History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 85

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 85

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WILLIAM E. MORRIS. "Township Map of Mont- gomery Connty," by William E. Morris, published in 1849, Phila. Price, 85.00. This was the first map re- lating to the county that gave the names of the land- holders, mills, manufactories, school-houses, churches, wheelwright and blacksmith -shops, post-offices, inns, stores, turnpikes, toll-gates and houses in the several townships. Original price, $5.00, but has been recently sold at publie sales at much higher rates.

JOHN MELLISH, 1770-1822, a native of Scotland and a resident of Philadelphia, the author of several

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

useful geographical works. "Map of Montgomery County," by John Mellish, with an actual survey of the River Schuylkill, in 1827, by T. H. Gill, pub- lished by B. Tanner, Phila., 1827. Size, 22 by 24 in- ches. Denotes the boundary lines of all the townships and boroughs, principal roads, with names of places and distances from Philadelphia. This, it is very prob- able, was the first separate map published on the county.

EDWARD N. RADCLIFF, native and long resident of Hatboro'. "Township and Business Map of Mont- ·gomery County, Pa.," published 1873; scale, one and a half inches to the mile.

JAMES D. SCOTT, a native of Horsham. "Com- bination Atlas of Montgomery County, Pa., Compiled, Drawn and Published from Personal Examinations and Surveys," James D. Scott, Phila., 1877, 107 pp. Size, 143 by 17 inches ; contains 43 pages of maps re- lating to the several townships, boroughs and villages, handsomely colored, besides 34 lithographie views of buildings. The general and local history was written in a condensed manner by William J. Buck. Price, $12.00, with a published list of nearly 1100 sub- seribers in the county.

NICHOLAS SCULL, 1701-61, descended from an early family in Whitemarsh, where he was born. " A Map of Philadelphia and Parts Adjacent," by Nicholas Scull and George Heap. " Map of the Im- proved Parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland," pub- lished in Philadelphia, 1759; dedicated to Thomas and Richard Penn as " true and absolute Proprietors and Governours." This can be considered the first correct map published of the province on a large scale, taking up more than half the present area of the State. Mentions the counties and townships, the residences of the most prominent citizens, also the roads. forges, mills, churches, inns and streams. The first map contains a small portion of Lower Merion township, with names of its principal land-holders. The second was a considerable undertaking, and far surpasses in correctness and fulness all that had preceded it, to accomplish which must have required considerable travel and knowledge of the country, and at that time, too, under great difficulties when we consider the then unsettled condition of affairs. Tree."

His grandson, William Scull, published a map of the province in 1770, on a much smaller scale, and is but little more than a copy of the aforesaid.

DAVID G. SMITH. "Map of Valley Forge and its Immediate Vicinity," showing the location of the several divisions of the army there in the Revolution. Prepared chiefly from information derived from Wil- liam Davis, Esq., John W. Davis and John Evans. But two copies of this map, or, perhaps, rather plan, were known in 1860,-one belonging to George Lower, of Flourtown, and the other to the late Charles J. Elliott, of King-of-Prussia. A copy has been re- produced from the one in Mr. Lower's possession, and published by Colonel T. W. Bean, in his work on

" Valley Forge." Mr. Smith was a teacher at the time in Easttown township, Chester Co. There is a report that after he had it published he changed his mind thereon, and destroyed the copies. This, however, in confirmation demands some investigation. There is no question but that this map is rare, for no other of the original copies are known. One cause assigned for so extraordinary a course was that he was instigated thereto by the descendants of several Tory families residing in that vicinity. It was probably published by Mr. Smith about 1830, or somewhat later.

JAMES L. SMITH. "New Driving Map of Phila- delphia and Vicinity," published by J. L. Smith, 27 South 6th Street, Phila., 1883. Scale, one inch to the mile ; contains nearly three-fourths of the southern section of the county. Denotes all the railroads, townships and common roads, hotels and toll-houses. The names of all the principal common roads are also given. It is a pocket map, particularly useful for pleasure drives and pedestrians.

CHAPTER XXIV.

