Notes and Queries
Historical Biographical and Genealogical: Chiefly Relating to Interior Pennsylvania
Edited by William Henry Egle M.D., M.A.

Third Series, Vol. I, Harrisburg The Daily Telegraph Print 1887

Page 11

Will of George Fisher, Founder of Middletown

The Founder of Middletown

(We herewith give a copy of the will of George Fisher, the founder of our prosperous borough of Middletown, who died in October, 1781, four years after the making of his will. He was the son of John Fisher, of Philadelphia, who purchased the land whereon Middletown stands in 1742, and which came into the possession of the son in 1759. There is nothing unusual about the will itself, but being that of an early pioneer, and prominent citizen in ante-Revolutionary days, we give it as in the original.)

Will of George Fisher

I, George Fisher, of Paxtang Township, in the county of Lancaster and Province of Pennsylvania, being weak in body but Sound and well disposing Mind, Memory and understanding, and considering the uncertainty of this Transitory life, and willing and desirous to settle my worldly Estate, Do hereby make my last will and Testament in manner and form, following, vizt:

I Order and Direct, that all my just Debts and Funeral Expenses, by immediately paid after my Decease by my Executors hereinafter named.

Item: I give, devise and bequeath unto my eldest son John Fisher all that Messuage or Tenement Plantation or Tract of Land whereon I now live, situate in Paxtang Township aforesaid, with the appurtenances thereunto belonging, to hold to my said son John Fisher, his Heirs and Assigns forever.

Item: I give, devise and bequeath unto my youngest son George Fisher all my messuage or Tenement Plantation and Tract of Land called the "Point Plantation", situate at the Junction of Swartara Creek with the Susquehanna River, in Paxtang Township aforesaid, to hold to my son George Fisher, his Heirs and Assigns forever.

Item: I give, devise and bequeath unto my only daughter, Hannah Fisher, the sum of Eight hundred pounds lawful money of Pennsylvania, to be paid her by my Executors hereinafter named at her attaining the age of Eighteen years.

Item: I do order and hereby declare that my Negro Wench called Hannah be immediately set free after my decease, and that my Executors do pay her out of my Estate during her life the Annual Sum of Six pounds lawful money aforesaid.

Item: I order and direct that all my estate in the City and County of Philadelphia or elsewhere not herein before bequeathed, as soon as conveniently may be after my decease, shall be sold to the best Advantage by my Executors hereinafter named, whom I do hereby Impower to Execute and deliver such Deeds and Assurances as may be necessary for confirming the same to the purchaser or purchasers thereof.

Item: I do further Order and direct, that all my personal Estate by likewise sold Immediately after my decease, And that all Monies arising from such Sales as aforesaid (after securing to my Daughter Hannah her portion of Eight Hundred pounds and the Annuity of Six pounds to my Negro Wench as aforesaid) shall descend to and be Equally divided between my Two Sons, John and George, share and share alike.

And I do Order and direct my Executors hereinafter named to take proper care of my three children and have them decently Educated and brought up until they respectively arrive at full age.

And I do hereby nominate, constitute and appoint my two Brothers-In-Law, Joshua Chamberlain and Jonas Chamberlain, or the survivor of them, to be the Executors of this my Last Will and Testament; And I do hereby revoke and Declare void all other will or wills at any time heretofore by me made, ratifying and confirming this only to be my Last Will and Testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty-second day of February, Anno Domini, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Seven.

His

George X Fisher

Mark

Signed, salad, Published and declared by the Testator as his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us.

Thos. Minshall,

Jacob Smith

Page 14

Thomas King

King - Thomas King, father and son settled in Paxtang township prior to 1750.

Hans Nissley

Nissley - Hans Nissly, the head of the family in Pennsylvania, took our a warrant for 240 acres of land "lying on a small Branch of Conestoga creek, in the county of Lancaster," January 16, 1723.

John Matter

Matter - John Matter "settled on Great Wickaniske," about one mile from the river Susquehanna, prior to 1773. What is known of him and his descendants?

Page 16

Early Land Warrants

The following data relate to the early land warrants in this section:

Thomas Lindley had surveyed to him 480 acres of land on the Swatara, in then Paxtang township in 1733. He was the grandfather of the celebrated grammarian Lindley Murray.

Hugh Brady, of Chester county had warranted to him 150 acres of land in Paxtang township on the 22nd of February, 1733. He was the ancestor of the famous Brady brothers of Pennsylvania border life fame.

Thomas Gardner took up 500acres in Paxtang township "where he is already settled," March 4, 1733.

The Turners, James, Sr., James, Jr., David and Robert, took out warrants for 200 acres each located on Beaver creek in Paxtang township, March 14 1733. This family were among the principal land speculators of that day. They took our a warrant for the land on which Harrisburg is located, notwithstanding the Pioneer John Harris had settled on it twenty-five years, of course only by tolerance, not by purchase. He then secured it from the Turners.

