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Greathouse Point > Greathouse Archives > USA > PA > Philadelphia County > Research Journal: Herr Anthony Yetzer, 6 Mar 2010

Greathouse of Philadelphia County, PA

Do you have any Greathouse kith and kin who resided in Philadelphia County, PA? If so, please join us in our efforts to better document the Greathouse kith and kin who lived in this county, by sending your additions and corrections to Greathouse Point.

Research Journal: Herr Anthony Yetzer, 6 Mar 2010

2010, Mar 6 - After an hour or so of being in the car (and getting lost) we arrived at 901 Abington Ave in Wyndmoor.  It sits on the corner of Abington and Traymore, looking large, old, and stately.  At the peak of the house on the east side is the corner stone which reads:

I G H
A G H
1742

I suppose this is:

John Greathouse
Amelia Greathouse
1742

But the "J" in John's name is spelled oddly.  It looks like an I.   Also the name "Greathouse" is abbreviated with a G and a H.  Note: I knew to look for this because someone on Ancestry.com already had and posted it to their tree and made the same conclusions that I've come to.  She mentioned Vivian Taylor as well.

The next thing is that there is a smaller building on the side of the house.  I wonder if it is as old as the house.  It looks like someone lives there.

The last thing that interested me is that to the left of the door, there is a strange Roman-like engraving.  Now that could be a decoration whoever owns it now put there.  But I am curious whether or not it is original.  Note: I looked at it again and I think it's just a bench someone put there but I'm not sure.

Next we drove down the street to 527 Mermaid Ln and arrived at what is supposed as Herman Groethausen's first home.  There's nothing that worthy of note here except for the fact that there's another structure in the back just like the previous house we went to.  Once again I wondering if it is as old as the house.

After this as the sun got lower and lower in the sky we went to St. Michael's Lutheran Church.  It's a nice building, but they certainly don't keep up their cemetery very well.  Only about 10% of the stones are readable and allot of the stones have fallen over and broke in half.  Also a large section of fencing around the cemetery is out.  It appears a car took that out.  It's definitely in a state of disrepair.

Next, we were going to go to Christ's Church but the traffic was to bad and we went home (plus the sun was setting).  We'll probably go back Monday or next weekend to see Independence Hall and Christ's Church.

2010, Mar 8 - We arrived at Christ Church at around 3:00.  It's a large towering structure that clearly in the 1700's dominated the Philadelphia skyline.  Inside the sanctuary is very spacious  It was cool to imagine men like, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and William Penn worshipping God there.  It very special to me to imagine John and Amelia Greathouse standing before the alter and being married there.  A caretaker of the church told us, that the chandelier in the church was installed in 1740, and that at every wedding that had took place at the church they lit the chandelier.  John and Amelia were married there in 1720.

Photo Gallery

527 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA

The house at 527 East Mermaid Lane in Wyndmoor was built by Herman Groethausen c. 1710. Herman Groethausen most likely raised his family in this house before deeding the land and larger family home at 901 Abington Avenue to his son, John Groethausen, on 24 Nov 1740.

901 East Abington Avenue, Wyndmoor, PA

The house at 901 East Abington Avenue in Wyndmoor was built by Herman Groethausen and his son John. The land on which the house sat was deeded to John Groethausen by his father on 24 Nov 1740. According to the capstone in the peak of the house, the house would have been built in 1742. The photos below are of the secondary house on the site.

St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Germantown, PA

Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA

Source:

Anthony Yetzer, Journal of Trip to Philadelphia on the 6th and 8th of Mar 2010.

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