USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Gwynedd > Historical collections relating to Gwynedd, a township of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, settled, 1696, by immigrants from Wales, with some data referring to the adjoining township, of Montgomery, also settled by Welsh > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
1 This was a geographical error. The mill was situated at Spring Mill (as now known) in Whitemarsh.
287
THE EARLY ROADS.
The jury on this were William Harman, Matthew Holgate, Rowland Ellis, jr., Richard Jones, John Rhodes, and Thomas Stroud, who laid out the road from the meeting-house, at Gwyn- edd, to the mill on the Schuylkill-now Spring mill-owned then by Anthony Morris and Robert Jones ; and from the mill eastward to the Perkiomen road, at a point just below where the village of Barren Hill now is. They made their return to June sessions, 1716, giving the courses and distances, "beginning at a corner tree of Robert Evans's land, about 15 perches north-east from the said Gwynedd meeting-house." The first half-dozen of courses and distances are as follows : "South 12º w., 440 p. ; s. 45° w., 30 p .; s. 12º w., 500 p .; s. 28° w., 130 p .; s. 45° w., 138 p .; s. 13º e., 80 p .; s. 4° e., 52 p .; " etc., etc.
The location of this road did not, it appears, give universal satisfaction. At the same sessions,-June, 1716,-a remon- strance was presented from a resident of Gwynedd, as follows :
The petition of David Jones, of Gwynedd,' in the county of Philadel- phia, humbly sheweth : That inasmuch as by force and virtue of a late order of court for a road to be laid out for the use and service of Robert Jones and Anthony Morris in Whitemarsh, your petitioner, upon the laying out of the same is much damnified and discommoded by so dividing and parceling one hundred acres of land, the tract of your petitioner, that he, your said qetitioner must unavoidably leave his settlement except relieved by this honorable court, which it's presumed may be easily done by carry- ing the said road to the line a few perches off, which when done the same may be as commodious without either damnifying your petitioner or any other to his knowledge. There is another road laid out by Thomas Fair- man about 10 or 12 years ago, that goes through part of my land without so much damnifying me, which said road is now turned, to my consider- able damage, to save discommoding the large tracts of others, but I am
1 David Jones owned the farm, now [1884] Eliza S. Davis's, on the Plymouth road, by the Wissahickon. A draft of the road, among the files of the Court, shows his house located on the east or lower side of the road, and it is probable that this crossed the Wissahickon above the present bridge, and nearer to the State road.
288
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF GWYNEDD. .
ready and willing the old road should be continued, and to allow more land to enlarge it, if required.
At the same time a remonstrance was presented from White- marsh township concerning the location of roads "to and from Robert Jones's mill to divers points in this county," and espe- cially representing that one " from his mill up to the great road that goes to Whitemarsh mill and so thence to town " was solely for Robert Jones's private benefit, and would be very expensive to the township. Upon this Abraham Dawes, Isaac Dilbeck, John Ball, Thomas Strod, John Hank, and John Nicholls were appointed. The court, however, received at the same sessions the report of the original jury, and approved it, as appears by the following record :
Pursuant to an order of Court held for this City and County last March, wherein it was ordered that we should view and lay out certain roads lead- ing from North Wales and adjacent settlements to Plymouth, thence to Robert Jones's mill, and so to the road leading from Perkioming to Phila- delphia ; which said roads, after view and Consideration thereof [we] think convenient to make return of the same according to the several courses and distances and a draft of the whole hereunto annexed. (Signed by William Harman, Matthew Holgate, Rowland Ellis, jun., Richard Jones, John Rhodes, Thomas Stroud.)
Which is confirmed by the court. The mill is to be at the charge of cutting the Road from the mill to the great road, and after cut to be main- tained as other roads are.
