THE HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, CHAPTER XV, NEWTOWN, 1703. 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 XV NEWTOWN 1703 Main stream of settlement. -Called Newtown in 1687. -Lands taken up in 1684. -Christopher Taylor. -John Martindale. -Thomas Hillborn.* The Lintons.* -William Buckman. -Map of 1703. -Townstead. -The common. -Joseph Briggs.* -Durham and other roads. -John Harris. James Hanna. -Charles Stewart. -First site of church. -Area of township. -Population. -Tradition of borough's name. -What called in 1795. -Newtown in 1725. -Laid out in 1733. -Tamer Carey. -Samuel Hinkle. -Newtown in 1805. -James Raguet. -Newtown library. -Academy. -Brick hotel. -Joseph Archambault. -Death of Mrs. Kennedy. -Edward Plummer. -Doctor Jenks. -The Hickses. -Isaac Eyre.* General Francis Murray. -Presbyterian church. -Episcopal. -Methodist, and Friends' meeting. -Newtown of today. -Incorporated. -Population. -Paxson Memorial Home.* -First temperance society.* It will be found, on investigation, that the main stream of English settlement flowed up the peninsula formed by the Delaware and Neshaminy. For the first forty years, after the county was settled, the great majority of the immigrants settled between these streams. West of the Neshaminy the territory is more circumscribed, and the current of English Friends did not reach above Warminster. The pioneers, attracted by the fine rolling lands and fertile valleys of Newtown, Wrightstown, and Buckingham, early pushed their way thither, leaving wide stretches of unsettled wilderness behind. Newtown lay in the track of this upward current east of the Neshaminy, and the smoke of the English settler was hardly seen on the Delaware before the sound of his ax was heard in the forest north of Middletown. It is not known when Newtown township was laid out, or the name first given to it, but it is possible it was so known and called some years before the date given to it at the head of this chapter. It was probably surveyed by Thomas Holme, and on his map of 1684 its boundaries are nearly identical with those of the present day. This district of county was called "Newtown" as early as 1687, in the inventory of Michael Hough, near which he had 250 acres of land, valued at £15. Samuel Paxson was appointed "overseer of highways" for Newtown, in 1691. In the early day it was called "New township," a new township laid out in the woods, and no doubt the origin of its name, and it is probable the syllable "ship" was dropped for convenience, leaving it "Newtown" as we now have it. In 1684 its lands were pretty well apportioned among proprietors, some to actual settlers, and others to non-residents. Richard Price owned a tract that ran the whole length of the Middletown line. Thomas and John Rowland, and Edward Braber (probably a misspelling) along the Neshaminy, Thomas Revel, Christopher Taylor, and William Bennet, on the Wrightstown border, Arthur Cook, John Otter, Jonathan Eldrey, Abraham Wharley, Benjamin Roberts, Shadrack Walley, William Sneed, Israel Taylor, and a tract laid out to the "governor," along what is now Upper Makefield. All these several tracts abutted on the townstead. Some of the parties had land located for them before their arrival. Of these early proprietors we know but little. William Bennet, of Middlesex, England, came with his wife Rebecca, in November, 1685, but he died before the year was out, and she was left a widow in the woods of Newtown. On the 9th of September, 1686, Naomi, the daughter of Shadrack Walley, was married at Pennsbury to William Berry of Kent county, Maryland. In 1709 Walley owned 1,200 acres in the township, probably the extent of his original purchase. Christopher Taylor [was an early settler, coming sometime in the '80's and*] owned 5,000 acres in the county, in several townships, a considerable tract in Newtown towards Dolington. He died intestate, [on the estate*] leaving two sons and one daughter, Israel, Joseph and Mary. In 1692, 250 acres were patented to Israel Taylor, doubtless the son of Christopher, on the southeast side of Newtown borough. This he sold to James Yates, who, dying, 1730, the land went to his heirs, and soon after 1736, Samuel Carey became the owner of the greater part of the tract. Cary built a stone house on the premises 1741 and called the place "Retirement." He died there, 1766, leaving the homestead to his son Samuel, who sold it to Nathaniel, father of Nathaniel P. Burrows, 1801, for $5,860. It then contained 146 and one-half acres. It was next owned by Thomas Porter, and a school kept there, known as "Porter's Academy." The next owner was David Roberts, father of the late Stokes L. Roberts, and there the son was born. The daughters of the family were remarkably handsome women, Eliza being often spoken of as the "handsomest woman in Bucks county." She married Colonel Peter Ihrie, Easton. Twenty years ago the farm belonged to John B. Tomlinson, who pulled down the old house, built 1741, and erected a new one, 1878, He called the place the "Fountain Farm." The James Yeates who owned this farm after Israel Taylor, is said to have walked the Indian purchase of 1684, and it was subsequently owned by his son, James, who was one of the walkers in the "Walking Purchase," 1737, but gave out the morning of the second day and lived but three days. These facts make the place of historic interest.*] The 500 acres of Thomas Rowland, extending from Newtown creek to Neshaminy, probably included the ground the Presbyterian church stands upon. It was owned by Henry Baker in 1691, who conveyed 248 acres to Job Bunting in June 1692, and in October 1697 the remainder, 252 acres, to Stephen Wilson. In 1695 Bunting conveyed his acres to Stephen Twining, and in 1698 Wilson did the same, and Twining now owned Thomas Rowland's whole tract. In 1757 part or the whole of this land was in the possession of Benjamin Twining. In 1702 Stephen Twining owned 690 acres in Newtown, which John Cutler surveyed March 10th. [Twining, a common name in Great Britain, of Anglo Saxon origin, one authority says is composed of Saxon words meaning "two meadows." The name of John Twining, an Abbot, of Winchcomb, Gloucestershire, makes its appearance the middle of the fifteenth century. William Twining was a freeholder at Yarmouth, Cape Cod, Mass., 1643, and his son William, with his family settled in Newtown, 1695, dying there November 4, 1703, and his wife Elizabeth Dean, daughter of Stephen, December 28, 1708. From that time Newtown has been considered the home township of the family, from which the members have gone forth to make their way in the world. Stephen, son of William Twining, born February 1659, married Abigail, daughter of John and Abigail Young, and had eleven children, and died February 18, 1720. The first of the Twining family to be born and live in Bucks county were the children of Stephen, fifth son of Stephen 3d, born December 30, 1684, married Margaret Mitchell, October 1709 and died at Newtown, June 28, 1772. The wife died July 9, 1784, in her ninety-ninth year. Their issue was: Elizabeth, born April 30, 1712, married Isaac Kirk Abigail, born December 24, 1714, married Samuel Hillborn Stephen, born February 20, 1719, married Sarah Janney Mary, married John Chapman October 8, 1738 William, born April 7, 1723 Margaret, married Thomas Hamilton, and had a large family.*] John Martindale, born in England in 1676, settled in Newtown before 1700, and married Mary Bridgeman, daughter of Walter Bridgeman and Blanche Constable, of Middletown. She died in 1726, leaving six children, from whom have descended a numerous family. Of these descendants we can trace John, of the second generation, born in 1719, and married Mary Strickland, Amos, of the third, born in 1761, and married Martha Merrick, Charles, of the fourth, born in 1801, married Phoebe Comly, and Doctor John C., the fifth in descent from the progenitor, born in 1833 in Philadelphia county. The latter achieved considerable distinction. Without the advantages of early education he took a respectable position in the walks of literature and science. His active life was spent in teaching and practicing medicine. In his hours of leisure he wrote, "A History of the United States," for schools, of which 70,000 were sold in the first six years, "History of Byberry and Moreland," "A Series of Spelling Books," "First Lessons in Natural Philosophy," and a volume on "Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene." He left unpublished at his death, in 1872, "A Catalogue of the Birds, Animals and Plants" found in the vicinity of Philadelphia. Doctor Martindale was a man of great industry, and accomplished much under adverse circumstances. A map of Newtown township, as surveyed and laid out by John Cutler in 1702, gives us the names of the landowners at that time. They had changed since 1684, with some newcomers; Stephen Twining, already mentioned, William Buckman, who died in 1716, Michael and Samuel Hough, Ezra Croasdale, Henry Paxson, Israel Morris, Thomas Hillborn, who died in 1720 [1723*], James Eldridge, Mary Hayworth, and James Yates. By this time Shadrack Walley, who had become the largest landowner in the township, owning 1,397 aces, had absorbed most of the land that Richard Price owned on the Middletown line, in 1684. A small portion of Price's land was now owned by Yates. Israel Morris was the smallest landowner in the township, 178 acres, if we except Edward Cowgill, who owned a few acres adjoining the northwest corner of the town common. James Yates died in 1730, and was probably the father of the James Yates who took part in the Great Walk of 1737. John Frost, who gave the name to Frost lane, on the northern edge of the borough, was there in 1711, and died in 1716. There were either Germans or Hollanders settled in the township as early as 1724, for in the survey of the road from Newtown to Falls meetinghouse of that year, there is mention made of "the Dutchman's plantation." (See illustration of Yates House, Newtown) [Thomas Hillborn, ancestor of the Bucks county family bearing this name, was an English Friend, who came to Newtown from Shrewsbury, N. J., in the spring of 1702. The year previous he had purchased 750 acres adjoining Makefield, including twenty-five acres in the Newtown townstead. August 20, 1702, he purchased 130 acres additional, making in all, per Cutler's resurvey, 980 acres. On December 12, 1688, Thomas Hillborn married, at her mother's house, Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Hutton, at an appointed meeting of Friends. Twelve children were born of this marriage, the first six at Shrewsbury, the rest at Newtown, viz: Samuel, born 8 mo. 20, 1689 Robert, born 5 mo. 31, 1692 Mary, born 10 mo. 7, 1694 Elizabeth, born 1st mo. 2, 1697-98 Katharine, born 1st mo. 30, 1699 Deborah, born 3 mo, 25, 1701, died 1703 Thomas, born 1703 John, born 1705, married 3 mo. 1730 Joseph, born 1708, died 1731, unmarried Amos, born 1710, died 1710 Rachel, born 1711 Hannah, born 1714, died 1714.