History of Bucks County, Pa Volume 3 by William H. Davis
Names and Page # Index

JOHN H. STEVER, of Hilltown, was born in Bedminster township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, June 12, 1866, and is a son of Reuben B. and Mary (Stover) Stever. Philip Stever, the pioneer ancestor of the family, was born in Germany and came to Pennsylvania when a youth and settled in Haycock township, Bucks county, where he married, October 8, 1756, Maria Elizabeth Keller, born at Weierback, Baden, Germany, November 9, 1737, came to America with her parents, Heinrich and Juliana (Kleindinst) Keller, when less than a year old. Philip Stever was a captain in the revolutionary war under his brother-in-law, Colonel John Keller. At the close of the war he purchased 200 acres of land on the Tohickon, in Haycock, opposite Keller’s church, and adjoining his father-in-law, Heinrich Keller, where he spent his remaining days. He died in 1808, leaving eleven children: George; Barbara, wife of George Shaffer, of Haycock; Adam, who removed to Maryland; Michael, settled in Montgomery township, Montgomery county; Elizabeth; Abraham; Peter; Balzer; Joseph; Sarah, married John Ahlum; and Mary.

Abraham Stever, son of George, who was the edlest son of Captain Philip and Maria Elizabeth (Keller) Stever, was born on the old homestead in Haycock in the year 1782. In 1807 he purchased of his grandfather, Philip Stever, forty-three acres of the old homestead, and lived thereon all his life. He was a carpenter and cabinet maker, and followed that vocation in connection with farming. He died in October, 1842. Like his father and grandfather he was a member of Keller’s church, of which his great-grandfather, Heinrich Keller was one of the founders in 1742. He married Mary Silvius, who was born in Rockhill township, and they were the parents of six children: Abraham; Samuel; John; Reuben, for many years proprietor of the hotel at Dublin, died in Lehigh county in 1899; Caroline, married ______ Fluck; Hannah, who married Jesse Housekeeper; and Mary, who married John Keller.

John Stever, son of Abraham and Mary (Silvius) Stever, was born on the old homestead in Haycock, November 10, 1812. Early in life he learned the trade of a carpenter and cabinet maker, and followed that vocation until old age, was an expert cabinet maker, and much of his work is still found in the homes in that district. From 1840 to 1844 he had a shop at Bedminsterville. In the latter year the homestead farm was adjudged to him, but he sold it and remained in Bedminster, purchasing a farm near Bedminsterville in that year, and later purchasing considerable other land in that township, and combined agricultural pursuits with his vocation of a cabinet maker. He died June 7, 1880. He was a member of Keller’s Lutheran church, of which he was a trustee for fifteen years. He married, in 1838, Mary Magdalene Bartholomew, born September 23, 1816, daughter of Benjamin Bartholomew, of Haycock, and they were the parents of four children: Joseph and Sarah, who died young; Reuben B., and John B., the latter still a resident of Bedminster.

Reuben B. Stever was born August 25, 1839, and was the eldest son of John and Mary Magdalene (Bartholomew) Stever. He learned the trade of a cabinet maker with his father, and worked with him at that trade for a number of years. In 1872 he purchased of his father fifty-six acres of the home farm, and lived thereon during life, later purchasing other land adjoining. He was a member of Keller’s church, and an active man in the community, serving as a member of the local school board, and filling other local positions. In 1891 he was elected on the Democratic ticket as a member of the county board of directors of the poor, and served a term of three years. He died November 21, 1899. He married, October 11, 1864, Mary S. Stover, daughter of John and Hannah Stover, who was born August 24, 1843, and they were the parents of ten children: John H., the subject of this sketch; Abraham S., born March 29, 1868; Isaac S., born August 31, 1870; Mary M., born October 20, 1872, wife of W. Irvin Bryan; Elizabeth, born August 10, 1874, wife of John J. Stubr; Jacob S., born April 6, 1877; Reuben S. and Lydia Ann, born October 7, 1880, the latter deceased; Allen S., born May 31, 1883; and Enos S., born May 23, 1886.

John H. Stever, eldest son of Reuben B. and Mary S. Stever, born in Bedminster, June 12, 1866, was reared in that township and educated at the public schools. He remained on his father’s farm until nineteen years of age, and then learned the blacksmith trade with John F. Crouthamel, of Bedminster, and has followed that trade for twenty years. In 1905 he purchased the Hilltown hotel property and fourteen acres of land of Gottleib Mease, and has since conducted the hotel. He has always taken active interest in local affairs, and served as a school director in Bedminster. He is a member of Bedminster Castle, No. 285, K. G. E., of Bedminster. He married, February 21, 1889, Angelina Fulmer, daughter of Amos Fulmer, and they are the parents of two children: Edith, born November 30, 1889; and Sylvester, born December 31, 1893.

Text taken from page 402

Davis, William W. H., A. M. History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania [New York-Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1905] Volume III

Transcribed November  2002 as part of the Bucks Co., Pa., Early Family Project, www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/bucksindex.html