History: Local: Chapters XLIV-XLV: Boroughs of Hatboro' and Jenkintown: Bean's 1884 History of Montgomery Co, PA
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BEAN'S HISTORY OF
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
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721 (cont.)
CHAPTER XLIV.
BOROUGH OF HATBORO'.
By Wm. J. Buck.
THIS borough was incorporated August 26, 1871, and contains an area of
about six hundred acres, taken wholly from Moreland township. Its extreme
length from north to south is one and a half miles; greatest breadth,
three-fourths of a mile; and extends on the Bucks County line nearly half
said distance. The main part of the town is situated along the old York
road, which is now called York Avenue, opened through from Philadelphia to
the present Centre Bridge in the fall of 1711. The Hatboro' and Warminster
turnpike was completed in 1850, and extends from the Willow Grove to the
Street road, a distance of four and a half miles. This improvement is laid
on the bed of the old York road, which extends through the whole length of
the borough, dividing it very nearly into two equal portions. The Northeast
Pennsylvania Railroad is a branch of the North Pennsylvania road, and
commences at Abington Station and extends to Hartsville, a distance of nearly
722
ten miles. It was commenced in 1872 and opened for travel December 18th of
that year to the county line, and in 1875 extended to Hartsville, its
present terminus. The Hatboro' Station is six and four-fifths miles from
Abington, throe from Hartsville and sixteen from Philadelphia. Fulmer
Station, near its southern extremity, is also within the borough limits.
Five passenger trains pass through here daily to Philadelphia.
The place is progressing, and now contains
two hotels
two drug
one boot and shoe
one hardware
one jewelry and clothing
two confectionery
one furniture and
three general stores.
There are, besides
two carriage manufactories
two blacksmith-shops
one wheelwright
two tin-shops
two bakers
one machine-shop
two merchant flour-mills
one livery stable
one lumber
two coal-yards.
According to the census of 1880 contained five hundred and eighty-six
inhabitants. The assessment for 1883 returned two hundred and twenty-four
taxables and four hundred and sixteen thousand eight hundred and ninety-
five dollars as the amount of taxable property. The means for education
have not been neglected and in this respect it has enjoyed unusual
advantage, for a long time. The library was founded in 1755, and now
Contains over ten thousand volumes and has one hundred and forty-six
members. The academy was built in 1811-12 from the proceeds of a bequest
from Judge Loller. The public schools are held in this building, and for
the year ending June 1, 1882, had an average attendance of seventy-nine
pupils for ten months. Tho post-office now possesses two daily
communications with Philadelphia. The national bank was established here
shortly after the incorporation of the borough, with a capital of sixty
thousand dollars. Its present officers, are
Hon. I. N. Evans, president
Jutice Mitchell, vice-president
James Vanhorn, cashier
Three public halls are in the place. Loller Lodge of Independent Order of
Odd-Fellows own a three-story stone building, in which they told their
meetings, which was erected in 1851 and dedicated October 9th of said year.
The W. K. Bray Lodge of Masons meet in Jones' Hall. The Patriotic Sons of
America also possess an organization.
The name of the place is said to be derived from one of the first stone
houses built here, which was about 1703, and in which, shortly after, John
Dawson followed for many years, his occupation of making hats. This
building likewise became a tavern, and had for its sign a crooked billet,
suggested by a popular inn then kept in Water street, Philadelphia. It
stood near the centre of the present town, on the old York road, where is
now the dwelling-house of Oliver Watson, and into which, on being,
modernized, it portion was incorporated. We know from records that John
Dawson was still residing here in 1734 on a lot of three acres, and that a
Daniel Dawson at that time owned four acres. The earliest mention of the
name we have found is on Lewis Evans' map of Pennsylvania and the adjoining
provinces, published in 1749 where it is called "Hatboro'," precisely as it is
now written. In an advertisement in Franklin's "Pennsylvania Gazette" of October
12, 1752, it mentioned as the "Crooked Billet." The library records in 1755 call
it "Hatborough," and the meetings are mentioned as being held at the house
of "David Reese, at ye Crooked Billet." Our next authority in the order of
time is Nicholas Scull's map of Pennsylvania, published in 1759, on which
it is "Billet;" the same also on William Scull's map of 1770. Washington, in
his letter to Congress from this vicinity, dated August 10, 1777 mentions therein
the "Billet tavern." General Lacy, in his correspondence of 1778, calls
the place "Crooked Billet," as also Majors Simcoe and Steadman, who were
British officers in the skirmish here. Reading Howell, in his township map
of 1792, calls it "Hatborough," and also Joseph Scott in his "Gazetteer" of
1795. Now, carefully considering these several authorities, we come to the
conclusion that the proper name of the place or village from the beginning
was Hatboro', and by the Billet or Crooked Billet was more particularly
meant the tavern that had here this sign, which conclusion is sustained by
the library records, and Washington's correspondence.
A road was laid out from Byberry to Horsham in 1720 and passes through
the central part of Hatboro'. That portion cast of York Avenue has been
called Byberry Avenue, and that extending westward Moreland Avenue. The
county line road, leading from the present toll-gate to Graeme Park, was
laid out in 1722. As the York road was opened through here still earlier,
it would denote that some settlement in and around here must then have been
made. David Reese, whom we know kept the tavern here in 1759, had a
daughter, Rebecca, married to John Hart, Warminster. Jacob Tomkins kept a
store in 1761; the following year the library was removed to his house, and
for sometime he performed the duties of librarian, secretary, and
treasurer. In 1776 he was taxed for fifty-six acres, which would indicate
that he also carried on farming. In the fall of 1786, William Todd
purchased Tomkins' share in the library, when it is probable he removed
from the neighborhood. Abraham Duffield, in 1784, kept a public-house in
the lower part of the village, to which the library was soon after removed,
and where it remained for some time. John J. Marple became the proprietor
of this inn and kept it at least from 1814 to 1825. He was postmaster in
1816. This office is stated to have been established here about chiefly
through the exertions of the Hon. N. B. Boileau. In an advertisement of Mr.
Marple's property, in 1825, it is described as containing "a large two-
story house, sixty by forty feet" two barns and sixty-one acres of land.
In 1813 the polling places of Moreland and Horsham were removed here from
Abington, and continued until after 1828. These were at the stand now known
as Jones' Hotel.
723
Colonel John Lacy of Bucks County, was commissioned a brigadier-general
January 8, 1778, and to him was given the command of the Militia between the
rivers Schuylkill and Delaware. His orders were to watch the enemy, to protect
the inhabitants and prevent further intercourse between the British and the
country and cut off all supplies designed for their use. To carry out
these measures he was stationed at Warwick about the middle of January, on
the 23d at Graeme Park and next at the Cross-Roads (now Hartsville). From
the latter place he proceeded to Hatboro', where he formed his camp on the
Byberry road, about half a mile east, of the village. He received here four
hundred men from York and Cumberland Counties, which made his forces about
to about four hundred and fifty men, who were poorly supplied with arms and
ammunition, suffering at times severely for provisions, and often only two
day's allowance in camp. As he had been pretty active in cutting off
supplies going to the city, as well as arresting the parties concerned
therein, it was determined by the British to effect his capture in the
night through information received from spies residence in the vicinity.
Early on the morning of May 1, 1798, a detachment of the British army from
Philadelphia, composed chiefly of American loyalists, under command of
Lieutenant Colonel Abercrombie and Major Simcoe, made a sudden attack on
the camp, in which about thirty Americans were killed and seventeen
wounded. The British loss was trifling, some six or seven men were wounded,
five horses found dead and three captured. During the skirmish some of the
wounded were either conveyed to or sought shelter in a heap of buckwheat
straw, to which the enemy set fire, and perished in the greatest agony.
They soon after hastily retreated to the city, when the dead were collected
and placed in one grave on the north side of the County Line road near what
has been long known as Wood's Corner. A handsome white marble moment, twenty
feet high, was erected on the east side of York Avenue, on an elevated
site, by the citizens of the neighborhood in 1861, in commemoration of
those who lost their lives in this attack.
Mills must have been early established here on the Pennypack. Nicholas
Schull mentions on his maps Dungworth's mill beside the York road in 1759.
This property in 1787 was owned by Mordecai Thomas, who was taxed for one
hundred and ninety-four acres of land, four dwellings and a grist-mill. In
1808 he had erected here a mill for carding wool, which was for some time
extensively carried on. For a long period Hatboro' has been noted for its
wagon and carriage-making establishments. John Paxson advertised in 1807
that he had a two-story stone coach-shop thirty by twenty feet, a
blacksmith-shop, thirty by eighteen feet and a harness making shop, thirty-
sixty sixteen feet with other building essential to the business. At a
meeting in September, 1814, a company of fifty-two was raised here for the
war with England, of which Alexander McClean was elected captain and Thomas
L. Boileau first lieutenant. During the Revolution Hatboro' is stated to have
contained about eighteen houses, one-half of which were built of logs, a
tavern, store, a mill and blacksmith-shop. Scott, in his "Gazetteer" of 1795,
mentions it as containing about twenty houses and a library of a thousand
volumes. In 1850 it contained three hundred and four inhabitants, about
fifty-six houses, three stores, two taverns, two merchant flour-mills, two
churches, academy, library and several mechanic shops.
About a quarter of a mile east of the town, on the north, side of the
Byberry road, stood a small one-story stone school-house, supposed to have
been built about 1730. Here, in 1768, N. B. Boileau first went to school.
After the erection of the academy, in 1812, this was ordered to be sold,
with the lot of ground belonging thereto. One-half the proceeds were given
to the academy, and the balance towards the erection of a new school-house
on the land of Isaac Pickering, about a mile distant on the county line,
and near its intersection with the Newton Road. The venerable building
alluded to, after being sold, was converted into a dwelling-house, and
stood till about 1862, when it was torn own, and the spot is now under
cultivation, with nothing to denote its former existence.
From the report of the grand-jury in 1773 we learn that the York road
passed over the Pennypack Creek by a bridge, which they state "is now very
much out of repair and should be repaired at the expense of the county, in
consequence of its being so public a road." It may have been at this time
temporarily improved, but we doubt that much more was done to it. However,
in 1789 the whole structure was torn away and a new one of stone erected in
its place by the county, about twenty-four yards above the present bridge.
The late George Kinderdine informed us that he remembered it well, and that
it consisted of one arch of an exact semicircular form of twenty-four feet
span, and that when built it was considered a marvel of workmanship. It
possessed short abutments or wing-walls, making it high in the centre, and
which made the travel over it difficult. When the stream became high the
water would flow around it, thus rendering it at times extremely unpleasant
to cross, especially for those afoot. It was only half the length of the
present bridge and not of sufficient width to let wagons pass each other.
