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 7
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the president of the board of trustees, and foremost advo- cate of the new church enterprise, passed away. His death was a great blow to the church and his loss irreparable.
The ground for the new church was broken at 1.15 P. M., August 19, 1895. The first stone in the wall was placed September 17, 1895. The last coping to entrance to main auditorium, each side, was placed September 21, 1896. The corner stone was laid on Sunday afternoon, November 17, 1895, by the Presiding Elder Rev. S. W. Gehrett and the pastor, the Rev. C. H. Rorer. Services were held in the old church with regularity until April 5, 1896. The last communion service was held in the morning. Beginning with April 12, services were held in the lower room until July 12, 1896. On the evening of July 12, 1896, the Rev. Rorer preached the final sermon in the old church building. The dedication services be- gan on Sunday, October 25, 1896, and were continued nightly, concluding on the following Sunday. The church services had been held in the chapel from July 19, while the auditorium was being completed. At the end of his fourth year, the Rev. Rorer accepted a call from the Cumberland Street M. E. Church, of Philadelphia. Dur- ing his administration the church membership reached its high water mark, over 500 members being enrolled. The Rev. A. A. Arthur succeeded the Rev. Rorer. He found the church burdened with a bonded indebtedness of $17,000, and a floating debt of $3,800. The Rev. Arthur remained two years, but during his administration he col- lected $5,000, with which the floating debt was cancelled and a substantial payment made on account of the bonded debt. Under the administration of the Rev. Theo- dore Stevens, who followed the Rev. Arthur, the church debt was reduced to $14,000.
It was during the Rev. Stevens' administration that Miss Caroline Kinsey, the only surviving member of the Kinsey family, passed away. When her will was read, it was found that after making a few private bequests. she had bequeathed the bulk of her fortune, amounting to about $35,000, to the Bristol M. E. Church. Under the administration of the Rev. D. Mast Gordon, the legacy
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was paid to the church. The mortgage indebtedness was promptly cancelled, a fund of $10,000 was set aside and invested in first class securities, and the balance spent in repairs to the church and parsonage buildings, and the installation of a pipe organ in the church auditorium. The Rev. S. W. Gehrett, the present pastor, is now serv- ing his third year. During his adminstration the church roll has been revised and the records now show a mem- bership of 400. The church has active and energetic Chapters of the Senior and Junior Epworth Leagues and a Sunday School of 500 scholars. Bristol Methodism has produced many of our distinguished townsmen, among whom were: Jonathan Adams, Egbert Street, Jonathan Milnor, Jonathan Street, Joseph Foster, James Bruden, Squire William Hawke, the Hon. William Kinsey, J. Merrick Brown, Jacob S. Young and J. Wesley Wright.
A list of preachers in charge of Bristol since the circuit was established, compiled from annual conference min- utes, is herewith presented :
In 1788, William Dougherty ; 1789, Robert Kane; 1790, Robert Hutchinson; 1791, Gamaliel Bailey, Joseph Lovell; 1792, Simon Miller, Isaac Robinson ; 1793, N. B. Mills, E. Pelham, L. Rogers ; 1794, William Hunter, John Bateman ; 1795, William Hardesty, Joseph Rouen ; 1796, William Colbert, Joseph Whitely; 1797, Charles Caver- der, Richard Lyon; 1798, James Moore; 1799, Joseph Ebert; 1800, Anning Owen, James Osborn; 1801, W. P. Chandler, John Ledler; 1802, Thomas Everard, R. Mc- Coy, T. Jones; 1803, Henry Clark, John Bethel; 1804, David Bartine, David James; 1805, Asa Smith, Daniel Highbee; 1806, Asa Smith, William Hogan; 1807, John Walker, Richard Lyon; 1808, Thomas Dunn, James Polemus; 1809, D. Bartine, J. Akins, J. Stepless; 1810, J. Akins, W. S. Fisher, W. P. Chandler; 1811, Thomas Boring, William S. Fisher; 1812, Richard Smith, John Walker, John Fernon; 1813, T. Dimm, Charles Reed, James Polemus; 1814, Charles Reed, D. Bartine; 1815, William Torbet, William M. Foulke; 1816, Asa Smith, Daniel Ireland, P. Price; 1817, John Fox, Asa Smith ; 1818, John Robertson, John Price; 1819, Samuel Budd, John Price; 1820-1, Manning Force, Phineas Price ; 1822-
