THE HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, CHAPTER X, BENSALEM, 1692. from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time by W. W. H. Davis, A.M., 1876 and 1905* editions. Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Donna Bluemink. dbluemink@cox.net USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Transcriber's note: Liberty has been taken with numbering footnotes so as to include all footnotes from both the 1876 and 1905 editions, plus any additional text and pictures in the 1905 edition. All 1905 material will be noted with an asterisk. Note: Where names differ, the 1905 edition spelling is applied. ___________________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER X BENSALEM 1692 Bensalem the fourth township. -Origin of name. -Bacon's fiction. -"Manor of Bensalem." -Original land-owners. -"Tatham's House." -Growden's tract. - Joseph Growden. -Trevose. -Grace Growden. -Nathaniel Allen. -Samuel Allen. -The Vandegrifts. -Old graveyard. -The Vanhornes, Vansants, et al. -The Tomlinsons. -The Rodmans. Rodmanda. -Large tree. -Joseph Galloway. - Joined the British army. -Confiscation of estate, etc., -Richard Gibbs. -James Benezet. -The Willetts. -Richard Bache. -The Sickel family. -Nicholas Biddle. - Dunk's ferry. -Slave Alice. -Township tax. -Presbyterian church. -Methodist and other churches. The Kings. -Major Barnsley. -Bridgewater. -Andalusia college. -Death of Doctor Chapman. -Roads. -Oldest taverns. -Population. -Fisheries. Bensalem, the fourth township of the group of 1692, and the last that bordered the Delaware, was to include "all the lands between Neshaminah and Poquessin, and so to the upper side of Joseph Growden's land." On three sides these boundaries have never been disturbed, and the line with Southampton is doubtless the same as when the township was erected. The origin of the name this township bears has given rise to some discussion, but like such questions generally, it remains unsettled. Some profess to find the solution in Lord Bacon's ingenious fiction of the New Atlantis, wherein he calls an imaginary island in the ocean by the name of "Bensalem," and the word itself is said to be a Hebrew compound. But there is no such Hebrew compound, and the Baconian origin of the name is, doubtless, without foundation. It will be remembered that the jury that laid it out said, in their report, the name of this township was "Salem," meaning peace, or peaceful. The word Bensalem is found in our county records as early as November 9, 1686 (1), six years before the township was laid off, and in 1688 the Growdens called their five thousand acres the "manor of Bensalem" (2). From this is would appear that the name was first applied to the manor and not to the township, and that when the township was erected it was called "Salem" instead of Bensalem. We are therefore left much to conjecture as to the origin of the name, but there can be no question that the township borrowed it from the manor. Joseph Growden fixed the site of his homestead near the north-west line of his manor and the township, whence he could overlook a wide scope of wilderness country falling to the Delaware and Neshaminy. Being a Friend and prone to peace, the word Bensalem fitly expressed his thoughts and feelings. We believe the name (3) was first applied to the spot he had chosen for his residence - the Hill of Peace, or Peaceful Mount - and then to the manor; but that when, in the course of time, it was given to the township, he changed the name of his homestead to Trevose, which it bears to this day. It was an easy matter for this cultivated Friend, by the union of a Gaelic with a Hebrew word, to form a new word that conveyed to the mind the delightful tranquility he enjoyed in his new home in the wilderness along the Neshaminy. After all, this is only a theory, but it is quite as sensible as the one that borrows the name from Bacon's fiction, and invents a Hebrew compound. (1) George Martin to Joseph Growden. (2) Deed of Joseph Growden to Stephen Noll, for 202 acres, "part of the Manor of Bensalem," February 12, 1688. (3) The word is composed of Ben, Gaelic, meaning a head, a hill, and Salem, Hebrew, peace. There were [twelve*] original land-owners in the township according to the map of Thomas Holme, 1684 (4), of whom one at least, Lawrence Growden, was never an inhabitant of the county. The Growdens owned nearly one-half the township, and Gray or Tatham was the next largest land-owner. On or near the Neshaminy, above Rodman's creek, then called Mill creek was "Tatham's house," the residence of Tatham, a dwelling of some pretension no doubt. He owned a large tract running from the Neshaminy back to the center of the township (5). Walter Forest owned the point between the Poquessing and the Delaware, and John Bowen the point formed by the Neshaminy and the river. The Growden tract embraced all the upper part of the township to the Southampton boundary, above a line drawn across it from Newportville to the Poquessing. Joseph Growden also owned a considerable tract extending across from the river to the Poquessing, above and adjoining Walter Forest. (4) Lawrence and Joseph Growden, John Gilbert, Walter Forest, John Bowen, Nathaniel Allen, Duncan Williamson, Nathaniel Hardin, Samuel Allen, Samuel Walker, Claus Jonson, and John Gray, alias Tatham. (5) Subsequent investigation satisfies us John Gray, spelled "Grey" in the meeting records, and "Als Tatham" were one and the same person. "Als," a prefix to Tatham's name, as given on Holme's map, 1684, being an abbreviation of the word "alias." An entry in the Middletown Meeting records, 7, 4 mo., 1688, mentions a controversie between John Grey (alias Tatham) and Joseph Growden. Both were called before the meeting; Growden declined to respond because he belonged to another meeting. Gray afterward removed to New Jersey and appears as John Tatham, living at Burlington, in what the early records term a "lordly and princely style." William Penn, in a letter written to his commissioners, 1687, throws light on his character by instructing them "to put a stop to ye irregular grants made to John Gray, alias Tatham, now discovered to be a Benedictine Monk of St James Convent, as they call it, commanded over by ye King." * Joseph Growden, a Friend, was not only the most influential man who settled in the township, but one of the first men in the county and Province. He wielded a large influence, and filled several important positions. Soon after his arrival he built himself a beautiful residence on the northern part of his manor in Bensalem, near the Neshaminy, and opposite Hulmeville, which he named Trevose, after the homestead, in England. It was rather baronial-looking for a country dwelling at that period. An engraving of 1687 represents a large two-story stone house, with attic, divided by a hall through the middle, portico at the front door, pointed stone, pitch roof, and nine windows and door in the front. At either end was a wing that contained dining-room, kitchen, servants' quarters, office, etc. The lawn in front was adorned with a few trees of large growth, while the background appears to have been an unbroken forest. A small fire-proof office to the right contained the public records of the county for many years, and its iron door still bears the marks of British bullets fired by a plundering party in 1778. The walls of the main building remain, but it has been greatly changed by its recent owners. The interior has been remodeled by removing the heavy banisters, wainscoting, corner-cupboards, etc., while the outside has been covered with a coat of plaster, and a story added. The noble trees forming an avenue that led to the mansion have nearly all (See illustration of Growden Mansion, Bensalem, rear view.) disappeared. Gabriel Thomas speaks of the Growden residence in 1696 as "a very noble and fine house, very pleasantly situated, and likewise a famous orchard, wherein are contained above a thousand apple trees." In 1708 Oldmixon bears testimony to the