History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 247

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 247

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).

pointed by the Governor's Council, with Thomas Holmes and Lace Cox, to make inquiry into the cause of the Indian disturbances at the house of Nicholas Scull, grandfather of the Surveyor General, near the present village of Whitemarsh. He died near the latter end of March, 1693, and was buried in Philadelphia. Mention is made in the Colonial Records of a visit paid by Thomas Jenner and Polycarpus Rose, in December of said year, to his plantation. His widow, in 1697, married Charles Saunders. He left a son of the same name, who died in March, 1702. It would appear that he lived a portion of the time in the city."

This township is among the oldest in the county, being mentioned as " Whitpain's township " as early as 170I, when the township of Plymouth was first laid out, and is one of the central townships of the county, bounded on the north by Worcester, east by Upper Dublin and Gwynedd, south by Whitemarsh and west by Plymouth and Norriton. It is of regular form, four and a half miles in length and three in breadth, and contains about eight thousand six hun- dred and forty acres.

The soil is shale and loam, and near the southern corner a strip of sandy soil predominates. On almost all of the farms south of the Stony Creek good quar- ries of fine building-sand can be found.

The township forms a summit-level, from which the water flows in different directions. The eastern and southern portions are drained by the Wissahickon Creek, which crosses the eastern angle and propels two grist-mills.

The word "Wissahickon," according to Heckewel- der, is an Indian name, and in their language signifies the " catfish stream, or the stream of yellow water."

On Holme's map of surveys (begun in 168I) it is called Whitpain's Creek.

Two branches of the Stony Creek have their rise in the township, and drain the western and northern portions, one of which furnishes water to propel one saw-mill and one grist-mill.

Land-holders, Population and Taxables .- In 1734 there were 24 land-holders, as follows : Philip Boehm, 200 acres ; Peter Indehaven (Dehaven), 200; Cad- walader Morris, 200; John Rees, 150 ; William Couls- ton, 100; Humphrey Ellis, 50; William Robinson, 150; Thomas Fitzwater, 150; Henry Levering, 100; Alexander Till, 100; Henry Conrad, 200; Jacob Yost, 80 ; George Franks, 200 ; William Roberts, 100 ; Daniel Burn, 40; John David, 170; Isaac Williams, 100; George Castner, 200 ; William David, 100 ; Peter Hox- worth, 100; John Thomas, 100; John Mircle, 100; Jacob Levering, 100; and Abram Daws, 350.

John Philip Boehm, Henry Conrad, Jacob Yost, Jacob and Henry Levering, Peter In De Haven and John Mirele (Markley) were Germans, and paid quit- rent.

The lineal descendants of Dehaven, Conrad, Yost and Daws still own a portion, and some the original plantation.

Eight or nine of the aforenamed were Welsh, six or eight German and the remainder English. The Eng- lish were the first to take up and locate, followed by the Welsh, and as early as 171I we find the Germans making inroads and locating farms. So numerous

1 By Jones Detwiler.

FARM

BUILDINGS.

STABLES

"BLYTHEWOOD."

RESIDENCE OF THOMAS A. BIDDLE.

1163.

WHITPAIN TOWNSHIP.

have their descendants become that at the last Presi- dential election held in 1880 nearly three-fourths of the voters were of that extract.

Number of taxables in 1741, 56; 1762, 80; 1785, 144 and 14 single men ; 1788, 119 and 19 single men; | 1800, 140 ; 1828, 249 ; 1858, 344; 1860, 358 ; 1875, 345; 1883, 456.

In 1785 land was valued at £4 108. per acre; 175 horses at £10 per head ; 346 cattle at £3 per head ; 2 bound servants at £20; one phaeton, £30; 2 grist-mills, £700; 1 saw-mill, £150; one oil-mill, £50; 2tan-yards, £300; (now none, in 1884). In 1786 land was valued at £4 15s. per acre; 1787, £5 ; 1788-89, £5 2s. 6d ; 1796, $8; 1800, $10; 1810, $10; 1820, 830; 1830, $30; 1840, $20; 1860, 850 ; 1870, --? 1880, 150.

