THE HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, CHAPTER XXXVI, SPRINGFIELD, 1743 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 XXXVI or CHAPTER VI (Vol. II), 1905 ed. SPRINGFIELD 1743 An extreme northern township. -Route of first settlers. -Earliest purchase. -William Bryan, Stephen Twining, George Bachman, John Briggs. -Moldavia. -Names of settlers in 1743. -Horne homestead. -Rev. A. R. Horne. -The Buck family.* -Dennis McCarty.* -Township organized. -Apple family.* -John Barclay.* -Ziegenfus.* -Schuggenhaus. -Lottery lands. - Abraham Reazer [Redzer*]. -First grist-mill. -Mills of Funk and Houpt. -Springfield church and pastors. -The Ruths.* -Schools.* -The Frankenfields.* -Mennonite congregations. -Zion Hill church. -Old school-house. -Springfield Friends. -Roads. -Villages. -Springtown et al. -Old tavern at Stony Point. -Quakertown and Easton Railroad.* -Buckwampum. -The Wittes.* -Population. -Bursons.* -Red clover introduced. -Area. SPRINGFIELD, one of our extreme northern townships, and bordering on Northampton and Lehigh counties, is inhabited almost exclusively by Germans. With the exceptions of Durham and Haycock, it was the last of the original townships to be organized. Probably the earliest settlers in Springfield found their way to it up the valley of Durham creek, which rises in the interior of the township. The settlement about Durham furnace was the first permanent inroad on the wilderness of that section of the county, for, as the river afforded open communication with Philadelphia and the country below, it was the most accessible route of immigration. Durham was an English settlement, and the first purchasers of land in Springfield were of the same race. Some English settlers reached this township through the "Swamp" and "Richlands," and when the Germans came into it, a little later, it was by the same route. We behold this interesting fact in the settlement of this township, that the two flanking currents of immigration, one up the Delaware and the other up the Perkiomen, met in the valleys of Springfield, where Teuton and Anglo-Saxon had a peaceful contest of the mastery. The earliest purchase of land that has met our notice, although there were settlers there several years before, was made in 1737, when the tract on which Houpt's mill stands was surveyed to John Hughes, but it was patented to William Bryan in 1758. On May 1, 1738, the Proprietaries conveyed 651 acres on Cook's creek to Casper Wister, of Philadelphia, but never a settler in the township, who sold 500 acres of it to Stephen Twining, of Wrightstown or Buckingham, the 26th of the same month, for the consideration of £187. 10s. This tract was on Durham or Cook's creek, below Springtown. Twining became a resident of the township. October 3, 1739, 270 acres on Cook's creek and embracing the site of Springfield church were granted to Christian Shuck. On May 12, 1741, the Proprietaries confirmed 100 additional acres to Stephen Twining, adjoining the first purchase. The warrant was dated June 8, 1739, and the land was laid out October 15th on a "branch of Cook's run." In 1739 Nicholas Hill purchased 321 acres on a branch of the same creek, near the Durham line. In 1740 George Bachman, an early settler in Richland, and one of the earliest German pioneers in the upper end of the county, purchased 213 acres "at the branches of the Tohickon and Saucon creeks," in the northwest part of the township. The following year John Briggs purchased 472 acres, also on a branch of Cook's creek, near Durham, and probably he and Hill both located in the valley above Bursontown [Bursonville*]. In 1745 Joseph Blair purchased 150 acres adjoining John Briggs. In 1743, by virtue of a warrant dated May 8th, 85 acres, called "Moldavia," were surveyed to John Moffitt, adjoining Stephen Twining's. In 1755 Moffitt conveyed to Jonathan Carr, in 1762 Carr to William Baker, in 1773 Baker to William Trapp, of Northampton county, and in 1786 Trapp conveyed to John Siford, (Seifert.) James Logan was the original holder of a large tract in the township, including the Houpt farms, extending to the Durham line. In 1787 Samuel Blackenridge [Brackenridge*], (sometimes spelled Breckenridge,) patented 129-1/2 acres, partly in Springfield and partly in Lower Saucon, called "Springhill," now known as Colehill. Immigrants came pretty rapidly into the township during the first years of its settlement, for we have the names of over 30, probably all heads of families, who were living there in 1743, German and English, namely: James Green Stephen Twining William Crooks Brien Connilin Hugh Orton Joseph Blair Richard Jonston [Johnston*] Jacob Mason Jacob Abel Samuel Hillborn John Leister Christian Levy Conrad Fahr Peter Lester John McCoy Thomas Folly Thomas Adamson Joseph Bond Joseph Unthank Conrad Flores James Williams Peter Ashton Christian Shock Michael Dort Peter Ademose Thomas Blair Michael Gold Thomas Lloyd Michael Dillard Christian Spug Peter Leatherman Simon Carey John Greasely George Hazeley Daniel Stout Stephen Acorman Henry Hornel Philip Roup Jacob Maure Jacob Huber Michael Gould. Before 1738, Thomas Parwin, of Milford, received a warrant for 100 acres, which he located on "Squooks," now Cook's creek, in the western part of the township. In October of the same year he sold the improvements and all the rights acquired under the warrant, to Joseph Unthank. This tract is now owned by Rev. A. R. Horne, in whose family it has been for over a century. The engraving represents the house as it now appears, and it is probably the oldest dwelling in the township. The one-story part was built by Parwin, or Unthank after he bought it, probably about 1743 and is an interesting relic of the past. It is stone, and the walls very thick and strong. The Ashtons owned several hundred acres to the northwest of Quakertown and Springtown road, but the family have passed away more than a generation ago, and their extensive possessions have fallen into other hands. The Bryan homestead, where the progenitor, William, settled, and the late General John S. Bryan was born, is on the opposite side of the road, half a mile east of Cook's creek crossing, but has long since passed out of the family. Simon Garis bought 25 