CHAPTER XV.

WARMINSTER — WARWICK - WARRINGTON.

A WIDE dissimilarity in the essential characteristics of the people whose history has been traced in the preceding chapter and their immediate neighbors to the north and northwest might have been observed at the time when neither had lost their peculiarities by mutual contact and common interests; and although the influences that have developed from the so-called "American type" have well nigh obliterated in this process their differences in language, social prejudices, and other distinctive traits, the present generation retains the religious preference of the people from whom they are descended sufficiently to attest the diversity of crude customs among the latter.

The most considerable affluent of the Delaware west of the Neshaminy is the Pennypack, while the Poquessing drains a comparatively small basin between their lower courses; and these topographical features explain in great measure the way in which the settlements extended inland from the river. The Dutch peopled the peninsula between the Poquessing and Neshaminy, in very few instances going beyond the limits thus apparently established. Middletown and Bristol on the east and Byberry and Moreland on the west were almost exclusively settled by English Friends. The advance of settlement in a new country naturally follows the valleys of its streams; and thus it was that the Quakers pushed steadily up the Pennypack, keeping pace with the Dutch, and eventually reaching Warminster and Warrington.

WARMINSTER was among the earliest townships settled, and at the time of Holme’s survey appears to have been pretty well apportioned among landholders. Of this number, Henry Comly, Sarah Woolman, Henry English, Abel Noble, Nathaniel Allen, William and Mary Bingley, John Jones, James Potter, George Randall, John Hart, and John Rush, Sr., the Bingleys were the largest proprietors. Nearly all were non residents, of whom but little is known, nor is it a matter of great importance that much should be known. John Rush, who owned five hundred acres, lived in Byberry, and was successively Puritan, Quaker, and Keithian Baptist. His land was patented by Bingley, to whom it was sold. Nathaniel Allen owned land in Bristol also, and is thought to have resided there. John hart and Henry Comly were the first progenitors of the numerous families of their respective names in this state. Hart was a native of Whitney in Oxfordshire, where he was born in 1651. He purchased a thousand acres of William Penn for the merely nominal sum of twenty pounds, and located equal portions of it in Byberry and Warminster. He lived first at the former place on the banks of the Poquessing, but removed to the vicinity of Johnsville in 1695, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying in 1714. The family homestead descended from father to son for five generations. Among the distinguished descendants of John hart were his sons, Joseph and Oliver, the former a distinguished revolutionary patriot, the latter a prominent Baptist clergyman and a pupil of William Tennent. Henry Comly removed from Bristol, England, in 1682, having previously secured a warrant for five hundred acres which he located on the northern border of this township. The Nobles were residents of Bristol in this county prior to their settlement in Warminster. Richard Noble, who arrived at Salem, New Jersey, May 13, 1675, was the owner of the Bristol lands near the confluence of the Neshaminy and the Delaware, and his son, Abel Noble, was an original proprietor in Warminster and the owner of about seven hundred acres there in 1752. This tract was bisected by the York road and extended from the county line to the Street road. The numerous and influential family of Yerkes was first represented by Herman Yerkes, who purchased land from the Nobles about 1750. The family is of German origin. The most distinguished of his descendants is the Honorable Herman Yerkes, president judge of this county. Among others of the earliest English settlers was Bartholomew Longstreth, a Yorkshire Friend, who emigrated in 1698. His first experience with America was an unfortunate investment of four hundred pounds in a West India venture. His first purchase in Bucks county was three hundred acres located in the Edge hills, which he improved and then disposed of with the intention of returning to England. His resolution changed in favor of Warminster, however, and he became a resident there in 1710. His acres multiplied until, at his death in 1749, they numbered more than a thousand. His house was begun in 1713, and after being added to and subtracted from at various times, has finally been entirely eliminated. It was built by Philadelphia artisans and considered one of the most pretentious and substantial of the buildings of its generation. The homestead farm adjoining remained in the family five generations. The original owner was the father of eleven children and the ancestor of a numerous progeny. Several Dutch names, Vansant, Corson, Craven, etc., also appear among the predominating English element. They were connected with the families of those names in Northampton and Southampton. The Cadwalladers and Garrisons were of the same stock, and with true Dutch deliberation removed from their native country to New Amsterdam before finally becoming residents of Warminster.

