While researching the old North Pennsylvania Railroad, a curious fact popped up: the name of the person who gave the name “Perkasie” to a new little village and train station in 1871.
In the Christmas Eve 1891 edition of the Perkasie Central News, its editors wrote about the new train depot coming to town. The fancy Victorian brick building was expected to be the envy of other towns on the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad line north of Ambler.
John O. James in 1852
The newspaper had a brief history of Perkasie before it became a Borough in 1879.
“When at last the place was accorded [train] station facilities, it was christened Perkasie after an old historic name, Perkasie Manor,” the editors wrote, noting the Penn family established the 10,000 acre manor’s boundaries after William Penn reached an agreement with the Lenape. A Mennonite meeting house had also used the name.
Once the North Pennsylvania railroad, which preceded the Philadelphia & Reading in the area, decided to establish a permanent station near the Landis Ridge tunnel, a name was needed for the train station. There was a lone daily stop until 1871 at the Hendricks store and mill (the current Treasure Trove building in Perkasie). The stop was informally known as Comly’s Station, named after North Penn Railroad president Franklin A. Comly.
“The person responsible for the naming of the town was John O. James, formerly of the firm of James, Kent, Santee & Co., a dry goods firm on Third Street, Philadelphia, a director of the Railroad Company, and a native of Hilltown. This gentleman took much interest in the place and did much towards obtaining for it recognition from the company,” the newspaper said. The Perkasie newspaper’s co-owner, Henry G. Moyer, was living in the area in 1871, and co-owner Samuel Kramer knew the region’s history very well, so it seems credible that they knew of James’ connections and influences.
A Life of Public Service
John Owen James was one of Philadelphia’s most-prominent leaders for three decades. His dry goods firm was nationally known. James’ obituary from 1883 named his many accomplishments. “He held several positions of trust and responsibility, always discharging their obligations with that scrupulous integrity which distinguished as well as his private career. He was many years ago a director of the North Pennsylvania Road,” said the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He was made one of the trustees of Girard College, and in 1876 was a member of the Centennial Board of Finance.” James was also the long-time vice president of Philadelphia’s Board of Trade, which refused to accept his resignation in James’ later years.
Quilt, pieced. Printed cotton squares are samples from James, Kent, Santee & Co. of Philadelphia. Source: National Museum of American History
Before John O. James moved to Philadelphia in 1840, he was a rising figure in Bucks County. His father and mother were both from Welsh families who emigrated to Bucks County in the 1720s. His father, Abel J. James, operated a successful dry goods business in Hilltown. John O. James served as aide-de-camp to Major General John Davis in the Bucks County militia.
When John inherited the family dry-goods trade, he was faced with a decision to take its expanding business to Doylestown or Philadelphia. Since a viable train system did not exist in 1840 and the James family traditionally exported its goods to Philadelphia, James and his family moved to the city. His new firm, James, Kent, Santee & Company, sold cloth used for many purposes, including quilting, and also sold sewing notions.
In 1852, John O. James’s name was first on the long list of incorporators of what became the North Pennsylvania Railroad. He served on its board of directors on several occasions.
James also was among the city leaders who rallied the Democrats to support the Union and President-elect Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming war effort in late 1860. At the same time, James’ dry-goods company was listed under “The Blacklist, Or Abolition Houses, Of Philadelphia” in national advertisements. James, Kent, Santee & Company was among many businesses considered “enemies to the institutions of the South.”
James, Kent, Santee & Company persevered during the war, but disaster struck on February 26, 1866, when a fire destroyed their buildings on Third Street in Philadelphia. The company lost more than $500,000 as it had just restocked their inventory for the sales season. It was the largest dry-goods facility in Pennsylvania. The firm had insurance and soon regained its footing, remaining in business until 1880. James was working at a successor firm when he died at the age of 74.
Footnotes
John O. James and his wife, Elizabeth Troxell James, had five children. John O. James Jr. was a political figure in Doylestown and Bucks County as a Democrat. Frederick James became a noted painter. The youngest child, Caroline “Carrie” James married a prominent attorney J. Monroe Shellenberger and they lived in Doylestown. Carrie died at the age of 35 in 1889. A year later, Monroe Shellenberger was discovered to be an embezzler and forger, and convicted of stealing $200,000 from family members, friends, and clients. His brother-in-law, John O. James Jr. became the guardian of the Shellenberger children. Monroe served eight years of a 22-year sentence for his crimes. He later died in 1926 in the town of his birth, Sellersville.
