USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > A brief history of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with an accompanying map; > Part 9
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BOSSERT, HENRY M., 1825- , born in county; Colonel in Civil War; resident and office-holder, Clinton county.
BOYER, HON. B. M., 1823-1867, born in New Hanover; Univ. of Pa .; House of Representatives, four years.
BRINGHURST, W. A., -1876, Trappe; Pa. Legislature; created by will trust fund for benefit of poor.
BUCK, WILLIAM J., 1825-1901; born in Bucks county, resident of Hatboro; prominent historian and writer.
BULL, JOHN, 1731-1824, resident of Limerick and Norriton; col- onel in Revolutionary War; Pa. Assembly, 1778; moved to Berkeley county, Va.
BURNSIDE, THOMAS, born in Lower Providence, moved to Belle- fonte; Pa. Legislature, 1815, 1817; judge, Montgomery county court, 1841-1845; judge of Supreme Court.
152
BIOGRAPHY
CASSATT, ALEXANDER JOHNSTON, Lower Merion, 1839-1906; president Pennsylvania Railroad Company: "Whose foresight, courage and ability achieved the extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad system into New York City."
ALEXANDER JOHNSTON CASSATT
ALEXANDER JOHNSTON CASSATT Statue in Pennsylvania Station New York City
CASSEL, ABRAHAM H., 1820-1908. Lower Salford; antiquarian and book collector.
CLARK, CHARLES HEBER, Conshohocken, 1841-1915, born in Berlin, Md .; journalist, 1865; publisher of industrial journal; secretary of Manufacturers' Club, Phila., ten years; author under pseudonym, Max Adeler.
153
BIOGRAPHY
CONRAD, HON. FREDERICK, -1827, resident of Worcester and Norristown; Pa. Assembly, 1798-1800; House of Rep., 1803-1806; prothonotary and clerk of courts.
COOKE, JAY, 1821-1905, born in Ohio; banker of Philadelphia, financier of Civil War; fiscal agent of Northern Pacific Rail- road; resided at Ogontz.
CORSON, ALAN W., 1787-1882, Plymouth; teacher, surveyor, nurseryman, botanist.
CORSON, HIRAM, 1804-1896, Plymouth; eminent physician, writer and reformer.
ABRAHAM H. CASSEL (1820-1908)
CORSON, JOSEPH, 1764-1834, born in Bucks county; prominent farmer and merchant, Hickorytown. Father of Alan W; Mary, whose son became U. S. Consul in Brazil; Joseph, whose son became Professor at Cornell; George, merchant; Hiram and William, doctors.
CORSON, JOSEPH K., 1836-1913, Plymouth; Univ. Pa. Medical, 1863; noted army surgeon.
CRAIG, THOMAS, 1740-1832, born in Northampton county; col- onel in Revolutionary War; appointed first associate judge, prothonotary, clerk of courts and recorder of deeds of county.
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BIOGRAPHY
CRUIKSHANK, REV. ROBERT, 1821-1901, born in Ireland; grad. Union Col., N. Y., and Princeton Theol. Sem .; minister ; superintendent of public schools, Montgomery county; teacher; college and university president; died in Colorado.
DERR, FRANKLIN, 1815-1877, born in Hamburg, Berks county, resident of Norristown; extensive dealer in dressed stone.
DOCK, CHRISTOPHER, immigrant, died 1771; noted teacher of Skippack, Salford, and Germantown; author of first book on teaching published in America.
DODD, ROBERT J., 1809-1876, Lower Merion; grad. Jeff. Med. Col .; noted army surgeon.
DOTTERER, HENRY S., 1841-1903, born in Frederick town- ship, died in Philadelphia; historian and genealogist.
EVANS, ROWLAND, 1728-1789, Pa. Assembly; trustee, General Loan Office.
FARMAR, EDWARD, 1672-1745, immigrant from England; ex- tensive landholder in Whitemarsh; justice of the peace; Indian interpreter.
FETTEROLF, ADAM H., 1841-1909, born in Upper Providence ; teacher, Freeland Seminary; vice-president and president, Girard College. 1882-1909.
