sign in sign up
<<
Home , David Rittenhouse, John Conard

BULLETIN joffAe- HISTORICAL 50CIETY MONTGOMERY COUNTY J\rOI^RISTOWN

£omery

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY AT IT5 R00M5 IS EAST PENN STREET NORRI5TOWN.PA.

OCTOBER, 1939

VOLUME II NUMBER 1

PRICE 50 CENTS Historical Society of Montgomery County

OFFICERS

Nelson P. Fegley, Esq., President

S. Cameron Corson, First Vice-President

Mrs. John Faber Miller, Second Vice-President

Charles Harper Smith, Third Vice-President

Mrs. Rebecca W. Brecht, Recording Secretary

Ella Slinglupp, Corresponding Secretary

Annie B. Molony, Financial Secretary

Lyman a. Kratz, Treasurer

Emily K. Preston, Librarian

TRUSTEES

Franklin A. Stickler, Chairman

Mrs. A. Conrad Jones

Katharine Preston

H. H. Ganser

Floyd G. Frederick i

David Rittenhouse THE BULLETIN

of the

Historical Society of Montgomery County

Published Semi-Anrvmlly — October and April

Volume II October, 1939 Number 1

CONTENTS

Dedication of the David Rittenhouse Marker, June 3, 1939 3 David Rittenhouse, LL.D., F.R.S. A Study from ContemporarySources, Milton Rubincam 8

The Lost Planetarium of David Ritten house James K. Helms 31 The Weberville Factory Charles H. Shaw 35 The Organization of Friends Meeting at Norristown Helen E. Richards 39 Map Making and Some Maps of Mont gomery County Chester P. Cook 51 Bible Record (Continued) 57 Reports 65

Publication Committee Dr. W. H. Reed, Chairman Charles R. Barker Hannah Gerhard Chester P. Cook Bertha S. Harry Emily K. Preston, Editor

1 Dedication of the David Rittenhouse Marker

June 3, 1939

The picturesque farm of Mr. Herbert T. Ballard, Sr., on Germantown Pike, east of Fairview Village, in East Norriton township, was the scene of a notable gathering, on June 3, 1939, the occasion being the dedication by the Historical So ciety of Montgomery County of the marker commemorating the observation of the transit of by the astronomer, David Rittenhouse, on nearby ground, and on the same month and day, one hundred and seventy years before. No finer spring day could have been wished for, for the ceremonies, which were held at three in the afternoon. The speakers' stand, set up just inside the gateway, under the shade of the trees, overlooking Mr. Ballard's broad, rolling lawn, was draped with the national colors. The sunshine was unfailing. Orioles and "red-wings" whistled from the trees, or fluted from the grassy open spaces. At the corner by the gateway, the Norristown High School Band, resplendent in blue coats and white trousers, with shining brass instruments throwing back the sunlight, made a fine splash of color. Offi cers of the Society, speakers and invited guests occupied the stand; other guests arrived by chartered bus, or came by car, and parked in the meadow at the foot of the lawn. Nelson P. Fegley, Esq., president of the Society, acting as presiding officer, opened the exercises in happy vein, and an nounced the first number, a selection by the Norristown High School Band, led by Mr. Damon D. Holton, Director. This and the following numbers by the band were rendered to the pleasure of the audience assembled, representing at least four counties of the state. Then followed the invocation, by Rev. Nathaniel B. Groton, rector of St. Thomas' P. E. Church, Whitemarsh; and after another selection by the band, S. Cam eron Corson, Esq., chairman of the Marker Committee, was 4 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY announced to make the address presenting the marker to the Society. Mr. Corson said, in part: • "The year 1916 was before we got into the World War. That year saw my introduction to the Marker Committee. "Rev. Thomas R. Beeber was President of the Historical Society of Montgomery County, and he announced his appoint ments to the Marker Committee, and I was the chairman. After the session was adjourned, I asked him what our duties were, and what the Marker Committee was? He said, 'I want you to get in touch with all of the members of the committee, and tell them that they will be expected to select some worth while historical bridge, mill or other place in their vicinity and send to you their selection, with records as historically correct as can be obtained. You are to do the same in and near Norris- town. Then compile a complete list of all these historical places, and present it as your report of the Marker Commit tee at the next regular meeting of the Society.' When I made my report, I said I considered the observatory from which David Rittenhouse observed the on June 3, 1769, to be the outstanding site to mark. "I have no idea at this time who were on the committee and very few who were appointed by other presidents since 1916, other than those who took an active part some eight or ten years ago." Mr. Corson then touched briefly on the difiiculties besetting the path of the committee, and proceeded to outline their work as follows: "With William Montague, Sr., I made several trips to this old Rittenhouse farm, seeking the owner to get his permission for this Society to erect a memorial to David Rittenhouse, but more particularly to commemorate his observation of the tran sit of Venus in 1769. "The first time we came here, we saw the three boxwood bushes, and Mr. Montague said to a man working near them, 'There were four of these bushes. What became of that one (pointing to the eastern corner) ?' The man replied, 'A former gardener, in cleaning out the old garden, burned rubbish too close to that corner bush, and it was destroyed by fire.' : v:

Rittenhousb Marker DEDICATION OF THE DAVID RITTENHOXJSE MARKEE 5

"I said to Mr. Montague, *What are these shrubs? Why are they planted as we see them here?' He said, 'When the news of the observation of the transit of Venus reached the Queen of France, to shoWher appreciation of such a wonderful event, she sent over four sweet shrubs to be planted one at each corner of the little cabin. These show that part of the story is true, they are as planted, with the exception of the one on the east corner. The man has just explained why that is missing.' "Then we went on up to the old farmhouse. On a large piece of brown sandstone set in the south corner of the house, and about four and a half feet above the ground, were marks or scratches—initials and dates having to do with the Ritten- house family. But the treasure of these marks was on a larger stone on the right side of the door, on which was roughly sketched a picture of the old log cabin or observatory. As I have said it was very roughly drawn, but nevertheless one could see a resemblance to the building as it appears now on this bronze plaque. We made several other trips to this farm, without result. "We next appealed to the County Commissioners, and they agreed to assist us by giving us permission to construct a concrete slab over the gutter at a point about 150 feet west of the present entrance to the lane. I made a plan of this loca tion, and all the Commissioners signed it. But another snag. The township officers and some citizens said it would be a menace to the public, and it was finally abandoned. The Com missioners had taken a keen interest in this marker, and they suggested purchasing a plot about ten feet square on which to erect the marker. James Cresson, then County Surveyor, was sent there and staked off this ten-foot square plot. This plan also failed, the owner would not sell. The members of the com mittee were at their wits' end. Then a very favorable event occurred. Norris D. Wright purchased this farm, and shortly after that he sold it to HerbertBallard, Sr. I was informed that all was now well. Mr. Ballard would give us permission to erect the marker." After explaining the for the failure of some of the committee's well laid plans, Mr. Corson pointed out that lack g BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY of funds also delayed further work on the marker, until the contribution to the Society of the surplus of the fund raised for the celebration of the county's sesqui-centennial offered a means of final accomplishment. He then made the formal pres entation of the marker, which was accepted on behalf of the Society by President Fegley. Mr. Fegley tendered the thanks of the Society to Mr. Bal- lard, owner of the property, who deeded to the Society the plot on which the marker is erected; and to Mr. Rajrmond T. Beltz, who donated the granite boulder to which the bronze tablet is attached, the boulder having been obtained from Spring Moun tain. Mr. Fegley hoped the achievement in this instance would prove an inspiration for the marking of more historic sites. Following another selection by the band, came the address of the day, by Mr. Milton Rubincam, Corresponding Secretary of the National Genealogical Society, Washington, D. G., and a descendant of William Rittenhouse, which was listened to with great interest and excited much favorable comment. [Mr. Rubincam's address in full appears on page 8] Another number by the band then led to the unveiling of the marker. All gathered around, while little blue-clad David Charles Rittenhouse, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Ritten house, 3rd, of Wilmington, Del., and a direct descendant of Nicholas Rittenhouse, drew aside the flag, revealing the bronze plaque. Then all, accompanied by the band, joined in singing one stanza of "America." The benediction, by Rev. Calvin H. Wingert, Pastor of the Reformed Church of the Ascension, Norristown, followed; and then the baritone voice of Mr. Ben jamin F. Evans, in "Taps," with bugle obligate, ended the program of the day. The David Rittenhouse Marker, which stands to the right of the entrance to Mr. Ballard's drive, consists of a granite boulder, from Spring Mountain, Perkiomen township, pre sented by Mr. Raymond T. Beltz, to which is attached a bronze plaque, made by Joseph C. Laird. The plot of ground on which it stands was presented to the Society by Mr. and Mrs. Herbert T. Ballard, Sr., by a deed DEDICATION OP THE DAVID RITTENHOUSE MARKER ^ now of record in the office of the Recorder of Deeds at Norris- town. The Society is deeply grateful to the donors for these generous gifts. The inscription on the plaque, which displays a picture of the Rittenhouse Observatory designed by S. Cameron Gorson, is as follows:

RITTENHOUSE OBSERVATORY

700 FEET N.E. OF THIS MEMORIAL

STOOD THE LOG CABIN FROM WHICH

DAVID RITTENHOUSE

OBSERVED THE TRANSIT OF VENUS

JUNE 3, 1769

PERMISSION TO USE THIS SITE

WAS

GIVEN BY HERBERT T. BALLARD

OWNER OF THIS PROPERTY

ERECTED BY

THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OP MONTGOMERY CO., PA.

NOVEMBER 11, 1938 David Rittenhouse, LL.D., F.R.S. A Study from Contemporary Sources«

By Milton Rubincam Corresponding Secretary, National Genealogical Society, Washington, D. G.

During the past few years a quantity of information has been published concerning David Rittenhouse. Virtually every phase of his distinguished career has been treated in numerous scholarly discussions. Commencing with the bi-centennial cele brations in 1932, newspaper and magazine readers have been made aware of his invaluable contributions in the fields of , , politics, literature—^who among us have regarded him as a translator of German and French masterpieces ?—and military . We are accustomed to think of Dr. Rittenhouse in terms of superlatives. After a lapse of nearly a century and a half since he was interred in his private observatory, his amazing me chanical genius, his extensive knowledge of astronomy and science, his and discoveries, still impress us as something extraordinary in an age when an academic educa tion was not a usual feature of our civilization. He and his friend, , were hailed in their own day as intellectual giants, and by of their exalted reputations were frequently called upon to fulfill many important func tions and to lend the authority of their names to every project that was formulated for the public weal. The men of his period contemplated Rittenhouse with mixed feelings. Dr. Babb aptly sums up their attitude toward him in a discussion of his mar-

*Read before The Historical Society of Montgomery County, Nor- ristown, Pa., June 3, 1939, on the occasion of the dedication of a marker commemorating Rittenhouses's observation of the Transit of Venus, June 3, 1769. DAVID RITTENHOUSE. LL.D.,- F.R.S. 9 velous : "Men like Adams, Jefferson, Washington, and others recognized the exquisite mechanics" of Rittenhouse in making this image of the heavens above, though others pro fessed to believe him an atheist, a mocker of God and a man of evil."i The near-reverence for his learning that was ac corded Rittenhouse was attested by Dr. Rush in his Eulogium delivered a few months after his death: "I can truly say, after an acquaintance with him for six-and-twenty years, that I never went into his company without learning something."- The year 1732 is memorable in the annals of the world, for it witnessed the births of six men whose names are written indelibly in the pages of history as exemplars of progressive-, ness of political ideals and advancement of scientific knowl edge. Richard Henry Lee, a member of the Continental Con gress, the man who introduced the resolution for independence, and a Signer of the Declaration; , whose inestimable services to his country are memorialized annually on February 22; David Rittenhouse, in whose honor we are gathered here today; Professor Joseph Jerome Lefrangais de Lalande, Director of the Paris Observatory, who established (in 1802) the Lalande Prize, which is still awarded annually to the person who makes the most outstanding contribution to Astronomy for the year; Dr. Nevil Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal to King George III, who contributed materially to the improvement of the science of navigation and was the editor of the Nautical Almanac; and Colonel John Dickinson, a mem ber of the Continental Congress, President of the Supreme Executive Councils of Delaware and Pennsylvania, and a member ofthe ConstitutionalConvention of 1787—allwere born within a few months of one another. Rittenhouse was asso-

iMaurice Jefferis Babb, Ph.D., "David Rittenhouse" (The Pennsyl vania Magazine of History and Biography, July, 1932, p. 195) 2Benjamin Rush, M.D., An Eulogium Intended to Perpetuate the Memory of David Rittenhouse, late President of the American Philo sophical Society. Delivered before the Society in the First Presbyterian Church, in High-street, , on the 17th Dec. 1796. Agreeably to Appointment, p. 37. 3^0 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

ciated with practically all of these eminent men of his own age during some part of his career. He was personally ac quainted with Lee, Washington, and Dickinson, and it is quite likely that he enjoyed a friendly correspondence with the two great European astronomers, Lalande and Maskelyne. In 1803, only seven years after Rittenhouse's passing, Lalande wrote of him in his Bibliographique Astronomique: "He was an up right man, of a sweet, affable, disinterested disposition; he has been deeply regretted."^ David Rittenhouse was descended from a noted family that now has representatives scattered from Philadelphia and the surrounding counties to all sections of the United States and Canada. A forty-six-year-old fairy tale has been widely cir culated to the effect that the Rittenhouses derived their line age from the ancient noble house Yon Rittershausen of West phalia, and that the latter in turn sprang from a male branch of the Austrian Imperial House of Habsburg. This fantastic theory was originally expounded in 1898 by Mr. Daniel Kolb Cassel, a worthy gentleman of Germantown, in his otherwise admirable Rittenhouse genealogy. In recent years a group of family historians has fearlessly attacked the problem, and, in the face of vigorous opposition from certain quarters, has pub licly refuted the tradition. The officers of the Rittershausen Family Association at Stettin, Germany, upon perusing the Rittenhouse book, characterized the asserted descent of the Rittenhouse family from Rittershausen stock as "humbug." This assertion carried with it the rejection of the alleged Habsburg origin. Lt. Col. Calvin I. Kephart, President of the National Genealogical Society, Washington, D. C., in corre spondence with those officers of the Rittershausen Association about a decade ago, agreed with their conclusions, and then determined soon afterward that the Rittenhouse parent stock must have been the medievalbaronial 'hou&evouRodinghausen, of Westphalia. His article in the December, 1938, issue of that

sjerome de La Lande, Bibliographique Astronomique; avec I'Histoire de I'Astronomie depuis 1781, jusqu'd 1802, p. 779: "C'etait un homme integre, d'un caractSre doux, affable, desinterress6; il a et^ tr6s-r6grette." DAVID RITTENHOUSE, LL.D., F.R.S.