acres in Springfield in 1751. How early the Hornes came into Springfield we know not, but in 1765 Valentine bought 60 acres. His descendant, Rev. A. R. Horne, son of David L. and Mary N., was born in 1834. He early exhibited great taste for reading and fondness for preaching, frequently gathering his young playmates to listen to his harangues. He attended school in the township, and John Price's boarding-school at Line Lexington. He taught public-schools from 1850 to 1854, including one year in charge of the Bethlehem school, when he entered the Pennsylvania college, at Gettysburg, where he graduated in 1858. The same year he established the Bucks County Normal school at Quakertown, and remained in charge five years. From 1865 to 1872 he was pastor of the Lutheran church at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and four years of the time was superintendent of the city schools. [He was principal of the Keystone Normal school, 1872-77. In 1860 he established the "National Educator," and was the proprietor and editor to his death in 1902. Mr. Horne was a fine scholar and a close student, and among his published works are two editions of the Pennsylvania German Manual, a volume of "Health Notes," and a work on "Early Experiments." When a boy young Horne rode post to deliver the "Doylestown Democrat." *] (See illustration Birth-place of Rev. A. R. Horne) [George Ruth, ancestor of the Springfield family of this name, came from the Palatinate at the age of 26, landing from the ship Marlborough at Philadelphia, September 23, 1741. He was granted a warrant for 113 acres in the township October 4, 1744, and Edward Scull surveyed it June 30, 1747. On April 13, 1752, he transferred this tract to Nicholas Hess, the same now owned by Mrs. Kaufman. He subsequently took up an adjoining tract, and probably spent his life there. He was living on it, 1775. He had three sons, George, Peter and Michael, the two former enrolling in the Springfield Associators, 1775, and Michael was ensign in Captain Bryan's company, 1777, George Ruth, eldest son of George Ruth, Sr., was a farmer and lived in the valley between Bursonville and Springtown, and died there, 1796, the owner of 328 acres. He was a member and trustee of the Reformed congregation of Springfield. George Ruth, Jr., was the father of seven children: John, who married Elizabeth ___, and tradition says, built the Black Horse tavern near Easton, and died there Elizabeth married John Beidleman, and, after his death, married Jacob Frankenfield Catharine married Christian Kessler and lived in Alexander township, Hunterdon county, New Jersey George, who settled in Tinicum. Ruth's church was built on a lot he gave for the purpose and he died, 1864 Andrew, born about 1790, served in Captain Wilson's company at Marcus Hook, 1814, and died November 26, 1875, aged about 85 Jacob, born November 1, 1787, died March 2, 1832 Christine, born August 26, 1795, married Jacob Adams, and died May 4, 1883.*] [Peter Ruth, second son of George Ruth, Sr., purchased 109 acres a mile west of Bursonville, of John Barclay, August 4, 1741, married Mary Fluck, was the father of nine sons and two daughters, and died 1830. Their children were Abraham, Peter, Michael, Henry, John, Jacob, Samuel, Joseph George, Mary Ann and Elizabeth. Of the sons, Abraham lived at Bursonville and died there, 1835; Peter married Mary Shafer and located half a mile west of Bursonville. He was a soldier of the war with England, 1812-15, serving in Captain Samuel Flack's company, of which Andrus Apple was a lieutenant, at Marcus Hook, 1814. When the company was ordered to march he was building a new house, but this did not prevent him going. He shortly obtained a substitute, returned home and finished the dwelling. He died, 1842, leaving the following children: Sarah, born October 30, 1811, died November 3, 1886 George, born September 20, 1837, living Jersey City William, born ___, died 1837 John, born November 14, 1817, died January 31, 1893 Peter, born 1819, living at Locust Valley, Pennsylvania Hannah, born January 19, 1823, married Reuben Smetzer, died December 8, 1837 Catharine, born November 20, 1823, married John Track, died May 29, 1875 Elizabeth, born December 15, 1825, married Amos Bougher, died March 8, 1866 Lucy Ann, born September 30, 1827, married David Stem, died March 12, 1890 Charles, born October 11, 1830, married Matilda Fackenthal, died at Bethlehem, March 10, 1899 Aaron, born September 1, 1837, and died in childhood.*] On June 16, 1743, the inhabitants of Springfield, whose names we have given in a previous page, petitioned the court to permit their settlements to be "comprehended in a new township." While the records do not show any action taken by the court, except the filing of the petition, we know that the prayer of the petitioners was granted, and the township was surveyed and laid out immediately afterward. At this time there were 56 "dwellers" there, probably meaning heads of families, but we have only been able to obtain the names already mentioned. The name "Springfield" was given to it because of the great number of springs that gushed out of its hillsides and formed brooks and creeks that went meandering through its pleasant valleys. When Schlatter visited the township in 1745, he called it "Schuggenhaus," (1) probably a corruption of some Indian local name, or a name given by some of the early German settlers. (1) This name is said to be Pennsylvania German, and applied to Springfield Church and not the township. The church was built on land purchased of Christian Schuck, or Schug, and came to be called "Schug's house," or "Schuggenhaus." Schug came from the Palatinate, landing at Philadelphia from the ship Samuel, August 27, 1739.