USA > Pennsylvania > Bucks County > History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania: From the Discovery of the Delaware to the Present Time (Volume 1 and 2) > Part 53
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Tax bills were among the first presented to the provincial assembly, and a tax was laid on land in 1683. In 1694 a bill was passed for county rates,
II A Dutch measure equal to three pecks English.
12 In 1784 Bucks county had a population of 20,109; contained 3,148 taxables, 1760, and her quota of money paid to the crown was £3,305, 8s. From 1758 to 1771 the yearly payment was about £2500 or £32,862. 5. 6. in fourteen years. In 1760, Philadelphia City had 2,634 taxables, the county 5,687, or 8,821 in both. In 1771 the city had 3,761, county 6,704, total 10,455. In 1771 Bucks county had 3,177 taxables and the Province 37,665.
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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
fixing it that year at one penny on the pound, which produced £48. 4s. Id. in Bucks. John Roland and Francis White were appointed collectors, in 1697, and in May they were summoned before the Governor for settlement. In 1764 a bill was passed fixing the value of lands for taxation, which has served as a basis for all subsequent assessments for county purposes. Meadow land was to be valued at from £60 to fio per hundred acres, and cultivated land with improvements, at three-fifths of what it would rent for. Horses were to be valued at four pence per head, horned cattle, above three years old, at six shillings and eight pence, and sheep at one shilling. A fixed valuation was also put on black and white slaves. The rate of interest was eight per cent., but, in 1722, at a period of commercial embarrassment, it was reduced to six, and produce made a legal tender for debts.
There is but little in the early or present history of our county finances that would be of interest to the reader. The taxes had increased with the growth of population and wealth, from £48. 4s. in 1694, to $112,000, in 1874, a handsome advance in one hundred and eighty years, and for 1899, the close of the century, the tax levy was $97,376.66, and the county expenses about $112,000. In 1768 the provincial tax assessed in Bucks was £2,260, of which £417 remained uncollected, or in the hands of the collectors and the "com- mittee of accounts" recommended the commissioners to collect that outstanding by, law. Paul Preston, the collector, was written to by Samuel Preston Moore, who appears to have held some position in the provincial treasury, to hurry up the delinquent collectors, to collect as much as he can in two weeks for the credit of the county, for he wants to be able to report that "the county has nearly paid off her present tax." This was caring for the honor of the county in a commendable way. The amount assessed, 1769, was £2,530, and when the collector settled his accounts, September 6th, there were £538. 19s. IId. out- standing, one-fifth of the whole. In 1781 the amount levied was twenty-five pounds in excess of 1769, but a greater proportion was collected, £2,276. 3s. 4d. This was known as the "eighteen penny tax," because that was the rate per pound. The heaviest tax-paying districts in the county were, Falls, Buckingham and Northampton townships, namely : Falls, £159. 3s. 6d .; Buckingham, £154. Is. 6d .; Northampton, £139. 18s., nearly one-fifth of the whole amount. These figures tell us plainly where the wealth of the county lay at that period.
In 1814 the county expenses were $34,201. The same year a tax of $883.43 was collected on dogs, and $901.08 paid in damages for injury done to sheep by dogs. The following year $33,363.49 were received in taxes. In 1816 the county treasurer paid out $264.88 for crow-scalps-7.946, at three pence per head-principally in Falls and Lower Makefield. The heaviest county-tax paid by a single township, between 1782 and 1795 was by Bristol, £260. For several years Jeremiah Langhorne was the heaviest tax-payer in the county, and yet his land was assessed at only fioo. When the provincial assembly, in 1704, made a grant of f2,000 to William Penn, to be levied on the counties, those appointed to collect the quota of Bucks were summoned to appear before the council to answer their neglect. The figures we have given speak in plain terms of the economical habits of our ancestors.
