THE HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, CHAPTER XXXIV, NOCKAMIXON, 1742 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 XXXIV or CHAPTER IV (Vol. II), 1905 ed. NOCKAMIXON 1742 First settlers. -Population in 1742. -Names of settlers and landowners. -Settled by English. -Township formed. -Old couplet. -McCarty brothers. -Abraham Goodwin, John Praul, Casper Kolb. -The Stovers. -John Purcel [Pursell*]. -McLeroys.* -Kintners. -Overbecks.* -John George Kohl.* -The Shick family. * -Traugers.* -Buck family.* -Nicholas. -Nockamixon church and ministers. -Charles Fortman and music. -Rafinesque.* -Campbell graveyard. -The Narrows. -Rich Flora. -Roads.* -Ringing rocks. -Roads. -Streams. -Villages. -Population. -Bridgeton township cut off from Nockamixon now a German township.* On the organization of Tinicum, in 1738, a large tract of country immediately north of it was left without local government. The Durham iron-works had been established since 1727, and although there was no organized township north of Tinicum, settlers had taken up land and built cabins here and there in the woods as high up as the Forks of Delaware. They were generally found on the river side of the county. The Durham road became a traveled highway several years before this date, and its opening, no doubt, invited immigrants to push their way up into the woods of Nockamixon, (1) settling near or on the road. The names, and dates, of the original settlers cannot now be told; nevertheless it would be interesting to know who had the courage to first penetrate that wilderness of country. (1) The name Nockamixon is first met with as early as September 8, 1717, when a patent was issued, to Jeremiah Langhorne and John Chapman, for several tracts of land, one of them in this township.* We have reason to believe that settlers located in Nockamixon as early as in Durham still higher up the river, and that before 1730 the pioneer was felling the trees in her woods. In 1737 Bartholomew Longstreth purchased 250 acres of the Proprietaries, on or near Gallows hill run, (2) which tradition says took its name from a suicidal traveler found suspended from the limb of a tree on its bank. By 1742 it contained quite a respectable population for a frontier district, and the following names of settlers, or landowners, have come down to us as living there at that time, viz.: Richard Thatcher Joseph Warford Christian Weaver John Henry Hite William Morris John Harwick Uriah Kemble [Humble*] David Buckherd Bartholomew Longstreth (3) Samuel Cruchler Jacob Richards Thomas Blair William Ware John Anderson Edmund Bleney John Doran John Wilson George Ledley William Dickson James Johnson Richard Loudon [London*] John Colvan Ralph Wilson Jacob Trimbo Thomas Ramsey. These names prove to us that the original settlers of Nockamixon were English-speaking people and, as was the case in Tinicum, and in other parts of the county, the Germans overran the township subsequently. (2) The Indian name of Gallows Run was "Perelefakon" creek, and occurs on the original deed of the Durham tract.* (3) Bartholomew Longstreth lived and died in Warminster, and was never a resident of Nockamixon, though he owned land there. By the spring of 1742 the inhabitants of Nockamixon thought themselves numerous enough to be organized into a township. At the June term 25 citizens, who styled themselves "inhabitants of the adjacents of Plumstead," whose names we have already given, petitioned the court, praying them to allow a township "to be laid out joining Durham, then descending the river to the London tract," with the following boundaries: "Beginning at a black oak on the bank of the Delaware river, being a corner of Durham tract; thence by the said tract, and land of Thomas Blair, south 70 degrees, west 1,040 perches; thence by land of William Ware, southeast 240 perches; thence southwest 540 perches to Haycock run; thence down said run to Tohickon creek; thence down the said creek to a tract of land laid out to James Sterling; thence by that and the London company's land, northeast 2, 140 perches to the river Delaware; thence up the same to the place of beginning - containing by computation 6,000 acres." The boundaries have never been changed that we are aware of, [until Bridgeton was cut off in 1890,*] and the original area is now computed at 12, 500 acres. The court, at the same term, ordered the township laid out in accordance with the prayer of the petitioners. It was surveyed September 9, 1743, by Nicholas Scull, and confirmed at the April term, 1746. Like Tinicum, the name of Nockamixon is of Indian origin, and has been retained, much to the credit of our name-changing race. Heckewelder says that "Nockamixon" signifies, in the Delaware language, "the place at the three houses;" but what connection there is between "three houses" and the township's name is not explained. On the back of the petition to the court, asking to have the township organized, is written the following couplet: "As rocks in Nockamixon mate the skies, So let this town to Nockamixon rise." which fails, however, to