*] [Thomas Hillborn died at Newtown, 1723, leaving a will dated 1719, his wife surviving him several years. Her will, dated 1728, now in possession of one of her descendants at Omaha, Nebraska, does not seem to have been probated. Elizabeth Hillborn, widow of Thomas, had purchased of Richard Sunly, a farm in Wrightstown, and by the above will, she devised it to her son, Joseph, subject to his maintenance of her aged mother Elizabeth Hutton, but she subsequently sold the farm. Thomas Hillborn, Sr., in his lifetime, conveyed 229 acres to his grandson, Samuel Hillborn (son of Samuel, deceased) 6 mo. 7, 1717, which Samuel conveyed to Thomas, 1739, Thomas to his son Robert, 1779, and Robert to his son Amos, by will, 1793. On October 22, 1717, Thomas Hillborn, Sr., conveyed 250 acres to his son Robert, and Robert dying 1720, devised it to his son Thomas, who, in 1741, having removed to Burlington, N. J., sold the whole tract to Peter Taylor. The balance of the tract was devised to his son Thomas and to the widow Elizabeth, and they conveyed the same, separately, to John Hillborn, 1726 and 1737, respectively.*] [Samuel Hillborn, eldest son of Thomas and Elizabeth married, 1711, Margaret, daughter of Christopher and Margaret Atkinson, who came here from Yorkshire, England, Christopher dying on the passage, or soon after his arrival. Samuel Hillborn died, 1714, leaving an only son, Samuel, who married Abigail, daughter of Stephen Twining, and had by her eight children: Samuel, who removed to Durham township Joseph, married Ann Wilkinson, and settled in Smithfield, Philadelphia county Mary, married James Paxson Elizabeth, married Thomas Millard. John, said to have been captured by Indians, 1775, and carried to Canada, but returned to Pennsylvania Thomas, married Sarah Brummage, removed to Canada, 1806-7, his son Eli H. Hillborn, living at Toronto William and David, died without issue.*] [Robert, second son of Thomas and Elizabeth, married Mary, daughter of Thomas Harding, 1715, died 1720, leaving two children, Thomas and Mary, the former removed to Burlington, N. J., 1738-39, where he was living, 1741 (see deed of record Bucks county), and later removed to Lower Dublin township, and was a member of Byberry meeting, and died about 1770. Robert, his eldest son, born 2 mo. 6, 1740, in New Jersey, removed to Portland, Maine, 1775-76, where he enlisted in the United States service, married and settled and has numerous descendants in New England. In an affidavit made in '94 to establish his claim to a pension, he said he was born in New Jersey. The other children of Thomas and Mary Hillborn (Note: The author says Thomas and Mary, so it is assumed the following are the combined children of Thomas and Mary who were brother and sister) were: Thomas, born 10 mo. 23, 1741 Mary, born 9 mo. 10, 1744 Joseph, born 2 mo. 12, 1743 Benjamin, born 8 mo. 30, 1746 Elizabeth*] [Mary Hillborn, eldest daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth, married Amos Watson; Elizabeth married Abraham Darlington, Chester county; Katharine Hillborn was unmarried, 1728; Deborah, born 1701, died, 1703; Thomas, born 1703, married 1726, Ann Ashton, daughter of Thomas and Deborah Baines Ashton, had sons Robert and Samuel; Robert died at Newtown, 1793, leaving sons, Amos, Thomas, Robert and John; daughters, Rachel Beans, Elizabeth Saylor, Fanny and Mercy. Of these, Thomas, who married Rachel Hayhurst, was the father of Isaac Hillborn, Philadelphia; John Hillborn born 1705, married 3 mo. 1730, Rachel Strickland, and removed to Philadelphia and died there, 1747, leaving five children, Amos, Miles, Joseph, Elizabeth and Frances.*] (See an attempt to outline the descendants of Thomas Hillborn at end of chapter) When the township was laid out there was reserved and surveyed, at about the middle of it, a "townstead" of 640 acres on which the borough of Newtown stands. To encourage purchasers, Penn allowed each one to locate a lot in the townstead equal to ten percent of the quantity he took up in the township. There was left of this reservation, lying on both sides of Newtown creek and nearly one half within the present borough limits, a vacant strip containing forty acres, and known as the "common." August 16, 1716, this piece of land was patented to Shadrack Walley, William Buckman and John Frost, for the use of themselves and other inhabitants of the township (1). These parties died without perfecting their title, and the vacant strip of land lay as common until the close of the century. April 1, 1796, the inhabitants authorized William Buckman, Francis Murray, James Hanna, Thomas Story, William Linton and John Dormer Murray to procure the title to this property from the state, with authority to sell or lease, and the proceeds to be equally divided between the academy, a free school in the village, and schools in the township, in such manner as the trustees might direct. The patent was issued July 8, 1796, and the consideration was £79. 6s., with a reservation of one-sixth of all the gold and silver found on it. The following were the metes and bounds of the common: "Beginning at a stone, an original corner, etc., thence crossing Newtown creek, along lands of Aaron Phillips, formerly James Yeates, south eighty-three and one-half degrees east thirty-five perches to a stone in Bristol road, in line of Joseph Worstall's lot, thence along the same and sundry lots of said town, of lands originally of Shadrack Walley, Mary Hayworth and Jonathan Eldridge, north eight and a quarter degrees, east two hundred and eleven and four-tenths perches to a stone set as a corner of Samuel Carey, originally Thomas Hillborn, and a corner of the seven acres belonging to and surveyed to Francis Murray, thence by the same, re-crossing the creek, north eighty degrees west twenty-nine eight tenths perches to a stone, now set as another corner thereof, on the westerly side of Taylor's ferry road, at its intersection of the Durham road about the corner of Moses Kelly, originally Ezra Croasdale, and Jacob Buckman, originally Samuel Hough's, thence by said Buckman, James Hanna, Esq., Thomas Buckman and Jesse Leedom, and others, originally Michael Hough's, William Buckman and Stephen Twining, south nine degrees thirty eight minutes west two hundred and thirteen and four-tenths perches to the place of beginning, containing forty acres and ninety-seven perches." The common was two hundred and twelve and three-tenths perches and two hundred and twelve and five-tenths perches on the east and west lines, respectively, and twenty-nine and nine-tenths perches and thirty-five and five-tenths perches on the north and south lines. It was divided into fifty five lots, of unequal size, thirty-seven, fifty-five and one hundred and thirty feet front, and from one hundred and sixty-eight to two hundred and forty two feet in depth, which were put up at a public sale the 1st day of August, 1796, and most of them sold. Those numbered from one to twelve, inclusive, were sold in fee-simple, and the remainder on ground-rent, payable on the 1st of August, forever, with the right of redemption. Those sold in fee brought from £32 to £104, while those on ground-rent ram from £5. 12s 6d. down to 18s. 6d. The common embraced all that portion of the present borough of Newtown lying between Main street on the east and Sycamore on the west, and Frost lane on the north down to a line a little below Penn street on the south, and the titles are held under the several acts of Assembly relating thereto. As many of the purchasers under the act of 1796 did not comply with the conditions of sale, and the old trustees being dead, with no persons capable of acting in their stead, the legislature cured the defect in 1818. By this act Enos Morris, Thomas G. Kennedy, Jacob Janney, Phineas Jenks, Joseph Worstall, Jr., and Thomas Buckman were made "trustees of the Newtown common." They had power to sell and lease, previous titles were confirmed, and the same disposition was to be made of the proceeds as under the act f 1796 (2). When the common lots were sold Main street was left open, but in 1798 a jury laid it out along the east side of the common sixty-six feet wide, and likewise Bridge and another cross street forty-nine and one-half feet wide. In 1795 the common was called "graveyard field." Main street was declared a public road in 1785. (1) It was conveyed to the inhabitants of Newtown township "for the convenience of roads, passages to ye water, and other benefits to ye said township." (2) In 1716 ten acres were granted to Thomas Mayberry, out of the "vacant land in the townstead of Newtown, in the county of Bucks," for a settlement to carry on his trade. [The Lintons were early settlers in Bucks county, but we have not the date of the family's coming. They were here before the middle of the eighteenth century. William Linton, one of the trustees for selling the Newtown Common, was the son of John and Elizabeth Hayhurst Linton, of Wrightstown, and born 1742. He married, first 1766, Sarah Penquite, daughter of Samuel, Wrightstown; second, 1788, Mary Janney, daughter of Thomas Janney, Newtown township, a descendant of Thomas Janney, Provincial Councillor; third, Letitia (Harvey) Ellicott, widow of Nathaniel Ellicott, Buckingham. He had two children by his first wife, John and Elizabeth, none by his other wives. William Linton bought for himself at the trustees sale, lot No. 8, and shortly erected on it facing Main street, one of the finest mansions then in town, and which is still (1901) standing. The property is shown on the map of 1812 in his name, adjoining the north lines of the county property and the Academy lot. These two lots, being mostly open ground, gave Linton's house a fine uninterrupted view, and with its central location in the town and the court house nearly opposite, made it a most desirable situation for a residence. Mr. Linton lived in this house, in colonial style befitting his position, until his death, 1802, and his widow maintained an establishment of some pretension until her decease, 1817. They both belonged to wealthy and prominent families for the time. The property was inherited by William Linton's daughter Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Buckman, 1819, who sold it to Maria H. Wirtz, and she conveyed it to Dr. Reading Beatty (3), 1823. Dr. Beatty lived here until his death and left it to his son, Dr. Charles C. Beatty, who, 1832, sold it to Joseph P. Norris, Jr., Philadelphia, trustee for Anna Maria, wife of Morris Buckman. In 1842, after twenty-three years of outside ownership, this house came back into the Linton connection, and on March 7, after two transfers, the property was conveyed to Joseph Briggs, in whose family it has remained. At this time Mr. Briggs lived in the old Court Inn, which we have mentioned elsewhere. Modern improvements and the encroachment of business have shut off the pleasant outlook from this semi-colonial mansion.*] (3) Dr. Reading Beatty, born December 23, 1757, son of Rev. Charles Beatty by his wife Ann, daughter of Governor John Reading, New Jersey. He was a student of medicine at the outbreak of the Revolution, but went into service as ensign in Captain John Richardson's Company, Colonel Magaw's battalion, 5th Pennsylvania; prisoner of war, 1776-1778; May 1778 appointed ensign, 6th Pennsylvania regiment, Continental line; May 1, 1780, surgeon 16th Pennsylvania regiment, Continental line; September 1781, transferred to Proctor's Artillery and served till end of war. He afterward settled in Bucks county and practiced medicine, his residence, after 1821, being the Linton house, Newtown, where he died October 29, 1831. He married April 20, 1786, Christiana, daughter of Judge Henry Wynkoop.