FORNANCE, JOSEPH, 1804-1852, Lower Merion, House of Rep., 1838, 1840.
FORTMAN, CHARLES, grad. German university; a teacher of languages and music; introduced use of piano forte.
FRY, HON. JACOB, JR., 1802-1866, Trappe; teacher; prothono- tary and clerk of courts; House of Rep., 1834-1838; Pa. Legis- lature, 1853-54; auditor general, 1857-1860.
FRY, REV. DR. JACOB, 1834-1920, born at Trappe; grad. Union Col., N. Y., 1853; noted teacher, preacher, and author.
FUNK, HENRY, immigrant, died 1760; miller, bishop, author of two books; supervised with Dillman Kolb, translation of noted Ephrata Martyrbook from the Dutch.
FURLEY, BENJAMIN, 1636-1714, English merchant; resident of Rotterdam; scholar, author; agent of William Penn on the continent.
GRAEME, DR. THOMAS, 1688-1772, born in Scotland; migrated with Sir William Keith, whose stepdaughter he married; jus- tice of the Supreme Court; bought Graeme Park 848 acres, which had been the property of Sir William Keith.
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BIOGRAPHY
GROSS, SAMUEL, 1774-1844, Upper Providence; Pa. Legisla- ture, 1803-1807; Pa. Senate, 1811-1815; House of Rep., 1818- 1820.
GUMMERE, JOHN, 1783-1845, Willow Grove; author of text- books on surveying and astronomy; conducted classical and mathematical school at Burlington, N. J.
GUMMERE, SAMUEL R., 1789-1818, brother of John; Horsham; author of school books.
HAMILL, ROBERT, immigrant from Ireland; Norristown mer- chant; father of an illustrious family of ministers and teachers.
HANCOCK, W. S., 1824-1880, born in Montgomery township; grad. West Point; served in Mexican War; Brigadier- General in Civil War; Presidential Nominee, 1880.
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WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK (1824-1880)
HARMER, JOSIAH, Perkiomen-Skippack, successor of Washing- ton as Commander-in-Chief of the American Army; led army against the Miami Indians.
HARTRANFT, CHESTER DAVID, 1839-1914, born in Frederick township; grad. Univ. Pa., 1861, and New Brunswick, N. J., ยท Theol. Sem., 1864; pastor; professor, 1879-1903, president, 1888-1903, and honorary president, 1903 to death, of Hartford Theological Seminary; editor-in-chief of Corpus Schwenkfeld- ianorum.
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BIOGRAPHY
HARTRANFT, JOHN FREDERICK, 1830-1889, born in New Hanover; grad. Union Col., 1853; major-general in Civil War; auditor-general of State, two terms; governor of State, 1873- 1879; postmaster and collector of port, Philadelphia; resident of Norristown.
Fritj
JOHN FREDERICK HARTRANFT (1830-1889) GOVERNOR (1873-1879)
HIESTER, DANIEL, JOHN and JOSEPH, residents of Goshen- hoppen; latter two moved to Berks county; Daniel, 1713-1795, resided near Sumneytown; of his sons, Daniel was officer in Revolutionary War, member of Congress from Pa. and Maryland; John, officer in Revolutionary War, and Pa. Senate 1802-1806 from Chester county; Gabriel, officer in Revolution- ary War, Pa. Assembly, 1778-1790, except two or three years, House of Rep., 1791, 1802-1804; Pa. Senate, 1795-6, 1805- 1812; William enlisted in Revolutionary War, but served in one campaign only.
HITE, HANS JOOST, immigrant, New York, 1710, Germantown, 1716; landowner Perkiomen-Skippack, 1717-1732; moved to Bartonville, Va., prominent landholder, colonizer and ancestor of leading Virginia families.
HOOVER, HIRAM C.,1822-1911, musician; held various local offices; Pa. Assembly, 1862-1864; associate judge ten years.
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BIOGRAPHY
HOVENDEN, THOMAS, 1840-1895, born in Ireland; resident of Plymouth; painter of "Breaking Home Ties"; lost his life trying to save the life of a little girl at an unguarded rail- road crossing.