But it seems that general acquiescence was not given to the location of the road, even after it had been formally located by the court, and the following report was filed at the December sessions, 1716 :
Thomas Ellis, Constable of Whitpain Township, presents John Hunts- man and Edward Endehaven for stopping up the great road laid out from Gwynedd meeting-house to Plymouth meeting-house, and to Anthoney Mor- ris and Robert Jones his mill, which said road was laid out and allowed by
289
THE EARLY ROADS.
all the Inhabitants of the Township the same runns thro' ye said Hunts- man and Endehaven [and they] have this fall plowed and sowed their land. and fenced in the said road and still refuse to open the same tho' often thereunto required.
At the December sessions, 1717, the following petition was presented :
To the Honorable the Justices at the County Court of Quarterly Ses- sions, held at Philadelphia the 2d day of December, 1717. The petition of the subscribers, Inhabitants of the Township of Montgomery and the parts adjacent humbly sheweth : That your petitioners and others the neighboring inhabitants are very much incommoded for want of a road from Montgomery aforesaid to the great road from the Township of Gwyn- edd to Philadelphia, wherefore [they suggest that a convenient one to meet- ing and market would be] beginning at the plantation of Theophilus Wil- liams and now thence as near as may be on a direct course to John Hum- phrey's Bridge on the great road aforesaid. [The signers of this petition are as follows :]
John Williams,
John Roberts,
Joseph Bate,
Evan Griffith,
George Lewis,
Theophilus Williams,
Griffith Hugh,
William Williams,
Morris Davis,
Rowland Roberts,
William Story,
Jenkin Evans,
John David,
Richard Lewis,
Cadwallader Morris.
David Hugh,
Francis Dawes,
William Morgan,
John Johnson,
Garatt Petterson,
John Bartholomew.
The court thereupon appointed as a jury of view : David Potts, William Harmer, Isaac Knight, Morris Morris, Toby Leech, jun., and Humphrey Bates, who at the March sessions, 1717, made the following return :
And now here at this day, viz., at the Sessions of the Peace of our Lord the King held at Philadelphia, came the aforesaid [jury just named] and return that pursuant to an order of Court bearing date the second day of December, anno 1717, for the laying out a road from Theophilus Wil- liams's plantation thro' the township of Montgomery to the great road from Gwynedth to Philadelphia, they had laid out the said road : Beginning at a hickory tree standing on the bank of Neshaminy Creek, in Theophilus Williams's land, thence s. 19º e., 20 p .; s. 30° e., 120 p .; s. 12º e., 70 p .;
290
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF GWYNEDD.
s. 5º w., 46 p .; s. 3º w., 124 p .; s. 40° e., 72 p .; s. 190 p .; s. 24° e., 100 p .; s. 11º e., IIO p .; s. 24º e., 360 p .; s. 4° w., 486 p .; s. 16° w., 90 p .; s. 56° w., 48 p., to the Gwynedth road about 8 perches to the south- ward of a bridge on the Gwynedth road commonly called John Humphrey's bridge. Which said road is by this Court confirmed.
A draft of the road thus laid out is among the court files. It shows the beginning squarely from the bank of the creek, the course generally southward, until in the last course it bears sharply westward and comes into the Gwynedd road nearly at a right angle. It is, obviously, the old road, which the present Spring-House and Hilltown turnpike substantially follows.
At the December sessions, 1721, there is the following record :
Upon the petition of Rowland Hughes and Robert Humphreys of the township of Gwynedth, setting forth the necessity of a road to be laid out from their plantations to the great road leading to Philadelphia by a school- house lately erected' by their neighborhood, which said road might be laid out thro' the partition lines without detriment to any person. [The court appointed as a jury :] Edward Farmer, Rowland Ellis, Everard Bolton, Toby Leech, jr., Humphrey Ball [Bate ?], and John Jones, carpenter, or some four of them. [The petition of Hugh and Humphrey, on the files of the court, recites that they " being of late debarr'd of a direct road from their habitations to the great road from Philadelphia to and through Gwyn- edd aforesaid "-"inasmuch as several of the neighbourhood in conjunc- tion with your petitioners have erected a school-house upon the great road aforesaid,"-they desire a road from Robert Humphrey's " by the said school-house."]
