USA > Pennsylvania > Bucks County > Bristol > A history of Bristol borough in the county of Bucks, state of Pennsylvania, anciently known as "Buckingham"; being the third oldest town and second chartered borough in Pennsylvania, from its earliest times to the present year 1911 > Part 5
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Here lyeth the body of Sarah Bullock, mother of Thos. Sugar, of the City of Philadelphia, carpenter, who departed this life August 16th, 1734. Aged 34 years and six months.
On the reverse side is rudely carved a skull and epitaph :
Who e'er thou art, with tender heart, Stay, read and think of me, As thou art now so once was I, As I am now so shalt thou be.
This is the second oldest stone, which is fully decipherable. To the right of the Landreth lot is a plain grave which is :
Sacred to the memory of Antonin Furcy Piquet,
Knight of the Order of St. Lewis, Capt. of the French Navy and Consul of France for the States of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Born in France in the year 1777. Died in Bristol, August 31, 1815. Requiescat in pace.
This gentleman carried in his body a bullet received in a duel in France. Alongside of his remains are interred those of his femme de charge.
Another notable grave is that of Captain John Clark, of the British Troops, who, prior to the Revolution, settled in Bristol. At one time the captain was Worshipful Master of the Bristol Lodge of the Masonic Order. Directly north of
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A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH.
the centre of the yard is the grave of Captain John Green, of the American Merchant Marine. Captain Green was the first to carry the American flag around the world and was the original importer of the Shanghai fowls.
Near Green's grave is that of John Clark, Captain of the Tenth United Stated Infantry, who met his death in a duel with a quartermaster of his regiment. Ludwig, the infant son of Baron Ludwig Niedesteeter, and his Baroness Hor- tense, is buried near the centre of the yard. Among a score of stones worthy of mention are noted a marble in memory of Elizabeth, wife of William Hewson, F. P. S., Professor of Anatomy in the University of London. A small headstone bears the name of George Gillespie, who died in 1781, and was the grandfather of the Bishop of Western Michigan. The great English actor, Thomas Cooper, after being shame- fully driven from the London stage, ended his days in Bris- tol. He built a house on Radcliffe street and for several years served as a vestryman of this parish. At his decease he was interred in the parish graveyard. The lot is at pres- ent surrounded by an iron fence, the gate of which bears the simple inscription :
Thomas Cooper.
Not a stone's throw from the tomb of Cooper lies another representative of the English playhouses, John Henry, who in 1784, was carried away by consumption. His remains are interred in a leaden casket which is surrounded by a brick vault. To the right of the main walk is the granite shaft raised in memory of David Landreth, the father of the seed industry in America. Farther on are the graves of Brigadier General Montgomery, graduate of West Point in 1814, and of Captain H. Clay Beatty. Rowland Stephenson, member of Parliament and a London banker, is, according to the records, interred somewhere in the graveyard. (From writ- ings by Mr. G. Morris Dorrance.)
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A HISTORYOF BRISTOL BOROUGH.
EPOCH III.
From 1720, the Development Into a Borough, to 1775, the Beginning of the Revolutionary War.
Introduction .- So rapid was the growth and develop- ยท ment of the market town of Bristol, that in the lapse of about twenty years (1718), the townspeople then deemed it essen- tial to the interests of the place, that it should be erected into a borough. Whereupon, Anthony Burton, John Hall, Wil- liam Watson, Joseph Bond and others, petitioned the Colonial Government therefor. (Town Records.) A "unanimous opinion" was expressed in its favor ; and the petitioners were instructed to apply to their Attorney General for a suitable draft for that purpose, which they immediately did; and having obtained one which appeared satisfactory to them, it was submitted to and approved by the Colonial Board on the Ioth of July, 1720. But it was not alone necessary to obtain the assent of the local government here, whose powers were exceedingly limited, but every important public measure was required to be submitted directly to the appropriation or sanction of the crown. A due return was received by the anxious expectants, with the necessary Letters Patent : bear- ing date of the 14th of November, 1720. Following is a brief synopsis of the corporate powers of this ancient grant.