* Down to 1723 the Durham road appears to have been the only traveled highway by which the inhabitants of the township could reach the outside world. Necessity was now felt for wagon communication with their neighbors, east and west. The road to Taylorsville, via Dolington, was opened in 1723, and that from Newtown to Fallsington, via Summerville, in 1724. At the June term, 1730, the court was petitioned for a road "from Thomas Yardley's mill, and the ferry at the said Yardley's landing" (4). This road was opened in 1734 (5), and that to Addisville about the same period (6). In 1760 a road was laid out from McKonkey's ferry (7) to Newtown. In 1748 several of the inhabitants of Newtown and Makefield petitioned for a road "from William Croasdale's lot" along the line of John Croasdale and others into what is now the Durham road. This road probably started about Dolington, or in that vicinity. The road to the Buck tavern was laid out in 1809, and ordered forty five feet wide. (4) Now Yardley.* (5) It was re-laid in 1795 two poles wide. (6) Relaid thirty-three feet wide in 1787. (7) Formerly called Baker's ferry. [ED NOTE: Actually renamed McKonkey's ferry in 1774. Retained that name due to its use during the Revolutionary War, by George Washington during the Battle of Trenton.] John Harris came to Newtown and settled at the townstead, probably as early as 1750. Seven years later he was keeping store there, when he purchased sixty acres of Benjamin Twining, part of the Thomas Rowland tract, on the west side of the creek, which cost him £320. September 21, 1767, he purchased of Nelson Jolly what was called his "upper farm," on the west side of the common. The Presbyterian church stands on the south-west corner. The greater part of this tract is now owned by Alexander German, and the old yellow house, known as the "Washington headquarters," was the homestead of Harris. Gradually John Harris became a considerable land owner, owning over 500 acres in all. Two hundred and fifty-seven acres lay in Newtown, and as much in Upper Makefield, part of which was bought of the trustees of the London company, and the remainder from the manor of Highlands. He grew to be a man of note among his fellows, and before 1770 he was written, "John Harris, merchant," and "John Harris, Esqr." He died August 13, 1773, in his fifty-sixth year, and his widow administered to his estate (8). Mr. Harris was a leading member of the Newtown Presbyterian church. Her married Hannah, a daughter of Charles and Sarah Steward, of Upper Makefield, and had seven children. Of the children of this marriage, Ann [sometimes written Anne*] the eldest, married Doctor Shields [Shiell, a native of Ireland, took his degree in medicine at Edinburgh, settled in Philadelphia at the beginning of the Revolution, was a personal friend of Robert Morris, and subscribed £5,000 sterling to establish the bank of North America. Dr. Shiell first met Miss Harris at Mr. Morris's house. The mother opposed the match, but the young people went to church and settled the matter for themselves. He was a man of fine education, good manners and full of humor. They had but one child, Catharine Harris Shiell, born August 19, 1785, who married and died at Lexington, Kentucky, June 24, 1841, and her husband, June 11, 1833, of cholera.*] At the death of Dr. Shiell, his widow married Judge Harry Innes, of Kentucky (9). Their child, Maria Knox, first married her cousin, Jack Harris Todd, and at his death she became the second wife of Hon. John J. Crittenden (10). (8) John Harris was a tanner as well as merchant, and fifty years after his death, in digging the foundation for a milk house on the German farm, they came to an old wall, vats, bark, and other remains of the tannery. The oldest inhabitants could tell nothing about the tanyard. (9) In the "Journal of a Journey Through the United States, 1795-96," by Thomas Chapman, Esq., an Englishman, we find the following reference to the Innesses while at Frankfort, Ky.: "On Wednesday evening, December 2, I went out and slept at Judge Innes's, who has got a plantation about five miles from Frankfort, where I staid all night and was highly entertained by the polite and affable behavior of the Judge and his lady. Mr. Innes is a Federal Judge with a salary of 1,000 dollars per annum."* (10) (Mrs. Crittenden was baptised at the age of seventy-five by the Reverend Robert D. Morris) replaced in 1905 edition with the following: [Mrs. Innes, the mother of Mrs. Crittenden, was visited at her home near Frankfort, Ky., June 1840, by the Rev. Robert D. Morris, who was instrumental in her conversion and baptized her. He also baptized Mrs. Crittenden's early friend, Mrs. Hapenny, at the age of seventy-five. She was a daughter of Amos Strickland, who built the old end of the brick tavern, Newtown.*] (See illustration of Harris House, Newtown, Washington's Hdqrs., Dec. 27-30, 1776) Sarah Harris married Captain Charles Smith, of Wayne's army; Elizabeth, Judge Thomas Todd, of the United States Supreme Court, who second son, Charles Stewart Todd, was aid-de-camp to General Harrison, war of 1812-15, and represented the government at Saint Petersburg and at Columbia, South America. Mary Harris married James Hanna, a lawyer of Newtown, a man of considerable property, and had four children. Commodore Spotts of the navy was a grandson. Jack Harris married Jane Hunt, of New Jersey. His son William was a commander in the navy, and drowned off Vera Cruz during the Mexican war, trying to save the life of a brother officer. Hannah and Rachel Harris died unmarried. The Hannas lived near Newtown, belonged to the old church, and likewise removed to Kentucky. After the death of Charles Stewart, in 1794, Mrs. Stewart, with her daughters, Mrs. Hunter, Mrs. Harris, and Mrs. Shiell, a daughter of Mrs. Harris, and all widows, with their children, immigrated to Kentucky, where their descendants are numbered among the most distinguished people of that state. Charles Stewart, the father of Mrs. Harris, had four children, Robert, who died, unmarried, at Trough Spring, Kentucky, William, a schoolmate of Daniel Boone, who accompanied him on his second visit to Kentucky, and was killed at the battle of Blue Licks, Mary, who married James Hunter, and Charles, who died at Newtown in 1773, at the age of thirty-seven. Charles Stewart, the father, died September 26, 1794, aged seventy-five, and was buried in the Presbyterian yard at Newtown. [He was born in Scotland, 1709. His wife was Sarah Lawell, widow of David, born 1709, and died in Kentucky, 1800. When Charles Stewart came to America is not known. In 1787 Hannah Harris went to "Kaintuckee," to get her share of her brother William's estate. The following is a memoranda of her disbursements and expenses: "Trip from Newtown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania to Danville, Kentucky, £70; boat to ascend the Ohio river £18; supplies for myself and family for two years and expenses of a negro man in Kentucky, and going and coming, £36. 5s. 10d; Thomas Lowrie, service in Kentucky and on my return, £45. 14s. 3d; loss sustained in horses in my journey to, stay at, and return from Kentucky, £80; making a total of £610. 1d."*] John Burrows, the grandfather of Charles P. Burrows, of Pineville, came to Bucks county from New Jersey. He settled about Morrisville, where he lived in a cave, and on selling his property to Robert Morris, removed to Newtown township, on the road to Yardleyville. When the Revolutionary war broke out, John Burrows carried the mail from Philadelphia, but the mail carrier from Princeton to New York siding with the British, Burrows was appointed to carry the mail through to New York. Great difficulty was experienced, and sometimes his son carried the mail in a little bag around his neck, frequently swimming the Delaware, and creeping through the grass to escape enemies. Burrows was elected either door-keeper or Sergeant-at Arms of Congress, when it sat at Philadelphia. He accompanied it to Washington, where he died at the age of ninety-six, after many years service. His son, Nathaniel Burrows, was born at Newark, in 1756, and came to the county with his father. He married Ann, daughter of Lamb Torbert, of Newtown township, and died in 1840, at the age of eighty-four. He was a soldier in the Revolution, and he and his father both drew pensions to their death. Nathaniel Burrows had eight children, Samuel, William, John, Joseph, George, Margaretta, Charles and Mary. Charles and one sister are still living. The wife of Nathaniel Burrows died in 1838, at the age of seventy-nine, and she and her husband were both buried in the Presbyterian graveyard, Newtown. The original Presbyterian church of Newtown, stood on the "old Swamp road" about a mile west of the village, on the farm now owned by Alexander German, and was probably founded before 1740. A new church was erected near the borough limits, in 1769, on a lot given by John Harris, when the old frame building was abandoned. It was afterward sold and converted into a wagon house at the John Thompson farm near the Chain bridge, in Northampton. A number of tombstones are still in the old grave yard, bearing dates from 1741 to 1756, some of them of quite elaborate workmanship. There is a tradition that a wicked sinner, named Kelley, hired a negro to fetch him a marble slab from the old grave yard to use for a paint stone, and that when his act of vandalism became known, public opinion drove him from the neighborhood. About 1750 sixty acres of land on the west bank of the Neshaminy, below Newtown, with a dwelling upon it, were given to the Presbyterian church for a parsonage. It was sold about the breaking out of the Revolutionary war, and the proceeds invested in six per cent. state warrants. These were stolen from the house of John Thompson, the treasurer, and lost to the church. Many years ago the following lines on the "old grave yard," were suggested by a remark of the late Doctor Phineas Jenks, in a lecture before the Newtown Lyceum, and published in the "Newtown Journal": Overgrown and neglected, deserted, forlorn, A thicket of dogwood, of briar and thorn, Is that home of the dead, that last place of rest For the mouldering clay of the good and the blest. Where once, up to heaven, upon the still air, Rose the music of praise and the murmur of prayer; Where crowds came to worship, from valley and hill, Rests a silence like death, 'tis so quiet and still. Not a vestige remains of the temple, whose roof Echoed oft to the loud earnest preaching of truthÐ Time's pinions have swept every fragment away, And the people who listened, oh where now are they? The stones which affection once placed o'er the dead, Their names to preserve, and their virtues to spread; Displaced and disfigured, the eye should, to see, Have the aid of thy chisel, "Old Mortality." Soon the plough will o'erturn the root and the blade Of the sod, once upheaved by the mattock and spade; And the place, once so sacred, will then be forgot, With the beings who wept and rejoiced on this spot. Among the inhabitants of Newtown township, of a past generation, was one who attempted to shuffle off this mortal coil by jumping down a well forty feet deep, when a little deranged in his mind. He repented the act when he reached the bottom, cried lustily for help, and was fortunate enough to be drawn out alive. Some people were uncharitable enough to say that his insanity was a dispensation of Providence in punishment for driving off his neighbor's cattle to the British during the Revolutionary war. Newtown township is bounded by the Neshaminy on the west, which separates it from Northampton, north by Wrightstown, east by the two Makefields, and south by Middletown. The area is six times the quantity in the original townstead. We believe the boundaries to be the same as when it was first laid out. The surface slopes to the south, and the soil is productive. It is watered by the Neshaminy and its tributaries, Newtown creek running the entire length of the township, and Core creek flowing through its southeast corner into Lower Makefield. On the Neshaminy is a valuable quarry of brown stone, used extensively for ornamental building purposes. The main industry is farming. Jenks's fulling-mill, two miles southeast of Newtown, is probably the oldest mill of its class in the county, and was raided upon by the British during their occupancy of Philadelphia in the Revolution. The first enumeration of inhabitants of Newtown that we have seen, is that of 1742, when there were forty-three taxables and nine single men. The tax raised was £12. 