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PHENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY:

FROM THE SETTLEMENT TO THE YEAR 1871,

GIVING THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH
OF THE BOROUGH, WITH INFORMATION
CONCERNING THE ADJACENT TOWNSHIPS OF
CHESTER AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES AND THE
VALLEY OF THE SCHUYLKILL,

SAMUEL WHITAKER PENNYPACKER, ESQ.,
MEMBER OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA ; MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY
OF NATURAL SCIENCES OP PHILADELPHIA ; AND FORMER PRESI
DENT OF THE LAW ACADEMY OF PHILADELPHIA.

PHILADELPHIA:
Bavis & Pennypacker, Printers, No. 23 South Tenth Street.
1872.

-bJ>(,V

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1S72, et
SAMUEL W. PENNYP ACKER,
Iy the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

Ckn5 3L&Hr'

PREFACE.
The idea of the preparation of these Annals originated
with my father, who, in the course of an extensive medical
practice, collected, from the aged persons whom he at
tended, considerable information concerning the early in
terests and incidents of this vicinity, and preserved in a
manuscript, now among the records of the Historical So
ciety of Pennsylvania, whatever he thought would be in
structive or useful. To this source, I am indebted for the
greater part of the traditionary matter contained in the
following pages, and coming to me certified by Moses Ro
binson, Daniel Buckwalter, Henry Rhoades, Joseph E.
Anderson and Matthias Pennypacker, I have no doubt of
its general correctness. For the other materials, I have
searched carefully the Pennsylvania Archives, Colonial
Records, American Archives, the Minutes of the Assem
bly, Pamphlet Laws, the Records of the County Courts,
the Newspapers, the Minutes of the Town Council, gene
ral and local histories, and have availed myself of the
books and manuscripts contained in the libraries of the
Historical Society and the Philadelphia Library Company,
and of every other means of obtaining information within
my reach. Where, in the collection -of facts, I have been
compelled to request the assistance of other persons, I
have invariably been treated with the utmost kindness.
To Henry Ashenfelter, Esq., Peter G. Carey, Esq., David

4 PREFACE.
Euen, Esq., for the use of the columns of the "Mes
senger," and other favors, the editors of the "Independent
Phoenix," and Colonel Isaiah Price for his manuscript
"Life of General Galusha Pennypacker," I am especially
indebted. In offering this volume to my old friends, I have little
excuse to make. For six generations, from the time the
first white man built the first rude cabin in the wilder
ness, under the shadow of these hills, my ancestors have
lived among them, and the associations connecting me
with this community are too strong ever to be broken.
The black column of smoke blown from the mills of Phce-
nixville down the valley of the Schuylkill, whatever it
may tell to others, to me is always suggestive of home.
In collecting these Annals, therefore, in addition to the
duty that I felt I was performing towards the people of
my native town, I have experienced an intense personal
gratification, sufficient in itself to compensate me for the
time and labor I have given to the task, although both
were greater tham any one, who has not undertaken a
similar experiment, can conceive. If, in consequence of
my eiforts, one name shall be preserved from oblivion or
a single fact shall be remembered that would have been
forgotten, I shall be amply rewarded.
February 14, 1872.

CHAPTER I.
THE INDIANS.
The Indians who inhabited the section of country in
which Phcenixville is situated, were of the tribe of Lenni
Lenape, or Delawares, and appear to have been very nu
merous. If we may rely upon traditions coming to us
from the earliest settlers, two hundred years ago the
streams abounded in fish, the forests teemed with game
and fowl, and the natives could here obtain everything
their primitive wants and tastes required. They called
the French Creek, Sankanac, the Perkiomen, Pahkiomink,
and the Schuylkill River, Manaiunk. Their stone imple
ments, though gradually disappearing,' as they are gathered
by collectors or destroyed in the cultivation of the soil,
are still frequently found. The darts or arrow heads,
which are the most numerous, are made of quartz, flint,
jasper or some similar hard stone that could be readily
chipped, are generally but not invariably barbed, and
vary in length from one to four or five inches. I have
some specimens in my collection, however, that are not
more than half an inch long, and were probably used by
children in shooting birds and squirrels. Practice upon
small game of this kind formed the alphabet of their edu
cation. Another common implement is about six inches
long, two inches wide, one eighth of an inch thick,
sharpened at the point and sides, and was intended either

6 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
for scraping the skins of animals or to be fastened to the
end of a weapon like a spear or javelin. Some years ago,
while wandering along the brow of a hill on the Jacob's
farm, opposite Phcenixville, I found more than fifty ot
these spear heads, lying near together where they had
been turned over by the plough. They were made of a
very peculiar stone, black and extremely hard in the in
terior, but on the surface, which had become oxydized from
exposure, as soft as soapstone and of a yellowish green
color. It was a custom among the Indians to bury with
their dead such articles as it was thought they would be
likely to need in their journey to Spirit land, and this
may have been the grave of some doughty warrior, whose
friends had supplied him with weapons to contend against
the angry wraiths of the enemies he had sent before him.
Or possibly here, centuries before, had stood the cabin of
one who, like the father of Minnehaha, was the arrow
maker of his tribe.
The instrument generally called an axe is, though
rubbed down to an edge, entirely too blunt for cutting pur
poses, and was in reality a pick. In nearly all of these
picks the rim, hollowed out for a withe, instead of running
straight across the stone, is a little lower upon one side
than the other, so that, when completed, the edge inclines
towards the handle and an inward blow can be given.
The method adopted by the Indians to clear a place for
planting corn was, since they could not cut the trees down,
to kill them by kindling fires about the roots. The crust
of charcoal, as it accumulated and prevented the action of
the flames upon the wood, was removed with these picks.
They were probably also used for weapons. The pestle or
corn beater is more rare, but is occasionally seen. In a
wood upon the farm of Joseph Fitzwater, near Port Provi-

THE INDIANS. 7
dence, were several large rocks, containing a number of
symmetrically finished holes or mortars, three or four
inches in depth, in which the corn was beaten. Some of
them have been preserved, and will well repay the anti
quarian for a visit. Upon the Roberts' farm were rocks,
with similar mortars, but, unfortunately, they have all
been destroyed.
When the first European settlers came to Manavon,
about the year 1713, an Indian village stood upon the low
land near the Schuylkill River, immediately south of the
mouth of Pickering Creek. A trail extended from this
village across the creek below the mill at Moorehall, and
thence by way of the Corner Stores, the Morris Estate
and the Yellow Springs, to a large and permanent settle
ment called Indian Town. In the other direction, this
trail passed over Green Hill and reached the Schuylkill
at the old fording place, near Perkiomen Junction. From
there one branch crossed the river into Montgomery
County, and another followed the stream to Valley Forge,
and then continued in a direct line to the village of Coa-
quanock, which was at the present site of Philadelphia.
Portions of this trail were visible a few years ago, and
some of the older inhabitants remember to have followed
its course from Valley Forge to the city. There was also
an encampment or village upon the eastern bank of the
Schuylkill, extending southward from the canal basin, at
Mont Clare, and communication between the two was
maintained continually, except when the water had risen
so high as to prevent it. Tradition says that the lo
cality about the mouth of the Pickering was a favorite
place of resort for them, and the profusion with which
their arrow heads have been scattered about Green Hill
would seem to attest the fact.

8 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
They had a dam for fishing in the Schuylkill opposite
the farm of James Vanderslice, at Perkiomen Junction.
A village on the farm of Peter Suplee had been aban
doned at tfee time of the settlement by the whites.
They were numerous along the banks of the French
Creek when Moses Coates made his home there in 1731.
Many of their dead are buried at Green Hill and in the
hill at Black Rock, but there is nothing at either place to
indicate the exact locality.
The workmen engaged upon the canal of the Schuyl
kill Navigation Company, in excavating at Black Rock,
discovered an extensive deposit of human bones, supposed
to have been the remains of Indians, and, a few years
ago, several skeletons were found on the Bull Farm, upon
the banks of the Pickering, to which a similar origin has
been imputed. A. solitary grave may perhaps still be
seen about a hundred yards from the southern end of the
bridge which crosses the Pickering at the mill dam of
Dr. Matthias J. Pennypacker, and about ten yards from
the stream. It was protected with a covering of large
stones. About half way up the Black Rock is a crag which, at
a great height, juts far out over the tow path and the
river beneath. Twenty years ago, it could only be ap
proached by a long and difficult path among the rocks,
rendered dangerous by steep descents and gloomy from
the dense shade of pines that then covered the whole hill.
A stunted cedar grew upon the very verge, and it made
the most masculine heart tremble to stand upon the edge
and, while clinging to this frail support, look down into
the waters beneath. Some time after the settlement, and
when the simple natives had been in contact with the
whites long enough to acquire their vices, an Indian was

THE INDIANS. 9
once' tempted, with the promise of a bottle of whisky, to
leap three, times from this crag into the river. Twice he
made the terrible plunge successfully and, returning after
the second attempt, wearied with the unwonted exertion
and bleeding from wounds made by some sharp stones
against which he had struck, he sprang again into the
stream never more to reappear. Since that time it has
borne the name of Indian Rock.
An Indian once came to the shop of a blacksmith, near
Valley Forge, named Frederic Gearheart, and asked to
have his gun repaired. The smith told him it could not
be done because his supply of coal had been exhausted.
He demanded a basket and, after a short absence, re
turned with a quantity of the article sufficient for the pur
pose. Upon being questioned, he refused to tell where he
had obtained it, and, as the circumstance happened at a
time when coal was only used in the smith shops, it has
led many persons to suppose there is a bed of it some
where in that neighborhood.
The Hon. Isaac Anderson, when a boy, succeeded in
awakening the attachment of some of the Indians, and
frequently accompanied them upon their excursions. He
related that, upon one occasion, he went with them to
the Schuylkill to fish, and while there a member of the
tribe, in order to procure some brush to make a net, cut
with his tomahawk steps in a leaning tree, first on one
side and then on the other, until he reached the limbs.
The tree with its marks was standing within the memory
of the older inhabitants.
About the year 1770, it was customary for them to
assemble, with the young men and boys of the neighbor
hood, at the Corner Stores, and with their bows and arrows
practice shooting at a mark for pieces of money. At the

10 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
distance of fifty yards, they could hit a silver- coin very
readily. A youth, to whom one of them gave a bow and
arrow, said that he could easily shoot birds and squirrels
from the trees with it, but that, having lost the arrow, his
power was gone, for he could never succeed in making
another that would fly with precision.
With each passing year, as the settlers increased in
numbers, the Indians diminished. At the time of the
French and Indian war, they abandoned this neighbor
hood entirely, but, after the restoration of peace, returned
to it annually. These visits were continued until about
the year 1773, when they departed finally and, with the
exception of a few individuals and an occasional straggling
party wandering to and fro, none of them have been seen
here since. In the autumn of 1773, when the time for
departure arrived, an old worn-out brave and his squaw
declared their inability to make the journey. They sat
down upon the ground and, having said their last fare
wells, awaited stoically the blows of the tomahawks
which were to end their careers. The rest of the tribe
performed this final duty without compunction, and having
buried the bodies somewhere near, continued on their way
to the west.
One Indian, who was known by the appellation of
" Sky," remained with his family among the settlers after
the others of his tribe had retired. His wigwam stood
upon the crest of the hill above the French Creek dam,
on the property now owned by John Vanderslice, and was
one of the first habitations in Phcenixville. A tall
narrow stone marks its site. He had a numerous progeny,
and his squaw, every day, with the greatest regularity,
took her brood down to the water's edge and threw them
into the creek. This ceremony, she asserted, was injurious

THE INDIANS. 11
if performed after sunrise, and, upon the winter mornings,
the little papooses would stand there, naked and shivering
from the cold, awaiting their turns.
Sky was a lazy, intemperate fellow, and when under the
influence of alcohol had quite a taste for versification.
One of his couplets has been preserved and is as follows :
"Here lies old Sky.
Rain come bime by."
After his death, and burial at Black Rock, his squaw
left this part of the country to rejoin her tribe in the
west. It was the fate of the aborigines to perish upon the
approach of the Europeans. Communication between the
two races, whether hostile or friendly, was equally disas
trous to them. In war, they were driven from their
homes and hunted like wild beasts, and in peace they ac
quired all the vices of civilization without receiving any
of its benefits. In Pennsylvania, they were treated with
more fairness than in some of the cither colonies, but even
here our justification is found rather in reasons that
seemed to require their destruction than in assertions of
conciliation and kindness, which will not always bear in
vestigation. This meed of praise, however, may be given
to the Founder of Pennsylvania and his associates, that
while they came here fully persuaded of their right to the
land, from the charter of King Charles, and determined to
obtain possession under it, they did what they could to
make the Indians satisfied with their presence, and recon
ciled to their encroachments.
The Colonial Governor and his Council had little hesi
tation in offering rewards for the scalps, not only of men,
but of women and children, when occasion demanded it,
and the scruples of our Quaker ancestors did not prevent

12 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
them from obtaining native titles by conveyances like the
following, viz.:
"We, Essepenaike & Swanpees, the 23d. day of ye 4th.
mo. called June, in ye year according to ye English ac
count, 1683, for us and or heirs and assignes doe grant
and dispose of all our Lands Lying betwixt Pemapeck &
Neshamineh Creeks, and all along upon Neshamineh
Creek & backward of ye same & to run two days journey
with a horse up into ye country, as ye sd River doth goe
to William Penn, Propriet1 and Govern1 of ye Province of
Pennsylvania, &c his heirs and Assignes forever, for ye
consideration of so much Wampum & so many Guns,
Shoes, Stockings, Looking glasses, Blanketts and other
goods as he ye said William Penn, shall please to give
unto us, hereby for us o'r heirs & Assignes, renouncing
all Claims or demands of any thing in or for ye Premises
for ye future from him, his heirs and Assignes.
" In witness whereof we have hereunto sett or hands and
seals ye day and year first above written. The mark X of
Essepenaike,
The mark X of
Swanpees.
"Sealed and Delivered in presence of:
N. More, Lasse Cock,
Thos. Holmes, C. Taylor Thonyne,
Indians present:
Weanappo, Enshockhuppo,
Etnackeherab, Alaehnoh."
An instrument more vague in its description and more
favorable in its terms to the grantees it would be difficult
to conceive.

THE SETTLEMENT. 13

CHAPTER II.
THE SETTLEMENT.
It was a current belief for a long while after the dis
covery of America, that somewhere in the interior of the
continent were immense masses of gold and silver, and
many an adventurous spirit among the early colonists
lost his life in the quest of this fabulous El Dorado.
Stories of the marvellous wealth, which had been ac
quired by the Spaniards in the South, through the con
quest of Peru and Mexico, reached the ears of the French
and English in the North, and frequently induced them
to abandon the ordinary pursuits of colonization for fruit
less attempts to imitate the glories of Cortez and Pizarro.
We are told the emigrants to Virginia narrowly escaped
starvatiou during one winter, because, in the season for
planting corn, they had been digging iron pyrites in mis
take for precious metal, and delusions of a similar cha
racter are noted in the annals of nearly all the colonies.
Shortly after the settlement of Philadelphia, Charles
Pickering, an Englishman, who had crossed the ocean
with Penn, came wandering up the Schuylkill River in
search of treasure. After what was doubtless a long and
tedious journey through the forest, he arrived at the
stream that bears his name. Its shores had never been
trodden by the foot of European before. Stooping down
among the sands upon its banks he discovered what he
believed to be traces of silver, and supposing the shining

14 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
particles to have been washed from the neighboring hills,
he hastened to them. An examination satisfied him of
the truth of his conjecture, and, believing that fortune
had dawned upon him, he returned to Philadelphia and
succeeded in obtaining from Penn a grant for several thou
sand acres of land bordering upon the stream. Having
secured his title, he imparted his secret to a chosen com
panion, named Tinker, who understood mining. Together
the two friends came into the wilderness, dug a cave in
the side of a hill near a running brook, arched over the
roof and covered the floor with long flat stones. When
this was completed, they commenced digging the metal,
and they worked most assiduously until they had carried
to their cave and prepared for transportation enough to
fill eight flour barrels. It was then removed to Philadel
phia and from there sent by vessel to England. What
was the result of the subsequent analysis has never been
learned, but as this early mining effort was abandoned
it could not been very favorable.
This cave was the first white man's dwelling in the
section of country about which I am writing, and the hill
in which it was situated is called to this day "Tinker
Hill." Traces of their temporary home and of the exca
vations they made when mining are still visible.
As Charles Pickering is so closely identified with the
earliest history of the neighborhood, and as one part of
his name has been given to the Pickering Creek, and the
other to the township of Charlestown, which originally
included the present township of Charlestown, the town
ship of Schuylkill and the Borough of Phcenixville, it
may be interesting to narrate other events of his career.
At the meeting of the Provincial Council, held at Phila
delphia, on the 24th day of the 8th month, 1683: "The

THE SETTLEMENT. 15
Gov1 Informed ye Board that it was Convenient Warrant
should be sent from this Board to apprehend some persons
upon suspition of putting away bad money.
" A warrant was issued forth from this board to bring
Charles Pickering and Sam11 Buckley before them. The
Govr telleth Ch. Pickering & Sam11 Buckley of their
abuse to ye Governm* in Quoining of Spanish Bitts and
Boston money to the Great Damage and abuse to ye
Subjects thereof. The Govr asked them whether or no
they are guilty of ye fact. They confess they have put off
some of these new bitts, but they say that all their money
was as good Silver as any Spanish money, and also deny
that they had any hand in this matter. Charles Picker
ing saith he will stand by it and be tryed ; he declareth
that he heard Jno. Rush Swere that he spent halfe his
time in making of Bitts.
"John Rush being sent for & examined, Positively
denyeth what Chas. Pickering affermed.
" The Govr demands of Charles Pickering and Sam"
Buckley to give Security, wch accordingly was done."
On the 25th, it was ordered "That an indictm* be
drawne against Ch. Pickering & Sam11 Buckley Grounded
upon evidence taken before this board."
On the 26th, "The Grand Jury being called over went
forth to find the bill against Charles Pickering and re
turned and found ye Bill as being a Heynous and
Grevious Crime. The Indictmt was read against ye
Prisoner at ye Barr to wch he answered not Guilty and
would be Tryed by his Country. The Atturney Genrall
then opened ye Cause and Called for his Witnesses as
followed :
" Caleb Pusey attested Saith that Charles Pickering
paid him 15 ft in New Bitts wch were produced in court.

16 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
" Griffith Jones attested Saith that he borrowed of the
Prisoner Eight pounds in New Bitts as they are now
called. "The foreman of the Jury desired that ye Prisoner
would tell him who he had the money of that he payd to
severall people but he sought to Evade it, saying the
money that any pson reed of him he would change it and
that noe man should Loose anything by him.
"The Govr gave ye charge to ye Jury and they went
forth and returning againe brought him in Guilty of ye
Bill of Indictment. After which ye Govr Proceeded to
give Sentance against ye Prisoners, wch is as followed:
"Charles Pickering. The Court hath Sentenced thee
for this high misdemeanor whereof thou hast been found
Guilty by the Country that thou make full Satisfaction in
good and currant pay to every Person, that shall within
ye space of one month, bring in any of this false Base
and Counterfitt Coyne (wch will tomorrow by Proclama
tion be called in ) according to their respective proportions
and that the money brought in shall be melted into gross
before returned to thee, and that thou shalt pay a fine of
fourty pounds into this Court towards ye building of a
Court house in this Towne and Stand Committed till
payd, and afterwards find Security for thy good abear
ance." His offence, which was probably nothing more than an
attempt to supply the colony with an irregular but an in
trinsically valuable medium of exchange, expiated by the
redemption of the coin and the payment of his fine, was
followed by no social condemnation, and the Council, on
the 14th of the 3d month, 1685, passed a resolution de
claring that in privilege and freedom he stood in " Equal
Capacity" with the other colonists.

THE SETTLEMENT. 17
At the meeting of the Council, on "ye 1st of ye 12th
mo, 1685, The Petition of Charles Pickerin was Read,
about his Land being Surveyed, away at Chester," and
the following year the survey was made.
Several cases, conducted by him in the practice of his
profession as an attorney at law, are mentioned in the Co
lonial Records, and in 1690 he represented Philadelphia
County in the Assembly.
He was afterward drowned, while crossing the At
lantic, and upon his death the land he had obtained, con
sisting of five thousand three hundred and sixty-eight
acres, designated indifferently as the Pickering Tract or
the Mine Hole Tract, from the operations he had con
ducted there, was divided equally among sixteen friends
to whom he had devised it. They were Edward Ship-
pen, Griffith Jones, Joshua Carpenter, Samuel Carpenter,
John Moore, Samuel Richardson, Joseph Growdon, John
Jones, Joseph Pidgeon, William Carter, Thomas Tress,
Joseph Wilcox, Robert Turner, Charles Saunders, Philip
Richards and Samuel Robinson, all of whom were men of
wealth and influence in Philadelphia.
Two of them became identified with the affairs of this
vicinity through their descendants, viz.: John Moore, well
known in the history of Pennsylvania as the first
Attorney General of the colony and the Queen's Col
lector of the Port, and Samuel Richardson, who was one
of the Governor's Council in 1688, afterward a judge of
Philadelphia County, and for twelve years a prominent
member of the Assembly. The latter is an ancestor of
the Lanes, the Andersons, and, through them, of many
of the Schofields and Pennypackers.
The first actual resident upon the Pickering Tract, and
the first settler in what afterward became Schuylkill
2

18 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Township, was James Anderson, a Scotch youth, who
arrived in this country in 1707, and commenced work for
a Welsh farmer, named Jerman, who was living in easy
circumstances in the Chester Valley. Anderson soon
afterward eloped with the daughter of his employer, and
in 1713 purchased for £120, a part of which was ad
vanced by the reconciled father-in-law, one of the six
teen divisions of this tract, comprising three hundred and
forty acres. He removed with his bride to what was
then an unbroken wilderness, and erected upon his pur
chase, on the south side of the Pickering Creek, a log-
house, with one room, one door and one window. His
descendants are numerous, and the property, about two
miles and a half from Phcenixville, has ever since re
mained in the family name.
Among the earliest settlers were also Thomas Davis,
who purchased in 1723, David Humphrey in 1725,
Llewellyn Davis in 1728, Aaron Coates, David Davis,
called " Sawyer," and an old man named Jacob Varley.
In 1729, John Moore, of Philadelphia, gave the lot de
vised to him, lying along the Pickering creek adjacent to
the Schuylkill, to his son, William Moore. It had at that
time been considerably improved, as there were upon it
houses, stables and a saw mill. This mill was the first in
the neighborhood, and awakened intense astonishment in
the minds of the savages, who came to gaze upon and
listen to the working of its machinery. William Moore,
immediately after having obtained possession, erected a
frame building for his own accommodation, and a stone
house for the use of his slaves. When some years had
elapsed, however, finding the dwelling unsuited to his
condition in life, he built a mansion so elegant and
capacious, and gave the grounds about it so much orna

THE SETTLEMENT. 19
mentation with gardens, lawns, shrubbery and other luxu
rious devices, that it received the imposing and dignified
title of "Moore Hall," by which it has ever since been
known. To the north of the Pickering Tract lay the Manavon
Tract, said to have been so called from the Indian name
of the surrounding country, but more probably from the
parish in Wales in which David Lloyd was born, com
prising one thousand acres situated upon the two banks
of the' French Creek.
This creek, which never should have lost its eupho
nious Indian title of Sankanac, is designated in the map
of the " Province of Pennsilvania," prepared for Penn by
Thomas Holme, as "Vincent River." The origin of the
name French Creek I have been unable to discover,
but it is used in the report of the Commissioners ap
pointed to fix the boundaries of Chester and Lancaster
Counties as early as 1729. The name Vincent, borne by
two of the townships of Chester County, is derived from
Sir Matthias Vincent to whom large grants of land, in
tersected by the creek, had been made. Pikeland, in like
manner, received its name from Joseph Pike, who ob
tained a grant of ten thousand acres from Penn.
The Manavon Tract, in 1713, was patented to David
Lloyd, who was the first justice in Chester County, for
many years Speaker of the Assembly, and a bitter oppo
nent of William Penn. The earliest settler upon it was
Francis Buckwalter, to whom Lloyd sold six hundred and
fifty acres in November, 1720, for £195. Buckwalter, a
Protestant refugee from Germany, was subjected when in
the fatherland to many persecutions because of his faith,
and it is a matter of family history that he was compelled
to read his Bible by stealth, concealed in a cow trough.

20 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
He finally concluded to flee, and, after leaving his home,
was pursued for three days by his vindictive Catholic
brothers, who were determined upon his destruction. His
children were Joseph, Jacob, Johannes, Mary and Yost,
and from him are descended all of the Buckwalter family
in this vicinity. In March, 1731, Moses Coates pur- »
chased one hundred and fifty acres of land along the
northern bank of the French Creek, where North Phce-
nixville now is, and erected a dwelling. About it he
planted, for ornament,, the wild thorny locust trees that,
until quite recently, were still growing upon the site.
At this time, the only inhabitants upon the Manavon
Tract were himself, Francis Buckwalter and "Sky."
The wolves were so numerous that the sheepfold for
security, was placed against the house, and for many
years afterward, in the winter mornings, the snow would
be found beaten down by the struggles of these animals
in their efforts to effect an entrance. When they became
too daring, a gun discharged from the window into the
the pack would disperse them temporarily. Previous to
his purchase in Manavon, Coates had lived for about a
year upon the other side of the Schuylkill, where stands
the present village of Mont Clare, a locality he selected
because the Indians were there less numerous. At night
he slept with a loaded gun at his side, and a servant lay
at the door of his hut with a pitch fork. Upon longer
acquaintance, however, he found the natives disposed to
be friendly, and his fear of their hostility being dissipated
he changed his place of residence. During the winter of
1730-31 he caught, upon the island in the river oppo
site Phcenixville, twenty-four beavers.
Shortly after his arrival, he induced his friend James
"Starr, a miller, of New Castle, Delaware, to follow him

THE SETTLEMENT. 21
hither. In December, 1731, Starr, with his two sons,
James and Moses, purchased for £230 the land included
between the French Creek and a line running from
French Creek bridge, along Nutt's Road to the Corner
Stores and from there, by way of the White Horse Road,
to the Schuylkill. He built a dwelling where the old
Starr farm house recently stood, and commenced clearing
the ground for agricultural purposes. In 1734, he erected
a mill which was placed under the control of his two sons,
and was the first use of the water power on the French
Creek. The Buckley Tract, so named from Samuel Buckley,
whose acquaintance we have heretofore made as an asso
ciate of Pickering in his efforts to supply the colony with
coin, lies between the Pickering and Manavon Tracts,
and is an exact parallelogram, containing four hundred
and ninety acres. It was patented in 1734 to Buckley
and his sister Ann, wife of Samuel Hazell. The first oc
cupant of the " Knoll," which is a part of this tract, was
Thomas Valentine, as a lessee, shortly after the patent.
Two of the descendants of Ann Buckley married the
brothers Cadwalader Morris and Benjamin Morris, and
in this way one half of the tract came into the posses
sion of the Morris family.
The manor of Bilton lies in the eastern corner of
Schuylkill Township, and contained, as originally granted
to William Lowther, two thousand eight hundred and
fifty acres. Among the earliest residents upon it were
Thomas James, who purchased in 1741, and John Jacobs,
Jr., in 1746.

22 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

CHAPTER III.
DIFFICULTIES WITH THE INDIANS.
In April, 1728, great alarm was caused in the settle
ment by threatened hostilities from the natives. In May,
the following petition, remarkable for its orthography and
the tender solicitude manifested for the wives and children
of the signers, was presented to Governor Gordon.
"To His Excellency Patrick Gordon Esqr Governor
Generall in Chief over the Province of pencilvania, and
the Territoris thereunto Belonging. Benbrenors Town
ship and the adjacences Belonging May ye 10', 1728.
"We think It fit to address your Excellency for Relief,
for your Excellency must Knowe That we have Suffered
and is like to sufer By the Ingians, they have fell upon
ye Back Inhabitors about falkner's Swamp & Near Cosha-
hopin. Therefore, we the humble Petitioners, With our
poor Wives & Children Do humbly Beg of your Excel
lency To Take It into Consideration and Relieve us the
Petitioners hereof, whos^ Lives Lies At Stake With us
and our poor Wives & Children that is more to us than
Life. Therefore We the humble Petitioners hereof, Do
Desire An Answer from your Excellency By ye Bearer
With Speed, so no more at present from your poor
afflicted People Whose names are here Subscribed.
"John Roberts, Peter Bun,
Jn. Pawling, Jacob Cugnred,
Henry Pannebecker, Jacob Kolb,

DIFFICULTIES WITH THE INDIANS. 23
W. Lane, Peter Rambo,
John Jacobs, Mathias Tyson,
Israell Morris, Hanss Detweiler,
Jacob opdengraef, John Mier,
Martin Kolb, Conrad Cresson,
Dielman Kolb, Peter Johnson,"
Anthony halmon, And many others.
On the day upon which he received this communica
tion, the Governor himself hastened to the exposed region,
and on the 15th reported to the Council "that last night
he returned from Mahanatawny where he found the coun-
trey in very great disorder, occasioned by the Noise of
the Skirmish that hapned between some of our People &
a small Party of Indians, that many of the back Inhabi
tants had quitted their Houses & Seemed under great
Apprehensions of Numbers of Indians Coming to attack
them; that several Palatine families were gathered to
gether at a Mill near New Hanover Township, in order to
defend themselves & that there he saw the Man who was
said to have been killed by the Indians, but he appeared
.to be only slightly wounded in the Belly; that having
examined several Persons there & at Colebrookdale touch
ing the said Indians, he understood that they were eleven
in Number & had been in that Neighborhood for some
Days; that they were all armed & had a Spanish Indian
for their Captain, and that having been rude in several
houses where they forced the People to supply them with
Victuals & Drink some of our Inhabitants to the Number
of Twenty a few of whom were armed with Guns &
Swords went in search of the said Indians & coming up
with them they sent two of their Number to Treat with
the Captain, who instead of receiving them civilly bran
dished his Sword & Commanded his Men to fire, which

24 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
they did & wounded two of ours, who thereupon returned
their Fire upon which they saw the said Captain fall, but
he afterwards got up & run into the Woods after his
Party, having left his Gun and Match Coat behind him &
that since that time they had been no more seen."
In his opinion, the whites were as much responsible
for this skirmish as the natives. Some of the people,
however, were so much incensed that they determined to
kill all of the Indians they could find. Fearing further
trouble, he distributed some powder and lead among
them, and gave authority, by commission to John Paw
ling, Marcus Huling and Mordecai Lincoln, to gather the
settlers together and place them in a situation for de
fence. Immediately after the difficulty had occurred,
came the following letter from Samuel Nutt, the man
whose name is attached to "Nutt's Road."
Malanton, May 11th, 1728.
May it please the Governour:
Just now I R'ved the Disagreeable news, that one
Walter Winter & John Winter &c have Murdered one
Indian Man & two Indian Women without any Causa
given by the s'd Indians & that the said Winter's have
brought 2 girls (one of which is Cripled) to Geo. Boon's
to receive some Reward. I Desire the Governour may see
after it before he goes Down ; for most Certainly such
actions will Create the greatest antipathy betwixt the
Severall nations of Indians & the Christians.
The bearer, John Petty, has heard the full Relation of
this matter; to whom I shall Refer the Governour for a
more full account & Remain the Governour's most hearty
friend and Servant to Command. Sam1.1: Nutt.
Warrants were immediately issued to the Sheriffs of

DIFFICULTIES WITH THE INDIANS. 25
Chester and Philadelphia Counties for the arrest of the
Winters, who were captured and placed for security in the
gaol at Chester. They could give no better reason for
their barbarity than that there were reports of Indian de
predations in the country, and consequently they felt they
were justifiable in killing any of the natives with whom
they might meet. The statement of Walter Winter was
that " On the tenth day of this instant he had heard by a
Dutchman who lives at Tulpohocken that the Indians
had Killed sundry Dutchmen, viz. — had killed two and
wounded three Christians, whereupon the said Walter
went about the Neighborhood & desired the People to
gett together to his house to defend themselves against
the Indians & returning again to his own house, where he
was making fast the Windows, in Case any Attempt should
be made upon them. One John Roberts, his son, came to
the house of the said Walter & desired the said Walter to
goe to his father's house & assist him for that there were
some Indians at his father's house, with a Bow and a great
number of Arrows, and that his father was in Danger of
being Killed, whereupon the said Walter with his father-
in-Law, Morgan Herbert, each having a gun, went away
to the house of the said John Roberts (the gun of the
said Walter being loaded with one bullet and ten swan
shot) and as the said Walter and Morgan Herbert were
going to John Roberts they mett with John Winter who
had with him a short gun, and thereupon John Winter
took the large gun & and gave the small gun or pistol to
Morgan Herbert, and when the said Walter with Morgan
Herbert and John Winter came over the Logg that lies
over the Run just before John Roberts's Door he saw
John Roberts standing in his own Door, he saw him have
a gun in his hand, but whether he had it in his hand

26 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
before this Examinant Came up to the house, or whether
he went in for it afterwards, this Examinant cannot say,
and this Examinant saw an Indian man some Women and
some Girls sitting on a wood pile before John Roberts's
Door. And the Indian man getting up took his Bow &
stepping backwards took an arrow from his back, putting
it to the string of the Bow, whereupon this Examinant
apprehending the Indian was going to shoot at him this
Examinant presented his gun and shot at the Indian
man, that he believes the Indian was wounded for he
saw Blood upon his Breast, that John Winter at the
same time shott one of the Indian Women, and then run
up and knocked another Indian Woman's Brains out,
that two Indian girls run away, that the Examinant
followed one and with a Bow and Arrow which he • took
up where the said Indians were sitting, he shott at one
of the Indian girls and then overtook her and brought
her back, and he then saw the Indian man gett up and
went staggering into a swamp near the house, That John
Winter and the Examinant with Morgan Herbert the
next morning found the other Indian girl in Tacocolie's
Cabin, she was much hurt about the head and face, and
she was ordered to go to Walter Winter's house where
she went accordingly. That this Examinant was told by
John Roberts's wife that the Indian Boy that was in
Company with the other Indians was in the house and
made three arrows in the house but this Examinant did
not see him. That this Examinant with Walter Winter
and John Herbert took the Corpses of the two Indian
Women & hauled them out of the Road $: covered them
with some leaves."
Toka Collie, the Indian who had been killed, was an old
man and a friend to the colonists. Being nearly related

DIFFICULTIES WITH THE INDIANS. 27
to several of the powerful chiefs, Governor Gordon feared
that they would undertake to revenge his death. He,
therefore, immediately sent a messenger with some pre
sents to the Indian girls who had been injured, and with
instructions to employ some skilled person to dress their
wounds and to assure them that the offenders should not
go unpunished. He also dispatched John and Nicholas
Scull, interpreters, to the chiefs Allummapees, Opekasset
and Manawkyhickon to inform them of the measures
taken to apprehend the criminals, and request them to
meet him in council at Conestoga. On the 22d of May,
accompanied by about thirty of the principal men of the
colony, and having with him "twenty-five Strowd Match-
coats, twenty Blanketts, twenty Duffels, twenty-five shirts,
one hundred wt Gunpowder, two hundred wt of Lead, five
hundred Flints & fifty Knives, with Rum, Bread, Pipes &
Tobacco," he departed from Philadelphia. On the way,
he visited the Indians upon the French Creek, and con
tinuing his journey to the Indian Town and Conestoga,
found there awaiting him seventeen chiefs, representing
the Delawares, Ganawese, Shawanese and Mingoes. The
council continued two days, in the course of which pre
sents were mutually given and promises made by .the
Indians that they would do all in their power to capture
the authors of the attack on the settlement, and, on the
part of the Governor, that the perpetrators of the outrage
in Chester County, should be treated as they deserved.
- The Winter brothers were afterward tried for the murder,
convicted and hanged. Herbert, on the recommendation
of David Lloyd and two other justices, was released. In
this way, terminated the only serious embroilment with
the natives in this neighborhood of which I have been able
to discover any record.

28 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

CHAPTER IV.
A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT.
A matter of the utmost importance in the early days of
the settlement was the supply of fish obtained from the
rivers. In the spring, the shad came up the Schuylkill in
immense numbers, and the inhabitants along its banks, en
gaging en masse in fishing, secured enough to furnish
their families with this article of food until the next an
nual return. The earliest place for fishing now known
was at the Long Ford, opposite Port Providence. The
pound there constructed belonged in common to the
dwellers upon both shores of the river, and they united
their forces in the pursuit and divided the spoils after the
capture. A wall, in the form of a segment of a circle and
answering as a pen into which the fish could be driven,
was built in the middle of the stream, with an entrance
towards its source. From the edges of this opening, racks
were stretched obliquely to each shore and were secured in
their positions by being tied with withes to stakes which
were driven into the ground at the bottom of the river. A
rope of grape vines and bushes, long enough to reach from
one shore to the other, was made, usually at the mouth.
of Mingo Creek, about five miles above, and when it was
completed the fishermen started in canoes to sweep the
river. By this means, the shad were forced into the pen,
and were there caught with a small net. Whole days
were devoted to the work, sometimes as many as forty

A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT. 29
men were engaged in it, and John Shaw, who was a per
son of veracity and had frequently assisted, when an aged
man told Moses Robinson that he had seen eight thou
sand five hundred shad driven into the pound at one time.
The fishermen who were present when this assertion was
made accredited the statement.
Another method of fishing was afterward adopted.
Racks, extending from shore to shore, were placed in the
stream with their bars so close together that the fish could
not pass, and a pool or basin was cleared away below.
The shad, ascending the river, to deposit their spawn,
crowded against the racks in such numbers as sometimes
to push each other out of the water, and a pole could not
be thrust to the bottom without displacing them. As
many were taken as were wanted, and the rest struggled
in unsuccessful efforts to escape the impediment. This
plan, though effectual, was very wasteful and destructive,
and awakened the angry opposition of those who lived
further up the river. In fact, these fisheries, from their
commencement, were the source of continual jealousies and
disputes, and their regulation was the subject of much
early legislation. In May, 1724, a bill was passed for
"demolishing and removing Fishing Dams, Wears and
Kedles set across the River Schuylkill," and was followed
on the 15th of August, 1730, by an Act to "prevent the
Erecting of Wears, Dams, &c, within the River Schuyl
kill." The effect of these enactments was, however,
evaded, and among the Archives of 1732 is found the
following deposition:
" Marcus Huling Saith That as he was going down the
Schuylkill with a Canoe Loaded with wheat, that striking
on a fish dam, she took in a great deal of water into ye
wheat, by means whereof his wheat was much damnified,

30 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
and that it was in great danger of being all lost; and that
at another time he stroke fast on a fish dam, and should
have lost his whole Load of wheat, if he had not leaped
into ye river and with hard Labour prevented ye Canoe
from Swinging round, and so Suffered very much in his
body by reason of ye water & cold: And that at another
time he stroke fast on one of ye Rack dams & with great
hazard and hard Labor Escaped with his Life & Load.
"Jonas Jones Saith That in ye month of Ffebruary it
being Extream Cold, he stroke fast on a fish Dam, and to
save his Load of wheat was obliged to leap into ye River
to ye middle of his body and with all his Labour and Skill
could not get off in less than half an hour, afterwards pro
ceeding on his journey with ye said wet cloaths they were
frozen stiff on his back, by means whereof he underwent
a great deal of misery.
" Jacob Waren Saith That he with a Canoe loaded with
wheat stroke fast on a dam, where he with his partner
were forced into ye River, and one with all his might was
oblieged to hold ye Canoe whilest ye other digged away
ye stones of ye Dam, and with much difficulty got off.
" Isaac Smally Saith That going down ye said River
with 140 bus. of wheat in a Canoe they stroke fast on a
Rack Dam and in order to save ye Load from being all
lost, he was much against his mind oblieged to leap into
ye River, the water being to his Chin frequently dashed
into his mouth, where between whiles he breathed, and
both he and his partner held ye Canoe with great labour:
whiles a young man there present ran above a mile to call
help to gett off.
" Walter Campbell Saith That he hath stroke fast many
times on ye fish dams with his Canoe Loaded with wheat,
and been forced to leap into ye River before he could get off.

A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT. 31
"Jonas Yeokam and Richard Dunklin Say, That they
got fast on a fish dam with their Canoe loaded with 60
bus. of wheat- & ye s'd Dunklin's Wife and a Young Child
in ye Canoe, and were for more than an hour in great
danger of being oversett into ye River, where if they
had, undoubtedly ye Woman & Child would have been
lost. " Barnabas Roades Saith, That he stroke fast on a fish
dam in Schuylkill for several hours in ye Cold winter
Season, destitute of any help, in which time he underwent
a great deal of hardships and at last gott off, during all
which time he was in great danger both of his life and
Load; And that he hath at divers times been fast on ye
said Dams and in great danger.
"George Boone, John Boone, Joseph Boone, James
Boone, Samuel Boone, Say, That they have been sundry
times fast on ye said Ffish Dams and Rack Dams, and
to preserve the Loads of wheat have been forced several
times to leap into ye River, and have very narrowly
Escaped with their lives & Loads."
In consequence of these and other representations,
an act was passed, in 1734, of similar purport with the
preceding. In 1735, petitions were presented by both
parties, without any change of legislation; but, in 1736,
those who were in favor of the wears and dams suc
ceeded in getting the Legislature to give them the privi
lege of erecting their racks in April and May, during the
fishing season. This ought, perhaps, to have obviated
the objections of -the poor fellows who underwent so
much misery from being compelled to leap into the river
in the midst of winter, but it did not meet with the appro
bation of the Governor and Council, and was the cause of
some dissension between them and the Legislature. The

32 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
bill was returned by the Governor with the objection that,
instead of being an amendment to previous acts, as it pur
ported to be, it was in reality a repeal.
The Assembly endeavored to remove his opposition to
it and he replied in a message in which the whole sub
ject is reviewed. He said that the policy of the Pro
prietor had always been against the erection of the dams
and wears, because they were an obstruction to naviga
tion, and that the racks were worse than wears, for
while the latter were only made of light sticks the former
were constructed of more substantial material, like horse
racks, and were sustained in their places by large stones
carried into the river to support them. A more serious
objection was the threatened destruction of the fish. The
practice followed by those who fished with racks in
the Schuylkill was the most ruinous that could possibly
be contrived. "This Practice is for Great Numbers of
People mostly on Horseback for a mile or two or more,
with large Bushes, Stakes, or other Instruments that may
best answer the End, to beat the water with great Noise,
rake the Bottom of the River above the Racks & to take
all the methods in their Power to force the Fish down
into the Racks; and if this was the Practice heretofore,
now when half the River is to be left open it will follow
of course that others in & about the vacant Part must use
equal or greater Industry to prevent their getting that
way by the Racks, by which means those that can es
cape must be more frightened and disturbed, the Spawn
by the treading of Horses or other Feet & by raking with
Bushes & Trees must be destroyed."
Not only were the people residing on the upper part of
the river deprived of that to which they had an equal
right with the other settlers, but it would result in the

A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT. 33
extermination of the fish, and the inhabitants and their
posterity would be robbed of this great source of benefit
and .profit. He also gave as an objection the moral con
sideration that the erection of racks- was attended with
"tumultuous Meetings, riotous Behaviour, Quarrels, Con
tentions & even Outrages amongst the young People and
others who assemble as to a Merry making or a publick
Diversion, at the time of fishing by Racks, which are so
unseemly Returns for the benefits conferred."
The opponents of dams and wears succeeded in pre
venting the act from becoming a law, but their views
were not enforced without resistance. The fishermen of
Long Ford were too stout hearted and too tenacious of
the privilege they had for years enjoyed to yield without
a struggle, and the use of the racks was continued despite
of the legislators. Finally, in 1738, their exasperated
adversaries up the river organized a force of volunteers,
as formidable from the numbers and courage of its con
stituents as possible, collected a fleet of canoes, and under
the command of Timothy Miller, a man of great muscular
strength, set sail, on the 20th of April, intent upon des
perate deeds and in the full anticipation of success. Ar
riving at Long Ford, they commenced a work of havoc
among the racks, which they broke away from the moor
ings and sent adrift down the stream. A few of the fish
ermen, who chanced to be there when the fleet appeared,
at first attempted with soft words to stay the destruction
which was being committed, and, finding prayers and en
treaties ineffectual, seized upon the loosened racks and
endeavored to carry them away. This did not suit the
purpose of the assailants, who pursued, and relentlessly
dragging the implements from their grasp, broke and cut
them into pieces. It was more than could be endured,
3

34 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Abandoning temporarily the disputed ground, they fled
into the settlement, sounded the slogan, and summoned
to the rescue every man who could handle an oar or wield
a club. Thus reinforced they returned to the encounter,
and in their canoes made a furious assault upon the fleet
of the enemy, which still unwisely lingered about the
scene of demolition. The struggle that ensued, whose
issue perchance depended more upon individual strength
than skillful manceuvering, became desperate and for a
long time Mars, or Neptune, whichever we may suppose
to have been the presiding divinity, maintained the ut
most impartiality. The scale was finally turned by the
valor of Thomas Valentine, the tenant at the Knoll,
who leaped into the canoe of the opposing commodore,
Timothy Miller, struck out lustily upon all sides with
a club, and, after beating down every man of its crew,
succeeded in effecting its capture. This serious loss
dampened the ardor of the assailants, and Miller, his
thumb broken and his companions overpowered, was com
pelled to order a retreat. Encouraged by the unexpected
advantage, the victors pressed their antagonists closely
and the retreat soon became a rout. The beaten squadron
fled rapidly down the Schuylkill, and in order to escape
their pursuers, who followed with the utmost pertina
city, made the grave mistake of entering the Perkiomen.
This stream was too shallow for navigation, and, the
canoes soon running aground, the crews were compelled
to seek the shelter of the forests for safety. A complete
destruction of the boats and their contents satisfied the
vindictive ire of the fishermen, who returned to their
homes elated with a triumph which had been dearly pur
chased with many severe wounds and the loss .of their
racks. This is the description of what was perhaps the

A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT. 35
only naval engagement ever fought upon the Schuylkill,
as it has been handed down to us by those who partici
pated in it on the side of the victors. The story of their
opponents was detailed at the time as follows :
"William Richards, Constable of the Townships Oi
Amity, in the County of Philadelphia in the Province of
Pennsylvania, makes oath, That on the twentieth day of
this Instant April, he received a Warrant from George
Boon Esq. one of his Majesties Justices of the Peace of
the said County requiring him this Deponent to take
to his Assistance such persons as this Deponent should
think proper & go down the River Schuylkill & remove
all such obstructions as should be found in the said River,
in obedience to which Warrant this Deponent took
several persons, Inhabitants of the s'd County as his as
sistants & together with one Robert Smith Constable of
the Township of Ouly, who had received a warrant to the
same purpose, went down the S'd River in three Canoes
to Mingo Creek where they found a Large Number of
Racks & obstructions in the s'd River & saw four men up
on an Island near the s'd Racks, that this Deponent &
Company removed the said Racks without receiving any
opposition, from thence they proceeded down the River to
the Mouth of Pickering's Creek, near which they found
several Racks which Reacht Across the s'd River to an
Island, which Racks this Depon't & Company also re
moved, that immediately after the s'd Racks were re
moved, about the Number of two hundred Men came
down on both sides of the s'd River & were very Rude &
Abusive & threatened this Depon't & his Company, that
the s'd Depon* expecting from the ill Language & threats
given that some Mischief or a Quarrell would Ensue, he
took his Staff in his hand & his Warrant & Commanded

36 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
the s'd Men in the King's Name to Keep the Peace &
told them that he came there in a peaceable Manner &
according to Law to Move the Racks & Obstructions in
the River, upon which some of the s'd Men Damn'd the
Laws & the Law makers & Curs'd this Deponent & his
Assistants, That one James Starr Knockt this Deponent
down in the River with a large Clubb or Stake after
which several of the said Men Attackt this Deponent &
Company with large Clubbs & Knockt down the s'd
Robert Smith, the Constable as also several of this Depo
nent's Assistants, that one John Wainwright, in company
with this Deponent, was Struck down with a Pole or Staff
& lay as Dead with his Body on the Shoar & his ffeet in
the River, That this Depon't & Company finding that
they were not able to make Resistance, were Obliged to
make their best of their Way in order to save their Lives
after which this Depont together with the Constable of
Ouly & some of their Company proceeded down the River,
in order to go to Philadelphia to make Complaint of the
ill Usage they had received, that as they came near Par-
kyooman Creek they found another Sett of Racks, which
were guarded by a great Number of Men, that this Depont
& Company Requested the s'd Men to let them go down
the River & if they wou'd Suffer them to pass that they
would not Meddle with their Racks, upon which the s'd
Men abus'd & cursed this Depon't in a very Gross Man
ner, telling the s'd Deponent & his Company that they
should not pass by them, That one of the s'd Men called
out aloud & offered ffive Pounds for Timothy Miller's
head, the s'd Timothy being one of the DepontB Assistants
& another of the s'd Men called out to the s'd Timothy to
make haste away, And afterward the s'd Men pursued
this Depon't & Comp'y, who for fear of being Murthered

A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT. 37
made the best of their way with their Canoes to the
Mouth of Parkyooman Creek & there went ashore & left
their Canoes there with several Cloaths, which iCanoes are
since Split in Pieces (as Reported) & several of the
Cloaths turn'd adrift on the s'd River. The X mark of
William Richards.
"Sworn the 27th day of April, 1738, Before me
Ra. Assheton."
Of James Starr, one of the men who won renown in the
contest, I have had occasion to speak elsewhere. Thomas
Valentine, the other hero, whose prowess was conspicuous,
left descendants, who were living in Phcenixyille until
quite recently in the persons of two brothers, well known
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and distin
guished for their skill in the peaceable art of watch mak
ing rather than for any belligerent tendencies. This diffi
culty was the cause of considerable agitation in the colony
and resulted in the termination of rack fishing.

38 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

CHAPTER V.
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
At the time of the French and Indian war, this neigh
borhood was still near enough to the frontier to be liable
to attacks from hostile Indians, and the inhabitants, though
never actually compelled to suffer from their incursions,
were frequently alarmed with rumors of their proximity
and harrowing tales of their cruelty.
When Gen. Braddock started upon his ill-fated expe
dition against Fort Du Quesne, in the summer of 1755,
he was accompanied by twelve or fifteen young men from
this vicinity ; but, unfortunately, their names have been
forgotten and cannot now be recovered. Edward Lane,
favored alike by the chance of war and the tradition which
has preserved his memory, escaping from the conflict un
hurt, returned to tell that the greater number of his com
panions in arms had fallen upon the banks of the Monon
gahela. The Lane family are descendants of Edward Lane, son
of William Lane, of Bristol, England, and grandfather ot
this volunteer, who came to Pennsylvania in 1684, and
a few years later bought, in Providence Township, twenty-
five hundred acres of land, intersected by the Perkiomen
Creek. He was an Episcopalian, and is mentioned in
terms of acquaintance by Penn, in a letter to James Lo
gan, in 1701. His son William gave, in 1732-3, forty-
two acres of land to the church of St. James, at Evans-

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 39
burg, for the use of the successive rectors forever, and a
number of the family are buried in the graveyard at that
place. There is a quaint petition on file among the re-
•cords of the Orphans' Court, at Philadelphia, in the year
1746, from another Edward Lane, a cousin of him who
lived in what is now Schuylkill Township, in which he
complains that his father had left directions in his will
that he should be instructed in "Writing, Arithmetick
and the Latin Tongue," but that his uncle Samuel,
to whom the charge was given, had only taught him
"Writing and Arithmetick," and kept him working at
husbandry, much to his disadvantage.
William Moore had been elected colonel of a regiment
of Associators, organized in Chester County, in 1747, but
I have no evidence that either he, or his command, en
gaged in this war. It is certain that he was at his home,
at Moore Hall, in November, 1755, four months after the
defeat at Fort Du Quesne.
A more disastrous condition of affairs can scarcely be
imagined than that which existed in the Province imme
diately subsequent to the destruction of the army of Gen.
Braddock. The influence of the Quakers, which was
paramount, had previously prevented the passage of a
militia law, and even now they presented remonstrances
declaring they would be compelled to suffer all penalties
rather than pay a proposed tax, a portion of which might
be used in the prosecution of the war. Kind treatment
had previously maintained peaceful relations with the
natives, and they deemed it still sufficient. The French
threatened the capture of Philadelphia, and their recent
success had inspired their Indian allies with the belief
that they were invincible. They had even succeeded
in winning to their support those chiefs who had been

40 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY. I
friendly to the English, by promising them a return of all
the lands they had lost. Letters and petitions were
coming daily from the terrified people on the border,
asking for aid and assistance, which the authorities were*
powerless to grant. Worse than all, the Governor and
Assembly were in the midst of a bitter quarrel, continued
on the one side with presumptuous arrogance and on the
other with obstinate resistance. The Assembly passed an
act f°r the purpose of raising £20,000, afterward in
creased to £50,000, which the Governor refused to sign
because it did not contain a clause preventing its going
into effect until approved by the King. The Assembly,
tenacious of what they believed to be their rights under
the charter, adhered to their position, and angrily sought
other causes of dispute. They even refused to permit the
Governor's secretary to inspect their minutes, that he
might know what their proceedings had been, bluntly
telling him that at the close of the session, when they
were printed, he would be furnished with a copy. The
Governor, who at the outset had been deluded into under
rating the spirit of his antagonists, nevertheless was
equally determined. Spleen was manifested in the con
duct of both sides, and the keenest sarcasm and invective
filled their communications. While the government was
occupied with these internal dissensions, little could be
done for defence, and in the meantime, the savages were
burning, slaying and scalping upon the borders. The
Mayor, Council, and many citizens of Philadelphia, pre
sented an address to the Assembly, not asking, but de
manding that some measures of safety be adopted, and
threateningly alluded to the rights reserved to citizens
when government is inadequate. Scarrooyady, a friendly
Oneida, came to Philadelphia with other chiefs to discover

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 41
what the English intended to do in the emergency, and
not receiving any satisfactory reply, threw his belt of wam
pum upon the table at which he was sitting, and said his
tribe had been insulted and would take measures for its
own welfare. On the 3d of November, the day of the
meeting of a newly elected Assembly, William Moore,
and thirty-five other inhabitants of Chester County, sent
a petition to that body, asking its members to forego un
necessary disputes with the Governor and not to neglect,
from conscientious scruples, the defence of the Province.
The petition was declared to be founded upon mistake
and misapprehension of facts and to be improper for pre
sentation to the House. On the 23d of November, Moore
wrote that two thousand persons were assembling in Ches
ter County, with the purpose of proceeding to the city to
compel the Governor and the Assembly to agree upon
some action for protection. Movements of a similar
character were made in the other counties. By the 19th
of November, the Indians had advanced to the neighbor
hood of Reading, and they there killed a number of the
inhabitants. Conrad Weiser wrote as follows : " One Kobel with his
Wife and eight children, the eldest about fourteen Years
and the youngest fourteen Days was flying before the
Enemy, he carrying one and his wife and a Boy another
of the Children when they were fired upon by two
Indians very nigh but hit only the Man upon his Breast
though not Dangerously. They the Indians then came
with their Tomhacks, Knocked the Woman down, but
not dead. They intended to kill the Man but his Gun
though out of order so that he could not fire, Kept them
off. The Woman recovered so farr and seated herself
upon a stump with her Babe in her Arms, and gave it

42 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Suck ; and the Indians driving the Children together and
spoke to them in High Dutch 'be still, we wont hurt
you.' Then they struck a Hatchit into the Woman's
Head and she fell upon her Face with her Babe under
her and the Indian trod on her Neck and tore off the
Scalp. The Children then run, four of them were
Scalped among which was a Girl of Eleven Years of Age
who related the whole Story."
The people of that locality, wild with excitement, de
clared they had been betrayed by the government, and
when Weiser endeavored to pacify them they threatened
to shoot him. A report of these occurrences, and of the
fact that the Indians were within a day's march of them,
came to the inhabitants of this vicinity and caused the
greatest consternation. Rumor added that both Reading
and Bethlehem had been burned to the ground, and even
the Quakers and Mennonites began to feel that the time
had come when their principle of non-resistance would
be subjected to the most severe test. A few days pre
vious to the reception of this news, a company of about
fifty, comprising nearly all the able bodied men who did
not belong to one or the other of these sects, had gone to
the front, under the command of Joseph Richardson, and
had left the neighborhood defenceless. One morning,
rapid and continuous firing was heard near at hand, which
could only be accounted for upon the supposition that
the Indians were upon them. Those who were in the
fields ran to their houses for protection, and having bolted
and barred their doors awaited the attack. Some threw
hastily into their wagons such things as seemed *to be
most valuable, and drove rapidly toward Philadelphia.
Women offered up prayers for safety, children clung cry
ing to the knees of their parents, and the greatest panic

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 43
everywhere prevailed. No savages appeared, however,
and later in the day Captain Richardson, with his com
pany, returned and gave the information that on their
way they had stopped upon the island in the Schuylkill,
opposite Phcenixville, and there discharged their pieces.
The Indians, after committing the outrages near Read
ing, had retreated, and through the remainder of the war
they never again succeeded in penetrating so far into the
settlements. On the 25th of November, the Assembly passed a militia
law, giving the people permission to form companies and
regiments for their protection, and made arrangements for
their organization which carefully excluded those whose
consciences .would not suffer them to bear arms, and early
in 1756 public sentiment had been so far affected by the
events of the war that the Governor and his Council
offered a reward of one hundred and thirty dollars for the
scalp of every male Indian over twelve years of age, and
fifty dollars for the scalp of every Indian woman, which
should be delivered at the government forts or towns.
The following citizens of Vincent and Pikeland Town
ships, in order to guard themselves from a "Most Cruel
and Merciless Enemy, who daily approaches us with
hasty, Conquering and Murdering Steps," formed a com
pany, May 10, 1756, under the command of Adam Heyl-
man, captain, John Hart, lieutenant, and Adam Roon-
tour, ensign, viz.: John Lewis Ache, Jacob Braun, John
Bound, John Beker, Richard Brischert, Michael Conrad,
Esaias Charles, Charles Cramp, John Crassert, Jacob Cor
ner, Jacob Defran, Peter Demler, Jacob Danefels, Jost.
Everhard, John Valentin Ernst, Ernst Fanstiel, Jacob
Gebhard, George Good, Jacob Good, Michael Hylman,
Valentin Henry, John Ad. Hylman, William Henry,

44 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
John Hylman, John Hartman, Balthaser Hylman, George
Hearts, Frederick Hosseus, Philip Lewis, Jacob Losch,
Jacob Mann, Frederick Mack, Philip Muntz, Adam Moses,
Adam McNelly, John McNelly, George Neiler, Dieterich
Room, Michael Roth, Frederic Swab, John Stein, Adam
Stone, Adam Swerner, Peter Steiger, Peter Selle, Valen
tin Smidt, Conrad Sellner, Simon Sneider, Peter Sneider,
Jacob Thomas, Jacob Vine, Valentin Vittler, George
Weny.

