USA > Pennsylvania > Bucks County > Falls in Bucks County > Historical sketches, chiefly relating to the early settlement of Friends at Falls, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania > Part 3
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head and heart; and as a testimony bearer against wrong. In all these aspects, and abundance more, he seemed gifted by Provi- dence for the advancement of both the eternal and temporal welfare of his fellow man, and he manifested much faithfulness in the occu- pancy of those gifts. Some of his temptations, doubtless, were peculiar, such as very few of our Friends have ever experienced, as they sprung from his unusually prominent worldly position and connections. He suffered considerably from breach of trust, ingratitude, and abuse, yet, through all, was favored to possess an humble mind, a purity of purpose, and a for- giving spirit. And, although his declining years were harrassed by political troubles, and pecuniary embarrassments, and his intellect was, at times, somewhat clouded by disease, yet there is reason to believe that he never lost the savor of immortal life: his sun went down. comparatively speaking, in brightness, and he rests from his labors, and his works do follow him.
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Of Naomi Whaley but little is now known, except the following notice taken from the records of Falls Monthly Meeting, dated the 1st day.of the 5th. month, 1685: " Naomi Whaley hath this day presented to this meet- ing, that she hath a mind to travel on Truth's account to the northward. Therefore, this meeting having weighed the matter, hath con- descended that she may take her opportunity, and ordered that Phineas Pemberton do draw a certificate, and. let it be signed by some Friends on the meeting's behalf."
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CHAP. V. .
The following quotations from an account written by a member of the Pemberton family, about the year 1814, describes some interesting incidents ; that part which relates to the peaceful termination of the lives of several of the worthies who settled early at Falls, is particularly interesting ; the prevalence of the disease which swept many from the face of the earth, doubtless produced a season of con- fliet and sore distress ; inasmuch as those who retained their health were scarcely sufficient in number to administer the needful attentions to the sick. but in this afflictive dispensation they were not forgotten ; there is evidence that a considerable number of those who were removed by death. laid down their heads in .......... .
" In the latter end of the year 1685, Phineas went to Philadelphia to attend the Assembly ; and on the 5th of the third month. following. la received a commission from Thomas Loyd.
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to be Deputy Master of Rolls of Bucks County. Having been engaged in erecting a more comfortable habitation for his family, he fin- ished the same early in the year 1687. On the 16th of the 3d month, he records, "there was a great land-flood, and on the 29th. a * rupture.'" It is probable that the river over- flowed its banks to a great extent ; and on its subsiding. it left a vast quantity of vegetable matter, which being decomposed in the hot sun, the miasma thence exhaled. together with an unusual quantity of rain, became the cause of much sickness in the neighborhood near the river and Falls, and a number of the settlers were removed by death.
"The first of these in Bucks County was Ralph Pemberton, who died on 5th month, 17th. at the age of seventy-seven. Hesuddenly sunk under the disease, having a high fever. but remained sensible and cheerful to the last. He was buried in a burying-ground, which Phineas had laid out on his own land. not far from his own house, and near the river Dela- ware. It was ten rods square, and was designed
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for the interment of the members of his family, and also for those of his own religious society in the neighborhood.
" Phineas himself, was also taken sick about this time, nor did his wife and children escape, but they all slowly recovered. Agnes Harrison, who was an aged woman when she came with them from England, was the next of the family who was removed by this disease. She de- parted in peace on the 6th of the 6th month. aged eighty six years. On the next day. that good and eminent man, Rodger Longworth. also laid down the body ; the fever was violent, vet he bore his last illness with much meek- ness and patience, and was preserved remark- ably still and quiet during his sickness, which continued about fourteen days; he passed away like a lamb, leaving behind him a sweet remembrance of his virtues and gentleness, hi- fidelity to his Great Master's cause, and his zeal to promote righteousness on the earth ; and was gathered into that rest prepared for the people of God.
