USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Historical sketches : a collection of papers prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1921-1925, Volume VII > Part 19
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HISTORY OF HATBORO-SUPPLEMENTARY PAPER
her above the Shield, &
Two Branches of Thyme enclosing the name underneath, And Circumscribing the Whole
1755, which, said Seal from time to time be securely kept, by the secretary for the time being, in the library, for the of the said Company." No one seems to know if this seal were ever used. On an examination of several books in the stacks at the Library, the compiler was unable to find any label with such a device. The present seal is of a far different design.
In brief, the following items are worthy of attention. On December 19, 1755, Rev. Charles Beatty was given 44 pounds in money, and directed to send to London for books; at the same time, gifts in money and books were received from Hon. Lawrence Growdon, John Lukens and John Ross. On the 5th of November, 1757, a sum of money was given to Charles Beatty to send to London for more books, and have them insured, and about this time Chief Justice Wil- liam Allen presented a collection of books. Again on the 10th of May, 1760, a collection of books was purchased from Rev. Charles Beatty, "as he was going to London," he was requested "to make additional purchases there" for the Library. Within these years, many contributions of books, or money, or both, had been made by notable people of the province, such as Joseph Galloway, James Young, John Erwin, and others. In 1763 came a valuable collection from Dr. Thomas Graeme, and a like donation from Hon. Thomas Penn on the 5th of May, 1770. Among those sent by Eliza- beth Ferguson were three books dated, respectively, 1595, 1713, and one in "black letter," 1722. Another book in the possession of the Library is entitled "THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND OR MEMORIALS OF THE ENGLISH AF- FAIRS," the author of which was Sir Bulstrode Whitlock, Lord Commissioner of the Great Seal, &c .; published from the original manuscript by WILLIAM PENN, ESQ., GOV- ERNOUR OF PENNSYLVANIA.
H. Hugh Ferguson was an early member, before 1760; we find him on one of the committees on the 5th of Febru- ary, 1774.
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
In this vicinity lived also the maternal ancestors of General U. S. Grant-the Simpsons, Wiers and Manns.
In 1787, The Hatboro Public Library was incorporated by Act of Assembly. A catalog had been prepared showing that at this time there were six hundred and twenty volumes on its shelves. Up to this date, a large number of the people of its vicinity had enrolled as members, and signed the "In- 'strument of Partnership." Omitting the names of the orig- inal founders, those who came later were:
Robert Anderson
John Bond
Moses Cherry Daniel Dungan
Isaac Cadwallader
William Crawford
Abraham Duffield
H. Hugh Ferguson
John Fitch
John Folwell
Joseph Folwell
William Folwell
John Hart
Josiah Hart
Thomas Hallowell
Nathaniel Irwin
John Jarrett
Jonathan Jarrett
John Johnson
Isaac Longstreth
Daniel Longstreth
John Longstreth
Joseph Longstreth
Evan Lloyd
Abraham Lukens
Benjamin Lukens
Evan Lukens
Jesse Lukens
Joseph Lukens
Peter Lukens
Seneca Lukens
Isaac Leech Archibald McClean
Able Morgan
James Ogilbee
James Scout
James Spenser
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John Shoemaker
Daniel Thomas
Mordicai Thomas
William Todd
Jacob Tomkins
William Van Horne
William Vansant
Amos Watson
Arthur Watts
Stephen Yerkes
Titus Yerkes
James Young
John Hough
Isaac Hough
Thomas Hough
Robert Loller
Able Marple
4 Rev. William Tennent, Jr., in 1733, became minister at Freehold, New Jersey, in succession to his brother, Rev. Gilbert Tennent, who had been his preceptor; but owing to an illness which caused much suffering, and a loss of memory, he lost his clerical training, and upon recovery had to be taught all over again, but then resumed his charge at Freehold, which he continued for forty-four years, dying there in 1777. He often returned to the Neshaminy, and associated with his friends in the neighborhood. He may have had something to do with the development of the Union Library at Hatboro. There was another-Rev. William M. Tennent, son of Rev. Charles Tennent, and grandson of Rev. William Tennent, Sr., who became pastor of the Abington church, who also may have had an interest in the advancement of the Union Library, at a later date. This minister received his degree of Doctor of Divinity from Yale College, and married a daughter of the Rev. John Rogers, of New York, who had himself been educated at Log College. Then there was Rev. Samuel Davies, who succeeded Rev. Jonathan Edwards as president of Princeton College, who, too, was an alumnus of the Log College. (Pubs. Bucks Co. Hist. Soc .; Vol. III, p. 4.)
