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Bedminster was organized in 1742.
 Bedminster, lies between Plumstead, Hilltown, Rockhill, Haycock and Nockamixon. The name is taken from the town of Bedminster, in Somersetshire, near Bristol , England.
First settlers of the township were Irish from the counties of Donegal and Antrim and perhaps other parts of northern Ireland. Among them were McHenry, Comly, Wismer, Ayres, Grier, Armstrong, Orr, Kennedy, Kelley, Armstrong, McCalla and Darrah. William Allen, of Philadelphia, was one of the largest landowners. Scotch Irish Presbyterians organized a church which took the name Deep Run, it was the original place of worship of all the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians.
Meeting House (Route 113 and Elephant Road)
The Intelligencer Record (7/25/1999)As of 1990, 43% of the land in the township was being used for agriculture.
Few if any descendants of the old Irish families remain in Bedminster. Before the close of the 18th century a number of them migrated to North Carolina. The Mennonites followed the Irish into Bedminster.
| The Siege of Yorktown (1781) was a victory by a combined
American and
French force led by
General
George Washington, the
Marquis de Lafayette, and the French General
Comte de Rochambeau over a
British army commanded by General
Lord Charles Cornwallis. The surrender of Cornwallis's army
caused the British government to negotiate an end to the
American Revolutionary War. |
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BEDMINSTER FAMILIES
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Who are the Scots-Irish?
Known as the Ulster Scots, The Scots-Irish and the Scotch-Irish, they traveled in family groups rather than as individuals.
It is estimated that there are more than 27 million descendants now living in the United States. Pennsylvania has one of the highest populations.
At least a dozen presidents are descended from the Scots-Irish
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CEMETERIES AND CHURCHES
250 Anniversary
Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church
Ridge & Keller's Church Roads
Bedminster PA 18910 (215)795-2965
 | 1751 Founding of Keller's Church
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| 1766 First Stone Building |
| 1841 Union began with Solomon's Reformed Pastors
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| 1870 Fist English sermon |
| 1889 St. Matthew's name adopted |
| 1894 Present building constructed |
| 1895 Bell placed |
| 1859 Union dissolved |
| 1967 educational building dedicated |
| 1976 225 Anniversary |
| 2001 250th Anniversary |
Deep Run Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Route 113 and Elephant Road
Bedminster PA 18910 (215) 249-3689
Deep Run Mennonite (East)
350 Keller's Church Road
Perkasie Pa (215) 766-8380
St. Luke's Union
Deep Run Mennonite (West)
The News Herald, March 21, 2001
Beginning July 8, 2001, St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, forever known as Keller's Church will celebrate its 250th anniversary. A lifetime member of St. Matthew's, Merv Bryan, who died in the summer of 1999 was completing the church history at the time of his death. That church history will be published this year. It will be titled, "A Light on the Ridge, the Life and times of the People of Keller's Church."
From that source: Wealthy German Lutherans were coming to America in the 1700s with whole congregations and even pastors to start new churches. But that was not the case with the forbearers of St. Matthew's. They were a few disgruntled Germans who were member of Peace Lutheran Church who decided to start their own congregation. Some of the original names are recorded: Keller, Ackerman, Steinbach, Ziegenfuss, Nicklas, Acker, Lock, Schwartz, Weickert and maria Elizabeth Jacoby.
The first elders were inscribed for history: Henry Keller, Henry Acker, Jacob Lock, Valentine Nicklas. Listed as deacons were Christian Steinbach and Andrew Ziegenfuss.
Bucks County is a class 2A county comprised of 23 boroughs and 31 townships.
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AVAILABILITY
The book does not have an index, but it does have founding family information including but not limited to the Keller family, church elders, deacons, church members at the beginning (Loch, Nicla, Ackerman, Schwarz, Fischer, Zimmer, Stein, Drach, Wimmer, Ziegenfuss, Feininger to name a few) It is a history of the church. Written by Mervin C. Bryan 1938-1999.
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