History: Local: CHAPTERS LXV - LXVI: New Hanover and Norriton Townships : Bean's 1884 History of Montgomery Co, PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Susan Walters USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/montgomery/beantoc.htm URL of html Table of Contents and illustrations. ¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼ BEAN'S HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼¼ 992 CHAPTER LXV. NEW HANOVER TOWNSHIP. THE township of New Hanover is bounded on the northeast by Upper Hanover, south by Limerick, east by Frederick, north and northwest by Douglas and southwest by Pottsgrove. It is six and three fourths miles long, its greatest breadth three and one half miles, with an area of twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty acres, or twenty and one-quarter square miles, being the fourth in size in the county. The surface is rolling and the soil is tolerably productive, being composed of loam and red shale. Swamp Creek flows nearly through its central part, having several branches, and Deep Creek through its eastern corner. The former propels four grist and three saw-mills, and the latter formerly a tilt-mill. A rugged elevation extends across the entire width of the northeast portion, called Deep Creek Hill. The name of this township has been derived from Hanover, a capital and kingdom in Germany, which in 1692 was raised to an electorate and in 1814 to a kingdom. Many of the early Lutheran settlers were natives of this kingdom, which largely accounts for the name given. Another name also applied to this locality is "Falkners Swamp," it is supposed after Daniel Falkner, one of the agents or attorneys of the Frankfort Land Company. In the purchase made by George McCall, in 1735, of the present Douglas township and nearly one half of Pottsgrove, mention is made that it was bounded, on the south by "The Germans Tract of Land," meaning at least all of the present territory of New Hanover. In 1734 we know that Hanover township comprised all of the present townships of New Hanover, Upper Hanover, Douglas and Pottsgrove and borough of Pottstown. In 1741 it was divided into the first three townships, which then contained together two hundred and forty-two taxables and one hundred and thirteen land-holders. 993 The following is a list of the earliest land-holders John Benner, 100 acres Daniel Shaner, 100 Mathias Bender, 100 Frederick Richard, 150 Andrew Kepler, 100 John Eshbaugh, 100 Nicholas Brown, 100 Jacob High, 100 Malachi High, 100 Samuel Musselman, 50 Jacob Bechtal, 200 Mathias Christman, 100 John Linderman, 100 Garret Dewees, 100 Cornelius Dewees, 24 John Lewis, 95 Henry Coulston, 100 John Henry Sprogle, 556 George Custer, 100 Peter Lower, 100 Ludwich Bitting, 150 Balsar Hutt, 100 Jacob Wisler, 150 Henry Reader, 150 Robert Thomas, 300 George Roudebush, 150 Frederick Hillegas, 150 Daniel Borleman, 100 Michael Shell, 150 Conrad Culp, 150; Jacob Myer, Jr., 100 Jacob Heistand, 150 Rudolph Mourer, 100 Jacob Fisher, 100 Jacob Mourer, 150 George Geiger, 50 Valentine Geiger, 100 Philip Knecht, 60 Adam Harman, 100 Mathias Harman, 100 Adam Spangler, 50 Peter Conrad, 100 Michael Smith, 50 Jacob Switzer, 10 Philip Brant, 100 Henry Antes, 150 Adam Ox, 140 Henry Bitting, 100 Jacob Myor, 100 Simon Kreps, 100 Henry Kreps, 100 Yost Fryer, 100 Barnabas Futtero, 100 Jacob Fry, 100 Sebastian Reifsnyder, 100 John Snyder, 150 John George, 100 Anthony Hinkle, 100 Henry Acker, 50. Jacob and John Heistand arrived in 1727, and Henry, Philip and Jacob Acker in 1732. Jacob Heistand purchased here, some time before 1733, one hundred and fifty acres, and Henry Acker, fifty acres. Henry Antes came from Germany to this country prior to 1726, and first settled in Philadelphia, and a few years after removed to New Hanover. He was a very useful and ingenious man, and built the first grist-mill at Bethlehem in 1743, and between 1745 and 1750 had the direction of the public improvements there. He died in this township in 1755. Frederick Antes, his son, was born in 1730. He was an iron founder, and cast the first four-pound guns for the Revolutionary army. He was one of the members elected in the county to frame the new Constitution of Pennsylvania, which was adopted September 28, 1776. It is said a sense of danger from the British induced him to leave New Hanover and to remove to Northumberland. In 1781 he became the presiding judge of that county, and in 1784 a member of Assembly. He followed the business of gunsmithing, and Dr. Priestly, in his "Memoirs," speaks of the great aid he received from him in making his philosophical instruments. He died at Lancaster September 20, 1801. His daughter Catharine was the second wife of Governor Simon Snyder. The taxables in 1741 were 87 in 1828, 323 in 1858, 442 in 1875, 446 in 1884, 471. The population in 1800 was 1595 in 1830, 1344 in 1850, 1635 in 1870, 1900 in 1880, 1905. The villages in New Hanover are Swamp (the township seat), Fagleysville, New Hanover Square and Pleasant Run. The village of New Hanover, better known as the Swamp or Swamp Churches, is situated, sixteen miles from Norristown, and in 1832, Gordon, in his "Gazetteer," says it contained two churches, a post-office, tannery, two taverns, two stores and eight dwellings. The post-office was established before 1827, under the title of "Swamp Churches," which was changed a few years after to its present name of New Hanover. This is quite an old settlement. Nicholas Scull mentions here, in 1758, "The Lutheran Dutch" and the "Dutch Church," and "Yelyer's Mill," where is now Christman's grist and saw-mill, a mile northeast of the village. Fagleysville, on the turnpike, two miles south of New Hanover, appears also to be an ancient settlement, Scull mentioning an inn here, in 1758, called "The Rose." The importance attached by the early German settlers of attending to the education of their children is shown by the fact that schools, under the support and control of the various religious denominations, were established shortly after this portion of country was settled. As early as 1755 schools at Falkner Schwezny in New Hanover, received by charity from the Fathers and Overseers of the Reformed Church in Holland, Germany and Switzerland the sum of £35 15s., which was followed by other contributions till 1770. In 1760 there were forty-five boys in the school at New Hanover. The fact that no mention is made of girls being in attendance upon these schools strongly suggests that the custom of educating the boys and not the girls prevailed at this early time. The custom was incident to the laws of primogeniture, which were abrogated in this country in 1682, but the effects were still felt in these old communities. The present public-school system was accepted by the township about the year 1750. There are eleven schools in the township, including the independent districts of Swamp and Fagleysville. The former has a term of eight months, giving a salary of forty dollars per month, and the latter a term of seven months, with the same salary. The regular school term is five months, nine teachers being employed, at a salary of thirty dollars per month. The entire absence of female teachers in the township, with but one exception, would appear that the prejudice formerly so marked against the employment of ladies as teachers is not entirely removed. The New Hanover Lutheran is the oldest German Lutheran congregation in America. Its first pastor was Justus Falkner, who came here in 1703, having been ordained and sent by Andreas Rudman, the Swedish provost at Philadelphia. In 1717, Rev. Gerbard Henkel settled here and many of his descendants are still in this neighborhood. From 1720 to 1723 this church was frequently visited by Rev. Samuel Hesselius, Swedish pastor at Morlatton. In 1732 Rev. John Christian Schulze took this charge, and he in turn was succeeded by Rev. John Caspar Stoever. 994 The Rev. Henry M. Muhlenberg arrived in Philadelphia from Germany November 25, 1742, and only three days afterward preached here his first sermon in Pennsylvania, from 2 Corinthians v. 20. He then found about one hundred communicants, who worshiped in a log church. At his first arrival in New Hanover, there was considerable opposition to his reception in consequence of self-constituted preachers, but the power of his eloquence overcame all and unity prevailed. In 1767 the congregation built a new and spacious stone church, which is still standing. In October, 1761, Mr. Muhlenberg left the congregations of New Hanover and the Trappe, and moved to Philadelphia, but returned in 1776. In his journal of October 7, 1777, he says,- "I was informed that a number of Americans wounded in the battle on Saturday (October 4, at Germantown) were put in our Lutheran Church, at New Hanover, to be treated by the surgeons. October 9, Mr. Steril came to-day in the rain from New Hanover, and informs me that the surgeons are cutting off shattered arms and legs of the wounded soldiers there, and that three had died last night of their wounds. Those that could bear transportation were to be taken up to Reading, and the balance of the sick and wounded to be distributed among the neighboring houses." The present pastor is Rev. L. Groh who lives at Boyertown, Berks County, and officiates at St. John's Church, Boyertown, in connection with the New Hanover Lutheran or "Swamp." From the best information at hand, the first Reformed Church in New Hanover was built in 1720. Its first pastor was John Philip Boehm, succeeded by Michael Schlatter, in 1746. From 1784 to 1799, John Philip Leydich, Nicholas Pomp and Frederick Dellecker officiated, and they, in 1800, were succeeded by Dr. L. Frederick Herman, who died in 1848. This congregation also worshiped at first in a log building which stood till 1790, when they erected a fine brick church, which was remodeled in 1869 and is now one of the finest churches in the vicinity. Its present pastor is the Rev. L. J. Mayer, who came here in 1866. There is connected with both this and the German Lutheran Church large burial-grounds, which are attended to with evident care and kept in excellent condition. The following report will show that the early inhabitants of New Hanover were not unmindful of their duty to the poor: "March 30, 1741, Bernhart Dotterer and Jacob Freyer settled the accounts of Dilman Zeigler and Samuel Yerger, overseers of the poor: £ s d "Money by them collected ............... 12 1 2 £ s d Disbursed 7 12 0 By loss 14 0 ______________ 8 6 0 ________________ £3 15 2 For collecting 15 2 ________________ Balance due £3 0 0 "To be delivered to the overseers, George George and Simon Creps, for the year 1740." This praiseworthy act was continued, as the books show, until the year 1807. The following may interest the reader: "The overseers of the poor are ordered, by a number of the inhabitants of New Hanover, to furnish Frantz Epple with a linsey jacket, a pair of tow trousers, a new shirt, a pair of new stockings, a pair of new shoes and a nosey underjacket. "Signed by order of the inhabitants, "JOHN RICHARDS. "JOHN BROOKS. "BENJ. MARKLEY. "CASSIMER MISSIMER. "ANDREW SMITH. "March 20, 1784." By an act of the Legislature, passed September 13, 1785, the freemen of the townships of Limerick, New Hanover, Douglas, Upper Hanover, Marlborough and Upper Salford were to hold their elections at the tavern of Michael Creps, in New Hanover. This remained in force till 1807, after which the elections only of Douglas and this township were continued at the same place, now known as New Hanover Square. This township became a separate election district by making Douglas township a separate election district by act of Assembly, approved April 16, 1827. By the assessment of 1785, the first made under the officials of Montgomery County, there were in the township four taverns, five grist-mills, two saw-mills, three tanneries and one slave. "MONTGOMERY COUNTY, 88. "A tax of three shillings and sixpence in every hundred pounds (and from 3/4 to ten Shillings per head on all single freemen), laid on the Estates, real and personal, of the Freeholders and Inhabitants within New Hanover Township, for defraying the expenses of the public Buildings and other Expenses of said County. Given under our Hands this 20th day of March, 1792. "NATHAN POTTS, | "JOHN MANN, | Commissioners." "CONRAD BOYER, | Under the assessment of 1792, two hundred and sixty-one land-holders were assessed to the aggregate amount of £75 18s. 7d. The following is a list of the single men taxed according to this order in the said township Philip Yerger Henry Smith Tobias Yerger Jacob Dachenbach John Liebengood John Erney Henry Gilbert Frederick Hartman Jacob Malsberger Joseph Walker John Ruth Isaac Bingeman Michael Feadly Henry Egolf Adam Egolf John Reifsnyder Abraham Dotterer John Lick George Gousenger John Loch Christian Fryer Adam Bartman Andrew Hank Philip Hann Lewis Linsebegler Michael Hoph John Rusher Johanas Reifsnyder John Looch Jacob Stalpt Jacob Achey. The following exhibit from the mercantile appraiser list of 1884 shows the business advancement of this township: F. Brendlinger, dry-goods I. Christman, flour and feed N. G. Drace, merchandise Jonathan Erb, butcher Elias Fagley, merchandise Charles Fox, merchandise Good-Will Grangers, Patrons of Husbandry, merchandise W. B. Groff, merchandise Solomon Hoffman, butcher John Hollman, butcher John Kehl, feed and live stock; Washington Leidy, live stock J. Lenhart, flour and feed Aug. Schaffer, flour, feed Henry Schneider, leather C. Weyant, merchandise J. M. H. Walter, flour, feed Weyant & Co., live stock George Weand, live stock Henry Zern, butcher. The present number of taxables is 471 value of improved lands, $848,051 value of unimproved lands, $35,300 value of 461 horses, $36,263 value of 1200 cattle, $36,284 total value of all property taxable for county purposes, $988,228. 