History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 82

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 82

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).

West Enterprise .- This village is situated on a road leading from the old road at Smoketown to the | Horse-Shoe road, one and a half miles northwest of Bird-in-land. The railroad station and post-office is Witmer's. This village is' of recent origin, hav- ing all been built since the building of the Penn- sylvania Railroad, in 1836. It is quite a thriving place, contains two large general stores, a fine cabi- net- and undertaker-shop, blacksmith-shop, wagon- maker, and tin-shop. There is considerable business coal- and lumber-yards. Previous to 1873 there was no passenger station here, only a warehouse ; but the

The school-house and a house for the master were | done here. At Witmer's Station are situated large built at this time, all under one roof, with the usual eye to economy. This is the large stone house still

1 -

RESIDENCEIOF COL. L. L. BUSH,

BIRD - IN - HAND, LANGASTER CO., PA.

901

EAST LAMPETER TOWNSHIP.

wonderful increase of business in West Enterprise caused a passenger station to be established.

Smoketown is situated upon the old road just west of the place where it crosses Mill Creek. This village is built entirely upon the Gibbons tract. The first house built upon this tract stood upon Mill Creek, one-quarter of a mile north of this village. It was burned in 1842, and the stone which has been pre- served reads as follows : "James Gibbons ejus manus scripsit, hoe 5 mo. 27, 1757." The next building which was erected was the mill property, which is still standing, and another house which stood imme- diately south of it. The house was James Gibbons' dwelling-house, after he built the mill, and was an inn during the Revolutionary war. This house was burned in 1837. There are several houses now stand- "ing in Smoketown which antedate the century, but their exact date is unknown. The oldest house of authentic date now standing was built by Abraham , Conard in 1817. This village has been of very slow growth, and now contains a general store, a large tin- and hardware-store and manufactory, the only two nurseries in the township, a resident physician, a large graded school, and a merchant- and grist-mill, but no hotel. The post-office is Bird-in-Hand.

Soudersburg .- In May, 1717, Abraham Duboise, of Ulster County, N. Y., received a patent from the Penna for one thousand acres of land on Pequea Creek, in this county. In his will, dated Oct. 1, 1731, he gave to his daughter, Leah, and her husband, Philip Ferree, a life estate in one-half of the one thousand acres, and the property after her death to her children. Three hundred and thirty-three and one-third acres of this became the property of their youngest son, Joel Ferree, and on March 30, 1789, he and Mary, his wife, sold to Jacob Sonders one hundred acres. Upon this land Sondersburg was built.

Jacob, David, and Benjamin Souders owned all Soudersburg, but as only one hundred acres were bought from Philip Ferree, some of this land must have belonged to the estate of llans Graff, as he re- ceived a patent for land immediately adjoining Abraham Duboise, in Lampeter. The first house built ! in Soudersburg was erected by Hattil Varman, who bought land in Soudersburg in 1727, and as Friends' meetings were held here until 1732, it is to be sup- posed that the house was built soon after the property was purchased. The next building of authentic date is the Methodist Church, which was built in 1802. Whether or not there was an old hotel in this village cannot be ascertained, but, as the turnpike was only finished in 1798, it is not likely that the house of , Hattil Varman was an inn in carly times. lu Soudersburg was one of the earliest toll-gates on the old turnpike, and from that dates the building of this village. It now contains a post-office, a general store, two resident physicians, two blacksmith-shops, shoe- makers, plasterers, and carpenter-shops. There were formerly two hotels here, but now there are none.

Justices of the Peace .- Lampeter, James Black, 1840; Michael Good, 1840. East Lampeter, William Bull, 1842: David F. Witmer, 1842; Aaron S. Evans, 1844; John Quigley, 1845; Christian B. Hartman, 1847; John Quigley, 1850; L. C. Lyte, 1851; Andrew M. Frantz, 1854; William Hough, 1855; John Quig- ley, 1856-61 ; Louis C. Lyte, 1862; Peter Johns, Jacob Rohrer, 1864; Peter Johns, 1865; Calvin Cooper, 1866; Peter Johns, 1870; Calvin Cooper, 1871; Peter Johns, 1875; Calvin Cooper, 1876; S. B. Patterson, 1880; Laban Ranek, 1881.

In the war of 1812 there was not, as far as can be learned, one citizen of this township in active service.