John Fitch was in many respects the most remarkable man who ever lived in Warminster. Born at Windsor, Connecticut, in 1743, he early experienced the hardships of poverty; and although his opportunities to acquire knowledge were very limited, he became a proficient surveyor and developed great mechanical ingenuity. His domestic relations were unfortunate, and when the disagreeable temper of his wife at length became unbearable he left her with the small property they owned and travelled westward to Albany, thence to New York, and thence to Trenton, deriving a scanty subsistence as a mender of clocks and a peddler of brass buttons. He was among the first to enlist when the revolution began; but as his services were more valuable as a gun-smith than a soldier he was not permitted to enter the active service. His shop was at Trenton, and when, in 1776, that place was taken by the British, he lost his occupation and retired with the American army into Bucks county. He stopped for a while with John Mitchell at Attleborough, and then made his home with Charles Garrison in Warminster and began the trade of silversmith at the shop of Jacobus Scout. He engaged in various pursuits until the end of the war, and at its close found himself in possession of forty thousand dollars, continental currency. The only way of securing its face value was investment in government bonds, and in 1780 Fitch made a journey to Kentucky, where he secured more than a thousand acres of land. In 1782 he returned to that region, but was captured by Indians, and after an eventful journey through Canada reached "Cobe" Scout’s shop on New-year’s’ day, 1783. He was not yet ready to relinquish his land projects, and in 1785 formed a company and surveyed thousands of acres in Ohio which it was their purpose to seat when the opening of the national land office would permit; but a changed method of disposing of the public lands rendered all this "labor lost," and in the deepest disappointment Fitch returned to Warminster. In April, 1785, while returning from Mr. Irwin’s church, the idea of applying steam to the purposes of locomotion first occurred to him; he was rheumatic from exposure on his surveying expeditions, and in a proper frame of mind to entertain such ideas. Some time afterward he explained his plan to Mr. Irwin, when, to his surprise, he was shown a description of which he was ignorant. "He made his model steamboat in ‘Cobe’ Scout’s log-shop, with paddle-wheels as they are now used. The model was tried on a small stream in Joseph Longstreth’s meadow, about half a mile from Davisville, in Southampton township, and it realized every expectation. The machinery was made of brass with the exception of the paddle-wheels, which were made of wood by Nathaniel B. Boileau while on a visit during vacation from Princeton college." Fitch laid his plans before congress in an application for pecuniary aid, in which he was recommended by the provost of the University of Pennsylvania and the president of Princeton college. Failing in this, he next laid the project before the legislatures of Maryland and Pennsylvania with a like result. The New Jersey legislature was more easily moved, fortunately, and in three days after his petition was presented passed a law granting him the exclusive right for fourteen years to navigate the waters of that state. Similar concessions from New York, Virginia, and Delaware were secured the same year. A company to construct a boat was formed, and in July, 1788, the Perseverance made a trial trip from Philadelphia to Burlington. The engine used, constructed by Fitch and Henry Voight, was the first made in this country and the fourth then in use. From various causes Fitch did not meet with the success he deserved. He died in Kentucky in 1798, and is buried at the village of Bardstown. The honor of inventing the steamboat was undoubtedly his. The trial in Southampton was made eleven months before James Ramsey exhibited a similar invention at Harper’s Ferry, Md., and nineteen years before the Clermont was launched on the Hudson the Perseverance was making successful voyages on the Delaware.

Warminster is first mentioned as a political subdivision of the county in the report of the jury of 1692, in which they declare "Southampton, and the lands about it, with Warminster, one township." A partial separation for municipal purposes was made in 1703, but not completely effected until eight years later. It is the only township in the county of which the shape is a perfect parallelogram. The length from northeast to southwest is four and one-half miles, and in the opposite direction one-half as great, inclosing an area of more than six thousand acres. The population in 1880 was one thousand and sixty-one.

Roads are numerous in this section, the township being completely surrounded and traversed diagonally from north to south by a thoroughfare that has survived the period of its greatest usefulness, but is yet known by its old familiar name, the York road. It was more of a Philadelphia road to the people of this section, however. That portion of the city to the Bucks county line was confirmed by the provincial council in 1693, but was not opened to the Delaware until the beginning of the next century. At a place formerly known as Round Meadows, but now as Willow Grove, a second road diverges from the "Old York" road, following for some distance a direction due north, and continuing that general course to Easton. That part of it between Willow Grove and the county line was opened in 1723 at the instance of Governor William Keith, whose residence, Graeme Park, is situated just beyond the confines of Warrington. This road was extended through that township and on to Dyer’s mill the following year. The County line, Street, and Bristol roads were laid out at intervals between 1700 and 1750.

