooting match it would drive a nail nearly every time. In
fact it broke up the shooting-matches. One of the men gave his
share of it to me. I purchased the other share and brought the
rifle to Doylestown and turned it over to Mr. Frank Hart, who
makes a collection of such things. The accuracy of these weapons
existed in the rifle itself and was put there by the manufacturer.
It consisted in the closeness with which it carried to the sight
above it. The marksmanship consisted in the application of that
sight to the mark. It was this which made it so fatal. This
example is the best I have seen.
Here is a rifle entrusted to the care of this society by Judge
Harman Yerkes, in whose family it has ever been. It is a
sacred relic, for it was used bv one of the heroes of the Revo-
520 FIREARMS OF COLONIAL TIMES
lution. This rifle was in active use at the battle of White
Plains.
Here is a flint-lock, with the flint still in it. These guns have
not had much care since they went out of use, and are in bad
condition. They were operated by means of the flint striking
upon the pan and the powder in the pan communicated with the
barrel. They have almost passed out of existence, and it is diffi-
cult to find one in perfect condition.
This is the rifle which belonged to Edward Marshall. It is
of German manufacture, a flint-lock in very good condition. The
flint-lock adjustment is still with it. It was imported from Ger-
many for his use, and is the one which he used as a hunter,
and slayer of the red-man. It is of almost national reputation.
At the engagement at New Orleans on January 8, 1815. nine-
teen hundred Kentucky and Tennessee riflemen, armed with these
flint-lock rifles and their own equipment, in the space of twenty-
five minutes killed and wounded more than 3,000 British troops
out of a total of 5,000, more than one half of them being killed
outright, most of them shot through the head, some through the
breast, and very few in the limbs. That is a record of the Ken-
tucky rifle and it has never been equalled in the history of war-
fare.
The Military Halberd of The Eighteenth Century.
BV FREDERICK J. SHELIvENBERGER, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
Special Meeting for Historical Study and Discussion.
(Doylestown Museum, April 25, 1908.)
I have here a halberd, which was given to my brother, John
O. T- Shellenberger, by Norman Fackenthal, some fifteen years
ago, who said that it had been in his family for many years,
having been carried by one of his ancestors in the
War of Independence. (The Halberd referred to
has been loaned to the Bucks County Historical
Society and is now in its museum, the illustration
shown herewith was made from a recent photo-
graph ) .
The halberd, or halbert, is a most interesting-
weapon. The name is probably derived from the
German "halb-barthe" "half-axe," in all likelihood
referring to its combined form. Mr. Chapman
has spoken of the rifle of the pioneer, the an-
cestor or forerunner of the modern military wea-
pon, and I shall endeavor to explain this halberd,
the last of the old arms to disappear.
The halberd belongs to the numerous group of
cut and thrust weapons carried by the feudal in-
fantry of Europe, others being the pike, half-pike
or espontoon, roncon, guisarme, bill, and partisan.
All of these weapons go back to the times when
there were no regular armies, each tenant and
dependent having in his dwelling a weapon of
some sort or other, with which he answered the
lord of the fee's call to military service : where
he served without pay until, the war being over
or his lord wearied of fighting, he returned to
his home, hung up his pike or bow. and took up
again his ordinary way of life.
These bodies of men of course had no tactics at all as we
522 MILITARY HALBERD OF THE) LIGHTLLNTH CENTURY
understand the word, except to march together in a disorderly
crowd, and to close up in action. The length of their weapons
was due to the fact that the chief strength of all feudal armies
was the heavy cavalry, composed of noblemen and their house-
hold servants or men-at-arms, and against the charge of which
a long weapon was of course a necessity to a footman.
The first regular bodies of troops were mercenaries, trained
soldiers skilled in the use of their particular weapons, gathered
together and commanded by a captain, often a nobleman or
knight, though not necessarily so, and drilled and disciplined
after his ideas in movements and the manual of arms. For uni-
formity of appearance, and, of more importance, efficiency,
weapons of the same character were necessary, and we find
certain weapons characteristic of certain nations in these bands
of soldiers that roamed through Europe and sold their services
to the highest bidder. Thus the English were archers, long-
bow men, and "bill" men. infantry armed with the "bill."
Germans usually carried the halberd or partisan. Genoese, an.l
Flemings or Brabanters were cross-bow men. The Flemings
also used the guisarme, a murderous weapon evolved from the
scythe. The Welsh were famous light infantry, their weapon
being the "half-pike," or "espontoon," and a long dagger. The
Swiss, the first to make infantry the main reliance of armies, were
pre-eminently "pikemen," though some of them were "halber-
diers."
The halberd was a favorite arm of "body-guard" troops, due,
perhaps to its form, which lent itself to elaborate decoration.
Some of the old ones are beautiful specimens of the armorer's
skill — and also to the fact that it vvould take a tall, finely de-
veloped man to use the weapon. It may be that on account of
its use by these "guard" troops it became the mark of distinc-
tion and rank.
With the growth of the national idea and the feeling of loyalty
and allegiance to a nation, as opposed to a locality, or a per-
son, regular armies, in our sense of the term, came into
existence. At first they used much the same diversity
of weapons as the old mercenary bands, with somewhat
more uniformity as to type. In the infantry of each nation
MILITARY HALBERD OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 523
the prevailing weapon would, of course, be the prevailing weapon
of the country. The trouble with most of these old weapons as
an effective arm was that they were not adapted to fighting
in close order, the only hope for infantry of that period, as
opposed to cavalry.
To handle a halberd, a partisan, a guisarme, or a roncie ef-
ficiently, one had to have room, and so, gradually to be sure but
none the less surely, all of these arms became superseded by
one of their number, that is, the pike, in one of its various forms,
Swiss, French, or Spanish, mostly the latter. Two of the others
retained the "half-pike" or "espontoon" and the "halberd," not
as the arms of a body, of men, but as the typical arms of a
grade of rank. The espontoon was the typical weapon of the
lieutenant and ensign, the junior commissioned officers of a com-
pany of foot, and a very interesting weapon it is.
The halberd was the recognized arm and badge of the ser-
geant, the senior non-commissioner officer of the company, who
were always old, trained soldiers, who instructed recruits and
upon whose movements and leading the privates directed their
march and "dressing." Why did sergeants carry halberds when
their men were pikemen ? Perhaps, as I have said, because the
halberd was a particularly showy arm, or, more likely, perhaps,
because of the sergeant's position on the flanks of the company,
much the same as to-day, the only place where a cutting weapon
could be used. While the invention or introduction of gunpowder
changed tactics to a great degree, still the pike for a long time
held a place, because the musketeer could fire and load but slowly,
and, his arquebuse or musketoon having been fired, was absolutely
helpless in repelling a charge of the dreaded cavalry. The pike,
then, held its place with the musket for a long time, as did the
half-pike and halberd, the usual proportion of pikes to muskets
being about one to two.
The invention of the bayonet caused the discontinuance of
the pike, but the espontoon and half-pike held their own for years.
The professional soldier is a great conservative and dislikes to
change his weapons and drill, and so it was that these two old
weapons, and the halberd, in particular, lasted for years after
they had become mere badges of rank. They were carried in the
524 MILITARY HALBERD OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
English army as late as 1814, for in Maclise's picture of the
meeting of Marshal Blucher with the Duke of Wellington on the
field of Waterloo, now in the Houses of Parliament, London,
a contemporary picture, in the lower right-hand corner is a ser-
geant of Highlanders carrying a typical halberd. I do not im-
agine that they lasted much longer than this.
It is to this later period that the halberd I have here this
evening belongs. It is evidently the badge of rank rather than
an offensive arm, and apparently the work of a blacksmith
rather than an armorer. Of pleasing and typical form, it is
made of wrought iron, head, ferrule, and collar. The shaft
is of hickory, painted or stained black, with pitch, probably as
a preservative. â– It is the sergeant's halberd, which was for so
long a time the emblem of that rank. Lawrence Sterne, in
his novel of "Tristram Shandy," written and published during
the first half of the eighteenth century, makes one of his char-
acters, a retired army officer, say of his soldier-servant, a cor-
poral, "He was the best educated man in my company, and
should have had the 'halberd' at the next vacancy," using the
common figure of speech of the mark of authority for the rank
Itself, as we may say of a judge, "He has assumed the ermine."
At that time the allusion would have been easily understood ;
to-day it is almost meaningless.
Now, were halberds generally in use during the Revolutionary
War? They were undoubtedly in use in the English, German
and French services at that time, and were surely used by the
troops of those countries who took part in the war. Were they
used by our troops? L^ndoubtedly, I think, although not so
generally of course, owing to the difficulty of obtaining arms
of all kinds, but I have no doubt that they were in use. Im
Baron Von Steuben's "Tactics" published in Philadelphia in 1776
the halberd is continually mentioned as the sergeant's arm, and,
moreover, a complete manual is given for its use. This, I think,
pretty conclusively proves that halberds were used when ob-
tainable, and in proof that they were actually so used, in Major
Denny's "Journal," the author at that time an ensign in Colo-
nel Irvine's regiment of the Pennsylvania line, speaking of the
skirmish at Williamsburg in Mrginia shortly before the siege of
MILITARY HALBERD OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 525
Yorktown, says that the captain of his company, who was shot
throug-h the leg, hobbled off the field using a sergeant's halberd
for a crutch.
And now did this halberd have a local history? I think it
did. Michael Fackenthal, born in Springfield in 1756, son of
Philip Fackenth-al, who came from the Palatinate in 1742, served
as a sergeant in Captain Valentine Opp's company, Colonel
Joseph Hart's battalion, in the "flying-camp," and, later, in the
Pennsylvania Line, as second lieutenant. There we have the
sergeant's weapon in the family of a man who was a sergeant,
and with the tradition that it was "carried in the Revolution,"
pretty good circumstantial evidence.
I have no doubt myself that here is Sergeant Michael Fack-
enthal's halberd, but whether it is the halberd he carried at
Amboy, Long Island, at Fort Washington, or Brandywine, it
is an eighteenth century sergeant's halberd, the last of the old-
time "pole weapons" to go out of use. It is most interesting,
because in these days of automatic cannon and of rifles that kill
at three miles, this old halberd takes us back direct to the days
when men looked each other in the face and fought hand to
hand with each other.*
* The halberd referred to by Mr. Shellenberger may have belonged to Michael Fack-
enthal, the Revolutionary soldier during his service as sergeant; the family traditions how-
ever shovr that he carried a rifle, the barrel of which is still in possession of one of his de-
scendants. The rifle may have been carried by him when he was commissioned as second-
lieutenant in Captain Christopher Wagner's Company commanded by Colonel Mcllroy.
It is also possible that the halberd may have belonged to John Fackenthal (born lygo,
died 1865) great-grandfather of Norman, who was appointed inspector of militia by Gov-
ernor Schultz, and was prominent in military gatherings of that day, or it may have
belonged to the grandfather of Norman, Jacob Fackenthal, (born 1822 died 1874) and
used by him in the local militia in which he was also interested.
In the Pennsylvania German magazine, March 1908, Vol. IX, page 109, can be seen a
half-tone engraving of pikes, which formed part of the equipment of the "Springfield
Pioneers", a company of militia organized August 16, 1856, which goes to show that these
weapons were in use at that late day, although they may have originally belonged to the
ancestors of that military company who were soldiers of the Revolution, in fact these old
weapons may have been resurrected from their hiding-places and used by later military
organizations.
B. F. F., Jr., 1909.
Henry Quinn, Author of "Temple of Reason".
BY B. 1'. i'ACKENTHAL, JR., RIEGELSVILLE, PA.
(Tohickon Park, Bedniinster Meeting, July 21, 1908.)
Henry Quinn, the subject of this paper, and the author of
"Temple of Reason," was born in the county of Monaghan,
province of Ulster, Ireland, March 3, 1780. He emigrated to
America in 1800, and died October 9, i860 (aged 80 years, 7
months, and 6 days) at the residence of his son Robert, in Fay-
ette county. Tennessee, having arrived there from Pennsylvania
on September 21, i860. He died from general debility, incident
to the long and tiresome journey at his advanced age. His
remains lie buried in a Methodist cemetery in Tennessee, near
the place where he died.
In 181 1, in the 30th year of his age, he married Lydia Wil-
liams, of Bucks county, Pa., then in the 22d year of her age.
She died January 13, i860, aged /2 years, and lies buried in the
Reigelsville Union Cemetery. Two of their children died young,
and are also buried on the same plot. The children of Henry and
Ivydia Quinn who lived to maturity were, Sarah, (wife of John
C. Britton) George W., Ann, (first wife of Scott A. Erwin)
Emmett, Isaac, Robert and Rachel, (wife of Daniel M. Pursell).
On April 18, 1812, Henry Quinn purchased a tract of 12 acres
of land from jNIichael Zearfoss and wife, situated on the banks
of the Delaware river, in New Jersey, about a quarter of a mile
south of Riegelsville, in Alexandria, (now Holland) township,
Hunterdon county, N. J. During the year 1829, he erected
thereon a saw-mill and grist-mill, deriving power from the Del-
aware river, by means of under-shot water-wheels. I have no
definite information to show whether this property was used as
a mill-site prior to 1829, but am inclined to believe it was, and
that the mills of 182Q were built to replace an older operation.
The river at that point, called "Durham Falls," in a distance of
350 feet, has a fall of 2 feet, q inches. (See Hazard's Register,
Vol. I. page 57.)
On April 28. 1836. Henry Quinn purchased from William
HENRY QUINN.
Born March 3, 1780 ; died October 9, i860.
From silhoviette in possession of his family.
HOME OF HENRY QUINN.
On towing-path of Delaware Division canal in Durham township, Bucks county,
Pennsylvania, in which Mr. Quinn resided when he wrote the "Temple of Reason."
The hills shown to right of picture are in New Jersey. The Delaware river (not shown)
is in the valley between the.se hills and the house. The canal is to the left in front of the
house.
(From photograph bv B. F. Fackenthal, Jr., in 1898.)
h£;nry quinn, author of "temple of reason" 527
Seip, 90 perches of land ; and on November 9, 1836, from Joseph
K. Raub, I acre, 80 perches of land. These two tracts, aggre-
gating 2 acres and 10 perches, are situated on the tow-path of the
Delaware Division canal, on the banks of the Delaware river,
in Durham township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, directly op-
posite, across the Delaware river, from the New Jersey mill
property, above described.
On this tow-path property he erected a stone house, photo-
graph of which, taken in 1898, is shown in connection with
this paper. This building was used by him as a warehouse for
.storing- flour and corn-meal, particularly that which he ground
during the winter months, for shipment by canal during naviga-
tion season.
He also built and operated a ferry across the Delaware river,
just above the place where the water was dammed for operating
his water-wheels. According to information from William L.
Zearfoss (born March 19, 1825, a carpenter, who, for a time,
worked in Quinn's saw-mill, j his ferry-boat had a capacity of
12 or 15 barrels and was propelled in the usual way by the
current of the river; the cable across the river, however, was
placed underneath the surface of the water, and in this respect,
the operation differed from other ferries. The cable was no
doubt placed in that manner to be out of the way of rafts and
floods. A large iron ring, leaded into a rock, near the Pennsyl-
vania shore, used in connection with the cable, is still to be seen.
Quinn also used this ferry for carrying sawed lumber across
the river, for shipment by canal, the greater part of which was
white pine.
In connection with his ferry, Quinn erected an incline plane,
with car and windlass, to draw his products up the river bank,
on the Pennsylvania side. The windlass was operated by horse-
power. The long door, shown on the second story of his store-
house, was for convenience in delivering barrels to the second
floor.
The Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal (now leased
by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co.) after many vexatious
delays (due largely to faulty construction) was finally opened
for regular traffic during the latter part of 1832 ; whereas, the
Belvidere Delaware Railroad was not completed to Riegelsville
528 HENRY OUINN, AUTHOR OF "TEMPLE OE REASON"
until 1853. The canal was therefore in operation about 21
years before the railroad ; and, moreover, the bridge across the
river at Riegelsville was not completed until the spring of 1838.
Air. Ouinn was a man with an ingenious and inventive mind, and
was often engaged in planning improved machinery and labor
saving appliances, on some of whicli he obtained patents. On
Feb. 21, 1815, at a time when he gave his residence as Hunting-
don, N. J., a patent was issued to him for a saw-mill, a copy of
which cannot be obtained as the records at Washington were
destroyed by the fire of 1836. On June 25, 1845, after a lapse
of 30 years, a patent (No. 4,021) was granted to him for a self-
acting saw-mill, which the records describe as follows :
"Having thus fully described my improvement in saw-mills, I wish it to
be understood that I do not claim a self-acting saw-mill, irrespective of the
means used in effecting it, as that has before been essayed ; but what I do
claim as my invention and desire to secure by letters patent, is the appa-
ratus herein described for self-setting the log and self-operating carriage
motion ; that is to. say, the combination of the lever, bars, cord and shipper,
with the saw-mill, constructed and arranged in the manner and for the pur-
pose herein described."
On March 10, 1849, ^ patent (No. 6,163) ^'^'^s granted to him
for grain-drying. The description of this patent is as follows :
"What I claim, therefore, as my invention, and desire to secure by let-
ters patent, is the method of drying grain in an open stationary pan, having
the fire and draft below it, with the rake above for stirring the grain, and
causing it to pass from the feeder to the delivery, substantially as describ-
ed, whereby the moisture in the grain is more readily evaporated and lib-
erated, and the apparatus constructed with less cost and with less liability
to derangement than by any other plan before known. When this is com-
bined with the feeder heated by a hot air chamber, substantially as describ-
ed, whereby the grain is gradually heated in the feeder to draw out the
moisture before it is exposed to higher temperature in the pan, to be
evaporated as described."
This grain-drying apparatus, used for drying corn, was a
decided success, and gave parties using it a great advantage over
their competitors. It enabled them to get the new crop into
market earlier, and moreover, as corn-meal was packed in barrels,
it could be placed not only in the home markets, but exported as
well, without the danger of becoming musty.
Among other mills in which Ouinn installed his grain-drying
plant were the mills at Durham, Pa., at that time operated by
Riegel, Knecht & Co.. the mills of John L. Reigel, at Reigels-
HENRY QUINN, AUTHOR OF "TEMPLE OE REASON" 529
ville, N. ]., also the mills of W. & E. Thomas, at Milford, N. J.
This last-named firm was awarded a silver cup in New York in
1856 (which is still in possession of the family) for exhibiting the
best dried corn-meal. I am informed that Quinn brought several
suits against parties for infringement of his patents.
Mr. Zearfoss says that Quinn was offered a large sum of
money for the right to use his grain-drying patent in Pennsyl-
vania, but doubtless from lack of proper buisness judgment, he
failed to enter into the arrangement, and, like many inventors, did
not obtain any substantial benefit from this and his other inven-
tions. W. W. Paxson, of Bucks county, who married a grand-
daughter of Henry Quinn. informed C. B. Erwin, to whom I am
indebted for the family history contained in these notes, that
Quinn invented a wrench, similar to, if not the same as the
monkey-wrench in use at the present time. He is not informed
whether it was patented or not.
The construction of Mr. Quinn's mill showed evidence of in-
genuity. First there was a saw-mill, (operated by a separate
water-wheel) which contained two up and down saws, and two
circular saws; and adjoining this was a combination mill (operat-
ed by a second water-wheel placed further out in the stream )
with a small saw-mill on the ground floor, and a grist-mill on
the upper stories. The grist-mill contained two runs of 5 feet
burrs, and one run of 4^2 feet burrs, smut machine and a dry-
ing-kiln.
These combination mills were destroyed by fire during the
night of March 20, 1849. The circumstances in connection
therewith led the Fire Insurance Company of Northampton
County to resist payment of the insurance ; whereupon suit was
brought in the Northampton county. Pa., courts. No. 28. August
term, 1849, by Quinn, to recover his insurance. The court ap-
pointed arbitrators, who, on April 12, 1853, awarded him $9,868,
with costs of the suit. The Insurance Company then appealed,
and the case was tried before a jury in the Court of Common
Pleas where Quinn obtained a verdict July 25, 1853, of $8,261
damages, and six cents cost, which amount was paid to Quinn
and his assignees.
On or about July 24, 1849, a decree in chancery was entered
against Quinn in the Hunterdon county courts, to satisfy a
530 HENRY OUINN, AUTHOR OF "TEMPLE OF REASON
claim of the Easton National Bank, which resulted in the sa^e of
all his New Jersey property, under date of January 29, 1850,
by Garrett Servis, then sheriff of Hunterdon county. The prop-
erty was purchased by Thomas P. Tinsman, and John L. Reigel,
who subsequently (on Feb. 26, 1850) sold a one-third interest in
the 12 acre tract to George W. Ouinn, son of Henry Quinn.
The saw-mill part was rebuilt, and was last operated by water
power by Sherid Tinsman. The mill has since been demolished,
part of the stone foundations only remaining. This was one of
the last saw-mills to be operated on the Delaware river, on
which for many years a thriving lumber industry was carried
on. The saw-mills along the river were supplied with logs
floated down in rafts from the upper waters of the Delaware.
In a written manuscript, found among the papers of my
father, the late B. F. Fackenthal, Esq., of Easton, Pa., (born
1825, died 1892) he says that rafting on the Delaware was at
its height in 1840 to 1845, and that it began to decrease in 1855.
The season generally was about four weeks long during the
spring freshets. For the first two weeks, nearly all the rafts
were of sawed lumber, and during the last two weeks, they were
mostly of logs. During the middle or height of the rafting
season he says he frequently stood on an elevation back of his
residence in Durham township, and could count often as high as
14, and occasionally as high as 20 rafts in sight at one time.
He says the river was filled with rafts at that rate for at least
one week ; and for the remainder of the season, perhaps for three
weeks, they averaged about eight in sight during the whole day.
At a much later period I have myself seen at least 10 or 12 rafts
afloat at one time. Rafts on the Delaware river are now a rare
sight. I saw one during the spring of 1907. and am told that
there were several others that season.
Quinn's store-house on the tow-path was afterwards converted
into a dwelling-house, and was, according to information fur-
nished me by John M. Hartman. first occupied by the late Robert
Dempster, who afterwards became a prominent citizen of Phil-
lipsburg, N. J.
Ouinn moved into this house, probably in 1850, after his
business failure, and then became a resident and citizen of
Riegelsville, in Durham township. While living there, he
HKNRY QUINN, AUTHOR OF TEMPLE OE REASON 53 1
wrote the "Temple of Reason," a book devoted to higher criti-
cism, and moreover a vigorous tirade against the Christian re-
Hgion ; in the preface, page XIII, he says that the writing of the
book "cost six years of devoted study." As it was pubhshed in
1856, he doubtless commenced writing it in 1850. The book is
12 mo. bound in cloth and contains 404 pages; the subscription
price was $1.50. The title page reads as follows:
TEMPLE OF REASON,
AND
DIGNITY OF SELF-GOVERNMENT.
DEDICATED TO THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC,
AS A COMPENDIUM OF
Political, Philosophical, and Moral Elements
APPLICABLE TO OUR
REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
BY HENRY OUINN,
of riegelsville, bucks county, pennsylvania.
riegelsville:
puiilished by the author.
1856.
I have no definite information to show where the book was
printed, but a prospectus in which he refers to Swain & Co., of
Philadelphia, indicates that they were the publishers.
This book published in 1856, is worthy of notice. It was the
first book written by an author living in Durham township ; in
fact, I know of no earlier book by any Bucks county author.
One of Ouinn's original subscription lists was found among
the papers of my father. This list contains the names of but 57
subscribers, but there may have been other subscription lists.
The title of the book, "Temple of Reason," is so similar to
tliat of Thomas Paine's publication, as to suggest that the writing
of it may have been suggested and influenced by Paine's "Age
of Reason."
The good people of Riegelsville and vicinity doubtless did not
know, when subscribing for Quinn's book, that it was from the
pen of a free-thinker. At any rate, many of the subscribers
refused to receive or pay for the book, and the subscription list
532 he;nry quinn, author of temple of reason
was placed in the hands of an attorney, evidently for the purpose
of bringing suit against the delinquents.
Mr. Quinn, although doubtless a clear thinker, appears to have
been a man without education, as reference to his subscription-
list, also to the following letter will show. In this letter the
spelling, use of capitals, etc.. are preserved as in the original.
*friday Nov Second '59 Sir i have been several times at your office to-
day & could not see you therefore i here state the particulars required re-
specting my book case in doulstown court Next monday week i have yes-
terdy recvd. farther information on our book case which aught to be at-
tended to pior to the tryal of the case therefore you will pleas to bring
down the papers in your hands relating to it with the N. J. book law on
this subject so that i may embody more infornation on the case than it has
in its present form you will pleas to not disapoint.
Your friend
Henry Quinn
b. f. fackenthall esqr
This letter has reference to a suit in the Bucks county courts
at Doylestown brought by Quinn (Henry Quinn vs. W. W.
Paxson No. 109 September term, 1859,) from which it appears
that Mr. Paxson purchased 230 copies of the book at $1.00 per
copy, presumably with the object of re-selling them. The rec-
ords do not show whether the books were sold or not, but
Quinn obtained judgment against Paxson in the sum of $201.25.
Mr. Quinn's publishers shipped him a large box full of his
books to Riegelsville, N. J., by the Belvidere Delaware Railroad,
but owing partly to the fact that some of the subscribers would
not receive their copies, and probably also to his lack of success
in selling them, the box was not removed from the station, but
was left in the freight-house, to the annoyance of the railroad
employees.
The first passenger cars operated on the Belvidere Delaware
Railroad had side entrances, and the station-floors and station-
platforms were elevated to the height of car entrance, on a level
with the floor of the cars. When cars of this character gave
way to those of more modern construction, with entrances at the
ends, the floors of the waiting-rooms and station-platforms were
cut down. The freight-rooms, however, remained at the old
* This date is an error, and is probably intended for Friday, December 2, 1859, as
November 2 fell on Wednesday.
HExNTRY OUINN, AUTHOR OF ' TEMPLE OF REASON 533
height. During the time of these repairs at the Riegelsville
station, the box containing Ouinn's books was placed underneath
the floor of the freight-house where the books were allowed to
mould and decay. They were entirely forgotten until some
further repairs to the station were made in 1898, when the box
was discovered, and a few of the best-preserved copies of the
book reclaimed.
Owing to their limited sale, and to the further fact that many
copies of the book were destroyed by subscribers who did not
consider them suitable for their children to read, I doubt if
there are more than a dozen copies in existence to-day. It is
my intention to have my copy re-bound, inserting the exhibits
to which I have referred in this paper, and present it to the
Bucks County Historical Society.
Before Henry Quinn started on his Southern journey he sold
his Durham (tow-path) property, (deed dated September 7,
i860,) to Henry Britton, from which it would appear that he
had no intention of returning to Durham. After several changes
in ownership, the property was purchased October 4, 1879, by
Cooper & Hewitt, then the owners of the Durham iron works,
who used it as an extension of their cinder-dump.
The only photograph of Mr. Ouinn that I have succeeded in
getting is taken from a silhouette in possession of his family.
He is described as being a very tall man, over six feet in height,
somewhat stooped, rather spare in appearance, with a smooth
face, hair long and white. During the earlier years of his life
he spelled his name with one "n" — Quin.
Three of Mr. Ouinn's sons, Emmett, Isaac and Robert were
students at Lafayette College, at Easton, Pa., all in the class of
1843. General Davis in his history of Doylestown, Old and
New (page 145). says that Emmett was admitted to the bar of
Bucks county in 184 1, that he disappeared from Doylestown in
1843, and after the lapse of several years was found in the
United States patent office at Washington, where he was em-
ployed as a special examiner. He died in Washington, about
1870.
Robert engaged in milling near Memphis, Tennessee ; during
the war his property was destroyed. He was a justice of the peace
in 1856-71 ; a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church
534 ^^^ SHAD FISHERIES ON THE DELAWARE RIVER
since 1871, and was a delegate to the National Preachers' con-
vention in New York in 1875.
While Emmett appears to have inherited his father's mechanical
genius and love of inventions, it cannot be said that Robert
imbibed his father's views in opposition to the Christian religion.
I am indebted to Mr. A. M. Austin, of the firm of Redding,
Greeley & Austin, of New York, for information concerning the
records of Mr. Ouinn's patents.
Old Shad Fisheries on the Delaware River.
BY DR. J. ERNEST SCOTT, NEW HOPE, PA.
(Tohickon Park, Bedniiuster Meeting, July 21,1908.)
While the wintry winds are howling and the eddying gusts
of snow drive the weary traveler to seek shelter within doors,
the shad fisherman of the Delaware dozes over his pipe by the
warm fireside, unmindful alike of blast and blizzard, or re-tells
for the thousandth time to the uninitiated his endless fund of
yarns about the marvelous catches of shad when he was a boy
and when Delaware shad fishing was in its pristine glory; or
he knits with spasmodic energy and peculiar gyrations, using a
primitive looking wooden needle that wovild seem to be a
survivor from the period of the sickle and the flail, and great
balls of a very stout linen cord, yards and yards, or, we might
say with more truth, miles of net for the approaching spring
campaign against the finny hosts when the vernal sun shall have
begun to take the chill from the waters of this fitful river.
These men know the haunts and the habits of the fish they
seek, while it is in fresh water, as the Indian knew the habits of
the denizens of the forest. As the hunter's dog sleeps and
dreams in restful quiet till he scents the more or less remote
presence of his quarry, then is instinct with life and intense
activity in every limb, so these men dream and smoke in lazy
restfulness till the first occult sign of approaching shad, when
they suddenly awaken from their condition of suspended ani-
mation, are alert and alive in every limb and muscle ; and no
one knows when they rest or sleep till the last of the run has
Drawing the net.
Ready to pack the fish for shipment.
A small haul. Drying the nets.
SHAD FISHING ON THE DEIvAWARE RIVER.
(From photographs by Mrs. Agnes Williams Palmer in 1897.)
OIvD SHAD FISHERIES ON THE DELAWARE RIVER 535
passed or till the law compels them to suspend operations. Then
they fold up their nets like the "Tents of the Arabs" and relapse
into a semi-dormant condition to await the coming of another
season.
The shad is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful as well
as one of the most toothsome fish that stems the tide of an Amer-
ican river. Back of rich dark green, sides of shining silver,
symmetrical, graceful, charming from any and every point of
view. The shad of the Delaware, especially that part of the
stream above tide water, stands out pre-eminently in all those
qualities that please the eye and tickle the palate of the epicure.
If you would enjoy a shad in the most thorough manner
possible ; if you would most thoroughly realize all of its rich,
delicate and varied qualities as a gastronomic luxury, you must
select one that was sporting in its own native element at, say
lo a. m., ensnared in the meshes of the fisherman's net at ii, and
served upon your table, done to a turn, at 12 a. m.
Do you ask why the the shad of the upper Delaware are the
finest in the world? It is largely because this stream has no mud.
It is practically rock bottom from its source to its mouth. Then
ordinarily its water is as clear and pure as pours from any crystal
fountain. You may glide over its glassy surface in a boat and
watch the tiny eels wriggling about among the pebbles on the
bottom, eight and ten feet below. The writer has stood in its
waters up to his shoulders on a moonless, starlight night and
plainly seen his feet on the rocky bottom. The fact of the clear-
ness and purity of the water of the Delaware has been made
classic by the reference made to it by J. Fennimore Cooper,
when in "The Pioneers" he writes of "the pure, sparkling waters
of the Delaware."
Nature holds many mysteries and she gives them up with
a grudging hand. For three hundred years men have sought to
learn the haunts of the shad during its stay in salt water,
but to-day it is as much of a mystery as ever. "The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but
canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth." So with
the shad ; for ten months of the year they disappear from the
fresh water streams and the shallow water along shore. Even
the scientific students of the habits of the fish do not know their
536 OLD SHAD FISHERIES ON THE DELAWARE RIVER
haunts during that period or the waters which they most frequent.
They are lost to the world as effectually as though they never
existed, but when the warm days of spring come and the snow
and ice of winter have gone in answer to the touch of warm
sun and balmy breezes then the shad reappear from the great
unknown. They swarm along the coast line from Key West to
Nova Scotia. They are seen first in Florida, for there the
spring comes first and extends gradually northward. On the
eastern shore of the peninsula the shad come as a great wave ;
this wave is deflected by the coast line and follows along the
shore until the fish find a fresh water inlet. This is the haven
they are seeking, and they follow inland in search of the proper
sands for spawning. The fish wave, as we may term it, strikes
Florida in March and at that time the fishing begins in the St.
John's river. A little later and the wave has swept as far north
as the Savannah river, and if the season is an ordinary one they
will enter the Potomac and other tributaries of the Chesapeake
bay by the early days of April. Two weeks later, or about the
middle of April, they will appear in the Delaware ; in another
fortnight in the Hudson and finally in August they have come
ashore in the streams of Maine. With modern rapid transporta-
tion shad are procurable from March to September, but in each
individual locality the run lasts only from six weeks to two
months.
Having entered the fresh water streams they proceed to their
spawning grounds, which are at various points along the length
of the river. In clear water they swim in schools, but when the
water is muddy they are apt to swim alone. Under ordinary
conditions they are thought to travel up stream about as fast
as a man can walk, about four miles per hour. Each roe shad
spawns many thousand eggs. These eggs have a very short
period of incubation, probably only a few hours. When the
process of ovulation has been completed the return journey to
salt water is begun. In the upper Delaware this is seen to take
place the latter part of June and first part of July. On the
journey up stream they may be seen to swim strong and near
the bed of the stream, probably a foot from the bottom. On the
return journey they swim near the surface and in a very weak
manner. In fact such a change has been wrought that they
OLD SHAD FISHERIES ON THE DELAWARE RIVER 53/
would scarcely be recognized as the same fish. They are but
a mere shadow of their former selves, weak and many of them
blind. If they succeed in reaching salt water they probably
recover, but many of them die on the way. The average shad
that comes up to spawn is probably three years old. Those who
have studied this fish carefully for many years, say that there
have been three distinct runs of shad noted in the past. First,
what is known as March shad ; a big long fish. This run lasted
about three weeks. Second, April and May shad. This fish
was of a dififerent shape. It was not so long and was broader
and thicker through. They often attained a weight of twelve
pounds. Third, June shad. They are shaped much like a sun
fish, short, thick and broad. March shad disappeared from the
Delaware about eighteen years ago. In the last year or two they
seem to be re-appearing. The June shad have also disappeared
for some fifteen years.
The young shad instinctively turn toward the salt water. They
pass down our streams in the fall shortly before cold weather
sets in. They grow very fast, having by that time attained a
length of from 3 to 5 inches. They keep in the deep water
during the day but swim near the shore at night.
The young shad is born into a world of trouble. His infancy
is not a halcyon period of rest and recreation. Savage and
relentless enemies are lying in wait for his advent, and he needs
to be wise and wary. The natural enemies of the young shad arc
eels, rock fish, cat fish, sun fish, etc. The rock fish, in fact, comes
into our rivers for the sole purpose of feeding upon the young
shad, but such countless millions are hatched that enough escape.
But the little fellows have to face grave dangers that do not
come from natural enemies — and against which instinct provides
them no way of escape. These are man made dangers. These
have changed some as the years roll by, but their deadly character
has not changed. Formerly it was the fish basket, fike nets,
etc., that were planted thickly in every stream, and through them
the young shad were compelled to pass. Being a very vulnerable
fish, easily hurt by striking against any object, millions of them
died from striking against the sides of these traps. Thus the
greedy fishermen of that day were engaged in killing the goose
that laid the golden egg. But the law has mercifully slipped in
538 OLD SHAD FISHERIE;s on the DELAWARE RIVER
and removed this danger by making such devices illegal. Now
the deadly turbine wheel of the modern water power is doing
the work of destruction. As already has been said, the young
shad, especially at night, swim near the shore and naturally drift
into the intakes of the various water powers that line our shad
streams. Thus millions of young shad are slaughtered every year.
But it is not the young shad alone that is beset with enemies
and dangers on all sides. From the time the great army of shad
leaves the deep waters of the sea at the call of the coming spring,
they are beset with eager, resourceful and rapacious enemies.
The wonder is not that there are so few shad in the upper Del-
aware; it is a perfect marvel that even one should succeed in
evading the many pitfalls that man sets for their undoing.
The demand for shad has so greatly increased and the prices
willingly paid for them so advanced that greedy fisherman have
redoubled their efforts and increased their appliances for their
capture. So insatiable has this greed become that with the
opening of the season on the Delaware or any other shad river,
there is row after row of fish traps and nets in waiting. Cogni-
zant of the fact that the fish will come up the coast seeking an
inlet to the fresh water spawning grounds, the fishermen have
fitrung numberless nets down from the mouth of every river to
catch them before they have so much as tasted fresh water.
Outside some of the streams there are twenty miles of nets
in waiting, and this is but the beginning, for there is an equal
si retch inside the mouth, with this difference, however, that these
latter are on two sides while the former are only on one side.
The individual fish escaping the nets and traps beyond the
mouth of the streams must necessarilv steer a straight course
up the middle of the channel and never fleviate or he is lost.
Tn the face of all this is it any wonder that the run of shad in
the upper reaches of the river has so greatly fallen off? The
wonder is that they are not already extinct. In the old days
the river was full of fish and we read of phenomenal catches
when they were so plentiful that at times they were hauled out
on the fields to serve as fertilizer. The early settlers of the
country sometimes complained that the river was so full of fish
that there was difficulty in pushing a boat through them.
Captain John Smith relates such a condition, when, in the
OLD SHAD FISHERIKS ON THE DELAWARE RIVER 539
early colonial days he pushed a boat up the Potomac to a point
above the present city of Washington. Here the fish formed
a barrier to their further progress and were so massed that the
boat could not pass. A report of this experience formed one of
the wonders of the new world that so appalled the English in the
times of Queen Elizabeth.
There are no accurate records of the catches in the early days
on the upper reaches of the Delaware, and even the records of
recent years are quite meager. There are traditional stories of
great catches made at different points along the river, but the
truthfulness of these is uncertain. In 1895 Liberty fishery at
New Hope took 2,480 row shad in one day. In 1888 3.700 were
taken in one day at "Malta" just below New Hope.
