Seckel Pear  The Seckel was apparently first discovered on a tract south of Philadelphia by a Philadelphia sportsman and cattle dealer known as Dutch Jacob.  He often distributed the pears to his friends but kept secret where he got them.  In time, he bought the ground on which the pear tree stood on the neck of the Delaware river.  Later the land became the property of a Mr. Seckel who gave the pear his name and introduced it.  As early as 1819, Dr. Hossack of New York sent Seckel trees to the London Horticulture Society for distribution in England.  At the first meeting of the American Pomological Society in 1848, the Seckel was recommended for general cultivation.