18. 9d., and Samuel Carey the heaviest payer, was taxed ten shillings. In 1754 the taxables were 59; 80 in 1761, and 82 in 1762. In 1784 it contained 497 whites, 28 blacks, and 84 dwellings. The population in 1800 was 781; 1810, 982; 1820, 1,060; 1830, 1,344, and 233 taxables; 1840, 1,440; 1850, 765 whites, 77 blacks; 1860, 933 whites, 67 blacks, and in 1870 the number of the whites was the same, of whom 95 were foreign born, and 50 blacks; 1880, 970; 1890, 759; 1900, 715. The apparent falling off in the population after 1840 was caused by the incorporation of the village of Newtown into a borough, and the separate enumeration of its inhabitants. The borough of Newtown has possibly born it present name longer than any other village in the county. The exact time of its founding, and the origin of its name, are both involved in doubt. A tradition tells us that on one occasion as William Penn, with a party of friends, was riding through the woods where the village stands, he remarked to those about him, "this is the place proposed for my new town;" and a "new town" in truth it was, to be founded and built in the depth of the Bucks county wilderness. Whether the village took the name of the township, or the township of the village, are left to conjecture, but the probability is in favor of the latter. The last course in a tract of 225 acres laid out to Shadrack Walley, October 25, 1683, runs northeast by east by "New Town street, twenty-eight perches," and twenty five acres in "New Town-stead." In the patent to Thomas Rowland, dated 12th of 12th month, 1684, for 450 acres, on the "eastermost side of Noshaminoh (Neshaminy) creek," calls for fifty acres in the "village or townstead," one side of which is "bounded on the street or road of said village." The 12th month, 17th, 1698, Stephen Twining, carpenter, of Burlington, New Jersey, sold 252 acres of the Rowland tract, to Stephen Twining, yeoman, "being in the county of Bucks, at a place called New Town." These are the earliest mentions of the name we have been able to find, and they carry us back to within a year after the arrival of William Penn. On the map of Oldmixon, 1741, it is spelled "Newtowne," and "Newton" in Scott's Gazetteer of 1795. On the authority of John Watson, in a communication to the Philosophical Society, there was a white man, named Cornelius Spring, living at Newtown in 1692. He was possibly one of the very oldest and earliest inhabitants of this ancient village, but probably he and others were there before that time. The farmhouse of John Tomlinson is supposed to have been built near the close of the century, but the dwelling of Silas C. Bond, in the lower part of the village, is thought to be the oldest house in it. The kitchen, more modern that the main building, was built in 1713. As late as 1725 (11), when the county seat was removed from Bristol to Newtown, it consisted of a few log huts built along the Durham road, now State street. This event gave it an importance not hitherto enjoyed, and for almost the ninety years it remained the shire-town, it was considered the first village of the county. The five acres bought of John Walley to erect the public buildings on, and for other county purposes, lay on the east side of State street, and extended from Washington avenue down to Penn street, forty perches, and twenty perches east. The present Court street cut the lot in twain from north to south. In 1733 the ground was laid out in six squares of equal size, 190 by 142 and feet, and streets opened through it. The courthouse and prison were erected on square number one, bounded by land of John Walley, that extended to Washington avenue, State, Sullivan and Court streets. The same year the commissioners sold a lot in the fifth square, sixty feet on Court and 142 and on King street, to Joseph Thornton, on which the Court inn was subsequently erected. Gradually the whole of the five acres, not occupied by the public buildings, were sold to various parties long before the county seat was removed. When that event took place there was only that portion of plot number one where the courthouse, jail and little old office stood to be disposed of. The five acres are now in the heart of the town and covered with buildings. (11) Newtown was made the seat of justice of Bucks county in 1725, by an act of Assembly of 1723; and William Biles, Joseph Kirkbride, Thomas Watson, M. D., and Abraham Chapman were appointed commissioners to purchase a piece of land in Newtown township, in trust, for the use of the county and build thereon a court house and prison. The same act provided for holding the elections at Newtown. The trustees were authorized to sell as much of the land purchase as would not inconvenience the court house and other public buildings. The prison proving too small, a new one was built under an act passed, 1743-45. The fire-proof office was not built until 1772. It was designated a "strong and commodious house," was 12 by 16 feet in size, of stone masonry two feet thick, brick arch 12 inches deep, with chimney and fireplace in west end. Prior to this the county records were kept at the private homes of the officers. The act for building the fireproof provided that "the papers and records shall be deposited and kept in the said house under a penalty of £300, any usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding." One of the jailors at Newtown was "Paddy" Hunter, who kept a bar and sold rum in the prison office, and prisoners and others who had the money could always buy the article. Asa Carey succeeded "Paddy" at the latter's death and stopped the sale of rum and the escape of prisoners. He was the last jailor at Newtown and the first at Doylestown. On returning to Newtown he married Tamor Woorstall, celebrated for her cakes and pies.* We have no means of guessing the population of Newtown when it became the county seat. Eighty years ago it contained about fifty dwellings, and tradition tells us that at that time one house in ten had license to sell liquor, besides the keeper of the jail, and the only known building along the west side of Main street were the academy and that occupied by the National bank. The built-up portion of the town was on the east side of Main street, between Penn street and Washington avenue. Robert Smock's estate owned all the land on that side of the street, including the Brick hotel, from the avenue up to the bridge across the creek, except one lot. A map of that period gives but nineteen building lots on the east side of Main, between Penn street and Washington avenue, and only twenty real estate owners on that side as far as the street extends, not including the county. Of the streets, that on the west side of the creek was known as the "Other" street, while those crossing the common, from the lower to the upper end, bore the names of Lower, Bridge, Middle, now Washington avenue, Spring, Yonder, and Upper streets. At that day Newtown had four taverns. The property on State street, now T. Wilson, Miller's, was owned by John Torbert, and kept by Jacob Kessler, who married Doctor DeNormandies' widow. It next came into the possession of Asa Carey, who called it "Bird in Hand" (12), then to his widow, Tanner, whose ginger cakes gained great celebrity. To his duties as landlord Mr. Carey added those of postmaster. The present temperance house was kept by one Dettero, then by Samuel Heath, and next by Samuel Hinkle, a German, who was the standing court-interpreter, and in his absence his wife officiated, The property at one time belonged to General Murray, but the name under which it was kept is lost. Hinkle moved from there to the Brick hotel, whose history will be given elsewhere. The fourth tavern stood on the east side of Court street, near the court-house, and is now a private dwelling, owned by Mrs. Heyd. It was built in 1792, and called the "Court inn." It belonged at one time to Joseph Thornton, but the last keeper was a Wilkinson, who acquired celebrity in nicking and setting horses tails in good position [He was probably the same person who kept the tavern at Centreville for several years. (13)] One large room, known as the "Grand Jury room," was used as a ball room, and in it the late Colonel Elias Gilkyson first met the lady he afterward married. The property was purchased by Joseph Briggs in 1817, and used it as a dwelling; though large, his family found it none too large, as he had five or six children of his own, two unmarried sisters and one of his wife's lived with him. (12) This house is called in ancient conveyances "Old tavern" and the "Old house." The house next north of it was called "the Justice's house." In olden times Bird in Hand occurred among the trades tokens, and represented the proverb "one bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." It was literally rendered by a hand holding a bird. (13) Not included in 1905 edition. (See illustration of Brick Hotel, Newtown) [In early life Joseph Briggs owned a hat manufactory, possibly left him by his father, but while quite young, had retired with a comfortable fortune, and the rest of his days lived the life of a country gentleman. He was something of a student, spending much of his time in reading, and for his day, had quite a good library, the books relating mostly to the Society of Friends. Besides several other town lots, he owned farm lands in Newtown township, which he kept in charge of overseers. He was a son of John and Letitia Buckman Briggs, and descended from several prominent families of the neighborhood, the Croasdales, Hardings, Penquites, etc. His wife, Martha Dawes, was a daughter of John and Alice (Janney) Dawes, of Lebanon township, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, but of Bucks county descent, among her ancestors being the Wilkinsons, Goves, Mitchells, etc. The Court Inn was sold after his death, by his heirs. In his time the lot ran along the Bridge street, afterward Sullivan, now Centre avenue, the eastern end, beyond Court street, being then called "Back Lane," by those living along it up to Congress street. The Inn, itself, was subsequently used for a school room, but within the last ten years, was turned into a store.