throw any light on the subject. In a deed of 1762, the township is spelled "Noximinson." Among the settlers, who came into the township soon after it was organized, were Thomas and Patrick McCarty, (4) brothers, from Ireland, who settled on Haycock run about 1748, where they purchased two tracts of the Proprietaries. June 4, 1753, 79-3/4 acres were surveyed to William Dixon, on warrant of November 9, 1752, and 104 acres and 49 perches to Abraham Goodwin, by warrant dated December 8, 1749. Two tracts, containing 107 acres and 41 [51*] perches, were surveyed to Peter Young, June 1 and 2, 1753, by virtue of warrants dated 1749-50, and December 3, 1754, 89 acres and allowances were surveyed to Herman Younghon [Youngkon. He was the ancestor of the Youngken family and came from the Palatinate in the ship Charming Polly, landing at Philadelphia October 8, 1737. He was naturalized, 1743, settled in Nockamixon on the Durham road and was living in 1781.*]. Adam Meisser was an early settler at the Narrows. In the spring of 1746, 30 acres were surveyed to him, adjoining lands of Matthew Hughes, by Robert Smith by virtue of a warrant of Surveyor-General Lukens. The same year John Praul, already a landowner in the township, obtained a warrant for 40 acres and 107 perches, adjoining John Meisser at the Narrows, but the land was not surveyed to him until December 17, 1753. In May 1748, 90-1/2 acres were surveyed to David Maynes, and in June 1754, 142 acres were patented to Michael Meisser, and other lands were surveyed to him in 1766. [He was an early settler and the owner of a tract prior to 1753, located on the hill at Ferndale. The Centre Hill school house is built on part of it.*] In 1749 Peter Michael, perhaps "Mickley" now, took up 25 acres in Nockamixon and Peter Young 30 acres. Among the early Germans who settled in this section of the county, about this period, the township not being mentioned in several instances, were Christian Fry, at Tohickon, 1738, Casper Kolb, 1738, Frederick Kraft, on Tohickon, 1741, Solomon Ruchstuhl, 100 acres near a branch of Tohickon, 1742, and George Hartzell, 100 acres adjoining the above, same year Christopher, 25 acres at Tohickon, 1749, and Valentine Nicholas, 1749. (5) All of these hardly settled in Nockamixon, but as the Tohickon and one of its branches formed its southern boundary, some of these early German immigrants made their homes in this township. There was considerable unseated land in the township years subsequent to this. It is probable that the numerous family of Keyser, now living in Nockamixon, are descended from Peter Keyser, who was constable of the township, [and settled in Gallows Run valley north of Bucksville*] in 1750. In 1785 there was a re-survey of some of the lands in Nockamixon, when a tract of Benjamin Williamson was re-surveyed under a warrant of April 1, 1768, by Samuel Preston, deputy-survey0r of the county. It was found to contain 515 acres and 131 perches, 55 acres and 57 perches more than the warrants called for. In 1751 William Deil and Daniel Mench bought land in the township, the former 50 acres. (4) There is some difference of opinion as to when the McCartys arrived. William J. Buck says Edward McCarty bought 250 acres of Thomas and Richard Penn, April 19, 1738, on a warrant of March 11, 173_, but a subsequent sentence same paragraph, says "a research, in the Bucks county records, states the aforesaid 250 acres were bought of Thomas Penn by Nicholas McCarty, March 5, 1761." This Nicholas was probably the son of Thomas or Patrick McCarty mentioned in the text.* (5) Valentine Nicholas was born in Germany, April 8, 1711, and landed at Philadelphia, October 25, 1738. He settled in Rockhill, was one of the founders of Keller's church, and died October 1, 1807, aged 96 years, 5 months and 5 days. He had the following children: Catharine, married Henry Emich or Amey, December 4, 1759; John married Christina, daughter of Michael Hartzell of Haycock, May 29, 1769; Abraham, born February 17, 1752, died February 21, 1762; Elizabeth, born February 6, 1754, died February 22, 1754; John Henry, born February 20, 1755; George, born December 3, 1758; Daniel, born August 13, 1761; Valentine, born ___, married Anna Maria Young; Christine, born August 4, 175_. [The McLeroys were early settlers of Nockamixon but we do not know the date of their arrival. The will of William McLeroy was admitted to probate October 31, 1765. Among his daughters were Agnes Scott, with whose name is connected a bit of interesting history. She was the great-grandmother of the late Mrs. Carrie Scott Harrison, the first wife of ex-President Harrison, and stands in the same relation to his second wife, as his two wives were sisters. Agnes McLeroy married John Scott. She and her husband lived and died near Easton in Northampton county, Pennsylvania. The romance is only half ended here, for a brother of John Scott was the great-grandfather of the wife of the late President Hayes. John McElroy supposed to be a grandson of William, married a sister of Commodore Richard Dale, and lived and died near Bristol, this county. The modern spelling is McElroy, but the name to the will is signed "McLeroy" in a plain hand. Warren Scott Dungan, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, is a great-grandson of Agnes Scott.