" Several other neighbors were removed by
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death; and James Harrison being also seized with the prevailing disease, sunk under it, and departed this life on the 6th of the 8th month. He also was an example of patience under suffering, even to the last, and died in a state of calmness and Christian composure. He was a strenuous advocate of civil and religious liberty, having suffered much in his native land in the cause of Truth, and his character stood high for integrity and religious usefulness. The commissions he received from the Governor, his friend William Penn, show the confidence placed in his talents and uprightness of conduct; many letters from the latter, giving minute directions concerning the estate at Pennsbury, are vet preserved among the papers of the family.
" The sickness by which these and many others were removed, both in Bucks County and in New Jersey, raged for a considerable time, and was very mortal to aged persons and children, and those of delicate constitu- tions ; scarcely a family escaped. and sometimes Home were left well enough to attend the rest.
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Even in those who recovered, a great pros- tration of strength remained for a long time. The afflictions of these new settlers, in being thus deprived of so many of their friends, can be but faintly imagined by those who have never experienced such mournful dispensations of Providence.
" In the year 1690. Anne Harrison, the mother of Phobe Pemberton, departed this 16. She left the world with perfect compo- sure and resignation. Taking a friend by the hodl. while on her dying bed, she told him sin had always been sensible of his love, and bade him farewell, concluding with these expressions: . I am satisfied of a resting. place" She also said to her daughter, who sat werping by her: . Be glad thereby.' and told her to be rather glad than otherwise on by account : for. although it was a trial to to part with a parent. yet to that parent the change would be glorious.
.. On the Bd of the 7th month. 1695. Lydia Witamin, who came from England with the family. and probably lived with them as
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housekeeper, died, and was buried in the family cemetery before mentioned, 'at the point.' In the next year. Phineas lost his amiable wife, the tender companion of his pilgrimage over the great deep, and the faithful sharer of his joys and sorrows. This loss was not without its attendant consolations. in the remembrance of her piety and her virtues. 'She departed.' as Phineas writes to a friend. 'in the like innocent state she bath all along lived. . After she had declared her peace with the Lord. and her satisfaction to leave the world, and a testimony of her love to me, she caused her children to be called (capable to hear her). and exhorted them to the fear of the Lord. and duty to me. and in some particulars how to regulate their con- versation ; and with a kiss took leave of the lesser sort : and lastly, a few minutes before her departure, she desired me to remember her love to several of her friends: being sensible to the last. l'hebe deceased the 30th of the 8th month, 1696, at the age of thirty- siv-just fourteen years after her arrival in the Pantuxent River."
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Phineas continued to give diligent attention to his private affairs, and to the administration of the many public trusts committed to his care; but in the latter part of the year 1701, his health had materially declined, and on the first day of the year 1702, he died, aged fifty- two years. Samuel Carpenter, in a letter to Governor Penn, after describing the preva- lence of sickness in town and country, says : " Phineas Pemberton died the 1st of 1st month last, and will be greatly missed; having left few or none in these parts or the adjacent. like him for wisdom and integrity. and a general service: and he was a true friend to thee and to the Government. It is mattter of sorrow when I call to mind and consider; that the best of our men are taken away, and how many are gone, and how few to supply their places." Phineas lost his mother before he was six years of age, and such being the fact. In owed but little of the correct formation of hi- character to maternal instruction and influ- cher; what amount of care and protection he received from paternal guardianship is not
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now known, it may have been much; but we may reasonably suppose, that by the Divine blessing upon his own honest efforts and faith- fulness to manifested duty, much of the purity of principle, stability of mind, and capacity for usefulness, was attained, for which, in after life, he became conspicuous. His qualifications rendered him a valuable pillar in both church and state, his position in both being important. The value and usefulness of such a Friend in those early colonial days, can scarcely be over- estimated.
