History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1883.

Chapter XXIX. City of Lancaster
Subject : Beginnings of Settlement, Prominent Early Residents of the Town, and Notable Events

As has been shown, Hamilton laid out the first and central portion of the town in 1730. Settlements had been made here in 1721 or 1722, and by 1730 the little cluster of houses is said to have attained a population of two hundred souls. The locality was known as the Indian Field and Gibson's Pasture. George Gibson kept a tavern here when Hamilton platted the town, and had probably been located for several years. His tavern was called "the Hickory Tree," probably from a tall hickory which stood near the public road, and which was said to have been a favorite one with the Indians, the place of their rendezvous for many years, and the centre of one of their small villages. "A swamp lay in front of Gibson's," we are told, "and another to the north." The one in front of Gibson's, nearly in the centre of the site of the present city, was the Dark Hazel Swamp, which was drained and cleared of wood in 1745. The other was the Long Swamp, extending beyond the limits of the town-plat toward the northeast. Gibson's tavern is supposed to have stood about where the Slaymaker Hotel now does. His pasture, afterwards Sanderson's pasture, was rented by Mr. Hamilton about 1748, to Adam Reigart. The same year that the town was laid out, Stephen Atkinson, says Rupp, built a fulling-mill at great expense, but the inhabitants of the upper part of the creek assembled and pulled down the dam on the Conestoga, as it prevented them from rafting and getting their usual supply of fish.

Although Mr. Hamilton laid out the town of Lancaster in 1730, he did not obtain the ownership of all the lands included in the plat until 1734, and consequently it was not until after that time that lots were sold and ground-rents laid. The first purchasers of lots were Nicholas Bierly, Richard Marsden, Henry Hunt, and Samuel Bethel, the first three named becoming owners of property on King Street near the Centre Square, and Bethel of a lot on Queen Street. This was on May 20, 1735. For some reason unknown, but few lots were sold during the next five years, but in 1740 they began to go off more rapidly, and in 1742 the town had increased to such an extent that petition was made for a charter, which was granted.

The leading men of the town at that time were Thomas Cookson, George Gibson, Sebastian Graff, Michael Bierly, Edward Shippen, Matthias Young, John Fouke, Peter Worrall, John Dehuff, Abraham Johnston, Samuel Bethel, George Sanderson, Michael Hubley, Jacob Loughman, George Hoffman, Joseph Pugh, Robert Thompson, James Webb, Caspar Shaffner, and a few others.

Of these men, Thomas Cookson came from Sunderland, in the county of Durham, England, to Lancaster County in 1740. He was appointed justice of the peace and register of the county in 1745, and he was also a surveyor for the Proprietaries. He was one of the constituent members of St. James Episcopal Church, and was an active man in the settlement in nearly all the phases of its life. He resided on Orange Street, and died in 1753, leaving a wife and two children. The widow married George Stevenson, the surveyor, who laid out York and Carlisle. Hannah, one of the daughters, married Joseph Galloway, of Maryland, who removed to Philadelphia. He was for many years Speaker of the Assembly, and later became a noted Tory. Margaret, the other daughter, died in her minority. Thomas Cookson became a large landholder in Lancaster, York, and Cumberland Counties. Most of this vast property went to a daughter of Mary Lindsey, the only sister of Thomas Cookson.

Edward Shippen was a grandson of the Edward Shippen who came to Boston from Yorkshire, England, in 1668; was persecuted there, and removed to Philadelphia in 1693. His son, Joseph, was born at Boston in 1678. He married in that city in 1702, and two years later moved to Philadelphia. Edward, the eldest son of Joseph Shippen, was born at Boston, July 9, 1703, and was married to Sarah Plumley, at Philadelphia, Sept. 20, 1725. He was brought up as a merchant by James Logan, of Philadelphia, and in 1732 became a partner, and in 1749 was in the fur trade with Thomas Lawrence. He was elected councilman of the city Oct. 3, 1732, and served many years, and in 1744 was elected mayor. In May, 1752, he removed to Lancaster, where he was appointed prothonotary, and continued as such till 1778. He was chosen paymaster for supplies for the British and Provincial forces, and managed his business very successfully. He was made a county judge under the Provincial and State governments. In 1746 and 1748 he was one of the founders of the College of New Jersey, located at Princeton, and was one of its trustees, a position which he resigned, after twenty years' service, in 1767. His life was thoroughly inwrought with the history of the time in which he moved, and as an account of it is given elsewhere, it is not necessary to make further notice of it in this connection. He lived to an advanced age, died at Lancaster, and lies in the churchyard of the St. James Episcopal Church. His son, Edward Shippen, studied law under Tench Francis, Esq., and in 1791 was appointed one of the judges of the Supreme Court, and in 1799 was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court of the State. One of his daughters became the wife of Benedict Arnold.

