LEHMAN TOWNSHIP
LEHMAN TOWNSHIP was erected August 19, 1829, from Delaware. The most southern township in Pike County, it is bounded on the north by Delaware, on the east by New Jersey and the Delaware River, on the south by Middle Smithfield township, in Monroe County, and on the west by Porter township.
The physical features of Lehman are similar to those of Delaware, though the bluffs are not as precipitous and more broken and irregular. The falls are beautiful, particularly the Bushkill Falls, which are on the Little Bushkill, about two and one-half miles from the village of Bushkill. The first fall, which is in Rocky Glen, is about eight feet high. After flowing through the glen a distance of about two hundred and fifty feet it falls about six feet on a rock shelf or step about ten feet long, when it takes a perpendicular plunge of eighty feet into a circular basin, whose rocky sides are two hundred feet high, and flows onward through a deep gorge into the Big Bushkill. Josephine Compton, of Philadelphia, fell one hundred and eight feet from the rocks above these falls and recovered from her injuries. The Pell Falls are just above the Bushkill Falls. There are also three falls on Pond Run, which enters the Bushkill just below the falls. One of these falls has a perpendicular descent of one hundred feet over the rocks. There are also five falls on the Saw Creek, that runs through a beautiful gorge and enters the Big Bushkill about three miles above the village. Lehman is undoubtedly one of the oldest settlements in Pike County. The beautiful flat lands along the Delaware are very fertile and the Indians contended for them with vigor. There is hardly an old family from Dingman's Ferry to Bushkill that does not relate traditions of contests with the Indians in which some of the family have lost their lives or been taken prisoners. This region was settled about 1700, as near as can be ascertained. The village of Bushkill lies on both sides of the Bushkill River, and is almost inseparable in its history, although one part is in Pike County and the other in Monroe. The Monroe part is distinguished as Maple Grove. We shall review them together. William Courtright, John Teal, and an old man about eighty years of age, named Maginnis, were taken prisoners at Maple Grove by the Indians. Maginnis being feeble and unable to travel very fast, was killed and scalped a few miles west from Maple Grove, at a place still known as Maginnis' Barrens. Captain Hoover, with a small party of men, started in pursuit. They came to the spot where the Indians were encamped, at "Indians' Swamp," near the headwaters of the Bushkill. They were making preparations for supper when the pursuing party fired on them, killing two of their number and wounding a third. The two live Indians and wounded one escaped and Courtright and Teal were rescued. Courtright, however, was wounded by his friends when they fired on the Indians, so that he used crutches the remainder of his life. The settlers on the Pennsylvania side were more exposed than on the Jersey side, as the Indians who raided the Delaware Valley had their seat of power to the west, on the Susquehanna; as all between the Susquehanna and the Delaware was a wilderness, an Indian could skulk among the rocks or stand on the top of the bluffs and survey the valley below. He could see the farmers coming over from the Jersey side to harvest their grain or care for their stock, and easily attacking them unawares, would carry off men, women and children into barbarous captivity or kill them on the spot. The evening, when the farmers crossed the Delaware to milk their cows, was a favorite time for the savages to accomplish their work, after which they skulked away under cover of darkness over the pine and scrub-oak-covered hills of Pike County westward into the wilderness, where it would be unsafe for any white man to follow them. During the Indian troubles in 1854 stone houses or forts were erected, most of these forts being built on the Jersey side, although it appears that Fort Hyndshaw was on Pennsylvania ground. At the point of a little rise of ground not far from the Bushkill, about three-fourths of a mile from the Delaware, near a spring and near the present road, is an old cellar where was formerly a log fort recently torn down. The oldest inhabitants identify it as the site of Fort Hyndshaw. Some persons place this fort in Pahaquwarry, just across the river in New Jersey, but the reference in Pennsylvania Archives to Fort Hyndshaw favors the conclusion that it was in Smithfield township, on the Bushkill, as above indicated.
BUSHKILL VILLAGE.- Bushkill was first settled by the Gonzales or Gunsaulis, the Smiths, Schoonovers, and later the Hellers, Peterses and others. Manuel Gonzales, a Spaniard, lived in Bushkill as early as 1750, and perhaps earlier. He had two sons,- Manuel and Samuel. A Gonzales is buried at Wurtsboro', and is said to be the first white man buried in Orange County. His name was Manuel, that and Samuel being favorite names in the family.
Old Manuel Gonzales had seven daughters. Among them were Catharine (wife of John Turner) and Elizabeth, who was taken to Canada by the Indians when seven years old. She and her father were hunting for the horses just back of the Bushkill Church, on the Delaware flats. The Indians saw them and started in pursuit. Mr. Gonzales jumped into a washout near the river and was concealed, but little Lizzie ran in a different direction and was captured. They heard her scream when she was taken. The first night of their encampment they wished to kill her, but an old Indian said, "No, she was a smart little girl, and he would take care of her." They took her to Canada, where she lived for thirty-two years, and married an Indian chief, by whom she had two children, who died. An old man afterward came to Bushkill and remarked that if Gonzales would give him a mug of cider he would tell him where his daughter was. The man's description was so accurate that Mr. Gonzales and a neighbor went in search of her. They found her as described, but she did not wish to return. Although her husband and children were dead, she was with difficulty prevailed upon to abandon the life she had so long followed. She remembered that she had lived beside a large river, that a horse jumped over the fence and killed itself, and certain apples that she used to eat. She also remembered that her name was Lizzie, but she had forgotten her other name. She married Peter Quick, of Belvidere, after her return.
Manuel Gonzales married Betsy Overfield, and lived and died in Lehman. He had one son, Manuel, who married Sarah Courtright, and lived in Smithfield, a little below Bushkill. His children were Betsey (wife of Barney Decker, a farmer in Smithfield), Ann (wife of George Kintner), Margaret, Susan (wife of Martin Overfield), Sarah (wife of Jacob Cortright), Heister Gunsaulis (married Elizabeth Trach and lived near the homestead), William (married Mary Kirwan, and lived near the former), James and Samuel moved to New York, and Mary married Andrew Fritchee.
Samuel Gonzales married Elsie De Witt, moved from Bushkill to Smithfield and lived on a farm; Catharine was the wife of Jacob Miller, a farmer, who lived in Smithfield; Mary married John Shoemaker; Sarah was the wife of Henry Peters, a merchant in Bushkill. He was appointed postmaster in 1812. It is not certain that he was the first postmaster, but he was the earliest official remembered. Israel Bensley lived in the log house where Mrs. E.E. Peters' hotel now stands. That is also the old Manuel Gonzales place. Henry Peters was a son of Peter Peters, of Philadelphia. He was a merchant, hotel-keeper and postmaster until 1857. His widow resides with her children, and is in her ninetieth year. She possesses a retentive memory and has furnished the writer with most of the facts in relation to the Gonzales family.
Henry Peters' family all lived in Bushkill and vicinity and are among the most enterprising people of the place. The children were Elizabeth, Elsie G., Delinda, Charles R., Maria L., Catharine M., Samuel G. and Wm. N. Peters. Samuel G. Peters was appointed postmaster in 1857, and still holds the office. The store was first started by Henry Peters, Solomon Westbrook and William H. Nyce, under the firm-name of Peters, Westbrook & Nyce. After Westbrook and Nyce retired Henry M. La Bar succeeded as member of the firm. Mr. La Bar married Elsie G. Peters and was associate judge of Pike County one term. Charles B. Peters (now deceased) married Elizabeth E. Coolbaugh, the gifted daughter of Judge Moses Coolbaugh, and kept the hotel on the old Gonzales homestead site. Mrs. Peters and her sons now conduct one of the most attractive summer resorts in the Delaware Valley. Delinda was the wife of Colonel Henry S. Mott, of Milford.
