L ty-r. 
 
 r-^^. 
 
 
 'W^\^^^te\/ 
 
 
 
 ,v * 
 
 
 
 .0^ c«" 
 
 
 
 
 
 ♦ < 
 
 • <^ 
 
 
 * ... 
 
 ./%:■■: 
 
 
 
 
7n 
 

 d-n.^K^ 
 
CHESTER 
 
 (AND ITS VICINITY,) 
 
 DELAWARE COUNTY, 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA; 
 
 #nualo§ical ^kdtljcs of $mt dh Jfamilies, 
 
 JOHN HILL MARTIN, Esq. 
 
 ' ' 1877. 
 
rmi.ADKi.PHiA : 
 
 •I) liY WM. H. I'lLl-; ,t SONS, 
 I. 422 WALNUT SlKIiliT. 
 
 . ( l.imitcJ luiilioii ii/'joo Cofics/or Stibscribi- 
 
PREFACE 
 
 CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. 
 
 In a work of this kind there are, of 
 course, some errors, which are here 
 corrected, so far as they have been 
 detected, viz: 
 
 On page I o, line 5, column i, "Pn," 
 ought to be Per; and in same column, 
 " Leals Lauson" should be NealsLaer- 
 son. At p. 24, 1. II, c. 2, omit " W." 
 after Richard. P. 30, 1. 41, c.2, John 
 Austin McDowell, not "J. McD." 
 P. 34, 1. 29, c. I, "Alfred," should 
 be Algernon. Edward Minshall, men- 
 tioned on p. 45, is not the present 
 Coroner. I went to school with Ed- 
 ward and William Anderson Minshall ; 
 the latter is the Coroner, and his fa- 
 ther's name was Thomas. P. 55, 1. 5, 
 c. 2, " 1864," should be 1684. P. 70, 
 c. 2, "ronn" and '• ronne" should be 
 come. P. 73, 1. 41, c. 2, "Jones" 
 should be James. P. 96, 1. 15, c. i, 
 ' ' Levi Bird, ' ' should be Gustavus Cleg- 
 gett Bird. On p. 138, 2 c. 12 1. from 
 bottom, ' ' letter, ' ' should be latter. My 
 article on pp. 138^ 139 and 140, was 
 written previous to 1870. Since then 
 I made further research on the subject of 
 the vote of the New York Delegation in 
 Congress, on July 4, 1776. In Foi'ces' 
 Archives, (5th Series,) i vol. 117, Jo- 
 seph Hewes, in a letter, on July 8, 
 1776, says: " I send you the Declara- 
 tion enclosed ; all the Colonies voted 
 for it except New York ; that Colony 
 was prevented by an old instruction." 
 And in Austin s Life of Elhridi:;e Ger- 
 
 ry, p. 202, in a letter to General War- 
 ren, on July 5, 1776, Gerry writes: 
 "All the- Colonies, except New York, 
 whose Delegates were not empowered 
 I to give either an affirmative or nega- 
 tive voice, united in a declaration." 
 These letters seem strong cotemporary 
 authority against my views as express- 
 ed ; but it is singular that if, as John 
 Adams says in a letter to his wife on 
 July 3, 1776, "Yesterday * * a 
 resolution passed, without one dissent- 
 ing Colony, that these Colonies are and 
 of right ought to be free and indepen- 
 dent States," &c., that the New York 
 Delegation who voted for the substance 
 on the 2d, should withdraw and not 
 vote for the form on the 4th ? If the 
 letters of Gerry and Hewes tell the 
 truth, the Minutes of Congress, as 
 printed, are a lie, and the statements 
 of Governor McKean, are those of a 
 dotard. A careful reading of the letter 
 and resolution (see Forces' Archives'), 
 of the Assembly of New York of July 
 nth, and their approval of the Decla- 
 ration before receiving the notice from 
 Congress under the resolution, show 
 nothing to indicate that their Delega- 
 tion did not vote, but rather the con- 
 trary, and was a cordial approval of 
 what had been done. 
 
 It is now believed by historians, that 
 a copy of the Declaration was signed 
 on July 4, 1776, and that the paper 
 will vet be found among the Govern- 
 
1' ]| E V A C E. 
 
 menl Archives ; searches are to be 
 made with that hope. The copy of 
 the Declaration in Jefferson's hand- 
 writing, in possession of the American 
 Philosophical Society at Philadelphia, 
 is not the original, but a copy sent 
 by Jefferson to Richard Henry Lee, of 
 Virginia, and on the death of Lee, was 
 found among his papers and presented 
 to the Society ; it was not the paper 
 read in Congress; an examination of 
 it shows that it was a copy made after 
 amendments were made by Franklin 
 and others ; which amendments are 
 noted on it, but written by Jefferson. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson says positively, that 
 the Declaration was signed on the 
 4th. The printed copy issued that 
 day, does not state that it was the 
 unanimous Declaration, but the one 
 printed and issued after the signing of 
 the engrossed copy, now in possession 
 of the Government, had in it the word 
 unanimous. If the New York Delega- 
 tion did not vote, they quietly con- 
 sented to the proceedings of Congress, 
 who were, no doubt, assured that that 
 Colony would assent to their action. 
 Could the copy above referred to be 
 found, it would settle all doubt on the 
 subject. 
 
 Page 103, Elizabeth Cranston is sup- 
 posed to have been a daughter of Wal- 
 ter Marten, her first husband being 
 Joseph Baldwin, (see pp. 106, 479,) 
 but this is manifestly an error, as Wal- 
 ter Martin, in his will, names his daugh- 
 ter Elizabeth Marten, after Joseph 
 Baldwin's death. Elizabeth Marten, 
 I have since discovered, married Ed- 
 ward Whitaker, prior to 1720. Wil- 
 liam Clayton, the son-in-law, purchased 
 the homestead of Walter Marten from 
 Daniel Williamson, surviving execu- 
 tor, and obtained a release, Jan. 23, 
 1719-20, from the other heirs, to wit, 
 
 Stephen Martin, Adam Buckley and 
 wife Ann, Edward Whitaker and Eliza- 
 beth his wife, and Sarah Martin. At 
 p. 154, respecting the Nethermarks, it 
 may be added, that Christian Nether- 
 mark, in her will, dated Sept. 15, 1764, 
 proven Dec. 15, 1767, mentions her 
 son Luke; daughter Elizabeth, wife of 
 Lawrence Frederick; daughter Re- 
 becca Taylor and grand-daughter Chris- 
 tiannaTaylor; son Matthias, deceased; 
 sister Dorothy, and brother-in-law 
 Daniel Culin. Thos. Taylor, of Rid- 
 ley, died intestate, and letters were 
 granted to Rebecca Taylor and Luke 
 Nethermark, May 20, 1764. 
 
 Page 177, line 12, column i, Levis, 
 not " Lewis." At p. 201, I have said 
 the Masonic bowl and pitcher were 
 given to my grandfather, which is an 
 error. They were presented by my 
 grandfather, William Smith, Jr., of 
 Philadelphia, to the Lodge No. 69, 
 and when the Charter was surrendered 
 and the property of the Lodge at Ches- 
 ter passed over to the Grand Lodge, 
 No. 69, gave the bowl and pitcher to 
 my father. The lines inscribed on the 
 bowl and pitcher, as given on p. 200, are 
 slightly erroneous; they should read : — 
 
 " The world is in pain 
 
 Our secrets to gain 
 But still let them wonder & gaze on, 
 
 Yox they ne'er can divine 
 
 The Word nor the Sign 
 Of a Free & an accepted Mason." 
 
 P. 180, •' Supreme Executive Coun- 
 cil," should read. Provincial Council. 
 P. 181, "Smith Futhey," a Commis- 
 sioner of Purchases, should be, Samuel 
 Futhey. P. 227, 1. 26, c. i, " Hud- 
 son" should be Hodgson. P. 266, 
 " Francis Malin" should be Thomas 
 M. P. 267, 1. 5, c. 2, for "abrother," 
 read a nephew. P. 272, "1750," 
 should be J 720. 
 
P ]{ E F A C K. 
 
 Page 335, in list on 2d c^olumn, Lu- 
 cius "Burrows," should be Barrows. 
 P. 375, omit the "M" in Col. Joseph 
 Willcox's name. P. 376, in loth line 
 from bottom of first column, for "and 
 regiments," read, in the regiment. 
 The name of " R. W. Flickwir," in 
 page 423, should be, probably, Richard 
 Flower Flickwir. In a note at page 462, 
 on the last line of second column are 
 the words "Jeuffro Armgard Printz," 
 no doubt Jeuffro, should be Jungfro, the 
 Swedish word for " the young girl." 
 And the words "alias Pappegoya," 
 ought not to follow her name ; because, 
 after she married John Pappegoya, the 
 Governor of New Sweden, in 1653, she 
 would no longer be 2iJungfro. P. 494, 
 Benanuel Lownes was married in 1 744, 
 not " 1774." 
 
 I neglected to insert at p. 282, the 
 following : — Lavinia Roberts, daughter 
 of James and Sally (Broom), m. Thos. 
 Deighton, of Philadelphia. Helen 
 Broom (see p. 284), dau. of Jacob and 
 Cornelia, m. (ist) William T. Hacker, 
 of Philadelphia, (2d) Robert Smith, 
 brewer, May 4, 1862, and had issue, 
 
 Helen R., b. 1863 ; Florence J., 
 
 ^. Jan. 20, 1865. Jacob Broom, M. C, 
 died at Washington, D. C, Nov. 18, 
 1864, in his 54th year, and his remains 
 buried in the Congressional Cemetery. 
 
 In writing of Mr. and Mrs. Elie 
 Charlier, at p. 46, I omitted to give 
 the names of their children, who are, 
 I. Elie Stacey, 2. Winona, 3. Jeannie, 
 4. Marie, 5. Van Dycke, and 6. Daniel 
 Howard Charlier. 
 
 Henry Hollingsworth, was Coroner 
 of Chester County in 1708, his name 
 is omitted in the list on page 447. 
 
 Randall Vernon's name should be 
 included in the list of Justices of the 
 Peace; commissioned in 1693. 
 
 In writing of Mrs. Jane Bartram, at 
 
 p. 331, it should have been stated that 
 she, Jane Martin, was married to Alex- 
 ander Bartram, on Jan. 14, 1767. By 
 reference to page 330, it will be seen 
 that Mrs. Mary Martin, died Dec. 11, 
 1785. I do not know Avhether this 
 was the mother or step-mother of my 
 grandfather. Dr. William Martin ; the 
 family have always thought she was his 
 mother, but later research seem to in- 
 dicate that she was his step- mother, 
 for in 2d Pa. Archives, 2 series, p. 198, 
 is the marriage of John Martin to Mary 
 Raine, on July 22, 1767. Dr. William 
 Martin was born Sept. 2, 1765 ; so if 
 this John Martin was his father, Mary 
 Raine was his step-mother. In the 
 same list of marriages, it appears that 
 John Martin m. Ann Tate, Sept. 5, 
 1 761, and another John Martin /;/. 
 Mary Van Luviney, Oct. 21, 1761, 
 this latter marriage, if that of my 
 grand-parents, would indicate that the 
 Mrs. Mary Martin, who died Dec. 11, 
 1785, was grandfather's mother; but 
 if Ann Tate was the first wife of my 
 g. grandfather, John Martin, then his 
 two wives are accounted for ; of course 
 this is all guess-work as yet, future in- 
 vestigation may settle the matter. 
 
 The widow of John Flower, (who 
 d. 1737-8,) is subsequently called Mary 
 Scarlet ; and at a later date, one Mary 
 Raine files accounts as Executrix of 
 John Flower. Whether this was the 
 one who married John Martin is un- 
 certain. She would be advanced in 
 years in 1767. It is not strictly cor- 
 rect, as stated at page 436, that Wil- 
 liam Flower devised his estate to Mary 
 Flower, as she ' is not mentioned in 
 the Avill , but he gave it to his son-in- 
 law, John Flower. 
 
 Referring to page 210, it will be 
 found stated, that Judge Crosby's first 
 wife was a Miss Culin, her surname 
 
rRKFACE. 
 
 Elizabeth, ihcy were married Sept. 
 
 1766; she died soon afterwards. 
 
 ' Judge's brother Richard (3d), see 
 
 :o(), ^\ho died in 1790, leaving a 
 
 'I ii.-,hter, Elizabeth, probably married 
 
 I -liier Phipps, Dec 12, 1763. 
 
 Mice C'rosb)-. (widow), >//. (ieorge 
 Spe.it", March 4, 1771 : see ]). 209. 
 
 Major Sketchley Morton, .see p. 143, 
 Mi.irrieil June 19, 1773, H<-'becca, dan. 
 "I I Ihn and Mary Taylor. 
 
 Miry Morton w. Charles Justis, 
 ■ '* M> 1775 J Sarah Morton, no 
 < ■■ it the daughter of the Signer, for 
 ' n I could not account, married 
 I' II, 1773, William Grantum, 
 P' rlijps of the Ridley fiuiiily of that 
 name: seep. 145. For all these mar- 
 ri.igcs, see 2 I^a. Archives, 2 series. 
 \ iM.-e dates are those of the licenses 
 r.oi of the marriages. This volume of 
 1I1C \rchives is just out, April 7, 1877, 
 xviix h accounts for these additions to 
 ■ ' llimily sketches. 
 
 e following de.scription of the 
 
 ;, Crest and Motto of the family 
 
 oi V E.ST, (Earl Delawarr,) will inter- 
 
 le readers of this work : 
 
 IMS — Quarterly, first and fourth, 
 
 I fe.sse dancettce Sa, for West ; 
 
 id and third, gu, a lion rampant, 
 
 *r, rmed and langued Az, between 
 
 'ig' cro.sses crosslet fitchee in orle, of 
 
 'li' .econd, for Delawarr. Ckkst — 
 
 <> )f a Ducal Coronet Or, a Griffin's 
 
 \\ az, ears and beak gold. Sup- 
 
 Kks — Dexter a Wolf coward, ar, 
 
 jd with a plain collar Or, Sinister, 
 
 ;katrice Or, shadowed and scaled 
 
 Motto — Jour de ma vie ; /. e. , 
 
 e brilliancy (day) of my life." 
 
 ling to the taking of John, King 
 
 ranee, a jjrisoner at the battle 
 
 3ictiers. Ste Bur/ee's Armory — 
 
 r ; and Burke'' s Peerage, for Arms 
 
 Mawarr. engraven. 
 
 The following announcement has 
 been in many of the American news- 
 papers lately : 
 
 '' Married.— i)\\ the nth of Feb., 
 1877, at the Russian Chapel, Vienna, 
 according to the Russian service, and at 
 the house of the American minister, by 
 the Episcopal service, G. B.\khimkteff, 
 of the Russian diplomatic service, and 
 attached to the Russian Embassy at 
 London, to M.\KV, daughter of the 
 Hon. Edward Fitzgerald Beale, En- 
 voy Extraordinary and Minister Plen- 
 ipotentiary of the United States to 
 Austria." 
 
 Glory, they say, "consists in hav- 
 ing your name spelled wrong in the 
 newspapers." Mr. Beale's middle 
 name is Forbes ; the first name of the 
 ; groom is given as G. ; the omission to 
 ' give the first name in full in signatures 
 i and in lists of names is all wTong; the 
 stranger does not know, whether J. 
 i stands for John, Jane, James or Julia. 
 
 On Mar. 12, 1877, Elwood Tyson, 
 was elected President of the National 
 Bank of Delaware County, in place of 
 Crozer, resigned : see p. 268. 
 
 Married at Media, March 15, 1877, 
 by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Hare, Annie 
 Preston Morris, dau. of Arabella and 
 the late Joseph R. Morris, Esq., and 
 grand-daughter of the Hon. Edward 
 Darlington, to Dr. Rush S. Huide- 
 koper, of Meadville, Pa. 
 
 Died, at the residence of James M. 
 Willcox, at Ivy Mills, on Sept. 19, 
 1 861, Caroline Augusta Bracket. 
 
 Died, Nov. 16, 1865, at the resi- 
 dence of Edward Darlington, Media, 
 Arabella, widow of Preston Eyre, in 
 her 77th year. 
 
 Died at Philadelphia, Mar. 9, 1877, 
 in his 30th year, George W. Clyde, 
 son of 'Hiomas and Rebecca; see \). 
 268. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Dr. Richard Gardiner, a well-known 
 physician of Philadelphia, d. March 
 22, 1877, aged 84 years i mo. and i 
 day, having been born Feb. 21, 1793. 
 He was a native of Delaware County, 
 and practiced in Darby until 1835, 
 when he came to Philadelphia. He 
 was a graduate of the University of 
 Pennsylvania, and afterwards studied 
 Homoeopathy, and graduated from the 
 Homoeopathic College in 1848. 
 
 Dr. Gardiner was a member of- the 
 Baptist Church, and for two succes- 
 sive terms he represented the District 
 of Southwark in the Board of Health. 
 He m. in 1841, Miss Rice, of Darby, 
 who died in 1863, leaving six children, 
 one of whom is an eminent physician. 
 The Doctor was a son of Dr. William 
 Gardiner, and his son. Dr. William A. 
 Gardiner, was Surgeon of the 8ist 
 Regt. of Pa. Vols., resigned Aug. 5, 
 T862, and died not long afterwards, 
 after having served with his regiment 
 for about a year. There was a Dr. 
 Joseph Gardiner in Delaware County, 
 in 1779, (see p. 181,) and a Captain 
 John Gardiner, (see p. 182.) Gen. 
 Patterson, at p. 385, speaks of going 
 to school with Mary Gardner, a dau. 
 of Capt. Edward Gardner, Jn Spring- 
 field, which must have been about 
 1804 or 5. 
 
 Died, at his residence at Media, 
 Hugh Jones Brooke, in his 71st year. \ 
 He was born in Radnor township, i 
 Delaware County, Dec. 27, 1805. He 
 received a good common school edu- 
 caticju. To tlie life of an agricultu- , 
 rist lie devoted the greater part of his 
 time. In 1843, ^''e was elected to the 
 lower branch of the Legislature, and 
 in 1849 to the Senate. He was again 
 elected to that body in 1868, his term j 
 closing with the session of 187 1. ' 
 
 Din-ing the war he was appointed 
 
 : Commissary of Purcliases in Pennsyl- 
 vania. He assisted in building up the 
 town of Media, and was prominent 
 and active in its growth and prosper- 
 ity. He was a Director of the Bank 
 of Media from the date of its or- 
 ganization, and was Vice-President 
 of the Pennsylvania Training School 
 for Feeble Minded Children. He 
 was for 12^ years a Director of the Del- 
 aware Mutual Safety Insurance Com- 
 pany, and was the organizer of the 
 Farmers' Market in Philadelphia, and 
 its first President. He was afterwards 
 instrumental in the organization and 
 establishment of the. Twelfth Street 
 Market, and at the time of his death 
 was President thereof. In various 
 positions through life, he proved him- 
 self an estimable and valuable citizen. 
 The following is copied from the 
 Delaware Coirnty Pape7- and Mail of 
 April 3, 1877: 
 
 '■'■Death of a Delaware Countian. — 
 \\\ Philadelphia, March 29, 1877, Ed- 
 ward S; Sayres, Consul for Brazil and 
 Vice-Consul for Portugal, in his 77th 
 year. He was the son of Dr. Caleb 
 Smith Sayres, once a prominent phy- 
 sician of Delaware County, residing 
 at Marcus Hook, and like Dr. William 
 Martin, died from over-Avork during 
 the yellow fever season along the Del- 
 aware, in I 798. Mr. Sayres in early 
 life went to Brazil, as supercargo of his 
 own ship, antl there made the acquaint- 
 ance of the Royal family, and attended 
 the Emperor Dom Pedro during his 
 late visit to the Centennial Exhibi- 
 tion. After his return from Brazil, 
 Mr. Sayres was in active business as 
 an importer in wines, doing a large 
 business with the South until the Re- 
 bellion. He was for some time Con- 
 sul for Denmark, Sweden and Norway. 
 1 1 is brother, Matthias Richards Sayres. 
 
VI 
 
 P R E F A C E. 
 
 was a well-known member of the Bar 
 of Delaware County, as were also his 
 relatives George Richards Grantham, 
 John Richards, Jacob Richards, and 
 others. The Sayres are related to the 
 Crosbys, Andersons, Richards, Gran- 
 thams, and many other prominent 
 families in Delaware County. Mr. 
 Sayres has left three sons and one 
 daughter, one of the sons studied law 
 with J. Hill Martin, formerly of this 
 city, and is now in his ofifice." 
 
 The following scrap of history, con- 
 cerning a well-known Delaware Coun- 
 ty family, will interest all my readers: 
 
 John Thomson, the father of the late 
 John Edgar Thomson, President of the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad, (who died in 
 Philadelphia, May 27, 1874, in his 
 67th year,) was for several years in the 
 service of the great "Holland Land 
 Company," in Western Pennsylvania 
 and New York. At the close of one 
 of his engagements (1793) he encamp- 
 ed at Presque Isle, now Erie, Pa., and 
 with one assistant, and without other 
 tools than usually attend an engi- 
 neering expedition, he built the schoon- 
 er White Fish, in which he sailed from 
 that place for Philadelphia, conveying 
 the schooner by teams of oxen around 
 the Falls of Niagara to Lake Ontario, 
 thence to where Oswego now stands, 
 and up a small river to Oneida Lake, 
 passing through which, and carrying 
 his vessel again by land to the Mohawk, 
 he followed that stream to the Hudson, 
 and thence to the Atlantic Ocean. 
 From this he entered Delaware Wwy 
 
 and reached Philadelphia, when h'is 
 schooner was taken to Lidependence 
 Square, where it remained until de- 
 stroyed by time. This was the first 
 vessel that ever passed from Lake Erie 
 to New York and Philadelphia. 
 
 John Thomson was a native of Del- 
 aware County, and a well-known civil 
 engineer. Li the bridge over a small 
 run on the Baltimore Turnpike, at 
 Pennsdale, theestateof J. Edgar Thom- 
 son,, in Springfield township, is a stone 
 bearing this inscription : " Built gratis 
 by John Thomson, for the Philadel- 
 phia, Brandywine and New London 
 Turni)ike Company, 181 1." This 
 bridge was rebuilt within a few years, 
 and the old slab was placed in the 
 new structure, which is still known as 
 "Thomson's bridge." 
 
 The following privates from Chester, 
 were enlisted in Captain John Single- 
 ton's Company, from May ist to 8th, 
 1758, with their age opposite each 
 name. 
 
 Samuel Armitage, 
 
 Charles Bevard, loeaT'cr, 
 
 Thomas Callican, 
 
 Thomas Connolly, 
 
 David Cowpland, 
 
 John Cross, cord2vaincr, 
 
 John Cruthers, stout made, 
 
 Hugh Davise, smith, 
 
 William Foster, 
 
 William Kennedy, lueave?-, 
 
 John Long, 
 
 Edward McSorley, 
 
 Terence Yt.f:fi[y,/ock-pitted, 
 
 John Richeson, 
 
 Patrick Roe, bold-looking, 
 
 John Shannon, cliandlcr , 
 
 Edward Sheppard, red hair, 
 
 David Way, tanner, 
 
 Henry Williams, drummer. 
 
History of Chester, 
 
 The, precise date of the settlement 
 of the old town of Chester is unknown. 
 We do know, however, that it was first 
 settled by the Swedes, probably about 
 the year 1645. Its Swedish name was 
 Upland. The Dutch called it Op- 
 landt. The Indian name according 
 to Campanius was Meco-po-nack-a, and 
 finally William Penn, on landing there, 
 on Sunday, Oct. 29, 1682, at the re- 
 (juest of his friend Pearson, whose first 
 name is unknown, gave the town the 
 name of Chester, after the city of 
 Chester in P2ngland, from which city 
 Pearson came — Hazard's A?jnais, 605. 
 When I lived in Chester, the inhab- 
 itants called it affectionately "Old 
 Chester;" now it is incorporated as a 
 city, and known as the " City of Ches- 
 ter. ' ' I propose to write of old Ches- 
 ter, as I knew it previous to i860, 
 adding such information, as I can ob- 
 tain, of its history since that time. 
 
 Heckewelder in his Indian names, 
 (part vi., p. 242, Transactions of the 
 Moravian Historical Society,) says, 
 " Chester River, (in Delaware Coun- 
 ty,) is called in early deeds Macopana- 
 fhan, corrupted from Meechoppenack- 
 han, signifying, the large potatoe 
 stream, /. e. the stream along which 
 large potatoes grow," and in a note 
 — " Me-cheek and Ma-chive-a, large, 
 
 Hob-he-7iac, potatoes," (on the au- 
 thority of Zeisberger. ) The name 
 occurs in an Indian deed executed to 
 William Penn, 14th day of the Fifth 
 month, 1683, ^or lands lying between 
 Mannmnk, alias Schuylkill, and Maco- 
 panackhan, alias Chester River. The 
 Swedes called the stream Upland kill." 
 In Smith, Laws of Pa., vol. ii. pp. no, 
 III, the Indian name of the spot where 
 Chester stands is given as Macopa?ia- 
 chan, and Dr. George Smith in his 
 History of Delaware County, p. 381, '^ 
 gives this as the name of Chester Creek, 
 and the name of the place as Mecopa- 
 nacha. 
 
 Ebeling in his history of Pennsylva- 
 nia says: 
 
 "There was al)out llie mitldle of tliis cen- 
 tury, (1650) two Swedish and Finish settle- 
 ments, called Upland, and Finland ; the former 
 afterwards received the name of Chester," 
 (Acrelius, 39,) "none of these settlements, 
 however, were of importance, not even except- 
 ing Upland, which was made the chief place 
 of a Judicial district by the Dutch in 1668." 
 
 Armstrong, says in his introduction 
 to the '■^Records of Uplatid Court," 
 vol. vii.. Memoirs of the Historical So- 
 ciety of Pennsylvania, p. 27 : 
 
 * In referring to authorities, I shall hereafter 
 write in the short way, after having given the 
 title of a work once — thus, as Dr. Smith states, 
 or Hazard, or Clay, <S:c., it M'ill save a useless 
 repetition of the titles of the works of different 
 historians, and avoid foot notes. 
 
HISTORY (>!•' ClIESTKU. 
 
 " The earliest mention of Upland as a loca- 
 tion in America, occurs in 1648; the name 
 might seem rather English than Swedish, were 
 it not known that many emigrants came from 
 Upland, a province in middle Sweden, on the 
 Baltic, to which the natural features of the 
 new region bore some resemblance. Upland, 
 although not named, was probably one of the 
 settlements referred to in 1643, as existing 
 lietween the Island of Tinicum and Fort 
 Christina. " 
 
 By what title the lands at Upland 
 were held by the Swedes is iniknown. 
 The royal archives of Sweden were 
 destroyed with the palace at Stock- 
 holm, in 1697, and the destruction in 
 Holland, some years ago, of the doc- 
 umentary history of New Netherlands, 
 was another great loss to the student 
 of Pennsylvania history. Our annals 
 prior to the titue of the grant to Penn, 
 are very meagre and unsatisfactory, 
 but the Swedes had, however, an un- 
 doubted Indian title. 
 
 Campanius says, that Upland pos- 
 sessed a Fort ; if so, it is quite likely 
 that the town grew up around this out- 
 ])0st in the first place. Ferris, in his 
 History of the original settlements on 
 the Delaware, suggests, however, that 
 the /^^r/ was only a ''Block House," a 
 place of refuge and defence, always 
 erected in those days near a settle- 
 ment. ' 'I'he House of Defence at 
 Upland,' is spoken of in 1677, in 
 which year it was ordered to be fitted 
 up for the uses of the Court. Cam- 
 panius says: "At Mocoponaca, (on 
 the stream of that name, ) there were 
 some houses built, and afterwards a 
 fort," see Hazard's Register, vol. i., p. 
 181. 'i'he exact language used will be 
 found in the Memoirs of the Histori- 
 cal Society of Pa., vol. iii., p. 80, in 
 the History of New Sweden, by Tho- 
 mas Campanius, of Holm, translated j 
 b\ IVter S. I)n|)Oii(tau, ],. I,. I)., in 
 
 which it is stated, '' Mecoponacka w 
 Upland, was an unfortified place, but 
 some houses were built there. There 
 was a fort built there sometime after 
 its settlement. It is good, even land 
 along the river shore. ' ' No doubt the 
 ' ' Block House ' ' was the fort referred 
 to, as P^rris suggests in his history. 
 
 The History of New Sweden, by 
 Thomas Campanius, of Holm, was 
 compiled from the writings of his 
 grandfather, the Rev. John Campa- 
 nius, who was born in Frost Hiilt, 
 Sweden, in 1600. He arrived at Tin- 
 icum in February, 1643, where he 
 was chaplain under Governor Printz, 
 and returned to Europe in the ship 
 S7van, May 13, 1648. He died Sept. 
 17, 1683. As he says, some houses 
 were built at Upland, he means of 
 course that they were erected there 
 before he came to this country, or 
 during his residence at Tinicmn, so 
 we may safely say that Chester was 
 first settled about 1645. Campanius 
 goes on to state that " a fort was built 
 there some time after its settlement," 
 all of which occurred prior to 1648. 
 See History of Montgojiiery County, by 
 Wm. J. Buck, p. 21. Campanius be- 
 gan the translation of the Catechism 
 in the Z^«/«-Zd'//<7/<? language in 1646, 
 being fifteen years before the transla- 
 tion and publication of the New Tes- 
 tament of John Eliot, into the Indian 
 language. The date of the first set- 
 tlement of Chester, is rendered more 
 certain from the fact, that in 1645, 
 when Andreas Hudde, the Dutch Com- 
 missary on the Delaware, made his 
 examination of the river, he found 
 that there were on the same side of the 
 river with Fort Christina, and about 
 two Dutch miles higher up, some plan- 
 tations which continued nearly a mile ; 
 but few houses only were built, and 
 
HISTORY OF ClIESTEK. 
 
 these at a considerable distance from 
 "each other. The farthest of these is 
 not far from Tinnekonk. (Tinicum. ) 
 This last mentioned settlement was no 
 doubt Upland, now Chester. 
 
 The first European settlement on the 
 Delaware River, was made by the Dutch 
 in 1623. The river was known by sev- 
 eral different names among the Indians 
 — Poutaxaf, Marisqueton, Makeriskit- 
 toft, and Makarisk-kiskon, 2 Smith's 
 Laws, no. Lenape J Vt/iif^uc A, or the 
 rapid stream of the Lenape, also Kit- 
 hanne, signifying the main stream of 
 the region, {Hekewelder). By the 
 Dutch, it was called the Zuydt or 
 South River, Prince Hendrick River, 
 Charles River, and Nassau River; by 
 the Swedes, New Swedeland stream, 
 and by the English, Delaware River. 
 Campanius says : ' ' The Delaware Bay 
 was discovered this year (1606), and 
 named after Mons De la Warre, one of 
 the captains under Jacques Chartier, 
 and that its name was Poiitaxat. ' ' The 
 bay has also been called New Port 
 Mey, and Godyn's Bay. The receiv- 
 ed opinion is, however, that the bay 
 and river take their present name from 
 Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, who 
 is said to have discovered it in the 
 year 16 10; and subsequently in 161 8, 
 died on board his ship off the mouth 
 of the bay. Li Heylin's Cosmogra- 
 phy, written in 1648, the river is called 
 A 7' as ap ha. 
 
 The Okehockings, was the name of 
 the tribe of Indians formerly occupy- 
 ing the country in the vicinity of Ches- 
 ter, having their lodges on the banks 
 of Ridley and Crum Creeks, as will 
 appear by reference to a warrant of 
 survey, dated loth mo. 15, 1702, 
 in the Surveyor General's Office at 
 Harrisburg, granting the tribe a reser- 
 vation of five hundred acres of land 
 
 near Willistown, Chester County. The 
 boundaries of the reservation are given 
 in the maps of the early settlements. 
 In the minutes of the Commisioners 
 of Property, loth mo. 7th and 8th, 
 1702, it is stated, that "the Ock- 
 anickon, or Crum Creek Indians hav- 
 ing been removed from their old hab- 
 itation before the prop^^ departure by 
 his order, and seated by Caleb Pusey, 
 Nicholas Pyle, Nathaniel Newlin, and 
 Joseph Baker, on the tract in Chester 
 County, formerly laid out to Griffy 
 Jones, but now vacant." The names 
 of the chiefs of this tribe at that time 
 were, Pokhais, Sepopanny, and Mi/tta- 
 gooppa: Dr. Smith, pp. 209, 210 and 
 note. 
 
 The first Swedish settlers on the 
 Delaware, arrived in the river about 
 the middle of April, 1638, in two 
 ships, "The Key of Kalmar," an 
 armed vessel, and a transport called 
 the "Bird Griffin," under the com- 
 mand of Peter Minuit. They landed 
 at a place on the banks of Christiana 
 Creek, called "The Rocks," adjacent 
 to the city of Wilmington, where they 
 erected Fort Christina. The precise 
 day of the month of the landing is 
 unknown, but it is hoped, that it may 
 yet be ascertained. 
 
 The first attempt made by the En- 
 glish to effect a settlement on the banks 
 of the Delaware, was made in the year 
 1640 ; but Dr. Smith, in his history of 
 this county, has gone so fully into all 
 the details relating to the discovery of 
 and settlements made on the river, that 
 I need only refer to his excellent work 
 for all information the inquiring reader 
 may seek for on such subjects. 
 
 Dr. Smith states, p. 50 : " It will be observed 
 that in the harangue of the Passaytink Savage 
 — (the chief complained that the Swedes stole 
 their land, while the Dutch never had taken 
 
ISTURY OF CHESTER. 
 
 any) — Upland is mentioned as a Swedish set- 
 tlement. Tliis was in 164S, and that ' this is 
 the first notice of that town under its Swedish 
 name on record;' hut, doubtless, one or more 
 of the plantations observed by Iluddc, in No- 
 vember, 1645, was at that place. It mny also 
 be inferred from that harangue, that u]) to that 
 time, the Dutch had not made what the speaker 
 considered (tn actual settlement.'" 
 
 The Swedes had previously, in 1638, 
 purchased from the Indians, the whole 
 of the land on the western shore of 
 the Delaware from Cape Henlopen to 
 Santuko/i (the falls near Trenton). 
 In 1655, the Swedish sovereignty in 
 America ended. Dr. Smith says : 
 '' Deriving its o/i/y title from the sav- 
 ages, which is not recognized by the 
 laws of nations, no very protracted 
 endurance could have been anticipat- 
 ed for the colony as a dependency of 
 Sweden." These remarks are true 
 in the abstract, for discovery, actual 
 settlement and native title combined, 
 are necessary to give complete domin- 
 ion ; yet, it would be well to remem- 
 ber, however, that most of the Swe- 
 dish titles were confirmed, and that 
 ever since the very first settlements 
 the Indian titles to the lands in this 
 country have been eagerly sought for 
 and many tedious negotiations have 
 been carried on with the Indians to se- 
 cure them. Penn's heirs claimed to 
 have acquired certain lands of the 
 Indians by the celebrated " Walking!; 
 Purchase.'''' See an inquiry into the 
 causes of the alienation of the Dela- 
 ware and Shawanese Indians, (5v:c., 
 printed with Christian Frederick Post's 
 Journal, London, 1759, for a full his- 
 tory of the Walking Purchase, a list of 
 the Indian treaties, and a list of thir- 
 teen Indian deeds ; the first one of 
 which is dated at New Castle, loth 
 mo. 2, 1 68s, for lands from Duck 
 
 Creek to Chester Creek, anil which 
 reads : 
 
 " This Indenture wilnesseth that we Paclce- 
 na/i, Jackhain, Sikels, Portgiicsott, Jen' is, 
 Essepenaick, Felktrug, Foii'ey, Indian kings, 
 Sachemakers, right owners of all lands from 
 Qiiing Quingas, called Duck C'r. to Ujiland, 
 called Chester Cr., all along the west side 
 of the Delaware River, and so between said 
 creeks, backwards as far as a man can ride in 
 two days with a horse for and in consideration 
 of these following goods to us in hand paid, 
 and secured to l)e jiaid l)y AVii.i.iAM Thnn, 
 projirielary of Tennsylvania, and territories 
 thereof, viz. : 20 guns, 20 fathoms of match 
 coat, 20 fathoms of strong water, 20 blankets, 
 20 kettles, 20 ])ounds of powder, lOO bars of 
 lead, 40 tomahawks, 100 knives, 40 j)airs of 
 stockings, i barrel of beer, 20 pounds of red 
 lead, 100 fathoms of wampum, 30 glass bottles, 
 30 pewter spoons, 100 awl blades, 300 tobacco 
 pipes, 100 hands of tobacco, 20 tobacco tongs, 
 20 steels, 300 flints, 30 pairs of scissors, 30 
 combs, 60 looking-glasses, 200 needles, I skip- 
 pie of salt, 30 pounds of sugar, 5 gallons of 
 molasses, 20 tobacco boxes, loo jewsharps, 20 
 hoes, 30 gimblets, 30 wooden screw boxes, 
 103 strings of beads — do acknowledge, &c. 
 
 I need hardly point out our own 
 Government's treaties and purchases of 
 lands from the different tribes of Indi- 
 ans, even up to the present time, to show 
 that we do recognize the Indians title 
 to the lands they occupy, although we 
 take rather forcible means to dispossess 
 them when we want it for ourselves. 
 Civilized nations claim a certain* right 
 of protection over, and right of settle- 
 ment in heathen countries by discov- 
 ery, as against all other civilized na- 
 tions ; but they never have, I believe, 
 claimed the right to take the lands 
 from the natives of the soil without 
 semblance of acquiring the native title, 
 except, perhaps, in cases of conquest. 
 
 Armstrong, in his address at Ches- 
 ter, before the Historical Society of 
 Pennsylvania, Nov. 8, 1851, p. 15. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 says : " Chester and its neighborhood, 
 would seem to have been granted to six 
 inhabitants, for on Mar. 22, 1678, acon- 
 veyance was made by Hans Juriansen 
 Kien, of Taokonink (Tacony), to his 
 brother, Jonas Juriansen Kien, of 200 
 acres in ' Upland town or neighbor- 
 hood,' to whom with five others, 1200 
 acres had been granted by the English 
 government at New York. The names 
 of the other grantees we have not ascer- 
 tained. Neeles Mattson and James San- 
 dilandswere, doubtless, two of them." 
 The conveyance of Hans Juriansen 
 Kien says, infer a/ia : " Together with 
 the housing and other ai)purtenances 
 standing upon the said Hans Kein's 
 lot of land lying and being at Up- 
 land town aforesaid near the creek, 
 between the houses and lots of James 
 Sandilands and Jurian Kien." Jonas '■ 
 Jur. Kien, afterwards acknowledges a | 
 deed, &c., for making over unto John j 
 Test, late of London, merchant, all 1 
 the above. Said Jonas also conveys j 
 to John Test a certain block-house, by i 
 him, said Jonas, built on the above- 
 mentioned lot, near the water side of 
 the creek. Test conveyed the same 
 to Marmaduke Randall, of London." 
 He further says that, "There can be 
 no question that this (grant for 1200 
 acres) was but a patent of confirma- 
 tion, not an original grant, and that 
 the same land had been granted, or 
 very likely confirmed to the Swedish 
 settlers by Dutch patents. The his- 
 tory to the title of Finland, afterwards 
 called Marrietties Hook, and subse- 
 quently Marcus Hook, may throw 
 some light on the subject." 
 
 In 1653, Queen Christina, granted 
 the region of Marcus Hook, as far as 
 Upland kill, to Captain (John Am- 
 mundson) Besk, and his wife, for faith- 
 ful services on behalf of the colony, 
 
 and in 1675, Andross confirmed the 
 lands of Marrietties Hook, amounting 
 to 1,000 acres, to the six possessors 
 thereof^Charles Jansen, Olle Raes- 
 seen, HansOlsson, Olle Neilson, Hans 
 Hopman, and Jan Hendrickson. ' ' As 
 a large part of the present City of 
 Chester stands on the tract of land 
 presented to Besk, the following trans- 
 lation of the original grant will be of 
 great interest. It is as follows : 
 
 " We, Christina, by the grace of (lod, (^)ucen 
 of Sweden, Gothen, and Wenden, Crand 
 Princess of Finland, Duchess of Eastland, 
 &c. 
 
 Be it known that of our favor, and because 
 of the true and trusty service which is done 
 unto us and the Crown, l)y our true and trusty 
 servant, Captain Hans Ammundson Besk, for 
 which service he hath done, and further is 
 obliged to do so long as he yet shall live ; so 
 have we gi-anted and given unto him freely as 
 the virtue of this open letter is and doth show 
 and specify, that is, we have given and freely 
 granted to him, his wife and heirs, that is heirs 
 after heirs. One certain piece and tract of 
 land, being and lying in New Sweden, Marcus 
 Hook by name, which doth reach up to, and 
 upwards to Upland Creek, and that with all 
 the privileges, appurtenances and convenien- 
 ces thereunto belonging, both wet and dry, 
 whatsoever name or names they have, and 
 may be called, none excepted of them, that is 
 which hath belonged to t/iis aforesaid tract of 
 land, of age, and also by law and judgment 
 may be claimed unto it, and he and his heirs 
 to have and to hold it unmolested forever for 
 their lawful possession and inheritance. So 
 that all which will unlawfully lay claim there- 
 unto, they may regulate themselves hereafter, 
 so that they may not lay any further claim or 
 pretence unto the aforesaid tract of land for- 
 ever hereafter. Now for the true confirma- 
 tion hereof have we this with our own hand 
 under-written, and also manifested with our 
 seal, in Stockholm, the 20th of August, in the 
 year of our Lord 1653. 
 
 Christina, [i.. s.] 
 Neils Tunc.EI.L, Secretary. 
 
 This is not, as Mr. Ferris thinks, a 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 curious (locuincnt, hut a well and care- 
 fully drawn legal conveyance of a right 
 royal gift. Dr. Smith, says of this 
 grant, had it extended from Upland 
 kill, so as to have included the site of 
 Marcus Hook, it would have includ- 
 ed a front on the river of four miles, 
 which is exceeding improbable. Now, 
 really I see nothing improbable about 
 it. The captain was very evidently a 
 distinguished man, and he and his wife 
 favorites with the Queen — that he was 
 wealthy and did not need the tract 
 called " Marcus Hook," is proved by 
 the fact that he never took possession. 
 The confirmation of the i,ooo acres 
 by Governor Andross to the six, hardly 
 includes this tract ; that land was very 
 evidently below Hook Creek. The 
 land presented by the Queen to Cap- 
 tain Besk, afterwards passed — a part 
 of it — the place where Mr. Abraham 
 R. Perkins now bves, and more, by 
 some means — by patent, I presume — 
 into the ownership of John Salkeld, 
 from Cumberland, England, one of 
 the most celebrated Quaker preachers 
 this country has had. He came from 
 England with his wife, and settled in 
 Chester, in 1 704. The Mortons and 
 the Johnsons owned the rest of the 
 tract. The old Thurlow farm. Eyre's, 
 Felton's, Trainer's, &c., belonged to 
 the Mortons. The Mortons here re- 
 ferred to, are the descendants of Mor- 
 ton Canuteson, that is, Morton, the 
 son of Canute Morton, who owned 
 some of this property as far back as 
 1698. He was one of the witnesses 
 to the will of Jan Jansen (John John- 
 son), of Marcus Hook, i6th March, 
 1684-5, ^i"**^^ signed his name Morton 
 Knuson. His name is also in Clay's 
 list of the heads of Swedish families 
 residing on the Delaware in 1693, as 
 Morton Knutsscn. iKuiny; six mem- 
 
 bers in his family. Mrs. Caroline 
 Larkin Broomall, wife of Hon. John 
 M. Broomall, late member of Con- 
 gress, and a member of the late Con- 
 stitutional Convention of 1872-73, 
 is a descendant of this branch of the 
 Swedish family of Morton, which set- 
 tled in what is now Delaware County, 
 previous to the year 1655. 
 
 n. 
 
 I HAD in my possession, some years 
 since, a Dekd of Confirmation, 
 known as an " Old York Patent,'''' 
 which was found among the papers of 
 my great-grandfather, John Crosby, 
 late Associate Judge of Delaware Coun- 
 ty, in his house at Ridley quarries, one 
 of the old residences of the Crosby's, 
 known as '■^ Crosby Place,'''' and now 
 owned and occupied by my old school- 
 mate, John C. Leiper. The original 
 I presented to the Historical Society 
 of Pennsylvania. It read as follows: 
 
 " Francis Lovelace, Esq., one of y'= (jeiitlc- 
 nien of his Majesty's Honorable Privy Cham- 
 ber, and Governour Generall under his Royall 
 Highness, James Duke of York and Albany, 
 &c., of all his Territoryes in America, to all 
 to whom these presents shall come, sendetli 
 greeting. Whereas, there is a certain piece 
 of land on the Delaware River, now in y*^ ten- 
 ure or occupation of J)r. Laurentius Carolus as 
 his pro]ier right, bounded of y« soulli with the 
 river, with Captain Carr's Kill west, \\ith 
 Neals Matson's land to y'' east, and running 
 unto ye woods north-west, containing by esti- 
 mation, two hundred acres, together with a 
 house and two lotts of ground lying and being 
 in Upland, containing about five acres of 
 gnnind. bounded by y'= I'pland Kill west, by 
 y" cluirch land south, to y"^ north by James 
 .Sandiland's land, to y"^ east by Neals Lewi- 
 son's land, now for a confinnacion unto him 
 ye said Dr. Laurentius Carolus, in his posses- 
 sion and the premises know y^ of 
 
 y" CJovcrnour His Royall Highness I 
 
 have ratified, confirmed and sj-ranted, and bv 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 tliesc presence doe ratify, confirm and ^rant 
 unto Dr. Laurentius Carolus, his heirs and as- 
 signs, the aforesaid parcells of land and pre- 
 mises, with all and singular the appurtenances. 
 To have and to hold y® said lotts of land and 
 premises unto y® said Dr. Laurentius Carolus, 
 his heirs and assigns forever. Yielding and 
 paying therefor yearly and every yeare, as a 
 ([uitt rent unto his Majesty's use two bushells 
 of winter wheat when it shall be demanded 
 by such officer or officers in authority as shall 
 be empowered and establisht on Delaware 
 River and parts adjacent, to command and 
 receive y® same. 
 
 Given under my hand, and sealed with y" 
 seale of y® Province at Fort James, in New 
 York, y* Hrst day of May, in y" 23d yeare of 
 his Majesty's Reign, Anno Dm., 1674. 
 
 Francis Lcjvelace. 
 
 Recorded by y'' order of y" Governour. 
 Matthias Nicolls, Secretary^ 
 
 The following will also be interest- 
 ing, taken from the Abstract of Pa- 
 tents in the office of the Secretary of 
 State of New York, at Albany, vol. 2, 
 p. 54, dated Aug. 6, 1668: 
 
 " To James Sandilands to contirm him two 
 lots of land in Upland at Delaware, upon y« 
 north side of y* creek or kill, next to and ad- 
 joining to Israel Helms and Just Danielson's 
 and bounded with Villas Latie, containing in 
 breadth six and thirty yards, as laid out by the 
 officers at Delaware.'' 
 
 And in same, on April 8, 1669 : 
 
 "To Rev. Laurenty Caroly, Alinisti-r to tJie 
 Swedes, a piece of land at Delaware, held by 
 him, and lying at the north-east side of Up- 
 land kill, beginning from the river side along 
 by the kill, in breadth to the lot of Jan Daniells 
 about 27 rod in length along the river side to 
 a small kill, called Prisser's kill, about three 
 hundred rod, being about equal breadth be- 
 hind and before, and amounting in all to about 
 two or three and thirty acres, or about sixteen 
 Morgen, more or less." 
 
 A lot of the size described would 
 contain more than fifty acres. 
 
 Ami in same, p. 64. June 13, 1670: 
 
 "To James Sandilands, a grant to him of a 
 lot of land at Delaware, * * lying in Up- 
 land, bounded on the S. W. by the kill, on the 
 N. E. by lands of Neils Lawson, on the east 
 by Jurian Kien's land, and north and by west 
 by lands of Neils Mattson, containing by esti- 
 mation Five acres of ground, — as also another 
 piece of land, bounded by the kill above, north 
 and west by the land of Jurian Keene, and on 
 the south-east by the land of Lawrence Lock." 
 
 In same book, p. 54, Aug. 4, 1668: 
 
 " To Jurian Kene, to confirm to him three 
 lots of land in his possession lying in Upland, 
 on the west side of the Delaware River, bound- 
 ed on the west by Upland kill or creek, and 
 on the east by the minister's land, on the 
 north with Villas Lacies, and on the south with 
 Hans Jurienson, , also a piece of land, for- 
 merly Smith's Point, lying on the north side 
 of Upland, which in the whole amounts to 
 
 about acres of ground, together with a 
 
 piece of meadow which runs from Smith's 
 Point south-east of the river, being bounded 
 on the north-east by Israel Helms, and on the 
 south-west side by Villas Lattie." 
 
 The blanks are in the record. 
 
 From Holmes' Map, containing the 
 names of the original purchasers, made 
 by Penn's order in 1681, it appears 
 that ' ' Sandarlan ' ' was the purcha.ser 
 of all lands from Chester to Preest 
 (now Ridley) Creek, for some distance 
 back into the country ; then came 
 Townsend's track on Chester Creek, 
 and Caleb Pusey's; then, extending 
 across from Chester to Ridley Creek, 
 Thomas Brassy's, Churchman and the 
 Free School, Richard Few, Thom 
 Coborn, John Martch, John Martin, 
 Richard Crausby (1,000 acres), and 
 others' tracts ; below Chester Creek, 
 Robert Wade, and others. Above 
 Preest Creek, Preest had quite a large 
 tract fronting the river ; back of him, 
 John Simcock, John Nixon, Walter 
 Fossett, John Sharpless, &c. 
 
 In Smith's History, there is a coi)y 
 of an old draft of the lands at Clitstcr, 
 
10 
 
 HISTOKV OF ClIESTEK. 
 
 giving tlie names of the owners. It is 
 without date, and the original is in 
 the possession of Thomas Darlington, 
 of Birmingham, Chester County, Penn- 
 sylvania, indorsed, ''Chester, Pn., R. 
 Long: C. Pusey, James Sanderland & 
 others." Meaning a draft byR. Long- 
 shore, surveyor, showing land of C. 
 Pusey, &c. The draft includes the land 
 between Chester and Ridley creeks, 
 and the names of the owners are, James 
 Sanderland, Neals Lauson, Eusta An- 
 derson, Richard ffriend, Urin Keen, 
 Caleb Pusey, Samuel Buckley, The 
 Church Lands, John Hoskins, Thomas 
 Brassey, Richard Townsend, and the 
 " Mill Land," which was the old mill 
 property at what is now called Upland, 
 then owned by William Penn, Samuel j 
 Carpenter and Caleb Pusey, and at a 
 later day known as Richard Flower's 
 mill. It is now owned by the heirs of 
 John P. Crozier, deceased. 
 
 The original Swedish owners of land 
 at Chester were, as far as I can ascer- 
 tain, Dr. Laurentius Carolus, Neals 
 Matson, Leals Lauson, James Sander- 
 land, Just Danielsen, Jurien Keen, 
 Hans Juriensen, Israel Helms and the 
 Swedish Church. 
 
 In Claf s Swedish Annals, 2d ed., 
 1858, p. 170, Api)endix, he states: 
 " Laurence Lock came over in the 
 time of Governor Printz. He preach- 
 ed at Tinicum and Christiana. He 
 was for many years the only clergyman 
 the Swedes had. He died in 1688." 
 '' He gave up the first office to Jacob 
 Fabritius, a German, and kept the lat- 
 ter till his death." So says Mr. Du- 
 ponceau, in a note to his translation of 
 Campanius' History of New Sweden, 
 p. 109. 
 
 In Hazard's Annals, p. 139, will be 
 found a sea-letter to " Lawrence Cor- 
 nelius, one of her majestv of Sweden's 
 
 subjects in New Sweden, from Gover- 
 nor Printz, for a vessel about to sail 
 on a trading voyage. It is dated at 
 New Sweden, at the Fort Christina, 
 the ist of Oct., 1653. This person 
 is the same, I imagine, as the one 
 named in the "Old York Patent." 
 If so, it proves that Dr. Larentius Ca- 
 rolus was one of the earlier settlers at 
 Upland. The difference in the modes 
 of spelling the name in the two docu- 
 ments, I do not deem of any import- 
 ance, as in the patent the name is 
 evident^- rendered in Latin. This 
 gentleman seems to have had a multi- 
 plicity of names ; but he must have 
 known his own name l)etter than any- 
 body else. To a petition (Hazard, 
 333,) he signs himself "Laurentius 
 Carels, minister." He was the first 
 Swedish minister residing at Upland. 
 Dr. Smith, p. 80, speaks of a sad 
 misfortune that happened the Swed- 
 ish priest, the Rev. Laus. Carels. It 
 appears that on Sejjt. 20, 1661, one 
 Jacob Jough, ran away with the dom- 
 inie's wife, leaving his trunk at the 
 house of Andries Hendricssen, of Up- 
 land, a Finn of notorious bad charac- 
 ter. The doniinie, as he is sometimes 
 called, went to the Finn's house in 
 search of his wife, broke open the door 
 of a room, found the trunk, broke it 
 open, and took out some of his wife's 
 clothing, leaving a memorandum of 
 what he had done. For this suit was 
 brought against him by the Dutch Vice 
 Director Beekman, as sheriff, and he 
 was tried before a court at Altona, 
 Beekman being the presiding judge, 
 and Peter Cock, Matheys Hanson and 
 Oloff Stille, justices, and because the 
 minister had usurped the authority of 
 the court, he was fined two hundred 
 guilders, which had been advanced to 
 lough to l)uv corn for the comjianv. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 11 
 
 " forty beavers due Mr. Dicker and 
 myself" (Beekman), "by the afore- 
 said Jough," besides an award of forty 
 gl. for having usurped the authority 
 of the court. Dr. Smith says very 
 justly, "perhaps no better specimen 
 could be found of a judicial robbery." 
 It appears that previous to this trial, 
 the dominie had been divorced from 
 his wife, and had married himself to 
 a bride of about seventeen years. The 
 divorce does not appear to have been 
 satisfactory to his tormentors, so at 
 the trial Andries Hu^de, as secretary, 
 notified him that his last marriage was 
 illegal. The dominie then appealed 
 to the Governor. See his petition in 
 Hazard, p. 332, as follows : 
 
 Al'PKAL OK LAURENTIUS CAREI.S, MINISTER. 
 
 .SV;- .- — My humble submissive service to you, 
 and which I hope always to remain. It will 
 not l)e unknown to you, Sir, in what manner, 
 since the elopement of my wife, I have fallen 
 from one misfortune to another, because all my 
 deeds performed in consequence of this elope- 
 ment have been misconstrued, so that I have 
 been condemned in heavy amends, which in my 
 poor situation I cannot by any means bring 
 together, as besides that I paid already nearly 
 200 guilders. I am now condemned in a fine 
 (jf 280 guilders. The true state of the case is 
 this : While I was searching for my wife I 
 imagined she was concealing herself in that 
 jilace, on which I broke it open, but found 
 nothing but a few pairs of stockings, which 
 the fugitive captor of my wife left behind, of 
 which 1 made an inventory ; and whereas, it 
 has been taken amiss as if I by this deed in- 
 tended to vilify the court, and therefore am 
 condemned to pay a fine of 280 guilders, and 
 pay what the fugitive was owing, whereas I, 
 in my innocence, and in that situation, having 
 no other intention whatever but to search for 
 my wife. So it is my submissive petition, that 
 it may please your Honor to make a favorable 
 and merciful intercession on my behalf, by this 
 meeting, and pardon graciously what is com- 
 mitted through ignorance, and to save my re- 
 ])ulation as a Minister, not to inflict any further 
 iiunishment. 
 
 "What regards that I married myself. I 
 cannot discover anything illegal in it. I acted 
 just in the same manner as I had done before, 
 with respect to others, exactly so as others do 
 who are not prosecuted for it, and I can 
 conscientiously assure you, that it was not 
 perfonned with any evil intention. Had I 
 known that my marrj'ing myself in this manner 
 should have been so unfavorably interpreted, 
 I should have submitted to the usage of the 
 Reformed Church, but I did not know it; 
 wherefore I pray once more the Honoral>le 
 General, that he will vouchsafe me his aid, 
 and take into consideration my forlorn situa- 
 tion, so that I without becoming a burden to 
 others, may supply my daily wants, &c. 
 
 Laukentius Carei.s, iMiuish'?-.'' 
 On the 24th July, 1663, Abelius 
 Zetscoven, received a call from the 
 Swedish congregation, but Rev. Lears 
 opposed his preaching, so that the 
 Commissioners had to threaten him 
 with a protest, before he would allow 
 the new minister to preach on Whit- 
 Sunday. I Albany Records, p. 431. 
 In 1676, the dominie again, (under 
 the name of Laurence Carol i, ) got 
 into trouble for selling liquor to the 
 Indians, and about a mare. The mare 
 suit was entitled Hans Peterson vs. 
 Dom. Laurentius Carolus, Upland Re- 
 cord, p. 74. The translator of Cam- 
 panius calls him Laurence Lock, and 
 it is said by Duponceau, that his real 
 name was Laurence Charles Locke- 
 nius ; for which statement there is no 
 evidence. 
 
 In 1677, Laurentius Carolis had a 
 grant made to him of 350 acres of land 
 near Croom kill, and in 1678, com- 
 plaint was made to the court, that 
 Lears Carolus had fenced in some of 
 the church glebe lands; and it was 
 " ordered that he should have all be- 
 longing to him, the rest he must leave 
 out." 
 
 The Swedes made an effort to sui^er- 
 cede the Rev. Lears, which was not, 
 
12 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 however, successful. Our dominie ap- 
 pears also to have been the school- 
 master ; I give the statement in full. 
 "Towards the close of the Dutch 
 dynasty (1664), the Swedes made an 
 effort to supercede the Rev. Lears, by 
 the appointment of Abelius Zetsco- 
 ven, but the opposition made by the 
 reverend incumbent was so strong, no 
 permanent position seems to have been 
 assigned to him. This gentleman 
 preached at Tinicum church on the 
 last Monday of Pentecost, at the re- 
 quest of the Swedish Commissioners. 
 They desired to engage him as a school- 
 master, at the same salary as given to 
 the Rev. Lears ; but the people of New 
 Amsel, where it may be inferred he was 
 employed in the came capacity, would 
 not dismiss him. He never had charge 
 of any congregation in the South River 
 as a regularly ordained minister. ' ' The 
 Rev. Lears' "great infirmity seems to 
 have been an over fondness for intox- 
 icating drinks. It may, however, be 
 inferred that he became reformed in 
 his later years; for in 1674, he became 
 the proprietor of a tract of land for- 
 merly occupied by Olle Stille, at the 
 mouth of Ridley Creek, and we are 
 informed by Campanius, that he died 
 in the Lord, in 1688." The dominie, 
 in the record of the Upland court, 
 where there are numerous suits record- 
 ed against him, is always styled Lau- 
 rentius Carolus, which is the Latinized 
 version of his real name, Lawrence 
 Carels. In old documents, the same 
 name is often spelled two or three 
 different ways in as many lines. Peo- 
 ple often deny relationship with others 
 of the same name, saying, " they are no 
 connexion of ours ; they spell their 
 name with an s, an e, or a y, instead 
 of an i, &c., as we do;" not know- 
 ing, as for instance, that the Cornish 
 
 Saer, Sair, Sairs, Sayre, Sayers, Sayres, 
 or the Scottish Eyre, Ayre, Air, Ayres, 
 Eyres and Aire, are but variations of 
 the well-known names of Sayres and 
 Eyre. Lower' s Dictionary of Family 
 Names, pp. 4, 106, 305; Dixon' s Sur- 
 name.^, pp. 24. 65. Our ancestors, who 
 emigrated to this country, were not 
 only careless in this manner, but of- 
 tener did not know how to spell their 
 own names, especially those not of 
 English descent, and not educated. 
 
 James Sandilands, was a Scotchman, 
 who appears to have come to this coun- 
 try as a common soldier, in Captain 
 Carr's company, from which he was 
 discharged April 27, 1669, having pre- 
 viously, in 1668, obtained a patent for 
 lands at Upland, on the upper side 
 of Chester Creek, where the ancient 
 i part of the town stands. His younger 
 brother, Jonas, appears to have joined 
 him after his settlement at Upland. 
 James Sandilands, was one of the most 
 noted persons in the early history of 
 Upland. He married a daughter of 
 Jurien Kien, and died April 12, 1692, 
 aged fifty-six years, leaving several 
 children. They were Catharine who 
 married Jasper Yeates, a native of 
 Yorkshire, England.* Elinor who 
 married George Foreman, and James, 
 Jonas, Christian, Mary and Lydia, 
 who were minors at the time of their 
 father's death. James Sandilands, his 
 son, is the one to whom the church 
 of St. Paul's, at Chester, is so much 
 indebted for his liberality. He died 
 in the year 1707, aged twenty-nine 
 years, and his widow married Henry 
 Munday. See Administration Book 
 B., p. 62, 1708, at Philadelphia, the 
 "Petition of Prudence Monday, late 
 
 * Mr. Yeates was a lawyer, and became one 
 of the Provincial Judges. lie was the grand- 
 father of Judge Yeates, of the Supreme Couj-t 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 13 
 
 Sandilands." The frontispiece to the 
 Record of Upland, is copied from the 
 mural tablet in St. Paul's church, for- 
 merly standing against the south wall 
 of the old church, torn down about 
 1845. It is a massive slab of gray 
 sandstone. The emblems cut upon it 
 are excellently executed. Along its 
 borders, in large capital letters are the 
 words — 
 
 HERE LIES INTERR-D THE BODIE OF 
 
 JAMES SANDELANDS, MARCHANT, 
 
 IN UPLAND, IN PENSILVANIA, 
 
 WHO DEPARTED THIS MORTAIL LIFE, 
 
 APRILE THE 12, 1692, AGED 56 YEARS, 
 
 AND HIS WIFE, 
 
 ANN SANDELANDS. 
 
 Its face is divided into two parts, 
 the upper bearing in cypher the initials 
 J. S. and A. S., the arms of the San- 
 delands family — Argent, a bend Azure, 
 on the border dividing the upper from 
 the lower part are the words, vive 
 
 MEMOR. LETHI FFUGIT HORA. The 
 
 lower half contains many emblems of 
 mortality, the tolling bell, the passing 
 bell, the skull and cross bones, the 
 empty hour glass, an upright coffin 
 bearing on its side the words memento 
 MORI, TIME deum, and in either cor- 
 ner crossed, a scepter and mattock, and 
 a mattock and spade. The tablet was 
 removed to the exterior of the church 
 many years since, in consequence of 
 interfering with some repairs, and was 
 defaced with white-wash, and broken 
 in half, and a small piece chipped off 
 containing the year of the death. In 
 the attempt at restoration, the figures 
 1682 were cut, instead of 1692. It 
 has been carefully cleaned and placed 
 in the vestibule of the new church 
 lately, through the exertions of Dr. J. 
 M. Allen. Upland Record, note, p. 
 167. 
 
 The church was formerly entered by 
 a large door in the centre of the north 
 wall. When the old structure was re- 
 paired, a new belfry and steeple were 
 put on it at the west end, a vestry-room 
 built at the eastern end, a large en- 
 trance door cut out of the western 
 wall, over which there was erected a 
 gallery, the old north door closed up, 
 the space thus saved turned into extra 
 pews, and the Sandiland tablet which 
 was in the aisle, against the southern 
 wall of the church, opposite the old 
 northern door, was removed to the 
 outside of the church, immediately 
 opposite, on the other side of the wall 
 from where it formerly stood inside, 
 and whitewashed to protect it from 
 the weather. The old church in my 
 early boyhood, had no steeple on it 
 as it had at a later date, and is repre- 
 sented in a plate in Smith's history. 
 The belfry was detached from the 
 church, and stood at the north-west 
 corner. The lower part was built of 
 stone, the upper portion frame-work, 
 where the bell was hung. The frame 
 portion vibrated dangerously when the 
 bell was ringing, which was the cause 
 of the old belfry being torn down, 
 instead of being repaired ; and an 
 ugly belfry and steeple built at the 
 west end of the church. The old 
 bell-tower was about 35 feet high, 
 and about 10 feet square on the out- 
 side. The bell, bible, and commu- 
 nion service used in the old church, 
 were presents from Queen Annie. 
 The bell became cracked, and was re- 
 cast in the year 1835, at the time the 
 new belfry was put on the church. 
 The old metal was, however, used in 
 making the new bell. 
 
 The communion service presented 
 by Queen Annie and Sir Jeffry Jeffries 
 is still used. The old bell and one set 
 
14 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 of the communion service, had engrav- 
 ed on them Annte Regina. The Queen 
 made similar gifts to other churches in 
 the colonies at the same time. I find 
 it stated that, " In 1835, when the 
 church was repaired, George W. Piper 
 and J. (rifford Johnson took the bell 
 in a wagon to Wiltbank's foundry in 
 Philadelphia, to be re-cast, and before 
 that was done, the establishment was 
 destroyed by fire, and all the metal 
 collected there was fused into one 
 mass, and the identity of the old bell 
 was thus lost. The present bell was 
 cast at the foundry, but there is no 
 certainty that it contains any portion 
 of the old bell presented by Queen 
 Annie." I never heard the above 
 story until 1872, and am not inclined 
 to believe that part about the old metal 
 not being in the new bell, else I would 
 have heard the statement before. In 
 my boyhood, it was said, with pride, 
 by the church i)eopIe, that the old 
 metal was preserved in the new bell, 
 I am certain I heard my father, who 
 was a vestryman of the church say so, 
 and my mother confirms my recollec- 
 tion. 
 
 The old stone belfry of the church, 
 would, if standing now, be one of the 
 greatest antiquarian curiosities in the 
 United States. The destruction of 
 this, of the old church, of the old 
 market-house in the square, and the 
 first meeting-house of the Friends, — 
 improperly called the old assembly 
 building, — is much to be regretted. 
 Those old buildings were well known 
 all over the country, and rendered the 
 name of old Chester attractive, and 
 the place interesting to the curious 
 traveller, to the historian and anti- 
 quarian. 
 
 I have not been able to obtain views 
 of the old bclfrv, or of the old market- 
 
 house, else I should have preserved 
 them in the form of illustrations to 
 this work. 
 
 After the Swedish settlements on 
 the Delaware were conquered by the 
 Dutch, the Swedes were directed to 
 concentrate in villages, but they never 
 did so. Among the places named for 
 this purpose was Upland. The Swed- 
 ish magistrates were permitted to re- 
 main in office — a conciliatory policy 
 which was imitated by the English, 
 when they came into possession of this 
 part of the country. 
 
 By the terms of the capitulation of 
 P'ort Christina, in 1665, all the Swedes 
 and Finns in the country, were ordered 
 to take the oath of allegiance to the 
 States General of New Netherlands. 
 The oath taken by the Swedes, and 
 others, residing on the Delaware, was 
 as follows : 
 
 " I, undersigned, promise and swear, in the 
 presence of the Omniscient and Almighty God, 
 that I will be true and faithful to their high 
 and mighty lords and patrons of this New 
 Netherland province, with the Director Gen- 
 eral and Council already appointed, or who 
 may be appointed in future, and will remain 
 faithful without any act of hostility, sedition 
 or intention, either by word or deed, against 
 their high Sovereignty, but I will conduct my- 
 self as an oliedient and faithful subject, as long 
 as I continue to reside on this SoiTH River 
 in New Netherland. So help me Ciod Al- 
 mighty." 
 
 Hans Hofi'el, Harnian Jans, 
 
 Claes Peterson, Johan Anies, 
 
 Constantinus Grumbeigh, Oloflf Transen, 
 Abraham Jansen, Lambert Michielsoii, 
 
 Barent Jansen, Simon Hidden, 
 
 Martin Martens, Jan Echost, 
 
 Samuel Peterse, Thomas Bruyn, 
 
 William Morris, Andress Jansen, 
 
 Claes Tomassen, Jan Jansen, 
 
 Molens Andriessen, Matheys Elkisse. 
 
 In all twenty, of whom, only seven 
 wrote their own names. I do not re- 
 cognize among them any residents of 
 Upland. Wc must presume that this 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 15 
 
 paper was only one of many circulated 
 by the Dutch officers, appointed to 
 take the oaths of the Swedes and others 
 living on the Delaware, as we know 
 it does not represent the tithe of the 
 names of the people then living there ; 
 for it is not at all probable they ran 
 away for a time, or secreted them- 
 selves ; they simply remained passive, 
 as they did in regard to the order to 
 concentrate in villages. 
 
 The Dutch divided the western shore 
 of the Delaware into three counties or 
 judicial districts, the most northern of 
 which was called Ophlandt, its capital 
 being Upland. This division was re- 
 cognized and continued by the En- 
 glish ; and in 1676, under (Governor 
 Andross, the magistrates of Upland 
 were, Peter Cock (now Cox), Peter 
 Rambo, Israel Helm, Lace Andries, 
 Oele Swen, and Otto Ernest Cock, 
 {pronounced in Swedish Coke, ) all 
 Swedes. Helm, or Helme, was for 
 many years Indian interpreter. Ram- 
 bo and Cock, were two of the four 
 magistrates who, in 1658, met Gover- 
 nor Stuyvesant at Tinicum, with a pe- 
 tition for various privileges. 
 
 The list of laxalilc 
 in 1677, was as foil()\v^ 
 
 ial)ilants of Uiiland, 
 
 I Claes Schram, 2 James Sanderling & 
 
 I Robert Waede, slaue, 
 
 I Jan hendricx, 2 John Test & servant, 
 
 1 Richard Bobbinghton, i Jurian kien, 
 
 2 neeles Laersen & Son, i Rich : noble, 
 
 1 henry bastings, i John hayles,* 
 
 2 will woodman & servt. i mich Yzard. 
 
 "■ I suspect the name of John Hayles, in the 
 list of Upland taxables, to mean John Bales or 
 Beal. John Beals testified in court ( 1691) that 
 he had plowed certain land in dispute fourteen 
 years before. Dr. Joseph Beale, of Chester 
 County, is now (1874) Surgeon-(ieneral U. S. 
 Navy; his relatives reside in the vicinity of 
 Coatesville. Dr. Bealc entered the Navy, 
 Sept. 6, 1837. 
 
 III. 
 
 Upland had for its western boun- 
 dary Chester Creek, and, it is presum- 
 ed, Ridley Creek for its eastern limit. 
 Marritties, or Marcus Hook, included 
 all the land between Chester Creek 
 and Naaman's Creek. 
 
 At a court at Upland, Nov. 13, 
 1677, Capt. Hans Jargin was ordered 
 to fit up the House of Defence, for the 
 use of the court at its next sitting. 
 The court had been previously hold- 
 ing its sessions at the house of Neeles 
 Laersen, who kept a tavern, and who 
 was a troublesome fellow, if we judge 
 him by the number of suits and com- 
 plaints made against him to the court. 
 His daughter seems to have taken after 
 her father. There are several entries 
 in the record of Upland Court con- 
 cerning her, all growing out of the 
 same matter, which is thus related at 
 page 182, under the date of Oct. 13, 
 1680: 
 
 " Complaint being made by the constable, 
 Andries Homman, that Claes Cram keeps un- 
 lawful company with Anna Laers daughter, y« 
 wife of Benk Salung, the court have ordered 
 and strictly forbidden them both for yo future 
 not to keep company together any more, under 
 what pretext soever, upon payne of severe 
 punishment, and do order that Claes Cram 
 pay y'' cost of this and y'= former complaint 
 & order about y* same." 
 
 On Nov. 12, 1678, James Sandi- 
 lands, on behalf of the inhabitants of 
 Upland, complains that Neeles Laer- 
 son, with a fence stops up the old and 
 usual way to the fly—/, e. the marsh 
 or meadow. The court ordered him 
 to remove the obstruction. On the 
 same day, complaint was made by the 
 church-wardens, that Neeles Laerson 
 has taken in with the two lots of land 
 he bought of dominie Lasse Carolus, 
 here in Upland Towne, some of the 
 
16 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 church or glebe lands. The court 
 ordered, that he should have his due 
 of the two lots purchased by him, 
 equal with the other lots in Upland, 
 but what it shall be found he had taken 
 in more the same shall be taken out 
 and a?inexc(i to the other church lots. 
 This statement is another evidence of 
 the existence of a prior episcopal own- 
 ership in the glebe lands mentioned in 
 the text. 
 
 At a court held at Upland, by his 
 majesty's authority, Nov'r y" 12, 1678 
 — p'sent Mr. Peter Cock, Mr. Peter 
 Rambo, Mr. Otto Ernest Cock, Mr. 
 Lassie Andries, Mr. Oele Swensen, 
 Justices — the case of Wm. Orian vs. 
 John D'haes, an action on a book 
 account for the sum of 167 guilders 
 was tried, and ihe first Jury known to 
 have been called in Pennsylvania, was 
 empanelled. Their names were, — 
 bans moens, dunk williams, Xtopper 
 Barnes, Edm draufton, Peter Jockum, 
 Isacq Sauoy, Jan hendriks, Jonas kien, 
 moens Cock, John Browne, Jan Boel- 
 son, henry bastings. The verdict was 
 for the plaintiff for the full amount of 
 his claim which had been disputed. 
 The justices were not satisfied, how- 
 ever, with the verdict, for the " court 
 thought fitt to suspend y" verdict of 
 y^ jury, and y' determinacon of this 
 case till next court day, at w*"" ty°"^ both 
 pit and dft are to bring their bookes in 
 court," — when, as Dr. Smith says the 
 court "determined to be the judge 
 both of the law and the facts," for 
 they then "doe Judge this a vexatious 
 suite and order a nonsuit agst y* Pit 
 with y* costs," — thus exemplifying the 
 glorious uncertainty of the law. 
 
 March y' 13, 1678-9, Neeles Laer- 
 sen was ordered by the court to make 
 or Leaue a lane or street from upland 
 Creeketo y* House of Defence, or coun- 
 
 t/y house, between that time and the 
 next court, and in default to be fined at 
 the discretion of the court. Neeles 
 Laersen was a Swede; he owned 182 
 acres of land in the very heart of 
 Upland, or Old Chester. The first 
 court of which we have any record, 
 was held at his house, which was an 
 Inn. The records are lost. At a 
 court at Upland, Nov. 14, 1676, it 
 was ordered that Laerson be paid 
 for his charges for keeping the court 
 last year, and that the former clerk, 
 William Tom, deliver to the present 
 clerk, Eph. Herman, the records and 
 other public books and writings be- 
 longing to the court. This was done, 
 but as they were found to be in con- 
 fusion, Mr. Tom was ordered to ar- 
 range them in proper order. When 
 Tom died, in 1677, they were still 
 in his po.ssession, and are now, pro- 
 bably, lost forever. The judicial pro- 
 ceedings, from 1676 to the present 
 time, in the district including Chester 
 and Delaware counties, have been pre- 
 served. Those covering the time from 
 1676 to the commencement of Penn's 
 administration in 1681, were publish- 
 ed by the Historical Society in i860, 
 under the the title of the Record of 
 Upland Court, edited by Edward 
 Armstrong, Esq., of the Philadelphia 
 Bar, with notes, which I have freely 
 used. J. Smith Futhey, Esq., of the 
 Chester County Bar, in his Historical 
 Sketches of that county, criticising 
 the Upland Record, says : ' ' The forms 
 of proceedings in these early courts 
 were primitive and incongruous in 
 their character, and there does not 
 seem to have been any clearly drawn 
 distinction between civil and criminal 
 cases. The whole method of practice 
 was rather a dispensation of justice, as 
 the idea of it existetl in the heads and 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 17 
 
 was tempered by the hearts of the 
 judges, than the administration of any 
 positive law, written or unwritten. 
 The justices were uneducated, but 
 well-meaning men, and an examina- 
 tion of the Record shows, that they 
 acted with the strictest regard to 
 justice, and the preservation of the 
 public morals." 
 
 Neeles Laerson, mentioned so fre- 
 quently in the Record, died in 1689, 
 leaving a widow, Anico, /". e., Ann, 
 and several s'ons, who were known by 
 the name of Friend. So says Dr. 
 Smith, p. 476, who seems to think it is 
 quite probable that the name of Friend 
 was an alias. May it not be that the 
 widow, who lived to the advanced age 
 of 106 years, dying in 1724, married a 
 second time, and perhaps that Richard 
 ffriend, who owned in Chester two 
 tracts of land, one of 160 acres, and the 
 other of 28 acres, and was also part 
 owner of another lot together with 
 James Sandilands and Samuel Buckley, 
 as will be seen by reference to the old 
 map in possession of Thomas Darling- 
 ton, z. fac simile of which is in Dr. 
 Smith's history, facing page 138. On 
 the same map is laid down Neeles Lau- 
 son's 182 acres. It will be noticed that 
 the name on the map is spelled Lauson. 
 In the graveyard at St. Martin's church, 
 Marcus Hook, there stand alongside of 
 each other two tombstones, one bear- 
 ing the name of Lauson, the other 
 Lawson. Were those buried there 
 the descendants of Laerson ? There 
 is living in Chester a family called 
 Lear, probably, descendants of Neeles 
 Laerson. I went to school with Wil- 
 liam, Edward and Annie Lear. Their 
 father, " Charley" Lear, was the sex- 
 ton of St. Paul's church for many 
 years, and his stout jovial wife, " So- 
 i)hv" Lear, was a well-known laund- 
 
 ress, who had a smile, a joke and a 
 pleasant word for every one. If Dr. 
 Smith is correct then, perhaps, the 
 Lears of Chester are descendants of 
 the Rev. Lears Carolus, and not of 
 Laerson. 
 
 In Clay s Annals is the following 
 list of Swedish families, residing in 
 New Sweden in 1693, with the num- 
 ber of individuals in each family, 
 taken from a document left by the 
 Rev. Mr. Ruddiman, who was the 
 founder of the old Swedes' church in 
 Philadelphia, which was built A. D. 
 1700. He died in 1708. See also 
 Acrelius'' History of New Sweden. I 
 have followed the spelling in Acrelius ; 
 (except in two cases of evident error 
 — Bengston and De Foff — which I giv-e 
 corrected,) see Memoirs of the His- 
 torical Society of Pa., vol. ii., p. 190, 
 &c. The list gives the names of the 
 heads of families only : 
 
 5 Hindrich Anderson,* 
 9 Johan Andersson,* 
 
 7 Johan Andersson, 
 
 5 Joran Anderson, 
 
 6 John Arian, 
 
 3 Joran Bagman, 
 9 Anders Bengtsson,* 
 2 Bengt Bengtsson, 
 II Anders Bonde,* 
 I Johan Bonde, 
 
 5 Sven Bonde, 
 
 8 Lars Bure, 
 
 6 William Cabb, 
 
 7 Christian Classen, 
 
 6 Jacob Classon, 
 
 I Jacob Clemsson,* 
 
 9 Eric Cock, 
 
 7 Gabriel Cock, 
 
 7 Johan Cock, 
 
 II Capt. Lasse Cock, 
 
 8 Mans Cock, 
 
 5 Otto Ernst Cock, 
 
 I Hindrich Collman, 
 
 6 Conrad Constantine, 
 S Johan von Culen, 
 
 7 Otto Dahlbo, 
 
 9 Peter Dahlbo, 
 
 5 Hindric Danielsson, 
 
 6 Thomas Dennis, 
 
 I Anders Didricsson,* 
 
 7 Olle Diricksson,* 
 5 Staphan Ekhorn, 
 
 I Eric Ericsson, 
 
 1 Goran Ericsson, 
 
 3 Matte Ericsson, 
 
 5 Hindrich Faske, 
 10 Casper Fisk, 
 
 6 Mathias de Foss,* 
 
 4 Anders Frende, 
 
 7 Nils Frendes (widow), 
 7 Olle Fransson,* 
 
 7 Eric Gastenberg, 
 3 Nils Gastenberg, 
 
 2 Eric Goransson, 
 
 6 Brita Gostafsson, 
 
 8 Gostaf Gostafson, 
 
 7 Hans Gostafsson, 
 
 3 Jons Gostafsson,* 
 
 2 Mans Gostafson, 
 
 3 Johan Grantrum, 
 I Lars Hailing, 
 
 9 Mans Hallton,* 
 
 5 Israel Helm,* 
 
 3 Johan Hindersson, ji. 
 
 4 Anders Hindricksson, 
 7 David Hindricsson, 
 
 5 Jacob Hindricsson, 
 
 6 Johan Hindricsson,* 
 5 Johan Hindricsson, 
 
 7 Matts HoUsten, 
 
 9 Anders Homman,* 
 7 Anders Hoppman, 
 7 Frederic Hoppman, 
 7 Ji'han Hoppman, 
 
18 
 
 HISTORY OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 5 Nicholas Hoppman, 
 9 Hindricli Iwarsson,* 
 I Hindrich Jacob, 
 
 1 Matts Jacob, 
 
 4 Hindrich Jacobsson,* 
 9 I'eter Joccom, 
 
 5 Didrich Johansson, 
 
 6 Lars Johansson, 
 
 10 Simon Johansson,* 
 
 4 Anders Jonsson, 
 
 2 Jon Jonsson, 
 
 3 Mans Jonsson, 
 6 Nils Jonsson, 
 
 I Thomas Jonsson, 
 I Christiern Joransson, 
 
 11 Hans Joransson, 
 I Joran Joransson, 
 
 5 Staphan Joransson,* 
 
 6 Lasse Kempe, 
 
 6 Frederic Konig, 
 6 Marten Knutsson, 
 
 6 Olle Kuckow, 
 
 5 Hans Kyu's (widow), 
 8 Jonas Kyn, 
 3 Matts Kyn, 
 
 5 Nils Laican, 
 
 7 And. Persson Longaker, 
 
 6 Hindrich Larsson, 
 
 7 Lars Larsson, 
 I Lars Larsson. 
 1 Anders Lock, 
 I Mans Lock, 
 
 3 Antonij Long, 
 
 4 Robert Longhom, 
 I Hans Lucasson, 
 
 1 Lucas Lucasson, 
 
 1 Peter Lucasson, 
 
 5 Johan Mansson, 
 3 Peter Mansson, 
 
 10 Marten Martensson, jr.* 
 
 3 Marten Martensson, sr.* 
 
 4 Mats Martenson, 
 
 11 Johan Mattson, 
 3 Nils Mattsson,* 
 
 7 Christopher Meyer, 
 
 5 Paul Mink,* 
 
 8 Eric Molica,* 
 
 3 Anders Nilsson, 
 
 4 Jonas Nilsson,* 
 II Michael Nilsson,* 
 
 5 Hans Olsson,* 
 
 5 Johan Ommerson,* 
 
 2 Lorentz Ostersson, 
 
 4 Hindrich Parchon, 
 
 5 Bcngt Paulsson, 
 
 6 Gostaf Paulsson, 
 
 9 Olle Paulsson,* 
 
 5 Peter Palsson, 
 I Lars Pehrsson, 
 
 6 Olle Pehrsson, 
 
 8 Brita Petersson, 
 5 Carl Petersson, 
 
 7 Hans Petersson,* 
 
 5 Hans Petersson, 
 
 1 Lars Petersson, 
 3 Paul Peterson, 
 
 3 Peter Petersson, 
 
 3 Peter Stake, alias 
 
 Petersson, 
 
 2 Reiner Petersson, 
 9 Anders Rambo, 
 
 6 Gunnar Rambo, 
 6 Johan Rambo, 
 
 6 Peter Rambo, jr., 
 
 2 Peter Rambo, sr. ,* 
 
 3 Matts Repott, 
 3 Nils Repott, 
 
 5 Olle Resse,* 
 
 3 Anders Robertsson, 
 
 3 Paul Sahlunge, 
 
 7 Isaac Savoy, 
 
 6 Johan Schrage, 
 
 4 Johan Schute, 
 
 5 Anders Seneca,* 
 
 7 Broor Seneca,* 
 
 6 Jonas Skagge's (widow), 
 
 1 Johan Skrika, 
 3 Matts Skrika, 
 
 2 Hindrich Slobey, 
 
 5 Carl Springer,* 
 I Mans Staake,* 
 
 3 Chierstin Stalcop, 
 
 6 Johan Stalcop, 
 
 6 Peter Stalcop, 
 I Israel Stark, 
 
 3 Matts Stark, 
 
 8 Adam Stedham, 
 
 5 Ashmund Stedham, 
 
 7 Benjamin Stedham, 
 
 7 Lucas Stedham, 
 
 9 Lyioff Stedham, 
 
 8 Johan Stille, 
 
 5 JohanStiUman, 
 
 4 Jonas Stillman, 
 
 4 Peter Stillman, 
 
 3 Olle Stobey, 
 
 5 Gunnar Svenson, 
 
 9 Johan Svenson,* 
 7 William Talley, 
 
 4 Elias 'Lay, 
 
 6 Christiern Thomo's 
 
 (widow), 
 9 Olle Thomasson, 
 
 4 Olle Thorsson, 
 
 5 Hindrich Tossa, 
 4 Johan Tossa, 
 
 I Lars Tossa, 
 I Matts Tossa, 
 
 7 Cornelius van der Weer, 
 7 Jacob van der Weer, 
 
 3 Jacob van der Weer, 
 
 I William van der Weer, 
 7 Jesper Wallraven, 
 1 Jonas Walraven, 
 
 4 Anders Weinom,* 
 4 Anders Wihler. 
 
 Making in all 939 in(li\i(luals in 188 
 families. Of these, IVtrr Rambo and 
 
 Andrew lionde, had l)een in thi.s coun- 
 try fifty-four years; having, therefore, 
 arrived here in 1639. Those mark- 
 ed with an asterisk [ thus * ] are the 
 names of persons born in Sweden. 
 Sven Svenson, although living in 
 1693, '•'' omitted from the list, Acre- 
 lius, p. 193. Carl Springer had a mid- 
 dle name — Christopherson. It will be 
 l)erceived that the authography of many 
 of the above names has been changed, 
 for instance — Bengtsson, is now Bank- 
 son ; Hindricsson, Hendrickson, then 
 Henderson ; Svenson, is Swanson ; 
 Cock, into Cox ; Gostafsson, is now 
 Justis ; Jocum, pronounced in Swedish 
 Yocum, is now so rendered ; Hollsten, 
 is Holstein ; Kyn, Keen; Hoppman, 
 Hoffman ; Von Culin, Culin ; Hail- 
 ing, is now Hulings or Hewlings;* 
 Seneca, is Sinnickson ; Martenson, 
 or Mortenson, has become Morton ; 
 Whiler, Wheeler ; Ericsson, is Erick- 
 son, &c. And with regard to Chris- 
 tian names, many of them correspond 
 with our own, and merely show a dif- 
 ference in spelling and pronunciation 
 between the two languages. Anders, 
 therefore, among the Swedes, natur- 
 ally becomes with us Andrew ; Johan, 
 John ; Mats, Matthew, or Matthias ; 
 Carl, Charles ; Bengt, Benjamin, or 
 
 '"" The family of Hewlings tliat setlled in tlie 
 vicinity of Marcus Hook, and had a patent 
 from Pcnn for their land, are said to i)e of 
 English descent. Proud, vol. i. p. 150, in a 
 note says, that in 1678, a ship arrived from 
 London which "brought John Dunn, Thos. 
 Kent, John Hollingshead, with their fam- 
 ilies, William Hewlings, Abraham Ilewlings, 
 and others ; the former of these settled about 
 Salem, the rest at Burlington." One of my 
 friends, Edward Hewlings, of Philadelphia, a 
 descendant of the Marcus Hook Hewlings, 
 has the original deed of Penn to his ancestor 
 Abraham Hewlings, who was the owner of 
 a large tract of land in Gloucester County, 
 New Jersey. The late Pishop While, of 
 Philadelphia, married a grand-aiint of Mr. 
 K.Kvard I Un\ lin-s. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 19 
 
 Benedict ; Nils, Nicholas ; Staphon, 
 Stephen ; Wilhelm, and also Olle, 
 William ; Hindrick, Henry ; Michel, 
 Michael ; Jons, Jonathan. And I may- 
 add, that the names of Nilsson, became 
 Nelson ; both Jonasson and Johansson 
 are now Johnson; Lucasson, Lucas; 
 Thomason, Thompson, or Thomson. 
 Van der Weer, is now Vanderveer ; 
 Resse, Ross and Rawson. Grantrmia 
 became Grantham ; but this old Ches- 
 ter name and family are extinct in this 
 country, although there is in the Ches- 
 ter Directory for 1859, p. 73, the 
 name of James Grantham, farmer. 
 He is not, I believe, a descendant of 
 the old family. There are, however, 
 descendants in the female line living 
 in the town. The name of Ostersson, is 
 Otterson ; Pehrsson, has become Pear- 
 son ; Paulson, Poulson ; Longaker, 
 Longacre, and Bonde, Bond. Al- 
 though some of the latter family call 
 themselves Boon, yet they are not to 
 be confounded with the English fam- 
 ily of Boon, which is also an English 
 name, as will be seen by reference to 
 the Records of Friends' Meeting at 
 Reading. The ancestors of Daniel 
 Boone, the celebrated Kentucky fron- 
 tiersman, were English, and Friends, 
 as the Reading Record shows conclu- 
 sively. Some of the Bonds of Dela- 
 ware county retain their original name, 
 dropping the e only, which in Swed- 
 ish is sounded soft in pronouncing the 
 name. Bonde in Swedish means a 
 peasant. A descendant of this family 
 lived on the Delaware about a mile 
 below Chester bridge, on Third Street, 
 and when my uncle Joseph W. Smith, 
 lived at Fairview, then called Bermuda 
 Farm, I used to visit the Bond boys. 
 The old Swedish names are yet very 
 common, and very familiar in Dela- 
 ware county, and it would be very 
 
 difficult to find any of the old families 
 without Swedish blood in their veins, 
 except, perhaps, among strict Friends. 
 
 IV. 
 
 In Upland Record, note C, Arm- 
 strong states, "The House of Defence, 
 or Block-house, which Jargin had been 
 directed to ' fit up, and furnish fitt for 
 the court to sitt in,' was built upon 
 the land of Neeles Laerson. We are 
 able to fix its position and probable 
 size, by the description in a Deed from 
 Lydia, the widow of Robert Wade, 
 to Edward Danger, Oct. 10, 1697, 
 Deed Book A, 270, IVest Chester. 
 That deed recites deed from Ann 
 Learson, als Friend, and Andrew Lear- 
 son, her son, to Robert Wade, Sept. 
 7, 1687. Recorded in Philadelphia, 
 March 29, 1689. It stood on the 
 east side of, and at an angle to, the 
 present Second Street, which was 
 laid out after its erection, and the 
 eastern line of which street ran through 
 the centre of the building, from its 
 S. E. to its N. W. corner. If it was 
 rectangular in shape, its size was 14 
 by 15 feet, and, according to measure- 
 ment, its S. E. corner stood about 84 
 feet from the N. E. cor. of Front and 
 Filbert. The northern portion of the 
 house of Mrs. Sarah B. Coombs — built 
 by Captain Thomas Robinson — occu- 
 pies about II feet of the south end of 
 the site of the House of Defence." 
 
 Dr. Smith in Appendix H., p. 542, 
 says : 
 
 ' ' The second court-house was erected 
 in 1 684-5 '^"'^ ^^^ location is established 
 by a deed from Robert Wade and wife, 
 to Henry Hollingsworth, executed in 
 Oct., 1695. This deed describes the 
 lot as ' directly opposite the old Court 
 House, fronting said Chester Street.' 
 
20 
 
 IIISTOKY OF CHESTER. 
 
 A jail was erected at tlie same time, 
 but there is reason to believe that it 
 was built near the creek, and that there 
 was a street laid out between the two 
 buildings. The same deed recites that 
 the northern line of the lot it describes 
 passes back from the street, ' along 
 the south side of the newly erected 
 Court House.' Henry HoUingsworth, 
 who was a Friend, was dealt with by 
 the Meeting the same year, ' for cut- 
 ting the eaves of the new prison.' 
 Besides this fact, there is evidence in 
 advance that there was a prison as 
 well as a Court House erected on the 
 lot next north of the lot conveyed by 
 Robert Wade and his wife to Henry 
 HollingsAVorth. A Court House and 
 prison were erected on that lot about 
 1694. They probably occupied the 
 site of the prison erected in 1684-5. 
 The deed last mentioned, establishes 
 another important fact ; the lot con- 
 veyed by it is described as having 'a 
 passage 6 foot broad on the south 
 side,' extending from the street to I 
 the creek. This passage is now built 
 up. Its location nearly opposite the 
 House of Defence, leaves little room 
 to doubt that this passage is the iden- 
 tical lane that Neeles Laerson was 
 directed by the Upland court to leave 
 open." 
 
 The third building occupied as a 
 Court-house, or rather the fourth, if 
 we count Laerson 's tavern as the first, 
 for the House of Defence was not 
 the tavern — for Captain Hans Jar- 
 gin's company was quartered in the 
 Block House when he was ordered to 
 " fitt up and finish y* house of defence 
 att Upland fitt for the Court to sitt 
 in" — stood nearly opposite to the 
 House of Defence, 259 feet 6 inches 
 from the S. W. corner of Front and 
 James Streets. It was erected in 1695, 
 
 upon a lot sold to the county by John 
 Hoskins, [Deed Book A, p. 190, at 
 West Chester,^ and its first story was 
 used as the prison. A portion of the 
 old wall is yet to be seen, preserved in 
 the northern gable of the building now 
 occupying its site. The jail was in the 
 cellar, and the bars of the windows 
 are, or were a few years ago, in their 
 original position. This court-house 
 was built by John Hoskins, in the year 
 1695, and by him conveyed to the 
 Commissioners of the county. 
 
 At March court, 1701, it was order- 
 ed that the " old Court House be set 
 on sale, the 6th day of the 3d mo. next, 
 papers to be set up to give notice that 
 it is to be sold at Vandew.'' At the 
 same court it was ordered that Jasper 
 Yeates, Ralph Fishbourn, Joseph Co- 
 bourn and Andrew Jobe, be super- 
 visors for the building of a new prison 
 upon the ground of James Sandilands, 
 and they are to build the said house 25 
 feet long and 18 feet wide in the clear, 
 or thereabouts, as they see cause, the 
 said house to front on High Street, and 
 at the north corner of the ground. 
 
 At the Dec. court (10 mo.,) 1701, 
 James Sandilands, by his attorney, 
 David Lloyd, delivered a deed to John 
 Blunston, Caleb Pusey, Ralph Fish- 
 bourn, Robert Pile and Philip Roman, 
 for a piece of land, being 120 feet 
 square, in the township of Chester, 
 for which said lot the grantees, at 
 the same time, delivered a declara- 
 tion of trust, showing that the i)ur- 
 chase was for the use of the county. 
 At the same court it was agreed by 
 the Justices and the Grand Jury, "to 
 repair the Court and Prison House" 
 with all possible speed, and they ap- 
 pointed Walter Martin, John Hoskins 
 and Henry Worley to be supervisors, 
 and oversee the work, and agree with 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 21 
 
 the workmen, provide materials, and 
 finish said work with all expedition, 
 and to provide a pair of stocks and a 
 7vhippiiig post. 
 
 At a Court held 24th of 12 mo. (Feb.) 1701- 
 2 : " We of the grand Jury for the body of this 
 county do present to this court the necesity of 
 a Court hous and prison hous, and finding 
 y' there is little money in the bank, and that 
 many have not paid their moiety, ^ Rate 
 of the last assessment, desirs that such may be 
 forsed; and also that there is necessity for 
 speedygatheringof the other half of the county 
 tax yet behind, do request the Justices to issue 
 out warrants for the speedy gathering of the 
 s'd half tax for the carying on s'd work and 
 defraying y" charg &c." 
 
 " Also in case of Emergency for the speedy 
 perfecting of s'd work, &c., we the grand Jury 
 request that the Justices take care to raise 
 more monys, as the law directs, for we are 
 sensibl that Law and Justice cannot have its 
 perfect courc without such housis for their 
 distribution as aforesaid." 
 
 In 1703, the old Court House, no 
 longer used, was presented as a nui- 
 sance, and ordered to be torn down. 
 The following is the order of the court : 
 "The Grand Jury having presented 
 the house commonly called the old 
 Court House, as being a nuisance, 
 and dangerous of taking fire, and so 
 would endanger the town, the court, 
 on deliberate consideration, orders — 
 the said House to be pulled down, 
 and that Jasper Yeates, Chief Burgess 
 of the Borough of Chester, shall see 
 the order performed." Now these 
 proceedings must have had reference 
 to the old House of Defence, which we 
 know was constructed of logs. They 
 could not have had reference to the 
 second Court House, or else the pro- 
 ceedings were stayed ; for at the close 
 of the year 1705, an act was passed by 
 the Legislature, to assure, grant and 
 convey unto Ralph Fishbourn of Ches- 
 ter, gentleman, one messuage, cottage 
 
 house or tenement and lot of ground 
 thereunto belonging, situate in Ches- 
 ter, in the couiaty of Chester, formerly 
 known by the name of the " Old 
 Court House." This was the court 
 house buik in 1684-5. 
 
 The fourth Court House, a substan- 
 tial stone structure, two stories high, 
 was built in 1724, which date may be 
 seen on its south wall. The building 
 is still in a good state of preservation. 
 Its position is on the west side of Mar- 
 ket Street, between Work and Free, 
 now Fourth and Fifth Streets. The 
 building contains the town-clock, and 
 its style of architecture denotes the 
 olden time, being girded above each 
 story with roof projections, which 
 gives it a look of solidity quite unlike 
 modern erections. The Jail, its ne- 
 cessary companion, once stood upon 
 the same lot, at the corner of Market 
 and Work Streets, but the county seat 
 having removed to Media, the jail was 
 sold and turned into a manufactory of 
 cotton goods, having been much in- 
 creased in size. Its site is now occu- 
 pied by Lincoln Hall, erected in 1866. 
 The old jail stood back from the street 
 some distance, thus giving a handsome, 
 wide, paved walk from Work Street to 
 the Court House door, beneath two 
 rows of linden trees. That part of the 
 jail building fronting Market Street, 
 was occupied as a residence by the 
 sheriff of the county. The old Court 
 House is now used as the Town Hall, 
 and for other purposes. The fine 
 sand-stone of which it is built, has 
 been disfigured by paint of a dull red 
 color. The jury roorns were in the 
 second story of the building. 
 
 In reference to the names of the 
 streets, before they were re-named by 
 the city authorities : Second was call- 
 ed Filbert : the present Front is anew 
 
22 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 street entirely, made by filling- in the 
 flats. Old Front, is now called Edg- 
 Diont Avenue ; it was anciently called 
 Chester Street. The present Third 
 Street was czS\&di James Street ; Fourth 
 was Work ; Fifth was Free Street ; 
 Market was called Main Street, and 
 Welsh Street was named ' ' Love Lane. ' ' 
 This latter was a quiet, retired walk, 
 embowered in trees twenty years ago; 
 and there the old, old story has been 
 told many and many a time. Dr. 
 Smith, p. 234, says : 
 
 " The ancient but substantial building, now 
 occupied as a Town Hall in the Borough of 
 Chester, and which was used as a Court House 
 u]) to the time of the removal of the seat of 
 justice to Media, was erected in 1724. The 
 following addition to the rear of the building, 
 (forming a recess where the judges sat,) was 
 erected at a much later date. An act was 
 passed this year (1724), ' to enable the trustees 
 to sell the old Court House and prison, belong- 
 ing to the borough and county of Chester.' 
 This sale was effected the following year, and 
 the record shows conclusively, that the 'old 
 Court House' referred to, was the one built 
 ajjout the year 1694-5, upon the lot purchased 
 from John Hoskins, and for which a deed was 
 executed by him to the county in 1697. The 
 purchase-money paid by the county, was ;^8. 
 The trustees sold the property to William 
 Preston, of Philadelphia, mariner, for £2^." 
 /Recorder's Office, West Chester, Deed Book 
 D. p. 276. It is now (1862) owned by Fred- 
 erick Fairlamb. 
 
 . Directly to the north of this old 
 Court House, there formerly stood, at 
 about 30 feet distance, the old struc- 
 ture, called ' ' The old Assembly House, ' ' 
 (erroneously, as the first assembly met 
 Dec. 7, 1682, before it was built,) late 
 the well-known residence of Samuel 
 Long, the cooper, torn down previous 
 to i860. The south side of this old 
 building was 230 feet 6 inches, south of 
 the S. W. corner of Front and James 
 Streets. It was the fijst Meeting House 
 of the Friends at Chester, and was erect- 
 
 ed in 1693, and it is said William Penn 
 often preached there. Samuel Lytle, 
 the old school-master of Chester, used 
 to be fond of speaking of this tradi- 
 tion. He was 85 years old in i860, 
 and is now deceased. 
 
 The following extracts from the pro- 
 ceedings of the Court, show that the 
 new Court House was for a time made 
 the depository of the Public Records : 
 
 " At a Court of Private Sessions, held at the 
 house of John Hannum, in Concord, Dec. 15, 
 1724, Joseph Parker having petitioned this 
 Court setting forth y® great danger y'= records of 
 y« county lay in, as well as by casualities of fire, 
 as other accidents which might happen, and 
 refer the same to your consideration to provide 
 a place for keeping y^said Records in w't may 
 be of greater security, whereupon y*^ Court 
 upon mature consideration of the same, allows 
 y^ petition to be reasonable, and orders y'^ clerk 
 to present y^ same before y^ commissioners and 
 Assessors of y* same county, in order that they 
 may fit a room in y^ new Court House for keep- 
 ing y® s'd Records in ; and when prepared 
 order y^ old clerk to transmit all y« said Re- 
 cords to y* place so appropriated accordingly, 
 and not to be removed without y'> Court's di- 
 rection." 
 
 In 1 741, the Court House and Pri- 
 son, were repaired and painted, a well 
 dug in the Court House yard, and an 
 order given by the Commissioners to 
 Nathan Worley for ;^io, for planks 
 for flooring the two dungeons on the 
 east side of the prison and laying the 
 floors, &c. And one to Thomas Mor- 
 gan for ^5 \\s. 6d., for 150 lbs. 
 spikes for laying the dungeon's floors. 
 Charles Justis says : " The old wooden 
 pump that stood in front of the old 
 jail, had an iron handle. That when 
 the old Lombardy i)Oi)lar trees were 
 cut down, the plat was paved with 
 brick, and two rows of linden trees 
 were planted to replace the old pop- 
 lars. The plat was laid in grass pre- 
 viously." When the county offices 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 23 
 
 which stood to the north of the Court 
 House, on the same side of the street, 
 at the corner of Free, were erected, I 
 cannot say. The building was double, 
 with a stairway at the north end lead- 
 ing into the second story, a part of 
 which was used as the office of the 
 County Commissioners, and I think 
 Edward Darlington had his law office 
 in the other part, at one time. The 
 first story was occupied by the Pro- 
 thonotary of the County, &c. 
 
 Upon the Record of Upland Court, 
 of March 13, 1677, there appears the 
 following curious entry : 
 
 " Mr. John Test lirought into Court a certain 
 man-servant named William Still, a Taylorhy 
 trade, whome he the sd Test did acknowledge 
 to have sold unto Captain Edmund Cantwell, 
 for the space and tearme of four yeares, be- 
 ginning from the first of April last past. The 
 sd William Still, declared in Court to be will- 
 ing to serve said Captain Cantwell the above 
 tearme of four yeares." 
 
 At a Court held 11 Sep"" 1677, there 
 was tried a case of assault and battery ; 
 Justice Israeli Helm, P", Oele Oelesen 
 (als) Coeckoe Def. It appears that the 
 Deft, at the house of Juns Justisse, with 
 Evill words abused the Justice and af- 
 terwards beat him and tore his shirt. 
 The Court after hearing the testimony 
 of Lace Coleman, &c. "Doe Condemne 
 the said oele oelsen in a fyne of 210 
 gilders ; sixty thereof for the poore or 
 Church and the Remainder to the 
 sherife, and doe further order y' the s** 
 oele oelsen doe humbly aske forgiue- 
 ness of Justice Israeli helm and the 
 Co''' for his s^ offence." Oelesen, is 
 now Allison. 
 
 Albert Hendriex, having served his 
 leare as constable, was relieved. He 
 is the first person known who held 
 that office in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Proud, in his History of Pennsyl- 
 
 vania, vol. i. p. 193 (1797), writing of 
 the settlement of the English under 
 Penn, states : 
 
 " Three ships sailed for Pennsylvania this 
 year (1681), two from London, and one from 
 Bristol. The 'John & Sarah,' from London, 
 commanded by Henry Smith, is said to have 
 been the first that arrived there, the ' Amity,' 
 Richard Dimon, master, from the same place, 
 with passengers, was blown oft" to the West 
 Indies, and did not arrive at the Province till 
 the spring of the next year ; the ' Bristol Fac- 
 tor,' Roger Drew, commander, arrived at the 
 place Chester now stands, on the nth of 
 December, 1681, when the passengers seeing 
 some houses, went on shore at Robert Wade's 
 landing, near the lower side of Chester Creek, 
 and the river having frozen up that night, 
 the passengers remained there all winter." 
 
 Watson says : 
 
 " They dug caves and built huts of any 
 materials they could find for their habitations, 
 and thus passed the cold weather. In one of 
 those caves or huts, was born the patriarch 
 Emanuel Grubb, who lived to be nearly 1 00 
 years old. Some of his descendants live in 
 Chester at the present time. He died in 1767, 
 aged 86 years. ' He was really called the first 
 born of English parentage in the Province.' " 
 See note to communication of John F. Watson, 
 in the Upland Union of Nov. 4, 1826, and in 
 his MS. Historical Collections, p. 190, in the 
 Library .of the Historical Society of Pa. 
 
 The winter of 1681, must have been 
 a very severe one, and it is said the 
 winter of 1657 was remarkable for its 
 severity ; the Delaware was frozen over 
 in one night, so that a deer could run 
 over it, which, as the Indians related, 
 had not happened within the memory 
 of man. 
 
 The only passengers in the three 
 ships, whose names are mentioned by 
 Proud, are — William Markham, De- 
 puty Governor, John Otter, Nathaniel 
 Allen, Edmund Lovett, with their fam- 
 ilies, and several servants of Governor 
 Penn, and Joseph Kirkbride, then a 
 
24 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 boy, afterwards a celebrated Quaker 
 l)reacher. 
 
 The preceding paragraph introduces 
 Robert Wade, the first member of the 
 Society of Friends who settled at Up- 
 land, where he arrived and took up his 
 abode in the year 1675. He was an 
 f^nglishman, who came over to this 
 country in the "Griffith," with Fen- 
 wick ; his residence was on the west 
 side of Chester Creek near its mouth, 
 on the same tract that had been known 
 as Printzdorp, and which had been 
 previously occupied by Mrs. Papegoya, 
 the daughter of the Swedish Governor 
 Printz. This lady having been re- 
 instated in the family possessions at 
 Tinicum, disposed of her Upland pro- 
 perty to Robert Wade, or some other 
 person from whom he obtained it. 
 Formerly, a solitary pine tree stood 
 near the place, pointed out by the old 
 folks as the former site of Wade's 
 house. I remember Joseph B. Wade, 
 late of Chester, now of Philadelphia, 
 pointing out the place to me. The 
 old pine tree was blown down by a 
 storm, in 1864. 
 
 Printzdorjj was situated on the grant 
 by Queen Christina to Capt. John 
 Amundson Besk, who never seems to 
 have taken possession of the lands 
 given him. The letter of Beekman, 
 of Sep. 14, 1662, gives the exact loca- 
 tion of the place. He writes, " I in- 
 quired into the situation of a certain 
 lot of land on the south-west side of 
 Upland Kill, and was informed by the 
 Swedish Commissaries and other an- 
 cient inhabitants of said nation, that 
 the aforesaid is called Printz' s village, 
 which had already been in ])ossession 
 during 16 years of the Swedish Govr. 
 John Printz, and his daughter, who 
 owns it." 
 
 Tlie maiden name of Mrs. Papegoya 
 
 of Upland was Jeuffro Armigart Printz, 
 as appears by the record of a judgment 
 obtained by her in 1672, at the Assizes 
 in New York, against Andrew Carr 
 and Priscilla, his wife. Hazard' s An- 
 nals, p. 423. 
 
 Along the banks of the Delaware, 
 near by, there grew in my boyhood, 
 about 1836, a number of walnut trees, 
 extending along the shore to Edmund 
 Pennell's place, near Richard W. 
 Flowers' residence, called Lamokin ; 
 here I used to Avander with my young 
 companions, my brother, William 
 Martin, Jr., Franklin A. Dick, Lewis 
 Ladomus, Harry Porter, Samuel and 
 Harry Edwards, and others, to gather 
 walnuts, or to hunt for Indian arrow 
 heads on the sandy beach. We used 
 to find great numbers of the latter, 
 made of white, yellow, and gray flint 
 stones, some of which I have yet ; we 
 put most of our treasures in the Lyce- 
 um, in a room over the old Market 
 House in Chester. 
 
 The residence of Robert Wade, was 
 called the Essex House (probably in 
 remembrance of his native place), and 
 was rendered famous, as being the 
 dwelling wherein William Penn was 
 first entertained upon his first landing 
 in Upland, on the 29th of Oct., 1682. 
 It was here also that William Edmund- 
 son, an eminent Quaker preacher, held 
 a meeting in 1675. Whether Essex 
 House was built by Friend Wade, or 
 by the daughter of Gov. Printz,* is 
 unknown, probably by the latter, as 
 we find Robert Wade within a few 
 months after, taking up his abode at 
 Upland, the owner of a house large 
 enough to entertain Edmundson, and 
 hold a meeting in, and prepared to 
 
 * I am aware oilier parties say, Mrs. I'ape- 
 j^oya's liouse aii<l proiierty were at 'rinieuni, 
 hut they are mistaken. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 25 
 
 join tlie preacher on a journey to 
 Maryland. The Essex House, stood 
 upon the site of the commodious brick 
 house now at the N. W. corner of 
 Penn and Front Streets, owned and 
 occupied by Captain Richard Ross, 
 and which was built by Jesse M. Eyre, 
 in 1850. The S. E. gable of Wade's 
 house fronted the river Delaware ; 
 its S. W. front was towards Essex 
 Street, and its front porch looked 
 upon Chester Creek. It was situated 
 about 200 yards from where Chester 
 Creek now flows into the Delaware ; 
 but the entrance was much nearer in 
 the days of Penn, the creek at that 
 time extending its waters more west- 
 ward ; the meadow not having then 
 been banked in, as now. It stood, 
 though in ruins, until about the year 
 1800, and its foundations were struck 
 upon in excavating the cellar for the 
 present building. Between Wade's 
 house and the river, stood the ancient 
 pine and walnut trees, that waved a 
 welcome to the peaceful footsteps of 
 our Commonwealth's founder. 
 
 The exact spot of Penn's landing is 
 recognized as being near the south 
 front of the former residence of John 
 M. Broomall, Esq., about 40 feet from 
 the porch, and 50 feet eastward of the 
 line of Penn Street. Its locality is 
 preserved by a pine tree, planted un- 
 der the auspices of Mr. Broomall and 
 the Historical Society of Pa. White- 
 head' s Historical Sketch , Directory of 
 Chester, 1859-60. 
 
 The following persons are known 
 to have been passengers in the ship 
 " Griffin," which vessel arrived in the 
 Delaware on the 23d of the 9th month 
 (Nov.), 1675. The list is copied from 
 " A Record of Arrivals, ' ' belonging to 
 the Monthly Meeting of Friends at 
 Salem, New Jersey, in the archives of 
 
 the Historical Society of Pa. : — John 
 ffenwick, Richard Wade, Richard 
 Noble, Richard Guy, Edward Champ- 
 ney, Samuel Wade son of John Wade 
 of Northampton, England ; Nath'l 
 Champneys, Sr., Joseph Ware, Nath'l 
 Champneys, Jr., John Burton, Fran- 
 cis Smithey, John Smart, son of Roger 
 Smart of Wiltshire, aged 18 years; 
 Samuel Nicholson, his wife and five 
 children, viz., Agnes, Elizabeth, Sam- 
 uel, Joseph and Abel Nicholson ; John 
 Smith and his wife, Martha Croftos, 
 of the county of Norfolk and their 4 
 children, Daniel, Samuel, David and 
 Sarah Smith, and Edward Wade and 
 Prudence his wife. It is not known 
 whether any of these Friends settled 
 at Upland at that time. Robert Wade 
 and his family, therefore, enjoy the 
 distinction of being the first members 
 of the Society who settled in Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 On Dec. 5, 1679, Albert Hendricks 
 o{ Lamoco, transferred by deed to John 
 Test of Upland, his land at the head 
 of Upland Creek, beginning at Robert 
 Wade's marked beech tree, being part 
 of a greater tract, conveyed by patent 
 from the Governor, and called Lamoco. 
 
 Watson, in his Annals of Philadel- 
 phia, says : 
 
 " In 1679, was born Richard Buf¥ington, 
 son of Richard, he being the first born English- 
 man in Pennsylvania. The facts in this case 
 were particulary commemorated in the parish 
 of Chester, on the 30th of May, 1739, when 
 his father having attained his 85th year, had 
 a meeting of all his descendants, numbering 
 115 persons, assembled at his house, the first- 
 born being present, and then in the 60th year 
 of his age." At a later period Mr. Watson 
 writes ; " Although I was correct as to the 
 family collection of Richard Buffington in 
 1739, I think I must have been mistaken 
 respecting his being called a first horn, unless 
 it referred to a ])eriod before the English 
 
20 
 
 HISTORY OF CHEST EK. 
 
 Cnvernmenl existed, say ni 1654. See MS. 
 Collections of Watson, p. 190. 
 
 As to Richard Bufifington, it appears 
 to me that Watson in his later note, 
 referred to the father instead of the 
 son. I have not met with any old 
 recoids of this family, but from their 
 wills, it appears that the first Richard 
 died in January or February, 1747-8, 
 having survived his son Richard, who 
 died in April or May, 1741. The 
 3d Richard was born 11 mo. 23, 1715- 
 16, and died in 1781 or '82. The 
 4th Richard was born 12 mo. 18, 
 1750, and died in 1803. His son, 
 the 5th Richard, was born in 1802, 
 and is still living in Chester County. 
 March 10, 1680, Richard Noble, 
 produced his commission from Gov. 
 Andross, dated Dec. 15, 1679, ^^ Pur- 
 veyor of Upland, to the court. And 
 Israel Helm transferred his house, 
 land and plantation at Upland to 
 James Sandilands. 
 
 June 7, 1680, Gov. Andross, com- 
 missioned Otto Ernest Cock, Henry 
 Jones, Israel Helm, Lasa Cock, and 
 George Browne, Justices of the Peace 
 for Upland Court, the first commis- 
 sion for this new county of Upland. 
 
 Proud, makes the Deputy Gov'r, 
 Col. Markham, a passenger in the 
 "Bristol Factor." Now, as that ves- 
 sel did not arrive at Upland till Dec. 
 II, 1 681, he is evidently mistaken. 
 His commission is dated April 10, 
 1 681, and was presented to the Gover- 
 nor at New York, previous to June 21, 
 and on Sept. 13th, a court, with jus- 
 tices, sheriff and clerk, holding their 
 appointments from him, was in session 
 at Upland, and on the very day the 
 old Upland Court adjourned sine die. 
 On Nov. 30, 1681, Gov. Markham pre- 
 sided over the new court. His com- 
 mission empowered him "to call a 
 
 Council, and that to consist of nine, he 
 presiding. ' ' In accordance therewith, 
 he selected the following persons to 
 form the Council : — Robert Wade, 
 Morgan Drewet, William Woodman- 
 son, William Warner, Thomas ffairman, 
 James Sandilands, William Clayton, 
 Otto Ernest Cock, and Lacy Cock. 
 These took the oath of office at Up- 
 land, on the 3d of Aug., 1681. The 
 proceedings of the Council were kept 
 secret, and nothing is known about 
 them, except that on the day men- 
 tioned, the first legularly constituted 
 government in the Province of Penn- 
 sylvania was organized, with its seat 
 at Upland. 
 
 During the years 1681, '82 ard '83, 
 before the location and final settlement 
 of Philadelphia, Uplatid must have 
 been quite a lively place. It was the 
 oldest settlement on the Delaware 
 River known to the English ship- 
 owners and provincial authorities, as 
 being on the west side of the river, 
 and supposed to lie within the boun- 
 daries of Penn's grant, consequently 
 most of the emigrants made their first 
 landing there, and remained there 
 until they had determined upon the 
 places of their future residences in the 
 colony. Mrs. Sarah Shoemaker, who 
 died near Chester in 1825, aged 92 
 years, said, her grandfather, James 
 Lownes, told her such was the case. 
 It is known that during the year 1681, 
 twenty-three English ships with emi- 
 grants to the Province, arrived in the 
 Delaware. Many of these vessels 
 anchored at Upland, without doubt, 
 for it was then the chosen site for the 
 future capital of Pennsylvania, and 
 the Council and the Courts of the 
 Province were then already in session 
 there. It is said Penn would have 
 made Chester the cajjital of his Pro- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 27 
 
 vince, if he could have come to terms 
 with the Sandilands about the pur- 
 chase of the land. 
 
 The present location of Philadelphia 
 was only determined upon afterwards 
 by William Penn, when he discovered 
 that Uplattd was not far enough north 
 for the 40th degree, the boundary line 
 claimed by Lord Baltimore. See the 
 History of Maso7i and Dixon'' s Line, 
 by Latrobe ; published by the Historical 
 Society of Fa., 1855. 
 
 Henry Hollingsworth, the assistant 
 of Thomas Holme, Surveyor-General 
 of the Province, kept a journal in which 
 this statement is entered. The journal 
 was extant, until it was taken and de- 
 stroyed by the British at Elkton, in 
 1777. JFatson^s Annals, p. 14, and 
 note. 
 
 V. 
 
 Hazard's Register for Jan., 1830, 
 p. 79, has the following, copied from 
 the original in the Prothonotary's Of- 
 fice of the Court of Common Pleas at 
 New Castle, Delaware : 
 
 " Oct. 28, 1682, on the 27th day of October, 
 1682, arrived before y* towne of New Castle 
 in Delewer from England, William Penn, 
 Esquire, Propriet'y of Pe7thdania, who pro- 
 duced two certain deeds of feofment from y« 
 Illustrious Prince James, Duke of York & Al- 
 bany, etc., for this Towne of New Castle and 
 twelve myles about it, and also for y«two Lower 
 Counties, Whoorekills and St. Jones's, wch s'd 
 Deeds bore date 24 August 1682, and persu- 
 ant to the true Intent, Purpose and meaning 
 of his Royal highnesse in y« same deeds hee 
 y" sd William Penn, Received possession of 
 ye Towne of New Castle, y^ 28th of October, 
 1682." The description of the property con- 
 veyed is thus set forth in the premises of the 
 first of said deeds : " All that town of New 
 Castle, otherwise called Delaware, and all that 
 tract of land lying within the compass or circle 
 of Twelve miles about the same, scituate, lying 
 
 and being on the River Delaware in America, 
 and all the Islands in said River Delaware, 
 and said River and Soyle thereof lying north 
 of the southernmost part of the said circle of 
 Twelve miles about said Town; together with 
 all the rents," &c. 
 
 The claim of the State of Delaware 
 to the absolute jurisdiction over the 
 whole width of the Delaware River and 
 Bay, for twelve miles above and twelve 
 miles below New Castle, has often 
 excited comment ; but it is remark- 
 able that, during a period now of 194 
 years, this jurisdiction has seldom been 
 questioned, and never successfully. It 
 has always been the custoni of the 
 Courts of Delaware, to issue writs or 
 other legal process seizing vessels or 
 persons on the river, over to low-water 
 mark on the shore of New Jersey. 
 
 In 1848, the whole matter was defi- 
 nitely passed upon by the Hon. John 
 Sergeant, of the Philadelphia Bar, the 
 referee in the celebrated " Pea Patch" 
 case, which was a dispute in reference 
 to the title of the island of that name 
 in the Delaware Bay, upon which the 
 United States erected " Fort Dela- 
 ware." The review of all the facts in 
 that arbitration was thorough, search- 
 ing and complete, and the decision of 
 the referee, which confirmed the title 
 of the State of Delaware to the island 
 and jurisdiction of the river within the 
 twelve miles circle, is not likely to be 
 reversed. Lately (May, 1872), New 
 Jersey fishermen, without licenses from 
 Delaware, have been arrested near the 
 Jersey shore, taken to Delaware, fined, 
 and compelled to take out licenses or 
 stop fishing. The Governor of New 
 Jersey has issued a proclamation claim- 
 ing the jurisdiction of his State over 
 one-half of the river, &c. This may 
 bring the matter hereafter before the 
 Supreme Court of the United States ; 
 
28 
 
 lIISTUliY OF OHKSTEK. 
 
 but I do not til ink that so ancient a 
 title and jurisdiction as the one Dela- 
 ware here claims, can be successfully 
 resisted. 
 
 The derivation of Delaware's title is 
 as ancient, nearly, as the settlement of 
 the English upon the river. The 
 northern boundary of the State of 
 Delaware is the well known semi-cir- 
 cular line, called Mason and Dixon's 
 Line — run in accordance with one of 
 the two deeds of "feoffment" above 
 mentioned, dated Aug. 24, 1682. The 
 twelve miles circle does not run the 
 jurisdiction of Delaware into the State 
 of New Jersey, because the land in the 
 latter State had been previously grant- 
 ed, down to the water's edge, first to 
 the Duke of York, and by him, in 
 1664, to Lord Berkeley and Lord Car- 
 taret. The grant to William Penn, 
 with all its sovereign rights, pas.sed, 
 by the Revolution, to, and became 
 vested in the State of Delaware, and 
 her jurisdiction ends where New Jer- 
 sey's begins, at the water's edge on 
 the Jersey shore. The circle crosses 
 the river, on the north of New Castle, 
 just below Marcus Hook, and above 
 the present railroad station at Clay- 
 mont (Naaman's Creek), and on the 
 south it again crosses the river at a 
 l)oint below Port Penn and "Listen's 
 Tree." Considering the bends in the 
 river, the length thus included of that 
 stream is, probably, not less than 24 
 miles. Below the circular line, the 
 boundary between Delaware and New 
 Jersey is, of course, the middle of the 
 bay. 
 
 On Oct. 28, 1682, John Moll, attor- 
 ney for the Duke of York, made a for- 
 mal livery of seizin to William Penn, of 
 this circular grant. Upon Penn's land- 
 ing at New Castle, he presented the 
 new Proprietor with " the key of the 
 
 Fort," and the great Quaker unlocked 
 the door thereof and took possession. 
 The attorney then presented him with 
 " one Turf, with a sprig upon it, a por- 
 ringer of river water, and soil, in part 
 of all that was specified in said Inden- 
 ture." This was an entire surrender 
 and delivery of the land and water 
 within the circle, and the transfer of 
 the jurisdiction was afterwards made 
 complete, and the whole transaction 
 entered upon the records of the Duke 
 of York's colony in New York. 
 
 Delaware's claim is thus set forth in 
 her Revised Code; chap, i, sect, ist ; 
 
 " The Jurisdiction and sovereignty of the 
 State extends to all places within the boun- 
 daries thereof, &c. vSec. 2. The limits of the 
 State are declared to be, the division lines 
 between it and the State of Maryland, run and 
 marked by the Commissioners and approved 
 on the nth of January, 1769; the circular line 
 between it and Pennsylvania, surveyed and 
 marked in 1701, under a warrant issued by 
 William Penn, in pursuance of the feoffment 
 from the Duke of York, dated Aug. 24, 1682, 
 as the same has been held, occupied and re- 
 cognized by the said States respectively, ever 
 since that time; low-water mark on the eastern 
 side of the river Delaware, within the twelve 
 mile circle from New Castle, and the middle 
 of the Bay below that circle." 
 
 William Penn having agreed to lay 
 out a city, instructed his commission- 
 ers, Crispin, Bezer and Allen : 
 
 " That the creeks should be sounded on my 
 side of the Delaware River, especially Up- 
 land, in order to settle a great towne, and be 
 sure to make your choice where it is most 
 navigable, high, dry and healthy. That is, 
 where most ships may best ride, of deej^est 
 draught of water, if possible to load and un- 
 load at y<>bank or key side without boating or 
 litering it. It would be well if y* river com- 
 ing into y' creek be navigable at least for boats 
 up into the country, and y' the scituation be 
 high, at least dry and sound, and not swampy, 
 wch is best knowne by digging up two or 
 three earths, and seeing the bottom." 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 29 
 
 In Gordon's Appendix to his His- 
 tory of Pa., p. 605, it is said, "It is 
 not probable that Chester detained the 
 attention of the commissioners, since 
 it is wanting in ahiiost all the requi- 
 sites for a large city." 
 
 At this time all the titles to the land 
 upon the Delaware River and Bay, 
 from Upland to the Capes, were held 
 from the New York Government. In 
 1 71 7, when the Earl of Sutherland was 
 endeavoring to obtain a grant of the 
 counties of New Castle, Kent and Sus- 
 sex from the crown, James Logan 
 resisted his pretensions in an essay, 
 tending to prove that they were always 
 a part of the New York colony. In 
 referring to the statement of the claims 
 of the two proprietors, Lord Baltimore 
 and William Penn, he states that, " al- 
 though the title is not expressly men- 
 tioned, it is there shown from Dr. 
 Heylin's Cosmography, that Nieii Ne- 
 derlandt extended to the westward and 
 southward of Delaware River and Bay 
 — that the Dutch had planted the 
 western side of it, and built two towns 
 on it, viz. : Whoorhill, now Lewes, and 
 Sandt Hook, now New Castle — that 
 this river being taken by the English 
 from the Dutch in 1655, together with 
 New Amstel and the Noord Riviere, 
 now New York and Hudson, altogether 
 as one country, known by the name of 
 Nieu Ncdcrlandt, came therefore under 
 the government of the Duke of York, 
 whose right to the western side of the 
 Delaware was fully submitted to by the 
 Dutch and all settlers amongst them ; 
 and when retaken by the Dutch, and 
 conquered a second time by the En- 
 glish, it returned to its former subjec- 
 tion to the Duke." 
 
 At the first session of the Court held 
 at Upland, under the new dispensation 
 of Dep. Crov. Markham, in 16S2, the 
 
 following gentlemen were appointed 
 officers of the court : — William Clay- 
 ton, William Warner, Robert Wade, 
 Otto Ernest Cock, William Byles, Ro- 
 bert Lucas, Lasse Cock, Swan Swan- 
 son and Andreas Bankson, Justices ; 
 John Test, Sheriff ; and Thomas Re- 
 vell. Clerk. Five of the Justices were 
 English and four Swedes. The Duke's 
 laws were declared abolished, and all 
 legal proceedings were, by the Deputy 
 Governor's orders, to be conducted 
 " according to the good laws of Eng- 
 land." During the first year the court 
 found it impossible to carry out fully 
 their instructions in this regard. 
 
 The first case reached and called for 
 trial by the new Court, was that of 
 Peter Errickson vs. Harman Johnson 
 and Margaret, his wife, an action of 
 assault and battery. Morgan Drewet, 
 Wm. Woodmanson, William Hewes, 
 James Brown, Henry Reynolds, Robert 
 Schooley, Richard Pittman, Lassey 
 Dalboe, John Ackraman, Peter Ram- 
 bo, Jr., Henry Hastings, and Wm. 
 Oxley, yurors. Witness, — William 
 Parke. Verdict, for the plaintiff, dd., 
 damages and costs. 
 
 In the next case the same parties 
 were reversed, the same cause of action, 
 and the same jury. The witnesses were 
 Anna Colemon, Richard Buffington, 
 and Ebenezer Taylor. Verdict for 
 plaintiff, 40 shillings and cost of suit. 
 It will be perceived that the old prac- 
 tice of making the prosecutor plaintiff 
 in criminal cases was still continued. 
 
 And in a case of debt tried by the 
 same court, there was a verdict given 
 for 62 gilders; showing that it is hard 
 to break off old habits. After the Re- 
 volution, our ancestors found it as 
 difficult to forget their £. s. and d. 
 
 I have copied the above proceed- 
 intrs to show that luiglish names were 
 
so 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 becoming, in 1681, (juite common at I 
 Upland, and we might call a jury to- 
 day in Chester, with some of the same 
 names on the panel. Besides these 
 English names, others occurred in the 
 proceedings of the new court, which 
 are familiar to our ears, viz. : Charles 
 Brigham, AValter Humphrey, Casper 
 Fiske, Richard Ridgeway, Richard 
 Noble, Wm. Cobb, Francis Stephen- 
 son, John Wood, John Champion and 
 Thomas Nossiter. These and many 
 others had become residents of Upland 
 and its vicinity prior to the date of 
 Penn's patent. 
 
 Andreas Banckson, mentioned as 
 one of the justices of the new court at 
 Upland, in 1682, was a Swede, a na- 
 tive of Stockholm, and arrived in this 
 country March 24, 1656, in the Swed- 
 ish ship '^ Mercuriusy His real name 
 was Andres Bengtsson, and there were 
 nine members of his family living in 
 1693 ; and he was still living in 1703. 
 See Clay s Annals, "^^i. 29, 167. An- 
 dres Banckson, mentions in his will, 
 proven at Philadelphia, Sept. 2, 1706, 
 his wife, Gertrude, his sons Banet, 
 John, Peter, Jacob, and Daniel, and 
 his daughters, Catharine and Bridget. 
 He was the possessor of an extensive 
 estate in Passayunk, and elsewhere. 
 The homestead, consisting of 218 
 acres, he devises equally to his sons, 
 Peter, John, Jacob and Daniel ; and 
 a portion of it is held to this day by 
 his descendants. Banet, /. e., Benja- 
 min, was the father of Jacob, who was 
 the ancestor of the wife of my brother 
 William. 
 
 My mother's grandmother, Ann 
 Bond, wife of John Welsh, of Phila- 
 delphia, merchant, was, family tradi- 
 tion says, of Swedish descent ; she was 
 a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth 
 Bond, of Marcus Hook ; Elizabeth, 
 
 being, probably, a daughter of Walter 
 and Sarah Martin, of the same place. 
 Jacob Bankson in. Hannah, another 
 daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth 
 Bond. They had issue, Benjamin, 
 Mary, Elizabeth, Rebecca {b. June 
 23) 1753)) and Sarah; all of whom 
 are mentioned in his will, proved April 
 20, 1788, in which he calls himself 
 "Yeoman of the District of South- 
 wark," and refers to his son, Benja- 
 min, thus : " If he returns again, and 
 is alive after the decease of my wife, 
 Hannah," &c. Benjamin was the 
 captain of a merchant ship, which 
 sailed from Philadelphia and was never 
 heard of again. 
 
 Mary, daughter of Jacob and Han- 
 nah, b. Oct. 7, 1745, d. July 19, 1829, 
 ;;/. Samuel Taylor of Philadelphia, d. 
 Oct. 7, 1780, and left issue ; Rebecca, 
 Martha, b. Oct. 9, 1766; Hannah, 
 b. Feb. 24, 1769 ; Mary, b. Sept. 13, 
 1770; Bankson, b. Sept. 17, 1772; 
 Samuel, b. Feb. 26, 1775 ; and Eliza- 
 beth, b. Aug. 12, 1777. These two 
 latter died young and unmarried. Re- 
 becca, m. Capt. Azel Howard ; he 
 d. Dec. 28, 1824, she d. Jan. 24, 
 1858; their only child, Elizabeth, m. 
 William Connell Graham, son of the 
 late Robert M. Graham, druggist; their 
 children were, i. Montgomery, d. at 
 10 years: 2. Emma, m. Samuel Grant 
 Smith, a grandson of the late Sam- 
 uel Grant, an old and esteemed mer- 
 chant of Philadelphia, they have one 
 child, a daughter : 3. Clementia, ;//. 
 Mr. Miller, and died March, 1875, 
 leaving a son and a daughter, Em- 
 ma : 4. Eliza, ?;/. John McDowell, 
 and has a daughter: 5. Ella, m. Ben- 
 jamin Cross, Jr., musician, (a son of 
 the late distinguished musician, leader 
 and composer, of the same name) ; they 
 have three sons, lienjamin, Oliver, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 31 
 
 and another. Martha Taylor, b. Oct. 
 9, 1766, m. a Mr. Wilson, of Ber- 
 muda, W. I., and had Patty, m. Wm. 
 Alexander, who died childless, and 
 Mary Ann, m. George Claxton, who 
 was a clerk of Bankson Taylor, ship- 
 chandler, and had issue, George Wil- 
 son Claxton, who married, but died 
 without' issue about Jan. i, 1875, and 
 Bankson and Howard Claxton, twins ; 
 the latter died and left no issue, the 
 former married a Miss Thompson, and 
 died leaving three children. Martha 
 Claxton, died single. Fannie Clax- 
 ton ni. Howard lidwards ; and Alex- 
 ander Claxton, who married, but his 
 wife and children are all dead. He 
 was lost at the burning of the ferry- 
 boat, " New Jersey," on the night of 
 March 15, 1856, when crossing the 
 Delaware to his house in Camden, N. 
 J. Mary Taylor, b. Sept. 13, 1770, 
 VI. Jacob Clement, and died Aug. 18, 
 1793, leaving Elizabeth, Samuel and 
 Charles. Jacob Clement d. Dec. 24, 
 1825, aged 71 years; his second wife 
 was Hannah, a sister of his first wife, 
 she died Jan. 6, 1847, without issue. 
 Elizabeth, m. Elisha N. English ; they 
 had, I am informed, three sons and 
 two daughters, some of whom are liv- 
 ing in Philadelphia. Bankson Taylor, 
 shipping merchant of Philadelphia (in 
 partnership with his brother-in law, 
 Clement), married Hetty McWilliams^ 
 daughter of Richard, of New Castle, 
 Delaware ; she was a very handsome 
 little lady, and an excellent performer 
 on the piano ; she died Aug. 19, 1821, 
 aged 37 years ; he died Dec. 26, 1836, 
 aged 64 years and 3 months ; leaving 
 Richard, (m. Emeline Kenton, ward 
 of Stephen Girard, and died Dec, 
 1855, leaving a widow and two daugh- 
 ters, Emily and Annie ; he was a 
 Brewer, 8th and Vine, Philadelphia,) 
 
 and the following daughters, Mary 
 and Louisa, who died in infancy. 
 Hetty, ni. Francis King ; she died 
 Sept. 13, 1876; they had Annie, 
 Hetty M., and Mary B. m. Joseph H. 
 Wainwright, in May 1875. -Rebecca, 
 VI. Chauncy P. Holcomb, Esq., of the 
 Philadelphia Bar, Jan. 10, 185 1 ; they 
 removed to Delaware, and Mrs. H. 
 died there, Nov. 4, 1851, leaving two 
 sons, Bankson T. andJPhomas, now a 
 member of the Bar, of New Castle, 
 Delaware ; their father d. April 5, 
 1855. Martha, vi. Franklin P. Hol- 
 comb, of Georgia, and died April 28, 
 1858, without issue. William B., ni. 
 Ellen Jane Tingley, (daughter of Benj. 
 and Elizabeth,)who died Feb. 19, 1872, 
 leaving the following children : Eli- 
 zabeth (;//. Frederick Addicks), Nellie, 
 Alice, Anna and Bankson. Bankson 
 Taylor's youngest son, Samuel, was 
 drowned, by falling from Race Street 
 Wharf into the Delaware. 
 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and 
 Hannah Bankson, b. Jan. 2, 1747-8, 
 d. Dec. 24, 1 819, m. (ist) Capt. Daw- 
 son Durham, a merchant captain, Aug. 
 8, 1779 ; he went to sea 22 days after, 
 and has never been heard of since. 
 She married, 2d, Capt. William Wroth 
 of the merchant service, Sept. 25, 
 1783; they had three children, one 
 only survived infancy, Sarah Mont- 
 gomery, b. Feb. 19, 1785, d. Jan. 15, 
 1861, m. (ist.) James McKeever, a 
 merchant captain, Sept. 7, 181 7, and 
 had a son, Wm. Murdock, who died 
 in infancy ; she married, 2d, Walter 
 Thompson, grocer, of Philadelphia, in 
 1823; she being his second wife ; he 
 died Jan. 29, 1854, leaving her sur- 
 viving, and a son, Walter, andadaugh- 
 ter Elizabeth B. Walter, b. Feb. 15, 
 1824, ;;/. Eliza Cooper ; they had 
 George, Walter and Georgiana, who 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 died youiiL;, and Mary Baxter, and 
 Frederick Wolhert. Elizabeth B. ?n. 
 William Martin, Jr., Aug. 3, 1848 ; 
 and they had Walter Thompson, and 
 Sallie Martin. Walter T. d. July 22, 
 1876, aged 27 yrs. and 3 days. 
 
 Sarah Bankson, dau. of Jacob and 
 Hannah, b. Dec. 28, 1759, in. Joseph 
 Huddell : and had issue, Bankson, who 
 died in boyhood of hydrophobia, and 
 Hannah, b. Sept. 13, 1792, tn. Rev. 
 Charles M. Dupuy, an Episcopal min- 
 ister, and died without issue, (and was 
 buried in Christ Church grave-yard,) 
 Dec, 16, 1851 ; she was educated at 
 the Moravian school for girls, at Beth- 
 lehem, Pa. Rev. Mr. Depuy d. in 
 1875, and her real estate, consisting 
 of a portion of the plantation of her 
 g. g. grandfather, Andres Bengtsson, 
 will be divided among her next of 
 kin, living at her decease, in accord- 
 ance with the provisions of the in- 
 testate laws, which need a careful 
 revision. After the death of his wife, 
 Sarah, Joseph Huddell ni. (2d) Re- 
 becca Matlack, by whom he had 
 (ieorge, Joseph, Jr., the present Asst. 
 Treasurer of the Philadelphia, Wil- 
 mington and Baltimore R. R. Co., 
 and Martha, Elizabeth and Wm. Penn 
 Huddell. Joseph Huddell, d. Jan. 15, 
 1820, in his 86th year ; and his widow, 
 Rebecca, April 30, 1830, in her 8ist 
 year. Their tombstone is near the 
 south side of the belfry-steeple of St. 
 Peter's Church. 
 
 Rebecca Bankson, daughter of Ja- 
 cob and Hannah, b. June 23, 1753, d. 
 March, 1847, i'"* the 94th year of her 
 age, immarried ; she was buried in 
 the Bankson vault in St. Peter's Church 
 yard, Philadelphia, being before her 
 death the oldest living member of that 
 church. She was familiary called 
 "Aunt IJcfkv" l)v her relatives, and 
 
 lived during many years of the latter 
 period of her life with her sister Eliza- 
 beth's daughter Sarah, at whose resi- 
 dence, in Second Street below South, 
 she died ; and by her will, dated July 
 5, 1824, she devised all her estate to 
 her niece, Hannah Huddell, and in 
 case Hannah should die unmarried, 
 the estate was to go to Bankson Tay- 
 lor. 
 
 Latrobe, in his history of Mason and 
 Dixon's Line, given in an address be- 
 fore the Historical Society of Pa., Nov. 
 8, 1854, p. 34, mentions the north 
 wall of a house on the south side of 
 Cedar (now South) Street, in Phila- 
 delphia, then occupied by Thomas 
 Plumstead and Joseph Huddell as the 
 point from which the line ran due 
 west until it met the tangent line form- 
 ing the western boundary of the State 
 of Delaware, y^/rr;/ miles north of the 
 line forming the southern boundary of 
 Pennsylvania. Family tradition says : 
 That Mr. Mason was entertained by 
 Joseph Huddell during his stay in 
 Philadelphia, and that a brother of J. 
 H. was Mason's assistant in the survey. 
 Mason and Dixon arrived at Philadel- 
 phia, Nov. 15, 1763, and on Jan. 12, 
 1764, they, together with their obser- 
 vatory and instruments in wagons, 
 "except the Telescope, i\:c., of the 
 Sector, which was Carry'd on springs 
 (with our Beds under it) of a Single 
 Horse Chair," left Philadel]jhia on 
 the work of surveying the boundary 
 lines between the Provinces, and passed 
 the night at Chester, and set out from 
 there next morning for John Harland's, 
 in the forks of the Brandywine, thirty- 
 one miles west of, and having the same 
 latitude as the southern point of Phila- 
 deli)hia. 
 