Among the institutions of the county in the past, were some fifty "horse companies," voluntary chartered associations for the detection of horse thieves and other villains. They held annual meetings and had a good dinner at the expense of the company. Some of the companies were almost as old as the century. In 1822 a number of them in this and adjoining counties met in council at Norristown, to form a Union for the better carrying out of the
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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
object of the corporation, but we are not informed whether it is still main- tained. Among the earliest members of the American Philosophical Society, we find the following from this county : John Kidd, Doctor John De Normandie, of Bristol, Joseph Kirkbride, William Logan, Elias Hicks and Doctor John Chapman, all of whom joined in 1768. At the first public commencement of a medical school in America, that belonging to the University of Pennsylvania, held June 21, 1758, the degree of Bachelor of Medicine was conferred upon Benjamin Cowell, of this county. The three leading practitioners of medicine, an hundred years ago, were Doctors Joseph Watson, of Buckingham, Jonathan Ingham, of Solebury, and Hugh Meredith, of Doylestown, and we know of no physician of any note in the county before them. Since their day we have had several who have been prominent in the profession.
The oldest insurance company in the county, and probably in the State outside of Philadelphia, was organized in Falls township, March 17, 1809; it is known as the "Bucks County Contributionship," for insuring houses and other buildings against loss by fire. It was incorporated April 2d, same year, and is still in prosperous condition. The first board of directors was William Milnor, Mahlon Milnor, George Hulme, John Burton, Joseph Brown, John Carlisle, Reading Beatty, Benjamin Cooper, and Charles Brown. Of the nine directors five must be residents of the county. In the first seventy years, down to 1878, it had had eighty-eight directors and seven treasurers. Among the townships, with its sphere of usefulness, are Newtown, Middletown, Bristol, Falls, Bensalem and Lower Makefield. The company has been exceptionally prosperous. The last assessment, levied on policy holders, was in 1843. After that the earnings grew rapidly until 1878, when a plan was adopted of paying back to policy holders, who insured for ten year terms, the amount of the premium paid, with interest thereon, on all policies that expired after 1868, or giving the insured a new policy for ten years, and paying him the interest in cash. The present surplus is $330,000, and the risk, for which the company is liable amounts to about $2,400,000. The home office of the company is at Morrisville.
We close the volume with a rural poetic picture of Bucks county, from "The Foresters," written at the opening of the last century :
"Through fertile Bucks, where lofty barns abound, For wheat, fair Quakers, eggs, and fruit renowned; Full fields, snug tenements, and fences neat, Wide-spreading walnuts drooping o'er each gate; The spring-house peeping from enclustering trees, Gay gardens filled with herbs, and roots and bees, Where quinces, pears, and clustering grapes were seen, With ponderous calabashes hung between; While orchards, loaded, bending o'er the grass,
Invite to taste, and cheer us as we pass."
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APPENDIX.
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APPENDIX.
FLORA.
AN ENUMERATION OF INDIGENOUS AND NATURALIZED PLANTS FOUND GROWING IN BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
BY I. S. MOYER, M. D., QUAKERTOWN, PA.
Although Bucks county is one of the oldest in the state, the author is not aware that an attempt has ever been made to catalogue her rich Flora. There is little doubt that some of the older botanists have collected within our borders. Bartram, Nuttall, Durand, Michaux, Schweinitz, and others, illustrious in botanical annals, have most probably visited portions of our territory, and described new species from typical specimens, first gathered from our soil. As an item of interest in this con- nection, Professor Porter, of Easton, has kindly furnished an extract from a letter of Zaccheus Collins (a distinguished botanist of Philadelphia, and in whose honor Nuttall has named a genus of Figworts (Collinsia) to the eminent botanist Muhlen- berg, dated August 23d, 1813, "I was lately in Bucks county, about five miles north-west of Bristol, a spot very interesting to me botanically and geologically. Although my opportunity was transient from bad weather, I met with several plants for the first time, such as your Malaxis-ophioglossoides, Woodsia-onschiodes, Orchis, perhaps incisa, and here some years back I first recognized Hydropeltis- purpurea, Crotonopsis-linearis, Michx. and the only Pennsylvania spot known to me of Arbutus-uva-ursi. In fine the Magnolias, the glabrous Prinos, Ilex, etc., seemed involuntarily to transport me to Jersey." Botanical nomenclature has changed somewhat in sixty years, but the botanical student will have no difficulty in tracing these plants under their more recent names, in the catalogue. The plants collected by the veteran Collins, so many years ago, are still found in those haunts (save only the Bearberry), and they are some of the rarest treasures of our Flora. The diver- sified surface, varying soils, and marked differences in geological formation in dif- ferent portions of the county combine to produce a rich and varied Flora, which compares favorably with that of any of the neighboring counties. The following is a brief summary of the more interesting botanical localities of the county. In the upper townships, especially in Milford, Richland, Rockhill, and Springfield, a series of bogs occur, in which many fine and peculiar plants are found. In Spring-
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APPENDIX.