Joseph Shippen, the second son of Edward Shippen, of Lancaster, entered the Provincial army in 1753, rose to the rank of colonel, and served in Gen. Forbes' expedition, which resulted in the capture of Fort Duquesne. He returned to Philadelphia in 1761, and in 1762 was appointed secretary of the province. He was appointed judge of Lancaster Court in 1789, and died in 1810.

Sarah, a daughter of Edward Shippen, became the wife of Col. James Burd.

Sebastian Graff moved into Lancaster several years prior to the incorporation of the borough, and was one of the first assistant burgesses, and for many years was prominent in the management of borough affairs. He owned and lived on land where now is the Lancaster Cemetery. He died in 1791, and left provision in his will that a part of the land should be laid out into fourteen lots by his executors, Paul Zantzinger and Adam Reigart. The house, stiil standing on the corner of North Queen and Orange Streets (now Shober's Hotel), was built by the Graffs in 1757, as a stone in the front of the building testifies.

Michael Bierly, one of the purchasers in 1735, was one of the assistant burgesses in 1742. He was regulator of the streets for several years, and his name appears in the records many times.

Roger Hunt, also one who bought in 1735, was elected treasurer of the county in 1738-39.

Peter Worrall, a Quaker, was a resident of Lancaster soon after 1735, and owned a house and lot on Centre Square, which he sold to Edward Smout, one of the justices of the peace about 1741. After the death of Samuel Bethel, in 1740, he married his widow and moved to the Bethel tavern (on the site of the Cross-Keys Hotel), where he lived till his removal to another part of the country. He was commissioned justice of the peace in 1746, and served for three years, and elected to the Legislature in 1747, where he served till 1754, when he resigned because he was conscientiously opposed to levying a tax to support military operations.

The first that is known of Samuel Bethel is that in the year 1717 he met Michael Shank in the office of the register-general and purchased of him a tract of land, for which Shank took out a patent, upon the Conestoga Creek, consisting of about one hundred acres. The land lay between the Millersville pike and Hoffman's Run, adjoining Lancaster City. Michael Shank had the land surveyed, and his patent and transfer to Bethel are both dated Dec. 13, 1717, and recorded in the register's office for Philadelphia, in patent-book "A," vol. v. page 275. Shank bought land and was in the county in 1710. He kept tavern in 1729 and 1730. Samuel Bethel was a single man, and may have traded with the Indians until the county was laid out. He built and lived in a log house upon the King's Highway, which afterwards adjoined the property of Adam Simon Kuhn, on West King Street, when Hamilton laid out the town of Lancaster. In 1730 he was licensed to keep a public-house (where the Cross-Keys now stands), and kept a public inn until he died, in the spring of 1740. It was at his house the Blunstons, Wrights, and other Quakers and settlers upon the western borders of the county stopped when passing that way or attending court. Thus he became acquainted with Sarah Blunston, a niece of Samuel Blunston, who resided with him, and was one of his legatees, to whom he was married in 1729 or 1730. His tavern must have been especially favored by the court and county officers, as frequent mention is made in the minutes of the county commissioners of adjournments to Samuel Bethel's tavern, to meet the constables from the various townships, who furnished a list of the taxable inhabitants in their respective districts, from which the rate of taxation was levied. He was elected county treasurer for the years 1737 and 1738. He had a brick-yard upon his land, adjoining the borough of Lancaster, for the commissioners' minutes mention that he furnished brick to pave the new court-house, as well as other material. He left a wife and two children,--Samuel and Mary.