*] Sixty-five years ago (14), Newtown was still the county seat, with the stone jail, court-house, and "row offices" on the green. It was the polling place for the middle and lower end of the county, and the second Tuesday of October was made a day of frolic and horse-racing, accompanied by many free fights. The streets were lined with booths, where cakes, pies, and beer, large and small, were freely sold. Newtown, in early times, was the seat of public fairs, at which the whites and blacks from the surrounding country gathered to make merry in large numbers. Isaac Hicks, justice of the peace for many years, lived on Main Street below Carey's tavern, and dressed in breeches. Charles Hinkle kept the Brick hotel, and was succeeded by Joseph Archambault about 1825. The two principal stores were James Raguet's (15), a French exile, who died suddenly in Philadelphia in 1818, and Joseph Whitall's, who kept where Jesse Heston did, and failed before 1820. Count Lewis, another French exile, died at Raguet's house in 1818. [Jesse Raguet's son Henry, born February 10, 1796, died at Marshall, Texas, December 1, 1877. He settled at Cincinnati, Ohio, early in life and was a merchant several years. He went to Texas, 1832, and settled at Natchitoches. When the Texan war broke out with Mexico, 1835, he was prominent in the movement in Eastern Texas, and General Houston's celebrated letter of April 19, 1836, announcing his intention of meeting the enemy, was addressed to Raguet. This was on the eve of the battle of San Jacinto, the decisive action of the war. He was one of the leading and most patriotic citizens of the state, and noted for his generosity and enterprise. He left a widow and several children.*] At a later period Jolly Longshore became a famous Newtown storekeeper. He bought out Raguet's sons immediately after the war of 1812, and continued in the business for many years. The Raguet store was in the two-story brick where Paxson Pursell kept, and what was later known as the "Middle store" was Raguet's wagon-house, on the opposite side of the street. The leading physicians were Doctors Jenks, Moore, Plumly, and Gordon, all men of note in their day. Moore was as deaf as an adder, Plumly fond of spirits, and Gordon, who lived two miles from town, was a tall, handsome man, and was a zealous advocate of temperance. Doctor Jenks practiced medicine in Newtown about forty years, and died there. (14) 1876 edition. (15) Raguet was in Newtown as early as 1785. He married Anna Wynkoop, August 17, 1799. The Newtown library, one of the oldest institutions in the village, was established in 1760. August 9, a meeting was held at the public house of Joseph Thornton, and Jonathan DuBois, Abraham Chapman, Amos Strickland, David Twining, and Henry Margerum were chosen the first board of directors, with John Harris, treasurer, and Thomas Chapman, secretary. The books were first kept at Thornton's house, and he was made librarian. On the list of original subscribers, twenty-one in number, who paid one pound each, is the name of Joseph Galloway. The library was incorporated March 27, 1789, under the name of the "Newtown library company," and it is still kept up. [In 1824 a new building was erected at an expense of $106.66 by subscription, the balance appropriated from the treasury. Dr. David Hutchinson was the most active man. The mason work was done for ninety cents a day, and Edward Hicks, whose bill was one dollar, doubtless painted the sign with Franklin's likeness on it, and a latin motto over the door. The latter we have not been able to find. It is thought the books were kept in the old court house, and when that was taken down necessity compelled the erection of a new library building. A new one was erected, 1882, at a cost of $1,600. By the will of the late Joseph Barnsley, the library company will receive $15,000 at the widow's death for the purpose of establishing a free reading room; $5,000 to be used for the erection of the building. In 1897 the library held its 137th annual meeting, attended by 141 shareholders.*] A Masonic lodge was instituted March 4, 1793, by authority of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. The officers were Reading Beatty, master; James Hanna, senior, and Nicholas Wynkoop, junior warden. The members numbered fifty seven. Authority was given to hold the lodge at Newtown, or within five miles of that place. The Newtown academy has played an important part in the cause of education in that section, and was the first school of a high grade established in the county (16). It has educated many teachers, and for a number of years, with the Presbyterian pastor at its head, it was the right arm of the church (17). It is said that the first teacher of grammar in Buckingham township was educated there. The pastor and other friends of education applied for a charter in 1794, the site was bought in 1796, and the building erected in 1798, at a cost of $4,000. The charter was surrendered in 1852, and the building sold. It was purchased by the Presbyterian congregation, which have expended several thousand dollars in fitting it up. Previous to its erection the public buildings were used for school purposes. The Academy languished in the first thirty years of its existence, but it was revived about 1820. In 1806 it was in charge of one P. Steele, who made great pretensions to teach elocution, but which amounted to little. The Reverend Alexander Boyd was principal of the academy for several years, and among other names who taught there may be mentioned Messrs. Nathaniel Furman, Doak, Fleming, Trimble, McKinney, William B. Keyser, Lemuel Parsons, Doctor James I. Bronson (18), president of Washington (Pennsylvania) college, and others. Half a century ago the teacher of Latin was Josiah Scott, a young graduate of Jefferson college, but now a distinguished lawyer, and a judge of the supreme court of Ohio. Josiah Chapman opened a select boarding-school for girls in Newtown, 1817. [As early as 1806 a boarding-school, known as "Porter's academy," was opened for young men, on what was afterward known as the David Roberts farm. It was not continued long (19).] Josiah Chapman opened a select boarding school for girls, in Newtown, in 1817. July 16th 1829, John Taylor Strawbridge, student at the Academy, was drowned in the Neshaminy while swimming across with his preceptor, Mr. Fairfield (20). (16) The Newtown academy was the ninth in the state, and $4,000 were appropriated toward its erection. The charter provided that the trustees shall cause ten poor children to be taught gratis at one time. (17) From the church and school there have gone forth about twenty-five ministers of the gospel, to all parts of the country. (18) The Rev. James I. Bronson, D. D., LL. D., was born at Mercersburg, Pa., March 14, 1817, and died at Washington, Pa., July 4, 1899. He studied divinity at Princeton, and came to teach at the Newtown academy, 1837-38, remaining nearly a year. He was a distinguished minister and while at the Newtown academy very popular. (19) Not included in 1905 edition. (20) When the academy was sold, 1852, at public sale, by virtue of an act of Assembly, it was bought by the Rev. Robert D. Morris, who, after giving $1,000 and putting it in order, raised $5,000 additional by subscription to enable the Presbyterian church to own it. He was a former pastor of the Newtown church. The land of Amos Strickland, an early owner of the Brick hotel, lay out along Washington avenue, then called Strickland's lane, a well-known race course when the courts and elections were held at Newtown. In 1784, after his death, eight acres of his real estate, divided into twenty-seven lots, were sold at public sale by Sheriff Dean. They embraced that part of the town south of Washington avenue, and east of Sycamore street. [Strickland was a farmer in Newtown township several years. He bought the Brick hotel, then called Red Lion, 1760, and 1763 built a two-story brick, which he kept.*] Joseph Archambault, many years owner and keeper of the Brick hotel, [which he bought of Joseph Longshore,*] an ex-officer of the great Napoleon, came to Newtown about 1821. At first he worked at the trade of tin-smith, in the old Odd Fellows' hall, but afterward studied dentistry, and practiced it several years while he kept the hotel. He was an enterprising business man, and acquired considerable real estate in the village, among which was the large square bounded by Main, Washington avenue, Liberty, and the street that runs west over the upper bridge. In 1835 he laid out this square into building lots, fifty-three in number, and sold them at public sale. On it have since been erected some of the handsomest dwellings in the village. He gave the land on which Newtown hall stands, and was instrumental in having it built. It grew out of the excitement that attended the preaching of Frederick Plummer in the lower part of the county in 1830-35, whose, followers were called "Christians" and "Plummerites." It was built for a free church (21), and is so maintained. Frederick Plummer first made his advent in this county at Bristol, coming by invitation of Edward Badger, the father of Bela, who was acquainted with him in Connecticut, and was one of his followers. This was about 1817. About 1820 a church was built for him half a mile above Tullytown. He first preached in Badger's mansion house, in Bristol township, just over the borough line. Captain Archambault retired from the hotel to a farm near Doylestown, and then to Philadelphia, where he died (22). (21) The first meeting in the interest of the free church, Newtown, was held in Joseph Archambault's brick tavern, June 5, 1830. Thomas Buckman was chairman and Samuel Snyder secretary. Joseph Archambault, Amos Wilson and William Brown were appointed a committee to solicit subscriptions. An adjourned meeting was held the 196h.* (22) Joseph Archambault had a romantic career. He was born at Fontainbleau, near Paris, August 22, 1796, and educated at the military school at St. Cyr. Being left an orphan, he became a ward of the Empire through family influence and was attached to the Emperor's household. After Elba he was again attached to the Emperor's suit and followed his fortunes. He was wounded at Waterloo and left upon the field, but rejoining the Emperor, himself and brother were among the number selected to accompany him to St. Helena. Refusing to give up his sword, he broke it and threw the pieces in the sea. Landing in New York May 5, 1817, he spent the next four years with William Cobbett at his model farm, Long Island, with Joseph Bonaparte, Bordentown, and at the other places coming to Newtown, 1821, where he lived until about 1850. He died at Philadelphia, July 3, 1874, meanwhile living a few years on a farm at Castle Valley, Bucks county. He served in the cavalry for a time in the Civil war, 1861-65.* Newtown was the scene of a very painful occurrence the 28th of July, 1817. A little son of Thomas G. Kennedy, then sheriff of the county, while amusing himself floating on a board on the creek at the upper end of the village, fell off into deep water. His mother, hearing his cries, rushed into the water, to his rescue, and sunk almost immediately. Mr. Kennedy was exhausted in his attempt to save them. He and the child were rescued by the citizens, who flocked to the spot, but the body of his wife was not recovered until life was extinct. She was Violetta, the daughter of Isaac Hicks (23). (23) In 1766 a riot took place at Gregg's mill, near Newtown, supposed to have been on the site of the present Janney's mill. The cause is not known, but several persons who took part in it were indicted and brought to trial. The ringleader was probably John Hagerman, as he is the first mentioned in the subpoenas, which are signed by Lawyer Growden, "then the leader of our bar and clerk of the court."