HUFF, GEORGE F., born 1842 in Norristown; banker, interested in coke and coal industries; resident of Greensburg.
HUNSICKER, REV. ABRAHAM, 1793-1872, Mennonite bishop; organized Freeland Seminary, which became Ursinus College; helped to organize Pennsylvania Female College.
JENKINS, HOWARD M., 1842-1902, Gwynedd; author and edi- tor.
JONES, MALACHI, 1651-1729, first pastor of Abington Presby- terian church, 1714-1729, which erected first Presbyterian church of the county.
KEITH, SIR WILLIAM, 1669 or '70-1749, born in Scotland; gov- ernor of Pennsylvania, 1717-1726; built Graeme Park, 1722; returned to England, where he died.
KRATZ, HENRY W., 1834-1917, born in Perkiomen township; public school teacher; justice of the peace, 1862; clerk of State Senate, 1866-1867; recorder of deeds, 1883-1886; Pa. Legis- lature, 1894; moved to Norristown, 1889.
KRAUSE, DAVID, 1800-1871, born in Lebanon; private secretary to Governor Shulze; editor; deputy attorney-general, 1829; Pa. Legislature, 1835; judge, Montgomery county, 1845-1851. KRAUTH, CHARLES PORTERFIELD, REV., 1823-1883; grad. Pa. Col., Gettysburg, of which his father was president; or- dained 1842; pastor, professor, editor, author of books, vice- provost of Univ. of Pa ..
KRAUTH, CHARLES PHILIP, 1797-1867, son of organist of Six- Cornered church, Charles J. Krauth and wife, Catharine, a member of congregation; licensed to preach, 1819; professor Pa. Col., 1833; president of Pa. Col., 1834-1851.
LAY, BENJAMIN, 1677-1759, cave dweller; published, 1737, book against slavery.
LEECH, RICHARD T., 1775-1850, born in Cheltenham; Pa. Legis- lature, 1809-1813; surveyor-general, 1813-1818; moved to Pittsburgh, where he died.
LEECH, TOBY, native of Cheltenham, England, one of the earliest settlers of Cheltenham.
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BIOGRAPHY
LEGAUX, PETER, born in France, 1743, migrated, 1785; scien- tific student, contributor to magazines, and tried to introduce grape culture for the manufacture of wine. Died at his home at Spring Mill, 1828.
JOSEPH LEIDY (1823-1891)
LEIDY, JOSEPH, son of Philip Leidy of Hatfield township; born in 1823, died 1891. A world renowned scientist; from a broken tooth he depicted correctly the entire form of an extinct rhinoc- eros.
LOCH, JOHN W., born in Worcester, 1830; grad. Univ. of Pa., a noted teacher of Norristown. -
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BIOGRAPHY
LOLLER, COL. ROBERT, Scotch-Irish, born 1740, died 1808; teacher, soldier, statesman, associate judge, recorder and reg- ister, founder by will of Loller Academy, resident of Moreland. LOWE, PROF. T. S. C., born 1832, in New Hampshire, distin- guished aeronaut and scientific inventor; moved to Norristown, 1871.
LUKENS, ISAIAH, 1779-1864, born in Horsham, son of John; made clocks of Loller Academy and State House, Philadelphia ; one of founders of Franklin Institute; died in Philadelphia. LUKENS JOHN, Horsham; mathematician and philosopher; sur- veyor-general, 1761-1769; assisted Rittenhouse in observing transit of Venus, 1769; one of four commissioners to run boundary line between Pennsylvania and Virginia, 1784-1785; laid out towns of Sunbury and Bedford.
McCREEDY, BERNARD, born in Ireland 1775, resided in Phila- delphia, died 1846. One of the builders and proprietors, 1840, of the cotton factory at the foot of Swede street, Norristown. MEDARY (MADEIRA) SAMUEL, born in Montgomery Square, February 25, 1801, of Quaker ancestry; educated at Norris- town Academy; newspaper editor and publisher in Ohio; prominent politician, being called the "Wheelhorse of Ohio Democracy"; member of both branches of the Ohio Legisla- ture; postmaster of Columbus; Governor of Minnesota, 1857- 58, and of Kansas, 1859-60; died in Columbus, Ohio, Novem- ber 7, 1864.