The property in Lancaster came to Samuel. He died in Lancaster June 30, 1775, leaving a widow, one son, Samuel, and six daughters. Samuel married Sarah, the daughter of Gen. Edward Hand. He was in the Legislature in 1808-9, lived in Columbia, and died in 1819.

Mary, the daughter of Samuel Bethel, first married Samuel Boude, a physician and apothecary. She received from her father's estate forty-four acres of land along Conestoga Creek. Mr. Boude had an office in the borough, and was chief burgess in 1757-58 and 1761.

Caspar Shaffner, whose name is mentioned in the records first in 1744, was a "blue dyer," and carried on business in the borough. He was prominent many years as assistant burgess, and filled other important offices. His son, Caspar Shaffner, was clerk of the Council from 1761 to 1775, and from 1788 to 1796. He was also clerk of the board of auditors many years, and was noted for fine penmanship.

Michael and Bernard Hubley were natives of Germany, and emigrated to this country with their father in 1732. About 1740 they came to Lancaster, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Bernard was the elder. He learned the trade of a tanner with Valentine King, who kept a tannery on Water Street, where now the Stevens House stands. He was an assistant burgess in 1750, and chief burgess in 1759 and 1760. He was appointed barracks-master in 1778. He died Jan. 29, 1803.

Michael Hubley, the brother of Bernard, was active in affairs of the borough, and was burgess in 1764 and 1765. He was appointed justice of the peace and of the Court of Common Pleas in 1777. He was also barrack-master during the Revolution for several years. He had two sons who were active in civil and military matters. He was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church, and died on the 17th of May, 1804. His wife, Rosina, died the year previous.

Adam Hubley, a son, entered the Revolutionary army Oct. 27, 1775, as first lieutenant in the First Pennsylvania Battalion, Col. Philip De Haas. In 1776 he was promoted to the rank of major of another regiment, and on the 5th of June, 1779, he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the "New Eleventh" Pennsylvania Line, to rank from Feb. 3, 1779. He retired from the army Jan. 1, 1781. He served in the Pennsylvania Legislature from 1783 to 1787, and was chosen a member of the Senate in 1790. In 1793 he was appointed auctioneer at Philadelphia, and died of yellow fever the same year.

John Hubley, another son, was born at Lancaster on the 25th of December, 1747. He read law with Edward Shippen, and was admitted to the bar in 1769. He was a member of the convention of July 15, 1776, which framed the first Constitution of the State, and served during the same year upon the General Committee of Safety; was appointed commissary of Continental stores Jan. 11, 1777; and on the 5th of April following, prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas, clerk of Orphans' Court, clerk of Quarter Sessions, and also recorder of deeds, part of which offices he held for upwards of twenty years. In 1787 he was a member of the State convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. He died at Lancaster, Jan. 21, 1821. The descendants of the family were prominent in later years, and are still residents of Lancaster.

Ulrich Reigart, a native of Germany, came to this country and settled in Lancaster in 1742. In that year he purchased two lots on South Queen Street, and in 1747 others adjoining. He had two sons,--Adam and Christopher. A house was built on these lots, and a few years later the Fountain Inn was built and opened as a tavern by Christopher (often written Stophel). In 1758 Adam and Stophel both had stalls in the market which were kept up for many years. About the same time Christopher opened the Fountain Inn, Adam Reigart purchased the tavern stand for many years known as the Grape Hotel. The accounts of these old taverns will be found in another place. He was active in the Revolutionary war and was lieutenant-colonel of a regiment under command of Col. George Ross, and went with his regiment to Amboy, N. J. He was a member of the Assembly in 1780. In 1785 he established the wine store on East King Street, which is still well known. His later life was comparatively quiet. He died in 1813. His son Emanuel Reigart was a tanner, and carried on an extensive business on South Queen Street on part of the original property. He was in the Legislature from 1813 to 1817, and in 1821 was sheriff of the county. Emanuel C. Reigart, son of Emanuel, was born in 1797, read law with Amos Ellmaker, and became prominent in all general movements. The descendants of these families are numerous in Lancaster. Adam Reigart, Jr., was a son of Adam Reigart, Sr., and brother of Emanuel Reigart. He succeeded to his father's business, and was prominent in all social and political affairs.