The master-mason and probable architect was Stephen Love, who fancied its
only arch the perfection of skill. An act was passed April 6, 1830, for
James M. Porter, Samuel Hart and John H. Hill to view and lay out the York
road down to the Willow Grove. When they came to the Pennypack they
directed the road to be laid further down so as to materially straighten it
in a distance of two hundred yards. It was on this route that the present
substantial bridge was built in 1824, which possesses three arches, each of
eighteen feet span. The date-stone of the former bridge having been
inserted in this one has led persons to believe that the present structure
was built in 1789. A tradition exists that just before the arch of the
previous bridge was completed, a person residing in the vicinity ran his
horse over it safely at one prodigious leap, for the honor, as he said, of
being the first to pass over it.
724
There is reason to believe that the first newspaper published anywhere in
the lower portion of Montgomery County, outside of Norristown, was "The
Literary Chronicle," issued weekly by Oliver I. Search, at Hatboro', in the
beginning of June, 1840. The size of its sheet was twenty-two by thirty-two
inches, with six columns to a page. It was published on Tuesdays, at two
dollars per annum, in a building adjoining the upper hotel. About April,
1842, or after it had existed one year and ten months, Mr. Search removed
the establishment to Newtown, where it was continued under several names
until 1848. The second attempt at newspaper publishing in Hatboro' was by
Dr. Wm. T. Robinson, September 7, 1873, when the "Public Spirit" commenced
its career on a sheet twenty-four by twenty-eight inches in size, and a few
years thereafter it was enlarged to its present dimensions. It is published
every Saturday, and has now attained its eleventh year with a good
circulation. From a few numbers of "The Literary Chronicle" we ascertain that
in 1841 the following persons were in business in Hatboro':
Lukens Wakefield and David Titus, coach and house-painters
Abraham Haslett, smith
Hiram Reading, store
Charles Wakefield, tailor
G. W. Gilbert, wheelwright
H. N. Smith, boot and shoemaker
0. I. Search, job printing.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was the first erected in the place. The
corner-stone was laid September 8, 1836, on which occasion Rev. David
Bartine preached; it was dedicated May 22, 1837. It was a plain stone
edifice, forty by fifty feet in dimensions, and the parsonage was built at
the expense of Joseph and Deborah Lehman, and by them presented to the
congregation. The church cost two thousand seven hundred dollars and the
parsonage two thousand one hundred dollars. Mr. Lehman died November 11,
1845, aged eighty-one years and Deborah, his wife, April 4, 1841, aged
seventy-four, both being interred tinder one large flat stone beside the
church. In 1879 the congregation determined on rebuilding it after a Gothic
design, to which a steeple is attached. The lot of ground contains about
one and a half acres, is neatly inclosed and well-shaded. The building and
grounds are kept in neat order and are an ornament to the town. It is
called Lehman Chapel, and is situated on the West Side of York Avenue, but a
short distance above the Pennypack Bridge. Rev. H. A. Day was appointed to
this charge in March 1883, as successor to Rev. Peter Cox. On the
tombstones in the graveyard are found the names of
Wood
Murray
Wilson
Bisbing
Eisenbrey
Meyers
Moore
Kenderdine
Stitch
Wakefield
Cline
Mottershead
Stewart
Beninghoff
Arnold
Fisher
Coar
Cilcott
Tudor
Emerson
Perry
King
Bower
Fesmire
Torpin
Bush,
Sisty
Beans
Goentner
Maxwell
Christopher
McDowell.
The Baptist Church is located on the East Side of York Avenue, near the
upper part of the town. It is of stone, forty by sixty feet in dimensions,
and surmounted by a spire ninety feet high. The congregation was organized
in September, 1835, and held worship in Loller Academy until the erection
of the building, The corner-stone was laid September 5, 1839, and the
church was dedicated January 16, 1840, and cost eleven hundred dollars. In
1855 it was deemed insufficient for the accommodation of the worshipers and
the present more commodious edifice was at an expense of upwards of four
thousand dollars. At the laying of the corner-stone, May 22nd of that year,
the Rev. Daniel Dodd preached. The pastors in charge from the beginning
have been
Rev. William Maule
J. P. Walton
Mathew Semple
J. J. Baker
Samuel J. Creswell
Lewis Smith
Theophilus Jones
George Hand from May, 1852, to January 1, 1862
Thomas R. Taylor, July, 1862, until his death, in April, 1863
William S. Wood, from the autumn of 1863 to about the close of 1867
Isaac C. Wynn, February 8, 1868, to June, 1870
George Bowman, September, 1870, to April, 1879
I. Blanchard Hutchinson, September 1879 to the present time.
About one hundred and eighty members belong to the congregation, to which
are also attached four Sunday-schools, with thirty teachers and two hundred
and twenty scholars. The church premises comprise upwards of two acres of
ground, on which are a two-story stone parsonage and a sexton's house. The
entrance to the church is approached through a fine, shady avenue of
maples. The graveyard is to the rear and is of ample size. On the numerous
stones around are found the names of
Fretz
Bitting
Martin
Scott
Lester
Sutch
Yerkes
Craven
Lukens
Search
Johnson
Meredith
Snyder
Haslet
Kimbell
Vanartsdalen
Booskirk
Rover
Margerum
Stockdale
Robbins
Lower
Dean
Taylor
Hill
Beans
Ashton
Swartz
McNair
Baine
Marple
James
Hay
Hobensack
Evans
Morgan
Humphreys
Davis
McDowell
Mathew
Eisenbrey.
The cemetery is located on the north bank, of the Pennypack, to the east
of York Avenue. The grounds comprise about twenty-one acres, In 1882 a two-
story house was built for the residence of the superintendent, and it
chapel and gateway erected of stone. The interments up to October 1, 1883
have numbered ninety. The cemetery association was organized in 1876 and
incorporated March 17, 1877. A street has since been opened along its
whole northern boundary rendering, it convenient of approach from several
directions. The ground is elevated and ascends with sufficient slope from
the stream to be of easy drainage.
The whole has been inclosed and handsomely divided into sections and plot
fronting on its several avenues and walks that extend in various
directions. Though but a comparatively few years have elapsed since this
cemetery was laid out, yet numbers have availed themselves of its
privileges in purchasing lots, as may be seen by the graves of those since
buried here, ornamented with flowers and neat tombstones and railings
around. A stroll here affords a view of rich productive and improving
country, diversified with beautiful scenery, adorned with comfortable homes
and inhabited by an intelligent people. In sight is Huckleberry Hill, Edge
Hill, Sampson's Hill, Horseheaven, the place of Lacey's defeat and the
Pennypack which need only be mentioned to revive legendary and historical
associations.
725
Robert Loller resided in the house now occupied by the principal of the
academy. In early life he was a school-teacher, and followed subsequently
the business of surveying and conveyancing. He was married to Mary, the
daughter of Archibald McClean, of Horsham. In 1776 he was chosen one of the
deputies of the county to frame and adopt a new State Constitution. He soon
after joined the army of Washington, and was in the battles of Trenton,
Princeton and Germantown. He became a colonel in the army, a member of the
library in 1787, member of Assembly and associate judge of the county for
many years. He died October 21, 1808, aged sixty-eight years. Through his
bequest the academy was built in 1811-12 on his estate, and handsomely
endowed.
In the lower part of the present borough, adjoining Loller Academy, long
resided Nathaniel B. Boileau, a native of the vicinity, and a son of Isaac
Boileau. He was a graduate of Princeton College, a member of Assembly, in
1808 chosen Speaker of that body, and for nine years Secretary of State to
Governor Simon Snyder. In 1836 he was appointed register of wills for the
county. He was personally acquainted with John Fitch, the steamboat
inventor, who was a frequent visitor to his father's house. He was also the
executor of Judge Loller's estate, and superintended the erection of the
academy. He died March 16, 1850, in his eighty-eighth-year.
By a popular vote, in the spring of 1884, authorized by an act of
Assembly passed the previous year, it was decided that a pavement seven
feet wide be laid along each side of York Avenue. The borough paid the
damages occasioned in carrying out this measure, in the removal of
buildings, etc. We cannot leave this subject without expressing a regard
for the memory of George Kenderdine, the first burgess of the town and a
resident the third of a century. He was a native of Horsham, a millwright
by profession and an ingenuous man, modest, unassuming and friendly in his
intercourse and ever disposed for the advancement of the general good. He
died February 8, 1883, at the close of an useful life.
THE UNION LIBRARY. -An institution that was established one hundred and
thirty years ago for the dissemination of useful knowledge in this county
and has flourished ever since certainly merits some notice in a historical
work of this nature. At the date of its origin there could not have been
above eight or nine public libraries in the thirteen colonies, of which two
had been established in Philadelphia. To show the enterprise of its
projectors at this time and the sparseness of population, Hatboro' could
not have then contained above a dozen houses, and it is probable that in
this respect it was not surpassed by any village within a distance of ten
miles. In a country so new and unsettled, and at a time when book
publishing was almost unknown here and the people compelled to import most
of the books they did get, and at high prices, it certainly required some
effort and pecuniary sacrifice, to establish such a library. We should
remember, too, that it was at a gloomy period in the history of
Pennsylvania; war existed with the French and the Indians, and the latter
were massacring hundreds of the inhabitants within a distance of sixty
miles. Indeed, so intent were they on its establishment that the first
meeting called for the purpose was only ten days after Braddock's defeat,
which, with all the appalling results, did not deter or prevent them from
prosecuting the matter so vigorously that it soon became a success.
The circumstances under which the library was founded are thus set forth
in its proceedings: "Whereas dark ignorance, with all the concomitants that
flow from it, did about this time prevail in these parts, and no general
scheme on foot for the promotion of knowledge and virtue, this, by some of
the thinking part of the people, was looked upon with concern, and some
proposals were made for executing a public library of select books as the
most likely way to expel those gloomy clouds of ignorance and open
profaneness so much abounding, and give the gentle reader an agreeable
taste for learning. However, nothing was done towards the formation thereof
until the beginning of the summer of 1755, when the same came to be
seriously considered on the 19th of July, when a meeting of conference was
held on the premises by the Rev. Charles Beatty, Rev. Joshua Potts, John
Lukens and Joseph Hart, when a plan for establishing the same was
unanimously agreed upon. Public notice was then given to all persons
willing or desirous to promote said library that they, should meet at David
Rees', at ye Crooked Billet, the' second day of August, for establishing
the same," on which occasion the plan was read and approved and signed by
the several members, who were required to meet the first Saturday in
November to choose officers and make their first payment.
The "Instrument of Partnership," as it was called, was signed by
Charles Beatty
Joshua Potts
Jonathan DuBois
Joseph Hart
John Lukens
Isaac Hough
David Rees
David Davis
William Loufburrow
John Thomas
John Watts
Joseph Dilworth
Abel Dungan
Peter Lukens
Thomas Potts
Samuel Swift
Joseph Dugan
Silas Yerkes
John Jarret
Daniel Thomas
John Shoemaker
Samuel Irwin
Isaac Shoemaker
Jacob Cadwallader
Benjamin Powers
James Vansant
Peter Craven
Job Lancaster
Nathan Bewly
Clement Dungan
Samuel Shoemaker
John Bartolet
Alexander Edwards
John Jones
Joseph Gilbert
who may therefore be considered the original members and
founders of the same. The number is thirty-five, -certainly quite a
favorable beginning, and the residence of each was probably within a
distance of four miles of Hatboro'. There is no doubt that the aforesaid
list composed the most intelligent and respectable persons of the
neighborhood and, as far as we know, they were all holders of real estate.
