THE HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, CHAPTER XXXIII, ROCKHILL, 1740 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 XXXIII or CHAPTER III, Vol II * ROCKHILL 1740 John Furnace.* -The Hartzells.* -Abraham Wombold. -Rockhill settled by Germans. -Isaac Stout.* -The Arndts.* -Rosenbergers.* -William Maybury. -Manor of Perkasie. -Paul Gerhart.* -Jacob Stout. - Abraham Stout. - John Benner. -The Wormans. -John Shellenberger. -The Groffs. -Mennonites. -Township laid out. -Origin of name. -Area and population. -Derstein's mill. -Peter Shepherd. -Sellersville. -Thomas Sellers. -Rev. Peter S. Fisher. -Andreas Lauch.* -General Frank Fisher. -Bridgetown. -Perkasie. -Telford. -Christian Dettra. -Valentine Nicholas. -Indianfield church. -A Hessian surgeon passes through Upper Bucks.* Rockhill was one of the objective points of German immigration that came up the Perkiomen and set across into Bucks county, 1720-1730. Germans were among its very earliest settlers and it has maintained its German status to the present time. Our knowledge of the pioneers is limited, being of that class that rarely preserves recorded family history or tradition. [The earliest purchase made in Rockhill was by John Furnace, a barber of Philadelphia, the deed bearing date December 11, 1701, for 300 acres. In 1723, he sold the tract to Andrew Hamilton, and Hamilton to Heinrich Hartzell, an immigrant from the Palatinate, 1732. It now bounds the limits of Telford. Hartzell improved and added to it. He owned 1,000 acres in all, on the Montgomery line, the homestead being on the Bucks side. He died here June 21, 1784, leaving three sons and eight daughters, and was buried at Indianfield German Reformed church. Ulrich Hartzell, probably a brother, who came in the same ship, bought land near Tylersport, Montgomery county, and died there, December 6, 1771. He was born in Switzerland, August 20, 1705. December 6, 1738, another Hartzell finds his way to America - Conrad, who settled in Salisbury township, Lehigh county, then in Bucks. Heinrich Hartzell was the ancestor of the family in Bucks county. One of the earliest settlers, in the west end of the township, near where Sellersville stands, was Abraham Wombold, who purchased a tract on a branch of the Perkiomen, 1738, on which he built a dwelling, grist mill (1) and tannery. Here he carried on milling and tanning may years, and to him the farmers, may miles around, brought their grain to be ground. He was followed by Samuel Sellers, who built a dwelling and opened a tavern in it on the site of the present Sellersville house. Around this old inn has grown a flourishing village named after its founder. Mr. Sellers lived to become a prominent and influential citizen, was a member of Assembly and High Sheriff and died August 18, 1817. William Maberry was an early settler, but the date of his arrival is unknown. He became a large landed proprietor. At his death, 1782, he owned 745 acres in Rockhill, which were divided among his heirs.*] (1) Prior to the building of this grist mill, the nearest mills for the pioneer settlers were those of Mathew, at Flourtown, and Hyde's, Centre Valley. The Proprietary's Manor of Perkasie, containing 10,000 acres, partly in Rockhill township, was surveyed and laid out prior to 1708. A section of the township is still called Perkasie, and a flourishing village of this name has grown up within a few years on the upper part of the manor. The manor lands were opened to purchase and settlement about 1730-35. About this time Jacob Stout, a German [Swiss*] immigrant, [born 1710*] came into the township [with a brother about 1730*] and purchased a tract of land in the manor, covering the site of the village of Perkasie, [while his brother settled at Germantown. Jacob's wife was a Miss Miller, daughter of a physician of Germany, who had previously married John Liesse. They had two sons and two daughters. Isaac settled in Williams township, Northampton county. Abraham, born 1740, married Magdaline Hartzell, 1762, daughter of Henry Hartzell. It was his daughter who caught a fawn in the woods when a child, carried it home in her apron and it grew to be a buck. Abraham Stout, son of Isaac, a well educated man for the time, a fine penman and followed surveying and conveyancing, was a delegate from Bucks to the*] convention that framed the Constitution of Pennsylvania, 1790. He died, 1812, and remembered seeing the Indian boys of the neighborhood shoot birds with arrows. Jacob Stout, the first settler, died in 1771, and was buried at Stout's graveyard, on the southwest end of Perkasie. Abraham, the son, died in 1812, and his remains were buried at the same place. [Abraham Stout and wife had three sons and four daughters, who married into the families of Hartman, Upper Saucon, Lehigh county, Stauffer, Kern, Barndt and Gerhart.