THE HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, CHAPTER XVIII, SOLEBURY, 1703.
from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time by W. W. H. Davis, A.M.,
1876 and 1905* editions..
Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Donna Bluemink.
dbluemink@cox.net
USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and
libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information
is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites
requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other
sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Transcriber's note: Liberty has been taken with numbering footnotes so as
to include all footnotes from both the 1876 and 1905 editions, plus any
additional text and pictures in the 1905 edition. All 1905 material will
be noted with an asterisk.
Note: Where names differ, the 1905 edition spelling is applied.
___________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER XVIII
SOLEBURY
1703
Origin of name unknown. -Buckingham and Solebury one township. -Land
located before 1703. -Early settlers. -Henry Paxson. The Holcombs*.
-The Pellars. -James Pellar Malcolm. -Joseph Pile. -Gilt-edge butter.
-Great Spring tract. -Jacob Holcomb*. -The Blackfans. -Inghams.
-Eastburns. -Jonathan Ingham. -Samuel D. Ingham, resigning from
Jackson's Cabinet. -Andrew Ellicott and his sons. -Richard Townsend.
-John Schofield. -The Elys. - Burleys*. -Rices. -Williams*.
- Hutchinsons. - Neeleys, -General Pike. -The Kenderdines.
-Ruckmans. -John Kugler*. -Roads. -The Sebring grave yard*. -The
villages*. -Lumberville. -Lumberton, formerly Hard Times. -Lumberton*.
-Centre Bridge, originally Reading's ferry. -Carversville. -Milton in 1800.
-Excelsior Normal Institute*. -Post-office established. -Home of Ellicotts.
-Coppernose. -Fine view from top. -The Cuttalossa. -Spring and fountain.
-Kenderdine's verse. -Ruckman's tavern. -Old mine at Neeley's. -Doctor John Wall.
-Doctor Forst. -Friends' meeting school fund. -William. B. Leedom*.
-School fund*. -Charles Smith. Ingham's spring. - Population.
Solebury is washed on its eastern border by the Delaware, and joins the
townships of Plumstead, Buckingham and Upper Makefield. The area is 14,073
acres. The origin of the name is unknown, and we have not been able to
find it in any other part of the world. In 1703 it was written "Soulbury."
The surface is moderately hilly, with a variety of soil, has good building
stone and an abundance of limestone, and is well supplied with small
creeks and numerous springs of good water, the most celebrated of which is
the Aquetong, three miles from New Hope. It abounds in well-cultivated and
productive farms, and its water-power is probably superior to that of any
other township in the county. The great body of the inhabitants are
descendants of English Friends, the first settlers, and in many respects
they retain the leading traits of their ancestors.
We stated, in the previous chapter, that Solebury and Buckingham were
originally one township, but were divided about 1700, the exact time not
being known. The first mention of Solebury that we have met was in 1702,
and it may or may not have been a separate township at that time. These
two townships were settled about the same period, the immigrants reaching
the hills of Solebury through Wrightstown and Buckingham, and by coming up
the Delaware (1).
(1) At the midsummer meeting of the Bucks County Historical Society,
August 8, 1890, an exhaustive paper on the "Early Settlers of Solebury,"
was read by Eastburn Reeder. It embraced 41 tracts, some of them
containing several hundred acres, one as high as 5,000. Among the real
estate holders we find the names of George Pownall, James Logan, Henry
Paxson, John Balderston, William Blackfan, Thomas Ross, Benjamin Canby,
John Simpson, Samuel Eastburn, Randall Blackshaw, Stephen Townsend, James
Pellar and others. The paper was afterward printed in an 8 mo. pamphlet,
making 57 pages with an index and appendix. The latter contains the
marriages that took place at Falls Meeting, Middletown, Buckingham and
elsewhere, where one or both of the parties were resident of Solebury,
from 1686 to 1849. The paper was prepared with great care and gives much
valuable information, obtained from deeds, wills, and the records of
Friends Meetings.
The greater part of the land was taken up before its re-survey by John
Cutler, generally in tracts of considerable size, but it is impossible to
say who was the first purchaser or settler in the township. One of the
earliest was George White, who owned 1,500 acres lying on the Delaware,
who, dying in 1687, left 1,000 acres to his four sons in equal parts. The
farms of William Kitchen and John Walton are on this tract. April 14,
1683, William Penn conveyed 300 acres to one Sypke Ankes, or Spike Ankey,
or Aukey, or dyer of Haalingin, in Friesland, who located it in the
northern part of the township. August 16, 1700 he sold to Renier Jansen,
and he in turn conveyed it to Paul Wolf, a weaver of Germantown, September
1, 1702. In April 1700, 1,000 acres were granted to Thomas Story. He sold
it to Israel Pemberton, but it was surveyed by mistake to Robert Heath,
and the same quantity was given to Pemberton, elsewhere. By warrant of
17th, 7th month, 1700, 300 acres were surveyed to Edmund and Henry Hartly,
part of John Rowland's 500 acre tract granted by Penn. By virtue of a
warrant dated 19th, 11th month, 1701, 300 acres were surveyed to Edmund
and Henry Hartly, part of John Rowland's 500 acre trace granted by Penn.
By virtue of a warrant dated 10th, 11th month, 1701, 450 acres were
surveyed to Thomas Carns, on the Street road, and the same quantity in
Buckingham, and 492 acres to John Scarborough (2). In 1702 500 acres were
granted to James Logan, known as the Great spring (3) tract, joining
Scarborough on the north, and now owned in part by Andrew J. Beaumont, and
500 acres to Randall Blackshaw, part of 1,500 acres to Randall Blackshaw
which Richard Blackshaw bought of James Harrison's 5,000. William Beaks
had a grant of 1,300 acres from William Penn, 580 of which were laid out
in Solebury on both sides of the Cuttalossa (4). At his death, 1702, it
descended to his son Stephen, and by re-survey was found to contain 624
acres. It joined the lands of Edward Hartly, Paul Wolf, Randall Speakman
(5) and William Croasdale. In 1702 Samuel Beaks bought 300 acres, which he
sold to William Chadwick, which next passed to his brother John, then to
Oliver [Jonathan*] Balderston and down to the late owners, of whom W. J.
Jewell and Nathan Ely were two. The remainder of the Beaks tract was
conveyed to William Croasdale, 1703, a son of Thomas, who came from
Yorkshire the same year and was sheriff of the county, 1707. [By the same
survey, Joseph Pike is given two tracts in Solebury, one of376 acres, the
other 624, 1,000 acres in all.*]
(2) Died in 1727.
(3) The Indians called it Acquetong.
(4) "At Quatielassy."
(5) The land was laid out in Speakman's name as "Daniel Smith's
Administrator." The Speakman holding now comprises the lands of the
Blackfans, Elys, and other tracts.
In 1704 Henry Paxson, son of William who settled in Middletown in 1682
and ancestor of the Bucks county Paxsons, bought William Croasdale's 250
acres in Solebury. William Paxson lost his wife, two sons, and a brother
on the passage over, and in 1684 he married Margaret, the widow of William
[Charles*] Plumley of Northampton. In 1707 Henry Paxson bought Jeremiah
Langhorne's tract in Solebury, some of which is still held by the family
(6). Jacob Holcomb [and his brother John, Devonshire, England, born 1670-7
5, came to Penn's Colony about the close of the century, the former
settling in Solebury in the vicinity of the Great spring (7), where he
took up 1,200 acres. He probably took up another tract, as a patent was
issued to him, April 12, 1712, for 500 acres. He was one of the heads of
Buckingham meeting, and died about the middle of the century. He raised a
family of children. John settled in Philadelphia, and married Elizabeth
Woolrich, Abington, and removed to New Jersey, where he purchased a large
tract, on part of which the city of Lambertville is built. The descendants
of John live in New Jersey, and the family is quite numerous in this county.*]
(6) We have two accounts of the Paxsons, one that they came from
Bycothouse, Oxfordshire, the other that they came from Buckinghamshire.
(7) There is a tradition that this is the birthplace of Tedyuscung.
Thomas Canby was an original settler, whose eleven daughters, by two
wives, left numerous descendants. Esther, who was born April 1, 1700, and
married John White, became an eminent minister among Friends. She traveled
extensively in this country, and went to England in 1743. Tradition tells
the story that on one occasion Lydia, the youngest daughter of Thomas
Canby, a small but active child, mounted the black stallion of Thomas
Watson, while he was on a visit to her father. A noise called them to the
door, when they saw the girl astride the horse, with his head turned
toward home. Mr. Watson exclaimed, "the poor child will be killed," to
which Canby replied,"if thee will risk thy horse, I will risk my child."
The horse and child reached Mr. Watson's, near Bushington, he white with
foam, but gentle, when Lydia turned his head and rode back to her
father's. She died at the age of 101 years. The old cedar tree in the
lower part of the Buckingham graveyard was planted by her at the grave of
one of her children.
James Pellar, whose family name is extinct in the county, of Bristol,
England, was one of the earliest settlers in Solebury. Several hundred
acres, included in the farms of John Ruckman, John Gilbert, Frederick
Pearson, and John Betts, were surveyed to him on the upper York and
Carversville roads, on which he built a dwelling in 1689. It was torn down
in 1793. His son James was a conspicuous character in Bucks county. He was
a great lover of poetry, had a wonderful memory and was exceedingly
entertaining. Franklin admired and esteemed him, and spoke of him as a
"walking library." He was the friend and companion of John Watson, the
surveyor, who said that he had never seen any other man that could "speak
so well to a subject that he did not understand." He repeated John
Watson's poetry on all occasions. He was a large, slovenly man, in dress,
habits, and about his farm. He carried Watson's chain, and died February
16, 1806, at the age of seventy-seven. His father, who was born in 1700
and died in 1775, became an Episcopalian. On the female side the families
of Betts, Reynolds and Wilkinson are among the descendants of James Pellar
the first. James Pellar Malcolm, an English artist of celebrity, was a
grandson of James Pellar. His father was a Scotchman who went to the West
Indies, and then came to Philadelphia where he met and married Miss
Pellar, and died. His son was born in August 1767. His mother resided at
Pottstown during the Revolution war, where her son was partially educated,
but returned to Philadelphia in 1784. They went to England, where he
studied three years at the Royal academy, and became distinguished.
