CHAPTER XVIII.

PLUMSTEAD — BEDMINSTER.

THESE townships were originally included in one, which extended from the northern boundary of Buckingham and Solebury to Tohickon creek on the north and northwest, with the line of New Britain and Hilltown as its western border. This territory marks the northern limit of English Quaker immigration between the Neshaminy creek and Delaware river. There was also a numerous Scotch-Irish element among its early population; but in common with neighboring townships on the north and west, the Germans have practically overwhelmed these earliest represented nationalities.

PLUMSTEAD is the only township in the county bearing the name of an individual. The person thus honored, Francis Plumstead, was in no wise distinguished, except as one of the first holders of land in the locality that bears his name. He was also one of the largest landed proprietors. The area of his estates was twenty-five hundred acres, representing the insignificant investment of fifty pounds, exclusive of surveyors’ fees. He resided in London and never came to this country, preferring to continue his avocation there as an "iron-monger" rather than venture upon the precarious existence of a colonist in the wilds of America. It appears that his name was applied to the settlement north of Buckingham quite early; in a petition for township organization in 1715 it is given as the preference of the people of that section. Why they should thus seek to perpetuate the memory of one whom they had never seen and could scarcely regard in any other light than as a land speculator is not apparent. The name was finally and permanently engrafted upon the locality in 1725, when, in response to a petition presented at the December term of the previous year, the court of quarter sessions erected the township of Plumstead. With an area approximating forty thousand acres, it thus became the largest organized territory in the county. This has since been reduced to twelve thousand eight hundred acres. The population in 1784 was nine hundred and fifty-three; in 1810, one thousand four hundred and seven; in 1820, one thousand seven hundred and ninety; in 1830, one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine; in 1840, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three; in 1850, two thousand two hundred and ninety-eight; in 1860, two thousand seven hundred and ten; in 1870, two thousand six hundred and seventeen; in 1880, two thousand five hundred and thirty-seven.

Next to Francis Plumstead’s large tract the most extensive was that of Arthur Cooke, from whom a local stream received its name. He was given a patent for two thousand acres, part of which adjoined the Dublin road in 1686. Upon his death, in 1699, one-half of this was purchased by Clement and Thomas Dungan, who thereupon settled upon it. Christopher Day and John Dyer also bought portions of the Cooke survey. A map of 1724 locates the following land-owners at that time, some of whom may not have been actual settlers: Arthur Day, Henry Child, John Dyer, Richard Hill, Abraham Hilyer, Silas MacCarty, William Michener, John Earl, James Shaw, James Brown, Henry Paul, Samuel Barker, Thomas Brown, Jr., Richard Lundy, and Henry Large. At the time when a part of Francis Plumstead’s tract was surveyed (1704), Joseph Paul, Elizabeth Laird, and widow Musgrave were land-owners. Christopher Day settled in this township in 1708, and resided here until his death in 1748. Thomas Brown removed from Essex county, England, to Philadelphia, and thence to the southwest corner of Plumstead, about 1710. He was one of the earliest settlers in that locality. His son, Thomas, married Elizabeth Davidson in 1720; their declaration of marriage is the first on record in the minutes of Buckingham quarterly meeting. The first to intrude upon the solitude of the Browns was John Dyer, from Gloucestershire, England, whither he removed to Bucks county prior to 1712. He purchased the improvements made by Thomas Brown, and the latter, possibly desiring to become again the first to establish a new community, removed farther into the woods, to the vicinity of Plumstead meeting-house. John Dyer founded Dyer’s mill, Dyerstown, and was instrumental in having the Easton road opened from Governor Keith’s to his property, from which circumstance it was known as the Dyer’s mill road. This mill was the first in the township, if not in central Bucks county. It was built in 1725, with money borrowed from Abraham Chapman of Wrightstown. It is recorded that when Dyer came into the township wild animals were plenty, the beavers built dams across Pine run, and the Indians were numerous and friendly. William Michener, from whom many of that name in this county are descended, settled here in 1725 and owned four hundred acres. Henry Childs, the ancestor of the Childs family, settled in Philadelphia and Warminster before locating in Plumstead. The Carlisles and Penningtons, the McCallas, Lundys, Shaws, and Doans were also represented prior to the middle of the last century.