* Among the leading citizens of Newtown, in the generation just closing, Doctor Phineas Jenks and Michael H. Jenks were probably the most prominent. They descended from a common ancestry. The former being a grandson and the latter great-grandson of Thomas Jenks, the elder (24). Phineas was born in Middletown, May 3, 1781, and died August 6, 1851. He studied medicine with Doctor Benjamin Rush, graduated in 1804, and practiced in Newtown and vicinity (25). He was twice married, his first wife being the daughter of Francis Murray, and his second, Amelia, daughter of Governor Snyder. He served six years in the state house of representatives, was a member of the constitutional convention of 1838, and was active in all the reform movements of the day. He was the first president of Bucks county Medical Society, and one of the founders of the Newtown Episcopal church. Michael H. Jenks was born in 1795, and died in 1867. Brought up a miller and farmer, he afterward turned his attention to conveyancing and the real estate business, which he followed to the close of his life. He held several places of honor and public trust, was justice of the peace many years, commissioner, treasurer, and associate-judge of the county, and member of the twenty-eighth Congress. He was married four times. His youngest daughter Anna Earl, was the wife of Alexander Ramsey, the first governor of Minnesota, senator in Congress from that state, [and a member of President Hayes' cabinet. He lately deceased.*] (24) George A. Jenks, Jefferson county, Pa., Democratic nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania, 1898, is a lineal descendant of the Bucks county Jenkses.* (25) His thesis on graduating, "An investigation endeavoring to show the similarity in cause and effect on the yellow fever of American and the Egyptian plague," was published by the university and re-published in Europe. The Hickses of Newtown were descended from John Hicks, born in England about 1610, and immigrated to Long Island in 1643. His great grandson, Gilbert, born 1720, married Mary Rodman in 1746, and moved to Bensalem in 1747 or 1748. He built a two story brick house at Attleborough in 1767, and moved into it. He was a man of ability and education, and high toned in character, but made the fatal mistake of clinging to the fortunes of Great Britain in 1776. His fine property was confiscated, and he died in exile by the hand of an assassin. Isaac, son of Gilbert, and the first Newtown Hicks, born in Bensalem in 1748, and died in 1836, married his cousin Catharine, youngest daughter of Edward Hicks, a merchant of New York. Her sister was the wife of Bishop Seabury, Maine, and of her brothers, William studied at the Inner Temple, London, and was afterward Prothonotary of Bucks county, while Edward was an officer of the British army, and died in the West Indies. Isaac Hicks held several county offices. He was a man of great energy of character. His marriage docket contains the record of six hundred and six marriages in forty-seven years. Edward Hicks, the distinguished minister among Friends, whom many of this generation remember, was the son of Isaac, and born at Four Lanes End, now Langhorne, 4th month, 4th, 1780. He was brought up to the trade of coach-painting, married Sarah Worstall in 1803, and joined the Society of Friends. He removed to Newtown in 1811, where he established himself in the coach and sign-painting business, and was burnt out in 1822. He had a taste for art, and his paintings of "Washington Crossing the Delaware" and "Signing the Declaration of Independence" were much noted in their day. [A few of them are preserved as relics of great value, one of them, "Washington Crossing the Delaware," being owned by the Bucks County Historical Society.*] He became a popular preacher, and had few equals in persuasive eloquence. He died at Newtown August 23, 1849 (26). Thomas Hicks, one of the most distinguished artists of New York, is a nephew of Edward Hicks, and a descendant of Isaac. He was born in Newtown, and in his boyhood was apprenticed to his uncle Edward to learn the painting trade. But exhibiting great fondness for art, he left his trade before manhood, and went to New York to receive instruction. He subsequently spent several years in Italy and other parts of the continent, and on his return home he took high rank among artists [as a portrait painter.*] (26) It is said the father of Edward Hicks wished him to be a lawyer, and because he would not, bound him apprentice to the coach painting trade to one Tomlinson, and he acquired a high reputation. He began business at Hulmeville, but removed to Newtown, 1811. He was the first of the family to join the Society of Friends. His son, Thomas W. Hicks, who died at Newtown, March 29, 1888, in his ninetieth year, was born at Hulmeville, January 20, 1798.* Francis Murray, an Irishman by birth, and born about 1731, settled in this county quite early. He was living at Newtown before the Revolution. He owned several farms in the vicinity, was the possessor of considerable wealth, and occupied a highly respectable standing in the community. He was major in a Pennsylvania regiment in the Continental army, and his commission, signed by John Hancock, bears date February 6, 1777. He was justice of the peace, and held other local offices, including that of general in the militia. In 1790 he bought the dwelling opposite the court-house, now Jesse Leedom's, where he died in 1816. The late Francis M. Wynkoop, who commanded a regiment and distinguished himself in the Mexican war, was a native of Newtown, and grandson of Francis Murray. In its day the Wynkoop family exercised considerable local influence, and always held the highest position for integrity. Isaac Eyre, Newtown, is a descendant of Robert Eyre, ancestor of that family in Pennsylvania. He came from England, 1680, and settled on the site of Chester, Delaware county. Isaac, a grandson of Robert, removed to Middletown, 1762, on marrying Ann, daughter of Jonas Preston, who erected the first grain mill in the township, at Bridgewater. Preston's wife was a Paxson from near Oxford Valley. Isaac, a son of Isaac, born at Chester, 1778, a ship builder at Philadelphia, assisted to build gunboats for the government, on the Ohio, at the beginning of the century. He married Eleanor Cooper, daughter of William and Margaret, about 1801, removed to Bucks County, 1828, on a farm he bought in Middletown, and died at Langhorne, 1851. On his death the farm he bought in Middletown, and died at Langhorne, 1851. On his death the farm came to his son Isaac, Newtown, who sold it to Malachi White, Jr., 1854, and purchased the Jenks farm, same township, 1862. This was part of the 1,000 acres surveyed to John Shires, 1682, of which John Drake bought 500 hundred acres, 1683. The farm came into the Jenks family, 1739, when Toby Leech sold it to Thomas Jenks, and got a patent, 1744. It was called "Walnut Green." The original family name of Ayre or Air, was "True Love," as will be seen by references to the deeds of "Battle Abbey." One of the family was a follower of William the Conqueror, and was near him when thrown from his horse at the battle of Hastings, and had his helmet beaten into his face. True Love, seeing this, pulled the helmet off his face and assisted William to remount, when the Duke said to him, "Thou shalt, hereafter, be called Eyre or Air, for thou has given me the air I breathe." The Duke finding his friend had been severely wounded in the battle, having his leg and thigh cut off, gave him land in Derby. The crest of the family in England is a "cooped leg."* At the close of the eighteenth century Oliver Erwin, from Donegal, Ireland, came to this county and settled at Newtown within the present borough. As one of his descendants put it, he was a "hard-headed Scotch Irishman," Presbyterian in faith; had emphasized his conviction by taking a hand in the rebellion of 1798-99, and doubtless "left his country for his country's good." The new immigrant, 1812, took to wife Rachel Cunningham, and became the father of five children: James, married Ann H. Davis, and died, 1844, Mary Ann married John Trego, both dying young. John never married, Sarah married Lewis B. Scott, both deceased, leaving a son and daughter, and William married ____, and died about 1890. John Erwin went into the war for Texan Independence, and was either killed or died subsequently. He was in the attack on Mier, Mexico, was captured with the party and compelled to draw beans, but drew a white one. William Erwin was for several years civil engineer of construction at West Point, and erected several public buildings. Judge Henry W. Scott, Easton, is the son of Lewis B. and Sarah Scott, nee Erwin; his son is a graduate of Annapolis, and served on Admiral Dewey's flagship, the Olympia, at the battle of Manila. Oliver Erwin had another son, Alexander, but all trace of him is lost. Newtown has four organized churches and the Friends' meeting, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Methodist and African Methodist.. The Presbyterian church was erected in 1769, and is a large and influential organization, of which a more particular account will be given in a future chapter. An effort was made to build an Episcopal church at Newtown as early as 1766. Thomas Barton, under date of November 10th, that year, writes to the society of propagating the gospel in foreign parts: "At Newtown, in Bucks county, eight miles from Bristol, some members of the church of England, encouraged by the liberal and generous benefactions of some principal Quakers, are building an elegant brick church." Mr. Barton wants an itinerant sent to supply Bristol, Newtown, and other places. October 22, 1768, William Smith enclosed a letter to the secretary, "from the church wardens of Bristol, and another congregation now building a church in Bucks county, about twenty-five miles from Philadelphia." He repeats Barton's story that they were much encouraged by the Friends, and adds that they are "desirous of seeing the church flourish from a fear of being overrun by Presbyterians." We know nothing of this early effort beyond this record. The present Episcopal church was founded in 1832 by Reverend George W. Ridgely, assisted materially by Doctor Jenks, and James Worth, whose daughter Mr. Ridgely married. Mr. Ridgely was likewise instrumental in founding the Episcopal churches at Yardleyville, Centreville, and Hulmeville. He was then pastor of Saint James' church, Bristol. [He is a Kentuckian by birth, and studied law with Henry Clay. Newtown and Yardleyville form one parish.*] The Methodist congregation was organized, and the church built, about 1840. Friends' meeting was established in 1815, and service held in the court-house until 1817, when the first meeting-house was built (27). (27) In 1886 a Presbyterian chapel was erected at a cost of $8,000; 1893, St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal congregation built a parish building at an expense of $5,000; 1896 the Methodists built a new brown stone church, cost $3,000. Few country villages are better supplied with churches.