Population : 1790, -? 1800,771 ; 1810, 995; 1820, 1126; 1830, 1137 ; 1850, 1351; 1870, 1350 : 1880, 1429.

Taxes,-1777 : whole amount of supply tax £241 11s .- 7d. ; stationary tax, £251 88. 9|d. 1785: whole amount of duplicate, £91 68. 6d. 1788: €187, 1s. 1d. 1794: £90 128. 6d. 1800 : $355.17. 1810: $520.18. 1860 : whole amount of county tax, $1549.41; State tax, $1291.67. 1880 : county tax, $2497.50; State tax, $412.00. 1883: whole amount of duplicate for county tax, $2410.59.

In 1811 the assessor returned 99 dogs liable to taxation according to the act of Assembly, March 23, 1809, which amounted to $27.

The tri-annual assessment for the year 1880 is repor- ted as follows: 394 taxables ; value of all real estate, $1,305,580 ; value of all household furniture exceed- ing $300, including gold and silver plate, $3900 ; horses, mares, geldings and mules 419, valued at $26,- 565; cattle 851, valued at $24,545 ; notes and bonds, $5400; occupations, 831,050; pleasure carriages 103, valued at $6525; aggregate amount of property tax- able for county purposes, at the rate of two and one- half mills to the dollar, $1,403,565; mortgages and judgments, $83,000; number of gold watches, 12; common watches, 2.

In 1788 there were 90 farms, the largest. James Morris, 350 acres ; 1883, largest farm, Albanus Styer, 150 acres ; number of farms of 100 acres and upwards, 13; number of farm> of 80 acres and under 100, 15; number of farms of 50 acres and under 80, 24; whole number of farms over 20 acres, 125; 1883, whole number of horses taxable, 389; cows, 821, Williaui Singerly being the largest owner of stock, having 10 heads of horses, and 61 cows taxable.

The Styer family are the largest property-holders, holding in the aggregate 555 acres. Next largest, William Singerly. 191 acres.

Slaves or Servants .- In the assessment of 1763 three slaves are there mentioned.

During the Revolution there were several families that held slaves. In the Pennsylvania Packet of Sep- tember 26, 1777, "David Knox offers a reward of twenty dollars for the return and recovery of a mu- latto weneh, 26 years old, named Stiffany." The last

that were held in the district were those of James Morris, two in number, but were freed prior to the year 1799.

Industries .- The chief occupation of the inhabit- ants has been farming, there being no minerals (yet discovered) to induce them to engage in other pur- suits.

The land is now generally eleared and under a high state of cultivation, and produces good erops.

The first industry that we have any notice of was that of weaving, carried on in a small log house near Centre Square by Jacob Yost, in 1727. In 1732 he purchased what is known as the "Yost Farm," and carried on the business more extensively.

The Yosts were famed far and near for their sick- les, seythes and edge-tools, which they made and carried on from 1760 to 1816 at the old homestead. These implements were all forged by hand. In 1746 the first grist-mill in the township was built, on Stony Creek, in the western portion, near the lines of Norriton and Worcester. The mill is yet standing.

James Morris, in the latter part of 1779 or 1780, built the grist-mill long known as Wertner's Mill. This was considered the best flouring-mill in the neighborhood.

About the year 1804, Charles Mathers built a mill along the Wissahickon.

In the assessment of 1785 there are two tanneries | mentioned and one oil-mill.

The Conrad angers were first manufactured by John Conrad about the year 1806, and the business was carried on extensively until 1857, when it was re- moved to Fort Washington, Whitemarsh, and still continued by his sons, Albert and Isaac Conrad.

The one borse-power and threshing-machines were made at the Blue Bell by Samuel F. Shaeff in 1847.

Mowing and reaping-machines were first introduced and worked by Robert Findlay, of Centre Square. The machine was the Hussey pattern, and when in order for reaping took eight hands, including the driver, to operate it.

Justices of the Peace,-The first justice was Abram Daws, commissioned May 25, 1752. (Col. Rec. vol. vi).