 John Welsh, who is mentioned as 
 marrying Ann Bond, had issue John, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 33 
 
 (Who was a merchant captain at the 
 age of 1 6 years, and has descendants 
 in Philadelphia,) Ann, Mary and Mar- 
 garet, my grandmother, formerly a 
 resident of Chester ; she was b. Aug. 
 26, 1763, d. Nov. 16, 1843, ^^ ^^ 
 residence of her son-in-law, William 
 Martin, Esq., and was buried in the 
 vault of her husband in St. Peter's 
 church yard. She was m. (ist) to 
 Capt. McCarty, of the merchant ma- 
 rine, and had a daughter Mary, who 
 married a Frenchman named Lavalle ; 
 they had a son, Adolphus, who died 
 in infancy, and a daughter Veronique, 
 a beautiful girl, who married and died 
 in a decline two years afterwards, child- 
 less. After the death of Capt. Mc- 
 Carty, his widow married my grand- 
 father, William Smith, Jr., a merchant 
 of Philadelphia, an importer of sail 
 cloth and Irish linens, doing business 
 on Front Street, below Chestnut Street, 
 where I was born. He was of English 
 descent (son of William and Elizabeth,) 
 of the Island of Bermuda, {b. Dec. 
 3, 1758, d. April 22, 1818,) where, I 
 believe, the descendants of Anthony 
 Smith, his brother, yet reside, and 
 have a large coffee and sugar planta- 
 tion. My grandparents were married 
 in Old Swedes Church, Dec. 24, 1784, 
 and had issue, — Elizabeth, James, 
 Ann, all of whom died young, Wil- 
 liam, Joseph Welsh, George W., (who 
 married Sophia Bartlett and had a 
 daughter Sophia,) Charles, Margaret 
 and Sarah Ann Smith, my mother. 
 We had for many years a number of 
 old account books which belonged to 
 my grandfather, in which were ac- 
 counts of sales of large (juantities of 
 Russia duck, to Stephen Girard. He 
 was also the owner of several vessels 
 trading to the West India Islands, two 
 of which were seized bv the French, 
 
 and I have the proofs and papers in 
 two old French claims against the 
 United States Government for the 
 losses of the vessels and their cargoes, 
 amounting to a very large sum of mo- 
 ney, which we never expect to recover. 
 Congress has paid millions to South- 
 erners, whose loyalty is very doubtful, 
 for losses during the rebellion, but re- 
 fuses to pay these just claims, for which 
 they have received a compensation from 
 France, and agreed to settle. The 
 heirs of Bankson Taylor, a relative of 
 my grandmother, are interested in one 
 of these claims, which exceeds in 
 amount $160,000, without interest. 
 Grandfather Smith had a great dread 
 of thunder and lightning, and during 
 a thunder-storm would get all the fam- 
 ily together and sit in a dark room. 
 He would only allow white sugar to be 
 used in his household : having been 
 brought up on his father's sugar plan- 
 tation in Bermuda;, he had a great dis- 
 taste for brown sugar and molasses, 
 which is not to be wondered at, as he 
 had seen so much made. 
 
 James Smith, his eldest son, b. Feb. 
 18, 1787, m. Ann Paulding, of Salem, 
 N. J., they had but two children, 
 James, who died in infancy, and Wil- 
 liam Smith, a well-known machinist, 
 whose foundry is near 2 2d and Cherry 
 Streets, Philadelphia, who married his 
 cousin, Matilda Paulding, and has 
 several children living. The family 
 of Paulding's, are the descendants of 
 i one of the captors of Maj. Andre, 
 during the Revolution, and the late 
 Theopholis Paulding, a brother of 
 Mrs. James Smith, was for many years 
 a Director of the Delaware (county) 
 Mutual Safety Insurance Co., and a 
 prominent Philadelphia merchant, of 
 the late firm of Taylor & Paulding. 
 The widf)w of James Smith, after 
 
34 
 
 HISTORV OF CHESTER. 
 
 the death of her husband, married a 
 Mr. Hritton ; she was a lovely lady, 
 both in person and disposition, and 
 was affectionately called by her friends 
 and relatives "Aunty Britton." 
 
 William Smith, son of William and 
 Margaret, b. May 19, 1790, vi. Mar- 
 garet, daughter of Capt. John Wood, 
 who lived in Third Street near Union ; 
 they died without issue. Philadelphia 
 at this time had a large trade with 
 China, and the city had numerous 
 merchant captains, for whom the la- 
 dies of my grandmother's time seem 
 to have had a great partiality. 
 
 Mary Welsh, daughter of John (and 
 Ann Bond,) died, childless, in 1824, 
 and was buried in St. Martin's church 
 yard, Marcus Hook ; by her will, duly 
 proven in Philadel])hia, Feb. 19, 1824, 
 she makes inter alia, certain bequests 
 to " My dear sister, Margaret Smith, 
 widow, and to her daughter, Maria 
 Davis, Margaret Smith, Jr., and Sally 
 Ann Martin, and my grand-daughter, 
 Veronique, late Veronique Lavalle, the 
 daughter of Mary Davis," &c. The 
 witnesses to this will were, Deborah 
 Logan, and her son, Alfred Sidney 
 Logan, two of her friends, whom she 
 often visited at Stenton. My grand- 
 aunt carried on quite a correspondence 
 with Mrs. Logan, but it is not known 
 what became of her letters ; my mother 
 remembers reading them, and speaks 
 of their interesting character. 
 
 Joseph W. Smith, my mother's bro- 
 ther, b. Aug. 20, 1795, ^"- Ann Crosby, 
 daughter of Dr. William Martin, of 
 Chester (my father's sister), and had 
 issue Wm. Martin and Pollen Crosby 
 Smith. Margaret Smith, Jr. , my aunt, 
 /'. July 28, 1798, ;//. C.raham Hoskins, 
 a descendant of the Chester family of 
 that name. Nearly all the persons 
 named above have resided in Chester, 
 
 or been frequent visitors there in the 
 past ; those of the family who had no 
 connection therewith, I have omitted 
 to mention. In 1819, my grandmo- 
 ther, Margaret Smith, removed from 
 Philadelphia to Chester, and lived for 
 two years at " Green Bank," (the old 
 Lloyd mansion was so called) with her 
 children Joseph W. and (my mother) 
 Sarah Ann Smith. The river then 
 came up to a sandy beach in front of the 
 wall surrounding the old mansion to 
 the south and west. The property was 
 then owned by Commodore David 
 Porter, it having been presented to 
 him by Major Wm. Anderson, his 
 father-in law, as a wedding gift. Some- 
 time previous to my grandmother's 
 occupation of "Green Bank," it had 
 been the residence of Captain and 
 Mrs. Muller, who lived there in great 
 style, and entertained largely. After 
 her husband's death, Mrs. Muller re- 
 turned to Philadelphia to live, and 
 kept a boarding-house in Chestnut 
 Street, above Front, on the north side. 
 My grandmother on leaving Chester, 
 returned to Philadelphia, and occupi- 
 ed the former residence of her husband. 
 No. 48 South Front Street, where I 
 was born. During her absence from 
 the city, the dwelling-part of the house 
 was rented for $500 a year. After my 
 grandfather's death, April 22, 1818, 
 grandmother purchased the house in 
 Third Street, fourth door north of 
 Spruce Street, west side, for $5,500, 
 and lived there a short time before 
 removing to Chester. Grandfather 
 was, for many years, a pew-holder in 
 St. Peter's Church, Third and Pine 
 Streets, and there is a large tombstone 
 over his remains in the grave-yard at- 
 tached to that church. 
 
 Joseph Parker, formerly a prominent 
 citizen of Chester, was a nephew of 
 
IIlSTom' OF CHESTKl}. 
 
 35 
 
 John Salkeld, the well-known preacher 
 of Friends. He was born in Cumber- 
 land, England, and came to America 
 in 1 714, and ma.de choice of Chester 
 as his place of residence, in order to 
 be near his uncle. He brought with 
 him from Friends in England a certi- 
 ficate, which was presented to Chester 
 Monthly Meeting, on 11 mo. (Jan.) 
 25, 1 713-14, and is recorded in the 
 first volume of Marriage Certificates 
 (at the other end of the book), p. 9, 
 and reads as follows : "At our Month- 
 ly Meeting, held by adjournment, at 
 our meeting-house att Coldbeck, in 
 Cumberland, in Great Britain, this 
 20th day of the 7th mo., 1713 : To ; 
 ffriends in Pensilvania, in America. 
 After the Salutation of our Dearest 
 Love to you in the unchangable truth, ' 
 these are to give you to understand, 
 that the bearer hereof, Joseph Parker, 
 hath signified to this meeting his In- 
 tentions of coming over into your 
 country to settle amongst you, and after 
 consideration of the matter, this meet- 
 ing left him to his liberty. And we 
 further signifie unto you, that he is a 
 young man and was born of believing 
 Parents, and hath been educated in 
 the way of truth from his childhood, 
 and his conversation hath been agree- 
 able to his holy profession ; and we 
 further Certify you, that he is in 
 unity with us, and we give you further 
 to understand, if it should be his Lott 
 to marry amongst you, that this meet- 
 ing is fully satisfied that he is clear of 
 all women on that occasion, so shall 
 conclude, desiring his prosperity in the 
 truth and his wellfaire in that w"' will 
 tend to his Everlasting peace. Signed 
 on behalf of y* sd meeting by us. 
 
 John Scott, 
 John Sowerby, 
 William Greeniipp, 
 John Wilson, jr." 
 6 
 
 Tho. Parker, Parent, 
 Thomas Prestman, 
 Joseph Prestman, 
 Joseph Peacock, 
 
 At the time of his emigration, Joseph 
 Parker was 25 years of age. He en- 
 tered, at Chester, the office of David 
 Lloyd, and after his death, succeeded 
 him as Register and Recorder of Ches- 
 ter County ; this position he held for 
 many years. In 1724, he was in office 
 as Prothonotary of the Courts and 
 Clerk of the Peace of the county, and 
 in 1738, was commissioned a Justice 
 of the Peace. He m. Mary, daughter 
 of John Ladd, of Gloucester County, 
 New Jersey, May 21, 1730, she d. June 
 4, 1 731, after giving birth to a daugh- 
 ter, Mary, /;. April 29, 1731. Joseph 
 Parker survived his wife many years, 
 and d. May 21, 1766. He purchased 
 and resided in the house on Filbert, 
 now Second Street, known at a later 
 day as the " Logan House," a fine old 
 double brick building, still standing; it 
 was erected I presume, by Jasper Yeates, 
 as the deed for the "Green," from 
 David Lloyd to Jasper Yeates, Sept. 
 22, 1703, is endorsed, "FortheGreen 
 before Jasper Yeates' door. ' ' Attached 
 to the east of this house, there used to 
 stand a one-story brick office, which 
 it was said Squire Parker occupied for 
 office purposes ; at a later date, it was 
 used for a school-house for small chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Writing, Dec. 6, 1813, Mrs. Debo- 
 rah Logan, says: "To those of my 
 family who may think as I do, the fol- 
 lowing particulars of my dear mother's 
 family will not be unacceptable. 
 
 Her father, Joseph Parker, came 
 over to this country pretty early in the 
 last century ; he had received a good 
 English education ; was born in York- 
 shire, Great Britain, where his father 
 possessed a freehold estate. The rigor 
 and hard usage of a mother-in-law, 
 forced him to emigrate, and he loved 
 his half brother (her son) who would 
 
II ISlOi; 'i OF CllKSTKH. 
 
 l)c hcncfital by his absence. Upon 
 his arrival, he landed at Chester, and 
 Judge Lloyd, who lived there, took 
 him into his office as his secretary. 
 His integrity and good conduct, soon 
 made him respected, and lie acipiired 
 property, (not as it is now done by 
 speculation, and over-reaching of oth- 
 ers, but by prudence and honest indus- 
 try) : he enjoyed many public offices 
 in the county and was much respected 
 by the Government and his fellow- 
 citizens. After some years he married 
 Mary Ladd, the daughter of a respect- 
 able family in New Jersey, and received 
 a handsome fortune with her ; but this 
 hajjpiness was soon interrupted, for 
 she died a few days after the birth of 
 her first child, who was my mother. 
 He used to say, that he was deterred 
 from the thoughts of a second marriage 
 by the recollection of his own suffer- 
 ings under a bad mother-in-law. He 
 might, he .said, get a wife for himself, 
 but was not sure of getting a mother 
 for his child. My mother repaid this 
 kindness by being the best of daugh- 
 ters, and they lived together in a har- 
 mony and friendship the most delight- 
 ful. I have frequently heard her speak . 
 of the happiness of her early life, the i 
 state of society, sociability, kindness j 
 and good neighborhood that was j 
 among them, seemed to realize the 
 golden age. The young people had 
 enjoyed uncommon advantages in their 
 education, from the settlement among 
 them of some persons cmincnth' (|ual- 
 ified to benefit others. 
 
 The mother of Henry Hale Graham ' 
 was one of these ; she was a woman of 
 excellent sense, a gentlewoman born, 
 and had received the best education 
 herself, in Englantl. She was like a 
 parent to my mother and the other 
 young persons of th;U time, at ("lies- 
 
 ' ter, who enjoyed greater advantages 
 j than could be found in most other 
 I places. 
 
 j My mother was an excellent woman 
 I and of very good abilities ; she had 
 I received a much better education than 
 { was usually bestowed on daughters, 
 j when she was young. Her mind was 
 j enriched by acquaintance with the 
 I best authors, her memory was uncom- 
 j monly good, her disposition cheerful 
 and her conversation instructive and 
 entertaining. She was solid, prudent, 
 affectionate and benevolent. The 
 manner in which she conducted her- 
 self after the decease of her husband 
 and the very able manner in which she 
 investigated and settled his affairs se- 
 cured her the kindest friendship of her 
 family, and the esteem and a])])lause 
 of all who knew her. ' ' 
 
 From the geneological table of the 
 Norris family, MS., I extract the fol- 
 lowing information, viz. : That Charles 
 Norris, was the 12th child of Isaac 
 Norris, the elder, and Mary Lloyd ; he 
 was born in the " Slate-roof house," 
 Philadelphia, May 9, 1712, ///., ist, 
 Margaret Rodman, of Burlington, N. 
 J., who died, childless, in 1752 ; he 
 ;//. 2ndly, 6 mo. 21, 1759, at Chester 
 Meeting, Mary, the only child of Jo- 
 sei)h and Mary Parker, of that county. 
 Charles Norris died Jan. 15, 1766. 
 A few years after the death of her hus- 
 band, Mrs. Norris returned to the pa- 
 ternal mansion at Chester, where she 
 died Dec. 4, 1799, in the 69th year of 
 her age, and was buried in Friends' 
 grounds at Chester, beside her parents' 
 remains. They had issue, Isaac, Deb- 
 orah, Joseph Parker, and Charles Nor- 
 ris. Their only daughter, Deborah, 
 b. Oct. 19, 1 761, ;;/. Sept. 6, 1781. 
 Dr. George Logan, of Stenton, son 
 of William, and grand-son of James 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 37 
 
 Logan, Secretary of the Province from 
 1701 to 1726, President of tJie Supreme 
 Executive Council from 1736 to 1738. 
 Dr. Logan d. April 9, 1821, aged 61 
 years. From 1801 to 1807, he was a 
 member of the Senate of this State. 
 His widow died Feb. 2, 1839, in her 
 78th year. They had issue, Albanus 
 Charles, Gustavus George, and Alger- 
 non Sidney Logan. 
 
 The only living representatives of 
 the old Chester family of Parker are, 
 ist, The descendants of the late Alba- 
 nus Charles {b. Nov. 22, 1783, d. Feb. 
 10, 1854) and Maria (Dickinson) Lo- 
 gan ; Gustavus George and Algernon 
 Sidney Logan, having died without 
 issue ; 2ndly, The descendants of 
 Charles and Eunice Gardiner Norris ; 
 and 3rdly, The descendants of Joseph 
 Parker and Elizabeth Hill Norris, (nee 
 Fox.) Isaac Norris, Jr., the third of 
 the name, having died without issue. 
 
 Isaac Norris the elder, the founder 
 of the family in Pennsylvania, born in 
 London, England, July 26, 1671. was 
 a son of Thomas Norris, a merchant 
 of that city, and Mary Moore, his 
 wife, whu emigrated, with his family, 
 to Jamaica, in 1678, and lost his life 
 in the great earthquake which destroy- 
 ed Port Royal, June 7. 1692. His 
 son, Lsaac, being at that time in Penn- 
 sylvania. Isaac Norris, the first, was 
 an Elder of the Society of Friends, a 
 director, or overseer, and promoter of 
 the first Public School in Philadelphia 
 (a free school for Friends, was first in- 
 corporated, by charter, in 1697. See 
 Proud' s Pa., vol. i. p. 343), S])eaker 
 of the Assembly in 171 2 and in 1720, 
 Mayor of the City in 1724, Member 
 of the Assembly, a member of the Gov- 
 ernor's Council and a Trustee under 
 William Penn's will. He died at 
 Meeting, in 1735. ^^ 173^' '"i^" ^^'^■'^ 
 
 appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme 
 Provincial Court, but declined. David 
 Paul Brown, in his Forum, speaks of 
 Isaac Norris, John Morton and others, 
 as having been " Chief Justices of the 
 Common Pleas;" there never was any 
 such dignity in the Common Pleas, 
 and the names of the presiding judges 
 before the time of Alexander Stead- 
 man, in 1759, are unknown. Isaac 
 Norris \\as appointed a Justice of the 
 Peace and of the Courts, in 1715, and 
 i at a later day may have, by virtue of 
 ! his commission, been the Presiding 
 Justice. Isaac Norris, the second, his 
 son, was a man of much learning, a 
 Hebrew scholar, having been partially 
 educated in Europe. He was an Al- 
 derman of Philadelphia, a member of 
 the Assembly, and its Speaker from 
 1750 to 1765, except during periods 
 of his sickness. Benjamin Chew, was 
 elected Speaker in 1756, but being 
 called to the Governor's Council, Nor- 
 ris was elected. 
 
 VL 
 
 The Swedes do not seem ever to 
 have had any difiiculties with the In- 
 dians occupying the banks of the Del- 
 aware. They were ever treated by 
 the Indians with the greatest consider- 
 ation. In relation to this, the Rev. 
 Eric Biofk states : " The Indians and 
 we are one people ; we li^■e in much 
 greater friendship with them, than 
 with the English ; they call the Swedes 
 in their language, their own people." 
 William Penn looked upon the Swedish 
 l)eoi)le as the original settlers of the 
 Province, pioneers in the path of 
 adventure and privation. Upon his 
 landing at Upland, he was received 
 by them, as he says himself, "with 
 (jreat kindness." The Swedes on that 
 
38 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 ciciasion, as a distinct jicoplc, deputed 
 Lacv ("ock to address the Troprietor 
 on their l)elKiir. He assured Penn 
 that the Swedes "would love, serve, 
 and obey him with all they had," de- 
 claring, " it was the best day they ever 
 saw." And Penn, in his description 
 of the Swedes, given in a letter to the 
 Society of Traders, in London, under 
 date 6 mo. (Aug.,) 1683, says that, 
 '''I'he first planters in these parts were 
 the Dutch, and soon after them the 
 Swedes and Finns. The Dutch appli- 
 ed themselves to trafifick, the Swedes 
 and Finns to husbandry. The Dutch 
 inhabit mostly those i)arts of the Pro- 
 vince that lie upon or near the Bay, 
 the Swedes the freshes of the river 
 Delaware. They are a ])Iain, strong, 
 industrious people, yet have made no 
 great progress in the culture or ]jropa- 
 gation of fruit trees ; as if they desired 
 rather to have enough, than plenty, or 
 for traffick ; but I presume the Indians 
 made them more careless by furnish- 
 ing them with the means of profit, to 
 wit : skins and furs, in exchange for 
 rum and such strong liquors. They 
 kindly received me as well as the Eng- 
 lish, who were but few, before the 
 people who were concerned with me 
 came among them. I must need com- 
 mend their respect to authority, and 
 their kind behavior to the English. 
 They do not degenerate from the old 
 friendship between both kingdoms. 
 .Vs they are a people proper and strong 
 of body, so they have fine children, 
 and almost every house is full. It is 
 rare to find one of them without three 
 or four boys, and as many girls, some 
 six, seven and eight sons ; and I must 
 do them that right to say, I see few 
 young men more sober and laborious." 
 The Swedes before Penn's time never 
 settled far from tide water: one of 
 
 their writers says, that at Christina, 
 none of them settled more than a 
 Swedish mile from the Fort, which 
 is six and two-thirds English miles. 
 Their places of worship, and most of 
 their dwellings, w^ere always built on 
 the shore of some navigable stream, so 
 that they might go to church, or visit 
 each other in boats. 
 
 Captain Lasse Cock was, in 1683, 
 chosen by William Penn, as a member 
 of his Council, and in the first Assem- 
 bly, two of the members were Swedes, 
 namely : Anders Bengtsson and Sven 
 Svensson. After Penn's authority was 
 firmly established in the Province, the 
 Sw^edes were left at liberty in their 
 church discipline, which was not so 
 before. 
 
 The homes of the early Swede set- 
 tlers were very rude affairs, built of 
 logs, and generally consisted of only 
 one room, the door so low as to require 
 the occupants to stoop on entering or 
 leaving the house. Their windows 
 were very small, square holes, cut in 
 the logs, without glass, sometimes they 
 had window frames with isinglass in 
 them, but oftener, they had only a 
 sliding board before the opening, 
 which was i)ushed back during the 
 day, and closed at night ; a very bad 
 arrangement in cold weather. The 
 chimneys were in the corner, built of 
 grey sandstone, sometimes they were 
 outside of, and erected against the 
 gable end of the house. Some few of 
 these old log cabins are yet standing. 
 The kitchen part of the residence of 
 the late John F. Hill, at the " Island 
 field,^'' on little Crum Creek, where he 
 lived about 1850, was one of these 
 primitive structures. It consists of one 
 large room, and two very small ones, 
 on the ground floor, the latter used as 
 closets then, but formerlv. no doubt 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 39 
 
 bed rooms. The up stairs is a mere 
 cock-loft, one large room, where the 
 farm hands used to sleep. When I went 
 to Ridley school at Little Crum Creek 
 bridge, to Christopher W. Steele, about 
 1834, there stood near the school- 
 house, and near the bridge on the 
 north side of the old post road, one of 
 these " Old Log Cabins," as they were 
 then called. It has just been torn 
 down, and a handsome brick house, 
 with a Mansard roof, erected on its 
 site. In 1859 or i860, when we lived 
 just east of Ridley .school-house, at 
 Lewis Cjarrett's old place, (then be- 
 longing to the widow of James Mc- 
 Cormick), the old log house mention- 
 ed, constituted a part of the residence 
 of Thomas McCullough, who died 
 there Oct. 16, 1866, aged 94 years. 
 He was a very remarkable man, over 
 six feet in height, and noted for his 
 strength, which he retained until a few 
 days before his death ; when he felled 
 a large tree, and cut it up for winter 
 use with his axe. It is thought that 
 the exertion he then made, caused his 
 death. He was of Scotch-Irish de- 
 scent, and most of his life in the em- 
 ploy of the Leiper family, and followed 
 ditching ; that is digging the ditches 
 by which the meadows along the Del- 
 aware are drained of water. In 1814, 
 he enlisted in Captain James Serrill's 
 company of Delaware County Fenci- 
 bles, and was honorably mustered out 
 of service with his company. 
 
 In the village of Leiperville, there 
 once stood another of these log cabins, 
 on the road leading north to Westdale, 
 owned and occupied by Joel Lane, 
 "the village blacksmith," his wife, 
 son and daughter. I passed the spot 
 lately, but the old log house had dis- 
 appeared, and a neat frame occupied 
 its site, and the ancient Thorn hedge 
 
 had given place to a luxuriant hedge 
 of Osage orange. I am sorry to see the 
 Thorn hedges giving way to the Osage 
 orange. There is still standing near 
 the bridge over Darby Creek, leading 
 to Tinicum and the Lazaretto, two of 
 these ancient structures, one of which is 
 in good condition, the other dilapidat- 
 ed ; no doubt it is quite 200 years old. 
 Before the bridge was erected, there 
 was a rope ferry there, called Morris 
 Ferr-y, and when I was a boy, old Mr. 
 Morris' parents occupied the more an- 
 cient structure ; such is my recollec- 
 tion. When quite young, I used to 
 visit Philip Morris, one of my school- 
 mates at Ridley school ; a boyish visit 
 in those days, meant several days, 
 generally from a Friday, after school, 
 until Monday morning, when both 
 boys went to school again. 
 
 The log house mentioned as still 
 standing at Morris' ferry is, no doubt, 
 one of the houses indicated on Holmes' 
 map, published in 1684, and was the 
 residence then of Morten Morten, or 
 of John Cornelus. Their tract was 
 bounded on the west l)y the tract of 
 John Henreckson, and on the east by 
 the Muckinipatus, and the tract east of 
 that was owned by Hans Urin, Morten 
 Morten, and Moun Stoker, and called 
 Calcoon Hook, and the tract west of 
 John Henreckson is laid down to 
 Henrick Jortin, from whom the Jordan 
 family are, perhaps, descended. 
 
 The Swedes dressed in vests and 
 breeches made of the skins of animals, 
 and they wore on the head, hair-skin 
 caps. They made their own .shoes, the 
 soles and upper of the same materials. 
 They were more like the Indian moc- 
 casins than our shoes. The women 
 wore jackets and petticoats also made 
 of skins ; the covering for their beds, 
 were the skins of deers, beavers, bears 
 
40 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 or wolves. The wolves were very nu- 
 merous, l)eing attracted by the domes- 
 tic animals. Leather breeches were 
 very common about fifty years ago, in 
 the vicinity of Chester ; and at a later 
 day, when I was a boy living in Rid- 
 ley, I have seen old-fashioned men 
 wearing them. I i^articularly remem- 
 ber that the father of the late Henry 
 I'^ffinger wore leather breeches ; his 
 name was Jacob, I believe. An hun- 
 dred years ago, a calf-skin vest and 
 jacket, and buck-skin breeches, was 
 not an uncommon dress. It was eco- 
 nomical, and its protection in winter, 
 may account for the health and long 
 life of the people, " in the good, old 
 (lays of Adam and of Eve." 
 
 The more modern houses of the de- 
 scendants of the Swedes, which took 
 the i)lace of the log cabins, were very 
 comfortable and very picturesque. 
 There is a \ery good specimen of ' 
 one still standing, in a dila])idated 
 condition, at Crum Creek station, on I 
 the old line of the Philadeli)hia, Wil- 
 mington and Baltimore Railroad, built 
 of stone, with a high, double or curb | 
 roof. It was the residence of Richard 
 Crosby, about 1750, a grandson of the 
 first settler of the same name. These 
 houses in the country were generally 
 built of stone, one story and a half 
 high, with garret rooms on the second 
 floor, lighted by windows in the gable. 
 The one referred to, however, has three i 
 dormer windows in the lower curb 
 root". In the towns they were erected 
 of red and black gla/ed brick, regularly 
 intermixed, giving them a very pleas- 
 ant ajjpearance. Our English ances- 
 tors erected the same kind of houses, 
 with curb roof, when they first settled 
 here. One of the chief peculiarities 
 of these sul)stantial old structures, was 
 the large open fnv -phu es in the kitch- 
 
 en, with large cranes, from whi( h hung 
 great iron pots used for cooking, boil- 
 ing water, &c., and the huge back-logs 
 used in, and the immense fires kept up 
 in, these old fire-places night and day, 
 around which the servants of the houses 
 all gathered of a cool evening, some 
 even sitting on the ends of the back- 
 log, while ghost and fairy tales were 
 told ; these are memories of my child- 
 hood ; for I used to steal away to the 
 kitchen fire, despite the admonitions of 
 my grandmother. The consmnption 
 of wood in old times was enormous, 
 but it was very plentiful ; great piles 
 of wood could then be seen near every 
 country house. The "wood pile," 
 was an institution. The wood was 
 all cut and sj)Iit for use with the axe. 
 The large back-logs were hauled from 
 the woods by yokes of oxen, generally 
 after the snow had fallen. 
 
 From Lewis' History, 1 extract the 
 statement respecting the abodes of early 
 English settlers in Chester County. 
 
 •' Their hiiuses — if the teniporan- huts erect- 
 ed by the first settlers deserve the name — were 
 of the most inferior kind. The general plan of 
 the construction of these, was furnished by 
 William Penn. They were about thirty feet 
 long, and eighteen feet wide, with a partition 
 in the middle. When the shell was up, the 
 hut was to ]>e covered and defended on the 
 outside by clap-boards, and lined by the same 
 
 within. The 
 the external ( 
 
 mtervenmg s]>ace 
 )vering and the insii 
 
 )et\veen 
 lining. 
 
 was to be filled with earth to keep out the 
 frost and cold. The ground floor was to con- 
 sist of clay, the upper of wood, and a clap- 
 board roof was to cover the whole. Many of 
 the cabins were madeof much ruder construc- 
 tion, and instead of clap-l>oards, logs were 
 used for the ends and sides, and thatch for the 
 roofs. The chimneys, down which much of the 
 light came, were of wood, the windows of the 
 better sort of houses, paper ; of the more in- 
 ferior, blocks of wood, made to fit the cases. 
 That they inhabited caves, is a historical fact. 
 •::- * 'i -piie caves of whicli we often liear, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 41 
 
 were in general, I believe, only the temporary 
 residence of the first emigrants. A few were 
 inhabited a number of years, and large families 
 raised in them." 
 
 He mentions a settler by the name 
 of Hickman, as having lived in one of 
 these caves, and raised a large family. 
 The people in those days had no wagons 
 on their farms; they used drags. Mr. 
 Lewis also says : 
 
 "An old woman at Chester, who remember- 
 ed seeing Lord Cornbury, (Governor of Jersey 
 in 1702,) at that place, observed him with par- 
 ticular attention, because he was the Queen's 
 cousin, and a Lord, but could find no difference 
 between him and those she had been accustom- 
 ed to see, but that he wore leather stockings. 
 ( William Penn speaks of his leather stockings. ) 
 They were probably an ugly rarity." 
 
 The Indian tribe living along the 
 banks of the Delaware was called the 
 Lenni-Lenape, i. c, the Original peo- 
 ple ; the river in their language was 
 named the '^ Lenape Whittiick,^^ or the 
 rapid stream of the Lenape. My father 
 (William Martin/) called his mill and 
 residence upon Chester Creek, "Zc//- 
 ni Mills;'" and the Philadelphia and 
 West Chester, and the Chester Creek 
 Railroads, that now pass the place, on 
 the opposite side of the creek, call their 
 stopping place at that point, " Leiuii 
 Statioti. ' ' My father' s old friend Davis 
 B. Stacey, who once lived one mile east 
 of Lenni, near Rockdale, named his 
 residence '•^ Mount Lenape.'" The pres- 
 ent owner of the place has re-named it 
 Glen Riddle, and by that name the 
 Railroad station at Lenape is now 
 known. As Samuel Riddle, the exten- 
 sive manufacturer, is the owner of that 
 beautiful spot, (where I passed many 
 happy days, when it was the residence 
 of that estimable, courteous gentleman, 
 Mr. Stacey,) its new name is accounted 
 for, and is much more euphoneous than 
 
 the names of many of the Railroad sta- 
 tions. 
 
 The name of Stacey will be found 
 among the very first English settlers on 
 the Delaware. On the 28th of Novem- 
 ber, 1678, Andross directs Sheriff Cant- 
 well to put Robert Stacey in possession 
 of Mattiniconk Island, which the Gov- 
 ernor had leased to him for seven years. 
 The Stacey' s of Chester do not, how- 
 ever, claim descent from the settler. 
 The late Mr. Davis B. Stacey was, how- 
 ever, the descendant of an old Chester 
 family on the maternal side. He was 
 a true gentleman of the old school, and 
 one of the most entertaining and agree- 
 able companions it was possible to meet 
 with. He was at one time a prosper- 
 ous merchant in Philadelphia, and in 
 his younger days had travelled much 
 in Europe. At the time of his death, 
 and for many years previously, he had 
 been the Secretary of the "American 
 Mutual Insurance Company" of Phil- 
 adelphia, of which the late William 
 Craig was President. 
 
 The following account of the family 
 of Stacey of Chester, quite full and 
 interesting, was furnished me by one 
 of the family: 
 
 "John Bevan,*or John Ap, as he was 
 sometimes called, was born in Glamor- 
 ganshire, Wales, in 1646; being the 
 eldest of five children. His parents, 
 who were wealthy, died while he was 
 quite young. Being the heir, when he 
 arrived at age he found himself in pos- 
 session of a large estate, while his bro- 
 thers were unprovided for — his only 
 sister being dead. His strong sense 
 of justice at once induced him to por- 
 tion all his brothers, and to give them 
 a helpful subsistence in the world. In 
 1665 he was married to a strict member 
 
 *John Bevan, /. e. Ap Evan, that is, John, 
 the son of Evan. 
 
•lli 
 
 IIISTOKY OF CHEST EH. 
 
 of ihe cstahlislied church, who when 
 her husband had shown a disposition 
 to become a Quaker was distressed, and 
 felt it to be her (Uity to interpose her 
 serious objections. They argued the 
 ([uestion without result ; but the in- 
 discretion of the priest, in pronouncing 
 the sentence of excommunication, w^ith- 
 out previous notice, against the husband 
 in the presence of the wnfe, so shocked 
 her feelings as to nearly make her faint 
 away, and after a time made her will- 
 ing unto the mighty w^ork of Salvation. " 
 They both became Quakers, and in the 
 language of their certificates, were re- 
 garded as a nursing father and a nurs- 
 ing mother to the spiritually weak and 
 young of their neighborhood. 
 
 In 1683, John Bevan with his family 
 removed to Pennsylvania, and settled 
 either in Merion or Haverford, Dela- 
 ware county, his land being located in 
 both townships. He had been a pillar of 
 the meeting he left, and was equally so 
 of Haverford meeting, w'hich he aided 
 in establishing, and which was frequent- 
 ly held at his house in its infancy. 
 
 He stood high as a preacher in the 
 society, and the records of Haverford 
 attest his constancy and efficiency, in 
 the promotion of works of benevolence i 
 and charity. While in this country he 
 travelled much as a minister, and in 
 1 704 visited his native land ' ' on truth's 
 account," accompanied by his wife and 
 youngest daughter Barbara, who was 
 also a preacher. He never returned to 
 America, but after suffering some per- 
 secutions, being im])risoned in Cardiff 
 jail in 1721; he died shortly after- 
 wards. 
 
 He had four children married in 
 Pennsylvania. His daughter Jane to 
 John Wood of Darby in 1687; his 
 daughter Elizabeth to Joseph Richard- 
 son of Philadeli)hia, 1696 ; hisson P^van 
 
 to Eleanor Wood of Darby, in 1693; 
 and one other. 
 
 Aubrey Bevan, son of Evan Bevan 
 and Eleanor Wood, b. June 1705, m. 
 Ann Davis of Darby, in 1732. They 
 had six children : Mary b. in Chester, 
 April 4, 1733, '''• to Nathanial Forbes, 
 d. in Germantown, Feb. 22, 181 7. 
 Katharine, b. in Chester, March 16, 
 1734, d. March, 1744. Tacy, /;. Dec. 
 12, i']2,(>,fn- to Thomas Pryor of Phila- 
 delphia. "A woman of much excel- 
 lence, w^hose memory is still dear to 
 those who knew her. ' ' ( Old family Bi- 
 ble.') Davis b. at Chester, Aug. 16, 
 1738, 7n. to Agnes Cowpland, daughter 
 of David Cowpland, June 12, 1760, d. 
 Mar. 30, 1818. Jane b. July 1741, d. 
 Aug. II, 1742. Alice (^. Oct. 24, 1743, 
 d. Nov. 15, 1743. Davis Bevan was a 
 member of the Society of Friends, but ^ 
 was read out of meeting for joining the 
 Revolutionary army, in which he held a 
 commission as Captain of Artificers. 
 He was with Washington at the battle of 
 Brandywine in 1777, and after the de- 
 feat of the American forces he carried 4. 
 dispatches from General Washington 
 to the President of the Continental 
 Congress, then sitting in Philadelphia, 
 announcing the result of the engage- 
 ment. A gentleman by the name of 
 Sharp accompanied Capt. Bevan. Af- 
 ter proceeding some distance from the 
 army they observed they were pursued 
 by a party of British light horse. Mr. 
 Sharp was not so well mounted as Capt. 
 Bevan, who had a thoroughbred mare 
 of great action and endurance. Find- 
 ing that the light horse were gaining 
 on them constantly, and that Mr. Sharj) 
 would persist in urging his nag up the 
 hills in spite of his advice to the con- 
 trary, Capt. Bevan said, "Sharp, if we 
 keep together our capture is certain^ 
 therefore I think vou had better take 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 43 
 
 the next cross road that we come to, 
 and I will continue on. They will fol- 
 low me, but I am confident they can- 
 not capture me." This proposal was 
 agreed to, and as soon as Mr. Sharp 
 had turned off Capt. Sevan gave the 
 rein to his mare, and his pursuers soon 
 finding themselves distanced, gave up 
 the chase. When Capt. Bevan reach- 
 ed the Schuylkill during the night, he 
 found, owing to a heavy freshet, the 
 ferry boat was either unable to run, or 
 had been carried down the river. A 
 boatman, however, rowed him over, 
 while his mare swam by the side of the 
 boat. He landed safely on the Phila- 
 delphia shore, and replacing his saddle, 
 he hastened to deliver his dispatches. 
 This officer had various adventures, and 
 often ran great risks while the Ameri- 
 can army was at Valley Forge. On one 
 occasion he went to visit his wife at the 
 house of a Mr. Vernon, where she had 
 come from Philadelphia for the purpose 
 of seeing him. Mr. Vernon's house 
 was but a short distance from the Brit- 
 ish lines, and it was therefore neces- 
 sary that considerable caution should 
 be excercised to prevent capture by the 
 numerous parties of British foragers 
 scouring the country. Mr. Vernon's 
 sons were posted around the house at 
 convenient points for observation to 
 give warning of the approach of ene- 
 mies, and Capt. Bevan went to bed. 
 About the middle of the night one of 
 the boys came to his room, and inform- 
 ed him him that a mounted party were 
 approaching the house, and he had bet- 
 ter prepare to take his departure. Be- 
 ing rather an obstinate man he did not 
 seem to believe the report, but present- 
 ly another picket came in and told him 
 that he would certainly be captured if 
 he remained any longer. He sprang 
 out of bed, hurried on his regimentals, 
 
 and reached the back door just as the 
 British party knocked at the front. He 
 got to the stable, where he found his 
 mare already saddled, and leading her 
 out and mounting, he leaped the farm- 
 yard enclosure, and being perfectly 
 familiar with the country he had no 
 difficulty in evading his enemies. 
 
 The crew of the Brigantine Holker 
 was enlisted at Chester, by Capt. Davis 
 Bevan, to sail as a privateer. He was 
 Captain of Marines. The Holker was 
 commanded by Capt. Matthew Law- 
 ler, his son-in-law, and captured some 
 valuable prizes, one laden with lead 
 which was invaluable to the army, as 
 at that time the supply for making bul- 
 lets was about exhausted. Most of the 
 enlistments were made in July, 1 779, as 
 appears by the receipt book of Captain 
 Bevan, now in possession of the Dela- 
 ware County Institute of Science. The 
 bounty paid for a single cruise was from 
 ^50 to ^100, most probably Continen- 
 tal money. 
 
 Davis Bevan had six children, Ann 
 b. June 5, 1761, m. Capt. Matthew 
 Lawler, afterwards Mayor of Philadel- 
 phia, d. in Cincinnati, Mar. 25, 1835. 
 David b. Dec. 28, 1763, m. Jane Shaw, 
 widow,* d. Aug. 21, t8i2. Aubrey b. 
 Dec. 31, 1765. Isabella /;. Mar. 16, 
 1767, d. x\pril 6, 1822. TacyAnna/;. 
 Nov. 15, 1774, ///. George Stacey> 
 
 -"• John .Sharpless, son of John and Jane, 
 the original seUlers near Chester, Pa., married 
 Hannah Pennell, daughter of Robert, in 1692. 
 Their son Daniel married Sarah, daughter of 
 Bartholomew and Phoebe Coppock, of Spring- 
 iield, in the year 1736. Their eldest son, 
 Thomas Sharpless, married Martha, daughter 
 of Jonas and Jane Preston of Chester, 1764, 
 and settled near Chester. Jane, the daughter 
 of Thomas and Martha Sharpless, married first 
 James Shaw, son of Samuel and Hannah of 
 Chester, and secondly she married David Be- 
 van, son of David and Agnes of Chester, in 
 1803, and they settled there. She was dis- 
 owned 9 mo. 23, 1796, for marrying out of 
 meeting. 
 
44 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 cither in I 796 or I 797, ^/. in J'hila., July 
 22, 1831, and Matthew Lawler Bevan, 
 b. Aug. 23, 1779, in. Deborah . 
 
 Captain Bevan was a very liberal 
 man, and jjresented the ground to the 
 Government upon which the upper pier 
 in Chester is now built, also the bury- 
 ing-ground for the jioor in Welsh street, 
 near the former residence of Commo- 
 dore David Porter, of Essex fame. 
 
 George Stacey, the husband of Tacy 
 Anna Bevan, was the son of George and 
 Susannah Stacey, and born in Salem, 
 Massachusetts, in May, 1764. He was 
 admitted to Harvard College in the 
 summer of 1780, being sixteen years of 
 age at the time. He graduated in the 
 Academical dejjartment in 1784. He 
 was a descendant of the Rev. Joseph Sta- 
 cey, who came to this ( ountry in the 
 Speedwell, a ship that arrived here 
 shortly after the Mayflower, or accom- 
 j)anied her. (ieorge Stacey's mother 
 was twice married. Her son by a pre- 
 vious marriage — Major Swasey — was 
 an officer in the Revolutionary army, 
 and fought at Bunker Hill. 
 
 George Stacey studied law and prac- 
 tised it in Biddeford, Maine, in the 
 early part of his life. He was appoint- 
 ed by John Adams, in one of the last 
 acts of his administration, U. S. Con- 
 sul to the Isle of France, which was re- 
 voked by Mr. Jefferson when he became 
 President. He traveled a great deal 
 and spent some time with the celebra- 
 ted Count Rumford in Germany. Af- 
 ter his return to America, he married 
 Tacy Anna Bevan, by whom he had 
 three children, viz : James George, b. 
 Oct. 24, 1796; Davis Bevan, b. June 
 4, 1798, and a daughter who died at 
 birth. In 1807 he had a contract to 
 supply the Spanish garrison at St. Au- 
 gustine with i)rovisions, also other 
 forces of that nation, and went to IHor- 
 
 ida for the pur})Ose, taking with liim 
 his wife and two sons The embargo 
 was laid by Mr. Jefferson. George 
 Stacey sent his wife and children home, 
 hoping to follow them soon, but in his 
 efforts to get his vessels into the United 
 States, by exposure to the night air on 
 the St. John's River, in Florida, he con- 
 tracted the yellow fever, from which he 
 died Oct. i, 1808, at St. Mary's, Geor- 
 gia. His wife and two sons went home 
 to her father — David Bevan — who be- 
 came a devoted guardian to the boys, 
 and was loved by them as a second fa- 
 ther. They lived in the house now 
 owned by Dennis Clark, and used as 
 a confectionery. James George, and 
 Davis Bevan Stacey received good ed- 
 ucations. Their first tutor was a priest 
 in St. Augustine, Florida. They 
 afterwards went to school to Samuel 
 Lytle a school-master of Chester, and 
 they were later taught by their grand- 
 father, who was a man of education, 
 and they both added greatly to their 
 knowledge by hard study and travel. 
 J. G. Stacey went into business in the 
 house of his uncle, Matthew L. Bevan. 
 The firm was known as Bevan & Por- 
 ter. D. B. Stacey went in the house 
 of Whitton P^vans, shipping merchant 
 of Philadelphia. The boys afterwards 
 established a shipping house of their 
 own, the firm being known as J. G. & D. 
 B. Stacey, and they finally became the 
 largest ship owners of Philadelphia of 
 their time. No two men probably, had 
 a greater faculty of endearing them- 
 selves to their employees. The writer 
 of this has seen old ship captains, who 
 sailed vessels for them, shed tears when 
 speaking of the kindness and liberality 
 of the firm. They were like fathers to 
 their clerks, and tlie \oung men edu- 
 cated in their ( ounting-rooni always 
 re( urred to that period as the most 
 
HISTOKY OF CllESTEK 
 
 45 
 
 happy in their lives, and were extrava- 
 gant in their expressions of respect and 
 gratitude. Like most other merchants 
 they met with great misfortunes; one 
 of their ships, the "Edward Bomfy," 
 was destroyed by fire, with a large and 
 valuable cargo of cotton. She was on 
 fire at sea seven days with everything 
 battened down, and the crew living on 
 deck, finally reaching port, and when 
 the hatches were raised she burned like 
 a tinder box. The "John Sergeant," 
 a very fine, new ship, named after the 
 celebrated Philadelphia lawyer and 
 statesman, was lost by Captain Chris- 
 topher Van Dycke, brother-in-law of 
 D. B. Stacey, on Turk's Island, where 
 she was bound for a cargo of salt. 
 The dangerous currents of that part of 
 the ocean were not so well known then 
 as now, and being unknown to her cap- 
 tain, who was an experienced and com- 
 petent navigator, she was set out of her 
 course. They lost several other large 
 vessels about the same time, which all 
 coming together was more than they 
 were able to bear, and they suspended 
 business, although their friends came 
 forward in the handsomest manner and 
 begged them to continue. 
 
 James George Stacy married Hannah 
 Weyman of New York, in 1826. In 
 1826 they removed from Philadelphia, 
 where they resided, to New York, where 
 Mr. Stacey engaged in business. He 
 cbed near Geneva, N. Y., in 1855, 
 leaving behind him his widow, four 
 sons and five daughters. 
 
 The mother of Hannah Weyman was 
 Ibbe, (Isabella,) Cowpland, of Marcus 
 Hook, where she resided with Dr. 
 Caleb Smith Sayres, and there met and 
 married Mr. Weyman, of New York. 
 Mrs. Weyman was a step-daughter of 
 Peter Salkeld, who lived near Marcus 
 Hook, east of the creek ; he was a de- 
 
 scendant of John Salkeld, the celebrated 
 preacher of Friends, a son of Thomas 
 of Coldbeck, Cumberland, England, 
 b. 1672, in. 9 mo. 8th, 1704, Agnes 
 Powley, daughter of Edmund, b. 1678 ; 
 sailed with his wife for America, 7 mo. 
 9th, 1705, and produced a certificate 
 to Chester Monthly Meeting, 12 mo. 
 25th, following. He was a farmer and 
 maltster ; occupied 400 acres of land 
 near Chester; d. 9 mo. 20th, 1739, 
 aged 67 yrs. 9 mos. and 4/lays ; his wife 
 d. \\ mo. 1 2th, 1748, aged 70 yrs. 10 
 mos. and 26 days ; both buried in 
 Friends' grounds at Chester. They 
 had issue : Joseph, Mary, John, Thom- 
 as, Agnes, Edmund, William, David, 
 Samuel, Jane and Jonathan. Agnes 
 m. Thomas Minshall, and Jane m. his 
 brother Moses in 1 741 . They had one 
 child, Edmund, and resided in Chester, 
 where Edward Minshall, their descend- 
 ant, the present coroner of Delaware 
 County, resides. 
 
 " A recent niiml^er of the Bridgelon Chroni- 
 cle, N. J., 1874, contains a short sketch of the 
 life of John Salkeld, an aged citizen of that 
 city, in which it is stated he was born, Feb- 
 28, 1792, in a house between Chester and 
 Marcus Hook. In 1810 he went to Bridge- 
 ton, and during that year returned to his birth- 
 place and cut the \\ indow frames of the house 
 he yet lives in, and took them to Kridgeton in 
 a sloop. In 1838 he was appointed a Justice 
 of the Peace, and at the close of the same year 
 was re-appointed to the same office for ten 
 years, and it is said not a single appeal was 
 ever made from his decisions. In 1840 he 
 was appointed an Assistant Judge of Cumber- 
 land County, and in 1846 elected coroner of 
 the same county. During his term of office 
 he received in fees exactly one dollar. In 
 1814, Mr. Salkeld attached himself to the 
 Methodist church, and since that time has 
 filled successively every important lay position 
 in that religious body. Of all the inhabitants 
 of Bridgeton in 1810, when he went there, 
 there are but seven ]3ersons now living who 
 were residents of the town then, and at that 
 
10 
 
 HISTOUV OF CllESTKIJ. 
 
 liiiu-, llic now most importanl city of South 
 Jersey, was a villaj^c containing a pojjulation 
 of one hundred souls. Among the public 
 buildings were five taverns, two churches, and 
 but one three storied building. Almost all 
 the houses of that day were one story and a 
 half frame structures, while washed, and the 
 window casing red washed. At that time 
 a lot was offered to him for one thousand 
 dollars, which to day could not be purchased 
 for one hundretl thousand dollars." 
 
 Davis Bevan Stacy while travelling 
 in Holland, njade the acquaintance of 
 Miss Sarah Van Dycke, daughter of 
 Constantine Van Dycke and Jeannette 
 Rynd, and they were married in 1825. 
 Miss Van Dycke's father was the son 
 of Susannah De Clyver and Jacobus 
 Van Dycke, a lawyer of Flushing. He 
 was born in Flushing, in 1767, and 
 was married to Jeannette Rynd in 1 799. 
 Constantine Van Dycke belonged to 
 the celebrated Dutch East India Com- 
 pany, and made several voyages to 
 China as captain and supercargo, and 
 shared in the prosperity of that great 
 company, but in the war with England 
 and France, the trade of Holland was 
 completely ruined, and the ships of the 
 East India Comi)any driven from the 
 seas. While returning from the East 
 Indies with a shi[) richly laden, he was 
 captured by the British cruisers, his 
 ship seized, and he himself thrown into 
 prison in England. The French treat- 
 ed him no better, for they also captured 
 one of his ships. They also made large 
 levies on many of the Dutch towns and 
 cities, for .sums of money, &c. Flush- 
 ing was treated in the same manner, 
 and to ensure payment they seized 
 several of the most influential citizens, 
 and carried them to France as hostages. 
 Constantine Van Dycke was one of 
 these so selected, and was confined in 
 the interior of France for some time. 
 When Flushing was bombarded bv the 
 
 English, he sent his wife and children 
 out of the town, but remained himself, 
 and at one time when a shell had fal- 
 len near his house, he and one of his 
 servants picked it up and threw it into 
 the qtiay before it exploded. He died 
 in Dec, 181 2. 
 
 D. B. Stacey brought his wife to 
 this country, and they resided in Phila- 
 delphia from 1826 until 1842, when 
 they removed to Pennsgrove, near 
 Rockdale, or Lenni Station, on the 
 West Chester, Media and Philadelphia 
 Railroad. In 1848 Mr. Stacey re- 
 moved to Chester with his family, and 
 continued to reside in the house built 
 by his great grandfather until his death, 
 Feb. 7, 1864. His widow died Aug. 
 30, 1873. Resulting from the mar- 
 riage with Miss Van Dycke, were five 
 sons and. five daughters, named as fol- 
 lows: Jeannette Van Dycke, Davis 
 Bevan, James George, George, Matthew 
 Bevan, May Humphreys, Augusta Law- 
 ler, Constance Isenberg, Natalie Remy, 
 and Elizabeth. Of the sons, James 
 George, George, and Matthew Bevan 
 Stacey are deceased. George died in 
 Philadelphia in 1838 ; Matthew Bevan 
 died June 13, 1861, aged 26 yrs., and 
 James died May, 1866. In 1856 
 Jeannette married Prof. Elie Charlier of 
 New York. In 1858 Davis emigrated 
 to California, where he now resides. 
 At the breaking out of the Rebellion 
 in i86i, James joined the 12th regi- 
 ment of Penn.sylvania Volunteers, as 
 ist Lieutenant of Captain Henry B. 
 Edwards' company, and served with 
 c:redit until mustered out at the expi- 
 ration of his term of service. He was 
 present at the battle of Falling Waters 
 in Virginia, and, indeed, took part in 
 all the movements of General Patter- 
 son's army. During the remainder of 
 the war he was associated witli some 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 47 
 
 gentlemen who were furnishing sup- 
 plies to the army. At the time of his 
 death he was 35 ; and a man univer- 
 sally beloved wherever known. For 
 a long time he was an active fireman 
 in Philadelphia, and secretary of the 
 America Hose Company. 
 
 May was appointed a ist Lieutenant 
 in the 12th regiment of United States 
 Infantry, on the 14th of May, 1864. 
 Previous to this he crossed the plains 
 to California with Lieut. Edward F. 
 Beale, (in 1857,) who was surveying a 
 wagon road between Alberquerque, 
 New Mexico, and the Colorado River. 
 The first and only camels that ever 
 crossed the American continent, as far 
 as heard from, were taken by Lieuten- 
 ant Scale's party. Remaining over a 
 year in California, May returned home 
 in a merchant ship via Calcutta and 
 the Cape of Good Hope. In 1859 he 
 received the appointment of Master's 
 Mate on board the United States 
 steamer Crusader, Captain J. N. Maf- 
 fitt, (he who afterwards commanded 
 the rebel cruiser Florida, which inflict- 
 ed such damage upon our mercantile 
 marine,) and served as Acting Lieut- 
 enant during the cruise on the north 
 side of the island of Cuba, to break up 
 the slave trade. Two prizes were cap- 
 tured, in one of which he returned 
 home, and soon afterwards joined the 
 United States Coast Survey steamer 
 ' ' Corwin. ' ' He remained in her until 
 his appointment to the army. Lieut. 
 Stacey was brevetted captain for gallant 
 services at the battle of Welden Rail- 
 road, in 1864, and soon afterwards 
 promoted to captain. He also re- 
 ceived the brevets of major and lieuc. 
 colonel for gallant services during the 
 war. He is still in the army. 
 
 Colonel Stacey married Miss May 
 H. Banks, dau. of Hon. Thaddeus and 
 
 Delia Banks of Hollidaysburg, Penn- 
 sylvania, Dec. 9, 1869. Miss Banks 
 on her mother's side is a lineal des- 
 cendant from Oliver Cromwell. They 
 have issue Aubrey Banks, and Delia 
 Van Dycke Stacey. Augusta Lawler 
 Stacey m. Dr. Edward Curtis, of New 
 York, in 1864. He is a brother of 
 George W. Curtis, the author, and was 
 at that time an assistant surgeon in the 
 army, but has since resigned and is a 
 professor in one of the New York Medi- 
 cal Colleges. Constance w. Caleb 
 Churchman Eyre, son of William Eyre, 
 of Chester, Jan. 28, 1873. 11"^ the old 
 Quaker burying ground at Chester 
 laying side by side, are the Bevans 
 and Staceys for nearly two hundred 
 years back ; and living and dead, they 
 can claim that town as their resting 
 place, nearly if not quite as far back as 
 any other family now resident there. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The live stock in the early days of 
 the Province were permitted to run at 
 large, and as they increased in num- 
 bers, it became necessary that the own- 
 ers should have their particular marks 
 and brands placed upon them, so as to 
 be able to recognize their own animals. 
 The marks and brands were required 
 to be entered on the records of the 
 Court ; and such entries frequently oc- 
 cur. The following are given as speci- 
 mens : 
 
 "James Sanderlaine's ear mark: 
 both ears cropt and slitt; his brand 
 mark, I.S." 
 
 "John Harding's ear mark : a crope 
 on the inside of the farr eare ; his brand 
 mark, I.H. on the farr buttocks." 
 
 "Samuel Levis — his ear mark: a 
 swallow fork taken out of the near ear ; 
 his brand mark, S.L." 
 
 :\ 
 
48 
 
 HISTORY OF C'lIESTEli. 
 
 •'Francis Chads' car mark: a croj)e 
 on the inside of the near ear ; his brand 
 mark on the left heipe, F.C." 
 
 "John Symcock's mark: a slitt in 
 the right ear; his brand mark, S." 
 
 "The ear mark of John Bhmston, 
 of Darby : a crop in the near ear, and 
 a hole in the far ear; his lirand mark, 
 I. B." 
 
 The Historical Society of Pennsyl- 
 vania has had lately presented to its 
 Library, a book containing the draw- 
 ings of the ear marks of the cattle 
 owners of Bucks County, in the old 
 times, taken from the County Records, 
 and presented to the Society for pre- 
 servation. It is a great curiosity, be- 
 ing the only book of the kind I ever 
 saw. 
 
 Constables and Supervisors were ap- 
 pointed by the Court. It appears that 
 at the expiration of their term of office, 
 it was the practice for them to come 
 into Court and report that " All was 
 icu'll.'" The following are copies of 
 the minutes of some such reports: 
 
 " Nicholas Newlin, Constable for the 
 last year from Concord, made his re- 
 turn, 'All was well,' whereupon 
 George Stroad was elected to serve in 
 his stead. James Browne, Constable 
 for the last year from Chichester, made 
 his return by Thomas Usher, ' All was 
 well ;' whereupon Francis Chads was 
 elected to serve in his room the ensu- 
 ing year. Robert Taylor, Supervi- 
 sor for the Highways, from Chester 
 Creek to Crome (Crum) Creek, made 
 his return, ' AlHaell ;' whereupon Bar- 
 tholomew Copi)ock was nominated and 
 appointed Supervisor in his roome for 
 the ensuing year." 
 
 At a Court held the 2nd day of the 
 first week of the 10 mo., 1686, a crimi- 
 nal ca.se — Charles Pickering, pleads as 
 .Attorney for the King. This is the 
 
 first notice in the Court's records of 
 an Attorney appearing on behalf of the 
 Crown. David Lloyd was made At- 
 torney General of the Province, April 
 24, 1686. No doubt Charles Pickering 
 held his appointment under him as 
 Deputy. In the case referred to, "the 
 Petty Jury returne their verdickt and 
 find the prisoner not guilty of the in- 
 dicktment, l>tct guilty of suspicious cir- 
 cumstances in relation to the indicki- 
 nient. 
 
 In 1686, the Grand Jury presented 
 Richard Crosby, " for keeping an un- 
 lawful fence to the great damage of 
 John Marten, in his swine." At the 
 next Court, Richard appeared to an- 
 swer the presentment, and was fined 
 30 shillings. The Court the same year 
 appointed two ' Fence Viewers' for 
 each- precinct. This is the earliest 
 notice on the records of the appoint- 
 ment of these officers. 
 
 The Court was very strict in enforc- 
 ing the laws on the subject of Mar- 
 riage, and in punishing those who fail- 
 ed to comply with its provisions on 
 that subject. Witness the troubles of 
 the Rev. Dr. Laurentius Carolus, al- 
 ready set forth. Then as now, much 
 time was taken up with tippling cases, 
 slander suits, and suits for assault and 
 battery. The Grand Juries at first were 
 drawn for the year, but the practice 
 .soon changed to the present one, of 
 having a Grand Jury drawn for each 
 term of the Court. 
 
 I am indebted to J. Smith Futhey, 
 Esquire, of the Chester County Bar, for 
 the above, and many other e.\tracts, 
 made from the Court records, he hav- 
 ing very kindly placed at my di.sposal 
 the fruits of his researches. In refer- 
 ence to them he says: 
 
 " Tlie records of llie Court from the first d.nv 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 49 
 
 it ^\•as held at Chester under William Penn, 
 on the 13th day of September, 1681, to the 
 present time, for the county of Chester, have 
 been carefully preserved, and are all in the 
 public offices at West Chester. Those ex- 
 tending from 1681 to 1710, and which were 
 comprised in two volumes, having become 
 much worn and difficult to decipher, were by 
 an order of the Court, made on the 13th of 
 June, 1827, copied into one large book labelled 
 ' Old Court Records,' which is now in the 
 office of the Clerk of the Court of Quarter 
 Sessions. The records of the first Court com- 
 mences thus : ' The Province of Pennsylvania, 
 at a Court held at Upl.a.nd, Sept. 13, 1681,' 
 and at a Court held 'on the 14th day of Feb- 
 ruary, 1682,' or as we would now term it 1683, 
 the old style by which the year ended in March 
 then being in use, is recorded as being held at 
 Chester, in the county of Chester. William 
 Penn had in the meantime arrived in the Pro- 
 vince, and from a mere whim, and to gratify 
 the caprice or vanity of his friend Pearson, 
 had changed the name from Ujjland to Ches- 
 
 The next Court was held at Chester, 
 on the 27th of 4th mo. (June , 1683, 
 William Penn, Esq., Proprietary and 
 Governor, Presiding. This is the only 
 Court held at Chester, at which he 
 appears to have been present and pre- 
 sided. A law had been enacted by 
 the first Assembly of the Province, 
 "that y*^ days of y'' week, and y'' 
 months of y'^ year, shall be called as 
 in Scripture, and not by Heathen 
 names (as are vulgarly used), as y^ 
 first, second and third days of y" week, 
 and the first, second and third months 
 of y" year, beginning with y" day called 
 Sunday, and y° month called March.' 
 This style was accordingly adopted in 
 recording the proceedings of this Court, 
 and continued for a considerable time. 
 
 At the next Court a Grand Jury, 
 composed of seventeen persons, was 
 empanelled " to look out a convenient 
 highway leading from Providence to 
 Chester," and thev were ordered to 
 
 meet on a particular day at Thomas 
 Nossiters, "thereto consider the pre- 
 mises." 
 
 At a Court held on the 17th of the 
 8th mo. (Oct.), 1683, the name of 
 Robert Eyre, appears as Clerk. He 
 was the ancestor of the well-known 
 family of Eyre, whose numerous de- 
 scendants live in Chester, Philadel- 
 phia, and elsewhere throughout our 
 State and New Jersey. One of his 
 descendants, Charles Eyre, Esq., a 
 young member of the Philadelphia 
 Bar, who studied law with the emi- 
 nent lawyer, St. George Tucker Camp- 
 bell, Esq., also of the Philadelphia 
 Bar, shared my office for a number of 
 years. He is a son of Joseph K. Eyre, 
 of Montgomery County, a descendant 
 of a New Jersey branch of the family. 
 
 Robert Eyre was born in England, 
 Jan. 30r 1648, O. S. He served his 
 apprenticeship with William Rogers, 
 a merchant of Bristow, a town of some 
 note in that day, on the borders of 
 Somerset and Gloucestershire, in Eng- 
 land. Here he acquired that ready use 
 of the pen that fitted him for the duties 
 he was subsequently called upon to 
 discharge. After the expiration of 
 his apprenticeship, he for some time 
 followed the sea as a supercargo, 
 but eventually migrated to Pennsyl- 
 vania, where he married Ann, the 
 daughter of Francis Smith, a gentle- 
 man of education and wealth, whose 
 residence was Devizes, in the county 
 of Wilts, and who was one of the 
 original purchasers of land in England. 
 On the authority of family tradition, 
 it is said Robert Eyre first settled in 
 New Jersey, but as part of the land, (300 
 acres,) purchased by Francis Smith, was 
 in Bethel township, Delaware Co., and 
 was conveyed at an early date (i 704 1 to 
 Robert Evre and his wife, this doubt- 
 
50 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 less causal liiin to change his ])lace of 
 residence. Having been appointed 
 Clerk of the Courts of Chester County 
 in 1683, he held that office until 1690. 
 His children were, Robert, Ann, Jane, 
 William and Francis. Robert Eyre, 
 the elder, was not a Quaker, but some 
 of his descendants imited themselves 
 with that Society. The time of his 
 death is not exactly known ; but he 
 was alive in 1697. His son, William, 
 intermarried with Mary, the daughter 
 of Lewis David, of Haverford,in 1723- 
 4, and occupied the patrimonial estate 
 in Bethel. Francis Smith, father-in- 
 law of Robert Eyre, settled in Ken- 
 nett, and it is said, named the town- 
 shij) after the place in- which he was 
 born. See Biographical Sketches by 
 Dr. Smith, p. 462, History of Dela- 
 ware County. Ann, widow of Robert 
 Eyre, died in 1726. 
 
 The father of Jose])h K. Eyre, be- 
 fore mentioned by myself, lived in 
 the vicinity of Haddonfield, New 
 Jei'sey. His son, lately a merchant 
 in Philadelphia, retired some years 
 ago from active business, in very com- 
 fortable circumstances. One of his 
 daughters, Bessie, married my friend, 
 and student at law in my office, Rich- 
 ard Harding Reilly, only child of Dr. 
 Thomas A. Reilly, a well-known phy- 
 sician of north Broad Street, Philadel- 
 phia, and Henrietta Harding, his wife, 
 one of the daughters of the late Rich- 
 ard and Maria Harding. Richard H. 
 and Bessie Reilly have issue — Henri- 
 etta and Richard H. Reilly, Jr. The 
 only other children of Joseph K. Eyre 
 are, Emily, Edward Hoi)kins and Ella 
 Eyre. 
 
 I. Bernard Reilly, came from Ire- 
 land to America, and first settled in 
 New York in 1796, accomjjanied by 
 his son. a bov, named 
 
 2. John Reilly, who married a girl 
 of his own name, Reilly, by whom he 
 had two children. 
 
 3. Paul, who died in California. 
 
 3. Dr. Thomas A. Reilly, of Phila- 
 delphia, now deceased, who married 
 Henrietta, daughter of Richard and 
 Maria Harding, of Philadelphia, they 
 had issue, an only son, 
 
 4. Richard H. Reilly, above named. 
 The Montgomery family of Eyre, 
 
 use as a book-plate the following 
 blazon: '■'■Arms, Argent, on a Che- 
 veron. Sable, three-quatre foils, or. 
 Crest, a leg, couped at the thigh, bent 
 at the knee, in armour, proper ; Spur, 
 or. Motto, Se je puis." (If I can). 
 These arms, with a different motto and 
 crest, are those now borne by the 
 Baron Eyre, of Ireland, patented 3rd 
 July, 1768. See Edtnundson's Dis- 
 play of Heraldry. 
 
 In the Pennsylvania Packet, of March 
 30, 1772, is a notice, "To the Public, 
 dated at Marcus Hook, the 24th of 
 March, 1772, of Allen Meiiros, de- 
 fending himself against his ' calumniat- 
 ing adversary, Robert Eyre,' appended 
 to which, is a certificate of good char- 
 acter ; signed, Robert Crau;, 
 
 Missionary at Chester, and 
 
 Richard Reilly, J. P., 
 Joshua Coupland, J. '. 
 John Smith, Grazier, 
 John Crawford, 
 Samuel Armor, 
 Archibald Dick, 
 John Jord, 
 
 John Power, 
 Joseph (Jribblc, 
 Kichard Clayton 
 John Flower, 
 John Taylor, 
 Andrew Forsyth. 
 
 The English family of Air, A)res, 
 or Eyre, was founded A. D., 1060. 
 The first known member thereof was 
 called Trulovc. At the battle of Hast- 
 ings, JVilliam was flung from his horse, 
 and his helmet crushed into his face, 
 which Trulove seeing pulled it off, and 
 assisted his commander to re-mount. 
 The Duke said to him : " Thou shalt 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 51 
 
 hereafter from Trulove be called Eyre 
 (Air) because thou hast given me the 
 Air I breathe. ' ' After the victory the 
 Duke on inquiring for Trulove, learn- 
 ed that he was severely wounded, his 
 leg having been cut off at the thigh. 
 He saw the wounded soldier, and 
 ordered that he should receive the 
 utmost care. On his recovery the 
 conqueror gave him lands in Derby 
 for his services ; and for his O'est, a 
 leg cut off at the thigh. See Thorpe' s 
 Catalogue of Deeds of Battle Abbey. 
 
 In the 22nd year of the reign of 
 Henry II. (11 72), the office of Jus- 
 tices in Eyre, in itinere, was instituted 
 by the king ; this is the more proba- 
 ble origin of the name of Eyre. See 
 Blackstojie'' s Commentaries, vol. iii. pp. 
 58, 72, 73, and vol. iv. 422, 423. 
 
 William Eyre, son of Robert and 
 Ann of Bethel, was married 1723-4 at 
 Haverford Meeting, to Mary Davis of 
 Darby, dau. of Lewis David, and con- 
 tinued to reside in Bethel until his 
 death, in 1763 or '4. His widow sur- 
 vived him several years, and was an 
 overseer of Chichester Meeting from 
 1756 to 1774. 
 
 Their children, so far as known, were 
 Lewis, William, Robert, John, Isaac, 
 Rebecca, Jane and Ann. Lewis died 
 in 1 771, unmarried. William, also 
 unmarried, died 11 mo. 18, 181 4, aged 
 about 88. Robert married about 1765 
 and removed to Virginia in or before 
 1774, but probably returned before his 
 death. Rebecca married 2 mo. 27, 
 1749, Joseph Askew, and died a few 
 years after, leaving three sons, John, 
 William and Parker. Jane married, 
 in 1756, Robert Wilson, Jr. Ann 
 Eyre died, unmarried, 12 mo. 3, 1812, 
 aged 73 years. 
 
 John and Isaac Eyre settled in Ches- 
 ter, and the first was married 12 mo. 
 
 1 3' 1759? at Chester Meeting, to Re- 
 becca, dau. of Daniel and Sarah Sharp- 
 ies, of Nether Providence, by whom 
 he had issue — William, b. 2 mo. 22, 
 1763 ; d. about 1782 : Caleb, b. 9 mo. 
 7, 1767; d. iinm. 6 mo. 11, 1805: 
 Sarah., b. 4 mo. 19, 1772 ; m. 5 mo. 
 30, 1799, George Palmer of Concord, 
 and d. 8 mo. 10, 1861, without issue: 
 Rebecca, b. \\ mo. 13, 1778; d. unm. 
 9 mo, 30, 1826 : Beulah, a twin sister, 
 ;//. II mo. 20, 1806, Townsend Thomas 
 of Willistown, afterward of Chiches- 
 ter. They had children — Rebecca, 
 Mary, Beulah Elma, Townsend, Sarah 
 and Caleb Eyre Thomas. 
 
 John Eyre's wife, Rebecca, died 2 
 mo. 3, 1796, and he married (2nd) 
 Isabella Campbell, 4 mo. 29, 1799, by 
 wliom he had a dau. , Mary Ann, b. i 
 mo. 29, 1800. He removed from 
 Chester in 1776 to Upper Chichester, 
 probably settling on some property in- 
 herited from his brother Lewis, and 
 there died 6 mo. 4, 181 2, having been 
 a prominent member of Chichester 
 Meeting, of which he was appointed 
 an Elder in 1 776. His widow married 
 Robert Innis, and both were suffocated 
 in 1841, by the fumes of a coal fire in 
 their bed room. 
 
 Isaac, son of William and Mary 
 Eyre, m. 6 mo. 26, 1766, at Chester 
 Meeting, Ann, dau. of Jonas and Jane 
 Preston. They had issue — Jonas, b. 
 4 mo. 28, 1767; d. 3 mo. 21, 1836: 
 Lewis, /^. 3 mo. 23, 1769: William, 
 b. 3 mo, 22, 1 771 : Preston, b. 2 mo. 
 17, 1774; ;//. 9 mo. 8, 1803, Arabella 
 Ashmead : Mary, b. 3 mo. 9, 1776; 
 m. Edward Engle, 1796: Isaac, b. 4 
 mo. 19, 1778. 
 
 Isaac, the father, took an active part 
 in some measures for securing the in- 
 dependence of our country, and in 
 consequence thereof, lost his member- 
 
52 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 ship anioPL^ l-Vicnds in 1775; luit in 
 17.S3. lie made an a(kno\vlc(l<,niicnt to 
 the Meeting anti again became a mem- 
 ber. By his second marriage, which 
 was by a magistrate, to Abigail, dau. 
 of Nathan Dicks, he again lost his 
 right of membership, in 1786. His 
 death occurred 10 mo. 23, 1825, at the 
 age of 85. 
 
 Jonas Eyre, his son, was first married 
 about 1 79 1, but his wife died a few 
 years after, leaving two children, Jesse 
 Beckerton and Jonas Preston Eyre. 
 He ;//. (2nd) II mo. 11, 1801, Susanna, 
 dau. of Joshua and Mary Pusey, of 
 Londongrove, Chester Co., by whom 
 he had issue — Lewis, b. 5 mo. 19, 
 1805 ; d. 7 mo. 5, 1806: Joshua Pu- 
 sey, b. 7 mo. 14, 1803: William, b. 
 7 mo. 14, 1803. 
 
 Jonas Preston Eyre, ///. 2 mo. 12, 
 1 81 8, at New Garden Meeting, Re- 
 becca, dau. of David and Margaret 
 Wilson, of Londongrove, and settled 
 in Bethel. Their children were — Jo- 
 nas, /;. 4 mo. 19, 1819: Margaret W., 
 b. II mo. 4, 1820: Susanna, b. 12 
 mo. 16, 1822 : Elizabeth, /;. 12 mo. 
 21, 1824; d. 12 mo. 23, 1824: Anne 
 Yj.,b. I mo. 18, 1826: Joshua, b. 4 mo. 
 16, 1828: David W., b. 12 mo. 2, 
 1832. Rebecca, their mother, died 
 in Aston, 4 mo. 13, 1854, at the age 
 of 64. 
 
 Joshua P. Eyre, an old and influ- 
 ential citizen of Chester, d. April i, 
 1872, in the 69th year of his age. 
 In early life he and his brother Wil- 
 liam, began business as general grocers, 
 which in a country town, means trad- 
 ing in all kinds of farm products, and 
 articles of family consumption and 
 use. Their old sloop, ''Jonas Pres- 
 ton,'" made weekly trips to Philadel- 
 phia, carrying the j^roducts to a mar- 
 ket, and bringing back everything 
 
 necessary for their trade. Prosj)erous 
 in their business, and universally es- 
 teemed, they retired early in life from 
 active business pursuits, yet occupying 
 many high positions of trust in the 
 community in which they lived. Both 
 were directors of the Delaware Mutual 
 Safety, the old Delaware County In- 
 surance Company, a Chester institu- 
 tion originally, now of Philadelphia, 
 for over a quarter of a century. Joshua 
 was one of the incorporators of the com- 
 pany, in 1835, and a director thereof 
 from the first election, and both bro- 
 thers took great interest in its affairs. 
 Excellent likenesses of both the bro- 
 thers, by the celebrated Philadelphia 
 portrait painter, Wai/gh, adorn the di- 
 rector's room of the company, a tribute 
 of respect, and in remembrance of their 
 long and faithful services. Joshua was 
 one of the directors of the Bank of 
 Delaware County, at the time of his 
 death. The close friendship, and life- 
 long companionship of these two bro- 
 thers, is very pleasing to recall. It 
 casts a mellow radiance over their 
 deaths, and fills our hearts with sen- 
 sations of genuine regret for the loss 
 of such men. William Eyre, Jr., 
 married twice, having a' son by his first 
 wife called after his brother ; he now 
 occupies the old family residence on 
 Concord Road. He married again and 
 had a daughter and two sons, Caleb and 
 William. His first wife was Anna 
 Louisa, dau: of Dr. Job H. Terrill, 
 of Chester, ///. March 4, 1837. His 
 second wife was Rebecca P., dau: 
 of Caleb Churchman, ni. Nov. 26, 
 1843. Through all these changing 
 events of life, Joshua remained un- 
 married, and continued to live with 
 his brother, and after his death, in 
 1863, continued to live with his chil- 
 dren, their guardian and their friend, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 53 
 
 and at his death left his large estate 
 equally divided between them. I will 
 be pardoned this just tribute, I know, 
 for these gentlemen were from boy- 
 hood, my father's friends. 
 
 Joshua P, and William Eyre, for 
 many years after their retirement from 
 business, occupied the handsome resi- 
 dence erected by the late Archibald T. 
 Dick, Esq. Both brothers were tall, 
 slender men, like most of their name 
 and generation ; kind, gentle, and 
 courteous in their manners ; and in 
 their friendships, " true as steel." 
 Joshua was particularly fond of a good 
 joke, and his hearty, genial laugh, 
 can easily be recalled by any who 
 knew him. He died the possessor of 
 the original tract of land on which 
 his ancestor first settled in this Pro- 
 vince. Of this he was justly proud, 
 so many of our families having dis- 
 appeared from amongst us, and so 
 many others no longer owning their 
 ancestral acres. The Eyre family of 
 Delaware County, contains a large 
 number of members of both sexes. 
 
 There was living with Joshua P. 
 Eyre, at the time of his decease, and 
 I believe she had lived with him all 
 his life, an honored old aunt — Lydia 
 Pusey — who nursed him in his last ill- 
 ness, which extended through several 
 years, and at last, her life-long friend 
 and relative having "gone home," 
 she went soon after to her rest, on the 
 19th of April, 1872, in the 93d year 
 of her good old age. 
 
 A few days previous to the death of 
 Miss Pusey, an estimable old lady of 
 Chester passed away, who was born in 
 1783, Mary Ann Taylor, a daughter of 
 Nathan Supplee. She married John 
 Taylor, of Aston, about 50 years be- 
 fore her death. He, after his mar- 
 riage, became well-known as the War- 
 
 den of St. Martin's Church, at Marcus 
 Hook, — a position he held for many 
 years. 
 
 Miss Mary Eyre, a daughter of the 
 late Manuel Eyre, of Kensington, who 
 owned the ground on which the tree 
 stood, under whose branches it is said 
 William Penn made his great Treaty 
 of Amity with the Indians, married Col. 
 Lewis Downing, late principal chief of 
 the Cherokee nation. He was the 
 Lieut. Col. of a regiment of native 
 Indian volunteers during our late Re- 
 bellion, and a frequent visitor at Beth- 
 lehem. They are both dead now, and 
 had no issue. Col. D. has left chil- 
 dren, however, by a former marriage. 
 
 The roots of the old " Penn Treaty 
 Tree," were dug up by Miss Eyre, 
 and taken with her, when she made 
 Bethlehem her residence, and where 
 she lived in a quaint old house, the 
 "First Moravian Store," formerly, 
 now torn down. The old roots stood 
 in her parlor, and were used as a 
 " What-not,'''' and their curious ap- 
 pearance attracted the attention of all 
 her visitors. They were deposited by 
 her executrix and niece. Miss Rosalie 
 Tiers, in the Museum of the "Young 
 Men's Moravian Missionary Society," 
 at Bethlehem, Pa. 
 
 Miss Tiers says: — 
 
 " The ground on which the Treaty Ehn of 
 Penn stood, lielonged to Mr. Matthew Van 
 Dusen, at the time the tree was blown down, 
 March i, 1810. My imcle, Mr. FrankHn Eyre, 
 owned the property immediately adjoining, and 
 to him Mr. Van Dusen made the proposition, 
 that if he would have the entire trunk sawed 
 into planks, he might have half the wood. This 
 Mr. Eyre gladly acceded to, and afterwai'ds he 
 received permission to possess himself of the 
 root. A very curious piece of Indian pottery 
 was found, and the large space in the centre of 
 the roots now shows where it was imbedded. 
 Much to the disappointment of many, this jar 
 crumbled to dust on exposure to the air. The 
 
54 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 root was never (Iivi<lc(l, lh(>u_<:;h of necessity 
 much of it was lojiped off from the main part. 
 The cobhit stone which was entanj^lcd among 
 the roots when they were growintj still remains 
 near its outer edge, and could not l)e easily re- 
 movetl." 
 
 'riu' roots mentioned, liave since been 
 presented to the Historical Society of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 It is proper to state, however, in 
 this connection, that no such Treaty 
 as that represented in West's Pawting 
 ever took place; but a '■^ Big Talk'" 
 was held, a mere verbal treaty of Am- 
 ity ; no purchase of land whatever. 
 And several of the persons represented 
 in West' s picture, did not visit this 
 country until several years later, and 
 some were never here at all ; among 
 the latter, the artist's grandfather. 
 William Penn never bought any lands 
 of the Indians, except a small tract, 
 in 1682, in Bucks County, known as 
 '■'■ Penn^s Manor,''' in extent 10 by 12 
 miles. The deed for which can be 
 seen in our Historical Society. 
 
 The punishments inflicted by the 
 Courts, during the earlier days of the 
 Province, seem to have been, in crimi- 
 nal cases, confinement in the stocks, 
 and whipping at the pillory, or at the 
 tail of a cart. Exposure in the pillory 
 bearing a placard, inscribed with the 
 offence of the criminal, and fines. If 
 the defendant could not pay the latter, 
 and costs of prosecution, he was sold 
 out to service for a period of years. In 
 1690, the following is a sentence in one 
 case, which will serve as an example : 
 — " Whipping with thirty-nine lashes, 
 well laid on his back at the cart's 
 tail, and to be sold eight years for his 
 fine and costs, and to repay the losses 
 occasioned by a former larceny." 
 'I'his ptmishment was inflicted on a 
 servant -man of Chichester, for steal- 
 
 ing 14 dressed deer-skins. The fines 
 sometimes were very heavy ; in one 
 case, "One half of the defendant's 
 estate." (Whether that was heavy, 
 depends upon the extent of his estate.) 
 Sometimes the convict was banished 
 from the Province, and in rare cases 
 imprisonment was resorted to. The 
 want of proper and secure jails had as 
 much to do with these various modes 
 of punishing criminals as anything 
 else. 
 
 Jonathan Hayes, Randall Vernon, 
 and Robert Piles, did refuse the office 
 of Justice of the Peace in Chester. 
 I Col. Record, 375, May 13, 1693. 
 
 A Jury of Women was called at 
 Chester, on the 27th of 6 mo., 1689. 
 A case of Crini. Con. came before the 
 Court ; the parties having confessed 
 themselves guilty of the charge, were 
 presented by the Crand Inciuest ; 
 " Upon which they were both called 
 to the bar, where they made their ap- 
 pearance, and upon her further con- 
 fession and submission, a Jury of Wo- 
 men, whose names are underwritten, 
 ordered to inspect." The names of 
 the Jury impannelled were, Lydia 
 Wade, Sarah Usher, Hester Rawlence, 
 Mary Carter, Jane Hawkes, Mary Hos- 
 kins, Elizabeth' Musgrove, Mary Bay- 
 less, Elizabeth Hastings, Mary Little, 
 Jane Moulder and Anne Saunderlaine. 
 "They make return they cannot fine 
 she is (as charged), neither be they 
 sure she is not. ' ' The case is rendered 
 at full on the records of the Chester 
 County Court. 
 
 John Hoskins and Mary, his wife, 
 (one of the above jury,) came from 
 Cheshire, England, and settled at 
 Chester. He was a Friend, and pur- 
 chased a lot at Chester, in 1688, upon 
 which he built a house, and kei)t it as 
 an Inn. This old tavern was on lulge- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 55 
 
 mont Avenue, between Front and Se- 
 cond Streets. He was one of the origi- 
 nal purchasers under Penn, and is set 
 down in the list for 250 acres, which 
 were laid out 4 mo. 27, I864, in Mid- 
 dletown, between lands of Richard 
 Crosby and David Ogden, by virtue of 
 a warrant dated 9 mo. 21, 1683. He 
 was a man of education, as evinced by 
 his having been elected to the Provin- 
 cial Assembly of which he sat as a mem- 
 ber on March 12, 1683. 
 
 His will, dated 11 mo. 2, 1694-5, 
 and proven Aug. 15, 1698, is register- 
 ed in Philadelphia, in which he is 
 styled " of the county of Chester, 
 tailor," and the name written Hodgs- 
 kinson. In the early records, the name 
 is frequently written Hodgkins, at least 
 by others. He left but two children, 
 John and Hannah, of whom the former 
 was married in 1698 to Ruth Atkin- 
 son, and the latter in the same year to 
 Charles Whitaker; while their mother 
 married, in 1700, George Woodier, a 
 widower, of Upper Providence, after- 
 ward of Chester. She was an active 
 member of Friends' Meeting at Ches- 
 ter, of which she and Ann Pusey were 
 appointed overseers in 1696 ; but at a 
 meeting held 8 mo. 28, 1700, it is 
 stated — "because Mary Hoskins Re- 
 fuses, Being Anchent, to stand over- 
 seer with Ann Pusey for Chester meet- 
 ing, soe this meeting makes Choyes of 
 Eliz : Job to stand in her place." 
 
 John Hoskins, Jr., must have been 
 a person of considerable ability, as he 
 was elected Sheriff in 1700, when not 
 more than twenty-three years of age, 
 and continued to hold the office until 
 1 715, except during the 'year 1708. 
 His death occurred 8 mo. 26, 1716, 
 and that of his widow, Ruth, in 1739. 
 
 Their children were — John, b. 12 
 mo. 24, 1699 ; Stephen, //. 12 mo. 18, 
 
 1 701-2; George, b. 8 mo. 8, 1703, 
 died young ; Joseph, b. 4 mo. 30, 
 1705; Mary, b. 8 mo. i, 1707. Ste- 
 phen, a cooper by trade, married in 
 1727, Sarah Warner, a widow, of Ma- 
 ryland, and removed thither, but re- 
 turned to Chester in 1730, and perhaps 
 about 1743, settled in Philadelphia. 
 His children were John, Ruth in. to 
 
 Wilson, and Mary in. to 
 
 Warner. Joseph Hoskins in. 8 mo. 
 26, 1738, at Chester Meeting, Jane 
 Fenn, a noted Quaker preacher, but 
 left no children. In 1 731, he made a 
 voyage to Barbadoes, but did not re- 
 main long, and in 1739, went on bus- 
 iness to Boston. He was styled a 
 "cordwainer" in the old writings. 
 In 1756, his wife paid a religious visit 
 to New England, and on her journey 
 received a hurt, causing lameness, by 
 which she was detained at Boston 
 several weeks. After her return, she 
 appeared at meeting "and gave some 
 short relation of her journey, and of 
 the openness of the Presbyterians to 
 hear the free Gospel of Christ preach- 
 ed, and their particular respect and 
 sympathy to her in particular in her 
 affliction, which is matter of comfort 
 and satisfaction to this meeting." 
 After her death Joseph married, about 
 the close of the year 1765, Esther 
 Bickerdike, of Bucks County. In his 
 will, proved July 21, 1773, he devised 
 ;^io, to be used in enclosing or fenc- 
 ing the burying ground belonging to 
 the Friends of Chester Meeting; also, 
 the sum of ^30, toward schooling and 
 educating such poor children of the 
 borough or township as the Meeting 
 should think worthy of such assistance. 
 To his friends, Henry Hale Graham 
 and William Swaffer, he devised a lot 
 100 feet square, at the intersection of 
 Welsh or Back Street and the King's 
 
56 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Road, in trust for the use of the in- 
 habitants of the borough and town- 
 ship, "for the Building and Erecting 
 (thereon) a School House or School 
 Houses or other Edifices for the Teach- 
 ing, Instructing and Educating of 
 youth therein." His nephew, John 
 Hoskins, of Burlington, was his resid- 
 uary legatee, and executor. 
 
 This John Hoskins was married 9 
 mo. 22, 1750, to Mary dau. of Joshua 
 and Sarah Raper, of Burlington. His 
 son, Raper Hoskins, came to Chester 
 to reside as early as 1775, and was 
 married at Chester Meeting, 5 mo. 2, 
 1 78 1, to Eleanor, dau. of Henry Hale 
 Graham. Another son, Joseph, came 
 from Burlington in 1784, and m. 6 
 mo. 12, 1793, Mary Graham, n sister 
 to Eleanor. 
 
 Mary Hoskins, dau. of John and 
 Ruth, m. about 1730, John Mather, 
 who was a prominent citizen of Ches- 
 ter and for some years a Justice of the 
 Common Pleas. They had three chil- 
 dren — Joseph, Ruth and Jane. To 
 Ruth, her grandmother, Hoskins de- 
 vised the house and lot where Awbrey 
 Bevan now lives in Chester, and com- 
 monly known by the name of Penn- 
 sylvania Arms : will dated July 3, 
 1739. This grand-daughter became 
 the wife of Hon. Charles Thomson, 
 while her sister, Jane, married Dr. 
 Paul Jackson. 
 
 Graham Hoskins, son of Raper and 
 Eleanor, l>. Nov. 4, 1792, druggist, of 
 Philadelphia, m. Margaret, daugh. of 
 William Smith, Jr., and Margaret, and 
 has living five grandchildren, James, 
 William S., Graham, George W. and 
 Margaret, children of his deceased son, 
 William Smith Hoskins. 
 
 \'ehicles were not used for travel- 
 ling in the early days of the Province. 
 The Swedes used boats, as did also 
 
 the Dutch before them, the creeks 
 and rivers were the natural highways 
 to these people in their own countries, 
 and both nature and necessity made 
 them so in ours. The roads were gen- 
 erally mere paths through the woods, 
 which were free from undergrowth, 
 from the habit the Indians had of fir- 
 ing the woods every fall. 
 
 On Nov. 12, 1678, the "Court at 
 Upland ordered that every person 
 should within the space of two months, 
 as far as his land reaches, make good 
 and passable wayes from neighbour to 
 neighbour with bridges when it needs, 
 to the end that neighbours on occasion 
 may come together. Those neglect- 
 ing to forfeit 25 guilders. ' ' The Court 
 at New Castle a few months later or- 
 dered, " the highways to be cleansed 
 as followeth, viz. : The way bee made 
 clear of standing and lying trees, at 
 least len foot broad, all stumps an^ 
 shrubbs to be close cutt by y® ground. 
 The trees mark'd yearly on both sides, 
 sufficient bridges to be made and kept 
 over all marshy, swampy, and difficult 
 dirty places, and whatever else shall be 
 thought more necessary about y* high- 
 ways afores'd." See New Castle Re- 
 cord, Book B, p. 146. 
 
 I call attention here to the peculi- 
 arities of ancient spelling, &c. The' 
 y in old manuscripts in the word y% 
 is an alteration of the Saxon character 
 called Thorn, having the sound of 
 th, and not y* as is commonly given it. 
 Y', is that ; y"", means them ; y"^, 
 means thereof; two small uu's represent 
 the capital W. U and V were used in- 
 discriminately, being considered the 
 same letter.* I, was used where the J 
 now is. The capital F, was represent- 
 ed by two small f 's [thus ff ] ; wlicrc 
 y"*, mee, <S:c. , were used, it was in- 
 tended that those words shoukl be em- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 57 
 
 phasized, just as we use italics for that 
 purpose now ; &= stands for etc., which 
 is a contraction of et cetera, meaning 
 and so forth, represented now in print 
 and writing, &c., growing out of mak- 
 ing the 6^ quickly in writing. 
 
 The English settlers here travelled, 
 of necessity, on horseback, both men 
 and women. " The want of a bridle- 
 road between the Broad road near 
 James Browne's house in Chichester 
 (Marcus Hook) and Chichester creek, 
 and from thence to Chester cr.," was 
 presented by the Grand Jury at March 
 term of the county court in 1795. I'"^ 
 going to meeting on First-day, the 
 women generally rode on a pillion, 
 behind their husbands or some rela- 
 tive, and thus couples often came into 
 Chester in the old times. It was im- 
 possible then to travel in any other 
 way, the numerous streams, then much 
 wider than now, were without bridges. 
 The roads crossed the creeks where 
 they were fordable ; and the " King's 
 Road," from Philadelphia leading 
 South, crossed all the creeks above tide 
 water, and did not as the ''Queen's 
 Road ' ' does now, pass through Ches- 
 ter, but some distance to the north of 
 that place; it crossed Ridley Creek 
 above Richard Crosby's mill dam. 
 This old mill property remained in the 
 Crosby family, until after the death 
 of my grand-uncle, the late Peirce 
 Crosby, who died there July 26, 1853, 
 in his 82d year, when it became ne- 
 cessary to dispose of it, for the purpose 
 of dividing his estate among his heirs. 
 There is only one male member of the 
 family now living who bears the old 
 name, viz. : Commodore Peirce Crosby, 
 of the United States Navy. It has 
 been used, however, as a given name 
 in the family very often, as in case of 
 my cousins, Crosby Peirce Morton, 
 
 and Crosby Peirce Wright. Peirce 
 has also become a familiar christian 
 name in all branches of the family, and 
 is also used as a middle name. 
 
 The first mention made of Crosby's 
 mill, is in 1713 — (Smith, p. 221) — 
 when a road was laid out from Provi- 
 dence lower road by Richard Crosby's 
 mill to Edgmont road, near what is 
 now called Shoemakerville, a small 
 place called after a family of that 
 name, whose old residence is on the 
 hill west of Ridley Creek, a comfort- 
 able and substantial old stone house. 
 The built up portion of Chester now 
 reaches Shoemakerville. 
 
 It was not till 1686, that the Court 
 ordered the erection of a horse bridge 
 over the creek near Chester, and a 
 similar one over Croome Creek on the 
 King's road, and in 1687, over Ridley 
 Creek, on the same road. At this 
 latter time neither of the two former 
 bridges had been erected as ordered ; 
 but in 1688, the one over Crum Creek 
 had been built and was already in need 
 of repairs, so that it must have been 
 a very mean structure. The King's 
 road was sometimes called the "Great 
 Southern Road." 
 
 At December Court, 1699, a petition 
 was presented by Ralph Fishbourne, 
 " for a convenient road from the West 
 side of Chester creek, where the Ferry 
 is to be kept, for to lead to the now 
 King's road.'" The Court appointed 
 six viewers for to go and lay out the 
 said roadway in the most convenient 
 place they can, for the conveniency of 
 the inhabitants. 
 
 The six viewers appointed were, Al- 
 bert Hendrixson, John Childe, James 
 Lownes, James Hendrixson, John Hos- 
 kins, and Henry Worley. 
 
 In the year 1700, it was thought 
 necessary for the better accommoda- 
 
58 
 
 IIISTOHV OF CIIKSTEK. 
 
 tion of the lu)r()iiL;li of" ClH'stcr, ami 
 the inhal)itnnts of the lower part of 
 the county of Chester, as well as tra- 
 vellers, that the King's high-road 
 should be altered and brought nearer 
 to the river, and to pass through the 
 borough of Chester with a draw-bridge 
 over the creek there ; accordingly an 
 Act was obtained the same year, au- 
 thorizing the erection of a bridge over 
 the creek at Chester, and ordering the 
 Justices of the County Court, " to lay 
 out a road from the King's Road that 
 leads to New Castle and Maryland, to 
 the intended place for a bridge over 
 Chester Creek." The act required 
 that the bridge should have a draw to 
 it, and that a person should be cm- 
 ployed to attend the same, and draw 
 it uj) when necessary to let sloops and 
 shalloi)s pass to and from the mills 
 situated on the creek, and that the 
 space of twenty feet should be left 
 clear between the timbers or stone- 
 work for the conveniency of rafts and 
 logs passing to said mills. The act of 
 14th of Aug., 1725, to prevent obstruc- 
 tions to the navigation of Chester 
 Creek, says in the preamble, that the 
 draw-bridge was erected, " but is now 
 gone to decay, and requires to be re- 
 built or repaired," and directs the 
 Commissioners of the county to re- 
 build or repair the bridge, within the 
 period of twelve months. The act of 
 Sept. 3, 1 778, ^3.y?,a. draw-bridge, which 
 was first built in 1700 over Chester 
 Creek, and rebuilt in 1725, is at last 
 decayed and ruined, and it is neces- 
 sary for the convenience of travellers 
 on the high-road, that a good, safe 
 bridge over said creek should be always 
 maintained and kept in repair, but the 
 dra7L> or engine to raise and lower the 
 same is of no public utility, and yet 
 attendi-d with extraordinary ex]K'nses 
 
 and inconveniences to the public. 
 Therefore, Be it e?meted, d-v., that the 
 Commissioners and Assessors, with the 
 concurrence of the Magistrates of the 
 County of Chester, shall, as soon as 
 may be, cause a new bridge to be built 
 at the place where the old bridge for- 
 merly stood, leaving at least twenty 
 feet clear between the timber or stone 
 work, and not less than eighteen feet in 
 breadth, and eight feet headway at 
 high water, for the easy passage for 
 rafts, flats, shallops, and othe» crafts ; 
 and the said bridge shall be made fast, 
 and close continued from one side of 
 the creek to the other, without any draw 
 or opening for a mast," &c. I pre- 
 sume the bridge erected in accordance 
 with the above act, was the one that 
 stood over the creek immediately pre- 
 ceding the present one, or of which 
 the present bridge is an alteration, 
 made about the year 1868, with side- 
 walks for i)edestrians. The former, or 
 old bridge, was a wooden structure, 
 supported by large, heavy chains ])ass- 
 ing over iron columns resting on either 
 abutment. I think each link of the 
 chains must have been about two feet 
 in length, all made of wrought iron. 
 Connecting the two columns on either 
 side of the bridge was a large planking 
 cut out to represent an arch, present- 
 ing a very neat appearance, and right 
 over each arch was a sign painted 
 white with the following notice in 
 black letters: — " Walk your horse, and 
 drive not more than fifteen head of cattle 
 at one time over this bridge, under a 
 penalty of no less than ^30." The 
 author of the lines must have been a 
 Mason. I have heard it was John K. 
 Zeilin, Esq. 
 
 Watson, in his Historical Collec- 
 tions, MS., says: — "The road from 
 Chester bridge to New Castle was call- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 59 
 
 ed the King's Road. I have heard 
 old j^ersons say, that there were mile 
 stones having some signs of royalty en- 
 graved on them along this road." As 
 some of the old mile stones had Penn's 
 arms cut on them, it accounts for these 
 statements. 
 
 At a meeting of the Provincial Coun- 
 cil held at Philadelphia, y^ 19th March, 
 1705-6. The following petition (co- 
 pied from a copy, among the " Logan 
 Papers," in possession of the Historical 
 Society of Pa., and never before print- 
 ed,) was presented and read, as will 
 appear by the minutes. See 2d Colonial 
 Records, 244, &c. 
 
 To the HonUile John Evans, Esq., Lieut. 
 Governor of the Provmce of Pennsilvania 
 and the three Lower Counties and to his 
 Council. 
 
 The Humble petition of the Inhal)itants of 
 tlie town and County of Chester and others, 
 humbly showeth : That whereas by ye Laws 
 of this Government y^ sole power of laying 
 out of the Queen's Road is lodged in the 
 Governor and Council — and whereas the Town 
 of Chester is daily improving, and In time may 
 become a great place and very advantageous 
 to the Propriatour, but forasmuch as most of 
 the People of that place concerned In the Im- 
 provement is much discouraged for want of a 
 direct Road from thence to Philadelphia, wee 
 your Petitioners, whose names are hereunto 
 subscribed, do beg the Governor and Councill 
 — that an ord'r may be granted to fitt and pro- 
 per persons to lay out the Queen's Road on as 
 direct a Line as can be from Darby to answer 
 the bridge on Chester Creek ; and your peti- 
 tioners in duty bound will ever pray. 
 
 Edward Dutton, 
 Jonathan Rutdand, 
 David I'owell, 
 John Wiley, 
 Isaac Taylour, 
 Charles Booth, 
 Joshua Calvert, 
 Richard Prichard, 
 John Houldston, 
 Samuel Bishop, 
 Jonathan Hayes, 
 John Grubb, 
 Henry Hollingsworth, 
 
 James Hendricxson, 
 Richard Crosby, 
 Joseph Cloud, 
 Edward Wilburn, 
 Thomas Buffington, 
 Richard Elwell, 
 Jonathan Munrow, 
 John Morton, 
 David Jones, 
 James Thomas, 
 Joseph Baker, 
 Daniel Lewis, 
 William Gregory, 
 
 George Simpson, Ephraim Jackson, 
 
 Peter Trego, Edward Kennison, 
 
 James Swaffer, Phillip Yarnall, 
 
 Edward Jennings, John Gibbeans, 
 
 Morgan Jones, Roger Jackson, 
 
 James Chivers, Richard Addams, 
 
 David Loyd, JohnChilde, 
 
 Jasper Yeates, Ralph Fishburn, 
 
 James Sandelandes, Wm. Pickells, 
 
 John Hoskins, Wm. Hurtin, 
 
 John Wade, David Roberts, 
 
 Paul Sanders, Wm. Swaffer, 
 
 Robert Barber, Thomas Cartwright, 
 
 Sam'l Tomlinson, John Bauldine, 
 
 David Merrideth, John Test, 
 
 Edward Danger, Jnhn Test, Jr., 
 
 John Hikenes, John Dutton, 
 
 Thomas Oldham, Thomas Dutton, 
 
 Thomas Bauldwin, Alexander Badcock, 
 
 Joseph Richards, George Woodiar, 
 
 Walter Martin, John Bristow, 
 
 Tho. Powell, George Oldfield, 
 
 Nicholas Faiilamb, John Sharpies, 
 
 Moses Key, Tho. Vernon, 
 
 Henry Coburn, Jeremiah Collet, Sr. 
 
 Nathan Baker, Mordicai Howell, 
 
 Geo. Chandler, Israel Taylor, 
 
 John Worrall, Jeremiah Collet, Jr. 
 Humphrey Johnston, 
 
 By a memorandum in the Council 
 Minute Book D, begun 19th March, 
 1705-6, p. I, it appears that the "in- 
 habitants of Chester petition for a 
 road from Darby to Chester bridge, 
 with an ord'r for its being laid out." 
 See Logan Papers, vol. iv., marked 
 "Roads," paper No. 59. Thereupon 
 it was ordered by the Council — 
 
 " That the said Road lie laid accordingly, 
 and if there shall be occasion for building a 
 bridge over any Navigable creek or water for 
 the greater conveniency of Travelling the said 
 Road, that such bridge shall be so built that 
 the same may in no wise hinder any Boats 
 from passiiTg up or down such creek or water. 
 And it is further ordered yt Jasper Yeates, 
 Caleb Pusey, Jeremiah CoUett, Robert Barber 
 and John Hendrickson, or any four of them, 
 do survey and lay out the said Road, and that 
 they return as soon as they can to this Board, 
 under their hands and seals, an exact draught 
 setting forth the several courses thereof." 
 
 A draft of this road is on file in the 
 office of the Surveyor General, and 
 also of that of the Secretary of State, 
 at Harrisburg. And in accordance 
 
60 
 
 11 IS TORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 with the order of Council the Road 
 was promptly laid out, and the Suj^ervi- 
 sors of Chester, Ridley and Darby, were 
 directed by the County Court and no- 
 tified by the Sheriff to clear the same. 
 But this does not seem to have been 
 done ; for it ap])ears by a draft sub- 
 mitted to Council in 1747, by Joseph 
 Bonsall and John Davis, that scarcely 
 any part of the road as travelled, cor- 
 responded with the road laid out in 
 1 706. The travelled road, except for 
 a very short distance, (at which end 
 or what place is not stated,) being from 
 twenty to forty perches or more south 
 of that laid out in 1706. In the ist 
 Penna. Archives, pp. 767-8, are copies 
 of two petitions asking for a re-survey 
 of the line of the road, &c., signed by 
 a number of the prominent inhabitants 
 of the county, and read in Council 
 17th August, 1747, as follows: 
 
 " To the Honorable President and Coitneil of 
 the Pren'incc of Pennsylvania. 
 
 The Petition of the subscribers, Commis- 
 sioners and Inhabitants of the County of Ches- 
 ter, in said Province, Humbly sheweth, That 
 whereas it appears after strict search made 
 that there are divers jjarts of the King's Road 
 leading from Cob's creek jjridge to over Ches- 
 ter liridge to the line of New-Castle county, 
 not to be found upon Record, or any return 
 thereof made. 
 
 Therefore, as well for the benefit of the 
 Publick as the satisfaction of private Persons, 
 Likewise for the erecting of Bridges & repair- 
 ing of said Highway, We your petitioners Hum- 
 bly crave that you will be pleas'd to take the 
 same into consideration and appoint such men 
 as in your wisdom shall think proper, to lay 
 out such parts of said Road as are deficient. 
 And your Petitioners (as in duty l)ound) shall 
 ever pray. August the 13th, 1747. 
 
 Jacob Hjblwrd, 
 Samuel Bunting, 
 John Griffith, 
 Job Harvey, 
 George Wood, 
 Thos. Pearson, 
 Isa. Pearson, 
 
 John Davis, 
 Joshua Thomson, 
 Thomas Cummings, 
 John Baldwin, 
 John Taylor, 
 David Cowpland, 
 Jacob Howell, Sr., 
 
 John Paschall, 
 John Pearson, 
 Geo. Ashbridge, 
 
 John Mather, 
 James Mather, 
 Joshua Ash. 
 
 The second petition is indorsed, 
 " Petition of George Gray, &c., for a 
 warrant to survey the road leading from 
 Philadelphia to Chester, and is as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " 7() the Hvitorahle, the President and Council 
 of the J'ro'i'inee of Pennsylvania . 
 
 The humble petition of George Gray, keeper 
 of the lower Ferry over Schuylkill, on the 
 Road frt)m the city of Philadelphia to Chester, 
 and others living in the county of Chester, and 
 using said road, Shewtth, that the said Road 
 leading from South st., of the said city, over 
 the said Ferry to Cobb's creek bridge near 
 Darby, in the county of Chester, has time out 
 of mind been the only old and accustomed 
 Road to Darby, Chester, New-Castle and the 
 Lower Counties. 
 
 That the inhabitants of the Townships 
 through which the said Road passes, not 
 doubting its being a recorded Road, have 
 hitherto duly repaired and amended the same, 
 but now being apprized that it either has not 
 been regularly recorded, or that the record 
 thereof cannot be found, so that they are 
 not obliged to repair the same or contribute 
 thereto, the said Road is at present much out 
 of Repair, growing worse, and will in Winter 
 become utterly impassable or dangerous to 
 travel with Horses, Chaises, or other Car- 
 riages^ unless the same he repaired before the 
 ensuing Winter. 
 
 That your Petitioners are informed that if 
 the said Road was surveyed and recorded ac- 
 cording to Law, the same would and ought to 
 be from Time to Time repaired by the Inhab- 
 itants of the Townships through which the 
 same lyes, whereby the same, being a great 
 and much travelled Road would become safe 
 and passable. 
 
 Therefore your Petitioners humbly pray the 
 Honorable, the President and Council, would 
 be pleased to grant an Order or Warrant for 
 surveying the said Road, so that it may be 
 surveyed and recorded, and sufficiently amend- 
 ed and kept in Repair, or that you would be 
 ]ileased to give such other Order or Warrant 
 concerning the same as the nature of the case 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 61 
 
 may recjuire. And your Petitioners will ever 
 
 pray, &c. 
 
 Joseph Bons.ill, George Gray, 
 
 Samuel Levis, George Wood, 
 
 John Davis, Jonathan Puschall, 
 
 Job Harvey, Thos. Pearson, 
 
 Samuel Bunting, William Home. 
 
 On the 8th of Sept., 1 747, the Coun- 
 cil appointed Caleb Cowpland, Joseph 
 Parker, Joseph Bonsall, Samuel Levis, 
 James Mather, John Davis, Peter 
 Dicks, Thomas Pearson, and John 
 Sketchley, or any five of them, in con- 
 nection with seven persons from Phil- 
 adelphia, to lay out the Road from 
 "the Division line which parts Phila- 
 delphia county from Chester county 
 to the limits of the county of New 
 Castle." 
 
 On March 22, 1747, five of the 
 committee from Delaware County re- 
 ported that it would be injurious to 
 property owners to lay out the road 
 between Darby and Chester in accord- 
 ance with the courses and distances 
 given, (the survey of 1706 had been 
 found), and asked for further powers, 
 to keep that part of the road where it 
 already ran. The Council thereupon 
 ordered, that the road be laid out as 
 " it now runs, making no other altera- 
 tions than what may be absolutely ne- 
 cessary to make it more regular and 
 direct in some Places, or more com- 
 modious to the Fording Places or 
 Bridges that are now used on the said 
 Road." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 When Upland was first settled, and 
 for many years afterwards, the country 
 in the vicinity was full of wild animals 
 and game. Wolves were numerous, 
 and bounty was paid for each one 
 killed. Deer were quite common, 
 large herds wandered through the 
 
 country ; and it has only been during 
 the present century that they have en- 
 tirely disappeared. When I was about 
 12 years old, I attended the last deer 
 hunt in Delaware County. The deer 
 ran through Chester, and jumped off 
 the upper pier into the Delaware, and 
 was followed by two of the hounds. 
 Some men in a boat pursued and cap- 
 tured it at the lower end of Chester 
 Island, and returned with it and the 
 dogs to town. I remember that I rode 
 a gray, blooded horse called Buzzard. 
 The deer was a tame one,, however, and 
 let loo.se for the purpose of a hunt. 
 There were a great many fox hounds 
 about Chester when I was a boy, but 
 I do not recollect ever hearing of a fox 
 hunt, although I do recall several drag 
 hunts. But to return to the old times. 
 Black bears were frequently to be met 
 with, and in cold weather, sometimes 
 visited the farm houses in search of 
 food. Wild turkeys and pigeons visit- 
 I ed the country in immense flocks, in 
 the fall of the year. The foxes were 
 great pests to the farmers, lurking 
 around their barns, and carrying off 
 poultry. Squirrels, rabbits, pheasants 
 and partridges abounded. When I was 
 a boy living with my step-grandfather, 
 in Ridley, about a mile south-west of 
 Morton station, I remember well going 
 out with him gunning for flying squir- 
 rels and wild pigeons in Carr's thicket, 
 not far distant from his residence. At 
 the end of the lane leading to " Our 
 house," stood at that time a magnifi- 
 cent pine tree ; it was a perfect cone 
 of green, its lower limbs sweeping the 
 ground. It still stands, although shorn 
 by the winters' winds of many of its 
 branches. 
 
 Mr. John Fairlamb Hill, my step- 
 grandfather, died at Chester, June 14, 
 1870, in the 90th year of his age. He 
 
(VJ 
 
 IIISTOKV OF CHP]STEK 
 
 was at one time a very prominent man 
 in the county, and from his stone quar- 
 ries at Cn///i, Ridley and Naaman's 
 Creeks, he furnished much of the 
 stone used in the Delaware Break- 
 water, near Cape Henlopen, He mar- 
 ried, July lo, 1804, my grandmother, 
 Eleanor Crosby Martin, the widow of 
 Dr. William Martin, of Chester, who 
 died of the yellow fever, caught in at- 
 tending the crew of a British vessel, 
 lying off Chester, Sept. 28, 1798. She 
 was a daughter of John Crosby, late an 
 Associate Judge of Delaware County, 
 and Ann Peirce, his wife, of Ridley 
 Creek quarries. 
 
 In a MS. entitled " a brief account 
 of Pennsylvania, in a letter to Rich- 
 ard Peters, in answer to some queries 
 of a gentleman in Europe, by Lewis 
 Evans, 1753," it is stated: "We 
 have coarse stones for building every- 
 where, and a quarry not far from Ches- 
 ter, affords a sort of .stone nearly re- 
 sembling frce-sto7ie, but its ordinary 
 muddy color is no recommendation to 
 it." Mr. Evans, at that time, could 
 have seen only the surface-stone of the 
 (piarries of Delaware County, which 
 really is of a muddy color in some 
 localities. The stone taken from the 
 "Cro-sby quarries," at Ridley Creek, 
 for the last forty years, has been a 
 beautiful free-stouc^ and J have often 
 been surprised that it has not been 
 more^ generally used for building pur- 
 poses. Much of it is sold for cellar 
 walls, but there are some houses in 
 Delaware County built entirely of it ; 
 however, they are built with the rough, 
 uncut stone, which shows none of its 
 beauty, which is of a handsome light 
 gray color. Some fine specimens of 
 this stone can be .seen in the abut- 
 ments of the wire bridge over Callow- 
 hill Street, in Philadeli)hia, with the 
 
 letters I. Y. H, cut on them, meaning 
 John F. Hill, who leased the quarries 
 and furnished the stone for that work. 
 
 The "Crosby quarries" were in 
 operation in the year 1789. See 16 
 Provincial Records, p. 100, where is 
 recorded : An order was directed by 
 the Supreme Executive Council to be 
 drawn on the treasurer in favor of 
 John Crosby, for ^^53 13.?. 4^/. for 
 stone for repairing the bank at Mud 
 Island. The green stone that is now 
 (juarried near Lenni, is much used for 
 building purposes, and much admired. 
 The quarry at Lenni, is owned by Col. 
 Archer N. Martin, a son of Robert L. 
 Martin, and the new buildings of the 
 University of Pennsylvania, are in part 
 erected with this green stone. 
 
 Mr. Evans, in the letter referred to 
 says, "Chester, Bristol and Newtown, 
 have been long at a stand." I may 
 add the former is now moving, l)ut the 
 two latter stand still. I remember 
 saying to a witty friend of mine, Whit- 
 ton Evans, in salutation one day, when 
 business was very dull, " Are you 
 still on the wharf, Whit?" His eyes 
 twinkled as he passed on, saying qui- 
 etly, " Very." 
 
 Many writers have given an account 
 of William Penn's arrival at Ui)land, 
 on Sunday the 29th of Oct., 1682,* 
 and the traditionary story of his 
 changing the name of the town to 
 that of Chester, at the request of his 
 friend, Pearson. Armstrong suggests 
 
 *Thc " Welcome" arrived at Upland, now' 
 Chester, on Oct. 28, 1682; positive evidence 
 of this fact exists in an old Manuscript Hook 
 of Evan Oliver, a passenger in that vessel, he 
 says : " We came out of Radnorshire in Wales 
 about y® beginning of y" 6 mo. (August), '82 & 
 arrived at Ujiland in jjcnsilvania in America, 
 y« 28th of ye 8 month, '82." See leUer of Benj. 
 Ferris lo Edward Armstrong, of 12 mo. 31, 
 185 1, in jmssession of the Historical Society 
 of rcnnsylvania. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 08 
 
 that Pearson's first name was Robert; 
 another writer, a correspondent to the 
 Republican oi Oct. 6, 1871, gives the 
 Christian name of Pearson, as Thomas, 
 and says he was the maternal grand- 
 father of Benjamin West, the celebrat- 
 ed painter. He also says, Printzdorp 
 is included in the present South Ward 
 of Chester. William Penn in one of 
 his letters about laying out a city, 
 alludes to Chester, and mentions that 
 he gave it its present name. I will 
 give the whole account .as related, of 
 Fcn?t's voyage and the change of name : 
 It appears that on Wednesday, the 30th 
 of Aug., 1682, William Penn sailed 
 from England in the ship "Welcome," 
 Robert Greenway, master, in company 
 with about 100 emigrants, destined for 
 the Province of Pennsylvania; most of 
 the passengers were members of the 
 Society of Friends, chiefly from Sus- 
 sex. During the voyage, the small- 
 pox broke out on board the vessel, and 
 thereby many of the passengers died. 
 Otherwise the voyage was prosperous, 
 although a very long one, and on 
 the 27th day of Oct., 1682, the ship 
 arrived and anchored in safety at New 
 Castle, on the Delaware. An incom- 
 plete list of the passengers will be found 
 in a note to the published address of 
 Edward Armstrong, before the Histo- 
 rical Society of Pennsylvania, at Ches- 
 ter, on the 8th of Nov., 1851, p. 22, 
 &c. On the 28th of Oct., 1682, the 
 ' ' Welcome ' ' anchored off Upland, op- 
 posite the residence of Robert Wade, 
 and William Penn landed at his seat 
 of government. Upon landing,* Penn 
 determined to change the name of 
 the place and " turning around to his 
 
 *The landing may not have taken place 
 until the next day, Sunday, the 29th. That 
 <lay has l:)een called the day of arrival, because 
 I'enn on that day wrote a letter from Upland 
 to Herman. See Hazard's Annals, ji. 599. 
 
 friend Pearson, one of his own Soci- 
 ety, who had accompanied him in the 
 ship, he said : ' Providence has brought 
 us here safe, thou hast been the com- 
 panion of my perils, what wilt thou 
 that I should call this place ?' Pear- 
 son said ' Chester, in remembrance of 
 the city whence I came.' Penn re- 
 plied that it should be called Chester, 
 and that when he divided the land 
 into counties, one of them should be 
 called by the same name, all of which 
 was afterwards done." Dr. Smith is 
 very severe upon Penn, for changing 
 the name of the oldest town in the 
 Province for a mere whim, for there is 
 no doubt he did authoritatively give 
 Upland the name of Chester, because 
 he says so in one of his letters. But 
 the above occurrence, as related, is 
 too theatrical to be believed ; besides 
 the friends of Penn are all well known, 
 and I find no mention of a Pearson 
 among them, and his first name is 
 not even given, nor is it known that 
 any person of the name of Pearson 
 was on board of the "Welcome," 
 although Armstrong's list contains the 
 mythical Pearson, by which the ex- 
 tremely doubtful story is bolstered up. 
 
 Where he got his Pearson from, 
 
 he does not say, but I suppose he found 
 him in the story as related by some 
 person with a vivid imagination. 
 
 It has been said that Upland Avas 
 called Chester, by the English, who had 
 settled there before the arrival of Penn, 
 and their doing so was very natural, 
 if they did so, as most of them came 
 from Cheshire, in England, and the 
 city of Old Chester, from the neigh- 
 borhood of which they nearly all came, 
 was the Shire town of Cheshire, which 
 is only a corruption of Chester-shire. 
 Dr. Smith in his History, Appendix p. 
 542, note H, takes the same position, 
 
G4 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 ami states that, " At a meeting of 
 Friends held at Chester, nth of 7 
 mo., 1682, (before the arrival of the 
 rro])rietary, ) it was agreed to hold a 
 meeting every first day of the week, 
 ' A/ the Court House at Chester. ' This 
 last fact is alike conclusive, that there 
 was then at ^^A/;/^/, a building known as 
 ' The Court House,' which could hard- 
 ly have been any other than the House 
 of Defence, as it is that the town had 
 been called Chester before it authori- 
 tatively received that name from the 
 Proprietary. ' ' 
 
 A correspondent in the American 
 Historical Record, vol. ii. p. 79, (Gil- 
 bert Cope,) in reference to the fore- 
 going statements and the alleged ex- 
 tract from the minutes, that Chester 
 was so called before that name was 
 given to the place by Penn, says : "So 
 far as I am aware, the only proof to 
 sustain the latter theory is contained 
 in the records of Chester Monthly 
 Meeting of Friends, the minutes of 
 which for a period of forty years after 
 its establishment, are in one large vol- 
 ume. Different authors have given 
 what purports to be the first minute 
 on tlie records thus : 
 
 ''reiilh of the Eleventh month, 1681. A 
 monthly meeting of Friends belonging to Mar- 
 cus Hook alias Chester and Upland, held at 
 the house of Robert Wade.' We must su]> 
 pose that the authors in question, did not ex- 
 amine the record for themselves, as the word 
 Chichester distinctly occurs instead of Chester. 
 However, at a meeting held 'The nth of y* 
 7th mo., 1682' — still before the arrival of 
 Penn — ' It is agreed by this meeting that a 
 mpeling shall be held for the servis and wor- 
 ship of {]od eveiy first day of the week, att 
 the Court House all Chester.' 
 
 Now what is the history of this first 
 volume of minutes? It contains the 
 evidence that about the year 1712, 
 'I'homas ("halklcy, an eminent minis- 
 
 ter in the Society, and a good pen- 
 man, was employed to transcribe the 
 original minutes within a large book 
 obtained for the purpose. This may 
 have been at the time he was tempo- 
 rarily detained at Chester by the sick- 
 ness of his wife. However correct he 
 may have been in his religious views, 
 he certainly had not the future local 
 historian in his eye when he transcribed 
 those minutes. Fortunately the origi- 
 nal record has been preserved, and 
 although a part of the first date is 
 missing, yet the minutes read thus : — 
 [torn] ' day of y^ 11 month, 1681, a 
 monthly meeting of f rends belonging to 
 Marcus hooke er' Upland heeld then at 
 Robert Wads house.' Again, 'At 
 the men' s meeting at Upland, the nth 
 yth mo., 1682. * * It 7C'as then 
 agreed y^ a meeting shall be held for y^ 
 service &= worship of god cveiy first 
 day * * * 
 
 at y^ Court House at Upland. ' The 
 name of Upland is frequently, l)ut that 
 of Chester never mentioned in these 
 old minutes, until the nth mo., 1682." 
 The proof thereof seems to be conclu- 
 sive, that William Penn did change 
 the name of Upland to Chester, and 
 that the minute copied by Dr. Smith 
 is from the incorrect copy made by 
 Thomas Chalkley. The cpiotations 
 above, in italics, are the exact words 
 of the original. 
 
 In Armstrong's list before referred 
 to, are some errors, which I correct 
 here. From an entry that will be found 
 in the proceedings of the Race Street 
 Monthly Meeting of Friends, at Phila- 
 deli)hia, it appears that William Brad- 
 ford and Elizabeth, his wife, brought 
 certificate (which is set out in fiill on 
 the record), from Devonshire House 
 Monthly Meeting, London, dated 6 
 mo. 12, 1685, signed by 19 Friends. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 65 
 
 He did not, therefore, come in the 
 " Welcome," as stated. 
 
 John Sharpies (mentioned in Arm- 
 strong's list), came from Ratherton or 
 Hadderton, in the county of Chester, 
 England. He married Jane Moore of 
 the same place, in 1662. They had 
 seven children, Phebe, John, Thomas, 
 James, Caleb, Jane and Joseph. The 
 whole family, with the exception of 
 Thomas, who died at sea, 5 mo. (July), 
 landed at Upland on the 4th of the 
 6th mo. (Aug.), 1682, more than 
 two months before the arrival of the 
 "Welcome." See Records of Ches- 
 ter Monthly Meeting. In one place in 
 the old record, it is plainly written, 
 that " Thomas Sharpless, son of John 
 and Jane Sharpless, dyed the 1 7th day 
 of y' first mo., 1682, at sea." Else- 
 where it states that "Thomas Sharp- 
 less Sonne of John and Jane Sharpless, 
 dyed 17th of 5th mo., 1682, buried 
 in sea." 
 
 At Sharpless' Mills on Ridley Creek, 
 there is quite a curiosity. Engraven 
 on a rock on the banks of the creek, 
 are the initials I. S., 1682, which marks 
 the spot where John Sharpless, the 
 original settler, erected his cabin, on 
 his purchase that year. In the record 
 of the Sharpless family, p. 14, printed 
 in 1 81 6, which is a very rare book, it 
 is set forth, they took up part of the 
 land purchased of William Penn, on 
 Ridley Creek, about two miles north- 
 west from Chester, where they fell a 
 large tree, and took shelter among the 
 boughs thereof, about six weeks, in 
 which time they built a cabin against a 
 rock, which answered for their chim- 
 ney back, and now contains the date of 
 the year when the cabin was built, viz., 
 1682, in which they dwelt 20 years, 
 and there they all died, except the 
 mother and three sons, in which time 
 
 Joseph learned the trade of house 
 carpenter, and when of age built the 
 first dwelling house, which is now 
 standing and occupied by one of their 
 descendants. Part of the original 
 floors are still in use, being fastened 
 down with wooden pins of about an 
 inch in diameter, instead of nails. It 
 is a sizeable two-story dwelling ; the 
 walls of stone. 
 
 Some description here of the city in 
 England, from which our Chester takes 
 its name, may be of interest. Ches- 
 ter's '■^god-mother,'''' derives its name 
 from the Latin word castra, signify- 
 ing ar«/;//. This ancient fortified city 
 is one of the oldest cathedral towns in 
 England. The old original town is 
 enclosed by walls two miles or more 
 in circumference, which now form a 
 favorite promenade. The settlement 
 of the place dates from the year A. D. 
 58, when a Roman colony was estab- 
 lished on the banks of the river Dee ; 
 and the site of the town was the ca;n/> 
 of the xxth Legion, called the " Vic- 
 TRix;" hence its ndiXi\e Legion' s Cas- 
 tra, corrupted by the Roman soldiers 
 into Legicestra, whence Chester. 
 From that date until about 150 years 
 ago, Chester has been the scene of 
 many eventful occurrences, battles and 
 sieges ; at times the peaceful abode 
 of royalty, sometimes its prisen ; the 
 history of which, and of the town, 
 would fill half a dozen volumes. Its 
 more ancient parts remind one of 
 the description we have of cities of 
 the middle ages. Along its streets 
 are to be found antiquated houses, 
 built with story overhanging story, 
 with outside stairways, leading to 
 balconies above, which overshadow 
 the curious old stories beneath. So . 
 very quaint and so very quiet are the 
 more ancient streets of the town, that 
 
(H. 
 
 HISTORY OF CUESTEK. 
 
 OIK' would hardly feci surprised, were 
 he to meet a cavalcade of knights in 
 armor, riding up the thoroughfare, 
 with the lances, banners, and all the 
 warlike trappings of several hundred 
 years ago, or see emerging from a by- 
 street a gay Cavalier of a later day, 
 with slouching hat and trailing plume, 
 escorting along the pave a ladye fair, 
 all hoops, curls, feathers and ribbons. 
 The principal attractions to the visit- 
 ors, are the grand old walls built by 
 the Romans, the remains of the old 
 castle, once the palace and abode of the 
 Earls of Chester, nothing of which 
 now remains except the Tower, called 
 the Tower of Jn/his Agricola, the 
 Cathedral and its ancient buildings, 
 which are wonderful specimens of the 
 exuberant architecture of the olden 
 times. Many of these old buildings 
 are in excellent order and well pre- 
 served, and a marvel to see. The city 
 is encircled by a charming country, 
 through which flows the river Dee, 
 whose beauties have been sung by 
 many an English poet. Such is Ches- 
 ter in the mother-land. 
 
 In (Gordon's History of Pennsylva- 
 nia, p. yS, it is stated : 
 
 " The survey of the euunliy inhabitocl by 
 the Europeans having l)een completed, (in the 
 year 1682,) the Proprietary divided it into six 
 counties; three in the Province and a like 
 numl)er in the lenitories. 'l"he former he 
 named Philadelphia, liucks and Chester; the 
 latter New Castle, Kent and Sussex. The 
 seals adopted by the Legislature for the three 
 counties, are indicative of the simplicity of the 
 times. ■ That of Philadelphia was an Anchor; 
 for Hucks, a Tree and a Vine ; for Chester, a 
 Plough ; for New Castle, a Cassia Plant ; for 
 Kent, three Ears of Indian Corn; for Sussex, 
 a Wheat Sheaf." 
 
 The seal of Chester County, on an 
 old deed of May i, 1767, from JoJm 
 Morton, sheriff, to John Crosby, (my 
 
 g. g. grandfather, ) is the arms of I'enn, 
 with a Plough for a crest, and the le- 
 gend around the seal of " Chester — 
 William Penn, Propriator and Gover- 
 nor." 
 
 On the 7th of Dec, 1682, William 
 Penn held his first legislative Assembly 
 at Chester, at which time the Great 
 Code of Laws, (containing 61 chap- 
 ters,) that had been prepared in Eng- 
 land, was passed and ordered to be 
 taught in the schools of the Province 
 and Territories. The three lower 
 comities on the Delaware were annex- 
 ed to the Province, and the Dutch, 
 Swedes and other foreigners natural- 
 ized. It has been universally believ- 
 ed until quite recently, and is yet by 
 many people in Chester, that " the 
 first General Assembly of Pennsylva- 
 nia, and the territories thereunto be- 
 longing," held at Chester on the 7th 
 of Dec, 1682, (i Laws of Fa., p. i,) 
 met and held its sessions in the rear 
 part of the old building which recently 
 stood on the west side of Front Street, 
 (now Edgmont Road,) near the mar- 
 gin of Chester Creek, and occupied 
 then by Samuel Long, for his cooper- 
 shop. This structure was familiarly 
 called "The Old Assembly House," 
 and is alluded to and designated as 
 such by Benjamin Ferris in his history, 
 by the Rev. Richard D. Hall, in his 
 sketches of Chester, and other writers, 
 but it appears now that this old building 
 was erected by Friends, and was the 
 first FrieJids' Meeting Hause Imilt in 
 Chester, and was never used for any 
 other purpose whatever ; in fact it was 
 not built until 1693, and the first As- 
 sembly met in 1682, eleven years be- 
 fore it was erected. This disposes of 
 that part of the matter. No doubt the 
 first Assembly held its first sessions in 
 the Court House, which was then the 
 
HISTORY (3F CHESTER. 
 
 67 
 
 " House of Defence," as Dr. Smith 
 says: "It was the only public build- 
 ing erected in Upland at that time, of 
 which we have any knowledge. ' ' Wat- 
 son in his Annals of Philadelphia, vol. 
 i. p. 128, ed. 1856, says: "The oaken 
 chair in which William Penn sat as 
 chief of that Assembly, is said to be 
 now in the po.ssession of the aged and 
 respectable widow of Col. (Persifor) 
 Frazer. ' ' 
 
 At Chester, the first meeting for 
 Divine worship in Pennsylvania, by 
 the Society of Friends, was establish- 
 ed. It was visited by William Ed- 
 mundson, in 1675. Proud, states: — 
 "In that year (1675), Robert Wade 
 and divers others came over, and meet- 
 ings were regularly held there from 
 that time." Ferris says, " Chester is 
 located in a rich fertile district ; the 
 situation is very plea.sant, on the N. 
 E. side of a fine mill stream, naviga- 
 ble a short distance from its mouth." 
 He erroneously states, however, that 
 Chester is situated on a point of fast 
 land, and that " Wade's house was on 
 a beautiful rising ground, on the south 
 side of Chester Creek, where he had a 
 landing place." 
 
 At the time of Penn's landing all 
 
 the country between Marcus Hook and 
 
 Chester, was called Finland. The 
 
 gentleman to whom Queen Christina, 
 
 in 1653, granted all the land, was a 
 
 native of Finland, hence without 
 
 doubt its name. There were many 
 
 Finns among the early settlers of this 
 
 country. The word Hook is supposed 
 
 to mean a promontory, or a point of 
 
 land projecting into the water, and 
 
 the word Marcus, to be a corruption 
 
 of the name of an old Indian chief 
 
 who lived at the Hook, {at the point. ^ 
 
 His name was Maarte, and is referred 
 
 to by Commissary Hudde, in his re- 
 in 
 
 port, in 1645, when he visited the 
 Swedish settlements on the Delaware, 
 in which he speaks of " two of the 
 principal Sachems," on the west side 
 of the Delaware, named '■'■ Maaiie, 
 and Wissetne?tets,'' as grantors of the 
 land to the Dutch. See Report, p. 
 439; also, Ferris' History, p. 134. 
 But as Hook Creek on Holmes' map, 
 1684, is called '^Marcus Creek,'" I 
 think the creek took its name from 
 some settler named Marcus. At this 
 time there are twelve families of that 
 name living in Philadelphia. The 
 land between Marcus Creek and Naa- 
 maji's Creek was, in 1684, called 
 Marcus Hook, and was undoubtedly 
 the Swedish name of that tract. Naa- 
 niati's Creek did, however, take its 
 name frpm an old Indian chief, who 
 was an orator of the Minquas tribe, 
 now conjinonly called the Mingoes, 
 located in that vicinity. 
 
 William Penn wrote from Philadel- 
 phia, Jan. 9, 1683. to the Duke of 
 Ormond, then Viceroy of Ireland, 
 among other things, as follows : 
 
 " I thank God I ame safely arrived in yo 
 province y' the providence of God & Bounty 
 of the King hath made myne, & which the 
 credit, prudence, & industry of the people 
 concerned w'"^ me must render considerable. 
 — I was received by the ancient Inhabitants 
 wth much kindness & respect, & the rest 
 brought it w"' them. There may be about 
 four thousand souls in all. I speak, I think, 
 within compass ; we expect an increase from 
 France, Holland & Germany, as well as our 
 native country. 
 
 " The land is generally good, well water'd 
 & not so thick of wood as I immaggined ; 
 there are also many open places y' have been 
 old Indian fields. The trees y' grow here are 
 the Mulberry, white and red. Walnut, black, 
 gray and hickoi7; Poplar, Cedar, Cyprus, 
 Chestnut, Ash, Sarsafrax, Gum, Pine, Spruce, 
 Oake, black, white, red ; Spanish Chestnut & 
 Swamp, w'^'^ has a leaf like a willow, and is 
 
68 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 most lastinjj. The food the woods yield us 
 are Klks, Deer, Racoons, Beaver, Ral)l)itls, 
 Turkey, Phesants, Heath-birds, Pidgeons & 
 Partridges innumerably ; we need no setting 
 dogs to ketch, they run by droves into the 
 house in cold weather. Our Rivers have also 
 plenty of excellent fish & water fowl, as Stur- 
 geon, Rock, Shad, Herring, Cod-fish, flat- 
 heads, Roach and Perch & Trout in inland 
 streams. Of fowls, the Swan, white grey and 
 black ; Goose & Cranes ; the best Duck & Teal 
 I ever eate, & Snipe & Curhie, with y* Snow- 
 bird are also excellent. 
 
 " The air is sweet and cleare, w"^^ makes a 
 screen and steady sky as in the more southern 
 parts of France. — Our Summers & Winters are 
 commonly once in three years in extreames, 
 but the winters seldom last above ien weeks 
 & rarely begin till yo latter end of December. 
 The days are above two hours longer & the 
 sun much hotter here than with you, w«'> 
 makes some recompense for y^ long nights of 
 y" winter season, as well as the woods y' make 
 cheap & great fires. 
 
 " We have of graine. Wheat, Maize, Rye, 
 Barley, Oats, several excellent sort of beans 
 & pease, pumkens, water & mus-mellons, all 
 English roots & garden stuff, good fruit and 
 excellent sider. The Peach we have in divers 
 kinds & very good & in great abundance. The 
 Vine of several sorts (& y«sign wth us of rich 
 land) is very fruitful & tho' not so sweet as 
 some I have eaten in Europe, yet it makes a 
 good wine, and the worst a good vinegar. I 
 have observed three sorts, the great grape y* 
 has green, red & black on y" same tree, the 
 muskedell, and black little grape (the fox 
 grape I take it), which is the best, and may 
 be improved to an excellent wine. These are 
 spontaneous. 
 
 " Of the cattle we have the Horse, not very 
 handsome, but good — low cattle and hogs in 
 much plenty and sheep increase apace." 
 
 It will be noticed that the Proprie- 
 tary makes no mention of pear or 
 jjlum trees, nor of the wild cherry, 
 several different kinds of which are in- 
 digenous, as is also the persimmon, 
 crab-apple, and the wild plum (red), 
 a delicious fruit tree, which was very 
 common about 25 years ago, in Dela- 
 ware and Chester Coimties. As it is 
 
 far superior to the common blue plum, 
 I have often wondered that it has not 
 been cultivated, but I never saw it 
 growing except in the woods ; and of 
 the smaller- bushes and fruits, people 
 now make wine of the elderberry, 
 blackberry, gooseberry, currants, black 
 and red, and eat the wild raspberry, 
 strawberry, dewberry, hawberry and 
 huckleberry. 
 
 From "An Account of the Lands 
 in Pennsylvania, granted by William 
 Penn, Esq., Chief Proprietary and 
 Governor of that Province to several 
 Purchasers within the Kingdom of 
 England, Ireland and Scotland," i 
 Pa. Archives, p. 40, I extract some 
 well-known Chester and Delaware 
 County names, with the number of 
 acres purchased by each. 
 
 Richard Baker, 
 
 looo 
 
 Joseph Martin, 
 
 5000 
 
 Tho. & Sam Buckley 
 
 , 503 
 
 Walter Martin, 
 
 500 
 
 William Carter, 
 
 500 
 
 Richard Mills, 
 
 250 
 
 Thomas Cobourn, 
 
 500 
 
 Thomas Minshall, 
 
 625 
 
 Richard Crossby, 
 
 1000 
 
 Randall Maylin, 
 
 250 
 
 Robert Dunton, 
 
 500 
 
 Thomas Paschal, 
 
 500 
 
 John Edge, 
 
 125 
 
 John Peirce, 
 
 250 
 
 Edward Edwards, 
 
 250 
 
 Richard Pierce, 
 
 1000 
 
 Nathaniel Evans, 
 
 500 
 
 Thomas Pierce, 
 
 I coo 
 
 Enoch Flower, 
 
 2COO 
 
 Thomas Powell. 
 
 500 
 
 Joseph Hall, 
 
 503 
 
 Caleb Pusey, 
 
 250 
 
 John Hewcs, 
 
 500 
 
 John Pusey, 
 
 250 
 
 John Hill, 
 
 500 
 
 Joseph Richards, 
 
 500 
 
 John Hoskins, 
 
 250 
 
 John Sharplcss, 
 
 1000 
 
 Richard Jordan, 
 
 250 
 
 Christopher Taylor, 
 
 5000 
 
 William Lane, 
 
 500 
 
 Robert Taylor, 
 
 1000 
 
 Charles Lloyd, ) 
 Marg't Davis, / 
 
 5000 
 
 Richard Townsend, 
 
 250 
 
 Robert Vernon, 
 
 625 
 
 William Lloyd, 
 
 20C0 
 
 Thomas Vernon, 
 
 625 
 
 Robert Lodge, 
 
 500 
 
 Ralph Ward, 
 
 250 
 
 Jane Lownds, 
 
 ISO 
 
 Edward West, 
 
 1000 
 
 Henry Maddock, 
 
 750 
 
 John West, 
 
 1250 
 
 Richard Marsh, 
 
 10,000 
 
 Thomas Woolfe, 
 
 250 
 
 Isaac Martin, 
 
 500 
 
 Peter & J. Worrel, 
 
 500 
 
 John Martin, 
 
 500 
 
 Richard Worrall, 
 
 500 
 
 There are some familiar names to 
 Delaware County folks, in the follow- 
 ing lists of Arrivals, copied from a 
 manuscript book in possession of the 
 Historical Society of Penna., entitled 
 "Registry of Arrivals in Philadel])hia, 
 1682-86." 
 
 The "Welcome," Rob. Greenaway, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 69 
 
 master, from London, arrived at Up- I 
 land about the end of the 8th mo., 
 1682. Richard Townsend, carpenter, 
 servant to y^ Society for 5 years, to 
 have ^50 per ann. salary, Ann Towns- 
 end, his wife, and Hannah, their 
 daughter, Wm. Smith, Nathan Harri- 
 son, Barthol. Green, his servants, each 
 for 7 years. 
 
 The ^^ America,'''' Joseph Wasey, 
 master, from London, arrived 20th, 
 6th mo., 1683. Jacob Shoemaker, 
 born in y'' Palatinate, in Germany, 
 servant* to Daniel Pastorius & Com- 
 pany. 
 
 In the " Endeavour'' of London, a 
 Ketch, Geo. Thorp, master, which 
 arrived here the 29, 7 mo., 1683. 
 
 Fran : Rosell late of Maxfield in 
 Cheshire in Old England, millin'' ; 
 Michall Rosell late of the same place 
 husbandman : 
 
 Tho : Janeway & Margaret his wife 
 late of Pownall in Cheshire, husband- 
 man : children — Jacob, Thomas, Abel 
 and Joseph Janeway : servants John 
 Neild, Hannah ffalkner : 
 
 Jos. Miln'' & Ann his mother, late of 
 Poonnell, blacksmith ; children Sarah 
 and Ralph Miln'. 
 
 Ralph Miln"" & Rachell his wife late 
 of ditto, carpenter: child Robert Miln''. 
 
 Tho : Pierson & Marg' his wife late 
 of ditto, mason : John his Brother and 
 Mary Smith his sisf all of the same 
 place : 
 
 John Nickson & Margery his wife 
 late of Powell in Cheshire, husband- 
 man : children — John, Tho:, James, 
 Nehemiah, Joseph & Shedrick Nick- 
 son : servant — James Witak'' : 
 
 Mary, Jane, Margery & Eliz : Nick- 
 son (children) : 
 
 * Servant, means apprentice ; and they were 
 generally relatives whose expenses were to be 
 paid by the term of service mentioned. 
 
 John Clous & Margery his wife late 
 of Gosworth in Cheshire, husbandman : 
 children W"- Margery & Rebeckah 
 Clous : servants — Jos. Charley, John 
 Richardson, Sam : Hough : 
 
 Richard Hough, late of Maxfield, in 
 Cheshire, husbandman : servants — 
 ffran : Hough, Jam : Sutton, Tho. 
 Woodhouse, Mary Woodhouse : 
 
 Fran : Stanfield «& Graas his wife 
 late of Garton in Cheshire, Husband- 
 man : children Jam:, Mary, Sarah, 
 Eliz:, Grass & Hannah Stanfield: 
 servants — Dan : Browne, Tho : Marsey, 
 Isa: Brookesby, Rob: Sidbotham, 
 John Smith, Rob' Bryan, Wm. Rud- 
 way, Tho : Sidbotham : 
 
 John Maddock, joyn'', Richard Clous, 
 joyn"", John Clous, Shoemaker, Char : 
 Kilbeck, Glover, all of Nantwich in 
 Cheshire : 
 
 Geo. Philips and Ralph Duckard, 
 servants to Henry Maddock. 
 