* (See illustration of Sharon, Residence of James Worth, Newtown, 1830) Sixty years ago (1876) Newtown was a stated place of meeting for volunteers of the lower and middle sections of the county to meet for drill. The spring trainings alternated between this place and the two Bears, now Addisville and Richborough, and were the occasion of a large turn out of people of the surrounding country to witness the evolutions of a few hundred uniformed militia. These musters brought back the jolly scenes of fifty years before when it was the general election ground for the county. The streets were lined with booths on either side, where peanuts, ginger cakes, etc., were vended, and the music of the violin, to which the rustic youths of both sexes "tripped the light fantastic toe," mingled with the harsher notes of the drum and fife, on the drill ground close by. The scene was seasoned with fights, and foot-races, and jumping matches, and not a few patriotic politicians were on hand to push their chances for office. The frequenters of these scenes cannot fail to remember Leah Stives, a black woman, a vender of pies, cakes and beer. Her husband hauled her traps to the ground, early, with his bony old mare, that she might secure a good stand. Leah was a great gatherer of herbs, and noted as a good cook. She died at Newtown in 1872. [The first "First Day School" in the county among Friends was kept at Newtown by Dr. Lettie A. Smith, in her own dwelling, 1868. The early First Day Schools, conducted wholly, or in part, by Friends, were missionary schools and date back over 100 years. The present organization of this class of schools, by the Society of Friends, was begun, 1861, in Green street meeting house, Philadelphia. Martin Luther was probably the father of Sunday schools being originally opened for the benefit of children who could not attend weekday schools.*] [In 1893 an institution of learning called the "George School," of high grade was erected on the south side of the Durham road, half a mile below the borough of Newtown. It was founded under the will of the late John M. George, who left the bulk of his fortune, some $600,000, for the purpose, with this proviso that it be named after the family. For a more lengthy account of this school see chapter on "Schools and Education."*] (See illustration of George School, Newtown) The Newtown of today [1876 edition] differs very materially from the Newtown of half a century, or even thirty years ago. It is a pretty and flourishing village, the seat of wealth and culture, and possesses most of the appliances for comfort and convenience known to the period. The dwellings of many of the citizens display great neatness and taste. Among the public institutions may be mentioned two banks and a fire insurance company, with a capital of $350,000, a building and loan association, and Odd Fellows' hall, built for an hotel three-quarters of a century ago, and the academy and library already mentioned. There are lodges of Masons and Odd Fellows and Good Templars, and a literary society known as the Whittier institute. Of industrial establishments, there are, an agricultural implement factory, a foundry, of thirty years standing, carriage factory, tan-yard, where the Worstall's (28) have carried on tanning nearly an hundred years, gas works, a steam saw-mill, and steam sash and door factory, a brick and tile-kiln, and wholesale cigar manufactory. The "Enterprise" and "Triumph" buildings, handsome brick structures, with Mansard roof, erected a few years ago, are occupied by various branches of business. Newtown has a newspaper, and the usual complement of shops, stores, mechanical trades, and professional men. It supports four public inns. A railroad is now being constructed between Philadelphia and Newtown, to be extended to New York. [The road was formally opened to Newtown Saturday, February 2, 1878. Two trains, with about one thousand excursionists came up from Philadelphia, the people of the village entertaining them at lunch in the exhibition building. The late General John Davis, then in his 90th years, who had digged the first barrow load of earth when the road was begun, six years before, made an open air address in the snow storm that prevailed. It was a day of rejoicing for the villagers. A trolley road has recently been built from Doylestown, via Newtown.*] A railroad, to run from Bristol to Newtown, was chartered in 1836, but has never been built. (28) Edward Worstall, of Newtown, is the fifth in descent from John Worstall, who married Elizabeth Wildman in 1720. In his veins he carried the blood of the Hestons, Hibbses, Halls, Warners, and Andrewes. The residence of the widow of the late Michael H. Jenks is one of the few ante-Revolutionary landmarks at Newtown, and was formerly called the "Red house," from the color it was painted. It was built by the Masons for a lodge, before the war (29), who sold it to Isaac Hicks for a dwelling. Since then it has been occupied, in turn, for school, store, and private residence. (29) Was possibly built by the lodge organized in 1793. Sixty-five years ago [1876 edition], while the courts were still held at Newtown, Enos Morris was a leading member of the bar. He was a grandson of Morris Morris, who came to the county about 1735, and settled in New Britain. Mr. Morris studied law with Judge Ross, of Easton, and was admitted to the bar about 1800, at the age of twenty-five. He was twice married, to widows of great personal beauty, Mrs. Elizabeth Hough and Mrs. Ann Leedom. He was a member of Southampton Baptist church, where he was buried. We have no means at hand of giving the population of Newtown borough before 1850, when it was 546 white and 35 black inhabitants. In 1860 it had grown to 652, and 859 in 1870; [1880, 1,001; 1890, 1,213; 1900, 1,463.8] The population is slowly, but steadily, increasing. Eleven public roads lead to Newtown, nearly all of them opened at an early day, evidence alone that it has always been an important centre in that section of the county. There is probably not another point in the county to which there is access by the same number of roads. Newtown was incorporated in 1838. There have been several newspapers printed there during the present century, but none earlier. Among these were the "Bucks County Bee," in 1802, "Farmers' Gazette and Bucks County Register," in 1805, "Herald of Liberty," 1814*], The Star of Freedom," 1817, "Newtown Journal," 1842, "Newtown Gazette," 1857, and the "Newtown Enterprise," in 1868, the youngest, and only living of all the newspapers established there, the others having gone, one by one, to that undiscovered country, the last resting-place of defunct journals. The post office was established in 1800, and Jacob Fisher appointed postmaster. Newtown was one of the most important points in the county during the Revolutionary war. It was, at one time, the headquarters of Washington, several times troops were stationed there, and it was a depot for military stores. The captured Hessians were brought direct from Trenton to Newtown the same day of the battle. The robbery of John Hart, at Newtown, while county treasurer, by the Doans and their confederates, in October 1781, was an event that made great stir at the time. After they had taken all the money they could find at his dwelling, they went to the treasurer's office at the court-house, where they got much more. The robbers divided their plunder at the Wrightstown school house. In a subsequent chapter there will be found a more extended account of this affair. There are but few, if any, of the descendants of the original land owners in the township at the present day. Of the present families, several are descended from those who were settled there in 1703, among whom are the Buckmans (30), Hillborns, Twinings and Croasdales. The draft of the township at that date will show to the reader that several of the old families have entirely disappeared. The old public buildings were pulled down about 1830. (30) Buckman is probably a compound word, and had its origin in "Bock," which, in Saxon, meant a "freehold," and with the addition of man, makes Bockman, changed to Buckman, the holder of a freehold, or a freeman. [The Bridgetown and Newtown turnpike was organized at the Temperance House, Newtown, March 3, 1853, and work begun in April. Samuel Buckman was the first president; Michael H. Jenks surveyed the road for $3, and laboring men were paid $1 per day and worked from 6 to 6. The number of shares was 284, yielding $7,100.00, cost of the road, $7,121.34; old tools sold for $21.82, leaving a net balance of 48 cents. When finished the Governor appointed Anthony Burton, Joseph C. Law and Malachi White to examine it.*] The Buckmans were early settlers in Newtown, no doubt before 1700. William, the ancestor, was an English Friend, who owned 668 acres in the township and fifty-nine acres in the townstead of Newtown at the time of Cutler's re-survey in 1703. He died about 1716, leaving sons, William, David and Thomas, and daughters, Elizabeth and Rebecca. The oldest son, William, died about 1755, the owner of considerable land, leaving six sone and one daughter, Jacob, William, John, Joseph, Thomas and Isaac, and Sarah. Thomas, the youngest son of the first William Buckman, married Agnes Penquite, of Wrightstown, had three children, Thomas, Rebecca and Agnes, and died about 1734. Elizabeth Buckman, the oldest daughter of the progenitor, was married to Zebulon Heston, at Wrightstown meeting, in 1726. Her husband became a famous minister among Friends, and was the uncle of General John Lacey. The Buckmans were members of Middletown meeting until a monthly meeting was established at Wrightstown in 1724. The family is now large and scattered, and the descendant numerous. They have always been large land owners, and a considerable percentage of the land owned by the first William Buckman in the township is in the possession of the present generation of Buckmans. [The late*] Monroe Buckman, of Doylestown, is a descendant of the first William. The map of Newtown appended to this chapter gives the distribution of land as it was at Cutler's re-survey in 1702-3. [The 1876 edition ends at this point.] [The most ancient relic at Newtown was in the possession of the late Mrs. Alfred Blaker, in the shape of a very old Bible. At the beginning of the New Testament is the following: "The New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ. Translated out of Greek by Theodore Beza, with brief summaries and expositions by J. Tomson, London, 1599." This Bible was brought to America in 1773 by Susannah Gain, of Belfast, Ireland, who became the grandmother of Mrs. Blaker. Miss Gain married James Kennedy, an Irishman, the father of Thomas G. Kennedy. In the old book is the memoranda: "Thomas Hunter bought the book," "Edward Hunter, 1745," and "David Hunter," without date. Possibly the grandfather of Miss Gain was a Hunter. The old Bible has descended on the maternal side, and will so continue.*] [On July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of American Independence, a civic and military celebration was held at Newtown. The troops were commanded by John Davis, then colonel of the first regiment of Bucks county volunteers. The exercises were held in the Presbyterian church, of which Reverend Mr. Boyd was pastor, and afterward a dinner was given at Hinkel's tavern. The company was quite large, and among those present was the Honorable Samuel D. Ingham. The band of sixteen pieces was led by the late Aden G. Hibbs, a prominent citizen of Ohio and the only survivor of it, at his death a few years ago.