1 68 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



great-granddaughter of William and 

 Elizabeth ( W'almsley) Carver, the first 

 of the familj' to settle in Buckiiigliam, 

 and William Carver, who came from 

 England in 1682 and settled in Byberry, 

 Philadelphia county. 



Jesse H. Atkinson followed farming 

 for a few years after his marriage in 

 Upper Makelield, and later engaged in 

 droving and dealing in western horses, 

 residing in Newtown township. He was 

 actively interested in local politics, and 

 was elected to the office of register of 

 wills of Bucks county in the fall of 

 1872, on the Republican ticket, and 

 served the term of three years. He died 

 January 4, 1876, one day after the expira- 

 tion of his term of office. His wife, 

 Marthg. B., still survives Kim, residing 

 in Newtown, Bucks county. They were 

 the parents of four children: Georgine 

 T., who died at the age of thirteen years; 

 William S., who died in his eighteenth 

 year; Stephen K., the subject of this 

 sketch; Sallie, born 1862, married Stew- 

 ard S. Crouse, of Riegelsville, Bucks 

 county, and resided in Philadelphia, 

 where he died in 1887, leaving three chil- 

 dren, — J. Clyde, Mary and Fred. 



Stephen K. Atkinson was educated at 

 the Hughesian School, Buckingham, and 

 at Doylestown English aiid Classical 

 Seminary. At an early age he accepted 

 a position as clerk in the general mer- 

 chandise store at Holicong, and later 

 worked on the farm for Josiah R. Pen- 

 nington, in Buckingham, in the summer 

 months, for three years attending school 

 in winter. On the election of his father 

 to the office of register of wills he en- 

 tered the office as his assistant and depu- 

 ty. At the death of his father he en- 

 gaged in farming for a few years, and 

 then engaged in the clothing and gents' 

 furnishing business at Doylestown, and 

 later was employed as a traveling sales- 

 man for a wholesale house.' He removed 

 to Newtown, where he owned and con- 

 ducted a livery stable for a few years, 

 and later engaged in selling cigars for 

 a large wholesale house. He has for 

 several years taken an active interest 

 in local politics, and was nominated and 

 elected to the office of prothonotary of 

 Bucks county in the fall of 1903. 



He married May 24, i'877, Sallie M. 

 Ruth, born in Buckingham, May 21, 

 1858, daughter of Jesse ana Martha (Car- 

 ver.) Ruth. She is also a descendant of 

 William Carver, the immigrant of 1682. 

 her maternal grandparents being Izri 

 and Mary (Hartley) Carver, the former 

 of whom was a son of William and Mar- 

 tha (Addis) Carver, and a grandson of 

 Joseph Carver, another son of William 

 and Elizabeth (Walmsley) Carver before 

 mentioned. On the paternal side Mrs. 

 Atkinson is descended from early Ger- 

 man settlers in Upper Bucks. The chil- 

 dren of Stephen K. and Sallie M. (Ruth) 

 Atkinson are: i. Elmer H., born April 



21, 1879, married Clara Sergeant, daugh- 

 ter of Charles Sergeant of Langhorne 

 and resides in Newtown; they had three 

 children, Ogden, Eugene, and Elmer R., 

 the latter of whom died August 7, 1905; 

 2. Martha Ruth, born April 4, 1882, wife 

 of Dr. George R. Doan of Newtown. 

 They have one child, Ronald. Mr. At- 

 kinson still retains his residence at New- 

 town, as well as an active interest in the 

 affairs of that borough. 



HOWARD W. ATKINSON, of 

 Doylestown, is a descendant on both the 

 paternal, and maternal side from the old- 

 est families in Bucks county. He was 

 born at Davisville, Southampton town- 

 ship, Bucks county, November 22, 1853, 

 and is a son of Mahlon and Mary Ann 

 (Wood) Atkinson, and a grandson of 

 Mahlon and Martha (Walmsley) Atkin- 

 son. 



His paternal ancestor, John Atkinson, 

 was born at Scotforth, Lancashire, Eng- 

 land, 9 mo. 25, 1695, and came to this 

 country at the age of four years. His 

 father, John Atkinson, married Susanna 

 Hynde, daughter of Richard, at Scot- 

 forth, 2 mo. 8, 1686, and in company with 

 his brother Christopher and their respec- 

 tive families embarked for America in 

 the ship "Brittanica" in April, 1699, bear- 

 ing a certificate from Lancaster Meeting 

 of Friends to Friends in Pennsylvania. 

 John and Susanna Atkinson both died on 

 the voyage, and their three children 

 (William, Mary and John) were taken in 

 charge by the- Friends of Middletown 

 Meeting in Bucks county on their ar- 

 rival. John, the eldest, married 8 mo. 

 15. 1717. Mary, daughter of William and 

 Mary (Croasdale) Smith, of Wrights- 

 town, and the following year settled on a 

 tract of two hundredvacres of land in 

 Upper Makefield, where their eight chil- 

 dren were born, and where the father 

 died in 1752. 



Ezekiel, the si.xth child of John and 

 Mary, born in 1728, purchased a portion 

 of the homestead tract and died there in 

 June, 1768. He married in 1754, Rachel 

 Gilbert, born 11 mo. 14, 1732, daughter of 

 Benjamin and Sarah (Mason) Gilbert, of 

 Byberry, granddaughter of Joseph and 

 Rachel (Livezey) Gilbert, and great- 

 granddaughter of John and Florence Gil- 

 bert, who came from England in the 

 ship "Welcome," in 1682, settling first 

 in Bensalem. Bucks county, but removing ^ 

 to Byberry in 1695, where his descen- 

 dants resided for many generations. 

 Ezekiel and Rachel (Gilbert) Atkinson 

 were the parents of five children: Ben- 

 jamin, Thomas, Watson, Rachel and 

 Ezekiel. the latter born after the death 

 nf the father in 1768. After the death of 

 her husband, Rachel Atkinson returned 

 with her children to Byberry, and later 

 married William Walton, of that place, 



