Ralph Stover
Ralph Stover (January 10, 1760 – November 7, 1811) was an American Justice of the Peace and politician in Pennsylvania.
The History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Chapter XXXV, Bedminster, 1742
Henry Stauffer, born in Germany and married to Barbara Hockman, landed at Philadelphia, September 9, 1749, and settled in Bedminster on 23 acres (93,000 m2), purchased of William Allen, June 12, 1762. Here he lived and died, on the farm now (or recently) owned by Joseph Sine. They had five children, Ulrich, Barbara, who died young, Henry, Jacob and Ralph.
Ulrich Stover (Stauffer) born July 16, 1750, eldest son of the immigrant, married Barbara Swartz and had seven children: Elizabeth (died young), Mary (married William Fretz), Henry, Abraham, Jacob, Andrew and Joseph. He died on the Tohickon, Haycock Township, November 2, 1811, where his grandson, John Stover, now or recently, lived.
Henry Stover, second son of the immigrant, born July 9, 1754, married Elizabeth Fretz, [Tinicum], had children, Abraham, Catharine, Barbara, and Elizabeth, and died in Springfield near Bursonville.
Jacob, the third son, born May 13, 1757, and died April 28, 1844, married Elizabeth Swartz, and by her had one child, and nine children by a second wife. He drove his father's team, a mere lad, when pressed into the service during the Revolution, first with Sullivan's cavalry, and then with the main army, under George Washington, sometimes carrying his personal effects. He purchased the mill property on the Tohickon Creek now known as "Myer's Roller Mill", December 27, 1784, and died there.
The most prominent members of the Stover family were Ralph, youngest son of Henry, the immigrant, and his eldest son, Abraham F. Stover. The former, born January 10, 1760, married Catharine, daughter of Abraham Funk, owned a farm on the Tohickon where the Easton road crosses that stream, and died there November 7, 1811. He was many years a Justice of the Peace, when a much more important office than now, and member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1793-99.[1] While a member of Assembly, he had an act passed changing the name "Stauffer" to "Stover." His son Abraham F. Stover, born May 10, 1786, married Rachel Fretz, of [Warwick], and died 1854. He followed in his father's footsteps; was several years a [Justice of Peace] and [Surveyor], and three years a member of Assembly, 1817–1820; removed to Fauquier County, Virginia, 1833, purchased a 300-acre (1.2 km2) farm and died there. The late Ralph Stover, Point Pleasant, was one of his children. A Christian Stauffer settled in Bedminster about the same period, and owned a farm on 181 acres (0.73 km2) there. Previously unknown, Christian Stauffer and Henry were brothers. This was learned through US SAR records. For Christian the name Stauffer was changed to Stover, as well.
The Stauffer/Stover family, according to tradition, had its origin in a generation of knights called Stauffacher, at Hohenstauen, in Suabia. The dynasty existed more than 130 years to 1268, when Conrad, son and heir of Conrad IV, was taken in battle and beheaded. The family now separated, and their elegant seat has never been reclaimed, one branch finding a home in America.
History of Ralph Stover State Park
Tohickon Creek was named by the Lenape some of the first inhabitants of the area. "To-Hick-Hanne" means "Deer-Bone-Creek". Ralph Stover State Park was the site of an 18th-century gristmill that was built on Tohickon Creek by the park's namesake, Ralph Stover. Remnants of the mill and mill race can still be seen near Tohickon Creek, Pennsylvania.
The Stover family gave their land to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1931. The recreational facilities were built during the Great Depression by the Federal Works Progress Administration created by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide work for the unemployed. Author James A. Michener donated the High Rocks area to the park in 1956. Although "High Rocks State Park" is listed in the United States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System and the coordinates given in USGS GNIS are located here, it was never an official name according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources or a separate park.
References
1. Fretz, A. J. A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Henry Stauffer. Milton, NJ, 1899.
2. Bucks County, PA History