Christopher Reigart, the brother of Adam, died in 1783, leaving a widow and a son, Henry. He was a coppersmith, and carried on business for many years. A daughter of Ulrich Reigart married Peter Gonter, who for several years kept tavern in the borough.

In 1744, Adam Simon Kuhn, a physician, lived on West King Street, and practiced medicine. He laid out "Adams town" in that year. He was chief burgess from 1750 to 1756

George Gibson was a resident of the settlement before the town was laid out, and owned property on Prince Street. His son, Gen. John Gibson, was born here May 23, 1740. His career in connection with the French and Revolutionary wars is well known, and to him, it is said, the celebrated speech of Logan was delivered.

Michael Hook settled in Lancaster soon after the town was laid out. He was a wheelwright, and had a shop on East King Street. He was succeeded by his son Anthony. A son of Anthony had a shop at the corner of Duke and Orange Streets, where the St. Paul's Reformed Church now stands. D. A. Altick, a grandson, started business on the same site in 1848, and so the three generations followed the same occupation. The descendants are quite numerous in this region. Michael Hook was a Catholic, and was prominent in the organization of the Catholic Church here in 1741-42.

There were many others here at this date of whom but little is known. As time went on and the people felt the necessity of erecting churches, James Hamilton granted certain lots for church purposes, and also for other uses. A list is given below. To the German Reformed Church, Lot 76 on Orange Street, Oct. 6, 1741; Lot 75 on Orange Street, Nov. 10, 1746. To the Moravian Society, Lots 212, 213, and part of 218, in 1746. The first two lots are in use as the cemetery, and are situated on Prince Street. The part of Lot 218 became a part of the present church property. To the St. James Episcopal Society, Lots 34, 35, 36, on Duke Street, corner of Orange Street, the present property. To the Lutheran congregation, 1742, Lots 49, 50, 51, and part of Lot 48, on Duke Street, the present lots. To the Roman Catholic congregation, Lots 235, 236, and 237, present property, on the corner of Duke and Vine Streets. To the Quakers, Lots 138 and 139, on Queen Street, now the Odd-Fellows' Hall. To the Presbyterian congregation, Lots 19 and 491. The former is the present property, the latter was on Lime Street, and was sold in 1810. To the Methodist Society, Lots 97, 98, the present property of the Duke Street Methodist Episcopal Church. Lots 654, 655 were set aside for magazine lots. Nos. 669 and 670, in 1799, were granted to the trustees of Franklin College as academy lots.

Lots 273, 274, on the corner of King and Water, were prison lots, and where the jail stood for many years. This property, however, was deeded to the county in 1730 by Andrew Hamilton. The deeds to some of these church properties were not made out till several years after the grant was made.

In the month of June, 1744, an event occurred in the borough of Lancaster that was of much moment to the States of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. A treaty was held by the honorable the Lieutenant-Governor of the province, and the honorable the commissioners for the provinces of Virginia and Maryland, with the Indians of the Six Nations. There were present the Hon. George Thomas, Lieutenant-Governor of the province, the Hon. Thomas Lee, Esq., and Col. William Beverly, commissioners of Virginia, the Hon. Edmund Jennings and Philip Thomas, Esqs., commissioners of Maryland, Col. Robert King and Col. Thomas Calvil, the deputies of the Onondagoes, Senecas, Cayugas, Oneidas, and Tuscaroras, and Conrad Weiser as interpreter. The treaty was held at the court-house. The chiefs were welcomed by the Governor, wine and punch were prepared, and healths were drunk. The council or treaty lasted two weeks, and resulted in important adjustments of claims and the making of various peace provisions.

