THE HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, CHAPTER LIII, OLD TAVERNS. 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. Transcriptionist's note: Because an additional chapter (on Bridgeton) was added to the 1905 edition, the chapter numbers for the 1905 edition will be one number ahead of 1876 addition. _____________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER LIII, 1876 Edition or CHAPTER XXIV, 1905 Edition OLD TAVERNS. First license on the Delaware. -Claimed early attention. -How license was procured. -Liquors good for sick or well. -First landlord. -New England rum. -Crown inn. -Thomas Brock. -Samuel Beakes keeps a disorderly house. -John Ward fined. -Taverns in 1730. -The Anchor. -Cross keys. -Friends discouraged use or rum. -William Biles sells rum to Indians. -Rum at vendues. -Licenses in 1744. -Harrow tavern. -Craig's tavern.* -Red Lion.* -John Baldwin.* -Brick hotel, Newtown. * -William Doyle's tavern.* -Keichline's tavern.* -The Black Horse tavern.* -John W. Tully.* -Distinguished visitors. -Joseph Bonaparte. -Mrs. Keichline. -Public houses at Bristol. -The Plough. -The Buck and the Bear. -Tavern at Centreville. -Sellers' tavern. -Beans' tavern. -The White Horse.* Spiritous liquors were sold along the Delaware as soon as the white man showed his face upon its banks, for strong drink invariably waits upon him in the wilderness. The earliest record on the subject goes back to 1671, when Captain John Carre, the English governor of the west bank of the river, licensed persons both to sell and distill spirituous liquors. One of the first subjects that claimed the attention of the county authorities was that of license, places to sell liquor being considered a prime necessity. At that day and down to nearly the close of the eighteenth century, the applicant for license had to be recommended by the court, to the governor, and if approved was duly commissioned. As there was but little traveling abroad, public houses were chiefly supported by the community around them. Strong liquors were then in universal use by all classes, and it had not yet entered the minds of an considerable number that its use as a beverage was an offense against good morals or detrimental to health. At the first settlement of the county spirits were considered an excellent thing for patient and nurse, the sick and the well. Rum, either raw or sweetened, and tobacco, smoked or chewed, were thought to be an antidote against infectious or offensive smells. The dram and the pipe were much indulged at leisure hours. The early settlers believed the air and water of this "hot climate," as they called it, were unwholesome, and rum was drunk to prevent evil effects. The bottle was handed around at vendues and funerals among all classes of the population. At first the common beverage among Friends was water or home-brewed beer, but some New England and Jamaica rum found their way into the quiet settlements. When the orchards came into bearing, cider was added as a common drink. [In 1830 the yearly license for retailers in this county, was $1,471.80, collected from 128 licensed houses. The highest license paid was by John Bessonett, of Bristol, $38, whose yearly rental was $800. At that time there were nine licensed houses in Doylestown township, which included the present borough, not yet organized. Seven were in the village limits. The highest license paid in the borough was by Henry Scholl, $15.60 on a rental of $240. He kept where the Monument House stands, and it was called the "Court Inn." The other houses in the village, were kept by Charles Morris, William Field, Elnathan Pettit, Valentine Opp, Mary Magill, and Henry Carver. The rate of license at that time was a new adjustment under a recent act of Assembly.*] (See illustration of Cider Press on the farm of H. Paxson) Richard Ridgeway, who lived on the river in Falls, opposite Biles's island, was probably the first landlord in the county, being licensed to keep an "ordinary" August 3, 1686. He and his wife Elizabeth were among the earliest settlers in the township, where they had a daughter born to them 17th of twelfth-month, 1682. The number of public houses kept pace with the increase of population, and in many instances they were the first sign of advancing civilization. They often overleaped a wide intervening wilderness, and planted themselves in advance of those who were to support them. They reached the banks of the Lehigh almost before the settlers, and the historic Crown inn became a noted hostelry when there was a sparse population around it. The crown is one of the oldest English signs, and is typical of royalty. There was a Crown inn in Cheapside, London, as early as 1467. The crown was associated with many other names, as "Crown and Mitre," "Crown and Anchor," etc. Ð "The gentry to the King's head, The nobles to the Crown." In olden times, when but few persons could read and write, taverns