In 1867 Liberty fishery records a catch for the season of
about 15,000. 9.870 of these were known as 40 cent shad, which
means that they were of the largest size. In 1862, 1,420 were
taken in one day at Ferry fishery. New Hope. During the
season just closed (1908) the number taken was small though
the quality was good. The largest day's catch was at Liberty
fishery, operated by Isaac Scarborough, when 700 were caught.
The early season promised the best run for years but just as
the season was approaching its height, there was a freshet in
the Lehigh which carried the accumulated coal-dust of many
months into the Delaware, which drove the shad back into tide-
water and they did not return in any considerable numbers.
The law of Pennsylvania allows shad to be taken from January
1st to June 15th, but since the fish do not appear till about the
15th of April the season really only lasts for eight weeks, and
the first and last of this period the sucess is very limited.
The fishing in the upper Delaware is altogether with nets,
the length of which is from 180 to 200 yards in high water. The
length of the net is increased as the water becomes lower, which
it usually does as the season advances. In low water from 420
to 450 yards of net are used. The mesh used here at New Hope
is from 4^4 to 5M inches. A fishing crew is made up of a
captain and five men.
An ordinary row-boat with an elongated stern, in which to
carry the net, and to give an opportunity to use the pole has
been adopted. The net is usually six feet wide and as long as
S40 OLD SHAD FISHERIES ON THE DELAWARE RIVER
the conditions of the individual fishery warrants. With the
net and crew on board the boat is usually towed by a horse,
sometimes by men, to a distance of a mile or less up the shore
from the landing place. Two men on shore then take the land
end, while the other four manage the boat — three rowing while
the captain directs the course and attends to the running out of
the net. When the boat has been rowed a little more than half
way across the river, it is turned down stream and allowed to
drift. The distance drifted varies from 300 yards to half a mile.
When a certain point has been reached the boat is turned toward
tihore when with the united efiforts of the oarsmen and the
captain's pole the boat is slowly forced into the shore, bringing
the net with it. In the meantime the men with the land end keep
the brail, or end of net, close to shore, walking down with the
drift of the net. This is more or less rapid as the current is
swift or slow. When the boat has landed both parties begin to
slowly pull the net in, moving down stream with the current till
the landing place is reached, where the process is finished and
the haul is made, the whole process requires from half to three-
quarters of an hour.
The matter of remuneration for the men is not always the
same. Sometimes they are given regular wages, but more often
a part of the catch. When the latter method prevails the shore,
boat and net get half and the men share the other half among
themselves. Prices of shad have varied very much. In the
early days they often sold as low as from $5 to $15 per hundred.
The value has slowly but surely advanced until now the ruling
price is from $55 to $75 per hundred.
The catch in the Delaware decreased till about 1873 when
there appeared to be so few left that the fisheries did not pay
the expenses of operation. About that time the government
passed certain laws that were most beneficial to the industry.
The deadly fish-basket and the fike-net were forbidden. About
the same time because of the dif^culties that surround the shad
in their attempt to spawn, and the strong tendencies toward their
extermination, the national government, through its bureau of
fisheries was forced to step in and exert a counteracting influence.
To do this it has been necessary to purchase from the fishermen
at market prices great numbers of the female fish that were
t
OLD SHAD FISHERIES ON THE DELAWARE RIVER 54I
ready to spawn and to artificially propagate the eggs and place
the little fish back in the water.
The figures for shad propagation show that there was a time
when the bureau was able to capture as high as 210,000,000 as
opposed to 8,000,000 in 1907. In our Delaware river where as
many as 115,000,000 eggs have been secured, they have fallen as
low recently as 500,000. On the Potomac where the number has
held up better than in most other 'streams, it has fallen from
68.000,000 to 12,000,000. Thus it may be seen that the tenden-
cies toward extermination increase with each year.
This decease in young shad that may be propagated is largely
due to the surprising development of a taste for shad roe. The
roe that may go to the tickling of a single palate for one meal
would be capable of development into thousands of lusty fishes
that, even without a miracle, might feed the multitude.
The writer would suggest a few steps that if taken by the
proper authorities would not only prevent the run of shad in
the upper reaches of the Delaware from further decreasing, but
would tend to greatly increase them.
First — Screen the intake of all water powers. This would
prevent the young shad from entering them and would save
millions of them from destruction.
Second — Make it unlawful for fishermen to seine out young
shad in the fall to be used as bait for other fish.
Third — Have a part of the young fish produced from govern-
ment hatcheries placed at various points in the upper river. Fish,
like birds, instinctively return to their birth place. Shad that
are spawned in the lower river will never go further up, and if
all young fish from the hatcheries are placed in the lower river
it will in no wise increase the run of shad in the upper river.
Fourth — Limit the days in which fishing is allowed, making it
lawful to fish only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday instead
of every day but Sunday. This would give more fish a chance
to spawn and would greatly increase their number in a short
time, till very soon many more would be caught during the
three days, than are now taken during six days.
Fifth — Require the gates of the dams of the Lehigh to be open-
ed at intervals during the winter to clear out the. accumulated coal-
dirt. Shad will not run in water that is saturated with coal-dust.
The Spirit Colony at Parkland.
BY CHARLES M. MEREDITH^ PERKASIE, PA.
(Tohickon Park, Bedminster Meeting, July 21, 1908.)
I well remember 25 years or more ago attending a Sunday
school excursion at Neshaminy Falls, when all the cheerful little
bigots present on that occasion, after enjoying the amusements
of the park, spent the remainder of the day, standing around a-
gape, and with bated breath, looking at a number of little houses.
These our elders told us belonged to the Spiritualists. We were
almost overwhelmed with awe, an awe akin to getting up in the
middle of the night to look at a comet. Perhaps we only stumbled
upon to-day's subject, or perhaps it was ordained by our guides
that in the cycle of destiny that "influence" now makes itself
felt. Anyhow, as you will see by the program, our subject is
"The 'Spirit' Colony at Parkland."
Had I prepared this paper five years ago I should have been
able to include in its history also its obituary, because the colony
at that time had become so choked with the weeds of ridicule
and disbelief, and greed and charlatanry had so sucked all
the nourishment from its roots, that a gasp or so more, and
nothing would have been left but a memory.
However, there has been a resurrection of the religion, or cult,
and all the old plans have revived, and now there are forty cot-
tages euphoniously named, public schools, trolley, post-office,
stores, auditorium, topical library of several hundred volumes.
There are camp-meetings every Sunday until September, at Park-
land Heights, a colonized domain about midway between Nesh-
aminy Falls and Langhorne. The local population is probably
200. There is the nest of Spiritualism in Bucks county,
and the only camp-meeting, devoted to the cause, in the State
of Pennsylvania.
The hey-day of Spiritualism in Bucks county occurred about
30 years ago. Neshaminy Falls was then the Mecca. The
revelations of the Fox sisters. Miss Dis de Bar, Daniel Douglas
Home, et al., had spread until they touched this neighborhood
THE SPIRIT COI^ONY AT PARKI^AND 543
J. J]. Fifield, of Massachusetts, was probably the promoter of
tlie local sentiment. But Philadelphia, and other near-by cities,
towns, and rural districts sent their share. Actual thousands
came to the afternoon meetings. The idea was popular and
compelling. Addresses were delivered by Mrs. H. Lake, Dr. Geo.
W. Fuller, J. Frank Baxter, Edgar W. Emerson, C. Fanny Al-
lyn, Mrs. Gladding, George W. Kates and wife, and Sidney Dean.
Enthusiasm was intense. Naturally business and other practical
affairs were neglected. There were seances, and rare exhibitions
of clairvoyance. There were knockings, whisperings, table-tip-
ping and suspension, coals of fire applied to the flesh did not
burn, wraiths appeared almost in body, bells rang, slates were
written upon. There was mesmerism and hypnotism. There
were incidents tragic, pathetic and humorous. There was a fren-
zy of the psychological, and other ethereal phenomena in the hunt
for soul-ease. Maybe there were affinities, too — but they are
not of record nor of tradition. Some of the revelations came
from honest mediums; some from dishonest mediums. And
there were quarrels, therefore, in separating the wheat from the
chaiT. There were quarrels with the world. And there were
internecine disputes. And there wasn't ground enough, nor se-
clusion enough, at Neshaminy Falls.
So they moved over into a forest country — erected 70 cottages,
hotel and auditorium, and called it Parkland. This is on the
Reading railroad, New York division, where trains were sched-
uled to stop. There the experiences of Neshaminy Falls were
duplicated.
Only so far back as ten years ago the society prospered at
Parkland. Then they undertook too much — turning it into an
indiscriminate excursion ground. It had two managers — and was
managed to pieces. Spiritualism was relegated to the background.
To cap the impending climax the railroad company increased the
rates of fare to an unreasonable figure. And then the colony
found itself practically marooned on land. The railroad com-
pany closed the public road leading to the resort. It was thought
at the time that the railroad company had covetous designs
upon the property, and desired to acquire it without any pre-
mium for community value. And we understood that it would
544 THE SPIRIT COLONY AT PARKLAND
have been the very bitterest irony to have called community value
"good will" in this case. To add to this irritation a thrifty
neighbor on the boundary permitted an outlet — for a price —
which was never ceded in fee simple, but is paid for in the
shape of toll for pedestrians and vehicles ; provided they are not
on errands which would be in competition to his ice, dairy, and
farming business. If they are they cannot use his land for love
nor money. "Spirits" might be able to endure this form of op-
pression, but the human beings then on the earth-plane wouldn't
stand for it. They didn't fight much, either. They quit and
scattered. It was said that the elderly had "died," and their
progeny didn't care for the cause.
In recent years the spiritualistic glory of Parkland has faded.
The chief function lately has seemed to be the Saturday night
dances, at which "angels" coming in satin-pumps, sheath-gowns,
and hair-halo put in a trance — with all lights burning and orches-
tra music — the gay young gallants of the countryside.
In a recent advertisement Parkland is described as follows :
"Nearly the whole tract of 32 acres is covered with large trees, affording
beautiful shade, and three streams of spring water run through the prem-
ises, making the place a delightful pleasure ground. The trolley railroad
running between Bristol and Newtown passes within half a mile of the
grounds. The property is finely adapted for and has been used as a sum-
mer resort, with great success, for about twenty-five years and the prop-
erty has in the past been yielding a large income. The cottages belong to
the patrons. There are now upon it about 75 cottages, owned by patrons
of the park. There is also upon the property a large frame pavilion Sox
1 10 feet, built most substantially with heavy timber and the best quality of
lumber, comprising a dancing floor, and the rear of the same comprises
three stories, divided into 25 comfortable and good-sized rooms. This
building alone cost over $8,000. There is also a three-story frame build-
ing, 25x60 feet, comprising two very large rooms and one office-room on the
first floor, and 12 rooms on each of the second and third floors. At-
tached thereto is a large kitchen and dining-room large enough to seat 100
persons. In the kitchen is a large range and at the door is a well of excel-
lent water. This latter building and kitchen are used as a summer board-
ing-house. Parkland station is on the property. The railroad passes
through the north side of the property. The property is situated at the
headwaters of the Hulmeville dam on the Xeshaminy creek, which affords
a large body of slack water one mile in length. Beautiful for boating and
fishing. This property is to be sold to make division between the present
owners thereof in proceedings in partition."
THK SPIRIT COLONY AT PARKLAND 545,
And it might be added that these springs on the property
are remarkable for their pure water of low temperature, and'
possess medicinal value.
There is an interesting little story leading up to the sale of the
property. There were two owners^ a man and a woman. The-
man was in favor of a liberal interpretation of the Sunday and
other laws, but the woman held different views. Her special
antipathy was base-ball, fishing and swimming on Sunday. Noi-
liquor was allowed on the grounds — nor could it be unloaded at
Parkland station, the excursionists therefore soon got the habit
of shipping it to Langhorne, and then bringing it on the grounds
through devious by-paths. Such scenes and sounds as resulted
were intolerable. On a recent Sunday the requests and demands
of the woman owner to whom I have referred, that base-ball be
omitted from a program were disregarded. She then deliber-
ately got her sun-umbrellla and a chair, and camping at the pitch-
er's-box, for hours defied them. The abuse, insult,' and threatened
injury that afternoon permanently unsettled the partnership, and'
on July II, 1908, it was dissolved by selling the property for
$6,800, to Miss Harriet A. Bronson, and it will now be used
as a summer resort.
In my introduction to this paper I stated that five years ago
the history as well as the obituary of Spiritualism in Bucks
county might have been written. That statement would not be
true to-day. Because it was revived five years ago, and in ener-
gy and real estate development has become decidedly material-
istic.
The movement began at Neshaminy Falls. Then the society
moved to Parkland station. Five years ago the remnant moved
to Parkland heights on a hill opposite Parkland station.
Between Parkland and Parkland Heights there is a great gulf
fixed, topographically, materialistically, and spiritualistically. As
an illustration it sizes up well with the old feeling of the Jews
for the Samaritans.
I have never investigated Spiritualism and consequently can
neither condemn, praise, nor apologize for it. I don't know
whether it is as worthless industrially as the "Mississippi Bub-
18
546 THE SPIRIT COLONY AT PARKIvAND
ble," mechanically as the "Keeley motor," or financially as the
"Miller Syndicate."
But I do know, and want to say, that when visiting the
neighborhood for local color I found a wonderful exhibition of
concentrated intelligence, well-poised and tolerant. A colony of
thinkers ! And thinkers they must necessarily be. All other re-
ligions are aggressive, and ready to trip and trap them on dog-
ma, discipline and exegesis. Their Bible, Koran, or Talmud is
not ready-made, and inherited. Their doctrine is in process of
evolution (if we have been informed rightly) and in order to
evolute some must be busy erecting premises and guiding said
premises to reasonable, attractive, fascinating, comforting con-
clusions. This is what they are doing down at Parkland
Heights nowadays.
And there is beautiful, vigorous old age there. ^^len and
women possessed of all their faculties, and earning their own
living at 70, 80, 85 and 90 years of age ! Also beautiful young
womanhood, investigating, earnest, and self-sacrificing for their
idea of Truth.
They appear like other societies to have their differences and
dissensions. An issue only a short time ago threatened to dis-
rupt the reorganized body. This was nothing greater than whether
the children of the Lyceum (an institution which in a way corres-
ponds to the Christian Sunday school, although the Lyceum is
held on Saturday afternoons) should on their annual excursion to
Philadelphia, evade the railroad rules of paying half-fare for all
children over five years of age. It is our experience that most
Christian parents are not particularly worried over a year or so, or
a half-dozen years for that matter, when rendering to Caesar ac-
cording to his schedules — whether published for railroad, theatri-
cal, or other worldly enterprises. But the Parkland Heights Spirit-
ualists troubled over the subject for a month. Probably $2 or $3
was involved. In the end the group in favor of a strict inter-
pretation prevailed. But it might be noticed that now there Irs
a strong opposition Lyceum.
Among the more prominent names one hears in that locality
are Richard F. Adams, Frank E. Luce, Elizabeth M. Fish, Wil-
liam R. McGlenn, Julia R. Locke, Thomas M. Locke, Frank H.
OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELL'S EERRY, PA. 54/
Morrill, William A. Grossick, Helena F. Adams, Ida V. McGlenn,
and Augusta Volk.
It would be unkind to say that they were unhappy, or dis-
satisfied. And perhaps they will live to see again thousands of
pilgrims harmoniously wending their way to Parkland Heights —
which even without the allure of revelations from the hitherto
unknown, and the steps in progress, is a delightful spot because
of its splendid location, and other advantages for physical com-
fort so desirable in a popular resort.
Old New Hope, formerly Coryell's Ferry, Pa.
BY RICHARD RANDOLPH PARRY, NEW HOPE, PA.
(New Hope Meeting, October 13, 1908.)
In recalling memories of some early events and of early citi-
zens of this venerable and historic community, I would first note
that New Hope on the Delaware an ancient settlement dating;
back to the days of the Proprietary Government, was first known
as "Wells Ferry" (so named, for John Wells the first ferry-
man who doubtless settled here, as early as 171 5) later on, it
was changed to "Coryell's Ferry," in compliment to the
brothers George and Emanuel Coryell, half of the Ferry
rights on the New Jersey side having been granted
by King George II in 1733 to Emanuel Coryell, of Am well, in
Hunterdon county. New Jersey. The ferry on the Jersey side
was then called "Coates Ferry" and was described as "Coate-5
Ferry opposite Wells Ferry in Pennsylvania" in the grant from
the king. Both Wells and Coryell kept inns or taverns near
their ferry landings. Down to 1770, as already stated, the ferry
was at first known as "Wells Ferry" which name it bore, until
towards the close of the eighteenth century; as late as July 6,
1787, we find letters addressed to Benjamin Parry, Coryell's
Ferry, Penna. ; and an ancient private map made for him, bears
in colors, as follows: "Map of New Hope 1798," the change
of name was made probably about 1790, and for reasons noted
later on. Many citizens throughout the State (as well as in
our own borough) are looking forward to and hoping for, an
548 OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELL's FERRY, FA.
early restoration of the historic old name made so famous in
the annals of the Revolution, and for it to ag-ain become known
to the world, as "Coryell's Ferry."
The site of the present borough of New Hope was included
in a grant to Robert Heath in 1700 and patented to him in 1710;
it is therefore possible that there may have been an earlier
white settler at Coryell's Ferry than John Wells. Leaving the
aborig-inal tribe of Delaware or Lenni-Lenape Indians, however,
out of the question, we must so far as has been ascertained,
acknowledg^e Wells to have been the earliest settler on the site
of the town.
In 1753 Ichabod Wilkinson from Providence, Rhode Island,
came to Coryell's Ferry and purchased land close by the present
aqueduct, over the Great Spring pond, near the Old York road,
in New Hope, and there, he and his son Joseph, erected an
iron foundry which was operated for some years : a great freshet
in the creek in 1832 uncovered a part of the old stone foundations
which were then viewed by the late Martin Coryell. The pig-
iron for the foundry was brought down the Delaware river
from Durham furnace in the long old fashioned Durham boats,
that some of us of the older generation can well remember see-
ing in the days of our youth. Martin Coryell had in his pos-
session brass button moulds of the iron-master Joseph, with his
name and date cut on them, "Joseph Wilkinson, 1778."
Through the years 1776, 1777 and 1778 there is much Revo-
lutionary history connected with Coryell's Ferry (now New
Hope) it having been several times during that period, a mili-
tary camp ; and on two occasions, placed in a state of armed
defence, once in 1776 under Gereral Stirling and De Fermoy
and again in 1778 under General Benedict Arnold the traitor.
As the various historic and Revolutionary locations in New
Hope are familiar to you all, it would seem to be needless to
repeat -the old story at this time, which most of you probably
have already seen in print, it having been widely published
in our county papers and Philadelphia journals.*
For a considerable period of time there appears to be little
which would throw any light on the history of New Hope, and
* See "CoryeH's Ferry in the Revolution," an address delivered before the Pennsyl-
vania Society, Sons of the Revolution, June 15, 1907, by Richard Randolph Parry.
OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELL S FERRY, PA. 549
it seems to have dozed on, in its quiet, uneventful and listless
way mucTi in the manner of other small places. Towards the
close of the eighteenth century however, all this was changed
by the coming into its borders of Benjamin Parry, an active
and enterprising citizen who brought about a great change in
its affairs, and its prosperity. Benjamin Parry, born March i,
1/57) a^d later styled "The Father of New Hope," came from
that part of Philadelphia county, subsequently set aside, and in-
cluded in Montgomery county and having obtained from his
father, John Parry, of Moreland manor, considerable means,
became largely engaged in commercial enterprises of magnitude,
for that early day, both here, in Philadelphia and elsewhere.
Considerable mention is made of him, in Davis' History of
Bucks County, Battle's History of Bucks County, and in other
published works.
During the latter part of the eighteenth and the early part
of the nineteenth century he was an influential and useful citi-
zen of Bucks county. General Davis says of him, in his His-
tory of Bucks County :
"That the coming of Benjamin Parry to New Hope, gave a new im-
petus to the business interests oi that section, that he was largely engaged
in various commercial enterprises, and acquired a considerable estate, that
he was a man of varied and extensive reading, and of scientific attain-
ments, having patented one or more useful inventions ; that he was public
spirited, and took a deep interest in all that would improve the neighbor-
hood, or the county, and that his death was a serious loss to the com-
munity."
Benjamin Parry was the original promoter of the New Hope
Delaware Bridge Company in 181 1, and the first signer to the
subscription-list for the stock, his friend, Hon. Samuel D.
Ingham, Secretary of the United States Treasury, and a mem-
ber of President Jackson's cabinet being the second subscriber.
And they two (as noted by the Rev. D. K. Turner in his excel-
lent paper on "Representatives of Biicks County in Congress"
see Vol. n of these papers, page 205, read before this society
on January 22, 1895) were the commissioners appointed to sup-
erintend the construction of the bridge. Mr. Parry was also a
member of the first board of managers in 1812, and the Hon.
Samuel D. Ingham, its first president. Nearly 100 years later,
550 OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELL S FERRY, PA.
we find a grandson of Benjamin Parry closely connected with this
venerable corporation, as its president.
A letter from the late Martin Coryell to the writer dated July
22, 1876, states as follows :
"Benjamin Parry had a very large and profitable trade for the product
of his mills, with the West Indies and other tropical countries. Having
invented in A. D. 1810 a process by which malt, corn meal, etc., would resist
the heat and moisture of voyages through tropical climates, and remain
sweet and wholesome and that the amount of production, was the only
limit for the demand, in foreign ports."
This patent is recorded in Washington and also in the Re-
corder of Deeds office in Philadelphia, in Book 25 L. W. of
"Miscellaneous Records" Page 67.
I might here in passing note, that the flour of General Wash-
ington's mills at Mount Vernon, Va., had also this similar high
reputation abroad. Lossing in his "Mount Vernon and Its As-
sociations" on page 82, states that any barrel of flour stamped
"George Washington, Mount Vernon," was exempted from the
customary inspection, in British West India ports.
It was for the above named Benjamin Parry that "The Old
Parry Mansion" was built in 1784 and in which he lived, until
his death, covering a period of 55 years ; and it has been occupied
by five generations of the family and name. Many distinguished
persons have been entertained beneath its broad roof in the long
period in which it has stood ; and had it lips, much it could tell,.
of events in three centuries.
In 1787 Mr. Parry married Jane Paxson of "Maple Grove"'
New Hope (Coryell's Ferry) and brought her as a bride to
this home.
From 1784 to about 181 5 Coryell's Ferry (called New Hope
from about 1790) was admittedly the most active and thriving
town in Bucks county, and the means and influence and hand of
Benjamin Parry and his younger brother Daniel Parry, were
those mainly, which guided the helm, so much so. that in early
times Benjamin Parry was known and styled "The Father of
Coryell's Ferry."
Among the "ancient worthies" here in early times I recall the
following names and will briefly note them for future reference,,
of families now longest resident in New Hope and which have
I
OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELL S FERRY, PA. 55 1
been identified with the place for generations. The Paxson's,
the Ely's, Parry's, Foulke's, Crook's, Stockton's, Vansant's, Mur-
ray's, Solliday's, Scarborough's and perhaps a few others, which
I do not remember at this time. On the map of New Hope in
1798 the following names appear: Beumont, Ross, Hampton,
Pickering, Parry, Ely, Kitchen, John Poore Doan, Vansant, Pax-
son, Osmond and Worstall, all of whom were owners of real
estate at that date. At an earlier date were Joseph and Charles
Todd, though the name of Todd does not appear on the 1798
map. The former died about 1775 at Coryell's Ferry. Charles
studied medicine and became a physician. Being of a roving
disposition, and somewhat wild, he moved from New Hope,
and wandered over the southwestern part of the United States.
In later life he settled down, and died many years ago in Penn-
sylvania.
â– "squire vansant.
Joshua Vansant or 'Squire Vansant as he was usually styled,
owned and lived in what is believed to be the oldest house in
the borough. It is a low, long, light-colored, dashed stone house
on the north side of Mechanic street, just west of the river
road (now called Main street) and is easily recognized. His
daughter, Mary Vansant, married Lewis S. Coryell in 1813. I
will refer again in this paper to Lewis S. Coryell. This house
was built by the Wilkinson's, who were early settlers and iron-
masters at Coryell's Ferry. Information about 'Squire Van-
sant is meagre and I cannot give the date of his birth or death.
OLIVER PAXSON.
Oliver Paxson the elder, staunch and sturdy, first of the three
Oliver Paxson's whose home has been at "Maple Grove," New
Hope, was born 1741 and was the son of Jane and Thomas Pax-
son, born September 20, 171 2, of "Maple Grove," a property
which he purchased in 1763 of Richard Pike, of the city of
Cork, Ireland ; and which was devised to said Oliver Paxson
by the will of his father Thomas, dated 5 mo. 28th, 1775. This
property has remained in the family, to the present day. Oliver
Paxson was a Friend, and prominent in the society's affairs and
a memoir of him was published by the society after his death.
By his first wife, Ruth Watson Paxson, he had two children :
552 OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELL S EERRY, PA.
Jane, the elder, who married Benjamin Parry November 14,
1787, and Ruth, who married Hugh Ely, and became the grand-
parents of Richard Elias Ely, of "Cintra," New Hope. Ruth
Paxson Ely died at "Cintra" March 15, 1851, aged 83 years.
Oliver Paxson, although a strict Friend, and elder in the
meeting, was a man of broad and liberal views, as the follow-
ing anecdote related to me by Ruth Parry, born January 4,
1797, one of his granddaughters, will illustrate.
Immediately opposite the long avenue forming the entrance
to "Maple Grove" stood an old hip-roof house on the site of
the present residence of our townsman, Phineas R. Slack; here
lived Daniel and Jane Neely Poore, a very worthy and pious
couple, much esteemed and respected by all, she being of the
strictest Presbyterian faith ; and here very frequently, Friend
Paxson would call to indulge in friendly talk. Being asked upon
one occasion why he did not endeavor to convert Mrs. Poore
to the Friends' belief, he replied : "Let her alone, I am not
sure but that her chances of the Kingdom-of-Heaven are far
better than mine."
Oliver Paxson died October 29, 1817. His executors were
his two sons-in-law, Benjamin Parry and Hugh Ely, who settled
his estate.
DANIEL POORE.
The Daniel Poore above noted was descended from John
Poore, who emigrated to Arn,erica from England in 1635. Daniel'
was a justice of the peace of Bucks county and lived a long
time in New Hope, once teaching school there. He was born in
the old hip-roof house already noted, and lived to the age of
94 years and 6 months, dying April 12, 1888, in Solebury town-
ship. It is said this ancient hip-roof house was built by John
Poore, the grandfather of Daniel. John B. Poore, ex-treasurer
of Bucks county, is a grandson of Daniel Poore (see Davis' His-
tory of Bucks County, second edition, Vol. III., page 696).
HUGH ELY.
Hugh Ely was another of New Hope's early citizens, a man
of high character and worth. He married Ruth Paxson, a
woman of extraordinary parts, and great influence in her family
and community. She was for many years clerk of the Yearly
OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELL S FERRY, PA. 553
Meeting of Orthodox Friends in Philadelphia and died at "Cin-
tra" in 1851 ; as before mentioned she was the "Grandmother
Ely" of my childhood, so called however, only out of respect,
being really my great-aunt, the only sister of my grandmother,
Jane Paxson Parry, who had died many years before. She
(Ruth) was the real grandmother, however, of Richard E. Ely,
of "Cintra," New Hope, as before mentioned.
Hugh Ely died October 22, 1822, leaving a widow and two
children to survive him to wit : Elias Ely, who married, Sep-
tember, 1823, Sarah, daughter of Dr. John Wilson, a distinguish-
ed physician of Bucks county, and Elizabeth, who became the
wife of Richard Randolph, of Philadelphia. Elias Ely died
February 15, 1836.
DR. RICHARD DAVIS CORSON.
Doctor Richard Davis Corson, born A. D. 1784, came to New
Hope in 1814. He owned and lived in the double stone mansion
on the Old York road (called Ferry street in the borough) now
the property and residence of his grandson. Dr. Richard Corson
Foulke. He was an eminent physician in his day, having a
large circle of patients and friends, by whom he was held in
great afifection and esteem ; after a long practice of his profes-
sion in the cornmunity, he died July 20, 1842, in the 58th year
of his age, at his mansion house, in New Hope ; and lies buried
in the "Thompson Memorial Graveyard," in lower Solebury
township, Bucks county.
WILLIAM MARIS.
William Maris who came from Philadelphia to New Hope
about or shortly after the War of 181 2, became an active and
enterprising citizen, who did much towards its advancement.
The two mills (one for cotton, the other for woolens) on the
Inghams Spring creek, southeastwardly from the back of the
Presbyterian chapel, and Mr. Peze's home; the brick hotel (Del-
aware House) at the corner of Main and Bridge streets ; and
"Cintra" on the Old York road in the borough, on the crest of
the hill, named for, and modeled on, a wing of the Royal palace
near Lisbon, in Portugal, and which is now owned and occupied
by Richard E. Ely, were built for Maris ; later on, the cotton mill
at Ruffnagle station on the Reading railroad, in New Hope.
554 OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYEEE S FERRY, PA.
long since known as "Whiteley's mill," was also built for him.
Operating far beyond his means, and contrary to the good ex-
ample and precepts so well set us by the society of Friends of
whichever branch (who lay such great stress upon this point,
in all their writings, and their book of advices) Maris eventually
made a sad and disastrous failure, involving great loss not only
to himself but to many others. He returned subsequently to
Philadelphia, where he died in 1845. At one time during his
residence in New Hope, he was president of the New Hope
Delaware Bridge Company.
PHIEIP T. TOUCHETTE.
In the early part of the last century Philip T. Touchette and
wife (a French couple) had a boarding and day school in New
Hope, which was in existence as late as 1820, and was well
patronized. The school was in "the old academy building" a
structure which preceded the one still called the "Academy
Building" standing on Old York road, near "Cintra," and owned
by Richard E. Ely.
SAMUEL STOCKTON.
Samuel Stockton, born in Burlington county, New Jersey, A.
D. 1788, came to New Hope early in the i8th century, and died
here, in 1853 ; he was progenitor of the family of that name in
New Hope ; he was a lumber-counter, and in the days when
rafting was active, was much employed in that capacity ; he
also had an extensive coopering establishment in the town for a
number of years ; as a useful and much respected citizen, he was
much missed when he died.
DANIEL PARRY.
Daniel Parry, born April 21, 1744, lived the most of his life
in New Plope, and attained the age of 83 years. He was a
kindly gentleman of the old school whom I well remember ; he
was beloved by all with whom he came in contact. He was
generous and benevolent to a degree which amounted almost
to a fault, and though often imposed upon, never grew weary
of what he considered well doing. A widower for many years,
he also lost an only son and child, in infancy. A pair of tiny
shoes worn by this son John, was found in a bureau drawer
(in daily use by Mr. Parry) after his death, which the father's
OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELL S FERRY, PA. 555
loving and faithful heart had treasured up for half a century,
and doubtless many a time bedewed with his tears, a touching
evidence of long lasting parental love and affection. These
shoes are now in my possession.
Parryville in Carbon county, Pennsylvania, was named for this
Daniel Parry, a county in which he had considerable landed
interests. He was a younger brother of Benjamin Parry al-
ready mentioned. The Bucks county newspapers, in noticing
his death, spoke of him as "a man of large benevolence and a
;generous friend to the destitute." Many poor persons indeed,
mourned his taking away, and felt sorely that they had lost a
friend ever ready to help them. "Malta Island" at the south
•end of New Hope where many of the boats used by General
Washington, at his famous crossing of the Delaware river on
December 25, 1776 were collected and floated down by night to
"Knowles Cove" above Taylorsville, Pa., was at one time
owned by Daniel Parry. It is now part of the mainland, and the
"Union Mills" paper manufacturing company own and occupy
part of it.
JOSEPH D. MURRAY.
Joseph D. Murray, born A. D. 1785 at the city of Edenton
in North Carolina, settled at New Hope about 1814, and was
one of its useful and active citizens. He owned and lived
in the frame house on Main street (the old Trenton or River
road) now belonging to the estate of the late Augustus Scher-
merhorn. With the late Lewis S. Coryell he constructed the
"Delaware Division Canal" through New Hope, including the
•aqueduct, locks, etc. He was also engaged in the lumber busi-
ness, and in the development of several tracts of timber land,
in Monroe and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania. He was
father of William D. Murray of New Hope and of Thomas D.
Alurray of Trenton, N. J., both now deceased. Joseph D. Mur-
ray died at New Hope March 2, 1852.
LEWIS S. CORYELL.
Lewis S. Coryell, born at Lambertville, N. J., in December
1788 was another of New Hope's active and enterprising citi-
zens, in his day and generation. He was father of Martin Cor-
yell now deceased and grandfather of Torbert Coryell, ex-mayor
556 OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELE's FERRY, PA.
of the city of Lambertville still living. Lewis S. Coryell was
engaged with Joseph D. Murray above mentioned, in many of
his business operations, including the contracts for building the
canal at New Hope. In 1818 he was appointed one of the
commissioners to improve the rafting and boating channels of
the Delaware river and the work was placed in his charge.
He was an influential politician, though he never held office ;
and was a personal friend of President Monroe, who as a young
Continental officer, was quartered at the "Neely Thompson"
farm-house, in December, 1776. ]\Ir. Coryell lived until A. D,
1865, dying at his home in New Hope.
OLIVER PARRY.
Oliver Parry, born at "The Old Parry Mansion" December
20, 1794, married May i, 1827 Rachel Randolph, daughter of
Captain Edward K. Randolph a "Patriot of 1776." After his
marriage he removed to Philadelphia. Conjointly with his
nephew, Nathaniel Randolph, he became owner of a large tract
of the "Bush Hill Estate" in that city, so frequently mentioned
in "Watson's Annals of Philadelphia ;" and which was the
once famous residence of Governor Hamilton in colonial days.
A printed brief of title extant, shows the chain of title from
the Penn's down to Oliver Parry and Nathaniel Randolph. Mr.
Parry was a large land holder, and his name appears upon
the records of Philadelphia county as often perhaps, as that of
any other person of his day.
His affection for his native place remained with him through
life and he always made the "Old Parry Mansion" (where he
was born) his summer home. Oliver Parry and Rachel Ran-
dolph his wife, had twelve children, eight of whom lived to
grow up and marry. He died at his town house 1721 Arch
street in Philadelphia, on February 20, 1874 aged 80 years, and
lies buried in the family lot in Friends' Solebury burying-ground
in Bucks county, where so many of his name and race peace-
fully rest.
SAMUEL SOLLIDAY.
Samuel Solliday, for nearly half a century a citizen of New
Hope, came here from Doylestown about A. D., 1833, he was
a son of Benjamin Solliday, of Rockhill, in Bucks county,.
OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELE S FERRY, PA. 557
He (Samuel) was a clock-maker of no miean skill, and made
quite a number of the old fashioned high grandfather's-clocks,
some of which doubtless, are in existence to-day. He came
of a family of clock-makers of repute before the time of the
Revolution. The late Capt. John S. Bailey, the antiquarian,
styled him "the last of our early clock-makers," and he probably
was, or nearly so. Mr. Solliday was also engaged in the lum-
ber and coal business while here. He died at New Hope long
since, and lies buried at Doylestown. One of his sons is Cal-
vin Solliday, president of the Lambertville National Bank o£
New Jersey.
THE HUFFNAGLE HOUSE.
Though not one of the ancient homes of New Hope, the
Huffnagle mansion should perhaps be noted in this paper from its
having in the days of its best estate been widely known. One
of its former owners, Dr. Charles Huffnagle, who was many
years United States Consul to India, resident at Calcutta, having
been, owing to his official position and tastes, enabled to obtain
a vast amount of rare and valuable articles with which he filled
the house, to the atics. They are now all dispersed, and scat-
tered, and in the ownership of private persons and museums.
Dr. Huffnagle's brother, George, was a former owner of this
home, and, as stated in Rev. S. F. Hotchkin's "York Road
Old and New," on page 362, married one of the daughters,
of Col. Isaac Franks of Germantown, an officer of distinction
in the Continental army, and much noted in colonial records.
George Huffnagle came to New Hope in 1847. This mansion
is at the western end of the borough, near the turnpike toll-
gate, and silk-mill, and there he died. Dr. Charles Huffnagle
died in London, England, in A. D. 1851.
THE OLD WASHINGTON TREE.
The historic and stately old Washington tree, which stood for
150 years on the Paxson estate of "Maple Grove" at New Hope^
was cut down November 28, 1893, to make way for improve-
ments ; an act much to be regretted from an antiquarian point
of view. There are pictures of the old chestnut tree showing
just how it appeared. Under this ancient tree, the tradition comes
handed down to us, that Washington, and his most trusted Gen-
558 OLD NEW HOPE. FORMERLY CORYELL'S FERRY, PA.
erals, first talked over, and first planned the "Battle of Tren-
ton;" and here in the summer of 1778, General Washington,
and his staff, stopped for lunch and refreshments under the
shade, of its wide spreading limbs, on a bright June day, when
following General Clinton through New Jersey, just before the
"Battle of Monmouth."
GENERALS DEFERMOY AND STIRLING'S HEADQUARTERS.
Almost opposite the old Washington tree on the Old York
road, stood the "Old Hip Roof house" occupied by Generals
DeFermoy and Stirling in 1776, just before the famous "Battle
of Trenton." It is now (1908) replaced by the new home of
our townsman, P. R. Slack, but the new structure stands on
the foundations of the old house, and being also hip-roofed,
easily marks the site of the historic headquarters. Our wide
awake citizen Mr. C. R. Middleton, of New Hope, has recently
had photographic views taken of this building, and also of
many others having historic interest.
NEW HOPE BOROUGH.
New Hope was incorporated as a borough in 1837. Its first
council consisted of Joseph D. Murray, Mordecai Thomas, D.
K. Reeder, Sands Olcott and Isaac M. Carty ; and John C.
Parry was its first chief burgess. A photographic copy of a
portrait of the burgess hangs in the council chambers of the
town hall. He was a nephew of Benjamin and Daniel Parry.