Catharine M. Peters was the wife of Frank Eilenberger, a merchant in Bushkill. William N. Peters married a daughter of Judge Mackey and lives at Bushkill.
Eliza Gonzales was the wife of Melchior De Puy, a farmer in Smithfield. Manuel Gonzales (3d) married Susan De Puy, and lived in Smithfield. He had one son, Samuel, who died in the army. Susan Gonzales, the last of Samuel Gonzales' family, married Martin Mosier, a farmer in Smithfield.
George Peters, a brother of Henry Peters, married a daughter of Philip Miller. His sons are John, Daniel and Philip, who have fine residences in Maple Grove or Bushkill. Henry, Jane, Margaret, Delinda and Susan are the remaining children.
Rodolphus Schoonover married Hannah Hyndshaw, and lived just across the Bushkill, in Smithfield, where Charles Wallace now resides. He was one of the old pioneers and, like Gonzales, no one recalls the date of his arrival, though it was probably years before the Revolutionary War. His sons were Daniel, Benjamin, James and William. His daughters were Hannah, Dorothy, Sally, Susan and Mary. Daniel married Cornelia Swartwood, and lived on the old place. Their children were Barney, Franklin and Rima. Benjamin married Elizabeth Swartwood and lived in Smithfield. His children were Samuel, Simeon, William, John and George, Jane, Sarah and Hannah. James Schoonover married and settled in the vicinity. His children were Rachel, Mary, Cornelius, Daniel, Hyndshaw, Elijah, James, William and Rodolphus. Cornelius lived to be ninety years of age. William, of the original family, moved to Ohio. Sarah Schoonover was the wife of William Clark, a farmer in Smithfield. Their children were Hannah, Mary, Jane and Elizabeth, John Daniel and Robert, who settled near home. William Clark came from Kentucky, his sister riding all the way on horseback to visit him. She brought with her silverware and a little slave. He accepted the silverware, but refused the slave. Susan Schoonover was the wife of Simeon Swartwood, who lived and died in Lehman.
Old Rodolphus Schoonover had a grist-mill on the Bushkill, the oldest grist-mill in this vicinity. It was built before the Revolutionary War and received bullet-marks during that conflict which were to be seen years afterward. It had one run of stone. Henry Peters built a fulling-mill which was burned, when he erected the present Peters grist-mill.
Benjamin Schoonover built the first foundry on the Bushkill, in 1824. It was the earliest foundry between Lehigh and Newburgh. He cast plows, and obtained his own price for them, receiving eight and ten dollars for coarse, rough plows. He was also the first blacksmith. Simeon Schoonover, his son, succeeded him in the business and rebuilt the foundry twice after it burned. John M. Heller conducted the first wagon-shop. Afterward Simeon Schoonover built a wagon-shop in connection with the foundry. The earliest wagons made in the Minisink Valley had cumbersome felloes pinned together without any tire. Simon Heller and William Clark built the grist-mill now owned by Jacob H. Place, and William Place the hotel now owned by his son, H.J. Place.
John L. Swartwood erected the blacksmith and wheelwright-shop now occupied by his son-in-law, William B. Turn. Webb Wallace and Thomas Newman built the house now occupied by William Turn. Oren Sanford and Chauncy Dimmick built the fulling and carding-mill now occupied by Proctor. Adam Overpack had a tannery in Bushkill in 1812, and Frederick Vadican, from Connecticut, conducted a store at the same time. John Heller built a tannery on the little Bushkill, where upper leather is oak tanned. In 1880 Frank Denegri purchased the property, which is in full operation with twenty vats. Charles L. Heller says that his grandfather, Simion Heller, bought the property of his great-grandfather, whose name he thinks was John.
Simon Heller married Sarah Carpenter, their children being Sarah, wife of Simeon Schoonover, who lives in Maple Grove, and is nearly eighty years of age; Mary, wife of Samuel G. Schoonover; Amos Heller, who lived in Philadelphia; and Susan, who married Conrad Kinter and moved West. John Heller lived on the homestead; was justice of the peace for twenty-five years, county treasurer and associate judge of Pike County, and an honest business man. He built the tannery and carried on the business for many years. His wife was Julia A. Smith. His son, Mahlon G. Heller, resides in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was twice a member of the Legislature; Amos Heller was killed by the cars; Charles L. Heller lives on the homestead, and is by trade a printer and harness-maker; Mary E. married Oliver Smith, and lives in Smithfield; Ella J. married G.O. Carmichael; Sarah E. married Webb Quick, who was a partner in the tannery, when he died; John M. Heller, who had the first wheelwright-shop, afterward conducted a carriage-works in Milford, and later still, in Port Jervis.
Of John M. Heller's children, George B. Heller, who lived in Milford, became associate judge, and Martin V. Heller is an Erie Railroad agent at Port Jervis; Ira B.N. Heller was a printer, a trade which he learned in the Milford Herald office.
David Smith lived in Lehman, was a lieutenant in the War of 1812, and a lieutenant-colonel of militia. He married Mary Stackhouse. His son, Jacob J. Smith, lives on the homestead, and is remarkably well-versed in the early history of Lehman. James S. Smith was sheriff of Pike County; Oliver Smith, a millwright, lives in Smithfield; Elenor was the wife of James Schuman.
Peter La Bar was an old settler in Bushkill. He was a weaver, kept two looms in his house, and wove cloths for the settlers. He had a large family, all of whom are dead.
Jeremiah Fleming lived near where the present bark-house now stands, and perished in a snow-storm about one mile from Bushkill.
John Heller kept the first log tavern where Mrs. E.E. Peters is now located, and was succeeded by Henry Peters. The first tavern-sign was a little brown jug hung up in the attic. Israel Bensley had this tavern for a short time. Joseph H. Place also has a hotel in Maple Grove. Samuel G. Peters succeeded his father in the mercantile business. Bushkill is an independent school district, including Maple Grove, in Middle, Smithfield township. The building is located across the Bushkill, in Maple Grove.
Old Simeon Schoonover says "the first school that he can remember was on top of the Hog Back Hill, which is on Smithfield side. The school-house was made of logs, and one side of it tumbled down so that the sheep used to occupy it with us. They would take possession, and we had to drive them out. I think Jack Robison was teacher." There is a Dutch, Reformed Church* in Bushkill, organized in connection with the church across the river, in 1737. The first church edifice erected for the congregation worshipping at Bushkill was in 1832 (the year of the great revival), the lot for which was given by Henry Peters. It was commenced in the spring of 1832, while, the Rev. David Cushing was preaching, and completed in 1833. It is said to have been due to his efforts in no small degree that the house was completed. He assisted in cutting timber for the frame, on the church farm in Sandyston, and helped raft and run it down the river. Out of ninety dollars received at this point for his services, he subscribed fifty dollars towards the erection of the church. Its cost was a little over two thousand dollars. The building committee were Simeon Schoonover, John, M. Heller and James Nyce. The new church is sixty feet long, with tower projection and pulpit recess seventy feet, and thirty-eight feet wide. Henry M. Labar, John M. Swartwood and P.J. Guillot were building committee until the building was inclosed, and Jacob Nyce, William Schoonover and John Heller at the time of its completion. Cost of edifice, $5359.95. Dedicated January 13, 1874, by, Rev. S.W. Mills, of Port Jervis, who preached the historical discourse in the morning, and Rev. E.P. Rogers, D.D., of New York, preached the dedicatory sermon in the afternoon.
WALPACK BEND, BUSHKILL.- Walpack Bend, at Bushkill, on the dividing line between Monroe and Pike Counties, has never received that notice from the press which its merits deserve. Its curious conformation and natural beauties will, when fully known, make it a desirable point for summer tourists.