The before-quoted member of the Pemberton family, further writes: " In the autumn of 1814. one hundred and twelve years from the death of this valuable man, (P. P.) I visited the burial ground, 'to pay filial attention to its decent preservation.' The sensations which thrilled my soul, may well be imagined. as I approached the spot where my primogenitors. had in former days, fixed their habitation. It seemed as if the flame of inspiration were kindled, and its ardour, for a time, wrapped me from the world. bent my steps toward
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the graves, where, many years ago, small slate stones had been fixed at their heads, with initials indicating the names of their inhabi- tants. But time had crumbled several of these. What a powerful example of the in- stability of earthly memorials was here exhi- bited: and what a humiliating lesson did these mounds pronounce! I stood on the grave of my venerated great great grandfather. and . reflected that he who had so often wandered over the fields near me, who had been guided over the troubled ocean by a Divine hand. in search of an asylum, was gone forever from these scenes: and his remains were reposing beneath me. Everything of him that was human was confined to this narrow spot; his beloved wife lay at his side, and the remains of many of his dear connections were deposited around him. The affection of his descendants ind enclosed there by a wall. and here they have ever since rested undisturbed. It seemed a- if I were holding communion with the dead; and the objects around me impressing me with Www. reminds I me that the beings with whom
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I was in company, did once exist on this earth, and partook of the joys and sorrows of mor- tality. They had fulfilled the duties of their stations, (as the written evidences of their piety in my possession bear ample witness,) . and were, doubtless, gathered by their Lord into that eternal rest which has been prepared for his people. If they had not, little would it avail them now, that for more than a century their bones have rested in peace, and the breath of neglect and desolation has not swept over their graves; that during their lives the charms of friendship, and the varied delights of social life were theirs; and that this favored spot of the globe afforded them a retreat from heavy persecutions.
" Yes, here under the wise policy and mild government of the founder of Pennsylvania. they found a settlement where they could meet together and worship according to the dictates of their own conscience, unmolested by tines. imprisonments. and vexations impositions : and here, closing their days with gratitude to Him who had graciously conducted them
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through life, they slept in the bosom of their Redeemer."
" What matters it, that the names of such worthies are now remembered no more, or called but transiently before the view of .. tenderness, in the hour of converse, or the moments of solemn communion. The world busy with its present concerns, forgets or cares not that these have ever lived ; yet, the state of society at this day, may owe much of the comforts and improvements and knowledge, now enjoyed. to the labors and energies of those who are thus unheeded and forgotten. But their names are written in the Book of Life, and gloriously enrolled in the records of eternity ; and when the memory of the proud and self-exalted shall have passed away, these shall be had in everlasting remembrance."
" On coming to the close of the life of Phineas Pemberton, I pause a moment, to contemplate the great simplicity and integrity of his cha- racter. In following him through his various """early trials and sufferings for the testimony of Truth ; his imprisomnents and vexations treat-
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ment from an ignorant and deluded popu- lace; his migration to this country; the various offices of great trust and importance which he held; we see him acting in one uniform man- ner, dictated by a pure conscience, and con- dueted by that exalted sense of correct feeling which guided him in all his ways. A great number of letters addressed to him, are left among his papers. which evince the high esteem in which he was held by his cotem- poraries ; and the events of his life show the peculiar favor of Providence towards him, making him in many instances, as it were, a . conspicuous example of the blessings attend- ant upon a course of righteousness and humble devotion."
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CHAP. VI.
We cannot easily ascertain at this day. the precise period when the first settlements were made in the south-eastern part of Bucks County. In the year 1672, in the progress of a religious visit to America, George Fox, in travelling through the wilderness from Shrews- bury to Chester, passed along the borders of the Delaware from the neighborhood of the Falls. southward. but saw no white inhabitants. He found two deserted log cabins on the site of Burlington. in one of which he lodged. These habitations. it is said, were erected by some Dutchmen, who deserted them in fear of the Indians. It is recorded that Lyonel Brit- tain was settled at Falls two or three years previous to the second month. 1683, and it is probable that his friends, William Biles. . William Darke and William Beaks, were set- thers at the same time.
