Pemberton family The Pembertons were of
English lineage. The direct paternal ancestor, Phineas Pemberton and his family from
Lancashire traveled aboard the ship
Submission in late 1682 from
Liverpool to North America, intending to land in Philadelphia. However, There are various stories of bad storms (or paid bounty) that landed them instead at the mouth of the Choptank River, at the tiny village of Oxford, on the Maryland Eastern shore of the Chesapeake
Province of Maryland, and eventually settled in
Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There, he and his family settled on their first farm, along the Delaware River in Falls Township, on a property he called "Grove Place". After losing most of his family at Grove Place, he sought higher ground, and purchased 303 acres of mixed low and high land, in Bristol Township, where he built his second house, in 1699. That property eventually became known as Bolton, named after his town of origin in England. That property already had a small set of connected stone cottages on it, the earliest one of the two, having been built in 1687, from local green mica schist. Throughout the 20 years Phineas lived in Pennsylvania, he served his community, and William Penn, in many roles. By 1686, he was assigned as the Deputy Director of Records for Bucks County, and was promoted to THE Director of Records by 1687. He was a Member of the Provincial Council, a Member of the Assembly, The Surveyor General of Bucks County, the FIRST Recorder of Deeds for Bucks County, he was Speaker of the Assembly for several years, and was responsible for compiling the "Book of Arrivals" (all new immigrants to PA), and the "Ear-Mark" registry book, and early form of livestock branding. (Copies of both on file at the Spruance Library, Mercer Museum, Doylestown, PA). With so many administrative "hats", it is no surprise he is frequently referred to as
William Penn's chief administrator. He was certainly working in enough different capacities to earn that title. The house is owned and maintained by the Friends of Bolton Mansion. It is open as a
historic house museum. This important historic site has direct connections to William Penn, the Revolutionary War, The Abolitionist Movement, the War of 1812, the purchase of Florida from Spain, The United States Supreme Court, both Pittsburg Steel, and US Steel, The Wistar Institute, The University of Pennsylvania's first Field School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, The Bristol Arsenal, The Emili Perseverance Corporation for the Prevention and Apprehension of Horse Thieves and Other Scoundrels, and Bristol Township Headquarters. It was the Sales and Engineering Headquarters for the construction of Levittown. In recognition of its historical significance, the house was added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1971. ==References==