MIDDLETOWN FRIENDS' MEETING Middletown Friends meetings were first established at Middletown in 1683, and held at the houses of Nicholas Walne, John Otter, and Robert Hall. The first meeting-house was built in 1690, near Neshaminy creek, a mile west of Langhorne, whither it was removed in 1734, the present house in the town being the third.
It was first called the Neshamina Meeting because of its location near the Neshaminy Creek. In 1692 that area was designated as Middletown Township, and what is now Langhorne was part of Middletown Township. By 1702 the Neshamina Meeting had changed its name to Middletown Meeting to adapt its name to its locality. In 1717, the residents of Newtown and Wrightstown petitioned to have a separate meeting. Names of other Quaker families mentioned in the Meeting's records during the remaining years of the 18th century included those of Allen, Atkinson, Austin, Bayns, Bennett, Boyden, Bridgmen, Buckman, Bunting, Chapman, Coats, Comeley, Constable, Cowgill, Cowin, Croasdale, Cutler, Davis, Dilworth, Doan, Eastburn, English, Fuller, Gregg, Hall, Harding, Hillborn, Jenks, Langhorne, Maller, Morris, Otter, Paulin, Paxson, Peacock, Penquite, Plumly, Potts, Poynter, Radcliff, Rodgers, Rowland, Sands, Scaife, Sharpe, Smith, Stradling, Swift, Taylor, Thompson, Twining, Wetherill, Walmsley, Wharley, White, Wildman and Woolston.
The object of this Project is to cross reference these immigrant surnames with Geni profiles ~• let's add : 1) at least one reference keyed to a Geni profile.. 2) the family's origin in the British Isles or Europe 3) the immigrant heads of household
Finding Quaker counterparts near the Settle MM along the Yorkshire/Lancashire border
Suggestion
- Search on a surname to see how many cross-references there are in this compilation.
- Items in blue are hyperlinked.
- some sub-projects have surname lists, such as Settle MM. There are several Settle meetings including Bolland Meeting to the southwest and Bentham to the West.
- Allen Samuel Allen,Samuel Allen, Jr.
- Atkinson : Yorkshire / Thomas Atkinson & Jane Bond or Christopher Atkinson
- Austin : John and wife Jane Potts married 11 d 09 mo. 1686 at home of Edmund Bonnit; see birth records
- Bayns, Thomas, tailor by trade, certificate for himself and wife from Settle Meeting, Yorkshire, Buried the 26th of 4th mo. 1743
- Bennett, William, Buried the 19th of 01 mo. 1684 also: Edmund Bennett
- Boare, Joshua, Buried 30th of 1st mo. 1688, wife Margaret buried 24 d 05 mo. 1687 (owned land on Neshaminy) < just south of Stackhouse
- Bond, John, Buried 6th mo. 1683; Robert son of Thomas Buried 30th of 07 mo, 1684; Dorothy Bond married William Rowles 1699 ; See "Wid. Bond" = marriage authorized > 4 24 1690 Bond Dorothy and William Rowles.
- Boyden, James and Margaret, daughter Sarah buried 14 d 09 mo. 1689 at her own house
- Bridgmen : Cornwall / Walter Bridgeman & Blanche Constable (see Constable)
- Buckman William Buckman of the Welcome
- Bunting : Derby / Job Bunting & Rachel Baker (her father is an immigrant)
- Chapman : Yorkshire / John Chapman & Jane Sadler
- Clowes
- Coats : Somerset / Samuel Coates & Mary Saunders
- Comeley : Somerset / Henry Comley & Phebe Gilbert / Ship: The Samuel and Mary ?
