HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



595 



Toom of his house at Fricks. This was 

 m the fall of 1873. In 1879 he built a 

 small shop where his factory now stands, 

 jind he has added to this building four 

 times in order to meet the increased de- 

 mands of his trade. His business has 

 steaaily grown, both in volume and im- 

 portance, and his sales now amount to 

 about fifty thousand dollars a year. 

 There are orders which now come to 

 him that he cannot fill, and his business 

 has long smce reached profitable propor- 

 tions, making him one of the prosperous 

 citizens and representative manufactur- 

 •ers of Fricks. His life history illus- 

 trates what can be accomplished through 

 ■earnest purpose and the utilization and 

 mastery of opportunity. Mr. Lapp gives 

 his political support to the Republican 

 party, and, while deeply interested in its 

 success, is without political aspiration 

 for hmself. He belongs to the Menhon- 

 ite church. 



Mr. Lapp was married September 18, 

 1879, to Miss Susan Louise Swartz, a 

 daughter of Abraham F. Swartz, who is 

 of German descent, and a descendant of 

 Andrew Swartz, a native of the father- 

 land who came to America and settled 

 in Pennsylvania earlj' in the eighteenth 

 century. His son, Andrew Swartz, Jr., 

 was born in Germany and emigrated to 

 ■J\.merica in 1727. He located in Fran- 

 conia township. Montgomery county, 

 where he purchased one hundred and 

 fifty-five acres of land, then a part of 

 Salford township. He married Cath- 

 arine Kline and they became the parents 

 of ten children. 



Abraham Swartz, son of Andrew and 

 Catharine (Kline) Swartz, was born on 

 the old family homestead in Montgom- 

 ery county, and made farming his life 

 w^ork. 



Abram Swartz, grandfather of Mrs. 

 Lapp, was born in Franconia township, 

 Montgomery county. April 16, 1790. He 

 was a clockmaker, following that trade 

 when every part of the clock was made 

 bv hand, even to the castings for the 

 wheels. Later, however, he turned his- 

 attention to farming in Lower Salford 

 township, Montgomery county. He mar- 

 ried Susanna B. Fry, who was born Jan- 

 uary 28. 1796. and his death occurred in 

 i8.'^2, while his wife died September 26, 

 1861. They were the parents of seven 

 children. 



Abram F. Swartz. their seventh child, 

 and the father of I\Irs. Lapp, was born in 

 Lower Salford township. Montgomery 

 county, IMarch 12, 1832, and was reared 

 by his uncle upon a farm at Silverdale. 

 Bucks county, going to his home when 

 six years of age. He was educated in 

 the subscription schools and in Wash; 

 ington Hall boarding school at Trappe, 

 Montgomery county, and afterward 

 learned the trade of cabinet-making. He 

 largely followed carpentering, however, 

 in the summer months, and in the win- 



ter seasons engaged in teaching school, 

 being thus identified with the educational 

 interests of his county for many years. 

 Following his uncle's death he purchased 

 the farm upon which he was reared, and 

 made it his home until 1897, when he re- 

 moved to Blooming Glen, where he has 

 since lived retired from business cares. 

 Abram F. Swartz was married to 

 Catharine A. Siegfried, a daughter of 

 John H. Siegfried. Her death occurred 

 in 1873. There were six children by that 

 marriage, the eldest being Mrs. Lapp. 

 The others are: Mary S. born Septem- 

 ber 22,, 1857, is the wife of Isaac B. 

 Beideman and has nine children, Frank, 

 Estella. Harry, Alice, Abram, Raymond! 

 Edna, Bertha and Harvey. Isaac Frank- 

 lin, born April 27, i860, married Amansa 

 Elizabeth Bishop, a daughter of Jacob 

 Bishop. John S., born April 27 1864, 

 died June 2, 1866. Abraham Lincoln, 

 born June 22, 1866, married Elemanda 

 J. Crouthammel and they have two chil- 

 dren—Mamie, who was born and died in 

 1894, and Abram Warren, born October 

 20. 1896. William Henry, born Mav ^i 

 1868. died April 15, 1878. ' 



Abram F. Swartz was married again, 

 December 23, 1882. his second union be- 

 ing with Mary C. Swartz, a daughter of 

 Andrew S. and Catharine B. (Cassel) 

 Swartz. They have two children: Nor- 

 man S., born October 12, 1883; and 

 Maurice S., who was born December 10, 

 1884, and died March 27, 1885. 



To Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Lapp six 

 children have been born: Nelson S., July 

 28. 1880: Estella S.. March 26, 1882; Ag- 

 nes S., June 25, 1883; Esther S., October 

 17, 1S84: Martha S., June 5, 1887; and 

 Walter S., November 4, 1893. The eld- 

 est, Nelson, was married June 8, 1894, 

 to^ Ida Weikel, a daughter of Henry 

 Weikel, while Estella Lapp was married 

 to Abraham O. Frederick, a son of 

 George Frederick, February 7, 1900. 



WILLIAM EDGAR SHERWOOD, now 



living retired in New B.-ritain township, 

 was born at Geneva. Ontario county. New 

 York, June i, 1835. "his parents being Will- 

 iam and Rebecca ("Smith) Sherwood. The 

 father w^as born in Kexby, Yorkshire, Eng- 

 land, in 1787. and followed farming in his 

 native land. When twenty-seven years of 

 age he came to America, settling at Geneva, 

 New York. His children were : John, Har- 

 riet Ann, William Edgar, Theodore C, 

 Albert D. and Lester M. 



William Edgar Sherwood pursued his 

 education at Woolcott, Wayne county. New 

 York, and after his graduation became a 

 commercial agent and traveled through the 

 northwestern states. During the civil war, 

 responding to the country's call for aid, 

 he joined Company C of the Twenty- fourth 

 Michigan Infantry, under command of 

 Colonel Morrow, the regiment forming a 