* By the original survey, the northwest boundary of Springfield did not extend quite up to the line of the two Saucons, but an intervening strip was left between them and the new township. At the September term, the same year, the lines were ordered to be changed so as to run with the Saucons, which made the boundary on that side as it is at present. At the same term the court ordered an alteration to be made in the southern boundary, on the petition of 17 inhabitants who had fallen without the township at the first survey, and now asked to be taken in. The original southern boundary, which ran north 66 degrees east, from the northeast corner of Richland to the southwest corner of Durham, was now changed to south 24 west, till it met the Haycock creek, and thence by northeast and northwest courses to the corner of Durham, making the lines the same as now. This change was made to save the petitioners from having so far to go to mend roads and attend to other township business. But for it they would have been left in the unorganized territory that afterward became Haycock. At this time the territory of Haycock was probably included in Bedminster for certain municipal purposes. The petition for this latter change was drawn by Joseph Dennis, (2) whose place of birth is vouched by the expression "he makes bould to acquaint the bench." Afterward Dennis got back into Haycock, as we find his name to the petition for laying off that township and he is claimed as an original settler there. (2) The same Joseph Dennis had a good deal to do with township making in the early day. On June 13, 1754, he presented a petition to the Court of Quarter Sessions setting forth the following: "The petition of Joseph Dennis in behalf of himself and his neighbors, humbly sheweth that there is a pretty large tract of land lying between the townships of Richland, Springfield, Nockamixon, Bedminster and Rockhill not yet laid out for a township. Therefore your petitioner prays you will please to order that aforementioned land be laid into a township by the name of 'Mansfield,' and your petitioner will ever pray." Signed Joseph Dennis.* About 4,000 acres in Springfield, a tract over three miles long and two wide, were included in the 100,000 acres that John and Thomas Penn intended to dispose of by lottery-tickets in 1735. The scheme embraced 7,750 tickets, of which 1,293 were to be prizes, and the balance blanks - the prizes numbering from 25 acres to 3,000 acres. As the drawing never took place, the tickets, which were sold at 40 shillings each, secured title to land, and the holders were allowed to locate on them. The tract in question lay bordering on the manor of Richland. Probably all the settlers here were Germans, but among the land-owners were George McCall, Anthony Butler, and Casper Wister, speculators, who soon sold out to actual settlers. The lottery tract was almost exclusively settled upon by Germans, and the land has passed down from father to son, and it is doubtful whether there is an English settler upon it at this time. It is probable many of the patentees were not the original holders of the lottery-tickets, but bought of the owners. This land is among the very best in the township. Among the settlers was a widow, named Barbara Rohr, whose son married a daughter of Leonard Buck. A map of these lands was found among the Penn Papers lately purchased by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and we are indebted to Mr. William J. Buck for a copy. The accompanying engraving shows each tract, with the name of the owner. (See Map of Lottery Land adjoining the Manor of Richland, 1735) Of the early settlers in Springfield we have knowledge of several and whence they came. The ancestor of the Hess family was Nicholas Hess, born in Zweibrucken, Germany, in 1723, came to America when a young man, married Catharine Funk, who was an American, settled in [Slifer's valley, Springfield, on the farm lately owned by Mrs. Kaughman,*] two miles south of Springtown, and died in 1795. They had three sons, named Conrad, Philip, and John George, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Catharine. All their five children married and had children. Conrad settled at Springtown, Philip lived near Springtown, and John George settled at the Saucon creek, in Northampton county, about one mile from its mouth. From these descended the Hess family, quite numerous in the upper end of Bucks and in Northampton county. There are now [25 years ago*] living of the three sons of Nicholas, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. Nicholas Buck, the ancestor of the family of [Springfield and Nockamixon,*], immigrated from near Thionville, in Lorraine, [landed at Philadelphia September 3, 1752.*] He is said to have descended from a noble family of Franconia, which dates back to the time of the Crusades. A branch of it afterward settled in Alsace and Lorraine, where they held seigniories or lordships, which remained in the family until the confiscations following the French revolution. The name is German. He is supposed to have come to America from a love of adventure. He resided in Berks county two or three years, and removed to Springfield about 1758, where he first purchased 182 acres on the Bethlehem road, a little south of the Springfield church, and in 1769 he applied for a tract adjoining, in the lottery lands, containing 171 acres and 111 perches, which was conveyed to him by patent in 1773. On these tracts he made the first improvements, and spent most of his life as a farmer, and died in 1787. His first wife was a Kohl and his second a Hartman, both married in this county. His children by the former were, Leonard and Joseph, and by the latter, Nicholas, Jacob, John, Barbara, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, and Madaline, who married into the families of Clemmer, Kemp, Kohl, McCarty, and others. Mr. Buck was a man of education, and could speak four languages. He espoused the cause of his adopted country, and took the oath of allegiance in the Revolutionary struggle. He left numerous descendants, which are scattered over half the states of the Union. (The following is additional and updated information from the 1905 edition regarding Nicholas Buck) [He married Mary Abigail, daughter of George and Barbara Kohl, Nockamixon, April 21, 1761. Upon her death, 1765, he married Elizabeth Hartman, Haycock, May 12, 1766, and by the two wives had a family of 10 children, five sons and five daughters. March 18, 1762, he purchased 46, and then 171 acres joining from the Proprietaries, December 2, 1773. This was in Springfield on the edge of Haycock. The location was a fine one, the dwelling occupying the highest point with a view of the Blue Mountains