In the preamble is set forth : "George, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.," to the petitioners-"formerly adventurers into the Pro- vince of Pennsylvania, and owners of a certain tract or site of land formerly called Buckingham, in the County of Bucks, did appropriate several of their lots, lying on the River Delaware, to build and settle upon." "And that many
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people since have been encouraged to erect buildings, lay out public streets, as also to erect a Church and Meetinghouse, and caused a Courthouse and Prison to be erected there. And we, being willing to promote trade, industry, rule, and good order, amongst all our loving subjects, have erected and by these presents do erect the said Town of Bristol into a borough." Then follow the courses and distances of the borough bounds ; the names and regulation of the streets as laid out ; reservation for wharves and landings ; Joseph Bond and John Hall to be present Burgesses, and Thomas Clifford, High Constable ; their power and duties ; H. Constable to be clerk of the market; and fairs and markets established, and a general grant of franchise "unto the said Burgess, Con- stable, and Inhabitants, and to their successors." (Bache's History.)
Election of Borough Officers .- The charter did not definitely specify anything about the legislative body, and as the earliest records are lost, we cannot tell what was the complete organization of the government, but it was prob- ably nearly the same as it was in 1832, when there was a common council of six, a constable, two burgesses, two asses- sors and a pound keeper. There was to be an annual election on a fixed day each year, when the officers were to be nomi- nated and elected by the "freeholders, officers and house- keepers of the borough." The burgess first chosen, or having a majority of the votes in an election, was made the chief burgess or chief magistrate of the town. The other was styled the second burgess. They were empowered and authorized to be "conservators of the peace" within the bor- ough, and without any legal proceedings could remove nuisances and encroachments out of the streets and landing places. The officers were to be fined if they refused to serve. The fine was not to exceed ten pounds for the burgess and five for the constable. Before entering upon the duties of office each officer was to take an oath as prescribed by various acts of Parliament; Friends were exempt from oaths and qualified by "taking and subscribing the attesta- tions or engagements" especially allowed to them.
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The chief burgess was obliged to go to Philadelphia with- in five days after the election to be qualified before the governor or such person as his excellency might appoint for the purpose. The chief burgess could then qualify the other officers, or it could be done by any two justices of the peace in the county. The chief burgess was a justice of the peace in the county as well as in the borough, as was customary in England at that time. It was the same with the chief burgess in the other boroughs of Pennsylvania, but it seems to have been objectionable and the law requiring them to be justices in the counties was repealed by legislation before many boroughs were created. The high constable of Bristol was made the clerk of the market and could have "assize of bread, wine, beer, wood and other things.". It was lawful for the burgesses and constables to summon and assemble town meetings whenever they thought it advisable. At these meet- ings ordinances, rules and by-laws might be passed if not repugnant to the laws of Great Britain, and citizens could repeal or amend the same. Fines could also be imposed for violations of ordinances.
The Town Meeting .- The inhabitants of Bristol seem to have put a different interpretation upon the expression "town meeting" from that of other boroughs. The town meeting in Bristol was nothing but the meeting of town council, burgesses and high constable and sometimes one or two other officers, as the pound keeper. This is shown from the borough records, which for many years called all council meetings, "town meetings." Provision was made in most of the early borough charters for town meetings in the sense of popular assemblies of the people, but they were only called on special occasions when an important tax was to be laid or a charter to be amended, or some other unusual measure was to be considered. As recently as 1872, at a council meeting in Bristol, so many of the citizens were present that they resolved themselves into a town meeting to discuss the question of an amendment to the charter.
Borough Taxes .- The rate of taxes for borough pur- poses was fixed by the council. In 1733, the tax levied was
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two pence per pound on all estates and six shillings a head for all single men. In 1745, at a time of much expense to the town, the legislature fixed the limit of taxation at three pence a pound. Borough finances were not then so import- ant as now. It was in the days before the public schools. The wants of our forefathers were simpler than now, and the old town pump answered in place of costly waterworks. The principal items of expense were for the repair and care of the streets which were under the supervision of the bur- gess and council. The taxes of the town were assessed by two assessors elected by the people. After their work was done, the council and burgesses set a day for hearing appeals and then rectified any errors. The elections were not always what the citizens desired, for they were obliged to change the place of voting to a private house to avoid disturbances.
