History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 81

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Evans, Samuel, 1823-1908, joint author
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1320

USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 81

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).

In 1749, Friends having increased so much in Lam- peter that this house was not only too small to hold their meetings, but in too inconvenient a spot, it being situated on a corner of Varman's property, on a road now leading from the hamlet of Shelf Level to Groff's mill. The Monthly Meeting held at Sadsbury ap- pointed a committee to confer with Leacock Friend, with regard to a judicious choice of land for a meet- ing-house and burial-ground, Friends at Leacock having expressed a wish to move their meeting prop- erty to a more suitable place. This committee con- sisted of Joshua Pusey, Nathaniel Pennock, Thomas Carleton, John Churchman, Jeremiah Brown, Joseph Brinton, Caleb Pierce, and William Harvey, Jr. These Friends conferred with Friends at Leacock, and in 1749 they decided to place the meeting-house on a lot convenient to the great provincial road in Lampeter township.

There are three deeds in the possession of Friends at Lampeter for the land acquired there for meeting and graveyard purposes. All this land formerly be- longed to William MeNabb, by virtue of proprietary letter, but the western part was in 1749 bought of Joseph and Grace Steer, who had bought it of John MeNabb, son of the proprietary, William Mc Nabb.

John MeNabb also gave one-half acre of meadow- land, situated east of this land, but not exactly ad- joining it, but gave a twenty-foot wide alley with it to connect it with the larger tracts.

After the above deeds were executed and settled satisfactorily, the Friends at Lampeter removed the log meeting-house from the land of Hattil Var- man to the newly-acquired lands in Lampeter town- ship, and erected a meeting-house there. The land on the Varman tract lapsed to his heirs, as there had been no transfer of property, and therefore no deeds,

The same logs were used in the meeting-house at Lampeter with an eye to economy and expedition, as there were not yet any saw-mills in the township.

This log house served as a meeting-house until 1790, when, the meetings having become very large and the house very old, Friends concluded to build a large briek meeting-house, divided into two parts, suitable for holding monthly meetings, for, according to the old usages of the society, the men and women transact the business of the meeting separately.

In pursuance of this resolution Friends built, dur- ing the year 1790, the brick meeting-house which is still standing. This house was built around and over the old log building, and, after the new one was erected, the old one was taken log by log out the door of the new one. This was done because Friends wished to occupy the same site, but did not wish to disturb the weekly meetings. The meeting at Lam- peter continued prosperous until the schism of 1829, when it divided ; but so large a majority remained as Friends, and so few split off' with the orthodox, that the meeting still held its own. The great rise in the value of the land in this township, and the movement

897

EAST LAMPETER TOWNSHIP.

of many toward the great West, thinned out the site for the church, consisting of forty perches, was bought from Sarah Griffith, and another section of land was purchased from Benjamin B. Groff in 1856. The trustees were Joseph Cooper, John Binkley, William Hoar, Isaac Conard, and William Given. A frame church was built in 1840, and this gave way members of this meeting so much that in 1854 the monthly meeting was taken to Sadsbury. The Par- ticular Meeting has been beld here ever since, but there are so few members now that it is only an in- dulged meeting. This, which is now so small, may be rightly called the parent of the most flourishing , to the present structure in 1872. From the beginning Yearly Meetings on the continent, the Illinois Yearly it has been included in the same cirenit with Souders- burg. The clergymen have been as follows: Meeting.

The early Friends held peculiar views with regard to tombstones, considering them marks of vanity and pride, and they forbade their members to place them upon the graves of the dead. At the time the meet- ing-house was moved from Hattil Varman's land to the present site there was a graveyard on the Varman property from which the bodies were not removed. As there were no tombstones, in time it was plowed over, but so great was the reverence for the dead that the site was not destroyed for nearly eiglity years, and there were a few landmarks remaining within the memory of the writer of this article.

The graveyard connected with the present meeting- house is not older than 1749, and there are very few tombstones standing in it, but a record of it has been kept, every grave marked with the number and name of the body lying there ; so with a little perseverance one ean find any grave he wishes, and there is suffi- cient property belonging to this meeting-house to keep the graveyard in order forever, as the property cannot be used for any other purpose.