At the September sessions, 1723, " divers of the inhabitants of the Townships of North Wales and Horsham " asked a road "from the corner of Ephraim Heaton's field to Horsham meet- ing-house," whereupon the court appointed John Cadwalader, John Evans, John Humphrey, Rowland Hugh, Thomas Iredell,
1 This is the first evidence I have of a school in the township.
291
THE EARLY ROADS.
Sampson Davis, or any four of them, a jury. December, 1723, they reported that on November 27th, " with the assistance of a surveyor " (Peter Taylor) they laid it out, " Beginning at or in the North Wales road, near the corner of the said Ephraim Heaton's field, thence e. 1412º n., 440 p .; e. 14º n., 144 p .; thence s. e. along Fisher's line, 208 p .; thence e. 5º s., 92 p., to Hor- sham meeting-house." Which report the court confirmed, nisi. At the March sessions, 1727 :
Upon the petition of several of the inhabitants of the county of Phila- delphia [representing their want of roads] to places of Worship, Mills, and Market, [and asking] a road to be laid out, beginning at or near a creek by John Jones' house, in the upper part of Gwynedth township and turn off at the Great Road through some part of the said John Jones' land to the Susquehannah Road or Line, six or seven miles along the same and running partly by the meeting-house and Garret Clement's mill to a branch of Perkyoming Creek ; [the Court ordered that] Henry Penebecker, John Jones, of North Wales, John Newberry, William Harmar, Peter Wence, and William Roberts, or any four of them, do view and judge if there be occasion for the road petitioned for, and if one road can be laid out to ac- commodate the said petitioners and those of Skippack who now petition for a road from a branch of the Perkyoming to the said Skippack Road, and if they judge that there is necessity for a road " [then to lay it out, etc. ].
The original petition referred to in this record remains on file. It is signed mainly by residents in Towamencin, thirty names altogether. Nearly half sign in German, and some of these are undecipherable. As far as can be made out they are as follows :
Jacob Gaedtschalck, Gaetschalck Gaetschalck,
Joseph Lucken,
John Edwards,
Carl Ludwig Raeber,
hendry hendricks,
Jacob Hill,
Andreas Schwartz,
William Nash,
Christopher Buhler,
Nicholas Enser,
Herman Gaedschalck,
Hans Lebo,
Chr. Meyer,
Abraham Lucken,
Gabriel Beyer,
Christian Breneman.
Hugh Evan,
John Lucken,
Christian Kuntzig,
The jury made their return to the June court [1728], that they had laid out a road, " Beginning at the Beech Tree near the
292
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF GWYNEDD.
North Branch of Parkyoming ; thence n. 76º e. 48 perches, thence s. e. 262 p., thence s. 22º e. 52 p., thence s. 25° e. 90 p., thence [by eleven courses] to Skippack creek, thence s. 67º e. 26 p., thence s. e. 424 p., to Hugh Evan's fence ; thence e. 16 p., thence s. 12º e. 18 p., thence s. e. 219 p., thence s. 40° e. 146 p., thence s. 62º e. 150 p. to the great road going along by John John's at North Wales to Philadelphia." Which report the court confirmed, nisi.
At the June Sessions, 1728, there was presented the fol- lowing :
The petition of the subscribers Inhabitants of Montgomery and the adjacent parts, on behalf of themselves and others, humbly sheweth : That your petitioners and others having long labored under divers difficul- ties and inconveniences occasioned by the want of a legally established road leading to public places of Worship, Markett & Mill are by necessity constrained to make application [for a road] leading fromiand beginning at the Bucks County line in the Line dividing the Lands now or late of An- drew Hamilton and Thomas Shute and running along the said Division Line and then taking and running along the line dividing the lands of John Roberts [black]-smith, and Garrett Peters, to Gwynedd meeting-house and answering (in a straight line) the road leading thence directly to Robert Jones and Anthony Morris his mill. [Signed by :]
Joseph Naylor,
Samuel Thomas,
Jno. Bartholomew,
Thomas Reess,
Theophilus Williams,
Griffe Hugh,
Griffith Evans,
John David,
James Davies,
George Shoumaker,
John Williams,
David Evans,
daniel Kirk [?]