726
The Instrument of Partnership states the title to be "the Union Library
Company of Hatbourrough, in the Mannor of Moorland, in the county of
Philadelphia, in the Province of Pennsylvania;" that it was agreed upon
"The Second day of August, in the Twenty-ninth year of the Reign of our
Sovereign, Lord George the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain,
France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc." It was thereby
ordered that they early meetings should be held on the first Saturday in
November, the first payment for each member to be twenty shillings, and
from thence forward at every annual meeting ten shillings, "and no less, it
being for the purchasing a collection of books and defraying all other
necessary charges of said library, and for no other use whatever," the
directors to have the charge of all the company's effects, affairs and the
buying of books and general management of the library, for which purpose
they were to meet every three months. The library was to be open on every
other Saturday afternoon, commencing with the yearly meeting, and no book
wits permitted to be taken out if under a quarto in size longer than four
weeks, if larger from eight to twelve weeks. Section 16th contains this
provision: "Provided always that no supplement, addition or article
whatsoever shall be made or become in force which may divide or alienate
the books and effects of said library company aforesaid, but forever, and
from time to time to be and remain the undistinguishable property of the
members of the Union Library Company from time to time being, according to
the true intent of this our present Instrument of Partnership."
At the annual meeting held November 1, 1755, John Jarret, Samuel Erwin
and Joseph Hart were elected directors, William Loofbourrow, secretary
and Daniel Thomas, treasurer.
At the directors' meeting held on December 19th the sum of £44 7s was given
in charge to the Rev. Charles Beatty, who was directed to send the
catalogue of books ordered to the stationer in London, who was to secure
the same. At this meeting a gift of four pounds was received from Hon.
Lawrence Growden, £1 7s. from John Lukens, and one pound from John Ross, Esq.
At the meeting of the directors, held August 14, 1756, announcement was made
that the books sent for had safely come to hand, and were placed in a room
in Mr. Pott's house, where they would be delivered for the use of the
members. In August 1757, John Lukens was authorized to make a purchase of
books to the extent of ten pounds, which were bought on the following
November 5th. On this occasion £19 19s. 6d. were given to Mr. Beatty for an
additional purchase in London, which he was ordered to get insured." These
were received October 24, 1758, and were found to be "much damaged on
shipboard from water." At the meeting held February 10, 1759, the secretary
was permitted to hire out books, the charge for large folios being eighteen
pence, quartos one shilling, and all smaller volumes six pence. This year
the yearly payments, loans and fines amounted to £13 10.s. The secretary,
Joshua Potts, was allowed one pound for the use of the room and attendance.
May 10, 1760, books were purchased of Charles Beatty to the amount of £6 7s.
and as he was going to England, he was requested to make an additional
purchase there. Labels were ordered to be printed and placed in the books.
Joseph Galloway having presented four volumes through the hands of Joseph
Hart, the directors, in return, sent him their thanks, wherein they say
"you may depend not only on our endeavour to perpetuate the utility of this
institution, but the memory of all its benefactors also." James Young, of
Philadelphia, desired to know through his friend, John Erwin, the full
value of a share in the library. This was rated at £3 10s. The payments,
loans and fines November 7, 1761, amounted to £14 10s. 9d. David Rees made
the generous offer that for ten shillings he would give a year's attendance
as librarian and do the advertising, on condition that the directors
speedily secure a bookcase for the books, which they consented to do. In
the fall of 1762 a catalogue was prepared, from which we learn that the
library contained one hundred and twenty-five works, comprised in two
hundred and thirty-nine volumes, and had cost £124 13s. 2d. of which amount
£3 8s. 1d. had been paid for freight and insurance from England. David Rees
having died May 31st of this year, aged forty-nine years, the book, were
removed in November to the house of Jacob Tomkins, the secretary. A
handsome donation of books having been made in November 1763, by Dr. Thomas
Graeme and Elizabeth, his daughter, of Graeme Park, thanks were returned
therefor.
The newly-printed catalogue was brought in by the directors August 4, 1768,
from which we learn that the library low contained two hundred works, in
four hundred and sixty-one volumes. Du Hamel's "Husbandry," the gift of
Hon. Thomas Penn, was deposited in the library May, 5, 1770. February 22,
1771, the forfeited share of John Watts was sold at public sale, and
purchased by Arthur Watts, of Southampton, three pounds, being equivalent to
eight dollars of our present currency, David Hall, of Philadelphia, was
paid £22 6s. 3d. for books purchased from him. November 2, 1776, the
company met and chose for directors
Isaac Cadwallader
Daniel Longstreth
Abraham Lukens
Daniel Thomas, secretary
Jacob Tomkins, treasurer.
It was agreed to omit the annual payment, and as David Kennedy had
generously offered the company the use of a room in his house for one year,
the offer was thankfully accepted. May 3, 1777, a lock was secured to the
room and given in charge of Isaac Longstreth. It appears from November
1778, for one year the directors held no quarterly meetings. In November of
this year John Fitch became a member. November 6, 1779, the company taking
into consideration the depreciation of the currency, think that the fines
on delinquent members are too small and therefore appoint a committee to
regulate and fix the same according to the currency. In the spring of 1780
the library was moved to the house of William Wilson and placed under his
charge. The committee having neglected to regulate and fix the fines, it
was ordered that they be paid in specie or in other money equivalent to the
depreciation. June 14, 1783, Humphrey Waterman was employed to alter the
shelves on purpose to accommodate the books. Mrs. Ferguson made a donation
of fifty volumes to the company, valued at £18 18s., for which the
secretary was directed to return thanks.
727
In 1787 the library was incorporated by an act of Assembly, and a second
catalogue prepared, in which are mentioned two hundred and ninety-five
works in six hundred and twenty volumes. The annual payments November 1,
1788 amounted to £136 8s. 11d. Up to February 3, 1787, eighty-five had been
received as members, who had signed the Instrument of Partnership, and we
herewith present a list of their names in the order they were received,
omitting those mentioned as its founders
Benjamin Lukens
James Spencer
John Bond
Moses Cherry
William Vansant
Titus Yerkes
John Johnson
William Folwell
Evan Lukens
Thomas Hallowell
Abraham Lukens
James Scout
Peter Lukens
Abel Morgan
Daniel Dungan
Jonathan Jarret
James Young
Daniel Longstreth
Josiah Hart
John Longstreth
Isaac Longstreth
Jacob Tomkins
Jesse Lukens
Daniel Thomas
Amos Watson
John Hart
Evan Lloyd
Isaac Cadwallader
Joseph Longstreth
Arthur Watts
John Folwell
Mordecai Thomas
Robert Anderson
H. Hugh Ferguson
Joseph Lukens
Clement Dungan
James Ogilbee
Seneca Lukens
Stephen Yerkes
John Hough
John Jarret
John Fitch
Isaac Hough, Jr.
Joseph Folwell
William Vanhorne
Archibald McClean
Nathaniel Irwin
Abraham Duffield
John Shoemaker
Abel Marple
Isaac Leech
John Hough
William Todd
Thomas Hough
William Crawford
Robert Loller.
Nathan Holt, a native and resident of Horsham, who died in 1848, in his
eighty-fourth year, donated most of his property for the benefit of the
library company. He had been a member since 1791, and stated, not long
before his death, that for most of his knowledge he was indebted to this
institution. The amount realized was five thousand eight hundred dollars,
where of three thousand eight hundred dollars was applied to the erection
of a new and more commodious building, completed in 1849, and the balance
invested and the income applied to the purchase of books. It is a neat and
classic stone structure of the Doric order, designed by John Sloan, of
Philadelphia, and its erection was superintended by the late Joseph B.
Yerkes, who was, appointed for the purpose. The lot of one acre on which it
stands was purchased from Robert Radcliff in November, 1848, for the sum of
four hundred dollars, and the books removed to the new building in March
1850, when the former one wits directed to be sold. In commemoration its
centennial, in 1855, it committee was appointed, consisting of
Charles H. Hill
William J. Buck and
David Newport, for its due observance, but, from the conditions imposed on
them, their plan could not be carried into effect, and in consequence only
a brief mention was made thereof in the minutes.
The library contains at present upwards of ten thousand volumes and the
association numbers one hundred and forty-six members. The directors are A.
L. Phillips, Edward Reading and John B. Carrell, with Mrs. June E. Carr,
librarian. The seventh and last catalogue was printed in 1874, a duodecimo
of one hundred and eighty-eight pages. The annual income now amounts to
about four hundred dollars. The membership in 1857 was ninety-eight; in
1861, one hundred and five; and in 1876, one hundred and thirty-six. By an
act of Assembly, passed in 1852, the house and lot are exempt from
taxation, except for State purposes. Among the rare and valuable works on
its shelves may be mentioned forty-one volumes printed between the years
1593 and 1730, and one hundred and thirteen volumes relating to the history
of America printed before 1800. The formation of a cabinet of curiosities
was commenced in 1857, and it now numbers upwards of four hundred objects
in the several departments of antiquities, mineralogy, botany, entomology
and ichthyology, and which it is hoped will steadily keep increasing. It is
considerably the oldest library in the county, and, with only one recent
exception, is still the largest. That it has been the means for upwards of
a century and a quarter of diffusing considerable information to those who
have availed themselves or its advantages there can be no question. An
institution of this nature flourishing so long through voluntary efforts
speaks well for the intelligence of the neighborhood.
LOLLER ACADEMY. -Robert Loller resided in the house that has so long been
occupied by the principal of the academy. He was the son of Robert and
Grace Loller, and was probably born in Horsham. In early life he was it
school-teacher, and followed the business of surveying and conveyancing,
which must have impressed him with the importance of education. During the
Revolution he became a colonel in the army, a member of the library in
1787, it member of Assembly and an associate judge of Montgomery County for
many years. In 1805 we find him
728
assessed for fourteen acres of land, a horse and a cow. Being afflicted
with a painful malady, he was taken to Philadelphia, where he died under
treatment October 21, 1809, aged sixty-eight years, his wife surviving him
only a short time, leaving no children. He had made a will, dated June 4th
of that year, in which after leaving small legacies to his brothers, sister
and several nieces and nephews, twenty pounds were directed to be paid for
the use of a room for the Hatboro' Library, fifty pounds to the Norristown
Academy; the remainder of his estate he bequeathed "unto N. B. Boileau,
his heirs, assigns, etc., forever in trust for the only use, intent and
purpose o erect a suitable building for an academy or seminary of learning,
which shall be called by my name, either on my own land or elsewhere,
provided the same be within one mile of the centre of Hatboro', and on such
place as he may think most suitable, and after defraying the expenses of
erecting the said building, direct the residue of the incomes and profits
of my estate, real and personal, for the purpose of keeping up said
building in repair and paying the salaries of such teacher or teachers as
the trustees of said institution may from time to time employ, and for no
other use, intent or purpose whatsoever, and in order that the said bequest
herein before made for the purpose of establishing the said academy or
seminary of learning, may be secured and perpetuated, and for that purpose
forever, I will order it to be incorporated as soon as convenient, and
hereby nominate, constitute and appoint N. B. Boileau executor of this, my
last will and testament, hereby giving and granting unto him full power and
authority to execute the same."