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HISTORY OF HATBORO SUPPLEMENTARY PAPER
In tracing the evolution of the Hatboro Public Library from primitive conditions, and following the chronology of events leading up to the date of its founding in 1755, with the prestige of the Log College and its faculty in a wide and fecund field, it would seem that Rev. Charles Beatty (who was pastor of the church on the Neshaminy, near Harts- ville), and his colleague, Rev. William Tennent,4 initiated the establishment of the Union Library Company, of Hat- borough.
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Some Historical Data on Horsham Meeting*
By MISS ANNA JARRETT
A minute of Abington Monthly Meeting, held 5th Mo., 6 1719, states that two overseers were appointed for Horsham Meeting; they were John Michener and Thomas Iredell. The meetings were held only in the winter season.
John Michener settled in Moreland, four miles from the Meeting. Thomas Iredell came from Horsham, England, and settled a half mile north of the meeting-house, where Enos Watson lives at the present time.
In 1719, Hannah Carpenter gave, by deed of trust, fifty acres to Friends, for a site for a meeting-house. Her hus- band, Samuel Carpenter, also gave ground at Bristol. The first meeting-house was erected in 1721. From a road jury's report, made in 1722, the "Governor's Road" passed the Horsham meeting-house in a line from to Round Meadow, where it joined the New York road, which had been laid out in 1711.
From the records of the Meeting, we find that, in 1724, the Friends at Horsham asked assistance from the Abington Quarterly Meeting to finish building their house, which was given. In 1782, a Monthly Meeting was founded, and called Horsham; then, in 1803, this large building was erected, but whether the older building was log or stone, it was torn down to make way for the present one. There is no cellar to it. A second story was added in 1859. The lower story of the present school building bears the date 1739.
A library was established at Horsham in 1799, and was incorporated in 1808. In 1853 it had thirty-two members, and in 1874 its nine hundred volumes were sold.
*Read at an outing of the Society, October 11, 1924.
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المساعدة
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HORSHAM MEETING-HOUSE (Photo by Gilbert Cope. Courtesy of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.)
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SOME HISTORICAL DATA ON HORSHAM MEETING
The old sassafras tree in the yard of Horsham Meeting measures, at sixteen inches from the ground, sixteen feet eleven inches; and at the ground line, eighteen feet six inches. It dates back to about 1853.
Note: In "A Retrospect of Early Quakerism," Ezra Michener (pp. 89-90) gives the following account of the beginnings of Horsham Meeting :
1716 .- "Friends of Horsham made application for a constant meet- ing, to be kept on first and sixth days, during the winter season, which was granted." And in
1717 .- "Friends of Horsham request a preparative meeting, which is granted to them."-(Abington Monthly Meeting.)
Preparative Meetings did not formerly preserve any record of their proceedings. Horsham record was begun in the year 1769.
The meeting was probably held at private houses till the year 1724, when "application being made by Horsham Friends for some assistance towards the finishing of their new meeting-house, the meeting having taken it into consideration, orders, that the other four meetings shall assist those Friends of Horsham."-(Abington Monthly Meeting.)
In 1803, a new and commodious house was erected, seventy-two by forty feet.
Graeme Park*
By CHARLES S. MANN
Today, we who share to the fullest degree in the bless- ings of our educational and religious institutions, as well as in the rich material resources of this great Commonwealth, are often apt to forget the perplexing problems and the trials and disappointments suffered by the Great Founder in establishing his "Holy Experiment." Although he is, by gen- eral consent, honored as the noblest and most successful colonizer of his age, the prosperous colony he conceived and founded did not bring him either riches or unalloyed hap- piness. He had not spent two years in the Province before he was recalled to England to protect his interests at home, and safeguard the welfare of his American territories. British kings and queens, at that period, were frequently crowned and dethroned, which brought sudden and harmful changes in the colonial policies of their ministry.
Troubles increased thick and fast during Penn's declin- ing years, and he was even imprisoned unjustly for debt; and although he had sold thousands of acres in Pennsyl- vania, much of that revenue was diverted and absorbed by heavy expenditures. The deputy governors sent to act in his stead did not always govern wisely, nor allay differences arising between the Executive Council and the people. For some years past he had been rendered incapable of taking charge of state affairs by partial paralysis, and it was again found necessary to recall a deputy governor. About that time, Sir William Keith was recommended to Hannah Penn by the Colonial Council as a worthy successor to that office. Sir William had first been sent to America by Queen Anne as Surveyor of Customs in the colonies. During a short stay
*Read at an outing of the Society, October 11, 1924.
