HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



571 



He afterward spent two terms in the 

 Wilmington Friends school, and thus 

 was well fitted by good mental training 

 to meet the practical and responsible du- 

 ties of life. On attaining his majority 

 he began farming for himself in Penns 

 Manor, near the old homestead. All five 

 brothers of the famil}^ settled in that lo- 

 cality and had adjoining farms, save 

 that there was one little intervening 

 tract of land. Mr. Robbins continued to 

 reside upon his farm and gave it his en- 

 tire attention until 1902, when he re- 

 tired from active business life and is now 

 living in Morrisville in the enjoyment of 

 a rest which he has truly earned and 

 richly deserves. Straightforward in his 

 business dealings and practical in his 

 methods, he secured a desirable com- 

 petence. Politically a Republican, Mr. 

 Robbins held the office of school direc- 

 tor of Falls township for nine years, but 

 has never been an aspirant for political 

 honors, although he has ever kept well 

 informed on the questions and issues of 

 the day and has firm faith in the princi- 

 ples of his party. 



Mr. Robbins married May 28, 1851, 

 Miss Sarah A. Parsons, born January 5, 

 1826, a daughter of Isaac and Lydia (An- 

 derson) Parsons, of Falls township. 

 They have five children: Jane, wife of 

 William Y. Warner; Mary, wife of Ed- 

 ward S. Kirkbride; Isaac P., a resident 

 farmer of Penns Manor; Elwood P., of 

 Newark, New Jersey; and Joseph, at 

 home. 



ABRAHAM D. NASH, a representa- 

 tive of that class of men known as inde- 

 pendent farmers, whose lives and ca- 

 reers pass on evenly and uneventfully, 

 but whose occupation is of the upmost 

 importance to the welfare of man, is a 

 native of Plumstead township, Bucks 

 county, Pennsylvania, the date of his 

 birth being July 18, 1834. Abraham Nash, 

 father of Abraham D. Nash, was a na- 

 tive of Plumstead township, born May 2, 

 1799. In early life he served an appren- 

 ticeship at the trade of carpenter, which 

 he followed with success for a number 

 of years, being an expert and careful 

 mechanic, but later turned his attention 

 to farming, continuing along this line 

 up to the time of his decease. He was 

 honorable and trustworthy in business 

 affairs, and won an enviable reputation 

 among his neighbors and associates. He 

 was one of the old Mennonites of the 

 county, holding membership for many 

 years in the Deep Run Church. Mr. 

 Nash was twice married. Flis first wife, 

 Barbara (Detweiler) Nash, bore him five 

 children: William, deceased; John, de- 

 ceased: Mary, who died in • earh^ life: 

 Abraham D., mentioned hereinafter; and 

 Joseph, a physician of Philadelphia. His 

 second wife, whose maiden name was 

 Barbara IMvers. bore him three children: 



Elizabeth, wife of Levi Swartz; Mary A.^ 

 and Henry, a resident of Philadelphia. 

 Abraham D. Nash received a good 

 rudimentary education in the common 

 schools of the county of his birth, and 

 since the completion of his studies has 

 devoted his energies to making a suc- 

 cess of farming. In 1876 he purchased 

 the farm where he now resides, situate 

 about one mile west of Doylestown, and 

 consisting of fifty-three acres of arable 

 land. This is in a fine state of cultiva- 

 tion, and the rteat and thrifty appearance 

 of everything connected with the prop- 

 erty denotes the careful supervision of 

 a master hand. He is interested in all 

 that concerns the material and social 

 conditions of the community, and is 

 highly esteemed and respected. He is a 

 member of the Presbyterian church of 

 Doylestown. Mr. Nash married Mrs. 

 Agnes Cramer, daughter of Adam and 

 Agnes Bryan. Having no children of 

 their own they adopted two girls, Lizzie 

 Moore and Ida Loux. The former was 

 only three years of age at the time of 

 her adoption, has always lived with Mr. 

 and Mrs. Nash, and is now the wife of 

 Harry Cope. Ida is now the wife of 

 Harry Hilton, of Philadelphia. 



CHARLES S. GROFF, of South Perka- 

 sie, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, was 

 born November 2, 1837, and is a son 

 of Jacob and Mary Magdalena (Stout) 

 Groflf, and a descendant of prominent 

 and distinguished residents of the lo- 

 cality in which he resides. Hans Jacob 

 Groff, the paternal ancestor of the Perka- 

 sie family, emigrated from Germany in^ 

 Ihe ship "Patience," arriving in Philadel- 

 phia August II, 1750. He located in 

 Rockhill town'ship, near the present site 

 of Perkasie, where a large tract of land 

 was surveyed to him by order of Thomas 

 and Richard Penn in 1761, and later ac- 

 quired other lands adjoining. He was a 

 blacksmith by trade and followed that 

 vocation in connection with clearing and 

 tilling his Perkasie plantation. He and 

 his wife Veronica were the parents of five 

 chldren: Jacob: Peter; John; Henry; and 

 Mary, who married Isaac Souder. Hans 

 Jacob Grofif died April i, 1782. 



Henry Groff. youngest son of Hans 

 Jacob and Veronica, resided all his life, 

 on the Perkasie homestead, acquiring^ 

 title to one hundred acres thereof in 

 1785. He and his wife Esther lived to 

 an advanced age. residing in the later 

 years of their life with their son Jacob, 

 the father of the subject of this sketch. 

 Being thoroughly grounded in the Men- 

 nonite faith, he took no active part in 

 the revolutionary struggle, but partici- 

 pated actively in the local affairs of the 

 community in which he lived. 



Jacob Grofif, son of Henry and Esther, 

 was born and reared on the old home- 