Society's Quarterly, entitled "Rittenhouse Genealogy De bunked," develops this belief in full detail, with considerable supporting data and argument. Dr. Anita Neweomb McGee, the distinguished daughter of an illustrious father, Professor Simon Neweomb, the astronomer (whose wife was a descen dant of Capt. Benjamin Rittenhouse, David'syounger brother), also questioned the Rittershausen-Habsburg descent very early, as did also Mrs. Olive Barrick Rowland, of Richmond; Va., in her book. An Ancestral Chart and Handbook (1935). Despite the proficient efforts of these persons, however, many Rittenhouse descendants still persist in adhering to the re pudiated story of the family's origin. One lady wrote to Col. Kephart an indignant letter, wherein she avowed her deter mination to issue a booklet entitled. The Royal Ancestry of William Rittenhouse, the First Paper-Maker in America, if he and I had the effrontery to publish the history of the family now in preparation, in which we will unequivocally reject the tale! We are as yet unintimidated by her threat. Since the thirteenth century the members of the Von Rodinghausen clan have occupied prominent positions in the civic life of Hamm, Liidenscheid, and other communities in which they resided. It is significant that in colonial times (and even as late as 1821) the New Jersey Rittenhouses used the Rettinghouse variation of their name,^ and the senior lines in Pennsylvania were known as Rettenhouses until after the Revolutionary period.® An examination of a number of current city directories has revealed the fact that families named Rettinghouse and Rettinhouse reside in various parts of the United States today. The branch from which the American family is immedi ately derived was apparently not undistinguished in the home land. Heinrich Nicolaus Rittinghausen, a brother of William, the Pennsylvania patriarch, left the family homestead at Miilheim-an-der-Ruhr, Germany, crossed the Netherlands

^Calvin Kephart, Ph.D., "Rittenhouse Genealogy Debunked" {Na tional Genealogical Quarterly, December, 1938, p. 108). ^Compare the forms given in the Pennsylvania Archives, 6th Series. 12 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY frontier, and settled in the vicinity of Arnheim, in Gelder- land, where he was known usually as Nieolaas Rittinehuisen. In his new location he prospered, and attained the office of Alderman of Rosendaal, a village near Arnheim. By virtue pf his position he was a member of the local government. In 1692 he removed to Dordrecht, where he became a citizen and where he died in 1718. He was laid to rest in the churchyard of De Groote Kerk (The Great Church).® Alderman Rittinchuisen's wife was named Claesken Bid der, and it was understood by David Rittenhouse's nephew, William Barton, when he interviewed her son Adriaen in 1778, that she was a member of the illustrious De Ruyter family, of naval fame. Although there is apparently no foundation for this assumption, it is worth noting that there was a remark able similarity in the given names of the Alderman's children to those borne by the members of the immediate family of the great hero, Michael Adriaanszoon De Ruyter, Knight, Duke, andLieutenant-Admiral-GeneralofHollandandWestFriesland. The coincidence is so striking as to lend plausibility to the tradition. Was it purely accidental, for instance, that the Admiral's brother and sister were named respectively Cornells and Neeltje (this last being the name also of a daughter of the Admiral), names borne likewise by a son and daughter of the Alderman? Or that the Admiral's father and great-grand- father were named Adriaen, as were two of the sons of Nieo laas Rittinehuisen?' The actual connection with Admiral De

SKephart, supra, pp. 107-108. •^Petrus Johannes Blok, Miehiel Adriaanszoon De Ruyter (1928), p. 450. (Index, in which the various De Ruyter relationships are de scribed.) It is not certain if the records of all the children of Nieolaas and Claesken (Ridder) Rittinehuisen have been preserved, due to the fact that some of the church registers covering that period have disappeared, but their known children are as follows: Christina, married Gerrit Beek- man (their son, Henricus Beekman, was baptized September 13, 1696); Neeltjen, baptized December 26, 1679; Adriaen, baptized November 29, 1680, apparently died in infancy; Maria, baptized March 20, 1684, married Cornelis Canegies, July 20, 1714, at The Hague; Adrianus, living in Amsterdam in 1778, when he was interviewed by Dr. Ritten house's nephew, William Barton; and Cornelis, baptized January 21, 1697. Christina's parentage was not definitely given, but as she was DAVID RITTENHOUSB, LL.D., F.R.S. ^3

Ruyter had no direct bearing on the pedigree of the Ritten- house family of Pennsylvania, since it was merely collateral, but if such kinship existed, the Dutch branch of the Pennsyl vania clan had contracted a most important matrimonial al liance, one of which it might justly be proud. I have gone into far more detail concerning the brother of William Rittenhouse than I had originally intended, but I feel that in this citadel of the Rittenhouse family an account of his European connections will be received with interest. Much new material that escaped Mr. Cassel's attention has been unearthed, and it is earnestly hoped that subsequent investigations will reveal the precise family from which the brothers descended. In my collections is the photograph of a document now preserved in the Archives at Dordrecht; it is dated February 10,1718, and is Nicolaas Rittinchuisen's writ ten consent to the marriage of his niece, Eva Weijhuysen, to Isaak Duym. The present representative of the family at Miilheim is Mr. Gerhard Rettinghauss. These facts are suffi cient to indicate the amount of unpublished data that are being extracted from European sources. The story of the Alderman's brother, Wilhelm Ritting- hausen (1644-1708), is so well known that a detailed repetition is needless, but the mention of a few salient facts about him is necessary in every account of David Rittenhouse. He pre ceded Nicolaas to The Netherlands, where he became a citizen of Amsterdam in 1679, under the name of Willem Riidding- huysen. After his brother had settled at Velp and Rosendaal, Wilhelm removed to Arnheim to be near him. Both brothers were paper-makers by occupation. Wilhelm's importance in history did not commence until after his emigration to Ger- mantown, Pennsylvania, in 1688. He erected (in 1690) the first paper-mill in America, on the banks of the , as one of a company of enterprising men who clearly realized the necessity for such a manufactory in the colonies. Eventually, William and his elder son bought the shares of residing in Dordrecht at the same time as Nicolaas, we are safe in as suming that she was the Alderman's eldest child. Neeltjen, Adriaen, and Maria were baptized at Velp, Adrianus and Cornelis at Dordrecht. 3^4 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY the partners, with the result that after the turn of the century the Rittenhouses were the sole proprietors of the plant. Wil liam Rittenhouse has the distinction of being the first Menno- nite pastor in this country. In 1707, just a few months prior to his death, he was elected the first Bishop of the Mennonite Church on the American continent.® Rittenhouse had at least three children, Nicholas, Gerhard, and Elizabeth, who married Heivert Papen, a prominent Germantowner. It is known that in the first years of the 18th dentury a certain Paul Ruttinghusen resided in Germantown, but his exact connection with the family has never been ascer tained. Professor Hull, in his monumental work on and the settlement of Germantown, hints® that the Bishop may have had another son, for there is a record of a man named Jan Willemse Huyseen. The interpretation of his name may be: Jan, son of Willem Rittinghuysen, with the Bitting getting lost somewhere in the shuffle. We must hasten across the generations that separated Bishop Rittinghuysen from his most distinguished descendant, David. We pause only long enough to note that both Gerhard^®

SKephart, supra, p. 105. ®WiIliain I. Hull, Ph.D., William Penn and the Dutch Quaker Migra tion to Pennsylvania (1935), p. 417. lOCassel is in error when he declares that Gerhard's wife was a Miss Revacomh. His statement is based on a misinterpretation in the reading of Gerhard's will (1742), in which the latter named as executors his "trusty kinsmen," Charles and Justus Revacomh. This is one of the variations of the name of the Ruhincam-Ruhicam family of Pennsylvania and its distinguished Confederate branch, Revercomb of Virginia. The founders (in America) of this family did not emigrate to Germanto^vn until 1726, many years after Gerhard's marriage. (Milton Rubincam, "The Family of Jacob Revercomb, the First of the Race in Virginia" {Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine, October, 1938, p. 110; and "The German Background of the Rubincam-Revercomb Family of Pennsylvania and Virginia," The American Genealogist, January, 1939, p. 177). Gerhard's younger son, Peter Rettenhousen, of Cresheim, near Germantown, was the father of Barbara and Susannah, who married Charles William Rubincam (Revacomb) and Justus William Rubincam (Revacomb), respectively. The author is descended from Charles and Barbara. Peter's elder brother, William Rettinghousen, who was the progenitor of the prominent Rittenhouse family of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, was Col. Kephart's ancestor. DAVID RITTENHOUSE. LL.D., P.R.S. ^5 and the mysterious Paul Ruttinghausen were among the early patrons of the first school in Germantown, established in 1702 by Franz Daniel Pastorius; and that Nicholas Kitting- huysen (familiarly called Glaus in nearly all pubic and private records) was one of three Germantown representatives who attended the Mennonite Conference (held in 1725) that adopted the famous Dordrecht Confession of Faith of 1632.^^ The other delegates from Germantown were John Conrads and Clauses son-in-law, John Gorgas, the husband of Psyche Ritten- housel^ David Rittenhouse, the eldest surviving son of Matthias and Elizabeth (Williams) Rittenhouse, and grandson of Glaus, was born on the 8th day of April, 1732, in the little stone house in Germantown, on the banks of the Wissahickon, that had been erected in 1707 by his great-grandfather, the Bishop. This dwelling, truly the birthplace of genius and of scientific achievement, is .one of a cluster of houses that forms the family community of Rittenhousetown. We are all familiar with the stories of David Rittenhouse's early years: How his interest in mechanics was stimulated by his maternal uncle and namesake, David Williams. — How, on his uncle's death, he inherited (at the age of 12) a chest of tools and a small library, from the volumes of which he ab sorbed everything pertaining to science and mathematics. — How, after the family had moved from Germantown to Norri- ton, his brother Benjamin used to find him solving difficult mathematical problems on the handle of his plow, to the neglect of his farm work. — How, as he grew to manhood, his budding genius was brought to full maturity through con versation and study with a brilliant young clergjonan, the Reverend Thomas Barton, who married David's favorite

"John C. Wenger, History of the Mennonites of the Franconia Cow- ference (1937), pp. 289, 318, 429. i2John and Psyche (Rittenhouse) Gorgas were the ancestors of Brig. Gen. Josiah Gorgas, Chief of Ordinance, Confederate States Army; and of his illustrious son, Maj. Gen. Sir William Crawford" Gorgas, M.D., K.C.M.G., Surgeon-General, United States Army, the conqueror of yellow fever. 10 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY sister, Esther Rittenhouse, in 1753, thus cementing a firm friendship that lasted so long as Mr. Barton lived, even when the brothers-in-law were in different camps during the Revolution. Like Washington, Rittenhouse was a surveyor, and at different periods of his life laid the boundary of Pennsylvania; settled the boundary separating New York from New Jersey, and, with the Reverend John Ewing, established the line be tween New York and Massachusetts. In 1763-1764 he fixed the circle with the 12-mile radius about New Castle that now constitutes the border between Pennsylvania and Delaware. On Saturday, June 3, 1769—exactly one hundred and seventy years ago today—he performed what was unquestion ably his most celebrated observation, namely, that of the transit (or passage) of Venus over the 's disk. This phenomenon occurs but rarely. The first one to be observed was on a Sunday in 1639, by the Reverend Horrox, who was torn between two conflicting emotions, his duty to his church (the Sabbath services repeatedly interrupted his observation) and his interest in science. This was followed by the transits of 1761, 1769, 1874, and 1882. The next one will take place only sixty-five years from now, on June 8, 2004, but it is doubtful whether more than a few adults living today will be privileged to witness the occurrence. The American Philosophical Society, of which Rittenhouse had been a member since January 19, 1768,1^ appointed three committees to study the transit of 1769. One of these bodies took its station at Rlttenhouse's observatory at Norriton, where the young astronomer made elaborate preparations for the event. For this long-anticipated occasion he constructed an astronomical quadrant, an equal altitude instrument, a transit telescope, and a fine clock. As a matter of fact, although not a clockmaker by occupation, he was noted for the remarkable timepieces that were created in his shop. The observation of the transit was thus reported by the Pennsylvania Gazette for Thursday, June 8, 1769:

of Members of the American Philosophical Society, 1768-1880, 3. -DAVID RITTENHOUSE. LL.D.* P.R.S.

We hear that the Committee appointed (by the American Philo sophical Society, held at Philadelphia for promoting Useful Knowledge) to observe the Transit of Venus, which, happened on Saturday last, hav ing distributed themselves in three Classes, the Rev. Mr. John Ewing, Joseph Shippen, Esq.; Doctor Hugh Williamson, Messieurs Thomas Prior, Charles Thomson, and James Pearson, observed at the public Observa tory, in the State-House Square; the Rev. Doctor William Smith, John L'ukens, Esq.; Messieurs David Rittenhouse, and John Sellers, at Mr. Rittenhouse's Observatory, at Norrington; and Mr. Owen Biddle, near the Capes of Delaware. The Weather was extremely favourable, and the Observations at the three several Places, were compleated greatly to the Satisfaction of the Observers. As soon as the Committees have di gested their Remarks to lay before the Society, we are promised an authentic Account of the Results of their Observations, which we under stand agree to great Exactness with each other, making Allowance for the Difference of Place, &c. Dr. William Smith, Provost of the College of Philadelphia, in his accpunt of the Norriton observations, paid hugh tribute to Rittenhouse, "to whose extraordinary skill and diligence," he informed the Society on July 20, 1769, "is owing whatever advantage may be derived, ... to our observatioon of the Transit itself."^^ A copy of Dr. Smith's account was read by Nevil Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal, before the Royal Society on November 23, 1769, and it was printed in the British learned Society's Philosophical Transactions for that year. Over a century later, Simon -Newcomb declared that Rittenhouse's "observations of the celebrated transit of Venus in 1769 have every appearance of being among the best that were made.''^® About this time Rittenhouse completed his planetarium misnamed the "Orrery." This machine, which was owned by , was lost nearly half a century ago, but his second Orrery, now the treasured possession of the Uni versity of Pennsylvania, is a most amazing mechanical device. By manipulating the hands on the dials, it is possible to ob serve the movements of the celestial bodies over a period of

^^Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, held at PhilO' delphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge, vol. I (1771), p. 9. issimon Newcomb, "Abstract Science in America, 1776-1876" {North American Review, January, 1876, p. 95). Jg BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY ten thousand years—5000 years prior to" 1770, and 5000 sub sequent to 1770. Complete data regarding eclipses of the sun and moon during these many millenia are obtainable to the precise hour, minute, and second of the occurrence, whether an eclipse took place in the year of Asshurnazirpal Ill's ac cession to the Assyrian throne, or whether one will transpire 2,824 years hence, when our genealogies and family records will have crumbled to dust. In 1782 Jefferson was thinking of the planetarium when he penned these immortal words in his valuable Notes on Virginixi:^^ We have supposed Mr, Rittenhouse second to no astronomer living; that in genius he must be the first, because he is self taught. As an artist he has exhibited as great a proof of mechanical genius as the world has ever produced. He has not indeed made a world; but he has by imitation approached nearer its Maker than any man who has lived from the creation to this day.

