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YORK TOWNSHIP
York completes the list of townships. Her earlier
official business was performed through Salem and Goshen
Townships, of which she formed portions till her
organization in 1828.
Among the early residents of York who came in or before
1808 were Francis Garnet, Philip Coon, John Shull, George
Gimlitz, and Samuel Deardroff, all of whom
settled on the lands adjacent to Stone Creek.
Harmon Pratt arrived in 1813, as did also
William Barton. Henry Ackney coming in
1815, bought land off Shull. Henry Shaffer,
an old bachelor, came out in 1808, and boarded and worked
around with the settlers. Edward Wolf and
William Hummel were also settlers of 1808.
The earliest marriages occurred in 1810, between
George Coon and Margaret Gimlitz, Henry Falkner
and Barbara Blimlitz, and Frederick Shull and
Catharine Fathler.
Jacob Shull died in 1813, and was buried int he
grave-yard of the Jerusalem Church. This old
weather-worn building was erected in 1813, George
Romuel being the carpenter. It was a union church,
built by the Lutherans and Presbyterians. Revs.
Snyder and Rider were the early preachers.
Prior to the erection of a church, Shull's barn was
used for religious assembly.
Margaret Coon, daughter to Philip, was in
December, 1809. The next birth was that of Josseph
Shull, in March, 1810.
School was taught at Shull's till 1813, when the
church was used for educational purposes. The first
school in York was German, taught by Daniel Von Bramer;
the second teacher was George Bucher, who taught in
both English and German. He was patronized by families
residing on Crooked Run and Oldtown, several miles distant.
John Shull made York's first clearing and put up
the first house. Plows were home-made.
Flax-spinning was a ceaseless domestic labor. Jocob
Weltz was a notable tanner of buckskins, and made
garments of them. He tanned during his continuance at
the business over two thousand skins. Shull
brought with him some apple-seeds, and these planted grew to
be an orchard of natural fruit, - prized although
inferior. Francis Garnet was the first
distiller; he stilled in 1810, for himself and neighbors.
His distillery had a capacity of sixty gallons.
George Bucher, a school-teacher, was the first
Justice of the Peace in York. Coon and
Garnet had a water-mill on Stone Creek in 1814.
George Gilmore built the second. An oil mill
started in 1835, near Phillipsburg, built by Dearadroff,
was run by John Bentfert. Aneky tells of seeing
fifteen wolves in a drove. Deardroff, Garnet,
and Coon built a pen to trap them and caught a
panther; they prodded their formidable game to death with
forks before opening the pen. The Myers
brothers were Nimrods of the times. The sketches of
the American pioneer find in York an ample illustration. |