worth of Joseph Growden, and his great services in planting this county with English colonists. Dying in 1730 his son Lawrence took his place. He was a man of ability and attainments; was a member of Assembly, and Speaker, in 1739; and a Commissioner, with Benjamin Eastburn and Richard Peters, to run the line between Pennsylvania and Maryland. At his death in 1770, his real estate descended to his daughter Grace, the wife of Joseph Galloway. Joseph Growden's (6) daughter Grace married David Lloyd, a Friend and leading man in the Province. He was born in Wales in 1656, and came to Pennsylvania in 1686. He lost a promising little son, seven or eight years old, under painful circumstances. A relative, in whose care he was left, in the absence of his mother, put him into a closet in the cellar for a trivial offense, which frightened him into fits, of which he died. William Penn, who was in the province at the time, writes to a friend, "poor Grace has borne her affliction to admiration." She is spoken of as "a very fine woman, of great piety, good sense, excellent conduct, and engaging manners," a good endorsement of a Bucks county woman of the early day. Her husband died in 1731, but she survived him many years, and was buried beside him in Friends' graveyard near Chester (7). (6) The elder. (7) The Growden homestead is now owned and occupied by the sons of Charles W. Taylor. [An old diary, giving an insight into colonial life at Trevose, says: "The Galloway family lived in great style and were looked upon as "great folks" by the neighborhood. Grace and her daughter Elizabeth would ride out in her coach and four horses and pay their visits, which were select. Jane Collison, Grace Kirkbride, Mary Richardson, and her daughters, Mary and Ruth, were the only persons in the neighborhood they visited, and them but once a year. They would stay and take tea; the horses must not be taken from the coach, but stand before the door, and the driver stands by and mind them until they were ready to go home. Harry W. Watson, Langhorne, in a paper read before the Bucks County Literary Society, January 19, 1899, says of the old home and its guests in colonial days: "The mansion is as solid as when built, 200 years ago. There has been but slight change to alter the outside appearance. This old house, in its day, saw many a distinguished guest. Here Penn held council, and laws were formed for the better government of the colony; here Franklin discussed the laws of electricity, whereby be brought from the heavens the power that moves the mechanical world; here the eminent but erratic Galloway lived, who opposed the separating of the colonies, and whose influence was so strong with congress that the member who favored independence recognized his force and took urgent measures against him. This old mansion is worthy of consideration by those interested in historic research." *] Nathaniel Allen arrived from Bristol, England, in December 1681, with wife Eleanor, and children Nehemiah, Eleanor and Lydia, and landed at Robert Wade's, Chester creek. He was one of the three Commissioners, whom Penn joined with Governor Markham, to confer with the Indians about the purchase of land. He held the office of Crown Inspector of wooden measures, and had to attest their capacity as fixed by law, and affix a stamp before they could be sold. He took up a tract of land on the Neshaminy, extending to the Delaware, and adjoining that of Joseph Growden (8), where he died in 1692. The blood of these early pioneers of Bucks county mingled in the fourth generation. In a previous chapter we have taken notice of Duncan Williamson, one of the pioneer settlers of Bensalem. Samuel Allen, also from near Bristol, England, with Mary, his wife, and children Priscilla, Martha, Ann, Sarah and Samuel, arrived at Chester in the Bristol Factor, December 11, 1681. In the spring he took up a tract of land on the west bank of the Neshaminy, in Bensalem, where he died 20th of 9th month, 1702, and was buried on the homestead farm. The place was afterward used as a family burying-ground. The homestead is now occupied by Samuel Allen Stackhouse. The first Samual Allen conveyed, in his lifetime, a considerable portion of his real estate to his children, his son Samuel getting the homestead and 260 acres, and 200 acres additional near John Swift's mill on the Neshaminy. In 1696 300 acres on the east side of the Neshaminy were conveyed to his son-in-law, John Baldwin. The following year he procured an act of Assembly establishing a ferry over Neshaminy at what is now Schenck's station, which was called Baldwin's ferry. The second Samuel Allen died in 1735, leaving his land to his sons, Samuel and William, and legacies to his other children. The 160 acres of Samuel lay on the north side of the "King's highway," and remained in the family through six generations, and until 1871. Two generations of Pauls owned the tract. The homestead property is situated near Bridgewater. Among those who settled in Bensalem, at a later day than the first English colonists, were the Vandegrifts (8), Vansants, Vanhornes, Tomlinsons, Rodmans, Galloways, Gibbses, Benezets, Kingstones, Jameses, Willetts and others. Some of these names became prominent in public affairs, and were of the highest respectability, and some of the families still retain a leading position in the township (9). (8) Abraham Vandegrift was constable, 1777. (9) The date of arrival of the Vandegrift brothers is in doubt. In the first edition it was 1679, but was changed to 1697. In the Lampen family, which intermarried into the Vandegrifts, is an heirloom in the shape of a glass flask brought from Holland by the brothers, bearing a date of which the first three figures are clear and distinct, the fourth no longer legible. They are 167-, but whether they stand for date of sailing, or the bottles manufacture, the family cannot positively say, but was always supposed to be the latter.* In 1679 four brothers Vandegrift, Nicholas, Leonard, Johannes and Frederick came to Bucks county, and settled in Bensalem. The first of July they purchased of Joseph Growden, respectively, 214, 130, 106 and 106 acres of land lying on the Neshaminy. Johannes died in March 1745. On the Bristol turnpike, just above Andalusia College, is the Vandegrift graveyard, where rest the remains of many members of the family. The ground, half an acre, was given by Fulkard Vandegrift in 1775, and is part of the 200 acres that Joseph Growden conveyed to Nicholas Vandegrift in 1697 (10). Among others are stones to the memory of Abraham Vandegrift, who died February 20, 1781, aged eighty-three years, and his wife, Charity, July 6, 1786, aged eighty-five years and six months, and John Vandegrift, the husband of Ann, who died August 27, 1765, aged seventy-eight years. No doubt these were children of the first comers of the name, and John was born before the family settled in the county. Among other tenants of this old graveyard is Edward Peter Aublay, a name now extinct in the township, born June 8, 1767, and died May 30, 1796. The Vansants came about the same time as the Vandegrifts. February 12, 1698, Joseph Growden conveyed 150 acres to Garret Vansant (11), and the same quantity to his son Cornelius, lying on the Neshaminy. The will of Johannes Vansant, of Bensalem, is dated October 30, 1714, and he probably died the following December. The Garrett Vansant, who died in Wrightstown in 1746, and where he owned real estate, was probably son of the Bensalem Garret 12). The Vanhornes came into the township at a little later period, but not until they had already been settled in the county. April 20, 1722, John Baker, of Bensalem, conveyed 107 acres and 52 perches in this township to Johannes Vanhorne, of Warminster, and on the 6th of May, same year, Bernard Christian, of Bergen, New Jersey, conveyed 209 acres to Abraham Vanhorne, and June 7th, 176 acres to Isaac Vanhorne, both of this county, which land probably lay in Bensalem or Southampton. John Vanhorne died in Bensalem, February 15, 1758, at the age of sixty-six years (13). These families came from Long Island, the great storehouse of Dutch immigrants in the early days of Pennsylvania (14). (10) The following bit of romance is told of the wife of William Vandegrift, son of Cornelius, and probably a descendant of Nicholas Vandegrift, one of the immigrants. He married Lucy Wilgus, Dutchess county, N. Y., daughter of a rich father. She lived at home until seventeen, when she and a girl friend, wishing to "see the world" went down the Hudson to New York on a raft, and thence across the country to the Delaware. Growing tired of wandering, and ashamed to return home, they settled down near Newportville, and supported themselves by spinning and dressmaking. Here Lucy Wilgus became Mrs. Vandegrift, June 29, 1797, and the mother of five children. The husband was born January 1765, died June 17, 1834; the wife born March 1773, died March 24, 1843. * (11) Then spelled Vansand and Van Zandt, Vo. III.