The Delaware River, rising in the State of New York, runs nearly south until it strikes the Blue Range, at Carpenter's Point, near Port Jervis. Having no other course to take, the Delaware turns nearly at a right angle and runs along the base of the mountain in a westerly direction. The Blue Mountains, at this point, is nearly a solid mountain, but a small stream here starts out westerly, parallel to the Delaware River, and but a short distance from it. This stream, known as Flat Brook, increases in size as it flows on, until it appears to have worn a deep valley, dividing, as it were, the mountain into two different ranges. When the waters of the Delaware reach the village of Bushkill, in Pike County, it receives the waters of the Bushkill Creek, a large stream made up of various streams which run from the highlands of Pike and Monroe Counties.
Receiving then the waters of the Bushkill, the Delaware turns back on itself, as it were, and runs nearly east for some distance and there meets the waters of the Flat Brook, which has been paralleling it from Carpenter's Point, a distance of nearly thirty miles. In thus going north the Delaware runs along the south side of the northerly range of the mountains formed by the Flat Brook and known as Godfrey's Ridge. Then receiving the waters of the Flat Brook, the Delaware makes another short turn, and flows along the base of the main range of the Blue Mountains to the Delaware Water Gap, where it again turns to the south, flows through the well-known gap and passes on to the sea. The bend thus formed at Bushkill is known as Walpack Bend. From a point just above the village of Bushkill, a long-range rifle will throw its charge three times across the Delaware. The scenery about the Bend is beautiful, and the fishing for black bass is reported to be the best on the Delaware River. The summer tourists who patronize the summer resorts at Bushkill enjoy the beauties of the Bend; but what is wanted are large and commodious hotels or hoarding-houses on the high points of Godfrey's Ridge in New Jersey, or on the corresponding highland on Hog Back, which is the euphonious name given to that same range in Monroe County. When this is done, Walpack Bend and its beauties will be known to, and enjoyed by, thousands who have never heard of it before.
Among the prominent men of New Jersey was John Cleves Symmes, who lived just across the Delaware from Bushkill in Revolutionary times. Under the new Constitution of New Jersey he was the first councilor. He was one of the County Committee of Safety that held a session at a court-house in New Jersey the 10th and 11th of August, 1775, about eleven months before the Declaration of Independence, and in the fall of 1776, Colonel John C. Symmes repaired with the battalion under his command and formed a part of the brigade of Colonel Jacob Ford. On the 14th of December in that year, while quartered at Chatham, charged with the duty of covering the retreat of Washington through New Jersey, Colonel Ford received intelligence that eight hundred British troops, commanded by General Leslie, had advanced to Springfield, four miles from Chatham, and ordered Colonel Symmes to proceed to Springfield and check the enemy, if possible. Accordingly, Colonel Symmes, with a detachment of the brigade, marched to that village and attacked the British in the evening. This was one of the first checks Leslie met with after leaving Elizabethtown, but others soon followed, and his further progress in that direction was effectually stopped. Colonel Symmes being soon after made one of the judges of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, his judicial duties compelled him to retire from the field. A few years after the independence of the United States was established Colonel Symmes removed to Ohio and became the pioneer settler on the Ohio between the Miami Rivers. Here, at North Bend, Judge Symmes laid out a town to be called the City of Symmes, but Cincinnati having been selected for the station of the government troops and location of Fort Washington, emigrants flocked thither on account of the protection afforded by the fort. Judge Symmes repurchased most of the land he had sold and abandoned the project of a city.
Soon after the organization of the Northwestern Territory, Judge Symmes was appointed (February 19, 1788) one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the Territory and attended the sittings of the court at Detroit and Marietta. In the year 1808 he built a large and costly house at Great Bend, which was destroyed by fire, the work of an incendiary, whose aspirations for the great office of justice of the peace the judge did not encourage. Colonel Symmes was educated to the law, but never practiced that profession. About 1760 he removed from Long Island to Walpack, Sussex County, N.J., where he became the owner of several hundred acres of choice land in Flatbrook Valley, including the present site of the village of Walpack Centre. In this neighborhood he erected a dwelling and planted an orchard. On the opposite side of Flat Brook he built a grist-mill on a mountain stream. In this secluded valley home, nestled between the mountains, Symmes brought his accomplished wife, Anna Livingston, whose father, William Livingston, became, in 1776, the patriot Governor of New Jersey. Sarah Van Brugh, another of Governor Livingston's daughters, became the wife of John Jay, president of the first Congress, Governor of New York and chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. Mrs. Symmes died July 25, 1776, and was buried in the old Shapanack burying-ground, but a few hundred yards from the banks of the Delaware, near the ruins of the old Shapanack Dutch Church, which was erected before the Revolution, being built of logs of an octagonal shape. On a plain marble slab which marks the spot is the following inscription
"In Remembrance of
Mrs. Anna Symmes,
who was born October, 1741, married to Honble Jno. C. Symmes 30th Oct., 1760, and died. 25 July, 1776, leaving two daughters, Maria and Anna."
Maria married Major Peyton Short, of Kentucky, and Anna married William Henry Harrison, afterwards President of the United States. The following letter explains itself:
"BETHLEHEM, Pa., Aug. 14th, 1871.
"My DEAR SIR:- Circumstances, partly beyond my control, have prevented an earlier reply to your letter relative to the graves of Mrs. John Cleves Symmes, in Shapanack, Sussex County, N.J., and I now have the pleasure to say that about 1851 my son Charles had his attention called to the unprotected condition of the grave by Miss Dinah Wynkoop, then a resident on the Dewitt farm. My son wrote to Mrs. Annie Harrison, one of the daughters of Mrs. Symmes, and widow of President Harrison, residing at Cleves, Ohio, who immediately authorized him to secure the title to the property and have a wall erected around the grave. My son, who resided at Easton, Pa., immediately communicated Mrs. Harrison's wishes to me and I had them carried out, except the purchase of title. About the same time Mrs. Harrison had Gustav Greenewold, an artist of Bethlehem, Pa., to visit the spot and make a painting of the place, which was done in a very handsome manner, and to the satisfaction of Mrs. Harrison. The painting was sent to her at her residence in Cleves, a short distance below Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Truly Yours, &c.,
"A.G. BRODHEAD.
"To Thomas G. Bunnell, Esq., Newton, N.J."
John Cleves Symmes died February 26, 1814, in the seventy-third year of his age, and was buried at North Bend. The Symmes family trace their descent from Rev. Zachariah Symmes, who was born at Canterbury, England, April 5, 1599, and came to New England in 1634, in the same ship with Ann Hutchinson and John Lathrop.
He became pastor of the church at Charlestown, Mass., which position he held until his death, February 4, 1671. His son William came with him to this country. He was a sea-captain, and died September 22, 1691, leaving a son Timothy, who was born in 1683. He was a farmer, and lived near Scituate, Mass. His son Timothy was educated for the ministry, having graduated at Harvard College in 1733. His first wife was Mary Cleves. In 1742 he went to River Head, Long Island, where his two sons,- John Cleves Symmes, the subject of the above sketch, and Timothy Symmes, who was an active man during the Revolution, and a judge,- were born. Timothy's son, John Cleves Symmes (2d), gained considerable notoriety by advancing the novel theory that the earth, like an eviscerated pumpkin, was hollow, that its interior was habitable, and that an orifice to enter this terrestrial ball would undoubtedly be found at the North Pole. This theory attracted great attention throughout the United States some forty years ago, more especially as a very eloquent lawyer, named Reynold, became a convert to Symmes' views, and 'made addresses in support of their soundness in all of the principal cities. Poor Symmes wearied out his existence in a vain effort to procure means for fitting an expedition to explore the under shell of the earth. He gained, however, more kicks than coppers, and only succeeded in furnishing the wags and wits of the land a theme to exercise their waggery upon. "Symmes' Hole" not only figured in the newspapers, but grog-shops bore it upon their signs, with various devices to illustrate it. One was the representation of a hollow watermelon with a tiny mouse peeping out of the orifice at its polar extremity to see if Symmes' expedition had come in sight.