PICTURE OF LOLLER ACADEMY, APPEARS HERE.
We see by the aforesaid extract that his near neighbor, the Hon. Nathaniel
B. Boileau, was invested with full, authority in carrying out the
requirements of the will. After this lapse of time there is not a doubt
that he faithfully and honestly performed all the important duties
assigned him as executor by his deceased friend, and who, in addition, was
serving as Secretary of State under Governor Snyder. The building for the
academy was commenced in 1811 and finished the following year. Nine
trustees were assigned to the charge of it, to be elected annually in
December by the patrons of the schools held therein. On March 14, 1812,
they held their first meeting, appointing George Murray principal of the
educational department. The academy was built, at a cost of upwards of
eleven thousand dollars, on a portion of Judge Loller's estate, and within
a hundred yards of his residence. It was incorporated by an act of
Legislature February 12, 1812, and was at that time the thirty-fifth
academy chartered since the settlement of Pennsylvania. It is a substantial
two-story edifice, sixty-one by forty-two feet, standing on a commanding
site, and from a distance its cupola attracts the attention of the
traveler. The clock was made by Isaiah Lukens, an ingenious mechanic, of
Horsham, but has been out of repair now for some time. On a final
settlement of the estate, after the cost for building, there remained an
annual income from the endowment for its support, amounting to two hundred
and eighty-three dollars, -certainly a handsome sum for this period,
calculated, if judiciously expended in the extension of knowledge, to
greatly benefit the neighborhood.
On the erection of the academy there may have been five school-houses in
Moreland township, one near Hatboro' and another near the present Morgan's
mill, also, within three miles, one at Horsham one in Warminster and
another on the Welch road, by the Upper Dublin line. The one near Hatboro'
stood on the north side of Byberry road, nearly half a mile east of the
village. It was a small stone structure, supposed to have been built about
1730, where N. B. Boileau informed us he had first been to school in 1768.
On account of the academy, it was now deemed unnecessary, and by an act of
March 12, 1812, N. B. Boileau, Thomas Montanye and Gove Mitchell were
authorized to sell it, with the lot of ground pertaining thereto. The
proceeds were appropriated, one-half to the academy and the other to the
erection of a new school-house on the land of Isaac Pickering, a mile cast
of Hatboro', on the county line, near the intersection of the Newtown road.
George Murray remained principal of the academy until March 27, 1814, when
Jared Schofield was elected his successor, who was succeeded, August 15,
1815, by Giles McDowell, who retained the position into 1818, when the Rev.
Robert Belville became his successor until July 12, 1819, when Nathaniel
Furman received it, followed, April 4, 1825, by Caleb Frazier, then in
October, by John McNair, who served until December 15, 1828, then Benjamin
Shoemaker to May 5, 1833, thence by Walter Hibbs to December 13, 1834,
then by William M. Hough to December 21, who was succeeded by Hugh Morrow.
In addition to the ordinary branches, all the aforesaid taught the Greek
and Latin languages and the higher mathematics. Instructions were also
sometimes given in French and drawing.
729
Of the aforesaid principals, but three were personally known to the writer,
George Murray was a Scotchman by birth, and we presume, not long after
leaving, here settled in Doylestown, where he kept a boarding and day-
school for boys in 1833 and, likely on down to about 1860. He was regarded
as it good teacher, partly deaf, and spoke with it decided Scottish accent,
he saved sufficient money to buy himself a farm in the vicinity of
Doylestown, on which he removed and continued until his death, but a few
years ago, having, attained nearly a century in years. John McNair, who was
married to a sister of the late Captain John W. Yerkes, of Hatboro',
afterwards removed to the present village of Abington, where he
successfully established a boarding and day-school for boys, which, we
believe, he continued there for some ten or fifteen years. He was
afterwards elected clerk of the courts of Montgomery County, and twice a
Member of Congress. About 1856 he removed to Virginia and settled upon a
farm in the immediate vicinity of the Bull Run battle-ground, where he died
somewhere about 1862, or in the midst of the war.
An act was passed by the Assembly June 30, 1836, establishing public
schools throughout the State, by which every township was made a school
district. The provisions of this act left it to the voters of the township
whether or not they would accept the common school system, by which the
schools should receive an appropriation from the State, with power to raise
by taxation a sum sufficient to make them free to all, and to be kept open
as long as the directors thought proper. Moreland township, under its
provisions, became a non-accepting district, and the old system was
continued, by which the trustees of every school selected their own
teachers and the parents paid the teachers so much per day or quarter for
the schooling of their children, and a small sum was annually raised by
taxation to pay for the education of those whose parents could not defray
the expense. On the 11th of April, 1848, an act was passed extending that,
school system over the entire State, and on the 3rd of July following the
school directors, acting under the said law put the same into operation by
the opening, of five schools for six months and ending by the close of the
school year June 1, 1849. From arrangements thus made Mr. Morrow combined
the public school with his which he taught for about six years, having on
his list from eighty to one hundred and ten pupils, the former was separated
and taught in another part of the academy under the superintendence of
Edwin S. Ritchie. He continued to conduct the private and classical
department successfully down to his resignation in 1865.
As a teacher, few can be found who have had more experience than Hugh
Morrow. At the early age of sixteen he became in assistant in the Milton
Academy, under the charge of the Rev. David Kirkpatrick he has also taught
at Alton, Ill., and other places. Of Loller academy he was the principal
teacher in charge for almost a quarter of a century, in which period alone
he probably here gave instruction to some two thousand pupils, the
survivors of whom are now widely scattered, and no doubt will long hold in
regard their now venerable preceptor. He has had the satisfaction of seeing
some of those that he summoned to their studies with the old Academy bell
advanced to honor in the army and navy, as well as in the legal, clerical
and medical professions and in other pursuits of life. His fellow citizens
have not been unmindful of his services, for on the incorporation of
Hatboro', in 1871, he was elected a justice of the peace, and twice since
made burgess. Although now in his seventy-seventh year, we are gratified to
say age appears to have touched him lightly.
The public schools for this borough continue to be held in the academy,
and in 1875 were reported to have one hundred and sixty-seven pupils. For
the school year ending June 1, 1882, the average daily attendance for ten
months was stated to be seventy-nine. The present principal of the grammar
department is A. R. Place, who is assisted in the secondary by Sue H.
Fulmor and in the primary by Emma McIntosh, William H. Walker having been
the previous principal. Few places of similar size, for nearly a century,
have had such advantages of receiving and diffusing knowledge as Hatboro' -
we mean through its Loller Academy and Library, and thus raising a higher
intellectual standard of culture among its population than would have
otherwise been expected. Reflecting, too, upon the numerous debating
societies, lyceums, lectures and instructive exhibitions that have been so
long held within its building, one can not calculate the extent of their
influence upon the intelligence and morality of the people. Then let the
source thereof, Judge Loller's bequest, be kept in grateful remembrance as
a noble benefaction.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
WILLIAM KRIDER GOENTNER.
William Krider Goentner, the oldest son of John L. and Maria Goentner,
was born in Philadelphia October 24, 1814. His father was a native of Breslau
Prussia, and his mother the daughter of Wm. Krider, who owned a farm on the
north side of Market Street, the farm-house in which they resided being
directly opposite to where John Wanamaker's store now stands.
730
Soon after his birth his father removed to South Carolina. The boy early
evinced a fondness for study, and while quite small began his education in
a log school-house. He made such progress that he was sent to a school in
Charleston, where he was greatly praised by his teacher for his aptitude
in acquiring a knowledge of language.
After his father's death, from yellow fever, his mother returned to
Philadelphia, where, at the age of fourteen, he became a member of St.
John's Methodist Episcopal Church. At the age of eighteen he was licensed
to exhort; during his boyhood his most intimate friend was Abel Stevens,
who has since gained a world-wide reputation as preacher, writer and
historian. Together they used to visit constantly and exhort at the House
of Refuge, the Almshouse and the jails.
On the day he was twenty-one he went to Norristown, where a little band
were struggling to organize De Kalb Street Methodist Episcopal Church. Here
he founded a Sunday-school, added to the small society nearly a hundred
members and had the church built and dedicated. From there he went to
Fairmount, where he spent a very successful year; the revival that repaid
his efforts is still remembered and talked of by the older members of the
church. He was then sent to Lehman's Chapel, Hatboro', where at that time
there were five members. Mr. Lehman, a wealthy old gentleman, had built
the church: Mr. Goentner dedicated it, and during his pastorate added
fifty members.
His next appointment was an old-fashioned Methodist circuit centering at
Stroudsburg, but with twenty-four different preaching-points each month.
During the year he traveled five thousand miles over the mountains on
horseback, and his rather delicate health became wonderfully improved. He
acquired the habit of reading while his horse was in motion, and during
clear weather almost always rode with his open book in hand. He had now
completed the four years' course of study required by the Conference.
Just before going to Bristol Circuit, his next field of labor, he was
married to Miss Sarah T. Beans, the daughter of John and Martha Beans. Wm.
Penn found her father's ancestor settled in this region when he came to
Pennsylvania, and on her mother's side she was directly descended from
Governor John Carver, one of Massachusetts "Pilgrim Fathers." Bristol
Circuit at that time included Doylestown and all the territory between and
around.
A number of years of arduous toil followed; after fifteen years' labor as a
Methodist minister, he found, because of his rapidly-growing family, some
more lucrative employment to be a necessity. He accordingly left the
minister and although repeatedly urged in after years to do so, has never
returned to the work. He then settled upon the farm near Hatboro', where
now resides it being a part of the original "Beans tract."
Of his family of twelve children, one son and one daughter died in
infancy, and two daughters, one a remarkably precocious child, in early
youth. His oldest son, after teaching, a few years, became a farmer; the
other two are professional men, and his daughters are engaged in teaching.
Mr. Goentner was one of the earliest movers in the temperance cause in the
county, and has always been identified with it, having represented it for
years in State and county conventions. He was one of the original founders
of the Republican party of the county, and for many years a delegate to its
convention. For thirty-four years he has never missed an election, though
never a candidate for any office.
On first coming, into the neighborhood he purchased a share in the Hatboro'
Library, of which he has always remained an active member, and despite his
cares and each day's labor, is an indefatigable reader. Owing to his
efforts, the Revolutionary monument was erected on the "Crooked Billet"
battle-field. He first proposed it, donated the lot for it and was elected
president of the association, which office he has ever since held.