*] Within a few years the large stone barn which Jacob Stout built about 1752 was turned into a sash-factory, but was burned down in the fall of 1875. Before the fire the walls were apparently as sound as when put up. Since then Mr. Kramer has erected a large brick building, suitable for carrying on any kind of business. Among the purchasers of manor lands of Richard Penn, in 1776, was John Benner, 138 acres. The same year Benner conveyed it to John Shellenberger, of Hatfield, Montgomery county, which was probably the first coming of the family of this name into this county. In 1779 the property was again sold to Conrad Shellenberger of Rockhill. [The Arndts of Bucks and Northampton, were early settlers in Rockhill. Bernard Arndt, the pioneer was born at Zerbt, Germany, March 13, 1678, married Anna Maria Decker, of Anhalt, and with his wife and three children, embarked May 1731, and landed at Philadelphia. After spending some time at Germantown, they settled in the upper end of Philadelphia county, now Montgomery, where the father followed his trade and the children grew to be men and women. Jacob, the second son, born March 24, 1725, married Elizabeth Geiger, bought a farm in Rockhill, and reared a family. He entered the Provincial service during the French and Indian war, reaching the rank of Major, and removed to Northampton, on the Bushkill above Easton, 1760. He was active in the Revolution and prominent in politics, being a member of the Executive Council and served in the Assembly. His wife died March 17, 1797, and he August 3, 1805. His eldest son, John Arndt, born on his father's farm in Rockhill township, June 5, 1748, commanded a company of riflemen in the "Flying Camp," 1776, and was wounded at Long Island. He was a miller by occupation. He was twice married, after the death of his first wife, January 31, 1776, marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Conrad Ihrie, of Forks township, Northampton, and ten children were born to them. Like his father he was a man of local prominence and filled several county offices. He died at Easton, May 6, 1814, within one month of being 66.*] [The Rosenbergers are descended from Henry Rosenberger, Wurtemburg, Germany, and settled in Franconia township, Montgomery county, prior to 1729. He bought 159 acres of James Steel, Philadelphia, and Michael Swartley, of the fifth generation, now occupies it. He was buried at Franconia Mennonite Church. His children were Benjamin, Daniel, John and Henry, the two eldest supposed to have been born in Germany. In 1739 Benjamin Rosenberger bought 125 acres on the county line, including the O. G. Morris farm, died in 1777, and his widow, Helen, 1799. His son Elias, who lived and died in Rockhill, owned land in Springfield, Bedminster and Hilltown, where he lived at various periods of his life. He had four children, Benjamin, driving a baggage wagon in the Continental army before reaching manhood, spending the latter part of his life in Rockhill. John, son of Benjamin, Sr., owned a farm in Hatfield, Montgomery county, whose sons Benjamin and Jacob, and daughters, Anna and Susannah removed to Canada. Both daughters became the wives of the Rev. Jacob Detweiler. A granddaughter of Benjamin, a daughter of John Alderfer, became the wife of Bishop Abraham Hunsicker, who founded Freeland Seminary, the parent of Ursinus College. Henry, another son of Benjamin Rosenberger, and his children are much scattered. Daniel, the second son of Henry Rosenberger, Sr., in 1740, bought 359 acres in Hatfield township, on the county line, where he lived and died. His will mentions children, David, who married Ann Funk, Isaac married Christiana Funk, Ann married Michael Kolb, and Mary married Valentine Kratz. John Rosenberger, third son of Henry, Sr., born 1724, and died 1808, was buried at Fricks graveyard. He owned several hundred acres including the site of Hatfield village and left a farm to each child. He erected the first grist-mill in that section which stood until 1820, and was one of the founders of Line Lexington Mennonite church. His children were Martin, Abraham, John, Benjamin, Daniel, Henry and Catharine, wife of Abraham Allebach. Many of the descendants live in Bucks county. The fourth son of Henry Rosenberger, Sr., was the Rev. Henry Rosenberger, born December 2, 1752, married Barbara Oberholtzer, 1745, and settled in New Britain on the Hilltown line near Lexington. He was a M ennonite minister and served the Franconia church. His father gave him the homestead shortly after his marriage, and he spent his life there. His children were: Gertrude Annie, born 1748, married Michael Leatherman, second husband John Loux, grandfather of the late John A. Loux Abraham Elizabeth, born 1752, married Mark Fretz, New Britain Barbara, born 1755, married David Rickert and died at 20 Magdalina married John Swartley and Sarah married Philip Swartley.*] [A reunion of the Rosenberger family was held in Perkasie Park, August 10, 1899, to which 1,500 descendants of the pioneer were invited and it is thought as many attended. The exercises consisted of an address of welcome, by Prof. Rosenberger, Quakertown, vocal and instrumental music, historical address by Rev. A. J. Fretz, Milton, N.J., other addresses, and dinner, not the least attractive part of the programme.