HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



433 



is certain that John, at least, made his 

 home in Bucks county. The land which 

 he took up there is still in the posses- 

 sion of his descendants. In 1734 his son 

 Christian was born there, and married 

 Barbara Oberholtzer, and they were the 

 parents of a son Abraham, mentioned at 

 length hereinafter. Christian Fretz died 

 May I, 1803. 



Abraham Fretz, son of Christian and 

 Barbara (Oberholtzer) Fretz, wasc born 

 March 30, 1769, in Bedminster, and was 

 an inriuential man in the community. The 

 family all adhered to the Mennonite 

 faith, and Abraham Fretz was a deacon 

 of that church. He married Magdalena 

 Kratz, and among their children was a 

 son Christian, mentioned at length here- 

 inafter. Abraham Fretz died March 7, 



1844- 



Christian Fretz, son of Abraham and 

 Magdalena (Kratz) Fretz, was born Jan- 

 uary 13, 1801, in Bedminster township, 

 and married Mary Leatherman. They 

 were the parents of four children: Eli, 

 mentioned at length hereinafter; Abra- 

 ham; Eliza Ann; and Mary. The death 

 of Christian Fretz occurred September 

 5> 1874. 



Eli Fretz, son of Christian and Mary 

 (Leatherman) Fretz, was born Septem- 

 ber 9, 1825, in Bedminster township, and 

 has passed his life on the homestead, 

 combining the miller's trade with the 

 pursuit of agriculture. He is a director 

 of the Sellersville National Bank, and, 

 like all his ancestors, is a Mennonite, a 

 member of the board of trustees of the 

 Second Mennonite church at Deep Run, 

 and treasurer of the board. He married, 

 in 1850, Mary Myers, born in 1830, daugh- 

 ter of William ;Myers, of Bedminster, 

 and their children are: Allen M., pas- 

 tor of the New Mennonite church at 

 Soudertop; Lucinda, wife of Edward 

 Yost, of Plumstead township; Emeline 

 F., wife of Henrv D. Detweiler, of Sou- 

 derton; Mahlon M., mentioned at length 

 hereinafter; Francis, who lives in Bed- 

 minster township; Barbara, wife of Ir- 

 win Wasser, of Bedminster; Susan and 

 Mary Etta (twins), the former of whom 

 married Abraham S. Moyer, of Chalfont, 

 while the latter is the wife of Jacob M. 

 Landis, of Richlandtown. 



Mahlon M. Fretz, son of Eli and Mary 

 (Myers) Fretz, w^as born August 20, 

 1859. in Bedminster township, and re- 

 ceived his education in the public schools 

 and at the Sellersville high school. In 

 the spring of 1882 he moved to his pres- 

 ent home farm, which was then owned 

 by his father, and where he has since led 

 the life of a successful farmer. The es- 

 tate consists of seventy-two acres. He 

 is a director of the Bedminster branch 

 of the Philadelphia & Easton Electric 

 Railway Company. He rnanifests an ac- 

 tive interest in community affairs, has 

 served as school director, and is the 

 present town clerk of Bedminster. His 

 28-3 



political advocacy and support are given 

 to the Republican party. He is a mem- 

 ber of the New Mennonite church at 

 Deep Run. Mr. Fretz married, Decem- 

 ber 22, 1883, Amanda, daughter of John 

 and Hannah (Cassel) Fretz, of Richland 

 township. Mr. and Mrs. Fretz are with- 

 out children. 



THEODORE L. CASE, proprietor of 

 the Gardenville Hotel, also one of the 

 prominent and influential citizens of the 

 township of Plumstead, Bucks county, 

 Pennsylvania, where he was born No- 

 vember 10, i860, belongs to one of the 

 old families of the county. 



Peter Case (grandfather) was a native 

 of Bucks county; was educated in the 

 common schools thereof, followed the 

 trade o£ tailor throughout his active ca- 

 reer, and his death cccurred in the vicin- 

 ity of his birthplace. Among his chil- 

 dren was a son, Alexander Johnson Case 

 (father), who was a native of Bucks 

 county and resided there during the 

 greater portion of his life. He served 

 an apprenticeship at the trade of shoe- 

 maker, followed the same for a number 

 of years, abandoning it in order to en- 

 gage in the hotel business, becoming 

 proprietor of the hotels at Ottsville, 

 Raven Rock and Quakertown. He also 

 engaged in the restaurant business in 

 Doylestown for several years, later 

 turned his attention to agricultural pur- 

 suits in Plumstead township, and subse- 

 quently was proprietor of a shoe busi- 

 ness in Lumberville, continuing as such 

 for three years. At the expiration of 

 this period of time he removed to Car- 

 verville and established a cigar and to- 

 bacco store, and later conducted the 

 same line of trade at Germantown and 

 Philadelphia, his death occurring in the 

 latter named city in February, 1899. By 

 his marriage to I\Iary Morris, daughter 

 of Theodore Morris, of Plumstead town- 

 ship, the following named children were 

 born: Leonard L., deceased; Laura, 

 widow of Oliver Jacoby; Theodore L., 

 mentioned hereinafter; Howard Will- 

 son. Charles and Emma Case. 



Theodore L. Case is indebted to the 

 common school system of Bucks county 

 for his educational advantages. He 

 gained his first experience in business 

 life by establishing a shoe store in 

 Doylestown, on the site of the present 

 Hotel Pollock, which he successfully 

 conducted for several years, and prior to 

 his purchase of the Gardenville Hotel 

 was engaged in a number of enterprises 

 which yielded him a goodly return for 

 his labors. Since becoming proprietor 

 of the Gardenville Hotel. Mr. Case has 

 made many improvements which add 

 greatly to its attractiveness and also to 

 the comfort of its numerous patrons and 

 the traveling public, and at the present 

 time (1904) it is one of the most popular 