Isaac Whitelock, a Quaker, was a resident here before 1745, and built a brewery on Prince Street. On the 15th of February, 1769, he advertised in the Pennsylvania Chronicle, published in Philadelphia, that he had for sale "a lot of ground in the borough of Lancaster, whereon is erected a large house convenient for manufacturing pot ashes." The brewery lot contained a spring, the water of which, in about 1763, was conducted in pipes to the tan-yard of Caspar Singer, which was afterwards owned by Valentine King, and later by George Krug. When the Stevens House was built these old pipes were found still there. In 1752, Isaac Whitelock was burgess, and later was treasurer of the city.

Jacob Eichholtz became a resident of Lancaster a few years after its organization as a borough, and purchased a lot where the Exchange Hotel now stands. In 1750-52 he was assistant burgess. He died before 1765, and in that year his widow, Catharine Eichholtz, took out a license to keep tavern, which was kept by the family for nearly a century at the sign of the Bull's Head. They had two sons, Jacob and Leonard. The latter succeeded to the tavern. Jacob was born in 1776, and learned the tin and coppersmith business, and opened a shop which he continued many years. His early tendencies were towards art, and much of his spare time was devoted to drawing. An account of his meeting with Sully is given in Dunlap's "History of the Arts of Design." Sully was called upon to paint the portrait of Governor Snyder. Eichholtz, hearing of it, invited the Governor to allow the sittings to be made in his parlor, which was granted, and when Mr. Sully came he was invited there. It is also stated that Sully, seeing the interest of his host in art, kindly gave him some instructions and left him a few colors and brushes. His efforts to this time were not very successful. Later in life, as he improved by study and practice, his portraits gave more satisfaction. A visit to Gilbert Stuart was of use to him, and he copied pictures by Stuart and followed him as a master. His career as a coppersmith was closed, and he followed the profession of an artist till his death, in 1842. Late in life he opened a studio in Philadelphia and met with good success. The many portraits of the citizens of Lancaster that were painted by him bear witness to his success, and also to his close study of the works of Stuart. His sons are residents of Lancaster. Leonard, his brother, kept the tavern many years, and was succeeded by his widow and son.

Jacob Slough came to this county in 1747, and on the 6th of March, in that year, purchased the lots on Centre Square where for so many years the old Swan tavern stood. He built this old tavern stand and opened it about 1754. His son, Matthias, soon after succeeded to the tavern, and in 1756 was an assistant burgess. He kept the tavern many years, and until about 1804, with the exception of a few years, when he was a merchant in the borough. He was coroner of the county from 1755 to 1768, and held the inquest on the bodies of the Conestoga Indians who were killed in the old jail on the corner of Prince and King Streets by the Paxton boys in 1763. He was active in the Revolution, serving as general agent for supplies, and also in the army, having command of a battalion. He was in the Legislature in 1774-83. He died at Harrisburg in 1812.