*] [The following were among the early settlers of Nockamixon, 1741-1767, whose descendants have added largely to her population, past and present; some of whom may have been mentioned elsewhere in family connections: John George Kohl arrived in Philadelphia September 26, 1732, married Mary Barbara Behlen, lived at Falkner's Swamp, New Hanover township, Montgomery county, 1741, and that year, or the next, removed to Nockamixon, and settled on the Durham road near Bucksville. He died there July 3, 1779, aged 79 years and his wife a month later. His three sons, Joseph, John and George were enrolled in the association and took the oath of allegiance August 27, 1778. The Schick family, Michael, Jacob and John William, arriv ed in the Lydia, Capt. John Randolph, landing October 10, 1747. They sailed from Rotterdam, the ship's passengers coming from the Palatinate. The name was variously spelled: Schick, Schack, Scheck, Scheik, Schuck, and divers other ways. Michael and John were enrolled in the Association, 1775, but we do not know that they served in the field. Michael Schick and wife Margaret had a son Michael, born November 17, 1767, and two daughters Anna and Elizabeth, born January 28, 1770, and Sarah, May 3, 1781. John and his wife Margaret had a son, John Peter, born, 1768, and another Williamson, also John, born March 30, 1770. They were probably all farmers, and we find none of them figuring outside their own occupation, except Michael, a trustee of the church he assisted to found. George Overbeck, originally settled in Springfield and owned a farm there, but removed to Nockamixon prior to 1746, on the Durham road. He was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, 1715, and died August 15, 1798, aged 83 years and six months. He erected a substantial stone dwelling on his Nockamixon purchase. He made application for license; the first rejected, but afterward granted June 1746, and a tavern was kept there several years. This was probably his first. How long he kept it we are not informed, and there are no records that enlighten us. (6) The Sassamans came into the township, 1766, and, on May 12, Henry Sassaman bought 163 acres of George Overbeck, half a mile east of Buckville, the homestead and 102 acres, having been in the family to the present time. Jacob Sassaman took the oath of allegiance before Jacob Sacket, Esq., July 1, 1778. A Henry Sassaman was a taxable in Maxatawny township, Berks county, and it is possible the father or son of the name of Henry was the settler in Nockamixon.*] (6) In his first application for license, 1746, George Overbeck give the following reason, in his petition to the court: That he is "troubled at all hours, and commonly at unreasonable hours of the night, is obliged to break his rest to entertain strangers and travelers, and all the neighbors that live near the road suffer very much for the want of a tavern on that road to lodge travelers, especially in the winter time, by reason of the place being but newly inhabited, fodder being very scarce, etc." The situation is said to be "upon the Durham road, four miles and a half from Durham and six and a half from Tohickon."* [Christian Trauger, ancestor of the Trauger family of this county, was born at Beckinbach, Darmstadt, Germany, March 30, 1726, and died in Nockamixon January 8, 1811. He landed at Philadelphia, October 9, 1747, from the ship Restoration. Rupp spells the name "Traugler." He was active in church, being one of the founders of the Lutheran congregation, Nockamixon. In 1798 Christian Trauger, the elder, and Christian Trauger, weaver, were elders in this church, Christian Trauger, carpenter, deacon, and Frederick Trauger, a trustee. Two persons, named Christian Trauger, were enrolled among the Nockamixon militia, 1775, and in the war of 1812-15, we find Christian Trauger serving in Captain Phineas Kelley's company at Marcus Hook. The Rufe family of this township are descended of Jacob, originally spelled Ruff, who came from Germany, 1739. He had three sons, Christian, John and John Frederick, the latter born November 27, 1766, and died May 16, 1830. Jacob Ruff, the ancestor, died December 25, 1790, aged 72. The family are Lutherans, and between 1783 and 1800 at least five families of the name were connected with the Nockamixon congregation, all leaving descendants.