Soudersburg Methodist Episcopal Church.+ The lot upon which this church was built was part of the tract of Philip and Leah Ferree, and was sold by Joel Ferree to John Souders in 1789. In 1802 it was conveyed by Benjamin Souders to trustees, Jacob Souders, David Huss, John Keenege, Jacob Beam, Joseph Buckwalter, John Miller, and Benja- min Souders, for thirty-two pounds eighteen shillings, Pennsylvania money.

The Soudersburg Church is among the earliest set- tlements in Methodism. Boehm, in his " Reminis- cences," states that Methodism was introduced here in 1791. The church was built in 1802. Bishops As- bury and Whatcoat visited it in 1803 and officiated there. In 1804 the Philadelphia Conference met in a private room at the house of Benjamin Souders, reserving the church for preaching, which three times a day was used for that purpose. Bishop Asbury preached twice during the session. The number of ministers present was one hundred and twenty. Bishop MeKendree preached in the church in April, 1811.

In 1872 this church was rebuilt, and in 1873 an additional lot was bought from Joel Lightner, Esq., for the purpose of an extension to the graveyard.

Bird-in-Hand Methodist Episcopal Church, for- merly called Enterprise Methodist Episcopal Church, was founded in 1840. . Services were held previous to that time in private houses in the neighborhood. The

1779, Joseph Cromwell ; 1780, John Cooper, George Hair; 1781, William Glendenning, Samuel Rome ; 1782, William Paitridge, T. Haskins; 1783, Renben Ellis, John Hagerty; 1784, Lee Raybole, James Cromwell, I. Lambert; 1785, Ira Ellis, James Thomas ; 1786, Henry Ogburn, Peter MI. Moriarty ; 1787, Sam- uel Dudley, William Thomas; 1785, Robert Cann, John Ililbourn ; 1789, William Dougherty, James Campbell ; 1790, Sylvester Hutchinson, John Cooper ; 1791, J. MeClaskey, J. Robinson, S. Miller; 1792, James Lovell, James Wainwright; 1793, Robert Cloud, William Hasler ; 1794, Isaac Robinson, Elisha Pelham ; 1795, John Jarrell, Thomas Sargent, J. Robinson ; 1796, Ephraim Chambers, James Stokes ; 1797, William Culbert, William P. Chandler; 1798, William P. Chandler, Daniel Higby ; 1799, William Colbert, J. Ileart, E. Larkins, R. Braham; 1800, Stephen Tinunons, R. Sneath, J. Thomas ; 1801, Wil- liam Hunter, S. Timmons, Robert McCoy ; 1802, Wil- liam Hunter, John Bethell; 1803, A. Owen, William Brandon ; 1804, Ilenry Boehm ; 1805, James Osburn, James Stephens; 1806, William Hunter, Dan Ire- land; 1807, Thomas Buek, W. loyer, G. Harmer ; 1808, Thomas Buek, John Miller ; 1809, James Smith, Thomas Buck ; 1810, James Bateman, John Walker ; 1811, T. Walker, II. Ross, R. Sparks; 1812, J. Sand- ers, J. Mitchell, William Torbert ; 1813, R. Sneath, William Torbert, Thomas Everard ; 1814, Asa Smith, J. Mitchell, J. Samson ; 1815, Thomas Miller, Phineas Rice ; 1816, David Best, Thomas Miller ; 1817, Rob- ert Burch, John Woolston ; 1818, Robert Burch, P. Price, W. laster; 1819, William Leonard, John Talley ; 1820, William Ilunter, J. Woolston, William Ross; 1821, John Woolston, Henry G. King; 1822, Ilenry Boelum, James Holdrich ; 1823, Henry Boehm, Wesley W. Wallace; 1826, Henry Boehm, W. W. Wallace; 1827, Henry Boehm, Daniel Parrish ; 1828, George Woolly, John Nicholson; 1829, George Woolly, T. Catroll ; 1830, David Best, N. Chew ; 1831, Thomas Miller, Eliphalet Reed, R. W. Thomas; 1832, Thomas Miller, Eliphalet Reed, John Edwards ; 1833, T. Miller, William Ryder; 1834, John Leed- num, R. E. Morrison ; 1835, John Leednum, J. Ed- wards; 1836, John Edwards ; 1837, Robert Anderson, Dallas D .. Love ; 1838, Enos R. Williams ; 1839, Enos R. Williams, D. Best (supply ) ; 1810, Samuel Grace, T. S. Johnson, D. Best; 1841, Samuel Grace, J. D. Long : 1842, Gasway Oram, J. C. Owens; 1843, Gas- way Oram, G. D. Carrow ; 1844, William R. Goent- ner, David Titus; 1845, William R. Goentner, Henry