The opening of roads received the attention usually manifested in recently settled localities. The second link in the Easton road, from Keith’s plantation to Dyer’s mill, was laid out in 1723. A corresponding extension of the Durham road was made three years later, when its northern terminus became Gardenville instead of Centerville. It was further opened in 1729 to the northern boundary of the township. The Strut road was laid out in 1741, the Ferry road in 1388, the roads to Point Pleasant and Lower Black’s Eddy the same year, and to Krout’s mill on Deep run in 1750. The road from the Delaware at Point Pleasant westward, in a direction nearly parallel with the township boundary, has been converted into a turnpike.

The most distinguished native of Plumstead was Honorable Charles Huston, late judge of the supreme court of Pennsylvania. He was educated at Dickinson college, and subsequently became a teacher at that institution. He was admitted to the bar in 1795, and began the practice of law in Lycoming county. He was commissioned a judge of the supreme court in 1826, and retired from the bench in 1845. John Ellicott Carver, born in 1809, in Plumstead, achieved an honorable reputation as one of the pioneer architects of Philadelphia. He was a carpenter and wagon-maker, but found time in the midst of his daily occupation to peruse scientific treatises, and thus qualified himself for a distinguished position in his adopted profession. Several members of the McCalla family became well-known clergymen: General John Moore McCalla was adjutant of the American forces at the massacre of the river Raisin.

Village indications on the map of Plumstead are rather misleading: a number of places being designated with post-office names where no town is visible to the naked eye. The discrepancy between the idea thus conveyed and the actual state of things may properly be attributed to the magnifying power of the surveyor’s theodolite. The post villages of Plumstead are Danborough, Plumsteadville, Gardenville, Wismer, Fountainville, Dyerstown, and Point Pleasant: the last three being partly in Tinicum, Buckingham, and New Britain respectively. Danborough derives its name from that of an early resident and prominent citizen, Daniel Thomas. It has also borne the names of Danville and Clover Hill. Samuel Nicholas kept a hotel here many years, and was prominently identified with the stage business of a generation ago. Plumsteadville, the radial point of a number of roads in the northern part of the township, was comprehended under the name of John Hart’s tavern a century and more ago. It has risen to considerable local importance since the establishment of the extensive carriage-works of Mr. Kratz, and comprises about twenty-five dwellings, with a population of more than a hundred. The post office was established here in 1840 with John L. Delp as postmaster. The Presbyterian church was built in 1860. The Brownsville of three-quarters of a century ago, at the intersection of the Durham road and the Danborough and Point Pleasant turnpike, has been known as Gardenville since 1857, when John Shaffer was appointed first postmaster. The Browns were a prominent family of that vicinity. The "Plow," a hotel kept at this place as early as 1760, disputes with John Hart’s tavern the honor of being the first hotel in the township. The Doans, famous ruffians of revolutionary times, were buried from this house, then a private dwelling and the residence of their aunt. The name can hardly be said to have been appropriate before the introduction of lime for agricultural purposes, when the land was exceptionally sterile. Wismer is the name of a post office in the extreme northeastern part of the township. The family of that name is quite numerous and was early represented. A cross-roads hamlet a mile southwest is known as Hinkletown. Dyerstown has shrivelled with age and depreciated in importance since the opening of roads and building of mills at other points. Point Pleasant is principally in Tinicum. Fountainville is situated in the midst of a rich agricultural community, and in three different townships.

As the Friends were the earliest settlers in Plumstead, their meetings were the first of a religious character in the township. They met for worship at private houses as early as the winter of 1727—28, and in the autumn of the following year were given leave to meet on first day at Thomas Brown’s house. Ground for the meeting-house and burial-ground, fifteen acres, was deeded by the Browns to Richard Lundy, William Michener, Josiah Dyer, and Joseph Dyer, in trust, at the rate of one shilling per acre, January 19, 1730. The site for a meeting-house was selected by a committee appointed by Buckingham and Wrightstown meetings. A log meeting-house was built in 1730. The present stone structure replaced it in 1752 and was used as a hospital in the revolution. It was enlarged in 1876. The only burial-ground in the township prior to 1730 of which traces yet remain is situated on the Swamp road a mile above Cross Keys, in the corner of the tract that Christopher Day bought of Clement Dungan in 1708. In his will, proved March 25, 1748, he gave ten perches square for a graveyard forever. The five stones bearing inscriptions are those of Christopher Day, March 6, 1748; C. Day, 1763; J. Morlen, 1749—50; Abraham Fried, December 21, 1772; William Daves, February 22, 1815.