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GRAEME PARK
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GRAEME PARK
in Philadelphia he made acquaintance with some of its most influential residents, and made so favorable an impression by his knowledge of affairs and obliging manners that he was successful in winning the appointment. He was the last colonial governor commissioned by Penn, whose death occurred a few months afterward.
Governor Keith and family arrived in Philadelphia in May, 1717, accompanied by his friend, Dr. Thomas Graeme, from Perthshire, Scotland. For the purpose of clearing a plantation, and building a country home, early in 1718, the Governor purchased of Andrew Hamilton 1200 acres of land in the newly organized township of Horsham. This tract was first comprised in Penn's grant of 5066 acres to Samuel Carpenter, 1706, and lay in the wilderness remote from the highway. When Sir William settled in Horsham with his Scottish associates there were probably very few neighbors outside its pioneer families - the Palmers, Ire- dells, Lukens, Shoemakers, Jarretts, Lloyds, Cadwalladers and Kenderdines.
In 1721 a petition was sent to the Provincial Council for a convenient public road from the Governor's settlement to the meeting at Horsham, and thence to Round Meadow Run, now Willow Grove; and the road was granted by a jury and surveyed by Nicholas Scull, the famous surveyor and Indian interpreter. Another road was also opened from the York Road along the Bucks County line, up to Keith's lands.
The Governor's new mansion was built in 1721-2. That quaint and secluded homestead is undoubtedly the best- preserved and most ancient structure standing in Horsham or adjoining townships. Undisturbed in its surroundings of rural charm and beauty, it shows today but few traces of the extensive and well-appointed establishment that was created in the depth of the forest two centuries ago by Governor Keith and Dr. Thomas Graeme, his friend and successor.
Graeme Park is so rich in scenes and associations con- nected with our Colonial and Revolutionary times that not only has it contributed a very stirring and romantic chapter to our local history, but the life that centered around and
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
passed through this Colonial executive mansion produced important events and influences that very materially af- fected the constructive period of Provincial government and its heroic struggle for the cause of independence. Had it not been for the foresight and tireless industry of our hon- ored local historian, William J. Buck (whose body was laid to rest in beautiful Hatboro Cemetery) and his wonderful talent for research, the interesting and invaluable annals of this historic community would have been lost beyond recovery.
Governor Keith's term continued for nine years, and was, in the main, beneficial and satisfactory to the people; the times were prosperous, and the population rapidly in- creased; his dealings with the Indians were just and peace- able, and he attended their councils at Conestoga and Al- bany to avert bloodshed and maintain Penn's policy of fair dealing with the red man. In various ways he made himself popular with the Assembly and the people. The worst trouble of his period was the scarcity of money, and the Governor favored and used his influence to pass an Act of Assembly for an issue of paper money. Nothing could have been more useful, but it was not wholly approved by the Proprietary Council. He differed with James Logan, Penn's cousin and Provincial Secretary, and removed him from office, thus incurring the displeasure of the Penn family; and this finally caused his own dismissal, in 1726. Keith then carried his grievance to the people, and was elected to the Assembly, and so entered the city in triumph, advancing at the head of sixty horsemen, which further displeased his enemies. He finally resigned and returned to London. His plantation was conveyed to his wife, Lady Ann Keith, who, in turn, sold it to her son-in-law, Dr. Graeme, who had now become distinguished in his profession; was appointed Port Physician, and active in civic affairs.
During Governor Keith's occupation, he had, by the aid of fourteen slaves, cleared seventy-five acres of land for the plow, and seeded extensive meadows for the pasture of cattle and sheep. He entertained his friends in a sumptuous manner, and conducted hunting parties over his estate. But
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GRAEME PARK
under the management of Dr. Thomas Graeme the plan- tation attained its greatest glory and renown, and all his life Dr. Graeme continued its improvement. In a letter to Thomas Penn, in 1755, Graeme wrote: "I have here a park which encloses 300 acres of very good land, with vistas and avenues through it; this is managed in a manner quite dif- ferent from any I have seen here or elsewhere; 150 acres has been cleared of shrubs and undergrowth and sown with grass seed, leaving only the larger trees standing. It would be one of the finest deer parks that could be imagined. Double ditched and hedged, it forms an enclosure of beauty and ornament about the dwelling. I venture to say that there is no nobleman in England but would be proud to claim it as his country seat, and it affords me much pleasure."