*] Between 1740 and 1750 three brothers and a sister, named Groff, immigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania. Jacob was engaged to a young girl, who came over in the same ship, and they were married on their arrival. Soon afterward he purchased a tract of land in Rockhill, where they settled down and spent their lives. He became the owner of several hundred acres, and Sellersville is built on a portion of his tract. He was the father of four sons, John, Peter, Jacob, and Henry. John bought a farm adjoining his father's, which partly remains in the family, Peter went to Lancaster county, where his descendants are living, John moved down toward the central part of the county, and was, no doubt, the immediate ancestor of the Groffs of New Britain, and Henry, the youngest son, born about 1758, took part of the homestead farm where he lived and died, and at his death left the acres to his children. Part of it remains in the family. Henry was the immediate ancestor of David Groff, of Sellersville. In 1755 a tract of 66-3/4 was surveyed to Samuel Iden, on the Tohickon, by virtue of a warrant. The southwestern section of the township was settled early in the last century by Mennonite families from Germany. They established the congregation that worshiped in what is now known as Gehman's meeting-house, at that time called Bechtel's, two miles south of Sellersville, near the North Pennsylvania railroad, on the road to Telford. Jacob Derstein, Sr., while assisting to build a fence around the graveyard, remarked that he would like to know who would be first buried in it, and it happened, in the Providence of God, that his own remains were the first to be interred in the new burial-ground. The old log meeting-house was torn down in 1838, and a convenient stone house erected on its site, which still affords accommodation to the large congregation that worships in it. [In 1737, Paul Gerhart with his two sons, Abraham and Peter, and one daughter, Barbara, immigrants from Alsace, France, settled in Franconia township, Montgomery county, on the Allentown road near a branch of the Perkiomen. They were driven from home by religious persecution, and as the name "Gerhart" is not in the list of arrivals, between 1720 and 1750, it is assumed they took a fictitious name to avoid pursuit. The homestead was known as "Gerhart's tavern" for over a century and is now owned by Irwin R. Hartzell, a descendant. Of the children of the immigrant, Barbara died single and Peter is not accounted for, but Abraham settled in Long Swamp township, Berks county, and later in Rockhill, married Elizabeth Smith and raised a large family. He was born about the close of the 17th century and died December 30, 1766; his wife was born December 23, 1723, and died December 23, 1805. From this couple have descended nearly all the Gerharts, or Gerhards, in Bucks, Lehigh and Lebanon counties.*] [The children of Abraham and Elizabeth Gerhart were: Anne Margaret, born April 4, 1744, married Michael Sholl Abraham (grandfather of Isaac G. Gerhart, Telford), born December 3, 1745, married Anna Barbara Detterer Catharine, born August 2, 1747, married John George Henry Dietz Conrad, born February 21, 1749, died in Chester county Jacob, born November 10, 1759, married Elizabeth Detterer, and lived and died at the homestead Peter, born December 22, 1752, married a Miss Hunsberger John, born April 19, 1755, married Magdaline Hartzell (born March 26, 1757) Elizabeth, born May 27, 1759, married Jacob Fellman Barbara, born December 1, 1760, married Henry Brandt Isaac, born November 26, 1762, married Sarah Nogel Abraham Gerhart, eldest son of Abraham and Elizabeth, and the immediate ancestor of the Bucks county branch of the family, settled on a farm a mile below Sellersville, and spent his life there. He had four son and three daughters, the youngest dying in infancy, the others marrying into the families of Kern, Singmaster, Frederick, Smith, Harpel and Stout. Three of the immediate descendants of Abraham Gerhart, Isaac, Emanual Vogel, D.D., LL.D., and R. Leighton Gerhart, father, son and grandson, entered the Reformed church and became prominent clergymen, Emanuel being a professor in the Theological Seminary, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Gerharts, by reason of the large number of children their sons and daughters fell heir to, intermarried with families in this and adjoining counties and their descendants are very numerous.*] When Richland was laid out and organized, in 1734, considerable territory between this township and Hilltown was left without municipal government. Its organization, therefore, into a township was probably a matter of necessity to give local protection to the inhabitants. In the petition for roads this territory was called "Rockhill," several years before it was organized, and the name was probably given to it because of its rocky and uneven surface. The records give us no information as to the time when the first movement was made toward a township, and we only know that it was surveyed and laid out by Nicholas Scull in 1740, with metes and bounds that differ materially from its present boundaries, but when the form of the township was changed we know not. In the original draft the name of the township is left blank, as it had not yet been agreed upon. The following are the boundaries of Nicholas Scull's survey, with draft attached, of 1740: "Beginning at a white oak standing on Tohickon bank on the west side of a road laid out from Saucon creek, leading to Philadelphia; thence by the said road south two degrees east, 360 perches; thence by the same south 17 degrees east, 250 perches to a corner of Hilltown township; thence by the same southwest, 2,110 perches to the county line; thence along the same northwest, 1,603 perches; thence northeast, 430 perches by Milford township; thence by the same north 22 degrees east, 150 perches; thence by the said Milford township