74 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUXTV. 



David Fell, M. D., second son of Jo- 

 seph and Rachel (Wilson) Fell, born in 

 Upper Makeficld, Bucks county, July i, 

 1774, was the grandfather of Judge Fell. 

 He received a liberal education, and, hav- 

 ing" chosen the medical profession, en- 

 tered the University of Pennsylvania, 

 from which he graduated with the degree 

 of M. D. in 1801. He began the practice 

 of medicine in Upper Makefield, but soon 

 after removed to Buckingham, where he 

 built up an extensive practice and be- 

 came one of the prominent physicians of 

 his day. He died February 22, 1856, in 

 his eighty-second year. He married, 

 March 16, 1803, Phebe Schofield, who 

 was born September 26, 1774 and died 

 January lo, 1858. She was the daughter 

 of Samuel and Edith (Marshall) Scho- 

 field, of Solebury, Bucks county, Penn- 

 sylvania. They were the parents of five 

 children: Joseph, born March 12, 1804; 

 Edith Newlin, died unmarried in 1857; 

 Sarah Ann, died unmarried in 1872; Bush- 

 rod, died in infancy; and Elizabeth, mar- 

 ried Ezra B. Leeds, of Germantown, and 

 later removed to Columbiana county, 

 Ohio. 



Joseph Fell, son of David and Phebe 

 (Schofield) Fell, was born at Lurgan, 

 Upper Makefield, Bucks county, Penn- 

 sylvania, March 12, 1804, and died in 

 Buckingham, March n, 1887. He was 

 one of the best known and highly re- 

 spected men of Bucks county. He began 

 teaching at Union School, Buckingham, 

 and was later an instructor in the school 

 of John Gummere at Burlington, New 

 Jersey. In 1830 he began to teach at the 

 Friends School at Buckingham Meeting 

 House, where he remained several years, 

 making it one of the famous local 

 schools. He later made a journey to 

 Ohio and on his return purchased the 

 Buckingham homestead, still owned by 

 his grandchildren, and spent his remain- 

 ing days there. During the winter for 

 several years he continued his teaching 

 at Tyro Hall and the Hughesian School. 



He was elected to the state legislature 

 in 1837, and was prominently identified 

 with the adoption of the common school 

 law of Pennsylvania, and rendered effic- 

 ient services in placing it in effect in his 

 native county. He was a member of the 

 first school board of Buckingham, and its 

 secretary for many years. When the 

 office of county superintendent was 

 created in 1854 he was elected as the first 

 superintendent of Bucks county, and did 

 much to place the office on the high 

 plane of usefulness it has since attained. 

 After filling the position for three years 

 he declined a reelection. In 1855 he held 

 the first teachers' institute. Retiring to 

 his farm in 1857 he devoted himself to 

 the affairs of his farm and neighborhood, 

 filling many important positions of pub- 

 lic trust. He was for many years a trus- 

 tee and director of the Hughesian Free 

 School, and continued an active interest 



in educational matters during his whole 

 life. He vv-a.': a lifelong member of the 

 SocicLy of Friends, and an active, fear- 

 less and outspoken Abolitionist, his 

 home being one of the stations of the 

 "Underground Railroad." He was a man 

 of high intellectual ability, and kept in 

 touch with the important public move- 

 ments, and was fearless and outspoken 

 in all his convictions on public questions. 



He married, March 28, 1835, Harriet 

 Williams, born September 25, 1807, died 

 March 28, 1890, a daughter of Samuel 

 and Sarah (Watson) Williams, of Buck- 

 ingham, and a descendant of Jeremiah 

 Williams, who came to Tinicum town- 

 ship, Bucks county, from Westbury, 

 Long Island, about 1743, and they were 

 the parents of five children: William W., 

 born May 25, 1836, died unmarried, Jan- 

 uary 4, 1874, was a lawyer of Philadel- 

 phia; Emily C, born June 15, 1838, mar- 

 ried William T. Seal; David Newlin; Ed- 

 ward Watson, born September 27, 1843, 

 married Elizabeth M. Kenderdine, and 

 resided on the old homestead, died April 

 30, 1900; and Lucy W., who never mar- 

 ried. 



Hon. David Newlin Fell, born and 

 reared on the Buckingham farm, was ed- 

 ucated under the direction of his father, 

 and graduated from the First Pennsyl- 

 vania State Normal School at Millers- 

 ville, in the class of 1862. In August of 

 1862, he entered the army as lieutenant 

 of Company E, I22d Regiment, Pennsyl- 

 vania volunteers, the company being 

 mainly recruited from the students of tKe 

 school. 



He studied law in the office of his 

 brother, William W. Fell, and was ad- 

 mitted to the bar MarclT 17. 1866, and at 

 once began the practice of his chosen 

 profession at Philadelphia. After ■eleven 

 years of successful practice he was ap- 

 pointed May 3, 1877, by Governor Hart- 

 ranft, as judge of the court of common 

 pleas of Philadelphia county, and in the 

 November following was elected to the 

 same position for a term of ten years, 

 and reelected in 1887, receiving on both 

 occasions the nomination of both the 

 Republican and Democratic parties. He 

 has always manifested an active interest 

 in the public aft'airs of the city of his 

 adoption, and at the time of his appoint- 

 ment to the bench was a member of the 

 city council for the twentieth Ward, and 

 was a member of the municipal commis- 

 sion created by the act of legislature to 

 devise a plan for the better government 

 of the cities of the commonwealth. He 

 i.c a member of Post No. 2, G. A. R., of 

 Philadelphia, and has served as senior 

 vice cfunmander and judge advocate gen- 

 eral of the Grand Army of the Republic 

 of Pennsylvania. He was elected to the 

 Supreme Bench in 1893. 



He married, September i. 1870. Martha 

 P. Trego, born July 31. ^846, daughter of 

 Smith and Anna (Phillips) Trego, and 