Prior to 1860, during a number of years, an excellent lyceum flourished at
Hatboro'; the debates were noted throughout the neighboring counties. Many
of the men whose names are recorded in these pages crossed swords with him
in wordy combat in Loller Hall, Hatboro'.
Mr. Goentner adds another to the long list of names of men who have
conquered their way through life by persevering efforts, having risen
almost unaided from in orphan boy to be an honored, useful and beloved
citizen.
JOHN B. JONES.
John B. Jones is a native of Worcester County Md., where he was born
August 12, 1825. His parents, John and Nancy Bishop Jones, were both
natives of Worcester County, Md., where they died when their son, John B.,
was about twelve years of age. At that tender age John B. was thrown upward
the charity of a cold and heartless world, and apprenticed to learn the
trade of a shoemaker, a trade not exactly in accordance with his taste, and
after serving three years and having learned the rudiments of the art, he
resolved (in his own mind) that shoemaking was not, to him at least, the
road to future greatness therefore without the usual formalities forever
dissolved his connection with shoemaking and between master and servant, at
least as far as he was concerned and made his way up into the little State
of Delaware. There he found employment at various kinds of work until he
was nineteen years of age, when he took another step northward and landed
in Philadelphia, Pa. At that place he soon found employment, and from 1845
to 1858 his occupation was that of a stage-driver. At first he drove on the
route from Philadelphia to Easton, Pa., by way of Doylestown, and all along
this route, o'er hill and dale, could be heard his "winging-horn" as he
approached the wayside inns and post-offices. During this time he was
employed by Jacob Peters, Sr., the old and, at that date, well-known mail
contractor on many of the Pennsylvania routes.
731
In due time he was transferred from the Philadelphia and Easton route to
the old Swiftsure Line, running between Philadelphia, Pa., and Flemington,
N. J., where he remained the Jehu of the route till the palace-car
superseded the old stage-coach and monopolized the passenger traffic.
During his career in the staging business he owned, the Swiftsure Line,
which he purchased in 1852, or soon after the death of Mr. Peters, and in
June, 1860, sold the route, stock and fixtures. He has also been quite
prominent among the mail contractors of the United States, owning several
routes and parts of routes at the same time, and sub-letting when at a
profit both to himself and the sub-contractor. His first contract for a
mail route was from Georgetown, Del., to Northampton, Va., a distance of
one hundred and thirty miles. In 1858 he located in Hatboro', then Moreland
township, and purchased what is now the "Jones House," where he has for
twenty-seven years acted well the part of "mine host" in one of the best-
appointed hotels in Montgomery County.
PICTURE OF JOHN B. JONES, APPEAR HERE.
Upon his settlement in Hatboro' Mr. Jones became one of the substantial
men of the town, and for his urbane and genial qualities, his honesty of
purpose and uprightness of character and solid worth, is not surpassed by
any in the community. He has been honored by his townsmen with the office
of school director for five years; trustee of the Loller Academy for twenty
years; member of the Town Council of the town of Hatboro', and treasurer of
the same; also one of the originators of the Hatboro' Cemetery Association,
and its treasurer since its organization. He was also one of the charter
members of the W. K. Bray Lodge, No. 410, A. Y. M., of Hatboro' and its
treasurer since its institution.
He was married, in 1848, to Miss Harriet Shugard, of Philadelphia, Pa.
They are the parents of nine children, eight of whom are living, viz. :
John W., born February 6, 1850
Mary E , born October 3, 1852
Ella D., born March 21, 1855
Leonora, born March 17, 1857
Harriet, born January 30, 1859
Paul, born February 28, 1860
Emma L., born December 14, 1862
Angie B., born July 4, 1869.
The four elder were born in Philadelphia, and the four younger in Hatboro',
Montgomery Co., Pa.
732
JOHN VAN PELT.
John Van Pelt is a descendant of the pioneer of that name who came from
Holland as early as 1750, and settled in Midwont, or Flatbush, Long Island,
and either himself or immediate descendants migrated to Bucks County, Pa.,
from whence sprang the numerous Van Pelt families in this part of
Pennsylvania, and even throughout the United States.
Isaac, the grandfather of John Van Pelt, was born in Holland, and soon
after his arrival in this country located on a farm about half-way between
Wrightstown and Penn's Park, Bucks Co., Pa. His children were
Isaac
John
Thomas H.
Jane
Nellie
Eliza.
Of these children, Thomas H. was born in 1800 and married Alice, daughter
of Joseph C. Campbell, of Bucks County, Pa. Alice Campbell was born in
Solebury, Bucks Co., Pa., in 1804, and is still living. Thomas owned a
small farm of twenty-six acres of land, and carried on the carpenter,
cabinet, pump-making and undertaking business in connection with his little
farm.
PICTURE OF JOHN VAN PELT, APPEARS HERE.
The children of Thomas H. and Alice Van Pelt were as follows:
Joseph C., born in 1826; married Elizabeth Ray, of Bucks County.
Samuel P., born in 1830; married Adelaide Lukens, and died in 1882.
Sarah Jane, born in 1833; married Charles Willard, of Bucks County.
Thomas H. Van Pelt, Jr., born in 1835; married Wilhelmina Selna, of Bucks
County.
Mary Ann, born in June, 1836; married John Everitt, of Bucks County.
John, born December 18, 1837.
William Henry, born in 1842 and died when fourteen years of age.
Eliza Ellen, born June 14, 1845; married Major Joseph B. Roberts, of
Newtown, Bucks Co.
Louisa, born in 1848; unmarried.
John Van Pelt, son of Thomas H. and Alice Van Pelt, was born in Buckingham
township, Bucks Co., Pa., December, 1837, and at the age of seventeen years
was apprenticed to learn the trade of a carriage-maker with Israel B.
Matthew of Centreville, Bucks Co., and served five years.
733
He then worked as a journeyman for three years, then rented the shop in
which he had learned his trade, and carried on the carriage-making
business for two years, when he sold out and went to Philadelphia, where he
worked as a journey-man for five years. He then went to Pineville, Bucks
Co., Pa., where he built a large carriage-factory, and for five years
conducted a large and successful business, at the end of which time he sold
out and assumed the management of a carriage-factory at Centreville, which
he subsequently purchased, and continued the business on his own account
for two years, and again sold out. In the autumn of 1874 he, with his
brother, Samuel P., came to Hatboro' and built the hardware-store and
dwelling where he has since resided. After a copartnership of fifteen
months be purchased his brother's interest in the property, and associated
with himself his brother-in-law, Joseph B. Roberts, who, after fifteen
months' partnership, purchased Mr. Van Pelt's interest in the property. Mr.
Van Pelt was then in the dry-goods and notion trade for nearly two years,
when he purchased of Mr. Roberts his interest in the hardware business,
which he has since conducted with signal success. In the autumn of 1884,
Mr. Van Pelt added a large stock of groceries to his hardware trade, which
he has thus far found a profitable investment. Mr. Van Pelt has been
honored by the voters of Hatboro' with the office of burgess of the borough
for two terms, and in the spring of 1883 was elected a member of the
Borough Council, which position he still holds. He is a member of Bristol
Lodge, No. 25, Free Masons, and of Girard Mark Chapter 214. Mr. Van Pelt
has in his possession a gold watch formerly owned by the Marquis de
Lafayette, which is highly prized by its possessor, and connected with
which is quite an interesting history.
Mr. Van Pelt was married, in the autumn of 1882, to Mrs. Martha H.
Sprogell, of Hatboro'. Mrs. Van Pelt was born in Virginia in 1842, and when
but a few months old her parents moved to Delaware and subsequently to
Maryland. She is of English-French parentage and a highly-educated and
accomplished lady, endowed with a literary ability second to no lady in
Montgomery County. Her maternal grandfather, Ralph Melbourne, descended
directly from Lord Melbourne, of England. Her paternal grandfather was
Benona de Hoziea, a noted Frenchman and bosom friend of the Marquis de
Lafayette. Her father's name was also Benona de Hoziea and uncle of George
Alfred Townsend (Gath). At the age of fifteen years she, with her cousin,
George Alfred Townsend, edited a small paper, and since her residence in
Hatboro' she has been the editress and life of the "Public Spirit," a large
weekly published at that place.
CHAPTER XLV.
BOROUGH OF JENKINTOWN.
By Wm. J. Buck.
THIS borough was incorporated December 8, 1874, and all its territory,
comprising an area of two hundred and forty-eight acres, taken from
Abington township. Its extreme length from north to south is about
three-fourths of a mile, and bounds Cheltenham township for over half of
that distance. The main or business portion of the town is situated along
York Avenue, opened through here as a highway from Philadelphia to the
river Delaware in the fall of 1711, and turnpiked from the Rising Sun to
Willow Grove in 1804. The station of the North Pennsylvania Railroad here,
situated in the southwestern corner of the borough, close to the Cheltenham
line, is eight and one-tenth miles from Philadelphia, twenty-three and
four-fifths from Doylestown, forty-six from Bethlehem and eighty and three-
tenths miles from New York. The road was opened for travel in 1856 and the
branch to New York in May, 1876. A considerable amount of business is done
here, as may be well supposed, it being the stopping-place for forty-four
daily passenger-trains each way, and on Sundays nineteen. The scenery
around this station is justly admired, the hills, woods and waters of the
Tacony Creek giving it quite a romantic appearance. Upon arriving at the
station the wonder of a stranger is justly excited as to the whereabouts of
Jenkintown, as no such place is perceptible, it lying off nearly half a
mile in an easterly direction.
From its nearness to the city and unusual business facilities, as well as
from its being surrounded by a fine. and fertile section of country,
abounding with fine springs of water, the place is rapidly improving And
its real estate enhancing in value. The census of 1880 gave it eight
hundred and ten inhabitants and the assessment of 1883 returned three
hundred and five taxables, possessing property valued at six hundred and
four thousand one hundred and thirty dollars. It contains five churches, a
bank, and two flour and feed, two stove, three drug, six merchandise, one
notion, one tobacco, one confectionery and one shoe store. The public-
school building is a one-story stone structure, standing in the centre of a
commodious lot at the corner of West and Cedar Avenues. Three schools are
kept in it, and for the school year ending June 3, 1883, they were open ten
months, with an average daily attendance of one hundred and two scholars.
Gordon, in his "Gazetteer of 1832," mentions Jenkintown as containing
thirty dwellings, two hotels and two stores. According to Lake's map,
published in 1860, it contained at that date fifty houses, two hotels, two
stores and an Episcopal Church.
For its size, Jenkintown may be regarded as a place of churches, there
being within a distance of two miles around it, seven additional houses of
worship, making in all twelve, belonging to seven different religious
denominations.
734
The first built in the place was the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour,
handsomely situated within a shady lawn on the East Side of York Avenue.
