HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



477 



E., a druggist of Philadelphia ; Edward H., 

 died in Buckingham in 1895 ; Emma, wife 

 of Daniel S. Klipple, of Plumstead ; and 

 Joseph C, a physician in Philadelphia. 



E. Wesley Keeler was reared on the 

 Plumstead farm and attended Valley Park 

 public school, and later took a course at 

 the Doylestown Seminary, and attended 

 West Chester Normal School for one term. 

 He taught school in Bucks county for five 

 years, during the last two of which he was 

 studying the rudiments of law, and entered 

 the office of George and Henry Lear, at 

 Doylestown, as a student, jMarch 11, 1874', 

 and was admitted to the bar of his natiye 

 county March 13, 1876. Being a careful 

 and diligent student and an indefatigable 

 worker, he acquired a reputation as a safe 

 counselor, and has built up a lucrative 

 practice, being considered one of the ablest 

 lawyers at the home bar. He has been 

 admitted to practice in the Supreme and 

 Superior courts of the commonwealth, and 

 in the United States District court for the 

 Eastern district of Pennsylvania. 



Mr. Keeler is a Republican in politics, and 

 has always taken a prominent part in the 

 councils of his party. He was for several 

 years chairman of the county committee, 

 and was again chosen for that position in 

 1903, and is still filling it with eminent 

 ability. He was county solicitor for six 

 years, 1885- 1891, and was a notary public 

 for many years. The only elective office he 

 has filled was that of register of wills for 

 the year 1895, by appointment to fill a 

 vacancy caused by the death of Chas. H. 

 Weaver, the elected register. He has been 

 a delegate to many district and state con- 

 ventions and was the representative of 

 Bucks county in the national convention of 

 1892. Mr. Keeler was married to Laura 

 W. Jones, on October 6, 1881. They have 

 no children. 



DR. JAMES E. GROFF, a popular and 

 successful physician, of Doylestown, was 

 born near Sellersville, Bucks county, Penn- 

 sylvania, August 3, 1856. He is a son of 

 Isaac S. and Mary A. (Fellman) Groff, both 

 of German descent. 



Hans Jacob Groff emigrated from the 

 Palatinate, Germany, with his wife Verona, 

 and arrived in Philadelphia in the ship "Pa- 

 tience," August II, 1750, and located in 

 Rockhill township, Bucks county, on land 

 surveyed to him in September, 1761. In 

 1770 he purchased two tracts of 186 acres 

 and forty-seven acres respectively, near the 

 present borough of Perkasie, adjoining the 

 land of Jacob Stout, with whose family the 

 Groffs later intermarried. He was a black- 

 smith by trade. He died April i. 17-82, 

 leaving a widow Verona, and children ; 

 Jacob, Peter, John, Henry, and Mary, who 

 married Isaac Souder. John married Chris- 

 tina Fulmer. Peter Groff, brother of Jacob, 

 accompanied him to America in the "Pa- 

 tience," and both were doubtless sons of 

 Peter, who arrived in the "Crown" in 1749. 



Peter Groff, son of Jacob, settled in East 

 Nantmeal township, Chester county. Henry 

 Groff, fourth son of Jacob and Verona, was 

 born in Rockhill township, and at the death 

 of his father in 1782 was living on the home- 

 stead, and three years later purchased in 

 partnership with his brother John one hun- 

 dred acres thereof, and purchased John's 

 interest therein in 1794. He married Esther 

 , and had two sons Jacob and Abra- 

 ham. 



Jacob Groff, born on the Perkasie home- 

 stead about 1800, acquired title to a part of 

 it from his father, Henry Groff, in 1826, on 

 condition of providing for his father and 

 mother during the remainder of their lives. 

 He also purchased two hundred acres ad- 

 joining, and other tracts in Rockhill, be- 

 coming an extensive landowner and prom- 

 inent man in the community. In religion 

 he was a Mennonite, and in politics a stanch 

 Whig. He died April, 1855. He was twice 

 married, his first wife being Mary Magda- 

 len, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth 

 (Barndt) Stout, of Rockhill, born August 

 29, 1804, died February 7, 1848. (See St 

 family in this work). The children of Jacob 

 and Mary Magdalen Groff were : Owen, 

 Isaac, Charles, Abraham, ]\Iary and Jacob. 

 Mary, the only daughter, married Jacob 

 Shearer. Jacob Groff married (.second) 

 Hannah Moore, but had no issue by her. 



Isaac Stout Groff, second son of Jacob 

 and Magdalen, was born in Rockhill town- 

 ship, August 13, 1834, and there grew to 

 manhood. He was a merchant tailor, and 

 carried on business at Benjamin, now a part 

 of Perkasie borough, for many years. He 

 later conducted a general store at Chal- 

 font. but returned to merchant tailoring 

 steveral years prior to his death, locating at 

 Line Lexington, New Britain township, 

 where he died in 1890. He was a member 

 of the Reformed church. He married Mary 

 Ann Fellman, daughter of Jacob Fellman, 

 of Richland, of the well known family of 

 that vicinity, Charles Fellman, who was 

 shreriff of Bucks county, 1854-6, being a 

 brother of Jacob. 



Dr. James E. Groff, the subject of this 

 sketch, was the only child of Isaac S. and 

 Mary Ann Groff, and was born at Ben- 

 jamin, August 3. 1856. He attended the 

 public schools of that neighborhood until 

 fifteen years of age, and then taught school 

 for two years. He then entered Ursinus 

 College at CoUegeville, and remained two 

 and a half years. In his sophomore year the 

 serious illness of his father necessitated his 

 leaving school, and he returned home and 

 conducted his father's business for two and 

 a half years, and expected to follow the 

 business of a merchant for life, but, his fa- 

 ther selling out his business in the spring 

 of 1877, James E. began the study of medi- 

 cine with Dr. A. J. ]\Iathews, at Chalfont. 

 In the fall of the same year he entered Jeff- 

 erson Medical College, and graduated in 

 1880. He first located for practice of his 

 profession at Tradesville, Warrington town- 

 ship, Bucks county, and remained there un- 