There were very few, if any, men from this town- ship in the Mexican war, which was exceedingly un- popular here, and the saying went that "no decent man would go to Mexico." In the late civil war the general feeling was very patriotie, even among the descendants of the Mennonites and Friends. Al- though these did not enlist, they cheerfully paid their war taxes, and sent many boxes of provisions and other necessaries to the front. So great had been the increase of population, and so patriotic the influence of Methodism that East Lampeter fur- nished her full quota of men for the front, and brave men they were. Many are enrolled high in the temple of fame for their cheerful endurance of hard- ship and suffering in the defense of their country.

A full account of these volunteers is given else- where.

East Lampeter is one of the most populous and wealthy townships in the county. It has not great beauty of landscape, as have many of the townships on the Susquehanna River, but for richness of soil and general good character of its people it is unsurpassed by any other township in the county. There are no manufacture, of importance, as the great source of income 'is agriculture, and chiefly the culture of to- baeco.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

COL. L. L. BUSH.

The Bush family are of Holland Dutch descent, the colonel's grandfather, John Bush, having emigrated to America in 1800, and settled in the southern por- tion of Berks County, Pa. His maternal grandfather, John Willanr, was of French parentage, and, having made the United States his home in 1812, located in the northern part of Chester County, Pa. John Bush, the father of the colonel, was born in the southern part of Berks County, his wife, Rebecca, having been a native of the northern part of Chester County.

Mr. and Mrs. Bush had ten children, four sons and six daughters. L. L. Bush, the subject of this bio- graphical sketch and the third child in order of birth, was born in the southern portion of Berks

902

HISTORY OF LANCASTER COUNTY.

County, May 2, 1836. He began his active career as a water boy in 1844 in connection with the widening . of the Schuylkill Canal, and received for his services the sum of thirteen cents per day. In November, 1845, he left home resolved upon a career of inde- pendence.

In 1846 he was employed by Israel Miller to assist in farm-labor for the sum of one dollar per month, and the following year resided with Solomon Stewart, i lame, and the name in the first place was spelled with whom he remained six years, after which he ae- quired the trade of a mason and stone-cutter. In 1858 he began the business of railroad contraeting, Organization of the Township .- The township was formerly a part of East Lampeter, but was di- vided from the latter in 1837, and organized the same year into a separate subdivision of Lancaster County. his exceptional capacity and thorough mastery of the details of the business having made him one of the most successful representatives in this branch of industry. He served with distinction as an officer during the late Rebellion, having attained the rank of colonel before leaving the service. Col. Bush has been twice married. By the tirst union were born two sons and four daughters, and by the second, two sons and two daughters.

CHAPTER LX.

WEST LAMPETER TOWNSHIP.I

IF the sobriquet of " Garden Spot" so often given to Lancaster County is truly won, then West Lam- peter township ean be fairly set down as " Queen of the Garden." Look on her hills and valleys and you behold a picture of unbroken beauty. Gaze on her winding streams flowing with scarce a ripple onward to the sea, ladened with the romance of the past, whose banks abound in inviting nooks and dells in which the Indians of the long-gone past played hide- go-seek, and the heart becomes enraptured, while the eye delights to lose itself amid associations so rare. Her forests, oh ! how grand they look with their dark blue tops pointing silently upward kissing the clouds !

Geography. - The township is bounded on the north and west by Lancaster, east by East Lampeter, southeast by Strasburg, south by Providence, and southwest by Pequea township. The Pequea Creek is the southeast boundary, and the Conestoga Creek the northwest, receiving at the western extremity of , lowers crossed its threshold.

the township Mill Creek, which crosses the northern seetion of West Lampeter. The surface is rolling, and the soil naturally fertile and abounding in rich veins of limestone, and is well cultivated, and gives to the husbandman abundant harvests in return for his labor.

Roads .-- Thirteen common roads and three turn- pikes course their way through the township, the three last being the Strasburg turnpike, running from Strasburg, and inter-eeting with the old Phila-

delphia pike north of Millport ; the Beaver Valley, running from Green Tree, in Strasburg township, and intersecting with the Lancaster and Willow Street pike; and the latter running between the last- named places.

Derivation of Name .- Close examination settles it that the township name was derived from Peter Yeordy, one of the carly settlers, because of his being Lamepeter, until modern art added her touch by blotting out the first e, spelling the word Lampeter.