The congregation was organized by the Rev. E. Y. Buchanan, of Oxford
Church, who held services in Lyceum Hall in 1857. The church was opened for
worship June 20, 1858, when the Rev. Orme B. Keith took charge as its first
rector. The rectory was built in 1861, and the parish building in 1866,
both of stone. Mr. Keith resigned in March, 1870, and in April of the same
year Rev. R. Francis Colton became rector. He died suddenly in July 1880,
and in the following December the Rev. Frederick Palmer, the present
incumbent, received the charge. The present number of communicants is one
hundred and twenty. The church is a neat and substantial one-story brown
sandstone structure, in the Gothic style, surmounted by a stone belfry. The
property is valued at thirty thousand dollars and is free from all debts.
The Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate, conception, of which the
Rev. J. J. Mellon is present pastor, is built of stone in the Italian
style, two stories high, and is located at the corner of West Avenue and
Pleasant Street. It was erected in 1866; dimensions, fifty-three by ninety-
eight feet; Christopher Lugar, builder. The congregation was formed and
worship held for several years previously in Lyceum Hall. Services are held
on Sunday at seven, eight and half-past ten A.M., and vespers at eight
P.M. The Sunday-school meets at nine A.M. A two story stone parochial
residence is attached to the church.
The Methodist Episcopal Church property on West Avenue was originally the
first public school-house built under the school law in Abington township.
It was purchased by the congregation April 20, 1867, and after worshiping
therein for several years was enlarged, in 1879, to thirty-six by thirty
feet in dimensions. It is a plain one-story stone structure standing within
a fair-sized lot. The pastors who have served the church are as follows:
Revs. A. J. Collom, J. A. Cooper, J. R. Bailey, M. Barnhill, Robert McKay,
E. C. Yerkes, A. J. Collom, E. I. Townsend, W. H. Pickop and Rev. J.
Bickley Burns, the present pastor. The Sunday-school has an average
attendance of seventy-five scholars.
Grace Presbyterian Church is situated on the east side of York Avenue,
and is a handsome one-story stone structure in the Gothic style. The lot of
ground was purchased in the spring of 1871 for two thousand three hundred
dollars, having a front of one hundred and twenty-six feet and a depth of
upwards of three hundred feet. The church was erected thereon at the
expense of Mr. John Wanamaker, and was dedicated in September, 1872. Its
membership in July, 1874, was stated to be ninety-three, comprising thirty-
four families. The Sabbath-school was revived in August 1869, in Lyceum
Hall, and the congregation was soon after formed by the Rev. S. T. Lowrie,
of the Abington Church, who continued in the charge until August, 1874. The
Rev. L. W. Eckhard succeeded January 1, 1875, followed by the Rev. J. H.
Dulles as "missionary assistant," April 17, 1877. Rev. Archibald Murphy was
appointed in the spring of 1878 and remained for nearly two years, when be
took charge of the Roxborough Church. The Sabbath-school contains at
present about one hundred and sixty-five scholars. The Rev. Henry McKubbin
has present charge.
The Baptist Church is situated on a knoll at the corner of Walnut Avenue
and Beechwood Street, commanding a magnificent view of the surrounding
country. The lot of ground was presented for the purpose by William Pettit.
It is a one-story stone building, in the Gothic style, thirty by sixty feet
in dimensions. The congregation was organized in 1880 by the Rev. Josiah
Williams, with twenty-five members, and in the summer of 1883, had
increased to forty-five, with eighty children in the Sunday-school. The
corner-stone was laid June 23d, 1883, and dedicated the 8th of November
following, when the Rev. A. J. Shoemaker was ordained as pastor. The
congregations of the five churches were all originally formed and held
their worship in Lyceum Hall, on York Avenue, prior to the erection of
their respective houses of worship. It is a plain one-story stone building
of modern size, erected in 1839, and designed Chiefly for the promotion of
useful knowledge. There is not a place of interment in the borough.
The Jenkintown National Bank was authorized to commence business by the
comptroller of the currency, April 17, 1875, the subscriptions therefore
having commenced on the 25th of January previous. Its original capital was
$50,000, increased July 6, 1876, to $70,000, and in January, 1884, to
$100,000. The bank was opened for business in Masonic Hall, May 3, 1875,
where it remained until the completion of the present building, March 14,
1880, which occupied a lot fifty-seven by two hundred and seven feet on
York Avenue, the whole costing, with furniture, safes, etc., $10,700. The
charter number of the bank is 2249. Samuel W. Noble is president and Andrew
H. Baker cashier. The average individual deposits for 1883 exceeded $97,000.
Masonic Hall is a large three-story stone building, the first story of
which is designed for business purposes. The second story possesses a
commodious concert and exhibition-room, to which is attached a stage, with
drop-curtains, etc. Friendship Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, No. 400,
meet in the upper story. Peace and Love Lodge, of I. 0. 0. F., No. 337;
Jenkintown Lodge of Knights of Pythias, No. 476 and a division of the Sons
of Temperance, No. 127, also hold meetings in the place.
Besides possessing five churches and several public halls, the promotion
of literary facilities and useful knowledge have not been neglected by the
residents in and around Jenkintown.
735
Abington Library was founded here in 1803, and is now located in Masonic
Hall, of which a history has been prepared to follow this article. In
January, 1881 a lady of the neighborhood asked five gentlemen to serve as a
board of directors for a reading-room in the place, in behalf of which she
offered to pay the rent of a suitable room for three years and supply the
following, periodicals:
"Scribner's Magazine"
"Nineteenth Century"
"Harper's Weekly"
"The Spectator"
"The Contemporary Review"
"Punch"
"The Scientific American"
"The Nation" and the
"Fortnightly Review."
Contributions in addition having been received from other persons, in
February a room in Masonic Hall was rented, formerly occupied by the
Jenkintown Bank, which was handsomely fitted up and opened to the public on
the evening of February 24, 1881. To the original list a considerable
number of magazines and newspapers have been added. Soon after its opening
arrangements were made with the directors of Abington Library by which
access was allowed to their books in the adjoining room. In connection with
the same, and to extend its usefulness, several gentlemen and ladies
residing in the vicinity gave a series of lectures on literary and
scientific subjects. The directors of this laudable effort are
Frederick Palmer, president
A. H. Baker, treasurer
Joseph W. Hunter, secretary
J. W. Ridpath
Charles Mather.
The borough, as has been stated, was organized December 8, 1874. Marion
Chalfan, the first burgess, served until March, 1876
Thomas P. Manypenny, second, served until March, 1879
John J. C. Harvey, third, served until March, 1884
M. L. Kohler, served until March, 1885
J. H. Wheeler is the present incumbent.
The earliest mention yet found of the name of this borough is on Nicholas
Scull's map of the province, published in 1759, whereon it is called
"Jenkens' Town," William Scull, on his map of 1770, denoting it as
"Jenkins." William Jenkins, the founder of the family, came from Wales,
and we know that be at least resided in this vicinity in 1697, and took at
that time an active part in promoting the erection of the Friends'
Meeting-house. He purchased, June 17, 1698, from John Barnes a tract
containing four hundred and thirty-seven acres, located on the present York
road about half a mile north of the borough boundary. This property in 1712
was inhabited by his son Stephen, whom we know continued to reside thereon
in 1734, and had a son Phineas Jenkins, at this date residing near by. In
the assessment of Abington for 1780 we find mentioned Phineas Jenkins, Sr.,
undoubtedly the former person, William, Lydia, a widow, and John and Jesse
Jenkins, the latter probably brothers. We know that in 1779, Sarah Jenkins
was licensed by the Court of Quarter Sessions to keep here a public-house,
and herein we undoubtedly see how the name got to be applied, as this
public-house may have been in the family and kept even several years before
1759. On inquiry it has been ascertained that this inn stood a few yards
below the present Cottman House.
All the land comprised within the present limits of the borough, and
surrounding it in Abington township, was originally taken up in 1684 by
Sarah Fuller and John Barnes. The farmer's purchase contained two hundred
and fifty and the latter's six hundred acres. It is probable that Sarah
Fuller never resided in this vicinity. John Barnes and Joseph Phipps were
among the earliest settlers. The first highway up into this section from
Philadelphia wits the York road in 1711, beside which we know at said date
Stephen Jenkins resided, who was one of the jurors that assisted in laying
it out. The road front the present Fitzwatertown, by Weldon and through the
borough to Abington Meeting-house, was laid out in 1725. Thomas Fitzwater
at this date carried on lime-burning at the former place. The aforesaid
road now forms East and West Avenues. The road known as Washington Lane was
confirmed from Germantown to the meeting-house in 1735, and now forms the
eastern boundary of the borough. From the laying out of these early roads,
we can perceive that at this period this section must have been taken up
and pretty well settled. The great centre, however, appears to have been
the Friends' Meeting-house, originally completed in 1700 and situated
nearly half a mile east of the borough limits.
The inn kept here in 1779 by Sarah Jenkins may have been the stand
licensed to Stephen Meshon in 1787-88. By an act of Assembly passed March
31, 1797, the Third Election District was composed of the townships of
Abington, Cheltenham and Moreland, which were required to vote at the
public-house of William McCalla, which then stood on the present Cottman
House property. Mr. McCalla, in connection with John Brock, Joseph Hillman,
James Burson, Charles Meredith, Charles Stewart, Alexander McCalla and
Elijah Tyson, established a semi-weekly line of Stages from Philadelphia to
Bethlehem, by way of Doylestown, in 1800, exchanging horses here, the fare
through being $2.75. In January, 1807, Mr. McCalla advertised his property,
from which we have obtained the following description:
"For sale, that well-known tavern-stand, sign of the Barley Sheaf a
large two-story stone house, four rooms on the front and seven on the second
story, stabling sufficient for ninety-five horses, ice-house, new and
convenient. The lot contains three acres, fronts on York road three hundred
and sixty-six feet. A post-office is kept here, and two lines of stages
stop at said inn."
It appears that he rented out the stand from 1807 until 1813, in the mean-
time keeping a store here. He now returned again to the inn, which be kept
at least as late as 1818. Thomas Coughlin purchased the stand about this
time. In the summer of 1825 be died, and it was offered at public sale the
following October 25th, at which time mention is made of its sign being
"the American Eagle," and that there was on the premises extensive sheds,
stabling for sixty horses, a brick tenement and a blacksmith-shop.
736
As it was not sold, we know that the widow, Edith Coughlin, still kept it
in the beginning of 1829. This stand was long owned and kept by the late
William Cottman, under the aforesaid name, until a recent time.
Mr. McCalla, we know, was postmaster here in 1806, and was succeeded, in
1808, by Charles T. Hallowell, store-keeper, who retired in the spring of 1812,
when the former resumed the office and kept it to 1819, if not later, and
was succeeded therein by Thomas Coughlin, and next by his widow. Mr.
McCalla appears to have been an enterprising man. He was a member of
Abington Presbyterian Church, where he lies buried, having died December
19, 1850, in his seventy-eighth year. His wife, Jane, had preceded him
December 15, 1836, in her sixty-fifth year. A horse company, for the
recovery of stolen horses and bringing thieves to justice, was organized at
McCalla's house March 1, 1810, and is still in existence among the
neighboring farmers, and holds its annual meetings at the same place. A
public Meeting was also held at that place, September 6, 1814, to aid the
people of Philadelphia in the defense of their city. Joshua Tyson was
chairman and Jesse Dillon secretary. Another public-house was kept in
Jenkintown in 1813 by Joseph Thomas, sign of the "Cross Keys." This stand
was subsequently kept for some time by Jacob Buck as the "Green Tree,"
which was discontinued about 1842.