and their sign-boards played an important part in cities and towns. The names of many of the streets of London are derived from the sign of the inn or public house, which frequently was the first building in them. The study of the signs, some of them several centuries old and very curious, is an interesting one. They suggest the modes of thought or the ideas of humor of the people of the period. In this country they are less suggestive and their history less curious. Next to Richard Ridgeway the earliest recorded petitioner to keep a public house in this county was Thomas Brock. On February 15, 1705, he petitioned the court to recommend him to the governor for a license to keep a house of entertainment in Bristol the ensuing year, stating that he had been in the county about 20 years, and had been principally occupied in keeping public house, and that he is "now grown ancient, and is destitute of any other employment." No doubt Mr. Brock was licensed. It was as difficult then as now to prevent abuse of this privilege, and we find that at the October term, 1703, Samuel Beakes was presented for "keeping an ill and disorderly house, suffering and countenancing drunkenness, both in English and Indians, and suffering gambling and quarreling, and drunkenness in his house on the first day of the week." In 1726 John Ward was fined five pounds at the March term "for selling liquors without license." At the October term, 1727, the inhabitants of Solebury asked the court to recommend John Wells, who kept the ferry at what is now New Hope, where he no doubt had his tavern, and Jonathan Woolston, to the Governor to keep public houses to retail strong liquors. [Wells kept there several years. In 1730 when he made application to have his license renewed, he asked to be allowed to "retail rum and other spirits by any quantity less than 35 gallons." Benjamin Canby succeeded John Wells, and George Ely succeeded Canby. David Kinsey married the widow of Benjamin Canby, who was a Yardley, and petitioned, March 15, 1753, for license to keep the tavern at Wells' ferry and followed Ely.*] In 1730 twenty-five persons were returned to the court as "retailers of rum" in the county, of which Bristol had five and Makefield three. Among the townships that reported none were Buckingham, Warminster, and Southampton. The amount of tax assessed was 92 pounds. The Anchor tavern, in Wrightstown, is probably one of the very oldest continuously-kept public houses in the county, and is still in the business. It was built by Joseph Hampton, who came into the township in 1724, and who kept it for several years. The anchor was perhaps used rather as an emblem than referring to its use in shipping. It is said to have been frequently used in the catacombs, typical of the words of Saint Paul, "The anchor of the soul," etc. It was a favorite sign with early printers. At the June term, 1728, Henry Betts, James Moon, and Evan Harris requested the court to recommend them for license to keep public houses in Bristol. In 1731 the fees for license in Bristol were ten shillings more than in any other part of the county, but the reason is not known. The Cross Keys tavern, in Buckingham, a mile above Doylestown, ranks among the oldest public houses in the central part of the county, and dated some ways back into the [middle of the eighteenth*] century. The cross keys are the arms of the Papal see, the emblem of Peter and his successors. This sign was frequently used by innkeepers and other tenants of religious houses even after the Reformation, and no doubt was first used by them. (1) (1) Several changes and improvements were made in the Cross Keys in the fall of 1896, and the historic sign was removed from the south to the north end of the building. When taken down it fell apart from long exposure to the weather, but the pieces were bound together and the sign is as staunch as ever. It was retouched and restored to its old-time glory in red, black and gold, by William H. Rorer, Doylestown, and the original design preserved. This consists of two large keys, crossed and flanked on one side by a star, on the other by a moon. In the upper triangle are the square and compass with an eye in the centre; in the lower triangle the grotesque figure of a sheep and a pennant. Beneath the whole are the words "Drovers Inn." It was first licensed at the June term, 1758. At that time Doyle's Tavern, Doylestown, was the next nearest public house.