EARLY POETRY.1

THE specimens of early poetry in this chapter have been selected from the writer's collections on account of relating more or less to Montgomery County. and their anthors have been for some time deceased. They may be regarded as rare, and but few copies exist, and a considerable portion now appear in print for the first time. Respecting the latter, the copies were nearly all made from the originals twenty-eight to thirty-five years ago, and have not been offered before for publication. Their average merit is certainly above the mediocrity of the present day ; some, indeed, are of great excellence, as the "Ode written at Graeme Park in 1766," " Lines to a Gentleman who made Laura a good Pen," "To a Bride with an Artificial Rose," " The Pennsylvania Spinning Song," "Ode to Gratitude," "Sylvia's Song to Damon," " The Walk in Swedes Churchyard " and " The Beech-

The first piece is an extract from a poem written by John Holme in 1696, entitled " A True Relation of the Flourishing State of Pennsylvania." The author was one of the judges of the County Court of Phila- delphia, and married Mary, the widow of Judge Nicholas More, of the Manor of Moreland, where he resided at the time he wrote this poem. The extract has only reference to the limestone in this county, no other being found nearer the city. Our lime-burners can be congratulated at having found at so early a period a poet to celebrate their labors.

Sir William Keith, Governor of Pennsylvania and

1 By Wmn. J. Buck.

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EARLY POETRY.

a resident of this county, held two councils with the marsh and Valley Forge. We have selected as one of the best his " Elegy on General Howe," written while the army was encamped in Perkiomen township in the latter part of September, 1 777. The entire piece contains twelve stanzas of four lines each. We have omitted those between the first and seventh. When we come to consider the gloomy period in which they were written, the prophecy expressed therein is re- Indians at Conestoga respecting the troubles and in- trusion of the Marylanders,-the first in July, 1721, and the other in June, 1722,-the proceedings of which are unusually interesting. On each occasion the Governor made addresses to the natives, which are among the very best to be found in the colonial period of Penn- sylvania, to which the Indians made interesting re- plies; as a consequence, both parties separated in the ' markable. Mr. Parke resided most of his life in Phil- greatest friendliness. Aquila Rose, a young and prom- adelphia. ising poet in the city, celebrated the event soon after in a poem of which we give a copy. The author died August 22, 1723, aged twenty-five years. The last four lines are beautiful.

Christopher Dock wasa noted German school-teacher who settled on a tract of land he purchased in Lower Salford in 1735, upon which he made the first improve- ments. He alternated farming with teaching in his township and in Perkiomen adjoining. He was a man of some literary ability, having prepared in 1750 a work on school-teaching, which was pub- lished by Christopher Sower in 1769 in the German language. He was also a poet, writing numerous pieces, though few have yet been published, most of which were hymns; as specimens, two brief extracts are given. The first appeared to be a parting address to his pupils, the whole containing twenty-two stan- za- of six lines each. The second treats on "Love to the Creator," being also of a devotional character. The latter contains twenty-four stanzas of eight lines each. They are not without merit. Mr. Dock con- tinued a teacher to the close of his life and died in Salford in the fall of 1771.

The Rev. Nathaniel Evans was a native of Phila- delphia, born June 8, 1742, and received from the college there, in 1765, the degree of Master of Arts. After entering a counting-house he prepared for the ministry of the Episcopal Church, to which he was ordained in London. He exhibited quite early a poet- ical genius. Soon after his return from Great Britain, owing to his declining health, he spent a part of the spring of 1766 at Graeme Park, having been invited there at the particular request of Dr. Graeme, who was his physician. It was thus that he came to produce there the beautiful ode. He died in October, 1767, aged but little over twenty-five years. His poetical pieces were collected by the Rev. William Smith, D.D., and published in 1772 in a volume of 160 pages.