898

HISTORY OF LANCASTER COUNTY.

Sanderson ; 1846, Allen John, J. A. Whittaker ; 1847, . hands of A. E. Roberts, Esq., assignee, who sold the hotel property to Benjamin Grafl. Benjamin Graff died in 1853, and his executors sold this to John Gyger, Esq. On the Ist day of April, 1865, it passed into the hands of Levi R. Rhoads, the present pro- prietor. Allen John ; 1848, James Harmer, Allen John ; 1849, Jonas Bissey ; 1850, John D. Curtis, James Coller; 1851, Charles Karsner, W. C. Robinson ; 1852, Charles Karsner, J. N. King; 1853, Valentine Gray. J. B. Dennison ; 1854, Valentine Gray, A. Howard ; 1855, Henry Sutton, Mark Bailey ; 1856, George W. Ley- This was an old inn from the earliest remembered the old road in 1734. Four buildings have been cellar walls. brand, J. Dyson ; 1857, George W. Leybrand, George ; times, and was headquarters of the first surveyors of Cummins ; 1858, W. Rink; 1859, W. Rink, J. B. Steward, 11. Sutton ; 1860, J. Carroll; 1861-62, J. N. , erected successively upon the same site and the same Magee ; 1863-64, W. W. MeMichael; 1865, W. W. MeMichael, R. W. Jones, W. Hammond; 1866-67, B. T. String, J. C. Wood ; 1868, A. M. Wiggins, John Wesley Wright ; 1869-70, 11. B. Manger, - llow- land; 1871-73, Joseph Gregg, N. Turner; 1874-76, Samuel Horwell, J. T. Gray ; 1877-78, R. C. Wood; 1879, S. B. Best ; 1880, William Rink ; 1881-83, John R. Bailey.

Mellinger's Meeting-House .- This church was built upon the land of Martin Bare, patent propri- etor, but not, as far as can be learned, during his life- time. The land was given to the meeting by his son, Christian Bare, and there are no deeds for the prop- erty. The present meeting-house was built in 1767. This church takes its name from Martin Mellinger, who married the daughter of Christian Bare, and was a prominent man in the church and neighborhood tor over half a century.

The church remains just the same as when first built, and seems to be able to stand the storms of centuries to come. The graveyard attached to this church is the oldest in the township, as it was sur- veyed and reserved by Martin Bare for the burial of the Palatines long before the church was built. In this quiet, beautiful spot lie the remains of the An- dreas or Andrews, the Bares, the Binkleys or Binekles, as then written, the Danners and Downers, the Bough- walters and Graff's, the early Witmers, Martin Mel- linger, andall the immediate descendants of the early Palatines.

Bird-in-Hand Hotel .- This is the only hotel in the township which has preserved its original name to the present. This property formed part of the Wil- liam MeNabb claim, which, at the time of his death, in 1748, he granted by will to his son, John McNabb. Joseph Steer and Grace, his wife, bought this land from John McNabb and Isabel, his wife, on the Ist day of May, 1755. From Joseph Steer the property passed into the hands of John Witmer in 1768. At '9th day of May, 1766, who bought it at the sheriff's his death it passed by decree of Orphans' Court into , sale of Jacob Shoemaker. According to the fore- the hands of John Witmer, Jr., who sold it to George going sales and deeds the hotel must have been built by Jacob Shoemaker between the years 1758 and 1766. The property was sold by Christopher Fran- Sr., on the 16th day of April, 1802. John Bender, ; ciseus and Rosina, his wife, in 1772, to John Witmer and wife. Bressler in 1775. From George Bressler and Freny, his wife, it passed into the possession of John Bender, Sr., died intestate, and on the 27th day of April, 1808, John Bender, Jr., took the property at the ap- praisement of his father's estate, and sold it to Sam- uel Rinzer, lumber merchant, of Columbia, in 1527. In 1844 the estate of Samuel Rinzer passed into the

