620 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



1871 he earned a livelihood by working out 

 among the farmers. The five j-ears follow- 

 ing his marriage he resided in Plumstead 

 township, and in 1877 purchased the old 

 Martin Myers homestead of ninety-two 

 acres, which he cultivated to a high state 

 of perfection and which yields him goodly 

 harvests in return for his labor. He makes 

 a specialty of dairying, and the quality of 

 his products may be inferred from the fact 

 that he has sold to one man for the past 

 twenty years, a very creditable record in- 

 deed. He is a member of the Mennonite 

 church, and his political support is given 

 to the Republican party. In 1871 Mr. Lan- 

 <lis was united in marriage to Elizabeth 

 Overholt, born in Bedminster township, 

 Bucks county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of 

 John and Annie (Drissel) Overholt. Their 

 children are: Milton, a native' of Montgom- 

 ery county, married Susan Kreble, and one 

 child has been born to them, Lizzie ; Susan, 

 wife of Samuel Histand, of Doylestown, 

 and mother of six children; Samuel, Isaac, 

 Abram, Lizzie, Daniel and Rebecca ; Saliie, 

 wife of Allen Ruth, and mother of four 

 children, Isaac, John, Mary Ann and Ir- 

 win ; Hannah ; Samuel ; Annie ; Harvey ; 

 Salome, who died at the age of six months, 

 in 1879; Eugene, who died at the age of 

 nine months, in 1889. 



JENKS G. WATSON, of Carversville, 

 was born ' June 3, 1838, in Buckingham 

 township, his parents being bamuel G. and 

 Sarah H. (Thomas) Watson. The father 

 was born in Buckingham township, and was 

 a son of William- and Betsey (Gillingham) 

 Watson. Samuel G, Watson was reared 

 on the old home farm, and after his mar- 

 riage began the cultivation of rented land 

 Early in the '40s, however, he purchased 

 a farm of seventy-three acres in ^olebury 

 township, about two miles east of Carvers- 

 ville, and, after making two or three re- 

 movals, at a later date he finally purchased 

 town property in Mechanicsville, where he 

 lived retired in the enjoyment -of a well 

 earned rest up to the time of his death, 

 which occurred in his eightieth year. His 

 ■early political allegiance was given to the 

 Whig party, and after its dissolution he be- 

 came a stanch Republican. He was never an 

 office seeker, yet he served as assessor of 

 his township for a number of years, and 

 was a member of the election board, his 

 capability and his loyalty leading to his 

 selection for its offices. By his marriage 

 to Sarah H. Thomas he had five children, 

 of whom three are living: Margaret G., 

 the wife of Thomas Cadwallader, of INIe- 

 chanicsville; Anna G.,. the wif6 of John A. 

 Ellis, of Buckingham township; and Jenks 

 G. Watson. 



Reared upon the home farm in Bucking- 

 ham township, Jenks G. Watson acquired 

 a thorough familiarity with the best 

 methods of advancing agricultural interests, 

 and in his youth gained a good common- 

 school education. On starling out in life 



on his own account, he rented land for 

 two years, and then purchased property 

 from his father-in-law, land upon which 

 he carried on agricultural pursuits until 

 the spring of 1903, being one of the in- 

 dustrious, progressive and successful agri- 

 culturists of his locality. Having acquired 

 a handsome competence, he then retired to 

 his present town residence in Carversville. 

 His political views accord with Republican 

 principles, and, though he has never been 

 an aspirant for office, he has always kept 

 well informed on the issues of the day. 

 In 1861 Mr. Watson married Miss Caro- 

 line Shaw, a daughter of Eleazer C. and 

 Grace R. (Green) Shaw, of Plumstead 

 township. They have four children : Alice 

 A., the wife of C. Allen Knight, of Sole- 

 bury township and they have three chil- 

 dren — Marian, Helen and Florence ; Eliza- 

 beth C, the wife of Edward Woodman 

 who operates her father's farm and they 

 have three children — J. Watson, Margaret 

 W. and Allen ; Helen M., at home ; and 

 W. Harry, a merchant of Carversville, who 

 married Sarah Bizzy, daughter of James 

 Bizzy, and has one child, Jenks Watson. 



WILLIAM EARLEY DORON, who is 

 well known and highly esteemed among the 

 best citizens of the borough of Bristol, 

 w^here his birth occurred May 22, 1852, is a 

 son of Thomas Ellwood and EJizabeth 

 (Hellings) Doron, whose family consisted 

 of ten children, William E. being the only 

 survivor, and grandson of John and Cath- 

 arine (Lamb) Doron, of Hatborough, 

 Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, the for- 

 mer named, also his father, having been 

 extensive land owners in that town and 

 prominent in local affairs. The grandfather 

 of Mrs. Elizabeth (Hellings) Doron was a 

 well known sea captain. 



The private schools of Bristol and the 

 Philadelphia Polytechnic College afforded 

 William E. Doron the means of obtaining 

 an excellent English education which well 

 equipped him for an active career. He is 

 now the largest real estate owner in Bris- 

 tol, and is also actively interested in the 

 Bristol Water Works and in many of the 

 varied interests of the town. He is the 

 sole owner of the ferry connecting the towns 

 of Burlington and Bristol, the grant for 

 which is one of the oldest in the country, 

 dated June 10, 1697. The ferry has been in 

 the possession of the Doron family for half 

 a century and is the oldest ferry on the 

 Delaware river. IMarch 6, 1876, Mr. Doron 

 married Louise Conkling, daughter of Ezra 

 and Agnes (Burd) Conkling, of Philadel- 

 phia, and granddaughter of Hiram and 

 Lydia (Quick) Conkling, of Orange county, 

 New York. Mr. Conkling was a prominent 

 citizen, widely known and highly esteemed, 

 and a contractor by occupation. He was 

 an uncle of the late Roscoe Conkling, for 

 many years United States senator. Two 

 children were the issue of the marriage of 

 Mr. and Mrs. Doron : Louise A., born 