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23, Jacob Gruber, Daniel Fiddler; 1824, William Wil- liams, Thomas Davis; 1825, Edward Stout, James Grace ; 1826, Edward Stout, Joseph Carey ; 1827, Henry G. King, Robert Lutton; 1828, Henry G. King, J. B. Ayres; 1829, Thomas Neal, Nathaniel Clew ; 1830, Thomas Neal, Man- love Hazel; 1831, Edward Page, John Finley, James Long; 1832, Edward Page, Asbury Boring; 1833, D. Bar- tine, J. Nicolson ; 1834, D. Bartine, C. S. Wharton ; 1835, J. Woolston; 1836, D. W. Bartine, Jr., R. McNamee; 1837, D. W. Bartine, Jr., James Hand; 1838, Williamn Williams; 1839, William Gentner; 1840, John Ludnam, Wm. McMichael; 1841, R. Thomas, G. Allen; 1842, R. Thomas, J. Walsh; 1843-44, James Asprill; 1845-46, Thomas S. Johnson; 1847, G. D. Carrow; 1848, G. D. Carrow, L. K. Berridge; 1849-50, R. McNamee, W. Mc- Michael; 1851-52, William McCombs; 1853-54, M. H. Sisty ; 1855-56; J. F. Boone ; 1857-58, E. J. Way ; 1859-60. G. W. Maclaughlin; 1861-62, P. J. Coxe; 1863-64, A. Johns; 1865, William Barnes; 1866, J. H. Turner; 1867, H. Grove; 1868, E. C. Griffith; 1869-70, Wm. Rink; 1871- 72, Wm. Dalrymple ; 1873-1874, F. E. Church ; 1875-77, J. S. Cook; 1878-80, I. Cunningham ; 1881-83, H. E. Gilroy ; 1884-86, Wm. Ridgeway; 1887-90, Samuel Kemble; 1891- 94, Eli E. Burris ; 1895-98, Chas. H. Rorer; 1899-1900, A. A. Arthur; 1901-03, Theodore Stevens; 1904-07, D. Mast Gordon; 1908-10, the Rev. S. W. Gehrett.
Note .- Since the writing of this article, the Rev. S. W. Gehrett, D. D., has severed his relations with the church and retired from the active ministry. His successor is the Rev. E. W. Rushton, who entered upon his duties in March of this year, 19II.
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EPOCH IV.
THE PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION.
From 1775, the Beginning of the Revolutionary War, to 1783, the Close of the Revolutionary War.
Introduction .- The story of the American Revolution cannot be too often told. The wisdom and patriotism of the men who led the revolt against the British crown, and the courage and endurance of those who fought the battles of the colonies, have never been surpassed. Bucks County displayed its loyalty by sending its quota of men to strengthen the Patriot Army and the roster contains the names of many citizens of Bristol, some of whom laid down their lives upon the altar of patriotism, that America might be free. On three occasions the Continental Army, with Washington at its head, marched through our county to meet the enemy on historic fields, and in the trying period of December, 1776, it sought shelter on Bucks County soil behind the friendly waters of the Delaware. While our county was faithful to the cause of Independence, a considerable minority of her population remained loyal to the crown. When the war became inevitable, Bucks was one of the first counties to act. The 9th of July, 1774, Joseph Hart, John Kidd, Joseph Kirkbride, James Wallace, Henry Wynkoop, Samuel Foulke and John Wilkinson were appointed to represent Bucks at a meeting of all the county commit- tees to be held in Philadelphia, where Mr. Hart was chair- man of the committee that reported in favor of "a con- gress of deputies from all the colonies." On the 16th of
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January, 1775, a committee of safety was organized in Bucks County, in which was reposed, for the time being, the legislative and executive authority of the county.
Society of Friends Against the War .- The Society of Friends was against the war from the beginning, because strife and bloodshed were opposite to their religious tenets, but the authority of the fathers could not restrain the sons. A number of their young men gave open sympathy to the cause of the colonies, and some entered the mili- tary service. The meeting "dealt with" all who forsook the faith, and the elders of Richland were visited with ecclesiastical wrath for turning their backs upon King George. We must do the society justice, however, to say that it was consistent in its action, and that the same censure was launched against the martial Quaker, whether he entered the ranks of the king or the colonies. Nevertheless the society did not forget the needs of charity, and down to April, 1776, they had already dis- tributed £3,900, principally in New England, and Falls monthly meeting authorized subscriptions for the suffer- ing inhabitants of Philadelphia.
Bristolians Captured at Fort Washington .- When congress authorized an army, among those who entered the military service from this county was Alexander Grayden, of Bristol, a captain in Shee's regiment, who was made prisoner at Fort Washington. Colonel Robert Magaw, of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, recruited a number of his men in this county, some of whom were from Bristol, and the roll of his killed and captured at Fort Washington gives the names of several Bristolians, as follows. John Prestley, lieutenant; John Murray, ser- geant; John Stevens, private; Thomas Bell, private; Joshua Carrigan, private, died in prison; Robert Frame, private, died in prison; Joseph Bratton, private; Daniel Kenedy, sergeant.