The Orrery astounded the people of his day no less than it impresses us with the constructor's ingenuity. The Pennsyl vania Gazette for Thursday, April 26, 1770, carried a story about the first Orrery, in the course of which the reporter wrote: ... As this is an American Production, and much more complete than anything of the kind ever made in Europe, it must give Pleasure to every Lover of his Country, to see her rising to Fame in the sublimest , as well as every Improvement in the Arts. ... A few years later John Adams, on his way to Philadelphia to attend the sessions of the first Continental Congress, stopped off at Princeton. On August 27,1774, he made the fol lowing entry in his diary:" here we saw a most beautiful machine—an orrery or planetarium, constructed by Mr. Rittenhouse, of Philadelphia. It exhibits almost every motion in the astronomical world; the motions of the sun and all the planets, vnth all their satellites, the eclipses of the sun and moon, &c.

Andrew A. Lipscomb, editor. The Writings of , vol. II (1904), p. 95. i^Charles Francis Adams, editor. The Works of John Adams, vol. II (1850), p. 356. DAVID RITTENHOUSE, LL.D., F.R.S. • ^9

, It is interesting to note.that.nine,years, later, on Jai^us ary 13, 1783, at a meeting of the> American Philosophical Society, Jefferson moved that Rittenhouse make an Orrery for Louis 'XVI, King of France and Navarre, evidently. as a gesture of appreciation for the invaluable services .rendered by our royal.ally during the late .war. At the meeting, of March 6, it was announced that Rittenhouse had agreed to construct the planetarium for His Most Christian Majesty, and on September 26,1783, a letter was read from the French Minister, to the effect that the King would accept the Orrery, and "by his Royal Patronage excite an Emulation between the Literary Societies of France and the United States."^® In 1770 Rittenhouse moved to Philadelphia with his young wife, the former Eleanor Coulston, whom he had married in 1766, and their two infant daughters, Elizabeth (who married the Honorable Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant in 1788) and Esther (who became the wife of Dr. Nicholas Baker Waters in 1789). Shortly afterwards, on February 23, 1771, his wife passed away, following by two days a stillborn child of theirs.i^ On December 31, 1772, he took as his second wife. Miss Hannah Jacobs, a remarkable woman who was subse quently of the greatest assistance to her husband in the per formance of his arduous public duties. Unlike Great Britain, the colonies had no Government- subsidized observatory, but in May, 1775, the Pennsylvania Assembly was petitioned by the American Philosophical Society, which requested that such an observatory be erected with Rittenhouse as director. No finer tribute could have been paid the 43-year-old astronomer than the desire of our lead ing learned society that Rittenhouse should occupy in America a position analogous to that enjoyed by his great contempor-

"i-^EoHy Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge, Compiled by one of the Secretaries From the MS. Minutes of its Meetings from 17M to 1838; transcribed by J. Peter Lesley (1884), pp. 116-118.

lOWilliam Wade Hinshaw and Thomas Worth Marshall, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, vol. 11 (1938), p. 413. 2Q bulletin of historical society of MONTGOMERY COUNTY ary Maskelyne in England. But at that moment we were plunging headlong into our first war with the Mother Country, and more important matters claimed the attention of the honorable legislators. Over in London His Most Gracious Majesty our Sovereign and liege Lord was busy living up to his mother's injunction, "George, be a King!" and consequently he was striving assiduously—a fact of which he was sadly unaware! — for the permanent separation of a fair portion of his hereditary realm. The American Revolution was a great lesson for Great Britain; if not for George III, at least for his successors. It prevented them from repeating their mis takes over sixty years later, when the Canadian provinces were allowed responsible government. . The record of the Rittenhouse family during the Revolu tion is an impressive one. I have collected data pertaining to no fewer than twenty-seven bearers of the name who partici pated actively in the historic conflict, and doubtless there were others whose service to the cause of independence have not yet been brought to light. David's younger brother Ben jamin—^who, many years later, aided materially in the organ ization of Montgomery County—accepted the commission of Captain in the local military company of Worcester, where he resided, and early in 1776 he became Superintendent of the Gunlock Factory. Like many other families of the day, the Rittenhouses were divided in their allegiance. The Rev. Thomas Barton, brother-in-law of David and Benjamin, who had served as a Captain in the Anglo-American forces during the French and Indian War, chose to uphold the British cause. A certain William Rittenhouse, who had wandered as far south as South Carolina prior to the war, enlisted in the British Army, as did his son, who died as a result of wounds. One Canadian record'^® gives his name as Ritten Hour, and we naturally hesitate to connect him with the Rittenhouse family when he might have belonged to the numerous Ritenour family. But I have seen his original Loyalist's claim in the

20 (Miss) Marion Gilroy, Loyalists and Land Settlement in Nova 5'cotia (1937), p. 51. DAVID RITTBNHOUSE, LL.D., F.R.S. £1

Library of Congress,and his name is unmistakably given as Rittenhouse. David Rittenhouse's contributions to the patriot cause were rendered, not on the field of battle, but in the laboratory where he conducted experiments in rifling cannon, and in the various revolutionary councils that were created to cope with the emergencies that confronted the insurgents. He held the offices of to the Committee of Safety, Vice-President of the Council of Safety, and President of the Board of War for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania—an organization that con trolled the life and death of the citizenry of the State. In the fall of 1776 the British advanced upon Philadelphia, and Vice-president Rittenhouse of the Council of Safety issued a stirring proclamation "To the Freemen of the City and Liberties of Philadelphia" in which he exhorted them to Consider your situation, and determine what part you will take. There is no time for delay; and by your conduct the Continent will be influ enced. We therefore entreat you, by the most sacred of all bonds—^the love of virtue, and liberty, and of your country—to forget every dis tinction, and unite as one man in this time of extreme danger. Let us defend ourselves like men determined to be free.22 The revolutionary Government hastily fled the capital as the triumphant foe advanced, and Rittenhouse accompanied it to Lancaster. After the British had evacuated the city many months later, Jefferson wrote to Rittenhouse from his Virginia estate, Monticello, on July 19, 1778: " I sincerely congratulate you on the recovery of Philadelphia." After asking about the orrery and the astronomer's papers, and discussing an eclipse that had recently occurred, he made the celebrated declaration that is always scrupulously quoted as additional evidence of the esteem in which he held the Philadelphian: I doubt not there are in your country many persons equal to the task of conducting government; but you should consider that the world has but one Rjrttenhouse, and that it never had one before.23

^^Proceedings of the Loyalist Cowmissioners, 1784-1790: Pemberton Papers, vol. VII (1786),pp. 126-128, MSS. Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 22peter Force, editor, American Archives, 6th Series, vol. Ill, p. 809. 230riginalin the Papers, MSS. Department, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. 22 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OP MONTGOMERY COUNTY

On March 5, 1776, Rittenhouse took his seat as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (in succession to the able Dr. Franklin), and while serving in this capacity he became a member of the first Constitutional Convention of the State. From 1776 until his resignation in 1789 he served efficiently as State Treasurer of Pennsylvania. In 1779 he was elected the first Professor of Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania—recently created out of the old College of Philadelphia—and in 1780 he was chosen the University's first Vice-Provost. Dr. John Ewing was the Pro vost, and it was agreed that he should teach the students logic, metaphysics, and moral philosophy, and the Vice-Provost should instruct them in geography and practical astronomy. They divided between them the courses in geometry, mathematics, and natural and experimental philosophy.^^ In 1782 Ritten house resigned as Professor, and was elected a Trustee of the University. A great compliment was shortly thereafter paid the astronomer when the University's seal was designed with the figure of his famed Orrery. At the conclusion of the war Rittenhouse wished to show his personal appreciation of Washington's priceless services in effecting our independence. Accordingly, he made a pair of spectacles and a reading glass, which he presented to the General with his compliments. On February 18, 1783, Wash ington assured him that The Spectacles suit my eyes extremely well—as I am persuaded the Reading-Glasses will when I get more accustomed to the use of them.25 The high regard that Dr. Franklin entertained for Ritten house is finely exemplified in the opening sentence of his letter to the astronomer, dated at Passy, France, December 15, 1783:26

24photostatic reproductions of the Minutes of the Board of Trustees, University of Pennsylvania (Rittenhouse Bicentenary Papers, MSS. Dept., Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia). ^swilliara Barton, Memoirs of the Life of David Rittenhouse, LL.D., F.R.S. (1813), pp. 299-300. ^^The Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin, vol. VIII (1888), p. 389. DAVID RITTENHOUSE, LL.D., F.R.S. 23

All astronomical news that I receive I think it my duty to com municate to you. It is apparent that about this time a movement was under way to install Rittenhouse in William and Mary College, prob ably in a professorial capacity. On August 20, 1785, Jefferson, who was one of the trustees of the college, wrote to his friend and fellow-alumnus, John Page, a former Congressman and future Governor of Virginia, who had recently been associated with Rittenhouse in establishing the boundary line between Pennsylvania and Virginia I have been much pleased to hear you had it in contemplation, to endeavor to establish Rittenhouse in our College. This would be an im mense acquisition, and would draw youth to it from every part of the continent.

But the plan evidently failed to materialize. Perhaps Rit tenhouse himself vetoed the suggestion, owing to the pre carious condition of his health, or perhaps he thought that his official duties were so urgent as to require his continued pres ence in Pennsylvania. On June 26, 1786, Rittenhouse wrote to Jefferson, who was then our envoy in France I am at present engaged in preparing for a Tour to the Northern Boundary of this State which will require my attention for the remain der of this season. Indeed I have for some years past been such a Slave to public Business that I -have had very few leisure hours more than must necessarily be indulged in a crazy constitution.

About this time he was exercising his linguistical knowl edge by translating Lucy Sampson, or The Unhappy Heiress from Lessing's German, and the Idylls from Gessner*s French.^® In 1790 the versatile Dr. Franklin died, and at this point in the story it is my sad and painful duty to explode a very pretty legend, a legend that undoubtedly had emanated from the fertile brain of the eminent Dr. Benjamin Rush, Ritten-

27Lipscomb, supra, vol. V (1904), p. 8^ 280riginal in the Thomas Jefferson Papers, MSS. Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D. G. 29Babb, swpra, p. 222. 24 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY house's friend and adulator. Dr. Rush was regarded in his own time as the foremost physician of the day, and we of the modern age have dutifully inherited this time-honored opinion. As a matter of fact, his services as a statesman and public servant were of much greater significance to our national progress than his alleged contributions to medicine. During the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, he remarked casually that "Moschetoes ... were uncommonly numerous."^® If he had taken the trouble to lift his nose from the pages of the musty manuscripts and books into which he had buried it in a desperate effort to learn how to stem the tide of death, and had studied those same mosquitoes, he would have preceded Reed and Gorgas by a century in the discovery that those insects were the carriers of the yellow fever germ. Dr. Rush was first, last, and always a romanticist, and he would have us believe that a few nights after Franklin's death a violent storm swept the countryside. At the house of Governor Thomas Mifflin a social gathering of notables, in cluding Rittenhouse, Dr. Smith, Rush, and others, was held, and the conversation naturally turned on the many remark able achievements of their departed friend, whereupon Dr. Smith penned the following famous verses:

Cease, cease. Ye Clouds, your elemental Strife; Oh! rage not thus, as if to threaten Life I Seek, seek, no more to shake our Souls with Dread! What busy mortal told you—Franklin's Dead? What though he yields to Jove's imperious Nodd, With Rittenhouse he left his Magic Rod!

It is a dramatic tale, one worthy of Dr. Rush, and a warm tribute to Dr. Smith's literary skill, but alas! there is no truth in it. And our authority for this startling revelation is Dr. Smith himself. In the summer of 1802, Rush and Gilbert Stuart, the artist, paid a visit to Smith at his country home. On this occasion Rush recalled the meeting with Governor Mifflin in 1790, and attributed to Smith the statement: "This is a terrible gust—I believe the clouds know that Dr. Franklin

soVictor Robinson, M.D., The Story of Medicine (1931), p. 451. DAVID RITTENHOUSE, LL.D., F.R.S. ' 25 is dead." A few days later, on August 5, 1802, Smith wrote to Rush that he could not remember anything of the anecdote rdated by the Doctor, which, he said, "I would rather ascribe to your own fine, fervid, and friendly Imagination," and went on to say that his remark "would have been spouted out extempore" in the verses I have just quoted.®^ It will thus be observed that they were composed twelve years after Frank lin's death, and six years after Rittenhouse's demise, and not two nights after the former's passing and within the lifetime of the latter, as commonly stated. It is a curious instance of how dramatic tales become distorted, and fiction is solemnly proclaimed as fact and believed even by serious students of history. In 1791 Rittenhouse was elected the second President of the American Philosophical Society, in the place of Franklin. In April, 1792, an Act of Congress created the , and on the 14th of the month President Washing ton appointed Rittenhouse to the post of Director. He fulfilled the functions of this office very acceptably until his resigna tion in 1795, for reasons of health. Like all public figures, Rittenhouse had his detractors, men who were not fully capable of understanding him or of appreciating his genius. His successor at the Mint, Henry Wil liam De Saussure, of South Carolina, answered the distin guished astronomer's critics with the just observation that The solid talents of Mr. Rittenhouse will be remembered with pride, and his mild virtue recollected with tenderness by his countrymen, when many of his censors will be forgotten in the silent dust.32 That irascible English journalist, William Cobbett, other wise known as "Peter Porcupine," was especially vehement in his denunciation of the eminent philosopher. In 1797, after the latter's death, Cobbett inquired: What good did Rittenhouse do to mankind? Dr. Rush, indeed, says that he did a great deal and particularly to his own country; but with all due

3iPhotostatic reproduction in the Rittenhouse MSS., MSS. Dept., Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. 32Barton, supra, p. 393. 26 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OP MONTGOMERY COUNTY submission to the hyperbolical bombast of Dr. Eush, ... I never heard of any good to mankind, and particularly America, that he did except determine the boundaries of some of the States "which he did with great precision," and which I could have done as well as he, had I re ceived the same pay for it.^^

Truculent old John Adams was another gentleman who flayed Rittenhouse. On March 14, 1814, from Quincy, Massa chusetts, Adams wrote to Jefferson:®^

Rittenhouse was a virtuous and amiable man; an exquisite mech anician, master of the astronomy known in his time, an expert mathe matician, a patient calculator of numbers. ... In politics Rittenhouse was good, simple, ignorant, well-meaning, Franklinian, democrat, totally ignorant of the world, as an anchorite, an honest dupe of the French Revolution, a mere instrument of Jonathan Sergeant, Dr. Hutchinson, Genet, and Mifflin. ...