* (See illustration of Crown Inn.) When the Friends became sensible of the growing evils from rum drinking, they put a stop to it as far as it was possible, and they were the pioneers of temperance reform in the Province. From the earliest settlement they discouraged the sale of rum to Indians, and the meeting dealt with those who offended. In 1683 it was reported to Falls meeting that Ann Miller "doth keep a disorderly house and sell strong liquor to English and Indians, suffering them to drink it until they are drunk." In 1687 William Biles, the only merchant along the Delaware who imported and sold rum, a leading Friend, and several times elected to the Assembly, was called to account for selling rum to the Indians, and Thomas Janney and William Yardley were appointed to wait on him. The earliest temperance pledge known to be upon record is found in the minutes of the Middletown monthly meeting in 1687, signed by 49 members, who bore testimony against the evil practice of selling rum to the Indians, because it is "contrary to the mind of the Lord, and a grief and burden to his people." They advised every monthly meeting to subscribe against it. In the meeting records we find several instances where the early Friends bore testimony against the use of strong drink in families and elsewhere, and parents, in particular, are cautioned against giving it to their children. Down to about 1724 the practice of the crier at public vendues giving rum "to the bidders to encourage them to enhance the price of the goods," was countenanced by all. That year the Middletown monthly meeting declared against it, and from that time the practice was discountenanced by Friends. April 9, 1827, a meeting was held at Union school house, to Buckingham, to adopt measures to stop the practice of selling liquor by the small at vendues and other public gatherings without license. Soon afterward it was prohibited by act of Assembly, but the law was only partially observed. In 1737 the yearly meeting took notice of the growing evil from the common use of liquors, and "tenderly" cautioned Friends against it. Friends of today watch with jealous care over the morals of their society in this regard, and are probably the most temperate religious body in the country. In compliance with the request of the yearly meeting, a committee is appointed each year in the monthly meeting to make inquiry of the members whether they use intoxicating liquors themselves or give them to those in their employ. The result of the inquiry for 1873 shows that there were only two persons in the Bucks quart erlies who used liquors themselves or gave them to others, and that only occasionally. In 1744 thirty persons were licensed to keep tavern in Bucks county, namely, Benjamin Harris, Joseph White and Malachi White, Bristol borough; Eleazar Jones, Bristol township; John Orr, Bedminster; Ann Amos and John Vandygrift [Vandegrift*], Bensalem; Benjamin Berin [Bering*], New Britain; Eleazar Stackhouse and Mary Taylor, Middletown; John Rich, Plumstead; Joseph Thornton and Joseph Inslee, Newtown; Benjamin Canby, Solebury; Thomas Hamilton, Peter Grover, Peter Snyder, and Jacob Boyer, Rockhill; Peter Walbec and Jacob Moyer, Upper Milford; Richard Brink and Richard Thomas, Warrington; John Ogilby, Southampton; John Baldwin, (2) Warminster; John Williams, Falls; Andrew Van Buskirk, Nicholas Pennington, and Hugh Young, Wrightstown; John Wilson, Tinicum, and George Groover, "above Macungie, in the back woods of Lehigh county." The locality of some of these taverns of 130 years ago is well known. Joseph Thornton kept on the site of the Brick hotel, Newtown, John Baldwin, at Hartsville, who moved away in 1748, and was succeeded by James Vansant, Ann Amos at the Red Lion, Bensalem, and John Ogilby probably at the Buck, in Southampton. In 1748 we find that license was granted to David Owen, Upper Saucon, Stoffel Wagoner, Lower Saucon, John Trexler, Macungie, who had purchased the plantation and tavern-stand of Philip Labar. Bernard Vanhorne, Jr., had been keeping public house in Northampton, but in 1748 he came to grief, because he "had no regard to the laws, encouraged drunkenness, gaming, fighting, etc., on week days and Sundays, and doth frequently abuse and beat his wife in an extraordinary manner." In 1754 thirty-five persons petitioned the court for license, and among them we find John Strickland and Lawrence Hoff, of Southampton. In 1758 the leading Friends of Middletown recommended Thomas Stackhouse, Jr., to the court for license. [At the June sessions, 1765, Adam Kerr petitioned for a license at the tavern "on the Old York road over the North Branch of Neshaminy," having purchased Charles Janney's lease." This was at Bridge Valley. In 1761, Thomas Cooper, in a petition to the court, say "it is the opinion of the principal inhabitants of that neighborhood that there is a necessity of a public house, where the road called 'Bristol Road,' crossed York Road in the township of Warwick," but it was rejected. This was at the present Hartsville. He got license there, 1765, evidence a tavern had been opened there meanwhile. John McClanahan was keeping at Bridge Balley, 1756.