William Henry became a resident of the borough of Lancaster about the year 1750, but his name first appears in an assessment-roll of the borough in 1754, where he is mentioned as being a tenant of Leonard Bender. Four years later, in 1758, his son, John Joseph, was born here. He was a mechanic of great skill, and was chief armorer with Braddock in 1755, and with Forbes' campaign in 1758. In 1765 he was assistant burgess, and in 1766 burgess. His time was now devoted to mechanical pursuits and chemical experiments, for which he had great fondness. In 1772 he was appointed with John Lukens, surveyor-general, and David Rittenhouse to survey the Susquehanna and Lehigh Rivers to ascertain the best location for a canal to be built through the interior of the State. He was a member of the Committee of Correspondence of Lancaster County in the time of the Revolution, when it was first formed, in June 15, 1774, and in the next year was appointed commissary of the army, then at Reading, and was employed by the Committee of Safety of the province to purchase, manufacture, and keep in repair the arms of the Continental forces. He was made a member of the Council of Safety of the Province by act of Assembly, Oct. 13, 1777, appointed justice of the peace and of the Court of Common Pleas, and acted as president of that body from 1781 to 1786; member of Continental Congress from 1784 to 1786; treasurer of the county of Lancaster from 1777 till 1786. He was in business with Joseph Simon at the southeast corner of East King Street and Centre Square, and his house was the first east from the store. As early as 1771 he invented the screw auger. Samuel Boyd, an ingenious mechanic of the borough, was one of the workmen who were engaged in the manufacture. In the latter part of 1772, Henry Rauch, of Lititz, an apt worker in iron, perfected the auger, and became a partner in its manufacture. It was manufactured at the store until 1777. The house of Mr. Henry was the resort of men of culture, and in the summer and winter of 1777, Thomas Paine, David Rittenhouse (then State treasurer), and John Hart, a member of the Supreme Executive Council, were lodging there. At this time Paine occupied a room at the left of the stairs, on the second story, where he is said to have written No. 5 of "The Crisis," over the signature of "Common Sense." David Rittenhouse occupied the front room, where the office of the State treasury was kept. It was about 1752 that Benjamin West, the artist, then fourteen years of age, was at Lancaster, painting portraits, and lodged at the house of Mr. Henry. He was persuaded by him to attempt a historical picture, and suggested as a subject, "The Death of Socrates." The story was read, a model found in a young man in the workshop of Mr. Henry, and West made his first study of the human figure. Mr. Henry was in active life to the last days of his life, and departed Dec. 15, 1786, leaving several sons and daughters. William removed to Philadelphia. John Joseph lived and died in Lancaster; his history will be found more at length in the "Bench and Bar."

George Ross, signer of the Declaration of Independence, settled here in 1751, or the following year, and entered the practice of law, for which he appears to have been most admirably fitted both by education and nature, for he achieved a high degree of success. He was made prosecutor for the crown soon after coming to Lancaster. He took an active part in advancing the best interests of the town, and his services in this line and his mental attainments being recognized by his neighbors, he was honored by election to the Assembly in the year 1768. By successive elections he was continued in that position until 1774, when he was elected to Congress. He had been one of a committee to whom was referred the patriotic communication of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, recommending a Congress of the colonies for the purpose of resisting British arbitrary enactments, and in Congress he consistently furthered those measures which finally led to American independence. He remained in Congress until 1777, serving so perfectly to the approbation of his constituents that at a meeting of citizens held in the borough he was voted the sum of £150 "as a testimony from this county of their sense of his attendance on the public business to his great private loss," or if he chose it, "a genteel piece of plate," but he declined the present. After varied and valuable labors in the service of the colonies and of Pennsylvania, he was appointed a judge of the Court of Admiralty in April, 1779. His death occurred without warning in July of the same year, while he was serving in that capacity. George Ross had married, soon after locating in Lancaster, Miss Ann Lawlor. His son, James Ross, in 1775, raised in Lancaster a company of men of which he was made captain, and which was attached to Col. Thompson's regiment. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and after the war was appointed a judge in Louisiana Territory. He died in 1808.

George L. Mayer was a native of Ulm, Germany, and emigrated to this country with his wife, and settled in Lancaster in 1752. He built a one-story house on Vine Street, between Queen and Duke Streets, where he lived till his death, in 1793. He was prominent in the affairs of the Trinity Church, and active in all departments of life. He left nine children, who, with the exception of the eldest, were all born in Lancaster.

Christopher B. Mayer, the eldest son of George L., was born in 1756, and became a merchant, which business he continued many years. He built a large stone house at the corner of Duke and Orange Streets, where he lived. He was prominent in the political affairs of the State, and for some years was in the State Senate. He died in 1815, and left six sons and six daughters, whose descendants are numerous.

Col. George Mayer, a son of George L. Mayer, and half brother of Christopher B., was born in this borough in 1781. He became a prosperous hardware merchant, and continued the business many years in the place, now occupied by Isaac Diller. He was the inventor of the Mayer butt-hinge, which he never patented. In 1812 he joined the militia forces, and served as acting adjutant of a battalion which went from Lancaster County to the relief of Elkton, Md., May 13, 1813. On the 1st of August, 1814, he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Sixty-ninth Regiment Pennsylvania militia, and commanded a battalion which marched to Baltimore. He died in this city in 1862, and left two sons and daughters. His descendants are still here.