His wife was Hannah Story ; her sister Elizabeth married Wil-
liam P. Jenks, of Philadelphia, who came to New Hope long
since, and resided here for a number of years. He subse-
quently returned to Philadelphia, and as a member of the firm
of Randolph & Jenks, cotton merchants, Philadelphia and New
York,, amassed a large fortune.
The change of name from Coryell's Ferry to New Hope came
about in this wise. Benjamin Parry, who owned a flour-mill
on the New Jersey side of the river was also the owner of
the flour, linseed-oil and saw-mills on the Pennsylvania side,
which in the year A. D. 1790, were all destroyed by fire, and
burned to the ground. The linseed-oil mill was never rebuilt
.but the other mills were, when it was determined to call them
OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYEEL'S EERRY, PA. 559
"New Hope Mills" and commence operations with new and fresh
hopes for the future. With this change also came about the
change in the name of the town from Coryell's Ferry to that of
New Hope. The flour-mill of Mr. Isaac Holcomb occupies the site
of the one burned down in 1790.
OLD ROUNCE.
Among my early recollections is that of seeing this odd char-
acter some 65 years ago. He lived some distance below New
Hope, but often came to the village and passed along the road^
either whistling or humming to himself some weird and unin-
telligible tune. He always wore a feather in his hat and in
addition to trousers a short skirt or petticoat, so that at a little
distance he might easily have been mistaken for a woman. He
was perfectly harmless and never disturbed, or was disturbed
by the citizens, but came and went as he would, and just as
his inclination and poor addle-pate wits prompted ; but as I
looked out of the windows of my grandfather's house, "Rounce"
seemed so unreal and unnatural I would draw back in terror,
and childish fear of what he might do ; to be soothed by my
grandfather's and good aunts assurances, he never would do
me harm. Poor old benighted soul, if the world never was bet-
ter, for his having lived, it certainly was never harmed. He.
died many years ago. Peace to his ashes.
HENRY LEE.
Henry Lee, colored, a slave 100 years old. This old man
was for years also one of the characters of New Hope. He was
the town crier for everything going on and was quite service-
able in his way, though his way was not always the straightest, as
an infirmity of drink ofttimes made his path somewhat crooked.
Under all circumstances, however, he never forgot a politeness
which seemed innate, and which he always maintained. For years
he was a servant in the employ of Mrs. Ruth Paxson Ely, daugh-
ter of Oliver Paxson. the elder, at "Cintra." In his youth, he had
been a slave in the South. I do not know his age, but he was
a very aged man when he died, and claimed to be over 100 year.s
old, which in the belief of many, he was.
560 OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYEEL'S FERRY, PA.
STAGE COACHES ("COACHEES") .
A journey from New Hope to Philadelphia was quite a
formidable undertaking in the old days as compared with the
comfortable and luxurious modes of travel in these modern
times. If coming from Philadelphia, it meant to secure several
days in advance perhaps, a seat in the stage, starting from the
*'01d Barley Sheaf Tavern" on Second street, near Race street,
kept by Marmaduke Watson, a popular old Bucks county farmer
from Buckingham township, and much patronized by the farm-
ers of the county, 65 or 70 years ago. This hostelry was the
starting point of the old "Swiftsure Line" of stages, running to
New Hope and Easton ; and left the city about 8 o'clock in
the morning, reaching New Hope if all things went favorably,
about evening, but in very hot or rainy weather when the roads
'were heavy it might be 8 o'clock at night before the journey was
â– ended and the tired traveler found rest. Often on a warm summer
•day when heavily loaded, some of the male passengers 'would be
requested to get out, and walk up the hills, or even perhaps to
assist, by pushing the coach. The stages were called "Coachees"
early in the last century (A. D. 1813) and were so advertised
in the newspapers of that day. Stops were made, about every
ten miles, between New Hope and Philadelphia, to change horses,
.and for refreshment.
A popular driver on our line was called "Yank" Sanford, a
jovial fellow and an excellent whip. I can see him now in mv
mind's eye coming into or leaving the village with the grand
flourish, reaching out to his leaders, and lashing them up to
almost a galloping pace, to make an imposing appearance. After
the advent of railways staging ceased here, and "Yank" went
on another line ; the last I ever heard of him was that his in-
temperate habits grew on him, and he fell off the box of the stag'e
he was driving, up country one day, and rolling into the canal
was drowned.
TAVERNS.
formerly old city and country taverns had signs of variou?
kinds to designate them, a custom now much abandoned, and to
be regretted, as so much is lost in quaintness and picturesque
OI.D NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELL'S FERRY, PA. 561
effect. The "Delaware House" in New Hope once had a swing-
ing sign, which was painted by Edward ("Neddy") Hicks a well
known artist of Bucks county, but it has disappeared, and though
I have often endeavored to find out what became of it, I have
not been able to ascertain.
The tall figure of the old Indian chief Logan, which stood
many years on a high pole by the Logan house, and gave it
its name, now lies in a broken condition in the barn of the
"Logan Inn ;" and as the owners of the property do not claim
the figure (and it is said it was paid for by private subscription)
would it not in view of its historical value, be well to procure
the consent of the borough officials to its removal and deposit
"old Logan" in the museum of the Bucks County Historical
Society at Doylestown, for preservation.
This "Old Ferry Tavern" now called "Logan Inn" is an
ancient land mark and stands as you all know at the corner of
the Old York road and the old Trenton or River road, in the
borough. It has had divers owners in its more than a century
span.- At the time of and during the Revolutionary War it was
known by the above name. The late William Murray, an aged
man, informed me that until about 1829 (when it was kept by
a Mr. Steele) it was still styled "The Ferry Tavern," but Steele
made the change. Since then it has had divers owners.
Abraham D. Myers succeeded Mr. Steele who gave it the
name of "The Logan House" and which it has since retained.
Michael VanHart was the landlord for many years, it is now
owned by his estate. This old hostelry was very popular, and
much frequented in the days of the Revolution, and here in
December, 1776, when Coryell's Ferry was a great military-
camp, the Continental soldiers made wassail, and drank to the
success of the American cause and the downfall of King George
III, in his American colonies.
A most readable book by Alice Morse Earle, entitled "Stage
Coach and Tavern Days" was publisbed in 1900, by the Mac-
millan Company of New York and London ; it is well illustrated
and contains a picture of the painted sign-board of "Washington
crossing the Delaware," which swung for a long time at the
Taylorsville, Pa., end of the Delaware river bridge, and marked
562 OLD ne;w hope;, formerly coryell's ferry, pa,
the crossing. This sign was taken down and long neglected but
was finally rescued and restored to honor by our worthy vice
president Henry C. Mercer for the Bucks County Historical!
Society, as stated on page 239 of the above named book.
In 1895 the Bucks County Historical Society erected a monu-
ment at Taylorsville, to mark the spot where General Washing-
ton and the Continental army crossed the Delaware from Penn-
sylvania, in December 1776 to New Jersey and at the same time-
(1895) the New Jersey Society of the Cincinnati set up a bronze
tablet on the New Jersey side of the river to show where the-
army landed.
THE EAGLE FIRE COMPANY,
"The Eagle Fire Company" is one of the ancient institutions
of New hope and has a most interesting history dating back
to the early part of the last century, but neither time nor space
will admit of my going into it, at this time. It was first or-
ganized in 1822 and re-organized in 1840 and 1864 and it had
enrolled among its early members, if I remember rightly, a list
I once saw of them in a pamphlet published some years ago,,
such citizens as Elias Ely, father of Richard E. Ely, Joseph D.
Murray, father of the late William Murray, Oliver Parry and
other reputable young men of their day. I regret being unable
to give the names of the first president and the first directors of
the fire company, as the original minutes of the company appear
to be lost.
THE MAJOR WILLIAM BARNET STEAMBOAT.
Probably but few persons present to-day have ever heard or
are aware that New Hope and Lambertville once had steamboat
connection with Easton, Pa., and yet such is the fact, the attempt
having been made over a half century ago when the Major
William Barnet was placed in commission and made several trips
between the above points; this was in 1852, the first trip through
to Easton was made on March 12th of that year. The boat was
flat bottomed, and about 100 feet long, and was run by a high
pressure engine — such as are so generally used on our Western
rivers; the running time was about 8 hours, though nearly ii
hours were consumed, necessitated by loss of time in stops, work-
OLD ne;w hopk, formerly Coryell's ferry, pa. 563
ing off of shoal places, etc. As the distance from New Hope
to Easton is 36 miles, one can easily imagine the "rapidity" of
the passage. I remember seeing the Major Barnet in 1852,
make her landing here just below the river bridge. The ven-
ture proving unprofitable, the steamboat was taken off and ran
from Easton subsequently on the upper Delaware. The "Bucks
County Intelligencer" of February 21, 1885 states that eventually
her boiler burst, completely destroying the boat, and ending her
eventful career. The Delaware river however, was not always
shoal ; I have among my papers, accounts of very high floods in
the years A. D. 1692, 1768, 1798, 1801, 1814, 1836, 1839, i84r
and 1861 and since then the greatest flood of all in the year of
grace 1903.
THE NEW HOPE DELAWARE BRIDGE COMPANY.
The mention of the floods reminds us of the bridge over the
Delaware river at New Hope and the fact that in A. D. 191 1 the
ancient corporation owning it, will have rounded out its 100 years.
Under its charter it had banking privileges and issued its own
bank notes furnishing the currency largely for a section of coun-
try extending out into New Jersey beyond New Brunswick, and
covering this portion of Pennsylvania, for many miles around.
Some of its bills appear to have been also sent out West, and
put in circulation there, as evidenced by letters that have been
received from Ohio, and elsewhere, in recent years, asking if the
old notes were still good, and whether they would be redeemed.
Under the bad and corrupt management of a former president,
the "New Hope Delaware Bridge Company" went into bank-
ruptcy in 1823-1827. Owing to the number of persons, who held
the bank notes of the company, its failure caused as much excite-
ment (in a smaller way) in this portion of the country and New
Jersey, as the failure of Jay Cooke & Co. created when that
great banking-house went under, in the great financial panic of
1873-
The financial standing of The New Hope Delaware Bridge
Company is to-day however, of the highest and its credit and
solvency held beyond question or doubt.
Much more might be written about New Hope, and its early
-citizens than I can narrate at this time, or on an occasion like
564
OLD NEW HOPE, FORMERLY CORYELL S FERRY, PA.
this, and I shall have to leave this pleasing task to some other
annalist, who may perhaps take it np more fully, at a future day,
and to the same possible historian I must also leave, the chronicl-
ing of events belonging to the present, and new New Hope, as
I have attempted to tell you partly, of events and people in the.
davs of the old town.
INGHAM OR GREAT SPRING.
On Old York road in Solebury township 2H miles west of New Hope, formerly
known as Logan Spring, called by the Indians "Aquetong'— supposed to be the birth-
place of the renowned Lenni Lenape Indian Chief Teedyuscung.
Longstreth Family of Warminster.
BY MRS. ANNA LONGSTRETH TILNEY, GERMANTOWN, PA,
(New Hope Meeting, October 13, 1908.)
Bartholomew Longstreth was born in Longstreth Dale, in the
Deanery of Craven, Yorkshire, England, Eighth-month 24th,.
1679, and came from that country in 1698 bringing with him a
letter from the Friends of Settle meeting, certifying, according
to a practice still in use in the society on the removal of deserving
members, to such facts as were calculated to commend him to
the confidence and fellowship of the brethren among whom he
expected to live.
This commendation and confidence his subsequent life fully
justified. He was one of the petitioners, among whom were
nearly all the leading men of Pennsylvania who about the year
1700, when he could no more than have attained his majority,
joined in a petition to the King of England praying that William,
Penn might not be deprived of the government of his Province.
This early act shows that even then Bartholomew Longstreth
was recognized as a man of some substance and character.
From Thomas Fairman, surveyor to William Penn, he pur-
chased 500 acres of unimproved land in Warminster, Bucks
county, Penna. The deed is dated December 23, 1710, for
which he paid ii75, Pennsylvania currency. In 1713 he pur-
chased from the proprietary agents (Richard Hill, Isaac Norris
and James Logan) 26 acres adjoining. At the time of his
death he left a large and valuable estate, including more than a
thousand acres of land and some money at interest. When he
first went into Warminster the country there was a wilderness
without roads and only a cattle path through the woods.
He was held in good esteem by members of the society of
Friends and was frequently called on to settle estates and to
transact a variety of public affairs. As supervisor of Warmins-
ter he opened a portion of what is now the York road. He
was charitable to the poor, who never it was said, left his door
empty handed. He was a man of great firmness of purpose,
strength of mind and energy of character. He died suddenly
566 IvONGSTRETH FAMILY OF WARMINSTER
Eighth-month 8th, 1749, and was buried in Horsham graveyard.
The Longstreth row in the graveyard is the first one from the
wall on the left of the entrance-gate, where five generations of
that name are interred.
Bartholomew Longstreth married Ann Dawson, daughter of
John and Dorothy Dawson, who lived at the Crooked Billet,*
afterwards named Hatboro. In an extract from Abington Meet-
ing records we read "on the 26th of i2th-month, 1727, the mar-
riage of Bartholomew Longstreth and Ann Dawson was reported
to have been orderly performed."
Bartholomew Longstreth owned slaves as was the custom of
that early time. It seems strange now to think of Friends as
having been slaveholders, but his son, Daniel, who came into
possession of the homestead on the death of his father, was one
of those who formed the abolition party. Ann Dawson Long-
streth was a thrifty housekeeper and good manager. Her hus-
band left her the entire income of all his landed property until
his sons, who were to inherit it, should respectively become of
age, except their son Daniel, whose estate was to remain in her
hands until he should arrive at the age of 25 years when he was
to pay her £6 annually during her life or widowhood.
Daniel Longstreth, the eldest son, was born 28th of April (then
called Second-month) 1732, and was in his eighteenth year when
his father died leaving him the care of a large family of brothers
and sisters to whom he supplied, as far as possible, a father's
place. He was a man of fine presence ; a Friend in principle as
well as by profession ; a peacemaker, often being called upon to
settle differences ; a man of benevolent and sympathetic nature ;
he was often chosen as executor and administrator in the set-
tlement of estates ; was at one time collector of the Provincial
tax and attended to a variety of other public afifairs. He adhered
to peace principles during the Revolutionary War and was sum-
moned at times to the headquarters of the army in his neighbor-
hood but received respectful treatment from the commanding
officers. A company of soldiers was at one time quartered on
him and the battle of the Crooked Billet was fought along the
road near his home. For a time the Hatboro Library was kept
in the garret of his house for safe-keeping. It has been reported
* Crooked Billet derived its name from a tavern there of that name having a crooked
stick of wood or billet on its sign.
LONGSTRETH FAMILY OF WARMINSTER 56/
that once when he was walking in his grounds he was met by a
British soldier who demanded the silver buckles from his shoes
and threatened to run him through with his sword if he did not
comply. What he did or said to this demand or did not do or
say is not recorded, only that he did not lose his buckles nor his
life. Being a man of peace principles we may infer that by
proper argument with the soldier he showed him the error of
his ways.
He married Grace Michener 5th-month 22d, 1753. She died
4th-month i6th, 1775. They had several children. Their son,
Joseph Longstreth, inherited the old home. He married Sarah
Thomas, at Providence Meeting, Montgomery county, gth-month
29th, 1797. She came of a long line of ancestry; she was de-
scended from Samuel Richardson, who was in the early govern-
ment of the country, in the Council and also in the Assembly.
He was from England. His only son, Joseph Richardson, mar-
ried Elizabeth Bevan, daughter of John Bevan, a noted Welsh
minister in the society of Friends who also took part in the
government. His ancestry goes back to Edward HI of England
and to William the Conqueror and thence to Charlemagne. It
is said that the Welsh brought their genealogies with them to
this country; they seem to have very carefully preserved these
records which custom appears to have been required in their
purchase and ownership of land.
Joseph and Sarah Thomas Longstreth had several daughters
and two sons, the eldest named Edward, who died when four
years old. The second son, Daniel, the second, inherited the old
homestead ; he was twice married, first to Elizabeth Lancaster at
Green street Meeting, Philadelphia, First-month 4th, 1827. They
had two children, John Lancaster Longstreth and Elizabeth L.
His second marriage was to Hannah Townsend. loth-month 25th.
1832, in Philadelphia. They had several children of whom later
Daniel Longstreth (2d) was much interested in literary and
scientific matters, writing articles that were published in the
county paper ; he was clerk of Abington Quarterly Meeting and
was much respected in his society and among his neighbors,
among whom was our friend, the venerated president of this
society. General W. W. H. Davis. In looking over some old
papers he became very deeply interested in John Fitch, the
568 LONGSTRETH FAMILY OF WARMINSTE;r
inventor of the steamboat and felt keenly that justice had not
been accorded him. He gathered material and wrote articles
which were published in the Bucks county papers giving incon-
testable proof of Fitch's priority of invention. His grandfather,
Daniel Longstreth had also been interested in John Fitch and
had given him financial aid in his enterprise, and his son, Benja-
min, born 1767, went to Kentucky with John Fitch as a surveyor;
he became deputy surveyor of Madison county in that territory
and died there in 1790.
Daniel Longstreth (2d) married Hannah Townsend in 1832.
She was clerk of Abington Quarterly Meeting for many years.
Like her husband she was literary in her tastes, progressive, and
much interested in the advancement and uplifting of humanity;
their home was one of the stations of the "underground rail-
road." She was also active in visiting the hospitals where lay
our sick and wounded soldiers, and a member of the Penn Re-
lief Society which met to sew for the soldiers in the field.
John Lancaster Longstreth, eldest son of Daniel and Eliza-
beth L. Longstreth, after the death of his father removed to
Philadelphia and was for nearly fifty years engaged, first, with
French, Richards & Co., drug and paint manufacturers, and later,
with Samuel H. French & Co., York road and Callowhill street,
of which firm he was for many years a member. He is an elder
of Race street Meeting, is active in benevolent work, a mem-
ber of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and of the Bucks
County Historical Society. In his early life he shared, with
others, the care and responsibility of his younger brothers and
sisters. He was the last owner of the old homestead. He mar-
ried, first, his cousin, Rachel O. Longstreth, loth-month 25th,
1870. She died in 1875, leaving two children, Edward T. Long-
streth and Roland, who died an infant. Edward T. Longstreth
is a member of this society. John L. Longstreth married, the
second time. Emily T. Evans, 5th-month 28th, 1889.
John L. Longstreth is now 80 years of age and says he re-
members when a young man calling with his father on an old
man named Nathaniel Boileau. and heard him say that he made
the paddle wheels for the model steamboat that John Fitch con-
structed and successfully floated on a pond near Davisville,
Bucks county. When we think of the myriads of steam craft
JOHN FITCH
HERE CONCEIVED THE
IDEA OF THE FIRST
STEAMBOAT
•- 30AT WITH
„ . „S BY STEAM
CW APOND BELOW
OAÂ¥ISV|LLE IN 1785
MONUMENT ON OLD YORK ROAD AND STREET ROAD. WARMINSTER. PA.
TO JOHN FITCH,
WHO CONCEIVED THE IDEA OF THE FIRST STEAMBOAT
WHICH HE RAN ON A POND NEAR
DAVISVIIXE IN 17S5.
ERECTED BY THE BUCKS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIF.TY, MAY I, I902.
PRESENTED BY EDWARD I^ONGSTRETH,
FORMERLY OF WARMINSTER.
LONGSTRETH FAMILY OF WARMINSTER 569-
ploughing our rivers and oceans, of the vast commerce carried
by them, of the great fleet of war vessels now on their journey
around the world and of the wonderful change which the steam-
boat has made in the way of conducting the business and pleas-
ures of the people it sounds like a fairy tale to hear-that a maa
is now living who heard and saw the man who made the paddles
for the first craft that successfully ploughed the waters by the
aid of steam. Truly there is much of interest comprised in the
history of our dear old county of Bucks.
Edward Longstreth, son of Daniel and Hannah T. Longstreth,.
was born at the old homestead, 6th-month, 1839, and died at
his home in Spruce street, Philadelphia, in 1905. He married
Anna P. Wise, 6th-month, 1865, and had three children. When
18 years of age he went to Philadelphia and entered the Baldwin
Locomotive Works as an apprentice. By diligence, ability, his
many inventions, his tact with men and kindly interest in them
he became a member of the firm. Like his grandfather, his
father, and his elder brother, he was interested in helping to
establish the claim of John Fitch. He caused a stone to be erect-
ed in the name of the Bucks County Historical Society on the
York road, to mark the spot where Fitch is believed to have
conceived his idea of the steamboat.
His sister, Anna L., married Robert Tilney, iith-month 22d,
1876, in Philadelphia, a veteran of the Civil War, who was
mustered out of the service at its close in 1865. He was editor and
compiler of the American Newspaper Annual for nearly 29
years, author of a book of poems and for several years an active
worker in Green street First-day school with Jane Johnson,
who was the originator of the First-day school movement in the
society of Friends. At her request he succeeded her in the
superintendency of the school at her retirement.
Isaac Longstreth, son of Bartholomew and Ann Longstreth,
married Martha Thomas in 1770. He was a captain in the Revo-
lutionary army and commanded a company at the battle of the
Crooked Billet, his name is on the monument at Hatboro com-
memorating that engagement. Their daughter, Susan, went to
Philadelphia in 1795 and in 1797 engaged in the wholesale dry
goods business with two of her cousins. She continued in busi-
ness about 15 years, her sound judgment, kind disposition and
570 LONGSTRETH FAMILY OF WARMINSTER
perfect uprightness secured the esteem of a large circle of friends.
Her nephew, William C. Longstreth, was an officer of the Provi-
dent Life and Trust Co. His sister, Mary Anna, was a noted
teacher in Philadelphia and her sister, Susan, was engaged in
philanthropic work and much interested in the schools at Carlisle
and Hampton.
Joshua Longstreth, a grandson of Bartholomew and Ann
Longstreth, was for many years a prominent dry goods merchant
in Philadelphia and a director in the Philadelphia Bank and of
other financial institutions.
Benjamin Longstreth, son of Bartholomew and Ann Long-
streth, was married twice ; first to Sarah Fussell, second to Mary
Wilson. They lived at Phoenixville, Pa., of which place he was
the founder. He built the first iron-works erected there. His
three grandsons, Thomas B., Morris and WilUam W., were
prominent in afifairs. Thomas B. Longstreth was a very active
member of the society of Friends and with his wife, Lydia
Noble Longstreth, engaged in the anti-slavery cause and wert^
very hospitable and kind to all. Their granddaughter, Agnes
Longstreth Taylor, of Philadelphia, is now revising the Long-
streth family book.
Morris Longstreth, who lived at Chestnut Hill, was a judge and
in 1848 he ran for Governor on the Democratic ticket and was
defeated by a few votes only. His death was much lamented, and
marked respect was paid to him throughout the State.
William W. Longstreth, of Philadelphia, was at one time
president of the Beaver Meadow Railroad and of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad. He was also an active member of the society of
Friends.
Anna Hallowell was descended from the Longstreths and was
active in educational affairs, being the first woman to be ap-
pointed on the board of education of Philadelphia.
The well known Harry J. Shoemaker, of Doylestown, is a de-
scendant of the Longstreths. and his uncle, John Longstreth Shoe-
maker, a prominent lawyer of Philadelphia, and a member of
select council, was one of the promoters of the great centennial
exhibition in 1876, and was counsellor and solicitor of the United
States Centennial Commission.
HISTORY OF Btt CULTURE 571
There are many others of the family who are going quietly
about doing their work as good citizens whom we would delight
to honor with mention of their names.
No history of the Longstreth family would be complete with-
out some reference to Charles Kirk and his wife, Elizabeth.
While not related to the family they were so closely connected
by friendship with Daniel Longstreth, 2d, and after his death
6uch steadfast friends to his widow and children that they were
loved and venerated as long as they lived. Charles Kirk was a
true friend to all in his neighborhood ; his home was a station of
the "underground railroad" and the slave ever found a home and
resting place there. Battle in his "History of Bucks County"
gives a very full account of him. His home in Warminster was one
of the former residences of the Hart family, and a picture of it is
hanging on the walls of the Bucks County Historical Society.
History of Bee Culture.
BY PROF. J. WILMER PANCOAST, GEORGES SCHOOE, NEWTOWN, PA.
(New Hope Meeting, October 13, 1908.)
The subject m.atter of this paper is based upon a chapter in
"The Honey Maker," written by Margaret Warner Morley-1899.
Some parts have been omitted, while in other places additions,
have been made from various sources, chief among which may
be found, Huber, Huish, Macterlink, reports from our Depart-
ment of Agriculture and others.
Probably the first great name to be considered in connection
with the history of the growth of bee culture would be that
of Francis Huber, 1750, who devoted much of his time to the
study of natural science in general, and of the bee in particular.
Many of his discoveries were laughed at and ridiculed at the
time, but since have been proven correct. The life story of
Huber is a very interesting one. During his early years he con-
fined himself so diligently to his studies that at an early age
he became totally blind. To almost anyone this affliction would
cause a discontinuance of this particular line of work, but not
so with Huber. He was fortunate in having the love of a true
572 HISTORY OF BEE CUETURE
woman and in the service of a good faithful servant. Hie wife
read and wrote for him while his servant performed the tasks
necessary to carry into practice his ideas and theories.
As far back as Pliny, attempts were made to observe the
action of bees through transparencies, but Huber was one of the
first to use the glass hives, and in fact the first to invent a
hive of a kind that did not disturb the normal conditions of the
swarm. These observation hives introduced by Huber, the
movable combs and frames devised by Dzierson and Longstroth,
and the introduction of the microscope gave us a new light
upon the domestic and physiological relations of the bees.
In Europe and North America, or in countries colonized by
Europeans and Americans the bees are at present scientifically
handled, although throughout the entire world wherever plants
grow and flowers bloom we hear the hum of the bee. All civi-
lized people even back to the remotest ages have been surrounded
iDy them and used them and their products more or less. Blanch-
ard, a Frenchman, in 1816 learned that we have 16 different spe-
cies. Apis Dorsata (the largest) and Apis Florea (the smallest),
and over 4,500 varieties divided into three divisions ; Apiens,
Apedea and Apit«. In the latter group he placed our domestic
t»ees.
Apis Mellifica has been introduced over the whole world. Al-
though in India we find the Apis Mellifica yet we find several
species of honey makers, probably the most important domestic
•one being the Apis Indica, among the wild bees found, there
is the Apis Dorsaba. This species is a large ferocious bee,
which builds its nests in large trees. Sometimes this bee builds
combs five or six feet, and twenty swarms have been known to
occupy one single tree.
The licensed honeymen of India consider the honey and par-
ticularly their wax very valuable and despite the danger, make
semi-yearly trips at night and by means of bamboo ladders and
ropes cut off the great stores of honey and wax. A single comb
is said to give about fifteen "beer bottles" of honey and about
two and one half pounds of wax. This particular bee is interest-
ing to us because several attempts have been made to introduce
it into this country. Some think it might be of service to us
HISTORY OF BEE CULTURE 573
on account of its longer tongue, although atmospheric conditions
might keep it in the South.
Frank Benton in 1880-81 made a journey for the purpose of
importing this bee to America, but due to climatic conditions
he was not successful in his attempt, although he induced them
to live in a hive and found little difficulty in handling them.
The introduction of this bee would be of immense value to us
on account of being able to gather honey from our deeper flow-
ers, such as red and crimson clovers. Attempts, however, have
been made to grow a clover whose fiowers can be reached by the
•ordinary honey bee to the profit of both the bee keeper and
farmer.
India besides being the home of the largest honey-bee, also
owns the smallest in the Apis Florea. The workers of this
variety are somewhat smaller than our common house-fly, the
bodies being somewhat longer, blue black in color with the ante-
rior third of the abdomen bright orange. The honey of this bee
is stored in the tops of bushes in combs about the size of a
man's hand. Its quality is poor and only used as a medicine.
In some parts of India the hives are made of mud in the form
â– of cylinders, slightly larger on one end than the other. This is
inserted in the wall of a hut and the inner side is smeared with
honey and other attractive mixtures to attract a swarm of bees.
If this does not prove successful then the inhabitants go out
into the forest and capture a swarm. After the bees have col-
lected their store of honey, the huntsman smokes them out and
uses their stores as food, etc.
In the Limila Hills the culture has assumed vast proportions.
Large houses have been built, some two or three stories high
and in recesses in the walls inclosed by wooden panels the bees
build. They are enticed here by a honey mixture and as before
if no swarms come the keepers are compelled to go out in the
forest and procure some.
Egypt still has its bees as of old and Hiush in 1817 advises
the English and the Scotch apiarians to change the location of
the hives from one section of the country to another in order
to reap a harvest of honey from the several plants in their respec-
tive localities and seasons. This idea was probably borrowed from
574 HISTORY OF BEE CUIvTURE
the Egyptians and the ancient Greeks for Savary says in a letter
on Egypt :
"The Egyptians exhibit great skill in their manner of cultivating the
bee, as the flowers and the harvests are much earlier in Upper Egypt than
in Lower ; the inhabitants profit by their circumstance in regard to their
bees. They collect the hives of different villages on large barks and every
proprietor attaches a particular mark to his hives. When the boat is load-
ed, the conductors descend the river slowly, stopping at all the places
where they can find pasturage for the bees. After having thus spent three
months on the Nile, the hives are returned to the proprietor, and after de-
ducting a small sum due the boatman for having conducted his hives from
one end of Egypt to the other, he finds himself enriched with a quantity
of honey and wax which u- immediately sent to market. This form of in-
dustry procures for the Egyptian an abundance of wax and honey, and en-
ables him to export a considerable quantity to foreign countries."
The ancient Greeks also practiced this system of periodically
removing the hives from place to place. The inhabitants of
Achaia transported their hives to Egypt where the seasons came
somewhat later. As the fertility of this province depends upon
the inundation of the Nile, which takes place in June and ceases
in about three months, hence, we find the flower plants, the
pasturage for the bees, in full bloom there during September
and October.
The modern Greeks who live on the coast of Asia Minor also
transport their bees to more fertile pasturage. An iivstance is
given of a vessel laden with hives filled with honey, which over-
run and the bees covered the surface of the water as one black
cloud. The sailors were compelled to swim ashore in order to
save their lives. They returned after furnishing themselves with
proper smoking appliances to ward off hostilities.
Among others practicing this same custom we find the people
in the vicinity of Juliers, (near Cologne, Germany), who take
them to the foot of the mountains where and when the wild
thyme flowers.
Near Beauce, France, the inhabitants take their hives during
the month of August to the forest of Orleans for the heath and
buckwheat and then back to Beauce again.
In Africa the honey-bee is very plentiful. Formerly the
natives made hives of reeds and sedges and hung them out on
boughs of trees. The honey-bee was introduced there by Dutch
I
HISTORY OF BEE CULTURE 575
settlers. In Australia the imported bees are gradually exter-
minating the resident or stinging bee. In New Zealand, the
"West Indies and America the honey-bee has become a permanent
resident.
Bates Naturalist on the River Amazon, tells us
"The Meliponae in Tropical America takes the place of the true Apides,
to which the European hive bee belongs. They are generally much smaller
insects than the hive bees and have no stings. These colonies are com-
posed of hords unnumbered. The vi^orkers are generally seen collecting
pollen in the same way as other bees, but great numbers are employed in
(gathering clay. Their precision and rapidity is truly wonderful. They
first scrape the clay with their mandibles, the small portions gathered are
then cleared by the anterior paws, and then passed to the second pair of
ieet, which in turn convey them to the large foliated expansions of the hind
shanks, which are adopted normally in bees, as every one knows, for the
'Collection of pollen.
These little hoardsmen soon have all they can carry and then fly off.
'They construct their combs in any suitable crevice in trunks of trees or
â– perpendicular banks, and the clay is required to build up a wall so as to
•close the gap, with the exception of a small orifice for entrance and exit.
These bees have no stings, but they bite furiously whenever one of their
number is pinched or hurt in any way. In Mexico these bees have been
•called 'Little Angels.' "
Since early times until within a few years the Germans have
led in the production of honey and wax, but of late years the
-virgin fields of America have changed conditions.
At present the most famous honey of the world is said to
come from California. It is to the modern world what the
honey of Hybla and Hymettus was to the ancients.
The new world with its magnificent bloom, its untouched wild
flowers, mountain sides and fertile valleys makes a fine home for
the bee. John Muir says :
"When California was wild, it was one sweet bee-garden throughout its
â– entire length, north and south, and all the way across, from the snowy
"Sierra to the ocean.
"Wherever a bee might fly within the bounds of his virgin wilderness
through the redwood forests, along the banks of rivers, along the bluffs,
and head lands fronting the sea, over valley and plain, park and grove, and
deep and leafy glen, or far up the piny slopes of mountains, throughout
every belt and section of climate up to the timber line — the flowers bloom
in abundance. Zones of polleny forests, zones of flower plants, stream-
tangles or rubus and wild rose, sheets of golden compositae, beds of bryan-
thus and clover, certain species, blooming everywhere."
576 HISTORY OF BEE CULTURE
The bee-hive was brought to America from Europe sometime
in the 17th century, the exact date of which is not absolutely
known. Some say that the Spaniard brought it to Florida.
The brown bee, or Apis Mullifica was the first brought here,
and it is this bee that is found everywhere wild in our forests.
Although the date of the introduction of the bee into this country
is not absolutely know yet its date of introduction into Califor-
nia is known. Muir says :
"How long the various species of wild bees have lived in this honey gar-
den nobody knows, but probably since the main body of the present flora
gained possession of the land toward the close of the glacial period. The
first brown bees brought to California are said to have arrived in San
Francisco in March, 1853. A bee-keeper by the name of Shelton pur-
chased a lot, consisting of twelve swarms, from some one at Aspinwall,
who had brought them from New York. When landed at San Francisco
all contained live bees, but they finally dwindled to one hive, which was
taken to San Jose. These little immigrants flourished and multiplied in
the bountiful pastures of the Santa Clara valley, sending off three swarms
the first season.
The owner was killed shortly afterwards, and in settling up
his estate two swarms of bees were sold at auction for $105 and
$110 respectively.
From the hives taken to California this industry grew to over
fifteen to twenty thousand hives in 1876.
Since our Civil War a period of reconstruction has been over-
whelmingly growing upon us. American hustle and American
ingenuity have developed all industries to a marvelous state of
perfection. The bee industry is no exception to this rule. Pro-
fessor A. J. Cook, of Michigan Agricultural College has said,
"An excellent authority places the number of colonies of bees in the
United States in 1881 at 3,000,000,000, and the honey production for that
year at more than 200,000 tons, and the production for that year was below
the average and yet the cash value of the year's honey crop exceeded $30,-
000,000."
Reports from the Department of Agriculture show honey and
wax produced since i860 to be as follows:
Year
Pounds of Honey
Pounds of wax
i860
23,366.357
1,322,787
1870
14,702,815
631,129
1880
25.743.308
1,105,689
1890
63.897.327
1,665.588
TQOO
61,196,160
I.765.3IS
HISTORY OF BEE CULTURE 577
The above figures show that the industry required about
twenty years after our war to regain its former proportions, and
from thence to 1900 the output was increased three-fold. The
honey crop was less in 1900 than in 1890, yet the output of wax
was considerably more in proportion.
The report goes to show that the Government made importa-
tions of Italian bees in i860 and the next importation of the
Cyprians was not made until 1880, or after the war depression
was slightly overcome.
The 1900 department report gives value of honey and wax
and amounts on farm, ranches, etc., by sections as follows :
Pounds Profit Pounds Profit Value of
Honey Per Cent. Wax Per Cent. Swarms
North Atlantic States . . 6,855,027 106.9 132.819 2.9 $1,370,732
South Atlantic States . . . 9,468,843 62.4 329,192 2.5 1,664,636
North Central 20,055,502 85.8 396,604 1.7 3.505,675
South Central 14,849,824 66.0 588,960 2.6 2,513,397
Western 9,870,094 304.4 216,020 6.7 1,123,647
Alaska & Hawaii 96,870 2105.9 1,720 37.4 8,426
Totals 61,196,160 1,665,315 $10,186,513
We can thus see that the Central belt of the United States is
the greatest honey and wax producing section, while Alaska and
Hawaii produce the least. This, however, may be confusing
as the amount of area covered may change our interpretation of
the tables.
The per cent, of profit in Alaska and Hawaii is quite consider-
ably above the average, it being 2105.9 P^^ cent, for honey and
37.4 per cent, for wax, while the Northern Central belt gives 85
per cent, for honey and 1.7 per cent, for wax. The Westei'n
section gives 304.4 per cent, for honey and 6.7 per cent, for wax.
Thus one is compelled to look for a cause for the excessive
production or profit of honey from Hawaii and Alaska. The
abundance of sugar cane may be an explanation for slight part
of this effect.
As in the preceding table we note that the Central belt owns
a larger proportion of the total than any of the other belts,
Hawaii and Alaska being the lowest in the list.
Values of bees on farms of specified areas show June i, 1900:
19
578
HISTORY OF BEE CULTURE
No. farms Per cent. Average
reporting keeping bees per farm
Under 3 acres 41,882 4.9 67.14
3 to 10 acres 226,564 5.2 23.47
10 to 20 acres 407,012 5.5 15.59
20 to 50 acres 1,257,785 7.9 12.67
50 to 100 acres 1,366,107 12.7 12.68
100 to 175 acres 1,422,328 14.8 13.94
175 to 260 acres 490,104 19.1 14.73
260 to 500 acres 377,992 18.3 16.13
SCO to 1000 acres 102,547 17.6 20.22
1000 and over 47,276 14.3 24.62
One finds that the farms of under three acres lead the Hst
with $67.14 per farm while the farms from twenty to fifty acres
yield the least, or $12.67 per farm.
In closing will state that probably the greatest item in bee
culture has been overlooked up to this point, that is the value of
the bee in fertilization of our different forms of plant life.
Huber, Huish and others discussed this point. Huber found
that the bees will travel as far as two miles and Huish found it
to be four miles, and thus carry pollen from plant to plant within
the area of the above named radius.