Adams's rancor against Rittenhouse was due primarily to the fact that on the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 Washington, Mifflin, McKean, Rittenhouse, Sergeant, Rush, and other leaders, welcomed the overthrow of their erstwhile ally King Louis, in the sincere belief that democratic principles were about to prevail in the ancient Bourbon mon archy, while he (Adams) almost alone held out for complete aloofness from the new Republic. The Adamses of Massachu setts apparently did not care very much for the Rittenhouses of Pennsylvania. In 1821 Secretary of State received David Rittenhouse's grandnephew, Thomas Pennant Barton, a son of the celebrated surgeon. Dr. Ben jamin Smith Barton. Adams noted in his Diary:®®

Mr. T. P. Barton came, a son of the late Dr. Barton, of Philadel phia, a young man who is going to spend four years in Europe for improvement—that is to say, make himself good for nothing. He was with his father in London when I saw him there in 1815, and was then

33William Cobbett, Porcupine's Works, vol. IV (1801), "The Political Censor, No. VIII," pp. 361-362. 34Adams, supra, vol. X (1856), pp. 89-90. ssGharles Francis Adams, editor. Memoirs of John Quincy Adams. Comprising Portions of his Diary from 1795-18^8, vol. V (1875), p. 340. DAVID RITTENHOUSB, LL.D., F.B.S. 27

a boy. He is now a handsome young man, just fit to be ruined by a residence in Europe for improvement.

J. Q. Adams lived long enough to see this despised scion of the house of Rittenhouse uphold the dignity of the UnitedStates as Charge d'Affaires at Paris, and in after years become cele brated as a bibliophile and one of our distinguished Shake spearian authorities. His marvelous library is now one of the treasured collections of the Public Library of the City of Boston. Many academic honors had been conferred on Ritten house—^the Master of Arts degree by the College of Philadel phia, Princeton, and William and Mary. The latter institution, indeed, recognized him as the Principem Philosophorum, or "Chief of Philosophers." In 1789 Princeton bestowed upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. He was a Fellow of the American Society of Arts and Letters, of Boston, and a member of the Society of Arts and Sciences, of Virginia. The highest of his many honors came in 1795, when he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. The Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society has very kindly supplied me with a photostatic reproduction of Dr. Rittenhouse^s certificate of candidature, which was read before the society on Novem ber 6,1794: David Rittenhouse Esqr President of the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia, a Gentleman of high reputation in the Literary World, whom we the Underwritten think well deserving the honor of becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society, is hereby recommended by us as a Candidate for election on the foreign list.

It was signed by Henry Cavendish, Jesse Ramsden, Antony Shepherd, Alexander Aubert, Nevil Maskelyne, and Caleb Whitefoord. All of these gentlemen were eminent scien tists, but it was left for Cavendish to combine genius with ec centricity. A half year older than Rittenhouse, he was a grand son of the second Duke of Devonshire. He is credited with being the discoverer of hydrogen.^® It is said of him that he

s&Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 9, p. 349. 28 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

"ordered his dinner daily by a note left on the hall table," and he was so intent on avoiding conversation that Lord Brougham facetiously commented that Cavendish "probably uttered fewer words in the course of his life than any man who ever lived to fourscore years, not at all excepting the monks of La Trappe."®^ The humor of this remark is apparent when we recall that the monks of La Trappe are sworn to perpetual silence. On January 11, 1793, Dr. Rittenhouse discovered a comet in the Constellation Cepheus. He was able to follow it for sev eral succeeding weeks, until it completely disappeared on the evening of February 8.^® There is no need to linger over the eminent astronomer's declining years. On June 22, 1796, he suffered an attack of cholera. His nephew and family physician, Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton, was hastily summoned. He became alarmed at his uncle's condition, and called into consultation Dr. Adam Kuhn, but despite every effort exerted by them to prolong the life of their illustrious patient, Dr. Rittenhouse quietly passed away on Sunday, the 26th day of June, 1796.®® He was laid to rest beneath the pavement of his observatory in the garden adjoining his home. A few years later his remains were taken to the Presbyterian Church burial grounds at 4th and Pine Streets. On January 18, 1878, the bodies of Dr. and Mrs. Rittenhouse were removed to their present resting place in , where are also interred the bodies of their elder daughter, Elizabeth, her distinguished husband, Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant, Congressman and Attorney- General of Pennsylvania, and their family.^® It is no easy task to summarize the contributions made by David Rittenhouse in the interests of science, education, and public affairs. So full and varied was his life, and so great

vol. 9, p. 352. ^^Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. Ill (1793), p. 261. ssBarton, supra, pp. 442-444. ^oinformation supplied by Laurel Hill Cemetery, September 27, 1937. DAVID RITTENHOUSB, LL.D., P.R.S. 29 was his influence on his times, that I find it difficult to indicate those accomplishments which are especially outstanding and of most importance to us. Briefly, they may be listed as follows:

He was instrumental in settling the boundaries of more than half the British colonies in America.^i In 1778 he made the first careful observation of an eclipse of the sun in this country.^2 His calculations based on his observation of the transit of Venus in 1769 determined the approximate distance of the sun from the earth more accurately than those of other astronomers.^^ In 1785 he invented the collimating telescope, which has been de scribed as "a useful contribution to practical astronomy that has been duly credited/'-^^ In 1786 he introduced spider threads in the eyepiece of the tele scope, which one outstanding authority regards as his principal merit;^® by some scholars, it is thought that Fantana preceded him in this in- stance.^® As professor and vice-provost, he assisted materially in the organ ization of several departments of the University of Pennsylvania. As Director of the Mint, he organized that very necessary Gov ernmental bureau.

In the dining room of the stately mansion at Mount Ver- non, for generations the home of the Washington family, hangs a splendid portrait of Dr. Rittenhouse. The visitor from Pennsylvania who is proud of the great men of his state re ceives a genuine thrill at the sight of the astronomer's well- known features. If he has sufficient powers of concentration to dissociate from his historic surroundings the gaping and pushing throngs, our visitor derives pleasure by reflecting on

^^Dictionary of American Biography, vol. XV (1935), p. 631. 42Prof. S. A. Mitchell, Eclipses of the Sun (1923), pp. 128-129. 43James Renwick, David Rittenhouse {American Biography, edited by Jared Sparks, vol. VII, 1837, pp. 353-354). ^^Dict. Amer. Biog., vol. XV, p. 631. ^^Encyclopedia Britannica, 14th edition, vol. XIX, p. 323. 46Babb, supra, p. ?20. 30 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY the firm bond of friendship that united Rittenhouse and the first President of the United States, and he realizes that the portrait in the dining room is a rare tribute indeed to an extraordinary man. It was hanging there the day Washington died. The scene changes, and we find the pilgrim in a quieter en vironment, where he is not likely to be disturbed from his meditations. As he stands in reverent homage beside a modest grave in Laurel Hill Cemetery, his mind reverts to Pastor Green's noble description of David Rittenhouse's original resting place in the private observatory at Seventh and Arch Streets, Philadelphia: "This is, emphatically, the Tomb of Genius and of Science!"*'^

.^Tfiarton, supra, p. 451.

Additional Note: The Rittenhouse Memorial Association was founded in Germantown, Philadelphia, in 1890. Its purposes were quite laudable: to collect, preserve, and publish information pertaining to the Rittenhouse family, to establish a museum where might be deposited relics, heirlooms, and papers belonging to the family, to hold family reunions, and other wise to perpetuate the fame of this distinguished clan that was so intimately identified with the cultural development of the United States. After making these noble resolutions and issuing two volumes on the family genealogy (very valuable for some of the American branches, but hopelessly inadequate in vol. I's treatment of the European lines) the Association apparently expired. The author confesses frankly his great desire to witness the resus citation of this organization. The Rittenhouse family has produced leaders in numerous fields of endeavor since the time of David, although it must be owned that no member of the House has attained his intellectual stature. The Rittenhouse Memorial Association should be revived—even the name retained—to carry out the program outlined by its defunct predecessor. In co-operation with historical and genealogical societies, as well as individuals, the Association should exert a supreme effort to collect every scrap of information relative to the family in America, and to penetrate the mists that obscure the European horizon. All Ritten house descendants—regardless of surname—would be eligible for admis sion to the Association. The time to act is—now! "The Lost Planetarium" ' of. David Rittenhouse*

By James K. Helms

"In 1768, he (David Rittenhouse) made his first planetar ium for the Princeton College, which is regarded as a wonder ful piece of scientific mechanism, and which may still be seen there, and for which he received three hundred pounds Penn sylvania Currency. Dr. Gordon, writing in 1790, says of this work:

"There is not the like in Europe. An elegant and neatly ornamental frame rises perpendicular near upon eight feet, in the front of which you are presented, in three several apartments, a view of the celestial system, the motions of the planets around the Sun, and the satalites about the planets. The wheels, etc., that produce the movement are be hind the wooden perpendicular frame in which the orrery is fixed. By suitable contrivances you in a short time tell the eclipses of the sun and moon for ages past and ages to come; the like in other cases of astronomy.'

"He afterwards constructed another planetarium for the University of Pennsylvania." {History of Montgomery County within the Schuylkill Valley, by William J. Buck, in 1858, published in 1859, p. 117.) "There is also a good collection of philosophical apparatus there, which includes that wonderful piece of scientific mechanism, the planetarium of Doctor David Rittenhouse. Through the politeness of Professor MacLean, I was permitted to examine its construction, and view the wonderful precision with which the machinery performed its difficult functions. On the front is: 'INVENTED BY DAVID RITTENHOUSE, A.D. 1768; Repaired and extended by HENRY VOIGHT,

*Eead before the Society April 30, 1927.

31 32 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

1806; both of PHILADELPHIA.'" (Lossing's Field Book, Vol. II, p. 36. Description of Nassau Hall, Princeton.) "At the age of twenty-three, he (David Rittenhouse) made his famous orrery, for presenting the motion of the heavenly bodies. This was bought and is still in the possession of Prince ton College. A duplicate was made for the Philadelphia Acad emy and was purchased by the Assembly." (Scharf and West- cott's History of Philadelphia, p. 263.) "His (David Rittenhouse) first great work, among others, marvelous in their time, constructed wholly at night, his idle hours as he called them, was the famous orrery now in Prince ton University." (The Wissahickon, by T. A. Daly, published in 1922, p. 24.) The birthplace of David Rittenhouse stands along Lin coln Park Drive, about three hundred yards above where this drive leaves the Wissahickon, very familiar ground to me. In reading up the life of this great scientist, one of the items that always seemed to interest me most was the planetarium, and so I became determined to see it for myself. Last summer (August 10, 1926), having occasion to be in Princeton, the first thing that interested me was to see this wonderful piece of mechanism, and so the best part of an afternoon was wasted trying to find some one who might direct me to it; but it being vacation season, no one there at that time seemed to know what piece of apparatus was meant, and no one could give any directions whatever about it, so it was necessary to leave discouraged. Still being determined to see the planetarium, and having another opportunity to go to Princeton in the Fall of 1926, I found this time the College was in session, and being ac quainted with the Dean of the School of Architecture, Sherley W. Morgan, I was finally directed to Doctor Adams in the Physical Laboratory. He informed me that he had heard that there was such a piece of mechanism in the University some years before his time there; but he had never seen it, al though he had been instructor there for many years. How ever, he told me that he was sure that if I got in touch with Mr. Magee, he would be able to tell me all about it. As Mr. Magee was not about, .Doctor Adams got in touch with him THE LOST PLANETARIUM OF DAVID EITTENHOUSE 33 by telephone, and made an appointment for 2 P.M. that same afternoon. At the appointed time I met Mr. Magee, and he was pleased to see some one interested in the old planetarium; but said that although he would like to accommodate me, still he could only give me bad news, which he extremely regretted. He stated: That he (Mr. Magee) had been connected with Princeton University continuously since 1876, either as a student, or as an instructor. He remembered having seen the old Planetar ium when he first came to the University in 1876, but that it had not been used for a long time, and was only regarded as a very ancient piece of mechanism. That in 1876, when preparing for the great Denver eclipse, Mr. Blacket and Mr. Young, who were in charge, needed some parts for their apparatus. As the old planetarium was no longer used, they took it apart, so as to make use of some gears and other parts, which they built into the new device. Mr. Magee further stated that it was without doubt their intention after returning from the observations of the eclipse to re-construct the old planetarium, and try to put it back in working order, and for that reason all the parts not used were carefully packed in a large packing case. While they were away, for some reason—^why, no one ever knew—the packing case with all the parts, except those used for the eclipse machinery, was removed and could never be located after their return from the west. It was, therefore, not then considered necessary to dismantle the device they made. Mr. Magee had never seen the device they constructed, to his recollection. And so, was lost forever this wonderful contrivance, which gave David Rittenhouse a reputation in this Country and Europe, although publications are no doubt still stating that it might be seen in Princeton. 34 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Having been bitterly disappointed at Princeton, I was determined to see the other planetarium built by David Rit- tenhouse, now at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadel phia, and I was directed to see Dr. T. D. Cope, Instructor in , who advised me to see Dr. M. J. Babb, Department of Mathematics, in Bennett Hall. This was on Saturday, April 23d. But Dr. Babb was not at Bennett Hall, and so I called him at his home in Ardmore, He requested me to call him between 1.15 and 2 P.M. on Monday the 25th; and if he could spare the time, he would be only too pleased to show me the plane tarium. Dr. Babb agreed to meet me that day, at the College, in the Office of the Provost, where we looked over the planetar ium, until Mr. DuBarry, Vice-Provost, arrived, who explained in detail as to the general arrangements. This planetarium is in a large antique cabinet, it is in three distinct compartments. On the left it is empty, and it prob ably never contained the special arrangements for Saturn and Jupiter, or else they were removed by David Rittenhouse himself. The central part is the solar system, while on the left is the special mechanism, arranged to show the eclipses of the sun and moon, for 5000 years gone by, and 5000 years to come. It is in good working order, and Dr. Babb will some day take the trouble to demonstrate it thoroughly. It is indeed fortunate that this historical piece of appara tus is spared; and the University values it highly, and re quested that it would be appreciated if any one in the Histori cal Society of Montgomery County could advise them, as to who built the antique cabinet for the planetarium(?). fi|,

1!.'! .r^;-U'TUi r.. t .