* (12) Harman Vansant died November 8, 1815, aged eighty years.* (13) The Van Hornes arrived at New Amsterdam, 1650, and John, son of Peter, was one of the earliest of the name to settle in Bucks, 1708-10; he was a farmer, as were most of the race, and a member of the Bensalem Church, and afterward a vestryman of St. James Episcopal, Bristol. * (14) Nathaniel Vansant, a Captain in the Continental Army, lived and died on the homestead in Bensalem, near the village of Brownsville. He was tall and sinewy and excelled in rough and tumble exercises of the day, such as running, jumping, etc. When the Revolution broke out he raised a company for Colonel Magaw's regiment and was captain at Fort Washington on the Hudson. He was kept a prisoner a long time, but served again after his exchange. Some of his war papers are in the Bucks County Historical Society. He built the bridge over the Poquessing, 1805, on the Attleborough and Bustleton road, subsequently piked. Captain Vansant died August 8, 1825, aged eighty and was buried at the Bensalem churchyard. His wife, Hannah Brittan, died August 9, 1818. Among the descendants are the La Rues, Vanartsdalens, Dungans, Rhoads, Hogelands, Knights, Randalls, Shoemakers, et al. * The Tomlinsons were probably in the township the first quarter of the last century. John died in Bensalem, where he had lived most of his life, in 1800, at the age of seventy-nine. He kept a journal for half a century, in which he recorded many commonplace events, and a few of interest. Among other things, we learn there was a slight shock of an earthquake felt there October 30, 1763, and a very white frost the 11th of June, 1768. He had a good deal to say in his journal during the Revolutionary war, calls the Americans rebels, which does not speak well for his patriotism, heard the cannonading at Trenton, and mentions frequent depredations by both armies. The summer of 1780 was a remarkably dry one, and crops suffered greatly for want of rain. He records two shocks of an earthquake in Bensalem the 29th of November, the same year. The first of the Rodmans, who owned land in this county, was Doctor John, the grandson of John who immigrated from England to Barbadoes, in the West Indies, and died there in 1686. Doctor John Rodman settled at Burlington, New Jersey, where he practiced medicine, to his death in 1756. He was an active Friend. He and Thomas Richardson owned a large tract of land in Warwick township as early as 1712. Doctor Rodman purchased land in Bensalem, on the Neshaminy, about the same time, on which a dwelling was erected in 1715. On this tract his son William, born on Long Island, May 5, 1720, and married Mary Reeve, of Burlington, subsequently settled. He inherited it from his father and resided there until his death, in 1794. The plantation was at first called Rodmanda, but changed to Flushing (15), his birth-place (16). This is one of the most notable homesteads in the county, and the old dwelling, that had weathered the storms of one hundred and forty-six years, was torn down in 1861, to make room for a more modern structure. [One hundred and thirty-five years ago Williams Rodman stuck his buttonwood riding-switch into the ground by the side of a fine spring of water, near the house, and in all these years it has grown to be one of the largest trees east of the Rocky Mountains. It measures thirty feet in circumference, and its roots have long since absorbed the waters of the spring.(17)] William Rodman held several places of public trust. In 1768 he was appointed one of five commissioners to treat with the Indians at Ft. Pitt, but declined on account of ill-health. He was in the Assembly several years, and in 1774 was a member of the Committee of Correspondence. His son William, born in Bensalem, October 7, 1757, and married to Esther West, in 1785, was a man of mark in his day. He was an earnest and active patriot in the Revolutionary struggle, voluntarily took the oath of allegiance in 1778, for which he was disowned by the Middletown meeting, and served under General Lacey, in the militia, in 1781. He was a justice of the peace several years, member of the State Senate, commanded a troop of horse in the "Fries Rebellion" in 1799 (18), and was elected to Congress in 1812. His children married into the families of Ruan, McIlvaine, Olden and Jones. All the Rodmans were friends of the struggling colonies, and Gilbert, father of the late Mrs. John Fox, of Doylestown, the elder brother of William, was disowned by meeting for serving as Major in the second Bucks county battalion in the Amboy campaign of 1776. John Rodman owned 967 acres in Amwell township, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, within three-fourths of a mile of the Delaware. By his will, dated June 3, 1756, he left this tract to his son William; and the latter, by his will, dated, December 1, 1789, left it to his sons William and Gilbert. On a re-survey in 1751, the tract was found to contain an overplus of 555 acres, which was secured to John Rodman, by virtue of the "rights of propriety," purchased by him. The land was originally conveyed to him by lease and re-lease, June 17, and 18, 1735 (19). (15) It was owned for many years by A. Murray McIlvaine, a relative of the family but was recently sold by him. (Footnote not included in 1905 edition.) (16) Tradition says that in a log cabin at Flushing, lived and died Jean Francois, a soldier of Napoleon's "Old Guard," who was with the Emperor at Moscow and Waterloo, and became an exile in America, when the Emperor was sent to St. Helena. He was long a gardener in the Taylor family, and after his death, was buried in Beechwood Cemetery, Hulmeville. * (17) Anecdote in brackets not included in 1905 edition. (18) William Rodman was 1st Lieutenant of the troop, but the Captain resigning about the time it was ordered into service, he took command and retained it until the trouble was over. * (19) Rutly's History of the Quakers in Ireland; p. 366, published 1751, says: "In the year 1655, for wearing his hat in the Assize in New Ross, was John Rodman committed to goal by Judge Louder, kept a prisoner three months, and then banished that country." This was doubtless the ancestor of the Bucks county Rodmans and was sent to Barbadoes. New Ross is a seaport of County Kilkenny.