Dr. Graeme's death occurred while taking a morning walk, in 1772; his estate was bequeathed to his only sur- viving daughter, Elizabeth, who had married Henry Hugh Ferguson, a Scotchman, of Philadelphia, shortly before her father's death. Several tracts of the large estate were after- ward sold. The hopes and plans of Elizabeth for a happy life at Graeme Park, however, were abruptly terminated by the approaching clouds of the coming storm that finally separated the colonies from the mother country. Mr. Fer- guson favored the British side of the argument, and, in 1775, sailed for England. Mrs. Ferguson used her utmost efforts to persuade him to remain, but all in vain, and they never afterward lived together, but she continued to live at the Park until a short time before her death, in 1801. In 1791, the estate, then reduced to five hundred and fifty- three acres, passed to Dr. William Smith, of Philadelphia, who had married Mrs. Ferguson's niece, Anna Young. About ten years later, it passed out of the Graeme descend- ants entirely, and for more than a century it has been well cared for under the good husbandry of the Penrose family.
Elizabeth Ferguson was a lady of charming personality, intelligent and well-educated. Seneca Lukens thought she possessed the most expressive eyes he ever beheld in a woman's countenance. J. Francis Fisher, in his volume,
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
"Early Poets of Pennsylvania,"1 states that her journals, her letters and other prose compositions were widely praised and admired, and her poems showed rare grace and fancy, with evidence of rare talent and exquisite delicacy. Never did an author handle a readier pen, and her numer- ous friends testified to her noble disposition, her able con- versational powers and amusing eccentricities. She was fond of company, and was surrounded by the most refined and literary society in the city of Philadelphia. Among the dis- tinguished visitors entertained here were: Francis Hopkin- son, Richard Stockton, Rev. Nathaniel Evans, Rev. Jacob Duché, rector of Christ Church; Provost William Smith, Richard Peters, Benjamin Rush, Elias Boudinot and Bishop White.
1 Some Account of the Early Poets and Poetry of Pennsylvania: by Joshua Francis Fisher. Memoirs of The Historical Society of Pennsyl- vania : Vol. II, part II, 1830.
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Valley Forge-A Retrospect*
By S. GORDON SMYTH
Having reached the time of life when one is supposed to be in the reminiscent stage, and being one of the sur- vivors who took part in the happy reunion held here thirty years ago, I have been requested to give you a ten-minute resumé of some of the changes brought about since that time. I shall not attempt to orate or eulogise, but shall limit my paper to a brief review of certain features of the con- vention (as it was called) and certain developments regard- ing the subject of my paper read at the time. Some of you will recall the speakers of that occasion and their several topics. These papers have fortunately been preserved-but where are the speakers ?
The meeting (as arranged, and the program as pre- pared, by Senator A. D. Markley) was held in the Baptist Church of Hatboro, on July 17, 1894. Its chairman was the Hon. Harman Yerkes, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, who observed, in his address of welcome, that "it was a happy thought that suggested Hatboro for the convention of the Chester, Bucks and Montgomery Counties Historical Soci- eties, because of the interesting events that clustered around it." And this is more true today than ever before, because your citizens have awakened to its realization, and are physically expressing it by the markers you are dedi- cating in the spirit of veneration, thus reflecting the senti- ment of the Judge's remark of a generation ago. The meet- ing was opened with a prayer by the Rev. S. F. Hotchkin, of Bustleton, Philadelphia, followed by the address of wel- come already referred to, and the program for the day.
*Read at an outing of the Society, October 11, 1924.
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
On the part of Bucks county, Gen. W. W. H. Davis gave his address on "The Battle of The Crooked Billet"; Rev. D. K. Turner, of Hartsville, followed with his paper entitled "Robert Morris, The Financier of the Revolution." Chester county was represented by Gilbert Cope, of West Chester, with the subject, "Philosophic View of Ancestry." Another paper prepared by Rush Kervey, of West Chester, entitled "The Bibliography of Chester County," was not read, be- cause of the absence of its author. Montgomery county in- troduced Jacob A. Strassberger, Esq., of Norristown, whose paper was on "The Uses of History"; while "Valley Forge" was the topic of the present speaker. The papers as a whole, are said to have been exceedingly interesting and valuable contributions to our local history, and these, with one exception, have all found a place in the printed col- lections of the several societies attending the reunion. The speakers were all prominent in their day, and well grounded in their respective subjects. Some of these gentlemen, to- gether with the promoters of that memorable convention, and others, no doubt, of those who attended at the time, are not with us today. Of the Montgomery county party we shall miss the genial presence of Mr. Fornance, the Hon. Henry L. Kratz, Rev. A. A. Marple, Mrs. Theodore L. Bean, Mr. W. W. Potts, Mr. Ellwood Roberts, Senator Markley, and, among others, Gen. W. W. H. Davis, Mr. Alfred Paschall and Mr. Thomas Knowles, of Bucks county, and Dr. Hotchkin of Philadelphia county. All these honorably filled their sphere of usefulness here, and have passed on to their eternal reward, and "their works do follow them."