SZlniii : lit

Rl "

•• • ' *. • ***1

Weberville Factory The Weberville Factory*

By Charles H. Shaw

Weberville Factory, or what was probably better known in latter years as Trooper Mill, was situated on the east side of a public road about one quarter of a mile southwest of the Ridge turnpike. This road crossed the Ridge pike at Trooper, and was originally laid out by court order in 1773 to be 40' wide. For several years it was used as the route to transport gun powder from Sumneytown to Port Kennedy, for blasting limestone at the latter place. The mill, when built in 1847 by Jesse L. Bean, was used as a saw and grist mill, and was known as the Trooper Steam Mills, as a steam engine was used for power. There were two houses on the property; one near the road used for the miller, and the other used as a springhouse. This springhouse was originally a dwelling of one story and attic, and at that time the spring was on the outside. There was a fireplace on the first floor approximately 4^ feet wide, and years ago it was said that Colonel John Bull lived there for a time. Both of these old houses and the mill were built of stone, most of which was quarried from the opposite side of the road. In 1855 Dewalt Weber converted this mill into a cotton and woolen factory, and at that time another two-story stone building was erected. The second story had many large win dows for the benefit of the weavers, and the first story held the finishing machines. The original mill was four stories, and the main entrance was on the east side. The first floor was used for the office, the fulling machines, and engine room. The second story was used for spinning, the third for carding, and the fourth for picker room. The cotton and wool was hoisted to the fourth story by a windlass, and then came down each

*Read before the Society April 29, 1939.

35 30 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

story as it was processed, so there was no waste motion in handling. There were two other smaller buildings. The first, of stone, housed two boilers, over which was an open drying platform; and next to this boiler house was the dye house, of frame construction. The coal for the boilers was shipped by canal boat to a wharf at Port Indian. At that time the road was along the river opposite the Jonas Ashenfelter property, and the coal was unloaded and put on a pile on his lot. He and his sons then hauled the coal to the mill. To make a shorter haul, a road was cut through some distance below the mill from Trooper road to where the Port Indian road met the Egypt road. The mill property consisted of ten acres and sixty-three perches more or less. Houses were built on the property prob ably at the time the mill was converted, and were a part of the property. Records show there was one brick house, four frame houses, and one old stone house, all abutting on Trooper road; and to the east and south of the mill were eight small stone houses and four double stone houses. All these houses were built on deep lots for gardening. The people who lived in them were mostly English and Irish, and all seemed to get along well together making a happy community. They worked sixty hours a week, and pay day was monthly. Their children went to Indian Creek School, that being the district from Ridge pike to the Schuylkill on the east side of the Trooper road. Mathias Harley, of Fairview Village, was the merchant tak ing orders and delivering groceries twice a week, and who said he never lost a dollar on bad accounts. From 1855 when the mill was converted by Weber to a cotton and woolen mill until 1866, Christopher Blounts was owner and manufacturer with various partners at different, times. A record of September, 1857, mentions a Leonard Thur- low as a partner, taking over with Blounts some stock of Paul Thurlow; again from 1862 to 1863 a Benard McCane was mentioned, and a record of sale of machinery and property back to Blounts was made. In 1855 James Shaw, from Mana- yunk, was employed by Blounts as manager. Mr. Shaw had been an expert finisher, who had learned his trade in England. In 1856 James Kenworthy was employed as a weaver and i:-

James Shaw THE WEBBBVILLB FACTORY'- 3X later as a bookkeeper. These^two men are mentioned on ac count of subsequent connections with milL At tMs time the mill, was a thriving.place of manufacture, and .an inven tory of machinery was as follows: 2 renovators, 2 wool pickers, 1 special picker, 2.mule spinning frames, 2 card grinders,.! ring twister,. 1 spooling frame, 47 looms, 1 beaming frame, 4 fulling machines, 1 gig, 5 cloth shearing machines, 1 brushing machine, 1 cloth winder, 2 cloth presses. The dye house fixtures consisted of 1 power scouring machine, 1 extractor, and 7 dye tubs with water and heating pipes necessary for same. At a later date the looms were increased to 64 in number. A book account of 1856 gives the following employees: Robert Platt Margaret Holcroft Benjamin Mason Amanda Moyer Robert Hall Mary Hall James McGinley Sarah Fox Benjamin Buckley Emily Fox Ann Wilkinson Martha Fox Mary McGarvey Susan Walker Jane Kenworthy Matilda Barrett Mary Keains Wesley McCoy Elizabeth Walker Elizabeth McHamer Sarah Walker Sophia Crowder Jane Walker William Crowder Mary Walker Samuel Crowder Henriette Froeb John Walker Anna McGinley Mrs. McCoy Mary Holcroft On January the 1st, 1864, Christopher Blounts, Joseph Shaw, James Shaw, and James Kenworthy entered into part nership as Blounts, Shaws and Company, andleased the Bodey Mill or what is better known as the Blue Mill at Basin and Violet Streets in Norristown. The dye house at the Weberville Factory was torn down at that timeas the dyeing and finishing were done at the Norristown mill, and goods were hauled back and forth from the mills. The hauling was first done by horses but afterward by mules, as they seemed to stand the work better and lived longer. During the Civil War cloth was made gg BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY for the government, and afterwards looms were put on plain and fancy jeans with cotton warp and wool filling. On November 1,1866, the firm of Blounts,Shaws and Com pany was dissolved by the withdrawal of Christopher Blounts from active business, and the others continuing the business under the firm name of J. & J. Shaw and Company. In March, 1881, James Shaw withdrew from the firm, and in 1883 Joseph Shaw and James Kenworthy closed the mill, but con tinued the Blue Mill until 1887. After the mill was closed in 1883 all the machinery was sold and the houses on the mill property vacated. On the 22nd of October, 1885, Christopher Blounts, who was still owner of the property, gave James Kenworthy power of attorney to advertise and sell to the highest bidder all the real estate with the buildings thereon, and on March 25, 1886, the sale was made. This Weberville factory was on property which was originally part of the farm of the Weber family, hence its name. During the Weber ownership of the farm there was a water grant which appears in the deeds. The water from a spring on thefarm was used by having a dam builtanda ditch dug to convey the water to a well on the factory property, and it was then pumpedthrough a leaden pipe to the factory. The factory also had a source of water from a farm north of the public road, and a spring on the mill property supplied a con tinuous flow of cold water in the engine room, which was used for drinking purposes. Some years ago the mill buildings and all of the houses were torn down, with the exception of the brick house near the road where James Shaw resided for a time, and today there is no vestige of the once prosperous Weberville Factory and community. The Organization of Friends' Meeting at Norristown*

By Helen E. Richards

When Miss Slinglulf asked me to write about the "Organ ization of the Friends' Meeting in Norristown," I told her she was about ten years too late to get any interesting personal recollections. The first mention of any Friends' Meetings in Norristown is found in the Journal of Elias Hicks. In his entry for 9th mo., 24th, 1817, he says; "On the fourth day we had an appointed meeting in a Village called Norristown. It was held in their Court House, there being only a few scattered members of our Society living in the place. The meeting was pretty large, principally of people of other professions; among whom was the Chief Judge, and through the condescending goodness of the Shepherd of Israel, it was, I trust and believe, to most present a very instructive and precious season." The first reference to the establishment of a meeting is found in the Gwynedd Monthly Meeting minute of the 6 mo. 2nd, 1842.

"MINUTE. "This Meeting was informed that Lindley Rossiter holds by deed about 2 and 1/2 acres of land in the Borough of Norristown, which has been purchased by funds mostly procured by subscription for the pur pose of furnishing a situation for a Meeting House for Friends, and a graveyard, that he now wishes to transfer it to trustees appointed by this Meeting to hold the said property for its use and under its direc tion for the aforesaid purposes—^the following named Friends are appointed to become fully acquainted with the case, and if way opens, propose to next Meeting the names of some Friends suitable to be ap pointed trustees—Evan Jones, David Thomas, Alan W. Corson, John Wilson, William Jeanes, Thomas Shoemaker, Lewis Jones, Joseph Fouike, Wm. Foulke and Elijah F. Pennypacker."

•Read before the Society April 29, 1939.

39 40 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

At the next Monthly Meeting 6th Mo. 30th, 1842, the com mittee makes the following report:

"TO bWYNEDD MONTHLY MEETING OF FRIENDS." "The committee appointed on the infotmation received by this Meeting in relation to the proposition of Lindley Rossiter to convey a certain lot of lands situate in the Borough of Norristown for the pur pose of furnishing a situation for a Meeting House for Friends and a graveyard, report that all of them except one Friend had a full inter view with Lindley Rossiter on the subject referred to them and viewed the site. That on conferring with him and endeavoring to .become ac quainted with the circumstances of the case, it was the judgment of the Committee, that the trustees to whom the conveyance is proposed to be made, should be selected by the grantor (rather than be appointed by the Meeting) to be held by them in trust for the purposes aforesaid, until other friends to succeed them shall be appointed by a Preparative Meeting of Friends, whenever way should open and one be established upon said premises, to whom (the said property could then be trans ferred and held by them as trustees of said Preparative Meeting for its use and benefit, in the same manner as other properties are usually held for like purposes for- the use of Friends, in which view Lindley Rossiter acquiesced, which is respectfully submitted to the Meeting.

"Signed on behalf of the Committee. "Evan Jones, Wm. Jeanes & Elijah F. Pennypacker. which is united with by the Meeting and the Committee released."

The land referred to was situated at the corner of Swede and Jacoby streets, and contained 2 acres and 76 perches. April 7,1842, this land was deeded by Samuel Jacoby and his wife Susanna to Lindley Rossiter for the sum of $1237.50. (Deed Book No. 60, page 80.) And June 24,1843, Lindley Rossiter and his wife Margaret deeded the land to Elijah F. Pennypacker, Schuylkill township, Chester county; Thomas Hopkins, Upper Providence; Isaac Roberts and Robert Iredell, Norristown; Jos. W. Conard, Upper Merion; Thomas Livezey, Plymouth; Isaac Shoemaker, Norriton; Daniel Foulke, Nathan C. Cleaver and Lewis Jones, Gwynedd, for the sum of $937.50, having contributed $300 as his share. At the same time a. THE ORGANIZATION.'OP-'FRIBNDS' MEETING; AT. NORRlpTOWN

Declaration op Trust was made by • Elijah F. Pennypacker, bt al, To • ^ - The Society bp Friends of Norristown

Part of the declaration reads: "Which said consideration moneywas contributedby-divers persons, for purchase.of said lands and the appurtenances and the same was conveyed to us by the appointment of the Contributors Jw Trust, only for the purpose of erecting a Meeting House, for the use of the Society of Friends in uniting with the Yearly Meeting of Friends held in Philadelphia, and also for a burial place for the dead." Joseph Foulke in a very interesting letter written at his Gwynedd Boarding School in 1860, to an unknown friend, gives a list of the subscribers and the sums contributed, from his memorandums. There were 113 contributors and many of them from other meetings and some I am sure were not Friends.

JOSEPH FOULKES' LETTER "Gwynedd Boarding School 5th of December, 1860 "Dear Friend: "Agreeably to thy request I copy from my memorandums The Preamble and Subscription for Friends Meeting at Norristown, "We the undersigned, do each of us agree to pay unto Lindly Ros- siter the sums by us respectively, set opposite our respective names as part of the sum of twelve hundred and fifty dollars or thereabouts, the purchase money of two Acres and a half of land, bought by him of Samuel Jacoby for the purpose of erecting a Friends Meeting House thereupon, and graveyard. Said payment to be made on or before the 1st of 4 mo., 1842. •

Subscribing Subscribing Names Names

Jos. Thomas . $ 50.00 Mary Rambo 15.00 , Thos. Shepard . 25.00 Rebecca C. Rambo .... 5.00 Saml. Thomas 50.00 J. C. Rambo 10.00 John Shepard 20.00 *P. B. Kersey 5.00 *Jesse Wager . 10.00 *John S. Kersey 5.00 Lindly Rossiter 300.00 Robert T. Potts 10.00 42 BULLETIN OP HISTORICAL'SOCIETY OP MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Subscribing Subscribing Names Names •John Supplee 5.00 •Daniel Sheats 6.00 Jos. W. Conard 12.50 Henry Freedley 6.00 Jona. Conard 12.50 •Aaron Roberts 6.00 Eliza Roberts 5.00 •Joseph Foulke 20.00 Joseph Davis 6.00 •William Jones 5:00 Stepphen Stephens .... 10.00 •Nathan Hallowell 6.00 Rebecca Stephens 5.00 •W. B. Thomas 6.00 Stephen Stephens, Jr. .. 5.00 •Mark Brack 5.00 Wm. Carson 10.00 Cadw. Hallowell 5.00 Jane Cleaver 5.00 Harman Yerkes 5.00 John Davis 20.00 Robert Conard 10.00 •Jacob Hoffman 5.00 Henry Conard 10.00 *D. Sower 10.00 Isaac Shoemaker 5.00 •David E. Wood 5.00 Saml. Roberts 5.00 •Isaac Roberts 25.00 John Styer 5.00 D. Thomas 10.00 John Conard 5.00 •Henry Kerr 5.00 Nathan Conard 5.00 *J. T. Moore 10.00 Thos. Shoemaker 5.00 •Isaac Moore . 5.00 Saml. Lukens 5.00 •Joseph Roberts 5.00 William Wood 5.00 •Ezekiel Rhodes 10.00 Streeper Conard 5.00 •Evan Jones 5.00 Jona. Ellis 5.00 •Robert Iredell 15.00 Esther Jones 5.00 •Aaron Conard 5.00 Saml. Powell 20.00 •James Dill 5.00 Wm. Jeanes 20.00 •Geo. M. Potts 10.00 Amos Phipps 5.00 •Saml. Brown 5.00 Jos. Mather 10.00 •John Harper 5.00 John Shoemaker 5.00 •D. H. Mulvaney 5.00 Rachel S. Holt 5.00 •James Kirby 5.00 Cash 3.00 •C. Hubner 5.00 Wm. Corson 6.00 *S. G. Feriger 5.00 Isaac Williams 15.00 •A. Markley 5.00 Adam Hoffman 1.00 *D. P. Snyder 5.00 Wm. Ely 5.00 •George Mulvaney 5.00 Thos. Livezey 10.00 •Jos. Walker 6.00 Jonathan Conard .. . 5.00 •Howard Walker 5.00 Daniel P. Reiff 3.00 •Moses Walker 5.00 Cash 5.00 •William Walker 5.00 Charles Thomas 6.00 •P. W. Moore 5.00 J. M. Huddleson 10.00 •Richard Walker 10.00 Cadw. Foulke . 5.00 •Jos. B. Walker 5.00 Hannah Foulke 3.00 •Isaac Eastburn 5.00 Joshua Paxson 6.00 THE ORGANIZATION OP FRIENDS* MEETING AT NORRISTOWN 43

Subscribing Subscribing Names.. Names

5.00 5.00 Samuel Freas 5.00 ' Hannah Livezey 5.00 Jesse Sheppard 5.00 Jonathan Jones, Junior 5.00 1.00 3.00 Benjamin Jones 3.00 Isaac Jones 8.00 Chalkley Kenderdine .. 2.00 Adam Conard 2.00 Joseph Reif 5.00 Harrison Shoemaker . 5.00 Chas. Williams 12.00 Jno. Riter 2.00 Total .$1178.00

"The names marked (*) paid their subscription money to Lindley Rossiter and as he has subscribed 300 dollars and was the pioneer in establishing the Meeting, he is justly entitled to the principal say in relation to it. I hope he and the rest of you on whom the responsibilities of the Meeting principally rests, may be encouraged to keep a single eye to the wisdom of Truth, which alone is 'profitable to direct' in all things, especially in relation to Meetings.