* The Galloways came from Maryland, where Joseph was born, of respectable parentage, about 1730. He removed to Philadelphia in early life and established himself in the practice of law, but marrying Grace Growden he fixed his country-home at Trevose, in Bensalem. He was much in public life, and was many years member of the Assembly, and Speaker. He was active in all the colonial measures against the British crown, was a member of the first American Congress, 1774, signed the "non- importation," "non-consumption," and "non-exportation" acts, and at that time no man in the province stood in greater favor. In 1776 he abandoned the Whig cause, joined the British army at New York, went to England in 1778, and was examined before a committee of Parliament in 1779. He now became very bitter toward his native country, and during the war he wrote much in defense of the crown. His estate, valued at £40,000, was confiscated (20), but, as it came through his wife, it was restored to his only daughter Elizabeth, a beautiful girl who was quite the toast, as "Betsy Galloway." She married William Roberts, an Englishman, but the match was an unhappy one. They separated, and she gave her husband £2,000 for the privilege of retaining their only child Grace Ann, who was allowed to see her father in the presence of a third person. The daughter married Benjamin Burton, of the British army, and died in England in 1837, leaving several children, her youngest son, Adolphus Desart Burton, taking the Durham estates under his mother's will. The real estate in this county, principally in Bensalem and Durham townships, was sold in 1848. That in Bensalem, containing 1,295 acres, was divided into eight tracts: Trevose, the old family seat, east Trevose, south Trevose, Belmont, mentioned as early as 1700, west Belmont, Richelieu, south Richelieu, west Richelieu, and Richelieu forest. These tracts lay in the north-eastern part of the townships, four of them bordering the Neshaminy. A ridge, called Belmont, crossed the estate, running from the Bristol road to the Neshaminy, and down that stream. After Mr. Galloway had deserted to the British, his office at Trevose was broken open and the documents and records scattered about. The late Abraham Chapman bought a number of his law books. He was a man of great talent, and a politician by nature. After his defection he became a mark for the shafts of wit and anger of the period, and Trumbull lampoons him in his McFingal. Just before his escape a trunk was sent to him, which, on being opened, contained only a halter to hang himself. His path in life was filled with troubles and vexations (21). (20) The act of Assembly* (21) Joseph Galloway died at Watford, County Hertford, England, August 29, 1803, his will being dated June 29th. He was seventy-three years of age.* Richard Gibbs, sheriff of the county before the Revolution, and otherwise prominent in public affairs, lived and died in Bensalem. He was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1723, of a good family, and received a good education. Being a younger son he was destined for a maritime life, which he did not like; and arriving at Philadelphia about 1746, he left his ship. Falling in with Mr. Stevens, a farmer of Bensalem, he accompanied him home in his market wagon, on the promise of a school to teach. While teaching he became acquainted with Lawrence Growden, county clerk, who gave him a clerkship in the office at Trevose, which he held several years. He was afterwards elected sheriff. In 1770 he purchased a farm on the Bristol turnpike, which he called Eddington, after a place of that name in his native county, in England, where Alfred the Great defeated the Danes. He inherited a handsome estate by the decease of his elder brother. He was a warm friend of the colonies in the Revolutionary struggle, and showed his zeal in many ways, at one time loaning a large sum of money, which Congress was not able to refund. The British troops frequently visited his house, and he was obliged to seek refuge in the upper end of the county while they occupied Philadelphia. He was married at Bristol, in 1753, to Miss Margery Harrison, of New York, and had several children. He resided at Eddington until his death, in 1798. Mr. Gibbs was the maternal grandfather of the late Mrs. John Fox, of Doylestown. There is a family burying ground on the Eddington farm. James Benezet was the eldest of the three sons of John Stephen Benezet, a Protestant refugee from France, who came to Philadelphia in 1731, and settled in Bensalem prior to the Revolution, where he died. He was prothonotary, and clerk of the quarter sessions, while the seat of justice was at Newtown. His son Samuel was a Continental Major in the Revolutionary army, and afterward a justice of the peace and prothonotary of the county. Anthony, the youngest son of John Stephen Benezet, became a philanthropist of world wide renown. Of the Kingstones, who were in the township early in the last century, Abel was a worthy minister among Friends, and died in 1749, leaving several daughters. George James, a tailor who followed his trade at the Kingstone homestead, married Sarah Townsend for his second wife, in 1738. The Willetts, an old family in Bensalem, are descended of Dutch ancestry from Long Island. Samuel Willet the [great*]grandfather of Charles Willett, deceased, who owned the homestead, purchased part of the Growden tract in the northwest part of the township. [His wife was Elizabeth Lawrence.*] His son, Augustin Willett, was a man of considerable note in his day, [and married Elizabeth, daughter Gilbert Hicks, of Four Lanes End. At the outbreak of the Revolution he took the oath of allegiance, raised a company at his own expense and joined the army. He is said to have been at the battles of White Plains, Trenton, Germantown, Brandywine and Monmouth.*] He became prominent in military affairs afterward; was lieutenant of the county in 1791; captain of the Bucks County Dragoons in 1793; was several years Brigade Inspector; Brigade Major of General Murray's brigade of Pennsylvania militia, [in the whiskey insurrection, 1794,*] and was commissioned Brigadier General in 1800. In 1797 he commanded the troops which received General Washington, on crossing the Delaware, on his return south, and escorted him to the Philadelphia county line. [General Willett was born 1751, died 1824, and buried at Friends' burying ground, Attleborough. His grandson, Charles Willett, lived and died on a portion of the homestead tract. One or more of the descendants of Samuel Willett settled in Southampton, Obadiah living and dying on the handsome farm on the road between the Buck tavern and Langhorne.*] We do not know at what time the Sickel family came into the township, but they were residents there many years ago. They are also descendants of Holland ancestors who settled at New York while it was New Amsterdam, whence a portion of them went into New Jersey. At the Revolution they were found on the side of their country. Philip Sickel came into Pennsylvania and settled in Philadelphia before the middle of the 18th century, and his son John was born in Bensalem in 1753. His son John, grandson of Philip, whose date of birth we do not know, married Elizabeth Vandegrift. Their son Horatio G. Sickel, born in 1817, is the most prominent member of the family. In his early youth he learned the blacksmith trade, and carried it on at Davisville and Quakertown, but he always had great fondness for military affairs, commanding one or more volunteer companies. The Civil War found him engaged in business in Philadelphia. He raised a company to serve three years and joined the Third Pennsylvania Reserves, of which he was elected and commissioned colonel. On the expiration of this term of service he raised the One Hundred and Ninety-eighth Regiment, and served with it to the close of the war. On all occasions he proved himself a courageous and reliable officer, and was breveted both brigadier, and major-general, for meritorious service. For several years he has filled the office of Pension Agent, Philadelphia. In 1842 General Sickel married Eliza Vansant, of Warminster township, and is the father of several children. In 1794 Richard Bache, the son-in-law of Doctor Franklin, [and grandfather of William Duane,] bought a plantation in Bensalem of Bartholomy Corvaisier, containing 268 acres and 78 perches, which he called Settle, after the town in Yorkshire, England, whence the family came. It lay along the Delaware about the third of a mile, nearly opposite Beverly, and extending back to the Bristol turnpike. It is said that the land was bought with money received from Robert Morris, the last he paid before his failure. At the death of Mr. Bache, in 1811, the plantation fell into the hands of his youngest son, Lewis, who