WATSON'S ANNALS OF PHILADELPHIA Vol. 2 Printed in 1857 Churches in Germantown FRIENDS --- Their first meetings were held at Dennis Conrad's house, (then spelt Tennis Kundert), as early as 1683. Part of the wall of that ancient house may now be seen on the north-west end of the two houses rebuilt and occupied by Lesher, as an inn. On the site where Dr. George Bensell's house now stands, there was an ancient house, pulled down by Dr. Bensell, in which William Penn preached; it was low and built of frame work and filled in with bricks. He also preached at Schumacher's ancient house, built in 1686, and till lately standing in Mehl's meadow. In 1705, the Friends built a meeting house of stone, in their present graveyard on the street. It has been taken down. From the original subscription and account book, it appears that they bought fifty acres for L 60 (pounds) , raised by subscription of individuals and other meetings, in sums of from 20s, to L10,4s. In Philadelphia, one hundred and thirty persons of that meeting gave L12,7s,8d. Eighteen Friends in Frankford contributed L 22,8s. In Abington, thirty-seven persons gave L 21,6s., chiefly in wheat at 4s. Byberry meeting gave forty bushels of wheat, L 8,3s. The prices of labour were then 3s.6d., apples 1s.6d. per bushel, boards 10s. per hundred, lime 14d., oats 2s.6d., malt 4s.6d., bricks 22s per thousand, linseed oil 8s., nails 1s.2d., shingles 10s. per thousand, timber 6s. per ton, sawing 10s. per hundred. TUNKERS --- In 1709, the Tunkers from Germany and Holland emigrated to Pennsylvania, and settled FIRST at Germantown. Their first collected meetings were held in the LOG HOUSE in front of their present stone church in Beggarstown. Alex. Mack was then their principal leader. He was a very rich miller in Cresheim, gave all his property in common, and came with 8 or 10 to Germantown in 1708. He died old: and his son Alexander lived to be near 91 years of age. That LOG HOUSE was built in 1731, by John Pettikoffer, for his dwelling, who procured his funds, by asking gifts therefor from the inhabitants. Because it was the first house in the place and procured by begging, it was called "Beggarstown". The stone church on the same premises was built in 1770. Alex. Mack, junior, succeeded his father as minister, and Peter Baker had been their minister as early as 1723. The original Tunkers from Ephrata, used to dress alike, and without hats covered their heads with the hoods of their coats, which were a kind of gray surtout, like the Dominican friars. Old persons now living remember when forty or fifty of them would come thus attired on a religious visit from Ephrata, near Lancaster, to Germantown, walking SILENTLY in Indian file, and with long beards; also girt about the waist, and barefooted, or with sandals. The MENNONITES' first meeting house was built here in 1708,and was a log house, in the same lot where their present stone house (built in 1770) now stands. The log house was also a school house, kept by Chistopher Duck, in 1740. The GERMAN REFORMED erected their first meeting-house, opposite to the market house, about the year 1733. The front half part was first built; the back part was added in 1762. This old church, in the market square, originated as a Dutch Reformed, and was built and used as one directly under the Reformed church in Holland. From thence it had its first pastor. It had an ancient shingled roof steeple after the Dutch manner, and was surmounted by a well finished iron COCK, being the Dutch sign of a church. From its low elongated form, of stone, with its adjunct additions and affixes, and BARE beams to the gallery --- with high and narrow pulpit and sounding board --- it was in itself a venerable specimen of the OLDEN TIME, and for that cause was to be prized for its ASSOCIATIONS. It seemed in itself calculated to bring up the recollections of the fore-fathers who once worshipped there. It seemed the very place to inspire the descendants with hallowed reminiscences of those who had gone before them. Among its recollectiions was that of its being the place, in 1793, where General Washington and his family regularly went, as often as they had English preaching, which was sometimes done by Doctor Smith, from the Falls of Schuylkill. But time, and the passion for newness, resolved them "to pull down and build greater". They therefore lately made a new brick church in its place. The steeple was taken down with much skill, entire, and taken away to be preserved as a graceful summer house, by one who had the fancy for thus preserving it as a relic of the past; and the rod and vane were taken and set up again upon Mr. Stokes' hall. The steeple at the summit had many rifle bullets in it, shot there by the Paxtang boys, when they shot at the vane as a mark. The old organ, too., with its trumpet angels in their golden array, just as the whole came from Holland, was discarded and cast aside. The LUTHERAN