[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     CELEBRATING THE PHILHOWER FAMILY'S 100TH ANNUAL FAMILY REUNION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Lance) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, on September 7, 2017, the Philhower family 
will have its 100th annual family reunion. I am proud to join my fellow 
family members in celebrating this very special occasion. My great-
grandmother was Elizabeth Philhower Lance.
  The Philhowers were some of the earliest settlers of Hunterdon 
County, New Jersey. The patriarch of the Philhower family was Philip 
Wulhauer, who emigrated from Germany on the ship the Patience, landing 
in the port of Philadelphia on September 16, 1738, at the age of 24. He 
met his wife, Anna Maria, on their voyage to the Colonies. Together 
they traveled to Hunterdon County, New Jersey, to start a new life.
  Philip went on to lease 14 acres in what is now Tewksbury Township in 
1758 and established the Philhower homestead, which was first a log 
cabin that included one room and a loft. Shortly after, he built the 
house that still stands on the property. It was constructed of mortar, 
lime, sand, and clay, and its walls are 18 inches thick.
  The Philhower homestead had grown to 100 acres when the house was 
completed. The Philhowers have occupied the land since then and have 
spread their roots all over Hunterdon County, all over the State of New 
Jersey, and, indeed, all over the rest of the country.
  Among the family names entwined in the Philhowers are Apgar, Sutton, 
Fleming, Hoffman, and Lance. Philhowers have represented Hunterdon 
County in many of the military conflicts that have faced our Nation. 
They have also been farmers, millers, physicians, ministers, merchants, 
bankers, and educators.
  In 1917, the Philhowers held their first family reunion at their 
homestead, attended by nearly 400 descendants of Philip and Anna Maria. 
This fine tradition has continued over the last century, usually marked 
by a turkey dinner, finance meeting, and exchanging of family mementos 
at Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Hunterdon County. This year, 
however, family members will travel back to the original Philhower 
homestead to be together.
  Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to be a descendant of the Philhower 
family. This is but one example of the strong immigrant tradition in 
this country that continues to be one of our greatest strengths as a 
nation, as much a strength today as in the middle of the 18th century.
  I am honored to share this milestone with colleagues in the United 
States House of Representatives and with the American people.

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