A Presbyterian church was built in 1730, at the intersection of the River and Durham roads. The congregation was probably a part of Deep Run, and seceded from it on account of doctrinal disagreement. The first pastor was Reverend Hugh Carlisle, who also preached at Newtown. Reverend Alexander Mitchell was probably the last. He resigned in 1785. This congregation has long been extinct.

The Mennonite meeting-house, on the Black’s Eddy road a mile southwest of Hinkletown, was built in 1806. Its site, with the burial-ground adjoining, was given by Henry Wismer. Contrary to the usual custom, a number of persons not members of the society are buried here.

The Plumsteadville Presbyterian church was organized in October, 1861, by the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia. The corner-stone of the church edifice was laid October 17, 1861, and dedication occurred October 10, 1863. The following clergymen have been pastors here: Reverends Elijah Wilson, Samuel Harrison, J.E. Miller, F.R.S. Hunsicker, and Henry Gleiser. This church originated in the religious interest awakened by the" Union Tabernacle" services.

BEDMINSTER was originally peopled almost exclusively by Scotch-Irish. The influx of population prior to 1756 must have been considerable, for at that time a religious organization was sustained. William Allen and the proprietaries were then the sole land-owners in the township. They opened their lands for settlement about 1720, and it was about this time that the immigration of Scotch-Irish to this country began to assume large proportions. Among those who found their way into what subsequently became Bedminster were the Armstrongs, Darrahs, Griers, McCallas, Kennedys, and Orrs. William Armstrong immigrated from Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1736, and settled upon lands patented to him by the Penns. Thomas Darrah is supposed to have removed from Ireland to Montgomery county in 1725, but he afterward lived in Bedminster. Humphrey Orr, the first of that name in this country, lived on the Tohickon in 1730, and died there in 1736. His son, John Orr, thereupon removed from Donegal, Ireland, and succeeded to his father’s estate. Very few of his descendants are residents of the county, but some have risen to distinction in other states. Thomas Kennedy emigrated from the north of Ireland prior to 1730, in which year he died, and is buried in Tinicum township. The family made a second migration shortly afterward, and has become numerous and influential in the Cumberland valley, this state. Nathan Grier was also an early settler, and an active member of the Deep Run church. Samuel Ayres died at Deep Run in 1742, having emigrated from Antrim, Ireland, the previous year. Germans, principally Mennonites, followed closely upon the steps of the Scotch, and eventually possessed themselves of a large portion of the township. They were represented in considerable numbers by 1742. The relative strength of the two nationalities may be correctly inferred from the fact that of thirty-five names appended to a petition for township organization in 1740, a majority were German. It appears that, although the Scotch immigration showed some strength at the beginning, the nationality received few additions, while the Germans increased in numbers constantly. About the close of the last and the beginning of the present century a number of Mennonite families emigrated to Canada from this country, principally from Bedminster, Hilltown, and Tinicum. The first colony, consisting of John, Jacob, Dillman, and Stoffel Kulp, Franklin Albright, and Frederick Hahn, with their families, departed for the region of the great lakes in 1786, and were followed at intervals by others of their former neighbors and friends, settling principally in Lincoln county, Ontario. This transmigration has been ascribed to various causes, the principal reason being the hostility and suspicion with which these people were viewed; for, being non-combatant by religious principles, they rendered no active service to the American cause during the revolution, and were severely censured for this. But Bedminster’s German population has suffered no apparent depletion from this circumstance, and abundantly justifies its being classified among the strongly German townships of the county. The petition above referred to was favorably considered by the court; and the jury appointed to define the boundaries of the proposed new township did so according to the wishes of the petitioners. The area is about sixteen thousand acres. The population in 1784 was nine hundred and ninety-one; in 1810, one thousand one hundred and ninety-nine; in 1820, one, thousand two hundred and forty-eight; in 1830, one thousand five hundred and ninety-four; in 1840, one thousand six hundred and thirty; in 1850, one thousand nine hundred and eleven; in 1860, two thousand two hundred and thirty-eight; in 1870, two thousand three hundred and seventy; in 1880, two thousand four hundred and eighty-two.