John Parke was a student in the University of Pennsylvania in 1768, then in hiseighteenth year. In the Revolution he was made assistant quartermaster- general, and was with Washington and his army during the whole period that it remained within the present county. What is remarkable concerning him is, that amid all the bustle and stirring events of camp life, that he should be given to the muse. His several poetical pieces were collected and pub- lished in a volume of 334 pages in 1786. Some of his poems are dated at Perkiomen and others at White-

Respecting Mrs. Ferguson we have occasion to say but little here, as her biography is given in the article on Graeme Park, where she resided the greater portion of her life. From her numerous pieces in manuscript we have selected the "Ode to Summer." "Ode to Autumn," "The Country Parson," "Lines to a Gentleman who made Laura a Good Pen," " Lines to Her Husband before taking a Long Voyage." and "To a Bride with an Artificial Rose." " The Country Parson" is a parody after Pope's " Eloise and Abelard," but is decidedly superior to the original. The "Lines to a Gentleman who made Laura a Good Pen" possess genius, for nothing else could invest such a trivial subjeet with excellent poetry. The "Lines to her Husband" exhibit intense feeling, and are only the first part of the poem, which contains in all sixty-two lines. "The Artificial Rose" is another subject that is invested with genius. "The Spinning Song" has been inserted in the chapter on " Sports and Pastimes." Owing to their length, we regret omitting some other pieces by this lady, which have never been published.

About the year 1790, Fidele, the favorite lap-dog of Mrs. Ferguson, died at Graeme, and on the occasion of his burial she had all the residents of the place present and a stone erected to his memory. This having reached the ears of Dr. Archibald McClean, a distin- guished physician and a noted wit, who resided about two miles distant, he wrote an epitaph on the dog, which, it is presumed, was intended as a satire, and sent it to Mrs. Ferguson. The result was an " Epitaph on Dr. Archibald MeClean," which the lady forwarded to him, signed "Anonymous," who, in return, sent "The Answer." To more clearly under- stand Mrs. Ferguson's poem, we may state that the doetor was six feet and a half in height and of a con- vivial turn. The rescue of those pieces from oblivion is somewhat singular. Isaac Mann, a near neighbor of the doctor, on a visit to his office, accidentally picked up those pieces, and after a perusal made in- quiry as to their origin, of which circumstance he was informed, it being several years after Mrs. Fer- guson's death. The doctor stated if he desired he could have them. Some years after they were shown to David Lloyd, who made copies therefrom, and in 1855 presented them to the writer. The circumstance of Fidelé's funeral still lingers in tradition around the neighborhood, and the late William Penrose in 1854 pointed out the spot of his burial. Mrs. Fergu- son had worked out in silk a life-size likeness of her

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

pet, which has been preserved by a daughter of Seneca Inkens and shown by the possessor in 1880.

Mrs. Anna Young Smith, daughter of James Young, was the niece of Mrs. Ferguson, and resided a consid- erable portion of her life at Graeme Park. For one who died so young her poetical pieces possess great merit ; so much so. that we doubt that at the period they were written another female can be found in any of the other colonies to surpass them. The " Ode to Gratitude" was written at thirteen as a tribute to the kindness of her aunt. "Sylvia's Song to Damon" was composed in the spring of 1775 for her husband soon after her betrothal, and has not been heretofore published. " A Summer's Evening Walk in Wicaco Churchyard " was composed in June, 1775, and con- tains one hundred and thirty-two lines. The first twenty lines only are here given. It exhibits fine powers of poetical description, and has been greatly admired. Mrs. Smith died March 22, 1780, aged but little over twenty-three years. In the article on Graeme Park a biographical sketch is given. Follow- ing the poems is a tribute to her memory written by Mrs. Ferguson.

Joseph Lloyd was a native of Horsham, born in 1777; he subsequently removed to Philadelphia, where he studied law and became the editor of a weekly news- paper called the Pennsylvania Democrat. His poem. " Reflections made near the Close of April, 1804,' breathes a true poetical spirit imbued with a love for the country. His cousin, David Lloyd, was also a native and a life-long resident of Horsham, of whom a sketch is given in our account of said township. O .; his several pieces we present two as probably his best "The Red Bird's Lamentation," written in 1830, and the "Elegy on Elihu Palmer," being creditable produc- tions. Mr. Lloyd died July 29, 1861, aged eighty-three . Alexander Wilson, the distinguished American ornithologist, with two companions, made a pedestrian journey, in October, 1804, from Philadelphia to the Fall of Niagara. In this trip they remained overnight at Spring House Tavern, of which he gives an amusing account in his poem of "The Foresters," from whence we give the extract in our history of Gwynedd.

