History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 239

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania > Part 239

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Among the prisoners of General Burgoyne's army was Captain Thomas Anbury, who gives the following interesting account of his stay here overnight in December, 1778, while on the march to Virginia under escort, exactly six months after the Americans

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had vacated it. Some of this information is new and no doubt reliable, and also corroborates the great suffering and hardships of our army here,-

"Our troops slept in the huts at Valley Forge, which had been con- structed by the Americans, and we remained till late the next day for the delivery of provisions before we marched. I had a full opportunity to reconnoiter tbe wbole camp. On the east and south sides were entrenchments, with a ditch six feet wide and three deep, the mound not four feet high, very narrow, and casily to have been beat down with a cannon ; two redoubts were also begun, but not completed. The Schuylkill was on the left, and, as I before observed, with a bridge across it ; the rear was mostly covered by an impassable precipice formed by Valley Creek, having only a narrow passage near the river. This camp was by no means difficult of access, for the right was attainable, and in one part of the front the ascent was scarcely to be perceived. The defenses were exceedingly weak, and this is the only instance I ever saw of the Americans having such slight works, these being such that a six-pounder could easily have battered down. The ditches were not more than three feet deep, and so narrow that a drummer-boy might with ease leap over.

" A Loyalist, at whose honse I was quartered, at Valley Forge, and who resided here at the time Washington's army was encamped, toki me that when General Washington chose that spot for his winter-quarters his men were obliged to build their buts with round logs and suffered exceedingly from the inclemency of the season. The greater part of them were in a manner naked at that severe season of the year, many without shoes and stockings, and very few, except the Virginia troops, with the necessary clothing. His army was wasting away with sickness, that raged with extreme mortality in all his different hospitals, which were no less than eleven. llis army was likewise so diminished hy con- stant desertions in companies, from ten to fifteen at a time, that at one period it was reduced to four thousand, and those with propriety could not be called effective.

" The horses, from being constantly exposed to showers of rains and falls of snow, both day and night, were in such a condition that many of them died, and the rest were so emaciated as to be unfit for labor ; had he been attacked or repulsed he must have left behind all his artillery, for want of horses to convey it. In addition to all those distresses, Washington had not in camp at any one time a week's provisions for man and horse, and sometimes he was totally destitute. The Loyalists greatly censure General Ilowe in suffering Washington to continue in this weak and dangerous state from December till May, and equally astonished what could be the motive he did not attack, surround or take by siege the whole army when the severity of the weather was gone. They expected that in the month of March, April and May they should hear of the camp heing stormed or besieged. But it seems that General Howe was exactly in the same situation as General Burgoyne respecting intelligence, obtaining none be could place a perfect reliance on."

The house occupied by Washington as his head- quarters is still standing, having undergone but little alteration since that time. It was owned in the Rev- olution by Isaac Potts, the proprietor of the forge. It is a two-story stone building, situated near the Reading Railroad. The main portion of it has a front of about twenty-four feet and is thirty-three in depth. The outside is of dressed stone, pointed. The interior wood-work is still in a good state of preservation, and with care this building may be made to last for centuries, as its walls appear as dura- ble as when first built. No one familiar with our Revolutionary history can enter the room which served the great chief for nearly half a year, both as a reception-room and bed-chamber, and where he wrote many important dispatches, without feelings of the deepest emotions. In the sill of the east window of this room, and out of which can be seen a considerable portion of the camping-ground, is still pointed out a small, rough box, as having contained

his papers and writing material. We gazed at this depository and other objects around with considerable interest, hallowed as they are by so many associations of the times that "tried men's souls." Adjoining is a wing one and a half stories high and about twenty- four feet in length, which has been built since the war, but it occupies the site of a smaller structure that was erected for the accommodation of Mrs. Washington. In a letter to a friend this lady re- marks: "The General's apartment is very small,- he has had a log-cabin built to dine in, which has made our quarters much more tolerable than they were at first." This property was long owned and carefully preserved by Mrs. Hannah Ogden, of whom, in 1878, it was purchased by the Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge, which was specially organized for this purpose, and it can there- fore be no longer regarded as private property.