 Daniell Sutton, Taylor, John Preson"", 
 blacksmith, both of Maxfield in Ches- 
 hire, & Jo : Charlesworth, Tan"" of the 
 same place : John Oudfield, Taylor, of 
 the same place. 
 
 John Howell & Mary his wife late 
 of Budworth in Cheshire, Husband- 
 man, and Hannah his daughf : 
 
 Mary Taylor, late of Chatterwitch 
 in Cheshire: children Isaack, Tho:, 
 Jona : , Pheb : , Mary & Martha Taylor : 
 
 Anne Robotham, serv' to the master 
 of the s** Ketch. 
 
 Mary Taylor was the wife of Robert, 
 who had probably come over pre- 
 viously. They were ancestors of Bay- 
 ard Taylor. Her children's names 
 follow hers, though one, Josiah, is not 
 given ; but he probably came with his 
 father. Their son Thomas afterward 
 married Hannah, the dau: of John and 
 Mary Howell. Mary Howell, her 
 mother, was a sister to Daniel William- 
 
70 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 son, and became the second wife of 
 Walter Martin, of Chichester, while 
 another daughter, Barbara Howell, 
 married (ist) Walter Martin, Jr., and 
 (2nd) Francis Ruth. 
 
 William Morgan and Elizabeth his 
 wife, both arrived at Philadelphia in 
 the " Morning Star, Thos. Hayes, 
 master, in y* 9th mo., 1683." 
 
 John Richards and Susan his wife, 
 and daughters Hannah and Bridget, 
 and Hugh and Daniel Harris, the two 
 latter from Macchinleth, Montgomery- 
 shire, arrived 17th, 7 mo., 1684, in the 
 Vine, of Liverpool, W^illiam Preeson, 
 master. 
 
 In the ''Amity,'" Christopher Sib- 
 thorp, brazier, and Barbara his wife, 
 of London ; Thos. Poppitt and Bar- 
 bara Poppitt ; the children of Chris- 
 topher Sibthorp's wife, Barbary ; and 
 Wm. Pike, their servant, bound in 
 London, for 7 years, and had about 
 4 years to serve when they arrived 
 here, which was in ship above written, 
 y* 23d 3d mo., 1685. 
 
 Thomas Carter, Sr., and Frances 
 his wife, Thomas, Henry and John, 
 his sons, and Ann his daughter, ar- 
 rived in the .ship "Bristol Merchant," 
 John Stephens, master, loth, 9 mo., 
 1685. Samuel Hall and John Ward 
 came in the same vessel, at the same 
 time. 
 
 " The Vn'Icorne from Hristoll, arrived here 
 this i6th of the loth month, 1685, Thomas 
 Cooper, commaiuler. The Passengers' names 
 are as followeth : 
 
 Daniel Flower, Margerj' Martin, 
 
 Mary Bradwell, Mary Martin, 
 
 Mary Bradwell, Jr., Sarah Martin, 
 
 Sarah Bradwell, Hannah Martin, 
 
 Thomas Mixon, Rachel Martin, 
 
 Tho. Mixon, Jr., Tho. Hopes, 
 
 Philip Doling, John Hopes, 
 
 Mary Townscnd, Moses Mcndcnhall, 
 
 Hannah Smith, Godden Walter, 
 
 Joshua Chart, Annie Morgan, 
 
 Jane, -j Faith Wotten, 
 
 ► Chart, Eliz. Philpot, 
 
 Henry Laking, 
 
 John Roberts, 
 
 Jos. 
 
 Ben. 
 
 Tho. Tiislin, 
 
 Tho. Martin, 
 
 [■ Morga 
 
 Sarah Laking, 
 Susanna Laking, 
 Moses Laking, 
 John Ironmonger. 
 
 Jane, -j 
 Sam. M 
 Jane, ) 
 
 The last five names, in the original, 
 are in a different handwriting from 
 all the rest of the paper and names. 
 
 Of the arrivals in the Unicorne, 
 Thomas Martin was from Bedwin 
 Magna, in Wiltshire, and his wife 
 Margery, was a sister to John, Benj. 
 and Moses Mendenhall. I suppose 
 Mary, Sarah, Hannah, and Rachel, 
 were children of Thomas and Mar- 
 gery. Thomas and John Hopes (pro- 
 perly Hope,) afterwards settled in Ken- 
 nett, or what is now Pennsbury town- 
 ship. I may mention, there was a John 
 Martin, from Edgcott, in Berkshire, 
 who settled in Middletown. His only 
 child, Thomas, married Mary, daughter 
 of Giles Knight, of Byberry. There 
 was also a John Martin, who came over 
 in 1 68 1, as a servant, and received his 
 50 acres " head land," which was laid 
 out near Brandywine. 
 
 The ship ''Delaware,'" from Bristol, 
 England, John Moore, commander, 
 arrived here the nth of the 5th mo., 
 1684. Thomas Greene, husbandman, 
 and Margaret, his wife, Thomas and 
 John Greene, his sons, Mary Guest, 
 his servant for 7 years to ronn from 
 third day of May, 1686, Richard 
 Moore, brickmaker, and Mary his 
 wife, and Mary his daughter, and John 
 Moore his son, Sarah Searle, his ser- 
 vant for 4 years to ronne from the 3rd 
 day of May, 1686, Henry Guest, 
 Sawyer, and Mary his wife, and Hen- 
 ry, his son. 
 
 The first Court of the new county of 
 Chester, met Yah. 14, 1683, at Ches- 
 ter, and adjourned to the 27th of the 
 same month. John Simcock, Presi- 
 dent ; Thomas Brasy, William Clayton, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 71 
 
 Robert Wade and John ^tztx, Justices. 
 Thomas Usher, Sheriff, and Thomas 
 Revell, Clerk. William Rawson, 
 James Browne, Jeremiah Collett, Wm. 
 Hewes, Walter Martin, Nathaniel 
 Evans, Joshua Hastings, Wm. Wood- 
 manson, Thos. Colborne, Albert Hen- 
 drickson, Joseph Richards and Edward 
 Carter, Jurors. 
 
 In addition to the regular Court, a 
 tribunal was established called the 
 "Fence Makers,'" consisting of three 
 persons, who held their appointment 
 from the Court. The duties of these 
 Peace Makers seem to have been some- 
 what analogous to those of Arbitrators 
 at the present day, except that they 
 were appointed without reference to 
 any particular case. They held regu- 
 lar meetings, and decided whatever 
 matters were referred to them. It is 
 to be regretted that the system has 
 not been continued, the relief to the 
 Courts in our large cities would be very 
 grateful to our over-worked judges. 
 
 At a Court held June 27, 1683, it 
 was ' ' ordered that the Peace Makers 
 are to meet the first Fourth-day of every 
 month ;" and at a Court held Aug. 5, 
 1684, the Peace Makers made the fol- 
 lowing award on a reference ; " Ac- 
 cording to the order of the Court to 
 us directed, we have seriously consid- 
 ered the premises between the Plain- 
 tife, Richard Crosby, and the Defend- 
 ant, George Andrews, Whereupon we, 
 the Peace Makers, do give, grant, judge 
 and allow, that the said Defendant, 
 George Andrews, hisheirsand assignes, 
 shall pay or cause to be paid unto the 
 said Plaintife, Richard Crosby, or his 
 assignes, the full and just sum of Eigh- 
 teen pounds, of Lawfull money of this 
 Province, att or upon the 20th day of 
 this instant, December, att the now 
 dwelling house of James Saunderlaine, 
 
 att Chester : halfe of which said eigh- 
 teen, the said Defendant George An- 
 drews or his assignes is to pay the 
 said Plaintife Richard Crosby or his 
 Assignes, as aforesaid in ready money, 
 the other halfe as aforesaid, in good 
 and merchantable wheat or rye att the 
 common market price of this river. To 
 which conclusion wee the Peace Makers 
 for this County of Chester, have sett 
 our hands att the aforesaid Chester, 
 the 17th of the loth moneth, 1683. 
 John Hastins, 
 John Harding. 
 
 At a Court held in June, 1687, 
 Caleb Pusie, Randall Vernon and Wal- 
 ter Fawcett, were elected Peace Makers 
 of the county, for the ensuing year. 
 
 At a Court held in 1684, it was or- 
 dered that the Grand Jury have power 
 to examine all weights and measures, 
 and that they be sealed according to 
 the law in that case provided. 
 
 Deeds were then acknowledged in 
 open Court, and a minute made thereof 
 on the records. This practice con- 
 tinued for many years, and in the 
 course of time became a considerable 
 item of business ; no doubt there was 
 a law requiring this to be done. Here 
 are some specimens of such entries : — 
 
 John Hendrickson came into Court 
 and gave possession to Charles John- 
 son, of a parcel of meadow, by deliv- 
 ering his deed in Open Court. 
 
 Arnoldus Lagrange, past over a deed 
 in open Court unto Christopher Taylor, 
 for the Island commonly known by 
 the name of Mattinnacotick, bearing 
 date the 2d day of the 12th month, 
 1685. 
 
 Henry Reynolds past a mortgage of 
 his House and lot att Chichester to 
 James Sanderlaine for j[^2(), dated the 
 6th of the 2d month, 1685. 
 
 John Hastings, attorney for John 
 
72 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 March, past over a Deed to Thomas 
 Marten, his Heirs and Assigns, dated 
 the ist day of the ist month, 1685, 
 for seventy acres of land lying near 
 Chester Creek. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The earliest appointment of Super- 
 visors or overseers of Roads, was made 
 Oct. 13, 1680. Upland Record: — 
 "•Whereas the Court finds it necessary 
 that some fitt persons be appointed as 
 Overseers of y* highwayes and roads ; 
 and as Overseers and Viewers of all 
 fences throughout this county : It is 
 therefore resolved that Mr. John Cock 
 & Lasse Dalboe were this day appoint- 
 ed & sworn overseers & viewers of y" 
 highwayes and roads & fences within 
 this county for one year, or till others 
 bee appointed in their s** places." 
 
 The Court under Penn's government 
 continued to make these appointments 
 until 1692, when the power was dele- 
 gated to the townships ; returns to be 
 made to the Court from time to time 
 of those appointed Supervisors and 
 fence-viewers. 
 
 On the 3d of the 12th mo., 1684, 
 Thomas Nossiter was presented by the 
 Grand Jury, " for falling of marked 
 trees, and blocking up the highway 
 laid out by them, by a former order 
 of the Court." 
 
 The Grand Jury continued to lay 
 out the Roads and Highways until 
 1699, when the practice was changed, 
 and they. were thereafter laid out by 
 si.x persons apjjointed by the Court. 
 The first appointment of such a Jury, 
 was upon Ralph Fishbourne's petition, 
 made at October Court, 1699. 
 
 The first report of a Jury of View, 
 especially apjwinted by the Court, lay- 
 ing out a new njad, was made in Dec. 
 
 1700. The form of return was the 
 same as that used by the Grand Jury 
 previously. The Jury who made this 
 return, were John Worrell, Randall 
 Malin, William Edwards, George 
 Smedley, Robert Pennell and Daniel 
 Hooi)es ; familiar names at the present 
 day in Delaware and Chester Counties. 
 
 In 1702, the Court Ordered that 
 all Cart Roads laid out by order of the 
 Court, shall be fifty feet broad, as the 
 two Roads laid out from Upper and 
 Nether Providence to Darby, and 
 ' Caleb's Mills,' and all others. The 
 Caleb's mill here referred to, was 
 doubtless the mill of Caleb Pusey, on 
 Chester Creek, at the present Upland 
 or Crozier's. 
 
 Previous to the year 1 707, all bridges 
 were erected and maintained at the 
 expense of the townships. In that 
 year, the Court made the following 
 order, directing that certain bridges 
 should be a charge upon the county. 
 This is the first instance on record of 
 a county Bridge : 
 
 "Feb. 25, 1707, upon the petition 
 of the inhabitants of the town and 
 county of Chester, and consented to, 
 and agreed to be allowed by the Grand 
 Inquest of this county, representing that 
 the bridge at Chester over the Creek, 
 and one bridge built over Ridley creek, 
 and also a bridge to be built at Crum 
 creek, at the Rock, in the Queen's 
 Road ; and that all roads leading to 
 and from the same, shall be erected, 
 repaired and maintained at the publick 
 charge of the County of Chester; and 
 it is by the Court considered, that the 
 same shall be and remain upon the 
 County's charge for ever hereafter." 
 
 The first report of a Jury assessing 
 road damages, was made to the Court 
 Nov. 25, 1707, as follows: "In pur- 
 suance to an Order of Court to us, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 73 
 
 dated the 26th day of Aug., 1707, to 
 adjude the vahie of so much of Joseph 
 Richards' s manured land as is laid out 
 for a road leading from Chester to As- 
 ton ; haveing viewed the said road, do 
 judge the said land contained in the 
 said road, to five pounds ; witness our 
 hands y^ 26th day of November, 1707. 
 Thomas Martin, Daniel Williamson, 
 Randall Malin, Joseph Baker, Thomas 
 Powell, Randall Vernon." Allowed by 
 the Court, and ordered to be entered on 
 the records, and the Court orders the 
 Treasurer to pay said Joseph Richards 
 the said five pounds. 
 
 The first Council of the Province 
 was selected by Gov. Markham, in 
 1 681, in pursuance of authority from 
 William Penn, {^Hazards' Amials, p. 
 503). It consisted of nine persons, 
 and held its sessions at Upland. We 
 have no record of its proceeding, 
 except the obligation taken by the 
 members. It is given in the following 
 language, in ist Penna. Archives, p. 
 37 : Whereas, wee whose hands and 
 seals are hereunto sett, are chosen 
 by Wm. Markham, (Agent to William 
 Penn, Esq., Proprietor of y*' Province 
 of Pennsylvania), to be of the Coun- 
 cill for y* s"^ Province, doe hereby bind 
 ourselves by our hands & seales, that 
 wee neither act or advise, nor consent 
 unto anything that shall not be ac- 
 cording to our consciences the best 
 for y^ true and well government of the 
 s'* Province, and likewise to keep se- 
 cret all y^ votes and acts of us the s*^ 
 Council unless such as by the General 
 consent of us are to be Published. 
 Dated at Vpland, y' third day of Au- 
 gust, 1681 : 
 
 Robert Wade, James Sandlenes, 
 
 Morgan Drewt, Will Clayton, 
 
 The mark W. W. of Otto Ernest Kock, 
 
 Wm. Woodmanson, ye mark L. of 
 
 William Marriner, Lacy Cock. 
 Thos. ffairman. 
 
 In the early days of the Province, 
 elections were sometimes conducted 
 by the use of white and black beans — 
 those in favor of a particular person 
 casting a white bean, and those oppos- 
 ed to him a black bean. A dissension 
 in the Provincial Council in 1689, 
 with reference to the validity of the 
 election of a member, shows that this 
 mode of balloting was in use in Ches- 
 ter County. In the course of discus- 
 sion, Griffith Jones, a member of the 
 Council, observed, " That it is in use 
 at Upland, and in all the lower coun- 
 ties, by white and black beans put into 
 a hat, which is a balloting in this sense, 
 and cannot be denied by the Charter 
 when it is demanded." 
 
 In 1691, the Council ordered, "that 
 each county shall henceforward elect, or 
 give their suffrages according to Char- 
 ter, viz., by y* ballot." 
 
 The Provincial Court which usually 
 held its sessions at Philadelphia, occa- 
 sionally met at Chester. The follow- 
 ing is a record of its proceedings at a 
 session held in 1698: "At a Pro- 
 vincial Court, held at Chester, for 
 the County of Chester, the 3d day 
 of the 8th month, Annoq. Domi. 
 1698, Joseph Growden, Cornelius 
 Emptson, Judges ; Andrew Job, She- 
 riff : John Childe, Clarke. After 
 Proclamation made and silence com- 
 manded in his Majesties name, the 
 Justices of the Court were called, and 
 they appeared and gave their attend- 
 ance, and the Judge's commission was 
 read." 
 
 Thomas Thomas, appealant, vs. Mor- 
 gan Jones. "This cause was called. 
 John Moore appeared for the Appeal- 
 ant, and David Lloyd for the Appeallee. 
 After some debate about the cause by 
 the two attorneys before the Judges, 
 they hearing the same debated by both 
 
74 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 parties, the Judgt's.{)nlcrc(l that ifllicy 
 could agree to put the same to arbitra- 
 tion, they might end it, or otherwise 
 they ordered it to be continued till the 
 next Provincial Court in law, to be 
 held for the said county of Chester." 
 
 Another session of the Provincial 
 Court was held at Chester, on the i8th 
 of 2d mo., 1699. The Judges present 
 were Edward Shippen, Cornelius 
 B^MPTSON and William Biles. John 
 Moore and David Lloyd, appeared as 
 attorneys. 
 
 At a session held at Clicstcrm 1705, 
 it is entitled "The Supreme or Pro- 
 vincial Court." The Judges then in 
 commission were John Guest, Jasper 
 Yates, Sam'l Finney, Joseph Grow- 
 DON, and William Trent. Subse- 
 quent sessions of this Court were also 
 held at Chester. 
 
 There was also a Court of Petty 
 Sessions occasionally held by some of 
 the Justices. Its sessions were usually 
 held at one of the public houses. The 
 following is a copy of the record of such 
 a Court. " At a Petty Sessions held at 
 Chester, the 26th day of Dec, 1693, 
 at the house of Peter Baynton. Justices 
 present — Jeremiah Collett, Thomas 
 Wei thers, Jonathan Hayes and Thomas 
 Smith ; and having seriously consid- 
 ered of the presentment of the Grand 
 Inquest for the building of the Prison, 
 and it being that which the law made 
 by the representatives of the county 
 and Province requires to be done, did 
 appoint the 8th day of January, at the 
 house of John Hodgskins(Hoskins),at 
 Chester, where they met according to 
 appointment, and there did make an 
 assessment for the Raiseing of thesum of 
 ;^i5o for defraying the charges, at the 
 true value of two pence per pound upon 
 the real and personal estates of all the 
 inhabitants of this county — all free- 
 
 men, six shillings per head — and there 
 did at the house of John Hodgskins, 
 constitute and appoint and authorize 
 Joseph Wood, High Sheriff of the 
 County, to be the Collector of said 
 levy, to be gathered by the ist day of 
 3rd month next. Counsellor Fore- 
 man being then present with the ffore- 
 named Justices. ' ' 
 
 In addition to its other duties the 
 Court of Quarter Sessions, exercised 
 the province of binding out children 
 to suitable persons, and looking after 
 their interests. The following entries 
 show the manner in which this duty 
 was performed : 
 
 Francis Chadsey, brought a boy 
 whose name is Alexander Steward, 
 who was ajudged to sarve eight years 
 from the 14th day of September last 
 past, if he be taught to reade and right, 
 or else to sarve but seven years ; also, 
 he had a sarvant maide whose name is 
 Ann Bean who was ajudged to sarve 
 five years from this Court, to said 
 Francis or assigns. 
 
 Henry Nayl, brought a servant boy 
 to the Court whose name was Alexan- 
 der Stewart, whose time said Nayl had 
 bought of Francis Chadsey, and said 
 boy consents and agrees to serve said 
 Henry Nayl one year and a quarter 
 above his time of record, if Henry 
 Nayl teach him the trade of Shoe- 
 maker ; if not the said Nayl to allow 
 the said boy satisfaction for the over- 
 plus time as the Court shall allow. 
 
 Elinor Clayton, an orphan of the 
 age of 14 years, was ordered by the 
 Court to serve Daniel Hoopes for the 
 term of seven years, on condition that 
 he should teach her to read, knit and 
 sew, and pay ;£\2 according to the 
 order of the Court. 
 
 Richard Clayton, an orjjhan boy, 
 is ordered to serve Edward Danger for 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 75 
 
 the term of nine years, in considera- 
 tion the said Edward teach or cause to 
 be taught the said Richard the trade 
 of a Cooper, and find and allow him 
 sufficient meat and drink, lodging and 
 apparel during said term, also to teach 
 him to read and write, and pay ;^i4 
 5^-. to the order of the Court. 
 
 Andrew Job complained to the 
 Court, that an orphan girl living at 
 Isaac Few's ought to be taken care of 
 by the Court. Ordered that Isaac 
 Few be cited to the next Orphans' 
 Court to give an account of said girl 
 and her estate. 
 
 The Court also aided widowed moth- 
 ers in obtaining suitable places for their 
 children, when they were desirous of 
 binding them out. 
 
 In 1698 Sarah MacDaniel having 
 some children to place out, she came 
 into Court and desired the assistance 
 of said Court for placing out of the 
 said children. She had a son whose 
 name was Alexander, and by the ap- 
 probation of the Court placed him 
 with John Howell till he was of the 
 age of twenty-two years, he then being 
 one and a half years old, and " he the 
 said John Howel or assigns, is to teach 
 or cause to be taught the said Alex- 
 ander to read and write, or else to 
 allow the boy one year of his said 
 time." 
 
 Also the said Sarah MacDaniel does 
 by the approbation of the Court, place 
 out a girl whose name is Elinor Mac- 
 Daniel unto David Phillips till she 
 comes of the age of twenty-one years, 
 she being now three years old, and the 
 said David Phillips is to teach or cause 
 to be taught the said girl to read and 
 write, or else to allow her one year of 
 her time. 
 
 Nicholas Newlin, brought a boy 
 
 whose name is William MacDaniel, 
 11 
 
 who was adjudged to be sixteen years 
 of age, and to serve five years and a 
 half if taught to read and write, or 
 else to serve but five years. 
 
 Mrs. MacDaniel, with the assistance 
 of the Court, seems to have got rid of 
 all her children. One is tempted to 
 imagine that she was about to marry 
 again some man who objected to a 
 ready-made family. 
 
 In regard to the MacDaniels, it may 
 be observed that then as now, the . 
 name was a corruption of McDonald, 
 the children mentioned being those of 
 Owen McDonald. 
 
 Servants who run away from their 
 masters, or committed some offence, 
 were frequently brought before the 
 Court and required to serve a length 
 of time beyond that called for by the 
 original binding. The following en- 
 tries are given as examples of such 
 orders, and are copied from the min- 
 utes of the Court : 
 
 A petition was read from John 
 Worrall, concerning a servant boy, 
 named William Gill, that had run 
 away several times ; the Court order- 
 ed that the said William Gill shall 
 serve his said master, John Worrall, 
 according to law 240 days. 
 
 David Lewis, brought a servant 
 woman named Euphiam Cattell to the 
 Court, to have judgment for what loss 
 and trouble he hath been about her, 
 and the Court orders that she shall 
 serve said David Lewis, one whole 
 year after the expiration of her time 
 that she was to serve before. 
 
 Thomas Smith brought his servant 
 boy, whose name is Alexander Mick- 
 ence, who having run away from his 
 master, and for several pther misde- 
 meanors, and for what charges he put 
 his master to, is ordered to serve the 
 said master or his assigns eight months 
 
76 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 after the cxjiiration of liis lime, if he 
 behave himself well, ur else to serve 
 ten 7nonths. 
 
 At the expiration of their term of 
 service, servants were entitled to a cer- 
 tain allowance of clothing and other 
 articles, which were called the '■'■cus- 
 tom of the country,'" complaints by ser- 
 vants that this custom was denied them 
 or inadequately furnished, were of fre- 
 quent occurrence. 
 
 In 1693, it is recorded, that John 
 Neales exhibited a petition to this 
 Court for the custom of the coujitry. 
 He having served his time faithfully, 
 and his indentures being brought into 
 Court, expresses the custom of the coun- 
 try to be paid to him, the Court's order 
 is that his master, Robert Taylor, shall 
 pay him the said custom. 
 
 In another case, where a servant 
 complained that he had served out his 
 time, and had been turned off " with- 
 out clothes fitting a servant to have," 
 the Court ordered his master to pay 
 him a hat, coat, waistcoat, breeches, 
 drawers, stockings and shoes, all new, 
 and also ten bushels of wheat or four- 
 teen bushels of corn, two hoes and one 
 axe. 
 
 In 1684, Margaret Person complain- 
 ed against her master, John Colbert, 
 for ill usage and beating her contrary 
 to law. Ordered that she be disposed 
 of for seven pounds. Ordered that 
 Randolph Vernon and Robert Eyre, 
 clerk, doe look out for a convenient 
 master for said Margaret Person, that 
 will lay down the seven pounds or- 
 dered to free her from her master, 
 John Colbert. 
 
 At a Court held in the same year 
 it is recorded that " Richard Crosby 
 made his usuall complaint, that he 
 could not get his execution served on 
 the estate of George Andrews. Or- 
 
 dered that the Sheriff levy the execu- 
 tion in the hands of Henry Renolds." 
 At a Court held in 1685, Robert 
 Cloud had a pass granted him to de- 
 part this Province, dated the 26th of 
 9th mo., 1685, — his brother, William 
 Cloud, of Concord, being his security 
 to save the Country harmless. 
 
 The Coroner in those early days was 
 known as the "■ Croiuner,''' and there 
 is an entry on the Court records in 
 1685, upon the petition of Richard 
 Kenala, the Crowner, it was ordered 
 that forthwith execution be granted 
 against Henry Renolds for the Crown- 
 er's fees, charges of inquests, and tak- 
 ing up the body of the said Renolds' 
 maid, with all other charges whatso- 
 ever thereunto belonging, and of the 
 Sheriff's return of having levied on 
 Renolds' oxe, and the said Henry 
 Renolds came into Court and made 
 full satisfaction for said oxe, where- 
 upon the Court ordered him his oxe 
 again. 
 
 For crimes and misdemeanors of the 
 higher grades the county courts bound 
 over to, and were tried before the Pro- 
 vincial Court, which usually sat at 
 Philadelphia, and was held by the 
 Governor and Council. The follow- 
 ing will show the course of procedure 
 in such cases, viz. : — At a Court held 
 the 3rd day of the ist week in the ist 
 month, 1685, (March 1685-6,) it was 
 " Ordered that the Sheriff do take into 
 his custody the body of David Lewis, 
 upon suspition of Treason, as also the 
 body of Robert Cloud for concealing 
 the same, for that he the said Robert 
 Cloud being attested before the Court, 
 declared that upon the 3d day of the 
 week before Christmas last, att the house 
 of George Foreman, the said David 
 did declare in his hearing that he was 
 accused of being concerned with the 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 77 
 
 Duke of Monmouth in the west Coun- 
 try," in England. 
 
 Robert Dyer became security that 
 his servant, the said David Lewis, shall 
 appear at the next Provincial Court, 
 held at Philadelphia, the loth day of 
 the 2d month, 1686, to answer the 
 premises. William Cloud became se- 
 curity for his son, Robert Cloud, that 
 he shall appear at the said Provincial 
 Court to answer for concealing the 
 same. 
 
 In March, 1685-6, the Grand Jury 
 presented a bill against William Taylor, 
 Samuel Rowland and Thomas Butter- 
 field for maliciously and tumultuous- 
 ly assaulting and presenting a gunn 
 against the body of John Brisstoll. 
 George Foreman Became security that 
 his man, Sam'l Rowland, shall appear 
 at the Provincial Court held at Phil- 
 adelphia, there to answer the pre- 
 mises. 
 
 In the same year, "James Saunder- 
 laine was presented by the Grand Jury 
 for keeping an ordinary (a house of 
 entertainment for travellers) without 
 lycense, as also for keeping disorders in 
 his house upon the first day of the 
 week, to which he made his appear- 
 ance. Witness, Randall Vernon. The 
 Court dispenses with his keeping an 
 Ordinary until the Provincial Council 
 shall sit, and in respect to his disorder, 
 upon his promise that it shall be so no 
 more, it is remitted." He does not, 
 however, seem to have kept his promise 
 to the Court, for the next year he "was 
 fined five shillings for suffering Robert 
 Sheppard to be drunk in his house." 
 
 In 1684, an Act of Assembly was 
 passed, providing that monthly and 
 quarterly sessions be held in every 
 county by the respective Justices, and 
 that each Quarter Sessions be as well 
 a Court of Equity as Law, concerning 
 
 any Judgment given in cases of law, 
 capable of trial in the respective 
 County Sessions and Courts. 
 
 The first notice on our County Court 
 records of a Court of Equity, is in 
 the appeals taken in two cases tried 
 before the Common Pleas, on the third 
 day, of the first week, of the tenth 
 month, 1686, one (the first) case was 
 that of Jeremy Collet, Plff., Henry 
 Renolds, Deft. , an action in case. The 
 jury find for the defendant two pence 
 damages upon account of the Canow 
 (Canoe), and that he shall pay to the 
 plaintiff x^s. 2[d. upon balance of his 
 account, and that the plaintiff pay the 
 costs of suit. Hereupon judgment is 
 given, upon which the plaintiff makes 
 his appeal to the next Cm/rf of Equity 
 held for this county. 
 
 The first " Court of Equity" was 
 held two days after the above trial, 
 and was composed — under the title' of 
 Commissioners — of the same Justices 
 who held the County Courts. The 
 appeal taken in the above and other 
 cases, were considered and decided. 
 The following is a copy of the pro- 
 ceedings in above case. At a Court 
 OF Equity held at Chester, the 5 th 
 day of the first week of the loth mo., 
 1686. Commissioners present, — John 
 Blunston, John Simcock, George Ma- 
 ris, Bartholomew Coppock, Samuel 
 Levis, Robert Wade and Robert Pyle. 
 Clerk, Robert Eyre. 
 
 Jeremy Collett of this county, pre- 
 ferred a bill to this Court, requiring a 
 remedy against the verdict of jury and 
 judgment of Court, in a case depend- 
 ing between himself and Henry Ren- 
 olds of same county, at the last Court 
 of Common Pleas held for the county 
 of Chester, the third and fourth days 
 of the present week ; upon which it 
 was decreed that Henry Renolds should 
 
78 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 \K\\ one-half of the charges of Court 
 and costs of suit. 
 
 The first Orphans' Court under that 
 distinctive title, was held in the year 
 1687. I copy the proceedings. 
 
 At an Orphans' Court held at Ches- 
 ter, the 3d day of the first week of the 
 8th mo., 1687. 
 
 "Justices, — John Kristow, Presi- 
 dent; John Symcocke, John Blunstone, 
 Ceorge Maris, Bartholomew Coj^pocke 
 and Edward Beasar. Sheriff, Joshua 
 Firne. Clerh, Robert Eyre. 
 
 "Richard Few appearing, was or- 
 dered to bring an account to the next 
 Orphans' Court, held the 3d day in 
 the first week of the ist mo. next, of 
 the estate, usage and employment of 
 his grand-daughter, Susannah Few." 
 
 Margaret Smith, petitioned the 
 Court against Richard Few, for his 
 breach of promise made to her rela- 
 tions in England ; ordered, that Rich- 
 ard Few bring in his account of charges 
 against Margaret Smith, the next 
 Court of Sesion. The Court adjourn- 
 ed until the 3d day in the first week 
 of the ist mo. next. 
 
 Previous to the year 1700, there was 
 a law against any strangers travelling 
 without Passes, and obliging all inn- 
 keepers to give notice to some magis- 
 trate, of strangers coming to lodge at 
 their houses, and against ferrymen and 
 boatmen carrying strangers, unless they 
 had a testimonial of good conduct from 
 a magistrate. Ferrymen had to enter 
 bonds to perform their duty in this 
 respect. 
 
 As a punishment for crimes, stand- 
 ing in the pillory, became more frequent 
 year after year. At November Court, 
 1724, a man was sentenced to be sold 
 for three years, to serve after the man- 
 ner of a servant, "for payment of his 
 gaol fees." Criminals frequently pe- 
 
 I titioned the Court for the privilege of 
 I being sold to service, instead of being 
 imprisoned for a term of years ; from 
 which, Dr. Smith infers, " that the 
 jails of that day, did not afford such 
 comfortable quarters to malefactors as 
 prisons of a modern date." 
 
 X. 
 
 In the year 1682, the Society of 
 Friends jnirchased and enclosed a suit- 
 able lot for a burial place. It is now 
 surrounded by a substantial stone wall, 
 and is situated on the west side of 
 Edgmont Avenue, between Sixth and 
 Seventh Streets. The earliest death 
 entered on the records of Chester 
 Monthly Meeting, was on the 23d of 
 the loth mo., 1682; this was a short 
 time before the Meeting had selected 
 a place for burial at Chester. On the 
 ist of nth mo., 1682, the Monthly 
 Meeting appointed a committee to see 
 a piece of ground for a burial place at 
 Chester, and on the 5 th of the 9th 
 mo., 1683, John Hastings and Thomas 
 Vernon were appointed to "fence the 
 burial ground as soon as may." See 
 Painte)-'' s Reminiscences of Delaware 
 County, MS., in the Historical So- 
 ciety. 
 
 In 1706, by direction of the Quar- 
 terly Meeting of Friends, action was 
 taken by the Monthly Meetings in re- 
 gard to the erection of grave-stones in 
 their burial places. The committee 
 appointed by the Chester Monthly 
 Meeting stated, that they found but 
 "six small stones to the graves." It 
 was " the sense of the Meeting," that 
 they ' ' be sunk or taken away. ' ' Near- 
 ly one-third of the graves in the old 
 Friends' grave yard there, have now 
 tombstones, or head and foot stones to 
 them. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 79 
 
 I believe that now Friends make 
 no objection to the erection of sim- 
 ple memorial head and foot stones 
 over graves of deceased members 
 of the Society in their burial places, 
 although one stone seems to me 
 to be enough, and that laid flat 
 upon the grave, as Moravians do in 
 their grave-yards. By them each 
 grave is marked by a small marble 
 slab, a foot and a half wide and two 
 feet long, laid flat upon a rectangular 
 piece of ground raised about a foot 
 above the level of the original sod, 
 emblematic that death levels all, and 
 that all are alike ; upon each stone is 
 engraved the name, age and birth- 
 place of the one who lies beneath. 
 Sometimes a quotation from the Scrip- 
 tures, or the verse of a hymn is added, 
 and loving hands often plant flowers 
 on the graves of the dear ones who 
 have "gone home." 
 
 In the Jordan burial ground, in 
 England, in which the remains of 
 William Penn and his family are in- 
 terred, it will be seen that head stones 
 mark not only the grave of Penn, but 
 those of his two wives, his children, 
 his relatives, and his intimate asso- 
 ciates and his fellow-laborers. The 
 Friends have acted wisely in placing 
 those memorial stones in the Chalfont 
 burial ground. A simple name and 
 date can never be called ostentation, 
 and history and posterity demand that 
 the burial place of a great man should 
 be marked out ; the living owe some- 
 thing to their deserving dead ; a little 
 stone to recall them to memory once 
 and awhile, and to mark the spot where 
 their remains repose, is but just and 
 proper. But the fashion of wearing 
 black for mourning, is a custom that 
 ought to be abolished ; poor people 
 will follow the example of their richer 
 
 neighbors, and funeral displays are 
 made every day by families who are 
 not able to bear the expense, and 
 enough is often spent in mourning 
 dresses, carriages, plumed hearses, and 
 a grand funeral dinner, that would 
 support the family of the dead one for 
 a year or more. Friends and Mora- 
 vians very sensibly do not wear mourn- 
 ing of black. We can mourn our dead 
 in our hearts, without hanging out a 
 sign to tell our neighbors of our loss. 
 
 The Gaskills, of Rolfe's Hold, 
 Bucks, England, and of Ireland and 
 Pennsylvania, (the latter family now 
 called Penn-Gaskill,) are descendants 
 of William Penn by his first wife, 
 Gulielma Springett. Penn left his vast 
 Pennsylvania estates to the children of 
 his second wife, Hannah Callowhill. 
 This may seem strange ; but at his 
 death in 1718, the property was worth 
 little more than ;^5oo a year. 
 
 One of Penn's descendants is now, 
 or was very lately, a resident of Ches- 
 ter — Mary, the daughter of the late 
 Peter Penn-Gaskill, of Philadelphia. 
 She married Dr. Isaac T. Coates. Her 
 brother, the present Peter Penn-Gas- 
 kill, inherited the Irish estates of the 
 family, and resides in Ireland. Mrs. 
 Coates had four sisters, all now de- 
 ceased, two of whom I knew — Guli- 
 elma, a beautiful girl, who died young, 
 and Elizabeth, a very charming wo- 
 man, who married a Southern gentle- 
 man. The youngest married Wash- 
 ington Irving, a Paymaster in the U. 
 S. Navy. She is now dead. The 
 other, Emily, married Dr. John Paul 
 Quinn, a Surgeon in the U- S. Navy, 
 now both deceased. I believe they 
 left a son living. Lieut. Col. Peter 
 P. G. Hall, Paymaster, U. S. Army, 
 is also a descendant of Penn. 
 
 The Swedes had a burial place at 
 
80 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Chester, previous to that laid out by 
 the Society of Friends in 1683. It 
 will not do to say there was no such 
 place; it was an absolute necessity for 
 forty years before that date. Henry 
 Graham Ashmead, Esquire, a gentle- 
 man of Chester, of antiquarian tastes, 
 and an excellent writer, states that — 
 
 " In the will of Grace Lloyd, dated the 6th 
 of the 4th mo., 1760, is the following; Ijeqiiest: 
 ' And it is my mind and will, and 1 do hereby 
 order and direct that the pcicc of burying 
 groiiud, being forty feet, fronting Edgmont 
 Road, in said Borough, thence seventy feet 
 back, and forty feet in breadth, shall at all 
 times hereafter, forever, he used for and as a 
 huryiitg place for negroes, that is to say, for 
 such as shall have belonged to my late hus- 
 band or myself, and such as shall descend 
 from them, and such as do or hereafter may 
 belong to Friends, or Chester Meeting, and 
 such as in their life-time desire to be Ijuried 
 there, but not for any that are executed, or 
 lay violent hands upon themselves, and that 
 none be buried there without the consent of 
 the Overseers of Friends' Meeting in Ches- 
 ter.' 
 
 " Where was this grave-yard for colored 
 people situate? Certainly not within the in- 
 closure of the old Friends' burial place, ad- 
 joining General Beale's residence, for that 
 was laid out in 1683, and Mrs. Lloyd in 
 another part of her will appropriates a certain 
 sum (jf money to rail in the old Friends' grave- 
 yard, which is sufficient proof that the two 
 places were separate and distinct. I have 
 asked several of our oldest people about this 
 matter, but they have no recollection of the 
 site of the old colored ctvc\^\.QT)' . 
 
 " Grace Lloyd was the wife of David Lloyd, 
 to whom she was married in 1686. Her 
 maiden name was (irowden. Her death oc- 
 curred in 1760. She certainly reached an 
 advanced age, for from the date of her mar- 
 riage to that of her death, there is an interval 
 of seventy-four years; supposing that she was 
 sixteen years of age at her wedding, she must 
 have l>een 90 years of age when she died. 
 Her husband, David Lloyd, was an important 
 personage in Colonial times. Watson in his 
 Annals, says he had ]>een 'once a captain in 
 Cn.niwcirs army, and sought his jieace by 
 
 coming to this country.' This is evidently a 
 mistake. He died in 1 731, aged 75 years, 
 which would make his birth as having occur- 
 red in 1656. Cromwell died Sept. 3, 1658, 
 and it is impossible that an infant two years of 
 age could have been an officer in the army of 
 the great Protector." 
 
 This erroneous statement is made 
 again in the Logati Papers, vol. i. p. 
 155, in a note. 
 
 The old burying ground for ne- 
 groes, referred to above, was situate 
 on -'Edgmont Great Road," (some- 
 times called the Middletown Road,) 
 just above or to the northward of where 
 the "Providence Street Road" in- 
 tersects the former. The place has 
 not been used as a burial ground 
 for a long period of time, and its ex- 
 istence was entirely forgotten by the 
 present inhabitants. The owner of 
 the adjoining property came into pos- 
 session by the decay of the fences 
 around the burial ground. No doubt, 
 as it was not his duty to keep them in 
 repair, or his interest to preserve them 
 intact, I take it that the possession of 
 the ground thus acquired, for twenty- 
 one years, is the adverse possession 
 required by law. The Overseers of 
 Friends' Meeting at Chester, were cer- 
 tainly to blame for not keeping posses- 
 sion of this burial lot ; still it may be, 
 that neither the Society nor the Over- 
 seers, ever considered the lot as being 
 placed in their charge by the terms of 
 Mrs. Lloyd's will ; at all events, this 
 property, which was formerly partially 
 on the two roads mentioned, hidden 
 from view by a tall, thick set thorn- 
 hedge, is now covered by dwellings. 
 At the time of the erection of the 
 buildings, coffins and human bones 
 were uncovered in digging the cellars, 
 but nobody could account for their 
 presence in that locality, the fact of 
 its having been a grave-yard not being 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 81 
 
 generally known, and that it was the 
 site of the ''piece of burying groiimV 
 referred to in Mrs. Lloyd's will, has 
 only lately been brought to light by 
 the inquiry of Mr. Ashmead, which 
 appeared in the Delaware County Re- 
 publican, and from information receiv- 
 ed from an aged negro. 
 
 I do not use the word negro in an 
 offensive sense, but as the proper de- 
 signation of all people, vaguely called 
 "Colored people." The first black 
 men, on their introduction to this 
 country as slaves, were brought here 
 from Negroland, in Africa. Look 
 on the riiap, and the country of that 
 nation of black people will be seen 
 thus designated, and as all African 
 slaves were black, they all were natur- 
 ally called negroes. And as we say, 
 he is an Irishman, an Englishman, or 
 a Frenchman, I say he is a negro, just 
 as I would say he is an Indian, a Ma- 
 lay, or a Swede, &c. Nigritta, or 
 Negroland, covers an immense extent* 
 of land in Africa, bounded on the 
 north by the desert of Zahara, east by 
 Darfoor, south by Guinea, and west 
 by Senegambia. The river Niger, 
 traverses the central part of this coun- 
 try, and on the coast of Africa we find 
 Cape Negro. See Goodrich's Univer- 
 sal Geography, pp. 796 to 809, and the 
 term which the negro deems one of 
 reproach, he should be proud of, as 
 designating the native country of his 
 race. 
 
 On the last page of the book of 
 " Registry of Arrivals in Philadelphia 
 in 1682-86," will be found the fol- 
 lowing entry : — " David Lloyd, borne 
 in the yeare 1656 in y" Parish of Man- 
 avan, in y* county of Montgomery, in 
 North Wales. Sarah Lloyd, his wife, 
 borne in y^ year 1667, at Cirensister, 
 in Glocester Shire, England." And 
 
 they are put down as having come over 
 to America, "In the Amity, and as 
 having arrived the 15th of the 5th 
 mo., 1686." Dr. Smith, pp. 480-'!, 
 says "David Lloyd, a Welshman, and 
 one of the most eminent of the early 
 settlers of Pennsylvania, arrived at 
 Philadeli^hia in 1686, and at first set- 
 tled in that city, where he married 
 Grace Growden, a most estimable 
 lady." He was a lawyer, and Wil- 
 liam Penn made him Attorney Gen- 
 eral, April 24, 1686. He must have 
 been appointed before leaving Eng- 
 land. He was a member of the Pro- 
 vincial Assembly, and its Speaker, and 
 in 1 718, he was appointed Chief Jus- 
 tice of the Supreme Provincial Court, 
 which position he held until his death. 
 He purchased a large tract of land at 
 Chester, and became possessed of the 
 Swedish Church lands at Chester, or 
 the "Green," as it was called, by 
 means not then considered very hon- 
 orable. He erected the fine old man- 
 sion now known as " Commodore 
 Porter's House," and called, rather 
 singularly before Porter lived there, 
 "Green-Batik.'' He came to reside 
 in Chester in 1700, and built the 
 house at Green-Bank, in 1721. In 
 the western gable on a rectangular 
 stone, is engraven the 
 following letters, mean- 
 ing Lloyds, David and 
 
 LL 
 3D « O 
 
 1721 
 
 Grace : a very pretty idea, but one 
 that was quite common at that time. 
 He died A. D. 1731, aged 75 years. 
 His widow survived him a number of 
 years. Their remains were buried in 
 Friends' burying ground at Chester. 
 They left no children, though a son, 
 Thomas, was born 11 mo. 27, 1697-8. 
 It will be perceived from the entry 
 I have quoted from the list of arrivals 
 in the "Amity," the 15th of the 5th 
 
82 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 ino., i6,S6. that Sarah, the wife of 
 David Lloyd, accompanied him to 
 this country ; therefore Mr. Ashmead 
 is mistaken in saying he married Grace 
 Growden, in 1686; however, he mar- 
 ried her afterwards, and she was his 
 second wife. 
 
 The will of David Lloyd of Ches- 
 ter, gent., dated Mar. 29, 1724, proven 
 April 15, 1 731, mentions neice Jane 
 Smith, wife of Thomas Smith, now or 
 late living in New England, to whose 
 children he devises ;^5o. To .servant 
 Jane Fen, ^^lo, and the remainder of 
 estate to wife Grace. On his tomb- 
 stone in Friends' grave-yard at Ches- 
 ter, is inscribed, " Here lyeth the body 
 of David Lloyd, who departed this 
 life the 6th day of the 2d month, Anno 
 Domini 1731, aged 78 years." 
 S Jane Fenn, .above mentioned, be- 
 came a noted minister among Friends, 
 and married Joseph Hoskins in 1738, 
 as already stated. Li a short auto- 
 biography she says, " I entered into 
 David Lloyd's family as an upper ser- 
 vant, such as we call in England, 
 housekeepers, having all the keys, 
 plate, linen, &c., delivered to me. 
 They had a great family, and every- 
 thing passed through my hands ; and 
 as they had reposed such a trust in 
 me, it brought a weighty concern on 
 my mind, that I might conduct aright 
 and discharge my duty faithfully to 
 my principals and their servants." 
 In 1727 she went on a religious visit 
 to England and Ireland from which 
 she returned in the 12th month, 1730. 
 She says, "soon after my arrival David 
 Lloyd was taken ill with his last sick- 
 ness, during which I thought it my 
 duty to attend on him as usual. On 
 the 6th of the Second month, 1731, 
 he departed this life: and in him I 
 lost a father and a sure friend. In all 
 
 the journeys I went, whilst he li\ed, 
 he cheerfully supplied me with the 
 necessaries requisite. 
 
 He was exemplary in his family, 
 treating all about him with humanity, 
 choosing rather to be loved than fear- 
 ed. He was diligent in attending 
 meetings for worship, and those of his 
 servants w^ho inclined to go to meet- 
 ings, he allowed to perform that neces- 
 sary duty. 
 
 After my arrival I did not live as an 
 hired servant with David Lloyd, or 
 with his widow, though I remained 
 with her, at her request, till I married, 
 which was in the year 1738." See 
 Friends' Library, I, 468. 
 
 The Monthly and First-day meet- 
 ings of Friends, at Chester, were held 
 in the Court House, i. e., the House 
 of Defence, until the erection of the 
 first meeting house, which was com- 
 pleted in 1693, as has been herein be- 
 fore shown. The lot upon which the 
 first meeting house of Friends at Ches- 
 ter was built, is thus described in the 
 conveyance made on the ist of March, 
 1688, by Urin Keen, in trust, to John 
 Simcock, Tho. Brassey, John Bristow, 
 Caleb Pusey, Randal Vernon, Thomas 
 Vernon, Joshua Hastings, Mordecai 
 Maddock, Thomas Martin, Richard 
 Few, Walter Faucett and Edward Car- 
 ter, "beginning at the corner of .the 
 said Urin's lot or garden, by the Creek 
 side, and so running sixty foot along 
 and fronting the street towards the 
 prison house, then down to the low 
 water mark in Chester Creek, thence 
 along the said creek sixty foot, thence 
 to the place of beginning, * * * 
 to the use and behoof of the said Ches- 
 ter meeting of the people of God called 
 Quakers, and their successors for- 
 ever." 
 
 "At a m"" meeting at Walter ffo- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 83 
 
 cett's y^ s**" lo"" mo"' 1687 : ffeofees 
 chosen, in trust, for y* purchased land 
 & meeting house at Chester:" then 
 follow the names above. 
 
 The date of this minute is clear 
 in the original, yet, being misplaced 
 in the record, Thomas Chalkley, in 
 transcribing made it 5th of 6th mo. 
 1688. It would seem that there was 
 a house on the property, when pur- 
 chased, suitable for the use of a meet- 
 ing. 
 
 Mordecai Maddock, of Springfield, 
 the last surviving trustee, conveyed 
 this property, by direction of the 
 meeting, to Edward Russell, of Ches- 
 ter borough, April 2, 1736 ; and in 
 the deed therefor it is said that the 
 society had purchased a larger lot 
 elsewhere, and erected a new meeting 
 house thereon. 
 
 The origin of the term Quaker, 
 applied to Friends, is thus given : 
 
 " George Fox bade the magistrates at Derby 
 who sought to interfere with the worship of 
 his followers, ' to tremble at the Word of God ;' 
 •and from the use of the word ' tremble,' in this 
 connection, the feerilTg crowd applied the epi- 
 thet of ' Quakers,' to the newly-formed Society. 
 The term has been applied to them ever since 
 that time, by many who supposed that the 
 'quaking' was a characteristic either of voice 
 or of person among the ministers of the de- 
 nomination." 
 
 The first meeting of Friends was 
 held at Robert Wade's house, in 1675. 
 No meeting of record was held at 
 Upland, until the year 1681. The 
 following is the earliest minute, Dr. 
 Smith says, at page 134: "The loth 
 day of the nth mo., 1681, a Monthly 
 Meeting of Friends, belonging to Mar- 
 cus Hook and Chester, alias Upland, 
 held at the house of Robert Wade." 
 
 This extract is erroneous ; it should 
 read, " The loth day of the nth mo., 
 
 V2 
 
 1 681, a Monthly Meeting of Friends, 
 belonging to Marcus Hooke and Up- 
 land, held then at Robert Wade's 
 house. ' ' In the copy of the minutes 
 made by Thomas Chalkley about 1 7 1 2, 
 he introduces, in copying the above 
 entry, the words "alias Chichester," 
 after the words "Marcus Hook," and 
 from this interpolation, others manag- 
 ed to alter the extract again, by put- 
 ting "alias Chester," after theVord 
 "Upland," thinking, I suppose, that 
 " alias Chichester" was an error, and 
 these alterations led to the idea that 
 Upland had been called Chester before 
 Penn's arrival, which is not the fact. 
 The lawful name of Marcus Hook is 
 Chichester. 
 
 The young people among Friends 
 were very much restricted in the early 
 times, in the matter of courtship and 
 marriage. The meeting at Haverford 
 in 1699, ordered, "that all young men 
 among Friends make known their in- 
 tentions to their parents or guardians, 
 before they acquaint the young wo- 
 man's relations, and to make it known 
 to the woman's parents or guardians, 
 before they speak to them, and if they 
 do otherwise, that they shall condemn 
 the same before they proceed any fur- 
 ther." About the same restrictions 
 prevailed generally in the Society. 
 Dt\ Smith, p. 198. 
 
 At the County Court, held in Feb., 
 1685, the first sentence inflicting cor- 
 poreal punishment Avas passed, and the 
 sentence carried out at Marcus Hook. 
 The prisoner's sentence for stealing 
 money, was twelve stripes on his bear 
 backe, well laid on, at the common 
 Whipping Post at Chichester, on the 
 4th instant, between the loth and nth 
 hours in the morning. As there was 
 a common Whipping Post at Chiches- 
 ter or Marcus Hook when the sentence 
 
84 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 was j)assed. it is highly probable that 
 the above sentence was not the first 
 by any means. 
 
 In the next caiie, the prisoner, con- 
 victed for abusing and menacing the 
 magistrates, was sentenced to receive 
 twenty-one lashes at the public whip- 
 ping post on his bare back, well laid 
 on, and fourteen days imprisonment 
 at hard labor in the House of Correc- 
 tion. 
 
 There are those who now think it is 
 a pity that the Pillory, Tread-mill, 
 Stocks, the Whipping Post and Hard 
 Labor in a House of Correction are 
 not still punishments for crimes and 
 vagrancy. Our prisons are filled dur- 
 ing the cold weather, by those who 
 commit petty larcenies to get a home 
 for winter, and our alms houses by 
 vagrants who pass their time in idle- 
 ness while in either place. If the 
 small rogues got a lashing, and the 
 loafers had to work, these useful insti- 
 tutions would contain less able-bodied 
 men and women. Our station houses 
 are places of refuge at nights for drun- 
 ken loafers, who if they had to stand 
 in the pillory in the morning, or work 
 half a day to pay for their lodging, 
 would be very careful not to seek this 
 public shelter. I have noticed, that 
 since "no license" prevails in Dela- 
 ware County, the tramps who used to 
 infest its highways, have abandoned 
 in disgust, its inhospitable roads. 
 
 The following, which has the merit 
 of being original, was written by 
 Emanuel Price, a dealer in second- 
 hand books, w^hose stand is in 5th Street 
 below Locust, west side, Philadelphia, 
 against the wall of the Burying ground 
 of the "Free Quakers," sometimes 
 called the "Fighting Quakers,'' be- 
 cause they served in the Continental 
 Army during the Revolution. Price 
 
 is a well known contributor to the Press, 
 under the ?wm-de-phime of " Peter Pep- 
 percorn." It will please our friends, 
 the law-makers of Delaware, where the 
 pillory still stands, and the people be- 
 lieve in the restraining virtue of 
 
 TUK C.OOI) OLD WHIPI'INC-l'OST. 
 
 " .'/ Post of vwrit, — not by honor wonT 
 All hail to thee, old relic 
 
 Of those grand and glorious times, 
 When rogues and rascals, great and small, 
 
 Were punished for their crimes, 
 The terror of the base and vile, 
 
 And all the thieving host. 
 Reformer of dishonesty, 
 
 The good old whipping post. 
 
 The veiy best invention 
 
 That ever was designed, 
 To teach the whole light-fingered gentry, 
 
 Their duty to mankind, 
 Not one of all the numerous throng, 
 
 Who thy acquaintance boast, 
 Forgets the lesson learned at 
 
 The good old whipping post. 
 
 Thy mark upon society, 
 
 May easily be traced; 
 Although thy form by honest hands 
 
 Has never been embraced, 
 And few reluctant worshippers 
 
 Of all thy hardened host, 
 Embraces thee a second time, 
 
 The good old whipping post. 
 
 No preacher ever could convert 
 
 A criminal like thee. 
 Or leave such an impression 
 
 On the back of knavery, 
 To every rogue thy form appears, 
 
 As grim as Banquo's ghost ! 
 But honest men can smile upon 
 
 The good old whipping post. 
 
 The swindler may howl at thee, 
 
 And gnash his teeth in rage ; 
 Denounce thee as a relic of 
 
 A by-gone barbarous age. 
 When there's reform by being fed 
 
 On milk and buttered toast ! 
 We may give up, and throw aside, 
 
 The good old whipping post. 
 
 David Lloyd's house was at one time 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 85 
 
 the residence of the late distinguished 
 sailor, Commodore David Porter, of 
 the United States Navy, and U. S. Min- 
 ister to the Sublime Porte. He mar- 
 ried Evelina the daughter of William 
 Anderson, of Chester, a Major in the 
 Revolutionary Army, whose remains re- 
 pose in the old grave yard of St. Paul's 
 church covered by a large handsome 
 tombstone. Mrs. Evelina Porter, died 
 Oct. I, 1871, in the 80th year of her 
 age. She was a remarkably intelligent 
 woman, and the mother of a large family 
 of boys and girls. Her husband, Cap- 
 tain David Porter, was a man of too 
 much note in his day to render neces- 
 sary here any attempt to sketch his 
 eventful life. His writings are not so 
 well known. In 1822, he issued in 
 two volumes the "Journal of a Cruise 
 made in the Pacific Ocean in the U. S. 
 Frigate 'Essex,' in the years 181 2, '13, 
 '14," of which I haveasecond edition, 
 and in 1825, a volume containing "an 
 exposition of the facts and circumstan- 
 ces which justified the expedition to 
 Foxardo''* appended to the "Minutes 
 of the Proceedings of the Courts of En- 
 quiry and Court Martial in relation to 
 Captain David Porter." 
 
 The Commodore, as he was called, 
 although there was no such rank in his 
 day in the Navy, but which was a title 
 applied by courtesy to any officer who 
 had commanded a squadron, after his 
 resignation from our service, entered 
 that of Mexico for some years and final- 
 ly became the U. S. Minister to Tur- 
 
 * Foxardo was a town on the island of Porto 
 Rico. The Commodore landed men on the Is- 
 land to obtain goods stolen by a gang of Pi- 
 rates, and to obtain redress for an insult to one 
 of his officers. For this violation of Spanish ter- 
 ritory he was court martialed and sentenced to 
 six years' suspension. Indignant at so heavy a 
 sentence for what was, in fact, a justifiable and 
 laudable action, he resigned his commission as 
 a Captain in the Navy. 
 
 key, and filled that position at the time 
 of his death, which occurred late in the 
 year 1 843. On Saturday evening, Jan. 
 27, 1844, I visited the Walnut street 
 theatre, at Philadelphia, to see the cele- 
 brated tragedian Booth, as Pescara, 
 in the Apostate : Florinda — Charlotte 
 Cushman — after which there was erect- 
 ed on the stage "an emblematic Tab- 
 leaux to the memory of the gallant Por- 
 ter." All the company appeared in 
 the tableaux, and the "Star Spangled 
 Banner' ' was .sung by Mr. Peter Rich- 
 ings, Mr. Edward L. Davenport and 
 Mrs. Mossop, " with additional verses, 
 commemorative of the worth of the il- 
 lustrious deceased, written expressly for 
 this occasion by William R. Blake," 
 after which was performed "The Nau- 
 tical Drama of American Valor! or 
 Yankee Tars on Hand. ' ' The present 
 eminent American tragedian, Mr. Dav- 
 enport, was then attached to the Wal- 
 nut, and celebrated for his delineation 
 of the peculiarities of the American 
 sailor. 
 
 The children of Commodore Porter 
 were, viz : The late Commodore Wil- 
 liam D. Porter, who was the eldest son, 
 entered the U. S. Navy as a Midship- 
 man, Jan. I, 1823. He commanded 
 the iron-clad "Essex," on the Missis- 
 sippi river, during the rebellion, and 
 was injured at Fort Henry, by escaping 
 steam — a cannon ball from the enemy 
 having passed through the boiler of his 
 vessel, he died finally from its effects. 
 His father once commanded the U. S. 
 Frigate "Essex,'' 32 guns, in which he 
 captured His Brittanic Majesty's ship 
 "Alert,'' and afterwards proceeded to 
 the waters of the Southern Pacific, 
 where he inflicted great losses upon the 
 English commerce in that quarter, hav- 
 ing captured 12 British ships, mostly 
 whalers, and was finally drawn into an 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 action o(f the harlior of Valparaiso, by 
 H. B. M. ships, "Phoebe," 36, and 
 " Cherub," 20 guns. The Essex having 
 parted her anchors in a gale and been 
 driven out to sea, where the British ships 
 awaited her, and she was captured after 
 a desperate engagement, having 58 men 
 killed and 66 wounded, and 31 missing ; 
 probably drowned in attempting to 
 swim ashore, or knocked overboard dur- 
 ing the action. The entire loss was 155 
 out of 255. Thousands of people on 
 shore witnessed the fight, which was so 
 close to shore that some of the Phoebe's 
 shot struck the beach. The English vio- 
 lated the neutrality of Chili. But there 
 is scarcely a doubt that Capt. Hillgar 
 of the Phoebe, although instructed not 
 to fight the Essex single-handed, was 
 ordered to take her if he could with- 
 out regard to the neutrality of the 
 South American ports. The action 
 occurred on the 28th of Mar., 1814, 
 and at its conclusion, "both the Es- 
 sex and the Phoebe were in a sinking 
 state." Vorter' a yoi^ ma/, 2 vol. 170. 
 The two men, father and son, and 
 their vessels of the same name, should 
 not be confounded. 
 
 The present Admiral David D. Por- 
 ter, of the U. S. Navy, is the second 
 son of the Commodore. He was ap- 
 pointed a Midshipman, July 2, 1829. 
 The late Theodoric Porter, was 
 another son. He entered the regular 
 army in 1838, and at the breaking out 
 of the war with Mexico, he was a Lieu- 
 tenant in the 7th regiment of U. S. 
 Infantry, and was killed in a skirmish 
 with Mexicans on April 18, 1846, dur- 
 ing the advance of Gen. Taylor's army, 
 previous to the battle of Palo Alto. He 
 was a powerful man, and like all the Por- 
 ters, devoid of the sensation we call 
 fear. His brother, Hamilton Porter, 
 a Lieutenant in the Navy, died in the 
 
 service, Aug. 10, 1844, of yellow fever- 
 Henry Ogden Porter, the youngest son 
 of the old Commodore, entered the 
 Navy as a Middy, Nov. 3, 1840, re- 
 signed in 1847, ^"d was appointed a 
 Lieutenant in the U. S. Revenue Ma- 
 rine. During the late Rebellion he 
 tendered his services to the Govern- 
 ment, and was made an acting Lieu- 
 tenant in the Navy. He was the ex- 
 ecutive ofificer of the U. S. steamer 
 " Hatteras," when she was captured by 
 the Confederate cruiser "Alabama." 
 He died May 22, 1872, in the 47th 
 year of his age. 
 
 Captain David Porter had two daugh- 
 ters. The eldest, Evelina, married her 
 cousin, Harris Heap, son of Samuel 
 Heap, late U. S. Consul at Tunis ; she 
 died recently at Chester. They had 
 issue, David Porter, (now in the U. S. 
 Army), Jannette, Emma and Charles. 
 Mr. Heap is the present Consul Gen- 
 eral of the U. S. at Tiaiis. The young- 
 est daughter, called Imogene, married 
 a Mr. Harris. 
 
 That estimable gentleman and ac- 
 complished sailor, the late Captain 
 Henry Ogden, was a cousin of the Por- 
 ter's, and so was my old friend Major 
 David Porter Heap, late paymaster of 
 the U. S. army, now deceased. He 
 married Elizabeth, daughter of John 
 C. Bowyer, ofLexington, Va., and left 
 surviving him, his widow and Annie, 
 Laurence, Mattie and Evelina. Major 
 Heap was U. S. Consul at Constanti- 
 nople, just previous to i860. The 
 elder Mr. Heap, Samuel, now deceased, 
 formerly U. S. Consul at Tunis, mar- 
 ried Margaret Porter, a sister of the 
 old Commodore. The names of their 
 children were, Lawrence, Harris, David 
 P., Angelina and Evelina. 
 
 David Porter entered the U. S. Navy 
 as a Midshipman, April 16, 1798, was 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 87 
 
 made a Lieutenant, Oct. 8, 1 799 ; Com- 
 mander, April 2, 1806; Captain, July 
 2, 1812 ; resigned his commission, Aug. 
 18, 1826. 
 
 During the Revolution two brothers 
 of the Porter family, David and Sam- 
 uel, received commissions from the 
 Continental Congress as Captains in 
 the infant navy of our country, and 
 commanded vessels employed for the 
 purpose of cutting off supplies sent to 
 the British army. During this service 
 Capt. Samuel Porter was wounded, cap- 
 tured, and became a prisoner on board 
 the Jersey prison-ship. Capt. David 
 Porter was also afterwards captured, 
 and became a prisonor on board the 
 same vessel with his brother. Samuel 
 died and was buried by his brother while 
 a prisoner. David effected his escape 
 in a water-cask, aided by some of the 
 British sailors with whom he had be- 
 come on friendly terms. He served 
 faithfully during the remainder of the 
 war, after which he retired to live at 
 Baltimore, and we hear of him as build- 
 ing and erecting marine telegraphs on 
 Federal Hill in that city. He also 
 founded a society for the relief of 
 captains and mates in the merchant 
 service. He had two sons, David and 
 John. They both entered the navy of 
 the. United States, and were in the war 
 of 1 81 2. John died a Commander, at 
 Watertown, Massachusetts, and David 
 was the well-known Commodore Por- 
 ter of the U. S. Navy, and Minister to 
 Constantinople. General Fitz John 
 Porter is a son or grandson of Com- 
 mander John Porter. 
 
 Captain David Porter Heap, of the 
 U. S. Corps of Engineers, at present 
 engaged in rebuilding Forts Sumpter 
 and Moultrie, in Charlston, S. C. Har- 
 bor, is the eldest son of Evelina Por- 
 ter and Harris Heap, late of Chester. 
 
 An old cannon has lately been found 
 in Chester and christened " 77^1? Old 
 Morton Gun,'" concerning which Hen- 
 ry G. Ashmead, Esq., in a communi- 
 cation, says: — 
 
 " In the report of the celebration of the Cen- 
 tennial eve in this city, mention was made of 
 an old gun in the line of the procession, which 
 having been found lately in making an exca- 
 vation in Quinn's stable-yard, was, therefore, 
 supposed to be a Revolutionary relic. Of this 
 old gun something is known, and that little 
 goes to negative the idea of its Revolutionary 
 history. Thirty odd years ago this cannon, 
 which is a ship's gun, it will be remembered 
 by many of our older citizens, was embedded 
 as a step at the end of a walk which led from 
 Green Bank Mansion to the river bank. When 
 it was placed there, or by M'hom, is not known, 
 but it is supposed that it was so located by the 
 orders of Commodore David Porter^ after the 
 war of 1812. At all events the old gun served 
 the purpose of a step for many years, until the 
 breaking out of the civil war, when it was taken 
 from its resting place by Capt. Boone and 
 others, and sent to a foundry to be examined. 
 It was found to be sound and in excellent con- 
 dition, after the rust of time had been removed. 
 It was therefore mounted, and on Fourth of 
 July, and during the public rejoicing that fol- 
 lowed all the great victories of the Union for- 
 ces in the field, that old gun was used to fire 
 salutes in honor of those events. Often its 
 deep toned voice was heard in Market Square, 
 when Union men assembled to celebrate the 
 glorious news from the annies. After the sur- 
 render of Lee the cannon was placed in the 
 rear of the Columbia House, and in time was 
 forgotten by all. When or by whom it was 
 dismounted is not known, but the old gun was 
 thrown on the ground and the carriage removed. 
 During the years that have passed since then, 
 the accumulation of earth about it was such that 
 it was buried from sight until its very existence 
 passed entirely from recollection." 
 
 XI. 
 
 The first street laid out in Chester 
 was ordered 8 mo. 2, 1686, the Grand 
 Jury report that they "doe layout a 
 
88 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 street, and a landing upon the creek, 
 to the corner lot far as over against the 
 North-west corner of the Court House 
 fifty foote in breadth and from thence 
 up the said Chester towne for a street 
 30 foote in breadthe." This street 
 was first called Chester street, then 
 Front street, now Edgmont Avenue. At 
 June Court, 1689, the Grand Jury laid 
 out a landing place and open street 
 "beginning at the North-westerly cor- 
 ner of the Court house to low water 
 mark by Chester creek [being part 
 of Filbert or Second street,] and so 
 of the same breadth by the said creek 
 down to Delaware river to low water 
 mark, [now Edgmont from Second lead- 
 ing to the lower pier,] thence and also 
 from the first mentioned corner of the 
 Court House a Public street 30 feet 
 wide through Chester town," being 
 Edgmont Avenue laid out by the re- 
 port of the former Grand Jury, 
 
 In accordance with a petition of 
 David Lloyd, a road or street was laid 
 out from his plantation on Chester 
 creek to the public landing. The Grand 
 Jury on 4 mo. 4, 1690, laid out a 
 street 30 feet wide, "the one-half of 
 this public street to be on one side 
 of the line dividing betwixt David 
 Lloyd's and the Green, L. C. [i. e, 
 Laurentins Carolus] one-half on David 
 Lloyd's land, the other half on the 
 Green's side." The street began at 
 the public landing place on Chester 
 creek, and ended "at the further side 
 of Joseph Richard's lot near David 
 Lloyd's house; note also that if any 
 part of the 15 foot on David Lloyd, 
 his side, which is laid out for the street, 
 it must so remain." The street thus 
 laid out was called Filbert street, and 
 is now named Second street in the jjlan 
 of the City of Chester. 
 
 Dr. Smith savs, "The street thus laid 
 
 out is now known as Filbert street, and 
 we are thereby enabled with great pre- 
 cision to locate the "Green," a plot 
 of ground well known at that period, 
 and for some time afterwards by that 
 name. This Green was church land, 
 and was no doubt secured by the Swedes 
 in anticipation of the erection of a 
 church at Upland. It is included in 
 a patent for a larger tract of land grant- 
 ed to the Rev. Laurenty Caroly, Min- 
 ister to the Swedes, April 8, 1669, [a 
 copy of which has been hereinbefore 
 inserted.] The patent includes the 
 whole of the river front from Upland 
 kill to Prisser's kill, and is referred to 
 as the Minister's land, in a patent grant- 
 ed to Jurien Kene, on the 14th of Aug. 
 of the previous year. ' ' 
 
 On the 7th of Sept., 1684, the bounds 
 of "the Green" were definitely deter- 
 mined by a survey ; it consisted of five 
 acres in the form of a parallelogram, 
 1 2 perches along the East side of Ches- 
 ter creek to the Delaware, thence along 
 the river for 65 perches, "a tract of 
 the Swedes in Upland township," re- 
 corded in the office of the Surveyor- 
 General, Book B, page 3, &c. Mr. 
 Weidner's foundry is situated on the 
 Green, at the present writing, and the 
 lot from Market street to the houses on 
 Edgmont street, and from Second to 
 the river, was called the Green when I 
 lived in Chester. 
 
 On the 15th of May, 1699, David 
 Lloyd presented a Petition to the Pro- 
 vincial Council, stating that he had 
 purchased a small parcel of land at Ches- 
 ter, "called the Green," which ^^ Lyes 
 very commodious for building a town. 
 It fronts both Chester creek and Dela- 
 ware river, and is protracted, and a 
 Market place laid out, with streets by 
 y* Surveyor General, as by the mapp 
 to the said ])etition annex't ai)pears;" 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 89 
 
 and he asked the Council "to allow 
 and confirm the said Model as the 
 law in that case directs." But Jas- 
 per Yeates interfered, and stated that 
 the Green was Church land, and he 
 was unwilling that Lloyd should " ob- 
 tain an Act of Assembly to strengthen 
 a pretended title to the Green lying be- 
 fore Upland." The map mentioned 
 by David Lloyd in his petition, is not 
 on record. It appears, however, in 
 regard to the title, that Lloyd obtained 
 on Dec. 28, 1693, a conveyance of the 
 Green to himself, from the Church 
 Wardens of the Swedes congregation 
 att Wiccocoe, which with an indem- 
 nifying bond, was recorded Dec. 30, 
 1693. The consideration was "five 
 shillings of Lawful Monie of Pennsyl- 
 vania;" and the quantity of land con- 
 veyed, was ' ' seven acres of Land & 
 Meadow, situate, lying and being in 
 the County of Chester." For a copy 
 of the Conveyance, see Dr. Smith' s His- 
 tory, p. S5S, note K. 
 
 Jasper Yeates' objection was, that 
 the Green was Church land still in 
 1699, and appropriated for that use 
 forever. Lloyd's petition was granted, 
 however, "Saving to the Proprietor & 
 Gov. & to all other persons their 
 rights." I Col. Records, (i ed.,) 526. 
 
 In note B, Record of Upland Court, p. 200, 
 it is stated, " The deeds for the property here 
 referred to are in possession of Dr. J. D. 
 Logan, and the premises were conveyed by 
 David Lloyd to Jasper Yeates, by deed 
 of Sept. 22, 1703, recorded at Chester, in 
 Deed Book K, No. 10, p. 180 — endorsed, 
 ' For the Green before Jasper Yeates' door.' 
 The deed recites that the land was formerly 
 granted by warrant from Wm. Penn, 31st 
 March, 1684, and laid out by the Surveyor 
 General, Oct. il, 1684, for the use of the 
 Swedes' minister, and afterwards confirmed by 
 Patent from the Commissioners, May 23, 1690, 
 to Swan Swanson, Andrew Bankson, Lasse 
 Cock, Casper Fish, and Peter Rambo, ' the 
 
 Church Wardens, of the Swedes' Congrega- 
 tion, for the use of the Minister then present 
 or to come ;' and that the patentees, by order 
 and consent of the Swedes' Congregation at 
 Wicaco and Crane Hook, on Dec. 29, 1693, 
 conveyed the premises to David Lloyd. The 
 objection to the title was removed, by release 
 from Penn, of Oct. 24, 1701, Patent Book A, 
 p. 233. The 'Green' extended along the 
 river from Chester Creek nearly to Welsh 
 Street ; but the map of the market-place is 
 not to l)e found at Harrisburgh ; and the street 
 called New Street, which ran parallel with 
 the Delaware, has long since been washed 
 away." 
 
 In I Col. Records, (i ed. ,) 600, under 
 date of Nov. 19, 1700, is the entry: 
 "At w"" time upon reading the Peti- 
 tion of James Sandilands of Chester 
 town to the — — , adjourned," &c. 
 I am fortunately able to supply the 
 blank in the printed record by the 
 following, which is a copy of the ori- 
 ginal, taken from the Logan Manu- 
 scripts, viz. : — 
 
 " Unto the Honble William Penn, Esq., 
 Absolute Proprietor «& Ciovernor in Chief of 
 the Province of Pennsilvania & the Territo- 
 ries thereunto belonging, and the Council 
 thereof now sitting at New Castle. 
 
 " The Petition of James Sandilands of Ches- 
 ter in the Countie of Chester, most 
 
 humbly showeth, That whereas his Late Ma- 
 jesty, Charles y* 2* of England, y« King by 
 his Letters Patent and y'= great Seal thereof, 
 bearing date y* fourth day of March, in the 
 33rd year of his Reign Annoy Domi 1681, 
 among other things did for him, his Heirs and 
 Successors Give & Grant to the said Wm. 
 Penn his heirs and assigns a free & absolute 
 power to divide the Countie or Province of 
 Pennsilvania in sd letters Patent mentioned, 
 into Towns, Hundreds and Counties, and to 
 erect and incorporate Towns into Burroughs, 
 & Burroughs into Cities & to make & consti- 
 tute Fairs & Markets herein, with all other 
 convenient privileges & Immunities, according 
 to the meritts of the Inhabitants & fitness 
 of y^ places. And that whereas by the custom 
 & usages of y« said Province, the Governor & 
 Council have been used att all times to settle 
 
90 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 & order y* scituasion <.)( all Cities & Market 
 towns in evcric Coiintie in )■•' s** jnovince, and 
 to model therein all public buildings, streets & 
 Market places. And whereas y" Petitioner is 
 possessed of a certain spot of land lying in s* 
 Countie of Chester, verie fitt & naturally com- 
 modious for a Town & to that end lately caused 
 the s** spot of Land to be divided & Laid out 
 into Lotts, Street & Market place, a Draft & 
 Model whereof (the generallie desided & 
 Leiked of by y* s<i Inhabitants of 5"^ Countie) 
 is notwithstanding herewith presented & sub- 
 mitted to your honors for your approbation & 
 consent. 
 
 "May it therefore please your Honors to 
 approve of y« s**. Model & to erect y* s^ spot 
 of Land into a town for y* further advance- 
 ment of y« s<* Province in General & of y« s"" 
 Countie of Chester & y'' inhal>itants thereof in 
 particular. 
 
 " And your Petitioner as in duty bound 
 shall ever pray," &c. 
 
 •' Att a Council held at New Castle in the 
 Territories of the Province of Pennsilvania 
 die mart is the 19th of Nov. 1700. 
 
 " Present the Honorable William Penn 
 Proprietor and Governor, 
 
 Phineas Pemberton, 
 Caleb Puscy, 
 
 John Blunston, 
 Thomas Storie. 
 
 " Upon reading the within Petition & upon 
 hearing the Petitioner & some of y* Inhabi- 
 tant of ye within Countie of Chester, Jasper 
 Yeates & Robert ffrench who married two of 
 the Petitionei-s' Sisters, wer sent for, and y« s^ 
 Petition was again read to them, and being 
 Askt if they had anything to object Ak' the 
 same, they answered that they had not ; and 
 Ja.sper Yeates added that he had advised with 
 a person or persons skilled in the Law, whether 
 the said Petitioner had power to sell the Land 
 in the petition mentioned, and they had told 
 him hee had power & might sell the same. 
 Whereupon the Proprietory & Governor & 
 Councill having approved of the within Pe- 
 tition & of the design thereof & Looking 
 upon the place within proposed to be fitt for a 
 Town, did not onlie approve of y" within & 
 annexed model, but also did erect & do hereby 
 erect the said spot of Land so modelled & Laid 
 outt Into a Town ])rovided the same do not 
 encroach upon othermen's Lands without their 
 express consent under their Hands and Scales, 
 
 and saving to the Projirietor & Governor & 
 everie one their right. 
 Signed by order, 
 
 Patrick Robinson, SecfyT 
 
 It is to be regretted, that the model 
 or design mentioned, is not annexed 
 to the petition as stated. Robert E. 
 Hanniim, Esq., says, "I had a copy 
 of the original plot or map of the town 
 of Upland, which I loaned to the town 
 Council of the city of Chester for safe 
 keeping. I applied for the map to the 
 city authorities, and was told it could 
 not be found." 
 
 Jasper Yeates, above mentioned, 
 married a daughter of James Sandi- 
 lands, the elder, who died in 1692. 
 Her name was Catharine. Mr. Yeates 
 came from Yorkshire, in England, and 
 settled in Delaware ; afterwards he 
 married and resided for many years 
 in Chester. In 1697, he purchased 
 the mills and property at the mouth 
 of Naaman's Creek, and about the 
 same time he purchased lands at Ches- 
 ter, known as the Granary. It was 
 torn down some years since, and its 
 site is now occupied by a cotton fac- 
 tory. The upper story of the old 
 building was used for the storage of 
 grain, while the lower story was used 
 as a biscuit bakery. Mr. Yeates was 
 educated for the Bar, but preferred 
 speculation, in which he Avas not suc- 
 cessful. He was the grandfather of the 
 late Mr. Justice (Jasper) Yeates of the 
 Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He 
 represented New Castle County in the 
 Assembly, and after the separation of 
 the lower counties, he was a Repre- 
 sentative and Speaker of the Assembly. 
 He was a Justice of the Supreme Pro- 
 vincial Court from 1705 to 1715, and 
 at the time of his death, about 1720, 
 he was a member of the Provincial 
 Council. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 91 
 
 From the proceedings taken by the 
 Court in 1692, it appears that there 
 was a Public Dial at that time in Ches- 
 ter, erected for the use of the people. 
 Upon the petitions of James Lownes 
 and others, the Grand Jury was author- 
 ized ' ' to lay out a road to the Dyall Post 
 straitway to the road for the conveni- 
 ence of both town and country. ' ' This 
 road was laid out, and returned as fol- 
 lows : " Beginning at the Dyall post, 
 and so running South 22 degrees West, 
 to low water mark ; then beginning 
 again at the Dyall post and running 
 North 22 degrees P^ast, up the King's 
 road, which said road or street is to 
 contain thirty feet in breadth, and the 
 said Dyall post is to be the Western 
 bounds thereof." — Br. Smith, p. 183. 
 The street thus laid out must have 
 been Main Street, from the river to 
 the intersection of the railroad, P^dg- 
 mont Avenue and Sixth Street. Pro- 
 vidence Road was laid out in 1683, 
 to Chester, and as it led to the King's 
 Road, it could be the only road called 
 the " King's Highway," when the road 
 from Edgmont to the King's Highway 
 in Chester, was laid out 60 feet broad 
 in 1687. 
 
 The King's Road did not pass through 
 Chester ; it crossed Chester and Ridley 
 Creeks at the head of tide water. The 
 Dyall Post must have stood about where 
 the old Market House stood, at Third 
 and Main Streets. It will be observ- 
 ed, that I treat the streets of Chester, 
 as if they stood exactly north and south, 
 east and west. I know that they do 
 not run so precisely. I use this mode 
 for convenience, so that positions can 
 be more easily understood. I took 
 the idea from William Flavill, the pre- 
 sent Surveyor of Chester, whom I no- 
 ticed spoke of the streets as intersect- 
 ing each by the principal points of the 
 
 compass. In the return of the Grand 
 Jury it will be seen that the street laid 
 out, runs north 22 degrees east, and 
 if I am in error in saying it is Main 
 Street, the City Surveyor can easily 
 put me right ; but as Lloyd in his pe- 
 tition, says that a market place is laid 
 out with streets in 1699, I think my 
 idea is correct. 
 
 I have not been able to find the 
 date of the erection of the old Market 
 House referred to, as standing at the 
 intersection of Third and Market 
 Streets. It stood on a platform of 
 brick, about 44 by 24 feet, .surrounded 
 by curb-stones ; the roof was support- 
 ed on either side by seven brick pil- 
 lars ; between the third and fourth 
 columns, on the east and west sides, 
 were small arches. The longest length 
 of the structure extended along Mar- 
 ket Street ; it had an arched ceiling, 
 plastered, and was covered with a 
 shingle roof. The four stalls on the 
 north end were used for butchers' 
 stalls, the other six by provision deal- 
 ers. Over the northern half, there 
 was erected about 1830. a frame struc- 
 ture, 21 feet square, containing one 
 large room, used in my boyhood by 
 the Clicstt'r Library Company,^'' and 
 as the Town Hall. This room was 
 reached by a wooden stairway, on the 
 outside of the eastern side of the Mar- 
 ket house. On the centre of this story 
 was a frame cupola, with green blinds, 
 surmounted by a spire and a weather 
 vane. The Market House was torn 
 down in 1857, and the frame portion 
 sold to J. Edward Clyde, Esq., Justice 
 of the Peace, who removed it to Fifth 
 Street, east of Market, opposite the 
 Columbia Hotel, and now uses it for 
 his office. The following is copied 
 from an original paper in possession 
 of the Historical Society, in the hand- 
 
92 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 writing of William Martin. ni\ fatlR-r, 
 tlie then C'hief l^iirgcss cif C'lK-stcr. 
 
 "At a iiiLctiiiuiofll'.c t'oimcil oft lie limou^li 
 of C'hoter. held on WolncMluv, the iblh <hiy 
 or Marcli, iSji.oii nioiioii the follow Ihl; re- 
 solution was a(lo|)teil : 
 
 /^esoh'fd, that the Uiirgess, together with 
 Samuel Edwards and Samuel A. Price, he 
 appointed a committee to wait on Richard 
 Klower, Es(i., nn<l reipie'-t tiiat the • /\?u: 
 Wi'tit/ier I'nue,' formerly on his mill, may l>e 
 placed on the spire of the Town Hall. 
 
 Extract fmm the minutes. 
 
 (.Signed.) JosiiLA C. Eyki:, 
 
 j. M. G. Li-.scfia.-., 
 Jiiu' ]5r(X).mii,\i,i,. 
 
 7 07011 Council. 
 
 v.. lJ.\Kl.lNi;i(iN. Sfot-tarv:' 
 
 At the June term of the Court, 1699, 
 Jcseph Edge, Constable, of Chester, 
 presented Henry Barnes, "for calling 
 Governor Penn, a Rogue," <S:c. I'he 
 rest of the constables returned, "All 
 was well." 
 
 In ProiKV s History of Pa., ist vol. 
 p. 218, in a note, it is set forth that, 
 "At Chester, the Quakers had meet- 
 ings for Divine worship regularly, from 
 the year 1675 ; in that year Robert 
 Wade, and others, came over, and at 
 his house the first meeting of record 
 at this place was held on the loth of the 
 nth mo., 1681.* Among the eminent 
 persons of this Society, who settled in 
 and near this jjlace in these early times, 
 were Thomas Vernon, John Bowater, 
 Thomas Minshall, Bartholomew Cop- 
 pick, John Edge, c\:c. ; William Wood- 
 manson,at Harold; John Simcock, at 
 Ridley ; Nicholas Newlin/^ c\:c. 
 
 The safety of both Chester and 
 Darby from accidents by fire, was pro- 
 vided for by legal enactment. Per- 
 
 * Prior to this date it ajipears that the 
 Friends on this side of the river were mem- 
 bers of liurlinfjton Monthly Meeting, of which 
 a session was held at Robert Wade's house 
 15th of 9lh month, 1681. .See Mirhenei's 
 Rftrospcft of Early Q^inkerimii, p. 36. 
 
 .sons were not i)ermitted to .set their 
 chimneys on fire to cleanse them, nor 
 suffer them "to become so foul as to 
 take fire and blaze out at the to])." 
 Every housekeeper was obliged " to 
 keep in his or her house, a swab at 
 least 12 or 14 feet long, as also two 
 leather buckets." I deposited in the 
 office of the Delaware Mutual Safety 
 Insurance Compan)' some years ago, 
 for safe keeping, two old leather fire- 
 buckets, formerly belonging to my 
 grandfather, Dr. William Martin, of 
 Chester, purchased by him in 1798. 
 The following is a copy of the receipt 
 for the same, found among his papers: 
 
 " Received, July 14th, 1798, of Wm. 
 Martin, five dollars, for a ])air of fire 
 buckets. 
 
 [oHN HlRCHALF,." 
 
 Doll. 5. 
 
 The inhabitants of Marcus Hook, 
 having had confirmed to their town by 
 Charter, from the Provincial Coun- 
 cil, by order made the 12th mo. 14, 
 1700, t)f the privilege of holding a 
 Fair and Market at that place, which 
 had been granted to them formerly 
 by Gov. Markham and Council, the 
 people of Chester became alarmed, 
 
 I and presented to the Council on the 
 7th mo. 23, 1701, a petition, stating, 
 " That whereas the Governor & Coun- 
 cil about eleven years ago, had grant- 
 ed to the said Town two ffairs, to be 
 
 ; held every year, w""* to this time they 
 had quietly enjoyed ; but now, by rea- 
 son of one fair being granted to Chi- 
 chester, they were informed one of 
 
 I their' s was to be suppressed, \\'"' is 
 likely to prove injurious & much to the 
 damage & disappointment of the s** 
 
 I Inhabitants, who, as usual, had made 
 
 I provision for their approaching fair." 
 "Ordered, that because of the provi- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 93 
 
 sion made aforesaid, the fair, w"" was 
 of course to be held in the beginning 
 of the next 8th month ensuing, be still 
 continued and held at the same time 
 as usual, any Order to the contrary 
 notwithstanding ; and that both said 
 fairs, with a weekly market, and the 
 streets &c. of the said Town, be con- 
 firmed to the said Inhabitants by Char- i 
 ter, in case they make due application [ 
 for the same. ' ' 2 Col. Records, 40. 1 
 
 The order of Council referred to as 
 having been made upon a petition 
 of the inhabitants of Chichester, and ■ 
 others, as presented to the Coimcil, , 
 is endorsed and dated the 14th of 
 12 mo., 1700. The original can be 
 seen among the Logan Papers, in vol. 
 iv., marked "Roads," in the Histori- i 
 cal Society of Pa., and is as follows ; 
 
 " The Humble Petition of William Claiton, j 
 James Brown, Walter Marten, and the rest of | 
 the Inhabitants of Chichester & others to Wib j 
 Ham Penn, Esq. and the Council thereof Ab- 1 
 solute Proprietor and Governor of Pennsilva- 
 nia and territorys thereto belonging, Humbly 
 Showeth that your said petitioners desire your 
 Honors that you would grant two fail's to the 
 town of Chichester to be kept yearly in Broad 
 street at the times and places as hereafter 
 shall be mentioned by your said petitioners 
 William Claiton, James Brown & Walter 
 Marten. The fairs to be kept in Broad st., 
 Chichester, the first fair to be kept on the 22d, 
 23d and 24th days of June, the second fair the 
 22d, 23d and 24th days of September. Whereas 
 last year your s* petitioners did exhibit a peti- 
 tion to the lieftenant Governor & Council of 
 Pennsilvania, to wit, for a Market to be kept 
 \\'eekly in Broad street at the town of Chi- 
 chester, on Friday or the sixth day of each 
 week as hereafter shall be showed. The s'* 
 Lieftenant Governor and Council did grant to 
 the town of Chichester, a Market to be kept at 
 the time and place as was desired by your 
 said petitioners. We acknowledge ourselves 
 much obliged to them for their kindness to us. 
 ffurther your said petitioners desire your Hon- 
 ors that you would further confirm our said 
 Nfarkel to vour said petitioner^. The jilnce 
 
 laid out by your said petitioners, William Clai- 
 ton, James Brown and Walter Marten, is on 
 the road that comes out of the country to the 
 river side at Chichester, Between the enclosed 
 fields of William Claiton & James Brown at 
 the town now being laid out into a street. The 
 situation of the place having a descent two or 
 three ways, and it hath a good prospect to the 
 higher than the rest, and for commodiousness 
 it is upon the main Road to the town that goes 
 to the river, being convenient for both town, 
 country and river. To accommodate the fair 
 place and Market place, it is laid out Thus, 
 to begin 200 feet from the River side the 
 place to keep the fair and market house in is 
 230 foot in length and 140 foot in breadth as 
 by the draught of the plot reference thereto had 
 doth appear. Your said petitioners desire that 
 you would grant us our reasonable proposals, 
 that is to say, the fair place for all men's 
 marchant goods, wars, produce and victuals 
 whatsoever to be kept in the place that is laid 
 out 230 foot in length 140 in breadth, which 
 is the market place, and the fair place for 
 Horses, Cattle, Sheep and all other live goods 
 whatsoever, to be kept in that place that is 
 500 foot in length and 100 foot in breadth 
 which extendeth from the market place to the 
 bridge. The Street from the River side to 
 the bridge is now called Broad street. Your 
 Petitioners Humbly desire your Honors that 
 you would give us a Charter for two ffairs to 
 be kept yearly forever, and for our market 
 according as it was granted us by the lieften- 
 ant Governor and Council, that is to say, to 
 be kept weekly on the sixth day of the week 
 as above said, with all the incidents thereto 
 belonging. We hope that y(ni would grant us 
 our reasonable proposals if you think fit and 
 conveniens of them with what privileges and 
 profits that may accrue In time to come to 
 your said petitioners in so doing we shall be 
 very much obliged to you for your favour and 
 kindness, and shall be ready to serve you in 
 your reasonable demands, with our desire for 
 your health welfare & prosperity shall be con- 
 tinued by your Humble petitioners. 
 
 Philip Roman, John Pahnjr, 
 
 lona. Heayes, Nathaniell Parkt, 
 
 Nath. Lamphi;;h. Henry (;)born, 
 
 John Kingsniaii, John Hannum, 
 
 Thomas Clarrett, Thomas King, 
 
 John Garrett, John Mendenhall, 
 
 William flamming;, Kobert Chamberlin. 
 
 Samnell Scot. lien]. .Mendenhall. 
 
94 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 .l.inKs Hay:.nl. 
 Henry Giiiiston, 
 Jacob Chandler, 
 Francis Baldwine, 
 John BecUinhani, 
 Jonathan Compton, 
 Robert Eyre, 
 John Bezer, 
 Humphrey Johnson^ 
 Henry Hastings, 
 John Hurlbcrt, 
 James VVhitaker, 
 Thomas Browne, 
 Jeremiah Carter, 
 Thomas Bald«ine, 
 Hancc Justis, 
 John Baldwine, 
 John Willis, 
 William Clayton, 
 James Browne, 
 Walter Marten, 
 William Thomas, 
 Robert Roman, 
 Tho. Withers, 
 James Mill, 
 Tim. Atkinson, 
 William hewes, 
 Richard Bezer, 
 John Chandler, 
 Geo. Chandler, 
 William flower, 
 Robert JefTry, 
 Charles Roson, 
 James Swaffcr, 
 James Widdows, 
 James Clcmson, 
 Edward Bezer, 
 John Gibbons, Sr., 
 James Gibbons, 
 John Gibbons, Jr., 
 William Cloud, 
 Tho. James, 
 George Strode, 
 Jcr. Collett, Jr., 
 Joseph Cloud, 
 John Willis, 
 Thomas Green, 
 Thomas Hall, 
 
 Joseph Edwards, 
 Joseph Bushell, 
 Thomas Moore, 
 Richard flTarr, 
 Morgan Jones, 
 Nicholas Pile, 
 Isaac Taylor, 
 Thomas Eavenson, 
 Richard Woodward, 
 Edward Wood^vard, 
 Richard Woodward, Jr 
 Edward Bennett, 
 Hugh Harris, 
 William Brinton, Jr., 
 John Bennett, 
 John Hutch, 
 Peter Dix, 
 Francis Chads, 
 Edmund Butcher, 
 Richard Crosby, 
 William Browne, 
 William Buckingham, 
 Thomas Powell, 
 James Bailis, 
 Albeat Hcndrickes, 
 John Hannum, 
 John Croby, 
 John Worrall, 
 George Grist, 
 Richard Bond, 
 Samuel Robinett, 
 Josiah Taylor, 
 John Howell, 
 Thomas Taylor, 
 Nathaniel Evans, 
 John Childs, 
 John Davis, 
 Joseph Jarvis, 
 John Pcnick, 
 Thomas Pearson, 
 Thomas Hope, 
 William Huntly, 
 Thomas Masey, 
 Thomas Bright, 
 Joseph Richards, 
 Charles Whitaker, 
 Will. Ratue, 
 Edw. Penick . 
 
 It is set forth in the 14 Colonial 
 Records, p. 474, that two Wardens of 
 the Port appeared before the Supreme 
 Executive Council, on June 8, 1785, 
 and pre.sented the several proposals of 
 Joshua Humjihreys and Thomas Con- 
 narroe, for raising piers at Marcus Hook 
 agreeably to the plan before the Board, 
 and also articles of agreement between 
 the Commonwealth and the holders of 
 the land at that place, executed on the 
 first. The articles state that the sev- 
 eral j)ersons whose names are subscrib- 
 
 ed, viz. : Joseph Few, John Crawford, 
 Richard Riley, Robert Moulder, John 
 Flower, AVilliam Burns, John Price 
 and Thomas Moore, their heirs, &:c., 
 "may have and enjoy the liberty 
 and privilege of sinking, building and 
 carrying out from the ends of their 
 respective lots, any piers, wharves or 
 other erections whatsoever, provided 
 the same be not carried out further 
 than the extent of the wharf or pier 
 now called Moulder's Pier, lying to 
 the southward of the said lots of 
 ground, and of the wharf or pier in- 
 tended to be sunk by William Burns, 
 opposite thewharf or pier called Burns' 
 Pier, lying to the northward of the 
 said lots of ground. ' ' They also agree 
 to allow all persons free passage over 
 their respective wharves, and to per- 
 mit all vessels lying at the public 
 piers to lade and discharge their car- 
 goes, without any let, hindrance, or 
 molestation. The witnesses to the 
 agreement are Nath'l Falconer, Jos. 
 Bullock, Cxeo. Ord and John Hazle- 
 wood. 
 
 The United States have at Marcus 
 Hook two landing piers, and four stone 
 ice-breakers, forming the winter or ice- 
 harbor at that point ; one landing 
 pier is at the foot of Church Street, 
 the other at the foot of Market Street. 
 There is also a wharf to the east of 
 the sugar refinery, now in ruins, and 
 another pier some distance below 
 Market Street, called Walker's Pier, 
 owned by the heirs of my old friend, 
 Samuel T. Walker, who died Feb. i, 
 1872, in the 68th year of his age. 
 
 The quaint old Market House for- 
 merly standing on Market Street, be- 
 tween Water and New Streets, has 
 lately been torn down b\- \'andal 
 hands. Its lornicr site is unoccuijied, 
 except by grass and weeds, and a view 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 95 
 
 that used to be picturesque, is now a 
 scene of desolation. The town along 
 the banks of the river, where the beach 
 is sandy, is very attractive. There are 
 some very neat residences along the 
 beach, on Water Street, fronting the 
 Delaware. Marcus Hook is a very 
 quiet, retired village, but attempts are 
 now being made by John Larkin, Jr., 
 to revive its trade, and to disturb the 
 profound repose the town has enjoyed 
 for the last century. 
 
 Dr. Smith says, p. 136, "The grant 
 formerly made from Gov. Markham to 
 the inhabitants at Marcus Hooke, att 
 their request, for calling the name of 
 the said town Chichester, which said 
 grant bears date the 20th day of April, 
 1682, -and was read and published in the 
 Court held at Upland, June 13, Anno 
 1682, according to order, as a record 
 thereof." Notwithstanding the fact 
 that the name of Marcus Hook was 
 thus changed to Chichester, nearly 
 200 years ago, the old town still bears 
 its original historic name. 
 
 Among the list of taxables in Upland 
 jurisdiction, in 1677, the following are 
 given as residing in Marr. Kill, /. e., 
 Marcus Hook : 
 
 Jan Jansen, oele Raessen, 
 
 will orian, John Browne, 
 
 Daniel Linsey, Rich, fredericx, 
 
 morton Knoetsen, hans oelsen, 
 
 Knoet mortensen, Tho. harwood, 
 
 albert hendricx, Jiirian hertsveder, 
 
 oele Coeckoe, andries Inckhoorrn, 
 
 Carell Jansen, Rodger Pedrick, 
 
 Thorn. Denney, Christaen Claassen, 
 Jacob Clocker. 
 
 And the following is a list of tax- 
 ables residing in Upper and Lower 
 Chichester, in 1722. 
 
 Phillip Roman, 
 Richard Bezar, 
 Joseph Bond, 
 John Rawson, 
 Thomas Clayton 
 Philip Pedrick, 
 John Cloud, 
 John Wily, 
 
 William Hughes, 
 William Cleaton, 
 John Fowler, 
 Thomas Howell, 
 John Reyley, 
 Robert I'lumer, 
 John Weldon, 
 Alexander Easac 
 
 Abel Cleaton, 
 Edward Fell, 
 John Bezar, 
 Nathan Wood, 
 Daniel Brown, 
 Jeremiah Collett, 
 William Clayton, 
 Samuel Cowen, 
 Francis Reynolds, 
 Matthew Wood, 
 Edward Robinson, 
 John Renols, 
 
 Edward Smout, 
 Hugh Loe, 
 Hance Mitchel, 
 Humphrey Scarlet, 
 Robert Shelly, 
 Ephraim Logue, 
 Francis Ruth, 
 Henry Reynolds, 
 Ruth Chandler, 
 Joseph Wood, 
 Thomas Linvil, 
 Edward Whitacar. 
 
 Non-resident land-holders. 
 
 Jacob Usher, Daniel Cloud. 
 
 Some years ago, there was published 
 in the Delaware County Republican, 
 a very interesting sketch of St. Mar- 
 tin's Church, at Marcus Hook, signed 
 "Town Clerk," who is a well-known 
 gentleman, a resident of that place, 
 Capt. Frank Smith, to whom I am in- 
 debted for a list of the Missionaries and 
 Clergymen, successively officiating in 
 charge of St. Martin' s, from the year 
 1702, in which year the Society for 
 Propagating the Gospel in Foreign 
 Parts (of London), sent out as Mis- 
 sionary their first preacher, in .which I 
 have made some corrections from in- 
 formation contained in Dr. Perry's 
 " Papers relating to the History of the 
 Church in Pennsylvania." 
 
 1. Rev. Henry Nichols, Missionary, 1704 to 1708 
 
 2. " George Ross, 1708 " 1714 
 
 3. " John Humphreys, " 1714 " 1725 
 
 4. " Samuel Hesselius, " 1726 
 
 5. " Richard Backhouse, " 1728 " 1749 
 
 6. " Thomas Thompson, " 1751 
 
 7. " Israel Acrelius, " 1755 
 
 8. " Jno. Abrm. Lidineus, " 1756 
 g. " Eric Unander, " 1757 
 
 10. " George Craig, " 1758 to 1781 
 
 11. " James Connor, " 1787 " 1790 
 
 12. " Joseph Turner, " 1791 " 1811 
 
 13. " Charles Dupuy, Rector, 1811 " 1816 
 
 14. " Jacob M. Douglass,* " 1817 " 1820 
 
 * Rev. Jacob M. Douglass, died in Phila- 
 delphia, May II, 1876, in the 83d year of his 
 age. He was a son of Andrew, and grand- 
 son of Brig. Gen. Morgan, who commanded 
 the Pennsylvania Line at the battle of Tren- 
 ton. One of his sisters married the late Rev. 
 Richard D. Hall. His eldest son, Rev. Ben- 
 jamin J. Douglas, was born in Delaware 
 County, and is now a minister of the Diocese 
 of Delaware. 
 
JIISTOKY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 15 Rc\ 
 
 . Samuel C. Marks. Rector, 
 
 1820 to 
 
 1821 
 
 i6. " 
 
 Richarii U. Morgan, " 
 
 1822 ' 
 
 1831 
 
 17. " 
 
 John Baker Clemson, " 
 
 1831 ' 
 
 1835 
 
 18. " 
 
 Richard U. Hall, 
 
 1835 ' 
 
 1837 
 
 19. " 
 
 Mortimer R. Talbot, " 
 
 1837 ' 
 
 1841 
 
 20. " 
 
 Greeiiberry W. Ridglcy, " 
 
 1842 • 
 
 '1844 
 
 21. " 
 
 Anson H. Hard, 
 
 1844' 
 
 1849 
 
 22. " 
 
 Charles VV. Quick, 
 
 
 I849 
 
 23. " 
 
 Henry B. Bean, 
 
 1850 ' 
 
 '1851 
 
 24. •' 
 
 Benj. S. Huntington, " 
 
 1852 ' 
 
 '1853 
 
 25. " 
 
 John Baker Clemson, " 
 
 1853 ' 
 
 •1858 
 
 26. " 
 
 Henry Hall Hickman, " 
 
 
 1859 
 
 27. " 
 
 Joseph A. Stone, 
 
 1859 ' 
 
 ' 1868 
 
 28. " 
 
 J. Sturgis Pearce, 
 
 1868 ' 
 
 '1871 
 
 29. " 
 
 Levi Bird, 
 
 1871 
 
 ' 
 
 Capt. Smith says: — "I am the 
 author of the article signed ' ToK>n 
 Clerk.' What is contained therein, 
 was hastily searched out and dotted 
 down at the time when the Vestry of 
 the Church had a dispute with the 
 School Directors, in regard to the title 
 to the land and old School-house, lo- 
 cated on one end of the lot, donated 
 by Walter Martin, in 1699. One of the 
 direct descendants of Jan Hendrick- 
 son, (from whom was purchased the 
 old building moved on to secure the 
 lot. in 1702,) was Chairman of the 
 Board of Sciiool Directors, and I 
 deemed it of some consequence to in- 
 fluence the Board to abandon their 
 claim ; it succeeded, and I was satis- 
 fied." The article referred to is as 
 follows : 
 
 "A certain Walter Martin, of the 
 township of Upper Chichester, in the 
 county of Chester, in the Province of 
 Pennsylvania, Yeoman, for divers good 
 causes and considerations him there- 
 unto moving, executed a deed of free 
 gift to the inhabitants of the town and 
 township of Chichester, bearing date 
 the 1 8th day of December, in the year 
 of our I,ord 1699, for a churchyard 
 and free burying place, for the inhab- 
 itants — Quakers and reputed Quakers 
 only excepted." 'I'he following clause 
 of said deed sets forth a rule of faith 
 and doctrines, which must be ( om- 
 
 plied with, and heldhs that " persua- 
 sion of Christians, who can secure the 
 lot by building a church, chapel, or 
 meeting-house thereon. The inhabi- 
 tants of said town and township which 
 are to have free liberty to build a church , 
 chapel, or meeting-house, are intended 
 to be such as own the two ordinances 
 of the sacraments of Baptism and the 
 Lord's Supper, viz., water baptism, 
 
 ! that is, sprinkling or dipping ; and 
 the Lord's Supper of bread and wine; 
 
 ' and such as own the resurrection of the 
 bodies of the dead, and own the ordi- 
 nance of singing of psalms in the praise 
 of God, in the congregation, or in their 
 families, and such as own the taking 
 an oath on the Bible, according to the 
 laws of England, if lawfully called 
 thereto for the confirmation of the 
 truth ; and it is to be a free burying 
 place to such as will bear part of the 
 costs of keeping up the fences, or 
 concern themselves with building a 
 church, chapel, or meeting-house there- 
 on." With regard to the exception 
 against Quakers, he gives the following 
 explanation : '-One reason is, because 
 the Quakers have a meeting-house of 
 their own in the said township." He, 
 the said Walter Martin, chose William 
 Thomas as the "first sexton or grave- 
 digger for the town of Chichester, 
 during his life, or so long as he is able 
 to perform the duties appertaining to 
 the office of sexton or grave-digger, 
 and after his death or disability, he 
 gives full liberty to such as are ''con- 
 cerned" in keeping up the said bury- 
 ing place, to choose his successor; 
 and his true intent and meaning is, 
 " that the said lot, containing one acre 
 and one scpiare perch of land, is to be 
 kept for the purposes above named 
 and for no other whatever." It is 
 interred from other evidence, that 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 97 
 
 Walter Martin, was a man of means I 
 and of intelligence, and probably of no | 
 immediate descendants, as he reserves 
 a grave lot for hwiself and friends in ] 
 a particular part of the yard. 
 
 By reference to Hazard's Annals of 
 Pennsylvania, we find the same Walter 
 Martin was an inhabitant of Chester 
 County, in the year 1682 ; for upon 
 the arrival of William Penn, in that 
 year, he convened a General Assembly, 
 to meet him at Upland (now Chester), 
 and Walter Martin appears as one of 
 nine Assemblymen elected to represent 
 the inhabitants of Chester County, in 
 that Assembly. 
 
 In the list of lands sold in England, 
 Ireland and Scotland, and sent over 
 to the Surveyor General with instruc- 
 tions to lay out to the respective pur- 
 chasers, we find Walter Martin's name 
 set down for five hundred acres, in the 
 20th division of ten thousand acres. 
 
 In the vestry-book of St. Martin's 
 church, we find that the friends of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church living in 
 the township and surrounding neigh- 
 borhood, for the purpose of promptly 
 securing the lot thus laid open to the 
 competition of different denomina- 
 tions, exerted themselves to obtain a 
 building, and in a very humble way 
 succeeded, as will more quaintly ap- 
 pear by the following statement, which 
 is found written on the opening page 
 of the old vestry-book of the church. 
 
 "Sundry persons, adventurers from 
 England, Scotland and Ireland, into 
 the Province of Pennsylvania, being 
 well principled in and affected to the 
 pure apostolick and primitive doctrine 
 and discipline of the truly Episcopal 
 and Protestant Church of England, as 
 by law established, &c., finding little 
 or no satisfaction in their own mind, 
 without having sacred places set apart 
 
 for paying that public worship and 
 adoration to the Supreme Being, which 
 from the dictates of our conscience we 
 know to be due, &c. We, the con- 
 gregation, professors of the Church of 
 England, at this time being few in 
 number, and of less ability to build a 
 decent place of worship," &c. 
 
 They purchased an old wooden frame 
 house from Jan and Tobias Hendrick- 
 son, for about five pounds, which was 
 a great sum in those days, and having 
 removed it from where it stood, into 
 the lot conve)'ed by Walter Martin for 
 a churchyard, they fitted it up as well 
 as they could for divine worship, &c., 
 in the year of our Lord 1702. Then 
 the honorable Society for Propagating 
 the Gospel in Foreign Parts, Anno 
 Domini 1702, sent over the Rev. 
 Henry Nichols, as their missionary to 
 Chichester church. Some years after, 
 the Rev. George Ross was sent to suc- 
 ceed him, and in the year 1724, the 
 Rev. John Humphries came, who re- 
 mained five years.* From the time of 
 Mr. Humphries' ministry (1724), up 
 
 * Captain Smith is in L-rrur in hi.s dates. 
 In Dr. Pcrr/s Papers relating to the Church 
 in Pennsylvania, p. t,t„ the Rev. Evan Evans, 
 in a letter, states, that he preached frequently 
 at Chichester and Chester until the arrival of 
 the Rev. Mr. Nichols in 1704, and at p. 53, it 
 is said of Mr. N., "that gentleman remained 
 with us above three years." George Ross 
 was Missionary at St. Martin's from 1708 to 
 1714. John Humphreys, from 1714 to 1725, 
 when he went to Baltimore, and refused to 
 return unless the churches at Marcus Hook 
 and Chester would raise his salary to ^40 
 per annum. In 1726, "a great mortality 
 reigned amongst us ; we were obliged to desire 
 the Rev. Mr. Hesselius, the Swedish minis- 
 ter at Christiana, who, out of his pious and 
 christian disposition, came to bur)' our dead, 
 and seeing the disconsolate condition of our 
 churches, offered to assist us once a month at 
 our churches, which he still continues to do." 
 This statement in Dr. Perry's Papers, Penn- 
 sylvania, pp. 152-3, is dated April 5, 1727, 
 and signed by Ralph Pile, Philip Ottey and 
 others. 
 
98 
 
 HISTORY OF GllKSTEK. 
 
 to tliis pL'ridd, till.' records liave been 
 very regularly kept. 
 
 The generous donor, Walter Martin, 
 lived until the year 1 7 19. Massive head 
 and foot stones mark his grave in the lot 
 he reser\ed for himself ami friends in 
 the deed of gift. A few years since the 
 wardens and vestry of the church, with 
 commendable taste, had his grave-stone \ 
 re-dressed and re-lettered, bringing out j 
 the old inscription, which bears the j 
 following expressive and quaint coup- ' 
 let : I 
 
 ' The just mail 
 And when he 
 
 111 good men's love, 
 he's bless'd above." 
 
 The only other mention found of 
 Walter Martin, in any of the records, 
 is in the t)ld township book, where 
 there is a record that in the year 1701, 
 Walter Martin was superseded as one 
 of the post wardens of the town of 
 Marcus Hook : by which we infer that 
 that ancient town, even at that time, 
 had all the attributes of greatness 
 which it so eminentlv retains unto this 
 day. 
 
 The John, or Jan Hendrickson from 
 whom the old frame building was ob- 
 tained, to answer the purpose of the 
 first church edifice, according to Ha- 
 zard'' s Annals, was one of the six per- 
 sons to whom the grant of Marcus 
 Hook was made, in the year 1676. 
 The grant embraced 1000 acres of 
 land, and was made by Gov. Francis 
 Lovelace, some five years before Wil- 
 liam Penn obtained his charter of 
 Pennsylvania from the crown of Great 
 Britain. The descendants in the sev- 
 enth and eighth generation from the 
 said Jan Hendrickson, are our present 
 cotemjjoraries, and are both numerous 
 and among our most substantial in- 
 habitants. 
 
 The regular transactions of the ves- 
 
 try are duly recorded, with very slight 
 interruptions, from the time of the 
 Rev. John Humphries' arrival in the 
 year 1724, to this day. The names 
 mentioned in the original deed, as 
 holding lands adjoining the church- 
 yard conveyed, are among the first 
 vestry. John Flowers was the first 
 Warden. He owned the lands on the 
 south end of the yard, and his descen- 
 dants have been regular worshippers 
 ever since. Generation after genera- 
 tion of that family and name have 
 been gathered to their fathers, and are 
 now mouldering to dust, side by side, 
 in the very centre of its bounds. 
 
 The first son of English parents, 
 born under the Penn grant, in the 
 Province of Delaware, is said, in Wat- 
 son^ s Annals, to have been Emanuel 
 Grubb, who was born in the year 1682, 
 just after the landing of his parents, 
 at the place known as Grubb' s Land- 
 ing, in Brandywine Hundred, about 
 three miles below Marcus Hook. His 
 birth is said to have taken place in a 
 cave, provided in a hurry, on the bank 
 of the river. His name appears among 
 the vestrymen, in 1725, and from that 
 year up to this time, his descendants 
 have been zealous worshippers, and 
 generous patrons of the church. He 
 died at the advanced age of 85 years, 
 and lies buried in the centre of a vast 
 circle of green mounds, each one la- 
 belled with his honored surname. They 
 have gathered around him like a faith- 
 ful body-guard, as though anxious to 
 protect him from the near approach of 
 all, save their own clan. The name 
 of Grubb is found among the vestry 
 every year for over a hundred, with- 
 out a single interruption. lx\ the year 
 1745, the names of Emanuel Grubb, 
 Sr., Emanuel Grubb, Jr., and Joseph 
 Grubb, appear as liberal subscribers to 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 99 
 
 the funds raised for the purpose of 
 building a new church, on the site of 
 the present edifice. It was built of 
 brick, and after undergoing various 
 alterations and additions, was finally 
 torn down, and the present beautiful 
 one constructed in its stead, in the 
 year 1846. 
 
 In the year 1725, Jeremy Collett 
 left by will a legacy of ;^5o, for the 
 " better support of the Episcopal min- 
 ister officiating in the Chapel;" the 
 old frame which stood on the ground 
 near where the school-house now stands. 
 After the brick church was built in 1 745, 
 the "old frame " was generously per- 
 mitted to be used, from time to time, 
 as a school-house. 
 
 In the year 1730, the Rev. John 
 Humphries was succeeded by the Rev. 
 Richard Backhouse.* From the year 
 1738 to the year 1758, the church was 
 presided over by the Swedish ministers. 
 Rev. Israel Acrelius, Rev. John 
 Abraham Lindinus, and the Rev. 
 Eric Unander, each succeeding in 
 the order of their names. 
 
 The funds raised for the new church 
 in 1745, were subscribed by an array 
 of names familiar to us all who have 
 an acquaintance extending to the cotin- 
 try around us. I'here are the Fords, 
 Kellims, Grubbs, Richards, Robinetts, 
 Claytons, Worrells, Marshalls, Con- 
 nells, Kerlins, Lampleys, Lawrences, 
 Derricks, Carters, Clouds, Hanbys, 
 Davises, Taylors, Flowers, Stewarts, 
 Websters, Talleys, Phillips, Johnsons, 
 Birds, Beestons, Perkinses, Centmells, 
 Moulders, Buckleys, and a certain Eli- 
 
 " Richard Backhouse took charge of Ches- 
 ter, Marcus-Hook and Concord Churches, 
 either late in 1727 or early in 1728. See 
 Perry's Collections, 161. He died Nov. 19, 
 1749, and was succeeded by Rev. Thomas 
 Thompson, who sometime afterwards aban- 
 doned his charge. When he did so, is not 
 stated 
 
 14 
 
 zabeth Smith, who at that time was 46 
 years of age, being born in the year 
 1699. She lived until the year 1802, 
 attaining the great age of 103 years, 
 and thereby living in part of three 
 centuries. She lies buried in the yard, 
 with a head and foot stone marking 
 the spot, on which is the record, from 
 which this interesting fact is derived. 
 
 In the year 1758^ the Rev. George 
 Craig* came over from London, un- 
 der the patronage of the celebrated 
 "Society for Propagating the Gospel 
 in Foreign Parts," and continued 
 Rector until the Revolution broke 
 out. There is an interruption to the 
 records during the War, from 1775 
 to 1783, but in the latter year, we find 
 the Rev. George Craig presiding at the 
 Easter meeting, and appointing his 
 warden. After that year, the church 
 records make no further mention of 
 him, but his tombstone in the floor of 
 the church commemorates the fact 
 that he died some years after, and was 
 there buried. 
 
 At the annual meeting of the vestry, 
 in the year 1760, Emanuel Grubb pro- 
 posed the name of St. Martin's Church, 
 in incidental commemoration of Wal- 
 ter Martin, and the name was unani- 
 mously adopted . From that time it has 
 been known as St. Martin's Church, 
 Marcus Hook. Great efforts had been 
 made from the year 1682, to change 
 the name of Marcus Hook to Chiches- 
 ter, but without success, although an 
 Act of Assembly had been obtained 
 to effect it, and all legal documents, 
 for many years, had so styled it, yet 
 its old Indian name, slightly changed 
 from the original, has pertinaciously 
 adhered to it, and constitutes its great- 
 est glory "until this day." 
 
 * Married, June 15, 1775, the Rev. George 
 Craig of Chester, to Miss Margaret Currie of the 
 same place. — Penna. Magazine, \'o\. i. p. 290. 
 
100 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 In the year 1769, the Treasurer 
 ot the Coninu)n\vealth, Mr. Moore, 
 paicl over to the wardens of St. Mar- 
 tin's church the sum of j£66 i^s. 4^/., 
 being St. Martin's share of the pro- 
 ceeds of a lottery authorized by the 
 Assembly of the Province, for the im- 
 provement and repairs of St. Peter's 
 and St. Paul's churches, Philadel])hia, 
 and a few churches in the counties 
 around the city. 
 
 After the Revolutionary War, the 
 church services were duly kept up by 
 clergymen and lay readers, until the 
 year 181 7, when the Rev. Jacob M. 
 Douglas was called to the church as 
 Rector. In the beginning of the pre- 
 .sent century, it being found that the 
 old frame building which constituted 
 the first church, and had been used for 
 that purpose from 1702 until 1745, 
 then being replaced by a new church, 
 had been used from time to time for 
 school purposes, was now crumbling 
 into ruins from age, and both the church 
 members and the i)ublic at large were 
 feeling the great need of a school- 
 house to replace it; under this pressure 
 of circumstances, a jniblic spirited old 
 member of the church, took up the 
 subject with zeal, and proposed to the 
 vestry, if they would permit it, he 
 would raise what funds he could by 
 subscription, and any deficiency he 
 would make up himself, and build a 
 school-house on the " hitching lot," 
 or the lot used for hitching horses on, 
 which lot was a part of the church 
 yard, fenced off for that purpose. The 
 plain men composing the vestry very 
 innocently acquiesced, but made it a 
 particular condition to their consent, 
 that the house should be built in a 
 position to drive round, and offer no 
 other obstruction to the lot, for the 
 purpose for which the church used it. 
 
 than occup)ing its size in its centre. 
 It was built accordingly, and in strict 
 compliance with the conditions exact- 
 ed, and has always served as a place 
 to hitch to ever since ; it has also 
 always afforded some protection from 
 the cold winds to horses hitched under 
 its shelter. And although this permis- 
 sion was not granted in writing, nor to 
 the State, county or to the township, 
 as an organized body politic, but a 
 mere verbal permission given to certain 
 individuals without corporate powers, 
 as a favor to the community of which 
 the grantors form a part. In short it 
 was done in the fostering spirit of a 
 few godly-minded men, who deemed 
 it a duty to do good when an oppor- 
 tunity offered, never dreaming they 
 were violating the conditions of the 
 deed of gift, or that they were giving 
 to the public rights and powers which 
 Avould in time enable them to lay claim 
 to a property which had been for 160 
 years consecrated to a pious and praise- 
 worthy use. 
 
 The people inhabiting this section 
 of the county, cannot fail to profound- 
 ly reverence the memory of their an- 
 cestors who worshipped in St. Martin's 
 church ; and whose mortal vestments 
 are sinking into dust under the shadow 
 of its walls. Where is the man, woman, 
 or child in this community, whose pro- 
 genitors lived and died here, that is 
 without relatives sleeping the sleep of 
 death in that crowded church-yard ? 
 It has been planted over and over again 
 with the children of men, who have 
 had their day upon this earth, 'i'hey 
 cherished it while they lived, and ap- 
 pointed it as their last resting-place 
 when time should be done with them. 
 There is a beautiful record of two of 
 them. It was written a hundred years 
 ago in the vestry-book, that John Mar- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 101 
 
 shall and Emanuel Grubb, each gave 
 ^5 to secure to their posterity the same 
 seat they respectively occupied in the 
 church at that time, so long as their 
 descendants should continue Episco- 
 palians. 
 
 The white monuments of our prede- 
 cessors are crowding each other around 
 the church, adding greatly to the in- 
 terest it presents as a ' Village Church- 
 yard,' and seems eminently calculated 
 to inspire those solemn contemplations 
 which every sober-minded person feels 
 from time to time, stealing over their 
 senses, when reviewing the past, or 
 casting their thoughts forward to the 
 impenetrable future. How many are 
 daily seen lingering about these silent 
 habitations of the dead? How many 
 who never enter the walls of the church 
 to join in its public worship, or hear 
 the ' Gospel trumpet sound,' are, 
 nevertheless, touched by the silent 
 solemnity that pervades the scene in 
 that crowded city of the dead. 
 
 Town Clerk.'-' 
 
 A brief visit to the grave-yard of 
 St. Martin' s enables me to add some 
 names on the tombstones of families 
 whose relatives are there interred, viz. : 
 Harding, Burns, Gray, Toy, Justice, 
 Vanneman, Davis, Moore, Queen, 
 Elliott, Phillips, Hickman, Johnson, 
 Lawrence, Bird, Wilson, Twaddell, 
 Butler, Allen, Button, Mann, Larkin, 
 Herbert, Lodge, Morton, Douglass, 
 Lamplugh, Heacock, Winfield, Spran- 
 zey. Churchman, Talley, Glover, Black, 
 Cook, Boyd, Hayes, Shull, Gorbey, 
 Taylor, Perkins, Grubb, Ford, Wood- 
 worth, Young, Biddle, Coburn, An- 
 derson, Goodley, Waggoner, Lauson, 
 Lawson, Connot, Ebrite, Madgin, 
 Beny, Miller, Loven, Flower, Art, 
 Welsh, Marshall, Moulder, Tilby, 
 Crow, Arans, Council, Bowan, Trute, 
 
 Sayres, Wall, Laurence, Truett, Chap- 
 man, McKee, Mofhtt, Parks, Weid- 
 berg, and Williamson. 
 
 The only quaint inscription I no- 
 ticed, was this: — "In memory of 
 Erasmus Morton, born Sept. 9, 1796, 
 died Dec. 7, 1861. 
 
 " Farewell my wife and children all, 
 From you a father, Christ did call; 
 Mourn not for me, it is in vain, 
 To call me to your sight again." 
 
 The Republican of April, 1 87 1 , says : 
 "The Episcopalians attached to St. 
 Martin's church, at Marcus Hook, who 
 have so long been without a parsonage, 
 have at last concluded that great want 
 shall exist no longer. Through the 
 liberality of two of the residents in that 
 locality, a lot of ground containing 75 
 by 150 feet, adjoining the Odd Fel- 
 low's Hall, on the ridge, commanding 
 a most beautiful view, has been dona- 
 ted for the purpose. Subscriptions to 
 the amount of between fourteen and 
 fifteen himdred dollars have already 
 been collected. The parsonage will 
 cost about twenty-five hundred dollars, 
 which the Committee hope speedily to 
 obtain, when the building will be com- 
 menced and completed without delay. 
 We congratulate our friends at Marcus 
 Hook, on a movement which will se- 
 cure to their pastor a comfortable home. 
 The Rector of the church is Rev. J. S. 
 Pearce, and the Vestrymen elected on 
 Monday last, are : William Trainer, 
 Abner Vernon, G. H. Huddell, David 
 Trainer, Frank Smith, A. T. Glass, 
 Dr. John Cardeza, J. N. Trainer and 
 J. Smith." 
 
 Walter Martin, came from Westmin- 
 ster, Middlesex County, England, and 
 was a resident of Marcus Hook before 
 Penn's arrival. He was the owner of 
 a large tract of land on Naaman's creek 
 
102 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 which he purchased before leaving 
 England. On his tombstone is en- 
 graven, ''In the memory of Walter 
 Martin, buried June 26, 1719, aged 68 
 years." The stone is a rough sand- 
 stone, and the couplet below illegible, 
 (this was written before the stone was re- 
 cut,) at the top of the stone is cut an 
 hour-glass and cross-bones. 
 
 Walter Martin, above mentioned, 
 married in 1684, Jane a daughter of 
 Joseph and Sarah Bushal, (the name is 
 generally written Bushell,) of the So- 
 ciety of Friends. John Williamson 
 married Elizabeth Buckley, (daughter 
 of Adam and Ann Buckley,) a grand- 
 daughter of Walter and Jane Martin 
 of Marcus Hook ; she was born 7 mo. 
 21, 1730, died 7 mo. 22, 1805. This 
 latter item is from the records of the 
 family of Williamson from England 
 who settled in Newtown in 1682. He 
 was named by Walter Martin, as one 
 of his executors with Nicholas Pyle ; 
 both were Friends. For some mention 
 of this family of Williamson, see A^in- 
 cents' History of Delaware, i vol. 477. 
 I was groomsman to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Courtland Howell there mentioned. 
 
 Adam, son of John and Elizabeth 
 Williamson, above mentioned, lived 
 about 1816 in Brandywine Hundred, 
 Delaware. About half a mile from his 
 residence was an old burial place called 
 the Buckley grave-yard, enclosed by a 
 stone wall, by the margin of the road 
 leading from Grubb's landing to Bir- 
 mingham. The graves of the Buck- 
 ley's are marked by rude stones. Adam 
 W. was a connection by marriage with 
 the Gilpin's of Delaware. The will 
 of Joseph Bushal, of Concord, dated 
 8th of the 1 2th mo. 1703, in the Reg- 
 ister's office at Philadelphia, shows that 
 Walter and Jane Martin, had seven 
 ( hildren. The dc( cdent gives to " my 
 
 son-in-law Walter Martin, Twenty shil- 
 lings ; unto my daughter Jane's .srzvv/ 
 children, that is to say, Walter, Mary, 
 Steven, John, Ann, Sarah, and Eliza- 
 beth Martin, Five pounds a piece. 
 To my daughter Abigail Pyle 20 shil- 
 lings, and to her five children, Mary, 
 Edith, Nicholas, Samuel and James 
 Pyle, p^5 a piece. To my wife Sarah 
 all my estate during her life, after to my 
 daughters or their heirs." 
 
 Dr. Smith says Walter Martin left no 
 male descendants, but he must have 
 known that he left daughters. His will 
 is dated Aug. 4, 17 15, and proven June 
 27, 1 719, in which he mentions his 
 father-in-law Joseph Bushell, mother-in 
 law Sarah Bushell, wife Mary, daughters 
 Mary, Ann, Elizabeth, and Sarah 
 Martin, also grand-daughters Mary and 
 Hannah Martin, and son Stephen, and 
 appoints his brothers-in-law Nicho- 
 las Pyle and Daniel Williamson, his 
 Executors, but makes no mention of 
 his son John. He gives to son-in-law- 
 William Claiton, twenty shillings, and 
 to daughter Mary, twenty shillings, to 
 be paid to thetn within one year. 
 Sarah Bushal in her will, (the name is 
 written Bushell, but she only made her 
 mark,) dated 2 mo. 9, 1716, proven 
 Jan. 18, 1717-8, does not mention the 
 names of Martin or Pyle, or in fact any 
 but collateral relatives. This is ac- 
 counted for by the willof her husband, 
 who provided for their children and 
 grand-children, leaving his wife only 
 a life-estate in his property, adding " I 
 doe give her full power to give and dis- 
 pose at her discretion Twenty pounds 
 at her decease." Sarah Bushell men- 
 tions her "kinsman James, son of my 
 brother Samuel Webb, formerly of 
 Derets, in the parish of Chipnani, in 
 the county of Wilts, in the Kingdom 
 of Great Britain." Also gives to kins- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 103 
 
 woman Mary Webb, dan. of William 
 Webb, in England, ^5, and mentions 
 Elizabeth, the youngest dau. of Rich- 
 ard Webb, of Birmingham. 
 
 Walter Martin, Junior, died in 1711, 
 leaving a wife Barbary and two children 
 Mary and Hannah, and mentions in 
 his will filed in Philadelphia, also, his 
 brother John and sister Elizabeth, his 
 father Walter Martin, and his wife's 
 uncle Daniel Williamson. His will is 
 dated at Chichester, June 26, 1711, 
 and proven Sept. 11, 1711. 
 
 Walter Martin, the elder, was mar- 
 ried a second time, and probably to 
 the widow of John Howell, as he styles 
 Daniel Williamson "brother-in-law." 
 D. W. was brother-in-law to John How- 
 ell, who.se wife was Mary. We know 
 that Daniel married Mary Smith, and 
 as W^alter's second wife was Mary, there 
 is no way of making them brothers in 
 law, except by supposing that Mary 
 Martin was D. W.'s sister. She died 
 intestate about 1723. The will of 
 Elizabeth Cranston, given hereafter, 
 renders it possible that she was Eliza- 
 beth Martin, daughter of Walter, the 
 elder. In that case the author is a de- 
 scendant of Walter Martin. 
 
 My mother's aunt, Mary Welsh, was 
 buried in the graveyard of St. Martin's 
 Church, at Marcus Hook, 1824. Ann 
 Welsh, a sister of Mary, is said to have 
 married, during the Revolution, a Brit- 
 ish officer named Drew, and when last 
 heard of, he was a Colonel in command 
 of Tilbury Fort, England. 
 
 My grandmother, Margaret Welsh, 
 widow of William Smith, Jr., during 
 her life-time, inherited from her cousin, 
 Aunt Marshall of Marcus Hook, some 
 real estate situated at that place. My 
 mother says, in her girlhood, she and 
 her Aunt Mary often visited Aunt Mar- 
 shall at Hook. She was the wife of 
 
 David Marshall, and when she married 
 him, was the widow of Captain James 
 Art. Her maiden name was Armor, 
 she was a daughter of Samuel Armor, 
 of Marcus Hook, who married Eliza- 
 beth Bond. There were three Bond 
 girls, Elizabeth above named, Ann my 
 great grandmother, and Hannah who 
 married Jacob Bankson. Their moth- 
 er's maiden name was Elizabeth Mar- 
 tin. I believe she died in 1756, and is 
 buried in St. Martin's graveyard. Mrs. 
 Marshall's brother was the Rev. Sam- 
 uel Armor,* a Professor in one of the 
 Maryland universities. His health fail- 
 ing he accepted a call to Concord 
 church, where he died unmarried, and 
 his sister inherited his property, and 
 when she died no relatives could be 
 found in the Armor line, so her rela- 
 tives on her mother's side, the Bonds, 
 inherited the property, viz : her cousins , 
 my grandmother, my aunts Mary Welsh 
 and Rebecca Bankson, with whom she 
 had always been very intimate. Her 
 residence in Marcus Hook was called 
 " Liberty Hall," and was the abode of 
 a generous hospitality, She always en- 
 tertained the clergy ; the Rev. Jacob M. 
 Douglass often spoke of it, and Rev. 
 Richard D. Hall said there was no 
 place like it in Marcus Hook, and that 
 when they were gone 1 meaning Mr. and 
 Mrs. Marshall,) St. Martin's lost two 
 of its best members. I have in my bed- 
 room an old mirror with an old fashion- 
 ed gilt frame, once belonging to Aunt 
 Marshall, a relic of "Liberty Hall" 
 and its palmy days. It was the best 
 glass then in the house and hung in the 
 parlor. My mother says that when she 
 and Aunt Mary visited "Aunt Mar- 
 shall," they went down in the stage 
 
 *He graduated at the Philadelphia College, 
 May 17, 1775, as M. A. Sfe Penna. Mag., 
 vol. I, 235. 
 
104 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 coach, but when grandfather and grand- 
 mother Smith went, they drove down 
 in their carriage. The residence of 
 Mrs. Marshall was on the square, near 
 the old market house, which has been 
 torn down. Samuel Armor's tomb is 
 a large marble slab on a brick paral- 
 lelogram. Capt. Art's tomb is quite a 
 prominent one, built in the fashion of 
 that time, all marble, the slab being 
 Italian, and the sides panelled with 
 Italian and blue marble, it cost $400. 
 The inscription is simply " Captain 
 James Art, died May 19, 1805." On 
 his left is the head and foot stone of his 
 wife, who survived him about twenty 
 years. The inscription on her head 
 stone is " Ann Marshall, wife of David 
 Marshall, Esquire, died August 30th, 
 1825." A kw yards distant in the 
 "Marshall row," stands the head and 
 foot stone of Ann's second husband, 
 with this inscription: "David Mar- 
 shall, Estpiire, Sept. i2th, 1825." In 
 the fall ofthe year 1825, both David and 
 his wife were seized with the prevalent 
 epidemic of that year, and died twelve 
 days apart, the wife first, and his deep 
 lamentations over her loss, for the few 
 days he survived her, his friends 
 thought accelerated his death. 
 
 Thinking that perhaps Mrs. Marshall 
 had derived the i)roperty that passed 
 to my grandmother from Capt. James 
 Art, and that his will would explain the 
 matter, I obtained a copy of it, proved 
 May 1 1 , 1 805 , but found that after leav- 
 ing " a legacy of ;^5o cash to be paid by 
 my executrix to James Art, my nephew, 
 son of my brother William Art, to be 
 propreated for the use of his school- 
 ing," he devised all " the rest and re- 
 mainder of his estate real and personal 
 of what kind or nature soever the same 
 may be in the township of Lower Chi- 
 chester," iV-c, to his wife, without anv 
 
 estate over to any other person. On 
 ordering an examination ofthe records 
 at Media, there was found a deed of 
 Margaret Smith and Elizabeth Bills, 
 on record dated April 8, 1828, convey- 
 ing to Gideon Jacques their one undi- 
 vided half interest in six lots or pieces 
 of land, situated in Lower Chichester, 
 " Being the same premises which Ann 
 Marshall, wife of David Marshall, de- 
 ceased, (formerly Ann Armor,) being 
 lawfully seized in fee, died intestate, 
 which descended to the said Mar- 
 garet Smith and Elizabeth Bills and 
 others as her heirs, they being entitled 
 to one half of the same and of which 
 this deed shows." 
 
 Walter Marten devised to his daugh- 
 ter Ann Marten, " my lots that are 
 fenced in with posts and rails, with the 
 building and orchard on it lying 
 bounded on the one side with Bald- 
 wins Lots and one the other side with 
 Jerimiah Collets Lot fruntingthe River 
 on one head and the other Bounded 
 on the market place and the street at 
 Chichester town, and four acres of 
 wood Land to it next to John Bosse's 
 wood Land, being part of my wood 
 Land at the old Kings road, to be 
 eighteen perch wide at each head, be- 
 ing bounded between the old road and 
 Jonas Sanderlins Land," to her and 
 the heirs of her body, if any ; other- 
 wise to daus. Elizabeth and Sarah. " I 
 give to my daughter Elizabeth Marten 
 the two Lots that frunt the market 
 place at Chichester town, to her and 
 her heirs and assigns forever. Bounded 
 on one side with the Lote- with the 
 house and orchard on it and Jerimiah's 
 Lot and the other side with the Lot 
 Late William Thomases andthebacke 
 head with other of my Lots And ffour 
 acres of wood Land to it next ajoin- 
 ing to the Lot of woodland Late Wil- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 105 
 
 liam Thomas to be Eighteen perches 
 wide at both heads Lying between the 
 road and Jonas Sanderlin's I^and as 
 aforesaid. " " To my Daughter Sarah 
 Marten the Great Lot at Chichester 
 town * * * Bounded on one side 
 with the backe head of John Bosses 
 Lots and Jerimiah Collets Lots and on 
 the other side with Market street and 
 one head bounded one new Street and 
 the other head Bounded on the back 
 heads of the Lots that ffrunt the mar- 
 ket place ; Likewise * * * two 
 other Lots ffrunting the said new Street 
 with one head and the other head 
 bounded [by] Joseph Clouds Lots and 
 bounded on one side with Grubs Lots 
 and on the other side with the said 
 market street : And two acres & a half 
 of wood Land be it more or Less, 
 being the remainder of what is Left 
 when my Daughters Ann & Elizabethes 
 is taken out it Lying between theirs, 
 frunting the Road as afores** with one 
 head & Jonas Sanderlins on the other 
 head." "The messuage and planta- 
 tation with the house, Barne and out- 
 housing and all its Lnprouments and 
 appurtenances whatsoever that I now 
 live on in the township of Chichester 
 being about one hundred and sixty 
 acres of Land, be it more or less, I doe 
 hearby order my said Executors and 
 give them power to sell, ' ' &c. The lot 
 on William Claiton's side of the street, 
 adjoining to the market place, and two 
 acres of woodland to it, to be sold and 
 the money divided between Elizabeth 
 and Sarah. The money for the plan- 
 tation to be put at interest for use of 
 son Stephen* during his life and then 
 to be divided between his sisters or 
 their heirs and the children of son 
 
 * Stephen was non sane memoria, as stated 
 in some records. 
 
 Walter. Witnesses, Thomas Linvill, 
 Willyam Chandalar. 
 
 The will is signed distinctly " Wal- 
 ter Marten." 
 
 Mary Clayton, after the death of 
 her husband, William Clayton, Jr., 
 married in 1759, Thomas Evan, of 
 Goshen. 
 
 Her children by her first husband, 
 were: Mary, b. 8 mo. 8, 1710, w. 
 Nineveh Carter ; William, Ik 10 mo. 
 13, 1 713, VI. Mary Evans; Lydia, b. 
 4 mo. 4, 1 716, m. John Spruce and 
 Abraham Carter ; Sarah, b. 4 mo. 10, 
 1719, m. John Phipps ; Moses, b. 10 
 mo. 25, 1722 ; Prudence, /'. 3 mo. 17, 
 1725, m. John Ford; Patience, ///. 
 Henry Grubb ; David, m. Sarah . 
 
 Nineveh and Abraham Carter were 
 sons of Jeremiah and Mary, of Chester 
 township. 
 
 The David Marshall mentioned in 
 the foregoing sketch must not be con- 
 founded with David Marshall, of Mar- 
 cus Hook, whose will is on record at 
 Media, dated July 30, 1826, and proved 
 Sept. 9, 1826, by the subscribing wit- 
 nesses Benjamin F. Johnson and John 
 Kerlin. His wife's name was Mar- 
 garetta, and he mentions a married 
 daughter Mary, but does not give her 
 husband's name. He leaves his estate 
 to his wife for life, after her death to be 
 equally divided between his children, 
 except Mary, whose portion he devises 
 to his son Jesse, in trust for her sole 
 and separate use during life, and after 
 her death to be equally divided among 
 her children. 
 
 My mother's aunt, Mary Welsh, 
 (originally Welch,) who lies buried in 
 St. Martin's grsye-yzrd, Marcus Hook, 
 used to have a large globular pincush- 
 ion, around which was a metal band, 
 having a chain attached, by which it 
 was suspended from her waistband, it 
 
106 
 
 UlSTORY i)¥ CHESTER. 
 
 was her mother's before her marriage, 
 and the hand had engraven on it her 
 maiden name, "Ann Bond." The 
 mother of Ann Bond (who married 
 John Welch, of Philadelphia, my g. 
 grandfather), was Elizabeth Cranston^ 
 widow, of Chichester, (probably a 
 daughter of Walter Martin, of Marcus 
 Hook,) who in her will, dated Aug. i, 
 1 75 1, proven Sept. i, 1756, mentions 
 her children, John Balden (Baldwin), 
 James Bond, Ann Welch, Elizabeth i 
 Armor, Mary Clark, William Cran- I 
 ston, and Hannah Bankson. Exe- | 
 cutors. Jacob Bankson and Richard 
 Clark. Undoubtedly this was my g. 
 g. grandmother. She married _^rs^, 
 Joseph Baldwin, of Chester, tailor; 
 2d, Joseph liond, of Chichester ; 3d, 
 a Cranston. 
 
 Joseph Bond, of Chichester, died 
 intestate, leaving a widow, Elizabeth, 
 and six children, James, Ann, Eliza- 
 beth, Mary, Hannah, and a son George 
 who died young. The widow admin- 
 istered by letters of Sept. 21, 1734. 
 In the accounts which she filed, she 
 charges for bringing up three children, 
 from Sept. 6, 1734, to Feb. 6, 1736-7. 
 It seems reasonable to suppose, that 
 her husband died on the first of these 
 dates. As she is the one who subse- 
 quently married a Cranston, then the 
 date of William Cranston's birth, as 
 given hereafter (1734), is not cor- 
 rect, as she was still Elizabeth Bond 
 May 30, 1738; at which time she re- 
 l)orted sale of real estate, to pay debts. 
 Joseph Bond was a taxable inhabitant 
 of Chichester, in 1722. 
 
 In Deed Book E, p. 540, Chester 
 County, on Dec. 4, 1735, J^h'"' Bald- 
 win, of Philadelphia, joyner, son and 
 only issue of Joseph Baldwin, late of 
 the township and county of Chester, 
 taylor, dec'd, and Elizabeth Bond, of 
 
 Chichester, widow of Joseph Bond, 
 and formerly wife of Joseph Baldwin, 
 and mother of said John Baldwin, 
 convey to Richard Barry, of Chester, 
 25 acres, which Thomas Baldwin, late 
 of Chester, blacksmith, conveyed Nov. 
 20, 1708, to his son, Joseph, who built 
 a messuage thereon, and died intestate. 
 ;^3o paid to John, and 20 shillings to 
 his mother. 
 
