History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 189

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372

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Hendricks, Adam, Jr., 200 acres

Hise, Wendel, 50 acres

Jenians, Williams

Lawson, John, 200 acres.

140

SINGLE MEN.

Bates, Elias, £18.

Kellar, Henry

Beard, John, £18.

Korfman, Conrad, £30.

Beck, Jacob Marshal, William

Berry, Abraham

McCoy, John

Foust, John

Myer, Haney

Gallaway, Hugh Gerbenck, John Gordon, John

Schwartz, Abraham

Hartman, John

Shaffer, Henry

Hendricks, Thomas

Shrolyner, John

Henry, Christian

Stabler, Adam

Hildebrand, Henry

Youse, Frederick, £50. Zech, George

Hametown is an interesting village along the turnpike. Adam T. Diehl owns and conducts a store at this place.

Seitzland is a station on the Northern Central Railroad between Glen Rock and Shrewsbury. Martin K. Diehl carries on the merchandising business here.

Shrewsbury, New Freedom and Railroad Borough, three incorporated towns, for- merly belonged to Shrewsbury Township. The history of these boroughs will be found elsewhere in this volume.

Fissel's, formerly known as Jeru-

Church.

Fissel's salem Church, is one of the land marks of Shrewsbury Township.

Religious services were held in this vicinity by missionaries of the Luth- eran and Reformed churches as early as 1750, soon after this region was settled by the Germans from the Palatinate country, along the Rhine. In 1771 Frederick Fissel granted to the Calvinistic Presbyterians and to the Lutherans, a tract of land for a church site. In early days the Reformed Church, in some legal documents, was called the Cal- vinistic Presbyterian Church. It was founded by Zwingli and was Presbyterian in its polity. Toward the close of the eigh- teenth century, the word German Reformed Church came into general use. This is the same church body as the Calvinistic Pres- byterians mentioned at the earliest date of record for Fissel's Church. In 1796 this is recorded as the Lutheran and Reformed Church of Shrewsbury Township. The or- iginal church was a small log building, which was afterwards replaced by a larger one of the same kind. The second church was used as a house of worship until the year 1851, when a handsome brick edifice was erected.

The Reformed congregation at this date has 150 members and is served by the pastor of the Glen Rock charge, Rev. S. M. Roeder. Some of the prominent clergymen who have served the Reformed congregation, were: Adam Ettinger, John Yost, Henry Fries, F. Scholl, Henry N. B. Hablestein, Ja- cob Major, John Forsch, Frederick Becker, John Reinecke, C. W. Reinecke, D. Gring, A. F. Driesbach and I. S. Leiby.

The Lutheran congregation, which wor- shipped in this church in 1907, had a mem- bership of 250, and the congregation has been well maintained since its organization.

Hunter, William

123 78 I22 104 282 125 98 132 97 148 26 93 85

IIO 96

72 IOI 63 40 40 80

98 263 25

88 75 IIO 80

Pfeiffer, Melchoir, £64. Roser, Adam

18I 69 19I 204 438

Smith, Andrew, 80 acres ..

20 128 150 174 117 129 20

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

This church, together with St. John's Methodist Church, while passing northward Lutheran Church at New Freedom, form from Baltimore toward York, held religious what is known as the New Freedom charge, services . in this building. Religious serv- the pastor residing at New Freedom. Those ices were also conducted in this pioneer who served as the early pastors were: John building, in 1806, by Francis Asbury, who Herbst, Sr .; John Herbst, Jr .; and Stecker was the first bishop of the Methodist Church and Grobe. Among the later pastors are: in America. The congregation which wor- Jacob Kempfer, A. Berg, J. H. Menges, E. shipped in Rock Chapel was afterward Manges, E. Miller and E. E. Shantz. Rev. served by the ministers of the Shrewsbury Circuit.

David S. Martin, was chosen pastor of the Lutheran congregation April 2, 1905, and took up the work as pastor on the first Sun- day of May, of that year.

In 1872 a Lutheran church was organized in the village of Hametown. It has been served by the pastors of the Lutheran con- gregation in Glen Rock. Rev. J. C. Koller was the first pastor, and he was succeeded by Rev. J. B. Wolf. The congregation is in a prosperous condition and is constantly in- creasing in membership.