Some authors go as far as to say that were it not for our
bees, plant life would gradually dwindle away and in time all
life in consequence.
Silk Culture in Bucks County.
BY JOHN A. ANDERSON, IvAMBERTVII^LE;, N. J.
(New Hope Meeting, October 13, 1908.)
In complying with a request of the Bucks County Historical
Society for a paper respecting what has been aptly termed the
"silk craze" in Bucks county, it must be stated that the most of
what I am able to present is from recollections of occurrences
within a very limited area and observed when I was about ten
years of age.
I am unable to state how large a territory was included in the
"infected" district, nor can I state with exactness the period
during which the "craze" continued, but my recollection of the
circumstances which came under my immediate notice, is very
distinct.
Whence the idea of silk culture in this region came I do not
know. My father (John H. Anderson, born Jan. 22, 1801 ;
died Dec. 6, 1877) who was keeping a general store in Doy-
lestown, became, along with a good many of his friends and
neighbors, in some way impressed with the possibility of profit
from the business. He secured a lot containing several acres
of ground in what was then the outskirts of Doylestown, on the
north or right hand side of the road as one enters from the
direction of New Hope, at the point where is seen, on the left,
the mill-dam then known as Godshalk's, from the name of the
operator and, I presume, the owner of the mill. The last time
I visited Doylestown, I observed that several dwellings occupied
the site.
On this ground my father erected a building which we knew
as the "cocoonery," and made around it a plantation of mulberry
trees, from the leaves of which the silk-worms were to be fed.
As the work progressed and required closer attention, my
father, after probably three or four years of the business, re-
moved his family to a dwelling near the locality, which we had
then named "Mulberry Hill." This "out of town" residence was in
the year 1840 and continued for one year, when a return to our
580 SILK CULTURE IN BUCKS COUNTY
former residence took place. My recollection respecting the date
is confirmed by a comparison of some family dates and could
be further verified if it could be ascertained in what year a
balloon ascension took place in a field near by. This, at that
time, was a notable occurrence, and, although I am unable to
recall any particulars beyond the mere fact, the circumstance
is impressed upon my mind by reason of my father having ac-
quired the residue of the materials used in making the gas for the
inflation of the balloon and obtaining therefrom a considerable
quantity of copperas.
The trees from which were obtained the leaves for feeding
the silk-worms were of the variety known as the morns mnl-
ticaulis. The leaves were produced in great abundance, and
on the young trees they were very large. The trees were of
rapid growth and, during my knowledge of them, reached per-
haps a height of ten feet. They would doubtless in time reach
a much greater height, but it was necessary to have them low
for convenience in gathering the leaves, which was done by
persons standing on the ground or on a short step-ladder. The
children of the family were frequently employed in this work.
The fresh leaves were spread on the "hurdles" on which the
worms were, in order that they might conveniently feed on them,
which they did voraciously. The hurdles were light wooden
frames with strings across each way, affording a resting place
for worms and leaves. They were supported on rough tables,
with space below serving for ventilation and cleaning. The
room was carefully kept at the proper and required temperature,
which was a part of the proceeding of which I had little par-
ticular knowledge.
The multicaulis trees were raised from cuttings. Until one
had trees of his own the cuttings must be bought from some
other speculator. They were not cheap. The switches were cut
into short pieces, each containing a single bud. They were very
precious and the raising and sale of them constituted a very im-
portant feature of the general scheme. I remember my father
telling me, one day, as we were planting some of these cuttings,
that each one of them was worth twenty-five cents. In view of
the great facility of propagation of the trees, the value at which
the switches were held seems remarkable.
SILK CULTURE IN BUCKS COUNTY 581
The planting was done in much the same way as potatoes, the
buds being dropped about a foot apart, in a shallow furrow, and
covered with soil. The young trees soon came up and were
transferred to the large field or sold by the grower to other
seekers after wealth. In the field they were placed but a few
feet apart and received about the same cultivation as the farmer
gives his corn. Occasionally the supply of leaves ran short for
a time and then resort was had to some white mulberry (morus
alba) trees in town, to gather from which permission was ob-
tained. These served the purpose fairly well, although the
leaves were small and difficult to get, particularly as they re-
quired some expert climbing, as my brother and I discovered.
The worms were hatched in a warm room, from eggs pro-
duced in the cocoonery or bought from some one in the business.
The eggs were deposited by the "millers" on paper placed handy
for them and were kept in some kind of "cold storage" until
disposed of. They were very minute and a very small collection
cost a quarter of a dollar, the price varying with the supply and
demand. The worms, when they appeared, were little thread
like things, not at all attractive to my youthful eyes. During
the successive stages of growth they required great care in
preserving the proper temperature and in other precautions to
keep them in a healthy condition. Frequently they would be
attacked by a fatal disease which we then termed "the rot."
Scientists have, doubtless, a more high sounding name for this,
the nature of which did not seem to be understood by the amateur
silk-growers. This disease would work great havoc among the
worms and bring serious misgivings as to the prospective silk
crop.
At the proper stage of existence the worm would retire to a
corner of the hurdle or some other handy place and there pro-
ceed to invest itself with a beautiful silken envelope, a bright
yellow cocoon, of oval form, which was to be its habitation until
it might be ready to come forth and take up a further animated
existence, in winged form. When finished, the cocoons were
cared for in the manner adapted to their intended use.
Those from which it was desired that eggs be produced were
left where they were made and, in due time, the "miller" came
forth from each, laid her eggs, and soon passed off the stage.
582 SILK CULTURE IN BUCKS COUNTY
The cocoons which were to be preserved for the production of
silk were collected and precautions were taken to prevent their
being punctured by the insect within, in emerging, which would
have destroyed their value for silk production. The sleeping
tenants were ruthlessly deprived of vitality, by the application
of boiling water. The cocoons may have been kept in a low
temperature until this operation was performed, but of this I
have no recollection. At all events the hot water was not ap-
plied until the winding process was undertaken. In this, after
the cocoons were sufficiently softened by the water, a whisk-
broom was passed among them. To this the external threads
attached themselves and, in considerable numbers together, were
wound off on a reel. If a thread broke, as was often the case,
the same cocoon was subsequently brought into action, along with
others, by a further sweep of the broom.
In the first winding there were a good many of these fine
threads together, constituting, however, but a very fine strand.
Such strands were afterwards combined into larger ones and put
into hanks for sale. As it seemed to my youthful eyes, the
product was very handsome.
I have no particular knowledge of the financial results of
the business. That it was not profitable may be assumed from
the fact that it was soon discontinued. My father removed from
Doylestown in 1843 and his interest in the business ceased.
Regarding the extent of the efforts in this work, it would ap-
pear that it must have been considerable. Watson P. Church,
of the Newtown Enterprise, states that he has been informed that
there was a cocoonery and a mill, for making the thread, near
Newtown, which was "one of the few mills of the kind operated
in Bucks county." The fact of there being several mills of the
kind in the county, indicates that the effort to raise silk in the
locality must have been somewhat extensive and spread over a
field larger" than that covered by my youthful vision. It is my
impression that a good many persons were interested in the
business. One or two names occur to me but my recollection on
that point is too indistinct to warrant me in mentioning them.
There are some trees growing at Belvidere, N. J., which are
known variouslv as white mulberry and morus multicaulis, names
representing different varieties of the mulberry. The tradition
SILK CULTURE IN BUCKS COUNTY 583
there is that the progenitors of these trees suppUed leaves for silk
culture, but I have not been able to get any further information
as to the culture of silk in New Jersey or elsewhere in the vicin-
ity.
Whatever the extent of the "craze" it would seem to have soon
passed away and, with it, the money and hopes of many who
had put both so largely in the venture.
It would add greatly to the interest of the subject if more
could be gathered respecting the origin and history of this remark-
able and interesting attempt to introduce an industry so foreign
to our climate and it would be gratifying if this imperfect recital
should lead to further revelations in the same direction.
Since writing the above paper I have met with the following
article on culture of silk in "Watson's Annals of Pennsylvania
and Philadelphia" published in 1857 (see Vol. 2 pages 436 et
seq.)
"From the commencement of our annals, at different periods of time,
the advantages of silk culture have been recommended or attempted.
As early as the year 1725, James Logan, in writing to the Penn family,
recommends 'the culture of silk in this country as extremely beneficial
and promising.' He says 'iron v^rorks also promise w^ell.' In the next
year he speaks of silk sent to England, saying 'he is glad it proves so
good, and he doubts not in time, the country may raise large quantities.'
In 1734, Governor Gordon addresses the lords commissioners of trade on
various objects of produce, &c., and speaks in strong terms of his ex-
pectations from the culture of silk, 'as a fit return to Great Britain'
for their usual importations ; he says 'the tree is so natural to our soil and
the worm thrives so well. Some among us have shown its practica-
bility by making some small quantities, &c.'
In the year 1770, the subject was taken up in Philadelphia and adjacent
country with great spirit. It was greatly promoted by the exertions of
the American Philosophical Society, stimulated by the communications of
Dr. Evans and Dr. Franklin in Europe. Application was made to. the
assembly for the establishment of a public filature at Philadelphia for
winding cocoons, and the managers to have power to grant premiums, &c.,
equal to about £500 per annum, for five years. The necessary incipient
funds, equal to igoo, were furnished by generous individuals on sub-
scription, being generally £2 each, some £15, and Governor John Penn
£20. With such means the filature was opened in June, 1770, at a house
on Seventh street, between Arch and High streets, and a rate of premiums
was announced.
It appears that in the year 1771 about 2300 lbs. were brought there to
584 SILK CULTURE IN BUCKS COUNTY
reel, and that of it 1,754 lbs. were purchased by the managers in about two
months, in July and August ; nearly two-thirds of this had been raised in
New Jersey. At the same time much discussion of the subject appeared in
the gazettes, and many mulberry trees were planted in New Jersey and the
counties around Philadelphia. The ladies in particular gave much atten-
tion to the subject, and especially after the war had begun, when the
foreign fabrics of silk were cut off from their use. As early as the
year 1770, Susanna Wright, of Lancaster county, at Columbia, made a
piece of mantua of sixty yards length, from her own cocoons, of which I
have preserved some specimens in my MS Annals in the City Library,
pages 165 and 170. (A note states that this received the premium of the
society.) She also made much sewing silk. Mrs. Hopkinson, mother of
the late Francis Hopkinson, raised much cocoons. A woman in Chester
county raised thirty thousand worms. To give eclat to these colonial
designs, the queen gave her patronage by deigning to appear in a court
dress from this American silk. The best dresses worn with us were
woven in England. Grace Fisher, a minister among Friends, made con-
siderable silk stuff ; a piece of hers was presented by Governor Dickin-
son to the celebrated Catherine Macauley. The daughters of Reuben
Haines, in Germantown, raised considerable, and his daughter Catherine,
who married Richard Hartshorne, wore her wedding dress of the same
material, — preserved on page 230 of the MS Annals. The late Mrs. Lo-
gan was among those who in the time of the war raised their own silk in
conjunction with several other ladies, to provide for their personal or
family wants.
In 1772, Robert Proud, our historian, makes a MS. memorandum of his
visit to James Wright's place at Columbia, where he saw one thousand
five hundred worms at their labor under the charge of the celebrated
Susanna Wright. They said they could raise a million in one season,
and would have undertaken it with suitable encouragement.
About the present time, the culture of silk begins to awaken public
attention. A few families in the country are engaged in it. A Holland
family, on the Frankford road, were making it their exclusive busi-
ness on a large scale ; and in Connecticut whole communities are pursuing
it, and supplying the public with sewing silk."
It would seem, from this account that if this may be called a
"craze" some of our forefathers were afflicted with it, as well
as those of later times, and, from statistics published by the
general Government and information derived from other sources,
it appears that the culture of silk in the Colonies in America,
was the subject of serious attention at dates much earlier than
any herein mentioned.
General Davis in his History of Bucks County (both editions)
after giving an account of the A^erino sheep mania, which raged
SILK CULTURE IN BUCKS COUNTY 585
in the country, including Bucks county, from 1810 to 1813, has
this to say of the morus multicaulis craze.
"When the next generation came upon the stage, a quarter of a century
afterward (1837-39), they were found just as ready and willing to be
gulled as their ancestors ; but this time it was the silk-producing mulberry.
The excitement is known in history as the morus multicaulis fever.
It planted itself early in New Jersey, along the Delaware, and almost
immediately leaped across the river and took root in the lower end of
Bucks county. The newspapers teemed with the most marvelous ac-
counts, and the inducements to fortune held out were hardly second to
the South Sea scheme, or the Merino sheep fever. One old lady sold her
spectacles to buy mulberry trees to plant in her garden. An acre of trees
near Camden, N. J., changed hands four times without being taken from
the ground, going up from $1,500 to $4,500. The last purchaser was
offered $1,000 advance, but refused it. One man near Burlington is
said to have sold $12,000 worth of trees from two acres of ground, and
that Prince, of Long Island, sold $75,000 worth from his nursery. Mul-
ticaulis seed brought $16.00 per ounce, and sprouts of one summer's
growth commanded 12^ to 15 cents per foot, the limbs reserved and
taken off, and the buds sold at 2 cents each. In some instances, the
trees brought almost fabulous prices. One sale in Germantown amounted
to $81,218.75, and $8,000 profit is said to have been realized from a
single acre. Trees four feet in height were sold at from 40 to 50 cents
each, and in some parts of the county, as high as a dollar. Thousands of
acres of trees were planted in all parts of the county, and in every village
were numerous gardens and out-lots filled with the multicaulis.
During the height of the excitement, some people in Bucks county made
a great deal of money, while others lost. Sharpers and speculators took
advantage of the excitement, and the frauds practiced were tremendous.
In some instances, farms were mortgaged to raise money to go into the
speculation, and we are told that one farmer in Falls was offered a
rent of $900 for ten acres to plant trees on for one season, the tenant to
clear the land in spring. Considerable money was made and lost about
Newtown, which, with Doylestown, became multicaulis centres, and
where buildings were erected to raise silk-worms. The one at Doyles-
town stood on the lot now (1876) owned by Isaiah Clossin, on the New
Hope turnpike, just east of the Catholic church, and forms part of the
present dwelling. The bubble burst with a sudden explosion, and left
those who had a stock of trees on hand high and dry. Had the specu-
lation lasted a year or two longer, the panic would have been wide-
spread. In 1843 the trees had become a worthless incumbrance to the
ground, and were dug out and cut up."
A House with a History.
(This is the last paper Gen. Davis prepared for the Bucks County Historical Society.)
BY GEN. W. W. H. DAVIS, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
The modest stone dwelling, adjoining the public school
grounds, one lot removed from the S. E. corner of Broad and
Court streets, lately occupied and belonging to George P. Brock,
is one of the oldest and most interesting houses in Doylestown,
Court street, which the house faces, was laid out on the line of
Warwick and New Britain townships in 1807, and occasionally
one calls it by its original name "Academy Lane." The ground
it stood on, as well as the house, has a history. The land was a
portion of 20,000 acres that William Penn conveyed to the "Free
Society of Traders" in 1681, of which 8,000 acres were located
in Warwick, New Britain, Hilltown and Doylestown in middle
Bucks. When the grant was dissolved in 1726, and the land
sold, 2,000 acres were bought by Jeremiah Langhorne, an early
chief justice of the Colony. At Langhorne's death in 1742, he
devised, for life, .[,000 acres in the heart of Doylestown, to Cudjo
and Joe, two of his negro slaves. About the close of the century,
this lot, with others adjoining, came into the possession of Jona-
than and Daniel Mcintosh, and subsequently, in 1768, to the Rev.
Uriah DuBois, of Salem county, N. J.
The Rev. Uriah DuBois graduated from the University of
Pennsylvania in 1790, prepared for the ministry and was licensed
to preach, October 20, 1796, and was called to the churches of
Deep Run and Tinicum, Bucks county, where he was installed
pastor, December 16, 1798. He immediately assumed charge of
his parish, and, with his young wife, located at Dublin the fol-
lowing spring, removing to the parsonage. In 1804 the Union
Academy was built at Doylestown, then a village of 150 people,
and Mr. DuBois was called to take charge of it, removing from
Bedminster, with his young family, and occupied the house
of Mrs. Thomas Stewart, on the site of the dwelling of the late
Joshua Beans, on East State street.
Mr. DuBois, shortly afterwards, bought a three-acre black-
A HOUSE WITH A HISTORY.
On Court street, Doylestown, Pa., one lot removed from the southeast
corner of Broad and Court streets. Built by Rev. Uriah DuBois 1807.
For full history see paper by Gen. W. W. H. Davis.
(From photograph by L. R. Craven, of Doylestown, Pa.)
A HOUSE WITH A HISTORY 587
berry field, now the present N. E. corner of Broad and State
streets, the dwelHng on the corner being- occasionally spoken of
as the "DuBois homestead," and which the Rev. Mr. DuBois
shortly erected; and which was, for some time, the property of
Judge Yerkes. Jn 1807, the Rev. Mr. DuBois bought of the
Mcintosh brothers, the lot next to the Academy, and built a
house on it at a cost of $2,000, wherein he resided until 1813-14,
when he sold it, and removed to the dwelling he built on the black-
berry patch at Broad and State streets. While the Rev. Mr. Du-
Bois lived on the Academy lane property, 1807-14, there was no
Presbyterian church, nearer than six miles, and in that dwelling,
the seeds were sown that sprouted and grew into one of the
strongest organizations in the State of that denomination. Mr.
DuBois was an able man, a Boanerges, as it were, and his labors,
in church and school, made a lasting impression in the community.
Two new actors now came upon the scene, both in turn be-
coming owners of the "House with a History." In 1813, the
county-seat was removed from Newtown to Doylestown, and new
public buildings accompanied it. Among the county officers who
came with the courts was William Watts, one of the clerks, and
John Fox, one of the young attorneys; the former a native of
the county, born in Southampton, and thought to be a descendant
of Sir John Watts, Lord Mayor of London, about 1602. Young
Fox was the son of an Irish gentleman, who came to Philadel-
phia at the close of the Revolution, married a daughter of Thom-
as Sergeant, and died there. The son graduated at the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, read law with one of the Sergeants, was ad-
mitted to the Bucks county bar, and hung out his shingle at New-
town in 1807, and had a distinguished career. He became the
leader of the bar, was deputy attorney general, 1812-15, elected
major general of militia, but refused to accept his commission;
served on the staff of General Worrill in the campaign of 1814,
and was president judge of our courts from 1830 to 1840.
The news of the burning of Washington by the British was
received at Doylestown the morning of the first Monday of Sep-
tember, 1 81 4, the court met. Young Fox called the attention of
Judge Bird Wilson, who presided, to the matter, and moved the
court do adjourn. The Judge refused^ to adjourn, when Fox
588 A HOUSE WITH A HISTORY
told the court that he, himself, knew his duty to his country, prob-
ably in a tone a little spiced with ancestral Irish temper, threw
down his brief, to.>k his hat, and left the court-room.
At the end of eighteen months, William Watts, one of these
new-comers, purchased the "House with a History" of Mr. Du-
Bois, the conveyance bearing date September 24, 1814. While
residing in this house, a very pathetic event transpired, more so
than falls to the lo: of most quiet country dwellings. The typhus-
fever broke out in Doylestown in the winter of 181 5, and soon
became contagious. A member of Mr. Watts' family took the
disease from watching at the bed-side of a friend, and, in the
short space of fifteen days, he closed the eyes of a nephew, a
sister, a niece, a relative, and a servant boy. The dead were all
buried at the Baptist burying-ground at Southampton.
Mr. Watts' letter to the Rev. Thomas B. Montanye, pastor at
Southampton, who held religious services over the victims, is
very touching. After this sad experience, in his home at the new
county-seat, I am not surprised that Mr. Watts soon disposed of
the dwelling, the very thought of the loss he had met being suffi-
ciently provocative. In a little over a year the property was
transferred to another. William Watts afterwards served a term
as associate judge of our courts, and died at Doylestown in 1839.
In the winter of 1816, John Fox, the young attorney, elsewhere
mentioned, took to wife Margery, daughter of Gilbert Rodman,
of Bensalem, and they went to house-keeping at Doylestown in
the spring. He bought the "House with a History", the convey-
ance of William Watts, and Elizabeth, his wife, to John Fox,
bearing date April i, 1816. It was the Fox homestead for more
than half a century. Judge Fox dying there in 1849, his widow
surviving him until 1873.
Judge Fox was a leader of the Democratic party of Bucks
county for many years, and wielded a wide influence. The reason
of his being able to sustain his political supremacy a longer time
than usual, was due to the fact that he refused to accept political
office, thereby avoiding many antagonisms. He was in close
touch with the associate judge of our courts, and had much to
do in shaping national and state politics. He took the initiative
in the movement of 1838, for amending our State constitution,
growing out of negroes voting at county elections of 1837, where-
A HOUSE WITH A HISTORY 589
by the Whigs elected part of their ticket.* He was the intimate
friend of Samuel D. Ingham (President Jackson's secretary of
the treasury) during the whole of his distinguished career; and
there is hardly a doubt that Fox's influence, with the Southern
delegation to Congress, had much to do with his appointment.
Judge Fox died at Doylestown April 15, 1849. Ingham lived
within eight miles of Fox and was a frequent visitor at the house
on Court street, and not infrequently Coryell, Davis, Chapman,
Rodgers and other political lieutenants called in to talk over the
situation.
If the house could repeat all its walls had listened to, during
the period of whicli we write, it would make up a very interesting,
relation of past events. It likewise figured largely in social
events of the period, and was a trysting place for the "musical
cotore", so celebrated fifty years ago. The last owner of the
house, prior to coming into possession of Mr. Brock, was Caleb'
E. Wright, Esq., of the Bucks county bar.
It is a pleasure to add that this interesting old house retains:
the charming architectural features that made it so attractive in
the past. While it has been renovated, where the ravages of
time have made repairs necessary, its owner arranged the re-
pairs with rare taste and skill, in order to preserve every original
feature possible.
* See " How the Word 'White' became Inserted in Our Constitution of 1S38," by Gen.
Davis, Vol. II, page 595.
The Ringing Rocks.
BY B. F. FACKENTHAI,, JR., RIEGELSVILLE, PA.
The ringing rocks of Bridgeton township (formerly part of Nocka-
mixon township) in Bucks county, Pa., are situated about 1%. miles
west from the Delaware river, about 7 miles by public road from Rie-
gelsville, Pa., and about 3 miles from Milford, N. J. They have an
elevation of about 500 feet, and present a most interesting geological
study. The illustrations shown on the opposite page are from photo-
graphs of the main part of the field, which covers an area of about 4
acres, and in which the musical rocks are found. The rocks vary
from about 100 pounds to many tons in weight ; there are, how-
ever, very few small rocks. They are piled on top of each other
to a great depth, but their surface, which is comparatively level, is not
elevated above the immediately adjoining land. When struck with a piece of
•rock, or with a hammer or other metallic object, they give out a
peculiarly musical, bell-like sound, the tones often varying according
to their shape and position. Some of the rocks are decidedly more
musical than others, while some have only a dull sound ; the tone of
many resembles that of a blacksmith's anvil. The musical properties
are not destroyed by removing them from their beds, or from their
locality.
The large field referred to does not contain a particle of soil or vege-
tation of any kind. There are also some smaller fields of similar
rocks nearby ; in fact, the entire neighborhood is covered with rocks of
the same geological formation. The region is rough and rocky, and a
considerable part of the surrounding land cannot be cultivated. Some
of the rocks are of huge proportions ; the exposed surfaces of many
contain interesting indentations, due to the fact that they have .been
subject to the weathering or leaching process.
These rocks are igneous eruptions, and are doubtless outcrops of
dykes, which came up through the Mesozoic red sandstone or, as com-
monly called, "new red sandstone" or "red-shale," and can be traced, in
a southwestwardly direction, from the Delaware river across Bucks
county, following the foot-hills of South mountain, into Montgomery
and Chester counties.
On the northwestern slope of Haycock mountain (960 feet elevation)
in Haycock township Bucks county, there are also several outcrops of these
iDarren rocks, including one field at an elevation of 620 feet, having an
area oi about 3 acres, which have ringing properties, and have always
been known as "Stony Garden," a wild lonely spot in the woods, about
2 miles from Stony Point tavern, on the Durham road in Springfield
township.* The tones of the rocks at Stony Garden are not as musical
* This tavern, established in 1758, was formerly called " Three tuns."
RINGING ROCKS OF BRIDGETON TOWNSHIP.
Southeast corner of largest field.
(Photograph Aug. 24, 190S, by B. F. Fackenthal, Jr.)
RINGING ROCKS OF BRIDGETON TOWNSHIP, BUCKS COUNTY, PA.
View looking toward the south.
(Photograph May 3, 1909, by S. B. Johnston, Easton, Pa.)
the: ringing rocks 591
as those of the ringing rocks in Bridgeton township. The surface of
the surrounding country, especially at the base of Haycock mountain,
is even more rough than in Bridgeton township.
About 3 miles north of Pottstown, in Montgomery county, at an eleva-
tion of 500 feet, there is another exposure of rocks of the same geological
formation, and having the same ringing properties. Their surface, how-
ever, is not as level or uniform as that of the Bridgeton field. The
Pottstown rocks cover an area of i^ acres, and the locality is known as
"Ringing Hill," (or "Klingel Barrick," as it is called by the Pennsylvania
Germans of that neighborhood). By reason of their nearness to a city, the
Pottstown rocks are much better known than the Stony Garden at Hay-
cock, or the larger and more interesting field in Bridgetown township irt
Bucks county. Moreover, the Pottstown Ringing Rocks Electric Railway,,
which was opened July 21, 1894, has established a pleasure park at that:
place, which has made the field well known throughout eastern Pennsylva-
nia. At the opening of the Pottstown Ringing Rocks Park an interesting:
poem on "Rocks and Rocks" was read by John O. K. Robarts, of Phoenix-
ville, Pa. (See the Pennsylvania German, Vol. 8, page 559). An in-
teresting article, entitled "Mystery of the Ringing Rocks," by William C
Richardson, is contained in the Technical World for March, 1907.
A careful and exhaustive sampling of rocks from the Bridgeton field
(samples having been taken only from the rocks which have the loudest
tones) has been analyzed by Mr. Walter Wyckoff, chief chemist of The
Thomas Iron Company, with the following results :
Oxide of Iron (Fe304) 12.73% = Iron 9.22%
Oxide of Manganese (MnO) . . .20 ^Manganese .. .16
Phosphoric Acid 11 = Phosphorus .. .05
Sulphuric Acid (SO3) 07 ^Sulphur 03
Titanic Acid (TiO.o) 63 = Titanium 37
Silica 52.68
Alumina 1 1 .86
Lime 9.87
Magnesia 8.99
Copper nil
Potash (K=0) 49
Soda (NaoO) 1.23
Loss on Ignition 45
Loss on Analyses 69
Total 100.00%
Specific gravity, 3.15.
The specific gravity of the rocks at Stony Garden is 3.04 and of those
at Ringing Hill, Pottstown, 3.23.
Rev. Nathaniel Irwin.
BY REV. D. K. TURNER, HARTSVILLE, PA.
(Buckingham Meeting, October 23, 1883.)
The Neshaminy Presbyterian church in Warwick had enjoyed
the ministry of two able and distinguished men, WilUam Tennent
and Charles Beatty, in their successive pastorates, a period of
almost half a century, when the pulpit became vacant by the
death of the latter, which occurred in 1772, in the island of
Barbadoes, one of the West Indies, whither he had gone in com-
pany with James Witherspoon, son of Dr. John Witherspoon,
president of Princeton College, to solicit contributions for that
institution. Mr. Beatty during his ministerial life had been fre-
quently absent from home months at a time, and on one occasion
for more than a year, being employed as chaplain in the regiments
of troops raised for the defence of the frontier against the French
and Indians, and as an agent of the synod of the Presbyterian
church, visiting Great Britain to secure money for the widow's
and missionary fund. No doubt the religious interests of the
congregation had suffered somewhat from these repeated in-
stances of the suspension of his labors within its bounds, and
when his decease in a far country removed him altogether from
the scene of his earthly toils, the people felt that a new and
heavy load of sorrow was laid upon them. They could not at
once fix upon a successor in the sacred office, and more than a
year and a half elapsed before they extended an invitation to
Rev. Nathaniel Irwin a young man 27 years of age to succeed
him.
Mr. Irwin was born at Fagg's Manor, Chester county, No-
vember 18, 1746. He had graduated at Princeton, in 1770. While
there he was associated with students some of whom became emi-
nent in the history of our country for talents, learning and in-
fluence, and rose to commanding positions in the state and the
church. Among them may be mentioned James Madison, the
fourth president of the United States, and the only president of
the Union who ever received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from
RliV. NATHANIEI. IRWIN 593
that college; Samuel Stanhope Smith, afterwards president of
the College of New Jersey, at Princeton ; William Bradford, who
became one of the justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,
and attorney-general of the United States under President Wash-
ington ; General John Beatty, oldest son of Rev. Charles Beatty,
and member of the Continental and Federal Congresses ; John
Henry, governor of Maryland, and member of the House of
Representatives and Senate of the United States; Caleb Wallace,
chief justice of Kentucky ; Gunning Bedford, a member of the
convention which framed the constitution of the United States,
and also a judge of the District Court of the United States ;
Hugh H. Brackenridge, a judge of the Supreme Court of Penn-
sylvania, and Philip Freneau, a patriotic poet in our Revolution-
ary war. With these and kindred spirits he united in the organ-
ization of the American Whig Society, June 24, 1769, in an
upper room of Nassau Hall. It was established to cultivate
the art of public speaking, and to discuss those great questions in
respect to civil and political rights, which were then rising into
prominence on account of British tyranny toward the Colonies.
They were all true and earnest patriots, and no doubt their minds
were roused to a deeper sense of the injustice of the mother
country by the investigations and debates, to which they were
accustomed in that youthful conclave. The society was evidently
required by the wants of the young men, for it exists in a
flourishing condition at the present day, and has numbered
among its members some of the most able men that have adorned
the history of our nation. What the standing of Mr. Irwin in
college was we have no means of knowing after so long an inter-
val of time, but we can well believe, considering his talents and
character, that he did not misimprove his opportunities. Either
before or after his graduation (probably after) he taught an
academy at Princeton, and at the same time pursued the study
of theology. Very likely his researches in sacred themes were
under the direction of Dr. John Witherspoon, then president of
the college, who was subsequently in the Continental Congress,
and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
There were no theological seminaries in those days, and it wa'i
customary for young men, who wished to become preachers of
594 KEV. NATHANIEL IRWIN
the gospel, to prepare for their work under the oversight and
in the family of some earnest minister. He was licensed to
preach by the Presbytery of New Castle, in the last part of 1772,
or early in 1773, and, it is probable this took place at the same
time that Samuel Stanhope Smith was licensed, for he received
his licensure from the same Presbytery within the same year.
Those two young men were intimately associated in their col-
lege life, and it would be natural for them to wish to pass the
ordeal of a theological examination together. Some time after
this he was sent out by the synod into central Pennsylvania an<i
Virginia to labor in the destitute settlements, where population
was sparse and religious privileges few. How long a period
he was engaged in this work we are not informed., but it must
have been longer than the terms of several others, who were
commissioned for similar labors, as he received more compensa-
tion than any one else, whose name is mentioned in the minutes
of synod, as employed in 1774 in missionary tours. The treas-
urer of synod was directed to pay him nine pounds, nine shillings
and three pence, in Pennsylvania currency about $25.25, nearly
three times as much as any other youthful licentiate received.
He was occupied in this self-denying toil perhaps four or five
months, as the synod at the same session appointed Ebenezer
Brooks to supply in Virginia five months, Mr. Debow nine months
in Carolina, and three others each six months in Pennsylvania
and Virginia. The synod was much interested, even at that early
day, in the religious welfare of the thinly settled portions of the
country, and took all means in its power to provide for them
needed instruction in sacred things.
Soon after his return to the vicinity of Philadelphia he re-
ceived an invitation to preach in the church at Neshaminy as
a candidate for settlement as pastor. Accepting the summons
as a favorable opening for labor he repaired to the congrega-
tion with little but his horse and his Bible. His father was not
wealthy ; he had been compelled to teach during the progress of
his studies in order to obtain means to continue in college, and
now his funds were at a low ebb. But he was endowed with
a bright, intelligent countenance ; a clear, piercing eye ; a tall,
commanding form, and a strong, loud voice. His manner in the
REV. NATHANlElv IRWIN 595
pulpit was solemn, animated and earnest, and in social life he
was lively and agreeable. The people were so pleased with his
discourse and his conversation that they soon gave him a call to
abide with them as their religious guide. Though this was done
in the spring he was not ordained and installed pastor until
November 3, 1774. In the church records it is stated, "He is
to have for a yearly support in his ministry from said congre-
gation the sum of £140, until said congregation provide a par-
sonage for Mr. Irwin, and after a parsonage is provided, ye
sum of iioo yearly." The manse was not purchased dur-
ing his pastorate, and the salary continued as stated above,
ii30, Pennsylvania currency, or a little more than $346, until
1798, when it was increased to ^170, or $453. This was not
a very munificent stipend for a man who had spent several
years in study to qualify himself for his labors. However,
money had much more purchasing power in those days than it
has at present.
After having been some years at Neshaminy he bought a farm
of over 200 acres, lying on both sides of the turnpike leading to
Philadelphia, four miles south of Doylestown, on which he re-
sided till the close of his life. In 1810 he built, on the west
side of the road, a short distance from the original dwelling,
a house of dressed stone, which was more tasteful and costly
than most residences of that period. It has been somewhat en-
larged within fifteen or twenty years, but its appearance is now-
much as it was nearly 75 years ago, and its handsome walls
and stately air testify that its projector was guided by sound
judgment and enlarged views, and built not for the present
â– only but for the future.
The next year after his ordination, 1775, the church edifice
was enlarged and rebuilt. The structure first reared in 1743,
had stood over 30 years. It was now too small to accommodate
an increasing congregation. People at that time came distances
of six or seven miles to worship at Neshaminy. There was
no sanctuary at Doylestown, and none of the Presbyterian faith
nearer than Addisville or Abington. Carriages with springs
-were scarcely known or very little in use. Those who had
Tiorses rode on horseback; husband and wife, or mother and a
596 REV. NATHANIEL IRWIN
child or two on the same animal, and there were till within a few
years large stone horseblocks with steps in the yard for mount-
ing and dismounting. Many, not only men, but women and.
girls walked to church, four or five miles, often barefoot, carry-
ing their slippers and stockings in their hands. There was a,
spring of clear water not far from the meeting-house at which
some would stop and wash their feet, and put on their shoes
before entering, unlike the Mohammedans, who take off their
sandals, as they go within a consecrated place. The change in
the church building at that time was so extensive that it amounted
almost to rearing a new one, and it was frequently spoken of as
the "new church," the whole expense amounting to about $2,000.
It was not entirely finished for several years. In 1784 John
Kerr was directed by the trustees to "paint the pillars of the
gallery that have not been painted, and bring in his bill." Some
difficulties arose between William Kerr and John Crawford, the
superintending mechanics, in regard to the settlement of their
accounts and the proper proportion which each should receive
of the money paid to them by the corporation. These were ad-
justed after the lapse of ten years, by referring them to arbitra-
tors (a good example), for which office Daniel Longstreth,
Robert Loller and William Hart were chosen, all citizens of
eminence in the region. When the matter was brought before
them Daniel Longstreth was absent, but the others united in an
opinion which happily reconciled the differences of the con-
tending parties.
Mr. Irwin had a correct taste, and liked to see things ornamen-
tal and beautiful about the house of God, and no doubt at his sug-
gestion, the trustees, in 1792, appointed a committee, consisting of
himself, John Horner and Samuel Polk, to procure at lease
twenty-five trees and plant them on the meeting-house lot. He
was attentive to the wants of his ministerial brethren, when they
came into the neighborhood, and delighted in the exercise of the
ancient, and we may say to-day, the modern virtue of hospitality.
In the records of the corporation, of which he was a member a
long time, we find a resolution adopted in 1793 that
"John Grier and John Carr to be a committee to provide for the ac-
commodation of ye Presbytery of Philadelphia, which is to meet here ye
REV. NATHANIEL IRWIN 597
19th of November next; that Mr. Grier provide a cold collation and some
cyder, and Mr. Carr make provision for ye horses of the members during
the day-time, while Presbytery do sit."
Mr. Irwin was interested in the welfare oi his people, both in
respect to this world and another. As well-educated physicians
were much less numerous than at the present day, he often pre-
scribed for the sick who sought his advice, and in an old manu-
script book which contains some of his own individual accounts
and those of the corporation of the church, we find that he has
charged several persons at different times with "medicine," "a
vomit," "a. purge," "a bHster plaster," "dose salts," &c., which
he had furnished them. For "a vomit," whatever that may mean,
he charged Samuel Polk 9 pence, about 10 cents ; to one for
"Sally," the same; "Sally" may have been the daughter of
Francis Jodan, in whose account the item appears. For a " purge"
and "blister plaster" he set down against William Brady, is.
6d., about 20 cents each. Medicine and other remedies were
not dear in those days. No doubt they were quite as effectual
as if they had cost ten times as much. Some regular practi-
tioners at that period had a low opinion of the medical skill of
ministers. Esquire William H. Long, an octogenarian, ifor-
merly of Warrington, recently told me that Rev. William M.
Tennent, D.D., pastor about a hundred years ago at Abington,
occasionally prescribed for the sick. Dr. McLean, a physician
of Montgomery county, was summoned to the bedside of a
patient for whom Mr. Tennent had recommended some remedy,
and when he knew what it was he exclaimed with some warmth,
"I wish Mr. Tennent would let the body alone and attend to the
soul."
Having a large farm Air. Irwin sold some of his produce.
As an illustration of prices at that time we may mention that he
charged a customer for one and a half bushels of potatoes 3s.