June 6, 1777, Andrew Knox was appointed jus- tiee of the peace, and held that position until the time of his death, January, 1808.

Job Roberts and John Wentz were commissioned justices of the peace May 26, 1798, and filled that position until 1878.

In 1818, John Shenenberger was appointed, and filled that position by appointment and election until about the year 1856. John Heist and John Rile filled the position.

Since the change in the Constitution of 1838 the following persons have been justices : David Roberts, John Styer, Jacob Fisher, Ephraim H. Shearer, Jacob R. Yost, Jacob L. Rex, George G. MeNeil and Victor Baker.

During the Revolution the citizens of the town-

1164

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

ship shared the trials and conflicts of that dark period along with the other districts of the county.

According to the act of Assembly passed June 13, 1777, the county of Philadelphia was divided into seven battalions. The township of Whitpain was in the Fifth, and John Rynear captain.

During the Revolutionary struggle, Brig .- Gen. Weeden's regiment of Virginia troops was encamped from October 19th to November 2, 1777, on the Morris and Gregar farms. The former is now owned by Saunders Lewis, and the latter by William Hey- ward Drayton.

about six miles from Norristown, three from White- marsh and one from Ambler Station, on the North Pennsylvania Railroad.

The present owner, Phoebe M. Lewis (wife of Saunders Lewis), represents by inheritance the fifth generation of continuous ownership: through her mother, IIannah M., wife of Dr. Thomas C. James ; ber grandmother, Elizabeth, wife of James Morris; her great grandfather, Abraham Dawes (son), whose father, Abraham Dawes, purchased fonr hundred acres of land in the year 1726, and of which the house, with a tract of one hundred and eight acres, is a part.

P.F.Coist Ded

Residence of Saunders Lewis,¿Esq.

Condition in 1884.

WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS, "JAMES MORRIS'" OCTOBER, 1777.

During their stay here the weather was very wet, rain falling almost every day. The soldiers were compelled to seek shelter during the night in the barns of the neighborhood. Several of the soldiers died here from sickness, and are buried in the grave- yard at Boehm's Church.

Gen. Washington, during the time of the encamp- ment, had his headquarters in the house then owned by James Morris. The house was built in the year 1736, and remains substantially in its original pro- portions, with the addition of a south wing (twenty- four feet by twenty-three feet), built in the year 1821. It is situated in Whitpain township, Montgomery County, between the Skippack and Morris roads ;

Washington having removed his headquarters from Worcester to Dawsfield House (now the name of the property), called Camp Whippin, or James Morris, as appears by letters addressed by Col. Walter Stuart to President Wharton, dated "Camp Whippin, October 27, 1777," in Hazzard, and one other, by Gen. Reed to President Wharton, dated "Headquarters, James Morris', seventeen miles from Philadelphia, on the Skippack road, October 30, 1777," in which he says, -" The long residence of the army in this quarter has proven very distressing to the inhabitants, whose forage must be drawn from their subsistence." 1

1 " Life and Correspondence of President Reed," edited by his grandson William B. Reed, Phila., 1847, vol. i., p. 332.

I165

WHITPAIN TOWNSHIP.

In the Pennsylvania Packet, August 29, 1878, the fol- lowing appeared :

" Thirty Dollars reward. Stolen from Camp Whippin, 20th of October, 1777, a bay horse, fourteen hands high, with a bald face, and is six years old. The reward will be paid by applying to Andrew Porter, Capt. of Artillery, or Stephen Porter, Worcester township."

" Washington, in his march from Pennypacker's Mills to the Battle of Germantown, passed through the township. His course lay along the Skippack Road. Isaac McGlathery, a well-known and respected citizen of the district, acted as a guide to Maxwell's Brigade on that occasion, and led the way until a short distance of Chew's house."

After the fatal battle, during the retreat of the American army, a slight skirmish took place at Oil Mill Run, on the Skippaek road, near the Broad Axe. A few were slightly wounded.