995 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JOHN FREDERICK HARTRANFT. For portrait of General Hartranft, see list on Page One of table of contents. Chapter XVI (Civil War) page 196. John Frederick Hartranft, who was one of the most prominent generals in the Union army in the great war of the Rebellion, afterwards Governor of Pennsylvania, and is now collector of the port of Philadelphia and major general commanding the National Guard of the State, is a native of Montgomery County, born on the 16th of December, 1830, in New Hanover township, which was then the home of his parents, Samuel E. and Lydia (Bucher) Hartranft, In 1844 they removed from New Hanover, and took up their permanent residence in Norristown, where, for several years following that time, their son, John F., attended the Treemount Seminary, then under charge of the Rev. Samuel Aaron. Afterwards he passed freshman year at Marshall College, Mercersburg, Pa., and in the twentieth year of his age entered Union College (Schenectady, N. Y.), where he was graduated in 1853. After leaving college his first employment was as an assistant engineer on a preliminary survey of the line of a proposed railroad from Chestnut Hill, via Doylestown, to New Hope, and also of the route between Mauch Chunk and White Haven. In the following year Michael C. Boyer, sheriff of Montgomery County, appointed him a deputy, which office he continued to fill under Mr. Boyer and his successor, Sheriff Rudy, until 1859. During his last term as deputy sheriff he commenced the study of the law, and was admitted to practice October 4, 1860. Prior to the commencement of his law studies he had joined the military company called the Norris City Rifles, of which he was afterwards successively elected lieutenant and captain, from which latter grade he was promoted, by election, to the colonelcy of the Fourth Regiment of Pennsylvania militia in the spring of 1859. Two Years later, when the war of the Rebellion had been opened by the attack on Fort Sumter, and President Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand troops to support the government, Colonel Hartranft promptly offered the services of his regiment, which were as promptly accepted by Governor Curtin. The President's call had been made on the 15th of April, 1861, on the 16th, Colonel Hartranft reported to the Governor at Harrisburg; on the 20th the seven Montgomery County companies forming the Fourth Regiment left for the rendezvous at Harrisburg, and two days later the regiment was on its way, via Perryville and Annapolis, to Washington, D. C., where it arrived May 8th, and remained until the 24th of June, when it crossed the Potomac into Virginia. The Fourth had been mustered into the service for three months, and during that time no collision with the enemy had occurred; that on the day of the expiration of the term an order was issued for a general advance of the army, which resulted in the battle of Bull Run. On the day of the advance to that field of disaster the regiment was ordered to the rear for muster out, but there were a few of its members who preferred to go to the front, though not compelled to do so. Among these was Colonel Hartranft, who offered his services, and was accepted as a volunteer aid on the staff of Colonel W. B. Franklin. He passed safely through the battle, though he performed services for which he was afterwards mentioned in complimentary terms in Colonel Franklin's report of the action. At the close of the Bull Run campaign Colonel Hartranft returned home, and, under authority which he had asked while the Fourth was yet in the field, commenced the raising of a regiment for the three years' service. The story of his gallantry at Bull Run had given him great popularity, which rendered the raising of the new regiment a comparatively easy task. On its completion it was designated as the Fifty-first of the Pennsylvania line, and was assigned to the command of General A. E. Burnside at Annapolis, Md., to form part of an expedition to be led by that general against the enemy's forces and strongholds in North Carolina. The expedition sailed from Annapolis on the 9th of January, 1862 and after a long and stormy passage passed Hatteras Inlet, and entered Pamlico Sound. On the 7th of February occurred the battle and victory of Roanoke Island, in which Colonel Hartranft and his regiment participated with conspicuous gallantry. Again, on the 14th of March, it formed a part of the column that assaulted and carried the strong works at Newbern. In August following, the regiment, with the other commands of Burnside's army, moved, by water transportation, from North Carolina to the Potomac River, and, disembarking, marched into Virginia to the relief of General Pope, who was then hard pressed by the enemy. In that campaign Colonel Hartranft and his regiment took part in the engagements of Second Bull Run and Chantilly. Crossing the Potomac with the army, they were engaged in the battle of South Mountain, where General Reno was killed, and again, on the 17th of September, fought in the great battle of Antietam where, in the heat of the conflict, the Fifty-first was ordered to cross the stone bridge on the extreme left of the Union line, which was held by the enemy and commanded by his guns. The order was promptly obeyed and the bridge was carried, Colonel Hartranft leading his command across in the face of a terrific fire from the batteries. In General Burnside's report of that battle he paid a high compliment to the gallantry and other soldierly qualities of Colonel Hartranft, and recommended him for promotion to the grade of brigadier General. 996 A more minute account of the services of the Fifty-first and its commanding officer, Colonel Hartranft, from their first gallant fight at Roanoke Island to their crossing of the historic stone bridge at Antietam, as also of the part they took in the bloody storming of the Heights of Fredericksburg, on the 13th of December, 1862, will be found on pages 204 to 208 of this history. In April, 1863, Colonel Hartranft and his regiment, with others forming the Ninth Corps, moved from Newport News, Va., by river and rail to Kentucky, whence, after a few weeks of active service, they were transported to Mississippi, taking part in the fight at Jackson, on the 12th of July, and in the occupation of that city, on the 18th. From Mississippi the command then moved back to Kentucky, where Colonel Hartranft was prostrated by illness, and remained for some time unable to do duty. On his recovery he rejoined the regiment at Lenoir, East Tennessee, where he was placed in command of the Second Division of the Ninth Corps, and immediately afterwards fought the battle of Campbell's Station, from which he retired to Knoxville, where, largely on account of the engineering skill which he displayed in the fortifying of the place, it was successfully held until the siege was raised by the approach of General Sherman's troops from Chattanooga. Early in January, 1864, the regiment re-enlisted, and, receiving the veteran furlough, returned home to recruit. On their arrival, Benjamin E. Chain, Esq., in an address of welcome delivered on behalf of the citizens of Norristown, said: "It is to you, Colonel Hartranft, that the regiment owes the character it bears. Your discipline in the camp, your foresight on the march, your coolness, bravery and judgment on the battle-field have won the confidence and love of your men, and made them heroes in the fight. They knew you never ordered when you did not lead." At the expiration of the veteran furlough the regiment (having received a large number of recruits) proceeded to Annapolis, Md., where, in the absence of General Burnside, the entire corps, numbering twenty thousand men, was for the time placed under the command of Colonel Hartranft, to whom all new regiments were ordered to report, and to whom was committed the supervision of the work of organization and equipment. In the Wilderness campaign, which followed (the Ninth Corps having in the mean time joined the Army of the Potomac on the Rapidan, he commanded a brigade, with the proper rank of brigadier-general, to which he had long been entitled, he having received that promotion nearly two years after it had been urged by General Burnside in recognition for his gallant service at Antietam. In the engagements at Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Poplar Springs, Hatcher's Run, Weldon Railroad, Ream's Station and the mine explosion, General Hartranft and his brigade fought gallantly and well. But the action in which he won his highest renown was the recapture of Fort Steadman, before Petersburg. On the morning of March 25, 1865, in the darkness just preceding the dawn the Confederates assaulted the fort suddenly, and with such impetuosity that in a few minutes they had carried the work, taking a large number of prisoners. About a mile away was the headquarters of General Hartranft, who was then in command of the Third Division of the Ninth Corps, composed largely of raw troops. At a little before four o'clock the general was awakened by the noise of the Confederate assault, and, immediately learning that the fort had been taken, he formed his division to resist a further advance of the enemy having done this, he soon received orders from General Parke (then temporarily in command of the army) to suspend the attack until the arrival of the Fifth Corps. Notwithstanding this countermand of his orders, feeling confident of his ability to retake the work without reinforcement by the Fifth Corps., he determined to make the attempt, and moved quickly on, with only his own and the First Division, himself leading the assault. The Confederates, though surprised, made a most obstinate resistance, but were driven back with heavy loss, and the work was retaken, with about three thousand prisoners. It was a complete victory, and acknowledged to be one of the most brilliant achievements of the Petersburg siege. General Hartranft's services on this occasion were promptly recognized by his promotion to the brevet rank of major general, as nominated by Lieutenant-General Grant, on recommendation by Generals Meads and Parke. The following official communications show the action taken in the matter. "HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. "March 27, 1865. "To Major-General J. G. Parke, commanding Ninth Army Corps: "GENERAL -The commanding general directs me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date recommending Brigadier-General Hartranft, United States Volunteers, for the brevet of major-general of volunteers for his conspicuous gallantry in re-capturing Fort Steadman during the action of the 25th instant, as well as for composed his industry and efficiency in organizing and disciplining his division composed of new regiments. In reply I am directed to inform you that before the receipt of your letter a communication to the same effect had been made by the commanding general to Lieutenant-General Grant to which a response was received that his nomination had been made to the Secretary of War, and a telegraphic answer returned that the appointment should be made. Since then the commanding general is informed by telegraph that Brigadier-General Hartranft is breveted major general, the appointment has been forwarded by mail. Your communication, however, has been forwarded to complete the record. "I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant. "GEORGE D. RUGGLES, A. A. G." 997 "HEADQUARTERS NINTH ARMY CORP. March 28th, 1865. "Brevet Major-General J. F. Hartranft, commanding Third Division: GENERAL -The commanding general instructs me to transmit herewith a copy of communication from the commanding general of the Army of the Potomac, of yesterday's date, which will explain itself. He bids me say, however, in connection therewith, that such prompt recognition of your services on the 25th instant by the President, the lieutenant general, and major general commanding the army, affords him the greatest pleasure, and he begs you will accept his hearty congratulations on your well deserved promotion. "I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, "P. M. LYDIG Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel and A. A. G." On the 2d of April, one week after the recapture of Fort Steadman, a general assault was made on the inner defenses of Petersburg. In the fighting of that day a prominent part was taken by the division of General Hartranft, who, at dawn on the 3d, entered the city, and passing through it, pursued the retreating enemy to Nottoway Court-House. Six days later came the closing scene of the war, at Appomattox, and soon afterwards General Hartranft was mustered out of the volunteer service. The government, wishing to retain the services of so able and gallant an officer, proffered him the appointment of colonel of the Thirty-fourth Infantry of the regular army, but declining this, he returned to civil life. In 1865 the Republicans of Montgomery County urged the claims of General Hartranft for the officer of auditor-general of Pennsylvania. In the convention that assembled at Harrisburg on the 17th of September in that year, he was unanimously nominated on the second ballot, and in the ensuing election he received a majority of twenty-two thousand six hundred and sixty votes. "His long tour of duty in the army, and the frequently manifested hostility of his original party friends (the Democrats) to the administration charged with the prosecution of the war had detached him from them and yet his prudent reserve had not incurred the rancor that often arises when a man shifts his political ground. Still the Democracy watched his administration of the finances with Argus eyes. But the