9d., about 50 cents, and for "two days cradhng," 15 shillings, or
$2. He employed different persons to assist him in the labors
of the farm. The following is a sample of the written agree-
ments into which he entered with them :
"Memorandum of a bargain made this 14th day of April, 1789, by and
between the subscribers Nathaniel Irwin and William Dougherty. Said
Irwin hath hired said Dougherty to labour for one year, engages to fur-
598 REV. NATHANlElv IRWIN
nish him with good and sufficient meat, drink, washing and lodging dur-
ing said term, and to pay him at the end thereof sixty Spanish milled
dollars. Said Dougherty engages to serve said Irwin diligently and
faithfully at all such labour as he may employ him in during said term, to
commence from this date; not to absent himself from his business, unless
by consent of said Irwin. Should either party cliuse to be free from the
above bargain at or after the determination oi six months, it shall be "in
his power so to be by giving one month's notice to the other, and said
Irwin in that event to pay what arbitrators indifferently chosen shall
award."
(Signed) NATHANIEL IRWIN,
WILLIAM DOUGHERTY.
Testis: Priscilla McKinstry.
He wrote for his neighbors and parishioners bonds, wills, deeds,
contracts and other documents, settled estates, and went through
with many items of public business which do not fall usually
to the lot of clergymen at the present day. For writing "two
arbitration bonds" he charged 5 shillings, about 66 cents ; for
writing a deed and four bonds, i8s. 4d., about $2.42. Persons who
had received a liberal education, and who were familiar with forms
of law, were comparatively few in the community. The county-
seat was then at Newtown, 12 miles distant. He possessed sound
judgment and an acute intellect, and had the welfare of his people
at heart, and was much resorted to by them for counsel in arrang-
ing disputes in regard to real estate. The widow and orphan found
in him a friend and protector, in whom they could place implicit
reliance. He exercised a powerful influence in the affairs of
the county. When a movement was inaugurated to transfer
the courts and public offices to Doylestown he advocated the
change, and did much to turn the tide of public sentiment in its
favor. The inhabitants of Newtown and vicinity were naturallv
opposed to it, and it is said that some one there published a
large caricature of the old gentleman, in which he was depicted
as without his hat and in his shirt sleeves, tugging away at
ropes, which were thrown around the court-house, and pulling
with all his might to draw it to its present location. He did
much likewise to secure the selection of the tract of land of more
than 300 hundred acres, which now constitutes the property
of the almshouse. He was an earnest patriot, and previous to
the Revolution sympathized with the sentiments and measures
I
REV. NATHANIEI, IRWIN 599
that culminated in the separation from Great Britain. The
synod of New York and Philadelphia in 1775 adopted a pastoral
letter to all the churches under their care, in regard to the war,
then commencing, which Air. Irwin favored, and which breathe>i
a devout spirit of patriotism, sorrow over the hostilities inaugu-
rated, and dependence upon God to deliver the country from its
calamities. During the progress of the struggle he often spoke
to his people about the oppressions of the King and his coun-
sellors, encouraging them to resistance, and prayed for the
united colonies, that they might be rescued from tyranny and
be free and independent. It is narrated that he was in church
one Sunday morning, when the report came that the British
were near on the march thither, and that he had only time to
urge his hearers to be true to their country and trust in the God
of battles and to commend them to him before mounting his horse
to escape for his life. Gen. Washington in 1777 crossed the
Delaware at Coryell's ferry, as it was then called, now New
Hope, with his army, and went down the road past this meeting-
house in which we now are (Buckingham meeting-house). Un-
certain in regard to the destination of the British fleet, which
had left New York harbor, he halted on Kerr's hill, near
Neshaminy creek, about two weeks, and had his headquarters
in the house now owned by Mrs. M. Bothwell, a few rods from
the bridge above Hartsville. As soon as he learned that the
enemy were in Chesapeake Bay he divined their purpose to at-
tack Philadelphia in the rear, and set out with his troops at once
with all his speed to meet them and prevent them from ac-
complishing their object. The battle of the Brandywine followed
in a few days, which resulted unfavorably for our forces on
account of their inferior number. While he was in the neigh-
borhood of Neshaminy it is altogether likely that Mr. Irwin saw
and conversed with the father-of-his-country, and with the Mar-
quis de Lafayette, who joined the army there for the first
time as an officer. Whether the General went to the church to
hear the pastor preach we are not informed, but it is altogether
probable he did, as we know he was in the habit of going to the
meeting on Sunday, when the necessities of his responsible
position permitted. Perhaps some of that congregation may
600 REV. NATHANlElv IRWIN
have been sitting for years in the very pew Washington sat in
without knowing it ! What a loss of gratification ignorance
sometimes occasions us.
Mr. Irwin was interested in mathematics and natural philoso-
phy. When the idea of using steam as a power to propel boats
occurred to John Fitch, and he had constructed a model of
an engine, he brought it to the pastor at Neshaminy, whose
religious services he often attended, and whom he regarded
with the highest respect as a man of profound intellect. He
counselled and encouraged the young inventor, and we may
therefore say without violence, that Mr. Irwin had a share in
the work of introducing that mighty force in its application to
navigation.
I\Ir. Irwin was regarded in ecclesiastical bodies in Presbytery,
synod, and general assembly, as a keen, shrewd debater, and as
well versed in the forms, usages and laws, by which their pro-
ceedings were governed. He filled the office of stated clerk of
the general assembly one year, was its permanent clerk five years,
and was elected moderator in 1801. He was also clerk of the
old synod of New York and Philadelphia from 1781 to 1785.
Rev. Dr. James P. Wilson once remarked to me, that synod
and general assembly "depended much upon Mr. Irwin, and
scarcely thought they could go on with their annual business
until he arrived." He was methodical and exact in recording
minute transactions, which needed to be transmitted to posterity,
and had a clear, retentive memory. Dr. Alexander said of him,
"Nathaniel Irwin, of Neshaminy, was an influential member of
the assembly of 1781. It was easy to discern, that as his head
was literally long, so it was intellectually." He possessed the
gift of easy, fluent speech, and did not usually write his dis-
courses, but delivered them in a language that came to him at
the moment. He possessed the power of touching the feelings
and hearts of his audience. At funerals he gave counsel and
consolation to mourners and friends highly adapted to the occa-
sion. Rev. Azariah Prior, an Episcopal clergyman, now deceased,
said to me that in his youth he was present in Neshaminy church,
when Mr. Irwin preached the sermon over the remains of a
young lady, who had been killed by a sudden and unexpected
REV. NATHANIEL, IRWIN 6oi
accident. A large number of her youthful acquaintances were
there, and the venerable pastor chose as his text the passage.
"Rise up, ye women that are at ease ; hear my voice, ye care-
less daughters ; give ear unto my speech." All were much
affected, and before he closed, large numbers were in tears.
Yet he found delight in social intercourse with his friends, and
was cheerful and frequently gay and merry. He liked a joke,
was quick in repartee, and could give and "take a jest with
the best." Fond of music and the society of young people, they
sometimes gathered at his house, when he would unbend from
the labors of the day by playing for their entertainment upon
the violin, in the use of which instrument he was skillful and
found much enjoyment. He wished to have his clothes and
shoes fit him loosely, so that he would feel in them no constraint,
and told Israel Mullen, an uncle to Mrs. Wm. Rubinkam, the
shoemaker, who in those days was a "peripatetic philosopher,"
and went from house to house to do his work, that he "wanted
him to make his shoes so that he could put his fingers inside and
fix his toes."
In 1811 the Presbyterian General Assembly determined tO'
found a theological seminary, and Mr. Irwin, with some others,
advocated the plan of adopting as a proper site the very spot
near Hartsville, on which the "Log College" had stood an in-
stitution to which the Presbyterian church was greatly indebted.
To show the strength of his interest in the matter he left in
his will a bequest of $1,000 to the seminary, on condition that
it should be located there. Princeton, however, was ultimately
chosen as its location. He also left a legacy of $500, one share
in the Pennsylvania Bank, to Princeton College, the interest ot
which should be paid yearly to the member of the American
Whig Society, who should prove upon trial to be the most elo-
quent orator. In the financial reverses of 1837 this sum dimin-
ished in value one-half, and in .1857 it disappeared entirely.
He also left $2,000, four shares of the Pennsylvania Bank, to the
use of his sister, Mrs. McEachran, of Spencertown, N. Y., dur-
ing her life, and at her death to Neshaminy church. When the
church divided, in 1838, this was separated into two parts, one
of which went to Neshaminy church in Warwick, and the other
602 REV. NATHANIEL IRWIN
to Neshaminy church in Hartsville. The latter was put into
the construction of the new church in Hartsville, and the former
sunk out of sight in the crisis of 1857.
Mr. Irwin was twice married, first to Miss Martha Jamison,
daughter of Henry Jamison, of Centreville, Bucks county, about
the year 1777, by whom he had two children, a son and a daugh-
ter. The son, Henry, grew up to man's estate, was of a social
disposition, and the life of every company into which he was
thrown, but was led away by evil companions, and became ad-
dicted to the intoxicating cup. He married Miss Walker, of
Warrington ; and several children were born to them, who after
their father's death removed with their mother to Ohio. Henry
died at the early age of 32 years, February 7, 1812, only a few
weeks before the decease of his venerable parent. His sister
was the object of the most intense affection on the part of her
father ; she was amiable and lovely in mind, character and per-
son, and he was scarcely willing that she should be out of his
sight longer than the briefest period. She became the wife of
Dr. William Hart, of Newtown, but died young in 1802, and her
husband survived her only eight years, departing this life in
1810. The Governor of this State appointed Mr. Irwin recorder
and register of Bucks county, while the offices were in New-
town, and as this place was at a distance from his home, his
son-in-law discharged most of the duties of the appointment.
The old gentleman was greatly disturbed by the frivolity and
dissipation of his son Henry, and it probably impaired his health
and his desire to live. The father soon followed the young man
to the grave.
After the death of his first wife, which occurred in Chester
county, about the year 1806, he married Priscilla McKinstry,
who during the last years of his life deserved and received his
warm appreciation and confidence as a companion, in whom he
need not be ashamed. His last illness was not of long contin-
uance. Only one Sabbath intervened between the day when
he stood in the sacred desk and that in which his spirit took its
flight to the rewards of the just. A large concourse of people,
his own congregation and very many from the surrounding
region, attended the remains as they were borne from his resi-
ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N. 603
dence to the church, and it is said that the procession of car-
riages and people on horseback was a mile and a half long.
Rev. Dr. J. P. Wilson, Sr., of the ist church in Philadelphia,
delivered the memorial discourse, and then all that was mortal
of the beloved pastor was committed to the dust. He had ex-
pressed a desire that he might be buried in the spot over which
the pulpit had stood in the first meeting-house, where William
Tennent had preached. This wish was sacredly respected, and
there he now reposes, awaiting the morning of the resurrection.
On a horizontal marble tablet over his grave is the following
inscription :
REV. NATHANIEL IRWIN
DIED MARCH 3D, l8l2
Aged 65 years, 4 mos. and 15 days.
To this sad tomb, whoe'er thou art, draw near ;
Here lies a friend to truth ; of soul sincere,
Of manners unaffected, and of mind
Enlarged ; he wished the good of all mankind ;
Calmly he looked on either life, for here
His peace was made, and nothing left to fear."
Admiral John A. Dahlgren, U. S. N.
BY REV. D. K. TURNER, HARTSVILLE, PA.
(New Britain Meeting, October 27, 18S5.)
Our county has been the birthplace of many eminent men, and
the residence for longer or shorter periods of many others, who
have been distinguished in the learned professions, in the political
arena and in the history of the national army and navy. Of the
latter class was the subject of this sketch. Admiral John A. Dahl-
gren, who owned a farm, on which he resided three and a half
years, in Warwick township, near Hartsville. It is not inappro-
priate, therefore, to review the incidents in his career and the im-
portant services he was able to render to his country both pre-
vious to the late Civil War and during that great struggle.
He sprang from a family in Sweden, whose founder's name
was Borje Ericsson, but by royal license his ancestor was per-
mitted in 161 5 to take the name of Dahl-gren, meaning a hough
604 ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N.
or branch of Dahlen, the place where he hved. The great me-
chanical engineer, Ericsson, is a native of the same country, and
the two may have been distant relatives. This seems the more
probable from the fact that the surname Eric is found more often
than any other in the genealogical family record, which can be
traced back unbroken to the sixteenth century. The late ad-
miral's grandfather was a doctor in medicine, a graduate of the
University of Upsala, a pupil and particular friend of the great
naturalist, Linnseus, and the chief physician or assessor of the
province of Finland. His father, also a graduate of the same
university, was a man of unusually large stature, being six feet
four and a half inches tall and of otherwise imposing propor-
tions, and while young, traveled extensively, making frequent
journeys into the regions of the North within the Arctic circle.
Being strongly in favor of political liberty he attempted to dis-
seminate Republican ideas, and was obliged in consequence to
flee from his native land when he was about twenty years of age,
and after suffering the confiscation of his property by the royal
government and wandering through various countries of Europe
he embarked from Spain for America, and arrived in New York
in December. 1806. After a time the authorities of Sweden be-
came reconciled to the young patriot so far as to appoint him
consul at Philadelphia, an office which he held till his death in
1824, being regarded by all his fellow citizens as worthy of the ut-
most confidence on account of his strict integrity, intelligence and
sound judgment. He w^as often appealed to as arbiter to settle
disputes, and his decisions were uniformly accepted as fin^l. His
motto, "Candor and Fidelity," guided his course as a merchant
and marked all his transactions. His son John was his oldest
child and was born November 13, 1809, in a house which was
long since pulled down, on a site corner of Third and Walnut
streets, Philadelphia, where now stands the large public building,
"The Exchange." The mother's maiden name was Martha
Rowan, daughter of James Rowan, who was a Revolutionary
soldier, served as commissary in the brigade of General Lacey
and met with heavy pecuniary losses by advances to the U. S.
government for the purchase of supplies which were either not
repaid or paid in Continental money that ultimately became
worthless. He was present in the battles of Germantown and
ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N. 605
Princeton. John was sent in his early boyhood to a Quaker
school on Fourth street near Chestnut, and taught Latin and
mathematics, and his father, who had himself received a thorough
classical education, superintended and directed his studies with
great interest, occasionally visiting the recitation-room and hear-
ing classes. With this guidance and encouragement the lad be-
came at an early age well versed in Latin, Spanish, geometry and
surveying. When he was about 14 years of age his father died,
leaving his mother with four children with little means of sup-
port ; for though successful in business he was so generous in his
•contributions to every meritorious public enterprise, that a very
limited property remained at his death. The lad had not the
advantages of fortune at the outset of his career, nor was he
compelled to incur the temptations that often accompany it. His
Jiome was near the Delaware river, and he often saw on its waters
vessels of the navy that had gained renown in the war of 1812
with Great Britain. The frigate "Raritan" was there, and the
â– "Pennsylvania," which in May, 1861, was burned by the Con-
federates at Norfolk, Va. The novelist, Cooper, had recently
published the romantic tale of the sea, "The Pilot," which John
read, and which captivated his imagination and assisted in turning
his mind to the navy as the theatre in which he might act well his
part in life. While at school he made most commendable pro-
ficiency in his studies, and one of his teachers said that during
the two years he had been under his care he had obtained more
honors than any of his other pupils, having secured one gold
medal and four other prizes. When about i6 years old he made
application to the Secretary of the L'''nited States Navy for the
position of midshipman, and being recommended by Hon. George
M. Dallas, Judge Richard Peters, Hon. Daniel H. Miller, repre-
sentative from his district in Congress, the Speakers of the State
Senate and House of Representatives, and a large number of
other distinguished men, after about ? _, ear's delay he received
the appointment. Shortly before this time he began keeping
memorandum books, in which every day or two he put down
what seemed of interest or importance to him, and whicli he
<:ontinued many years. From these manuscripts the published
memoir of his life, forming a large volume, has been principally
prepared. He was methodical in his habits and exact in his
6o6 ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N,
Statements, and this private journal contains many notes in ref-
erence to important events and men in high position that are of
pecuhar value.
During the interval in which his application for employment
in our navy was held in suspense, he received from the consul
general of Columbia, South America, offers of a midshipman's
and a lieutenant's berth in the service of that country, which he
declined with the view of remaining under the flag that waved
over the land of his nativity. To qualify himself more fully
for the profession he intended to pursue, he shipped as a com-
mon sailor on a brig that was to make a voyage to Cuba. On
the way out the crew experienced a severe gale, in which severaT
vessels were lost, and on their return they passed through one of
the most violent tempests that ever visited the coasts of the United
States, lasting from the 29th of May till the 4th of June, six
days, during which time more than fifty vessels with all their
crews were lost. On June 18, 1825, Dahlgren landed safely in
Philadelphia. On February i. 1826. he received a letter from
Hon. Samuel L. Southard, then Secretary of the Navy, apprising
him that he was appointed acting midshipman ; that he would be
on probation six months, and if at the end of that time, spent in
service at sea, his character, talents and qualifications were com-
mended, a warrant would be sent him, entitling him to pay from
the beginning of his actual service. He was now 16 years of age,
and according to orclers he repaired to Norfolk and stepped on
the deck of the "Macedonian," April 25, 1826, a fatherless boy
with no wealth, rank or social influence to sustain him, dependent
on his own energy and industry for success in the arduous and
sometimes perilous path he had chosen. About the middle of
May the frigate left the harbor on a voyage to Brazil. Two or
three weeks subsequently, when he was out in mid-ocean, he re-
cords in his journal :
"A very unfortunate accident happened to me this evening. It was my
mid watch from 12 till 4 o'clock. I was very sleepy and the night very-
dark; in walking to and fro the quarter-deck I missed a step and was in-
stantly precipitated down the hatch."
After lying in his hammock a few days in great pain he was
able to be on duty again, and sufifered no further injury from
the mishap which might have cost him his life. In July they
ADMIRAI, JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N. 607
crossed the equinoctial line, at which point it had been customary
in the navy for the older sailors to put the new ones through the
process of "ducking and shaving," but Commodore Biddle, in
command of the ship, would not allow it, considering it opposed
to true discipline. This kind of "hazing" has been thus described :
"On crossing the line, a sailor personating 'Father Neptune,' arises
all dripping from the briny deep, and appears on the quarter-deck adorned
with frosted beard, bearing his three-tined sceptre and wrapped in his
mantle. All his subjects at once crowd around him. Then he sternly
•demands the new-comers, whereupon those unlucky wights are present-
ed. Stretching forth his trident, 'Father Neptune' orders that they
shall be installed as his leal followers, when the poor sailor is at once
seized and seated upon a cask, which is filled with water and has a trap
•door at the top. After he has been rudely shaved with an iron hoop the
trap is suddenly sprung, and he gets a ducking amid the uproarious
laughter of the jolly lookers-on."
The ship visited Rio Janeiro, Bahia and Montevideo, and on
the ocean between these cities the commodore kept the crew
tacking and veering from side to side in various directions, prac-
ticing the midshipmen and other officers in the duties which
were to be the work of their future lives. Dahlgren received
permission also to visit Buenos Ayres in another ship, which
w^as to go there, and after an absence of about a month he re-
joined his own vessel, the "Macedonian." On this cruise to South
America the frigate was away from the United States more than
two years. On their return voyage, not long after it left Rio
Janeiro, the small-pox appeared on board. Every precaution was
taken to prevent its spread, but in vain, and at one time, before
they reached home, there were no less than forty-five cases in
that one ship's company. Day after day the dead were consigned
to the deep with their clothing and bedding, and it was only when
the cool breezes of the northern November began to be felt that
its virulence abated. Dahlgren escaped with a slight attack, but
years after, when admiral, he used to allude to the awful scenes
that transpired on that pestship, and never without emotion. The
"Macedonian" had been one of the finest "men of war" in the
British navy, but was captured by Decatur in 1812, and came
under the flag of the Union. Commodore Biddle was a stern
disciplinarian, and young Dahlgren's novitiate was passed un-
der tuition and influences calculated to make him a capable and
efficient officer.
6o8 ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N.
After a few months' vacation he was directed to go to New
York and report on board the "Ontario," a sloop of war of twen-
ty-two guns, that was to make an extended cruise in the Medi-
terranean. One object of the voyage was to convey Col. Lee
to Algiers, who was to act there as consul general for the United
States. It was a custom at that period of our country's history
whenever, a new consul came to Algiers that a considerable sum
of money should be presented to the Dey, a kind of tribute given
by this nation to that uncivilized freebooter, to induce him to
abstain from plundering our merchant ships in those waters. It
is humiliating to our national pride to reflect that we ever occupied'
the position of appearing to give tribute to any power for im-
munity in commerce on the high seas ! Dahlgren remarks in his-
journal. "A little of our native iron would have been vastly bet-
ter." However, after placing Col. Lee at his destination, the
"Ontario" was obliged to cross the Mediterranean to Gibraltar tO'
procure the necessary funds, specie in six boxes, amounting to
$17,000, which was paid to the barbarian prince because there
was a change in the consulate ! The ship visited many cities and
towns on the coasts of France, Spain and Italy, and went as far
east as Smyrna, in Turkey, in the progress of which voyaging
more than two years passed away, when being transferred by
the department of Washington to another vessel, which was soon
to return to the United States, he found himself in Norfolk again
on the eve of his 226. birthday, November 12, 1831. During this
cruise Dahlgren witnessed the departure of the French fleet tO'
Algiers, which secured the transfer of that part of Africa to
the control of the French Empire, and the humbling of the-
crescent before the cross.
Before midshipmen could be fully installed in the naval ser-
vice an examination was required, and instead of employing three-
months' vacation, which was allowed him in idleness or recreation,,
he asked permission to spend it in the Naval School at Norfolk,
which was the precursor of the Naval Academy now at Annapolis.
On leaving the "Ontario," he was recommended by Capt. Stevens-
to the examining board in the following terms :
"Midshipman John A. Dahlgren has served in this ship for two years-
under my command to my perfect satisfaction, and I desire to present him'
to the board as possessing in an eminent degree those attributes of the-
ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N. 609
officer and seaman, which will, I trust and believe, eventuate in much
future usefulness to his country and reputation to himself."
Seventy young men were placed on the list of midshipmen in
1826, and in 1832 thirty-one of them passed the examination^
Dahlgren appearing number nine. In 1866, forty years after
those seventy young men first entered the service, some of them
had died, some resigned, some were on the retired list, and only
nine were on the active list. Of these nine two were rear ad-
mirals, four commodores and three captains. One of the rear
admirals was Dahlgren.
At the close of the examination he received a "Passed Mid-
shipman's" warrant and having been nearly seven years in his
apprenticeship he was anxious for promotion, but he was not
immediately gratified. Ordered to a M. S. receiving ship at
Philadelphia, he found his time not fully occupied, and studied
law, making careful notes on Blackstone, until his health became
impaired and he was obliged to ask leave of absence, which con-
tinued until February, 1834, when he was assigned to duty on
the coast survey, which was then irenewed by the energy of
General Jackson's administration. Here he showed remarkable
skill and proficiency in mathematics, and was employed by Mr.
Hassler, the chief director of the work, as his assistant in the
triangulation of the survey, in fixing the base on Long Island,,
in making observations of the solar echpses of 1836, and at
length received charge of a party of triangulation. In reference
to this last fact it has been remarked, that "no higher compliment
could be paid to his mathematical ability than this, for no other
naval officer had ever held this position." In 1837 he was pro-
moted to the lieutenancy, but during this year he was threatened
with blindness, in consequence of excessive use of his eyes in
taking observations and making calculations in the survey. It was
natural that in that gloomy period he should become somewhat
despondent, but his friends rallied around him with words of en-
couragement and cheer, and one of his brother officers wrote to
him in these prophetic terms :
"Keep up your spirits and remember that Heaven has given you talents
of no ordinary kind, and those talents may still reap both fame and honor
to you, until Admiral Dahlgren's flag has been seen upholding the repu-
tation of his country in the farthest seas."
20
6lO ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N.
That he might, if possible, recover his sight, he asked per-
mission to visit Paris and consult some eminent oculist. In-
fluential friends interested themselves for him, and Mr. Hassler,
superintendent of the coast survey, wrote to the Secretary of the
Treasury, requesting that the lieutenant might still be continued
in that branch of the service, and representing that he might be
useful in the foreign capital in collecting instruments and material
of value to the survey. These statements had such force that
the President consented that his pay should be continued during
his absence for a limited time. On his departure for France he
took with him most complimentary letters of introduction from
eminent men ; from Edward King, of Philadelphia ; Hon. Levi
Woodbury, Secretary of the Treasury ; from the Secretary of the
Navy and others. In Paris he was under the care of the cele-
brated Sickel five months, and received most gratifying atten-
tions from Hon. Lewis Cass, then minister resident at the Court
of St. Cloud, and others, which rendered his sojourn there as
agreeable as possible for one in his state of health. At length his
vision had so far improved that he ventured to return to the
United States. But an effort to resume work showed that he
needed a still longer season of rest, and he was excused from
duty with the assurance from the navy department that they would
be happy to assign him to active service as soon as his health
would permit. About this time, when clouds hung over his
future prospects from weakness of sight, he was united in mar-
riage to Miss Mary C. Bunker, an unusually lovely lady, daugh-
ter of a merchant in Philadelphia. He was now advised by an
eminent physician in the navy to try the effect of a protracted
residence in the country. Accordingly a farm of about 60 acres
was purchased near Hartsville, in Bucks county, where he re-
sided with his family until May, 1843. A year previous, how-
ever, in May, 1842, his eyes had so far recovered their tone that
"he was able to return to duty, and ever after during many years
of exacting use of them they never gave way. This favorable
result sprang from the ju'dicious forbearance of the national gov-
ernment toward an officer whose vigor had become impaired by
exhausting and too long continued labors in its service. During
his residence on the farm the same industry and careful method
in attention to details, which were habitual to him on board ship,
ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N. 6i I
appeared in the management of his agricultural pursuits. He
kept a record of the weather, of the effects of storms and sun-
shine upon the crops, of receipts and expenditures, and made
numerous reflections upon atmospheric changes, the proper treat-
ment of stock and the care of a dairy. His mind was ever
active and at work, in whatever position his lot was cast. Three
of his children, Charles, Elizabeth and Ulric, were born at his
home near the Neshaminy. When he discovered that his eyes
had been nearly restored to their natural vigor, he removed to
Wilmington, Delaware, which was more accessible from the
receiving ship in Philadelphia, where his orders called him at
that time. In the autumn of 1843 he was appointed flag lieu-
tenant of the U. S. steamer "Cumberland," and made a cruise
in her to the Mediterranean. On the way the ship stopped at Bos-
ton, and the lieutenant called upon Mr. Ticknor, of the firm
"Ticknor & Fields, Publishers," and saw his library of 13,000
vols., in Greek, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Portugese and
English; and Mr. Ticknor said that "he himself read all these
languages fluently." On the voyage he had assigned him as his
division of the armaments of the vessel, four "Paixhans," or shell
guns, and he was sometimes ordered to fire shells on the ocean to
accustom the marines to the management of cannon. In this
practice he displayed great aptitude and skill, and gave indica-
tions of the genius for ordnance, which afterward proved of so
much value to his country. He was indefatigable in drilling his
men, and remarks in his journal at one time, "The Second Divi-
sion, my own, did the best firing: their volley was like one crack."
In this voyage he visited Italy, Greece, Smyrna, Syria and Alex-
andria, as well as various towns along the coasts of France and
Spain. Lieutenant Foote, afterwards admiral, was an officer on
board, and Dahlgren says of him, "Foote is a warm friend to me,
and never suffers any chance to pass of manifesting his feelings.
His high standing as an officer and a man makes this very
valuable to me." After an absence of two years the steamer
sailed for the United States, and the lieutenant again found him-
self the happy recipient of hearty congratulations for his safety
in the bosom of his own family.
In 1847 orders came for him to repair to Washington and
engage in duty relating to ordnance, and he now commenced those
6l2 ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N.
labors and experiments, by which his genius enabled him to in-
vent appliances and fixtures, that have raised the science of gun-
nery to a high degree of perfection. Among the first things that
were committed to his investigation, was the Hale system of
rockets. New cannon had been recently introduced into the navy,
and he must determine their ranges and other properties, but
he discovered that they lacked accuracy and power, and the larg-
est of them were deficient in endurance. While engaged in in-
specting locks, fuses, shells, powder-tanks, etc., he was contriv-
ing guns that would be superior in force and certainty of aim to
any then known. On the ist of July, he took to the navy yard
a cannon lock he had invented sometime before, and in three
weeks he noticed that the men in the government workshop
were making locks on the very principle of his. In July, the
professorship of gunnery in the Naval School, at Annapolis, was
tendered to him, but he declined it, as he considered his posi
tion at the navy yard at Washington preferable; however, at the
request of the Secretary of the Navy, he consented to go to the
school twice a week and perform the work there in addition to
his own.
In 1848 he removed his family from Wilmington to Wash-
ington, being allowed by the government a special grant of $500
to enable him to do it. He proposed the use of boat howitzers,
and after many objections the idea was adopted, and consent
was given by Commodore Warrington to try them. The Heu-
tenant says, "The first trial was a little bronze howitzer of my
design, of 220 lbs., cast in an old brass furnace, bored and
finished on a lathe. This piece was to initiate a system. The
boat armament dates from this small beginning." On this plan
a "howitzer, complete in every detail, lock, sight and carriage,
also the ammunition and equipments, was sent to Boston for
the ship Adams, the first shell gun of that kind ever made by
the United States for the naval service." Others were ordered
"like it soon after in rapid succession, and a saving of thousands
'of dollars every year was effected for the government. About
this time, in 1849, the bursting of a cannon, which was being
fired at a target under his direction, killed the gunner at his
side, and came very near costing him his life. This led him to
investigate the causes of such accidents with great care and solici-
ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N. 613
tude, and to seek such improvements in ordnance as would pre-
vent similar catastrophes ; and he made at the time an able report
to Commodore Warrington on the causes which produced this
disaster. Soon after this, in January, 1850, he submitted to the
commodore, a draught of a nine-inch shell gun of 9,000 lbs.,
"made entirely after his own views," and a fifty pounder to
Weigh 8,000 lbs., which were immediately cast at the West Point
foundry. Soon after the navy department adopted them, and
also the boat howitzers, which were in constant use in the War
of the Rebellion. As many as 200 light cannon of Dahlgren's in-
vention were called for at one time, and Admiral Farragut even
took them up among the rigging of some of his vessels when
he was passing rebel forts on the Mississippi.
In 1 85 1 Dahlgren wrote a work on the "System of Boat
Armament in the United States Navy," of which system he was
the founder. At the request of the naval committee of the House
of Representatives he wrote in 1852 an extended treatise on heavy
cannon for its information in preparing a bill for the construction
of a ship of war. His nine-inch, ten-inch and eleven-inch guns
were adopted by the government, and orders were given for
the casting in different cities of 184 of them in one year. In 1855
he was promoted to be a commander with a corresponding in-
crease of salary, and many congratulations were sent him from
officers and other friends, and all regarded the honor as well de-
served. The "Plymouth," a vessel of war, was placed in his
charge and fitted out with guns of his construction for a test of
the value of heavy ordnance at sea, in which he sailed to Europe
and to Cuba. At this time Commodore Joseph Smith wrote of
liim, "Commander Dahlgren is the best ordnance officer in the
country and the navy is under the greatest obligations to him
for improvements introduced."
In 1856 he prepared and published a large work on "Shells and
Shell Guns," of which the government ordered 300 copies in ad-
vance, and which was pronounced by an English captain to be
the best work ever written on that subject. In 1858 he made a
third voyage in the "Plymouth" to the West Indies and to
Mexico, and the two following years was at the head of the
ordnance department in the Washington navy yard.
In 1859 he planned and submitted to the Secretary of the Navy
6l4 ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N.
draughts for heavy rifled cannon, which were then made in
Washington for the first time. The same year the Prussian
government adopted his system of boat armament in the navy
of that country.
In i860 Commander Dahlgren made a "Report on Rifled
Cannon and the Armaments of Ships of War," which was sent
to the Secretary and by him transmitted to the House of Repre-
sentatives and ordered to be printed, and this was soon succeeded
by another on the "Armature of Ships of War, with Reference
to their Power of Resistance of Projectiles," in which he advo-
cated the construction of plated ships, as he had done repeatedly
eight years before. Not long after this he wrote a book on
"Ships and Forts," which would have been printed had not the
rebellion occurred and at once claimed all his energies. When
the memorable contest took place between the "Merrimac" and
the "Monitor," the latter was armed with two of the Dahlgren
eleven-inch guns, and that little vessel, looking like a hat float-
ing on the water, alone prevented the rebel ram from destroying
the shipping in all our Northern ports where the water was deep
enough for her to enter. When the insurrection commenced he
was obliged to act as commandant of the navy yard at Washing-
ton, and also as chief of ordnance, two offices, for which duty he
only received the pay of the inferior office. Before this period
the law had required that the commandant of that yard should
be a captain, and as Dahlgren had not been raised to that rank,
being only a commander. Congress passed a law specially pro-
viding that the head of the yard might be chosen from captains
or commanders, that he might be placed fully in authority there.
In 1 861 the Secretary of the Navy, in his annual report to
Congress, refers to Commander Dahlgren in these words :
"The distinguished commandant of the Washington navy yard, whose
services are as valuable to the country and entitled to as high regard as
those of the most successful flag officer who commands a squadron."
He was devotedly attached to the cause of the Union during
the whole struggle for its preservation, and at the very be-
ginning of the conflict he showed the most courageous and disin-
terested patriotism. Soon after the inauguration of President
Lincoln, April 18, 1861, he wrote in his journal:
"It has now leaked out that Virginia seceded on Tuesday, secretly, in
ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N. 615
order to grab the public property that is within her borders, and it is
rumored that the Norfolk yard and Harper's Ferry have been seized.
Everyone believes, too, that a body of men are on their way to take
Washington, and the alarm is intense. There are but 1,000 United States
troops here and 1,200 to 1,600 district volunteers. No troops have ar-
rived from the North, though they have talked prodigiously. In the
evening the railroad brought 600 or 700 men in poor order. This was the
critical night, and the chance for the South."
Two days after. April 20th, he writes :
"In the evening coming down Pennsylvania avenue I halted at Four-
and-a-half street, among a crowd gazing at the Sixth Massachusetts Regi-
ment, which was on its way from the Capitol to visit the President at the
White House. It was massed in solid columns. Presently the music
struck up, and the regiment moved on. I waved my hat. But one other
was raised in the dense crowd around me."
After the war the admiral always reverted to this precise
period as one of transcendent importance in the destiny of the
nation. Being in command of the navy yard at the national
capital he was at once engaged all day and part of the night in
taking measures for its defense against the Confederates, in
arming steamers on the Potomac and sending them down the
river to various points where they were needed. He was also
obliged to defend the bridge above the yard, and was often
visited by President Lincoln and the Secretaries of War and the
Navy, and was in constant' communication with them about means
and plans for the restoration of the Union. He was at Alex-
andria when the place was taken from the Southerners and Col.
Ellsworth killed, and conveyed the body in his own steamer — ^the
one he had for his own official use — to Washington. In the af-
ternoon of that day President Lincoln and his wife drove to the
yard to see the remains, and as they were not just then in
readiness he was asked to go with them around the grounds in
their carriage. The President inquired of him about the propriety
of removing the remains to the White House, and Dahlgren sug-
gested that he should consult his own feelings entirely. At that
time the President seemed much exercised in regard to what
should be done with the rebel prisoners taken at Alexandria. Colo-
nel Ellsworth's body was taken to the Presidential mansion and
conveyed thence to its last resting place. When the oath of
allegiance was offered to the workmen in the navy yard three
objected to taking it and Commander Dahlgren turned them out on
6l6 ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N.
the spot. He was in company of the President and several mem-
bers of the cabinet one day on board the steamer Pensacola, when
the President said to the Secretary of the Navy, "I will make a
captain of Dahlgren as soon as you say there is a place." The
Secretary of War followed, saying,
"That if the President would transfer him to the army ordnance he
would put him at the head of it and make him a brigadier general."
He was often consulted by General IVIcClellan, and says, No-
vember 30, 1 86 1,
"I was with General McCIellan by appointment in the evening. I
found him just finishing dinner with the Prince and Count of Paris, who-
soon left when I entered, conjecturing business."
Not long after he was at the soiree of the Dutch minister.
"The British minister was not there nor our own Secretary of State.
The diplomatists were all full-mouthed with the English view about Ma-
son and Slidell, which made me indignant. May she again tread on their
necks as she has done before now. The Prince de Joinville talked with
me at length."
As an illustration of what some of our young officers did in
emergencies in the late war a fact may be given here, which
Commander Dahlgren mentioned in regard to his son, Ulrich.
He states,
"That a letter in the Herald speaks of Ully having ridden 25 miles in
two hours over bad roads to bear an order from Gen. Burnside to Sigel
for the latter tOi hurry up to give help in battle. He reached Sigel about
six p. m., then started back at 10 o'clock in the evening and got to Burn-
side about 5 o'clock in the morning, 50 miles in half a day."
This young man, son of the commander, was a brave, energetic
and daring officer; he became a colonel at 21 years of age, lost a
leg at Gettysburg and was killed by a party of rebels in ambus-
cade in Virginia. Before his body was recovered Dr. Sunder-
land, pastor of the First Presbyterian church in Washington,
which Captain Dahlgren's family attended, preached a sermon
on the death of the young hero. His father says in his diary,
"The large building was perfectly jammed by the crowd, who listened
for two hours and ten minutes so quietly that a pin drop might be heard
After it was finished Mr. Morris, a member of the House from N. Y.,
expressed his wishes that the discourse should be printed and spread
broadcast."
It may not be amiss to mention here that Ulrich was baptized,
with two other children of the household, at Neshaminy, in his
ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N. 617
infancy, by Rev. Dr. James P. Wilson, then pastor at that place.
In 1863 a vote of thanks was given to Captain Dahlgren by
Congress, and soon after he was appointed rear admiral for his
distinguished services and abilities. The date of his commission
made him the sixth admiral and officer on the list of the navy.
The same year Congress established a "National Academy of
Science," with 50 incorporators, of whom the admiral was one.
In April of that year he visited the naval posts in the West, and
in the course of his tour was at Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Louisville,
Cairo and St. Louis. May 17th he remarks in his journal, "Presi-
dent Lincoln drove to my office at the yard and took me to town.
