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.offices he actually held till near the close of 1789. In a letter to President Franklin, dated “Norriton Farm," May 5th, 1788, he says that he was charged by the sheriff, Francis Swaine, with opposing the execution of John Brown on the previous 12th of April, and about which there was some excitement. "Can it be possible," he writes, "that a man who has served you faithfully from the commencement of the late war to the end of it, in order to establish the present Government—a man that has gone forth on every occasion to support the laws of his country, I say, can it be possible to suppose him capable of such an act?" About this matter it appears considerable feeling had been created between him and the sheriff. Wm. Moore Smith stated that Colonel Craig desired Mr. Roberts to inform the sheriff "that he could give no consent to erecting a gallows on the Farm, but that he would make no objection .or opposition to any place which might be fixed upon at a sufficient distance from the town."*

It is probable that after his term of office had expired he shortly removed back again to his native county, where he was elected Major General of the Seventh Division of Pennsylvania Militia, which he retained for a number of years. He sur-vived till 1832, when he died at the advanced age of 92 years, with his faculties but little impaired.

GENERAL ANDREW PORTER.

Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hireling?—Job vii, 1.

General Andrew Porter was the son of Robert Porter, who emigrated from Ireland early in the past century, and settled in Worcester township, where Andrew was born September 24th, 1743. On the breaking out of the Revolutionary war, like most Irishmen, or the sons of Irishmen, he

*This agrees with tradition gathered from very old persons still living. Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson, now a centenarian, very well remembers that Craig said he did not want the town disgraced by an execution for such a crime."

was ready for a fight for that liberty so long denied in their native land. Being at the head of a mathematical school in Philadelphia. in the spring of 1776 he was early enthused with the cry for "Liberty!" A few days before the Declaration of Independence he accordingly offered his services to Congress, received a commission as captain of marines, and was ordered on board the frigate Effing-ham, but shortly after transferred to the land service with the same rank, and was engaged in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Brandywine.

At the dreary, suffering encampment at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-8, he was Major of a regiment of artillery, and in various positions continued with the army during the war. At the restoration of peace, in connection with his friend and neighbor, David Rittenhouse, he was engaged in surveying, being in 1785 appointed to ascertain the boundary line between Pennsylvania and Virginia, which was satisfactorily accomplished; and two years later, in 1787, he ran the northern line between us and New York.. His fitness for the post was so conspicuous, and his eminent Revolutionary services such, that Governor Snyder appointed him Surveyor General of the State in 1809, which position he held till his. death in 1813.

Nearly all the sons of General Porter became afterwards distinguished. David R. was Governor; General James M. Porter has. been a member of Assembly, President Judge of the Twenty-second district, and Secretary of War under President Tyler; George B. Porter, born at Lancaster in 1791, when the State government was located there, afterwards became a member of the Legislature, was Adjutant General in 1827, and appointed Governor of Michigan. Territory in 1834, where he died the next year.

COL. ROBERT LOLLER.

[Contributed by William J. Buck.]

Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.-Proverbs xxii, 29.

Col. Loller was of Scotch-Irish origin, born in 1740, and it is supposed within the present limits of Montgomery, then Philadelphia county. He was undoubtedly a man of education, and this would seem to show that the means of acquiring knowledge were not.

neglected in his youth. In the year 1772 we find him engaged in teaching a school at Chestnut Hill. How long he taught at that place is not known; but early in the commencement of the Revolution he resided at Hatboro, then better known as the "Crooked Billet." He married Mary, the daughter of Archibald M'Clean, Esq., who resided in Horsham near where is now the village of Babylon. Dr. Archibald M'Clean, who was a poet, wit, and no less than six feet four inches in height, was a brother-in-law.

After leaving his school he set up the business of surveying and conveyancing, in which he became quite successful. From specimens transmitted to us we know that he was a neat and ready writer and skillful draftsman. Major Loller early espoused the cause of the Revolution, and with Joseph Blewer, John Bull and William Coates, was elected, June 18th, 1776, delegate from Philadelphia county to consider the resolution of the Continental Congress, passed the 15th of May previously, recommending the several Colonies to adopt governments adapted to their peculiar circumstances. This convention framed the Constitution of Pennsylvania, which was agreed upon the following 28th of September. He soon after joined the army under Washington, and was in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Germantown.