Malcolm visited his mother's relatives in this county about 1806, and was
gratified to find numerous rich farmers among the Pellar descendants. He
died at Somertown, England, April 15, 1815, at which time his mother was
about seventy-two. John Letch, who had the reputation of being a most
monstrous eater, was the friend and associate of the Pellars. Mince pies
were his favorite diet. On one occasion, when indulging his passion at
Robert Eastburn's, near Centre Hill, whose wife was celebrated for her
hospitality and turn-over minces, Mrs. Eastburn expressed fear lest he
should hurt himself, but the incorrigible feeder said if she would risk
the pies he would risk the stomach. On another occasion, when eating a
mince pie, baked in a milk-pan, at a Mrs. Large's, of Buckingham, he was
overcome by the task and fell exhausted in the effort.
Joseph Pike settled in Solebury before 1703, and took up 624 acres, which
a re-survey increased to 665. It was not patented until 1705. The
meeting-house and burial- ground are upon this tract. Daniel Smith, from
Marlborough, England, located 500 acres immediately north of the Pike
tract, which his son John, of London, sold to Owen Roberts in 1702. It is
now divided between William M. Ely, 140 acres, Daniel Ely, 140, Isaac Ely,
122, Charles Phillips and Joseph Balderston. William Penn had 500 acres
laid out to himself before 1703, of which 100 acres were sold to Roger
Hartley in 1737, and the remainder to Gysbert Bogart, which afterward
passed into the hands of Samuel Pickering, and James and Isaac Pellar. The
Pike tract is now divided into the following farms: Oliver Paxson, 100
acres, Joseph E. Reeder, 130, Merrick Reeder, 100, W. Wallace Paxson, 118,
Amos Clark 85, Rachel Ely, 40, Thomas H. Magill, 62, William S.
Worthington, sixteen, David Balderston, fourteen. In 1763 the attorney of
Richard Pike sold the 130 acres to Joseph Eastburn, Jr., at public sale,
for £414. 2s. 10d., who erected the first building upon it, and commenced
its cultivation. It remained in the family until 1812, when it passed to
Joseph S. Reeder, a descendant of the purchaser, who still owns it. It is
now known as Rabbit run farm, and quite celebrated for herd-registered
cattle, whose occupant, Eastburn Reeder, indulges his fancy for gilt-edge
butter, an article that costs more than it comes to. June 26, 1717, 500
acres extending from the Logan tract to the Delaware, were patented to
John Wells. In 1721 Wells conveyed 150 acres to William Kitchen, who died
in 1727, and who was the first of the name in Solebury. John Wells left
the land for the graveyard on Hutchin's hill, and his will provided for a
wall around it.
The two contiguous 500 acre tracts, surveyed by mistake to Robert Heath
in 1700, adjoined the Great spring tract, extending to the Delaware, and
embracing the site of New Hope. The surveys are dated 1703 and 1704, and
the patent 2d month, 11th, 1710. Heath had agreed to erect a "grist or
corn support mill" on the Great spring stream, and it was covenanted in
the patent, that if he built the mill according to agreement he should
have the exclusive use of the water so long as he kept it in repair. The
mill was built in 1707, the first in that section of country, and was
resorted to for miles. At Robert Heath's death the real estate vested in
his son, and by the latter's will dated 7th of 8th month, 1711, it was
left to his five sisters, Susannah, Ann, Elizabeth, Hannah and Mary. From
them it passed into several hands. In 1734 John Wells bought 100 acres of
it laying on the river. The fulling-mill on this tract was built before
1712 by Philip Williams. Joseph Wilkinson bought part of the mill tract
about 1753. The first saw-mill was erected about 1740. In 1790 Nathaniel
and Andrew Ellicott bought 155 acres of what had been the Heath tract, on
which was the Maris mill. Before 1745 Benjamin Canby owned 235 acres, in
two tracts of 100 and 135, on the latter of which he built a forge. There
were now on the stream flowing from the Great Spring a grist, saw and
fulling-mill, and a forge. The forge was sold by the sheriff in 1750 or
1751, after Canby's death. His widow lived at the ferry until her death,
about 1760, when that part of the property was sold to John Coryell. The
old grist-mill continued to enjoy the exclusive right to use the water for
grinding until about 1828, when William Maris bought it. He took the water
from the stream to run his factory during the dry season, which was
considered a forfeiture of the right, and other mills were erected lower
down. When he dug the foundation for his factory, now belonging to the
Huffnagle estate, a log, cut off with an ax, was found fifteen feet below
the surface.
The Blackfans are descendants of John Blackfan (8), of Stenning, county
of Sussex, England, whose son Edward married Rebecca Crispin, of Kinsale,
Ireland, second cousin of William Penn, in 1688. At this wedding were
William Penn, his wife, son and daughter, whose names are on the marriage
certificate, in possession of the Blackfan family of Solebury. Edward
Blackfan concluded to come to America, but died before he could embark,
about 1690 (9). The widow, with her young son, arrived about 1700, and was
appointed to take charge of the manor house at Pennsbury, at a salary of
ten pounds a year (10), paid by the council. They lived there many years.
In 1721 the son married Eleanor Wood, of Philadelphia, and in 1725 the
mother was married to Nehemiah Allen, of that city. About this time Edward
Blackfan removed to a 500 acre tract in Solebury, surveyed to him in 1718,
and confirmed in 1733. He had six children, the two eldest being born at
Pennsbury. At his death, in 1771, at the age of eighty, his real estate was
divided between his sons, Crispin and William, the former marrying Martha
Davis, had nine children, and the latter, Esther Dawson (11), had the same
number. All these children but two lived to marry and left numerous
descendants. John Blackfan, of Solebury, born in 1799, and married
Elizabeth R. Chapman, of Wrightstown, in 1822, was the son of John, who
was the eldest son of William, and the fourth in descent from the first
Bucks county ancestor (12).
(8) He must have been a zealous Friend from his rough treatment. In 1659
he was prosecuted for non-payment of tithes, in 1662, sent to jail for
refusing to pay toward repairing a "steeple-house" (church), and in 1663
and 1681 he was prosecuted and excommunicated for not attending public
worship.
(9) From the frequent mention, in Penn's letters, in 1689, of Edward
Blackfan being about to fetch official documents to the council, he was
probably on the point of sailing when death arrested him.
(10) James Logan writes to Hannah Penn, under date of May 31, 1721: "Thy
cousin, Blackfan, is still at Pennsbury."
(11) She was the granddaughter of John Dawson, of Suffolk, England, born
about 1669, who was a soldier at the Boyne, in 1690, married Catharine Fox
in 1696, came to America in 1710, and settled on a 500 acre tract in
Solebury in 1719. His will was proved May 26, 1729.
(12) William Crispin, the ancestor of this family, came into England at
the Norman conquest, and bore an important part at the battle of Hastings.
Sir William Crispin took part in the strife between Robert Duke, of
Normandy and his brother, where he attacked the king and cut through his
coat of mail. For his feats in horsemanship, he had three horse shoes for
his coat-of-arms. In the contest between Charles I and the Parliament,
William Crispin was one of the Cromwell's train band, and afterward in his
attack upon Hispaniola and Jamaica. Subsequently Cromwell gave Crispin a
forfeited estate in Ireland, near the Shannon, not far from Limerick. When
William Penn received the grant of Pennsylvania from Charles I, he
appointed his cousin William Crispin, his surveyor-general. The vessel he
sailed in reached the Delaware, but finding contrary winds went to
Barbadoes, where he shortly died. Penn appointed to the vacancy, Thomas
Holme, who had been living with William Crispin in Ireland. Holme had been
a midshipman in the West India expedition. Thomas Holme brought with him
to Philadelphia, Silas, the eldest son of William Crispin, who married
Holme's eldest daughter soon after their arrival. They settled on a tract
of 500 acres in Byberry, on the Pennypack, given him by William Penn.
Their first child, a son, was born in the wigwam of an Indian chief. By a
second wife he had six children, Joseph, Benjamin, Mary, Abigail, Mercy
and Silas. One of the daughters married John Hart, ancestor of the Harts
of Warminster. Silas Crispin, the son of William, first appointed
surveyor-general, had a sister, Rebecca, who married Edward Blackfan, the
ancestor of the family of this name in Bucks county. There are numerous
descendants bearing the name of Crispin, in this State and elsewhere.
The first progenitors of the Eastburns are believed to have been Robert
and Sarah, who came to America with William Penn at his second visit, in
1699, or about that time, and settled in Philadelphia. In 1728 their son
Samuel married Elizabeth Gillingham in Abington meeting, and soon
afterward removed to Solebury on a farm near Centre Hill. Among their
children were two sons, Robert and Joseph. Joseph married Mary Wilson, of
Buckingham, in 1753, and purchased a portion of the Pike tract, on which
he lived to his death. They had nine children, seven sons and two
daughters (13), whose descendants are numerous in both the male and female line.