CHURCH --- It is not accurately known when this was built, but it had an addition of its front part made to it in 1746. It is certain, too, that there was a church in Germantown, BEFORE the first one in Philadelphia, which was erected in 1743. The first ordained minister, Dr. H. M. Muhlenberg, came to Philadelphia in 1742, and of course before that time their services in Germantown were conducted by their schoolmaster, as is their practice in similar cases. In 1754 a lottery of five thousand tickets, at $2 each, was drawn in Philadelphia, to net L 562 to purchase a messuage and lot of ground in Germantown for the minister of the Lutheran church and school house, &c., for the benefit of the poor of the society, the minister to instruct the poor children. In 1761 the Lutheran church at Barren-hill was also built by a lottery. Nothing but German was preached in the Lutheran and German churches till of late years, and the present PRESBYTERIAN church was formed by the seceders from those churches, because the other members would not agree to have English preaching for HALF the time. They built their stone church in 1812, under the patronage of the Rev. Dr. Blair. The METHODISTS began to preach in Germantown about the year 1798, and in 1800 they built their stone meeting house, in the lane opposite to Mr. Samuel Harvey's house. In 1823, their former church being too small, they built a new and larger meeting house. The PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH of St. Luke was built in the year 1819: the first Rector was the Rev. Charles Dupuy: previously the society assembled for worship at the house of James Stokes, at the corner of the church lane. The lower burying ground of half an acre was the gift of John Streeper, of Germany, per Leonard Aret; and the upper one was given by Paul Wolff. The potter's field in Bowman's lane was bought in 1755 for L 5 10s. containing one hundred and forty perches. The first grist mill set up in Philadelphia county was that now called Roberts' mill, in Church lane, just one mile north-east from the market square. Roberts' mill was erected as early as 1683, by Richard Townsend, a public Friend, who brought the chief materials from England. Some years afterwards, in his printed address to Friends, he speaks of this mill and his early difficulties, and the kind providence extended to him there, which are very interesting. He states that his was the only mill for grain in all the parts; and was of great use to the inhabitants. That they brought their grist on men's backs, save one man, who had a tame BULL which performed the labour. That by reason of his seclusion in the midst of the woods, he had but little chance of any supply of flesh meat, and was sometimes in great straits therefor. On one occasion, while he was mowing in his meadow a young deer came near to him, and seemed to wonder at his labour; it would follow him up while he worked, but when he stopped or approached it, it skipped away; but an accident made him stumble, and so scared the deer, that he rushed suddenly aside against a sapling, and being stunned, he fell and was taken alive and killed, to the great relief of the family. The first paper mill in Pennsylvania was built by Garret Rittenhouse. It stood about a hundred yards higher up the stream than where old Martin Rittenhouse now lives, at C. Markle's. It was carried off by a freshet. William Penn wrote a letter soliciting the good people to give some aid in rebuilding it with their money. The grist mill, now Nicholas Rittenhouse's on Wissahiccon, below Markle's was built without the use of carts, or roads or barrows. The ACADEMY. --- There were numerous scholars here in the Germantown school, sixty-five years ago; now there are none taught. The public school now called the Academy was first commenced in building in 1760, by a subscription chiefly raised in Philadelphia; but it not being likely to be finished thereby, in 1761 they made a lottery to draw in Philadelphia, of 6667 tickets, at $3, to raise $3000 at 15 per cent, to finish it. In 1821 the legislature granted $1000 to help it out of debt. Their first teacher was Dove, distinguished in Philadelphia as a scholar; and he had considerable fame as a satirical poet in political controvercies. He used to send a committee of boys, with a lantern and candle IN DAY TIME, ringing a bell, to find absent scholars, and bring them with shame to school. His name was David I. Dove. He differed with the trustees, and built the house next to the Academy as an opposition seminary, and found himself unsuccessful and mortified. Pelatiah Webster succeeded him; all that time there was also a German master and scholars, and all the education there was at 10s per quarter, and now English is $5, and the languages $10. **************************************************************************** *********** NOTE: All words in capitals are in italics in the book.