There is a legend extant that William Penn stopped at this hotel ou his journey to the Indian village at Wright's Ferry, but this is a mistake, for he did not pass this way, as there was no road here at that time, and he came by a road which had been laid out through the lower part of the county. The present hotel was built in 1852 by Benjamin Graff, the former building having been burned.

Railroad House at Bird-in-Hand .- This hotel was built by contract for Abraham Bruner, lumber merchant, of Columbia, in 1835. The land upon which it was built is part of the old William Me Nabb tract, and after John MeNabb, son of William, sold the property, through many changes it came into the hands of Abraham Bruner. The hotel was built and used for the special accommodation of the men en- gaged in the construction of the Pennsylvania Rail- road, which was constructed at this time.

This hotel was leased to Henry Trout, Jacob Harsh, and Wendell Hall, successively, until 1866, when it passed by deed of sale into the possession of Mr. Peter Boffenmyer, the present owner.

Bridgeport Hotel Property .- The original pat- entee of this property is not known, nor do any of the old deeds mention any owner previous to Roger Ilunt and wife ; nevertheless they were not the first owners, as these persons are not among any of the okl settlers who were granted patents under the Penns. Roger Hunt and Esther, his wife, sold this property to Henry Bostler on the 14th day of August, 1740. Henry Bostler and wife granted it by deed to James Webb on the 5th day of March, 1744. James Webb, by deed, on the 14th day of October, 1758, sold it to Jacob Shoemaker, subject to certain ground- rents. In none of these deeds is the property spoken of as hotel property, except in the deed which John Barr, Esq., sheriff, gave to Christopher Franciseus on

In 1783, John Witmer and wife, who appear to have moved into Radnor township, Chester Co., transferred this property to Henry Lougher, tanner, of Bridgeport, ancestor of the present Locher family

899

EAST LAMPETER TOWNSIIIP.

of Lancaster. Henry Lougher and wife sold it to : ton for the sum of €4350, currency of Pennsylvania, George Shindel, tailor, of Bridgeport, in 1809, Here equal to 810,800, on the 1st day of April, 1799. is a vacancy with regard to deeds. The deed which William Hamilton was a manufacturer of cloth, and condheted the business on Pequea Creek quite successfully, and when he bought this property he associated with himself James Porter as a partner. Mr. Hamilton carried on the business until his death in 1831. James Porter, son of the partner, and son- David Witmer received was a sheriff's deed, but whether the sheriff soll it as Shindel's or not cannot be known. In 1821 this hotel passed from the pos- session of David Witmer and wife to that of Lemuel Sappington, from the assignees of Sappington to Rudolph Kauffman in 1841, and from him to Cyrus " in-law of Hamilton, took the mill at the appraise- Miller in 1847, and in 1852 it passed from the ad- ministrators of Miller to the possession of Michael Metzger, the present proprietor.

This was an old stand for Pitt-burgh wagons, and in 1819 its proprietor expected it to be the centre of a flourishing town, as in that year a man named Marks Graff, having bought the land around the hotel from the former proprietor, Wallace, laid it out in town lots and disposed of the lots by lottery; but these great hopes were blasted, and it has remained a sub- urban hotel to the present time.