*] The Harrow tavern, in Nockamixon, was so called in 1785, and 20 years before that John Wilson kept a tavern on or near the Durham road, in the same township. Nearly a century ago the tavern at Newville, Warrington township, was kept by Daniel Craig, and called Craig's tavern. Within the present generation, under the management of Jacob Markley, it became quite a celebrated hostelry, and was patronized by gentlemen from a distance who delighted in a well-cooked and well-served meal, washed down by a glass of choice liquor. (2) Baldwin kept at that was afterward "Beans'" tavern on the York road just below the Street road, the only public house in Warminster, then or since, so far as is known. The tavern at Hartsville was always in Warwick. Baldwin moved away, 1748, and was followed by James Vansant, who bought his lease of the premises, and at the following June term, petitioned the court for license and it was allowed.* The Red Lion (3) tavern, in Bensalem, is one of the oldest in the lower part of the county. In 1730 Philip Amos petitioned the court to keep a public house of entertainment "near Poquessing creek, on the highway from Philadelphia to Bristol [where Leonard Vandegriff lately lived." His petition was a pretentious one, headed by Joseph Growden and 25 other signers.*] This became the Red Lion, and Amos was probably the first landlord, and may be the builder. The house is a substantial stone building, with wide piazza on two sides, and with stone stables across the road immediately in front of it. The situation is picturesque and naturally invites the traveler to repose; surrounded by trees, on the bank of a gently-winding stream where it is spanned by an old stone bridge, with hills on either side of it. It was still kept by Philip Amos's widow in 1770. (4) The delegates to the first Continental Congress from Massachusetts, Messrs. Bowdoin, Cushing, Samuel and John Adams, and Robert Treat Paine, on their way to Philadelphia dined at the Red Lion, August 29, 1774, [the Pennsylvania delegates coming out to meet them there.*] John Adams dined there twice subsequently, on December 9, 1775, and October 13, 1776. In 1781 part of the Continental army, en route for Yorktown, encamped at this place over night. [Among the owners, in the long ago, were John Hill, Samuel Hazlett, and John Hart, Hart's deed bearing date 1785. He sold to Henry Clayton Baker. Elias T. Hall, father of a recent owner, Lewis O. T. Hall, was the landlord for many years. The property has been much improved of late years with modern conveniences. The house is furnished with electric lights and a drainage system. The Bristol trolley runs by the door. The old drop curtain of the Walnut Street theatre, painted by Frank R. English, was from a study of the inn, the picture representing a coaching party drawn up in front of the porch with a group of Philadelphia whips in the foreground. A late landlord was ex-Sheriff Purdy, of Doylestown.*] The Red Lion was, and still is, a very common sign. It is thought to have originated with the badge of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who married a daughter of Don Pedro the Cruel, and wore a lion rampant to represent his claim to the throne of Castile. There was a Red Lion inn at Sittingbourne as early as 1415. (3) A tavern at this place was established as early as 1723. At the June term Evan Harris petitioned the court for license "at his plantation by Poquessin creek, near the road leading from Bristol to Philadelphia, being a place where travelers frequently call." What action was taken is not stated. That the license was granted is confirmed by a subsequent petition, wherein the petitioner asks the court to "continue their usual favor," which he says was "about a year since." This fixes the birth of that roadside inn with reasonable certainty.* (4) February 18, 1742, the De Normandies, conveyed 100 acres on the northeast bank of the Poquessing to Ann Amos. [In 1755 the constable of Newtown, returned Ann Amos as a retailer by the "Jell & Smale Quantity." This was Philip Amos's widow.*] The Brick hotel at Newtown has something of a history, and was built at an early day. The date is not known, but there was a public house there before 1744. It stands on land that Shadrick [Shadrack*] Walley located before 1684, and which Joseph Walley leased to Amos Strickland in 1748, for 20 years, but in 1761 the Red Lion, as it was called, was sold by the sheriff, and Strickland bought it. He died in 1779 and left his estate to his wife and children, and one of his daughters marrying Mark Hapenny, (5) he became the owner of the hotel and 100 acres of land, in 1787. He sold it to John Smock in 1792, and thence it passed through many hands into the possession of its present owner. This house is indebted to Joseph Archambault, who bought it in 1829, for most of its modern improvements. He added a third story to the main building, and afterward built the two-story brick at the west end, besides making other additions. He kept it as a first-class hotel for several years, and 40 years ago it was a resort for people from Philadelphia, and was generally filled