William Morgan,
David Johns,
John Richard,
Evan Steven,
Joseph Eaton,
Thomas Edward,
Garet Peters,
Rowland Roberts,
Daniel Williams,
John Jones,
Th. Bartholomew,
Richard Williams,
John Robert,
Joseph Ambler.
Upon this petition the Court appointed Rowland Hugh, Robert Humphrey, Humphrey Jones, George Lewis, Evan Griffith, and Rees Harry a jury. They made their report (signed by all but Harry) to the September Court, stating that they had
-
293
THE EARLY ROADS.
surveyed a road on the 19th of 6th month (August), and located it as follows :
From Bucks County line, beginning at a black oak in the said line, thence s. 44° w. along a straight line 316 p., dividing the lands of Andrew Hamilton and Thomas Shute, thence s. 63º w. 18 p. to a black oak ; thence upon a straight line s. 44° w. 140 p., thence s. 67º w. 72 p .; thence s. 44° w. along a straight line 360 p., dividing the lands of John Bartholomew and Rowland Roberts, John Roberts [black]-smith, and Garrett Peterson ; thence s. 3º e. 196 p .; thence s. 44° w. 174 p. ; thence s. 15° w. 55 p .; thence s. 45° w. Io p .; thence s. 3º w. 80 p .; thence s. 25° w. 30 p., falling into the great road by Gwynedd meeting-house, answering the end of the road that leads to Robert Jones's and Anthony Morris's mill.
This return the Court confirmed, nisi. A draft submitted with the report shows that Andrew Hamilton's land in Mont- gomery (he owned also on the Bucks side of the county line), lay along the lower side of the new road, with Shute's land on the upper side. The end of the road at Gwynedd meeting-house met directly the road to Plymouth, and so formed a cross-roads with the " great road " running upward through Gwynedd.
At the September Court, 1731, was presented the following :
We ye inhabitants of the Township of Montgomery and others near joyning,' Humbly petition : Whereas there is a road Lately laid out and confirmed at the last court of Quarter Sessions held at Newtown for ye County of Bucks, beginning at James David's corner on ye county Line and thence Leading to pine Run mills2 and to Buckingham meeting-house, which road will be very usefull to us and those near us in the County of Bucks in order to pass & Repass to ye said pine run mills and also to mar- kett and to have intercourse between several places of worship. [They therefore ask] an order to extend ye said road into this township from ye
1 The majority of the signers, Edward Mathews says (private letter to the author) , were residents of New Britain township. One of them, Simon Mathews, was the first of the family here. He came in 1712, and bought land of James Steel, between Chal- font and New Britain station, in 1720.
2 Pine Run mills stood where the village of Chalfont now is.
294
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF GWYNEDD.
county line as far as ye great road and to fall into the same by or near Isaac James's corner, and to branch out somewhere near Isaac James, as may be thought most convenient to lead to ye Baptist meeting-house in this township. [Signed by]
Thomas James,
Jno. Davis,
Thomas Rees,
Evan Steven,
Thomas Lewis,
Thomas John,
David Stevens,
David James,
Joseph Naylor,
William George,
Griffith Hugh,
John Roberts,
Simon Mathews,
Joseph Eaton,
George Lewis,
William Morgan,
Thos. Bartholomew,
Richard Lewis,
Benj. Griffith,
James David,
William Williams,
Griffith Owen,
Simon Butler,
Samuel Thomas,
Isaac Evan,
William Thomas,
Joseph Ambler.
Upon this petition the Court appointed John Jones, carpen- ter, John David, of Plymouth, Theophilus Williams, Joseph Bates, David Evans, and Jenkin Evans a jury, who reported at Decem- ber Court, and presented a good draft of their road, showing not only its courses and distances, but the land-holders on each side, and even the topographical features. The road ended by " com- ing into the great road at Isaac James's corner," but a branch from a point east of this ran up to the Baptist meeting-house.
