24 



HISTORY or BUCKS COUNTY. 



in the prosecution of the manufactures 

 of oleomargarine and other imitations 

 of pure food, and placed the office on a 

 high plane of usefulness to the farmer. 

 He is also the author of numerous pa- 

 pers on farming and dairying, and has 

 done much to influence legislation for 

 the protection and betterment of the 

 farmer. He was a member of the Sole- 

 bury school board for nine years, from 

 1865 to 1874, and its secretary for six 

 years. In politics he is a Republican of 

 the independent type. In religion is an 

 active and earnest member of Solebury 

 Meeting of Friends, as were his ances- 

 tors. Since his retirement from the ac- 

 tive management of his farms he has 

 devoted considerable time to literary 

 pursuits, and has published a book en- 

 titled "Early Settlers of Solebury," and 

 also a "History of the Eastburn Earn- 

 ily." 



Eastburn and Ellen K. Reeder are the 

 parents of four children: Watson K., 

 born October 3, 1854, the present sta- 

 tion agent for the P. & R. R. R. at New 

 Hope, who married 1879, Mary C. 

 Beans, of Johnsville, Bucks county, 

 Pennsylvania; Elizabeth, born 6 mo. i, 

 1857. married in 1880, Newton E. Wood, 

 of Moreland, Montgomery county, Penn- 

 sylvania; Letitia, wife of Dr. George 

 W. Lawrence, of East Berlin, Connecti- 

 cut, married in 1892; and Martha, wife 

 of Charles Janney, of Solebury, married 

 in 190.3. 



THE VANSANT FAMILY. The 

 Vansants of Bucks county are descend- 

 ants of a common ancestor, Gerret Stof- 

 felse Van Sandt or Van Zandt,* (other- 

 wise Garret Van Sandt, son of Stoffel 

 or Christopher), who emigrated from 

 the Netherlands, probably from Zaan- 

 dani in North Holland, or Zandberg in 

 Drenthe, in or about the year 1651, and 

 settled in New Utrecht, Long Island, on 

 the records of which town he is fre- 

 quently mentioned as Gerret Stoffellse. 

 He was one of the fourteen patentees 

 mentioned in the patent from Governor 

 Thomas Dongan, May 13, 1686, for the 

 Commons of New Utrecht, "on behalf 

 of themselves and their associates, the 

 present freeholders and inhabitants of 

 the said towne." His land was located 

 at Yellow Hook, "under the jurisdiction 

 of the town of New Utrecht." He was 

 a magistrate of New Utrecht in 1681. 



* For much of the information contained in this 

 sketch, more especially that pertaining to the early 

 generations of the family, we are indebted to R. Win- 

 der Johnson of Philadelphia, who has made extensive 

 researches covering nearly twenty-five years pertain- 

 ing to the ancestry of the Vansants and other Holland 

 families from whom he is descended. He is himself 

 a descendant of Garret Vansandt, through liis son, 

 jacobus (') . and his fourth son, Isaiali X'iinsant. who 

 married Charity VanHorn, and their daugliter. Sarah, 

 who married Christian Van Horn, tlie descent being 

 shown more in detail in the article in this volume on 

 the VanHorn Family. 



By deed dated July 31, 1695, lie con- 

 vej'ed his Yellow Hook plantation to 

 Derick Janse Van Zutphen, and re- 

 moved to Bucks countj', where Joseph 

 Growdon on 12 mo. 10, 1698-9, conveys 

 to him 150 acres in Bensalem township, 

 and on the same date conveys a like 

 tract adjoining to his son Cornelius. It 

 is probable that he was located for a 

 time in New York, as he had two chil- 

 dren baptized at the Dutch Reformed 

 church there in 1674 and 1676, respec- 

 tively. It is generally conceded that he 

 was twice married, as the record of the 

 baptisms above mentioned gives the 

 name of his wife as L3'sbeth Gerritz, 

 while the later baptisms at New Utrecht 

 and Flatbush churches give it as Lys- 

 beth Cornelis. It is, however, possible 

 that in one instance her father's sur- 

 name is used and in the other his first 

 name as was common on the Dutch 

 records. Cornelius Gerrets was a mem- 

 ber of the Dutch church at New Utrecht. 



Garret Vansand died intestate in Ben- 

 salem township, Bucks county, Pennsyl- 

 vania, prior to June 5, 1706, the date 

 upon which his ten children make a con- 

 veyance of his land purchased as before 

 stated in February, 1698-9. The record 

 of baptism of seven of his ten children 

 appears at the Dutch church of New 

 Netherlands, and will be given in con- 

 nection with a sketch of each child, ta- 

 ken in regular order of birth, later in 

 this article. The names of the ten chil- 

 dren were: I. Stoffell; 2. Cornelius; 3. 

 Josias; 4. Harman; 5. Albert; 6. Johan- 

 nes; 7. Jacobus; 8. George; 9. Jesina, 

 and 10. Garret. (Harman was really the 

 third child in order of birth, and Josias 

 fourth). 



I. STOFFEL VAN SANDT, eldest 

 son of Garret, was born in the province 

 of New York about the year 1670, and 

 took the oath of allegiance at New Ut- 

 recht, Long Island, as a native of New 

 Netherlands, in 1687. He probably re- 

 moved to Bucks county at the same 

 time as his fatlier, in 1699. He was a 

 member of the Bensalem Dutch Re- 

 formed church, with wife Rachel Cour- 

 son ; having joined by certificate in 1710. 

 He seems, however, to have become a 

 member of Abington Presbyterian 

 church at its organization in 1714, 

 and was made one of its elders. 

 He purchased of Henry Paulin on 

 May 23, 1706, 300 acres of land in 

 Middletown, 200 acres of which he con- 

 veyed to his sons Garret and John, and 

 died seized of the balance in 1749. He 

 was a justice of Bucks county. 1715-18, 

 1723-27, and a member of colonial as- 

 sembly, 1710, 1712, 1714, 1719. His chil- 

 dren were: i. Jannctje. baptized at 

 Brooklyn, September 3. 1693, married 

 November 3. 171 1, William Renherg. 2. 

 Garret, baptized at Brooklyn. May 4, 

 1695. probably died young, as the soii 

 Garret, mentinned later, was ceriai^ily 