*] Among the old German families of Nockamixon are those of Stover, Kintner, Trauger, Oberbeck, Deemer, Buck, and Frankenfield. The Stovers, originally spelled [Stauffer or*] Stoefver, came to the state at its foundation. Ludwig, or Lewis, settled at or near Germantown in 1684, and his grandson William died at Valley Forge in 1778. John George Stover, from Saxony, a miller by trade, arrived in 1752, and settled in this county. He had three sons, Jacob Ulrick, and Henry. The sons of Jacob were Matthias, Henry, who owned a mill at Erwinna, in Tinicum, and Jacob, who lived at the Narrows, in Nockamixon. John Stover, miller, at Tohickon, in Haycock, was a son of Ulrick, and from Henry are descended the Stovers of Bedminster, namely: Abraham, miller at Tohickon, whose son, John S. Stover,[also*] occupies the old mill property. In 1776 David and Daniel Stover, brothers, immigrated from Saxony and settled in the upper end of the county. David had three sons, among whom was Abraham, father of William S. Stover, cashier of the Frenchtown bank. Daniel likewise had three sons, Henry, Jacob, and Daniel. Of these sons, Henry died without children, Jacob had a large family, and his descendants are living in Philadelphia, Northampton county, and in New Jersey. Daniel had three sons, one of which was the father of John N. Stover, of Nockamixon. (7) David Stover, Daniel, the great-grandfather of John N., of Nockamixon, and his son Daniel, were all teamsters, and hauled goods from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Easton, and other interior towns. Down to the completion of the Delaware Division canal all the goods required for the Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown, Mauch Chunk, and Wilkesbarre markets were transported through this county in what were known as Conestoga wagons. They were generally six-horse teams, fed from a trough fastened on the tongue of the wagon. One of the finest teams driven in the last century was owned by Michael Butz, who resided in New Jersey, above Belvidere, of six large black horses of equal size, and were much admired. Among others who drove fine teams were Zelner Klotz Sumpstone [Sumstone or Zumstone, who landed at Philadelphia November 1, 1763*], Bewighaus, Meyers, Fretz, Joseph and David Stover, and others. Many of these teams traveled the Easton road through Doylestown. Their occupation was gone when the canal was opened, and they have passed into history. [If their adventures and experiences could be recalled they would be read with deep interest and enjoyed by a generation that knows not of them, except on hearsay. The Wolfingers, prominent in the township, trace their descent from Frederick Wolfinger, who came from the Palatinate in the ship Europe, landing at Philadelphia, November 20, 1741, at the age of 20. There are but few families of the original settlers in Nockamixon, among them being the Keysers, Traugers and a few others. The Pursells, who long made their home in this township, fell with the lines of Bridgeton when it was organized, 1890.*] (7) In 1736 David, Daniel and William Stauffer, or Stover, settled in Nockamixon and were no doubt members of the family mentioned above. Daniel born October 10, 1746, married Lydia Driselin, 1774, left a son bearing his name, who was born 1768, married Mary Magdalen Mayer and died June 13, 1841. During the Revolution Daniel hauled cannon balls from Durham furnace to the Continental Army. The brother William who died at Valley Forge the winter of 1777-78 was doubtless a soldier and we believe him to have been identical with the William named above.* (This paragraph is only in the 1876 edition and contains a few repetitions from 1905 inserts.) There are but three families of original settlers in Nockamixon, the Purcels, Keysers, and Traugers. The Purcels are very numerous about Bridgeton, and on the eastern side of the township, while the Traugers are scattered over it, and are found in other parts of the county. The family is numerous and wields a good deal of local influence. There is not a descendant living in the township of many of the first settlers, as the Moyers, Brills, Campbells, and others, all having left years ago or died. John Purcel, the grandfather of Brice N., immigrated from Ireland about 1750 and settled at Bridgeton, and bought of the Penns about 300 acres on the Delaware in the southeast corner of the township. He died about 1810, and was buried in the old graveyard back of the Narrows, leaving four sons, of whom Brice, the father of Brice N., was one. Brice was born about 1776, and died in 1830, at the age of 54. The other sons were Thomas, John, and Dennis, who went west. The old homestead was divided into three farms and occupied by the three sons of Brice. All the Purcels in the county are descended from John, the first Nockamixon ancestor. The family name of Kintner was originally Gintner. George Gintner, (8) the grandfather of Hugh Kintner, came from Wurtemberg, Germany, before the Revolution, [landing at Philadelphia, September 2, 1789, from the ship Albany,*] and settled in Nockamixon. He served throughout the war as a captain of cavalry, and at its close he turned his Continental money into hollow ware at the Durham iron works, which he exchanged for a farm in Monroe county near the Delaware Water Gap. He lived there the remainder of his life, and was drowned in the Delaware while driving the river for fish. He left two sons, Joseph, who died young, and Jacob, the father of Hugh, who lived and died in Bucks county, and who was elected sheriff in 1824 - and a daughter, Mary, who married a Smith and settled in Walpack, Sussex county, New Jersey. Jacob was bound out among strangers when young, and the spelling of the name was changed from Gintner to Kintner. This change defeated his effort to recover the pension due his father for his Revolutionary services. (8) George Gintner may not have been an officer, but his name appears in a list of Pennsylvania soldiers, see Vol. 13, Series II, Pa. Archives.