The general law regarding the origin and growth of villages is fully exemplified in the case of Hartsville, the founder of which was William Hart, landlord of the Hartsville tavern, still standing at the intersection of the York and Bristol roads, and the oldest house in that section of country. John Baldwin was proprietor here in 1744, and was succeeded in 1748 by James Vansant. There is no means of ascertaining what device the sign bore at that time. William Hart became landlord toward the close of the century; his sign was a representation of the human heart, and from this circumstance the name of the village has been derived. It comprises several churches, the usual complement of local manufactures, and a population of about two hundred. The turnpike road leading to Doylestown passes through the village. A short distance to the north the creek is spanned by a fine suspension bridge erected in 1866. This has been a post-village since 1826.

Hartsville station, at the terminus of the Northeast Pennsylvania railroad, nearly two miles from Hartsville proper, is known as a post-office under the name of Breadysville, and comprises eight or ten houses along the Bristol road, principally in Warminster. It has come into existence within the last few years. A short distance west is the town of Ivyland, a place of much greater pretensions and more pleasant appearance withal. It is regularly laid out and enjoys a pleasant and healthful location. It is also a new town, but has become a local business center. Johnsville station, like Hartsville, is misleading as regards the location of that village. The latter is located on the Street and Newtown roads, a mile from the Southampton line. Its name is derived from that of John Craven, its first merchant, whose store was opened in 1814. It subsequently enjoyed the distinction of being the location of a mower and reaper manufactory, but this has become a thing of the past. The station is on the N.E. Penna. R.R., the first then in this country.

Neasham Tribe, No. 160, Improved Order of Red Men, was instituted at Ivyland February 21, 1885, with the following persons as incumbents of their respective offices: William Orem, Sachem, Edmund Barton, S.S.,S.D. Edwards, J.S., W. Carr, C.R., Charles T. Horner, K.W., S.C. Finney, P., W.H. Barton, I.G., Tobias Sneekenburger, O.G. The Warminster Presbyterian church was organized February 10, 1839. Reverend Thomas B. Bradford was pastor from 1839 to 1841; Henry R. Wilson, D.D., 1842—49; Jacob Belville, D.D., 1850—60; A.M. Woods, 1860—70; and G.H. Nimmo from that time to the present. The church edifice at Hartsville was built in 1842, a lecture-room some years later, and a chapel at Ivyland quite recently.

The Friends living in Warminster township originally attended Horsham meeting, but having long experienced the inconvenience of living five miles from their place of worship, they resolved to build a meeting-house in their own locality. A site was secured on the Street road, a half-mile northwest of Johnsville, and the building erected in 1842. A preparatory meeting was established in 6th month, 1841. The first elders were Seth and James Davis, Thomas Parry, and Elizabeth Townsend. Joseph Thorne was the first minister, and Dennis C. Worrell his immediate successor. Among other active members were Joseph Warner, Daniel Longstreth, Seth Davis, Watson Twining, and Thomas Parry.

Much educational activity has been manifested in Hartsville. Amid the duties of an active clerical career William Tennent found time to open a school and sustain it with such results as amply compensated his efforts. It influenced to a great extent the church in this country at the period in which he lived, and was the first of a succession of educational achievements that have contributed more than any other circumstance to the prestige of the Presbyterian church today. This institution bore no other name than that of Log college, and its exact location from 1726 to 1735 cannot be definitely determined. Mr. Tennent purchased the farm in Warminster upon which Mr. Cornelius Carrell now lives in 1735 for one hundred and forty pounds. It is probable that prior to that time the school was conducted at his own house, which is thought to have been in Northampton. The generally accepted location in Warminster is a lot of ground on the York road half a mile below Hartsville, where the school-house was in operation about eight years. Its existence terminated with that of Mr. Tennent, who died in 1745. The abilities and influence of its founder were so comprehensive in their scope and his personality so deeply impressed itself upon current history as to render his decease an event of more than ordinary or local importance. He had established one of the first classical schools in the province and the only one in that time where young men could be prepared for the ministry of the Presbyterian church. Some of the ablest divines of the last century were educated under his tuition. Others took up the work where he laid it down, and the Log college ultimately proved to be the germ of Princeton.