and the township of Richland east, 1,428 perches; thence northeast, 870 perches to Tohickon creek; thence down the same to the beginning." The present area of the township is 14,343 acres, but we do not know what it was when first organized. Rockhill is a populous and wealthy township, and in this regard she keeps pace with her sisters. In 1784 the population was 969, with 158 dwelling houses; in 1810, 1,508 1820, 1,567 1830, 2,012 and 424 taxables 1840, 2,182 1850, 2,447 1860, 3,107 white and colored 1870, 3,342 white and 21 colored, of which 191 were foreign-born. In 1870 Rockhill was the most populous township in the county. [An entry in one of the old quarter session's docket's gives addition information touching the organization of Rockhill township. At the June session, 1739, the inhabitants of "Richlands" petitioned the court stating that a considerable tract of land lay between "Richlands" and Hilltown; that the inhabitants refused to mend the roads, etc., and asked that said vacant land be laid out into a township; whereupon the court ordered a township laid out with the following boundaries: "On the northeast by John Penn's Manor of Perkasie, including the same, on the northerly side of Richlands and Lower Milford; on the westward by the county line, and on the southward by the township of Hilltown." The court appointed Uriah Humble supervisor, and John Bryan constable. Prior to the organization of the township, this section of country was mentioned in deed as "the district of Freetown." The lower part of the township was generally settled by 1750.*] [The Wormans of Tinicum, are descended from Johannes Worman, who came from Rotterdam, Germany, in the ship "Mary of London," 1735, and settled in Rockhill. In 1754 he purchased, of Anthony Haines of Rockhill, a tract of 273 acres in Bedminster, near Deep Run, and in 1760, conveyed it to John Heany, his son-in-law, of Rockhill. In 1761 Worman purchased a tract of 201-1/2 acres in Tinicum, site of the present Wormanville, of Charles Hughes of the same township. We do not know what year Johannes Worman left Rockhill, but he was still there in 1753, when he was trustee of the Lutheran and Calvinist congregations of Franconia township, Montgomery county. Doubtless he attended church there. He probably went to Tinicum soon after he purchased the Hughes tract, and died there, 1768, leaving a son Michael, to whom he deeded the farm, and two daughters, Mrs. John Cooper, Tinicum, and Mrs. John Heany, Rockhill. His will is dated March 16, 1765, and was admitted to probate, April 5, 1768. The same year Michael Worman was one of the petitioners of Tinicum, Nockamixon, Bedminster and Plumstead, asking the county's consent to build a stone bridge over Indian creek, at their own expense, in place of the wooden one. This was an unusual request. Hereafter the history of the Worman family belong to Tinicum.*] [The Heanys were in Rockhill early, Patrick Heany settling there, 1734, at the age of 21, coming over in the ship "Hope" from Rotterdam. John Heany was in the township prior to 1745, married Catharine, daughter of John Worman, same township, and was appointed constable 1755. His occupation is given as "cordwainer." He removed to Bedminster prior to 1764, and was a storekeeper there. He owned land in adjoining townships, amounting to several hundred acres, and died, intestate, 1787, leaving a widow and fifteen children. The inventory was filed December 4, 1788, amounting to £1,011. 3s. 11d., settlement filed May 26, 1789, and final settlement filed and distribution made September 14, 1790.*] Derstein's mill, 1/1/2 miles south of Sellersville, on the North Pennsylvania railroad, is one of the oldest mills in the upper end of the county. It is thought to have been the first one erected between Whitemarsh and Centre Valley. The first mill was built by the ancestor of the Derstein family prior to 1742, and in the rudest manner. Tradition says that four saplings were planted in the ground and covered with a straw-roof; the mill works constructed underneath were of the simplest description, but sufficient to turn a pair of chopping stones. A second mill was erected by Abraham and Michael Derstein, 1742, with all the improvements known at that day. A culvert built across the road over the tail race remains to this day, and is as sound as when the masons finished the work. In 1873 William and David Derstein erected a third mill on the site of the old one, which is complete in all its appointments. William Shavers built a mill on the Tohickon before 1746, in which year a road was opened from it to the Bethlehem road, but the location of the mill is not now known. Peter Shepherd owned a grist-mill in the township in 1760, and one at Hunsbury in 1765. William Heacock owned a saw-mill in Rockhill in 1785. [Among the immigrants who settled in Rockhill and qualified as citizens were: Andreas Lauch, August 28, 1773 Johannes Adam Lauch, August 4, 1750 Johannes Lauschs, October 10, 1752 John Jacob Laux, October 12, 1754 Jacob Lauch, September 11, 1771. In addition to these, but not of them, was: Heinrich (Henry) Lauchs, who arrived at Philadelphia in the ship "Minerva," John Spinner, master, from Rotterdam, and qualified November 9, 1767. He married Barbara, daughter of John Heany, Rockhill, about 1773. On June 16, 1773, Andreas Keichline and wife, Rockhill, conveyed to Henry Laux, "carpenter," 60 acres and 53 perches on Tohickon creek, Haycock. His name appears on the tax list of 1779 to 1793, but removed to Adams township, York county, about 1794. The last we hear of John Laux was February 10, 1800, when he acknowledged and receipted for £34. 