* Nicholas Buck, the founder of Bucksville, was the third son of Nicholas Buck, of Springfield, where he was born March 20, 1767 [1769, was a wheelwright by trade.*] He married Mary [Magdalena*], the daughter of John Eck, of Upper Salford, Montgomery county, 1789, and in the fall of 1792, he purchased of Christian Klinker [Kleinker*] 64 acres on the Durham road, in Nockamixon, the site of Bucksville. Here he erected a dwelling, wheelwright and blacksmith shops, and [later, a substantial stone house. In 1808 he enlarge the house and obtained license, calling it the "White Horse," [a prancing steed of that color, fully caparisoned, being emblazoned on the sign board. At that day the Durham and Easton roads were highways for freight and travel between Philadelphia and the Upper Delaware and Lehigh, and this noted tavern became a stopping-place for loaded teams and the Easton mail stages. The patronage was continued until the opening of the Belvidere-Delaware railroad, 1854. In 1816 Mr. Buck opened a store and 1828 a postoffice was established called Bucksville and himself appointed postmaster. Having a taste for military pursuits, when the British fired on the Chesapeake, 1807, he raised a cavalry company, calling it the "Washington Light Horse," commanding it till his death. His connection with the volunteers made Bucksville a military centre and for many years the uniformed companies of Springfield, Durham, Nockamixon and Tinicum, subsequently organized into a battalion (9), held their annual spring and fall training there. Captain Buck was a useful man in the community, taking a lively interest in all that concerned its welfare. He assisted to build a couple of school houses soon after going into the township; and, in order that his own children might have better facilities for education, engaged Charles Fortman, (10) a learned German, and had a school opened in a room in his house. Here the higher branches were taught, including piano and vocal music, the languages, geography and bookkeeping. The school was kept up for several years.*] He died at Bucksville, August 28, 1829 [1830*], his widow surviving him until [February 4,*] 1858, at the age of 91 [89*], leaving 95 living descendants, some in the fifth generation. [She was a native of Skippack, in Montgomery county, was familiar with a number of Revolutionary events, and frequently saw Washington and his army. She lived at Bucksville in this county 65 years. They had six children, Elizabeth, Nicholas, Sarah, Mary, Jacob E. and Samuel E., who married into the families of Kohl, Malone, Conner, Shaw, etc. Mrs. Malone and Mrs. Conner are living at an advanced age in Philadelphia, both receiving pensions for the services of their husbands in the war of 1812-14. Jacob E. Buck, of Hatborough, is the only surviving son. (11)]. At the death of Nicholas Buck, Sr., his son Nicholas succeeded him in business at Bucksville, [keeping store, 1822, and upon his father's death succeeded to the farm and tavern, became captain of the Washington Light House, postmaster, bought other lands and built houses, filling his father's niche in life for 40 years, when he was gathered to his fathers. Nicholas Buck, the third, was born May 13, 1794, married Susannah, daughter of Michael and Helen Haney, Tinicum, and died September 25, 1871, at the age of 77. His wife died August 13, 1870, aged 76. They were the parents of 10 children, of whom four are living, Alfred, Michael, Sophia and Lucinda. (12) (9) This battalion was composed of the Washington Light Horse, Capt. Nicholas Buck, Bucks County Rifles, Jacob Sassaman, Leopard Rifles, Capt. Hillpot, and Durham's Infantry, Samuel Steckel.* (10) Charles Fortman was of German birth and could speak several languages, including Latin. The first known of him was from an advertisement in the Norristown "Hearld," April 15, 1803, wherein he announces that he would give instruction on the piano at three dollars per month and lessons in Latin, French, English and German, besides other branches. Captain Nicholas Buck induced him to go to Bucksville and open a school. He was probably organist in the Haycock church. His name appears in Captain Buck's store book as late as 1823. When and where he died is not known. He was a pioneer of higher culture in Upper Bucks.