sold it to Charles Marquedant, and died at Bristol in 1819. The mansion, with a few acres, belongs to John Mathew Hummell, but the reminder of the tract is owned by Jonathan Thomas. Richard Bache, who carried Franklin's silver bull's eye watch, mislaid it in Philadelphia, and it turned up twenty years later in the possession of a Lewis Groff, of Lancaster county, who had obtained it by purchase (22). (22) The Bristol turnpike was the western boundary of Mr. Bache's plantation, and one day while working in that direction he saw a woman pulling down his fence for firewood. Naturally objecting to this liberty he expostulated with her when she replied, "There's no friendship without freedom. Poor man! What will you do when you die? You'll not be able to take your fence with you to heaven." The author received this little anecdote from Mr. Duane in a letter dated November 23, 1879. * (See illustration of Nicholas Biddle) On the bank of the Delaware, three miles above Poquessing creek, is situated Andalusia, the home of the late Nicholas Biddle, and is still owned by his descendants. The Biddles have long been settled in Pennsylvania. The first ancestor, William Biddle, one of the original proprietors of West Jersey, came from London in 1681. His grandson, William, settled in Pennsylvania and married the daughter of Nicholas Scull, Surveyor-General of the province. The children of this marriage all became distinguished in the annals of our country. James, the eldest, was a judge; Edward served as a Captain in the War of 1756, and was subsequently a member of Assembly and elected to the first Continental Congress; Nicholas was a Captain in the navy, and perished with his vessel, the frigate Randolph, of thirty-two guns, in a battle with the British ship Yarmouth, of sixty-four guns; and Charles, the father of Nicholas, who was Vice-President of the State while Benjamin Franklin was President. The Bensalem property was purchased in 1795, by John Craig, one of Philadelphia's old merchants, who, in memory of his successful ventures to Spain and her colonies, called his country home Andalusia. In 1811 Nicholas Biddle married the eldest daughter of this gentleman, and henceforward spent much of his time there. He removed to Andalusia permanently in 1821, determined to devote his time to agricultural pursuits. At his marriage he was a member of the Legislature, to which he was returned for a number of years. In 1823 he was made president of the United States bank, which he held until its charter expired, in 1830. On the bank being re-chartered by the Legislature, he was again elected its president, but retired from it in 1839. The bank failed in 1841, and his own fortune, then very large, went in the general wreck. He died at Andalusia, February 26, 1844. (See illustration of Andalusia - residence of Nicholas Biddle) Mr. Biddle was an accomplished scholar, and of refined tastes. He courted the muse, and his "Ode to Bogle," the great Philadelphia waiter and undertaker, lives to the present day, and has been re-published again and again. As a farmer he was the first to introduce Alderney cattle, and the cultivation of the grape, while to his efforts the country is indebted for one of the most beautiful structures of modern times, the Girard college. It was a saying of his, that there were but two truths in the world, "the Bible, and Greek architecture," and his influence was generally exerted in favor of that order for public buildings. When it became necessary to enlarge his house at Andalusia, he added to it the beautiful Doric portico which now adorns it. The late Governor William F. Packer wrote: "Whatever may be said of Nicholas Biddle as a politician, or a financier, all agree that on questions of internal improvement and commerce he was one of the most sagacious and far seeing statesmen of the Union. His fault was, if fault it be, that he was twenty years in advance of the age in which he lived." (23) (23) Judge Craig Biddle, Philadelphia, and the late Charles Biddle, a captain in the Mexican War, were sons of Nicholas Biddle.* [Early in the settlement of the colony, a number of persons in Philadelphia made their home in Bensalem, and spent a part or more of their lives in the township. Some of these homesteads not mentioned elsewhere, are still in existence, most of them much improved or wholly rebuilt. Several are in the Valley of Neshaminy. The "Farley" estate, the ancestral home of the Shippen family, is northwest of Bridgewater, and now owned by James Moore. The old mansion was destroyed by fire, but the present owner has built a handsome modern residence on the site. In the old cemetery many members of the family were buried. Margaret Shippen, who married Benedict Arnold, while he was yet a patriot, spent much of her young life there, was possibly born in the old house, and whose sad fate was so deplored. On a bluff to the east, is the handsome residence of Henry L. Gaw, a banker of Philadelphia; not far removed is Lansdowne, the country home of the Johnson family, the late Lawrence Johnson being the founder of the great type foundry that bore his name, and which intermarried with the Winders, Taylors, Morrises and other well-known families. In the same neighborhood is the Grundy estate, the first owner an Englishman, who married Miss Hulme, Hulmeville; one of whose sons, Joseph, read law with Benjamin Harris Brewster, the same who was Attorney- General, United States, and another Joseph, grandson of the first, is the owner of the Bristol Woolen Mills. The Rodman homestead, of which more is said in another place, was famous in its day, but is now cut up into several farms. The present owner is Edward Palton, member of Select Council, Philadelphia. The "Sunbury Farm," on the north side of Neshaminy, for three generations the home of the Taylors, is now occupied by a daughter of Captain Anthony Taylor and wife of Bromly Wharton. He is a descendant of Joseph Wharton, Philadelphia, on whose plantation below the city, the officers of the British army, 1778, held their famous Mischianza, of which Major Andre was the chief promoter. At other points in various parts of Bensalem wealth and a cultivated taste have built elegant homes. Among these is the handsome residence of the late Dr. Schenck, now occupied by his son, near the Pennsylvania Railroad crossing of Neshaminy. It commands a fine view of the Delaware and the neighboring towns that line the New Jersey shore.*] Four miles below Bristol is Dunk's ferry, a notable crossing of the Delaware. It was established by Duncan Williamson, one of the earliest settlers, and retains a corruption of his christian name. It was called the same on the New Jersey side until Beverly was founded in 1848. His son, William Williamson, died in Bensalem in 1721, leaving by will 600 acres lying on the Delaware. Claus Jonson, who died in 1723, owned 700 acres. Daniel Bankson, an early settled, died in 1727. At that day upland along the river was called "fast land." Alice, a slave woman, who spent nearly the whole of her life in Bensalem, died there in 1802, at the age of 116 years. She was born in Philadelphia, of parents who came from Barbadoes, but removed with her master to near Dunk's ferry at the age of ten. At the age of ninety-five she rode on horseback to church; her sight failed her at 102, and just before her death her hair turned white, and the teeth dropped out of her head, perfectly sound. She remembered seeing William Penn, at his second visit, and those who aided him in founding the Commonwealth, and would often interest her hearers by talking of them. The township records go back only to 1769, when Peter Johnston and Francis Titus were supervisors, and the road-tax was £30.3s.8d. The township auditors were William Rodman, Thomas Barnsly, Henry Tomlinson and John Vandegrift (24). In 1776 the amount of road-tax on the duplicate was £57.18s. In 1780, while the continental currency was at its greatest depression, the amount on the duplicate was £2,537.17s.6d, but it fell to £45 the