"I feel a most ardent desire for the prosperity of Norristown Meet ing. I know there are many discouragements, and there, as in many other places there are discordant materials to compose a meeting, but under these circumstances and other obstacles Friends should cling the more closely to the power of the principle, and they will be sustained, being well assured that Friends Meeting at Norristown has been estab lished and opened in best wisdom. I have thought while sitting here that every cloud has passed away. In relation to the burying ground I feel easy to concur with whatever Friends may think best. But my judgment continues that in accordance with the petition to the Legislator and the advice of the Monthly Meeting, a piece even a small portion should be purchased and I think Friends would freely assist. Joel says he will give 20 dollars and I have no doubt others would do likewise. I never saw the Montgomery Cemetery in the comer of the Borough, a quarter of an acre might answer well and Friends plain way of interments free from costly monuments, would be an encouraging example to others to do likewise. I have walked through those grounds in N. Y., in Baltimore and other places where I find here and there a family apartment of Friends of standing, all plain and consistent. I am inclined to think the time will come when it will be more common for the different societies to bury their dead in one common large enclosure well walled in and a house to worship in common to all, and sheds, &c. and each society as a family occupy a part to themselves. But I am wandering from my subject. I feel passive to the judgment of Friends whose chief concern should be to keep the Pole Star of bearing witness to the truth in all 44 BULLETIN OF HISTOKlCAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY' COUNTY

things, in thought, wbrd and deed. I feel well assured-'that all who earnest endeavor to follow that guide will in the end be Triumphant. "With feelings of respect and esteem I remain thy affectionate Friend "Joseph Poulke.

"I was going to write more but perhaps have written enough with adding that my wife Joins me in love to thee and wife, to Lindly & wife and to all friends as if named." ^

My mother knew all these people mentioned in the early Minutes, and their children-were her playmates. (Her grand parents and Uncle were on the committees.) I almost feel as though I knew them myself hearing so much about them; She used to tell about Elijah F. Pennypacker being called to Court as a witness. He was a very fine man and a Minister, and when he was asked to take the oath he said his aye was aye and his nay was nay. The Judge accepted his testimony without the oath. The Meeting House was built before 4th mo. .29th, 1852, and from the old bills found must have cost about $5000. ($5172.91) The first meeting in the new house was held 29th of 4th mo., 1852, as shown by a Gwynedd Monthly Meeting Minute. "The subject of the establishment of a Meeting proposed to be held in Friends new Meeting bouse in Borough of Norristown, being intro duced by the following address, signed by members residing in said Borough and its vicinity. Upon consideration the Meeting united in judgment that the application be granted and that an indulged meeting be there established, under the care and direction of this Meeting, to commence on First Day, the 16th of next month at 10 o'clock in the morning, and the following named Friends appointed a committee to attend said meeting, in conjunction with a similar committee of "Womens' Meeting, from its opening until released by this Meeting and make report as way may open.—Jonathan Lukens, Salathiel Cleaver, Wm. Foulke, Jonathan Jones, Silas Walton, Sam: Lukens, David Jones, Thomas P. Baynes, John Conard, Wm. Zoms, Charles Shepherd, Cad- wallader Foulke, Jesse Hammer, Jos. Foulke, Isaac Jones, Joel Lare, Amos Phipps, John Wilson & Wm. Hallowell. The women appointed were Elizabeth Foulke, Martha Cleaver, Mary Yerkes, Hannah Foulke, Mary Ji Ambler, MaryJeanes, Mary'C. Lare, Ann L. Hammer & Eliz. Lukens." THE ORGANIZATION OF FRIENDS' MEETING AT NORRISTOWN 45

The address

"To Gwynedd Monthly Meeting"

"Dear Friends: "The members of the.Society of Friends whose names are here unto annexed, residing in the Borough of Norristown and its vicinity, having duly considered the question whether the time has not arrived when a meeting of Friends; should be regularly opened and established (on First days) in the new Meeting House of Friends at this place, are united in judgment that it would be right to request the Monthly Meet ing, if way should open to take such action in the case as may be con- sistant with the pointings of truth.

"4-24-1852 Signed, "Lindley Rossiter, Sam. Foulke, Robert Iredell, Wm. L. Paxson, Oliver Paxson, Isaac Roberts, Jno. Roberts, Isaac Shoe maker, Jr., I. B. Stokes, Harrison E. Shoemaker, Wm. H. Jones, Ellwood Jones, David Ely, Mary A. Davis, Mary Roberts, Joseph Roberts, Mary W. Roberts, Margaret F. Rossiter, Terese Iredell, Anne J. Foulke, Jane R. Paxson, Sarah Ann Shoemaker, Ruth Roberts, Susan S. Abbott, Lydia Stokes, Mary H. Abbott, E. S. Paxson, Catharine A. Stokes, Rebecca G. Shoemaker, Abigail P. Ely, Emeline Ely, Hannah E. Davis, Susan D. Walker, Mary M. Stephens, Rebecca Adamson, Sarah R. Moore, Wm. L. Lukens, Jabez Wilson, Rebecca G. Wilson, Ann Eliza Wilson, Susan C. Wilson, Mary M. Wilson, Hannah Adamson, Samuel Rossiter, Joseph P. Rossiter, Sallie Jones, Lewis Walker, Isaac Shoemaker, Mary Shoe maker, Elizabeth Shoemaker, Rachel Shoemaker, Elijah Thomas, Jane L. Thomas, Jacob L. Jones, Elizabeth Ellis, Thomas R. Walker, Mary B. Walker, Aaron Lukens."

Charles Major used to tell an incident in connection with the building of the Meeting House. Among the workmen was a colored man whom the others suspected of being a runaway slave and they thought they would prove it. So one day during lunch hour they started to talk about runaway slaves, and said that two men from the South were up here looking for them. At the last remark, the colored man jumped up and started to run away without even picking up his coat; but they called him back and said they were just joking, there were no men after him. But in those days it was rather a cruel joke. It seemed to be a weighty problem to establish a Meeting and the discussion is continued through a number of Minutes, which Charles Major has copied and given to the Meeting. 46 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

The first records of Norristown found are dated 5th mo. 29th, 1858, and are called "Minutes of Adjourned Meetings of Norristown Friends." These are the only records of that name in the Swarthmore Library. All the others are called indulged meetings. At that meeting Benj. Borden was appointed Clerk and Robert Iredell, Treasurer. At a later meeting in 1858: "The subject of asking the privilege of holding a preparative meeting at this place was again taken up by this meeting. But previous to proceeding further in the matter, it was thought best to appoint a com mittee to draw up and circulate a subscription in order to raise funds to purchase a burying ground, as directed hy Act of Assembly, And also, to endeavor to ascertain where a suit able piece of ground can be procured, and the cost of the same. Jacob Fitzwater, Elijah Thomas, Benj. Borden, Seth Walton, & Cornelius Conard, are appointed to that service and report to our next meeting." The following undated letter seems to fit in here.

To the "GWYNEDD MONTHLY MEETING OP FRIENDS"

"The undersigned, Members of said Society of Friends residing in or near the Borough of Norristown. "Believe that it would be better for the Monthly Meeting to apply to the Legislature, for Power to dispose of a Portion of the Ground held for a Meeting House and Grave Yard in said Borough, if required at any time hereafter, for the purpose of aiding in the Erection of Meet ing House, Sheds, Fence &c. on said Lot, and procuring Ground ad jacent to said Borough, for a Burial Ground in a less objectionable place. Margaret F. Rossiter Rebecca G. Shoemaker Teresa Iredell Sarah Ann Shoemaker Sarah R. Jones Isaac Roberts Sarah R. Moore Lindley Rossiter Mary H. Abbott Loyd Jones Mary G. Moore - Robt. Iredell Susan S. Abbott Isaac B. Stokes Lydia Stokes Wm. L. Paxson Emma S. Paxson Jacob L. Paxson Mary Shoemaker Isaac Shoemaker, Jr. Eliza Cowgill H. E. Shoemaker Catharine A. Stokes John Roberts THE ORGANIZATION OF FRIENDS' MEETING AT NORRISTOWN 47

Rebecca Adamson Charles Sheppard Tabitha Adamson Joel W. Andrews Elizabeth Conard Wm. Hallowell Mary A. Davis Lewis A. Lukens Anna M. Lukens Aaron Lukens Margaret A. Lukens John Richards" Mary T. Lukens

The grave yard was discussed for many years but never purchased. The Preparative Meeting was finally established in 1860 as shown by the following Minute.

The First Minute of Preparative Meeting. "Norristown Preparative Meeting of Friends, established this 26th day of the 12th mo., 1860. "Benj. Borden was appointed Clerk for the day. "The following Minutes and Extracts were produced to this Meet ing and read, and directed to be recorded, viz: At Gwynedd Monthly Meeting of Friends, held at Plymouth, the 27th of 9th mo., 1860. "The Committee having charge of Friends Meeting at Norristown made the following report in writing, and the Committee released at their own request, viz: "At a meeting of the committee having charge of Friends Meeting at Norristown held at that place the 15th of 9th mo., 1860, in company with a number of men and women Friends of Norristown, the proposal of opening a Preparative Meeting at that place was offered to the com mittees for its consideration. After a time of deliberation and free ex pression on the subject it was concluded to encourage Friends of Nor ristown, to lay the subject before the Monthly Meeting in writing, they having as appears by their Minutes the concern of 'purchasing and pro curing' a piece of ground for a burying place, in order to carry into effect the advice and council of the Monthly Meeting on that subject. Though considerable exertion has been made on the part of Friends at Norristown, and with the assistance' of the Committee, no suitable place has yet been found that is entirely satisfactory. It is nevertheless be lieved, that way will be opened shortly to make Friends easy on that subject. The subject of the above was directed to be offered to the Monthly Meeting as a report of the Committee which being of long standing now requests to be released. All of which we submit to the Meeting. "Signed by direction and in behalf of the Committee. "Joseph Foulke, Clerk." 48 BULLETIN OP HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTS The following application from Friends of Norristown for the establishment of a Preparative Meeting at that place was received and read. Upon consideration the subject was re ferred for the consideration of next meeting, viz.: "To Gwynedd Monthly Meeting of Friends. "At a meeting of men and women Friends held at Norristown on the 17th of 2nd mo., 1860. The subject of considering the propriety of holding a Preparative Meeting at this place, being brought before this Meeting by reading the Minutes of last meeting and a considerable portion of the Monthly Meeting Committee present, the meeting was united that we request of the Monthly Meeting the privilege of holding a Preparative Meeting at this place, onfourth day before the last second day in each month, the meetingto be convened at half past ten o'clock. And that we also ask to have our midweek meetings changed to the fourth day of the week, and the hour for gathering to half past ten o'clock for all our meetings. "The Clerk of this meeting is directed to forward a copy of this Minute to our next Monthly Meeting, and sign it on behalf of this Meeting. "Benj. Borden, Clerk."

At Gwynedd Monthly Meeting of Friends held the 1st of nth mo., 1860. "The subject of the application of Friends of Norristown for the establishment of a Preparative Meeting at that place having again claimed attention was upon consideration approved thereof. "The Clerk was directed to forward a copy of this Minute with the application, and our reports to the Quarterly Meeting for its delibera tion, and judgment thereon." Gwynedd Monthly Meeting held at Pljmiouth 29th of 11th mo., 1860. "The following extract from the Minutes of Abington Quarterly Meeting of Friends relative to the establishment of a Preparative Meet ing at Norristown, was received and read, and upon consideration the following named Friends appointed to attend the opening of said Meet ing on the 4th day the 26th of next month, with copies of the Quarterly and Monthly Meetings Minutes on the subject. This Meeting having pre viously concurred in the establishment of a Preparative Meeting at that place, to be held on 4th day before the last 2nd day in each month— also in changing the time of holding their midweek Meetings from the THE ORGANIZATION ..OP FRIENDS' MEETING AT NORRISTOWN 49

6t}i to the 4th day of the week, all their meetings to convene, at half past 10 o'clock, and make report to our next meeting, viz: Isaac Jones, Hugh Foulke, Sr., Nathan Cleaver, Thomas P. Baynes, "Wm. Zorns, Jesse Hammer, Daniel Foulke, Martha L. Jones, Mary C. Lare, Mary L. Am bler, Susan C. Foulke."

MINUTE. "At Abington Quarterly Meeting of Friends held at Horsham the 8th of 11th mo., 1860. "Gwynedd Monthly Meeting in their report represent that the sub ject of establishing a Preparative Meeting at Norristown to be held on the 4th day before the last 2nd day in each month at half past 10 o'clock, has claimed their consideration and approved, and they for warded the subject to this meeting for its deliberation and judgment. Upon consideration thereof, this Meeting consents to the establishment of a Preparative Meeting as therein proposed: And women Friends in formed that they also have consented thereto. The Clerk is directed to inform Gwynedd Monthly Meeting of the conclusion of this Meeting in the case. "Benj. G. Foulke, Clerk."

"Extracted from the Minutes of Gwjmedd Monthly Meeting by

Daniel Foulke Clerks, Hannah Ann Foulke

"The Committee named in the foregoing to attend the opening of this meeting are mostly present. "The first Clerks appointed are Benjamin Borden and Jane L. Thomas and the Treasurer, Jacob Fitzwater."