simple honesty of purpose that had carried him through the war without reproach enabled him to close his first term with the report that, in connection with Governor Geary and the Legislature, the State debt had already been reduced several millions... In 1871 he had filled the Post of auditor- general so fully to the acceptance of his party that he was nominated almost by acclamation. It was admitted that during his second term he had drawn before the light of day some parties who had been evading State taxes, and were about to realize large, sums which belonged to the commonwealth . . . . Although there was a relentless clamor raised against him by the opposite party, alleging corruption and nearly every possible offense, he was so fully vindicated in the judgment of his party as to obtain, on the 9th of April, 1872, the gubernatorial nomination on the first ballot." In the election of 1872, General Hartranft was elected Governor of Pennsylvania by an absolute majority of thirty-four thousand four hundred and forty-seven, and a plurality over his Democratic opponent, Buckalew, of thirty-five thousand six hundred and twenty-seven. He was inaugurated January 21, 1873. "True to his ancestry, who were pious German refugees to America for the sake of conscience, the Governor opened and closed his first inaugural, as, in fact, all his subsequent papers of the kind, with a recognition of the Divine power that rules the world, and confessing his dependence upon Him for direction and success. True also to his generous sympathy with the humble, while the pageant to his honor was in progress, he stole aside to take by the hand a large number of soldiers' orphans, who had gathered at Harrisburg on the occasion." In 1875, Governor Hartranft was reelected, and was inaugurated on the 18th of January, 1876. During his second term as Governor (in 1877) the quelling of the terrible railroad riots in the State (principally at Pittsburgh) subjected his executive ability, firmness and judgment to the severest test to which they had ever been brought in all his military and civil career. "This popular commotion found the Governor on the way to the Pacific in company with some friends. Having, however, efficient subordinates in Secretary Quay and Adjutant-General Latta, he was able to direct movements immediately on being apprised of the outbreak in ordering out the whole military power of the State at once and appealing to the Federal Government also for help (the latter probably unnecessary), he met the trouble as Washington did the Whiskey Insurrection, -frightened the rioters at the out-start. The result proved the wisdom of the measures adopted, and it is worthy of remark that after the Governor arrived on the scene of the disorder scarcely a life was sacrificed either on the part of the military or of the people." With reference to these outbreaks, and their suppression, Governor Hartranft, in his next succeeding message, said: "Thus ended the great railway strike of 1877 in Pennsylvania, which resulted in violence, murder and arson, which caused the death of over fifty civilians and five soldiers and the wounding and maiming of a hundred or more, and the destruction of millions of dollars worth of property. While it is true that the workingmen who began it contemplated no such terrible results, it cannot be denied that the manner in which they proceeded to enforce their demand, by stopping inland commerce and seizing the property of corporations and individuals, and driving citizens from their occupations in defiance of law, made the breach through which the lawless elements of society poured to plunder and destroy. By thus inconsiderately inviting the cooperation of the criminal classes, labor did itself a great and grievous injury, and it will be long before it can remove the suspicion and distrust with which the people will view its strikes and organizations." 998 The last term of Governor Hartranft expired on the 21st of January, 1879. On the 23d of the same month, his successor, Governor Henry M. Hoyt, appointed him Major-General commanding the Division of the National Guard of Pennsylvania. His friends urged on President Hayes his appointment to the Berlin Mission, as the successor of Bayard Taylor, an office which he was eminently qualified to fill, though it was not known that he wished it. Political considerations prevented the selection as desired by his friends, and he was tendered the appointment of Postmaster of Philadelphia, which was promptly confirmed by the Senate, and which, after some hesitation, he accepted. He continued in the office until July 15, 1880, when he entered upon his duties as Collector of the Port of Philadelphia. He was confirmed by the Senate, and commissioned for four years, in the following February was reappointed. In February, 1885, reappointed for a second term of four years. On the 30th of November, 1883, he was reappointed by Governor Pattison, Major-General of the National Guard, for a term of four years, from the expiration of his previous commission, January 23, 1884. PICTURE OF ISAAC F. YOST, APPEARS HERE. ISAAC F. YOST. Philip Yost (or Jost), the great grandfather of Isaac F. Yost, emigrated from Nassau, West Germany, about the year 1740. He was born in 1718, and married Veronica Dotterer, of Limerick township, where he afterwards settled. His children were three sons John Harman Philip and several daughters. The death of Philip Yost occurred in his eighty- seventh year. His son Philip was born August 24, 1757, in Limerick township, and on attaining a suitable age learned the trade of a wheelwright. He removed in the year 1768, with his father, to the farm in Pottsgrove (then New Hanover) township, still in possession of the family, and soon after entered the Revolutionary army. On his discharge from service and return to his home he married, in 1783, Rosina Berminger, and had children Mary Magdalene, wife of Henry Sheffey Tobias Jacob Benjamin Salome, wife of Frederick Linderman Elizabeth, wife of Isaac Linderman Rosina, who married Jacob Schlichter Herman Jonas Sarah, wife of Samuel Gilham and Philip. After his marriage Mr. Yost removed to a farm in the present Pottsgrove township, where his death occurred on the 28th of August, 1832. His son Benjamin was born in 1787, in Pottsgrove (formerly New Hanover) township, where his death occurred September 30, 1858, in his seventy-first year, his life having been spent in the occupation of a farmer. 999 He was a man of influence in the county, having held the offices of county commissioner, county treasurer and register of wills. He married Sarah, daughter of Isaac Feather, of New Hanover township, and had children, - Isaac F. Sarah Benjamin Herman, who died in youth Elizabeth, wife of Frederick Knoll. Isaac F. was born on the homestead farm, in Pottsgrove township, on the 2d of March, 1815, and after a common-school education engaged in teaching, the winter being devoted to this pursuit and the summer to farm labor. In 1844 he purchased a farm in Pottsgrove township, which he continued to cultivate until 1869, when Swamp, in New Hanover township, became and is now his, place, of residence. Judge Yost is still engaged in farming, though not as extensively as in his younger days. He was, on the 1st of November, 1838, married to Rosina, daughter of Daniel Miller, of Pottsgrove, whose children are,- Daniel M. Louisa M. (deceased) Benjamin M. Rosina (deceased) Amelia (Mrs. Tobias Shelley) Salome M. (Mrs. William S. Bliem) Isaac M. Mary Ann (Mrs. James B. Stauffer) Josiah M. Philip M. Emma Rebecca (Mrs Franklin Binder) Hannah E. (deceased) John R. Judge Yost, always an ardent Democrat in politics, has been frequently honored by his constituents with positions of importance. He filled the office of county auditor, was in 1854 made county commissioner and in 1871 elected associate judge of the county, being the last incumbent of that office. He also served for twelve years as school director and held minor township positions. Judge Yost's religious faith is in accord with the doctrines of the Reformed Church, his membership being with the Falconer's Swamp Church of that denomination, in which he has officiated as elder. The death of Mrs. Yost occurred January 7, 1885, in her sixty-eighth year. CHAPTER LXVI. NORRITON TOWNSHIP. WILLIAM PENN, by a special order, dated Eleventh Month, 1689, directed Captain Thomas Holme, the surveyor-general of the province, "to lay out a tract of land on the canoable part of Schuylkill." In pursuance of this order a survey was made,- "Beginning at a hickory-tree by the said Skoolkill, being the corner of Plymouth Township; thence northwest by the same township nine hundred and fifty perches to another hickory-tree; thence northwest in the line of a tract of land called Whitpain's Township, eleven hundred and sixty-nine perches, to corner-oak in the lines of said Proprietary's Manor of Gilberts (now Lower Providence); thence southwest, along said Manor line 1848 perches to a dog-tree, by the said Skoolkill; thence down the said River to the place of beginning." The tract was said to contain seven thousand four hundred and eighty-two acres, and was designated the "Manor of Williamstadt." It was intended as a princely gift for the son of the great proprietor, and lay directly opposite to a similar manor surveyed and laid out on the south side of the river for his daughter, Letitia Penn. A patent was granted October 2, 1704, conveying to William Penn, Jr., the manor or tract above described. The record disclosed the fact that on the 7th day of October of the same year, or five days after coming into the possession of this great estate, he parted with it to Isaac Norris and William Trent, merchants of Philadelphia. Eight years later, on January 11, 1712, Mr. Norris acquired all the interest of Mr. Trent. The cost of the manor to Messrs. Norris and Trent was £850, a sum that has always been thought grossly inadequate, and by some writers believed to have resulted from the reckless and improvident character of the vendor. The ancient manor of Williamstadt remained intact until 1730, when, by the usual proceedings upon the petition of resident property-owners, the township of Norriton was created and duly decreed by the Court of Quarter Sessions of Philadelphia County. The original area of this township was lessened by the creation of the borough of Norristown in 1812, which contained five hundred and twenty acres, and subsequently (1853) extended its limits, embracing about fifteen hundred additional acres, thus reducing the area to about five thousand five hundred acres. At the time the manor was changed into a township there were twenty landowners and tenants and five additional taxable inhabitants. It is manifest that the early settlers attached importance to the advantages of municipal government in the opening of public roads and the construction of bridges over streams that had to be crossed in reaching saw and grist- mills, which at that day were of great importance to land-owners. The condition of the people from 1730 to 1784, fifty-four years, when the county was established, is greatly obscured. Being remote from Philadelphia, then the seat of municipal government, to which all assessments of property, justices' dockets and returns of all public officers were made, and the most valuable of these records being lost, we search in vain for authenticated facts to show the habits, manners and customs of the comparatively few people or families who lived and died in the early days of Norriton. The name of the township is in honor of the Norris family, the head of which, Isaac Norris, was prominent not only as a large land-owner, but also in public affairs. He was chosen eighteen times Speaker of the General Assembly, being first elected in 1713. He was finally appointed to the office of chief justice of the province, and was in the enjoyment of that position the year he died, 1735. It was about this period that the people built a place of public worship, known as the Norriton Presbyterian Meeting-House. The stone structure now standing is the same in all its material parts as when built, though substantial repairs have undoubtedly been made. [See NOTE.] [NOTE: William J. Buck, in his "History of Montgomery County," published in 1859, cites an act of Assembly, approved September, 1785, authorizing money to be raised by means of a lottery to make repairs to this meeting-house. This fact would indicate that repairs were needed at the date hostilities ceased, while lotteries were used in those days for all manner of public improvements. 