The villages of Bedminster, five in number, are Hagersville, Keelersville, Bedminsterville, Dublin, and Pipersville. The last named is situated in the junction of the Easton and Durham roads, in the southeastern part of the township. A tavern was built here in 1759 by one Bladen; it came into possession of Colonel George Piper in 1778, and was kept by him forty-five years, during which time it was known as "Piper’s tavern." Jacob Keichline was proprietor thirty-six years, and during his incumbency the name was "Bucks county hotel." Jacob Nicholson was appointed postmaster in 1845, at which time the present name was first applied. Dublin is situated at the intersection of six roads partly in Hilltown and partly in Bedminster. The origin of the name is in no way associated with that of the ancient Irish capital. It has been explained somewhat on this wise: In the olden time, when travel was considerable and hotels so infrequent as to interfere with the time-honored institution of selling intoxicating drinks and imbibing thereof, thus depriving the teamster of the inalienable privilege and prerogative of his calling, two individuals, alike ambitious of gratifying the public propensities by exchanging the refreshing beverage for coin of the realm and incidentally acquiring wealth thereby, built each for himself a log tavern quite close together and much alike in many respects. In course of time, the one most fit to survive absorbed the property of his weaker rival, and their interests were amalgamated. And thus, while there were two inns, there was but one management; and as the former were exact counterparts in many respects, they were popularly known as "the Double-Inn," and in the process of elision incident to constant pronunciations this name has been abbreviated to its present form. The name has survived the old hostelry and several successive editions of the same. The village is enterprising and prosperous, several stores, the usual mechanics, and local industries of a more than ordinary character being among its important features. A number of dwelling-houses have been built within quite recent years. Cuttalossa Tribe, No. 244, Improved Order of Red Men, was instituted September 29, 1882, with the following officers: J. Price Harley, Sachem, S.P. Moyer, S.S., S.S. Meyers, J.S., B.F. Shearer, K. of R., John S. Rickert, P., and thirty members, which number has since increased to seventy-three. Keelersville and Hagersville are situated in northwestern Bedminster on the old Bethlehem road.

The central location of Bedminster in the northern part of the county may explain the religious activity which characterized its early history. There are located within the boundaries of the Deep Run settlement Presbyterian, Mennonite, Lutheran, and Reformed churches of great historic importance in the history of those denominations. Deep Bun Presbyterian church was the cradle of that denomination north of Neshaminy. The Reverend William Tennent was called as its pastor in 1726, at which time it had an acknowledged existence. It was recognized as a church and received into the presbytery in 1732. It formed Mr. Tennent’s upper congregation, and was served by him as stated supply until 1738, when, becoming enfeebled through his duties as pastor and teacher, Reverend Francis McHenry was appointed his assistant. The latter was born in Ireland in 1710, came early to this country, and lived in the Craig settlement, north of the Lehigh. Deep Run church was first known by that name at the beginning of his pastorate. He continued as assistant four years; then, owing to a difference of opinion, both congregations were divided, and in May, 1743, he was installed as pastor at Deep Run. Here he died in 1757. He was a man of great learning, fair ability, and sound piety. Reverend James Latta, his successor, was born in Ireland in 1732, educated at the University of Pennsylvania, ordained in 1759, and installed at Deep Run in 1769; he resigned after a pastorate of nine years. Reverend Hugh Magill was pastor from 1773 to 1776, and James Grier from 1776 to 1791; a vacancy existed until 1798, when Reverend Uriah DuBois was called. At this time the Doylestown church came into existence, and the individual history of Deep Run came to an end. Among the gravest of men, Mr. Grier died of laughter. From a position on his porch he watched a hired man’s vain endeavors to yoke a pig that had been wont to trespass. Mrs. Grier came to his assistance, and the quick manipulations of her deft fingers so excited his risibilities that he burst a bloodvessel and thus terminated his life. The first building was a primitive log structure, erected in 1725 or 1726 upon the east corner of the graveyard. A second, of stone, was removed in 1841 from the site of the present building. This fronted south, with doors at each end, walnut pulpit, sounding board, and galleries around three sides reached by an outside stairway. A lottery to build a parsonage was organized in 1770, and over five thousand tickets were sold. The present church was dedicated August 14, 1841. A walk through the adjoining country reveals many graves with no mark to perpetuate the posthumous fame of their occupants. Among the earliest tombstones with inscriptions are those of Alexander Williams, 1747; Samuel Hart, 1750; James Kennedy, 1763; Thomas Thompson, 1765; James Cochran, 1767; John Grier, 1768; Reverend James Grier, 1791; William Kennedy, killed in the capture of Moses Doan in 1783; while the Stewarts, Bryans, Smiths, Dunlaps, Wigtons, Darrahs, Armstrongs, and McNeelys are among other tenants of this "God’s Acre." In Rowan county, N.C, five hundred and fifty miles from this place, there is a large and flourishing congregation of the Concord Presbytery, a large proportion of the members of which are descended from persons formerly connected with this church and congregation.