William Custard settled on the river road, two miles north of Bushkill, in or about the year 1790, and bought of Ezekiel Schoonover and others. He was a farmer, his wife being Elizabeth Van Campen, a daughter of John Van Campen. His children were Benjamin, who lived in Smithfield; William, who lived on part of the homestead; Susanna, the wife of William Place, who built a hotel at Mellener's Cove, in 1838. It was formerly a great stopping-place for raftmen, as there is a wide eddy at this place. Mason Dimmick had a hotel here years ago. He was one of the first schoolteachers at Milford and Dingman's Ferry. He was also associate judge, county commissioner and justice of the peace for a number of years. He finally moved to Smithfield, and died there. His only daughter married Thomas Newman. The other children of William Custard were John V. Custard; Elizabeth, wife of John Hannas; Mason D. and Cyrus, twins, all of whom located in the vicinity of the homestead.
Jacobus Van Gordon owned land on the Pennsylvania side of the river during the Indian troubles, kept stock there and cultivated the farm. There was a fort on the Jersey side, opposite Van Camp's Mill Creek. We have documentary evidence as to the ownership of this land since 1742, which is as early as any of Allen's deeds to the settlers. William F. Allen patented all the Minisink lands in 1727, after it was known that they were settled; hence no documentary evidence in the form of deeds can give a clue as to the period when this region was first settled. It, however, indicates the owners at the times named in the deed. From parchment deeds in possession of Randall Van Gordon, we find that Daniel Van Campen and Aunchy, his wife, of Upper Smithfield, Northampton County, for five hundred pounds proclamation money of the State of Pennsylvania, sold to Cobus or James Van Gordon, of Delaware township, a piece of land containing "34 and 3/4 acres and 36 square rods," being one-third of land sold by Jan Van Campen and Lena, his wife, deceased, to Abraham Van Campen, also deceased, lying between lands of Garrett Brink, now Isaac Van Campen and Houser Brink, except ten acres, reserved to Abraham Van Campen, the said grantor, said deed from Jan Van Campen and his wife, Lena, being confirmed to Abraham Van Campen in 1742. Jacobus Van Gordon purchased "one-fourth of an acre and twenty-one rods and a half of land," of Daniel Van Campen in 1775, and paid him seven pounds therefor. On a survey of lands to Jacobus Van Gordon in 1784, Van Camp's Mill Creek is mentioned, which indicates that the Van Campens were among the pioneer settlers in Lehman, and that they probably had mills and farms. A number of stories are told about the adventures of the Van Campens and Van Gordons with the Indians. One of the Van Campen boys was taken prisoner by the Indians, and a party started in pursuit. They overtook the savages one and a half miles beyond Porter's Lake, at a place called the "Indian Cabins," which are holes or caves under the rocks. There the Indians halted, camped all night and built a fire, making it a very comfortable place. About sunrise, when the pursuing party arrived at the foot log across the Bush kill, they saw a smoke at this camping-place. Soon they saw an Indian stir the fire, and shortly after another Indian came out, young Van Campen following, with his hands tied behind him. Two of the pursuing party fired, and the two Indians dropped dead. Young Van Campen ran in the direction of the smoke of the guns, while the rest of the Indians fled behind the hills. Old Jacobus Van Gordon had cattle and raised crops on the Pennsylvania side. He was the hero of many narrow escapes from Indians, and on one occasion was rescued while protecting the milk-maids after a fierce struggle.
In those troublesome times the garrisons were on the alert and easily aroused. Once the Indians captured Van Gordon's servant girl, but a pursuing party retook her. The tradition about a boat-load of laborers being shot, with the exception of one child, who was not killed, exists among the families here, the child having escaped by lying flat on its face. The boat floated over to the Jersey shore.** There is also the same tradition about several of the Deckers being killed, which doubtless refers to the battle of Conashaugh. Thus did the settlers from Cave Bank to Bushkill live in constant alarm when they cultivated their land or gathered their crops. True, there was Fort Hyndshaw on the Bushkill, and the forts across the Delaware, but it was comparatively safe for the Indians to carry off a defenseless milk-maid or shoot a reaper from some hiding-place in the rocks, an opportunity exercised so frequently that the inhabitants on the Pennsylvania side were nearly all driven across to New Jersey for security.
Jacobus Van Gordon's sons were Moses, Isaac, Abraham and David. His daughters were Susanna, wife of John Van Campen; Mary, wife of Peregrine Jones; Elizabeth, wife of John Henry. Solomon Rosecranse also married one of the daughters. Of these sons, Moses was the only one who remained in Lehman (then Delaware). He married Elizabeth Van Etten, and was a farmer. His children were John, who lived north of the homestead on the river road; James who settled south of the homestead in the old stone house, built by his grandfather. He was for many years justice of the peace. His son Randall had the place a number of years, but finally sold it to Henry C. Bowen and purchased the Delaware House, at Dingman's Ferry, of John Lattimore, where he now lives.
Elizabeth Van Gordon is the wife of James Brisco, who keeps the Half-Way House betweer Dingman's Ferry and Bushkill. Of James Van Gordon's children, Moses and John settled in Lehman.
Alexander Van Gordon lived in Lehman, where Dr. Linderman afterward resided, before 1800. His children were Benjamin, Joseph, Isaac P. Simeon and Mary. These children all moved to Butler County, Ohio, excepting Isaac P. and Mary. Isaac P. Van Gordon bought the Abram Steele property, in Delaware township, back of Dingman's Ferry, where he lived the life of a farmer. J. Wilson Van Gordon, one of his sons, was sheriff of Pike County one term. Hannah J. is the wife of Jacob Hornbeck, and Isaac W. Van Gordon is a farmer.
GENEALOGY OF THE BRODHEAD FAMILY.- Daniel Brodhead, of Yorkshire, England, was the ancestor of the Brodheads of Pennsylvania. He was captain of grenadiers which were part of the forces which Colonel Richard Nicolls brought over in 1664 by authority of Charles II., King of England, against the Dutch.
After the capture of New Amsterdam (now New York), from the Dutch, in 1664, all the dependencies of the Dutch government, on the Hudson River, also surrendered to Colonel Nicolls. Captain Brodhead was commissioned September 14, 1665, "Chief Officer of the Militia in the Esopus," in Ulster County, where he settled with his wife, Ann Tye, also of Yorkshire. He died at Esopus, July 14, 1667, leaving three sons,- Daniel, Charles and Richard.
The son, Richard Brodhead, born in 1666, married a Miss Jansen, and settled at Marbletown, Ulster County, N.Y., about seven miles west of Esopus. His son Daniel, born April 20, 1693, and named after his grandfather, married Hester Wyngart, of Albany, and, about the year 1738, moved to Pennsylvania and purchased a farm on Brodhead's Creek (named for him), and on which is now located the borough of East Stroudsburg. He called his settlement Dansbury, and as such, it was known for many years. He was one of the first justices for Northampton County, established in 1752, and a son, Charles Brodhead, was on the first grand jury called for the new county. He and his sons were famous in their day as Indian fighters. He died at Bethlehem, Pa., July 22, 1755.