Prior to the introduction of the public school system, there were good educational advantages at Hartsville, and almost to the present time schools of advanced standing have been sustained. The "graveyard" school-house must have been built prior to the revolution, for when torn down in 1825 it was yet in a good state of preservation. Among those who taught here were James Gray, William Long, Gideon Prior, John Emory, Alfred H. Carpenter, and Thomas McKean. John McNair, subsequently a member of congress, was the last "master" in the old building. It was replaced in 1825 by a stone structure, in which Samuel Long was the first to teach. Hart’s school-house, near the road from Johnsville to Newtown, was a small log building in 1756, in which James Stirling taught at that time. A stone structure of larger dimensions was built in that year on the same ground. It was divided into two apartments, each eighteen feet square. Joseph Hart, John Dungan, Derrick Kroesen, James Stirling, William Ramsey, and James Spencer were among those who subscribed to the expense fund. William Folwell, John Dungan, Anthony Scout, and John Vanartsdalen were the local trustees in 1757. Hon. John McNair and Col. David Marple taught here. The third building on this site was erected in 1831. It was abandoned in 1860. It was here that the Warminster Debating Society held its meetings.

While the efforts of an entire neighborhood were usually enlisted in the erection and equipment of school-houses, private individuals sometimes assumed that task. In 1835 Robert Darrah, desirous of providing for the education of his children, proposed to Mr. Joseph Hart and Reverend Robert B. Belville that he would erect a school building upon his property if they would co-operate with him in engaging a teacher, who was to be assured two hundred and forty dollars a year, and "board ‘round." They assented, and the plan was at once put in execution, but not long continued before the stipulated support was withdrawn and the teachers were allowed to develop their own resources, which eventually resulted in extending the scope of the school so as to include many of the studies of an advanced course. The instructors were as follows: Miss Howe, Miss Margaret Bliss, 1836—38; Misses Doane and Griswold, 1839; Henry A. Boardman, 1840; James A. Darrah, 1840-42; Mahlon Long, 1843; W.C. Sturgeon, 1843—45; C.S. Stone, 1845—46; Douglas K. Turner, 1846—48; J.D. Nichols, 1848—49; Miss Emily Darrah, 1849—54. The seminary was closed in 1854, the improved condition of the public schools having rendered its further continuance unnecessary. John C. Beans also built a house for school purposes in 1835. Among those who taught here were George Hart and J.D. Nichols, graduates of Yale and Dartmouth colleges respectively.

Reverend Robert B. Belville’s academy was in operation from 1818 to 1828, and stood in high repute. The founder was the pastor of Neshaminy church at that time, and finding his income insufficient, the members of the session prevailed upon him to take this method of increasing it rather than accept a call elsewhere. This pupils were principally the sons of Philadelphia business men, but some were from the far south. Nr. Belville’s efforts were continued by Samuel Long, who opened a private school in 1830. his career was closed by sudden death, December, 1835.

The "Tennent School," so named in honor of William Tennent, was opened November 6, 1850, and was remarkably prosperous to its close, June 29, 1870. The founders were Reverend Mahlon Long and Prof. Charles Long. The latter died in 1856, and from that time his place was filled by assistants. A number of former students here have risen to positions of honor and responsibility in the various walks of life. Roseland seminary, exclusively for young ladies, was established in 1851 by Reverend Jacob Belville and Mrs. Harriet McElroy, and continued until 1865. One of the most successful teachers in Warminster was Miss Elizabeth Croasdale, who began her career in the schoolroom in 1846 as teacher of a primary school, and rose to the position of principal of the Philadelphia School of Design. In her death in 1883 her profession lost one of its most talented and accomplished members.

"The Emlen Institute for the Benefit of Children of African and Indian Descent" is located in Warminster. Samuel Emlen, of Burlington, N.J., who died in 1837, bequeathed twenty thousand dollars to establish a manual labor school in which Indian and colored youth might be trained in industrious habits. It was first located in Mercer county, Ohio, but removed in 1857 to Solebury township, this county, whence, after a period of fifteen years, the present location was chosen. The value of the property at present is estimated at thirty-six thousand dollars. Twenty pupils are usually in attendance. Howard Meredith has been superintendent for several years.