West Jersey was purchased by Friends about the year 1976; and in the year 1677. it
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is stated by Phineas Pemberton, that "divers proprietors and adventurers came over to these parts, and settled themselves and families." It is probable that a large proportion of this immigration were Friends, and that some of them, at a little later period, found their way to the Falls Country, and established them- selves and families there. After members of the Society of Friends became interested in West Jersey. their increase in those parts was rapid ; meetings were soon established; first, at Salem, and shortly after at Burlington, of which monthly meeting Falls Friends were, for a time, members. The primitive settlers of these favored sections of our country. of course. experienced the painful pressure of pioneer life, but as time progressed, the wilder- ness and heretofore uncultivated soil presented quite a different aspect : much of it becoming as a fruitful field, which. figuratively speaking. rejoiced and blossomed as the rose. Industry and economy were generally rewarded with a sufficiency to supply real wants, but where the outward bread was lacking. the deficiency was
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often supplied from the abundance of others; and doubtless thanksgiving from grateful hearts, ascended to the Father of mercies for his blessings and favors, and prayers for a continuance of his preserving care and regard. Many of this people appear to have been ex- tremely sensible of their dependence upon Ilim in whom they lived, and moved, and had their being; and it is not marvelous that He watched over them in life and in death.
And there were those who founded their habitations in solitary places, but, unlike the frightened Dutchmen, the Indians were no terror to them ; they rejected the use of carnal weapons, and trusted not in the arm of flesh for protection, but being armed with the sword of the spirit, the inflammable propensities of the red man gave way before them, and the toma- hawk became harmless in his hand ; and they that were terrible to those of warlike princi- ples, were the comfortable friends of the Friends of peace. And here was presented a beautiful picture of concord and harmony: something similar to the lying down of the
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Lion and the Lamb together, and there was none to make afraid.
Phineas and Phebe Pemberton had nine children, several of whom died young. Abigail married Stephen Jenkins, and settled in Ab- ington Township, then Philadelphia County. She became serious and thoughtful, and some- times acceptably spoke in religious meetings. Priscilla married Isaac Waterman, and settled near Holmesburg. Israel, before he attained the age of manhood, removed to Philadelphia, and after serving apprenticeship with Samuel Carpenter, became established there. It is re- corded of him that his liberal and prudent management " gained him the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens, who placed him in divers high and honorable offices; among which may be noticed his being nineteen suc- ressive years a member of the General Assem- bly of Pennsylvania. Nor were his services confined to secular affairs; he also became con- spicuously useful in the religious concerns of the society of which he was a member. Ilis house was the general resort of Friends who
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came from Europe in the service of the Gospel .. and he entertained them with much hospitality and kindness; having an ample mansion, and still more enlarged heart. It may, indeed. be said of him, that he was conspicuously eminent, not only for his character and services in the religious society of Friends, but also for his extensive hospitality, and the uprightness of his conduct and dealings as a merchant." Israel married Rachel Read, who has been represented as " a woman of great piety, and of an excellent character." Their children, Israel. James and John, were all prominent.
In the latter part of the year 1699, Phineas l'emberton married Alice Hodgson. a young woman who resided in Burlington, but whose parents resided in Rhode Island. After living in wedlock but little over two years. Alice be- came a widow, and sometime afterwards mar- rin William Bradford. a somewhat prominent printer of those days.
ficorge Brown, and Mercy his wife, were among the earliest settlers at Falls; they had emigrated from Leicester, England, in the !