" The English Cavalry pursued the Americans on the Skippack Road, 11:12 miles from Philadelphia, into Whitpain Township, as far as the Blue Bell. We have heard from an old friend, a witness, now at that place, that our militia was already there when the British cavalry arrived, and wheeled about to make good their retreat and return. He describes the confusion that existeil among the Americans as past the power of de- scription ; sadness and consternation was expressed in every counte- nance. While the dead and dying (which had preceded this halt at the Blue Bell) were before seen moving onward for refuge, there could be seen many anxious women and children rushing to the scene to learn the fate of their friends, and to meet, if they could, the fathers, brothers, or other relatives who had been before sent forward for the engagement. Again and again the American officers were seen riding or running to the front of the militia with their drawn swords, threatening or persuad- ing them to face about and meet the foe ; but all efforts seemed to fail, and officers and men were still seen everywhere borne along on the re. treat. They broke down tences and rushed away in confusion, as if de- termined no longer to hazard the chances of war in another onset." 1

" Andrew Knox, a prominent citizen of the Township, took an active part in the struggle for Independence. Having served as a Captain of a Volunteer Company, and rendered effectual service, Washington selected him as one, for his courage and efficiency, to prevent supplies being car- ried to the British army during their occupation of Philadelphia."

Upon the news reaching Gen. Howe of his appoint- ment, Howe immediately offered a reward of one thousand four hundred pounds sterling for Mr. Knox's head, dead or alive, and dispatched a squad of men to capture him.

" About four o'clock, on the morning of the 14th of February, 1778, seven armed refugees approached his house ; two stood sentry at the back windows, while the other five attempted the door. Mr Knox, seizing the opening door with his left hand, and with a cutlass in the other, saluted the aggressors in a manner they did not expect, and repeating his strokes. The assailants meanwhile made repeated thrusts with their bayonets. By these Mr. Knox received two or three very slight flesh-wounds, and bad his jacket pierced in several places, hut the door standing ajar cov- ered his vitals and saved his life. The attacking party presented their pieces and fired five balls and several buckshot through the door, one of the halls slightly wounding Squire Knox. Thinking the reports of the guns would alarm the neighborhood, the enemy retreated towards the city." 3

Buck, the historian, in speaking of the affair, states "that the attack was made by the Tories of the neighborhood, the principal of which was Enoch Sup- plee, of Norriton, and who immediately fled, and, is supposed, joined De Lacey's battalion, in which he became an ensign, and in 1780 was sent to Georgia, where they got into a spirited skirmish with a detach- ment of Gen. Pickens' command."

"Esquire Knox, at the approach of day, collected some friends and went in pursuit. They tracked the party several miles by the blood on the snow. One of them, who took refuge in a house, was taken, brought back and made ao ample confession. This fellow, being found to be a deserter from the American Army, was tried by a court-martial for de- sertion only, but condemned and executed near Montgomery Square. Another was apprehended after the British left Philadelphia, condemned by a civil court, aod was executed." 3

The desperation of the struggle at Knox's house is shown by the bullet-holes through the door and bayonet-marks. The door is preserved, and still kept iu the family of his grandson, Hon. Thomas P. Knox. " At a meeting of Council, held in Philadelphia, February 24th, 1783, a letter was read from the Commissioners of the County, that John Shearer and Henry Conard, Collectors of Whitpain, had been robbed of Town- ship Fueds." 4

This robbery was perpetrated by the notorious band of Doan's, of Bucks County, and occurred one dark night at the eross-roads, where the Sandy Hill school- house now stands.

According to the Act of Assembly, passed Septem- her 21, 1782, Daniel Yost was appointed assessor to assess the damage done to the inhabitants during the time that Gen. Howe held possession of Philadelphia, and returned the amount at six hundred and ten pound. The heaviest loss was appraised in favor of the Knox family.

Churches .- There are at present in the township four places of public worship, viz .: Boehm's (Reformed), St. John's (Lutheran), Union (Methodist) and Mount Pleasant (Baptist). In its early settlement there was little homogeneity among the emigrants to its borders ; a century ago we find a great mixture of people, differing in lineage and religious faith ; and so it has continued until the present day, comprising Friends, who either attended Gwynedd or Plymouth Meetings, Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and Bap- tists.