 The statement hereinbefore made, 
 that the estate of Mrs. Marshall de- 
 scended to and vested in her relatives 
 on the mother's side, because there 
 were no descendants in the Armor 
 line, is apparently erroneous; but not 
 so in reality. The property descend- 
 ed to Mrs. Marshall from her mother, . 
 who inherited it from her mother, and 
 for that reason, it descended, as a mat- 
 ter of law, to her heirs on the mother's 
 side, she having no brothers or sisters 
 to inherit her property. I make this 
 explanation because I believe there are 
 descendants of other branches of the 
 Armor family living in this State. 
 
 Family tradition says, the Bond's 
 of our family were Swedes, but I have 
 some doubts on the subject ; they may 
 have been English. In the list of 
 Tydable persons in 1677, will be found 
 the names of Andries Boen and Swen 
 Boen. Record of Upland Court, '^. 79. 
 In the list of Swedes, Acrelius, 190, 
 are the names of Anders, Johan and 
 Sven Bonde, and at p. 193, Anders 
 Bonde and Peter Rambo, are men- 
 tioned as still living, having been born 
 in Sweden, and "have been here 
 fifty-four years," showing that they 
 came over in 1639. Mr. Clay says, 
 Bonde has become Boon. Acrelius, 
 p. 203, mentions "Bond's Island," 
 and in a note says, "Bond's Island, 
 so-called from the Bonde family, which 
 was settled there." Bonde is Swed- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 107 
 
 ish, pronounced Boon-da, meaning a 
 peasant or farm- laborer. This pro- 
 nunciation accounts for the name be- 
 coming Boone. Bond's Island is call- 
 ed on the old maps Boon's Island, also 
 Minquas Island ; it lies near the south- 
 ern boundary of Philadelphia in King- 
 sessing, surrounded by small streams, 
 "being north-east of Bow creek, and 
 formed by Kingsess and Boon's or 
 Church cr. flowing into Bow cr. ;" 
 so says Wescott, in his History of Phil- 
 adelphia, Chaps. IV., XV., and xlvi. 
 He also says, " Andries Swanson 
 Boone seems to have owned it even 
 before the days of Upland Court. An- 
 dries Boon took up 200 acres from 
 Upland Court, June 14, 168 1. In a 
 list of Swedish families (1693), are the 
 names of Anders Bonde and Sven 
 Bonde, who were precisely the same 
 persons called, sometimes, Boone." 
 From the old maps, Boon's Island, 
 appears to me to be surrounded by 
 Bow cr.. Church cr., Minquas kill and 
 Darby creek. 
 
 In the will of Jame.j Bond, of Bal- 
 timore, dated Aug. 22, 1808, proven 
 Jan. 14, 1809, registered at Philadel- 
 phia, 1843, Book 16, 326, he devises 
 to his beloved wife, &c., except such 
 parts as have been heretofore conveyed 
 to his daughter, Maria Hatton, the fol- 
 lowing tracts of land, that is to say : 
 " Part oi James' first attempt, formerly 
 Bond's Neck re-surveyed; partof ^/z- 
 dreid' s neglect, and part o{ Limb rick." 
 Although these designations seem odd 
 at this day, they were not uncommon 
 at the time the will was made. For 
 instance, " Lanigan's Patch," and 
 " Dingman's Choice," are somewhat 
 famous pieces of land in the interior 
 of the State; or to come home, " Am- 
 mesland," in Delaware County, is a 
 well-known tract. Bond's Neck was 
 
 15 
 
 probably in the vicinity of Bond's 
 Island. 
 
 I have a cojjy of a survey and plan 
 of the town of Chichester, made by 
 Isaac Taylor, Surveyor of Chester 
 County, about 1701, on which the 
 town lots are all laid down. On the 
 east side of the market place are five 
 lots ; beginning at the north, is Roger 
 Jackson's lot, then the Proprietor's, 
 then William Thomas' and two lots 
 of Walter Martin ; on the west side 
 are two lots laid out, one to Wm. 
 Clayton, Jr., the other to Walter Mar- 
 tin. It was on one of these latter 
 lots that the residence of Ann Mar- 
 shall (my grandmother's cousin,) stood, 
 opposite the market-house, now torn 
 down, all of which my mother dis- 
 tinctly remembers, this lot Ann (Arm- 
 or) Marshall inherited from her mo- 
 ther, Elizabeth (Bond) Armor, who 
 inherited them from her mother, Eli- 
 zabeth (Martin) Bond, daughter of 
 Walter and Jane (Bushal) Martin. On 
 the plan referred to, eight dwelling 
 houses are depicted on ffront Street, ■ 
 facing the river ; to the east of Broad 
 Street are the residences of Jer. Collett, 
 J. Bond, Collett, and Boss; to the west, 
 the residences of William Clayton, J. 
 fiflower, a mill, a stable, and the farm 
 houses of Richard Bezer and William 
 Hughes, (properly Hewes. ) The whole 
 lot, except the two lots of Wm. Clay- 
 ton, Jr., and Walter Martin, (the latter 
 on Discord Lane,)"west of Broad Street, 
 north of Discord Lane for some dis- 
 tance, is noted as the property of Wil- 
 liam Clayton. On the east side of 
 Broad Street north of Market Lane, 
 are lots of Joseph Cloud, J. Clemson, 
 Jackson, Howell, and Walter Martin. 
 On the west side of New Street, from 
 Discord Lane to Market Lane, the en- 
 tire lot is marked " W. Martin," north 
 
108 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 of Market Lane a lot of Walter Martin ; 
 the rest John Grubb ; east of New Street, 
 south of Discord Lane is also John 
 Gruhb's land ; north of the lane, John 
 Humphrey's land. 
 
 The following account of the Cran- 
 ston family, formerly of Marcus Hook, 
 is exceedingly interesting. It is stated 
 that the original settler at Hook of 
 this name came from Rhode Island, 
 and was a son of (}ov. John Cran- 
 ston of that Colony. It is well known 
 that a son of Gov. Oanston failed 
 in business and went South. In those 
 da\s it was deemed a great disgrace 
 to fail. And from the tenor of the 
 will of Elizabeth Cranston, of Chi- 
 chester, proven Sept. i, 1756, regis- 
 tered at West Chester, she appears to 
 have been his widow, as she mentions 
 a son, William Cranston, from whom 
 the family of Cranston, now of New- 
 port, Delaware, are descended. Wil- 
 liam is said to have been born in 1 734, 
 and died in 181 1, aged 77 years. His 
 father dying when -he was about 12 
 years of age. It is quite probable that 
 he was born at a later period, perhaps 
 in 1743, as Elizabeth Cranston was the 
 widow Bond, May 30, 1 738. He (Wm. 
 Cranston) married Mrs. Ann Ford, a 
 widow, with three sons and one daugh- 
 ter ; her maiden name was Johnson. 
 She had two sisters, Rachel, married 
 to Adam Prince, and Betty to a Lamp- 
 high. Mrs. Ford's children by her first 
 marriage, were, Benjamin Ford, who 
 settled in New Jersey, Jacob and Wil- 
 liam, in Philadelphia, and Elizabeth, 
 ;//. 1st, Robert Fergueson, 2d, John 
 Keys, of Chester. Mrs. Ford's bro- 
 ther, Humphrey Johnson, has descen- 
 dants who reside in Chester, or its 
 vicinity. The Fords were ship-carpen- 
 ters. 
 
 William and Ann Ford Cranston's 
 
 children were, Benjamin, died aged 
 21 years; Simon, Ann and Hannah. 
 W^illiam Cranston was a ship-carpen- 
 ter, at Hook, and served his appren- 
 ticeship there with Simon Sherlock, 
 after whom he named one of his sons, 
 who afterwards, in early life, became 
 a ship-carpenter, at Hook ; but later 
 removed to Stanton, Del., where he 
 married Mary Marshall, dau. of Wil- 
 liam and Mary (Tatnall), formerly of 
 Concord, who had settled near Stan- 
 ton and purchased a mill property 
 there. Mrs. Marshall's parents, the 
 Tatnall's, lived on the Brandywine. 
 She was born 8 mo, 4, 1775. The 
 Marshalls were Quakers. 
 
 Simon Cranston, was born 11 mo. 
 10, 1768, died I mo. 10, 1856. The 
 following is extracted from a Wilming- 
 ton paper. '^ Ati Old Citizen Gone. — 
 Simon Cranston, died at his residence 
 near Stanton, last month, at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-eight years. He 
 was a native of Delaware County, Pa., 
 and his parents resided near Marcus 
 Hook, which place was fired on by 
 the British fleet, and he with others 
 gathered up the bullets which had fallen 
 on the ground, or been driven into the 
 trees. In coming into Delaware, he 
 located near Stanton, improved his 
 farm, reared a large family, accumu- 
 lated wealth, enjoyed in a large de- 
 gree the respect and esteem of his 
 neighbors, and has gone down to the 
 grave full of years." 
 
 The children of Simon and Mary 
 Cranston were, William, I). 7 mo. 16, 
 1797, jn. Mary Johnson; Joseph, b. 
 8 mo. 25, 1799, '''• Hannah Kelly; 
 Mary Ann, w. Samuel P. Johnson ; 
 Eliza, />. 8 mo. 27, 1805, m. Alexan- 
 der Armstrong; James, b. 9 mo. 29, 
 1807, in. Jan. 28, 1836, Eleanor Arm- 
 i strong, dau. of John and Elizabeth, /^ 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 109 
 
 Feb. 28, 1814; Samuel, b. 10 mo. 7, 
 1809; Sarah, b. 11 mo. 9, 1811, ;//. 
 Ellis P. Wilkinson ; Benjamin, b. 8 
 ■mo. 23, 1814, m. Hannah Wilkinson. 
 James and Eleanor (Armstrong) 
 Cranston, had issue, Mary Elizabeth, 
 b. June 2, 1837, ///. Robert C. Justis ; 
 Ella Frances, b. Aug. 28, 1839 ; John 
 A. b. Jan. i, 1843, ^'^- Martha Church- 
 man ; Samuel Marshall, b. July 7, 
 1846, m. Ellen F. Lyman ; and Edwin 
 James, b. Oct. 4, 1847; and Sarah El- 
 kn and Ida Paulina, who died young, 
 unmarried. The Armstrongs came 
 from Ireland, and were purchasers 
 from Penn of land in Christiana Hun- 
 dred, Del., on which their descendants 
 still reside. 
 
 The incidents connected with the 
 attack of the British fleet on Marcus 
 Hook, as related by Simon Cranston, 
 are worthy of preservation. He was 
 quite young, but the events made a 
 powerful impression upon him. He 
 says: — "The fleet lay opposite the 
 town, and the Continental' Light-horse 
 Cavalry were stationed back of the 
 village. My parents' dwelling lay 
 between the two forces. The fleet 
 fired on the troops, and the British 
 sent a boat ashore, and an oflficer 
 told my mother to take her children 
 into the cellar; in her fright she took 
 them outside of the house and down 
 into the cellar in that way exposed to 
 the flying balls." William Cranston 
 finding his family so much exposed at 
 Marcus Hook, thought to seek safety 
 by flight ; so after burying all his val- 
 uables, he removed to Chadd's Ford, 
 where he soon found himself and fam- 
 ily surrounded by the opposing British 
 and American armies, and Simon had 
 the great honor, one night, of sharing 
 his bed with Washington. When the 
 British were in their neighborhood, 
 
 they came and offered money for com- 
 forts : but of course the Americans 
 dare not take any money, so the British 
 helped themselves and threw down the 
 money. They were not so particular 
 after the battle of Brandywine. 
 
 In the Providence Gazette of Oct. 
 3, 1813, will be found a Genealogical 
 sketch of the families of Cranston, Craw- 
 ford, &c. , prepared by the Hon. T. Fos- 
 ter, which is very curious. I insert here a 
 certificate of the Lyon King of Arms 
 of Scotland, as to the " Predecessors 
 of the Cranstons," viz: 
 
 "To all and sundry persons whom 
 these presents do or may concern : I, sir 
 Alexander Areskine of Cambo, Knight 
 and Baronet, Lyon Kingof Arms of that 
 part of Great Britian called Scotland 
 and Isles and Dependencies thereof, 
 Sendeth Greetings : — Whereas I have 
 taken to my consideration the applica- 
 tion made to me as Lyon King of Arms 
 aforesaid, in name and behalf of Sam- 
 uel Cranston, sometime Governor of 
 Rhode Island on the coast of New Eng- 
 land, son to the deceased John Cran- 
 ston, sometime Governor of said Island, 
 of Scottish extract for an authentic Di- 
 ploma or Certificate of his genealogy 
 and descent ; of the Coat of Arms pro- 
 per for him ; and having made all in- 
 quiry into said matter,do therefore here- 
 by certify and declare, that the said 
 John Cranston was lawful son of James 
 Cranston Master of Arts and one of the 
 Chaplains of his late Sacred Majesty 
 King Charles 1st, of ever blessed memo- 
 ry, which James Cranston was lawful son 
 to John Cranston of Bool, and Chris- 
 tian his wife, daughter to Sir Robert 
 Stewart, predecessor to the Earl of Fra- 
 quair, which John was a younger son 
 of James Cranston, brother to John, 
 Lord Cranston and Elizabeth his wife, 
 daughter to Francis Stewart, Earl of 
 
110 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 BothwcU, and wliicli James Cranston 
 was son to William, Lord Cranston and 
 Helen his wife, daughter of Lindsay, 
 predecessor to the Earl of Crawford. 
 And the Ensign Armorial of the said 
 Samuel Cranston are matriculated and 
 recorded in the Registers of my office, 
 and thus blazoned, viz : — Gules, three 
 Cranes, argent, with a bordure embat- 
 tled of the second, above the Shield and 
 Helmet befitting his degree, with man- 
 tle gules doubling, argent, and on a 
 wreath of his colors is set for his Crest, 
 a crane, passant. Motto — D//m Vigilo 
 Curo, which Coat above blazoned I 
 ratify, assign and confirm to the said 
 Samuel Cranston and his heirs in time 
 coming, as their proper Coat of Arms 
 and Bearing. 
 
 In testimony whereof, I have sub- 
 scribed these presents with my hand, 
 and have caused to be appended my 
 Seal of Office hereto, at Edinburgh the 
 29th day of June, 1724. 
 
 Alex.-vnder Areskine, Lyon." 
 
 See Heraldic Journal, 3 vol. pp. 59, 
 60-1, for a copy of the memorial stone 
 of Gov. John Cranston of Rhode Island, 
 with some remarks as to his ancestry. 
 
 Westcott in his history of Philadel- 
 phia, chap. 416, says: — " Adolph 
 Ulrick Wertmuller, a native of Sweden , 
 after having i)ainted in Europe, came 
 to America, at the age of forty-four 
 years, in the year 1794, and settled at 
 l'hiladeli)hia. He brought with him 
 someof hisi)aintings, which were great- 
 ly admired. President Washington sat 
 to him. He re-copied, it is said, for 
 James Hamilton, the portraits of the 
 Hamilton family, and then Hamilton 
 destroyed the originals. Wertmuller 
 went back to Europe in 1796, where 
 he lost money by the failure of a great 
 house in Stockholm. He came l)ack 
 to Philadelphia in uSoo, and brought 
 
 with him his celebrated i)icture of 
 Dance, which, being a nude figure, was 
 exhibited only to such as might apply 
 to view it ; and from the exhibitions 
 Wertmuller received a handsome in- 
 come. He remained in Philadelphia 
 Some years, married a lady of Swedish 
 descent, who brought him considerable 
 property, and finally removed to Mar- 
 cus Hook, Delaware County, where he 
 lived until his death, in 1812. His 
 pictures were sold at auction shortly 
 after his death and brought good prices. 
 For a copy of his Danae five hundred 
 dollars were paid." 
 
 In an article in the U. S. Gazette, 
 Nov. 7, 1817, it is said : — '' A^ Marcus 
 Hook, is the place memorable as the 
 encampment of our Martial youth dur- 
 ing the threatened attack of the enemy 
 on Philadeli:)hia, a party was formed to 
 pay it a visit. The camp was laid out 
 about eighty perches from the Main 
 road, on an elevated spot, but now af- 
 fords nothing worth describing. We 
 stopt awhile at the public house ' Spread 
 Eagle,'' printed on the sign, but there 
 was no appearance of the bird, he had 
 probably been frightened away by the 
 military preparations in the neighl)or- 
 hood. Marcus Hook was anciently 
 called Chichester, but the name was 
 changed by Wm. Penn at the recpiest 
 of the inhabitants. Why it received 
 its present name I found no one who 
 could inform me. The place has three 
 taverns, a market house, and an E])is- 
 copal church and two or three stores, 
 but does not seem to be flourishing." 
 
 NoTK. — The name of the present Rector of 
 St. Martin's Church, is the Rev. GusTAVus 
 Ci.ACOETT Bird, and not I-evi Bird, as giyen 
 in the list on page 96. 
 
 XII. 
 
 In 1699, William Penn and his 
 family left England for America, in- 
 
IIISTOKY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Ill 
 
 tending to take up his permanent resi- 
 dence in his Province. He arrived in 
 the Delaware in November, and landed 
 at Chester, where he passed the night 
 at the residence of Lydia Wade, the 
 widow of Robert, meeting there Thom- 
 as Story, who had just returned from 
 Virginia. Before going on board of 
 his vessel in the morning, he visited the 
 town, crossing to the east side of the 
 creek in a boat. As he landed, some 
 of the young men of the town, who, 
 in defiance of the orders of the town 
 authorities, had procured two small 
 cannon, commenced to fire a salute in 
 honor of the visit of the Proprietary. 
 One of them, B. Bevan, was severely 
 wounded by a premature discharge of 
 one of the pieces, having inserted the 
 cartridge before it had been sponged 
 out after the previous discharge. His 
 left arm was so badly injured, that it 
 had to be amputated, and he died in 
 the following April. The Proprietor's 
 cash-book shows, that he paid all the 
 expenses of attending, nursing and 
 burying the unfortunate youth. 
 
 William Penn, was a tall slender 
 man, remarkably graceful, and not at 
 all like what Benjamin West represents 
 him in his picture. He dressed in the 
 costume of a gentleman of his period, 
 and did not wear the style of dress in 
 which West and others have repre- 
 sented him, that being the dress of a 
 century later. 
 
 It was during this visit of the Pro- 
 prietary to America, that he granted 
 the following 
 
 Charter to the Borough of Chester. 
 " Preamble. — William Penn, true and abso- 
 lute Proprietary and Governor in Chief of the 
 Province of Pennsylvania & Territories there- 
 unto belonging. To All to whom these pre- 
 ents shall come sends Greeting. Whereas, 
 in my first Regulation and Division of the 
 ('(•unties of this Province, I thought tit to 
 
 order, That the Townsted or Village there 
 having the name of Upland, should be called 
 Chester, which I thereupon constituted the 
 Shire-town of the County of Chester, and or- 
 dered and appointed all my Courts of Judica- 
 ture for the affairs of that County to be there 
 held and kept, and the County Gaol or Prison 
 to be and remain there forever. And Where- 
 as, about the same time, or soon after, for the 
 Encouragement of the said Town, I was pleas- 
 ed to grant unto my ancient friend, yohn Sim- 
 cock, in behalf of himself and others the In- 
 habitants of the said Place, the Privilege of a 
 Market, to be there weekly held and kept. 
 After which the said Inhabitants, upon their 
 special Instance, did also obtain from my late 
 Lieutenant Governor and Council a Grant for 
 two Fairs to be held in said Town yearly. All 
 which the inhabitants of said Town, and of 
 the adjacent Parts of said County of Chester, 
 having humbly besought me to confirm unto 
 them, together with such additional Privileges 
 & Franchises as I may think fit or requisite 
 for the better Encouragement of the Settlers 
 & Regulation of trade therein. Now Know 
 YE, that I favoring the just and reasonable 
 Request of said Inhabitants, have of my own 
 free Will erected, and do by these Presents for 
 me, my Heirs & Successors, erect the said 
 Town into a Burrough, which Town & Bur- 
 rough shall extend from the River Delaware 
 two miles backwards into the woods ; and 
 shall be bounded Eastward by the West side 
 of Ridley creek, and Westward by the East 
 side of Chester creek, to the said extent of two 
 miles backward from the River, and shall ever 
 hereafter be called Chester. And I further 
 will, that the Streets, Landing & Market place 
 in said Town shall forever hereafter be, con- 
 tinue and remain, as they are already, and 
 have lately been laid out and modelled & ap- 
 proved by me and my Council, then sitting at 
 New Castle. 
 
 "And I do hereby name and constitute 
 Jasper Yeates, Ralph Fishbourn, Paul Saun- 
 ders and Robert Barber, to be the present 
 Burgesses, and James Lownes, High Consta- 
 ble of the said Burrough, who shall continue 
 until the loth day of the 1st month next, on 
 which Day, as also on the same Day in the 
 same month yearly afterwards forever, it shall 
 and may be lawful to and for the Freeholders 
 and Housekeepers of said Town and Burrough 
 puhlickly to meet in some convenient Place, 
 
112 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 within the said Town, to be by them appoint- 
 ed for that Purpose, and then and there nom- 
 inate, elect and choose by the Ballot of the 
 Inhabitants of the said Town, fit and able 
 men to be Burgesses, and High Constable, 
 with such other officers, as by the Burgesses 
 and Freeman shall be judged needful for 
 assisting and serving the Burgesses in manag- 
 ing the Affairs of the said Burrough, and keep- 
 ing of the Peace therein from time to time. 
 And the Burgess first chosen in said Elec- 
 tions, shall be called Chief Burgess of the said 
 Town. 
 
 " And I will and ordain, That all the said 
 Burgesses for the time being shall be, and are 
 hereby empowered and authorized to be Con- 
 servators of the Peace within the said Bur- 
 rough, and shall have Power by themselves 
 and upon their own view, without any law 
 proceeding, to remove all Nuisances and En- 
 croachments out of said streets as they shall 
 sec occasion. With power also to arrest, im- 
 prison and punish Rioters and Breakers of the 
 Peace, and to bind them and all other Offen- 
 ders and Persons of evil fame to the Peace or 
 good Behavior, as fully and effectually as any 
 of the Justices of the Peace of the said County 
 can do, and return or bring the Recogniz- 
 ances by them to be taken to the Court of 
 Quarter Sessions for the said County. And 
 that tlie said Chief Burgess from time to time, 
 shall by virtue of these Presents, without any 
 further or other Commission, be one of the 
 Justices of the Peace, and one of the Justices 
 of the County Court and Quarter Sessions, 
 Oyer and Terminer and Gaol Delivery in and 
 for the said County of Chester. And shall 
 have full Power and Authority with the rest of 
 the said County-Justices, or a Quorum of them, 
 or l)y liimself, where the Laws of this Province, 
 &c., directs one Justice to award Process, and 
 to hold pleas cognizable by and before the 
 Justices of the said County of Chester, from 
 time to time. 
 
 " And I do hereby grant and appoint, that 
 the Sheriff and Clerk of the Courts of the said 
 County of Chester for the time being, if not 
 residents in said Burrough, shall appoint and 
 constitute sufficient Deputies, who shall from 
 time to lime reside or constantly attend in said 
 Town of Chester, to perform the duties of their 
 respective offices. But before any of said 
 Burgcs.^es, Constal)les or oilier officers, shall 
 take U| on llicm the Execution of their resjiec- 
 
 tive offices, they shall subscribe to the Decla- 
 ration and Profession of their Christian Belief 
 according to the late Act of Parliament made 
 in the first year of the Reign of King Wil- 
 liam, and the late Queen Mary, entitled ' An 
 Act for exempting their Majesties Protestant 
 Subjects dissenting from the Church of Eng- 
 land, from Penalties of certain Eaws.' And 
 they that are to be newly elected for Burges- 
 ses, Constables and other officers, from time to 
 time, shall be Attested for due Execution of 
 their respective offices, and shall subscribe the 
 said Declaration and Profession of Belief be- 
 fore the old Burgesses, or such of them as go 
 off and are not again Chosen in the new Elec- 
 tions. But in case the old Burgesses are all 
 chosen by the new Elections, then they shall 
 have power, and they are hereby empowered 
 and qualified to act upon their former Attests 
 and Qualifications. And I do further grant 
 and ordain, that the High Constable of the 
 said Burrough for the Time being shall be 
 Clerk of the Market, who shall and may have 
 Assize of Bread, Wine, Beer, Wood and other 
 things; and to execute and perform all things 
 belonging to the office of Clerk of the Market 
 within the said Town & Burrough of Chester. 
 "And I do for me, my Heirs & Assigns, 
 grant unto the said Burgesses & their Succes- 
 sors, That if any of the Inhabitants of the said 
 Town and Burrough shall be hereafter elected 
 to the office of Burgess or Con.stable as afore- 
 said, and having notice of his or their Election, 
 shall refuse to undertake and execute that 
 office to which he is so chosen, it shall ])e 
 lawful for the Burgess or Burgesses then act- 
 ing, to impose moderate Fines upon the Re- 
 fusers, so as the Burgess's Fine exceed not 
 Ten Pounds, and the Constable's Fine Five 
 Pou7ids ; to be levied by Distress and Sale, by 
 Warrant under the Hand & Seal of one or 
 more of the Burgesses, or by other lawful ways, 
 to the Use of the said Town. And in such 
 cases it shall be lawful for the said Inhabitants 
 forthwith to choose others to supply the Defects 
 of such Refusers. And it shall and may be 
 lawful for the said Burgesses and Constable 
 for the Time being, to summon and assemble 
 Town-meetings from time to time as often as 
 they shall find Occasion. At which Meeting 
 they may make such Ordinances and Rules 
 (not repugnant or inconsistent with the Inws 
 of this Province), as to the greater part of the 
 Town-meeting shall seem necessary and conve- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 113 
 
 nient for the good Government of the said Town. 
 And the same Rules & Ordinances to put in 
 Execution, and the same to revoke, alter and 
 make anew, as occasion shall require. And 
 also to impose such Mulcts and Amerciaments 
 upon Breakers of said Ordinances as to the 
 Makers thereof shall be thought reasonable; 
 to be levied as above directed in cases of Fines, 
 to the use of the Town, without rendering any 
 account thereof to me, my Heirs or Assigns, 
 with Power also to said Meetings to mitigate 
 or release the said Fines and Mulcts upon the 
 submission of the parties. 
 
 "And I do further grant to the said Bur- 
 gesses and inhabitants of the aforesaid Town 
 and Burrough of Chester, that they and their 
 successors shall and may forever hereafte'r hold 
 and keep within the said town in every week 
 of the year, one Market in the fifth day of the 
 week, called Thursday: And also two Fairs 
 therein every year, the first of them to begin 
 the fifth day of the third month called May, 
 and to continue that day and two days after ; 
 and the other said Fair "to begin the fifth day 
 of October, and to continue to the seventh day 
 of the same month, in such place and places 
 in said town as the Burgesses shall from time 
 to time order and appoint. 
 
 " And I do further grant, that neither I -nor 
 my Heirs or Assigns shall or will seize any of 
 the Liberties or Franchises hereby granted, 
 nor take any Advantage against said Burrough 
 for non-using or waiving the present Execution 
 of any of the Powers or Privileges hereby 
 granted. 
 
 "In witness whereof I have hereunto set 
 my Hand and caused my Great Seal to l)e 
 affixed. Dated the one and thirtieth Day of 
 October, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
 seven hundred and one, 1 701. 
 
 William Penn." 
 
 Recorded in Patent Book, vol. ii., p. 138. 
 
 Chester was incorporated as a Bo- 
 rough by Act of Assembly of March 
 5, 1795. See Law Book No. 5, p. 
 387. And for all acts relative thereto, 
 see BeiteV s Digest of Corporations, 
 under the head of Boroughs. 
 
 By act of Assembly of Feb. 14, 1866, 
 Chester was incorporated as a City. 
 ':^eQ Pamphlet Latas of 1S66, p. 30, «S:c. 
 
 Under that Act, Abraham Blakeley, 
 William Hinkson, John O. Deshong, 
 George Baker, William Frick, Crosby 
 P. Morton, Joshua P. Eyre, John H. 
 Barton, Abraham R. Perkins, Fre- 
 derick Fairlamb, Samuel Ulrick and 
 William B. Reaney, were named Com- 
 missioners for certain purposes enu- 
 merated therein, and the citizens were 
 authorized to elect a Common Coun- 
 cil of fifteen person. 
 
 In regard to the mooted question, 
 whether there ever was a Swedish 
 church erected at Upland ? I think I 
 may safely say, in view of all the evi- 
 dence on the subject, that there never 
 was such a structure built at that place. 
 Had there ever been one, the Rev. J. 
 C. Clay, D. D., would have naturally 
 referred to it in his "Annals of the 
 Swedes on the Delaware." And it 
 would have been mentioned in the 
 conveyance of the Church lands at 
 Chester to David Lloyd, in 1693, by 
 the Church Wardens of the Swedish 
 congregation at Wiccacoe, for in all old 
 deeds of that time, all the improve- 
 ments are carefully set forth; in veri- 
 fication thereof, I need only refer to 
 the conveyance of Hans Jurianson 
 Kien to his brother Jonas Jur. Kien, 
 on the 2 2d of March, 1698, herein- 
 before fully set out. But what settles 
 the question in my mind, is the order 
 made at a special Court, held by the 
 Governor at New Castle, in 1675, 
 " That the church at Tinicum Island 
 do continue as heretofore ; that it serve 
 for Uplands and parts adjacent." 
 Hazard's Annals, p. 417. There 
 was therefore no church edifice at 
 Upland in 1675. It may be observ- 
 ed, that the Swedish Church is Epis- 
 copal in its order of Christian minis- 
 try, and holds to a liturgical service. 
 
 We know that there was a Swedish 
 
114 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 minister at Lapland, tlic Rc\-. Laurence 
 Lock, /. e., Laurentius Carolus, who 
 came over to America in the time of the 
 Swedish Governor, Lieut. Col. Printz, 
 and officiated in the Swedish churches 
 at Tinicum and Christina. He died 
 in 1668, after having served as min- 
 ister and schoohiiaster for 26 years, 
 in the settlements on the Delaware. 
 There was no necessity for a church 
 at Upland. The number of its in- 
 habitants would not have justified the 
 erection of one ; for the number of 
 taxables in 1677, was only seventeen, 
 and but seven of them were Swedes ; 
 besides this the Swedes were eminently 
 a maritime people, who preferred tra- 
 velling by water to any other mode. 
 The church at Tinicum, was only a 
 short sail or row from Upland, especi- 
 ally when the wind or tide was favor- 
 able. It is quite probable, that the 
 Rev. Mr. Lock held occasional reli- 
 gious services at Upland in private 
 houses, or in the " House of Defence," 
 just as the Friends did before they 
 erected their meeting-house in 1693. 
 I am aware, that the Duke' s Laws 
 concerning the public worship of God 
 were in force here in 1677, which di- 
 rected a church should be built in 
 in each parish, of a size to accommo- 
 date 200 persons ; but evidently Up- 
 land was not a parish separate from 
 Tinicum. 
 
 The block-houses which the Swedes 
 erected for refuge and defence, were 
 often used as places in which to hold 
 religious services. So that as long as 
 the "House of Defence" remained, 
 there was no use of erecting a church 
 at Upland. Clay, in speaking of the 
 original church at Wicaco, says, at 
 page 57, in a note: "This church 
 was originally a l)l()ck-house. It is 
 not known when it was ])uilt ; but it 
 
 was first used as a place of worship in 
 1677. It had loop-holes, and occu- 
 pied the site of the present church." 
 He gives a picture of the rude struc- 
 ture, or block-house. No doubt the 
 " House of Defence" at Upland, was 
 a "fort," of a like character and ap- 
 ])earance ; as the representations of 
 nearly all like erections of defence 
 built about the same period, bear a 
 strong resemblance to each other, as 
 if they were constructed from the same 
 model. 
 
 Lewis, in his History of Chester 
 County, says: "The Swedes had a 
 church upon Tinicum Island, to which 
 they came in canoes from New Castle, 
 and other places along the Delaware, 
 both above and below the island. 
 They then went from place to place, 
 principally by water. There was a 
 store at Darby, which they often visit- 
 ed, and always in their^anoes; though 
 the distance by water was twice that 
 by land." 
 
 In Dr. Perry's Collections, vol. ii., 
 (Pennsylvania,) p. 503, he states : " At 
 New Castle the church is built on a 
 plot of ground where formerly was a 
 fort." I quote this as further evidence 
 that the Swedish forts or block-houses, 
 were used for churches and other pub- 
 lic purposes, more especially after they 
 became useless as a means of defence 
 against the savages and other foes. 
 
 There is no record in existence, that 
 we know of, which shows where the 
 first Episcopal congregation assembled 
 in the town of Chester. Nor can the 
 precise date be determined, conclu- 
 sively, when the erection of the old 
 church of St. Paul's was commenced, 
 but it was finished in July, 1 702. The 
 church records do not go back of the 
 14th of April, 1 704. The Rev. Richard 
 I). Hall, when pastor of the church, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 115 
 
 wrote a sketch of its history, and fixes 
 the probable date of its erection ' ' about 
 the year 1650 or '60, and that the 
 Swedes were probably the first found- 
 ers." I am sorry to say of my old 
 pastor, that his statement shows a 
 want of proper research, concerning 
 the matter about which he was writ- 
 ing. We know that there was no 
 church edifice in Upland in 1675, 
 from the order of the Governor, Sir 
 Edmund Andross, read at the Court 
 at New Castle, on the 23rd day of 
 May, 1675. However, Mr. Hall 
 evinces, very properly, some doubt 
 upon the subject of his early dates, 
 and says, "The Swedes may have 
 erected a church in 1682." This 
 latter guess no doubt grew out of the 
 old Chester tradition, that "James 
 Sandilands, who died in 1692, gave 
 the lot to the congregation to erect the 
 old church on, and that he was one of 
 the original founders." But this is 
 also an error. Yet there are good 
 grounds for the story ; for it was his 
 son James, to whom the church is so 
 much indebted for his liberality, as 
 has been heretofore stated, and will 
 be hereinafter shown. 
 
 Dr. Smith says, pp. 202, 208 and Ap- 
 pendix F., writing of the year 1701 : 
 " Evidence of the existence of Episco- 
 pal organizations within the limits of 
 our county, now begin to dawn upon 
 us. In the History of the Society for 
 the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
 Parts, we are told that ' The Swedes 
 and Dutch who settled in this Province 
 (Pennsylvania) had some Ministers 
 among them ; but the English had none 
 till the year 1 700, when the Rev. Mr. 
 Evans was sent over to Philadelphia, 
 by Bishop Crompton.' After describ- 
 ing the labors and success of Mr. 
 Evans, the author goes on to say: 'A 
 
 hearty love and zeal for religion spread 
 so wide, that there arose soon several 
 congregations in other parts of the 
 country. Mr. Evans was forced to di- 
 vide his labors among them, as often 
 as he conveniently could, till they might 
 be formed into proper Districts, and 
 the Ministers sent over to them. He 
 went frequently to Chester, Chichester 
 and Concord, to Montgomery and 
 Radnor, each about 20 miles distant 
 from Philadelphia, and to Maidenhead 
 in New Jersey, 40 miles distant. This 
 traveling was both fatiguing and ex- 
 pensive, yet he frequently visited those 
 places, being determined by all means, 
 to lose none of those he had gained.' 
 There is no notice of a Church edifice 
 existing at either of the places named, 
 except Philadelphia." 
 
 In 1704 the Society received a let- 
 ter from the vestry at Chester in Penn- 
 sylvania, full of religious sentiment, 
 "that they did bless God who had put 
 it into the hearts of so many charitable 
 persons, to engage in the great work 
 of promoting the salvation of such as 
 were so widely removed from all con- 
 venience of Divine worship as they 
 were, till the Christian charity of the 
 Society, not only procured a Minis- 
 ter for them, but also supported him. 
 This truly was absolutely necessary, for 
 though in some parts of that province, 
 and particularly in and about Philadel- 
 phia, abundance of souls were daily 
 added to the church, yet the number of 
 this parish being small, and the charge 
 of building their church, then not quite 
 finished, together with the great scarci- 
 ty of money among them since the war 
 with Spain, had quite disenabled them 
 from taking that weight from the Soci- 
 ety, which otherwise they would have 
 willingly done. They never before had 
 grounds to hope the Gospel would be 
 
116 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 projiagatcd in these al)ove all other 
 foreign jjarts, till they found themselves 
 the subjects of the Society's care." 
 
 ' ' The people of Chester county show- 
 ed very early zeal to have the Church of 
 England worship settled among them. 
 This county is so called because most of 
 the first inhabitants of it came from 
 Cheshire in England. Chester the chief 
 town of the county is finely situate on the 
 river Delaware, at that place three miles 
 over; the Road forshipi)ing here is very 
 commodious and safe, and is so large 
 that a Royal Navy might ride there. 
 The people here were stirred up by Mr. 
 Evans' preaching, to engage in build- 
 ing a church. They erected a very 
 good Brick Fabric, one of the neatest 
 on the continent, and completed it in 
 July, 1702, at the sole expense of the 
 private subscriptions of the church 
 members ; it was opened on St. Paul's 
 day, and therefore called St. Paul's, 
 and Mr. George Keith preached the 
 first sermon in it. The Society ap- 
 pointed Rev. Mr. Nichols Missionary 
 in 1703. He acquainted the Society 
 in 1 704, that he found the people very 
 well inclined to the Church of England, 
 and recommended them earnestly to 
 the Society's care on account of their 
 good disposition, tho' they had not any 
 fixed minister till now. The people 
 made a subscription of jQdo a year'tow- 
 ards Mr. Nichols' support, and became 
 very regular and constant at divine wor- 
 ship. Mr. Nichols said he did not 
 want for a considerable congregation 
 on his first arrival, notwithstanding his 
 being seated in the midst of Quakers, 
 and ascribes this advantage to the in- 
 dustrious preaching of the Society of 
 Itinerant Missionaries, the Rev. Mr. 
 Keith and Mr. Talbot, who had pre- 
 pared the people very much by their 
 labors. Mr. Jasper Yates and Mr. 
 
 James Sandilands (the younger) two 
 worthy gentlemen of this place, deserve 
 particular mention here. They were 
 the principal promoters of the building 
 of this church. Mr. Thomas Powell 
 also gave a valuable piece of ground for 
 a Minister's garden (the lot on which 
 the new church now stands) the par- 
 ishioners contributing the rest ; and as 
 .soon as the outside was completed, the 
 inside was beautified mostly at the ex- 
 pense of those who frequented it, and 
 adorned with decent furniture, a hand- 
 some Pulpit and Pews." — See Humph- 
 ries Historical Account of the Incor- 
 porated Society for Propagating the 
 Gospel in Foreign Parts, to the year 
 1728 — London, 1730, pp. 151, 152 
 and 154. 
 
 Mr. Nichols continued in charge of 
 St. Paul's till 1708, when he removed 
 to Maryland. The Rev. George Ross, 
 from New^ Castle, succeeded him, " in 
 July, 1708, by y^ Bishop of London's 
 leave, and about two years later he 
 went for England, and having his de- 
 sire returned to Chester in Septem- 
 ber, 1 71 1," and remained in charge of 
 Chester, Marcus Hook and Concord 
 churches until 1714, when the Rev. 
 John Humphreys, another of the Soci- 
 ety's missionaries, was placed in charge 
 of the Chester church. At this time 
 the congregation numbered about one 
 hundred and fifty. 
 
 The following extracts are taken from 
 the Journal of the Travels of the Rev. 
 George Keith, A. M., London, 1706. — 
 " Sunday, Jan. 24, 1702 (1703 N. S.), 
 I preached at Philadelphia, on Mat- 
 thew, V. 17, both in the forenoon and 
 afternoon, Mr. Evans; the minister, 
 having that day been at Chester, in 
 Pennsylvania, to accompany Mr. Tal- 
 bot who was to preach the first ser- 
 mon in the church after it was built." 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 117 
 
 — p. 59. " Feb. 7, Sunday, I preached 
 at Chester, in Pennsylvania, in the new 
 church, on Matthew xvi. 18. Aug. 2, 
 I came to Vpland, alias Chester, by 
 Delaware river, Mr. Talbot having gone 
 before me to preach there, Aug. i. — 
 Aug. 3, I preached in the church at 
 Chester, a second sermon, on Titus ii. 
 II, 12, 13, 14, and had a considerable 
 auditory. We were kindly entertain- 
 ed at the house of Jasper Yeates, there. ' ' 
 — P- 73. "Sunday, April 9, 1704, 
 I preached at Chester on John iv. 24, 
 being my last sermon there." — p. 80. 
 
 Mr. Keith enumerates five Church 
 of England congregations in Pennsyl- 
 vania and Delaware " who are supplied 
 with Ministers and have convenient 
 churches. ' ' St. Paul's is the only one 
 so circumstanced in Chester county. 
 Mr. Keith had formerly been a preach- 
 er in the Society of Friends, and after 
 having created a division in that soci- 
 ety was disowned as a member. There- 
 upon he went back to England, became 
 an Episcopalian, took orders in that 
 church, and returned to America as a 
 Missionary in the society for the propa- 
 gation of the Gospel in foreign parts. 
 
 The Rev. John Talbot preached the 
 first sermon in St. Paul's church' in 
 Chester, and not Mr. George Keith, 
 as before stated by Humphries. See 
 Papers relating to the History of the 
 Church in Pennsylvafiia, 1680 to 1778, 
 pp. 502, 511, edited by Wm. Stevens 
 Perry, D. D. In the same work, p. 
 78, &c., there is an account of the 
 building of the church at Chester, 
 enclosed in Mr. Ross' letter of June 
 21, 1 714, to the Society for Propa- 
 gating the Gospel, in which the same 
 error occurs. This account states : — 
 
 "This Church being 49 foot in length & 26 
 in lireadth, was founded l)y divineprovidencein 
 July, 1 702 ; & on St. Paul's day after was open- 
 
 ed with the usual sollemnity of a Sermon w<^^ 
 was preached by ye Rev'd Mr. George Keith, 
 then Missionary from the Hon'ble Society, for 
 the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts. 
 
 " The ground on which this small but com- 
 pact fabrick of brick is built was foi-merly a 
 burying place belonging to a Colony of Swedes, 
 the first Inhabitants of this Province from Eu- 
 rope, which Colony had likewise a Church 
 [referring to the House of Defence, without 
 doubt] endowed with a valuable Glebe not far 
 from this place of burial, but of this building 
 there remains no sign at this day : and y* Glebe 
 land was irreligiously sold by some Swedes 
 under y« name of Churchwardens to a powerful 
 Quaker [David Lloyd], who now plows and 
 sows it & disposes of it at his pleasure, but 'tis 
 hoped his precarious title will be one day or 
 other inquired into & the Church restored to 
 her just right again. 
 
 " In this Swedish Dormitory, James Sande- 
 lands of Chester, (or as it was first called, Up- 
 lands,) merchant, a man of good reputation in 
 the country was on account of affinity interr- 
 ed to keep up the memory of this founder of a 
 growing family; 'twas agreed on amongst his 
 relations that his grave, as also that of kindred 
 and family who were or might be buried there 
 should be distinguished & set apart from the 
 rest of the burying ground by "an enclosure or 
 wall of stone. This design was no sooner 
 formed & noised abroad, but 'twas happily 
 suggested by a projecting fellow in Town, 
 that if it seemed good to Mr. Sandeland's re- 
 lations, the intended stone -wall about the place 
 of his interment might be with somewhat more 
 charges, carried up & formed into a small 
 Chapel or Church. 
 
 " This new motion was well liked of by y® 
 s* relations & encouraged by every body in 
 the neighborhood that wished well to the 
 Church of England & longed to see its primi- 
 tive worship set up amongst them, but they 
 who put life into this proposal & prosperously 
 brought it to pass were Jasper Yeates, Mer- 
 chant of Chester, and James Sandelands, son 
 to the above named M"^ Sandelands, the latter 
 of which two Gentlemen, besides other gifts 
 gave some land to enlarge the Church yard, 
 but the former, to wit, M*" Yeates, a zealous 
 assertor of our Constitution in Church and State, 
 must be allowed to have been the main pro- 
 moter of the founding of St. Paul's upon Del- 
 aware. It would be too long particularly to 
 
118 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 relate the several benefactors who contributed 
 towards the building of the s^ Church . Those 
 of its Parishionei-s who were chief helpers to 
 carry on the work were Jeremy Collett, Jno. 
 Ilannum, Menry Pierce, Ralph Pile & Thos. 
 Barnsly, but especially Thos. Powell, y* princi- 
 pal supporter of the Ministry here, for y« fur- 
 ther encourajjing of which in the place, he has 
 of late given a valuable piece of ground for a 
 Minister's house, garden and other conveni- 
 ences too long to be inserted in this paper. 
 There is yet one generous Patron and bene^ 
 factor to y« whole infant Church in North 
 America, 'twere a crime to forget or conceal ; 
 we mean The Hon''''' Col' Fran. Nicholson, 
 Esq'', whose liberality to this & other churches 
 on this main deserves y" highest encomium. 
 We may safely say no man parted more freely 
 w"" his money to promote the Interest of the 
 Church in these parts, nor contributed so uni' 
 versally towards y" erection of Christian .Syn- 
 agogues in different and distant plantations of 
 America. 
 
 " The Church of Chester, one of the neatest 
 on this Continent, being thus founded and 
 builded ; y« inside work of it was soon after 
 compleated & beautified mostly at the charges 
 of those who frequented it as their place of 
 worship, and now it wants no decent or pro- 
 per furniture (lior has it done for some years) 
 to grace and adorn it. A handsome pulpit 
 w"> a communion table, well rail'd in & set 
 out w**" a rich cloth & a neat chalice (besides 
 that which was given by H" Jeffrey Jeffryes,) 
 both bestowed on this church by our most 
 gracious Queen, are y« garnishing of its east 
 end w'='> by no means are diminished or ob- 
 scured by yo well contrived pews w"'' take up 
 its west end and both sides of its spacious 
 chancel. The Rev. M^ Henry Nicholls, a 
 a man of good parts was the first Missionary 
 that by particular appointment of ye Hon''"' 
 Society officiated in this Church. He served 
 here above four years; having entered upon 
 the charge in February, 1703-4, & upon his 
 move to Maryland with, as we are told, y* 
 Bp of London's leave, ye Rev<> M'' George 
 Ross, then Missionary at New Castle, not 
 having his health at that place, settled here in 
 July, 1 70S, and about 2 years after to jnocure 
 the Society's approliation of his move, he went 
 for England & having hi& desire he returned to 
 Chester in September, 171 1, where lie still 
 
 continues to serve the Church to the general 
 satisfaction of his parishioners. 
 
 " Thus you have a brief account of the found- 
 ing, building and finishing of St. Paul's Church, 
 at Chester, in Pennsylvania, & how the same 
 has been supplied with Missionaries by that 
 noble body for propagating the faith ; which 
 account or history as it contains nothing but 
 what most of us know to be true from our own 
 experience ; so we hope our honorable Patrons, 
 the Society will receive, as a faithful relation 
 of the building of our Church; & as such 
 transmit to posterity, that they may know the 
 certainty of those things which God hath 
 wrought for us in these remote parts of the 
 world & bless his holy name for the same. 
 
 Given, according to the 'Society's order, 
 under our hands, at Chester, the 25th 
 day of Jnne, in the 13th year of our Sov- 
 ereign Lady, Anne, Queen of Great Bri- 
 tain, &c., Annoque Domini, 1714." 
 
 Ill reference to the Glebe, /. e., the 
 Green, in Perrf s Papers, p. 23, it is 
 said: "This land was given to the 
 Swedes Church by Armgardt Pappe- 
 gaya, daughter of Gov. Printz, the 
 first Swedish Governor, for their use." 
 — See the Address of Minister & Vestry 
 of Church at Chester to the Society. 
 
 The Rev. John Humphrey's in a let- 
 ter to the Society from *' Chichester, 
 alias Marcus Hook, near Chester, Oct. 
 24, 1 7 18," says he could not get a 
 house in Chester to live in, and had to 
 buy a plantation of 100 acres, " about 3 
 miles distant from Chester ; the Church 
 people did attempt to build a Parsonage 
 house there, but were not able to ac- 
 complish it, & it remains as it has been 
 these 3 years, just about 4 feet above 
 ground as a reproach to them, and an 
 infamous mark of their Poverty. I have 
 undertaken to pay ;;^i5o, this coun- 
 try's money for it." It would be in- 
 teresting to know whether he refers to 
 the Powell gift ; if not, where it was 
 situated. I ^jresume it is the lot upon 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 119 
 
 which the present edifice of St. Paul's 
 is erected. 
 
 There is an address from St. Paul's 
 Church, at p. 28, of Dr. Perry's Pa- 
 pers, signed " Jasper Yeates & oth- 
 ers," and at pp, 53, 54, 58 & 59, Peti- 
 tions signed " Jasper Yeates and oth- 
 ers," but very unfortunately the names 
 of the others are not given ; a very cul- 
 pable omission in an historical work. 
 
 The inhabitants of Chichester and 
 Chester, on April 5, 1727, addressed 
 the Society, (ib. p. 152,) asking for a 
 Minister to supply Mr. Humphreys' 
 place ; he appears not to have been a 
 favorite. The letter is signed by Ralph 
 Pile and Philip Ottey, only. 
 
 At p. 219, same work, there is a Peti- 
 tion of the congregation of St. Paul's 
 to the Society, desiring the appoint- 
 ment of Charles Fortescue, as a School- 
 teacher, in the place of Mr. Houston, 
 who had gone to Maryland — signed by 
 James Walker, Charles Conner, Alex"" 
 Hunter, Jno. Walker, Joseph Richards, 
 Edward Richards, Chas. Illcore, Will" 
 Turner, Sam' Webster, William Black 
 and others. 
 
 The Rev. Tho^ Thompson, Mission- 
 ary at Chester, writing April 23, 1752, 
 says, "I found no Church Wardens or 
 Vestry, no house for the Minister to live 
 in, nay, not a fit house to hire." 
 
 In Anderson's History of the Church 
 of England, in the Colonies, (1856,) 
 3 vol. pp. 258, '59, & '60, there is a 
 short history of the Rev. Messrs. Evans, 
 Nichols, Ross and Humphreys' mis- 
 sions and services, of no particular in- 
 terest except that it states, that Mr. 
 Evans induced the people of Chester 
 to build a church in 1703, and that 
 Mr. Nichols was a successful mission- 
 ary at Chester for five years, neither 
 of which statements are precisely cor- 
 rect. The account is rose-colored in 
 
 regard to the successes of the Mission- 
 aries at Chester, Concord, and Chiches- 
 ter, but it paints in doleful colors the 
 fatigue of the long and distant journeys 
 made by each missionary once a month 
 to Marcus-Hook or Concord to preach. 
 The letters of Rev. Mr. Backhouse, 
 and other Missionaries, complain of 
 the smallness of the congregation, (at 
 Chester,) the want of a Parsonage, the 
 insolence of the Quakers and other 
 sects, the extreme poverty and igno- 
 rance of the people, the long journeys 
 they have to make, the small salaries 
 they receive, &c. It is not pleasant 
 reading for many reasons which I will 
 not give. 
 
 Humphries in his account, states, 
 that the Rev. John Humphreys was 
 very acceptable to the people of Ches- 
 ter, &c. His letters in Perry' s Papers 
 denote the contrary very emphatically. 
 See pp. 117, 152 and 217. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Backhouse, in a let- 
 ter dated June 26, 1748, {Perry's Pa- 
 pers, 251,) writes, "The Moravians 
 have hired a house to keep their meet- 
 ings in twice a month, (/. e. every 
 other Sunday,) at Marcus Hook, to 
 which place my congregation resort, 
 but I hope (and believe) more through 
 curiosity than anything else, because 
 they show me the same respect they 
 ever did, and carefully attend the 
 church as formerly when it is my turn 
 to be there," &:c. 
 
 A most excellent Christian was 
 Backhouse ! For it will be well to 
 remember in this connection, that in 
 the year 1737, Dr. Potter, the Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury said, " That the 
 Moravian Brethren were an Apostolic 
 and Episcopal church, not sustaining 
 any doctrine repugnant to the thirty- 
 nine articles of the Church of England ; 
 that they could not therefore with pro- 
 
120 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 priety, nor ought they to be hindered 
 from preaching the. gospel among the 
 heathen." — See Martin's Bethlchcni 
 and the Moravians, p. 8. Jeremiah 
 Collett left a legacy to the minister at 
 Chester to jireach four times a year at 
 Marcus Hook. 
 
 In Ferry's Papers, 314, the Rev. 
 Thomas Thompson is referred to as a 
 man of bad character. At p. 22 there 
 is a letter without date, but arranged 
 among the papers of 1 704, of no par- 
 ticular interest here, from the minister 
 and vestry at Chester, to the Society, 
 signed Henry Nichols, Minister, Jasper 
 Yeates, James Sanderlands, Wm. Pic- 
 kett, Edward Danger, Wm. Davies, 
 Thos. Powell, Tho. Baldwine, John 
 Wade, Henry Pierce, Jer. Collett and 
 Wm. Martin. The latter is an error, 
 it should be Walter Martin. 
 
 The following, to us, curious adver- 
 tisement, is extracted from the Penn- 
 sylvania Journal for Jan'y 14, 1762 : 
 
 " Whereas the memljers of the Episcopal 
 congregation of St. Paul's church, in the an- 
 cient Burrough of Chester, in the Province of 
 Pennsylvania, having received repeated inti- 
 mations from the Honorable Society for pro- 
 pagating the Gospel in foreign parts, that by 
 the standing rules in said Society, they will be 
 obliged to withdraw the Mission from them if 
 they do not forthwith make the necessary pro- 
 vision for the better accommodation of their 
 Missionary which the Society expects and re- 
 quires, viz., a glebe, a dwelling hpuse, and 
 their Church and burying ground in decent 
 order and repair; which things, unfortunately 
 for them, their predecessors did not care to 
 secure when land was to be had at any easy 
 rates, and building cheap to what it is now. 
 They find themselves under the disagreeable 
 necessity to apply to the publick by way of a 
 Lottery, not doubting that it will meet with 
 all suitaljle encouragement, frdni the well dis- 
 posed of every denomination, as it is intended 
 for the Glory of God and consequently for the 
 good of the Province. This LoUerj' is calcu- 
 lated greatly to the advantages of the adven- 
 
 turous, the large prizes being so reduced as to 
 make the small ones of more value than any 
 hitherto exhibited to the public for the raising 
 so small a sum as that of £,^(^2 10. o. 
 The Scheme is as follows, viz. : 
 
 No. 0/ Prizes. Value in Dollars. Total Value . 
 
 1 of 500 is 500 
 
 2 of 200 is 400 
 6 of 100 is 600 
 
 12 of 50 is 600 
 
 30 of 20 is 600 
 
 90 of 10 is 900 
 
 1590 of 4 is 6,360 
 
 I First drawn Blank, 20 
 
 I Last drawn Blank, 20 
 
 1733 Prizes. 10,000 
 
 3267 Blanks. 
 
 5000 Ticket at 2 Dollars each, is 10,000. 
 Deductions at 15 per cent, is 1,500. 
 
 Managers. — Rev. Richard Peters, John 
 Ross, esq., Mr. James Young, Mr. Charles 
 Stedman, and Dr. John Kearsley jr., in Phil- 
 adelphia; Roger Hunt, esq., Messrs. John 
 Mather and James Day, in Chester, who are to 
 give Bond and be upon oath faithfully to dis- 
 charge the Trust in them reposed. 
 
 Tickets are sold by the respective Managers 
 at their dwellings, and by the following gentle- 
 men, viz. : in Chester county, by Dr. Paul 
 Jackson, Elisha Price, George Lownes, Philip 
 Ford, John Henley, Walter Smith, Jonathan 
 Vaughan, Jacob Richards, John Marshall ; in 
 New Castle county, by Emanuel Grubb, Dr. 
 John McKinlcy, Dr. Benjamin Vanleer, Thom- 
 as Dunn, and William Golden, esq'rs, and Mr. 
 Slater Clay ; in Dover, by Thomas Parke, esq'r, 
 in Lancaster, by John Douglass, Isaac Rich- 
 ardson and David Stout, esq'rs, and by Wil- 
 liam Bradford and David Hall, in Philadel- 
 phia. The Drawing to begin the first of March 
 next in Philadelphia or Chester, or sooner if 
 full ; the fortunate numbers will be published 
 in the Philadelphia Journal and Gazette, imme- 
 diately after the Drawing is finished. Prizes 
 not demanded in Six Months after the Draw- 
 ing is finished to be deemed as given to jiro- 
 mote the Pious Design. 
 
 N. B. — As the above sum will fall vastly 
 short of completing everything as could be 
 wished, it is hoped that if any are scru]:)ulous 
 as to the Method of raising Money, yet wish 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 121 
 
 well to the Design, and are willing to promote 
 the same, if such Persons will deliver their 
 Liberality into the hands of Mr. Charles 
 Thompson, Merchant in Philadelphia, or to 
 any of the Managers aforesaid, it will be grate- 
 fully acknowledged and carefully applied ac- 
 cordingly." 
 
 Raising money by Lottery, seems to 
 have been at that time a favorite mode 
 of accompUshing any public or charita- 
 ble object. In the same paper from 
 which the above is copied, there is a 
 Lottery announced for raising ^1500, 
 " to finish the Presbyterian Church 
 now erecting in the Forks of the 
 Brandy wine." Also — " A Scheme to 
 raise ^175 towards building a bridge 
 in Manatawny Road over the rapid 
 creek called Skippack." And in the 
 issue of Jan. 28, 1762, '^ KScheitieiox 
 a Lottery for raising ^^3000, to be ap- 
 plied to erect a Lighthouse on Cape 
 Henlopen, and otherwise to facilitate 
 the navigation of the Delaware. ' ' 
 
 St. Paul's Church, Chester, was one 
 of the churches, that in 1785, joined 
 in the act of Association, and was 
 therefore one of the founders of the 
 Diocese of Pennsylvania. The meet- 
 ing to form the Diocese, was held in 
 Christ Church, Philadelphia, May 24, 
 1785- John Crosby, Jr., and John 
 Shaw, were the deputies present from 
 St. Paul's, Edward Vernon, the other 
 deputy being absent. St. Paul's church, 
 Chester, and St. Martin's church, 
 Marcus Hook, are both set down in 
 the records as admitted in 1786, which 
 is an error in regard to St. Paul's. 
 
 From the Philadelphia Gazetteer of 
 July 3, 1789, I extract the following 
 interesting notice, which shows that 
 Chester' was a place of Sunday resort 
 in the last century ; that the Minister 
 was popular, and from this and other 
 like advertisements, that the Kerlin's 
 were great tavern-keepers and stage 
 
 owners, and got up early in the morn- 
 ing : " The Subscriber, (Matthias Ker- 
 lin, Jr.), intends to run a Carriage 
 from this city to Chester, every Sun- 
 day and means to carry passengers at 
 a lower rate than in the regular stage ; 
 and in order that they may arrive in 
 Chester in time for the Sermon, the 
 Coach will leave the Indian Queen, 
 in Fourth Street, at half-past 5 o'clock 
 in the morning. At Chester a fresh 
 set of able-bodied Horses will be pro- 
 vided to return, so that the company 
 may start thence in time for an agree- 
 able refreshment at Messrs. Gray's, 
 and arrive in Philadelphia as early as 
 they wish." Thus all the senses were 
 to be gratified in one day, and by a 
 trip to Chester. By numerous adver- 
 tisements in the newspapers of that 
 time, it appears that George and Ro- 
 bert Gray, at their " new House, Gar- 
 dens and Greenhouse," gave a concert 
 of music once a week, and run a stage 
 twice a day to the city from Gray's 
 Ferry, and kept " a genteel and plen- 
 tiful table and fresh fish every day." 
 The great dish of that day was, I sup- 
 pose, " Catfish and Coffee. ' ' The well- 
 known establishment of the Gray's 
 stood on the west bank of the Schuyl- 
 kill River, at the western extremity of 
 the once celebrated floating bridge, 
 near where the tracks of the Philadel- 
 phia, Wilmington and Baltimore rail- 
 road now cross that river. The old 
 tavern still stands, but will soon dis- 
 appear, as it is on the verge of a large 
 stone quarry, and is besides in a very 
 dilapidated condition. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 In the U. S. Gazette, Nov. i and 7, 
 181 7, will be found the following ex- 
 tract from the West Chester Federalist. 
 
122 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 "A Day in Chester. — Mr. Miner. — Ac- 
 companied by a friend, I took a ride last week 
 to Chester, the seat of Justice in Delaware 
 County. The town lies on the west bank of 
 the river 'Delaware, 15 miles below Philadel- 
 phia and 12 above Wilmington. It is laid out 
 in handsome squares, contains more than an 
 hundred houses and about 1,000 inhabitants. 
 The principal streets are paved. Thepublick 
 buildings consist of a Court-house, Gaol, Bank- 
 ing-house, Friends' Meeting house and an 
 Episcopal Church. The Court-house and 
 Gaol are situate on the south side of the main 
 street. They are both of square stone, plain 
 and convenient, and are ornamented in front 
 by a double row of Lombardy Poplars, form- 
 ing a pleasant shade and an agreeable walk. 
 
 The Court-house bell probably shows the 
 time that the buildings were erected ; it has 
 cast on it, ' CHESTER, 1729.' 
 
 The Episcopal Church is built of brick and 
 is very ancient; the steeple, which is square, 
 is of stone and entirely separate from the 
 church. The bell is evidently of a later date 
 than the building, it is not large, and has cast 
 on it, 'ROGER RICE, CHESTER, 1743.' 
 
 The burial Ground is one of the oldest in 
 Pennsylvania. Some of the tombstones are 
 more than a hundred years old ; our attention 
 was directed to one in particular, remarkable 
 for its antiquity, rudeness of sculpture and 
 singularity of inscription. The following is a 
 faithful copy : — 
 
 For 
 
 THE MEMORY OF 
 
 FRANCIS BROOKS, 
 
 who died Avgvst 
 tlie 19, 1704, 
 Aged 50 years. 
 
 In Barbarian bondage 
 
 And cruel tyranny 
 For ten years together 
 
 I served in Slavery 
 After this Mercy broght me 
 
 To my country fair 
 At last I drowned was 
 
 In River Delaware. 
 
 The inside of the church is divided into 
 four compartments by two aisles, one extend- 
 ing from side to side, to the double doors, the 
 other from the pulpit to the extreme part of 
 the church ; fixed in the wall at the bottom of 
 the aisle, opposite the pulpit, is a reddish 
 
 sandstone, six feet by three, curiously carved, 
 &c. [I omit the description of the Sandiland 
 tablet which follows here.] 
 
 Upland was the original name given to 
 Chester. When or why it was changed, I 
 could not learn ; but Upland is manifestly an 
 improper appellation, as the town lies on the 
 low lands of the Delaware. This spot was in 
 the first place fixed upon by Wm. Penn for the 
 I seat of government. On the bank of Chester 
 Creek, which passes through the town, there 
 is still shown an old wall, now making a part 
 of a dwelling house, which formed one side of 
 the first hall of justice in Pennsylvania— an- 
 swering for the sessions of the Legislature, 
 and the Courts of Justice; in both of which, 
 Wm. Penn occasionally presided. 
 
 Chester was formerly a place of considerable 
 commerce ; but at present, of very little. The 
 warehouses, and buildings nearest the water, 
 are generally in a neglected and decaying state ; 
 presenting a melancholy pictureof the "gleams 
 of better days." In passing from the Court- 
 house to the wharf, the eye is gratified by the 
 view of the new banking-house, erected by 
 the Bank of Delaware County. It is a brick 
 building, handsome in its design, and neat in 
 its execution, combining beauty with conveni- 
 ence ; it is at once an ornament to the town 
 and a credit to the liberal Directors of that 
 institution. Would that the Directors of the 
 Chester County Bank would ' go and do like- 
 wise.' 
 
 From the main street, and from the street 
 next below, there are two noble wharves, ex- 
 tending 500 feet into the river. They were 
 erected by the voluntary subscriptions of the 
 inhabitants, liberally aided by grants from the 
 Legislature. The cost has been about$io,ooo 
 each. They are calculated to aid the com- 
 merce of the State, affording a safe harbor for 
 vessels on their passage up and down the river, 
 in stormy and inclement weather. From the 
 end of the wharf the view was extremely fine. 
 A hundred vessels, moving with a light breeze 
 in various directions, gave a high degree of 
 animation to the scene. The steamboat, ra- 
 pidly moving through the water — the noise of 
 the dashing wheels, the volume of smoke 
 pouring from her pipe, looking like a vast sea 
 monster, or a new ferry-boat of old Charon, 
 just risen from the regions below — though a 
 hundred times seen, still attracted attention 
 like a novel exhibition. On the bank of the 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 128 
 
 river, in the upper part of the town, is a house 
 surrounded with trees, presenting a handsome 
 appearance from the river; but its chief inter- 
 est is derived from knowing it to be the man- 
 sion of Commodore Porter, who so gallantly, 
 nay, desperately defended the ' Star Spangled 
 Banner,' on board the Essex in the bay of Val- 
 paraiso. His dwelling is suitably placed for 
 a sailor. The wave of the flowing tide almost 
 washing the foundation of the building, and 
 ' Soothes him with its lullaby.' 
 
 Among the vessels that passed while we 
 were standing on the wharf, was a fine ship, 
 in ballast. Capt. R. informed us, that a day or 
 two before, the man who had attempted to pilot 
 tlie ship down from Philadelphia, had run her 
 aground. Desperate in his mortification, he 
 threw himself into the stream and was seen 
 no more. 
 
 On the whole the day in Chester was very 
 
 pleasant. The accommodations at P- 's 
 
 were excellent." 
 
 P Stands for Piper, no doubt. 
 
 There is no name to the communica- 
 tion, but it was probably written by 
 Charles Miner, the editor of the Fed- 
 eralist, to his paper. Capt. R. was 
 Capt. Thomas Robinson. 
 
 In 1835, the old church of St. Paul's 
 at Chester, underwent extensive re- 
 pairs. The number of pews was in- 
 creased ; the old north entrance door 
 closed ; a new chancel was built ; a 
 gallery was erected across the western 
 end of the building, and an entrance 
 door cut out of the western wall ; 
 a new belfry was put upon the west 
 gable ; the high backs of the old 
 pews were cut down, and the large 
 square pews each made into two. I 
 think there were six large pews. The 
 Crosby's occupied the two south of the 
 pulpit ; Major Anderson's descendants, 
 the two northern ones ; Dr. Samuel 
 Anderson occupied the large pew west 
 of the Crosby's. He used to read the 
 responses in a deep, full voice, and 
 being a large man, quite overshadowed 
 
 the small form of the Rev. Mr. Hall, 
 in my youthful mind, although the lat- 
 ter was perched up in a high box, with 
 a sounding-board over his head, which 
 looked like the extinguisher to the old 
 tallow candles, so much so that I used 
 to fear it would fall and put the min- 
 ister out. . I can recall the Terrills, 
 Deshongs, Edwards, Johnsons, Prices, 
 Kerlins, Engles, Williams, Ladomus, 
 Squire Samuel Shaw's family. Eyres, 
 Porters, Cochrans, Wm. Martin's and 
 John Martin's family, Irwins, Thur- 
 lows, Dicks, Zeilins, Pipers, Bartrams, 
 Finchs, Squire Smiths' family, &c. 
 
 It was during the time the above 
 alterations were being made, that the 
 old detached belfry was torn down. 
 Those old bell-towers were c^uaint, 
 picturesque and attractive. Now the 
 towers are invariably attached to the 
 church buildings in this country. In 
 Europe there are many yet standing 
 apart from the church edifice. The 
 most celebrated one is the leaning lower 
 of Pisa. There are detached Cavipa- 
 niles, or bell-towers yet standing at 
 Chichester and Salisbury Cathedrals, 
 and at Evesham, Berkeley, Walton, 
 Ledbury, Pennbridge, Myler and Lap- 
 worth, in England ; but none now, 
 that I know of, in the United States. 
 
 Formerly the Passing Bell was rung 
 at St. Paul's Church on the death of 
 one of the congregation. One toll 
 for each year of the life of the person 
 who had departed. I never remem- 
 ber to have heard it but oi^ce ; I was 
 then very young, and asked what it 
 meant, and was told. The windows 
 of my sleeping room at the north-east 
 corner of Third and Main Streets, 
 Chester, overlooked the old church 
 and graveyard, and the graves of my 
 ancestors, and I saw them daily for 
 years, and everything concerning the 
 
124 
 
 HISTORY OF ClIKSTEK. 
 
 rhurcli is ini]iirssc(l on ni\ inind more 
 vividly tlian anything else connected 
 with ni\- childhood. In our Moravian 
 churches the custom is still preserved 
 of announcing the death of a member 
 of the congregation, by music from the 
 church steeples. As soon as a mem- 
 ber of the church departs, -the trom- 
 bone choir assemble in the belfry, and 
 play three dirges. The second air 
 announces the sex, age and choir of 
 the one who has gone home, and thus 
 unless a death is sudden and unexi>€ct- 
 ed, the hearers know who has died. 
 
 " And each departed hath its own sweet token, 
 Whispered to loved-ones in that trumpet's 
 tone, 
 
 Distilling dew o'er hearts with sorrow broken — 
 From Heavenly home." 
 
 In 1850, the congregation of St. 
 Paul's erected the present church edi- 
 fice on the north side of Third Street. 
 It was built in the most substantial 
 manner, the building "being of stone, 
 44 feet front by 84 feet in depth, with 
 a steeple and belfry attached. During 
 the winter of 1872 and '73, the new 
 church was altered, increased in size 
 and improved inside and out ; galle- 
 ries being added capable of seating 150 
 persons, and the number of pews in 
 the body of the church being increased 
 to 100, each capable of holding six 
 persons, thus giving the building a 
 capacity of .seating 750 people. A 
 new steeple and belfry was erected on 
 the building, which gives a really ele- 
 gant and graceful appearance to the 
 whole structure. 
 
 At the risk of appearing to be pro- 
 lix, I copy from the Chester Directory 
 of 1859-60 : " The old structure which 
 stood upon the opposite side of the 
 street, and had subserved the holier 
 inirposes of primitive days, then (in 
 
 1850), yielded to the fiat of time, 
 and the stone that marks the grave of 
 Sandilands, and a few other crumbling 
 ones, are the only mementoes of the 
 spot, where — 
 
 Tlie rude forefatl 
 
 leep. 
 
 " The first edifice was small, having 
 contained 24 pews. Its style was very 
 primitive ; one of its gables was cccu- 
 l)ied by a large window, and exterior 
 to the other was a tower some twelve 
 feet distant from the gable, containing 
 a belfry. The pulpit had its old-fash- 
 ioned sounding boards. Among the 
 venerable relics of the olden time, are 
 two Chalices and their Salvers or plates ; 
 one presented to the congregation by 
 Queen Annie, the other by the Hon. 
 Sir Jeffrey Jeffryes. The pieces are 
 of very pure silver, but of workman- 
 ship somewhat rude, in comparison 
 with the refined skill of our own time. 
 The Chalices bear the marks of the 
 workman's hammer, and appear to 
 have received their polish principally 
 by long and frequent handling. The 
 Chalice presented by the Queen has 
 engraven upon it Annie Regin^. The 
 time at which these pieces were pre- 
 sented is not certainly known ; but it 
 must have been prior to 1702, as they 
 were used at the first communion of 
 the church. They are still regularly 
 used." 
 
 The compiler of the Directory, says 
 the church was repaired m 1702. We 
 have seen that it was erected then. 
 Queen Anne reigned from 1702 to 
 1 714. Her present must have been 
 subsequent to March 8, 1702, when 
 William III. died, at the earliest 
 during that year. The church was 
 first opened for Divine worship on St. 
 Paul's day, 1702, old style, the edifice 
 having been completed in July of that 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 125 
 
 year. St. Pauf s day comes on the 
 25th of January; therefore, the church 
 was opened for the first time, for the 
 service of God, on Sunday, Jan. 24, 
 1703, 7iew style, as has been stated by 
 the Rev. George Kieth, in his Journal, 
 and the chalices were first used on that 
 day, if the communion was adminis- 
 tered, as it undoubtedly was. But 
 there is no proof that I know of, that 
 they were used at the first communion, 
 except unreliable tradition. 
 
 I make the following extracts from 
 "The Registry Booke of S' Paul's 
 Church, Chester, in the Province of 
 Pennsylvania, bought April i8th, 1 704, 
 pret. oo;^ 14s. od." 
 
 The first entry is, '• Att a Meeting 
 of y" Parishoners of Chester in Penn- 
 sylvania, April 1 8th, 1704: We the 
 inhabitants and Parishoners of S' Paul's 
 Church in y^ County of Chester, In y<= 
 Province of Pennsylvania, do unani- 
 mously constitute and appoint, 
 
 Henry Nichols, Min., Wm. Pickels, 
 
 Jasper Yeates, Hen. Pierce, 
 
 Jer. Collett, John Wade, 
 
 James Sandelands, Edward Danger, 
 
 Thos. Powell, John Bristow, 
 
 John Hannams, Sam. Bishop, 
 
 To be our vestrymen, and do hereby 
 Impower them or any five of them to 
 be our Representatives In managing 
 all the affairs that relate to y* Due Care 
 of y* Church, as constituting of Church 
 Wardens annually, hearing and re- 
 ceiving their accounts and So Dis- 
 charging them. And we do promise 
 to allow such their constitutions and 
 Discharges to be as valid as If Done 
 by our Selves. Witness our hands. 
 
 Thomas Barnslj' 
 ^James Mill, 
 
 Edw. Jennings, 
 Ralph Pyle, 
 Gab. X Friend, 
 Tho. Baldwin, 
 
 Jt)hn Evans, 
 John Maxfield, 
 David Roberts, 
 Isaac Calvert, 
 Richard Adams 
 Thom. Butterti( 
 
 The above s^ psons Did at y" same 
 
 Meeting and time afores** Constitute 
 and apoynt Thomas Powell and W"" 
 Pickle, Church Wardens." 
 
 Then follows an account stated by 
 the Wardens for the year 1704, in 
 which they acknowledge to have re- 
 ceived contributions, probably to pay 
 for building the church, from Gov'' 
 Nicholson by y* hands of Coll. Quarry, 
 and from : — 
 
 James Sandelands, 
 Edward Danger, 
 John Hannoms, 
 John Bristow, 
 John Wade, 
 Gabriel Friend, 
 Thomas Baldwin, 
 John Evans, 
 David Roberts, 
 Isaac Calvert, 
 Thomas Evans^ 
 Widow Calvert, 
 Charles Brooke, 
 Joseph Corher, 
 £57,08,9. 
 ames Sandelands, ye Balla 
 
 Jeremiah Collet, 
 Thomas Powell, 
 Henry Peirce, 
 William Pickels, 
 James Mill, 
 Edward Jennings, 
 Thomas Linvell, 
 Samuel Bishop, 
 John Ma.xfield, 
 Joseph Powell, 
 Richard Kenderdine, 
 David Meridith, 
 John I'owell, 
 Ralph Pyle, 
 Jack Beard, 
 Thomas Powell and J 
 p'd by them, ,£3, 14, 10. 
 
 The Wardens claim credit Nov. 12, 
 1704, for "cash p"* Y ferymen for 
 Bringing Doun y'' Dyal, \s. 8(/., ac. of 
 nayles for setting up y* Dyall, is. 2d., 
 money spent and p** y^men for setting 
 It up, 4J\" In 1704, William Cutler, 
 clarke, is paid for services; and 6 shil- 
 lings is paid "for a common prayer 
 book with y* new Psalm for y^ clarke," 
 and in 1 705 , there is a charge for ^i i , 
 14, o, for a silver Communion Cup. 
 
 From Ap'l 18, 1704, there was no 
 meeting of the Parishioners until April 
 22, 1 71 2, Mr. George Ross is men- 
 tioned as Minister, and it was unani- 
 mously agreed, that Joseph Worrayand 
 Thomas Withers be Church Wardens ; 
 and the following persons 
 
 Joseph Powell, 
 Thomas Baldwyr 
 Jasper Yeales, 
 Ralph Pyle, 
 Thomas Powell, 
 
 Joseph 
 
 Thomas Barnesley, 
 Henry Peirce, 
 John Hannoms, 
 Thomas Withers, 
 Wm. Heurtin, 
 Worray. 
 
126 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 1 715 and 1716. 
 Jill). I luniiilircys, Minister. 
 Cliurih Wai'dens. 
 Jonas Sandelands, Thomas Banisley. 
 
 I'estryiiit-u. 
 
 Wm. Heurtin, Tobias Hendrickson, 
 
 Ralph Pyle, Ed. Danger, 
 
 Uiirencc Friend, Jos. Worrall, 
 
 Henry Nayle, Jno. Hannoms, 
 
 Henry Peirce, Jno. Tyler, 
 
 John Wade, Thos. Withers. 
 
 171 7, 1718 and 17 19. 
 Chttrch Wardens. 
 Henry Nayle, Henry Peirce. 
 
 Vestrymen. 
 
 Jonas Sandelands, 
 
 William Heurtin, 
 Thos. Withers, 
 Jno. Hannoms, 
 Ralph Pyle, 
 John Tyler, (Taylor?) 
 Tobias Hendrickson, 
 
 Thos. Barnsley, 
 Gabriel Friend, 
 Ed. Danger, 
 Tho. Baldwin, 
 Johannes Rawson. 
 
 1720. 
 Church Wardens. 
 Tobias Hendrickson, Jonas Sandelands. 
 
 Vestryvicn. 
 Henry Peirce, John Wade, 
 
 Henrj' Nayle, Alex. Hunter, 
 
 John Hannoms, Thomas Broom, 
 
 Ralph Pyle, Francis Edwards, 
 
 Thomas Baldwin, Eben Jenkins, 
 
 Edward Danger, Richard Marsden, 
 
 No Records until 1727, when the following 
 were 
 
 Chureh Ulii-dens. 
 Alexander Hunter, Jno. Mather. 
 
 Vestrymen. 
 
 Henry Peirce, Jno. Wade, 
 
 Jno. Hannoms, Thos. Broome, 
 
 Ralph Pyle, Eben Jenkins, 
 
 Thos. Baldwin, Jonas Sandelands, 
 
 James Mather, Thos. Cooke, 
 
 Thos. GifTling, Thos. Richards, Jr. 
 
 The old Registry from which the 
 above extracts are copied, contains 
 besides the minutes of the meetings of 
 the Parishioners and proceedings of the 
 vestry, many other interesting matters 
 inchiding a record of the baptisms, 
 marriages, deaths and accounts of the 
 church, from 1704 to 1820. 
 
 "At a meeting or vestry held at Ches- 
 ter church, Mar. 30, 1 741, the follow- 
 ing subscribers promised to pay the 
 several sum or sums annexed to their s-J 
 several name or names, to iv for in 
 
 consideration of purchasing a bell for 
 said church." 
 
 Jno. Mather, 
 J. Barton, 
 Jt)hn Sketchley, 
 Sam'l Webster, 
 Stephen Cole, 
 Rob't Mcfarland, 
 Alexander Hunter, 
 George Lownes, 
 Edward Richards, 
 Will'm Keepers, 
 Humphrey Johnson, 
 
 James Mather, 
 Charles Conner, 
 William Turner, 
 Joseph Richards, 
 William Black, 
 Edmond Bourke, 
 George Scott, 
 Chas. Grant, Esq. 
 Arthur Thomson, 
 Joseph Keepers, 
 William Hay. 
 
 The bell-tower, or " turret to hang 
 thi; bell," was ordered to be built at a 
 meeting of the vestry on April 15, 
 1^45. "To be built of stone in the 
 foundation from out to out Twelve by 
 Fourteen foot." The bell was paid 
 for by a Bill of Exchange of ^^30 in 
 1742, one half of which was donated 
 by John Mather. As the bell had cast 
 on it "-Roger Rice, Chester, 1743," 
 no doubt it was cast in England. 
 This was not the Bell said to have been 
 presented by Queen Anne. That 
 was used previously, "on25xber, 1713, 
 Cuffy was paid (>s. 6d, and Dick, David 
 Roberts' boy, one shilling, for ring- 
 ing the Church Belh" 
 
 At a meeting of the Parishioners of 
 S' Paul's Church on y^ 19th day of 
 April, (being Easter Monday,) 1742, 
 to chuse church wardens & vestrymen 
 for y^ said year. Resolv'd that James 
 Mather & Charles Conner, y* old 
 Churchwardens, Be and Continue in 
 y'= said Office this year Also and y*" 
 Vestrymen be as follow. 
 
 Alex. Hunter, 
 Jno. Mather, 
 Charles Grant, 
 Jno. Sketchley, 
 Jos. Richards, 
 Edw'd Richards, 
 
 Jno. Hanly, 
 Stephen Cole, 
 Geo. Lownes, 
 Tho. Barton, 
 Wm. Turner, 
 Sam. Webster 
 
 Resolv'd by y* said vestrye that y* 
 stone over James Sandeland, deceas'd, 
 be removed and put into a more com- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 127 
 
 modius posture, & that y^ Pew in which 
 it lies be converted into Two Pews. 
 
 1753- 
 Church Wardens. 
 William Hay, James Day. 
 
 Vestrymen. 
 John Mather, James Day, Jr., 
 
 James Mather, John Hauly, 
 
 Samuel Shaw, John Morton, 
 
 George Lownes, William Noblit, 
 
 Joseph Richards, Aaron Baker, 
 
 Joseph Baker, James Barton. 
 
 1760. 
 Church Wardens. 
 Philip Ford, James Day, Jr. 
 
 Sides- men. 
 John Salkeld, William Marlow. 
 
 Vestry 7?ie}i. 
 John Morton, George Lownes, 
 
 John Henley, George Morton, 
 
 James Day, Jacob Richards, 
 
 Thos. Nucem, Andrew Uerin, 
 
 Samuel Shaw, John Mather, 
 
 Wm. Thompson, George Culen. 
 
 In 1760 the Minister chose Geo. 
 l.ownes, to be Clerk, and the Vestry- 
 chose Thomas Derrick to be Sexton. 
 1764, John Whitehead, Sexton. Be- 
 tween 1 7 60 and 1 79 1, the following new 
 names appear among the Wardens & 
 Vestry. 1761, James Cole, Richard 
 Briggs. 1762, Walter Smith, Minis- 
 ter's Warden, Vestry, George Morton. 
 1763, Thomas Carver. 1764, Jacob 
 Eyre, John Worrall, Valentine Wea- 
 ver. 1766, Dr. Branson Vanleer, 
 People's Warden, Vestry, Joseph 
 Thomas, Elisha Price. 1767, Wil- 
 liam Elliott. 1768, Peter Steel, Peo- 
 ple's Warden. 1769, Vestry, Dr. 
 David Jackson. 1770, Job Fallows, 
 Isaac Salkeld, Doc"' Thomas Keymer. 
 1 71 1, Thomas Fallows, Sketchley 
 Morton, John Shaw. 1772, Joseph 
 Marlow, Samuel Landers. 1 773, John 
 Crosby, Jr. x']']'], Minister' s Warden, 
 Joseph Gill, Vestry, Edward Vernon, 
 Jonathan Richards. 1780, Wardens, 
 John Worrall and James Withey, Ves- ' 
 trymen, William Currie, Jr. 1782, 
 Aaron Morton, Thomas Weaver. 1785, ' 
 
 John Powell, John Harper, George 
 Peirce. 1 787, John Caldwell, Thomas 
 Richards. 1788, Richard Tidmarsh, 
 Wm. Haselwood, Isaac Culen. 1789^ 
 William Price, Jacob Peterson, War- 
 dens, Vestryman, EdAvard Richards. 
 1791. 
 
 Church Wardens. 
 Elisha Price, James Withy. 
 
 Vestrymen. 
 Peter Salkeld, ' Wm. Haselwood, 
 
 John Caldwell, Wm. Willis, 
 
 George Peirce, Charles Grantham, 
 
 Edward Richards, William Price, 
 
 John Crosby, Jonathan Richards, 
 
 John Marlow. 
 1792 and 1793. 
 Church Wardens. 
 Elisha Price, Jas. Withy. 
 
 Vestrymen. 
 John Crosby, John Crozier, 
 
 Caleb Davis, John Caldwell, 
 
 John Marlow, William Willis, 
 
 Peter Salkeld, Abner Barton, 
 
 Edward Richards, Charles Grantham, 
 
 Wm. Haselwood, William Price. 
 
 1794. 
 Church JVardens. 
 John Crosby, James Withy. 
 
 Vestrymen. 
 John Crofier, John Caldwell, 
 
 William Price, George Pierce, 
 
 Chas. Grantham, William R. Atlee, 
 
 Isaac Culen, William Willis, 
 
 Elisha Price, Abner Barton, 
 
 William Haselwood, Caleb Davis. 
 
 1796. 
 Church Wardens. 
 John Crosby, Esq., James Withy. 
 
 Vest>ymcn. 
 Elisha Price, Charles Grantham, 
 
 Isaac Culen, Abner Barton, 
 
 Wm. Haselwood, Peirce Crosby, 
 
 Thos. Smith, John Crosby, Jr., 
 
 John Caldwell, Bream Shottero, 
 
 William Willis, Jesse Beckerton. 
 
 1797 and 1798. 
 Church JVardens. 
 James Withy, John Crosby, Esq. 
 
 Vestrymen. 
 Wm. Martin, Esq., Mr. Wm. Anderson, 
 
 Elisha Price, Esq., Phillip Painter, 
 
 Isaac Culen, Thomas Smith, 
 
 John Caldwell, Eden Barton, 
 
 Jesse Beckerton, Peirce Crosby, 
 
 Abner Barton, John Crosby, Jr. 
 
 In 1798, John Crosby declined to 
 act as Church Warden, and William 
 
12^ 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 ISIartin, Esq., was unanimously chosen 
 in his place. In Feb. 14, 1799, Wm. 
 Martin being deceased, John Caldwell 
 was made \Varden in his stead. In 
 1804, Peter Salkeld was re-appointed 
 sexton. On Dec. 9, 1811, "all the 
 deeds, &:c., which had been in posses- 
 sion of 'John Crosby, Esq., for the 
 Glebe House & for that part of the 
 burying ground adjoining Welch street, 
 &c., were deposited in the hands of 
 Abner Barton, one of the Church War- 
 dens, and also the two silver chalic.es, 
 & two pewter plates, & the two silver 
 salvers are now missing, it is hoped 
 they will be returned." Aug. 6, 1814, 
 "Abner Barton going out of the State, 
 delivered the above articles to George 
 B. Lownes." In 1782, the glebe- 
 house, kitchen and garden, belonging 
 to the church, were rented to Dr. 
 Jacob Tobin, for j[^2\ per annum. 
 After the Rev. Levi Heath left the 
 church in 1798, John Odenheimer 
 rented and lived in the glebe house 
 for many years. It is a disgrace to 
 the church, that this property fronting 
 on Market Street, was ever sold. 
 
 1799. 
 
 Church II ardt'tis. 
 John Caldwell, James Withy. 
 
 Vestrymen. 
 
 Capt. Wm. Anderson, 
 John Odenheimer, 
 James Shaw, 
 Caleb Davis, 
 John Saflfer, 
 Eden Barton. 
 
 1801, 1802 and 1803. 
 Church Wardens. 
 John Caldwell, James Withy. 
 
 / 'est ry men. 
 John Crosby, John Crozier, 
 
 Pcircc Crosby, James Bernard, 
 
 Wm. Odenheimer, Samuel Price, 
 
 William Anderson, Abner Barton, 
 
 Eden Barton, Isaac Culcn, 
 
 Philip Painter, James Shaw. 
 
 The church was incorporated June 
 
 John Crosby, 
 John Crozier, 
 Isaac Culen, 
 Peirce Crosby, 
 Phillip Painter, 
 Abner Barton, 
 
 13, 1818, and the Charter enrolled in 
 office of the Secretary of State, in Book 
 2, p. 423. It was amended by the 
 Court of Delaware County, Aug. 24, 
 1846; the corporate title being, "The 
 Rector, Church Wardens and Vestry- 
 men of St. Paul's Church in Chester, 
 Delaware County." The names of 
 the corporators are Peirce Crosby, 
 Charles Granthum, Peter Deshong, 
 Mark Winter, George B. Lownes, Jo- 
 seph Piper, John Caldwell, Nimrod 
 Maxwell, John Crosby, Job H. Terrill, 
 Curtis Lownes, A. Perlee, Robert P. 
 Crosby and John S. Morton, who were 
 the Wardens and Vestrymen of the 
 church at the time of the application 
 for the Charter in 181 8. 
 
 The Ministers of St. Paul's, from 
 1702 to this time, have been, viz. : — 
 
 ev. Evan Evans, . . . , 
 
 17:2 t 
 
 J 1704 
 
 " Henry Nichols, . . . . 
 
 1704 ' 
 
 1708 
 
 " George Ross, . . . . 
 
 1708 ' 
 
 1714 
 
 " John Humphreys, 
 
 1714 ' 
 
 17^6 
 
 " Samuel Hesselius, 
 
 1726 ' 
 
 1728 
 
 " Richard Backhouse, . 
 
 1728 ' 
 
 1749 
 
 " Thomas Thompson, 
 
 1 751 ' 
 
 
 " Israel Acreliiis, . . . . 
 
 1756 ' 
 
 
 
 " George Craig, . . . . 
 
 1758' 
 
 ' 1781 
 
 " James Connor, . . . . 
 
 1788 • 
 
 ' 1 791 
 
 " Joseph Turner, . . . . 
 
 1791 ' 
 
 ' 1793 
 
 " Levi Heath, 
 
 1796' 
 
 • 1798 
 
 " Joshua Reece, . . . . 
 
 1803 ' 
 
 1805 
 
 " William Pryce, . . . . 
 
 181S * 
 
 1818 
 
 " Jacob Morgan Douglass, 
 
 1818 ' 
 
 1822 
 
 " Rich'd Umstead Morgan, . 
 
 1822 ' 
 
 ' 1831 
 
 " John Baker Clemson, D. D., 
 
 1831 ' 
 
 ' 1835 
 
 " Richard D. Hall, . . . . 
 
 1835 ' 
 
 ' 1837 
 
 " Mortimer Richmond Talbot, 
 
 1837 ' 
 
 1841 
 
 " Greenberry W. Ridgely, 
 
 1842 • 
 
 1848 
 
 " Anson B. Hard, Associate rector, 
 
 1844- 
 
 ' 1848 
 
 " Charles W. Quick, 
 
 1849- 
 
 1850 
 
 " Lewis P. W. Balch, D. D., . 
 
 1850 • 
 
 •1853 
 
 " Nicholas Sayre Harris, 
 
 1853 ' 
 
 ' 1855 
 
 " Daniel Kendig, . . . . 
 
 1855 ' 
 
 1859 
 
 " M. Richmond Talbot, . 
 
 I8S9 ' 
 
 ' 1861 
 
 " J. Pinckney Hammond, 
 
 1861 ' 
 
 ' 1863 
 
 " Henry Brown, . . . . 
 
 1863 ' 
 
 
 The same minister had charge of St. 
 Paul's and St. Martin's churches until 
 1850. The Rev. Messrs. Evans, Hes- 
 selius and Acrelius, were not regularly 
 stationed at Cliestcr, but officiated 
 there during the jjcriods mentioned. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 129 
 
 The Society for Propagating the Gos- 
 pel in Foreign Parts, was organized 
 June 27, 1701, and Chester was made 
 a missionary station that year, and the 
 same missionary had charge of the con- 
 gregations at Chester, Marcus Hook, 
 and Concord. Lewis P. W. Balch, 
 D. D., now deceased, was lately Arch- 
 bishop of Canada; Nicholas Sayre 
 Harris, graduated at the U. S. Mili- 
 tary Academy at West Point, June, 
 1825, No. 25 in his class, promoted to 
 Bvt. 2d Lt. 5th Infantry, assistant In- 
 structor of Tactics at the Military 
 Academy, from 1831 to '34, resigned 
 May 31, 1835 ; J. Pinckney Ham- 
 mond, Chaplain U. S. Volunteers in 
 1862, brother of the then Surgeon 
 General of the U. S. Army. The Rev. 
 M. R. Talbot served temporarily, the 
 second time, he being a Chaplain 
 in the U. S. Navy, and stationed 
 at the U. S. Naval Asylum, Philadel- 
 phia, where he died April 21, 1863, in 
 the 59th year of his age. Mr. Talbot 
 had once been a midshipman in the 
 U. S. Navy. He married Eliza Horn- 
 blower, daughter of the late Chief 
 Justice of New Jersey ; their only 
 child, Joanna, married Dr. Charles 
 Evesfield, late Medical Director U. S. 
 Navy. He died Oct. 5, 1873. 
 
 There are some monumental remains 
 in St. Paul's old Church-yard of an 
 interesting character. The oldest of 
 these has been already given. 
 
 The next in date runs, — "Robert 
 French, obt, Sept. 9, 17 13." This is 
 cut upon an ordinary slat of sienite, 
 six feet long, and three and a half 
 feet wide, and is made the stepping- 
 stone from the front gateway of the 
 present church edifice. 
 
 The following inscription has a his- 
 tory which will interest all my read- 
 ers. 
 
 " Here lieth 
 PAUL JACKSON, A. M. 
 
 He was the first who received a Degree 
 
 In the College of Philadelphia. 
 
 A Man of virtue, worth and knowledge. 
 
 Died, 1767, aged 38 years." 
 
 Dr. Samuel Jackson, of Philadelphia, 
 who died within the past year (1873,) 
 at an extreme old age, was a nephew 
 of Paul Jackson and a son of Dr. 
 David Jackson by his second wife, 
 Susan Kemper. 
 
 In Watson's Annals, pp. 127 and 
 128, edition of 1856, it is stated, that 
 "Dr. Paul Jackson was a surgeon in 
 the Braddock Expedition, and a broth- 
 er-in-law of the Hon. Charles Thomp- 
 son, and one of the best classical 
 scholars of his time." His brother, 
 David Jackson, graduated in the Col- 
 lege of Philadelphia, as Bachelor of 
 Medicine, June 21, 1768. On that day 
 the first public Commencement of any 
 medical college in America, was held 
 by the University of Philad'a. There 
 were two departments to the Univer- 
 sity of Philadelphia, the literary and 
 the medical, then, as there is now to 
 its successor, the University of Penn- 
 sylvania. Dr. Paul Jackson, was Pro- 
 fessor of Languages in the University 
 of Philadelphia, from 1758 to 1767. 
 I derive this information from an old 
 writing that was deposited in the cor- 
 ner-stone of the old University, and 
 which was taken out of it when the 
 building was torn down Dec, 1873. 
 He was not, therefore, the first person 
 who took a degree in the Medical De- 
 partment of the College of Philadel- 
 phia, as he died in 1767, and the first 
 degree was taken by his brother in 1768. 
 Medical instruction in the College did 
 not commence until May 3, 1765. 
 The inscription upon the tombstone 
 
130 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 nia)', however, have reference to his 
 degree inscribed thereon of Master of 
 Arts, and is, perhaps, correct. 
 
 Dr. Smith says, in his Biot^^raphical 
 Sketches : 
 
 " Dr. Paul Jackson was distinguished fur his 
 talents, and was one of the most highly edu- 
 cated men of his day. When quite a young 
 man he was appointed professor of Greek and 
 Latin in the College of Philadeljihia, now 
 the University of Pennsylvania. Finding his 
 health impaired by confinement and study, he 
 left college and joined the expedition of Gen- 
 eral Forbes, got up for the reduction of Fort 
 Du Quesne, as commander of a company. In 
 this expedition his prudence and bravery com- 
 mended him to the particular notice of the 
 General. By the active life of a soldier, his 
 health was improved; but his fondness for 
 study returning with his renewed health, he 
 abandoned the military profession and engag- 
 ed in the study of physic. Having by great 
 application, and Ijiy attendance at what was 
 then called " The Royal Hospital," become 
 well versed both in the theory and practice of 
 medicine and surgery, he settled in Chester, 
 where he soon became a well established and 
 successful physician. After practising his pro- 
 fession for some years, and while holding the 
 office of Chief Burgess of the town, he died at 
 Chester, in the year 1767, at the early age of 
 38 years, and was buried in St. Paul's church- 
 yard. There are reasons for believing that 
 this eminent man was a native of Chester." 
 
 As to what Dr. Smith's reasons 
 were he, unfortunately, leaves us in 
 the dark; we like to know all about 
 Chester folks. 
 
 Samuel Jackson, of Oxford, Chester 
 County, died in 1765, leaving sons, 
 Paul, Samuel and David. Paul mar- 
 ried Jane, daughter of John Mather 
 of Chester, and settled there, and by 
 virtue of his office of chief burgess was 
 a Justice of the Common Pleas from 
 1762 till his death. He left three 
 children, John Mather Jackson, Mary 
 and Charles Jackson, and his widow 
 married in 1770, Dr. David Jackson 
 of Phila.leli)hia. 
 
 Dr. David Jackson, Sen., was " Sur- 
 geon, G. hospital," Pennsylvania, dur- 
 ing the Revolution. Whether he was 
 Surgeon General of the Pennsylvania 
 troops, or Surgeon in the General Hos- 
 l)ital, (.see 14 Colonial Records, 435,) 
 
 I cannot determine. 
 
 Near the tomb that covers the re- 
 mains of Dr. Jackson, and like it, 
 lying flat upon the surface of the 
 ground, and of the same material, a 
 dark slate-colored marble, there is an 
 immense memorial-stone, on which is 
 cut the following: 
 
 " In Memory of Margaret Mather, wife 
 of James Mather, who departed this life Feb- 
 ruary 1st, 1777, in the 68th year of her age. 
 Firm to her friend, and to her promise just, 
 Benevolent and of a religious trust. 
 
 Also in memory of James Mather Ver- 
 non, son of Edward and Mary Vernon, 
 who departed this life April 24, 1777, aged 
 two years, eight months and 24 days. 
 Grand mamey's gone before, God's will be 
 
 done, 
 I'll follow her, she's nigh, I'm her own grand- 
 son. 
 
 Also in memory of Jamks Mather, who 
 departed this life January nth, 17S0, in the 
 77th year of his age. 
 Though the worms my antiant body turns to 
 
 dust, 
 Yet I hoj^e my soul in heaven will live among 
 the just. 
 
 Also in memory of Peter Mather \'er- 
 NON, son of Edward and Mary Vernon, who 
 departed this life November 10, 1779, aged 
 20 months. 
 
 Also in memory of Abigal Vernon, daugh- 
 ter of Edward and Mary Vernon, who departed 
 this life December 15, 1781, aged five weeks. 
 
 Also in memory of Rehecca Vernon, 
 daughter of Edward and Mary Vernon, who 
 departed this life December 15, 1784, aged 
 
 I I months and 1 1 days. 
 
 Also in memory of Edward Test Vernon, 
 son of Edward and Mary Vernon, who de- 
 parted this life July 9th, 1785, aged one day. 
 
 Also in memory of Mary Vernon, wife of 
 Edward Vernon, Esq., who departed this life, 
 October 16, 1785, aged 35 years. 
 
HISTORY OF OlIESTEK. 
 
 l;jl 
 
 She seven sweet h.ibjs with patience bore, | 
 then died, 1 
 
 Five of them now mouldering by her side, 
 The other two here left her to bewail, 
 Her hiisl)and also to lament her fall. 
 That blooming rose, the pride once of this life 
 A tender Mother, a virtuous loving wife. 
 Called from the bosom of her husband dear; 
 For fifteen years he was her constant care. 
 Firm to her friend, and free from all deceit, 1 
 ( lood Abraham's bosom we hope will be her seat I 
 Slie's gone before, to Paradise we trust — 
 Prepare to follow her, she'll not return to us, 
 What once had virtue, grace and wit. 
 Lies mouldering here beneath your feet. 
 Cold is her bed, and dark her room. 
 But Angels watch around her tomb, 
 Till the last music of the skies, 
 Relieves her guard and bids her rise. 
 
 At the head of this memorial stone 
 is sculptured an hour-glass, crossed 
 by two arrows, and supported on 
 each side by angel's heads, winged; 
 and at the bottom, underneath the 
 above lines, are two crossed thigh 
 bones, with winged angel's heads at 
 the corners. 
 
 On the monumental stones in this 
 ancient graveyard, one can read the 
 names of the old Episcoi>al families of 
 Chester and its vicinity ; the Jacksons, 
 Shaws, Prices, Lownes, Crosbys, Mor- 
 tons, Martins, Granthams, Porters, 
 Odenheimers, Wades, Andersons, De- 
 shongs, Bowens, Bartons, Baggs, Jus- 
 tises. Haddocks, Richards, Mathers, 
 Terrills, Vernons, and others. 
 
 Immediately to the south-west of, 
 and at the head of the vault of my 
 late uncle Robert Peirce Crosby, stand 
 two ancient gray sandstone memorial 
 stones side by side ; at the top of each 
 is cut an hour-glass ; in the middle, 
 and at each upper corner, angels' 
 heads without bodies, but with wings 
 issuing from behind their ears. On 
 one of these stones will be foimd the 
 following inscription : 
 
 18 
 
 ^^In Memory of Samuel Shaw, 
 
 Who was born in Lincolnshire, 
 
 In England, A. D. 1707, 
 
 And departed this life at his seat 
 
 Near Chester, in Pennsylvania, 
 
 September 20, 1783. 
 
 He lived resolved & steady to his trust. 
 Free from deceit, in all his actions just. 
 
 And upon the other stone : 
 
 Here lies the body of Marv, 
 The wife of Samuel Shaw, 
 Who departed this Life, the 19th Janu- 
 ary, I 768, in the 40th year of her age. 
 
 In the midst of life we are in death. 
 
 Here lies 
 The tender Mother, who bears a child. 
 
 Then dies. 
 
 Samuel and Mary Shaw, above men- 
 tioned, had four children, viz. ; John, 
 Samuel, Ann, and Mary, all of whom 
 died young, being swept off by that 
 fearful scourge, the yellow fever, so 
 prevalent and fatal along the banks of 
 the Delaware during the last half of 
 the 1 8th century. Samuel Shaw's se- 
 cond wife was Hannah, a daughter of 
 Tristram Smith, of Delaware County, 
 Penna. They had five children, Wil- 
 liam, Hannah, James, Jane and Lydia. 
 William died without issue. Hannah 
 m. Passmore West, they had two chil- 
 dren, Samuel and Sallie Annie, who 
 died without issue. James 7?i. Jane, 
 dau. of Thomas and Martha Preston 
 Sharpless, of Chester ; their only chil- 
 dren were Martha Preston and Samuel 
 Shaw. James died, and his widow, 
 Jane, m. Davis Bevan, son of David 
 and Agnes Bevan, of Chester, in 1803. 
 Martha P. Shaw, dau. of James and 
 Jane, m. George W. Hill, of Ridley, 
 late of Aston, deceased : they had is- 
 sue, Catharine Fairlamb, ;«. John 
 Hastings ; James Shaw, m. Elizabeth 
 Massey ; Jane Sharpless, w. George 
 
132 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 I luwanl : C.corgc \\'ashiiigt()n, /;/. Mary 
 1). Peters ; antl Mar)-, in. Edward 
 Massey ; of these Catharine and Jane 
 are deceased. 
 
 Samuel Shaw, son of James and Jane, 
 m. Mary Ann, dau. of John and Isa- 
 bella Eyre, of Upper Chichester, and 
 had four children, James George, 
 John Eyre, Martha Preston, and Emily 
 Anna. Martha died in infancy. James 
 G. m. Virginia, dau. of the late Major 
 Joseph Carr, of New Castle County, 
 Delaware. They have one son, James 
 George Shaw, Jr. ; Emily Anna ;//. 
 William M. Burgin, of Philadelphia, 
 and they have three children, Samuel 
 Shaw, Alice, and William Matthews 
 Burgin. John Eyre Shaw, Esq., is 
 unmarried, and is a practising member 
 of the Philadelphia Bar, but resides in 
 the city of Chester. 
 
 Jane, dau. of Samuel and Hannah 
 Shaw, w. Ephraim Pearson, of Chester. 
 They had eight sons, William, Samuel, 
 Ephraim, James, Charles, Edwin, Be- 
 noni J. and Hamlet. William, the 
 eldest, when young, went to Rich- 
 mond, Va., where he married and 
 died, leaving four sons, William H., 
 living in New York City ; George, 
 who died in St. Louis ; Robert, living 
 in Chester, and Charles E., wlio died 
 in Leavenworth City. Samuel married, 
 but died without issue. Ephriam was 
 lost at sea. James died leaving a widow 
 and three daughters. Charles died 
 unmarried. Edwin died, leaving two 
 daughters, both married and living in 
 Chester. Benoni J. died, leaving three 
 sons. Hamlet died, leaving surviving 
 a widow, three daughters and a son, 
 since dead. Mrs. Pearson died in 
 Philadeljihia in 1862, in her 88th 
 year. She out-lived all her sons. 
 
 Lydia Shaw, sister of Jane, married 
 Jacob Peterson ; they had three chil- 
 
 dren, of whom onl\ Samuel Shaw Pe- 
 terson survives, and is now residing in 
 Binghampton, State of New York. 
 
 In an old note book of Judge Crosby, 
 wherein the first entry is made May 2, 
 1803, there is entered, without date, 
 the following: — " Elisha Price, Esq., 
 John Crosby, Jr., Wardens; P. S. 
 Isaac Culin, was chosen Warden on 
 account of Elisha Price, Esq., being 
 sickly, and not able to attend to the 
 business. D'' the following persons 
 to the Church Wardens of St. Paul's 
 Church, in the township of Chester." 
 The original leaves of this old book 
 have been torn out and others sewed 
 in, upon which are copied numerous 
 legal forms of writs, &c. The last 
 entry is dated May 20, 181 3. showing 
 that John Crosby was an Associate 
 Judge at that time. He was appoint- 
 ed April 20, 1799. I have his com- 
 mission bearing that date. 
 
 There is an illustration in Dr. 
 Smith's history of the county, facing 
 page 209, containing in the centre of 
 the picture an end view of old St. 
 Paul's Church, as it appeared after 
 the repairs and alterations were made 
 in 1835, when the old stone belfry 
 was torn down. On the left of the 
 picture is seen a portion of a double 
 stone dwelling. This was the first 
 office of the Delaware County, now 
 the Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance 
 Company, and my father, the then 
 Secretary of the Company, occupied 
 the dwelling, and from the back win- 
 dows of the house, we could look out 
 upon a long view of the river Delaware 
 to the east ; an idea of which can be had 
 from the engraving; and also upon old 
 St. Paul's Church and the churchyard, 
 and upon the tombs of our ancestors, 
 most of which were directly in front 
 of the gable door seen in the drawing. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 133 
 
 To the right of the picture is to be seen 
 the end of the frame structure, or 
 Town Hall, which was formerly over 
 the old Market House, in the square 
 at Third and Market Streets, and which 
 was occupied in 1835, by the Chester 
 Library Company. 
 
 The old church building of St. 
 Paul's was torn down about 1850; an 
 useless destruction of an old edifice. 
 It would have been much more credit- 
 able to the congregation, had it been 
 preserved for its antiquity, and applied 
 to the purposes of the Sunday-School. 
 
 " They all are passing from the land, 
 Those Churches old and gray, 
 In which our forefathers used to stand, 
 In years gon; by, to pray." 
 
 I have been much pained to know, 
 that a majority of the lay members of 
 the congregation of St. Paul's, per- 
 mitted the sale of a portion of the old 
 graveyard to the west, leading out into 
 Market Street. In the early part of 
 1872, a suggestion was made without 
 effect, by some person or persons con- 
 nected with the congregation, that the 
 whole of the old graveyard lying south 
 of Third Street should be sold, and the 
 proceeds applied to increasing the size 
 of the present church. I may here say 
 that this kind of thing cannot be le- 
 gally done without the consent of the 
 families of those buried in the enclo- 
 sure. I am aware, that in Philadelphia 
 such removals have been attempted and 
 been resisted in the Courts; yet finally 
 the object has been accomplished, 
 but always by compromise, a new 
 place of burial being obtained, the 
 land having become too valuable to 
 let the dead rest in their chosen jjlace 
 of repose ; but that such an idea should 
 be entertained in Chester, where land 
 is plenty, and where live relatives of 
 
 many of the dead, who lie buried in old 
 St. Paul's graveyard, is almost incredi- 
 ble. Apart from the mere matter of 
 feeling, our ancestors bought of the 
 Church the right of burial, and such a 
 right was sold, knowing it was to exist 
 for all time. And whatever may be the 
 rights of the present congregation, the 
 dead and their descendants have rights 
 which cannot be successfully resisted. 
 I trust the day may never come when 
 the congregation, to save their purses, 
 will sell the bones of their ancestors. 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 < 
 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 
 II 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 SOUTH DOOR. 
 
 5 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 IS 
 
 17 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 The above is reduced from a simi- 
 lar plan on p. 25 of the first Registry 
 book before referred to^ and is called 
 '' A list of y'^ Pews of S' Paul's Church, 
 Chester, (S: to whom they belong." 
 Pages 23 and 24 are missing, perhaps 
 
134 
 
 HISTORY OF CHRSTER. 
 
 stolen, and with them the list of Pew- 
 owners ; however, a partial list of those 
 who occupied the pews at other periods 
 is given. No. i was "The Pulpit," 
 No. 2 " The Minister's Seat." 
 
 In 1791, No. 2 was occupied by Wm. 
 Willis; 3, by John Caldwell & Jno: 
 Marlow ; 4, by George Peirce & Jesse 
 Beckerton ; 5, Peter Salkeld ; 6. J. Wor- 
 rall & Cooper; 9, Ed. Richards; 10, 
 John Crosby, Esq., eS: C. Grantham; 
 II, E. Price, Esq. ; 12, Wm. Hasel- 
 wood ; 13, Isaac Hanes ; 14, J. Slaugh- 
 ter & Ad. Barten ; 18, J. Withy. 
 
 In 1792, Abner Barton has No. 13 ; 
 James Withy, No. 4. In 1793, No. 
 10, Thomas Smith ; No. 9, John Cros- 
 by, Esq. ;'i4, Stephen Cioele. 
 
 In 1803, No. 2, James Bernard; 3, 
 John Caldwell ; 4, Caleb Davis, Esq. ; 
 5, Daniel Morton; 6, Wm. Siddons 
 li: John Wood ; 9, John Crosby, Esq. ; 
 10, Messrs. Barton; 11, Doc'' Ander- 
 son & John Odenheimer ; 12, Wm. 
 Anderson; 13, Isaac Culin, ; 14, Philip 
 Painter, Esq., tSc his brother; 15, 
 George B. Lownes. Before 1835, ^'""^ 
 Pulpit was where the Chancel is marked 
 on the plan ; and the Pews, I believe, 
 were differently arranged. 
 
 One other monument standing in 
 the old burial grounds of St. Paul's, 
 demands attention. It consists of a 
 plain shaft of marble, nine feet in 
 height, its four sides facing precisely 
 the four cardinal points of the com- 
 pass. It is without any ornamental 
 carving, except the coats of arms of 
 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
 encircled by a wreath of laurel. Here 
 lies the body of one of our country's 
 patriot sons, and Revolutionary heroes, 
 a native of our Commonwealth, and of 
 the county of Delaware ; the inscrip- 
 tion on the Avest side of. the memorial 
 shaft, states that it is — 
 
 " Dedicated to the memory of 
 JOHN MORTON, 
 A Member of the first American Con- 
 gress from the State of Pennsylvania, 
 Assembled in New York, 1765, and of 
 the next Congress Assembled in Phil- 
 adelphia in 1774. 
 Born A. D. 1724 — Died April, 1777." 
 
 Upon the east side of the column is 
 the following statement : 
 
 " In voting by States upon the ques- 
 tion of the Independence of the Amer- 
 ican Colonies, there was a tie until the 
 vote of Pennsylvania was given ; two 
 members of which voted in the affir- 
 mative, and two in the negative. The 
 tie continued until the vote of the last 
 member, John Morton, decided the 
 promulgation of the glorious Diploma 
 of American Freedom." 
 
 Upon the north face of the shaft 
 will be found inscribed, that — 
 
 "John Morton being censured by 
 some of his friends for his boldness in 
 giving his casting vote for the Decla- 
 ration of Independence, his prophetic 
 spirit dictated from his death bed the 
 following message to them : ' Tell them 
 they will live to see the hour when they 
 shall acknowledge it to have been the 
 most glorious service I ever rendered 
 to my country.' " 
 
 And upon the south face of the stone 
 are engraven the w- ords : 
 
 "In 1775, while Speaker of the As- 
 sembly of Pennsylvania, John Morton 
 was re-elected a Member of Congress, 
 and in the ever memorable Session of 
 July, 1776, he attended that august 
 body for the last time, enshrining his 
 name in the grateful remembrance of 
 the American People by signing the 
 Declaration of Independence." 
 
 The first mention I find made of the 
 name of tiie Morton family of Dela- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 135 
 
 ware County, in this country, is in the 
 names attached to the Oath of Alleg- 
 iance of the Swedes to the Dutch in 
 1655, {^Hazard, 186,) where the name 
 is spelled Martin Martens. In an old 
 Book of Surveys at Harrisburg, dated 
 1675, p. 32, will be found the follow- 
 ing " Laid out for John Cornelis and 
 Marton Marteson, (Morton Morton- 
 son,) one piece or parcel of land, where- 
 on they now dwell, situate, lying and 
 being on y^ west side of Delaware river, 
 and on a creek which cometh out of 
 said river, commonly known and called 
 Amsland or Mill Kill, beginning at a 
 small Stony Run which divides this land 
 from Henrick Johnson's and Bartol 
 Escoll's (land) running into the woods 
 N. W. and W. 320 p. to a corner mark- 
 ed black oak, standing by a creek J/i?^/^- 
 oronipattc, then along the several 
 courses of the creek to the mouth there- 
 of 320 p., then along Mill creek to the 
 first place of beginning, 300 p. laid out 
 for 728 acres more or less." The words 
 in parentheses are Dr. Smith's, see his 
 history, p. 522. 
 
 In a suit at Upland, in 1672, the 
 name is written Martin Martinson. In 
 a petition to the General Assembly in 
 1709, Patent Book No. i, p. 565, are 
 the names of Morton, Anders, John 
 and LorsMorteson ; and in a document 
 on file in the office of the Secretary of 
 State, at Albany, N. Y., 1672, the name 
 is written Morten Mortenson. It is 
 conceded that this name has now be- 
 come Morton in this country. 
 
 Morton Mortonson, by name, a 
 Swede, resided as early as 1655, on his 
 plantation at Ammesland, in Ridley 
 township in Chester (now Delaware) 
 county, in Pennsylvania, and was still 
 living there May 24, 1703, when by 
 deed addressed " To all Xtian People," 
 bearing date that dav and delivered the 
 
 next in open court, conveyed to his son 
 Matthias Morton, but reserving a main- 
 tainance for himself and wife during 
 their natural lives, " all and all manner 
 of my estate undisposed of, as Goods and 
 chattels, Depts, Implements of House- 
 hold stuff of nature what kind or quali- 
 ity soever," &c., "together with my 
 plantation at Amosland afores** with 
 all the clear lands, feilds, fences, woods, 
 underwoods, meadows, swamps, crip- 
 ples* and three hundred fifty seven 
 acres & a halfe ac'' of land to the s'^ 
 Plantacon now belonging and in pos- 
 session of me y® said Morton Mor- 
 tonson. Together with one Moiety or 
 half of all my lands in West Jersey 
 to be equally divided between my 
 s'* son Matthias Morton and my son 
 Andreas Morton &:c. * * giving 
 and delivering unto my s** son Matthias 
 Morton, one Pewter Dish with a turf 
 of land upon it in full seizen and peace- 
 ful and quiet possession of the whole 
 premises." Recorded Dec. 25, 171 2, 
 Deed Book A. 231, West Chester. The 
 present D. B. is a copy, and the above 
 is entered in it at p. 340, and is signed 
 with a simple " x" mark, but the origi- 
 nal deed mark may not have been cor- 
 rectly copied. Immediately preceding 
 this is a eked dated 20th of March, 
 1694-5, from Andreas Johnson, late of 
 Amosland, Husbandman, to Morton 
 Mortonson of Amosland, by which 
 Johnson conveys for ;^4o, "All and 
 every part and parcell of my Land, 
 cleared and uncleared, being & being 
 in y^ Township of Ridle & place called 
 Amasland ; Resurveyed togather with 
 
 * Cripple, as applied to land, means, — ist, 
 both in law and fact, a marshy piece of 
 ground with the timber cut off, and in an un- 
 improved condition. 2d. The flats or land 
 lying between high and low water mark on 
 a river side, formed by natural deposits or 
 otherwise. \st Wliarton'' s Reports, 535. 
 
13( 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 the Land of y" s'' Morton Mortonson 
 by Charles Ashcom the Eight day of 
 y" fifth month 1683; And since sur- 
 veied & divided into several Lotts by 
 Robert Longshore ; the s'^ Lotts Bounds 
 at y" one end with John Simcock Land, 
 y" other end with Mucanippott & 
 Darby Creek ; Joyning & Bounded on 
 every side of y* s** Lotts with y^ Land 
 of y' s** Morton Mortonson ; The said 
 Lotts & Tract of Land Hereby Granted 
 & sold to y" s^ Morton Mortonson, his 
 heirs & assigns Containing; upon y" 
 sccurcity sur\-ey by Robert Longshore, 
 Two hundred seventy & five acres of 
 Land." 
 
 Among the list of taxables at Cal- 
 koens Hock in 1677, are Mort Mor- 
 tens, Jujiior, Mort Mortense, Senior, 
 and Lace Mortens, and in the list of 
 Swedish inhabitants on the Delaware 
 previous to May 31, 1693, made for the 
 King of Sweden, Acre/ms, 191, will 
 be found the names of Marten Martens- 
 son, Junior, 10 in family. Marten Mar- 
 tensson. Senior, 3 persons in his family, 
 and Mats Martenson, 4 in family, and 
 there is also Marten Knutsson, (that is. 
 Marten, the son of Knut or Canute,) 
 with 6 in family. 
 
 There were two persons of the name 
 of Morton Mortonson, distinguished 
 by the addition o^ Junior and Senior, 
 in the lists, but not in the deeds and 
 other papers, so it is simply impossi- 
 ble at this date to say whether they 
 were father and son or not, although 
 it is probable they were. The above 
 deed of May 24, 1703, of Morton 
 Mortonson to his two sons Matthias 
 and Andreas, shows that at that date 
 there were three in his family, and he 
 had not provided for these sons, and that 
 he was the senior of that name. This 
 Morton Mortonson, speaks of himself, 
 and is spoken of, as of Ammesland ; 
 
 while the other Morton Mortonson, 
 in his will dated Nov. i, 1718, and 
 registered Jan. i, 1 718, at West Ches- 
 ter, calls himself " 0/ Calking Hook,'' 
 and names in his will his children, 
 David, Andrew, John, Matthias, Kath- 
 arine and Margaret. * To David he 
 leaves all his estate real and personal, 
 and cufs the rest off with a shilling 
 each. No doubt he had provided for 
 them before. It will be perceived, 
 that M. M., Jr., had 10 members in 
 his family, according to list of Swedes 
 on the Delaware, so M. M., ^ Calk- 
 ing Hook, was M. M., Jr. But this 
 having been doubted by several writers, 
 I have, in endeavoring to solve the 
 question whether it was Mortonson, 
 junior or senior, who died in 17 18, 
 consulted J. Smith Futhey, Esq., who 
 found on record at West Chester, four 
 deeds made by Morton Mortonson, of 
 Colran Hooke, to his sons, all dated 
 Dec. 29, 1708, one to Laurence, one 
 to John, and one to Andrew Morton- 
 son, each for 300 acres, in Philadel- 
 phia County, east of the Schuylkill, 
 all described as part of a tract of 1200 
 acres granted to "one of the said 
 Swedes, Morton Morton," by William 
 Penn, by patent dated Oct. 20, 1701, 
 and enrolled in Rolls Office at Phila- 
 delphia in Patent Book A, No. i, p. 
 565. I suppose that this Patent is but 
 a confirmation of a former title of cer- 
 tain lands before granted to Morton 
 Morton and other Swedes. The fourth 
 deed bearing the same date is to Lau- 
 rence Mortonson, for 60 acres, in Cal- 
 kan Hook ; all these deeds are signed 
 by Morton Mortonson by a peculiar 
 mark, but unlike the usual X. 
 
 There arc also of record two deeds 
 made by Morton Mortonson, of Darby, 
 in 1716; one to Hans Boon, the other 
 to John Broom. These are signed 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 137 
 
 without any mark, at least the record 
 indicates none. This seems to show 
 that the Mortonson who made the 
 deeds to his son in 1 708, and signed 
 with his mark, was, probably, not' the 
 Morton Mortonson who made the above 
 deeds in' 1716. These latter deeds 
 are for lands in Darby, they recite the 
 title of the land as conveyed to said 
 M. M., by a man whose name appears 
 to be Ohson, (probably Olsson, as in 
 the list in Acrelius, there is a Hans 
 Olsson,) by deed dated April 10, 1683. 
 The deed to Broom, is made by Mor- 
 ton Mortonson and Margaret his wife. 
 That to Boon, although made at the 
 same time and by the same M. M., 
 does not refer to his wife and is not 
 signed by her. 
 
 The Will of Morton Mortonson, dat- 
 ed Nov. I, 1 718, is signed with the 
 peculiar mark like the deeds of Dec. 
 26, 1708, and does not mention his 
 son Laurence at all. This is. account- 
 ed for, however, by the fact that Lau- 
 rence had already been provided for. 
 
 There is also of record, a deed of 
 Morton Morton to Jonas Morton, dated 
 Feb. 8, 1 741-2, for 126 acres in Ames- 
 land, in Ridley, which recites, that Mat- 
 thias Morton was in his lifetime seized 
 of a certain tract of land, meadows, 
 marshes, swampsand cripples, situate in 
 Amesland and in the township of Rid- 
 ley, and being so seized thereof died 
 intestate, leaving five sons and two 
 daughters, viz., Andrew, Morton, John, 
 Peter, Matthias, Mary and Christiana. 
 It then recites the vesting of the title 
 of the two brothers and sisters in one 
 of them, Morton Morton, the grantor; 
 also, that Mary married John Stolcup 
 and Christiana married Samuel Peter- 
 son. Morton Morton's will is on re- 
 cord, proved June i, 1781 ; he had 
 only one child, Rebecca Boon. 
 
 Mr. Futhey says, in view of his re- 
 searches, ' ' If these two Morton Mor- 
 tonsons were different men, they were 
 cotemporaries. The one who made 
 the deeds of 1716, and had a wife 
 Margaret, and who is recited as of 
 Darby, purchased in 1683, and the 
 other one who signed with his peculiar 
 mark, and who died in 1718, got his by 
 Patent in 1 701, at least, the land he 
 conveyed." The question of the re- 
 lationship of the two Mortonson's, ju- 
 nior and senior, I fail to solve ; I leave 
 it as a nut for future local historians to 
 crack. 
 
 Andrew Morton died intestate, and 
 letters of administration were granted 
 to his wife, Margaret Morton, Nov. 8, 
 1722. In 1732, Matthias Morton, ex- 
 ecutor of Laurence Morton, of Darby, 
 filed his account. The widow's name 
 was Bridget, and Morton Mortonson 
 was paid for nursing. Laurence's will 
 is indexed in Register's office, Phil- 
 adelphia, thus : — " Filed, Chester Co., 
 Morton Laurence, filed [at Philadel- 
 phia] 1 713, p. 171, Will-book D," but 
 there is no such will entered at the page 
 indicated, or on file in the office, nor 
 can it be found at West Chester. Mat- 
 thias Morton also died intestate, and 
 letters were granted to Bridget Morton, 
 Dec. 9, 1736. 
 
 I have a copy of the will of John 
 Morton, son of Morton Mortonson, of 
 " Calking Hook," and father of John 
 Morton, the signer; so this family is 
 of Swedish descent. 
 
 John Morton, the father of the signer, 
 married Mary, the daughter of John 
 (incorrectly William by authors) and 
 Gertrude Archer, of Ridley. They 
 had but the one son, and the father 
 died sometime between the date of 
 his will, Feb. 6, 1724-5, and its pro- 
 bate, 12 mo. 20, 1724-5. In his will 
 
188 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 he leaves all his projjerty to his wife, 
 Marv, during her widowhood, and if 
 she should have a child "of both our 
 bodies lawfully begotten," the estate 
 was to descend to him, if not, then 
 "my lands shall be equally divided 
 between my brother George Culin's 
 sons by my sisfe/- Margaret, — John, 
 George, Morton, Daniel, Jonas, to 
 them and their heirs forever." Mar- 
 garet and John were two of the chil- 
 dren of Morton Mortonson, who died 
 in 1718.* 
 
 John Morton, the signer, was not 
 born until after his father's death, 
 sometime early in the year 1725, the 
 exact date is unknown. His mother 
 survived him, but died the same or 
 the next year ; both their wills were 
 proven Aug. 26, 1778. The widow 
 married John Sketchley, an English 
 yeoman, who came over to America 
 in 1 718 and settled in Ridley in 1724, 
 and died in 1753, without issue. His 
 step-son, in remembrance of his kind- 
 ness, named a son Sketchley, who was 
 a Major in the Revolutionary army, 
 and a man of note in his day and 
 generation. His signature may be seen 
 on the State bills of credit, which are 
 now only curiosities. 
 
 John Morton, (the signer,) married 
 Ann Justis, and had issue three sons 
 and five daughters. He was a member 
 of the Provincial Assembly for 1 1 years 
 from 1756. Justice of the Peace and 
 
 ••>' The will of John Archer of Ridley, is dated 
 Nov. g, 1738, and proven Sept. 19, 1740. In 
 it he mentions sons (junner, John, Adam, Jacob, 
 daughters Eleanor and Eli/.aheth ArcheV, and 
 j^rand-children John Morton, John and Mary 
 Waldrum and Christian Archer. 
 
 The will of his widow, Gertrude, is dated 
 Nov. 9, 1748, and proven the 29th of the same 
 month. She mentions son Jacob and dau<i;h- 
 ters Catharine Peterson, Mary Sketchley, Ellen 
 Jones and Elizabeth Simcock ; also grand- 
 children Mary and Martha Archer, daus. of 
 -Vdam and John Morton. 
 
 of the Courts for Chester Coimty in 
 1757, Sheriff in 1767 and '68. Iw 
 1765, he was a member of the first 
 Congress at New York. In 1774, was 
 re-elected, and again elected the third 
 time in 1776. Hewasamember of the 
 first Convention to frame a Constitu- 
 tion for the Commonwealth of Penn- 
 sylvania, July 15, 1776. In 1772-3-4- 
 5, he was elected a member of the As- 
 sembly, and in the latter year elected 
 Speaker of that body. In 1774, he 
 was appointed an Associate Judge of 
 the Supreme Provincial Court of Penn- 
 sylvania, and was the last appointment 
 in that Court under the old order of 
 things. He died in Dec, 1777, in 
 the 54th year of his age. 
 
 The biographical sketches of John 
 Morton, are so full that it is not ne- 
 cessary for me here to enter that por- 
 tion of his life and services which is 
 satisfactorily set forth in them. There 
 was a sketch of his life published in 
 the Village Record of West Chester, 
 written by Dr. Darlington, some years 
 ago, in which the writer differs from 
 family traditioti that John Morton gave 
 the casting vote of this Province for 
 the Declaration, a statement which 
 seems to be confirmed by Gov. Mc- 
 Kean's letter, written in 181 2, and also 
 affirmed in Sanderson' s Biographies 
 of the Signers, 6 vol. 211, &c. Dr. 
 Smith's criticism of the letter in the 
 Republican, some years ago, was an 
 able paper, but threw no new light on 
 disputed points. He says, the New 
 York delegation did not vote, but it 
 did for all that, and the Assembly of 
 that Colony afterwards, on July 9th, 
 confirmed their action. The whole 
 thirteen Colonies voted on the 4th of 
 July, 1776, and their vote was in favor 
 of the Declaration. 
 
 John Adams, in writing to liis daiigh- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 139 
 
 ter from Philadelphia, July 5, 1777, 
 says: " Yesterday being the Anniver- 
 sary of American Independence, was 
 celebrated here with a festivity and 
 ceremony becoming the occasion." 
 So there appears to have been no 
 doubt in Philadelphia in 1777, that 
 the 4th of July was, really, our Inde- 
 pendence day. 
 
 In the Journals of Congress pub- 
 lished by its order in 1777, 2 vol. 240, 
 and also in FolwelV s edit., 2 vol. 228, 
 it will be found stated that, 
 
 " Agreeable to the order of the day, July 3, 
 1776, the Congress resolved itself into a com- 
 mittee of the whole, to take into their further 
 consideration, the Declaration, and after some 
 time the President resumed the chair, and Mr. 
 Harrison reported that the Committee not 
 yet having gone throug-h it, desired leave to 
 sit again. 
 
 " Resolved, That this Congress will again 
 to-morrow, resolve itself into a committee of 
 the whole, to take into consideration the De- 
 claration of Independence. 
 
 "July 4th, 1776. Agreeable to the order 
 of the day, the Congress resolved itself into 
 the committee of the whole, to take into their 
 further consideration the Declaration, and after 
 sometime the President resumed the chair, and 
 Mr. Harrison reported that the committee had 
 agreed to a Declaration, which they desired 
 him to report."' 
 
 The Declaration is inserted in full 
 in the Journal ; see also Foltueir s ed., 
 p. 229. And at the end thereof, ' ' The 
 foregoing Declaration was by order of 
 Congress engrossed and signed'^ by the 
 following members, in all fifty-four : 
 New Hampshire, 3 ; Massachusetts 
 Bay, 4 ; Rhode Island, 2 ; Connecti- 
 cut, 4 ; New York, 4 ; New Jersey, 5 ; 
 Pennsylvania, 9 ; Delaware, 2 ; Mary- 
 land, 4 ; Virginia, 7 ; North Carolina, 
 
 * When the engrossed copy was signed is 
 not known precisely. The original, in Jeffer- 
 son's handwriting, was not signed ; it is in 
 possession of the American Philosophical So- 
 ciety. I 
 19 
 
 3 ; South Carolina, 4, and Georgia, 3. 
 The names of Pennsylvanians signing 
 are, Robert Morris, Benjamin Frank- 
 lin, John Morton, George Clymer, 
 James Smith, George Taylor, James 
 Wilson, Benjamin Rush and George 
 Ross. 
 
 " Resolved, That copies of the Declaration 
 be sent to the several Assemblies, Conventions 
 and Committees or Councils of Safety, and to 
 the several Commanding Officers of the Con- 
 tinental Troops ; that it be proclaimed in each 
 of the United States, and at the head of the 
 Army." 
 
 In Philadelphia, pursuant to the last 
 resolution, the Committee of Safety of 
 Pennsylvania, ordered the Declaration 
 to be read at the State House, on Mon- 
 day, July 8, 1776, at 12 o'clock, and 
 it was read on that day, from a stage 
 erected in the State House yard, by 
 John Nixon, a son-in-law of Robert 
 Morris. The bells were rung all 
 day, and almost all night ; and the 
 Royal insignia of authority were re- 
 moved from the State House and 
 burnt. If the New York delegation 
 had not voted on the 4th in favor of 
 the Declaration, how could it have 
 been promulgated on the 8th, in Phil- 
 adelphia, as the unanimous Declara- 
 tion of the United Colonies? 
 
 The old family tradition, which I 
 heard in boyhood, and to which I 
 have before referred, was to this effect: 
 That the vote of Congress upon the 
 adoption of the Declaration was taken 
 by Colonies, each delegation voting 
 separately, the majority thereof decid- 
 ing the vote of each Colony they re- 
 presented. Six Colonies had voted in 
 favor of, and six against the measure, 
 leaving the Pennsylvania delegation the 
 last to vote, which they proceeded to 
 do, and the result was a tie, John Mor- 
 ton and several others being absent. 
 
14U 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 At this moment Morton cntcrcil the 
 Hall, and decided the vote of Penn- 
 sylvania and of the Colonies, in fiivor 
 of tlic Declaration, and it was then 
 made unanimous, as to Colonies, hut 
 not as to delegations. 
 
 The above old famil)- tradition, I 
 have heard repeated again and again, 
 by old members of the families of 
 Morton, Crosby, Hill, Mcllvain and 
 others, and it has only been of late 
 years that I have heard it doubted. 
 The whole occurrence is so like what 
 takes place in deliberative assemblies, 
 that I see no cause to doubt it. And 
 despite the published journals of the 
 Congress, (which contain only final 
 results,) it may be truQ in every parti- 
 cular, for the members were sworn to 
 secrecy, and the preliminary occurren- 
 ces regarding the vote are not record- 
 ed on the minutes. 
 
 Morton, being chairman of the Penn- 
 sylvania delegation, naturally gave the 
 casting vote ; we know he gave it in 
 favor of the Declaration. His dying 
 w^ords evidently had reference to his 
 vote as having been decisive on the 
 question, else they had little or no 
 meaning, as he would have done no 
 more than any other representative, 
 who was in favor of the measure. It 
 is claimed that this final vote of Mor- 
 ton, was the reason why Pennsylvania 
 has been styled the Keystone State. 
 I know no other good reason for the 
 appellation. 
 
 Among some specimens of Conti- 
 nental money and Provincial currency, 
 I have one of the denomination of 
 "Thirty Shillings," printed by Hall 
 & Sellers, 1775, as is stated on the re- 
 verse, which is surrounded by a border, 
 having within it a dark space, one and 
 a half inches long, by an inch and 
 seven-eighths wide, two leaves, and 
 
 :|: t. :i:'j^_ y]^^. ,■^Q^^, \s T,jj iuchcs long, 
 by 2j4 wide. The face is surrounded 
 by a bortler nearly a quarter of an inch 
 in width. Within the top and bottom 
 borders are the words "Thirty Shil- 
 lings," in black letters. The side 
 borders are ornamental work. On the 
 right centre is engraven the Royal 
 Arms of Great Britain, under which 
 are five royal crowais, perfect, and one 
 half formed, under these the w^ords 
 "Thirty Shill." At the left heading 
 are five diamonds within each four 
 leaves, forming a cross, or within four 
 lozenges, a quarter foil each. After these 
 "No. 7448," figures and the printed 
 words "Thirty Shillings According to 
 the Resolves of the Assembly of Penn- 
 sylvania of the 1 8th day of November, 
 in the i6th year of the Reign of his 
 majesty George the Third. Dated at 
 Philadelphia, the 6th of December, 
 1775, l'>." and signed in their i)roper 
 handwriting by " E. Price, Nich's 
 Fairlamb. Sketchley Morton." 
 
 The credit issues of the Provinces, 
 were properly called after the Colony 
 making the issue, as " Pennsylvania 
 currency," "New York currency," 
 &c. And the bills of the United Col- 
 onies were called " Continental mo- 
 ney." But in the laws of Pennsylva- 
 nia, its issues are styled " The paper 
 Bills of Credit of this State." See i 
 Laws of Pa., 763. The Act states, 
 " That all Bills of Credit issued by any 
 Act of General Assembly of Pennsyl- 
 vania, struck under the sanction or 
 authority of Great Britian, on or be- 
 fore the 19th of April, A. D. 1775," 
 which shall not be brought in or ex- 
 changed before a day named, shall be 
 irredeemable, except, &c. Most of 
 these bills had endorsed on them the 
 ominous warning, "To Counterfeit 
 IS Dkath." 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 141 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, 
 in speaking of a visit he and Dr. Charles 
 Magnus Von Wrangel made to the 
 Swedish families near and at Tena- 
 kum, says: "July 29, 1761. We lodg- 
 ed with an Englishman, Mr. John 
 Taylor. * * His pious wife was the 
 daughter of a Brandenburger, Mary 
 Niedermark, but her mother was a 
 Swede, who had lived on this island. 
 * '^' On Thursday, we visited the 
 place of the first graveyard, where we 
 found mouldering remains of bodies, 
 and of the first Christian church in this 
 western wilderness. In the afternoon, 
 accompanied by some friends, we rode 
 back to Squire Morton's, at Ammes- 
 land. A meeting was appointed there to 
 consult about a new Swedish church." 
 Acrelius, 348. Probably the church 
 at Kingsessing. John Morton, the 
 signer, was appointed a Justice of the 
 Peace and of the Courts, in 1757, and 
 his residence at Ammasland was, pro- 
 bably, the dilapidated old log house 
 still standing though uninhabited, at 
 Morris' Ferry, on Darby Creek. Re- 
 ference cannot be made to the house 
 he built on the west side of Stone 
 Creek, now in Ridley Park, where he af- 
 terwards resided. This house was built 
 of stone, in 1764, and has the signer's 
 initials and those of his wife, with the 
 date cut on a circular marble tablet 
 set in its southern gable, in full view 
 of the passing trains on the Baltimore 
 Railroad. The situation was origi- 
 nally very retired. It is to be regret- 
 ted that there exists no portrait of our 
 Signer of the Declaration. 
 
 John Morton, the signer, niarrietl 
 Ann Justis, of Chester County, and 
 they had issue, as appears by his will 
 duly registered at West Chester, Aug. 
 
 I 26, 1 778, three sons and five daughters j 
 I i\AR0N, Sketchley, John, Mary, 
 Sarah, Lydia, Ann, and Elizabeth. 
 I. Aaron Morton, was initiated in 
 Chester Lodge, No. 69, A. Y. M., Jan. 
 30, 1798, under the name of Aaron 
 Moreton. He married Frances, dau. 
 of Richard and Elizabeth (Paschall) 
 Armitt ; their children were Benjamin, 
 John, Mary Ann and Richard ; they 
 all left issue except Richard, who died 
 unmarried. Mary Ann married her 
 cousin Richard Marshall, and had a 
 son, Morton, and two daughters ; one 
 of them, Margaret, married a Mr. Wil- 
 liams, the other was named Frances 
 Ann Marshall. I know nothing fur- 
 ther in regard to the rest of the chil- 
 dren, as all the family removed to Ohio 
 I over 50 years ago. 
 
 Richard Armitt, above mentioned, 
 had a sister, Mary, who married 
 Thomas Bell. Fanny (Armitt,) Mor- 
 ton had two sisters, Margaret, who 
 married Jacob Marshall, of West Brad- 
 ford, Chester County, and Sarah, who 
 married Samuel Worth, of East Brad- 
 ford. Margaret Pyle, a daughter of 
 the former, lives in West Chester, 
 while the sons and grandsons of the 
 latter own near 900 acres of good land 
 in East Bradford, near Marshallton. 
 Much of this information was obtained 
 from John Worth, one of the sons. 
 Aaron Morton, before his removal 
 to Ohio, lived in the former resi- 
 dence of his father at Ridley Park. 
 Peter Hill, of Ridley, late of Lenni 
 MiHs, who married Rebecca, a daugh- 
 ter of Charles and Mary (Morton) 
 Justis, lived in this house after Aaron 
 Morton moM'd out WV'st, and liere 
 his wife died in a dec line, Jeaxing an 
 infant son, which also died, and Peter 
 becoming embarrassed, his life estate 
 in the property which belonged to 
 
142 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 liis witV. was sold to l^lwanl Home. 
 No doubt but that my old friend Justis 
 Morton, son of Justis, who is a com- 
 l)Ositor in the office of the Delaware 
 County Republican, is a descendant of 
 the Mortons of Ridley. 
 
 2. Sketchley Morton, 2nd son of 
 the signer, was a Major in the Pennsyl- 
 vania Line of the Revolutionary army, 
 and died in 1795. His signature can 
 be seen on the State Bills of Credit, 
 issued according to the resolves of the 
 Assembly, Nov. 18, 1775, the i6th year 
 of the reign of his majesty George III. 
 Among the members of the Provincial 
 Conference which met at Carpenter's 
 Hall, in Philadelphia, June 18, 1776, 
 relative to calling a Convention to 
 adopt a form of State government, will 
 be seen the names of the following 
 from Chester County : Major Sketch- 
 ley Morton, Col. Richard Thomas, 
 Major William Evans, Major Caleb 
 Davis, Col. Thomas Hockley, Elisha 
 Price, Esq., Col. William Montgom- 
 ery, Mr. Samuel Fairlamb, Col. Hugh 
 Lloyd, Richard Reiley, Esq., Col. 
 Evan Evans, Col. Lewis Grono, and 
 Captain Thomas Levis. 
 
 Major Morton became embarrassed 
 financially before he died, by endors- 
 ing for his friends, and his property 
 was sold to pay their debts. 
 