with summer boarders. Joseph Archambault's life was one of vicissitudes and varied experience. Born at Fontainbleau, France, in 1796, and left an orphan, he became a ward of the Empire, through family influence. On leaving the military school he was attached to the suite of Napoleon as a page, and subsequently to that of Josephine. On the Emperor's return from Elba young Archambault was again attached to his suite and shared his fortunes. He was wounded at Waterloo and left on the field, but rejoining the emperor he was one of the twelve selected to accompany him to Saint Helena. When ordered to surrender his sword on the Bellerophon he broke it and threw the pieces into the sea. At the end of a year he was sent to the Cape of Good Hope, where he was confined for a time, and thence came, via England, to New York, where he landed May 5, 1817. He spent a year at William Cobbett's model farm on Long Island, who was his fellow-passenger, teaching French to his son and receiving instruction in scientific agriculture. Archambault was a frequent and welcome visitor at the house of Joseph Bonaparte, at Bordentown. He first went into business in New York, but that proving unsuccessful, he came to Philadelphia, and thence to Newtown, where in turn he kept a hardware store, practiced dentistry, and was host at the Brick hotel. He spent most of his active life in this county, where there are many who remember him. He took a deep interest in the volunteers, and commanded the Union troop, a fine company of cavalry, for several years. He served as captain and major in the Civil War, and died in Philadelphia in 1874, at the age of 78, leaving a widow, five children, 30 grand and two great-grandchildren. He was the last surviving of the suite that accompanied Napoleon into exile, and is known in history as the "younger Archambault." [The White Hall hotel, Newtown, is venerable enough to have a place in this list. The building was erected early in the last century, and probably first occupied as a dwelling. A private school was kept in it about 1835; next occupied as a store by Wilson & Gibson, and licensed as a tavern, 1848. Since that time it has been kept almost continuously as a public house.*] (5) The late John Yardley married a daughter of Mark Hapenny. We have been informed that Mrs. Hapenny, daughter of Amos Strickland, told those recently living that her father built the first Brick hotel. The great-grandfather of William K. Carver, Newtown, did part of the carpenter work. From the surplus bricks was built the house owned by Mrs. Martha T. Heyde, once kept as the "Court inn." The bricks were probably burnt in a field of Samuel Phillips. (See illustration of Capt. Joseph Archambault) [One of the earliest taverns in Middle Bucks, was that kept by William Doyle, within the present limits of Doylestown borough. The license was obtained in March, 1745, and from that time, one of more public inns have been maintained. The town was named after the Doyle family. The earliest site has always been in dispute, and never definitely fixed upon. Later investigations, however, fix the location within a few years after the first license was issued on the northwest corner of State and Main streets, the same occupied by the Fountain House. Since that early day the Fountain House has become a very valuable piece of property, and, in August, 1900, sold for $65,000. The author remembers when it sold for a trifle over $5,000. If this be correct it is not impossible the present building has some of the old walls in it. William Doyle occupied it until 1774, when he rented it to Daniel Hough and retired from business, Hough buying the premises, 1776. The Doyles came into the county early, Edward Doyle arriving, 1687, and settling at Cold Spring, Bristol township, where he died and was buried in the Baptist grave yard. Edward and Clement Doyle bought land on the New Britain side of Doylestown about 1730, William Doyle being a grandson of Edward. The location being a very desirable one at the intersection of two great highways, one leading from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, and the other from the Lehigh to Philadelphia, it soon became the centre of much travel.