Bristol Visited By a Great Fire .- Davis' History of Bucks County, says : "What is spoken of as a 'great fire,' broke out in Bristol in 1724, but the value of the property destroyed is not known. The Friends at Abington raised money for the relief of the sufferers." Some idea of the size of the town in the early part of the century. beginning with 1700, can be gleaned from Oldmixon's memoirs, in which he tells of his visit to the town in 1708, and speaks of it as the capital of Bucks County, containing fifty houses. Its growth and development following the fire must have been slow, for we find in 1784, Bristol had but forty-five dwellings, while in 1790, Scott's Gazetteer says it contained fifty dwellings. Another authority puts down the dwellings at ninety. In either event, its growth during the fifty years, which intervened, from the time of the fire, until it began to gain prominence as a fashionable watering place, was decidedly slow.
Daniel Boone Born in Bristol Township .- Daniel Boone, the great hunter and pioneer of the west, is thought to have been born in Bristol Township. The Boones were in the county early. In 1728 we find that Squire Boone, a weaver, purchased 140 acres in New Britain Township, of Thomas Shute, of Philadelphia. Solomon "Boon" or
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"Boom" lived in Bristol Township before 1743, and died between the 16th and 20th of December of that year, leaving sons Ralph, Joseph and Solomon, and daughter Elizabeth. In 1745, Solomon was a signer to a petition to the court to lay out a road from his plantation to Bristol. These Boones were probably of the lineage of Daniel. George Boone, the grandfather of Daniel, immigrated with his wife and eleven children, from Exeter, England, in 1717; settled on the banks of the Delaware, where he purchased a tract of land. His son, Squire Boone, was married to Sarah Morgan in September, 1720, and their son, Daniel, the great pioneer, was born October 28th, 1734. When about ten years of age, his father removed with his family to Berks county, near Reading, then a frontier settlement, where Daniel became an expert hunter. When sixteen or eighteen years of age the family went to North Carolina, and settled on the Yadkin. From about this time we date his great exploits as a hunter and frontiersman, and his career is too well known to need repeating here. No other Bucks Countian of the last century became so famous. He died in Missouri, September 26th, 1822. We do not think there is any doubt about Daniel Boone being a native of Bucks County, although the location of his birthplace may not be entirely accurate. At the time of his death, the newspapers of Missouri, published in the vicinity of his home, stated that he was born in Bucks Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, about 1730. William Stewart, son of Charles Stewart, who lived and died in Upper Wakefield, who was brought up in that township, and accompanied Daniel Boone on his second visit to Kentucky, and was killed at the battle of Blue Licks, declared in his lifetime, that he was a schoolmate of Boone, and his descendents assert it to this day.
The Golden Age .- During the quarter of a century from 1735 to 1760, times were so prosperous that it was called the "golden age," and was decreed the happiest period since the settlement of the province. Industry, fertile fields and favorable seasons blessed the farmer's labors with large in- crease, but while riches sensibly increased, the people lived without any appearance of luxury. Good dwellings and
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comfortable barns had been built, and comtorts and con- veniences were added by degrees, but dress and furniture were plain. The wooden trencher and pewter spoon were used by the most wealthy, and simplicity prevailed every- where. For pastime men hunted and fished, while the women, who married young and raised large families of children, were principally occupied with household duties. During the "golden age," a grand religious festival, lasting three days, was held at the Wrightstown meeting-house, to give thanks for the bounties of Providence. People came to it from a long distance, and were known to travel ten or twelve miles on foot to attend it. The intercourse with Philadelphia was then limited, and the luxuries of the cities had not found their way into the country.
House of Correction .- At the first provincial assembly held at Philadelphia, in March, 1683, a house of correction was ordered for each county, 24 x 16 feet, that for Bucks being located at Bristol. The poor who received relief from the county with their families, were obliged to wear the letter P, made of red or blue cloth, with the first letter of the name of the place they inhabited, in a conspicuous place upon the shoulder of the right sleeve. In that dav. it seems the un- fortunate poor had no rights the authorities were bound to respect.
The workhouse (house of correction), was not erected until 1722, and was replaced by a new one in 1745. Its building was authorized by act of assembly of February 22, 1718, to be built at the expense of the county within three years, to be managed by a president, treasurer and assist- ants, and not more than fioo were to be raised yearly for its support. As the house was not built within the three years specified, it must have been erected under a subsequent act. By act of March 1, 1745, the common council of Bristol was authorized to erect a workhouse in the town, which is prob- ably the one which stood on Beaver Street near Garden and for years was the home of Richard Corson. Recently (1910) -the land was purchased by the Barrett Brothers for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and the old building torn down.
