238 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



Van Artsdalen, and their children were 

 John, Simon, Jane, Johanna and Eliza- 

 beath. 8. Abbie married Henry Dubois, 

 and had six children: Christian, Susan, 

 Ellen, Nancy, Jane and Mary Ann. 



John S. Cornell, Sr., son of Gilliam 

 and Janetje Cornell, was born in 1782, 

 baptized at the Dutch Reformed church 

 of North and Southampton. He was de- 

 vised by his father a farm purchased by 

 the latter of Henry Dyer in 1793, con- 

 taining 105 acres, near Holland, and 

 lived there until he died, December 15, 

 1851. He was married twice. His first 

 wife was Mary Krewson, by whom he 

 had two children. Matilda, the younger, 

 born October 21 1813, died in childhood. 

 Elizabeth, the elder, was born March 6, 

 181 1, and became the wife of Thomas 

 Purdy, by whom she had six children: 

 Mary Jane, John, Elizabeth Ann, Ma- 

 tilda; Mrs. Catherine Lingerman, and 

 Amanda. For his second wife John S. 

 Cornell, Sr., chose Elizabeth Vandegrift, 

 (daughter of Jacob and Cornelia (Van- 

 artsdalen) Vandegrift, of Northampton 

 and sister to Margaret, the second wife 

 of his brother, James Cornell. The chil- 

 dren of John S. and Elizabeth (Vande- 

 grift) Cornell were: i. William, born 

 August 4, 1818, remained on the home- 

 stead; he married Cornelia Krewsen, and 

 their children were Edmond and Anna 

 Mary. 2. Mary, born October 8, 1819, 

 married James Craven and their chil- 

 dren were Annie, Charles, Elizabeth and 

 Matilda. 3. Alfred, born September 27, 

 1822, married Jane Van Buskirk, and 

 their children were: Elizabeth, Johanna, 

 Samuel, Matilda, Allen, Frank. John, 

 Albert, Mary and Susannah. 4. John S., 

 the subject of this sketch. 5. Louisa, 

 born July 9, 1825, married Isaac 

 Rightley. 



John S. Cornell, Jr., youngest son of 

 John S. and Elizabeth (Vandegrift) Cor- 

 nell, is descended in the maternal line 

 from Jacob Vandegrift, who served in 

 the Revolutionary war and afterward 

 removed to Northampton county, Penn- 

 sylvania, settling in the southeastern 

 part. It was his daughter who became 

 the mother of John S. Cornell, of this 

 review. 



John S. Cornell, who was born July 

 16, 1827, was reared to farm life, and 

 was educated near Holland, in North- 

 ampton county, Pennsylvania. He en- 

 gaged in farming at an early age and 

 has followed this occupation to the 

 present time. He resided near the Bear 

 Hotel, at Richboro, until 1877, when he 

 removed to his present farm, purchas- 

 ing eighty acres of land in Northamp- 

 ton township, which his labors have 

 placed under a very high state of cul- 

 tivation, and although now well ad- 

 vanced in years he still gives his per- 

 sonal supervision to its cultivation. 



Mr. Cornell wedded Ellen Bennett, a 

 •daughter of William and Sarah (Wyn- 



koop) Bennett, and through long years 

 they have been held in favorable, regard 

 in Nortiiampton township. Mrs. Cor- 

 nell's ancestors in both paternal and ma- 

 ternal lines were, like those of her hus- 

 band, of Holland descent, and among 

 the earliest settlers in Northampton and 

 Southampton counties. Mr. and Mrs. 

 Cornell have had no children. 



JACOB SCHEERER, of Buckingham, 

 was born in Hilltown township, Bucks 

 county, August 29, 1850, the son of 

 Christian and Lovina (Cassel) Scheerer. 

 Christian Scheerer was born in Wur- 

 temberg, Germany, in November, 1813, 

 and came to this country when a young 

 man. As a youth he had learned the 

 trade of a dyer, and was employed in 

 the Manayunk mills of Ripka & Co., in 

 Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, for 

 about twenty-five years. On April 2, 

 1850, he purchased of his father-in-law, 

 Jacob Cassel, a small farm in Hilltown 

 township, Bucks county, and lived there- 

 on until his death in 1897. In 1847 he 

 married Lovina, daughter of Jacob and 

 Elizabeth (Oberholtzer) Cassel, of Hfll- 

 town. The Cassels emigrated to this 

 country about 1740, and have been resi- 

 dents of Montgomery county for sev- 

 eral generations. Jacob Cassel was a 

 farmer in Hilltown township from the 

 time of his marriage. Christian 

 Scheerer was a man of fair education, 

 and took an active interest in the affairs 

 of his adopted country. In early life 

 he was a Whig, but later a Democrat. 

 In religion he was a member of the Lu- 

 theran church. He was a member of the 

 I. O. O. F. His wife was born in Hill- 

 town in 1821, and died in 1900. She 

 was a member of the German Reformed, 

 church. 



The subject of this sketch was. the 

 second of the three children 0f Chrisr 

 tian and Lovina Sc4ieer^f, his elder 

 brother John is still living and a 

 younger brother, Charles, is deceased. 

 He was reared on the farm and received. 

 his education at the public schools. At 

 the age of seventeen he apprenticed 

 himself to learn the shoemaker's trade 

 at Hockertown. Finishing his appren- 

 ticeship in 1869. he worked as a jour- 

 neyman shoemaker for seven years in 

 Hilltown. Hatfield, Pennsburg and Line 

 Lexington. In 1876 he came to Buck- 

 ingham and opened a ' shop, where he 

 now resides. In 1875 he married Ann 

 Rebecca, daughter of Aaron and Letitia 

 (McDowell) Carver, of Buckingham, by 

 whom he has three children: Carrie, re- 

 siding at home: Walter, a trainman on 

 the P. & R. R. R. : and Evan T., a 

 printer, now foreman of the composing 

 room of the "Doylestown Democrat," at 

 Doylestown. In politics Mr. Scheerer is 

 a Democrat. He is a member of 

 Doylestown Lodge, No. 94. I. O. O. F. 