following year. The duplicate shows the following amount of road tax, respectively, in the years mentioned: 1790, £35; 1800, $451; 1810, $865; 1820, $704.29; 1830, $776.52; 1840, $519.21; 1850, $758.43; 1860, $934.74; 1869, $3,681.56. In one hundred years the road tax increased forty-fold. (24) A member of the same Vandegrift family was one of the township auditors, 1869, just a century from the time the first had served in the same capacity. * The Bensalem Presbyterian church is probably the oldest religious organization in the county, if we except the society of Friends. Its germ was planted by the Swedes before the close of the 17th century. In 1697 the Swedish settlers south of the Neshaminy were included in the bounds of the congregation at Wicacoa (25), Philadelphia, while Reverend Andrew Rudman was the pastor, and he probably visited that section occasionally to minister to the spiritual wants of the people. In 1698 Reverend Jedediah Andrews, a Presbyterian minister from New England, rode from Philadelphia up to Bensalem to preach and baptise. In 1705 the "upper inhabitants," those living between the Schuylkill and Neshaminy, made application for occasional service in their neighborhoods in the winter season, because they were so far from the church at Wicacoa, and no doubt their wish was gratified. (25) An Indian word, from Wickling, dwelling, and Chao, a fir tree. See Clay's History of Swedes. It is impossible to tell the exact time a church organization was effected, but it was between 1705 and 1710. The church was opened for worship May 2, 1710, and Paulus Van Vleck was chosen the pastor on the 30th, who preached there the same day. The elders at Bensalem at this time were Hendrick Van Dyk, Leonard Van der Grift, now Vandegrift, Stoffel Vanzandt, and Nicholas Van der Grift. This was probably the first church built, but before that time services were held at private houses (26). The church was now Dutch Reformed. Van Vleck was a native of Holland, and nephew of one Jacob Phoenix, of New York. He was in that city in June 1709 when he was ordered to be examined and ordained, so as to accompany the expedition to Canada, but the Dutch ministers declined for want of power. (26) There are records of births and marriages before the church was built. While Van Vleck was probably the first settled pastor at Bensalem, other ministers preached there at irregular periods. In 1710 Jan Banch, a Swedish missionary from Stockholm, came to this country, and preached at various places. He was at Bensalem, January 21, 1710, where he baptised several, among which are the names of Vansandt, Van Dyk, Van der Grift, Larue, and others, whose descendants are living in the township. Johan Blacker, a Dutch minister, preached there about the same time. A record in his hand, made January 10, 1710, declares that Sophia Grieson and Catrytje Browswef are members of "Sammany" church (27). In December 1710 there were nineteen members at Bensalem: Hendrick Van Dyk and his wife, Lambert Van de Grift, Cristoffel Van Zand, Nicholas Van de Grift, Herman Van Zand, Johannis Van de Grift, Gerret Van Zand, Jacob Elfenstyn, Jonas Van Zand, Janette Remierse, Trintje Remierse, Geertje Gybert, Lea Groesbeck, and Catelyntje Van Densen. Van Vleck was likewise pastor at Sammany and Six Mile Run, a locality not now known (28). September 21, 1710, a committee was appointed by the Philadelphia Presbytery (29) to inquire into Mr. Morgan's and Paulus Van Vleck's affair, and prepare it for the Presbytery. In the afternoon the committee reported on Mr. Morgan, and after some debate he was admitted. The case of Van Vleck gave them greater trouble and was more serious, for there "was serious debating" before he was received. In 1711 Van Vleck was represented in the Presbytery by his elder, Leonard Vandegrift, of the Bensalem church, but he fell under a cloud and left in 1712, and was not heard of afterward. As himself and wife were witnesses to a baptism that took place at Sammany, January 1, 1712, he must have left after that time. His wife's names was [Janet Van Dycke, daughter of Hendrick, above mentioned, and their daughter Susanna married Henry Van Horn, and has numerous descendants in the county.*] We find Jan Andriese, of Philadelphia, pastor at Bensalem, September 11, 1711; but the exact time of his advent is not known, nor the reason or it. It is possible Van Vleck was dismissed about this time, or that he resigned at Bensalem to devote all his time to Sammany and Six Mile Run. It is not known how long Mr. Andriese continued pastor, but probably until the calling of Reverend Maligus Sims, who was there in April 1719 when the church had but twelve members. (27) Was near the Buck, in Southampton, and now known as the North and Southampton Reformed church, with one place of worship at Churchville and another at Richborough. (28) The church at this place was finished November 15, 1710, and the wardens elected were: Adrian Bennet, Charles Fontyn, Barent de Wit, and Abraham Bennet. When the missionary Jan Banch visited the church in August 1712, it had twenty-seven members, and among them are found the names of Bennet, Van Dyk, Densen, Peterson, De Hart, Klein, etc. (29) Old style. Mr. Sims was probably succeeded by Reverend William Tennent, who took charge of the Bensalem church about 1721. The latter is said to have remained until he was called to the Neshaminy church, in Warwick township, in 1726, but he must have left before that time, for we learn, from the church records, that Reverend Robert Lenig was the pastor at Bensalem in 1724. At a session, held July 12th of that year, it was ordered that a book be kept for names of communicants, marriages, and christenings. The fee for marriages at the minister's quarters was fixed at ten shillings, and parties were to be published on four Sabbaths before marriage, and nine shillings for each child baptized. As there are no church records from 1726 to 1772, the names of the pastors who officiated during that period are not know. The latter year Reverend James Boyd was called, who preached there and at Newtown until 1817. He left no record of his labors. In the next forty-five years there were but eleven, of pastoral labors, the church relying mainly on supplies. The present pastor, the Reverend Michael Burdett, D. D., was called, and installed in January 1871. During his pastorate the church has been in a prosperous condition; a chapel has been built, and the church building repaired. Doctor Burdett preaches in the new church below Schenck's station, on Sunday afternoons. The church lot was the gift of Thomas Stevenson, August 24, 1711, and was conveyed in a deed of trust to Johannes Vandygrift, Herman Vanzandt, Johannes Vanzandt (30), and Jacob Weston, the first trustees. The old building was torn down about [three-quarters of a*] century ago. (30) We have spelled the names of these early settlers as they are written in the records, varying somewhat from present spelling; and they were spelled differently at different periods. The Bensalem Methodist Episcopal church is a flourishing organization. When the congregation was first organized we do not know, but down to 1810 the meetings were held at private houses. For several years previous they held an annual camp-meeting in one of the pleasant groves of the township, holding it in Jacob Hellings' woods in 1804. The congregation felt numerous and strong enough by 1810 to erect a church, and a house was built that year on a lot given by Joseph Rodman. The timber for the frame was the gift of General Willett, cut from his woods. At that early day there was no settled minister of the church and congregation, but the Reverends James Fisher and Richard Sneith, in charge of a circuit 600 miles in extent, preached there at stated periods. Since then the church has been altered and repaired more than once. It is situated in about the middle of the township, on the Milford road. [Besides the churches named, Bensalem has two other places of religious worship, Christ Church, Eddington, and