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A HISTORY OF BRISTOL BOROUGH.
The First Stage Wagons .- A line of stage wagons was established in 1732 between Amboy and Burlington by Thomas Moore and Solomon Smith. New York and Phil- adelphia were the objective points, and terminal connec- tions were made with both places by sailing vessels. Bordentown was the terminal point of a rival line in 1734, and in 1751 the boats to both places were controlled by Borden, Richards, Wright and others. In 1745 John Dalley, surveyor, stated that he had just made survey of the road from Trenton to Amboy, and had set up marks at every two miles to guide the traveler. It was done by private subscription, and he proposed to do the whole road from Philadelphia to New York in the same way if a sum would be made up. The proposed improvement of the road below Trenton was not effected; hence the fact that the stage wagons went no further beyond that point than was necessary to conveniently meet the packets. Joseph Borden, Jr., in 1753, was running a "stage boat" from Philadelphia to Bordentown, from whence the jour- ney to Amboy was continued by "stage wagon." This was claimed to be the most expeditious route in operation at that time. It does not appear that John Dalley sur- veyed the road between Trenton and Philadelphia ; but it was much improved at various times, and those interested in the stage business began to consider whether a wagon might not compete in time with the packet between the city and Trenton. At this time there were a number of gentlemen of sporting proclivities at Philadelphia who indulged in fox hunting. They kept a famous kennel of hounds, with John Butler as keeper. He was greatly in favor with his employers; and when it became necessary to disperse the kennel because the country became so thickly settled as to interfere with their sport, they established him in business as the proprietor of a stage wagon. He at once instituted a new departure, and prac- tically demonstrated the superior speed of his vehicle as compared with that of the packet. Leaving the "Sign of the Death of the Fox," the favorite resort of his former patrons, his route followed the west bank of the Dela- ware, crossed that stream at Trenton, and thence pro- ceeded to Amboy. His journey to New York required
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three days. This was the first stage route through Bris- tol, and Bucks County, as well.
It enjoyed a monopoly in this respect during the fol- lowing ten years. An opposition line over the same route was established in 1765, in which four owners were con- cerned. They introduced covered Jersey wagons, and reduced the fare to two pence a mile, but did not reduce the time of the journey, which was still three days. A third line between the two cities was established in 1766 by John Barnhill. He improved the stage wagon by plac- ing the seats on springs, and also the speed of his vehicles, which traversed the distance from Elm Street, near Vice, in Philadelphia, by way of the "Blazing Star" Ferry, to Amboy in two days. This achievement was without a precedent in the previous history of staging, and secured for his wagons the modest title of "Flying Machines." In .1773 Charles Bessonett engaged in the business, and speedily rendered his the most popular coaches on the road. He regarded the ferry over the Neshaminy a great obstacle to rapid transit, and that it might be obviated, secured from the legislature, in 1785, authority to lay out a private road between the sixteenth milestones of what is now the Frankford and Bristol Turnpike, construct a ferry or bridge over the creek, and collect tolls for the use of the same. The approaches for a floating bridge and rope ferry were constructed, but when nearly completed a violent flood destroyed the most expensive portion of the work, entailing serious loss upon the projector. The remains of the abutments are still seen about half a mile above Bridgewater. Graham Johnson was associated with Mr. Bessonnett in this enterprise, and like him was a veteran stage manager.
The Rev. George Whitfield Visits Bristol .- On May 7, 1745, the Rev. George Whitefield, whose coming to America in 1739, gave a new impetus to the religious enthusiasm already prevailing, crossed the river from Burlington to Bristol, where he preached to about four hundred people, and then returned to Philadelphia. At this time Whitefield is described as "of middle stature, slender body, fair complexion, comely appearance and
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extremely bashful and modest. His delivery was warm and affectionate, and his gestures natural, and the most beautiful imaginable." He had a loud and clear voice, and articulated his words so perfectly that he might be heard and understood at a great distance.