Early Settlements .- No papers bearing the stamp of reliable authority, on which we ean place our. hands, give any information as to when the first visit was paid to this section of the county by those who afterwards settled in it. Papers in the posses- . sion of reliable citizens of the township say that the Mennonites broke ground for a settlement near Wil- low Street in 1709 or 1710, near where John B. Ken- dig and Abraham Mylin now reside. The pioneers were the Herrs, the Mylins, the Kendigs, and the Bowmans, of whom the present citizens of that name, residing in the township, are the lineal descendants. Hans Herr, though, was the central figure, so to say, both spiritually and in purse, around which the men of smaller mind and lighter means revolved who asso- ciated with him ; and his descendants, with few ex- ceptions, hold the original acres. In person, he was of medium height, with long gray hair curled under at ends and parted in the middle; had heavy brows, dark hazel eyes, aquiline nose, mouth rather small with heavy lips, his complexion was florid, with full beard covering the face, the whole lighted by a coun- tenance in which sweetness and austerity were grace- fully blended.

He was not only the soul of energy in an agricul- tural point of view, but erected the first Mennonite Church, a structure built of sandstone, the ruins of which can still be seen on the farm now owned by David Hoover, residing near Willow Street. The rude hand of time has sadly changed the finish of the building since IJans Herr and his little flock of fol-

Indians: There are no lineal descendants of the Indians residing in West Lampeter township, nor does tradition point to a single spot of ground within the limits of the township and name it as the place of their happy repose. Their wigwams have been taken down for the last time, their forms have vanished, they sleep their last sleep. Nor are there any relies of the Inthians, that we know of, typical of their former stay on the soil of this township, save those found in the past, and still picked up on the farm of Hebron M. Herr, residing about half a mile from the village of Lampeter. This gentleman, be-

1 By H. W. Miller.

903

WEST LAMPETER TOWNSHIP.

sides being a genial host, takes great pleasure in show- ing these relies, and persons feeling an interest in the matter will find themselves agreeably entertained. They consist principally of arrow-heads and toma-' hawks, made of flint, that have been turned up by . the plow. The farm is a fine stretch of upland, com- | manding a beautiful view of Lancaster City, and other near towns and villages, while far to the east are seen the Welsh Mountains, looking like a mighty giant in slumber, with New Holland near the base like an in- fant nestled at a parent's feet. Here looking at the relies, and viewing the grand panorama of nature, hours put on swift wings and fly away.

Churches .-- There are four church edifices in the township, though there are Mennonites, United Breth - ren, Methodists, and Baptists, and members of the German Reformed Church residing in the township. One of these churches, the brick church on the road leading from the village of Lampeter to Willow

in Lampeter, as well as the church near the intersec- tion of the common road and Strasburg turnpike, was built by the New Mennonites, and the fine structure in the village of Willow Street was built by the Ger- -

man Reformed Society.

He was born in York County, near to the line of Cumberland, Nov. 2, 1809, and at the age of fifteen set out on foot for Lancaster County, and coming to West Lampeter township, placed himself under the sheltering care of Martin Musser, M.D., with whom he read medicine. On arriving at the age of matu-

His remains repose in the cemetery attached to the Longenecker Church, and around them eluster mem- ories that will not grow dim so long as virtue is es- teemed or noble deeds exalted.

Cemeteries .- The cemeteries of the township, though at one time not so well cared for, have of late years become special objects of regard. There are eight of them in number, -- one in Lampeter, one near the junction of the common road with the Stras- burg turnpike, one about a mile south of the village of Lampeter (known as Musser's), one known as the Brick Church Cemetery, on the road leading from Lampeter to Willow Street, one in the suburbs of Willow Street, one near the residence of Benjamin F. Mylin. one known as the Rohrer Cemetery, and one located near the Big Spring, known as Lefevre's.

Societies .- Outside of church members there are no organized societies in West Lampeter township, though members of different societies, with organiza- Street, was built by the Old Mennonites. The church | tions elsewhere, are found within its limits. These consist of Odd-Fellows, Masons, Red Men, American Mechanics, etc.

Industries .- There are five grist-mills and three saw-mills, one sash-factory, four stores, six black- smith-shops, and three hotels in the township. The work, the stores are models in their line, the black- smiths are experts, and the hotels were never better kept.

Those who have been and are now acting in the , mills make excellent flour, the sash-factory does fine capacity of bishop, and have guided the destiny of the Old Mennonite Church in this township, are as follows: Hans Herr, then his grandson, then Bene- diet Ilershey, next Jacob Brubaker, then Peter Ehey, Area, Population, etc .-- West Lampeter has an area of 11,437 acres; a population, including the villages of Lampeter and Willow Street, of 2026 in- habitants. The number of taxables are 542, and the assessed valuation of the property amounts to $3,316,- 570. next Christian Herr, of Pequea, then Joseph Her-hey, followed by Benjamin Herr, with Isaac Eby as as- sistant. Those who as bishops presided over the New Mennonite Church in this township were John Herr, founder, Henry Bowman, John Keeports, John Kohr, and Daniel Musser. It is no stretch of the imagina- tion to assert that of the followers of John Herr, Daniel Musser became the most conspicuous man of the church

The village of Lampeter has a population of 191 inhabitants, and the village of Willow Street 182. These villages, particularly in the summer time, wear an inviting appearance.