.&

£

&> »-

£-

*-o WIS

9tffo'tMoXwi&

WILLIAM MOORE. 45

CHAPTER VI.
WILLIAM MOORE.
William Moore was sent to the Assembly from Chester
County, in 1733, and was re-elected each succeeding fall
until 1740. In 1?741, he was appointed a justice of the
peace for Chester County, a position he long held and
which,' at that time, included the authority of a judge of
the Court of Common Pleas. Afterward, he became presi
dent judge of that Court. In person he was corpulent,
and during the whole of his life he was subject to attacks
of the gout which, as his years increased, frequently con
fined him to a chair. Being possessed of wealth, he was
continually waited upon by slaves, and lived in a style far
superior to any of the other settlers. He had received a
liberal education and his leisure was devoted to studies,
of which the principal was law. His tastes were aristo
cratic, and in manner he was haughty and dictatorial.
Whether his neighbors looked with envy upon habits of
life that their lesser means prevented them from imitating,
or whether the authority vested in him was exercised
with more harshness and severity than was necessary,
certain it is that he lost their affection and esteem, and
his administration of justice was the cause of complaints,
both loud and frequent. At this time, the government of
the Province consisted of an Assembly, elected by the
people, and a Governor, with an absolute negative upon

46 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
the votes of the Assembly, appointed by the Proprietary
and confirmed by the Crown. Struggles between these
two branches of the legislative power were almost con
tinuous, arising from a disposition on the part of the dif
ferent Governors to advance the interests of the Proprie-.
tary and the jealous care, with which the Assemblies
guarded the privileges that had been granted by the
charter. In these contests Moore, subsequent to his appointment
as a justice, supported . the Governor against the people.
In 1755, he had, as we have seen, been active in pre
paring remonstrances, and had written % very threatening
letter upon the subject of defence. The antagonism of
the Assembly was aroused, and an opportunity soon oc
curred for returning the blow he had given. It resulted
in a renewed struggle between the Governor and that
body, which shook the whole Province, and ere it termi
nated was carried to the throne of England. During the
years 1756 and 1757, numerous petitions from Chester
County were presented to the Assembly, complaining of
tyranny and injustice exhibited by Moore in his judicial
office. Among the complainants were Patrick Arch-
bold, Peter Mather, Thomas Roberts, Christian Aberhold,
Michael Cypher, Conrad Rough, Jane Rogers, Joseph Ro
gers, Theophilus Thomas, Samuel Lightfoot, John Francis,
Jacob Grove, Dennis O'Neal, Adam Rutter, William Fox,
John McNamee, Humphrey Wayne, Roger Martin, Mary
Edwards, David Llewellyn, John Garland, John Errit,
Peter Peters and Andrew Parks. The petition of Light-
foot was as follows:
" To the Honourable William Denny, Esq., Lieut. Go
vernour of the Province of Pennsylvania, and the Coun
ties of New Castle, Kent & Sussex, &c.

WILLIAM MOORE. 47
"And to the Representatives of the Freemen of ye
s?d Province, in General Assembly met.
"The Petition of Samuel Lightfoot, of the County of
Chester, in ye said Province, Humbly Sheweth, That as
your Petitioner hath for several Years past been concerned
to Act under a Commission of the Peace, and as a part of
the Service of those who so Act is to hear and Determine
complaints for Debts and Demands, under forty Shillings.
Your Petitioner has suffered much Trouble, Shame and
Disgrace in the Discharge of this part of his duty, By
the Proceedings, and through the Practice of William
Moore of the said County Esq. who Hath frequently
taken Causes under his Consideration, and acted in them
as he pleased after the same Causes had been Heard &
Determined as your Petitioner adjudged according to
Law by & before him to the damage of the Publick as
also to ye Scandal of your Petitioner.
"One instance of the said Practice appears to the
World in the memorial of the said William Moore, in
Answer to the Petition of Adam Ramsour, where he as
serts that there appeared to him a just debt of fifteen
Shillings due to John Stone from said Ramsour, after
your Petitioner had adjudged between the said Parties
and that the Judgment of your Petitioner could be no
Barr to the subsequent Judgment of him the said William
Moore. The Particulars of the said Case may be laid
before you. Now, although this Law for Determining
Demands under forty Shillings, hath been long in use,
yet it seems there is some ambiguity, in it, or otherwise a
misunderstanding in those whose Office it is to Execute
the same; For your Petitioner is of opinion, That the
Tenure of the said Law and the Tenure of the Memorial
above mentioned are Contradictory the one to the other.

48 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
He therefore Humbly Prays, That you may be pleased to
Revise the said Law and supply or explain the same; Or
otherwise to ease your Petitioner and Secure the Publick
from repeated and excessive Costs as you in your Wisdom
shall see Cause. And your Petitioner shall as in Duty
bound ever Pray &c. Sam. Lightfoot.
"We the Subscribers, Inhabitants of the above men
tioned Province, Believing that the Contents of the
above Petition is of General Concernment, inasmuch as
it may be the Case of any Person concerned in Dealing
to have occasion to sue for Small Demands or be lyable
to be sued for such; We therefore Humbly desire it may
be duly Considered.
Moses Coates, Jun., Jonat'n Coates,
Thos. Valentine, Adam Ramsour,
David Davis, John Bowred,
Joseph Rogers, Noble Butler,
Moses Coates, John Jacobs, Jr.,
John Milhous, Thomas Milhous, Jun.,
John Edwards, John McCord,
Amos Davies, David Owen,
Jonathan Valentine, Joshua Baldwin,
Enoch Butler, David Cadwalader."
These petitions were referred to the appropriate com
mittee, April 1st, 1757, and the clerk was directed to in
form Moore that an inquiry would be made in regard to
them at the next session, and that he could obtain copies
by paying the expense of transcribing. On the 17th of
August, a number of the petitioners attended, but the
hearing was postponed until the 25th and notice was
given to him. On the morning of that day, he, though
in the city, did not appear, and the clerk was then in-

WILLIAM MOORE. 49
structed to direct him and the petitioners to be present at
four o'clock in the afternoon. At the hour fixed, Moore
was in waiting, and after being informed by the Speaker
that he was charged with oppression and injustice, and
that they had determined to allow a hearing, he presented
a written document, denying their right to investigate his
conduct. The House sent him outside, so that they might
deliberate, and, afterward recalling him, told him they had
no doubt of their right to take action upon the com
plaints of the petitioners ; that he was at liberty to be
present and might employ counsel if he chose; that copies
of the petitions were ready for him, and could be ob
tained from the clerk; but, that, since he was still unpre
pared, in order to give him ample time the hearing would
be again postponed until September 1st. On the after
noon of the 1st, the Sergeant-at-Arms, who had been sent
to wait upon Moore at his lodgings in the city, reported
that he had learned from his daughter that he had gone
to Chester to attend court. The examination then pro
ceeded in his absence and was continued for several days.
On the 29th of September, the House sent a message to
the Governor, declaring that Moore had greatly misbe
haved himself in his office by taking double and extor
tionate fees from many of the poor subjects of his Majesty
in Chester County; by taking and extorting ' fees under
color of his office, where no process had been issued or
services performed; by encouraging petty suits among the
poorer class of people, and many other fraudulent, corrupt
and wicked practices to the gr^at scandal of justice; and
they asked for his removal from the office of Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas and Justice of the Peace. The
Governor, wishing to conduct the investigation himself,
replied that it would be inequitable to remove him with-
4

50

PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

out his having been heard, and, promising to do full jus
tice in the matter, requested to be furnished with a copy of
the evidence. On the 20th of October, Moore presented
this address to the Governor and Council, and about the
same time had it printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette,
edited by Benjamin Franklin:
"The Humble Address of William Moore, one of the
Justices of the Peace for the County of Chester:
"May it Please your Honour:
"Whereas the late Assembly of this Province, upon a
Number of groundless and scandalous Petitions, most
shamefully procured against me by one or more of their
own Members from sundry Persons of mean and infamous
Characters did, on the 28th of September last, present to
your Honour and order to be published in the Common
Gazette, a most virulent and scandalous Address, charg
ing me in the bitterest Terms with divers Misdemeanors
and Corrupt Practices' in my office, without exhibiting
any other Proof thereof than their own unjust Allega
tions founded on the Evidence of the said Petitioners, pro.
cured as above and taken ex parte before themselves, who
were invested with no legal Capacity nor Authority for
so doing. And whereas at the same time that the afore
said late Assembly presented and published such heavy
Charges against me they did most unjustly suppress and
Keep back from your Honour and the World my Me
morial, delivered to them in my own Defence Six Days
before the presenting or publishing their aforesaid Ad
dress, endeavouring as far as in their Power to influence
your Honour against me by a partial Representation of
my Case and to make the World condemn me unheard,
as they themselves have in Effect done, thereby acting a
part unworthy of any Publick Body except the most op-

WILLIAM MOORE. 51
pressive. Wherefore for your Honour's Satisfaction and in
Justice to my own Reputation, lest the aforesaid Address
should fall into the Hands of any Persons who may not
Know the Character of the late Assembly nor the par
ticular Motives of their Rancour against me, I beg leave
to make some further Remarks to Yr Honour, and Hope.
to be indulged therein with all that Justice, Candour, and
Patience, which are due to one who is pleading his Cause
against the Severest and most grievous Accusations and
in points the most nearly affecting his Character and In
terest. " 1st. It appears from the Minutes of Assembly, Nov.
1755, Page 54, that the Country being then in the utmost
Confusion and Distress, and the Savage Knife of the
Enemy hourly plunged into the Breast of some of the
miserable Frontier Inhabitants, I joined with many others
(who were too. deeply affected with the sufferings of their
Bleeding Fellow Subjects to be silent) in representing to
the Assembly the ill Effects of the Disputes in which they
were then engaged, the alarming situation of the Country
thro' the want of a Militia Law, and the Terrible De
struction made on our Frontiers on that account, beseech
ing the Assembly at the same time, that if their Con
sciences tied them up from doing their Duty in points of
such high Consequence to the Preservation of the Lives
and Properties of People committed to their protection
to resign their Seats to others.
"That I not only signed such a Petition as this in
Conjunction with Thirty-five of my Neighbors, dated the
5th of November, 1755, (as is set forth in the aforesaid
minutes) but also drew up the same with my own hand
I readily own, and think I should not have been acquitted
in my own Conscience if I had neglected such an Act of

52 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Duty to my Distressed Country at that Time. From
the delivering the aforesaid Petition I may justly date
the Commencement of the Virulence of the party against
me. To the same cause is to be attributed all the Peti
tions procured against me by one of the Members or
rather Tools of the late Assembly through the most unjus
tifiable Practices, many of them at a Tavern and at a
Time when the Petitioners were rendered incapable of
reading and Knowing What they Signed and, by the
same methods, . might have been made to sign Petitions'
against their nearest and most innocent Relations. .
"2d. As to the Address itself it appears to agree well
enough with the Motives of its authors and abettors. It
is from beginning to end one Continued String of the
Severest Calumny and most rancorous Epithets, conceived
in all the Terms of Malice and Party rage, exaggerated
and heaped one upon another in the most lavish manner.
" 3d. It asserts evident Falsehoods in saying that I re
fused to obey a Summons from the House to answer to
the Charges against me. For in the first place I never
had any Summons, but a private notification from the
Clerk acquainting me of the Day fixed for hearing the
Evidence against me. In the Second Place, I did appear
before the House and delivered to them my Reasons for
declining to be tried before them where my Cause could
not be Cognizable, as they had it not in their Power
finally to acquit or condemn me. The Trial by Juries,
and a Judgment by our Peers (and not by the Parties
against us) I take to be one of the greatest Privileges of
an Englishman, which if I had submitted to give up in
my Case, by agreeing to be tried by a House of Assembly
and even by my Accusers themselves, I ought not only to
have been deemed void of all Reason, and unworthy of

WILLIAM MOORE. 53
the Commission I have the Honour to bear, but my
Name would also have deserved to be had in Reproach
among all Freemen, and the House of Representatives,
who should be the Guardians of Liberty, ought to have
been the Last Persons to Propose such an infringement
of the Rights of a British subject. By these Considera
tions, founded on .the Principles of Freedom and a Love
of our excellent Constitution, my Conduct was actuated,
though it would otherwise have been much more agree
able to me to have confronted those jSlanderers of my
Character and vindicated myself, as I am desirous of
doing before your Honour or any practicable and Legal
Judicature. "4th. The last thing I would observe with regard _ to
the Conduct of the Late Assembly in my Case is that it
must be an Inlet and Encouragement to much false
Swearing, if the Evidence of such Partial and Corrupt
Witnesses is taken in their own Cause, coram, non Jvdice,
where they are not punishable by Law for perjury. For
in such Cases, when Persons have been procured to .
assert Facts by way of Petition and are then brought
before a Publick Body in Support of them, The Transi
tion from Asserting to Swearing will be no Difficult one
among Them.
"Upon the whole, then, it may be submitted whether
the Character drawn of me by the Late Assembly does
not agree perfectly well with their own Conduct, viz. —
That regardless of the impartial and Just Discharge of
their Duty and Wickedly through an Avaricious Disposi
tion (to usurp Powers that do not belong to them) and
designedly to oppress and distress me they have misbe
haved themselves greatly in their said Office by taking
Wages of the Publick under Colour of their said office,

54 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
where no Services have or could be done to the Publick,
and by encouraging the bringing a Number of Petty Pe
titions before them by Corrupt and wicked Practices in
order to gratify their Party Rancour. It may also be
submitted whether it would not have redounded more to
their Credit if, instead of making use of their Power to
sit as the Persecutors of those who have opposed their
unjustifiable measures, they had employed their Time and
the Publick Money to better Purposes by taking Pity on
the sufferings of their Distressed Constituents and Putting.
their Country in a Posture of Defence. Had they done
so, perhaps it might have saved the shedding of much
innocent Blood and prevented much Strife and Conten
tion among Neighbors. The treatment I have received
in having my name branded in the publick Gazettes,
before I had time to be heard by your Honour or tried
by my Peers will, I hope, Justify the Freedom I have
used with my opponents on this occasion; sorry I am to
think that their Conduct has been so diametrically op
posite to that Justice and Humanity which heretofore
distinguished their Predecessors in Assembly and which
yet distinguish the Sober and better Part of the Inhabi
tants of this Province. Will not the perusal of such
virulent and malignant Papers induce the World to think
that Pennsylvania is no longer the Land of Brotherly
Love, Forbearance and meekness, but of the most bitter
Persecution and severe Calumny'? For my part, I doubt
not of being able to Justify my Conduct to your Honour
and the World; and while that is the Case, I am little
Solicitous about the Censure of an Assembly whose
particular Talent and Characteristic have been Slander
and Obloquy. And it is a favorable Circumstance for me
that in the Same Gazette that had conveyed to the Pub-

WILLIAM MOORE. 55
lick their unjust attack upon my Character, they have ex
hibited a Message to your Honour which will be a stand
ing Monument of Scurrility and abuse seldom equalled in
a Civilized Country; And I had no Reason to Expect
that any greater regard would be shown to me, in falling
under their Displeasure, than they have already shewn to
your Honour and your Worthy Predecessors, to all the
members of your Council without exception, and to some
others of the Fairest and best Characters in the Province,
who have been loaded from Time to Time with the severest
Reproaches that Malice could invent or bestow; not even
refraining to brand them with the Names of Tyrants and
Oppressors &c as it is well known both here and abroad.
After such Considerations as these I am so far from think
ing it my Misfortune to, have been marked out as an ob
ject of their resentment, that were I so vain as to desire
my name should be transmitted to Posterity, I think it
could not be done in a manner more advantageous to my
Character than in the Proceedings of the Late Assembly,
provided it appeared that I had bore my Constant Testi
mony against them, and that they spoke ill and not well
of me.
"I shall not trouble your Honour any further on this
Subject at present, hoping what I have said will be suffi
cient to shew to your Honour the Spirit. by which my
Accusers have been actuated, and to prevent the Conse
quences which they might have intended by their misre
presentations of me.
"I am your Honour's most obedient, most Humble
Servant "Oct. 19, 1757. William Moore."
Soon after the meeting of the new Assembly, composed
principally of members re-elected, "An address, presented

56 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
to his Honour the Governor by Wm. Moore, Oct. 19th
last, and afterwards printed in the public newspapers, con
taining many injurious charges and scandalous aspersions
against the conduct of the late Assembly, and highly de
rogatory to and destructive of the rights of this House
and the privileges of the Assembly, was read by order
and after some time spent in the consideration thereof,
ordered that the Speaker do immediately issue his War
rant to the Sergeant-at-Arms requiring him to bring the
said William Moore forthwith to the bar of this House
to answer such questions touching said address as shall
there be put to him." A warrant was also issued for the
arrest of the Rev. William Smith, the Provost of the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania, who was a son-in-law of Moore,
upon the suspicion of his having been concerned in the
preparation of the libellous address. He was brought be
fore the House and a number of witnesses were examined
to discover the author of it.
In the meanwhile, the Governor had selected January
9, 1758, to hear the evidence for and against Moore and
determine the question of his removal. Upon the morn
ing of that day, he was informed unofficially by the Presi
dent and three members of the Assembly that the Flouse
intended to proceed against Moore by impeachment, and
therefore desired the present hearing would be postponed.
They considered themselves so much insulted by what
they termed an infamous libel, attacking the foundations
of the constitution itself, that they would not transact
any business until the matter was determined. They
said the Governor had the power of the House of Lords
in impeachment and that they would bring the pro
ceeding before him without his Council. He and his
Council concluded to take no notice of the request, but

WILLIAM MOORE. 57
to continue the hearing as they had arranged it. About
twenty witnesses in favor of Moore, and thirty on the
part of the petitioners, were present. Moore had, how
ever, been arrested on the order from the Assembly, con
veyed from his home at Moore Hall to Philadelphia, and
there imprisoned in the common gaol, and a letter was
received from him, stating that he had expected to clear
himself from the unjust aspersions and malevolent attacks
made upon his character; but, in consequence of his in
carceration, he had been prevented from consulting with
his counsel, and that the manner in which he had been
carried as a criminal through two counties had intimi
dated his witnesses. Upon these representations the in
vestigation by the Governor was postponed.
On the 11th of January, 1758, Moore was brought
before the House by the Sergeant-at-Arms, and he was
shown a newspaper containing the address, and also the
manuscript from which it had been printed, with his signa
ture attached, and was asked whether he was the author
of it. He replied, that the latter was in his own hand
writing and he had delivered it to the printer for publica
tion, in justice to his character, which had been much in
jured and aspersed by the late Assembly. He was further
asked whether he had been assisted ih drawing it up,
writing, or amending it, and he answered, " I drew it up
myself, Part at my own House and Part in Town. I did
indeed show it to several of my friends who made few or
no alterations in it. I am therefore the author of it my
self." It was then determined to read to him the peti
tions and the evidence taken in support of them, but he
said that he was not acquainted with the nature of the
charges contained in them, could make no immediate an
swers, and, at all events, would be silent because he be-

58 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
lieved the House had no cognizance of such matters, lt
was then ordered that he should be removed and kept in
custody, and the House declared, by resolution, that he
had been guilty of high contempt in refusing to answer
the petitions ; that to write or publish any matter, reflect
ing on the Assembly or a member thereof, relating to ser
vice therein, was a manifest breach of privilege; that to
assert, directly or indirectly, that the Assembly had not
power to examine and redress the complaints of the
people against public officers, or in any other case where
the subject was oppressed, was destructive of the privi
leges of the House and subversive of a fundamental and
essential power in the constitution; that Moore, having
acknowledged himself the author of a libellous "address,
should be committed to the common gaol until he should
retract the aspersions and falsehoods contained therein, in
such manner as the House should approve, or obey such
other order as they should make during the continuance
of the present Assembly; and that the address should be
burned by the common hangman. He was again brought
inside, these resolutions were read to him, and he was
asked whether he would make the submission and re
cantation required by the House. His reply was peremp
torily in the negative.
The friends of Smith endeavored to have him released
upon bail, and also asked for an appeal to the King, but
both requests were refused, and he was tried and con
demned by the House. These trials had excited the public
mind exceedingly, and the lobby was crowded with both
the adherents of the Assembly and the friends of the Go
vernor. The proceedings were attended with so much
confusion from hissing, clapping of hands, and stamping
of feet, that the doors were closed and several persons

WILLIAM MOORE. 59
were arrested for insulting the House. Moore and Smith
were both given into the custody of the Sheriff, with di
rections that they were not to be delivered upon any writ
of habeas corpus, or other writ issued in their behalf,
on any pretence whatever, and that his obedience to this
order would meet with the support of the House.
On the 9 th of January, the Governor wrote to the
Assembly that he had determined to make a public ex
ample of Moore if the accusations against him should be
proven, and had appointed that day for an investigation,
but that he was informed the accused was confined by
their direction, and, consequently, the delay could not be
imputed to him. They replied that he should have given
them notice of the proceedings before him, so that they
could have prepared formal articles of impeachment and
been represented by a committee, as was the invariable
custom of Parliament, and they said further that, except
in the case of impeachment, he had no judicial authority
whatever. The Governor then declared that, as a new
body, they could not take cognizance of a contempt alleged
to have been committed against their predecessors, nor was
he so absurd as to suppose that he could judicially arraign,
try and convict Moore for the offences charged against
him. He had no intention of. erecting a new court, as
they had intimated, but his only object was to ascertain
the guilt or innocence of the accused, so that, if he could
not clearly acquit himself, he could be rendered powerless
to occasion further injuries. In a lengthy argument, he
also denied his authority to try impeachments, and he re
fused to accept a responsibility which he considered dan
gerous. The Assembly, in reply, declared they would be
weak in understanding to believe that it was not his pur
pose to establish a new system of judicature, and they

60 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
added that, if they had not interfered by the arrest of the
accused, the attempt would have been consummated. Of
what use to summon witnesses unless a case was to be ju
dicially determined'? What did he mean by saying no
man should be condemned unheard'? How could a "pub
lick example" be made except through punishment"?
They could see no virtue in his refusal to try by impeach
ment, and insisted that this course should be pursued, or
that Moore should be removed from his office for his
many heinous misdemeanors. The Governor then told
them they had supported strange doctrines with weak ar
guments, that their motives were extraordinary, and their
method of reasoning was dark and mysterious. The gist
of his long message was: "Upon the whole, Gentlemen,
give me Leave to tell you once for all, that I neither will
consent to take upon me the Powers you offer, nor yet to
remove Mr. Moore from his offices." .
A committee, to which this message was referred, re
ported that since the Governor had declared positively
that he would neither remove Moore, nor receive an im
peachment, reasoning would answer no good purpose and
only impede his Majesty's service. The message con
tained a series of the most gross misrepresentations of the
conduct of the House, the most extraordinary perversions
of the meaning and words of their missive, and a charge
against them groundless as it was unjust, but a reply was
inadvisable. After the adjournment of the Assembly,
and when they had been in custody about three months,
Moore and Smith were both liberated by a recourse to
writs of habeas corpus.
In August, 1758, the Governor conducted an examina
tion of the witnesses, and went through the form of a
trial, at the close of which he ordered the doors of the

WILLIAM MOORE. 61
Council chamber to be thrown open, and proclaimed pub
licly that Moore had purged himself of every charge, and
that he had never known a more clear and full defence.
After the reassembling of the House, on the 12th of
September, Isaac Norris, Joseph Galloway, Daniel Rober-
deau, William Masters, Joseph Gibbons and Mr. Ingham
were appointed to inquire into the hearing and acquittal
by the Governor, and they reported as follows, viz.:
"The Committee find, from the minutes of the last As
sembly, that from the commencement to the end of the
session they were repeatedly interrupted in the business
of legislation by a number of petitions, presented to the
House, from time to time, by the inhabitants of Chester
County, some of them signed by a great number jointly,
others singly, by distressed Widows and many poor labour
ing men who were burdened by large Families of Small
Children, charging William Moore, as well with many
Acts of Injustice, Extortion, and fraudulent and corrupt
practices in his office of Justice of the Peace, as in his pri
vate Transactions as a Dealer, and entreating that House
to redress their respective aggrievances." The House, in
compassion to the distressed petitioners, and having given
Moore repeated notices to attend and vindicate his con
duct, examined into the complaints with the utmost can
dor and impartiality. Many acts of extortion and oppres
sion being proved, they addressed the Governor asking
for his removal. "But the Governor, regardless of the
address of the Representatives of the People, through the
influence of some of the Proprietary Council as jour
Committee have good Reason to believe, hath continued
the said Moore in his said Office to the great Terror and
Oppression of the People for near a Twelvemonth under
a pretence of giving the said Moore a Hearing before him

62 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
and his Council to satisfy his Conscience whether the said
Moore was a fit Minister of Justice. Your Committee
must have been at a loss to account for this strange Con
duct in the Governor and his Council had they not been
Witnesses to an apparent Design to overthrow the Con
stitution and enslave the People, by depriving their
Representatives of their most essential Rights, Powers,
and Privileges, and particularly that of redressing the
Aggrievances of the Subject. This Design will appear
more evident when it is recollected that the late infamous
Libel against the Powers of the Assembly, signed by the
said Moore, was advised and approved of by some of the
Proprietary Council, denying the Authority of the Assem
bly to enquire into and redress the Injuries of the People.
Your Committee, therefore, apprehend that this Hearing
was Calculated not for the Sake of enquiring into the
Guilt or Innocence of William Moore, but to render inef
fectual the Enquiries of the late Assembly, and to prevent
for the future the Representatives of the People from
exercising that essential Power of examining into their
Oppression and redressing their Grievances."
The testimony taken by the committee and reported
by them at length to the House was as follows:
John Carl declared that he purchased a term of years
in a piece of land in.Pikeland Township, Chester County,
for which he paid three hundred and thirty pounds.
Subsequently, the lessor demanded forty-three pounds
for rent due. Carl consulted Moore, who advised him to
assign the lease with a quantity of wheat, oats, hay, two
horses, a wagon and gears to him, Moore, so that he
could be secured in despite of his creditors. This was
done, and a bond for fifty pounds was also given as an
excuse for the transaction. Moore then told him he had

. WILLIAM MOORE. 63
better go to Germany. John Adams and George Ash-
bridge also testified in regard to it.
Michael Cypher being next examined, declared "that
upon the Tenth of August, 1755, he purchased of Conrad
Shymer in the Presence of Simon Shunk his the said Shy-
mer's Son-in-Law, a Servant Girl for which he was to
give the Sum of Four Pounds. That this Examinant,
with the said Shymer, went the next day to the said
William Moore's to have the Indenture of said Servant
assigned to him, That when the said Moore was about
drawing the Assignment he asked this Examinant what
was the Consideration] who answered 'Four Pounds'-
the said Shymer being by ; that the said Moore replied,
that Sum will not do, it is too mean; and that it would
prove to his this Examinant's Prejudice if he intended
to sell the Girl again, for if any person who inclined
to purchase should see such a trifling Sum in the As
signment it would give them Reason to Suspect the
Servant was good for nothing, let us therefore put down
Fourteen or Fifteen Pounds, to which this Examinant
agreed. That the Assignment was made Accordingly
and Fourteen Pounds inserted as the consideration.
That in March following Conrad Shymer told him this
Examinant that he must go to the said Moore's about
. the Servant Girl and the money due for her; that this
Examinant accordingly went when, Shymer being present,
Moore asked him why he did not pay Shymer"? That this
Examinant replied that he owed Shymer Four Pounds
for the Servant and if Shymer desired the Money he
would pay him. That said Moore answered that was not
the Case; that the Bargain was made before him and
that he would be an Evidence that he, this Examinant
was to have nothing for the Girl but a handsome Reward

64 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
for the Sale of her; which the Examinant denied and re
peated his Bargain again and again that he had bought
the Girl for Four Pounds in the Presence of the said
Shunk. That the said Moore replied he could or would
swear that the Examinant was to have but a Handsome
Reward for selling the Girl and asked Shymer what he
would have of the Examinant for his Servant, who re
plied Twelve Pounds Ten Shillings; but being told by
said Moore it was too much he fell in his Demand from
that Sum to Ten Pounds, then to Nine Pounds, and at
last to Eight Pounds; when the said Moore said that was
very reasonable and told this Examinant he must pay that
Sum, which he repeatedly refused, when the said Moore
told the said Shymer he might sue the Examinant and
recover much more of him. That the Examinant calling
to mind the offer of the said Moore to swear against him
to a Bargain never made and urging Shymer to sue him,
he was so intimidated and frightened that he yielded to
the Terms proposed by the said Moore, as he thought it
in vain to contend with two such powerful Opponents.
That the said Moore immediately drew two Notes of
Four Pounds each payable in one Month which he this
Examinant signed. That at the End of the month he
paid the Four Pounds due on one of the said Notes and
refused to pay the other desiring Shymer would Re- •
collect the Bargain and not insist on it. That Shymer
replied he made no matter of Conscience in. taking it
since the magistrate thought it was right. That some
time after the said Moore sent a Precept for him the
Examinant, for the Sum of Four Pounds unpaid upon
which he appeared. That the said Moore shewed him
the Note, asked him if the Signing was his Hand. That
the Examinant replied, perhaps it was. That the said

WILLIAM MOORE. 65
Moore said he was sure it was, for he was a witness to it,
and asked why he had not paid it. That this Examinant
replied it was an unjust Debt. That the said Moore then
told him if he did not pay the money or give good Se
curity, he would send him immediately to Gaol. That
the said Examinant produced his Bail, paid the Charges
by the orders of the said Moore and Two Days before the
time of Payment was expired, he also paid the said Four
Pounds to the said Moore."
Conrad Shymer said, "That when he, the Examinant,
was before the said Moore about the said Assignment, he
heard some Talk about having the said Assignment drawn
and the Consideration of Fourteen Pounds inserted there
in, the Reason of which he was ignorant of. That, in
March following, a certain Michael and Adam Hallman
came in company and informed this Examinant that by
bringing said Cypher before said Moore, he might get
Considerably more Money for the said Servant than the
Four Pounds for which he had sold her; and that the
Person who told him of this Scheme desired him to come
down and get Cypher with him, and that the Examinant
need not say anything for that every Thing relating
thereto was determined on already."
Edward Hughes testified that in May, 1754, he bought
a horse of Moore for twelve pounds, and gave his bond
payable in one year for the amount. In the next August
he was arrested by Benjamin Robinson, on a warrant
issued at the suit of John Thomas, which commanded the
constable to bring him before Moore and no other justice.
He did not owe the plaintiff a farthing, but the next
morning he was carried before Moore, who took him into
a private room and told him that, if he would give three
notes, payable on demand, for the horse he had bought,
5

66 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
he should not suffer. He gave the notes, and Moore im
mediately enclosed them in a letter to Isaac Davis, one of
the justices of the peace. While in the custody of Ro
binson, he was again arrested upon a warrant from Davis,
issued on one of these notes, and was confined in the
gaol at Chester for three weeks and three days. He only
escaped by persuading Abraham Williams to become his
surety, promising to repay any loss to the latter by servi
tude. The corroborating testimony of Benjamin Robin
son and Humphrey Wayne was also taken.
William Evans, being examined, "declared that he
being a Constable summoned Christian Everhart at the
suit of Samuel Humphreys before William Moore where
the said Everhart and David Humphreys on Behalf of
his son Samuel appeared; that upon conversing together
Everhart told Humphreys that he could keep him out of
his Money three months, but rather than be at the charge
of a Judgment he would pay him, and that this was
before they appeared before the said Moore; that then
this Examinant went in and informed Moore that the
Parties were at the Door ; Moore then asked him why he
did not call them in; he replied that the Defendant had
the Money and was willing to pay it, and David Hum
phreys was ready to accept of it in Behalf of the Plain
tiff, his Son; that Moore replied, you Fool! you should
not let the People make it up, that does not bring
Grist or Water to our Mills; and told the Examinant
to call them immediately, which he accordingly did,
That Moore then asked Everhart if he had the Money
who replied I dont Know; Moore then asked if he
had Bail, he replied he believed so; that the said
Everhart offered one Christian Wagoner for Bail into
whose circumstances Moore began to inquire upon which

WILLIAM MOORE. 67
Wagoner persuaded the said Everhart to pay the
Money." William Evans further said "that by Virtue of an
Execution issued by William Moore against Michael Nutt
he took in Execution a Horse belonging to the said Nutt,
published the Sale of the said Horse at which Wm.
Moore, Esq. attended, called the Examinant aside and
ordered him when he the said Moore should bid at the
Horse to strike him off to him ; that when the Horse was
on sale some of the People desired the Priviledge of
riding him to try his Gaits, which Request the said
Moore forbid him to grant. That the Horse was by this
Means sold for Two Pounds Eleven "Shillings though he
was worth at the Time at least Eight Pounds. That
being but a young Constable and said Moore a Magis
trate, he did not think it right to disobey his Orders."
James Pugh said that he bought, from James Fullerton,
half a gallon of rum for his son-in-law, Thomas Dal
rymple, and paid for it. Afterward, Dalrymple was sued
for the amount before Moore and it was paid a second
time, but for the costs of the suit, amounting to two
pounds and six pence, he, Pugh, was confined in the
Chester gaol.
William Bell, Thomas Roberts, Morris Evans and John
Errit wore also examined.
The committee were of the opinion that the guilt of
Moore was perfectly evident, and that the hearing before
the Governor was only intended as a cloak to sustain an
arbitrary minister of justice in his acts of tyranny. Their
report was ordered to be printed in the Gazette, and the
Sergeant-at-Arms was directed to again arrest Moore and
Smith. On the 18th of November, 1758, a committee reported

68 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
that Moore, so far from making any retraction of the in
sult offered to the House, had lately added to his offence
by publishing another libel, entitled "An Address to the
Grand Jury at Chester," equally reflecting upon the con
duct of the late Assembly. It was resolved, only one
voice dissenting, that he and Smith should both be re
committed to gaol. On the 28th of February, 1759, the
Sergeant-at-Arms informed the House that " he had used
his endeavours to take William Moore, but that having
absconded he could not be found, and still continues at
liberty without paying his fees."
Smith had gone to England to prosecute an appeal
before the Crown, «and its result was submitted to the
House in a message from the Governor, James Hamilton,
February 13, 1760, in which he informs them that he had
been commanded " in the King's name forthwith to signify
to you His Majesty's High Displeasure at the unwar
rantable Behaviour of the said Assembly in assuming to
themselves Powers which did not belong to them, and in
vading both his Majesty's Royal Prerogative and the Li
berties of the People."
This formidable document seems to have terminated the
controversy. In the Pennsylvania Archives, under the date of De
cember 21, 1757, is the following piece of satire purport
ing to be
"The Honest Confession of W  M  Esqr.
on going into Banishment from the Province of
Pennsylvania. " Fiat Justitia.
Let Justice be done.
"I am now by the voice of the People and by their
Representatives Judged a person not fit to be Employed

WILLIAM MOORE. 69
in any Post under the Government; time was that I had
an opportunity of making my Character appear Less
odious, and Indeed had it not been for my conscious mis
behaviour I should have appeared, but who can face
Truth without -Conscious Innocence and integrity of
mind. "I Confess that my applying to the Assembly for the
Coppys of the several Petitions was a Tacit Confession
that I intended to appear in my own Vindication; and
when summoned so to Do I acted Inconsistent not to
Obey it.
" I Confess as to my Character, since I put up for any
Post of Honour or Profit, That I once made myself be
lieve I could act the Patriot, and accordingly made In
terest to be Chosen for a Representative; Then I opposed
Loudly all Proprietary Innovations and was warm for the
Liberty of my Country but getting nothing but the
honour of serving my Country I found that a post of
Profit might with my skill be more advantageous. There
fore I Layd down the Patriot Scheme and Took a Com
mission of the Peace.
"I Confess this Commission (as Avarice was my Go
verning Passion) was very profitable and to secure myself
in my Station as I Improved my own so I helped others
to Pocket also; This you all know.
"I Confess that the Judgment of the Assembly (in the
nature of my case) could be no otherwise than as they
have given it.
" I Confess that my Vindication (so called) is only my
say so and therefore no Vindication and as it was Pub
lished and handed about to abuse and prejudice my
Judges in the Eyes of the people, it must appear as the
weak efforts of rriy Vindictive Temper.

70 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
" I Confess the Assembly does not yet know all my op
pressive Practices.
" I Confess that my pride is such that I would have it
Thought I give Advice and sway in the Cabinet Council.
" I Confess that as to my Loyalty, I begin to suspect it
as I do that of my Forefathers, but of this you'd say that
some parents Propagate their Vices as well as their Dis
eases. This is a severe Twinge in my Conscience, and
my toe put me in mind of it the other Day.
"I Confess that every Corrupt Magistrate should be
Lopped off and hope my banishment will be a Warning
to all such.
" I Confess my judges in the Right and pray that they
may always Keep open the Door to hear the complaints
of the People against Injustice and oppression.
" May my unhappy Case be a Warning to all men in
Power from the Supream to the Inferior Magistrate.
"May I have the honesty to make Restitution, as I
have it in my Power, and may I have the Grace to amend
my future Life and Conduct. To assist me in this work of
Reformation I Desire the prayers of all Good Christians."
From this production, it would appear that Moore had
been elected to the Assembly by the party of the people
and had afterward changed his political creed. If it is
true, the fact would account for much of the animosity
exhibited toward him. He was reappointed a justice of
the peace, and continued in office until the commence
ment of the Revolutionary war.
On the 22d of February, 1775, John Williamson, Jesse
Jones, William Lewis and William Reece, all of Chester
County, presented a petition to the Assembly, complain
ing that they had been arbitrarily imprisoned and sub
jected to considerable cost and trouble by him.

TRADITIONS AND EARLY INCIDENTS. 71

CHAPTER VII.
TRADITIONS AND EARLY INCIDENTS.
Moses Coates " blazed " paths through the wilderness,
about his home, by cutting chips from the sides of the
trees, so that his children should not be lost.
It was customary among the early settlers to turn all of
their domestic animals, except sheep, out into the woods
and let them find their own living. One cow in the herd
had a bell fastened about her neck, so that in the evenings
its tinkling would indicate where they could be found.
On one occasion, the girl of John Buckwalter was sent
for the cows and, after a long search, heard the sound of
the bell at a great distance from her home. By the time
she had collected the animals together it had grown dark,
and becoming bewildered in the woods she lost her way.
The wolves began to howl about her, the cows huddled
together for mutual protection, and the terrified girl crept
into the midst of the herd and lay all night safely beside
the "bell cow."
Elizabeth Major, the mother of Benjamin Thomas,
came, in 1721, when a girl, from Valley Forge to the resi
dence of Jacob Varley and saw no house upon the way.
She followed a cowpath.
Lewis Hammer, a reputable citizen of Montgomery
County, used to tell that once in crossing the Jacobs' hill,
opposite Phoenixville, he counted seventy wolves in a
pack. One of them he killed.

72 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
The sons of Moses Coates said that, when they had
grown to manhood, Pikeland was still an unbroken wil
derness. Their nearest neighbors, after crossing the
bounds of Manavon, were a family by the name of Rogers,
who lived in a cave on the French Creek, seven miles
distant. The inhabitants upon the Manavon Tract, at
that time, beside themselves, were John Buckwalter,
Moses Starr, Sky, and Rowland Richards, who had rented
the old mill erected by James Starr.
HUNTING, ETC.
At the time of the settlement, wild turkeys were very
abundant, and Penn wrote home to England that they
weighed from forty to fifty pounds each. Wild pigeons
were so numerous that they could be knocked over with
clubs, and stones thrown into the flocks could not fail to
strike some of them. Ducks and other water fowl were
plentiful. An act of Assembly, passed in 1700, reciting
that blackbirds and crows destroyed all sorts of corn and
grain that were raised, and continually haunted the pro
vince and territories in such innumerable quantities as to
be a hurt and annoyance to the inhabitants, offered three
pence apiece for the heads of crows and three pence a
dozen for those of blackbirds. The myriads of these
latter birds, that existed at that time, can be inferred from
those still frequenting the wood on the Port Providence
Road, opposite Phoenixville, where, in the fall of the year,
they come to roost in such immense flocks as to break the
smaller branches of the trees.
Bears were for a long time troublesome and were ?fre
quently captured in the apple orchards, into which they
were tempted to make incursions by their fondness for the
fruit. Three of them were killed in 1771, in a hollow

TRADITIONS AND EARLY INCIDENTS. 73
near French Creek, on the Fountain Inn farm, and the
place afterward received the name of Bears' Hollow.
The last deer were pursued through the woods below
the Corner Stores about the year 1770. They were seen
by two children of Moses Coates, Jr., who were on their
way from school. The deer were running with their
antlers resting on their backs and their noses stretched to
the wind, and the children, hastening home to their
parents, told them, in great alarm, that they had seen two
strange beasts in the woods without heads.
The last wolf was discovered and killed in the dense
woods at Valley Forge in 1780.
In 1784, Robert Miller and some other boys saw a
strange animal upon a tree near the Schuylkill, and Miller
climbed as far Out upon the branches as he could get and
shook it down. A large dog, which was with the party,
then succeeded in mastering what afterward proved to be
a wildcat. Moses Robinson and his pupils killed an otter at the
Knoll, in 1798. It was passing at the time from the
French Creek to the Pickering, and it fought with a great
deal of ferocity, overpowering a large dog.
In 1820, a wild cat was killed among some laurel
bushes on the north side of the French Creek. Two
boys, William and Joseph Vanderslice, aged respectively
twelve and fourteen years, had gone to examine their
traps in the morning. They heard the dog bark and
turned from their traps just in time to see the cat spring
in fury from a tree. It was, however, killed by the dog.
It was about three times the size of an ordinary cat, and
must have wandered far, as nothing of the kind had been
seen in the neighborhood for many years.
A rattlesnake was killed on the Valley Hill, by Major

74 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
William Bodily, in the year 177^8. It is said they have
been seen upon Mount Misery since the year 1800.
A large bald eagle was shot by Jacob Morgan, in 1827.
Tradition says that, a hundred years ago, upon almost
every dead tree along the Schuylkill, a fish hawk and
a bald eagle could be seen together : the hawk watching
for an opportunity to seize some of the finny tribe in the
river, and the eagle ready to steal the prey as soon as it
should be captured. The last eagle that reared her brood
here came annually to the same tree, a large oak, on the
Morris estate, about twenty rods from where the Phila
delphia and Reading Railroad now is located. With
each succeeding season she built a new nest upon the top
of the others, until the pile had become quite extensive.
Some of the sticks used in their construction were as
thick as a man's wrist. She was finally shot by a
sportsman. Turkey buzzards were numerous until about the year
1824, since which time they have disappeared.
A large gray eagle was killed by a boatman at Black
Rock, with a stone, in the autumn of 1843.
FISHING.
After the racks had been removed from the Schuylkill,
fishing, instead of being an occasional pursuit for the
whole neighborhood, became a regular avocation and was
conducted by a few skilled psrsons, who gave their time
and attention exclusively to it. Pools were cleared away
in the river, and the fish were hauled in to the shore by
means of seines. The islands, since they contained the
best landing places, grew to be very valuable. Four
hundred shad were caught at Long Ford in a haul,
which is the largest upon record. Twenty-three hundred

TRADITIONS AND EARLY INCIDENTS. 75
were caught in one night at the island opposite Phoenix
ville. At the time of the erection of the dams of the
Schuylkill Navigation Company, in 1819-20, which pre
vented the fish from coming up the river and thus de
stroyed the business completely, there were fisheries at
Longaker's Pool, where the railroad now crosses the
Schuylkill at the mouth of the tunnel; at Buckwalter's
Pool, near Buckwalter's Island; at the mouth of the
French Creek; at Long Ford, Green Hill, Perkiomen
and Valley Forge. At Buckwalter's, in 1812, one hun
dred shad were caught in a seine at one time.
When Samuel Lane owned the Bull Tavern, he had
an arrangement with the fishermen, at the mouth of the
Pickering, that he was to furnish them, each morning,
with a quart of whisky and they were to give him in
return a shad weighing eight pounds. The contract was
continued for some years with mutual satisfaction. After
a time, however, shad deteriorated so much in quality that
those of that weight became extremely rare. Finally,
one morning, the fishermen saw "Old Sammy" coming
along as usual with his quart jug, and, on looking over
their captures, no fish of the requisite proportions could
be found. In this unfortunate emergency, a happy
thought occurred to one of them, and, seizing the largest
of the fish, he held its mouth open while a comrade filled
in pebbles enough to give it the proper weight. The old
man carried it off to his home, saying it was a heavy
fellow, but the whisky contract was afterward aban
doned. Whether Twain had any acquaintance with
the incidents of our local history when he wrote "The
Jumping Frog," or whether human nature is equally
fertile in expedients in California, I leave the reader to
determine.

76 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
THE HOUSES.
Several of the early residents of Schuylkill Township
lived in caves in the ground. This custom, strange as it
appears to us of the present day, was quite general
through the province. Some of those, excavated by the
settlers of Germantown, were of sufficient size to ac
commodate large families. The cave of Pickering and
Tinker, to which reference has heretofore been made, was
about fourteen feet long and eight feet wide. It had a
door, a roof arched and covered with sod to turn the
water, and a floor paved with flat stones. The first
houses were built of logs. When the necessities of the
family required it they sometimes contained two rooms,
but as a general thing there was but one. They had two
doors, one in the front and another in the rear. There
was sometimes a window, but more frequently the light
was admitted through holes cut between the logs, which
could be closed when it was desirable to do so. They
were underpinned with stone, and earth was heaped up
against them on the outside to prevent the entrance of
water. Having a ground floor they were without cellars.
The logs used in their construction were notched and fas
tened together at the ends, and the crevices between them
were filled with small pebbles and a tough clay. Mortar
was entirely unknown. The roofs were made of shingles
split from oak timber. The fireplace extended across the
whole end of the house, and into it logs were thrown so
huge that they had to be dragged there by horses, and
would burn sometimes for several days before they were
consumed. The first chimneys were made of four upright poles,
driven into the ground at the end of the dwelling, and
bound together with a network of grape vines and twigs.

TRADITIONS AND EARLY INCIDENTS. 77
The air was excluded by covering the inside with a coat
ing of clay. A hole was then cut into the chimney, from
the dwelling, by sawing away a portion of the logs.
These houses were gradually improved by digging cel
lars and adding another story. The ends of the logs
were also sawed off, so that the corners should not remain
so rude and misshapen. The stairway, leading to the
upper story, was usually a ladder which stood in one end
of the room.
As saw mills increased in numbers and capacity, an
other style of house became popular. The logs, instead
of being used for building in their rough state, were
drawn to a mill, and there cut into plank of about four
inches in thickness. Four upright corner posts were pre
pared, with grooves running along their whole length,
into which the ends of the planks were fastened with
pins. The chimney, instead of being outside, was erected
in the centre of the house and as many rooms as conve
nience required were arranged about it with a fireplace
opening into each. When the materials were all in
readiness, the neighbors were assembled to assist, and by
their united exertions the parts were fitted and fastened
together. A striking peculiarity of these houses was the
enormous size of the hearth in the kitchen, which was
made of stone and extended several feet out into -the room.
Upon this hearth, in the long winter evenings, the family
and their friends sat toasting their knees before the burn
ing logs, while they drank their cider, cracked their nuts
and talked together of the incursions of the Indians and
the encroachments of the King. This style of house was
the one generally adopted down to the time of the Revo
lutionary war. Prior to that epoch, however, there were
some stone houses, but in most instances they were small,

78 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
having only two rooms upon a floor. The first brick
dwelling in Schuylkill Township was erected by John
Morgan, in the village of Phoenixville, in the year 1842.
MOUNT MISERY.
Very early in the history of the province, two friends,
while exploring the country, lost their way in the woods
and were overtaken by night on Mount Misery. Many
dreary hours were spent in fruitless efforts to escape,
during which they were badly bruised by falling over the
rocks, there so numerous, and were in continual dread of
being devoured by the wild beasts that were howling
everywhere around them. Toward morning, they crossed
the creek, and a little while after, from the summit of the
hill upon the other side, were fortunate enough to discover
the settlement. From this circumstance, they designated
one of the hills as "Mount Misery" and the other as
"Mount Joy." Tradition says that this incident occurred
to no less a personage than William Penn himself, who
was at the time on a visit to a friend named Walker.
Walker had come from England with the Proprietor, and
at a very early date had erected the small forge on the
Valley Creek, which gave to that locality its present
historic name. He was the ancestor of the Walker
family, now so numerous through the Chester Valley.
TREES.
The first ornamental tree introduced was a weeping
willow, planted in the year 1760, by Christian Maris, on a
farm recently owned by Isaac Chrisman, on the Schuylkill,
above Phoenixville. A branch of it was placed, in 1790,
by Mrs. Benjamin Longstreth, in front of her home, on
the west side of Main Street, below Bridge Street. It

TRADITIONS AND EARLY INCIDENTS. 79
grew to a great size and will be remembered by every old
resident of Phoenixville. Lombardy poplars were intro
duced about 1794 by Solomon Fussell, Isaac Anderson
and Philip Rapp.
A cherry tree, planted by James Anderson, near his
residence, was still alive a few years ago.
Two rows of cherry trees, extending on each side of
the road from the Corner Stores nearly to the Morris
woods, were planted in 1735. The road, in consequence,
received temporarily the name of " Cherry Lane."
A hedge at one time extended from the corner of the
Mennonite graveyard at Church Street to Morgan Street.
AGRICULTURE, ETC.
Garlic was imported into this country by the Swedes,
who sowed it for early pasture for the cows. James An
derson introduced it into Schuylkill Township, in 1730,
and from his farm it spread in all directions.
- Indian corn, though known to the early settlers, was
not generally cultivated or considered of value until after
the year 1760. At that time, William Moore raised a
quantity of this grain, and his neighbors, thinking it unfit
for use, said in derision that he only intended it as cheap
food for his slaves.
Thomas Davis sowed the first clover in Schuylkill
Township, in the year 1770, but it did not become a
general production until many years later. The elder
Henry Rhoades was among the earliest farmers to com
mence its culture and, having bought three or four pounds
of the seed in Philadelphia, he sowed it over an eight
acre field.
When the land first began to be tilled it produced
abundant harvests with very little labor, and the early

80 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
settlers, content to gather its rich fruits, gave no attention
to the preservation of their manures. The consequence
of this policy was that the crops gradually became more
scanty until, between the year 1770 and the beginning of
the present century, many of the yeomanry were com
pelled to remove elsewhere, and lands that had once been
very productive were entirely abandoned. The cause of
the difficulty was finally discovered, and, by a judicious
system of manuring and by introducing a rotation of
crops, they have been restored to their primitive strength.
Philip Rapp introduced plaster as a fertilizer in 1788.
The use of lime, to whose beneficial effects husbandmen
attribute much of their present prosperity, was com
menced by Christian Maris, in 1798. He persuaded a
number of his neighbors to go with him to Cedar Hollow
and load their teams with the lime, which, as an experi
ment, upon returning, he scattered over some of the
poorest of his fields with a very satisfactory result. Isaac
Anderson built the first kiln in the township.
The farmers of the early time planted each year an
acre or two of flax, and the various processes, by which
the fibre of this plant, and the wool they sheared from
their flocks of sheep, were converted into clothing, were
performed by the busy housewives at home. One of the
ordinary duties of women was to provide from the raw
material the wearing apparel of the family.
Horses went a long time unshod, and, when heavy
hauling had demonstrated the necessity of some protection
for the hoof, shoes were at first only placed upon the fore
feet. A primitive cart was made of two poles, arranged
one upon each side of the horse so as to extend for a
few feet behind him. The front ends were raised by means
of a strap that went over the back of the animal and the

TRADITIONS AND EARLY INCIDENTS. 81
others dragged upon the ground in his rear. Saddles
were made of straw woven into the form of a cushion, but
bare-back riding was very customary, and it was no un
usual thing to see a maiden mounted in this way behind
a father, brother or some other near friend, with her arms
thrown around him to keep from falling.
The plough then used consisted of a rod of iron widen
ing gradually at one end into a sort of pan or scoop.
This rod was fastened almost at right angles into a
straight beam, to the upper end of which handles were
attached. With the rude implement thus constructed the
ground was given a preliminary scratching, and, after the
seed was sown, a renewal of the scratching process was
relied upon to mingle it with the earth. Grain was
reaped with sickles, and it was customary for the farmers
to assemble together in harvest time and go from place to
place until all the crops were gathered. For a long time
there were no barns, and the grain and hay were put for
preservation into stacks and ricks near the dwellings.
Grain was threshed during the dry season by beating it
upon a level place in the fields, and it was then either
sent to market or stored away in the houses.
Tradition tells of one of the earliest settlers who carried,
upon foot, a bushel and a half of wheat to the farmers'
mill, on the Wissahickon Creek, sixteen miles from his
residence, and, when it had been ground, returned in the
same way with the flour. This suggests one of the many
difficulties against which the pioneers had to contend.
Before the mills of John Moore and James Starr were
built, the nearest' place at which the farmers could get
their grain ground was the Spring Mill, twelve miles
down the Schuylkill. The roads then, and long afterward,
were so indirect and in such bad condition that the rea-
6

82 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
diest method of conveyance was to make a highway of the
river. Tn the summer season canoes, carrying from sixty
to a hundred bushels, were used. They could not pass
the falls of the Schuylkill, and were consequently com
pelled to discharge their loads at the Spring Mill. In the
winter, however, the ice was frequently strong enough to
support a sled drawn by two horses, and thus was afforded
easy means of communication with Philadelphia.
NAVIGATION, ETC.
In consequence of the facilities the river offered for
purposes of traffic, navigation upon it early became a
matter of very great moment. At first, small boats only
were constructed, and, being loaded, were permitted to
float down the stream under the control of two at
tendants. After the lapse of a few seasons, the boatmen
found it to their advantage to deepen the channel in
places and remove some of the slighter obstructions. It
resulted in an increase of the size and burthen of the
boats, and, in 1761, the Assembly appointed a Board of
Commissioners from among the residents along its banks
for "clearing, scouring" and making the river navigable
and passable for boats, flats, rafts, canoes and other small
vessels. They made dams at various places to deepen the
water and increase the volume of the current, and the
channel was very much benefitted. The " Commissioners'
dams," as they were generally called, consisted merely of
loose stones, thrown into heaps and extending into the
river. Many of them can still be seen, and among others
that at Jacobs' Ford, where the Phoenixville Bridge now
stands, is in a state of preservation almost complete.
This system of improvement, though crude and simple,
was not finished until about 1793. It was customary

TRADITIONS AND EARLY INCIDENTS. 83
then, in going down the stream, to permit the canoes to
float with the current; but, in ascending, some of the
boatmen pulled with ropes from the shore, while others in
the boats pushed with poles.
The above mentioned Board of Commissioners were
changed in 1773, in 1781, and again in 1784. Among
them were David Rittenhouse, Isaac Potts, John Brooke,
Henry Pawling, John Roberts,' miller, Abraham Lincoln,
one of the family from which the President descended,
John Hiester, James Starr, Patrick Anderson and Mat
thias Pennypacker, of whom the last three, at different
times, represented this neighborhood. In 1784, the river
was divided, and that portion between the Valley Creek
and the Mingo Creek was assigned to the care of David
Thomas, of Providence, and Matthias Pennypacker.
Patrick Anderson was a son of James Anderson, who
has heretofore been noticed as the earliest settler in Schuyl
kill Township, and was the first child of European parents
born in this vicinity. The minutes of the Assembly con
tain the following:
"Jan. 17th, 1770, A Petition from Myrick Davis late
of Chester County now a Prisoner for Debt in the Gaol
of the City of Phila was presented to the house and read
praying Relief with respect to the Imprisonment of his
Person;" and, "Feby. 1st, 1770, A Petition from Patrick
Anderson of the Township of Charlestown in the County
of Chester against the Release of Myrick Davis from Im
prisonment in the Gaol of this City was presented to the
House and read."
Matthias Pennypacker, another of the Commissioners,
came from Skippack, in 1774, and purchased from Patrick
Anderson a farm on the Pickering and a mill which had
been built by Anderson in 1735. He was a bishop of

84 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
the now almost obsolete sect of Mennonites, and his
authority extended over the meetings at Phcenixville,
Skippack, Germantown and other places. Memories of
the zeal exhibited by "Matthis" in the pulpit, and of
his private virtues, are still affectionately preserved among
the old Germans. The creed of his sect demanded peace
unto all men, and absolute non-resistance, and to such an
extent were these views carried into his daily life, that
the bolts and bars were removed from the doors of his
house, and not a drawer or cupboard in it had lock or
key. Ere many years had elapsed, he was the owner of
four or five of the adjoining farms, and to needy neigh
bors and struggling young men who came to borrow of
his substance he loaned freely, without interest and with
out taking note, bond or mortgage. Toward the close
of his life, he declared that through this practice he had
never lost a penny, a fact which speaks well for the
honest simplicity of those days.
The house of William Martin, of the Township of
Charlestown, and with it his title papers, were consumed
by fire in the year 1769. His father, Lewis Martin, then
deceased, had in his lifetime lived upon the same pro
perty.

