HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



641 



tional privileges were somewhat limited, as 

 it was necessary that he earn his own live- 

 lihood when but a young lad. At the age 

 of twelve years he began working as a 

 farm hand in the summer months, while in 

 the winter season he continued his studies. 

 When sixteen years of age he apprenticed 

 himself to the. harness maker's trade m 

 Lumberville, working for his first employer 

 for four years, after which he purchased 

 the business, conducting it until 1880. He 

 then turned his attention to merchandising 

 in Lahaska, carrying a general line of 

 goods, and in 1884 removed to North 

 Wales, where he continued in the same 

 business for fifteen years, enjoying a lu- 

 crative trade and contributing to the com- 

 mercial prosperity of the place. Owing 

 to the close confinement of tiie store, hpw- 

 ever, his health became impaired, and in 

 1899 he removed to his farm in Solebury 

 township, which he had purchased several 

 years prior to that time. His attention 

 has since been given to its further devel- 

 opment and improvement, and the outdoor 

 life has proved very beneficial to him, 

 while the farm, under his careful super- 

 vision, has become a desirable property, 

 equipped with modern accessories. 



Mr. Berger was married in 1875 to Miss 

 Amanda C. Fretz, a daughter of Jonas and 

 Mary Ann (Stover) Fretz, of Bedminster 

 township. They have two children : Mary 

 A., at home; and Henry J., living in Sole- 

 bury township. The parents are members 

 of the Lutheran church, and Mr. Berger 

 belongs to North Wales Camp, No. 547, 

 Patriotic Order of Sons of America. In 

 politics he was a Republican, and he served 

 as a school director in North Wales for 

 thirteen years, resigning the position on his 

 removal to the farm. Interested in matters 

 of local advancement, he has championed 

 many measures for the general good. 



BENJAMIN W. BOUTCHER, of Ben- 

 salem township, was born in that town- 

 ship December 17, 1848. He traces his an- 

 cestry back to Benjamin Boutcher, who 

 emigrated to this country in 1678, and set- 

 tled on a large tract of land in Abington 

 township, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) 

 county, Pennsylvania. 



Benjamin Boutcher, son of Joseph 

 Boutcher, and grandson of Benjamin W. 

 Boutcher above mentioned, was born in 

 Abington township, February 11, 1786. He 

 was a wheelwright by trade, but engaged 

 extensively in agricultural pursuits. He 

 married in 1810 Elinor Vandergrift, daugh- 

 ter of Jacob and Ann (Walton) Vander- 

 grift, who was born in 1771 and died Octo- 

 ber 25, 1850, at the age of eighty years. 

 Nine children were the issue of this mar- 

 riage, namely: Joseph, born September 15, 

 1811, mentioned hereinafter. Ann, born 

 1813, died in early life. Jacob, born 1815. 

 Enos, born May 30, 1817, died December 

 IS, 1888; he married Elinor Vandegrift. 

 Ann Eliza, born September 13. 1819, died 

 41-3 



July I, 1902; she was the wife of William 

 M. Vandegrift. Monroe, born 1822. Wash- 

 ington, born 1824. Robert Bickley Boutcher, 

 born 182S. Elinor, born 1830. Benjamin 

 Boutcher, father of these children, 

 was an active and influential man 

 HI the community. He was one of the prin- 

 cipal factors in the establishment of the 

 public school at Andalusia, and the petition 

 circulated by him for that purpose bearing 

 date November, 1822, is still in the pos- 

 session of his grandson, Benjamin W. 

 Boutcher, whose name heads this sketch. 

 On January 18, 1813, Mr. Boutcher pur- 

 chased of his father-in-law, Mr. Vande- 

 grift, a tract of land in Bensalem and set- 

 tled thereon. 



Nicholas Vendegrift, the ancestor of ihe 

 family of which Mrs. Benjamin Boutcher 

 was a member, was the father of a son, 

 Foulkard Vandegrift, who married Eliza- 

 beth Vansant, and they were the parents of 

 a son, Foulkard Vandegrift, who died Oc- 

 tober 24, 1775, aged eighty years. He mar- 

 ried Elizabeth Watson, and their children 

 were : i. Jacob, who married Ann Wal- 

 ton, and their children were: Levi; Jacob; 

 Eliza, never married; Elinor Vandegrift, 

 wife of Benjamin Boutcher; Jane, who 

 married William Atkinson, died 1887, aged 

 eighty-seven years; and Anna, who mar- 

 ried Adam Vandegrift. 2. John, who died 

 March 25, 1805, aged eighty-two years. 3. 

 Foulkard, Jr., who died October 10, 1795, 

 aged sixty-one years. 4. , who be- 

 came the wife of Barnet Van Kirk, who 

 died September 12, 1817, aged seventy 

 years. The old graveyard in Maud owned 

 by Foulkard Vandegrift was deeded by him 

 to his four children aforementioned. 



Joseph Boutcher, eldest son of Benjamin 

 and Elinor (Vandegrift) Boutcher, was 

 born September 15, 1811. At the age of 

 fourteen years he took up the trade of a 

 wheelwright with his father, and followed 

 it during the active years of his life. He 

 married Elizabeth Killey, daughter of Cap- 

 tain Edward and Elizabeth (Kennard) Kil- 

 ley, who was born in Douglass, Isle of 

 Man. Captain Killey was a native of the 

 Isle of Man, and came to this country when 

 a young man and learned the trade of a 

 sail-maker. During the war of 1812 he was 

 captain of the ship "Roebupk," and was cap- 

 tured by the British, who claimed him as a 

 British subject, but after the close of the 

 war he returned to Philadelphia and fol- 

 lowed his trade. Joseph and Elizabeth 

 (Killey) Boutcher were the parents of six 

 children: Adelaide S., Cordelia, Edward, 

 William, Guilelma Natalie, and Benja- 

 min W. 



Benjamin W. Boutcher, son of Joseph 

 and Elizabeth (Killey) Boutcher, was born 

 in Bensalem township, December 17, 1848. 

 He was educated at the local schools, and 

 on arriving at manhood took up the voca- 

 tion of farming and teaming. In 1877 he 

 was married to Catharine Cryer, daughter 

 of William Cryer, who came from England 

 and settled in Bensalem township. 