7s. 8d. balance in full due his wife, Barbara, from her father, John Heany's estate.*] The last three villages that lay entirely in Rockhill township, are Sellersville, Bridgetown, and Perkasie, the first and last named being on the North Pennsylvania railroad. As we have already related, Sellersville grew up around what was for many years known as Sellers' Tavern, which name the post0ffice bore down to 1866, when it took that of the village. The office was first established there in 1820, and Thomas Sellers appointed the first postmaster. It has grown into a flourishing village, its improvements being much accelerated by the opening of the railroad, in 1856. It has a population of about 600, 75 dwellings, four stores, two hotels, two flour-mills, one of them steam, an extensive tannery, a steam planing-mill, lumber and coal-yard, two haypresses, three extensive cigar-manufactories, two churches, and two school-houses. [A new impetus was given to Sellersville by its incorporation into a borough, 1874 [1875*], and its wealth and population both increased. Its chief industry is cigar making and within the last two decades four large factories have been built, giving employment to several hundred hands. the prosperity of this industry has led to the erection of a number of new dwellings by private enterprises and a building association. Among the public improvements is a school building enlarged at an expense of $5,000, Odd Fellows hall costing $8,000, and a water plant $30,000, furnishing an abundant supply for all purposes. All branches of business have increased in proportions with the population: 480 in 1880 794 in 1890 1,247 in 1900. A movement was started sometime ago, to unite Sellersville and Perkasie in one great borough, but present success is not yet in sight.*] The surrounding country is thickly settled and well cultivated. The Bethlehem turnpike, in early days a general traveled route from the Lehigh to Philadelphia, [made "Sellers' Tavern" a place of much resort. (2)*] (2) The Inland Traction company's trolley road, Perkasie to Lansdale, runs through Sellersville, almost paralleling the North Penn. Railroad. The company was chartered, 1899, with a capital of $300,000 and whole amount bonded. The road was opened for travel in April 1900. The power house is located at Souderton in the edge of Montgomery county, and the longest and most expensive bridge at Sellersville, built of iron, three spans, each 92-1/2 feet long and cost $8,000.* (See illustration of Sellers' Tavern) Of the two churches at Sellersville, one is a Union Reformed and Lutheran, and the other a small brick Catholic church, built about 1869 or 1870. The former is new, and the congregation is of quite recent organization. The corner-stone was laid in the spring of 1870, and that year the basement was finished. The building was completed in the spring of 1874, and dedicated May 2nd by interesting religious exercises. The church is stone, 70x42, with a tall steeple that can be seen from a considerable distance, and cost $20,000. It is finished in the best manner, and neatly furnished, and is known as the Evangelical Lutheran and Saint Michael's Reformed church. [The Rev. Mr. Ziegenfuss was probably the first Lutheran pastor and served the church to about 1880, when he was succeeded by the Rev. J. C. Becker to 1890. Since that time, the Rev. J. H. Waidelich has been in charge.*] The first Reformed pastor was the Rev. Peter S. Fisher, who was active in organizing the congregation and building the church, but did not live to see it completed. He was attacked by a fatal illness in May 1873 while preaching in Leidy's church, Hilltown, and died with a few hours. Mr. Fisher was born at Reading, Pennsylvania, October 11, 1804, licensed to preach, 1825, and ordained 1826. He came to this country 1827 to supply the churches made vacant by the death of Rev. J. A. Strassburger at Tohickon, Indianfield and Charlestown. He preached at numerous other points and organized three new congregations. During his ministry, of almost half a century, it is estimated he preached 10,000 sermons, including 2,500 funeral discourses, baptised 3,000, confirmed 1,500 and married 2,000 couples. He was greatly esteemed and in his funeral procession walked 42 Reformed ministers. He was the father of General B. Frank Fisher, [who entered the military service in 1861, as a lieutenant of volunteers, at the breaking out of the Civil war, and by its close had reached the rank of chief signal officer of the United States army, with the rank of Brigadier-General. He read law at Doylestown with the late Judge S. L. Roberts and was admitted to the bar, in 1860. The Rev. J. G. Dengler succeeded Mr. Fisher, but, in 1899, was called to a Reformed parish in Lancaster county.*] Perkasie, named after the old Manor that once included within its bounds 10,000 of the acres of that region, situated on the North Pennsylvania railroad, one-fourth of a mile south of the tunnel, is a new town. We have already mentioned that the first purchaser of the land on which it is built was [John Liesse (whose widow married, 1739, Jacob Stout), about 1735.