The Mennonite Meeting House — Built in 1794.

THE REVOLUTION. 85

CHAPTER VIII.
THE REVOLUTION.
At the time of the Revolutionary war, Phoenixville had
not yet commenced its existence — the manufacturing in
terests,, which have since attracted so many people to this
vicinity, were in the distant future — and the Township of
Schuylkill, if we compare it with what we see about us
at present, was but sparsely populated. An estimate of
the whole number of its inhabitants has been fixed at
four hundred and fifty. A list of the heads of families,
as far as I am able to give them, with some of their places
of residence, is as follows, viz.:
John Allen; Patrick Anderson, on the southern bank
of the Pickering Creek; Frederick Buzzard, west of the
Corner Stores, on Nutt's Road; David Buckwalter, on
the Schuylkill, north of Phcenixville; Benjamin Boyer;
Joseph Bartholomew; Lawrence Baylotts; William Bo
dily, on the West Chester Road, south of Nutt's Road;
Moses Coates, Jr., adjoining Bodily; Israel Coxe; Benja
min Coates; Mrs. Cave; Llewellyn Davis; David Davis ;
Peter Dehaven; Jenkins Davy ; William Each, near Per
kiomen Junction ; James Frederick ; William Fussell, at
the Fountain Inn; John Fussell; John Griffith; William
Grimes; Frederick Gearhart; Anthony Houseman, on
Bridge Street, west of Main; David Humphrey; John
Kider, on the north bank of French Creek; Derrick
Keyser, at Pickering Bridge; Isaac James; David James;

86 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Robert Kennedy, at Kinzie's Mill; Mrs. Longstreth;
Benjamin Longstreth, on Main Street, north of Bridge;
Edward Lane, south of the Corner Stores; Jonathan
Lutz; Christian- Maris, on the Schuylkill, north of Phce
nixville; Henry Miller; Alexander McCalla, at the Cor
ner Stores; William Moore, at Moore Hall; Patrick Mac-
Fall, at the Bull Tavern; Mrs. Martin; Rachel Martin;
Matthias Pennypacker, on the north bank of the Picker
ing; Jacob Pennypacker, on the Schuylkill, near the
Pickering; Levi Randall, Nutt's Road and Main Street;
Samuel Roberts; Thomas Robinson; Philip Rapp, be
tween the Corner Stores and the Schuylkill; Daniel Ros-
siter; Jacob Renker; Joest Smith; Martin Sheinholtz;
George Schofield, opposite Randall's; Joseph Starr; John
Steward, near Charlestown; Joseph Starr, on the Starr
farm; Jacob Shunk; Deborah Tribby; Andrew Turk, at
the Corner Stores; Richard Tompkins, below the Corner
Stores; John Turk, near Charlestown;  Vallard;
John Varley; Boston Wagner; George Wersler; James
White; Anthony Warner.
There were, at this time, a few slaves in the neighbor
hood, but no free negroes. George, Old George, Solo
mon, Leath and two girls were owned by William Moore ;
Ben, by Patrick Anderson; Fan, by Llewellyn Davis;
Pet, by Benjamin Longstreth; Heath, by James Martin;
Fortune, by William Grimes; Solomon, by Mrs. Long
streth ; and Jim, by Alexander McCalla. Jim had been
so unfortunate as to have had both of his legs frozen and
twice amputated.
Nearly all the residents in the northern portion of the
township were either Quakers or Mennonites, whose re
ligious principles prevented them from bearing arms.
The difficulties arising, in the passage of militia laws and

THE REVOLUTION. 87
the other measures of offence and defence, from the pre
sence of this peace element, in Pennsylvania, has been
heretofore noticed, and the same trouble was experienced
during the Revolutionary war. The enforcement of these
laws was very difficult from the fact that they met with
a determined opposition, which was all the more effectual
because only passive. The measures of the Quakers
during the whole of our colonial history were supported
by the Germans, and together they formed a large pro
portion, if not a majority, of the inhabitants. In the
French and Indian war, both had been accused of sym
pathizing with the French, and they were now charged
with giving support to the English. When the approach
of the enemy occasioned greater vigilance in regard to
suspected persons, the Committee of Safety ordered the
arrest of a number of the leading Quakers of Pennsyl
vania, who were sent to Winchester, Virginia, and for a
long time imprisoned. These accusations had probably
no better foundation than a refusal to participate in any
war whatever might be its justice. In Schuylkill Town
ship, the Quakers and Mennonites, though avowing no
interest upon either side, were strongly in sympathy with
the colonies. Nearly all of the active assistance, how
ever, given to the cause of independence came from the
southern portion of the township, and it is estimated
that about thirty men served during the war. The only
names which have been preserved are :
Ezekiel Howell, William Bodily, Patrick Anderson,
Isaac Anderson, Capt. MacFall, Samuel Roberts, Frederic
Yost, Edward Lane, Isaac Richardson, William Schofield,
James Schofield, George Schofield, Frederic Gearheart,
John Parry, David Parry, Jacob Varley, Jacob Boyer,
John Humphrey.

88 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
In October, 1774, a Colonial Congress passed resolu
tions against the importation, from England, of such
goods as were subjected to a tax, and, foreseeing the
approaching difficulties, provided for the election, by such
persons as were qualified to vote for members of the As
semblies, of committees, in each county, whose duty it
should be to see that this policy was carried into effect,
and generally to protect the Continental interests in their
respective localities. At the election for Chester County,
held at Chester, December 20, 1774, Patrick Anderson
was chosen a member of this committee. Anthony Wayne
became chairman and Francis Johnson, secretary. When
hostilities commenced in New England, those persons,
whose Words or acts had caused them to be suspected of
being disaffected to the American cause, were visited and
were compelled, under the penalty of a confiscation of
their property, or even personal violence, to make ac
knowledgment of their error. Many of these recantations,
as they were called, preserved in the American Archives,
are of the most abject character, and evidence the con
straint under which they were made. On the 6th of
June, 1775, the committee of Chester County came to
Charlestown Township to wait upon William Moore, who,
persuaded by his aristocratic inclinations, and remember
ing his previous bitter contests with the popular party,
had maintained his allegiance to the King and had been
formally accused of being inimical to the liberties of
America, and of having expressed a design to oppose the
organization of companies of associators. Finding him
ill, they sent to him copies of the charges that had been
preferred, and demanded a recantation. He returned the
following reply:
" Gentlemen. — I have read the different charges against

the revolution. 89
me, which have been laid before you, and am extremely
sorry for any unguarded expression therein contained,
that may have dropped from me ; for, believe me, I have
no interest but what is in America. I wish well to every
individual in it, and pray that its liberties may be pre
served to the latest times. I also further declare that I
have of late encouraged and will continue to encourage
learning the military art, apprehending the time is not far
distant when there may be occasion for it. I hope, Gen
tlemen, this will be satisfactory to you. I am now an
old man and cannot possibly entertain a thought but what
is friendly to America, in which I am to leave my family
and all that is dear to me ; and the short time I have to
live I wish to seek peace with all men.
" Witness my hand this 6th June, 1775. William Moore.
" To Anthony Wayne, Chairman of the Com. of Chester
Co." This letter, filled as it is with latent sarcasm, was re
ceived as a proper acknowledgment, and it was resolved,
nemine contradicente, that a perfectly satisfactory answer
had been given.
In March, 1776, the Assembly sent a captain's commis
sion to Patrick Anderson, which he, though then an old
white haired man, accepted.
In a few days, he had enlisted enough recruits to form
a company and was ready for orders. This company, to
gether with seven others, was formed into a battalion of
musketry, under command of Col. Samuel J. Atlee, and
the grades of the captains were fixed as follows: 1. Pa
trick Anderson; 2. Peter Z. Lloyd; 3. Francis Murray;
4. Abraham Marshall; 5. Thomas Herbert; 6. Abraham
Dehuff; 7. John Nice; 8. Joseph Howell, Jr.

90 phcenixville and its vicinity.
On the 1st of July, 1776, according to the return of
the Muster Master, Ludovic Sprogell, Patrick Anderson's
company numbered fifty-six men. (Penna. Archives, Vol.
IV, page 780.) On the 1st of August, 1776, it num
bered forty-nine men. (Arch., Vol. IV, page 4.)
Washington feared an attack upon New York, and,
needing all the troops that could be obtained for the an
ticipated engagement, this battalion was hurried forward
in what must have been a very incomplete state of pre
paration. On the 2d of August, Col. Atlee wrote, from
the camp at Perth Amboy, to the Committee of Safety,
that numbers of the soldiers were without either shirts,
breeches or stockings; that they could not be kept clean,
and very justly complained of the want of necessaries.
Were it not that they were in the face' of the enemy, he
would consider it an act of cruelty to compel them to per
form duty, and he asked for at least five hundred pairs of
stockings and shirts and a hundred pairs of leather
breeches. An appropriation of two hundred and fifty
pounds was made, on the 7th, for that purpose, but the
supplies were not received; and, on the 11th, Col. Atlee
wrote again, urging their need of clothing, and saying
that his battalion would march that afternoon or the next
morning to join Gen. Washington, but in a most disgrace
ful situation. Three battalions, including that of Col.
Atlee, were formed into a regiment, under command of
Col. Samuel Miles, and were stationed in arranging the
lines for the battle of Long Island, at Flatbush. In the
disastrous engagement which ensued, on the 27th of Au
gust, they occupied an apple orchard upon the front, and
suffered severely. Several of Anderson's company were
killed, one sergeant and nine privates were missing, and
he himself only escaped at the last moment through the

THE REVOLUTION. 91
timely assistance of a friend. David Parry, one of his
neighbors and intimate associates, was killed at his side,
and it is said that this loss so enraged him that it was
with difficulty he could be withdrawn from the field.
Col. Miles and Col. Atlee were captured, and the command
of the regiment devolved upon Col. Dan. Broadhead, of
the second battalion. He, under date of the 5th of Sep
tember, in an official account of the battle, says the men
behaved well, even when the enemy were in their rear,
until a New England regiment, in retreat, ran through
their lines and created some confusion. Twice they com
pelled the foe to retire. Many regiments, he asserts, were
not engaged at all, and less generalship had never been
shown, in any army, since the art of war was understood.v
The men were getting _ very sickly for want of clothing
and blankets. (Arch., Vol. V, Page 22.)
On page 27 of the same volume of the Archives is the
following letter from Anderson :
" Camp above King's Bridge, Sep. 22d, 1776.
" Honoured Sir — My Zeal for the Great Cause & the
Difficulties I have Lately Encountered, together with our
present shattered condition & my want of Instructions
from the Honourable the Convention or Council, over
which you preside, Relative to my future conduct Oblidges
me to trouble your Honour with the following accounts
and Requests, and therefore shall submit the following
particulars to your Consideration.
"Immediately after our Defeat on Long Island the
Command of the musquetry Battalion Devolved on me.
I found the number of men remaining fit for Duty to be
about 200 but the most of their Baggage & some Even of
their arms and accoutrements Lost & having no field offi
cers Left, applyed to Lt. Col. Broadhead for his advice &

92 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
assistance; soon after he informed me the General or
dered him to annex our Battalion to the Riffle Regt.
which I at that time Complyed with in Expectation of
further Instructions from the Convention or Council of
Safety, as Coll. Broadhead wrote you Concerning it.
Want of Necessarys Sowered the men's minds. Defi-
ciencys in their Stipulated Rations hath Increased it &
Neglect of punctual payt. of their pay, hath Caused their
Meeting & Desert in Great numbers, with arms & So
that there is now only scarce Eighty-three Remaining &
they still think if they are taken prisoners they will not
be Exchanged while any prisoners from the Continental
army is in the Enemy's hands.
"2. The foregoing will necessaryly shew our present
condition. " 3. Your Honour will hereby perceive that the utmost
Exertions are necessary to bring the men to their Duty.
Therefore I with Col. Broadhead's permission have sent
Lieut. Lang after the Deserters, he being a Gentleman in
whom I can fully confide, both for his abilitys & faithful
ness & who from his Knowledge of Military Duties & of
the state of our troops, & having been Continually active
in1 all our movements, can fully Inform your Honour of
Every particular you may think proper to Enquire after.
Also Captn. Dehuff will further inform you on his arrival.
" I would therefore wish to Know what farther orders
you may think proper to Issue & shall chearfully obey &
if you see cause to recruit the Battalion, Shall Recom
mend several for promotion of whose Good behaviour &
Courage I have undoubted proofs Both in Long Island &
Elsewhere. "I am Honrd. Sir, your most obedt. servt.,
Patrick Anderson, Capt., P. B. M.

THE REVOLUTION. 93
"To the Honourable Benjamin Franklin, President of
the Convention of the State of Pennsylvania at Philadel
phia." The fears, entertained by the men in regard to ex
change, were occasioned by the fact that they were under
the pay and subject to the control of the province and
not of the Continental Congress. For a long period after
the battle of Long Island, the regiment was in very great
confusion. There were companies without captains,
subalterns or sergeants, and captains with commands so
small that sergeants could have taken charge of them.
Clothing, which had been sent to them, was by mistake
opened and distributed to other regiments. On the 24th
of October, by order of the Committee of Safety, the
three battalions were consolidated, formed into ten com
panies, and the command of the third company was given
to Patrick Anderson. The regiment was retained in the
pay of the State. (Col. Rec, Vol. X, pages 764, 766.)
From a report to the Council, on the 12th of March, 1777,
it would appear that Anderson at that time was the rank
ing Pennsylvania captain in the Continental army. Late
in that year, however, or early in 1778, he became ill and
was compelled to resign. The command of his company
then devolved upon Ezekiel Howell, a younger man, who
continued in the service during the remainder of the war.
Anderson, upon his return home, was elected to the As
sembly from Chester County, in 1778, and was re-elected
in 1779, 1780 and 1781. Howell held the rank of a
second lieutenant in Capt. Andrew Porter's company, 2d
Reg. Artillery, Continental Army, January 1, 1781, and
was still in the service, January 1, 1783, with, it is in
teresting to note, a salary of thirty-three and one-third
dollars per month.

94 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
On the 15th of August, 1776, David John and David
Davis, of Charlestown Township, were appointed a com
mittee to attend to the distribution of money, food and
clothing among the poor families of soldiers in the service.
William Bodily had command of a company, of militia,.
which served through the greater part of the war, and
was especially active when the British forces were in this
vicinity. In April, 1776, the Committee of Safety ordered the
erection upon French Creek, about four miles from Moore
Hall, of a powder mill, 102 feet long by 31 feet 8 inches
wide; a stone graining mill, 37| feet by 27| feet; and a
house for the manufacture of saltpetre. The prepara
tion of the powder was under charge of Peter Dehaven.
Whether this is the individual heretofore named as a resi
dent of Schuylkill Township, I am unable to state cer
tainly, but it is not improbable. In June, the mill was so
far advanced as to be able to make two tons of powder
per week. In January, 1777, Dehaven wrote to the
Council as follows: "French Creek, January 3, 1777.
"Sir — We have Got Ninteen Men at work in the
Gun Way, and I am in hopes whe shall be Able in a short
Time to Repair A Great Maney arms & make som New
ones, our Smith Shops & other Buildings are in Prety
good order by the industry of Col Dewese & Capt Badly
( Bodily ) the Barricks will be finished in A short Time if
Col Dewese can Get Bordes, as they are very scarse heare,
and they come very high to hall them frum Philad, Plese
to send by the Barer, John Pugh, Five Hundred Pound
for wee are Quite out of money to Procure Provisions an
pay our Men. No more at present but I remain your
Humble Servant. Peter Dehaven."

the revolution. 95
The mill was scarcely erected ere it met with an acci
dent, and Dehaven wrote :
"French Creek, March 10,1777.
" Sir — I am sorry to inform you of the unhappy Explo-
tion of Blowing up the Continel Powder Mill this Morn
ing About 10 o'clock. Which Wee are very Suspities
has bin Don by Mr. Peck or his men, as they have yoused
Severel odd Exprestions, and thay had Gon Sum Distants
from it at the Time it Hapned and Runn to the next
neighbors house & Did not Come back till Wee Sent out
a Gard for them. Mr. Beck seem to Say at first, that all
his Men Where Killed; Secondly, he Said that he had
Seen the Men Going to the Graining house ; that and
Sum other Resons Give Me Sum Reson to think have
Sum Knowledge of it. The first Day of this Instand
Col. Peter Grub Was at the Powder Mill, Sumwhat in
Drink; he Damned the Powder Mill, and told Col. Dewese
Let us Blow it to hell, Which I thought Was A very odd
Exprestion When Col Dewesse told Me; & Several
others heard him use that Exprestion; he and Mr Peck
Seemed Verry Great & he Lodged With Mr Peck that
Knight. Wee have Got the Men & Mr Peck under Gard
till firther orders from the Counsyl. So I remain
Your Friend & Humble Servant Peter Dehaven.
"To Col John Bull or the Honble Council of Safety,
Phila per favour Capt. Bodly."
An investigation was ordered by the Council and the
following testimony was taken :
"Taken Saturday, 15 March, 1777.
" Peter Dehaven 's Testimony concerning the burning of
the Powder Mill on Monday, 10th March, 1777.
" He was by the dwelling house, about 300 yards from

96 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
the Mill, and looking toward it, when it blew up ; and
Saw the roof move before he heard the first explosion.
The second explosion he thinks was as quick after the
first, as while a .man could go across the room. The
people of the Factory and others ran to assist. On en
quiry of Peck where the men were, he said they were
all Killed; some persons said it could not be, for he had
seen them just before. Mr. Peck then said he had seen
them go to the Graining house just before, with a tub of
Powder. Mr. Peck went to the graining house while the
Mill was on fire, set the works agoing, and began to sift;
whereupon he, Mr. Dehaven, directed him to leave off,
and the Guard took him into custody. None of Mr.
Pecks Men assisted in extinguishing the fire. Hom-
burgh's men all readily assisted; one of them was the
man who was in the Mill at the time of its taking fire,
who was burned so as that expired the next day. Mr.
Dehaven has heard that  Stager should say the Salt
Petre was almost expended, and when it was done the
Mill would not be of any use.
"Andrew Monks Testimony, (being duly sworn.)
|' He says he wrought in one End of the Mill, in the
employment of Homburgh — was in the drying House
when the powder Mill took fire, but did not see it, as the
door is on the side of the drying house from the Mill.
"Ques. Did you hear any threats'? An. I heard
Jacob Stager some time last week say, the Salt Petre
would be out next week, and he, Stager, thought the
Mill would not be of much use after the Salt Petre was —
" Stager being introduced —
" He says he asked Stegar if the Salt petre was nigh
done; he said it would be out next week, and that the
Mill would be of no use when it was nigh out.

THE REVOLUTION. 97
"John Bowland:
"Was standing Centry at the drying house; that Monk
and Stager was conversing about the Salt Petre being out;
that Stager said he thought the powder Mill would not
be much after the Salt Petre was done ; he was in the
foot of the Meadow when the Mill was burnt, with Mr.
Pugh. Stager says he was in the graining house when
the Mill took fire ; that he was sifting at the time it hap
pened — that he had just before assisted in bringing a tub
of Powder from the Stamping Mill to the graining Mill;
that when he heard the first explosion he ran off.
" Levy Davis :
" He saw two men from the Powder Mill carrying a tub
full of Powder to the Graining Mill; that Stager was one
of them ; that Stager, being a big man, was endeavouring
to heave a greater part of the weight on the other, who
was a little man; and appeared to be quite unconcerned
and playful. On being asked how long it was after the
Tub of powder had been carried to the graining mill
before the mill took fire — Answer. Five or six minutes.
Ques. Did you see any of the people run away before
the Mill took fire1? An. No he did not.
"John Fleming: (was a Guard of the Militia.)
"Was in the Guard House when the Stamping Mill
took fire, and on his hearing the explosion he looked and
saw the people running as if greatly frightened. Qu.
Did you see the people run before the mill took fire"?
An. No. Qu. How far were the men off when you saw
them run1? An. Five or six poles. Qu. How long after
the Explosion was this] An. A minute or two.
"Mr. Peck, the Powder Maker, Says he heard three
explosions, and ran to inquire concerning the fate of his
men. 7

98 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
" Mr. Rittenhouse says, He was at a distance when the
accident happened, and can give little account of it; but
that he thought it very strange that Mr. Peck should set
the Graining Mill to work at such a time.
"Mr. Peck says he was greatly frightened, and also
that it was usual to grain the Powder immediately, as it
suffered by delay.
" Mr. Rittenhouse observes, That he and the officers of
the Guard thought it their duty to secure Peck and the
men who ran off.
"Mr. Peck says that Col Grubb was there and behaved
in his usual mad way; that he lodged with him at Mr
Dehavens request.
"Mr Rittenhouse says that Col Dewees told him that
Col Grubb had said to him ' Damn the Powder Mill, let
us blow it to hell.'
" Col Dewees says Mr Grubb was at the Powder Mill
about a week before the burning of them; that Col.
Grubb said he and four men could blow the Powder Mill
to Hell and other rash expressions which he thought
were the effects of Liquor; That he Col Dewees had
mentioned to Col Grubb his intention of raising a volun
teer Company of Militia, if they should be called upon
again, and Col Grubb said next morning when he was
sober that if Col Dewees would send him word he would
join the said Company."
The Council, after an examination of the testimony,
ordered the release of Mr. Peck, his workmen and Col.
Grubb. Sixty cannon, for the use of the Continental army, of
twelve and eighteen pound calibre, were cast at Warwick
Furnace during the year 1776.
In anticipation of the approach of the British army, the

THE REVOLUTION. 99
Council of Safety, in August, 1777, made arrangements
for distributing many of the poor of the city of Phila
delphia among the neighboring counties, and appointed
David John, of Charlestown, David Thomas, of Vincent,
Michael Hallman, of Pikeland, and Peter Crumbacker, of
Coventry, to provide for those sent to their respective
townships. (Arch., Vol. V, page 476.)
Under date of September 10, 1777, there are two letters
from Peter Dehaven, one saying that "I reced a Letter
from Dockter Kanady Requesting Me to Let him have
one Hundred Stand of arms at the Yallo Spring, as there
was a Suspition of the Towrys Raising. I immediately
sent him answer that it was not in my Power to Deliver
Aney Arms or Amunytion Without an order from the
Executive Council. I should be glad if you would send
me Word if I shall Let him have Aney;" and immediately
after another that " Wee have got sum information that
thare is part of Mr. Hows armey Within four Miles of
Downins Town & I believe thay intend for our Magazene,
and Wee are in a Very Poor Situation for defending it.
I should be very glad if you Would Send A Proper Gard
for this Place. I have Rid threw this Naberhood to Pro
cure Waggons but could get but 8 or 10 to move sum of
the Powder toward Reddin, but to what Place I am a
stranger." The rapid approach of "Mr. Hows Armey" compelled
the departure of Dehaven, whose conjectures as to the
intentions of the British were proven to be correct.
They burned the mills, and a neighbor, wishing to rent
the ground, in 1779, says the place where they stood was
entirely waste, open and unenclosed, and of no use to
anybody except as a common. The manufactory and Mr.
Dehaven were removed to Hummelstown.

100 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

CHAPTER IX.
THE REVOLUTION (CONTINUED).
The noise of the battle of Brandy wine, on the 11th of
September, 1777, could be distinctly heard in this neigh
borhood. The echoes from the discharge of cannon and
the volleys of musketry, resounding among the hills,
created the greatest excitement among the people. After
the battle, the pews and seats were removed from a Lu
theran church, on the Schuylkill Road, and a German Re
formed church, on the Ridge, and the buildings were con
verted into hospitals. The dripping of blood from the
wagons as they passed along, and the moans and groans
of the wounded soldiers gave the inhabitants the first in
dications of how near to them the tide of war was rolling.
The next day after that battle, Washington retreated to
Philadelphia, and Howe continued his course through
Chester County toward the Schuylkill, with the intention
of effecting an entrance, if possible, into the city. It
was determined by the Americans to risk another engage
ment to prevent this result, and they again marched into
Chester County, and offered battle, on the 16th of Sep
tember, at the Warren Tavern, upon the Lancaster Road.
A violent and sudden storm, however, arising just as the
advanced parties began to skirmish, wet the cartridges of-
the Americans and rendered their muskets useless. The
army had never been in more imminent peril than upon
this occasion. A retreat became necessary, and it was

THE REVOLUTION. 101
continued through the whole of the day and the greater
part of the night. The next morning, a halt was ordered
at the Yellow Springs, and there it was discovered that
scarcely one musket in a regiment could be discharged,
and the cartridge boxes had been so badly constructed
that the cartridges were ruined. Washington, therefore,
retired to Warwick Furnace, where a new supply of am
munition and additional arms could be obtained. The
severity of the weather had detained the British army,
and, for two days, Howe made no other movement than
to combine his columns. From the French Creek, Wayne
was detached with .his division to harass their rear, but
was himself surprised at Paoli, on the night of the 20th,
and defeated with a loss of about three hundred men.
(Marshall's Washington, Vol. I, page 160.) It is said
that Wayne, aroused from his sleep, hurried to the scene
of conflict, swearing terrible oaths; and that his life was
saved from his having hastily thrown about him, wrong
side out, a cloak lined with red flannel.
In the meanwhile, Washington, in order to prevent
Howe's passage of the river, and save Philadelphia,
crossed at Parker's Ford, Lawrence ville, and marched
southward as far as the Perkiomen. The British general
then moved northward, along the west bank of the Schuyl
kill, and induced Washington to suppose that it was his
purpose either to gain the American right, or else to seize,
by a sudden movement, the deposit of ammunition and
other stores, at Reading. Under this impression, Wash
ington hastened up the eastern bank, and, when he was at
a sufficient distance, Howe crossed, with little "opposition,
at Gordon's Ford (Phcenixville) and Fatland Ford, and
slipped into Philadelphia almost before it was known by
the Americans how thoroughly they had been deceived.

102 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
In the course of these manoeuvres, on Sunday afternoon,
at four o'clock, on the 21st of September, 1777, the British
army, numbering about fourteen thousand men, entered
Schuylkill Township, and encamped along Nutt's Road
from the Fountain Inn to Fatland Ford. The English
occupied the upper side of the road, and upon the other
the Hessians were stationed. The headquarters of Gen.
Knyphausen, the commander of the Hessians, was at the
house of Frederick Buzzard, which at that time stood
about midway between the Corner Stores and the Morris
Woods. The headquarters of Gen. Howe were at the
house of AVilliam Grimes, recently . occupied by John
Acre, and the first house below the Bull Tavern.
No sooner were the men dismissed and ordered to en
camp than they commenced depredations upon the sur
rounding neighborhood. In a little while, every house
had been visited. All the provisions, clothing, straw and
hay that could be found were carried off, and the cattle
and horses were driven away. So completely were the
people divested of everything which could be used in the
camp, that they, in many instances, suffered from th£
want of food and clothing. The only means by which
anything could be retained was by application to the com
manding general for a guard. Requests of this kind
were usually granted.
To the residence of Moses Coates, Jr., the Hessians
came in droves as soon as the army halted, and they con
tinued their incursions until the next morning, when a
guard was obtained. The garden, cellar and larder were
emptied and the henroosts soon made desolate. Among
other things carried away was a large flock of geese. The
last of them, an old gander, was pursued through the yard
and finally caught, around the neck, by a huge Hessian,

THE REVOLUTION. 103
who held the bird aloft as he throttled it and cried, exult-
ingly, to the members of the family, "Dis bees goot for
the poor Hessian mans." One of the daughters ex
pressed the hope that it would choke him to death, upon
which he began to curse and departed with his prey.
The family of Patrick Anderson had been informed of
their approach, and had removed and secreted as many
things of value as possible. The bedding and clothing
were locked up in the bureau drawers, and the house was
abandoned. The English, who knew that Anderson was
absent in the American army, broke open the doors of
the dwelling and completely destroyed everything in it.
They pushed the locks off from the bureau drawers and
closets by thrusting their bayonets through the keyholes,
and took possession of the contents. The furniture, which
was in good condition, they broke into pieces and used
for their fires. Mirrors were thrown upon the floor, and
paintings and other articles of vertu, with the single
rather remarkable exception of a portrait of George
Washington, which was left in its place upon the wall,
were ruined. The cattle and sheep were slaughtered, and
the meat was salted and prepared for transportation in the
parlor. The blood stains remaining after this butchery
could be seen upon the floors when the house was removed
in 1842.
They came to the residence of Matthias Pennypacker
in the night, and ransacked it in the search of provisions
and clothing. The grain and flour in the mill became a
valuable acquisition. The mill was, at that time, new
and in excellent order, and, to prevent its future use,
they hacked the machinery and cut the bolting cloth into
strips. From the Fountain Inn, where William Fussell then

104 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
lived, they carried away whatever could be obtained. In
order to secure some bed curtains, which she considered
to have a particular value, Mistress Fussell wrapped them
about her person and covered them with her dress. Some
Hessian women, however, who accompanied the army,
having their suspicions aroused, threw the lady uncere
moniously upon the floor, unwound the wrapping from
about her, and made it their spoil.
Lord Cornwallis came himself to the house of Benja
min Boyer after it had been thoroughly stripped. The
beehives, for preservation, had been carried into a room
in the west end of the house and covered over with sheets.
Cornwallis inquired what was concealed there and was
informed they were bees. Not to be deceived, however,
by what he thought to be a subterfuge, with an impa
tient movement he removed the covering. The insects,
already disturbed by their recent transportation, resented
the interference by flying into his face and hair, and they
probed him unmercifully. His lordship beat a hasty re
treat. A horse, belonging to a son of Moses ' Coates, then
quite a youth, was taken from the pasture field and it was
known the animal was among the British forces. The
young man went to the headquarters of the commanding '
general and, upon making enquiries of some of the atten
dants about that officer's person, received only insolent
and taunting replies. He insisted, however, upon an in
terview with their superior, and was finally shown into
Howe's presence. Upon making his errand known, he
was treated politely and detained in conversation. The
subject of the condition of the American army was
adroitly introduced, and every effort made to elicit infor
mation from him. At length, Howe said to him that he

.. THE REVOLUTION. 105
could have his horse if he would go over the Schuylkill
and learn, as accurately as he could, the number of Wash
ington's troops. The offer was rejected, and Howe in
creased it by saying that he would not only return his
horse, but would give him, in addition, six guineas in
gold. The youth replied, with indignation, that he could
not be bribed to perform an act so base, and, when it was
found that he would not answer Howe's purposes, he was
given permission to search for his horse through the camp
and take it away.
Joseph Starr was carried to the camp and charged with
conveying intelligence to the Americans. While there he
met with very abusive treatment.
The people residing north of the French Creek were
very little molested.
A portion of the American forces were stationed on the
high ground, belonging to the Jacobs family and others,
on the opposite side of the river. When the British dis
covered them there, they planted a battery on the hill,
about where the Reading Railroad depot now stands, and
fired three shots across, all of which took effect among a
row of cherry trees growing beside the road.
Howe made his arrangements to ford the river on Tues
day, the 23d of September. The Hessians, under the
command of Knyphausen, and the division of Cornwallis
were ordered to force a passage at Gordon's Ford, at the
end of Bridge Street, while he, with the right wing of
the army, crossed at Fatland Ford, below. Early on the
morning of the 23d, Cornwallis, with his suite, came riding
across the fields to the residence of Thomas Robinson,
and, calling the old man from the house, they told him
they wanted him to point out the location of the ford.
He refused to give any information, but, compulsion being

106 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
threatened, he put on his broadbrim hat and went along
with them, determined to be of as little use as possible.
They were on horseback and the old Quaker was on foot,
and, in a little while, he was lagging with tardy steps
far in the rear, seeking for an opportunity to escape.
When Cornwallis reached the crest of the hill, where the
late David Reeves resided, he turned to ask some ques
tions of his guide and found that he was almost out of
sight. Some aids were dispatched for him and he was
hurried to the presence of the general, who began to
threaten and swear most furiously. Just at this time,
however, the balls from the other side of the river began
to whistle among them, and the attention of Cornwallis
was drawn to some military movement. Robinson, avail
ing himself of the favorable circumstance, hurried away,
with a much more youthful and vigorous gait, and thus
avoided the disagreeable task.
In crossing the river the cavalry were in the advance,
and were followed by the Hessian infantry, who, as soon
as the water reached their knees, began to sing their Ger
man hymns and chants. " It must have been amusing,"
adds my informant, who had perhaps imbibed a very na
tural prejudice, "to have seen such cowards going into
battle." The Americans shot and killed an Englishman and
his horse by the side of the buttonwood trees, a few
yards from the river, where the Port Providence Road and
the upper Norristown Road intersect. The man was
carried away, but the horse lay where he fell for several
days after their departure.
A rifleman, secreted upon the island, fired at and struck
an English officer, standing upon the Phcenixville shore,
just as he was about to enter the water at the ford. He

THE REVOLUTION. 107
fell, and, being conveyed back to the house of John Allen,
on the south side of Bridge Street, expired in a short time
afterward. He was buried in the Starr burying ground.
His grave was not marked, but it was directly in the
angle made by the intersection of Church and Main
Streets. John Kider, who then lived at the old Rhoades farm
house, upon the north bank of the French Creek, went
around over the hill to the mouth of the creek, in order
to see the army as it passed. A Hessian at the ford,
probably supposing him to be a rifleman or a spy, raised
his piece and fired. The ball struck a tree near the river.
This tree and its bullet-hole stood an object of curiosity
until it was removed in digging the canal of the Schuyl
kill Navigation Company.
A squad of the British stopped at Gordon's Cave, in
Mont Clare, and there found a goose roasting upon the
fire. They took advantage of the opportunity to make a
rich repast, and, while thus engaged, were abandoned by
their comrades and captured by a party of American mi
litia, who had come down from the hills to follow in the
rear of the enemy.
The two wings of Howe's army, after having success
fully crossed the Schuylkill, united at Bean's Tavern, on
the pike, and proceeded to Philadelphia. The country
which they had left was a picture of desolation. The
fences had been burned, the corn in the fields had been
beaten to the ground by the tread of horses and men, and
the hay and straw from the barns were tramped into the
mud of the deserted encampments.
The division which crossed at Fa'tland Ford took with
them a lad, a son of Edward Lane, intending to make
use of him as a guide. To all the questions, however,

108 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
that were addressed to him he replied, in a silly way, " I
don't know," and, concluding that he was either obstinate
or idiotic, they dismissed him. They then compelled
Jacob Richardson to conduct them over the river and ac
company them to Philadelphia. Richardson, although his
actions had been entirely involuntary, feared to return
home. While he remained in the city, a number of pro
positions were made to him to act as a spy in the service
of the British, but were all refused. One morning, he
recognized an American officer of some distinction, in the
market house, dressed in the garb of a Quaker farmer and
selling provisions. Richardson went to him privately and
told him that he could be readily detected through his
disguise, and that his face was well known to many people
ill affected to the cause who would not hesitate to betray
him. The officer accepted the advice' and assistance he
proffered, and, after having escaped and arrived safely at
Valley Forge, made a certificate, detailing the circum
stances, and vouching for Richardson's loyalty and attach
ment to American interests. Rendered secure by this
evidence, he came back to his home.
Gen. John Armstrong, who commanded the Pennsyl
vania militia, wrote, on the 26th of September, to Presi
dent Wharton, from the Trappe:
"A feint of the Enemy, in rapidly moving a part of
their body up the Scuilkill, by French Creek, led the
General to apprehend they designed to cross above us and
turn our right wing; to prevent this he marched high
on this side on the Swamp road when the same night or
next morning, they crossed at Fatland ford, and pro
ceeded on to Sweed's ford also by another road, I
think, called the Manotany (Ridge Road) so that before
full intelligence of their crossing came to headquarters, or

THE REVOLUTION. 109
rather before it gained credit they were thought in council
to be at too great a distance to be harassed in the rear
by fatigued troops, by these means we have got but a few
prisoners." After the entrance of Howe into Philadelphia, Wash
ington approached nearer to the. city, and encamped for a
week or two at Pennypacker's Mill, between the Perkio
men and Skippack Creeks. The main division of Howe's
army was at Germantown, and he determined to surprise
the British at that place. An attempt was made on the
4th of October, resulting in the battle of Germantown,
which was almost a decided success, but, after the check
at Chew's house, he was compelled to withdraw to
his encampment at Skippack. The next six or seven
weeks were spent in energetic but fruitless efforts to
prevent communication between Howe, in Philadelphia,
and his fleet, in the Delaware Bay, and, on the 11th
of December, the weather having become intensely
cold, Washington retired into winter quarters at Valley
Forge. In the intervening time, subsequent to the departure of
the British, foraging parties of the Americans were pass
ing through this neighborhood continually in the search
for supplies. Upon one occasion, a party of this kind
galloped up to the residence of Edward Lane, and the
following conversation ensued :
"We have come to get your hay and grain."
" You cannot have it."
"We will."
"You shall not. I have a special permit from- the
British to retain the whole of it."
" Damn the British."
They hastened to the barn, and found that there was

110 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
not a bundle of straw or peck of wheat in it. The
enemy had been there before them.
At another time, during the autumn, a detachment of
American troops passed early in the morning along the
White Horse Road, toward the Valley, and encamped upon
the high ground known as Roberts' Hill. In the after
noon, proceeding further, they met with some of the Bri
tish forces, on a scout from the city, and were badly beaten.
In a few hours, they came riding back in unusual haste,
and, when they reached the private road leading to the
house of Edward Lane, two of them left the party and
galloping up to the door asked for some bread. Mistress
Lane told them that all of her provisions had been given
to the soldiers and there was not a morsel in the house.
" My God !" one of them exclaimed, " I shall perish. I
have not eaten to-day."
The good matron then said, " If I had anything I would
give it to you;" and added, "There is a cake in the oven
baking. If you will wait until it is ready you can have
it." This, they said, was impossible, and thereupon the
old lady ran to the oven and, taking out the cake, the
upper side of which was still dough, broke it between
them. They rode away thankful, eating as they went.
Requisitions were made upon all the tories for sup
plies, and especially was it important that they should be
deprived of whatever weapons and arms they might have
in their possession. An inquisitorial squad from the
American army visited, among other places, Moore Hall
at a time when its high-spirited and haughty occupant
was confined to his easy chair. They searched the house
carefully and found many articles which could be made
useful. Among the rest, hidden away in a closet, they
discovered a beautifully wrought sword. The blade was

THE REVOLUTION. Ill
of finely tempered steel and the handle was inlaid with
gold and silver. They carried it down the stairs and, in
the insolence of triumph, with taunts and jeers, flashed
their booty before the old man's eyes. He expressed
much attachment for the weapon, which had probably
been an heir-loom, and asked permission to examine it
once more. He was not a very formidable opponent,
could not escape, and therefore, to gratify him, they
handed him the sword. No sooner was it in his posses
sion than, in a twinkling, with his foot, upon the floor, he
had broken the blade from the handle. Then clenching
tightly the hilt, he threw to them the useless blade, and
with a gesture of contempt and eyes gleaming, cried,
"There, take that if you are anxious to fight, but you
have no business to steal my plate."
An incident, in which the Marquis de la Fayette par
ticipated, occurred in this vicinity and is worthy of narra
tion. The lady interested spent the greater part of a
long life in Schuylkill Township. Soon after the battle
of Brandywine, La Fayette, who had been wounded, was
conveyed to the house of Dr. Stephens, a short distance
from Valley Forge, in order that his injuries might re
ceive attention. The office of the doctor, in the second
story of the building, with a flight of steps leading down
into the kitchen, was under the charge of his daughter, a
young girl, afterward Mistress Elizabeth Rossiter. One
morning, while she was engaged in cleaning the room,
La Fayette entered, followed by a young aid-de-camp.
The aid, with French impulse, seized the girl and kissed
her. La Fayette turned quickly about and unceremo
niously kicked the young gentleman down the steps and
out of the house, telling him, at the same time, that such
conduct was not admissable.

112 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Benedict Arnold, after the victory at Saratoga, which
his gallantry had won, remained for a week at the house
of Moses Coates. He had received three wounds in that
engagement, and Dr. Cochrane came daily from Moore
Hall to dress them. While there, Arnold prepared a luxu
rious feast, to which many of the army officers were in
vited. The table was arranged under a row of cherry
trees, to the southeast of the dwelling, upon the bank of
the meadow. Twenty-one guests were present, among
whom the only civilian was Samuel Howard, an old Quaker
from the Valley. From the army were Generals Greene
and Knox, Col. Biddle and others. Generals La Fayette
and Wayne, through courtesy, came to the table, drank a
few glasses of wine and departed. Gen. Washington sent
a note, declining the invitation and expressing the opinion
that such expensive entertainments "were ill-suited to
times in which one half of the soldiers were suffering from
the want of food and clothing. Arnold had a personal
guard of twelve men.
While the army was lying at Valley Forge, a well-
known farmer of the Valley, whose descendants still live
upon the place he owned, about four miles from Phcenix
ville, went repeatedly to Gen. Wayne to complain of de
predations committed by the soldiers upon his property.
Wayne, annoyed by these frequent visitations, and unable
to prevent the men from straggling away from camp, said
to him, in irritation, one morning, when he came to detail
the circumstances of another incursion, "Well, damn 'em,
shoot 'em — why in the Devil don't you shoot 'em!" A
few days afterward, the farmer, on going to his barnyard,
saw a soldier sitting beside one of his cows busily engaged
in milking. Returning to the house, he procured a fire
arm and, without any further ceremony, killed the in-

THE REVOLUTION. 113
truder. He was arrested, tried by court martial and only
escaped with his life by pleading and proving the hasty
unintended advice of Wayne.
A board of general officers, convened at Valley Forge,
December 28, 1777, made the following arrangements con
cerning rations:
" 1J ft Beef, 1 ft Pork, or 1 J ft Salt Fish, per Man
a Day ; 1^ ft Soft Bread or Flower, 1 ft Hard Bread, g
Gill Wisky or Rum per Man per Day in Lieu of Beer;
3 ft Candles per 100 Men per Week for Guards, 24 ft
Soft Soap or 8 ft of hard Soap per 100 Men per Week.
"N. B. The Liquer to be Issued only ih General or
Special orders."
On the 23d of October, 1777, Washington, accompa
nied by his aids-de-camp, was ascending the hill at the
Fountain Inn tavern, on the suburbs of Phcenixville. The
general was a little in advance of the rest of the com
pany when his attention was arrested by the shock of a
terrific explosion in the neighborhood of Philadelphia.
In a moment, every man had turned upon his saddle and
was gazing eagerly in the direction from which the sound
had come.
"General," said one of the party, "they are can
nonading us, somewhere."
"No, that isn't a cannon. A magazine has blown up."
His opinion proved to be correct. Two English fri
gates, the Augusta and Merlin, in attempting to pass the
chevaux-de-frise and fortifications in the Delaware, had
run aground and were soon reached by hot shot from the
batteries'. Their magazines exploded with a concussion
that shook the country for many miles around. The
wrecks of these vessels lay in the river for years, slowly
rotting away. The anchor of the Augusta was raised and
8

114 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
taken to Philadelphia. There it was purchased by
George Thompson, when proprietor of the iron works at
Phoenixille, and was used by him for some purpose about
his rolling mill.
When the army encamped at Valley Forge, many of
the farm houses in this vicinity were selected by officers
for their quarters.
Col. Clement Biddle was for some time at Moore Hall.
Generals Gates and Mifflin and Colonels Davis and Bal
lard were quartered at the house of Moses Coates. They
had, in addition to their attendants, a guard of twenty-
four men.
Officers were quartered, for the winter, at the house of
Edward Lane, and also at the house of Jacob Penny-
packer. The wife of the latter, nei Ann Pawling, is said
to have complained very bitterly when her store of cloth
ing was taken away. As was the custom of the matrons
of those days, she had devoted the leisure hours of her
life to the manufacture of quilts, blankets and woolen
goods, which were stowed away in chests for future use.
She entreated the detail to leave a portion of them, and
the reply was "Madame, they are good, warm blankets."
A company of horse was stationed at the residence of
Matthias Pennypacker. The orchard was used as a pa
rade ground and the barn as a magazine. The powder
was kept in kegs and barrels upon the floor and the build
ing was surrounded by a guard continually. It is also
told of this good Mennonite that he secreted a quantity of
his neighbors' clothing in barrels. There was a constant
picket guard through the winter, on his property, where
the West Chester Road crosses the Pickering Creek.
A number of sick soldiers were at the house of Philip
Rapp. Two of them died and were buried in the woods.

THE REVOLUTION. 115
The house of Henry Miller was converted into a com
missary store. Eleven surgeons also lived in it, and
every morning they rode over to camp. Provisions were
kept in the cellar, and in the barn were a number of
cattle ready to be slaughtered. These animals, being ot
great importance, were honored with a guard.
In the barn of David James, spies, deserters and de
linquents were confined and were watched continually by
a provost guard. Daniel Sower was arrested, upon some
charge, and kept there for several days. Nothing could
be proven, however, and he was liberated.
The old Varley house became a hospital. Six or seven
of the sick, who were there, died and were buried in a
field a few steps to the northward from the southeast cor
ner of the farm recently occupied by George Hellerman.
There was a large hospital upon the farm of Joest
Smith, and the soldiers placed there had the small-pox
and camp fever. About forty-five of them died and were
buried beneath some cherry trees, a hundred yards east
ward from the barn.
The largest hospital was erected upon some high ground
in a field on the Gwynn farm. About one hundred and
fifty men are supposed to have been buried around it.
The site has all been ploughed over and not a trace of it
is to be seen.
As many horses from the army as could be accommo
dated were sent to the farmers' barns, and all of the hay
and straw that could be found were carried to the camp.
Immediately after the winter quarters were established,
the following proclamation was issued:
" By virtue of the Power and direction to me especially
given, I hereby enjoin and require all persons, residing
within seventy miles of my headquarters, to thresh out

116 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
half of their grain by the first day of February and the
other half by the first day of March, next ensuing, on
pain in case of failure of having all that shall remain in
sheaves, after the periods above .mentioned, seized by the
Commissaries and Quartermasters of the army and paid
for as Straw.
" Given under my hand, at headquarters, near the
Valley Forge, in Philadelphia County, the 20th day of
December, 1777. Geo. Washington."
Many persons offered their teams voluntarily, and those
of others were impressed. They were used in hauling
supplies from a distance. In this service, Edward Lane
and Jacob Pennypacker were engaged through the greater
part of the winter. A large portion of the timber and
all of the rails from the fences in the immediate neighbor
hood were burned. The fatted cattle were all killed and
many cows were driven daily to the camp and there
milked. Generally, during the war, drafted men, who did not
wish to enter the army, were permitted either to pay a
fine or furnish a substitute. Occasionally, however, when
the exigencies, of the service demanded it, sterner mea
sures were adopted. A miller, by the name of Yost, was
taken from the mill of Matthias Pennypacker without
being given time to change his clothes. He refused to
go and, manifesting some opposition, was hurried away
bareheaded. Another individual objected to marching, declaring
that his conscience would not permit him to bear arms.
He was dragged from his door, and, as he passed, he
grasped a small Bible lying upon a table in the room, and
placed it under his arm. After some time, finding that
he would not walk, those who had him in charge fas-

THE revolution. 117
tened ropes about him and tied him to a horse. In this
way, he was hauled along the West Chester Road to the
Pickering, and through the creek to the cross roads upon
the other side. There the men abused and whipped him,
and took away from him the book which seemed to be
the cause of such unusual obstinacy. He threw himself
at length upon the ground, and, to their reviling and
beating, only replied, " Give me my Bible." The officer
in command of the party, becoming enraged, rode off to
headquarters, and, relating the circumstance to Wash
ington, asked for authority to hang the brute. That
milder and better tempered man is reported to have re
plied, " Give him his Bible and let him go home."
The headquarters of the general were at a stone house
on the lower side of the Valley Creek, only a few yards
distant from the Reading Railroad. His wife spent the
winter there with him. Beneath one of the old-fashioned
windows is a secret place, in which he is said to have
kept private papers. At the door rests a large flat stone,
serving as a step, on which at that time a sentinel always
stood keeping guard. One very cold morning, Washing
ton, upon starting away, after breakfast, found the sentry
at his post, endeavoring to keep warm by stamping his
feet and clapping his hands. Said the general:
"My good man, have you had anything to eat this
morning'?" " No, sir," was the reply.
" Give me your musket, then, and go inside and get
some breakfast," and the commander stood as a guard
over his own house, while his wife waited upon the sol
dier within.
Wayne writing from Mount Joy, on the 28th of De
cember, says:

118 phcenixville and its vicinity.
" At this inclement Season one third of our Troops are
totally Destitute of either Shoes, Stockings, Shirts, or
Blankets so that unless they receive an immediate supply
of these Necessary Articles, Sickness, Death & Desertion
will be the inevitable consequence." (Arch., Vol. VI,
page 143.)
Washington, writing from Valley Forge, February 15,
1778, says: ,-m *
"I am constrained to inform, You that the Situation of
the army is most critical & alarming for want of provi
sions of the meat kind. Many of the troops for four
days & some longer have not drawn the smallest Supplies
of this article. This being, the case," it is needless to add,
to convince You of their distress they have been on the
point of dispersing & without *".the earliest relief, no ad
dress or authority will be Sufficient to keep, them long to
gether. ' Their patience & endurance are; great, but the
demands of nature must be Satisfied.. I must therefore,
Gentlemen, entreat & request your immediate & most
active exertion's to procure & to forwa"rde to Camp as ex
peditiously as possible, all the provisions of the meat kind
which it maybe in your power to obtain. I would not
have you wait till You collect a large quantity but wish
You to Send on Supplies as fast as you can get them.
The troops must have instant relief or we shall have
reason to apprehend the worst consequences. I need not
mention to You the necessity of Secrecy, in an affair of
such delicacy, your own prudence & discretion will point
it out." " The state of forage is the same with that of
provisions & a supply is materially wanted. Without it
& very speedily, we shall not have a horse left." (Arch.,
Vol. VI, page 263.)
In May, 1778, the Schuylkill, which had been used in

"W:»s

Wash

al valLev toxqe

the revolution. 119
the transportation of supplies from the country above, be
came very low. As it was uncertain for how long a time
it might be necessary for the army to be in the neighbor
hood of the river,- means were suggested for improving its
Channel. Charles Pettit, Q. M. G., ordered an examina
tion to he made, and reported to the Council those places
which required attention. From his report 1 make the
following extract :

85*.

Miles from Reading.
Lawrence Hippie's Ford, .

Depth of Water.
6 feet 10 inches.

37. 38.

Ming's Island, .
Adam Hallman's Long Shoals.

8 " 10
,7 " 12

ii it

Level Bottom.

Black Rock,

4 to 20 feet.

40.

John Buckwalter's Fishdam,

6 feet 15

inches.

43.
44.

Gordon's Ford, . .
Moore Hall,

7 " 15
9 " 10

n

French Creek.

45.
45i *6i.
49.

Richardson's Ford, .
Penaypacker's, Pawling's Ford,
Sullivan's Bridge,

7, " 13
7 " 12
7 " 12
8 " 12

a
a aa

Rockey.Fishdam. Stoney.
Stoney.

(Arch., Vol. VI, page 514.)
Previous to the occupation of Philadelphia, by the
forces of the enemy, Congress removed the seat of govern
ment to York, and the Council of Safety withdrew to
Lancaster. Communication between these two places and
the array at Valley Forge was maintained by means of
express riders, who traversed the intervening country
upon horseback. One of these horsemen was Isaac An
derson, a son of Patrick, then a youth, and afterward a
member of Congress from this district. He was frequently
entrusted with important dispatches by the commander-
in-chief. On the 18th of June, 1778, the British army evacuated
Philadelphia, and soon afterward, the Americans having
withdrawn from this neighborhood, it was no longer the

120 PH03NIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
scene of that commotion and disturbance which always
attend upon military occupation.
On the 18th of August, 1778, the Vice President of the
Council wrote to Col. William Evans, of Vincent, Ches
ter County, concerning a Quaker tory, named Thomas
Clarke, who had accompanied the British from the Elk
River, where they landed, to Philadelphia, and had been
subsequently captured, saying, " His doings in this place
are cast into equal shade with the practices of many evil
doers residing here. It is necessary to look abroad for
testimony. Benjamin Coates, near the Valley Forge, and
Mrs. Graham, at the Bull, in Charlestown, are represented
as capable of giving evidence against this man." To
which the reply was:
"Vincent, Chester County, September 1st, 1778.
"Sir — On the 28th of Augt. I Reed your favour Dated
the 18. In obedience thereto I immediately Proceeded
to Valley Forge and saw Mr. Benjamin Coates and exd
him Concerning Knowledge of Thomas Clarks Being
with the Enemys of this Countrey at his house, who Saith
that befor they Came he, the said Coates with his famaly,
fled and never saw Clark at all but was informed by Mis
Graham that he made his house his quarters in Company
with one Stackhouse, a tall slender man, who said that
he Came from Bucks County, and appeared in the Habit
of a Quaker. As said Coats Knew nothing from his own
Knowledge, thought it needless to send him to you. I
also, Examined Mrs. Graham, a gentle woman of varacty,
who saith she Knew Clark well, and saw him Come
with the English army. As I thought her a very ma
terial witness I got her to Concent to com to you on the
4th Day of this instant, to be Examined before Council,
to whom I think she will give general satisfaction Con-

THE REVOLUTION. 121
cerning this matter. As to the Tory Estates, Col. Bell
and myself are now taking a return of them and in a few
Days Expect to send an Exact List to Council.
I am your H Sert, Wm. Evans."
(Arch., Vol. VI, pages 709, 731.)
Col. William Evans lived in the neighborhood of the
Yellow Springs, and took a very active part in maintain
ing the colonial interests during the war. In 1777, he
was authorized to impress wagons and collect arms, accou
trements, blankets and similar articles from those persons
in the county who had not taken the oath of allegiance.
Later, he was appointed a commissioner to purchase sup
plies and . also a justice of the peace.
In the minutes of the Supreme Executive Council,
under date of the 28th of April, 1779, is the following:
"A letter from Patrick Anderson of 27th ins., repre
senting that Elections of officers in the militia have been
held in Chester County & voters admitted who have not
taken the test & returns of the said election by Col. Gro-
now, Ordered, That the Secretary do write Col. Gronow
& enquire into the aforesaid charge." (Col. Rec, Vol. XI,
page 760); and under date of May 11th, "Col. Grono,
Sub Lieutenant of Chester County, attended in conse
quence of a Letter wrote him on the 28th April, And it
appearing that the Election referred to in the said Letter
was conducted without proper attention to the Test Law
& that the said Election on that account is informal,
Ordered, That the same be vacated & that Col. Grono
be directed to hold a new Election as soon as convenient
& report to this Board, that Commissions may issue with
out further delay." (Col. Rec, Vol. XI, page 772.)
Capt. MacFall died, during the war, at the residence of
William Grimes, and was buried, with military honors, at

122

PHC3NIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

the Friends' meeting house in the Valley. His parents
were Quakers, and, when they arrived at the place of se
pulture, his aged mother stood in a distant corner of the
yard. While the remains were being lowered into the
grave, three cannon were discharged over them, and the
old lady, to whom this was little consolation for a lost
son, exclaimed, "There, you need not fire now. He is
dead enough. Cover him over."
From the " Accounts of Lewis Gronow, Esquire, late a
Sub Lieutenant of Chester County, from March 1777 to
March 1780, as they have been adjusted and settled; in
which is set forth the amount of the monies received by
him for fines incurred within the period aforesaid, &c."
published in Philadelphia, in 1783, I make the following
extracts :
List of fines received by Lewis Gronow from the 5th Battalion for
exercise fines in 1777 and for class fines.
Sixth Artillery Company, Charlestown Township.