His son Daniel was a surveyor, was colonel of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, on Continental Establishment, from the commencement of the War of Independence until 1781, when he was made colonel of the First Pennsylvania Regiment. From 1778 to 1781 he was, by appointment of General Washington, made commander of the Western Department, with headquarters at Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh), and was honored by Congress with a vote of thanks for the skill and ability with which he managed his department. After the war he followed his profession as surveyor, and was also one of the State justices. Upon the adoption of the Constitution of Pennsylvania of 1789 and the establishment of the office of surveyor-general, he was made the first surveyor-general of the State, which office he held for several years. He died at Milford, Pa., in 1809, and is buried in the beautiful cemetery at that place, where a handsome monument details his services.
He had only one son, also named Daniel (by his first wife, Elizabeth De Pue), who was also an officer during the Revolution. He was sent to Virginia in 1779, in charge of the prisoners of General Burgoyne's army. He subsequently settled in Virginia and raised a family. Colonel James O. Brodhead, of St. Louis, Mo., who has achieved a national reputation, is a grandson of his.
Garret Brodhead, also a son of Daniel Brodhead, the first settler of the family in Pennsylvania, and a brother of General Brodhead, was a lieutenant in a New Jersey regiment, although a Pennsylvanian, during the Revolution. He married Jane Davis, of New York State, and settled on his father's farm (now East Stroudsburg), where he raised a large family, and died at Stroudsburg in 1804. His children were John, Daniel, Richard, George, Elizabeth (who married Dr. Francis J. Smith), Rachel (who married David Dills) and Samuel. One of his sons, Richard, who was born at Stroudsburg, July 26, 1771, and subsequently married Hannah Drake, of Stroudsburg, was the person who figured conspicuously during, his life in the history of Wayne and Pike Counties. He was a man of splendid physique, over six feet high and of stern and serious character.
He took great interest in State affairs, regarding it as a conscientious duty, and he looked upon the civil and political duties of man as matters of serious obligation. When Wayne County was organized, in 1799, although not thirty years of age, he was appointed first sheriff of the county by the Governor of Pennsylvania. In a paper written by himself in November, 1842, he thus enumerates the offices he has held as follows:
1. Sheriff of Wayne. 2. Two years in the Legislature (1802 and 1803). 3. Eleven years associate judge. 4. Collector of United States revenue for Wayne County and Pike during the War of 1812. 5. Appointed State commissioner by Governor. McKean, in connection with General Horn, of Easton, to investigate the expenditures of five thousand pounds, granted by the State to David Rittenhouse, to improve the navigation of the Delaware River from Trenton to Stockport. 6. Postmaster seven years. 7. Major of the Second Battalion, One Hundred and Third Regiment Militia. 8. Prothonotary for Pike County. 9. County commissioner. 10. All the township offices, of all kinds, except constable. 11. County auditor. 12. Executor of five estates. And I now, hereby, bid defiance to all heirs, legatees, creditors and others to prove that I have ever wronged any man.
Judge Brodhead, during the greater part of his life, resided on his farm, on the Delaware River, then called Wheat Plains, fourteen miles below Milford, (now owned by Charles Swartout), where he moved about 1791. He had a post-office established at his house called Delaware, which was kept on that spot for nearly half a century. A few years before his death Judge Brodhead moved to Milford, where he died November 11, 1843.
He left quite a large family, and all the sons became quite prominent citizens.
One son, Wm. Brodhead, who recently died in Milford, married Susan Coolbaugh, and was one of the best business men ever produced in Pike County. He was several years commissioner and judge of the courts, and as a land lawyer was probably equal to any lawyer in the State, although not a lawyer by profession. He was a man of sterling integrity, and lived late enough to be yet remembered by the people of the county, whose interests, when entrusted to him, he guarded so well.
Another son, Garret Brodhead, married Cornelia Dingman, daughter of Judge Dingman, and resided in Pike County on a farm near his father's, where he acted well his part as citizen and neighbor. He subsequently moved to Mauch Chunk, where he died.
He left four sons, all living in the Lehigh Valley and connected with the different coal and railroad interests.
One son, Albert G. Brodhead, Jr., is at present superintendent of the Beaver Meadow Division of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and has also been judge of the courts of Carbon County and State Senator from that county.
Another son of Judge Richard Brodhead, Charles Brodhead, married Mary Brown, of Stroudsburg, and located in the mercantile business at what is now called Brodheadsville, on the Easton and Wilkes Barre turnpike. He died young, but his establishment became the nucleus of a thriving and lovely little village. His son, Charles D. Brodhead, remained there in the mercantile business for many years, but later removed to Stroudsburg, where he is still actively engaged in business. He has been Representative, Senator, and is now one of the judges of Monroe County, elected without opposition, and highly esteemed by all.
Albert G. Brodhead, another son of Judge Richard Brodhead, was born at the old homestead, Wheat Plains, Lehman township, Pike County, (then Wayne), August 16, 1799. In 1823 he married Ellen Middagh, and removed to the village of Conyngham, in Luzerne County, Pa. He engaged largely in the mercantile and lumbering business, was elected four terms to the Legislature from Luzerne County, and during his residence there was probably as popular and respected a man as lived in the county. In 1838 he purchased the "Brodhead Homestead," at Wheat Plains, from his father, where he resided, universally respected, until 1865, when he removed to Bethlehem, Pa., where his only son, Charles Brodhead, resided, and still lives, a popular, representative citizen of character and influence. He is the owner of the Moravian Sun Inn, which was established in Bethlehem in 1758, the walls of which he has adorned with old and rare paintings.
Here he resided until July 18, 1880, when he peacefully passed away, and is buried in the Moravian Cemetery in that place.
Richard Brodhead, the youngest son of Judge Richard Brodhead, left Pike County in 1830, to study law with Hon. James M. Porter, then the leading lawyer of Eastern Pennsylvania. After he was admitted to the bar he entered actively in politics.
He was elected three successive terms to the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania by Northampton County. He was elected three successive terms to Congress, by the old Tenth District,- Northampton, Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne,- and in 1850 was nominated and elected by the Democrats of the Pennsylvania Legislature to the United States Senate. He served six years with great acceptability to the business men of Pennsylvania, and with great credit to himself. He entered Congress poor; he served there for twelve years, and returned poor, but with a character for integrity, honesty and purity, of purpose second to none. He was succeeded in the Senate by Gen. Simon Cameron.
In 1849 he married Jane Bradford, of Mississippi, a niece of Jefferson Davis. In 1856, after his retirement from the United States Senate, he lived a retired life at Easton, where he died in September 1863.
He left two children,- Richard, who is a lawyer in New York, and David, who studied law with the Hon. John B. Storm, of Stroudsburg, and is now located in South Bethlehem, Pa., where he is achieving an honorable and desirable reputation as an attorney and politician.
Of the other children of Judge Richard Brodhead, Sarah (the eldest), born 1791, married Col. John Westbrook, a member of Congress from Pennsylvania in 1841-43, and an influential citizen of Pike County, whose character and life-work are fully set forth elsewhere; Jane married Moses S. Brundage; Anna Maria married John Seaman; and Rachel married Dr. John J. Linderman, and became the mother of Dr. Henry B. Linderman, late director of the Philadelphia Mint, and of Dr. Garret B. Linderman, of Bethlehem, Pa.