1000 Tradition says the building was used and greatly abused by the soldiers of both armies during the Revolution, and we are inclined to credit the story for the reason that it lay on the line of march of Washington when he moved to the battle of Germantown, and on his line of retreat it was doubtless used by the stragglers and perhaps by wounded and worn out soldiers for shelter and protection from the cold and frosty nights of that period of the year. The place was on the line of patrol between Valley Forge and Trenton, as traversed by the mounted men of Colonel Lacey, in keeping open communication between the places named. This portion of the county was between the established lines and scouted by the horsemen of both parties. The main picket, east of the river, was stationed at the junction of roads now known as Jeffersonville, and where the old hotel was partially burned by the British in the winter of 1778. The danger to which the patriots was exposed at that time in this locality is referred to by David Rittenhouse, who was then performing his duty as treasurer of the commonwealth at Lancaster City, and who wrote to his wife, then living with her children on the old Rittenhouse homestead, now occupied by Emanuel Gouldy. Mr. Rittenhouse wrote, January 26, 1778, as follows: "I shall perhaps, before I seal this, Appoint a time to meet you. In my last I partly promised to come to stay a fortnight with you; but I do not now think it so safe as I did then. In our present situation, I should not think it prudent to stay above one night with you, as parties of horse an employed to pick up particular persons. For this reason I would rather meet you at one of your Brothers', or at Sister's, but I apprehend the Schuylkill is at present difficult, If not dangerous, to cross, on account of the ice." Mr. Rittenhouse seems oblivious of the fact that Washington had constructed a long bridge over the river at Valley Forge, and that he could have crossed at that point without hazard. The brothers he refers to were John and Israel Jacobs. The sister referred to was Mrs. Colonel Caleb Parry, whose husband was killed at the battle of Long Island, in July, 1776. Mr. Rittenhouse adds the following postscript to the above-mentioned letter: "Tuesday Morning. I am now nearly determined to appoint next Saturday week, in the evening, to meet you at Brother John's; and I fear it may expose one or both to a very uncomfortable ride. I will, however, be there, if the weather be tolerable and health permits; but do not come my dear H., if the weather be bad, because if I do not find you there, I shall proceed to Brother Israel's, where I shall be glad to find you on Sunday in order to accompany you home. If you can find any opportunity to write before then, I shall be glad to receive a line." We are not advised whether the visit was made or not, but if it was, the distinguished citizen of Norriton certainly eluded the vigilance of the British scouts, who would have esteemed the treasurer of the commonwealth a prize of the first class. The personal property assessed in the name of the twenty land-holders at the time the township was created is reported to be one hundred and eighty- one horses, two hundred and sixty-nine horned cattle, fourteen negro slaves, two riding-chairs. The following places of business are noted: two grist-mills four saw-mills one tannery six taverns, licensed to the following persons: Hannah Thompson John Shannon John Wentz George Gilbert Josiah Wood Abraham Wolford. The land-holders assessed in 1734 were John Coulson Samuel Evans Henry Johnson Evan Hughs John Eastburn Nicholas Robinson William Hayes Joseph Armstrong Thomas Warner Bartle Bartleson John Hatfield Aaron Roberts Job Pugh Jesse Pugh Ellis Roberts. Persons named as tenants were Francis Mahony Robert Roger Robert Shannon Charles Morris William Robinson. The population of Norriton in 1810 was 1336 in 1820, 1098 1830, 1139 1840, 1411 1850, 1594. It appears remarkable that this township, composed of agricultural people, and without a transient population, should decrease so, largely and lose two hundred and thirty-eight of its numbers between the years 1810 and 1820. The public highways of this township were opened early in its history. The Schuylkill River being of great importance to the people, and being fordable at ordinary stages of water, public roads led to and over it at many points long before the county was created. The Ridge and Germantown turnpike roads pass through the entire length of the township, while these are intersected by cross-roads at convenient distances, making it possible to reach almost every household from one or more of these public highways. There are about fifty miles of public roadway in this township. Two supervisors have care of them, and they are kept in good repair, with substantial bridges built at all points where they cross Stony Creek, Indian Creek, Five-Mile Run, and Saw-Mill Run and tributaries flowing into them. As the manners and habits of our ancestors changed in the matter of travel and transportation, public highways were improved and new ones were laid out and opened. So long as the farmers conveyed all their dairy products to Philadelphia on horseback, attended places of public worship, weddings, funerals, elections, militia trainings, and social gatherings in the same manner, indifferent highways answered their purposes, creeks and rivers were forded, and the slight dangers experienced in times of high- water or in seasons of sledding only added zest to the courage and horsemanship of the period. The supervisors would have been thought reckless in the expenditure of road tax if they would have cut down hills, filled trifling depressions, and planked over small water-courses, for our fathers and mothers, who galloped over these hills and hollows, could clear a trifling stream or ford a creek or river without moistening a skirt or soiling polished boot and buckskin in their merry rides. 1001 When, however, the two-wheeled chair was supplanted by the four-wheeled "Dearborn wagon," first with wooden and then with steel or elliptic springs, and subsequently, with still more luxurious means of travel, when pack-horses gave way to the stage-coach, and great Conestoga wagons and teams, and these were required to pass through Norriton, then it was that public highways were greatly improved and rapidly multiplied. The Egypt road, opened to public travel prior to 1776, was a very important one to through travel, while the construction and opening to public use of the Ridge and Germantown turnpikes, the former completed about 1800, the latter 1816, were deemed a matter of State interest, as they afforded certain high-ways at all seasons of the year for the transportation of commodities to the interior, and connected with a system of turnpike roads leading to the Ohio River and settlements on the frontier. It was in this connection that the taverns or inns of Norriton enjoyed deserved prominence as houses of public accommodation it is still within the memory of the oldest surviving people of the township when the hotels at Jeffersonville Trooper Barley Sheaf Penn Square Springtower the old St. Clair House, near Hartranft Station, were crowded with teams and market-people, two or three nights every week. Those were days when landlords "poured out" whisky and brandy for their patrons, and gave cordial welcome to the traveler who carried his eatables in his wallet, enjoyed his coffee and lunch in the "bar-room," paid a levy for his bed, fed his own grain and hay to his horses and groomed them, gave a tip to the hostler, and was good naturedly smiled upon by the jolly proprietor, who pressed all, in genuine hospitality, to "stop again." Time has wrought its changes upon the face of the country and its business, not less marked than in the manners and customs of the people. The wood-leaf or timbered lands have gradually disappeared, until but few groves are left; that remaining on the old Norris estate, now owned by Dr. John Schrack, is perhaps the largest. Log houses and barns have nearly all given place to substantial stone and frame improvements, neatly painted, indicating that substantial thrift and fondness for home comfort that everywhere characterizes the permanently-settled people of this region of country. The commerce of this township has undergone marked changes within the last thirty year. In 1850 Port Indian was an important point of local traffic. Lumber, coal, plaster, flour and feed, groceries and provisions were commodities dealt in by George B. Rieff and his successor, Philip Harley. A short distance below Port Indian, "Cherry-Tree Landing" was constructed, and E. C. Boorse for many years carried on the lumbering business there; between these two points Jonas Ashenfelter built a landing to transship coal for the supply of the Trooper Steam-Mills. All of these places of business have gone into disuse and the trade transferred to other points. The Trooper Steam-Mills, built by Jesse L. Bean in 1847-48, and operated for several years as saw and flour-mills, and subsequently, in 1855-56, remodeled by Dewalt Weber, and converted into cotton and woolen- mills, and as such operated by Christopher Blount and James Shaw, have also gone into disuse. The older residents will recall the store kept by William Hamill and Samuel Markley at the Trooper, more recently those at Harley's Corner and Penn Square; these have been closed, and of the six hotels that public travel doubtless supported when the township was created only two within the present limits of the township are licensed, the one at Jeffersonville and the other at Penn Square. The villages [See NOTE] in the township heretofore noted by writers are Jeffersonville Norritonville Penn Square and Springtown, to which we may now add Hooverton, or Hartranft Station, on the Stony Creek Railroad, at the point where it crosses the Germantown turnpike. It is worthy of note that in the changes of time, and within a century, the place where stood two hotels, and (hence a village), where the first court in the county was held and many important conventions and assemblages in the history of the county occurred, should become obscure, and should so remain until the advent of railroads; and then should become the location of a depot and place of business, promising to absorb rival villages on either side of it. Stony Creek flows by this new village, on which have been erected five saw and grist-mills, only three of which are still in use, -the Metz saw-mill, Wack's grist-mill and Sheetz's grist-mill. [NOTE: The villages of Norriton are all small in size, having the usual mechanic industries. Jeffersonville was noted for many years as the place of manufacture of the famous Roberts and Foust plows; the former pattern was patented by Seth Roberts, and were popular for many years among the farmers of Eastern Pennsylvania. The Foust plow was not patented, but acquired great favor by the superior workmanship of the mechanic who made them, Henry W. Foust.] THE POST-OFFICE was first established in this township, January 1, 1829. It was located at Jeffersonville, and the mails were received from the line of stagecoaches that ran over the Ridge pike in going from Philadelphia to Reading and thence to Pittsburgh. Subsequently post-offices were established at Penn Square and Norritonville. Within the last few years the office at Penn Square has been changed in name to Hartranft and located at Hartranft Station. GENERAL ELECTIONS were first held in the township under the act of Assembly approved May 3, 1852. The first election was held at the public- house of Reynard March, Jeffersonville, in the following October, and by the terms of the act they were to be held alternately at the place first held and at Penn Square, and all general elections have thus been held since that date. Previously the vote of Norriton was polled at the court- house, Norristown. The mercantile appraiser for the year 1884 makes return of fifteen persons and places of public business in Norriton, viz.: B. W. Baker, butcher John E. Bean, merchandise F. Brusch, flour and feed Joseph Custer, butcher A. S. Clouser, flour and feed D. U. Cassel, merchandise A. S. Davis, merchandise D. C. Getty, agricultural implements H. C. Hoover, merchandise Hoover & Son, lumber and feed Kennedy, butcher T. L. Moore, butcher E. E. Ritter, butcher D. H. Ritter, live stock R. F. Wood, butcher. 1002 THE COMMON SCHOOL system provided for by the general acts of Assembly, 1834-36, went into operation about, 1838-39. Inquiry made of those connected with educational affairs of the township fails to disclose the exact time, although we find Norriton noted among the early townships which took advantage of the system. Among the first directors who gave their aid and encouragement to the cause of popular education in the township were John Schrack, Daniel Getty, Robert Shannon, William Bean, A. W. Shearer [See NOTE] and Samuel Miller. As early as 1845 they employed a female teacher. The person referred to was Miss Sarah Carson, who taught for several years at the Indian Creek school-house. The innovation was severely criticized by many tax-payers, who thought the "big boys" could never be controlled by a "young lady teacher." Experience, however, demonstrated that she maintained one of the best-conducted schools in the district. In the period referred to some portions of the district were certainly noted for incorrigible "big boys." There-are some gray-headed men, now residents of this township, who can recall with the writer the conduct of the scholars, greatly at variance with the uniform good behavior of the pupils of the present day. Charles Ames, a teacher in the Jeffersonville school, or "Yellow College," as it was facetiously termed in late years, being quite severe in his treatment of pupils, finally incurred the displeasure of the incorrigible boys of the old yellow school-house. A council of mischief was held and concerted action was at once agreed upon. Leaders remained at noon, while the teacher went to his dinner at a neighboring farm-house. The little children were induced to leave the school-room as soon as they had eaten their dinners, and, in less time than we can describe the event, the shutters were closed and bolted on the inside, the iron poker was used to fasten the door leading to the school-room, and the last boy stepped out of the south-side window upon a rail held for his footing, and there securely nailed up the last shutter to the window-sill, his accomplices aiding him to reach the ground in safety. [NOTE: The land on which the Indian Creek school-house and adjoining play- grounds stand, was given gratuitously by the heirs of the Norris estate, and the same is excepted out of the deed executed by A. W. Shearer and wife, to the present owners, so long as the same shall be used for educational purposes. When no longer thus used it reverts to the premises from which it was originally taken.] The cellar-door had been securely fastened from the inside, and