in the distance. Time and labor converted the wilderness tract into a productive farm with good buildings. At the outbreak of the Revolution, Buck enrolled himself in the Springfield Associators, Colonel John Keller's battalion. His oath of allegiance, taken before William McHenry, Esq., Bedminster, bears date June 10, 1778. Nicholas Buck died November 1786. His will is dated February 12, 1785, and admitted to probate shortly after he died. He was possessed of 218 acres. He was a well educated man, and with a knowledge of German, French and English, was often called upon to act as translator and interpreter of his neighbors, largely Germans. The homestead was called "Buckhill." Of Nicholas Buck's children: Leonard, born September 1763, married Elizabeth, daughter of Mathias Kramer, and died 1809 Joseph, born November 6, 1764, married and removed to Lehigh county, 1800 Nicholas, born 1767, settled in Nockamixon Jacob, born May 1, 1771, married Susanna Haring, Haycock John, born February 17, 1775, married Salome, daughter of Nicholas McCarty, Nockamixon, 1795 Catharine, born 1772, married Christian Clemmer, Springfield Barbara, born 1777, married John Kemp, Berks county Elizabeth, born 1781, married Jacob Kohl Magdalena, born 1783, married Thomas McCarty Mary Ann, born 1785, married Nicholas Kohl. They left many descendants. The Buck family is an old one in Germany, France, Belgium and Holland, and is traced back to 1100. The coat of arms is a white springing buck on a vermillion shield, surmounted with a crest of the same animal.*] John Mann, the grandfather of Colonel Joseph Mann, of Haycock, was an early settler in Springfield. He was born in the Palatinate, June 24, 1730, and settled, when a young man, near Pleasant Hill, where he died April 4, 1815, and was buried at Springfield church, of which himself and wife were members. She died April 28, 1813. [The Barclays were in Springfield early, but what time the family settled there is not known. On August 15, 1789, John Barclay was appointed president judge of the county courts to succeed Henry Wynkoop, who had been elected a member of the first congress under the Federal Constitution. He was commissioned February 27, 1790, and held the office until the courts were reorganized under the State Constitution of 1790. He was afterward second Associate Judge under Judge James Biddle, commissioned August 17, 1791.*] Jacob and Elizabeth Ritter came to America when young, and bound themselves as servants to pay for their passage. He served three years and she four, and when free they married and settled in Springfield, where they spent their lives. We know of but one son, Jacob, born in 1757. He enlisted as a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and was taken prisoner at Brandywine. In 1778 he married Dorothy Smith, and moved to Philadelphia. At her death, in 1794, he came with his children to Springfield, and in 1802 he married Ann Williams, of Buckingham. In 1812 he removed to Plymouth township, Montgomery county, where he resided to his death in 1841. He was a minister among Friends for 50 years. The Apple family, early settlers, were long an influential one in the township. It is descended from John Apple, who was born in Deutschland, (Germany), May 18, 1726, came to America when a young man, and purchased 250 acres in Lower Saucon, near what is now Apple's church. He afterward bought two large tracts in Springfield, one in Pleasant valley, and the other partly in Haycock, and died September 1, 1805, in his 80th year. He had one son, Paul, born September 13, 1759, who died November 25, 1827, in his 69th year. At his father's death he came into possession of the Pleasant valley farm, on which he built a mill, and where he lived and died. He was elected to the Legislature in 1800, and served four years. Paul Apple had six children: 1. Marie, born May 14, 1781, died July 29, 1854. 2. Jacob, born May 8, 1784, died August 17, 1832, was a miller, and lived and died in Pleasant valley. 3. John, born August 10, 1786, and died March 26, 1869. He was a member of the Legislature during the financial panic of 1837, and when an attempt was made to influence his vote in favor of the issue of "Relief notes," he replied there was not money enough in Harrisburg to buy him. He also lived and died at the ancestral homestead in Pleasant valley. 4. Elizabeth was born in 1894, married Samuel Ott, and is living [died*] in Hilltown. 5. Hannah, the youngest daughter, married a Mr. Goundie, and is living at Allentown. 6. Andrew, late associate judge of this county, was the youngest son of Paul Apple. He held several places of public trust, which he discharged with fidelity. In 1814 he served a tour of duty at Marcus Hook as lieutenant in command of a company of militia, and after the war commanded a volunteer company for several years. He was in succession elected to the offices of county commissioner, treasurer, director of the poor, and twice associate-judge. He lived several years in retirement at the old homestead in Pleasant valley, but toward the close of his life he went to live with his son-in-law at Leithsville, in Northampton county, where he died November 20, 1875, at the age of 84. The youngest son of Judge Apple, Benjamin Franklin, [served several Lutheran congregations in Northampton county, and was subsequently pastor of a church at Stroudsburg.