The Mennonite congregation of Bedminster is one of the oldest of that denomination in Bucks county. The meeting-house stands on the southeast corner of the township at the north side of a branch of Deep run, on a knoll facing east. The land was given by William Allen, together with a farm of fifty acres adjoining. The deed bears date March 24, 1746. It was executed in trust to Abraham Swartz, Hans Friedt, Samuel Kolbe, and Marcus Oberholtzer, the bishops and deacons at that time. Mr. Allen also presented them with a silver cup, still in use for sacramental purposes. The above-named Swartz emigrated from Germany, where, in all probability, he had been ordained. During the period of his ministry he became hopelessly blind, he still continued to preach, however, and would have some one read the portion of Scripture in which his text occurred, thus presenting an instance of exceptional fidelity. The first meeting-house, a log structure erected in 1746 as nearly as can be ascertained, was replaced in 1766 by a stone building thirty-five by fifty-eight feet in size, part of which was used as a dwelling-house. This arrangement was discontinued in 1794, when the building was remodelled. It was removed in 1872, and a more modern structure was built. The log building first mentioned was used for school purposes from 1776 to 1842, when its existence ceased with the ninety-fourth year of its history. Mr. Swartz’s immediate successor in the ministerial function was Jacob Gross, a native German and a man of irreproachable character. He was a bishop, and influenced to a great extent the policy of the church at this period. Next in order appear the names of Abraham Wismer, Abraham Overholt, and David Landis. The latter, a mason by trade, was living at the close of the last century. Then followed Abraham Gross and Abraham Kulp, who were ordained at the same time. The next in regular order were Abraham Myers, Isaac Moyer, Samuel Godshall, and John Gross. Among those who have filled the office of deacon within the last seventy-five years were Henry Moyer, who died in 1832; Joseph Nash, who died in 1830; Abraham Fretz, Abraham Wismer, Samuel Shelley, Jacob Overholzer, and Abraham Moyer. Jacob cross was a preacher of exemplary life; near the close of his life, December 7, 1810, he wrote a pastoral letter to his congregation, full of grave admonition and tender solicitude. Another prominent minister was Abraham Godshall, the author of a work on experimental religion, published at Doylestown in 1838. He states in the preface that he was a farmer and was called to the ministry at an early age. Although denied the advantages of even a common-school education, he was a zealous and effective speaker, with an extensive acquaintance with Scripture and well-defined theological views. A clause in the Allen deed provides that if the society should at any time fail to maintain an organization or regular religious services for a period of five years, the land granted should revert to the heirs-at-law of the donor; but if a minister should be ordained, the title should again be vested in the society. It does not appear that the holding of services for public worship has deviated from an established regularity since 1746. A portion of the congregation separated from the present body in 1849, and formed a new organization, which has been sustained to the present time. A meeting-house was built several yards from the old one. The present pastor is Reverend Allen M. Fretz, and his congregation numbers about one hundred and fifty members.

The Tohickon church, Lutheran and Reformed, is located in the western corner of Bedminster township, on the old Bethlehem road, thirty-four miles north of Philadelphia, near the Tohickon creek. The building is a solid stone structure, fifty by sixty feet in dimensions, erected in 1838 by Elias Nunemaker, contractor. The building previously in use was likewise a stone structure, erected in the year 1766. The following concerning its dedication appears in the Lutheran church book:—

Anno Domini 1766, May the 8th, being the festival of Ascension, by me and Mr. Alfeuz, the Reformed pastor, the new stone church was publicly dedicated, on which occasion I preached on the text taken from I Reg., VIII., v. 28—29, and gave it the name Templum Pacis (church of peace). The Reformed minister took his text from Isaiah, lvi., v. 7, the last sentence.