the chapel of the Redeemer, Andalusia, both Protestant Episcopal. The former is the elder of the two. A lot was purchased, 1842, and the following year, a neat stone chapel erected and consecrated by Bishop Onderdonk, March 7, 1844. For a time service was held every Sunday afternoon by the rector at Holmesburg. In 1845 a parsonage was built; enlarged and improved, 1852, and a Sunday-school room fitted up in the basement. A new church building was erected, 1854-55, at a cost of $13,000, the congregation occupying it May 29. About the same period a new Sunday-school building was erected. A belfry was added to the church, 1880, and the bell first rung on Christmas day. After almost forty years of mission work, Christ chapel was constituted a parish, and from that time, has had its own rector, the first being the Rev. Edwin I. Hirmes, followed by Rev. George A. Hunt, now in charge. The chapel of the Redeemer was founded, 1861, and a stone building 51x25 erected, mainly by efforts of Mrs. Jane S. Biddle and her two sisters, $1,400 being the receipts from a fair, and $2,000 by individual subscriptions. The deed for the lot was executed to All Saints' Church. A parish school-house was built, 1867, and 1877 Dr. Charles R. King, at his own expense, enlarged and handsomely decorated the chapel. It was dedicated by Bishop Stevens, September 29, and given the name it bears. Dr. H. T. Wells, in charge of an Episcopal school at Andalusia, for some time, gave his services gratis to the chapel, and was followed as pastors, by the Revs. Thomas W. Martin, William M. Morsell, J. B. Bunck and others. Connected with the chapel is the "King Library," the gift of Dr. King (31). The building is 30x40 feet, built of fire-proof brick with red sand stone trimmings and faces the Bristol turnpike. The interior is a single room rising to the roof. It was opened December 28, 1886, with appropriate services by Bishop Stevens. It contains 3,000 volumes, and is free to all. (31) The King family, represented by Dr. Charles R. King, almost 50 years a resident of Bensalem, is distinguished in the country's annals. They settled in New England, but subsequently made New York their home. Rufus King, the grandfather, born 1755, was a conspicuous figure in the Revolutionary period and subsequently. He took his seat in the Continental Congress, 1784, was a member of the convention that formed the Federal Constitution, 1787; twice minister to England, the first appointment by Washington; served three terms in the United States Senate, and was candidate for President against Mr. Monroe. He died, 1826. John A. King, his son, and father of Dr. Charles R., born 1788, died 1867, educated in England while his father was American minister there, was member of Congress and the first Governor of New York elected by the Republican party, 1856. Dr. King took deep interest in the public school and the church, giving his leisure to literary pursuits, having recently written and published the "Life and Correspondence of Rufus King," his grandfather, covering a period from 1784 to 1826. Dr. King died April 5, 1901.* The only collections of dwellings in the township that deserve the name of villages, are: Bridgewater, on the Neshaminy, at the crossing of the Bristol turnpike, Eddington, on the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad, Oakford, in the northeast corner of the township, and Andalusia, a straggling hamlet, on the turnpike, all post-villages. They contain but a few dwellings each. Richelieu and Centreville are ambitious to reach the village state, and Brownsville is a small hamlet on the Southampton line, with a majority of the dwellings in that township. Anthony Taylor built a fulling-mill at Flushing, on the Neshaminy, and the following spring it was occupied by James Wilson. There is now a team saw-mill at this place (32). (32) These villages and hamlets have felt the spirit of improvement the past twenty-five years and kept pace with their respective neighborhoods.* [The murder of Dr. Chapman, Bensalem, by his wife and a vagabond Spaniard, by poison, created a profound sensation. This occurred in the summer of 1831. He was taken in for the night, but the wife, becoming infatuated with him, had him remain and murder was the result. The trial, conviction and execution of the Spaniard attracted great attention at the time.*] Chapman was an Englishman, and his wife a Winslow, of New England. The following concerning the family of this woman from "Hereditary Descent," published by O. S. Fowler, 1848, will no doubt interest the readers: The Barre (Mass,) "Patriot" says that a box containing $125 in counterfeit bills was discovered in the cellar wall of Thomas Winslow of that town, who was ordered to find bail in the sum of $1,000. He had for many years been suspected of dealing in counterfeit money, and had been once or twice arrested for the offense, but escaped for want of sufficient evidence. The family with which he is connected is not a little notorious in the annals of crime. His brother, Mark Winslow, was a noted counterfeiter, and probably the most ingenious one known in the state. About twelve years ago he was sentenced to the state prison for life, and, on the eve of removal, committed suicide by cutting his throat. Edward, another brother, was also a counterfeiter and for that and other offenses has been an inmate of the state prison, and of nearly half the jails of the state. Lucretia, sister, was connected with the same gang and signed the bills. She was wonderfully expert with the pen, and skillful in imitating signatures. She married a man by the name of Chapman, who was murdered in Pennsylvania some years since. She lived as the wife of a noted imposter, Mina, and they were arrested and tried for the murder. Mina was hung, but she was acquitted, although not without very strong evidence of having prompted or connived at the death of Chapman. She subsequently wandered through the South, connected with a strolling theatrical company, and died a few years since. One of her children is now in Barre. She was a woman of great talent, if it had been honestly applied, and of singularly winning manners. Another sister of the Winslows married Robert Green, and still another married Jesse H. Jones, and both Green and Jones were connected with the gang of counterfeiters that used to infest that region." We have been told by good authority that at the time of her arrest for poisoning her husband, Mrs. Chapman was under the surveillance of the police, and would soon have been arrested for her connection with this gang for counterfeiters and forgers. [About 1859, Rev. H. T. Wells, of the Protestant Episcopal church, bought the Dr. Chapman property, Andalusia, where Dr. C. formerly kept a "stammering school," made some improvements and opened a boys's boarding school. A charter, authorizing the conferring of degrees, was obtained and the school called "Andalusia College." A new building called "Potter Hall" was subsequently erected, in which a preparatory school was opened. At Dr. Wells' death, 1871, A. H. Fetteroll, head master at Andalusia, now president of Girard College, reopened the school, but gave it up after a time. The property was then sold and a number of cottages built on part of it, the old school building being turned to other purposes.