WARWICK was the next of this group to be admitted into the fraternity of townships. This occurred in 1743, when a petition signed by Robert Jamison, Benjamin Walton, William Ramsey, Alexander Breckenridge, Thomas Howell, Hugh Houston, Samuel Martin, William Miller, Jr., Valentine Santee, James Polk, Robert Sibbett, John MeCollock, Arthur Bleakley, Alexander Jamison, Henry Jamison, Andrew Long, Joseph Walton, and Joseph Roberts, was presented to the court with that object in view, which was granted the following day. As originally described the township extended from Bristol road to Buckingham, and from Northampton to New Britain. Its shape was thus nearly rectangular. The erection of Doylestown in 1819 reduced this generous area three thousand five hundred and fifteen acres, its present extent being two thousand seven hundred acres. The name prior to its organization was Middlebury, probably from its position in the midst of townships previously organized. "Warwick" seems to have gained popular usage about the same time as legal sanction. The population in 1880 was seven hundred and twenty-one.

The first settlement in the township was made by Scotch-Irish families almost exclusively. The original home of this race was Scotland, whence they immigrated in large numbers to the province of Ulster in the north of Ireland in the beginning of the seventeenth century. Their migration to this country began a century later, and in this county was first directed to portions of the Neshaminy valley, first Newtown and then Warwick. Their purchase in the latter township was preceded by that of the inevitable and ubiquitous land speculator. James Claypole, George Willard, Thomas Potter, Henry Bailey, James Boyden, and Benjamin Furby belonged to this class. Claypole came into the province from Middlesex, England, in 1682, by way of Choptank, Maryland, but it is not known that he ever lived upon his land in Warwick. Randall Blackshaw accompanied him on his roundabout journey, and made this township his home. He brought several servants, some of whom had families. Among well-known Scotch families were those of Ramsey, McCalla, Jamison, Snowden, McMicken, and Carr. The name McCalla was also spelled McCauley. Henry Jamison was the first who bore that name in this county. He purchased land from Langhorne, but lived in Northampton. Langhorne and Kirkbride had secured this from Thomas Tresse, and he from John Henry Sproegel, by whom it was purchased from Benjamin Hurley, the patentee. William Ramsey settled in the southern corner of Warwick in 1741 upon a tract owned conjointly by himself and Richard Ashton. One of his descendants, Robert Ramsey, became a member of the state and national legislature. John Snowden is supposed to have resided in the forks of the Neshaminy as early as 1700, and Joseph Carr is known to have been there in 1743, when he rented a portion of the Bailey tract at one shilling per acre.

Jamison is named from the family of that name, one of whom was an innkeeper there many years ago. Its name at that time was Jamison’s Corners. Bridge Valley, on the eastern line of the township, has been known as a post-office since 1869. Neshaminy Castle, No. 159, Knights of the Golden Eagle, was instituted at Jamison, October 30, 1886, with E.H. Fenton, P.C., A.E. Ramsey, N.G., E.D. Worstall, V.C., William Conard, S.H., Isaac F. Sutch, H.P., C. Watson, V.H., J.J. Spencer, M.R., G.L. Conard, C.E., F.M. Conard, K.E., J.N. Flack, W.B., Isaac Harr, W.C., George Harr, E., William Dudbridge. Esq., George Roberts, F.G., and John Ewer, S.G., the membership at that time being forty-two, which has since increased considerably. Lodges with such numerical strength are not often found in country communities.

Hartsville was an important point upon the ecclesiastical map of a century and a quarter ago. "The Neshaminy church of Warwick" was one of the earliest religious organizations in the state and the second Presbyterian society in the county. The church edifice is a stone structure, severely plain in its architectural appearance, but memorable in historic associations. It is situated on the northeast side of the Bristol road, at the crossing of Neshaminy creek. In the cemetery on the hill in the rear are the graves of four generations of those who once assembled here for worship. Only a short time elapsed after the first settlers came into the neighborhood before they associated themselves together for the establishment and maintenance of regular worship. The first church building was erected in the year 1727, and a square stone with that date and the initials "N.M." and "W.G.," which formerly formed part of the old church building in the graveyard, has since been inserted in two inclosing walls and appears conspicuous in that which surrounds the cemetery at present. The congregation, composed of immigrants from Ireland, was collected and organized by Reverend William Tennent in 1726. Born in Ireland in 1673, he was educated for the established church and ordained in 1704. He came to America in 1716, and connected himself with the Presbyterian synod two years later. From this time until 1726 he was pastor at Bedford, New York, with the possible exception of an indefinite period in which he was connected with the Bensalem church. The fact that he was not regularly installed at Neshaminy proves conclusively that no organization existed prior to his coming. He was a man of great natural ability, fair attainments, and persevering energy, well adapted to the work of laying the foundations of the great denomination in the early history of which in this country his name occupies a prominent position. He had four sons, Gilbert, William, John, and Charles, all of whom became Presbyterian clergymen and ably seconded the efforts of their father. Gilbert, the oldest, was licensed to preach in 1726, and assumed charge of churches at New Brunswick, N.J., and at Philadelphia. An experience of William, Jr., illustrates the religious fervor of the period. While studying theology with his brother at New Brunswick he passed through a trance, and during this period of suspended animation believed that he was permitted to experience, in a measure, the felicity of heaven. It was with difficulty that he was restored to life. The experiences of that time exerted such a strong influence upon his mind that he lost all the knowledge he had acquired and was obliged to begin again the study of Latin, although he had previously, been able to converse fluently in that tongue. After a time the forgotten knowledge gradually returned, he was pastor at Freehold, N.J., forty-four years.