*] The old Keichline tavern, at the intersection of the Durham and Easton roads, in Bedminster, has been as noted in its day as any inn in the upper end of the county. The centre building was erected about 1759, the parlor and dining-room were added in 1784, and the kitchen and small room at the west end in 1790 and 1801. Colonel George Piper was its landlord from 1778 to his death, in 1823, when he was succeeded by Jacob Keichline, who married his daughter, who was likewise its landlord to his death, in 1861. Their occupancy extended through 83 years, which cannot be said of any other tavern in the county. During this long period it sheltered many of the most distinguished men of the last century, among whom may be mentioned General Wayne, Franklin, Mifflin, Timothy Pickering, Robert Morris, Doctor Rush, Chief-Justice Tilghman, Bishop White, Rev. Doctor Muhlenberg, and others. Timothy Matlack cut his name on the railing of the upper porch, which was still there when it was taken down in 1827. During the yellow fever of 1798 Mayor Wharton, of Philadelphia, and his family boarded there, and Stephen Girard made it his stopping-place on his way to Bethlehem. George Taylor, the Signer, was a frequent guest of Colonel Piper, as was also William Allen. Colonels John and Thomas Cadwalader, (6) stopped at the inn while on their gunning excursions along the Tohickon, sometimes accompanied by William Logan and Casper Wister, and Joseph Bonaparte, with his entire suite, boarded there two weeks. He brought with him his own cook and plate, and the landlord only furnished the meat and vegetables, which his servants prepared for the palate of the ex-king. Colonel Piper was widely and favorably known, and during the Revolution was at one time in command of the American outposts near Milestown. While the Colonel was absent one day at Newtown, leaving only his wife, children and a hired man at home, Gibson and Geddis, two supposed confederates of the Doanes, came to the inn while Mrs. P. was ironing. Geddis put his booted foot into a pan of buckwheat batter, when she threw a flat-iron at him, breaking his arm near the shoulder. He tried to strike her with his loaded whip, but she retreated into a side room, got her husband's sword and drove the ruffian from the house. The broken arm was set by Doctor Shaffer, who boarded at George Fox's, a mile and a half below the tavern. Geddis brought suit against Mrs. Piper for damages, but was afraid to prosecute it. Gibson was the same who shot Moses Doane after his capture at the cabin. It is said of this patriotic woman, that during the Revolutionary war she gave her husband her entire fortune received from her father's estate, £325 in gold, to purchase shoes and clothing for his company. It was buried in the cellar of the tavern in an earthen pot, which was dug up and carried to camp. It was replaced by Continental money that became worthless. Jacob Keichline and wife were both popular, and while they kept the house it was much frequented. They were both warm Democrats. Mrs. Keichline, a plain German woman, was a born politician, and took to it like Richelieu to state craft. Many an anxious candidate for office received timely advice from her which helped his fortunes. Candidates going up county from below rarely failed to stop and have a chat with the astute landlady. (7) [The Black Horse inn, at Tullytown, Falls township, is one of the oldest public houses in lower Bucks. The building was erected by John W. Tully, (8) 1794, and the first license applied for and granted to Tully, the builder and owner, 1795. The town was named after him, and the house then given the name it now bears. From that time to the present the inn has been in continuous license without a break. Tully kept the house until 1809, when the license was issued to Thomas Cheston, and, from that time to the present, the following landlords have ruled over the destinies of the Black House: Thomas Cheston, 1809-1819 Captain Hutchinson, 1819-1826 Elijah Scattergood, 1826-1830 Benjamin Morris, 1830-1835 William Scott, 1835-1840 Jonathan Thomas, 1840-1846 Elizabeth Thomas, 1846-1848 Jackson Hutchinson, 1848-1854 Frank Swan, 1854-1857 Herbert Randall, 1857-1858 Frank Swan, 1858-1860 William R. Wright, 1860-1879 Benjamin M. Worthington, 1879-1893 Henry W. Lovett, the late owner, occupied the house from 1893 to his death, 1903. The house has had 15 landlords in the 107 years since first licensed. For a number of years, the Black Horse was headquarters for the overland stages from New York to Philadelphia, the passengers being here transferred to a steamboat which conveyed them down the Delaware to the latter city. In former times it was a great resort, and is yet much frequented, by fishermen and sportsmen from Philadelphia, Trenton and elsewhere, its nearness to the river being of especial advantage to those given to the piscatorial art.*] (6) The Keichline Mss. tells the following story of Colonel Thomas Cadwalader. While stopping at the inn, 1828, with Sebastian Logan, enjoying their favorite amusement, gunning, they were out one morning after a covey of partridges. Having occasion to cross one of Tinsman's fields, they saw a big black bull making for them when about the middle and bellowing at a furious rate. As all retreat was cut off there was no alternative but stand their ground, and when the bull got within convenient distance Cadwalader fired the contents of his double-barreled shot gun into the head and face of the animal. Shaking his head he beat a hasty retreat minus one eye. This little adventure cost the Colonel $10. (7) In a recent year the old inn was