John Christopher Hayne was a tinsmith in the borough in 1754, on the site now owned by the Steinmans. John Frederick Steinman succeeded to the business in 1785, having learned the trade of Hayne, who after the death of Mr. Christopher Steinman married his widow, the mother of John Frederick. The business has continued in the Steinman name to the present time.

William Bausman came to this borough in 1754 from an adjoining township, and purchased lots on East King Street, where he kept a tavern. He was assistant burgess in 1760, and chief burgess in 1774-75, active in the management of affairs of Committee of Observation and Correspondence, and master of the barracks in time of the Revolution. He died in 1784. His two sons, William and John, succeeded to his property. William was register of the county from 1809 to 1818. John in 1814 removed to Maryland.

In 1754, the year that Bausman arrived here, the town had, according to Governor Pownall, who passed through it, about three hundred houses, and a population of two thousand. He spoke of it as "a growing town, and making money." Another writer says that when the Governor visited Lancaster there "was not one good house in it." They were "chiefly of frame, filled in with stone, of logs, and a few of stone." The same writer says that the town "was too large at an early period in proportion to the population of the surrounding country."

Philip Shreiner, the father of Martin Shreiner, the first of that name who were clockmakers, came from Germany to this county about 1760, and purchased a lot on the south side of Queen Street, just north of the present Grape Hotel. Here his son, Martin, who was born in 1767, about 1790 opened a shop. Later he manufactured fire-engines, for which he became famous. He was many years a member of the Council, and an active member of the Lutheran Church. He died in 1866, and is buried in the cemetery which bears his name. His son, Martin, was in business at the old stand till his death, in 1879.

Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg was the third son of Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, of Germany. He was the brother of the Rev. Dr. Henry Ernst Muhlenberg, many years pastor of the Lutheran Church of this place. He came to this county shortly before the Revolution. "Animated by a warm attachment to the Revolution, and by a corresponding zeal for the great Republican institutions of his country, he acquired the confidence of his fellow-citizens. By their suffrages he was repeatedly called to aid in the councils of Independent America, and as further testimonies of their respect for his character he was promoted to stations of great dignity, both in the National Legislature and that of Pennsylvania. A large portion of his life was employed in the public service."

He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1779, and Speaker of the First Congress, 1789, and Third Congress in 1793, and at the time of his death, June 4, 1801, he was receiver-general of the land-office of Pennsylvania, and lived at Lancaster. He left a wife and six children, who in later years removed from Lancaster. The Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, several years rector of St. James' Episcopal Church, of this city, was a grandson.

On the 1st of May, 1760, James Hamilton conveyed to James Webb lots Nos. 534, 535, 536, and 537, having a frontage of two hundred and fifty-seven feet on Duke Street, and two hundred and forty-five feet on Walnut Street, upon which it was specified barracks should be built to lodge such soldiers as should pass through the county or be stationed in it. It was undoubtedly intended that these barracks should be constructed for use in the French and Indian war, but they do not appear to have been, and, indeed, that war came to a close soon after the action was taken. They were built and used, however, during the war of the Revolution. It was resolved by the Council of Safety, Feb. 6, 1777, "that the powder magazine and other military storehouses be built in or near the borough of Lancaster for the use of the State, and that John Hubley, commissary, provide material, employ workmen, and see the same finished with all possible dispatch, and that he take up on ground-rent or purchase such grounds as are necessary for the said buildings." Lots 654 and 655 on the west side of North Street were rented, as were also corresponding lots on the opposite side of the street, and the barracks were built on the lots originally set apart for that purpose in 1760. Hubley received pay for the store buildings in April, 1779, and it is probable that the others were completed about that time. The barracks were occupied by British prisoners in January, 1782, and Gen. Hazen and his regiment were ordered here to guard them. The officers of this regiment were quartered at the stone tavern known as "the Cat" (which is still standing), then kept by John Barnitz.