There are various remains of the encampment still visible. On the road to Port Kennedy is a portion of land uninclosed, where the foundations of the hut occupied by Baron Steuben are still visible, and the ground is undisturbed on which he drilled his soldiers. At the distance of half a mile from the headquarters a line of entrenchments crosses the road, beginning near the Schuylkill, and extending southwards fully a mile, terminating near the Chester County line. On the farm of William Stephens, a few yards north of this road is a redoubt, not quite a quarter of a mile from the Schuylkill, placed there to command Sullivan's bridge, which was just below Catfish Istand, in case of an attempt being made to enter the encampment from the north side of the river. This redoubt is about a mile from the headquarters. On the south side of the road, and in front of these entrenchments, is a redoubt called Fort Hamilton, and another called Fort Washington nearly a mile south and close to the Chester County line. These are now the most promi- nent remains existing and were among the most important. As most of the encampment-ground is still in a state of nature, it has therefore generally remained undisturbed to this day, though more than a century has passed away since that eventful period.

Relics are still occasionally found by persons living in that vicinity. Wm. Henry, Jr., found a number on his father's farm, which were shown to the writer in 1858. Among these were pewter bottons, having on them the figures seven, eight and ten, no doubt in- tended to show the regiment or brigade to which they belonged ; also, spoons, hayonets and fragments of musket-locks, looking considerably time-worn, be- sides a variety of musket-balls, some of which were of a large size. Wm. R. Kennedy, in the spring of 1857, turned up with the plow, on his farm, several twelve and sixteen-pound cannon-balls and several hatchets. The latter were about the usual size, but shaped pre- cisely like a modern chopping-axe. At the Mont- gomery County Centennial exhibit, Norristown, in September, 1884, a considerable display of relies was

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inade, many of them having been obtained in and around the place of this encampment.

The Swedes in Upper Merion .- The credit is due to the Swedes of having made the first permanent settlement in Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1637 two vessels arrived from Göttenburg, called the " Key of Calmar" and the "Bird Grip." A purchase was made by those colonists from the Indians the following year of the lands on the west side of the bay and river from Cape Henlopen to Santhicon, or the falls of the Delaware, which they called New Sweden. Tradition has it that the ancestors of the Rambos, Holsteins, Yo- cums and Matsons came in these vessels. After more arrivals, in February, 1643, Governor Printz, selected for settlement the low alluvial island in the Delaware, called Tinicum or Tinnekonk, situated below, but near the mouth of the Schuylkill. Here a settlement was made and a fort and a church built- Peter Lindstrom, the royal Swedish engineer, in 1654, made a map of New Sweden, on which the Schuylkill is denoted as far up as to contain a small part of the territory now comprised in Montgomery County. But no evidence, strange to say, exists of any early settle- ment or explorations up or along this river by the Swedes, even thirteen years after the arrival of Penn.

In 1696, John and Gunnar Rambo had secured by purebase a tract of land in the present Upper Merion, which had also been previously granted to Lasse Cock and company in 1684. Subsequent to any settle- ment it was ascertained that William Penn had granted the aforesaid tract, containing in all seven thousand eight hundred acres, October 24, 1701, to his daughter, Letitia, as the manor of Monut Joy. Upon investigation Penn's attorneys restored two hundred and fifty acres to John Rambo, March 6, 1709. A tract was surveyed to Gunnar Rambo, April 11, 1702, containing six hundred and fourteen acres, which is stated to have been bounded on the north by Peter Cock's and the south by Widow Yocum's land. It ap- pears that afterwards a different survey was ordered, because " being within the bounds of Letitia Penn's Manor." How these matters were afterwards adjusted we have not definitely ascertained, but it is certain that what is known as the Swedes' Tract was located on the west side of the Schuylkill, between the present borough of Bridgeport and the Lower Merion line, and extending from the same a mile or more west- wards, and came in possession of Mats Holstein, Gnu- nar Rambo, Peter Rambo, Peter Yocum and probably John Matson in 1712, and upon which they soon after settled and made the first improvements. It was a judicious selection, and their descendants to this day still retain a considerable portion of the same. Ac- cording to tradition, these settlers commenced clearing away the trees and nnderbrush along the river early in the spring of this year and erected rude log dwellings, into which they moved with their families in June. Further additions were made by purchase from Robert Llewellyn, Evan Hughes and perhaps

other Welsh settlers in this vicinity, who had pre- ceded them nearly a quarter of a century. The Swedes called this section Ammasland, probably after some district or place in Sweden.