Testor,
PHILLIPPUS HENRICUS RAPP,
Pastor loci.

The house of worship previously used was a primitive log structure of which but little is known. The oldest deed in possession of the church is dated 1733, and it seems probable that this first church was built about that time. The earliest reliable record is that in the Halleschen Nachrichten, where repeated mention of Tohickon appears as early as 1749. In that year Reverend Henry Melchior Muhlenberg had charge of the Lutheran congregation, which he describes as "small and poor." As he had a large field and could not attend to this congregation regularly, he secured the services of a student or candidate named Rudolph H. Schrenk, whose preaching was highly appreciated. The sacraments were administered from time to time by Muhlenberg himself. In 1750 two delegates from this congregation appeared before the Lutheran ministerium, asking to be received into connection with it, and praying for the ordination of Mr. Schrenk as their pastor. Their request was acceded to at the next convention (1751), but Mr. Schrenk had meanwhile accepted a call to Raritan, N.J., whereupon candidate Lucas Raus was recommended, and Tohickon constituted part of a charge which also included Indianfield and Old Goshenhoppen; but for some reason he served only the last-named congregation after a short time. About this time, and no doubt by Mr. Raus, the baptismal record was begun, with two Greek letters, Alpha and Omega, at the top of the page, succeeded by the following entry: "Johann Heinrich, son of Jacob and Magdelea Haehns, born March 6, baptized March 24, sponsors, Henry Acker and wife and Jacob Loch and wife." Following this for a score of years this congregation was supplied by a number of irregular independent ministers, ordained by a certain dismissed preacher named Conrad Andreae; 1753—56, Johann Martin Shaeffer; 1756—59, Johann Joseph Roth; 1761—64, Johann Wolf Lizel; 1765—69, Philip H. Rapp; during which time there were but two regular ministers of the Lutheran church; Reverend John Hartwick, of Rhinebeck, N.Y., in 1750, during a stay of six months in Pennsylvania, and Reverend T.H. Shaum who was instructed to teach and preach at Tohickon.

From these conflicting statements it is inferred that there were two parties, which relation resulted in the organization of Salomon’s or Keller’s church, three miles east and likewise on Tohickon creek. In 1772 this congregation (the original Tohickon church) reunited with Indianfield and Old Goshenhoppen in a call to Reverend Conrad Roeller. That this union might he permanently established a parsonage farm of one hundred and sixty acres was conjointly purchased near Tylersport, which was occupied by the pastors until 1866. Mr. Roeller served this extensive charge until his death in 1796. His body rests under the altar in the Indianfield church. His son George became his successor a year later, when he had finished his duties with Reverend Gisenhainer at New Hanover. After a faithful pastorate of forty-four years, he died in 1839; father and son having performed the pastoral functions uninterruptedly for sixty-eight years. In April, 1840, Reverend Engelbert Peixoto, the pastor-elect, was duly installed. He resigned in April, 1864. Reverend F. Walz, the present incumbent, after accepting a unanimous call, removed into the bounds of the charge January 1, 1865. This congregation is at present in a more prosperous condition than at any previous period, numbering about four hundred and thirty-five confirmed members. The venerable names of Kramer, Yost, Lewis, Eckert, Leasterly, and Crouthamel figure largely in its entire history. The German language is used almost exclusively in public worship. It may be especially mentioned that benevolent and local objects have received much attention during the present pastorate. The changes externally and internally in the appearance of the church property are creditable to the congregations.