Joseph Iredell, in December 1810, advertises a two-story house for sale,
with a shop attached, in which he carried on saddle-making, a business that
has now nearly disappeared in the county. Owing to the demand for houses
in Philadelphia, in the spring of 1824 a number of weavers removed out
here. A passing traveler at this time writes that "the pleasant little
village is crowded with manufacturers from the city, who, with their noisy
looms, have established themselves in every corner where a little elbow-
room could be found. Through this sudden irruption on the quiet habits of
the villagers twenty houses more could readily find tenants in Jenkintown."
The extensive works of the Wharton Switch Company are located near the
railroad station, a short distance from the borough line. A further account
is given in the article on Abington Township.
THE ABINGTON LIBRARY. -So little was actually done in book publishing
before the Revolution that not even a copy of the English Bible was
produced in any of the colonies, it having been alone printed by John
Eliot, of Massachusetts, in the Indian language, and by Christopher Sour,
of Germantown, in three editions in the German, the first in 1743. Books
consequently had to be imported by order either for public or private use,
as we find was alone by the records of the Union Library of Hatboro' till
the Revolution checked intercourse abroad. It is stated as one reason that
no English Bible was printed here in a population of nearly three millions,
was that the British government would not have permitted it, this sole
privilege having been vested in the University of Oxford.
The principal inhabitants in and around the village of Jenkintown as
early as February 19, 1803, assembled for the purpose of establishing a
library there, and appointed John Morrison, Ebenezer Hickling and William
Johnson a committee for the purpose or preparing a code of by-laws and
reporting the same at a meeting to be held at the public-house of William
McCalla on the 3d of March following at three P.M. As adopted the board of
officers was to consist of five directors, a treasurer and librarian, to be
chosen annually. Payments of seventy-five cents were to be made by each
member every six months. According to Article 2d, "It shall be an
unalterable rule in this constitution that no books of an atheistical,
immoral or deistical tendency shall ever be admitted into this library, on
any pretense whatever, and should at any time (notwithstanding this
resolution) such books be introduced, it shall in that case be the duty of
the librarian to stop their circulation, and give timely notice of the same
to the society."
The names of the original members were
Ebenezer Hickling
Morris Morris
Thomas Fletcher
Lewis Roberts
Joseph Taylor
John Michener
Clement R. Shepherd
Richard Martin
Joseph Iredell
William Johnson
William McCalla
Richard T. Leech
John Morrison
Isaac Hallowell
William Lukens
Margaret Morris
Baker Barnes
John Blake Jr.
Thomas Mather
Peter Johnson
Charles T. Hallowell
Ryner Tyson
Isaac Mather
Thomas Shoemaker
John Moore
Edward Potts
Samuel Potts,
-being thirty-three in number certainly sufficient for a
promising beginning. Although more than three-fourths of a century have
elapsed, we entertain no doubt that above half the number have descendants
still living in this section, numbering among them some of our most
respectable and prominent citizens.
In the first book of "Minutes of the Directors of the Abington Library
Company," under the date of March 21, 1803, we find mention that "This
being the day appointed for the first meeting of the directors, they met
accordingly at the library-room in the house of William Johnson. Present,
John Michener, Thomas Shoemaker and Richard T. Leech. On examining the
state of the funds, found them not yet sufficient to warrant a purchase of
books. A member produced and offered for sale Goldsmith's 'Animated
Nature,' in four volumes, which on consideration the directors agreed to
purchase at $6.50. The treasurer was authorized to collect, if possible,
the subscriptions that remain due by next meeting, and the librarian to
receive and keep a list of all books that may come into the library,
either by gift or purchase, and to consider them as under his care for the
present."
"On examining the report of the treasurer," the following 4th of April, "it
appeared that the they had made a purchase of books to the amount of
$143.70, which were produced and arranged on the shelves.
737
Ordered that the librarian number them immediately, when they may be given
out to the members agreeably to the direction of the by-laws, and that he
prepares lists of books for said use. Allowed the committee who attended in
Philadelphia for the purchase of books $3.17 as a compensation in lieu of
their expenses, January 2, 1804. The society, in conformity to the laws
proceeded to the election of officers for the ensuing year, when
John Morrison
John Michener
Thomas Shoemaker
John Moore
Richard T Leech were elected directors
William Johnson treasurer
Jesse Johnson librarian.
One hundred copies of the constitution, by-laws and subscribers' names were
ordered to be printed and delivered to the members at the expense of the
society, and the librarian is requested to make out a copy for publication.
The librarian to expedite as much as possible the collection of fines and
dues in order to make an additional purchase of books, etc. Resolved
unanimously, that the directors be and are hereby requested to apply with
all convenient speed to the Legislature of the State, or an, competent
authority, for the purpose of obtaining a charter in order to incorporate
this society."
The original charter, granted September 5, 1805, is now in possession of
the secretary, Charles Mather, and is on parchment over two and a half feet
square, and is very well written. The heading particularly is admirably
done, the title thereon being "The Abington Society for the Promotion of
Useful Knowledge." It contains the autographs of the incorporators, whose
names are
John Morrison
William Johnson
John Michener
Ryner Tyson
Richard T. Leech
Clement R. Shepherd
David Thomas
Ebenezer Hickling
James Oram
William McCalla
Isaac Clayton
Peter Johnson
Daniel Fletcher
Charles T. Hallowell
John Moore
Joseph Phipps
Thomas Fletcher
Isaac Hallowell
Joseph Iredell
Thomas Shoemaker.
The clause against immoral works was sustained. "This society shall never
be dissolved unless by the unanimous consent of its members. No alteration
or amendment shall be made to this constitution except by the consent of
two-thirds of its members." It bears the signature of Thomas McKean as
Governor, who was also one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence. The charter having fallen behind some of the books,
eventually became lost and forgotten, when an attack was made on it by the
mice, but fortunately they did not injure any of its writing. It was found
on renovating the library, and is now kept within a tin case made on
purpose for its better security.
Mr. Mather, the efficient secretary, has kindly furnished the writer with
interesting reminiscences of several of the original incorporators, to
which are added a few additional facts. John Morrison was a justice of the
peace of Abington Township for many years. Richard T. Leech, of Cheltenham,
was a member of Assembly for several years, and afterwards surveyor-general
of Pennsylvania. William Johnson kept the store now occupied by Charles
Harper, at the corner of York and West Avenues.
Clement R. Shepherd conducted the tannery on the York road, opposite the
farm of Samuel W. Noble.
David Thomas kept at this time the only store in the village of Abington.
Ebenezer Hickling was a physician.
William McCalla kept the public-house on the site of the late Eagle Hotel,
and was for some time postmaster.
Charles T. Hallowell erected the first buildings and kept store therein.
This is now Smith & Reeder's Hotel. John Moore was a prominent physician,
and resided in the house recently occupied and owned by John Wannamaker.
Joseph Phipps, a descendant of one of the original land-holders of
Abington, resided opposite the Friends' Meeting-house, on the place owned
by the late J. Francis Fisher. Thomas Fletcher was a farmer, and resided on
the place now belonging to the estate of Capt. Robinson. Isaac Hallowell
resided on the farm now occupied by Thomas Buckman. Joseph Iredell was a
saddler in Jenkintown. Thomas Shoemaker was a man of business habits,
extensively given to settling estates, etc.
We shall now resume the history of the library since its incorporation.
It was determined, January 6, 1806, "that a compensation of ten dollars be
allowed the librarian, with a commission of five per cent. on all moneys
collected since the 11th of March last." The price of shares was fixed at
six dollars each, which was increased January 2, 1809, to eight dollars,
and in 1815 to ten dollars. Mention is made of several works missing
between the years 1816 and 1821. At the meeting of the latter year David
Thomas, John Michener, Isaac Hallowell, Joshua Taylor and William Grant
were elected directors and Joseph Shaw treasurer and librarian. The
librarian's fees were reduced to twelve dollars and the shares to six
dollars, and the following year to five dollars. The annual dues at the
meeting in 1823 were reduced to one dollar. Robert Steel was admitted a
member in 1826. January 5, 1835, Isaac Mather, Oliver Paxson, Bartholomew
Mather, William Grant and John R. Hallowell were elected directors, Isaac
Mather treasurer, and D. J. Bent librarian. This year Jacob Dananhower was
admitted a member, and is still residing in the vicinity. Isaac Mather was
treasurer from 1835 to 1848, and president from 1850 to the present time,
having been a member since 1827, S. W. Noble has been treasurer since 1848.
Charles F. Wilson became a member in 1848, and continued librarian till
1878, when the library was removed from over his store to its present
location in Masonic Hall. The first minute book comes down to 1836.
In the "History of Montgomery County," published in "Scott's Atlas," in
1877, under the head of Jenkintown, the writer made the following
remarks respecting this library: "In the catalogue published in 1855 we
learn that it then contained twenty-nine members and ten hundred and
twenty-two volumes. A resident of the borough lately informed us that it
now numbered but sixteen members and fourteen hundred volumes.
738
It would be a pity, after so long a life, that it should meet the same fate
as the libraries at Gwynedd, Horsham and Attleboro'. Knowing that there is
considerable intelligence, enterprise and wealth in the place, we would
here respectfully call attention to the subject before it is too late, and
the collections of nearly three-fourths of a century become dispersed." We
are gratified to state that since then there has been a renewed and greater
interest taken in promoting its increase and usefulness. The library now
contains about two thousand volumes, the price of a share is only three
dollars and the yearly payment one dollar. The annual meeting for the
election of officers, etc., is held the first Monday in January.
Mr. John W. Ridpath is the present librarian, of whom the privilege of
using the books can be rented at the rate of fifty cents for three months.
Persons using the reading-room are permitted access to the library without
charge. Among the recent purchases was the latest edition of the
"Encyclopedia Britannica," "Webster's and Worcester's Unabridged
Dictionaries," and other valuable works for reference.
PICTURE OF JOSEPH HUNTER APPEARS HERE
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
JOSEPH W. HUNTER.
Mr. Hunter is of Scotch-Irish parentage. Adam Hunter, his grandfather,
resided near Londonderry, Ireland, where he cultivated a farm. His wife, a
Miss Wray, of Glasgow, Scotland, was the mother of one son, Thomas, and a
daughter, Martha, who became Mrs. Andrew Scanlan. Thomas, a native of
Ireland, emigrated to the United States in 1842, settling first in
Philadelphia and later in Delaware County, Pa., where he followed farming
pursuits. He married Henrietta, daughter of Joseph Schwend, a military
engineer and staff officer in the French army under Napoleon, who
afterwards immigrated to America and was employed on the Raritan Canal. The
surviving children of this marriage are
Joseph W.
