i6 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



brought a certificate from Abington 

 Meeting, dated March 6, 1729, to Buck- 

 ingham Meeting, of which he became 

 one of the most active members, serving 

 as overseer and clerk for several years. 

 He was recommended as a minister m 

 1770, and travelled in that capacity 

 through various parts of this state, as 

 well as in New Jersey, New York and 

 New England. He was also a prom- 

 inent man in the community in which he 

 lived. He donated the land upon which 

 the first school house was built at Cen- 

 tre Hill, which was known for many 

 years as "The Stone School House" be- 

 fore Centre Hill was known as a vil- 

 lage. He died in 1785. His children 

 were: 



Benjamin, born 2 mo. 11, 1729, died 

 II mo. 21, 1735. 



Joseph, born 12 mo. 18, 1730, died 10 

 mo. 29, 1780; married 1753, Mary Wilson. 



Ann E., born 12 mo. 18, 1732; married 

 1754, Joseph Pugh, son of Daniel, of 

 New Britain. 



Mary, born 2 mo. 16, 1734; married 

 William Edwards. 



Sarah, born 3 mo. 23, 1736; married 

 1756, Benjamin Smith. 



Robert, born 6 mo. 23, 1739; married 

 1763, Elizabeth Duer; 1784, Rachel Pax- 

 son. 



JOSEPH EASTBURN, born 1730, 

 died 10 mo. 23, 1780, inherited from his 

 father one-half of the homestead, 125 

 acres, and purchased considerable other 

 land in Solebury, part of it being a tract 

 of land purchased of Richard Pike in 

 1763, a portion of which is still in the 

 tenure of his great-great-grandson, 

 Eastburn Reeder. He married, i mo. 

 17, 1753. Mary, daughter of Samuel and 

 Rebecca (Canby) Wilson, of Bucking- 

 ham, and had by her eleven children, as 

 follows: 



Joseph, born 7 mo. 16, 1754; married 

 ^777, Rebecca Kitchin, daughter of Will- 

 iam and Sarah Ely Kitchin. 



Benjamin, born 7 mo. 4, 1756; married 

 1778, Keziah Ross and removed to 

 Maryland. 



Samuel, born 6 mo. 20, 1759; married 

 1781, Macre Croasdale, and in 1786, Han- 

 nah Kierkbride. 



John, born 4 mo. 28, 1760; married 

 1788. Elizabeth Wiggins, and in 1808, 

 Hannah Hillborn. 



Rebecca, born 4 mo. 4, 1762; married 

 i8to. George Pierce. 



Thomas, born 5 mo. 14, 1764; married 

 1795, Mercy Bailey. 



Mary, born 6 mo. 22, 1766; married 

 1790. Joseph Phipps. 



James, laorn 8 mo. 27, T768, married 

 1/91, Merab, daughter of John and Sarah 

 (Simcock) Ely. 



Amos, born 12 mo. 25, 1770; married 

 T7QS. Mary Stackhouse. 



David, born 4 mo. 7. 1773; married 

 1801. Elizabeth Jeanes and removed to 

 Delaware. 



Elizabeth, born 1776, died 1777. Mary, 

 the mother, died 11 mo. 19, 1805. 



JOSEPH EASTBURN, born I7S4, 

 died 5 mo. 16, 1813, inherited from his 

 father the Pike tract of land in Sole- 

 bury, and lived and died thereon. He 

 married Rebecca Kitchin, 9 mo. 19, 1777, 

 and had seven children, of whom only 

 five, all daughters, grew to maturity, and 

 only the eldest, Elizabeth, born 9 mo. 

 13. 1778, married. She became the wife 

 of Merrick Reeder, Esq., in 1802. An 

 account of their descendants is given on 

 another page of this work. 



ROBERT EASTBURN, youngest 

 son of Samuel and Elizabeth Gillingham 

 Eastburn, born 6 mo. 23, 1739, died 1816, 

 married (first) 11 mo. 22, 1763, Eliza- 

 beth Duer, and took up his residence on 

 a part of the homestead farm where he 

 was born, and spent the rest of his life 

 there. His children by Elizabeth were: 

 Sarah, born i mo. 12, 1766; married 

 Thomas Phillips. Moses, born 4 mo. I, 

 1768; married 1790, Rachel Knowles. 

 Elizabeth, born 1770, died 1775. Aaron, 

 born I mo. 10, 1773; married 1796, Mercy- 

 Bye. Ann, born 12 mo. 27, 1775, married 

 1798, John Comfort. Robert married 

 (second) Rachel Paxson, a widow on 9 

 mo. 16, 1784, and had two children: 

 Letitia, born 1793. married 1816, Samuel 

 Metlar; Samuel, born 1800, married 1821, 

 Mary Carver. 



MOSES EASTBURN, born 4 nio. i, 

 1768, died 9 mo. 28, 1846, married 10 mo. 

 21, 1790, Rachel, daughter of John and 

 Mary Knowles. Mary Knowles, the 

 elder, was a daughter of Robert and 

 Mercy (Brown) Sotcher, and grand- 

 daughter of John and Mary (Lofty) 

 Sotcher, Penn's faithful stewards at 

 Pennsbury, and also granddaughter of 

 George and Mercy Brown, and a cousin 

 to General Jacob Brown. The children 

 of Moses and Rachel Knowles Brown 

 who grew to maturity were: John, born 

 1791, removed to the west; Elizabeth, 

 born 1793, married 1813, Samuel Black- 

 fan; Robert, born 1794, removed to the 

 west; Jacob, born 9 mo. 14, 1798, married 

 1829, Elizabeth K. Taylor; Mary, born 

 9 mo. 15, 1800, married 1829, Thomas F. 

 Parry; Sarah, born 1804, married John 

 Palmer; and Moses, born 5 mo. 9, 1815, 

 married 1845, Mary Anna Ely. Rachel 

 Knowles Eastburn died 4 mo., 1843. 



Moses Eastburn, son of Moses and 

 Rachel, born 5 mo. 9, 1815, died 9 mo. 

 27, 1887, was a worthy representative of 

 this old family. He was possessed in a 

 marked degree of the best elements of 

 good citizenship, quiet and unassuming 

 in demeanor, but determined and un- 

 swerving in his devotion to principle 

 and right. Though never holding any 

 political office he held many positions of 

 trust, and was always active in promot- 

 ing and maintaining local enterprises 

 for the benefit of the people of his na- 

 tive county. He was for many years a 