He was full of jokes and we had some hearty laughs." Admiral
Dahlgren then left for New York and Reading, Pa., to see about
the casting of some cannon. A few weeks after this he was
ordered by the government to take command of the fleet in
Charleston harbor in place of Admiral Dupont, and to co-operate
with Major General Gillmore in a plan for the capture of that
city. To prepare for that duty he went to New York, and
learned while there that Admiral Foote was dangerously ill at
the Astor house. He says,
"Little anticipating anything serious, I went there and soon learned that
his illness was considered fatal. On entering the room he expressed glad-
ness at seeing me and began to converse, but the oppression at the chest
caused me to withdraw lest he might suffer from the exertion. In the
afternoon I called again ; he was still as pleasant as ever and more easy,
so that I remained some time before I took leave."
The next day he writes,
"Called to see my friend. Alas ! he was unconscious and had in reality
taken his leave of earth and I had to return to Washington, and thus
parts the well-tried friendship of many years. The grave never closed
on a better man. We had been bosom friends for twenty years, and
when our last conversation took place he expressed his high opinion of
me and added, 'I would not say this now unless I believed it.' "
According to the order given him in the summer of 1863, he
went to the bay at the head of which Charleston is and took com-
mand of the fleet in those waters. It was largely composed of
war steamers, iron-clads and monitors, and at times there were
present there 80 vessels, at one time 96, all under his charge. He
co-operated with General Gillmore, then at the head of the land
forces, in efforts to capture the fortifications thrown up by the
6l8 ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N.
Confederates for the defence of the city. He was almost con-
stantly passing from one point to another, directing the move-
ments of the different vessels of the squadron and the cannonad-
ing that was kept up a large part of the time, and displayed the
utmost bravery, industry, vigilance and devotion to duty. Cow-
ley in "Leaves from a Lawyer's Life Afloat and Ashore," says
of Admiral Dahlgren :
"A more intrepid spirit never walked this earth in human form ; his
steadfast soul knew no such thing as fear ; witness the sublime daring
with which he pushed off in his barge and pulled through a heavy sea and
a tremendous fire of shells to the 'Passaic,' when that renowned little
turtle-back got aground under 'Fort Moultrie.' Torpedoes were sunk
by the enemy in the channels, which, when struck by passing craft ex-
ploded with fatal effect. The 'Ironsides.' an iron-clad, was sunk by
the explosion of one of those hidden engines of death. Some of the forts
about the harbor were well-nigh demolished by the heavy firing from our
ships, but the defences were so well planned, so strong and so numerous-
ly garrisoned, that the combined land and naval forces which the nation
furnished at that period were inadequate to capture that rebel strong-
hold."
Everything was done that was within reach of the means at
their command, and the admiral often wrote the department at
Washington for more men, which would have been gladly sup-
plied if they could have been spared from other parts of our
widely extended country. After being there a year, July 7, 1864,
he remarks in his diary,
"General Hatch came on board the flagship. He thinks no serious
operations here possible ; thinks troops are of a poor quality, except Col.
Davis' brigade of 1,300,"
In which language I suppose he alludes to the men under the
command of the gallant W. W. H. Davis, president of the Bucks
County Historical Society, and it is certainly no slight compliment
to the soldiers from Bucks county that they were in a body of
troops which were superior to all the other land forces before
Charleston. When General Sherman on his march to the sea
reached Savannah he sent a communication to the admiral in
which he uses the following characteristic terms :
"I have possession of all roads and the river above the city, and Sa-
vannah is our game. I want ten 30-pounder Parrotts and ammunition
and General Foster to simply prevent the escape of the garrison and in-
habitants of Savannah from getting away. If occasion offers let the au-
thorities know that my army is fat and happy and in fine order, having
ADMIRAI, JOHN A. DAHLGRE;n, U. S. N. 619
eaten all the turkeys, chickens, sweet potatoes, etc., of Georgia. We have
lost only a few and have some 700 prisoners. All well.
W. T. SHERMAN, Major Gen."
The admiral immediately went to, see him, and on his return
the general accompanied him in his vessel and remained with him
till the next day. They were in constant correspondence and had
frequent interviews while the general and his army were in
that region.
Shortly after the close of the war, June 8, 1865, General Sher-
man gave testimony before the Committee of Congress on the
Conduct of the War, in which he says :
"On the morning of May 3d we ran into Charleston harbor, where I had
the pleasure to meet Admiral Dahlgren, who had in all my previous
operations from Savannah northward aided me with a constancy and
manliness that commanded my entire respect and deep affection."
June 23, 1865, Admiral Dahlgren was relieved of the command
of the South Atlantic Squadron in a letter from Hon. Gideon
Wells, Secretary of the Navy, in which the latter expresses the
appreciation which the department had of the ability and energy
he had manifested
"In the efficient blockade of the coast and harbors at a central and im-
portant position of the Union, and in the work of repossessing the forts
and restoring the authority and supremacy of the government in the in-
surgent states."
In September, 1866, he was ordered to take command of
the South Pacific Squadron on the western coast of South
America, duty much opposed to his wishes as sickness had occur-
red in his family and there were three other admirals whose
turn it was to go to sea before him. However, he sailed for
Panama, visiting Peru, Colombia and Chili, superintended the
operations of our naval vessels in those regions, and decided
some questions of international law with firmness and wisdom.
Having been absent from the United States almost two years he
returned in July, 1868, and was at once engaged in work at the
ordnance bureau in Washington, and the next year was placed
again in command of the navy yard at that place.
In July. 1870, he visited Gettysburg, wishing to inspect the
battle-ground, and extended his tour into the mountainous dis-
tricts of Pennsylvania. Exposed to a storm of wind and rain he
620 ADMIRAL JOHN A. DAHLGREN, U. S. N.
took cold, which was followed by severe pain in the chest and
about the heart, terminating in death at his home in Washing-
ton, July 12, 1870. The night before his decease he had a long con-
versation with his wife about the events of his past life, in
which he expressed his ardent affection for her and the children,
calling them all by name and assuring her how great a source of
happiness they had been to him. He spoke at some length of
his religious convictions and his belief in the main doctrines of
Christianity. His final remark in regard to an officer's career
was, that "an officer should wear his uniform, as a judge his
ermine, without a stain." It was eminently true of him that he
passed away without a stain upon his character or reputation. He
was honest and incorruptible, and received almost no compensa-
tion from the government or any other source for the important
inventions and improvements in ordnance of which he was the
author. While others became rich around him he remained
poor, receiving little more than a meagre support for his family
during a period of 50 years. Headly, in his "Lives of Naval
Commanders," gives a sketch of the admiral, in which he re-
marks :
"Dahlgren, by his inventive genius in the construction of ordnance and
his bold and original plan of arming vessels of war, has done more for
the navy of our country than probably any single man in it."
The Relations of the Pennsylvania Proprietaries to
the Colonists.
BY REV. D. K. TURNER, HARTSVILLE, PA.
(Meeting at Red Lion Inn, Bensalem, July 17, 1888.)
Admiral Penn, the father of Wilham Penn, was a distin-
guished officer in the British navy, about 250 years ago, undet
Charles I., Cromwell and Charles II. He gained many vic-
tories at sea over the French, Spanish and Dutch, took many^
valuable prizes and added largely to his own wealth and to the-
revenues of the government. During the reign of Charles II,.
an extravagant, dissipated prince, the authorities were oftert.
embarrassed for want of funds. For the Admiral's signal ser-
vices on the ocean, liberal compensation was promised but not
fully rendered; arrears of salary and money, which he had
loaned to the State, were unpaid ; and at his death the amount
due to him from the King, reached £16,000, the equivalent of
which at the present day, taking into consideration the com-
parative purchasing power of gold and silver, would be at least
$200,000. The right to receive this large sum fell by inheri-
tance to William Penn, then 26 years of age, and repeated unsuc-
cessful efforts were made to collect it from the sovereign and
his ministers.
The attention of Penn had been turned by various circum-
stances to the New World long before he came hither. His
father had been in the West Indies at the head of an expedition
against Jamaica ; had added that beautiful island to the BritisVi
possessions, and often spoke of the fertility of the soil and the
splendors of tropical vegetation in the presence of his family.
His son had suffered persecution for conducting religious ser-
vices in forms different from those of the established church.
He had languished in prison as a malefactor for obeying con-
science, and his mind was deeply impressed with the importance
of freedom for all to worship God as their judgment might dic-
tate. Some of the Friends had already crossed the Atlantic, and
622 RELATIONS OF PENNSYLVANIA PROPRIETARIES TO COLONISTS
settled in New Jersey, at Newark, a name given to the place,
because it was hoped it would prove a quiet refuge from the
storms of oppression they had experienced in the mother coun-
try.
Lord Berkeley having a share in a royal patent for the whole
of the region lying between the Hudson and the Delaware rivers,
sold his interest to John Fenwick, agent for Edward Byllinge.
and these two men became involved in a dispute about the com-
pensation to be paid for effecting the purchase. This controversy
was referred to Penn for adjustment. After a decision had been
given by him, Byllinge being in pecuniary difficulties transferred
his property to three trustees, one of whom was Penn. This
placed principally in his hands a vast territory in New Jersey,
and the important responsibility was accepted by him with re-
luctance, in the hope, that his advice might be advantageous to
the Quakers and others, who had fled from persecution in
England.
The Proprietaries, who received grants of extensive provinces
in America from English princes, were not simply owners of
the soil, which they could sell to purchasers, but they were en-
titled to establish and administer a government over them, sub-
ject only to the paramount authority of the King. They were in
effect feudal lords, with the power to enact laws and to appoint
officers of justice. Penn desired to found a free state, in which
the people should choose the legislature, by whom statutes would
be enacted and officers and judges be appointed. The time
seemed favorable for trying the experiment ; but he found diffi-
culties in the way in consequence of the fact that Sir George
Carteret was a partner in the ownership of the grant of New
Jersey, and it was necessary to extinguish his semi-sovereignty.
This was effected by an agreement that the province should be
divided, the eastern and by far the most valuable portion to be
retained by Sir George, and the remainder to be held by the
trustees for Byllinge. The line determined upon ran from Lit-
tle Egg Harbor, on the ocean, northwest to a point on the Dela-
ware river, in latitude 41 degrees 40 minutes, which is somewhat
above the upper corner of the State. The two sections were
known for many years as East and West Jersey.
RELATIONS OF PENNSYI.VANIA PROPRIETARIES TO COLONISTS 623
Being now able to act in regard to West Jersey without
hindrance, the trustees mapped it off into a hundred tracts, ten
of which were allotted to John Fenwick for his labors and
expenses as agent, and ninety tracts were held for sale for the
benefit of Byllinge and his creditors. Penn at once set himself
to the task of framing a form of government for the future
inhabitants of the new province, then occupied almost solely
by roving bands of untutored savages. In this scheme he took
as a model the constitution adopted by the pilgrims on the
Mayflower, who made the first permanent settlement, at Ply-
mouth, in New England, in 1620, about half a century previously. -
In it were incorporated also some of the views of Sir Algernon
Sidney, one of his most intimate friends, and an eminent advocate
of political and religious liberty. The source of power was to-
be in the people. They were to elect their law-givers and rulers,
and all were to have the privilege of worshiping the Deity aS
they saw fit.
This plan for the government of the colony, when completed,
was published extensively in England, and attracted the atten-
tion of multitudes. Numerous applications came for the sale of
land, and the purchasers made arrangements to cross the wide
sea. In 1677, five years before Philadelphia was founded, three
vessels were chartered, filled with emigrants, and ere long sailed
up the Delaware, and the passengers, numbering more than 500,
disembarked on the eastern bank near Burlington. They agreed
with the Indians for the purchase of the soil, and manifesting
a desire to treat them with justice and kindness, secured their
friendship, which was for a long period almost wholly unbroken.
"You are our brothers," said the Sachems, "and we will live like
brothers with you. We will have a broad path for you and
us to walk in. If an Englishman falls asleep in this path, the
Indian shall pass him by and say — he is an Englishman, he is
asleep ; let him alone. The path shall be plain. There shall
not be a stump in it to hurt the feet." The colony attained a
high degree of prosperity. The population rapidly increased;
they suffered little from the natives, and cultivated the soil,
traded, and performed the rites of worship in freedom and peace.
To Penn's broad, enlightened views and zealous efforts in their
â– 624 RELATIONS OF PENNSYLVANIA PROPRIETARIES TO COLONISTS
behalf they owed in a great measure their Hberty, security,
and success. Too Httle credit has been awarded him for his
wise and persevering exertions to estabhsh a free state in West
Jersey years before he planted his foot upon the soil of Penn-
sylvania.
He also in company with 23 other persons purchased the
title to East Jersey, which had belonged to Sir George Carteret,
who was weary with the cares and responsibilities incident to
the proprietorship of his large possessions. This was before
his application to the crown of Great Britain for a block of
country west of the Delaware had been granted. He was anx-
ious to secure some territory, in which he might found a gov-
ernment exempt from the oppressive restraints well nigh univer-
sal under the old monarchies.
He proposed to the King to cede to him the district between
the Jerseys and Lake Erie instead of payment of the money due
to his father. Ten years had now elapsed since the death of the
Admiral, and the claim had never been liquidated. After pro-
tracted discussion in the royal council the proposal was accepted
and Penn was constituted sole proprietor of that region,
containing an area of 46,000 square miles. Neither he nor
any one else had at that time an adequate conception of the
magnitude and value of the grant. It was covered with forest,
and Penn designed to call it "Sylvania" "a woody country," but
King Charles insisted that the name Penn should be prefixed
to it, not in honor of the son, but in memory of the Admiral, who
had been in his younger days one of his most trusted friends.
It is narrated, that at the meeting of council, in which the char-
ter of Pennsylvania was issued, Penn appeared before King
Charles, following the custom of the Quakers, without uncover-
ing his head. The light-hearted sovereign was rather amused
than irritated at what might have been construed as a want of
respect, and took ofif his own hat. Penn noticing this inquired,
"Friend Charles, why dost thou not keep on thy hat?" To which
his majesty replied laughing, "It is the custom of this place for
only one person to remain covered at a time."
A magnificent domain had now come into the possession of
'this organizer of colonies. Some Swedes and Finns had already
RELATIONS 01? PENNSYIvVANIA PROPRIETARIES TO COLONISTS 625
settled in it, and it was anticipated, that it would ere long be
occupied by a thriving population from Great Britain, and per-
haps from other parts of Europe. Its proprietor was aware
that they must be under the control of some form of government,
or disorder and crime would cause its ruin. The constitution
devised for Carolina by Locke and Shaftesbury, which it had
been predicted would last till the end of time, created hereditary
orders of nobility, in which almost the entire civil power was
centred. This had in a few years proved an ignominious failure.
Penn hoped that democratic institutions, being more in harmony
with the rights and the nature of man, would be more durable.
He held many conferences with Algernon Sidney in regard to
the fundamental laws, which should be imposed upon his new
acquisition intending to prescribe at first the general features of
the system, and to let the progress of time introduce more specific
regulations, as circumstances might require. In the preface
to this constitution he expresses wise, equitable, and benevolent
sentiments and important truths ; affirming that government is of
divine origin, and that it is designed to restrain and punish evil-
doers, and to protect, encourage, and reward the upright and
useful citizen.
The main part of the document began by
"Declaring, that the sovereign power resided in the governor and free-
men of the province. For purposes of legislation two bodies were to be
elected by the people, a council and an assembly. The proprietor or his
deputy was to preside at the council, and to have three votes ; this was
almost the only power which he reserved to himself or his agents."
The council consisted of 72 members, elected by the freemen
to serve three years, 24 being chosen each year. They were
to originate and pass all laws and to see that they were executed ;
to provide for the common defence ; build ports, harbors and
markets; to make and repair roads; to estabHsh courts of justice;
to inspect the public treasury : and to institute primary schools.
All legislation was to be performed by the smaller and more
select body. The assembly was to be more numerous and its
members were to be chosen annually but it had no legislative
functions, except to approve or censure measures adopted by the
council. It was intended to be a popular gathering and to re-
626 RELATIONS OF PENNSYLVANIA PROPRIETARIES TO COLONISTS
fleet the will of the citizens on points that were somewhat doubt-
ful, but soon its sphere was enlarged and it became a more im-
portant branch of the government.
Forty laws were appended to the draft of the constitution,
which were to be in force, until the legislature had been elected,
when they were to be considered by it and adopted, amended or
rejected, as might appear best. Penn thought "that no men
could know what laws were needful so well as those whose
lives, properties and liberties would be concerned in their ad-
ministration." He reserved to himself no power to appoint offi-
cers, and no monopoly in any branch of trade, commerce or
manufactures. His right to do so was undeniable, but he
wished to give the colonists the opportunity to develop the re-
sources placed in their reach without hindrance, even though
it was greatly to his own pecuniary detriment, at a period
when he was obliged to practice strict economy in the manage-
ment of his domestic affairs. Dixon says :
"A few weeks after ihe charter was issued, Thurston, of Maryland,
sent his agent to offer him a fee of i6,ooo and two and a half per cent,
as rental, if he would allow a company to be formed with an exclusive
right to the trade in beaver skins between the Delaware and Susquehanna
rivers."
But he declined the offer, though there would have been no
moral obliquity in it, as he was the owner of the whole terri-
tory subject only to the payment of two beaver skins yearly, as
a token of his fealty to the King.
When it was known that Penn had obtained a concession
of territory so large and desirable in America, and that he had
adopted a policy so liberal toward its future inhabitants, much
enthusiasm was aroused in regard to emigration to it. Several
companies were formed in Great Britain and on the continent,
to encourage and assist persons to repair thither. A Germa-i
organization applied for 15,000 acres on some navigable river,
and 300 acres within the limits of the city to be founded by the
Proprietor. "The Free Society of Traders," formed in Bris-
tol, England, purchased 20,000 acres, and immediately made
preparations to send over several hundred people. Though
Penn's most earnest sympathies were directed toward the op-
RELATIONS OF PE;nNSYI.VANIA PROPRIETARIES TO COLONISTS ^2^
pressed of his own religious persuasion, yet he entertained
sentiments of kindness and good will toward all, to whatever
sect they might belong, and in a few years numerous settlers
had established themselves in Philadelphia, along the Delaware
and Schuylkill, and a considerable distance in the interior. He
was by royal edict the absolute owner of the Province, and as
such he could have demanded from its occupants any rentals
he chose to require. It lay in his power to impose heavy duties
on imported goods, and burdensome taxes on real estate and
personal property. But he placed in the hands of the council
the right to levy taxes, and appears to have anticipated that his
possessions in America would be a source of pecuniary loss
rather than of profit to him. When he was about to leave
England in 1682 to visit his property in America and choose the
site for a town, not knowing that he would ever return, he wrote
a long letter to his family, somewhat in the nature of a will, in
which he urges his wife to a reasonable economy, and to his
children he observes :
"As for you, who are likely to be concerned in the government of Penn-
sylvania, I do charge you that you be lowly, diligent and tender, fearing
Cod, loving the people and hating covetousness. Let justice have its im-
partial course, and the law free passage. Though to your loss, protect
no man against it, for you are not above the law, but the law above you."
It might well be imagined, that entertaining these noble,
generous, and magnanimous sentiments towards the inhabi-
tants of the Province, which was his by royal decree and by
purchase from the aborigines, he would have been treated by
them all with the utmost deference and honor. And so indeed
he was for a time. But troubles soon gathered about his
path, and the sunshine of prosperity was darkened by the sel-
fishness and covetousness of those whose benefit was his supreme
desire.
When the first election for the legislature took place, the
people sent up only 72 persons for both branches, the number
required by the constitution for the council alone. They seem
to have felt, that this was acting in the very beginning, contrary
to the code given them, and presented reasons to the Proprietor
for this course, and besought him, notwithstanding the liberty
they had taken, not to alter their charter. He replied, that
628 RELATIONS OF PENNSYLVANIA PROPRIETARIES TO COLONISTS
"They were free to amend, alter, or add to existing laws for the public
good, and that he would consent to any changes they might wish to make,,
if he could do so with a strict regard to the powers vested in him by his.
sovereign."
The frame of government had reserved to the Governor and'
his council alone the right to propose legislation, but the assem-
bly immediately aiter its organization, disregarded the provision,
and took it upon themselves to initiate the passage of laws ; as
a compromise however they wished the Governor to have the
veto over the doings of both council and assembly, which in-
deed was necessary ; for as no measure was legally binding with-
out the sanction of the King, nothing would have met favor in his
eyes, which was not approved by the Proprietor. Penn was dis-
turbed not a little by the encroachments of the more popular
branch of the Legislature at the very outset, and reviewing the
records of the government, and of removing officers when they
became obnoxious to them. This was inconsistent with their
charter, and he told them they might alter it, if they desired to
do so. But they voted again for a new constitution altogether.
Many of them wished to strip the Governor and council of al-
most every semblance of authority, and to hold the reins in
their own hands. Penn feared the harmonious relations between
himself and them might soon be broken. They had in effect
changed the nature of the government, and transferred the leg-
islative power from the smaller to the larger body. He asked
them whether they wanted a new charter, and they answered in
the affirmative. A committee was appointed, wlio prepared
the draft, and in ten days it was presented, discussed, and
adopted. The Governor signed it, and it only needed the ap-
proval of the King to render it effective. Under this new con-
stitution the legislative and civil power was even more fully
in the people than under the former. The judges were elected,
and the Proprietor could not remove them from their places
during the period for which they were chosen. He could not
appoint any one even to the lowest office. In Maryland, Lord
Baltimore appointed the members of council, judges, and all
subordinate functionaries. Penn divested himself of this author-
ity, and remarked, "I purpose to leave myself and successors no-
REL-ATIONS OF PENNSYLVANIA PROPRIETARIES TO COLONISTS 629'
power of doing mischief, that the will of one man may not hin-
der the good of a whole country."
The assembly voted to grant him for his support, customs-
duties on certain exports and imports, but he declined it, and
would take nothing obtained by taxation. Probably a similar
example of disinterestedness in a powerful manorial baron doe^
not exist on the pages of history. In 1692, when by an act of
the royal council in England he was deprived of his province,
and it was annexed to New York, he had sustained the colonial
government for ten years out of his own private resources, and
he had lost through it i 120,000, probably equivalent to at least
a million of dollars at the present day. His heart was set on pro-
moting the permanent prosperity of the infant state, and carry-
ing through successfully his experiment of free institutions,
founded on principles of peace, justice and benevolence, and he
resolved to avoid everything that might prove an obstacle in his
path. The temporary forfeiture of his patent was caused by-
the machinations of jealous enemies, who accused him of being
in treasonable correspondence with the exiled sovereign, James
II. Ere long, however, his innocence was triumphantly vindi-
cated, and his government restored to him.
One of the Society of Free Traders, in whom Penn had re-
posed much confidence, was Philip Ford. This man was a.
shrewd, artful schemer, who ingratiated himself in Penn's favor,
and employed by him as his secretary and assistant in much of
his business. While the great philanthropist was befriending
the persecuted and preparing a home for them across the ocean.,
this unprincipled scoundrel contrived to manage his estates ia
England in such a way as to build up a fictitious claim of thous-
ands of pounds against him, the falsity of which he could not at
once prove, and which he had no means or disposition to pay
On account of a war between Great Britain and France, Penn
desired to make a visit to Pennsylvania, but he had not the
necessary funds to secure a vessel for the voyage. He had sold
hundreds of thousands of acres, subject to a small annual rent.
These rents he had allowed to pass uncollected, wishing to
burden the colonists as little as possible at first. For ten years
they had paid him nothing and he had defrayed the expenses.
630 RELATIONS Of PENNSYLVANIA PROPRIETARIES TO COLONISTS
of the colonial administration. He now wrote to some of the
principal citizens of Philadelphia, asking them to loan him
i 1 0,000, which could be made up by each of a hundred persons
contributing- a hundred pounds ; and they should have as security
the rents that were due to him. He assured them that if his
request was granted, he would at once sail for America with a
large party of emigrants. But they hesitated, framed excuses
and finally declined to comply with his wishes, though they owed
their happiness, their prosperity, their liberty, and many of
them, life itself, to his arduous labors and powerful influence
in their behalf. It is difficult to conceive that they could be
guilty of such parsimony and ingratitude.
Penn and all his successors in the office of proprietor en-
countered difficulties from the very nature of the government
he had devised. He sought to combine free institutions with his
claims as feudal lord, and allegiance to the crown of Great
Britain. He had ceded to the council, of which he or his deputy
was president, the right to appoint judges and officers. But
the people were not satisfied. When he finally succeeded in
reaching this country a second time, the assembly, the more
popular branch of the legislature, wished to obtain the power
of initiating legislation; they set about reorganizing the judici-
ary ; they refused to impose taxes, which he found now to be
necessary; but he calmly endured their eagerness to be
free from all restraint, and urged them to act cautious-
ly and in a patriotic spirit, and "as for himself, he would
simply throw out one hint ; for nineteen years he had now main-
tained the whole charge of government ^ut of his private purse,
and he placed himself at their discretion." War was in prog-
ress between England and Spain. The King wanted a subsidy
from Pennsylvania to aid in defending the Colonies against the
Indians, and because it had not been paid, Penn was again in
danger of having his Province taken from him, yet the assembly
would do nothing to relieve him of his anxiety and assist him in
defraying the expense of supporting the liberties they owed to
his generosity. After being in America on his second visit
about two years, during most of which time he resided at the
manor in this county, it was important for the welfare of the
RELATIONS OF PENNSYL,VANIA* PROPRIETARIES TO COLONISTS 63 1
colony, that he should return to England ; but he was again des-
titute of the necessary means.
The assembly refused to assist him and he was obliged to sell
some land, in order to raise money enough to hire and furnish
a vessel for himself and his family. He could never induce that
body to lay upon the people the cost of maintaining their own
free government.
Penn died July 30, 1718, after which the Proprietary interests
vested in his sons and grandsons till the Declaration of Indepen-
dence. The family remained most of the time in England, the ad-
ministration of affairs being committed to deputy governors. The
people generally cherished the memory of the founder with fond
affection, but disputes often sprang up between the agents of the
Proprietaries and the legislature, especially in regard to taxation.
In 1757 the assembly voted to grant to the King £100,000, in aid
of the defence of the Colonies against the French and to raise
this sum, all property, real and personal, was to be taxed. But
Governor Denny, under instruction from the Proprietaries across
the water, would not sign the bill, unless their unimproved lands
were exempted from the tax. This led to an acrimonious quarrel
between the two parties, the representatives of the people and
the owners of that part of Pennsylvania which had not been sold.
On the one hand, it would seem proper, that their lands, being
under the protection of the government, should bear a share of
the burden of sustaining it ; and on the other, as Penn for twenty
years received nothing from the Province and expended directly,
according to his own statement, more than £30,000, upon it, the
inhabitants might well have foreborne to insist upon demanding
from the Proprietaries what the latter felt it a hardship to be
compelled to pay.
This contention was one of the minor causes which led Ben-
jamin Franklin and others in the assembly, at that time, to dis-
cern the probable necessity of an entire separation of the Colonies
from the mother country. It might reasonably have been antici-
pated, that friction and jarring would occur, when three sources
of power, in a measure antagonistic to each other, were mingled
in public affairs. The sovereign, the proprietor or feudal lord, and
a free people could not long act harmoniously together. It was
owing to a large extent to Penn's philanthropy and disinterested-
632 GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU
ness, that the experiment did not meet with permanent disaster
before his death. At the American Revolution the Common-
wealth of Pennsylvania purchased all the estate of the family in
this country for $580,000, which seems not a large sum, when we
consider the immense territory, to which they were still entitled.
General Jean Victor Maria Moreau.
BY REV. D. K. TURNER, HARTSVILLE, PA.
(Bristol Meeting, July 15, 1890.)
Recollection of the lives and characters of distinguished men,
who once lived among us, is commendable, as it tends to encour-
age others to emulate their example, and the remembrance of
posterity is one of the elements in the reward bestowed for the
proper use of eminent ability. It is well for this society to gather
and rehearse all the facts accessible in the career of those who
have attained greatness and who have resided in this county.
They pass away in the order of nature, but their virtues and
heroic deeds should not be allowed to slumber in oblivion.
One of the ablest military commanders France ever produced,
General Jean Victor Maria Moreau, made this section of our
State his home for a considerable number of years. He resided
in Morrisville from 1806 to 1813. As his abode was not many
miles from our present place of meeting it seems appropriate
to spend a little time in taking a cursory review of his principles
and achievements.
He was born in Morlaix, France, August 11, 1763, and his
early years gave proof of the extraordinary capacity with which
he was endowed. His father was an attorney, and that his son
might pursue the same profession he sent him to a law school
at Rennes, where he made such rapid progress as to warrant soon
after his graduation his election to be provost of the school
when he was but 24 years of age. The great struggle between
the French Parliament and the King had already commenced.
Popular rights and royal prerogative were arrayed against each
other, and the country was agitated from centre to circumference
with the discussion of subjects pertaining to human freedom.
GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU 633
Moreau espoused the cause of the people, and in public and
private asserted that they had been wronged, oppressed and de-
frauded by tyrannical princes, and that liberty should be granted
to them and established under the guarantee of a written consti-
tution. For a time the Parliament pursued a course, which met
his approval, as it appeared adapted to promote the good of the
whole nation. But when that body embarked in selfish schemes,
and took measures to perpetuate their own power, regardless of
the general welfare, he denounced their ambition and covetousness
and advocated the claims of the masses.
Several of the Kingdoms of Europe formed a confederacy
to restore Louis XVI to the throne, which had been wrested
from him by the Revolutionists; and at the same time the more
violent among the latter determined to spread their political views
in the surrounding countries, and if possible snatch the diadem
from every crowned head. This soon culminated in war. Every
Frenchman resolved to defend his native land against foreign
invasion. Volunteer companies were formed all over the Re-
public to repel the interference of other powers with their afifairs,
and Moreau was chosen captain of a body of soldiers and marched
with them to join the Army of the North.
He at once displayed in a high degree, qualities necessary for
a successful commander. A strict disciplinarian, he would permit
no insubordination in the ranks. He drilled his men with indus-
try and perseverance, that they might become perfectly familiar
with the manual and skillful in the use of arms, courageous on
the field of battle; cool and self possessed; quick to discern a
suitable point of attack or danger to which he was exposed ; rapid
in the formation of his plans and ardent in the execution of them,
he had the confidence of all under his command and of his
superiors.
After attaining distinction in many engagements he was
promoted, when but 30 years of age, to be brigadier general,
and the following year, 1794, he became general of
division, not through the influence of friends but by his own
merits. That part of the French troops to which he was as-
signed were operating against the enemy in the northeast on the
borders of Holland. They were raw recruits, poorly supplied
with arms and equipments, and destitute of proper clothing.
634 GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU
The Republic, obliged to contend with powerful foes on all sides,
was unable to furnish them with artillery, ammunition and im-
plements which were absolutely necessary. General Pichegru,
the commander-in-chief, engaged in a series of surprises and
skirmishes in which he was ably assisted by his associate officers,
among whom Moreau was conspicuous almost above all others.
As the army became more accustomed to warfare their fear-
lessness, energy and enterprise increased, and they defeated
the English and Dutch in several important battles, passed the
Rhine and took possession of Amsterdam in 1795, when the
"Batavian Republic" was immediately organized.
Though General Pichegru has received the credit of this great
success, it was largely due to Gen. Moreau, and the Directory at
Paris evidently appreciated this fact, for the latter was ere long
advanced to the command of the whole army of the Rhine. He
was now, 1796, at the head of 71,000 men, and at once set about
reorganizing them, improving their discipline and providing sup-
plies of arms, accoutrements and provisions for an active cam-
paign. Seizing a favorable opportunity when the Imperialist
forces were somewhat scattered, he crossed the Rhine at Stras-
bourg, then a French city, and entered Germany. The passage
of the river was a bold enterprise. A part of the army was
sent by night and in profound silence to an island occupied by the
enemy, who taken by surprise fled after little resistance to the
right bank, leaving a bridge of boats behind them. Over this the
French pressed on in pursuit, though only 2,500 in number, and
were in a few minutes in the midst of a much larger body of
Austrians. The boats were instantly used to bring over
reinforcements, and by morning light 5,000 were gathered on the
eastern shore. Thus strengthened they attacked the intrench-
ments at Kehl not far off, carried them at the point of the bayo-
net and forced the Swabians, who defended them, to flee pre-
cipitately with the loss of thirteen pieces of cannon and seven
hundred men wounded and taken prisoners. The day following
the whole French army was brought over in safety. This exploit
was justly celebrated for the courage, skill and celerity displayed
in it. A signal advantage was gained with but trifling loss, and
Moreau was in a position to push forward his standards into
the heart of the Germanic Confederation.
GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU 635
With little delay he marched toward the Black Forests, a
ridge of mountains covered with evergreen trees, which separates
the valleys of the Neckar and the Rhine. Here he encountered
10,000 of the monarchists and drove them from their position,
capturing ten cannon and inflicting upon them a loss of 800 men.
The Arch Duke, Charles, hearing of Moreau's successes, collected
all available forces to resist his progress, but after several bloody
battles the Austrians were obliged to retreat to the sources of
the Danube. In this region, at Neresheim, a long and severe en-
gagement took place, at the close of which both parties remained
upon the field with an equal loss of 3,000 men on each side.
The next day, however, the Germans retired still toward the east.
Moreau pursued them into the heart of Bavaria, 200 miles
from the Rhine, and if Gen. Jourdan with a part of the French
troops farther north had efifectually co-operated with him, he
would have swept all opposition from before him and become
master of Germany. But Jourdan was defeated and unable to
render him anticipated assistance, and he deemed it prudent to
withdraw, before the hosts gathering for his destruction had
time to concentrate and overpower him.
This retreat he accomplished in a manner that displayed ad-
mirable military ability. In the course of it, discovering that a
portion of his adversaries were isolated, he turned upon them
impetuously and after a fierce contest put them to flight and took
from them four thousand prisoners and eighteen cannon. In
other battles on his way toward France, though not always vic-
torious, he showed great skill in the management of large masses
of soldiers, and at length had the satisfaction of transferring his
army to the west side of the Rhine with the honor of having
often triumphed over the enemies of the Republic in their own
country, and inflicted upon them severe losses, while his requisi-
tions from them made them pay the expenses of a war which they
had provoked. Another important object was also secured by
this campaign. Gen. Moreau occupied the attention of the Arch
Duke Charles in Germany, and prevented him from joining the
Austrians, against whom Napoleon was struggling in the north of
Italy. Bonaparte was thus enabled to expel the woes of his
country from Piedmont, Lornbardy and Venice, which would
636 GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU
have been impossible if Aloreau had not compelled them to em-
ploy immense forces to arrest him in his career of conquest.
The next year, 1797, he crossed the Rhine, again captured the
strongly fortified town of Kehl and would have made another
expedition into the centre of Germany, had he not been prevented
by the intelligence that a treaty of peace was about being con-
cluded. The cessation of hostilities between the continental pow-
ers and France, however, did not long continue, and after a period
of inaction he was called into the service by the Directory and
sent to Italy under General Scherer, who was incapable of meet-
ing the claims of his position, and who in a few weeks relinquished
to him the charge of an army demoralized and discouraged. In
these unfortunate circumstances he was defeated at Cassano, but
by the exercise of prudence and vigilance he accomplished anew
that most difficult thing, a retreat after disaster, and led his
men safely to Genoa. Being assigned to duty by the govern-
ment under Joubert, when that General was killed at Novi, he
saved the troops again from utter discomfiture by his energy
and discretion.
In the spring of 1800 he was placed at the head of the Army
of the Rhine, consisting of 150,000 thoroughly disciplined troops.
Napoleon, now First Consul, presented to him a plan of campaign
in harmony with his own daring genius. But Moreau, more
cautious, hesitated about adopting it, and brought forward
another, less bold and brilliant, but less liable to severe reverses.
Napoleon perceived that this was more suited to the character
and temperament of him on whom the responsibility would rest
and allowed him to adopt it, thinking that success would be more
likely to attend it in his hands than his own would be. Moreau
entered Germany, forced the Austrians to retire before him
across the Danube, gained a decisive victory at Hochstatt and ad-
vanced to Munich, the capital of Bavaria, and in July signed
articles for an armistice, with a view to a permanent peace.
But Austria was urged by England to continue the war and the
French deemed it best to disregard the usual custom of fighting
only in the summer and to conduct a campaign in the winter.
Moreau was directed with 100.000 men to leave Munich, march
still further eastward, to cross the Inn, a tributary of the Danube,
and push on to Vienna. This could not be done without en-
GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU 637
countering hosts of the enemy. They beset his path in vast
numbers and at Hohenhnden, December 3, 1800, a remarkable
battle was fought, in which victory crowned the banners of the
Republic and encircled the name of Moreau with immortal splen-
dor.
He posted the main part of his troops in the edge of a wood,
through which the Austrians must pass, and sent a large body
•of men to attack them on the flank, while entangled in the forest.
During the engagement a heavy fall of snow prevailed, which of-
ten prevented the combatants from seeing each other, and they
could direct their firing a portion of the time only by aiming at the
point where they saw the flash of the guns of their opponents.
Some of the Germans endeavored to deploy into the open field in
front, but were mowed down by Moreau's musketry and artillery,
while another division, on a dififerent road, struggling through the
thickets and the storm, were pushed back and cut ofif by those
who had been despatched on the flank. The result was the utter
discomfiture of the Imperialists, who lost 14,000 men, over 100
cannon and 300 caissons. All their heavy guns were captured
and their army was so broken up that no other alternative was
before them than retreat across the Inn. This was a most im-
portant victory in its effect upon the position and prospects of
the belligerents. The Republicans lost on that and preceding
days 9,000 men, but they were soon ready to take up offensive
operations, while the flower and strength of the Monarchists had
been annihilated and two-thirds of their artillery had fallen into
the hands of their foes. Alison, in the "History of Europe,"
speaks of it as
"The great and memorable battle of Hohenlinden, the most decisive
with the exception of that of Rivoli, which had yet been gained by either
party during the war, and superior even to that renowned conflict in
trophies by which it was graced and the immense consequences by which
it was followed. The victory at Marengo itself was less mo.mentous in
its military results. The disaster of Hohenlinden threw the army of
Germany without resource on the hereditary States and at once pros-
trated the strength of the monarchy."