field, in the Flint hill range, an out-lying spur of the South mountain, are a succes- sion of deep ravines, having generally a north-north-east direction. At the bottom of these ravines deep, cold bogs are met with, which if not genuine peat-bogs, ap- proach very nearly to them in every essential character. There some rare plants appear not found elsewhere in the county. The Globe Flower, Cranberry, several fine orchids, Cotton Grass, and some rare sedges indicate the richness of the Flora. The extensive bogs south of Quakertown differ widely in character from those of Springfield. Several rare species occur here never seen in the peat-bogs, or else- where in our district. In Milford, along the headwaters of Swamp creek, are found low woods and swamps of a somewhat sandy nature, in which a number of forms are met with never discovered elsewhere. Round-leaved Violets, small flowered Lady's Slipper, Pendulous Pogonia, Hairy Wood Rush, and a rare Glyceria must suffice as examples. The rocky belt extending through the county from east to west, attaining in Haycock the considerable elevation of Haycock mountain, is known as the Trap rock region, but contrary to expectation this rough and rugged re- gion has not proved very prolific in rare plants. A number of fine species are, how- ever, restricted to this district. Prickly Ash, Round-leaved Gooseberry, Water Milfoil, and Pale Corydalis are examples. Buckingham mountain, although afford- ing many fine plants, presents nothing peculiar except the beautiful Sedum-ternatum. Of the numerous streams of the county, two only, the Tohickon and Neshaminy, deserve mention in this summary. The Tohickon entering our northern border from Lehigh county, presents no points of interest until it enters the Trap rock region. In this portion of its course it becomes wild and picturesque, presenting much truly romantic scenery. Here many rare plants are met with. The Purple flowered Raspberry reddens its banks, and the White Water Lily floats in virgin beauty upon its bosom. The small yellow Pond Lily, another rarity, growing among it, affords a beautiful contrast of white and gold. I might enumerate many more, but we must hasten down the stream. Emerging from this region, the stream though less wild furnishes many a fine view of bold hill and rich meadow, until we reach the lower part of its course. In the vicinity of Long's mill, the scenery is magnificent, and continues so until the mouth of the stream is reached at Point Pleasant. American Atragane, Barren Strawberry, Beaked Hazel, Squirrel Corn, and Green Dragon may be mentioned among a host of things found only or chiefly along this stream. The Neshaminy, the most considerable stream in the county, is rather tame and uninteresting until after the union of its branches west of Doyles- town. Just below Doylestown, the beautiful Lupine is found upon its banks. From this point southward until within seven or eight miles of its mouth, it has been little explored, and will doubtless well reward the botanists who will thoroughly investigate its botanical characters. The lower portions have been well examined by the Martindales, and many fine plants found, but not so distinct from neighboring re- gions as to need special mention. Some water plants, not hitherto detected in the county, will most probably be found in the middle and lower portions of this beau- tiful stream. It now remains to examine the chief botanical feature of the county, one that has contributed more than all others to round out the rich completeness of our Flora, namely the Delaware river region. This extensive river border, reach- ing from Durham to Bensalem. is one continous surprise to one who had previously confined his herborizings to inland localities only. This exceptional richness is easily accounted for. We have here not only the sand and the rich alluvion, each with a vegetation of its own, but bold bluffs, rising in some places into towering and precipitous cliffs, presenting every variety of exposure, thus favoring a rich and varied vegetation. Here are also deep, shaded ravines, where "many a flower