In those days they were not bothered by Union wages. The man who had the care of the Meeting House and mowed the yard as often as necessary was paid $30 a year, and he could also have the grass on the yard. In another Minute they paid a woman $7.50 to whitewash the fence. During the Civil War years, I was surprised to find so few references to war. But while they had a testimony against war, they also had one against slavery, and undoubtedly their sympathies were with the North. In 1862 several copies of an address to the Religious So ciety of Friends by the Representative Committee upon their 50 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY testimony against war were received and directed to be dis tributed among our members. In 1864 and 1865 in answering the 6th query, they re ported that "Not all are clear of Military service." A committee was appointed in 1864 to have the Poplar trees removed from the yard and others planted in their place. The Preparative Meeting at Providence was laid down in 1867 and its members attached to Norristown. It then became an indulged meeting. Several lots on Jacoby street were sold at a public sale in 1872 to defray the cost of curbing and pav ing, and for an iron fence on Swede street. The sale of these lots left the property as it is today. Nothing of special interest occurred until 1897, when a Committee was appointed to consider the advisability of men and women Friends meeting in joint session. At the next Preparative Meeting their report was approved and separate sessions were discontinued. In the early days circular meetings were held on First day afternoons when prominent speakers would attend. Some of these Ministers were Lucretia Mott, John Hunt, Rachel Barker, Sarah Hunt, Joel Lare and others of whom I have often heard but whose names I have forgotten. The meetings were so well attended there was hardly a vacant seat. For social affairs there was a very active Literary Society in the 70's and early 80's, and from the stories I have heard they must have had some very good times. They also had a Friends Association which continued to my time, but this was more to study the history and lives of prominent Friends, and friendly interests. And now if there are any present who have transgressed the first query, as it read in those days, by sleeping in Meeting, they have my sincere sympathy. Map Making and Some Maps of Montgomery County*

By Chester P. Cook

After consulting with the few that are left of the once great map-making establishments of the city of Philadelphia— where most of the maps of the United States were made prior to 1860, and also afterwards—and after reading two Encyclo pedias on the subject, I still have little to tell about map- making. The surveyor has always been either just behind or just ahead of the trader in the onward march of civilization. He is an important factor in the laying-out of public roads, and in the establishment of private property lines. He is always an educated man, whether self-taught or college-made. He is, to the men under him, an absolute autocrat, but always com manding their respect. The draughtsman, from the field notes furnished him by the surveyor, draws the map, and it is to him and his skill that the map owes much of its beauty. The printer next gets the drawing. I understand that the early maps were etched upon copper plates, and when the art of lithographing was discovered, the map design was etched upon or as the map-maker expressed it "needled into" flat sandstone plates, and various colored inks were then used for the first time. These stones came from Bavaria. Although the art of lithographing was discovered shortly before 1800, it was not until 1818 that it was first successfully used in Philadelphia by Bass Otis. Zabel Brothers Co., Inc. still print fine maps at 5th and Columbia avenue, Philadelphia, and have been in business for 75 years. A. Hoen Company, located in Baltimore, , are

*Read before the Society November 17, 1934.

51 52 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY the greatest printers of fine maps in the United States. This establishment has been in existence for 125 years. After the maps are printed, they are taken to the map- mounter. Here muslin is pasted on the backs of the paper maps to prevent tearing, and they are arranged either for hanging on the wall or for folding. C. S. Werstner & Son, of 13th and Vine streets, in Philadelphia, are the leading map- mounters of our section at this time. Thus from the surveyor, the draughtsman and the experts in the printing-houses and map-mounting establishments, great skill and honest work is demanded, if the map is to gain the respect of the discriminating citizen. Really good individual maps and the makers of Political Subdivisions disappeared with the Civil War, although the Atlas period, which began about that same time, deserves great praise. This is also true of the Topographical maps made by Government , which are designed to show by contour lines the height of the Mountains and the depth of the valleys. Maps were made of the United States, individual states, counties, and townships, going into great detail. I find that the map-makers from 1816 to 1862 command my greatest admira tion for their artistry. It was in 1862 that Commander M. F. Maury issued his especially fine Washington map of the United States. In 1897, by Act of Congress, all County Seats were ordered to send their maps to the Congressional Library; and in 1901 P. Lee Phillips, Chief of the Division of Maps and Charts, issued the Government Publication called "A List of the Maps of America." This is about the only informative work that exists in regard to the maps that have been made, although many good ones never reached the Library, and consequently were not recorded in the List compiled by Mr. Phillips. Maps are now made by mass production methods, they go but little into detail and thus are, in the main, very much like our modern literature, of not much permanent value. Few of them ever have any name on them except that of the pub lisher, and thus they can show little of the pride of good work manship. ;MAP MAKING AND SOME MAPS OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY 53

I have been unable to find a map of Montgomery county at the time of its erection; but during the 15th year of our In dependence, as he puts it, Reading Howell brought out his map of Pennsylvania, showing the roads, streams, boundaries and townships of Montgomery county, and doing the same for the other counties in the State. This is the last of the great state maps of Pennsylvania to be embodied in her Archives. The next map of Montgomery is that of John Melish, an original of which may be found at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 13th and Locust streets, Philadelphia. The title of this map reads, "Map of Montgomery County, con structed by virtue of an Act of the Legislature of Pennsyl vania, passed March 19th, 1816, The Schuylkill River from Actual Survey in 1827 by F. H; Gill, Esq. Published by B. Tanner, Philadelphia, Pa." The map is not dated but it prob ably was published in 1827. Its statistical table gives the popu lation of the county in 1810, as numbering 29,703, and in 1820, as 35,793. There were 20 Post Offices, of which Reese- ville, near King of Prussia, was the only one in the county on the west side of the Schuylkill. Norristown had a population of 827 people in 1820. This map gives county lines, township lines, common roads, turnpike roads, churches, meeting houses, academies, mills, manufactories and Post Offices. There are also numbers along the line of the roads denoting distances from Philadelphia. In 1826, John Melish, assisted by some of the best en gineers that our Pennsylvania counties ever knew, published a great map of Pennsylvania, the like of which had never before been seen. When this wonderful, monumental work was ready for distribution, so great was his pride and interest, he could not refrain from saying, "The whole work being now before the Public, it would be superfluous to descant on its merits. It is hoped, and believed, that it will be an honour to the STATE of PENNSYLVANIA, which gave it birth; and prove a stimulus to OTHER STATES, and thus bring to ma turity the GEOGRAPHY of a much favoured Country." This may be found printed on the lower left hand corner of the map. From the "Dictionary of American Biography," we learn 54 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY that John Melish was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1769, and died in Philadelphia, December 30th, 1822. Geographer, traveler and merchant, he was orphaned at an early age, and was apprenticed to a Mr. Patterson, one of the largest and wealthiest cotton factors in Glasgow. Later he was graduated from the University of Glasgow, and finally was made a mem ber of Mr. Patterson's firm. His first visit to the United States was made in 1806, when he sailed for Savannah in the inter ests of his firm. He traveled extensively through the cotton states, purchasing and shipping the raw material to Scotland. He determined to become a resident of this country on ac count of more freedom of action, and finally, in 1809, he brought his family over with him and settled in Philadelphia. He then spent much of his time in traveling, and having a fine talent for draughtmanship, he drew all the eight maps which illustrate his first work on "Travels in the United States of America, in the years 1806, 1807, 1809-1810 and 1811, etc." published in two volumes, Philadelphia, 1812. Before coming to this country, he founded the Glasgow Public Library, by donating two volumes himself, and inducing his friends to do likewise. He lived long enough to learn that it had become an Institution. He was the first person to engage in map-publish ing to any extent in the United States, and at one time there were 30 persons employed by him in his business of making and coloring maps. He regularly entertained his whole force at his home at Christmas-time. His greatest work in map publishing was his map of Pennsylvania, provided for by the Legislature of that state in 1816. It was compiled on six plates, and measured 6 feet, 3 inches, by 3 feet, 9 inches. Much of the data was collected by himself. He was a friend of Jefferson and Madison, and a warm promoter of the industries of his adopted country. He made many maps. Next we come to the map of Montgomery county made by W. E. Morris in 1848, showing Montgomery county on a larger scale than the maps of Melish, and also showing rail roads, canals, inns and taverns, and all dwellings in the county, except in the boroughs of Norristown and Pottstown. A very fair map, indeed, with a picture of Norristown and Marion Meeting on the border. MAP MAKING AND SOME MAPS OP MONTGOMERY COUNTY 55

From "Colonial Families of Philadelphia," we learn that a Wm. Ellis Morris, eldest son of Judge Samuel Wells and Anna Ellis Morris, .was bom at Muncy, Pennsylvania, Janu ary 29, 1812. He received an Academic education and at the age. of 16 years left his paternal home at Wellsboro, Pennsyl vania, to accept the lowest position on an engineering party, which was in charge of the building of canals in Western Pennsylvania. He rose rapidly in his chosen profession and became first assistant engineer of the West Branch Canal Co., then later engineer-in-chief of the Bald Eagle Canal Co., and finally was appointed by Governor David R. Porter one of the state engineers of the Canal Commission. He became very eminent in his profession and constructed many important works, among them the Waterworks at Holidaystown, the Spring Garden Waterworks at Philadelphia, Waterworks at Athens, Schenectady, Rondout and Oswego, New York; Vicksburg and Meriden, Mississippi; as well as erecting works and improvements at Morristown, and Trenton, New Jersey; in Easton, Doylestown, and Bristol, Pennsylvania, and in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1843 he was called to the presidency of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown R. R., which position he held for ten years, when he was elected president of the Long Island R. R., and was then made acting president of the New York and Harlem R. R. His health failed, he re turned to Philadelphia and eventually regained it, and then became consulting engineer, and was invited to get up plans for a greater water supply for Philadelphia. He died in Phila delphia, October 15, 1875. We come now to the Township map of Lower Merion, by John Levering, Surveyor, in 1851, the only township wall map ever made of any township (at least to the writer's knowl edge), in the county of Montgomery. Mr. Levering was also at one time the principal of Lower Merion Academy. No map could have been better made than this one of Mr. Levering's, its every detail seems perfection. Then comes the map of Bucks and Montgomery Counties by R. K. Kuhn and J. D. Janney,'dated 1857; then another with the title, "Actual Surveys of D. J. Lake and S. N. Beers," published in 1860, by John J. Gillette and C. K. Stone, in 50 BULLETIN OF HISTOKICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY which Montgomery county and Pottstown are shown in'detall. Of the careers of these men I know nothing, and can discover nothing, but their work speaks for itself and that must be their eulogy. Dr. B. F. Fackenthal, Jr., president of the Bucks County- Historical Society, told me a few days ago that his father, Benjamin Franklin Fackenthal, Sr. (1825-1892), told him many years ago that much of the data for these maps was sup plied by men whose scientific equipment consisted of a sur veyor's compass mounted on a wheelbarrow. The circumfer ence of the wheel was known, the revolutions counted and changes in bearings noted as it was wheeled along the road. I also invite your attention to a wall map of the Borough of Norristown, by T. A. Hurley, made in 1857, and to one by Alan W. Corson, in 1889, for both are masterpieces of the map-maker's art. A fine map of Pennsylvania showing counties in detail was made by Apollos W. Harrison, having its title in both English and German, "The Keystone State, Pennsylvania, and her Eminent Men," 1847. One was also made by W. E. Morris in 1849, and another by Morris, dated 1851. All three of these maps show the railroads that had come into being since the state map of John Melish in 1826. Then came the Geological map of Henry D. Rodgers, State Geologist, constructed from original surveys between the years 1836 and 1857, and published in 1858. In 1862, a full Topographical map of Pennsylvania by H. F. Walling, and published by Smith, Palmer & Co., 850 and 360 Pearl street. New York, and 27 South Sixth street, Philadelphia. Most of the maps herein referred to, and those in my pos session, were, as Mr. Zabel said to me the other day, "Years in the making, when it was thought that a thing worth doing, was worth doing well." The fine map-makers were contem poraneous with the age of our great American poets, probably America's most golden years in all things worth while. Only one who has dragged a surveyor's chain and at tempted to make nice drawings, can fully appreciate the su preme excellence of these 19th century maps, and well may it be said of their makers that "their works do follow them." Records from Bibles in Possession of Histori cal Society of Montgomery County (continued)

BUSCH-BUSH BIBLE

Masriages

Andrew D. M. Busch & Elizabeth Sell were joined in mar riage by the Rev. Pastor Smith, July 5,1798. Philadelphia. of this marriage there was only one living issue, who was christened at Philada. by the Rev. Pastor Smith of the Ger man Lutheran Congregation. Andrew Bush was married to Mary Ann Reiff (widow of Nathan Reiff and daughter of John Baugh of Coventry, Pa.) by the Rev. I. C. Guldin on, the 24th. of December 1835.

Births

Andrew D. M. Busch born at Wesel, January 1, 1763. Elizabeth Sell born near Germantown, Pa. October 21st., 1758. Of this marriage the only living issue Andrew Bush who was born April 7, 1805 in Philadelphia. Eliza Davis Bush born December 19th., 1836 in Coventry, Chester Co., Pa. Caroline B. Bush was born in Coventry, Pa. Chester Co., August 20, 1838. Howard B. Bush was born in E. Coventry, Chester Co., Pa. July 29th., 1849. Mary Florence Bush was born in E. Coventry, Septem ber 28,1853. Born to Samuel 0. Perry and Caroline B. Perry on the fourteenth day of April 1865 a son Owen H. Perry.