 Amosland, is the name now given to 
 the property owned by Thomas T. 
 Tasker, directly opposite the "White 
 Horse Tavern," in Ridley, and is a 
 portion of the ancient tract so-called. 
 There can be no doubt but that the 
 Major owned a part of the Ammasland 
 tract, (a part is owned now by his 
 grandson and namesake. Judge Mor- 
 ton, at Morris' Ferry on Darby Creek.) 
 On examination of the Sheriff's con- 
 veyances, I found that Ezekiel Leon- 
 ;ird. Sheriff, sold in Ridk'\- 72 '4 acres, 
 
 as the proi)crty of Sketchley Morton, 
 by a Venditioni to November term, 
 1787, at the suit of Wm. Black alias 
 Carpenter ; and the levy is upon " two 
 messuages or tenements and one plan- 
 tation and tract of land situate in the 
 township of Ridley, bounded by lands 
 of Joseph Pearson, Aaron Morton and 
 others, containing 88 acres, more or 
 less." The record of the conveyance 
 is as follows : " Ezekiel Leonard, Esq. , 
 High Sheriff, acknowledges the exe- 
 cution of a deed dated the i6th of 
 Nov., 1787, to Elisha Price, of the 
 Borro of Chester, in the County of 
 Chester, Esquire, for a certain mes- 
 suage or tenement, plantation and tract 
 or parcel of land situate, lying and 
 being in the township of Ridley and 
 county aforesaid, containing 72 acres 
 and a half, more or less, late the estate 
 of Sketchley Morton," &c. 
 
 I extract the following from an item 
 entitled, "Ridley Notes," in the Re- 
 publican of March 20, 1874. 
 
 " Moving day among us is at hand, 
 and many are preparing for the change. 
 I notice the removal of Henry Shell- 
 drake to the farm now owned by the 
 Ridley Park Association, and which 
 belonged a century ago, to John Mor- 
 ton, the signer of the Declaration of 
 Independence. Williani H. Price will 
 remove from his old homestead, for- 
 merly the " Plough" tavern, where he 
 has lived over 50 years, to the late re- 
 sidence of William H. Gesner, at Nor- 
 wood, which he has purchased. The 
 old " Plough " tavern was built during 
 the reign of Queen Anne, by one of the 
 family of Hendrickson, who owned a 
 good deal of land at and above the mouth 
 of Crum Creek. It was purchased by 
 John Morton, the signer, about 1765; 
 at his death his son, Sketchley, grand- 
 father of the present Hon. Sketchley 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 143 
 
 Morton, of Springfield, became the 
 owner. He sold it in 1785. to Joseph 
 Pearson, who, dying in 1803, bequeath- 
 ed it to his son, John L. Pearson, who, 
 at his death in 1842, bequeathed it to 
 William H. Price. The house was kept 
 as a tavern long before and during the 
 Revolutionary war, and was so con- 
 tinued until 1820, when John L. Pear- 
 son moved into it and took down the 
 sign." 
 
 Major Sketchley Morton, married 
 Rebecca, daughter of John and Mary 
 (Niedermark) Taylor, of Tinicum. 
 She was born June 19, 1757. They 
 had issue, Charles, Rebecca, Ann, of 
 whom I have no information, Aaron- 
 Taylor and John S. Morton. After 
 the death of the Major, his widow mar- 
 ried a Mr. Miller ; and after his death, 
 resided with herson, John S., in Spring- 
 field, at the place now called Morton, 
 on the Philadelphia and West Chester 
 railroad, where she died March 28, 
 1 819, in her 77th year. 
 
 Aaron Taylor Morton, son of Major 
 Sketchley and Rebecca, married Ann 
 Peirce, daughter of John and Sarah 
 Lane Crosby of Ridley, b. Dec. 31, 
 1795, issue — Sarah, Albert, Charles 
 Justis, Annie, Rebecca, Mary, Eliza, 
 John and Ellen . He was a well-known 
 man in the county in his day ; a pri- 
 vate in Capt. Anderson's company in 
 1814; and died at his residence in 
 Ridley Park, at the 12th mile-stone 
 from Philadelphia, on June 6, 1840. 
 After his death, his widow married 
 Edward Home, a near neighbor. She 
 died May 27, 1872, during her se- 
 cond widowhood. Sarah, their eldest 
 daughter, m. William Mcllvain, of 
 Reading. Their son, Howard, b. Oct. 
 26, 1834, was junior ist Lieut, in Dur- 
 rell's Battery, 104 Pa. Vols., and was 
 dreadfully and mortally wounded in 
 
 battle, and died at Warrington, Va., 
 Nov. 15, 1862. He was a noble and 
 gallant young officer, much beloved 
 by his comrades in the army and friends 
 at home — Diilce et decorum est pro 
 patria mori. The other children's 
 names are Morton, William, Spencer, 
 and Annie Mcllvain. 
 
 Dr. Charles J. Morton, son of Aaron 
 T. and Ann P., is a practising physi- 
 cian, residing in Chester, and has been 
 twice married. His second wife, is 
 Anna E., daughter of Moses Coates, 
 of Chester County. His sister Annie 
 ;//. John Clark, and Eliza vi. John 
 Noble, of Ridley, June 5, 1838; Al- 
 bert, John and Ellen, died young ; 
 Mary m. William Miller, of Chester 
 County, Pa. ; Rebecca ni. Richard 
 Harper, of Ridley. 
 
 John S. Morton, late of Springfield, 
 son of (Major) Sketchley and Rebecca, 
 b. Feb. 21, 1780, d. Dec, 2, 1857, m. 
 June 30, 1803, Susannah, daughter of 
 Judge John Crosby and Ann Peirce 
 his wife, of Ridley. She was b. Feb. 
 16, 1786, d. April 9, 1857; they had 
 issue, Ann Crosby, Rebecca Taylor, 
 Susan Crosby, Sketchley, John Crosby, 
 Ellen Elizabeth, Crosby Peirce, Frank- 
 lin H. who died in infancy, and Catha- 
 rine Plummer Morton. 
 
 Ann Crosby Morton,/;. Aug. 2, 1804, 
 d. Mar., 1866, m. Dr. Ellis C. Harlan, 
 of Ridley,- March 5, 1824; he was a 
 talented and able physician, but died 
 without issue. May 4, 1826, aged 28 
 years ; and his widow married Jere- 
 miah Mcllvain, of Ridley, son of Jere- 
 miah and Elizabeth, March 8, 1833, 
 and had issue, George and Annie. 
 They removed to Darlington, Har- 
 ford County, Maryland, where George 
 married Rachel, daughter of Dr. Sam- 
 uel and Susanna G. Ramsey, and has 
 three sons, John, Morton, and an 
 
144 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 infant. Mis sister, Annie Mcllvain, 
 is unniarrietl. 
 
 Rebecca Taylor Morton, /'. May 
 31st, 1807, m. John D. Pearce, a 
 plumber, of Philadelphia, a widower 
 with four children ; they had issue, 
 Emma, who married James Young, of 
 Chester County; they have Morton, 
 Harry, Laura and Thomas Young. 
 Rebecca, m. Thomas H. Maddock, 
 Esq., of Ridley, and has three sons, 
 Harry, Charlton and Edgar. Susanna 
 Crosby^ unmarried. Eliza Crosby, m. 
 Harry Valentine, of Chester Co., and 
 have a daughter Susan. Ellen Eliza- 
 beth, b. Oct. 10, 1834, (i. Oct. 3, 1853. 
 Sketchlcy Morton Pcarcc, a minister 
 of the Presbyterian Church, who mar- 
 ried Susan McNeal, daughter of John, 
 of Chester County, of Scotch-Irish de- 
 scent ; they have a son named after 
 his father. Antiie Crosby Pearce, in. 
 Dec. 17, 1874, George W. Jones, of 
 Altoona, Pa. Kate Morion Pearce, 
 m. Wesley Miles, of Chester. 
 
 Susan Crosby Morton, vi. John 
 Spencer Mcllvain, of Ridley, they had 
 one son, Edward, who died Nov. 13, 
 1856, single. 
 
 Sketchlev Morton, of Morton, 
 Springfield, b. Oct. 12, 1810, late an 
 Associate Judge of the Courts of Del- 
 aware County, is an active and j)rom- 
 inent man in the county. He married 
 March 5, 1834, Elizabeth Annesley, 
 daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth 
 Newlin, d. i mo. i, 1872, in her 58th 
 year, leaving issue, John S., Benjamin 
 N., Elizabeth N., Sketchley, Annes- 
 ley, Susan and Mary Morton ; twins by 
 the names of Crosby and Hattie died 
 in infancy. John S., m. Eleanor 
 Baker, and has living two children, 
 Elizabeth and Virginia. He was for- 
 merly a conveyancer, and is now Pre- 
 sident of the West Philadelphia Pas- 
 
 senger Railway Company, and resides 
 in Philadeljjhia. Benjamin N., ;//. 
 Mary, dau. of John L. Passmore, of 
 Paschal; secondly, Mary Farson, dau. 
 of John and Susan, by whom he had 
 issue, Sketchley, Jr., John Farson 
 Annesley, and Benjamin N. , Jr., de- 
 ceased. Elizabeth N., m. Rev. John 
 Pleasanton Du Hamel, Rector of the 
 Episcopal Church of the '^Beloved 
 Disciple^'" Philadelphia; they have 
 issue, William and Fanny. Sketchley 
 Morton, Jr., h. March 2, 1842, died 
 in the U. S. Service, Nov. 12, 1862, 
 at Port Royal, S. C, of yellow fever, 
 as ist Eieut. 97th Pa. Vols. Annes- 
 ley Newlin Morton, conveyancer, Phil- 
 adelphia, m. Elizabeth Day, dau. of 
 Henry and Virginia, they have a son, 
 John. Annesley N. was 2d Lt. 97th 
 Pa. Vols., resigned — afterwards ist Lt. 
 of the Anderson Cavalry. His sister, 
 Susan, m. Isaac M. Lewis ; and Mary 
 ;//. J. Ridgeway Bunting, and has a 
 daughter, Susie. 
 
 John Crosby Morton, fifth child of 
 John S. and Susannah, b. Nov. 30, 
 181 2, d. Nov. 25, 1841, ;;/. Elizabeth 
 Worrall, of Delaware County, left is- 
 sue, Jeremiah and Ellen Crosby Mor- 
 ton. 
 
 Ellen Elizabeth Morton m. Wil- 
 liam Wright, plumber, late Pres. of the 
 West Philadelphia Passenger R. R. Co. 
 He died Oct. 9, 1863, leaving William 
 Morton, (who maried Marion Mullen, 
 of Philadelphia, and have issue, Flor- 
 ence Gilbert and Wm. Edwin), Ellen 
 E., Crosby Morton, Clara, and Her- 
 man Lombaert. William M. and Cros- 
 by M. Wright, are plumbers, and their 
 establishment is at the N. W. cor. of 
 nth and Walnut Sts., Philadelphia. 
 
 Crosby P. Morton, seventh child of 
 John S. and Susannah, b. Nov. 27, 
 1 81 9, d. at his residence in Chester, 
 
HISTORY OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 145 
 
 July 1 6, 1870. He was an active bus- 
 iness man, full of life and energy, 
 and did much to promote the interests 
 of Chester ; the old Queen's Road 
 was named Morton Avenue, as much 
 in his honor, as that of his distin- 
 guished ancestor. He m. his cousin, 
 Sarah Ann Lownes, of Springfield, 
 ♦laughter of John and Rebecca. He 
 left surviving him his widow and a 
 daughter, Susanna, who w. J. Frank 
 Black, of Chester, and had issue, 
 Crosby Morton and Sarah Lownes 
 Black J the latter d. Jan. 9, 1876, aged 
 2 years and 5 months. 
 
 Catharine Plummer Morton, the 
 youngest child of John S. and Susannah, 
 }n. David S. Brown, Jr., of Philad'a, 
 and has six children, Mary Thornton, 
 Susan Morton, John M., Crosby M., 
 Ellen Elizabeth and Wm. Lewis Brown. 
 Mary T., m. Newbold R. Haines, of 
 Philadelphia, and has one child. Susan 
 Morton, tn. Herbert A. Pennock, Sept. 
 7, 1876. 
 
 Dr. John Morton, 3d son of the 
 signer, was a Surgeon in the Continen- 
 t-al Army. He died while a prisoner 
 of war, on board of one of the British 
 Prison Ships, "The Falmouth," in 
 New York harbor. The late John S. 
 Morton of Springfield, had for some- 
 time a letter in his possession, written 
 by Dr. Morton to his father, while he 
 was a prisoner, in which he said they 
 were almost starved, and could eat 
 brickbats if they could get them. The 
 letter was given to a collector of auto- 
 graphs, and maybe in some private col- 
 lection. He was unmarried. 
 
 Concerning Sarah and Lydia daugh- 
 ters of the signer, nothing is known, 
 except that it is said a " Dr. Currie," 
 married one of them, and "Governor 
 Bibb," the other. 
 
 Elizabeth, daughter of the signer. 
 
 died of consumption at the residence 
 of her brother Aaron, in Ridley, be- 
 fore he moved west. My aunt, Ann C. 
 Smith, recollects the event perfectly. 
 
 Mary Morton (4th child of the sign- 
 er,) married Charles Justis of Kingses- 
 sing, where they resided all their lives 
 and died, and their remains were buried 
 in the old grave-yard of the Swedes 
 church at that place, now called St. 
 James Church. On his tombstone is 
 this inscription : "Deposited in Hope ! 
 Here resteth Charles Justis, who died 
 Jan. loth, A. D. 1789, aged 34 years 
 & 3 months. ' ' There is a space where 
 his wife is buried alongside his grave, 
 but no stone covers her remains. She 
 died suddenly in the harvest field, 
 where she had gone to oversee her men 
 at work, some years after her husband's 
 death. Sheleft four children, Charles, 
 John M., Rebecca, and Mary ; the lat- 
 ter died unmarried. Charles, m. Elea- 
 nor Maddock of Chester, they had two 
 children, Charles and Jesse Maddock 
 Justis. Their mother died in 1820, 
 and their father in 1835, and lie side by 
 side in the old grave-yard of St. Paul's, 
 Chester. Their son Jesse M. , died Oct. 
 24, 1845, ^^^ li^s by their side. He 
 was at one time in the dry-goods busi- 
 ness at Chester, and married Lydia 
 McLauchlin of Marcus Hook, daughter 
 of William ; they had issue one child, 
 which died at the age of one month. 
 William McLauchlin was a tavern-keep- 
 er and had several pretty daughters. Af- 
 ter the death of Jesse, his widow Lydia, 
 ni. a Capt. Walton, afterwards Henry 
 May, both now deceased. 
 
 Charles Justis, son of Charles and 
 Eleanor, emigrated to California in the 
 ship " Grey Eagle," when the " gold 
 fever' ' first broke out in 1849. He now 
 resides at Wheatland, in Yuba County, 
 Cal. He married Charlotte McFerran, 
 
140 
 
 ISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 dan. of John Johnson Lynn, late of 
 Brownsville, Pa.^ but who removed to 
 the "Golden State," in 1853; they 
 have four children, Eleanor Bella, Lynn 
 Morton, Charles Eyre, and Theodore 
 Jesse Justis. 
 
 Johji M. /ustis, son of Charles and 
 Mary, of Kingsessing, married Re- 
 becca Worrall of Springfield, and had 
 one son and four daughters. 
 
 Rebecca Justis, dau. of Charles and 
 Mary, was the first wife of Peter Hill 
 of Ridley, late of Lenni Mills. They 
 had but one child, a son, who died in 
 infancy, and the mother died soon af- 
 ter in a decline, at the old family resi- 
 dence at Ridley Park. Peter Hill m. 
 (2d,) July 31, 1824, Hannah, dau. of 
 Nathan Sellers. 
 
 Ann Morton, (7th child of the sign- 
 er), married in 1784, Capt. John Davis, 
 ofTredyifrin Township, Chester Coun- 
 ty, Pa., son of Isaac and Elizabeth 
 (Bartholomew , born in the year 1752. 
 He entered the Continental service 
 Nov. 15, 1776, as captain in the 9th 
 Regt. of the Pennsylvania Line, and 
 served until the close of the Revolu- 
 tion. " SaffcWs Records of the Revo- 
 lutionary War,'' pp. 396, 417. He 
 was present at the surrender of Corn- 
 wallis, when Gen. Lafayette took him 
 by the hand and said : '' Captain Davis ! 
 this is a happy day for America. ' ' Af- 
 ter the war Captain Davis returned to 
 the family estate near Paoli, where two 
 generations of his ancestors had pre- 
 viously resided, and became an Associ- 
 ate Judge of the courts of Chester Coun- 
 ty, which position he occupied until 
 his death. All his life he took great 
 interest in military affairs, and became 
 a General of Militia, which fact is re- 
 corded, I am informed, upon his tomb- 
 stone. He was entitled under the dif- 
 ferent acts of Congress to half pay, com- 
 
 mutation and bounty land, but neither 
 he nor his heirs have been able to ob- 
 tain either. He was a member of the 
 Society of Cincinnati, and left three 
 diaries of the events of the Revolution- 
 ary war, connected with his service, 
 which are in possession of John W. 
 Davis, of Oil City, Pa. An old sketch 
 of the life of Captain Davis, says, among 
 other things : " He was a man of note 
 in his day and was one of the first to 
 join General Wayne in raising a regi- 
 ment immediately on the breaking out 
 of the war. He served continuously 
 till its close, bearing a full share of the 
 hardships and dangers of eight cam- 
 paigns under his intrepid leader. He 
 first saw fire at Three Rivers, and 
 fought at Brandywine, Paoli, German- 
 town, Monmouth, Stony Point, Green 
 Spring, Yorktown and in Georgia, and 
 he traversed in the service every State in 
 the Union, from the St. Lawrence to 
 the Mobile. Though a brave officer, 
 and in many battles and innumerable 
 skirmishes, he passed through the war 
 without a wound. He was for many 
 years one of the Judges of our county 
 Courts, and possessed a handsome land- 
 ed estate in the Great Chester Valley. 
 There are many that still recollect his 
 erect, large and manly form, seated in 
 his chair at the right of Judge Darling- 
 ton, and always looking the full soldier, 
 and wearing his high military air, even 
 in his place of judgment. He died July 
 10, 1827, just half of a century after 
 John Morton ; having lived to see the 
 death-bed prediction of his father-in- 
 law completely verified. 
 
 The father of Judge Davis was one 
 of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace 
 and of the Courts, a position similar 
 to that held in the present day by our 
 Justices of the Peace and associate 
 Judges of tlie county Courts combined. 
 
HISTORY OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 147 
 
 ' Squire Davis' used to relate that in 
 his day couples would come as far as 
 ten and twenty miles to him to be mar- 
 ried, the mode of travel being on horse- 
 back, the groom on his saddle with his 
 bride on a pillion behind him. The 
 pillion being so called from its form, 
 being something like a pillow." 
 
 Captain John Davis, married his first 
 wife Ann Morton, in 1784, he being 
 then 30 years of age. They had the 
 following children, Isaac, John Mor- 
 ton, Mary, {d. 1796, d. 1868, unmar- 
 ried,) Charles Justis, Ann, Benjamin, 
 and Albert, and three others who died 
 young. Captain Davis' remains were 
 interred in the grave yard of the Great 
 Valley Presbyterian Church, in Chester 
 County. His second wife was the 
 widow of Major McLean, a brother 
 officer of the Captain during the Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 1. Isaac Davis, M. D. A Biographi- 
 cal notice of Surgeon Davis written for 
 the Delaware County Medical Society, 
 and printed in the Medical Reporter, 
 states, he was the eldest son of Gen. 
 John Davis, of Chester County, born 
 July 27, 1787, that in 1806 he com- 
 menced the study of medicine under 
 Dr. Joseph Shalcross of Darby, took 
 three courses of lectures in the Univer- 
 sity of Pennsylvania, graduating in 
 1810 ; entered upon the practice of his 
 profession in Edgemont township, Del- 
 aware County; was appointed by Presi- 
 dent Madison, surgeon in the 6th U. 
 S. Infantry, commanded by Col. Sim- 
 onds, and died at Fort Jackson, Mis- 
 sissippi, from a rupture of a blood ves- 
 sel of the lungs, July 21, 1814. He 
 never married and was much esteemed 
 by his acquaintances and comrades. 
 
 2. John Morton Davis, b. 1788, d. 
 1848, at the family residence, Chester 
 County, where he resided all his life. 
 
 He married (first) in 181 8, Elizabeth 
 Knight of Philadelphia; they had issue, 
 Mary and Albert K. Mary ///, Joseph 
 Baker of Philadelphia, and died leaving 
 issue, Matilda, Mary, John Morton 
 and Josephine Baker. Albert Knight 
 Davis, b. 1821, in. Matilda, dau. of 
 Charles Thompson of Philadelphia in 
 1857, theyresideonpartoftheold fam- 
 ily estate, and have issue, John, Charles 
 T. and Matilda. John M. Davis, mar- 
 ried (secondly) in 1830, Anna Maria 
 Walley, and had issue, William W., 
 Henrietta, John Morton, Elizabeth 
 (;;/. Wm. Lee, of Chester County, and 
 died without issue,) Isaac Henry, {J>. 
 1836, 7ti. 1863, Sidney Bowman, of 
 Philadelphia. He died in 1867, leav- 
 ing Walley and Nellie Davis,) Anna 
 Maria, b. 1840, in. 1862, Clinton 
 Baugh, merchant of Philadelphia, and 
 has issue Louis and Florence Baugh. 
 
 4. Charles J. Davis, b. 1799, at the 
 family homestead, commenced busi- 
 ness at Reading as a grain merchant, 
 afterwards a coal merchant in Phila- 
 delphia, where he died Oct. 23, 1874, 
 in the 75th year of his age. He mar- 
 ried in 1824, Mary Siter, dau. of Adam 
 and Sarah, of Delaware County. They 
 had issue, Mary Emily, who died un- 
 married. John Wesley, (chemist. Oil 
 City, Pa., in. Emily Ritter of Chester 
 County, and have Emily R., Mary S., 
 Dora and Charles Graicey Davis,) Car- 
 oline, Cornelia, both unmarried, Sarah 
 Ann, Martha who died in infancy, and 
 Robert Breckenridge, in. Sallie Porter 
 of Philadelphia. He was engaged in 
 coal-mining, and lost his life in 1873, 
 in the mines, leaving a son and a daugh- 
 ter surviving him. 
 
 5. Ann Elizabeth Davis, b. 1804, in. 
 1836, Dr. John A. Brown, of Chester 
 Co., removed to Staunton, Virginia. 
 Their only child, Ann Mary Morton, 
 
148 
 
 HISTORY OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 ///. Alexander H. ImiII/, 1-',s(|., of that 
 place, ill 1.S6S; ilu\ lia\i- one chilil, 
 John Morton. 
 
 6. lienjaniin l)a\is, son of John 
 and Ann, /'. Jany. 9, 1806, at the old 
 family homestead, married June 9, 
 1831, at Norristown, Pa., Elizabeth N. 
 {b. Nov. 10, 1809), dan. of Robert and 
 Isabella Todd Hamill, and lives at St. 
 Georges, Delaware, where he carries on 
 the business of a coal and lumber 
 merchant. They have the following 
 children, all living. Rev. Robert 
 Hamill Davis, now Pastor of the Pres- 
 byterian church, Dearfield, New Jersey, 
 b. 1832, ;//. Nov. 23, 1862, Adelia 
 Thum, of Philadelphia, they have issue 
 Elizabeth H., Adelia Thum, Elbe T., 
 John Morton, and Susan T. Davis. 
 Mary Elizabeth, b. 1834, m. Nov. 2, 
 1865, Daniel B. Stewart, lumber mer- 
 chant, of St. Georges, and had issue, 
 Fredk. B., d. in infancy, Elizabeth 
 Hamill, and Anna Margaret Stewart. 
 John Alorton Davis, b. 1837, Druggist, 
 Philadelphia, served in the Union 
 Army during the Rebellion, and was 
 wounded in battle. Charles L. Davis, 
 b. 1839, served throughout the war 
 of 1861-5, enlisting in the Common- 
 wealth Artillery of Philadelphia in 
 1861, subsequently as 2nd and then as 
 ist Lt. and then Capt. in the 31st and 
 82d Penna. Vols., promoted to Capt. 
 in theSignal Corps of the Army of the 
 Potomac, was chief of his corps in that 
 army, and brevetted a Major and ap- 
 pointed 2d Lt. loth U. S. Infantry, 
 Feb. 23, 1866, married 1867, Sarah G. 
 Moorehouse, dau. of Washington Bee- 
 bee and Sarah A. (Fuller) his wife, of 
 Cooperstown, N. Y., niece and adoi)ted 
 daughter of Eliza C. and Judge Kben B. 
 Moorehouse, of the same ])la<e ; they 
 had three children who died in infan- 
 cy, his wife and youngest child dying 
 
 Jul)- 6, I S74. ////i,-// //. Davis, M. D. , 
 b. [S42, served in the Signal Corps of 
 the l^ S. Arni\- during the Rebellion, 
 now Surgeon in the Indian Bureau, 
 Colorado. Ja//ns Winnard Davis, b. 
 1845, Attorney at Law and Master in 
 Chancery, Somerville, N. J., served in 
 the U. S. Volunteers during the civil 
 war. Isabella Matilda Davis, young- 
 est child of Benj'n & Elizabeth N., /;. 
 1852, unmarried. 
 
 Some information which I have been 
 able to collect concerning the original 
 tract of Ammasland, where the first of 
 the family of Morton settled in Amer- 
 ica, will be of interest. 
 
 Ammasland Creek, or Mill Kill, was 
 the present Cobb's Creek, and the pre- 
 sent Darby Creek, from its junction 
 with Cobb Creek, to the river Dela- 
 ware. The name is of Swedish origin, 
 and Ammasland was the country of 
 the nurse, {Acrelius, 234,) one of 
 those useful personages having lived 
 there formerly, (where Archer's place 
 now is. Upland Record,^ and being 
 then as now, indispensable on certain 
 occasions well-known to married peo- 
 ple. She gave her name to the tract 
 of land surveyed and laid out to Mar- 
 ton Marteson and John Cornelus. 
 This tract laid west of the Muckini- 
 pattus, and east of a "small Stony 
 creek," and was bounded on the west 
 by the tract of John Henreckson, 
 north by land of John Simcock, and 
 south by Darby Creek. On the east 
 of the Muckinipattus, was another 
 tract surveyed and laid out to Hans 
 Urin, Morten Morten and Moun 
 Stoker, extending to Darby Creek on 
 the east, into the woods north to John 
 Simcock's land, and bounded south 
 by Ammasland Creek. Tliis tract was 
 called Calcoon Hook. See Holmes' 
 Afap, 1684. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 149 
 
 Armstrong, in his Notes to Upland 
 Records, 197 & 198, states that "The 
 position of Amasland, or Amesland 
 (now Amosland — none of which are 
 right; the proper word is Ammas- 
 land), is ascertained from draft No. 
 61, in the Surveyor-General's office at 
 Harrisburg. This tract which was in- 
 chided within the limits of Calkoen 
 Hook, (the western limits of Calkoen 
 Hook appears to have been Crum 
 Creek,) was about a mile and three- 
 quarters long, and one mile wide. Its 
 northern boundary was formed by a 
 bend in the Muckinipattus, made by 
 that stream just before it reached 
 Darby Creek, and was bounded by 
 these creeks on the north and east, 
 and contained about 1,000 acres." 
 He said before at p. 64, in a note : — 
 " The western boundary of Ammas- 
 land was the creek called Mokornipa- 
 tis (the present Muckinipattus)," and 
 refers to map of grant to Andres Boon, 
 called Boon's Forest, April 13, 1680, 
 office of the Secretary of State at Al- 
 bany, N. Y. The above is correct in 
 some particulars, and erroneous in 
 others. There were two tracts as I 
 have stated above, surveyed or laid 
 out to Morten Morten and others, on 
 Holme's Map ; one east of the Muck- 
 inipattus, called Calcoon Hook, which 
 may have been a purchase from Israel 
 Helme and others, and the other west 
 of the Muckinipattus, called Ammas- 
 land, and bounded on the Avest by a 
 small stony run, which I take it, is 
 the present Stone Creek. 
 
 In Dr. Sftiith's History, 522-23, it 
 will appear, as I have already stated, 
 the tract on Ammasland, or Mill Kill, 
 was laid out in 1675, to John Cornells 
 and Marton Marteson, and this tract 
 is called Ammasland, in the survey to 
 Henrick Thadens, Sept. 2, 1675. See 
 
 also the Map of the early settlements, 
 in Dr. Smith's work. At the present 
 time the farm opposite the "White 
 Horse Tavern," lately kept by Jona- 
 than P. Newlin, is called Amosland, 
 and so laid down in the Atlas of Del- 
 aware County recently published, and 
 Amosland Creek bounds it on the 
 west. Amosland road runs to the east 
 of the present tract, down to the old 
 flour mill on the Muckinipattus, known 
 as "Inskeep'sMill," now called Glen- 
 olden. 
 
 In reference to this old mill, a good 
 anecdote is related concerning one of 
 its former occupants — Elisha Phipps. 
 I give the story in the language it was 
 related to me by Ed. S. Sayres, Jr., son 
 of Ed. S. Sayres, Brazilian Consul 
 at Philadelphia, who says he remembers 
 the old vessel called ' ' Y' Dusty Miller, ' ' 
 very distinctly : " Elisha, the Miller of 
 y* mill on the Muckinipattus, was the 
 owner of a small sloop called ' Y*-' Dusty 
 Miller,' in which he took his flour to 
 Philadelphia, and returned witli grain 
 to the old mill wharf on the creek. 
 Elisha having on one occasion taken 
 on board of his little vessel a cargo of 
 flour in barrels, and bidden his spouse 
 'farewell,' made his way towards the 
 river Delaware, and that was the last 
 seen of Elisha and his craft for many 
 a day. His stricken wife on inquir- 
 ing, found that ' Y° Dusty Miller,' in- 
 stead of proceeding up the Delaware, 
 had gone the ' tother way, ' and she 
 came to the conclusion that Elisha 
 had gone to the great ocean, and pos- 
 sibly was in the belly of some great 
 whale, — a second Jonah ! However, 
 one day she was agreeably (?) disap- 
 pointed by seeing ' Y" Dusty Miller ' 
 making her way, with the flood tide, 
 to her old wharf on the Muckinipat- 
 tus ; rushing down to the wharf to see 
 
150 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 her hclovc.l I'hipi.s, she slioutcd, Oh, 
 Mr. Pliipps ! Mr. Phipps ! where have 
 you been? 'Verily,' said Elisha, 'I 
 have been to the islands called West 
 Indies, and disposed of my cargo to 
 much advantage.' And so he had ! 
 We laughed very heartily at the story 
 related to us by Mr. Ridgeway, said 
 Mr. Sayres ; but reflected, that if we 
 wanted to go to the West Indies, we 
 would prefer a larger vessel than " Y' 
 Dusty Miller." The (quaint name of 
 his vessel, suggests that Elisha Phipps 
 was a man of humor, and his voyage 
 to the AVest Indies, that he was a man 
 of energy and courage. He was, I 
 presume, a son of Caleb Phipps, who 
 married Susannah, the daughter of 
 John Crosby, the elder, and Eleanor 
 his wife. The above event must have 
 occurred about 1816. 
 
 The Indian name of Ammasland 
 Creek, or Darby Creek, as it is now 
 called, was Mohorhoottink. Acrelius, 
 p. 64, says it was Nyecks. The name 
 Calcoon Hook, which is in the region 
 of country between the Muckinipattus 
 and Darby Creeks, {Armstrong says, 
 it extended to Crum Creek,) is taken 
 from the Swedish words " IVilda Kal- 
 kof/i,'^ i. e. wild turkeys, which once 
 were plenty in those parts. 
 
 Armstrong says, the Swedish mill on 
 Ammasland Creek, was erected in 1643, 
 and was the first water mill built with- 
 in the territory now embraced within 
 the limits of New Jersey, Pennsylva- 
 nia and Delaware. Gov. Printz, in 
 his report to the West India Company, 
 on Feb. 20, 1647, says, * * "this 
 place I have called Mondal, building 
 there a water mill, working it the 
 whole year to great advantage for the 
 country, particularly as the wind mill 
 formerly here, before I came, would 
 never work and was good for nothing." 
 
 "The site is well known," says Arm- 
 strong, "andisui)on the road to Dar- 
 by, the oldest highway in Pennsylva- 
 nia, and the holes sunken in the rocks, 
 in which the posts which supported the 
 frame-work of the mill were placed, 
 are still to be seen near the Blue Bell 
 Tavern. ' ' There was a saw mill at this 
 s])ot when I was a boy. 
 
 From all I can gather, the Ammas- 
 land tract, or a portion of it, remain- 
 ed in the Morton family until tlie time 
 of Major Sketchley Morton. My aunt, 
 Ann C. Smith, now in her 78th year 
 says, that John S. Morton, son of the 
 Major, resided on the north side of 
 the great road to Chester, in a log 
 house, (this afterwards became the 
 kitchen when he built an addition. 
 He resided previously at his mother's, 
 Mrs. Miller's, at the Taylor property ^ 
 on Tinicum), the next house and pro- 
 perty west of the late Squire Pearson's, 
 (now or late belonging to William H. 
 Price, who is a graduate of the U. S. 
 Military Academy,) and that he remov- 
 ed from there about 1820 to Springfield, 
 and resided in the old mansion lately 
 burned down (in 1868), near Morton 
 station and Kedron church, until his 
 death. His mother resided with him 
 until her death, which occurred in 
 Ridley, in 181 9, as did also an old 
 aunt of his wife, called "Aunt Sally 
 Way," by the family. Her maiden 
 name was Peirce, she was a daughter 
 of Robert and Elizabeth Peirce, of 
 Delaware ; a Mr. Way was her second 
 husband. She was an aunt of Mrs. 
 John S. Morton. 
 
 Judge (Sketchley) Morton lived for 
 many years in the fine old country 
 mansion, a short distance west of his 
 father's residence, and there all his 
 children were born. About 1866, he 
 erected tiic handsome house he now 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 151 
 
 occupies at Morton station, on the 
 West Chester and Media railroad. 
 
 From Holmes' Map of 1684, I ex- 
 tract the names of the owners of land 
 along Darby Creek and the Delaware, 
 from Ammasland down to Marcus 
 Hook Creek, viz. : John Henreckson, 
 Henrick Jortin, John Hendrickson, 
 Charles Ashcom ; (then Crum Creek,) 
 Henrich W. Pritchett, Freest, (Priest 
 or Ridley Creek). Sandurlan owned 
 all the land between Ridley and Ches- 
 ter Creek; below the latter, Robert 
 Wade, John Bristow, Holbert Hend- 
 rickson, Nat Evans, (then comes Mid- 
 dle Run,) Morten, no first name given, 
 it must have been Canute Mortenson. 
 In the Historical Society of Penn- 
 sylvania, there is an old deed, dated 
 the 20th day of Feb., 1682, from Cor- 
 nute Mortinson, of Middle Neck, in 
 the county of Chester, &c.. Planter, 
 and Mortin Cornutesson, of same place. 
 Planter, conveying to James Browne, 
 of Chichester, "acertaine^cellofland 
 lyeing and being betweene Markus 
 creek in the county aforesaid on the 
 west and middle neck Runne on the 
 north, togeather alsoe with all that 
 dwelling house messuage or tenemt & 
 buildings scituate or being upon said 
 land." 
 
 Next below Morten is John Johnson 
 and John Hardin, then Marcus Hook, 
 then the tract called by the same name, 
 which extended to Naaman's Creek. 
 The Rev. Dr. John B. Clemson, the 
 descendant of an old Swedish family 
 that settled at Naaman's Creek over 
 two hundred years ago, resides upon 
 the original tract that was settled upon 
 by his ancestors, (the name of the 
 original settler was Jacob Clemson,) 
 although it once passed out of the pos- 
 session of his family for a long time, 
 and was owned by the Grays. The 
 
 place is now called Claymont. AV'hy 
 the fine old name of the Indian chief, 
 Naaman, was not retained is a mys- 
 tery to me, and why such a name as 
 the present one was chosen, indicative 
 of a poor, clayey soil, I cannot for a 
 moment imagine, unless it is so appro- 
 priate to the locality, resistance was 
 impossible. 
 
 But to return to the Mortons of Hook, 
 who are supposed by their descendants 
 to be related to the Mortons of Rid- 
 ley. The tract laid down to Morten, 
 was owned in 1698 by Morton Canute- 
 son, i. e. Morton, son of Canute Mor- 
 ton. In the list of tydables in 1677, 
 there are names of Knoet (Canute) 
 Morton, and Morton Knoetson, father 
 and son. In 173-, Morton' Canuteson 
 and Mary his wife, made a deed for a 
 house and lot of ground to one of their 
 sons, Erasmus. This Erasmus by will 
 bequeathed his property to his kinsman, 
 Martin Morton, who had two sons, 
 Erasmus and Martin, and two daugh- 
 ters, Mary and Elizabeth. The second 
 Erasmus was the father of the first wife 
 of my esteemed friend, John Larkin, 
 Jr., the first Mayor of the present city 
 of Chester. 
 
 The children of Erasmus Morton 
 (2d) were Aaron, who married Eliza 
 Coborn ; Erasmus, who married Abi- 
 gail Price ; Sarah, died unmarried ; 
 Thomas, died single ; Hannah, who 
 married David Hayes ; Mary, married 
 firsfi Thomas Marshall, second, Thomas 
 J. Valentine ; and Charlotte who be- 
 came Mrs. Larkin ; all now deceased. 
 
 Judge (Sketchley) Morton is the 
 owner of a portion of the old family 
 tract, and has a lumber-yard on it, at 
 Morris' Ferry on Darby Creek. The 
 ancient log house situated at this place, 
 and which was, perhaps, the residence 
 of Morton Mortonsen, the earlier set- 
 
152 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 tier at Aniniaslaml, is situated within 
 the fork of two branches of the present 
 Aniosland Creek. 
 
 Judge Morton, and his son, Benja- 
 min N., have also at Springfield, near 
 Morton Station, where a considerable 
 town is growing up rapidly, a lumber- 
 yard and kiln for the manufacture of 
 bricks, for which there is an increasing 
 demand in the neighborhood. 
 
 In regard to John Sketchley, the 
 step-father of John Morton, the signer, 
 he appears to have been an English 
 yeoman of rather good education. I 
 have in my possession a book, entitled 
 " The Whole Duty of Man," London, 
 1726, on a fly-leaf of which is written 
 in a fair round hand, but the writing 
 now faint from age, " John Sketchley, 
 Yoaman, Everliegh, (indistinct, but I 
 think that is the word intended,) July 
 2, 1 718, I left England, and the 29 
 instant arrived at Barbadoes, and there 
 we stay 3 weeks, and then set sail for 
 Mary-land, Sept. 6, arrived at y* Capes 
 of Virginia, Sept. 19, we came to Pat- 
 xion River in Mary-land, where I stay 
 hire 5 years, and in y* 6th year, July 
 25th, I set out for Piensilvinia, and in 
 y" year 1724." Under this is written 
 "Aaron Morton, 1782, Ridley town- 
 ship, Chester county," and on the title 
 page of the same book are the signa- 
 tures of "Aaron Morton, 1791, 1799," 
 and "Ann Morton." On the cover 
 was the signature of the Signer, which 
 I took off and pasted on a fly-leaf. 
 This book was presented to me by my 
 cousin, John S. Morton, March i, 1858, 
 and is the only memento left of John 
 Sketchley, the English yoaman, whose 
 name is now so honored in the Morton 
 family. 
 
 The former residence of John Mor- 
 ton, the Signer, mentioned as being 
 ntnv within the bounds of Ridlev Park, 
 
 is situated a short distance east of the 
 railroad station of Ridley, on the north 
 side of the railroad track, on the west- 
 ern side of ^tpiTC Creek, and is in plain 
 view of the travellers in cars of the 
 Philadelphia, Wilmington and Balti- 
 more Railroad Company; and the late 
 residence of Aaron Taylor Morton, is 
 on the south side of the railroad track 
 near the Ridley depot. The Hender- 
 son family who occupied the farm just 
 to the east of Aaron T. Morton's, lately 
 the property of Dr. Job H. Terrill, 
 dec'd, of Chester, are not of Swedish 
 descent. Mr. Henderson's Christian 
 name was Matthew Henderson, he 
 was of Scotch-Irish parentage. I be- 
 lieve Robert Henderson, who lives near 
 Inskeep's Mill, or Glenolden, is the 
 only son of Matthew Henderson. He 
 married a daughter of James McCor- 
 mick who lived near Ridley school, 
 on the old Garrett property, which 
 he owned, and which is still owned 
 by his daughter, Mrs. Henderson. I 
 mention this, as the Morton tract, or 
 Ammasland tract, was bounded on the 
 west by John Henreckson's tract and 
 a small stony run, which at first I 
 thought was Amosland Run, at Morris' 
 Ferry, but a more careful examination 
 leads me to believe that Stone Creek 
 in Ridley Park, is the small stony 
 creek mentioned as the western boun- 
 dary of Ammasland, and that Stone 
 Creek took its name from being so 
 mentioned in the survey of Ammas- 
 land. 
 
 In the early days of the Province, 
 the public roads were laid out by the 
 Grand Jury, one-third of their number 
 being competent for that purpose. The 
 following return from the records of 
 the Court, will show the manner in 
 which that duty was performed, and 
 confirms my idea that the residence of 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 153 
 
 Morton Mortonsen was at Morris' Fer- 
 r\', in the old log house still standing 
 there. "Upon the 9th day of the 
 12th. month, 16S7, By virtue of an 
 Order from the last County Court 
 given us whose names are hereunto 
 subscribed, being the Grand Jury for 
 to lay out a highway that should serve 
 for Marple, Newtown, Springfield and 
 the inhabitants that way to the land- 
 ing place at Amos-land, did upon the 
 above day written, Begin at a road- 
 way on the land of George Maris, which 
 Road goeth from Chester through Mar- 
 ple to Newtown, Soe from the Road 
 through Bartholomew Coppick's land 
 near his house, his house being on the 
 left hand, Soe through Robert Tay- 
 lor's land, straight on through more 
 of George Maris, his land, soe bear- 
 ing a little on the right hand through 
 George Simcock's land, soon through 
 Jacob Simcock's land, leaving his plan- 
 tation oa the left hand, soe on straight 
 forward to the land, adjoining to Amos- 
 land, so into the King's Road, that 
 comes from Darby, marking the trees 
 as we came, so on to the landing place 
 by the maine creek's side beyonnd 
 [meaning to the east of] Morton Mor- 
 tonsen, his house." Signed by William 
 Garrett, Richard Parker, Edmond Cart- 
 lidge, Thomas Bradshaw and Thomas 
 Fox. 
 
 An examination of the modern map 
 in Dr. Smith's history of the county, 
 in which the above mentioned road is 
 laid down, and called the Lazaretto 
 road, indicates the exact position of 
 the Ammasland tract, as I have given 
 it herein. The above road mentioned 
 as laid out in the return could not have 
 been Amosland road, because that does 
 not lead down to the main creek, that 
 is to Darby Creek, while the Lazaretto 
 road does ; and besides, the Taylor pro- 
 
 perty, a part of which was owned by 
 John S. Morton's mother, who was a 
 daughter of Jcih n Taylor , and where 
 Mr. Morton lived before he removed 
 to Springfield, lies west of the road 
 leading from Springfield to Morris' 
 Ferry and Tinicum, which is now 
 called the Lazaretto Road. 
 
 While historians and antiquarians 
 are trying to preserve the ancient and 
 Indian names of places, our go-ahead, 
 money-making men are inventing/^?/;^^ 
 titles for all places of interest or beauty, 
 and thus the ' ' OM White Horse Hill, ' ' 
 has become "Prospect Hill," within 
 the boundaries of Norwood, and it is 
 true as John Cochran in his advertise- 
 ment of the sale of lots at Norwood, 
 which is near the junction of the old 
 Queen's Road, the P. W. & B. Rail- 
 road, and the " Muckinnipper" Creek, 
 states : ' ' The Chester and Philadelphia 
 Pike (road) passes through these places, 
 'meaning Ridley Park and Norwood,' 
 and from the lots fronting on this pike 
 are the most magnificent views of the 
 Delaware River, although two miles 
 from it." All this is a fact. The lo- 
 cation is high, healthy and the views, 
 especially in early spring and in the 
 autumn, and during the Indian sum- 
 mer, are perfectly lovely. The whole 
 line of hills along the Delaware, from 
 Sharon to Naaman's Creek afford ex- 
 quisite views and charming, healthy 
 sites for country residences. 
 
 Daniel Culin, of Ammasland, (so 
 spelled in the olden records,) owned a 
 large tract of land on the right bank 
 of Darby Creek, in the neighborhood 
 of the present Morris Ferry bridge. 
 His name had its mutations as well as 
 others of Swedish origin. The first of the 
 name who came to this country, wrote it 
 Von Kolin, or Von Koilen. It changed 
 afterwards to Van Colin, Van Culin, 
 
154 
 
 HISTOKY OF CHESTER. 
 
 C'uliii, and even Qlin. One of his 
 (laughters married Conrade Nieder- 
 mardt, called Nethermarke in the next 
 generation, who is traditionally said 
 to have been a great speculator in 
 lands, and most litigious neighbor. 
 His son, Luke Nethermarke, was killed 
 on the Chester Road, near where the 
 present White Horse Tavern stands, 
 about the year 1765. Returning home- 
 ward at night, he was overtaken by a 
 storm and, galloping his horse to escape 
 it, rode into a tree which, unknown to 
 him, had been blown down across his 
 track. Conrad Nethermark appears 
 to have been married twice, as he was 
 son-in-law to Mathias Natseller (or 
 Natceliusj of Darby, who died in 1 723, 
 having married his daughter Christian. 
 
 Rebecca Niedermark, daughter of 
 Conrade, married, _/fr.f/, Thomas Tay- 
 lor, of Tinicum, and had by him one 
 son, Israel Taylor; and second, Wil- 
 liam Smith, also of Tinicum. They 
 had issue several children, but only one 
 son, the late Hon. Thomas Smith, of 
 Tinicum, late member of the U. S. 
 Congress from Delaware County, who 
 died in 1846. Rebecca Niedermark, 
 was one of the last who was able to 
 speak the Swedish language. 
 
 The large old stone mansion house 
 of the Taylor^s, was built before the 
 Revolution. Whilst it was building, 
 the family lived in the still older log 
 house now occupied by Edward Ward 
 on the same premises. This house is 
 constructed of white cedar logs, cut 
 no doubt in the marshes hard by, 
 though not a tree of that species is now 
 known to grow in Pennsylvania. It 
 was thoroughly repaired some year? 
 ago by Aubrey H. Smith, Esquire, and 
 bids fair to stand for another century 
 or more. 
 
 A part of the Tavlor estate now 
 
 belongs to Aubrey H. Smith, who took 
 it and 240 acres of land, at the parti- 
 tion of his father's lands in Tinicum 
 township. It has long been known as 
 PrintzHall — so called in remembrance 
 of the Swedish Governor, Johanes 
 Printz, to whom the wliole island of 
 Mattinneconk (Tinicum) was granted 
 by the Swedish Crown, in 1643. 
 
 The fort, church, and government 
 house, built by the Swedes, stood, 
 however, on the bluff below the Laza- 
 retto, where many remains of them 
 have been found. The site of the 
 government house is said by tradition 
 to be that now occupied by the farm 
 house belonging to H. W. Miller, 
 of Philadelphia. Many curious tradi- 
 tions are current about these places, 
 but they have, perhaps, too little in- 
 terest for record. 
 
 Thomas Smith, who occupied the 
 present Printz Hall before the division 
 ofhis father's estate, married Elizabeth, 
 daughter of the late Judge, George 
 Gray Leiper. 
 
 Aubrey H. Smith, Esq., who inher- 
 ited the present Printz Hall, is the late 
 United States District Attorney for the 
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He 
 married a daughter of the late Mr. Jus- 
 tice Grier, of the U. S. Supreme Court. 
 He takes great interest in all matters 
 relating to the history of his native 
 county. Mr. Smith has been for many 
 years one of the Vice-Presidents of the 
 Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and 
 to him we are indebted for the preser- 
 vation and publication of the Upland 
 Record, so freely used in my present 
 work. This old record was discover- 
 ed by Albanus Logan, in an old book- 
 case belonging to his ancestors, some of 
 whom formerly resided in the " Logan 
 House," at Chester. Mr. Smith pre- 
 sented to the Historical Society, the 
 
HJSTOirV (»F CliKSTKli. 
 
 original deed of grant of the Swedish 
 Queen, Christina, to Captain Besk, of 
 the land between Chester and Hook 
 creeks, which is in an excellent state of 
 preservation. 
 
 XV. 
 
 In the History of Delaware County, 
 it is said : — " The earliest record that 
 has come under the notice of the au- 
 thor, in which a burying place at Ches- 
 ter is mentioned, (other than that of 
 the Quakers), is in the Will of John 
 Johnson (Jan Jansen), ' of Markis 
 creek,' dated March i6, A. D., 1684-5. 
 He desires to be buried in Chester, alias 
 Upland. ' ' See Register's office, Phil- 
 adelphia, Book A. 35. "The testator 
 was a Dutchman, and doubtless an 
 Episcopalian, and hence it may be in- 
 ferred, that his burial place mentioned, 
 was one belonging to an organized con- 
 gregation of Episcopalians at Chester. 
 But the fact that the testator designates 
 the burying place by the name of the 
 town, and not by that of the Church, 
 is very strong, though not conclusive, 
 evidence, that no Church edifice had 
 been erected at the time of making this 
 Will ; and that the establishment of an 
 Episcopal burying place at Chester, by 
 that society, preceded the erection of 
 the Church edifice of any kind many 
 years. ' ' It will be remembered that the 
 old graveyard of St. Paul's, on which 
 the old Church formerly stood, was a 
 burying place belonging to the Swedes. 
 
 It has been argued that Dr. Smith is 
 right, that the name Jan Jansen is 
 Dutch, and that the Jansens who set- 
 tled in Germantown, were from Hol- 
 land or the Palatinate ; and I was re- 
 ferred to the name Janssen or Janson, in 
 Lowber" s Dictionary of Fajiiily names, 
 London, i860, p. 71. But in the Pre- 
 
 liminary dissertation in that work, p. 
 xxii, my position that Sen and Son, 
 were undoubted Swedish terminations, 
 was sustained; it is said there: "2. 
 The termination Son is a characteristic 
 feature of all Scandinavian countries, 
 while in Germany, on the other hand, it 
 is comparatively a rare occurrence. ' ' In 
 the preceding clause marked i , it is said, 
 " Ing or Inger, signifies son, offspring, 
 being cognate with the English young. 
 It was discontinued about the time of the 
 conquest, and consequently all names 
 in which it appears, are carried back 
 to the Anglo-Saxon times. ' ' i\pplying 
 this rule to Jansen, the Jansens of Hol- 
 land were the descendants of Swedes, as 
 well as Johnson and Jansen of ' ' Markes 
 creek." Jon Jonsson's name is en- 
 rolled in Acrelius'' List of Heads of 
 Swedish Families residing in New Swe- 
 den in the year 1693, which means that 
 the list was made in that year ; yet it 
 is evidently a list of all the heads of 
 Swedish families who had to that time 
 settled on the banks of the Delaware. 
 The Will proves that the Swedes had a 
 burying place at Chester in 1684-5, of 
 which fact the Rev. Mr. Ross seems to 
 have been aware, and that it was the old 
 graveyard of St. Paul's. The Will of 
 John Johnson, was registered on the 
 17th of the 2d month, 1686, indexed 
 No. 25, 1684, p. 35, Book A, &c. I 
 examined the original Will, which is 
 dated 16 March, 1684-5, ^"d begins: 
 "In the name of God, Amen, I John 
 Johnson of Markes creek * * * 
 My body I commit to the earth to be 
 decently buried at Vpland," &c. The 
 witnesses names are " Morton Knuson, 
 Ackn'd his mark O before Henry Rey- 
 nolds, Sydrask Witworth. ' ' He leaves 
 to his wife Elenor, one third of his es- 
 tate, and the remainder to his children. 
 He was no doubt the ancestor of the 
 
150 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 Johnsons of Chichester. 'l"hc original 
 Will is simply signed lANSH. There 
 is nothing in the Will, or other original 
 l)ai)ers filed in the matter, to show that 
 John Johnson of Markescreek, wasever 
 called Jan Jansen. My friend Chris- 
 tian G. Peterson, a native of Denmark, 
 and a Scandinavian scholar of some re- 
 pute, says: "The Swedish name for 
 John is Johan, and John Johnson is 
 anglice for Johan Johanson. The 
 termination Sen, is Danish and Nor- 
 wegian, Son is Swedish. The name of 
 Jan Jansen, I should say was Dutch, 
 that is from Holland." Vincent in 
 his History of the State of Delaware, 
 I vol. i66, states that "John John- 
 son (Jan Jansen in Dutch)," was " the 
 Dutch Agent at Delaware in 1640. He 
 was to hold good correspondence with 
 them," &c. which he did. He can 
 hardly be our John Johnson, who could 
 not write his own name, and made 
 hieroglyphics instead, making two at- 
 tempts at that, the first being near 
 where the witnesses signed. The Dutch 
 Agent above is spoken of by Vincent 
 in another place, p. 155, as Jan Jansen 
 the Clerk, who "was ordered to pro- 
 test in proper form," and at p. 171, he 
 is called the " Commissary or Gover- 
 nor on South River, Jan Jansen Van 
 Ilpendam, (called by the English, John 
 Johnson./' In the records of Upland 
 Court, however, Jan Jansen is the first 
 named on the list of inhabitants of 
 Marr: Kill in 1677, and the witness 
 Morton Knuson, is down as Morten 
 Knoetson ; but these are their names 
 given and spelled by another, and not by 
 themselves. My conclusion is, there- 
 fore, that John Johnson was a Swede, 
 and that he never called himself Jan 
 Jansen. 
 
 Janssen.— In the A^ew England 
 Historical and Genealogical Register, 
 
 Vol. XXVIII, No. CIX, Jany. 1874. 
 note to p. 45,. it is stated referring to 
 a paper on said page, that " Carl Jans- 
 sen is called 'Secretary.' * * In 
 1635, J'*'"' Janssen of Ilpendam in New 
 Holland, was Commissary at Fort Nas- 
 sau. It is possible that Carl was his 
 relative." 
 
 It may be said in this connection, 
 that the position of Fort Nassau on the 
 Delaware, is not known. It was, how- 
 ever, -on the Jersey shore above Tini- 
 cuni. See Armstrong'' s Address before 
 the N. Jersey Historical Society, Jany. 
 20, 1853, printed in their proceedings 
 VI. 187-207. 
 
 One of the descendants of this old 
 Swede family, Benjamin F. Johnson, 
 whom I remember quite well, died at 
 his residence in Lower Chichester, on 
 Nov. 9, 1 87 1, in the 80th year of his 
 age. Squire Johnson was born in the 
 family homestead where he died, and 
 where he had lived near all the long 
 years of his life. At the age of 17 
 years, Mr. Johnson became a mem- 
 ber of St. Martin's Church at Marcus 
 Hook ; for 60 years he was a vestryman , 
 and for 25 years the Secretary of the 
 vestry. In 1845, '"'S '^^'^ ^"^^ of the 
 building committee for the erection of 
 the present Church edifice, which is 
 built of brick. He was also one of the 
 Incorporators under the Charter, and 
 a frequent Lay-Deputy representing 
 the Church in the Diocesan Conven- 
 tion. For fifty years "Squire John- 
 son" held the office of Justice of the 
 Peace, receiving his first appointment 
 from Governor Hiester. In that posi- 
 tion he did much public good, using his 
 influence with suitors to prevent useless 
 litigation, and settling disputes among 
 his neighbors ; and as in his earliest 
 days there were not many clergymen 
 in his vicinity, he performed numer- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 157 
 
 ous marriage ceremonies amongst his 
 friends and acquaintances in the sur- 
 rounding country. He died quietly at 
 his tea table, sitting alongside of his 
 wife, his practice for nearly fifty-four 
 years, and surrounded by three daugh- 
 ters and one son ; his other two children, 
 sons, being absent. He was conversing 
 pleasantly, when he complained of a 
 sudden pain in his breast, and in a 
 moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 
 he was not ! for his God had -called 
 him home. 
 
 The plantation owned by Benjamin 
 F. Johnson at the time of his death, 
 was first settled by his ancestor, John 
 Johnson, in 1673, ^^'^^ ^^^^ in his fami- 
 ly 32 years, when it was sold by his 
 widow and children to Robert Lang- 
 ham. Three years after, Langham sold 
 it to Collet, who held it 6 years, and 
 then sold it to Pedrick, whose family 
 held it 36 years, and then they sold the 
 land to Rowan, who after holding it 
 II years, conveyed it to David John- 
 son, a descendant of the original 
 settler, in whose possession and that of 
 his descendants it has remained until 
 the present time (1873), ^ period of 
 114 years. The property having been 
 held by the Johnson family, altogether, 
 146 years out of 200 years since their 
 ancestor first settled on it. 
 
 In 1766 David Johnson erected a 
 substantial brick dwelling house upon 
 his farm, for his residence ; it is still 
 in good condition, and is now occupied 
 by his great grand-children and their 
 mother. 
 
 Benjamin F. Johnson was born Oct. 
 25, 1792, died Nov. 9, 1871. He m. 
 Mary Ann Entriken ; they had issue, 
 Sarah, Richard Morgan, Anna Char- 
 lotte, Benjamin Douglas, Mary Eliza- 
 beth, Frances Matilda, Henrietta 
 Haines, and David Marshall Johnson ; 
 
 the latter ;;/. Margaret Woodland 
 Brown, and is a member of the Bar of 
 Delaware county, residing at Chester, 
 and was District Attorney for the coun- 
 ty from 1872 to '76. 
 
 Benjamin F. Johnson had the fol- 
 lowing brothers and sisters : Charlotte, 
 /?. Mar. 29, 1788, d. Aug. 25, 1805; 
 David <5. June 9, 1790, d. Aug. 2, 1811 ; 
 Sarah, d. Oct. 17, 1795, ^'^- J^cob M. 
 Douglass, and ^. Aug. 1831, and Joseph 
 Harker, fi. Aug. i, 1798, d. July 6, 
 1849. Squire Johnson's father's name 
 was David, /k June 9, 1759, d. July 
 II, 1800. His mother was Sarah Har- 
 ker, ^. Oct. 24, 1759, d. April 4, 1864, 
 in the 95th year of her good old age. 
 His grandfather's name was also David, 
 ^. 1720, died in the year 1770, aged 50 
 years, and his grandmother Johnson's 
 maiden name was Hannah Ford. 
 
 There was an Humphrey Johnson in 
 membership with Friends who married, 
 in 1693, Ann, widow of Lawrence 
 Routh (Ruth) from Yorkshire, and 
 purchased land in Upper Chichester 
 the next year. He appears to have 
 spoken in meetings sometimes, but his 
 communications not being appreciated 
 by the members, he left the Society in 
 1 701 . In 1 7 1 1 he sold the Chichester 
 property and afterward resided in Ches- 
 ter township near the line of Aston. 
 In his will, dated Sep. 22, 1748, and 
 proven June 10, 1749, he mentions his 
 sons Francis, David and Humphrey, 
 and daughters Elizabeth Lamplugh, 
 Ann Johnson and Rachel Johnson. It 
 is believed by some of the descen- 
 dants that President Johnson was of 
 this family. 
 
 In the History of the County, page 
 211, it is said, "The ground at Ches- 
 j ter, known in ancient times as ' The 
 I Green,' was church land, but it belong- 
 ed to the Swedes. It was unicli nearer 
 
158 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 the river tliaii St. Paul's rliurch. The 
 Swedes never had a church at Chester, 
 and the fact that in parting with their 
 church lands at that place, they made 
 no reservation of a burying place, is 
 most satisfactory evidence that no part 
 of these lands had been appropriated 
 to the interment of the dead." Very 
 true ; for the old Swede burying-ground 
 was not included in "The Green," 
 which was sold to David Lloyd ; cir- 
 cumstances show that he was too cun- 
 ning a man to buy up the burying- 
 ground ; he had trouble enough to hold 
 on to the Green. 
 
 And as confirming what I have said 
 hereinbefore. Dr. Smith goes on to say, 
 '' From all the facts and circumstances 
 that have come to the knowledge of 
 the author, he has arrived at the con- 
 clusion that the Episcopalians had no 
 church edifice at Chester prior to the 
 erection of the old St. (Paul's) James 
 brick church recently demolished, and 
 that it was erected between the years 
 1702 and 1704." 
 
 In 1699 the yellow fever made its a])- 
 pearance on the shores of the Delaw^are. 
 At Philadelphia it created great dis- 
 tress. It is supposed to have visited 
 Chester also at that time, because the 
 SeiHember Court which assembled there 
 in that year, adjourned without trans- 
 acting any business. In 1 793, the fever 
 again broke out along the shores of the 
 Delaware, and for several summers ex- 
 tending from that time until 1802, its 
 ravages were excessive. At Chester its 
 visitations are yet spoken of with dread 
 by the descendants of old families. The 
 family of Shaw was nearly extermi- 
 nated by the fever. Samuel and Mary 
 Shaw lost four children by it. In what 
 year this occurred their family record 
 gives no account, but it must have been 
 previous to his death. wlii( h occurred 
 
 in Sept. 1783. In 1798 my grand- 
 father. Dr. William Martin, fella victim 
 to it, through his professional expo- 
 sure in attending the crew of a British 
 vessel off Chester, who were all down 
 with the fever. 
 
 At a council held at Philadelphia, 
 May 16, 1 71 2, "A Peticon of a great 
 number of the Inhabitants of the coun- 
 ty of Chester, praying that y* Borrough 
 of the Town of Chester, in the Pro- 
 vince,- may be made a free porf, was 
 read and considered : And it is the 
 opinion of the Board that the matter 
 may be presented to the Prop'ry, that 
 he may take proper methods concern- 
 ing the same & consult the Comrs. of 
 the Queen's customs therein. ' ' 2 Col. 
 Records, 570. I have again to regret 
 that the names of the petitioners to 
 the petition are not given. Chester 
 never was, however, made a free 
 port. 
 
 It appears that the Public Pound at 
 Chester was located on the west side 
 of the creek, until the year 1722, when 
 by order of the Court it was removed, 
 as the record states, " Upon applica- 
 tion of some of the inhabitants of 
 Chester for a Pound in said Chester ; 
 whereupon the Court orders, that there 
 be a Pound erected in the Market 
 Place in the Borrough of Chester, 40 
 foot square, well fenced with posts and 
 railings, and a good rack in the mid- 
 dle of s** pound, and that Richd Mars- 
 den be keeper of the pound, To act, 
 do and perform according as the Act 
 makes mention," <S:c. 
 
 The earliest list of taxables of the 
 county of Chester known, is the one 
 made in 1722, and on file in the Coun- 
 ty Commissioners' Office at West Ches- 
 ter. I insert here the list for the town- 
 ship of Chester, omitting the amount 
 of tax on the real estate of eacli. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 159 
 
 David Lloyd, 
 John Baldwin, 
 David Wilson, 
 John Salkeld, 
 John Wade, 
 Jeremiah Carter, 
 John Wright, 
 Jonas Sandelands, 
 Richard Weaver, 
 Jacob Howell, 
 David Roberts, 
 Mary Baldwin, 
 Humphrey Johnson, 
 John Scarlet, 
 Thomas Coubourn, 
 Edward Carter, 
 Thomas Phillips, 
 John Weldon, 
 Jacob Roman, 
 John Morrison, 
 William Coubourn, 
 James Hinde, 
 Sarah Head, 
 Isaac Norris, 
 Samuel Gray, 
 Michael Atkinson, 
 James Barber, 
 Ebenezer Jenkin, 
 Joshua Cowpland, 
 George Bush, 
 Edward Danger, 
 William Taylor, 
 James Townsen, 
 Richard Fowler, 
 
 William Weldon, 
 John Rimington, 
 Joseph Reynear, 
 Joseph Townsend, 
 Thomas Morgan, 
 John Baldwin, Jr., 
 Thomas Howard, 
 John Minshal, 
 Jonathan Ogden, 
 Caleb Harrison, 
 Wm. ffishborn, 
 Tobias Henrickson, 
 James Logan, — 
 John Yeats, 
 John Postlethwaite, 
 Samuel Bulkley, 
 James Cregor, 
 George Simpson, 
 Henry Munday, 
 Evan Morgan, 
 Richard Marsden, 
 Robert Barber, 
 Joshua Low, 
 Richard Evans, 
 Thomas Giffin, 
 Ruth Hoskins, 
 John Rice, 
 Thomas Coubourn, 
 
 Joseph Parker, 
 John Morgan, 
 Erasmus Can nut, 
 Henry Baker, 
 Thos. Coubourn. 
 
 The number of taxable inhabitants 
 in Chester County in 1 732, was 2,157 ; 
 in 1742, was 3,007 ; in 1752, was 3,958 ; 
 in 1760, was 4,761 ; and in 1771, was 
 5,484. The taxables of Chester town- 
 ship in 1775, numbered 168. 
 
 In 1730 the County Court ordered, 
 with the consent of the Commission- 
 ers and Assessors of the county, " that 
 Nathan Worley be made Master and 
 Keeper of the House of Correction or 
 Workhouse in the borough of Chester, 
 for the term of one year, if he behave 
 himself well, which s* time is to com- 
 mence on the 25th day of March next, 
 and that the Burgesses of said Borrough 
 shall from time to time, give such di- 
 rection therein as they may adjudge 
 proper. ' ' 
 
 The practice that existed previous to 
 this time of causing criminals to wear 
 l)adges indicative of the crimes for 
 
 which they were convicted, such as 
 T for theft, and punishment in the 
 stocks, was almost altogether discon- 
 tinued, although the stocks were still 
 kept up in Chester and elsewhere. 
 
 Thomas Penn, son of William Penn, 
 arrived in Chester from England on 
 the nth of Aug., 1732, on his first 
 visit to the Province. Notice was sent 
 to Philadelphia to the Assembly and 
 Council in Session there of his arrival, 
 by express. And the congratulations 
 and compliments of the Governor and 
 Board to the new Joint Proprietary, 
 were sent to him by the Secretary of 
 the Council, and "to acquaint him 
 that to-morrow morning they would 
 in person pay their respects to him," 
 which they did, accompanied by a 
 large number of Philadelphians. Af- 
 ter dinner, Mr. Penn set out for Phil- 
 adelphia with his visitors, where he 
 was received with all honors. 
 
 On the night of Sept. 19, 1734, John 
 Penn arrived at Chester, where he was 
 met by his younger brother, Thomas 
 Penn, and a party of gentlemen from 
 Philadelphia. On the 21st they all 
 left Chester for that city. 
 
 The Norristown Herald, recently 
 published a ^'■Literary Curiosity,'''' 
 which, it says, was intended to refute 
 the charge, that their Sheriff selected 
 Juries to effect certain private ends. 
 It is as follows : 
 
 " Advertisement, June i, 1724 — Whereas 
 it has been reported by a certain Person of the 
 County of Chester, indicted for Felony at the 
 last Court of Quarter Sessions, held for that 
 County, or by his Friends or Agents, that J. 
 T., (John Taylor,) Sheriff of said County, se- 
 lected a Grand Inquest of partial or malicious 
 men, on Purpose to find that Bill against him. 
 It is hereby Advertised, that the said Sheriff 
 thinks himself obliged (tho' not to prove Ne- 
 gatives) to declare his Abhorrance of such a 
 Fact, with his generous disdain of so false and 
 lilack a cliarge. 
 
1(31) 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 " The Industry and malice wherewith this 
 report has been cultivated, cannot with the 
 Judicious stand for a Proof of the Veracity of 
 its Porters ; the Honorable the Magistrates of 
 the said County were pleased to signify their 
 Approbation of the Clrand Jury, and that they 
 were honest and good men, well qualyfy'd 
 for that service, who are by this infamous 
 Rumour as basely stigmatized as the Sheriff 
 aforesaid. 
 
 " But it is presumed that liie character and 
 reputation of these Gentlemen is a sufticient 
 Amulet against the Contagion of Craft, Hy- 
 pocrisy and Lies. Their names are — 
 
 John Bezer, John Newlin, 
 
 Wm. Clayton, Jr., Robert Chamberhiin, 
 
 Peter Worrall, John Riley, 
 
 John Hurford, John Yearsley, 
 
 John Hopton, Thomas West, 
 
 Peter Hatton, Thomas Coeburn, 
 
 Thomas Woodward, Richard Evanson, 
 
 John V'arnall, Edward Woodward, 
 John Bennet." 
 
 Mr. Joseph C. Taylor, of Wilming- 
 ton, Delaware, has in his possession 
 an original deed for a tract of land in 
 Pennsylvania, signed by Wm. Penn. 
 It is written in old English text, on 
 parchment, dated March 3, 1681, 
 and despite its great age, is in a re- 
 markably good state of preservation. 
 The deed first defines the limit of 
 the land granted to William Penn by 
 Charles II., and then conveys in 
 due form 1250 acres of this tract to 
 William and Peter Taylor, in con- 
 sideration of ;^25, or about $125. 
 These 1250 acres are situated in Del- 
 aware (then Chester) County, and 
 include a portion of the ground on 
 which the town of Media now stands. 
 On the margin of the deed is Wil- 
 liam Penn's signature in his well- 
 known bold handwriting. 
 
 Mr. Taylor has also in his posses- 
 sion another parchment deed which 
 conveys to Peter Taylor, a portion of 
 the above tract. This was recorded 
 at Philadelphia, in Patent Book, vol. 
 iii.. p. .82, March 5, 1705. On its 
 
 margin are the signatures of Edward 
 Shippen, Griffith Owen and James 
 Logan, CoiTimissioners of Wm. Penn, 
 who at that time was absent in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 From the Media American, 1876, 
 I extract the following information: 
 
 "A few facts in reference to the original 
 owners of the land now chiefly occupied by 
 the Borough of Media, may prove to be of 
 general interest. It appears from authen- 
 tic records, such as ancient memoranda, wills 
 and deeds, yet carefully preserved in various 
 depositories of antique manuscripts, that Peter 
 Taylor and William, his brother, of the parish 
 of Sutton, county of Chester, England, bought 
 of William Penn, March 3, 1 68 1, land to the 
 amount of 1250 acres, in the Province of 
 Pennsylvania, for which they paid the sum of 
 twenty-five pounds for all, and one shilling 
 quit rent for each one hundred acres ; or, in 
 other terms, about 3 1 28 for the whole amount 
 — ten and a quarter cents per acre. Seven 
 hundred acres of this tract were taken up by 
 the two brothers, on the exact location of Me- 
 dia. Peter took four hundred acres and Wil- 
 liam three hundred, leaving a remainder of 
 six hundred and twenty-five acres to be divided 
 between them in East Cain township, where 
 they decided to locate the other tract. In 
 addition to this, they took up 'Liberty Land,' 
 in Philadelphia, in their own right, and a lot 
 of thirty-three feet on High, or Market Street, 
 sixty-six feet on Third Street — this was the 
 'bonus' gi-ant. 
 
 "They came over from England early in 
 1682, some time before the arrival of I'enn, 
 and probably in the ship 'Amity.' Both at 
 once proceeded to locate their claims. The 
 ground taken up by Peter formed nearly a 
 i:)arallelogram, and extended from Ridley 
 Creek to the 'Providence Road; its southern 
 boundary line extended east and west, along 
 or near Washijigton Street, in the Borough of 
 Media. Inasmuch as only a draft of the land, 
 without its measurement on each side, is before 
 us, and not the old deed, we can neither give 
 the width of the tract, nor the location of its 
 northern boundary line; but, as il was paral- 
 lel to the opposite one, we presume that it ran 
 not far north of the prison. 
 
 " William Tavlor look his share of the seven 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 161 
 
 hundred acres, nearly in the form of a square, 
 along the Providence Road north of and ad- 
 joining the possessions of Peter. Directly 
 west of him was the land of John Houlston, 
 extending to the creek. It is a singular fact 
 that William had been settled on his own 
 estate considerably less than a year, when 
 death summoned him away. He died Mar. 6, 
 1683, and his wife Margaret three days before, 
 leaving a son named Joseph and two daugh- 
 ters. It is an incidental circumstance worthy 
 of notice that Peter being unmarried when he 
 arrived in this country, was married to Sarah, 
 a daughter of the John Houlston above named, 
 Jan. 2, 1685. The Houlston property was 
 north of the western end of the land claimed 
 by Peter. It is a remarkable fact, that Houl- 
 ston had two other daughters married the same 
 day, namely : Elizabeth to James Swaffer, 
 and Rebecca to William Gregoi7; while a 
 fourth one, Martha, was married to David 
 Ogden before the close of the same year. The 
 children of Peter Taylor were Peter, W^illiam 
 and Samuel. 
 
 " It is on record that Peter moved to East 
 Cain not later than June, 17 17, and died in 
 1720, probably at the residence of his son, 
 William, in that township. It also appears 
 that on Aug. 20, 17 17, Peter Taylor and wife 
 Sarah, deeded to Peter Dicks one hundred and 
 seventy acres of ground, being all that portion 
 of the estate nearest Ridley Creek — Taylor 
 retaining one hundred and fifty-one acres, and 
 its western boundary line must have run due 
 north and south, a little west of the residence 
 of A. Lewis Smith, Esq., on State Street. 
 The fact that Peter had but one hundred and 
 fifty-one acres left, is presumptive evidence 
 that, in the thirty-five years that he had then 
 resided on the farm, he must have disposed of 
 about eighty acres of the original tract, doubt- 
 less on its northern border. This would seem 
 to indicate that he was not as prosperous in 
 life as some of the other early settlers of the 
 county. When he removed to Cain, his son, 
 Peter, appears to have taken charge of the 
 remainder of the estate. He married Eliza- 
 beth Jarman, of Radnor, died in 1740, and 
 was succeeded by /lis son, Peter, — the grandson 
 of the original Peter. Meantime, a portion of 
 the adjoining property which had come into 
 the ownership of William, another son of the 
 original Peter, who sold a section of it consist- 
 ing of nearly 150 acres to John Buller, in the 
 
 year 1735, and retained for himself 151 acres- 
 He was 40 years old at the time of his death. 
 
 " The 151 acres of Peter Taylor, the third, 
 having been sold to Peter Dicks, was deeded 
 to him June 8, 1748; hence, after an interval 
 of sixty -six years, the land of the original Peter 
 Taylor, immigrant, passed out of the hands of 
 his descendants. Dicks built a log cabin on 
 the lower edge of his property, which is stand- 
 ing to-day, though 1 27 years old. He had thus 
 absorbed the whole estate beside owning the 
 large tract of land along the west of the Pro- 
 vidence Road, south of and contiguous to the 
 eastern end of the Taylor property. He was 
 a son of Peter Dicks, of Cheshire, England, 
 who settled in Birmingham, in 1686, and had 
 seven children. This son moved to Nether 
 Providence in 1717, though the family had 
 either located a claim there in 1686, or sub- 
 sequently purchased the ground from the Ver- 
 nons. He was in easy circumstances and af- 
 terwards made large additions to his real estate. 
 On the south of Taylor's land, he owned about 
 half way from Providence Road to Ridley 
 Creek, while a person by the name of Brough- 
 ton owned from his boundary line to Ridley 
 Creek. As the property of Thomas Minshall 
 faced that of Peter Taylor, to the eastward, we 
 have the six original owners of land, on or 
 near the present site of Media, as follows : — 
 Peter Taylor, William Taylor, John Houlston, 
 
 Thomas Minshall, Peter Dicks, and 
 
 Broughton. 
 
 " It is a well ascertained fact, that Ceneral 
 Zachary Taylor, a President of the United 
 States, and the hero of the Mexican War, was 
 a lineal descendant of Peter Taylor, immi- 
 grant. His ancestors of the second or third 
 generation removed from Cain, Chester Coun- 
 ty, to Winchester, Va., where the boyhood of 
 Gen. Taylor was spent, though he removed to 
 the West, in after years. And this is how it 
 was that Media, in a somewhat remote sense, 
 it is true, gave an occupant to the Presidential 
 chair of the nation." 
 
 It is an error to say that Sarah Tay- 
 lor and the other daughters of John 
 Houlston were married Jan. 2, 1685, 
 as they only "passed meeting" the 
 first time on the 2nd of ist mo. (March) 
 and were not married for some weeks 
 after. Zachary Taylor is claimed by 
 
IG2 
 
 IIISTOKV OF (JIIKSTKU. 
 
 other families of Taylor, and those 
 having the/acfs should give them. 
 
 William and Peter Taylor, were 
 among the first settlers of the region 
 wlicre the above land is situated, 
 and their progeny are widely spread 
 over Delaware, Chester, and Berks 
 Counties, and elsewhere. William 
 Taylor, brother of Peter, died 1683. 
 
 Joseph C. Taylor and his brother. 
 Maris, are lineal descendants of Peter 
 Taylor, who died in 1720. 
 
 Mr. Taylor has compiled a genea- 
 logical history of the Taylor family, 
 from the time of their settlement in 
 Pennsylvania to the present day, a 
 copy of which he presented lately to 
 the Historical Society of Pa. William 
 and Peter Taylor came from Sutton, 
 in Cheshire, in England, and settled 
 on adjoining tracts of land at Sandy 
 Bank, Upper Providence, Chester (now 
 Delaware) County, Pa., in 1682. Pe- 
 ter Taylor was marrietl by Friends' 
 ceremony, i mo. 2, 1685, to Sarah 
 Houlston, daughter of his neighbor 
 John Houlston. 
 
 On the 2d of July, 1690, Peter Tay- 
 lor and Randal Malin, on behalf of 
 themselves and several other Friends, 
 purchased of Thomas Powell a parcel 
 of land situated in Upper Providence, 
 for a burying-place, which is now 
 known as Sandy Bank grave-yard. 
 
 The children of Peter and Sarali 
 Taylor were, Peter, John, Sarah, Wil- 
 liam and Samuel. 
 
 Nathan Taylor who resided at Sandy 
 Bank, before and during the Revolu- 
 tion, is supposed to be a grandson of 
 Peter Taylor, as the earliest date his 
 name appears among the receipts and 
 papers of the family is in 1757. It 
 appears from the appraisement of the 
 goods and chattels of Nathan 'J aylor, 
 dated Feb. 22, 1800, that he died at 
 
 the family homestead in Lii)per Pro- 
 vidence. 
 
 The children of Nathan Taylor were, 
 Enoch, who married Elizabeth Maris; 
 Ruth, who married Aaron Baker ; 
 Hannah, who married William Wilkin- 
 son, and Evan, concerning whom no- 
 thing is known. 
 
 Enoch Taylor, the grandsire of the 
 present generation, lived during the Re- 
 volution. He married Elizabeth Scott, 
 a widow, whose maiden name was 
 Maris, she was a descendant of George 
 Maris, who emigrated from the parish 
 of Inkborough, in the county of Wor- 
 cester, in England, in the year 1683. 
 Elizabeth survived her husband, Enoch 
 Taylor, and married a third time, Wil- 
 liam Twaddel, whom she also outlived, 
 and became for the third time a widow ; 
 ultimately she died in the vicinity of 
 the Lamb Tavern, formerly known as 
 the Three Tuns. 
 
 Enoch Taylor died in the year 1802, 
 leaving the following issue — Ezra, who 
 w. Sarah P., the dau. of Thomas Curtis, 
 of New Jersey; Nathan, who ;;/. Susan 
 Massey, of Springfield, Delaware Coun- 
 ty, Pa. ; Eliza, who m. Joseph Cloud, 
 who held a position in the U. S. Mint, 
 at Philadelphia; Mary, wlio ///. ist, 
 Levi Bailey, 2d, William Wallers, of 
 the State of Delaware ; Hannah, who 
 ;//. Samuel Laycock ; Jeremiah, who 
 
 ;;/. Anderson ; Julianna, who w. 
 
 Joseph King, of Germantown ; and 
 Maris, who w. in the" first instance 
 Rhoda Elkinton, and secondly Sarah 
 Norris, and removed to Clarksburg, 
 Harrison County, Va., where he died 
 June 14, 1854. 
 
 Ezra Taylor, the eldest son of Enoch 
 and Elizabeth, took the ancestral pro- 
 perty at Sandy Bank, at its appraised 
 value. He was Constable of Ui:)per 
 Providence in 181 1, and during the 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEl!. 
 
 U)8 
 
 war of 1812 followed butchering. He 
 was b. June 26, 1781, ;;/. Sarah P. 
 Curtis, June 3, iSog, and d. May 5, 
 1825, leaving his widow and seven 
 children surviving him, viz., Eliza ; 
 
 Thomas C, who m. Elizabeth ; 
 
 Julianna, who m. William G. Vernon ; 
 Maris, who m. Ellen Swinney ; Rachel, 
 who ;;/. John Miller ; Elizabeth, de- 
 ceased unmarried; Isaac M., who ///. 
 Mary Ann Mills, and Joseph C, who 
 intermarried with Mary E. Francis, 
 and resides at Wilmington, Delaware, 
 and who furnished me with the forego- 
 ing information ; enclosed with which 
 was the following acrostic, written by 
 himself: 
 
 ACROSTIC. 
 
 Thoughts oil Sandy Bank Graveyard. 
 " Sleepers sleeping under the sod, 
 And their spirits ascended to God, 
 Now captives in their gloomy cells, 
 Death hath conquered their various spells. 
 Yes, life's sweet dreams now are past, 
 But in the grave we shall lie at last. 
 And never waken from that slumber. 
 Not until the Archangel our chains disencumber 
 Keep us then from trifling toys, 
 Great giver of heavenly joys, 
 Remembering that as we carelessly tread. 
 Ah ! soon we may be placed among the dead. 
 Vigils for us may be sadly keeping. 
 Even then with the sleepers sleeping 
 Y'onder under the ground our bodies lay, 
 And numbered with those who have past away. 
 Regardless of winter's winds, or summer's 
 
 thunder, 
 Death soon may make us one of that number." 
 
 XVI. 
 
 In 1736, the Society of Friends hav- 
 ing commenced the erection of a new 
 meeting-house at Chester, the first 
 meeting-house, well known as the 
 house in which it is alleged that the 
 first General Assembly of the Province 
 of Pennsylvania held its sessions, was 
 sold. The new meeting-house is still 
 
 standing on Market Street, between 
 Second and Third Streets, and is own- 
 ed and used at this time by the Hicks- 
 ite branch of the Society of Friends. 
 
 It is reported in Smith's History of. 
 New Jersey, pp. 427, 436, that in the 
 years 1727 and 1732, slight shocks of 
 earthquake were felt in this part of the 
 country. That on Dec. 7, 1738, a 
 severe shock was also felt, " accompa- 
 nied by a remarkable rumbling noise; 
 people waked in their beds, (it must 
 therefore have occurred during the 
 night,) the doors flew open, bricks fell 
 from the chimneys, the consternation 
 was serious, but happily no great dam- 
 age ensued." And again, on the 
 morning of Nov. 18, 1755, a severe 
 shock of an earthquake was felt all 
 over this part of America. It was felt 
 along the Atlantic coast for 800 miles. 
 The vicinity of Boston got the worst 
 of the shock. Again, there occurred 
 on Sunday, Oct. 13, 1763, a severe 
 shock of an earthquake, accompanied 
 by a loud, roaring noise, which greatly 
 alarmed not only the inhabitants of 
 Philadelphia, but of the surrounding 
 country. Most religious congregations 
 were assembled for worship at the time, 
 and much confusion, though but little 
 injury, happened from their efforts to 
 escape from the buildings, which they 
 feared would fall on them. 
 
 A slight shock of an earthquake was 
 felt at Chester, Wilmington, and Sa- 
 lem, N. J., and other places along the 
 Delaware, Oct. 8, 1871, at 8.40 a.:m., 
 a rumbling sound, as of the reverbera- 
 tion after the discharge of a heavy 
 piece of ordnance, occurred during 
 the shock, which lasted about thirty 
 seconds, shaking houses, windows, 
 crockery, &c., and causing nervous 
 people to rush out of doors. 
 
 In 1739, the women had "the ridi- 
 
164 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 cnluus fashion of wearing h()0])s," so 
 says an old chronicler. The Society 
 of Friends testified against this prac- 
 tice. Thisarticle of feminine api)arel, 
 was at lliat time (ailed '' lioopsf [^ctti- 
 loats. ' ' The wearing of hooi)s became 
 the fashion again about 1855. At first 
 they were called "hooped skirts," and 
 were made enormously large, now they 
 are called "skeleton skirts." They are 
 made of a reasonable size, and help to 
 support the heavy skirts of women's 
 clothing, and my lady friends assure 
 me that they are exceedingly comfort- 
 able, and they would not be without 
 them ; they have been in use now 
 (1874) about 20 years. Previous to 
 hoops, women of fashion wore crino- 
 line, which was a stiff kind of petti- 
 coat, having something of the same , 
 effect as hoops. About 1840, the Bus- 
 tle was all the fashion, now the Pannier 
 has taken its place, and is a skeleton 
 made of wires. In my Journal, under 
 date Aug. 24, 1840, I find it entered: 
 " I attended the Park Theatre, with 
 Stanton, Rains, Hammond, and about 
 30 other cadets, to see the ' Divine 
 Fanny' Ellsler dance. Charlotte Cush- 
 man and her sister, Susan, played in 
 an after-piece. Ladies wore bustles in 
 those days, but Charlotte's beat them 
 all." Hear what a lady writes : 
 
 THE BUSTLE. 
 
 " Haste, Venus I daughter of tlie purple wave, 
 
 Unveil on earth thy radiant charms no more ; 
 Hie maid of beauty, to thy coral cave, 
 
 Thy peerless reign, alas, too soon is o'er. 
 No longer now, ye artless graces rise, 
 
 Your forms in sweet perfection to display, 
 Love, grace and beauty with the goddess dies. 
 
 Since now /<? »iot/e i)roclaims the bustle's sway 
 ■***-;:■** * 
 
 Bustle superb! In thee alone we find, 
 Love, grace and beauty in one heap combin'd ; 
 In thee alone new beauties rise and live, 
 Which only art and eti(|uellc can give. 
 
 Among the grave, the gay, the sad or merry, 
 Each maiden paces a la Dromedary. 
 Hail ! wond'rous age, when nature's perfect law 
 Resigns the contest to a bag of straw. 
 When fashion bold embracing every wliim. 
 Augments the form where nature fain would 
 
 trim, 
 And tastes as fickle as the fleeting wind, 
 Must needs attach an extra hump behind. 
 While youth and lieauty bending 'neath the 
 
 load. 
 Become sad martyrs to the laws of mode, 
 The Age, the Custom, Etiquette and taste ; 
 The biggest bustle, and the smallest ivaist.^'' 
 
 I may add here, that ladies of fash- 
 ion, especially those young and hand- 
 some, wear hats not bonnets, and very 
 becoming they are. Our women dress 
 very expensively, with long trailing silk 
 skirts, with an over-dress ; they wear 
 large quantities of false hair, and in 
 winter, expensive hats and sacques of 
 fur are the fashion. 
 
 During the years 1747-48, the de- 
 predations of the French and Spanish 
 privateers in the Delaware, became 
 very alarming to the inhabitants, and 
 the authorities, fearing that the Pro- 
 vince might be invaded and the city of 
 Philadelphia plundered, entered into 
 associations and prepared batteries at 
 the favorable places on the river, for 
 defence. 5 Col. R., 185-6. During 
 this period, the Associators of Chester 
 Co. formed two regiments of '■'■Home 
 Guards for the emergency.^' I copy a 
 list of the officers to whom commissions 
 were granted by the Provincial Coun- 
 cil, Jan. 9, 1747. 
 
 William Moore, Colonel. 
 Samuel Flower, Lieut. Col. 
 John Mathers, Major. 
 
 Ca/>iains. 
 David Parry, And. McDowel, 
 
 Roger Hunt, John McCoull, 
 
 George Aston, George Taylor, 
 
 Wm. McKnight, James Graham, 
 
 Moses Dickie, Robert Grace, 
 
 Richard Richison, Hugh Killpatrick, 
 
 John Williamson, James Hunter, 
 
 John Mathers. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 165 
 
 Lieutenants . 
 Isaac Davy, John Culbertson, 
 
 Guyon Moore, John Vaughn, 
 
 Robert Morrell, Wm. Darlington, 
 
 Robert Anderson, John Kent, 
 
 John Boyd, Wm. Buchanan, 
 
 John Cuthbert, John McMakin, 
 
 Jno. Cunningham, James Mathers, 
 
 Charles Moore. 
 
 Ensigns. 
 Nathaniel Davies, James Scoot, 
 
 William Littler, Robert Aull, 
 
 Edward Pearce, Francis Garmer, 
 
 Samuel Love, Jacob Free, 
 
 Jas. Montgomery, Wm. Gumming, 
 
 John Hambrith, John Johnson, 
 
 Geo. McCuUough, Joseph Talbert, 
 
 Benjamin Weatherby. 
 
 And on March 29, 1748, (5 Col. 
 Records, 210,) the following list of offi- 
 cers, commissioned for Chester Coun- 
 ty, is given. The regiment was called 
 the " AssociATORS," and furnished 
 their own equipments. 
 
 Andrew McDowel, Colonel. 
 John Frew, Lieut. Col. 
 John Miller, Major. 
 
 Job Ruston, 
 William Bell, 
 Joseph Wilson, 
 Henry Glassford, 
 
 Joseph Smith, 
 Robert McMullin, 
 James Cochran, 
 Robert Allison, 
 
 James Dysart, 
 Rowland I'arry, 
 Joseph Parke, 
 John Emmit, 
 
 Captains. 
 
 William Boyd, 
 William Reed, 
 William Porter, 
 John Miller. 
 
 Lieutenants. 
 
 John Culbertson, 
 Thomas Hope, 
 Robert Macky, 
 George Bently. 
 
 Ensigns, 
 
 John Donald, 
 Thomas Clarke, 
 John Smith, 
 Thomas Brown. 
 
 At the Council held May 25, 1748, 
 I find the following entry, (5 C. R., 
 246): "The following officers being 
 chosen & returned by the Associators 
 to the Presdt & Council, were approv- 
 ed of & Commissions issued to them 
 accordingly : William Clinton, Cap- 
 tain; Morris Thomas, Lieut., and Wil- 
 liam Carr, Ensig/i.'" 
 
 And on Aug. 4, 1748, the follow- 
 ing persons were commissioned from 
 Chester County : Thomas Hubert, Jr., 
 and George Leggitt, Captains ; John 
 
 Rees and Thomas Leggitt, Licuts., 
 and Anthony Richard and Archibald 
 Young, Ensigns. 
 
 During the fall of 1748, Peter 
 Kalm, the Swedish naturalist, arrived 
 in Philadelphia, and after spending 
 a short time in that city, he passed 
 through Delaware County, on a visit 
 to Wilmington. On his return, he 
 says he passed some time at Chichester 
 (Marcus Hook), "A borrough on the 
 Delaware, where travellers pass the 
 river in a Ferry." He adds: "They 
 build here every year a number of small 
 ships for sale ; and from an iron works 
 which lies higher up the country, they 
 carry iron bars to this place, and ship 
 them. The environs of Chichester, 
 contain many gardens which are full 
 of apple trees, sinking under the weight 
 of innumerable apples. ' ' About noon 
 our traveller says, he reached "Ches- 
 ter, a little market town which lies on 
 the Delaware. The houses stand dis- 
 persed. Most of them are built of 
 stone, and two or three stories high ; 
 some are, however, made of wood. In 
 the town is a church and a market- 
 place. ' ' Smith's History, 258. 
 
 The following is a list of licenses 
 granted in Delaware County, in 1755 : 
 Chester, James Mather, Aubrey Bevan, 
 
 John Hanley, David Cowpland. 
 Darby, John Rudolph, George Wood. 
 Chichester, Thomas Clayton, Mary 
 
 Pain, James Pillion. 
 Middletown, Joseph Talbot. 
 Concord, Jno. Hannum, Nath'l Newlin. 
 Chester Township, James Strowd. 
 Ridley, Mord. Thomson. 
 Radnor, Sampson Davis. 
 Newtown, John West, Richard Barry. 
 
 In 1757, the Court recommended 
 to the Governor the following named 
 persons to be licensed as tavern keep- 
 ers in Chester Borough, viz., Aubrey 
 
166 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Bevan, James Mather, David Cowp- 
 land and John Hanley ; for the town- 
 ship, William Miller. 
 
 In 1762, among the list of new Jus- 
 tices of the county of Chester, appears 
 the name of Henry Hale Graham, Esq. , 
 who during his lifetime occupied so 
 many prominent positions of profit and 
 trust in the county. 
 
 The Grahams of Delaware County, 
 claim an importance in Scotland as 
 early as A. D. 404, when Graham, 
 Regent of Scotland, commanding its 
 army, breached the mighty wall erect- 
 ed by the Roman Emperor Severus, 
 between the Forth and Clyde. They in- 
 termarried with the Stuarts of the royal 
 family, and were conspicuous in the 
 wars for Scottish liberty by the side of 
 Wallace and the Bruce. The great 
 Marquis of Montrose and Graham of 
 Claverhouse, Viscount of Dundee, call- 
 ed by the Covenanters for his deeds, 
 ' ' Bloody Dundee, ' ' and * ' Bonny Dun- 
 dee" by the Cavaliers, on account of 
 his great personal beauty, were of this 
 family. 
 
 William Graham (father of Henry 
 Hale Graham), born in London, April 
 25, 1692, was the second son of Rich- 
 ard Graham, of Blackhouse, Cumber- 
 land, and Alice his wife, daughter of 
 William Hale, of Hointon, Worcester. 
 Richard was the second son of George, 
 the son of William Graham, of Black- 
 house. Richard Graham and Alice 
 his wife, with most of their children, 
 lie buried in the Quaker burying ground 
 near Bunhillsfield, London. 
 
 William Graham, m. Feb. i, 1719, 
 Anne, dau. of Thomas and Patience 
 Bradford, in Friends' meeting-house, 
 called " Buil-and-Mouth,^' in St. Mar- 
 tin's le Grand, near Aldersgate, Lon- 
 don, and had issue three sons and four 
 daughters, all of whom died young, 
 
 (except a daughter, Hannah,) and 
 were buried in Bunhillsfields burying 
 ground. His wife Annie, d. Dec. 29, 
 1727; and in 1729, he married in 
 Friends' meeting-house at Waltham 
 Abbey, in "Middlesex," Eleanor, 
 dau. of Zedekiah & Dorothy Wyatt, 
 of Grace Church St., London, where 
 she was born, 5 mo. 8, 1705. He 
 had by his second marriage two sons 
 and three daughters. 
 
 William Graham, emigrated to the 
 Province of Pennsylvania, in the year 
 1733. See Records of Chester Monthly 
 Meeting. In 1743, a daughter, Anna 
 Maria, born in Philadelphia, died and 
 was buried in Friends' grave-yard at 
 Chester, where her tombstone still 
 stands. William Graham d. Aug. 6, 
 1 758, and was buried in the same place. 
 His sons' names were, Henry Hale, 
 and Zedekiah ; the latter was born in 
 Darby, Oct. 21, 1737, and died un- 
 married. 
 
 In the Minutes of Chester Monthly 
 Meeting, under date of 28th of 8th mo. , 
 1 758, it is said, that " Dorothy Graham 
 Requests to come under the care and 
 Notice of Friends, which this meeting 
 agrees to, as her conversation and con- 
 duct shall agree with the Rules of our 
 Discipline." 
 
 6 mo. 25, 1759. A certificate was 
 produced " for Eleanor, the widow of 
 William Graham, from London, dated 
 in the year 1733, setting forth her 
 good Life and Conversation, & that 
 .she was in unity with Friends there, 
 but as the said Certificate has laid so 
 long, this meeting thinks proper to 
 appoint Peter Dicks and John Sharp- 
 less to join with the women [Jane 
 Hoskins and Sarah Sharpies,] to en- 
 quire into the Reason why it was not 
 delivered in sooner." They report 
 next n")nth that they "have taken an 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 167 
 
 opportunity with her and heard her 
 Reasons why her certificate was not 
 delivered in sooner, which Reasons 
 being allowed of, and that they do not 
 find but that her Conversation has been 
 orderly, therefore the said certificate 
 is received. One of her children is 
 come under the care of Friends by 
 Request. The rest, for sufficient Rea- 
 sons are not looked upon as Members 
 until they apply in like manner." 
 This none of the others appear to have 
 done. The wife oif Henry Hale Gra- 
 ham retained her membership with 
 Friends, and two of their daughters, 
 Eleanor and Mary, became members 
 prior to marriage. 
 
 The family history says : " One of 
 the daughters, Dorothea, married a Dr. 
 Smith, and died without issue, a victim 
 to the yellow fever, at Chester, in 
 the latter part of the last century." 
 From Friends' records it appears that 
 Dorothy Graham, daughter of Wil- 
 liam and Eleanor, " passed meeting" 
 with John Smith, of Lower Chiches- 
 ter, 7 mo. 30, 1 781, but the marriage 
 was interrupted by her mother, who 
 became dissatisfied with him " for not 
 being so willing as she desired, to re- 
 ceive some goods which she proposed 
 to give to her daughter on such terms 
 as she thought fit to propose." Har- 
 mony was restored however, eventu- 
 ally, and the marriage took place 12 
 mo. 3, 17S3. Her mother was still 
 living. 
 
 Henry Hale Graham, was born in 
 London, in 1731, and came as a child 
 to this country with his father. He 
 was a man of much influence in the 
 Province, a lawyer by profession, and 
 held the offices of Register, Recorder, 
 Prothonotary and Clerk of the several 
 Courts of Chester County. He was 
 an industrious man, and with his own 
 
 hands wrote the greater part of the 
 papers on file in his office, which his 
 peculiar chirography attests. In 1761, 
 he was appointed one of the Justices 
 of the county ; in 1775 and again in 
 1789, to the same position. The offi- 
 cial report on the condition of Penna., 
 made in 1775, by Gov. Richard Penn, 
 shows that the offices of Prothonotary, 
 Register, Recorder, &:c., were held by 
 Mr. Graham at that time, and the com- 
 pensation thereof was placed at ^120 
 per annum. 
 
 In March 26, 1777, Thomas Taylor 
 was appointed Mr. Graham's successor 
 in office, although he never assumed 
 the duties of the position, nor did 
 Benjamin Jacobs, who was appointed 
 April 4, same year, for on the nth 
 of June, Caleb Davis was qualified. 
 On the 28th of July, the records of the 
 county were still in Mr. G.'s posses- 
 sion, when the Council authorized Mr. 
 Davis to "enter the dwelling and out- 
 houses of H. H. Graham, take posses- 
 sion of the books and papers of the 
 county, and remove them to a place 
 of safety." In 1777, when the English 
 army held possession of Chester, Mr. 
 G. seems to have lost by their depre- 
 dations, ;^25. He took no active 
 part in the Revolution. In 1789, 
 when Delaware County was created, 
 he was appointed with others one of 
 the trustees for the purchase of the 
 Court House and Prison, at Ches- 
 ter, "for the use of the inhabitants." 
 On Nov. 7, 1789, he was appointed 
 President Judge of the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas, but on account of not hav- 
 ing been a Justice of the Peace at the 
 time his appointment was illegal ; where- 
 upon the President of Pennsylvania 
 and Council revoked the commission 
 they had granted, and commissioned 
 him a Justice of the Peace, and then 
 
168 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 appointed him President Judge of the 
 several Courts of the new county. In 
 1790, he was a delegate from the coun- 
 ty to the Constitutional Convention of 
 the State, and during its sitting he died. 
 The Convention, out of respect to Mr. 
 G. , adjourned, and sent three of their 
 members to Chester to attend his fu- 
 neral. His remains are interred in 
 Friends' grave-yard. A large portion 
 of the clothing Henry Hale Graham 
 wore when an infant, and in which, it 
 is said, he was taken to meeting to be 
 enrolled on the Records of the Socie- 
 ty,* are now in the possession of Henry 
 Graham Ashmead, his g. grandson. 
 
 Mr. Graham married Abigail Pen- 
 nell, by whom he had the following 
 children: Eleanor, b. 7 mo. 17, 1761, 
 wifeof Raper Hoskins; Mary, /;. i mo. 
 4, 1764, wife of Joseph Hoskins; Wil- 
 liam Graham, b. 2 mo. 13, 1766 ; Hen- 
 rietta, b. 4 mo. 27, 1768, wife of Rich- 
 ard Flower ; Dorothea, b. 6 mo. 22, 
 1 770, wife of Dr. Pennell ; Catha- 
 rine Greenleif, b. i mo. 2, 1773, wife 
 of Capt. Thomas Robinson ; Henry 
 Hale, b. 5 mo. 24, 1777, d. 7 mo. 21, 
 1777; Abigail Graham, spinster, b. 4 
 mo. 19, 1780, and Anna Maria, b. \\ 
 mo. 29, 1782, d. 9 mo. 22, 1783. 
 
 William Graham, only son of Henry 
 Hale Graham, was born in Chester in 
 1766; admitted to the bar Nov. 14, 
 1788, and married Jane Robinson, 
 sister of Capt. Thomas Robinson, who 
 had married one of Mr. Graham's 
 sisters. During the whiskey insurrec- 
 tion in 1794, he commanded a body 
 of troops from Delaware County, who 
 had responded to the call of Gov. 
 Mifflin. Mr. Graham, owing to a dis- 
 ease in his throat, could never argue 
 matters before the Court ; but enjoyed 
 a large attorney practice. This dis- 
 
 •"■ 'riii> i> not a ( hiakcr cunIoih. 
 
 ease Avas thus occasioned ; when a young 
 man he went to Chester Island, in 
 company with some gentlemen, rail- 
 shooting, and became separated from 
 his companions. When night came on 
 he could not be found, and they re- 
 turned to Chester, determining at day- 
 break to resume their search for him. 
 All that night he remained on the bar, 
 the tide rising so high that his head 
 and chin alone were out of the water. 
 When rescued next morning, his voice 
 was entirely gone, and he fiever re- 
 covered it. He ever after spoke no 
 louder than a whisper. He died with- 
 out children in 1821, and was interred 
 in Friends' grave-yard. His remains 
 have since been removed to Woodland 
 Cemetery, Philadelphia. 
 
 The above births of Henry Hale 
 Graham's children, were recorded on 
 the minutes of Friends' Meeting at 
 Chester, at the particular request of 
 the mother; the father not being in 
 membership with Friends. Although 
 the writer of much of the foregoing 
 sketch says Judge Graham was a Friend, 
 it is a mistake. The Records of Ches- 
 ter Monthly Meeting are my authority. 
 They state distinctly that he was not 
 a member. 
 
 Judge Graham was born in London, 
 July I, 1731 ; he died Jan. 24, 1790. 
 He married as stated, Abigail Pennell, 
 daughter of Thomas and Mary, July 
 I, 1 760. She was born June 29, 1 740, 
 and died Nov. 4, 1797, (copied from 
 the family Bible, in possession of Mrs. 
 Eleanor Pearsoll, a g. grand-daughter 
 of the Judge). I have in my posses- 
 sion an old, black letter law book, en- 
 titled '■'■ Tryals per Pais,'" })ublished 
 in London, 1702. On the inside of 
 the front cover is pasted a book-plate, 
 on which is engraven, "Henry Hale 
 Graham," and the arms are, Ar, on 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 169 
 
 a Chief, or, three escallop shells, ppr. 
 Crest, two wings conjoined or. Motto, 
 ^^ Nee Habeo, Nee Careo, Nee Curo,'" 
 i. e., I have neither property, want nor 
 care. This was the motto of the "En- 
 glish Bowstring Makers Company." 
 In the book are the signatures of 
 "Henry H. Graham, Wm. Graham, 
 and Wm. Martin, Chester, Pa., 1819, 
 William Graham's office. ' ' My father 
 and grandfather, both named William 
 Martin ; both studied law with William 
 Graham. 
 
 Graham is not a place-name, but 
 from the old Norse Graine, signifying 
 worth. The family had its origin in 
 Cumberland or Scotland. New Eng- 
 land Historical Mag., 23 vol., 80. 
 
 From an old scrap-book of my grand- 
 father. Dr. William Martin, I copy the 
 following: — "For the Pennsylvania 
 Packet, Jan. 26, 1790. On Saturday, 
 the 23d inst., departed this life at Phil- 
 adelphia, after a short illness, Henry 
 Hale Graham, Esq., in the 59th year 
 of his age. President of the Courts of 
 Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions 
 for Delaware County, and one of the 
 Delegates in Convention for altering 
 and amending the Constitution of the 
 State. And on Tuesday morning, his 
 remains were interred in Friends' bu- 
 rial ground at Chester, attended by 
 his family and a very large collection 
 of relatives and acquaintances, and a 
 committee of the Convention. 
 
 "The regret that the Publick mind 
 must feel for the loss of a valuable cit- 
 izen, can only be excelled by the deep 
 sorrow of an amiable family, and large 
 connection of relatives and friends. 
 With the tears that shall flow for his 
 loss, will often be mingled those of the 
 poor and friendless, to whom in his 
 professional and private character, he 
 was a liberal benefactor. 
 
 "While speechless o'er thy closing grave we 
 
 bend, 
 Accept these tears, thou dear departed friend ; 
 Oh, gone forever, take this last adieu ; 
 And sleep in peace, ." 
 
 Eleanor, daughter of Henry Hale 
 Graham, and wife of Raper Hoskins, 
 died July 3, 1835. Mary, another 
 daughter, wife of Joseph Hoskins, de- 
 parted this life Dec. 2, 1836. Henri- 
 etta Graham, wife of Richard Flower, 
 died Oct. 6, 1841. Catharine G. Gra- 
 ham, who married Thomas Robinson, 
 departed Jan. 24, 1836. Abigail War- 
 der, daughter of Raper and Eleanor 
 Hoskins, died June 15, 1832. Their 
 son, John G. Hoskins, died June 20, 
 1845 J ^i^d their daughter Henrietta, 
 died Nov. 2, 1852. Zedekiah W. 
 Flower, son of Richard and Henri- 
 etta, died Feb. 14, 1846; and Jane, 
 the widow of William Graham, Esq., 
 died Dec. 10, 1855. William G. Flow- 
 er, son of Richard and Henrietta, died 
 Aug. 21, 1865. 
 
 The following article, entitled "Re- 
 miniscences of William Graham, Esq.," 
 is copied from the West Chester Re- 
 publican, of the year 1854. I do not 
 know who wrote the article. 
 
 " The remains of Mr. Graham were inter- 
 red in Friends' burying ground in Chester, 
 beside those of his kindred and many of the 
 friends of his early youth. The house he 
 formerly occupied has been re-constructed, 
 and the law office in which he was consulted 
 by his clients, has been remodelled and con- 
 verted into a dwelling. Occasionally we find 
 one of his ancient books travelling the rounds 
 of the reading community, and we have now 
 in our possession a work printed in black let- 
 ter, in 1695, entitled 'Tryals per Pais, or the 
 Law of England, concerning Juries by Nisi 
 Prius,' which belonged to him. A few of his 
 relatives yet reside among us. 
 
 "Among the attorneys of the old Judicial 
 District, of which Chester County was a part, 
 there is no one around whom, in my memory, 
 so many interesting associations cluster as 
 
17U 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 William Graham. My first acquaintance with 
 him was in the year 1815, when a commission 
 from the Hon. Jared Ingersoll, then Attorney 
 General of Pennsylvania, made me Prosecut- 
 ing Attorney at old Chester. 
 
 " In his office at that time, Barnard, iJick 
 and Kerlin were students. He was a son of 
 Henry Hale Graham, whose name was iden- 
 tified for many years with the legal history of 
 real estate in Chester County before its divi- 
 sion. To the professional man and to the 
 annalist, Henry Hale Graham is a very inter- 
 esting character. His residence looked out 
 upon the landing place of Penn, and was close 
 by the spot where stood the building in which 
 the first law of the Province was enacted, and 
 near where Joseph Parker once kept the county 
 offices and records of the Court. The style of 
 his house and office reminded one of the olden 
 time, but his library still more so. His name, 
 written in his plain, peculiar hand on their 
 leaves, is still to be seen in many an ancient 
 folio, and scattered far and wide in the hands 
 of a fourth generation. Many of them contain- 
 ed the name of Joseph Parker, a previous 
 learner from the same pages. 
 
 "William Graham had studied law with 
 Edward Tilghman, and held his name in the 
 highest reverence, an interest which he ex- 
 tended to the descendants of his legal precep- 
 . tor. His regard was well justified, as may be 
 seen in the laudatory but plain and just eulo- 
 gium upon Mr. Tilghman, written by Horace 
 Binney, to be found in the American Encyclo- 
 pedia, and which has been i^anked by common 
 consent as a rare gem of legal biography. Mr. 
 Graham's doings and surroundings were of a 
 character with the son of such a father, the 
 pupil of such a preceptor, and the heir of an 
 estate in such a locality. 
 
 " He commanded a troop of cavalry in 
 the Western Expedition, when the exposure 
 Ijrought on an attack which affected his voice, 
 so that afterwards he could not speak much 
 above his breath. He continued his profes- 
 sional aid, however, to his friends, neighbors, 
 and old clients while he lived, and whenever 
 he attempted to speak in Court, all ears were 
 open. His uniform good sense, great propri- 
 ety and dignity of character and accurate 
 knowledge of the law and practice, command- 
 ed attention from bench, bar, the jury and the 
 public. He died some thirty odd years ago, 
 when ( )ld Chester lost the rcniaininir distin- 
 
 guished name of the olden time. At the sale 
 of his library, Major Barnard and myself were 
 in attendance, and purchased a large number 
 of his books. Among these ancient volumes 
 were many curiosities, historical and literary, 
 as well as legal. I bought a very old Bible, 
 and presented it to Judge Darhngton, whose 
 tastes as a bibliographer were marked, also a 
 copy of Symboliography, which has found its 
 way, through a seccjud hand, intcj the Phila- 
 delphia Law Library, and a law Ijook of Pre- 
 sident Reed, his manual when a student at the 
 Inns of Court, London, together with many 
 curious, old and time-worn publications of Wil- 
 liam Penn's day. A well kept volume of 
 ' Crampton on Courts,' published in 1594, yet 
 in my possession, reminds me that the motto 
 of Henry Hale CJraham, was 'Nee Habeo, 
 Nee Careo, Nee Curo.' The book is printed 
 in Norman French, with the black letter type, 
 and is now 260 years old. 
 
 "The Court, in 1815, when William Gra- 
 ham was at the head of the bar, was composed 
 of Wilson, as President Judge, Lloyd, Wil- 
 cox and Crosby, Associates ; Joseph Engle, 
 Prothonotary ; Joseph W^eaver, Clerk, and 
 Daniel Thompson, (a former Sheriff) as Crier. 
 
 "The manner in which the public records 
 had been kept by Thomas B. Dick, when he 
 held the public offices, was proverbial for ac- 
 curacy and neatness, and his dockets a pattern 
 of beauty and propriety. Could William Gra- 
 ham have lived, the seat of Justice would 
 never have been removed from ancient Up- 
 land, and I shall never cease to regret that a 
 respect for its interesting memories did not 
 keep it there." 
 
 William Graham lived and had his 
 law office in the fine old mansion house, 
 at the S. E. corner of Graham Street 
 and Edgmont Avenue, directly oppo- 
 site the former site of the first meeting- 
 house of Friends, lately the residence 
 of ''Squire" Smith. Capt. Thomas 
 Robinson, erected and lived in the 
 hotise next to it, to the south, with a 
 garden between. 
 
 Mr. Ed. S. Sayres, says: " \Vm. 
 Graham, was a very lively, jolly man, 
 full of fun, wit and anecdote ; a most 
 agreeable companion. I often visited 
 
HISTOllV OF ClIESTEH. 
 
 171 
 
 him. He married Tom Robinson's 
 sister. I did not know that Robinson 
 had been in the war of 1812, with De- 
 catur ; but he was at Tripoli, I know, 
 with him and Preble." 
 
 In the life of Commodore Preble, in 
 the Poi-t Folio, 1810, vol 4, 546, it is 
 related : " The bomb-vessel, command- 
 ed by Lieut. Robinson, had all her 
 shrouds shot away, and was so shat- 
 tered in the hull, as to be kept above 
 water with difficulty." 
 
 In Friends' burying ground at Ches- 
 ter, there is a stone erected to the 
 memory of "William Graham, who 
 departed this life 6th August, 1758, 
 aged 69 years." Another has on it 
 " Henry H. Graham, son of William 
 Graham," and marks the spot where 
 lie the remains of Judge Graham. 
 
 XVII. ■ 
 
 In the Pennsylvania Gazette of Nov. 
 17, 1768, is an obituary notice, which 
 reads thus : "On Saturday last, de- 
 parted this life John Mather, Esq., 
 an ancient inhabitant of Chester, in 
 the 73d year of his age. During that 
 long period, in every station of life 
 which he filled, his Reputation for 
 Piety, Honesty and Benevolence, was 
 universal." 
 
 "Stranger to civil and religious Rage, 
 The good man walk'd innoxious thro' his Age, 
 Unlearn' d, he knew no Schoolman's subtle Art, 
 No language but the Language of the Heart, 
 By nature honest, by Experience Wise, 
 Healthy by temperance, and by Exercise." 
 
 And in the Packet iox Dec. 7, 1772, 
 it is stated that, " On the 28th ult., Mr. 
 James Mather, Jr. , of Chester, coming 
 to this city, was flung from his horse, 
 and so violently hurt, that he died in 
 three hours after being carried back to 
 Chester." 
 
 ,Among the arrivals at Philadelphia 
 by the Rebecca, of Liverpool, 31st of 
 8 mo. (Oct.) 1685, was Richard Ma- 
 ther, but whether he was the ancestor 
 of the Chester Mathers, is unknown. 
 John and James Mather were among 
 the Chester taxables in 1724, after 
 which the names frequently appear in 
 the old records. John married Mary 
 Hoskins as already noted, (p. 56) and 
 was commissioned a Justice of the 
 Peace, April 4, 1741, in which station 
 he continued by reappointment near 
 twenty years. John. Mather, Jr., per- 
 haps a son of James, was an attorney- 
 at-law, at Chester, where he died in 
 September, 1 763. In his will he men- 
 tions his sister, Rebecca Vanleer, and 
 only son, James; appoints his friends 
 Plunket Fleeson, of Philadelphia, and 
 William Atlee, of Lancaster, his ex- 
 ecutors. John Mather, Sr., mentions, 
 in 1768, the children of his brother 
 Thomas, namely, John, James, Jane, 
 Mary, Elizabeth and Sarah. To his 
 grand-son, John Mather Jackson, he 
 devised a stone house and lot opposite 
 the parsonage, and then in the tenure 
 of Francis Richardson. The home- 
 stead appears to have been a brick 
 house on a lot at the S. E. cor. of 
 James and Front Streets. 
 
 Dr. Smith says, p. 275, that "As 
 early as 1734, some small quantities 
 of silk had been made in Pennsylvania, 
 probably from the native mulberry. 
 About this period (1770) the subject 
 was revived, and great efforts made to 
 introduce the culture on a large scale. 
 Premiums were offered to the persons 
 who should bring the greatest weight 
 of Cocoons to a filature established in 
 Philadelphia. In 1771, the quantity 
 brought to this establishment from 
 Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Dela- 
 ware, chiefly by ladies, was 1754 ll)s. 
 
172 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 4 ozs., of which Chester C\)unty [iro- 
 duced 335 lbs. Of this, some resi- 
 dents of Chester sent in tlie follow- 
 ing quantity: — Al)igail Davis, 3 lbs. 
 2 ozs. ; Henry Thomas, 8 lbs. 6 ozs. ; 
 Jane Davis, 28 lbs. 12 ozs.; Jacob 
 Worrall, 2 lbs. ; John Hoops, 23 lbs. 
 10 ozs.; Margaret Reiley, 11 lbs. 10 
 ozs." 
 
 In the Pennsylvania Packet for Oct. 
 II, 1770, a reward of four dollars is 
 offered for the recovery of a black mare 
 stolen from Davis Bevan, of Chester. 
 By another advertisement in the same 
 paper, Joseph Thomas appears to have 
 been the -''Gaoler" at Chester, at that 
 time; and in the issue of Dec. 27, 1770, 
 is the following notice: 
 
 " It being agreed l)y many JoLLY HuN- 
 iKKS to meet at Christiana Ferry, and open 
 the Xi:\v Vkar with a Fox-Chase, Notice 
 is hereby given to all lovers of this noble 
 and manly E.xercise, that a numerous and 
 good Pack of Hounds will be collected at Mr. 
 (Samuel) Morton's, as (sic) between Wilming- 
 ton and New Castle, the ground is excel- 
 lent and the Foxes very plenty." 
 
 " There you shall hear 
 
 Most gallant chiding; for beside the groves, 
 The skies, the fountains, every region near 
 Will seem one mutual cry." 
 
 In the number for June 28, 1773, 
 of the same paper, is a notice that, 
 " On the tenth instant, was married at 
 Chester, Mr. Joseph Mifflin, of this 
 city, merchant, to Miss Debby Rich- 
 ardson, daughter of Mr. Francis 
 Richardson, of that place." It will 
 be perceived from the above marriage 
 notice, that the present fashion young 
 ladies have of calling themselves Til- 
 lie, Katie, Sallie, Sibbie, Minnie, ^-c, 
 is merely a revival of an old custom of 
 giving nick names, or pet names, .such 
 as Debby, Nancy, Betsey, &c. I like 
 the f)l(l way best : l)ut in mnrnnge 
 
 notices the familiar household pet 
 name should not be used ; it is in very 
 bad taste. 
 
 In the same journal for April 3, 
 1779, there is offered for sale, three 
 lots on Market street, Chester, in all 
 80 by 120 feet, at the corner of Mid- 
 dle street ; the first having a frame 
 building for a store thereon, in the 
 tenure of Francis Richardson ; the 2d, 
 a two story brick, opposite Mr. Cowp- 
 land's frequented and well-known tav- 
 ern; 3d, vacant. The resident of Ches- 
 ter will easily locate these lots as the 
 property where Dr. Terrill lived, the 
 store, the house to the south of his 
 residence, and the vacant lot his gar- 
 den, at the S. E. cor. 4th and Market 
 streets. 
 
 Watson, in his Annals, i vol. 560, 
 says : " Col. Frank Richardson, was 
 a person of great personal beauty and 
 address, born of Quaker parentage at 
 Chester. As he grew^ up and mixed 
 with the British officers in Philadel- 
 phia, he acquired a passion for their 
 profession, went to London, got a 
 commission, and at length became a 
 Colonel of the King's Life Guards. 
 This was about 1770." 
 
 This may be an error as to his birth- 
 place, his birth being recorded by 
 Friends in Philadelphia as occurring 3 
 mo. 15, 1746. His father and three 
 of the younger children, Hannah, John 
 and Deborah, became members of 
 Chester meeting in 1773, and the son, 
 John, was disowned in 1775, for taking 
 part in military preparations. 
 
 The above family of Richardson, 
 must not be confounded with the pre- 
 sent numerous family of the same 
 name, residing in Philadelphia, many 
 of whom are xmibrella manufacturers 
 on Market street, and who are related 
 to, and intermarried with the Hills 
 
HISTOKY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 173 
 
 and several other Delaware County 
 families. The ancestors of the pre- 
 sent family, were two brothers from 
 L-eland, who came to this country 
 about 1770; hence confusion might 
 arise. 
 
 Eliza, the sister of Sarah Anna 
 Davis, widow of my late uncle, Robert 
 P. Crosby, of Ridley creek quarries, 
 m. Dr. John Howard Hill, a physi- 
 cian at Hatboro, Montgomery County, 
 Pa., afterwards a druggist of Philadel- 
 phia, who is still living, a hale, hearty 
 man, well advanced in years. One 
 of his daughters, Kate, m. William 
 H. Richardson, a son of one of the 
 brothers who emigrated from Ireland ; 
 and their son, Henry Richardson, 
 married my cousin, Margaretta, a 
 dau. of Charles R. Hawes and Sarah 
 Ann Crosby, his wife, who is a dau. of 
 Robert P. Crosby. They have one 
 child, a son, called Gardiner Hawes. 
 Charles R. Hawes, now deceased, was 
 a son of the late Mayor of New York, 
 Peter Hawes. 
 
 Dr. John Howard Hill, above named, 
 is a cousin of the late Peter, George 
 W., William and John F. Hill, of 
 Delaware County. They were the 
 sons of Peter Hill, of Ridley, a miller 
 during the Revolution. His teams 
 and flour were taken by the Govern- 
 ment in an emergency during the war, 
 and afterwards the U. S. gave him a 
 tract of land in Virginia, of 5000 
 acres. One of my first cases was em- 
 ploying Fitzhugh Lee, late a Con- 
 federate General, to obtain possession 
 of this land, near Clarksburg, Lee 
 County, Virginia, in which we were i 
 successful. And John F. Hill and his 
 second wife, Mary Roberts, a de- 
 scendant of the Brooms of Delaware, 
 resided on a portion of the tract until 
 driven away by the rebels. AVilliam 
 
 and Mary Hill, of Delaware County, 
 were early settlers there. Mary was 
 a daughter of John Hunter, who was 
 a native of the north of England, 
 from Avhence he removed to County 
 Wicklow, Ireland, to escape the per- 
 secutions of theRomanish Stuart Kings 
 after the Restoration, and married 
 there a Miss Albans. He was a 
 Trooper under William of Orange at 
 the Battle of the Boyne, July i, 1690, 
 and came to Chester County in the 
 first quarter of the last Century, and 
 died about 1736. 
 
 William Hill died about 1747 leav- 
 ing six children, Alexander, Mary, 
 John, Peter, Christiana, and another 
 whose name is not obtained. Four of 
 them were minors and two were under 
 ten years of age. The widow married 
 James Bennett before 1751. 
 
 J. Howard Hill, son of Dr. John 
 Howard Hill, above named, was a 
 I St Lieut, of the 2d Dragoons of the 
 U. S. army. He graduated from the 
 U. S. Military Academy, June 30, 
 1839, and died in service during the 
 Mexican war, at Puebla, Mexico, 
 July 29, 1847. Another son, Na- 
 thaniel Davis Hill, was one of my boy- 
 hood's friends. He married Miss Sallie 
 Haddock, a sister of Mr. Daniel Had- 
 dock, Jr., a well known merchant of 
 Philadelphia. He is now a resident 
 of Washington Territory. Dr. John 
 Howard Hill, is a grandson of John 
 Hill, late a resident of Middletown, 
 Delaware County, a brother of Peter 
 Hill, the old miller of Ridley. 
 
 Maria Davis, another sister of Mrs. 
 Anna Robinson — for after the death of 
 Robert P. Crosby, his widow married 
 the late Captain Thomas Robinson — 
 married Dr. William Bradley Tyler, of 
 Frederick, Maryland. She\vasawidow 
 when she married the Doctor, having 
 
174 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 been previous!)- married to Rol)ertMc- 
 Pherson ; and 1 knew his son John 
 Mcpherson, a merchant of Baltimore, 
 and his sister Kate, who is still living. 
 Miss Maria Tyler, a dau. of the Doctor 
 and Maria, married a merchant of Balti- 
 more, Mr. Thomas D. Belt. She has 
 a brother, Bradley Tyler, and a step- 
 sister, Eleanor Tyler, who married a 
 Dr. William Johnson. A son of the last 
 named couple, Bradley Johnson, is 
 the former well known Confederate 
 General. Dr. Tyler was a very pro-^ 
 minent Democrat, and a candidate of 
 that political party for Governor of the 
 State, on one occasion. During the 
 Rebellion, he was loyal, and sympa- 
 thized strongly with the Government. 
 When the Doctor married Mrs. Maria 
 McPherson, he was a widower, with 
 several children. 
 
 The following copy of an old "Death 
 Warrant," the original of which is 
 in possession of William Sharpless, of 
 West Chester, sufficiently explains it- 
 self : 
 
 [L. S.] CiE()R(;i-: the TiriRD, liy the Grace 
 of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, 
 King, Defender of the Faith, and soforth. 
 
 To Jesse Maris, Sheriff of the County 
 of Chester, within our Province of Pennsyl- 
 vania, Esquire. — Whkrkas, At a Court of 
 Oyer and Terminer and General (laol de- 
 livery, held at Chester, on the nth day of 
 June inst., before William Allen, John Law- 
 rence and Thomas Willing, Esquires, our 
 Justices, assigned by our Letters Patent, under 
 the great seal of our said Province, a certain 
 Matthew McMahan, late of said county, la- 
 bourer, was presented, arraigned, tried for 
 and convicted of Felony and Murder, by him 
 the said Matthew McMahan committed on 
 the body of a certain James McClester, 
 and the said Matthew McMahan did then 
 receive sentence of our said Court of Oyer 
 and Terminer, that he should be hanged 
 by the neck till he should be dead ; of which 
 sentence execution remaincth Id be done. 
 These are therefore to rcciuivc and (imnnand 
 
 you to see and cause the said sentence to 1)C 
 executed upon the said Matthew McMahan, 
 at the usual place, within or near the town of 
 Chester aforesaid, on Saturday the thirteenth 
 day of June instant, between the hours of ten 
 in the forenoon, and four in the afternoon of 
 the same day, with full effect, as you will 
 answer the neglect thereof at your peril. And 
 we command all of our officers, Magistrates 
 and others our subjects within our said Pro- 
 vince, to be aiding and assisting you in this 
 service. In testimony whereof, we have 
 caused the lesser seal of our said Province to 
 be hereunto affixed. Witness, John Penn, 
 Esquire, by virtue of a commission from 
 Thomas Penn, and Richard Penn, Esquires, 
 true and absolute proprietaries of our said 
 Province, and with our loyal approbation. 
 Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief 
 of the Province aforesaid, and the Counties of 
 New Castle, Kent and Sussex on the Dela- 
 ware, at Philadelphia, the twenty-first day of 
 June, in the year of our Lord, one thousand 
 seven hundred and seventy, and the tenth 
 year of our reign. John Penn. 
 
 Chester was not the scene of any 
 very important events during the Re- 
 volutionary war ; of what occurred in 
 the county during that period. Smith's 
 History gives a full account ; I shall 
 therefore relate only such matters as 
 hajjpened in Chester and its immedi- 
 ate vicinity. 
 
 On Dec. 20, 1774, a large number 
 of the inhabitants of Chester County, 
 assembled in the Court House in Ches- 
 ter, for the purpose of choosing a Com- 
 mittee " To carry into execution the 
 Association of the late Continental 
 Congress. ' ' The purposes of which 
 were to take into consideration, mea- 
 sures for defending their liberties. The 
 following Committee was chosen : 
 
 Anthony Wayne, 
 Evan Evans, 
 Francis Johnson, 
 Richard Riley, 
 Hugh Lloyd, 
 James Moore, 
 ■fhomas Hockley, 
 D.ivid Cowpland, 
 
 Lewis Gronow, 
 Joseph Taylor, 
 Edw. Humphreys, 
 Harry Lawrence, 
 Wm. Montgomery, 
 Pcrcifer Frazer, 
 John Foiilkc, 
 Joseph I'cnncll, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 175 
 
 Sketchley Morton, 
 John Hart, 
 John Crosby, 
 Samuel Fairlamb, 
 Isaac Eyre, 
 Aaron Oakford, 
 Nicholas Diehl, 
 Benj'n Brannan, 
 Jesse Bonsall, 
 John Talbot, 
 Samuel Price, 
 Joseph Brown, 
 John Taylor, 
 John Crawford, 
 Richard Thomas, 
 William Miller, 
 Walter Finney, 
 Joseph Musgrave, 
 James Evans, 
 James Simpson, 
 Jonathan Vernon, Jr 
 David Wherry, 
 William Edwards, 
 Thomas Bishop, 
 Joseph Gibbons, Jr., 
 Thomas Evans, 
 
 Lew 
 
 Rob't Mendenhall, ' 
 Nich's Fairlamb, 
 George Peirce, 
 Samuel Trimble, 
 Charles Dilworth, 
 John Hannum, 
 George Hoops, 
 Joel Bailey, 
 John GiUiland, 
 John Kcrlin, 
 Joseph Bishop, Jr., 
 William Lewis, 
 Patrick Anderson, 
 Dr. Branson Van Leer 
 Edward Jones, 
 William Evans, 
 Thomas Hartman, 
 Joseph Cowan, 
 Joseph Evans, 
 Patterson Bell, 
 Thomas Haslep, 
 Dr. Jonathan Morris, 
 Andrew Mitchell, 
 Thos. Buffington, 
 James Bennett, 
 Richard Flower, 
 Davis, Sr. 
 
 The committee elected Anthony 
 Wayne, chairman, and Francis Rich- 
 ardson, secretary, and after the trans- 
 action of some business, adjourned to 
 meet at the house of David Cowpland, 
 in Chester, Jany, 9, 1775. All the 
 meetings at Chester, were held at his 
 house. 
 
 Caleb Cowpland, who was appointed 
 one of the Justices of the Supreme 
 Provincial Court of Pennsylvania in 
 1750, was the brother of David Cowp- 
 land, above mentioned. David built 
 the dwelling house now occupied by 
 the daughters of the late Davis B. 
 Stacey. And, as before stated, Agnes 
 Cowpland, a daughter of David, mar- 
 ried Davis Bevan. During the Re- 
 volution, David Cowpland was taken 
 from his bed in the middle of the 
 night, and carried on board of a 
 British vessel of war, then lying off 
 Chester. The name of the vessel was 
 the ' ' Vulture. ' ' The exact date of this 
 occurrence is unknown, but it must 
 have been after the battle of Brandy- 
 wine, and probably tluring the lime the 
 
 British occupied Philadelphia. While 
 on board the English vessel, Mr. Cowp- 
 land contracted the ship fever from 
 exposure and hard usage, which to a 
 man of his then great age, proved fatal. 
 When he was nearly at death's door, 
 he was set on shore and died soon 
 afterwards, one of the numerous vic- 
 tims of the uncalled for brutality of 
 Englishmen. He was a member of 
 the Committee of Safety for Chester 
 County as will be seen by the above 
 Ust ; a firm friend of American Inde- 
 pendence, and a personal friend of 
 General Lafayette, who had been en- 
 tertained at his house in Chester. 
 
 A Jonathan Cowpland on Feb. i, 
 1777, commanded the armed boat 
 Basilisk, and on April i, 1777, was 
 transferred to the Hawk. 
 
 In the year 1776, there was a con- 
 siderable body of troops raised for the 
 defence of the Province, stationed at 
 Chester and Marcus Hook. It appear- 
 ing that there was not a sufficient num- 
 ber of houses in those two towns in 
 which to quarter the soldiers, the Com- 
 mittee of Safety, on the 13th of April, 
 directed "that the Committee do pro- 
 cure for the use of said Troops 100 
 good tents. "At Marcus Hook two 
 tiers of Chevaux-de-frize were sunk in 
 the channel opposite the town, but no 
 harbor defences seem to have been 
 erected at Chester. 
 
 The Provincials had quite a fleet of 
 armed boats at this time, consisting 
 of 15 vessels, manned by 679 men. 
 One craft was a Floating battery, and 
 one ship the "Montgomery." They 
 do not seem to have cruised much 
 below New Castle. Captain Reed 
 commanded the Flotilla. On May 8, 
 1776, his fleet attacked the British 
 frigate " Roebuck," 44 guns, and the 
 "Liverpool," 28 guns, off Wilming- 
 
176 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 ton, to |)rcvent their ascending the 
 river. Col. Samuel Miles went down 
 with 150 riflemen, and witnessed the 
 engagement. He reported ' ' Our Boats 
 and the Men of War have been engaged 
 for two hours, at long shot. I believe 
 there is no damage done on either 
 side." There was much disappoint- 
 ment expressed at the failure of the 
 "Gondolas," and other armed boats 
 to capture the enemy's vessels, but as 
 Captain Reed was directed by the 
 Committee of Safety, to be careful and 
 not expose any of the boats to capture 
 or destruction, perhaps that accounts 
 for his want of success, and engaging 
 the enemy at long shot. See 4 Penna. 
 Archives, 748. 
 
 In May, 1776, there must have been 
 cjuite a Provincial land force stationed 
 at Chester, as the Committee of Safety 
 ordered Robert Towers "to deliver to 
 Col. Samuel Miles, for the use of the 
 Provincial Troops under his command, 
 1000 lbs. of gunpowder and 2,000 
 lbs. of lead, or as great a part thereof 
 as in store. Also 20,000 cartridges 
 for muskets, for the use of the Asso- 
 ciators of Chester County;" and the 
 next day the commissary was directed 
 " to send down to Chester, for the use 
 of the Provincial Troops under Col. 
 Miles, sixty fire-locks." This does 
 not indicate a large force, but after- 
 events show that he had a large force 
 under his command ; for it becoming 
 known to the authorities, that New 
 York and not Philadelphia, was to be 
 attacked by the British forces, Col. 
 Miles was on July 2, 1776, ordered to 
 march his battalions to Philadelphia. 
 Col. Miles' command consisted of two 
 battalions, consisting of 971 officers 
 and men. Col. Atlee commanded a 
 battalion of 444 officers and men, and 
 f'aptain Tliomas Proctor's Artillcr\', 
 
 numbering 117 officers and men, were 
 in the command. 4 Pa. Archives, 1 80. 
 Col. Miles in his Journal, i Penna. 
 Archives, 519, (2d series) says: — 
 
 " In the spring of 1776, I was appointed to 
 the command of a regiment of riflemen, con- 
 sisting of 1,000 men, foniied in two battalions. 
 Nearly the whole of this number was raised in 
 about six weeks, and rendezvous at Marcus 
 Hook, when the Row Gallies were ordered 
 down the river to attack the Roebuck and her 
 companion. I left the Council of Safety in the 
 evening with some powder and lead for my rifle- 
 men, and in the morning marched about 150 
 of them, which were all I could equip in time, 
 to Wilmington, and saw the whole of that ac- 
 tion, and I am convinced that had the Gallies 
 been sufficiently supplied with ammunition in 
 due time, (although one-half of them appeared 
 very shy and never came within point blank 
 sh(5t of the ships,) that those vessels, at leasts 
 the Roebuck, would have fallen into ourhands. 
 
 A few days after this action I was ordered 
 to march 500 men to suppress an insurrection 
 in Sussex county, Delaware, but before I got 
 to Lewibtown,the insurgents had dispersed and 
 the ringleaders made their escape to the East- 
 ern shore of Maryland. On my return from 
 I.cwistown, I was immediately ordered to send 
 a body of men to suppress an insurrection in 
 Monmouth county, N. Jersey, and Lt. Col. 
 Brodhead was sent with a detachment of about 
 400 men, but the whigs of that State had com- 
 pleted the business before his arrival. He pro- 
 ceeded in obedience to orders and joined Gen- 
 eral Mercer, at Amboy, and the next day the 
 whole of the regiment remaining began its 
 march for the same place, as did Col. Atlee's 
 battalion of musketry and Cap. Proctor's com- 
 pany of artillery. Not many days afterwards 
 we got to Amboy, General Roberdeau arrived 
 there to take command of the Flying camp, of 
 which, by a resolution of the Assembly, our 
 corps was to form a ])art; the General to com- 
 mand the Flying camp w as elected by the 
 ofticers of the militia, who had been selected 
 to be added to Col. Atlee's corps and mine, to 
 make up that body ; they met at Lancaster and 
 elected Daniel Roberdeau. As we had no 
 choice in electing the General, we refused to 
 serve under him. The General was therefore 
 at Amlioy for sonic lime w itliout any command. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 177 
 
 My regiment was soon ordered to join the army 
 at New York. At that time General Wash- 
 ington had 24,000 men in his army, upwards 
 of 7000 of whom were returned sick and unfit 
 for duty." 
 
 On the day of the battle of Long Is- 
 land, Aug. 27, 1 776, a return was made 
 of the troops quartered near Philadel- 
 phia. One battalion is mentioned as 
 being in the barracks. Colonel (name 
 indistinct) 's Battalion. Captains — 
 John Hart, 41 men ; Thos. Lewis, 
 24; Nich's Diehl, 38; Nath. Vernon, 
 27 ; John Crosby, 42 ; And'w Boon, 34. 
 This was one of the Chester County 
 battalions. Li my researches of the 
 Crosby family I discovered that Capt. 
 Crosby was in Col. Morgan's regiment, 
 but neglected to note my authority. 
 
 The following list of the names of 
 Chester County officers and men in 
 the 5th Regiment of the Pennsylvania 
 line, commanded by Col. Robert Ma- 
 gaw, and captured at Fort Washington, 
 Nov. 1 6th, 1776, is copied from a com- 
 munication in the Evening Bulletin 
 of Philadelphia, of Sept. 30, 1873, 
 viz. : John Richardson, Lieutenant ; 
 James Wilson, and Samuel Shaw, Ser- 
 geants j Timothy Moriarty and Ar- 
 thur White, privates, of Chester. John 
 Rudolph, Lieutenant; Thomas Fields, 
 Sergeant ; John Porter, Ezekiel Pop- 
 lin, Thomas Pendergrass, (died in 
 prison,) Arthur Cook, John Poplin, 
 John Robinson, John Moore, Michael 
 Ligan, Jonathan Earle, and Dennis 
 Kelly, privates, Derby. Robert Wil- 
 kins, Lieut. ; John McGilton, Robert 
 Glass, Joseph Walker and Charles 
 Magee, privates, Chester County. 
 
 This battalion was the first Penn- 
 sylvania regiment mustered into the 
 army of the Revolution, with Col. 
 William Thompson, of Carlisle, as its 
 Colonel ; his commission bears date 
 
 June 25, 1775. The regiment arrived 
 at Cambridge, Massachusetts, Aug. 8, 
 1775. On the 8th of March, 1776, 
 Col. Thompson, was made a Brigadier 
 General. He was taken prisoner on 
 the Expedition to Quebec, and re- 
 mained a captive until Oct. 25, 1780, 
 when he was exchanged for Major 
 General Riedesel, who commanded 
 the German auxiliaries {Briinswickers) 
 in Burgoyne's Army, at the time of its 
 capture at Saratoga. Gen. Thompson 
 died at Carlisle, Sept. 3, 1781, aged 
 45 years. 
 
 Col. Robert Magaw, who succeeded 
 General Thompson in command of 
 the 5th Penna., was a celebrated law- 
 yer of Carlisle. He was commissioned 
 Colonel of the 5th, early in 1776. 
 He married Henrietta, the daughter 
 of Rutger Van Brunt, of Long Island, 
 [in 1780,] where he was a prisoner of 
 war for four years after the surrender 
 of Fort Washington. He died in 1 790, 
 leaving two children, Elizabeth, and 
 a son. Van Brunt Magaw. Col. Ma- 
 gaw was a brother of the Rev. Samuel 
 Magaw, who was elected Vice Provost 
 of the University of Philadelphia, in 
 1782. 
 
 In the summer of 1777, Chester was 
 again occupied by the American forces. 
 On the 25th of August, the British 
 fleet passed up the Elk River to the 
 head of navigation, and General Howe 
 landed with a well appointed force of 
 18,000 men. On the day before the 
 Continental Army passed through 
 Philadelphia on its way to Brandy- 
 wine, General John Armstrong was 
 ordered to take command of the Mili- 
 tia at Chester. On the 25th of April, 
 at the request of Congress, a call had 
 been made for 3000 militia, one-half 
 of which had been placed in camp at 
 or near Chester. At tliis time the 
 
178 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 number of men returned in C 'Hester 
 County as eapable of bearing arms, 
 was 5000. 
 
 Washington passed through Chester 
 Aug. I, 1777, and wrote from there 
 to Gen. Putnam. {Sparks' Corrcs- 
 poiiih'iicc of Washingto7i, 5 vol. 2,) 
 and on Sept. 11, 1777, the famous 
 battle of Brandywine was fought. The 
 American army was defeated, and re- 
 treated that night to Chester, from 
 whence Washington w'rote the same 
 night, at 12 o'clock, to Congress, an- 
 nouncing the disaster, saying, among 
 other things, " I have directed all the 
 troops to assemble behind Chester, 
 where they are now arranging for the 
 night." The next day he marched 
 his army to Philadelphia. The British 
 army encamped at Village Green a 
 few days after the battle. On the 13th 
 a portion of the British force occupied 
 Chester. 
 
 The following notice is from the 
 Pennsylvania Packet, of Sept. 21, 1779: 
 
 " Chester County, ss. 
 
 Notice is hereby jriven to those who have 
 suffered by the inroads and depredations of the 
 enemy, that an appeal will be held in the Bo- 
 rough of Chester, on the 21st instant. At Dil- 
 Wvjrth's tavern^ in the township of Birming- 
 ham, on the 22d ; and at Kerlin's tavern, in 
 the township of East Whiteland, on the 23d 
 instant, in order to make such allowances out 
 of the last year State and quota taxes, as cir- 
 cumstances may permit. 
 