*] Stephen Twining, grandson of the Stephen Twining who purchased 500 acres near Springtown in 1738 of Casper Wister, and at whose house in Springfield he was brought up, after tending the mill of John Thompson of the Neshaminy, and Joseph Wilkinson's at Coryell's ferry, removed to Brodhead's creek, seven miles above Stroudsburg, prior to the Revolution. In June 1779 himself and family were captured by the Indians and carried to Canada. After an absence of over two years he was set free, and returned to his father's house in Upper Makefield. In Canada he was sold to the highest bidder, and fell into the hands of a veteran officer, who had been an aid to General Wolf, with whom he lived over a year, and took charge of his mill. What happened to his family captured at the same time, we are not told, but his wife did not recover from her hard treatment. One little boy, who made a good deal of noise at the capture, was killed and scalped near the house. Stephen Twining died at the Great Bend of the Susquehanna April 15, 1826, in his 85th year. Abraham Reazer was an early settler in the township. On May 1, 1775, Joseph Unthank conveyed to him part of a tract of 132 acres that he had patented February 14, 1743. Reazer probably went there to stay, for we find that in 1760 the Proprietaries patented to him 150 acres additional in Springfield. In June 1755, 33 acres were surveyed to John Fry, on both sides of "Kimble's meadow run," having on his four sides Charles and James Dennis, Stephen Acraman, and Tieter [Pieter*] Fry. [Simon Frankenfelt, now Frankenfield, ancestor of the family of this name in Bucks, a native of the valley of the Rhine, landed in Philadelphia October 25, 1748, and settled in Springfield. Just what time he came into the township is not known, but we first meet with his name in 1760 when it appears attached to a petition for a road. He was the father of eight children: Philip Henry Adam Anna Dorothy married Conrad Hess Maria Dorothy married David Gary Mary married Andrew Overbeck Leonard. His son Henry took the oath of allegiance June 8, 1778. The Frankenfields are numerous in Upper and Middle Bucks, and of local prominence, some having held county offices.*] The first grist-mill in Springfield was built by Stephen Twining in 1738 [1730*], on the 500 acre tract bought of Casper Wister, on the site of H. S. Funk's Excelsior mills at Springtown. In 1763 Twining sold the 500 acres and the mill to Abraham Funk, the ancestor of the present owner, since which time it has passed from father to son, the present owner inheriting it in 1845, when but 11 months old. A new mill was built in 1782, and in 1869 one of the most complete mills in the state was erected on its site at a cost $20,000. This was burnt down soon after it was finished, but was immediately rebuilt, with saw-mill and handle-works, which had been added in 1863. About the middle of the [18th*] century the Ziegenfuss (3) family built a grist-mill on the south side of Cook's creek, near the Durham line. Not answering the purpose, in a few years they built a stone mill a few rods below, which fell into the possession of the Houpt family, and was enlarged. About the time the second mill was built another Ziegenfuss built a mill on the north side of the creek nearly opposite, but a dispute about the use of the water being decided in favor of the mill on the south side, the other fell into disuse. About the close of the century the Houpts built a stone saw and grist-mill, a few rods west of the second mill, which remains in the family. The foundations of the first and third mills can be traced, while the second, enlarged by the Houpts, is standing, unused for years. All these mills were built on the tract surveyed to John Hughes in 1737, and thence from William Bryan to Ziefenfuss, and to Houpt.(4) Besides these mills, Richard Davis had a mill in Springfield in 1747, Felty Clymer in 1749, and Beidleman's mill in 1759, whose locations we do not know. (3) Andrew Ziegenfuss, an early settler in Springfield, was born in the Palatinate 1723, and came to America with his father, John Jacob Ziegenfuss, in the ship Thistle, landing at Philadelphia October 28, 1738, was naturalized, 1767, and was enrolled in the Springfield Associators, 1775. His brother located in Nockamixon and was the ancestor of the family of that township. The members of the family are noted for their fine physique and great strength. (4) John Henry Sebastian Houpt was born in the Palatinate, Germany, and came to America in the ship Glasgow, probably landing at Philadelphia September 9, 1738. [The public school system went into operation in Springfield, 1861, the first examination for teachers, seventeen, being held at Fairmount. There are eleven schools in the township: East Springfield, lot the gift of Henry Funk and wife, 1807; Salem in the Rocks, gift of Joseph Sleifer, 1847; Amity, lot bought of Levi Kulp, 1851, price $5.95. This is the oldest school house standing and an addition to the lot was given, 1864. In it the Rev. B. F. Apple, Stroudsburg, first taught school, and flogged the boys for using his high hat for a spittoon; West Springtown, 1853, lot purchased of Jacob Pearson for $25; the Keystone, 1857, lot the gift of David Landes; Rice School, 1858, deed from Thomas Rice, Jacob Sterner and Samuel Algard, consideration $2.00; Fairmount, 1860; Pleasant Valley, 1862; Zion Hill, 1865, lot cost $145; the Franklin, 1763, deed from Jacob Barror, $50, the first building on this lot was an eight square; Stony Point, 1873; West Springfield, 1881, lot from David S. Gehman, price $100; and the Washington school, 1892, for which the lot was given. (5) The remains of an old log school house are still to be seen near the Northampton line. It had two rooms, one for school and the teacher lived in the other. There is no record when it was built or the name of the teacher, but undoubtedly was erected at a very early day.*] (5) From a paper on "Springfield Schools," read before the Buckwampum Historical Society June 15, 1895, by Miss Myra Prodt. The Springfield church, known as Trinity, Reformed and Lutheran, is one of the oldest in the northern tier of townships. There is no record of the organization of the congregation, but it was prior to 1745.