Mr. Tennent was assisted during the last years of his ministry by Reverend Francis McHenry. When, in 1741, the synod of Philadelphia was divided upon measures proper to be used in the promotion of religion, a portions of the Neshaminy congregation not in sympathy with the views of Mr. Tennent, who favored the "new measures," elected Mr. McHenry as their pastor, and withdrew to the "Old Light" synod of Philadelphia, or rather continued in connection with that body, while those who supported the "New Lights" elected Reverend Charles Beatty. The latter in the same year (1743), through James Craven, John Guy, Alexander Junyson, Robert Walker, John McCulloch, George Hare, Henry Junyson, Jr., and John Scott, their trustees, purchased a lot of ground containing "two acres and twelve square perches," with a stringent clause in the deed providing that no minister should ever be allowed to preach in the edifice to be erected without the consent of the congregation, and that no person should be eligible to the office of trustee who was not in sympathy with "the work of grace in this land, New England, and Scotland in calling sinners to repentance." Thus expressly did the people provide that their clergymen should be in full accord with the "New Lights." Mr. Beatty’s first acquaintance with Tennent began soon after his arrival in this country. One day he came to the door of the Log college in the dress of a peddler with a pack of goods on his back and addressed the principal in good Latin. The latter persuaded him to continue his studies, and in due time he became qualified for the ministry. He was installed at Neshaminy, December 1, 1743, upon an annual stipend of sixty pounds. He lived during a considerable part of his life on the farm now owned by John M. Darrah, but afterward purchased fifty-seven acres at the cross-roads and built thereon the substantial stone house still standing. His influence was not limited to the narrow compass of the Neshaminy settlement, however. Being a man of unusual intellectual ability, he was employed to visit Great Britain and solicit pecuniary aid for the church in America. In this capacity he was present at the coronation of George III., who presented him with a liberal donation. Between 1760 and 1762, and again from 1767 to 1769, he was employed on missions of this character. In 1766 he was associated with Reverend George Duffield, of Carlisle, in a missionary visit to the frontiers of this state. They rode on horseback across the Allegheny mountains and continued their journey one hundred and thirty miles beyond Fort Pitt, returning in six weeks. It was intended that this initial effort should be followed up, but the revolution was close at hand, and largely occupied the minds of the clergy of the Presbyterian church, while the hostile attitude of the Indians rendered missionary labors among them impossible. But this was not Nr. Beatty’s first experience with frontier life. In the winter of 1756, he accompanied Franklin’s regiment as chaplain and marched with the troops several weeks in the winter. Franklin thus relates an incident which would reflect severely upon the character of a clergyman at the present day, though not at the time when it occurred: "We had for our chaplain a zealous Presbyterian minister, Mr. Beatty, who complained to me that the men did not generally attend his prayers and exhortations. When they enlisted they were promised, besides pay and provisions, a gill of rum a day, which was punctually served out to them, half in the morning and half in the evening, and I observed they were punctual in attending to receive it, upon which I said to Mr. Beatty: ‘It is perhaps below the dignity of your profession to act as steward of the rum, but if you were to distribute it out, only just after prayers, you would have them all about you.’ He liked the thought, undertook the task, and with the help of a few hands to measure out the liquor, executed it to satisfaction, and never were prayers more generally and more punctually attended. So that I think this method preferable to the punishment inflicted by some military laws for non-attendance on divine service." Mr. Beatty was twice subsequently connected with military expeditions to the frontier. May 4, 1756, accompanied by the elders of his church, he left his home for Harris’s ferry, where he remained with the troops until the following August. In 1758 he accompanied General Forbes’s expedition to Fort Du Quesne as chaplain to the first Pennsylvania battalion. There he preached to the victorious army the first thanksgiving sermon by a Protestant clergyman in the valley of the Mississippi. He was warmly interested in the success of Princeton college, and solicited aid for that institution with the same assiduity that rendered his labors in the army so effective. He undertook a mission to the Island of Barbadoes in the interests of the college, and there died of yellow fever, August 13, 1772, in the midst of a useful career.