£. s.

a.

£.

s.

d.

John Buckwalter,

26 12

10

Isaac Morgan,

55

5

0

John Griffith,

26 12

10

Benjamin Griffith,

5

0

0

Edmund Physick,

26 12

10

John Brower,

27

7

6

Isaac Starr,

26 12

0

David Davis, M. P.,

47

5

0

Jacob Pennypacker,

26 12

10

John Filman,

31

2

6

Frederick Foose,

26 7

7

Henry Miller,

26

7

7

Joseph Cunnard,

26 7

7

Moses Coats, Jun.,

55

2

6

John Gibbs,

2 12

6

Anthony Housam,

2

12

6

William Johnson,

2 12

6

Levi Randal,

2

12

6

Christian Whisler,

54 15

0

Frederick Buzzard,

20

0

0

Daniel Rosseter,

27 12

6

Philip Filman,

21

3

6

Joseph Starr, Jun.,

45 18

9

Robert Allen,

19

10

0

Christian Holderman,

13 0

0

John Williams,

15

7

6

Thomas Robinson,

55 5

1

George Vessler,

26

12

6

Jonathan Tompkins,

2 12

6

Benjamin Longstreth, 50

5

0

Thomas Broadbent,

2 12

6

Elijah Jones,

30

0

0

Martin Shainholdts,

55 5

0

Frederick Yost,

52

10

0

Henry Physick,

55 5

1

William Fussel,

2

12

6

THE REVOLUTION.

123

£. s. d.

£. s. d.

Daniel Dowling,

20

5

0

John Allen,

2

12

6

Christian Maris,

55

5

0

John Fisher,

4

0

0

Matthias Pennypackei

,55

5

1

Joseph Wollerton,

2

12

6

Benjamin Coates,

10

10

0

Samuel Roberts,

5

0

0

George Lapp,

55

2

6

Jacob Huramell,

13

2

6

David Buckwalter,

55

5

1

William Eachus,

27

12

6

Samuel Lane,

23

12

6

Daniel Buckwalter,

55

5

0

Jonathan Wells,

55

5

0

John Nettles,

11

10

0

James Cloyd,

55

5

0

List of exercise fines received from the 5th Battalion by Lewis
Gronow, incurred in the year 1778.
Capt. Bodley's Company, Charlestown Township.
£.
s.
d.
£.
s.
d.
Alexander M'Calla,
2
12
6
Amos John,
3
0
0
Moses Coates, Jun.,
3
5
0
David Davis, M. P.,
3
0
0
Theophilus Davis,
1
0
0
Joseph Wollerd,
3
5
0
John Griffith (smith),
3
0
0
Christian Maris,
3
5
0
Thomas Hill,
1
0
0
John Allen,
2
12
6
Jacob Shook,
3
5
0
Thomas Robinson,
3
5
0
George Vesser,
1
5
0
Mordecai Williams,
1
12
6
Robert Kennedy,
1
17
6
John Williams,
3
5
0
Timothy Dempsey,
0
5
0
Isaac Starr,
3
5
0
John Pergrin,
2
10
0
Elijah Jones,
3
5
0
John Turk,
0
5
0
Joseph Conrad,
3
5
0
John Black,
2
12
6
Peter Bones,
2
12
6
Phineas Jones,
2
2
6
Frederick Gurhart,
3
6
0
John Buckwalter,
3
5
0
John Longstreth,
3
5
0
Anthony Housham,
2
5
0
William Fussell,
3
5
0
William Eachus,
3
5
0
Boston Waggoner,
3
5
0
Daniel Rositer,
3
5
0
Bernard Vanhorne,
3
5
0
Elijah Funk,
0
5
0
Benjamin Boyers,
3
5
0
Benjamin Longstreth,
3
5
0
Philip Filman,
3
0
0
John Mairs,
1
0
0
Jacob Hummell,
3
5
0
Frederick Foose,
3
5
0
Robert Rooks,
3
5
0
George Rooks,
3
0
0
Ephraim Jones,
3
5
0
Roger Little,
3
5
0
David Buckwalter,
3
5
0
James Cloyd,
3
5
0
Jacob Pennypacker,
3
5
0
Christian Whisler,
3
5
0
Isaac Hughes, Jun.,
1
15
0
124

PHC3NIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

£.

s.

d.

£.

s.

d.

George Lapp,

3

5

0

Jacob Cauffman,

3

5

0

Robert Allen,

1

0

0

Abraham Holderman,

3

5

0

Isaac Morgan,

3

5

0

Amos Edwards,

1

2

6

Martin Shenholtz,

3

5

0

John Griffith,

3

5

0

Jonathan Wells,

3

5

0

James Craven,

3

5

0

Leonard Kemle,

2

17

6

Alexander Caldwell,

3

5

0

Ebenezer Griffith,

1

0

0

Christian Holderman,

3

5

0

Dennis Cunnard,

3

5

0

Frederick Yost,

3

5

0

List of Exercise fines received from the 5th Battalion Lewis Gro
now incurred in the year 1779.
Sixth Company, Capt. Thomas.

£. s.

d.

£. s.
d.
Frederick Geerhart,
1 10
0
David Buckwalter,
19 10
0
John Buckwalter,
19 10
0
George Lapp,
19 10
0
Isaac Starr,
9 15
0
Barnet Vanhorn,
3 0
0
Jacob Pennypacker,
9 15
0
Moses Coates, Jun.,
15 15
0
John King,
4 10
0
James Craven,
19 10
0
Benjamin Boyers,
17 5
0
Daniel Buckwalter,
9 15
0
Robert Rooks,
9 15
0
Levi Randall,
3 15
0
Joseph Conrad,
9 15
0
James Cloyd,
1 10
0
Christian Whistler,
19 10
0
Daniel Rossiter,
9 15
0
John Williams,
19 10
0
Thomas Robinson,
9 15
0
Thomas Roberts,
9 15
0
Abraham Holderman,
19 10
0
Joseph Starr, Jun.,
9 15
0
Israel Cox,
9 15
0
Christian Holderman,
19 10
0
John Eyry,
9 15
0
William Fussel,
19 10
0
Richard Graham,
4 10
0
Jonathan Wells,
19 10
0
Ephraim Jones,
15 15
0
Joseph Wollerton,
19 10
0
John Jones,
9 15
0
William Jones,
6 15
0
William Cooper,
9 15
0
Robert Allen,
19 10
0
John Buzzard,
19 10
0
Martin Shainholdtz,
19 10
0
John Longstreth,
19 10
0
Thomas Rossiter,
9 15
0
Martin Shenholdtz,
9 15
0
Jacob Hummel,
9 15
0
Samuel Brooks,
9 15
0
Benjamin Longstreth,
19 10
0
John Bean,
19 10
0
David Davis, M. P.,
8 5
0
Alexander Caldwell,
•9 15
0
Christian Maris,
19 10
0
Peter Bunn,
19 10
0
Timothy Steel,
6 15
0
Matthias Pennypacker, 9 15
0
Elijah Jones,
9 15
0
THE REVOLUTION. 125
The following appears upon the minutes of the As
sembly, February 26, 1 783 : '
"A Petition from John Davis, a collector of Taxes for
the Township of Charlestown, Chester County, setting
forth that two ruffians armed with pistols broke into his
house on the night of the 14th of February (inst) and
robbed him of a considerable sum of money collected for
the public, therefore praying to be indemnified from pay
ing the same, was read, together with divers affidavits and
a certificate from sundry inhabitants of said township in
confirmation of the facts alleged in his petition."
His widow, Margaret Davis, presented a statement and
prayer of similar import in August of the succeeding
year. William Moore, who, until the commencement of the
war, had been the most prominent man of his neighbor
hood, and perhaps in the county, died in June, 1783, and
was buried at the Radnor church. His will, written, he
says, with his own hand, was probably prepared some
time during the war, since in it he laments the difficulties
he encountered both in preserving and disposing of pro
perty. It is a singular document, being mainly a tribute
to his wife, to whom he gives his whole estate and of
whom he says, "never frighted, by the rude rabble or
Dismaied by the Insolent threats of the ruleing powers.
Happy Woman, a Pattern to her Sex and worthy the re
lationship she bares to the Right Honourable and noble
ffamily from whence she sprung." After his death, his
family removed to Philadelphia, and the office of justice,
which he had held until 1776, devolved upon John Long
streth, and subsequently upon Isaac Anderson.
Ezekiel Howell, at the close of the war, became one of
the original members of the Society of the Cincinnati.

126

PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

CHAPTER X.
THE WAR OF l8l2.
Captain Davis, May 9, 1814, certifies to the correctness
of the following " Class List & Inspection Roll of all per
sons subject to militia duty within the bounds of Captain
John S. Davis Company Ninety Second Regiment, Wil
liam Ralston Lieut Col. Comdt Second Brigade third Divi
sion Chester County Militia."
Rifle.

Age. Musket. Fus

Captain-

-John S. Davis, .

29

Lieutenant — Samuel L. Anderson,

25

Sergeant — Wesley Anderson,
23
Benjamin Hawke,
23
Matthias Pennypacker, .
20
Drummer
— William Warner,
32
Fifer — Jacob Baker, ...
First'Class—
1.
John TJmpstead,
42
1
2.
Allr Baylotts, .
22
1
3.
Joseph Holstein,
23
1
4.
Ralph Parker, .
41
5.
Jesse Rossiter, Junior,
20
1
6.
John Highly, .
19
1
7.
Joseph Williams,
19
1
8.
Joseph Roberts,
26
9.
Jonas Shute,
19
1
10.
Thomas Matlack,
29
11.
George Kiter, .
24
12.
Joseph P. Shannon, .
21
13.
Matthias James,
23
1
14.
William Bray, .
22
THE WAR OF l8l2.

127

Age. Musket. Fusee. Rifle.

Second Class —

1.

Henry Shute, .

35

1

2.

Thomas Rossiter,

26

3.

Samuel Hampton,

26

4.
Philip James, .
27
¦5.
George Wagoner,
27
6.
Jacob Pennypacker, .
25
7.
John Youngblood,
24
8.
David Jones,
21
9.
Jacob Hawke, .
20
10.
John Boyer,
20
11.
Anthony Buckwalter,
27
12.
Samuel Rossiter,
23
13.
Edward Wallace,
33
1
14.
Jacob Vanderslice, .
21
15.
John Shannon, .
26
16.
James Campbell,
24
Third Class—
1.
Benjamin Funk,
33
1
2.
Thomas Robinson, .
33
1
3.
Peter Suplee, .
37
1
4.
Jacob Griffith, .
36
1
5.
Joseph Halloway,
32
1
6.
Edward Lane, .
25
1
7.
Isaac James,
24
1
8.
Jonathan James,
33
1
9.
Shannon Davis,
23
1
10.
Robert Nicholson,
22
11.
Jacob Wersler, .
38
12.
Joseph Pennypacker,
35
1
13.
Matthias Pennypacker,
27
1
14.
Amos Trago,
23
15.
Peter Stetson, .
18
16.
Isaac Anderson,
19
Fourth Class —
1.
John Hawke, .
25
2.
David Buckwalter, .
23
1
3.
John Prevost, .
25
4.
Benjamin Pennypacker.
28
1
128

PHOENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

*

Age. Musket.

Fusee. Rifle

5.

Jacob Buckwalter, .

24

6.

James Fitzgerald,

23

7.

John Morgan, .

29

1

8.

John Longaker,

20

9.
Samuel Sower, .
19
1
10.
William Knowles,
34
\-
11.
Thomas Rossiter,
34
12.
Matthias Packard, .
13.
Jacob Hallman,
44
14.
George Chrisman,
20
1
15.
Morris Crozier,
20
16.
Samuel Pennypacker,
20
17.
George Ivester,
25
18.
Benjamin Rogers,
23
19.
William Crozier,
Fifth Class—
1.
Nathan Pennypacker,
44
2.
Adam Rennard,
32
o
O.
John Buckwalter,
29 1
4.
David Llewellyn,
33
5.
Abijah Rossiter,
33
6.
Erasmus Lauer,
36
7.
Mahlon Rossiter,
23
8.
Jacob Rapp,
40
10.
Edward Davis,
19
1
11.
William Ivester,
12.
Ezekiel  , .
18
13.
Alexander Davidson,
14.
Lewis Roberts,
15.
William White,
18
Sixth Class —
1.
John Shute,
32
1
2.
Michael Krepps,
31
1
3.
Nathan Brooke,
31
1
4.
Robert Jones, .
19 1
5.
Lewis Griffith, .
24 1
6.
Thomas Keeper,
7.
Abraham Miller,
24
1
8.
David Buckwalter, .
18
1
THE WAR 01

1«12.

129

Age. Musket.«

Fusee. Rifle

9.

John Rapp, Junior, .

18

1

10.

John Varley,

18

1

11.

John Stager,

20

12.
John White,
25
13.
Philip Rapp,
19
14.
John S. Travers,
18
15.
Benjamin Moore,
16.
George Shute, . . .
27
17.
David Royer, .
Seventh Class —
1.
Thomas Rossiter,
44
1
2.
John Turk,
41
1
3.
Henry Rhoades,
32
1
4.
Daniel Stager, .
26
1
5.
Henry Bean,
40
1
6.
David Maris,
24
1
7.
Christopher Buckwalter, .
25
I
8.
Abel Williams,
28
1
9.
Thomas Scott, .
22
10.
Joseph Ramsey,
21
1
11.
Jacob Stewart,
19
1
12.
John Tressey, .
25
13.
John Vanpelt, .
24
14.
John Jones,
42
15.
David Gill,
25
16.
Daniel Brode, .
17.
Thomas Roberts,
Eighth Class —
1.
Henry Highly,
44
1
2.
Wersler John, .
44
1
3.
John Rapp,
44
1
4
David Buckwalter, .
33
1
5.
A mos Rossiter,
30
1
6.
Jesse Rossiter, Sr., .
34
7.
Joseph Kugler,
39
1
8.
Charles Austin, . .
25
1
9.
John Bare,
23
10.
Jacob Stager, .
26
1
11.
Robert Stetson,
24
130

PHCSNIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

Age.

12.

Jacob Renker, .

36

13.

John Taylor, .

37

14.

Joseph Quay, .

40

15.

John Coulston,

16.

Nathaniel Smith,

17.
Daniel McCurdy,
18.
Joseph Fox,
19.
Philip Griffith,
22
20.
Henry Longaker,
22
21.
John Lutger, .
37
22.
Joseph Longaker,
18
23.
Thomas Herr, .
24.
Terence McNulty, .
Musket. Fusee. Rifle.
It is also certified upon the roll that George Ivester
and Jacob Renker, two of those named, were at the time
in the volunteer service.
After the destruction of the Capitol, at Washington, it
was very much feared that the British would attempt to
enter Philadelphia, and extensive preparations to prevent
such a disaster were made. The militia were called into
service, and threw up intrenchments and fortifications
along the Delaware River and at other places. This
company marched to Marcus Hook, in September, 1814,
and there encamped for several weeks. In consequence
of the illness of Capt. Davis, Lieut. Samuel L.v Anderson
had command. Nothing occurred to relieve the monotony
of drill except the mock preaching of Thomas Rossiter,
and sports incident to camp life, and after the alarm, occa
sioned by the expectation of the approach of the enemy,
had subsided, they returned home. James and Joseph
Whitaker were also at Marcus Hook with a company
from Philadelphia.
THE ORIGIN OF PHC3NIXVILLE. 131

CHAPTER XI.
THE ORIGIN OF PHCENIXVILLE.
The land purchased by James Starr, from the executrix
of David Lloyd, on the 3d of December, A. D. 1731, in
cluded sixty acres which have always since been desig
nated as the " Mill Tract." This tract commences on
Main Street, about where it crosses the canal, and extends
southward along that street to Church Street, then west
ward to Bridge Street and the Fountain Inn, and there,
crossing to the north side of the French Creek, runs east
ward, within a few feet of the water, back again to the
bridge over the canal. In 1732, Starr built a grist mill,
the upper part of which was constructed of logs, a little
westward of the northern end of the county bridge, be
tween where the canal now is and the creek. A dam
was made about five hundred yards above the present site.
The mill race ran along the northern bank of the creek
and, though now covered with water, can still be found.
A log house, to accompany the tract as a residence for the
miller, was erected directly in £he rear of the large stone
dwelling standing on the we'st side of Main, north of
Bridge Street. The second house upon this tract after
ward became a part of this dwelling, which was, for more
than half a century, the home of the successive proprie
tors and managers of the iron manufacturing interests in
the vicinity. Benjamin Coates, a son of Moses Coates,
built a house upon his farm, in North Phcenixville, on

132 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
the summit of the hill, about on a line with the Main
Street bridge. James and Moses, two sons of James
Starr, carried on the business of milling for some time, but
subsequently the mill was rented to Rowland Richards.
A road or path was made from it, across the Morris estate
by a spring called " Buckley's Spring," to the trail which
led to Philadelphia.
Richards cut with an axe, upon the trees along this
path, in rude characters "R. R. M.," to indicate to tra
velers the way to "Rowland Richard's Mill." He be
came very intemperate, and, in consequence, his wife was
compelled to attend to the business as well as look after
the household. Her family was large and, as time elapsed
and matters grew worse, she was unable, with all her in
dustry, to obtain a livelihood. Finally, the sheriff of the
county seized upon all of their property, and she, with
her children and drunken husband, was driven from her
home. With a woman's warmth of feeling, and regard
ing the creditors and officers of the law as the oppressors
of her family, she fell upon her knees by the roadside
and, with her little ones clustered about her, called upon
God to curse those who had driven her forth and the mill,
that man might never prosper in its possession. Whether
prayers of this kind are ever answered my readers must
judge for themselves, but, certain it is, as the sequel will
show, that no piece of property was ever more unfortu
nate than this mill.
In 1748, the tract was sold by the Starrs to Samuel
Jones and Jacob Hildebrand.
In 1754, it was sold by the sheriff to Andrew Reed
and John Sayers, who in the same year conveyed it to
Peter Ashton.
In 1756, it was sold by the sheriff to George Ash-

THE ORIGIN OF PHC3NIXVILLE. 133
bridge, and was by him, in 1760, conveyed to Jonathan
and Benjamin Coates, and by them to John Longstreth.
In 1785, Longstreth reconstructed the mill, making
some additions of stone work, and, after transacting con
siderable business there, sold the tract to Benjamin Long
streth. This gentleman immediately commenced a series
of improvements, and it is to his exertions that Phcenix
ville owes its origin.
In 1786, he built a saw mill to the westward of the
old grist mill. In 1790, he increased the water power,
by making a dam across the stream at the present loca
tion, and erected a rolling and slitting mill where the
foundry now stands. The object of this mill was to
roll bars into plates and slit them into the rods from
which nails were made. It was the first attempt at iron
manufacture at Phcenixville. Longstreth, however, like
the most of his predecessors, was unfortunate, and during
his occupancy the dam was destroyed three several times.
The second time, the waters broke through upon the
south side and, carrying away the rolling and slitting mill
in their course, washed a hole beneath its foundation to
the depth of fifteen feet. A few tons of iron that fell
into the excavation are said to be there still. Not dis
couraged, he commenced to rebuild, and had made con
siderable progress when the property was devastated by a
third flood. Finally, the dam was repaired and the mills
were completed and ready for business, but this succession
of disasters had consumed his resources and he was com
pelled to suspend.
The three tracts owned by him, comprising altogether
one hundred and sixty-one acres of land, were sold by the
sheriff, in March, 1800, to Andrew Douglas. In 1798,
a man of respectable means and position, whose name I

134 PHOENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
forbear to give, had introduced some machinery which
proved unsuccessful. Subsequently, his wife broke her
neck by falling from a wall and he finally terminated his
career in the almshouse of Chester County. Douglas,
soon after he obtained possession, bought about ten acres
of land from Joseph Starr, and built upon it a large barn,
on the east side of Main Street, below Bridge. He also
built the stone house, standing at the southern end of
the bridge, and now used by the Phoenix Iron Company
as an office.
In 1802, his property was sold by the sheriff to James
McClintock, who conducted business at the " French
Creek Works," by which name they had been known
since the time of Benjamin Longstreth, very prudently
and successfully for seven years.
About this time was invented a machine for cutting
nails, which had previously been hammered out laboriously
by hand. Thomas Odiorne, the inventor,. Thomas Coffin
and Lewis Waters, having formed a copartnership, pur
chased, in 1809, the French Creek Works, with the pur
pose of manufacturing this article for the market and
proving the superiority of their machines. The firm was
generally called, in the neighborhood, " The Yankee Com
pany." They removed the saw mill, and built on its site
near the "old mill," a frame nail factory. After a brief
period, during which business was conducted briskly, the
enterprise began to give evidence of failure, and capi
talists in Philadelphia were induced to invest in it by a
desire to encourage the new method of manufacture.
The original members of the company withdrew, and an
interest was given to Lewis Wernwag, who, in 1813, was
employed to superintend and manage the works.
Wernwag was a German of very great mechanical

THE ORIGIN OF PHCENIXVILLE. 135
skill, who had previously constructed a bridge over the
Schuylkill, at Philadelphia, containing the largest single
span which at that time had ever been made. A draft
of this bridge may be seen at the room of the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania. His ideas of the importance of
the charge entrusted to him were extravagant and his
expenditures were great. He built a stone nail factory
upon the south side of the creek, and an expensive arched
aqueduct leading to it from the dam; two frame houses,
one upon each side of the mansion, as it was termed, on
Main Street, north of Bridge; two stone houses opposite
the factory on the private street, upon which the rail
road of the Phoenix Iron Company is now laid, one for a
blacksmith shop and the other for a cooper shop, with a
dwelling over each; the octagonal school house and a
stone house to the west of it; and five other houses of
frame and stone. Independently of the partnership, he
purchased, from Henry Rhoades, five acres of land, upon
the steep bluff on the north bank of the French Creek,
from which had been taken the stone used in the con
struction of the factory, aqueduct and the mansion on
the Morris estate. This latter house, now owned by
Charles M. Wheatley, was also built by Wernwag.
Upon the bluff, he commenced the erection of the resi
dence, in which he expected to pass the remainder of his
life. The walls were made of unusual thickness; a great
deal of the wood work, and even floors, were of solid
walnut, and along the whole front extended a porch of
massive stone. The bank was terraced down to the edge
of the creek, and supported with immense walls. He
built also a stone house near his own, and another on
Main Street, immediately north of the canal bridge, in
tended for a foundry. The name, borne by the manufac-

136 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
turing establishment previous to his arrival, was aban
doned, and he substituted, in its place, that of "Phcenix
Works." Wernwag knew nothing of the art of husbanding his
resources, and his demands for money were for that period
enormous. The war was then in progress, wages had
materially advanced, a charter had been refused to the
United States Bank, resulting in a contraction of the
money market, and business was generally in a very dis
ordered condition. Several of the owners of the Phcenix
Works failed, others were compelled to sell their interests,
and one portion after another became vested in George
Thompson, a man of great enterprise and ambition, until
finally he possessed the entire establishment. Wernwag
died at Harper's Ferry, about the year 1840, in extremely
reduced circumstances,
Beside the purchases from the company, Thompson
bought the old Rhoades farm, of about one hundred and
thirty-three acres, the Starr farm, of one hundred and
forty-eight acres, from the executors of Joseph Starr,
eighty-three acres at Phcenix Hill, about six acres from
the Buckwalters, and some other small lots.
His residence was the house previously occupied by
Wernwag. He took into partnership with him a brother,
who had been a member of the former company, and they
commenced business about the year 1821. At this time,
the rolling mill had but one pair of rolls and one pair of
rotary slitters, which were run by the power obtained
from a single waterwheel. There was but one furnace,
and blast was then unknown. When the coal, which had
been thrown inside upon the grate, was sufficiently heated,
the iron to be rolled was laid on the top and left until it
acquired the proper temperature. The entire capacity of

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THE ORIGIN OF PHCENIXVILLE. 137
the mill was probably three tons per day. Even several
years later, all the iron rolled in the place was carried
from the mill to the nail factory, a distance of about one
hundred yards, upon the back of one donkey.
The Thompsons displayed a vast amount of energy and
perseverance, and, during their ownership, the competitors
for the nail trade, in the Philadelphia market, were the
Phcenix Works and the Cumberland Works, at Bridge-
ton, New Jersey. They enlarged and rearranged the roll
ing mill, so as to make their own bar iron from blooms
and scraps, and they put in it a steam engine, manufac
tured at Pittsburg, to propel the machinery when there
was a scarcity of water. They erected a puddling furnace,
and also a trip hammer to beat the puddled mass into
blooms. They built sixteen houses — two on Main Street,
six on Bridge Street, one at the junction of Church and
Bridge Streets, three on the bank of the creek, two on
Prospect Alley and two in North Phcenixville — said to
have cost seventy-five dollars each.
One of these houses, represented in the accompanying
wood cut, stood, until the present year, on the north side
of Bridge Street, east of Gay, but has been recently torn
away. They were one story high, with two rooms on the
floor, an unplastered garret and no cellar. I am reliably
informed that one of these structures was occupied by a
family of thirteen persons, seven of whom — including a
man and his wife — were boarders.
A stone house on the west side of Main Street, a short
distance south of Bridge, for a long time used as a store,
was erected by the Thompsons. They employed about
eighty men, who were paid with colored pasteboard checks,
varying in value from three cents up to five dollars. These
checks were the currency of the neighborhood, and their

138 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
circulation extended as far as the Corner Stores, Fountain
Inn, Gen. Pike and Wismer's Locks. In February, 1822,
a flood having carried away the breast of the dam, the
Thompsons rebuilt it upon a rock, ten feet below low
water mark, in so substantial a manner that it has lasted,
with some slight repairs, until the present time.
Joseph J. Lewis, in his History of Chester County,
published in 1824, speaks of Phoenixville as follows :
"Among the establishments, which the enterprise of
individuals has projected and their perseverance carried
into successful operation is that of the Phcenix Works,
situated upon French Creek, at its confluence with the
Schuylkill, and one of the first nail factories of the kind
known in the United States. The little village that has
grown up around is of uncommon beauty and already
contains about forty families. When the river shall have
been rendered completely navigable, this place, I presume,
from the eligibility of its location, must become of con
siderable importance as a landing."
" The principal factory contains fifty-four nail machines,
capable of manufacturing forty tons of nails per week,
and the rolling mill is upon the most improved plan and
stated to be equal to any in Pennsylvania. There are'
also upon the estate a large merchant mill, with three
pair of stones, a saw mill and a store."
"Within the village there is a school house, which is
also used as a place of worship and is frequently visited
by preachers of different religious denominations. A
proper attention to this subject, observes one of the in
telligent proprietors, must in every point of view appear
of the most essential and vital importance, obviating the
objection, so frequently urged, against manufacturing
establishments, in consequence of the few opportunities

THE ORIGIN OF PHCENIXVILLE. 139
that are offered to those employed of religious information
and education."
A few years afterward, the Thompsons, needing all the
water from the French Creek for their iron works, aban
doned the manufacture of flour at the " Old Mill." The
building was converted into a dwelling, and, being divided
into compartments, was at times occupied by four families.
Though this separation of the "Mill" from the works
was apparently a casting overboard of the Jonah they
had been carrying from their origin, the baneful influence,
that had been so long hanging over them, was still
exerted. In May, 1827, the Thompsons made an assign
ment for the benefit of their creditors, and, in September
of the same year, the assignees conveyed the property to
their old antagonists of the Cumberland Works — Firman
Learning, Benjamin Reeves, David Reeves, James Whita
ker and Joseph Whitaker. The last two named were
placed in charge, and soon afterward removed from
Bridgeton to Phcenixville, James Whitaker to the house
on Main Street and Joseph Whitaker to the Starr farm
house. The old residents, aware of the fatality which had
hitherto attended operations here, anticipated and pre
dicted another failure. The story of the early curse,
gathering strength from its seeming fulfilment as years
rolled on, was told in many ways, and the numerous pro
phecies of ill success were scarcely doubted.
The village, then in its infancy, had acquired the name
of Phcenixville, and a good idea of its size and appear
ance can be obtained from the draft made by Moses Ro
binson. There was one store, kept by E. R. Evans, in a
house I have already mentioned, but it was customary for
the people to make all but the most ordinary purchases at

140 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
the Corner Stores, more than a mile distant. The only
public means of communication with Philadelphia was .
the Lancaster stage, whose route passed by the Corner
Stores and the Fountain Inn. To one or the other of
these places travelers were compelled to go. The post
office was at the Fountain Inn; elections were held at
the Bull Tavern; and the young misses, when they
wanted a dress fitted to their forms or sought a bonnet of
the latest style, went to Sarah Coates, at the Corner
Stores. There were fords where Bridge Street crosses the
Schuylkill and where Main Street crosses the French
Creek, and a dense wood covered the greater part of
North Phcenixville.
Soon after the purchase made by this firm, Learning
died, and, in 1832, James Whitaker sold his interest to
Charles Reeves, who, in 1836, also died. These two por
tions were purchased by the three remaining partners.
On the withdrawal of James Whitaker, the management
of the works became concentrated in Joseph Whitaker, a
man of English ancestry, who, in his early youth, had cut
wood and made charcoal on the hills about Coventry and
broken stone on the pike near the Trappe. He possessed
immense energy and force, of character, was close and
careful about expenditures, exacting in his demands upon
those employed, as well as unsparing in his own exertions,
and was withal endowed with great business ability. At
that time the authority of iron masters over their em
ployes was almost unlimited, and many of the present re
sidents of Phcenixville recall both favors and flagellations
bestowed by Whitaker in their youth. Alcoholic drinks
were interdicted, and, as he never hesitated to take from
a man's person and demolish bottle or canteen containing
the objectionable fluid, numerous devices were resorted to

THE ORIGIN OF PHCENIXVILLE. 141
in order to keep it convenient. Among others, it was
customary to sink the canteens in the creek with corks
attached as buoys.
In order to encourage the erection of dwellings by the
workmen, the firm, soon after their purchase, sold a con
siderable quantity of land, and, the village, in conse
quence, soon began to take form and increase in size.
They changed the location of the road to Starr's Ford,
which formerly pursued a more southerly course, to its
present route along Bridge Street. They built two double
frame houses on Bridge Street, between Main and Starr,
and, in 1836, added a hotel on the southeast corner of
Bridge and Main Streets. On lots sold by them, the
Renshaw, Knerr, Garrett and other houses on Bridge
Street, and on lots owned by John Morgan, his late resi
dence at the southwest corner of Gay and Church Streets,
and two houses on Main Street, north of Washington
Avenue, were built. In North Phcenixville, one hundred
acres of the Rhoades farm were sold to Frederic Yost,.
who, in 1836, erected for a store a building on the south
side of Main Street. It was burned down and gave place
to another, recently occupied by Kaler & Wagoner. Fifty
acres of this purchase afterwards became vested in John
Vanderslice, who removed an old house to make room for
his present residence, on the west side of Main Street, in
1841. The completion of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail
road, about the year 1837, was followed by a change
in the method of iron manufacture in the village. The
opening of communication with the coal region of Potts
ville offered facilities that had not before existed, and
was the cause of many and decided improvements.
Hitherto, it had been customary to purchase blooms from

142 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
the forges, and convert them into nails by the use of char
coal and bituminous coal. Now, however, that the supply
of anthracite coal had become abundant, it was deter
mined not only to increase the production of nails, but
also to prepare from the native ore the iron used in their
manufacture. With these objects in view, a new rolling
mill was erected, in 1837, and a furnace in 1838, near
where the foundry is now. In 1839, an addition was
made to the factory, and an engine of eighty horse power
was introduced. In 1840, the rolling mill was further in
creased in size, six puddling furnaces were erected, and
anthracite, coal came into general use, the blast furnace
being blown in with it in June. During the first week,
ending June 25, it made twenty-one tons, and the second
week twenty-eight and a half tons. In 1841, a refining
furnace was built. It is claimed that Phcenixville is the
first place in the world where nails were made with the
use of anthracite coal alone for fuel.
The winter of 1838-9, was a very severe one, and
through the months of November and December the snow
had accumulated upon the hill tops in great quantities,
and the ice in the streams was of unusual thickness. In
the latter part of January, the weather moderated, and
on the 26 th of that month a warm rain commenced and
continued through the whole of the day and the succeed
ing night. The' next morning, the French Creek was
much swollen from the rain and melted snow, and it began
to be feared that the ice upon the dam would be loosened
from the banks. There were living, at that time, in the
" Old Mill," all unconscious of the doom impending over
the accursed structure, Elias Day, his wife and several
children, and Henry O'Brien and Susan O'Brien, who were
brother and sister. The fears of the wife and mother were

THE ORIGIN OF PHCENIXVILLE. 143
awakened, and having carried her children to some neigh
boring house for safety, she returned to persuade her hus
band to follow. Blind to his fate he refused, and while
she stood there pleading, suddenly, with a mighty crash
and roar, the ice, broken into immense cakes and blended
with rails, logs and debris, which had been gathered by
the torrent in its course, came crushing through the head-
gates of the canal and swept angrily around the "Mill."
After an existence of over a hundred years, during
which blight and ruin had fallen upon nearly all con
nected with it, the end had come. Susan O'Brien crept
out upon a window ledge in the second story, and while
there some of the villagers threw to her one end of a rope
from the bank above. She fastened it about her person
and, waiting until the " Mill" was broken into fragments
beneath her, was then dragged through the ice to the
shore. Though senseless, mangled and bruised, she re
vived, but it was only to meet with a violent death finally.
Henry O'Brien, who was a powerful man, made a despe
rate struggle for his life, and had almost succeeded in
reaching the shore when the current swept him away.
Elias Day was carried among the cakes of ice down the
creek to its mouth, and from there as far as the island in
the Schuylkill, where he caught fast upon a buttonwood
tree and clung shrieking for an assistance it was impos
sible to render. His cries were heard from about eleven
o'clock in the morning until after dark, and then, be
numbed with the cold and worn out by useless exertions,
the poor wretch dropped into the river and disappeared
forever. When the waters had subsided, it was discovered
that not a stone of the "Old Mill" remained, and beneath
where it stood a hole had been torn fourteen feet deep.
With this awful occurrence, the curse, heaped upon it so

144 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
i
long before, seems to have terminated, for since that time
the works with which it was associated have known an
almost continuous prosperity.
In 1840, the population of the village was eight hun
dred and nine persons. In 1842, the works consisted of
a blast furnace, capable of making fifteen hundred tons of
pig iron per annum; a refining furnace of equal capacity;
a rolling mill, with six puddling furnaces, capable of con
verting three thousand tons of pig iron into bars per
annum; and a nail factory which had made, in one year,
thirty-one thousand nine hundred and eighty-two kegs of
nails and used fourteen hundred and twenty-eight tons of
iron. One hundred and forty-seven men were employed.
On the 1st of January, 1846, the population of the vil
lage had increased to sixteen hundred and eighty persons.
In the early part of the same year, Whitaker sold his
interest to his son, Samuel A. Whitaker, M. D., Robert C.
Nichols and Robert S. Buck, and, having purchased a
tract of land on the opposite side of the Schuylkill, com
menced the erection of a dwelling and steam saw mill.
To his residence, at the suggestion of Bayard Taylor, he
gave the name of Mont Clare. The firm was reorganized
under the title of Reeves, Buck & Co., and Buck, who
was a native of Bridgeton, removed from that place to
the Main Street house and assumed charge of the works.
Immediately upon his arrival he began the construction
of a new rolling mill of large size, intended for the manu
facture of railroad iron.
The erection of this mill had the effect of changing, to
a very great extent, the nature of the iron productions of
the village, and an event, occurring in 1848, tended still
further to bring about such a result. About two o'clock
on the morning of the 25th of June, of that year, it was

THE ORIGIN OF PHCENIXVILLE. 145
discovered that the nail factory was in flames. All efforts
to check their progress were futile, and the whole structure,
with its machinery and about fourteen hundred kegs of
nails, was consumed. At the last, the old bell that for
years, from the top of the factory, had called the men to
their daily toil, fell tumbling into the ruins, tolling as it
sank the knell of the manufacture of nails, and then be
came silent forever. The factory was not rebuilt, and the
business, which had been continued for about forty years,
was not resumed. The first rails were rolled on the 16th
of November, 1846, and the enterprise was a decided
success from the commencement. This mill g9ve employ
ment to about three hundred men, and, in consequence,
during the next year, the growth of the village was very
rapid. Over two hundred buildings were erected, in
cluding Nailers' Row, Puddlers' Row and the brick houses
of George Walters, Samuel Dull, now owned by the Phce
nixville National Bank, and John Rapp, and on the 1st of
January, 1848, the population was three thousand three
hundred and thirty-seven.

10

146 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

CHAPTER XII.
PHCENIXVILLE.
During the year 1847, the subject of the incorporation
of the village was generally agitated, and the majority of
the citizens began to feel that great advantages would re
sult from the accomplishment of this object. The popula
tion had become so large as to require some form of muni
cipal government. There were many offences and misde
meanors committed that it was found impossible to punish,
because the courts and gaol were at West Chester, a dis
tance of fifteen miles; the streets were unpaved and un
graded; the town was rapidly growing without any
system, except such as resulted from the disjointed
fancies of the individuals who built in it; facilities for
the education of the children could not be increased, be
cause of the complaints made by the people of the town
ship against disproportionate taxation; and a separation
seemed to be equally to the interests of both.
On the 28th of September, 1847, the following call ap
peared in the "Pioneer:"
"The Citizens of Phcenixville are respectfully invited
to attend at the Hall of the Sons of Temperance, on Fri
day evening next, October 1st, at 7 o'clock, to consider
the propriety of incorporating our village.
William Williamson, William Nyce,
Sassaman & Fry, N. M. Ellis,
Forrest Cornog, M. S. Pennypacker,

phcenixville. 147
A. Collins, Jacob Baugh,
H. Knerr, James Mellon,
W. Gilbert, F. Valentine,
Hugh Love, Samuel Kreamer,
William Garrett, Col. Ullman,
John Morgan, John Rorke,
J. Renshaw, William King,
Major MacVeagh, Samuel Moses."
The meeting was organized, upon the evening named,
by the election of Isaac Z. Coffman, President, Joseph
King and Henry Ashenfelter, Vice Presidents, and J. P.
Fleming and J. N. Thomas, Secretaries. Resolutions
were adopted in favor of incorporation, but it was soon
afterward discovered that a strong opposition would have
to be encountered. The firm of Reeves, Buck & Co.,
anxious to avoid the increased expenditure that would be
thrown upon them, without any material benefit, deter
mined to prevent the measure if possible. Isaac Phillips,
George C. Nichols and Joseph T. McCord, who Avere em
ployes of the comp1 any, Samuel A. Whitaker, and even the
president of this meeting, a leading and successful physi
cian, became active opponents.
At an adjourned meeting, held October 5, after the offi
cers had taken their seats, a reorganization was effected
by the selection of Major MacVeagh, the proprietor of
the Washington House, as President, John Vanderslice
and Rev. Andrew Collins, Vice Presidents, and Robert
McCloskey and B. P. Davis, Secretaries. A proposition
that had been made to confine the borough to the south
side of the creek, and thus exclude the works of the
company, was negatived, and committees were appointed
to make a survey, to, collect funds and to prepare an
act of incorporation. A number of meetings were also

148

PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

held by their opponents, and great warmth of feeling.
was developed upon both sides. An attempt was made to
have the question settled by a vote of the people of the
village, but the company, probably aware that the deci
sion would be against them, preferred to transfer the con
test to the capital of the State. Isaac A. Pennypacker,
M. D., being an effective speaker, and possessing con
siderable influence through the county and State, became
the champion of the incorporationists. He drafted a bill
for a charter, and, proceeding with it to Harrisburg, had it
presented in the Senate. It was called up in the absence
of its friends, on the 13th of February, 1848, and was
defeated by the decisive vote of nineteen to nine. This,
however, was only a temporary check, and the next
winter the struggle was renewed with increased vigor.
Pennypacker and Vanderslice on the one side, and Whita
ker, Coffman, Nichols, Nyce and Phillips on the other,
spent considerable time in Harrisburg endeavoring to in
fluence the measure. The Hon. Charles Gibbons, of
Philadelphia, was employed by the company to prevent
the passage of the bill, but it finally became a law, on the
6th of March, A. D. 1849, and the career of Phoenixville
as a borough commenced.
At the first election for borough officers, held April
1.3th, of that year, the vote was as follows :

Burgess.

Isaac A. Pennypacker, .

225

Samuel A. Whitaker, .

156

Council.

George Walters, .
361
Benjamin Hallman,
212
John Vanderslice,
271
Samuel T. Reeves,
190
Major MacVeagh, .
256
Daniel March,
135
William King,
248
James Mellon,
25
Francis Bonner, .
229
James Fry, .
3
John Mullen,
214
Joseph King,
1
PHCENIXVILLE.

149

Jacob B. Morgan, .

251

Samuel Delleker, .

225

Isaac Phillips,

161
Mi"> r\ a^\/"ll

E. H. Howell,

OCUOOl 245

John E. Johnson,

244

Alexander Selah, .

240

Daniel R. Brower,

229

Samuel Sower,

228

William McGonegal,

227

Joseph King,

198

Judge i

Joseph Morgan, .

232

Charles Sassaman,
John M. Kendall, .
Oliver E. Strickland,
Jerman Davis,
Jacob A. Bickel, .
Joseph Conway, .
Hugh Love, .
Benjamin P. Davis,.

Justice of the Peace.
Robert McCloskey, . 79
John Morgan, . . 1

Forrest Cornog, . . 154
Lewis Ullman, . . 141
John Hickey, . . 109
John Mullen, . . 107
William King, . . 30
George Walters, . . 1
James Reynolds, . . 1
Uection. William Nyce, . . 131
Inspector.
227 William Grant, . . 10
131 William Fleck, . . 1
Town Clerk.
277 Andrew Maeden, . . 81
High Constable.
236 Daniel R. Buckwalter, . 136
Town Constable.
206 John McClosky, . . 124
198 Andrew Collins, . . 3
156 Assessor.
263 David Connor, . 114
Assistant Assessors.

Jacob Baugh,

281

David Connor,

11

Robert McCloskey,

196

Daniel R. Brower,

1

Benjamin P. Davis,

102

Joseph Conway, .

1

John McClosky, .

53

Edward Shimer, •.

1

Auditors.

Samuel Moses,

353

Patrick Doyle,

136

John Morgan,

203

Ellis Reeves

11

James Reynolds, .

140

Eli Williams,

1

Patrick Phillips, .

136

James Gilbert,

1

This election was

a contest, between the friends

and

opponents of incorporation, for the control of the new bo-

150 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
rough, and the selection of Pennypacker as its principal
officer was a fitting acknowledgment of the ehergy and
activity he had displayed in obtaining a charter.
Five days after the election, a meeting of the Burgess
and Town Council was held, in a room over the store of
Samuel Moses, at the corner of Bridge Street and Gate
Alley, and, an organization being effected, business was
commenced. This room continued to be the meeting
place of the borough authorities for a number of years.
A little square one story brick structure, near the
Fountain Inn and in close proximity to a soap and tallow
manufactory, was rented for a "lock-up," in which to con
fine offenders. The first man incarcerated in it was Pa
trick Brannon, a dweller upon Tunnel Hill and a work
man in the employ of Reeves, Buck & Co., who was very
fond of drinking whisky and beating his wife.' For a
long time, the poor woman would, with the greatest regu
larity, on Saturday evenings, have him locked up so that
she could be safe from his blows over Sunday, and on Mon
day mornings ask for his liberation, so that he could go to
his work. This building, which resembled some of the
dungeons of the Bastile in the fact that it was so small a
full-grown man could scarcely stand erect or stretch him
self at length in it, was, in regard to its strength, more of
a prison in theory than in reality. Not long after it began
to be used for this purpose, a man, confined there for
some petty offence, amused himself during the night in
kicking through the wall upon one side, and ere morning
came he had succeeded in making a decided breach.
Fearful, however, of the consequences of his rash efforts,
he took no advantage of the opportunity afforded for es
cape, but waited patiently until he could go lawfully
through the doorway. Upon this demonstration of its

PHCENIXVILLE.

151

want of safety, a more secure place was obtained on
Bridge Street, west of the Mansion House.
Since the time of the incorporation, down to the year
1872, the following persons have filled the position of
Burgess : . .1869. 1855. 1858.

Jacob Baugh,
Isaac Z. Coffman, .
John R. Dobson, .
Joseph Dobson (unex
pired term of Isaac
Phillips, deceased),
N. M. Ellis, .
John Griffen,
Benjamin Hallman,
Joseph B. McAllister,
Jacob B. Morgan, .
John Morgan,
Levi Oberholtzer, .
Isaac A. Pennypacker,
Isaac Phillips,
Aaron B. Thomson,
Nathan Wagoner, .
Harman Yerkes, .
During the same years the Councilmen have been:

1860.1852 and 1856.
1857.
1861, 1865 and 1866.
1850. 1870, 1871 and 1872.
1854.
1862 and 1863.
1849, 1851 and 1853.
1859 and 1860.
1868.
1867.
1864.

Joshua Aman,
James Boyle,
Charles Bogue,
Francis Bonner, .
Jacob Baugh,
Jacob Buckwalter,
Daniel R. Buckwalter,
Aaron Clay, .
Forrest Cornog, .
Robert F. Chrisman,
John J. Cascaden, .
William Cornett, .
Joseph Dobson, .

1867.
1869.
.1867. 1849, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1857, 1862,
1863 and 1864.
1850, 1857, 1858 and 1865.
1854, 1870 and 1871.
1852, 1856 and 1859.
1855. 1853 and 1856.
1859. 1869.
1872. 1867.

152

PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

John S. Dismant, .
Richard Devanney,
Richard Denithorne,
David Euen, .
N. M. Ellis, .
Benjamin G. Essick,
James Fry, .
William Grant,
Henry J Houck,
Noah Hallman,
Robert G. Hughes
Patrick Hughes,
John Hippie,
Benjamin Hallman
Benjamin High,
John Howell,
James H. Hughes,
Joseph Jones,
Levi B. Kaler,
Samuel Kreamer,
Ernest Knapp,
Harman Kanouse,
Dennis Keevan,
Jesse King, .
William King,
Michael E. Kelley,
Samuel Lloyd,
Joseph Miller,
Jacob B. Morgan,
Daniel March,
Nathan T. MacVeagh,
Major MacVeagh,
John Mullen,
Patrick McGuckian,
Henry McGuckian,
J. H. Morris,
John G. Moses,
Robert McAdams,

1870.
1868 and 1869.
1868.1855, 1856, 1858, 1859, 1860 and 1861.
1854, 1858, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863
and 1864.
1864.
1850 and 1851.
1852. 1865.1865 and 1866.
1860, 1861 and 1862.
1854 and 1857.
1853.
1850, 1851, 1855, 1856, 1868, 1869 and
1870.
1870 and 1871.
1868. 1867.
1866.
1872.
1851, 1852 and 1857.
1865 and 1866.
1864.
1863, 1864, 1870, 1871 and 1872.
1863 and 1864.
1849.
1870.
1861, 1862 and 1863.
1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1867 and 1868.
1857.1856.
1854, 1862, 1863 and 1864.
1849 and 1853.
1849.
1865, 1867 and 1871.
1864, 1865, 1869 and 1872.
1871 and 1872.
1870, 1871 and 1872.
1867.

PHCENIXVILLE.

153

Mahlon Miller,
John G. Neilor,
William Nyce,
Isaac Phillips,
John Paine, .
James W. Pennypacker
Patrick J. Phillips,
George S. Phillips,
John Priest, .
J. Ellwood Quay, .
Preston Radcliffe, .
James D. Ralston,
James Reynolds, .
H. B. Ramsey,
James Ryan,
John 0. K. Robarts,
Anthony P. Shimer,
David P. Thomas,
John Tencate,
Lewis Townsend,
John Vanderslice,
Addison S. Vanderslice,
Micajah P. Weeks,
Nathan Wagoner, .
Samuel A. Whitaker, .
George Walters, .
William W. Waitneight.
Daniel Weikel,
Oliver C. Voung, .
John Yeager,

1867. 1869.
1851 and 1852.
1850.1865.
1872.
1857.1859, 1860, 1861 and 1866.
1867 and 1868.
1869. 1851.
1865 and 1866. '
1858 and 1866.
1858 and 1859.
1871.1869.
1861, 1862, 1863 and 1866.
1867.1868. 1868.
1849, 1854 and 1855.
1858, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1865,
1866, 1870, 1871 and 1872.
1862.
1859, 1860, 1861, 1863 and 1864.
1850 and 1852.
1849, 1851, 1853 and 1856.
1855, 1859, 1860, 1866, 1868, 1869,
1870 and 1871.
1853,
1855.
1862, 1863, 1864 and 1872.

The census returns of 1850 showed the population of
Phcenixville to be two thousand six hundred and sixty-
seven, a considerable decrease within the two preceding
years, but a very decided advance within the decade.
The temporary decline was caused by the burning of the
nail factory and a suspension of work at the mills of

154 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Reeves, Buck & Co., which compelled many of the men
to seek employment elsewhere.
During this year, an additional impulse was given to
the progress of the neighborhood by the opening of cop
per and lead mines at various .places near the borough.
Shafts were sunk on the Morris estate and along the
banks of the Pickering and Perkiomen, and for a time,
under the management of Dendy Sherwood and Charles
M. Wheatley, who were experienced miners, they pro
mised to be very successful. At the mine of the Chester
County Mining Company, between June, 1850, and Octo
ber, 1851, they found two veins of lead, one at the depth
of sixty feet and another at the depth of one hundred
and twenty feet, from which were obtained six hundred
and fifty tons of ore, yielding about sixty-five per cent, of
lead and from eleven to thirty-five ounces of silver to the
ton. Although it was proven that these metals exist
there in considerable quantities, the working of the mines
was too expensive to be profitable, and they have since
been abandoned.
In 1852, Pennypacker, Sherwood, Kreamer, Bonner,
Wheatley, Nicholas Bean, Joseph Whitaker and others
made an earnest effort to establish a bank in Phcenixville,
but the Legislature refused to grant a charter and the
attempt was postponed.
In December, 1853, the borough was selected by the
roughs of Philadelphia and Baltimore as a convenient
place for a fight, to determine the championship of the
"ring" between their respective cities, and was honored,
on the first of that month, with a visit from about a thou
sand of the "fancy," who came to witness the contest.
The Philadelphia aspirant for pugilistic fame, then not so
well known as he became subsequently, was Dominick

PHCENIXVILLE. 155
Bradley, and his opponent was Hugh S. Sloan, designated
in the newspaper reports of the occurrence as the "Balti
more Champion." Bradley stayed with a friend, in North
Phcenixville, for several days previous to the combat.
On the morning of the 1st of December, Sloan made his
appearance, accompanied by his adherents, and, on the
arrival of the trains, the town was deluged with the most
villainous-looking faces its quiet and law-abiding inhabi
tants had ever seen.
In the morning, a wagon containing the stakes, and the
carriages in which were the referees, in order to elude pur
suit and create a false impression as to the place selected,
were driven rapidly toward the Valley Forge, and were
followed by the crowd and a squad of Philadelphia police.
After beating about the country, however, for some time,
they hastened up Nutt's Road, by the General Pike,
crossed the French Creek bridge, and at two o'clock were
busy driving down their stakes upon some low ground,
belonging to the Snyders, beside Stony Run. Two of
the police reached the place before the fight and en
deavored to stop it, but were easily driven from the ring
by the horde who were present. Eleven rounds were
fought, in each of which Bradley was successful, and on
the twelfth, his adversary failing to come to time, he was
declared the victor. Sloan, badly mangled and bruised,
was carried to the house of Nathan Pennypacker, and
there they stretched him out upon the porch, bathed his
wounds and rolled him into blankets, preparatory to trans
portation. Both were subsequently arrested, together with
several persons living in North Phcenixville, who were
said to have assisted them.
About the year 1855, under the management of Bur
gess Coffman, assisted by the members of Council, promi-

156 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
nent among whom was David Euen, the municipal go
vernment exhibited a vast deal of energy. The streets,
many of which had hitherto remained in their primitive
condition, were graded and their width determined, hills
on Main Street, in North Phcenixville, and on the same
street south of Washington Avenue, were levelled, and
measures were taken to compel the curbing and paving of
the whole borough. Huckstering was forbidden, the times
and places for holding markets were fixed by an ordinance
and a proposition to purchase a site and erect a house for
this purpose was only postponed upon the grounds of
economy. In the occasional conflicts that occurred with
citizens and Reeves, Buck & Co., the borough authorities
showed a commendable firmness. As is always the case
where men do their duty conscientiously, the bitter com
plaints, made by individuals compelled to submit to a tem
porary expense, have since given place to the grateful
acknowledgments of a benefited community. In order
to carry into effect the projected improvements, it was
found necessary to borrow four thousand dollars, and the
Burgess was authorized to negotiate a loan to this amount
upon the credit of the borough. In 1856, the location
and width of forty-four streets were determined.
A lady, named Carney, a resident of North Phcenix
ville, of limited means, was the first person in the bo
rough to pave in front of her house.
The opposition made by many property owners to the
authority, exercised by the officers of the corporation in
the care of the streets, was very decided, and at times led
to scenes at once exciting and amusing. In 1855, the
borough, acting under the advice of its counsel, made a
contract with Hugh Love to remove thirty-five feet on
Main Street from the yard of the Mennonite meeting

PHCENIXVILLE. 157
house. When the work was commenced, the trustees of
the society, forgetting for once the creed of non-resistance,
arrested Burgess Coffman, Councilmen Euen and Young,
and Love, the contractor, with his workmen, and brought
them before Esquire Robert McCloskey, upon a charge
of " forcible entry and detainer." The justice refused to
hold the defendants and they returned to their work. At
noon they were again arrested, upon a warrant issued by
Esquire John H. Thomas, of Schuylkill Township. Euen
and Coffman hastened to the office of this functionary and
succeeded in having a hearing postponed for one week,
long before the expiration of which time they hoped to
have the excavation completed. The spading, digging and
hauling were continued through the afternoon, and, when
the shades of night had deepened, the graveyard was illu
minated by the spermaceti candles of the indefatigable
workmen, still intent upon their task. At ten o'clock
post meridian, a third arrest was made, upon a warrant
from Esquire William Whitehead, of West Chester, and,
on a hearing before that justice, the defendants were
bound over to appear at the next term of court. The
trial, conducted by William Darlington, for the prosecu
tion, and Uriah V. Pennypacker, borough counsel, with
Joseph J. Lewis, for the defence, resulted in a verdict of
acquittal. Upon another occasion, Isaac Chrisman, a wealthy real
estate owner, insisted upon extending a portico, from one
of his houses on Main Street, over the line of the street,
after having been notified to desist. John R. Dobson,
who was at that time Burgess, went with some carpenters
to the place, made a chalk line along the wood work, at
the proper limit, and deliberately sawed off the part
which projected.