Dr. Robert M. Bird was a native of Newcastle, Del., but long a resident of Philadelphia, where he died in January, 1854, aged fifty-one years. He delighted in rambles along the Schuylkill and in cele- brating its charms. "The Beech-Tree" exhibits a glowing imagination with warmth of feeling.

STONE LIME.

BY JOHN HOLME.

A few years since it was known full well

Here lime was burnt of Oyster shell, No limestone in these parts were found ; But since by searching in the ground, Great store was seen in a short time, Of which some now make good stone lime, Which in its goodness doth excell That which was made of oyster shell ; And much cheaper 'tis at this time Than we paid for oyster shell lime .- 1696.

TO SIR WM. KEITH AND HIS TREATY WITH THE INDIANS AT CONESTOGA.

BY AQUILA ROSE.

As Wise Lycurgus, thro' unwearied Toil,

Made Sparta fertile from a desert soil, By his wise Councils fix'd th' unsettled state

Of human race and taught 'em to be great ;

In peaceful Ways led on the woud'ring throng, Whilst ag'd Experience rul'd the sprightly young ;

So thou, great Keith, thro' Toils and Travels past, Shalt make an Eden of a spacious Waste ; To Indians thou shalt a Lycurgus be, Who Ages hence shall almost worship thee. Tho' from immortal GEORGE your Potence springs, lIere you're obey'd by arbitrary Kings : Sime sacred Pow'r must sure your Wisdom send, When Virtue, Peace and Concord End. The Indian Children shall be taught thy Name, And Woods and Rivers echo with thy Fame : The Susquehannah Banks shall take the sound

And bear the Echo to the Nations round .- 1722.

EIN GEISTLICH LEID.

VON CHRISTOPHI DOCK.

Ach Kinder wollt ihr lieben, So liebt was liebens wertb, Wollt ihr ja Frende üben, So liebt was Freude werth ;

Liebt Gott, das hochste Gut,

Mit Geist, Hertz, seel und Muth So win ench solche Liebe Erquicken Hertz und Mnth.

Liebt ihr die Eitelkeiten, Liebt ihr des Fleisches-lust, So sanght ihr kurze Freuden, Ans falcher Liebes-Brust,

Woranf in Ewigkeit,

Folgt Jammer, Quaal und Leid, Wo nicht in Zeit der Gnaden, Die Seel durch Busz befreyt.

EIN ERBAU'LICH LEID.

VON CHRISTOPH DOCK.

Mein Lebenstaden lauft zu Ende.

Mein Pilgerfahrt ist ball gethan ; Ach Gott, mir ein Geleitsmann sende : Der mich erhält auf rechter Bahn,

Der bey mir an dem Ender steh,

Wann ich den letzen Sturm austell.

Damit mein Schifflein durch die Wellen,

Der Totesangst gerad zu geh, Zum Vaterland, und miene Seele, Allzeit anf ihren Leitsstern sch, Auf meinen Heyland Jesum Christ, Der auch im Tod mein Leben ist.

AN ODE. WRITTEN AT GRAEME PARK, 1766.

BY NATHANIEL. EVANS.

Ilow breathes the morn her incense round, And sweetens ev'ry sylvan scene !

Wild warblings thro' the groves resound, Aul op'ning How'rs bedeck the queen.

Bright o'er the hills the solar ray Its gaily trembling radiance spreads,

Pleas'd on the glassy fount to play, And pearl the dew-bespangled meads.

How sweet this hour the fields to rove When Nature sheds her charms profuse ;

Or hide me in th' embow ring grovr. And court the thought-inspiring Muse !

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EARLY POETRY.

What joy, asidle the plaintive fount, Dissolv'd in pleasing thought, to stray ; And swift on fancy's wing to mount. And thread the bright .thereal way !