- Constable (see Penquite"'; John was his servant)
- Cooper (eg. Jonathan Cooper, Sr )
- Cowgill : Gigglewick, Yorkshire / Ralph Cowgill & Ellen Stackhouse / Ship: The Friends' Adventure
- Cowin
- Cox : Abram & wife Sarah ; see birth records
- Croasdale : Yorkshire / Thomas Croasdale & Agnes Hathornwaite / Ship: The Lamb =√ Bolland/Settle meeting
- Cutler : Yorkshire / Edmund Cutler & Isabella Turner / Ship: The Rebecca √ of Bolland Meeting
- Davis ......Richard Davis came from Wales in November 1683 with his son David, who married Margaret Evans in March 1686 and died fifteen days afterward. Richard is supposed to have been the first surgeon in the county
- Dilworth : Lancashire / James Dilworth & Anne Waln / Ship: The Lamb (1683) =√ Bolland/Settle meeting
- Doan : Worcestershire / Deacon John & two wives < these were 1st on Cape Cod and the grandparents of Middletown future settlers. The original Doans arrived on an unknown Ship: Plymouth Colony Mass. Bay colony between 1628 &1632
- Dungan (the Presbyterians), father and sons. See: Rev. Thomas Dungan and sons
- Eastburn : Yorkshire / Jonas Eastburn(e) & ?
- English, Joseph Ship: The Society ? married Joan Comley 26th of 02 mo. 1685, Died in 10th of 8 mo. 1686, Buried in the Burying Place at John Hart's at Byberry on the Creek Poequesy; Jane English buried 20th of 10 mo. 1689
- Fuller
- Gregg
- Hall, Robert, Buried 28th of first mo. 1688 and Elizabeth
- Harding, Thomas and Mary his wife both buried 12th of 9th mo. 1732; John Thomas and Jane Scott, daughter of Benjamin and Jane Scott, married 24 d 10 mo. 1747
- Hayhurst (née); Cuthbert and Mary Rudd Hayhurst; Thomas and Alice Hayhurst Wigglesworth. Both couples on 'The Lamb Alice is the dau. of the 1st couple. =√ Bolland/Settle meeting
- Headly ~• Quaker of Falls &/or Middletown
- Heaton, who married Ricroft: Robert Heaton
- Hillborn and wife Hooten
- Jenks : Shropshire / Thomas Jenks & Susan MacPherson
- Langhorne : Westmoreland (Cumbria) England / Thomas Langhorn & Grace Lowther
- Maller
- Morris
- Otter, John died 1732/33 Officers for Bucks County, Elizabeth wife of John, Buried 11th day of 8th mo. 1685. Otter Creek was named for him (not the animal) {Bristol area} see "Jn Otter" on 1687 Holme Map
- Packingham Mary White Paxon (c.1652-1713) married 1st: White & 2nd: Paxson
- Page Margery Ann [Plumley] Paxson wife of PLUMLEY and PAXSON
- Paulin : Samuel Pawlin or Paulin
- Paxson : Buckinghamshire / William Paxson & Mary Pluml(e)y PLUS his married brother James Paxson, Jr. & Jane Gurden Ship = The Samuel ~• see: Grundy's work Henry Paxson, Sr.
- Peacock William Peacock &/or his daughter Ann or unknown son Yorkshire
- Penquite : Oxfordshire, England / John Penquite & Agnes Sharp
- Plumly : Somerset, England /William Plumly or Plumlee & Elizabeth Thompson
- Potts : Montgomeryshire, Wales / David Potts & Alice Croasdale of Yorkshire ; Elizabeth Potts
- Poynter, Henry Died 30th of ? 1702
- Radcliff : Lancashire / James Radcliff & Mary Holden : a dau. married a Hayhurst of Bolland Meeting
- Ricroft who married Heaton: Alice Ricroft
- Rodgers : Thomas Rodgers came with the Free Society of Traders
- Rowland : Thomas Rowland & Priscilla Shepard
- Rowles (see Bond)
- Rudd =√ Bolland/Settle meeting
- Sands : Lancashire / Stephen Sands & Jane Cowgill
- Scaife : Jonathan Scaife & Anne Hazzel + (2) children
- Sharpe (see Penquite); also see discussion
- Scarborough (there were two Johns, father and son. John Scarborough pere returned to England and died there but not before he purchased 250 acres in Middletown township on 4 July, 1682 from William Penn.