Of these, Mats Holstein settled the farthest to the northwest of Philadelphia. His wife was Brita Gostenberg. His family consisted of sons, Andrew, Mathias and Frederick, and danghters, Deborah and Brita. His original dwelling stood beside the Schuyl- kill, within the present limits of Bridgeport. He died in 1738, aged sixty-one, when his eldest son, Andrew, inherited the home place, which we know in 1723 if not earlier, bore the name of Swedes' Ford. He married Mary Jones, of Lower Merion, and at his death left the property to his only son, Peter, who was rated in 1780 as holding here one hundred and ninety-seven acres, and was at this time the town- ship collector. He died in 1785, and the property descended to his only child, Mary, who had married Levi Bartleson. On account of the French and In- dian troubles in 1747, a company of volunteers was formed, of which Mathias Holstein was lientenant and Frederick Holstein ensign.

Mats Holstein, the first settler, in 1714, built a stone house, about a mile from the river, to which he removed, with his family. Four generations of his descendants were born here, and its walls still stand, though they have been built upon and added to several times since. His second son, Mathias, already mentioned, who was born in 1717, married Mag- dalena, daughter of Marcus Hulings, of Morlatton, a Swedish settlement on the Schuylkill, four miles above the present borough of Pottstown. Mrs. Hol- stein survived her husband many years and related | several incidents in her early life which at this day seem curious. She well remembered, when quite young, being carried some distance on a squaw's back. The traveling was then chiefly performed in canoes. When married and brought to Swedes' Ford, near where her husband resided, she and all her wedding friends came down the river in canoes. Mathias Holstein died December 10, 1768, aged fifty-one years, and was buried at the Swedes' Church. He is stated to have been one of the most active in its erection in 1760.

Samuel Holstein, son of the latter, was rated in 1780 as holding two hundred and seventy-eight acres. It is said that on this traet he shot deer as late as 1760. He had fonr sons, -Major Mathias, Charles, Colonel George W. and William. Some account of the former is given in the history of Bridgeport. The latter became the owner of the homestead, remained unmarried, and after his death the property was sold, and thus, after a long possession, it passed out of the family. George W. Holstein resided on Peach Farm, adjoining the old homestead. In 1812 he was secretary of the Mount Joy Horse Company, became captain of the Second Troop of Montgomery County and lieutenant- colonel of the Second Battalion. At a meeting held

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at Norristown August 25, 1824, he was appointed one of a committee of six to invite Lafayette to visit Montgomery County, particularly Whitemarsh, Bar- ren Hill and Valley Forge. In November, 1827, he was elected one of the first managers of the De Kalb Street bridge, since declared free. He died February 10, 1841, aged sixty-three years. He left three sons, -- Isaac, William H. and Dr. George W., the former being lately deceased.

Of our carly Swedish families, perhaps none are now so numerous as that of Rambo. The first ances- tor, Peter Rambo, appears to have been a conspicuous man in the early settlement. In 1657 he was ap- pointed one of the magistrates of the colony ; he was also a commissary, which office he resigned in 1661. In May, 1668, was made one of the counselors of Robert Carr, Deputy-Governor; appointed a justice of the peace, with five others, October 3, 1676, for the jurisdiction of the Delaware River. He was a native of Göttenburg and had a sister living there in 1692, and the following year is mentioned, with Andrew Bonde, as perhaps the only survivor of those that came over in the first expedition, which would show that he inust then have been pretty well advanced in years. He had four sons then living; these were Peter, Gun- nar, Andrew and Johu. Peter Rambo, Jr., was present at the landing of Penn at Upland (now Ches- ter) November 8, 1682. He is mentioned as having in 1693 six persons in his family. Charmed with the beauty and fertility of the Schuylkill Valley, he re- moved with his family from the vicinity of Upland, and settled on his tract in Upper Merion, with the others, in 1712, on which he spent the remainder of his days. Gunnar Rambo, in 1685, represented Phila- delphia County in the Assembly ; is mentioned in the list of 1693 as having also six in family. He arrived with his brother and settled on a large tract just be- low the present Bridgeport.

A lot of land was pur- chased from his estate in 1758, upon which a school- house had been erected and subsequently the church.