.The Evangelical Association Pioneer Churches. was first introduced into York County in 1810 by John Erb and Matthias Betz, who established three preaching places, one at the house of Jacob Klinefelter, in Shrewsbury Township, about one mile south of Glen Rock, the sec- ond at the house of John Seitz in Spring- field Township and the third at the house of Adam Ettinger in Dover Township. The eighth conference session of the asso- ciation was held at the house of Jacob Kline- felter in 1815, at which there were fifteen ministers present. In 1822 the members in the vicinity of Shrewsbury united with the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in building a log meeting house. This was the first church building used by the association in York County, and only the second in the association, the first hav- ing been built at New Berlin, Union County, Pennsylvania, in 1816. In 1827 a stone church was built at Mount Zion in Spring- field Township.

Klinefelter's Chapel, near Fissel's Church, was built in 1860, and was used as a house of worship by the Evangelical Association for many years. The congregation was served by the ministers of the Shrewsbury Circuit. The building was removed in 1905.

Rock Chapel in Shrewsbury Township was one of the earliest Methodist churches west of the Susquehanna. In 1781 Free- born Garrettson, the noted missionary of the

Rev. John Nichols, missionary for the Lutheran Church at Guntur, India, was born near Shrewsbury, October 31, 1857. He obtained his education in . the public schools, the State Normal School at Millers- ville and Pennsylvania College at Gettys- burg. Soon after graduating from the Theological Seminary at Gettysburg he served Lutheran congregations for a short time at Masontown and Uniontown in Fay- ette County, Pennsylvania, and also filled the pulpit of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church at Williamsport during the absence of the pastor in Europe until April 20, 1885, when he was appointed missionary to India. He entered upon his duties in that country with fine prospects of success. After one year's service as a missionary, he died of typhoid fever in Guntur, December 17, 1886. Rev. Mr. Nichols was a young man of prom- ise and excellent education.

Rev. Ambrose Gring, son of Rev. Daniel Gring, pastor of a Reformed charge in Shrewsbury Township, was born in Hame- town and was graduated from Franklin and Marshall College at Lancaster. He spent several years as a successful missionary of the Reformed Church in the Empire of Ja- pan, and after his return took up his resi- dence at Lancaster.

Rev. Fred C. Seitz, pastor of a Reformed congregation at Allentown, Pennsylvania, was born in the village of Hametown and educated at Franklin and Marshall College and Seminary.

Rev. B. S. Dise, a prominent Lutheran clergyman in Centre County, Pennsylvania, was born in Shrewsbury Township. He obtained his education at the York County Academy and at Pennsylvania College and Seminary at Gettysburg.

ARTEMAS WILHELM was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, December 29, I822. He was the son of John S. and Sarah Prosser Wilhelm. His father was a

Athichele

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SHREWSBURY

descendant of intelligent German ancestry lands, the latter rich in the deposit of iron who came to America early in the eigh- teenth century and the Wilhelm family soon became prominent and influential in the af- fairs of Baltimore County. In 1814, dur- ing the second war with England, when the British army under General Ross landed on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay, John S. Wilhelm enlisted in Captain Lawson Cuddy's company of Maryland volunteers, and took part in the battle of Bladensburg, a short time before the British captured the city of Washington and burned the govern- ment buildings. He continued in the serv- ice and aided in defending the city of Balti- more until the British were defeated at North Point and driven back to their ships. After the war, he returned to his farm in Baltimore County.

The heirs of Robert W. Coleman having at- tained their majority, requested that Mr. Wilhelm make a partition of the estate be- fore his retirement; this he did, and it is considered the wisest, ablest and most won- derful partition of a large estate ever made in America.

Mr. Wilhelm removed to his farm, Pax- tang, near Harrisburg, where he died Sep- tember 19, 1887.

Andrew Jackson, the great mili- Andrew tary hero, who won the battle of Jackson. New Orleans in January, 1815, at the close of the second war with Great Britain, was appointed the head of the American Army soon after the end of the war. In 1819 with a train of military attendants, about fourteen in number, Gen- eral Jackson determined to visit West Point Military Academy which had lately been founded by authority of the United States government. He left Washington Febru- ary 13, and halted for the night at Baltimore. The York and Baltimore turnpike having been recently completed, Jackson and his party decided to go to West Point through York and Lancaster. They traveled in a

weather was cold and snow began to fall When Counties, consisted of farm and mountain the distinguished party reached the Penn-