67 gg BULLETIN OP HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Born to Samuel 0. Perry and Caroline B. Perry on the (25th) twenty fifth of August 1867, Mary Bertha Perry. Born to Samuel 0. Perry and Caroline B. Perry on the twenty second of October 1869, Cora Reiff Perry. Born to Williairi McC. Rogers and M. Bertha Perry Rogers on the twentieth day of January 1896, Carrie Gladys Rogers. Born to Wm. McC. Rogers and M. Bertha Rogers, on the 10th. day of November 1900, Samuel Perry Rogers. Born to William McC Rogers and M. Bertha Perry Rogers on the 15th day of July, 1905 William Ra5Tnond Rogers. Born to Albert Edward Finn and Cora R. Perry Finn on the twenty first day of July 1901, William Albert Finn. Nathan Reiff was born January 29th., in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred & two. Mary Ann Baugh was born July 3rd., in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred & eight. They were married January 17th. in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred & twenty eight. Nathan Reiff died on the third of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty three and was buried at Trappe in the old churchyard. John B. Reiff was married to Clementine B. Grubb by Rev. John Price, January 15th. 1856. On the 9th. of March in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred & twenty nine was born unto us a Daughter and her name was called Deborah Ann B. Reiff. On the 7th. of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & thirty was born to us a son & his name was called John Baugh Reiff. Owen S. Grubb was married to Deborah Ann Reiff in Philadelphia by Mayor Vaux Nov. 4th., 1857. A. Florence Reiff died in East Coventry, March 4th., 1872 aged 15 years. Owen H. Perry son of Samuel 0. Perry and Carrie B. Perry on May 14, 1888 in Philadelphia left his boarding to take a BIBLE RECORDS 59 walk as was his custom and did not return to his place of business as clerk in the office of the Penn. R. R. Co., 233 South 4th, Street. Aged 23 years. Died January 26, 1919 Samuel 0. Perry, aged 87 years, 5 mo., 16 days. Births

Andrew Bush born April 7th., 1808. John Baugh Sr. was bom the 9th of April 1774. And was married to Mary Price the 12th. of April, 1796. And she was born October 21st., 1777. George Baugh was born October 17th., 1797. John Baugh was born October 8th., 1799. Daniel Baugh was born October 14th., 1801. Sarah Baugh was born August 2nd., 1803. Hannah Baugh was born October 20th., 1805. Mary Ann Baugh was born July 3rd., 1808. Lydia Baugh was born December 9th., 1810. Eli Baugh was born July 19th., 1813. Eliza Baugh was born September 7th., 1815. July 20th. 1818 was born unto us a daughter, not named. Lavine Baugh was born December 23rd., 1819.

Marriages

Samuel 0. Perry was married to Caroline Bush on the ninth day of September 1863. On the twenty-eighth of March 1895 William McC Rogers to Mary Bertha Perry. On the fourteenth of December 1898, Albert Edward Finn married to Cora R. Perry.

Deaths

Mrs. Florence B. Montgomery died at Reading, Pa., the 20th. day of November 1914. Aged 61 years, 1 month, and 22 days. Solomon Sell died at Philadelphia on the 29th. of March 1810. Aged 79 years. gQ BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Mary Sell died at Pricetown on the 26th. of July 1826. Aged 21 years. Christianna Minner died at Norfolk, Va. on the 17th. of August 1831. Andrew D. M. Busch died in Philadelphia, April 14th, 1836. Aged 73. Elizabeth Busch died in Coventry, Chester Co. Pa. Octo ber 24th., 1838. Aged 80. Grandmother Mary Baugh died Jan'y 10, 1853. Aged 75 years 2 months, 19 days. Dr Andrew Bush died in East Coventry, Chester Co., Pa. December 20, 1874. Aged 69 years, 8 months, and 18 days. Howard B. Bush died in East Coventry, Chester County, Pa, January 1st., 1880. Aged 30 years, 5 months, and 2 days. Mary Ann Bush widow of Dr. Andrew Bush died in Potts- town, Pa. Aged 79 years, 3 months and 23 days., on Octo ber 26, 1887.

This Bible contains invitations to three funerals;— Mary A. Bush, widow of the late Dr. Andrew Bush, on Octo ber 29th, 1887. David W. Jones, Jan. 8th., 1881. Lavinia B. Jones December 18th., 1878.

Probably also a passport in German.

SUPPLEE BIBLE

Births

Andrew Supplee Son of Andrew and Deborah Supplee was born November the 9th. 1723. Susannah Supplee Daughter' of James and Mary Bean was bom August the 20th. 1724. - BIBLE BEGOBDS @1

Enoch Supplee Son of Andrew and Susannah Supplee was born August the 16th. 1755. Eizabeth Supplee Daughter of William and Mary Wright was born July the 6th. 1764. Sarah Supplee Daughter of John and Ann Cunrad was born March the 12th. 1760. William Supplee Son of Enoch and Elizabeth Supplee was born January the 23th. 1786. John Supplee Son of Enoch and Elizabeth Supplee was born December the 21st. 1787. Susannah Supplee Daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth Sup plee was born January 25th. 1790. Jehu Supplee Son of Enoch and Elizabeth Supplee was born December the 1st. 1791. Was bom a son and Daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth Supplee July the 5th. 1794. Mary Supplee Daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth Supplee was born the 81st May 1795.

Deaths

A Son and Daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth Departed this life, July 5th. 1794.

Elizabeth Supplee Departed this life February the 21st., 1797. Aged 32 years 7 months, 2 weeks and 1 day. William Supplee Departed this life August 15th. 1800. Aged 14 years 6 months 3 weeks and 2 days.

Jehu Supplee Departed this life August the 17th, 1800. Aged 8 years 8 months 2 weeks and three days.

Sarah Supplee Departed this life November the 21st. 1825. Aged 65 years 8 months 1 week and 2 days. 02 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Enoch Supplee Departed this life August the 11th 1831. Aged 75 years 11 months and 25 days. Andrew Supplee Departed this life December the 5th 1806. Aged 83 years 3 weeks, and 5 days. Susannah Supplee Departed this life February the 21st. 1809. Aged 87 years 6 months, and 1 day.

Marriages

Enoch and Elizabeth Supplee was Married September the 26th. 1784. Enoch and Sarah Supplee was Married December the 11th. 1790.

Two printed invitations to the funeral of Susan L. Black, July 3, 1839.

GOSHOW FAMILY BIBLE

Births John Goshow was born October 15th. 1791. Mary Hallman was born November 17th., 1792. John Goshow and Mary Hallman were married on Janu ary 11th. A.D. 1816. Isaac Goshow was born March 16th., A.D. 1817. William Goshow was born February 4th., A.D. 1819. John Goshow Jr. was born April 6th., A.D. 1821. Francis Goshow was born February 23rd, A.D. 1823. Silas Goshow was born January 22nd., A.D. 1828. Mary Ann Goshow was born May 16th., A.D. 1830. Davis Goshow was born December 8th. A.D. 1833.

Deaths Departed this life January 8th. A.D. 1837, Mary H. Gos how consort of John Goshow, aged 44 years, 1 month, and 21 days. BIBLE RECORDS 03

Departed this life April 25th., A.D. 1860. John Goshow Aged 68 years, 6 months and 10 days. Departed this life April 28th., 1859 (?), Mary Ann Nick- less aged 25 years, eleven Month and 12 days. Departed his life May 28, 1880, John Goshow aged 58 years 1 month 22 days. William Goshow was buried the 10th. of Jan. 1889.

Married

Davis Goshow and Hettie Conn Married Dec. 24th, 1859. Hettie Conn Born Nov. 11th., 1834. Hettie Conn Goshow died November 5, 1904. Davis Goshow died Oct. 12, 1922. Newspapers clippings of the death of Mrs. Anna Nicker- son and Mrs. Hettie Goshow are pasted in this Bible.

SHOEMAKER FAMILY BIBLE

Tha Agis of Jacob Shoemaker and Mary Jonathan and Matthias Shoemaker was Born tha 14 day the 12 Month 1736 Barbary Shoemaker Bom 80 day of 6 Month 1738 Jonathan Shoemaker Bom the 16 day of 12 Month 1739 Isaac Shoemaker Born tha 16 day of 11 Month 1741 Hannah Shoemaker Born tha 10 day of 9 Month 1743 Elisabeth Shoemaker Bom tha 30 day of 11 Month 174-(?) Sarah Shoemaker Born tha 3 day of 2 Month 1748 David Shoemaker Born tha 30 day of 1 Month 1750 on th 21 day of the 12 Month on 2 day of the week Mathias Cunard was buried in the year 1725 04 BULLETIN OFHISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

GEORGE B. KIRK BIBLE

Maseiages

George B. Kirk and Mary Jane Moore were married Janu ary 1th., A.D. 1854. George B. Kirk Was Born July 3th., A.D. 1830. Mary Jane Moore Was Born March 13th., A.D. 1834. Emma Jane Kirk Was Born November 17th., A.D. 1855. Anna Catharine Kirk Was Born May the 25th., A.D. 1859. Ida Mary Kirk Was Born August 80th., 1861. Samuel L. Kirk Was Bom July 20th., A.D. 1863. Harry A. Kirk Was Born December the 10th., A.D. 1865. Louis Franklin Kirk Was Born May the 7th., A.D. 1866. ' R. Kirk Was Born May 31st., A.D. 1868. Martha M. Kirk Was Born July 23, A.D. 1870.

Deaths

Emma Jane Kirk Died November the 29th. A.D. 1855. Anna Catharine Kirk Died May the 31st., A.D. 1859. Ida Mary Kirk Died September the 1st., A.D. 1861. Samuel L. Kirk Died July 31st., A.D. 1863. Harry A. Kirk Died December the 14th., A.D. 1865. Louis Franklin Kirk R. Kirk Died June 4, A.D. 1868. George B. Kirk Died July the 3rd., A.D. 1870. Age Forty Years. Report of Recording Secretary

Rebecca W. Brboht

REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL 29, 1939

The moTnin? session was called to order by the president, Nelson P. Fegley, Esq., at 10.30. Routine business was transacted. A vote of thanks was given to Dr. W. H. Reed for making finan cially possible the enlarged Bulletin just published. The president announced the committees for the year with the fol lowing named persons chairmen: Annalist Miss Nancy 0. Cresson Auditing Committee Miss Elinor Brecht Library Committee Miss Emily K. Preston Program Committee Miss Ella Slingluff Hospitality Committee Miss Nancy C. Cresson Reception Committee Mr. William R. Fisher Marker Committee Mr. S. Cameron Corson Outing Committee Miss Nancy P. Highley Publication Committee Miss Emily K. Preston Membership Committee Mr. Chas. Harper Smith Prize Essay Committee Mrs. Stuart Molony It was announced that the Montgomery Trust Company has placed a bronze tablet on its building noting that it stands on the site of the former Washington Inn and also the County Commissioners will erect a tablet in the Public Square near Swede and Penn Streets to mark the site of the county's first Court House, and one at Swede and Airy Streets where the first prison stood. The morning program consisted of two papers: The Weberville Factory at Trooper, Chas. H. Shaw; The Organization of the Friends Meeting at Norristown, Miss Helen E. Richards. Lunch was served by the Hospitality Committee. . The meeting re-convened at 2.00 P.M. Mrs. Molony gave a report of the Prize Essay Contest and presented the winners who read their essays and were given their respective prizes by Mr. Fegley.

66 00 BULLETIN OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY OP MONTGOMERY COUNTY

First Prize—"A Short History of St. John's Episcopal Church, Norris- town, Pa."—Robert Hart, Eisenhower High School, Norristown, Pa. Second Prize—"The Origin of My Name—UpdengrafE"—Robert Upde- grove, Eisenhower High School, Norristown, Pa. Honorable Mention—"St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Barren Hill"—Eleanor Gunning, Conshohocken High School Second Honorable Mention—"How Horsham Got Its Name"—Virginia Steever, Hatboro High School A paper, "The Old Lancaster Road," prepared by Mrs. Dora Har vey Devlin, was read by Mr. Chester Cook.

Report of Corresponding Secretary

Ella Slinglufp

DEATHS Miss Sarah E. Fry May 14, 1939 Miss Ada Powell May 14,1939 Mrs. Mjrrtle Propes June 10,1939 John Hartenstine Aug:ust 18,1939

NEW MEMBERS

Mrs. Joseph G. Patterson April 29, 1939 John S. Wurtz April 29, 1939 Mrs. John S. Newbold April 29, 1939 Joshua M. Francis June 3,1939 Douglas Macfarlan, M.D June 27, 1939 W. F. Zimmerman July 21,1939

Report of the Librarian

Emily K. Preston

The following books have been added to the library since the pub lication of the last issue of the Bulletin: , With Rifle and Plow—Stories of the Western Pennsylvania Frontier, by J. E. Wright, Elisabeth M. Sellers and Jeanette C. Shirk. REPORTS 67

Reminiscences of the First Presbyterian Church, Mendham, New Jersey, by Helen M. Wright. The Brenneman History, by Albert H. Gerberich. Whiskey Rebels—The Story of a Frontier Uprising, by Leland D. Baldwin. Thirty Ancestors of Richard Henry Koch, 1939. Historic Records Survey of Luzeme County. The Norristown Herald and Free Press, 1834-1836. Three Years in a Field Hospital, by Anna Morris Holstein. The Secret Service, the Field, the Dungeon and the Escape, by Albert D. Richardson.

In pamphlet form:

The Harmony Society in Pennsylvania. Asa Packer, 1805-1879—Captain of Industry, Educator, Citizen. The German Background of the Rubincam-Revercomb Family of Penn sylvania and Virginia. The Family of Jacob Revercomb, the First of the Race in Virginia. The Republican Candidate for the Governorship of Pennsylvania in 1875. History of the Ordinance of 1787 and the Old Northwest Territory. The Beautiful and Accomplished Charlotte Temple, An Account of Her Elopement with Lieut. Montroville. The Jenkins Town Lyceum, 1838-1938. The Pilot (5 numbers)—Containing the History of the Schuylkill Navi gation Company, by J. V. Hare. Sands and Logan—Records of the Two Families (Manuscript). The Society has also received, too late to list here, a collection of over one hundred volumes, containing many early imprints, some family Bibles, early school books, etc. These were the gift of Dr. W. H. Reed. The names will be given in the next issue.

Museum Accessions

Photostats of letters of Benjamin West and Robert Fulton to Governor Mifflin, 1796. Plan of two lots of ground in Rittenhousetown, Philadelphia, devised by Enoch Rittenhouse to Peter Rittenhouse, 8-21-1860.

Service Record of the 124th Penna. Vols.

Two Clay and Frelinghuysen banners—campaign of 1844. The Historical Society of Montgomery County has for its object the preservation of the civil, political and religious history of the county, as well as the promotion of the study of history. The building up of a library for historical research has been materially aided in the past by donations of family, church and graveyard records; letters, diaries and other manuscript material. Valuable files of newspapers have also been contributed. This public-spirited support has been highly appreciated and is earnestly desired for the future. Membership in the Society is open to all interested per sons, whether residents of the county or not, and all such persons are invited to have their names proposed at any meeting. The annual dues are $2.00; life membership, $50.00. Every member is entitled to a copy of each issue of The Bulletin free. Historical Hall, 18 East Penn Street, Norristown, with its library and museum, is open for visitors each week day from 10 to 12 A.M. and 1 to 4 P.M., except Saturday after noon. The material in the library may be freely consulted during these hours, but no book may be taken from the building.

To Our Friends

Our Society needs funds for the furthering of its work, its expansion, its growth and development. This can very nicely be done through bequests from members and friends in the disposition of their estates. The Society needs more funds in investments placed at interest; the income arising therefrom would give the Society an annual return to meet its needs. Following is a form that could be used in the making of wills:

I HEREBY GIVE AND BEQUEATH TO THE

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY,

PENNSYLVANIA, THE SUM OP DOLLARS (? )