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year 1679, and commenced pioneer life when what is now the State of Pennsylvania, was almost an unbroken wilderness. It is recorded of G. B. that he was administering the office of "Justice of the Peace," as early as the year 1680. Hle possessed a valuable tract of land, bordering on the Delaware River, extending inland to the manor boundary line, and also bordering upon the possessions of Phineas Pemberton. G. B. was never a member of the society of Friends, and there does not appear to be any satisfactory evidence that any of his children became members, except his son Samuel, who came into the fold on the ground of convincement, and afterwards married Ann Clarke. Samuel became a prom- inent. member of Falls Monthly Meeting. and likewise a member of the Provincial Assembly; his sons, George and John. were ala members of the Colonial Government : his daughter, Merey, married Joshua Bald- win. a Friend of Chester County; her de- -cendants are numerous in that section of the country and elsewhere. In the published
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biography of one of G. B.'s .descendants, who was prominent in United States history, it is stated that "George Brown was a man of vigorous and cultivated intellect," that " his children and grandchildren partook of his character." and that "several of them were for many successive years, prominent members of the Provincial Government of Pennsylvania." The family encountered a share of the hard- ships and privations, such as usually fall to the lot of early settlers; but it does not appear that there was any failure of courage, or any serious lack of worldly prosperity. A portion of their supplies were of course drawn from . the water: but in their first experience of wilderness life, their dependence was much upon the wild game of the forest, obtained by . the skilful handling of the one gun in their :
possession ; but the lock thereof became disa- Med, and no means of seasonable repair was . apressible: their wants were still pressing: in this emergency, they sought the deer, and the wild turkey> in company, and while the husband took deliberate aim at a well understood signal, .
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the wife applied the torch to the priming. As the family circle widened, the possession of a cow was thought to be an almost indispensable necessity, but none was to be purchased short of New Castle; the cow was procured from thenee, bat the undertaking was somewhat formidable; the way was long. extending through dense forests, along Indian paths. across treacherous swamps. and over perplexing water-courses. A dangerous overflow of the Delaware warned them to abandon their then occupied dwelling at the river bank. and locate upon higher ground ; upon leaving their old locality and removing to the new, they transplanted their hominy block, which was the scooped out stump of a tree. The farmn, which embraces the site of the original dwelling, and also the family burial-ground. still continue in possession of descendants of the family. It does not appear that there was any annoyance from Indian hostility, but an irritating question arose respecting the boundary lines between the adjacent lands of William Penn, and G. B. There is no evidence, and it is not likely that
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the principals of the parties concerned in the controversy, manifested any pugnacious dispo- sition, but it is asserted that their servants came to blows, in defence of the supposed rights of those for whom they were severally interested. These servants were probably slaves.
Friends of this day living in their cieled houses, surrounded by the conveniences, and many of the luxuries of life, perhaps can form but an inadequate idea of the privations endured by many of the primitive settlers ; even at the present period of time. possessed of the advan- tages of modern invention, and other available means, it would be reckoned as a very tedious. laborious, and uncertain employment for a family of settlers to locate themselves in the woods, and depend upon their own unaided ex- ertions for support ; and if the means were scanty, they could only look forward to a pre- carious sub-istence for a few of the first yours. as it would require considerable time. labor and outlay, before the land could be brought under successful cultivation. " But in those days, the poor emigrant penetrated the forest and laid
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the foundation of his small and rude dwelling; the necessaries of life must be provided for him- self and those dependent upon him, during the building operation : there are perhaps but few that could lend a helping hand, and the work Progresses slow; his family suffer from exposure until the imperfect shelter is finished. which perhaps. when completed, scarcely affords pro- tection from the bleak winds. the drifting snow-, and the drenching rains. The cabin being built. and furnished with such accommodations as correspond with the rustic surroundings. sup- plies must be procured for the further susten- ance of the family, which perhaps consists of a wife. with a constitution shattered by di-case brought on by unavoidable fatigue and exposure. and several helpless children dependent upon their parent's exertions for the sustenance of life. Beset with perplexities, and almost dis. paring of ability to supply his urgent wants hi- faith and trust at times being brought to a severe test. he feels the gravity of his situation. and perhaps asking for a renewed blessing upon his painful, but willing labors, presses energeti-
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