ore. In 1856 when the estate had become insolvent, Mr. Wilhelm was urged by its owners, the heirs of Robert W. Coleman, to take the management of the entire estate with general power of attorney. This he finally consented to accept. To tide over the serious complications, with no means of his own, Mr. Wilhelm was able to borrow money only in his own name, having been refused all loans in the name of the estate. In 1857 he purchased the Dudley, after- wards called the Donaghmore furnace. In 1870 he built the North Cornwall furnace, later the Bird Coleman furnace, and in 1880 the Colebrook furnaces, for all these he made all the designs and drawings. He was the inventor of several important improve- ments in blast furnaces. Mr. Wilhelm con- Sarah Prosser, the mother of Artemas Wilhelm, was of Welsh descent and be- longed to an influential family in the state tinued in the position of manager until 1882, when in broken down health he retired at which time he turned over to the heirs all of Maryland. Her father came from Wales of their original property with many acres and settled in Baltimore, and during the added to it, and millions of dollars in cash. War of 1812 enlisted as a soldier and served in the defence of that city.

When Artemas Wilhelm was six years of age his parents removed to Shrewsbury Township, where his father had purchased a farm. Artemas resided on this farm un- til he was seventeen years of age, aiding his parents in agricultural labor and devoting his evenings and other leisure time to study. There was a poor apology for a school in the neighborhood and his education was largely acquired at home and by diligently reading such books and newspapers as came within his reach.

In 1838 when the Northern Central Rail- way was built between Baltimore and York, he was employed to aid in its construction. His trade was that of a stone mason and brick layer. John S. Wilhelm built Fur- nace No. I for the Ashland Iron Company in 1845. In this he was assisted by his son Artemas, who subsequently built Fur- nace No. 2 for the same company. John S. and Artemas Wilhelm were the builders of the first hot blast furnaces in America. In 1849 Artemas Wilhelm was engaged to construct Furnace No. I on the Cornwall estate, and beside it in 1854, he built Fur- large carriage and an open barouche. The nace No. 2. This estate, composed of 20,000 acres in Lebanon and Lancaster on the morning of February 14.

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

sylvania line, they found it difficult to travel rendered to Gates at Saratoga in the fall of in wheeled vehicles. When they arrived at 1777. The baroness had travelled with the prisoners of war from Boston, through York, to Charlottsville, Virginia, where she remained with the British and German pris- oners for nearly a year. After the release of her husband she travelled in a carriage to the vicinity of Baltimore, where she was the guest of Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

the public inn of Cornelius Garrettson in Shrewsbury Township, fourteen miles south of York, Jackson and his associates stopped for dinner. After partaking of a good meal General Jackson employed Cornelius Gar- rettson to convey this party in a large sleigh to York. The sleigh which was drawn by four horses broke down three miles north of the Garrettson tavern. It became neces- sary then to get two large sleds from farm- SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP. ers and in this way the great soldier and . For ninety years the area of this town- The his companions arrived at York on Sunday ship formed a part of Shrewsbury. evening, February 14. He was welcomed names of its taxable inhabitants in 1783 will by the people of the borough, all of whom be found in the history of that township. manifested an earnest desire to see one of A petition asking for a division of Shrews- the greatest military heroes in American bury was presented in 1834 to the court, history. The party remained in York only presided over by Judge Walter Franklin and a few hours and then started on their way his associates, George Barnitz and John L. Hinkle, stating that "the township of Shrewsbury is eighteen miles long, and on this account many of the inhabitants are too far from the place of transacting the com- mon township business." The court ap- pointed George Hoke, Henry Leib and John Eyster commissioners, who selected George M. Henry surveyor, and the division line was run November 24, 1834. The report of toward Lancaster, crossing the Susque- hanna at Wrightsville. Cornelius Garrett- son, who conveyed the Jackson party to York, belonged to the Federalist party and later became a Whig. He asked fifty dol- lars for his services in conveying the party to York and to cover damages caused by the breaking down of his sleigh. Jackson declined to pay that amount and after con-

siderable controversy the general settled said commissioners recommending the erec- with Garrettson by paying him thirty dol- tion of this township, which was named by

lars. This incident in the life of Jackson was frequently commented upon by the court, April 9, 1835.