 Signed, Skktchley Morton, 
 
 David Cloud, 
 Andrew Boyd, 
 
 Sept. 8, 1779. Commissioncrf.r 
 
 I have not been fortunate enough to 
 find the law appointing the above com- 
 missioners, and cannot therefore tell 
 what its precise object was, although 
 it appears to be evident that the suf- 
 ferers from the depredations of the 
 enemy were to have a certain remission 
 
 of taxes to indemnify them for the 
 losses they had sustained. 
 
 The enemy plundered the inhabi- 
 tants of the county, during their stay, 
 without any mercy. Some families 
 were reduced to poverty, being stripj^ed 
 of every thing they possessed. Whigs 
 and tories both suffered alike from the 
 common soldiers, who finding the 
 country rich in agricultural products, 
 and the houses filled with all the real 
 comforts of life, helped themselves 
 without stint to all they needed, or 
 even fancied, and carried off or de- 
 stroyed many things for which they 
 had no use whatever. An official state- 
 ment of the losses sustained by each 
 person, was afterwards made, in pur- 
 suance of an Act of Assembly of the 
 2ist of Sept. 1782, and 'the following 
 is a list of those who suffered in Ches- 
 ter township, together with the amount 
 of damage sustained by each, viz : — 
 
 From John Crosby 
 
 The late David Cowpland, 
 
 Renj'n Bartholomew, stolen by British 
 army under General Howe, 
 
 Alex. Mills, by Mr. Johnson, Commissa- 
 sary of the British army, commanded 
 by Count Dunop and Col. Sterling, 
 
 Sarah Day's furniture, destroyed by the 
 British, ■s.^^■]-%, when in Philadelphia, 
 
 Estate of James Mathers, by a party of 
 Scotch and Hessians, when marching 
 from Wilmington to Philadelphia, 
 
 Edward Vernon, by the same, . 
 
 Sarah Thomas " " 
 
 Wm. Evans, team pressed, 
 
 George Spear, saddle, .... 
 
 William Kerlin, harness, .... 
 
 Thomas Logan, sundries, 
 
 Elisha Price, cart, 
 
 Henry Myers, a cow, .... 
 
 Thomas Pedrick, horse, .... 
 
 James Beatty, sundries, .... 
 
 John Odenheimer, 2 horses, 
 
 Raper Hoskins, sundries, 
 
 Mary Withy, " ... 
 
 Rob't Ferguson, " ... 
 
 Estate of Capt. Stork, sundries, 
 
 " Val. Weaver, "... 
 
 " Mary Norris, "... 
 
 Martin Carter, "... 
 
 John Powell, "... 
 
 Widow Deacon's estate, "... 
 
 7 6 
 
 £ J 
 1 
 
 72 o o 
 
 43 o o 
 
 ,796 4 o 
 
 20 o o 
 
 62 o o 
 
 33 5 o 
 
 600 
 
 6 10 o 
 13 o o 
 
 600 
 
 7 10 o 
 20 o o 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 179 
 
 £ s.d. 
 
 John Hogan, sundries, . . . . 1500 
 
 Joseph Neidy, by Britieh under Cornwallis, 27 o o 
 
 Ann Davis, " " " 500 
 
 Henry Hale Graham, " " 25 o o 
 
 Zedekiah H. Graham, " " 20 o o 
 
 Adam Grubb, " " 51 12 o 
 
 Taken from 31 persons in Chester, £2,742 12 6 
 
 Whether these amounts were ever 
 refunded to the sufferers or not, I can- 
 not say. 
 
 The act of Sept. 21, 1782, being 
 obsolete, is not given in my old edi- 
 tion of the laws of Pennsylvania, by 
 Alexander James Dallas, published in 
 1793, but in Vol. 2, p. 80, a synopsis 
 is given of it, thus: "An Act for 
 procuring an estimate of the damages 
 sustained by the inhabitants of Penn- 
 sylvania from the troops and adherents 
 of the King of Great Britain during 
 the present war." Recorded in Law 
 Book No. 2, 26. And in a note it 
 is stated, "By this Act the County 
 Commissioners of every county which 
 had been invaded, were directed to 
 call on the Assessors and procure and 
 return accounts and estimates of the 
 damages that had been done by the 
 enemy since the i8th of April, 1775, 
 to register such accounts and estimates, 
 and to transmit the originals to the 
 Executive Council." Nothing is said 
 about paying the sufferers, but no 
 doubt the intent of the Act was that 
 they should be in some way paid or 
 indemnified. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 In 1777, the British General Howe, 
 
 having completed a line of defence 
 
 from the Schuylkill to the Delaware, 
 
 and a reinforcement of troops from 
 
 New York having arrived at Chester, 
 
 he felt strong enough to place an army 
 
 in New Jersey, sufficient to reduce 
 
 Fort " Mercer" without jeopardizing 
 34 
 
 his troops in Philadelphia ; accord- 
 ingly at noon on the 17th of Nov., 
 Lord Cornwallis crossed the middle 
 Ferry with 3000 men, and taking the 
 Darby Road proceeded to Chester, 
 where he united his forces with those 
 from New York, and the whole force 
 embarked the next day on board of 
 transports, and on the 19th they landed 
 at Billingsport, N. J. General Greene, 
 finding they had a superior force, aban- 
 doned the Fort, recrossed the Dela- 
 ware, and the American fleet passed 
 up the river and by Philadelphia, with- 
 out molestation. Thus the British 
 General effected a junction with his 
 fleet ; Fort Mifflin having been pre- 
 viously evacuated. See Smith's His- 
 tory, 324. 
 
 In the "Accounts of Penn'a," will 
 be found the accounts of Thomas Tuc- 
 ker and Samuel Cunningham, Collec- 
 tors of Excise in Chester County, from 
 Aug. I, 1776 to Nov. 7, 1783. The 
 following is a list of the persons 
 
 Paying 
 Caleb Way, 
 Arthur Parke, 
 John Sowder, 
 Timothy Kirke, 
 James Miller, 
 John Swisher, 
 Nathan Beaker, 
 Nehemiah Matson, 
 John Webster, 
 Rob't Darlington, 
 George Graham, 
 George Robeson, 
 William Burns, 
 John Vallentine, 
 Walter Hood, 
 John Wilmor, 
 Thomas Lunn, 
 John Underwood, 
 William Thomson, 
 Mary Muller, 
 Peter Mather, 
 Richard Jacobs, 
 William Kerlin, 
 Edward Vernon, 
 John Scantling, 
 William Price, 
 Thomas Moore, 
 Sarah Gill, 
 Isaac Taylor, 
 
 Excise. 
 Richard Cleyton, 
 Alexander Clay, 
 John Jerman, 
 Thos. Carpenter, 
 Abner Cloud, 
 Wm. Beaumont, 
 Thos. Beaumont, 
 Benj. Brannen, Esq. 
 Edward Horn, 
 Joseph Smith, 
 Samuel Dickey, 
 John Kinege, 
 William Henry, 
 John Walker. 
 Daniel Stever, 
 John Bowan, 
 Dav. Woodside, 
 Joseph Furey, 
 Henry Brower, 
 Zachariah Rice, 
 James Graham, 
 Thos. Douglass, 
 Thomas Rider, 
 Ale.v. McCalley, 
 Joseph Black, 
 Jona. Valentine, 
 Jacob Langacker, 
 Isaac Thomas, 
 Jno. McClenachan, 
 
180 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Jonathan Morris, 
 Samuel Johnson, 
 Harrj' Heays, Esq., 
 Ann Bryce, 
 Jamima Lenard, 
 Ann Davies, 
 John Ross. 
 David Hayes, 
 Nathan Edwards, 
 Andrew Mclntyre, 
 John Brown, 
 Frederick Wendt, 
 Isaac Shounk, 
 Ephriam Jones, 
 James Hannum, 
 Jacob Sinke, 
 Abel Hudson, 
 Isaac Thomson, 
 Rob't Kennedy, 
 Alexander Bougs, 
 George Hoops, 
 James Batton, 
 Elizabeth Anderson, 
 Francis Hickman, 
 James Way, 
 John Philips, 
 Caleb Taylor, 
 Ezekial Webb, 
 David Lions, 
 Richard Thornbury, 
 Casper Stonemetz, 
 Rob't Dunwideys, 
 John Fillson, 
 John Irwin, 
 Isaac Griffith, 
 William Cleyton, 
 John West, 
 Joseph Gibbons, 
 Mary Howel, 
 Phil. Housekeeper, 
 John Tenny, 
 John Moore, 
 Richard Harkely, 
 Jas. Woodward, 
 John Woodward, 
 John Rhoads, 
 Sebaston Rulle, 
 Allen Cunningham, 
 Gideon Gilphin, 
 _ Samuel Painter, 
 Joseph Chandler, 
 Elizabeth Kelly, 
 Thenis Messey, 
 Parker Askew, 
 Bartholomew Sutton, 
 Peter Bell, 
 James McDowel, 
 Thos. Downing, 
 George Pierce, 
 George Crismer, 
 Robert Lamburn, 
 Isaac Dutton, 
 David Wheny, 
 Is. Lawrence, 
 Jas. McMuUcn, 
 Israel Wheelen, 
 Charles Fausett, 
 John Miller, 
 
 Jnl,„ Witner, 
 
 John Baugh, 
 John McKee, 
 John Evans, 
 Elizabeth Peters, 
 John Harper, 
 Mary Evans, 
 Nath'l Squabb, 
 John liryce, 
 Henry Chrisman, 
 Isaac Allen, 
 Ezekiel Lcnord, 
 Phil. Dougharty, 
 John Buckwalter, 
 Edward Lean, 
 Patrick Cochran, 
 John High, 
 Valentine Miller, 
 John Lawshey, 
 Mordecai Piersol, 
 John Kcriin, 
 Davewalt Beaver, 
 Steven Cochran, 
 Roger Davis, 
 John Ogden, 
 Mearey Withey 
 John Fawks, 
 Robert Moulder, 
 David Willey, 
 Sim. Litzenberger, 
 Frederick Ingle, 
 Rob't Furgeson, 
 James Dunwidey, 
 John Buyers, 
 Joseph Doweler, 
 Jacob Coffman, 
 Christian Sucke, 
 William Dewecs, 
 George Lappe, 
 Martin Vice, 
 John Craig, 
 Richard Shewal, 
 Caleb James, 
 Esther Musgrove, 
 Alex. McCaracher, 
 John Gardiner, 
 Eli Baley, 
 Thomas Jackson, 
 Caleb Pirce & Co., 
 David Cloyd, 
 Wil.son & Davis, 
 Phineas Whitakcr, 
 Ed. Woodward, 
 Askew & Hutton, 
 Gardner & Douthal, 
 Phillip Benner, 
 John Kremer, 
 Isaac Webb, 
 Joshua Vernon, 
 Zeb. Holingsworth, 
 Jno. Righnhart, 
 James Elliot, 
 Michael Lovin, 
 John Pyle, 
 John Steel, 
 John Haas, 
 David Brown, 
 
 Dan'l B.ickwatcr, 
 Henry Deem, 
 Abram Sharadon, 
 Amos Mendinghall, 
 John Dimond, 
 
 E.rcisr 
 Benj'n Wallace, 
 Jos. Bartholomew. 
 Peter Wade, 
 Chas. Dilworth, 
 Rich'd Robeson, 
 Widow Wilson, 
 Widow Moore, 
 John Flower, 
 Joseph Branton, 
 John Faroks, 
 John Quindrel, 
 James Comens, 
 C. & G. North, 
 Peter Hartman, 
 John Jackson, 
 Philip Rapp, 
 William Starritt. 
 Penelope Haley, 
 William Carver, 
 William Robeson, 
 
 Christ. 
 
 Christian Beery, 
 James Climson, 
 Atim. Holderman, 
 Jessey Peneck, 
 Henry Hays. 
 
 Unpaid. 
 
 John Garrett, 
 Ephriam Davis, 
 John Holt, 
 Benj'n Miller, 
 Christian Risk, 
 Henry Hinshey, 
 Mark Willcox, 
 John Thomas, 
 John demon, 
 Dani Shoemaker, 
 Nathan Scoffold, 
 John Furguson, 
 Peter Shofnevlcr, 
 John Robeson, 
 Meras Myers, 
 Henry Biggord, 
 John Gregory, 
 John Jones, 
 John Griffith, 
 George Spade, 
 
 Harmsh. 
 
 In the same work, Samuel Miles is 
 named as the Col. of a Pa. Rifle regi- 
 ment, and Samuel J. Atlee, Col., and 
 Caleb Parry,* Lt. Col. of Musketry. 
 In Colonial Records, I find Jacob Ru- 
 dolph, 1777, Robert Elton, 1777, under 
 Col. John Gardner, Samuel Vanleer, 
 1777, and John Craig, 1 781, mentioned 
 as Captains of Militia. Lt. Col. Danl. 
 Brodhead in a letter from Kings- 
 bridge, Sept. 5, 1776, after the battle 
 of Long Island, says: — "Col. Miles 
 & Col. Piper are pri.soners, and I 
 hear are well treated ; poor Atley I 
 hear nothing of; Col. Parry died like 
 a Hero." 
 
 Commissioners of Forfeited Estates. 
 William Evans, Col. Jno. Hannum, 
 
 Thomas Levis, Patterson Bell. 
 
 Members of the Supreme Executive Council from 
 
 Chester County. 
 
 Ralph Withers, 1683 Francis Harrison, 1685 
 
 John Symcocke " John Bristow, 1687 
 
 William Clayton, " Bartho. Coppick, 1688 
 
 William Wood, 1684 John. Blumston,^^^/. 1690 
 
 Thomas Lloyd, " \\'m.\lo\ve\\,decl'd " 
 
 * For an iiUcresliny sketch of the Party fami- 
 ly, see Gen. Davis' I/istorv of Buei-s Coiintv, 
 p. 68i,&c. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 181 
 
 George Foreman, 
 
 1693 
 
 John Mackey, 
 
 1777 
 
 David Lloyd, 
 
 1695 
 
 Dr. John McDowell, 
 
 1778 
 
 Caleb Pusey, 
 
 
 Dr. Joseph Gardiner 
 
 1779 
 
 George Harris, 
 
 " 
 
 Evan Evans, 
 
 1785 
 
 John ffinney, 
 
 1702 
 
 Richard Willing, 
 
 1788 
 
 John Evans, 
 
 1777 
 
 
 
 Collectors 0/ Excise. 
 Caleb Cowpland, 1729 Thomas Tucker, 1773 
 
 John Owen, 1734 Samuel Cunningham, 1778 
 
 Thomas Cummings, 1740 John Christie, 1783 
 
 Jeremiah Starr, 1752 Phillip Sheaf, 1789 
 
 Charles Humphreys, 1756 
 
 Co7}iJiiiss2oners of Fisheries. 
 John Churchman, 1785 John Turbutt, 1785 
 
 County Lieutenants. 
 Robert Smith, 1777 Joseph McClelland, 1787 
 
 Charles Dilworth, 1786 Luke Morris, 1789 
 
 for Delaivare County. 
 
 Sub-Lieutenants. 
 Benj'n Brannon, 1777 Thomas Strawbridge, 1777 
 
 Lewis Gronow, " Robert Wilson, 1778 
 
 Andrew Boyd, " Thomas Levis, " 
 
 Thomas Cheyney, " 
 
 Paymasters. 
 John Beaton, 1777 James ISIoore, 1777 
 
 Wagon-Masters . 
 Jesse Jordan, Andrew Boyd, 1778 
 
 Thomas Boyd, 1778 John Moore. 
 
 Coviviissioners 0/ Purchases. 
 
 Thomas Heslit, ^778 John Beaton, 1780 
 
 Sam. Culbertson, " William Evans, " 
 
 Smith Futhey, " John Crosby, Jr., " 
 
 Col. Persifer Frazier, 178O John Hannum, " 
 
 Robert Young was Collector of Taxes, 
 1 786. Henry Valentine, Issuing Com- 
 missary, 1780. Capt. Elijah Weed, 
 Storekeeper at Downingtown, 1778. 
 David Watson, Purchaser of Flour, 
 1780. William Boyd, Collector of 
 Taxes in 1780, was murdered by John 
 or Robert Smith, a reward of ^20,000 
 was offered by Council for their ap- 
 prehension. 12 Cfll. Rec, 349. 
 
 In 1776 Chester Co. had five battal- 
 ions of Militia, ist, commanded by 
 Col. James Moore ; 2d, Col. Thomas 
 Hockley ; 3d, Col. Hugh Lloyd ; 4th, 
 Col. Wm. Montgomery, and 5th, Col. 
 Rich'd Thomas. 
 
 In May, 1776, Dr. Robert Harris 
 was in charge of a Powder Mill on 
 Cromb Cr. about 3 miles from Chester. 
 Mill house 20 x 30 ft., head of water 
 2^ ft., fall 6 ft., water wheel 12 feet. 
 
 The shaft (worked 80 stampers of 2^ 
 X 3^ inches and 11 feet long,) 32 feet 
 long, 5 mortars of 2 in. plank, about 5 
 ft. each. One mortar and stamper for 
 preparing sulphur. Drying-house 15 
 X 30 ft., neither floored nor plastered. 
 He reported that he expected to fur- 
 nish a ton of powder weekly. 
 
 In \\\Q Penna. Archives, 7 vol. 21 to 
 40, (i 778), will be found twelve several 
 petitions, among the names attached to 
 which will be found those of the prin- 
 cipal inhabitants of Chester County ; 
 whole families appear to have signed, 
 one after the other. 
 
 On Mar. 17, 1777, Fire boats and 
 rafts were ordered to be stationed in 
 Darby Creek by the Navy Board, and 
 on the 29th, Commodore Hazel wood 
 was directed to erect a Battery at or 
 near the mouth of the creek for their 
 protection, he thinking the same neces- 
 sary. 
 
 By proceedings of the State Navy 
 Board, April 10, 1777, it appears that 
 the Signal and Alarm Post, No. 8, was 
 at Chester, and that during 1776 the 
 Post was in charge of Mr. (John) 
 Coburn, and he was continued, but on 
 account of some neglect, Mr. Grubb 
 "of that Place" was directed to see 
 that he attended to his duties. 
 
 July 19, 1777, boats were ordered 
 to be sent to Gen. Potter to convey the 
 Militia from Chester to Billingsport, 
 and the Accommodation sloop from 
 Darby Creek for the same purpose. On 
 Sept. 4, the five Guard boats at Hen- 
 lopen were ordered to their stations at 
 the mouth of Darby Creek. On the 
 1 2th, 20 shovels were delivered to Col. 
 John Eyre for the use of the Fort at 
 Darby Cr. mouth. John, Benj. G. and 
 Manuel Eyre were brothers, and noted 
 shipwrights of Philadelphia. 
 
 During the fall of 1777, while Ches- 
 
182 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 ter was in the possession of the IJritish 
 forces, it must have been a busy place. 
 Major John Clarke, Jr., writing from 
 Mrs. Withey's, Nov. 19, 1777, says, 
 about 80 sail lie opposite to this place, 
 and 80 opposite Billingsport. They 
 have plundered the neighboring inhabi- 
 tants of everything. Clark's letters 
 to Washington, 36 pages, will be found 
 in the Bulletin of the Historical Society, 
 ist volume. 
 
 The Supreme Executive Council, 
 Aug. 8, 1780, by resolution^ directed 
 the following persons, under the direc- 
 tion of Col. Andrew Boyd, wagon- 
 master, to collect the quota of horses 
 in the County of Chester, viz : — David 
 Denny, ist battalion ; Owen Thomas, 
 2d; Joseph Luckey, 3d ; David Wilson, 
 4th ; Thomas Strawbridge, 5 th ; John 
 Crosby, 6th ; George Peirce, 7th ; and 
 Joseph Spear, 8th. 
 
 In 1684 Charles Ashcome was De- 
 puty Surveyor for the county :. John 
 Taylor in 1728; Thomas Tucker in 
 1785- 
 
 Provincial Deputies from Chester Co., 1774. 
 Francis Richardson, Anthony Wayne, 
 
 John Hart, Elisha Price, 
 
 Hugh Lloyd, John Sellers, 
 
 Francis Johnston, Richard Reiley. 
 
 PrcTi-'incial Convention Delegates in 1775. 
 Anthony Wayne, Lewis Davis, 
 
 Hugh Lloyd, Wni. Montgomery, 
 
 Richard Thomas, Joseph Musgrave, 
 
 Francis Johnson, Joshua Evans, 
 
 Samuel Fairlamb, Pcrsifer Frazer. 
 
 Provincial Conference , 1776. 
 Col. Richard Thomas, Col. Wm. Montgomery, 
 Maj. Wm. Evans, Col. Hugh Lloyd, 
 
 Col. Thos. Hockley, Richard Reiley, Esq., 
 
 Maj. Caleb Davis, Col. Evan Evans, 
 
 Elisha Price, Esq., Col. Lewis Grono, 
 
 Samuel Fairlamb, Maj. Sketchley Morton. 
 
 Capt. Thos. I^vis, 
 
 Delegates to Convention, 1776. 
 Ben. Bortholomcw, John Jacobs, 
 
 Thos. Strawbridge, Robert Smith, 
 
 Sam'l Cunningham, John Hart, 
 
 John Mackey, John Fleming. 
 
 Collectors 0/ Continental Loan, Dec. 16, 1777. 
 Alex. Johnston, George Irwin, 
 
 John Bartholomew, Andrew Boyd, Ir., 
 
 Thomas Cheney, 
 
 Commissioners of Traitors' Effects, Oct. 21, 1777. 
 William Evans, Patterson Bell, 
 
 Thomas Cheney, William Gibbons, 
 
 Thomas Levis, Is.iac Taylor, 
 
 Capt. Wm. Brooke. 
 
 The following itemsof Revolutionary 
 news are taken from the proceedings of 
 the Supreme Executive Council, July 
 29> 1777- John Pearson, Nicholas, 
 Diehl, Isaac Hendrickson, Isaac Serrill, 
 Harvey Lewis, and Jacob Richards, 
 were appointed a committee for driving 
 off stock on the enemies' approach. 
 
 Nov. 8, 1777, the following persons 
 were appointed to collect of those who 
 had not taken the oath of allegiance, 
 certain enumerated articles of clothing 
 for the army, viz: — 
 
 Maj. Cromwell Peirce, 
 Capt. John Gardiner, 
 John Wilson, 
 Capt. William Brookes, 
 Col. Thomas Taylor, 
 Elijah McClenaghan, 
 Capt. Benj'n Wallace, 
 Co^ George Pierce, 
 Samuel Holliday, 
 Col. William Evans, 
 Capt. Samuel Vanleer. 
 
 Col. Evan Evans, 
 Capt. John Ramsey, 
 Patterson Bell, Esq., 
 Capt. McCay, Concord, 
 Capt. Allen Cunningham 
 Capt. Israel Whellan, 
 Thomas Levis, Esq., 
 Capt. David Coupland, 
 Philip Scott, Esq., 
 Thomas Boyd, Esq. 
 William Gibbons, 
 
 From the Pennsylvanische Staats 
 Courier or Current Weekly Ne7vs, No. 
 745, published at Philadelphia, Wed- 
 nesday, May 6, 1778, by Christopher 
 Saur Jr., and Peter Saur, in 2 Street, 
 
 " We are assured cjf the truth of the foUow- 
 iny circumstances which occurred at Chester. 
 At the beginning of this week two persons 
 made an excellent draught of fish, and w ere in 
 tiie act of dividing them in a store house at the 
 water's side, when two light-horsemen came 
 down and inquired of a woman who lived near- 
 iiy, what they were doing, who rejjlied to them, 
 they were neighbors who had been fishing. 
 Whilst the woman was still conversing with 
 them and one of the tisliermcn liad taken his 
 portion, and in the act of going away, one of 
 these heroes rode up to him and asked him 
 where he was taking the fi.sh. To my house, 
 was the answer. Hereupon the horseman rode 
 so closely to the poor man, that he set fire to 
 I his coat from the ]ian of his pistol, anil shot him 
 I without further ceremony, dead on the spot. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 183 
 
 The other rode to the warehouse where the 
 second unhappy fisherman was, cursed hini for 
 a tory, and instantly shot him to death, although 
 he was surrounded by a number of children." 
 
 The paper was of course, Tory, and 
 was a continuation of the Saur German- 
 town paper, as I conjecture from the 
 numbering ; I have never seen an origi- 
 nal. The contents of May 6, are con- 
 tained in Schlozer's Brief Wechsel, 
 Gottingen, 1780. 
 
 April I , an order was drawn in favor of 
 Stephen Cochran, Esq., for ^^2000, to 
 be paid to Samuel Futhey to purchase 
 horses to mount the cavalry, and Wil- 
 liam Evans, Thomas Cheny, Thomas 
 Levis, Patterson Bell and John Han- 
 num, were appointed Commissioners 
 of Forfeited Estates. On Sept. 15, 
 Thomas Coburn was paid for attending 
 the flag at Chester from July 4, 1777 
 to Sept. 13, 1777. 
 
 Sept. 15, 1778. James Fitzpatrick, 
 Blacksmith, was " convicted on his own 
 confession of larceny and burglary, ' ' at 
 Chester, and sentenced to be hanged. 
 Ordered that he be executed on the 
 2ist, at the usual place of execution. 
 ^GQ. 11 Colonial Records, e^^2. Heat- 
 tempted to escape, and was removed 
 to Philadelphia for safe keeping, and 
 was not sent back to Chester gaol until 
 the 25th, and was hanged on the 26th. 
 A reward of ^1000 had been offered 
 by the Council for his capture, $500 of 
 which was paid to Mrs. Rachel Walker, 
 and ^500 to Capt. Robert McAffee. 
 Some of the occurrences at his capture 
 are set forth in 11 Col. i?., 616, 617. 
 
 From these and other sources, I find 
 that James Fitzpatrick, was born in 
 Chester County of Irish parents, and 
 learned blacksmithing with John Pass- 
 more at Doe Run ; he was noted for his 
 enormous strength. When the Revo- 
 lutionary war broke out he enlisted in 
 
 the Militia, and marched to New York; 
 there he deserted, swam the Hudson, 
 and returned home, was arrested and 
 imprisoned in the Walnut St. Prison, 
 Philadelphia ; was released on re-enlist- 
 ing, but deserted again. In 1777 he 
 was re-arrested while at work, mowing 
 in one of Mr. Passmore's fields, but 
 getting his captors. Continental sol- 
 diers, to allow him to go to his house, 
 he there seized his rifle and drove them 
 off, and was not again disturbed. Wlien 
 Gen. Howe landed his forces at the head 
 of Elk, he joined the British army, and 
 fought against his country at Brandy- 
 wine. He accompanied the British to 
 Philadelphia, and from there, in com- 
 pany with Mordecai Dougherty, who 
 was brought up by Nathan Hayes near 
 Doe Run, he made many foraging raids 
 on his former acquaintances in Chester 
 County; after the British evacuated 
 Philadelphia, he seems to have desert- 
 ed their service in 1778, and he and 
 his companion located themselves at 
 Hand's pass, near the present Coates- 
 ville. Here as the captain of a band of 
 outlaws, with Dougherty as his lieuten- 
 ant, he became a terror to the inhabi- 
 tants, and many a story is still told of 
 "Capt. Fitz," and his bold adven- 
 tures. He was a tall handsome man and 
 very gallant to the women. On the 
 evening of Aug. 23, 1778, he went to 
 the house of Wm. McAffee, in Edge- 
 mont, near Castle rock, a cluster of 
 peculiar boulders often visited by the 
 curious. "Capt. Fitz"demanded;,ri5o 
 of McAffee, who was a well known 
 Whig, and proceeded to help himself 
 to what he wanted. There appears to 
 have been quite a number of people in 
 the house at the time. McAffee and 
 his wife, Mrs. Rachel Walker, David 
 Cunningham, a boy, and Capt. Robert 
 McAffee of the Militia. Mrs. W. says, 
 
184 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 she was up stairs, heard screaming and 
 came tlown ; a boy told her Capt. Fitz 
 was there. Fitz asked her liow she was, 
 expressed sorrow for the disturbance, 
 and ordered Capt. McAffee to march. 
 He laid down his sword and pistol to 
 l)ull up at the heel a pair of Capt. Mc- 
 Affee' s pumps he had put on, and then 
 the captain, who was a powerful man, 
 and Mrs. W., seized Fitz, and after a 
 sharp struggle captured him. The place 
 of his execution was at the intersection of 
 Providence and Middletown roads, on 
 the then outskirts of Chester. 
 
 In 1817, John Craig, who was found 
 guilty of the murder of Edward Hun- 
 ter, Esq., of Newtown, was hung in 
 the Widow Mcllvain's meadow near 
 Munday's run, close to the old Post- 
 road, now Morton Avenue. 
 
 The first trial for nuirder at Chester, 
 that I find recorded, was in 1718, when 
 Hugh Pugh, millwright, and Lazarus 
 Thomas, laborer, were convicted of the 
 murder of Jonathan Hayes, committed 
 in 1 7 15, three years previously. The 
 circumstances are not narrated in the 
 Colonial Records ; they were condemn- 
 ed to be hung, as they say in their peti- 
 tion for a new trial, dated May 8, 1 718, 
 "on ffryday next," and as Gov. Keith 
 refused to interfere, they were no doubt 
 executed. Jonathan Hayes was a well 
 known citizen, and a former Justice of 
 the Peace of the County. 
 
 Aug. 3, 1722. William Hill, Mary 
 Woolvin and James Battin were prison- 
 ers in Chester Gaol under sentence of 
 death. The two first were reprieved for 
 12 months, but Battin was directed to 
 be executed and hung in irons in the 
 most i)ublic place. 
 
 On Nov. 27, I 752, before the Judges 
 of the Supreme Court of the Province 
 at Chester, Thomas Kelly was convict- 
 ed of the muriler of I'^leanor Davis of 
 
 Chester County, and was executed on 
 Dec. 16, 1752. 
 
 On Aug. 25, 1760, John Lewis was 
 convicted at a Court of Oyer and Termi- 
 ner held at Chester, of the murder of 
 his wife Ann, and on Sep. 8, 1760, a 
 warrant was issued for his execution by 
 the Provincial Council. 
 
 On Nov. 30, 1 764, at a Court held at 
 Chester, before Wm. Allen, C. J., and 
 Alex'r Stedman, Jane Ewingwas found 
 guilty of the murder of her bastard male 
 child on April 3, 1763, and sentenced 
 to be hung ; a warrant for her execution 
 on Saturday, Jan. 29, 1765, was issued. 
 
 Thomas Vaughan and John Dowdle, 
 were convicted at a court held at Ches- 
 ter, Aug. 15, 1768, before the Justices 
 of the Supreme Court, sitting as a Court 
 of Oyer and Terminer, of the murder 
 of Thomas Sharpe, and sentenced to be 
 hung, and Council directed their ex- 
 ecution to take place on Saturday, Sep. 
 17, 1768. 
 
 On June 11, 1770, before the same 
 Judges, Matthew McMahon was tried 
 and convicted of murdering John Mc- 
 Clester of Middletown ; sentenced to 
 death, and a warrant issued for his ex- 
 ecution on Saturday, June 30, 1770. 
 
 On Mar. 23, 1772, Patrick Kennedy, 
 Thomas Fryer, Neal McCariher and 
 James Dever, were tried, convicted 
 and sentenced for a rape on Jane Wal- 
 ker of Thornbury, before the Judges of 
 the Supreme Court at Chester. The 
 three last were reprieved during the Lt. 
 Governor's (Richard Penn) pleasure. 
 Kennedy was ordered to be executed 
 on Saturday, May 2, 1772. 
 
 On Saturday, Dec. 26, 1772, Hen- 
 ry Phillips was executed at Chester for 
 the murder of Richard Kelley. 
 
 John Penn, Gov'r, by warrant direct- 
 ed that James Willis, who was tried at 
 Chester, found guilty and sentent ed 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 185 
 
 to death for the murder of Daniel Culin, 
 should be executed on Saturday, Sep. 
 
 3°. 1775- 
 
 On Saturday, May 20, 1780, Joseph 
 Bates, convicted of burglary, was order- 
 ed to be hung, at the usual place of ex- 
 ecution at Chester, at 2 o'clock, P. M. 
 
 Robert Smith and John Smith were 
 found guilty of the murder of William 
 Boyd, Collector of Public Taxes, in 
 May, 1780, at a Court held at Chester, 
 on the 26th of June, 1780, and ordered 
 to be hung on Saturday, July i , at the 
 usual place of execution. 
 
 I have gathered the following recital 
 of the occurrences of the accusation and 
 execution of Elizabeth Wilson at Ches- 
 ter, in the year 1786, for the murder 
 of her two natural sons, twins. It ap- 
 pears that Elizabeth, a young woman 
 of a very reputable family in Chester 
 County, was arrested, tried, convicted 
 and sentenced to be hung, when her 
 brother William presented to the Coun- 
 cil (Dec. 6, 1785), a petition for a re- 
 spite of thirty days, accompanied by a 
 confession of Elizabeth, saying that he 
 believed his sister was innocent, and 
 that if he had time he could prove it. 
 The Council ordered that the warrant 
 for her execution on the next day be 
 revoked, and that another be issued di- 
 recting her execution on Jan. 3, 1786, 
 (14 C. E., 591.) Among the papers 
 of a distinguished officer of the govern- 
 ment of this State, long since deceased, 
 I find the touching sequel to this tragic 
 story. He says : — 
 
 " She said visited her when 
 
 she lived in Philadelphia ; that, under 
 a promise of marriage, he seduced 
 her, and was the father of her twins, 
 for the murder of whom she was con- 
 demned ; that, when the children were 
 six weeks old, he came to see her at the 
 house she boarded, in Chester County, 
 
 and persuaded her to take a walk with 
 him, saying he intended to put the 
 children out to nurse ; that, when they 
 got into the woods, he took them from 
 her, and laying them on the ground, 
 the inhuman monster put his feet on 
 their breasts, crushing them to death. 
 He then threatened to murder her if 
 she ever mentioned a word about what 
 he had done ; bid her go home, and 
 tell the people she lodged with that he 
 had taken the children to Jersey to 
 nurse, which the dread she was under 
 — fear of his murdering her — made her 
 comply with ; that she would at the 
 expense of her life, have endeavored to 
 save the children, but she had no sus- 
 picion of his diabolical intention until 
 it was too late to save them. The 
 bodies of the children were found a few 
 days afterwards by some dogs, which 
 led to the discovery of the murder. 
 Council, immediately upon the peti- 
 tion being read, agreed to a respite for 
 thirty days, and young Wilson set off, 
 the same day, for Jersey. He there 
 found the man, who declared he never 
 knew his sister, and said he had not been 
 in Philadelphia for two years. Wilson, 
 after making some inquiries, rode back 
 to his sister, and getting further infor- 
 mation from her, went again into Jer- 
 sey. He found a person who could 
 
 prove had been in Philadelphia 
 
 and lodged in the house with her, and 
 was in expectation of obtaining further 
 proof against him, whe*i he was taken 
 sick. Finding the time draw near, sick 
 as he was, he set off for home in order 
 to get a further respite. It was late 
 morning when he reached Chester, 
 and, to his great surprise, he was told 
 that the time granted her was out that 
 day — he thought it was not until the 
 next — and the Sheriff was preparing for 
 her execution. Wilson was verv un- 
 
I SI) 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 well, having suffered much both in body 
 and in mind. He, however, galloped 
 to Philadelphia as fast as possible. Un- 
 fortunately, he went to the President's, 
 where, notwithstanding all his entrea- 
 ties, it was sometime before he could 
 get to see him, and when he did he 
 staid, endeavoring to persuade the 
 Doctor to give him a line to the Sheriff, 
 which the former, thinking it impro- 
 per, refused, and directed him to me. 
 I was just leaving the Council chamber 
 when he came, all the other members 
 but one having gone. I immediately 
 wrote, ' Do not execute Wilson until 
 you hear further from the Council,' and 
 directed it to the Sheriff. I well knew 
 the Board intended to grant a further 
 respite, but had there been a doubt | 
 with me, I should have written to defer 
 the execution — putting off for a day 
 could be of no consequence. Wilson set 
 off the moment I gave him the paper, 
 carrying it in his hand ; he rode down 
 in an hour and a quarter, a distance of 
 fifteen miles, and the road at the time 
 excessively bad. His sister had been 
 turned off about ten minutes. What 
 a dreadful sight for an affectionate 
 brother ! They immediately cut her 
 down, but although every means was 
 used, they could not bring her to life. 
 She persisted in her former story to the 
 last moment of her life, which she re- 
 signed with great fortitude, being per- 
 fectly calm and composed. The only 
 thing she found to regret was the 
 trouble she had given her poor sick 
 brother, and the pain he must suffer 
 on her account. Just before the cart 
 drew away she looked attentively to- 
 ward Philadelphia, to see if her brother 
 was in sight. For my own part, I firm- 
 ly believed her innocent, for to me it 
 appeared highly improbable that a 
 mother, after suckling her children for 
 
 six weeks could murder them. The 
 next day when Council met and we 
 heard of the execution, it gave uneasi- 
 ness to many of the members, all of 
 whom were against her being executed, 
 at least until her brother had full time 
 to make his inquiries ; and I am sure, 
 if he had not been successful, there was 
 a large majority for pardoning her. It 
 is strange, considering the chances this 
 unfortunate girl had, that her life w^as 
 not saved. It was extraordinary that 
 none of the members of Council, the 
 Secretary or his deputy, should not 
 have recollected the time granted was 
 expired ; that herself, the clergymen 
 that attended her, none of her fam- 
 ily nor friends should have applied 
 before, or that the Sheriff, who was a 
 very good man, should not have called 
 or sent to Council before he execut- 
 ed her; and lastly, that her brother, 
 who knew Council was sitting at the 
 State House, should pass there and 
 go to the President. Had he stopped 
 at the State House, she would have 
 been saved. He expected, if he stopped 
 at Council, there would be some time 
 taken up in debate, and that the Presi- 
 dent would immediately have given 
 him a letter to the Sheriff. I under- 
 stood afterwards, that he soon followed 
 his sister to her grave. 
 
 " Perhaps the punishment of death 
 is too great for an unmarried woman 
 who destroys her child ; they are gener- 
 ally led to it from a fear of being ex- 
 posed. It is, to be sure, a shocking 
 crime. If confinement for life or a term 
 of years, at the discretion of the court, 
 was the punishment, more would be 
 convicted, and it would tend to put a 
 stop to the crime. W^hile death is the 
 punishment, a jury will seldom find a 
 verdict against them. As death is the 
 imnishment of the mother, what punish- 
 
HISTORY OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 187 
 
 ment is too severe for the villain who 
 seduces and afterwards abandons the 
 wretched mother?" 
 
 Robert Wilson Avas ordered to be 
 executed at Chester, Feb. ii, 1786. 
 
 Warrants for the execution of John 
 McDonough and Richard Shirtliffe, 
 convicted severally of rape, at Ches- 
 ter, were ordered to be issued by Coun- 
 cil, June 5, 1786, but a reprieve or- 
 dered to be granted to Shirtliffe, until 
 further order, but the Sheriff be di- 
 rected not to make it known to him 
 until he be taken under the gallows. 
 
 One night, in the fall of 1824, the 
 residence of Mary Warner, in Upper 
 Darby, was visited by three burglars. 
 The family consisted of Mrs. W., Wil- 
 liam Bonsall and his wife, and al- 
 though Bonsall was sick in bed, one of 
 the robbers stabbed him in the stomach, 
 causing his immediate death. The 
 desperadoes were arrested and tried 
 at Chester, in October, before Judge 
 Isaac Darlington, and his Associates, 
 Hugh Lloyd and John Pearce; and 
 Michael Monroe alias James Welling- 
 ton, was convicted of murder in the 
 first degree, Washington Labbe, of 
 murder in the second degree, and 
 Abraham Buys was acquitted. Wel- 
 lington was defended by Benjamin 
 Tilghman, and his address to the jury 
 was one of the ablest appeals ever 
 made in the old Court House, at Ches- 
 ter. The jury rendered their verdict 
 on Sunday morning. So great was 
 the prejudice against Wellington that 
 many were disposed to criticise Mr. 
 Tilghman severely for having appeared 
 in his defence. 
 
 The Upland Unio?i gives the follow- 
 ing account of 'the execution of Wel- 
 lington : "On Friday morning, Dec. 
 17, 1824, Michael Monroe alias ]dime?, 
 Wellington, was executed. At an 
 
 early hour the Borough of Chester was 
 crowded with strangers. At 11 o'clock 
 he was conducted from the jail to the 
 place of execution, a distance of one 
 and a half miles, accompanied by the 
 Sheriff and all of the police officers of 
 the county. He was attended by 
 Revs. John Woolson, William Pal- 
 mer, R. U. Morgan and John Smith. 
 At half-past eleven o'clock, when the 
 procession reached the gallows, the 
 Rev. William Palmer delivered a so- 
 lemn and appropriate prayer, after 
 which he was followed by Rev. John 
 Woolson. The prisoner ascended the 
 scaffold about half-past twelve o'clock, 
 and there addressed the spectators in 
 the following words, which were spoken 
 with firmness that astonished all who 
 were present : 
 
 ' I have heard it said that no inno- 
 cent man was ever executed in this 
 county, but it will lose that honor to- 
 day. ' 
 
 After he had concluded the above 
 sentence, he sang a hymn with the 
 greatest ease and composure of mind. 
 He then told the Sheriff, that he had 
 no more to say. It wanted seventeen 
 minutes of one when the drop fell, and 
 the prisoner was no more. An au- 
 topsy of Wellington's body was made 
 the same evening by Dr. William 
 Gray, Ellis Harlan, and other phy- 
 sicians, in what was then known as 
 the old pole-well house on Third Street, 
 below Franklin, which, modernized, 
 is still standing." 
 
 There ought to be many incidents 
 connected with Revolutionary times, 
 occurring in Chester and its vicinity, 
 but very few have been handed down 
 to our day ; these have, or will here- 
 after appear in the family sketches. 
 One more incident from our county 
 historian, is all I have collected re- 
 
188 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 lating to Chester and tlic Rc\olutii)n : 
 The crew of the brigantine " Holker," 
 which was "to sail as a i)rivateer," 
 appears to have been enUsted at Ches- 
 ter, by Captain Davis Bevan, who 
 probably commanded the vessel. Most 
 of the enlistments were made in the 
 month of July, 1779, as appears by a 
 receipt book of the Captain's, now in 
 possession of the Delaware County In- 
 stitute of Science. The bounty paid 
 by Captain Bevan for a single cruise, 
 was from $50 to ^100 ; probably Con- 
 tinental money. Dr. Smith does not 
 give a muster roll of the men enlisted. 
 
 Oct. 17, 1779, by request of Joseph 
 Reed, President, a detachment of 20 
 men of the First City Troop of Phila- 
 delphia was detailed to escort Mons. 
 Girard to Chester. 
 
 In the II Colonial Records, 729, 
 Minutes of the Supreme Executive 
 Council, of March 29, 1779, is this 
 entry: "A certific<ite of the election 
 of Chief Burgess, Burgesses and Con- 
 stables of the Borrough of Chester being 
 presented, was read, by which it ap- 
 pears that David Cowpland, Esq., 
 was duly elected Chief Burgess ; Wil- 
 liam Evans, Robert Furgeson, and 
 William Kerlin, Esq'rs, Burgesses, 
 and John Shanlan, High Constable ; 
 and David Cowpland appeared in 
 Council and took the affirmation re- 
 quired by the Constitution, to qualify 
 him for said office of Chief Burgess." 
 
 On Aug. I, 1779, Thomas Levis 
 and John Hannum, Agents, &c., gave 
 public notice that they would, on 
 Saturday, the 4th day of Sept. next, 
 sell at Public Vendue, at the Court 
 House in Chester, the estate of Joseph 
 Galloway, Nathaniel Vernon, Gideon 
 Vernon, David Dawson, Richard Swa- 
 nick, William Maddock, Alexander 
 liartram, Curtis Lewis, Philip Mar- 
 
 cliiiiton and Joshua Proctor, latcofthe 
 County of Chester, attaintctl Traitors 
 to the United Colonics. 
 
 By Act of Assembly of the 6th of 
 Oct. 1779, the estates of Nathaniel 
 Vernon, late of Chester County, Es- 
 quire, were vested in his four sons. 
 Law Book I, 293. 
 
 Alexander Bartram, above mention- 
 ed, married a great-grand-aunt of mine, 
 Jane Marlin, who was in consequence 
 disowned by the Society of Friends, 
 of which she was a member, as appears 
 in the records of the Arch Street 
 Monthly Meeting of Friends at Phila- 
 delphia, as follows: " 7 mo. 31, 1767, 
 Jane Bartram, (late Martin,) hath been 
 married by a Priest and refuses to make 
 any acknowledgement ;" and again, on 
 "8 mo. 28, 1767, Jane Bartram, late 
 Martin, disowned. ' ' Her husband was 
 a merchant in Philadelphia, having 
 much properly there that was also con- 
 fiscated and sold. His property in 
 Chester County consisted of 90 acres 
 of land, known as the ''Fox Chase.'' 
 He was a Scotchman by birth, and kept 
 a dry goods store in Market Street, 
 next door to the Indian King Tavern; 
 advertisements will be seen in \\\^ Penn- 
 sylvania Chronicle, of May 23, 1768, 
 and Oct. 23, 1769, relating to his busi- 
 ness. In the Pennsylvania Packet, of 
 Aug. 3, 1772, will be found the follow- 
 ing local item : " Last Wednesday eve- 
 ning at 8 o'clock, the following melan- 
 choly accident happened in Front 
 Street, Southwark, to Mrs. Eleanor 
 Bartram, an old gentlewoman, mother 
 to Messrs. Alexander and George Bar- 
 tram, merchants of this city, as she was 
 standing at her own gate for the bene- 
 fit of the air : A worthless fellow named 
 Philip Hines, who lived opposite to 
 her, ran out of his house with a broad- 
 axe in his hand, swearing he would 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 189 
 
 kill the first person he saw, and di- 
 rectly came across the street and struck 
 Mrs. Bartram a violent blow on the 
 head with the pole of the weapon, 
 which knocked her down in a gore of 
 blood, so that her life is greatly de- 
 spaired of. The villain immediately 
 fled, but was taken and secured." 
 
 Alexander Bartram took part with 
 the British during the Revolution, and 
 left the United Colonies with the Eng- 
 lish army. By an order of Council, 
 he was declared a Traitor, and his es- 
 tates confiscated. He died in Nova 
 Scotia. His widow retired to New- 
 town, Bucks Coujity, where she died 
 in 1816 ; her will is on record in that 
 county. She had no children, and 
 divided her estate among her relatives, 
 including my father and my aunt Ann 
 Crosby Smith, (late Martin,) widow 
 of Joseph W. Smith, deceased, whom 
 she still survives. She was born at her 
 grandfather's, the late Judge John 
 Crosby, at Ridley Creek quarries, April 
 II, 1799, and resides with her only 
 son, William Martin Smith, in Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 George Bartram, the brother of the 
 above Alexander, was a Whig, and a 
 Patriot. In Hazard's Register, for 
 July, 1830, p. 9, it is set forth, that, 
 "When the British came to Philadel- 
 phia, George Bartram, a merchant, a 
 native of Scotland, was compelled with 
 several others to go to Lancaster for 
 safety. He dined out with a party of 
 Whigs, and took cold, which caused his 
 death in his forty-third year, on the 24th 
 of April, 1777, and was buried in front 
 of the Episcopal Churi'h ; a neat slab 
 on the pavement marks the spot where 
 his remains are deposited." He mar- 
 ried Ann Bartram, a daughter of John 
 Bartram, the celebrated American Bo- 
 tanist ; and his second wife, Ann, the 
 
 daughter of Benjamin and Ann Mend- 
 enhall, of Concord, in Chester (now 
 Delaware) County, Pennsylvania. She 
 was born 6 mo. 24, 1741. They had 
 issue, one son, George Bartram. 
 
 The year 1780, is memorable, in O 
 the Annals of Pennsylvania, as the / 
 year in which an Act was passed by ; 
 the Assembly for the gradual abolition '. 
 of slavery in this Commonwealth. A 
 registry was made of all slaves in the , 
 
 State in accordance with the require ' 
 
 ments of law, by which it is shown 
 that in Chester Township there were at 
 that time, 16 slaves for life, and only 
 one for a term of years. From one of 
 the returns, Indians appear to have 
 been held as slaves ; by what right is 
 not stated, but probably by some order 
 or sentence of the Court. A farmer 
 in East Nottingham, returns "An In- 
 dian girl named Sarah, as a slave for 
 life ; also an Indian man servant un- 
 til he arrives at the age of thirty-one 
 years." Smith's History, 334, &:c. 
 
 The Indian slaves appear to have 
 been imported from Carolina and 
 other places, i Laws of Pa., 62. 
 
 The following taken from the Penn- 
 sylvania Packet, cannot fail to be of 
 interest in these days of perfect free- 
 dom : ' ' Ranaway on the 30th of June, 
 
 1779, from Carlin, Innkeeper, 
 
 in Chester, a Negro Man, named Ben, 
 about 23 years of age, but looks older. 
 He is about 5 feet 2 inches high, broad 
 and well set, is lame of one leg, having 
 been shot in the back leader makes 
 him weak in the heel, drops the toes 
 when he lifts that foot, and wags his 
 body much when he walks; his voice 
 is hollow, and his clothes much worn. 
 Whoever takes up said negro and de- 
 livers him to said Carlin, in Chester, 
 shall have eight dollars reward, and 
 reasonable charges." The name Car- 
 
190 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 lin ought to be Kerlin, no doubt. J>en 
 appears to have been discovered and 
 returned to his master, as he was sold, 
 and ran away again. 
 
 There ai)pears to have been at this 
 time another class of servants, as the fol- 
 lowing notice in the Packet o{ ]\.\\y 12, 
 1773, will show: "Just arrived in the 
 ship 'Betsey,' from Newry, and now 
 lying off Market Street wharf, Phila- 
 delphia, A Number of Redemption- 
 ERS and Servants, whose times are to 
 be disposed of by Joseph Carson, or 
 the Captain on board." 
 
 Soul Drivers ! So were denomi- 
 nated a certain set of men that used 
 to drive Redemptioners through the 
 country and dispose of them to the 
 farmers. They generally purchased 
 them in lots of fifty or more, of Cap- 
 tains of ships to whom the Redemp- 
 tioners were bound for three years' ser- 
 vice, in payment of their passage over 
 from Europe. But some of them, as 
 McCullough, who used to drive in 
 Chester County, would go themselves 
 to Europe, collect a drove, bring them- 
 to the Province, and retail them here 
 upon the best terms they could pro- 
 cure, without the intervention of the 
 wholesale dealer. The trade was pretty 
 brisk for awhile, but was at length 
 broken up by the numbers that ran 
 away from the drivers. The last of 
 the ignominious set that followed, dis- 
 appeared about the year 1785. A 
 story is told of McCullough having 
 been tricked by one of his herd. The 
 fellow by a little management, con- 
 trived to be the last of the flock that 
 was unsold, and travelled about with 
 his master without companions. One 
 night they lodged at a tavern, and in 
 the morning the young fellow, who 
 was an Irishman, arose early, sold his 
 master lo the landlord, pocketed the 
 
 money and marched off. Previously, 
 however, to his going, he used the 
 precaution to tell the purchaser that 
 his servant, although tolerably clever 
 in other respects, was rather saucy 
 and a little given to lying. That he 
 had been even presumptions enough 
 at times to endeavor to pass for mas- 
 ter, and that he might possibly re- 
 present himself as such to him. By 
 the time mine host was undeceived, 
 the son of Erin had gained such a 
 start as rendered pursuit hopeless. 
 
 These Redemptioners were gene- 
 rally, and always properly sold in 
 their presence by a tripartite agree- 
 men t . See Lewis' Sketches of the His- 
 tory of Chester County, 1824. 
 
 Joseph Jackson Lewis, Esq., of the 
 Chester County Bar, who is still living, 
 is the author of the Sketches just re- 
 ferred to. When he wrote them, he 
 was a teacher in the West Chester Ac- 
 ademy, and studying law. They were 
 written for, and first appeared in the 
 Village Record of West Chester, then 
 published by Charles Miner, whose 
 daughter Mr, Lewis subsequently mar- 
 ried. The Sketches were copied into 
 Poiilson' s Philadelphia Advertiser, in 
 1824. Joseph J. is a son of Enoch 
 Lewis, the celebrated Mathemati- 
 cian. 
 
 The author of the ''Historical Col- 
 lections of Chester County,'' recently 
 published in the American Republican, 
 of West Chester, is J. Smith Futhey, 
 Esq., also a member of the Chester 
 County Bar. He writes the articles, 
 for he has not yet finished his valuable 
 contributions, as a relaxation from the 
 labors of his profession. Some of the 
 Sketches are, however, written by Gil- 
 bert Cope, a well known Antiquarian 
 of Chester County. In No. 24 it is 
 stated, that his contributions will be 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 191 
 
 signed with his initials, G. C, and 
 Mr. Futhey's with his, J. S. F. 
 
 The removal of the Court from Up- 
 land was ordered in 1680, and Haz- 
 ard states that " Upland, where the 
 Sessions of the Court had hitherto 
 been held, being at the lower end of the 
 county, they resolved for the greater 
 ease of the people, for the future, to 
 sit and meet at the town of Kinsesse, 
 on the Schuylkill. This removal was 
 undoubtedly, however, only tempo- 
 rary, and a part of the system of ac- 
 commodation of that time, that jus- 
 tice should be had within convenient 
 distance of all." 
 
 For one hundred years after this 
 episode, up to the year 1780, Chester 
 remained quietly the Seat of Justice of 
 Chester County, notwithstanding its 
 position, but during that year an ef- 
 fort was made to have the county seat 
 removed to a more central locality, 
 which resulted in the Act of Assembly 
 of Mar. 20, 1780, entitled "An Act to 
 enable William Clingan, Thomas Bull, 
 John Kinkead, Roger Kirk, John Sel- 
 lers, John Wilson and Joseph Davis to 
 build a new Court House and prison 
 in the County of Chester, and to sell 
 the old Court House in the borough 
 of Chester." These gentlemen were 
 authorized to locate the County Seat 
 just wherever they pleased ; but for 
 some reason, now unknown, the mat- 
 ter rested until 1784. 
 
 On the 22d of March, 1784, a sup- 
 plement was obtained to the Act of 
 March 20, 1780, authorizing John 
 Hannum, Isaac Taylor, and John 
 Jacobs, or any two of them to carry 
 the Act into effect. These three Com- 
 missioners were all earnest removalists, 
 and went to work at once to accom- 
 plish their purpose. They were re- 
 stricted by the sui)plement from erect- 
 
 ing the county buildings at a greater 
 distance than one and a half miles 
 from the old Turk's Head Tavern, in 
 Goshen Township, so they contracted, 
 in the summer of 1784, for a site near 
 the Turk's Head, where the Court 
 House now stands, and commenced 
 the buildings, a Court House and a 
 Prison, adjacent to each other and con- 
 nected by the jail yard. While these 
 proceedings were going on at the 
 Turk's Head, the present West Ches- 
 ter, the people of Chester, who were 
 naturally opposed to the removal of 
 the Seat of Justice from their town, 
 were not idle to try and prevent it. 
 Taking advantage of the winter season 
 when the work on the new county 
 buildings was suspended, and the Le- 
 gislature in session, they obtained the 
 passage of the Act of March 20, 1785, 
 to suspend the supplement. But not 
 being entirely satisfied with their vic- 
 tory, the Chester folks, fearing the 
 passage of another supplement, de- 
 termined to make assurance doubly 
 sure, and resolved to demolish the 
 erections already partially made at the 
 Turk's Head. Accordingly a strong 
 force was assembled, armed and equip- 
 ped, and provided with one field 
 piece, the whole being placed under 
 the command of Major John Harper, 
 marched for the purpose of destroying 
 the works of the enemy in Goshen. A 
 few days before the expedition left 
 Chester, spies had informed the lead- 
 ers at the Turk's Head of the intended 
 raid, they immediately made their 
 preparations to repel the invaders. 
 Col. Hannum took command of the 
 whole defending force. Col. Taylor 
 and Mr. Marshall soon collected to- 
 gether quite a respectable body for 
 defence. Grog and eatables were dis- 
 tributed among the men, and they 
 
101 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 were then set to work to put the l)uild- 
 ings in a state of defence. The win- 
 dows of the Court House were boarded 
 up on either side, and the space filled 
 with stones, loop holes being left for 
 the sharpshooters ; each man had his 
 station assigned him ; Marshall and 
 Taylor commanded in the upper story. 
 Underwood and Patten the ground 
 floor, Avhile Col. Hannum had direc- 
 tion of the whole. All was thus ar- 
 ranged for a stout resistance, when 
 Major Harper's force arrived in sight, 
 and took their position on Quaker 
 Hill, which commanded the Court 
 House, and made preparations to bat- 
 ter down the unfinished walls with his 
 artillery. A conference, however, 
 took place between the adverse lead- 
 ers, and an armistice was agreed upon ; 
 the opposing forces soon fraternized, 
 the Chester cannon was fired in the 
 peaceful rejoicings which followed at 
 the Turk's Head, which became the 
 theatre of conviviality, all hands had 
 a jolly time, and the Chester army 
 marched home again, all quite mel- 
 lowed by tlie refreshments furnished 
 them by their hospitable hosts. How 
 they were received at home is not 
 stated. 
 
 On the 1 8th of March, 1786, the 
 suspending act was repealed by "an 
 Act to repeal an Act, entitled an Act 
 to suspend an Act of the General As- 
 sembly of this Commonwealth, en- 
 titled an Act, to enable William Clin- 
 gan," &c. This settled the contro- 
 versy. The new county buildings 
 were finished in 1786, and the trans- 
 fer of the county records and govern- 
 ment to West Chester was peacefully 
 consummated. 
 
 No proceedings were ever instituted 
 against Major Har])er, or any portion 
 of his force, I he matter was allowed 
 
 (luietly to drop as far as the violation 
 of the law was concerned ; but the 
 wags of the day, and of the Removal 
 party, published many lampoons in 
 doggerel rhyme. I copy from the 
 Directory of West Chester, of 1857, 
 the following written by Joseph Hick- 
 man, on the subject, called : 
 
 LAMENT OVER CHESTER'S MOTHER. 
 Poor Chester'' s Mother^ s very sick ; 
 
 Her breath is almost gone : 
 Her children throng around her thick, 
 
 And bitterly do mourn. 
 
 Cries little 'Lisha""" the firsl born, — 
 
 " What will become of I ? 
 A little orphan, held in scorn — ■ 
 
 If Mamma she slK)uId die. 
 Not only I will be opprest : — 
 
 I younger brothers have, 
 Who cannot do without the breast, 
 
 When Mamma's in her grave." 
 
 And then poor helpless Billyf cries — 
 
 " Oh ! how shall I be fed ? 
 What shall I do, if Mamma dies ? — 
 
 I cannot work for bread. 
 
 These little hands have never wrought : 
 
 " Oh ! how I am opprest ! 
 For I have never yet done aught, 
 
 But hang on Mamma's breast." 
 
 Little Davis, J he comes ne.\t, — 
 
 A puling, silly boy ; 
 His countenance appears perplex'd, 
 
 And destitute of joy. 
 
 " How is our dear Mamma?" he cried : 
 
 " Think you we can her save ? 
 How is the wound that's in her side, 
 
 Which cursed Hannum^ gave ?" 
 
 * Elisha Price, a prominent and active o])- 
 ponent of the removal of the county seal. 
 Neither his particular history, nor his relation 
 to the Seat of Justice is now known. 
 
 f William Kerlin, one of the principal inn- 
 keepers of Chester, and consequently a ve- 
 hement opponent of the removal. 
 
 X Davis Bevan, a retail merchant of (Jhes- 
 ter, and an active partisan in this controversy. 
 
 ^ John Hannum, Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee for effecting the removal, and the mas- 
 ter spirit of the whole affair ; of course, he 
 was exceedingly ubno.\ious to the |)eoi)lc of 
 ( hcstcr. 
 
HISTORY OF CIIESTEH. 
 
 193 
 
 Says little Ned,* — " Upon my word, 
 
 Poor Mamma will be slain ; — 
 Though cursed Hannum lost his sword,f 
 
 He's got it back again. 
 
 What shall I do if Mamma dies? 
 
 What will become of Ned?" 
 The tears came trickling from his eyes. 
 
 And straight he took his bed. 
 Then CaIey,J he came next in view, — 
 
 His mouth was all awry ; 
 Says he — " Oh ! what will Caley do, 
 
 If Mamma dear should die ? 
 She might have liv'd for many a year. 
 
 And all her children fed. 
 If Hannum hadn't poison'd her — 
 
 Curse on his frizzled head !" 
 Cries little John,^ the youngest son. 
 
 Who just began to crawl — 
 " If Mamma lives, I soon shall run ; 
 
 If not, I soon shall fall. 
 
 Oh ! may Jack Hannum quickly die — 
 
 And die-in grievous pain ; — 
 Be sent into eternity. 
 
 That Mamma may remain : 
 
 May all his projects fall, likewise,^ — 
 
 That we may live again !" — 
 Then every one roU'd up his eyes, 
 
 And cried aloud, " Amen !" 
 
 The first removal act authorized the 
 sale of the old Court House and jail 
 at Chester, upon completion of the 
 new buildings erected for the use of 
 
 * The reference here is either to Edward 
 Vernon, or Edward Richards, but which is 
 now uncertain. 
 
 f The allusion here, is to the capture of 
 Col. Hannum, by a party of British Light 
 Horse, who surprised him one night in his 
 bed, and took him a prisoner to Philadelphia. 
 
 J Caleb Davis, who held the office of Pro- 
 thonotary from 1777 to 1791, and who took a 
 lively interest in the question of removal. 
 
 ^ Major John Harper, a Revolutionary 
 officer who had recently commenced keeping 
 a tavern in Chester ; of course he was opposed 
 to the removal. Tradition says he commanded 
 the belligerent forces that marched to destroy 
 the unfinished buildings at the Turk's Head. 
 He afterwards went to reside in West Ches- 
 ter ; and was for some time landlord of the 
 famous Turk's Head tavern. See Historical 
 Sketches in West Chestei- Directory for 1857, 
 written bv Dr. Dnrlinsjton. 
 
 the county ; accordingly, March 8, 
 1788, that property was sold and con- 
 veyed to William Kerlin for ^415. 
 Mr. Kerlin at that time owned and 
 kept the tavern opposite the old Court 
 House in Chester. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 On the 28th of Sept. 1789, an Act 
 of Assembly was passed, authorizing a 
 division of the County of Chester, and 
 the formation of a part thereof into a 
 new county, upon a petition of " the 
 inhabitants of the Borrough of Ches- 
 ter and the Southeastern part of the 
 county." The petitioners to expedite 
 matters, also contracted with William 
 Kerlin for the purchase of the old 
 Court House and Prison, to be used 
 for the new county; and on the 3d 
 of November following, Mr. Kerlin 
 conveyed the property to Henry Hale 
 Graham, Richard Reilly, Josiah Lewis, 
 Edward Jones and Benjamin Bran- 
 nin, for the sum of ^693. 35s. 8d., 
 and they the same day executed a de- 
 claration of trust. By the same act, 
 John Sellers, Thomas Tucker and 
 Charles Dilworth, or any two of them, 
 were named Commissioners " to run 
 and mark the line dividing the coun- 
 ties of Chester and Delaware." 
 
 The first election in Delaware coun- 
 ty, was held on the second Tuesday in 
 October, 1 789 ; and the first Court was 
 held on Feb. 9,1790. At the election , 
 Nicholas Fairlamb was elected Sheriff; 
 Jonathan Vernon, Coroner, and John 
 Pearson, Thomas Levis, Richard Hill 
 Morris and George Pearce, Justices of 
 the Peace ; and on Nov. 7, 1789, Hen- 
 ry Hale Graham was appointed Presi- 
 dent Judge of the Court of Common 
 Pleas, &c. , for the county of Delaware, 
 
194 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 but he (lied before tlie first session of 
 the Court. 
 
 In The Independent Gazetteer, or the 
 Chroniele of Freedom, published in 
 Philadelphia, Jan. 2, 1788, on the first 
 page, will be found a long advertise- 
 ment of Greeshom, Johnson &: Co., of 
 "The Philadelphia, Baltimore and 
 Eastern Shore Line of Post Coach Car- 
 riages. ' ' It states that carriages will 
 set out in 4th street, nearly opposite 
 the Old Indian Queen Tavern, during 
 the winter, on Monday and Thursdays 
 of every week, at 10 o'clock in the fore- 
 noon, and arrive in Baltimore on Wed- 
 nesdays and Saturdays in good season 
 for dining. The passengers on their 
 way from Philadelphia, will dine at the 
 " Queen of France Inn," kept by Mr. 
 John Jarvis, 22 miles from the city. In 
 the issue of July 12, 1788, the notice 
 is somewhat changed ; and the rates of 
 fare are given thus : 
 
 From Phila. to Chester, 15 miles, ^^o. 5s. od. 
 Chester to Qu. France, 7 " o. 2s. 6cl. 
 Q. of F. to Wilmington, 6 " o. 2s. 6d. 
 Wil. to Christiana br., 10 " o. 3s. 4c]. 
 Christiana br. to Elk, 12 " o. 4s. 2d. 
 
 Elk to .Susquehanna, 16 " o. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Phila. to Susque. br., 66 miles, £\. 5s. od. 
 Susque. to Baltimore, 37 " gratis. 
 
 The passengers sleep the first night at Chris- 
 tiana bridge. 
 
 At the heads of these announcements, 
 is a picture of the " Post Coach Car- 
 riages' ' of that day. They were similar 
 in appearance to our army wagons of 
 the present date ; namely, very large 
 dearborns or market wagons, with 
 round tops covered with canvas, with 
 the driver seated at the front, his feet 
 outside of the body of the wagon, rest- 
 ing on a foot board ; the whole drawn 
 by four horses. 
 
 In the issue of the same journal of 
 Feb. II, 1788, the following notice is 
 
 given: "The pro])riel()rs of the Old 
 Line of Stages, having united with the 
 lines from New York to Philadelphia, 
 and thence to Baltimore, will begin to 
 run on Monday the i8th inst. The 
 stages will leave New York and Balti- 
 more Stage ofifice on 4th street, two 
 doors from the Indian Queen, kept by 
 Mr. James Thompson, at 6 o'clock on 
 the mornings of Mondays, Wednesdays 
 and Fridays, and will return again on 
 Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 
 each week during the winter season." 
 Among the names of the proprietors 
 appears the name of William Kerlin, 
 an old and well known Chester name. 
 William Kerlin, his son, (I presume), 
 used to live in the first house below 
 Chester creek bridge, on the left-hand 
 side of the old stage route to Baltimore. 
 His old residence is not the first house 
 below the bridge now, of course. He 
 used to flood his meadow, then consist- 
 ing of several acres, every winter, to cut 
 ice from it when the water became 
 frozen. It made a splendid skating 
 place for the boys and girls, when I 
 was a boy and went to school at Ches- 
 ter. Many a happy hour I have passed 
 there skating; no doubt there are 
 plenty of men and women in Chester, 
 who can say the same thing. 
 
 In the month of April, 1789, Gene- 
 ral Washington passed through Ches- 
 ter, on his way to Philadelphia. My 
 grandmother, then Eleanor Crosby, 
 often spoke of seeing him on that 
 occasion in company with her father, 
 Judge Crosby. I have in my pos- 
 session, in the hand-writing of my 
 grandfather, Dr. Wm. Martin, the 
 copy of an address made to the Presi- 
 dent on his visit, which is as follows : 
 " To his Excellency George Washing- 
 ton, Esqr., President of the United 
 States, Sir : The inhabitants of the 
 
IIISTORV OF OHESTEIJ. 
 
 195 
 
 town ot Chester, impressed with the 
 liveliest sentiments of esteem and ven- 
 eration for your Excellency's charac- 
 ter, congratulate themselves upon this 
 opportunity being afforded them to pay 
 their respects to, and to assure you of the 
 unfeigned joy that swells their bosoms, 
 while they reflect that the united voices 
 of millions have again called you from 
 the bosom of domestic retirement to be 
 once more the public guardian of the 
 liberty, happiness and prosperity of 
 United America. From this event they 
 entertain the most pleasing expecta- 
 tions of the future greatness of the 
 Western world ; indeed they cannot 
 but observe to your Excellency, that 
 ' the torpid resources of our country 
 already discover signs of life and 
 motion,' from the adoption of the 
 Federal Constitution. Accept, sir, our 
 fervent wishes for your welfare — may 
 you be happy ; may a life spent in use- 
 fulness be crowned with a serene old 
 age ; and may your future reward be a 
 habitation not built with hands, eternal 
 in the Heavens." 
 
 No doubt the Doctor delivered this 
 address to the President. He was the 
 foremost man of his day in Chester, 
 and practised both Law and Medicine, 
 and but for his early taking off, I have 
 reason to think from his many writings, 
 which are in manuscript in my posses- 
 sion, and his extensive library and cor- 
 respondence, that he bid fair to reach 
 a prominent position in his country. 
 The late widow of Major Anderson, 
 used often to talk to me of my grand- 
 father. It seemed to be a pleasant and 
 favorite topic with her. She said "Dr. 
 Martin was one of the handsomest men 
 of the day." She spoke also of his 
 dress — purple velvet small clothes, 
 black silk stockings, pumps or shoes 
 with large buckles, which are in the 
 
 family yet, purple vest and coat, with 
 "sugar-loaf," or pine apple shaped 
 buttons, studded with brilliants, like 
 the buckles of his shoes, and his hair 
 worn in a queue, and powdered at 
 times, with the cornered hat of that 
 period. He may have looked very 
 stylish in that day, but a man dressed 
 so off the stage, would look peculiar at 
 this time, to say the least of it. 
 
 In a short essay on Joy, written by 
 Dr. Martin, somewhat before the date 
 above mentioned, in 1785, he states 
 that "Dr. Ramsey, speaking of the first 
 inauguration of the President, Washing- 
 ton, says it was a moment of the most 
 sublime political joy — which is one of 
 the strongest emotions that the human 
 mind has to contend with ; ' ' and gives in 
 another portion of the essay this illus- 
 tration of the effects of joy, viz : "The 
 door-keeper of Congress died sudden- 
 ly on hearing of the capture of Corn- 
 wallis." 
 
 On Sept. 2, 1790, a new Constitu- 
 tion was adopted for the Common- 
 wealth. Under its provisions. Justices 
 of the Peace ceased to sit in the Courts 
 as Associate Judges. And the Courts 
 were re-organized with a President 
 Judge, learned in the law, with two 
 Associates, laymen ; whose duties are 
 well told in an anecdote by an Asso- 
 ciate Judge. He said: "I sat five 
 years on the same bench, in the old 
 Court House in Chester, without open- 
 ing my mouth. One day, however, 
 towards night, after listening to the 
 details of a long and tedious trial, the 
 President leaning over towards me, 
 and putting his arm across my shoul- 
 ders, asked me a question : ' Judge, ' 
 said he, 'don't you think this bench 
 is infernally hard ?' To this import- 
 ant question, I replied: 'I thought it 
 were!' And that's the only opinion 
 
196 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 I ever gave during my long judicial 
 career. ■' 
 
 In early times, the General Election 
 for the whole county, was held at the 
 ( ouit I louse in Chester. l'"-\eryl)ody, 
 men, women and (hildrcn, irom all 
 parts of the county, flocked into town, 
 in all kinds of vehicles, some also on 
 horseback, and others on foot. It was 
 a grand holiday. Booths for the sale 
 of eatables of all kinds, were erected 
 about the streets in every available 
 space, and the drinkables were not 
 forgotten. The quarries at Crum and 
 Ridley Creeks, which furnished the 
 stone for the Delaware Breakwater, 
 near Cape Henlopen, gave employ- 
 ment in those days, to large numbers 
 of Irishmen. Most of these men were 
 naturalized and went to Chester to 
 vote, and see the fun. Party feeling 
 ran high, and the day seldom passed 
 without a furious fight between the 
 rival factions of Irishmen. Sometimes 
 the quarrymen attacked the people of 
 the town, but were always driven out 
 of the place, although the citizens had 
 on' several occasions to call out the 
 militia to drive the mob out of town. 
 I remember an occasion in which a 
 company, commanded by Capt. John 
 K. Zeilin, was called out to suppress 
 an election riot, which began by an 
 attack of the quarrymen on Theodoric 
 Porter, in John O. Deshong's store. 
 
 During the year 1794, the (General 
 Government was obliged to raise a 
 militia force to quell a rebellion in the 
 western i)art of Pennsylvania, known as 
 the "Whiskey Insurrection." Ches- 
 ter sent a company of infantry to the 
 scene of the disturbance ; some ac- 
 counts say it was a company of cavalry. 
 It was at all events under the command 
 of William Graham, Esq., a member 
 of the bar, and a son of Henry Hale 
 
 Graham. It is said that ('apt. Gra- 
 ham lost the use of his voice by ex- 
 posure during this campaign, and not 
 by exposure on Chester Island, as has 
 been sometimes stated. 
 
 Chester Island (onsists of about 70 
 acres, 1) ing opjiosite that town, in the 
 Delaware River ; 25 acres of it was 
 once banked in, but is now partially 
 covered with water. It is the great 
 place for rail shooting in season, and 
 is now owned by the heirs of Geo. Wil- 
 son, deceased, and my friend, Frank 
 Field, well-known in Chester, and who 
 is the descendant of an old Delaware 
 County family. 
 
 " Almighty Jehovah 
 
 Descend now and fill 
 Our hearts with thy glory, 
 
 Our hearts with good will, 
 Preside at our meeting, 
 
 Assist us to find 
 True pleasure in teaching 
 
 Good will to mankind." 
 
 I have in my library, a pamphlet 
 entitled the " By-Laws of Lodge No. 
 69, held in the Borough of Chester, 
 Delaware County, Pennsylvania, print- 
 ed by Joseph M. G. Lescure, at the 
 office of the Upland Union, 1825," 
 from which I extract the following in- 
 formation, of interest to my Masonic 
 brethren, viz. 
 
 "List of members of Lodge No. 69, 
 A. Y. M., admitted from the date of 
 the warrant, June 24, 1796, to this 
 time," being Jan. i, 1825. The war- 
 rant is signed by the then Grand Offi- 
 cers of the Grand Lodge of Pennsyl- 
 vania, William Moore Smith, G. M. ; 
 Gavin Hamilton, D. G. M. ; Thomas 
 Town, S. G. W. ; John Poor, J. G. 
 W. ; Thomas Armstrong, G. S. ; John 
 J. McEllwee, G. T. ; and is directed 
 to William Martin, Worshipful Mas- 
 frr; James Bernard, Senior Warden ; 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 197 
 
 William Y^wwitW, Jiiuior Warden ; John 
 Odenheimer, M. M. ; Mathias Kerlin, 
 M. M. ; William Hill, P. M. ; Robert 
 Smith, M. M., admitted Sep. 27, 1796. 
 
 Na)iics. 
 Preston Eyre, M. M., 
 Daniel Harmony, M. M., 
 Jacob D. Barker, " 
 Peter Stirable, " 
 
 James Shaw, " 
 
 Thomas Vernon, " 
 
 •'■Abraham Kerlin, " 
 William Peirce, " 
 
 John Wood, " 
 
 Joseph Hall, " ■ 
 
 *John Saffer, " 
 
 Seth Levis, " 
 
 James Sharpless, " 
 
 George McNeally, " 
 Edward Engle, " 
 
 William Ford, 
 William Anderson, P. M., 
 John Entriss, M. M., 
 Robert Hall, 
 
 Robert McNeally, M. M., 
 Joseph Harrison, " 
 John Thompson, " 
 James Craig, " 
 
 Lewis Cornog, " 
 
 Aaron Moreton, " 
 
 William Haughy, 
 Evan Peters, " 
 
 William Witeman, F. C, 
 Benjamin Neidy, M. M., 
 George Bail, " 
 
 William Willis, 
 George Gill, " 
 
 Nathaniel Sykes, " 
 Jona. Y. Haight, " 
 Joseph T. Heath, " adm 
 *John Rowan, " 
 
 Abijah Price, " 
 
 ;i;Joseph Engle, P. M., admitted 
 Samuel Pennell, M. M., 
 Jona. Salyards, " 
 
 Abraham Philips, " 
 Thos. Coburn, Jr., " 
 Enoch Welsh, " 
 
 James M. Walker, F. C, 
 John Sealah, M. M., 
 William Robinson, M. M 
 Michael Oburn, " 
 
 Charles Farren, F. C, 
 James Merryhew, M. M., 
 *Samuel HoofF, " 
 
 Job Vernon, ' 
 
 Abraham Palmer, " 
 John H. Cheney, " 
 Joseph Merryhew, " 
 William Miller, 
 , William Wright, 
 John Attmore, " 
 
 Henry Wood, " 
 
 Robert Pennell, 
 
 Sept. 
 
 1796. 
 
 Nov. 29, 
 Jan. 31, 
 Feb. 22, 
 
 Feb. 28, 
 Mar. 14, 
 
 Mar. 28, 
 Apr. 25, 
 
 May 30, 
 
 June 27, 
 
 
 Aug. 29, 
 
 " 
 
 Oct. 31, 
 
 " 
 
 Jan. 30, 
 
 1798 
 
 Feb. 28, 
 
 
 May 29, 
 
 « 
 
 June 26, 
 
 " 
 
 Aug. 28, 
 
 
 Dec. 25, 
 
 " 
 
 Feb. 26, 
 
 1799 
 
 Mar. 26, 
 
 
 Nov. 26, 
 
 '< 
 
 Dec. 31, 
 
 " 
 
 Jan. 28, 
 
 i8do 
 
 May 27, 
 
 " 
 
 July 29, 
 
 " 
 
 Sept. 28, 
 
 " 
 
 Oct. 8, 
 
 " 
 
 Feb'y 2, 
 
 l8oi 
 
 Sept. s, 
 
 " 
 
 Aug. 8, 
 
 
 Feb. 6, 
 
 1802 
 
 Oct. 2, 
 
 " 
 
 Nov. 6, 
 
 
 Dec. 6, 
 
 1806 
 
 Jas. Mendenhall, M. M., . 
 Joseph Holston,F. C, 
 William Baker, M. M., . 
 Francis Patterson, M. M., 
 Joseph T. John, P. M., 
 Samuel Iddings, M. M., 
 William Moore, " 
 Robert Watton, " 
 Robert Given, " 
 
 David Stewart, " 
 John Makie, P. M., 
 John Dermont, M. M., . 
 Daniel MacAllister, M. M., 
 Samuel Blanchard, " 
 William Fell, " . 
 
 Cornelius Mackey, " 
 Septimus Flounders, " 
 George Warner, " 
 
 John Young, " 
 
 Thomas Fell, " . 
 
 Jonas P. Fairlamb, '' 
 John Pearl, 
 Charles Cooper, " 
 
 Robert Davidson, " 
 Thomas Ottey, " 
 
 William Geary, " 
 
 *Job H. Terrill, P. M., 
 Terrence Campbell, M. M., 
 John Barber, " 
 
 N. Wilkinson, 
 James Cummings, " 
 
 David Cummings, " 
 
 Israel Thomas, " 
 
 Aaron Wood, " 
 
 Robert Patterson, " 
 
 Isaac White, E. A., " 
 *John Caldwell, Jr., M. M., 
 Joseph Neefe, " 
 
 James Nelson, " 
 
 Isaac Barton, " 
 
 Joseph Weaver, Jr. , " 
 *John Martin, " 
 
 John Harland, " 
 
 Mark Winter, " 
 
 *John Thomson, " 
 
 Joseph Piper, P. M., admitted 
 Joseph Bowen, M. M., " 
 Nathaniel Newlin, M. M., 
 Benjamin Kirk, " adi 
 
 George Irwin, " 
 
 Nehemiah Baker. " 
 Wm. Robinson, " 
 
 George Spear, " 
 
 *Thomas D. Barnard, M. M., 
 *Jona. P. Worrall, 
 Daniel Howe, E. A., 
 *M. Richards Sayres, M. M., 
 George Caldwell, " 
 
 *John Welch, 
 George Elkins, " 
 
 John J. Richards, P. M., 
 *MosesCo.\-, M. M., . 
 *Joseph Black, " 
 Dr. EUis C. Harland, M. M., 
 Jesse Haimer, 
 *George Hawkins, " 
 
 Joshua A. I'earson, " 
 
 Dec. 6, 1806. 
 Mar. 7, 1807. 
 Apl. 4, " 
 June 6, " 
 Sept. 12, " 
 
 Mar. 5, 1808. 
 June 4, " 
 July 2, " 
 
 July 30, " 
 Oct. 29, " 
 Dec. 31, " 
 Jan. 28, 1809. 
 
 Aug. 9, " 
 
 " 19. " 
 Nov. 18, " 
 Dec. 16, " 
 Dec. 26, " 
 Feb. 17, 1810, 
 June 16, " 
 Feb'y 2, 1811. 
 Aug. 3. " 
 
 Aug. 20, 1812. 
 Aug. 3, " 
 Feb. 13, 1813- 
 
 Apl. 10, " 
 
 May 10, 
 
 " 
 
 Mar. 10, 
 
 1814. 
 
 July 25, 
 
 " 
 
 Apl. 22, 
 
 1815. 
 
 July 15, 
 
 
 Sept. 16, 
 
 " 
 
 Dec. 20, 
 
 1816. 
 
 Jan. II. 
 
 1817 
 
 Mar 29, 
 
 " 
 
 Apl. 26, 
 
 
 Aug, 23, 
 
 " 
 
 Oct. iS, 
 
 " 
 
 Dec. 20, 
 
 ',' 
 
 Jan. 17, 
 
 iSi's 
 
 Feb. 14, 
 
 " 
 
 Apl. 18. 
 
 
 June 13, 
 
 
 Aug. 15, 
 
 ;; 
 
 Jan. 9, 
 
 1819 
 
 Feb. 6, 
 
 " 
 
 Mar. 6, 
 
 " 
 
 Apl. 3. 
 
 " 
 
 June s. 
 
 
 Oct. 2, 
 
 " 
 
 Dec. 25. 
 
 
 July 7, 
 
 1S20 
 
 Sept. 16, 
 
 
198 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 ♦Robert Beale, Esq., M. U., 
 *Thomas N. Barker, E. A., 
 *Richard Dutton, M. M., 
 *Archibald T. Dick, Esq., P. M. 
 *George R. Grantham, M. M., . 
 *John P. Crosb>', " 
 
 William Tussey, " 
 
 John Irwin, " 
 
 Edward Richards, Esq., " 
 Joseph Thatcher, " 
 
 *John J. Thurlow, " 
 
 *George W. Bartram, P. M., . 
 *Francis Murphy, M. M., 
 Charles Attmore, " 
 Jas. Brattin, Esq., " 
 *William Corkey, " 
 *Zedekiah W. Flower, M. M., 
 *OIiver Stevenson, " 
 
 *John Taylor, " 
 
 *Henry G. Kerlin, " 
 
 *Samuel R. Lamplugh, " 
 *William Martin, Esq., " 
 *Samuel Shaw, Jr., " 
 
 *Dr. Samuel Anderson, ■ " 
 *Rev. R. U. Morgan, " 
 *John Cochran, " 
 
 *Jame.s Sloan, " 
 
 Dec. i6, 1820. 
 
 Jan. 13, 1821. 
 Feb. 10, " 
 Sept. 8, '■■ 
 Mar. 30, 1822. 
 
 June 28, " 
 
 July 27, " 
 Nov. 23, " 
 
 Dec. 21, " 
 Feb. 22, 1823. 
 Mar. 22, " 
 Oct. j8, " 
 Nov. IS, " 
 Feb. 7, 
 Apl. 10, 
 June 5, 
 Oct. 30, 
 
 1824. 
 
 Nov. 5, 
 Dec. 4, 
 
 Present ofificers of the Lodge, No. 
 69 : Archibald T. Dick, Esq., IVor- 
 shipful Master ; William Martin, Esq., 
 Se?iior Warden; Zedekiah W. Flower, 
 Junior Warden; George W. Bartram, 
 '^%Q^. , Secretary ; Joseph Black, Trea- 
 surer. 
 
 Those marked thus * were living 
 members of the Lodge, at the time of 
 the printing of the by-laws in 1825. 
 It will be observed, that at that date 
 the title of Esquire, was only given to 
 Judges of the Courts, lawyers and Jus- 
 tices of the Peace, or to those occupy- 
 ing official positions in the State. I 
 give also a list of members initiated in 
 No. 69, after the publication of the 
 pamphlet in 1825 : 
 
 Joseph M. G. Lescure, 
 John Martin, carpenter, 
 Albert G. Pearson, 
 Jacob Effinger, 
 Joseph Hall, 
 — ^ohn Hinkson, 
 John Shaw, 
 Joseph Baker, 
 Ezekiel Norman, 
 James O'Hara, 
 James F>ans, 
 Joseph Rhoads, 
 
 Isaac T. Thomas, 
 Samuel Hale, 
 John K. Zeilin, 
 Benjamin H. L. Hulings, 
 Jehu Broomhall, 
 Thomas Williamson, 
 John Hart, 
 Thomas Baker, 
 Isaac Briggs, 
 John Schofield, 
 James Holms, 
 HuKhMcI,ai,Kl.ii„, 
 
 Oswald Patchell, Isaac S. Williams, 
 
 William Fo.\, William Garthwait, 
 
 Melville Thomas Hard, Alexander M. Wright, 
 Francis Graham, Thomas McKinney, 
 
 Joseph P. Williams. 
 
 The Lodge surrendered its charter 
 in 1836. Its last officers were, Wil- 
 liam Martin, Esq., W. M. ; Isaac S. 
 Williams, S. W. ; and Francis Gra- 
 ham, J. W. In the month of Dec, 
 1864, I sent to the Grand Lodge the 
 old Minute Book of No. 69, and re- 
 ceived a receipt, and transcript of the 
 proceedings taken thereon by the Grand 
 Lodge. It seems to have been the cus- 
 tom in old times to have an Annual 
 Address delivered before the members 
 of the Lodge on St. John's day, in 
 December. I have three manuscript 
 addresses, one bearing date Dec. 27, 
 1797, all in the handwriting of Dr. 
 William Martin, and all, no doubt, 
 spoken by him before the Lodge. 
 
 " When the Senior Warden standing in the west, 
 Calls us from our Labors to partake of rest, 
 
 We unite, while he recites 
 
 The duties of a Mason. 
 On the Level meet, on the Square we part, 
 
 Repeats each worthy Brother, 
 This rule in view, — we thus renew, 
 
 Our friendship for each other." 
 
 The projectors of Chester Lodge No. 
 236, of Ancient York Masons, first 
 endeavored to get the Grand Lodge 
 to re-charter the old Chester Lodge 
 No. 69, but the application was not 
 successful ; so a new charter had to be 
 obtained, which was done, and Ches- 
 ter Lodge No. 236, was instituted by 
 a charter granted by the Grand Lodge 
 of Pennsylvania, bearing date Dec. 4, 
 1848. The Lodge was instituted Feb. 
 23, 1849, by the installation of George 
 W. Bartram, as Worshipful Master ; 
 Joseph Weaver, as Senior Warden; 
 and Alexander M. Wright, as Junior 
 Warden. The charter members were 
 George M. l^artram, Samuel R. Lam- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 199 
 
 plugh, James Campbell, Isaac S. Wil- 
 liams, Ezekiel Norman, Thomas Ba- 
 ker, Joseph Baker, John Martin, Alex- 
 ander M. Wright and others ; many 
 of them members of the old Chester 
 Lodge No. 69. 
 
 On April 5, 1849, ^^ the first regu- 
 lar communication for business, John 
 Larkin, Jr., and Charles D. Manley, 
 Esq., were entered, being the first ap- 
 plicants. George W. Bartram served 
 three years as Master. Joseph Weaver 
 was then elected W. M., but died a 
 short time thereafter, when John Lar- 
 ken , Jr. , was elected W. M. The Lodge 
 increased in membership very rapidly, 
 and although all the charter members 
 of Lucius H. Scott Lodge, withdrew 
 to form the new Lodge, Chester Lodge 
 now bears upon its rolls 194 members 
 (June, 1873). The list of its succes- 
 sive Worshipful Masters has been as 
 follows, viz. : 
 
 Geo. W. Bartram, 
 
 1848 
 
 John M. Greig, 
 
 1863 
 
 Joseph Weaver, 
 
 1851 
 
 Dr. J. L. Forwood, 
 
 1864 
 
 John Larkin, Jr., 
 
 1852 
 
 Col. Thos. I. Leiper 
 
 i86s 
 
 Charles D. Manley, 
 
 1853 
 
 Dr. John M. Allen, 
 
 1866 
 
 Joseph R. Morris, 
 
 1854 
 
 John Fountain, 
 
 1867 
 
 Perciphor Baker, 
 
 1855 
 
 George Robinson, 
 
 1868 
 
 Thad. K. Martin, 
 
 1856 
 
 Dr. Jacob Boon, 
 
 1869 
 
 James Wilkey, 
 
 1857 
 
 Wm. H. Flavin, 
 
 1870 
 
 Samuel Cliff, 
 
 1858 
 
 Robert S. Taylor, 
 
 1871 
 
 James Holmes, 
 
 1859 
 
 Lewis W. Govett, 
 
 1872 
 
 Dan. B. Thomson, 
 
 i860 
 
 Thomas Mould, 
 
 1873 
 
 George Baker, 
 
 1862 
 
 James Gartside, 
 
 1874 
 
 Since the organization of the Lodge, 
 regular monthly communications have 
 been held, during which time 322 
 members have been initiated, and 34 
 admitted from other Lodges. I had 
 intended to give here a list of the 
 members of the Lodge, living and 
 dead ; on mature consideration, I 
 have decided not to give a list of 
 those living. The list of deceased 
 brothers is as follows, viz. : 
 
 George W. Bartram, 
 William Blair, 
 John Booth, 
 
 Theop. D. Mustin, 
 Philip Morris, 
 Thaddeus K. Marti i 
 
 James S. Neil, 
 James Campbell, 
 William Crozer, 
 Thomas Donaldson, 
 John Donaldson, 
 William W. Doyle, 
 Charles W. Deans, 
 George Derbyshire, 
 George Evans, 
 George W. Flood, 
 John Goff, 
 William L. Grubb, 
 Dr. Chas. G. M. Griffith, 
 Robert Gartside, 
 James Holmes, 
 Robert R. Johnson, 
 Adam Keen, 
 Samuel R. Lamplugh, 
 Washington B. Levis, 
 John Martin, 
 
 Jonathan P 
 
 Joseph Monroe, 
 John Maloney, 
 Robert Marlor, 
 Robert McCall, 
 David W. Morrison, 
 Wm. H. McChntock, 
 Samuel Palmer, 
 William Rhodes, 
 George B. T. Robinson, 
 Thomas M. Smith, 
 Lewis Speakman, 
 Charles Shrowder, 
 John Schureman, 
 James Talley, 
 Ralph Taylor. 
 William R. Thatcher, 
 Joseph Weaver, 
 Alexander M. Wright, 
 Isaac S. Williams, 
 A. K. Winslow, 
 Worrall. 
 
 The meeting-room of Chester Lodge, 
 is over the store of Hinkson & Smed- 
 ley, on Market Square, which is well 
 fitted up. The Lodge meets on Thurs- 
 day nights before the full moon. I am 
 indebted to Brother Secretary William 
 Hinkson, for the data which has en- 
 abled me to write thus fully of his 
 Lodge. 
 
 " When the Jr. Warden to refreshment calls us, 
 
 And the Sun is at meridian's height, 
 Let us merrily, unite most cheerily 
 In social harmony, new joys invite, 
 One and all at his call. 
 To the feast repairing. 
 All around joys resound, 
 Each the pleasure sharing." 
 
 After a regular communication of 
 Chester Lodge, on Dec. i, 1870, the 
 officers to serve for the ensuing year, 
 commencing on St. John's day, hav- 
 ing been elected, the members partook 
 of the usual annual supper at the hall, 
 prepared by the well-known caterer, 
 John Munshower, in excellent style. 
 The entertainment was attended by 
 the brethren, accompanied by their 
 wives and sweethearts ; an unusual 
 circumstance ; this being the first ap- 
 pearance of the fair ones at a Masonic 
 supper at Chester, or elsewhere. Their 
 
200 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 presence gave an additional charm to 
 the place, and to the order and har- 
 mony, which ahvays marks an assem- 
 blage of the brothers of the mystic tie. 
 
 " In the West sec the Wardens submissively 
 
 stand, 
 The Master to aid and obey his commands, 
 The intent of his signal we perfectly know. 
 And we ne'er take offence when he give us a 
 
 l)Iow." 
 
 The L. H. Scott Lodge, No. 352, 
 A. Y. M., was chartered Dec. 27, 1864. 
 The charter members are John P. M. 
 Greig, George Baker, Henry B. Tay- 
 lor, George E. Darlington, Esq., James 
 Barton, Jr., Stephen C. Hall, Charles 
 D. Pennell, Alfred Taylor, Rev. John 
 R. Quigg, William D. Pennell, S. H. 
 Stevenson, John H. Barton, George 
 Wilson, Samuel A. Dyer, S. F. Baker 
 and Charles J. Andrews, 
 
 The Lodge was constituted March 
 16, 1865, and the following ofificers 
 installed :— J. P. M. Greig, W. M. ; 
 Henry B. Taylor, S. W. ; George E. 
 Darlington, Esq., J. W. ; George Ba- 
 ker, Treasurer, and James Barton, Jr., 
 Secretary. The present number of 
 members (March, 1873), '^ 7°- The 
 regular communications of the Lodge 
 are held in the same room occupied 
 by the parent Lodge, No. 236. 
 
 I have a full suit of the Regalia of the 
 Master of a Masonic Lodge, once be- 
 longing to and worn by my grandfather, 
 Dr. William Martin, and a large Punch 
 bowl and Pitcher, made of fine white 
 delft-ware, both covered with emblems 
 of our mystic craft. On the bottom of 
 the bowl, inside, is blazoned in the 
 semblance of a coat of Arms, argent, 
 on a chevron, sa. an opened compa.ss, 
 between three castles, ppr. resting on 
 a tessellated pavement, from which rise 
 two columns ; and on a ribbon woimd 
 around the base of the dexter column, 
 
 are the words sit lux, and on the sinis- 
 ter, F.T LUX FUiT. Crest, a bare arm 
 couped at the shoulder, cnihoived, 
 grasping a gavel, ppr. Motto, amor 
 HONOR ET JUSTITIA. Supporters, two 
 Master Masons in full regalia, each 
 standing on an Altar as a base. The 
 whole surrounded by scroll work, orna- 
 mented with Masonic symbols, above 
 which is the '' all seeing Eye," looking 
 from out a cloud studded with stars, 
 over which is engraven : — "a heart 
 
 THAT CONCEALS AND A TONGUE THAT 
 
 NEVER REVEALS." Encircling the in- 
 side rim of the bowl are emblems twined 
 with ribbons; on the exterior, symbolic 
 designs of the Order, and in the centre 
 of one group are the words, 
 
 " The world is in pain 
 
 f )ur secret to gain. 
 But still let them wonder & gaze on, 
 
 For they ne'er can divine. 
 
 The WORD nor the sign. 
 Of a Free and accepted Mason." 
 
 Similar ornaments decorate the Pitch- 
 er, under the spout of which, enclosed 
 in the space formed by the Square and 
 an expanded Compass, is the mysterious 
 letter G. On one side of the pitcher are 
 two columns standing upon a tessellated 
 floor ; around both are coiled ribbons ; 
 on the right one is printed vide, aude, 
 TACE, and on the other, sit lux, et lux 
 FUIT ; between the columns, are various 
 emblems of Masonry, and the words 
 MEMENTO MORI, above the letter G. 
 The right hand column is surmounted 
 by a female figure bearing a cross, rep- 
 resenting Faith. On the left hand one, 
 is a female bearing in her arms a child, 
 leading another one by her hand, em- 
 blematic of Charity, while above, en- 
 circled by a semi-circle of leaves and 
 roses, rests Hope with her Anchor ; the 
 whole is surmounted l)y two (|uill jjcns 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 201 
 
 crossed, and tied together with ribbons, 
 forming a true lover's knot. 
 
 This bowl and pitcher were present- 
 ed by the Members of Lodge No. 69, 
 A. Y. M., to my grandfather. 
 
 The.se Punch bowls and Pitchers were 
 made to the order of Richard Potter, 
 an Englishman, and an enthusiastic 
 Mason, in the latter part of the last 
 century. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Chester was again incorporated as 
 a Borough, under the new order of 
 things after the Revolution, by Act 
 of Assembly of this Commonwealth, 
 of March 5, 1795. See Carey 6^ Bi- 
 oren'' s ed. of the Laws of Pa. (1803), 
 5 vol., 42, recorded in Law Book 5, 
 p. 387, &c., as follows : 
 
 An Act to Erect the To2vn of Chester and its, 
 Vicinity, in the County of Delatvare, into 
 a Borough, and for other purposes therein 
 mentioned. 
 
 Whereas, The inhabitants of the town of 
 Chester and its vicinity, in the county of Del- 
 aware, have by their petition, prayed to be in- 
 corporated, and that the said town and vicin- 
 ity, as hereinafter described, should be erected 
 into a Borough ; therefore. 
 
 Sec. I. Be it enacted by the Senate and 
 House of Representatives of the Coni7?iotiwealth 
 of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met, 
 and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the 
 same. That the town of Chester, with its vicin- 
 ity, in the county of Delaware, shall be, and 
 the same is hereby erected into a Borough, 
 which shall be called the Borough of Chester, 
 the extent of which said Borough is, and shall 
 be comprised within the following boundaries; 
 that is to say, beginning on the river Delaware, 
 at the mouth of Lamokin run, at low water 
 mark ; thence up the said river to the mouth 
 of Ridley Creek ; thence up the creek to the 
 place where a line, two miles from and paral- 
 lel with the low water mark in the Delaware, 
 will intersect the same, being a corner of 
 the former Borough ; thence along the said 
 parallel line to Chester Creek, another ancient 
 corner of said Borough ; thence down the said 
 
 creek to the place where the line lielween the 
 lands formerly of David Co^^■pland and John 
 Salkeld, directly continued, would intersect 
 the same : thence down the said line to the 
 Delaware, the place of beginning. 
 
 Sec. 2. And be it fui-ther enacted by the 
 authority aforesaid, That the freeholders and 
 such other of the inhabitants as are qualified 
 to elect members of the General Assembly, 
 and shall have resided within the limits of 
 the Borough at least for the space of one whole 
 year next preceding any such election as is 
 hereinafter directed, shall have power, on the 
 first Monday in April in every year, to choose 
 by ballot, at the county Court House, from 
 amongst the inhabitants qualified to elect as 
 aforesaid, two fit persons to be Burgesses, 
 and that the person having the greatest num- 
 ber of votes shall be the Chief Burgess; and 
 also to elect, from amongst the inhabitants 
 qualified to elect as aforesaid, three suitable 
 persons as Assistants, for advising and aiding 
 the said Burgesses in the execution of the pow- 
 ers and authorities hereby given them ; and 
 also to elect a High Constable and Town 
 Clerk ; all and every of which persons .shall 
 be resident within the said Borough of Chester. 
 
 Sec. 3. And be it firthcr enacted by the 
 authority afresaid. That the Sheriff of the 
 county of Delaware, for the time being, shall 
 open and hold the election on the fir.st Monday 
 in April next, and call to his assistance three 
 reputable freeholders of the said Borough, who 
 shall take the votes of the electors, and count 
 them oft', and publicly declare the names of 
 those voted for and chosen to be Burgesses 
 and Assistants, High Constable and Town 
 Clerk, as aforesaid ; and on the first Monday 
 in April, in every year thereafter, the Burgess- 
 es and assistants shall open and hold the said 
 election in manner aforesaid. 
 
 Sec. 4. A)id be it fia-ther enacted by the 
 authority afresaid. That if any of the inhab- 
 itants of the Borough, qualified as aforesaid, 
 shall be elected to the office of Burgess, and, 
 having notice of his or their election, shall re- 
 fuse to undertake and execute that office, each 
 person so refusing shall pay a fine of five 
 pounds ; and if any of the inhabitants of the 
 Borough, qualified as aforesaid, who shall be 
 elected to any other office, shall refuse to un- 
 dertake and execute the office to which he 
 shall be chosen, he shall pay a fine of three 
 pounds for the use of the said corporation ; 
 
'2i)2 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEK'. 
 
 find ill any such case the said acting Burgesses 
 shall issue ihcir process, directed to the High 
 Constable, re([uiring him to hold an election 
 for the choice of some other fit person, in the 
 stead of such who shall so refuse. 
 
 Sec. 5. Au(/ be it further enacted by the 
 atitliority ciforesaid, That the Chief Burgess 
 shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation, 
 before one of the Justices of the Peace for the 
 county of Delaware, to support the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States, and of this State, 
 and an oath or affirmation well and truly to 
 execute the office of Chief Burgess of the Bo- 
 rough of Chester ; and when so qualified, he 
 shall administer an oath or affirmation to the 
 other Burgess, Assistants, High Constable and 
 Town Clerk, in manner and form aforesaid, 
 before they shall enter upon their respective 
 offices. 
 
 Sec. 6. And he it further enacted by the 
 authority aforesaid. That it shall and may be 
 lawful for the Burgesses and inhabitants afore- 
 said, and their successors, to have, hold and 
 keep, within the said Borough, two markets 
 in each week to wit : one market on Wednes- 
 day, and one market on Saturday, in the com- 
 mon market-place of the said Borough, to- 
 gether with free liberties, customs, profits and 
 emoluments to the said markets belonging; 
 and that there shall be a Clerk to the Market, 
 who shall and may perform all things belong- 
 ing to the office of Clerk of the Market within 
 the said Borough, which said Clerk of the 
 Market shall be nominated, and from time to 
 time appointed by the Burgesses and Assist- 
 ants, or any three "of them, the Chief Burgess 
 being one, and shall be removable by them, 
 as they shall find necessary. 
 
 Sec. 7. And be it further enacted by the 
 authority aforesaid. That it shall and may be 
 lawful for the Burgesses and inhabitants afore- 
 said, to assemble in town-meetings, as often as 
 occasion may require, and make such ordi- 
 nances and rules, and assess such ta.xes not 
 repugnant to or inconsistent with the laws of 
 this State, as to the majority of the inhabitants 
 a.ssembled aforesaid shall seem necessary for 
 the good government of the .said Borough, and 
 the same to revoke, alter and make anew, as 
 convenience may require, which said town- 
 meetings shall be assembled by the Burgesses 
 aforesaid, at their discretion, who shall require 
 the High Constable to give at least five days' 
 notice of such intendetl town-meeting by ad- 
 
 I vertisements, fixed up in at least six o( the 
 most public jilaees in the said Borough, noti- 
 fying the time, place and object of such in- 
 tended town-meeting. 
 
 The following is the copy of a paper, 
 endorsed, "Address to the President 
 of the United States," found among 
 the papers of Dr. William Martin, in 
 his hand-writing. William Graham, 
 Esq., was or had been Captain of the 
 Comi)any mentioned, and it is proba- 
 ble that Dr. Martin was also one of its 
 officers. It is to be regretted that the 
 names of the signers are not attached 
 to the address. No doubt the paper I 
 have is the original, which accounts for 
 the absence of the names. Its con- 
 tents are in the words following : 
 
 " To the President of the United States. The 
 address of the officers and soldiers of the Ches- 
 ter Light Infantry Company of Volunteers, of 
 the county of Delaware and State of Penna. 
 
 Sir : — In the present eventful crisis of pub- 
 lick affiiirs, we beg leave to approach you with 
 affection & confidence; with affection, because 
 we live under a government of our own choice ; 
 with confidence, because we believe its con- 
 stituted authorities have done all that could 
 be done, consistent with national honor & in- 
 dependence to preserve peace. Believing with 
 you that ' A free republick is the best of govern- 
 ments, and the greatest blessing that mortals 
 can aspire to,' it is our fixed determination 
 to give it every support in our power, and we 
 trust that under Chiefs who have so ably con- 
 ducted our country to independence, there will 
 be no doubt of maintaining it against a foe who 
 has left no arts untried to rob us of it. Adverse 
 to war as Americans and Christians, we should 
 have been happy to have spent our lives in the 
 enjoyment of peace, but when that peace is to 
 be the price of national degradation, and the 
 enjoyment of it so purchased, wholly insecure, 
 we have, no hesitation in choosing the alterna- 
 tive, with a confident reliance on that Provi- 
 dence, which on more than one occasion has 
 manifestly interfered to the safety and happi- 
 ness of the American people. 
 
 Under these impressions we offer our liest 
 services to our country, and beg you to accejit 
 this tender of them, with the assurance that 
 
HISToliY OF CHEST EK. 
 
 203 
 
 when circumstances require it we are ready to 
 take the field. In the presence of the God of 
 Armies, we make the offer and pledge our- 
 selves to fulfil it. Accept Sir, our best wishes 
 for your happiness ; may you have the felicity 
 of seeing our country pennanently placed upon 
 that footing of Peace and Independence which 
 your ardent patriotism and unwearied exer- 
 tions in the cause of genuine freedom lead us 
 to suppose, is the prime wish of your heart. 
 Chester, Aug. 25, 1 798. Signed by unanimous 
 consent." 
 
 Dr. William Martin was born in the 
 city of Philadelphia, Sept. 2, 1765, of 
 which city his father, John Martin, was 
 a resident. He was a practising lawyer 
 in Chester, as well as a Physician. His 
 father was undoubtedly a Friend, and 
 from the Doctor's choice of Chester 
 for his residence, I think our family are 
 descendants of the English family of 
 the same name that settled originally 
 in Chester (now Delaware) county, on 
 the adjoining tract to that taken up by 
 Richard Crosby, in Middletown. The 
 Doctor resided in the stone house, the 
 site of which is now occupied by the 
 residence of Mrs. Gray, the widow of 
 Dr. William Gray. The old locust 
 trees still standing in front of the pre- 
 sent mansion, were planted by my 
 grandfather about 1795 or '96. The 
 old office occupied by the Doctor, is 
 still standing in good repair, to the 
 west of Mrs. Gray's dwelling. It is a 
 small frame building, and is still used 
 for offices, but has been divided, and 
 has two occupants. Mrs. Anderson 
 told me -that the Doctor could never 
 be induced to go to the funeral of one of 
 his patients, saying: "It looked too 
 much like a carpenter taking his own 
 work home." It shows he had a grim 
 kind of humor. I have his diploma of 
 Bachelor of Medicine from the " Uni- 
 versity of Philadelphia," which did 
 not then grant diplomas of Doctor of 
 Medicine. It bears date Jtily 3, 1786. 
 
 Dr. Joseph Carson, the author of the 
 History of the University of Penn- 
 sylvania, says : It is the only diploma 
 of the old University known to have 
 been preserved. It is in as good con- 
 dition as it was on the day it was con- 
 ferred, as is also his diploma from the 
 " American Medical Society," or as it 
 is written, " Sodetas Medica Ameri- 
 cana,'''' bearing date, 1786. Dr. Car- 
 son is a Professor in the University of 
 Pennsylvania, and has a rare and valu- 
 able collection of manuscripts, illustra- 
 tions, letters, autographs and other 
 papers relating to the history of that 
 famous old medical college, to graduate 
 at which is esteemed an honor at home 
 and abroad. 
 
 I have also Dr. William Martin's 
 certificate of admission to practice as 
 an Attorney in the Court of Common 
 Pleas of Philadelphia, dated March 24, 
 1794, and signed "Charles Biddle, 
 Prothonotary." I have also his com- 
 mission as Justice of the Peace for the 
 townships of Chester, Ridley, Middle- 
 town and Lower Providence, in the 
 county of Delaware, dated Aug. 9, 
 1797, signed " Thos. Mifflin." 
 
 Among the many old papers that 
 have been preserved in the family, I 
 have an old commission to John Cros- 
 by, as one of the Judges of the Court 
 of ComiTion Pleas in and for the coun- 
 ty of Delaware, dated April 26, A. D., 
 1799, signed "Thos. Mifflin." 
 
 Judge Crosby, during the Revolu- 
 tion, was the Captain of a Chester coun- 
 ty company of infantry, attached to the 
 " Flying Camp," at Perth Amboy, in 
 Col. Morgan's regiment.* When the 
 
 *Col. Jacob Morgan, Jr., commanded the 
 1st Battalion of Pa. Militia, in the Brigade 
 under Brig. Gen. John Cad^^•alader, in 1776 
 and '77 ; 5 Archives, 188. He was one of the 
 purchasers of land in Tinicum, part of the con- 
 fiscated estate of Joseph Galloway, Esq., a con- 
 victed Traitor. 
 
204 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 company was first mustered into service, 
 at the White Horse Tavern, John Cros- 
 by was its First Lieutenant, and the 
 company was commanded by Captain 
 Culin. tlie brdthcr of tlie Judge's first 
 wife. A few niiniitcs alter they were 
 mustered in. ('apt. Culin was shut dead 
 by a private, and John Crosby took 
 command. Afterwards during the war, 
 while on a visit to his family in Ridley, 
 he was taken prisoner by a boat's crew 
 from a British man-of-war then lying 
 off Chester, and taken on board the 
 vessel ; he was afterwards transferred to 
 one of the prison ships at New York, 
 where his wife went on a visit to him, 
 and he obtained his release on parole, 
 not to serve again during the war, or 
 until exchanged.. It is said his hair 
 turned white during his confinement, 
 which lasted about six months. His 
 residence was on the east bank of Rid- 
 ley creek, a short distance above Ridley 
 Creek Bridge over the Great Southern 
 or old Queen's Road. The boats of 
 the British ship ascended the creek at 
 night, under the guidance of a near 
 neighbor of Captain Oosby, and he 
 was arrested while washing himself 
 at the pump near the door of his 
 house. The neighbor's name who.be- 
 trayed the Captain to the enemy is 
 given in family tradition as Efifinger. 
 Henry Efifinger, Jr.'s name appears 
 upon the " Black List ;" a list of those 
 who were attainted as traitors during 
 the Revolution, yet it appears that on 
 Jan. I, 1784, John Crosby, the youn- 
 ger, of Ridley, yeoman, and Ann his 
 wife, sold to Henry Efifinger, Jr., of 
 Springfield, .some land. 
 
 In 16 Col. R., 372, it is stated: 
 " The Register and Comptroller Gen'l 
 reports upon the account of Capt. 
 David Crosby, for the pay of his com- 
 pany of Chester County Militia, in the 
 
 Battalion commanded by Col. Jno. Mc- 
 Dowell, while under marching orders 
 from the Lieutenant of the county in 
 Oct. 17S1:" see also 16 C. R., 424. 
 And I find also mentioned as captains 
 of Chester County Militia during the 
 same ])eriod, Robert Elton, Israel 
 Moore, Jonathan Rowland and John 
 Bryan. 
 
 I have not been able to trace the 
 relationship of Captain David Crosby 
 I to the Crosby's of Ridley. Samuel 
 Crosby, of Londonderry, carpenter, by 
 his will, dated Jan. 23, 1776, proven 
 Mar. 29, 1776, gives all his estate to 
 his mother, Rachel Crosby, and broth- 
 ers and sister, John, David, Rachel 
 (Crosby,) and Thomas. Executors, 
 John and David Crosby. The name 
 is written Cosby in the will, but he 
 made his mark, and the name is un- 
 derscored as incorrect, and it is spelled 
 Crosby in the probate. 
 
 Edw'd S. Sayres, Brazilian Consul 
 at Philadelphia, says he visited the an- 
 cient Cro-sby mansion lately, to revive 
 old memories. That when a young 
 man, in the winter of 1821-2, he visited 
 the sons of Judge Crosby, then living 
 in the old house by Ridley creek, and 
 after an evening passed pleasantly with 
 two pretty and jolly daughters of the 
 Judge, he and the Crosby boys sat up 
 late drinking mulled cider. He also 
 says he attended the wedding of one of 
 the late Pierce Crosby's daughters, 
 (they were his cousins,) at Crosby's 
 mills, just above the old dwelling re- 
 ferred to ; that it was quite agrand afifair, 
 a building being erected on the lawn 
 to accommodate the dancers. 
 
 In 12 Col. R., 372, under date of 
 June 2, 1780, John Crosby, John 
 Hannum, William Evans and Thomas 
 Heslip, were appointed (for Chester 
 county) to execute " an Act for pro- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 205 
 
 curing an immediate supply of provi- | 
 sions for the Federal army in its pre- 
 sent exigency. ' ' And at a later date, p. 
 393, an entry is made in the minutes 
 of Council, that " an order was drawn 
 on the Treasurer in favour of Mr. John 
 Crozier, for the sum of 600 dollars in 
 part of a certificate for five head of 
 cattle purchased by John Crosby, Jr. , 
 Commissioner for Purchases in the 
 county of Chester, agreeable to an Act 
 of Assembly passed the ist of June, 
 instant." And on the 21st of July, 
 1 780, another order was drawn (p. 399) 
 on the Treasurer in favor of John Cro- 
 zier, for 6,467 dollars and two-thirds, 
 Continental money, in State money, 
 at the rate of sixty Continental money, 
 in full for five head of cattle purchased 
 by John Crosby, Jr., Commissioner, 
 &c. This appears to be a heavy price 
 to pay for five head of cattle, but it was 
 really only ^42 per head. 
 
 It will be noticed that the family 
 name now rendered Crozer, was then, 
 and until very recently, I believe, spell- 
 ed Crozier, which meant a Bishop's 
 crook or pastoral staff, a symbol of 
 pastoral authority and care ; originally 
 a Crosier was a staff with a cross on the 
 top, in the form of a crutch or T. 
 
 The first of the name of Crosby, who 
 settled in Chester, now Delaware coun- 
 ty, Pa. , was Richard Crosby, who came 
 from Cheshire, (a corruption of Ches- 
 tershire) in England, about 1682, and 
 located himself in Middletown, he 
 having been a purchaser before emi- 
 grating to this country. See i Penn- 
 sylvania Archives, 45, among lists of 
 purchasers, "Richard Crossby, 1000 
 acres." He had also a lot on Race 
 street, Philadelphia, assigned to him as 
 one of the first purchasers. See Read's 
 Map and Survey, z\%o Patent Book, A, 
 I vol. 230-1, and 363. He seems very 
 
 soon after settling to have sold his land 
 in Middletown, and removed to Ches- 
 ter, where in 1684, he was appointed 
 a collector " to gather the assessments" 
 made for the Court house and prison, 
 along with Edward Carter for Ches- 
 ter, and Andrew Nelson for Providence. 
 About this time he purchased the pro- 
 perty on Ridley Creek, ever since 
 known as " Crosby's Mills," and which 
 until very recently was owned by his.de- 
 scendants. 
 
 At a Monthly Meeting at Chester, 
 II mo. 4, 1685, Ellinor Crosby and 
 Mary Button were appointed to inquire 
 concerning the clearness of Jane Lang- 
 ley, on account of her intended mar- 
 riage with Thomas Cartwright. 
 
 Jasper Yeates and Joseph Jervis, 
 acknowledged a deed in open court to 
 Richard and John Crosby, for a mill 
 and 63 acres of land in Middletown, 
 dated 27th of Feb., 1704-5; and 
 Richard and John Crosby acknow- 
 ledged a lease of the same property to 
 James Cooper for twenty-one years, 
 dated 25th of Mar. 1705. This is 
 thought to have been the mill on Rid- 
 ley creek, just above the rail road 
 bridge, near Media. 
 
 Mar. I, 1 71 1. Richard Crosby of 
 Ridley, yeoman, and wife Elianor, 
 Nicholas Fairlamb of Chester, mer- 
 chant, and Katharine his wife, daugh- 
 ter of the said Richard and Elianor, 
 convey to William Pennell, 270 acres 
 of land in Middletown, which Richard 
 had given but not conveyed to Nicholas 
 and Katharine Fairlamb, This was 
 part of 370 acres patented to Richard 
 Crosby, May 18, 1685, in right of his 
 purchase from John ap John and 
 Thomas Wynne, May 11, 1682; he 
 having sold the other 100 acres to 
 Robert Pennell, father of William. 
 Elianor made her mark. 
 
206 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 John Crosby made the following ac- 
 knowledgment to Chester meeting, 
 dated Ridley, 9 mo. 20,1719: "Where- 
 as I have unadvisedly broke the good 
 order Established amongst ffriends in 
 case of marriage, tending to the breach 
 of unity in the brotherhood, and an 
 Example of Looseness to young people, 
 for which I am heartily sorry and desire 
 the forgiveness of God and of my 
 Brethren," &c. 
 
 Richard and Eleanor Crosby had 
 several children ; one daughter, Catha- 
 rine, married Nicholas Fairlamb in 
 1703. He came from Stockton in Dur- 
 ham, England, settled in Philadelphia, 
 and afterwards removed to Middletown. 
 John Fairlamb, son of Nicholas and 
 Catharine (Crosby,) was married 11 
 mo. 13, 1742, to Susannah, the daugh- 
 ter of Frederick Engle, whose wife 
 Ann, was the daughter of Joseph and 
 Mary Cloud. Frederick Engle died 
 in 1737, and about a year after, his 
 widow married Jonathan Vernon. 
 
 John Fairlamb, of Middletown, died 
 in 1766, leaving nine children: Ni- 
 cholas, Frederick, Samuel, John, Cath- 
 arine, Anne, Susannah, Eleanor and 
 Mary. He appears to have been in 
 easy circumstances, and appointed 
 his trusty friend, Henry Hale Graham, 
 as principal executor of his will, and 
 guardian of his minor children. His 
 widow married in 1769, Robert Pen- 
 nell, and died about 1793. Of the 
 children, Nicholas was married in 1 768, 
 to Hannah Preston ; Frederick in 1 767, 
 to Mary Pennell, adaughter of Robert ; 
 Samuel in 1774, to Hannah, dau. of 
 Francis Richardson ; John in 1 784, to 
 Susannah Ashbridge. Susannah died 
 unmarried, in 1786. Annie married 
 John Pedrick. Catharine was married 
 4 mo. 3, 1773, by Friends' ceremony, 
 before H. Hale Graham and otiiers, at 
 
 the house (^f her brother Samuel, in 
 Chester, to Peter Hill, son of William 
 Hill, deceased, of Middletown. They 
 were the parents of the late John Fair- 
 lamb Hill, who was their youngest child, 
 Peter Hill built a large cotton factory 
 on the Brandywine, near West Chester, 
 which is known by the name of Hills- 
 dale factory, but for many years it has 
 been converted intoapapermill. John 
 Fairlamb was a Justice of the Peace, 
 and of the Courts in 1761, and again 
 in 1764; Sheriff of the county from 
 1762 to 1765; and a member of the 
 Assembly from 1760 to 1765. 
 
 Thomas Dunbarbin, (or Dunbabin) 
 came from Cheshire in or about 1714, 
 and died in Aston the following year. 
 In his will he mentions his cousins John 
 Crosby of Ridley and Catharine Fair- 
 lamb, but no wife or children of his 
 own. 
 
 In the Delaware County Republican 
 of May 27, 1870, there will be found 
 a notice of the death, from a gun-shot 
 wound, of Joseph C, a son of R. Cros- 
 by Fairlamb, evidently a descendant 
 of this daughter of Richard Crosby. 
 Another daughter married Robert Dut- 
 ton, they had two daughters, Susannah 
 and 'Hannah. Richard Crosby died 
 intestate in 1718, and letters of ad- 
 ministration were granted to his sun, 
 John Crosby, May 2, 1718. 
 
 This son of Richard, John Crosby, 
 better known in the family records as 
 " Squire Crosby," was commissioned a 
 Justice of the Courts, and ex-officio Jus- 
 tice of the Peace for the county of Ches- 
 ter, Aug. 25, 1726, and again in 1730, 
 '37, and' 38, and remained in office until 
 hisdeath. iCol.R.,2ix. In 1723-4 
 he was a member of the Provincial As- 
 sembly. His will, on record at West 
 Chester, is dated Sep. 22, 1750, and was 
 ])r()ven Oct. 15, of the same vear, so he 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 207 
 
 died between those periods. He devised 
 his real estate about equally between 
 his two sons John and Richard. He 
 left John the plantation he lived upon 
 at Ridley, and directed that his body 
 " be decently buryed in Friends' Bury- 
 ing Ground, at Chester, by or near 
 my relations." He gave legacies to 
 his daughter-in-law, Ellinor Crosby, 
 to his sister Catharine Fairlamb, to his 
 cotisins, (nephew) John Fairlamb, and 
 his (niecesj Susannah and Hannah, 
 daughters of Robert Button, and to his 
 grand-daughter Susannah Crosby, and 
 his grand -sons Richard and Samuel 
 Crosby. It will be observed that the 
 Squire calls his nephew and nieces, 
 cousins ; in a general sense this term 
 applies to all those more remotely re- 
 lated than a brother or sister, and was 
 in common use at that time. 
 
 John Crosby was half-owner of a 
 forge, which he devised to his son John, 
 " together with my part of the utensils 
 belonging thereto." Peter Kalm, the 
 Swedish naturalist, who visited Chester 
 County in 1 748, says, " About two En- 
 glish miles behind Chester I passed an 
 iron forge, which was to the right hand 
 of the roadside. It belonged to two 
 brothers, as I was told. The ore is not, 
 however, dug here, but thirty or forty 
 miles hence, where it is first melted in 
 an oven, and then carried to this place. 
 The bellows were made of leather ; and 
 both they and the hammers, and even 
 the hearth, but small in proportion to 
 ours. All the machines were worked 
 by water." Dr. Smith, 258, says, 
 ' ' The location of this forge must have 
 been on Crum creek, just Avhere it is 
 crossed by the Post Road. ' ' Acrclius, 
 p. 165, says, the iron works at " Crum 
 creek belong to Peter Dicks, has two 
 stacks, is worked sluggishly, and has 
 ruined Crosby's family;" this was 
 
 sometime previous to 1756, but the 
 statement as to the family is erroneous. 
 
 It might be inferred from what Kalm 
 says, that Squire Crosby had a brother, 
 but such was not the case. The other 
 half-owner of the forge was Peter Dicks. 
 See Smith's History, note 258, and 
 statement at page 254, that "A con- 
 troversy brought before Chester month- 
 ly meeting, in 1742, between Thomas 
 Dell of the one part, and John Crosby 
 and Peter Dicks of the other, reveals the 
 fact that the latter (party) had erected 
 a forge on Crum creek." 
 
 8 mo. 25, 1742. "The Representa- 
 tives of Chester meeting have acquaint- 
 ed this meeting that there is some 
 Difference between John Crosby and 
 Thomas Dell, because the said John 
 Crosby and Peter Dicks haveing built a 
 forge on Crum crick, y** damm where- 
 of overflows some part of y^ said Dell's 
 land, the Damage of which they have 
 not yet been capable to settle, neither 
 by themselves, nor by some assistance 
 they have had, y" said Thomas Dell 
 haveing insisted to have a certain 
 sum of money yearly or to have the 
 dam Pull'd down. After sum debate 
 on the affair and Proposals of appoint- 
 ing of friends to Indeavor to Recon- 
 cile y^ said Difference, y" said Tho- 
 mas Dell, being present, absolutely 
 Refused to be determined by either 
 friends of their own choice or such as 
 the meeting should appoint, but Re- 
 fused to Confer any Longer on the Oc- 
 casion, and Departed the said meeting, 
 not only without Leave, but Contrary 
 to the Request and advice thereof." 
 
 I mo. 28, 1743. "Thomas Dell 
 hath Complained to this meeting that 
 y'' damm at y'' forge on Crum creek yet 
 overflows some part of his Land, and 
 that they cannot agree to settle y* dif- 
 ference or damage between them, nor 
 
208 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 will the said Thomas Dell chose men to 
 (ieside y'^said difference; therefore this 
 meeting appoints John Maris, William 
 Pennell, Thomas Goodwin, Samuel 
 Lewis, James Bartram and Joshua 
 'I'hompson, to meett some time at y° 
 said damm, between and next* meeting, 
 to Compute y^ said Damage, and In- 
 deavour to Reconcile y'^said difference, 
 and make Report thereof at next meet- 
 ing." 
 
 2 mo. 25, 1743. The Committee 
 report they cannot reconcile the parties, 
 and that Thomas Dell is not willing for 
 the matter to be determined by any- 
 body but himself, but they think John 
 Crosby & Peter Dicks should pay him 
 ^5 ^ annum so long as the water Dam- 
 nifies the said Dell's land ; to which 
 John cS: Peter, (being present) agree. 
 Thomas Dell appealed to the Quarterly 
 meeting ; what disposition was made 
 of the case I have not ascertained. 
 
 T have a copy of the original "Arti- 
 cles of agreement between Jos. Carter, 
 Jos. Carter, Jr., and Jacob Carter of 
 y'' one part, and John Crosby, Junior, 
 and Richard Crosby, all of y° township 
 of Ridley," &c., dated Dec. 24, 1740, 
 the consideration being " Four hun- 
 dred weight of iron." The paper is 
 so eaten by mice, that I cannot make 
 out what the agreement is about ; but 
 Crum is spelled Crumb creek, and the 
 signatures are distinct. So no doubt 
 Kalm is right. The two brothers, sons 
 of the Squire, John Crosby, evidently 
 carried on the forge at the time of his 
 visit; perhaps they were the lessees. 
 The forge was on the east branch of 
 (rum creek, and very probablv stood 
 near where Jacob Hewes' house now 
 stands, just west of the bridge over the 
 creek, below Leiperville. On the right 
 
 ''"■'■Between and nex/,'" a coniinon form of 
 i-xpression in the lecorrls. 
 
 hand side of the road, just east of Mr. 
 Hewes' house, will be still seen a large 
 enbankment with trees growing upon 
 it. This I imagine was the breast of 
 the dam, which gave the water power 
 necessary for the forge, which Kalm 
 speaks of being used. 
 
 John Owen, Sheriff of Chester Coun- 
 ty, certified to the Lt. Governor, Sept. 
 18, 1750, that there was but one mill 
 or engine for slitting and rolling iron 
 within the county, and that was in 
 Thornbury, erected by John Taylor in 
 1746, which had been in operation 
 until June 1750, and that there was no 
 plating forge to work with a tilt-ham- 
 mer, nor any furnace for making steel, 
 in the county. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 I HAVE an old deed of John Crosby 
 and Susannah his wife, to George Van 
 Culin, dated Nov. 10, 1724. Mrs. 
 Crosby must have died before her hus- 
 band, as she is not mentioned in his Avill. 
 
 John and Susannah Crosby had only 
 the two children, the sons mentioned, 
 John and Richard. 
 
 In the Pennsylvania Gazette of July 
 26, 1770, there is an advertisement 
 offering a reward for a bay mare, taken 
 from the plantation of Richard Cros- 
 by, the elder, late of Ridley township, 
 signed William Worrall, Administra- 
 tor. This was the Richard Crosby that 
 lived at the quarries on Crum creek, 
 whose quaint old mansion is still stand- 
 ing near where tlie railroad bridge of 
 the Chester branch of the Reading Rail- 
 road crosses that creek. 
 
 John Crosby (the 2nd), son of John 
 and Susannah, was born at the old fami- 
 ly mansion on Ridley creek, June 4, 
 1721, old style. His wife's name was 
 Eleanor Graham, (so says family tra- 
 dition. ) Until lately I alwavs took it 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 209 
 
 for granted that she was a sister or near 
 relative of Henry Hale Graham, who 
 was very intimate with her husband, but 
 later research appears to show that she 
 was not. 
 
 John Crosby (the 2nd) died Sept. 
 9, 1788, aged 67 years, 2 months and 
 24 days. His widow, Eleanor, died 
 July 7, 1793, aged 70 years. They 
 had several children — Richard Crosby, 
 (the 3rd,) who died May 24, 1790. 
 He married and had a daughter Eliza- 
 beth. See will of Eleanor Crosby, on 
 file at Media, proved Aug. 15, 1793. 
 Susannah, who married Caleb Phipps, 
 and had issue Elisha, Isaac and Crosby 
 Phipps, and John Crosby. 
 
 At Chester Monthly Meeting, held 
 7 mo. 29, 1740, John Crosby, Jr., pro- 
 duced an acknowledgment for marriage 
 by a priest, which was accepted, and 
 Thomas Cummings was appointed to 
 read it in a First-day meeting at Ches- 
 ter. 
 
 Richard Crosby, (the 2d,) "a young 
 man under y® notice of this meeting," 
 was disowned 8 mo. 28, 1751, for some 
 loose behaviour and keeping disorderly 
 company. 
 
 6mo. 25,1753. Elizabeth Crosby, 
 wife of Richard, produced an acknow- 
 ledgment for marrying out of meeting. 
 She belonged to Springfield meeting, 
 but her maiden name is not given. 
 
 Richard was evidently married twice, 
 for the records of Chester County, at 
 West Chester, show that on April 
 10, 1758, John Crosby, and wife El- 
 eanor, released to his brother Richard, 
 land devised to them undivided, and 
 that on May 21, 1770, Richard Crosby 
 and wife Alice, sold some of this land 
 to William Rushton. 
 
 Richard Crosby died intestate, and 
 letters of administration to his estate 
 were granted to William Worrall, June 
 
 27, 1770, and from the records of the 
 Orphans' Court it appears that he left 
 five children, Samuel, Susanna, Joshua, 
 Elisha and Alice, all minors. Lands 
 were awarded to Samuel. The widow 
 was wife of George Spear in 1775. 
 
 On June 20, 1775, Samuel Crosby, 
 cooper, of Philadelphia, sold land in 
 Ridley, part of his father's estate, and 
 another portion in 1776. 
 
 Susan Crosby, no doubt the above 
 named daughter of Richard, married 
 Isaac Mcllvain. My aunt Smith re- 
 members having seen her, and knew 
 her son Thomas Mcllvain ; but we 
 have no knowledge of any of the others. 
 Isaac was probably the son of John 
 Mcllvain by his first wife, Mary Roman . 
 
 I have a refunding bond of Eleanor 
 Crosby, widow, of Delaware Co., and 
 Caleb Phipps, of Chester Co. , yeoman , 
 and Susannah his wife, to John Cros- 
 by, Executor of the last will of John 
 Crosby, Sen'r, deceased, for ^600, 
 dated April 23, 1790, stating that by 
 a deed made the same day, they " Re- 
 leased unto Elisha, Isaac and Crosby 
 Phipps, all their right to the interest 
 of a certain legacy of ^300, bequeathed 
 by the last Will and testament afore- 
 said to their use during their lives," &:c. 
 
 John Crosby (the 2nd) was a mem- 
 ber of the Provincial Assembly from 
 1 768 to 1 7 7 1 , and Coroner of the coun- 
 ty in 1771 and 1772. By his will, on 
 record at West Chester, dated Aug. 30, 
 1788, and pi'oved Oct. 4, 1788, he 
 gives and bequeaths to "My dear and 
 loving wife Eleanor, all my household 
 goods and kitchen furniture of every 
 sort and quality ; all my gears, imple- 
 ments and utensils of husbandry, and 
 all my stock of horses, cattle, sheep 
 and swine ;" and devises to her all his 
 real estate for the term of her natural 
 life, and after her decease the same in 
 
'2M\ 
 
 IIISTOHV OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 trust, the income to be i)aid to his son 
 Richanl, for his natural life, and after 
 his death, the said real estate "To my 
 grand-son, John Crosby, son of my son 
 John. ' ' His will also contains legacies 
 to his grand-children, " the children of 
 my son John," but does not give their 
 X, names. Also the interest of ^300 to 
 his daughter Susannah Phipps, and af- 
 ter her death the principal to be equal- 
 ly divided between her children ; and 
 appoints his son, John Crosby, and his 
 grand-son, Elisha Phipps, his execu- 
 tors. 
 
 John Crosby, the 2n(lj resided about 
 half a mileabove where the old Queen's 
 road crosses Ridley creek, in a large 
 stone house, with three rooms on the 
 first or ground floor, one a very large 
 kitchen, with a large open fire-place; 
 so large was it that on one side within 
 the jamb of the fire-place there was a 
 window, with a bench under it to sit 
 on in cold weather ; the large back-logs 
 used in the fire-place were dragged into 
 the kitchen by a horse, having a chain 
 hitched around the log. One of these 
 huge back-logs lasted a week even in 
 winter. At a later date the kitchen 
 was further heated by a large ten-plate 
 iron stove which stood in the middle 
 of the room. 
 
 In the other two rooms there were 
 large open fire-places, with large andi- 
 rons, to support the burning wood, with 
 brass headed shovel and tongs. The 
 fire-place was ornamented with a high 
 wooden mantel-piece, on which stood 
 the large silver candlesticks used in 
 those days. The entire mantel, which 
 extended to the floor, was ornamented 
 with panels of carved wood. This pro- 
 perty was devised to "my grandson 
 John Crosby, son of my son John." 
 After his death the house was occupied 
 by John L. Crosbv his son. until he 
 
 built his late new residence on tlie hill, 
 east of the highway, above the old man- 
 sion on the creek, above described. 
 
 John Crosby, (the 3rd,) son of John 
 and Eleanor, better known among his 
 descendants as "Judge Crosby," was 
 born in tlie old mansion on Ridley 
 creek. Mar. 12, 1747-48, and was 
 a Captain of Infantry in the Revolu- 
 tionary army, and was for sometime 
 a prisoner of war, and was confined in 
 the British ship "Falmouth," in the 
 harbor of New York, during the time the 
 English army occupied that city. He 
 was an Associate Judge of the county 
 Courts, and his first wife was a Miss 
 Culin, sister of Captain Culin, as before 
 stated. She died without issue, and 
 he married secondly, Ann, the daugh- 
 ter of Robert and Elizabeth Peirce, of 
 Christiana Hundred, in the State of 
 Delaware. She was born Feb. 11, 1747, 
 died Aug. 7, 1825. This latter union 
 was blessed with a numerous progeny. 
 — Eleanor, b. Nov. 1 4, 1 7 70 ; she died 
 eight days after ; Peirce ; John, Jr. ; 
 Eleanor, /;. Ap'l 24, 1777; Richard, 
 b. April 3, 1780, d. at sea; Ann & 
 Elizabeth, twins, b. Aug. 14, 1782; 
 Elizabeth, d. May 12, 1810; Susan- 
 nah, b. Feb. 15, 1786, and Robert 
 Peirce Crosby, b. June 7, 1789. 
 
 My grand-aunt, Ann Crosby, born 
 Aug. 14, 1782, did not marry until 
 late in life, when she united her- 
 self with George Ludwick. She was 
 much beloved by her relatives, and 
 affectionately called by all of them 
 "Aunt Nancy." She died childless, 
 Oct. 16, 1844, aged 62 years, and is 
 buried in the old grave-yard of St. 
 Paul's Church, at Chester. 
 
 Peirce Crosby, of Crosby's Mills, 
 for many years President of the Bank of 
 Delaware County, was the second child 
 of John and Ann, born Nov. 25, 1771 ; 
 
IIIS'lORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 211 
 
 died July 26, 1853. He married (first) 
 Christiana, a daughter of Jacob Rich- 
 ards, (the elder) and had the follow- 
 ing children: John (P.) Crosby, b. 
 Dec. 17, 1795, (i- Feb. 10, 1828; 
 Jacob Richards, b. Feb. 17, 1797, 
 died in infancy. A/iii, b. July 30, 
 1798; (she married James Leiper of 
 Ridley, and had a daughter Elizabeth, 
 who married John Holmes, and died 
 Feb. I, 1873. After the death of Mr. 
 Leiper, his widow married Thomas 
 Hemphill, of Thornbury ; now dead. 
 They had issue, Thomas W. , Margar- 
 etta, Joseph, and Peirce Crosby. Mrs. 
 Ann Hemphill, died Dec. 9, 1873, ^t 
 her residence in Thornbury.) Peirce 
 Crosby, Jr., /;. Jan. 3, 1800, died in 
 infancy. Peirce, Jr., (2d) b. April 18, 
 1805, died at the age of 21 years. He 
 was aman of herculean size and strength. 
 Sarah Crosby, daughter of Peirce and 
 Christiana, b. Dec. 15, 181 4, m. Thos. 
 Harrison, of Philadelphia, white lead 
 manufacturer. They have issue, Mil- 
 icent, who married William H. Tevis; 
 George L. ; Virginia, married to James 
 N. Whelen; Annie; Edward C, and 
 Elizabeth. Christiana R., b. Oct. 24, 
 1809, ;//. Charles L. Desauque, son of 
 Louis Desauque, of Philadelphia. She 
 died March 30, 1863. Mr. Desauque d. 
 Jan. 27, 1872. They had three daugh- 
 ters, Christiana, Caroline and Virginia, 
 now dead, and three other children 
 still living, Catharine, Peirce Crosby 
 and Mortimer Desauque. Elizabeth 
 Crosby, daughter of Peirce and Chris- 
 tiana, married, first, Holland Bowen, 
 of Chester County ; they had no is- 
 sue. She married, secondly, Nathan- 
 iel Davis. Their son, Peirce, was 
 drowned in the mill-dam at *' Crosby 
 Mills;" and their daughter, Jane, mar- 
 ried Seth Holmes, of Philadelphia. 
 She was one of the most beautiful wo- 
 
 men I ever saw. She died in a decline, 
 leaving two little children, who died 
 in infancy. The youngest son of Peirce 
 and Christian a, ^^wan/^zV/^ar^/j' Cros- 
 by, b. Nov. 21, 181 1, w. Amanda Berry, 
 of Washington, D. C, and died in 
 1855, near Chester, leaving five chil- 
 dren, Lucia, Susan, Antoinette, Ed- 
 ward Richards, and Charles Raborg 
 Crosby. On the occasion of the mar- 
 riage of Holland Bowen and Elizabeth 
 Crosby, Mr. Ed. S. Sayres says, a large 
 dancing pavilion was erected on the 
 lawn at Crosby's Mills, and the wed- 
 ding festivities were in a style that 
 was the wonder and talk of the county. 
 John Crosby, Jr., (third child of 
 John and Ann,) was/;, x^pril 4, 1774, 
 d. Aug. 22, 1804. He married in Dec. 
 18, 1794, Sarah, the daughter of Wil- 
 I liam Lane, and Hannah Maddock his 
 wife, of Springfield. (She died May 
 6, 1858). They had issue, first, Ann 
 Peirce, b. Dec. 31, 1795, d. May 27, 
 1872. She married Aaron Taylor 
 Morton, of Ridley. He died June 6, 
 1840, leaving surviving him, his widow 
 and several children . See Morton fam- 
 ily, p. 143. Second, Rebecca, b. May 
 13, 1797, d. Sept. II, 1850. She mar- 
 ried John L. Lownes, of Springfield, 
 and had two daughters ; Sarah, who m. 
 Crosby P. Morton, and Hannah, who 
 jn. William Maddock, of Ridley. They 
 have an only son, Lownes Maddock, 
 who m. Elizabeth Worrall. Third, 
 John L ane^ Crosby, b. Jan. 24, 1799. 
 He resided on the property where his 
 parents lived before him, and died un- 
 married, Aug. 10, 1 861. He was a 
 stout, handsome, jovial man, full of 
 humor. Fourth, Sarah, b. April 25, 
 1 801, d. Dec. 21, 1865. She married 
 Spencer Mcllvain, of Chester town- 
 ship, near Ridley Creek, on the great 
 road, one mile east of Chester. They 
 
2VA 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 liad two children ; Henry, married to 
 Sallie, daughter of Edwin and Mary 
 Pearson, and had three children, Spen- 
 cer, Edward and Henry ; and a daugh- 
 ter Annie Iv , married to Edward 
 Clarke Diehl, Esc]., a member of the 
 Philadelphia Bar, son of William and 
 Mary A. Diehl. They have issue, Sal- 
 lie, Ella and Mary Diehl. Fifth, £/isa, 
 daughter of John and Sarah L. Crosby, 
 was d. Oct. 24, 1803, //. May 7, 1823. 
 
 Robert P. Crosby, youngest son of 
 John and Ann, of Ridley, /a June 7, 
 1789, if. Sept. 7, 1832, married Sarah 
 Ann, daughter of Nathaniel and Cath- 
 arine Davis, of Philadelphia, Sept. i. 
 1810. Her father if. Aug. 24, 1798, 
 and her mother, Aug. 27, 181 6. 
 