(13) Edward Eastburn, a member of this family, became prominent in
business and amassed a large fortune, estimated at half a million. He was
a son of Samuel and Mary Eastburn, and born in Solebury, January 9, 1831.
He went to Texas, 1850, and became engaged in mercantile pursuits and
subsequently interested in real estate, brokerage and banking. It was his
custom to spend his summers in the North. He died at Philadelphia, August
27, 1900, and was buried at the Friends Buckingham Meeting house. Mr.
Eastburn never married.
The Inghams, who made their home in Solebury for a century and a quarter,
were descended from Jonas, an English Friend, who came from Old to New
England about 1705, thence to Solebury in 1730. His son Jonathan succeeded
to the farm and fulling- mill at the Great Spring, and became an
influential citizen. The latter left three sons, John a religious
enthusiast, Jonas a student of the exact sciences, and author of many
useful inventions, who died at the age of eighty-two, and Jonathan who
became a distinguished physician. He devoted his leisure to the languages,
and paid court to the muses. During the Revolutionary war he gave his
professional services to the army, when needed, and in 1793 he labored
among the yellow fever at Philadelphia. Catching the disease, he started
for Schooley's mountain, accompanied by his wife and faithful slave, Cato,
but died in his carriage on his way, at Clinton, New Jersey, October 1,
1793 (14), and was buried in the edge of the graveyard. The most
distinguished member of the family was Samuel D. Ingham, son of Doctor
Jonathan, born on the farm near the New Hope, September 6, 1779. The death
of his father interrupted his classical studied at the age of fourteen and
he was indentured to learn the paper-making business at the mill on the
Pennypack. He was a close student during his apprenticeship, being
assisted in his studies by a Scotch immigrant in the neighborhood, named
Craig (15). At twenty-one he returned home and took charge of the farm and
mills. He was much in public life. He was elected to the Assembly in
1805-6-7, was in Congress from 1812 to 1829, except three years while
Secretary of the Commonwealth, and was a leading member during the war. He
was Secretary of the Treasury under General Jackson, which office he
filled with distinguished ability. He died at Trenton, New Jersey, June 5,
1860. The homestead of the Inghams is now owned by Andrew J. Beaumont, and
is the same which James Logan granted to Jonathan Ingham May 1, 1747 (16).
(14) His death from the fever, created great consternation in the
neighborhood, and the masons, building the wall around the graveyard, left
and would not return until cold weather set in.
(15) On one occasion young Ingham walked to Philadelphia and back the
same night, thirty miles, to obtain a much coveted volume.
(16) This tract was granted by Penn to Logan, on ship-board in the
Delaware, November 3, 1701, for 500 acres, but the survey made it 596 and
three-fourths, and it was confirmed to him September 12, 1735. Jonathan
Ingham received 396 and three-fourth acres at a ground-rent of £21
sterling a year for seven years, and then £25 sterling a year for 100
years. The remaining 200 acres was conveyed to Jacob Dean, Mr. Ingham's
brother-in-law, at the same time, on ground-rent. By the will, James Logan
left the income from this property to the Loganian library company of
Philadelphia, and limited the office of librarian to his eldest male heir,
probably the only hereditary office in the country.
(See illustration of Ingham House, Southwest Corner)
[Few political events of that day created greater excitement than the
quarrel between President Jackson and Mr. Ingham, his Secretary of the
Treasury, followed by the latter's resignation in May 1831. He returned to
Bucks county, where his friends gave him a royal reception. He was met at
Philadelphia on the 25th by Judge John Fox and John Pugh, Esqr., who
accompanied him the next day to the Sorrel Horse tavern, Montgomery
county, on the Middle road, half a mile below the Bucks county line. Here
he was received by a number of his personal and political friends on
horseback and escorted to the county line, where he was welcomed by a
large assemblage. A procession was now formed of many horsemen and
vehicles with General William T. Rogers and Colonel John Davis as
marshals, and the distinguished guest was escorted to the Black Bear
tavern, Northampton township. His carriage was surrounded by outriders,
and in that immediately in front rode General Samuel Smith and Captain
Francis Baird, revolutionary veterans. A large crowd awaited Mr. Ingham's
arrival at the Bear. After a sumptuous dinner in the shade of the trees in
the tavern yard. Mr. Ingham was presented with a formal address by Henry
Chapman, Esqr., and Captain Baird, to which an appropriate response was
made. Thence the committee escorted the distinguished guest to his home in
Solebury township.*]
Andrew Ellicott, the descendant of a respectable family, resident of
Devonshire, England, from the time of William the Conqueror, settled in
Solebury about 1730. He followed farming and milling. About 1770, his
three sons, Joseph, Andrew and John, purchased a large tract of land in
Maryland, at what is now known as Ellicott's Mills, and removed thither
(17), taking with them mechanics, tools, animals, wagons, laborers, and
several settlers and their families. There in the wilderness they built
mills, erected dwellings, stores, opened roads, quarries, built
school-houses, and established the seat of an extensive and profitable
business. They became wealthy and influential, and occupied prominent
positions in the community. They and their sons were men of sterling
merit; they introduced the use of plaster of Paris into Maryland, and were
the authors of several useful inventions. They first advocated the
introduction of a good supply of water into Baltimore. John Ellicott died
suddenly in 1795. Joseph, the eldest brother, was a genius in mechanics,
to which he was devoted from boyhood. About 1760, he made, at his home in
Solebury, a repeating watch without instruction, which he took to England
in 1766, where it was much admired, and gained him great attention. After
his return, in 1769, he made a four-faced musical clock, the wonder of the
times, which played twenty-four tunes, and combined many other wonderful
and delicate movements. This clock is now in Albany. Joseph Ellicott died
in 1780, at the age of forty- eight. His son Andrew, born in Solebury in
1754, became a distinguished engineer. He was surveyor-general of the
United States in 1792, and adjusted the boundary between the United States
and Spain in 1796, laid out the towns of Erie, Warren, and Franklin, in
this state, and was the first to make an accurate measurement of the falls
of Niagara. He was the consulting engineer in laying out the city of
Washington, and completed the work which Major L'Enfant planned. He was
appointed professor of mathematics at West Point, in 1812, where he died
in 1820. George Ellicott, a son of Andrew, was one of the best
mathematicians of the times, and died in 1832. The Ellicotts owned the
mill at Carversville, and what was known as Pettit's mill, in Buckingham.
They were Friends (18).
(17) Andrew did not permanently leave Bucks county until 1794.
(18) Andrew Ellicott was appointed commissioner on behalf of the United
States, to determine the boundary between them and Spain, 1796, returning
home the spring of 1800 after an absence of nearly four years. Upon his
arrival at Philadelphia he wrote the following letter to his uncle,
Colonel George Wall of Solebury, Philadelphia, May 25, 1800: "Dear Uncle:
It is with pleasure that I acquaint you with my safe arrival, and return
to my family and friends, after an absence of three years and eight
months. Since I saw you last, I have been exposed to hardships and
dangers, and constantly surrounded with difficulties, but, owing to my
good constitution and perseverance, I have completed the arduous task
entrusted to me by my country. I wish much to see you, and family, and
intend paying a visit to my friends in Bucks in a few weeks. At present, I
am indisposed with ague and fever. I expect Doctor Rush to see me after
breakfast. Please to give my respects to your family and believe me to be
your affectionate nephew." Col. George Wall. (Signed): Andrew Ellicott.*
Richard Townsend, a celebrated minister among Friends, of London, a
Welcome passenger, and a carpenter by trade, settled near Chester in 1682
with his wife and a son, born during the voyage. He removed first to
Germantown and then to near Abington, whence his grandson, Stephen, came
to Solebury about 1735. He was a carpenter and miller, and assisted Samuel
Armitage to erect the first grist-mill built on the Cuttalossa. One end of
the old Townsend house, probably the oldest in the township, was built in
1756 by Stephen Townsend, and the other end some thirty or forty years
later. The windows had broad sash and small folding shutters, the
fire-place was wide and capacious, and the outside door was garnished with
a wooden latch. It was taken down in 1848 by the gather of Cyrus Livezey,
who erected a handsome building on the site. It was on this farm that the
celebrated Townsend apple is said to have originated. Tradition says that
this apple took its name from Richard Townsend, who, hearing of a
wonderful apple tree, got the Indians to take him to it, which he found
standing in a large clearing, near Lumberville. He bought the clearing,
but the Indians reserved the free use of apples to all how wished them.
Samuel Preston said that in his time Stephen Townsend owned the original
tree from which he, Preston, cut grafts in 1766.
[Daniel Howell, who settled in Solebury, was a son of Thomas Howell, of
Haxleston, county Stafford, England, born about 1660, and came with his
father to America in the Welcome, 1682. He first settled on a plantation
on Gloucester creek, now Camden county, New Jersey, given him by his
father. This he sold to his brother Mordecai Howell, 1687. He married
Hannah Lakin, Philadelphia, September 4, 1686, whither he removed, 1690,
and served on the grand jury, 1701. He subsequently removed to Solebury,
Bucks county, where he resided until his death, September 1739. Just at
what time he came to Bucks county is not known, but prior to 1734, for, on
June 10, that year, he conveyed to his granddaughter, Elizabeth Howell,
200 acres of his proprietary land in New Jersey. His wife probably died
before him, as she is not named in his will, which was executed April 14,
1739, and proved September 28. One of the witnesses to it was Chris.