*] The first improvements were made by Samuel M. Hager, 1861-62, when he erected a store-house and three dwellings, and laid a switch. Nothing more was done until 1868, when James A. Hendricks built a dwelling and bought the store property. In the fall of 1870 he bought the Nace farm and cut it up into building lots, from which time the village has grown and prospered. [When laid our, 1870, it had a store, blacksmith shop, several dwellings and a railroad station called "Comlyville," after Franklin A. Comley, president of the North Pennsylvania Railroad. It was incorporated 1886, and had a population of 300 in 1880; 458, 1890; 1,803 in 1900. It was named Perkasie, 1873, a name first given to the post office at Blooming Glen. Perkasie's principal industry is the manufacture of cigars, which employs some 500 hands. The borough has 50 places of business, including the minor industries and usual mechanics, a newspaper, opera house, three hotels, two parks, four churches, a graded public school with superintendent and five teachers, fire company, creamery, water plant, erected 1885, and several beneficial, social and patriotic organizations, and last, though not least, a band organized many years ago. The railroad station at Perkasie is the handsomest on the line of the North Pennsylvania Railroad, and the shipping center for a large scope of populous and productive country. The receipts are about $100,000 a year. In 1897 the assessed borough and school taxes were $4,716.37. Samuel M. Hager, the legitimate father of Perkasie, was the son of Colonel George Hager, Rockhill. Both father and son were active in politics and the military, and wielded very considerable influence among the Germans. The Reformed church at Perkasie was organized by the efforts of Rev. J. G. Dengler, Sellersville, who began holding service there in the school house fifteen years ago. As the attendance increased there was a demand for a c hurch building, and the movement resulted in the erection of a neat stone Gothic edifice. The congregation, organized with eighteen members, has grown to over 200. In 1897 by the action of Tohickon, the parish was erected into a separate charge, and the Rev. J. Rauch called to the pastorate. It is known as St. Stephen's Reformed congregation.*] Bridgetown, situated on the road from Sellersville to Hagersville, two miles from the former, [was incorporated into the borough of Perkasie, and known as South Perkasie, is a prosperous village of 25 [40*] houses, with two churches, hotel and store. Saint Andrew's church, Lutheran and Reformed, was built in 1867, and has a membership of about 80 [100*], with the Rev. F. Berkemeyer as Lutheran pastor [for some years, and was succeeded by Rev. M. J. Kuehner, who also officiates at Hilltown.*] The thriving village of Telford is situated on the line between Bucks and Montgomery, and stands partly in three townships, Rockhill and Hilltown in Bucks, and Franconia in Montgomery, with the North Pennsylvania railroad passing through it, and was named after a Mr. Telford, a celebrated English engineer. The ground on which it is built was purchased by Christian Dettra of James Hamilton in 1737. He sold it to Abraham Gerhart in 1785, and it thence passed to his son John in 1810, and through various hands to the present owners. Isaac G. Gerhart built the first house in 1857, and occupied it for a dwelling, and the same year Thomas B. Woodward erected the steam-mills, and a large inn, now known as the "County Line Hotel," which was opened by Jacob Souder, January 1, 1858. Mr. Gerhart opened the first store April 1, 1858. The mills were destroyed by fire in 1861. In 1865 the population was 73; 1866, 83; 1867, 105; and in 1875, 421, with 87 dwellings. Telford has the complement of mechanics, several stores, lumber, coal, and lime-yards, three public halls and a post-office. The village is regularly laid out, the streets broad and straight, and the surrounding country is populous and charming. [The Trinity Reformed church was erected, 1897. The preliminary meeting was held February 27th, eleven persons being present; the contract was awarded June 9th, corner stone laid July 25th with appropriate ceremonies, and the first sermon preached December 5th by the Rev. Jacob Kehn in the Sunday school room in German. A Sunday school was organized with 91 scholars, January 2, 1898, and the church dedicated May 29th. The style of architecture is Gothic, built of Rockhill granite with blue stone trimmings. The main building is 36x55 feet with Sunday school annex, 42x31, and basement for Society meetings. The whole cost was $6,000.*] (See illustration of Main Street, Telford). Among the aged people deceased in Rockhill the present century, whose lives run back to the infancy of the country, and beyond the birth of the township, are Valentine Nichola [Nicholas*], who died October 1, 1807, aged 96 years, five months and five days, and Ann Haycock, (probably Heacock), who died February 16th, the same year, at the age of 89. On the Ridge road leading to Tylersport, a mile from Sellersville, is a Lutheran and Reformed church, built in 1826, of which Rev. William B. Kemmerer was pastor for about 30 years. He was succeeded by Mr. Berkemeyer, the present Lutheran pastor. The congregation was re-organized in 1867, and there is now a membership of about 125 [over 200 in attendance.