Alison says in a foot note :
"Napoleon's observations on this battle are distinguished by his usual
ability, but strongly tinctured by that envenomed feeling towards his great
rival (Moreau) which formed so powerful a feature in his character.
638 GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU
Jealousy towards every one who had either essentially injured or rivalled
his reputation, and a total disregard of truth when recounting their opera-
tions, are two of the defects in so great a man, Bonaparte, upon which it
is at once the most necessary and the most painful duty of the historian
to dwell."
We may add to these remarks of the EngHsh author that there
were few among the most able commanders of his day of whom
Bonaparte was jealous, and one of them was Moreau. Upon
almost all others he looked down as immeasurably his inferiors.
Many of the boys of this region no doubt have repeated at school,
upon the platform, the poem of Campbell upon the battle of
v^hich we have been speaking, which begins :
"On Linden, when the sun was low,
All bloodless lay the untrodden snow,
And dark as winter was the flow
Of Iser rolling rapidly.
But Linden saw another sight
When the drums beat at dead of night,
Commanding fires of death to light
The darkness of her scenery."
Yet perhaps they were not aware that the hero of that tre-
mendous conflict had resided for years in their own county.
Immediately after that fearful scene in which so many brave
warriors slept their last long sleep, "midst flame and smoke, and
shout and groan and saber stroke," Moreau made preparations
to follow up his success. The eastern bank of the river Inn, over
which the enemy had retired, was guarded by the remnants of
their forces and by large reinforcements, and to meet them di-
rectly in crossing would be attended with imminent peril. He
gathered all the boats he could find and had them taken publicly
dozvn the stream, as if he intended to use them there, but with
the bulk of his army went up, and, after driving oflf resistance
by fierce cannonading, brought it over and broke through the
strong opposing line of defense without the loss of a single man.
By most skillful manoeuvres he prevented the Austrians from
combining their forces, hastened large detachments to different
points to cut them off in detail, and compelled their main body
continually to fall back until he was within two days' march of
Vienna.
Alison says in regard to the events which I have briefly and
inadequately described,
' GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU 639
"Thus the Republican army, in a short campaign of little more than
three weeks, in the middle of winter and in the most severe weather,
marched ninety leagues, crossed three considerable rivers in the pres-
ence of the enemy, made 20,000 prisoners, killed, wounded and dispersed
as many, captured 150 pieces of cannon, 400 caissons and 4,000 carriages
and never halted till its advance guard, arrested by an armistice, was with-
in twenty leagues of Vienna. Such results require no eulogium ; the an-
nals of war have few such triumphs to recount, and they deservedly placed
Moreau in the very highest rank of the captains of the eighteenth cen-
tury."
This is a very warm praise of him w^ho was once our fellow
citizen, and as it flovC^s from the pen of a British author who was
prejudiced naturally against all the Gallic race we may be confi-
dent it is not excessive, but is merited by the subject of it.
The inhabitants of the capital of the Austrian Empire when the
troops of the conqueror, flushed by victory, had come so near,
were thrown into the utmost consternation and persuaded the
Emperor to send an envoy to propose a cessation of the strife.
Moreau was urged by some of his ofificers to disregard the re-
quest and move forward to the city. "We had better halt," he
replied, "and be content with peace. It is for that alone we are
fighting," which was true. The sole object of France in carry-
ing her victorious standards so far from her own borders was to
oblige England and Austria to permit her to enjoy her free
institutions without molestation. The latter of these powers was
now humbled ; an armistice was arranged, soon followed by a
treaty by which all Europe, with the exception of Great Britain
alone, became friendly towards France.
General Moreau returned to Paris with exalted honor. None
but Napoleon stood on a more lofty pinnacle of fame as a military
commander, or possessed a stronger hold upon the afifections
of the army. Bonaparte, however, was at the head of the na-
tional government and the vast majority of the people looked
up to him with profound loyalty and attachment. Moreau soon
married a lady who proved to be vain and ambitious. Jealous
of the regard and homage which were paid to Josephine, the
beloved wife of Napoleon, she deemed her husband worthy of as
much deference as the First Consul. One day she called upon
Josephine and being kept in the anteroom a little while she was
deeply offended. Her bitter feelings were poured into the ears
640 GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU
of Moreau. He manifested coldness towards Bonaparte, re-
pelled his favors and even refused to attend a review of troops
when he was to be present. Napoleon then gave a banquet, to
which Moreau was not invited. This and other things ripened his
irritation into hostility. He withdrew from Paris to his estate
at Grosboris, where he lived in opulence, but with little gratifica-
tion in the spectacle of Bonaparte's increasing greatness. His
feelings of enmity to the First Consul were generally known*
indeed, he did not attempt to conceal them, for he claimed to be
a warm advocate of the rights of the people, which he declared
Napoleon was endeavoring to subvert.
Several conspiracies were arranged at this period by the friends
of the Bourbons to assassinate the First Consul. Moreau's at-
titude towards him being understood it was thought he could be
induced to engage in a plot with this object in view. He was se-
cretely approached and for a time seemed to enter into it heartily.
Before the details were completed, however, it came to light that
he was not friendly to the old King's family, but would like to
be the Supreme Magistrate himself. The list of actors, therefore,
in the scheme was made out without him. On the point of its
execution the plan was betrayed to the Government. Among-
others Moreau was arrested, tried and convicted of being im-
plicated in an attempt to take the life of the Chief Ruler. Some-
thought it would be best to let his share in the matter pass un-
noticed, he stood so high in the esteem of the army and the
country at large. But Bonaparte said : "li I permit him to es-
cape unpunished it will be supposed I am afraid to disturb him.
All must be treated accordingly to their guilt." The sentence
was two years imprisonment. Napoleon immediately pardoned
him, at the same time hinting to him that he had better emigrate
to America. In order to follow this advice, which was equivalent
to a command, he must sell his beautiful estate. Napoleon gave
orders for its purchase at the highest price, and paid the expenses
of his journey to Barcelona, where he was to take ship for the
New World.
General Davis in his "History of Bucks County" says :
"He landed at Philadelphia September 24, 1805, accompanied by his
wife and two children, and after looking around the country for some
GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU 64I
time for a place of residence, he found none that pleased him so well as
Morrisville, where he located."
After his arrival on our shores he probably resided in New-
York city for a time, as the records of Bucks county speak of
him from that place. They tell us that Paul Seimen sold to "Gen.
Moreau, of the city of New York, for $10,000, a parcel of land
called Morrisville containing twenty-five acres, with the use of
the landing place on the Delaware, March 11, 1809." The
deed was acknowledged before John Barker, Mayor of Philadel-
phia, April 25, 1809. Of his hfe while a resident there we know-
but little, except that he engaged in agriculture, probably as a
gentleman farmer. He must have been there more or less two
years and a half or three years before he concluded the purchase^
as we are informed in the "Autobiography of Captain Charles
Biddle," that Aaron Burr spent the latter part of the summer of
1806 in Morrisville with his daughter, Mrs. Alston and her son;
that Gen. Moreau was there, and that the two distinguished mili-
tary officers were much together. Undoubtedly those two bril-
liant men must have enjoyed in a high degree mutual converse
in reference to the grand events that transpired in the American
and the French Revolutions, in which they had recently borne so
conspicuous a part.
In 1813 Emperor Alexander, of Russia, united with many
other sovereigns of Europe in the efforts to dethrone Napoleon.
It occurred to him that Gen. Moreau, of whose military talents
he had the highest opinion, and who was in retirement in Ameri-
ca, might be induced to lend his powerful aid to the enterprise.
He opened a powerful correspondence with him on the subject.
The General consented to engage in it, provided after Bonaparte's
downfall France should be allowed to have a free constitution
and choose her own form of government. His republican prin-
ciples had suffered no diminution, but were rather strengthened,
by his sojourn in our country. Being satisfied on this point
he set sail in the ship Hannibal for Gottenburg, where he arrived
July 27th, and went thence immediately to Stralsund to have
an interview with Gen. Berndotte, who had been induced by
Russia to espouse her cause. He was welcomed in Europe by the
enemies of Napoleon with most magnificent demonstrations of
21
642 GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU
applause. At Stralsund he was greeted with the firing of cannon
and an immense concourse of people. Marshal Essen, the Swedish
commander, said his accession was equal to a "reinforcement of
a hundred thousand men." On his way to Bohemia, where the
principal chiefs of the coalition were assembled, the enthusiasm
awakened by his coming was like that which marks the progress
of a sovereign. The innkeepers would receive nothing for his
â– entertainment ; the best horses were furnished gratuitously to
convey him from place to place, and crowds gathered at every
important point to see a general whose fame had preceded him
as that of one of the mightiest warriors of the age. In Berlin he
was visited by the most distinguished persons in the city, though
he remained there but a few hours, and the morning after he
reached Prague the Emperor Alexander visited him and gave
him assurances that when Bonaparte was crushed France should
"be left free. The Czar constantly sought his advice, and became
very intimate with him, yielding the utmost deference to his
opinions, and the allied monarchs with one accord placed him
high in their confidence.
On the 27th of August, just one month after he reached the
â– shores of Germany, in the midst of the important battle of Dres-
den, he rode with Alexander and several other officers to the
brow of the hill and was conversing earnestly with the Czar
about some movement of the troops. Napoleon at the distance
of more than a mile saw the group of horsemen, and said to the
captain of a battery near him, "Throw a dozen bullets at once
into that group, there may be some little generals in it." His
order was obeyed, and it was noticed immediately that there was
a great sensation in the party, as if some person of note had
fallen. That cannon shot almost cut off both the legs of Gen-
eral Mojeau, passing through his horse. All near him were
overwhelmed with sorrow at the catastrophe. He was borne
to a cottage, where he called for a cigar which he smoked with
â– composure without uttering a groan, though he was suffering
intensely. When the surgeons had amputated his right limb thev
examined the other, and told him they had hoped to save that,
hut could not. "Well," said he, "cut that off too. But if I had
thought both would have to go I would rather have died on the
spot."
GENERAL JEAN VICTOR MARIA MOREAU 643
The allied armies were compelled to retreat, and he was car-
ried on a litter to Laun, where everything possible was done
for his relief, the Emperor Alexander showing deep sympathy
with the illustrious sufferer. While there he wrote this charac-
teristic letter to his wife :
"My dearest : At the battle of Dresden three days ago, I had both my
legs carried ofif by a cannon ball. That rascal Bonaparte is always for-
tunate. They have performed the operation as well as possible. Though
the army has made a retrograde movement, it is by nO' means a retreat,
but of design to draw nearer to General Blucher. Excuse my scrawl. I
love and embrace you with my whole heart."
There were for a time symptoms favoring his recovery. Fever
however set in and five days after he was wounded he expired
with rare stoicism, but with no expression of a belief in immor-
tality. His remains were embalmed and conveyed to Prague,
and thence to St. Petersburg and buried in a Catholic church
with the highest military honors. Alexander wrote a letter ta
his widow, testifying his warm friendship for the deceased and
his deep sense of the irreparable loss, which she and he himself
had sustained. It begins with the following language :
"When the frightful catastrophe, which befell at my side Gen. Moreau,.
deprived me of the guidance and experience of that great man, I indulged
the hope, that by means of care, he might yet be preserved for his family
and my friendship. Providence has disposed it otherwise; he has died as.
he lived, in full possession of a great and constant mind."
The Czar did not limit his condolence to kind words. He
presented Mrs. Moreau with a gift of $100,000, and an annual
pension of $7,500. A monument was erected on the hill where
he was wounded, and a similar one was dedicated to his memory
in Paris in 1819.
Gen. Moreau's property in Morrisville was sold in 1816.
John S. Roulet, executor of his will, was authorized by Act of
Legislature, passed March 5, 1816, to sell his real estate, called
the Delaware Water Works, with Woods Island or Morrisville
Island, after notice should have been given in the papers of Phila-
delphia, New York and Bucks county. The required notice was
published in the Democratic Press, of Philadelphi^i, the New
York Gazette, and the Pennslyvania Correspondent, of Doyles-
town, now the Bucks County Intelligencer. John S. Roulet, act-
ing for Mrs. Eugenie Moreau and Isabella, her daughter, on
644 THE CLAIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING
June 27, 1816, sold the land and buildings at Mahlon Carver's
tavern for $52,000 to John Baptist Sartori, of Trenton, agent
for himself and for James Vanuxem, of Philadelphia. The deed
was acknowledged September 13, 1816. before Jacob Radcliff,
Mayor of New York; Peter T. Marselis and Theophilus Mar-
selis, witnesses.
Bucks county has had the honor of numbering among her
citizens, both in former and in more recent times, men of dis-
tinction in arms, brave defenders of their country's rights among
whom a high place should be assigned to Gen. Jean Victor Maria
Moreau.
The Claim of Connecticut to Wyoming.*
BY REV. D. K. TURNER^ HARTSVIELE, PA.
(PipersviUe Meeting, July 19, 1892.)
Important events in the settlement of any portion of our
•country are interesting to every patriot. The original occupa-
tion of most of Europe by the ancestors of the present inhabitants
took place many centuries ago, and the dim haze of antiquity
enshrouds it. Many transactions of great significance in those
remote ages have been lost in oblivion, or are so indistinctly traced
on the historic page that they awaken little curiosity.
But when we contemplate the infancy of the States of our
own land, especially of our own Commonwealth, scarcely any-
thing unusual or remarkable fails to excite lively attention. In
the early history of Pennsylvania much dispute and some
laloody strife existed between that Colony and Connecticut in re-
gard to the proper ownership of the region in which is the valley
of the Wyoming. It was all at one time included in the bounds
•of Bucks county, and on that account the struggle for its pos-
session has a peculiar claim to our study. In 1683 among the
acts of the First Provincial Assembly was the division of the
'domain granted to Penn into three counties, Philadelphia, Ches-
ter and Bucks. The boundary line of the last began at the
* The Pennsylvania German, Vol. 7, pages 223 and 308 contains a paper on "Con-
necticut's Claim in Wyoming Valley," by Prof. D. Montfort Melchoir. The '-Histoncal
Register," edited by Dr. William H. Egle, Vol. 2, page i, also contains an interesting
paper on the same subject by Stuben Jenkins.
THU CLAIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING 645
Poquessing creek, "taking in the townships of Southampton and
Warminster and thence backwards," as the language employed is,
which gave jurisdiction to the authorities of this county over all
the territory northwest of what is now Montgomery county,
the latter being subsequently taken from Philadelphia county.
A grant of land in America was made by King James of
England, in 1620, to the Great Plymouth council, extending
from 40° to 48° north latitude, and from sea to sea, or from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, however far this might be — a distance
which was then not accurately understood. The privilege was
also given to sell or dispose of portions of this allotment to settlers
or associations. In 1628 the Plymouth company ceded to the
Massachusetts Colony a part of their grant about Massachusetts
Bay, and between the Charles and Merrimack rivers. This also
was to stretch from the Atlantic ocean to the South sea, or the
Pacific. In 1630 the Plymouth council deeded a tract to Lords
Say and Seal, and Brook, with royal approval, which is described
in equivalent terms as extending westward to the Pacific and
northward to the southern line of Massachusetts. When it was
partly settled it was bought by an association of persons called
the Connecticut Colony for £16,000 sterling, which would be equal
at the present day to at least $200,000. In 1662 King Charles II.
issued a charter to this Colony, in which the territory is spoken
of as part of the old Plymouth grant, and bounded on the west
by the South sea. In all these documents, given under the direc-
tion of Kings of England, it will be observed that the western
limit was the Pacific ocean.
It has been said by some, that the continent was in those times
supposed to be narrow, and that the British cabinet was not aware
of its immense breadth ; that if it had been familiar with the
facts, its bounty would have been more restricted. But one
writer affirms, that at the period of the Connecticut charter the
width of the continent was referred to in state papers as about
3,000 miles; and it is scarcely to be imagined, that the English
rulers, who were deeply interested in navigation, would have
been, nearly 200 years after the discovery of America, ignorant
of the general dimensions of a country, in which they manifested
so deep a concern. It was their policy also to lay claim to as
much of this hemisphere as possible, and to make their possess-
646 THE CI.AIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING
ions reach to the farthest point, that their title might be fortified
the more against the pretentions of other nations.
In the Plymouth charter it was provided, that it should not
apply to land, that was "actually possessed or inhabited by other
Christian Prince or State, or within the bounds of the Southern
colony heretofore granted," meaning Virginia. Though this ex-
ception was not particularly mentioned in the Connecticut char-
ter, yet it was understood to be applicable and as the Dutch had
already planted themselves in New York and claimed to the Dela-
ware river, the Connecticut people were obliged, in tracing what
was conceded to them, to leave out all between that river and the
Hudson. But to the region west of the Delaware they asserted
they had a clear right, south of the 42d degree of latitude, which
corresponded to the lower line of Massachusetts, and extending-
southward one/ degree, or about 70 miles, the lowest point of
Connecticut being on the 41st parallel. These limits, if pro-
longed westward indefinitely, would embrace not only Wyoming,
but most of 28 counties of Pennsylvania and the northern part of
Ohio, and a vast tract still further toward the setting sun.
After the war of the Revolution, Connecticut released to the Unit-
ed States all her property in that part of the country with the ex-
ception of 3,666,000 acres along Lake Erie, which was often
termed the "Western Reserve" or "New Connecticut." In 1800
this was yielded to Congress to be sold in the same way with other
public lands, but for the benefit of Connecticut, and from the pro-
ceeds of it that State obtained her magnificent school fund
amounting to more than two millions of dollars. A similar
course was pursued by Virginia with reference to her possessions
in Ohio, and by these proceedings the Congress of the United
States recognized the genuineness of the title of those states to
territory west of the Allegheny mountains.
From these facts there can be no doubt that Connecticut had
a substantial claim to the region of Wyoming by grant from the
sovereigns of England. It may be said, however, that William
Penn received from King Charles II in 1681 a concession, which
embraced all that section, as it extended from 12 miles north of
New Castle to the beginning of the 43d degree of latitude, and
from the Delaware five degrees westward, and some have in-
ferred that the right of Connecticut to Wyoming was thereby
THE CLAIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING 64/
abrogated. But in the compact with Penn, which was 19 years
later than that with Connecticut, nothing is said about annulHng
or restricting the latter grant, and as Connecticut was obliged to
leap over the lands occupied by New York, so it would appear
just that Penn's charter should be so construed as to leave out
that which had been ceded to the other colony. The interval
between the two edicts was not so great that the particular condi-
tions of the first would be forgotten, and being on record, they
could be easily consulted. It could not have been the intention of
the King to diminish the extent of the grant made to Connecticut,
otherwise the alternation would have been specially mentioned.
In 1753 an association was formed in Connecticut, called the
"Susquehanna Company," consisting of 840 persons, afterwards
increased to 1,200, which comprised nearly all the principal men
of the Colony, whose purpose was to buy from the Indians the
right to the soil of a tract along the Susquehanna river. Com-
missioners met the chiefs of the Six Nations at Albany, while a
Congress of all the colonies was held there, and a purchase was
effected for £2,000, of the lands between the 41st and 42d
parallels of latitude, and running from a line ten miles east of the
Susquehanna two degrees west. Subsequently another associa-
tion of Connecticut called the "Delaware Company," bought of
certain Indian chiefs the land between the Delaware river and the
Susquehanna purchase. Thus the rights of possession of the
natives were extinguished by open and equitable treaty with
representative men of the tribes that assumed to own it.
The sale to the Susquehanna company excited the indignation
and alarm of the delegates at Albany from Pennsylvania, and they
endeavored to persuade the chiefs to retract it. Not succeeding
in this, some of those tribes were induced to go to Philadelphia
a year and a half after, in 1755, and unite in a statement that
the Susquehanna deed was obtained by improper means, and was
destitute of binding force ; and some of the chiefs declared that
neither the Connecticut nor the Pennsylvania people should have
the lands ; that they would reserve them as a place of retreat for
themselves and their friends. Strenuous efforts were made by
the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania for a long period to win from
the Six Nations their consent to pronounce the former sale
invalid and to part with the tract to them. But 13 years passed
648 THE CLAIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING
away before their exertions were crowned with success. In 1768
sachems of those clans at Fort Stanwix agreed upon a treaty with
the Pennsylvania authorities, by which the latter should have the
same territory that had been surrendered before to the men from
New England. There was so much doubt, however, as to the
soundness of this agreement and the power of the chiefs present
to make it, that in 1775, commissioners from Pennsylvania asked
the Indians again to disavow the sale to the Susquehanna com-
pany, and some of them were finally prevailed upon to do so.
It has been said on the part of the Pennsylvanians, that in 1736
the Six Nations granted to them the right of preemption to all
lands within the bounds of their charter ; and therefore the sach-
ems were not authorized to sell to anyone else. To this it has
been replied that those tribes then and long afterwards supposed
the claim of Mr. Penn not to extend beyond the Blue Mountains
in a direction towards Wyoming.
They were disinclined also to treat with the Pennsylvania
Proprietaries, because the latter ignored their assertion that the
Delawares had been subdued by them, and made compacts with
their subject as an independent people. For this one reason the
northern tribes were disposed to favor the projects of the Yan-
kees. Both by charter and by purchase from the aborigines
the priority in time is to be awarded to the Connecticut com-
panies.
It is important now to notice by whom the Wyoming valley
was first settled. In 1670, eight years after the date of the
charter of Connecticut, some persons from that Colony located
at the Minissinks, leaping over the territory of New York, which
indicates that they regarded the title to the lands west of the
Delaware as genuine by royal permission ; but as the Indian
claim had not been satisfied, they soon withdrew.
In 1755, the next year after the Susquehanna purchase, a
committee of that company, consisting of Phinehas Lyman and
others, presented a petition to the Connecticut Assembly, repre-
senting that they had bought the land under consideration from
the natives, and asking their consent to apply to the king for a
charter, that they might be erected into a separate colony or
plantation. The Assembly cordially approved the plan, but the
war with France coming on, no settlements were efifected at that
the; claim of Connecticut to Wyoming 649
time. Two years later the Delaware company founded a village
at Coshutunk, which in 1760 had thirty houses, a grist-mill,
saw-mill, and a block-house for defence.
In 1762 a party of emigrants came from Connecticut to the
valley of the Wyoming near Wilkes-Barre, and after sowing
grain returned for their families. The next spring they came
back, bringing their stock, farming utensils, household furniture
and probably all their property, with the intention of fixing there
their permanent home. No more beautiful locality could be
found anywhere. The rich soil, abundant streams of pure water
and delightful climate held out pleasing anticipations of large
rewards for their labors. But their fair prospects were soon
blotted out by a dreadful catastrophe. On the 15th of October
a body of savages without the least warning suddenly attacked
them and killed and scalped about twenty men. The remainder,
with the women and children, unable to defend themselves, filed,
and amid indescribable hardships and suflferings endeavored to
find their way through dense forests and over mountains to their
former abodes.
But the efifort to occupy the region of the Wyoming was not
abandoned by the hardy pioneers of Connecticut. A meeting was
held at Hartford in 1768, in which it was resolved to apportion
on the Susquehanna five townships of five miles square to 40
settlers for each, or about 500 acres to each family, on condition
that they would take up their residence there and defend their
rights against all intruders. It was feared the Pennsylvanians
might endeavor to expel them. The Susquehanna company ap-
propriated £200, or $667, to provide farming implements, arms
and ammunition to those who needed assistance, and proceed-
ings were instituted to occupy five townships in the heart of the
Wyoming valley, viz. : Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Plymouth, Han-
over and Pittston. Subsequently three other townships on the
west branch of the Susquehanna were allotted to 40 settlers
each. A considerable number of persons had already located
above the Blue mountains, on the Delaware, in a district which
now embraces Stroudsburg, who sympathized with the Eastern
colonists.
But the Pennsylvania Proprietaries were not indifferent to
the question who should possess that most valuable territory.
650 THE CLAIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING
They had bought it of the Indians, though chiefs of the same
tribe had sold it to the Yankees several years previously, and
they were anxious to secure hold upon their purchase. They
determined to prevent the New Englanders from occupying it,
even if necessary by force of arms, and the latter were as reso-
lute in the maintenance of what they believed to be their just
rights. Hence arose a struggle, which was often denominated
"The First Pennymite War." The authorities at Philadelphia
raised several companies of individuals who were to take up land
at Wyoming on condition tfiat they would defend it against
strangers, and leaders were selected, among whom were Charles
Stewart, a surveyor, Captain Amos Ogden, a military officer of
experience, and John Jennings^ Esq., who was to be the civil
magistrate. These three were to manage affairs as a supreme di-
rectory. They and their men arrived on the ground in January,
1769, and found, at the confluence of Mill creek with the Susque-
hanna, near Wilkes-Barre, a block-house and several huts which
were built by the massacred settlers of 1763. Of these they took
possession and fitted them up as a shelter from the colds and
storms of midwinter. About three weeks after, Feb. 8, the first
party of Yankees reached the place, expecting to find the buildings
in which their friends had been murdered or from which they had
been driven away, empty. But being occupied by an enemy, they
immediately invested the block-house, cut off all communication
with the surrounding country, and prevented Captain Ogden from
obtaining wood or provisions. Then they demanded in the name
of Connecticut the surrender of the premises and peaceable pos-
session of the valley. Ogden had expected reinforcements, but
none came, and as he had only 10 men and his opponents num-
bered 40 he concluded to try negotiations. He sent a polite note
to the commander of the besiegers, asking for a friendly confer-
ence on the merits of their respective titles.
His proposal was favorably received, as the Eastern claimants
were confident they could prove their cause was just. Accord-
ingly they deputed three of their party to go and argue the case.
As soon as they were within the block-house, Sheriff Jennings
clapped a writ on them and said, "In the the name of the Com-
monwealth of Pennsylvania, you are my prisoners." Though
astounded by such a trick, which was worthy of their Indian
THE CLAIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING 65I
neighbors, they concluded to submit for the time, and made no re-
sistance to being marched off 60 miles to Easton jail. Captain
Ogden guarded them, and the ^7 left of the 40 accompanied them
without making efforts for a rescue. But immediately after
being locked up, persons in the town who sympathized with them,
gave bail for the appearance of the prisoners for trial; they
were released, and the whole Yankee company returned to Wy-
oming and seated themselves in the valley, of which they had now
possession, having performed no act of violence. As had been
said, "They had lost nothing by defeat, and Ogden had gained
nothing by victory."
Sheriff Jennings, ashamed of the result of his scheme, and
-mortified by the turn events had taken, summoned a large num-
ber of men in Northampton county, and repairing to Wyoming
with several magistrates captured 30 of the settlers, and put them,
under arrest. Trained to great respect for the civil law and for a
magistrate's warrant served by a sheriff, they made no resistance
to being marched away to Easton and put in confinement. But
they were at once liberated on bail, and went back a second time.
In going and coming twice, they must have traversed on foot
240 miles, through dense forests, over snow and ice, in the midst
of winter.
In April others came from Connecticut and increased the
â– number of able-bodied men to two hundred and seventy or eighty.
They assembled on the ground, where Wilkes-Barre now stands,
iDuilt a fortification called Fort Durkee, after their commander,
and engaged in agriculture, delighted with the level plains al-
ready cleared of timber, and the fertihty of the soil. But cheir
circumstances did not relieve them of apprehension.
Captain Ogden having recruited his forces in Northampton
trounty appeared before the fort in May. Finding it too strong
and well defended to be attacked with safety, he withdrew to
the southward. A military company in showy uniform under
Colonel Francis Turbot, from Philadelphia, reached the spot in
June, were likewise disheartened and retreated below the moun-
tains to await reinforcements. During the summer many more
emigrants arrived from New England, but this did not deter the
Pennsylvanians from efforts to expel them as intruders. Another
expedition was organized by the Proprietaries, consisting of
652 THE CLAIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING
about 250 men, well armed and equipped, under Sheriff Jen-
nings and Captain Ogden, and sent to the scene of contention
in September. A four-pound cannon also was forwarded on a
boat from Fort Augusta, now Sunbury. This was the first piece
of ordnance ever taken so far up the Susquehanna. In some
way they found opportunity to seize Captain Durkee and de-
spatched him in irons to Philadelphia, where he was put in prison
and held for some months.
The Yankees, when their leader was captured, and the for-
midable cannon was brought to bear on them, despaired of vic-
tory and entered into articles of capitulation, by which three or
four of them were to be retained as prisoners, 17 were to remain
at Wyoming to gather the harvest, and the rest were to leave the
valley immediately. Private property was not to be disturbed.
When they had gone, Ogden, in total disregard of the terms of
surrender seized the cattle, horses and sheep and everything else
he could dispose of, and sent them to places on the Delaware to
be sold. The 17 left to harvest the crops, now without means
of sustenance, were compelled, with sad hearts and in extreme
destitution, to trace their way through the woods back to Con-
necticut. Thus ended the struggle of 1769. The Pennsylvanians,
having dislodged the Yankees three times, were in undisputed
possession of the valley.
Hoping that their opponents would be discouraged and make
no more attempts to locate there, Jennings and Ogden left ten
men in the fort to guard it and care for the property, and went
themselves to Philadelphia to spend the winter. But in Febru-
ary, 1770, while enjoying the luxuries of city life, they were
startled to learn that a company of 40 persons from Lancaster
county. Pa., and 40 from Connecticut had obtained a township
of land from the Susquehanna company, repaired to Wyoming,
driven off the garrison from the fort and planted their standards
on its walls. Captain Ogden collected 50 men with all the speed
possible and hastened to the arena of strife. When he found
the stronghold in the hands of the strangers and too well de-
fended to be easily subdued, he took up his quarters at Mill
creek, about a mile distant, and proceeded to fortify the old
block-house, while waiting for reinforcements. Help was not
easily obtained. Many of the people of Pennsylvania disliked
THE CLAIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING 653
the Proprietary government. They knew that the Proprietors
employed surveyors to set off most of the rich land for themselves,
and their feelings were enhsted with those who were actual
settlers. Governor Penn, experiencing great difficulty in raising
troops, applied to General Gage, Commander-in-chief of His Maj-
esty's forces in North America, then in New York, for assistance
in repressing what he termed a lawless and unprincipled invasion.
The general replied : "The affair in question seems to be a dis-
pute concerning property, in which I cannot but think it would
be highly improper for the King's troops to interfere." The
Connecticut people soon attacked Ogden, and after varying for-
tune, with the aid of the cannon, compelled him to surrender and
retire from the vicinity. Then fearing that their adversaries might
return with larger forces and occupy the Mill creek fortress again,.
they set it on fire and burned it to the ground. All was now
quiet along the banks of the smiling Susquehanna. The New
Englanders, relieved of annoyance from their southern neighbors,,
applied themselves to the labors of the farm and to the more
agreeable employment of catching shad, which came up the
stream in such large multitudes in the spring that with the
rudest nets of bark and long grape vines a boundless profusion
was taken.
But Governor Penn was not disposed to abandon the contest.
He issued a proclamation forbidding all persons making any set-
tlement at Wyoming without the authority of himself or his
agents, and then raised the largest armed force he could muster
and commissioned it under his intrepid assistant, Ogden, to expel
the Yankees. The plan of this active officer was to march with
the utmost secrecy and celerity, and surprise them. Taking an
unusual route by the old warrior's path, which passed through
the Delaware Water Gap, he descended suddenly from the moun-
tains upon them, as they were scattered in small parties busily at
work on the cultivated plain. A considerable number were cap-
tured and the remainder fled to Fort Durkee. This post, though
bravely defended, Ogden soon took by storm ; the leaders were
imprisoned in Philadelphia, the rest in Easton, and their property
became the spoil of the victors.
The triumphant partisan was now confident, that, after being
four times driven away from the contested ground, the hated
654 the; claim of Connecticut to Wyoming
Yankees would not dare to appear there again. A company
of 20 men was left to guard the fort and vicinity during the
winter, and with glad hearts the main body of the Pennsyl-
vanians sought their homes. But the quiet that rested upon
the valley, was not to remain long unbroken. On the i8th of
December Captain Lazarns Stewart with 20 men from Connec-
ticut, swooped down unexpectedly upon the garrison, (who in
careless security had not even stationed a sentinel,) and put
them to flight. The pertinacious adherents of the Susquehanna
company were once more in possession of the coveted prize.
With the commencement of 1771 the second year of the contest
expired, and all efforts to banish the Eastern adventurers perma-
nently had proved abortive. But the Proprietaries were not
discouraged. With great exertion they soon secured 100 volun-
teers and in 30 days from the time Ogden's force had been ex-
pelled, he himself with his new command was near Fort Dur-
kee. His first care was to provide shelter for his men from the
inclemency of the weather. As the old fort at Mill creek, be-
sides being in ashes, was too distant, they set about building
one only 60 rods from the enemy. At this they worked with
such unflagging industry that in three or four days it was
nearly completed. Then Sherifif Hacklein. acting as a civil offi-
cer, advanced to Fort Durkee, and demanded its surrender in the
name and by the authority of the government of Pennsylvania.
Captain Stewart, standing with four or five others upon an
elevated spot, answered, "That he had taken possession in the
name and behalf of the Colony of Connecticut, in whose juris-
diction they were ; and in that name and by that authority
he would defend it."
In thus assuming to act in behalf of Connecticut he trans-
'cended his authority, for neither the Executive nor the Assem-
'bly had officially sanctioned the warlike proceedings of its citi-
zens in that region. But it had deeded the land to the Susque-
"hanna company, in which many of the principal men were
â– pecuniarily interested, and all the people espoused their cause.
]Hence it is not strange that for efifect its name should be em-
•ployed in the refusal to surrender. The sheriff withdrew to
the new block-house, called Fort Wyoming, which was put with
â– ^11 drspatch into the best possible state of defence. Everything
THE CLAIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING 655
being in readiness, Captain Ogden, accompanied by his brother
Nathan and most of his troops, advanced to Fort Durkee, and
after receiving a denial to a summons for surrender, began to
fire. The besieged returned it promptly, and at the first volley
four of Ogden's men fell, among them his brother, a noble
young man, who in a few moments expired. This sharp re-
pulse induced the attacking party to retire, taking with them
their wounded and dead.
Captain Stewart, aware that the Proprietaries were peculiarly-
exasperated against him, and that this battle would arouse their
anger to a still higher pitch, concluded it would be most prudent
to put himself out of their reach. Accordingly during the night,
after the conflict, with 20 or 30 of his most experienced soldiers,
he abandoned the fort, leaving about 20 behind, who were less
exposed than himself to the ill will of the enemy. The next day
Ogden seized the place and sent the garrison to jail at Easton.
This was the fifth time the Yankees- had been forestalled in their
attempts to make the valley their own. They still, however,
persisted in their determination to occupy it.
In the spring of 1772 Captain Zebulon Butler and Captain
Stewart, with 150 men, arrived from Connecticut and laid seige
to Fort Wyoming. So closely was it invested that the inmates
could obtain no provisions, and could send out no messenger
with a call for succor, and they were soon reduced to the
verge of starvation. Captain Ogden, seeing that he could hold
out but little longer, unless relief was obtained, determined to
leave the fort himself, though at the risk of his life, and carry
tidings of his extremity to Philadelphia. The mode in which
he accomplished his perilous task is thus narrated :
"A little past midnight on the 12th of July, when all was quiet, one of
the Yankee sentinels saw something floating on the river having a very
suspicious appearance. A shot awakened attention, and directed the eyes
of every other sentinel to the spot. A volley was poured in, but produc-
ing no apparent effect ; the thing still floated gently with the current, the
firing was suspended, while the wonder grew what the object could be.
Captain Ogden had tied his clothing in a bundle, and fastened his hat to
the top ; to this was connected a string of several yards in length, which
he fastened to his arm. Letting himself noiselessly into the water, swim-
ming so deeply on his back so as only to allow his mouth to breath, the
whole movement demanding the most extraordinary skill and self-posses-
656 the; CI.AIM OF CONNECTICUT TO WYOMING
sion, he floated down, drawing the bundle after him. As he had calcu-
lated, this being the only object visible, drew the fires of his foes. He
escaped unhurt, and when out of danger, dressed himself in his drenched
clothing and hat, perforated with bullets, and with the speed of the roe-
buck was in the city on the third day, having accomplished one hundred
and twenty miles, through a most rough and inhospitable wilderness."
His statements of the danger in which his men were, awaken-
ing intense interest in Philadelphia, a considerable force was
raised and forwarded to relieve them. But Captain Butler
pushed on the siege, and after several had been wounded and
hostilities had continued four months, the fort was surrendered
to him and the ground was left in the control of the Yankees.
The war had lasted nearly three years. The New Englanders
had foiled the schemes of their opponents to compel them to
forsake a region they believed to be within the limits of the
•colony, to which they owed allegiance. The settlers multiplied,
and for some years enjoyed peace. In 1773 the General As-
sembly of Connecticut sent a commission to Philadelphia to
confer with the Governor and Council upon the claims of the
two colonies, but no satisfactory result was reached. The East-
ern people having formed a settlement on the West Branch at
Muncy, the Proprietaries in 1775 sent Colonel Plunket with a
company of troops against it. Little resistance being offered, he
took the men prisoners and placed them in jail at Sunbury, and
sent the women and children to Wyoming, where many of them
had friends. After this no further attempts were made by
Connecticut to plant her citizens on the West Branch.
During the war of the Revolution the people at Wyoming
passed through fearful sufferings from Indians, the actual loss
of life being probably 300. or one in ten of the inhabitants, ex-
ceeding one-third of the adult male population at the commence-
ment of the struggle. All the United Colonies at the same
ratio would have lost 300,000.
Soon after the contest with Great Britain was virtually closed.