Search, and was recorded at Doylestown. Daniel and Hannah Howell had five
children; Daniel, born about 1688, married Elsie Reading, and died 1733;
Hannah, married Job Howell; Benjamin, married Catherine Papen, died
September 6, 1774; Joseph, married Gertrude ___, died 1776; Catherine,
married William Rittenhouse, of Germantown, and died at Amwell, Hunterdon
county, New Jersey, 1767. His will, dated August 27, 1761, was proved
October 19, 1767, and in it, names his wife, Catharine, sons, William,
Isaac, Lott, Moses and Peter, and daughters Priscilla, Susan, Hannah and
Anna. Catharine Howell is thought to have been the second wife. William
Rittenhouse was of the same family as David Rittenhouse, the distinguished
astronomer. Of this family of Howells was descended Lieut. William Howell,
father of Jefferson Davis's widow.*]
John Scofield, Buckinghamshire, England, settled in Solebury when a young
man probably before 1720. He was married at the Falls meeting to Ann
Lenoire, a French Huguenot lady who had been banished from Acadia. They
had nine children, from whom have descended a numerous offspring in this
and other states. In this county we find their descendants among the
Williamses, Schofields, Fells, and other respectable families. A grandson
married Rebecca, sister of the late John Beaumont, and his daughter Sarah,
who married Benjamin Leedom, was the mother of the late Mrs. M. H. Jenks.
John Schofield was the great-grandfather of Joseph Fell, Buckingham, who
descends in the maternal line from Samuel, the fourth son of the first
progenitor in the country. It is related of John Schofield, that hearing
his dog barking down in the meadow one evening, he took his axe and went
to see what was the matter. He saw there a large animal up a tree, and the
dog a few feet off. Striking the tree with the ax, the animal leaped down
on the dog, and while they were struggling he struck the varmint on the
back with the ax and killed it. It proved to be a large sized panther.
[The Elys, of Bucks county, are descended from Joshua Ely, Dunham,
Nottinghamshire, England, who came over 1684, and settled on the site of
Trenton, New Jersey, on a 400 acre tract he bought of Mahlon Stacy, his
brother-in-law. He was married twice, the first time to Mary Senior, who
bore him six children - Joshua and George born in England, John at sea,
Hugh 1689, Elizabeth and Sarah after their arrival. Upon the death of his
first wife he married Rachel Lee, 1698, by who he had two children,
Benjamin and Ruth, twins. Joshua Ely was a prominent man in the community,
holding the office of justice of the peace, and dying at Trenton, 1702. Of
the children of Joshua Ely, George, born 1682, married Jane Pettit, 1703,
daughter of Nathaniel, lived on the paternal estate and died there 1750.
He left three sons and three daughters, John, George, Joseph, Mary Green,
Sarah, wife of John Dagworthy, Rebecca, wife of Eliakin Anderson, and a
grandson, George Price, son of a deceased daughter, Elizabeth. Joshua, the
second son of George, born March 16, 1704, and married Elizabeth Bell, New
Jersey, removed to Solebury, Bucks county, 1737, and settled on 375 acres
he purchased between Centre Hill and Phillips mill, the greater part of
which is still in the family. Of his children, Joshua married Elizabeth
Hughes, George, Sarah Magill; John, Hugh, Sarah, Hannah and Jane. The late
Jonathan Ely, several years member of Assembly, was a grandson of Joshua.
George Ely was a member of the Provincial Assembly, 1760. Hugh Ely, son of
Joshua, the immigrant, born in New Jersey, 1689, removed to Buckingham,
1720, purchasing 400 acres on the east end of the "Lundy tract," extending
from the York road to the mountain, and from Greenville to Broadhurst's
lane. His children were Hugh, born 1715, married Elizabeth Blackfan,
Thomas married Sarah Lowther, Anna married John Wilkinson, and Ann married
Peter Matson. In 1773, Thomas removed to Harford county, Maryland, with
his six younger children, William, Joseph, Mahlon, Martha, Rachel and
Ruth; his sons, Thomas and Hugh, and daughter Ann, who married Thomas
Ellicott, following him, 1774. General Hugh Ely, Baltimore, a
distinguished soldier and statesman and several years president of the
Maryland senate, born, 1795, and died 1862, was a son of Mahlon Ely above
mentioned. *] (19)
(19) This account of the Ely family is taken from the updated 1905
edition only.
[Thomas Ross, born in county Tyrone, Ireland, of Episcopal parents, 1708,
immigrated to Bucks county and settled in 1728. He located on the Manor
lands outside the London Company tract. He probably brought a sister with
him, or she may have followed, for Elizabeth Ross was married to Thomas
Bye, 9th mo., 1732. Thomas Ross joined the Wrightstown Meeting February
12, 1729, and became a distinguished minister among Friends. He took great
interest in the welfare of the young. He married Kesiah Wilkinson, July or
August, 1731, Abraham Chapman and James Harker being appointed to attend
the wedding and "see it decently accomplished." He passed his long life
mostly in Bucks county, devoting much of his time to religious work. He
paid a religious visit to England, 1784, accompanied by several of his
male and female friends, embarking in the ship Commerce, Captain Trenton,
the same who subsequently became a distinguished officer in the United
States Navy. They were anxious to reach their destination in time for the
Yearly Meeting, but the captain said it was impossible. It is related,
that one day, while Mr. Ross was seated beside Rebecca Jones, he said to
her "Rebecca, cans't thou keep a secret?" She replied in the affirmative,
when he added, "We shall see England this day two weeks." Land was seen
the morning of that day, and it is said the captain acknowledged that had
not the passengers been able to see what the officers and sailors could
not, the vessel would have gone on the rocks, and been wrecked. After
attending the Yearly Meeting at London and traveling in Ireland and the
North of Scotland where he attended many religious meetings, Mr. Ross
reached the home of Lindley Murray, Holdgate, near York, where he was
taken sick and died, June 13, 1786, aged seventy-eight. The letter
announcing his death to his widow, was written by John Pemberton, who
spoke of the deceased in high terms. Among his last words were, "I see no
cloud in my way. I die in peace with all men." (20) Among his descendants
were Judge John Ross, of the State Supreme Court, Hon. Thomas Ross, Judge
Henry P. Ross, and State Senator George Ross, all of Doylestown, deceased.
William Ross, probably a grandson of the immigrant, and a native of this
county, was a merchant of Philadelphia, and died on the island of Saint
Domingo, 1807.*]
(20) Thomas Ross, Jr., son of Thomas, Sr., was a staunch friend of the
Colonies during the Revolution, and he and the Wrightstown meeting
clashed, that body "reading him out." Of this transaction the meeting
record, of 7th of 12th mo., 1779, contains the following: "Whereas, Thomas
Ross, Jr., having had his birth and education among Friends, but having so
far disregarded the testimony of truth against war and fighting as to pay
a fine demanded of him for not associating to learn the art of war, and
Friends having treated with him in order to bring him to a sense of his
misconduct; yet he continues to justify himself in so doing; therefore, we
give forth this as a testimony against such practices and can have no
further unity with him as a member of our Society until he comes to a
sense of his error, and condemn the same to the satisfaction of Friends,
which he may do is our sincere desire for him. Signed in and on behalf of
the said meeting by "J. Chapman, Clerk,"
When the clerk had finished reading the above testimony, Mr. Ross
stood up and read the following declaration to the
meeting: "Whereas, the Society of the people called Quakers in North
America, in several important particulars in both theory and practice,
have deserted their ancient creed, and inasmuch as in their ecclesiastical
decisions and transactions, they have become extremely partial,
inconsistent and hypocritical, I do therefore give forth this, my
testimony, against their present practices and innovations, and can have
no farther unity with them as a member of their Society, until they shall
add to a profession more consistent with Christianity, a practice more
agreeable to their profession. Signed on behalf of himself by "Thomas
Ross, Jr."*
The Rices came into the township about [150*] years ago. Edward Rice, the
great- grandfather of Samuel H. Rice, was born in the parish of Killaman,
county of Tyrone, Ireland, where he lived until he immigrated to
Pennsylvania. He brought with him a certificate of good character, signed
by the rector and church wardens, and a protection or passport from the
proper authority, both dated June 12, 1736. It is presumed he came
immediately afterward, and probably made his first home in Solebury
[Buckingham*].
The Riches are descended from John Rich, who purchased land at the head
of Cuttalossa creek, 1730. He could trace his descent, it is alleged, to
Richard Rich, who came to America in the Mayflower, and settled at Truro,
on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1740, John Rich bought a large farm in
Plumstead township, south of the meeting- house. He had several sons, only
one of whom, Joseph, is known to have any descendants in Bucks county. He
married Elizabeth Brown, and had one daughter, Mary, who married Jonathan
Wells, and removed to Chester county. Of his five sons who lived to
manhood, Alexander, Jonathan, John, Joseph and Josiah, Alexander married
Mary Michener and had three sons, John, Joseph and William; Jonathan
married Rosanna Kemble, and had one son, Anthony, and, after her death, he
married Mary Snodgrass, and by her had two sons, Doctor James S., and
Josiah; John married Mary Preston, and had one son, Moses, and three
daughters, Susan, Martha and Elizabeth; Joseph married Elizabeth Carlile,
and had two sons, John and Joseph, and two daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth;
Joseph, youngest son of Joseph Rich, married Martha Preston, had one son,
William, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary. The descendants of these
several families are quite numerous, living mostly in Bucks county.
We do not know when the Hutchinsons came into Solebury, but early in the
eighteenth century. Matthias, a descendant of the first settler, born,
1743, was a remarkable man in some respects, and wielded much influence.
He carried on mason- work and plastering extensively, walking twenty miles
to his work in the morning and the first man on the scaffold. Such energy
brought its reward and he became wealthy. He enjoyed the confidence of his
fellows, and was appointed justice of the peace and afterward Associate-Judge,
which he resigned about 1812. About 1765 he married Elizabeth Bye, whose mother
was Elizabeth Ross, sister of Thomas Ross, the preacher.
