David Priest (Preece) born in 1698 in Conestoga, Pennsylvania.  According to Gary Glen Price in 1718 David was an older-than-21, unmarried freeman and the land on which he settled was approximately 9 miles south-southwest of the present-day courthouse in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. David appeared on the first Conestoga Township tax list in 1718; but, by some reports, he had arrived in 1716. David’s father, Rees, and brother, Thomas, followed him to the Conestoga Valley in 1721, jointly settling 1,000 acres located 1.2 miles northwest of David’s land. Something occasioned both brothers to sever their ties to the Conestoga valley in the same year – 1737; perhaps it was the death of Rees Preecs. David moved in 1737 to land in Pennsborough Township, near the point where Yellow Breeches Creek flows into the Susquehanna River (south of present-day Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and on the west back of the Susquehanna River). He married Susannah and they had at least four children of which one was William Priest (Preece) who was born about 1723 in York County, Pennsylvania.

Appears in Conestoga Township’s first tax list in 1718 as a “freeman” (unmarried man at least 21 years of age). Source Ruth Dixon Priest.

He was granted Chester County Warrant No. 62 for 150 acres on Dec. 5, 1719. The warrant describes the land as “A certain parcel of land nea r that place first seated by Allen Robinet without license some years also and now is in the tenure of the said David.” David’s land was o n Mill Creek, a tributary of Conestoga Creek. David lived just south of Hendricks’ huge land grant near Postlethwait’s tavern.” Priest wa s fairly consistently used as David’s surname.

In 1722 he was the forty-ninth person to be granted permission to settle west of the Susquehanna River.

There was controversy over who owned the land west of the Susquehanna River: William Penn or Lord Baltimore. There were many border episodes. The one David Priest was involved in was the Cresap Affair which occurred in 1736.”Captain Thomas Cresap was engaged by Maryland to enlist and pay men to remove the German settlers from land Lord Baltimor e claimed. The settlers ere terrorized and men we killed, their door s were chopped down and their houses destroyed….The Provincial Judge s of Pennsylvania authorized the Sheriff of Lancaster to apprehend Cre sap on a charge of murder, and to take him by any means.” In 1736 th e sheriff of Lancaster County with 22 men, including David Priest surr ounded Cresap’s house and demanded he surrender. He refused. Subsequently the Pennsylvania groups set his house on fire. “In the confusion , one of Cresap’s servants was shot dead. David Priest was accused by Maryland of the killing though some said the servant was killed accidentally.

Ruth Priest Dixon’s book goes on that David had 400 acres surveyed west of the Susquehanna River on the Yellow Breeches Creek on July 2, 1737. “Earlier an Indian village existed on the land David now owned.” In 1739 he bought a large tract of land down the Susquehanna along Marsh Run.”he was the original owner of a part of the wooded ridge along the river below Marsh Run which was shown on maps in colonial time as Priest’s Mountain.” Source Ruth Priest Dixon.

During this period David married a Susannah and they had at least four children three daughters and a son. The daughters are unnamed in William’s will and the son William Priest (Preece) is the only one we know about because he was named in David’s will. The son William was born about 1721 in York County, Pennsylvania and the father David died in New Bery Township, Pennsylvania in 1745. During the settlement of the estate according to Ruth Priest Dixon’s research David’s assets were 131 pounds. However his debts were 177 pounds. Much of this was due to the one hundred pounds owed William Penn to pay for David’s patent on the Yellow Breeches Creek property. On August 4, 1747 Susannah and William Prees were authorized to sell David Prees’ 400 acres to pay the debts and maintain the younger children. They sold and auctioned the land for 350 pounds. At this time the Priest’s were still practicing Quakers.

VID PREES DECEASED: UPON the petition of Susanna Prees and William Prees administrators of all and singular the goods and chattels, dights a nd credits which are of David Prees late of Lancaster County deceased , setting forth that the personal estate of the deceased was not suffi cient to pay his just debts and that he died seized of four hundred ac res of land Pennsborough Township in the said County and therefore pra yed an order of this court to allow them to make sale of such part of the said land as should be sufficient with the personal estate to pay all the debts and bring up the children of the deceased and having exhibited an inventory of the personal estate of the deceased amounting to 131,,6,,0, and an account of debts owing by the deceased at the time of his death amounting to 177,,3,,8-1/2 whereupon it appeared that the sum of 45,,17,,8-1/2 remained over and above the amount of the personal estate. The same was taken into consideration and examined.

AND IT IS ORDERED thereupon that the said Administrators be allowed to make sale of the said tract of 400 acres of land in order to enable them to discharge the debts of the deceased and to maintain the younger children and that ten advertisements be published that the same shall be exposed to sale on_____and that the administrators make return of their proceedings at the next Court.  Lancaster County PA, Miscellaneous Book 1742-1749, pg. 27 Source: Linda Preece