 Robert P. and Sarah Ann Crosby, 
 had the following children : /o/in, b- 
 Dec. 7, i8n, and died in infancy. 
 Jolvi Davis, b. July 19, 1813, d. Jan. 
 10, 1835. Robert Peirce, b. April 19, 
 1819, d. Nov. 28, 1846. Nathaniel 
 Davis, b. June 10, 1822. He married 
 his cousin, Mary John Crosby, daugh- 
 ter of John P. and Catharine Beale, 
 and died Sept. 19, 1843. He was a 
 splendid looking fellow, and of ex- 
 ceedingly graceful carriage ; and Eliza- 
 beth, who died Feb. 10, 1827; all 
 without leaving any issue. Catharine 
 Davis, b. October 23, 1815, vi. 
 Charles William Raborg, son of Wil- 
 liam and Mary, of Baltimore, Md. 
 He was /\ Dec. 25, 181 4, in Baltimore, 
 and was a druggist in Chester. She 
 died March 10, 1845, leaving issue, 
 Joseph Cloud, b. Sept. 27, 1834, who 
 died at New Orleans in 1853, and 
 Emily Eislen Raborg, now a Catholic 
 Nun, bearing the name of Emilie Mary 
 Josephine. Her mother was a very 
 sweet, lovely woman. They had also 
 Robert C, Clara and Catharine, all 
 of w^hom died young. Sarah Ann 
 
 Crosby, youngest daughter of Robert 
 P. and Sarah Ann, married Captain 
 Isaac E. Engle, of Chester, a well- 
 known merchant captain in the East 
 India trade. He died in Macao, 
 China, No\ . 3, 1844, of nervous fe- 
 ver. He was a son of Edward Engle 
 and Mary Preston his wife, of Ches- 
 ter, and left surviving him, his widow 
 and two children, James Edgar and 
 Lucie Chauncy Engle. Edgar married 
 Augusta Fox, of Rochester, N. Y. , and 
 resides in Washington, D. C, and has 
 issue, Charles and Clarence. He en- 
 tered the 97th Penna. Vols, as a pri- 
 vate, and was Color Corporal, and des- 
 perately wounded, May 16, 1864, at the 
 battle of Bermuda Hundred, (Green 
 Plains,) Virginia, and was promoted 
 to 2nd Lieut, in the Veteran Reserve 
 Corps, and brevetted Captain for 
 "gallant conduct on the field of bat- 
 tle," having lost his left arm, which 
 was amputated twice. Lucie C. mar- 
 ried Norris H. Hannum, of Delaware 
 County, and had issue, Annie H., d. 
 in infancy ; Edgar E., drowned in the 
 Delaware, Aug. 16, 1875, Jo^ii'' H. and 
 Harry Huhn Hannum. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah Ann Crosby Engle, some 
 years after the death of Capt. Engle, 
 married, Nov. 4, 1847, Charles Rob- 
 ert Hawes, of New York, who died 
 at Cincinnati, Ohio, from the effects 
 of a railroad collision, Nov. 4, 1859, 
 leaving surviving him, Charles Rob- 
 ert, who was drowned at sea, Nov. 9, 
 1869, by jumping overboard from the 
 United States steamer "Idaho," in 
 the Indian Ocean, in the delirium 
 of brain fever, superinduced by the ex- 
 citement he experienced while sick, 
 the ship having been caught in one of 
 those terrible cyclones, that visit the 
 the ocean they were sailing through, 
 "homeward bound." Margaretta, who 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 213 
 
 married Henry Richardson ; son of 
 Wm. H. and Catharine D., daughter 
 of John Howard Hill, she died June 
 2, 1876, in her sixtieth year. William 
 Martin, and Catharine Davis Crosby 
 Hawes. Mrs. Hawes and her children 
 have great musical talents and excel- 
 lent voices, which is a source of great 
 delight in their social family circle. 
 
 John P. Crosby, eldest son of Peirce 
 and Christiana, born Dec. 17, 1795, 
 was baptized John, and his name is so 
 entered in the family Bible of my g. 
 g. grandfather, John Crosby, which 
 now belongs to me ;_ and his name 
 is so given in the list of the Chester 
 Lodge, No. 69, A. Y. M. ; but as there 
 were several John Crosbys, he intro- 
 duced the P(eirce) into his name, and 
 his cousin John L. used the L(ane) in 
 his, so as to distinguish them one from 
 the other. 
 
 John P. Crosby married Catharine, 
 daughter of George and Mary Beale, 
 of Washington, D. C, Oct. 20, 1820, 
 and died Oct. 10, 1828, leaving issue: 
 ist, Mary John, who married,yfrjY, her 
 cousin, Nathaniel Davis Crosby, and 
 some years after his death, James J. 
 Miller, editor, of Lexington, Ky., by 
 whom she has two children, Ada Beale 
 and Walter Queen Miller. 2nd, Peirce 
 Crosby, now a Commodore in the U. 
 S. Navy, who married fii-st, Matilda, 
 a daughter of John C. Boyer, of Lex- 
 ington, Va. She died Sept. 26, 1853; 
 secondly, Julia, daughter of Wm. P. 
 Wells, who died May 3, 1866 ; and he 
 married again, Miriam, dau. of Ben- 
 jamin and Ann Gratz, of Lexington, 
 Kentucky. They have issue, Annie 
 Gratz, b. Jan. 13, 187T, ; Benjamin G., 
 b. Jan. 18, 1872 ; Miriam, /;. Sept. 23, 
 1874, and Peirce, b. Feb. 16, 1876. 
 
 Ann Cornelia, third child of John P. 
 and Catharine Crosby, married Charles 
 
 William Raborg, of Chester. He died 
 Dec. 23, 1859, leaving issue, Mary 
 Hubley, (married to Dr. Alfred M. 
 Owen, Oct. 13, 1874. He is an As- 
 sistant Surgeon in the U. S. Navy ; 
 entered the service May 20, 1869; a 
 son of Dr. Joshua Owen, of Chester. 
 They have issue a son, Frederick Cros- 
 by, h. Aug. 17, 1875, ^t Rio de Ja- 
 neiro, Brazil;) George Beale, William 
 Anderson, Charles William, Catharine 
 Beale, deceased, Peirce Crosby, and 
 Walter Queen Raborg. 
 
 Christiana, the fourth child of John 
 P. and Catharine, married Walter 
 Queen, now a captain in the U. S. 
 Navy. The wife of George Beale of 
 Washington, D. C, was Mary Dixon, 
 of Virginia. Her sister, Elizabeth, 
 was the wife and widow of Major 
 William Anderson, of Chester. 
 
 John Crosby (the Judge), owned the 
 last two negro slaves held in Delaware 
 County, "Old Aunt Rose," and her 
 husband ' ' Sampson. ' ' After they were 
 freed by law, this ancient couple lived 
 in an old Log Cabin, on the left hand 
 side of the road running from the old 
 Queen's road, north-west from near 
 Jacob Hewes' residence, below Leiper- 
 ville, then called Ridley, to " Crosby's 
 Mills." They died at an extreme old 
 age. After their death, the Judge built 
 a frame addition to the old cabin, and 
 leased the house and about an acre of 
 ground, to a worthy old workman in 
 his employ, who had been his school- 
 fellow in youth, John Terrance, for the 
 term of his natural life, for the nomi- 
 nal rent of d. penny a year. Here he 
 lived to enjoy the generosity of his 
 friend, the Judge, for many years. 
 
 Sarah Ann Crosby, the widow of 
 Robert P., of Ridley Creek quarries, 
 married many years after his death, 
 Capt. Thomas Robinson. I have fre- 
 
214 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 iiut'iuly heard it stated that he was at 
 one thiie a vohinteer Lieutenant in the 
 U. S. Navy, and on board the U. S. 
 frigate President, and had the trumpet 
 at the close of her action with the Brit- 
 ish frigate Fhidymion. Capt. Stephen 
 Decatur commanded the President in 
 that action, which occurred Jan. 15, 
 1 8 1 5 . Decatur made a wreck of the 
 Endymion, then surrendered to the 
 Tenedos and Pomone two other of H. 
 B. M. frigates ; the President being 
 surrounded by the British squadron off 
 Long Island. The story, as I heard 
 it, is confirmed in one of Brady's no- 
 velettes, called " Forecastle Yarns," 
 ]). 16, and the yarn entitled " The 
 Capture of the Frigate President," is 
 given in better nautical phraseology 
 than Cooper relates the events in his 
 Naval HistoTy, 2 vol., 479. Cooper 
 does not mention Robinson, however, 
 but says "an order was sent below for 
 John Templar Shubrick, 2d Lieuten' 
 ant, to come on deck and take the 
 trumpet," this order was caused by 
 the I St Lieutenant being killed. The 
 novelette states, that the first, fourth, 
 and the fifth lieutenants being dead or 
 wounded, Decatur sung out for Lieut. 
 Gallagher, the 3d Lieutenant, to take 
 the ti-umpet, but Robinson, a volun- 
 teer, who is now in the Havre line, 
 hearing the hail, came up from the gun- 
 deck, and Decatur said, " take the 
 trumpet, sir." So Robinson took the 
 deck, &c. 
 
 When Robert P. Crosby was living, 
 he was one of the parties who furnished 
 stone to the Delaware Breakwater, 
 from his quarries on Ridley Creek, 
 about 1830. The shallops in ascend- 
 ing and descending the creek had to 
 be propelled by long poles ; the creek 
 then took a bend or curve which 
 brought it (lose nj. to the old M( 11- 
 
 vain quarries. This curve was called 
 the "Bull-cod." By cutting it off, a 
 long distance could be saved, the bend 
 being so peculiar, that it came back to 
 near where it .started from. So one 
 dark stormy night, a large force of 
 quarrymen, with shovels, picks, horses 
 and carts, and plenty of whiskey, went 
 to work, and in the morning the creek 
 had a new channel, shortening the dis- 
 tance to the Delaware, for the upper 
 quarries, quite a quarter of a mile, 
 but leaving the Mcllvain quarry some 
 distance from the creek. This was 
 thought a good joke, and the new 
 channel was attributed to the storm, 
 but everybody suspected who did it. 
 Rough practical jokes were quite com- 
 mon in those days. 
 
 Robert P. Crosby, Jr., died in a 
 decline at Chester, to which place 
 the family removed after the sale of 
 their Ridley property. His death was 
 brought about by his indulgence in 
 feats of strength, for which he was 
 quite noted ; in one of them, throw- 
 ing a heavy sledge hammer, used in 
 the quarries, he burst a blood vessel. 
 He was slightly, yet powerfully built. 
 He was a gentleman of fine personal 
 appearance, courteous manners, and a 
 very agreeable companion, but being 
 in comfortable circumstances never 
 followed any useful occupation. He 
 had an exquisite baritone voice, worth 
 a fortune to an opera singer. He was 
 a member of the First Troop of Phila- 
 delphia City Cavalry. 
 
 The Republican of Chester, on Sept. 
 15, 1 861, in commenting upon the 
 success of the expedition against Fort 
 Hatteras, concludes thus : 
 
 " The gallant conduct of Lieut. Peirce 
 Crosby, is a source of high satisfaction to his 
 numerous friends, not only here, but where- 
 c\er he is known. According lo Maior(ienc- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 215 
 
 ral Butler's report, he was foremost in the en- 
 gagement, and did most essential service in 
 landing our little army. Ever since the break- 
 ing out of the war, in every case in which our 
 navy was required, the name of Lieut. Crosby 
 appears among the officers doing important 
 active duty. He has made a record for him- 
 self by his promptness, efficiency and daring. 
 As a native of our town, we feel proud that 
 we have furnished the navy with so brave and 
 meritorious an officer." 
 
 And again on Feb. 14, 1862, the 
 editor of the same journal writes : 
 
 " Lieut. Peirce Crosby of this borough, now 
 in charge of the new gunboat Pinola, arrived 
 at "Washington, D. C, on Saturday last, hav- 
 ing passed the rebel batteries on the Potomac 
 without damage. The Pinola is a screw pro- 
 peller steamer, and is furnished with two en- 
 gines of 500 horse power. (She was built at 
 Chester.) She is now taking in her arma- 
 ment at the Navy Yard in that city, and will 
 join the squadron at once. Her commander 
 is a brave fellow, and will give a good ac- 
 count of himself, should he get into an en- 
 gagement with the enemy." 
 
 And in the Philadelphia Inquirer, 
 of a later date, the prediction of Mr. 
 Walter is verified in an article which 
 I copy here : 
 
 " Among the gallant officers who distin- 
 guished themselves in the recent engagement 
 below New Orleans, and whose acts are fa- 
 vorably recorded in official and journalistic 
 reports, is Lieut. Peirce Crosby, the comman- 
 der of the Pinola. Lieut. Crosby, is a native 
 of Delaware County, in this State, and entered 
 the navy in 1838. At an early period in the 
 history of the rebellion he was detailed upon 
 important service in the Chesapeake Bay; 
 subsequently distinguished in the lower waters 
 of Virginia, and now by his creditable, brave 
 and energetic movements, under the murderous 
 fire of the enemy, has again brought his name 
 prominently before the country. As an officer 
 he is able and valorous, and as a man respected 
 by all who know him. 
 
 The following article of an earlier 
 date, is headed " Capture of a Pirate," 
 
 from a special dispatch to the Inquirer, 
 Perry ville. May i, 1861. 
 
 " The U. S. steamer, William B. Reaney, 
 of Philadelphia, Capt. John Gallagher, arrived 
 here to-day from Annapolis, having on board 
 Senator (John) Sherman, Congressmen Grow 
 and Grimes, and Captains Mercer, Grimes and 
 Goldsborough, U. S. N., as passengers going 
 North. On her trip up she took a prize, the 
 steamer Lioness, of Baltimore, sailing under a 
 roving commission from Col. Trimble, the 
 secession leader of Baltimore. Her officers 
 and crew were placed under arrest here, and 
 her papers sent to the Secretary of War. An 
 eye witness describes the incidents of the cap- 
 ture as extremely interesting : The Reaney 
 mounts four brass guns, and has a crew of 
 thirty sailors, under Lieut. Crosby, U. S. Navy. 
 During the engagement with tbe Lioness, the 
 guns were served and fired by the Senators 
 and Congressmen, their movements being di- 
 rected by the naval officers. The men-o'- 
 wars-men were jubilant over the capture of 
 what they considered a piratical craft." 
 
 From '■^ Hamnierslef s Records of 
 Living Officers of the U. S. Navy,'' 
 Philadelphia, 1870, p. 80, I gather the 
 following information, to which I add 
 my own knowledge, that 
 
 " Peirce Crosby entered the navy as a mid- 
 shipman, June 5, 1838. Passed Midshipman, 
 May 20, 1844, dutingthe Mexican war, at To- 
 baso and Tuspan, Schooner Petrel. Lieu- 
 tenant, Sept. 3, 1853. During the summer of 
 1 86 1, he served in the Chesapeake, keeping 
 
 open 
 
 the communication between Havre-de- 
 
 Grace and Annapolis. Commander, Sept. 2, 
 1862. Captain, May 27, 1863. In the latter 
 part of 1 86 1, he was Naval Aid to Major Gene- 
 ral Benjamin F. Butler, sloop Cumberland, 
 N. A. B. squadron, 1 861, in the attack upon 
 Forts Hatteras and Clark. Commanded the 
 Pinola in 1862, at the bombardment and pas- 
 sage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, Chal- 
 mette batteries and capture of New Orleans. 
 Also at the bombardment and passage and re- 
 passage of the rebel batteries at Vicksburg, and 
 engagement with the ram Arkansas. He com- 
 manded the iron clad Sangamon, in 1863. 
 Fleet Captain of the North Atlantic Squadron 
 in 1863. Commanded the Florida in 1863-4, 
 
216 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 in an engagement with the rebels at Mason- 
 boro' Inlet, N. C, while destroying four 
 blockade runners. In 1864-5, commanded- 
 the U. S. S. Metacomet. Commanded the 
 Metacomet in the attack on Mobile ; planned 
 and constructed torpedo drag-nets, and su- 
 perintended the removal of the torpedoes from 
 Blakely River, and occupied Forts Huger and 
 Tracey, on the night of their evacuation by 
 the confederates. Commanded the U. S. S. 
 vShamokin, S. A. Squadron, 1866-8. Captain, 
 May 27, 1868." During the years 1863-4, 
 Captain Crosby was commander of the U. S. 
 steamer Keystone State, off Charleston, S. C, 
 and captured a number of blockade runners, 
 including the British steamer Lillian, with a 
 valuable cargo on l)oard. 
 
 In Frank Leslie' s Illustrated Maga- 
 zine for 1861, will be found a spirited 
 illustration of " The Naval Brigade, 
 under the command of Lieut. Crosby, 
 conveying the Federal troops over 
 Hampton Creek, on the night of the 
 8th of June, previous to the battle of 
 Great Bethel, from a sketch by our 
 special artist accompanying Gen. But- 
 ler's command." Comd're Crosby, in 
 1872, commanded the U. S. S. Pow- 
 hatan, a vessel to which is attached sad 
 memories for the writer ; for in her 
 captain's cabin died, at midnight of 
 July 16, 1868, in the Pacific Ocean, 
 of the vomito negro, my youngest and 
 dearly beloved brother. Dr. Ernest 
 Dudley Martin, an Assistant Surgeon 
 in the U. S. Navy, a young, handsome 
 and talented fellow, being only 25 
 years and 26 days old, and was buried 
 at 12 meridian with naval honors, in 
 the ocean. Rear Admiral Turner, 
 wrote the same day to the Navy De- 
 partment announcing his death, say- 
 ing: "Having but a i^w days before 
 come into the command of these forces, 
 I did not know him personally, but it 
 seems he was a noble fellow, who en- 
 deared himself to his associates and 
 messmates by many fine traits of char- 
 
 acter that attract man to his fellow- 
 man." 
 
 I may say in conclusion, that Comd're 
 Crosljy, in person bears evidence of 
 his English descent, although his fam- 
 ily has been here near 200 years. He 
 is over six feet in height, well formed, 
 weighing over 200 pounds, light hair, 
 blue eyes and a tawny mustache, and 
 with his high military air, he is the 
 beau ideal of an American soldier, 
 and possesses all the warm and gen- 
 erous emotions that are the general 
 characteristics of his noble profession. 
 
 In old Deed book A, at West Ches- 
 ter, p. 100, is a deed dated 7th day of 
 7th month, called September, 1696, 
 from John Cock of Ridlye, to Richard 
 Crosby of Midle Towne, yeoman, for 
 80 acres in Ridley, part of 280 in John 
 Cock's possession, for ^30. The 80 
 acres being on Crum Creek, and at the 
 S. W. end of the whole tract. No 
 doubt this is the property I have here- 
 inbefore referred to as being occupied 
 by Richard Crosby, the 2nd, who died 
 1770, (all of whose descendants are 
 dead, I believe,) and remained in pos- 
 session of the family until about 1843, 
 when it was sold to Samuel M. Leiper, 
 and is now owned by John C. Leiper, 
 his nephew. On this place there is an 
 excellent quarry of fine, light gneiss ; 
 while not 200 yards distant, on the 
 Island Field, now owned by John O. 
 Deshong, but lately by John Fairlamb 
 Hill, there are quarries containing a 
 very dark, close-grained granite ; the 
 hardest stone in the county, and which 
 can only be broken into irregular frag- 
 ments. 
 
 In regard to the relationship of the 
 Crosbys, Fairlambs and Thomases ; I 
 find that when John Fairlamb was mar- 
 ried, in 1742, the near relatives signed 
 the certificate thus : 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 217 
 
 Jonathan Vernon, Ann Vernon, 
 
 mother &= step-father to Susannah Fairhimb. 
 John Crosby, Mary Thomas, 
 
 Susannah Crosby, Grace Thomas, Jur., 
 
 Richard Thomas, Jur., Sarah Button, &c. 
 
 When Richard Thomas, Jr., was 
 married, in 1739, John Crosby and 
 John Crosby, Jr., signed among the 
 relatives. Mary Thomas married John 
 Harrison, in 1745, and John Fairlamb's 
 is the fifth signature among the rela- 
 tions. Again, Richard Thomas, Jr., in 
 his will, dated Sept. 23, 1754, appoints 
 his "cousin," John Fairlamb, one 
 of his executors. The mother of the 
 above Thomases, was Grace Atherton. 
 I find no Atherton wills on record, 
 and am not able to define further the 
 relationship. 
 
 Family tradition says, this family of 
 Crosbys, are the descendants of Sir 
 John Crosby, Alderman and Sheriff of 
 London, and Member of Parliament, 
 Warden of the Grocers' Company, and 
 Mayor of the Staple of Calais, previous 
 to 1 47 1. Knighf s History of Londo7i, 
 318. He was knighted by Edward 
 IV., in 1 47 1, on the occasion of the 
 young King's entry into London, for 
 his gallantry in the field, in resisting 
 the attack made by the bastard Fal- 
 conbridge on the city. See also Stow' s 
 Annals of England, 1600, p. 706. Ed- 
 ward was entertained for several days 
 at Crosby Place, the residence of Sir 
 John, who had loaned the young King 
 large sums of money, without which 
 he would never have been able to mount 
 the throne. Sir John was one of the 
 richest merchants of his time, a grocer 
 and wool-stapler. He built Crosby 
 Place for his residence in 146 1. It is 
 said in history, to have been the most 
 splendid private residence in the city 
 of London. The more ancient parts 
 of the present structure are genuine 
 remains of the original building. 
 
 Shakspeare, in Richard III., men- 
 tions Crosby Place several times. In 
 the third act, when Buckingham and 
 Richard send Catesby to tamper with 
 Hastings, Gloucester says : 
 
 "Shall we hear from you, Catesby, 
 ere we sleep ? 
 
 Catesby. — You shall, my Lord. 
 
 Gloucester. — At Crosby Place, there 
 you shall find us both." 
 
 It was then Gloucester's Palace, and 
 he says to the murderers, commission- 
 ed to destroy Clarence in the tower : 
 
 "When you have done, repair to 
 Crosby Place." 
 
 I have heard it said, that about 1829, 
 the family here were visited by an 
 English attorney, who offered for a 
 large fee, payable in advance, to re- 
 cover for the family Crosby Place and 
 other property, which had escheated, 
 he said, for the want of heirs in Eng- 
 land, to the Crown ; that in 1501, Sir 
 John Crosby's executors sold the pro- 
 perty, which was held on a lease from 
 the Convent of St. Helen's; and in 
 1538 upon the dissolution of Monas- 
 teries by Henry VIII., the freehold 
 reverted to the Crown. A family 
 council was held by the male heirs, 
 who were few in number. At the 
 meeting my father informed his rela- 
 tives that foreigners could not inherit 
 or hold real estate in England. A 
 piece of information which will, per- 
 haps, save many Americans seeking 
 estates in England, some money. It 
 will be remembered in this connec- 
 tion, that the late George Peabody, 
 bought land in London and erected 
 houses for a certain class of poor ; as 
 soon as he died, steps were taken to 
 escheat the property to the Crown, 
 but the charity was preserved by act 
 of Parliament. 
 
 Sir John Crosby died in 1475. ^ 
 
218 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 beautiful tomb in tlie Cliurch of St. 
 Helen's has been erected to his mem- 
 ory and that of his wife. Upon the 
 tomb may be still seen the recumbent 
 figures of himself and his wife. The 
 Knight is fully armed, but wears over 
 his armor his Alderman's mantle, and 
 around his neck a collar of suns and 
 ro.ses, the badge of the House of York, 
 to which he was so devoted. 
 
 Crosby Place was purchased by Wil- 
 liam Friem, in 1692. The family still 
 own it. The great banqueting room, 
 the throne room and council chamber, 
 were restored in 1836. The expense 
 being principally borne by a Miss 
 Hacket. It is one of the buildings 
 that escaped the ravages of the great 
 fire in London. 
 
 On the north front of Crosby Place 
 next to St. Helen's, sculptured above 
 the oriel, are the Arms and Crest of 
 Sir John Crosby, viz. : ^r///.*-— Sable, 
 a Chevron Ermine, between three 
 Rams passant, Argent. Crest — A Ram 
 trippant. The motto is not given on 
 the building, but is " Tc Diice Liber- 
 tas,^^ i. €., "Liberty under Thy guid- 
 ance," meaning, of course, under the 
 guidance of the Lamb of God. A 
 good motto for the Crosby's of free 
 America, whether they are the descen- 
 dants of Sir John Crosby, or not. The 
 name of Crossby, as the first settler in 
 this country, Richard, at first rendered 
 his name, indicates its origin, taken 
 when men first began to use surnames 
 in England. Thus, Richard Crossby, 
 meant that Richard lived near the 
 Cross-roads, or more likely near by 
 where a Cross was set up ; a common 
 thing in England once, as it is in many 
 parts of Europe yet. The armorial 
 bearings of one family of the Crosbys 
 indicates this origin of the name: 
 Arms, Gules, a Cross Or, within a bor- 
 
 (1 1 1 re A rge n t . Crest, A H ol y Lamb pro - 
 per, standard gules. Motto — "Nil 
 Despcrandum,'" i. e., Never Despair. 
 To render the description of the Arms 
 in plain language, it means: On a red 
 shield, such as warriors in ancient 
 times wore on their left arm to protect 
 their bodies from arrows, lances, &c., 
 there was a golden Cross inside of a 
 silver border around the Shield. The 
 Crest was worn on the Helmet to dis- 
 tinguish the wearer in battle, when the 
 visor was down. The Crest above, a 
 Holy lamb proper, means the lamb car- 
 ries a golden Cross ; standard gules, 
 a red banner, attached to the Cross. 
 Upon the coast of Lancashire, England, 
 about twenty miles from Liverpool, 
 there is a place called Crossby. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 In organizing the Militia under the 
 Act of Assembly of April 9, 1799, 
 and numbering the regiments, it is 
 said : "In the county of Delaware, the 
 regiments commanded by Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Levis, shall be No. 65 ; and 
 by Lieutenant-Colonel Wilcocks, No. 
 no." 
 
 In 181 4, Chester furnished a company 
 of volunteer infantry, which was under 
 the command of Capt. Samuel Ander- 
 son, M. D., who were mustered into 
 service and marched to Camp Brandy- 
 wine, but were afterwards returned to 
 their homes without having faced the 
 enemy ; not that they were not ready 
 to do so, but none came. This com- 
 pany was called ' ' The Mifiiin Guards, ' ' 
 and was attached to the ist Regiment 
 of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 
 Col. Clement C. Biddle, commanding. 
 The following is a copy of the muster- 
 roll of the company, called in the re- 
 cords the loth Company of the ist 
 
IIISTUKY UF CHESTER. 
 
 219 
 
 Regt. Penna. Vols., which arrived at 
 Camp Brandywine, Sept. 21, 181 4, 
 mustered out of service Dec. 6, 1814. 
 
 Samuel Andekson, Captain. 
 Fked. Shull, \st Lieutenant. 
 D. A. Marshall, 2;!'/.zV«/. 
 Wm. Biggern, Ensign. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 John Caldwell, William Evans, 
 
 Benjamin Haskins, Henry Home. 
 
 CorJ>orals. 
 John Thompson, John Marshall, 
 
 George Hawkins, Joseph Derrick, 
 
 John Rowan. 
 
 Privates. 
 
 Samnel Edwards, 
 Edward Minshall, 
 Thomas Kitts, 
 John Garrett, 
 John Lambert, 
 John Lloyd, 
 Joseph Hall, 
 David Fisher, 
 Joseph Martin, Jr., 
 John Hawkins, 
 Levi D. Martin, 
 Thomas Parsons, 
 Lazarus Martin, 
 Daniel Broomall, 
 Robert Beatty, 
 Thomas Pedrick, 
 James Burns, 
 Jeremiah Brown, 
 Thomas Painter, 
 William Beatty, 
 James Evans, 
 Thomas P. Smith, 
 Charles Lear, 
 John Stevenson, 
 John Pyewell, 
 William Geary, 
 William H. Marshall 
 John M 
 
 James Lock, 
 Daniel Mitchell, 
 John McKee, 
 John Martin, 
 Joseph Wilkinson, 
 Leonard Cole, 
 William Cummins, 
 Thomas D. Barnard, 
 Thomas Bowers, 
 Charles Justis, 
 James Cleary, 
 John Dunant, 
 Richard G. Martin, 
 Charles Snowdon, 
 Joseph Pfill, 
 William Lindsay, 
 George Caldwell, 
 David Cummins, 
 James Bratton, 
 Aaron Morton, 
 Joseph Hibbert, 
 John Hansell, 
 Joseph T. Jones, 
 William Torrance, 
 John Dermont, 
 William Grubb, 
 John Bradford, 
 artin. No. 2. 
 
 This company and the "Delaware 
 County Fencibles," from the vicinity 
 of Darby, also well officered, were com- 
 posed of some of the best men of the 
 county, entirely volunteers — men able 
 and willing to do their duty, and like 
 militia and drafted men, they were 
 called into service to defend the ap- 
 proaches to Philadelphia, against a 
 threatened invasion of the British, 
 with whom we were then at war. But 
 fortunately no actual hostilities occur- 
 red on the Delaware ; but the appear- 
 ance of the British fleet in the Chesa- 
 
 peake, aroused the citizens of Penn- 
 sylvania to the adoption of measures 
 for defence. Dr. Smith says, p. 351, 
 that "in Oct., 1814, an encampment 
 of militia was formed back of Marcus 
 Hook, on the high grounds, number- 
 ing several thousand men, drafted from 
 the south-eastern part of the State. Of 
 these, Delaware County furnished two 
 full companies of 100 men, upon two 
 separate drafts, the second of which 
 was considered illegal. The first com- 
 pany was convened at the "Three 
 Tuns," now the Lamb Tavern, in 
 Springfield, on Oct. 14, and marched 
 to Chester. Its officers were, Capt. 
 William Morgan ; ist Lieut. Aaron 
 Johnson ; 2nd Lieut. Charles Carr ; 
 Ensign Samuel Hayes. This com- 
 pany remained at Chester for two 
 weeks, waiting for their camp equi- 
 page, before repairing to the encamp- 
 ment at Marcus Hook. During this 
 time the men occupied the meeting- 
 houses and other public buildings. 
 The second company arrived at camp 
 about two weeks later. It was com- 
 manded by Capt. John Hall; Ensign 
 Robert Dunn. John L. Pearson, of 
 Ridley, held the office of Lieut. Col. 
 in the regiment to which the above 
 two companies belonged. These com- 
 panies were mustered out of service, 
 Dec. 24, 1814. 
 
 The "Delaware County Fencibles," 
 consisted of 91 men, officers, non- 
 commissioned officers, and privates. 
 The company was equipped and mus- 
 tered into service Sept. 21, 181 4, 
 marched to Camp Marcus Hook, on 
 the 23d, remained there one month, 
 then marched to Camp Dupont, and 
 from thence on Nov. 16, were march- 
 ed to Camp Cadwalader. On the 29th 
 of Nov. they marched by the way of 
 New Castle to Philadelphia, where 
 
220 
 
 HISTORY OF ClIKSTKN 
 
 they arrived Dec. 2(1, and wtTc mus- 
 tered out of service on the 6th. This 
 organization of vohmtecrs was called 
 the i2th Company of the isl Kegt. of 
 Volunteer Infontr\ . I'lom a work c ail- 
 ed, "A Brief Sketch of the Military 
 Operations on the Delaware," 1820, 
 I extract a copy of the muster-roll of 
 the Fencibles, as follows : 
 
 James Sekkill, Ca/>t<tiii. 
 G. G. Leipek, 1st LieiUenant. 
 J. Sekrill, Jr., 2(^ ZiV«^. 
 George Serrill, Ensign. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 John L. Pearson, David Rose, Jr., 
 
 Richard R. Jones, Joseph Oakford. 
 
 Corporals . 
 Henry Wood, Andrew Urian, 
 
 Joseph Shalicross, John C. Farrell. 
 
 Prh'ates. 
 
 James Warner, Thomas Ash, 
 
 John Stroop, Peter Long, 
 
 Robert Homes, Cornelius Macky, 
 
 Enoch Bonsall, David Smart, 
 
 Thomas J. Martin, Nathan Hayes, 
 
 Edward Ormsby, David Bonsall, 
 
 John Wctherill, Isaac Brooks, 
 
 Matthew McNutty, Daniel McGinely, 
 
 Casper Trites, Julm Stattoii, 
 
 Jesse Z. Paschall, John Hahn, 
 
 John Rivcly, George Ross, 
 
 Daniel Smith, Thomas Williams, 
 
 John Dobbins, Moses Wells, Jr., 
 
 (ieorge Williamson, Thomas McCullough, 
 
 William Fines, William Smith, 
 
 Reuben Bonsall, Moses Adams, 
 
 Lewis B. Stanart, Andrew Rively, 
 
 Clement Hanse, John McCleaster, 
 
 Charles Bonsall, William Glover, 
 
 Charles Gibson, Joshua Bonsall, 
 
 Charles Attmorc, Samuel Bonsall, Jr., 
 
 Miles McSwainy, Thomas Bonsall, 
 
 Aaron Helms, Samuel Bonsall, 
 Cadwalader M. Helms, Samuel Palmer, 
 
 Andrew Noblit, Thomas Merrion, 
 
 Andrew Engberg, Joseph Hooper, 
 
 Marshall Siddens, Robert Clark, 
 
 Thomas Bonsall, John M'Gilton, 
 
 William McCormick, Samuel Bunting, 
 
 Samuel Bonsall, Philip Painter, 
 
 John Brown, George Myers, 
 
 Samuel Palmer, Davis Smith, 
 
 Evan Bonsall, Clement Smith, 
 
 Thomas Merrion, William Cox, 
 
 John Luskin, J„hn Shaw, 
 
 Joseph Hooper, Geo. W. Johnson, 
 
 Jacob Duey, William Jones, 
 
 Robert Clark, Ihomas P. Ash, 
 
 Jonathans. Bonsall, Jonathan Quicksall, 
 
 William Kinsey, Thomas Fleming, 
 
 William Helms, Wm. Humphreys, 
 
 John M'Lain, John Frazier. 
 John Myers. 
 
 It is not, perhaps, generally known 
 at this day, that a regiment or battal- 
 ion of colored troops was called into 
 the service of the United States in the 
 war of 1812. Thompson Westcott, in 
 his history of Philadelphia, now being 
 published (1876) in iht Sunday Dis- 
 patch, in alluding to the events of that 
 war, states the fact, and gives the 
 cretlit of the first efforts to raise col- 
 ored troops to Louis Merlin, of Phila- 
 delphia, and Captain Peter P. Walter, 
 Capt. Co. I, 32nd Reg't U. S. Army, 
 and Acting Inspector General of the 
 Third Military District ; the father 
 of Y. S. Walter, the editor of the 
 Delaware County Republicaji, of Ches- 
 ter. Beyond the fact given in the 
 Dispatch, the family of Capt. Walter 
 have no record of the enlistment re- 
 ferred to; the papers relating thereto, 
 having all been destroyed by the burn- 
 ing of the Records of the War Depart- 
 ment at Washington, except a few, 
 among which is a letter given in the 
 Dispatch, from Capt. Walter, to the 
 Secretary of War, dated Aug. 13, 
 1814, tendering his services to recruit 
 a regiment of blacks in Pennsylvania. 
 There is an interesting article in the 
 Republican, of March 31, 1876, on 
 this subject. Gen. Robert Patterson 
 informed me, that only a company, or 
 part of one, was formed in Philadel- 
 phia at the time, and they never left 
 the city; that there was no negro re- 
 giment in the war of 181 2-14. 
 
 I copy from the Upland Union, the 
 following notice: — "Troop Orders. 
 The Delaware Co. Troop will meet 
 iji parade order, blue pantaloons and 
 nine rounds of blank cartridge, at the 
 house of Evans Way, in Nether Provi- 
 dence, on Saturday the 27th inst., at 
 10 o'clock A. M. Punctual and gene- 
 ral attendanc c is re(|uested. By order. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 221 
 
 — Evans Way, ist Sergt. Oct. 12, 
 1832." 
 
 On making application to Edward 
 H. Engle, Jr., for the minute-book 
 of the troop, I was informed by him 
 that it had been destroyed, but that 
 Evans Way, who was still living (1873), 
 said the troop was formed during the 
 war of 181 2 with Great Britain, and 
 Dr. Joseph Wilson, of Springfield, 
 was the captain. About 1820, the 
 troop was re-organized, and the fol- 
 lowing officers elected : John Hinkson, 
 Capt. ; Samuel M. Lei per, \st Lieut. ; 
 John Wells, 2nd Lieut. ; Evans Way, 
 1st Sergt., and George Kirk, Co/ur 
 Sergt. At that time the troop num- 
 bered about 57 members, officers and 
 privates, all told ; and generally mus- 
 tered about 45 men at exercise and 
 parade, which took place five or six 
 times a year. For about three years, 
 the troop formed part of the first squad- 
 ron of Montgomery, Chester and Del- 
 aware County Cavalry. In 1830, the 
 troop became dissatisfied with their 
 officers, and an election was held with 
 the following result : Samuel M. Lei- 
 per, Capt. ; Edward H. Engle, \st 
 Lieut. ; John Wells, 2d Lieut. ; Evans 
 Way, \st Sergt., and George Kirk, 
 Color Sergt. The company only met 
 three or four times after this ; and 
 finally disbanded in 1836, by mutual 
 consent. The country had been at 
 peace so long, all interest in military 
 matters became lost by our people, 
 especially those residing in the coun- 
 try, who do not feel the need of ex- 
 citement like city people, and where 
 there are but few opportunities for the 
 display of fine uniforms and military 
 evolutions. I remember seeing the 
 troop parade once in Chester ; I must 
 have been very young, but have a dis- 
 tinct recollection of the tall, thin form 
 
 of Samuel M. Leiper, clad in uniform, 
 with his reddish hair and whiskers, 
 mounted on a sorrel horse, and I also 
 recall Evans Way, as ist Sergt. My 
 recollection is, that the troop wore 
 Shakoes, with yellow pompoons com- 
 ing over towards the front, and had 
 yellow trimmings to their coats, which 
 were of blue cloth, with brass bullet 
 buttons, and yellow stripes down the 
 legs of their blue pantaloons, with 
 black bear-skins over the holsters of 
 their pistols, and rode horses of all 
 colors ; but I have seen since, so many 
 uniforms in and out of the service, I 
 may be mistaken. At the time I saw 
 the parade of the troop, Evans Way 
 kept, I think, the tavern opposite the 
 old Court House, and the troop parad- 
 ed in front of it, or between the two 
 buildings, in the street. 
 
 The late John K. Zeilin, a former 
 resident of Chester and a member of the 
 Delaware County Bar, and I, had a long 
 conversation about Chester matters 
 some years ago. He said, I will hunt 
 you up the minute-book of the Penn- 
 sylvania Artillerists. John Richards 
 was captain ; so was your father ; after- 
 wards, I was the captain, and was so at 
 the time of the great Riot in '32 or' 33. 
 I think it was on the 4th of July. In 
 those days of the Delaware Breakwater, 
 large numbers of the Irish quarrymen 
 came into town on holidays for a fro- 
 lic ; on this occasion the ladies of old 
 St. Paul's Church were having a Fait 
 in the old Court House ; the Irishmen 
 thought it was a Donnybrook affair ; 
 they went in and seized the articles on 
 the tables, and insulted the ladies. The 
 gentlemen of the town were at dinner 
 at Thurlow's tavern, celebrating the 
 day. The ladies sent for them ; your 
 father and Mr. Samuel Edwards, the 
 Burgess, Archibald T. Dick and others. 
 
222 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 made addresses to the mob and quieted 
 them. They were John L. Crosby's 
 men, and knew your father. I then 
 commanded the Pennsylvania Artiller- 
 ists, and got 15 men together at the 
 Court House, and after your father 
 left, the crowd, urged on by their ring- 
 leader, became very threatening, as we 
 had arrested four of their number and 
 lodged them in jail ; finally I ordered 
 " charge bayonets," and we droVe the 
 crowd out of town and nearly to Rid^ 
 ley. Those arrested were afterwards 
 tried and convicted. He also said, I 
 have one of the old church booksj 
 called the Minutes of the Delaware 
 County Bible Society. Your father, 
 William Martin, was Warden of St; 
 Paul's for over twenty years. I was 
 one of the vestry for some time. We 
 belonged to the Bible Society, the Fire 
 Company, the old Fishing Club, &:c. 
 
 The Bank of Delaware County, lo- 
 cated at Chester, was incorporated by 
 Act of Assembly of March 21, 18145 
 and still continues in successful opera- 
 tion. In 1864, the organization of the 
 institution was changed from a State 
 to a National Bank, under the provi- 
 sions of the Act of Congress, and its 
 present corporate title is *' The Dela- 
 ware County National Bank." Its 
 banking house is situated at the south- 
 west corner of Third and Market Sts. 
 Its officers have been : 
 
 Jonas Preston, 
 James Newbold, 
 Peircc Crosby, 
 John Kerlin, 
 Jesse J. Maris, 
 
 Frederick J. Hinkson, 
 Samuel A. Crozer, 
 Edmund Pennell, 
 David Trainer, 
 Robert H. Crozer. 
 
 Cashieis. 
 Preston Eyre, James G. McCollin, 
 
 Charles S. Folwell, William Taylor, 
 
 Frederick J. Hinkson, Caleb Emlen, 
 J. Howard Roop. 
 
 In the year 1864, the First National 
 Bank of Chester, was incorporated un- 
 
 der the provisions of the Act of Con- 
 gress of June 3, 1864. Abraham R. 
 Perkins was elected as its first Presi- 
 dent, and served until the year 1871, 
 when he resigned, and John Larkin, 
 Jr., was elected to fill the vacancy. 
 William Taylor, the former Cashier of 
 the old county bank, has been the 
 Cashier of the new corporation ever 
 since its organization. 
 
 About 1815, the necessity of having 
 some protection at Chester for ves- 
 sels navigating the river in winter, 
 becoming apparent, an Act of Assem- 
 bly was obtained, and passed March 
 li, 1816, recorded in Law Book XV, 
 p. 487, &:c., appropriating ^10,935.32, 
 "to be employed for the erection of 
 piers for the river Delaware, at the 
 Borough of Chester," and David Por- 
 ter, Joseph Engle and William Gra- 
 ham were appointed Commissioners to 
 do and perform the several acts, &c., 
 and " shall cause to be erected, placed 
 and sunk in the said river Delaware, 
 at the Borough of Chester, two or more 
 good and sufficient piers, for the secu- 
 irity of vessels navigating the said river, 
 and shall also cause to be built and con- 
 structed good and sufficient wharves, to 
 tie so connected with the said piers as 
 to afford a safe and easy landing for 
 vessels coming to at the same ; and for 
 this purpose they shall have power 
 to employ suitable workmen, and ob- 
 tain cessions to the Commonwealth of 
 ground within the said Borough of 
 Chester, necessary for the erection and 
 construction of such wharves and piers. 
 Provided, That the said cessions be ob- 
 tained without any consideration from 
 the Commonwealth." The Commis- 
 sioners not to receive any compensa- 
 tion, but to give bond, &:c. The work 
 to be commenced in one year and 
 completed within five years. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 223 
 
 By the 13th section of the Act of 
 the 24th of March, 181 7, Laws of Pa., 
 (published by John Bioren, 1822), vol. 
 6, chap. 4437, the additional sum of 
 $8000 was " appropriated to be em- 
 ployed in the erection of two addi- 
 tional piers, and otherwise completing 
 the harbor on the river Delaware, at 
 the Borough of Chester, in Delaware 
 County, so as to make the harbor safe 
 and commodious for vessels of large 
 size navigating said river, and the Trea- 
 surer is hereby required, whenever the 
 said work shall be recommenced, to 
 pay to the Commissioners hereinafter 
 named, or their order, one-half of the 
 said sum, and the remainder thereof 
 on the first day of June, 181 8, or so 
 soon thereafter as the said work shall 
 be completed ; and Joseph Engle, Wil- 
 liam Anderson and William Graham," 
 were appointed Commissioners to su- 
 perintend the application of the money 
 in the manner prescribed in the Act 
 of March nth, 181.6, the work to 
 be proceeded with within one year, 
 and completed within three years there- 
 after, else the amount appropriated to 
 revert to the State. It is to be pre- 
 sumed that the conditions of the Act 
 were complied with, as the piers were 
 finished and ceded to the United States, 
 on condition that the Government keep 
 the work in good order. 
 
 The ''Upper Pier," as it is called, 
 was ceded to the State by the follow- 
 ing deed: 
 
 "This Indenture, made the 20th clay of 
 June, 181 6, between Davis Bevan, of the Bo- 
 rough of Chester, in the county of Delaware, 
 and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
 gentleman, of the one part, and the said Com- 
 monwealth of Pennsylvania of the other part, 
 Whereas, by an Act making an appropriation 
 for the erection of piers in the river Delaware, 
 at the Borough of Chester, in Delaware Coun- 
 ty, David Porter, Joseph Engle, and William 
 
 Graham, Esqs., are authorized to obtain ces- 
 sions to the Commonwealth of ground within 
 the said Borough of Chester, necessary for the 
 erection and construction of the wharves and 
 piers, provided the said cessions be obtained 
 without any consideration from this Common- 
 wealth, and whereas the wharf lying on the 
 north-east side of High Street, in the said Bo- 
 rough of Chester, commonly called " Richard- 
 son's wharf," has by good and sufficient assur- 
 ances in the law become vested in fee simple 
 in the said Davis Bevan, who is desirous to 
 aid the public interest by ceding his title thereto 
 to the Commonwealth, for the purpose afore- 
 said : Now this indenture witnesseth, that the 
 said Davis Bevan in consideration of the pre- 
 mises, and also in consideration of the local 
 advantages which will arise from the contem- 
 plated work, hath granted, bargained, sold, 
 ceded, surrendered and confirmed, and by 
 these presents doth grant, bargain, sell, cede, 
 surrender and confirm unto the said Common- 
 wealth of Pennsylvania, all that the above- 
 mentioned wharf, situated, lying and being in 
 the said Borough of Chester, on the north-east 
 side of High Street, and extending from low 
 water mark on the river Delaware to the fast 
 land, being in breadth from low water mark 
 to a buttonwood tree standing on the north- 
 east side of said wharf about twenty-one feet, 
 and thence to the fast land opposite the north 
 end of a stone stable of the breadth of twenty 
 feet, measuring from the south-west side of 
 said wharf, as the foundation now exists. To- 
 gether with all and singular the logs and bolts, 
 stone and other material, belonging to and 
 connected with said wharf, to have and to 
 hold the same for the purposes aforesaid with 
 the appurtenances to the said Commonwealth 
 of Pennsylvania forever ; provided always, 
 nevertheless, that unless the said Commission- 
 ers shall proceed to carry on the contemplated 
 work within the period mentioned in the afore- 
 said recited law, then this Indenture and the 
 estate hereby granted and ceded shall cease 
 and become void. And the said Davis Bevan 
 doth reserve to himself and to his heirs the 
 right, liberty and privilege to pass to, upon, 
 and from the said wharf, with free ingress, 
 egress and regress, to and for him and his heirs, 
 and his and their servants and workmen, with 
 horses, carts and carriages at all times and sea- 
 sons for the loading and hauling of goods and 
 merchandise or other ])roperty, and for ship- 
 
224 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 ping and sending away the same." Witness, 
 Samuel Edwards and Isaac Eyre. Recorded 
 in Bool< M., p. 280. 
 
 The "Lower Pier," was ceded l)y 
 the following instrument: 
 
 " 7<> a// people to 7C'/iom these presents sliall 
 come : I, Ephraim Pearson, of Ciiester, Dela- 
 ware County, send greeting, and whereas by 
 an Act making an appropriation for the erec- 
 tion of piers in the river Delaware," &c., as 
 set forth in the former conveyance: "Now 
 know yc, lliat I, the said Ephraim Pearson, do 
 hcreliy grant, transfer and cede to the Com- 
 monwealth of Pennsylvania, all that piece of 
 ground, known by the name of " Richardson's 
 Lower Wharf," lying on the river Delaware, 
 between the mouth of Chester Creek and Front 
 Street continued and extending from high water 
 mark to low water mark, being in the Borough 
 of Chester aforesaid. To have and to hold 
 the sam-j, to the said Commonwealth forever, 
 for the purpose of erecting and constructing 
 wharves and piers, and for no other purpose ; 
 provided that if the said Commissioners shall 
 not make use thereof for the purpose aforesaid, 
 within the time limited by the above recited 
 Act for finishing their work, then this cession 
 to-be void." Dated May 6, 181 6. Witnessed 
 by William Eyre and John G. Hoskins, and 
 recorded in Book M., p. 281, &c. 
 
 To the right of the causeway leading 
 out to the lower pier, there is a strip 
 of land that is exposed at low water. 
 To whom does it belong? The exact 
 boundaries of the land given are not 
 stated, so it is to be taken for granted 
 only what ground was necessary for 
 the ])urposesof the piers was conveyed, 
 or at most only the then existing Rich- 
 ardson's lower wharf. 
 
 On the 9th of Nov., 1819, the first 
 newspaper ever printed in Delaware 
 County, was issued by Butler & Worth- 
 ington, at Chester. It was called the 
 Post Boy. It was a weekly, anci the 
 size of the paper was 15;^ by 9)^ in- 
 ches, printed on four pages of four 
 columns each, with large tyi)e. All 
 the work on the pajicr, including edit- 
 
 ing and distributing it over the country 
 by i^ost-ridcrs was done by Mr. Worth- 
 ington and William W. Doyle, the 
 latter quite a young lad. Edmund 
 Pennell, the late President of the De- 
 laware County National Bank, says : 
 "The Post Boy was printed in the 
 building now No. 11 S. Third Street, 
 then owned by William Eyre, and be- 
 ing the next house south of the garden 
 of the bank — upon which Dr. Foley, 
 and Dyer & Appleby, have lately erect- 
 ed buildings," and that he set up type 
 in the office sometimes for his amuse- 
 ment. After the Post Boy had been 
 jHiblished for six years, the establish- 
 ment was sold out, the newspaper and 
 all, to Joseph M. G. Lescure, who 
 changed the title of the paper to tliat 
 of the "Upland Union," and in- 
 creased the size of the pages. Mr. Les- 
 cure edited it and continued to issue 
 it until 1838, when he disposed of it 
 to Joseph Williams and Charles F. 
 Coates, who soon afterwards sold out 
 to Alexander Nesbit, from whom it 
 was bought by Alexander McKeever, 
 who continued its publication until 
 1852, when the paper was discontin- 
 ued for want of patronage. Mr. Les- 
 cure and his family left Chester after 
 he sold his interest in the " Upland 
 Union." 
 
 Mr. Williams, was a man of more 
 than ordinary abilities, an agreeable 
 and accomplished gentleman, and the 
 life of every social circle that he 
 entered. He was a good lawyer, a 
 good poet, good political speaker, 
 an excellent musician — playing remar- 
 kably well on the fife, violin, drum 
 and clarionette, and sang delightfully. 
 He was appcjintcd by the President, 
 a Judge of Iowa, and while tipon the 
 bench, sought to enlist as a private 
 in the Mexican war. After theTcrri- 
 
HISTOIIY OF CHESTEli. 
 
 225 
 
 tory became a State, Mr. Williams was 
 made Chief Justice of the Supreme 
 Court. On one occasion, while on a 
 visit to Philadelphia, he called on Chief 
 Justice Black, at Jones' Hotel, who 
 chanced to be absent from his room. 
 Seating himself at the table, he dashed 
 off the following verse to his old friend 
 and school-fellow: 
 
 " From the Chief Justice of Iowa to the Chief 
 Justice of Pennsylvania, greeting : 
 
 "Oh, Jerry, dear Jerry, Fve found you at last, 
 And memory fondly reverts to the past, 
 Cues hack to old Somerset's mountain of snow. 
 When you were but Jerry and I was but Joe." 
 
 Many of the old residents of Chester 
 can remember how touchingly he sang 
 "Black Eyed Susan." 
 
 During the Presidential contest of 
 1828, William Russell, then a resident 
 of Chester, commenced the publica- 
 tion of a weekly newspaper, called The 
 Weekly Visitor, with Strange N. Palmer, 
 late a Judge of the Courts at Pottsville, 
 Pa., as the editor. This paper was 
 Whig in politics, and supported John 
 Quincy Adams for President. At this 
 time the Upland Union became Demo- 
 cratic; it had previously been neutral 
 in politics. Messrs. Russell & Palmer 
 soon quarreled, and the Visitorvfas. sold 
 to a party of thirty gentlemen, support- 
 ers of Mr. Adams, who called them- 
 selves '■'National Republicans,''' for 
 whom Mr. Palmer still continued to 
 edit the paper until the end of the 
 Presidential campaign, when it passed 
 into the hands of Thos. Eastman, who 
 published it till 1832 ; when the Week- 
 ly Visitor was discontinued, and the 
 materials were sold to Y. S. Walter, 
 who removed them to Darby, and 
 commenced there on the 31st day of 
 Aug., 1833, the publication o{t\\Q Del- 
 aware County Republican. In Nov., 
 1 841, Mr. Walter removed his resi- 
 
 dence and establishment to Chester, 
 where that paper has been published 
 regularly and weekly ever since. It 
 contains six times the matter that the 
 Post Boy used to contain in its col- 
 umns, and is issued upon the same 
 terms per year. In 1875, M^- Walter 
 erected on Market, between 2nd and 
 3rd Streets, a handsome brick build- 
 ing in which to carry on his printing 
 business. It is replete with all the 
 modern improvements, and is the grat- 
 ifying evidence of his success in life. 
 
 In 1835, during the contest in this 
 State over the office of Governor, a 
 newspaper named The Delaware Coun- 
 ty Democrat, was published and edited 
 by Caleb .Pierce, the well-known Ches- 
 ter school-master. It was a weekly pa- 
 per, advocating Mr. Muhlenberg for 
 Governor, and had a brief existence. 
 The Upland Union at the same time 
 supported George Wolf for Governor. 
 Both papers were Democratic. 
 
 In 1843, a small newspaper, singu- 
 larly named The Chariot, was printed 
 and issued by Edward E. Flavill and 
 Mr. Jackson, advocating temperance 
 principles. It had but a brief run. 
 • During 1848, a small comic paper 
 was published and issued in Chester, 
 called The Owl. It was printed se- 
 cretly at irregular intervals, by un- 
 known persons, and distributed at 
 night. Its articles were rather per- 
 sonal, and its numbers ahvays created 
 some excitement. 
 
 In May, 1850, S. E. Cohen, com- 
 menced to issue a monthly paper, call- 
 ed The Chester Herald. On the 13th 
 of Sept., in the same year, he changed 
 it to a weekly, but soon discontinued 
 it entirely. 
 
 In Oct., 1856, a paper called. The 
 Upland Union a?id Delaware Cou?ity 
 Democrat, was started bv T- G. Mich- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 clon, it had a short hTe of a few weeks 1 
 only. 
 
 During 1857-8, a small literary news- 
 paper, named The Evening Star, arose 
 irregularly, under the auspices of the 
 Washington Literary Society, an asso- 
 ciation of young men formed for the 
 purpose of literary improvement. 
 
 On Saturday, Oct. 5, 1867, The 
 Delaware County Democrat, a weekly 
 newspaper, was established in Chester, 
 by D. B. Overholt. His interest was 
 soon thereafter purchased by Dr. J. L. 
 Forwood, who edited it for some time, 
 then sold out to Col. William Cooper 
 Talley. In 1876 Col. Talley sold out 
 his interest in the paper to John B. 
 McCay, who shortly afterwards trans- 
 ferred it to William Orr, the publisher 
 of the Democratic Pilot, and the two 
 were consolidated, and called " The 
 Democrat and Pilot. ' ' When the De- 
 mocratic Pilot's materials were sold 
 in 1872, Mr. Orr said, the name did 
 not pass with the materials, and in 
 1874, resumed the issue of his paper 
 under that name, which he continued 
 until it became merged in the Demo- 
 crat. 
 
 On Oct. 27, 1866, The Chester Ad- 
 vertiser was issued by John Spencer 
 and Dr. William Taylor, and contin- 
 ued into a second year, when its pub- 
 lication was suspended. Mr. Spencer 
 purchased the interest of Dr. Taylor 
 in the business, and soon after began 
 the publication of The Chester Advo- 
 cate ; the first number of which ap- 
 peared June 6, 1868. It is now called 
 ' ' The Delaware County Advocate. ' ' 
 
 A weekly paper, called The Indepen- 
 dent, was established in Chester, in 
 June, 1869, by Arnold & James. It 
 was afterwards conducted by James & 
 Sheilds, then by James & Co. Its 
 jniblication is now suspended. 
 
 On Saturday, June 3, 1871, The 
 Democratic Pilot, a weekly paper, was 
 first issued by William Orr and H. M. 
 Bowman. Bowman shortly after sold 
 out his interest to Thomas Mullen. In 
 June, 1872, John Mullen purchased at 
 .sheriff's sale the materials of the oflice, 
 and began the publication of The Ches- 
 ter Pilot. Subsequently, Mullen sold 
 his interest to J. T. Desilver & Co., 
 and on Thursday, Nov. 27, 1873, the 
 new proprietors issued the first number 
 of The Delaware County Mai 1,-^x16. on 
 Nov. 27, 1876, it was sold, and merged 
 into \\\Q Delaware County Paper. The 
 latter journal was established in May, 
 1876, and is published by John Mc- 
 Feeters, and edited by Henry Graham 
 Ashmead, Esq., and is now known as 
 The Delaware County Paper and Mail. 
 
 On the ist day of June, 1872, the 
 first number of the first daily news- 
 paper that was ever issued in Chester, 
 made its appearance. It was called 
 The Evening News, and on June 17, 
 the name was changed to Chester Even- 
 ing Neivs. It was edited and owned 
 by F. Stanhope Hill, who after a few 
 months' experience sold out the con- 
 cern, on Oct. I, 1872, to William A. 
 Todd, who still continues to issue the 
 paper. Mr. Todd had previously been 
 the Receiving Teller of the First Na- 
 tional Bank of Chester, from its organ- 
 ization. 
 
 In old times, before the days of rail- 
 roads, and before our postal facilities 
 for the delivery of letters and papers 
 became so common, the newspapers 
 of the day were delivered by carriers, 
 who rode around the country on horse- 
 back, with the papers in large leather 
 saddle bags, and in rain or sunshine, 
 ice or snow, we used to look for our 
 carrier to make his accustomed weekly 
 visit. The dam]) paper was received 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 227 
 
 and carefully dried before the fire, and 
 its contents devoured with a pleasure 
 that has no experience in the present 
 day. We say old times, yet it was but 
 a k\v years ago. In the city of Stock- 
 holm, Sweden, there is a daily news- 
 paper now in its 302nd year, with a 
 daily is.sue of 15,000 copies. So al- 
 though the Delaware County Republi- 
 can is in its 44th year, it is yet a young 
 paper ; but its editor is a veteran in 
 ^ journalism. 
 
 On May, 3, 1876, a Republican pa- 
 per entitled, " The Public Press,'" 
 owned and edited by Thomas Hig- 
 gans and Robert Simpson, was first 
 published in Chester; subsequently 
 Mr. H. withdrew, and Mr. S. contin- 
 ued the paper for 15 numbers ; then he 
 removed to Darby, issued one num- 
 ber more there, and abandoned the 
 enterprise. 
 
 In Sept., 1876, " The Daily Times;' 
 an afternoon daily newspaper, was 
 established in Chester, by Prince & 
 Stow, and edited by John Hudson, 
 the founder of the West Chester Jef- 
 fersonian. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Previous to, or about the year 1819, 
 a number of young gentlemen of Ches- 
 ter and its vicinity, formed asocial cir- 
 cle called " The Bachelors' Club," 
 as their revised Constitution (a copy of 
 wh i ch I have) says : " /« order to promote 
 the happiness of Society ;' &c. A very 
 commendable undertaking, although, 
 as their Constitution shows, it was more 
 evidently formed for promoting their 
 own enjoyment. There is no list of 
 the names of the members given, and 
 only one minute of their proceedings 
 has been preserved. It is as follows, 
 viz.: " Chester, Dec. nth, 1819. At 
 at a special meeting of the Bachelors' 
 
 Club, held according to public notice 
 at Bachelors' Hall, on the nth instant, 
 1819 — the President and Secretary not 
 beingpresent — John J. Richards, Esq., 
 was called to the chair, and William 
 Martin appointed Secretary. The fol- 
 lowing resolutions were then adopted, 
 viz. : Resolved, That the style of the 
 President be hereafter, the Grand Coe- 
 lebs ; the Vice-President, the Knight 
 'Bachelor, and the Secretary, the Knight 
 of the Records. The Society then pro- 
 ceeded to elect the following officers 
 for the ensuing year : John J. Rich- 
 ards, Esq., Grand Coelebs ; John Will- 
 cox, Knight Bachelor ; William Mar- 
 tin, Knight of the Records ; George 
 Richards Grantham, ^?,(i., Judge Ad- 
 vocate, and Dr. Ellis C. Harlan, Trea- 
 surcr. 
 
 Resolved, That J. J. Richards, Dr. 
 E. C. Harlan, G. R. Grantham, and 
 William Martin, be a Committee to 
 revise the Constitution of the Society. 
 
 Resolved, That Joshua A. Pearson be 
 admitted a member of this Society." 
 
 The revised Constitution is very fun- 
 ny, but is scarcely interesting enough 
 to warrant its insertion here. The 
 above young gentlemen and their as- 
 sociates, seem to have amused them- 
 selves by holding what they called 
 " Flaxseed Courts." I have a record 
 of the proceedings of one such Court, 
 " Held in the Borough of Chester, in 
 the month of Rains, 1820. The cause 
 before the Court being a suit for a Di- 
 vorce. The names of the parties, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Little Jonny Pringle, are ot 
 course fictitious, and time has robbed 
 the details of their point. . Barney was 
 the Judge Advocate, and Martin the 
 Attorney. The certified copy of the 
 record (?) which I have, was made in 
 the month of Flowers, 1820, and Jonny 
 Jumpup was the Clerk of the Court. 
 
228 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 These may appear as very tri\ial mat- 
 ters, but they are given, as showing 
 how our fathers amused themselves in 
 their leisure hours in a country town. 
 
 On Washington's birthday and on 
 the Fourth of July, annually, in those 
 days, it appears to have been the cus- 
 tom of the substantial residents of Ches- 
 ter and its vicinity, to celebrate those 
 occasions by grand public dinners ; 
 speeches were made at such times, and 
 patriotic toasts were drunk. I have 
 copies of several speeches made at such 
 dinners, and of the toasts drunk at many 
 different celebrations in Chester, be- 
 ginning about the year 1795, up to the 
 year 1820. 
 
 In 1824, the last public execution of 
 a criminal in the county of Delaware, 
 was the hanging of Wellington, which 
 took place on Mrs. Bartholomew's 
 farm, at Carterville, near Chester, for 
 murder. The circumstances attend- 
 ing the commission of the crime are 
 set forth in full on page 187. The 
 scenes at his execution are represented 
 to have been of the most revolting 
 character. Most of the spectators 
 being of the lowest class of the com- 
 munity, from all parts of the adjacent 
 counties and neighboring towns and 
 cities. The majority of these got 
 gloriously drunk, and indulged in nu- 
 merous free fights. Thimble-riggers, 
 gamblers of all kinds and pickpockets, 
 plied their several avocations undis- 
 turbed ; the civil authorities being pow- 
 erless to prevent the lawless occurrences 
 that took place. 
 
 Those who have witnessed at a later 
 period, the scenes at Chester on a race- 
 day, and the occurrences on the roads 
 in its vicinity after the day's races were 
 over, can form some conception of 
 what happened at the execution of 
 Welli ngton . See also Jud<^e Darliiii:;- 
 
 foii's cJiarge to the Grand Jury at the 
 fall term of the Court in 1833 : see 12 
 Hazard's Register, 188. I have ob- 
 served with pleasure, that at a meeting 
 of the representatives of the religious 
 Society of Friends in Pennsylvania, 
 New Jersey and Delaware, held at 
 Philadelphia, the igthdayof 12th mo., 
 1873, t^^^y adopted an address against 
 the practice of horse-racing, both in 
 regular race courses and at Agricul- 
 tural Fairs. 
 
 By the Act of Feb. 17, 1820, all 
 racing, running, pacing or trotting of 
 horses, mares or geldings, for money, 
 goods or any other valuable thing, is 
 declared a public nuisance; the horses 
 are forfeited, and any money lost on a 
 bet thereon, is recoverable back, &c. 
 The Act of 2 2d March, 181 7, for- 
 bids all horse-racing, &c., in Phila- 
 delphia, whether for money or not. 
 It should be extended to the whole 
 State. 
 
 In Aug., 1 841, the last execution of 
 a criminal took place in the jail yard, 
 at Chester. This was the hanging of 
 a colored man, Thomas Cropper, for 
 the murder of Mary Hollis, in Bir- 
 mingham. I was present, and never 
 want to see another execution. 
 
 After the close of the war with Eng- 
 land, manufacturing establishments of 
 different kinds were rapidly formed in 
 all parts of the county. In 1826, these 
 improvements excited so much inter- 
 est, that a public meeting of manufac- 
 turers and other citizens was called, 
 which met at Chester, and a commit- 
 tee consisting of George G. Leiper, 
 John Willcox and William Martin, 
 were appointed, "to ascertain the 
 number, extent and capacity of the 
 manufactories, mills and unimproved 
 mill-seats in the county of Delaware. 
 The committee employed Benjamin 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 229 
 
 Pearson, Esq., to take account of the 
 same. ' ' 
 
 His statement accompanies the re- 
 port of the committee, which was 
 printed in pamphlet form, in 1826, 
 by Joseph M. G. Lescure, at Chester. 
 It is endorsed in my father's hand- 
 writing, as being the first i2mo. ever 
 printed in the county. Graham Hos- 
 kins says, "It is the first book ever 
 printed in Delaware County," upon 
 the authority of Richard Flower. I 
 insert the following interesting pro- 
 ceedings of the meeting, held to re- 
 ceive the report of the committee, 
 copied from the pamphlet ; a copy of 
 which I have, viz. : 
 
 " At a meeting of a numljer of manufacturers 
 and other citizens of Delaware County, con- 
 vened agreeably to public notice, at the Court 
 House in Chester, on Saturday the 5th of 
 August, 1826, for the purpose of receiving the 
 reports of the committee appointed at a former 
 meeting, to ascertain the number of manufac- 
 tories, improved and unimproved mill-seats 
 in the county, William Anderson, Esq., was 
 appointed Chairman, and Dr. Samuel Ander- 
 son, Secretary. 
 
 The object of the meeting being stated from 
 the chair, Mr. Leiper rose and delivered the 
 following appropriate address : 
 
 Mr. Chairman.— \i becomes my melan- 
 choly duty, fellow-citizens, to announce to you, 
 as Chairman of your Committee, and in behalf 
 of Mr. Martin, who is absent, the decease of 
 our respectable colleague and friend, John 
 Willcox, Esq., of this county. When the grey- 
 headed pilgrim, covered with honor and with 
 years, after a life of usefulness, seeks a repose 
 in the tomb from the defections of human na- 
 ture, or when the infant, crowing in the moth- 
 er's arms, is snatched from her caresses, we 
 yield them with submission to their God. The 
 one anchors his shattered boat in safety, where 
 the perils and dangers of life shall disturb it 
 no more; the other the Almighty calls to him- 
 self before the fast is let loose and his little 
 bark of destiny is allowed to leave the shore, 
 to begin the voyage over the tempestuous and 
 troubled ocean of mortality — but when we 
 
 behold a young man in uncommon vigor of 
 health ; in the spring-tide of life and of useful- 
 ness ; the prop of a most respectable and aged 
 parent; a tender and affectionate husband and 
 father, suddenly snatched from among us ; are 
 we stocks, or are we stones, that we will not 
 sympathize with those who are in sorrow? 
 Shall we not feel for that afflicted parent ; for 
 the bruised heart of her whom he had vowed 
 to cherish forever; for the little pledges of 
 their love, too young to realize the loss of their 
 kind and indulgent protector? There is a 
 balm in sympathy; there is a pleasure in know- 
 ing those we love are loved by others ; and a 
 resolution of this meeting may be often looked 
 upon with interest by a child, too young to re- 
 collect a father while living — a reminiscence 
 founded on the evidence of those who associ- 
 ated with him, who loved him while living, 
 and deplored him when dead. 
 
 I beg leave to oifer the following resolutions, 
 which were unanimously adopted by the meet- 
 ing : 
 
 Resolved, That this meeting sincerely regret 
 the loss the county of Delaware has sustained 
 by the decease of John Willcox, Esq., one of 
 her most public spirited and respected citizens ; 
 and beg leave respectfully to offer to the family 
 their condolence on this melancholy occasion. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of this resolution, 
 signed by the Chairman and Secretary, be de- 
 livered to his venerable father, and three copies 
 be enclosed to Mrs. Willcox — one for herself, 
 the other two to be handed by her in proper 
 season to her children. 
 
 George G. Leiper, Esq., from the commit- 
 tee appointed for that purpose, submitted a 
 report containing a statistical account of the 
 manufactories, mills, improved and unimprov- 
 ed mill-seats in the county. The report being 
 read, it was on motion resolved, that 500 copies 
 be printed. 
 
 Resolved, That Mr. John P. Crozer fill the 
 vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr. John 
 Willcox, in the committee. 
 
 Resolved, That the proceedings of this meet- 
 ing be published in the Upla)id UnionC' 
 
 The committee then submitted their 
 rejjort to the meeting, in the following 
 words : 
 
 " The connnittce appointed to ascertain the 
 number, extent and capacity of the manufac- 
 
230 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 lories, mills and imim|iniv(.'cl niill-scats in 
 Delaware County, het; leave to repin-t, that 
 lliey employed Benjamin Pearson, Esq., to 
 take an aecount of the same ; and from his 
 slatcnient it appears, that tliere are in said 
 county, viz. : 
 
 38 Flour mills; 16 of which grind 203,600 
 bushels of grain per annum. 
 
 53 Saw mills; 16 of wliich cut 1,717,000 
 feet of lumber per annum. 
 
 5 Rolling and slitting mills, which roll 700 
 tons sheet iron per annum; value $105,000; 
 employ 30 hands ; wages, $7,200. 
 
 14 Woolen factories ; employ 228 hands. 
 
 12 Cotton factories ; manufacture 704,380 
 pounds yarn per annum ; value $232,445; em- 
 ploy 415 hands; wages, $51,380. 
 
 II Paper mills; manufacture 31,296 reams 
 of. ])aper per annum; value, $114,712; em- 
 ploy 215 hands; wages, $29,120. 
 
 2 Powder mills; manufacture 11,900 quar- 
 ter casks per annum; value, $47,600; employ 
 40 hands; wages, $12,000. 
 
 I Nail factory; manufactures 150 tons of 
 nails per annum; value, $20,000; employs 8 
 hands ; wages, $2,400. 
 
 4 Tilt blade and edge tool manufactories ; 2 
 of which manufacture per annum 2,000 axes, 
 200 cleavers, 1,200 dozen shovels, 200 dozen 
 scythes, and 500 drawing knives. 
 
 1 Power-loom factory, weaves 30,000 yards 
 per week; value, $3,000; 200 looms; employs 
 1 20 hands, wages per week, $500. 
 
 2 Oil mills; manufacture 7,000 gallons lin- 
 seed oil ; $7,000. 
 
 I Machine factory ; 5 Snuff mills; 2 Plaster 
 or gypsum mills ; 3 Clover mills ; 3 IJark mills; 
 I Mill for sawing stone. 
 
 42 Mill seats unimproved on the ]irincipal 
 streams, of various falls. 200 Mills and Mill- 
 seals. 
 
 Making in the whole 158 Mills and Factories 
 in operation, and 42 mill-seats unimproved, 
 in a district of country not exceeding twelve 
 miles square ; in the five kinds of manufacto- 
 ries which have returned the hands, viz.. Pa- 
 per, Woolen, Cotton, Powder and Edge tools, 
 employ 1,038 hands. 
 
 For a further and more particular account 
 of the location and capacity of the different 
 Mills, Factories and unimproved Mill-seats, we 
 refer you to the annexed statement as given to 
 Mr. Pearson by the respective owners and oc- 
 cupiers of the same. There are many jiarticu- 
 
 lars relating both to this report and to oilier 
 branches of industry, which your committee 
 felt anxious to obtain, but owing to several 
 circumstances they found it impossible to do 
 so. It was therefore, reluctantly abandoned; 
 but with the hope that the inquiry will be 
 further pursued in due time. 
 
 G. G. I.KII'KR, 
 
 Wm. Martin. 
 
 Mr. Pearson's report addressed to 
 the committee, is of too extensive a 
 character to plea.se the general reader, 
 although it could not fail to interest 
 every inhabitant of Delaware Co., as it 
 gives not only brief descriptions of all 
 mill-seats in the counties, but the names 
 of the owners and occupants of them. 
 I give a few descriptions, taken from 
 the report, as an example of the whole. 
 
 "No. I. Ridley Creek, in Chester 
 township, at the head of tide water, a 
 grist and merchant mill, and a saw 
 mill ; head and fall eleven feet, owned 
 and occupied by Pierce Crosby, Esq., 
 can manufacture from 30 to 50 barrels 
 of flour per day. Saw mill cuts from 
 two to three hundred thousand feet of 
 lumber per annum, out of logs procured 
 principally by water. 
 
 No. I. On a small branch of Ridley 
 Creek, in Lower Providence town- 
 ship, a tilt mill, head and fall about 
 twenty feet, owned by Henry Sharp- 
 less, and occupied by William Beatty ; 
 manufactured last year (1825) about 
 1,600 cast steel pitching axes, 500 
 broad axes, 500 drawing knives, 200 
 cleavers and choppers ; steeled about 
 500 axes and adzes, besides making 
 a great number of chisels, gouges, 
 butcher knives, and various other edge 
 tools, all of cast steel ; employs about 
 10 hands. 
 
 No. I. On Chester Creek, in Ches- 
 ter township, one and a half miles from 
 the Court House, in the Borough of 
 Chester, and near the head of tide 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 231 
 
 water, a grist and merchant mill, and 
 a saw mill, called Chester Mills, head 
 and fall 12 feet 6 inches clear of the 
 tide ; owned by Richard Flower, and 
 the grist mill occupied by him; has 
 manufactured from 30 to 40,000 bush- 
 els of grain per year, for many years 
 past ; is now only grinding grist occa- 
 sionally ; the present stone mill house 
 is the third on this seat, which was 
 first improved in 1683. A vessel car- 
 rying 1,200 bushels of grain can be 
 navigated to the door of the mill. 
 The saw mill is occupied by William G. 
 Flower, and cut last year 310,000 feet 
 of lumber out of logs procured by 
 water. ' ' This place is now called Up- 
 land, and is the site of the extensive 
 mills of the heirs of the estate of John 
 P. Crozer, deceased. 
 
 " No. 2. On Chester Creek, in Ches- 
 ter township, a mill-seat, a good fall 
 of water, on lands of George Chandley, 
 dec'd, Jonathan Pennell, Isaac Morgan 
 and others. 
 
 No. 3. On Chester Creek, in Ches- 
 ter township, a grist mill and a saw 
 mill ; head and fall about 1 1 feet ; 
 owned and occupied by John Button, 
 grinds about 10 or 12,000 bushels of 
 grist per annum. Saw mill employed 
 occasionally. 
 
 No. 2. On the west branch of Ches- 
 ter Creek, in Aston, a cotton factory, 
 head and fall 13 feet, to which 3 feet 
 may be added ; owned and occupied 
 by J. P. Crozier; has 10 carding en- 
 gines of 24 inches, 2 drawing frames 
 of 3 double heads each, i roving frame 
 of 16 cans, one stretcher of 102 spin- 
 dles, 588 throstle spindles, 648 mule 
 spindles; spins about iioo pounds of 
 cotton yarn per week, from Nos. 17 
 to 20; employs about 30 hands; dwel- 
 ling houses for 9 families, besides man- 
 sion house. 
 
 No. 4. On the west branch of Ches- 
 ter Creek, in Aston, a mill-seat; fall of 
 water 17 or 18 feet, on lands of Mark 
 Willcox, Esq., and Wm. Peters. 
 
 No. 5. On the west branch of Ches- 
 ter Creek, in Concord, a i vat paper 
 mill, head and fall about 14 feet; own- 
 ed by Mark Willcox, Esq., and occu- 
 pied by his son, John Willcox; man- 
 ufactures about 1500 reams fine paper 
 per annum, employs 18 hands." 
 
 This is Ivy Mills, established by 
 Thomas Willcox, in 1729, (father of 
 the above-named Mark,) shortly after 
 his arrival in this country. It was 
 the second paper mill erected in this 
 country. 
 
 It will be pleasing to know, that the 
 prophetic words of Judge Leiper have 
 become true. The daughters of John 
 Willcox prize the resolutions of the 
 meeting amongst the most treasured 
 mementoes of their father. 
 
 John Willcox married Elizabeth 
 Brackett ; his eldest daughter, Ellen 
 Jenkins, married J. Howard Golder, of 
 Baltimore ; the youngest, Caroline, 
 married William Seal, now dec'd, son 
 of Joseph H., of Philadelphia; neither 
 of whom have issue. His widow, 
 Elizabeth (Brackett), married many 
 years since, Commodore John Mars- 
 ton, of the U. S. Navy ; they had issue, 
 John, Jr., Josiah Randall Marston, late 
 a Captain in the U. S. Army, now 
 deceased, leaving a widow ; and Francis 
 Du Pont Marston. A brother of Com- 
 modore Marston, Lieut. Col. Ward 
 Marston, is a retired officer of the U. 
 S. Marine Corps. 
 
 Thomas Willcox, of England, and 
 his wife, Elizabeth Cole, of Ireland, 
 settled at Ivy Mills, Delaware County, 
 Pa., in 1727. Mr. W. died in 1779, 
 and his wife in 1 780, leaving a numerous 
 progeny. The Willcox's of Delaware 
 
232 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 County and Philadelphia, are the de- 
 scendants of one of their sons, Mark 
 WiLLcox, born 1743, died 1827, who 
 married Mary Cauffman ; they had 
 yoscph, y^ohn and yatnes M. 
 
 yaines M. Willcox married, first, 
 Sallic Orne, had issue, Mark and Wil- 
 liam J. ; secondly, Mary Brackett, had 
 issue, Mary, Thomas, James M., John, 
 Joseph, Mary, Edward J., Henry B., 
 and Ida E. Willcox. Mary and Eliza- 
 beth Brackett, who married the two 
 brothers Willcox, were sisters. Mark 
 married Ellen Lucas, of Baltimore, 
 and has Eliza, Ellen, Mary, Louisa, 
 James Mark, William Fielding, Eliza, 
 Thomas Carrell, Rose and Mark. 
 
 James M. Willcox (the 2d) married 
 Mary Keating, of Philadelphia, (and 
 had John K., William J., Eulalia, 
 Mary Amelia, jCora Elizabeth and 
 James Mark.) She died Aug. 5, 1862, 
 and he married (2d) Katharine Sharp- 
 ies, and had (Arthur V. and Annie.) 
 Joseph Willcox married Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Rev. R. U. Morgan, (and I 
 has Percy Willcox,) Mary Willcox; 
 Edward J. Willcox (married Sophie 
 Pochon ;) Henry ; Eliza married David 
 W. Odiorne, and had Mary, Thomas 
 and Ida Odiorne. 
 
 The second place in this State where 
 Catholic service was held, was at the 
 Willcox residence at Ivy Mills. 
 
 The list of minerals of Delaware 
 County in Dr. Smith' s History, and 
 in Dana' s System of Mineralogy, 1868 
 and '69, was prepared by my friend. 
 Col. Joseph Willcox, who says: "The 
 garnets near Leiperville, and the An- 
 dalusites in Upper Providence, are the 
 best specimens that have been found in 
 the world. And that few districts of 
 its size in the world, have as great a 
 mmiber of interesting minerals as Dela- 
 ware County. Col. W. has the finest 
 
 collection of the minerals of the county 
 in his cabinet that has been made. 
 
 The following article is from a late 
 number of the West Chester Republican. 
 
 "In a narrow, cosy little valley 
 on Chester Creek, eight miles below 
 West Chester, on the Philadelphia and 
 West Chester Railroad, are Glen Mills 
 ■—two great rambling piles of stone 
 qnd frame architecture, of no definite 
 style, but great solidity. Here it is 
 that all the paper is manufactured 
 which is used by the Government for 
 greenbacks, fractional currency, reve- 
 nue stamps, &c. 
 
 Glen Mills consist of two separate 
 establishments, situate a quarter of a 
 mile apart, on the south side of Ches- 
 ter Creek. They are owned and run 
 by Mark and James Willcox, a family 
 whose connection with the manufac- 
 ture of paper dates back for several 
 generations, being descended from 
 Thomas Willcox, who settled at Ivy 
 Mills, about three miles distant, in 
 1727, and who was one of the first to 
 commence the manufacture of paper 
 in the New World. At Ivy Mills, the 
 senior representatives of the family 
 still reside, and there, is still to be seen 
 the small ivy-covered mills in which 
 all the bank note paper in the country 
 was made for many a year, including 
 that used for the Continental currency. 
 
 It is around the lower and largest 
 mill, which is driven by both steam 
 and water power, that the interesting 
 part of the business settles. This mill 
 is run as two separate and distinct de- 
 partments — a paper mill, and a branch 
 of the U. S. Treasury Department. 
 The Messrs. Willcox are the ])atentces 
 and owners of the process and machi- 
 nery bv which tlie peculiar red and 
 blue mixture is made in tlie fibre of 
 the pajier used by tlie Cunernment, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 233 
 
 and they manufacture it under a con- 
 tract terminable at pleasure. 
 
 The material used is pure linen rags, 
 white, or nearly white. Now all the 
 linen rags that are produced in this 
 country would furnish but a small part 
 of the quantity required; so a great 
 part of them comes from Europe, fur- 
 nished by A. T. Stewart, of New York, 
 under a yearly contract. The ' dis- 
 tributive fibre,' is a long, red and 
 comparatively coarse fibre, that may be 
 seen running promiscuously through 
 the body of the paper. 
 
 The manufacture of this paper is 
 attended with great expense in time 
 and labor. The length of the fibre 
 necessitates a slow motion in the ma- 
 chine, or else it will not feed even. 
 The ' localized fibre ' is liable to feed 
 too fast or too slow, causing blotches 
 or bare spots, which spoils the sheet. 
 Then a great deal of paper is thrown 
 out in the manufacturer's inspection, 
 and more in the government inspec- 
 tion. All this goes to reduce the quan- 
 tity of good paper, so that the mill 
 does not turn out more than one-fourth 
 the amount that it would of book or 
 letter paper, and all these drawbacks 
 add to the cost. 
 
 The majority of the paper for bank 
 notes is shipped to the American Bank 
 Note Company and the National Bank 
 note Company, who engrave and print 
 the notes by contract ; one company 
 printing the face and the other the 
 back, and vice versa; but no one com- 
 pany printing awhole note. The note, 
 after being printed, goes to Washing- 
 ton and receives the Government seal 
 and number, when it is ready for cir- 
 culation. The internal revenue paper 
 goes to the Continental Bank Note 
 Company, who print the revenue 
 stamps. 
 
 For checks and bonds, a chameleon 
 paper is used, the peculiarity of which 
 is that the application of an acid will 
 immediately change the tint to one 
 color, while an alkali will turn it an- 
 other, thus preventing the application 
 of any means that can be used to alter 
 the denomination of a check or bond. 
 
 All the paper for the Government, 
 is manufactured on a 6 2 -inch Fourd- 
 rinier machine. Short pieces of red 
 silk are mixed with the pulp in the en- 
 gine, and the finished stuff is conduct- 
 ed to the wire without passing through 
 any screens, which might retain the 
 silk threads. By an arrangement above 
 the wire cloth, a shower of short pieces 
 of fine blue silk thread is dropped 
 in streaks upon the paper while it is 
 forming. The upper side, on which 
 the blue silk is dropped, is the one 
 used for the face of the notes, and, 
 from the manner in which the threads 
 are applied, must show them more 
 distinctly than the lower or reverse 
 side, although they are embedded 
 deeply enough to remain fixed. The 
 mill is guarded by officers night and 
 day, to prevent the abstraction of any 
 paper. ' ' 
 
 The history of the Willcox family 
 in connection with the Government, 
 is interesting and unique. Their bus- 
 iness, commencing about 1729, has 
 descended through four generations, 
 during a period of nearly 150 years; 
 and their house is, at this time, not 
 only the oldest Paper house, but the 
 oldest business house of any kind in 
 the United States. When the old 
 Colonies, much more than a century 
 ago, found themselves obliged to issue 
 paper money, the currency-paper used 
 by all of them, was manufactured by 
 Thomas Willcox, at Ivy Mills, and 
 mostlv printed in Philadelphia. No 
 
234 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 other rurrency-paiier was used upon [ 
 the Continent than that made at tlie 
 old Ivy MilL Many years later, in the 
 necessities of the newly confederated 
 States, the paper for all the Continen- 
 tal currency was supplied from the 
 same establishment. There was no 
 other possessing experience in the man- 
 ufacture ; and during the Revolution- 
 ary war, paper could not be imported. 
 Again in the war of 1812, the Govern- 
 ment was obliged to issue paper money, 
 and again recourse was had to the old 
 Ivy Mill to supply its necessities. At 
 that time a distinctive paper, with col- 
 ored silk shreds woven through it, was 
 made for the Government's use ; and 
 the mill was guarded by the Govern- 
 ment, to prevent the paper from leak- 
 ing out into unlawful hands. The 
 business was then conducted by Mark 
 Willcox and his son John. After this 
 time several other mills commenced 
 the manufacture of bank-note paper, 
 for the use of banks, that then began 
 tx) multiply throughout the country; 
 but the Ivy Mill continued its special 
 manufacture until about 15 years ago, 
 at which time it was the last ''hand- 
 mill" in operation in the United 
 States. Before then, however, Mark, 
 James and Joseph Willcox had suc- 
 ceeded in perfecting the manufacture 
 of bank-note paper upon their large 
 Fourdrinier machine at Glen Mills, near 
 three miles distant. When the war of 
 the Rebellion broke out, the Govern- 
 ment, for the third time, in the neces- 
 sity of war, issued paper money, and 
 drew^ the main part of its supply from 
 the Willco.x mills. The old "hand- 
 mill" could have made but a small 
 ]jortion of the unprecedented amount 
 recjuired ; and even the large machines 
 of the Glen Mills were taxed to their 
 full ca])acity for that pur])ose. About 
 
 the end of the rebellion, the Govern- 
 ment undertook to make its own cur- 
 rency-paper, in a paper mill erected 
 in the basement of the Treasury build- 
 ing in Washington; and, after several 
 years of experimenting to produce a 
 special paper to prevent frauds, at the 
 cost of many hundreds of thousands of 
 dollars, the attempt was abandoned as 
 unsuccessful. The manufacture then 
 fell back into its naturaj channel, and 
 Mark and James M. Willcox have, 
 since that time, continued 'to meet 
 the various requirements of the Trea- 
 sury, with different protective papers 
 for notes, bonds, fractional currency, 
 stamps, checks, &c., that have proved 
 to be the most useful and efficient ever 
 made. 
 
 From Mr. Pearson's report I make 
 two more extracts : 
 
 No. 8. On Chester Creek, above 
 the West Branch, in Middletown and 
 Aston, a mill-seat, fall of water 9 or 10 
 feet, owned by William Martin and 
 Joseph W. Smith. 
 
 No. 9. On Chester Creek in Aston, 
 a stone cotton factory, 35 by 55 feet, 
 three stories high, head and fall 16 
 feet, owned by William Martin ; and 
 Joseph W. Smith, and occupied by 
 William Martin, has 10 carding en- 
 gines of 30 inches, 2 drawing-frames 
 of three double heads each, i double 
 speeder of 20 spindles, one roving- 
 frame of 16 cans, one stretcher of 
 102 spindles, 648 throstles spindles, 
 936 mule spindles; spins 1200 pounds 
 of cotton yarn per week from Nos. 
 18 to 25; employs 45 hands. Also, 
 a 2 vat paper mill on the same race, 
 head and fall 15 feet, owned by Wil- 
 liam Martin and Joseph W. Smith, 
 and occupied by John B. Duckett, 
 manufactures 60 reams of quarto jjost 
 paper and ;^;^ reams of ])rinting me- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 235 
 
 dium per week ; employs 23 hands. 
 There are on the premises, three large 
 stone dwelling houses, and tenements 
 for 17 families." 
 
 M)' father lived in one of the stone 
 dwelling houses mentioned ; my uncle, 
 Joseph W. Smith, resided in the other. 
 My father gave the name to the mills 
 which they yet bear, viz., "Lenni 
 Mills." After my parents left Lenni, 
 my father having been unfortunate, 
 not in his business, but in misplaced 
 confidence in one he thought a friend, 
 the mills and property passed into the 
 ownership of Mrs. Sellers, the mother- 
 in-law of the late Peter Hill, who oc- 
 cupied the property at the time of his 
 death, about i860; previous to which 
 Mr. Daniel Lamot rented the mills, 
 carried on business there, and resided 
 in the former residence of my father, 
 which was erected by Mr. Lungren, 
 the former owner, from whom my 
 father and uncle purchased the estate. 
 After Peter Hill's death, the mills 
 were rented by Gen. Robert Patter- 
 son, the great manufacturer, (who re- 
 sides in Philadelphia, but was a Dela- 
 ware County boy,) and the old Lun- 
 gren house was occupied by his agent, 
 Robert L. Martin, who superintended 
 the mills for a time. Mr. Martin has 
 since purchased the farm and residence 
 of the late George W. Hill, on the east 
 side of Chester Creek, at Lenni, ad- 
 joining the property now owned by 
 the heirs of William Martin, dec'd, the 
 heirs of the late Right Rev. Bishop 
 Alonzo Potter, the daughters of Mr. 
 Richard S. Smith, and William Martin, 
 Jr. The road running to the south of 
 the two last mentioned properties, and 
 leading to Lenni depot and mills, is 
 still called the "Lungren Road," 
 which is the road leading from Lenni 
 mills to Lima. 
 
 31 
 
 XXIV. 
 I OBTAINED from John K. Zeilin, 
 Esq., an old book, called " The Min- 
 utes OF THE Bible Society of Dela- 
 ware County," from which I make 
 the following interesting extracts. Mr. 
 Zeilin was the second and last Secre- 
 tary of the Society. The first entry 
 in the minutes reads thus : 
 
 " Agreeable lo pul)lic noUce, a nvimlier of 
 the citizens of Delaware County, met at Ches- 
 ter on the 6th of December, A. D., 1827, for 
 the purpose of aiding the Philadelphia Bible 
 Society in their benevolent design of furnish- 
 ing every destitute family in Pennsylvania 
 with a copy of the Scriptures. Peirce Crosby. 
 Esq., was called to the Chair, and the Rev, 
 Joseph Walker was elected Secretary. On mo- 
 tion of George G. Leiper, Esq., it M'as resolved, 
 That the members of this meeting, duly ap- 
 preciating the motive of the Philadelphia Bible 
 .Society in their desire of placing in the hands 
 of every destitute family in the Common- 
 wealth of Pennsylvania, a copy of the Bible, 
 in a period of time not exceeding three years, 
 we offer the said Society our full co-operation 
 (as far as the county of Delaware is interested) 
 to carry into effect their philanthropic inten- 
 tion." 
 
 It was then Resolved, That a Com- 
 mittee of two persons be appointed in 
 each township in Delaware County, to 
 ascertain those families which are not 
 in possession of a copy of the Bible. 
 
 The following Committees were ap- 
 pointed in the several townships : 
 
 Aston — Francis Wisley, John Bowen. 
 Bethel — Powell Clayton, Robert Johnson. 
 Birmingham — Eli Harvey, Robert Frame. 
 Chester — Jesse J. Maris, Peirce Crosby. 
 Coneord — R. N. Gamble, Nathan Sharpless. 
 Lo'tver Chichester — Rev. Richard U. Morgan, 
 
 Rev. Joseph Walker. 
 Upper Chichester — Rev. Jacob M. Douglass, 
 
 James Craig. 
 Darby — Thomas Smith, Esq., Dr. Morris C. 
 
 Shallcross. 
 Upper Darin — Rev. William Palmer, David 
 
 Evans. 
 
236 
 
 HISTORY OF ciiest?:k. 
 
 F.di^motit — Cieorjjc l^ishop, Joseph Rcucslur. 
 Havcrford — Andrew Lindsay, Sani'l (lani- 
 
 gues. 
 Marple — Samuel IJlack, Isaiah Fawkes. 
 Middletotvn — Abraham I'ennell, Jas. Emlen. 
 iVinvlo-wn — John Hunter, Enos Williamson. 
 .W'thcr Providence — Isaae Sharpless, Henry 
 
 Forrest. 
 Upper Providence — Isaac Cochran, Amor 
 
 Bishop. 
 Radnor — Edward Siter, Jesse Brooke. 
 Ridley — George G. Leiper, John L. Pearson. 
 Spritigfield — Dr. Joseph Wilson, John Ogden. 
 Thornhury — Thomas II. Brinton, Thomas 
 
 Hemphill. 
 TinicuDi — David Rose, John Rohhins. 
 
 A meeting of the citizens of Dela- 
 ware County favorable to the circula- 
 tion of the Holy Scriptures, was held 
 at Chester, the 7th of Jan. 1828; and 
 agreeably to adjournment, a number 
 of the citizens of Delaware County 
 met at the Middletown Presbyterian 
 Church the 2d of Feb., 1828, when 
 the Rev. Jacob M. Douglass was ap- 
 pointed Chairman, and the Rev. Joseph 
 Walker, Secretary. The Throne of 
 Grace was addressed for the blessing 
 of the Lord on the labors of the asso- 
 ciation, and several addresses were 
 delivered to excite the attention of the 
 members to the importance of the 
 work assigned them by the Great Head 
 of the Church. Reports were received 
 from 12 townships, by which it ap- 
 peared that the aggregate number of 
 families in those townships destitute 
 of the Bible, was 199, as follows: 
 
 Aston, . 17 Chester, . . .33 
 
 Bethel, ... 7 Marple, . . .15 
 
 Birmingh.im, 9 Middletown, . . 19 
 
 Concord, . . .12 Nether Providence, . lO 
 
 Lower Chichester, . 12 Ridley, . . .45 
 
 Upper Chichester, . 9 Springfield . .11 
 
 On motion of Rev. R. U. Morgan, it 
 was unanimously resolved, That this 
 meeting now form itself into a So- 
 ciety to be denominated " The Bible 
 Spcicly of Delaware Coitnly ;'' the ob- 
 
 ject of wliich shall be to circulate the 
 sacred Scriptures without note or com- 
 ment, and aid tlie Philadelphia Bible 
 Society in extending its operations, 
 and particularly to co-operate in their 
 present laudable undertaking, of sup- 
 l)lying every destitute family in Penn- 
 sylvania with a copy of the Holy vol- 
 ume. 
 
 On motion, Messrs. Leiper, Morgan 
 and Walker were appointed a Com- 
 mittee to draft a Constitution, and the 
 following was reported and adopted : 
 
 Article i. — This Society shall be 
 known by the name of " The Bible 
 Society of Delaware County ;^'' the ob- 
 ject of which shall be to assist in the 
 circulation of the Sacred Scriptures 
 without note or comment, and to aid 
 the Philadelphia Bible Society in ex- 
 tending its operations. 
 
 Article 2. — Every person subscrib- 
 ing the sum of one dollar per annum, 
 payable in advance, shall, during the 
 continuance of such payment, be a 
 member of this Society. Ten dollars 
 shall constitute any person a member 
 for life. (L. M.) 
 
 The other articles of the Constitu- 
 tion, being those relating to the mode 
 of transacting business, and of no pub- 
 lic interest here, are omitted. 
 
 The following names, most of them 
 in the Rev. Jacob M. Douglass' hand- 
 writing, are attached to the Constitu- 
 tion, in another part of the book. 
 Those names marked with * are signa- 
 tures in the original : 
 
 Jacob M. Douglass, 
 
 Adly McGill, 
 
 Joseph Walker, Jr., 
 
 John K. Zeilin, 
 
 R. U. Morgan, 
 
 John Smith, 
 
 George G. Leiper, L. M. 
 
 Joseph Bint, 
 
 Samuel Black, 
 
 Frederick Shull, 
 
 Jacnl) Habbersett, 
 
 Thomas Parsons,* 
 Mary Moulder,* 
 Harriet D. Cobourn,' 
 John Ogden, 
 James Craig, 
 Robert Bcatty, 
 Jemima Massey, 
 Richard Ottey, 
 Thomas Clyde, 
 George Thompson, 
 George W. P.artram, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 237 
 
 Eliza S. Leiper, 
 
 John Burt, 
 
 Samuel C. Brinckle, 
 
 Isaac Cochran, 
 
 Thomas Sellers, 
 
 John Hill, 
 
 Sarah Thompson, 
 
 Henr>' Myers, 
 
 L. P. Thomson, M. D., 
 
 Peirce Crosby, L. M., 
 
 Elizabeth Lewis, 
 
 Sarah A. Douglass, 
 
 Sarah Bryan, 
 
 Marj- Douglass, 
 
 Samuel Anderson, 
 
 Rachael Wetherill, 
 
 John Wells, 
 
 Rebecca Grumbes, 
 
 Robert Young, 
 
 Susan Ann B. Cobourn,* 
 
 Selina Louisa Cobourn,* 
 
 Salkeld Larkin, 
 Lydia Ebrite, 
 Joseph Talbot. 
 John Taylor, 
 Justus Dunnet, M. D. 
 ISIark Elliott, 
 Aaron Huston, 
 Robert N. Gamble, 
 Catharine Brinton, 
 William Anderson, 
 Marj' K. Brinton, 
 John P. Crozier, 
 Abraham Sharpless, 
 Abraham Pennell, 
 Elizabeth Walker, 
 Baruel B. Beckwith, 
 John D. White, 
 Mary D. Vanneman, 
 Lsaac C. Derrick, 
 Benjamin F. Johnson, 
 Samuel Russell. 
 
 The Constitution being adopted, 
 the following officers were elected : 
 
 President— GuoRG^ G. Leiper. 
 
 Viee-Presidents, 
 
 Rev. R. U. Morgan, Rev. Jos. Walker, 
 
 Phineas Price, M. D. 
 
 Secretary— ^^x . J. M. Douglass. 
 Treasurer — Samuel Black. 
 
 Managers . 
 
 Peirce Crosby, James Craig, 
 
 Robert Johnson', Rev. William Palmer, 
 
 Frederick Shull, Thomas H. Brinton, 
 
 John Lindsay, Abraham Sharpless, 
 
 Henry Myers, Rev. John Smith, 
 
 Rev. Sam'l C. Brinckle, John P. Crozier. 
 
 On motion, resolved. That this So- 
 ciety meet the first Saturday in April 
 next, at the Presbyterian Church in 
 Ridley, at seven o'clock, A. M. 
 
 Saturday, the 5th of April, 1828, the 
 Society met at the Presbyterian meet- 
 ing house in Ridley, near Leiperville. 
 A respectable congregation was pre- 
 sent. The meeting was opened with 
 singing a hymn, after which the Rev. 
 Joseph Walker prayed, and the Rev. 
 Messrs. Morgan and Douglass address- 
 ed the congregation on the subject of 
 the authenticity and importance of the 
 Holy Scriptures, and the necessity and 
 obligation of circulating them. The 
 Society being organized, the President 
 took the Chair, and reports were re- 
 
 ceived from Haverford, Upper Provi- 
 dence and Darby, and an additional 
 report from Chester. 
 
 It appears that there are destitute of 
 the Bible in Darby, 23 families; Haver- 
 ford, II families; Upper Providence, 
 6 families; Chester, (in addition to 
 former report) 3 families. Making a 
 total in three townships of 43. 
 
 On motion of Rev. R. U. Morgan, 
 it was resolved. That the Treasurer be 
 requested to procure from the Phila- 
 delphia Bible Society as soon as practi- 
 cable, 300 Bibles, and deposit 150 at 
 Chester, for the purpose of supplying 
 the different ToAvnship Committees in 
 the vicinity of that Borough. 
 
 On theafternoon of June 2, 1828, the 
 Society met in the Episcopal Church 
 at Chester, and after adjournment of 
 the Society, and the meeting of the 
 Board of Managers, the gentlemen be- 
 longing to the Bible Society continued 
 to sit in the Church for the purpose of 
 organizing " The Tract Society of Del- 
 mvare County,'''' which was according- 
 ly organized. 
 
 The Bible Society continued to hold 
 meetings until Dec. 6, 1830, when, by 
 the minutes, their last meeting appears 
 to have been held, although they ad- 
 journed to meet on Jan. i, 1 831, at the 
 Episcopal Church, Concord; but no 
 such meeting was ever held. The So- 
 ciety having fulfilled its purpose, natu- 
 rally cea.sed to exist. 
 
 In the Upland Union of x-Vug. 19, 
 1828, will be found the following in- 
 teresting account headed "The Leiper 
 Canal— The First Railroad." 
 
 "It is with pleasure as Avell as pride, 
 we announce to the world, that on Sat- 
 urday last, the 1 6th of August, 1828, 
 the corner stone of the first lock of 
 the Leiper Canal (in Ridley Town- 
 ship) was laid bv William Strickland, 
 
238 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 (the celebrated Architect,) Engineer, 
 assisted by John K. Kane, Esq., Mr. 
 Striithers, and Mr. George Daniels, of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 About half past ii o'clock, A. M., 
 the procession moved toward the canal 
 lock, to see the grand ceremony per- 
 formed. The scene was novel as well as 
 interesting to the citizens of our coun- 
 ty, and the event must ever be hailed 
 by future generations as one of the most 
 glorious epochs in the history of Del- 
 aware County. The large concourse 
 of ladies and gentlemen present, who 
 had assembled from the city and neigh- 
 boring villages to witness the beautiful 
 sight, gave an interest to the ceremony 
 truly grand and imposing. Amidst 
 the group of ladies, was to be seen 
 Mrs. Elizabeth C. Leiper, the aged and 
 amiable consort of him who had first 
 projected this great work, who had lived 
 to see what was first suggested by her 
 husband, commenced by her eldest son, 
 George Gray Leiper, Esq., and we 
 hope the work, this day begun, will be 
 consummated by him. Thomas Leiper 
 may truly be denominated the Clinton 
 of Delaware County. With him origi- 
 nated the plan for the construction of 
 the first Railway in America, and which 
 was completed in 1807. The Railway 
 was used for a number of years, but 
 Mr. Leiper being advanced in age, and 
 firm in the belief that the day was not 
 far distant when his first plan, which 
 was the construction of a Canal, would 
 eventually be completed, the Railway 
 was suffered to be neglected, the Legis- 
 lature of this State having refused a law 
 which would have enabled him to carry 
 his first plan hilly into operation. 
 
 After the corner stone was properly 
 adjusted by the Engineer, the following 
 short address was read by Professor Pat- 
 terson, of Philadelpliia, ac()])y()fw]ii(h 
 
 was put in a small bottle, and deposited 
 in the corner stone, by one of the grand- 
 daughters of the venerable projector. 
 
 ' The Leijier Canal was projected by 
 Thomas Leiper, in the year 1790, for 
 the purpose of completing a navigable 
 communication between his quarries on 
 Crum Creek and the Delaware. Ap- 
 plication was made to the Legislature 
 for a law to authorize its construction ; 
 but it was found that Mr. Leiper's en- 
 larged views were in advance of the age 
 in which he lived, his scheme was con- 
 sidered visionary and ruinous, and the 
 law which he solicited was refused. 
 Thus foiled in his favorite plan, now 
 universally acknowledged to have been 
 expedient and wise, he formed in the 
 year 1807, a connection between his 
 quarries and tide water in Ridley creek 
 by a Railway, which will ever be dis- 
 tinguished, as the first constructed in 
 America.'' 
 
 After the lamented death of Thomas 
 Leiper in 1825, his project of a Canal 
 was revived by his eldest son George 
 Gray Leiper ; this corner stone being the 
 commencement of the work, was laid on 
 the 19th of August, 1828, by William 
 Strickland, Engineer, in the presence, 
 and amid the good wishes of a numer- 
 ous assemblage of friends and neigh- 
 bors. 
 
 Liimediately on the close of this part 
 of the ceremony, three hearty cheers 
 w^ere given by the spectators. The jovial 
 bowl was then passed around, and seve- 
 ral excellent toasts were drank upon the 
 ground. 
 
 The following sentiment was given 
 by our worthy fellow-citi/en. Joseph 
 Gibbons: 
 
 George Gray Leiper. One of the 
 Keystones of Delaware County. He 
 has just laid the first Stone of the first 
 l,ock, of the first Canal in Delaware 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 239 
 
 County. May he live to reap the fruit 
 of the great work which he has this day 
 commenced. 
 
 The company was then invited to the 
 hospitable mansion of Mr. George G. 
 Leiper, and pariook of an excellent 
 dinner. After which a variety of toasts 
 applicable to the great work, which had 
 on that day been commenced, were 
 drank. The company separated at an 
 early hour, delighted with the proceed- 
 ings of the day." 
 
 At a meeting of the Assembly in 
 1790, a project for a canal was brought 
 forward by Thos. Leiper and John Wall, 
 of Delaware County, supported by a 
 petition from the Stone-cutters and 
 Masons of Philadelphia. Mr. Leiper 
 desired the privilege of cutting a canal 
 from the flowing of tide in Crum creek 
 to Mcllvain's mill-dam, and thence to 
 Leiper's mill-dam, in order to cheapen 
 the cost of transportation of his stone 
 from his quarries to tide-water. The 
 mechanics stated that Mr. Leiper's 
 stone was the best produced in the 
 neighborhood of the city, and that the 
 building of the canal would be an ad- 
 vantage to the public. Against this 
 privilege, John and Isaac Mcllvain re- 
 monstrated, and nothing was done in 
 the matter. — Westcotf s Philadelphia. 
 Sunday Dispatch, Feb. 16, 1873. 
 
 The first canal constructed in what 
 is now the United States, was built by 
 Lieut. Gov. Golden, in Orange county. 
 New York, in the year 1750. It was a 
 small affair, and was used for the trans- 
 portation of stone. This was forty 
 years before Mr. Leiper's application. 
 Part of the Leiper canal was really the 
 old mill-race enlarged, leading from 
 Mcllvain's dam to their mill which 
 stood just below the "Big-road," pass- 
 ing through the town of Ridley, (now 
 Leiperville ; ) which accounts for John 
 
 and Isaac Mcllvain's remonstrance, 
 for reasons easily imagined. 
 
 John Mcllvaine, mentioned above, 
 lived near his mills and tannery, in the 
 large stone mansion house, in the vil- 
 lage of Ridley, yet to be seen in per- 
 fect condition, and lately occupied by 
 Thomas Maddock, Esq., standing back 
 from and to the south of the Post Road, 
 passing through the village of Leiper- 
 ville. 
 
 In addition to the water obtained 
 from the dam, through the race which 
 Leiper wished turned into a canal, the 
 mills used other water pumped from 
 the creek alongside of the property, 
 by machinery. 
 
 James M'llvain lived in the large 
 stone dwelling house, standing now, as 
 it did in 1790, on the hill to the north 
 of Leiperville. He was well-known 
 throughout the county for his large 
 stock of Merino sheep, of his own rais- 
 ing. 
 
 From the report of the Committee 
 on mill-seats of Delaware County, here- 
 inbefore referred to, I copy the de- 
 scription of above mill-property of the 
 Mcllvains, and of that of the Leipers, 
 as therein set forth : 
 
 "No. I. On Crum creek, in Ridley, 
 at the head of tide water, a valuable 
 mill-seat, formerly occupied as a grist 
 and merchant mill, on which a saw mill 
 and bark mill are now erected ; head 
 and fall about 15 feet, owned and oc- 
 cupied by Jeremiah Mcllvain ; can 
 grind about two cords of bark per day, 
 and cut from two to three hundred 
 thousand feet of lumber per annum ; 
 logs procured by water. ' ' 
 
 The above description is hardly cor- 
 rect. The flour mill of John Mcllvain 
 stood at the southern extremity of the 
 Leiper canal, where the boats were lock- 
 ed into Crum creek at high tide. It 
 
240 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 was burned down — when I do not know ; 
 its ruins were still standing there when 
 I was a boy visiting John F. Hill, 
 (1845,) when he lived on the "Island 
 Field," just below the mouth of little 
 Crum creek, now called Crum Lynne. 
 There may have been once a grist mill 
 on the site of the present factory, just 
 below the canal bridge over the old 
 Post Road leading to Chester, but when 
 John S. Mcllvain lived in the old stone 
 house, just east of the canal bridge on 
 the north side of the Post Road, now 
 called the Plank road to Darby, in 
 Leiperville, about 1834, there was only 
 a tannery, bark and saw mill on the 
 premises marked No. i above. 
 
 " No. 2. On Crum creek, in Ridley 
 township, a grist and saw mill, head 
 and fall 12 feet, owned and occupied 
 by George G. Leiper. Saw mill em- 
 ployed principally on logs procured by 
 water. Also a woolen factory and grist 
 mill ; has one pair of stocks, two card- 
 ing engines, one billy of 59 spindles, 
 and two Jennys of 70 spindles each, 
 machinery owned by Mr. Leiper and 
 occupied by Joseph Burt, who employs 
 about 1 7 hands at the factory. ' ' These 
 are the mills located near the late resi- 
 dence of Judge Leiper. 
 
 "No. 3. On Crum creek, in Lower 
 Providence, two snuff mills, with eight 
 mulls, two cutting machines, tS>:c. ; and 
 a two vat paper mill on the same race, 
 head and fall 12^ feet, owned by 
 Thomas Leiper & Sons, and occupied 
 by John Holmes. Also a mill from the 
 same dam on another mill-race, has 
 been employed in sawing stone, grind- 
 ing oyster shells, threshing grain, and 
 making cider, in Sjjringfield townshij); 
 head and fall 14 feet." 
 
 " No. 4. On Crum creek, in Lower 
 Providence, a tilt mill ; head and fall 
 from 12 to 13 feet, owned bv Thomas 
 
 Leiper & Sons, occupied by Nathan 
 Ke)-s, who manufactures about 200 
 dozen scythes and straw knives per an- 
 num." 
 
 "No. 5. On Crum creek, in Spring- 
 field and Lower Providence, a mill seat 
 on lands of Thomas Leiper & Sons and 
 John Ogden." 
 
 Thomas Leiper died in the year 1825, 
 in the 80th year of his age. He was a 
 Scotchman by birth, and came to this 
 country at the age of nineteen, and at 
 the time of the Revolution had accu- 
 mulated quite a large fortune as a to- 
 bacconist, in Philadelphia. He was 
 Orderly Sergeant, Treasurer and Sec- 
 retary of the First City Troop, and af- 
 terwards President of the Common 
 Councils of the city. His mills and 
 quarries were in Delaware County, and 
 he passed much of his time there. He 
 married Elizabeth, the eldest daughter 
 of George Gray, of Gray's Ferry. After 
 his death, his sons, George Gray, Sam- 
 uel M., and William J. Leiper, engaged 
 extensively in the business of quarry- 
 ing stone on Crum creek, and furnish- 
 ed large quantities thereof to the Dela- 
 ware Breakwater, as well as for other 
 purposes. John C. Leiper, the son of 
 George, is still engaged in the same 
 business, and has his quarries on Rid- 
 ley creek, formerly known as the Cros- 
 by quarries. 
 
 John K. Kane, Esq., late Judge of 
 Admiralty, and of the U. S. District 
 Court for the Eastern District of Penn- 
 sylvania, married Jane, a daughter of 
 Thomas Leiper, and was the father of 
 the latewell-known Arctic explorer. Dr. 
 Elisha Kent Kane, a surgeon in the U. 
 S. Navy, and of Gen. 'I'homas Leiper 
 Kane, late Colonel of the famous 
 "Bucktails," 42d Penna. Vols., and 
 of Robert Patterson Kane, Esq., both 
 members of the Philadelphia Bar. Dr. 
 
HISTORY OF GIIESTEK. 
 
 241 
 
 John K. Kane, of Wilmington, Dela- 
 ware, and Miss Bessie Kane. 
 
 The family of Patterson are of Scotch- 
 Irish descent ; that is,~ John Patterson, 
 born about 1640, emigrated to the vi- 
 cinity of Derry, Ireland, from Scotland, 
 where he married and had ason Robert, 
 &:c. See "A Record of the Family of 
 Robert Patterson, (the elder), &c., 
 printed in 1847." Robert, b. in Ulster, 
 May 20, 1743, grand-son of the above 
 named Robert, and third in descent of 
 the same name, emigrated to America 
 in 1768, settled in Bucks County, Pa., 
 and married Amy H. Ewing, {Jk Jan. 
 20, 1 75 1, dau. of Maskell and Mary,) 
 May 9, 1774, being at that time Princi- 
 pal of Wilmington Academy. During 
 the Revolution he became Military In- 
 structor for three companies formed in 
 Delaware ; he having served a term of 
 service in the Army before leaving Ire- 
 land. In 1779, he was made Profes- 
 sor of Mathematics in the University 
 at Philadelphia, a position he held for 
 35 years. In 1805, Mr. Jefferson ap- 
 pointed him Director of the U. S. 
 Mint, in place of Mr. Boudinot, who 
 resigned. In 1799, he was a member 
 of and President of the Select Council 
 of Philadelphia, and in i8i6, the Uni- 
 versity of Pa. conferred on him the 
 degree of LL. D. The Doctor resigned 
 as Director of the Mint, about July i, 
 1824, and died July 22, 1824, in his 
 82nd year. His wife died May 23, 
 1844. They had eight children, six of 
 whom lived to maturity and five mar- 
 ried. Dr. Samuel Moore, a physician 
 of New Jersey, married Mary Patterson, 
 their second child. He succeeded the 
 Doctor as Director of the Mint at Phila- 
 delphia, in 1824, and retired fromlhat 
 office in 1835. He graduated at the 
 University of Pa. in 1798, and located 
 at Dublin, in Bucks County. See Gen. 
 
 Davis' His. of Bucks Co., 671-2 & 3. 
 The sixth child of Robert and Amy, 
 was the late Dr. Robert Maskell Pat- 
 terson, b. Mar. 23, 1787, d. Sept. 5, 
 1854. He graduated at the University 
 of Penna., in 1808, m. Helen Hamil- 
 ton Leiper, dau. of Thomas and Eliza- 
 beth, April 20, 1814, (/a April2o, 1792, 
 d. Dec. 17, 1 87 1.) In 1828 he was 
 elected Professor of Natural Philoso- 
 phy in the University of Virginia. On 
 July 18, 1835, h^ ^^^s appointed by 
 President Jackson, Director of the Mint 
 at Philadelphia, and held that position 
 until July i, 185 1, when he resigned. 
 He left six children , of whom the young- 
 est, Mary Gray, ;;;. Oct. 7, 1847, Sam- 
 uel Field, well-known in Chester and 
 Delaware County, where his ancestors 
 resided, and where he lived many years 
 with his family. His only living chil- 
 dren are Robert Patterson and Mary 
 Stanley Field. When Mr. and Mrs. 
 Field were married, Frank Field, John 
 C. Leiper and myself were among his 
 groomsmen. 
 
 In the American Historical Record, 
 I vol. 543, will be found an article 
 under the heading of "The first Rail- 
 roads and Locomotives in the United 
 States," written by Theo. Livingston 
 Chase, as follows : "In an article refer- 
 ring to this subject, on page 503 of the 
 Record, the writer 'S,' quotes the His- 
 tory of Delaware County, as his au- 
 thority that ' the first railroad in the 
 United States was built in Ridley town- 
 ship in 1806, by Thomas Leiper,' and 
 states that the author of that work ob- 
 tained his information from the late 
 Hon. George G. Leiper, the eldest son 
 of Thomas Leiper. It will be ap- 
 parent from the consideration of the 
 facts hereinafter presented, that Mr. 
 (Judge) Leiper was mistaken in the 
 year he gave, as that in which the road 
 
•242 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 \vasl)uilt. * * In a note on p- 389 I 
 of tlic History of Delaware County, \ 
 the author says: ' Previous to engaging 
 in the raih-oad enterprise, Mr. Thomas 
 Leiper employed a mill-wright from 
 Scotland named Somerville, to lay a 
 track sixty yards in length, at a grade 
 of one inch and a half to the yard, he 
 having seen a similar one in Scotland,' 
 iVc. This experiment of Somerville 
 was made on land adjoining the ' Bull's 
 Head Tavern,' in Philadelphia, and 
 not until the year 1809, (in Sept.); 
 therefore, as it occurred previous to 
 Leiper'' !> engaging in the railroad enter- 
 prise, there certainly had been no rail- 
 road constructed by him in Ridley 
 township before that year. 
 
 There is, however, other evidence 
 to prove that it was not built until the 
 year following, viz. 1810. In the 
 Delaware County Republican, of Feb. 
 24, i860, the Editor states, that he 
 was in possession of a memorandum 
 book kept by Thomas Leiper' s own 
 hand, commencing in 1807, and end- 
 ing in 1810. He says ; 'It appears 
 therein that he (Leiper) contemplated 
 the road in 1809.' This date corres- 
 ponds with the year that the experi- 
 ment was made at the Bull's Head 
 Tavern. In May of that year, (1809) 
 he made an estimate for a railway 
 three-fourths of a mile long, from his 
 quarries to the landing place on Crum 
 Creek, (at the head of tide) to be 
 built of wood, opposite to which he 
 has a short profile of the work. The 
 estimate is not complete, and the idea, 
 as far as the work is concerned, seems 
 to have been abandoned until Jan. 
 or Feb. of the following year. He 
 then estimates three-fourths of a mile 
 of the railroad minutely, and arrives 
 at the conclusion that it will cost, in- 
 cluding the survey, $1592 47-iooths. 
 
 It would seem from tliis, that the road 
 was commenced in 18 10, and com- 
 pleted that year. In view of this 
 testimony, I think it may be safely 
 assumed, that three years previous to 
 the building of the Leiper road, the 
 first railroad in America was built on 
 the western slope of Beacon Hill, near 
 Boston." 
 
 The following extract from the pro- 
 ceedings of "The Delaware County 
 Institute of Science," held Feb. i, 
 1873, settles the dispute, and fixes 
 the date when Mr. Leiper built his 
 railroad : " Mr. John M. Bromall read 
 Dr. (Joshua) Ash's answer to the ques- 
 tion, 'When and where was the first 
 railroad built in the United States.' 
 It gave credit to that built by Thomas 
 Leiper, to move stone from his quarries 
 in Nether Providence-, (not Ridley,) 
 and built Oct. 1809, as shown by the 
 original draft made by John Thomp- 
 son. The original map was presented 
 to the Institute by Dr. Ash, who pro- 
 cured it from J. Edgar Thompson, 
 President of the Pennsylvania Rail- 
 road Company, son of the draughts- 
 man. Dr. Smith explained the dis- 
 crepancies in the date. He obtained 
 those in his history from the son of 
 Thomas Leiper. He subsequently as- 
 certained there was doubt about it, and 
 believed his history incorrect in the 
 particular, that the road was built in 
 1806." 
 
 In this connection it may be in- 
 teresting to know that the first rail- 
 road in the United States was that 
 built in 1807, on Beacon Hill, by Silas 
 Whitney, and the second road was 
 Thomas Leiper's railroad in Ridley, 
 construc-ted and finished in Oct. 1809. 
 The next railway was that laid in 
 Nashua, N. H., in 1825 ; the fourth 
 was the one laid down at Quincy 
 
HISTORY OF CIIESTEli. 
 
 243 
 
 Granite Quarries, in Massachusetts, in 
 1826 and '27, and the fifth, the great 
 enterprise at Mauch Chunk, Pennsyl- 
 vania, nine miles in length, to which 
 the former ones were mere child's play. 
 The latter road will be found fully de- 
 scribed in my "Sketches of the Le- 
 high Valley," published in the Bethle- 
 Jiem Daily Times, during the summer 
 of 1872. 
 
 I cut from the Times and put in book 
 form, two copies of those sketches, il- 
 lustrated them handsomely, and gave 
 one to the Historical Society of Pa., 
 and retained the other. My friend, 
 Augustus H. Leibert, of Bethlehem, 
 also made and illustrated a copy for 
 himself. 
 
 Thomas and Elizabeth Gray Leiper 
 had the following children : Betsey, 
 who m. Robert Taylor, (and had issue. 
 Dr. George G., Janfes' L., Samuel L. 
 & Thomas L. Taylor)'; Martha, ;;/. to 
 the Rev. Dr. Jacob T. Janeway ; Helen 
 Hamilton, m. Dr. Robert M. Patter- 
 son ; Ann Gray, m. to George G. 
 Thomas ; Jane, who ;//. Judge John 
 K. Kane ; Julia, m. to Col. HeMy 
 Taylor, of A^irginia ; George G. m. 
 Eliza S. Thomas ; William J. who d. 
 single ; Samuel M., m. Mary B. Lewis, 
 and James who m. Ann, daughter of 
 Peirce and Christiana Crosby. He d. 
 leaving an only child, Elizabeth Gray, 
 who m. John Holmes, of Philadelphia. 
 She d. Feb. i', 1873, leaving several 
 children. 
 
 George Gray Leiper, son of Thomas 
 and Elizabeth, m. Eliza S. Thomas, 
 and had issue, Thomas, John C, 
 George, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, (who 
 married Dr. Jesse Kersey Bonsall, of 
 Chester, brother of Mrs. Dr. William 
 Gray, of Chester. After her death, Dr. 
 Bonsall married Martha Lee, of Phila- 
 delphia, both now deceased. He left 
 
 no issue by either wife ;) and Martha, 
 that I can recall. My friend John 
 C. Leiper married Mary, a daughter 
 of Peter ajid Rebecca Fayssoux. Cap- 
 tain Fayssoux was a military store- 
 keeper in the service of the United 
 States. His ancestors were French 
 Huguenots who fled from France and 
 settled in South Carolina. Mrs. Fays- 
 soux was a daughter of Gen. William 
 Irvine, a Colonel in the Pennsylvania 
 Line, (commissioned Jan. 9, 1776,) 
 and Brigadier General of the Revolu- 
 tionary Army, and after the Revolu- 
 tion, Commissary General of the U. S. 
 Army. Gen. Irvine married a Miss 
 Callender ; and his son, Callender Ir- 
 vine, succeeded him as Commissary 
 General. Another daughter of Gen. 
 William Irvine married Dr. Charles 
 S. Lewis, of Philadelphia. A daugh- 
 ter of theirs, Mary, married Samuel 
 M. Leiper, a brother of George G., 
 William J. and James Leiper. 
 
 John C. and Mary Leiper, of " Cros- 
 by Place," Ridley, have the following 
 children: George G., Rebecca, Ed- 
 wards Fayssoux, Eliza, Barnard Bee, 
 and John Henry Leiper. Their son, 
 Barnard, is named after Gen. Barnard 
 Bee, of the Confederate forces, killed 
 at the battle of Bull's Run, a relative. 
 Mrs. Leiper had two brothers whom I 
 knew, Clement and Edwards. The 
 former was a Cadet with me at the 
 U. S. Military Academy. 
 
 Mrs. Samuel M. Leiper' s brother, 
 Callender Irvine Lewis, was an old 
 acquantance of mine, and was quite 
 well known in Delaware County and 
 Philadelphia, from the extraordinary 
 resemblance he bore in personal ap- 
 pearance, head, weight and beauty, to 
 the great Napoleon. One of Mrs. 
 Samuel M. Leiper' s sons. Col. Thomas 
 Irvine Leiper, m. Emma, daughter of 
 
244 
 
 HISTORY OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 Young S. Walter, of Chester, Pa., 
 they have issue, Mary, Virginia, Nina 
 and Let ilia. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 J)k. Samuel Anderson, frcciucntly 
 mentioned in this work, was not a re- 
 lative of Major William Anderson, 
 that 1 am aware of. He was a very 
 prominent and popular man in the 
 county in his day. He was a tall, 
 slender, dignified gentleman, dressed 
 with great care and neatness, always 
 in dark clothing, and was very active 
 in church affairs, being a strict member 
 of St. Paul's Church. He was born 
 in 1774, and served repeatedly in the 
 State Legislature, was Speaker of the 
 House in 1833, Representative in Con- 
 gress from 1827 to '29, and died at 
 Chester, Pa., Jan. 17, 1850. His 
 widow, Mrs. Sarah Richards Ander- 
 son, died in Chester, Nov. 5, 1870, 
 at the advanced age of ninety-five 
 years. She was born in the county, 
 and was the youngest daughter of 
 Jacob Richards, the elder of that name. 
 She was the widow Moore when she 
 married the Doctor, and although blind 
 for the last twenty years of her life, 
 took a lively interest in passing events, 
 and being well-to-do, she had atten- 
 dants to read to her the papers con- 
 taining the daily occurrences of the 
 town and country. She retained all her 
 other faculties to the last, had no dis- 
 ease of any kind, and finally slept her 
 life away without pain or suffering. 
 She had six children, all of whom sur- 
 vive her. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson was not, however, a 
 remarkable instance of longevity in 
 Chester or its vicinity. The healthi- 
 ness of the town and whole county 
 is i)roverbial. Tlic water especially, 
 
 is exceedingly beneficial to the human 
 system, and accounts in a great mea- 
 sure for the health of the inhabitants, 
 'I'he people of Chester have no occa- 
 sion to resort to Saratoga or the White 
 Suljjhur Springs, for the benefit of the 
 waters ; those at home being of a 
 similar medical character. If the 
 healthiness of Chester people should 
 undergo a change, it will be because 
 they cease to use the well water. Dr. 
 Joshua Owen, of Chester, says: (Di- 
 rectory of 1859,) "We have no en- 
 demic disease, and our epidemics are 
 few, and of the mildest form of the 
 prevailing malady. Fever is an ele- 
 ment in the diseases of man attendant 
 upon almost every instance of aberra- 
 tion from health ; even the slightest 
 cold. But whatever its concomitants, 
 it assumes the type and character of 
 an intermittent, remittent or continu- 
 ous fever. But these fevers are be- 
 lieved to be as few and mild here as 
 upon any other inhabited section of 
 the globe; and so well is it supported 
 by experience, that where death oc- 
 curs from fever, uncomplicated, our 
 citizens are in the habit of suspecting 
 something wrong in the treatment. 
 Dysentery, one of the grave diseases 
 of our climate, is scarcely known here, 
 not averaging one case in two or three 
 years. Bilious fever, too, so much 
 dreaded, is extremely rare, occurring 
 not oftener than dysentery, and ty- 
 phoid fever, so tedious, has not given 
 us ten cases in the last ten years. Liver 
 complaints and bilious diseases gene- 
 rally, find no fitted soil at Chester. 
 
 " Within a few years the population 
 of Chester has largely increased, and 
 though the writer has had opportuni- 
 ties of observation, he cannot call to 
 mind a solitary case of intermittent 
 fever or chills, contracted by any of the 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 246 
 
 new settlers; notwithstanding some of 
 these, from employment and exposure, 
 are made the most liable to disease. 
 One family of eight children, living 
 most exposed to the influence of the 
 river and fattest land, has enjoyed un- 
 interrupted good health for ten years. 
 Extending the inquiry along the shore 
 below Chester, embracing therein one 
 dozen farms, some of the houses of 
 which are located upon the banks of. 
 the river, and none from it a quarter ' 
 of a mile, including families, numer- 
 ous city boarders, laboring men in 
 harvest, and servants, the amount of 
 sickness of every kind at each of these 
 farms, is not worth to the physician 
 ten dollars a year, at the charge of one 
 dollar a visit. The largest and most 
 celebrated boarding house in this sec- 
 tion of the country, situated near the 
 river, two miles below Chester, John 
 J. Thurlow's, every summer filled to 
 overflowing, including a herd of little 
 children, does not average twenty dol- 
 lars a year for medical aid. On the 
 tarm adjoining this, there has been 
 but three cases of sickness within the 
 last eight years ; and a farm nearest 
 the river, one and a half miles below 
 Chester, has been exempt from dis- 
 ease for a number of years. At the 
 largest and best farm in the county, 
 lying one mile above Chester, and 
 about half that distance from the river, 
 (Henry Effinger's,) there has not been 
 a case of sickness for eight years. 
 Another large farm,, one quarter of 
 a mile above this, has been blessed 
 with uninterrupted good health for 
 stilTa longer period. Leaving these 
 more notable instances, and taking a 
 general view of the inhabitants, it is 
 no rare circumstance to find large 
 families in the neighborhood, living, 
 one, two and three consecutive years. 
 
 without occasion for medical aid for 
 disease; whilst there is no one place 
 that can be given in illustration of 
 much sickness. As localities differ in 
 amount and kind of disease, so do the 
 distinct races of men, differ in their 
 susceptibility to particular maladies, 
 and to the influence of particular loca- 
 tions. Yet these difi'erent nationali- 
 ties find at Chester the same freedom 
 from disease. The Irish, with their 
 strong affinity for agues and fevers, 
 live here most exposed with compara- 
 tive impunity. Even at the period of 
 the early settlements, when, from the 
 uncultivated condition of the country, 
 disease would be more frequent and 
 violent, the instances of longevity de- 
 note a healthy location." 
 
 In 1832 the Cholera, which ravaged 
 other parts of the United States, did 
 not visit Chester at all, although the 
 old people were much alarmed. I re- 
 member that my grandmother made 
 me carry brimstone in a little bag, sus- 
 pended by a string around my neck, 
 and resting on my breast, tp ward off 
 the pestilence, and every child in 
 school wore a similar bag, filled with 
 powdered brimstone, and the larger 
 boys had lumps of it in their pockets, 
 just as people now-a-days carry a stolen 
 potatoe to keep off the rheumatism. 
 Some say a horse-chestnut should be 
 added to render the remedy effectual. 
 
 I have already given William Penn's 
 evidence, as to the good health enjoyed 
 by the Swedes who settled on the banks 
 of the Delaware. In Chester, many 
 people have reached an extreme old age. 
 I can recall Mrs. Rebecca Brobson, 
 David Abbott and Samuel Long, who 
 all d. about 1867, at advanced ages. 
 Mrs. Mary Deshong, ^/. Dec. 29, 1869, 
 aged 90 years. Mrs. Mary Engle, d. 
 Feb. 2, 1870, aged 94 years. John 
 
246 
 
 IlISTOllY OF CIIKSTER. 
 
 Fairhiml) Hill. if. at ("licstcr, June 14, 
 1870, in his 90th year, having been born 
 Dec. 25, 1780. Miss I,ydia Pusey, d. 
 April 19, 1872, in her 93d year, and 
 five days afterwards, Mrs. Mary Ann 
 Taylor d. in her 90th year. Mrs. 
 Catharine Ladomus', d. Apl. 10, 1874, 
 ageil 84 years ; and I recollect that 
 Samuel Lytle, Mrs. Elizabeth Ander= 
 son, widow of the Major, " Squire Sam^ 
 uel. Smith," father of Miss Maria, one 
 of my old Sunday School teachers at St; 
 Paul's Church ; Captain Thomas Rob- 
 inson, and Mrs. Commodore Porter, 
 all died at good old ages. I have 
 only a partial record of the deaths 
 at Chester in the past. I agree with 
 Dr. Owen, that the banks of the 
 Delaware, notwithstanding its banked 
 marshes, and its outside cripples or 
 flats, is a remarkably healthy section of 
 country. I have known some cases 
 of fever and ague, at and near Leiper- 
 ville, but very few, and those were 
 caused by the overflow of the marshes 
 between Darby and Crum Creeks, 
 which were allowed to lie imder water 
 for several years, owing to the negli' 
 gence or inability of the owner to pay 
 for repairing the banks ; but when 
 that was done, the chills disappeared 
 from the vicinity. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Deshong, mentioned 
 above as dying Dec. 29, 1869, Avas the 
 widow and relict of Peter Deshong, an 
 old inhabitant of Chester. He was a 
 tall, slender man with dark hair and 
 very pale complexion, and was noted 
 as the last gentleman of Chester, who 
 wore his hair done up in the old fash- 
 ioned queue. During the Revolution, 
 one Peter Deshong, miller, (father of 
 Peter Deshong, late of Chester I pre- 
 sume,) was made one of the keepers of 
 the Gates of Philadelphia by the British 
 military authorities, during the time 
 
 they had possession of the city, in 
 Sept., 1778 ; he was tried for Treason, 
 before C. J. McKean, and acquitted, 
 it being proved that he accepted the 
 position with reluctance, and that he 
 was so lenient to the inhabitants that he 
 was deprived of his office by the British. 
 Wescotf s Philadelphia. — Sunday Dis- 
 patch, Apl. 7,1872. He was the father 
 of John O. Deshong, Maurice W. and 
 Louisa. Mrs. Deshong was Post Mis- 
 tress at Chester for a number of years 
 previous to 1 834. Women seem to have 
 been appointed Post Mistresses at Ches- 
 ter, frequently. Charlotte W. Doyle, 
 a widow, served in that capacity re- 
 cently for several years. Her daugh- 
 ter, Lydia C, married Samuel Riddle, 
 the well known manufacturer at Glen 
 Riddle. In 181 7, Mary Davenport 
 was Post Mistress at Chester ; her en- 
 tire pay amounted to ^132.77. The 
 salary is now twenty-four hundred 
 dollars per annum. In the same year 
 Jacob D. Barker, of Switzerland, was 
 Post Master at Marcus Hook, his in- 
 come from that source being $20.59. 
 John O. Deshong married Emeline, 
 a daughter of the late Dr. Job H. Ter- 
 rill, and has three sons, Alfred, John 
 O., Jr., Clarence, and a daughter 
 Louisa. The late William Eyre, Jr., 
 of Chester, married, 3 mo. 4, 1835, 
 Ann Louisa, another daughter of Dr. 
 Terrill, and the present Joshua P. Eyre, 
 of Chester, is their only son. John 
 O. Deshong kept a dry goods ard 
 grocery store in Chester, when 1 was 
 a boy, about 1836. There were seve- 
 ral other stores of the same character 
 carried on in tlie town then or pre- 
 viously, by Thomas Clyde, Jesse M. 
 Justice, J. Ashmead Eyre and Joshua 
 P. and William Eyre. Maurice W. 
 Deshong removed in 1855, to Phila- 
 deli)hia, with his family, and tlicd there 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 247 
 
 Oct. 9, 1876, in his 68th year, leaving 
 3 sons and 3 daughters. 
 
 In the vicinity of Chester there are 
 numerous cases of people reaching ex- 
 treme old age, the most noted of which 
 is that of Thomas Button, who, on 
 the 2nd of Feb. 1869, celebrated his 
 one hundred and first birthday. He 
 was born in Aston, Feb. 2, 1769. He 
 lived about seven months after the 
 celebration of his looth year. On 
 that occasion there assembled at his old 
 homestead, which was the place of his 
 birth, over two hundred of his descen- 
 dants and family connections. He 
 had been married three times, and of 
 eleven children, five were living and 
 present, besides nineteen grand-chil- 
 dren, and twenty- three great-grand- 
 children. His direct descendants at 
 that time numbered seventy-eight. At 
 the gathering, the family history and 
 traditions were related. The ancestor 
 of the family settled in Aston in the 
 days of William Penn, and had enter- 
 tained the founder of the Province at 
 his house. Many of the early settlers, 
 it was stated, selected large flat rocks 
 near cooling springs, for their places of 
 residence, and built their cabins or log 
 houses on them. This family cherishes 
 the memory of such a rock on their 
 estate. Mr. Button erected the house 
 in which he lived in 1790, on the site 
 of one still more ancient. He was 
 a tanner by trade, and carried on that 
 business for many years, and intro- 
 duced a steam engine into his estab- 
 lishment, which is said to have been 
 the first used in Belaware County, and 
 many doubted the feasibility of the ex- 
 periment. For four years subsequent 
 to 1808, he took charge of Friends' 
 Mission for the civilization of the 
 Seneca Indians, in the Albany Reser- 
 vation, New York, at the time when 
 
 the celebrated Corn-planter was their 
 Chief. Mr. Button was six feet in 
 height, temperate in his habits, used 
 tobacco, had a strong constitution, 
 enjoyed good health, retired from busi- 
 ness in his 77th year, and lived a quiet 
 life, free from excitement. All the com- 
 panions of his youth departed before 
 him, except, perhaps, an aged friend, 
 Phoebe Thomas, who died in Wilming- 
 ton, Bel., i mo. 19, 1875, a daughter of 
 Robert and Elizabeth Mendejihall, of 
 Concord, who celebrated her looth 
 year, on July 7, 1870, when some of 
 her direct descendants to the fifth 
 generation were present. In 1792, 
 she married Gideon Thomas, of New- 
 town, at Friends' meeting, at Barby. 
 She was a widow over half a centu- 
 ry, having had three children, Sarah, 
 Robert and Ann. She had in 1869, 
 living, about fifty great-grand-children, 
 two great-great-grand-children, four 
 nieces, aged respectively, 95, 92, 85, 
 and 79, and a grand-nephew 86 years of 
 age. Until the age of 95, Mrs. Thomas 
 was an active women, and drove to 
 meeting, and to visit her friends and 
 relatives, alone with her horse and 
 chair. Her grandfather, Benjamin 
 Mendenhall, came to this country in 
 1686, from a town called Mildenhall, 
 (originally the family name), in Wilt- 
 shire, England. His sister Mary, mar- 
 ried Nathaniel Newlin, a prominent 
 man in his day. Ann, a daughter of 
 Benjamin, became the second wife of 
 John Bartram, the distinguished Ame- 
 rican Botanist, on the nth of 10 mo., 
 1729. Ann Thomas, a daughter of 
 Gideon and Phebe, of Newtown, mar- 
 ried Nathaniel Speakman, and is now a 
 widow, residing with her son-in-law, 
 Philip Paxson, in East Bradford, Ches- 
 ter County, with whom Mrs. Thomas 
 was also residing when her looth year 
 
248 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 was celebrated, and when her grand- 
 son, Thomas H. Si)eakman, Esq., read 
 an interesting family history of the 
 centenarian and her branches down to 
 the fifth generation, from which the 
 above facts are gathered. At the time 
 of the above event, Mrs. Thomas, her 
 daughter, grand-daughter, and her g. 
 grand-children, were all living under 
 one roof. John Bartram's first wife, 
 was Mary daughter of Richard and 
 Elizabeth Maris, of Springfield ; they 
 were married 2 mo. 25, 1723. 
 
 Cyriis Mendenhall, residing at pre- 
 sent in Cincinnati, Ohio, says: "Ben- 
 jamin Mendenhall and his brother, 
 John, emigrated from Wiltshire, Eng- 
 land, and settled in Concord, in 1683. 
 The brothers were then grown up men. 
 Benjamin married 2 mo. 1 7, 1689, Ann, 
 the daughter of Robert and Hannah 
 Pennell, of Middletown ; their youngest 
 son, Robert, then in his 2 2d year, 
 married 13 of 9 mo. 1734, Phoebe, 
 the youngest daughter of Philip and 
 Ann Taylor, of Thornbury, at Birming- 
 ham Meeting; after her death he mar- 
 ried secondly, Elizabeth, the widow of 
 John Hatton, of Concord, 6 mo. 23, 
 1762 ; their youngest daughter, Phoebe 
 (Thomas), was born 7 mo. 1770. The 
 maternal ancestry of Phoebe Thomas, 
 maybe stated thus: Ezekiel Harlan, 
 of Kennett, son of George and Eliza- 
 beth Harlan, from Ireland, was ;;/. 
 in 1706 to Ruth, the daughter of 
 Richard Bufifington, the immigrant. 
 Their daughter, Elizabeth, ;//. Wil- 
 liam White, whose daughter, also 
 named Elizabeth, was w. in 1755, to 
 John Hatton, of Concord. There 
 were three brothers Mendenhall, who 
 came from England to this country. 
 John is first mentioned as being in 
 Concord in 1683, Benjamin and Moses 
 were there in 1685. Moses returned 
 
 to England, where his descendants now 
 reside. Benjamin was a wheelwright, 
 and his children's names were Benjamin, 
 Jr., Joseph, Moses, Hannah, Samuel, 
 Rebecca, Ann, Nathan, and Robert, 
 (whowasborn 7mo. 7, i7i3,died6mo. 
 23, 1785.) In 1 7 14 he was a member of 
 the Assembly, and died in 1740, at an 
 advanced age, leaving his widow sur- 
 viving him. Their son Benjamin, m. 
 Lydia, the daughter of Owen Roberts, 
 of Gwynedd, and Hannah ;;/. Thomas 
 Marshall. 
 