MENAN, PATRICK, born in Ireland 1711, resident of White- marsh; teacher, surveyor, and conveyancer; the teacher of Andrew Porter and David Rittenhouse.
MILES, SAMUEL, born 1740, died 1805, a member of the Pa. Assembly, 1805; lived in Spring Mill; moved to Cheltenham, 1792.
MITTELBERGER, GOTTLIEB, brought organs from Germany; organist and teacher at Trappe, 1750-1754. Returned to Ger- many.
MOORE, NICHOLAS, born in London, migrated to Pennsylvania, 1682; acquired the Manor of Moreland of ten thousand acres, 1684; president of "The Free Society of Traders in Pennsyl- vania"; speaker of the first provincial assembly held at Ches- ter, December, 1682; first chief justice of Pennsylvania.
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BIOGRAPHY
MOTT, LUCRETIA, born in Massachusetts, Nantucket Island, 1793; school teacher in Philadelphia; married Jacob Mott; resided in Cheltenham; prominent life-long worker in the cause of Anti-Slavery and Woman's Rights.
MUHLENBERG, HON. FRANCIS AUGUSTUS, born in Upper Providence, 1750; died 1802; son of Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg; graduate of Halle; preached in New York City; took part in the Revolutionary War; judge; register and re- corder of Montgomery county; member and first speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington.
MUHLENBERG, REV. HENRY ERNEST, born in Upper Provi- dence, 1753, died 1815. Son of Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlen- berg, Lutheran Minister, noted botanist and scientist.
MUHLENBERG, REV. HENRY MELCHIOR, born in Germany, 1711, migrated 1742; pastor at Philadelphia and at Trappe. Married Anna, daughter of Conrad Weiser, father of the Lutheran Church in the United States; died 1787.
MUHLENBERG, GENERAL PETER, born in Upper Providence, 1746, son of Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg; studied at Halle, preached at Woodstock, Virginia; became a general in the Revolutionary War; legislator, collector of Port of Philadel- phia.
NORRIS, ISAAC, born in London, 1671, died 1736; migrated to Philadelphia, member of the Governor's Council, and speaker of Assembly, justice of the county, mayor of Philadelphia, joint purchaser, 1704, with Col. William Trent, and later sole owner of Manor Williamstaedt, later Norriton township, 1730. PAWLING, LEVI, born 1772, died 1845; House of Rep., 1817-19; filled a great number of public positions; resided in Norris- town.
PENNEBECKER, HEINRICH, born 1674, died 1754; prominent German surveyor, and ancestor of an illustrious family, in- cluding the late Samuel W. Pennypacker.
PENNYPACKER, SAMUEL WHITTAKER, born in Phoenixville, 1843; died at Schwenksville, 1917; admitted to bar, 1866; appointed as judge, 1889; twice elected for term of ten years; filled various positions of honor; governor, 1903-1907; author, historian, reformer.
PORTER, GENERAL ANDREW, born 1743, died 1813; served in the Revolutionary War, surveyor general, father of Governor David R. Porter of Pennsylvania, General James M. Porter, and Governor George B. Porter, of Michigan.
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BIOGRAPHY
PORTER, GOVERNOR DAVID R., born 1788, son of General Andrew Porter; iron manufacturer, member of the Penna. Assembly, 1821; member of Pa. State Senate, 1882; Governor of Pa., 1839-1845; died in Harrisburg, 1867.
PORTER, ROBERT, born in Ireland, 1698; resided in Worcester and Whitpain townships, buried at Norriton Presbyterian Church, ancestor of an illustrious family.