158 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
In 1856, the subject of a bank began again to be agi
tated. A charter for the purpose, presented to the House
of Representatives, April 29, 1857, was defeated, but sub
sequently, being reconsidered was passed, on the 15th of
May following, too late to receive the action of the Go
vernor until the next session. After the Governor had
signed the bill, in October of the same year, a new
trouble arose, through the actions of a set of speculators
from abroad, who came with plausible offers to take a
large amount of the stock and pay for it in the notes of
an institution with which they were then connected.
Their propositions were accepted, and they were per
mitted to participate in the undertaking. Subsequently,
it was discovered that they were already seriously em
broiled elsewhere, and they were only induced to with
draw after a long and vexatious delay in which they al
most ruined the character of the institution. They finally,
however, gathered up their worthless notes and departed,
and the Bank of Phcenixville was organized, March 12,
1859, by the election of Samuel Buckwalter, President,
Jacob B. Morgan, Cashier, and the following Board of
Directors: Joseph J. Tustin, William M. Taylor, Nicholas
Bean, Daniel Latshaw, Nathan T. MacVeagh, John Mor
gan, Levi B. Kaler, N. M. Ellis, Benjamin Prizer, William
M. Stephens, Isaac Chrisman and Daniel Bucher.
The Congressional election of 1858 was very warmly
contested. John Hickman, because of his opposition to
the Lecompton policy of Buchanan, received the support
of a majority of the republicans of the district, against
the radical nominee of their party, and, when it became
known that he had been re-elected, they determined to
celebrate the event in Phcenixville by a grand torchlight
procession. Upon the evening of the 28th of October,

PHCENIXVILLE. 159
which had been selected for the occasion, men on horse
back and on foot crowded into the town, from the sur
rounding country, bearing torches and wearing capes to
the number, it is said, of two thousand. Oliver S. Krea
mer was the chief marshal; David Stephens, Paul S.
Reeves and David Sower, were the assistants ; and, under
their direction, the long line went winding through the
streets of South Phcenixville, meeting only with cheers
and shouts of applause from the men and smiles and bou
quets from the ladies. Turning northward, they then
crossed the bridge to North Phcenixville, and, as they
slowly crept up the hill with their torches gleaming
like bayonets by moonlight, they presented an array
greater in its strength and more beautiful in its equipage
than any Phcenixville had ever before beheld. On Tun
nel Hill, in striking contrast with the warmth of their
previous reception, scarcely a human being was to be seen,
the streets were as deserted as if a pestilence had visited
the place, and obscure alleys and byways opened blackly
and ominously upon them as they passed. After they
had advanced a considerable distance into this portion of
the town, and just as they were crossing a particularly
narrow and dark passage, a fierce and systematic attack
was suddenly made upon the column by a party, armed
with clubs, knives, stones and pistols, who had been
quietly lying in wait for their appearance.
The assault was vigorously sustained, women carried
their aprons full of stones to the men, many of whom were
were concealed, \and children vied with their parents in
vindictiveness. The republican line, thrown into confu-
. sion by this unexpected assault, at first wavered and then,
throwing away their torches and capes, abandoned the
field in a complete rout. A few remained to fight; some

160 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
escaped to the woods to the northwest of the town; some,
it is said, rode six miles up the river, and crossed into
Montgomery County; and the rest came running pell-mell
back to the southern side of the bridge. For many long
days afterward, nothing but the extermination of the
democrats of Tunnel Hill would satisfy their angry indig
nation. In consequence of this emeute and the repeated
and almost fatal beatings, given at night, to an inoffensive
man, named William Wilson, the Burgess, John R. Dob
son, appointed a special force of about a hundred police
men, which included the most respectable able-bodied
citizens of the borough.
In 1859, an amendment to the borough charter was
obtained from the Legislature, providing for a Council of
nine persons, with a President, three to be elected each
year, to serve for three years: and authorizing the Bur
gess and Town Council to borrow ten thousand dollars for
the erection of a market house and town hall. The per
sons who have presided over the Council, since that time,
have been: David Euen, . . 1859.
N. M. Ellis, . . . 1860, 1862, 1863 and 1864.
A. S. Vanderslice, . 1861.
Jacob Baugh, . . 1865.
Ernest Knapp, . 1866.
Joseph Dobson, . . 1867.
W. W. Waitneight, . 1868, 1869, 1870 and 1871.
John G. Moses, . 1872.
Previous to the year 1859, the Burgess had presided
over the meetings of the Council, and been an active
power in the legislature of the borough, and there was
some question whether his authority, as was intended,.
was superseded by this act. Isaac Phillips, however, who
held the position during that year and part of the subse-

PHCENIXVILLE. 161
quent one, quietly acquiesced in this construction of it,
and beside his name upon the ordinances appears that of
the President of the Council. Benjamin Hallman, who
was elected in 1861, was of a different temper, and going
to the meeting of the new Council, at its organization, he
insisted upon his right to preside over them. This was
refused, and a motion to enter his objection to their pro
ceedings on the minutes was negatived by the following
vote :
Yeas — Ellis, Miller, Shimer and Wagoner.
Nays — Euen, Hughes, Lloyd, Phillips and Vanderslice.
The matter was referred to the solicitor of the borough,
who, in his opinion, coincided with Hallman.
As soon as this was ascertained, however some of the
active members of the Council hastened to Harrisburg, |
and, before it was known that such a move was contem
plated, and before Hallman had an opportunity of enjoy
ing his short-lived triumph, they returned with an act
of Assembly amending the charter, so that the Burgess
was deprived of all legislative power and made a mere
executive officer, and the office shorn of the greater part
of its dignity and influence. An indignation meeting was
held by some of the citizens, April 2, at which John O.
K. Robarts presided, and Patrick J. Phillips was secre
tary, and resolutions were passed protesting against the
proceeding and requesting those members of Council who
were concerned in it to resign their seats. Charles Armi-
tage, an attorney at law, made a long and earnest speech,
and he and Wagoner were sent to Harrisburg to have
the amendment repealed. Since that time, the Burgess
has never presided over Council.
The Council, in 1861, purchased a lot of ground on the
east side of Main Street, below Bridge, and erected upon
11

162 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
it a brick market house, which was occupied in October
of the same year. Previous to this time, the markets had
been held along the pavements of the streets, principally
at the southwest corner of Bridge and Main, and the
busy housewives could be seen trudging there, with their
baskets on their arms, as early as four and even three
o'clock in the mornings.
The population of the borough, as shown by the census
of 1860, was four thousand eight hundred and eighty-six.
The candidates for Burgess, in 1863, were Dr. Levi
Oberholtzer and Dr. Harman Yerkes. Oberholtzer, tjhe
proprietor of a large drug store on Bridge Street, and of a
powder manufactory near Kimberton, had been elected
Burgess the preceding year as a republican, and, in
August, had been appointed assistant surgeon of one of
the Pennsylvania regiments. After having been in the
service for a few months, he saw reason to change his
political views, and, in consequence of a number of letters
published by him in the "Weekly Phcenix," reflecting
very severely upon the administration in its conduct of
the war, he was dismissed by an order from Gen. Joseph
Hooker, then commanding the army of the Potomac.
His renomination by the democrats, for the position of
Burgess, immediately after his return, was considered
an insult by many of the republicans, and resulted in
a severe personal contest. The latter made every effort
to secure the election of his opponent, a man of
excellent standing in his profession and among the
community, but, as usual, the democrats were too
numerous,' and, when the votes were counted, Ober
holtzer had two hundred and fifteen and Yerkes two
hundred and one. A protest against his inauguration,
signed by a number of citizen's, was presented by Samuel

PHCENIXVILLE. 163
Lloyd to the Council, and on motion of Nathan T. Mac
Veagh was laid " under the table." Embittered by this
defeat, and heeding the frequent complaints of the citi
zens of South Phcenixville that they, because of their
greater wealth, were compelled to pay nearly all of the
taxes which the Council, controlled by the populousness of
North Phcenixville, spent in improving the latter locality,
the dissatisfied republicans obtained, May 5, 1864, an
additional amendment to the charter, dividing the bo
rough, by a line running along the northern bank of the
French Creek and the race to the Schuylkill, into two
wards, making the two parts of the town distinct election
districts, with separate taxation and separate expenditure
for opening and grading streets, and other local improve
ments, and giving to the North Ward four and the South
Ward five Councilmen.
Since the close of the war, and especially within the
last two or three years, Phcenixville has been making
rapid strides in the path of improvement. Streets are
being opened, upon all sides, through what were recently
country fields. Farms are forgetting the plough and
being divided into town lots, and a suburb, consisting of
residences built in superior style, and dubbed " Kansas,"
has sprung into existence on Gay Street almost miracu
lously. Along the principal streets of the borough the
click of the carpenter's hammer and the mason's trowel is
almost continuous and the structures which result evince
a decided advance in taste as well as in outlay. A native
brown stone, of a durable kind, which compares very
favorably in appearance with that imported from New
England, is being extensively used. Among the improve
ments, evidencing an appreciation, of architectural beauty,
may be mentioned the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad

164 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
depot, the office of the Phcenix Iron Company, the stores
of Burkert & Buckwalter and Evans & Kennedy, the
Farmers & Mechanics' Bank, the Iron Bank, the Phcenix
ville National Bank, the store of Boyle & Pennypacker,
built under the exclusive supervision of Miss R. E. Boyle,
the Episcopal rectory and the residences of Albert Shafer,
Ellis Reeves, Samuel J. Reeves, A. P. Scull, John Griffen,
N. M. Ellis and A. Williams, M. D. The hall of the
Masonic Association, at the corner of Main and Church
Streets, supplied a very important want, and the Phcenix
ville Hotel was, in 1871, fitted up in a style to make its
accommodations equal those of the most populous of our
inland towns.
Two new banks; the " Iron Bank," with the following
board of officers: President, Elijah F. Pennypacker; Di
rectors, Samuel Cornett, Henry A. Hunsicker, Daniel Lat-
shaw, William Painter, Franklin Dundor and D. R.
Walker: and the "Farmers & Mechanics' National Bank,"
with Elias Oberholtzer, President; Abel Thomas, Vice
President; and Newton Evans, Matthias C. Pennypacker,
Hyram H. Stover, Abraham Grater, Andrew Tyson, J.
D. Wismer and Jesse Gabel, Directors, have recently
been organized and the latter is now in operation.
In 1871, the Phcenix Iron Company gave to the
borough a large and pleasantly situated lot of ground
upon the east side of Main Street, near Nutt's Road, to
be suitably laid out and ornamented as a place of resort.
It has received the name of " Reeves Park," in honor of
the late David Reeves.
Arrangements are now, 1872, being perfected to supply
the town with water.

MANUFACTURES. 165

CHAPTER XIII.
MANUFACTURES.
As we have seen, John Moore built the first grist and
saw mill, in this vicinity, at Moore Hall, in 1724; James
Starr the second, on the French Creek, in 1732; and Pa
trick Anderson the third, on the Pickering, a few hundred
yards below the White Horse Road, in 1735. These mills
were succeeded by numerous others, situated at different
localities upon the streams emptying into the Schuylkill,
and of recent years a steam grist and flouring mill,
erected at the corner of Starr and Church Streets, has met
with encouraging patronage and success.
About the time of the Revolutionary war, the United
States government built three establishments for the manu
facture of muskets, one of which was at Harper's Ferry,
Virginia, another at Springfield, Massachusetts, and the
third at Valley Forge, in Schuylkill Township. The last
was a three story building, about one hundred feet
long by thirty feet in depth. Subsequently, it was pur
chased by Isaac Potts and William Dewees, who con
verted it into a rolling and slitting mill for the manu
facture of nails by the old laborious hand process, but
upon the introduction of the Odiorne machines, at Phce
nixville, this business was ruined and the mill was left
idle. In 1825, it was again changed into a gun factory
by John Rogers. It was injured by the freshet of 1839
and was entirely carried away by another in 1843.

166 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Jacob Varley, one of the earliest settlers, built a pot
tery on his farm; Joseph Starr a second, near the General
Pike Hotel, and Daniel High a third ; but the introduc
tion of foreign ware, sold at a much cheaper rate than
that for which it could be made at home, caused this in
dustry to be abandoned.
A few years ago, W. A. H. Schreiber, an active and en
terprising business man, believing that the beds of kaolin,
near the Yellow Springs and at other places in the neigh
borhood, could be utilized, determined to undertake the
experiment, and, having succeeded in convincing the
Phcenix Iron Company of its feasibility and obtaining
their assistance, an incorporated company was organized,
in 1867, with the following officers: President, George H.
Sellers; Treasurer, Joseph B. McAllister; Secretary and
General Superintendent, W. A. H. Schreiber; Directors,
David Reeves, Samuel J. Reeves, George H. Sellers, Wil
liam Weaver and W. A. H. Schreiber. Since that time,
three kilns have been erected, in Phcenixville, at a large
expense, which not only supply all the firebrick used "by
the Phcenix Iron Company in their furnaces, but produce
all kinds of white, black and yellow ware of a quality
equal to any imported from Europe. The probabilities
are that the large, business already established will, in the
future, be extensively increased.
For a number of years, all the brick used in building,
in the neighborhood of Phcenixville, were burned at the
yard of Jacob B. Landis, on Bridge Street, west of Church.
In 1871, Edwin M. Suplee opened another yard, near the
Fountain Inn. , , ; . . ; ,
About fifteen years ago, Joseph Jardine built a foundry
and a paper mill, in Mont Clare, which, after a short sea
son of activity, were burned and, with the exception of

MANUFACTURES. 167 *
the walls, entirely destroyed on the night of December 31,
1858. On the site, several houses were built from the
stone of the ruins.
George Thompson, after the sale of the Phcenix Works
to Reeves & Whitaker, in 1827, determined to make
one more effort to obtain the nail trade of Philadelphia,
and haying arranged with the Schuylkill Navigation
Company for the construction of a branch canal, leading
from Black Rock Dam, and, in this way secured an ample
water power, he erected, in 1828-9, the Chester County
Iron Works, consisting of a rolling mill and nail .factory,
on the Schuylkill, north of the mouth of French Creek.
To accommodate the laborers employed, he built two rows
of houses upon Tunnel Hill, near the works. These pre
parations were, however, scarcely completed when he con
cluded to remove to Huntingdon County, to engage in the
iron business there, and sold his interest to Morton and
Henry Coates, who continued the manufacture of nails
until 1833, when they failed. A. J. Jaudon & Co. pur
chased the works, but soon afterward sold them to R. W.
Mason & Co., who maintained the business, not very
prosperously, for many years. In 1842, forty-five men
were employed at this manufactory. In 1851, an attempt
was made to revive this moribund establishment, by an in
corporated company styled the " Workingmen's Iron and
Nail Company," but, being a hydra-headed affair, in
which each individual was limited to the possession of
twenty shares of stock, it could scarcely have succeeded
under the most auspicious circumstances. The works
have since been taken down and the materials sold.
In 1828, Charles S. Smith and Edward Garrigues pur
chased from Thompson a right to the water power of
the Chester County Canal, and, during that and the sue-

168 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
•
ceeding year, built a large cotton factory and a row of
stone houses adjacent. A few summers afterward, they
added a row of frame houses and the large stone resi
dence of Garrigues, now occupied by L. Harry Richards,
on the summit of the hill. George W. Richards, of Phila
delphia, purchased the property in 1842, and afterward
enlarged the mill, increased the number of tenant houses
and built a large stone reservoir, which supplies about a
hundred families with river water from the Schuylkill.
This was rendered necessary from the fact that it was
found impossible, after great expenditure of money, to
obtain water by sinking wells. The mill was kept in
almost constant operation, in the manufacture of cotton
yarns and cottons cloths until 1869, at which time an
extensive freshet on the Schuylkill tore out the floors,
doors and windows, destroyed a large part of the ma
chinery and very much injured the canal and its locks.
Since then work has not been resumed.
In the spring of 1852, Francis Bonner built, along the
line of the Reading Railroad, a short distance north of
Railroad Street, a steam mill, three and a half stories
high, with engine house, boiler house and outbuildings,
for the purpose of spinning cotton yarns and weaving
cotton goods. It contained three thousand spindles and
fifty looms. Bonner did not succeed in business, and, in
1860, it was sold to W. S. Newlin, of Philadelphia, under
whose ownership it remained idle until 1865. At that
time it was refitted with additional machinery and leased
to L. Harry Richards, who continued manufacturing there
for about three years.
During the ownership of Bonner, a machinist, named
John Conklin, fell through the elevator and was killed.
His fellow workmen believe that his spirit still haunts

MANUFACTURES. 169
the spot, and assert that, upon stormy nights, it has been
seen to disconnect the lightning rod and dance in mid
air about the place of his death. So prevalent was this
superstitious idea that it has, at times, been difficult to
find a watchman willing to guard the property at night.
The firm of Reeves, Buck & Co., whose origin and his
tory, down to the year 1848, I have heretofore detailed,
continued under that title until the year 1855, when, by
an act of the Legislature, it was incorporated as the " Phce
nix Iron Company," with a capital of five hundred thou
sand dollars, and the privilege of increasing it to fifteen
hundred thousand dollars. David Reeves, having recently
removed to Phcenixville, was chosen President; Samuel J.
Reeves, Vice President and Treasurer; James Milliken,
Secretary; and these officers, with the exception of the
last, who was succeeded respectively by Robert M. Aert-
sen and George Gerry White, remained without change
until 1871, when Samuel J. Reeves, on the death of
David, his father, became President and James O. Pease,
Treasurer. Robert S. Buck, one of the partners, con
tinued as superintendent at the works until 1855, and
during his administration, in 1853, another mill, called
the East Mill, covering an acre of ground, was built.
He was followed by James Milliken, a gentleman of- high
social position in Philadelphia, who since attained a wide
reputation from his active and patriotic interest in the
cause of his country, while in Europe, during the war, and
who, after remaining in charge for about two years, gave
place to John Griffen. Griffen, a man distinguished as
well for his inventive genius as for his thorough theoretical
knowledge of the principles of mechanics, has had the
management of this extensive establishment from 1856 to
1862, and from 1868 until the present time. The inter-

170 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
vening period was filled by George H. Sellers, a member
of a family celebrated in Pennsylvania for its mechanical
ability and business success, who built the hydraulic shop,
the office on Bridge Street, and introduced the air lift and
many other improvements.
During the whole of this time, with the exception of
temporary embarrassments in 1854, 1857 and 1860, which
were courageously met and overcome, their career has
been an instance of continuous and almost unexampled
prosperity, and their business, growing to an extent that
a few years ago could scarcely have been foreseen or con
jectured, has been provided for as it accumulated by a
rapid and general increase of facilities. Wisely avoiding
the ordinary channels of iron manufacture, where compe
tition is great and profits are small, they have given their
attention to specialties in which the utmost nicety and
skill are required and the greatest rewards are earned.
During the year 1856, they made eighteen thousand five
hundred and ninety-five and a half tons of railroad ir,on,
thirty-five hundred tons of bar iron and six hundred and
twenty-five tons of iron chairs, an instrument used to hold
rails in their position on the track, and in one week of
1857 their production of railroad iron amounted to seven
hundred and thirty-two tons. In 1861, they commenced
the manufacture, for the United States government, of
the Griffen wrought iron cannon, an arm made by« welding
together bars laid longitudinally, transversely and spirally,
and which, on trial in the field, proved to be peculiarly
durable and effective. About twelve hundred of these
guns were supplied, but, unfortunately, Griffen, to a great
extent, missed the reputation which the merit of his in
vention should have conferred upon him, from the fact
that the letters "P. I. Co.," branded upon them, led those

MANUFACTURES. 171
who used them to suppose they were "Parrott" pieces.
Ponderous piles, weighing three tons each, were also
made at this time. Since the close of the war, they
have been working upon iron columns, beams and girders
for buildings in addition to the bars, rails, etc., made or
dinarily in rolling mills, and within the last few years
have given especial attention to the construction of
bridges, for which a new firm, that of Clarke, Reeves &
Co., has been organized. Their bridges, rapidly super
seding the more fragile and cumbersome wooden and
stone structures, universally used until a very recent period,
now not only span the principal rivers of the United
States — the Mississippi at Rock Island, the Niagara, and
the Hudson at Albany — but have found their way to other
continents; and a few months ago this company, with
that indomitable energy and pluck which is one source of
their prosperity, entered the lists against the English
manufacturers for a number of bridges over Canadian
rivers, and succeeded in getting the contracts despite
the efforts of their more favored rivals. When we reflect
that it has been so short a time since the most earnest at
tempts at American manufacture were only treated with
scorn by the long-established and powerful capitalists
across the Atlantic, this triumph of our mechanics in an
English province may well be the source of pride and
congratulation. Their works now consist of a north mill,
east mill, rail mill, west mill and two other mills of
smaller size; three blast furnaces; a hydraulic shop;
boiler shop ; blacksmith shop, where there are thirty fires ;
machine shop, three hundred and fifty feet in length: pat
tern shop; ri vetting and carpenter shop; erecting shop,
an immense structure built in 1871 as a place for fitting
the parts of the bridges together and whose upper stories

172 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
are used by the numerous draftsmen employed; a pump
house and a foundry; all of which cover about twenty-
eight acres of ground, and yet so great is the amount of
business in waiting that the mills are running night and
day and further enlargements are required in order to ac
commodate it. There are twenty-one engines, with a
combined power of twenty-six hundred and thirty horse.
About fifteen hundred men are employed.
David Reeves and Samuel J. Reeves have personally
controlled its policy and transacted its business, and to
their ability its continued success may be ascribed.
In 1871, Charles M. Wheatley built, upon the west
bank of the Schuylkill, a short distance below Phcenix
ville, smelting works for the purpose of utilizing the
copper ores found in the neighborhood, and has recently
commenced operations under favorable auspices.

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND AVOCATIONS. 173

CHAPTER XIV.
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND AVOCATIONS.
Many of .the earliest highways arose from the adoption,
by the settlers, of the trails selected and used by the In
dians, and others by following the banks of the streams
and the paths that were made through the wilderness by
the cattle.
Francis Buckwalter found a way from his residence to
Moore Hall and Philadelphia by going along the Schuyl
kill to the mouth of French Creek, and from there south
ward to the Corner Stores, where he met the Indian trail
I have heretofore described, and this path, though never
formally opened as a road, was very generally used.
A path from the Valley Forge, passing the Anderson
and Varley settlements, met the trail in the neighborhood
of Kimberton, and accommodated those settlers who lived
near it. g
An early road entered the township at the French
Creek Bridge, and pursued a southeasterly course until
it reached the trail. It remained the only thoroughfare
in that direction until Moses Coates, having purchased
seven hundred acres of land through which it passed, ob
jected, when a jury, in 1735, opened a road on a line be
tween the properties of Coates and Starr. From the
active participation of Samuel Nutt in obtaining and lo
cating this road, it received and has ever since borne his
name.

174 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Nutt, who was interested in the manufacture of iron
at Coventry Forge, erected in the year 1720, and the first
in Pennsylvania, was in the Provincial Assembly in the
years 1723 and 1726, and, in the latter year, was ap
pointed a justice of the peace.
The road leading from the village of Charlestown to
the Fountain Inn and Starr's Ford was opened in August,
1731, and, at one time, was known as the "Egypt Road,"
because it connected two settlements, one in Chester
County and the other in Philadelphia County, near Nor-
ristown, which were respectively honored with the sug
gestive names of Upper and Lower Egypt.
The White Horse Road, leading southward from the
Long Ford, in the direction of Cedar Hollow, was laid
out, in the early days of the settlement, to accommodate
the residents of the valley on their way to the fisheries
upon the Schuylkill.
The road leading northward from Phcenixville, to the
Black Rock Bridge, was opened about the year 1730.
A chain bridge across the Schuylkill, at Pawling, about
four hundred yards below the site of an old ford, was
built by an incorporated company, in the last century,
and was constantly used until , the year 181$, when a
heavily loaded team, drawn by six horses, broke through
the centre of it, and was precipitated into the stream.
An arched bridge, with stone abutments and a pier for
support, erected in its place, was blown down by a severe
gale of wind, and was succeeded by the present structure.
Until the year 1844, the Schuylkill at Phcenixville was
crossed by means of a ford, at the termination of Bridge
Street, called successively Gordon's, Starr's and Jacobs'
Ford. It received the first mentioned title from a squatter,
named Gordon, who dug a cave in the side of the hill a

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND AVOCATIONS. 175
few yards north of Bridge Street, in Mont Clare, walled
it up for a residence, and lived there in undisturbed
possession, without neighbors except the Indians, until
about the time of the Revolutionary war, when he was
evicted by the Jacobs family, the owners of the lands.
He was unmarried, and, being the possessor of a number
of slaves, he compelled the females to be the inmates of
a vulgar harem of which he was the lord and master.
Joseph Whitaker, while a member of the Legislature, in
the winter of 1843-44, obtained a charter for the incor
poration of a company to erect a bridge over the Schuyl
kill at the site of this ford, and work upon it was com
menced the following summer.
People who approached Phcenixville from the north,
prior to 1859, were brought across the Schuylkill, at Buck-
waiter's Ferry, where two men pulled a low flat boat back
ward and forward by means of ropes stretched from shore
to shore, but this slow and tedious contrivance was that
year superseded by the Black Rock Bridge.
The bridge over the French Creek, at Main Street, was
built by the county, in 1847, and was obtained through
the exertions of Isaac A. Pennypacker. Previous to that
time carriages were driven through the creek, and foot
passengers crossed upon a bridge of the width of two
planks laid side by side, and so high that they grasped in
stinctively the railing, prepared for the hand, as they
looked from the shaking, trembling structure, on which
they walked, to the water beneath. It seems strange
that a thriving village, separated into two parts by every
rise of the French Creek, should so long have endured a
ford. A freshet that carried away two arches of the new
bridge in the course of construction, September 27, 1847,
made its necessity more manifest.

176 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
The canal of the Schuylkill Navigation Company was
fully opened, for purposes of business and traffic, in the
year 1825, and the completion of what was then an im
mense work, undertaken at great risk and with an un
precedented outlay of money, was hailed as the dawn of
a new era in the development of the resources of this
neighborhood. If we could divest ourselves of the
knowledge of the more rapid and convenient means of
transportation, since perfected, and place ourselves in the
position of boatmen, annoyed with the rocks and current
of a crooked river as they poled a harvest of wheat to
market, or of teamsters driving their loads of nails to
Philadelphia over twenty-five miles of rough and muddy
roads, we would be better able to appreciate the pleasure
with which our ancestors looked upon the placid waters
of a canal and the smooth track of a tow path.
During the progress of the work, a fatal fever, engen
dered by damming up the stream and spreading its waters
over the lowlands, made terrific ravages among the in
habitants residing adjacent to its banks. Nearly all were
more or less affected; whole families were stricken at one
time and were unable to render each other any assistance;
and it is estimated that one-sixth of the people living
within three or four miles perished.
The Chester County Canal, running from the Black
Rock Dam to Phcenixville, was made by the Schuylkill
Navigation Company, in 1828, in consequence of an
agreement with George Thompson, who wanted the water
power to be used in his Chester County Nail Works. It
supplied that establishment and also the cotton factory of
George W. Richards.
For a short time, in the year 1847, a steamboat, called
the "General Taylor," made two trips daily upon the

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND AVOCATIONS. 177
canal, between Norristown and Phcenixville, to convey
passengers on their way to Philadelphia.
The earliest suggestion of a railroad through the valley
of the Schuylkill was made in this neighborhood in 1830.
At that time, when the project of the Pennsylvania Cen
tral had just been originated, a railroad was proposed from
Sunbury to Philadelphia, and, with the idea that the line
between the latter city and Reading might be made a
portion of the route of the contemplated road, a meeting
was called at the " Bull Tavern," on the 3d of January,
1831, to adopt measures to insure its location on the west
side of the Schuylkill, and notice having been given in all
.the newspapers of Chester County, was attended by the
leading men of that section. Matthias Pennypacker was
chosen President; William Jones and Moses Robinson,
Vice Presidents; and John Morgan, Samuel Shearer and
Wilham Rogers, Secretaries. They appointed Emmor
Kimber, James Whitaker and John Rogers to engage
competent engineers to make a survey of the route, com
mittees on correspondence and finance, and continued to
hold adjourned sessions during the summer of 1831. In
an address issued by them " To the Friends of the Rail
road, from Philadelphia to Reading, proposed to be lo
cated on the west side of the River Schuylkill," it is
urged as their opinion " that railroads will supersede canals,
in many situations in our climate, as affording superior
facilities of transportation," and, among other things, it is
said that "Five or six lines of stages are on the roads be- '
tween Philadelphia and Reading. Two thousand seven
hundred and seventy-six stage passengers stopped at three
houses in the borough of Norristown in last month. The
stage fare was probably over ten thousand dollars. Ona
railroad the number would be greatly increased," and that
12

178 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
"the official reports from Liverpool and Manchester, as
well as from Baltimore, seem to warrant the high prefer
ence latterly entertained for railroads."
The bill, by which the Philadelphia and Reading Rail
road Company was incorporated, was originally presented
in the House of Representatives by Elijah F. Penny-
packer while a member of that body, during the session
of 1832-33, and was under his charge, as chairman of the
committee to which it was referred, until it was signed by
by the Governor and had become a law.
Perhaps the most difficult and expensive portion of the
road in its construction was that through Schuylkill
Township, which required bridges over the Valley,.
Pickering, and French Creeks, and the Schuylkill River,
and also a tunnel through solid rock, nineteen hundred
and thirty-two feet long and originally nineteen feet in
width and seventeen feet in height.
The stone railroad bridge over the mouth of the French
Creek, built by William Phelan, in 1847, in the place of
the former wooden one, has an unenviable notoriety from
the number of persons who, in attempting to cross in the
dark, have fallen through its open spaces and been
drowned. Prominent among them was Preston Radcliff,
a superintendent in the employ of the Phcenix Iron Com
pany, who disappeared mysteriously on the night of the
8th of January, 1859, and whose body was found a day
or two afterward at the bottom of the creek at this place.
The tunnel, running beneath a large part of North
Phcenixville, designated in consequence Tunnel Hill, was
made by excavations and blastings, commenced at each
end, and also at five shafts sunk vertically from the sur
face at different points along the route. The contractor,
James Appleton, finding the rock to be much harder than

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND AVOCATIONS. 179
he had supposed, abandoned his contract and was suc
ceeded by a company, who in turn after some effort gave
up in despair. The railroad company then made an ar
rangement with Appleton to pay him ten thousand dollars
for his services in addition to all the expenses incurred,
and, with this understanding, the work was recommenced.
The men employed were of the roughest character, and
occasionally, when maddened by the bad liquor that they
drank to excess, they indulged in the most sanguinary
battles and the wildest brutalities. They erected, upon
the hill, a village of shanties made of undressed boards,
and sufficiently numerous to accommodate about five hun
dred people, who slept on the floors upon straw and served
themselves in the double capacity of the butchers who
killed the cattle and the cooks who prepared the meat.
The tunnel, commenced in December, 1835, was com
pleted in September, 1837. It has an interest for the
reader, apart from its practical uses, in the fact that
Charles M. Wheatley, a spientist devoted to the study of
mineralogy, geology and kindred pursuits, has discovered,
among the rocks excavated there, a number of fossils be
fore unknown and that have since attracted attention and
awakened investigation. Some of them, in the technical
nomenclature of those sciences, have been properly desig
nated by his name.
The railroad was finally opened for business on the
10th of January, 1842.
The present depot, the most commodious and well ar
ranged upon the line of the road, was built, in 1864, by
John Denithorne, under the superintendence of N. M.
Ellis, the agent of the company, who has had charge of its
affairs at Phcenixville since its origin, and has been one
of the most active and influential citizens of the borough.

180 PHCENIXVILLE AND 'ITS VICINITY.
About three years ago, trains commenced running upon
the Perkiomen Railroad, which has its termination at
Pawling, and affords an outlet to the productions of the
Perkiomen Valley, and now the Pickering Valley Rail
road, running from Phcenixville along the French Creek
to Kimberton and the Yellow Springs, in the direction of
the Cornwall Ore Mines, is rapidly advancing toward
completion. They were rendered necessary by an amount
of traffic and travel whose rapid growth indicates the in
creasing wealth and improvement of this neighborhood
and is suggestive of a future about which the most san
guine prophet would be wise not to speculate.
AVOCATIONS.
Among the early settlers, John Thomas, who lived near
Charlestown Village, was a weaver; David Gill manufac
tured augers, sickles, fish hooks and other implements of
the kind; and David Humphrey was a tanner. He built
a tannery, not a vestige of which now remains, upon his
place about the year 1728.
John Moore built the first blacksmith shop in Schuyl
kill Township, by the side of his mill, at Moore Hall,
about the year 1724. Llewellyn Davis, the first smith,
worked in it for William Moore for many years, but he
finally offended that gentleman, by purchasing one of the
Pickering lots, which Moore had thought of buying for
himself, and was discharged. It resulted in the erection
of another shop upon the banks of the Pickering.
James Vanderslice was the blacksmith employed by
the Thompsons, at Phcenixville, in 1824, and of the skilled
workmen in the different branches of their business,
James Phillips, an Englishman, was the first heater, and
imparted his knowledge to John Malston, Martin Mais-

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND AVOCATIONS. 181
ton and Leonard Quidland; George Algrove, an English
man also, was the first roller; and Joseph McCoy, the
first engineer.
There have been two distilleries in Schuylkill Township
for the distillation of grain. One of these was on the
Starr farm, to the east of where the Episcopal Church
stands, beside a stream of water that is now almost en
tirely covered by a culvert. It belonged to Benjamin
Longstreth. The other, owned by John Pearce, stood a
short distance to the southeast of the Fountain Inn
Tavern, and was supplied with water from a small stream
at that place. Between the years 1760 and 1824 apples
were very abundant; a cider press could be found upon
almost every farm for the manufacture of cider, of which
vast quantities were consumed at home; and a beverage
was also distilled from the fruit to be sold.
William Moore built the first public house, the famous
"Bull," in the year 1734, and for a long time it con
tinued to be the only place at which the few travelers
whom curiosity or interest brought to this vicinity could
find accommodations. At first' it contained only two
rooms, but was enlarged by Samuel Lane, and many years
later by Sampson Fudge, in 1843. It is frequently men
tioned in English histories of the Revolution, and some
magician, with power to call up the scenes of the past, or
some wandering Jew, living out his curse until the pre
sent, could weave from the incidents that have occ'urred
at that old hostel a tale of the most intense interest.
Its floors have been trodden by the Indian chiefs, who
watched, perchance with misgivings, the advances of their
pale friends upon lands that were once all their own ; by
the leaders of both the armies, which a hundred years
ago were suffering and struggling amid the throes that

182 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
attended the birth of the new nationality; and later, by
the country lads and lasses, who here assembled to teach
their sturdy limbs the intricacies of the dance. Here the
militia generals met to drill their awkward troops; the
provincial politicians to discuss the 'merits of now for
gotten quarrels; and here too, upon training days or at
elections many a personal difficulty, which had long been
brooding, has been settled by an appeal to individual
strength. After an existence of a hundred and thirty
years, this inn, rendered useless by railroads that carry a
traveler now in a hour over a journey once requiring a
day, has recently been closed. William Grimes built the
second public house, about the year 1750, on the same
road. The Fountain Inn, -originally a dwelling, was con
verted into a tavern in 1800 by William Robinson. John
Morgan built the General Pike, in 1808.
The first store was commenced by Philip Housekeeper,
in 1749, at the Corner Stores, a place whose name was
given from the fact that at a subsequent date the four cor
ners, made by Nutt's Road and the White Horse Road,
were occupied by establishments of this kind. Shortly
after the victory of Perry, on Lake Erie, it was called
" Perryville." It has not been a great many years since
nearly all of the business of this neighborhood was trans
acted there, and, strange as it seems now, there are num
bers c*f persons still living who can remember when Phce
nixville was dependent upon the Corner Stores for its
supplies. John Longstreth opened the second store, in
1784, and Solomon Fussel the third, at the Fountain Inn,
in 1791.
Of the learned professions, the earliest to receive atten
tion was medicine, and its first practitioner was Dr. .Ken
nedy, who lived near the White Horse, and whose pa-

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND AVOCATIONS. 183
tients were scattered over a large part of Chester County.
He had charge of the hospital at the Yellow Springs,
during the Revolutionary war, and died about the time of
its termination.
Roger Davis, living near Charlestown Village, was the
next physician. He was very popular and, as has been
elsewhere noticed, was at one time sent to Congress. His
practice extended through Chester and Montgomery
Counties and, as was then the custom,' he made his round
of visits upon horseback, with a supply of medicines
packed in his saddle-bags. These trips frequently neces
sitated a week's absence from home.
Henry Wismer was the first physician in Schuylkill
Township, and Anthony Percival the first in Phcenixville.
Their successors were for years physicians, surgeons and
dentists alike, and carried their own medicines until 1843,
when a drug store, owned by Isaac A. Pennypacker, was
opened in North Phcenixville.
A number of lawyers have, at different times, com
menced practice at Phcenixville, but the distance of the
county town, West Chester, or some other cause, has pre
vented their efforts from being very successful, and at pre
sent the only repository of legal knowledge is Peter G.
Carey, a learned justice of the peace, whose decisions are
generally accepted and seldom erroneous.

184 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

CHAPTER XV.
SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND PLACES OF BURIAL.
Probably the earliest school teacher in this vicinity was
Patrick Anderson, who was sent, in his youth, to Phila
delphia to be educated and who, upon -his return, taught
the children of the neighbors in a room of his father's
house. It may be said with safety and without derogating
from the credit due to our ancestors, whose efforts were
directed rather toward subduing the forests and their oc
cupants than toward literary attainment or scientific in
vestigation, that the instruction thus obtained was very
meagre. They displayed, however, a proper appreciation
of the benefits of education and, as early as 1735, erected
a school house where the roads cross at the Fountain Inn.
One of the early teachers here was the ancestor of the
Porter family, since so distinguished in the political and
legal history of Pennsylvania. The second schooi house
was at Moore Hall; the third upon the old Davis farm,
upon the Pickering Creek; and the fourth, a log struc
ture, was built, about the year 1771, upon the property
afterward owned by Matthias Pennypacker.
The first school house in Phcenixville was. the "eight
square," still standing on the south bank of the French
Creek, a short distance from Bridge Street, and near the
office of the Phcenix Iron Company. It was built by
Lewis Wernwag, and, strange as it may seem, the expense
became an occasion of dispute between him and the far-

1 ^laif^
IfiTfrffB™!

ml

W$^.

"¦'--wak-VM^f

The "Eight-Square" School House in 1871.

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND PLACES OF BURIAL. 185
mers of the neighborhood, who had made contributions
toward its erection. It is to be feared that their advances,
not very extensive if we can judge from the size of the
building, have been irretrievably lost. Its appearance, in
consequence of the substitution of a coat of brown plaster
for the original yellow and the addition of a cupola upon
the roof, has been considerably changed. It is now used
by the company as a watch house, and from it a gruff
Cerberus pounces unpityingly upon all unwary intruders
whom curiosity leads to seek a nearer view of the fiery
furnaces in the distance.
Very few of the older citizens, and none who were ur
chins going to school twenty-five or thirty years ago, have
forgotten "Paddy" Doyle, a late representative' of the
ancient and obsolete type of schoolmaster, who selected
Phcenixville as the sphere of his usefulness when it was
but an incipient village. The fathers in those days had
but to suggest to their refractory sons the possibility of
their being placed under Paddy's instruction, and the
most obstinate became subdued and submissive. He was
short and round in person, and his nationality was re
vealed by a very decided brogue; his information was
limited to the rudiments of reading, writing and " areth-
metick;" his irascible temper was easily aroused by any
thing that seemed to threaten the dignity or authority of
his calling; and he was thoroughly imbrued with the idea
that the only way to reach the intellects of boys was
over the seats of their breeches. His rods, designated by
the soft and seductive title of "mint sticks," were ar
ranged in the school room in rows, and were graded in
proportion to the sizes of the unfortunate youths who
awakened his wrath. " Come here," said he, on one occa
sion to a lad, who had been recently added to his list of

186 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
pupils, "and so your name is Whataker. I have a
Whataker mint for ye," and, taking down one of the
stiffest of his goads, he beat the boy so unmercifully that
he was sore for days. He lived for some time in a little
house which stood west of Main Street and south of
Bridge, and when Joseph Whitaker once went to his resi
dence, perhaps to complain of this treatment of his son,
he was met at the threshold with " Out of my hoose, out
of my hoose. My hoose is my castle."
Edward Garrigues, representing the School Board of
Schuylkill Township, built the old stone school house on
Main Street, in North Phcenixville, in 1835, and Joseph
Whitaker, a director of the same board, planned and
superintended the erection of the house at the northeast
corner of Church and Gay Streets, since converted into
a dwelling, in 1837. Thomas Greenbank, who was a
teacher in the public schools at Phcenixville, in 1847, was
recently a judge of the District Court of Philadelphia, for
a brief period, and is one of the leading members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church of that city.
Finding, with each passing year, the facilities for the
accommodation of scholars becoming less and less ade
quate to meet the demands upon them, the Phoenixville
School Board of 1860, consisting of John Griffen, Presi
dent; Harman Yerkes, Secretary; Levi B. Kaler, Trea
surer; Jonas Bossert, Bernard O'Neill and John Mullen,
impelled by the energy of their president, built the pre
sent two admirable school houses; that in the North
Ward at a cost of six thousand four hundred and thirty-
nine dollars and thirteen cents, and that in the South
Ward at a cost of nine thousand five hundred and sixty-
eight dollars and thirty-eight cents.
The conduct of the public schools has been entrusted

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND PLACES OF BURIAL. 187
to the best citizens of the borough, and has displayed the
utmost efficiency. A woman, Miss Martha L. Shoffner,
was the principal of the larger school for a number of
years, and until quite recently, and it is equally to her
credit and that of the Board that her services merited and
received the largest salary that would have been paid to
any teacher of the other sex. For the year ending June
5, 1871, six thousand two hundred and ten dollars and
eight cents were paid for salaries to teachers; and in the
North Ward two hundred and sixty-one male and two
hundred and eighty-eight female pupils, and in the South
Ward three hundred and thirty-four males and three hun
dred and eighty-three females, making a total of twelve
hundred and sixty-six, received instruction.
A number of private schools have been maintained, at
various times, in Phcenixville, of which, probably, the
most successful and useful was that commenced at Grove-
mont in 1856, and continued for about ten years, by the
Rev. Joel E. Bradley, the pastor of the Baptist Church
and an excellent classical scholar.
4 THE CHURCHES.
Among the original settlers, the Andersons were Epis
copalians, the Buckwalters, Mennonites, the Starrs and
Coates, Quakers, and when they worshipped their altars
were at their own firesides or in the groves. As the num
bers of the different denominations increased they began
to meet for purposes of religious intercourse at each
other's houses in turns. The Episcopalians built the first
house in the vicinity intended especially for divine service
in the Valley; the Presbyterians the next, at Charles
town ; and the Mennonites a third, on the ridge, near the
present residence of the Heckel family. The first Meet-

188 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
ing House in Schuylkill Township, was erected, about
the year 1750, on the Charlestown Road, two miles
from Phcenixville, by the members of the various sects,
and was intended for their mutual accommodation. It
was afterward converted into a dwelling. In 1772, the
Mennonites commenced another on Main Street, near
Nutt's Road, since successively known as Buckwalter's
and Morgan's School House, which was designed for both
educational and religious purposes. The third in the
township, and the oldest place of worship now standing,
is the Mennonite meeting house, at the southwest corner
of Main and Church Streets, in Phcenixville, erected in
1794. The first preacher was Matthias Pennypacker, who,
for five years previously, had had charge of the congre
gation at Buckwalter's School House. Upon his death he
was succeeded respectively by John Buckwalter, Daniel
Showalter, George Hellerman, Jacob Halderman, Jesse
Beitler, Joseph Halderman, John Showalter and Israel
Beitler, all of them preachers of the olden style, who
would, it may be, excite mirth amid a modern congrega
tion because the quaintness of their diction, the peculiari
ties of their dress and the sanctity of their lives were
alike in contrast with the customs and requirements of
the faster generations of to-day, but whose homely truths,
uttered with the eloquence of faith and impressed by the
morality of their conduct, suited well the tastes of the
goodly people who listened to them.
The sect of Mennonites, driven from the homes of their
ancestry by a religious persecution that could not tolerate
their virtues, and once so numerous among the German ip
habitants of Pennsylvania, is gradually becoming extinct
Its membership at Phcenixville has dwindled down, I
am informed, to a few persons, and the probabilities are

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND PLACES OF BURIAL. 189
that, ere long, t}ie whole of its history will be written on
the tombstones that fill its yard. The meeting house,
occupying as it does a square of the most valuable ground
in the borough, at the intersection of two of the princi
pal streets, is like some trembling old man, who has met
with success in his prime, but whose friends have fallen
from his side until he is left helpless and alone, and whom
the eye of covetousness watches impatiently as he totters
toward the grave. Stores and business places are spring
ing up around it threateningly ; already the march of im
provement has shorn it upon three sides ; and on the op
posite corner, an imposing structure, built over the bones of
the earliest settlers of Phcenixville, tells, in the mocking
gloss and glitter of its newness, the fate that awaits the
things of the past. May he, whose greedy hand clutches
the gold lying buried in that lot, be left ere he dies to the
solitary companionship of his own sordid soul !
• Recently, an attempt has been made to revive the so
ciety of the Mennonites, under the direction of the Reve
rends Henry A. Hunsicker and J. T. Preston, which it is
to be hoped will be successful.
The Friends' Meeting House, at the Corner Stores,
which had before been occupied by a school, was first
used as a place of worship, in 1818.
Samuel Levis occasionally preached to the Methodists,
in the octagonal school house, in Phcenixville, and the
interest awakened by his discourses led to an effort at
organization which resulted in building a church on
Church Street, west of Starr, in 1829. The firm of
Reeves & Whitaker gave the ground for the purpose.
Among the pastors, who are changed every few years by
the discipline of the church, have been the Reverends
McMichael, Levis, Lednum, Merrill, Woolley, Patterson,

190 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Gillingham, Nicholas Ridgely, David Shields, T. Johnson,
Charles W. Ayres, H. A. Cleveland, J. F. Meredith, H.
R. Calloway, J. H. Wythes, C. J. Crouch, John Shields,
Allen John, William Major, Jeremiah Pastorfield, James
Flannery and George R. He acock.
On the 14th of June, 1845, Wythes preached a ser
mon, in the Methodist church, upon the subject of tem
perance, at that time causing considerable agitation in the
community, in the course of which he took occasion not
only to denounce the evils of intemperance, but also to
condemn a habit, indulged in by its opponents, of using
opprobrious language in referring to individuals by name.
A clergyman of another denomination, who was present,
was called upon to close the meeting, and, in doing so,
argued against the position assumed by Wythes, and sup
ported the condemned practice by reference to a number
of scriptural texts. Wythes replied, and the matter
having attracted much attention, it resulted in his pre
paring a new pledge, in which the signers bound them
selves to refrain from the use of intoxicating beverages, to
employ all proper means to discourage their use by others,
and also protested against the growing evil of abusing
persons by name in public. On the 23d of August, a
temperance meeting was held in the neighborhood, and
addressed by the Rev. John Chambers, who, referring to
the new pledge, said it was prepared by the Methodist
minister of Phcenixville, who was in reality an opponent
of the cause, and that such ministers were "fit ministers
of Hell." Wythes then called a meeting in the church for
August 27, giving Chambers notice to be present, at
which Isaac A. Pennypacker presided and George Wal
ters was secretary, and resolutions were adopted to the
effect that they heard with deep regret of the charges

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND PLACES OF BURIAL. 191
made by Chambers; that the character of Wythes was
that of a gentleman, a Christian and a consistent minister
of the Gospel; that those persons, who had falsely repre
sented his character to Chambers, were undeserving the
confidence of the community; and that Chambers was, to
say the least, extremely inconsiderate and inconsistent in
giving publicity to such statements before ascertaining
their truth.
At another meeting, held in the Baptist church, Sep
tember 8, Rev. Andrew Collins presided and Joseph King
was secretary. Chambers made an address, two hours in
length, at the close of which it was unanimously con
cluded that the meeting had heard with unmingled regret
of the charges made by Wythes against Chambers, and
believed them to be entirely without foundation; that
they knew of no false information given to any temper
ance lecturer except that given to Wythes, and the per
son responsible for it was unworthy the confidence of any
community ; and that they looked with suspicion upon any
temperance movement that had the support and sympathy
of all the drunkards in the community. The death of the
wife of Wythes, at this juncture, caused a temporary ces
sation of a controversy which, because of the publicity
given to the proceedings, was exciting much comment
abroad as well as at home.
On the 6th of October, Wythes wrote to Chambers,
saying the resolutions of the last meeting were very un
satisfactory to him, placing him in a worse light than
ever, and that he would address the citizens on the 18th
inst., and present certificates from those persons who
had heard the allusions made on the 23d of August,
and asking Chambers to be present. The latter replied
that he had something of more importance to attend to

192 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
than running around the country to help men get rid of
their bad humors; that he hoped the frosty nights would
assist in working off his bile; and that he should take
his swing, let his sweet, forgiving temper have full play,
and when he was through no doubt the rumsellers and
drunkards would pat him on the shoulder and call him a
clever fellow.
At the meeting of October 18, Elijah Funk was called
to the chair and James C. Allen and Matthias J. Penny-
packer were appointed secretaries. It was held for the
purpose of reconciling the differences between the two
divines, and the friends of both were present in such
numbers that many could not gain admission, and the
discussion took so wide a range that two adjournments
were necessary before it was completed. The certificates
of fourteen persons were presented to prove the utterance
of the statements attributed to Chambers, and also cer
tificates, from a number of persons in his behalf, by
Collins to prove that, although Wythes was alluded to,
the severe expressions especially complained of were made
with reference to others and riot to him. The meeting de
clared, by resolutions unanimously adopted, that Wythes
was a virtuous and high-minded gentleman of unblemished
character and an able temperance advocate ; that he had
sufficient foundation for acting as he had done in self-de
fence from the information he received; that the persons
whose certificates had been read were in every way de
serving of confidence and respect; and that the proceed
ings should be published in all the county papers, and at
least one paper in Philadelphia.
A general meeting of the members of the Methodist
church was held, October 26, Walters in the chair and
Allen acting as secretary, and it was declared that since

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND PLACES OF BURIAL. 193
the enemies of the church, by means of village tattle, had
spread abroad false impressions in regard to their position
upon the subject of temperance, which had been em
bodied by Chambers in an address, and since several
meetings of adjustment had resulted in a public expres
sion of confidence in the Christian character of their
pastor, it was due to themselves and to the denomination
to which they belonged, to express their opinion of the
whole matter. Any imputation that the Methodist
Church was not as much in favor of the cause of temper
ance as any of her sister churches was without founda
tion, and the spirit which prompted the epithet "Co
wardly Methodists," on the 23d of August, deserved no
thing but silent contempt. Their pastor, in maintaining
the defence of his own character and that of the church,
merited the warmest praise, and his conduct, throughout
the whole difficulty, met with their entire approbation.
On the 12th of November, Chambers wrote to the
" Christian Repository," in which these resolves were pub
lished, that they contained a vile slander against him, for
the thought of calling the Methodist denomination cowards
had never once entered his mind. When he used the
words referred to he spoke in surprise. The preachers of
that church were the most fearless and self-denying men
on earth, and when he was led to believe that one of
them had shrunk from the frown of a "Rumite," was it
any marvel that he should exclaim, " Cowardly Metho
dist." "I repeat it, the charge is false!" This called forth
a long reply from Wythes, on November 17, and on the
24th he wrote again to the "Repository" that the un
pleasant difficulty between Chambers and himself had
been settled in an honorable and Christian manner.
Chambers had addressed a meeting in Phcenixville, in the
13

194 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY. t
afternoon, and had stated that he never said " Such minis
ters are fit ministers of Hell," with reference to Wythes,
and had no intention of injuring him or wounding his
teelings, which was an entirely satisfactory explanation.
The increasing numbers of the Methodist congregation
requiring greater facilities for worship, a large church was
built, in 1854, under the direction of C. J. Crouch, and
the old building was afterward used for Sunday school
purposes and as a meeting place for the Germans of that
denomination. The latter have since erected a new
church, and the one they had abandoned was torn down,
in 1869, to give place to a brick parsonage. A fund has
recently been given to the church for the establishment
of the " Grace A. Whitaker Library."
The Baptist congregation arose through the exertions
of a preacher, named Moore, who made addresses in the
Mennonite meeting house and afterward in the neighbor
ing woods. A church was built, in 1833, which, after a
few years, was found to be too small and was superseded,
in the year 1853, by the present commodious structure at
the corner of Church and Gay Streets. The pastors have
been Jonathan G. Collom, Dyar Nichols, Andrew Collins,
John P. Hall, William S. Hall, Joel E. Bradley and J. D.
King. The Episcopal church at Phcenixville originated through
the efforts of Edward Garrigues, John S. Morris, R. W.
Mason, Samuel Cornett, Samuel A. Whitaker and others,
who at first held their meetings in the Tunnel Hill school
house. The present edifice, on Church Street, west of
Starr, was built, in the year 1840, upon ground given by
Reeves & Whitaker. A few years ago, the borough
attempted to close the avenue by Avhich it is approached
from Bridge street, but, the matter being contested, they

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND PLACES OF BURIAL. 195
were unsuccessful. The rectors have been the Reverends
Shaw, Hirst, Crook, Winchester, Samuel P. Nash, Samuel
Durborrow and William R. Stockton. The ground con
nected with it, intended for a graveyard, having become
useless for that purpose, since the passage of an act by
the Town Council preventing interments within the limits
of the borough, a handsome rectory was built, in 1870,
upon a portion of it, due mainly to the energetic exer
tions of Stockton.
About the time the Episcopalians abandoned the Tun
nel Hill school house, their place was taken by the Roman
Catholics, under the care of Father Donohue, who con
tinued to meet there for more than a year. Their church,
built in 1841, has, during nearly the whole of the time
since, been under the charge of Patrick O'Farrell, who died
a few years ago, universally lamented by the congregation
and the community. His place is now filled by Father
Scanlan. The Presbyterians, having formed an organization in
the Mennonite meeting house, April 16, 1848, built a
handsome church, on Main Street, south of Washington
Avenue, which was dedicated September 30, 1850. Their
pastors have been the Reverends Jacob Bellisle, John
Thomas, J. H. Callen, Joseph F. Jennison, a brother-in-
law of Gen. David B. Birney, and, since 1859, Josephus
W. Porter.
The German Reformed congregation built and, for a
number of years, worshipped in a church in North Phce
nixville, but they have since become scattered and the
building has been converted into a dwelling.
The United Brethren, in 1871, erected a church on
Gay Street, having previously conducted their services in
the Mennonite meeting house.