Dr. John J. Linderman purchased the Alexander Van Gordon property shortly after he obtained his license to practice medicine, in 1817, built a house on the place which Father Stack, of the celebrated Stack vs. O'Hara case, now occupies, and practiced medicine for fifty years, being the first resident physician of Lehman township, and one of the best known physicians in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He was a great-grandson of Jacob Von Linderman, who settled in Orange County, N.Y., where he purchased a tract of land and a number of slaves, and built a substantial house after the manner of the German country houses of the time. His son Henry kept the homestead, and of his children, Oliver and Willet were lawyers, who both became judges, and Dr. John Jordan Linderman, who lived in Pike County as a neighbor to Judge Richard Brodhead, whose daughter Rachel he married. He was the only man who voted for Clay's election in Lehman township during the Polk and Clay Presidential contest, for which the Whigs of Easton presented him with a valuable double-barreled rifle, doubtless feeling that one who was able to stand alone in such a contest merited some kind of recognition.
Dr. Linderman had two sons,- Henry Richard Linderman and Garret Brodhead Linderman, who attended school at Dingman's Academy, near their home, from which they entered the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons, where they both obtained their degree; there their father had studied before them. Dr. Henry R. Linderman returned to Lehman township, where he practiced medicine for a while, but his surroundings were not congenial, and in 1853 he wrote to a friend saying, "He was sick and tired of the vexations and toils of the medical profession." He was at this time in the mining region, being the only physician to a thousand miners and their families. His uncle, Richard Brodhead, who was then in the United States Senate, secured his appointment as chief clerk of the Mint at Philadelphia in 1855. While in this position, in 1856, he married the granddaughter of Samuel Holland, of Wilkes-Barre. In 1864 he resigned and entered a banking-firm as partner. April 1, 1867, he was commissioned director of the Mint by President Johnson. He was an active Democrat, and attended the convention that nominated Seymour and Blair, which led President Grant to request his resignation, in May, 1869. But it was found that he had made himself indispensable. Having been a devoted student, he had mastered the scientific and financial knowledge relating to his office, and was one of the best authorities in this country on coinage and kindred subjects; consequently, in 1870, he was sent as a commissioner to the Pacific Coast, and in 1871 to Europe as a commissioner to observe the methods of coinage at the different mints. In 1872 he wrote a treatise on the condition of the gold and silver markets of the world, and in it predicted the decline in the value of silver, as compared to gold, which predictions have been fulfilled. He called attention to the disadvantages arising from the computation and quotation of exchange with Great Britain on the old complicated colonial basis, and from the undervaluation of foreign coins in computing the value of foreign invoices and laying and collecting duties at the United States Custom-House. He also recommended the adoption of a system of redemption for inferior coins. He was the author of the Coinage Act of 1873, and was again made director of the mints and Assay Office, with his office in Washington. After organizing the new bureau under the act, he projected the trade dollar, which was intended for circulation in China, in order to find an outlet for our large production of silver. In 1877 he published a book entitled "Money and Legal Tender in the United States." In his report of 1877 he presented an exhaustive review of the metallic standard, and of the capacity and production of the mines of the world. The Japanese offered him fifty thousand dollars for one year's services in organizing their mint, but owing to the climate and for other reasons, he refused it. Dr. Linderman's published opinions were received with favor in Europe, as well as in America. His desks were constantly covered with a mass of correspondence from all parts of the world asking for advice, information and instruction from him as a great authority. In person, Dr. Linderman was nearly six feet tall, of fine proportions and scholarly appearance, and possessed of a genial and polished address. He died in Washington in 1879, and is buried in Bethlehem. Dr. Garret B. Linderman removed to Bethlehem and married Lucy Evelyn, daughter of Asa Packer. He became wealthy and was interested in the development of the iron industry there, being one of the owners of the large blast furnaces at Bethlehem. A large and beautiful stone library building has been erected to the memory of Lucy Evelyn Packer Linderman, his wife, in connection with Lehigh University, which was founded by her father. Garret Linderman's sons are among the wealthy iron operators of Bethlehem.
Jacobus Hornbeck married a sister of Joseph Ennis, the old ferryman at Dingman's. Evart and William were his sons. Evart Hornbeck married Jane Van Auken, whose brother was shot by the Indians. He lived on the river road, in Lehman township, and is assessed with three hundred and fifty acres of improved land in 1801, which indicates that he was a farmer of some importance. His sons were Daniel, John G. and Jacob. Evart Hornbeck, a son of Jacob, is associate judge of Pike County, and a merchant at Dingman's Ferry. Margaret, Leah and Jane were the daughters of Evart Hornbeck, Sr.
Solomon Rosencrans lived on the hill and was a blacksmith and farmer. Rosencrans is said to signify "the wreath of roses," and Mr. Rosencrans was a good man for his day and generation. He married a Van Gordon, his children being James, John, Simeon, Sarah, wife of Cobus Van Gordon; Catharine, wife of Solomon Van Etten; and Hannah, wife of James Jagger. Hulda and Dorothea went West, Simeon Rosencrans married Mary Van Etten, and Daniel D. Rosencrans, their, son, lives on the homestead. He was a commissary-sergeant in the Eighteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company M, during the late war. Forty soldiers made a cavalry charge, at Tierce Point, into the streets of Hagerstown, Md., just after the battle of Gettysburg, and were all killed with the exception of fourteen, who were taken prisoners. One white horse escaped riderless and made its way to the battery. Rosencrans ran into an alley and tried to enter a barn, but seeing it was useless, surrendered. A drunken Confederate leveled his gun at him. Rosencrans expected to be shot, and says he was never in such fear in his life as when his own gun gleamed brightly in the rebel's hands. He exclaimed: "Just one moment; I call myself a man, and no man that is a man and a soldier will shoot a prisoner with his own gun." A rebel major that came up drew his sword and ordered the soldier to "drop that gun or he would run him through, for," said he, "that man is a brave soldier and shall be treated as a prisoner of war."
Bernard Swartwood lived south of "Egypt Mills." 'His Sons were John, Simeon and Leander. John lived on the homestead, and his sons were Jacob, who lives in Falls township; Henry, of Pittston; John, of Smithfield; and Bernardus, who had the homestead, which his widow and children now occupy. The Swartwoods are an old family in Lehman. Part of John Nyce's property was first surveyed to Peter Swartwood in 1774, by him conveyed to William Dunshee, by him to James Swartwood the same year, and by him conveyed to Samuel Seely in 1794, from him to Nicholas Schoonover, and by him to John Cline in 1800, from Cline to Lodewick Lenders, in 1809 to Henry Decker, and in 1814 to John Nyce. The Swartwoudts (Black woods) were a Dutch family and noted for their great strength. The annals of Orange County, N.Y., and Sussex County, N.J., contain accounts of the Indian contests of this family. In the Delaware assessment in 1781, which then included Lehman, James, Thomas and Bernardus Swartwood are assessed. Charles Swartwood now lives on the old Brodhead place.
Peter Swartwood, who was one of the first settlers in Lehman township, afterwards moved to Wyoming, but fortunately was on a visit to Esopus at the time of the massacre. He did not return to Wyoming but went to Cayuta Creek, in Chemung County, N.Y., where his former neighbors when he lived in Lehman, the Ennises, had gone before him. Mr. Swartwood lived to be ninety-nine years of age, and his second wife lived to be ninety-seven. He had eighteen children, and there were one hundred and forty of his descendants living when he died. One of his sons, William Swartwood, became a major-general of militia and a member of the Assembly of New York from Chemung County. Another son, Daniel B., was a member of the Assembly from Tompkins County, N.Y. One of the daughters, Rachel, married Jesse Barnes, son of Abram Barnes, of Lackawaxen. She is now living at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, aged eighty-six. Her son, Peter S. Barnes, is now register and recorder of Wayne County.