SAMUEL WHITTAKER PENNYPACKER (1843-1917) Governor (1903-1907)
POTTS, JOHN, oldest son of Thomas, the immigrant, born 1710; enterprising speculator in iron works; founder of Pottstown, 1752-53; built noted mansion on Manatawny; died 1768. Of his children: Thomas was interested in iron business, held public office and was a colonel in Revolutionary War; Samuel was engaged in iron business and held public office; John was judge of courts, became loyalist, was deprived of property by con- fiscation, moved to Nova Scotia, later returned to states; Jo- seph, a Philadelphia merchant and minister among Society of Friends; Jonathan, an eminent physician; Isaac, interested in iron works at Valley Forge; James, an eminent attorney; Martha married Thomas Ritter, son of Thomas, interested in iron business; Anna married her cousin, David Potts, inter- ested also in iron business, and Rebecca married Dr. Benjamin Duffield.
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BIOGRAPHY
RALSTON, JAMES GRIER, D. D., LL.D., died 1880; founder and principal of Oakland Female Institute, Norristown, 1845. REYNOLDS, JOHN, born in Montgomery county, 1789, migrated to Illinois prior to 1818; Illinois State Supreme Court, 1818- 26; State Legislature, 1826-30; Governor, 1830-34; later mem- ber of Congress, and Speaker of House, Illinois Legislature, advocate of internal improvements, historical writer, died 1865.
DAVID R. PORTER (1788-1867) Governor (1838-1845)
RICHARDS, GEORGE, born in New Hanover, 1788, died 1873; member of the State Senate, 1846. Justice of the peace many years.
RITTENHOUSE, DAVID, born 1732, died 1795; son of Matthias, farmer, clockmaker, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, State treasurer, a member of the committee to survey Mason and Dixon Line, first director of the United States Mint. Ob- served the transit of Venus, 1769, at his observatory in Wor- cester township.
READ, LOUIS WERNWAG, born 1828; graduate of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, 1849; eminent physician and army surgeon; died 1900.
REED, JACOB, born 1730, died 1820; resided in Hatfield town- ship, colonel in the Revolutionary War.
ROBERTS, GEORGE B., born 1833, died 1897; president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 1880-1897, resident of Bala.
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BIOGRAPHY
ROBERTS, JONATHAN, HON., born 1771, died 1854. Pa. Assem- bly, 1798-99 and 1823; Pa. Senate, 1807; House of Rep., Washington, 1811-1813, and of the United States Senate, 1814; collector of customs, Philadelphia, 1841. Resided in Lower Merion.
DAVID RITTENHOUSE (1732-1795)
ROTHERMEL, PETER F., born in Luzerne county, 1817, dis- tinguished artist and painter, resided in later life in Limerick township; died 1895. Painter of "Battle of Gettysburg." ROYER, HON. JOSEPH, born at Trappe, 1784; Pa. Assembly, 1821-22; associate judge; candidate for Congress. His sons, Horace and Lewis, became Pennsylvania State Senators.
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BIOGRAPHY
RUTTER, THOMAS, the first European to manufacture iron from ore in America on the Manatawny.
ST. CLAIR, ARTHUR, born in Scotland 1734, died in Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania; surveyor and agent of the Penns; a most enthusiastic patriot during the Revolution; governor of the Northwest Territory with headquarters at Marietta, Ohio; for a time a resident of Pottstown, having purchased the confiscated property of John Potts.
SCHALL, WILLIAM, born in Oley, Berks county, 1812, operated the Greenlane Forge, 1833 to 1848, when he moved to Norris- town. Five of his sons volunteered their services in the Civil War: Reuben, Edwin, Edward, David and Calvin.
SCHLATTER, MICHAEL, born in Switzerland, 1716; sent to America as a missionary, and organized the German Reformed Synod, 1747; superintendent of Charity Schools, 1755-57; Chaplain of the American army in expedition to Nova Scotia 1757.
SCULL, NICHOLAS, resident of Whitemarsh, Indian interpreter, surveyor, map publisher, surveyor general, 1748-1761. Grand- father of Edward Biddle, member of Pa. Assembly, and Speaker of the House of Rep., of Pennsylvania, and member of Congress; died 1761.