Caleb Cope, a Quaker, and a plasterer by trade, was a resident of Lancaster several years before 1774. In that year he was elected burgess. He was a trustee of the Friends' meeting-house, and an active member. It is stated that Maj. André was among the prisoners sent to Lancaster who were captured by Gen. Montgomery, Nov. 3, 1775, and that he, with other officers, became inmates of the house of Caleb Cope. Mr. Cope lived here till about 1813, when he moved to Burlington, N. J. He left five sons and two daughters.

Brig.-Gen. Jeremiah Mosher, a native of Roxbury, volunteered as a minute-man in 1774, and in April, 1775, was at the battle of Lexington. He followed the fortunes of war, and participated in many battles. In 1777 he was ordered to Lancaster for winter quarters, and in 1778 was in camp at Valley Forge, and in that year was wounded and sent back to Lancaster. He was discharged in 1780, and remained in Lancaster. He was a blacksmith by trade, and followed the business many years. He lived till March 8, 1830, when he died in his seventy-seventh year, and was buried with military honors.

John Light came to this borough about 1783, after the Revolution. He was one of the minute-men of New Jersey in 1775. In the spring of 1776 he went to Canada, and was at the battle of Three Rivers, suffered privations with the soldiers at the river Sorel, and was on the retreat from Canada to Ticonderoga, at the battle of Lake Champlain, defended Ticonderoga, was at Princeton, and at Brunswick when the enemy retreated from it. He fought at Somerset Court-House, Germantown, Monmouth Court-House; was of the light dragoons who guarded Burgoyne's prisoners from New Jersey to the Potomac, and at the capture of Cornwallis in 1781. He kept public-house in this borough from 1783 many years, and was nominated for Assembly in 1800. He died in 1834 in this city, and was buried with military honors. Dr. John L. Atlee is a grandson.

There were many other early settlers who were prominent in the affairs of Lancaster whose names either do not appear in this connection or are merely mentioned, but they will be found to have places in the legal and medical chapters of this work, or in the biographical department.

Gen. Lafayette's visit was an event in the history of the city which cannot be passed unnoticed. Citizens of Lancaster met Sept. 13, 1824, at the court-house to express their approbation of the Council in inviting Lafayette to visit the city. Resolutions were passed, the first of which was "that the citizens of Lancaster cordially unite with the Select and Common Councils in their invitation given to Gen. Lafayette to visit the city." A committee was appointed to proceed with a committee from the Council to Philadelphia and present the resolution to the marquis. The joint committee of Council and citizens consisted of Gen. George B. Porter, Milton C. Rogers, Esq., Capt. Frederick Hambright, Capt. John Reynolds, Jasper Slaymaker, Emanuel C. Reigart, and Benjamin Grimler, Esqs. As early as Aug. 20, 1824, resolutions of Council were passed. A letter from Lafayette, dated Washington, Feb. 5, 1825, was read by the mayor, in which he expressed pleasure at the invitation to visit Lancaster, and regretted that he could not visit the city on his late excursion to Harrisburg, and hoped that he might yet meet the people of this place. On July 26, 1825, the committee of arrangements announced that Lafayette would visit Lancaster on Wednesday, the 27th. He arrived, as was expected, being met at Philson's tavern, fourteen miles west of West Chester, by the committee from Lancaster, who had four coaches-and-four, with out-riders and attendants. Great crowds assembled at the villages through which the general and his escort passed, and greeted him with enthusiasm. At Mount Vernon he made a brief address. Thence the party moved on to Grove's field, about two miles east of the city, where there was an immense concourse of people and several battalions of militia drawn up in line, with two troops of horse. A great civic and military procession attended the distinguished friend of the republic on his way to the city, which he entered about half-past five. After moving through the principal streets the procession halted at Slaymaker's hotel, which had been designated as the general's place of reception, and beautifully fitted up. Here Lafayette was addressed by Burgess Lightner, and made an appropriate response. On the next day he was introduced to many Revolutionary soldiers, visited his friends George Ross and Mrs. Brien, the daughter of his former friend, Gen. Edward Hand, and spent considerable time in inspecting the schools.