the work of "locking the teacher out" was done, Mr. Ames come at the appointed hour, and to his mortification found the house closed. None of the little pupils could tell who did it, while all the "big boys" were in the adjoining woodland" playing ball." By the aid of the small boys and a bar of iron that happened to be at hand the teacher pried open the nailed shutter and repossessed himself of the school-room. The event was the subject of neighborhood gossip for the time, and the question was, who was to be the "master"? The "lock-out" took place on Thursday, and the "big boys" who planned and executed it did not return for study until the following Monday morning. Meantime, parents and directors had been informed, and the "boys" were all ordered to school, there to account for their conduct. After the opening exercises had taken place the absentees were called from their seats and paraded in front of the teacher's desk. Many of them were young men in size and weight. All had not been participants in the work of "locking out the teacher." A number had accompanied the leaders at the time of the event, and were induced to remain out of school until compelled to return by their parents. This fact was known to the teacher, who gave them the option of confessing their folly before the school or take the punishment to be inflicted; or, if unwilling to do either, then to suffer expulsion. Not one of the line wavered, not one made any acknowledgment of error or pleaded any excuse. Then came the final alternative, "Will you leave the school or suffer punishment?" The moment was of supreme interest to all present. There were little boys and gentle sisters who had big brothers in the line of insubordinates. Some heads were bowed in conscious shame; some mischievous eyes gazed steadily at the teacher; still others appeared stolid, having made up their minds to suffer the infliction, but none were willing to leave the school. Opening his desk, the teacher took out a heavy oak ruler, and, taking number one by the hand, pressing the palm open, he inflicted a number of blows upon it, the severity of which was keenly felt and silently suffered. To all the others be meted out the same measure of punishment, and then all were dismissed and ordered to their seats. Thenceforth, Mr. Ames was "master" of the situation; but he was not a successful teacher, and never returned to the school after his term expired. We instance this episode in a Norriton school as an illustration of what our schools, were forty and fifty years ago, as contrasted with those conducted under a different system of discipline now. Had the good-will of these pupils been sought after, had their confidence been obtained by kindly offices, instead of seeking to control them by arousing their fears, results would have been widely different, and the relations between pupil and teacher would have been respectful and affectionate. The boys and girls of this period, not less than their parents, are to be congratulated upon the disuse of punishments that made the school-room a terror to timid and innocent children, and upon the prevailing kindness, yet firmness, of teachers who have been able to preserve order and discipline among boys and young men in attendance upon the common schools throughout the county. 1003 There are five public schools in Norriton township. They have one hundred and ninety-nine pupils enrolled, and are open eight months in the year. Teachers are paid thirty-eight dollars per month. Male and female teachers are employed, and receive equal salary. PLACES OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. -THE NORRITON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, located at the north corner of the township, where the line crosses the Germantown turnpike, was the first built by that denomination in the county. It has been designated "the mother of all the Presbyterian Churches in this vicinity, and is among the oldest in the State." [See NOTE.] [NOTE: The old stone building still stands, and in the graveyard adjoining it there were discovered, several years since, some tombstones dated between 1689 and 1700. It is said also that at the same time and place a sandstone tablet was found bearing the date of 1679. -"Historical Sketch of First Presbyterian Church, Norristown, Pa., 1876," by J. Grier Ralston, D.D.] PICTURE OF THE NORRITON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, APPEARS HERE. Historians of this religious persuasion, Rev. Messrs. Ralston and Collins, claim that it was known as a place of burial as early as the year 1700. It is said that a date stone, which had fallen from the gable wall many years ago, was observed to bear date as early as 1679. This, however, is traditionary, and must be taken with some allowance for the natural zeal of the antiquarian. While circumstances point to greater antiquity than is generally conceded this place of worship, we have but little definite information of the congregation until about 1740. It is said that large accessions were made to the church, resulting from a general religious revival, which began in New Jersey under the ministrations of Rev. John Tennent, and found its way to this community in 1832. It is certain that a division occurred in this congregation in 1741, which resulted in building a new meeting-house, called New Providence, being the same congregation that is now, and has been for many years past, presided over by the Rev. H. S. Rodenbaugh, in Lower Providence township. Occasional services are still held in this church and the burial-ground used for interments. Among the families who have buried at this place are the familiar names of Armstrong Hooven McCrea Porter Darrah Richards Thompson Patterson McGlathery Fitzwater. Colonel Archibald Thompson, of Revolutionary fame, who died November 1, 1779, in his thirty-ninth year, is buried at this place, as is also Colonel Christopher Stuart. THE CENTENNIAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. -This modern and beautiful church was built in 1876, and is located at Jeffersonville. It takes the place of the former Presbyterian Church, founded about 1841, and located on the Ridge turnpike, near the Trooper village. The congregation were originally of the Providence Church, and represented the "new school" element of that denomination in a division which occurred in 1840-41. Among its founders were Henry Loucks Christian Weber James Smith Joseph Smith Daniel Croll and others. The cornerstone of the new edifice was laid July 4, 1875. The chapel was opened for public worship January 2, 1876, and the church building was dedicated Sunday, October 1, 1876. The building committee was appointed May 5, 1875, viz.: James Shaw Dr. David Schrack Joseph D. Smith Michael Reed Francis Whiting Rev. Chas. Collins, pastor. Although the edifice cost over twenty thousand dollars, the public announcement was made at the time of dedication that "all claims against the church property have been liquidated, and it is declared free of debt." The officers of the church at the time of its dedication were Rev. Chas. Collins, pastor Elders, James Smith John C. Weber Francis Whiting Michael Reed Dr. David Schrack. Trustees Dr. David Schrack, A. L. Davis, G. W. Brown, Michael Reed, Francis Whiting, H. S. Parmalee and Samuel Scheetz. 1004 A Sabbath-school has been maintained in connection with this church since its organization in 1841-42. Auxiliary Branch of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society. - President, Mrs. M. Wallace Secretary, Mrs. H. W. Whiting Treasurer, Miss M. W. Snyder. The following pastors have officiated at this church: Rev. Chas. F. Diver, 1842 to 1844 Rev. N. S. Aller, 1844 to 1848 Rev. Charles Wack, 1848 to 1849 Rev. George Foot, 1849 to 1851 Rev. William Fulton, 1851 to 1853 Rev. Saml. Helffenstein, 1853 to 1854 Rev. A. J. Snyder, 1854 to 1865 Rev. Chas. Collins, 1865 to present time The Revs. Messrs. Diver, Wack, Foot and Helffenstein are deceased. BURR'S MEETING-HOUSE, located at Norritonville, is a one-story stone building, and has always been free to the use of all evangelical denominations. It was built by Marmaduke Burr, who still survives at an advanced age, and resides in Philadelphia. The place is kept in repair, and used for all the purposes originally contemplated, under the direction of a local board of trustees. A Sabbath-school has been maintained in connection with this place of worship for many years. Religious worship at stated times was for many years held in the second story of the old Jeffersonville school-house. These services were conducted by the Rev. Messrs. Rodenbaugh and Trites, the latter at the time pastor of the Lower Providence Baptist congregation. Rev. John Rees, of Norriton, also officiated front time to time at the evening meetings held at this place. [See NOTE.] There are two public halls in this township; the first was built at Penn Square in the year 1847; the same building is used for public- school purposes. The other is known as Jefferson Hall, located at Jeffersonville, built 1872. The audience-room will seat three hundred people. Both these halls are used for public entertainments, public meetings, festivals, etc. [NOTE: A Sabbath-school was organized and regularly taught for many years in this building prior to the founding of the "New School Church," near the Trooper, in 1841-42. Among its earliest superintendents was the Hon. Thomas P. Knox. Among its lady teachers were the Misses Shannon, Weber, Hamil, Dean and Stinson. Stephen P. Hamil was for many years librarian, and the late Rev. Owen Shannon was among the young men prominently connected with the school.] A public library was founded in connection with Jefferson Hall, 1873-74, and several hundred volumes of well-selected books were purchased and placed in substantial cases for circulation in the neighborhood. It was organized upon a stock subscription basis, and for a time was usefully employed in furnishing entertaining and profitable reading-matter to the people of that vicinity. The collection of books and property of the Company still remain in the library-room, but have not been used for the last few years, nor has the number of volumes been increased by purchases or contributions since it was organized. Among the ancient organizations of the township we must note the Jefferson Express Horse Company, organized prior to 1840, and among the most efficient in the county in the detection of thieves and recovery of stolen horses. In its early history its members did most excellent service, and prided themselves in horsemanship and in the ownership of fleet-footed riding-horses. The company is still in existence, and its annual meetings are held in the month of December of each year at the Jeffersonville Hotel. In these latter days of express-trains by rail, of telegraphs and telephones, horse-stealing has become a "lost vice" in this locality, and if, perchance, an old-fashioned thief should attempt his vocation, he is certain to be intercepted before he can reach the "Jersey Pines" or the famous "Lancaster Gap." The people of Norriton, from time immemorial, have evinced a fondness for the useful associations of civil life. We cannot recall the time when the township was the headquarters of a military organization, unless it was of the "Home Guards," in 1861-62. Militia trainings were held in the township, the last of which was commanded by Captain Peter G. Richards, in 1841. Parades of the First Troop and the " Washington Greys," the first commanded by Captain John Matheys and the latter by Captain Jesse B. Davis, were of frequent occurrence thirty and forty years ago, and a number of the public- spirited young men of the township were members of the organizations named. But the history of Norriton is without a military organization exclusively her own. It had, however, its debating and literary societies. Many of our readers will recall the forensic efforts made at the Indian Creek, Jeffersonville, Eight Square and Penn Square school-houses by the members of debating societies organized at different times at the places named, of which Colonel Thomas P. Knox, Alban Thomas, Colonel Henry Beyer, Teachers Latimore, Walker, McCloskey, Burnside and Bechtel were leading spirits. Subsequently, literary associations took the place of debating societies, among which was the " Calliope." Two annual public entertainments were given by this association at the Indian Creek school-house in 1856-57. The attendance upon the last of these "literary exhibitions " was estimated to be between one and two thousand persons. An elaborate stage was erected at the south gable of the school-house with seats for a large audience. The programme, of music, declamations, original essays and dramatic personations was executed to the satisfaction of the public, and the event was pronounced a success by the local press of the period. Literary and musical entertainments were frequent in Norriton. As early as 1836 a musical entertainment was held in the old Yellow School-house, in the second story. The room was crowded, and in the midst of the performance the floor gave way in the centre of the room, precipitating many to the floor below, with injuries of a more or less serious character; none, however, were fatally hurt. In later years Hon. Hiram C. Hooven has taught a number of musical classes in the township and given numerous public concerts of an entertaining and instructive character. 