Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-03-22
INsTALLNrENT NUMBER 1o7
Copyright, 1918. bD Public LEDGER Compdri

This was n query put to john as Poi''
dered over the huge folio Bible OF Peter
and his son, Samuel, with It's family
records and its notes of deep colonial
SHOWS and the coming of the Continental
army. / had bought this Bioe lroiii
James, now long dead. Nearly forty years
ago I wandered with satchel and staf up
into the Perkiomen Valley, then TO me
strange land, in the search for intorha'
tion. Finding James at his plain stone
farmhouse, two miles from SchwenksNiIe'
stout, welkept Pennsylvania Dutchnah
with keen eyes and punches of rough side
whiskers jovial and hospitable. he for an
hour poured forth his store OF geneaIogy
and local lore. All that he could remem'
Der from the tales of the elders about tho
occupation by the army he gave me with
the piquancy of the vernacular phrase ana
tone When the fount was exhausted
said to him: Have you any old papers OF
any kind" We sat on opposite sides OF
an ancient walnut table without cover.
For full minute he looked me shreWdly
in the eyes. and then going to cherry
corner cupboard which stood in the room
he took from it a homemade linen bag
filled with old deeds. Without a word he
laid it on the table. l shook out the
papers, about thirty in number. and pro
ceeded to examine them. They were the
title papers of Pennypacker's Mills from
the very beginning and few of them had
ever been recorded. There was the deed
from William Penn with a good autograph
and a fine impression of his seal on wax.
Generally such seals were broken, but
this was perfect There were the deeds
to and from Hans Joest Heit, who built
the house and the mill and later founded
the settlements in the Shenandoah Val.
Icy and became in Virginia annals not only
famous, but a baron. There was a deed
in the handwriting OF Francis Daniel Pas.
torius, the founder OF Germantown, and
three impressions of the seal he devised
containing representation Of sheep with
the letters +. ID. =. There was deed
from Hendrick Pannebeckcr with his auto.
graph and then had nothing in his hand.
writing. The situation had become dra.
matte. Finally ! slowly said Would you
care to part with these papers,"
vat would you gife for DEM"
! Will give you five dollars for them"
Very veil, you can chust take 'em
along"
put the deeds back into the linen
Dag made century and a half ago by
Elizabeth keyser. the wife OF Peter Penny.
packer. and he put the five.dolIar note in
his pocket. Then a merry twinkle came
INTO the eyes, which had been stern, and
he said.
Veil, now. wasn't dat funny? Ven me
and my broder. We settled up dat estate
ofer dere, and eferyting vas all fixed, and
dere wasn't noting to do any more den
dere vas dat olt pag of teeds And l says
to my brodel Vat shall We do wiss desc
And he says, 'Ach, dey are no use any more
We viii chust chuck dem into de fire. [
vas chust about to chuck de pag into de
fire, and den | says, 'Ach. | will keep dat
pag and maybe sometime dey will pc some
Goot.' And now YOU comes along and
you gifes me five tollars for EN-"
lie had shown more foresight and got
more out Of the estate than his brother
Perhaps no two persons ever concluded a
bargain with more mutual satisfaction than
he and I did. The incident was recalled,
and so it happened that | put my query.
as written above, TO John.
Yes, ! knowed him fiery veil. He vas
my cousin and he owned the next farm TO
we're ! lifed. lie could take his own bart
ven it come to svearin and vas awful rough
dat way, but he vas good nelghbor He
vas Great man TO smoke. He smoked a
bipe. Nonce We vent to see him in de
efening and he vas in ped already. Den
stairs hammerin' de tobacco into his bipe
before he comes down. He filled it four
times vile We vas derc. lie had Won pad
habit vat I nefer could pear"
What was that, john"
''He would smoke his bipe in de parn.
OFT Dan Hunsicker vas a director I'm de
pank at Pottstown. Dere wasn't any pank
at Schwenksville den, and Uncle Sam
Pennypacker-he vas de fader to james
put his money in dat bank. Olt Dan
he knowed it vas dere because he vas
"A director, and he asked Uncle Sam 10
lend de money TO him and he It'd. After
long vile ] knowed how dings vas and
l told Uncle Sam, You are going to lose
all dat money He says, Wy? He bays
de interest all right Den / says. You
are EOlHB 10 lose all utt lIlOneS-SOu peter
get a chudgment. lie says, You see olt
Dan vor me- So I goes to olt Dan and
gets chudgment note and it vas entered
up. l told Chames. and he says he would
hafe noting to do wiss it. After avile
olt Dan wanted to put a mortgage on his
house and de lawyer at Norristown finds
desc chudgment. Den olt Dan wanted me
to satisfy de chudgment, and I say, No,
will not satisfy de chudgment' Chust den
Chames he haf some money den olt
Dan and his wife dey go to Chames and him
and dey bawled like pabies and Chames
he vas goot.hearted IL he vas rough, he
let 'em hafe It."
80 that in the end Hunsicker got the
money from the son with which he paid
the father"
Dat vas just it. and Chames nefer cot
his money any more. Ven he tried, olt
Dan cot sassy and called him de black