Prisoners of War Held at Bristol .- General Mont- gomery, while on his bold but unfortunate expedition against Quebec, in the winter of 1775, captured Fort St. Jean, which was situated on the Richelieu River, which
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connects Lake Champlain with the St. Lawrence. The fort was garrisoned by 400 men of the Seventh Fusiliers of the British Army, Major Prestor, a detachment of the Twenty-sixth, and 150 Canadian Militia, all French, from Montreal, only thirty miles distant. The garrison held out for forty-five days, but finally were starved and worried into an unconditional surrender. The command- er-in-chief of the French Auxiliaries, the Sieur de Roque- maure, would not surrender to the Americans, but com- mitted suicide by jumping over a precipice. The men were held prisoners at several points in New York State, and the officers distributed among various towns in New York and Pennsylvania, some being held at Bristol, Lan- caster, Easton and other points. The prisoners going to Bristol were sent from Albany, N. Y., by way of Easton in sleighs and suffered greatly from the intense cold. Among the prisoners sent to Lancaster was Lieutenant John Andre, of the Seventh, who eight years subse- quently, was induced to enter the American lines in dis- guise, and as a consequence suffered death as a spy. The twenty ment sent to Bristol were drawn from among the first citizens of Montreal. The names of these twenty "officers and gentlemen," as they were styled by the authorities of the day, and as reported from the office of the Adjutant General and from the Archwest of Canada were as follows :
Lieutenant Colonel The Chevalier Picote de Beletre, Major De Longwell and ten captains: Messeurs Cham- bault, Du Chenay, Du Tbinure, Havieux, Gamilon, Lot- biniere, De Boucherville, De La Valtrie, De Rowville, d' Eschambault ; First Lieutenants The Chevalier Hertil and Messeurs La Madelaine, Lac Schmith, De la Marque, Saint Ours, De Musseau, Fleuriment, De Ruisseaux.
The prisoners at Bristol had the liberty of the town and surrounding country, and fully complied with the re- quirements of their parole and remained at Bristol until exchanged about one year after their capture. The town of Bristol, a village of fifty dwellings, had a resident population of less than 300, consequently the billeting here of a body of Frenchmen equal to one-fifteenth of the
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population of the town, was a marked event, and if they were representative of their vivacious nation, they must have made it interesting for the demure Quaker girls of the village and countryside. (From writings by Captain Burnett Landreth.)
Washington Decides to Retreat .- The campaign of 1776 was disastrous to the American arms. Washington announced to congress, the Ist of December, his contem- plated retreat across the Delaware, and asked that the Pennsylvania militia be ordered toward Trenton, and the boats collected on the west side of the river. Four regi- ments of the Pennsylvania militia had been organized and Bristol furnished its quota of men. About the same time, Washington sent forward Colonel Hampton to collect all the boats and other craft along the Delaware, and General Putnam was ordered to construct rafts of the lumber at Trenton landing, while another party was sent up the river to collect all the boards and scantling on or near the river banks. Congress and the local authorities were thoroughly alarmed at the approach of the enemy. The arms of non-associators were collected to prevent them being used against the Americans, the militia were ordered to reinforce Washington and the owners of cattle were directed to be ready to remove them at least five miles from the river.
The Continental Army Enters Bucks County .- Wash- ington, with the main body of the army, reached Tren- ton the 3rd of December, and the heavy stores and bag- gage were immediately removed to this side. He crossed over with his rear guard on Sunday morning, the 8th, and his troops were stationed opposite the crossings. The enemy came marching down to the river about eleven o'clock, the same morning, expecting to cross, but were much disappointed when they found the boats had been removed to the west bank. They made demonstrations to cross above and below, including a night march to Coryell's ferry, but their attempts failed. The hostile armies now lay facing each other across the Delaware, and the cause of Independence was saved.