Reverend Nathaniel Irwin succeeded him as pastor at Neshaminy in May, 1774. He was educated at Princeton and licensed to preach in 1772. He was installed at Neshaminy November 3, 1774, on a yearly support of one hundred and thirty pounds. He resided at a farm on the road from Doylestown to Philadelphia the greater part of his incumbency. Soon after his installation, measures were adopted to improve and enlarge the church edifice; and in 1775 it was remodelled to such an extent as to merit for some time afterward the name of the "new church." Mr. Irwin was a staunch patriot, a man of extensive and varied acquirements, fond of music, poetry, and nature. In social intercourse his manners were courteous and affable. He was the friend and patron of John Fitch. his political influence was signally exerted in favor of the selection of the present site of the county almshouse and the county seat. He died March 3, 1812, and was followed to his grave by a vast concourse of people. The site of the pulpit in the old church was chosen as his grave.

Reverend Robert B. Belville was installed as pastor in October, 1813. He was eloquent, persuasive, and effective in his work. Owing to nervous prostration he resigned November 1, 1838. his efforts in educational matters are mentioned elsewhere in this chapter.

The choice of a successor at once resulted in the division of the congregation. Those favoring the election of Reverend James P. Wilson continued to worship in the church, while those opposed withdrew to a school-house in the graveyard and afterward to a tabernacle on the Bristol road. The church property was claimed by both parties, and the matter was referred to the civil courts for adjudication. Those who had continued to worship at the meeting-house purchased it for six thousand dollars, half of which sum was paid to the other portion of the congregation. The latter, in 1842, built their present sanctuary, which has since (in 1882) been greatly improved. Mr. Wilson’s congregation remodelled their church edifice in 1845. A slate roof was placed thereon in 1860, a vestibule erected in 1871, and other improvements effected in 1877. Mr. Wilson resigned in 1847, and was succeeded by Reverend D.K. Turner April 18, 1848. After an uneventful incumbency of twenty-five years, he retired in 1873, when Reverend William E. Jones, D.D., became pastor. Reverend W.K. Preston, the present pastor, succeeded him in 1884. In addition to the venerable edifice mentioned, the corporation owns a lecture-room in Hartsville proper, and a Gothic chapel at the entrance to the cemetery. The latter was built in 1871.

WARRINGTON was organized the year after Warwick— 1734. It included the previously unorganized territory between Warminster and New Britain, and Warwick and the county line. There is reason to suppose that the Bristol road was its eastern boundary at that time, but this cannot be definitely stated. The northern boundary was so changed in 1849 as to include about fifteen hundred acres formerly belonging to New Britain, thus increasing the area to more than six thousand acres. The population in 1880 was nine hundred and fifty-nine.

Four persons, Charles Jones, Richard Ingelo, R. Vickers, and R. Sneed were the only holders of lands in Warrington in 1684, none of whom were actual settlers. William Penn 3d succeeded to ten thousand acres by the will of his grandfather, a little more than one-tenth of which was located in Warrington. This was surveyed in 1727, and was conveyed to William Allen the following year. He disposed of three hundred acres to James Weir in 1765, and two hundred and fifty-three in 1736—38 to Richard Walker, receiving on the former an annual quit-rent of "two dung-hill fowles," and two bushels and one-half of good merchantable oats on the latter, payable at Philadelphia on the sixteenth day of November. Allen also owned another tract of five hundred acres in this township, which he conferred upon his son-in-law, James Delaney, by whom it was conveyed in 1793 to Samuel, William, and Matthew Hines, and William Simpson, for three pounds per acre, each purchaser receiving a separate deed. Charles Tenant, of Mill-Creek Hundred, Newcastle county, Delaware, bought several hundred acres from the proprietaries in 1735, and sold the same to William Walker, a resident of Warrington, five years later. Doctor Job Goodson, of Philadelphia, secured a patent for one thousand acres in southern Warrington in 1734, part of which extended into Warwick. Andrew Long, the ancestor of the family of that name in this region, purchased four hundred acres from Goodson in 1735. The holders of Warrington lands in 1734, as given upon a map of that date, were William Allen, ----- Nailor, Andrew Long, J. Paul, ----- Lukens, ----- Jones, R. Miller, T. Pritchard, the London Company, and the proprietaries. Allen’s tract was the most considerable. These large land-holders had not yet divided their great tracts among actual settlers to any great extent. But very meager data are attainable regarding these earliest settlers. Andrew Long was a native of Ireland. There were several German families, but the English element predominated and continues in the preponderance numerically.