- Smith : Yorkshire / William Smith & Agnes & Mercy Croasdale =√ Bolland/Settle meeting
- Stackhouse : Settle, North Yorkshire, England =√ Bolland/Settle meeting
- Stockdale
- Stradling : (unknown county) / Thomas Stradling and Lydia Doane < resettled from Barnstable, Cape Cod
- Swift, John
- Taylor : Christopher Taylor of Yorkshire
- Thompson { research: See PAXSON's wife, Eliz. Thompson }
- Twining : Gloucestershire / WIlliam Twining & Elizabeth Deane < these were 1st on Cape Cod
- Walker (unconfirmed) servant family?
- Walley : Shadrack Walley, II
- Waln : Burholme, Bolling, Yorkshire, England √ Bolland/Settle meeting
- Webster (unconfirmed) servants? see: Peter Webster
- Wetherill (2nd mo., 8th day 1687 Futhergil, Mary married Christopher Wetherill
- Walmsley : Yorkshire / Thomas Walmsley & Elizabeth Rudd =√ Bolland/Settle meeting
- White.... Among others who were original settlers and land owners were George, buried 15th of 07 mo. 1688, and John White (perhaps: William White )
- Wigglesworth (see Hayhurst)
- Wildman : Yorkshire/Lancashire border / Martin Wildman & Ann Ward =√ Bentham/Settle meeting
- Woodward : Acton Parish, Cheshire, England
- Woolston : Northampton, English descent / Jonathan Woolston & Sara Pearson
- Worley, Abraham Officers for Bucks County See: Abraham Wharley and his brother Daniel Wharley
- Yates (may not be Quaker, ongoing research) < family married into Wildman line James Yates and James Yates
There are a variety of Lists
Here's one of Middletown Land owners who may not all be members of Middletown Monthly Meeting
Land-owners in Middletown in 1684
Joshua Boar, Walter Bridgeman, Thomas Constable, Widow Croasdale, Robert Holdgate, Alexander Biles{father of William}, Widow Bond, Robert Heaton, Thomas Stackhouse, Jr., Thomas Stackhouse, James Dilworth, Widow Hurst, Richard Thatcher, John Scarborow (Scarborough), Nicholas Walne, Jonathan Towne, Thomas Marle, William Paxson, James Paxson, Jonathan Fleckne, William Brian, Robert Carter, Francis Dove, Henry Paxson, William Wiggin and Edward Samway. ( the italicized names are not on the MMM cross-referenced list )
This is not to say they aren't Quaker... They could belong to other meetings... It is just wise to note that there are other land holders in the Middletown area. This may include Falls and Bensalem...
NEW! as of December 2017
Sub-Project isolating the Quaker immigrant families from Settle MM and the nearby Tatham parish
Others
Settle Certificate
Ellen COWGILL and children John, Ralph, Edmund
Thomas CROASDALE, wife Agnes and children: William, John , Elizabeth, Mary, Bridget and Alice;
Cuthbert and Mary Rudd Hayhurst and Children: Elizabeth, William, Margery, John, Cuthbert and Alice; =√ Bolland/Settle meeting
Charles Lee
William Hayhurst
Thomas and Margery Stackhouse STACKHOUSE =√ Bolland/Settle meeting
Thomas Walmsley & Elizabeth Rudd =√ Bolland/Settle meeting
Nicholas and Jane Turner WALN and children: Jane, Richard and Margaret;
Thomas and Alice Wigglesworth Wigglesworth
Texts and maps worth consulting
- Thomas Holmes' map of 1681 > note: many early grantees never occupied parcels grated by William Penn. The long title of this map is A map of the improved part of the Province of Pennsilvania in America : begun by Wil. Penn, Proprietary & Governour thereof anno 1681 • Map of the Province of Pennsilvania containing the three countyes of Chester, Philadelphia & Bucks
- for Constable, Bridgeman, Waln, Penquite, & others
- WIlliam Smith house, still standing
- Heaton Genealogy blog
- MIDDLETOWN MONTHLY MEETING OF FRIENDS, Authorized Marriages 1685 - 1810
- Tricenntenial Brochure
- The Meetinghouse Architectural History of 1993
- Hay genealogy summary of Bucks County Quaker meetings
- Log Houses of Bucks County
- Quaker records (accessed through ancestry dot com)
- Langhorne was originally Four Lanes End
- Bucks County Deed Records
- U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 Pennsylvania Bucks Middletown Monthly Meeting Burials, 1747-1935 on ancestry
- Paxson Family in Colonial Bucks County
- Free Society of Traders (Quaker/Penn group)
- Records of the Courts of Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1684-1700
Tips
- Once a user has a known connection to one of the above, he or she doubtlessly has a connection to others. Play with finding your relationship(s) to others on the list.