There are four post-offices in the township,-one in Lampeter, one in Willow Street, one at Wheatland Mills, and one at Lime Valley.

The Schools .- In no respect, within the recollec- tion of the writer, has the order of things changed more in West Lampeter township than in respect to rity, or soon after, he married Elizabeth Herr, daugh- ; her schools. In the long gone past almost any kind ter of John Herr, by whom he had two children, a , of a building, no matter how dark or dingy-looking son and daughter, the former being John II. Musser, it was, the good people of the township deemed M.D., an able practitioner, and resident of the village well fitted for a school-house. Luckily those days are gone, and a brighter bow of promise spans the intel- lectual mists, filling the future with hope, as the fol- lowing report of her seltools for the year to June 5, 1882, will abundantly prove. The report, let it be understood, covers but the year mentioned: of Lampeter, and the latter the wife of F. B. Mussel- man, of Strasburg. About this time, in connection with the practice of medicine, he took an active in- terest in the mercantile business, opening a store, and becoming, too, a recognized light in county politics. He entered the ministry in 1851, and was created Number of schools . 7 8 Average number of months taught bishop in 1863, and died of disease of the heart in Number of male teachers ..... [876, aged sixty-seven years. . Ilis was a life of use- 1 Number of female teachers ... 4 Average salary of male teachers per month. fulness, spent mainly in the amelioration of the sin- | $10 00 $48 75 Average salary of female teachers pet month .. Number of mur scholars. . Number of femalo scholals. ner's condition, and gilded with the glory of success. . 203

904

HISTORY OF LANCASTER COUNTY.

Average number attending school

320

Average per cent. of attemilauce ......

Just per month per scholar . 98

Number of alls levied for school purposes.

1.25

Total amount of tax levied for school and buibling

$2939.37

State appropriation .... 409 93

Receipts from taxes and all other sources, except State appropriations ..

Total receipts

3510 27

Cost of school-houses, purchasing, building, rent- ing, ete , for the year 144 66

Teachers' wages .. 2765.00

Fuel, contingencies, fres of collectors, and all other expenses. 36.3.48

Total expenditures

327.3 04

Resources ..

237.23

Liabilities.

Compare the above report with the first report made, that of 1855, which will be found in the following table, and the reader will readily see the advance made in the matter of schools in West Lampeter township in the interval of time from 1855 to 1882.

The school report of 1855 was as follows :

Number of schools.

Number of teachers

Salary ot trachers per month

$25.00

Made scholars .

199

Female scholars

147

Number atletaling school.

Cost of each scholar per month. $0 77

Amount of tax levied for school puipuses. 1000 00

Amount of fax levied for builling purposes 1800.00

State appropriation

148 75

Received from collector 10 4.12

Cost of justruction

1050 00

Fund and contingencies.

80.00

The present board of school directors-and there never was a better-is composed of the following gen- tlemen : President, B. E. Herr; Secretary, H. M. Herr; Treasurer, J. B. Houser, H. M. Musser, J. B. Kendig, A. Mowrer.

The following ladies and gentlemen are regarded as among the best of the profession, and are the teachers in Lampeter township : Lampeter, H. C. Fickes ; Wil- low Grove, Miss E. R. Shanley ; Fairview, W. V. Lewis ; Locust Grove, Miss Amanda Landes; High- land, Frank Shibley ; Temperance, Miss Lizzie B. Newswenger; Rock Vale, T. B. Miller ; Wheatland, Miss Mary Harvey.

The buildings are of brick, mounted with dome and bell; within they are parlors in point of light, flooring, seating, and desks, in short, they contain everything that care can invent, calculated to speed the mind and add to the comfort of the pupil. They are built on elevated plots of ground, with an outlook taking in a wide extent of hill, valley, ' and forest, dotted with palace home and lowly cot, furnishing a pleasing landscape to the eye.

Justices of the Peace .- The justices of the peace for West Lampeter township, since the adoption of the State constitution allowing townships to elect such officers, have been as follows

Henry Carpenter, April 12, 1842. Christian Hoss, April 11, 1x4J. Henry Carpenter, April 13, 1847.

Alphens Carpenter, April 11, 1861. C. S Zercher, May s, 1865.

E. R. Miller, Apul, 1872.

Samuel Weaver, April, 1874.