196 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
PLACES OF BURIAL.
The first burial place of the settlers of Schuylkill
Township was that in " Rhoades' Field," now without a
trace to mark its site, on the high ground north of French
Creek. If a straight line be run along Main Street, as it
enters Phcenixville from the south, and continued until
High Street is reached, the point of intersection will be at
the centre of the graveyard. Francis Buckwalter, having
lived but a few years after his purchase in Manavon, was
buried at this place, and was the first white man to mingle
his dust with the native soil of our hills. Several of the
descendants of Buckwalter lie there, and it is said to con
tain, altogether, about seventy-five graves. The last per
son interred in it was Christian Maris, who died about
seventy years ago.
The next, in respect to its antiquity, was one at the
northeast corner of Main and Church Streets, set apart as
a family burying place by James Starr, the earliest settler
in Phcenixville upon the south side of the creek. Owning
all of the ground for a mile about him he could well afford
to give one acre to the dead, and he probably thought, as
he separated it from the wilderness, of which it formed a
part, that in this lonely spot, where there was nothing to
disturb them but the playing of the breezes among the
branches overhead and the murmur of the stream that
crept along at the foot of the hill, he and his children
would rest in quiet until the final awakening. Alas for
the futility of human hopes! One after another of the
Starrs passed away without leaving descendants to inherit
their lands or their name, and, ere the last of them had
been carried to the family yard, the Briarean streets of
a growing and busy town had stretched around and about
it. After the decline of the race for whom it was in-

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND PLACES OF BURIAL. 197
tended, it at first met with neglect and then became a
kind of Potters' field. In it were buried the British
soldiers who died or were killed in the neighborhood
during the Revolutionary war; the foreign workmen who
perished, from a fatal fever, while digging the Schuyl
kill Canal; and, last of all, an unfortunate suicide who,
friendless and forsaken, was found, one morning, in 1841,
fastened by his silk pocket-handkerchief to the bedpost
of his chamber. A. few years ago, an act of Assembly
was obtained to untwist the slight knots tied by the will
of James Starr; such of the bones as a careless search
disclosed were thrown together into a box and carted
away; and now the finest dry goods store in Phcenix
ville stands on the site of the old graveyard. The very
name of Starr would have been forgotten but for a for
tunate accident. The Thompsons, in order to distin
guish the homestead among the numerous properties pur
chased by them, called it the "Starr Farm;" a street,
subsequently laid out through it, received its name; and
in this way, unintentionally and fortuitously, among the
Daytons and Buchanans, which mar our street nomencla
ture and mark the ephemeral popularity of distant poli
ticians, there is one happily preserved that may suggest
to coming generations a thought of our own interesting
past. It is a sad reflection that so many of the families which,
a hundred years ago, owned the lands and controlled the
affairs of this neighborhood, should have since removed
or become extinct. Of those who at that time took the
lead in its business and legislation, and formed its society,
the Andersons, Buckwalters, and others, are still among
us, but the Moores, Starrs, Coateses, Lanes, Robinsons
and Jacobses have disappeared, and their deeds are only

198 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
preserved in the memories of the aged and the researches
of the curious.
The third graveyard was one for negroes on the farm
of Matthias J. Pennypacker, below the Corner Stores,
which originated through the burial of a slave of William
Moore beneath an apple tree upon which he had hanged
himself. Its two hundred graves have all been leveled
by the plough. About twenty-five negroes, the greater
number of whom were slaves, were also buried upon the
Fountain Inn Farm.
The Morris Cemetery Company, having purchased about
twenty-one acres of land, very eligibly situated upon
Nutt's Road, formed a permanent organization, May 7,
1866, by the election of David Reeves, President, and
Nicholas Bean, Joel Fink, John Vanderslice, N. M. Ellis,
Levi Prizer and Levi B. Kaler, Managers. At this meet
ing, a lot was ordered to be prepared in the most de
sirable portion of the grounds, free of charge, for the in
terment of deceased soldiers and for a monument to be
erected to their memory. The board of managers elected
Levi B. Kaler, Secretary, and Joel Fink, Treasurer, the
latter of whom has since been succeeded by Peter G.
Carey. At the next annual meeting, in 1867, Joseph
Whitaker was chosen President, and was re-elected from
year to year until his death, when the vacancy was filled
by the selection of Samuel Kreamer. The improvements,
up to this time, consisting of a handsome dark stone
chapel and lodge house, gates, the preparation of lanes
and paths, and the planting of evergreens, have made the
entire cost about thirty thousand dollars. The first per
son interred was Esther, wife of Robert G. Hughes, on the
9th of August, 1866.

LITERATURE AND POLITICS. 199

CHAPTER XVI.
LITERATURE AND POLITICS.
At the time of the French and Indian war, three copies
of the "Pennsylvania Gazette," a newspaper published
in Philadelphia, by Hall & Franklin, came to Charles
town Township. Moses Coates subscribed for one of
them, and it was customary for the neighbors to gather at
his house on the Sabbath, or at times of leisure, to read
from its columns the reports from the frontier, and other
items of intelligence.
Isaac Anderson, Nathan Pennypacker, Horatio Wade
and others organized the "Charlestown Library Com
pany," about the year 1812, but this institution, which
had a room at the Corner Stores, and collected a number
of volumes, was destined to a very brief existence.
An organization, laboring under the rather ponderous
title of the "Schuylkill Township Literary and Scientific
Society," was commenced in the summer of 1837, under
the direction of Elijah F. Pennypacker, Isaac A. Penny-
packer and Samuel A. Whitaker, and met at the Friends'
meeting house, at the Corner Stores. Occasional lectures
were delivered upon literary and scientific subjects, and
a collection of botanical and mineralogical specimens was
added to the library.
Samuel A. Whitaker, Major MacVeagh, James Mellon,
James McCarty, and others, were incorporated as the
" Phcenixville Library Company," in the year 1843, and

200 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
succeeded in forming a library of over two hundred vo
lumes. These various institutions marked the birth and gradual
development of a taste for literature, and gave, especially
to the younger portion of the community, an opportunity
of exercising their faculties in discussion, but were all, to
gether with a lyceum, organized in 1850, of an ephemeral
character. In 1857, the Rev. Joseph F. Jennison, of the Presbyte
rian Church, having induced a number of the young men
of Phcenixville to unite with him, originated the "Young
Men's Literary Union." They held the first meeting,
November 30, 1857, in a little room on the north side of
Church Street, west of Main, and selected as officers:
President, William E. Kennedy; Vice President, Josiah
White; Secretary, Jacob R. Stevens; and Treasurer, Mi-
cajah P. Weeks. Subsequently, they rented a hall on the
southwest corner of Main and Bridge Streets and, as they
increased in numbers and means, purchased a library of
about five hundred volumes; subscribed for the leading
journals and periodicals of the day; and formed a cre
ditable cabinet of curiosities and entomological and mine
ralogical specimens. Samuel J. Reeves and others made
valuable contributions to the library. At the commence
ment of the rebellion, so many of the most active mem
bers entered the military service that it almost resulted in
the destruction of the society, and its continued existence
is due mainly to the energetic interest manifested by
Horace Lloyd. It is now in a very flourishing condition ;
its weekly reunions, for the purpose of discussion and
literary criticism, are well attended; and it has recently,
with commendable liberality, extended the privileges of
membership to the female sex.

LITERATURE AND POLITICS. 201
A similar institution, called the " Young Men's Literary
Association," has existed for several years in North Phce
nixville. On the 6th of October, 1846, Samuel Moses and John
Lewis commenced the publication of the " Phcenix Ga
zette," the earliest attempt at journalism in Phcenix
ville. It was a weekly sheet, considerably larger than
either the " Phcenix " or the " Messenger," and in its local
and editorial columns displayed both zeal and ability.
After an experience of two months in journalistic manage
ment, Moses sold his interest to Benjamin P. Davis and
withdrew. About this time, Frederick E. Foster and J.
Bayard Taylor, the latter of whom had recently returned
from his first trip to Europe, had made arrangements to
issue a weekly newspaper in Chester County, which they
contemplated establishing at West Chester. Through
the representations of John II. Brinton, of that place, and
Isaac A. Pennypacker, they were induced, however, to
reconsider this determination and change its location to
Phcenixville, in the belief that they would find here
greater mail facilities and equal opportunities for obtain
ing a circulation. They purchased the " Gazette," and
issued, December 29, 1846, the first number of the "Phce
nixville Pioneer," a journal whose literary ability would
have ensured fame and fortune in a metropolis, but was ill
adapted to the less cultivated tastes of a manufacturing
village, and whose pecuniary success probably did not
equal the anticipations of its editors. Taylor left it,
January 4, 1848, to accept an assistant editorship upon
the "New York Tribune," and Foster, in conjunction
with S. L. Hughes, continued its publication, though with
continually decreasing vigor, until February 21, 1849,
which was the date of the last number.

202 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
At the time of his residence in Phcenixville, Taylor
was a fine-looking young man, confident of his abilities to
win some of the laurels bestowed in the contests of life,
elate with the result of his earliest attempts, and over
flowing with that physical exuberance which had led
him to undertake his unprecedented journey upon foot.
This latter characteristic impelled him, when not busied
with his literary pursuits, to climb the highest hills, to
explore the deepest caverns and to indulge in exploits
which persons of a calmer temperament were disposed to
term freaks of hardihood, but which, from their very dan
ger, had a charm for him that he was unable to resist.
Two incidents, illustrative of this disposition, I very dis
tinctly remember. The anaesthetic properties of sulphuric
ether were then attracting attention, and surgeons were
cautiously groping their way toward its general use in ope
rations whose severity required some alleviating agent.
One evening, in the presence of a number of friends, my
father was describing its effects, when Taylor insisted
upon exemplifying them in his own person, and would
listen to no refusal. The inhalation of the drug was fol
lowed by the greatest excitation, under the influence of
which he shouted, screamed, clapped his hands and ran
from room to room, endeavoring to leap to the ceiling.
The other occurred when the waters of the French Creek
were very much swollen by a freshet. At that time, as
many persons will remember, there was a very deep hole
beneath the breast of the dam, worn out by the fall of
the water, but which has since been filled up with slag.
Taylor waded out along the breast to the centre of the
stream, and from there, undismayed by the boiling and
seething of the angry waters below, plunged headlong
into the abyss, and returned to laugh at the terrors of

LITERATURE AND POLITICS. 203
those who had witnessed the feat. The following local
specimen of his poetical skill appeared in the "Pioneer,"
December 7, 1847. Augustus G. Frick was the .proprie
tor of a drug store in a stone building, on Main Street,
North Phcenixville, near the county bridge.
MACBETH.
Act I. Scene. I.
Scene. — An open space near the rolling mill of Beeves, Buck &
Co. Prick's drug store and the "Bioneer" office in the back ground.
A large concourse of persons observed crossing the new bridge and
rushing up the hill. Enter three witches.
First Witch Sister, where upon the blast
(to Second). Do you ride so wondrous fast?
Second Witch. Hurrying, on my charmed broom-stick,
To the store of A. G. Frick.
First Witch Sister, whither are you going,
(to Third). Stumping, running, puffing, blowing?
Third Witch. Stumping, for I'm very sick,
To the store of A. G. Frick.
All Three. Hurry, sisters, hurry quick,
To the store of A. G. Frick.
Scene II.
The interior of a drug store. A pair of scales are upon the coun
ter, and a boy is weighing four grains of calomel. To the right is
a tall, magnificent show-case, through the panes of which are seen
various cosmetics. The whole scene is one of much splendor, and
could not fail to delight all who might be so fortunate as to witness it.
Enter three witches.
First Witch. Tell me, shop boy, tell me quick,
Is this the store of A. G. Frick?
Boy. Imp of darkness, without name,
This is nothing but the same.
All. Let us then the work begin,
That the fair may beauty win.
Round about the show-case go —
In the oils and perfumes throw.
First Witch. Oil from flank of grizzly bear, •

204

PHOENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

Marrow of beef refined with care;
Eau Lustral, which gives a lustre
To the hair and makes it cluster ;
Oils of different hue and smell,
Which will suit the ladies well;
And the juice of sweetest flowers —
Plucked in Persia's spicy bowers —
Strongly smelling, twice distilled
By apothecaries skilled.
Lemon, rose and heliotrope,
And the best of scented soap !
Second Witch. Charming, soft pomatum, too,
Very good the hair to glue;
And the best of old cologne,
Which is used to smell alone,
When the ladies weak have grown.
Third Witch. Rouge to color faces pale,
Till they look both red and hale ;
Amandine for hands that crack
(Whether they are white or black);
Bandoline, that curls the hair
Till the eyes wide open stare,
And the feet are raised, of course,
By the powerful curbing force;
Shaving cream, which smoothes the face,
Dust of pearl, which lends a grace,
Rose tooth paste and good hair dye,
Hauel's nymph soap, which all must buy.
All Three. Tell it, sisters, tell it quick,
That the store of A. G. Frick
All unrivalled is to see,
With its choice perfumery!
Turn our broom-stick horses, then,
Tell tbe news to beasts and men,
Tell it to the earth and sky,
For the witches never lie ! (Exeunt.)
There is a grand rush of people into the store — the doors are car
ried off their hinges; the contents of the show-case are soon sold out
and the empty case overturned; a dreadful crash is heard and the
curtain falls.

LITERATURE AND POLITICS. 205
After the publication of the "Pioneer" had ceased, the
" Phcenix Ledger " and the " Iron Man " had each a short
and uneventful existence during the years 1849 and 1850.
With the last-named paper, A. J. H. Duganne, a poet of
considerable reputation, was associated.
On the 4th of April, 1857, John Royer, in partnership
with his son John H. Royer, issued the first number of
the " Weekly Phcenix," which name was subsequently
changed to the " Phcenix," and then to the " Independent
Phcenix," a journal that has displayed a vast amount of
pluck and tenacity, and has, while viewing with compo
sure _the successive dissolution of its many rivals, con
tinued until the present time to handsomely reward its
proprietors. Vosburg N. Shaffer purchased it in 1871.
In 1860, Col. J. H. Puleston came from Scranton to
Phcenixville, and started the "Pennsylvania Guardian;''
but, in 1861, having been appointed, by Gov. A. G. Curtin,
State Agent for Pennsylvania at Washington, he aban
doned this effort and removed to that city. Puleston is
now the resident London member of the celebrated bank
ing house of Jay Cooke & Co., and a candidate for Parlia
ment. The next journalistic attempt was made by Wil
mer W. Thomson, a man whose native talent in the use of
both pen and pencil has won for him considerable local
reputation. The following extract from a poem, written
by him, describes Joe Hale, a bent old man, who, on a
rat- tailed horse, made daily pilgrimages to and from the
brickyard of Jacob B. Landis :
THE TWO FRIENDS.
For twenty years, through sunshine, rain and snow,
I've seen a horse and rider come and go ;
Pass with the first grey dawn of day,
To meet their daily toil with spirits gay;

206 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
And when behind the western hills, the sun
Wrote on the tree tops that the day was done,
As turns the vane at the weather's will,
Back came the horse and rider still.
The horse is not so fleet to-day,
And the rider's hair is tinged with grey ;
Ringbone and spavin the former's guest,
And the chin of the latter droops down on his breast;
Both showing alike that the hand of Time
Is furrowing deep its uncouth line :
And I dream me back of years a score
When first they passed by my homestead door.
There's an old hotel, where two streets cross,
Round which tall trees their branches toss;
And the hands which trained them first to grow
Have passed from earth long time ago;
And, over the door, the same old frame
Bears in gold another's name ;
And the steps, which lead to the high front door,
Are weak and creaky and hollow wore.
In front of this house, the old bay horse
Is prone to pause in his homeward course ;
And the rider, as one whom a treasure has found,
Leaps off with a light and frolicsome bound,
Leaving the horse to await the will
Of his master's return from a craving to fill,
Knowing full well his oft-borne load
Must faster be carried the rest of the road.
He published, in the years 1868 and 1869, "Every
body's Business" and the "Legal Tender," the first as an
advertising sheet, circulated by himself, free of charge,
and the second as a regular subscription hebdomadal.
David Euen and Hadley Lamborn commenced, in January,
1871, the publication of the "Messenger," a paper which
evinces decided ability and gives every promise of perma
nent success.

LITERATURE AND POLITICS. 207
POLITICS.
A number of facts, in regard to the colonial politics of
.this vicinity, having been heretofore given in the course of
our narrative, it will not be necessary again to refer to
them. When the State was divided, in June, 1776, for
election purposes, three districts were formed in Chester
County, and the people of Charlestown Township voted
at the White Horse Tavern. The judges of election at
that poll were Richard Thomas, Lewis Grono and Thomas
Bull. From the minutes of the Assembly, under date of
November 6, 1778, I make the following extracts:
" At an election held agreeable to Law on the second
Tuesday of October in the year 1778 at Chatham and
the Red Lyon districts for representatives and County
officers for the County of Chester for the ensuing year,
have elected the following gentlemen :
Assembly Men.
John Fulton, . 375 votes. Patrick Anderson, 342 votes.
John Culbertson, 341 " Stephen Cochran, 339 "
Jos. F. Gardner, . 337 " John Flemmin, . 245 "
Esquires.
" We the subscribers being appointed and duly qualified
as Judges according to Law of the above mentioned elec
tions held at Chatham and Red Lyon districts on the
second Tuesday of October in the year of our Lord 1778
do certify these gentlemen's names here mentioned to be
the highest in vote.
"As witness our hands this 15th of October 1778.
Robert Smith, Sheriff. (L. S.)
John Kinkead. (L. S.)
William Graham. (L. S.)
John Gardner. (L. S.)
Judges "

208 phcenixville and its vicinity.
" Pursuant to an Act of General Assembly passed the
14th day of June A. D. 1777, we, the Judges of Chester
and the Red Lyon Districts in the County of Chester,
convened at Chester Court House this 15th day of Oc
tober, 1778, return the following gentlemen being duly
elected as representatives to serve in General Assembly
the ensuing year, to wit, John Jacobs, Isaac Pearson,
Henry Hayes, Lewis Grono, John Fulton,. and Joseph
Strawbridge. T. Taylor,
Sketchley Morton,
Thomas Cheyney,
Thomas Levis.
"To the Honorable the Representatives of the Com
monwealth of Pennsylvania.
John Jacobs, . 721 votes. Isaac Pearson, . 711 votes.
Henry Hayes, . 711 " Lewis Grono, . 685 "
John Fulton, . 606 " Joseph Strawbridge, 593 " "
On the 12th of November, it was ordered that these
two sets of contestants should be heard by counsel before
the House, and the arguments were continued through the
days of November 13th, 17th and 18th. On the 19th,
" Counsel being about to resume, it was unanimously re
solved that they be directed to argue the point, whether
the votes of persons who took the oath of allegiance,
since the first of June last, are legal1? And when the
House have determined that point, they may suggest any
thing else deemed essential." The argument upon this
question proceeded during that day and the succeeding
one. On the 23d of November, counsel continued, and
the following questions were put after much debate,
"Whether any person not within the exceptions of the
test act, who took the oath or affirmation of allegiance

literature and politics. 209
between the first day of June last and the last election
was entitled to vote. Yeas, 17. Nays, 31.
"Whether this House will set aside both returns and
order a new election in Chester County'? Yeas, 21.
Nays, 27.
"Whether the members, mentioned in the returns
signed by the sheriff of the election of the District of
Chatham and one part of the Red Lyon, shall be admitted
to take their seats as the representatives for Chester
County] Yeas, 27. Nays, 21."
On Tuesday, November 24, 1778, "Patrick Anderson,
Esquire, one of the members elected from Chester County,
appeared, took and subscribed the oath, also made and
subscribed the declarations required by the Constitution,
and took his seat." Upon a bill to abolish slavery in the
State, which was introduced February 13, 1779, he voted
in the negative, and he was, subsequently, one of eight to
vote against the publication for consideration of an act for
its gradual abolition.
Chester County was divided into four election districts,
September 8, 1785, and the Yellow Springs was consti
tuted the voting place of the inhabitants of the townships
of Charlestown, Tredyffrin, Uwchland, Pikeland, Vin
cent, Coventry, East Nantmeal, East Whiteland, Goshen,
Westtown and Willistown.
In 1786, the poll for the people of Charlestown Town
ship was transferred to the Red Lion; in 1797, to the
house of Richard Robinson, in Tredyffrin Township; and,
in 1823, it having been made a separate election district,
to the house of Robert Boyle, at Charlestown village.
In 1828, Schuylkill Township became a separate district,
and the poll was established at the Bull Tavern.
After the separation of the people of the United States
14

210 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
into two great political parties, subsequent to the Revolu
tionary war, Charlestown Township - was largely demo
cratic and that party, in 1801, elected Isaac Anderson, an
ardent Jeffersonian, to a seat in the Assembly.
In a political letter to Major E. Howell, under date of
March 6, 1802, he says: "I am happy to inform you that
there is a Considerable portion of the Legislature pious
Christians of different Denominations. Soon after I ar
rived, a Presbyterian Elder from Fayette county invited
me to take lodgings with him, as he has since told me,
purely on the account of religion. I accordingly moved
and abide with him in much friendship, together with
another gentleman of sd Church. It has been remarked
that there is as little immorality in this House of Asr
sembly as has ever been known. Notwithstanding, you
may be sure Christianity admits room for the best of us
to amend and a Dayly necessity for the exercise of all the
Grace we have gotten."
How many* of the letters of the legislators of to-day
are written in that vein"?
He was subsequently elected a member of the eighth
and ninth Congresses, and represented this district, at
Washington, from 1803 to 1807, during the presidency
of Thomas Jefferson. The principal subjects of interest to
the country', occurring while he was a representative,
were the negotiations with France for the purchase of
Louisiana; the negotiations and difficulties with Spain in
regard to Florida ; the war with the' Barbary States ; and
the supposed attempt of Aaron Burr to organize an empire
in the southwest. He gave the administration a warm
support in all the measures it adopted. On the 18th of
January, 1805, a resolution, offered in the House, de
claring that all blacks born in the District of Columbia,

LITERATURE AND POLITICS. 211
after the 4th of July, 1805, should be free, was lost
by a vote of thirty-one in the affirmative to seventy-seven
in the negative. The list of "ayes" is headed by the
name of Isaac Anderson. On the 22d of January, 1806,
he voted in favor of a bill imposing a duty of ten dollars
upon every slave imported after that date, and on the 8th
of January, 1807, in favor of a bill to prohibit the impor
tation of slaves after the 31st of December of that year.
On the 9th of February, 1807, Ezekiel Howell wrote
to him as follows :
"I am happy to hear of the Harmony that subsists in
Congress the present Session but I am Sorry our Chief
Magistrate would withdraw himself from a Station in
which he would, I think, be supported by a verry Honour
able Majorrity at a time when our papers say that wee are
Menaced by Spain and an Insurrection by Coll Burr in
ye verry heart of ye United States but if the President
& heads of Departments have Defeated his Designs I
should think it verry proper to continue such men as can
do such great things without ye help of ye militia or a
Standing Armey — please to comunicate to me all you
Know (or can consistently with ye office you hold) Re
specting Burr & his party. I have heard of Swarthout
& . the Doctor with others of the party being made
prisoners — together of the taking of a number of Boates
that were built and manned by Coll Burr — further I
Know not."
Anderson was also a Presidential elector in the year
1816, and voted for James Monroe.
Roger Davis, a highly respected and able practicioner
of medicine, residing near Charlestown, who had been a
member of the Assembly in 1809-10, was elected to a
seat in the Twelfth Congress, and, while at Washington,

212 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
from 1811 to 1813, voted in favor of the early measures
of the war of 1812. In a letter, to Ezekiel Howell,
written November 9, 1811, immediately after the com
mencement of the session, he described the election of
"Henry Clay, Esqr., of Kentucky" to the position of
Speaker; the reading of the message of President Madi
son; and said "The House stands adjourned untill Mon
day, November 11," an adjournment from Friday "which
I think is a waste of our time. But I was overruled
being in the minority. I am here either in what might
with Considerable propriety be called a wilderness, or
housed up in a building the most superb I ever saw, but
upon the whole, if I am not better Reconciled than I am
at present, I believe I would as leave be at home with my
Family, but Time perhaps may reconcile me to the place.
I pay nine dollars per week for my boarding (and that not
as good as I had in Lancaster For three dollars and fifty
cents) exclusive of my washing."
The federal party generally had a majority in the
county and sent Nathan Pennypacker to the Legislature,
in the years 1812 and 1814, and Matthias Pennypacker,
a son of the Mennonite, to the same body in the years
1826 and 1827.
The vote of Charlestown Township, in 1826, aggre*
gated two hundred and forty-four.
Matthias Pennypacker was appointed a justice of the
peace by Gov. Ritner, and was elected a delegate from
Chester County to the convention which framed the pre
sent constitution of Pennsylvania, in 1837. As a mem
ber of that convention, he opposed the system of an
elective judiciary, and the insertion in the constitution of
the word "white," the object of which was to deprive
negroes of the power of voting.

LITERATURE AND POLITICS. 213
Nathan Pennypacker, who resided near the Schuylkill
River, a short distance from Moore Hall, became an
active exponent of the views of the anti-masonic party,
and was nominated again for the Assembly, in 1830, by
the adherents of that strange political creed. He pos
sessed moral worth as well as mental ability, and his
popularity in the county was evidenced by the fact that
he received the largest vote of the twelve candidates who
were then in the field, among whom were John Morgan
and Joseph J. Lewis. He was on the anti-Jackson elec
toral ticket of Pennsylvania in the Presidential campaign
of 1832.
John Morgan was appointed a justice of the peace by
Gov. Snyder, represented the democratic party in the As
sembly, in the years 1828 and 1839, and was repeatedly
the democratic nominee for Congress.
Elijah F. Pennypacker, grandson of the Mennonite,
represented the anti-masonic party in the Assembly in
1831, 1832, 1834 and 1835, during a part of which time
he held the position of chairman of the committee on
banks. He was elected secretary of the Board of Canal
Commissioners, in the years 1836 and 1837, and became
a member of the Board in 1838. It, at that time, con
sisted of Thaddeus Stevens, John Dickey and himself,
and was, from the fact that the greater part of the general
improvements was owned by the commonwealth and con
trolled through this body, the most responsible political
position in the State, with the exception of the governor
ship. Like his distinguished colleague, Mr. Stevens, he
entertained, however, extremely radical views in opposi
tion to the system of slavery, and he returned to private
life to identify himself with the hated and despised sect
of abolitionists.

214 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
The two great political parties of the country, of that
period, vieing with each other in their efforts to obtain
the vote of the southern states, were equally strong in
their antipathy to abolitionism, considering it at once an
unreasoning heresy and a disorganizing faction, and, in
this vicinity, as elsewhere, their zeal was frequently car
ried so far as to become violent injustice. The addresses
of Lucretia Mott, Cyrus Burleigh, Charles C. Burleigh,
Mary Grew, and other champions of that cause, in the
Temperance Hall, were often interrupted by insult and
sometimes prevented by force. When the homes of Em-
mor Kimber, the founder of the once celebrated school at
Kimberton, Elijah F. Pennypacker, Isaac Price, a Dun-
kard minister at the Comer Stores, John Jacobs and Wil
liam W. Taylor, of Montgomery County, became stations
upon the mysterious " Underground Railway," and were
thrown open at all times to the hunted fugitives from the
south, it was so far in opposition to the feelings and
opinions of the community, who surrounded them, as
almost to result in ostracism; and when an escaped slave,
who had been set at work in the harvest field by Emmor
Kimber, beat the old man with a hay fork, it was gene
rally looked upon as a fitting retribution, and was long
used as an irrefutable argument.
Elijah is a Quaker, a humanitarian in the truest sense
of the term, and a man of unswerving integrity. Thad
deus Stevens, with whom he maintained the most cordial
relations, once expostulated with him upon the subject
by saying, ." Pennypacker, it don't do to be so damned
honest." At the time of the Irish famine, he sent, a
barrel of flour as a contribution to the poor of that
country, upon which was inscribed this address, "A dona
tion for the Irish sufferers, given freely, and accompanied

LITERATURE AND POLITICS. 215
with a heartfelt desire and petition to the British Parlia
ment to remove one of the real causes of distress, amongst
the laboring and perishing classes, by abolishing the exist
ing aggressive and unchristian system of national defence
by fortifications and armed soldiery and a navy; and di
recting that all vessels, now belonging to the naval estab
lishment of Great Britain, shall henceforth be engaged in
righteous- and useful commerce ; and that the trained war
riors, disciplined enemies of God and man, consisting of
about three hundred thousand men, shall hereafter be em
ployed in useful and productive industry; that, instead of
being a drain upon the resources and means of subsistence
of laboring British subjects and a reproach upon the
Christian name, they may contribute by the honest use of
their faculties to the supply of their own wants and com
forts, as well as the relief of perishing thousands.
Elijah F. Pennypacker.
Hannah H. Pennypacker.
Chester Co., Pa., 3d mo. 1st, 1847."
The barque, upon which this barrel was shipped, was
dismasted and compelled to return to port. A brig, to
which it was then entrusted, coming into collision with
another vessel, was so damaged that she discharged her
cargo, and the sailors, looking upon this barrel as a second
Jonah, refused to take it again on board. The message
may however have reached its destination, for an editorial
in the "Public Ledger," commending its truth and good
sense, gave it a wide publicity.
Abraham Brower, residing at Brower's locks, on the
Schuylkill, was elected a member of the State Senate, in
1840, for a term of three years, and represented the dis
trict in which Phcenixville was situated.
In Schuylkill Township, the whigs considerably ex-

216 phcenixville and its vicinity.
ceeded the democrats in numbers, and, in the campaign
of 1844, the most earnest contest ever waged between
those parties, that township received a banner, awarded
to them by the whig county committee, for sending the
largest delegation to an immense convention held at West
Chester. Joseph Whitaker was elected by the whigs to a seat in
the Assembly, in the fall of 1843, and the following year'
declined a renomination.
The "Know Nothing" party sent Matthias J. Penny-
packer, M. D., of Schuylkill, grandson of the Mennonite,
to the Assembly, in 1855, in which year there was an un
usually exciting senatorial contest.
Nathan A. Pennypacker, M. D., of Charlestown Town
ship, great-grandson of the Mennonite, after returning
home, at the close of the recent war, was elected by the
republicans to the Assembly, for the years 1865, 1866 and
1867, and was chairman of the committee on divorces in
1866, and chairman of a committee of seven to. make the
arrangements for the gubernatorial inauguration of John
W. Geary, in 1867. His reasons for voting against a bill
to permit the people of Philadelphia to determine for
themselves whether the street railways, of that city,
should run their cars upon Sunday are entered at large
upon the journal of the House, as follows: "Having re
ceived a large number of remonstrances from the citizens
of Chester County against the bill, 1 am compelled as
their representative to obey their wishes and vote against
the bill. N. A. Pennypacker."
With him terminates the list of those who have held
representative positions from this neighborhood.
Wayne MacVeagh, a son of Major MacVeagh, after
graduating at Yale College, read law with Joseph J.

LITERATURE AND POLITICS. 217
Lewis, married the daughter of his preceptor, and com
menced the practice of his profession at West Chester.
He soon became known as one of -the ablest and most elo
quent advocates in Pennsylvania, and, ere long, his ora
torical ability having grown to be a power in the political
campaigns, he was appointed chairman of the Republican
State Central Committee and elected district attorney of
his native county. After the death of his first wife, he
married a daughter of Senator Simon Cameron, and is, at
present, minister of the United States to Turkey, to which
position he was appointed by President Grant in 1871.
He is distinguished alike for the brilliancy which charac
terizes his efforts upon the hustings and the acumen with
which he argues technical legal questions before the Su
preme Court.
Jeremiah Hagenman, whose father was a laborer in the
employ of Reeves & Whitaker, fell, when a mere lad,
from a tree and broke his arm. Unskilful setting made
amputation necessary and, by this accident rendered unfit
for work, he was placed as an errand boy in the office of
Gen. W. H. Keim, of Reading. His ambition being
awakened by these surroundings he afterward read law,
and for a number of years he has been a judge of the
Court of Common Pleas and one of the most influential
citizens of Berks County. The democratic nomination
for Congress, though in accord with his political prin
ciples and in that district equivalent to an election, he
has repeatedly declined.
Charles Adamson, of the Corner Stores, was for many
years consul of the United States at Pernambuco. In
1870, he was removed to the Sandwich Islands, but his
Quaker principles of honesty and fair dealing having
made him obnoxious to the masters of whaling vessels,

218 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
preventing their customary frauds upon the sailors, he
has been recently sent to Melbourne.
Singleton M. Ashenfelter, a graduate of Dickinson Col
lege and of the law office of Peter McCall, of Philadel
phia, was appointed, by President Grant, United States
District Attorney for the Territory of New Mexico, in
the year 1870.

THE REBELLION. 219

CHAPTER XVII.
THE REBELLION.
The feeling, existing in this community during the
period intervening between the election of Lincoln, in
November, 1860, and the commencement of hostilities at
Fort Sumpter, in April, 1861, while the Southern States
were, one after another, passing ordinances of secession
and setting up the standard of revolt, was one which pre
vailed among the people of the whole North, and rendered
even the new administration, for what then seemed a long
time, doubtful in its policy and uncertain in its actions.
Though conscious of the rectitude of their cause and the
strength of their resources, they were loath to see a con
flict commenced, the issue of which, under the most fa
vorable auspices, could not be foretold, and whose conduct
would require the most strenuous exertions and the most
lamentable sacrifices. The horrors of war were brought
near enough to them in the traditions and histories of
their ancestry and the sufferings of nations abroad, and
while waiting in the hope that its dire necessity would be
averted they were careful to do nothing which might in
crease the existing irritation and make a reconciliation
impossible. They were reauy to accept the decision of
an appeal to arms if need be, but were anxious that all
means, untainted with dishonor, should first be used to
avoid it, and that the 'responsibility of its initiation should
rest upon others. In the meantime, business remained

220 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
completely stagnant, because no man dared to trust a
future which seemed to grow darker the further he endea
vored to penetrate it, and the clouds that were looming
up in the political horizon cast a shadow of doubt
and anxiety over all the relations of life. Though en
tirely unfamiliar with the aspect of warfare, and generally
unaccustomed to the use of arms, either in the way of
public drill or private amusement, they were, however, far
from being intimidated by the alarming prospect, and
every action of the government, which seemed to indicate
that no real principle would be abandoned in order to
avoid a struggle, met with the warm and earnest sup
port of the people. In this frame of mind they awaited,
with the greatest anxiety and impatience, the progress of
events. A meeting of the citizens of Phcenixville was held in
the Council chamber, December 31, 1860, and adjourned
to the Temperance Hall, January 5, 1861, at which N.
M. Ellis presided and H. B. Ramsey was secretary. Re
solutions, reported by a committee composed indifferently
of the friends and opponents of the administration, de
claring that those who advocated a peaceable right of se
cession wore enemies of the government plotting its de
struction, and calling upon the authorities to maintain
Major Anderson, in Fort Sumpter, at all hazards, were
adopted without a dissenting voice; a salute of thirty-
three guns, in honor of that officer, was fired from a
Griffen cannon loaned for the occasion; and addresses,
abounding in zeal, were made by Peck, Hallman, Ashen-
felter, Armitage, Dr. F. W. Heckel, Dr. L. Quick, Grif
fen, Puleston, J. R. Dobson, Henry Loucks and G. C.
Nichols. The effect of the bombardment of Fort Sumpter, and

THE REBELLION. 221
the subsequent call for seventy-five thousand men, was
like that of touching a spark to some highly inflammable
material. It was not, as has been asserted, an awaken
ing of the popular spirit of patriotism by sudden indig
nation and resentment, but that sentiment, which had
been repressed during many months of waiting, now freed
from the necessity of restraint, burst forth instantaneously
into the wildest excitement. The actions of the South
Carolinians had removed all uncertainty in leaving but
one honorable course to pursue, and it was adopted with
an enthusiasm which may have been extravagant, but
which had its source in earnest convictions and an in
flexible determination to make them successful. The
streets presented the strange spectacle of men from all
the ranks of life, some in broadcloth and some in their
shirt sleeves, marching with irregular steps to the unfami
liar music of the fife and drum, and under the command
of officers who had never seen a drill. National flags were
thrown to the breeze in such numbers as to soon exhaust
the supply of bunting, and if, as it sometimes happened,
the material was unsuitable and the colors not very true,
they served equally well to display the sentiments of their
owners. Boys wore about their throats red, white and
blue neCkties, and business men enclosed their letters in
envelopes garnished with devices representing the discom
fiture of Beauregard and the future hanging of Jeff.
Davis. Ladies busied themselves in the preparation of
clothing for the volunteers; in their hours of leisure,
their pianos rattled with the sounds of marches and bat
tles; and she was an indifferent singer who could not
reach the high notes of the " Star Spangled Banner " to
the satisfaction of her auditors.
Immediately after the appearance of the proclamation

222 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
of President Lincoln, the Phcenix Iron Company issued
an order that men in their employ,' who wished to volun
teer, could leave work upon one day's notice, would be
given the preference on their return, and that their fami
lies would be charged no rent during their absence. John
Vanderslice and others followed the example of the com
pany by offering their houses free of rent to the families
of those tenants who should enter the army, and four
thousand dollars were raised by subscription, almost im
mediately, to provide for the wives and children of the
poor. The "Wayne Guards," a militia organization in
North Phcenixville, under the command of Patrick J.
Phillips, held a meeting at their armory and resolved to
offer their services. Another company, named at the sug
gestion of Josiah White the "Phcenix Artillerists," was
formed in South Phcenixville, and the ardor of the young
men was so great that there seemed to be less trouble in
obtaining, than in selecting, recruits. The members of
this latter company, without knowing the regulations that
were to govern the service, selected the following officers,
some of whom they were afterward compelled to abandon :
Captain — John R. Dobson.
First Lieutenant — Joseph T. McCord.
Second First Lieutenant — Joseph Taggart.
Second Lieutenant — George W. Renshaw.
First Sergeant — Josiah White.
Second Sergeant — James Phillips.
Third Sergeant — George H. Powers.
Fourth Sergeant — William H. Powers.
Fifth Sergeant — Frank Harley.
First Corporal — William E. Chandler.
Second Corporal — Charles Armitage.
Third Corporal — Joseph Harley.
Fourth Corporal — Thomas McAdams.
Ensign — William H. Bradley.

THE REBELLION. 223
The first men from Phcenixville to enter the service,
were George W. Ashenfelter, a corporal in company G
of the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment; Henry G. Dodge,
an employe of the "Independent Phcenix," who went to
Philadelphia and there joining the 26th Regiment, com
manded by Col. W. F. Small, participated in the attempt
to pass through Baltimore, on the 19th of April; and
Davis M. Phillips, a private in Company C of the 4th
Pennsylvania Volunteers.
After the attack upon the Massachusetts and Pennsyl
vania troops, in Baltimore, when the bridges over the
Gunpowder and Bush Rivers had been burned, and com
munication, south of Philadelphia, extended only as far
as the Susquehanna, the incipient rebellion reared its head
upon the very borders of Chester County, and it was for
some time doubtful whether our own immediate neigh-
hood was not to be a part of the battle ground. About
a hundred confederate cavalrymen were stationed a few
miles north of the Conowingo bridge, with orders to resist
the passage of troops and to destroy the structure if ne
cessary. Having urgent occasion to reach Havre-de-
Grace, Maryland, at the time, and having found it im
possible to go further than Wilmington by rail, I drove
across the country in a carriage, and can well remember
the feeling, partly of curiosity and partly of uneasiness,
I experienced upon being stopped by this body of armed
and hostile men, the first I had ever seen. It was not
long before the energy of Gen. Butler removed the de
batable ground to the south of Maryland, and this picket
station was abandoned.
The ladies made two beautiful flags, one of which they
presented, through Miss Jane E. Bradley, to the "Artil
lerists " and the other, through John H. Mullen, to the

224 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
"Guards." When, afterward, the newspapers began to
be filled with complaints of the wretched condition of
the volunteers, on account of the worthlessness of their
shoddy clothing, the ladies of South Phcenixville pur
chased a quantity of substantial military material, con
verted the hall of the Young Men's Literary Union, that
had been abandoned for their use, into a huge tailoring
establishment, and, ere long, had clothed each one of the
artillerists with a suit upon whose durability he could
rely. This early effort resulted in the formation of a La
dies' Aid Society, whose members continued their philan
thropic exertions during the whole period of the war, and
rendered invaluable services in the preparation of food,
clothing and delicacies for the camps and prisons, and in
attentions given to the sick and wounded.
The churches were no less active than individuals. At
a meeting of the Baptists, held April 21, to express their
opinions upon the condition of affairs, and of what was
required of Christians in the emergency, it was declared
that, as a church, they approved the noble and patriotic
devotion of those who enlisted for the defence of their
country and that, in doing so, they were performing a
duty alike beneficial to the community and acceptable to
their God. In the Methodist church, the earnest pastor,
standing in a pulpit draped with the national colors, in
spired by the singing of Hail Columbia and similar an
thems, and in sympathy with the crowded audiences, who
came to listen to his fiery sermons, declared that the Lord
of Israel would send a second Joshua to smite the seceders
as the Amorites had been smitten upon the plains of
Ajalon, that their cities would be as Hebron and Debir,
and their leaders, ere long, be hanging upon trees as were
the kings of Jarmuth and Eglon.

THE REBELLION. 225
V
The first organized body of men, from the borough, to
enter the service was the Phcenixville Brass Band, which
was mustered with the 2d Regiment Pennsylvania Vo
lunteers, at York, on the 26th of May.
The two companies, after offering themselves to the go
vernment for three months and' being refused, because the
call had already been filled, kept up their organization in
the expectation of a further requisition for troops, and
drilled regularly in the afternoons and evenings, the
"Guards" at their armory and the "Artillerists" in the
Temperance Hall. That hall, whose floors had so often
shaken with the light steps of the merry dance and
whose walls had so often echoed the sharp tones of the
violin, now trembled to a heavier tread and rang with
a sterner sound. At length, the summons for the three
years volunteers came, and, on the 6th of June, escorted
by almost the entire population of a town in which it
would have been difficult to have found an individual who
was not connected with them by some tie, the women
weeping, and the men, sobered by the solemnity of the
scene, smothering the cheers they had expected to utter,
the two companies marched to the suburbs and departed.
The "Guards" were taken to New York, becoming Com
pany K of the 71st (California) Regiment Pennsylvania
Volunteers, and the " Artillerists " to Camp Wayne, near
West Chester, where they were mustered as Company
G of the 1st Pennsylvania Reserves. At Camp Wayne
was also Company K of the 4th Pennsylvania Reserves,
recruited in Schuylkill, Charlestown and the adjacent
townships, and commanded by William Babe, captain,
Nathan A. Pennypacker, first lieutenant, and Enos L.
Christman, second lieutenant.
About the same time, the Phcenix Iron Company re-
15

226 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
ceived an order from the government for six hundred of
the Griffen cannon, and, a large part of their establish
ment having been adapted to the manufacture of these
guns, they gained, afterward, the reputation of being the
best arm of the kind in the service and were more gene
rally used in the light artillery than any other.
In August, Sergt. Charles Armitage, and privates W.
H. Yerger, Nicholas Vanderslice, Henry Batt, Morgan
Waters, Thomas Virtue, Frederick A. Tencate and John
A. Vanderslice, of Company G. succeeded, while on
picket, near Annapolis, Maryland, in capturing two
wagons, filled with arms and contraband goods, with
their guard, and were complimented in a general order
from headquarters. It is worthy of notice, as the first
distinction won by any of the regiment and the fore
runner of the more serious contests in which they were
afterward engaged.
In the summer and fall of 1861, Capt. C. S. Carmack
recruited Company F, 88th Pennsylvania Volunteers, in
Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County; Lieut.
Eugene J. Weeks took from Phcenixville a detachment
which was united with Company I, 67th Pennsylvania
Volunteers; and a number of scattering men connected
themselves with other regiments.
On the 28th of November, William Denithorne, a cor
poral in Company G of the 1st Reserves, died at Camp
Pierpont, Virginia, and his body was brought home for
interment. As his death had resulted from a fever con
tracted through exposure, and he had been the first to
sacrifice his life in the cause, the event created a profound
sensation and was looked upon as a public calamity. His
funeral was attended by the citizens generally. He was
buried with military honors, and the ceremonies were

THE REBELLION. 227
closed by a salute fired over his grave by Weeks, who
had brought his company from camp at Philadelphia to
pay this last tribute to the remains of a brave .comrade.
At the commencement of the war, news from the
army was awaited with the most intense anxiety. Men,
assembling in crowds at the depot upon the approach
of the trains, clutched the papers with almost frenzied
eagerness, and, as they read, their faces either grew stern
with set muscles and clenched teeth, or were lighted up
with the exhilaration of joy. The early defeats were at
tended with a gloom and depression that it is easy to
conceive, but impossible to describe, and the early vic
tories, especially those at the capture of Forts Henry
and Donelson, were celebrated with illuminations, bon
fires, speeches and tumult. As time rolled on, however,
and people became accustomed to a state of war, the ex
citement incident to its opening scenes gradually gave
place to a calmer mood. Even the long lists of killed and
wounded, published after the battles, which at first had
a significance that made the most cold blooded shudder,
grew to be expected as in the natural course of events.
Recruiting became more difficult, because the revival of
business, occasioned by the inflation of the currency and
the great demand for productions consumed by the army,
gave to every one steady and profitable employment, and
because the romantic impulse of every young man to be
a hero in the great contest suffered more or less from the
knowledge, soon gained, that a soldier's life was in the
main made up of long and dreary marches, exposure to
the storm and cold, and the absence of every comfort
and convenience. The government ordered a draft, in #he
summer of 1862, and Davis Keeley and P. G. Carey were
appointed assistant marshals to enforce it in Phcenixville.

228 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Carey was so unfortunate, in one instance, as to be de
luged with a kettleful of scalding water by an indignant
Celtic lady, named Nesbit, to whom he had made his
errand known. This draft was not required at all in
Schuylkill Township, and, in consequence of the fact that
Phcenixville had nearly filled her quota previously, was
very light in the borough.
In August of this year, a detachment of volunteers,
under the command of Lieut. C. W. Sears, joined Com
pany F, 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers.
The raid, made by the rebels into Pennsylvania, pre
vious to the battle of Antietam, led to the formation of a
company for home defence, under the command of John
D. Jenkins, captain, A. M. Chalfant, first lieutenant, P.
G. Carey, second lieutenant, and R. G. Hughes, orderly
sergeant. The Burgess, N. M. Ellis, ordered, by a pro
clamation, all the places of business to be closed between
the hours of four and six P. M., so that the people could
have an opportunity to drill; and other measures were
taken, which, upon the repulse and withdrawal of the
confederates, were soon neglected.
In June, 1863, the dangers of an invasion became more
threatening. Lee, having defeated Hooker at Chancellors
viUe, marched with his whole army toward Pennsylvania,
and the comparative condition of the two opposing forces
seemed to present fair prospects of success. The State
government, at Harrisburg, anxious about the safety of the
capital, began to cut down the woods in the vicinity for
abattis and to throw up hastily-constructed fortifications.
Many of the banks, business houses and citizens removed
their effects to Philadelphia, and the inhabitants of the
latter city were actively engaged in digging earthworks
along the Schuylkill. In Phcenixville, the excitement

THE REBELLION. 229
was a repetition of that of April, 1861. The Phcenix Iron
Company closed their works and offered to pay regular
wages to any of their employes who would volunteer for
defence, the aged and wealthy were again busy in raising
subscriptions, and, ere twenty-four hours had elapsed, two
companies, of a hundred men each, were on their way to
Harrisburg. The officers of the first were John D. Jen
kins, captain, Joseph T. McCord, first lieutenant, and A.
M. Chalfant, second lieutenant; and of the second, John
Denithorne, captain, William Clegg, first lieutenant, and
James Phillips, second lieutenant. Upon arriving at the
capital, they encountered difficulties. It was found the
Governor was unwilling to accept them unless they
should be sworn into the service of the United States
for the " emergency," which, with Lee in proximity, was
a very uncertain period. This arrangement the majority
seriously opposed; the Phcenix Iron Company, upon
hearing of it, telegraphed to Ramsey to withdraw the
offer made by them to their men; the minority, after
strenuous exertions, were unable to raise force enough to
retain their company officers; and, consequently, at the
expiration of about three days, they all, with the excep
tion of nine men, returned home. Those who remained
connected themselves with the 26th Emergency Regi
ment, and a number of the others, after returning, joined
Company B of the 34th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia,
recruited principally in Schuylkill Township, and com
manded by Capt. B. F. Bean.
After the fall of Richmond, great preparations were
made for a triumphal jubilee, in Phcenixville, but the un
expected death of the great President having converted
the rejoicings of the nation at the close of the war into
mourning for his untimely fate, the Council postponed the

230 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
celebration indefinitely and laid aside the fireworks, which
they had provided, until a more fitting occasion.
The officers of the Ladies' Aid Society, of Phcenixville,
were Mrs. R. G. Hughes, President; Mrs. Nathan B.
Broomall, Vice President; Miss R. E. Boyle, Secretary
and afterward President, and Miss Annie S. White,
Treasurer. Among its most active members were Mrs.
Henry Ashenfelter, Mrs. Jerome John, Mrs. Jeffrey John,
Mrs. William Banks, Mrs. A. S. Vanderslice, Mrs. J, B.
Morgan, Mrs. Jacob Baugh, Mrs. Edwin D. Price, Mrs.
David Jones, and the Misses Eliza R. White, Emma M.
Tustin, Virginia E. Broomall, Hannah M. Ashenfelter and
Kate Vanderslice. It is but simple justice to say that the
characteristic energy, activity and christian philanthropy
of Miss Rebecca E. Boyle, were, in this cause, especially
conspicuous. The officers of the Pickering Aid Society, of Schuylkill
Township, were President, Miss Mary A. Pennypacker;
Vice President, Mrs. Samuel Buckwalter; Secretaries, Miss
Martha Jones and Miss Isabella Price; and Treasurer,
Mrs. John Jones. In a total membership of thirty, among
those most earnest in their efforts were Mrs. Sarah Wil
liams, Mrs. Ross and the Misses Hannah Milligan, Annie
Milligan, Susanna Bean, Jeanette Davis and Martha Row
land. This society supplied all the volunteers from the
township, in the beginning of the war, with two suits of
clothing each and the necessary equipments, distributed
twenty-four boxes of materials among the different hos
pitals, sent nine boxes to the Christian Commission and
collected and dispensed in cash, clothing, etc., a total sum
of eleven hundred and forty-five dollars and forty-five
cents. They also contributed a number of fancy articles
to the Philadelphia Sanitary Fair.

THE REBELLION. 231
RECORD OF SOLDIERS AND SEAMEN.
The most brilliant record made by any soldier of Ches
ter County, and, in some respects, one of the most re
markable of the war, was that of Galusha Pennypacker, a
great-grandson of the Mennonite, who was born June 1,
1842, at Valley Forge, in Schuylkill Township, and passed
the early years of his life on a farm, on Nutt's Road,
about half a mile from Phcenixville. He entered the three
months' service, April 21, 1861, as a private in Company
G, 9th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, having de
clined, on account of his youth, the first lieutenancy, to
which he had been elected. He was afterward appointed
quarter-master's sergeant, and, during the greater part
of the term of his enlistment, which was passed in the
Shenandoah Valley, performed the duties of quarter
master of the regiment. Returning home, at the expira
tion of that time, he recruited Company A, 97th Regi
ment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and, having been com
missioned captain, August 22, 1861, he commanded Camp
Wayne during the organization of the regiment. He
was commissioned major, October 7, 1861. The 97th
was almost immediately sent to the department of the
south, where it remained until April, 1864, and with it
Pennypacker participated in the siege of Fort Pulaski, in
February and March, 1862; the occupation of Fort
Clinch and the cities of Jacksonville and Fernandina,
Florida, in the latter month; the advance upon Charles
ton and the battle of GrimbaU's Station, June 10; the
battle of Secessionville, June 16, and the second occupa
tion of James' Island, in July. He was engaged in the
battle of Stevens' Landing, July 16, 1863; the subsequent
memorable assault upon Fort Wagner and the sieges of
that fort and Fort Gregg, which lasted from July 18 to

232 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
October 6, during the greater part of which time he was in
command of the regiment. In December, he was detailed
as president of a general court martial, at Fernandina; in
February, 1864, he led an expedition, in conjunction with
the naval schooner "Para," against Woodstock Mills,
fought the enemy, and captured a million and a half feet
of lumber, accomplishing the object for which he was
sent; and, in April, was in command of the post at Fer
nandina. The same month he brought the regiment north
to be united with the Army of the James, under Gen.
Butler. In the advance of that army upon Richmond,
in May, he reached the railroad between Richmond and
Petersburg, destroyed the communication between those
cities, severed iri person the telegraph wires on the 8th,
and the same day was in action at Swift Creek, Virginia.
On the 14th of May, he participated in the engage
ment at Drury's Bluff, and, on the 16th, with the 97th
Pennsylvania and the 13th Indiana, held a largely supe
rior force of the enemy in check on the Wier Bottom
Church Road, by a stubborn resistance, while Gen. Butler
withdrew his troops to their entrenched position. On
the 18th of May, a portion of Beauregard's forces having
driven the 8th Maine from their picket line, near Green
Plains, the 97th Pennsylvania was ordered to retake it.
Pennypacker advanced four companies in a skirmish line,
supported by the remainder of the regiment, and, in the
face of a hot fire of musketry, routed the enemy and
occupied the position, holding it from eight A. M. until
relieved at ten P. M. The loss in this daring charge was
nineteen killed and thirty-eight wounded. On the 20th,
the line having been again taken by the confederates, he
was ordered to recapture it. Without a moment's hesita
tion he formed his command, and with a steady front they

THE REBELLION. 233
advanced, under a galling fire of cannister and musketry,
until he had been three times wounded and half of the
men had fallen, when, the futility of the effort being
perceived, an order was given to retire. The desperate
character of this heroic struggle can be understood from
the fact that, of the two hundred and ninety-five men en
gaged, forty-seven were killed, one hundred and twenty-
nine wounded and twelve taken prisoners, making a total
loss of one hundred and eighty-eight. Pennypacker was
carried from the field, so severely wounded in the right
arm, left leg and right side as to be unable to rejoin his
regiment until the 12th of August. At this date he re
ceived a commission as colonel, and, on the 14th, led his
regiment in action at Deep Bottom, Virginia; on the
16th, at Strawberry Plains; on the 17th, at Malvern
Hill; and, on the 25th, at Wier Bottom Church. Soon
afterward, by order of Gen. Butler, he was assigned to
the command of the 2d Brigade of the 2d Division, 10th
Corps, composed of the 47th and 48th New York and
the 76th, 97th and 203d Pennsylvania. On the 28th of
September, the 10th Corps (Gen. Birney) captured the
enemy's works, at New Market Heights, and, advancing
further, made an unsuccessful attempt upon the confede
rate Fort Gilmer. Pennypacker, while leading his bri
gade upon the right of the assaulting column, where he
was obliged to cross nearly a mile of slashing, had a horse
killed under him and was painfully wounded in the ankle
by a piece of shell, but remained on duty during the
battle. On the 7th of October, he commanded his bri
gade in the action at Darbytown Road, and, on the 29th,
advanced with the 10th Corps to within a few miles of
Richmond, where the enemy was encountered and a
fierce engagement ensued, intended as a feint to assist

234 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
the Army of the Potomac, then fighting at Hatches' Run.
His brigade formed a part of the force of sixty-five
hundred men with which Butler, assisted by Porter,
undertook the capture of Fort Fisher, in December.
Grant, believing the failure of that officer to have been
inexcusable, sent the same troops under Gen. Terry, with
a reinforcement of fifteen hundred men, to renew the at
tempt, on the 2d of January, 1865. Terry landed his
forces on the narrow peninsula upon which the fort was
built, and approaching to within two miles, under cover
of a fire from the fleet, selected Ames' Division, consisting
of the brigades of Curtis, Pennypacker and Bell, to make
the assault. In the struggle that ensued, toward which
the eyes of the whole country have since been turned, be
cause it was as much a contest to settle rivalries between
the regular and the volunteer branches of our service,
headed by the greatest men of the age, as to seize a rebel
fortification, and because it was, in itself, probably, the
most brilliant achievement of the war, Bell was killed,
Curtis was wounded, and Pennypacker, while carrying
the colors of his old regiment, which he had caught from
the color-bearer, and leaping, the foremost man of his
brigade, upon one of the defences, was shot through the
body and taken from the field. Gen. Terry said in his
official report: "Pennypacker advanced, overlapping Cur
tis' right, and drove the enemy from the heavy palisading,
which ' extended from the west end of the land face of
the river, capturing a considerable number of prisoners.
Hand to hand fighting of the most desperate character
ensued, the huge traverses of the land face being used
successively by the enemy as breastworks, over the tops
of which the contending parties fired into each other's
faces. Nine of these were carried, one after the other, by

THE REBELLION. 235
our men. Curtis was wounded after fighting in the front
rank, rifle in hand. Pennypacker, while carrying the
standard of one of his regiments (the 97th), the first man
in a charge over a traverse." Gen. Ames said, in his re
port: "Col. Galusha Pennypacker, commanding 2d Bri
gade, was severely wounded while planting the colors of
his leading regiment (the 97th Pennsylvania) on the third
traverse of the work. This officer was surpassed by none,
and his absence during the remainder of the day was
most deeply felt and seriously regretted."
Capt. George F. Towle, of the 4th New Hampshire,
writing to Col. H. R. Guss, of West Chester, on the 23d,
said that he saw Pennypacker brought off the field on a
stretcher, and that he had refused to be removed until
Gen. Terry had been sent to him. When that officer
appeared, Pennypacker pointed to the foremost flag upon
the traverses, and called upon him to notice that it be
longed to the 97th Pennsylvania. His injuries, resulting
from a wound through the right side and hip by a
Minie ball, were of so grave a character that, for a long
time, his life was in danger and he lay in the hospital,
at Fortress Monroe, unable to be moved until November.
He was immediately, by order of President Lincoln.
brevetted a brigadier general, for gallant and important
services at the capture of the fort; this was followed by
a commission as brigadier generalj February 15, 1865;
and he has the distinguished honor of having been the
youngest general officer in the United States army during
the war. On the 13th of March, 1865, he obtained by
brevet the rank of major general. Upon his return to
West Chester, November 15, accompanied by Capt. F.
D. Barnum, 115th New York, who had been detached,
by the war department, to attend upon him during his

236 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
illness, he was met at the suburbs by a civic and mili
tary procession, escorted by the people through the
streets to the court house and there publicly received
in addresses by Hon. Wilmer Worthington and William
Darlington, Esq. Being incapable of service, he sent
his resignation to the war department, February 28,
1866. It was refused and a further leave of absence
granted. At the expiration of this time, his resignation
was again tendered and finally accepted, April 20, 1866.
Upon the reduction of the regular army, at the close of
the war, Pennsylvania became entitled, in the distri
bution of offices, to one colonelcy, which was offered to
Gen. Pennypacker. The board of examiners are reported
to have received explicit directions, concerning any diffi
culty they might have in regard to his physical condition,
from Secretary Stanton, who, to use the language of Gen.
Harry White, "loved him," and he was assigned to the
34th Infantry, which he joined in May, 1867. Upon the
further reduction of the army, he was given the com
mand of the 16th Infantry. Since his appointment, he
has been brevetted a brigadier general in the regular
army, for gallant and meritorious services at the. capture
of Fort Fisher, and a major general in the regular army,
for gallant and meritorious services during the war, and
he is the youngest colonel now in the service.
[Abbreviations. — Brevt, for brevet; brig., for brigade; cap., for
captured; capt., for captain; col., for colonel; com., for commis
sioned; commis,, for commissary; corp., for corporal; des., for de
serted; dis., for discharged; lieut., for lieutenant; maj., for major!
mus., for mustered; P. V., for Pennsylvania Volunteers; P. V. M.,
for Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia; P. R. V. C, for Pennsylvania
Reserve Volunteer Corps; prom., for promoted; res., for resigned:
sergt, for sergeant; surg., for surgeon; trans., for transferred; vet.,
for veteran; w'd., for wounded; V. R. C, for Veteran Reserve Corps.]

