Oath upon him for authenticating the work he had Done upon Oath in which Unreasonable proposition he was not seconded by any one. 27th In the morning proceeded to Consider the Clause in the Sa Bill for appointing an Officer on which a long & tedious Debate arose, & a Certain great or rather big man, notably display'd his Talents as a Statesman, Politician, Orator! (alias) brawler, bigotted propretarian &c &c obstinatly Contending that the Governor Should have the appointing a person to Officiate in Case of a Vacation untill the House quite wearied out with his noise moved for ye Question which being put whether the Clause should pass as it then Stood, the whole House 'rose to it but himself alone, who seemed to be proud of thus distinguishing himself on behalf of the proprietary prerogative, tho' he was pleased to Call it that of the Crown. Exulting to find himself the only member of so large a Legislative Body that had the penetration to See the matter in its proper light, but in the afternoon appear'd by the pensiveness of his aspect to have taken another turn of thought, probably reflecting on the impotence and unsuccessfulness of his Endeavors to Carry his point, and after while privately withdrew. 28th The Governor by his new Secretary Shippen returned the Court Bill with Such amendments or alterations as to a majority of the House appeared Enormous, which occasioned a virulent Dispute between the Ch. Justice and a Gentleman of the Law, but which got ye better, is a point difficult to decide. From this day to the 1st of February nothing remarkable. Feb. 1st An address from the Mo" Meeting of Friends in Philada Earnestly recommending to ye Care of the Legisla ture to Check the increase of vice occasioned by the Enormous increase of Taverns & Tippling Houses in Town and Country, Lotteries & Stage plays &c which was Seriously and and solemnly Considered and well spoke to by several of the members, of whom Joseph Galloway appeared to be the most zealous. 24 The House resumed the Consideration of the Road Bill, which took up the whole day-it seem'd impossible to frame it in such manner as to Conciliate the different opinions & notions of the members. In the Evening after a long & laborious Debate which was Conducted with a good Degree of decency & moderation, the Speaker upon motion of ye House put the Question whether the Bill, as it then stood Corrected should be Transcribed for a third reading, which was Carried in the affirmative by a majority of Two Voyces. From this Day to the Fifth inst, nothing remarkable happened. A HISTORY OF THE UPPER GERMANTOWN GERMANTOWN Avenue (Main Street) above Washington Avenue. BY PETER D. KEYSER, M.D. At the time of the settlement of Germantown (1683-1695) there were really but two religious bodies or sects among the people-the Mennonites and the Quakers. Their meetings for worship were for some years held in the houses of their members, and from what we can glean from the history of the place, the two sects are supposed to have at times worshiped together in the same house, until their separate meeting-houses were built. During this time it is not known that any special plot of ground was laid out for the burial of the dead; and no doubt the bodies of those who died were deposited in their own grounds. On the erection of the Quaker or Friends' meeting-house in 1705, and the church of the Mennonites in 1706, each building had its graveyard attached for the burial of its members. After the year 1700 people of other denominations, such as Dunkers, Lutherans, etc., began to settle in the town and vicinity, and as there was no place in the upper part of Germantown as an open ground for any one of different religious views who wished to be buried in a regular graveyard, Paul Wulff, in 1724, granted one-half of an acre of ground situated at the upper end of Germantown, on the Main Street, above the Road to Abington or Keyser's Lane, to the corporation for a burying-ground. Having received the lot, it was deemed necessary to put a stone wall along the front of it, and to meet the expenses of the same a subscription was taken among the inhabitants in money, labor, stone, etc. It was conditioned that all subscribers were to receive the right to bury in the graveyard at any time. It was called the "Upper Germantown Burying Ground." The front wall, on the main road, was begun in May, 1724, by Dirck Johnson and John Frederick Ax, and finished with the assistance in labor, money, or stone by Anthony Klincken, Henry Sellen, John Doederer, Paul Engel, Jacob Sellen, Elizabeth Kasdorp, Peter Sellen, John Cunrad, Margaret Tissen (Teisen?), Hans Reyner, Christian Bernman, John Strepers, Anthony Tunes, Garret Rittinghausen, Hans Sheele, Johannes Jansen, Wm. Delvees (Dewees), Michael Shell, Daniel Hower, Johannes Ravestock, Thomas Tibbens, Mathias Hoven, John George Pop, Dennis Cunrads (Tunis Cunders), John Am Wegh, John Carl Gress, Henry Holtzapple, Johannes Gumry, Claus Rittinghausen, Peter Keyser, John Gorgas, Hans Jerk Haas, Garret Peters, Cunrad Cunrads, John Nagly (Nagle?), Peter Shoemaker, Enken Koopman, Griffith Jones, Walter Simons, George Warmer, Claus Tomson, Catherine Hagman, Samuel Kastner, Christian Warmer, Christopher Witt, Sam' Guldin, Christopher Bastian, William Palmer, Bernhard Cepler (Kepler?), Frantz Neff, John Potts, Daniel Potts, Jonathan Potts, John Witt, Bastian Raefsnider, Hermanes Kuster, Adam Sell, Henry Leen (Löhn?), Johannes Vossen, William Jansen, Margaret Knecht, Conrad Kuster, Dirck Clever, Jos: Famer, Johannes Leen (Löhn ?), Benjamin Morgan, Jacob Schimer, John Johnson, Daniel Geisler, Peter Leen (Löhn), Caspar Simon, Beulah Coates, Hans Jerk Trout. "The sum of all the charges for the work comes to £40 8s. 4d." There is no account to be found of the burials in this ground from this time up to 1756, when a regular book was opened for the record of the same. Only seven tombstones are to be found of persons buried during this time. 1745. Mary, daughter of Catherine and Godfrey Lehman. William Palmer. 1747. Elizabeth Palmer. 1749. Christiana, wife of Wm. Dewees. It seems that the plot of ground was given without survey or registered lines and boundaries, and as Dirck Keyser, who owned the land on either side above and below, had purchased the remaining Wulff' tract behind that given by Paul Wulff for the burial ground, it was necessary to get the correct lines, so the 9th day of April, 1753, by the consent and approbation of the Freeholders of Germantown, the ground was properly surveyed and laid out, to remain forever, by Christian Lehman, the Surveyor of the Corporation, in the presence of John Frederick Ax, Ludwig Engelhardt, Conrad Frick, Dirck Keyser, John Channell, Richard Johnson, Richard Robb, Christian Warmer, Cornelius Engel, Peter Henssler, the committee of Freeholders appointed to witness the survey. The back part of the lot was now enclosed by a post and rail fence, and the ground and accounts given in charge of John Frederick Ax as formerly, he having had the care thereof since the wall was built in 1724. His first account of the funds from 1724 to 1756 was presented at a meeting of the subscribers held June 7, 1756. The sundry receipts and expenditures amounting to £7 7s.10d. The account was audited and signed in the presence of Paul Engle, Christian Warmer, Rich' Johnson, & Christian Leh man. John Frederick Ax becoming too old and feeble to attend to the ground and accounts any more, the subscribers at this meeting appointed Ludwig Engelhardt and Richard Robb to take charge and care of the same. It was during this time while under the care of Jno. Frederick Ax that the ground received the name of Ax's Burying Ground. This no doubt came from the association of his name as the superintendent, as well as being shorter to say Ax's burying-ground than Upper Germantown burying-ground. At a meeting of the subscribers held May 30th, 1757, Ludwig Engelhardt and Rich Robb presented and settled their account for the year, amounting to £0 12s. Od. It was then concluded by the committee Peter Leibert, George Schreiber, Jacob Mayer, and Rich Johnson, that Engelhardt and Robb |