[Pennsylvania County Histories]

HEFEI 1ENCE y J^L v &fF i (10LLEI JTIONS S —A <f n v-- ? f 3 fCrll V, C3 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from This project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniacoun61unse M tA R K TWAIN’S ScRdP ©GOK. DA TENTS: UNITED STATES. GREAT BRITAIN. FRANCE. June 24th, 1873. May i6th, 1877. May i 8th, 1877. TRADE MARKS: UNITED STATES. GREAT BRITAIN. Registered No. 5,896. Registered No. 15,979. DIRECTIONS. Use but little moisture, and only on ibe gummed lines. Press the scrap on without wetting it. DANIEL SLOPE A COMPANY, NEW YORK. IIsTIDEX: externaug from the Plymouth line to the Skippack road. Its lower line was From, ... about the Plymouth road, and its vpper - Hue was the rivulet running to Joseph K. Moore’s mill, in Norriton township. In 1/03 the whole was conveyed to Philip Price, a Welshman, of Upper Datef w. Merion. His ownership was brief. In the same year he sold the upper half, or 417 acres, to William Thomas, another Welshman, of Radnor. This contained LOCAL HISTORY. the later Zimmerman, Alfred Styer and jf »jfcw Augustus Styer properties. In 1706 Price conveyed to Richard Morris the The Conrad Farm, Whitpain—The Plantation •emaining 417 acres. This covered the of John Rees—Henry Conrad—Nathan Conrad—The Episcopal Corporation. present Conrad, Roberts, Detwiler, Mc¬ The present Conrad farm in Whitpain Cann, Shoemaker, Iudehaven and Hoover farms. It was a strip 140 perches comprises, about 100 acres, and is located (wide, or less than half a mile, but 476 on the southwest border of the town¬ ship, adjoining the Plymouth line. It is perches long. For this he received £100. divided by a road running from the |It said that Richard Morris built a Skippack turnpike to the Germantown house and lived at the present premises turnpike. The surface is quite undulat¬ of Henry C. Hoover, on the cross road, ing with meadow and upland, and with a a mile west of Blue Bell. During his general slope to the southwest. The lifetime, he sold off tracts along the spring of water is one of the best and Skippack road, and next to the Plymouth purest in the township. This is covered line. His death took place in September 1737. by an old stone springhouse. The two- John Rees. story stone dwelling, near the cross road, is of uncertain age, as it has been re¬ The present Conrad farm covers a modelled in modern times and a wing portion of the 150 acres, sold by Morris added. An old stdne barn, formerly to John Rees, a Welsh Quaker, about stood near the highway. It was suc¬ 1733. In 1734 Rees was assessed for this ceeded by a very large structure, erected many acres, and previously to 1733 he in 18o8 by NTathan Conrad. An orchard lived in Plymouth. Rees doubtless covers the meadow slope to the north¬ made the first improvements here. His ward, while a piece of woodland borders selection of a site for his house attests to the highway to the southward beyond a his good judgment. We know little strip of meadow. The property now ■bout Rees, except that he was a mem- belongs to John M. Conrad, of the third >er of the Friends Meeting, of Plymouth, generation of that family who have been (during a long life. His ownership here its possessors. lovered a period of thirty-four years, Before white men lived here and culti¬ /and then he removed—vve kuow not whither. vated these rolling lands of Whitpain, a patent, covering 5,000 acres, was granted The records of the Friends tell some¬ in 1682 to George Palmer, of course then thing about the family of John Rees, underfined in extent and unsurveyed. whose wife’s name was Hannah. The Palmer lived in England, never seeing entries of births are : 1706, Edward, son his American lands. On April 9th of of John and Hannah Rees; 1708, Cath¬ that year, he, by will, bequeathed a arine, daughter of John and Hannah share of the same to his son William Rees; 1710, Rose, daughter of John and Palmer. In 1702, a patent of exact Hannah Rees ; 1718, John, sou of John boundaries, conveying 834 acres, was and Hannah Rees. Besides these, there received by him from Penu’s Commis¬ were other children, perhaps born sioners of Property. This tract was 280 earlier. The entries, coucerniug their perches, or J of a mile wide, by 476 marriages are: 1727, Edward, sou of perches, or about 1$ miles long, or half John Rees, of Plymouth, and Elizabeth Thomas, of Philadelphia; 1727, Mary, daughter of John Rees, of Plymouth, A second smaller piece