Mons or Mounce Rambo was the sou of Gunnar Rambo, and was born in 1693, and accompanied his father to Upper Merion, where he spent the remainder of his days. He was a famous hunter, and his exploits still live in the traditions of the neighborhood. He used to say that when he first came here there were numbers of friendly Indians about and among thent. He stated that he had shot deer in the vicinity as late as the year 1770. Once he shot a panther which he dis- covered attempting to attack his dog. Another time he wounded a large deer, and, stepping across it to cut its throat with a knife, the deer made off with him at full speed ; however, he clung to its back, and in this position succeeded in killing the animal. In the grave- yard of the Swedcs' Church may be seen a large stone which has inscribed on it, "In Memory of Mons Rambo, who departed this life October 23d, 1782, aged 89 years." In the list of settlers of Upper Merion, in 1734, we find the names of Mounce, Gabriel,

John and Elias Rambo, and for the same year Peter Rambo, holding two hundred acresin Providence town- ship. On the ancient tombstones we find the names of Diana Rambo, who died January 30, 1744-45, aged thirty-six years ; Peter Rambo, June 18, 1767, aged forty-two years; and Mathias Rambo, October 10, 1782, aged sixty-six years. In the assessor's list of Upper Merion for 1780 we find Ezekiel Rambo rated for 45 acres; Sarah Rambo, 40; John Rambo, 90; George Rambo, 200 ; Tobias Rambo, 57; Mounce Rambo, 100; and Abraham Rambo; as single men, Gunnar Rambo, James Rambo and Benjamin Rambo. Gunnar Rambo was assessed in Limerick township, in 1776, for one hundred and seventy acres, and Moses Rambo, a single man, probably a son. In the list of voters in Upper Merion in 1858, six Rambos are reg- istered and the same number in Upper Providence.

Peter Yocum is mentioned in the Upland Court rec- ords as being on a jury held there in December, 1681. In March, 1682, he was appointed overseer of highways for one year, from Karker's Mills to the Falls of Schuyl- kill. The list of 1693 represents his having nine per- sons in his family. He also removed to Upper Merion, and settled immediately below the Rambo brothers. In the list of 1734 we still find the name of Peter Yocum ; whether the same person or a son we are not able to state. In the assessor's list of the township for 1780, Moses Yocum is rated for one hundred acres and James Yocum twenty-five acres. Swan Yocum was a resident of Towamencin township in 1780. A stone in Swedes' Churchyard informs us that the aforesaid Moses Yocum died March 1, 1787, aged sixty-seven years. At Morlatton, Peter Yocum resided, and died July 13, 1794, aged seventy-six. The voter's list of Upper Merion for 1858 shows that the family has here become extinct, but is found in Upper Providence and several of the adjoining townships.

Nils Matson was a native of Sweden, and very prob- ably the ancestor of John Matson, mentioned in the list of 1693. The latter is represented at that date as having eleven persons in his family. One of the same name, who was probably a son, is represented as hav- ing moved into Upper Merion on a large tract of land adjoining Lower Merion. As the country became settled a ford was established here, and thus received the name of Matson's Ford. During the Revolution the American army crossed several times at this place. It was then owned by Peter Matson, and on his death the land was divided among his sons, leaving each a farm. In the assessment of 1780, Peter Matson had here one hundred and seventy-nine acres, a portion being then farmed by his son, Isaac Matson. Jacob Matson at this date resided in Lower Merion, and was probably a brother of the latter. The land here has for some time passed out of the family. In the Upper Merion voters' list for 1858 one of the name is men- tioned.

William Penn, it appears, was delighted with the kind reception he received from the gentle-hearted

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Swedes. After his departure from this country he sent a letter from London, dated the 16th of First Month, 1684-85, to Thomas Lloyd, president of the Council, in which he says, "Salute me to the Swedes, Captain Cock, old Peter Cock and Rambo and their sons, the Swansons, Andrew Binkson, P. Yoakum, and the rest of them. Their ambassador here dined with me the other day." Again, in his " Present State of America," printed in London in 1687, at page 106, says, " I must need commend the Swedes' respect to authority and kind behavior to the English ; they do not degenerate from the old friend- ship between both kingdoms. As they are people proper and strong of body, so they have fine children, and almost every house full, rare to find one of them without three or four boys and as many girls ; some, six, seven, eight sons. And I must do them that right : I see few young men more sober and indus- trious."