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is born to blush unseen," save by the prying eye of the botanist. Commencing at the northern border we soon arrive at the "Narrows," or "Nockamixon rocks." Of the grand natural scenery here we need not speak, for it is, or should be, well- known to every Bucks countian. This locality is the richest in the county, and has many plants peculiarly its own. It has long been a botanical Mecca to the Easton botanists, led by Professor T. C. Porter, of Lafayette college. Here are found the rare Sedum-Rhodiola, Canada Water Leaf, Canada Violet, Ginseng, Purple Trillium, and many more equally rare. Proceeding rapidly down the river, meeting many fine plants on the way, such as Harebell, American Bell Flower, Papaw, American Vetch, etc., etc., we reach Point Pleasant, another botanical centre. In this neigh- borhood a very rich Flora exists, certainly surpassed by no other district of equal area in the county. Among a multitude, we may mention Green Violet, Pencil Flower, Indian Plantain, Squarrose Solidago, Golden Corydalis, Leather Wood, Beaked and Cordate Willows, Silver Maple, etc. Southward from Point Pleasant we hasten, not pausing to note individual peculiarities by the way, until the vicinity of Bristol is reached, another botanical point of special interest. There we meet with a Flora differing in a marked degree from those hitherto noticed. Southern forms appear and the vegetation assumes much of the character of that of New Jersey. The influence of the tide is here also felt, and adds its peculiar character to the Flora. Much of interest might be written in regard to this district, but a want of space forbids. As plants characterizing this region, Magnolia, Clammy Azalea, White Alder, Stagger Bush, Rose Mallow, and Sweet Gum may be men- tioned. At Andalusia, I. C. Martindale finds many rare plants, but the catalogue must be referred to for particulars. Having passed in rapid review the most inter- esting botanical districts of the county, we will now proceed to consider, equally briefly, the botanical features of the county as a whole. In studying the Flora of the county, one fact is at once apparent, namely, the great difference in the vegeta- tion of the northern and southern portions. We find that upwards of ninety native plants have not been collected north of Yardleyville, and on the other hand about one hundred and fifty native plants have not been found south of that place. This interesting fact demonstrates that a line dividing the more distinctively northern from the southern species of Pennsylvania would pass through Bucks a little to the north of that point. Many northern forms seem to have their southern limits in our county, except as they extend further south in the mountains to the west of us. A few western plants have here their eastern limit, notably the Papaw, and narrow- leaved Horse Gentian. A small number of eastern plants also have here their western limit. A comparison of the catalogue with Gray's Manual will make these facts more apparent. The materials for the following catalogue have been collected by the author, and his botanical friends, in many a pleasant ramble over the hills and valleys of old Bucks. During a residence of ten years at Plumsteadville, and seven in Quakertown borough, opportunity has been given to explore. pretty thoroughly, the middle and upper districts, while occasional excursions have also been made to the lower districts. Efficient aid has been rendered in the preparation of the catalogue by Professor T. C. Porter, of Easton, and I. C. Martindale, of Camden, New Jersey, but formerly of Byberry, in Philadelphia. Other botanists have kindly aided in the work, and the author has been careful to give due credit in the body of the catalogue. All the plants of the list have been seen by the author, and every pre- caution taken to avoid mistakes in identification. Some of the more difficult species have been sent to botanical friends for corroboration. In arrangement and nomen- clature the last edition of Gray's Manual has been followed. Although the number of species is gratifyingly large, the field is by no means exhausted. There is no
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doubt that many more species remain to be discovered. Some sections have been very imperfectly explored, especially that portion of the county south of New Hope, and north of Morrisville. The catalogue is intended as a basis upon which the bot- anist may rely in his efforts to render the Flora still more complete. If this cata- logue shall furnish a stimulus to the youths of Bucks county to prosecute more zeal- ously the study of this delightful science, the author will feel amply rewarded for the time and labor spent in its preparation.