Early Innkeepers in Lampeter .- 1765, August - term of Quarter Sessions Court, the following persons Bushong's Mill .- The land upon which this mill stands is part of the London traet, for which James Gibbons received a title from the proprietaries in 1723. In 1732 his son, Joseph Gibbons, had the tract surveyed, and received a patent therefor. were licensed by the king ( George III.) to keep inns in Lampeter: Frederick Larger, Robert Eachus, George Aston, George Diehl, William Christie; 1766, Chris- topher Franciscus, James Gibbons; 1774, Timothy MeCormick ; 1775, John Witmer, Jr., Willis Davis, This mill was built in 1760 by James Gibbons, grandson of the original James. From the old rec- Hannah Hains; 1778,' James Kerry, John Willson, William Hains; 1779, William Hains, George Mi- . ords it appears that he was two years in building and chael Brecht; 1780, Henry Shute, William Hains; ' preparing this mill for grinding and bolting flour. The inscription on the mill reads, "Built by James 1781, George Bressler, Henry Shute, Salome Hains, John Moore; 1798, Jacob Hartman kept the " Bird- , Gibbons and Deborah G., 1770;" and in the Quarter in-Hand ;" Gaynor Pierce, the "Seven Stars;" Ar- thur Travers, the "Lamb ;" Henry Kendrick, hotel, name unknown ; Jacob Duchman, " The Fountain Inn;" and Adam Pickel, "The Blue Ball."

Eshleman's Mill Property. - In 1719, Joseph . Boughwalter, a l'alatine, received a patent from the proprietaries, the sons of Penn, for one hundred and fifty acres of land lying on a branch of the Cones- toga, in the county of Chester, province of Pennsyl- vania. This land lay upon what is now Mill Creek, township of East Lampeter. The deed for this tract seems originally to have been taken by Isaac Hen- drich, who, we suppose, resigned his claim to Joseph Boughwalter. Joseph evidently built the mill, as in the deed granted by him and Barbara, his wife, to their son, Abraham Buckwalter, the mill property and water right are mentioned. Abraham carried on the mill till 1798, when he and his wife, Mary, gave a deed for the property to their son Benjamin, the deed bearing date 10th day of December, 1798. With the next transfer this mill passed out of the Buck- walter family, having been in their possession for eighty years. It also passed from being a grist- and merchant-mill to a fulling-mill. Benjamin Buck- walter transferred this property to William Hamil-

ment of the property, and carried it on until 1842, when he sold it to Benjamin Eshleman. Whether the same mill which was built by Boughwalter stood until this time we cannot tell, but the mill at this time was very old, and in 1850 it was burned. In the same year, Benjamin Eshleman built the fine mill now standing. This property is now in the hands of the heirs of Benjamin Eshleman, he having died quite recently, and as his only surviving son, B. F. Eshleman, is a member of the Lancaster bar, the business is carried on by a tenant, Aaron Hart- man, of East Lampeter.

Session records the following appears, May 25, 1772: "This day James Gibbons, miller and boulter of Flour in Lampeter Township, produced his brand- mark as follows: J. Gibbons ; which the requested might be entered with the Clerk of Quarter Sessions Court according to law." James Gibbons carried on this mill until his death, in 1810, when by his will the property passed out of the Gibbons name, he leaving it to his daughter, Rachel Gibbons, who had married William Daniel, of Bart, in 1804. William Daniel carried on business here very successfully for nine- teen years, during which time he added a story to the structure, making it the fine three-story mill as it stands to-day.

In 1829, William Daniel dying intestate and leaving a young family, this mill pa -- ed entirely out of the Gibbons family, Henry Espenshade buying it from Mark P. Cooper, Sr., the administrator of the estate of William Daniel. Henry Espenshade sold the property to the present owner, Amos Bushong, a descendant from the proprietary Huguenot family of that name, in whose bands it remains at present. This is the only mill now standing in the township which was built prior to the Revolutionary war. What a history could be written could those old walls speak !