(6) The first house was built of logs, paved with brick or tiles, and answered for both church and schoolhouse, in which the two congregations worshiped several years. On March 12, 1763, Christian Schuck and wife conveyed one acre and 56 perches to trustees, for the use of the two congregations, and the same year a stone church was erected upon it. This was rebuilt in 1816, and a handsome new building erected in 1872. The cornerstone was laid May 20th, and the church was dedicated June 1st the following year. It is possible this was not a union church when first organized, as there is no record of Lutheran pastors before 1763, while the Reformed pastors go back nearly 20 years earlier. (6) The present pastors, with the date their pastorates began, are: Rev. O. H. Melchor, Lutheran, 1879, and Rev. A. R. Horne, Reformed, 1892. In 1747 Rev. J. C. Wirtz was the Reformed pastor, who preached there and for several neighboring congregations. Schlatter, who visited the church that year, mentions in his journal that he thought the congregations of Saccony, (Saucon,) Forks of Delaware, Springfield, and Lehigh would be able to contribute 33 pounds for the support of a minister. Wirtz removed to Rockaway, New Jersey, in 1751, and accepted a call to York, Pennsylvania, in 1761, where he died in 1763. He was succeeded by one Lohrspach, an adventurer, who soon tired of his work, and enlisted in the army for the French and Indian war. In 1756 the pastor was probably the Rev. John Egidius Hecker, the ancestor of the family of that name in Northampton and Lehigh. He was a native of Nassau-Dillenburg, where his father was equerry to the reigning Grand Duke. He preached at Springfield, and for the neighboring congregations, and died during the Revolutionary war. He was a man of remarkable wit and humor. Rev. J. Daniel Gross, D.D., author of a work on moral philosophy, was pastor from 1770 to 1772, and the founder of the church at Allentown. He removed to New York, where he was pastor of the Reformed church, and was also professor in Columbia college until his death in 1812. From 1794 to 1806 Rev. John Henry Hoffmeyer, and from 1811 to 1843 Rev. Samuel Stahr, a native of Springfield, to his death. The present pastor is Rev. Henry Hess. The Lutheran pastors from 1763 have been Revs.: John Michael Enderlein Augustus Herman Schmidt ___ Samuel Peter Ahl from 1789 to 1797 John Conrad Yeager, 1797 to 1801 ___ Kramer to 1803 John Nicholas Mensch to 1823 Henry S. Miller to 1838 C. F. Welden to 1842 C. P. Miller to 1865 Rev. W. S. Emery to [1880 O. H. Melchor since 1880, Springtown and Durham for same period, and Nockamixon until 1896. Since then, S. S. Diehl, who also officiates at Upper Tinicum.*] J. J. Eyermann was officiating there in 1771, but we do not know for which congregation. The present church building is a handsome structure, well finished, with a good pipe-organ, and tall steeple. The earliest entry in the church book is 1755, to note the death of a young Houpt. The regular records open August 24, 1760, on which day William Bauer and his wife brought their son John William to be baptized. In 1761-2 we find in the records the names, among others, of Deiter, Gross, Berger, Schmell, Kohl, Oberbeck, Zeigler, Haman, Koch, Alshouse, Diel, Reis, Mann, Mensch, Yost, Bachman, Butz, and Ziegenfuss. The church stands in an ample graveyard filled with several generations of those who have worshiped there. The oldest stone bears the name of: John Henry Altenheis, who died in 1764. John Beidleman,(7) born March 19, 1749, died December 9, 1770, probably a son of Elias Beitleman, born September 27, 1707, died October 25, 1781, and his wife Anna Maria, who died in 1790, at the age of 80. Catharine Heitleman, born May 4, 1751, died September 30, 1771, at the interesting age of 20, Maria Sarah Oberbeck, born January 8, 1720, in Switzerland, died May 16, 1777, and her husband, Philip Jacob, born November 25, 1725, in Darmstadt, died December 18, 1781. They were probably among the oldest settlers, and Isaac Weirback, born April 1730, died March 1805, etc. The earliest stones are without inscription, and tell no story of the first settlers. [The weather vane of the Springfield church has a history. On building the church, 1763, a wrought iron weather cock was placed on it, and remained until 1816, when it was taken down. Joseph Afflerbach, who furnished the iron, now claimed the cock and put it on one of this out buildings. In 1838 he took it off and presented it to William J. Buck, his grandson. The latter transferred it to one his farm buildings at Federalsburg, Maryland, and in 1894, at the request of both congregations, Mr. Buck restored it to the church handsomely painted. This took place December 4th, and was made the occasion of memorial exercises in the presence of a large audience, Mr. Buck making the presentation address, to which there was a response. The vane was placed on the east end of the building where it was put 31 years before.*] (7) The Beidlemans, Elias, Dietrich and Valentine, came from the Palatinate in the ship Thistle, landing at Philadelphia, August 29, 1730. Elias was naturalized 1747, and Isaac Wireback, originally Weyerbacker, landed in Philadelphia from Edinburgh, September 16, 1751, and served in the militia of Springfield, 1775. The brothers, John and John Nicholas, who came at the same time, settled elsewhere. Among the first ministers of the Mennonite congregation in Springfield, we find the names of Moyer, Sleiffer, Geahman, and Funk. Some, or all of them, came from Switzerland and settled in this township. The earliest services were held in private houses, and probably had connection with the congregation in Saucon, where some of the first members lived. The first meeting-house was built in 1780, and rebuilt in 1824. Since 1847 the congregation is divided into two, belonging to the Old and New denominations, though worshiping in the same house.(8) The former has from 25 to 30 [50*]members, and the latter about 100. The pastor in rotation from the formation of the church down to [1876*] have been: Peter Moyer Jacob Geahman [Gehman*] Jacob Moyer Abraham Geisinger John Geisinger Samuel Moyer Jacob S. Moyer. The meeting-house is situated in a delightful grove to the right of the road from Springtown to Quakertown. (8) They may have united in recent years. There is a second union church, at Zion Hill, in the western end of the township near the Milford line, erected by the two congregations in 1840. The first Lutheran minister was Rev. William B. Kemmerer, followed by the Revs. A. R. Horne, L. Groh, R. B. Kistler, and J. Hillpot, who was called in 1872. The first Reformed pastor was Rev. J. Stahr, followed by the Revs. Messrs. Gross, Bassler, and J. F. Mohr, who was installed January 1, 1872. In 1743 the Richland meeting authorized the Friends settled in Springfield to hold meetings for worship at the houses of Joseph Unthank and John Dennis, month about. Whether a meeting-house was ever built we know not, but the meeting was discontinued in 1759, and we believe was never resumed. A school-house