414 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



politics he is a Democrat, and has for 

 several years taken an active interest in 

 the councils of his party. He was 

 elected school director of Bristol town- 

 ship in 1901 and served for three years, 

 filling the position of president of the 

 board. In the fall of 1902 he was elected 

 to the office of clerk of orphans' court of 

 Bucks county, and has tilled that posi- 

 ^:ion with eminent ability, -meanwhile 

 continuing the mercantile business at 

 ^ewportville. He is a member of Nesh- 

 aminy Methodist Episcopal church, of 

 which he is trustee, and has filled the 

 position of superintendent of the Sun- 

 day school for a number of years. He is 

 a member of Neshaminy Lodge, No. 422, 

 I. O. O. F., of Hulmeville, and of a 

 lodge of Knights of Pythias at Burling- 

 ton, New Jersey. He married, June 12, 

 1890, Lizzie May Hunt, daughter of Lam- 

 bert S. and Rebecca (McNeil) Hunt. 

 They have no children. 



ST. FRANCIS' INDUSTRIAL 

 SCHOOL. Of all the charitable and edu- 

 cational institutions in charge of the Broth- 

 ers of the Christian Schools in the United 

 States, the St. Francis' Industrial School 

 at Eddington, Bucks county, may be said 

 to have had the most auspicious beginning. 

 Like many of its class it had its origin in 

 private charity. The members of the fam- 

 ily of the late Francis A. Drexel were long 

 and widely known for their many and gen- 

 erous benevolences, and when their father, 

 the excellent man and noble philanthropist 

 whose name is perpetuated in this institu- 

 tion, passed away, his daughters, the Misses 

 Drexel, continued the chain of benefactions 

 which he had begun and continued through- 

 out his life. 



Having maturely considered the project' 

 •due to a happv inspiration — that of provid- 

 ing for a great want and of erecting a 

 splendid Christian charity — the three daugh- 

 ters of the late Mr. Drexel busied them- 

 selves in selecting an eligible site, and late 

 in January, 1886, through the intermedia- 

 tion of the late Henry Preant secured a 

 farm of more than two hundred acres a 

 short distance inland from Eddington Sta- 

 tion, in the southwestern corner of Bucks 

 county. The tract occupies an elevated 

 situation overlooking the river, and com- 

 mands a beautiful view. Ground was 

 broken in July, 1886. and the corner stone 

 of the edifice was laid and solemnly blessed 

 by Archbishop Ryan, November 14th fol- 

 lowing, in the presence of a large as- 

 semblage. The address of the day was by 

 the Rev. Dr. Horstmann, and at its con- 

 clusion the Right Reverend Archbishop 

 made brief but touching remarks, express- 

 ing his gratification in the inauguration of 

 this great work, and taking occasion to 

 say that the foundresses of the institution 

 were animated by the noblest motives of a 

 liberal and intelligent philanthropy to pro- 



vide for a great want in the community, 

 but that they were influenced even more 

 by the still higher motive of christian 

 charity. On Christmas Eve of 1886 an un- 

 known vandal performed a sacrilegious act 

 in upsetting the corner stone and taking 

 away the coins which it contained. The 

 corner stone was relaid in June, 1887, the 

 memorial coins deposited therein being con- 

 tributed by Mr. Anthony J. Drexel. The 

 school was then to be called St. John's, but 

 the name was subsequently changed to the 

 one it now bears — that of the patron saint 

 of Francis A. Drexel, the father of the 

 young ladies to whom it owes its existence. 



The school was opened on Thursday, 

 July 19, 1888, the feast of S. Vincent de 

 Paul. The building was blessed by Arch- 

 bishop Ryan. Among those present were 

 the principal clergy of the neighborhood : 

 Very Rev. M. A. Walsh, rector of St. 

 Paul's; Very Rev. P. A. Stanton, D. D., 

 O. S. A.; Rev. Ign. F. Horstmann, D. D., 

 chancellor of the arch-diocese ; Rev. Daniel 

 A. Brennan, rector of the Assumption ; 

 Rev. Francis Pila, chaplain of La Salle 

 College; Rev. Lawrence J. Wall, rector of 

 St. Dominic's, Holmesburg; and Revs. 

 Hugh McGlinn and Francis J. Carr, rector 

 and assistant of St. Mark's, Bristol. Also 

 were present all but one of the board of 

 managers, who are the same as those of 

 St. John's Orphan Asylum ; the three 

 Misses Drexel, and a large number of in- 

 vited guests. To Brother Anatole had been 

 committed the direction of the new, institu- 

 tion, and he was aided by a corps of fifteen 

 Brothers of the Christian Schools. It had 

 been decided to make the Industrial School 

 a branch or ally of St. John's Orphan 

 Asylum, and these brothers were charged 

 with the selection of two hundred out of 

 the five hundred inmates of the latter in- 

 stitution, to become inmates of the former, 

 there to be trained not only in virtue but 

 in trades and other useful pursuits. This 

 work had been concluded on July i6th. An 

 eye witness says : 



"The removal was a picturesque sigh* 

 as well as an important event. After the 

 Sisters of St. Joseph had completed the 

 draft, the fortunate little fellows (ranging 

 in age from ten to fourteen), were dressed 

 in new suits and straw hats, which had been 

 bought for them by the Misses Drexel, and, 

 having been formally turned over to the 

 Christian Brothers whose wards they were 

 to become, were marched over in proces- 

 sional form to Girard avenue station of the 

 Pennsylvania railroad, at which point they 

 took the train for their new abode. The 

 boys seemed to enjoy the change very much, 

 and soon felt at home in the delightful pre- 

 cincts of St. Francis. They wsre also at 

 once prepared for the epoch-marking event 

 of Thursday." 



While the building was in course of erec- 

 tion the Misses Drexel not only made a 

 close study of the arrangement and work- 

 ings of similar institutions in Europe, but 

 they sent Brother Anatole (who had been 