Sarah W. (Mrs. Robert T. Love)
Martha
Mary A.
Rebecca
Henrietta.
Joseph W. was born on the 23d of July, 1853, on the Pont Reading farm, in
Haverford township, Delaware County, Pa., his youth having been spent at
this point and in other portions of the same county. He later removed to
Lower Merion township, Montgomery Co., meanwhile receiving his education at
both private and public schools, and finally entering the Mantua Academy,
in West Philadelphia, from which he graduated in 1870 as second in his
class.
739
Immediately after he joined Samuel L. Smedley, surveyor of the Eleventh
Survey District of Philadelphia, and studied surveying under him and under
his successor, George W. Hancock. He was employed by Mr. Smedley to make
topographical surveys in the city and also to engage in map surveying. In
1875 be made Jenkintown his home, and while continuing his Philadelphia
pursuits also engaged in farm surveying. Mr. Hunter was, in 1878, elected
justice of the peace, and re-elected in 1883 for a second term of five
years. In 1882 he was made county surveyor and is still the incumbent of
the office. He is to some extent active in the ranks of the Republican
Party, but not to so great an extent as to be regarded a politician. Mr.
Hunter was, in 1878, married to Miss Kate, daughter of Thomas Gentry, of
Philadelphia. He is a director of the Cheltenham and Willow Grove Turnpike
Company, and member of both the Abington, and Cheltenham Building and Loan
Associations, of which he is secretary. He is still active in the Masonic
ranks as member of Friendship Lodge, No. 400, of Jenkintown, is a member of
Jenkintown Lodge, No. 476, Knights of Pythias, and of Peace and Love
Lodge., No. 337, of I. 0. 0. F. His religious associations are with the
Presbyterian Church, of Jenkintown, of which he is a member.
PICTURE OF JOHN J. DAVIS, APPEARS HERE.
JOHN J. DAVIS
John J. Davis (originally written Davies) is a son of Evan (Davies) Davis,
who was born April 22, 1803, and was baptized in the parish of Llanarth, in
the county of Cardigan, South Wales.
As was customary in South Wales, Evan Davis, being the oldest son,
inherited the estate, Cil-l-l-leoeh, in the parish of Dihewid, county of
Cardigan, South Wales.
Evan's early years were spent in school, and later his time was occupied
in the study of the cause and cure of all diseases of domestic animals, and
more especially the horse, and in his mature years he became widely known
as one of the most skillful veterinary surgeons on either side of the.
Atlantic Ocean.
In the early part of the summer of 1832, Mr. Davis chartered of Lewis Jones,
a cousin of Mrs. Davis, the sailing-vessel "Wyoming," Captain Watkins, and
set sail for America. Another family accompanied Mr. Davis, making in all
twenty-one souls on board, besides the crew. The voyage was a long, rough
and tedious one, consuming about three months time, and they finally landed
at Halifax, N. S., in September of the same year. The party of emigrants
remained at Halifax about two weeks, when they went by steamer to
Alexandria, Va., where the family remained four weeks. Mr. Davis in the
mean time visited Philadelphia, and secured a place for his family, where
they remained till the spring of 1833, when Mr. Davis and family moved to
Horsham township, Montgomery Co., Pa., and located on a place along the
turnpike, a short distance above Horshamville, where he remained till the
spring of 1842, when he moved to Hatboro', this county.
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Mr. Davis married Mary Jones, who was born January 5, 1801, and baptized in
the church of the parish Dihewid, in the county of Cardigan, South Wales.
They united with the Baptist Church of Hatboro' in 1840, and Mr. Davis was
senior deacon of that church for many years prior to his death, which
occurred December 28, 1881. Mrs. Davis still survives, in the eighty-fifth
year of her age. They were the parents of eleven children, seven of whom
were born in Wales, as will be seen from the following extract from the
family records:
I. Eleanor, born July 16, 1821, and on the 17th day of this moon was
baptized at Dihewid parish church, County Cardigan.
II. David, born February 27, 1823, and baptized the 16th day of the moon at
Dihewid parish church.
III. Mary, born October 26, 1824, and baptized the 4th day of the moon at
Dihewid parish church.
IV. John J., born August 29, 1826, at five minutes after two o'clock in the
morning. and baptized on the 26th day of the moon in the parish church at
Dihewid.
V. Griffith, born February 4, 1828, baptized on the 18th day of the moon at
Dihewid parish church.
VI. Margaret, born August 19, 1829, baptized on the 20th day of the moon at
the parish church, Dihewid.
VII. George, born June 3, 1831, baptized on the 22d day of the moon at
Dihewid parish church.
VIII. Pryce Pugh, born February 8, 1833, and was baptized by Evan Williams
in Philadelphia, Pa.
IX. Benjamin, born May 27, 1837,
X. Victoria Rachel Amelia, born November 30, 1838.
XI. Richard Lewis, born April 17, 1840.
John J. Davis, the subject of this sketch, as has been stated, was born
in Wales, and came to this country with his parents when be was but six
years of age. His early years were spent during the summer seasons in
working on the farm, and in winter seasons at the Friends' school at
Horshamville, and lastly two terms at the Loller Academy, Hatboro'.
When eighteen years of age he was apprenticed to Absalom Kearns, of
Hatboro', to learn the trade of a blacksmith, and served three years and
three months. After learning his trade he worked as a journeyman till the
spring of 1853, when be commenced business for himself at a place called
Babylon, in Horsham Township, where he remained two years. He then worked
in Hatboro' one year, and in Prospectville five years, then in Hartsville
one year, and in Jenkintown two years, and in the spring of 1863 removed to
his present place of business, and in 1867 purchased the property of the
heirs of Jesse Jenkins.
When Mr. Davis located here, in 1863, be was without capital, except good
health, a thorough knowledge of the business and a determination to make
life a success, which latter object has thus far been accomplished to the
fullest degree. Since he has owned the property where he now lives he has
remodeled and enlarged his residence, built the large and commodious
blacksmith and wheelwright-shops, and gives employment to several
first-class mechanics, one of whom has been in his employ for over eleven
years.
He united with the Hatboro' Baptist Church when eighteen years of age,
and was for many years one of its deacons, and when the Baptist Church at
Jenkintown was constituted he was one of the constituent members, and has
since then been its senior deacon.
He was married, January 1, 1853, to Martha B., daughter of James B. and
Mary Biddle Cadwallader Langdale, of Upper Dublin Township. Mrs. Davis was
born July 16, 1831. They are the parents of Children as follows:
Mary L., born November 27, 1853, died June 21, 1856
Mary A., born January 7, 1862, died October 21, 1864
Charles L., born November 10, 1864, died March 4, 1865
Alonzo C., born September 25, 1866, died July 22, 1868
Alonzo G., born May 17,1870, died September 23,1872
William Henry, born June 26, 1873.
The father of Mrs. Davis, James B. Langdale, was born in Chillicothe,
Ohio, April 1, 1793, and died in August 1861. He was in the war of 1812,
under General Harrison, and participated in the battles of Tippecanoe,
Thomas and Fort Meigs, and was wounded in the latter battle. A musket-ball
that he carried in his leg from the battle of Fort Meigs to the date of his
death is now in possession of Mr. Davis.
Mrs. Langdale was born November 24, 1800, and is still living. They were the parents of
Elizabeth B., born June 25, 1820
Lewis L., born July 12, 1822
Cynthia S., born October 5, 1824
Samuel, born October 22, 1826
Martha B., born July 16, 1831
Charles Ramsay, born November 1, 1833
Lydia W., born July 10, 1836.
The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Davis were of English-Irish descent,
Samuel Langdale having been born in England, and his wife, Elizabeth
Biddle, was born in Ireland. Elizabeth was a daughter of Thomas and Martha
Biddle, and Martha was the daughter of _____ Heaton.
Samuel Langdale was in the Revolutionary war, and at the battle of Paoli
under General Anthony Wayne, and was one of the number selected by General
Wayne as a "forlorn hope" in the attack on the enemy's works.
741
Mrs. Davis has in her possession several letters written by Margaret
Langdale between 1710 and 1723, while in the Boston Prison, London,
England, during the persecution of the Quakers merely-for opinion's sake.
The letters are neatly and correctly written, and are held as valuable
relics of British cruelty and hatred of a people who would think for themselves.
PICTURE OF JOSEPH A. SHOEMAKER, APPEARS HERE.
JOSEPH A. SHOEMAKER.
Mr. Shoemaker's paternal ancestors, who were of German descent, came with
William Penn to Pennsylvania in 1682, and settled in what is now Horsham
Township, in Montgomery County. In the direct line of descent was Joseph
Shoemaker, grandfather of the subject of this biographical sketch, who
purchased and become a farmer in Gwynedd. He was united in marriage to Miss
Tacy Ambler, a lady of Welsh parentage and a resident of the same county.
Their children were
Ezekiel
John
Joseph
Jessie
Ann
Ellen
Hannah.
John of this number, whose birth occurred in 1790, in Gwynedd township, on
the completion of his apprenticeship to the trade of a harness-maker,
removed to Jenkintown and subsequently to other portions of the county,
where he pursued his vocation during his life. He married Elizabeth,
daughter of Joseph and Mary Logan, of Abington Township, whose children are
Hannah (Mrs. John Jones)
Maria (Mrs. William Steel deceased)
Tacy (Mrs. George Logan deceased)
Jane (Mrs. George Logan deceased) [sic]
Martha
Joseph A
Elizabeth
John (deceased)
Mr. Shoemaker died in Horsham Township, where he had latterly resided, in
1863. His son, Joseph A., was born on the 13th of May, 1826, in Gwynedd
Township, and received early instruction at a Friends' school. At the age
of thirteen he removed to Philadelphia County, and at sixteen became an
apprentice to the trade of a blacksmith, remaining for the purpose in Upper
Dublin Township. One year was spent as a journeyman in Montgomery County,
after which he removed to the West. The East, however, offering superior
advantages, he returned again to his native State and engaged in the
purchase and sale of horses, meanwhile becoming for one year the tenant of
a farm in Horsham township. Mr. Shoemaker, during the next three years,
found employment in a saw-mill in the same township, and in 1853 made
Jenkintown his residence. In connection with his brother-in-law, George
Logan, he embarked in butchering, which business he has since continued
with marked success, as the result of strict principles of honor carried
into every transaction, combined with promptness and punctuality.
742
Mr. Shoemaker was married, on the 1st of January, 1857, to Miss Esther
Ann, daughter of William Harper and Esther Smith Harper, of Abington. Their
children are -
Clara F. (wife of Dr. Henry Waas)
William H. (who is associated with his father)
Harry (deceased)
Lizzie and
Jennie.
Mr. Shoemaker is a director in the Jenkintown National Bank, president of
the North Cedar Hill Cemetery Company, and vice-president of the
Philadelphia Drove-Yard. He is also president of the Borough Council of
Jenkintown, and has filled various minor offices as a Republican. He is a
birthright member of the Friends' Society and worships with the Abington
Meeting.