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General Cadwalader's Army Encamped at Bristol .- Washington's next care was to guard the fords and crossings of the river to prevent the passage of the enemy. General Dickinson guarded the river from Bordentown to Yardleyville, General Cadwalader, with 3,000 men was posted at Bristol, and Colonel Nixon's regiment was at Dunk's ferry. Small redoubts were thrown up at various points, and each detachment was supplied with artillery. The general instructions to the troops were, if driven from their positions to retreat to the strong ground near Germantown. The depot of supplies was fixed at New- town, the county seat, because it was central, removed from the river, and easy of access from all points. The days following the retreat of the American army from New Jersey were stirring and eventful ones in the quiet little town of Bristol. The old Buckley house, which stood on Radcliffe Street, on the site now occupied by the residences of Haltzel and Nesbit, was used as a bake house for the soldiers of General Cadwalader's army. The little one-story frame church built by the Episcopalians, but then unusued and in partial decay, was occupied as a hostelry by the staff officers of the American general. The old Friends meeting house, at the corner of Wood and Market Streets, was converted into a hospital and some of the soldiers who died were buried in a cemetery known as the Baptist plot, located on Otter Street on the site where Mohican Hall now stands. The inhabi- tants lived in momentary fear of attack by the enemy. All that could be spared was given to clothe and feed the half-starved and poorly clad soldiers; the martial spirit prevailed everywhere. Radcliffe Street was alive with soldiers at most hours of the day and night, coming down to the George the Second Hotel, now the Delaware House; often the muffled roll of the drum was heard, as the body of some poor unfortunate patriot was borne to its last resting place ; and thus the days passed until the arrival of that memorable Christmas night, when Wash- ington, by his intrepid assault on the Hessians at Tren- ton, kindled anew the fires of patriotism and instilled re- newed hopes into the American hearts.
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Washington Plans to Attack the Hessians at Trenton. At what time Washington first conceived the plan of recrossing the river to attack the Hessians is not known. While the troops of Gates and Sullivan had increased his force sufficient to make the attempt, we are told he could yet find but 2,400 fit for the service. All the preparations were quietly made; the troops were selected and put in readiness, and a few days before Christmas, boats were collected at Knowles' cove, two miles above Taylors- ville. Bancroft says that Washington wrote the watch- word : "Victory or Death," on the 23rd, and he writes to Colonel Reed about that time : "Christmas day, at night, one hour before day, is the time fixed upon for our attack on Trenton." The troops selected were those of New England, Pennsylvania and Virginia. General Cad- walader was to co-operate below Bristol, by crossing and attacking the enemy's post at Mount Holly. The men were provided with three days' cooked rations and forty rounds of ammunition.
The Destiny of the Country Hung By a Single Thread. -While Washington was making his final preparations to strike, everything was pleasant and serene within the enemy's lines. The Hessians spent a merry Christmas at Trenton and the officers were invited to spend the eve- ning at the house of Abraham Hunt, a suspected Tory, where they made a night of it. A surprise by the de- moralized Continentals had never been thought of and no precautions were taken against it. General Grant, at Princetown, had heard of the intended attack and advised Rahle, but the latter treated it with indifference. During the evening a Bucks County tory crossed the river with a note to the Hessian commander, informing him of the attack on the morrow, but he was too busy just then to attend to such matters, and when it was handed to him, the note was put into his pocket, where it was found, unopened, after his death. On what a slender thread hung the destinies of the country !
The Battle of Trenton .- The troops left their camps about 3 P. M., the afternoon of the 25th of December,
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and late in the day reached the place of rendezvous, at the mouth of Knowles' Creek, where the crossing was to be made, and near which a house still stands which shows marks of its occupancy by the soldiers on this memorable occasion. The morning was clear and cold, but the night set in stormy with sleet; it commenced to snow about eleven, and the river ran strong with ice. At 6 P. M., Washington wrote Cadwalader at Bristol, that, as the night 'is favorable," he was determined to "cross the river and make the attack on Trenton in the morning." The troops commenced crossing about sun- set, and it was three in the morning before they were all over, with the artillery. The troops, after crossing, were formed on the bank of the river into two divisions and put in march, Washington accompanied by Sterling, Greene, Mercer and Stephen, taking the upper, while Sul- livan led the right column on the river road. General Cadwalader and his army at Bristol, attempted to cross the river as instructed by Washington, but were pre- vented by the floating ice, although they did not desist in the attempt until 4 o'clock in the morning. The battle of Trenton is familiar to all. The attack was made by Washington, to which there was but a feeble resistance, and the fruits of the morning's work was 1,040 prisoners, rank and file, twenty-three officers, 1,000 stands of arms and several cannon. The army, with the prisoners, re- crossed the river that afternoon, and the next day the captured Hessians were at Newtown, the officers quar- tered at the taverns, and the soldiers confined in the church and jail. Washington remained at Newtown until the 29th, when he recrossed the river with the same troops he had with him on the 26th, and inaugurated the skillful campaign that nearly relieved New Jersey of the enemy.
Camp of Instruction at Bristol .- The active scenes of warfare were now removed from our county. During the spring and summer several calls were made upon the Bucks County militia. In April a camp of instruction was located at Bristol and the town and county furnished 500 men.