Whig newspapers in 1828 when he was the candidate of the Democratic party and was elected President of the United States.

them, Springfield, was confirmed by the

Springfield is traversed from north to south, by the York and Maryland Line Turnpike, which passes over the line of the old Patapsco road, laid out from York to Joppa and Patapsco (now Baltimore) in 1742, the year after York was founded. Joppa, now a dilapidated village on the Gun- powder River, was then the seat of justice

The turnpike to Baltimore was a popu- lar highway of travel during the first half of the last century before the completion of the Northern Central Railway from Balti- more to York. In 1839 Martin Van Buren, who succeeded Jackson as President of the of Baltimore County. The turnpike passes United States, travelled over this highway along the summit of the height of land that divides the tributaries of two large branches and arrived at York Friday, June 21, 1839. He was accompanied by one of his sons and of the Codorus Creek, which form a conflu- two colored servants. President Van ence at the extreme northern point of Buren on this occasion was on his way from

Springfield. These streams separate Spring- Washington to his home at Kinderhook on field from North Hopewell on the east, York the Hudson River.

on the north, Codorus and North Codorus

Baroness Riedesel, with three children on the west. The southern boundary is an and a train of attendants, halted for several artificial line separating it from Shrewsbury. hours a short distance north of Shrewsbury The surface of Springfield is very undulat- in 1779. Her husband commanded the ing. At different places along the turnpike, German forces when Burgoyne's army sur- the view in summer over the beautifully

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SPRINGFIELD

rounded hills and systematically carved lit- The schools in Springfield Township have tle valleys all clad in rich verdure, is de- the following names: Kreidler's, Paradise, Shistler's, Seitz's, Krout's, Caslow's, Shus- ter's, Bupp's, Falkenstine's and Snyder's.

lightful to behold. The Northern Central Railway passes along the western part and crosses the Codorus five times within the limits of the township.

In 1836, one year after Springfield Town- ship was formed, Adam Diehl owned a grist mill and saw mill; Jacob Falkenstine, a full- ing mill and oil mill; George Geiselman, a carding mill; Jacob Rinehart, a grist mill, Adam Sherrer a grist mill and saw mill and David Wilson a

Geiselman, Joseph Hartman, Daniel Kraut, John Kraut, Jacob Koller, Samuel Rover, Frieden Henry Stine and Frederick William. Dr. Frederick Ehrman was a practicing physi- Church. cian in Springfield at this time.

Jacobus, originally known as congregation in 1763, by Rev. Kirchner, a

Jacobus. New Paradise, is an interesting village along the Baltimore Turnpike in the northern part of Springfield Township. It is five miles from York and two miles from Loganville. In 1837 John Snyder built the first house in the village. Shortly before the Civil War he began to sell off a portion of his farm into lots and encouraged building. A church was built in the town in 1862, and was dedicated by Rev. Adam Ettinger, as Paradise Evangelical Church. Soon afterward the people of the vicinity began to call the village New Par- adise. It retained this name for several years. In 1881 when an effort was made to secure the establishment of a post office it was discovered that another town in Pennsylvania bore the name of New Para- dise. It was decided to select the word prietaries of Pennsylvania as of our Manor Jacobus for the post office, and the village of Maske in the County of York, in free and has since borne that name. Dr. J. S. Miller, common socage by fealty only, in lieu of now a prominent physician of York, was all other services, yielding and paying unto chosen first postmaster. Jacob Geiselman us or agent at the town of York an annual and Eli Krout were early merchants. H. quit rent on the first day of March of one G. Yost was a merchant in 1907. Dr. E. P. shilling sterling, or value thereof in coin current, according as the exchange shall be between our said Province and the city of London."

Rohrbach practiced medicine here for a time. Dr. Eisenhower was the physician of the village in 1907. The manufacture of cigars is an important industry and nearly one hundred workmen are employed in the various factories, owned by D. M. Loucks, James Smith, George Shafer, Pius Olp, Pius Snyder, Frank Krout and Daniel Fortney.

The population of Springfield Township in 1840 was 1,207; in 1850, 1,341; 1860, 1,637; 1870, 1,958; 1880, 1,854; 1890, 1,912; 1900, 1,641.

William Foust, a prominent citizen of Springfield Township, owns one of the four distilleries in York County. This distillery is situated in the southern part of Spring- tanyard. Distilleries field, near the Shrewsbury line. Mr. Foust were owned by Jacob Bupp, Jacob Fei- began business here in 1860 and has since ser, Daniel Feiser, Peter Goodling, Ja- continued to operate his distillery. In 1907 cob Goodling, George Geiselman, Jacob he distilled 1,965 barrels of whiskey.