There are no towns in Warrington within the proper meaning of the term. The post-villages are Warrington, Neshaminy, Tradesville, and Eureka. John Craig’s tavern comprised all of Warrington that existed at the middle of the last century. A post-office was established here in 1839, with Benjamin Hough postmaster. Washington Lodge, No. 447, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was instituted in 1851. Eureka is popularly known as Pleasantville, but persons unacquainted with its location have experienced some difficulty in finding it. The involuntary exclamation of an individual whose cogitations were sometimes expressed in Greek, when the name of the place (for which he had been searching diligently) was told him by the local shop-keeper, is said to have impressed the community so favorably as to be adopted. Tradesville consists of four houses on opposite corners of the principal square— formed by the crossing of the Bristol road and the State road leading from Doylestown to Norristown. Its prospects of growth are not encouraging. The only fraternity represented here is the loafer, who seems to be created for no other purpose than to perpetuate the ancient and honorable order of idleness.

The Reformed Church of Pleasantville (in Warrington) had its origin in the revival spirit of forty and more years ago. In September, 1840, Reverend Charles H. Ewing, a Reformed clergyman, conducted a series of religious meetings on the farm of Jacob Cassel, by invitation of the Christian people of that vicinity. They were continued ten days, Reverend Thomas Osborne and Samuel Helfenstein participating part of this time. As a result of these efforts, a number of persons professed conversion. The importance of erecting a church building and forming a permanent organization was emphasized by the fact that neither existed in the township at that time. Accordingly, September 24, 1840, the following persons, to wit: Reverends Thomas Osborne, Jacob W. Hauge, Samuel Helfenstein, Jr., and Charles H. Ewing, with Messrs. F.W. Hoover, Benjamin Shearer, Thomas Whitcomb, H. Reemer, T. Garner, George Sines, Joseph Knipe, David Lee, and Mrs. Hoover, Jones, Clymer, and Cox, assembled at the house of Mr. F.W. Hoover to consider the feasibility of organizing and building. Arrangements were made for a subsequent meeting at the county-line school-house, at which Mr. Osborne presided; Messrs. F.W. Hoover, William Kneealor, and Benjamin Shearer were elected elders; James Knipe and George Sines deacons. They were formally installed on Sabbath morning, October 6, 1840. Seven persons were admitted into the church on confession and eight by certificate from other churches. Of these fifteen constituent members but one is now living. Meetings were continued for some time at the school-house, but it was readily perceived that this arrangement should be only temporary. John Dunlap gave a piece of ground comprising two acres, and with such funds as could be readily obtained the work of building was begun. A brick building, with dimensions of sixty, fifty-one, and twenty feet, respectively, was at length completed. It was naturally thought that the founder of the church could best direct its affairs, and Mr. Ewing was therefore called; he accepted and was installed as pastor January 20, 1841. The church was dedicated May 19th following, when the membership was increased to forty-one. Reverend William E. Cornwell was installed as Mr. Ewing’s successor, May 3, 1842. This was a time of great financial stringency with the church, so much so that one of its active members related that he had no sooner been baptized than a trustee asked him to endorse a note of one thousand dollars which was to be negotiated in order to save the church property. The pastor reminded his trustee of the danger of thus frightening additions to their numbers. During his pastorate of seven years, Mr. Cornwell received one hundred and eight persons into the church. He was a rigid disciplinarian, as is shown by the number of excommunications which occurred during his incumbency. His views on the subject of baptism were radically different from those of the Reformed church, and for this reason his connection with this organization was dissolved November 14, 1850; his successor was installed in the person of Reverend N.S. Aller, a former Presbyterian clergyman. One of his last official acts in a pastorate of twenty-one years and six months was the confirmation of sixty persons. At the request of the consistory, Reverend U. Weidner, then a Methodist minister, became a supply for about one year, during which time the church building was repaired. March 28, 1872, Reverend W.D.E. Rodrock succeeded him, but resigned the following spring. Mr. Weidner again supplied the charge, and was installed as regular pastor July 25, 1875. The present membership is three hundred. CHAPTER