Graff's Mill .- Felix Landis, in 1719, received a

1 From 1778 to 1781 licensed by the commonwealth.

900

HISTORY OF LANCASTER COUNTY.

patent from the sons of Penn, proprietors of the pro- vince, for four hundred acres of land situated on a branch of Conestoga, county of Chester, province of Pennsylvania. This land was on Mill Creek, farther sonth than the traet of Boughwalter, and separated from it by the traet of Michael Danner. In 1731 he transferred part of this tract to John Binkley, also a Palatine, who died intestate in 1760, and his son, Felix Binkley, took one hundred and thirteen acres and ninety-six perches at the settlement of the estate, and in 1767 built the mill at Millport, on Mill Creek. This mill remained, as far as can be learned, in the hands of the Binkley family, but not the immediate descendants of Felix, Sr., until about the year 1820, when John Binkley sold it to Jacob Charles. It re- mained in the Charles family until the first day of April, 1839, when the administrators of Jacob Charles sold it to Jacob Fritz. From him it passed into the hands of Daniel Potts, May 23, 1839. In 1857, Samuel Curtis, Esq., bought it from Daniel Potts, and sold it to D. B. Landis in 1877; D. B. Landis sold it to Isaac Graff in 1882. The old mill, as built by Felix Binkley, stood until 1882, when it was torn down, and a fine new brick mill erected in its place. The

old corner-stone was preserved, and placed in the ! much improved within the last twenty years through corner of the new engine-house.

Public Schools .- To the Friends belongs the honor of building the first school-house of any im- portance in this township. We do not mean to intimate that Friends only were educated, but we are speaking of those who were the chief promoters of education. By referring to the draft of Friends' property at Lampeter ( East) it will be seen that a por- tion of the ground is marked as set aside for school purposes. This land, in common with all the other land owned by Friends, belonged to the William MeNabb tract under a patent, but when Friends acquired it the land had passed from William Me- Nabb to his son John, from him to Joseph Steer and Grace, his wife, and from them to Jacob Hart- man, who by indenture made the 1st day of January, 1793, sold to William Brinton, William Gibbons, John Smith, and Benjamin Owen a certain lot, piece, or parcel of land. This tract was deeded to the said trustees, to their survivors as joint tenants, for the sole use and benefit of the people called Quakers on or abont Mill Creek, for the convenience of a school- house and house suitable to accommodate a master and family, to be erected thereon as they ( Friends) or a majority of them in a collective capacity may see fit.

This property having been thus deeded in an im- proper manner, on the 14th day of September, 1815, for and in consideration of one dollar it was granted to the trustees appointed by the meeting in a collec- tive capacity.

standing just north of Friends' meeting-house in East Lampeter. For nearly fifty years it was used as a school-house, and nearly all the middle-aged persons living in the neighborhood received their preliminary education there At the present time it is not used for school purposes, and the Orthodox Friends, to whom it belongs, have leased it for the term of ninety- nine years for a private dwelling.

East Lampeter accepted the common school law in 1836. In 1837 there were eleven school districts, eleven school-honses, three hundred and sixty-three pupils, and a tax levy of 81453, a State appropriation of $1705.75. Total receipts that year were 82656.28; total expenditures were $2624.66 ; and of this amount eight hundred and fifty-five dollars were expended for new school-houses.

In 1855 East Lampeter had ten districts, ten houses, and five hundred and thirty-seven scholars. Total receipts, 81472.32; expenditures, 81797.14. In 1882, there were eleven districts, eleven houses, five hundred and eighty-six pupils. Total receipts, $4855.31 ; total expenditures, 84063.41.

The system of graded schools has been adopted in this township, and the school system has been very the influence of the normal schools, one of which is sitnated in this county.

Bird-in-Hand .- Bird-in-Hand is one of the oldest villages in the township, and is also an important one, as it is the only regular station on the Pennsylvania Railroad in the township, the most important post- office, and the centre of several mail-rontes. The oldest buildings now standing are the Friends' meet- ing-house, built in 1790, and the residence of James Murphy, the exact date of the erection of which is not known. The Bird-in-Hand Hotel is on the oldest building-site, but there have been four build- ings erected there from the earliest times to the pres- ent. Although this is an important railroad and ex- press station and post-office, there is very little other business. There is a general store, a cigar-store and manufactory, a boot- and shoe-shop, two hotels, a large lumber- and coal-yard, a wagonmaking-shop, . and a large public-school, not graded. This village is all laid out upon the lands of William MeNabb, patentee under the London Company.

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.

History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 81

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Evans, Samuel, 1823-1908, joint author Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1320

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Evans, Samuel, 1823-1908, joint author
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1320