Frieden Saal Kirche, near the east end of Springfield, is better

Saal known as "Shuster's Church." The first German settlers of this region were organized into a native German. The next pastor was Rev. Lucas Raus, who served from 1770 to 1787, and Rev. Augustus Reutze succeeded in 1795. The first grant of church land, was given March 30, 1774. It was an original grant from the proprietaries of the Prov- ince of Pennsylvania, John, Thomas and Richard Penn, who directed a survey to be received in the land office at Philadelphia of " a tract of land called the church lot, con- taining eight acres and one hundred and ten perches of land situated in Shrewsbury (now Springfield) Township in the County of York, made by virtue of application No. 5270, for John Hella and Nicholas Henry, in trust for the Lutheran congregation now formed thereon. The said trustees to be holden of us, our heirs and successors, pro-

The consideration money for the transfer of the deed, was eight shillings, 10 pence. The original survey of the land was made April 5, 1769, " by William Matthews, dep- uty surveyor for York County." The

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

given to it by Rev. Andrew Burg, who for many years was the pastor. The other pas- tors of the Lutheran congregation in order hence the origin of the name "Shuster's of succession have been: Charles M. Eys- Church." The land on the side, belonged to Conrad Curfman. The following is a copy of the receipt for money paid for the land :

" Philadelphia, March 28, 1774.

church lot was in the shape of a right which the present brick church bears was angled triangle. The land adjoining the base and the perpendicular of it was desig- nated as belonging to Nicholas Shuster,

ter, H. C. Clymer, E. Lenhart and B. F. Kautz.

The name Frieden Saal given to this church in 1848 by Rev. Andrew Burg, trans- lated into English means "Hall of Peace."

" Received of John George Hella and St. Peter's Reformed Church Nicholas Henry, in trust for Lutheran con- St. Peter's stands on the road leading gregation, the sum of one pound and four Reformed from Seven Valley to the Bal- pence current money of Pennsylvania, in Church. timore Turnpike. It is situ- ated about one-fourth of a mile lieu of fourteen shillings and two pence sterling, in full for purchase money interest east of Frieden Saal Church. In 1783 Ja- and quit rent due on eight acres and one hundred and ten perches of land in Shrews- bury Township, York County, surveyed pursuant to application, entered November 24, 1768. Received for the Honorable Pro- prietaries.

" £ I. o. 4. By Edmund Physick."

William Earhart and Jacob Ness, April 16, 1774, received from Nicholas Henry and John George Hella, £4 13s. for expenses paid in patenting church lot, for great seal, for recording patent and for incidental ex- penses.

In the year 1848 a charter was granted under the name of the "Evangelical Luth- eran Congregation of Frieden Saal's Church in Springfield Township." At that time George Leader, John Meyer, John Crout and Henry B. Castoe were elders, and Joseph Ness, Henry Crout, George Ehr- hart and Samuel Castoe, church wardens.

A parochial school was kept in a building on the church property for many years, sup- ported by the members of the congrega- tion. August 9, 1851, Jacob Schnell, Wil- liam Swartz, Joseph Stiles and Adam Ness, elders of the church, leased to Jacob Koller, John Williams, John Snyder and others, school directors of Springfield Township, the schoolhouse erected on the church lands. The lease was for a term of ten years "if the common school system shall so long be in operation."

The present church building, erected in 1868, the third one in succession, stands on the original plot. The first building was made of logs. The second building was a frame structure painted white and was called " Die Weis Kirche." The name not succeed .. During the following year,

cob Korfman, or Kauffman, deeded to Dan- iel Peterman and Bernhard Bupp, one acre of land "in trust for the use and benefit equally in common to and for the German Lutheran and Reformed Calvinistic congre- gations." It seems from the deed of trans- fer, shown the writer by Mr. Henry Gable, that a house of worship already stood on this land in 1783 when it was deeded to the two congregations. It was probably built in 1782. According to tradition this was a log building and stood for several years. About 1800 a frame church building was erected. Sometime later this church was painted yellow, and for nearly three-fourths of a century was known far and wide as the " Yellow Church " in contrast with Frieden Saal nearby, which was painted white and known as the " White Church."

Rev. Adam Ettinger, of York, who died in 1886 at the age of ninety-three, was one of the early pastors of St. Peter's Church. The succeeding pastors of the congrega- tion that worshipped in the yellow church were the following: Henry Fries, F. Scholl, Henry B. Hablestein, John A. Foersch, F. Bucher, John Reineka, C. W. Reineka, F. W. Vandersloot and Daniel Gring. Al- though the land upon which this church stood was originally deeded to both the Re- formed and the Lutheran people, it seems that the church was used only by the Re- formed congregation. In 1875, during the pastorate of Rev. Daniel Gring, a move- ment was set on foot to erect a Union church, to be used by both the Reformed and the Lutherans. An attempt was made to raise money for that purpose, but it did

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History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 189

Author: Prowell, George R. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1372

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372