1005 THE YELLOW CLUB, of Norriton, was for a time an association of interest to those composing it from 1848-51. Its chief object was to make an annual pilgrimage to the "Yellow Springs" of Chester County, a watering-place or resort of great popularity in those days, and an "excursion" to the place during the "season" was an event of more than ordinary interest in the social lives of the ladies and gentlemen composing the club. There were no cheap and popular excursions to the sea-shore, Coney Island, up the Hudson and elsewhere in those days, and hence the "drive to the springs," the glimpse of fashionable life there to be seen, the exhibition of dress, the music, the grand dinner and the extravagant price paid for it, the beautiful grounds, the curative water, -these considerations were subject matter of rare importance, and the "club" made the most of them on their annual pilgrimages. Among the families connected with the organization were Matheys, Bean, Crawford, Owen, Schrack, Shearer, Markley, Weber, Carson and others. The club dissolved by mutual consent about 1852-53. The farmers of the township were among the first to organize an agricultural society, the particulars of which are referred to elsewhere. [See Chapter on Agriculture.] The advantages of good husbandry are everywhere manifest in the well- tilled and substantially improved farms and commodious residences that make up the taxable values of the township. Number of taxables, 417; value of improved land, $1,156,580 value of unimproved lands, $28,240 assessed value of 386 horses and mules, $24,650 assessed value of 919 horned cattle, $27,790 value of household goods in excess of exemptions, $900 value of all property taxable for county purposes, $1,238,160. The Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley Railroad, recently constructed, traverses the township, running parallel with the river, with a passenger depot on the Township Line road, opposite Port Kennedy. JOHN BULL was a native of Providence Township, Montgomery Co., where the family had resided for several generations. In the beginning of 1771 he lived in Limerick, where he resided till he purchased the mill and plantation of Charles Norris, the following 17th of September, where is now the present borough of Norristown. He was at this time a justice of the County Court, which office he field for several years. In January, 1775, he was one of the twelve members of Philadelphia County that met, in a provincial convention, whose object was to get the Assembly to pass a law to prohibit the future importation of slaves into the colony. This same year, inconsequence of the Revolutionary troubles, the Assembly authorized the enlistment of a battalion of eight companies for the Continental service, to be under the command of Colonel Bull, until Jan, 1778. With three others, he represented Philadelphia County in the convention that framed the Constitution of the State, and which was adopted the 28th of September, 1776. In November of this year he disposed of all his property in Norriton township to Dr. William Smith, of Philadelphia, for the sum of six thousand pounds. He was confirmed a justice of the courts by the Assembly, August 31, 1778. Not long after this date he moved to Berkeley County, Va., where he erected a mill on the Opequan Creek. He was still living there in 1795, which is the last we know of him. Benjamin Bittenhouse, [sic] a brother of the celebrated philosopher, and who was commissioned by Governor Mifflin, in 1791, as one of the associate judges of the Court of Common Pleas of this county, was married to a daughter of General Bull. Wm. Bull, who was probably a brother, resided in Norriton township in 1770, where he had purchased a farm of Henry Connard. ANDREW PORTER. -Robert Porter was a native of Ireland and emigrated in early life to this country, and settled in Worcester township, Montgomery Co., where his son, Andrew Porter was born September 24, 1743. His father furnished him with a good education, and in the spring of 1767 he removed to Philadelphia and took charge of an English and mathematical school until the spring of 1776. On the 19th of June he was commissioned by Congress a captain of marines, and ordered on board the frigate "Effingham." He afterwards left the navy and joined the army as a captain, and served with great gallantry at Trenton, Princeton and Brandywine. At Valley Forge he was major of a regiment of artillery, and during the war was in considerable service. With David Rittenhouse, in the spring of 1785, he was appointed a commissioner on the part of Pennsylvania to ascertain the boundary between this State and Virginia. 1006 In the spring of 1787 with Andrew Ellicott, be commenced the survey of the northern boundary of the State, which was completed by the middle of the following November. While engaged on this work, he says, "The Indians appear friendly and have expressed no dissatisfaction to our running the line." For his services Governor Snyder, the 4th of April, 1809, appointed him surveyor-general of Pennsylvania, which office he held till his death, which occurred November 16, 1813, at the age of seventy years. He died at Harrisburg, where he was buried with military honors in the Presbyterian burying-ground, and a neat white marble monument designates the spot. At the close of the Revolution Mr. Porter was colonel of the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment of Artillery and subsequently brigadier and major-general of the Second Division of the militia. It is said that President Madison offered him the commissioner of brigadier-general of the American army, and also the office of Secretary of War, both of which he declined. Mr. Porter resided in the upper part of the borough of Norristown, near the Ridge turnpike in the mansion recently occupied by the late Colonel Thomas P. Knox. Robert Porter, the general's father, died in 1770, at the age of seventy-two years, and is buried in the Norriton Presbyterian graveyard, where a large stone is erected to his memory. The sons of Andrew Porter have been quite distinguished. General David R. Porter was Governor of Pennsylvania from 1838 to 1844. General James M. Porter was a member of Assembly, president judge of the Twenty-second Judicial District, and Secretary of War under President Tyler. George B. Porter was judge, United States marshal of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and subsequently Governor of Michigan, in which office he died in 1834, in his forty-fourth year. All these sons were natives of Montgomery County. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. HIRAM C. HOOVER. Judge Hoover is a descendant of Levis Henry Hoover, whose father, the first member of the family to emigrate, resided in Bucks County until 1800, when he made Gwynedd township, Montgomery Co., his home, and followed his trade of a tailor in connection with the cultivation of a farm of two hundred acres, purchased by him. He married Miss Margaret Kern and had children,- Christian Jacob Philip Elizabeth (Mrs. John Rile) Mary (Mrs. William Kneedler). Philip succeeded to his father's occupations in Gwynedd township, and married Miss Mary, daughter of Frederick W. Conrad, of Worcester township, whose children were Frederick W. Susanna (deceased) Julia Ann (deceased) Maria (Mrs. Samuel Linton) Harry (deceased) Hiram C. Albert C. Elizabeth (Mrs. Daniel B. Kieffer) Andrew T. and four who died in infancy. Hiram C. Hoover was born on the 23d of October, 1822, on the homestead in Gwynedd, and until the age of twenty-four interested himself in the various pursuits peculiar to the farm, having during the mean time received a rudimentary education at the neighboring public and select schools. Judge Hoover was gifted with rare musical taste, which was early cultivated and properly directed. At the age of eighteen he became an instructor, and for twenty-five years continued this favorite vocation, including both vocal and instrumental music in which he was equally proficient. He executed with skill upon several instruments, devoting his abilities especially to music of a sacred character and the formation and direction of church-choirs. He was, on the 4th of March, 1847, married to Miss Margaret, youngest daughter of Frederick and Sarah Dull, of Whitemarsh. Their children are William A. Irvin W. (deceased) Sarah D. (Mrs. James W. Hercus, of Richmond, Va.) Mary M. (Mrs. Albertus Hallman, of Norriton). After his marriage Judge Hoover leased the farm for a period of two years, and in 1849 purchased his present home. Here his efforts were directed to the cultivation and improvement of a productive estate until 1870, when his son succeeded to the farming interest. He erected an attractive residence in the immediate vicinity and retired for the time being from active employment. Judge Hoover's energetic nature found little to satisfy it in a life of inactivity, and on the completion of the Stony Creek Railroad he established a coal, feed and lumber business at the station known as Hooverton, opening, two years later, in connection with it a general store. In politics the judge is a Democrat. He was elected justice of the peace in 1851, and served for eleven years as school director of the township, having presided at one of the conventions for the election of a county superintendent of schools. He was also, for three successive years, chairman of the County Democratic Committee. Judge Hoover was elected to the State Legislature in 1861 and re-elected in 1862 and 1863, having served as chairman of the committee on agriculture and done other important committee work. He was, in 1865, elected associate judge of the Montgomery County courts, and at the expiration of his first term re-elected for an additional five years. He was for five years a trustee of Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa., and now fills the same office in connection with Ursinus College, at Collegeville. He has been, since its organization, the president of the Norristown and Central Square Turnpike Company. He is a prominent Mason, and member of Charity Lodge, No. 190, of Norristown, as also of the Royal Arch Chapter of the borough. He was, in 1841, made a member of the First Troop of Montgomery County, and served during the riots that occurred in Philadelphia in 1844. He was for six years one of its musicians and later served as first lieutenant until the disbanding of the company. Judge Hoover, in 1838, became a member of Boehm's Reformed Church, of Blue Bell, in which he has been an elder since 1856, and was also president of the consistory for the whole period, with the exception of one year. He has frequently served as delegate to various church bodies and been, since 1875, treasurer of the Philadelphia classis. His zealous efforts in behalf of the good work of the Sunday-school have resulted in his repeated election as superintendent and instructor of the Bible-classes, in which labor of love he has few superiors. PICTURE OF HIRAM C. HOOVER, APPEARS HERE. 1007 AUGUSTUS W. SHEARER. Augustus W. Shearer was born July 12, 1812. He is the eldest son of the late John Shearer, Esq., deceased, a citizen of Lower Providence township, who was prominently identified with public affairs, representing Montgomery County in the General Assembly during the years 1830-33, and was subsequently elected Register of Wills, 1839, and held the office of justice of the peace in Lower Providence township for a period of twenty- five years. His son, the subject of this sketch, was married, December 9, 1834, to Miss Eunice Norris Schrack, the only daughter of the late John and Mary Norris Schrack, deceased, of Norris Hall, the estate of the maternal parent having descended from the Norris family, who purchased it from the son of William Penn, the founder of the colony. In the spring of 1835 Mr. Shearer settled in Norriton township, on a part of the Norris estate known as the "Buttonwood Farm," comprising one hundred and fifty-six acres. This property he purchased in 1861 and substantially improved. In the management of this estate he pursued the life of a successful farmer, and after the marriage and settlement of all his children he sold the premises, in 1876, and retired to his present residence, at the Trooper village, three miles northwest of Norristown. Mr. Shearer has lived an unostentatious life, but fulfilling the public duties of citizenship with fidelity and exactness. He took an active part in securing the adoption of the common-school system in Norriton township, and was one of the early school directors elected by the people, an office which he held for nineteen years. During a part of this period he was secretary of the board. The Indian Creek school was under his immediate direction; he was among the first to employ female teachers, the trial being made in the school under his management about 1844. He was one of the six citizens of Norriton township who originated the Montgomery County Agricultural Society, in 1847, and drafted the first constitution for its government, and the rules and regulations of the first annual exhibition of the society, held at Jeffersonville. 