was‘rbeginfiiiigl; and William Maulsby, of the same town¬ in line of Richard Morris, then south- f ship ; 1738, Ellen, daughter of John west 125 perches to line late of John Rees, of Whitpain, to Abraham, son of Rees ; northwest by said Rees 29$ perches; ! ; Jacob Roads, of Darby; 1736, Jane, northeast 125 perches to line late of j. ' daughter of John Rees, of Whitpain, to Thomas Ellis ; southeast by late Richard Samuel Davis, of Plymouth. Morris 29$ perches to beginning,” con- , By the assessment of 1761, John Rees taining 23 acres. This piece evidently was credited with 100 acres, of which one- was a narrow strip on the north side, j half remained a forest. Three children near the later Zimmerman lands. Then are mentioned. He had ten acres sown there was a little piece of nine acres, I with grain, and four horses, seven sheepj beginning at side of a road ; then north- , and five cows. In 1767 his ownership east 116 perches ; southeast 29$ perches ; ceased by the sale of this farm to Henry southwest 111 perches along said road, Markhall or Markley. The latter was the and along said road three perches to owner for seven years just prior to the beginning. Revolution. In 1774, Markley sold to Henry Conrad was a life-long owner. John Zimmerman and Zebulon Potts, In 1828 he detached a lot of tour acres the latter, of Plymouth. They bought along the township line road, upon which for speculative purposes, most likely, he built a house, and which stands there ■ three tracts, containing 132 acres, for to-day. In 1838 this house was tenanted : £350. by George Smith and a houseful of The Episcopal Corporation. children. In that year it was bequeathed Few people know that a church cor¬ poration owned a farm in Whitpain for bv will of Henry Conrad to his daughter Elizabeth, who married William Jones. nearly twenty years. Its title was “ The TP AX 1 Society of the Relief of Widows and Children of Clergymen in the Communion of the Protestant LOCAL HISTORY. Episcopal Church of America.” They The Farm of Augustus Styer, Whitpaiu-—The bought of Zimmerman and Potts for Plantation of John Bell—Benjamin Cor¬ £545, in 1777, who thus realized a neat i 7 son. 'sum upon their speculation. The main Will of Henry Conrad. j tract conveyed had on it a dwelling, aud This was made 43 years after his pur- comprised 100 acres. There were two chase of the property, on November 13th, I 1838. It gave his farm to his sou K other pieces of twenty-three and 9 acres. Nathan after the death of his widow. The ownership of this church corpora Five children are mentioned—Benjamin, tion extended down until 1795. It would Aaron, Osborne, Nathan and Ann. The be interesting to know who farmed the amount of $3,700 was to be paid out by Nathan to the other heirs. The name land during this period, or how profitable of Henry Conrad’s wife was Ann the farm was to the corporation. The Osborne. She died December 7th, 1852, over-plus beyond taxes and expenses aged 83 years, having been boru in 1769. i ' probably did not amount to any great Her daughter Anu married John Shull., Benjamin Conrad died unmarried in sum. 1843. The writer is not informed what The next purchaser was Henry Conrad, became of Aaron Conrad. Osborne died then a young man. He is termed a in Philadelphia some 15 years ago. weaver, and paid £550. Antiquarians, ! Duriug his lifetime, Henry Conrad had sold off part of his farm on the west- at least, will be interested in the ©rn side. It was not until 1858, or after boundaries a.century ago : Beginning at; the death of his widow, that the other corner of William Coulston ; thence heirs made a formal release to their brother, Nathan Conrad, of a house and i i northeast by same and land late of 102 acres—excepting the 4-acre lot. ] Richard Morris 248 perches; northwest Previous to this time, in 1851, Nathan , by same 66 perches ; southwest by land Conrad had bought a house and 68 acres late of William Thomas, 248 perches ; adjoining that of Jonathan Wood. This comprised the later farm of Septimus southeast by late David Meredith Roberts and other land. Another (Plymouth line) 65 perches to beginning. generation passed away, aud in 1873, This piece comprised 100 acres, was after the death of Nathan Conrad, the three-quarters of a mile long, but only present owner, John M. Conrad, bought j the old homestead of the other heirs, j J.,072 feet wide. ' _ who were Elwood C. Courad and Edwin A C.

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