Peter Lane, took up 200 acres of land on "Swahatawro" creek, April 4, 1734; and Cornelius Lane the same quantity on the same day, including "his improvement called Captain John's Town" on "Swahatawro." They were probably brothers, and removed west of the Susquehanna before 1740, disposing of their improvements to other settlers. We are of the belief that they were of the family to which subsequently belonged the Lanes of Cumberland and Virginia valley.s

William Dunlap, or Dunlop, settled at the "Forks of the Swahatowra" prior to 1730. His land, 200 acres was warranted on the 25th of June, 1734.

Peter Allen took up four hundred acres of land "in Paxtang township, adjoining to Ketochtenny Hills," as early as 1725. His tract, however, was not patented to him until the 26th of October, 1734. Peter Allen's plantation was on the Susquehanna north of Clark's creek, and his stone house was, we understand, yet in existence a few years ago at the foot of the range of mountains which perpetuate his name - "Peter's Mountain." W. H. E.

Page 17

Biographical Notes

Allison, William

This William Allison is to be distinguished from Major William Allison having been born in Ireland in 1786. He emigrated to America when quite a young man and came to Harrisburg, where the greater part of his life was spent. He was a leading and influential citizen in the early days of the borough and frequently represented its interests in the town council. He served as coroner of the county, from December 18, 1811 to June 2, 1815, and was appointed a notary public, June 15, 1814. A year or two prior to his death, Mr. Allison removed to Philadelphia, where he died on the 28th of April 1858. He owned considerable land in and adjoining the old borough, and the bluff on which East Harrisburg is built, and which bears his name "Allison's Hill," was a portion of his estate. He had several children, all of whom are now dead, save one son Hon. Joseph Allison the President Judge of the courts of Philadelphia, and a native of Harrisburg.

Antes, Henry

Henry Antes, third son of Philip Antes and his wife Susanna, daughter of Charles Williams of Paxtang, was born December 4, 1784, in Dauphin county. He was in mercantile life many years at Harrisburg, was a soldier of the war of 1812-14; clerk in the Surveyor Generals office; frequently a member of the borough council, and always a public-spirited citizen. At the time of his death was one of the prison inspectors. He died at Harrisburg on the 8th of January, 1860, aged 75 years. Mr. Antes married Catharine Forster, eldest daughter of Gen. Jon and Elizabeth Forster, b. 1802; d. February 9 1872. Of their children only one survives John Henry Antes of Missouri.

Page 18

Beader, Henry

Henry Beader, son of Henry Beader and Margaretta, daughter of Valentine Horter, was born November 16, 1799, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He learned the trade of a coppersmith and for a number of years worked at the business. He served in the borough council a long time, and was clerk to that body. For a period he was a clerk in the Treasury Department of the State, and during prior years was a justice of the peace and alderman of the borough and city of Harrisburg. He died, unmarried, in his native city, on the 1st of February, 1867, in his 68th years. The Daily Telegraph, of the 2d of February, says: "In all this long life he bore himself with the dignity and grace becoming a man."

Boyd, William

William Boyd, son of William Boyd, was born in 1733 in Derry township, then Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. His grandfather Boyd was a native of county Atrim, Ireland, and emigrated with his family to Pennsylvania, prior to 1730, locating in Derry township. The subject of this sketch was brought up a farmer, became quite prominent in provincial days, was an officer during the French and Indian war and during the struggle for independence. He belonged to the Paxtang Boys whose zeal in defense of their firesides compelled them to destroy the murdering savages of Conestoga. During the latter part of his life he served in the commission of a justice of the peace. He was one of the charter members of Lodge 21, at Paxtang, and its second master. In his will he left a legacy to the lodge's charity fund. Mr. Boyd died May 17, 1808, and is buried in Derry church graveyard. He left six children, of whom we have the record of John, who married Mary Williams, and the ancestor of the Boyds, of Harrisburg.

Page 18-19

The Toot Family.

I. David Toot, senior born in 1726, in Germany, emigrated to America prior to the Revolution. He does not, however, appear on the assessment list until the close of the war, when we find him among the citizens of Middletown, where he kept an inn, and where he died on the 15th of February 1792, and was interred in the old Reformed grave-yard in that borough; where his grave is marked by rough sandstone, in the center of that shamefully neglected burial place. Of his family, we have the names of two sones - David who died in 1788 leaving a widow, and George; and a daughter Margaret, wife of Christian King, a man of prominence in the history of the county.