As a mark of respect, I would suggest that it would be fitting for this meeting to give a moment's time, in silent tribute, to the memory of our departed collaborators.
Since Mr. Gilbert Cope, of West Chester, and I, are the only survivors of those who contributed papers at the time, and, of the two, I alone am able to be present, it is expected that I should give a "backward look" on the subject of "Valley Forge," my former theme, and give you something of a comparison of the conditions there then with what they are now.
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VALLEY FORGE-A RETROSPECT
Physically, Valley Forge, as an attractive object of patriotic pride and visitation at the time I read my former paper, was not so generally known, nor beautified, as it is today. It was in a state of dormancy, with but little thought, other than that of local interest, given to its condition or ennoblement. Such consideration as it then received cen- tred about the old headquarters, and the two or three acres of land recently added to it. The house itself had been simply restored, and contained a miscellaneous collection of antique material more or less associated with the history of its occupation and of the locality. Around it were the dark, circling hills, wooded, but wild, where the under- growth hid the traces of the military works. On the eastern and southern slopes, the farmland formerly under the occu- pation of the troops, and the homesteads that had sheltered the generals of the Continental Army, pathetically betrayed either the impoverishment of the soil or a conspiracy of neglect on the part of generations of husbandmen. Access to the camps of the various divisions was over rough and irregular roads, or by-paths in roundabout ways-in fact, as I remember, the scene impressed me as rather better illustrating to the imagination what a dismal and desolate rendezvous it was at the time Washington and his forlorn hope found it, in the winter of their retreat. But there was one bright spot amid this gloomy prospect which I visual- ized, and a hopeful promise of rescue and redemption ahead for Valley Forge, and this lay in the wardship of an organization with this purpose in view, incorporated by an Act of Assembly, dated July 5, 1878, "The Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge," an outgrowth of the celebration held there on June 19, 1878, the hundredth anniversary of the evacuation of the campground by the Continental Army. Under the inspiring and eloquent address of Henry Armitt Brown, Esq., of Philadelphia, the country was awakened to the knowledge that the State had within its borders one of the most memorable of the national shrines.
After 1886, the Patriotic Order, Sons of America, suc- ceeded the earlier organization as custodians of the head-
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quarters and grounds, and during its tenure, and about 1900, public sentiment had become so widespread, and was so quickened, that a general movement was inaugurated which had for its object the purchase of the entire canton- ment by the Federal government; to restore and maintain it in much the same manner as it has done at Gettysburg. To this end "The Valley Forge Park Association" was organized in Philadelphia about this time, and centred its energies on Congress, first having the endorsement of Presi- dent Mckinley toward the project. But while this Asso- ciation failed to get the legislation it desired, other plans to the same end met with better success, and it was mainly through the earnest efforts of Mr. Francis M. Brooke, of Philadelphia, assisted by several interested citizens work- ing with him, that they successfully appealed to the Gen- eral Assembly of Pennsylvania, and obtained not only ap- propriations for buying the adjacent properties, but the preparation of a bill that was designed to put Valley Forge in the custody of the State. Senator Markley sponsored the bill in the Senate, and Hon. H. C. Boyer fathered it in the House. It became a law, and was signed by Governor Pat- tison on May 30, 1893. The object recited in the Act stated that it was "For the purpose of perpetuating and preserv- ing the site on which Washington's army was encamped, December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778, to restore it as nearly as possible in its original condition as a military camp, and maintain it forever as a public park for the enjoyment of the people of this state." Governor Pattison promptly ap- pointed a commission of representative Pennsylvanians to carry out the provisions of the Act, and on the organization of this commission, Mr. Brooke was elected its chairman; and from that day to this, notwithstanding its changing personnel and its various vicissitudes, the commission has bought the bulk of the land from private owners, and has carried on the work of clearing up and restoring the old cantonment in harmony with its history and traditions; so that it stands today transformed - a magnificent achieve- ment to the honor of the state and its citizens.
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