Up to 1734, the road to Plymouth supplied the only public way to the Schuylkill. In June, 1734, a petition was presented to the Court for a road from the Swedes' Ford to North Wales meeting-house, and a jury, consisting of Reese Williams, Row- land Hugh, Robert Rogers, Richard Thomas, Hugh Jones, and Job Pugh, reported a road at the September session ; but Isaac Norris, who owned a large part of the present township of Nor- riton, and borough of Norristown, strenuously objected that it would damage his property, " cutting asunder the best part of his tract," and a review was ordered, which seems to have had the effect of postponing any definite action. In September, 1737, however, a new petition was presented, which said that several roads from Bucks county now led to North Wales meeting-house,
295
THE EARLY ROADS.
but that to get from there to the Swedes' Ford, the way was very roundabout, making it inconvenient for travelers, as well as resi- dents. John Bartholomew, George Lewis, David Evans, Jona- than Potts, Jonathan Robeson, and Abraham Dawes were appointed a jury, and reported at the March term, 1738, their road being thus described :
Beginning at a hickory tree standing near the landing of the Swedes Ford, on the south west side of the river Schuylkill, thence n. 31º e. 33 P. to a stump, standing at the landing on the n. e. side of Schuylkill, thence the same course, n. 31º e., on Norris's land, 59 p. to a road leading to Norris's Mills, thence n. 59º w., along the aforesaid road 160 p. to a stake, thence n. 19° e., along Norris's land, 280 p. to a line of Samuel Evan's land, thence n. e. along a line between the said Evans, Edward Farmer, and Aaron Roberts, 136 p. to a corner of said Evans's land, thence n. 24° e., 71 p. to a corner of Roger Pugh's land, thence n. e. along the line di- viding the lands of Roger Pugh, Norris, and Robert Rogers, 196 p. to a stake, thence n. 61º e. along Robert Rogers's and Norris's land, 138 p. to Manatawny road, thence n. e. by a line of Cadwallader Evan's land, 44 p. to said Evan's corner, thence n. 65º e. along land leased of Ellis Ellis, and part of Whitpaine's tract, 222 p. to a small sapling in a line of George Fitzwater's land, thence n. e. along line dividing the said George Fitz- water's, Thomas Fitzwater's, and Whitpaine's tract, 406 p. to a white oak standing near Skippack road, thence the same course along the line of Peter Indehaven, Henry Levering, Daniel Levering, Samuel Linderman, and Jacob Levering, 404 p. to a stake ; thence n. 14° w. through Jacob Levering's and Ellis Pugh's lands 106 p. to a stake in the line dividing Evan Evans' and the aforesaid Pugh's land, thence n. e. along the line of the said Evan Evans, Ellis Pugh, Thomas Evans, William Roberts, Owen Evans, and Margaret Evans, 464 p. to North Wales road, thence s. 52º e. along the said road 84 p. to North Wales meeting-house, being in all 8 miles, 243 p.
Which said road is by this court confirmed, and the Overseers of the High Ways are Ordered by this Court to open the same, according to law, for a public use.
In 1737 the Court granted a private road, to be laid out 20 feet wide, to enable the settlers about Penllyn to reach "the
.
296
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF GWYNEDD.
great road," on their way to Philadelphia. It was laid out, " be- ginning at a stone in the line of Edward Foulke, jun., thence n. e. between his lands and Lewis Williams's, 74 perches, then on L. W.'s land s. e., joining the land of Thomas David, 96 perches to a black oak near the line, then same course on Thomas David's land, to the far corner of the grave-yard, then on the line between Thomas David and Lewis Williams, and between Thomas David and Evans Roberts, s. e. 126 perches to the great road near the school-house."
What " the grave-yard " was I do not know,-probably a family burial-place. The school-house is no doubt the same referred to previously in the petition of Rowland Hugh, and it must have stood on " the great road," -- the present turnpike,- well down toward the Upper Dublin line.1
The Plymouth road was reviewed, in 1751, by a jury consist- ing of William Dewees, Archibald McClean, Peter Robison, Joseph Waln, Rees Harry, and Wickard. Miller, the line varying considerably in the upper courses from the road laid out in 1716. Their road began " at Spring Mill door," and ran by 30 courses and distances, by Plymouth meeting-house, the Dutch church land (Boehm's), to Wissahickon creek, and " North Wales road near the meeting-house." The whole length of the road was 9 miles, 7 perches ; from Plymouth m. h. to North Wales m. h., 7 miles, 24 perches.