Bristol's Hotels .- The late William Kinsey in a news- paper article written in 1885, gives the following inter- esting account of Bristol's first hotels :
. "A history of the hotels in Bristol will show that the number of licensed houses now are the same as in the
HOTEL CLOSSON.
year 1748. The old borough records show that Patrick Hanlon kept the ferry house at the foot of Mill street as early as 1730. The records at Doylestown show that the first petition for license to keep a public house in Bristol was presented by Thomas Brock, in 1705. As a recommendation he states that he has resided in the county for a number of years, and had been engaged in keeping a public house. In 1728, the records show that Henry Betz, James Moore and Evan Harris applied for
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license to keep public houses in Bristol. The petitions do not give the names of the houses for which licenses were asked. In 1768 the records show that licenses were granted to the following persons to keep hotels in Bristol : Mrs. Rachel Jackson, located in Bath street, on the site now occupied by the Clossen House; Robert Reese, to keep the Rising Sun, in Mill Street, on the site now occu- pied by the brick dwelling owned by J. and A. Dorrance ; John Dowdney, to keep the King of Prussia, corner of Mill and Pond Streets (now the Bell property) ; Charles Bessonett, George the Third, at the foot of Mill Street, now the Delaware House.
In 1785, Archibald McElroy built the Cross Keys and kept one of the best houses of entertainment in the bor- ough. In 1839 it was sold by the Sheriff and bought by David Swain, who altered it into two dwelling houses now owned by Mrs. A. Weir Gilkeson and the Presby- terian Church, as a parsonage.
In 1790, the Rising Sun having been sold to the Bristol Mills for a private residence, John Baldwin petitioned the court for a license to keep a hotel on the opposite side of the street, now the Railroad House. I do not recollect the name of the hotel in its early days. In 1815 it was called the General Brown, after the distinguished Major General Brown, of the U. S. A., who was born in Bucks County, of Quaker parentage, in 1775.
In 1824 Gilbert Mitchell applied for license to keep a public house in the building torn down to make room for the Patton House (now Rommell Hotel), at the foot of Mill street. It was a failure and was closed by sheriff's sale in less than two years after it was licensed.
In 1838 Benjamin Blinn opened a temperance house in the building later occupied as the Cottage Hotel. It was short lived; like all other temperance hotels opened in Bucks County, it died for want of patronage. It was afterwards licensed and is now the Silbert House.
In 1854 Archibald Vanhorn petitioned the court for a license to keep a public house in Bath Street. There was a strong remonstrance against granting the license, but he succeeded and opened the Farmers' Hotel; in 1857 it was sold and is now occupied as a private residence.
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In 1857 William Earley applied to the court for license to open a public house on the corner of Mill and Bath Streets, to be called the Exchange Hotel, now the Clos- son House. There was a numerously signed remon- strance against granting the license, but he succeeded in making the court believe the hotel was necessary for the accommodation of the boatmen on the canal.
Since the year 1705, there has been established and licensed by the courts ten public hotels, the oldest of which is the Delaware House, originally George the Second, opened in 1765. The Bath, kept by Mr. Minick, as a boarding house, also had license to sell liquor.
The Fairs .- The charter of the borough authorized the holding of fairs; the time fixed was two days in the month of May, and three in October. They were to be under the direction of Burgess, and were held in Mar- ket and Cedar Streets. It was a great day in Bristol when the time arrived for opening the fairs. People of all classes and from all parts of the surrounding country, came to sell their wares and others to purchase and have a frolic. Booths were erected on Cedar and Market Streets by the borough and rented to persons having goods to sell. The young men came on horse back in their shirt sleeves with their sweethearts behind them, their coats tied behind the saddle, in which was a pair of thin-soled shoes for dancing. The girls wore two pairs of stockings, the inner pair were white and the outer ones of colored yarns to protect them from getting soiled. Previous to com- mencing a dance, the outer ones were taken off. There were several dance houses in that day, some of which were continued for many years. Negro slaves were allowed by their masters to attend on the last day of the fair, when they came together in droves and had a grand jubilee. The dances differed in those days from the pres- ent mode of skipping over the floor. Jigs, Virginia reels, hip seesaws and the grand old dance, huggin' snug, were the most prominent. Jigs were danced by two persons to the tune of the devil's hornpipe. Good dancers could repeat the tune with their feet. Huggin' snug was a dance in which eight persons were engaged, equally
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