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Continental Army Again Enters Bucks County .- When the British sailed south from New York, in July, 1777, the Continental army again crossed the Delaware into Bucks County. The bulk of the army was put in march down the York Road the morning of the 3Ist of July. Washington setting out for Philadelphia at the same time, it is possible he passed through Bristol, for we find him at Philadelphia on the 3rd of August, whence he joined the army at Germantown before the 6th. On the supposition that the enemy had returned to New York, the army retraced its steps, and remained en- camped on the Neshaminy hills thirteen days, until it was known the enemy was about to land at the head of the Elk. The army was again put in motion the morning of the 23d, and the next day marched through the city and across the Schuylkill to meet the enemy upon the dis- astrous field of Brandywine.
Lafayette Wounded, Brought to Bristol. - The approach of the British caused great consternation in this section of the state, which was greatly increased by Washington's defeat at Brandywine, and the fall of Philadelphia. Lafayette, who was wounded at Brandy- wine, was taken by the way of Chester and Philadelphia to Bristol, enroute to Bethlehem. At Bristol, he stayed over night at the house of Simon Betz, known as the "Buckley House," which stood on the site of the Haltzell and Nesbitt residences on Radcliffe Street, facing the Delaware River, between Penn and Franklin Streets, where he was waited upon by a Mrs. Charles Bessonett, a niece of Betz. This house was erected at a very early date, probably 1735. In writing about this dwelling in 1853, Wm. Bache says: "This old edifice long and familiarly known as the 'Willis House,' is still standing, in the garden of which, on the opposite side of the street, stand the two beautiful Gothic residences of Daniel P. Forst and Samuel Swain, Jr. The old 'Buckley House' was used as a bake house for the American soldiery while quartered here. Although in a dilapidated condition, the main edifice is still tenanted. (1853.)" On the following morning, Lafayette was conveyed to his destination up
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the Durham Road, stopping at Attleborough, and Stoffel Wagner's tavern, built in 1752, a mile from Hellertown.
Bristol Captured by the British .- During the British occupancy of Philadelphia the country between the Schuylkill and the Delaware was debatable ground, and was traversed by armed parties of both armies. The enemy made frequent incursions into Bucks County. Wm. Bache gives the following interesting account of such an incursion into Bristol: "The building on the east corner of Otter and Mill Streets was a guard house during the Revolutionary War, and Bristol, having raised a com- pany of militia, they had their armory in a small brick building then attached to the same house which was torn away and the house remodeled in 1852. This company had a cannon planted at the forks of the road, and they kept sentries posted at night, etc. A detachment of loyalists who had gone over to the British cause, de- termined to capture the town, and a party of light horse- men were detailed for the purpose. They arrived at the ford now called Flushing Mills, below Newportville, in the night, and secreted themselves under cover of the trees and bank of the creek, until the booming of the morning gun announced that the last sentry had retired from his post; when, muffling their horses' feet, they smartly pursued their course to the town, and found its inhabitants all fast asleep. They quickly placed a guard at the door of each house of any apparent importance, and forced the occupants from their beds, many of them not even allowed time to dress, and marshalled them in a line in front of the guard house, at the corner of Otter and Mill Streets. Here they were allowed to send for clothing and finish dressing. One fellow, an ensign in the company, attempted to escape by running away across the meadow, which was then banked in, but which is now a marsh at the mouth of Mill Creek. He was pur- sued by a horseman, who, on nearing him, ordered him to stop, which order not being obeyed, was unceremoniously enforced by a sabre cut upon the head. A townsman living in the house attached to the Mill property on Mill Street, which was demolished many years ago, was
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aroused in the morning by some one calling at the door that the British had possession of the town, which he did not believe, thinking that some of the family were trying to amuse themselves at his expense. In a few minutes an axe came flying through the door, making the splinters fly in every direction, when he, without stopping to dress, and rushing to the foot of the stairs, saw that the only chance for escape was by dodging under the horse's neck, which attempting, the horseman made a stroke at him with his sword, which luckily took effect in the top of the post attached to the steps, splitting it some six inches or more. The captain of the militia company, whom they most wanted, they were not able to find, he being secreted in the garret of an old frame house at the corner of Bath and Mill Streets. After getting all the principal citizens they could find, they took them as prisoners of war to Philadelphia; no one but the ensign being hurt, nor were any depredations of much account committed. The prisoners were there detained some two or three months and then released. Among those taken from here were Edward Church, an infirm old man and pious Friend; Richard Gosline, Thomas Broom, John Green and Levi Douglass."
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