* (11) Information within these brackets not in 1905 edition. (12) William J. Buck, son of Jacob E. Buck and grandson of Nicholas Buck, the second, was the most prominent member of the family. He was born at Bucksville, Nockamixon township, March 4, 1825, and died at Jenkintown, Montgomery county, February 13, 1901. He was educated at the country schools and the Doylestown Academy, and subsequently taught school. Showing a natural taste for local history, he pursued it as a profession, devoting a large part of his time to its study and research. He was a prolific writer and the author of several books, his most important work being the "History of Montgomery County," published 1884, handsomely illustrated and set in double column. His "History of Bucks County," published, 1850, was the pioneer work on the subject. He was the author of a large number of historic papers, which contain much valuable information touching the settlement of the county. He was connected with the Pennsylvania Historical Society for several years, arranging the valuable manuscript. He owned a fine farm in Caroline county, Md., where he spent part of his time. Mr. Buck was the founder of the "Buckwampum Historical Society," of the upper end of the county, which has done much to develop the history of that section. He was never married.* The Lutheran congregation of Nockamixon was organized about 1755, and the first church edifice, an humble log building, stood northeast of Rum Corner, [now Ferndale*]. The only names of early trustees which have come down to us, are Michael Schick, and Frederick Eberhart, in 1766. The Nockamixon church is properly the child of Springfield church, or rather grew up within its bounds, out of its membership of which three generations have grown up in adjoining neighborhoods. These two churches have the same pastors, but who the earliest Lutheran pastors were is not known. The Reformed congregation was organized as early as 1773. As the records have been lost, or not regularly kept, it is difficult to arrive at a correct history of the church. The first minister in the log house was the Rev. Casper Wack, who resided in Hilltown, and left in 1782. His successors, as near as we can arrive at, were the Reverends Frederick William Vondersloot, 1787, John Mann, 1792, Mr. Hoffmeyer [Hoffmyer*], 1796, Jacob William Dechant, 1808, Samuel Stahr, 1811, in connection with the congregations of Durham, Springfield, and Tinicum, [and William F. Gerhart, 1844, with Durham and Tinicum. (13)] The present pastor, Rev. W. D. Rothrock, was elected in 1859, and ministers to this congregation and Durham, which make one charge. The Lutheran congregation have worshiped in the same building since the brick church was erected in 1813, which was the joint work of the two congregations. It was consecrated June 12, 1814. The same year the Lutheran congregation purchased one-half the Bible and hymn-book for ten shillings, for which the Reformed gave £1. 6s. in 1792. The German and English languages are used alternately in worship. In May 1875 the old brick church was torn down and a handsome new edifice of the same material, erected during the summer and fall on its site. The last sermon was preached in the old church by Rev. William S. Emery. [The new church was dedicated May 20, 1877, in the presence of several visiting clergymen and a congregation of 2,000. Sermons were preached by the Reverends Dr. Schaffer, Philadelphia; W. T. Gerhart, Lancaster; A. R. Horne, Kutztown, and L. C. Sheip, Doylestown. The church is one of the largest in the upper section of the county and adorned by a tall steeple. The Rev. Charles P. Miller, for 23 years, 1842-1865, pastor of the Lutheran congregations of Durham, Nockamixon, Springfield and Tinicum, died at Bridgeton, January 18, 1886, and was buried at Nockamixon the 25th, the Rev. A. R. Horne preaching the funeral sermon. Mr. Miller owned and lived on a farm on the Durham road a mile and a half above Bucksville, which he bought of John Buck, 1852.*] (13) The information included in these brackets not included in 1905 edition. Instruction in music was probably given earlier in Nockamixon than in any of the surrounding townships. In 1814, through the assistance of Nicholas Buck, Charles Fortman, a graduate of one of the German universities, raised and successfully taught, a class on the piano, one of Buck's sons and several of his nephews being among the pupils. This was, probably, the earliest piano class in the county. The piano used by him was sold at the public sale of Jacob E. Buck, and bought by the late Enos Morris, of Doylestown, in whose family it was several years. Fortman taught vocal music in three languages. His instruction books, all in manuscript, written by himself, were models of penmanship, and several of them are preserved among the descendants of his pupils. Singing-schools were quite common in the upper townships before 1820, manuscript books being principally used. The early Germans were the pioneers in musical culture in this county. In the northwest corner of the township, three miles from Kintnerville, in a piece of timber on the farm of Frank Campbell, is an old graveyard, in which interments have not been made for many years. Most of the graves are marked by rough, unlettered stones, a few only revealing the names of the silent sleepers. The oldest is that of Elizabeth, wife of John Brown, who died October 3, 1757, aged 36 years; Thomas Little, died March 14, 1787, aged 55 years; and Patrick Hines, died November 