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REVOLUTIONARY WAR HEROES

The two oldest graves in the Logan Valley Cemetery are of real historical importance to the community of Bellwood, as they are the graves of two of the oldest settlers in the valley and their descendants are still living in Bellwood. These graves dating back to the Revolutionary War are so old that the inscriptions on the stones have become illegible, and have been replaced by the government recently.

The one grave contains the remains of John Boyles, an early settler. The second grave is that of Nicholas Nachbar, one of the early Bellwood residents.

Nicholas Nachbar and his wife, Elizabeth Crane Nachbar, had one child, a daughter, Mary Barbara. She became the wife of John Boyles (son of the Revolutionary veteran of the same name) and their oldest child, Elizabeth, was the wife of John Bell of Mary Ann Forge. Of Mrs. Crane Nachbar’s children, one son, Abram Crane, settled in this valley and his son, Christopher, kept hotel in Hensheytown for many years. A daughter of Abram Crane married an Agnew, her first name being Catherine and she was the grandmother of the late A. A. Steven of Tyrone.

Nicholas Nachbar was supposed to be enlisted as chaplain in Hamburg, near Reading and in Windsor Township and shot blind at the battle of Brandywine. Records also show that he was in the Pennsylvania Navy and served as chaplain on Pennsylvania's only warship, the “George Washington,” under Captain Dougherty, from April 10, 1777 to December 20, 1781, the end of his service. Nicholas Nachbar died in Logan Valley, October 1821, and was buried in Logan Valley cemetery by the side of an old tree near Kay lot.

John Boyles, according to records available, enlisted February 28, 1776, as a private in Captain Persifor Frazer’s company, Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion from January 5, 1776 to November 26, 1776 and also served under Colonel Anthony Wayne.

These men, John Boyles and Nicholas Nachbar, were the great great grandfathers of Bessie Bell, W. S. Bell, Robert Bell and John Bell Stewart. They were also the great grandfathers of John and Bertha Bell, now living on Railroad Street.

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