The Supreme Executive Council appointed Colonel Loller on the 25th of March, 1777, paymaster of the militia of Philadelphia county, which office he held till in the spring of 1781. He was selected on July 24th, 1777, to make a survey of the shore of the river Delaware from Christiana creek downwards for the purpose of having a better knowledge in carrying on the proposed operations against the enemy. In November following he was, with four others, appointed Commissioner for seizing on the personal estates of those who had resided in the county and abandoned their families or habitations to join the royal army. He was elected to the Assembly the same year, also in 1779, and continuously from 1784 to 1788. He became a member of the Hatboro Library February 3d, 1787, and the following year was elected one of its directors, in which office he was continued for several years. He was appointed by Governor Mifflin one of the Associate Judges of Montgomery county September 25th, 1789, and also to the offices of Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills as successor to Col. Craig. The two last he held till June 24th, 1791, but the former office we believe he retained to the time of his death. Being afflicted with a painful malady, he was taken from his residence at Hatboro to

Philadelphia, and on the 10th of October, 1808, had the operation of lithotomy performed on him, but without relief, and died on the 21st of said month.

Knowing that his disease would likely prove fatal, Judge Loller prepared himself accordingly in his temporal affairs. Not having children, and being a man of property, the idea fortunately occurred of making his fortune prove a blessing to the present and future generations of his neighborhood. In that day education was not diffused among the body of the people; those who did not possess the means labored under great disadvantages, such as we in this day of knowledge and books can scarcely realize. His wife died October 21st, 1810. By provision he had ordered £50 to be paid for the use of the Academy at Norristown, £50 for the Abington Presbyterian church, and £20 to the Library at Hatboro, and after appropriating various sums to relatives the balance to be applied to the erection of an institution of learning to be called after his name, which was built in 1811-12 on his estate, at a cost of upwards of $11,000, besides an annual endowment of $283 for its support. In the order of time "Loller Academy" was the thirty-fifth incorporated in Pennsylvania.

In connection with Judge Loller's last visit to Philadelphia the following curious incident is associated. About the year 1850 the Legislature very properly passed a law requiring banks and other incorporated companies to publish by advertisement in the newspapers all unclaimed moneys, dividends, etc., in their possession, with the names of the depositors. In consequence of this it appeared that the sum of $350 had been deposited in the Philadelphia Bank by him on his arrival there, for the defrayment of his expenses, without the knowledge of his friends. On learning this, application was made by the Trustees of the Academy and the amount duly received and placed in the endowment fund in accordance with his will.

The remains of Judge Loller, with those of his wife, repose beneath the same stone in the grave-yard attached to the Presbyterian church at Abington. His executor was the Hon. N. B. Boileau, long his near neighbor and friend, who wrote for him the following epitaph: "To the memory of Robert Loller, Esq., this stone is dedicated. He departed this life October 21st, 1808, aged 68 years. In the American Revolution he took an early and active part in defending the rights of his country. As a Patriot, Soldier and Statesman, he acted with honor and usefulness, and in the practice of

every domestic and social virtue was highly exemplary. A Literary Institution, called by his name, was erected and endowed in the village of Hatborough. Abi Lector, ejus virtutes, si poteris imitare.”

From his will we learn that he had brothers, James, Alexander and William; and a sister, Grace Townsend; a nephew, Joseph M'Clean; and nieces, Mary Stephens and Mary Iredell. To the last he bestowed his share in the Hatboro Library, to Samuel Hart his surveying instruments, and to N. B. Boileau his telescope.

CASPER SCHLATER.

Nor love thy life nor hate; but what thou livest, live well. How long or short, permit to heaven.-Milton.

Among the prominent men of Montgomery county sixty years ago was he whose name stands at the head of this memorial. He was the son of Casper and Barbara Schlater, who arrived at Philadelphia from Rotterdam in the ship Thomas Coatman on September 22d, 1752. Casper Schlater, who is the subject of this notice, was born July 13th, 1759, in Upper Dublin township, Montgomery county, and married Mary, daughter of Nicholas Seltzer. He was a man of education and business capacity, and a leader in the Democratic party, filling the offices of County Treasurer and Commissioner for the years 1817-18 with public acceptance; besides, was frequently called to act as executor, administrator, arbitrator, and in adjusting disputes between neighbors. He was a member of Boehm's Reformed Church, and filled the offices of elder, deacon, and trustee, holding the elder's office at the time of his death, July 14th, 1835, having held official position therein since 1790. In his will he donated $800 to the church.

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