formerly stood in a piece of timber where the Quakertown road is intersected by a private road opposite the Bryan homestead, known as the Airy Grove school-house, and torn down about 1855. In it the Rev. A. R. Horne received part of his education, and commenced the profession of an instructor of youth. We know little of the roads in Springfield. Both the Old and New Bethlehem roads pass through it, the former cutting it in about the middle, and the latter in its western part. A road was laid out from Thomas Morris's through Springfield about 1733, but was not opened until 1742, and was confirmed on petition of the inhabitants in 1745, but we do not know the location of it. A road was laid out from Houpt's mill to the line of Durham in 1788, and from the same point to the Northampton county line in 1803. In 1795 a road was opened from Strawn's tavern, in Springfield, to Fretz's grist-mill, in the same township. On June 13, 1757, George Taylor, then employed at the Durham iron-works, and afterward a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was one of the jurors to view and lay out a road through Springfield, but we do not know its location. Although Springtown is the only place in the township that deserves the name of village, there are other localities with village names which get their importance from [being the seat of a store, post office or tavern, one or all of them*] - Bursonville, Stony Point, Zion Hill, and Pleasant Valley. Springtown, a pleasant and thriving little village, lying along the main road that leads up the valley of Durham creek in the northeast part of the township, [with a newspaper,*] two churches, a tavern, store, flour and other mills, and about 25 [40*] dwellings. [Its site was included in the grant of 500 acres to Stephen Twining, 1738 for £187, of which he sold 300 acres to Abraham Funk, Springfield, 1763, who built the first mill erected there.*] Its churches are known as Salem, and Christ, churches, the former, belonging to the "Evangelical Association," was built in 1842, and rebuilt in 1868 [1872*]. Christ church was built in 1872, and belongs to Reformed and Lutheran. [At the present time (1905) the Presbyterians have no organized congregation, and there is what is known as the United Mennonite congregation, Old and New school. These denominations have occasional preaching in other churches. The Rev. J. H. Mertz officiates for the Reformed, and Rev. O. H. Melchor, Lutheran, the latter since 1882. There are Sunday schools connected with both churches. A post office was established here in 1806, and David Conrad appointed postmaster. The creek supplies fine water power, and it formerly abounded in trout. The water and location being both favorable to fish culture, there are several trout ponds about Springtown (9) where this excellent fish is propagated in considerable quantities, both for sale and private use. A line of daily stages runs between Riegelsville and Springtown. [The Quakertown & Easton railroad was opened to Springtown August 1, 1896, a distance of ten miles. Here it strikes the Durham creek down which it runs to Riegelsville, the latter section being completed in the fall of 1900. The road runs through a beautiful and highly cultivated country, and opens up a district heretofore deprived of railroad facilities. It brings Durham 22 miles nearer Philadelphia. On completion Durham furnace was blown in after lying idle several years.*] The surrounding country is beautiful and diversified. We are told that the first house in the township was built where Frederick Warner lives, on the hills opposite the Springtown, and the present building is the second on the site. (9) It is thought the "Indian Walk," of 1737, lay through Springtown. At that time, according to Gordon's Gazetteer, the village contained six or eight dwellings, a tavern and a store. The author has some pleasant recollections of Springtown back about the close of the 30's, when a boy. He occasionally accompanied his father there, on political tours, who accepted the hospitalities of Dr. Bodder, whose wife had a beautiful flower garden, not so common then as now, which charmed the country lad. Bursonville, on the road from Stony Point to Springtown, in the southeast corner of the township, was named after Isaac Burson, an English Friend who came up from Abington, and was an early settler at that point. He built the first tavern. It was for the Friends settled about Bursonville that a meeting for worship was allowed by Richland monthly meeting in 1743. The last of the name is said to have left the locality 25 years ago. A postoffice was established here in 1823, and Joseph Afflerbach appointed postmaster. A daughter of the Burson family married Charles Stroud, of Stroudsburg. A tavern was kept at Stoney Point as early as 1758, and known as the "Three Tons," and in 1784 Samuel Breckenridge (10) was the landlord. It was owned in 1830 by Jacob Keichline, of Pipersville, who sold it to Jacob E. Buck, of Nockamixon, at which time a post, with three kegs fastened upon it with an iron rod, stood on the west side of the road, opposite the tavern-house. He opened a store there the following year, and continued it until 1836. In 1833 Mr. Buck had a new tavern sign painted with "Stony Point" upon it, the name it has borne from that day to this. At the "Walking Purchase," in 1737, the walkers left the Durham road at this place, on the top of Gallows hill, and followed the Indian path through the woods, on the line of the present road leading to Bursonville, Springtown, and Bethlehem. Pleasant Valley, in the centre of the township, on what is known as the Old Durham road, consists of a tavern, store, postoffice, established in 1828 with Lewis Ott, postmaster, and a few dwellings. A postoffice was established at Zion Hill, in the extreme west end of the township, in 1871, and Reuben Eckert appointed postmaster. [The tavern at Pleasant Valley, now a private dwelling, was probably built between 1763 and 1770. It passed into the hands of Henry Eckel during the Revolution, of whom it was said, he cut down his sign post and poured the liquors into the gutter because of his temperance principles. He established a tannery and made saddlery and harness for the army while the war lasted. It was at this house General Lafayette is said to have stopped over night, on his way to Bethlehem, after being wounded at the battle of Brandywine, and we think there is no doubt about it. The next morning he proceeded to his destination and was nursed back to health by the Moravian Sisters.