Buckwalter/Bookwalter: A Pennslyvania Dutch Family

This volume tells the story of the Buckwalter family, from the arrival of Francis Bouch Walder and his five adult children in Pennsylvania and his purchase, in the year 1720, of the 650 acre Manavon tract, much of which is now part of Phoenixville, Chester County. It contains some genealogy, but the main focus is the history of Francis, a Swiss Mennonite, and his children; Joseph, Jacob, Johannes, Mary and Theodorus, and their families and descendants. Some of the accounts included here are the founding of the Buckwalter Stove Company, the Hershey Chocolate Company, and the move of family members to Ohio in the early 1800s, changing the spelling of the name to “Bookwalter.” Also discussed is the service of members of the family in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War, and the account of a member of the family who not only ran for the office of Governor of Ohio, but later was also a candidate for President of the United States. In addition to the stories and histories, the book includes more than 150 photos, over 100 of which are in color.