It is impossible at this late date to ascertain when and by whom the Reformed congregation of Tohickon was organized. In 1738—43 a large number of French Huguenots and Palatine families, with some Swiss and Germans, settled in the vicinity of the church, bringing wish them in many instances little else than the Bible, hymn-book, and Heidelberg catechism, and meeting in each other’s houses for worship as circumstances permitted. It was in this way that the Reformed people were kept together, and that disposition to unity established which still characterizes this people. There are evidences of an organization in 1743, but no pastor was settled here until August 27, 1749, when Reverend Jacob Riesz was installed. His successors number twelve, as follows: Reverends John Egidio Hecker, Christopher Gebrecht, Caspar Wack, John Therbald Faber, John Michael Kern, John William Ingold, Nickolus Pomp, Jacob Seam, John Andrew Strassburger, Joshua Derr, Peter S. Fisher, and J. Kehm, the present pastor. Some were highly educated. Mr. Hecker begins his record thus: "April 19, 1756, Ego, Johannes Egidio Hecker, Hoc tempore Reformatae Religionis pastor Dohickon." Latinisms appear frequently, particularly in the entries of baptisms, for instance, "uxor ejus," "Testes erant parentes ipse," etc. Mr. Wack was pastor during the revolutionary period, and was an ardent patriot. On one occasion a favorite horse was captured by the British. He went to their camp and was told that it had been recaptured, whereupon he expressed a wish that he might be doing good service. Strassburger spent the whole of his ministerial life here. But one former pastor, Mr. Derr, is still in the active ministry. The average length of the pastoral relation has been about ten years. The congregation has increased rapidly in numbers since its beginning, and is one of the strongest, numerically, of the churches in the county. All the Reformed churches of this section have derived their membership from old St. Peter’s, as it is called. The present pastor, Reverend J. Kehm, preached his introductory sermon, May 1, 1871. Perceptible changes have occurred during the sixteen years of his incumbency. The transition from German to English in public worship is being gradually effected. Services have become more frequent. Benevolent and local objects receive considerable attention. Although the oldest of this denomination in the county, and the mother of quite a number of congregations of more recent origin, this church still possesses the elements calculated to render her future prosperous and useful.

The Dublin Lutheran church has been connected with Doylestown until quite recent years. Reverend A.R. Horne, D.D., was pastor in 1876, and S.H. Fritz subsequently. Reverend J.W. Mayne was installed June 20, 1884. Reverend H.F. Seiple, of Lansdale, is the Reformed pastor. His congregation was organized in 1868 by Reverend W.R. Yearick, then pastor at Hilltown.

The Evangelical Lutheran congregation worshipping in "Keller’s" church, Bedminster, had an organized existence as early as 1751. In that year, the Rev. Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg, D.D., the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America, sent the Rev. Lucas Raus, of Germany, to take charge of the congregation. Raus preached his introductory sermon on the 7th of July, and in the Church Record begun by him speaks of the congregation as the "vacant Evangelical Lutheran congregation at the Toheka (Tohickon), in the Township of Bethmeister (Bedminster), Province of Pennsylvania, County of Boox (Bucks)." From this it may be inferred that the congregation was in existence for some time before his coming, but how long it seems impossible to determine. As nearly as can be ascertained, Raus remained with the congregation a little over two years. Who his immediate successor was the Record does not state: but beginning with 1757, the following were the pastors, so far as known, until the close of the record in 1870: Wilhelm Kurtz, 1757—58; Conrad Daniel Walther, 1760 (?) 1761 ; Otto Hasse, 1762—G4; Johann Michael Enderlien, 1766—70; Friedrich Neimeyer, 1774; Anthony Hecht, 1794 (died, Dec. 29, 1794, aged 31 years, 3 months, and 23 days, and lies buried in the old cemetery of the congregation); August Heinrich Schmidt, 1795—98 (buried at the same place); ----- Tenno, about 1802; Johann Nicalaus Mensch, 1806—23; Henry S. Miller, 1823—38; C.F. Welden, 1838—41; Wm. B. Kemmerer, 1842—60; Edward H.M. Sell, 1862—63; Leonard Groh, 1863; Reuben B. Kistler, 1865—70.

In the summer of 1870 this congregation, with the one at Applebachsville, united with St. John’s, at Quakertown, in a pastoral charge, with the Rev. George M. Lazarus as pastor. After the tragic death of Mr. Lazarus, January 31, 1874, the charge called the present pastor, the Rev. J.F. Ohl.

It is not known when the congregation under consideration erected its first church edifice. The present one erected in 1841 is the third, and is jointly owned with the Reformed congregation, though previous to 1841 the church and lot were the exclusive property of the Lutherans. The church derived its name from the numerous descendants of Heinrich Keller, who was for many years very prominent in the early history of the congregation, which is in a highly flourishing condition and numbers considerably over 400 members.