William Nyce made his first purchase in Lehman township (then Delaware), April 29, 1779, of Isaac Van Campen, for two thousand one hundred pounds. The first piece of land, contained sixty-three acres, and the second twenty-five acres, and is mentioned as a part of the Garret Brink estate. Jacobus Van Gordon's land lies adjoining it. July 12, 1779, he purchased two hundred acres of James Beard at sheriff's sale. May 7, 1784, he purchased forty-three acres of Hendrick C. Courtright, being part of a tract which William Ennis and John Brink purchased in 1741, and which Courtright had secured in 1745, showing that Courtright had lived there for thirty-nine years. The Courtrights were among the pioneers of Lehman. Daniel, Benjamin, Henry, Abraham and Henry Courtright, Jr., are assessed in Delaware in 1781.
William Ennis was an old settler, and Lieutenant Ennis lost his life at the battle of Conashaugh.
The Brinks were also an old family both here in Lehman, where John Brink lived, and elsewhere in Pike. John and Benjamin Brink are assessed in Delaware in 1781.
William Nyce and his wife, Dorothy, sold two hundred and five acres of land, called Nyceburg, to Abraham Howell for three hundred pounds, September 3, 1795. This was probably a portion of his possessions in Lehman, for his sons; William, John and George, appear on the stage of action, and are assessed in 1800. He was of German origin, came to Lehman from Harmony, N.J., and probably returned to that place after he married his second wife. The spot where these three sons of William Nyce, Sr., located obtained the name of Egypt Mills from the grist-mill the Nyces had built, and it is not impossible that Isaac Van Campen had a grist-mill or some other mill before William Nyce came, for Van Camp's Mill Creek is mentioned in a survey to Jacobus Van Gordon, who lived adjoining this tract, in 1784. The extraordinary price of two thousand one hundred pounds for eighty-eight acres of land, in 1779, would seem to be a great price for land unless there was some improvement on it, but Continental money did not have a great purchasing value during those dark days nor afterwards.
"Egypt Mills" took its name from the gristmill the Nyces built some time before 1800. Many years ago, when Pike County was almost a wilderness, this mill was one of the sole dependences of the "up river people" for bread, and particularly of those residing in and about Purdyville. These pioneer settlers had stated times at which to visit the mill, and would come to the place at regular intervals to purchase flour and meal, which they carried to their homes by means of pack-horses. In time they came to call this place "Egypt," from their knowledge of Bible history and the analogy between themselves and the brethren of Joseph. The mill has been rebuilt since that time and probably resembles but little the one it supplanted. A distillery once stood at or near these mills. The Nyces had a sawmill and Captain Nyce invented the first carriage that went back by water-power in Pike County. They used to tread the carriage back previous to that.
William Nyce was assessed with a slave in 1800. He died a bachelor in 1819, his property going to his brothers, John and George, who were among the wealthiest men in Pike County at that time. They were members of the Dutch Reformed Church, and elders or members of the consistory. George Nyce's family moved away from Lehman a number of years ago. Daniel, the oldest son, went to New York. Jacob died young. William worked in the Mint in Philadelphia. Hannah Nyce became the wife of Rev. Robert Pitts, a Dutch Reformed minister. She is still living, at Stroudsburg. John Nyce remained in Lehman, and owned the fertile wheat land which is still in the hands of his descendants. It was for this, and similar lands along the Delaware, that the Minsi (or Monsey) Indians so earnestly contested years ago. John Nyce lived to be seventy-five years old, and was a devoted Christian man. During the latter years of his life, when they had no minister, he held meetings in school-houses and churches. He married Lena, a daughter of John Westbrook, who lived on the flats on the Jersey side. Westbrook owned slaves, and gave one to his daughter when she was married. Mr. Westbrook was a wealthy farmer, and gave his property to his two daughters, in equal portions, as long as they lived, with the remainder to the one that had children.
It so happened under this arrangement that Mrs. Nyce got all the property. John Nyce's children were Major John W. Nyce; Judge William H. Nyce; Mary, wife of Moses W. Coolbaugh; James, a bachelor, who was once county commissioner; Lydia, wife of Alfred Wells, of Middletown; Catharine, wife of Dr. John Morrison, of New York; George Nyce, who married Elizabeth, a daughter of William Place, and bought his Uncle George's farm; and Jacob Nyce, who married Linda, a daughter of George Peters, lived on the old homestead, operated the grist-mill and kept the post-office at one time. Both George Nyce and his brother Jacob were elders in the Reformed Church and good men.
Major John W. Nyce, the oldest son above mentioned, was born on the homestead farm at "Egypt Mills" July 23, 1794. After marriage he moved to Sandyston, just across the river in Sussex County, N.J., where he lived for many years. He later removed to Montague and resided there until his death, May 19, 1879. He was a farmer of quiet tastes, to whom the community looked with respect, strictly moral and temperate, and in all things desired to do right. For more than sixty years he was a member of the Reformed Church, and was ever willing to lend an assisting hand in the cause of Christianity. He was the father of ten children, among them Colonel John Nyce, who entered the army as a private and was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, when he was wounded in the right arm, in consequence of which he was discharged. He re-enlisted, was a major in the Thirty-third Regiment, or Fourth "Pennsylvania Reserves," was severely wounded at the battle of Antietam and lay on the battle-field all night. The ball struck his arm near the former wound, passed through his right lung and struck his spine. He was made colonel of a regiment, sent to North Carolina, but did not see much service, and being mustered out August, 1865, returned to Pennsylvania, where he completed his law studies at Stroudsburg with Hon. Charlton Burnett. He built a fine residence in Milford, opposite the courthouse, and practiced law there until 1880, when he died from the effects of his wounds. He married Martha A. Allyn. His son, John W. Nyce, is cashier of the Stock Exchange Bank in Caldwell, Kansas. Dr. George Nyce, another son of John W. Nyce, is a practicing physician at Muncie, Ind.
Judge William N. Nyce married Margaret Westbrook, lived in New Jersey on the flats and had two hundred and fourteen acres of land, but engaged in the store-keeping and lumbering business, much to his detriment financially. He was twice a member of the New Jersey Legislature, and after his removal to Blooming Grove was an associate judge of Pike County. His son, Colonel John Nyce, of Hawley, is the oldest male member of the Nyce family now living. He was made a colonel of militia in a New Jersey regiment by Governor Pennington in 1843. His wife is a daughter of Judge Halsey, of Sussex County, N.J. He has been an elder in the Reformed and Presbyterian Churches for forty years. The Nyce family is one of the most prominent in the Delaware Valley. They were all strong Democrats, and in religion stanch members of the Dutch Reformed and Presbyterian Churches.
Levi Ladley, an old settler in Lehman, was a hunter and fisherman. He built on the hill where Etta Borland now lives. John Smith, a German, came to Lehman and bought a farm of Manuel Hoover in 1798. There was an old stone house on the place at that time.
He had seven sons, two of whom- Isaac and Lodowick- settled in Lehman. Jonathan Seely built a saw-mill on Pond Run, in Lehman, at an early day. Ladley lived in one of the old sawmill houses. Daniel Smith is the first man who attempted farming on the hills of Lehman. Henry Bunnell now owns the property. The next farmer on the hills was John D. Lawrence, who commenced on the place now occupied by Wm. D. Courtright. John Henry lived above Brisco, on the hill in 1800. Boudwine Howey lived on the place now owned by Martin Overfield, in 1800. Benjamin Imson was an early settler in the woods, in the rear of Bushkill. John Litch lived back of Egypt, on the hills; his son William also lived and died in Lehman. Jacob Bensley resides on the hills of Lehman, and is a farmer and hunter. He says his great-grandfather was a German, who came to Smithfield about 1750, and his grandfather, Israel Bensley, was a native of the township. He rented the tavern stand of Henry Peters, who had bought of John Heller, and kept public-house in Bushkill for a time. He married Catharine Van Why. His only son, Adam Bensley, was a farmer and lumberman in Lehman. He married a daughter of Benjamin Imson. She had a brother, Robert Imson, who was an Indian doctor. His children were Jacob Bensley; Sarah, the wife of J.H. Jagger; Catharine resides on the Susquehanna; and Daniel, who lives in Lehman. Jacob Bensley has been a great hunter and killed many deer. The last buck he killed was only wounded by the first shot. He turned on his assailant, and being on a side-hill, gave him a severe battle before he and his dog succeeded in killing him. The deer had him down, when the dog annoyed him, and they soon worked down the hill, which afforded Bensley a chance to rise and load his gun. He then went down and shot the buck. He also had a severe fight with a panther about fifty years ago. One of Bensley's sons is commissioner of the county. John Burke, John Titman (who had many lawsuits), John Litch and George Steward were on the hills when Bensley came.