QUAKERTOWN, PA., June 24, 1876.
SUMMARY.
Indigenous. Naturalized.
Total.
Phaenogams,
952
17I
1123
Cryptogams,
43
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Whole number of species and varieties.
1166
NOTE.
The revision of the Catalogue of the wild plants of Bucks county was under- taken at the request of the author of this work.
A period of twenty-nine years has elapsed since the publication of the first catalogue by Dr. I. S. Moyer. During this period great changes have taken place in systematic botany. Many new species have been described. The Engler & Prantl's system of the sequence of orders and families and a new system of nomen- clature have been adopted and accepted by the majority of working botanists.
The need therefore of a revision of our Bucks county plants was evident. Many new plants have been added to the Flora, while a few names have been omitted.
The species of Crataegus have been identified and arranged by C. S. Sargent, director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Several of his new species are described from type specimens collected in the county and published by him in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.
The number of plants reported for the county have increased from 1162 in the former catalogue to 1581. Of this increase three species, Tulipa sylvestris, Vicia villosa, and Allium carinatum are new to the United States Flora.
The Flora of Pennsylvania has also been enriched by the addition of about 40 species from Bucks county.
Britton's Manual of the Flora of the Northern States and Canada, and Britton & Brown's Illustrated Flora, are referred to for descriptions and illustrations of the plants in this list.
Abbreviations :- (M. C.)-Moyer's Catalogue of the Flora of Bucks county; (P. Fl.)-Porter's Flora of Pennsylvania; (P. B. C.)-Philadelphia Botanical Club.
C. D. FRETZ, M. D.
SELLERSVILLE, PA., June 1, 1905.
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FLORA OF BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Subkingdom PTERIDOPHYTA.
Order I. FILICALES. Family I. Ophioglossaceae Presl.
Ophioglossum vulgatum L. Adder's-tongue. Durham, J. A. & H. F. Ruth; Sole-
bury, Miss A. B. Williams; Tullytown, Joseph Crawford.
Botrychium obliquum Muhl. Oblique-leaved Grape-fern. Rockhill.
Botrychium dissectum Spreng. Cut-leaved Grape-fern. Rockhill.
Botrychium Virginianum (L) Sw. Virginia Grape-fern. In rich woods.
Family 2. Osmundaceae R. Br.
Osmunda regalis L. Royal Fern. In marshy woods.
Osmunda cinnamomea L. Cinnamon Fern. In wet places.
Osmunda Claytoniana L. Clayton's Fern. In moist woods.
Family 3. Schizaeaceae Reichenb.
Lygodium palmatum (Bernh.) Sw. Climbing Fern. Near Newtown, Dr. Susan Parry; Yardley, L. L. Smith.
Family 4. Polypodiaceae R. Br.
Polypodium vulgare L. Polypody. Frequent on rocky banks.
Adiantum pedatum L. Maiden-hair Fern. In rocky woods.
Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn. Bracken. In sunny places.
Pellaea atropurpurea (L.) Link. Purple-stemmed Cliff-brake. Nockamixon; Dur- ham, J. A. & H. F. Ruth.
Cheilanthes lanosa (Michx.) Watt. Hairy Lip-fern. Near Pipersville; Lumber- ville, (M. C.); Neshaminy, I. C. Martindale.
Woodwardia Virginica (L.) J. E. Smith. Virginia Chain-fern. Bristol, Elias Dif- fenbaugh; Tullytown, Joseph Crawford.
Woodwardia areolata (L.) Moore. Net-veined Chain-fern. Bristol, Elias Diffen- baugh; Tullytown, Joseph Crawford.
