Born near Pottstown in Montgomery County in 1736, young Henry may have learned of frontier opportunity from visitors to his father's inn, such as Zinzendorf and Spangenburg, who had traveled along the West Branch of the Susquehanna. Consequently, joined by his brother William, he signed an article of agreement on September 29, 1773, for the purchase of land in the West Branch Valley.[7] When another brother, Frederick, obtained property in the area later in that same decade, the Antes brothers, particularly Henry and Frederick, became the dominant political, economic, and social influence in the territory. Frederick, however, was more of an absentee leader since he never actually resided in the Fair Play territory. Although the combined holdings of the Antes brothers constituted only a little less than 700 acres, their gristmill, the first in the region, became the meeting place for the area settlers, providing a forum for the usual discussions of politics and prices.[8] From Lycoming Creek on the east to Pine Creek and the Great Island on the west, the frontier farmers brought their grain to the Antes mill, on the south side of the Susquehanna River opposite present Jersey Shore. While the milling went on, the men analyzed their common problems and debated the future of this pioneer land. If there was a center for the dissemination of news in the West Branch Valley, it was the Antes mill and fort, which was soon constructed on the property. Located in almost the center of the Fair Play territory (although actually across the river from it), where men met of necessity, and having had a father who had exerted influence and exercised leadership in Philadelphia County, the Antes brothers were well prepared to lead the West Branch pioneers. With their gristmill giving Henry and Frederick a decided economic edge, they soon became involved in the politics of the Fair Play territory, Northumberland County, and the Province of Pennsylvania. Henry became primarily a local and county leader, while his brother concentrated on county and Provincial and, later, State affairs. Both served as county judges--Henry, appointed in 1775, and Frederick, elected in 1784--which suggests judicial responsibility as the key to assuming major leadership, since Robert Fleming took Frederick's judicial post when he resigned to take a seat in the General Assembly.[9]