THE REBELLION. 237
MAJORS.
Nathan Davis, mus., June 6, 1861; sergt., K, 4th P. R. V. C; prom.
to 2d lieut, F; 1st lieut., March 1, 1863; capt., L, 54th P. V,
July 4, 1864; maj., March 24, 1865; killed at Petersburg, Va.,
April 2, 1865.
John R. Dobson, capt., G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861;
prom, to brev. maj., March 13, 1865; w'd. at Gettysburg; dis.,
June 13, 1864. SURGEONS.
Fred. W. Heckel, ass. surg., 65th P. V.; mus., Sept. IT, 1862; prom
to surg., 165th P. V, Dec. 5, 1862; dis., July 28, 1863.
Levi Oberholtzer, 132d P. V.; mus., Aug. 30, 1862; prom, from ass.
surg., 139th P. V., Dec. 23, 1862; dis. by general order, Jan.
6, 1863.
William Allan Peck, 104th P. V; mus., Oct. 16, 1861; res., July 20,
1862.
Lavington Quick, 46th P. V.; mus., Aug. 26, 1861; prom, to brig.
surg., Jan. 21, 1862. CHAPLAIN.
William R. Stockton, 61st P. V; mus., April 13, 1862 ; res., Sept.
26, 1862; prisoner in Libby prison.
SERGEANT MAJORS.
Samuel Davis Hunter, 1.16th P. V.; mus., Aug. 5, 1862; prom, from
private of C, Jan. 28, 1865; com. 2d lieut., F., June 1, 1865;
dis. by general order, June 3, 1865.
Isaac W. Kurtz, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 8,- 1861; prom, from
private, G, July 26, 1861; dis., June 13, 1864.
QUARTER MASTER SERGEANT.
Joseph Pennypacker, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., Aug. 19, 1861; prom.
from private, K, Jan. 1, 18.63; dis., June lt, 1864.
HOSPITAL STEWARDS.
Adna S. Gillett, 46th P. V.; mus., Sept. 4, 1861 ; dis. by surg., Oct.
3, 1862.
William E. Kennedy, 104th P. V.; mus., March 1, 1862 ; prom, from
private, G, July 4, 1863; dis., March, 1865.

238 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
MUSICIANS.
David C. Broomall, Phcenix Brass Band; 2d P. V.; mus., May 24,
1861; dis., July 26, 1861.
H. F. Caswell, Phcenix Brass Band; 2d P. V; mus., May 24, .1861 ;
dis/, July 26, 1861.
Jacob Hawk, Phoenix Brass Band; 2d P. V; mus., May 24, 1861;
dis., July 26, 1861.
James P. Holt, Phcenix Brass Band; 2d P. V.; mus., May 24, 1861;
dis., July 26, 1861.
Joseph P. Holt, Phcenix Brass Band; 2d P. V.; mus., May 24, 1861 ;
dis., July 26, 1861.
B. F. Houck, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., June 17,
1864.
Samuel Kennedy, 67th P. V.; mus., Sept. 23, 1861; died at Phila
delphia, May 27, 1864.
Peter Landis.
William Lobb, Phoenix Brass Band; 2d P. V.; mus., May 24, 1861;
dis., July 26, 1861.
Henry Lukemire, Phcenix Brass Band; 2d P. V.; mus., May 24,
1861; dis., July 26, 1861.
Charles Madden, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., June
13, 1864.
John C. Mattson, Phcenix Brass Band; 2d P. V; mus., May 24,
1861; dis., July 26, 1861.
John G. Moses, leader of Phcenix Brass Band; 2d P. V.; mus., May
24, 1861 ; dis., July 26, 1861.
James T. Nichols, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis.,
June 13, 1864.
Hyram Nyce, Phcenix Brass Band; 2d P. V; mus., May 24, 1861;
dis., July 26, 1861.
J. Elwood Quay, Phoenix Brass Band; 2d P. V.; mus., May 24,
1861 ; dis., July 26, 1861.
John Richards, Phcenix Brass Band; 2d P. V.; mus., May 24, 1861;
. dis., July 26, 1861.
John Sollinger, Phoenix Brass Band; 2d P. V; mus., May 24, 1861;
dis., July 26, 1861.
Frank A. Tencate, drum major; D". S. A.
Wilmer W. Thomson, Phcenix Brass Band; 2d P. V; mus., May 24,
1861; dis., July 26, 1861.

THE REBELLION. 239
J. Englebert Vanderslice, Phoenix Brass Band; 2d P. V.; mus., May
24, 1861; dis., July 26, 1861.
Thomas N. Vannaman, C. 116th P. V; mus., Aug. 18, 1862; prom.
to principal musician.
B. F.Williams, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis., June
17, 1864.
R. B. Williamson, Phoenix Brass Band; 2d P. V.; mus., May 24,
1861; dis. July 26, 1861. MIDSHIPMAN.
Robert N. Griffen ; died at sea. MARINE.
Alexander Dougherty. CAPTAINS.
George W. Ashenfelter, G, 20th P. V. M., Emergency.; mus., June
17, 1863; dis., Aug. 11, 1863; corp. G, 1st P. V, 3 months'
service; lieut.,, H, 104th P. V.; mus., Jan. 1, 1862; w'd. at
Fair Oaks, Va., May 31, 1862; prom, from 2d lieut. to 1st
lieut, Nov. 8, 1862; dis., May 21, 1863.
B. F. Bean, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug. 10,
1863.
C. S. Carmack, E, 88th P. V; mus., Nov. 5, 1861 ; dis., Dec. 30,
1862, for wounds received at Antie'tam, Sept. 17, 1862,
Henry G. Dodge, C, 59th P. V; mus., Sept. 2, 1861; prom, from
sergt. to 2d lieut., Oct. 1, 1862; com. capt., Oct. 21, 1864, but
not mus.; cap. at St. Mary's Church, Va., June 24, 1864; dis.,
March 18, 1865; private 26th P. V., 3 months' service.
Nathan A. Pennypacker, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861;
prom, from 1st lieut. April 10, 1863; dis., June 17, 1864.
Patrick J. Phillips, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861 ; prom, from
1st lieut., March. 1, 1863; trans, to V. R. C, Sept., 1863.
Emmor K. Ramsey, E, 1st N. J. V.; mus., May 23, 1861; corp., June
20, 1861; sergt., Sept. 14, 1862; 1st sergt, Nov. 1, 1862; 2d
lieut., C, Feb. 1, 1863; prisoner, May 6, 1864; released March
1, 1865; com. capt., June 1, 1865; dis., July 7, 1865.
Joseph H. Richards. E, 88th P. V.; mus., Sept. 9, 1861; prom, from
1st sergt. to 2d lieut., Dec. 31, 1862; 1st lieut, May 1, 1863;
capt., May 15, 1863; dis., April 26, 1864.

240 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Joseph Taggart, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; prom, from
2d lieut. to 1st lieut., March 1, 1863 ; brev. capt, March 13,
1865; w'd. at South Mountain; dis., June 13, 1864.
Fred. A. Tencate, Colored Infantry; dis. 1865; private, G, 1st P. R.
V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; prom, to commis. sergt, Aug. 6,
1862; trans, to Invalid Corps, Nov., 1863; com. 1st lieut,
U. S. Cav.; res. July 1866.
LIEUTENANTS.
Matthias P. Anderson, 2d lieut, Colored Infantry ; private, H, 160th
P. V.; mus., Aug. 30, 1862, for 3 years.
John Convery, K, 7 1st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861 ; prom, from 1st
sergt. to 2d lieut, Sept. 6, 1862; killed, Sept. 17, 1862.
J. P. Cornett, 1st lieut, G, 176th P. M.; mus., Nov. 7, 1862; dis.,
Aug. 18, 1863; sergt, E, 199th P. V; mus., Sept. 17, 1864;
dis., June 28, 1865.
R. W. Hemphill, H, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; prom, from 1st
sergt, K, to 2d lieut., H, June 5, 1863; 1st lieut., Jan. 25,
1864; dis., July 2, 1864.
Jacob S. Kram, 88th P. V.; mus., Aug. 23, 1861 ; prom, from private,
E, to commis. sergt, Oct. 4, 1861; 2d lieut, A, Jan. 1, 1863;
com. 1st lieut, Oct. 4, 1864; dis., Nov. 22, 1864.
David B. Mattson, G, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 24, 1861; prom, from
1st sergt, Dec. 8, 1864; dis., July 13, 1865; vet.
Joseph T. McCord, 1st lieut, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861;
w'd. at New Market Cross Roads; dis. by surg., Oct. 7,
1862.
Levi Munshower, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; prom, from
private, June 1, 1864; sergt, May 1, 1865; com. 2d lieut,
June 15, 1865; dis., June 23, 1865.
Gerritt S. Nichols, E, 88th P. V.; mus., Sept. 9, 1861; prom, from
private to 1st sergt; 2d lieut, May 1, 1863; 1st lieut., May,
1863; w'd. at Antietam; dis., Oct. 3, 1864, for wounds re
ceived at the Wilderness.
Charles Nyce, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; prom, to
sergt., July 16, 1861; 1st sergt, Jan. 1, 1863; com. 2d lieut,
June 18, 1864; w'd. at Cloyd Mountain, May 9, 1864; dis.,
June 17, 1864.
Chalkley W Sears, F, 150th P. V.; mus., Aug. 9, 18"62; prom, from
2d lieut to 1st lieut, Jan. 31, 1863; res., Dec. 31, 1863.

THE REBELLION. 241
Cyrus B. Showalter, C, 97th P. V.; mus., March 15, 1864; w'd. at
Fort Fisher, Jan. 15, 1865; prom, from 1st sergt. to 2d lieut,
June 1, 1865; dis., Aug. 28, 1865; vet.
Eugene J. Weeks, I, 67th P. V; mus., Oct. 26, 1861; com. 1st
lieut, K, June 15, 1863; dis., March 12, 1865.
Josiah White, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; prom, from
1st sergt. to 2d lieut., Mar. 1, 1863; w'd. at Antietam; died
at Washington, D. C, May 18, 1864, of wounds received at
the Wilderness. SERGEANTS.
Everett N. Anderson, M, 160th P. V; mus., Oct. 9, 1862; prom.
from private to corp., March 1, 1863; sergt., June 9, 1863;
dis., June 21, 1865; private K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June
6, 1861 ; dis. by surg., Dec. 16, 1861.
Charles Armitage, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; prom.
from corp. to sergt, July 24, 1861 ; 1st serg , March 21,
1863; died at Rappahannock Station, Va., Aug. 14, 1863.
Henry Willis Bland, 1st serg., H, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 31, 1861;
prom, to corp., Feb. 1, 1862; serg., Dec. 17, 1862; 1st sergt,
Dec. 27, 1862; dis., Sept. 16, 1864.
Stephen Burns, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; trans, to 69th
P. V., June 12, 1864.
William E. Chandler, 1st sergt., G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6,
1861; prom, from corp. to sergt, Nov. 1, 1862; 1st sergt,
Aug. 14, 1863; w'd. at Mechanicsville; dis., June 13, 1864.
Joseph H. Clevenstine, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; died,
June 12, 1864, of wounds received in action.
Henry Convery, 1st sergt, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861;
trans, to 69th P. V, June 12, 1864 ; vet.
Thomas Cosgrove, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; killed at
Gettysburg, July 3, 1863.
Owen P. Eaches, 1st sergt., A, 28th P. V. M., Emergency; mus.,
June 19, 1863; dis., July 28, 1863.
Joseph G. Emery, G, 99th P.-V.; died, Jan. 2, 1863.
Jacob Fitzpatrick.
Harry P. Force, E, 88th P. V.; mus, Sept. 16, 1861; prom, from
corp, May 1, 1865; dis., June 13, 1865; vet.
Charles Frey, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd. at Get
tysburg; trans, to 190th P. V, May 30, 1864; vet.
16

242 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Augustus B. Gilbert, I, 67th P. V; mus., Sept. 14, 1861; dis., Oct.
25, 1864.
John L. Hoy, H, 82d P. V.; mus., Aug. 29, 1861; dis. on surg. cert,
March 22, 1863.
David H. James, F, 67th P. V.; mus , Sept. 2, 1861; prom, to corp.,
June 1, 1862; dis., July 14, 1865; vet.
William L. Keeley, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd. at
New Market Cross Roads; trans, to 190th P. V., May 31,
1864; vet.
James Kelley, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. by surg.,
Aug.. 6, 1863.
Peter Kelley, color sergt., D, 116th P. V.; mus., Feb. 25, 1864 ; w'd.
at Petersburg, June 22, 1864, and April 2, 1865; trans, to I,
June 3, 1865 ; dis., July 14, 1865.
John Kennedy.
John H. Kreamer, C, 59th P. V., 2d Cav.; mus., Jan. 7, 1862; dis.,
Jan. 7, 1865.
John Little, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; died, Sept. 29,
1862, of wounds received at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Thomas Lynch, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; killed at Antie
tam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Richard McBride, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; missing at
Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.
Edward McCloskey, K, 7 1st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; killed at
Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862.
James McSorley, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; prom, from
corp. to sergt, Jan 1, 1864; dis., July 2, 1864.
Andrew Monaghan, K, 71st P. V; mus., June" 28, 1861 ; prom, to
sergt, June 28, 1861; dis., July 2, 1864.
William D. Mooney, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; died,
May 12, 1864, of wounds received at Cloyd Mountain, May
9, 1864.
Jonathan H. Moras, G, 82d P. V; mus., Dec. 20, 1863; dis., July
13, 1865.
Ephraim T. Pearce, I, 119th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; prom, to
corp., Sept. 1, 1862; sergt, March 1, 1863; dis., June 19, 1865.
James Phillips, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis. by
surg., Nov. 23, 1862.
George H. Powers, G, 1st P. R. V C; mus., June 6, 1861; died at
Hestonville, Pa., Oct. 30, 1862.

THE REBELLION. 243
William H. Powers, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; w'd. at
Antietam; dis., by surg., Dec. 15, 1862.
Elhannon W. Price, C, 116th P. V.; mus., Aug. 1, 1862; killed at
Fredricksburg, Dec. 13, 1862.
James F. Renshaw, N. J. V.
Thomas W. Richards, H, reg. not known; mus., Nov., 1863, for 3
years; died at Washington, May 13, 1865.
Thomas W. Rowland, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., July 17, 1861;
killed at Charles City Cross Roads, June 30, 1862.
James Schofield, I, 67th P. V.; mus., Sept. 14, 1861 ; ,dis., Oct. 25,
1864.
Robert Sturges.
Isaiah Thropp, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; prom, from
corp. to sergt., Aug. 1, 1862; dis., June 17, 1864.
David P. Thomas, K, 97th P. V; mus., Sept 30, 1861; prom, to
sergt, Oct. 29, 1861; dis., by surg., Nov. 15, 1862.
Hamilton Vanderslice, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861;
trans, to 190th P. V., May 31, 1864; vet.
Abel Wood, H, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 29, 1861; died, May 15, 1863,
of .wounds received in action.
William H. Yerger, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; trans.
to 190th P. V.; May 31, 1864; vet.

CORPORALS.
Charles Boyer, E, 73d P. V; mus., Aug. 8, 1861; died, Dec. 18,
1863, of wounds received at Missionary Ridge, Tenn., Nov.
25, 1863.
Aaron L. Burke, D, 41st P. V; mus., June 22, 1861 ; killed at Bull
Run, Aug. 30, 1862.
Jonathan Carr, F, 150th P. V.; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; prom, to
corp., May 1, 1865; dis., June 23, 1865
Wilbur F. Carey, H, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 29, 1861; dis., Dec. 16,
1862, for wounds received at Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862.
James A. Cornett.
John W. Davis, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; died, Aug.
9, 1862, of wounds received at Charles City Cross Roads,
June 30, 1862.
William Denithorne, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; died at
Camp Pierpont, Nov. 28, 1861.

244 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
John Dugan, K, 71st P. V; mus., July 1, 1861; killed at Gettys
burg, July 3, 1863.
John Duross, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; killed at Frede
ricksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862.
' Patrick Duwire, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861 ; dis. for wounds
received at Peach Orchard, Vp.., June 29, 1862.
John T. Eaches, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; w'd., cap.
at New Market Cross Roads; dis., June 13, 1864.
Emanuel Ewing, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd., cap.
at New Market Gross Roads; dis., June 13, 1864.
Job Finley, I, 67th P. V; mus., Sept. 14, 1861.
George W. Findley, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; prom.
to corp., Jan. 1, 1863; dis., June 13, 1864.
Isaac Fleming, F, 15th P. V.; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; prom, to corp.,
May 1, 1865; dis , June 23, 1865.
Richard Giblin, K, 71st P. V.; mus , June 28, 1861; dis.
George P. Grubb, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; prom, to
corp., May 1, 1865; dis., June 23, 1865.
James Haggerty, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; killed at Get.
tysburg, July 3, 1863.
Franklin Harley, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., June
13, 1864.
Alfred J. Hartman, K, 97th P. V.; mus., Sept. 30, 1861; prom, to
corp., June 29, 1862; died at Hampton, June 3, 1864, of
wounds received at Bermuda Hundred, May 20, 1864; vet.
John K. Himes, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; prom, to corp.,
May 1, 1865; dis., June 23, 1865.
John Horton, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861; w'd. at
South Mountain; trans, to 190th P. V., May 30, 1864; vet.
Charles Huffnagle, K, 4th P. R, V. C; mus., Aug. 19, 1861; prom.
to corp., May, 1863; trans, to L, 54th P. V., June 8, 1864.
William J. Kennedy, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd.
at Wilderness; dis., June 13, 1864.
John Maroney, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; trans, to 69th
P. V, June 12, 1864.
Timothy Mahoney, C, 55th P. V; mus., Sept. 18, 1861; prom, to
corp., Nov. 5, 1863; w'd., June 18, 1864; dis., Sept 19,
1864.
Charles Morris, G, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 24, 1861; dis., July 13,
1865; vet.

THE REBELLION. 245
David R. Moyer, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; prom, to
corp., May 1, 1865; dis., June 23, 1865.
Edward L. Neiman, B, 34th P. V M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863.
William Nuttall, F, 67th P. V; mus.. Sept. 14, 1861 ; dis., July 14,
1865; vet.
B. O'Brien, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861 ; des., Dec, 1862.
George Ortlip, I, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 24, 1861 ; prom, to corp.,
March 1, 1863; dis., Sept. 16, 1864.
Henry Ottinger, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861 ; prom, to corp.,
Jan 1, 1863; dis., July 2, 1864.
George Pennypacker, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis.
by surg., Feb. 4, 1862.
George W. Rapp, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; prom, to
corp., Feb. 3, 1863; dis., June 17, 1864.
Nathaniel R. Rhoades, I, 72d P. V.; mus., March 6, 1862; trans, to
F, 183d P. V, July 20, 1864; killed at Deep Bottom, July
27, 1864.
D. Brook Roberts, E, 128th P. V; mus., Aug. 14, 1869 ; dis., May
19, 1863.
Vosburg N. Shaffer, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863.
William Spencer, Bat. L, 2d Art, 112th P. V.; mus., Oct. 1, 1861;
dis., Segt. 30, 1864.
Bertless Stott, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; prom, to
corp., Dec. 1, 1862; w'd. at New Market Cross Roads and
Gettysburg; dis., June 13, 1864.
Joseph D. Watson, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863.
Henry R. Whitby, F, 150th P. V.; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; prom, to
corp., May 1, 1865; dis., June 23, 1865.
B. F. Widdicombe, H, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 29, 1861; w'd., May 3,
1863, at Fredericksburg; also, June 3, 1864, at Cold Harbor;
trans, to D, Sept. 4, 1864; dis. on surg. cert., Sept. 13, 1864;
vet; lost an arm.
William W. Wisler, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863, PRIVATES.
Charles Edwin Aman, I, 82d P. V.; mus., Aug. 24, 1861; des., Jan.
1, 1863.

246 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Isaac P. Anderson, E, 88th P. V.; mus., Sept. 16, 1861; trans, to F;
des., Aug. 24, 1862.
David Ashalter, F, 150th P. V.; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; trans, to V.
R. C, May 1, 1863; dis. by general order, June 28, 1865.
John Austin, F, 67th P. V.; mus., Sept. 2, 1861; dis., July 14, 1865.
John P. Bailey, F, 150th P. V.; mus., Aug. 19, 1862 ; dis., June 23,
1865.
Joseph P. Bailey, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; trans, to V.
R. C, April 1, 1865.
Andrew Baitzel, F, 150th P. V.; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; dis., June 23,
1865.
Daniel Baitzel, K, 71st P. V.; mus., July 1, 1861; killed in action,
June 3, 1862.
George Baitzel, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis., July 2,
1864.
James Baker, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., Sept. 26,
1863, for wounds received at Charles City Cross Roads, June
30, 1862; right foot amputated.
Charles Bannon, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861; dis. by
surg., Oct. 3, 1861.
George Barber.
John Bare, A, 51st P. V.; mus., Feb. 20, 1864; died at Washington,
D. C, May 20, 1864, of wounds received at Wilderness, May
6, 1864.
Henry Batt, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; killed at An
tietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Joseph Baugh, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis., June
13, 1864.
Levi Baum, C, 51st P. V.; mus., Sept. 4, 1861; dis., Sept. 13, 1864 ;
G, 1st Bat., V. R. C.
George W. Bean, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
10,1863.
Lewis W. Bean, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
Amos Bell, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., June 13,
1864.
Thomas Bell, E, 97th P. V; mus., Sept. 9, 1861; dis., Oct. 21,
1864.
Stephen Bennett, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis. by
surg., Feb. 8, 1863.

THE REBELLION. 247
John Berry, 3 months' service; K, 71st P. V; mus., Aug. 23, 1861;
trans, to A, 69th P. V, June 12, 1864 ; killed at Petersburg,
June 16, 1864.
Thomas Birdy, K, 71st P. V.; dis., at Philadelphia, Dec. 12, 1862.
John Bogue, K, 71st P. V; mu's., June 28, 1861.
Francis Bonner, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. by surg,
1861.
John Bowers, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861 ; w'd. at An
tietam; dis., June 13, 1864.
Samuel Boyd, H, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 29, 1861 ; des., Dec. 6, 1862.
Thomas Boyd, H, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 29, 1861; dis., March 21,
1863.
William Boyd, Sr., C, 88th P. V.; mus., Aug. 28, 1861 ; w'd. at Cul
pepper, Va.; dis. by surg., Jan. 5, 1863.
William Boyd, Jr., B, 19th Cav.; mus., Aug. 25, 1863; w'd. at Widow
Hill, Tenn ; dis., May 14, 1866.
John Boyer, F, 150th P. V.; mus.. Aug. 19, 1862; died of wounds
received at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863.
Patrick Boyle, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; trans, to V. R.
C, 1863; dis., June 27, 1864.
Patrick Bracelin, F, 67th P. V.; mus., Sept. 14, 1861; cap.; dis.,
July 14, 1865.
Hugh Bradley, D, 69th P. V; mus., Oct. 31, 1861 ; killed at Gettys
burg, July 3, 1863.
Joel E. Bradley, G, 1st P. R, V. C; mus., May 10, 1862; killed at
Bull Run, Aug. 30, 1862.
John Bradley, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; des., 1863.
William H. Bradley, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis.,
Oct. 3, 1863.
William H. Brannon, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis.,
by surg., March 18, 1862.
Abraham Brower, Jr., B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863 ; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863.
Daniel W. Brower, I, 67th P. V. ,
George Buck, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd, at South
Mountain; dis. by surg., Feb. 5, 1863.
Robert Buck, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; des., Feb.,
1863.
John Buckwalter, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., July 17, 1861; died at
Camp Pierpont, Va., Dec. 10, 1861.

248 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
John H. Buckwalter, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863 ; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863.
Uriah Bush, K, 4th E. R. V C; mus., June 6, 1861; killed at Cloyd
Mountain, May 9, 1864.
William Butt.
John H. Buzzard, I, 119th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; killed at Cold
Harbor, Va., June 1, 1864.
Jonas T. Buzzard, I, 119th P. V; mus., Aug. 20, 1862; dis., June
19, 1865.
Simeon Buzzard, Jr., B, 34th P. V. M; mus., June 29, 1863; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863.
William ^Callahan, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. by surg.,
1861.
John Carey, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861 ; dis. for wounds at
Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
James Carlin, I, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 24, 1861; des., Sept. 14,
1862.
John Carlin, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; trans, to V. R. C,
1863.
Joseph Carr.
T. Carr, I, 67th P. V; mus., Qct 26, 1861, for 3 years.
John R. Caswell, F, 26th P. V. M., Emergency; mus., June 20, 1863;
dis., July 30, 1863.
William Chantry, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis., June
13, 1864.
Shafer Christman.
William Clark, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis., July 2,
1864.
Isaac Clay, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; des., Nov. 29,
1862.
William H. Clegg, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus.,' June 6, 1861; w'd. at
New Market Cross Roads; dis. by surg., Jan. 3, 1863.
John Clevenstine, I, 119th P. V.; mus., Aug. 14, 1862; died, May
29, 1863, of wounds received at Bank's Ford, Va., May 5, 1863.
James Cocking, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., Dec. 8, 1862 ; killed at
Cloyd Mountain, May 9, 1864.
Joseph Coffman, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis., June
13, 1864.
Timothy Coleman, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861 ; killed acci
dentally, Feb., 1862.

THE REBELLION. 249
Charles H. Combe, A, 26th P. V. M., Emergency; mus., June 20,
1863; dis., July 30, 1863.
George Comfort, A, 53d P. V; mus., Sept. 18, 1861; died, Sept. 18,
1862, at Georgetown.
Joseph Conklin, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., June
13, 1864.
William G. Cook, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; cap. at
Gaines' Mill; dis., June 13, 1864.
Homer Crager, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., June
17, 1864.
John Crater, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug. 10,
1863.
Jonas H. Crater, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863 ; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
Warren Crater, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863 ; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
Jeremiah Daily, K, 4th P. R. V. C ; mus., July 16, 1861 ; killed at
Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Samuel E. Davis, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861 ; w'd. at
Gettysburg; dis. by surg., Oct. 5, 1863.
George H. Dehaven, F, 88th P. V; mus., Sept. 16, 1861, for 3 years.
John Dehaven, F, 88th P. V.; mus., Sept. 16, 1861; dis., by surg.,
Dec 31, 1862.
Joseph H. Dehaven, F, 88th P. V.; mus., Sept 16, 1861; des., Jan.
28, 1862.
John Dellinger, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; killed at Antie
tam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Levi Dellinger, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; killed at Gettys
burg July 3, 1863.,
Thomas Dellinger, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; died at Point
Lookout, Md., July 29, 1862.
Isaac Dennis, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; trans, to 190th
P. V, May 31, 1864; vet.
R. F. Denver, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; died, Jan. 1862.
David Dettra, G. 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861; dis., June 13,
1864.
Francis Dorman, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis. by
surg., Feb., 1863.
Maurice Dunbar, G, 1st P. R. V C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., June
13, 1864.

250 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Thomas Dunbar, D, 51st P. V; mus., Feb. 29, 1864; dis., July 27,
18.65.
Edward Eisenbrey, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861; dis.,
June 12, 1864.
Edward E. Emery, Bat. L, 2d Art, 112th P. V.; mus., Oct. 26, 1861 ;
dis., Oct. 25, 1865.
Isaac D. Emery, Bat. L, 2d Art, 112th P. V.; mus., Oct. 29, 1861 ;
died, Oct. 16, 1864, of wounds received at Chapin's Farm, Va.,
Sept. 29, 1864.
John S. Emery, Bat. L, 2d Art, 112th P. V; mus., Oct. 26, 1861;
dis., Oct. 25, 1865.
Simon P. Emery, C, 51st P. V.; mus., Sept. 13, 1861; killed at An
tietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Benjamin Engle, I, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 24, 1861; des., Jan. 1, 1863.
George Evans, Bat. L, 2d Art, 112th P. V; mus., Oct. 1, 1861; died
at Fort Delaware, July 17, 1862.
Joseph Evans, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Aug., 1861.
James Fisher, I, 67th P. V; mus., Oct. 26, 1861, for 3 years.
Gerald Fitzgibbons, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861 ; dis., July
2, 1864.
Michael Fogleman, F, 203d P. V.
Daniel Foley, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Dec. 11,
1862.
Abel S. Force, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; killed at
Gettysburg, July 3, 1863.
George W. Force, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; w'd. at
New Market Cross Roads; trans, to 190th P. V; May 31,
1864.
John B. Ford, F, 26th P. V. M.; mus., June 20, 1863; dis., July 30,
1863.
William Foreman, K, 4th P. R, V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; died,
July 3, 1862, of wounds received at Charles City Cross
Roads, June 30, 1862.
David R. Fratt, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 19, 1861; died at
Belle Island, of wounds received at Charles City Cross Roads,
June 30, 1862.
William Frederick, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861, for 3 years;
trans, to B, 1861.
W. H. H. Freed, K, 124th P. V; mus., Aug. 14, 1862; died at
Washington, D. C, Oct. 2, 1862.

THE REBELLION. 251
Washington Friday, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis.,
June 13, 1864.
Edward Fritz, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis. tj surg.,
Dee. 26, 1862.
Levi Fritz, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; died at Point
Lookout, Md., Aug., 1862.
John Fritz, K, 4th P. R, V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd. at New
Market Cross Roads; dis by surg., March 17, 1863.
Benjamin F. Frock, Bat. G, 1st Art, 43d P. V; mus., Feb. 4, 1864;
died at Philadelphia, Feb. 21, 1864.
Benjamin Fudge, I, 129th P. V; mus., Aug. 11, 1862; died near
Falmouth, Va., April 18, 1862.
William Fulton, D, 41st P. V; mus., June 22, 186>1 ; died of wounds
received May 13, 1864.
Dennis Gallagher, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis., Dec. 15,
1862.
Edward W. Gay, F, 67th P. V; mus., Sept. 2, 1861 ; dis., July 14,
1864.
Reuben Gearhart, A, 58th P. V; mus., Sept. 16, 1861; died at
Staunton, Va,, Sept. 3, 1865; vet.
John Gibbons, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. by surg., 1862.
John Gill, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; trans, to V. R. C.
Charles Griffey, F, 88th P. V; mus., Sept. 26, 1861; des., May 5,
1864.
Charles F. Grover, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863.
Thomas D. Grover, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
George W. Guest, F, 97th P. V; mus., March 15, 1864; cap. at
Deep Bottom, Va., Aug. 16, 1864; died at Richmond, Feb. 28,
1865; vet.
Washington Halderman.
Isaac Hallman, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug. 10,
1863.
David P. Hampton, F, 88th P. V; mus., Sept. 16, 1861; des., June
13, 1862.
Nathan T. Harris, I, 97th P. V.; mus., Nov. 7, 1861 ; died at Hilton
Head, S. C, May 12, 1862.
Charles Haslem, E, 97th P. V; mus., Oct. 2, 1861; died at Hilton
Head, S. C, July 12, 1862, of wounds received June 12, 1862.

252 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
William Haulthausen, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861 ; des.,
Nov. 30, 1861.
William* Heart, F, 67th P. V, mus., Oct. 26, 1861; missing in
action, Sept. 19, 1864.
Samuel Hendricks, A, 183d P. V; w'd. May 6, 1864, left arm ampu
tated; dis., Dec. 10, 1864.
Aaron, Hendricks, F, 67th P. V; mus., Sept. 2, 1861 ; dis., July 14,
1865.
Adam Hersh, K, Cameron Light Guards; mus., Sept, 19, 1861 ;
trans., Sept. 23, 1861, F, 88th P. V; dis., Sept. 23, 1864.
J. H. Hess, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Dec, 1861.
Alexander Hickey, F, 150th P. V.; mus., Aug. 19, 1862 ; dis., June
23, 1865. „,
Timothy Hickey, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861 ; dis., July 2,
1864.
John High, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug. 10,
1863.
Henry Highley, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
Nelson F. Himes, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; died at
Camp Tenally, D. C, Sept. 21, 1861.
Nicholas Holland, G, 69th N. Y.; mus., April 20, 1861; w'd. in
elbow at Bull Run ; dis., Sept. 6, 1861.
Thomas Holt, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis., July 2, 1864.
Samuel Homer, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. by surg.,
1862.
G. W. Hoover, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; died, Dec, 1861.
W. J. Howell, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. by surg.,
1863.
Peter B. Hoy, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug. 10,
1863.
William Hortenstine, I, 67th P. V; mus., Oct. 26, 1861, for 3 years.
Daniel Hughes, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Dec. 11,
1861.
J. Theodore Hunter, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861 ; w'd.
at South Mountain; dis. by surg., Feb. 1, 1863.
William Hunter, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; w'd. at
New Market Cross Roads; dis., June 13, 1864.
William Hutchinson, B, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., May 25,. 1861; died
at Falmouth, Va., Aug. 20, 1862.

THE REBELLION. 253
Thomas James, F, 150th P. V.; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; dis. by surg.,
Jan. 23, 1864.
Amos C. Jardine, G, 124th P. V.; mus., Aug. 12, 1862; died Sept.
24, 1862, of woupds received at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Henry Jeffries, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., June
13,1864.
David S. Jenkins, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; died of
wounds received at Wilderness, Va., May 6, 1864.
Emil Johnson, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., July 17, 1861; w'd. at
Charles City Cross Roads, June 30, 1862; dis. by surg., May
9, 1863.
John P. Jones, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; cap. at New
Market Cross Roads; dis., June 13, 1864.
William Jones, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Dec. 11,
1861.
Edward Keeley, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., Sept. 29, 1862; w'd. at
Fredericksburg; trans, to V. R. C, Dec. 10, 1863.
Frank Kelley, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; died Aug., 1862.
Dennis Kelley, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. by surg.,
1862.
Michael Kelley, Bat. H, 5th Art; mus., Sept. 16, 1861; dis., Sept.
16, 1864.
Samuel Kennedy, I, 67th P. V.; mus., Sept. 23, 1861; re-enlisted,
Dec. 31, 1863; ais., Dec. 19, 1864.
Thomas Kildea, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis., for wounds
received at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
William King.
Michael Kinney, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. for wounds
received at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Stephen Kirkner, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; killed at
Charles City Cross Roads, June 30, 1862.
George W. Knerr, E, 188th P. V; w'd. at Drury's Bluff, May 16,
1864; died, June 1,1864.
Henry Kram, F, 88th P. V; mus., Sept. 16, 1861 ; dis. by surg.,
July 13, 1862.
Frederick Krehl, Bat. B, 2d Art, 112th P. V; mus., Dec. 22, 1861;
dis., Dec. 21, 1864.
Joseph Lacey, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis. by surg.,
Oct. 19, 1862, for wound received in thigh; died, Nov. 10
1862.

254 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Daniel Lafferty, I, 68th P. V; mus., Sept. 2, 1862; dis., June 9,
1865.
David R. Landis, F, 26th P. V. M., Emergency; mus., June 20,
1863; dis., July 30, 1863.
Peter Landis, C. 175th Penn'a Drafted Militia; mus., Nov. 5, 1862;
died at Harrisburg, Aug. 4, 1863.
Z. S. Laver, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; dis., July 2,
1864.
George Leslie, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861; dis., June
13, 1864.
John Leslie, D, 82d P. V.; mus., Oct 18, 1861; trans, to G, Sept.
4, 1864.
Adam G. Liebhart, I, 67th P. V.; mus., Oct. 26, 1861, for 3 years.
Samuel C. Lilley, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861; dis.,
June 13, 1864.
Paul Link, H, 98th P. V; mus., Nov. 5, 1861; cap.; died at Ander
sonville, Ga., July 14, 1864.
Hugh Livingstone, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd. at
Antietam; dis., June 13, 1864.
Jerome Longacre, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd. at
South Mountain; dis. by surg., Dec. 13, 1862.
Theophilus Longaker, I, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 24, 1861; dis. by
surg., June 25, 1862.
Henry Loud, H, 97th P. V.; mus., Sept. 27, 1861; 'dis., Feb. 28,
1864; re-enlisted; vet; dis., Aug. 24, 1864; w'd. at Bermuda
Hundred, in right hand.
William Manning, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., July 17, 1861; trans.
to L, 54th P. V, June 8, 1864.
Jacob M. March, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis., June
13, 1864.
Anthony W. Mattson.
Jesse C. Mattson, H, 12th Cav., P. V.; died, July 1, 1864.
Hunter Maxton, F, 97th P. V.; mus., Oct. 18, 1861; died at Hilton
Head, S. C, Jan. 25, 1862.
Jacob Mackintosh, C, 97th P. V; mus., Sept. 11, 1861; died at
Beaufort, S. C, Oct. 28, 1863.
Thomas McAdams, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis.,
June 13, 1864.
William McAfee, G, 1st P. R. V. C.; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis., June
13, 1864.

THE REBELLION. 255
Daniel McBride, K, 71st P V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. by surg.,
June, 1862.
Bernard McCabe, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 17, 1861 ; dis.,
June 17, 1864.
Patrick McCabe, K, 71st P. V.; trans, to A, 69th P. V.; mus., Aug.
19, 1862; dis., June 12, 1865.
Owen McCabe, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
James McCaffery, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; died, Aug,
1862.
Harrison , McCloud.
Michael McCoy, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus. ,July 12, 1861 ; des., Feb.,
1863.
Washington McCoy, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861; trans.
to V. R. C, May 28, 1862.
William M. McCoy, G, 1st P. R. V C ; mus., July 12, 1861 ; w'd. at
Antietam ; dis., June 13, 1864.
Edward McCracken, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; des.,
Nov. 29, 1862.
Alexander McDermott, B, 91st P. V; mus., Dec. 16, 1861 ; w'd. at
Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864; dis., Dec. 15, 1865.
Andrew McDermott, K,. 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; died, Aug.,
1862.
John McDonnell, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis., July 2,
1864.
Edward McDonough, H, 198th P. V; mus., Oct 5, 1864; dis., June
4, 1865.
James McDonough, F, 67th P. V; mus., Sept. 2, 1861, for 3 years.
Stephen McElhatten, I, 67th P. V.
Thomas McGlathery, H, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 29, 1861; trans, to
Bat G, 2d TJ. S. Art, Nov. 5, 1862. .
Andrew McGuckian, B, 69th P. V; mus., Aug. 15, 1862; killed at
Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.
Hugh McKeown, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. for
wounds received at Antietam, Sept 17, 1862.
Patrick McKenna, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Dec,
1861.
Cochrane McLaughlin, G, 1st P. R V. C; mus., June 6, 1861;*cap.
at Snicker's Gap; dis., June 13, 1864.
James McLaughlin.

256 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
William A McManus, I, 115th P. V; mus., May 27, 1862; died at
Fortress Monroe, Oct. 7, 1862.
Hugh McQuade, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Sept. 10,
1862.
Michael McQuade, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Sept.
10, 1862.
Joseph L. Meigs, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863 ; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
Albert Miller, F, 67th P. V; mus., Sept. 2, 1861, for 3 years; w'd.,
Sept. 19, 1864.
Jonathan J, Miller, F, 150th P. V.; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; died, Aug.
18, 1863, of wounds received in action.
Milton N. Miller, G, 1st P. R, V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; died at
Baltimore, July 26, 1862.
Nelson T. Miller, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; killed at
Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Reuben Miller, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; killed at Gettys
burg, July 3, 1863.
William Miller, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861; w'd. at
Fredericksburg; trans, to 190th P. V.; vet.
Thomas Millington, E, 73d P. V; mus., Aug. 3, 1861 ; killed at Mis
sionary Ridge, Tenn., Nov. 25, 1863.
William Millington, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus , June 6, 1861 ; w'd. at
New Market Cross Roads; dis., June 13, 1864.
John Mills, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; trans, to 190th
P. V., May 31, 1864.
Lewis Mock, I, 119th P. V.; mus., Aug. 30, 1862; died, Dec. 31, of
wounds received at Rappahannock Station, Va., Nov. 7, 1863.
William Mood, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; killed at
k Charles City Cross Roads, June 30, 1862.
Patrick Mooney, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. for wounds
received at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
John Morgan, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; trans, to L,
54th P. V., June 8, 1864; vet.
Joseph W. Morgan, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; trans.
to L, 54th P. V., June 8, 1864 ; vet.
Hugh Mulholland, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861 ; dis. by surg.,
Aug., 1862.
Joseph Mullen, K, 71st P. V; mu^., June 28, 1861; killed at Antie
tam, Sept. 17, 1862.

THE REBELLION. 257
Daniel B. Munshower, H, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 29, 1861 ; dis., Jan.
12, 1863.
Nathan Munshower, H, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 29, 1861; dis,, Sept.
16, 1864.
Thomas Munshower, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis.,
June 13, 1864.
William Murphy, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861, for 3 years;
dis. by surg.
John Murray, H, 1st Pa. Res. Light Art.; mus., Aug. 13, 1864; dis.,
June 27, 1865.
Henry K. Neilor, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; dis. by surg.,
Nov. 6, 1862.
John P. Neilor, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus,, June 6, 1861; dis., June
13, 1864.
John Nester, D, 69th P. V; mus., Oct. 31, 1861; w'd. at Gettysburg,
July 3, 1863; dis., Dec. 1, 1864.
Joseph T. Norton, K, 97th P. V; mus., Oct. 5, 1862; killed in ac
tion, Aug. 25, 1864.
Isaac Oberholtzer, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861 ; dis.,
June 13, 1864.
John S. Oberholtzer, Bat. G, 3d Art, 152d P. V; mus., Feb. 10,
1864; died at Fortress Monroe, March 4, 1864.
James O'Donnell, E, 88th P. V; mus., Sept, 17, 1861, for 3 years.
Edward O'Neill, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Aug.
1861. •
Roger O'Neill, C, 71st P. V.; mus., Aug. 23, 1861; dis. by surg.,
Dec. 1, 1862.
James Patton, C, 82d P. V.; mus., Aug. 26, 1861; dis., April 29,
1865.
Thomas Peart, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
Samuel W. Pennypacker, F, 26th P. V. M., Emergency; mus., June
20, 1863; dis., July 30, 1863.
Thomas W. Pennypacker, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863;
dis., Aug. 10, 1863.
Davis M. Phillips, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., Sept. 19, 1862; trans.
to 190th P. V., May 31, 1864; C, 4th P. V, 3 months ser
vice.
William J. Pollock, H, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 29, 1861; dis., Sept.
19, 1862.
17

258 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
John M. Powers, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; killed at
South Mountain, Sept. u/1862.
James Pritchard, I, 67th P. V.; $ied Jan. 29, 1864.
William Pritchard, F, 67th P. V.; mus., March 14, 1862; dis., May
23, 1865.
Michael Purcell, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; dis., July 2,
1864.
Jacob Pyle, E, 9th Cav., 92d P. V; mus., Oct., 17, 1861; w'd. at
Tompkinsville, Ky, July 9, 1862; dis., Dec. 24, 1864.
Ambrose Quay, C, 97th P. V; mus., Sept. 16, 1861; w'd., May 20,
1864; and in right side at Petersburg, Va., Sept. 5, 1864;
dis., Nov. 7, 1864.
Rees Quay, K, 71st P. V; dis., Dec. 19, 1862, for wounas received
at Antietam.
John Quigg, F, 97th P. V.; mus., March 15, 1864; killed near
Petersburg, Va,, July 30, 1864; vet.
Arthur Quinn, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Dec. 11,
1862.
Silas S. Rapp, K, 97th P. V; mus., Oct. 15, 1861; died at Hilton
Head, S. C, May 10, 1862.
Sylvester Rapp, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
1.0, 1863.
Thomas J. Rapp, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
Frederick Raysor, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; wounded
at Fredericksburg; dis., June 13, 1864.
Jacob Reaver, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., Aug. 19, 1861; trans, to V.
R. C, July 3, 1863; dis., Aug. 19, 1.864.
Thomas Ready, F, 26th P. V M. Emergency; mus., June 20, 1863;
cap. at Gettysburg; dis., July 30, 1863.
Jacob Reedy, F, 97th P. V; mus., March 15, 1864; killed at Ber
muda Hundred, Va., May 20, 1864; vet.
Samuel L. Rees, F, 82d P. V.; mus., Aug. 23, 1861; des., Jan. 29,
1863.
William Regens, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; dis., June 23,
1865.
Joseph G. Rennard, F, 26th P. V. M., Emergency; mus., June 20,
1863; dis., July 30, 1863.
George W. Renshaw, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis.,
Sept. 28, 1864.

THE REBELLION. 259
Richard Renshaw, F, 26th P. V. M., Emergency; mus., June 20,
.1863; dis., July 30, 1863.
Frank Rhoades, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
John Rhoades, F, 26th P. V. M., Emergency; mus., June 20, 1863;
dis., July 30, 1863.
Preston S. Rhoades, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis.,
June 17, 1864.
John H. Rhodewalt, M, 1st Cav., 44th P. V; mus., Aug. 5, 1861;
died, Sept. 13, 1863.
Lewis Richards, K, 71st P. V.; mus. for 3 years; dis., Aug. 19, 1864.
George Rimbe, D, 49th P. V.; died, May 3, 1863, at Spottsylvania
Court House.
Joseph E. Rimbe, F, 88th P. V; mus., Sept. 16, 1861; dis., 1864.
Benjamin H. Roberts, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; died
at Camp Pierpont, Va., Jan. 28, 1862.
Joseph J. Roberts, A, 183d P. V.; mus., Jan. 5, 1864; died, March
11, 1865.
Allen Rogers, C, 51st P. V; mus., Sept. 13, 1861; dis., Sept. 13,
1864.
Lewis Roland, F, 88th P. V.; mus., Sept. 23, 1861; dis. by surg.,
Aug. 14, 1862.
B. F. Rossiter, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., July 17, 1861; dis. by
surg., Feb. 7, 1863.
B. F. Rossiter, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., July 17, 1861; trans, to L,
54th P. V, June 8, 1864; vet.
Joseph Rossiter, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
10, 1863.
P. K. Rossiter, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., July 17, 1861; w'd. at
Cloyd Mountain, May 9, 1864; trans, to L, 54th P. V., June
8, 1864; vet.
Striker C. Rossiter, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., July 17, 1861; dis.,
June 17, 1864.
Thomas Rossiter, Jr., B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863.
Henry Ruthorn, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., July 17, 1861; died at
Belle Plain,.Va., Jan. 12, 1863.
James Schwenk, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis., June
13, 1864.
Adam Sellers, I, 6>7th P. V.

260 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
William L. Shaffer, 72d P. V; mus., Oct. 15, 1861; dis., Jan. 16,
1862.
Benjamin'Shaw, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., March
16, 1864.
Thomas Sheets, I, 119th P. V; mus., Aug. 27, 1862; died near
Brandy Station, Va., Jan. 16, 1864.
William Shafflin.
Peter Shimer, Bat. L, 2d Art, 112th P. V; mus., Nov. 9, 1861; dis.,
Nov. 9, 1864.
Albert Showalter.
Matthias P. Showalter, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863.
William B. Showalter, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis.
by surg., Sept. 16, 1863.
James Shovelin, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; des., Dec. 11,
1862.
John S. Shute, E, 9th Cav., 92d P. V; mus., Oct. 17, 1861; cap. at
Tompkinsville, Ky., July 9, 1862 ; dis., Dec. 24, 1864.
Samuel Signet, H, 11th Cav., 108th P. V; mus., Sept 19, 1861;
w'd.; dis. by surg., July 9, 1862.
William H. Signet, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; trans.
to TJ. S. A., Oct. 9, 1862.
James Sloan, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; cap. at New
Market Cross Roads; dis., June 13, 1864.
John T. Small wood, F, 88th P. V; mus., Sept. 16, 1861 ; dis. by
surg., April 14, 1862.
Elijah J. Smith, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., Aug. 19, 1861; killed at
Charles City Cross Roads, June 30, 1862.
Isaac M. Smith, Bat. L, 2d Art, 112th P. V; mus., Oct. 24, 1861;
died at Annapolis, Md., Oct. 7, 1864, of wounds.
Joseph Smith, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; killed at
Charles City Cross Roads, June 30, 1862.
Matthias Smith, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861 ; w'd. at
New Market Cross Roads; dis. by surg., Sept. 16, 1863.
William T. Smith, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., Aug. 19, 1861 ; died at
Georgetown, D. C, Nov. 7, 1861.
Aaron H. Snyder, F, 20th Cav., 181st P. V.; died, at Harper's Ferry,
Aug. 2, 1864.
John Snyder, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., Aug. 19, 1861; trans, to L,
54th P. V., June 8, 1864; dis., Aug. 5, 1864.

THE REBELLION. 261
Samuel Sower, B, 34th P. V. M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis., Aug.
. 10, 1863.
Theodore Sowers, B, 175th Penn'a Drafted Militia; mus., Nov. 5,
1862; died July 28, 1863.
H. Alfred Spare, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; dis,, May 15,
1863, of wounds in the thigh, received at Antietam, Sept. 17,
1862.
Gordon A. Spare, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; dis., June
13, 1864.
Andrew Spear, G, 1st P. R. V C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., June
13, 1864.
Henry Speece, E, 110th P. V.; mus., Sept. 6, 1861; dis., by surg.,
Oct. 21, 1862.
Robert Spotten, G, 1st P. R. V C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd. at
Fredericksburg; dis., June 13, 1864.
Isaac Springer, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 17, 1861; trans, to
L, 54th P. V., June 8, 1864; dis.; July 28, 1864.
E. Nelson Stackhouse, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis.,
June 13, 1864.
Alexander Stephenson, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861 ; died of
wounds received at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Richard Stephens, K,- 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; died, Aug.,
1862.
Daniel Sullivan, B, 82d P. V.; mus., March 6, 1864; dis., June 29,
1865.
James Taggart, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; dis. by surg.,
Dec, 1861.
John Taggart, Bat. L, 2d Art, 112th P. V; mus., Oct. 10, 1861;
dis., Oct. 19, 1864.
Washington Taney, C, 71st P. V; mus., Aug. 6, 1861; died, Oct. 31,
1862, of wounds received at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
William C. Taylor, F, 67th P. V; mus., Sept 14, 1861 ; dis., July
14, 1865; vet.
Thomas Temperly, C, 51st P. V.; mus., Sept. 13, 1861; trans, to A,
3d V. R. C; dis., Sept. 16, 1864.
John Tierney, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861 ; des., Sept., 1862.
John Timbler.
William Todd.
John A. Vanderslice, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861 ; dis.,
Sept. 16, 1861.

262 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
John M. Vanderslice, F, 82d P. V; mus., Aug. 23, 1861; des., Jan.
20, 1863.
John V. Vanderslice, B, 1st Cav., 44th P. V ; mus., Aug. 8, 1861 ;
dis. by surg., April 14, 1863.
Jona/ Vanderslice, D, 96th P. V; mus., Sept. 23, 1861; died at
Philadelphia, July 16, 1865, of wounds received at Cold Har
bor, Va., June 3, 1865; vet.
Nicholas Vanderslice, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus , July 12, 1861 ; w'd.
at Antietam; dis. by surg., Jan. 29, 1864.
Samuel L. Vanderslice, F, 150th P. V.; mus., Aug. 28, 1862; dis.,
by surg., May 6, 1865.
William T. Vanderslice, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861;
w'd. at South Mountain; dis. by surg., Feb , 1863.
Joseph Vanhorn, F, 32d N. Y.; mus., May 24, 1861 ; dis., June 9,
1863.
Joseph Vannaman, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., by
surg., Jan. 24, 1862.
Thomas Virtue, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; killed at
Charles City Cross Roads, June 30, 1862.
John Wagoner, K, 71st P. V; mus., June 28, 1861; dis., April 24,
1862.
John Wagoner, Bat. L, 2d Art, 112th P. V.; mus., Oct. 18, 1862;
cap., Sept. 29, 1864; died at Salisbury, N. C, Nov. 29,
1864.
Joseph Wahl, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; killed at
Bethesda Church, Va.. May 30, 1864.
Philip Wahl, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., Aug. 19, 1861; right arm
amputated from grape shot wound at Antietam, Sept. 16,
1862; dis., Feb. 10, 1863; mus., Dec. 1, 1863; 50th Co., 2d
Bat, V. R. C; dis., March 1, 1865.
Samuel S. Waitneight, B, 34th P. V M.; mus., June 29, 1863; dis.,
Aug. 10, 1863.
Charles A. Walters, B, 73d P. V; mus., July 15, 1861; cap., Oct.
21, 1863; died at Andersonville, June 22, 1864.
Reuben H. Walters, K, 4th P. R. V C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; trans.
to L, 54th P. V, June 8, 1864.
Morgan Waters, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., June
13, 1864.
Joseph L. Watson, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd. at
Gaines' Mill; dis. by surg., Jan. 28, 1863.

THE REBELLION. 263
John S. Weber, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; w'd. in right
shoulder at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863 ; trans, to V. K. C,
Jan. 17, 1863; dis., June 27, 1865.
Lawrence Webster, I, 82d P. V.
J. Merritt Weeks, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; trans, to
190th P. V, May 31, 1864; vet; killed at Salisbury, N C.
Solomon Wesler, C, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., Feb. 10, 1864; killed at
Spottsylvania Court House, May 12, 1864.
Benjamin R. Whitaker, D, 104th P. V.; mus., Oct. 23, 1861 ; dis.,
Oct. 23, 1864.
Joseph Whiteman, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; des.,
Nov. 29, 1862.
Henry Whitby.
William P. Widdecombe, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861;
W'd. at Bull Run; dis., June 13, 1864.
Charles R. Williams, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., Oct. 23, 1861; w'd.
at New Market Cross Roads; trans, to 190th P. V., May 31,
1864.
David B. Williams, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., by
surg.
Edmund Williams, K, 4th P. R. V C; mus., June 6, 1861; dis., by
surg.
James D. Williams, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; trans, to
V. R. C, Dec. 20, 1864.
John Williams, F, 88th P. V; mus., Sept. 16, 1861, for 3 years;
vet.
Joseph R. Williams, I, 119th P. V; mus., Aug. 23, 1862; trans, to
H, 9th V. R. C; dis., June 28, 1865.
Joshua Williams, I, 67th P. V; mus., Oct 26, 1861, for 3 years.
George Wilson, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861 ; died of wounds
received at Spottsylvania Court House, May 12, 1864.
George T. Wilson, F, 150th P. V; mus., Aug. 19, 1862; w'd. in
right hand at Spottsylvania Court House, May 8, 1864; trans.
to V. R. C, May 1, 1865; dis., June 20, 1865.
Benjamin F. Woodland, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., July 12, 1861 ;
dis., June 13, 1864.
William Woodland, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd. at'
New Market Cross Roads; dis., by surg., Dec. 22, 1862.
Thomas Woods, K, 71st P. V.; mus., June 28, 1861; dis., July 2,
1864.