Mr. Hutchinson owned the fine farm subsequently William Stavely's, where
he died, 1823, at the age of eighty. He was a soldier in the French and
English war and near Wolfe when he fell on the Plains of Abraham.
William Neeley, the first of the name in the county, born in Ireland,
August 31, 1742, came to this country when a small boy with his widowed
mother. She married Charles Stewart, Upper Makefield, with whom her son
lived in his minority. He learned the milling business with Robert
Thompson (21), Solebury, and married his daughter June 24, 1766. His
father-in-law erected buildings for him on his tract, where he lived and
died. While Washington's army was encamped in that neighborhood, 1776,
several officers quartered at his house, and James Monroe spent some time
there after being wounded at Trenton. William Neeley died July 10, 1818,
and his widow, February 13, 1834, in her eighty-sixth year. He had two
children, a son and daughter; the son, Robert T., marrying Sarah Beaumont,
from whom descended John T. Neeley, Solebury, and the daughter, Jane,
married John Poor, principal of the first young ladies seminary
established in Philadelphia (22).
(21) Robert Thompson had the reputation of never turning a poor man away
from his mill with his bag empty, whether he had money or not. The old
Thompson-Neeley mill stands near the Delaware canal, but was ruined when
that improvement was made.
(22) In 1853 R. J. and W. Neeley established themselves in the lumber
business in Virginia. They were sons of John T. Neeley, and their venture
proved a success. In 1891, John Neeley, a son of one of them, succeeded to
the business, which he carries on in Portsmouth, Va., on a large scale.
The distinguished Zebulon M. Pike, who fell at York, Canada, 1813, spent
several years of his life in Solebury, if not born there. As will be
remembered the Pikes were early land owners in Solebury, Joseph owning
land there before 1703 (23). The general is said to have been born at
Lamberton, now the lower part of Trenton, New Jersey, January 5, 1779, and
that his father, Zebulon Pike, with his family soon afterward removed to
Lumberton, where he resided several years (24). That was his home, 1786,
when himself and wife conveyed to Jonathan Kinsey, Solebury, a tract of
land in Northumberland county. In the deed he is styled "Captain." General
Pike probably received his school education in Solebury. The family lived
in a red frame house, torn down, 1834, on the site of Paxson's mill. While
living there the father subscribed the oath of allegiance to the Colonies.
He was a soldier in the Revolution, served in St. Clair's expedition,
1791, commissioned captain in the regular army, March 1792, lieutenant
colonel, 1812, and died near Lawrenceburg, Indiana, 1834, at the age of
eighty-three. General Pike entered the army as lieutenant, March 3, 1799,
and his military life is too well known to be repeated. Among his services
to the government were several valuable explorations, that to discover the
headwaters of the Arkansas and Red rivers, 1806, leading to his capture
and imprisonment in Mexico. The author has been in the old adobe building
at the north end of the palace where he was confined at Sante Fe (25). A
distinguishing feature of General Pike was a fine head of bright red hair (26).
(23) There is no positive evidence that General Pike was born in
Solebury, but likely somewhere in that vicinity, but certainly in Bucks
county, where his father resided several years before his son's birth.*
(24) There is a tradition that General Pike was born on the farm owned
by Ezekiel Everitt, Solebury, and a further tradition among the old men,
that when a boy he was noted for his cruelty.
(25) The roof of the old building, in which Lieut. Pike was confined, at
Santa Fe, fell in the day David Meriwether, the new appointed Governor
arrived there, 1853, the somewhat superstitious Mexicans considering this
a good omen.*
(26) It is claimed that the family of Pikes, from which the General was
descended, was settled at Newbury, Massachusetts, as early as 1635, whence
a member removed to Middlesex county, New Jersey, where his father was
born, 1751.
(See illustration of Gen. Zebulon M. Pike)
The Kenderdines (27), a prominent family in Solebury for [many*] years,
came into the township less than a century ago, although much longer in
the state. The name is rarely met with. The family is supposed to have
been driven from Holland to Wales by religious persecution, sometime in
the seventeenth century. Several of the name are now living in the
vicinity of Stafford, England, near where the Holland refugees settled.
The tradition of descent runs down through two branches of the family, and
is believed to be correct. Thoms, the ancestor of the American
Kenderdines, immigrated from Llan Edlas, North Wales, about 1700, and
settled at Abington, Philadelphia county. Of his three children, Mary
married a Hickman and probably went to Chester county, Richard settled on
the property lately owned by John Shay, Horsham, as early as 1718, and
Thomas on the Butler road half a mile below Prospectville, whose dwelling
is still standing with the letters T. and D. K., cut on a stone in the
gable. The late John E. Kenderdine, fourth in descent from Thomas, was
born in 1799, and died in 1868. He removed to Lumberton, 1834, and spent
his life here in active business pursuits - milling, farming, lumbering,
erecting buildings, etc. He was identified with all improvements, and gave
the locality a greater business repute than it had enjoyed before. He was
an active politician. In 1843 he was defeated for the State Senate by two
votes, and again in 1866 for Associate Judge, with his whole ticket. His
two sons, Thaddeus S. And Robert, served in the Civil war, the latter
being killed at Gettysburg. [Watson Kenderdine, son of John E. Kenderdine,
succeeded his father in business on his death, and filled his place in
social and political life. He was born at Horsham, 1830, four years prior
to his father's removal to Bucks county, and married a daughter of Nathan
and Martha Preston, Plumstead. He died March 19, 1900, leaving a widow and
three daughters, two married and one single.*]
(27) The distinguished English authoress, Miss Muloch, makes use of the
name for two of her heroines in "Woman's Kingdom," Edna and Lettie, out of
respect for a very intimate friend of her mother's, named Kenderdine.
The Ruckmans settled early in Plumstead, where the late John Ruckman of
Solebury was born in 1777. The family trace the descent back to John
Ruckman, who immigrated from England to Long Island at a very early day.
Thence they removed into New Jersey, where John's grandson, Thomas, was
born in 1721. John Ruckman's father, James, was born in 1748, married
Mary, a sister of Colonel William Hart, of Plumstead, whither he removed,
and died there in 1834. John Ruckman moved into Solebury on his marriage,
and probably settled at Lumberville, where he was living in 1807, which
year he removed out into the township on the farm where his family now
reside and where he died in 1861. He was prominent in politics, and was
Associate-Judge of the county several years.
[William Stavely, a prominent resident of Solebury, many years, died at
his residence "Partridge Hall," March 22, 1877. He was a descendant of
John Stavely, who settled in Kent county, Maryland, 1680, and was born in
Frederick county, June 24, 1800. He learned printing in Philadelphia, and
carried on the business there several years. He established the "Episcopal
Recorder." In 1839, he purchased the Guy Bryan plantation in Solebury, and
there spent the remainder of his useful life. His estate was one of the
finest in the county, and he did much to improve agriculture. It was
largely through Mr. Stavely's efforts Trinity Episcopal church,
Centreville, was built, and he was a liberal contributor to all its
necessities. *]
The first flour-mill in Solebury was undoubtedly that of Robert Heath, on
the Great Spring stream, 1707; before that time the inhabitants getting
their supply of flour from Middletown and the Pennypack. About 1730
Ambrose Barcroft and John Hough erected a "water corn-mill" on the
Paunacussing, at Carversville, which in 1765 was known as Joseph Pryor's.
Besides this there were Phillip's mill, 1765, Canby's in 1762, and Jacob
Fretz's fulling-mill in 1789. The Ellicotts owned the mills at
Carversville several years. The Armitage mill, on the Cuttalossa, was
among the early mills in the township, built by Samuel Armitage, who
immigrated from Yorkshire, England, to Solebury, before 1750. It is still
standing and in use, but it and the fifty acres belonging passed out of
the family, 1861, into the possession of Jonathan Lukens, Horsham. Two
hundred acres adjoining the mill property were recently in possession of
the family. Samuel Armitage died, 1801, at the age of eighty-five. The
first mill at Lumberton was built in 1758 by William Skelton, who
continued in possession to 1771, when he sold it to John Kugler. He
rebuilt it between that time and 1782, when he sold it to George Warne. It
was subsequently used for a store, dwelling and cooper-shop, and taken
down in 1828.
(See illustration of Kugler's Mill, Lumberton)
[John Kugler came to America, 1753, when a boy of thirteen, landing at
Philadelphia. Being unable to pay his passage his time was sold to a Mr.
Eastburn, who lived near Centre Hill, Solebury township, who brought the
young immigrant up. Kugler afterward learned the milling trade; married a
Miss Worthington and had one son, Joseph. He married Elizabeth Snyder, who
bore him four sons. John Kugler married twice, his second wife being Mrs.
Rambo, of South Carolina. He purchased the tavern property at Centre Br
idge, and while living there, bought the Lumberton mill. His grandson,
John, also a miller, was the owner of 463 acres on the east bank of the
Delaware, and the village of Frenchtown was laid out and built upon it.
This land was conveyed to him, 1782-83. We know of no person living in the
county bearing the name of Kugler. Some of the descendants of John Kugler
are said to be living above Frenchtown, New Jersey, and also of Mrs.
