HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



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years, being employed for fourteen years 

 at Durham furnace. Politically Mr. Big- 

 ley is a Democrat, and has always taken 

 an active part in the councils of his party, 

 -as well as in the affairs of the commun- 

 ity in which he lived. He was a member 

 of the school board of Nockamixon town- 

 ship for a number of years, and also filled 

 other local offices. In the fall of 1884 he 

 was electee^ on the Democratic ticket to 

 the office of clerk of quarter sessions of 

 Bucks county, and removed with his fam- 

 ily to the county seat. He filled the of- 

 fice of clerk of courts for three years with 

 eminent ability, and since the expiration 

 of his term of office has filled a number 

 of official positions. He was a member 

 of borough council for seven years, resign- 

 ing the position during his third term by 

 reason of his removal to a different ward. 

 In 1896 he was appointed a tipstaff of 

 the court, and in igor was advanced to 

 the position of court crier, which he since 

 filled to the satisfaction of the court. In 

 1890 he purchased the North Main Street 

 Bakery of Enos Weiss, and is still en- 

 gaged in conducting it. He is a member 

 of Peace and Union Lodge, No. 456, I. 

 O. O. F., of Rieglesville, Pennsylvania; 

 of Pakonet Lodge, No. 158, I. O. R. M., 

 of Kintnersville ; and of General Robert 

 L. Bodine Post, G. A. R., of Doylestown. 

 He and his family are members, of Salem 

 Reformed church. 



Mr. Bigley has been twice married. His 

 first wife was Mary Jane Fluck, daugh- 

 ter of Amos Fluck, of Springfield town- 

 ship, Bucks county, and they were the par- 

 ents of two children; Oscar H., now trans- 

 cribing clerk in the office of the recorder 

 of deeds; and Minnie, wife of Reuben C. 

 Stever. Oscar H., married A. Florence 

 Grim, daughter of the late George W. and 

 Elizabeth (Koons) Grim, of Nockamixon, 

 and sister of Hon. Webster Grim of 

 Doylestown, and they have been the parents 

 of six children, three of whom survive, viz : 

 Grace, a teacher in the public schools of 

 Bucks county, Ethel, and Dorothy. Reu- 

 "ben C. and Minnie CBigley") Stever are the 

 parents of three children : Charles B., Helen 

 and Frank, deceased. Mrs. Mary Jane Big- 

 ley died July 11, 1894, and Mr. Bigley mar- 

 ried ("second) Decenaber 3, 1896, Mrs. 

 Ella (Harrold) Haldeman, widow of Ja- 

 cob Haldeman, of Doylestown township, 

 and daughter of William Harrold, of 

 Doylestown. 



JAMES S. HARRAR, descended from 

 an honored early family in Montgomery 

 ■county, Pennsylvania, and now following 

 farming in Warminster township, Bucks 

 county, was born April 30, 1866, in the 

 former county, his parents being Joel J. 

 and Wilmina (Haupt) Harrar, who were 

 likewise natives of Montgomery county. 

 The father was a son of James S. Harrar, 

 also born in Montgomery county, while 



the great-grandfather, John F. Harrar, Sr., 

 was a native of Wales and emigrated to 

 America during the colonial epoch in the 

 history of the United States, settling in 

 ISIontgomery county. He was a Baptist in 

 religious . faith. In early manhood he 

 learned the shoemaker's trade, and in ad- 

 dition to that occupation followed farm- 

 ing. James S. Harrar was reared in JMont- 

 gomery county, and after his marriage set- 

 tled upon a farm there, carrying on agri- 

 cultural pursuits throughtout his remain- 

 ing days. He, too, was a Baptist in relig- 

 ious faith and was of a leading and influen- 

 tial family of the county. He had a broth- 

 er, Nathan Harrar, who was twice a repre- 

 sentative of the district in the state legis- 

 lature of Pennsylvania. The children of 

 James S. Harrar, grandfather of our sub- 

 ect,* were five in number : Lydia, Joel J., 

 Martha, Elwood and Mary. 



Joel J. Harrar, father of James S. Har- 

 rar, was married and settled near the old 

 home farm, where he remained for five 

 years. He afterward removed to the Thom- 

 as Folk farm, upon which he lived for 

 thirteen years, when he purchased the "Will- 

 iam Shae farm in Horsham township, 

 Bucks county, where he remained until 

 his death, which occurred January 29, 

 1904. He lived the quiet life of a farmer, 

 and his upright and honorable career gained 

 for him the respect of his fellow men. His 

 political support was given the Democracy. 

 His wife survives him and finds a good 

 home with her son James. She was a 

 daughter of John and Susan (Fell) Haupt. 

 The Haupt family, residents of Berks coun- 

 ty, were of German descent, while the Fells 

 lived in Buckingham township, Bucks 

 county, and were of Quaker faith. John 

 Haupt was an agriculturist, actively iden- 

 tified with farming interests in Montgom- 

 ery county, and he died upon the old fam- 

 ily homestead near Montgomeryville. In 

 his family were four children: Seneca, a 

 farmer ; Wilmina, who became Mrs. Har- 

 rar ; Nathan ; and Elizabeth. To Joel J. 

 and Wilmina (Haupt) Harrar were born 

 four children: John, a farmer; James S. : 

 Elwood ; and Wilmar, a farmer for the 

 iMcKean estate. 



James S. Harrar was reared to farm 

 life and remained at home until his mar- 

 riage, when in 1890 he rented the old his- 

 toric farm known as the Isaac Parry prop- 

 erty in Warminster township, Bucks coun- 

 ty. He has since purchased this place and 

 yet resides thereon, carrying on general 

 farming and also attending the Philadel- 

 phia market. He has repaired and remod- 

 eled the barn, placed all of the buildings 

 in good condition, has his fields under a 

 high state of cultivation and, in fact, has 

 made his farm one of the best improved 

 properties of the locality. He uses modern 

 machinery in its development and culti- 

 vation, and everything about his place is 

 kept in excellent condition. He also has 

 a herd of cows and sells milk and he 