11, 1813, aged 64 years. Near the road is a walled enclosure, some 8x15 feet, which appears to have been the burial-place of the Long family, probably of Durham. There lie the remains of Thomas Long, esquire, who died February 22, 1810, aged 70 years, and his two children, Thomas and Rachel, who died in 1781 and 1782. There are other graves inside the enclosure, on two of which we made out the initials and figures: S. I. E. 79, and W. I. So far as known these early settlers were of the English-speaking race. Nockamixon has no more attractive locality within her borders than the Narrows, so called because here the Delaware, a stream of considerable magnitude, has forced itself through a rocky barrier. The distance across the river is not more than a thousand feet. On the west side it is hedged in by beetling cliffs of perpendicular red-shale rock, from 1 to 300 feet high, which begin a short distance below Kintnerville and extend down the river about a mile, with barely room for the road and canal at some point s. [Half a mile above Narrowsville, on the river bank, is Prospect Rock, rising 360 feet above the water. From its top we have a fine view of the adjacent parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with the Delaware canal winding along the river bank like a thread of silver in the distance.*] In the past these cliffs have extended up the river as high as Unionville, but time and the elements have crumbled them away until now they have forms of well-rounded river hills, covered with a pretty dense growth of vegetation. No doubt at one time the ledge of rocks at the Narrows extended across the river and dammed up the waters, but the tooth of time, by the many agencies well-known to this old destroyer, gradually ate an opening through the soft red-shale, and let the pent-up waters flow to the sea. These rocky ledges are particularly rich in their Flora. Here are several northern plants, some of which are found nowhere else in the county, and at only one or two other points south of the province of New Brunswick. The Seedum Rhodiola is found at only one other locality in the United States, in Maine. It is an interesting fact, that this plant is not seen growing where cliffs have mouldered away, and are now covered with soil, but it prefers to cling to the native rock. Among other plants of this character found here are the Creeping fern, Canada violet, Rosa Canina, Blue-hair bell, Red-berried elder, Mountain maple, Ginseng, Trillium, the Great Saint John's Wort, Spirea, Tomentosa, or Hard-hack, Dwarf cherry, Blue Lupine, the Round-leaf gooseberry, and Canada water-leaf. [On the eastern side of the township near the river, on the farm of a Mr. Lippincott, is a peculiar geological formation known as "Ringing rocks," (14) occupying a space of about four and a half acres, of irregular shape, branching out, as it were, from a common centre, in four directions. The rocks vary in size from a few pounds to several tons in weight, and when struck give out a peculiar metallic sound, the tone of each differing from the other. They are, doubtless, of igneous origin. The eastern part of the formation is several feet higher than the western. The rocks are piled upon each other to an unknown depth, not a particle of earth being found between them, nor is a tree, bush, or spear of grass to be seen. A moderate-sized dog could easily creep down among them to the depth of 10 or 15 feet. The formation inclines to the west and north, but rocks of the same kind are not to be found in the neighborhood. About 300 yards east from the ringing rocks is a beautiful water-fall, 30 feet high and 50 feet wide. The course of the creek for a short distance about the falls, is north 22 degrees 30 minutes west, but changes at the falls to due north and continues in that direction some distance.] (14) See chapter XXVIII. This paragraph about Ringing Rocks is not found in the 1905 edition, perhaps because it was included in chapter XXVIII. [The first Catholic church in the county was organized and a building erected, in Nockamixon, 1798, on a lot, the gift of Edward McCarty. Service was held in private houses as early as 1743, and continued until the Jesuit Fathers of Goshenhoppen, Berks county, erected a building. Fifteen priests have officiated here, including Father Stommel, afterward at Doylestown. In the settlement of Bucks county the building of churches and opening of schools, was contemporaneous, the Germans keeping pace with the English Friends and other denominations. When Nicholas McCarty died, 1766, to show his appreciation of education, he provided in his will for the schooling of his children until his youngest son was 18 years of age. The first school house in this part of Nockamixon, was near Thomas McCarty's dwelling. Ferdinand Wagnor taught in Haycock, in 1784, and probably over the line in Nockamixon. A school house was added to the old Catholic church of 1798, but town down, 1854.