*] (10) In 1789 Samuel Baskenridge, or Breckinridge, of Springfield, petitioned the court for license, one of his strongest points being that he "had married the widow of Jacob Booker, who, in his lifetime, kept a noted tavern in said township." The widow, doubtless, "understood the ropes." [Among the comers into Springfield during the century just closed, were the Wittes. Christopher Henry Witte, and wife, Elizabeth Wagner, arrived in America December 11, 1811, and settled in New Jersey near the Delaware Water Gap. In 1826 he removed with his family to Springfield township, and being an enterprising man, opened stores at Springtown, Stony Point and Durham, trading with New York, hauling produce and goods to and from that city. He was twice married, but we do not know the name of the second wife. By the first wife he had two children, a son William H. Witte, born October 4, 1817, and a daughter, still living. At what time the father died we do not know. In 1833, at the age of 16, the son was given charge of the business and conducted it successfully until 1838, at the age of 21, when he opened a store at Hellertown. Two years later he went to Philadelphia and began business in Third street, making that city his future home. About this time he married Mary Ann Houpt, Springfield, and died in Philadelphia November 26, 1878, at the age of 58. William H. Witte became a prominent man in politics, being a fluent public speaker and having a commanding presence. He was a man of great natural ability, and what he lacked in classical culture made up by close reading and study and persuasive eloquence. He was elected to the Congress of the United Stated, about 1850, and served one term. He aspired to the Governor's chair of Pennsylvania and was a candidate for nomination. Mr. Witte is survived by one son, William F., born in Philadelphia, 1844, and lives on the Houpt homestead, Springfield. He was educated at the Polytechnic College, Philadelphia, and was subsequently a professor there, and several years in the American merchant service, leaving it with the grade of chief engineer.*] Springfield is one of the most fertile and beautiful township in the upper end of the county. It is exceedingly well-watered by the affluents of the Tohickon, Haycock and Durham creeks, which meander through nearly all parts of it. It abounds in numerous fine springs, and some if its valleys are not excelled by any in the county. The surface is often hilly, but many of the slopes are as fertile and well-cultivated as the more level lands at their feet. A spur of the South mountain enters the northeast corner, and extends some way along the Northampton border. Flint hill, a rocky eminence about midway of its northern boundary, lies partly in the two Saucons and partly in Springfield, with a broken spur straggling off into the western part of the township. A considerable hill in the southeastern part, with a swamp on the top, and without a name, is said to have been called "Buckwampum," (11) a swamp on a hill, by the Indians. A number of fine springs take their rise around its base. Near Stony Point is a piece of ground, from 20 to 40 feet above the adjacent meadows, thought to have been the site of an Indian settlement, as a great number of arrowheads and Indian implements are found there. Rocky Valley, in the western part of the township, on a crossroad from the Hellertown, to the Bethlehem road, is a formation very similar to the Ringing rocks in Nockamixon. (12) In its day Springfield had probably the largest barn in the county, built by Jacob Fulmer, on the farm now owned by Enos Beihn, about 1800 or 1810, 100 feet long, with two threshing floors. The Germans are celebrated for their large barns, and at the present day there may be some that excel it, but when built, it stood at the head of large barns in the county. (11) This name has been applied to the hill from the earliest settlement. The "Buckwampum Historical and Literary Society" held its first meeting on the summit of the hill, 1887, and takes its name from it. (12) This tract was patented about 1735. The first owner, Robert Ware, then Dennis Pursell, Melchior Landsyl, Joseph Fulmer, 1793, and Jacob Sleifer to Enos Beihn. It lay between Bursonville and Stony Point. Springfield is not only one of the largest, but one of the most populous, townships in the county. In 1784 it contained 979 inhabitants, and 160 dwellings; in 1810, 1,287 1820, 1,580 1830, 2,078, and 429 taxables 1840, 2,072 1850, 2,259 1860, 2,700 1870, 2,551, of which 45 were foreign-born [1880, 2,525 1890, 2,351.*] The census of 1870 is evidently wrong, for there had been a steady increase in her population since the first census, 1784, and there is no reason for a decrease in that decade. The area is 17,030 acres. [The Bursons, from which Bursonville took its name, were Friends, originally settled at Abington, but removed to Springfield, 1760. There was a "Bursontown" postoffice, 1804, and Archibald Davidson was postmaster. The Bursons were enterprising and owned considerable real estate. The family left the county about 1850. Isaac Burson, of Springfield, was of the same family, and he is said to have founded the village.*] Isaac Burson, of Springfield, introduced the cultivation of red clover into the upper end of the county, three-quarters of a century ago, and for which he is entitled to the thanks of every farmer. He sent his son John, then a boy, down to John Stapler, in Lower Makefield, of whom he bought a bushel, at $40. This he sowed on 10 acres of wheat, and, from the second crop, got nine bushels of seed, which he sold at $40/bushel, mostly in small quantities, and among others, Michael Fackenthall, of Durham, bought a bushel. After Mr. Burson's field was in bloom it attracted great attention, and people came for miles to look at it, some days the fence around the field being lined with spectators. The end of Chapter XXXVI, or VI*.