Thus musing o'er the charming plains, Where Graeme the good and just retires, Where Laura breathes her tender strains, Whom ev'ry graceful muse inspires !

Young Damon pour'd his artless lay, Beam'd from imagination's light, When sudden from the realms of day, A form of glory struck his sight.

Wisdom's grave matron, from the skies, Before the trembling youth appear'd (The' seen but by poetic eyes), And thus to speak the dame was heard :

Would'st thon, O youth, these scenes enjoy, The solemn grove and fragrant lawn, And pleasure taste without alloy, Wake jolly llealth at early dawn ?

Banish ambition from thy breast, And sordid-mimled Av'rice fly ; Nor let pale spleen thy vase infest, Nor gloomy Sorrow cloud thine eye.

Thy heart an off'ring nobly yiebl At virtue's high exalted shrine ; Thy soul let Resolutions shield, And e'er to dove-eyed Peace incline.

Let ( 'heerfulness, with placid mien, Hold a firm empire o'er thy heart, And sweet content shall ceuseless reign And never-ending bliss impart.

Then shall th' immortal Nine unfold What sweets the sylvan scenes can give ; In heav'n thy name shall be enroll'd, And others learn like thee to live.

ELEGY ON GENERAL SIR WILLIAM HOWE, K.B.

BY JOHN PARKE.

Say, what ill-omen'd star from Albion's shore, What demon beckon'd thee to quit the strand, What luckless bark thy guilty genins bore To stain with slaughter this onre happy land ?

Witness, O Brandywine, thy purple wave, Thy fields deep-furrow'd by the whistl'ling ore, Thy mountains spread with many a yellow grave, Thy trees bespatter'd roni with human gore !

But, see, poor, ribbon'd slave thy fame decays, While mem'ry's annals paint each high-ting'd crime ! For Washington disrobes thy fading hays, And shines superior in the rolls of time.

Sweet mercy reins his arm, and patriot love Directs to conquest in the hallow'd canse ; Before his steps see freedom's genins move, While millions greet the hero with applause !

No hust for thee, shall Massachusetts raise, No lasting storm thy name shall eternize, No future bard shall ever sing thy praise, For thee no prayers shall reach the distant skies ;

But damn'd with infamy to latest times, The man who dip'd his steel in brother's gore ; Each faithful annal shall record his crimes, And brand his name, 'till worbls shall be no more .- Sept, 1777.

ODE TO SUMMIER. BY MRS. E. FERGUSON.

Come, Summer, offspring of the sun ! Descend from yonder turf-top'd hill ! Soft as when falling waters run Adown the pure, meandering rill ;

Rich as the noon of manhood's prime, Mild as the breath of May, in gales Luxuriant as when infant Time First play'd in young Arcadian vales !

O place me in some moss-grown cave. Where oozing, creeping waters flow ! There may their humid windings lave In pensive murnous soft and slow.

These holy haunts my soul shall sooth : The "still small voice of heaven is here ; " That voice shall passion's throbbing smooth And raise the heart-delighting tear .- 1775.

ODE TO AUTUMN. BY MRS. E. FERGUSON.

See bounteons Autumn pours his goods In rich profusion round ! What various tinges dye the woods ! What plenty decks the ground !

The dulcet apple's sprightly jnice, The purple laden'd vine, With joint consent their wealth produce, In crowning clusters twine,

The bursting barns with Cerex' grains, Unlock their golden stores, Reaped from the mellow, fertile plains, Where earth her treasure pours.

Each favor sent is but a hint To raise the sluggish mind ; Since heaven does not its bounties stint, Shall mortals prove unkind ?- 1773.

THE COUNTRY PARSON-A PARODY. BY MRS. E. FERGUSON.

How happy is the country Parson's lot !

Forgetting Bishops, as by them forgot. Tranquil of spirit, with an easy mind, To all his Vestry's votes he sits resigned. Of manners gentle, and of temper even, He jogs his flocks, with easy pace, to heaven. In Greek and Latin (pions books) he keeps ; And, while his Clerk sings psalms, he-soundly sleeps.