The road from Spring-House to Boehm's Church (intersect- ing the Plymouth road at the latter point) was laid out in the spring of 1760 by John Trump, Benjamin Davids, John Potts, Peter Cleaver, and Charles Jolly, and the same jury at the same time laid out the township-line road between Gwynedd and
! Probably near where the present public school stands,-the "Dagers'," or the old "lower eight-square."
297
THE EARLY ROADS.
Whitpain, from the present State road down to the Upper Dublin line. The road from Boehm's is thus described :
Beginning near a stone spring-house1 in Gwynedd road ; thence ex- tending south-west 331 perches on a line between Evan Evans, Elizabeth Davis, and Hannah [Hannaniah ?] Pugh on the one side, [and] John Evans and Edward Foulke on the other side ; thence, South 75° West, 60 perches to the end of William Foulke's lane ; thence, South 69º West, 32 perches along said Foulke's lane ; thence, South 58° West, 25 perches to William Foulke's house ; thence, South 48° West, 50 perches to said Foulke's Mill ; thence, South 84° West, 68 perches through the land of William Foulke, and the land of John Roberts, to a stake ; thence, South-west, 148 perches on a line between John Roberts' and Richard Thomas's land ; thence, South 15° West, 55 perches through the lands of John Roberts and John Lewis ; thence, South-west, 140 perches on a line between John Lewis, James Brown, Charles Cress, and Philip Duder, into a road leading from Gwynedd to Plymouth, near a Dutch meeting-house.
[So much of interest as to ownership of land, location of places, etc., etc., is disclosed by a study of the road records, that I regret that I am unable to devote more space to this chapter. The most important roads in the township have now mostly been accounted for. ]
1 Here we have the origin of the name of the present village, " the Spring-House." There was no tavern at this place until 1763, or thereabout. But the spring was well known from the time of the first settlement. In 1709 John Humphrey, whose tract adjoined, secured of Robert Evans the right to use "a certain fountain or flowing spring of water, together with the free and undisturbed benefit of said spring, with a foot-path to and from it over the said Robert Evan's land." A stone house over it had been built, as shown above, between 1709 and 1760. It is on the property now (1896) owned by Isaac Hallowell, in the rear of his store, at Spring-House.
XVII.
Early Settlers in Montgomery.
T T HE first settlers in Montgomery were, like those in Gwynedd, immigrants from Wales, and their arrival fol- lowed hard upon that of the company who bought Turner's tract. The Montgomery lands had been held by a number of speculative purchasers, none of whom had made a settlement. Among these were William Stanley, an Englishman, who had a warrant from Penn, so early as 1683, for 5,000 acres ; Richard Pierce, whose warrant was for 500 acres ; and Thomas Fairman, the Philadelphia surveyor, who had title for a large tract. In March, 1699, Alexander Edwards purchased of Fairman 1, 100 acres,1 and probably moved to it soon after. He was a Welsh- man, and had lived in Radnor, Chester (now Delaware) county, where in 1692 his daughters Bridget and Jane had respectively married, under the oversight of Haverford monthly meeting, Griffith Miles and James James, both " of Radnor."
Alexander Edwards was certainly one of the first settlers, and probably the very earliest, in Montgomery. He died in 1712, and described himself in his will as " of Montgomery," showing that the township had been created before that time. It was his son Alexander Edwards, jun., who married Gwen Foulke, dau. of Edward. He (A. E. jr.), in 1707, bought 200 acres of his father, and at once sold half of this to David Hugh
1 When the tract was re-surveyed, in 1702, it was found to contain,-differing from the usual result,-only 996 acres, and for this quantity the Commissioners gave him a patent.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.