THE HERMIT OF LEHMAN.- Probably no history of Lehman township would be complete without some account of Austin Sheldon, that eccentric missionary Yankee, who lived alone in the woods on the hills, two or three miles back of "Egypt Mills." He was born in Connecticut and was one of a family of eight or ten children. There are two theories to account for his singular conduct. One was that he was agent for a book concern, unwittingly spent the money and never had the courage to return, and another that he lost his wife, for whom he sorely grieved, which drove him to a hermit's life. Whatever the cause of his eccentricities, he first appeared in this State, in Canaan township, among the hills or Moosic Mountains. When the settlers encroached, he left and went to Blooming Grove, where he remained a short time, and then removed to the hills of Lehman, where he purchased about seventy acres of Pike County scrub pine and scrub oak barrens, and erected a sort of cabin, where he dwelt for a number of years. Finally abandoning this cabin, he went farther into the woods, where he lived in a wretched hovel built against a rock. The roof was covered with pieces of bark, old carpet and flat stones. A large flat stone against the entrance answered for a door, and in one corner adjoining he built a fire on the ground, having a hole in the roof above for a flue. Here he lived and suffered the rigors of this northern climate. Some writer described him in romantic style for the Milford paper and the New York Sun. His sister saw the account, made her way to Pike County and to the cave of her long lost brother. On seeing him in this forlorn condition she wept bitterly, and, being a person of some means, urged his return with her. After much persuasion he finally assented and accompanied her to Connecticut. He had been absent a quarter of a century or more and his home surroundings appeared as strangely to him as did those of Rip Van Winkle after his long sleep.
Soon tiring of the comforts of civilization, he again returned to the wilds of Pike County, where the majestic rocks and murmuring waterfalls ministered calm to his disquiet spirit. He was a good blacksmith, and had an anvil beside his cabin, where he made butcher knives for the neighbors. He was a great reader, particularly of the Bible, advocated temperance, which he practiced himself, and became a religious enthusiast towards the end of his life. He was found one cold winter day in his cabin in a stupefied state, with his face somewhat scorched by the fire. He was taken to Tony Heater's, where he died at an advanced age, and was buried in Delaware Cemetery about the 1st of February, 1886.
Elijah Van Auken, a hunter, lives in the backwoods of Lehman. He is now eighty-three years of age.
The schools of Lehman are Hemlock Grove, Brodhead, Schuyler's, Meadow Brook, Pine Ridge, Barn Timber and Bushkill Independent District.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
HENRY M. LA BAR.
Henry M. La Bar died at Bushkill, Pa., in December, 1884, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. In order that the character and life-work of such a man should be properly recorded in the local annals of the period, it has been deemed appropriate to publish this brief outline of his career.
He was a descendant of the old La Bar family, whose early history and identification with this locality are elsewhere recorded. His father was George La Bar, who married Sarah Jayne and occupied during his life-time the old Jayne place in Middle Smithfield. The children were Daniel, Isaac, Henry M., Charles, George, Margaret (who married Rev. S.C. Bacon, of the Methodist Episcopal Church), Anna (who married Jacob Bush, of Middle Smithfield) and Sarah (who married Dr. P.M. Bush, of the same place).
The early life of Judge La Bar was passed in the home-place and he enjoyed only a common-school education. When quite young he engaged in school-teaching in Montgomery township, Sussex County, N.J., and subsequently clerked in the store of Solomon Westbrook, at Dingman's Ferry, Pike County, Pa., for several years. Later on he filled a similar position in the store of William Nyce, at Bushkill, and then bought him out and the firm of Henry Peters & La Bar was organized. He engaged in trade at Bushkill for about thirty years. During the same period he followed lumbering and got out ship-timber, hoop-poles and staves for the market. In connection with Henry Peters he also carried on the milling and store business at Marshall's Creek for a time. He acquired a large property by exercise of industry, integrity and economy, and enjoyed a good reputation among his neighbors. At the time of his death he owned about fifteen hundred acres of land. He was a member for many years of the Reformed Dutch Church of Bushkill, and in politics a Democrat. He was elected to serve on the bench as one of the lay judges of the county for several terms, and served his constituency with fidelity and ability. On May 15, 1838, he married Elsie G., daughter of Henry Peters, of Bushkill, who survives him. Few men have enjoyed a more enviable reputation in Pike County than Judge La Bar, and he has gone to his fathers with a name, honored and respected by all.
CHARLES RIDGWAY PETERS.
Charles Ridgway Peters, born February 12, 1822, died December 2, 1867, was a grandson of Peter Peters, who emigrated to this country from Holland about the period of the Revolution, in connection with two brothers, Henry and John, and landing at Philadelphia, resided for a number of years at Chestnut Hill, near that city. He was a miller by trade and finally worked his way up to Easton and Stroudsburg, Pa., pursuing his vocation all the time, and closed his days in the latter place. His son Henry was born near Philadelphia in. September, 1787, and died March 2, 1857. On January 16, 1814, he married Sarah Gunsaules, of Middle Smithfield, born July 23, 1794, and still living, and soon after bought a large lumber tract of Judge John Coolbaugh and Mr. Van Horn (of Easton), including most of the present site of Bushkill, Pa., and located in a humble dwelling-house thereon. For many years he engaged in lumbering and rafting, also in the milling and mercantile business at Bushkill, of which he was the virtual founder. He was the first postmaster and the office has always remained in the family. His primitive dwelling was a log-house, containing one window with four window-lights, and there he established a sort of public-house for the entertainment of travelers, the first of its kind in the locality. The house was torn down after standing over one hundred years, and occupied a portion of the present site of the residence of Mrs. Chas. R. Peters. The public house was kept by Henry Peters for many years and was carried on by his son at a later period. He was a man of character and standing, just and exact, in all his dealings and industrious and economical in his habits. His children were Elizabeth (1814-58); Elsie (1817), widow of Henry M. La. Bar; Delinda P. (1819-71), who married Henry S. Mott, of Milford; Charles R.; Maria Louisa; Catharine Miller; Samuel G. and Wm. Nyce. The latter two are engaged in trade at Bushkill.
Charles R. Peters engaged in farming and hotel-keeping at Bushkill during the whole of his life. He was a Democrat in politics, active in church work, but no aspirant after public place. He was generally respected and esteemed for his integrity and uprightness of character. He married, February 4, 1852, Elizabeth E., daughter of John Coolbaugh, and left three sons,- Edwin F., Harry and Van,- who reside at Bushkill. That pleasant summer-resort, with its attractive homes and picturesque surroundings, is owned almost entirely by the descendants of Henry Peters, who so early came out into what was then a wild region and identified himself with its development. The aged mother of the family is still the central figure around whom clusters much of the interest of the place.
* See church history of Delaware.
** See history of Westfall township.
Page(s) 926-944; History of Wayne, Pike and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Mathews, Alfred, Philadelphia, R. T. Peck & Co., 1886