*] [In Bensalem, on Neshaminy, opposite Newportville, stands a colonial mansion, the ancestral home of the Barnsley family. It was built by Major Thomas Barnsley, an officer of the British army, who came from England with Lord Loudon, 1756, and served with him in the French and Indian war. At the close of the war, 1760, he resigned his commission and settled at Philadelphia. In 1763 he purchased the estate of James Coulter, 537 acres, and built the mansion, importing the brick and other material from England. The house is still in a good state of preservation. Major Barnsley died, 1771, and was buried in the aisle of St. James Episcopal church, Bristol. He adopted his nephew, John Barnsley, who, after his uncle's death, sold the estate and removed to Newtown, then the county seat. He married Elizabeth Van Court, purchased land adjoining the town, and built the house which, since that time, has been owned and continuously occupied by the Barnsley family, a period of nearly a century and a quarter. It was the home of the late John Barnsley, who died, 1880, and is owned by his children. John Barnsley married Mary, youngest child of Benjamin and Hannah Simpson Hough, Warrington township. The deed for the property, on record at Doylestown, call for 652 acres, and is spoken of as the "Tatham Plantation," but Major Barnsley called it "Croydon," probably after his birth place. The original dwelling is said to have been erected by the Tremain family, but when, we are not informed. Elegant grounds surrounded the house, and boats and barges plied upon the water. Tradition says that Major Barnsley had a retinue of servants and followers, kept open house, dressed in scarlet coat, buff breeches, gold knee buckles, and wore a cocked hat and dress sword, all in keeping with retired army officers of the period.*] The proximity of Bensalem to Philadelphia induced the British troops to make several incursions into the township while they held that city in 1777-78, and during the war the inhabitants suffered from the depredations of both armies. Of the roads through the township, that from Poquessing creek which crosses the Street road below the Trap tavern, and the Neshaminy above Hulmeville and thence to Bristol, was laid out by order of council in 1697. John Baldwin was appointed to keep the ferry over the Neshaminy on giving security. When the Hulmeville dam was built the ferry was discontinued, and a new road laid out, leaving the old one at right-angles near Trevose, and crossing the Neshaminy at Newportville. About this time the road was laid out, Bucks and Philadelphia counties built a bridge over the Poquessing, probably where the pike crosses. A second bridge was built there in 1757, and a third in 1794. The road from the Bristol pike at Scott's corner to Townsend's mill, on the Poquessing, was opened in 1767, and from the pike to "White Sheet bay" in 1769. As early as 1697 a petition was presented to the court to lay out a road from Growden's plantation to Dunk's ferry, but we do not know that it was granted. In 1700 a road was opened from Growden's to the King's highway leading to the falls. This highway at that time was probably the road from the Poquessing that crossed the Neshaminy about Hulmeville, and which at one time was a thoroughfare from the falls to Philadelphia. Galloway's ford was on the Neshaminy above Hulmeville, and was destroyed when the dam was built, because it backed up the water so that it could not be crossed. At April term, 1703, the court directed a jury to lay out a road "from the uppermost inhabitants adjacent to Southampton to the landing commonly called John Gilbert's landing." (33) (33) John Gilbert was one of the earliest settlers in Bensalem, but the place of his landing is not known to the present generation.* (See illustration of Red Lion Inn, Bensalem) The two oldest taverns in the township are the Red Lion, on the turnpike, at the crossing of the Poquessing, and the Trap, on the Street road, a mile above where the old King's highway crosses it on its way to the falls. The former is of some historical interest, and will be mentioned in a future chapter. [Across the Poquessing, Philadelphia county, is the old Byberry meeting grave yard, near the present one, and which the Keithians retained on the separation, 1690. In it are two marble gravestone, one "To the memory of James Rush, who departed this life March ye 6, 1726-7, aged forty-eight years and ten months, grandfather of Dr. Benjamin Rush, the Signer"; the other to Crispin Collett, who died September 3, 1753, aged thirty-seven years. All the other stones in the yard are the common field stone. Daniel Longstreth, Warminster, who visited this grave yard, 1843, accompanied by his wife, remarked in his diary: "John Hart, the noted Quaker preacher, who joined George Keith at the time of the separation, lived where Caleb Knight now resides, the next farm but one above the grave yard. It was the son of John Hart, the preacher, that settled on the 500-acre tract to the north of my residence in Warminster. The family joined the Baptists in Southampton meeting." Mr. Longstreth, on the same or a subsequent visit to Byberry, was told by Charles Walmsley that his uncle had a cart whose hubs were used in a vehicle that hauled baggage for Braddock's army in the French and Indian war, 1755-57. They were then in good condition and in use. The vehicle they belonged to, at the time, were pressed into service for the use of the army.*] [Mary Newman Brister, nee Fry, born at the Trappe, June 8, 1780, was living at Washington, Pa., 1880, in good health, and had never been sick until the year previous. She was married to George Brister, in Philadelphia, who died in Washington, 1850. He was in the war with England, 1812, and fought at New Orleans. George Fry, Mrs. Brister's father, was born in Bucks county, 1730, and died, 1833. He served in the Braddock campaign, 1755; and, at the age of 103, walked from Philadelphia to Cincinnati, Ohio, but was never heard of afterward.*] [In 1892, the order of the "Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament," for Indians and colored people, established the "Mother House" in Bensalem, near Cornwell, on the line of the Pennsylvania railroad. The order is known as "St. Elizabeth's Convent and the Holy Providence Home." The sisterhood was founded under the auspices of Miss Catherine M. Drexel, who took the veil as a nun of the Roman Catholic church, under the name of Mother M. Kathrine. The organization was effected, 1891. In the chapter on "School and Education," the scope and purposes of this institution are set forth.*] Bensalem is a rich and fertile township, with but little waste land, and the surface has a gradual slope from its northwest boundary to the Delaware. It is bounded on three sides by water, the Delaware river, Neshaminy, and Poquessing, and it is well-watered by numerous tributaries. The nearness of this township to Philadelphia, and the facility with which it can be reached by rail and boat, have induced many of her rich citizens to make their homes within its limits. In consequence numerous elegant dwellings line its main highways and the banks of the Delaware, and large wealth is found among the inhabitants. The Philadelphia and Trenton railroad runs across the township a short distance from the river with stations at a number of points, and passing trains take up and set down passengers every few minutes, while the through line of the North Pennsylvania railroad to New York crosses it near the Southampton line. The township contains an area of 11,656 acres, and its boundaries have not been disturbed since its organization in 1692. In 1742, sixty years after its settlement by the English, it had but seventy-eight taxable inhabitants, and the highest valuation of any one person was £50. In 1744 the taxables had fallen off to seventy-two, but they had increased to ninety in 1755, and to ninety-eight in 1765. In 1784 the population of the township was 653 whites, 175 blacks and 131 dwellings. In 1810 it was 1,434; 1820, 1,667; 1830, 1,811, and 345 taxables; 1840, 1,731; 1850, 2,239; 1860, 2,336; 1870, 2,353, of which 296 were foreign-born, and 169 black; 1880, 2,217; 1890, 2,385; 1900, 2,829. The township has two shad fisheries, one known as Vandegrift's, and the other at "Frogtown," and now the property of Doctor Markley. The fisheries we have mentioned in the river townships are all shore fisheries and have been long established. In former times the catch of shad and herring was much greater than of late years. The rent of these two fisheries, for a number of years, has not exceeded $500 a year. A post office was established at Andalusia in 1816, and Thomas Morgan appointed postmaster. End of Chapter X.