1008 He was a member of the First Troop of Montgomery County, a cavalry organization whose origin antedates the war of 1812, and whose membership for more than half of a century comprised the most intelligent and energetic young men residing near the center of the county. In 1846, he was commissioned colonel of the Sixty-third Regiment of the Pennsylvania militia, at the time this regiment was connected with the Second Brigade, Second Division, of the State service. Mr. Shearer was clerk of the board of county commissioners for five years, 1856-61, and while in this position he performed the duties of the office with entire satisfaction to the public. Colonel Shearer was early in life identified with the Democratic party, but with many others took issue with its leaders upon the subject of slavery. He supported Stephen A. Douglas for President in 1860, and subsequently gave a friendly and active support to the administration of Abraham Lincoln and to all measures for the suppression of the great Rebellion. Mr. Shearer and family have long been connected with the Presbyterian Church at Lower Providence, under the pastorate of the Rev. H. S. Rodenbaugh. Although living in retirement and the enjoyment of well- earned repose, he takes an active interest in all public matters that pertain to the progress and welfare of the community in which he resides. Mr. and Mrs. Shearer celebrated their golden wedding on the day and evening of December 9, 1884. PICTURE OF A. W. SHEARER, APPEARS HERE. SAMUEL RITTENHOUSE. William Rittenhouse resided in Montgomery County, where he was an industrious farmer. His children were David William Henry Catherine Jesse. Henry was a native of Montgomery County, where he learned the trade of a weaver, but afterwards became a farmer. By his marriage to Catherine Carl were born children, - William, Lydia Ann, Eliza and Catherine. By a second union, with Mary Shoup, of Upper Providence township, his children were John Mary A. Sarah A. Samuel John (2d) Henry Ellen Harriet Lavinia Elmira Joseph. Samuel was born on the Ist of January, 1830, in Upper Providence, township, Montgomery Co., and in his youth attended the schools most convenient to his home. He then engaged in labor on the farm until his eighteenth year, when he left home and sought an independent career. On the death of his father he returned home 1009 and rendered valuable service to his mother in the management of the farm. Mr. Rittenhouse was on the 2d of January, 1862, married to Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Baker, of Norriton township, and has children,- Mary Ann, Josephine and Bessie. After his marriage Mr. Rittenhouse for five years rented a farm, at the expiration of which time he purchased his present home, embracing one hundred and fourteen acres of productive land, which is devoted to dairying and butter-making. Mr. Rittenhouse, though not active in politics, has, as a Democrat, held such township offices as school director, assessor, etc., and been inspector of the Montgomery County prison. He was also one of the committee to carry out the plans for the erection of a memorial stone to the memory of David Rittenhouse, the philosopher, in 1884. He is a member and treasurer of the Lower Providence Presbyterian Church. WILLIAM RITTENHOUSE. The subject of this biography resides upon the ancestral land, once occupied by his grandfather, Henry Rittenhouse, who married Sophia Ernhart, and had children,- Christopher William Wilhelmina David Joseph Henry. David, who settled on the homestead in Norriton, married Rachel Zimmerman, whose children were Charlotte Susan William Christopher Sophia Henry David. William, whose life is here briefly reviewed, was born August 3, 1803, on the homestead farm, with which he has been actively identified during his whole life. He was early taught the value of habits of industry, and when a lad assisted his father in his daily pursuits. Receiving but a limited education, he chose a farmer's life as that most congenial to his tastes, and on the death of his father received, as his portion, one-sixth of the estate, the remaining shares being secured by purchase. He married, in 1831, Miss Susanna, daughter of John Highley of Lower Providence, whose children are George W. Rachel Mary Charlotte (deceased) David (deceased) William Susan, (deceased). The death of Mrs. Rittenhouse occurred in 1848. Mr. Rittenhouse, the first year subsequent to his marriage, resided with his maternal grandmother, and on his return to the homestead worked the farm for sixteen years on shares, when it became his property. Though always active and industrious, he has for many years abandoned hard labor, leaving the burden and toil to younger and more vigorous hands. Mr. Rittenhouse cast his first vote for Andrew Jackson, and afterward became a Whig. He now votes the Republican ticket, but he has never sought office, either "local or otherwise." He worships with the St. John's Protestant Episcopal, congregation of Norristown, in which church he is a pew-holder. PICTURE OF WM. RITTENHOUSE, APPEARS HERE. 1010 MICHAEL REED. Michael Reed, the great-grand father of Michael Reed, emigrated from Manheim Palatinate, on the Rhine, Germany, about 1728, and settled in Hatfield township, Montgomery Co., Pa. His wife's family fled, from Switzerland on account of persecution, and he for the same cause from Germany. He had three sons and five daughters, named, respectively, Jacob Michael Andrew Catharine Frances ____ Elizabeth Eve. Jacob, the eldest, and the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Hatfield township on the 28th day of June, 1730, and purchased a farm near the present Hatfield Station, on the North Pennsylvania Railroad, the title for which he received from Thomas and Richard Penn, who were proprietors and Governors-in-chief in and over the province of Pennsylvania, by their patent dated the 23d of February, 1770. Jacob Reed married Magdalene Leidy, to whom nine children were born, named Jacob Philip John Andrew Margaret Magdalene Catharine Elizabeth Eve. John was killed by lightning in his twenty-third year. The others all lived to an advanced age. In 1793, Jacob Reed sold his farm in Hatfield and purchased, one in New Britain township, Bucks Co., on the County Line road, dividing Montgomery and Bucks Counties. On this farm he resided, and here his wife died August 5, 1804, aged sixty-five years, six months and twelve days. The remaining days of his life were spent with his son Andrew on his farm, where he died November 2, 1820, aged ninety years, four months and four days. His remains lie buried in the Leidy burying-ground, beside his wife and others of his family. Jacob Reed was a man of much prominence in his day. He was active and influential as a citizen, filling several positions of public trust in the vicinity. In the church he also took a deep interest, worshiping at the Indian Field Reformed Church, not far distant, in which he served as an elder for a number of years. He was also prominent and active as a defender of his country during the Revolutionary war, serving under General Washington as colonel of the Pennsylvania militia and participating in the battles of Trenton, Germantown, Brandywine, etc. He escaped unhurt on the field of battle, but on one occasion, when at home visiting his family, he was waylaid by Tories, who first shot him through the leg, then tied him to a tree, tarred and feathered him and commenced digging the grave in which they purposed burying him. 1011 Before completing this last act they were discovered, and fled, when he was released from his perilous situation. The parties engaged in this transaction escaped from the country, and their property was subsequently confiscated. On another occasion, while passing along the highway, he was shot at by a Hessian, who lay concealed in a fence-corner, the bullet grazing his head. Again, on another occasion, while the British were lying in Philadelphia, they engaged in a marauding expedition to his home while he was on a furlough, and took him prisoner. They were about firing the gun already pointed at him, when the British officer's wife interfered and saved his life. They, however, took his best horse and despoiled him of much other valuable property. Andrew Reed, being the youngest of his children, remained with him and aided in the cultivation of the farm. About 1807 he married Mary Hartman, to whom five children were born, named Jacob Michael Julian Abigail and Sarah, all natives of New Britain township. Jacob and Abigail are deceased; the others still survive. PICTURE OF MICHAEL H. REED, APPEARS HERE. The year following the death of his father, Andrew Reed removed to his farm in Hilltown township, which adjoined New Britain, which he cultivated until his children grew to mature years and left him. About the year 1846 he sold the farm and purchased a home near the Hilltown Church, where, on June 1, 1856, his daughter Abigail died, in the forty-sixth year of her age, and on June 3, 1861, his wife died, aged seventy-four years. The remaining days of his life were spent with his youngest daughter, Sarah. The last eight years were spent in total blindness. His death occurred June 10, 1869, aged eighty-eight years and seventeen days. During his life he was strictly honest in all his dealings, devoted to his family and beloved by his neighbors. Both Mr. Reed and his wife were consistent Christians and worshiped at the church of the Evangelical Association in Hilltown, where their remains lie buried beside those of their daughter Abigail. Michael Reed was born October 24, 1809, and left his home at the age of seventeen years to learn the hatting business, which occupation he followed daring his first two years at Skippackville, and in 1834 removed to Philadelphia, where he continued the same occupation until about 1848. He then retired from business and removed to Bucks County, where, on February 15, 1852, he married Mary A. Rockafellow, to whom three children were born,- Franklin Willoughby Mary. 1012 Franklin is engaged in the hardware business at National City, Southern California, where he married and is now living. Willoughby is by profession a graduate of pharmacy and also a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He is married and practicing medicine in Jeffersonville, Montgomery Co., Pa. Mary is engaged in teaching. Michael Reed has resided for the last twenty-eight years in Jeffersonville. He is in religion a Presbyterian, and elder in the Centennial Presbyterian Church of Jeffersonville, which office he has held for many years. PICTURE OF JESSE ROBERTS, APPEARS HERE. JESSE ROBERTS. Ellis Roberts, who was of Welsh descent, and the probable pioneer of the family in Montgomery County, was the first to pursue the blacksmith's craft in that county. He died in 1775, and his wife, Mary, in 1781. Their son Levi, the great-grandfather of Jesse Roberts, resided in Norriton township, and was by trade a shoemaker, having made shoes for the Revolutionary army while encamped at Valley Forge. His children were, - Mary Ruth Jesse, the last named having married Elizabeth Davis, who was also of Welsh extraction, and had children,- Margaret Levi Samuel Jesse Isaac Charles Job Mary. Samuel was born on the 1st of September, 1795, in Norriton, where, with the exception of a brief period, his life was spent. He was united in marriage to Mary, daughter of George Freas of Whitemarsh township, and had children,- Hiram Mary Jesse George Ann Myra Hannah Samuel Samuel (second) Isaac Leah Rachel. Jesse was born on the 12th of September, 1823, in Whitemarsh township, where he remained until eleven years of age. In 1834 he removed with the family to Norriton township, on the farm now occupied by him, where his father was a successful farmer and also followed his trade of blacksmith. After very modest educational opportunities he learned the trade of a carpenter, and finding a demand for his skill, continued it until 1849, when his presence was rendered necessary on the farm, which he superintended for his father. The homestead was sold in 1868, and a portion purchased by him embracing sufficient land to pursue the healthful occupations of a farmer. Mr. Roberts, in 1851, obtained a patent on a grain and seed fan he invented, and for several years engaged in their manufacture. They were in large demand, received premiums from various organizations and were conceded to be at the time the best machines of their character in the market. Mr. Roberts, having abandoned manufacturing, has of late devoted himself exclusively to farming. He has been since 1867 secretary of the Norristown and Centre Square Turnpike and Road Company. In politics he was formerly a Whig, and found it easy in the organization of the Republican party to espouse its principles, though he has never sought nor accepted office. He was reared in the faith of the Society of Friends. 