In connection with this subject are a few matters deserving mention. The Swedish language, it ap- pears, was still spoken by their descendants here as late as the Revolution. Mathias Holstein, who died in 1768, spoke it in his family. Andrew Rambo, aged seventy years, informed the writer at Swedesburg, in 1858, that when a young man he attended worship at Gloria Dei Church, at Wicaco, and heard the Rev. Dr. Colin preach there in Swedish, but was unable to understand it. He also stated that his grandfather, Tobias Rambo, spoke the language. It is supposed that no preaching in Swedish was ever done in the Swedes' or Christ Church here, but that Dr. Colin, would now and then, from habit, use a Swedish word in his sermon, which he would endeavor after- wards to explain. From the earliest period the Swedes and their descendants have shown a predi- lection to reside along the valleys of the Delaware and Schuylkill, and where they still hold most fertile tracts. As a people they have been honest and in- dustrious, and remarkable for pursuing the even tenor of their way to prosperity, rarely venturing in any undertaking that partook of mere speculation. In consequence they have been rarely affected by those disastrous convulsions that now and then occur to wreck the more venturesome.

Christ Church .- The early Swedes were undoubt- edly a moral and religious people, and under the most adverse circumstances never lost sight of their faith. On Tinicum Island, in 1646, they erected the first house of worship in Pennsylvania. At Wicaco, now in the lower part of Philadelphia, they converted a block- house to this purpose in 1677, which was torn down in 1700, and a commodious brick church, called Gloria Dei, built in its place. A patent was granted to Rev. Andrew Rudman and other Swedes, October 2, 1701, for ten thousand acres situated on the east bank of the Schuylkill, about four miles above the present borough of Pottstown. On this tract a set- tlement was made, very probably the following year,

which was called Morlatton, but now known as Doug- lasville. They had worship here in private houses until 1735, when a church, denominated St. Gabriel's, was commenced and finished in 1737. The grave- yard, however, was used as a place of interment, ac- cording to the tombstones, at least as early as 1719.

About 1730 the Rev. Samuel Hesselius, the pastor of Morlatton, on his return from Wicaco, made a visit to the Swedes of Upper Merion, and at the house of Gunnar Rambo held services, at which there was a good attendance from the surrounding neighborhood. On this occasion he advised the erection of a school- house, that their children might enjoy the advantages of a better education than they had heretofore re- ceived in their home instruction, as well as for hold- ing therein religious services. His suggestions were so well received that arrangements were soon after- wards made to carry out the project. A committee was appointed to secure the site and erect the build- ing. An acre of ground was obtained from Gunnar Rambo, which was inclosed with a post and rail fence, which no doubt led to the origin of the burial- ground. The school-house was completed in 1735, if not earlier, but no regular teacher was employed for some time. Religious worship was now held here several times a year and at private houses, generally conducted by lay members. The Rev. Olif Parlin, a missionary stationed at Wicaco, it is known preached here at least on one occasion. in 1756. Before this marriages and baptisms had been performed at Gloria Dei, with which this congregation was united, as well as the one at Kingsessing.

With a view of building a church, the school-house lot was purchased, for eleven pounds sterling, from the estate of Gunnar Rambo, deceased. The deed therefor was dated May 7, 1758, 'and was executed by Ezekiel Rambo and wife to Mounce Rambo, Andrew Holstein, Peter Rambo and George Rambo, who had been chosen trustees on behalf of the Swedish Lutheran congregation. It conveys the lot to them "in trust for the use of the said Lutheran congregation, their heirs and successors forever, and that for the use of a burying-ground, a church, a school-house and other buildings hereafter to be erected thereon, as the said congregation and their successors forever shall or will think meet or proper, and for no other use, intent or purpose whatsoever." Arrangements were now made for the erection of the church, and were so actively entered into that it was completed and dedicated as Christ Church June 24, 1760. On this occasion the sermon was preached by the Rev. Charles Magnus Wrangle, who had been sent over the previous year to take charge of the three con- gregations already mentioned as constituting the mission. His sermon on this occasion was based on the text from Isaiah, "Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool : where is the house that ye build unto me ? and where is the place of my rest ?" He returned to Sweden in

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History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 239

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534