- Use the project < HISTORYLINK >
Here's a list of Middletown settlers with counts of related children Among the earliest settlers who came with children were: Nicholas and Jane Walne, three • Thomas and Agnes Croasdale, six • Robert and Elizabeth Hall, two • James and Ann Dilworth, one • William and Mary Paxson, one • James and Jane Paxson, two • James and Mary Radcliff, four • Jonathan and Anne Scaife, two • Robert and Alice Heaton, five • Martin and Anne Wildman, with six children.
random notes
- The land taken up by John Scarborough in Middletown came to the possession of his son John, by his father returning to England to fetch his family, but failed to come back
- Thomas Stackhouse and his son Thomas were the proprietors of a large tract in the lower part of the township. Some Stackhouse descendants were Loyalists who went to Canada. Example: Sgt. Robert Stackhouse, UEL
- Robert Hall, whose name is not on Holme's map, but was one of the earliest settlers, owned a tract that joined Bristol township. Buried 28th of first mo. 1688
- William Paxson's tract extended from near Attleborough [Langhorne*] back to Oxford. He was a member of Assembly in 1701.
- Thomas Atkinson was an early settler, but probably not until after Holme's map was made.
- The Cutlers were early settlers in Bucks county, John and Edmund, from Yorkshire, England, landing at Philadelphia from the Rebecka.
- According to Holme's map the site of Hulmeville was covered by Penn's grant to Henry Paulin, Henry Paxson, and William Carter. The original name was Milford, derived from "mill-ford," the mill at the ford across the Neshaminy, the first erected on that stream and by driven by its waters. The mill, of stone, (was) built prior to 1725...
Notice how many Middletown Meeting immigrants were on The Lamb
The Lamb
Lamb October 22, 1682, John Tench, master, one of Penn's fleet
Ellen COWGILL and children John, Ralph, Edmund, Jane and Jennet ;
Thomas CROASDALE, wife Agnes and children: William, John , Elizabeth, Mary, Bridget and Alice;
James DILWORTH, wife Ann Waln, son Stephen;
Cuthbert and Mary Rudd Hayhurst and Children: Elizabeth, William, Margery, John, Cuthbert and Alice;
Charles Lee;
Stephen SANDS; {married Jane Cowgill (from same voyage)}
Robert and Alice HEATON and children: Grace, Robert, James, Agnes and Ephraim;
Thomas and Margery STACKHOUSE and nephews: John and Thomas;
Nicholas and Jane Turner WALN and children: Jane, Richard and Margaret;
Thomas and Alice Hayhurst Wigglesworth;
Check out the Friend's Adventure list too for other Bucks county names
Did any come on The Kent with William Clayton? There were said to be 17 families on board
Links
- Current Monthy Meetings in Region
- http://ancestortracks.com/Phil_Mont_Bucks_Del_maps.html < see this list of many Bucks County maps to aid with finding ancestor locales
- Map of Washington's forces in Middletown/Newtown during the Revolution
- Kennedy, A. W, J Knight, and Henry Schenck Tanner. Map of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: H.S. Tanner, 1831. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2007625210/. (Accessed September 30, 2017.)
- Jane Watson Brey
- a William Penn time line
- The ships of William Penn's fleet
- 1850 Map of Bucks County