II. George Toot, son of David, sr., was born August 3, 1759. Very little is known of his earlier years save that at the close of the Revolution he appears to have been in military service, which later in life brought him into prominence as colonel of the militia in the lower end of the county of Dauphin. He was a farmer, an innkeeper, and kept a ferry over the Swatara at the beginning of the century. In political affairs he was quite prominent, and was very popular with the people, as most military officers were in the early days of the Republic. He died in Middletown January 23, 1813, and is buried in St. Peter's church, graveyard. Col. Toot was thrice married. His first wife, Mary ____, born April 23, 1756; d. May 7, 1801, and is buried in the old Reformed grave yard. They had issue.

i. David; at the time of his father's death, it was not known whether he was living or not.

ii. George, b. April 18, 1786; d. February 24, 1810; buried in St. Peter's church grave yard.

iii. Joseph; died probably before his father, since he is not named in the will.

iv. Michael; d. at Middletown.

v. Mary; m. Ludwig Wolfley; they removed to Ohio.

vi. Magdalena; m. John Smith; removed to Illinois.

vii. Lydia; m. John Singer

viii. Nancy; b. January 11, 1795; m. Jacob Strite.

Col. Toot, married secondly March 23, 1807, Mrs. Catharine Shultz, b. 1767; d. March 5, 1811. Her maiden name was Catharine Stettler, eldest daughter of Mary stettler, who was the eldest sister of George Eberhart, (George Frey) and through her Col. Toot became one of the heirs of the Frey estate. They had issue:

ix. Sarah, b. about 1808; m. ___ Smith, of Middletown, and had William J.

Col. Toot, m. thirdly Anna Eve parthemore, b. January 1 1776; d. August 19, 1743, at Middletown; daughter of Philip Parthemore (1731-1797) and they had issue:

x. Adam; b. April 12, 1812; m. may 26, 1836, Catharine Selser, of Middletown; they reside at Grand Rapids, Michigan.

III. Nancy Toot (George, David), b. January 11, 1795, in Middletown; d. December 3, 1868; m. November 18, 1817, at Harrisburg, by Rev. George Lochman, Jacob Strite, b. May 23, 1798; d. June 11, 1843. They had issue (surname Strite):

I. Joseph, b. Sept 18 1818, in Middletown; resides in Topeka, Kansas

II. Mary (Polly) b. Sept 16 1820; d. Nov 18 1881, in Highspire; m. W. Fisher, son of Daniel Fisher and Catharine Parthemore.

George Toot, b. March 19, 1823, in Londonderry (now Conewago township.

III. Abraham, b. Sept 29, 1825, in Londonderry township.

IV. Barbara, b. may 29, 1828; d.s.p.

V. Magdalena, b. Dec. 5, 1830; m. Samuel Poorman; reside at Highspire.

VI. Catharine, b. May 18, 1833; d. s. p.

VII. Elizabeth, b. March 2, 1837.

W.H.E.

A Mistake - In "Genealogical Notes containing the pedigree of the Thomas family, of Maryland" by Lawrence Buckley Thomas, of Baltimore, is this statement"

"Philip Thomas, second son of Philip and Anne (Chew) Thomas, b. July 3, 172_, inherited from his father one-half of his estate at the Susquehanna ferry called "Mount Ararat", married April 30, 1754, Anne, daughter of John Harris, of Harrisburg, and widow of Joseph Galloway, and had issue an only son, Philip."

How such a blunder could have been made we are at a loss to conceive. A daughter of Thomas Cookson, of Lancaster, married a Joseph Galloway of Maryland, and we presume she in the widow referred to. The first John Harris had two daughers - Elizabeth, married John Findlay and Esther married Dr. William Plunket.

W. H. E.

The Parthemores

A descendant of this old Dauphin county famiy, Jacob Shuster Parthemore, of Barrett, Kansas, a native of this county, send us some interesting reminiscences of the family and of "the old home," a portion of which we give herewith:

Tradition says that one of the Parthemores was in the war of the Revolution; that after the battle of Monmouth he became detached in some way from his company at night, when he crawled up into an old stable to find shelter and rest and sleep. We he got there he found the stable in possession of British soldiers and was challenged by the sentinels as "who comes there," when he promptly answered a "friend", at the same time handling him his bottle of apple brandy. It being very dark the sentry took a long pull at it. He told the American soldier it was all right, he should lay down and sleep. Parthemore did lay down, but not to sleep, for he took advantage of the first opportunity to get out of his unpleasant situation; so finding the sentry napping, he hastily bent a retreat for the other and more congenial quarters.

Mr. Parthemore's father resided prior to 1830, on the Burd (Tinian) farm, better known as the Ulrich farm. Of it he says: "We lived on the Burd place (then owned by Joseph Burd) with its five hundred cherry trees and large mulberry trees three feet in diameter. I used to play with the old letters that were left in the office room upstairs, about three bushels of them. Some were from England. In your last you spoke of the old knocker being on the door yet, and if I recollected it? This I do very well, and then there was a bell hung at the north door which you could ring by pulling a cord, and which would call the men to their meals. At the out house or kitchen stood a tall Lombardy poplar, which could be seen from York county, many miles off.