Caspar Hartman, April, 1875. Samuel Weaver, April, 1575.

Alphens Carpenter, April, 1878.

Sunnel Wenver, April, 1879. Emanuel Stetler, April, 1881.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

HENRY MUSSER.

Among the old representative family names of Lancaster' County is found that of Musser. Of the branch of the family of which this memoir is written, Benjamin Musser, the grandfather of our subject, is the first of whom anything is known. Ile resided upon and owned the farm lately owned by Jacob S. Whitmer, at Turkey Ilill, in Manor township, Laneas- ter County. Ile, Benjamin, married a Miss Nicely, who bore him seven children, all of whom migrated to Newmarket, Cumberland Co., Pa., where many of their descendants still reside. For his second wife he married Maria Souders, whose children were Ben- jamin, Joseph, Martin, Daniel, who died young; Martha, married to John lless; and Lizzie, who married Abraham less. Of the sons, Benjamin was a farmer, and passed his days in his native county. Joseph became a physician and moved to Ohio, where he died, leaving a son and two daughters. Martin was born March 5, 1793, in the homestead in Manor, where he grew to manhood. After acquiring a common-school education he studied medicine with his father, who was a successful practitioner, and when twenty-two years of age began the practice of his profession at Lampeter Square, in this county, where he in time had a large and successful practice. In 1835 he sold his property in Lampeter to his nephew, Dr. Daniel Musser, and bought a farm about one mile south of Lampeter, on which he moved, in- tending to quit the practice of bis profession, which he did as nearly as possible. On the farm then bought he died in 1848. In 1815 he married Annie, daughter of Jacob Hostetter. She was born Feb. 7, 1796. Their children were Maria, born July 31, 1816; Abraham, July 15, 1817; Jacob H., Jan. 24, 1819; Benjamin, Sept. 1, 1820; Henry, Oct. 5, 1822; Martin, June 18, 1824; Martha, June 12, 1825; Martin, Sept. 14, 1827 ; Daniel, June 18, 1829; Anna, May 8, 1831; Anna, May 19, 1833; Susannah, April 27, 1835 ; Gideon, July 1, 1837; and Emma, Nov. 25, 1838. Maria, Abraham, Martin, Anna, and Gideon died in infancy. Of the sons, Jacob HI., Benjamin, and the second Martin became doctors. Henry, the fifth child, was born in Lampeter Square, where he remained until he was twelve years old, when his father went on the farm, as heretofore set forth, where his boyhood and young manhood days were passed. It was in- tended that he too should become a physician, and for a time he read medicine, but abandoned it and devoted his time and energies to farming. llis start in life was obtained on his father's farm, which he worked four years ; then bought a farm in Strasburg township, on which he resided twenty-seven years. Mr. Musser is one of Lancaster's successful farmers and prominent men. Ile was in early life a Whig, and joined the Republican party when it first organ-

Christian lless, April 11, 1818. Christian Gordy, April 9, 18002. Levi Huber, April 11, 1851. Henry Miller, Apmal 11, 1856.

Levi Huber, April 10, 1850.

Henry Shultz. April 29, 1862. . Henry Shultz, Ajuil 14, 1863.

Berry Masser

905

LANCASTER TOWNSHIP.

ized, and is and has ever been one of its stalwart members. He has many times represented his town- ship in the county conventions, and has held most of the township offices, especially school director, which office he held many years in succession. In 1860 he | was elected clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions, which office he filled with credit for three years. In the fall of 1881 he was chosen by the people poor- house director for three years. He was one of the first stockholders in the Strasburg Bank, and ten years one of its directors. For his first wife he mar- ried Wiss Elizabeth Breneman, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Neff) Breneman. She was born Jan. 18, 1825, and died Feb, 3, 1879. To them have been born four children, as follows: Milton B., Oet. 20, 1846; Ada, Aug. 28, 1847, died in infancy ; Henry E., born Feb. 17, 1852; Charles M., May 1, 1857, died Dec. 1, 1865. Milton B. graduated at Jefferson Col- lege, Philadelphia, and was elected resident physician of Blockley Almshouse, which position he held fifteen months, when he opened an office in the city of Phila- delphia, where he has an extensive and lucrative prac- tice. Henry E. also graduated at Jefferson College, 1 receiving his diploma with the class of 1875. Ile first practiced in Centreville, Lancaster Co., but is now in East Lampeter, where he bought out his cousin, Dr. Frank Musser, and where he is meeting with fine success. For his second wife Mr. Henry Mu-ser married Mrs. Sarah Stoner, daughter of Cyrus and Catherine ( Willi-) Porter.

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 82

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