Rambo-Kugler, by her first husband. Kugler removed to New Jersey soon
after his purchase and passed the remainder of his life there. He was a
man of great enterprise, built a sawmill, burnt lime, farmed and freighted
goods on the Delaware to and from Philadelphia, in a Durham boat.*]
In Solebury, as elsewhere, the early settlers clung to the bridle paths
through the woods until necessity compelled them to open roads. We cannot
say when the first township road was laid out. There was a road from the
river to Barcroft's mill, and thence to the York road, in 1730. About the
same time a road was laid out from Coryell's ferry to the Anchor tavern in
Wrightstown, where it united with the Middle or Oxford road, thus making a
new continuous highway from the upper Delaware to Philadelphia. It was
reviewed in 1801. In 1756 a road was laid out from John Rose's ferry, now
Lumberville, to York road, and from Howell's ferry, now Centre Bridge, in
1765, and from Kugler's mill, at Lumberton, to Carversville, and thence to
the Durham road, in 1785. Although the Street road between Solebury and
Buckingham was allowed about 1702, it was not laid out by a jury until
September 2, 1736 (28). It was viewed by a second jury August 6, 1748. In
1770 it was extended from the lower corner of these townships to the road
from Thompson's mill to Wrightstown. The road from the river, at the lower
end of Lumberville, to Ruckman's, was laid out and opened in 1832. Owing
to the opposition, an act was obtained for a "state road" from Easton to
Lumberville, thence across to Ruckman's, and down the York road to Willow
Grove, which gave the local road desired, with but trifling alteration in
the old roads. The late James M. Porter, of Easton, was one of the
jurymen, and Samuel Hart the surveyor. The "Suggin" road is probably the
oldest in the township, and was originally a bridle path, along which the
settlers of Plumstead took their grain to the Aquetong mill, above New
Hope, to be ground. It left the Paunacussing creek at Carversville, and
ran northeast through William R. Evan's and Joseph Roberts's farms,
crossing the present road near Joseph Sacket's gate, thence through Aaron
Jones's woods to meet the present road near Isaac Pearson's and by
Armitage's mill, Centre Hill, and Solebury meeting-house to New Hope.
(28) The jury were Robert Smith, Francis Hough, John Fisher, John
Dawson, and Henry Paxson, and it was surveyed by John Chapman.
[Half a mile southeast of Carversville, on the road to Aquetong, is an
old graveyard known as the "Sebring" graveyard, and in it were buried the
former owners of the 450 acre tract of which it was a part. The tract is
now surrounded by public roads; on the northeast by the road above
mentioned, the Lumberville road on the southeast, the Street road on the
southwest, and the road from the Street road to Mahlon Carver's corner on
the northwest. It was laid out to Thomas Carnes in 1702. He devised it to
his aunt Ellen Saunders of Yorkshire, England, the same year; she to
George Parker, Yorkshire, same year, late of Philadelphia; he to Ambrose
Barcroft, Talbot county, Maryland, in 1723. In 1724-25 Barcroft was
drowned in the Delaware, when the property descended to his three sons,
William Ambrose and John. The second Ambrose Barcroft and John Hough were
the builders of the Carversville mill, about 1730, and William and John
Barcroft conveyed their share of the 450 acre tract to John Sebring in
1746. Later the tract was found to contain but 400 acres. The Sebring
family of Dutch ancestry, came from Province of Drenthe, Holland, and
settled on Long Island prior to 1700. Major Cornelius Sebring was a large
landowner on Long Island and a member of Assembly in 1695-1723. The family
subsequently removed to New Brunswick, or rather Roelof, a member of it
did, settling at the Raritan, where he married a daughter of the Rev.
Johannes Theodorus Polhemus. His son, Jan, or John, Sebring, removed to
Solebury in 1742, where he died in 1773, in his seventy-second year,
leaving four sons, Roelof, John, Fulkerd and Thomas, to whom the land
descended. The son, Thomas, was a captain of militia during the
Revolution. Probably the oldest stone in the Sebring graveyard is that
marked "A. B." supposed to be the grave of Ambrose Barcroft, Sr. There
also are found the tomb stones of John Sebring, Sr., 1773, John Sebring,
Jr., 1777, Hugh McFall, 1786, John Leasman, 1793, and a number of others,
ranging in dates from 1766 to 1779. Among the descendants of John Sebring
are Judge William Sebring, Easton. William Sebring Kirkpatrick, late
member of Congress from Northampton county, and the widow of the late
General John F. Hartranft.*]
The villages of Solebury are, Lumberville and Lumberton lying contiguous
on the Delaware, Centre Bridge below on the river, Centre Hill in the
interior of the township, Carversville on the Paunacussing, Cottageville,
and Hew Hope, an incorporated borough.
(See illustration of Solebury Meeting House)
About 1785 the site of Lumberville was owned by Colonel George Wall and
William Hamilton [Hambleton*]. We know but little of [Hambleton*], but
Wall was an active patriot of the Revolution, and a man of influence. He
built two saw-mills and carried on the lumber business, was justice of the
peace, and followed surveying and conveyancing. His dwelling and office
stood on the site of Lukens Thomas's new house. At one time he kept a
school to instruct young men in surveying, and died, 1804 (29).
Hambleton's dwelling was opposite Coppernose, at what was called "Temple
bar," probably from a gravel bar in the river, and was taken down, 1828,
when the canal was dug. He died about 1797, leaving his estate to his son
Thomas, who sold it in 1807. The place was known as Wall's sawmill and
Wall's landing as late as 1814, when the name was changed to Lumberville
by Heed and Hartley who carried on the lumber business there. In 1810
there were a few dwellings, a store and tavern and other improvements were
made in subsequent years. The road then ran near the river, with the
houses on the upper side, but the canal destroyed it and the present road
was laid out. The tavern was burned down about 1828, and was rebuilt.
Since then several new buildings have been erected, including a Methodist
church, and a substantial bridge across the river. The church was built,
1836, and re-built on the opposite side of the road, 1869, with a frame
basement thirty by fifty feet. The bridge was commenced in 1854, and
finished 1857, built by Chapin and Anthony Fly at a cost of $18,000. The
Lumberville library was founded in the fall of 1823, the first meeting on
the subject being held at the Athenian school house near the village,
which William L. Hoppock, Samuel Hartley, Aaron White, Joseph Heed (30),
and Cyrus Livezey attended, among others. The shares were five dollars
each. Mr. Hartley was the first librarian, and the library was kept in his
office. The books were sold at public sale, 1833, because there was no
place to keep the 350 volumes that had accumulated. During its short
existence it did considerable to improve the literary taste of the
neighborhood. The post-office was established, 1835, and William L.
Hoppock appointed postmaster.
(29) George Wall was one of the most prominent men in the county during
that Revolutionary struggle. In 1778 he was appointed lieutenant of Bucks
with the rank of colonel, and his commission is sighed by Thomas Wharton
and Timothy Matlack. [In 1787, George Wall invented and patented a new
surveying instrument called a "Trignometer." The Legislature granted him a
patent for 21 years, the act being signed September 10, 1787. Among those
who recommended the instrument were John Lukens, Surveyor General of Pa.,
David Rittenhouse, the astronomer, and Andrew Ellicott, subsequently
Surveyor General of the United States. In 1788 Wall published a pamphlet
descriptive of the instrument. George Wall, Jr., and David Forst were the
agents, for the sale of confiscated estate in Bucks county. "George Wall"
and "George Wall, Jr." were one and the same person. He was the son of
George Wall, his mother being the widow of Andrew Ellicott and daughter of
Thomas Bye.*]
(30) The Heeds were early settlers in Solebury but we have not the date
of their arrival. Abraham Heed, who died May 19, 1843, at the age of 102,
was a remarkable man. Beginning life as a farmer, by indolent habits he
became bankrupt in a few years. This did not discourage him and he started
anew as a gunsmith, his trade; then bought real estate, built home and
mill, run lime kilns, carried on lumbering and other occupations, being
successful in all. He held the office of justice of peace, and at his death
he left 142 descendants.*
Lumberton, less than a mile below Lumberville, was known as Rose's ferry
(31), before the Revolution, when there was a grist and sawmill belonging
to William Skelton. Jacob Painter and Reuben Thorne became the owners,
1796. The latter kept the ferry, and the place was called Painter's ferry
and had a tavern and a store. It was a favorite crossing for persons going
from upper Jersey to Philadelphia who fell into the York road at Centre
Hill. Painter, who died, 1805, probably built a new mill and the subsequ
ent owners were Joseph Kugler, John Gillingham, Jeremiah King, Thomas
Little and John E. Kenderdine. The canal covers the site of the first
mill, a long, low and narrow stone building. Gillingham rebuilt the
tavern, 1816 to 1817, about which time it had fallen into bad repute, and
was called "Hard Times (32). A tavern has not been kept there since 1842.
When Mr. Kenderdine enlarged his mill, 1834, he pulled down the old Pike
dwelling. Lumberton contains a few dwellings and a grist-mill. Here is a
valuable quarry of light-colored granite, owned and worked by a company,
developed when the canal was constructed and the stone were used to build
abutments and wingwalls of bridges. The new locks at New Hope were built
of it. The quarry was bought by John E. Kenderdine, 1833, and sold by his
administrator, 1868. [On July 12, 1877, a blast of twenty kegs of powder
made this quarry, threw down a ledge 63 feet long, 27 feet high and 39
feet deep containing about 60,000 feet of stone. The stone trimmings for
the new court house, Doylestown, came from this quarry.*] Mr. Kenderdine
gave the place the name of Lumberton. The Indian name of the island in the
Delaware opposite Lumberville was Paunacussing, which it retained until
1721, when John Ladd and R. Bull bought a large tract in that vicinity,
which soon fell into the possession of Bull, and was the called Bull's
island. Paxson's island, lower down the river, took its name from Henry
Paxson, an early settler in the township. His nephew, Thomas, inherited
209 acres along the Delaware including the island, which contained 100
acres. The island was the cause of much trouble to the Paxsons, the
Indians claiming the title to it on the ground that they had not sold it
to Penn. About 1745 they offered to sell it to Paxson for £5, but he
refused to buy with the Proprietary's sanction. In the first deed it is
called a "neck," and 1745, was an island only about three months in the
year.