*] If the reader puts faith in tradition he may believe that Nockamixon in early days, had a celebrated Indian doctor, an ex-king from the Susquehanna. (15) He is credited with all the virtues of a "great medicine," and among other things to his reputation, he is said to have cured the bite of a rattlesnake, and to have actually restored his own daughter after she had been seized with hydrophobia, with a decoction of Seneca snake-root. Of course we vouch for none of these wonderful cures. (15) This is said to have been Nutimus, whom Buck says lived at Nockamixon, 1734, near the Delaware Water Gap, 1740, and on the authority of Rev. David Zeisberger, the Moravian missionary, removed with his brother Isaac to Ohio a short time prior to 1750, and died o_ the Muskingum, 1780 - testimony too strong to be easily set aside by tradition at th_ e day.* Three main roads run through Nockamixon from north to south - the River road, which follows the winding of the Delaware, the Durham road, which runs through its western end, nearly parallel with Haycock run, and is intersected at many points by lateral roads, and an intermediate road starting at the River road, near Kintnerville, following the course of Gallows run, and thence via Kintner's down into Tinicum. The earliest local road that we have found on record dated back to 1750, from the river to Durham road, to "begin at the plantation of Richard London's ferry, and ending at the plantation of Theodore Todd, which did belong to John Mitchel." The road from the old Harrow tavern, on the Durham road, by Kintner's and down Gallows run, to the intersection of the road from Purcel's ferry, (16) was laid out in 1793. This was one of the earliest connections across the township from the Durham road to the river. Nockamixon is watered by two branches of Tinicum creek, Gallows run, Falls creek, and other small streams. Haycock creek runs along its western border, but the map shows only one small tributary emptying into it on the Nockamixon side. A ridge of cliffs follows the river along the eastern edge of the township, a large rock opposite the Narrows rising up to the height of 360 feet, from the top of which a magnificent view up and down the river is obtained. "Boatman's hill," in the northeast section of the township about a mile from the river, is an isolated elevation a couple of hundred feet high, without distinctive features. The surface of Nockamixon does not differ materially from Tinicum, except that it is not as hilly. The soil is generally fertile and there are many fine farms in the township. [The villages in the township are Kintnerville on the river, Bucksville on the Durham road, both port villages, Narrowsville, on the high ground overlooking the Delaware, and Nockamixon, formerly known by the classic name of "Rum Corner," where a postoffice was established in recent years. In 18_5 Bridgeton, with some contiguous territory, was created an election district with a population of 994, by the census of 1870, and only 14 less in 1860, showing a small increase. In 1890 the same territory was organized into a township with the name it bore while an election district, an account of which will be found in a subsequent chapter. A postoffice was established at Kintnerville, 1849, and Samuel Boileau appointed postmaster. There is but one island in the river opposite this township, at the northwest corner, which was confirmed to Nockamixon in 1786. (17) Bucksville, a business center for the neighborhood, is 41 miles from Philadelphia and 15 from Doylestown, the county seat, having daily connection with the latter by stage and the former by rail, via the Delaware-Belvidere railroad. Two mile distant is Haycock mountain, on the top of which the government, for may years, kept a signal station during the coast survey operations.*] (16) The Narrows. (17) This is Wyker's Island, called McLaughlin's Island, in 1786, from James McLaughlin. A record of 1816 speaks of it as the "Island at Linn's," the falls near by being known as "Linn's Falls." In 1809 William Erwin made application for an island in the river Delaware called "Logrie's Island," situated in Nockamixon township, Bucks county, partly opposite the mouth of Galle's Run on the Pennsylvania shore, supposed to contain an acre. See Pa. Archives, Series III, Vol. 3, page 497. We have not seen any enumeration of the inhabitants of Nockamixon earlier than 1784, when the population was 629, with 116 dwellings. In the next 25 years it had almost doubled, for at the census of 1810 it contained 1,207 inhabitants; 1820, 1,650; 1830, 2,049, and 407 taxables; 1840, 2,055; 1860, 1,630, Bridgeton district meanwhile having been created [and cut off, the population embraced in its limits being taken from the township.*] In 1870 the population of Nockamixon was 1,528, of which 110 were of foreign birth; [1880, 1,554, and 1890, 1,420. By the census of 1880 the population of Bridgeton was 1,058, and 846 in 1890.*] Nockamixon has become a German township to all intents and purposes, and the descendants of the early English settlers have been pushed out by the advancing Teutonic column or [absorbed by intermarriage with their German neighbor.*] End of Chapter XXXIV or Chapter IV, 1905 edition.