I recollect the lawn, the post lane and the chestnut trees, on which latter the boys killed red squirrels with stones. I knew the present owner of Tinian, Mr. Ulrich, before he was married and was present when his father bought the farm for about $30 per acre, and the next year cut down all the mulberry and cherry trees, with few exceptions. I remember when the canal was dug, and of going to the Burd farm when Uncle Frederick lived on it. On a Sunday we went from there to see an "old darkey woman fortune teller," On the way Frederick said he wondered if the old witch could tell anything, and after looking in his cup, she told us exactly every thing that happened to us that nigh. She said we would be disturbed by the night hawks, and sure enough we were."

Page 20

The Bretz Family (page 19,20)

Ludwig Bretz was an early settler in Upper Paxtang. He was a soldier of the Revolution in Capt. Albright Deibler's company and was wounded at Long Island. He was afterwards in the service as sergeant in Capt. Martin Weavr's company, doing duty on the frontiers. He owned a tract of land, but there is no record into whose hands it passé, or when Mr. Bretz died.

There has been sent us the record of the family of John Bretz, which we give herewith, and we are inclined to the belief that he was a son of the one above names, from the fact that the eldest son is named Ludwig. There may be those who can untangle this difficult web.

I. John Bretz, b. December 15, 1771; d. April 1845; m. Catharine Fox, b. Dec. 21, 1773; d. May 1862, at Middletown. They had issue:

i. Ludwig, b. 1792; m. Margaret Wolf.

ii. John, b. Aug 9 1794; d. March 8, 1861, in Perry county, Penn.; m. Catharine Hufnagle, b. May 3, 1795; d. May 23, 1870; and had Jacob, George and Catharine.

iii. William, b. March 16, 1796; d. in Ohio; m. ___Cassel.

iv. Thomas, b. January 4, 1798; d. in Perry county, Penn.; m. Mary Hufnagle.

v. Elizabeth, b. oct. 1799, d. Dec. 19 1882; m. George Fisler

vi. Jacob, b. May 27 1801; m. ____Millelsen.

vii. Susan b. march 1, 1803; d. May 1880; m. first Abraham Ebersole, d. 1831; and had John, Jacob, Anna m. Daniel Parthemore, and Abraham, m. secondly, John Eshenaur and had Joseph.

viii. Anna Maria, b. Nov. 15 1804

ix. Isaac, b.Nov. 8 1805; m. Catharine Moyer

x. Simon, b. April 27, 1808; m. Mary Gaverich.

xi. Catharine, b. dec. 25 1809

xii. Joseph, b. April 19 1811; m. Kesish Moyer.

xiii. Benjamin, b. Aug. 23, 1812, last on the Ohio river, while on a boat, removing to Iowa, with his wife and four children; two children escaped; they reside at Steelton.

xiv. Mary Ann, b. May 19 1814; m. John Osman

xv. Sophia, b. Jan. 13, 1810; m. 1st Isaac Knerr, who was drowned in the Susquehanna; m. secondly, John Springer; reside in Iowa.

We believe only three children of this large family are living - Jacob, Simon, Mary Ann and Sophia. Some one of these ought to have a record of their grandfather's family. If there are no papers, memory ought not to be at fault.

Page 20-21

Master Allen's School: List of Scholars for the Year 1781-82

(The following documents have recently come into our possession. One is the agreement with Mr. Allen and the other the list of scholars for the year 1781-2.

"We and each of us whose names are hereunto subscribed, being willing to employ Joseph Allen, to teach our children to read, write and arithmetic (as far as to the end of reduction in Dilworth's Assistant) in English, according to the best of his capacity, for the term of one year, from the time he shall begin. At the expiration of each quarter thereof, We hereby promise to pay or cause to be paid unto the said Joseph Allen the sum of Five shillings hard money (or Wheat to the value thereof), and also to find him in Meat, Drink, Washing and Lodging at one certain house convenient to the Schoolhouse: Together with a School House, firewood and stove; and for the further encouragement of said Master, we do hereby engage to find lodging at our house for such youths as may apply to be taught above reading and writing in English, which if we do not perform we declare said Master clear at the end of each quarter he may think convenient. In testimony of the true performance of the above articles and agreements notes, the said Joseph Allen, we do herewith subscribe our names and number of our scholars, the 16th day of November 1781.

Page 21-22

Master Allen's School: 1782 List of Scholars

A list of the Scholars' Names and Time they were at School with Joseph Allen, and also their parents' Names, who Dr. for them - 31st Aug. 1782:

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