(31) The right of landing was reserved to John Rose in the deed of
William Skelton to Kugler, 1771.
(32) The sign blew down and the landlord put up a whitewashed window
shutter in its stead, on which he wrote with tar the words "Hard Times,"
and times did look hard enough thereabouts.
Centre Bridge, four miles below Lumberville, was called Reading's ferry
soon after 1700, from John Reading, who owned the ferry-house on the New
Jersey side, and afterward Howell's ferry, from the then owner. It was so
called in 1770. It was known as Mitchel's ferry before the present
century. In 1810 it had but one dwelling, in which John Mitchel, the
ferryman, lived, who kept the tavern there for many years, and died in
1824. At one time he represented the county in the Assembly. The bridge
was built across the river in 1813, when it took the name of Centre
Bridge, half way between Lumberville and New Hope. Since then several
dwellings and two stores have been erected. The post-office was
established at Centre Hill in 1831, and John D. Balderson [Balderston*]
postmaster, but changed to Centre Bridge in 1845.
Carversville was originally called Milton, which name it bore in 1800. At
the beginning of the century it contained a grist-mill, store, smith-shop,
etc. About 1811, Jesse Ely built a woolen factory, oil-mill, and tannery;
the factory was burned down in 1816, and re-built. Isaac Pickering built a
tavern in 1813 or 1814, which he kept to his death in 1816, when it, and
the property of Jesse Ely, were bought by Thomas Carver, who carried on
business to his death, in 1854. A post-office was established in 1833, and
the place called Carversville. Since then the village has considerably
improved, several dwellings, Free and Presbyterian churches, a large
school building, a store, etc., erected, and a cemetery laid out. The
Presbyterian congregation was organized about 1870, and the church, a
pretty Gothic structure, that will seat about 300, was built in 1874, at a
cost of $4,500. In 1811 a woolen factory was built at Fretz's mill on the
road from Carversville to the Delaware, and run until about 1819 or 1820. A
clover-mill was afterward built, and burned down in 1833, when a
grist-mill was erected on the site. Centre Hill, known as the "Stone
school-house" a century and a quarter ago, contained only a store, one
dwelling, and an old school-house in 1810, but within the last thirty
years several dwellings have been erected, an additional store opened, and
mechanics established. Cottageville has several dwellings, and a
schoolhouse. The Solebury Presbyterian church was organized in 1843
[1811*], mainly through the efforts of Mrs. Rebecca Ingham, Mrs. Johanna
Corson, and Mrs. Elizabeth Neeley. It has about 100 members, and the
yearly collections amount to nearly $1,000. The church was lately repaired
by William Neeley Thompson, of New York, but a native of Bucks, and is now
one of the most beautiful in the county. It is now known as the "Thompson
memorial church," after Thomas M. Thompson, in whose memory it was
re-built by his son. It contains four very fine memorial windows, to
commemorate the virtues of two men and two women, one of the former a
loved pastor, the Reverend Doctor Studiford. [The present pastor is the
Rev. Adolphus Kistler.*] The Solebury Baptist church grew out of a meeting
of twenty-one persons of this faith held at Paxson's Corner, now Aquetong,
March 6, 1843. They resolved to organize a Baptist church, and it was
constituted the 28th of the same month with thirteen members. The
constituent members were, Charles F. Smith, Joseph Evans, Leonard Wright,
Ann Walton, Catharine Naylor, George Cathers, Nelson H. Coffin, Jacob
Naylor, David R. Naylor, Ira Hill, Margaret Smith, and Susan Smith. The
membership was increased to thirty-one by the middle of the following May.
The Reverend J. P. Walton was the first pastor, who served the church to
1845, when it was supplied until 1849, by Reverend W. B. Srope, of
Lambertville, New Jersey. The Reverend Joseph Wright was now called as
pastor, and remained until 1854. In 1851 an addition was built to the
church. The pastors in succession afterward were, Joseph N. Folwell 1854,
W. W. Beardslee 1856, Samuel G. Kline 1859, Martin M. King 1860, and Silas
Livermore 1863. The church was closed in September 1866 on account of the
reduction in membership by death and removal, and was not re-opened for
worship until October 10, 1869. In November of that year George H.
Larison, M. D., a deacon of the First Baptist church of Lambertville, was
called to the pulpit, and has served the church [several years. He is now
deceased.*] He was ordained pastor in 1872. Under his pastorate
ninety-three were added to the church by baptism, and many others by
letter. The house was repaired in 1871, at an expense of $2,000, and is
now a commodious place of worship.
[In response to a long-felt want and urgent need for a school for higher
education in middle Bucks, the Excelsior Normal Institute was established
at Carversville, 1858, and a charter obtained. The movement secured the
co-operation of the Rev. F. R. S. Hunsicker, then principal of the
Freeland Seminary, Collegeville, Montgomery county. Mr. Hunsicker was
appointed principal with William W. Fell, Mary Hampton and William T. Seal
assistants. The school was opened in October 1859 with good attendance,
occupying a convenient building erected for the purpose. It was popular
from the first and the most prominent families became its warm supporters
and patrons. Mr. Hunsicker retired in 1862, and from that time to 1865 the
school in succession was in charge of William T. Seal, William R. Evans,
Mr. Fish, Dr. G. P. Betts, and Samuel B. Carr. In 1867 Mr. Hunsicker again
assumed charge, being succeeded by Simeon S. Overholt in 1872. The Normal
Institute proper was closed, 1874, but the academic department was
continued a year longer under Henry O. Harris (33). The property was now
sold to William R. Evans, who remodeled the building, and for a time was a
popular summer resort. Among the popular instructors in the institute,
beside those named, were A. M. Dickie, John Peoples, William G. White,
William P. M. Todd, George P. Betts, M. D., F. Bechtol and Lizzie
Hunsicker and others. Many of the pupils have reached positions of honor,
among them Judge D. Newlin Fell, State Supreme court, Judge Pancoast,
Camden, N. J., Judge Henry Scott, common pleas, Northampton county,
Pennsylvania, county superintendents, Eastburn and Slotter, and others in
the learned professions. The "Excelsior Normal Institute" made its mark on
the community.*]
(33) Mr. Harris and Mr. Eastburn are both members of the Bucks county
bar settled at Doylestown.*
On the banks of the Delaware, at the lower end of Lumberville, rises a
headland fifty feet high called Coppernose. Local antiquarians say it was
so called because copperhead snakes were found there in olden times, and
William Satterthwaite, an eccentric poet and schoolmaster of the township,
has the credit of being the author of the quaint name. From the top of
this bold promontory is obtained a fine view up and down the river, with
the islands, the bold shores on either side, with the hamlets of Lumbervil
le and Lumberton nestling at the declivity of the western highlands. Half
a mile below, the Cuttalossa (34), in a tortuous course of three miles
[from its source on Margaret Selner's farm] (35), empties into the
Delaware after turning several mills. It is a romantic stream and its
beauties have been heralded in both prose and poetry (36). John G.
Whittier, the poet, lived on the banks of the Cuttalossa during parts of
1839 and 1840, on the Watson Scarborough premises.
(34) In 1897 William J. Buck issued a publication of ninety pages -
originally printed in the Bucks County "Intelligencer," 1873, entitled
"The Cuttalossa and its Historical Traditional and Poetical Association."
It is replete with matter of a highly interesting character, but we have
not space to indulge in quotations from it.*
(35) Not in 1905 edition.
(36) Tradition, not of the most reliable character, says it received its
name from a strayed Indian child, named Quattie, meeting a hunter in the
woods and crying "Quattie lossa," meaning that Quattie was lost, and from
that the name was gradually changed to its present, Cuttalossa. It is
called "Quatielassy" and "Quetyelassy" in a deed of 1702.
Opposite the old grist-mill, and in hearing of the patter of its dripping
wheel, a beautiful fountain that bears the name of the stream has been
erected. A never-failing spring gushes out from underneath the roots of a
large tree, on the summit of a wooded knoll thirty yards west of the
woods, and twenty feet above the level of the creek. Years ago the late
John E. Kenderdine placed a wooden trough to catch the water after it came
down the gully, and utilized it for the traveling public, and in the
summer of 1873 a few liberal persons in and out of the neighborhood
contributed money to erect the beautiful stone fountain that now adorns
the locality. A leaden pipe conveys the water down the hill and under the
road to the fountain where it falls into a marble basin four feet square.
A figure stands in the middle of the basin surmounted by a shell through
which the water escapes in threadlike jets to the height of twelve feet,
and an iron-fence protects it from intruding cattle. At the roadside near
the spring is a substantial stone watering trough, flanked by a wall. At
the two extremities of the wall are columns, two feet square and six high,
with a marble slab set in each. On one is the inscription: "Cuttalossa
fountain, erected 1873, by admirers of the beautiful," and on the other:
"Are not cold wells,
And crystal springs,
The very things,
For our hotels?"
A flight of steps ascends the steep, wooded bank at each end of the wall,
and graveled paths lead to the grounds surrounding the spring. On the
slope, water, from other fountains supplied by branches from the main
pipe, leaps up from the ground and falls into miniature basins, and a
rustic bridge spans the stream just above. The grounds about are
pleasantly laid out, seats are placed in inviting spots, and
hitching-posts for horses. During the summer it is a great resort for
croquet and other parties, which spend pleasant hours in the shades of the
romantic Cuttalossa (37). The beauties of this locality have been sung by
Solebury's sweetest poet (38).