264

PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

Nelson T. Wollerton, K, 4th P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861 ; died
July 28, 1862, of wounds received at Charles City Cross
Roads, June 30, 1862.
John W. Yeager, G, 1st P. R. V. C; mus., June 6, 1861; w'd. In
left leg, at New Market Cross Roads; dis., by surg., Dec. 26,
1863.

Jacob Aceret.
George Adlemen.
James Adleman.
David Andrew.
Robert Armstrong.
William Austin.
Charles Bayletts.
John Black.
Thomas Braceland.
Michael Bradley.
John Brady.
James Brophy.
Marshall Clark.
Josiah Clark.
Daniel Collehan.
H. Conway.
J. Conway.
James Cullin.
Jeremiah Dalton.
James Davis.
George Dawson.
William Daubman.
Richard De'nan.
Francis Derman.
James Devereau.
James Devlin.
John Dorsie.
E. Dougherty.
James Dulin.
Thomas Duming.
Patrick Dwin.
Christian Eberwine,

RANK UNKNOWN. John Elwin.
William Finger.
August Fireflll.
James Gillespie.
Patrick J. Giblin.
Anthony G. Gillettana.
Michael Green.
Patrick Green.
Frederick Grail.
John Hatfield.
Joseph Hatfield.
James Hessen.
Charles Hickey.
James Hickey.
Max Hickey,
Terrence Hickey.
William Hinkle.
William Holchiser.
James Hough.
John Hughes.
John Hunter.
William Jackson.
Walter S. John.
J. H. Johnson.
John W. Jones.
John Juggin.
Timothy Kelley.
Charles Kendall.
Patrick Kinna.
Abraham Kuhn.
William Lafferty.
Walter Lannan.

THE REBELLION.

265

William Laugher.
George Levlin.
John Levlin.
John Lesbee.
Arthur Lyons.
David Marshall.
John McAdams.
Henry McCloud.
Jacob McCloud.
James McCloud.
Patrick McCool.
Samuel McDaniel.
Samuel McDonnell.
William McDonough.
Patrick McDenna.
John McPherson.
Joseph Miller.
Abraham Morris.
Asaph Morris.
Howard Morris.
Patrick Mulligan.
James Mungby.

George Munshower.
William O'Donnell.
Felix O'Neill.
John Patrick.
John J. Sullivan.
Peter Quinn.
Thomas Rankins.
Harry Ryan.
Michael Ryan.
A. Scull.
J. H. Shuler.
John Stephens.
Joshua Stephens.
Thomas Taggart.
L. R, Talson.
Nehemiah Vanderslice.
Lewis Walley.
Ruler Walters.
William Wilson.
Thomas White.
James Woods.
J. H. Zenfar.

In the spring of 1868, Post No. 45 of the Grand
Army of the Republic, which had been organized soon
after the return of the soldiers and had adopted the name,
"Josiah White Post," from one of the most gallant and
ill-fated of the Phcenixville volunteers, determined to
take measures for the erection of a monument in memory
of their fallen comrades. A committee, consisting of
John P. Dobson, President; Frederick A. Tencate, Secre
tary; Joseph B. McAllister, Treasurer; Joseph Morgan,
Daniel F. Moore, Lavington Quick, Nathan A. Penny-
packer, Isaac W. Kurtz and John T. Eaches, was ap
pointed to collect funds for the purpose and make the
necessary arrangements. The Morris Cemetery Company
conveyed to them, gratuitously, a very eligible lot in its

266 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
cemetery for a site, and during the three following years
the committee, through contributions from the citizens, in
creased by the proceeds of lectures, picnics and dramatic
entertainments, superintended by themselves, and fairs
and tableaux parties given by the ladies, succeeded in ob
taining over five thousand dollars. With this sum they
purchased a very handsome and highly creditable white
marble monument, with granite base, standing forty-two
feet in height, ornamented with the coat of arms of
Pennsylvania, the American shield, the badge of the
Grand Army of the Republic, a Griffen gun and devices
representing the different branches of the service, and
surmounted by the statue of a private soldier in the posi
tion of "parade rest." On it were inscribed the names
of those who died in the army and navy during the war
and of the battles in which they participated. A short
time prior to its erection, one of the committee, Penny-
packer, supported by John O. K. Pobarts and others of
the citizens, objected to the proposed location, urging
that it ought not to be placed within the control of a pri
vate corporation, especially one beyond the limits of the
borough, and that its object being rather to perpetuate
the memories of the dead soldiers than to designate their
resting place, could be best subserved by raising its shaft
in the most conspicuous position in the town. Meetings
were held, at which it was determined to submit the
question to a vote of the citizens of Phcenixville, but this
proceeding was superseded by the others of the commit
tee, who, declaring they were bound by their contracts
with the cemetery company and their understanding with
the subscribers, upon its arrival had it erected on the site
originally selected. It was dedicated on the 20th of May,
1871, amid the most imposing ceremonies, which were wit-

THE REBELLION. 267
nessed by an immense assemblage of people. They con
sisted of a parade, led by Generals John P. Dobson and
John F. Hartranft, in which the various military and civic
bodies of Chester and Montgomery Counties participated;
a prayer by the Rev. W. R. Stockton; and an oration by
Gen. R. Biddle Roberts, the late colonel of the 1st Re
serves. On the 10th of March, 1871, Gov. Geary appointed
John R. Dobson major general of the third military di
vision of the NationaJ Guards of Pennsylvania, consisting
of the counties of Chester and Lancaster. Dobson ap
pointed upon his staff Frederick A. Tencate, lieutenant
colonel and adjutant general, Lavington Quick, lieutenant
colonel and surgeon-in-chief, B. F. Bean, lieutenant major
and division quarter-master, and Daniel F. Moore, lieu
tenant major and aid-de-camp. Two companies in Phce
nixville, in a flourishing condition, attest the continuance
of the military spirit awakened by the rebellion.

268 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.

CHAPTER XVIII.
FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS.
The ancestors of the Davis family, which has been in
fluential in Chester ^County since a^very early date, were
among those Welsh immigrants who settled a number of
its interior townships. At one time, there were among
the early residents in this locality six persons named
David Davis, and they were distinguished by the following
singular designations, viz.: Crooknose, Glandy, Ranter,
Sawyer, Minepit and Climbbush.
On the 16th of October, 1712, "Will? Davis, a Justice
of the peace in Chester County, for his indiscreet pro
ceedings in marrying of W1? Havard & Eliz., the
Daughter of Capt. Roche, is ordered to be left out of
Common." (Col. Rec, Vol. II, page 561.)
Myrick Davis was elected coroner of Philadelphia
County in 1728. Benjamin Davis was elected sheriff of
Chester County in the years 1740, 1741, 1742, 1746,
1747, 1748, 1759 and 1760. Myrick Davis, a yeoman,
thirty-six years of age, born in Radnor, enlisted to fight
against the French and Indians, April 24, 1759. Isaac
Davis, heretofore mentioned as a justice of the peace, con
tinued in that office until his death, in the early part of
the Revolutionary war. At the suggestion of Congress, a
provincial conference met in Philadelphia, June 18, 1776,
to make arrangements for a change of the colonial govern
ment, and among the representatives from Chester County

FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS. 269
was Col. Caleb Davis. He was very active during the
war, in various capacities, and, in 1777, was appointed
clerk of the courts and prothonotary of the county, an
office he still held in 1784. Lewis Davis was one of the
Chester County committee and also a delegate to the pro
vincial convention held in Philadelphia in January, 1775.
Gen. John Davis, who is buried at the Presbyterian
church in the Valley, was an efficient officer of the Revo
lutionary war. Dr. John Davis, a native of Tredyffrin
Township, received the appointment of surgeon-in-chief
of the Pennsylvania battalions, organized in 1776, and
was captured at the battle of Long Island.
VANDERSLICE.
This name was originally Van der Sluys, being proba
bly derived from " Sluys," a city on the southwest coast of
Holland. From an interesting folio volume, called "Der
Blutige Schau-platz oder Martyer Spiegel," which was re
printed at Ephrata, in 1748, from a German translation
of a work, in Low Dutch, published in 1660, we learn
that Grietjen Von Sluys, of Guelderland, was one of the
Protestant martyrs put to-death in 1573.
Reynier Van der Sluys and his son, Adrian Van der
Sluys, emigrated from the Low Countries very soon after
the settlement by Penn, and were naturalized by an act of
the Provincial Assembly in the year 1708. Reynier died
in 1713, leaving the following named children, viz,: Ar
nold, Henry, Anthony, Johannes, Anna and Martha.
Henry Vanderslice was elected sheriff of Berks County,
in 1774, and Jacob was a lieutenant, from the same
county, in the Revolutionary war. On the militia rolls of
Philadelphia County, which, at that time, included Mont
gomery, I find the names Anthony, Jacob, John, Reynard

270 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
and Thomas. The family is now very numerous in the
eastern counties of Pennsylvania.
" Old Tom Vanderslice," or " Devil Tom," was a cha
racter as notorious in this neighborhood thirty years ago
as the famous Jim Fitzpatrick of Revolutionary times, but
he appears to have possessed none of that desperado's
virtues. Through his assistance, the Rev. Elijah Bowen,
whose acquaintance he had made in prison, and who had
attained a national reputation as a horse thief and biga
mist, was enabled to marry a Miss Vanderslice, his sister,
and obtain possession of her property. Together they
divided the spoils of success. They were also concerned
in the attempt to abduct a child of Gov. Simon Snyder,
which was undertaken in order to compel that official to
pardon the paramour of Mrs. Carson, then under sentence
of death for murder. He fell from a wharf, in Philadel
phia, into the Delaware, in 1848, and was drowned. His
companion, Bowen, who frequently appeared in the im
mediate neighborhood of Phcenixville in the guise of a
clergyman, and who is said to have preached an eloquent
sermon, lived to a venerable old age.
REEVES.
Benjamin Reeves, the founder of the fortunes of this
wealthy family, was born near Timber Creek, in Glou
cester County, New Jersey, where his ancestors had re
sided for several generations. By industry he obtained
sufficient means to open a grocery store, near Front and
Market Streets, in Philadelphia, and some speculations in
salt, at the opening of the war of 1812, proving fortunate,
he leased the Market Street ferry and, in addition to
running the boats to Camden, kept a hotel at the wharf.
Prospering in this, as in his preceding efforts, he com-

FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS. 271
menced the manufacture of nails, at the Cumberland
Works, Bridgeton, New Jersey, about the year 1822, and
gave an interest in them to his brother David, who from
his boyhood had been a clerk in a store in Gloucester
County. A short time subsequently, they formed a busi
ness alliance with the Whitakers, and purchased the com
peting establishment at Phcenixville. Until his death,
which occurred at Philadelphia, in 1845, Benjamin con
tinued to be the controlling power in these two interests,
and it was mainly due to his foresight and ability that
they became permanently successful. Though there were
many opportunities presented of hazarding the means
of the partnership in short but dangerous roads to for
tune, he never permitted himself to be lured away from
his legitimate business, and the result of this sound judg
ment was that, while often encountering difficulty, he
never met with disaster.
David Reeves came to Phcenixville in 1855, and soon
afterward occupied his residence on Bridge Street, near
Starr, which had recently been prepared for him and is
probably the most beautiful in the valley of the Schuyl
kill. He was president of the Phcenix Iron Company
from its incorporation until 1871, during the whole of
which period it immensely increased in capital and pro
duction, and at the time of his death, at the latter date,
he was the largest stockholder in that company, as well
as in the Cambria Iron Company, and was probably the
wealthiest man in Chester County. He will long be re
membered for his true gentility, which was exhibited not
only in courteous manners but in the kind treatment of
even the most abject who were brought in contact with
him, and for his profuse generosity. The esteem in
which he was held by the community is best evidenced

272 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
by the fact that his death caused general mourning, and
his funeral, at Laurel Hill, was attended by so many of
the people of Phcenixville that they filled thirty-four cars
and required three trains. The employes of the company
determined unanimously to erect a monument to his
memory, since completed at a cost of about six thousand
dollars, and the Borough Council, with equal zeal, has ac
cepted a grant of land to be ornamented and converted
into a park bearing his name. MORRIS.
The Morrises, since the death, of John S. Morris, only
represented in this vicinity by the descendants of females,
are a branch of that family, so distinguished in the his
tory of Pennsylvania, which furnished the financier of the
Revolution. Benjamin Morris came to reside on the es
tate, upon Nutt's Road, about the year 1817. He had
previously been president judge of the court of one of the
adjacent counties, but devoted the latter part of his life
to retirement and study. COFFMAN.
The German names are very generally derived from the
occupations of those who originally bore them. Kauff
man is a merchant. Jan Kauffman, a Protestant martyr,
suffered death at the stake in Antwerp, in 1569. David
Kauffman, of Philadelphia County, was naturalized in
1730, and Andrew, John and Isaac Coffman, of Lancaster
County, in 1729. Upon the Revolutionary militia rolls
of Lancaster, I find the names Andrew, Andrew, Jr.,
Christian, Henry, Isaac, Jacob, John and Jonas, and of
Berks County the names Christian, Isaac, Jacob, John,
Joseph and Philip.

FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS. 273
, WHITAKER.
The Whitakers are a branch of a family distinguished
in English history at least as early as the fourteenth cen
tury, and many "of its members have since held high posi
tions in the church and in literature. Their coat of arms
bears the motto " Robur atque Fides." Joseph Whitaker,
the ancestor of the family in this neighborhood so well
known in the iron trade of Pennsylvania, came to this
country as a light dragoon in the British army, during
the Revolutionary war, and afterward settled near Co
ventry. His numerous sons, though they commenced life
with hard manual labor, nearly all attained to wealth
and influence. James, the eldest, learned the trade of a
blacksmith, commenced making nails by hand in Phila
delphia, about the beginning of the present century, and,
meeting with success, induced his brother Joseph to join
him in 1808. When the nail machines were patented,
they leased a mill at the Falls of Schuylkill, and con
tinued the business there until 1820, when they leased
works on the Brandywine, in Delaware, and Gibraltar
Forge, at Reading, Pa. In 1826, they entered into part
nership with the Reeves and soon afterward came to
Phcenixville. James was subsequently the senior partner
of the present firm of Seyfert, MacManus & Co., of Read
ing, the proprietor of cotton mills at Manayunk, and is
still living at the age of ninety-one years, having probably
been, for a long time, the oldest of the pioneers in the
iron trade of Pennsylvania. Joseph, after withdrawing
from the firm of Reeves & Whitaker, at the death of
Benjamin Reeves, purchased, in partnership with George
P., a younger brother, the Durham furnaces, in Bucks
county, the Crescent rolling mill, at Wheeling, and con
tinued a commission business, in Philadelphia, and manu-
18

274 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
facturing at the Principio furnaces, in Maryland, until
within a few years of his decease, in 1870. George P.,
it is said, is the largest real estate owner in Maryland.
KREAMER.
The German name, Kramer, means a shop keeper.
Peter Cramer, a Protestant martyr, was beheaded in
1558. Andrew Kreamer was elected constable of Ger
mantown, in 1695. Adam Kreamer was a lieutenant of
militia, in Berks County, during the Revolution, and upon
the militia rolls of that county, in 1777, 1778 and 1779,
are the names George, Daniel, John, Christopher, Frede
rick, Gottfried and Nicholas, and upon those of Lancaster
County, John, William and Michael. Philip Kreamer
was sheriff of Berks County in 1781, 1782, 1783 and
1790. Samuel Kreamer is one of the leading merchants
of Phcenixville. ASHENFELTER.
Aschenfeldter, or Eschenfeldter, is a German name,
meaning an ash field. Upon the Revolutionary militia
rolls of Philadelphia County are the names John, Lu-
dowic and Thomas. YERKES.
This name, originally commencing with the letter " J,"
which in the German language has the force of "Y," was
a very troublesome one to convert into English. I have
seen, in old documents, the following different ortho
graphies — Jerghes, Gerjhes, Gerckes, Yerkhas, Jerghjes —
among a number of others. Herman Yerkes and An
thony Yerkes emigrated to Pennsylvania soon after the
settlement of the province, and were both naturalized,
by act of Assembly, in 1729. Anthony was one of the

FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS. 275
three burgesses of Germantown, December 28, 1703, and,
during the previous year, Johannes attended the night
school pf Francis Daniel Pastorius. From (jhe records of
an early court there, I extract the following, under date
of October 3, 1704. "The action of Abraham op den
Graeff against David Sherkes for slandering him, the said
Abraham, that no honest man would be in his company,
was called and the bond of the said David Sherkes and
Dirck Keyser Sen. for the defendants appearing at this
Court was read ; the cause pleaded and as witnesses were
attested Dirck Keyser Sen., Dirck Keyser Jr., Arnold Van
Vosen and Herman Dors, whereupon the Jury brought
in their verdict thus — We of the Jury find for the De
fendant." On the Revolutionary militia rolls of Philadel
phia County are the names John, Silas, Herman, Elias (a
cooper), George, Anthony, Jonathan, Stephen and Josiah,
and of Bucks County, Edward and Henry, the latter of
Warwick Township. The descendants of the primogeni
tors, Herman and Anthony, are now very numerous.
SUPLEE.
Among the earliest settlers of Germantown was An
dreas Soupli, and he must have been a man of influence,
as he was chosen sheriff of that corporation in 1691.
On the Revolutionary militia rolls of Philadelphia County
are John, Isaac, Jacob, Andrew, Jonathan, Nathan and
David. Peter Suplee was for severaL years a justice of
the peace of Schuylkill Township.
. KNERR.
Levi P. Knerr served as a lieutenant through the war
with Mexico. A number of his letters, describing battles
and marches, may be found in the Pioneer.

276 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Two maiden ladies, Hannah A. and Mary C. Knerr,
living together at the corner of Bridge and Gay Streets',
became the victims of the most daring and almost the
only burglary ever committed in Phcenixville. About
two o'clock on the morning of December 1, 1869, in the
midst of a severe storm, two masked ruffians entered the
house and placing pistols to the heads of the ladies, so as
to enforce silence, tied them fast in their beds. They
then ransacked the rooms and, having obtained about
three thousand dollars, escaped with their booty.
PENNYPACKER.
The primogenitor of this family, in America, was Hein-
rich Pannebacker, a native of the Low Countries, who
emigrated, probably from the neighborhood of Crefelt on
the Rhine, to Pennsylvania prior to the year 1702 and
settled on the Skippack Creek, where he owned, at dif
ferent times, twenty- three hundred and ten acres of land.
There is a curious family tradition, which I give for what
it is*worth, that a remote ancestor, whose cognomen was
Biermann or Brahn, was a maker of the tiles used in roof
ing houses; that these tiles were baked and consequently
his German neighbors called him the "Panne" or
"Penne" "Backer;" and that in this way the name origi
nated. It is spelled in the old records indifferently Pan
nebacker, Pannebecker, Pennebecker and Pennebacker,
but the first is the orthography of Francis Daniel Pasto
rius, who was a finished scholar and most likely to be
accurate. Heinrich was naturalized in 1730 and died in
1756. He had eight children, vi^.: Olaff, Peter, Adolph,
John, Jacob, Weyant, Henry and Martha. Peter united
with several of the leading Germans of the province in
an address of welcome to Gov. Robert Hunter Morris, in

FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS. 277
1754, urging the loyalty of their countrymen who had
been accused of sympathising with the French; his son
John, of Brecknock Township, Berks County, was ap
pointed by the Council of Safety during the Revolution
to distribute funds and clothing among the families of
men in the service; and his grandson Daniel, of Cumru,
became an ensign of the 7th Company, 1st Battalion,
Berks County Militia, April 19, 1783. Dirck, of Berks
County, son of John, was a captain in the Revolutionary
war, and on the militia rolls are Samuel, John, Henry,
Herman, Benjamin, Jacob, William and Frederick, of
Philadelphia County, Jacob and Matthias, the Mennonite,
of Chester, and Henry, of Berks, all of whom were
grandsons of Heinrich. Wyand Pennebaker, a member
of the Mississippi Assembly in 1866; Edwin R. Penne
baker, a confederate officer, and at present Comptroller
of the Treasury of the State of Tennessee ; and Charles
D. Pennebaker, who commanded a union regiment from
Kentucky during the late war, and has since been the
resident agent of that State at Washington, are great-
grandsons of Weyant. Isaac S. Pennybacker, a grandson
of Dirck, represented Rockingham County, Virginia, in
Congress in 1837. Before the expiration of his term, he
was appointed Judge of the United States District Court
of Western Virginia, and he continued in that position
until 1845, when he was elected to the United States
Senate. He was the youngest member of that body, and
was also appointed by President Polk one of the regents
of the Smithsonian Institute. He died in 1846, and his
funeral, under the charge of Senators Crittenden, Benton
and Webster, was conducted at Washington with state
solemnities. John Pennybacker, for several years a mem
ber of the Virginia State Senate, and Gen. Benjamin

278 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
M. Prentiss, one of the most distinguished division com
manders of the Army of the West, during the rebellion,
are great-grandsons of Dirck. Uriah V. Pennypacker, a
grandson of Matthias, and a prominent lawyer of this
county, was Chief Burgess of West Chester in 1845 and
1848.' Of Isaac Anderson Pennypacker, another grand
son of Matthias, who, after practicing medicine in Phce
nixville for nearly twenty years, removed to Philadelphia
to accept the Professorship of Practice in the Philadel
phia College of Medicine, " Ida Vernon," a correspondent
of the Register and Examiner, wrote as follows:
"The Doctor has, during his residence here, done his
duty well. He has done more than any other citizen in
promoting the intellectual as well as physiqal welfare of
the inhabitants of our borough. He has taken an in
terest in the common school system, in the right selec
tion of teachers and in the encouragement of public exa
minations. He has given us lectures, both interesting
and instructive. He has attended and presided over our
lyceums, and in fact aided in the advancement of any en
terprise that had a tendency to do good. As a burgess,
he was attentive and labored assiduously. He listened to
the complaint of the poor as well as the rich, and did all
he could to alleviate their distress. As a physician, he
had a large and extensive practice, and nobly and skill
fully has he acquitted himself in his profession."
After his death, in 1856, Prof. Henry Hartshorne said
in a valedictory to the graduating class of the college:
"We look around and there is one missing. And that
one, the noblest of us all ! He, who would have taken
the most pride and genial pleasure in this day; he, who
was a parent to you, a brother and a friend to us."
" Gentlemen, in Prof. Isaac A. Pennypacker, you and I,

FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS. 279
the institution honored by his services, the medical pro
fession, have met with no common loss. More brilliant
men there may, perhaps, have been, although his abilities
were of a very high order; more profuse in learning, al
though a ripe judgment, ample experience, and wide re
search, made him a teacher truly eminent in his voca
tion; men of more varied accomplishments there may
have been, or more popular address; but an honester,
truer-hearted man God never made upon this earth. To
this school, especially, he gave all his great mental ener
gies with the pride of a founder, which, in a certain
sense as it now stands he was ; it seems to us now like
an edifice whose foremost column has fallen down or a
tree whose topmost bough is broken off."
During the rebellion, the Pennypacker family con
tributed to the soldiery of Pennsylvania one general, one
surgeon, two captains, one lieutenant, five sergeants, eight
corporals, one musician and fifty privates, and I have the
military record of eight who were in the confederate ser
vice, from Virginia, and two in the confederate service,
from Tennessee. PAWLING.
This family, many of the branches of which are still in
the neighborhood, were very influential during the colo
nial era and are probably descended from Henry Pawling,
to whom Penn granted a thousand acres of land before
leaving England. They settled at a very early period
in Providence Township, in Philadelphia County. Isaac
Pawling was a warden of St. James Church, at Evans-
burg, in 1721. Henry Pawling, Sr., resided, in 1734, on
the Wetherill farm, opposite Valley Forge, where he
owned five hundred acres, and at the same time his son

280 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
Henry owned twelve hundred acres in Perkiomen Town
ship. The latter, in February, 1747, was elected captain
of a company of Associators. In 1761, he was appointed
one of the commissioners for improving the navigation of
the river Schuylkill, to which position John Pawling, Jr.,
was substituted in 1773. In 1761, Henry had charge of
a company of fifty or sixty carpenters, masons and la
borers, who went to Wyoming and there built ten houses
and prepared planting ground for the friendly Indians.
One of the party was killed and scalped by a hostile band
of the natives. Pawling was absent twenty-two days, and
received as compensation £16 10s. He was for many
years a justice of the peace of Philadelphia County, and
was elected to the Assembly in 1764, 1765, 1766, 1767,
1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, 1773 and 1774.
Henry Pawling, Jr., was appointed one of the commis
sioners for laying out the boundaries and locating the
county seat and public buildings of Montgomery County,
in 1784. Nathan Pawling was elected sheriff of that
county in 1795. MORGAN.
James Morgan and Jane, his wife, the ancestors of the
Morgan family, with their children Margaret, John, Evan
and James, natives of Nantmeal, Radnorshire, Wales, set
sail for this country in 1691. Both of the parents died
at sea and, the captain of the vessel having been prevailed
upon to enter a Maryland port, they were buried at the
head of the Bay of Bohemia. All of the children settled
in Chester County, and James and Evan subsequently be
came distinguished as clergymen. John purchased a farm
near Morgan's Corner, in Radnor Township, in what is
now Delaware County. His grandson, Mordecai Morgan,

FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS. 281
was appointed a lieutenant of the Pennsylvania militia,
July 15, 1776, participated in the battle of Brandywine,
in September, 1777, and died in 1794, leaving a -family
of eight children. Of these, Dr. Mordecai Morgan be
came a surgeon in the United States navy and, at the
time of his death, was fleet surgeon of the West India
squadron. He was a man of literary taste and culture
and made translations of several of the Italian poets. A
biographical sketch of Dr. John Davis, written by him,
¦ may be found in Hazard's Register. John Morgan, whose
connection with the politics and the industries of this
neighborhood has been elsewhere detailed, in his youth
learned the trade of a carpenter. In 1808, he removed
from Radnor to Charlestown Township, and opened a
store at the Fountain Inn. Soon afterward, he built the ,
General Pike tavern, at which place he was, for a number
of years, postmaster and justice of the peace. About the
year 1818, he purchased a farm, a large portion of which
he retained until his death, in 1871, and until a populous
town had grown up around and beyond it. He was
president of the Phcenixville Bridge Company, a street
of the borough bears his name, and he died at the age of
eighty-seven years, possessed of wealth and universally
respected. Joseph Morgan, Jr., served as an engineer in
the fleet which captured New Orleans in 1862.
JOHN.
Joseph John, a Philadelphia artist of celebrity, several
of whose pictures have been widely circulated in the form
of chromos and have become very popular, is a member of
the John family of Phcenixville and a native of this vi
cinity. His earliest attempts at art were delineations
of scenery in the valley of the Schuylkill. Among them,

282 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
a painting of Phcenixville now belongs to Mrs. Samuel
A. Whitaker, and another, representing the Black Rock,
to me.' WHEATLEY.
Prof. E. D. Cope, in his report to the American Philo
sophical Society upon the vertebrata from the Port Ken
nedy Bone Cave, while naming one of the new species
of sloth, Megalonyx Wheaileyi, uses the following lan
guage: "This species is dedicated to Charles M. Wheat-'
ley, of Phcenixville, to whom natural science in the
United States is under many obligations. The expense
and much labor, requisite for the proper recovery and elu
cidation of the remains contained in the cave, are entirely
due to his liberality and exertions. Similar devotion to
science has preserved to us the finest series of fossils of
the triassic period of the northern states in existence, and
the finest collection of fresh water shells in America."
Neither the pen of the annalist nor the appreciation of a
community need be restricted by the caution and coolness
requisite to the character of the man of science, and
when we reflect that of the twenty-seven species of verte
brates, beside insects and plants, there discovered, the
greater number were before entirely unknown, we feel
that Mr. Cope might have spoken in even stronger terms
without fear of trenching upon the ground of compli
ment. JACOBS.
This old and distinguished family, none of whom are
now left in this neighborhood, descended from two bro
thers, who came to America, about the year 1700, and
settled along the Perkiomen Creek, in Philadelphia

FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS. 283
County. Israel Jacobs, whose ancestor was John, and
who was the first to reside on the property at Mont Clare,
was on terms of social intimacy with George Washington
and was a member of the second United States Congress
in 1791. He was then the only Quaker in that body,
and the broad brim of his hat attracted universal atten
tion. Through the Revolutionary war, he was one of
the committee in Philadelphia County appointed by the
Council of Safety to distribute food, clothing and money
among the families of poor soldiers. At the time of the
commencement of that struggle, he was a member of the
Pennsylvania Assembly, in which body he had been con
tinued for the years 1770, 1771, 1772, 1773 and 1774.
Andreas and Jan Jacobs, of Utrecht, suffered martyrdom
by fire in the year 1568. ROBINSON.
Seven sisters, among the last descendants of this family,
lived upon a farm in Upper Providence Township, Mont
gomery County, which had been granted to their an
cestors by William Penn and retained in the name ever
since. One of them married and not having made a very
happy selection, the others determined to live together
a life of celibacy. As years rolled on they became very
peculiar, and, though perfectly hospitable and always
ready to entertain visitors, they confined themselves
closely to the quaint old farm house in which their youth
had been passed. One of them, for years, had her head
bandaged with a handkerchief that was never removed.
Another, though in good health, had not been away from
the place for thirty years. A short time ago, death ter
minated the desolation in which the last of them had
been left.

284 PHCENIXVILLE AND ITS VICINITY.
GRANNY STEVENS
Was an old Scotch woman, well known to all the
children of Phcenixville twenty years ago. She lived en
tirely alone in part of a dilapidated frame structure, used
as a stable, which stood on the top of that portion of North
Phcenixville overlooking the works of the Phcenix Iron
Company. She was a pioneer in the confectionary busi
ness, displaying sweet morsels from the ledges of her front
window, and when rivals began to spring up about her
would upbraid with no gentle words those urchins in
whose visits she detected any irregularity. One morning
her door remained closed and the neighbors, upon forcing
an entrance, found her dead in her bed. Concealed about
it was a considerable sum of money, saved from the pen
nies which had dropped into her till.
GREASY BOB,
If he ever- had any other name than this, was never
known by it. Always squalid and generally drunk, he
was one of those wretched, shiftless creatures who seem
to have made their entrance into the world by mistake
and to be ever in the search for the easiest means of es
caping from it. He found the exit door one night, poor
fellow, in crossing the. railroad bridge. Missing his foot
ing, he fell through the space between the tracks and,
catching his head fast upon some of the wood work, hung
there until he died. CRAZY TIM
Is one of the inmates of the Montgomery County alms
house, the restlessness of whose diseased fancy leads him
to rebel against the confinement of that institution and
to wander all over the adjacent country. His face is

FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS.' 285
usually covered with meaningless insane smiles, but when
taunted by the troops of boys, who follow after him shout
ing "Mahogany head," he becomes dangerously savage.
At one time, in order to confine him within bounds, the
authorities at the almshouse put a ball and chain about
his feet. Thus manacled, he made his way to Norris.
town, a distance of ten miles, and persuaded a blacksmith
there to remove them. Fearful of being punished for his
offence, he insisted upon carrying his broken shackles
back, and it is to be hoped that this propitiation was suc
cessful. HEATON.
In the graveyard of that almshouse, amid the numerous
unmarked mounds that fill the ground, there is a rough
board, propped up between two heaps of loose stones, on
which is inscribed, in uncouth letters, "jerry HEATon.
Aged 82 years." I know nothing more about him than
this simple fact, so full of melancholy suggestions, but
there must surely have been some unusual strength, some
distinguishing trait of character, to induce his companions
in misfortune to wish to preserve his memory.

ERRATA.
Page 14, line 19. For "it could not been very favorable," read "it
could not have been," etc.
Page 21, line 4. For "along Nutt's Road to the Corner Stores and
from there, by way of the White Horse Road, to the Schuyl
kill," read " along Nutt's Road until it meets the Morris estate
and from there, by way of the northern boundary of that es
tate, to the Schuylkill."
Page 21, line 8. For " 1734," read "1732."
Page 90, line 5. For "Vol. IV," read "Vol. V."
Page 96, line 31. For " Stegar," read " Stager."
Page 114, line 3. For " Phcenixille," read "Phcenixville."
Page 196, line 27. For "one after another of the Starrs," read "one
after another, the Starrs," etc.
Page 242, 16th name. For "Jonathan H. Morris," read "Jonathan
Morris."

INDEX.

Abolitionism, 214.
Aclamson, Charles, 217.
Address of William Moore, 50.
Agriculture, 79.
Amendments to borough charter,
160, 161, 163.
Anderson, Isaac, 9, 79, 80, 119, 125,
199, 210.
Anderson, James, 18, 79.
Anderson, Patrick, 83, 88, 89, 90,
91, 93, 103, 121, 165, 184, 207.
Anderson, Samuel L., 126, 130.
Anthracite coal introduced, 142.
Apples, 181.
Armstrong, Gen. John, letter of,
108.
Arnold, Benedict, gives entertain
ment, 112.
Artillerists, the departure of, 225.
Ashenfelter family, 274.
Ashenfelter, George W., 223, 239.
Ashenfelter, Henry, 3, 147, 220.
Ashenfelter, S. M., 218.
Assembly, members of, 45, 93, 174,
208, 210, 211, 216.
Augusta and Merlin, explosion of,
113.
Avocations, 180.
B, 34th P. V. M., 229.
Bank, attempts to obtain, 154.
Bank of Phcenixville, 158, 164.
Bank of Phcenixville, officers of,
158.
Bank, the Iron, 164.
Bank, the Farmers & Mechanics',
164.

Baptist church, the, 194.
Barrel of flour, 314.
Bears, 72.
Beavers, 20.
Bilton Manor, 21.
Blackbirds, 73.
Black Rock, 8, 11.
Black Rock bridge, 175.
Blacksmiths, early, 180.
Blazing paths, 71.
Bodily, William, 74, 94, 95.
Bonner, Francis, 168.
Bowland, John, testimony of, 97.
Boyer, Benjamin, house of, robbed,
104.
Boyle, R. E„ Miss, 164, 230.
Bradley. Joel E., school of, 187.
Brass Band, the Phcenixville, 225.
Brickyards, 166.
Bridge at Pawling, 174.
Bridge building, 171.
Bridge over French Creek, 175.
Bridge over Schuylkill, 175.
British enter Schuylkill Township,
102.
British, depredations of, 102, 103.
British, squad of, captured, 107.
Brower, Abraham, 215.
Buck, Robert S., 144, 169.
Buckley Tract. 21.
Buckley's Spring, 132.
Buckwalter family, 19.
Buckwalter, Francis, 19, 173, 196.
Buckwalter, Samuel, 158.
Bull Tavern, 140, 177, 181, 209.
Burgesses, list of, 151.

288

INDEX.

Burgess, contest over election of,
162.
Burgess, power of, curtailed, 161.
Burial, places of, 196.
Buzzards, 74.
Call for incorporation, 146.
Canal, Chester County, 167, 176.
Canal of Schuylkill Navigation Co.,
176.
Cannon cast at Warwick, 98.
Capture of arms, etc., 226.
Carey, Peter G, 3, 183, 198, 228.
Carl, John, evidence of, 62.
Carney, Mrs., first to pave, 156.
Cart, a primitive, 80,
Catholic church, the, 195.
Cattle, providing for, 71.
Caves., living in, 14, 72, 76. >
Chambers, Rev. John, controversy,
190.
Charlestown Library Co. , 199.
Charlestown Township, 14, 309.
Cherry Lane, 79.
Chester County Iron Works, 167,
Chimneys, early, ^76.
Chrisman, Isaac, 157, 158.
Churches, the, 187.
Churches in the rebellion, 224.
Churches used as hospitals, 100.
Church, Baptist, 194.
Church, Catholic, 195.
Church, Episcopal, 194.
Church, German Reformed, 195.
Church, Mennonite, 188.
Church, Methodist, 189.
Church, Presbyterian, 195.
Church, United Brethren, 195.
Clarke, Reeves & Co., 171.
Clarke, Thomas, a tory, 120.
Clover, 79.
Coates, Moses, 20, 48, 71, 173, 199.
Coates, Moses, Jr., 48, 73, 102, 104,
112, 114.
Coates, Morton and Henry, 167.
Coffman family, 272.
Coffman, Isaac Z., 147, 151, 155, 157.

Collins, Andrew, 147, 191.
f Colony, condition of, in 1755, 39.
Commissioners of navigation, 82,
83.
Commissary store, 115.
Committees to distribute money,
etc., 94, 277, 283.
Committees to provide for poor, 99.
Congress, members of, 210, 283.
Conklin, John, killed, 168.
Conowingo bridge, confederates at,
223. *
Constitutional convention, member
of, 212.
Copper and lead mines, 154.
Copper smelting works, 172.
Corner Stores, 9, 79, 140, 182, 189.
Cornwallis stung by bees, 104.
Cornwallis crosses Gordon's Fo'rd,
105.
Cotton factories, 168.
Council erect market house, 162.
Council, first meeting of, 150.
Council, presidents of, 160.
Councilmen, list of, 151.
County committees, 88, 269.
Coventry Forge, 174.
Crazy Tim, 284.
Crows, 72.
Crumbacker, Peter, 99.
Curse, a woman's, 132, 139.
Cypher, Michael, evidence of, 63.
Dams, Commissioners', 82.
Davis, B. P., 147.
Davis, David, 94.
Davis family, 268.
Davis, Isaac, 66, 268.
Davis, John, robbery of, 125.
Davis, John S., captain, 126.
Davis, Levi, testimony of, 97.
Davis, Llewellyn, 180.
Davis, Myrick, imprisoned for debt,
83.
Davis, Nathan, major, 237.
Davis, Roger, 183, 211.
Davis, Thomas, 79.

INDEX.

289

Day, Elias, drowning of, 143.
Deer, 73.
Dehaven, Peter, 94, 95, 99.
Denithorne, William, death of, 226.
Dewees, Col. William, 94, 95, 98,
165.
Distilleries, 181.
Dobson, JohnR., 151, 157, 160, 220,
237, 265, 267.
Dodge, Henry G., 223, 239.
Doyle, Paddy, 185.
Drafted men in devolution, 116.
Draft in Rebellion, 227.
Drug store, the first, 183.
Eagles, 74.
East mill built, 169.
Egypt Road, 174.
Election, a contested, 207.
Election districts, 209.
Electors, presidential, 211, 213.
Ellis, N. M., 151, 152, 158, 160, 164,
198, 220, 228.
Emergency Regiment, 26th, 229.
Engagement, a naval, 28.
Engineer, the first, 181.
Englishman killed, 106.
English officer killed, 106.
Episcopal church, the, 194.
Euen, David, 3, 156, 157, 160, 206.
Evans, William, 66, 67, 120, 121.
Everybody's Business, 206.
Express riders, 119.
F, 88th P. V., 226.
F, 150th P. V, 228.
Families and individuals, 268.
Families, old, 197.
Farmers & Mechanics' Bank, 164.
Fatland Ford, British cross at, 101.
Fever, a fatal, 176.
Fishing for shad, 28, 74.
Fish story, 75.
Flags presented to volunteers, 223.
Flax, 80.
Fleming, John, testimony of, 97.
Fleming, J. P., 147.
Flood, a, 142. 19

Fovd, Gordon's, Starr's and Jacobs',
174.
Fords on the Schuylkill, 119.
Fossils, 179.
Foundry at Mont Clare, 166.
Fountain Inn, the, 103, 182, 184.
French Creek, 19.
French Creek, powder mill on, 94.
French Creek, railroad bridge over,
178.
French Creek Works, 134.
French and Indian war, 38.
Freshets, 165, 175.
Friends' Meeting house, 189.
Furnaces, building of, 142.
Fussell, William, house of, robbed,
103.
G, 1st P. R. V. C, 225, 226.
Garlic, 79.
Gen. Pike Inn, the, 182.
German Reformed church, the, 195.
Ghost of John Conklin, 169.
Gill, David, 180.
Gordon, 174.
Gordon's Cave, British captured at,
107.
Gordon's Ford, 174.
Gordon's Ford, British cross at, 101,
105.
Gordon's Ford, skirmish at, 105.
Grain, sowing, reaping, etc., 81.
Grading streets, opposition to, 156.
Greasy Bob, 284.
Greenbank, Judge Thomas, 186.
Green Hill, 7, 8.
Griffen, John, 151, 164, 169, 186,
220.
Griffen guns, 170, 226.
Gronow, Col. Lewis, 121, 123.
Guard house, 115.
Guards, the departure of, 235.
Gwynn farm, hospital on, 115.
Hagenman, Jeremiah, 217.
Hallman, Benjamin, 151, 152, 161,
220.
Hallman, Michael, 99.

290

INDEX.

Hammer, Lewis, sees wolves, 71.
Hart, Lieut. John, 43.
Hearths, large, 77.
Heater, the first, 180.
Heaton, Jerry, 285.
Hessians, depredations of, 102.
Hessians cross the Schuylkill, 106.
Heylman, Capt. Adam, 43.
Highways, 173.
Horses, unshod, 80.
Hospitals, 100, 114, 115.
Houses, log, 76.
Houses, plank, 77.
House, the first brick, 78.
Howe, Gen., crosses at Fatland,
105.
Howe, Gen., headquarters of, 102.
Howe, Gen., offers a bribe, 104.
Howell, Ezekiel, 93, 125, 210, 311,
312.
Hughes, Edward, testimony of, 65.
Hughes, Esther, burial of, 198.
Humphrey, David, 18, 180.
Hunting, 72.
I, 67th P. V., 226.
Improvements in Phcenixville, 156,
164.
Incidents concerning Indians, 9.
Incorporation of Phcenixville, 146,
147, 148.
Independent Phcenix, 203.
Indian corn, 79.
Indian deed, 12.
Indian fishing dam, 8.
Indian graves, 8.
Indian implements, 5.
Indian mortars, 7.
Indian Rock, 8.
Indian trail, 7.
Indian villages, 7, 8.
Indians, the, 5.
Indians, difficulties with, 22.
Indians, murder by, 41.
Indians, the murder of, 25.
Indians, petition concerning, 23.
Indians, terror caused by, 42.

Indignation meeting, 161.
Invasions, rebel, 238, 229.
Iron Bank, 164.
Iron Man, 205.
Ivester, George, volunteers, 130.
Jacobs family, 282.
Jacobs' Ford, 174.
James, David, barn of, a guard
house, 115.
Jaudon, A. J., & Co., 167.
Jennison, Joseph F., 195, 200.
John, David, 94, 99.
John, Joseph, 281.
Justices of the Peace, 45, 47, 66, 70;
125, 149, 174, 183, 212, 213.
K, 71st P. V., 225.
Kaler, Levi B., 186, 198.
Kansas, 163.
Kaolin, 166.
Kennedy, Dr. Samuel, 99, 183.
Kider, John, fired at, 107.
Kimber, Emmor, 177, 314.
King, Joseph, 147.
Knerr family, 275.
Knoll, the, 21.
Knyphausen, Gen., headquarters of,
102.
Kreamer family, 274.
Kreamer, O. S., 159.
Kreamer, Samuel, 152, 154, 274.
Ladies' Aid Society, 334, 230.
La Fayette, anecdote concerning,
111.
Lane, Edward, 38, 107, 109, 110,
114, 116.
Lane family, 38.
Lane, Samuel,. 39, 75.
Lawyers, 183.
Lead and copper mines, 154.
Legal Tender, 206.
Letter from Isaac Anderson, 210.
Letters from Patrick Anderson, 91,
121.
Letter from Roger Davis, 212.
Letters from Peter Dehaven, 94, 95,
99.

INDEX.

291

Letter from William Evans, 120.
Letter from Ezekiel Howell, 211.
Letters from William Moore, 50, 89.
Letter from Samuel Nutt, 24.
Letter from George Washington,
118.
Letter from Conrad Weiser, 41.
Lewis, Joseph J., describes Phcenix
ville, 138.
Libraries, 194, 199.
Lightfoot, Samuel, petition of, 46.
Lime introduced, 80.
Literature and politics, 199.
Lloyd, David, 19.
Lloyd, Horace, 200.
Lockup, the first, 150.
Long Island, battle of, 90.
Longstreth, Benjamin, founder of
Phcenixville, 133.
Longstreth, John, 125, 133.
MacFall, Capt., 87, 121.
MacVeagh, Major, 147, 148, 152,
199.
MacVeagh, Nathan T., 152, 158,
163.
, MacVeagh, Wayne, 216.
Manavon, 7, 19.
Manufactures, 165.
Marcus Hook, militia at, 130.
Maris, Christian, 78, 80.
Market house, 161.
Martin, William, house of, burned,
84.
Mason, R. W., & Co., 167.
McAllister, Joseph B., 151, 166.
McCloskey, Robert, 147.
McCord, Joseph T., 147, 240.
Meeting, indignation, 161.
Mennonite graveyard, 79.
Mennonite Meeting house, 188.
Mennonites, the, 86, 188.
Mennonites oppose grading, 156.
Messenger, the, 206.
Methodists, the, 189.
Methodists, controversy of, 190.
Methodists, new church of, 194.

Military movements, 100, 101.
Militia company in 1814, 126.
Militia delinquents, 122.
Mill tract, the, 131.
Miller, Henry, house of, a commis
sary store, 115.
Milliken, James, 169.
Mills, early, 18, 81, 83, 131, 165.
Mines of lead and copper, 154.
Mining operations, early, 14.
Monk, Andrew, testimony of, 96.
Mont Clare, 7, 144.
Mont Clare, foundry and paper mill
at, 166.
Monument, soldiers' 265.
Moore Hall, 7, 18, 114, 165.
Moore, John, 17, 165, 180.
Moore, William, 18, 45, 79, 88, 111,
125, 180, 181.
Morgan family, 280.
Morgan, Jacob B., 151, 152, 158.
Morgan, John,' 78, 149, 151, 158,
177, 182, 213, 281.
Morris Cemetery Co., 198, 265.
Morris family, 21, 272.
Moses, Samuel, 149, 150, 201.
Mount Misery, 78.
Muskets, factory for making, 165.
Nail factories, 134, 165.
Nail factory burned, 145.
Nail machines, 134.
Naval engagement, 28.
Navigation, 82.
Negro burying grounds, 198.
Newspapers, 201.
Nichols, George C, 147, 220.
Nutt Samuel, 24, 173.
Nutt's Road, 24, 173.
Oberholtzer, Levi, 151, 162, 237.
O'Brien, Henry, drowning of, 143:
Old mill, 131, 132, 133, 139, 142.
Origin of Phcenixville, 131.
Otter, an, 73.
Paoli, American defeat at, 101.
Parry, David, killed at Long Island,
91.

292

INDEX.

Pawling family, 279.
Peck, testimony of, 97.
Pennsylvania Gazette in Charles
town Township, 199.
Pennsylvania Guardian, 205.
Pennypacker family, 276.
Pennypacker, Elijah F., 164, 178,
199, 213, 314.
Pennypacker, Galusha, 231.
Pennypacker, Isaac A., 148, 150,
151, 175, 183, 190, 199, 201, 278.
Pennypacker, Jacob, 114, 116.
Pennypacker, Matthias, 83, 103, 114,
184, 188.
Pennypacker, Matthias, Jr., 127,
177, 212.
Pennypacker, Matthias J., 8, 192,
198, 216.
Pennypacker, Nathan, 199, 212, 213.
Pennypacker, Nathan A., 216, 335,
339, 265.
Pennypacker's mill, Washington
encamps at, 109.
Perkiomen Railroad, 180.
Perryville, 182.
Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road
Co., bill to incorporate, 178.
Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road
Co., depot of, 179.
Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road
Co., opening of road of, 179.
Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road
Co., tunnel of, 178.
Philadelphia and Reading Rail
Road, first suggestion of, 177.
Phillips, Davis M., 223.
Phillips Isaac, 147, 151, 153, 160.
Phcenix Artillerists, 222.
Phcenix Gazette, 201.
Phcenix Iron Co., 164, 166, 225, 229.
Phcenix Iron Co., incorporation of,
169.
Phoenix Iron Co. , number of em
ployes of, 172.
Phcenix Iron Co. offer houses to
volunteers, 233.

Phcenix Iron Co., productions of,
170.
Phcenix Iron Co., works of, 171.
Phcenix Ledger, 205.
Phcenixville, 146.
Phcenixville, amendments to charter
of, 160, 161, 163.
Phcenixville, description of, 138,
139.
Phcenixville, division of, into wards,
163.
Phcenixville, first borough election
in, 148.
Phcenixville, first volunteers from,
223.
Phcenixville, founder of, 133.
Phcenixville, growth of, 141, 145,
163, 168.
Phcenixville, improvements in, 156,
164.
Phcenixville, incorporation of, 146.
Phcenixville, origin of, 131.
Phcenixville, population of, 144, 145,
153, 162.
Phcenixville Brass Band, 225.
Phcenixville Library Company, 199.
Phcenixville Pioneer, 201.
Physicians, early, 182.
Pickering Aid Society, 230.
Pickering, Charles, 13, 14, 15, 16, 76.
Pickering Creek, 14.
Pickering tract, 17.
Pickering Valley Railroad, 180.
Pigeons, wild, 72.
Pikeland, 19.
Plough, an early, 81,
Poems, 203, 205.
Police appointed, 160.
Politics, 207.
Post, Josiah White, 265.
Potteries, 166.
Powder mill, 94.
Powder mill, destruction of, 99.
Powder mill, explosion at, 95.
Powder mill, testimony concerning,
95.

INDEX.

293

Presbyterian Church, the, 195.
Presidents of Council, 160.
Prize fight, 154.
Public improvements and avoca
tions, 173.
Pugh, James, testimony of, 67.
Puleston, J. H., 205.
Quakers, the, 39, 86.
Quick, Lavington, 220, 337, 267.
Racks for fishing, 29, 32.
Racks, destruction of, 33.
Radcliff, Preston, drowning of, 178.
Rails, rolling of, 145.
Railroads, 177, 180.
Rapp, Philip, 79, 80, 114.
Rattlesnakes, 73.
Rations at Valley Forge, 113.
Rebellion, the, 219.
Red Lion, a_ voting place, 209.
Reeves, Benjamin, 139, 270.
Reeves, David, 139, 164, 166, 169,
172, 198, 271.
Reeves family, 270.
Reeves, Paul S., 159.
Reeves, Samuel J., 164, 166, 169,
172, 300.
Reeves, Buck & Co., 144, 147, 148,
169.
Reeves Park, the, 164, 272.
Reeves & Whitaker, 139, 189.
Renker, Jacob, volunteers, 130.
Reservoir, a, 168.
Revolution, the, 85.
Rhoades, Henry, 3, 79.
Richards, George W., 168, 176.
Richards, L. Harry, 168.
Richards, Rowland, 132.
Richardson, Jacob, a guide, 108.
Richardson, Capt. Joseph, 42.
Richardson, Samuel, 17.
Rittenhouse, testimony of, 98.
Roads, origin of, 173.
Robinson family, 283.
Robinson, Moses, 3, 73, 177.
Robinson, Thomas, an unwilling
guide, 105.

Rogers family live in cave, 72.
Roller, the first, 181.
Rolling mills, building of, 142, 144,
169.
Rolling and slitting mill, 133, 136.
Rossiter, Elizabeth, anecdote con
cerning, 111.
Saddles, 81.
Sawmill, the first, 18.
Scalps, reward for, 43.
School house, the eight square, 184.
School houses, early, 184.
School teacher, the first, 184.
Schools, churches and places of
burial, 184.
Schools in Phcenixville, 186.
Schools, cost of, 186.
Schools, number of pupils in, 187.
Schools, private, 187.
Schools, salaries to teachers in, 187.
Schreiber, W. A. H., 166.
Schuylkill, the fords in, 119.
Schuylkill Navigation Co.'s Canal,
176.
Schuylkill Navigation Co.'s Canal,
steamboat in, 176.
Schuylkill Township an election
district, 209.
Schuylkill Township Literary and
Scientific Society, 199.
Schuylkill Township receives whig
banner, 215.
Schuylkill Township, residents in,
85.
Sellers, George H., 166, 170.
Settlement, the, 13.
Settlers, early, 18, 19, 20, 21.
Shad fishing, 28, 74.
Shad fishing, deposition concerning,
29.
Sherwood, Dendy, 154.
Shoffner, Martha L., 187.
Shymer, Conrad, testimony of, 65.
Skirmish Gordon's Ford, 105.
Sky, 10.
Slaves, 86

294

INDEX.

Smelting works, 172.
Smith, Joest, hospital on farm of,
115.
Smith, Rev. William, arrest of, 56.
Smith & Garrigues, 167.
Soldiers and seamen, record of, 231,
237.
Soldiers, revolutionary, 87.
Sower, Daniel, arrested, 115.
Sower David, 159.
Starr, James, 20, 36, 37, 131, 165,
196.
Starr, Joseph, abused, 105.
Starr graveyard, 196.
Starr's Ford, 174.
State Senate, member of, 215.
Stephens, David, 159.
Stevens, Granny, 284.
Stores, early, 182.
Suicide, a, 197.
Suplee family, 275.
Tanner, an early, 180.
Taylor, Bayard, 144, 201, 202, 203.
Thomas, David, 99.
Thomas, John, an early weaver,
180.
Thomas, J. N., 147.
Thompson, George, 136, 137, 167.
Thomson, Wilmer W., 205, 238.
Torchlight procession, 158.
Torchlight procession, attack on,
159.
Traditions and early incidents, 71.
Trees, ornamental, 78.
Tunnel Hill, 167.
Tunnel, the, 178.
Turkeys, wild, 72.
United Brethren church, the, 195.
Valentine, Thomas, 21, 34, 37.
Yalley Forge, 7, 9, 73, 78, 109.
Valley Forge, musket factory at,
165.
Vanderslice family, 269.
Vanderslice, James, 180.
Vanderslice, John, 10, 147, 148, 153,
198, 222.

Varley, Jacob, 18, 166.
Vincent Township, 19.
Vincent Township, military com
pany in, 43.
Volunteers in the war of 1812, 130.
Volunteers, the first from Phcenix
ville, 223.
Voting places, 207.
Walker family, 78.
War of 1812, 126.
War meeting, 220.
Wards in Phcenixville, 163.
Warwick furnace, 101.
Warwick, cannon cast at, 98.
Washington at Valley Forge, 109.
Washington deceived, 101.
Washington declines a feast, 112.
Washington encamps at Penny-
packer's mill, 109.
Washington, headquarters of, 117.
Washington, incidents concerning,
113, 117.
Washington, letter of, 118.
Washington, proclamation of, 116.
Wayne, Anthony, 88.
Wayne, Anthony, at Paoli, 101.
Wayne, Anthony, anecdote con
cerning, 112.
Wayne, Anthony, letter from, 117.
Wayne Guards, 222.
Weaver, an early, 180.
Weiser, Conrad, letter of, 41.
Wernwag, Lewis, 134, 135, 186>.
184.
Wheatley, Charles M., 135, 154,
172, 179, 282.
Whigs in Schuylkill Township, 216.
Whitaker family, 273.
Whitaker, James, 130, 140, 177,
273.
Whitaker Joseph, 130, 140, 175, 186,
198, 216, 273.
Whitaker, Samuel A., 147, 148, 153,
194, 199. . f
White, Josiah, 200, 222, 241.
White, Josiah, Post, 265.

INDEX.

295

Whiijfe Horse Road, 174.
Wild cat, 73.
Wilson, William, beaten, 160.
Wolves, 20, 71, 73.
Workingmen's Iron and Nail Co.,
167.
Wythes, Rev. J. H., controversy,
190.

Yellow Springs a poll, 209.
Yerkes family, 274.
Yerkes, Harman, 151, 162, 186.
Yost drafted, 116.
Young Men's Literary Association,
201.
Young Men's Literary Union, 200.

SI