replaced by a new one on the opposite or south west corner, with modern appliances. Few public houses in the county have more history clinging to its memory. (8) John W. Tully we believe to have been a descendant of John Tully, an original settler in Falls, and the father of John Tully, a private in Captain Robert Patterson's company, Colonel John Keller's regiment, Bucks County Militia. It was in active service in the summer and fall of 1781. There were public houses at Bristol among the earliest in the county. We know there was at least one there as early as 1705. In 1730 the Ferry house, corner of Mill and Radcliff streets, was kept by one Patrick O'Hanlin. The Delaware house, which stands on its site, was built by Charles Bessonett in 1765, and had a likeness of George the Third emblazoned on its sign. A few years later there were four public houses in Bristol Ð one by Mrs. Jackson on Bath street, the Rising Sun, by Robert Rees, in Mill street, the King of Prussia, by John Dowd, corner of Mill and Pond streets, and Bessonett's George the Third, then kept by his son John. During the Revolutionary war a regiment of troops passing through Bristol gave the King of Prussia three cheers, while they saluted his majesty of England with volley after volley until the sign was riddled and fell out of its frame. In 1785 Archibald McElroy built and opened a public house called the Cross Keys, which was sold in 1857, and is now owned by Samuel Pike, and occupied as a dwelling and store. In 1757 a detachment of British troops passing through Bristol to winter-quarters, being too numerous to find accommodations in the taverns, were quartered in the old courthouse. In 1758 the tavern at Gardenville, [Plumstead township*] was called "The Plough." and Stoffel Wagoner was still keeping a tavern on the Bethlehem road, two miles over the county line in what is now Northampton county, where he had been for several years. The Plough was an agricultural sign, and probably originated in farmers visiting the public house where it first swung. The Harrow no doubt had the same origin. They are frequently joined together as "The Plough and Harrow." In their day no taverns in the county were more noted than the Anchor, Wrightstown, Black Bear, Northampton, and the Buck, Southampton. The bear was early made choice of for a tavern sign. For centuries the Bear inn was a celebrated tavern at the foot of London bridge, and in the time of Richard the Third it was the resort of aristocratic pleasure-seekers. Probably the first White Bear was named after this animal. Henry the Third received one as a present from the king of Norway, 1252. There were also Black Bears. The first mention of the buck for a sign was when used in London by John Buckland, booksellers. It was the habit at that day to use signs that were puns upon their owner's names Ð sometimes taking all or part, and Buckland was content with half a pun. At these two hostelries lovers of fun and frolic "most did congregate," and, in winter time, they were visited by many sleighing parties. The Bear was the headquarters for the local politicians for miles around. There was a tavern at this place early, and nearly a century ago it was known as "Leedom's." For many years the volunteer trainings, which brought out a large crowd, alternated between the Bear and Newtown, when the war-like maneuvers were varied with horse-racings, fights, and other athletic games. The little stone structure at the north end of the tavern was built by Richard Leedom at an early day, which he kept as a public house several years. About 100 years ago he put up the main building, in which a tavern is still kept, but much improved. Mr. Leedom acquired a large real estate in the vicinity which was inherited by his descendants. Mahlon Miller was the landlord at the Bear for 32 years. The Buck was an outpost of the Bear, where the rollicking crowd would resort when they found a change of base necessary, and they never failed to make times lively. The Anchor was kept by John Parker, 1800, and known as "Parker's" but we do not know when the name "Anchor" was given to it. The Buck tavern was called by this name, 1795. The tavern at Centreville, Buckingham, has been noted in its day, and considerably more than a century of years whitens its memory. Situated at the junction of the Durham and York roads, the early highway from the upper Delaware and New Jersey to the Schuylkill and Philadelphia, it was much frequented by travelers. Henry Jamison was the landlord 125 years ago, and was succeeded by John Bogart, (9) who married his widow and watched over its destinies through the Revolutionary struggle. The Bucks county committee of safety had frequent meetings under its roof, from 1774 to 1778, and General Greene had his headquarters there at one time. In turn it has been called many names after the persons who kept it. Cornelius Vanhorne and John Marple dissolved