"While Cattalossa's waters
Roll murmuring on their way,
'Twixt hazel clumps and alders,
Neath old oaks gnarled and gray (39),
While just across the valley
From the old, old grist-mill come
The water-wheel's low patter
The millstone's drowsy hum (40).
Here sparkling from its birthplace,
Just up the rifted hill,
In tiny cascades leaping
Comes down a little rill,
Till in a plashing fountain
It pours its crystal tied
Just where the road goes winding
To the valley opening wide.
Thy beeches old and carven
With names cut long ago;
Thy wooded glens, dark shadowed,
Beside thy murmuring flow;
Thy spice-wood fringed meadows,
The hills that sloped beyond,
The mills that drank thy waters
From many a glassy pond (41).
The rivulets, laurel-shaded,
Thy hemlocks, towering high;
My home beside thy waters,
The river rolling by,
All crowd into my memory,
Called up by the conjuring Past.
Oh, I'll forget them, never!
While life and memory last."
(37) We have the authority of William J. Buck for saying that there was
an Indian village called Quatyelossa about the present dam of Armitage's
old mill as late as 1705, and it probably gave the name to the stream.
(38) Thaddeus S. Kenderdine.
(39) Referring to the upper end of the valley.
(40) Alluding to the old mill, built in 1758.
(41) Referring to the fountain near the mill.
At the middle of the last century there were three taverns in the
township, at each of the three ferries, Rose's, Howell's and Coryell's, of
course, principally to accommodate foreign travel. The hostelry at
Ruckman's was opened at a later day, but a public house has not been kept
there for many years. At what time it was first licensed we do not know,
but it was kept by one David Forst in 1789, and probably several years
earlier.
[In 1854*] accident led to the discovery of an old mine on the farm of
John T. Neeley, two and a half miles below New Hope, the mouth covered
with a large flat stone. The drift, with an opening through solid rock,
seven feet by four, runs into the hillside about sixty feet, where it
meets a chamber fifteen feet square and eight or ten feet high, with a
pillar in the centre hewn out of solid rock. Here is a shaft about forty
feet deep, and to the right of the chamber is an oblique shaft, about ten
feet wide and from thirty to forty high, which opens further up the hill.
The drift terminates in the solid rock. There are no other evidences of
mining operations, and no minerals found except a few pieces of copper
picked among the debris. There is no tradition as to when, or by whom, the
excavations were made, but it must have been at the early settlement of
the country, for large trees are now growing over the old excavations. The
Proprietaries sold the tract to William Coleman, and by him, about 1750,
to James Hamilton, Langhorne Biles, Joseph Turner, William Plumstead,
William Allen and Lawrence Growden. Three years afterward they sold it to
Robert Thompson, reserving to themselves the right to dig and search for
metals. As these gentlemen were interested in the Durham works, no doubt
they purchased the property to secure the supposed minerals, and caused
the excavation to be made. Many years ago the late John Ruckman leased the
property, and employed an engineer of New York to superintend the
excavations. He uncovered the passage and shafts mentioned, but did not
find copper in sufficient quantities to justify working it. The engineer
decided that the original excavations had been made by German miners. The
location is on the west side of Bowman's hill.
Among the physicians of the past and present generations, of Solebury,
worthy of notice are, John Wall, probably the son of Colonel Wall, who was
born in 1787, and studied with Doctor John Wilson. He appeared to be a
physician by intuition, and would prescribe for the most difficult case
and conduct it successfully, without being able to tell why he used this
or that remedy. He had a large practice, and was popular and successful,
but drank to excess, and died at Pittstown, New Jersey, in 1826, at the
early age of forty; David Forst was the son of the host at Ruckman's, born
in 1789, was fellow student of Doctor Wall, located at Kingwood in 1807,
and died in 1821, aged thirty-five years; Charles Cowdric was born in
1833, studied with Doctors D. W. C. and L. L. Hough, practiced at Red Hill
and Frenchtown, and died at the latter place, December 31, 1871, when he
bid fair to become a physician of eminence. We have alluded elsewhere, to
the Doctors Ingham, father and son, who ranked among the physicians of
their day, both born in Solebury.
When the Solebury Friends separated from Buckingham, in 1808, and built a
meeting-house, the joint school fund was divided, the former township
getting $4,500 as her share. Since the establishment of public schools
this fund has lain idle. Before 1791 Samuel Eastburn conveyed a lot to
John Scarborough and others for a school- house, but we do not know where
it was situated.
[On the farm of William B. Leedom, near Lumberville, stands a white oak
twenty- three and one-half feet in circumference, beneath whose roots
flows a spring that supplies the farm stock with water. Under it is a
cavern that affords shelter to the hogs and poultry, when it storms. From
this farm the spire of the Presbyterian church, Doylestown, may be seen
with a glass on a clear day. Prior to the Revolution the farm is said to
have been owned by a stock company for mining purposes, but was bought by
Colonel George Wall, who occupied it during the war. He sold it to Mathias
Cowell about the close of the century and removed to Lumberville where he
died.*]
The Great Spring, likewise called by the names of Logan and Ingham, three
miles from New Hope, is one of the most remarkable in the State. It pours
a volume of cool, pure water from a ledge of red shale and limestone and
flows to the Delaware in a stream that turns several mills. It was a
favorite resort of the Indians and is said to have been the birthplace of
Teedyuscung. The smallpox broke out among the Indians at the spring soon
after the county was settled and great numbers died. Not knowing it was in
fectious, many Indians visited the sick, contracted the disease, and
carried it home with them. Their treatment was sweating which was fatal.
Believing it was sent by the whites for their ruin, it came near breaking
Indian confidence in the white man. The last Indian children in Solebury
and Buckingham, went to school at the Red school house on the Street road,
1794, with the father of the author, then a small boy. The late Charles
Smith, Solebury, disputes with James Jamison, Buckingham, the honor of
inventing a lime-kiln to burn coal. He is said to have built the first
coal burning kiln, and that all others were fashioned after his invention.
[The first paper mill in the county was built about 1790, by Samuel D.
Ingham on the stream that flows from the Great Spring. He learned the
trade of paper making at the mill on the Pennypack when young, and when
out of his time, returned home and erected the mill. The paper was made by
hand, for several years, and hauled to Philadelphia, and on it was printed
the early Bucks county newspapers. In 1836, a Fourdrinier machine was put
in, the first mill in the state to use one. At this mill was made the first
wrapping paper manufactured from manila rope and bagging in
Pennsylvania, by Anthony Kelty, who rented it. It is still in operation.
It was once destroyed by fire and rebuilt. The second mill was nearer the
Delaware at Wells' falls, just below New Hope. A third mill, erected
there, 1880, manufactured manila paper for wrapping.*]
We know but little of the population of Solebury at early periods. In
1761 there were 138 taxables. In 1784 there were 980 whites, but no
blacks, 166 dwellings and 150 outhouses. In 1810 the population was 1,659;
1820, 2,092; 1830, 2,961 (42), and 503 taxables; 1840, 2,038; 1850, 2,486
whites, 148 colored; 1860, 2,875 whites, 139 colored; 1870, the population
was 2,791, of which 156 were of foreign birth, and 125 blacks; [1880,
2,648; 1890, 2,371; 1900, 2,082.*]
(42) The heavy increase over 1820, is evidently an error in the census
figures.
The map of New Hope, the largest village in Solebury township drawn and
engraved from one of 1798, gives the names of all the owners of real
estate in it at that time. We insert it in this chapter, with the
following explanation of the numbers upon the map, viz: No. 1, mills of B.
and D. Parry; 2, stables, ditto; 3, store and stone tables, ditto; 4,
cooper shop, ditto; 5, orchard, ditto; 6, house and garden, ditto; 7,
ditto, ditto; 8, Beaumont's hatter-shop; 9 and 10, Beaumont's tavern and
barn; 11, house of Cephas Ross; 12, house of O. Hampton; 13, house and
barn of J. Pickering; 14, house of J. Osmond; 15, Vansant's saw-mill; 16,
house; 17, house of B. and D. Parry; 18, house of B. Parry; 19, Vansant's
house; 20, house and shop of A. Ely; 21, B. and D. Parry; 22, Martha
Worstall**; 23, D. Parry's shop; 24, house, ditto; 25, Eli Doan's house; 26,
Enoch Kitchen's house; 27, John Poor's house; 28, barn, ditto; 29, Oliver
Paxson's house; 30, barn, ditto; 31 and 32, Paxson's salt store and
stable; 33, Coolbaugh's house; 34, William Kitchen's house. In a
subsequent chapter will be found a lengthy account of the settlement of
New Hope, with its present condition (43).
(43) Prior to 1745, there was not a two-horse wagon in Buckingham or
Solebury, now among the richest and most populous townships in the county.*
(See Map of New Hope, 1798)
End of Chapter XVIII.
** NOTE: submitted by Shawn Gussett
In the sections on property owners in New Hope in 1798, Davis has a
Martha Worstall listed. This appears to be incorrect. I have a copy of a land deed
that has John Beaumont selling a lot in New Hope to Matthew Worstall on May 30,1798.
The description of the lot: situated on the south side of the York road extending at
right angles to Parry's mills pond. The Map of New Hope in 1798 has Martha Worstall's
lot on the south side of the York road in the same place described above. Matthew
Worstall sold this lot to Benjamin Parry on March 10,1799. It would not be hard to
misread Matthew as Martha on a Map etching.
Shawn Gussett
Originally John Beaumont bought the lot in a sheriff's sale (Samuel Dean Esq.) recorded
in Deed book 26 p. 326, from the estate of John Coryell. Matthew Worstall's deed is
in Deed book 30 p. 390-391.