His garden fronts the sun's sweet Orient beams, And fat church-wardens prompt his golden dreams.

The earliest fruit in his fair orchard blooms, And cleanly pipes pour ont tobacco fumes. From rustic bridegroom oft lie takes the ring, And hears the milk-maid plaintive ballads sing. Back-gammon cheats whole winter nights away, And " Pilgrim's Progress" helps a rainy day .- 1766.

LINES TO A GENTLEMAN WIIO MADE LAURA A GOOD PEN.

BY MRS. E. FERGUSON.

Ilow can we term a feather light And trifling as nir, When it conveys such high delight As fond epistles bear ?

Your friendly hand, with nicest art, Above a common skill, Fashions the feather for the heart And finely points t'ie mmil'.

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

The l'ainter's pencil gives alone One object to our view ; But through the happier pen is shown What kindred souls pursue.

Sweet sentiment and pure desire, Which fondest spirits move ; The Vestal's chaste, seraphic fire, Or mild, connubial love.

Oh, may the instrument convey To distant Ilenry's eyes Thoughts such as Delia's self would say, Thus tender, good and wise !

Then might I hope to touch each string Which glows in Henry's breast : Soon waft him home on love's soft wing, And be like Delia blest .- 1775.

LINES WRITTEN ON THE BLANK LEAF OF DB. YOUNG'S " NIGHT THOUGHTS," AND, WITH THE BOOK, PRESENTED TO A GENTLEMAN BY HIS WIFE THE NIGHT BEFORE HE UNDER- TOOK A LONG VOYAGE.

If e'er thy Laura to thy soul was dear ; If e'er her sorrows claim'd one manly tear ; If e'er, amidst her numerous errors, you One latent virtue fondly could pursne ; If e'er she pleased ; if e'er her form appear'd But one soft moment to thine eye endear'd ; If e'er congenial transports warmed thy mind, And fondly whisper'd that our souls were joined, - Peruse this book, with candor scan the page, And shun the vices of a fallen age ! Here truths important-heaven and hell -are shown ; Life, death, eternity are all made known In warmest colors to the mind of man, The fleeting pleasure of this bonnded span Finely contrasted with that deathless day Which joins our spirits when we drop this clay. January, 1779.

E. F.

TO A BRIDE WITH AN ARTIFICIAL ROSE.

BY MRS. E. FERGUSON.

" Go, Rose, my Chloe's bosom grace," The hopeless lover cried ; Not so, my Rose demands a place Beside a blooming bride.

Then, since no sighs compose my strain, Attend the moral lay ; No breathing of the love-sick swain The gilded verse convey.

A transient time my foliage lasts, And less my fragrant flower, As Meeting as the southern blasts Which fly with every hour.

But thro' the year the rugged thorn Preserves its reign around, And when of tender beauties shorn The thorn is constant found.

Too plain a type of life's harsh scene Of spring, of morn of youth ; A bounded span of pleasures green, An oft-repeated truth !

But on my artificial Ruse No thorn is made to rest ; May this an emblem also prove Of nuptials truly blest !- 1784.

EPITAPHI ON DR. ARCHIBALD McCLEAN.

Beneath this turf and humble stone McClean's remains do rest ; This letter'd marble plain shall own The virtues he possessed.

Of light and shade he was compos'd, And so are most below ; His sympathetic heart disclos'd A sense of other's wue. Tho' of the Esenlapian race, He ne'er did patients fill With nauseous drugs in any case, Emetic, purge or pill. With farmers he his grog would take, With tradesmen quaff a sling, With gentlemen Madeira drink, And brisk the bottle fling. Ile lov'd his bowl, his joke, his friend, I dare not say his lass ; And when the sick in haste did send, Reluctant left his glass.

But when obtain'd with skill and care, Prescrib'd to give them health, And freely did their sorrows share, Not greedy of their wealth. When calm and cool, of heaven and hell Some serious thoughts had he ; But in his gayer hours would tell That no such things could be. That cunning priests, with art to gain A pow'r v'er feeble souls, Tanght them to dread infernal flames, Where heds of sulphur rolls.

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History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 85

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