their co-partnership in September, 1808, and Matthew Hale was its landlord, 1816. Recent repairs give the old building a modern appearance. (9) Bogart, an old Holland name in early provincial times, was spelled to suit the fancy of the writer: Boogaert, Bogaert, Boogart, Boogert, etc. It is frequently met with in New York. Bergen's "King's County (N.Y.) Settlers," says the common ancestor was Tunis Gysbertse Bogart, of Heikoos, Province of Utrecht, Holland, who came to America, 1652. He married twice, the second time, November, 1687, while living at Walaboch, (Wallabout), site of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. John Bogart, who kept the Centreville tavern, 1774-78, may have been a descendant of Tunis Gysbertse Bogart. The Recorder's office shows that John Bogart, innkeeper, 1777, sold 156 acres, running to Buckingham mountain, to William Bennett. Sarah Bogarth, Southampton, died in 1791.* [The "White Horse," Nockamixon, one of the most noted inns in the upper end of the county, was established by Captain Nicholas Buck, 1809. The sign before the door was emblazoned with a white horse in full military trappings. The captain being a leading man in that section, the "White Horse" was the centre of the social, political, and military life of the neighborhood. There the annual spring and fall trainings of the uniformed militia were held, bringing together a large concourse of spectators. When the property was advertised for sale, after the death of Mr. Buck, 1830, the notice run as follows: "A highly valuable stand on the stage road from Easton to Philadelphia, at the intersection of the Easton & Durham roads, eight miles from Doylestown, the same from Easton and Bethlehem, and three from the Delaware canals. A daily line of stages change and the passengers dine here and the post office is in the building. There is a new barn, three sheds with stabling, a well, two never-failing springs, apple orchard with excellent meadow and woodland." The Bucks were noted as tavern keepers. Besides Captain Nicholas, his son, Major Jacob was landlord of the "Sorrel Horse," the present Revere, the Bear tavern, Red Hill; his brother John the "Sorrel Horse," and subsequently the "Green Tree," Jenkintown, Montgomery county.*] [Just when Seller's tavern was built and first licensed is not definitely known. It was probably erected by Samuel Sellers, (10) who kept it in 1800, a son of Philip Henry Soller, prior to 1780. He was one of the first of the name in the county, and there his son Thomas was born in 1787. The original structure was a small square stone house, two stories and an attic. The inside finish was quaint, with moulding and carvings of the period and small window panes. On the death of Samuel Sellers, his son Thomas became owner of the tavern and kept it for a long time with the store and post office. He was appointed postmaster in 1820, and the office was called "Sellers' Tavern" to 1866, when the name was changed to Sellersville. The house stands on what was part of the Sellers' farm.*] Being on the old Bethlehem road, one of the highways between the Lehigh and Philadelphia, it was a point of importance and long remained so. The troops to quell the Fries Rebellion, 1799, had their rendezvous at "Sellers' Tavern." The tavern at Warminster was popular in its day and the resort of sportsmen three quarters of a century ago when it was kept by Thomas Beans, a great horseman. When an inn was first licensed there we do not know, but as early as 1758, it was called "Dilworth's tavern." Beans caused a half-mile track to be laid out on the Street road below the York road, where races came off several times a year. He had a track on his farm, but was closed by order of the court, when he resorted to the road. The races drew a large crowd of men and boys, and were very demoralizing in their influence. At Mr. Beans' death the practice fell into disuse, and the racing fraternity transferred their headquarters to some other locality. Mr. Beans kept this tavern as early as 1800. To this date there were 78 licensed houses in the county. We have not been able to collect much information as to the amount of revenue tavern licenses yielded to the county in the past. By accident we fell upon the receipts for 1799 and 1800; for the former years they amounted to $341.75 from 43 licensed houses, and for the latter year $443.67 paid by 51 taverns. (10) Samuel Sellers was a prominent man in his day; was sheriff, member of the Legislature, and held other offices. Cornelius Sellers, a member of the family was elected Sheriff, 1836. It was the stopping place of the Bethlehem stages until the North Pennsylvania Railroad was opened, in 1856. From Thomas Sellers, the landlords have been Peter Knechel, Amos Jacob, Simon Jacoby, Harvy Jacoby, Thomas Kerns, Samuel Binder, Abram W. Reiff, James Bahl, W. C. Cressman and C. M. Cressman. END OF CHAPTER LIII or XXIV, 1905 EDITION.