1013 Rev. JOHN L. REESE. Evan Reese, the grandfather of the subject of this biographical sketch, was descended from Welsh parents, and resided in Upper Providence township. He was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Bell, and had children, - Daniel Samuel Benjamin John Evan and Sarah. Of these, Benjamin was a native of Upper Providence, and married Jane Lloyd, whose children were Thomas David John L. Samuel Eliza (Mrs. Benjamin Johnson) Hannah (Mrs. Jacob Johnson) Margaret, the last-named being the only survivor. John L. was born on the 18th of June, 1804, in Upper Providence township, and received in his youth but limited advantages of education. He, however, cultivated habits of observation and thought which were of more service than the knowledge derived from books. He early engaged in teaching, the summer months being devoted to labor on the farm of his father and the winter to the various schools at different times under his charge. At the age of twenty-five, desiring to become independent he purchased the farm in Norriton township which is now the residence of his widow and son, where much of the time not given to ministerial work was devoted to farming. He was married, in 1831, to Miss Mary, daughter of William Johnson, of Worcester township, Montgomery Co. Their only son, William J., pursues the life of an agriculturalist. Mr. Reese later in life studied theology, and believing that the gospel should be free to all men, gave his services to the churches to which he ministered without compensation, at Valley Forge, Goshen, Chester Co., at Lower Providence and elsewhere at Baptist Churches of the county. His Abolition sentiments led to affiliation with the Republican party in politics, though never serving actively in its ranks. PICTURE OF REV JOHN L. REESE, APPEARS HERE. His death occurred May 2, 1861 in his fifty-seventh year. WILLIAM J. REESE. William J. Reese, the grandson of Benjamin and Jane Lloyd Reese and the son of Rev. John L. and Mary Johnson Reese, was born on the 15th of November 1834, in Norriton Township, where he has been a life-long resident. His youth was devoted to the improvement of such opportunities as were offered at the neighboring schools of his township, after which he became a pupil of the Treemount Seminary, Norristown. He for a while pursued the avocation of a teacher, but ultimately returned to the paternal roof and engaged in the labor incident to a farmer's life. 1014 On the death of his father the property became his by inheritance, and is now, as before, his home. Mr. Reese was married, on the 10th of February 1870, to Miss Anna, daughter of John Hardy, of Lower Providence Township, whose children are John W. Ella May William J. Jr. Mr. Reese's known ability and integrity have caused his services to be frequently in demand in the capacity of guardian and as the custodian of momentous trusts, Though a Republican in politics, his interest in matters of public concern is evinced simply by the casting of his b allot, neither the honors of office nor its rewards having for him attractions. Mr. Reese and his family are worshipers at the Baptist Church of Lower Providence. PICTURE OF WM. J. REESE, APPEARS HERE. JOHN S. HARDING. Mr. Harding is descended from English stock. John Harding, his father, resided during, his early life in Germantown, Pa., and later purchased a farm at Eagleville, in Lower Providence Township, to which he removed. He married Elizabeth, step-daughter of John Sanders, of West Philadelphia, and had children, - Emily Hester Susannah Anna Zoe Mary Sarah Jane Elmira Joseph John S. The last named son was born on the 21st of November 1828, in Germantown, though a part of his youth was spent in Delaware County, Pa. He became while a lad a pupil of the common school, and when sufficiently advanced in years, engaged in farming, with his father. He was in 1854 married to Rachel Haws, daughter of Samuel Haws, of Norristown. Their children are Ada B. Hamilton J. Wilmer Lilius M. (Mrs. Edwin K. Kneule, of Norristown) Alice G. Mr. Harding, soon after his marriage, rented the farm of his father-in-law, which for several years he cultivated, purchasing, in 1872, the valuable property in Norriton Township which is his present home. Though engaged in general farming, he has devoted much attention to the products of the dairy, in which he has been remarkably successful. Mr. Harding is a Republican in his political associations, and though active in politics, has aspired to no local office other then that of school director of his township. In his religious belief he is a Presbyterian and a supporter of the church of that denomination at Jeffersonville, where the family worship. 1015 WILLIAM KNIGHT, SR. William Knight, the grandfather of the subject of this biographical sketch, emigrated from England and settled in Cecil County, Md., where he became the owner of a tract of land embracing one thousand acres, and ranked as one of the leading agriculturalists of the county. Among his sons was Thomas, who married Ann Kirk, of the same county, to whom were born children, - William Emily Lydia Ann Levi Thomas. Lydia Ann (Mrs. John Summers) and Emily (Mrs. Henry Sheaff) are the only survivors. PICTURE OF JOHN S. HARDING, APPEARS HERE. William was born March 29, 1812, in Cecil County, Md. After a plain English education he became an apprentice to the trade of a carpenter, which, however, engaged his attention for a brief period only. He gratified his taste for travel by an extended tour in the West, which was made a source, not only of diversion, but profit, and on returning became a contractor and builder, constructing various bridges for the Pennsylvania Railroad when under the auspices of the State, in 1832. Removing to Germantown, he continued his business as a builder, residing for a period of eighteen years in the latter place. He was married, on the 9th of September 1841, to Jane, daughter of Colonel Samuel H. Coats, of Upper Merion. Their children are Margaret A. (Mrs. Joseph Frantz) Emily (Mrs. John R. Pugh) Samuel C. William T. Gertrude (Mrs. Harry T. Walter) Grace I. (wife of Dr. T. L. Adams) Blanche E. (Mrs. T. R. Vernon) Paul G. and two who are deceased. PICTURE OF WILLIAM KNIGHT, SR., APPEARS HERE. Mr. Knight eventually left Germantown and became a resident of Chester County, where for eighteen years he cultivated a farm. In 1881 he purchased a farm and residence in Norriton Township, near Norristown, and continued actively employed until his death, on the 8th of July, 1884. Mr. Knight bore a reputation for great ability in business transactions, as also for the most scrupulous integrity, his influence being always on the side of morality and religion. The principles of justice and mercy were exemplified in his daily walk and conversation. His religious training was that of the Society of Friends, though since his residence in Norriton a worshiper with the congregation of the Old Swedes Church (Protestant Episcopal), of Bridgeport. 1016 WILLIAM R. KENNEDY. The Kennedy family trace their lineage from Ireland. William Kennedy, the father of the subject of this biography, resided in Easttown Township, Chester Co., Pa., where he was the owner of a productive farm. He married Esther daughter of David Robinson, of the same county, whose children were Margaret (deceased) Hetty Ann (Mrs. John Dampman) Rachel, Alexander (deceased) William R., Robert (deceased) Elizabeth (Mrs. Peter Supplee, deceased). William R. was born March 23, 1816, in Easttown township, Chester Co., and devoted his early youth to acquiring such education as the schools near his home afforded. His time was then occupied in labor upon the land owned by his father until 1845, when, on the 20th of February of that year, he was married to Miss Abigail E., daughter of Peter Supplee, of Schuylkill township, Chester Co., Pa. PICTURE OF WM. R. KENNEDY, APPEARS HERE. The children of this marriage are William (deceased) B. Franklin, married to Eliza, daughter of James Smith, of Montgomery County John S., who is united to Susan, daughter of Thomas P. Potts, of Norristown Emma S. (Mrs. Abner Cornog) Robinson, whose wife was Maggie, daughter of Benson Schrader, of Armstrong County, Pa. Mr. Kennedy, in 1847, two years after his marriage, removed to a farm in Tredyffrin township, Chester Co., but in 1843 found superior advantages offered in the purchase of a farm of about one hundred acres from the estate of Jesse Bean (deceased), located one quarter of a mile southwest of Jeffersonville, in Norriton township, where he remained pursuing the avocation of a farmer until 1870, when his present home, at Jeffersonville, in the same township, was purchased. Having been from his youth accustomed to habits of industry, his willing hands now find occupation in the improvement of the land about his home. Mr. Kennedy has, as a Democrat, served the township in various capacities, though not active in public matters. He is a member of the Jeffersonville Presbyterian Church, and among its foremost supporters. FRANCIS NACE. Mr. Nace is of German descent, his grandfather having been De Walt Nace, who resided in Upper Salford Township, where he was a representative farmer. His wife was a Miss Barndt, whose children were five sons and four daughters, among whom was Christian, born on the homestead October 18, 1785, where he was both a distiller and a farmer on the land formerly the property of his great-grand father. 1017 He was united in marriage to Susanna, daughter of Philip Singmaster, their children being Francis Samuel S. Mary Ann. Francis, whose birth occurred at the paternal home on the 3d of June, 1820, at the age of eleven years, removed to the farm which is his present home, in Norriton township, his father having purchased the property. He was educated at the common schools, and early instructed in the various departments of farm labor, first assisting his father, and later superintending his business. On the death of the latter he inherited a portion of the property, and purchased the remainder, continuing his usual avocations and making a specialty of blooded stock, for which he has an extended reputation. PICTURE OF FRANCIS NACE, APPEARS HERE. Mr. Nace is a progressive farmer, and keeps well informed on matters pertaining to his branch of industry. All modern machinery adapted to the wants of the agriculturalist may be found in use upon his land, and new improvements of whatever character are eagerly sought and applied by him. Francis Nace was married, on the 19th of March 1846, to Miss Levina, daughter of Samuel Leidy, of Franconia Township, Montgomery Co. Their only daughter, Susanna, is married to William B. Gross, of the Trappe, Upper Providence Township, whose two children, Bertha Nace and Frank John, reside with their parents and grandparents on the homestead. Mr. Nace is a Democrat in politics, but has invariably declined official position either in the township or county. He has been on frequent occasions appointed guardian, and held various positions of responsibility and trust. His religious convictions are in harmony with the creed of the Reformed Church, his membership being in connection with the church in Franconia Township. SAMUEL F. JARRETT The progenitor of the Jarrett family emigrated from the Highlands of Scotland to America at a very early date. Among his descendants was John Jarrett, the great-grandfather of Samuel F., who was born in 1719, and married Alice Conard, also born the same year. Their children were John, whose birth occurred in 1740 May, born in 1742 Elizabeth, in 1744 Hannah, in 1745 Rachel, in 1747 William, in 1748 Alice, in 1750 Jonathan, in 1753 David, in 1755 Jesse, in 1757 Tacy, in 1759 Joseph, in 1761. Jesse married Elizabeth Palmer, whose children were Mary (Mrs. Isaac Shoemaker) David Alice Tacy (Mrs. James Kirk) Joseph John. David, of this number, was born October 24, 1797 in Whitemarsh township, and subsequently made Upper Providence township his home, where he engaged in farming pursuits until 1836, when his removal to Plymouth occurred. 1018 He married Rebecca, daughter of Atkinson Farra, of Norristown, whose children were Jesse Samuel F. Charles P. Atkinson F. Elizabeth John Lucretia (Mrs. Joseph Umstead) and Chalkley. Samuel F. was born in Upper Providence township on the 19th of November, 1825, and at the age of ten years removed to Plymouth, where his youth was devoted to the acquirement of a rudimentary education. Returning again to Upper Providence, he remained until 1845, when Norriton township became his residence and his occupation that of a farmer. PICTURE OF SAMUEL F. JARRETT, APPEARS HERE. Mr. Jarrett was, on the 3d of June, 1849, married to Amanda Crawford daughter of Joseph and Rebecca Crawford, of Lower Providence. Their children are two daughters, Emma (deceased) and Anna R., wife of Dr. W. H. Reed, of Jeffersonville. Mr. Jarrett on his marriage removed to a farm in Lower Providence owned by him, and three years later, in 1853, purchased his present home in Norriton township. He has given his attention largely to farming, making dairying a specialty, in which branch of agricultural industry he is much interested, and has been chosen president of the Crawford Creamery, of Lower Providence. Mr. Jarrett is in his political convictions a stanch Republican. He was, elected in 1872, county treasurer in a strong Democratic locality. His popularity led to his renomination in 1873 by acclamation and consequent election. In 1874, he was again chosen for the third term of three years, and closed his official career in 1878. He was among the first to enlist, in 1863, in response to the call for men for the "emergency," and became a member of the Norris Cavalry, which did valuable service in Maryland, remaining in the field for a period of two months. Mr. Jarrett was educated in the faith of the Society of Friends, but at present worships at the Lower Providence Presbyterian Church. JOHN HOFFMAN. Squire Hoffman's grandfather was Jacob Hoffman, who resided in Norriton township, where be cultivated a farm. 1019 He was united in marriage to a Miss Slough, whose children were John, Jacob Samuel Peter Joseph Jesse and three daughters. Jacob was born in Norriton Township on the 17th day of September 1793, and varied the pursuits of a farmer with the trade of a carpenter. He married Barbara Heebner, daughter of John and Elizabeth Hoffman Heebner, of Norriton Township, their only child being John Hoffman, whose life is here briefly sketched. He was born December 25, 1813, in Norriton, and educated at the schools immediately near his home. For several years after he engaged in teaching, in which he was successful. He married Rosanna, daughter of David and Mary Gouldy, of the same township, and has children Franklin Joanna James and two who are deceased. Squire Hoffman, after his marriage, cultivated the homestead farm, which lie eventually inherited. Here his tranquil life has been spent, no excitements or attractions of the world about him having been sufficient to hire him from this peaceful home. For many years he participated actively in the labor of the farm, but has more recently given it to other hands, though retaining the homestead as his residence. He has also, for fifty years, been engaged in the practice of surveying and conveyancing. He is in politics a Democrat, and interested in all that pertains to the welfare of the county. Squire Hoffman was for eight years assessor, for three years county commissioner, and, in 1848, was elected justice of the peace, which office he still holds. His services are frequently sought as guardian and trustee, and his opinion in matters of public import received with deference in the township. He has recently been admitted to membership in the Lower Providence Presbyterian Church.