*] The location of this church is known as Schlichter's Store, the seat of a post-office. It used to be called "Indianfield" church, and probably goes by this name yet, and is the oldest in the township, possibly antedating the Mennonite. It was built before 1746, in October of which year it was visited by the Rev. Mr. Schlatter. [The Ridge Valley church, on the Allentown road, four miles from Sellersville, was founded the first quarter of the last century. There the Mennonites, Lutherans and Reformed began worshiping in an old school house that was near a graveyard, and enlarged it by tearing down the partition. This was continued until 1854, when a church building was erected. The Lutherans then called the Rev. M Waage and O. F. Waage, father and son, who served them until 1873, and since then the pastors have been the Rev. S. A. Ziegenfuss, Rev. J. S. Beckner, and Rev. J. H. Waidelich, the latter the present incumbent. The church has prospered and the congregation increased. On Sunday June 25, 1899, the corner-stone of a new building was laid with appropriate ceremonies, costing $5,000.*] The surface of Rockhill is much broken. A broad, rocky ridge runs entirely across the township, from northeast to southwest, curving to the south toward Sellersville. The broken surface impedes cultivation, but fine farms abound in many sections and good crops produced. It is well watered by branches of the Perkiomen and Tohickon, their tributaries affording numerous mill sites. [Rockhill is noted for aged persons. In the fall of 1882, Mrs. Catharine Keil, living at Keil's corner, at almost 98, was in full mental and physical vigor. The year before she walked six miles without resting, and about the same time employed herself husking corn "just to keep out of mischief." She was the third daughter of Abraham Souder, Hilltown. Her mother died at 91, and of her four sisters, one died at 80, the next in her 96th year, and of two other living in 1882, one was in great vigor at 91. Mrs. Catharine Watts, doubtless the oldest person in the county at her death, died in Rockhill, February 15, 1900, in her 104th year. She was born October 3, 1796, married William Watts, 1811, who died 1880, at the age of 90; they lived together 69 years and were the parents of 11 children. Of her five living children (1892), the eldest was 83 and youngest 57. She had 200 living offspring, 48 grandchildren, 129 great-grandchildren, and 23 great-great-grandchildren. She enjoyed excellent health and could see to thread a needle without glasses. Her maiden name was Nace, (3) possibly a sister of Henry Nace, of Rockhill, who on February 3, 1790, bound himself to Henry Barndt, Upper Salford, Montgomery county, for two years with consent of Abram Kober, his guardian. The indenture was acknowledged before Michael Croll. This recalls another aged woman, Mrs. Catharine Snyder, of Lower Bucks, birthplace unknown. She died at the Lower Dublin, Oxford Alms House, 1895, at the age of 87. She was the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier, wounded at Trenton, and was twice married, the first time at 15 and is survived by a son at 90. The name of Catharine seems a lucky one for longevity. On the North Pennsylvania railroad, a mile above Rockhill station, is a log house built in 1754, in which Jonas Frank lives.*] (3) Mrs. Catharine Watts, Rockhill township, the oldest inhabitant of Bucks county, died on Thursday evening, February 15, 1900, in her 104th year. She was stricken with paralysis, Sunday, January 28th, but such was her vitality she lived nearly three weeks. She lived with her son William, two miles north of Sellersville, was born October 3, 1796, and, had she lived until January 1, 1901, would have seen three centuries. Mrs. Watts, during her long career, scarcely knew what it was to be sick. She was a woman of remarkable vigor and strong constitution. Down to the day of her last illness she was scarcely ever idle, assisting with the house work. Her faculties were all well preserved and her eye sight remarkable, being able to notice a pin on the carpet that would escape the notice of other members of the household. -"Daily Democrat," February 17, 1900. [In August 1783 a Hessian surgeon, who had participated in the Revolution, on the side of the British, set out on a journey from Philadelphia to the Lehigh and beyond, before returning home. We begin to quote from his journal at the time he entered Rockhill township, when he says: ["The same afternoon we arrived at another farm in a very uneven and stony region called 'Rocky Hill,' situated in Bucks county. At this place we met a young man who pays but ten shillings tax for 74 acres, of which considerable is woodland. Among other taxes, which are assessed in Pennsylvania, is one styled the 'bachelor's tax;' every male person who is 21 years of age, and not married, pays a yearly tax of twelve shillings, six pence, Pennsylvania currency. Inconsiderable as this tax is, it, however, has its desired effect, as the liability to derision, to which the young men are open, and the ease with which industrious hands can support a family, soon causes them to change their social status. This is an old established tax here, as well as in Maryland, and lately established in South Carolina, as they have been convinced of its usefulness to arrive at a desired result.