WILLIAM S. ERDMAN, M.D., of Buckingham, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, was born in Richland township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, October 5, 1869, and is a son of Owen and Mary Ann (Singmaster) Erdman, both of German descent, whose ancestors were among the early German settlers in Bucks and Montgomery counties. John Yost Erdman, the paternal ancestor of Dr. Erdman, was born at Pfungstadt, in Hesse-Darmstadt, in the year 1682, and emigrated to America with his son Andrew, arriving at Philadelphia on board the ship at "St. Andrew’s Galley," John Stedman, master, September 24, 1737. Like nearly all the early German emigrants he probably made his home for a short time among his compatriots on the Schuylkill or its tributaries. In 1750, however, we find him settled in Upper Saucon township, near Centre valley, in what was then Bucks county, but became a part of Northampton county in 1752 and Lehigh county in 1812. He was the owner of 178 acres of land that descended to his son Andrew and has remained in the family ever since. John Yost Erdman died in 1760, at the age of seventy-eight years.

Andrew Erdman, son of John Yost Erdman, married Anna Maria Frederick and had nine children, viz.: John, Andrew, Jacob, Catharine, wife of Jacob Barnhart; Yost, Sybilla, wife of Henry Bittz; Abraham, George, and Anna Margaret, wife of George Sober. Of the above children, John, Jacob and George remained in Lehigh county; Andrew settled in Montgomery county where he was living in 1833 at the age of seventy-eight; Abraham removed to Westmoreland county, and Yost settled in Milford township, Bucks county. The sons-in-law settled in Northampton and Bucks counties.

John Erdman, great-grandfather of Dr. Erdman, was born on the old Lehigh county homestead about the year 1760, and was probably the second son of Andrew and Anna Maria (Frederick) Erdman. He married Sarah Bitz and to them was born a family of six children, viz.: Jacob, Daniel, John, Henry, Kate and Levina.

Daniel Erdman, grandfather of Dr. Erdman, was born on the Upper Saucon homestead in Lehigh county, February 12, 1797, and spent his whole life there, living to a good old age. He married Anna M. Miller and had four children, viz.: Sara Anna, Daniel, Owen and Anna Marie.

Owen Erdman, father of Dr. Erdman, was born on the old homestead in Lehigh county, November 11, 1828. He was reared to the life of a farmer and followed that vocation in his early manhood. His education was acquired in the district schools of his native township; he conducted his father’s hotel prior to his moving to Steinsburg, (?) county, where he purchased a farm and entered the cattle business, eventually drifting into the commission business; moving to the city of Philadelphia, where he conducted a commission house. Returning to Bucks county he settled in Richland Centre, where he bean making leather flynets and harness; he followed that until the civil war broke out when he enlisted in the army. He served three years and three months as a member of Company E, Third regiment, Pennsylvania Reserves and participated in several engagements, the most notable of which was the battle of Bull Run, where he received a wound which made it necessary for him to be sent to the hospital. He is still living in Richland township, near Quakertown, being engaged in the harness business. Mary Ann Singmaster, the mother of Dr. Erdman, was a native of Richland township, and comes of a well known Bucks county family of German ancestry that have been residents of Bucks county for several generations. Owen and Mary Ann (Singmaster) Erdman were the parents of four children: Dr. Milton S. Erdman, deceased, who was one of the most successful physicians in the county; Dr. Wilson S. Erdman, a prominent and successful physician of Richlandtown, Bucks county; Sarah O. residing at home; and Dr. William S.

Dr. William S. Erdman was born and reared in Richland township, and acquired his education at the public schools of that township and at the Quakertown high school. After his graduation from the latter school he spent two years in his father’s harness shop, and in 1889 took up the study of pharmacy and served an apprenticeship of three years, and later began the study of medicine under his brother, Dr. Milton S. Erdman, to which he applied himself for four years. In 1893 he entered the Medico Chirurgicial College of Philadelphia, from which he graduated with honors in the spring of 1896. After his graduation he spent the summer with Dr. E. S. Reed, of Atlantic City, and in the autumn of the same year located at Buckingham, Bucks county, where he has since practiced his profession with marked success, building up a large and lucrative practice. Among his friends and patrons are people who have graced the highest walks of life. It must be said for Dr. Erdman that with a brave and indomitable spirit combined with industry he has succeeded in life. He is the owner of a handsome colonial residence, which has been occupied continuously by physicians since 1832. Dr. Erdman is a lover of "antiques" and among his collection of "old china" and "antique furniture" are many pieces dear to him. He is a member of the Bucks County Medical Society, the Lehigh Valley Medical Association, the Pennsylvania State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Dr. Erdman married on June 3, 1903, Clara Wendell Lovett, daughter of Edmund and Clara (Weaver) Lovett, of Penns Manor, Falls township, Bucks county, who is a descendant of one of the oldest English Quaker families in Bucks county, members of which have been prominent in the business, social and political life of Bucks county for nine generations.