BOEHM'S REFORMED CHURCH, so called from its founder, is the oldest place of worship in the township and is situated at the intersection of the Blue Bell and Penllyn turnpike road with the old and ancient road, leading from North Wales to Plymouth, near the vil- lage of Blue Bell, and sixteen miles from Philadelphia.

There is no certain data concerning the time of the organization of the church at this place, on account of the early records having all been destroyed. The records of the founder were all kept as his private property, and destroyed by fire more than a half-cen- tury ago in an old house then standing at Second and Quarry Streets, Philadelphia, and those of his sueees- sor, Schlater, by the British at Chestnut Hill, when the army held possession of Philadelphia.

The earlier members of the church came from the Patatinate, Alsace, Swabia, Saxony and Switzerland between the years 1720 and 1760, and scattered them- selves through the townships of Whitpain, Plymouth, Norriton and Upper Dublin.

1 Watson's " Annals," vol. ii., p. 59.

2 Auge's "Lives of the Eminent Dead of Montgomery County."

3 Norristown Register, January, 1808 ; Ange's " Lives, etc."

4 Col. Rec., vol. xiii., p. 515.

1166

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

Many of them were poor, and were sold as redemp- tioners to pay their passage over.

In I. D. Rupp's collection of German names, gives the time of their arrival, and the same names are re- corded in the church-book. The Yosts arrived in 1727 ; Engarts, 1728; Clime, 1731 ; Sheive 1737; Rumer, 1741 ; Kurr, 1743; Shearer, Eberhard (Everhart), Etris and Korndeffer, 1748; Dull, Greger, Lotz, Klarr, Houser, Martin and Seltzer, 1749; Shaub, 1750; Schlatter, Ernst, Gubler, 1751; Singer, 1752.

The deed for the property, containing one aere of ground, was given February 8, 1748, by John Lewis, of the township of Merion, to the Rev. John Philip Boehm, Michael Clime, Arnold Rettershan and An- drew Acker, church wardens of the said congregation, for the sum of four pounds and tenshillings, " for the use of the congregation of the High Dutch Reformed Church founded by the Christian Synod, held at Dor- trecht, in Holland, in the years 1618 and 1619, so that the said congregation shall hold, follow and adhere to the principles of the Heidleberg catechism and in subordination to the Reformed Classis at Amsterdam (Holland), and for no other use, intent or purpose whatsoever."

The first church, a small stone structure with pointed walls, was erected in 1740. At the building of this church Mr. Boehm labored with his own hands.

In 1818 a second church was built, forty-six by fifty feet (the first becoming too small), at a cost of four thousand dollars. This stood until 1870, when it was remodeled to the present size, surmounted with a steeple and bell, at a cost of five thousand four hundred and thirty-eight dollars, and ean seat five hundred people.

A neat parsonage, sexton's house and comfortable shedding for thirty-two carriages adjoins the church. The first sheds werc erected nearly fifty years ago.

The congregation now, 1884, numbers two hundred active members.

The graveyard adjoins the church and covers nearly three acres of ground, with seven acres adjoining to be used for burial purposes when needed.

All of the communicant members that are contrib- utors, rich or poor, are entitled to lots for their fami- lies, without distinction of race or color.

There is a lot of free ground open to all for inter- ment.

The most ancient names found on the tombstones are Knorr, Etris, Martin, Greenawalt, De Haven, Doll, Eberhard, Singer, Sheive, Greger, Yost, Rumer, Schla- ter, Shearer, Klair, Spitznogle, Engard and Remig ; those of more recent, are Hoover, Earnest, Jones, Det- wiler, Dager, Rile, Sechler, Frantz, Wentz, Sholl, Levering, Hentz, Bodey, Wertsner and Selser.