SHUNK, FRANCIS RAWN, born near the Trappe, 1788, teacher at fifteen, clerk in surveyor-general's office, soldier in the War of 1812, lawyer at twenty-eight, clerk of the House of Rep., moved to Pittsburgh, governor 1845-1848, died 1848, and buried at the Trappe.
SIMPSON, JOHN, 1768-1837, of Horsham township, moved to Bethel, Clermont county, Ohio, 1818; his daughter, Hannah, married Jesse Root Grant, whose son was U. S. Grant.
SLEMMER, ADAM, born in Philadelphia 1791, member of the Pa. Assembly, 1826 to 1830, prothonotary, 1833; editor, publisher, and public-spirited citizen; resident of Montgomery county, where he died, 1882.
SLEMMER ADAM, J., born in Frederick township, 1829, gradu- ate of West Point, 1850; brigadier general in the Civil War; defender of Fort Pickens, 1861.
SMITH, JOHN C., born in Frederick township, 1818, member of Pa. Senate, 1861 to 1864; prominent business man.
SMITH, WILLIAM MOORE, born in Philadelphia, 1759; lawyer; owner of the land on which Norristown is located; laid out its first streets and lots.
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BIOGRAPHY
STEEL, ROBERT, born in Ireland, 1794; pastor of the Abington Presbyterian Church, 1819 to 1862; noted for the prominent men whom he influenced to enter the ministry.
STERIGERE, J. B., born in Upper Dublin, 1793; member of Pa. Assembly, 1821 to 1824; member of the Pa. Senate, 1839 to 1843; active in the affairs of the borough of Norristown.
FRANCIS RAWN SHUNK (1788-1848) Governor (1844-1848)
STINSON, MARY ANDERSON born in Norriton, 1819; grad. Woman's Medical College, 1869; assistant physician of the State Lunatic Asylum of Massachusetts.
SUNDERLAND, J. W., born in Exeter, R. I., 1813; grad. of Wes- leyan Univ., 1836; principal of Freeland Institute, 1848 to 1851, and of the Montgomery Female Seminary, 1851; died 1904.
SUPER, HENRY W., Collegeville, 1824-1897, born, Baltimore, Md .; Marshall College, 1849; entered ministry, 1851; pro- fessor at Normal School, Kutztown, 1867-70; vice-president and professor of mathematics, mechanics, church history, Ursinus College and Seminary.
SUTTON, W. HENRY, born Haddonfield, N. J., 1835; graduate of Wesleyan Univ., 1857; member of Pa. Senate, 1882; resident of Lower Merion; died 1913.
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BIOGRAPHY
TAYLOR, JACOB, Abington, school teacher and surveyor gen- eral, 1706-1733.
TELNER, JACOB, Mennonite merchant of Crefeld, the connecting link between William Penn and the Crefeld congregation.
THOMSON, CHARLES, born in Ireland, 1730; migrated 1741; resident of Lower Merion; called by the Indians "a man of truth"; secretary of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789; knew inside history of the Revolutionary War, but destroyed his records; died 1824, body removed to Laurel Hill cemetery. TODD, ROBERT, born in Ireland, migrated 1737, settled in Upper Providence; ancestor of the wife of President Lincoln.
WACK, REV. JOHN G., born, 1776, son of Rev. Caspar Wack; pastor at Boehm's, Wentz and St. Peter's churches; a classical scholar, very fond of music; died 1856.
WEAND, HENRY K. born at Pottstown, 1838; admitted to the Bar, 1860; served in the Civil War; Judge of Montgomery county courts, and died 1914.
WEINBERGER, J. SHELLY, born in Bucks county, 1832; grad. of Yale, 1859; professor at Freeland Seminary, 1859 to 1870; at Ursinus Col., 1870 to 1903; Dean of Ursinus Col., 1892-1903, died 1917.
WEISS, REV. GEORGE MICHAEL, an early minister and organ- izer of the Reformed Church, pastor at New Goshenhoppen, died 1763.
WILSON, HON. J. BIRD, 1777-1859, lawyer, judge, rector, pro- fessor of systematic theology.
WOOD, JAMES, 1770-1851, Conshohocken, founder of the iron works of Conshohocken.
