PETITION OF CHRISTIAN FRETZ OF THE TOWNSHIP OF WARWICK IN THE COUNTY OF BUCKS... FOR A LICENSE TO KEEP A PUBLICK HOUSE....
[Newtown, PA: Dec. 2, 1811]. Manuscript petition. Single sheet, 34 x 21 cm. [2] pp., approx. 150 words. Old fold lines, with some short separations at edges, overall toning to text, else neat, legible. Christian Fretz' petition, signed by him, to the Justices of the Court of Quarter Sessions, Newtown, County of Bucks December 2, 1811, that he has "erected a large and convenient House in the Township aforeside [Warwick] upon the Bethlehem and Easton Road about three miles from Doylestown for the entertainment & accommodation of Travellers." He asks the court to grant him a license to keep a Publick [sic] House there. Fretz' petition is attested to by 31 subscribers who affirm that Fretz is "a suitable person to keep a public House & we further state to the Court that a Tavern is necessary there and that it will be for the Interest and benefit of the County and the Poor House Establishment." Item #65469
Christian Fretz (1782-1840), was born in Bedminster township, Pennsylvania, son of John and Anna (Kratz) Fretz. He was raised on the family farm near Doylestown and was a successful business man, owning considerable real estate and a farm. He also operated the "Fretz Valley Inn, near [his] homestead on the Easton road, opposite the almshouse...." [see his brief biography in "A Genealogical and Personal History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania," by W.W. H. Davis (Genealogical Pub. Com: 1975), p.144].
Price: $375.00