*] ["The farmers here use a seed plough, called the 'Bucks County plow.' The wheat is scattered on the fallow ground and then plowed under. It is customary to reckon from one-half to one bushel to seed to the acre, according as the land has before been cultivated. Generally it is expected to harvest ten or fifteen bushels of wheat per acre, from land that has been manured; in the neighborhood of Reading and the Tulpehocken valley, the average is 40-50 bushels. A wagon with four horses will haul 40-50 bushels of wheat to the city, and it is sold there for one Spanish dollar a bushel. As many persons own a large quantity of land, they cannot make use of it all, and consequently many acres remain uncultivated for five, six or seven years. Frequently, for the first year a crop of rye is sown, the second year wheat and English grass seed, and after the wheat is harvested, it is used for five years as pasture. For a second crop it is customary to sow buckwheat.*] ["Most of the lime used in Philadelphia comes from the neighborhood of Whitemarsh or Plymouth, 15 or 17 miles distant. Nearer than that there is no pure limestone, and wood is also very scarce. From there, up to within five miles of Bethlehem there are no traces of limestone. Formerly the lime was delivered in Philadelphia for one shilling per bushel. A four horse team can haul from 40-50 bushels. Every farm has its orchard, when the trees becomes old a new one is started, at a new spot, as the general belief is that young trees will not thrive where the old ones stood. People also have land enough and do not like to engage in the labor of plowing up the land, and improving it with manure or other mixture. There is no attention paid to the variety of fruit; apples and peaches are about all that are cultivated, the former, however, might be greatly improved.*] ["After leaving the foregoing host and traveling through a continuous forest, we reached 'Rocky Hill' township, but we only saw a few scattered houses. The road is fitly called 'Rocky Hill.' A blue basaltic and also a slaty gneiss rock covered the surface under which, however, the red, Jersey soil is found. We passed through a devastated forest of at least 2,000 acres, which had been cut down for fuel at a charcoal furnace. After the owner had used up all the wood it was abandoned. The forest consists of oak, beech and birch. The bark of the latter is used for tanning. On this dry unproductive soil, we saw nothing but small trunks of all kinds of trees. None of them appeared very old. Most of the thickets we met with are composed of young trees, as the first settlers have a custom of clearing their lands with fire, but the fire often spreads too far, and the original forests were destroyed. Nowhere will you meet with such a diversity of fencing as in America; almost every minute you will see a different style, and people cannot help wondering at the inventive genius of the inhabitants. Generally there are dry enclosures, either thin stakes of cleft trees, which are entwined in various ways or laid one on top of the other, or upright posts are placed against each other and interlaced. The so called worm fences were the most frequent. They are made of chestnut wood, as it makes the lightest fence, and when the bark is off will last a long time. Green hedge are rarely met with, and then only in a few towns, as the labor of planting and taking care of them is too great.*] ["From Rocky Hill the road leads to a broad plain which is known as the Great Swamp, which formerly covered this entire region, but has now been transformed into excellent wheat land. The low situation, however, causes it to be overflowed fall and spring, and the farmers find it best to raise summer instead of winter wheat, as the latter, on account of the wet soil, is often damaged by frost. Quakertown is a small village of about 12 houses. The inhabitants are mostly English and German Quakers. The inn keeper here pays for his license and about five acres of land twelve pounds Pennsylvania currency taxes. He certainly has not much to pay, but he has the more to ask, as we were not safe for a moment from his inquisitiveness. He was incessant in his endeavor to ascertain from us, or our servants, the object of our travels, but he was not able to accomplish it and we did not feel obliged to satisfy his curiosity, as his ignorance prevented him from answering our questions relative to the condition of his neighborhood. After leaving this Quaker colony on the 8th of August, we again came into a rough hilly country, full of the fragments of the before mentioned hard blue stone, and traveled many miles through wild and uncultivated forests; only occasionally did we meet with small cultivated spots on which Germans were settled. We passed through 'Phillips Dale' and 'Richardstown,' without knowing it, as these rising towns only existed in name, or were composed of only a few huts. Six mile from Quakertown we came to a small village of ten or twelve houses, and a mill, named after its first settler, Stoffel Wagner. After we had traveled between and over more high hills and through desolate forests, and passed Saucon creek, we came to a beautiful valley, with rich mellow soil and then to the calm but beautiful Lehigh."*] End of Chapter XXXIII, 1876 edition, or Chapter III, 1905 edition.