YOST, JACOB S., born in Pottsgrove, 1801, member of the Pa. Assembly, 1836-1889, and of the House of Rep., Washington, 1842-1844, died 1872.
YEAKLE, WILLIAM A., born 1824; resident of Whitemarsh; member of the Pennsylvania Senate, 1873; died 1888.
ZOOK, SAMUEL K., born in Chester County, 1822; resident of Valley Forge; pioneer in building telegraph lines; general in the Civil War; lost his life in the Battle of Gettysburg.
CHAPTER X
HISTORY HIKES
Seat
The County Route-Begin Swede and Main streets, Norristown; Main street to Sandy Hill, Marshall, DeKalb, Penn, Airy, DeKalb to Basin. From Swede and Main, west on Main, Notes based on itinerary prepared, 1912, by Joseph Fornance, Esq.
Close by Swede and Main, offices formerly of The Register and The Times-the former discontinued, the latter acquired by The Herald, Overhead the elevated tracks of the Philadelphia and Western Railway, erected 1912, when Norristown celebrated its centennial. To left in the public park the soldiers' monument, built in 1869 by private contribution, with names of more than five hundred soldiers who enlisted in the Civil War, most of whom died in the service. Beyond to the right the old Montgomery House, built in part in 1804, now owned and operated by the Young Men's Christian Association. To the left a former pub- lication office of The Herald.
The first crossroad, named for General DeKalb, is part of the historic State road from Doylestown to West Chester. The next street, Mill, leads to the old Holstein flour mill and the foundry of Newbold and Son Company. Beyond the borough limits on Ridge Turnpike, as Main street is known, Black Horse Hotel and the Seven Stars Tavern were famous public places more than a century ago.
On Sandy Hill is the "Catholic Asylum, under charge of Sisters of the Good Shepherd, formerly Oakland Female Institute, built by Rev. J. G. Ralston, who conducted a celebrated boarding school there for thirty-three years, until 1878. During that time three thousand girls were instructed. Prior to that a dwelling house stood there, built by John Markley, afterwards the residence of J. Bird Wilson, judge of this court from 1806 to 1818, who resigned his office to become rector of St John's Episcopal Church." A short distance beyond are the buildings of "Treemount Seminary, founded by Rev. Samuel Aaron and successfully conducted by him as a boys' school from 1844 to 1859. He was succeeded by Dr. John W. Loch, who was in charge of the school until 1890."
On Marshall street, former home of Judge Hamilton Gamble,
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HISTORY HIKES
1858-1861. To keep Missouri from seceding from the Union he was prevailed on to return to his native state and served as Gov- ernor during Civil War. On DeKalb street two historic places, the Presbyterian and Lutheran Churches. On Penn street the former Borough Hall, since 1896 the property of the Montgomery County Historical Society, an organization founded in 1881 and incorporated in 1884, whose rooms should be visited. The public square and court house lots were given by the University of Penn- sylvania to Montgomery county and Norristown in 1786. Penn street was opened through the unbroken tract in 1834. The old court house stood on the north corner of the square. Its front was built of marble from the Derr quarries of Upper Merion. The monument at the west corner of the court house was erected to the memory of David Rittenhouse.
On Swede street, former Rambo House, once Eagle Tavern, a public house from 1790 until acquired for office purposes by the traction companies, whose junction point is close by. On Airy street the county prison built 1851 and since enlarged, and the Veranda House are located. The City Hall and the Borough Market mark the "site of the old Academy, the famous Hill School in its day, established 1803, and continued until 1849, when it was torn down. The bank on which it stood was removed and DeKalb street was opened over its site. It fronted on Airy street." Here General Hancock, General Slemmer, Governor Hartranft and other prominent men were pupils. On DeKalb street opposite the City Hall is the Norristown Library, founded 1794. A few blocks away Basin street crossing DeKalb, marks the site of the first reservoir of the water company from 1848 to 1879. To the east on Basin street is the location of the former Keswick Institute, a girls' boarding school from 1857 to 1866, now a private residence.
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