The pastors have heen the following: Revs. John Philip Boehm, the founder, from 1740-49; Michael Schlatter, the missionary, 1749-56; 1756-60, supplies ; John George Alsentz, 1760-69 ; Christian Foehring, 1769-72; Gabriel Gebhard, 1772-74 ; John W. Ingold,

1774-75; John H. Weikel, 1775-76 ; 1776-83, vacant ; John Herman Winkhaus, 1784-87; 1787-89, vacant; Philip Pauli, 1789-93; Thomas Pomp, 1793-96; Sam- uel Helfenstein, Sr., D.D., 1796-99; for six months in 1799, supplied (Frederick Herman); 1799-1800, Thomas Pomp, Jr .; Gabriel Gobrech, 1800-2; George Wack, 1802-34; Samuel Helfenstein, Jr., 1834-44; William E. Cornwell, 1844-50 ; Jacob B. Keller, 1850 -54; George D. Wolfe, 1854-55; Samuel G. Wagner, 1855-68; Charles G. Fisher, 1868-73; John H. Sech- ler, 1875 to the present, 1884.

The remains of the founder slumber beneath the walls of the present building, being buried there in 1749. In the yard the remains of the Rev. George Wack, who preached for the congregation thirty years,

REV. MICHAEL SCHLATTER.

Hons. Philip Hoover and Mahlon Sellers, members of the Pennsylvania Legislature, Jacob Yost, Casper Schlater and Daniel Yost, commissioners of Mont- gomery County, are interred.

During the Revolution the old church was used for a hospital by Brigadier-General Weeden's brigade, which was encamped on the farms of James Morris and George Greger (now owned by Saunders Lewis and W. Heyward Drayton), near the church. Sev- eral soldiers that died in the church and at the camp are buried in the yard, without any stone to point to their final resting-place.

The old record-book still extant was commenced in 1764 by Rev. George Alstentz, pastor ; John Marten, Frederick Dull, Jacob Gohler, John Etris, elders; Philip Rittershau and Casper Schlater, deacons.

The first baptism is that of a child of " John and .

1167

WHITPAIN TOWNSHIP.

Barbara Schlater, baptized May 27, 1764, and received . the name of John."

The descendants of Dull and Schlater and Shearer and the descendants of the Yosts, down to the sixth generation, are still in membership, and through that long line almost continuously have been officers.

are still in connection with the church as members, "October number, 1876), the following is found :

A piece of ground was purchased in 1760 for a school-house, adjoining the church, and a building erected thereon, which was kept for several years as a parochial school, and was almost the first school in the township where public instruction was given.

This congregation was among the earliest to adopt and open a Sunday-school under the present system. On July 17, 1834, a school was opened with one hun- dred and seventeen scholars, and has been kept open ever since, and now numbers nearly two hundred teachers and scholars.

The following persons have filled the different offices connected with the school since its foundation : Superintendents : Frederick Nuss, Benjamin Hill, Charles Gearhart, James McCombs, John Fitzgerald, Sr., Anthony Bernhard, Abrm. Dull, Charles H. Rile, Rev. Samuel G. Wagner, Hiram C. Hoover, Rev. Charles G. Fisher, Jones Detwiler and Francis C. Hoover.

Presidents : Rev. Samuel Helfenstein, 1837-43 ; Rev. William E. Cornwell, 1844 48; John Fitzgerald, 1848 -55; ITiram C. Hoover, 1855-58 ; Rev. S. G. Wagner, 1858-61; Hiram (. Hoover, 1861-84.

Secretaries : Benjamin Hill, Anthony Bernhard, George Hout, Samuel B. Davis, Charles H. Rile, Jones Detwiler, 1855-84, twenty-nine years.

Treasurers : John Fitzgerald, Charles (earhart, Samuel B. Davis, Anthony Bernhard, Samuel B. Davis, George Hoot, Abrm. Dull, Jacob Hoover, Samuel D. Shearer, Francis C. Hoover, George Rossi- ter and Alexander Miller.

REV. JOHN PHILIP BOEHM .- There is nothing at hand to tell us when the subject of this sketch was born. The date of his birth and circumstances of his early life would have probably been learned from certain papers, to which and their loss more particu- lar reference will be hereinafter made. Very little is known of the Rev. Boehm prior to his coming to America. Of the date of his arrival nothing definite is known, nor is it probable that the precise date can ever be known. Certain documents extant enable us to approximate the time.

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History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 247

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