Asplenium platyneuron (L) Oakes. Ebony Spleenwort. On rocks.
Asplenium Trichomanes L. Maiden-hair Spleenwort. On rocks.
Asplenium Ruta-muraria L. Wall Rue Spleenwort. Durham, J. A. & H. F. Ruth. Asplenium acrostichoides Sw. Silvery Spleenwort. Frequent in rich woods. Asplenium Filix-foemina (L) Bernh. Lady-fern. In woods.
Camptosorus rhizophyllus (L.) Link. Walking Fern. Rockhill; Harr's dam; Argus; Nockamixon.
Polystichum acrostichoides (Michx.) Schott. Christmas Fern. In woods and rocky places. .
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Dryopteris Noveboracensis (L.) A. Gray. New York Fern. In moist woods. Dryopteris Thelypteris (L.) A. Gray. Marsh Shield-fern. In wet meadows and marshes.
Dryopteris cristata (L) A. Gray. Crested Shield-fern. Bogs in Haycock, (M. C.). Dryopteris Goldieana (Hook.) A. Gray. Goldie's Fern. Bogs in Milford.
Dryopteris marginalis (L.) A. Gray. Everygreen Wood-fern. In rocky woods.
Dryopteris spinulosa intermedia (Muhl.) Underw. Spinulose Shield-fern. In rich woods, rare.
Phegopteris hexagonoptera (Michx.) Fee. Broad Beech-fern. In dry woods. Filix bulbifera (L.) Underw. Bulblet Cystopteris. Nockamixon.
Filix fragilis (L.) Underw. Brittle Fern. In moist woods.
Woodsia Ilvensis (L.) R. Br. Rusty Woodsia. Nockamixon, Dr. T. C. Porter. Woodsia obtusa (Spreng.) Torr. Blunt-lobed Woodsia. Rocky banks.
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Michx.) Moore. Hay-scented Fern. In rich soil on hillsides.
Matteuccia Struthiopteris (L.) Todaro. Ostrich Fern. Nockamixon. Onoclea sensibilis L. Sensitive Fern. In moist soil.
Order 2. EQUISETALES.
Family I. Equisetaceae Michx.
Equisetum arvense L. Field Horsetail. Sandy soil, common.
Equisetum sylvaticum L. Wood Horsetail. Frequent in bogs, (M. C.).
Equisetum littorale Kuehl. Shore Horsetail. Shores of the Delaware river at Point Pleasant.
Equisetum fluviatile L. Swamp Horsetail. Bogs near Quakertown, (M. C.); Nock- amixon, Benjamin Heritage; Penn Valley, Albrecht Jahn.
Equisetum hyemale L. Scouring Rush. Wet banks along rivers.
Order 3. LYCOPODIALES.
Family I. Lycopodiaceae Michx.
Lycopodium lucidulum Michx. Shining Club-moss. Buckingham swamp, (M. C.). Lycopodium inundatum L. Bog Club-moss. Tullytown.
Lycopodium alopecuroides L. Fox-tail Club-moss. Tullytown.
Lycopodium obscurum L. Ground Pine. Buckingham swamp, (M. C.)
Lycopodium clavatum L. Running Pine. Milford, (M. C.).
Lycopodium complanatum L. Trailing Christmas-green. Ridge Valley, Rockhill.
Family 2. Selaginellaceae Underw.
Selaginella rupestris (L.) Spring. Rock Selaginella. On rocks at Point Pleasant. and Nockamixon.
Selaginella apus (L.) Spring. Creeping Selaginella. In moist and grassy places.
Family 3. Isoetaceae Underw.
Isoetes echinospora robusta Engelm. Large Quillwort. Durham, J. A. & H. F. Ruth. 1
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Isoctes riparia Engelm. River-bank Quillwort. Andalusia, I. C. Martindale; Tully- town, Prof. L. M. Underwood.
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