*] [Newtown has made very decided progress in population and otherwise in the past two decades. In 1883, old Newtown hall was rebuilt, improved and enlarged, and is much resorted to on public occasions. In 1888 the "Newtown Building and Loan Association" was incorporated, capital $100,000, which has added a number of dwellings to the borough, and the same year the "Newtown Artesian Well Company," with a capital of $30,000, and "Newtown Improvement Company," with a capital of $10,000, were incorporated and put in operation. In May the following year, and "Electric Light and Power Company," was incorporated, with $20,000 capital, and a "Fire Association" in the fall, which was soon equipped with a "Silsby steam engine" and a hook and ladder truck. Newtown made one of its most advanced steps, 1897, by incorporating a "Street Railway Company," and building a trolley road to Langhorne, four miles, and connecting with Bristol. The capital stock is $100,000, and the road was opened in December. The same year a company was organized to build a trolley line to Doylestown, the county seat, fourteen miles, and was completed in 1899. This will be an important improvement for middle and lower Bucks. In the matter of public schools, Newtown keeps abreast of her sister boroughs. In the summer, 1894, the school building was remodeled by the School Board at a cost of $10,000, and, 1897, the old Methodist church was purchased and remodeled for school purposes at a cost of $2,000. The schools are graded and under good control. A new building was erected for the National bank, 1883, at an expense of $14,000. In 1891 the streets of Newtown were macadamized at an outlay of $16,000 and 4 per cent. bonds issued to pay for it.*] [The first temperance society in the county was organized in Friends' meeting house, Newtown, September 25, 1828, under the name of the "Bucks County Society for the Promotion of Temperance;" its object to discourage the use of ardent spirits except for medicine, and the members pledged themselves to abstain from its use. At that day the brandy and whiskey bottle were seen on every side-board, and the first salutation on entering a neighbor's house was, "Come, take something!" To refuse was almost an insult. The following persons signed the constitution and may be considered the pioneers of temperance in the county: Aaron Feaster, Jonathan Wynkoop, J. H. Gordon, M. D., Joseph Flowers, Joseph Brown, M. B. Lincoln, Isaac W. Hicks, Reverend J. P. Wilson, Doctor Phineas Jenks, John Lapsley, Joseph Briggs, David Taggart, Charles Lombart, Thomas Janney, O. P. Ely, Charles Swain, and the Reverend R. B. Bellville. The officers chosen were Aaron Feaster, president; Joseph Briggs, vice-president; John Lapsley, corresponding secretary; Doctor J. H. Gordon, recording secretary, and Jonathan Wynkoop, treasurer. The first annual report of the society was made in September 1829. In January 1831 the membership of all the societies of the county was 300. The parent society was reorganized, 1832, and the same year a general convention of all the local societies was held at Doylestown, the Honorable John Fox presiding. The interest was kept up for a few years, but then began to decline, the stringent resolution prohibiting members giving alcoholic drinks to mechanics and others in their employ, being objectionable to many of the members. Women first appeared at the Bucks County Temperance Conventions at Buckingham school house, August 29, 1840, and all the real temperance work of value was done by them after 1850. The last record in the books of the Bucks County Temperance Society was made April 29, 1874. About this time the first temperance newspaper was issued in the county, the "Olive Branch," by Franklin P. Sellers, at Doylestown, but its violence injured it usefulness.*] [The first public meeting held in the county, to take action on the approaching quarrel between Great Britain and her colonies, was at Newtown. It was the proper place for such action, as it was the county capital and necessarily the political centre. This was on January 9, 1774, and Gilbert Hicks, Esquire, was chairman. The announced purpose of the meeting was "to consider the injury and distress occasioned by numerous acts of the British Parliament, oppressive to the colonies, in which they are not represented."*] [Among the public building recently erected in Newtown is "The Paxson Memorial Home," built in 1899, by the Honorable Edward M. Paxson, as a memorial to his parents, and opened in the spring of 1900. It is intended as a home for aged Friends of both sexes, and is provided with every appliance that contributes to comfort and convenience. The style of architecture - colonial - presents a handsome appearance, and is finished throughout in the best manner. The outer walls are built of Newtown brown stone. It is not a charitable institution in any sense. The society has raised an endowment for its partial support, but those having the means will be allowed to rent rooms and pay board. It will accommodate about fifty guests and the requisite help. The following inscription is engraven on a bronze tablet in the hall: "This building was erected in 1899, in memory of Thomas and Ann Johnson Paxson, by their son, Edward M. Paxson." "Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."*] (See illustration of Paxson Memorial Home, Newtown) [We have mentioned, in a previous chapter, that Washington recrossed the Delaware the next day after his victory at Trenton, and took quarters at Newtown, with his army, and remaining there until the 29th of December, when he recrossed into New Jersey. Among the Officers with Washington at Newtown, but did not recross the Delaware into New Jersey, remaining at Newtown, was Colonel William Palfrey, paymaster-general of the Continental army. On January 5, 1777, Colonel Palfrey wrote the following letter (31) to Henry Jackson (32), to be opened by Benjamin Hickbourn, the letter being carried by Captain Goodrich: "Dear Sir: -Colonel Tudor (33) acquainted me that he had received a letter from you and other Gentlemen of Boston, requesting that we would furnish you, from time to time, with intelligence from our Army. You may be assured we will do this with the greatest pleasure, and as often as we can find a proper conveyance. "You have doubtless before this time had the particulars of the action at Trenton, in which we took about 1,000 Hessians Prisoners, Seven Standards, Six brass Cannon, 1,200 Stand of Arms, 12 Drums and several wagons with Baggage. This glorious Affair was effected with the loss of but 6 or 7 men on our Side. The next Day the General and the Army returned to this side the Delaware, where he remained two or three days. On the 29th he passed the Delaware again and joined General Cadwallader, who in the meantime had entered Trenton with the Brigade under his Command. "The time for which the old Army had enlisted being near expired, the General prevailed with them to stay Six Weeks longer for a Bounty of ten dollars pr. Man, which they almost all accepted. On the 2d instant at noon advice was brought that a large Body of the Enemy were advancing from Princeton to attack us, according in the Afternoon they appear'd, when General Washington quitted the Town and formed on the Heights near it. The British Troops attempted to enter it by passing over a bridge, when they were so gall'd by a heavy fire from our Cannon and Musquetry that (they) were twice repulsed, with very great slaughter. They however entered the Town. In the Night General Washington made one of the grandest Manoeuvers that ever was heard of. He ordered his Men to Kindle up large Fires that would burn all Night and then march'd off in the most Secret manner towards Princeton; at 8 in the Morning at a place called Stony Brook about two miles this side of Princeton he met with two Regiments, the 17th and 55th, who were on their March to reinforce the British Troops at Trenton. These he immediately engaged and cut them all to pieces, the 17th especially. I have seen a Prisoner belonging to that regiment who was taken since the Action, and informs me that he does not think five of the whole Regiment escaped. In this Action it is said the General took five pieces of Cannon, a number of Prisoners and twenty Baggage Wagons. Our Army then went to Princetown where the 40th Regiment remained and pass'd through there in the forenoon, but we have as yet received no certain intelligence respecting the 40th, tho' it is reported they were all made Prisoners. That part of the British Army which was at Trenton quitted it and marched to Princeton where they arrived about five house after General Washington had march away, so that we imagine he intends to touch at them when he returns. "Upon the whole our People behaved most nobly, and gave the Enemy convincing proofs that we are able and willing to fight them in their own way. In the action at the Bridge a Virginia Regiment marched up within 40 yards of the Front, and having some Rifleman posted on the Flanks made terrible Slaughter. "We are in expectation every moment of receiving further intelligence, which I shall Communicate to you by the very first opportunity. I beg you will let me hear from you by every opportunity. My love to Ned and family and compliments to all friends. I am most Sincerely, Yours, (Signed) WILLIAM PALFREY. "I forgot to mention our Friend Knox (34) behaved most nobly, and did himself and his Country great Honour - he is made a Brigadier General. "Dr. Edwards (35) writes from Trenton that General Washington (36) is slightly wounded, and that Gen'l Mercer is missing. Suppose either killed or made Prisoner. We have certainly taken all their Baggage at Princetown."*] (31) The letter is in possession of the Bucks County Historical Society, and was found in a house in Virginia by a general officer of the Union army. It is undoubtedly genuine. (32) Henry Jackson was a Colonel in the Continental service and made a Brigadier-General near the close. (33) Colonel Tudor, of Massachusetts, was Judge Advocate of the Continental army. (34) "Our friend Knox," was the distinguished General Henry Knox, of the Revolution. (35) Of Doctor Edwards we find no mention. (36) The wounding of Washington evidently refers to the battle of Princeton, where he may have been struck by a spent ball. End of Chapter XV. (The following is an attempt to make an outline descendant chart for Thomas Hillborn) 1 Thomas Hillborn ? -1723 +Elizabeth Hutton 2 Samuel 1689-1714 +Margaret Atkinson 3 Samuel + Abigail Twining 4 Samuel 4 Joseph +Ann Wilkinson 4 Mary +James Paxson 4 Elizabeth +Thomas Millard 4 John 4 Thomas +Sarah Brummage 5 Eli H. 4 William 4 David 2 Robert 1692-1720 +Mary Harding 3 Thomas 4 Robert 1740 3 Mary ?-abt. 1700 (Other children of Thomas and Mary, third generation) 4 Thomas 1741 4 Mary 1744- 4 Joseph 1743 4 Benjamin 1746- 4 Elizabeth 2 Mary 1694 +Amos Watson 2 Elizabeth 1697/98 +Abraham Darlington 2 Katharine 1699 (unmarried in 1728) 2 Deborah 1701-1703 2 Thomas 1703 +Ann Ashton 3 Robert ? -1793 4 Amos 4 Thomas +Rachel Hayhurst 5 Isaac 4 Robert 4 John 4 Rachel Beans 4 Elizabeth Saylor 4 Fanny 4 Mercy 3 Samuel 2 John 1705-1747 + Rachel Strickland 3 Amos 3 Miles 3 Joseph 3 Elizabeth 3 Frances 2 Joseph 1708-1731 2 Amos 1710-1710 2 Rachel 1711- 2 Hannah 1714-1714