In 1782 Congress, at the request of Pennsylvania and Con-
necticut, appointed a court of five gentlemen from different
states to try the validity of their claims to the territory in dis-
pute. After a session at Trenton, N. J., of 41 days, they ar-
rived at the conclusion that the civil jurisdiction and pre-emption
.belonged to Pennsylvania. To this decision, which was a
GENERAL ANDREW PICKENS 657
source of great surprise to multitudes, Connecticut cheerfully
submitted, though it entailed the loss of a splendid domain,
for which her citizens had been long contending at the cost of
much suffering and great expense. Upon the events which
followed in the subsequent history of Wyoming and which
were of a most stirring and memorable character, time for-
bids us to enter.*
* Ex-governor Henry M. Hoyt has very ably presented the controversy between Con-
necticut and Pennsylvania, in a paper read before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
November 10, 1S79, entitled " Brief of a Title in the Seventeen Townships in the County
of IjUzerne ; A Syllabus of the Controversy between Connecticut and Pennsylvania."
General Andrew Pickens.
BY REV. D. K. TURNER, HARTSVIIvLE, PA.
(Meeting at Sharon, near Newtown, July 21, 1896.)
Among those to whom we are indebted for rescue from the
oppressions of the mother country, was Gen. Andrew Pickens.
He was born in Bucks county, September 13, 1739, and it is
well for the .Bucks County Historical Society to call from
the past, receding and growing more dim, his patriotic ser-
vices, which aided in imparting life to the nation when in its
younger days it was in danger of being overwhelmed by the
tyranny of an unnatural parent. The exact spot that gave him
birth is lost in oblivion, the name of his family not being found
in either the register's or recorder's office of this county. He
was of Huguenot descent, his ancestors having been driven from
France by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which de-
prived them of the privilege of worshiping God in their own
w^ay. They first went to Scotland and after a period, with thou-
sands of others, to the north of Ireland. Even there religious
liberty was denied them by the Ecclesiastics of England, and
after the lapse of a generation or two they came across the
wide Atlantic to Pennsylvania, which was opened by Penn as a
refuge for the persecuted and oppressed of all nations.
In this colony they remained till about 1745 or 1750, when
Andrew's father was attracted by reports of the fertility and
beauty of the valley of Virginia. Gathering into an available
form his limited means, he took his young family in a rude wagon
or on horseback through the wilderness to the neighborhood of
the Shenandoah river, and located not far from where the town
of Staunton was afterwards built. But his stay there was tem-
658 GENERAL ANDREW PICKENS
porary. In 1752 he removed still further to the Southwest,
to the vicinity of the Waxhaws in South Carolina, where land was
cheap and likely to increase in value. The region was thinly
settled. Large tracts were covered with the virgin forests.
Game was then abundant, and Andrew, then a boy of 13 years,
became expert in the use of firearms, and an accomplished
horseman. He grew up to be above the medium height, and
his frame was strong, well knit and capable of enduring great
fatigue. Schools were few and widely scattered, and his means.
of education were limited. His knowledge of books was meagre,,
but he was endowed with a vigorous mind and possessed much
shrewdness, sagacity and decision of character.
When the war between England and France occurred, in
which this country was largely involved for a number of years
previous to 1763, the Indians of South Carolina, Florida and
Georgia were allies of the French. In 1761 the settlement of
Long Cane was surprised by the Cherokees and well nigh ex-
terminated ; some escaped, but a large number of men were
butchered or put to death by torture, and women and children
carried away into slavery. Fort Loudon, also in the moun-
tainous regions of North Carolina, though it was surrendered
to the savages by capitulation and ought to have been honorably
treated, yet met with the same dreadful fate. In consequence
of these and similar atrocities Lieut. Colonel Grant was sent
against them with a considerable body of soldiers and among
the officers was Pickens. The villages of the red-men were
captured and burned, and the warriors driven into the recesses-
of the Alleghenies. Fiancis Marion, afterwards General, was a
volunteer in this expedition, and the two were here associated
in a subordinate capacity, as they were during the Revolution
in higher stations. In these successful struggles with the wily
inhabitants of the forests Pickens formed habits of daring,
watchfulness and endurance, and acquired a knowledge of the
art of war which fitted him for the wider theatre of conflict
with the hosts of Britain.
Among those who were fortunate enough to escape from Long
Cane when it was sacked and burned by the aborigines was
Ezekiel Calhoun. He made his way through the woods to the
Waxhaws, Lancaster countv, where Pickens resided, and the
GENERAL ANDREW PICKENS 659
latter soon became acquainted with the family. He had a lovelv
daughter, Rebecca, a noted beauty, one of the belles of that re-
gion of country. It was natural that Andrew should be inter-
ested in the fair maid. Her estimable quahties won his ad-
miration and his heart, and in due time he led her, a wilhng
captive, to Hymen's altar. The wedding was one of the most
"brilliant social events of the time in that part of the State.
For much valuable information in regard to the private life
of Gen. Pickens I am indebted to John F. Calhoun, Esq., of
Clemson College, S. C, from whom I received the following:
"In an old book of William Calhoun, Esq., an uncle of Mrs. Pickens,
beginning in 1762, in his own writing, are records of several marriages,
which ceremonies tradition says he performed, being justice of the peace,
and ministers in those days were not always available. Among these mar-
riages are two Pickens. 'Andrew Pickens and Rebecca Calhound were
-married ye 19th day of March, A. D. 1765. William Bole and Margaret
Pickens were married ye 7th day of January, in ye year of our Lord,
1766.' "
One of Rebecca's brothers was Hon. John Ewing Calhoun,
who was a member of the U. S. Senate from South Carolina,
and died in 1801 soon after the commencement of his term in
that high office. Hon. John C. Calhoun, the eminent statesman
and advocate of the rights of the several states of a later period,
was the son of Patrick Calhoun, a brother of Mrs. Pickens. He
was her nephew, and was doubly related to her, as he married
her niece, the daughter of Senator John Ewing Calhoun, his
first cousin.
When peace was declared between England and France, in
1763, Mr. Calhoun, father-in-law of Andrew Pickens returned
to his home at Long Cane, which was in the southwestern part
of South Carolina, near where Abbeville now stands, the Indians
having retreated to their former haunts in Georgia. The next
year, 1764, Andrew followed his wife's relatives and located
permanently in the district, which was noted as the birthplace,
18 years later, of his nephew, the great nullifier. Here the
young planter and soldier engaged in agriculture and saw a
large number of "olive plants grow up round his table," while
the course of the British Parliament toward the American
Colonies was gradually exhausting the patience of the people.
66o GENERAL ANDREW PICKENS
and preparing them to demand their freedom, though they should
be compelled to enforce their claim in the stern tones of war.
Captain Pickens was opposed to the harsh and unjust measures
of the government across the Atlantic. Taxation levied against
their will upon those who had no voice in the legislation that
imposed it, was in his view tyrannical and ought to be resisted.
His opinions on the subject were not entertained by all his
neighbors. Indeed many of them were warmly attached to the
crown, and shrank with aversion from resistance to its behests.
Men on both sides of the question formed themselves into mili-
tary companies. The matter was not only discussed with acri-
mony and bitter party strife, but warfare raged between troops
composed of those who lived in the same districts and were
intimately acquainted. In no other part of the original thirteen
states did this peculiarity exist to the same extent. In most
other sections of the confederation the great majority of the
people were united in their desire for independence. But in
the Southeast many clung to the authority their ancestors had
obeyed and took pride in defending it by the sacrifice of their
time, their substance and their blood.
The principal citizens of Charleston favored Congress, as
they often differed on fiscal measures with the Governor ap-
pointed by Parliament. A considerable proportion of the plant-
ers in the interior, however, were either lukewarm or adhered
to the King, and it was in the highest degree important that
they should be induced to cast their lot with the advocates of
freedom.
In 1775 the Council of Safety selected Hon. William Henry
Drayton and Rev. William Tennent, a grandson of Rev. Wil-
liam Tennent. founder of Log College, to repair to the western
districts of the colony, explain the causes of the dispute between
America and England, and persuade the undecided to join the
patriots. Before the delegation reached the scene of their ef-
forts, some of the most fervent loyalists went through the region
and stirred up their friends and sympathizers to new zeal and
activity for the monarchy, and it was for a time doubtful whether
the commissioners would not be compelled to retire unheard and
unhonored. At this juncture Captain Pickens took a bold stand
for his native land. He was widely known and greatly re-
GENERAL ANDREW PICKENS 66l
spected throughout the Southeast, and possessed the confidence
of all classes. As soon as his voice was lifted against royal
usurpations, the delegates were more cordially received, their
addresses were listened to, and multitudes were won from apathy
or hostility to the flag of the free.
About this time he erected a block house near his own resi-
dence not merely for the protection of his own family, but as a
place of refuge for the inhabitants when attacked by hostile
bands, and many gathered there in seasons of alarm. It proved
to be a centre, to which patriots resorted for consultation on
plans for the common welfare, and from which they went forth
armed to resist invasion.
During four years after the Declaration of Independence Capt.
Pickens was often engaged in fighting with Indians and loyalists,
who co-operated with British forces, and was unshaken in his
attachment to the Union amid the most aggravating and des-
perate warfare. Even before that event he had unsheathed his
sword, for he was in the first battle of Ninety-six, November,
1775, a conflict seldom referred to. Col. Andrew Williamson,
commander of the Whigs, had five hundred men in a block-
fort, and was besieged by Col. Joseph Robinson, who was at the
head of 2,000 British. The numerical advantage was so largely
on the side of the latter, that the fort was obliged to capitulate
after a brave defense of three days. The Americans lost one
killed and eleven wounded, and the British thirty killed and fif-
teen wounded. Captain Pickens was one of those who were se-
lected to arrange the terms of surrender, and they were faith-
fully observed by the Americans, but with their usual Punic
treachery were violated by the British.
In 1777 Captain Pickens was appointed colonel and assigned
to the command of a regiment. In 1779 the Council of Safety
in South Carolina raised two regiments for the defense of the
State. Candidates for colonel were Robert Cunningham, James
Mayson and Moses Kirkland. Mayson was the favored appli-
cant, when the others, stung with disappointment and jealousy,
went over to the Tories. United with many sympathizers they
assembled 700 men, lifted the royal colors, and gave the com-
mand to Colonel Boyd. Colonel Pickens, prompt to seize every
favorable opportunity, soon attacked him and forced him to
<362 GENERAL ANDREW PICKENS
retreat. Colonel Dooly with lOO patriots from Georgia now
joined Pickens and yielded to him the direction of the whole
body, amounting to 400. Thus strengthened they pursued Boyd
rapidly and overtook him on the banks of Kettle creek in Georgia.
The enemy had just shot down some beeves and were about to
enjoy themselves with better fare than usual. Col. Pickens
divided his forces into three parts, for Col. Dooly, Col. Clarke
and himself, and moved to the onset without delay. The Tories
were taken somewhat by surprise. Their leader, Boyd, was
shot early in the action. His troops gave way before the im-
petuous onslaught of the ardent friends of liberty, fell back
through masses of cane, and plunged through the creek to the
opposite bank. Here they rallied on rising ground, and fought
desperately. But Pickens urged his soldiers on with irresistible
resolution and gained a complete victory. Not more than 300
of the 700 arrayed against him reached Augusta. This engage-
ment at Kettle creek, though the number of forces was not large,
had a most important effect upon the state of feeling in the
country. It was a staggering blow to the Tories and subse-
quently their sun ceased to be in the ascendant. Before it they
had been elated with the idea, that their cause was sure to
triumph. After it they began to suspect that the red coats were
not invincible and to hesitate about joining their ranks.
Col. Pickens was with Gen. Lincoln at the battle of Stone
Ferry, ten miles from Charleston, in 1779, and had his horse
killed under him. With Marion and Sumpter he repeatedly
opposed Col. Tarleton's brigade and other bodies of British
and Royalists, often with success, though the enemy had been
heavily reinforced from England. After the American army re-
treated from Camden towards the North their jubilant adver-
saries claimed that the rebellious Carolinas were subdued. But
the spirit of most of the people w^as unconquered, and the
cruelties and bad faith of Cornwallis and his officers exasperated
the patriots to the highest degree. The English assumed that
the South was vanquished, because they held Charleston and
some other towns, and regarded all that approved the Federal
government as rebels, guilty of treason and deserving death,
who were to be shot wherever found, and their houses rifled
and consumed. They ravaged and destroyed plantations, carried
GENKRAL ANDREW PICKENS 663
off the inhabitants prisoners and made no account of violating-
their most sacred promises.
Major Wilham Cunningham collected some Lx)yalists and
went far to the westward of American forces where he could
not be readily interfered with and laid waste everything within
his reach. Not content with the fiendish work by day, he visited
houses at night and subjected their inmates to treatment worthy
only of savages. Capt. Turner, a Union man, held possession
of a house with twenty armed followers and bravely defended
it till their ammunition was exhausted, when they surrendered,
on assurance that they should be used honorably as prisoners of
war. No sooner was this done than they were butchered in cold
blood. Soon after the same gang attacked a small body of
Federal mihtia in the district of Ninety-six. The house in which
they made their headquarters was set on fire, and they were
under the necessity of yielding to superior numbers, when Col.
Hayes and Capt. Daniel Williams were hung to the pole of a
haystack. This broke and let them fall to the ground. Cun-
ningham, in a fit of rage, hacked them and others to pieces with
his sword until he was tired, and then told his men to kill every
one they wished. Fourteen were slaughtered in this way, while
but two fell in action.
These are only specimens of a course which was pursued by
the minions of the King for several years, and instead of quench-
ing the flame of liberty it fanned it to more intense heat. Lovers
of freedom and friends of the national welfare flocked to the
standard of Independence and were fortified in their determina-
tion never to abandon the contest till those who practice in-
justice, cruelty and tyranny were driven from their shores.
In 1779 Col. Pickens and a small band of militia were at-
tacked at Tomasse by Cherokees, who were ten times their
number. The savages fought desperately with the tomahawk
and rifle four hours. But the colonel directed his men to re-
serve their fire till the red-skins were within twenty-five yards,
to lie low in the grass, and rise to discharge their pieces two at a
time, and to take accurate aim. Nearly every shot took effect,
and the dark-eyed foe was stunned and set back by their con-
stant loses in rapid succession, till they lost heart and fled. Had
664 GENERAL ANDREW PICKENS
not Pickens met them with shrewdness and cool courage superior
to their own, his whole company would have been scalped.
In consequence of the larger numbers and splendid equipment
of the British the American General Morgan in 1781 retreated
to the edge of North Carolina. Near an enclosure, which was
used for collecting and marketing cattle of different owners, he
was overtaken by Col. Tarleton, and the battle of the Cowpens,
as it was called, took place. In this engagement Col. Pickens
commanded the volunteers from Georgia and the Carolinas, who
constituted a majority of all the patriotic troops present. Gen.
Morgan, sensible of his own numerical inferiority and of the
important advantage, which artillery gave the enemy, was at
first inclined to avoid fighting. Many of his officers likewise
urged him to retire before almost certain disaster. But Col.
Pickens said the retreat had continued long enough. Something
must be done to encourage the soldiers and patriotic citizens.
It was expedient in his opinion that they should fight, for its
moral effect upon the nation. His view at length prevailed. With
more than 400 militia he was posted in advance to meet the on-
set of the foe. Col. Howard with 300 Continentals formed
the second line some distance back; and Lieut. Col. Washington
with about 100 dragoons was in the rear out of sight, as a re-
serve. Pickens ordered his men not to fire till the British were
within forty or fifty feet of them. Tarleton was at the head of
1,100 regular troops, who were confident of an easy victory.
They rushed forward, as soon as they came near, with shouts,
but were received with so heavy and well directed a fire from
the volunteers, that they hesitated, but soon pressed on, and
forced Pickens' men to retreat ; which they did in good order
and reformed on the right. Col. Howard had to fall back
likewise ; when Col. Washington dashed up to the rescue with
his cavalry, and stayed the advance of the enemy. Howard
rallied his light infantry and turned upon the British, who
supposed the day was already won, with fixed bayonets. Just at
this point of time, when victory seemed wavering in the balance,
Col- Pickens brought to the charge his militia, who a second time
poured a storm of leaden hail upon the foe; this changed their
bright expectations into dismay ; they broke and fled. Coming
to 250 English cavalry, who had not been engaged, they com-
GENKRAIv ANDREW PICKe;NS 665
municated a panic to them and they disappeared in the distance.
Confusion and terror seized the ranks of the discomfited in-
fantry, and when assured that if they would surrender they
should be well treated, they laid down their arms. One battalion
and two light infantry companies gave up their colors to Col.
Pickens and his militia. More than 300 of the British were
killed and 500 taken prisoners. Two cannons and a large num-
ber of muskets, horses and baggage wagons fell into the hands
of the Americans. This victory was snatched, as it were, from
the jaws of defeat, largely by the coolness of Pickens and his
men, who reformed their disordered columns, in the midst of
an engagement, and renewed the contest, after being compelled
to retreat, a thing which was unexampled with militia before
in the history of the war. For His noble conduct on this occa-
sion Congress voted to Col. Pickens a handsome sword, and he
was commissioned Brigadier General by Governor Rutledge.
David Ramsey, in his work on the Revolution, remarks, that
the repulse of Tarleton at Cowpens "did more essential injury
to the British interest than was equivalent to all the preceding
advantages he had gained."
In September, 1781, Gen. Pickens with Marion commanded
the militia at the battle of Eutaw Springs. The field was hotly
contested for four hours, and Pickens was severely wounded
in the breast. His life was preserved by the bullet striking
the buckle of his sword belt, and he was caught as he fell by an
officer of the Maryland line.
The same year by the enterprise of Marion, Sumpter, Pickens,
Morgan and others, the British, who had for a time overrun
large portions of the Carolinas, were forced back toward the
sea coast, and held no important post except Ninety-six and Au-
gusta. The latter place — Augusta — was under the surveillance
of Gen. Pickens and Col. Clarke with militia. On the 20th of
May they were joined by Lieut. Col. Lee, when operations were
commenced against the fortifications. One after another the
outworks were taken, and in two weeks the garrison of 300
capitulated. They were honorably treated, though their com-
mander, Col. Brown, had himself hanged thirteen American
prisoners, and given over citizens of Georgia to the Cherokees
to be tortured to death with fiendish cruelty. He was sent to
666 GENERAL ANDREW PICKENS
Savannah for detention, and would perhaps have been shot on
the way by persons enraged at his inhumanity, if he had not
been protected by an armed escort furnished by Gen. Pickens.
At the siege of Ninety-six, Joseph Pickens, a brother of
the General, commanded a company, and was fatally wounded,
as he was reconnoitering the fort. Another brother, taken
prisoner by the Tories, was given over to the Indians, who
scalped and tortured him for their amusement, as they were
going through their hideous dances, many of the Tories being
present.
Col. Tarleton was at one time scouring through the interior
of South Carolina, when he was pursued by General Pickens
and Col. Lee, who came upon a separate body of 350 of his men.
The latter, not knowing that Americans were in that vicinity,
mistook them for royalists, and as they were being cut to pieces
by a heavy fire, cried out, "God save the King!" but soon dis-
covered their error, and were all killed, wounded or made
prisoners.
Loyalists incited the Indians of Georgia to act with the British
and commit outrages on the scattered settlements of the fron-
tier. To put an end to their depredations. General Pickens
gathered 400 militia, had them mounted on horseback, and sup-
plied with pistols and short sabres made by the blacksmiths of
the country. Advancing into the forests and everglades, where
the savages lived, he destroyed thirteen of their towns, slew 40 of
them and took 50 prisoners. So well were his measures taken,
that not one of his own men was killed, only 2 were wounded,
and he did not expend three pounds of ammunition. The red-
men not being thoroughly subdued, he made a similar expedition
against them in 1782 with like success. It was not his prefer-
ence to make forays against Indian towns. He was naturally
human and justified himself in his course by the necessity of de-
fending the lives and property of his countrymen. The fierce
warriors of the wilderness must realize the valor and courage of
their white neighbors, and the danger of lifting the rifle and
tomahawk against them. When this lesson was thoroughly
taught them, by Gen. Pickens and his followers, they became
peaceable. He was one of the commissioners appointed to con-
clude a treaty, which was made with them at Hopewell, the
GENERAL, ANDREW PICKENS 667
place where he resided, and through which largely by his in-
fluence, a wide tract, containing the counties of Pickens, named
for him, Anderson, Greenville, and Ocones was ceded to South
Carolina. Rev. Dr. Geo. Howe in his history of the Presby-
terian Church in South Carolina, speaking of this treaty, says,,
that "four tribes, Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws and Chickasaws,
encamped around the old general, each having a separate en-
campment." They highly esteemed the hero as a brave enemy,,
whose hostility was to be feared, and on whose honesty, justice,,
wisdom and integrity they could rely when he was their friend.
They called him Long Knife. During Washington's administra-
tion the President requested him to come to Philadelphia that he
might consult with him upon proper measures for the civili-
zation of the Southern Indians. In 1794 he was appointed
major general of the militia of his State, which had been newly
organized. He was also one of the commission instituted to
determine the boundary between South Carolina and Georgia,
and was employed in all the negotiations with the Southern
natives till he retired from public. A member of the Legis-
lature repeatedly, he was elected to the convention at which
was framed the State Constitution. In 1794 he was chosen a
member of Congress, but declined a re-election and subsequently
served again several terms in the Legislature.
In a private letter, which I received yesterday from L. M.
Pickens, Esq., of Elberton. Ga., a great-grandson of General
Pickens, is the following in regard to the journey of his ancestor
to Philadelphia when he went to Congress :
"At that time there were neither railroads nor stage coaches ; all travel-
ing was done on horseback. Picture then to yourself a man, who is ap-
proaching his three score years, of martial figure and dignified demeanor,
mounted on a spirited milk white Andalusian, whip in hand and holsters
filled with a brace of pistols, the silver mountings of which glittered in the
sunlight. A three-cornered hat, from beneath which was silver-gray hair,
put smoothly back and tied in a queue, an undress military coat, rufifled
shirt and fine top boots with massive silver spurs. Following at a little
distance on a stout draft horse is his African attendant, Pompey, in livery
of blue with scarlet facings, carrying a ponderous portmanteau, with a
consequential and dignified air, showing in every movement the pride of
a body servant of his revered master. Paint this in your mind's eye and
you have before you a gentleman of the i8th century with his servant on
his way to Congress. Such was General Andrew Pickens as he passed
through our village in 1794."
668 GENERAIv ANDREW PICKENS
When the War of 1812 between the United States and Great
Britain was about to commence his fellow citizens requested him
to be a candidate for election as Governor, but he declined,
saying that the office ought to be in younger hands than his.
General Pickens was a member and elder and one of the
founders in 1797 of the Presbyterian church of Hopewell, near
the residence in which he lived many years, and continued in
the eldership till his death, having been a firm believer in the
Christian religion from his youth.
In person he was tall, erect and powerfully built, and uni-
formly enjoyed good health. His features were strongly mark-
ed, but suffused with the light of an able mind and a benevolent
heart. In planning military movements he was cautious, shrewd
and sagacious ; in camp, watchful and rigid in discipline, and
in battle, cool, prompt and fearless. S. M. Pickens, Esq., says.
"He was one of the few officers who never drew a cent of pay
for his Revolutionary services, as the roll of the comptroller's
office shows." He also states that "the General held the first
county court, that sat under the new laws near Abbeville
court-house, and his son. Gov. Andrew Pickens, then a boy of
five years old, drew the first jury."
The general had a large family of five or six daughters and
three or four sons. One of his sons, Andrew, held a commission
as colonel in the U. S. Army in 1812, and in 1816 was elected
Governor of South Carolina. A son of the latter, Francis K.
Pickens, was a member of Congress ten years, appointed Min-
ister to Russia by President Buchanan, and just before the late
war with the South was chosen Governor of South Carolina.
In the last part of his life General Pickens moved from the
vicinity of Abbeville eighteen or twenty miles northwest toward
the frontier, where he had a large, commodious mansion, which
he called "Tomassee," a name borrowed from the Indians.
Possessed of a handsome property and a fair income he desired
nothing more. His home was always the seat of abundant hos-
pitality, and he was visited almost constantly by relatives, friends
and acquaintances, and by distinguished strangers from a dis-
tance. His death occurred August 11, 1817, in the 78th year of
his age, and his remains were carried to the graveyard of the
stone church of Hopewell, near his former residence, and laid
Ge;nERAL ANDREW PICKENS 669
Ibeside those of his beloved, honored and devoted wife, who had
passed away a few years previously. He was one of those
noble soldiers and enlightened patriots, of whom Bucks county
.may well be proud to have it said, "That man was born here."
It is not exactly germane to the subject of this paper, but it
may not be amiss to mention that John F. Calhoun, Esq., of Fort
Hill, S. C, in one of the letters I have received from him, says :
"I have had a gavel made for the use of the National Democratic Con-
vention, which will assemble to-morrow (two weeks ago). The body of
the gavel is red cedar from a tree that grew in the yard near the man-
sion of John C. Calhoiun, in which I am now residing. This cedar is
very ingeniously and beautifully inlaid with eighteen different varieties of
wood. These with the handle make twenty varieties of wood all grown
at Fort Hill, the old home of John C. Calhoun. A silver plate is attached,
on which is engraved, 'From the home of John C. Calhoun.' After the
adjournment of the convention the gavel is to be presented to the Presi-
•dential nominee of the party."
Whether the gavel was used as designed I have not been
informed.
Old Doylestown.
BY MISS MARY L. DUBOIS, DOYLESTOWN, PA.
(Doylestown Mteting, January i6, 1900.)
In the many drawers and recesses of an old secretary, in an
old attic, there reposed, for many years in undisturbed security,
divers manuscripts, old letters, and ancient books, until the craze
for antiques brought the feeble old secretary into new impor-
tance and it was dragged from its hiding place under the eaves,
to be made fit for the place of honor in the living room of a
member of the family. Such a displacement of old papers made
a culling process necessary and many words of wit and wisdom,
we may suppose, went up in smoke and were reduced to ashes.
Among the survivors, however, were a minute-book of an old
literary society called the "Social Dozen" and parts of an original
essay entitled "Old Doylestown."
The minute-book contains the constitution, by-laws and list
of charter members of the "Social Dozen," organized Tliursday
evening, December 14, 1820, "having for its object the improve-
ment of the members in debate and other useful attainments."
The original "Social Dozen" were : Robert Bethel, Jr., Hen-
ry Chapman, Charles E. DuBois, E. T. McDowell, Aaron Oak-
ford, John Wilkinson, Gilbert Rodman, Jr., George W. Smith,
Benjamin W. Taylor, Campbell Meredith, Alfred M. Magill and
Charles Eastburn.
One of the by-laws states that "any person refusing to per-
form the duties of his appointment shall be fined in the sum
of six and a quarter cents." There is a list of sixty-one topics
for debate given.
The following original essay, written in 1822 for the "Social
Dozen," by Charles E. DuBois, Esq.,* was found and copied in
1898; some of the pages are missing and the essay is therefore
not complete. It is entitled,
* Charles E. DuBois was born July i6, 1799, and died in 1867.
OLD DOYLESTOWN 67I
OLD DOYLESTOWN.
"It is exceedingly to be regretted that the history of the original inhabi-
tants of the village of Doylestown is involved in such impenetrable
obscurity. Tradition has been very remiss in handing down to us the
manners and customs, the temper and pursuits of our predecessors. In
order to fill up the chasm made in our history by the ravages of time we
must occasionally resort to imagination, a very accommodating expedient
and one frequently applied to by historians. You must then in the first
place fancy you behold a tavern, store and blacksmith shop, the indis-
pensable requisites, without which no place can be entitled to a name. We
must again tax your imagination to behold the storekeeper and the black-
smith, whose names are unfortunately unknown, seated around the stove
in the bar-room of the tavern where entertainment could be had for man
as well as beast. The landlord whose name was Doyle was a jovial soul
.and loved his glass as landlords usually do. They sat discoursing upon
"vario'us topics till at length the inn-keeper overcome by the heat of the
rstove or the heat of the apple-jack (it matters not which) reclines upon
the bench and falls into a sound sleep, the fumes of the liquor ascending
to his brains, excite very exhilarating ideas, he is observed occasionally
to grin and work his lips as though something very important was brew
ing within, finally his slumbers were broken, he jumps upon his feet, stares
around him as if doubting whether he were asleep or awake. His guests
inquire the result of his sleeping moments, he refused to disclose to them,
seemed quite absorbed in thought and totally disinclined to take part in the
conversation. The storekeeper and smith observing this unusual behavior
in the landlord took their departure. A few evenings after the same party
met again around the social bowl under the influence of which the old
landlord's lips were open to tell his wonderful dream. I dreamed, he
says, that this miserable log tenement began to expand until it was
transformed into an elegant two-story stone building, this thatch roof
above was superseded by smooth cedar shingles, these small rooms were
changed in the twinkling of an eye into stately halls and dining rooms,
etc. I looked out my window and beheld in place of my smoke-house an
elegant dwelling, my pig-pen was converted into a printing office. I
stepped out of my door to go to my woods but mark my surprise when
I found no woods, but in its place a large stone building with a steeple
on its roof ; I beheld a number of people passing in and out, some wear-
ing faces of anxiety and disappointment, and some with countenances
beaming with joy. A little further on I beheld a building surrounded
(ij^ OLD DOYLESTOWN
with a high wall and the window secured with grates. * * * f^e
dream of the landlord seemed to have aroused the ambition of his audi-
tors, for we next find them at a called meeting, considering a name
for the town. At the day appointed the storekeeper, blacksmith and
several of the neighboring farmers assembled at the tavern, the latter as
they were not particularly interested, did not presume to interfere, but
sat as silent spectators of the scene ; how different the present generation
in that respect. The meeting was organized by calling the tavern-keeper
to the chair and appointing the storekeeper secretary. After taking a
small glass of apple-jack apiece to give them confidence they proceeded to
business. The chairman stated the object of the meeting by reading the
advertisement and concluded by making a few appropriate remarks upon
the necessity of having some name attached to the place, which would, he
said, elevate it in point of importance to a rank with other villages, and
another particular reason why he wished it to have a legitimate name was
that he was tired of having his tavern go by the name of "The Log
Tavern." The smith then rose, all eyes were upon him, the poor fellow not
being used to speech, nor being a gazing stock, in his utter confusion,
raised his brawny arm, thinking that he was to make a horse-shoe instead
of a speech, struck it violently on the stand, upset it and broke all the
mugs. The laughter of the by-standers was excessive, the orator seemed
as if he would have sank into the earth so great was his embarrassment,
no doubt swearing in his sleeve that that would be the last speech he
would attempt to make. The accident upon the whole was very favorable
to the tavern-keeper, for the blacksmith was at heart very much opposed
to the proceeding as he was convinced it was a scheme got up by the
landlord for the purpose of redeeming his tavern from the nickname it
had acquired, and as he was a plain unostentatious kind of a man he dis-
approved of anything which savoured of pomp. The storekeeper then
arose and was rather more successful in his debut ; he was friendly to the
object of the meeting for various reasons, some of them having been re-
peated, the rest not worthy of repetition. The question was then put to
the sense of the meeting whether the place be named or not, it was car-
ried in the affirmative two to one. Several names were then proposed,
among them those of the tavern-keeper and storekeeper and here a serious
difficulty arose for they were both anxious that the town should bear
their name and as the smith refused to take any lot or part in the matter
the decision of the dispute was therefore very difficult to be made, and in
their warmth they had well nigh proceeded to the "argumentum bacu-
OLD DOYLESTOWN 673
linum," a convincing argument in the arms of the strong; but the store-
keeper reflecting that it was his interest to keep on good terms with the
innkeeper who dealt at his store, and who was his principal customer,
yielded the point and consented that the place be called Doylestown. The
proceedings of the meeting were ordered to be drawn off by the secretary,
and three copies to be made and affixed to the three dwellings in the place.
From this memorable era we may date the rapid advancement and in-
crease of the place. Shortly after were seen to spring up, where weeds
and brush heaps had long held their sway, shoemakers, hatters and tailor
shops, elegant stone houses and in due process of time another tavern, in
short everj'thing seemed to prognosticate the future greatness of the
village.
In our last chapter we concluded by remarking that the village of
Doylestown began to wax exceedingly great, everything seemed to^ go on
swimmingly and smoothly, and every person attended to his own busi-
ness and prospered by it, but such a state of society can not last long;
man is a restless animal and a state of tranquility is inimical to his natural
disposition as an illustration or evidence of which assertion the following
incident is related. The Doylestownians after a lapse of several years of
internal peace and domestic quietness began to show symptoms of uneasi-
ness, they were seen to^ neglect their business and frequent the taverns
rather more than was commendable ; a debating club was got up, one of
the worst associations entered into by Christian people, being a source of
dissension, discord and uproar, especially among men who are more accus-
tomed to- manual than mental pursuits for if their arguments are not at-
tended with immediate conviction they are very apt to resort to a never
failing argument (and which this kind of citizen is most conversant and
proficient in) viz., a knock down argument, or to speak more classically an
"argumentum palmarium." Most philosophical and problematical ques-
tions were resolved in this debating club to the great satisfaction of all the
members, the correctness of which decisions have never since been ques-
tioned by any. One of the questions debated and which occupied three
nights for the discussion thereof, and caused many a sleepless night and
hard intellectual labor for the members, is as follows : Query — "Whether
the hen that lays the egg, or the hen that hatches the chicken is the mother
of the chicken." This question was debated with all the fervor, zeal, ani-
mosity, with dexterity of wit, which characterizes members of polemic in-
674 OLD DOYLESTOWN
stitutions. Much argumentative talent was displayed and much profound
philosophical learning and deep research, the component parts of egg, its
qualities, attributes, the different transmutations the egg undergoes whilst
under the operation of incubation, were all decanted and dwelt upon with
much ingenuity and scientific knowledge. The question was eventually de-
cided according to the latter proposition, viz. : that the hen which hatches
the chicken is the mother thereof. Those who advocated the contrary
doctrine moved for a rehearing and rediscussion for several reasons, the
most important and prominent of which was, that if this decision prevail-
ed no hen could be induced to lay an egg if she was not considered the
mother. Consequently it would be productive of great evil to mankind as
they would not be able to procure an egg wherewithal to clear their coffee,
besides being deprived of the pleasure of eating this most palatable of all
foods. The motion for a new trial was overruled. The minds of the
people were in this agitated and contentious mood (owing to the influence
of the debating club) when a proposition was started by some unlucky
choleric wight that an almshouse be erected for the support and main-
tenance of the poor in the county, as the method of each township sup-
porting its own paupers was found inconvenient and burdensome. The
thing was circulated throughout the county by means of the newspapers ;
meetings were held, resolutions formed according to the usual routine and
custom of such assemblies, and at length it was concluded that an alms-
house be erected and that committees be elected for the purpose of fixing
upon a site whereon to put the same. Now gloomy Mars was seen to rear
his bloody crest and instigate the peaceful inhabitants of Doylestown and
its vicinity to a war oi angry words and bitter maledictions. Now was the
factitious politician seen to bend his course to the poultry yard and seizing
the gray goose, pluck from his wing his shining quill and convert it into
a weapon of warfare, the long neglected arid inkhorn was replenished
with the venomous liquid of animosity, and the fair unsullied sheet
was blackened with
"The obvious satire, the implied dislike.
The taunting word whose meaning kills."
The cause of this preparation for war may easily be divined. Every man
wished the almshouse to be stationed on his property and as it was im-
possible that all should be gratified in a very disinterested manner and for
the public good which they had at heart, all fell to and endeavored to dis-
parage the land of his competitors. The place on which the almshouse
OLD DOYLESTOWN 675
is erected was the object of general defamation. It was stigmatized as a
poor, shelly, barren tract of land whereon nothing would grow but whor-
tle berry bushes and noxious weed called cinque foil, or five fingers, that
there was a great defection of water and what there was was filled with
a kind of water lice and other ofifensive reptiles. The partisans of the
Rodman farm, as it was then called, denied the charges of lousy water,
etc., and to rebut the allegations invented and prepared an irresistible in-
strument of warfare, one that I believe the ancients were totally unac-
quainted with, far superior to their battering rams. This instrument
which is denominated an affidavit, they hurled with overwhelming impetus
against their adversaries, and had well nigh overset them when they were
seized with a panic and were about retreating from the contest when one
of the oppositionists after having minutely examined these torpedoes of
destruction declared it to be his firm opinion that they could frame an
affidavit equal, if not superior to, that of the Rodmanites. The sugges-
tion was unanimously approved of and covinter affidavits were made which
were far more effectual than those of the first impression. After they had
played upon each other with these rockets the Rodman party prevailed
and the site for the almshouse was fixed upon the Rodman farm, the ani-
malculean water to the contrary notwithstanding. The almshouse was in
process of time erected and has since been the source of much contention
which will hereafter be particularly recounted. Scarcely had quietness
and tranquility been restored to Doylestown than a new bone of contention
sprung up. About 14 miles distant from Doylestown there was a village
called Newtown, the seat-of-justice of the county. Doylestown about this
period began to rival this town in splendor and threatened some day or
other to eclipse it in greatness and celebrity. The Newtownians beheld
the increasing prosperity of Doylestown with invidious eyes and began to
quake lest the seat-of-justice should be sometime or other removed to
that place, which was not an improbable event, as Doylestown was the
centre of the county and the public buildings in Newtown were in a rather
dilapidated condition ; the Doylestownians had not overlooked these facts
and were not backward in propagating them in the upper end of the
county. These innuendoes which were occasionally thrown out had a
great deal of influence over the N. E., who were principally Germans. At
length they became more bold and the papers began to teem with pieces
showing the necessity of having a new court-house ; this caused a most
bitter and mutual animosity between the two rival villages. Petitions were
circulated praying the Legislature to appoint committees to fix upon a
676 OLD DOYLESTOWN
site for a new court-house and prison. The petition having been sub-
scribed by a number of the influential and leading men of the upper and
central parts of the county were transmitted to the Legislature and it, in
accordance with the request of the petitioners, passed an act authorizing
the Government to appoint three men out of the neighboring counties to
fix upon a site for the public buildings not more than three miles dis-
tant from Bradshaw's Corner, the allowed centre of the county; the scene
was now opening very similar to the one acted whilst the almshouse was
under consideration. There was not a spot of ground within the distance
of three miles from the corner that was not proposed as a site."
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33 West Third St.
IHAZLETON. PENNA.
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