 John Mendenhall, Dr. Smith says, 
 was one of the earliest settlers in 
 Concord; m. in 1685, Elizabeth, the 
 daughter of George Maris, and was an 
 influential and active member of the 
 Society of Friends, and in 1697, gave 
 the ground now occupied by the Con- 
 cord Friends' Meeting House and grave 
 yard to the Society for that purpose. 
 In 1708, having been a widower for 
 some time, he married secondly, Hes- 
 ter Dix. His children's names by his 
 first wife were George, John and Aaron, 
 It is not known whether he had any 
 by his second wife. He was one of 
 the original shareholders of the Con- 
 cord mill." 
 
 Gilbert Cope, a well-informed gen- 
 ealogist, says: "The Mendenhalls — 
 John, Benjamin and Moses — did come 
 from Wiltshire, as writings of that date 
 will show ; but the last did not re- 
 main long. Having returned to Eng- 
 gland, he may have entertained the 
 idea of coming again to this country, 
 but, in the language of that time, 
 ' he sedd his mother would not let 
 him goe back.' This was a veritable 
 case of ' three brothers,' although but 
 two remained in this country. Few 
 persons, besides genealogists, are aware 
 of the prevalence of this tradition of 
 ' three brothers,' in nearly everv fam- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 249 
 
 ily ; while in a vast majority of cases 
 it merely denotes absence of know- 
 ledge, or may be compared to an 
 algebraic symbol, which represents an 
 unknown quantity." 
 
 The family of Philip Mendenhall, a 
 former resident of Chester County, 
 have an old book, in which is written, 
 " Philip Mendenhall, his Almanack, 
 for the year 1772," and through it are 
 bound leaves of paper, on which Philip 
 noted important events that occurred 
 while he resided on his farm in what 
 is now Delaware County. Under date 
 of April 25, 1772, occurs this item: 
 "At or near 8 o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, the roaring of an earthquake was 
 heard, succeeded by a shake which made 
 the house to tremble. A second, ensued 
 soon after the first had ceased, which 
 was more violent." Mr. Mendenhall 
 seems to have used this book for en- 
 tries, for a long period subsequent to 
 its date, for forty-two years afterwards, 
 is the following : " The 1 8th of 12th 
 month, my sons came home from camp, 
 in the year of our Lord, 1814," which 
 shows that the young men bore arms in 
 defence of the State, when the British 
 threatened Philadelphia at that time. 
 
 At the Centennial Exhibition in 
 Philadelphia, Oct. 19, 1876, on '' Dcl- 
 atuare Day,'''' there occurred an inter- 
 esting event, Mr. Dell Noblit, of 
 Wilmington, Delaware, was present, 
 and celebrated there his 99th birth day. 
 Dell Noblit, son of John & Mary, 
 of Middletown,wasbornOct. 19, 1777. 
 His father was born at the same place 
 in 1 714, being 63 years of age at the 
 time his son was born. Dell Nob- 
 lit has had 16 children, 48^. children, 
 38^. g. children, and 2 g. g. g. chil- 
 dren ; in all 99, of whom 62 are liv- 
 ing. He ?H. (ist) Elizabeth Wyall; 
 and had Stephen, Hamilton and Mar- 
 
 garet, ^\ dead; (2ndly,) Elizabeth 
 Brattin, of New-Castle, Del., and had 
 by her, James B., dec'd ; Maria, m. 
 Gregg Chandler ;y<?/w// Albert, dec'd ; 
 Eliza, m. John S. Likens, of Wilming- 
 ton ; Dell; Joshua H., dec'd ; Louisa, 
 J. C. m. Rev. Charles E. Murray, of 
 Philadelphia; Joseph C, and four 
 others who died in infancy. 
 
 Dell Noblit (2nd), an old friend 
 of mine, is the President of the Corn 
 Exchange National Bank, of Philadel- 
 phia, and a member of the firm of 
 Noblit, Brown & Noblit. He married 
 Elizabeth Curtis, daughter of Samuel 
 & Anna, of Philadelphia ; they have 
 issue living, Henry D., John, Joseph 
 C, Charles E., Dell, Bessie, and Ag- 
 nes Noblit. 
 
 Friends' records are so carefully kept 
 that it is not necessary for me to be 
 very explicit concerning families be- 
 longing to the Society. But these are 
 not solitary instances of longevity, and 
 as such things are always interesting, 
 and especially so, when the names of 
 the persons mentioned are familiar to 
 one's ears, and connected with our 
 section of the county, I transcribe from 
 some old notes of my grandfather. Dr. 
 William Martin, the following : 
 
 "Died, Nov. 24, 1790, Mary New- 
 lin, aged 100 years, 9 mos. 15 days. 
 Nine weeks before her death she walked 
 a mile, and retained her senses and 
 eyesight to the last. She was born in 
 Thornbury Township, Chester Co." 
 
 "Died, Feb. 1790, in Haverford 
 Township, Mrs. Elizabeth Humphreys, 
 aged eighty-seven years." 
 
 " James Massey, of Chester County, 
 in the ninety-third year of his age, 
 (1790) a hearty, hale man, rides on 
 horseback, and within three years, has 
 rode forty miles a day. He has been 
 a great Fox-hunter, generally healthy. 
 
250 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 brought up in the hihorious employ- 
 ment of clearing and settling a farm. 
 In the early part of his life, he was 
 troubled occasionally with rheumatism, 
 but now scarcely ever feels it, unless on 
 drinking cider or spirituous liquors. 
 His eyesight and memory are good, 
 reading without spectacles. He re- 
 members William Penn, (at the last 
 Indian Treaty he held), sufficiently to 
 describe his person. He died 1792." 
 
 " Ann Vernon, of Chester County, 
 was born early in 1702, now living, of 
 a healthy, active disposition, her hear- 
 ing and eyesight good ; hearing some- 
 what impaired 1792, died 1793." 
 
 " Lewis Davis, of Chester (now Dela- 
 ware) County, in the eighty-sixth year 
 of his age, a hearty, hale man, bred 
 up to the business of a weaver, but 
 since his apprenticeship, has followed 
 farming; has a great mechanical turn 
 of mind, (as I have been informed), 
 captious, uneven in his temper, ap- 
 pears to be a stranger to those soft 
 sensibilities (sic) of the human heart 
 that increase our resemblance to the 
 Divine Essence whence we spring. 
 He died 1793." 
 
 "Mr. Thomas Jenks, a gentleman 
 from Bucks County, was born in 1700, 
 in the Province of New Jersey, of 
 Anglo-Welsh parents, who died when 
 he was very young, and left him — to 
 use his own expression — like the spar- 
 row on the house top. 
 
 He was brought up in the business 
 of a farmer, which at that time was 
 very laborious. He was temperate in 
 his habits of eating and drinking, un- 
 less we except the practice of taking a 
 dram of rum in the morning before 
 breakfast, which he continued for near 
 seventy years of his life. He had a 
 great aversion to mixed liquors, and 
 seldom drank anything l)ut water ; his 
 
 health has been but little inicrru]jtcd 
 with sickness, but remarkable from 
 suffering from accidents. His memory 
 is still good, and enables him to relate 
 many events of his life with facility ; 
 he has often been called upon by the 
 courts of law as a living record. His 
 eyesight and hearing are remarkably 
 good, and his strength sufficient to 
 enable him to walk fifty miles, (which 
 he has done lately, 1 790,) in the course 
 of a week. He cannot ride on horse- 
 back; his nights are rather tedious 
 from want of sleep. He is a .small- 
 sized man, his countenance remarka- 
 bly sprightly, and brightens up when 
 relating past feats of his life. He has 
 lived to see the works of his own hands 
 come to maturity. He has lived to 
 see the desert haunts of wild beasts 
 and savages become the seat of polished 
 society. He has lived to see his own 
 children and grand-children well settled 
 in life around him ; and he has lived 
 to see his country, after struggling 
 through the horrors of a cruel war, at 
 length established in the enjoyment of 
 peace, freedom and independence." 
 In 1859, I requested a young man 
 in my office, Richard Bond, to write 
 to his mother, who resided at New- 
 town, Bucks County, to make some 
 inquiries concerning the wives of my 
 great-grandfather, John Martin, who 
 once resided there with his sister, Mrs. 
 Jane (Alexander) Bartram, and died 
 there. In her reply she mentioned 
 that she had conversed with a Mr. 
 Jenks, aged 97 years, who said he knew 
 my ancestor well, but did not remem- 
 ber the maiden names of either of his 
 wives ; that neither were Bucks County 
 women, nor were their names either 
 Douglass or Story ; that they were 
 both Philadelphia women. But to re- 
 sume Dr. Martin's record. 
 
UISTollY OF CIIESTE]^ 
 
 251 
 
 '• Mrs. Ann Davis, of Delaware Co., 
 in her S5thyear, (1790,) the daughter 
 of Mr. Bethel, in the 50th year of his 
 age, by a young wife. She is of a deli- 
 cate, infirm constitution, and appears to 
 have contended with pulmonary con- 
 sumption for the last fifty years of her 
 life, and during a greater portion of 
 the time has made use of some pre- 
 jjaration of opium. Blessed with a 
 liappy, cheerful, equable temper, this 
 amiable woman is remarkably lively 
 and agreeable, and appears exempted 
 from that peevishness and disrelish for 
 everything, that seems too often the 
 accompaniment of old age. Fond of 
 the society of young people, her com- 
 pany is not less eagerly sought after 
 by them. Educated with delicacy and 
 indulgence, she can take but little ex- 
 ercise, but she is never idle, accus- 
 tomed to habits of industry (which 
 were formerly not neglected as an in- 
 gredient of education.) She is always 
 knitting, spinning, or performing some 
 other necessary duty that domestic 
 wants require. She lives with her three 
 daughters, all single, who, by an affec- 
 tionate attention in discharging the 
 offices of filial duty, have rendered 
 her life agreeable and happy. She 
 lost all of her teeth by the time she 
 was 60, many coming away apparently 
 sound. Her grandfather was near 90 
 when he died. She was born in the 
 place where Darby now is, and re- 
 members playing with the Indian chil- 
 dren of the neighboring wigwams. 
 July 23, 1795, Mrs. Davis died, being 
 90 years old, less 3 months. 
 
 "In the counties of Bucks and Mont- 
 gomery, about 18 miles from Phila- 
 delphia, there are 12 farms adjoining 
 each other, which were, in the year 
 1793, owned and occupied by the fol- 
 lowing venerable and re])utal)le citizens 
 
 John Irwin, aged 98 Jacub Fry, agcil 74 
 
 Herman Verkiss, " 90 Thomas Craven, " 81 
 
 Samuel Shoemaker, " 73 Giles Craven, " 78 
 
 Samuel Irwin, " 72 Anthony Scout, " 94 
 
 Andrew Buskirk, " 76 Jacob Gilbert, " 93 
 
 Isaac Bellew, " 77 Charles Garrison, " 79 
 
 The ages were noted in 1793, but 
 the first nine were living in 1796 ; the 
 three last died before that period, at 
 the age set opposite their respective 
 names. Another list is as follows. 
 The ages given opposite the names, 
 are the ages at decease, I suppose. 
 
 David Reese, 
 Benj. Haycock, 
 Richard Dutton, 
 Mary Taylor, 
 Capt. Grenaway, 
 Agnes Davidson, 
 Betly Rowan, 
 Thomas Say, 
 Matthias Fultz, 
 
 aged 1 
 
 Mrs. Morris, aged 85 
 
 83 Ann Davis, 
 
 90 Joseph Trimble, 
 
 87 Abigal Vernon, 
 
 80 Bethia Sommans, 
 
 80 Henry Effinger, 
 
 80 Isabella McAuley, 
 
 87 John Saunders, 
 
 94 F. Proctor, 
 
 The genealogy of the Dutton family 
 states that Richard Dutton was born 
 in 1 71 1, and died in 1795, thus making 
 him only 84. 
 
 To return to a later day. Judge Geo. 
 G. Leiper, d. 11 mo. 9, 1868, aged 84 
 yrs. Susan Dutton d. Feb. 21, 1870, 
 aged 83 yrs. Thomas McCullough, of 
 Ridley, d. in 1866, aged 94 years. 
 Ezekiel West, of Chester County, d. 
 April 21, 1873, aged 118 years, and 
 Margaret McConnell, of Chester, d. 
 there May 27, 1873, ^g^*^ ^°° years. 
 
 There died on the 22d of Jan. 1874, 
 at Bustleton, Pennsylvania, the Rev. 
 Isaac James, M. D., aged 87 years, 
 less 6 days. He is supposed to have 
 been the oldest Methodist clergyman 
 in the world at the time of his death. 
 He was born at Radnor, Delaw^are 
 County, Pa., on the 28th of Jan. 1777, 
 in a house that had been occupied by 
 three generations of his ancestry. His 
 father's house was the first preaching 
 place of the Methodists in that section, 
 and he was, therefore, early brought 
 under Methodist influences. In his 
 
i^oi: 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 i^tli )ear. (in 1790,) he was convened 
 anil joined the AI. K. Church. About 
 1799, he was licensed to exhort, and 
 was appointed steward of Chester and 
 jonesburi,^ Cir( nils in iSoi. He was 
 ordained deacon by liishop Asbury, 
 April i6, 1806, and ordained elder by 
 Bishop Morris, April i, 1819. He 
 married Henrietta, the daughter of 
 Colonel Thomas Potts, of Coventry, 
 Chester County. The great want of 
 good medical advice, in his day, in- 
 duced him to study medicine, and he 
 attended a course in the University of 
 Pennsylvania, but graduated at Co- 
 lumbia College, N. Y. 
 
 In the Massachusetts Magazine of 
 1790, p. 193, I find the following: 
 
 "Died in Marple, Dr. Bernard Van- 
 leer, aged 104 years." 
 
 " Died at South-river, Pennsylvania, 
 Mrs. Ann Letts, aged 107 years, of 
 New York," ib. p. 704. 
 
 "Married at Waynesborough, Pa., 
 in Nov. 1790, William R. Atlee, Esq., 
 to the only daughter of Major General 
 Wayne," ih. p. 703. 
 
 Richard Hill Morris, in a letter 
 dated Dec. 5, 1790, addressed to Dr. 
 Wm. Martin, says : " You have heard 
 that our friend Atlee has changed the 
 solitary life of a bachelor for the de- 
 lights of matrimony with Miss Wayne, 
 and settled in Chester." 
 
 To the deaths of aged people, I add 
 some of recent date: "Died at his 
 residence in Aston, Sept. 21, 1873, 
 George McCracken, Sr., in the looth 
 year of his age. Died, Sept. 28, 1873, 
 William Morris, of Bethel, in his 88th 
 year. Died at Chester, Dec. 4, 1873, 
 at the 'Steamboat Hotel,' Mary Ann 
 Wilson, aged 98 years." 
 
 Deaths of Aged People, with 
 name, age, date of death, and place 
 of residence : 
 
 Jolin Worrall,^. 1742, 2d mo. 4th, a. 85 yrs. Edgmont. 
 William Wurrall, d. 1826, 12, 23d, a. 96 yrs., Ridley. 
 Eliza Worrall, d. 1837, i, 22d, a. 88 yrs., Springfield. 
 Ann Ottey, d. 1813, 10, 25lh, a. 89 yrs , Westtown. 
 Peter Barand, d. 1870, 5, 17th, a. 86 yrs., N. Provid. 
 Edward Marshall, d. 1870, 5, 12th, a. 83 yrs.. Darby. 
 Mar>- Johnson, d. 1870, 8, 9th, a. go yrs., Middletown. 
 William Larkin,,^. 1870, 8, nth, a. 91 yrs., Bethel. 
 Abigail Steel, d. 1870, y, 171b, a. 84 yrs., Marple. 
 Rachel Moore, d. 1871,9, 5th, a. 8g yrs., U. Provid. 
 Ann Urian, d. 1871, 10, 12th, a. 84 yrs.. Darby. 
 William Kirk, d. 1871, 10, 20th, a. 83 yrs., U. Darby. 
 Dr. Morris C. Shallcross, d. 1871, 11, 27tb, a. 81 yrs. 
 
 late of Darby. 
 Ann Sharpless, d. 1871, 11, 30th, a. 82 yrs., relict of 
 
 Henry. 
 Susanna Abbott, d. 1871, 11, 26lh, a. 81 yrs., Chester. 
 Ann Henvis, d. \'iT2., i, 21st, a. S2 yrs., Upland. 
 John Garrett, rf. 1872, i, 19th, a. 83 yrs, Village Green. 
 Jane Johnson, d. 1872, i, 28th, a. 80 yrs., Chester. 
 George Gibson, d. 1872, i, 26th, a. 86 yrs., Chester. 
 Thomas Steel, d. 1872, 3, 21st, a. 84 yrs., Marple. 
 Abel Green, d. 1872, 3, 23d, a. 89 yrs., N. Providence. 
 George Bittlc, d. 1872, 3, i6th,rt. 92 yrs.. Spread Eagle 
 Tacey Litzenberg.fl'. 1872, 4, i8th,rt. 84 yrs. U. Provid. 
 Jane Smedley, d. 1873, 6, nth, a. 89 yrs., Middletown. 
 Dr. Ralph C. Marsh, d. 1872, 6, 13th, «. 90 yrs.. Con- 
 cord. 
 Jesse Marshall, d. 1872, 6, 14th, a. 81 yrs,, M. Hook. 
 Elizabeth Lewis, ^i'. 1872, 7, 13th, a. 88 yrs, Lapland. 
 Margaret Levis, d. 1873, 8, 6th, a. 83 yrs., Springfield. 
 Dan'l H. Brooks, d. 1873, 8, 15th, a. 84 yrs., Claymont. 
 Anna G. Miller, d. 1872, 9, i6th, a. 95 yrs., Concord. 
 Rebecca Humphreys d. 1872, 12, 6th, «. 82 yrs.. Haver- 
 ford. 
 Henry West, d. 1872, 12, 12th, a. 87 yrs., Chester. 
 Samuel Pancoast, rf. 1873, 5, 22d, a. 86 yrs., Marple. 
 Jonathan Hood, d. 1861, 5, 17th, a. 85 yrs., Newtown, 
 
 born on the nth of Sept., 1777. 
 Cyrus Baker, d. 1861, 11, 1st, a. 85 yrs., Middletown. 
 Mary Morgan, d. 1862, i, 8th, a. 81 yrs., Radnor. 
 Mary Moore, d. 1862, 2, 15th, a. 81 yrs , Radnor. 
 Ann North, rf. 1862, 3, 20th, rt. 84 yrs., Chester town'p. 
 Mary Ash, d. 1862, 3, 24th, a. 96 yrs. and 8 months. 
 Upper Darby. 
 
 Elizabeth Peters, d. 1862, 3, 26th, a. 90 yrs.. Concord. 
 Thomas Jarman, d. 1862, 3, 29th, a. 84 yrs.. Upland. 
 
 Phebe Williams, d. 1862, 4, 10th, a. 84 yrs., Middle- 
 town. 
 
 George Wilson, d. 1862, 9, 2d, a. 89 yrs.. Mar. Hook. 
 
 Rachel Crosby, d. 1862, 9, 12th, a. 82 yrs., Chester; 
 widow and 2d wife of Peirce Crosby, dec'd. 
 
 Mary Berry, d. 1862, 9, 20th, a. 80 yrs., Ridley. 
 
 Priscilla Thompson, d. 1S62, 12, 30th, a. 81 yrs., Mar- 
 cus Hook, 
 
 Ann McMichael, </. 1863, l,9th,rt. 91 yrs., Chester. 
 
 Lydia Cobourn, d. 1863, i, 2d, a. 87 yrs.. Upper Chi- 
 chester. 
 
 Ann Hall, d. 1863, 2, 4th, a. 93 yrs.. Concord. 
 
 Parke Shee, d. 1863, 3, 18th, a. 88 yrs.. Concord. 
 
 Robert N. Gamble, (/. 1863,3,6th, a. 83 yrs., Concord. 
 
 Nathan Sharpless, d. 1863, 4, nth, a. 91 yrs., Con- 
 cordville. 
 
 Rebecca Weaver, d. 1S63, 6, 2ist,''(i. 91 yrs., Chester. 
 
 Henrietta M. Clyde, d. 1874, 9, 28th, a. %:2.yx%.,'widow 
 of Thomas, 0/ Chester. 
 
 John Baldwin, d. 1824, 12, 30th, a. 87, 11. 2., Concord. 
 
 Eliza Home, d. 1876, 3, 25th, a. 94 yrs., Springfield. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 253 
 
 Jesse Jones who is supposed to be i lo 
 years old, is still living in West Vin- 
 cent, Chester County. He remembers 
 following the wagons that hauled flour 
 to the Revolutionary Army at Valley 
 Forge, in 1777. 
 
 The Media American of J une 8, 1873, 
 states: "Jane Smedley, of Middle- 
 town, relict of the late Ambrose Smed- 
 ley, Sr., was buried on Saturday last 
 from the residence of her son, John H. 
 Smedley. She was a daughter of John 
 and Abigail Hinkson, and sister of Hon. 
 Frederick J. Hinkson, of Chester. Her 
 birth dates back within 9 years of the 
 Declaration of Independence, she being 
 in the 89th year of her age. The old 
 homestead was built in 1 785, and bears 
 that date on one of its chimneys, she 
 having resided in it since her marriage 
 in 1805. She was the mother of eleven 
 children, only three of whom survive 
 her, and at her death had thirty-three 
 grand-children and thirty-seven g. 
 grand-children. 
 
 At the Centennial Exhibition, Phila- 
 delphia, Oct. 24, 1876, Martha Ferrol, 
 of Chester, aged one hundred and three 
 years, was present as a visitor ; she was 
 remarkably active on her feet and lively 
 in manner, for one of her age. 
 
 In my MS. copy of the History of 
 Chester, will be found long lists of 
 births, marriages and deaths in Ches- 
 ter and its vicinity, in the past. This 
 book I shall deposit with the Histo- 
 rical Society of Pennsylvania, where 
 it can be seen and examined. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 The Upland UniimoiVi^c. 22, 1829, 
 contained the announcement of the 
 death of Major William Anderson, of 
 Chester, who died on Tuesday, Dec. 
 15, 1829, in the 67th year of his age. 
 
 From an obituary therein, I extract the 
 following : 
 
 " Mr. Anderson acted a conspicuous and 
 highly honorable part in our Revolutionary 
 struggle. He was at the siege of Yorktown 
 and the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. He 
 served throughout the campaign with honor to 
 himself, and advantage to his country. He was 
 a citizen of Delaware County for many years, 
 has represented the county in the Congress of 
 the United States several times, held the ap- 
 pointment of Associate Judge of the Courts of 
 Delaware County, and at the time of his death 
 was attached to the Custom-house department. 
 
 In every situation that Mr. Anderson was 
 placed by his country, he acted for the benefit 
 of the public, which has always entitled him to 
 the public's most respectful consideration. If 
 ever probity marked the life of any man, and 
 endeared him to his fellow-citizens, it did that 
 of the deceased. We cannot sufficiently eulo- 
 gize him when dead, as he well deserved every 
 praise while living." Signed Z. ; no doubt 
 John K. Zeilin. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Anderson, the widow 
 of the Major, lived in Chester, in the 
 old mansion built by her husband, and 
 where her daughter, Mrs. Eliza Rich- 
 ards, still resides. She died in 1845, 
 at the age of 77 years. She was born 
 in Virginia; her maiden name being 
 Dixon. In youth she was considered 
 a great beauty ; and she with her two 
 sisters were termed " The three beauties 
 of Virginia." She was a remarkably 
 active and intelligent woman. Her 
 son, Thomas Dixon Anderson, who was 
 born in Virginia, before the family re- 
 moved to Chester, died in the latter 
 place in 1847, ^gs<^ 60 years. 
 
 Major Anderson came from Virginia, 
 and settled in Chester immediately af- 
 ter the Revolution ; and kept the 
 Columbia Hotel, at the N. E. corner 
 of Market and Free streets, for many 
 years. After his election to Congress, 
 he quit the hotel business and removed 
 to the house a short distance east of the 
 
54 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 hotel on Free street, where I have been 
 a frequent guest of his widow and chil- 
 dren, with my friends, the children of 
 the late Charles Field of Philadelphia. 
 The following anecdote, in which the 
 old Major appears, was often related 
 by my father with great glee. It is illus- 
 trative of the old soldier's bluntness of 
 character: An old time school-master 
 of Chester, held on one occasion a 
 public examination of his scholars be- 
 fore a Committee of gentlemen of the 
 place, the Trustees of the school and 
 i nvited guests ; the Major was a Trustee^ 
 Anxious that his pupils should shine 
 before the audience, the Master gave 
 out to the scholars in the spelling-class, 
 all the long and hard words he could 
 think of, winding up with, ' Now spell 
 Carth-ag-a-ne, ' /. c. , Carthagena. Per- 
 ceiving a smile flit across the faces of 
 some of the spectators, a doubt of his 
 pronunciation of the word flashed 
 across the Master's mind, so turning to 
 the Major he said, 'Carth-ag-a-ne!' 
 that's right, is it not, Mr. Anderson? 
 To the query the Major replied. No, 
 I'll be blanked \{\\. is. 
 
 Major William Anderson entered 
 the Revolutionary army at the age of 
 fifteen years. He was present at the 
 siege and surrender of the British army 
 at Yorktown, and when mustered out 
 of service was only twenty years of age. 
 He was a Democrat of the old school, 
 and was elected to the U. S. Congress, 
 where he served eighteen years. His 
 son Thomas Dixon Anderson, Esq., 
 was a member of the bar of Delaware 
 County, a man of rare ability and of 
 great conversational powers, full of wit 
 and anecdote. I can never forget the 
 pleasant hours I have passed in his so- 
 ciety, listening to the interesting stories 
 of his travels, and what he saw and 
 heard. He was ap])<)intcd Attorney 
 
 General of Tennessee, and afterwards 
 U. S. Consul at Tunis and Tripoli. In 
 his latter years his eye-sight became 
 very imperfect, and he retired from 
 public life and passed his remaining 
 days quietly at Chester. His sister, 
 Mrs. Eliza Richards, lost her sight some 
 years ago. She has been a confirmed 
 invalid for many years ; in fact since 
 the death of her husband, John James 
 Richards, Esq., who was a member of 
 the bar of Delaware County, and who 
 died soon after their marriage, she has 
 lived in the quiet retirement of her 
 home. Major Anderson had one other 
 daughter, the late Mrs. Evelina Porter, 
 who was the relict of Captain David 
 Porter, and the mother of his dis- 
 tinguished sons. 
 
 The old Anderson mansion is still 
 one of the most comfortable and im- 
 posing private residences in Chester, 
 situated in the midst of well laid out 
 grounds, with graveled paths bordered 
 by box, surrounded by handsome trees 
 and a hedge of Althea bushes. . It was 
 erected by Major Anderson in 1803, 
 and General Lafayette was entertained 
 within is hospitable walls when he re- 
 visited America in 1824. Mrs. Eliza 
 Richards, the daughter of the old 
 Major, and Miss Maria Baxter, her con- 
 stant friend, and my old Sunday-school 
 teacher, show with pride the rare old 
 china used on that occasion. In the 
 Revolution, Gen. Lafayette rode on 
 horseback to Che.ster from the battle- 
 field at Brandy wine, where he was 
 wounded, but remained there only one 
 night, in the old ''Ladomus House," 
 at the S. E. cor. of 3rd street and Edg- 
 mont, now occupied by Bauer's cloth- 
 ing store. 
 
 On Lafayette's second visit to Ches- 
 ter he had a grand reception and ova- 
 tion. P.eside the troops from the sur- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 255 
 
 rounding country there were several 
 military companies from Philadelphia, 
 and there was a parade and review of 
 the military by the General, after which 
 he was entertained by the citizens with 
 a banquet in the Court House, at which 
 patriotic speeches were made and toasts 
 drunk. He passed the night at Major 
 Anderson's residence, and breakfasted 
 there in company with his son, George 
 Washington Lafayette. 
 
 General the Marquis de Lafaye,tte 
 thus describes the incidents that pre- 
 ceded his first visit to Chester, (see 
 Poulsofi' s Advertiser o^Yeh. 25, 1825,) 
 after having been wounded in his left 
 foot by a musket ball, at the battle of 
 Brandywine. Being asked where the 
 ball was, he said : 
 
 "The ball went through and through; I 
 was on foot when I received my wound ; a part 
 of our line had given way, but a part still held 
 its ground. To these I repaired to encourage 
 my comrades, and to show them I had no 
 lietter chance of flight than they, I ordered my 
 horse to the rear. The news of my being hurt 
 was soon conveyed to the Commander-in-Chief, 
 with the usual exaggerations in such cases. The 
 good General Washington freely expressed his 
 grief that one so young, and a volunteer in the 
 holy cause of freedom, should so early have 
 fallen; but he was soon relieved by an assur- 
 ance that my wound would stop short of life, 
 when he sent me his love and gratulation that 
 matters were no worse. On the field of battle 
 the surgeon prepared his dressings, but the shot 
 fell so thick around us, that in a very little time, if 
 we hadremained, we should both havebeen past 
 all surgery. Being mounted on my horse I left 
 the field, and repaired to the bridge near Ches- 
 ter, when I halted and placed a guard, to stop 
 fugitive soldiers, and direct them to join their 
 respective regiments. I could do no^nore; 
 becoming faint, I was carried into a house in 
 Chester and laid on a table, when my wound 
 received its first dressing. 
 
 The General officers soon arrived, when I 
 saluted them by begging that they would not 
 eat me up, as they appeared to be very hungry, 
 as I was the only dish upon the table in the 
 
 house. The good General-in-Chiel was much 
 gratified on finding me in such spirits, and 
 caused a litter to be made, on which I was con- 
 veyed to the Indian Queen in Philadelphia, 
 and was there waited upon l)y the members of 
 Congress, who were all booted and spurred and 
 on the wing for a place of greater safety to 
 hold their Sessions. The enemy continuing to 
 advance, I was removed to Bristol, and thence 
 in the coach of President Laurens (and coaches 
 were rare in those days) to Reading, where I 
 remained until so much recovered as to be able 
 to repair to Head Quarters." 
 
 The General undoubtedly said Beth- 
 lehem, not Reading. At Bethlehem 
 was at that time located the General 
 Hospital of the American army, and it 
 is well-known that Lafayette was con- 
 veyed to that place, and quartered in 
 the house of Mr. Beckel, whose young 
 and handsome daughter became the 
 nurse of the young, gay and wounded 
 French Marquis, and became quite at- 
 tached to him, much to the alarm of 
 her parents; but the young and gallant 
 Frenchman has left only pleasant me- 
 mories behind him of his sojourn in 
 that good old Moravian town. 
 
 In Spark's Correspondence of Wash- 
 ington, 5 vol. 456, appendix i, it is 
 stated that Mr. Henry Laurens on his 
 way to Yorktown, conveyed Gen. La- 
 fayette from Bristol to Bethlehem in 
 his carriage, and that Lafayette remain- 
 ed at B. about two months. 
 
 In the issue of the Advertiser of Feb. 
 II, 1825, it is set forth: 
 
 " A writer in the Allentown Fricdens Rolhe 
 — Messenger of Peace — says that after Gen. 
 Lafayette was wounded at the battle of Brandy- 
 wine he was removed to Bethlehem, where he 
 remained until his wound was healed. The 
 room in which he lay is still shown, and some 
 of those who attended him during his sickness 
 are still living and anxious to see him again. 
 
 While he lay ill at Bethlehem, the Sister- 
 
 I hood worked for him a splendid color, and had 
 
 it presented at the time of his departure 'to the 
 
 N'ouH'' l/.ifaveUc,' as he was then called. Thi.-. 
 
256 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 color, (translated literally) — this token of grate- 
 ful remembrance, is now deposited among the 
 archives of France, in the city of Paris. The 
 writer derived most of this information from a 
 lady who assisted at the needle work, and 
 whose recollection of the circumstance is per- 
 fect, though near half a century has since 
 elapsed." 
 
 The Advertiser, of Friday, Oct. 8, 
 1824, says: 
 
 "The steamboat which conveyed General 
 Lafayette, his suite, the Governor of Pennsyl- 
 vania and staff. General Cadwallader and staff, 
 the Committee of Councils, the Marshals, and 
 a number of friends of the General, arrived at 
 Chester, at 1 1 'clock on Tuesday evening. The 
 town was brilliantly illuminated, many of the 
 windows being decorated with handsome trans- 
 parencies and designs. At the landing place 
 a line of boys, each holding a lighted candle, 
 was formed, which extended to the quarters 
 intended for the accommodation of the Gene- 
 ral, and along which he passed up to the house. 
 A sumptuous entertainment was provided for 
 ' the Nation's Guest,' at the Court House, which 
 was elegantly fitted \\\> ])y the Ladies of Ches- 
 ter, to which upwards of 100 gentlemen sat 
 down at I o'clock in the morning. Colonel 
 Anderson presided at tlie tal)le. Thirteen regu- 
 lar toasts were given, and a number of volun- 
 teers; the fii-st a very aj)propriate one from 
 General Lafayette himself; The utmost harmo- 
 ny prevailed. The Citizens of Chester deserve 
 great credit for their handsome reception of 
 'the Nation's Guest.' The General retired at 
 an early hour. Yesterday morning at 7 o'clock, 
 after receiving salutes from various artillery 
 companies, and reviewing several volunteer 
 corps belonging to Delaware and adjoining 
 counties, he proceeded in a barouche and four, 
 under suitable escort to Wilmington." 
 
 The late William E. Whitman, Esq., 
 of the Philadelphia Bar, said that the 
 " Washington Grays,'' of which he was 
 a member, formed a part of the escort 
 of Lafayette, which went down on the 
 steamboat with him to Chester. West- 
 cott in his history says : "The e.scort to 
 Chester was a ' battalion of volunteers' 
 to the steamboat wharf, under the com- 
 
 mand of C. G. Childs, Senior Captain, 
 and commandant of the ^^ Washington 
 Grays. At Chester the patriot passen- 
 ger was landed and remained all night in 
 that ancient borough." In a note he says 
 further ; ' ' The company [Gray ' s] form- 
 ed portion of the escort to Chester and 
 the Delaware line. In commemoration 
 of the part which the Gray's took in the 
 reception, it was introduced in the back- 
 ground of the full-length likeness of 
 Lafayette painted for the corporation 
 of the city of Philadelphia, which still 
 remains in the Independence Hall 
 building." 
 
 The minute books of the First City 
 Troop contain the following accounts 
 of the service of the company at this 
 time : 
 
 " Oct. 4. Assembled at Vaux Ilall at three 
 o'clock, P. M., agreeably to orders of Lieu- 
 tenant Simmons. Took up the line of march 
 for Chester, where we arrived at sundown ; 
 took quarters at Mrs. Engles'. At eleven o'clock 
 in the evening the signal was given of the ap- 
 proach of the steamboat having on board Gene- 
 ral Lafayette and suite. Upon the arrival of 
 the boat, paraded with Major Wilson's battal- 
 ion : received the General, and escorted him 
 to his lodgings. Returned to quarters and dis- 
 missed. 
 
 "Oct. 5. Formed at nine o'clock, joined 
 the procession, and proceeded to the State line, 
 where we arrived at half-past eleven o'clock. 
 Previous to parting with General Lafayette, an 
 address, written by David Paul Brown, was 
 handed to him by Lieut. Simmons,* on behalf 
 of the Troop. * * * Delivered our dis- 
 tinguished guest to the proper authorities of the 
 State of Delaware, after which the Troop pro- 
 
 * Lt. Anthony Simmons, was a Colonel of 
 Militia, an Associate Judge of the District Court 
 of Philadelphia, commissioned May 6, 181 1. 
 He had a son Anthony, who left issue one 
 daughter, Jeannie, now the wife of Dr. John W. 
 Lodge, of Lower Merion, Montgomery Ccjunty , 
 I'a. Mrs. Lodge and her youthful daughter, 
 are the only living descendants of the old Judge, 
 and her only relative on her father's side, is 
 Judge Henry H. Anthony, the present U. S. 
 Senator from Rhode Island. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 257 
 
 ceeded to a tavern, one mile from the line, 
 where a handsome cold collation was prepared 
 for them by the committee of Councils. Took 
 up the line of march and escorted the Gover- 
 nor back to Chester. Dined at Mrs. Engles'. 
 Offered the services of the Troop to the Gov- 
 ernor as an escort as far as West Chester, which 
 he declined, by saying that the gentlemen had 
 lieen lately kept much from their homes and 
 business, and he could not think of taking them 
 out of their road. Saluted the Governor with 
 three cheers (dismounted) upon his leaving 
 his quarters. At three o'clock took up the line 
 of march for the city, where we arrived at seven 
 o'clock. 
 
 Charles Justis, says : I see you stated 
 that the space between the Sheriff's 
 dwelling and the Court house was plant- 
 ed with Lombardy poplar trees ; that 
 was so. I remember playing amongst 
 them when I was a boy. In their midst 
 stood an old wooden pump with a long 
 iron handle; I stood by that pump 
 when Gen. Lafayette visited Chester. 
 
 From a work entitled ' ' Lafayette in 
 America in 1824 and 25. — A Journal 
 of his journey in these years to the 
 United States, by A. Lavasseur, Sec- 
 retary to Gen. Lafayette during the 
 journey," I make the following extract 
 translated from the original, by Wil- 
 liam T. Read of Delaware, in 1870, 
 being from Chap XL of the original : 
 
 "The 5th of Oct., at eight o'clock, P. M., 
 (1824,) Gen. Lafayette received the touching 
 adieus of the inhabitants of Philadelphia, and 
 we embarked on the Delaware, at an early 
 hour, to go down to Chester. We were ac- 
 companied by the Governor of Pennsylvania, 
 the Committee of arrangements, a battalion of 
 volunteers, and a great number of staff officers. 
 At eleven o'clock at night we ai-rived at Ches- 
 ter, and entered it under the light of its illumi- 
 nation. The apartment wherein the General 
 was received and harangued, recalled a very 
 interesting epoch in his life. It was in this 
 same apartment that after his wound at the 
 battle of Brandy wine, dressing was first applied 
 to it. Before he dismounted from his horse, 
 he had the strength and presence of mind to 
 
 I rally a part of the troops who were flying, and 
 place them at the head of the bridge over Ches- 
 ter creek to meet the enemy, should he have 
 thought fit to follow up his success. These 
 several circumstances were recalled in a very 
 touching manner by the speaker (Dr. Ander- 
 son,) charged toreceive the General in the name 
 of the citizens of this village. After having 
 partaken of an excellent supper prepared by 
 the care of the ladies of Chester, we repaired 
 to the house of Colonel Anderson, an ancient 
 companion in arms of General Lafayette, and 
 passed the rest of the night there. 
 
 " On the morrow we passed on our journey, 
 and at an early hour arrived at the State of Dela- 
 ware. Here we took leave of our Philadel- 
 phia companions, after they had put us into the 
 hands of the Delaware committee of arrange- 
 ment, at the head of \\'hich Gen. Lafayette re- 
 cognized with much pleasure, the old Colonel 
 McLane, who commanded with great courage, 
 under his orders, a partizan company, during 
 his campaign in Virginia, and who this day, 
 notwithstanding his age of eighty years, pre- 
 sented himself on horseback, wearing his cha- 
 peau and plume of the revolution. 
 
 " We arrived to dinner at Wilmington. This 
 pretty town, regularly built between the Brandy- 
 wine and Christiana, is the most considerable 
 in Delaware, although its population all count- 
 ed does not exceed 6000, it is nevertheless the 
 centre of a considerable commerce facilitated 
 by its means of navigation. The vicinity of 
 Philadelphia and Baltimore give great activity 
 to its manufactures. Notwithstanding the 
 earnest solicitations of the people of Wilming- 
 ton to remain longer there, the General was 
 obliged to continue his journey that he might 
 on the same day reach Frenchtown, where we 
 were to find a steamer to convey us to Balti- 
 more. But we were a little delayed by our 
 sojourn of four hours at New Castle, ^\■here 
 we assisted at the nuptials of a son of Victor 
 Du Pont and Miss Vandyke," &c. 
 
 Miss Vandyke was a daughter of 
 Nicholas Vandyke, of New Castle, and 
 the General (Lafayette) and suite, took 
 supper with Mr. George Read before 
 leaving New Castle. A copy of the 
 journal from which the above is trans- 
 lated, is in the New Castle Library. 
 William Thompson Read, the trans- 
 
258 
 
 HISTORY OV OllKSTEK. 
 
 lator, (lied in Fob. 1.S73. at his ivsi- 
 denre in New Castle. He was the 
 grand-son and author of the " Ivife of 
 George Read," a signer of the De- 
 ( laration of Independence, from Dela- 
 ware. 
 
 1 am indebted to the Rev. James 
 Shrigley, late Librarian of the Histori- 
 cal Society of Pennsylvania, for a copy 
 of the above translation. Mr. Shrig- 
 ley is a native of Cheshire, in Eng- 
 land, the birth place of the ancestors 
 of so many Delaware County folks. 
 
 Col. Allen McLane mentioned, was 
 the father of the late Louis McLane, 
 late U. S. Minister to the Court of St. 
 James, under the administration of 
 President Jackson. The newspapers of 
 Revolutionary times are full of anec- 
 dotes of the daring adventures of Col. 
 Allen McLane ; so also is a rare old 
 book called ^^ American Anecdotes,'" 
 printed in Boston, in 1830. The only 
 copy I ever saw, I purchased lately at 
 a book stand. 
 
 In a poem called " The Battle of 
 Brandywine,'^ written by John F. 
 Miller, A. M., and recited by the au- 
 thor before a large Pic-nic held on the 
 battle ground, by the Pulaski Associa- 
 tion of Wilmington, Delaware, on the 
 8th of June, 1857, will be found the 
 following verse : 
 
 " How Washington paused on thai road 
 
 Till every man had passed, 
 Still by him wounded Lafayette, 
 
 Whose knee was bleeding fast ; 
 How gazing back they bade farewell 
 
 To the still advancing foe, 
 To Chester then in triumph sped 
 
 Just four-score years ago." 
 
 It is certainly a new light to look 
 upon that disastrous retreat as a tri- 
 umph. We have just seen Lafayette 
 was not with Gen. Washington, and 
 was not woimded in the knee, but in 
 
 the foot, so the i)oem is historically 
 incorrect. Two other verses relate to 
 Lafayette. The whole poem will be 
 fotmd in the Dcla^vare Weekly Re- 
 publican of Oct. 16, 1873. 
 
 The following telegraphic dispatch 
 explains itself: 
 
 Paris, Dec. 9, 1875. — ^^^ conform- 
 ity with the resolution adopted by the 
 American Congress, on the 2 2d of 
 Jan. last, Mr. Washburne, United 
 States minister, to-day handed to M. 
 Oscar de Lafayette, Deputy in the 
 National Assembly, from Seine-et- 
 Marne, and grand-son of the Marquis 
 de Lafayette, the watch Washington 
 presented to the latter as a souvenir of 
 the capitulation of Lord Cornwallis. 
 The watch was stolen from the Mar- 
 cjuis de Lafayette while he was travel- 
 ing in the United States in the yeai 
 1825, but was recovered in later years. 
 The presentation ceremonies took 
 place at the home of the embassy, in 
 the presence of the entire Lafayette 
 and other families, the attaches of the 
 United States Legation, and many 
 distinguished Americans. 
 
 Mr. Washburne, in addressing M. 
 de Lafayette, spoke in the French lan- 
 guage. He narrated the circumstances 
 of the theft of the watch, and the 
 passage by Congress of the resolution 
 for its restoration to the descendants 
 of the Marquis de Lafayette, and said : 
 
 "I am fulfilling a pleasant duty. 
 The inscription on the watch recalls 
 to mind a great deed, which can never 
 be effaced from the history of the 
 United States; the deed which termi- 
 nated the American Revolution and 
 assured the independence of the United 
 States. 
 
 I am here as the interpreter of the 
 sentiments of the government and 
 jjeople of the United States towards 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 259 
 
 you and other descendants of the Mar- 
 quis de Lafayette. Let us form earn- 
 est wishes for the happiness and pros- 
 perity of all bearing your venerated 
 name ; and with those wishes let us 
 associate France, who was allied with 
 the United States as her traditional 
 friend, and whose glory is so dear to 
 us." 
 
 M. de Lafayette, in reply to Mr. 
 Washburne, solemnly acknowledged 
 his thanks for the relic presented to 
 him by the United States Congress. 
 
 He also thanked Mr. Washburne 
 for the kind words he had uttered, 
 and added, that the Lafayette family 
 were filled with profound gratitude for 
 the sympathetic remembrances which 
 have been preserved for their ally by 
 the Americans after so many years. 
 He requested Mr. Washburne to ex- 
 press to the American people, and to 
 their Congress and government, the 
 thanks of the Lafayette family, and 
 their homage and admiration for their 
 second country. 
 
 Attached to Dr. Smith' s Histoiy of 
 Delaware County, there will be found 
 an interesting series of Biographical 
 Sketches of the early settlers and emi- 
 nent men of the county. I give here 
 a list of those, who were at times, resi- 
 dents of ''Old Chester/' as a refer- 
 ence, for it is good to recall the old 
 folks to memory : 
 
 William Anderson, 
 Dr. David Jackson, 
 Neels Laerson, 
 Ann Friend, 
 Francis Baldwin, 
 Thomas Baldwin, 
 Lawrence Charles Lock, 
 Robert Barber, 
 Isaac D. Bernard, 
 David Lloyd, 
 Grace Lloyd, 
 Peter Baynton, 
 Wm. Markham, 
 Thomas Bracey, 
 Richard Noble, 
 34 
 
 Mrs. Papegoya, 
 Dr. John Goodsonn, 
 James Sandilands, 
 John Baldwin, 
 Henry Hale Graham, 
 Paul Saunders, 
 John Grubb, 
 Emanuel Grubb, 
 John Test, 
 Thomas Usher, 
 Heni-y Hastings, 
 Robert Wade, 
 Lydia Wade, 
 Israel Helm, 
 Hen. HoUingsworth, 
 
 John Bristow, 
 William Oxley, 
 John Oxley, 
 Richard Buffuigton, 
 John Churchman, 
 Thomas Powell, 
 Thomas Powell, Jr. 
 John Powell, 
 Joseph Powell, 
 Thomas Cobourn, 
 Richard Crosby, 
 Ralph Fishbourn, 
 William Fishbourn, 
 
 Walter Wharton, 
 John Hoskins, 
 Jane Hoskins, 
 Ralph Withers, 
 Will Woodmanson 
 Roger Jackson, 
 John Worrell, 
 Joseph Hoskins, 
 John Wright, 
 Dr. Paul Jackson, 
 Jasper Yeates, 
 Andrew Job, 
 Michael Yzzard. 
 
 XXVIL 
 
 The following interesting account 
 of the celebration of a golden wedding, 
 is inserted for the purpose of giving the 
 form of a certificate of marriage among 
 Friends, of showing their mode of per- 
 forming that ceremony, and for record- 
 ing the custom of celebrating the ter- 
 mination of 50 years of married life : 
 
 " The ' Golden Wedditig' of Thomas and 
 Hannah Darlington, of Miamishurg, Ohio, 
 was celebrated in a becoming manner at their 
 residence in that place, on the 28th of the 2d 
 mo., 1872, being the first occurrence of the 
 kind that ever took place in that town. Friend 
 Darlington and his wife removed from Mid- 
 dletown, Delaware County, Pa., 35 years ago, 
 to Ohio, and purchased a farm near Dayton. 
 Five years ago he sold his place and removed 
 to his present abode ; his children having all 
 married and left home. After prayer, con- 
 gratulations by friends, the reading of essays, 
 poetry, singing and other exercises ; a hand- 
 some gold-headed cane and a number of other 
 presents, were given as mementoes of the oc- 
 casion, to Mr. and Mrs. Darlington ; after which 
 the company sat down to dinner; then follow- 
 ed an evening of much social enjoyment, 
 during which the marriage certificate of Mr. 
 and Mrs. D., given according to the order of 
 Friends, was read, in these words : 
 
 ' Whereas, Thomas Darlington, of the town- 
 ship of Middletown, in Delaware County, 
 Pennsylvania, son of Jesse Darlington, of the 
 same place, and Amy his wife, and Hannah 
 P. Dilworth, daughter of Richard Dilworth 
 and Sarah, his wife, (the former deceased,) of 
 the township of Edgmont and county afore- 
 said, having declared their intentions of mar- 
 
2G() 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 riajjc with each other hcfore a Monthly Meet- 
 iiij,' of llic religious Society of I'lieiuls, held 
 at Providence, in the county aforesaid, accord- 
 ing to tlie good order used among them, and 
 luning the con>ent of iheir pnicnls, their said 
 |'n>p,,s;,l of marriage was allowed of by said 
 Meeting; now these are to certify whom it 
 may concern : that for the full accomplish- 
 ment of their intentions, this twenty-eighth 
 day of the Second month, in the year of our 
 l.oril one thousand eight hundred and twenty- 
 two, they, the said Thomas Darlington and 
 Hannah P. J)ilwortli, ap])carcd at a public 
 meeting of the said people, held at Middle- 
 town, aforesaid, and the said Thomas Darling- 
 ton taking the said Hannah P. Dilworth by 
 the hand, did on this solemn occasion, openly 
 declare that he took her, the said Hannah P. 
 Dilworth, to be his wife, jiromising, with Di- 
 vine assistance, to be unto her a faithful and 
 loving husband until death should separate 
 them; and then in the same assembly the said 
 Hannah P. Dihvorth, did in like manner de- 
 clare, that she took the said Thomas Darling- 
 ton to l)e her husband, promising, with Divine 
 assistance, to be unto him a faithful and lov- 
 ing wife until death should sepiarate them (or 
 words to the same effect). And mcjreover, 
 they, the said Thomas Darlington and Han- 
 nah P. Dilworth, (she according to the custom 
 of marriage, assuming the name of her hus- 
 band,) did as a furtlier confirmation thereof, 
 then and there, to these presents set their 
 hands. 
 
 Tm)MAs Dari.in(;t()n, 
 Hannah Dai^i.incion.' 
 
 'And we whose names are hereunto sub- 
 scribed, being present at the solemnization of 
 said marriage and subscription, have as wit- 
 nesses thereto, set our hands the day and year 
 above written : 
 
 Joseph Thatcher, 
 Mary Thatcher, 
 Sarah Emlin, 
 Ann Wilson, 
 Jane Yarnall, 
 Isaac Yarnall, 
 Mary Yarnall, 
 Jamc-s Broomalt, 
 Hannah Broomall, 
 William Russell, 
 I'rudcnce Russell, 
 Rachel Yarnall, 
 Sarah Hibhard, 
 Ann Williamson, 
 Sarah Russell, 
 Mary Ann Hannt.i 
 
 Jesse Darlington, 
 Amy Darlington, 
 Sarah Meredith, 
 Mary T. Dilworth, 
 Edward Darlington, 
 Samuel J. Darlington, 
 Jared Darlington, 
 Isaac Hewcs, 
 Rhoda Hewes, 
 Deborah E. Penncll, 
 Joseph Meredith, 
 Eliza D. Peirce, 
 Amy Darlington, 
 Susan Peirce, 
 Priscilla Penncll, 
 T:.ma/in TVnuell. 
 
 Susan Fairlamb, Priscilla E. Yarnall, 
 
 Samuel Poole, Abraham Pennell, 
 
 Thomas Williamson, James Emlin, 
 
 Joseph Hannum, Jacob Hibbard, 
 
 Fred'k Fairlamb, Jr., Sarah Penncll, 
 
 Hannah IViinell ' " 
 
 A history of the houses of enter- 
 tainment in Chester ought to l)e a 
 l)rolific subject. I liave made every 
 endeavor to obtain all the information 
 I could concerning them. 
 
 Before and during the Revolution, 
 Mrs. Mary Withey kept the " Colum- 
 bia Hotel." It is said to have been, 
 in her life-time, the best kept tavern 
 in America. She was the widow of an 
 English officer, James Withey, and had 
 a pension from the British government 
 of $60 a year. She became wealthy, 
 and died, Jan. 7, 1810, in her 76th 
 year. Charles Justis says : "The old 
 Withey farm, below Chester, was pur- 
 chased by William Graham and my 
 father ; they divided it, and father got 
 the portion below the road, and built 
 a large house on it in 1829, and after- 
 wards sold it to Edmund Pennell for 
 $10,700, and he sold it to John M. 
 Broomall for $45,000. Maj. William 
 Anderson then kejjt this tavern for a 
 number of years, and was succeeded 
 by, I believe, Nimrod Maxwell, who 
 kept the hotel until about 1821 ; per- 
 haps later. He was the father of four 
 daughters, who were quite popular in 
 the town. One of them not long ago, 
 kei)t a boarding house at the S. W. 
 cor. of 1 2th and Walnut Sts., Phila- 
 delphia. Two of Mr. Maxwell's daugh- 
 ters were educated at Bethleheni Mo- 
 ravian Seminary. From the catalogue 
 1 extract the following: "1816. Sarah 
 Ann Maxwell, daughter of Nimrod, of 
 Chester, Pa., ;//. May 19, 1840, Mat- 
 thias Maris, of Philadelphia ; — 181 7, 
 Maria G. Maxwell," &c. A Chester 
 lady says, of the Maxwells, "They 
 were a much esteemed familv. con- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 261 
 
 sisting of Mr. Nimrod Maxwell, his 
 wife and four daughters and two sons. 
 The daughters were school-mates of 
 mine at Bethlehem Seminary. The 
 eldest son, James, was a very popular 
 minister of the Episcopal Church, out 
 West, some years ago." After Max- 
 well left the Columbia, John J. Thur- 
 low kept it until about 1833, when he 
 removed to the National, and the ho- 
 tel property was purchased by Capt. 
 Elijah S. Howes. Capt. Howes mar- 
 ried Mary M. Burns, of Chester, 
 daughter of James and Ann. They 
 had issue, Emma, Francis, Henry and 
 Mary. Mary Burns married Henry 
 Eyre, son of Jesse M. & Sallie i Church- 
 man), both deceased. They had a son, 
 George Baker Eyre. Capt. Howes, 
 was a sailor, and had been the master 
 of a merchant ship, for several years 
 before he took charge of the Colum- 
 bia Hotel. After keeping the old 
 hostlery several years, the captain was 
 succeeded, in 1854, by John Harrison 
 Hill, who kept there until the year 
 1858, when the property was purchas- 
 ed by Mrs. Elizabeth Appleby, whose 
 husband formerly kept a tavern at 
 Marcus Hook cross-roads ; her son, 
 Thomas, is now mine host of the Co- 
 lumbia. With the exception of a 
 small addition built on Market Street 
 some years ago, this inn is the same 
 size it was an hundred years ago ; and 
 in this respect, and in its accommoda- 
 tions, is like all the rest of Chester's 
 taverns. The proximity of Chester to 
 Philadelphia is no doubt, however, the 
 cause of her hotels being so small. 
 The town lias no summer boarders, 
 and its floating population is exceed- 
 ingly small. 
 
 The Chester Directory of 1859-60, 
 says : 
 
 " The miinljer of taverns in Chester at an 
 
 early date, was much greater than at present. 
 About the year 1 790, says a venerable resident, 
 almost every house of any size was an inn, and 
 among the most prominent of these were the 
 following: 
 
 " The Inn of Sarah Cill stood upon the 
 property now owned by Rebecca Brobson, on 
 the north side of James Street (now Third), 
 west of Chester Creek, extending to the creek. 
 The proprietress married an Englishman nam- 
 ed George Gill, who sided with his country- 
 men in the war of the Revolution, and went 
 with the English army to Halifax. George 
 afterwards returned to Chester, was imprison- 
 ed, but liberated by an act of pardon. This 
 house has not been a tavern for the last fifty 
 years, and is at present the residence of Fred- 
 erick J. Ilinkson, who married the daughter 
 of William Brobson. At the period at which 
 the inn flourished, the people of Chester made 
 their own malt, and a malt-house stood xxpon 
 the same lot. This was a brick building and 
 in a dilapidated condition fifty years ago." 
 
 Valentine Weaver owned and kept 
 the inn now known as the City Hotel, 
 at the north-east corner of James and 
 Edgmont Streets. This property was 
 conveyed in 1750, by William Preston 
 to Solon Hanley, as the " Blue Anchor 
 Tavern." It was kept By Edward 
 Engle, until he died about 1810, and 
 subsequently by his widow, until 1832 
 or 1833. During the time of Mrs. 
 Engle's proprietorship, it was the pop- 
 ular and fashionable hotel of the place, 
 and was called the "National Hotel." 
 When Mrs. Engle retired from busi- 
 ness she leased the tavern to John J. 
 Thurlow, a native of England, and 
 this old hostlery became famous among 
 the travelling public for its good cheer. 
 Mrs. Thurlow, the pleasant, bustling, 
 handsome hostess, was a model land- 
 lady, and during her time the National 
 saw its palmiest days, as it was the stop- 
 ping place of the lines of stages that 
 passed through Chester for Baltimore, 
 Washington, and the South. Here 
 the horses were changed and the tra- 
 
262 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 vellers took a meal. The long row of 
 frame stables that were necessary in 
 those days, have only lately been torn 
 down, and their site near the old 
 Chester bridge is now occupied by a 
 block of stores, the property of my 
 old school-fellow and friend, Lewis 
 Ladomus. 
 
 Many of our old-fashioned country 
 inns are still used ; but, alas ! their 
 glory has departed. How well I re= 
 member "Thurlows," in the days of 
 its busy greatness ; well I remember 
 how, when I was a boy, I lingered 
 near its hospitable doors to see the 
 handsome horses of the Reeside, Stock- 
 ton & Stokes, Murdock & Sharp, and 
 Janvier's rival lines of stage coaches 
 changed, the smoking steeds detached 
 by active hostlers, and the new relay 
 of well groomed horses substituted, and 
 saw the " Stage-driver," an important 
 man in those days, with his great coat 
 of many capes and long Avhip ; the 
 well-dressed travellers sauntering about 
 talking and smoking after their meal, 
 waiting for the stage. Oft I have 
 peeped into the small, clean bar-room, 
 in the centre of which stood a large 
 coal stove (in winter) in a large sand- 
 box, that served as a huge spittoon. 
 In one corner of the room stood a 
 semi-circular bar, with its red railings 
 reaching to the ceiling, into whose di- 
 minutive precincts the jolly landlady 
 could scarcely get her buxom person, 
 while her husband with his velveteen 
 shooting-coat, with its large buttons 
 and its many pockets, excited my in- 
 tense admiration. At his heels there 
 were always two or three handsome set- 
 ter dogs, of the finest breed and well 
 trained. Sometimes I got a glimpse of 
 the south-west room. This was the par- 
 lor ; back of it was a room where trav- 
 ellers wrote their letters ; and back of 
 
 the bar was a cosy little room, mine 
 hostess' sanctum, into which only si)e- 
 cial friends were admitted. All these 
 are now one large American bar-room. 
 
 In reading accounts of the old Eng- 
 lish inns of coaching days, my mind 
 involuntarily reverts to "Thurlow's," 
 for there on the walls were hanging 
 the quaint old coaching and hunting 
 prints imported from England, and 
 around the house was "Boots," and 
 the "Hostler," and the "pretty Wait- 
 ing maid with rosy cheeks, "all from Old 
 England. But I must away to school, 
 or Caleb Peirce will thrash me. The 
 horses are all hitched, the passengers 
 are "all aboard," the driver has taken 
 his seat, (the guard is blowing his horn, 
 having taken one inside,) is gathering 
 up his many reins; now he feels for 
 his whip, flourishes it over his four-in- 
 hand, making a graceful curve with its 
 lash, but taking care not to touch his 
 horses; but does it with a report like 
 a rifle shot, the hostlers jump aside, and 
 with a bound and a rush, the coach is 
 off for Washington, or Philadelphia, 
 carrying perchance within it Clay, 
 Webster or Calhoun. 
 
 And of a winter's evening when I have 
 stolen out from home, I have passed 
 the "Tavern," and seen seated around 
 its cheerful fire the magnates of the 
 town, telling stories of other days (as 
 I now could tell their names). And 
 sometimes peeping through the green 
 blinds, I have seen a quiet game of 
 whist going on ; perhaps it was "all- 
 fours," or else a game of checkers or 
 dominoes, but now such things are out 
 of date, or else the times are out of 
 joint, and the good old days of Adam 
 and of Eve have passed away forever. 
 
 When Mr. Thurlow retired from bus- 
 iness in Chester, with a handsome com- 
 l>etency, he purchased a fine farm near 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 263 
 
 what is now " Thurlow Station," on 
 the Philadelphia, Wilmington and 
 Baltimore Railroad, two miles below 
 Chester. Mr. Thurlow is still living 
 at "Bermuda Farm," just below Ches- 
 ter, once owned by my grandmother, 
 Mrs. Margaret Smith. I went to 
 school, in Chester, with Thomas T. 
 and Emeline, the only children of 
 Mr. and Mrs.- Thurlow. 
 
 Maurice W. Deshong succeeded Mr. 
 Thurlow, and afterwards, Major Sam- 
 uel A. Price succeeded him as the 
 landlord of the "National," and kept 
 the house for a number of years, until 
 he retired from business. The Major 
 was at one time a prominent politician, 
 and was elected Sheriff of the county, 
 in 1834; for three years previous to 
 which time, he had carried on in Ches- 
 ter the business of a hatter. He was 
 a son of Samuel Price and Ann Rich- 
 ards, his wife, who was the eldest 
 daughter of Jacob Richards, the elder, 
 who seems to have resided in Aston 
 township, in 1772, as will appear from 
 a deed of William Grubb and Lydia, 
 his wife, of Brandywine Hundred, to 
 Jacob Richards, dated April 13, 1772, 
 for 225 acres of land on Chichester 
 Creek, bounded by lands of Robert 
 Shelby, Robert Plumer and Thomas 
 Linvill. Grubb purchased the pro- 
 perty from Thomas Withers, son of 
 William Withers, of Bishop' s-Can- 
 nings, county of Wilts, yeoman, whose 
 grant from William Penn, for the tract 
 of 500 acres, or lease and re-lease, are 
 dated the 5th and 6th of Sept., 1681, 
 and duly recorded at Philadelphia. 
 The originals are in possession of Ed- 
 ward Smith Sayres, of Philadelphia, a 
 grandson of Jacob Richards. 
 
 Major Price, died at his residence in 
 Chester, March 22, 1868, in his 64th 
 year. An obituary in the Republican 
 
 announcing his death, said, among 
 other things : " The deceased was 
 extensively known, had conferred on 
 him several military distinctions, and 
 had filled the office of High Sher- 
 iff of this county. During the last six 
 or eight years he had retired from bus- 
 iness, and had confined himself very 
 much to the society of his family." 
 The Major married Sarah Bickham, of 
 Philadelphia, and died leaving his 
 widow and a large family surviving 
 him. His daughter, Sarah, married 
 Henry Lindsay, a hatter, of Philadel- 
 phia. Annie married J. Gififord John- 
 son, of Delaware County, and after- 
 wards Hiram Saunders. The names of 
 the Major's sons were, Samuel A., Jr., 
 Thomas Bickham, Henry Clay, Ed- 
 ward A., William G., John C, and 
 Joseph Wade Price ; the latter died at 
 Media about 1872, in the 35th year of 
 his age. He had served in the 5th 
 Pa. Cavalry, Co. D, U. S. Vols., dur- 
 ing the Rebellion. Edward A. Price, 
 Esq., is a member of the Bar, and re- 
 sident of Media. 
 
 After Major Price ceased to keep the 
 "National," it passed into the hands 
 of George Wilson, who kept the hotel 
 for quite a number of years, after which 
 it passed into the hands of Lewis A. 
 Sweetwood. It is now kept by Paul 
 Klotz, and has been renovated. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Engle had a life estate 
 in the hotel, and after her death the 
 property passed into the hands of the 
 heirs of her deceased husband, and was 
 sold to make a division of his estate. 
 Mrs. Engle was the mother of the late 
 Rear Admiral Frederick Engle, of the 
 U. S. Navy, a gallant and accomplish- 
 ed sailor, and an amiable and estima- 
 ble gentleman. He died Feb. 12, 
 1866, aged 69 years. He entered the 
 naval service as a midshipman, Dec. 
 
1^64 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 6, 1814. The Admiral married Mary, 
 the daughter of Joseph Mcllvain, of 
 Burlington, New Jersey, late U. S. 
 Senator from that State, and a sister 
 of the late venerable Protestant Epis- 
 copal Bishop of Ohio, who died in 
 April, 1873. ^^^'^^ ancestor of Sena- 
 tor and of Bishop Mcllvain, came to 
 America and settled in Baltimore. He 
 was a brother of James Mcllvain, of 
 Antrim, Ireland, who came to this 
 country and settled in Ridley township, 
 Chester Co., Penna., in the year 1740, 
 from whom the Mcllvains of Delaware 
 County are descended. Admiral En- 
 gle died, leaving him surviving a widow 
 and the following children : Frederick, 
 Edward, George, Charles, Henry, Mary 
 and Family. 
 
 The late Capt. Isaac E. Engle, of 
 Chester, a well-known merchant cap- 
 tain, who died of a nervous fever at 
 Macao, from over-exertion while on a 
 tempestuous voyage to China, Nov. 3, 
 1 844, was also a son of Edward and Mary 
 Engle. He married Sarah Ann, young- 
 est daughter of Robert P. and Sarah 
 Ann Crosby, of Ridley, and left a 
 widow and two children, viz., J. Ed- 
 gar and Lucie Chauncey. See Record 
 of the Crosby family, ]). 212. 
 
 Edward and Mary Engle had also two 
 daughters, one of whom, Mary, mar- 
 ried Samuel Edwards, Esq., a mem- 
 ber of the Delaware County Bar, and 
 an estimable citizen, whose memory 
 is cherished with affection and respect 
 in Chester, the place of his residence 
 for the greater part of his life, where 
 he built the mansion at the junction of 
 Edgmont Avenue and Market Street, 
 and entertained his friends with ele- 
 gant hospitality. At his decease he 
 left his widow surviving, and two 
 children — Henry B. Edwards, Esq., 
 a member of the Bar, who command- 
 
 ed a company composed of his friends 
 and neighbors during the late Rebel- 
 lion, called the " Chester Blues ;" and 
 Mary Engle, who intermarried with 
 Edwai:d F. Beale, late a lieutenant in 
 the U. S. Navy, who distinguished 
 himself in the war with Mexico, and 
 whose exploits as a scout in connec- 
 tion with the celebrated " Kit Carson" 
 are now a part of the romance of the 
 border history of our country. Mr. 
 Beale was afterwards General Super- 
 intendent of Indian Affairs for Califor- 
 nia, and is the owner of the tract of 
 land in that State, whose size and ex- 
 tent would make some of the small 
 German Dukes sigh with envy. It 
 consists of 173,065 acres of land, and 
 lies in Kern County. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Beale, have lately removed to Wash- 
 ington, D. C, where Mr. Beale pur- 
 chased, last year, the old Decatur 
 mansion, and has refitted it in hand- 
 some style, making it one of the most 
 comfortable and commodious residen- 
 ces in that city ; so says the Washing- 
 ton correspondent of the Philadelphia 
 Press, who adds further : 
 
 "General Beale is a native of this District. 
 Mis father, a purser in the Navy, married a 
 (laughter of the gallant Commodore Truxton, 
 and resided on that fine estate just beyond the 
 limits of the city, on the road to Glenwood, 
 now the residence of his widow. General 
 Beale, who is now fifty years of age, served 
 for several years in the U. S. Navy where he 
 rose to the rank of lieutenant. During the 
 administration of General Pierce, he resigned 
 his commission, and received the appointment 
 of Superintendent of the Avagon road to Cali- 
 fornia, in the construction of which he dis- 
 jilayed great energy and perseverance. After 
 the completion of this road, (Jeneral Beale l)e- 
 came the purchaser of a large ranche near Los 
 Angelos, where he devoted himself to wool- 
 growing and raising of blooded horses. On 
 this ranche he now has 180,000 sheep. His 
 clip of wool yields $40,000 a year. Last win- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 265 
 
 ler he spenl in this city with his daughters, 
 who were great favorites in society." 
 
 From The Delaware County Repub- 
 lican, of April 17, 1867, I copy the 
 following interesting sketch of Gen. 
 Edward F. Beale: 
 
 " General Beale was among the first of the 
 pioneers from the States to California. In 
 1846, while on board the frigate Congress, as 
 sailing master under Commodore Stockton, he 
 was selected as bearer of despatches to the 
 Navy Department. On leaving the ship in the 
 Atlantic Ocean, he joined a Dutch galliot, and 
 went to London, and from thence to Washing- 
 ton. Immediately after his arrival, the Secre- 
 tary sent him with despatches to Commodore 
 Stockton, whom he found at Callao, in South 
 America, having travelled over the Isthmus, 
 long before it was known as a route to Cali- 
 fornia, and, indeed, before we had any definite 
 knowledge of the latter country. When he 
 reached California, hostilities had commenced 
 between Mexico and this country, and he at 
 once took charge of a company of volunteers, 
 and served until the conquest of California 
 was completed. At the close of the war he 
 received a handsome letter from his command- 
 ing officer. Commodore Stockton, of which 
 the following extract will show the estimation 
 in which he was held by that gallant officer : 
 
 ' I have selected you to be the bearer of the 
 accompanying despatches to the Navy Depart- 
 ment, in consequence of your heroic conduct 
 in volunteering to leave General Kearny's 
 camp, (then surrounded by the enemy) to go 
 to the garrison of San Diego, for assistance, 
 and because of the perils and hardships you 
 underwent during that dangerous journey to 
 procure aid for your suffering fellow-soldiers.' 
 
 At the same time, his brother officers who 
 had served with him during the Mexican war, 
 presented to him a sword of honor and epaulets, 
 w'ith their hearty wishes for his promotion. 
 The sword, which is a beautiful piece of Ame- 
 rican workmanship, bears the following inscrip- 
 tion : ' Presented by the officers of the United 
 States Navy, on the station at San Diego, 
 California, to Lieut. Edward F. Beale, of the 
 United States Navy, for his gallant conduct 
 in the charge upon the Mexican forces at San 
 Pasquale and San Bernardino, and his con- 
 veying intelligence from San Diego, of the 
 
 position of Gen. Kearny, through the enemy's 
 lines, at great personal hazard, on the 6th and 
 7th days of Dec, 1846.' 
 
 From that time to i860, Lieut. Beale was 
 constantly connected with important public 
 services, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 
 and in command of parties of exploration in 
 relation to the lines of railroad and the great 
 public highways from the Western frontier to 
 the Pacific Ocean, of which his many reports 
 to the War and Interior Departments may be 
 found in the Congressional documents. On 
 the election of Mr. Lincoln, he was appointed 
 Surveyor General of California, and on the 
 breaking out of the rebellion, he requested by 
 letter — which was published in this paper at 
 the time — to the President, to be relieved from 
 the position, in order that he might serve his 
 country more actively in the field. This favor 
 was denied him, and he continued in office for 
 some time, and since leaving it, has been en- 
 tirely engaged in agricultural pursuits. He is 
 the owner of an immense body of real estate, 
 comprising 200,000 acres of land, from which 
 he has sold within the last two years 15,000 
 head of cattle and the same number of sheep. 
 He has- at this time between 40 and 50,000 
 head of sheep on one of his large estates, from 
 which his clip this year will amount to over 
 125,000 pounds of wool. The land, also 
 abounds in rich mines of gold, silver and cop- 
 per. Few farmers in this part of the Union, 
 can realize this large tract of land held by one 
 man, and the immense quantity of stock sold 
 yearly therefrom. And yet, we are told, that 
 these vast possessions are managed with com- 
 paratively little trouble to the owner, whose 
 work goes on with harmony and system dur- 
 ing his absence from its personal supervision." 
 
 General Beale is now (1876, ) United 
 States Minister to Austria. 
 
 Saniuel Edwards was one of the most 
 prominent and influential men in the 
 county in his day, and he was univer- 
 sally esteemed. In politics he was a 
 Democrat, and represented the county 
 in the Lower House in the Congress 
 of the United States ; and during An- 
 drew Jackson's and Martin Van Bu- 
 ren's administrations, George G. and 
 Samuel M. Lei per, Samuel Edwards, 
 
200 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Levi Reynolds and James P)iu hanan, 
 were the powers behind the throne. 
 
 The other daughter of Edward and 
 Mary Engle, Abby, married John Ker- 
 lin, Esq., a member of the Delaware 
 County. Bar, and who, previous to his 
 death, resided in the house lately occu- 
 pied by Joshua P. Eyre, dec'd. Mr. 
 Kerlin was, for many years, President 
 of the Bank of Delaware Co. , and at 
 his death, left a family consisting of 
 his widow and two sons; Charles, after- 
 wards a merchant captain, and Fred- 
 erick E. Kerlin, now deceased. 
 
 In the American Annual Registe?-, 
 for 1796, published Jan. 19, 1797, is 
 the following on the travelling of the 
 times : 
 
 •'The roads from Philadelphia to 
 Baltimore exhibit, for the greater part 
 of the way, an aspect of savage deso- 
 lation. Chasms to the depth of six, 
 eight, or ten feet, occur' at numerous 
 intervals. 
 
 A stage-coach which left Philadel- 
 phia on the 5th of Feb., 1796, took 
 five days to go to Baltimore. The 
 weather for the first four days was 
 good. The roads are in a fearful 
 condition. Coaches are overturned, 
 passengers killed, and horses destroy- 
 ed by the overwork put upon them. 
 In winter, sometimes, no stage sets 
 out for two weeks." 
 
 The great road from Philadelphia 
 to New-Castle, was surveyed and laid 
 out through Chester County by the 
 Commissioners appointed for that pur- 
 pose, viz. : Caleb Cowpland, Joseph 
 Bonsall, Samuel Levis, John Davis, 
 Peter Dicks, James Mather, Thomas 
 Pearson and John Sketchley, and their 
 return made to Council, July 16, 1748. 
 On March n, 1748-9, John Salkeld 
 complained to Council, that if the road 
 was laid out as surveyed, sixty feet ivide, 
 
 in front of some of his lands, which he 
 held on both sides of the road near 
 Chester bridge, it would interfere with 
 another road laid out by the County 
 Court and damage him; but it ap- 
 peared he had no just cause of com- 
 plaint. 
 
 \\\ I Pa. Archives, 767, there is a 
 petition to Council, to lay out the road 
 from Cobs Creek bridge to Chester 
 bridge, the old record being lost, Aug. 
 13, 1747; also, for building bridges 
 and repairing the highway, signed by 
 
 Jacob Hibbard, Geo. Ashbridge, 
 
 Samuel Bunting, John Davis, 
 
 John Griffith, Thos. Gumming, 
 
 Job Harvey, John Baldwin, 
 
 Geo. Wood, John Taylor, 
 
 Thos. Pearson, David Cowpland, 
 
 Isa. Pearson, Jacob Howell, Sr., 
 
 John Paschall, John Mather, 
 
 John Pearson, James Mather, 
 
 Joshua Ash, Joshua Thomson. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 "The Blue Ball Inn," one of the 
 old taverns of Chester, was the ancient- 
 looking brick building still standing 
 upon the N. E. cor. of Market and 
 Second Streets. It was erected by 
 David Cowpland, who at one time re- 
 sided in it. The sign, a blue ball, Avas 
 attached to the end of a pole or staff 
 that projected through a hole made in 
 the wall of the house, on the gable end 
 on Market Street. Samuel Fairlamb 
 was the landlord of this inn. No tav- 
 ern has been kept there for the last 60 
 or 70 years. For a number of years 
 it was the residence of Sarah Malin, 
 the widow of Francis Malin, who died 
 there recently ; so the Directory of 
 1859-60 says. In 1777, a British man- 
 of-war was practising with her guns, 
 one day, when, by some mistake, a 
 ball was fired that went right through 
 one of the upper rooms of this hou.se. 
 It will be observed that in the walls of 
 
HISTORY UF CHESTER. 
 
 267 
 
 the house, which is a substantial brick 
 building, there are holes still appear- 
 ing in which the timbers were inserted, 
 that upheld the scaffolding put up when 
 the house was being erected. I have 
 been told that in former tiraes^ before 
 the days of Mechanics' Liens, when 
 the masons were not paid for their 
 work, these holes were always left in 
 the walls, and no mason would close 
 them up until the builder was paid. 
 
 "The Washington House," on Mar- 
 ket Street, near Fifth Street, east 
 side, opposite the old Court House, is 
 said to have been erected by Aubrey 
 Bevan,* (fother of Davis Bevan, who 
 died in 1761,) and kept as an inn by 
 him about 1755, and afterwards by Wil- 
 liam Kerlin, and was a noted hostlery. 
 Chester seems to have been noted for 
 its hotels. After the death of Mr. 
 Kerlin, the house was kept by his son- 
 in-law, Joseph Piper, until his decease ; 
 after which his widow, Mrs. Sarah Pi- 
 per, kept the tavern for many years. 
 Joseph Piper died Nov. 9, 1827, in the 
 50th year of his age. Major Piper is- 
 said to have prepared the supper given 
 in the old Court House to Gen. La- 
 fayette, on his visit to Chester, Oct. 5, 
 1824; but I believe that to be an error; 
 as Major Anderson, who entertained 
 the General, owned a hotel, and na- 
 turally gave the preference to John J. 
 Thurlow, who rented it of him. After 
 Mrs. Piper's death, Evans S. Way kept 
 it until he was elected Sheriff; then 
 Samuel A. Price; after him Edward 
 E. Flavill, who used a painting of 
 
 * Aubrey Bevan kept, previous to 1 739, a 
 house called the " Pennsylvania Anns.'" This 
 property was owned by Ruth, the widow of 
 John Hoskins, Jr. She died in 1739, and de- 
 vised the house and lot to her grand-daughter, 
 Ruth Mather. See ante, p. 56. It is more 
 than probable that this tavern is the one referr- 
 ed to, and that it was not built by Aubrey 
 Bevan. 
 
 35 
 
 Penn's Treaty with the Indians, as a 
 sign, the work of a Quaker artist, Edw. 
 Hicks, and the hotel was conducted 
 as a temperance house. The sign was 
 presented by Samuel West, a brother of 
 Benjamin West, the celebrated painter, 
 Flavill sold the property to Thomas 
 Clyde, who continued it as a temperance 
 house for some years, when it was pur- 
 chased by John G. Dyer, ^(who married 
 Arabella, a daughter of Thomas Clyde,) 
 by whom it was kept for a number of 
 years, until he was succeeded by his 
 son, Samuel A. Dyer. It is now own- 
 ed and managed by Henry Abbott, Jr. 
 Mr. Clyde formerly kept a grocery 
 store, about 1826, at the N. E. cor. of 
 the old Market place, on Market' St., 
 north of Third St. J. Edward Clyde, 
 Esq., one of the present Justices of the 
 Peace of Chester, is a son of Thos. 
 Clyde. Col. Samuel A. Dyer,;;/. Caro- 
 line B. Vaughan, daughter of Jacob K. 
 and Matilda M. ; she died at Chester, 
 Dec. 7, 1874. 
 
 Thomas Clyde married Henrietta 
 Mifflin Ashmead, a daughter of Mr. 
 John Ashmead, who was a manufac- 
 turer of wall paper in Philadelphia. 
 Their only children were J. Edward, 
 and Arabella, wife of John G. Dyer, 
 who died April 15, 1871, in her 53d 
 year. J. Edward Clyde married Catha- 
 rine Collins, in Feb., 1857, she died 
 Aug., 1857, and in 1858, he married 
 Emma Ott. They have six children. 
 
 Thos. Clyde, d. June 22, 1855. 
 aged 76 yrs. ; Mrs. Clyde, d. Sept, 29, 
 1874, aged 82 years. Preston Eyre 
 married a sister of Mrs. Clyde, Ara- 
 bella Ashmead. I can recall several 
 of her children; J. Ashmead Eyre, 
 who kept a dry goods store at the N. 
 W. corner of Market Square, in Ches- 
 ter ; Henrietta, Arabella and Edward 
 Eyre, who now resides in San Fran- 
 
268 
 
 ISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 cisco,and is in opulent circumstances. 
 Arabella married Edward Darlington, 
 Esq., of Chester, now of Media ; and 
 Henrietta married Caleb IJooth, of 
 Delaware Count)-, now a prominent 
 judge and lawyer in one of our Wes- 
 tern States. Mr. Darlington's son, 
 George, is a well-known member of 
 the Delaware County Bar. His sister, 
 Arabella, married Joseph R. Morris, 
 Esq., also a member of the Bar, but 
 who died some )'ears since. William, 
 another son, resides in the West. 
 
 The Republican of Oct. 2, 1874, 
 contains the following obituary : 
 
 " Died — In this city, on the 28th ult., Hen- 
 rietta M. Clyde, relict of the late Thomas 
 Clyde, in the 82d year of her age. 
 
 Another link that bound the old time with 
 the present has been broken in the death of 
 Mrs. Cl.vnK. The deceased was the daugh- 
 ter of John Ashmead, a manufacturer in Phil- 
 adelphia, and grand-daughter of Capt. John 
 Ashmead, a noted seaman. vShe was born in 
 Philadelphia, Aug. 20, 1793. Within the com- 
 pass of her life, almost the entire history of this 
 government, as it has existed under the Fed- 
 eral Constitution, has been made. In 1813, 
 she was married to Thomas Clyde, and a not 
 unimportant event in her life was, that Thomas 
 Clyde, the now largest steamship owner in the 
 United States, in 1820, an orphan of eight 
 years, came to this country in his uncle's care, 
 and his youthful training was entirely in her 
 hands. Forty-eight years ago, in 1826, Mrs. 
 Clyde and her husband came to reside in this 
 city, and here her life has been remarkable for 
 an unostentatious charity, a l)usy life of good 
 works ; and many are those among us now, 
 who will miss the hand of help the aged dead 
 extended to the needy. Eighteen years ago 
 Mr. Clyde died, and now his helpmate follows 
 him into that mysterious state that no man 
 knoweth what it is. Dead — the sum of life 
 ended — the great good deeds done in the body 
 are inscribed upon that roll that fades not 
 henceforth forever. The last of the seventeen 
 who organized the first Presbyterian Church 
 of this city, still bravely battling, she fell 
 'At the side of her Captain, Christ, 
 Under whose banner she had fi)Ughl so long.' " 
 
 Thomas Clyde, a nephew of Thomas 
 Clyde, and a former resident of Ches- 
 ter, is now a prominent and wealthy 
 shipping merchant of Philadelphia, and 
 is conceded to be, by all those well 
 versed in maritime affairs, the largest 
 ship-owner of the present day in our 
 country. He is the owner or part 
 owner of over fifty steamers, and has 
 extensive branches of his Shipping 
 House in New York and Baltimore. 
 His two sons, William P. and George 
 W. Clyde, are connected with him in 
 business. He was born in Ireland, in 
 181 2, and came to this country when 
 only eight years of age, and lived in 
 Philadelphia with his uncle, who was 
 a grocer. In 1826, he and his uncle 
 removed to Chester, and he continued 
 in his employ until 1832, when he took 
 charge of a stone quarry on Ridley 
 Creek, as overseer. That quarry, like 
 others at that day on the Delaware, 
 furnished immense blocks of stone 
 weighing from two to seven tons, to 
 the U. S. Government for the for- 
 mation of the Delaware Breakwater, 
 near Cape Henlopen. These stones 
 were carried to the Capes in large 
 sloops. Shortly after this, Mr. Clyde 
 purchased the "Slaymaker Farm," at 
 Naaman's Creek, which he still holds. 
 He married Rebecca, a daughter of 
 William Pancoast, of Springfield, Del- 
 aware County, Pa. Soon after his 
 marriage, he bought the "Jacques 
 Quarry," located between the Prac- 
 tical Farmer and Shellpot Hill, on 
 the Delaware River, 4 miles east of 
 Wilmington, Del., at a place called 
 Quarryville, and furnished stone to 
 the United States, for the Delaware 
 Breakwater and other Government 
 works — a profitable business if care- 
 fully managed, as Mr. Clyde proved. 
 Sometime afterwards he contracted to 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 2f)9 
 
 build a number of locks for a Canal 
 Company in Virginia, on such favor- 
 able terms, that he sold his contract to 
 other parties at a profit. He then 
 turned his attention to building steam 
 vessels. During the late Rebellion he 
 fitted out numerous steamers and char- 
 tered them to the Government, fulfil- 
 ling all his engagements honorably and 
 honestly, with profit to himself and to 
 the satisfaction of the Government of 
 his adopted country. He is now in- 
 terested in a majority of all the steam 
 vessels that ply between the ports of 
 Philadelphia and New York, Norfolk, 
 Richmond, Alexandria and Washing- 
 ton, and to other ports along the At- 
 lantic Coast line, and is constantly 
 engaged in building more steamers. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Piper, mentioned above, 
 who married Sarah, daughter of John 
 Odenheimer, died, leaving two sons 
 and two daughters. One son yet living. 
 Dr. George W. Piper, was once a 
 well-known druggist in Chester. His 
 brother, Ferdinand Piper, was ap- 
 pointed a midshipman in the U. S. 
 Navy, Nov. i, 1827. Passed mid- 
 shipman, June 10, 1833 ; and pro- 
 moted to Lieutenant, Dec. 9, 1839. 
 Drowned at sea, Oct. 28, 1844. He 
 was a gallant young officer, and sacri- 
 ficed his life in the noble discharge of 
 duty to save the lives of the men under 
 his command. A boat in his charge 
 was upset at sea, the whole party cling- 
 ing to the capsized boat caused it repeat- 
 edly to sink beneath them. Lieutenant 
 Piper ordered the men to hold on to 
 the boat until rescued. He then said, 
 " Good bye, lads," loosened his grip, 
 and sunk beneath the waves, giving his 
 young life to save those of the common 
 sailors. I have no fitting words to 
 characterize, as it deserves, this act of 
 sublime courage, this proud instinct 
 
 of an officer's duty to those under his 
 command. It has been justly said, 
 an officer should act in battle and in 
 peace as the father of his men. This 
 principle seems to have actuated our 
 young hero. The following appeared 
 in one of the Chester newspapers : 
 
 " Died.— On the 28th. of Oct., 1844, in the 
 Bay of Pensacola, in the 32d year of his age, Lt. 
 Ferdinand Piper, of the U. S. Navy, youngest 
 son of Joseph and Sarah Piper, deceased, 
 late of the Borough of Chester. 
 
 Death has thus, within a few short months, 
 deprived the Borough of Chester of two es- 
 teemed and highly respected citizens and 
 officers of the Navy, creating deep grief in 
 the hearts of their relatives and friends that 
 time alone can assuage. Mr. Piper was de- 
 servedly beloved by his relatives, friends and 
 brother officers, for the urbanity of his man- 
 ners and the goodness of his heart." 
 
 Caroline, a daughter of Joseph and 
 Sarah Piper, married May 2, 1831, 
 John K. Zeilin, Esq., a member of the 
 Delaware Co. Bar, formerly a promi- 
 nent man in the county. He was elected 
 Captain of the Pennsylvania Artiller- 
 ists, May 15, 1833; Colonel of the 
 47th regiment of Militia, ist Brigade, 
 3d Division — consisting of the Militia 
 of Chester and Delaware Counties — 
 for 14 years, from Aug. 3, 1835 ; and 
 was Deputy Prosecuting Attorney at 
 one time. They had issue, Henrietta, 
 J. Henry, Mary C, Virginia, and Win- 
 field Scott. The other daughter, 
 Louisa Piper, married John Cloak, of 
 Smyrna, Delaware ; he died leaving 
 two daughters, Caroline, who married 
 Horace Peterson, of Philadelphia, and 
 after his death, Gideon Speakman, of 
 Chester, Sept. 9, 1876; and Emma 
 Cloak, who married Dr. George D. 
 Mahon. Some years after the death 
 of her husband, Mrs. Cloak married 
 Edward Boker, of Philadelphia. The 
 Zeilins are of German descent. Briga- 
 dier General Jacob Zeilin, comman- 
 
270 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 (lain of the I'nited States Marine 
 Corps, is a brother of John K. Zeilin, 
 Esq., now deceased. 
 
 J. Henry Zeilin, ///. Eiiielinc C, 
 dan. of Judge Carleton J^ and Susan 
 U. Cole, of Macon, Georgia, where he 
 resided from 1853 to 1870, and carried 
 on business as a druggist. They have 
 issue, Mary Bell, Carleton B., Susan E. 
 and Maria O. Zeilin. In 1870, Mr. J. 
 Henry Zeilin removed to Philadel- 
 phia. Mary C. Zeilin, dau. of John 
 K. and Caroline, m. Albin M. Wilson, 
 of Philadelphia. 
 
 The late John K. Zeilin, Esq., at 
 an early age went to Chester to live, 
 and became a clerk in the Prothono- 
 tary's office, then held by Henry Myers. 
 He studied law during his clerkship 
 with Edward Darlington ; was ad- 
 mitted in 1827, and continued in prac- 
 tice until he removed to his native 
 city, in 1852, and died there Aug. 6, 
 1876, in his 73d year. He was Pro- 
 thonotary of the Courts of Delaware 
 County during part of the administra- 
 tion of Gov. Wolf. 
 
 On the 1 8th of Sept., 1846, a conven- 
 tion of the Whig citizens of Delaware 
 Co., assembled at the Black Horse in 
 Middletown , to nominate a ticket. At 
 this convention, John K. Zeilin was 
 nominated for Congress by a large 
 majority of the delegates present, and 
 Dr. Joseph Wilson, John G. Hender- 
 son and John M. Bromall were ap- 
 pointed conferees to meet similar con- 
 ferees from Montgomery County— the 
 District being composed of Delaware 
 and Montgomery. A clear under- 
 standing existed that the candidate 
 should come from Delaware County. 
 The conferees met on two occasions, 
 and failing to agree, adjourned sme 
 die. Meanwhile, Samuel M. Leii)er, 
 of Delaware Co., was nominated bv the 
 
 Democrats, and the imjjression got 
 abroad that,vshould Mr. Zeilin con- 
 tinue in the political field, he would 
 be defeated by Mr. Leiper. A county 
 meeting was called, to which the con- 
 ferees made their report. At this 
 meeting H. Jones Brooke presided, 
 and Joshua P. Eyre and James J. Lewis, 
 of Newtown, acted as Secretaries. 
 After the report of the conferees, Hon. 
 Edward Darlington moved that a com- 
 mittee from the meeting be appointed 
 to confer with the Montgomery County 
 conferees, who were then present. The 
 chairman appointed Y. S. Walter, Jas. 
 Huston and William Bishop the com- 
 mittee, with instructions to report what 
 measures were necessary to be adopted 
 to secure the harmonious action of the 
 party in the District. While the com- 
 mittee was absent, Mr. Zeilin addressed 
 the assemblage, and at the close of 
 his speech withdrew from the canvass. 
 Mr. Walter, chairman of the com- 
 mittee, then reported to the meeting 
 the following resolution, which was 
 adopted without a dissenting voice : 
 
 ^^ Resolved, That John K. Zeilin, 
 Esq., who was placed in nomination 
 for Congress by the Whigs of Dela- 
 ware County, at a county meeting held 
 on the 1 8th of Sept. last, having mag- 
 nanimously withdrawn his name as a 
 candidate for Congress for this Dis- 
 trict; and as John Freedley, Esq., of 
 Montgomery, is the nominee of the 
 party in that county, we imanimously 
 recommend him to the support of the 
 Whigs of the Fifth District, and earn- 
 estly request our political brethren of 
 this county to give him their cordial 
 and \nidivided sui)i)ortat theai)proach- 
 ing election." 
 
 The withdrawal of Mr. Zeilin re- 
 stored harmony to the party, and Mr. 
 Freedley received the whole Whig vote 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 271 
 
 of the county — 1,457; his majority 
 for Congress over Mr. Leiper, in the 
 District, was 377. 
 
 This act of Col. Zeilin's gave to the 
 Whig party the majority of one in the 
 House of Representatives. At the me- 
 morable election of the Hon. John 
 Banks for the Speakership, he had a ma- 
 jority oione vote, and that was obtained 
 by the election of John Freedley, Whig. 
 Had Col. Zeilin remained a candi- 
 date, Mr. Leiper, Democrat, would 
 have been elected, and the House of 
 Representatives organized as a Demo- 
 cratic body. 
 
 The Directory of 1859, states that 
 " The brick house on Edgmont street 
 north of James, upon the tan-yard lot, 
 was likewise a Tavern, and kept by a 
 person named Johnson. The same 
 house is now occupied by Mr. J. S. Bell. 
 
 '' In the building at the S. W. corner 
 of Market and Work street, now occu- 
 pied as a Stationery Store by Mr. Zook, 
 a tavern was kept by James Pennell. 
 James' house became noted by his keep- 
 ing a tiger for exhibition, which attract- 
 ed numerous visitors ; Pennell subse- 
 quently removed to the Black Horse 
 in Middletown, Avhere he continued his 
 exhibition. As he was one day ex- 
 perimenting with the animal, he fell 
 a victim to its ferocity, having been 
 caught by it and so severely lacerated 
 as to cause his death. The property 
 referred to is now owned by Frederick 
 J. Hinkson. 
 
 ' ' The second house from the cor- 
 ner of Work street, on the east side 
 of Market street, was a Hotel kept by 
 John Scantling, an Irishman ; and the 
 resort of all the sons of the Emerald 
 Isle. For a number of years, and up 
 to about 1855, it was kept as a tavern 
 by John Irwin." 
 
 There is some confusion and mis- 
 
 take about the two last descriptions. 
 The tavern kept by the Irwin's was on 
 the west side of Market Street and 
 included the corner building and the 
 one next door, (now occupied by 
 Joseph Ladomus' jewelry store,) and 
 had extensive stabling in the rear,, 
 with a large yard and sheds for horses. 
 I lived next door where the Stacey 
 family now reside ; and played at cir- 
 cus in Irwin's stables when a boy. 
 Maurice W. Deshong rented the hotel, 
 and conducted it for some years, and 
 until about 1852. David Cowpland, 
 who was the son of William, a cooper, 
 in Chester, built the old White Swan 
 tavern, late Irwin's, and the house 
 next door, where the Stacey's live, 
 about the year 1750. He owned 
 the farm on the banks of the Dela- 
 ware, lately owned and occupied by 
 Mr. Laws — the old Bond farm. I 
 knew William D. Laws, a son of 
 James Laws. He was in the service 
 during the rebellion as a Major of 
 volunteers. The bricks with which 
 the old tavern and the dwelling are 
 constructed were made upon Mr. Cowp- 
 land's farm. Some of them, it is said, 
 were imported from England ; but 
 that is hardly probable, although bricks 
 were brought from England at an ear- 
 lier day. 
 
 David Cowpland ;;/. 10 mo. 31, 
 1730, Isabella Bell, and on the same 
 day, his sister Mary, m. William Pan- 
 coast ; all of them of Chester. His 
 daughter Agnes 711. 6 mo. 12, 1760, 
 Davis Bevan ; Joshua, his son, in. 
 in 1765, Ann Evans, of Middletown ; 
 David, another son, m. Hannah James, 
 of Chester, (daii. of Samuel, deceas- 
 ed, and Johanna,) 6 mo. 11, 1772. 
 Sarah a dau. of Joshua and Ann, m. 
 6th of 3d mo., 1813, Thomas Malin, 
 of Middletown. 
 
'in 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Margaret Cowpland, daughter of 
 William, cooper, of Chester, ?n. Nov. 
 9, 1727, Edward Bezer, of Bethel. 
 
 In 1779, David Cowpland was still 
 living and kept the old tavern men- 
 tioned ; and as I find he had a license 
 in 1755, I suppose he kept the same 
 inn until his death, which occurred in 
 1779 or '80. 
 
 Whether there ever was a tavern 
 opposite to the White Swan, on Mar- 
 ket street, as^ alleged, I cannot say, 
 but I doubt it, as I believe the house 
 next door to Dr. Terrill'sold residence 
 is a small frame. If there was a tavern 
 kept there by Scantling, it could only 
 have been a small drinking shop. 
 
 Caleb Cowpland, who was appointed 
 in 1750, an Associate Justice of the 
 Supreme Provincial Court, was a son 
 of William, and a brother of David ; 
 he died 10 mo. 12, 1757; aged 67 
 years. 
 
 David Paul Brown in " The Foriwi,'" 
 ist vol. 252, says: "Of Caleb Cowp- 
 land, we cannot find a single trace, 
 except his name." Mr. Brown's ge- 
 nealogical researches were not exten- 
 sive, as will be perceived by any one 
 who reads his work. 
 
 At Chester Monthly Meeting held at 
 Providence, 8 mo. 25, 1714, "Caleb 
 Cowjjland Produced a Certificate of 
 his Removall from Sedberg Monthly 
 Meeting, in Yorkshire, Old England," 
 which was recorded as follows: 
 
 ••r<( our well beloved ffriends in the Pro- 
 vince of Pensilvania, in America. Dear 
 Friends, with Dear and Brotherly Love in our 
 Lord Jesus we salute you, &c., and do hereliy 
 acciuaint you that the Bearer hereof, our ftViend 
 Caleb Cowpland, signified to us att This, our 
 Monthly Meeting, That he Intended to Re- 
 move (as way might be made) from hence 
 into your country in order to settle there, And 
 Desired our Certificate along with him to you 
 r'oncerning his Conversation and Circuni- ! 
 
 stances, &c. : Now These are therefore to 
 Certify you, that He is the son of Honest Pa- 
 rents who have carefully Educated him in the 
 \^•ay of the Truth ; and he has thus far well 
 approved himself, for we believe he hath not 
 only Received Truth by Tradition, hut in llie 
 Love of it ; Insomuch that he is a young man 
 of a sober and good Conversation and hath 
 always been so from his childhood. We have 
 further to acquaint you that he Removes with 
 the Consent of his Parents, and that he is free 
 from any Ingagement on any account, either 
 in Relation to marriage or otherwise ; so that 
 he Comes to you a clear and ffree young man. 
 We truly Wish his Welfaire, And that as he 
 hath begun well the Lord may Preserve him 
 so that he may continue therein the Remain- 
 ing Part of his time ; and then we doubt not 
 but he will meet with Incouragment from 
 such amongst you as are Honest harted to 
 God ; and that it may be soe is what we De- 
 sire : Farewell. 
 
 From our Monthly Meeting held at Brigg- 
 flats, near .Sedbergh, in Yorkshire, in Great 
 Britain, This 23d Day of the 12th month, 
 '7 '3- Signed by order, and in Behalfe of 
 the said meeting By 
 
 William & Agnes Cowpland, I'arents. 
 
 Edmond Winn, 
 William Adamwait, 
 John Hugginson, 
 John Gosling, 
 Robert Willan, 
 Isaac Hadwen, 
 John Betham, 
 John Greenwood, 
 William Baynes, 
 
 Samuel Parrott, 
 Christo. Winn, 
 Tho. Blaykling, 
 Joseph Bayns, Jr. 
 Antho. Pinder, 
 Ralph Anderson, 
 John Atkinson, 
 John Close, 
 John Burton." 
 
 In 1750, his brother Joshua brought 
 a certificate from the same meeting, 
 dated 26th of 2d month, and in 1723 
 the parents and their other children 
 also came over. 
 
 Caleb Cowpland took an active part 
 in meeting affairs, and being a good 
 writer he was appointed to write all 
 certificates of marriage for the particu- 
 lar meeting of Providence, to which 
 he for some years belonged. He was 
 appointed clerk of the Monthly Meet- 
 ing in 1722, and at the next meeting 
 after his death the following Minute 
 was made : 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 273 
 
 " Oiu- Worthy and Esteemed P^riend, Caleb 
 Co^vpland, since our last meeting being De- 
 ceased, who for upwards of Thirty-four years 
 past has been clerk to this meeting to General 
 Satisfaction ; But now it is Necessary that 
 another Clerk be appointed : But as this meet- 
 ing has not yet concluded who it shall be, 
 Peter Dicks, for the present, is Desired to 
 serve as Clerk." 
 
 Judge Cowplancl married, the 14th 
 of ist mo., 1 716-7, Mary Tidmarsh, 
 of Chester; she d. 8th mo. 5th, 1719, 
 leaving a son William, h-. the 26th of 
 loth mo., 1 71 7, who d. in the 7th 
 mo., 1728. On the loth of the nth 
 mo., 1 721-2, Caleb Cowpland mar- 
 ried secondly, Sarah Edge, of Provi- 
 dence, widow of Jacob Edge and dau. 
 of Rees and Hannah Jones, from 
 Wales, and they had the following 
 children: David, b. 1722, 10, 31; 
 Jonathan, b. 1724-5, nth mo. ; Agnes, 
 b. 1727, 6, 4; Caleb, b. 1730, 3, 15; 
 Grace, b. 1732, 12, 18; d. 1756, 
 10, 17. Sarah, wife of Caleb, the 
 Judge, d. 1758, 3, 28; aged 68 years. 
 Agnes Cowpland, dau. of Caleb and 
 Sarah, m. 1753, 8, 27, John Lownes, 
 son of Joseph and Sarah, of Philadel- 
 phia. On the tombstone erected to 
 the memory of the old Judge is en- 
 graven these words, "Caleb Cowp- 
 land, departed this life the 12th day 
 of the loth month, 1757, in the 67th 
 year of his age. ' ' 
 
 In the records of Chester Monthly 
 Meeting, I .find the following birth of 
 Bevan's. Elizabeth, born 1706, ist 
 mo. Ann, 1708, 7th mo. Mordecai, 
 1 710, ist mo. Benjamin, 1711, 9th 
 mo., no days given. And among the 
 deaths, William died 1715, 10, 17 ; 
 Isabella, 1822, 4, 6. 
 
 Sarah,* a dau. of Davis and Agnes 
 Bevan, married Benj. Bartholomew ; 
 
 * Sarah Bartholomew was disowned in 1783, 
 for marriage by a priest to one not a member. 
 
 who died 1784, without issue. He 
 was an uncle to -Captain John Davis, 
 already mentioned, (p. 146, ) and 
 raised and equipped, at his own ex- 
 pense, a company of men for his coun- 
 try's jiervice. He was a member of 
 the Assembly, from Chester County, 
 in 1774. Mrs. Bartholomew survived 
 her husband many years, and inherited 
 from her father, the property at the 
 S. W. corner of 4th and Market streets, 
 in Chester ; consisting of the tavern 
 and present Stacey residence, in which 
 she lived until near the time of her 
 death. 
 
 On April i, 1819, John Irwin, a 
 native of Ireland, took possession of 
 the old Hostlery at the N. W. corner 
 of Market and Work streets, then called 
 the ^^ Hope' s Anchor.'" He changed 
 the name to the " White Swan;'' I 
 remember the sign, with a White Swan 
 painted on it swimming in blue water, 
 on a rectangular board swinging in a 
 frame, supported on a heavy pole, at 
 the corner mentioned. Mr. Irwin was 
 noted for his hospitality ; a keen sports- 
 man, he owned several fast race horses, 
 and kept a pack of hounds. His house 
 was the resort of most of the people 
 from his native country who visited 
 Chester, as well as those from the sur- 
 rounding country who were fond of 
 field sports, besides the travellers. He 
 died Sept. 8, 1834, and the business 
 was continued by his wife until her 
 death, the result of an accident, the 
 fracture of her hip, ^ Aug. 17, 1847. 
 William, their son, then kept the 
 hotel until 1849, when Maurice W. 
 Deshong became the landlord. Wil- 
 liam Irwin was a man of talent ; he 
 invented and patented a process for 
 raising sunken vessels. He died Oct. 
 5, 1854, during a visit to Cleveland, 
 Ohio, of cholera. His remains were 
 
274 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 brought to Chester, and interred in the 
 grave yard of St. Paul's, adjoining the 
 Church, in his sister Jane's lot, along- 
 side of his mother, father, and sister 
 Ellen. 
 
 I'he parents of John Irwin, were 
 William Irvine, and Jane Nelson, of 
 Scotch-Irish descent, living on a farm 
 near Enniskillen Castle, County Fer- 
 managh, Ireland. They had sons, Rob- 
 ert, John and James, farmers; Christo- 
 pher, an Episcopal minister; and Henry 
 Irvine, a physician of several diplomas. 
 He married Letitia Armstrong, in Ire- 
 land. He came to America and set- 
 tled in Georgia as a planter, and also 
 practised his profession. James and 
 Christopher visited the United States, 
 but returned to Ireland ; they had 
 sisters, Ellen and Bessie. 
 
 John Irwin, of Chester, married in 
 Ireland, May 28, 1814, Jean Mayne, 
 daughter of Samuel and Mary (Mac- 
 kensie ;) their son William, born Mar. 
 7, 1 81 5, was but a few months old 
 when his father became embarrassed, 
 having, before marriage, become surety 
 for a friend, and had to sell his farm 
 to pay the large sum required ; his 
 father-in-law having refused to assist 
 him. Being deprived of most of his 
 means he determined to emigrate to 
 America, leaving his wife with her 
 parents until he had made a home for 
 her in the new country, but she re- 
 fused to be separated from him ; her 
 father finding her firm then offered to 
 assist Mr. Irwin, but he declined, and 
 he and his wife sailed for America, 
 arriving in Providence, R. I., in 1816. 
 They went from there to New York, 
 and finally came to Chester, to look 
 up an uncle of Mr. Irwin's, (John Nel- 
 son,) who had also been unfortunate 
 in going security for a friend in Ireland, 
 whom they found living at " Green 
 
 Bank," and who w'cnt with his family 
 to Canada, a short time afterwards. 
 
 On his arrival at Chester, Mr. Irwin 
 found his means diminishing, and by 
 the advice of Dr. Job H. Terrill, took 
 the " Hope's Anchor;" the old sign 
 of which the Irwin's left in the garret 
 of the hotel when they finally left it. 
 Mr. Irwin never let his wife's family 
 know that he kept a tavern in America, 
 because the people of the " Old Coun- 
 try" differ from ours, and pride them- 
 selves upon their mode of living, or 
 making a living. Mrs. Irwin said 
 there were none but professional men 
 in her family in Ireland. 
 
 John and Jane Irwin had the follow- 
 ing children. Williain, already men- 
 tioned, who dec'd unmarried ; John 
 Asbey, who ;//. Delia Campbell, of Phil- 
 adelphia; she ^. Dec. 1871, childless; 
 Samuel H., m. Kate House, of Phila- 
 delphia, (has issue, James and Lizzie, 
 m. to Geo. Wright, June 18, 1873;) 
 Mary, m. Daniel J. Chapman, of Phila- 
 delphia, (and has one child, Dolly ;) 
 /a?ie Nelson, residing in Chester, un- 
 married; Ellen, who died in 1844, un- 
 married ; Annie in. Peter Ritter, of Ho- 
 boken, N. J., (and has Henry, m. to 
 Lottie Kuster, Nov. 28, 1872 ; John I., 
 Peter, William I., and Annie Ritter;) 
 and Lizzie Irwin, who died unmarried, 
 Jan. 21, 1876. 
 
 Mrs. Irwin's })roud speech, and the 
 services those of her family and Mr. 
 Irwin's rendered this country during 
 the Revolution, will render the follow- 
 ing brief sketch concerning them, of 
 interest. The Mayne's were originally 
 English, Capt. William Mayne, of the 
 British army, saved, it is said, many 
 lives at the time of the Irish re- 
 bellion. His power to do so, is thus 
 related by tradition. He was offered 
 knighthood for his services in India, 
 
H 1 S T 11 Y O F C li E S T E R . 
 
 but asked instead, the privilege of 
 saving life from the gallows, and was 
 granted the right of saving nine lives 
 each year; be this true or not, the 
 descendants of one whose life was cer- 
 tainl)^ saved through his intercession, 
 are well known here. The Mayne's 
 were at one time a very wealthy family. 
 Samuel Mayne, heir of Golden, pos- 
 sessed 40 estates ; he was a cousin of 
 Mrs. Irwin's father. The latter owned 
 three estates, and left one to each of 
 his three sons, viz. : John Sedsbor- 
 rough (named after an ancestor, Lord 
 Sedsborrough, the ruins of whose cas- 
 tle are still to be seen on his place,) 
 Samuel and William Mayne. Their 
 mother's name was Mary, a daughter 
 of Dr. Samuel Mackensie; she had 
 besides the three sons mentioned, ten 
 daughters, and another son. Dr. 
 Samuel Mackensie married in 1768, 
 Jane Warner, daughter of Richard and 
 Mary. He came to America and was 
 a surgeon at Fort Pitt, under the Eng- 
 lish government. On March 30, 1776, 
 the Committee of Safety appointed 
 Dr. Mackensie Surgeon to the 2d Bat- 
 talion of Pennsylvania Troops in the 
 service of the United Colonies. He 
 offered his services, expended his 
 means in procuring medical supplies 
 and never received any pay, pension, 
 or repayment. At the battle of "Three 
 Rivers," June 8, 1776, Dr. Mackensie, 
 Gen. Wm. Thompson, (his mother's 
 brother,) and Col. William Irvine, were 
 taken prisoners, but afterwards ex- 
 changed. It is said he bought the 
 ground the town of Greensburg stands 
 on, with a gold repeater watch, and 
 purchased several houses in Baltimore, 
 one of which he had furnished before 
 he left the country in 1781, and re- 
 turned to Ireland for his family, in- 
 tending to bring them to this country, 
 80 
 
 when he died, June 1781, from in- 
 juries received by being thrown from 
 his carriage, leaving a widow, and one 
 child, Mary, who married Samuel, son 
 of Arthur Mayne^ of Golden. Col. 
 William Irvine, of Enniskillen, captur- 
 ed at "Three Rivers," was an uncle of 
 Willliam Irvine, father of John Irwin, 
 of Chester. He served to the end of 
 thewar, ^. Aug. 12, 1804. None of Dr. 
 Samuel Mackensie' s heirs ever came 
 over to see after the property he left 
 here. Mrs. Irwin's father wrote to her, 
 that she and her brother, John Mayne, 
 might have all they could get of the 
 Doctor's property, and a Power would 
 be sent to her if necessary ; but nothing 
 was ever done in the matter. Dr. 
 Mackensie was accompanied to America 
 by his brother Col. Robert Mackensie, 
 and they both served under their uncle 
 William Thompson, a Brigadier Gene- 
 ral in the Continental Army, appointed 
 by Congress, from Pennsylvania, who 
 also served until the close of the war, 
 and died Nov. 22, 1796. 
 
 Robert Frazer, Esq., a son of Col. 
 Persifer Frazer, of the Revolutionary 
 Army, and who was an intimate friend 
 of Dr. Samuel Mackensie, dined one 
 day at the "White Swan," and enter- 
 ing into conversation with Mrs. Irwin, 
 was much surprised to find that she 
 was a grand-daughter of his father's 
 friend. He became much interested 
 in her family history, and promised to 
 look after the property Dr. Mackensie 
 had left in America, but died before 
 he could do so, so it has passed into 
 the hands of strangers. Robert Fra- 
 zer, Esq., was the father of the late 
 John Frazer, Professor in the Uni- 
 versity of Pennsylvania, and a brother 
 of Eliza, wife of the late Judge Henry 
 Myers, of Delaware County. Her 
 daughter Mary Ann Myers died at 
 
276 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEU. 
 
 her l)rother's, \\m. Henry Myers, who 
 was agent for the Pepper estate, and 
 lived near the Navy Yard in Philadel- 
 phia ; his brother Persifer Myers died 
 while storekeeper at the Navy Yard. 
 Judge Myers lived next door to the 
 White Swan tavern for many years, and 
 was U. S. Post-master at Chester. 
 
 The John Mayne mentioned as the 
 brother of Mrs. Jane Irwin, eldest son 
 of Samuel Mayne and Mary Mackensie, 
 while on a visit to his sister at Chester, 
 married Sallie Ann Harlan, a widow 
 of John, a brother of Dr. Ellis C. Har- 
 lan ; her maiden name was Sallie Ann 
 West, she was a niece of Samuel and 
 Benjamin West ; the latter being the 
 great painter. She died in Ireland, 
 and left one child, Mary Ann, who 
 came to this country and married a 
 Mr. Hewett. John Mayne married 
 secondly, Matilda Hare. He and his 
 brothers Samuel and William, married 
 sisters, daughters of Capt. Hare, of the 
 British Army. They all visited this 
 country and returned again to Ireland. 
 Samuel, a son of John, came to this 
 country in 1874, and purchased a farm 
 in Schuyler Colfax County, Illinois. 
 
 A singular incident is related con- 
 cerning the wife of Judge Joseph 
 Mayne, of Dublin, an uncle of Mrs. 
 Irwin. Mrs. Mayne, being supposed 
 to be dead, was placed in a vault, and 
 her engagement ring containing a 
 valuable diamond was buried with her ; 
 one of her servants knowing this, deter- 
 mined to get the ring ; in trying to get 
 it off he cut her finger, when she re- 
 vived, and he fled the country, al- 
 though the Judge advertised for him, 
 and would have given him a handsome 
 reward for saving his wife's life. Capt. 
 John Irvin, U. S. Navy, (1875) is said 
 to be a member of this family. 
 
 There is a fine large building on the 
 
 "Upi)er Pier," known as "TheSteam- 
 boat Hotel," formerly rented by Cross- 
 man Lyons. Who kept it before he 
 did, I cannot remember, nor do*" I 
 know when it was first used as a house 
 of entertainment, but before Lyons 
 kept the hotel, it was occupied as a 
 tavern, by John Ford, father of Nelson 
 Ford, then by Henry Rease, and after- 
 wards by a Mr. Niles. It stands back 
 from the line of Market street on the 
 east side, and the new street called 
 Front street, passes close along its 
 southern side. It had been used as a 
 tavern several years before 1832, as 
 will appear by the following adver- 
 tisement which I copy from the Weekly 
 Visitor, verbatim. 
 
 '' For Rent. — The Steamboat Hotel, 
 Chester, Pennsylvania. This well- 
 known establishment, situate on the 
 upper pier, which has been occupied 
 for several years as a public house. 
 It is most advantageously located, 
 being but a few yards distant from the 
 landing of the numerous steamboats, 
 which ply uj) and down the river. 
 There are seventeen fine rooms in the 
 building, which are large and airy and 
 very comfortable. The bar room is 
 fitted up in the neatest manner. A 
 two-story piazza, extending nearly 
 around the house, is sufficient to ac- 
 commodate nearly 100 persons to dine, 
 and affords a delightful promenade, and 
 an extensive view on the Delaware, the 
 Lazaretto, &c. There is stabling on 
 the premises sufficient for 20 horses, 
 with a fine shed attached. A spring 
 of excellent water on the premises and 
 a good garden, containing three acres 
 of excellent land. Terms easy, and 
 made known on application to James 
 M. Broome, 6th street below Chestnut, 
 Philadelphia, or to Samuel Smith, 
 Chester, Delaware Countv. Posses- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 277 
 
 sion can be given on the 25th of March 
 next. Jan. 29, 1832." 
 
 It is said that the old Steamboat 
 Hotel is one of the most ancient build- 
 ings in Chester, and that during the 
 Revolutionary war, when the British 
 fleet sailed up the river to Philadel- 
 phia, the frigate "Augusta," which 
 went up and never came down again, 
 opened fire on the town of Chester as 
 she passed, and that a shot from one 
 of her guns struck the gable end of 
 the hotel next to the river, at the spot 
 now marked by the circular window. 
 Tradition says that the whole British 
 fleet opened fire on every house along 
 the river banks within range. I have 
 heard it said that one shot struck the 
 "Crosby House," at Ridley Creek 
 Quarries, now occupied by John C. 
 Leiper ; and that at Chester many 
 houses were struck, among others, the 
 residence of Henry Hale Graham and 
 the old pent-house* or tavern at the 
 N. E. corner of 2d and Market streets. 
 Mr. Graham and his family sought 
 shelter in the cellar, as no doubt every- 
 body else did, during this display of 
 the bravery and humanity of the naval 
 heroes of Great Britain, in making an 
 uncalled for attack upon a defenceless 
 people. 
 
 The Directory mentions also, a beer 
 house called the Globe, which "was 
 once kept upon James street, below 
 Market street, by a man named Scott, 
 but abandoned as a public house for 
 nearly fifty years. It was burned down 
 in 1830, and the site is now occupied 
 by the Upland Buildings^ owned by 
 Samuel A. Price." As the beer-house 
 
 * A pcnl-liouse is so called, because there 
 is a ilenii-roof or a projection over the win- 
 dows of the different stories to shed the rain, 
 such as is found built in the old Court-House, 
 and in almost all the ancient buildings in 
 Chester. 
 
 was burned down during Scott's occu- 
 pancy, there was good reason for its 
 being abandoned as a public house. 
 Scott sold eatables and table-beer, thus 
 keeping the first restaurant in Chester. 
 Table-beer does not seem to be made 
 in this country now. Our people have 
 been educated to drink strong liquors, 
 more the pity. Table-beer was some- 
 thing like the present Weiss-beer, but 
 more pleasant to the taste, and a half 
 mug of it with the other half porter, 
 was called ' ' Half-and-half. ' ' The old 
 structure referred to, stood on the 
 north side of Third street, east of Edg- 
 mont street, and next to the stone 
 stables of " Thurlow's tavern," which 
 were between the Globe and the tav- 
 ern. It was a fine old brick house 
 with a curb roof. I think it was burned 
 down about 1835 or '36, not in 1832; 
 however, I remember the fire very 
 well, young as I was then. A line of 
 men were stationed along the street 
 down to Chester Creek, who passed up 
 buckets of water to fill the old hand 
 fire engine, whose house was opposite 
 the residence of Mrs. Gray. The 
 empty buckets were passed back to the 
 creek by another line composed of 
 women and small boys. The place 
 was entirely destroyed, as well as the 
 stabling of the National Hotel I have 
 before referred to. The next morning 
 we boys had great fun hunting up our 
 "Fire Buckets. ' ' Those belonging to 
 my father, I lately deposited with the 
 Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance 
 Company. They were made by John 
 Birchel, of Chester, in 1798. 
 
 Some of the older inhabitants of 
 Chester may be able to recall the -lines 
 that a])peared a day or so after the burn- 
 ing of Scott's liouse, beginning: 
 
 Fire ! fire ! cried John Dyer, 
 Where ? where ? said Preston Eyre, 
 
278 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Down the street, said Joiiatliaii Treat, 
 It's liere! It's here! yelled Cliarley Lear, 
 \'our wrong, your wrong, cried John Deshong. 
 
 A short distance below Chester Creek 
 bridge, on the river side of the old 
 post road leading to Baltimore, now 
 Third Street, on a high embankment, 
 there stood about 1840, an ancient, 
 long, low building, built partly of logs, 
 partly of boards, a frame, and partly 
 a frame filled with bricks and plates of 
 iron, which it is said were brought over 
 from England, that is, the bricks and 
 iron plates. The house was only one 
 and a half stories high, and consisted 
 of three parts, or rather of three con- 
 tiguous houses. The frame house stood 
 with the gable to the road ; next came 
 the frame filled in with brick, &c., and 
 next a one-story long, old log house 
 used as a kitchen. 
 
 This old house was one of the first 
 taverns in Chester, and was called 
 " The Black Bear Inn.'' It was at 
 this tavern that William Penn was en- 
 tertained when he visited Chester, and 
 from this circumstance it was called 
 " the old Penn mansion," by persons 
 that had heard that Penn once lived 
 in it, they thinking it had been his re- 
 sidence, and not knowing that it had 
 been once quite a famous inn. This 
 property formerly belonged to Capt. 
 Isaac E. Engle, who married my cou- 
 sin Sarah Ann Crosby. He sold it 
 about 1841-42, and it was torn down 
 soon after to make room for more 
 modern improvements, in course of 
 which the high groiuid on which the 
 house stood was levelled or dug away. 
 The pretty, pleasant, little town of 
 "Old Chester," of my school-boy 
 days, is now scarcely to be recognized 
 in the new city that has sprung up; so 
 many new buildings have been erect- 
 ed, some on the gardens of the old 
 
 residences, and so many old landmarks 
 obliterated in the march of improve- 
 ment, that Chester is a new town now, 
 and mostly inhabited by a new peo- 
 ple, and I feel like a stranger in a 
 strange land whenever I re-visit its once 
 familiar environs. 
 
 The old Black Bear Inn, stood al- 
 most directly opposite the residence 
 of the late William Brobson, and nearly 
 opposite that of the late Samuel Shaw, 
 the father of my old friends James E. 
 and John Eyre Shaw, Esq. 
 
 There stood around this quaint old 
 house, in my boyhood days, many 
 fine large shade trees. It was a beau- 
 tiful spot, and captivated my youthful 
 fancy. At that time it was the resi- 
 dence of the children of William Baggs, 
 viz. : James, Catharine, Mary and Jane 
 Baggs. James B., was in business in 
 Philadelphia, and was always the best 
 dressed man I ever remember to have 
 seen ; quite a dandy. He had two sons, 
 Theodore, who is living, and James, 
 who died some years ago, in a decline. 
 Mary and Jane Baggs, when I left 
 Chester, in 1838, to go to West Point, 
 were very handsome young women. 
 Mary, afterwards became the wife of 
 my good friend John Larkin, Jr. ; 
 Jane married Jeremiah Stevenson, 
 the well-known auctioneer of Chester. 
 The eldest daughter of William Baggs, 
 Catharine Harmony, met, while on a 
 visit to her brother in Philadelphia, 
 our good old friend. Squire Sam- 
 uel Ulrich, and became his wife in the 
 year 1828. Mr. Ulrich removed to 
 Chester, about 1834, or '35, and kept 
 a tobacco and segar store in Market 
 Street, on the west side, north of 
 Third Street, in the former residence 
 of Preston Eyre, and his place of 
 business was the resort of all the gen- 
 tlemen of Chester ; some passed most 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 279 
 
 of their time there ; among whom I 
 remember Mr. William Gerhard, a re- 
 tired merchant of Philadelphia, who 
 boarded with Squire Smith's widow, 
 in the old mansion erected by William 
 Graham, on Edgmont Avenue, with 
 his wife and his daughter, who was a 
 very beautiful young lady ; she after- 
 wards married Henry J. Du Pont, of 
 Wilmington, Delaware. Her brother, 
 Benjamin Gerhard, Esq., was a prom- 
 inent member of the Philadelphia Bar, 
 and married a daughter (Maria), of 
 the late celebrated lawyer, the Hon. 
 John Sergeant. 
 
 I find in my note-book the following- 
 entry : — Dec. 6, 1871. There died at 
 Chester, an old and well-known resi- 
 dent of the town, Samuel Ulrich, in 
 his 69th year. He was a noted Justice 
 of the Peace, and an old-time honest 
 country Squire. All the inhabitants 
 of Chester knew and loved the short, 
 thick-set, cheerful "Squire Ulrich." 
 As a magistrate, it was his delight to 
 settle disputes between his neighbors, 
 not to encourage them in litigation. 
 He was a tobacconist by trade, and his 
 store was a favorite place of resort, 
 and around his cheerful fire during the 
 long winter evenings, oft gathered a 
 social circle of old friends, and many 
 jokes were told and many a good thing 
 said ; may his memory ever remain 
 green. He was the father of my friend 
 Dr. William B. Ulrich. His parents, 
 John and Mary Ulrich, were residents 
 of Philadelphia. He was the father 
 of the following children : William 
 B. , John, Mary, who died in infancy, 
 Clara, Rachel, Mary Cline, unmar- 
 ried, Job Terrill, Kate B., and Anna 
 Ulrich, who was married, Oct. 21, 1874, 
 to George F. Erdman , of Chester. 
 
 Dr. William B. Ulrich, the eldest 
 son, married Eliza, daughter of David 
 
 F. Miller, of Louisiana, where he prac- 
 tised medicine for 20 years. They 
 have issue, Samuel, a Civil Engineer 
 on the Pennsylvania Railroad, William 
 and David Ulrich ; Dr. Ulrich now 
 resides in Chester. 
 
 John is married, has three children ; 
 resides in Camden, N. J., and is a clerk 
 in the office of the Penna. R. R. Co. 
 
 Clara Ulrich, is the wife of William 
 Ward, Esq., the well-known and pro- 
 minent lawyer of Chester, one of the 
 men to whom the city owes so much 
 of its prosperity. He was elected in 
 the fall of 1876 to represent the coun- 
 ties of Chester and Delaware in the 
 lower house of Congress of the United 
 States. They have six children, S. 
 Ulrich, John Broomall, William, Rena, 
 Clara, and Madgie Ward. 
 
 Rachel B. Ulrich, is the wife of 
 David D. Miller, of Louisiana, now of 
 Natchez, Miss. They have only one 
 child living, Rachel Miller. 
 
 Job Terrill Ulrich, was lost at sea, 
 in 1871 ; he was on the steamer "At- 
 lanta." The history of that vessel is 
 this. " The Rebel Ram Atlanta," built 
 by the Confederate Government, was 
 captured by the Federal forces, repair- 
 ed and sold to the Republic of San 
 Domingo, and under the name of "II 
 Triumphe," she sailed from Chester, 
 and was never heard of again, suppos- 
 ed to have foundered at sea, and all 
 hands lost. 
 
 Kate B. Ulrich, is thejvife of Or- 
 lando Harvey, Esq., a member of the 
 Bar, and a son of Dr. Elwood Harvey, 
 of Chester, who is a prominent man, 
 and an esteemed physician. They 
 have one child, Albert. 
 
 Dr. Smith, in a manuscript, giving 
 some particulars of the Hoskins' fam- 
 ily, of Chester, states, that "At a Court 
 held the 6th of 8th month, 1691, the 
 
280 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 following appears among the minutes: 
 'We, the Grand Jury present, Richard 
 Parker, Caleb Pusey, Robert Moulder, 
 George Foreman, James Sandilands, 
 John Hoskins and Roger Jackson, for 
 selling beer, &c., without license, con- 
 trary to law.' The persons presented 
 by the Grand Jury were among the 
 most respectable in the county. Caleb 
 Pusey was a noted preacher among 
 Friends, and had been foreman of the 
 previous Grand Jury. The present- 
 ment probably had its origin in malice 
 or revenge." 
 
 In the latter assertion I think he is 
 mistaken, because the large number 
 of emigrants^ arriving at that time at 
 Chester, caused nearly every house, if 
 not all of them, in the town, to be 
 turned into houses of entertainment, 
 and with such a number of English 
 yeomen and their families, all accus- 
 tomed to the free use of beer and ale, 
 it is quite natural that their host should 
 get into trouble for selling or allowing 
 it to be drunk on their premises. 
 
 In the olden times our tavern-keep- 
 ers were among our best known and 
 most popular citizens, especially those 
 keeping inns on the well travelled stage 
 routes, or who kept taverns in the coun- 
 try towns ; and such is the case, in some 
 degree, in the country yet ; and there 
 is no more popular or successful candi- 
 date for sheriff, or other county office, 
 than the landlord of a country tavern, 
 where the j^^eople re.sort in winter to 
 balls, and where sleighing parties stop 
 to refresh and dance, and near which 
 in summer, fairs, shows and circusses 
 exhibit their attractions. I know now 
 at least a " baker's dozen" of the keep- 
 ers of favorite country inns, who are, 
 or who have been Sheriffs in different 
 counties of this State ; and as many, 
 who have been Colonels of militia re- 
 
 I giments. In the late civil war, numer- 
 I ouscommanders of volunteer regiments 
 were tavern keepers, when they first 
 went into service. 
 
 About fifty years ago, Chester was a 
 favorite Sunday drive for Philadelphi- 
 ans. My father told me he had seen 
 both sides of the great road now called 
 Fifth Street, from Major Anderson's 
 hotel to where the railroad crosses the 
 'Big road," lined with the different 
 kinds of vehicles of Sunday visitors, 
 the horses hitched to the fences, there 
 being no room for them in the stables 
 of the town. These Sunday excursion- 
 ists drove down to Chester, where they 
 took dinner, and frequently something 
 stronger, and drove back to the city in 
 the afternoon. 
 
 Tavern keeping is almost a certain 
 road to office, or to a comfortable com- 
 petency, in this country, so that few 
 hesitate to engage in the business. 
 The daughters of "mine host," are 
 proverbially handsome. "Why is this 
 thus?" as the celebrated humorist, Ar- 
 temus Ward, would say. I believe that 
 it is not generally known, that this nom- 
 de-plinne of a successful writer of the 
 present day, now deceased, is the ver- 
 itable name of a Gentleman who re- 
 ceived from Congress the first com- 
 mission of a Major-General in the Con- 
 tinental army, dated June 17, 1775, 
 and ranked next to the Commander-in- 
 Chief, our beloved Washington. 
 
 In the Sunday Dispatch, Feb'y 15, 
 1874, an inquirer says he has a letter 
 in his possession, dated Dec, 1777, 
 from D. Montgomery, which appears 
 to have been written from Chester, in 
 which he speaks of the consequences 
 of war, and seems to have been a pris- 
 oner, and he wishes to know the name 
 of the prison which is referred to at 
 Chester, and who the writer was. The 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 281 
 
 battle of Brandywine was fought, Sept. 
 II, 1777, after which the British fleet 
 passed up the river on Nov. 19. Clies- 
 terwas in possession of the British, who 
 kept their prisoners on board H. B. M. 
 frigate, "Vulture," lying off Chester, 
 so says tradition, but "tradition is a 
 careless story teller." 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 The ancestors of the family of Broom 
 in this country, appear to have settled 
 first in Chester County. In 17 16, Mor- 
 ton Mortonson made conveyance of 
 lands in Darby to John Broom, and in 
 the records of Chester Monthly Meet- 
 ing of Friends, it is recorded that 
 Daniel Broom, son of Daniel, of Mar- 
 pie, married, 1725, 10 mo. 8th, Judith 
 Calvert, of Providence, daughter of 
 John, and in the register of births 
 will be found the following entries: 
 James, 9 mo. 8, 1726; Mary, 9 mo. 
 25, 1728; Daniel, 12 mo. 25, 1730; 
 Thomas, 3 mo. 20, 1734; Betty, 3 mo. 
 20, 1734; children of Daniel and Ju- 
 dith Broom. 
 
 James Broom brought a certificate 
 from Friends at Frenchay in Glouces- 
 tershire, to Concord Monthly Meeting, 
 held 10 mo. 2, 1717. In 1719 he re- 
 turned to England to attend to some 
 business, and in his absence his wife, 
 Mary, died early in 1720, leaving two 
 small children, Edith and Alexander. 
 James Broom died in 1721, leaving 
 some estate in Marshfield, Gloucester- 
 shire, to his son Alexander, whom he 
 desired might be sent to his relations 
 there, when four years old. 
 
 One Thomas Broom married Eliza- 
 beth, daughter of John Hannum of 
 Concord, prior to 1730, and a James 
 Broom of Wilmington, married about 
 1740, Esther, daughter of John and 
 
 Mary Willis of Thornbury. They had 
 a son John Broom, and perhaps other 
 children. 
 
 I have no data by which to trace the 
 descent to the present generation of 
 the family, but such information as I 
 have collected may be of use hereafter; 
 for the alleged descent of " the very 
 ancient and eminent family of Broom," 
 as Burke styles them, is the very ro- 
 mance of history. 
 
 Having been frequently asked how 
 the Brooms and Crosbys are connect- 
 ed, it will be as well here to dispose 
 of that question. 
 
 John Crosby of the 4th generation 
 from Richard, the original settler in 
 Middletown, married early in 1770, 
 (secondly) Ann, a daughter of Robert 
 and Elizabeth. Peirce, of Christiana 
 Hundred, in the State of Delaware. 
 There is an advertisement in confirm- 
 ation of this residence in the Pennsyt- 
 vania Gazette oi Dec. i, 1773, offer- 
 ing a reward of ten dollars for a mare 
 stolen from Robert Peirce, living in 
 Christiana Hundred, near Wilming- 
 ton, dated July i, 1773. 
 
 About this time Jacob Broom, " an 
 eminent and talented citizen," {Mont- 
 gomery,') who afterwards represented 
 the State of Delaware in framing the 
 Constitution of the United States, 
 married Rachel, another daughter of 
 Robert and Elizabeth Peirce, a sister 
 of Ann, who married Judge John Cros- 
 by of Ridley. 
 
 James and Mary Broom, were the 
 original emigrants to this country. 
 They came from England, and their 
 daughter, Edith, married Benjamin 
 Sharpless, 2 mo. 27, 1737, a son of 
 Joseph and Lydia (Lewis). She had 
 three children, Joseph, Benjamin and 
 Edith, and died Aug. 13, 1744? in the 
 26th year of her age ; so says Spencer 
 
'2S'2 
 
 J STORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 BonsalL in his Extracts from Friends' 
 Records in Pennsylvania, MS. 
 
 Miss Bessie Montgomery, in her 
 ' ' Reminiscences of Wilmington, " 1 85 1 , 
 pp.42, 43, 58, 75, says: "Jacob Broom, 
 Esq., was an eminent and talented 
 citizen of the State of Delaware. He 
 selected, in 1795, the only eligible 
 spot for a cotton factory, the first in 
 this region, on the banks of the Bran- 
 dywine, near Du Font's celebrated 
 powder mills. It was deemed a won- 
 derful enterprise. Soon after he built 
 a mansion, spacious for that day, on 
 the hill near Wilmington, now occu- 
 pied by Dr. Smith, called Tuscalum. 
 In the summer of 1797, Mr. B.'s fam- 
 ily spent some weeks there, and I re- 
 member the spot when I was on a visit 
 to his daughters. He was engaged in 
 commerce for many years in Wilming- 
 ton, and represented the State in fram- 
 ing the Constitution of the United 
 States. ' ' She says also : ' ' The address 
 to General Washington, Dec. 16, 1783, 
 is unrivalled as a composition. It was 
 probably written by Jacob Broom." 
 
 Jacob and Rachel Broom had issue : 
 Elizabeth Peirce, who m. John Ro- 
 berts ; Esther, who became the wife 
 of William Lyons, Esq., of Bedford, 
 Pa. ; Lavinia ; Ann, who m. Asa 
 Moore; Jacob P., who m. Eliza Rob- 
 erts, sister of John, who ;//. Eliza- 
 beth, and of James Roberts, who be- 
 came the second husband of Sally 
 Broom, as will be seen presently; 
 James M., attorney-at-law, of Wil- 
 mington, Del., and of Philadelphia, 
 and Sally. 
 
 Sally Broom, m., first, Jacob Brin- 
 ton, by whom she had a daughter, 
 Elizabeth, who died in Coatesville, Pa. , 
 Aug. 27, 1867, without issue. She 
 /«., secondly, James Roberts, and had 
 issue, Mary, the second wife of John 
 
 Fairlamb Hill, of Ridley, they had no 
 issue ; Rachel, who m. Samuel Henry, 
 of Philadelphia ; of their other chil- 
 dren, Lavinia, Margaret, Virgilinadind 
 James, I have no account. Their 
 youngest daughter, Sarah Maria Ro- 
 berts, was my childhood's playmate, 
 and a frequent visitor to my grand- 
 mother Hill's, while I lived with her 
 in Ridley. She married Charles Hen- 
 ry Stone, son of John, a member of 
 the large silk-house of John Stone & 
 Sons, of Philadelphia. He died some 
 years ago, leaving surviving him, his 
 widow and the following children: 
 John, Brinton, Charles A., Newton 
 Henry, Edward Roberts, Mary Helen 
 and Bessie Stone. 
 
 John Stone, m. Annie, daughter of 
 Hugh E. and Hannah Steele, of Laurel 
 Iron Furnace, in Chester County, Pa., 
 now of the Iron firm of Steele, Worth 
 & Co., of Coatesville. 
 
 Dr. Brinton Stone, who commenced 
 the study of medicine under Dr. John 
 Brinton and Dr. De Costa, and after tak- 
 ing one course at Jefferson College, 
 upon a call of the Government for sur- 
 geons, presented himself to the Medical 
 Board of the army, passed a very cred- 
 itable examination, and on the same 
 night proceeded to join the army under 
 Gen. McClellan, before Richmond, 
 and was assigned to duty with the ist 
 U. S. Cavalry. After the retreat of 
 McClellan to Harrison's Landing, he 
 went with the wounded to the Military 
 Hospital at Chester, and after some- 
 time, was ordered to the Surgeon-Gen- 
 eral's Office, Washington, D. C, as 
 assistant to Dr. John Brinton, and af- 
 terwards to Dr. George Otis, in the 
 Medical Museum, who were engaged on 
 a medical work for the Government on 
 Gun-shot and projectile wounds. Sin- 
 gularly, I do not find Dr. Stone's name 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 283 
 
 on the Army Register until May i8, 
 1864, when his name appears as As- 
 sistant Surgeon of Vohmteers, with the 
 rank of Brevet Major. Yet the above 
 are the facts concerning his services dur- 
 ing the Rebellion. In 1865, he married 
 Elizabeth D., dau. of Richard C. and 
 Martha Magdalen Bowie, of Baltimore, 
 Md. He was honorably mustered out 
 of service, April 11, 1866, and settled 
 at Coatesville, Pa., as a practising phy- 
 sician, Dec. 5, 1873; he entered the 
 U. S. Navy as a volunteer Asst. Sur- 
 geon, and died at Washington, D. C, 
 Jan. 21, 1875, leaving surviving him 
 a widow and two sons, Charles Henry, 
 and George Loring Porter Stone. Dr. 
 Stone graduated at Jefferson Medical 
 College, Philadelphia, in 1864. 
 
 Charles A. Stone is now a lieutenant 
 in the U. S. Navy. Newton Henry 
 Stone, ;//. Ellen Hale, of Bellefonte, 
 Pa., dau. of James N. and Jane, Dec, 
 29, 1875. Edward Roberts Stone is 
 a practising physician in Philadelphia, 
 having graduated at Jefferson Medical 
 College, in March, 1872 ; he in. Vir- 
 ginia, only dau. of W. L. Gilroy, Oct. 
 3, 1876. Their sisters, Mary Helen 
 and Bessie Stone, are unmarried. 
 
 My old friend, Mr. John F. Gilpin, 
 says: "In 181 7, I lived in Wilming- 
 ton, Del., and knew Jacob Broom. 
 He was a magistrate, and familiary call- 
 ed 'Squire Broom.' His son, James 
 M. Broom, was a lawyer, and married 
 a daughter of Daniel Lowber, a tanner, 
 in Wilmington. She was very beauti- 
 ful, but became very stout later in life, 
 as did also her husband, after he remov- 
 ed to Philadelphia. His office was in 
 Walnut St., above Third, on the north 
 side, next to the office of the late 
 Charles Chauncey, Esq. Maria, a 
 daughter of Jacob Broom, married Mr. 
 Grant, a merchant of Baltimore." 
 
 Miss Montgomery, p. 75, writing of 
 James M. Broom, Esq., of "Tusca- 
 lum," says: " At an early age he was 
 unanimously elected a representative 
 to Congress. His ancestors were here 
 in the olden times. He practised law 
 in Delaware, and honorably represent- 
 ed his State. His family were of the 
 old Federal party, and he is now ranked 
 among the most able and respectable 
 lawyers of Philadelphia, whither he 
 went more than 30 years ago." He 
 was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar 
 March 16, 18 18. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin says : " James M. Broom 
 was a law partner of the late John 
 Wales, U. S. Senator from Delaware. 
 I often saw their shingle (/. e., tin 
 sign,) on their office window, in Wil- 
 mington." 
 
 BROOM & WALES, 
 rJ^'Uia'ineuS' at S£aifj-. 
 
 From Drake' s Biogi'aphical Dictioii- 
 a?y, p. 128, I copy, as follows: "Ja- 
 cob Broome, statesman, delegate to 
 the Convention which formed the Fed- 
 eral Constitution, died at Philadelphia, 
 April, 1810, aged 58 years. He filled 
 many offices of honor and trust in Del- 
 aware. ' ' His son, "James M. Broome, 
 Princeton College, 1794, a member of 
 Congress, 1805-7, from Delaware, died 
 in 1850." His son, "Jacob Broome. 
 Philadelphia Bar, member of Congress 
 from Pennsylvania, died 1864. He 
 was the candidate of the Native Amer- 
 ican party for Presidency of the United 
 States, in 1852, along with Dr. Rey- 
 nell Coates, of Camden, N. J., for the 
 Vice-Presidency, and received a small 
 vote in some of the States. The party 
 was large, but mismanaged. ' ' During 
 the parades and at the meetings of the 
 
284 
 
 IIISTOKY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 partN- preceding the electii)n, l^rooms j 
 and old Coats were carried as party 
 standards or emblems. 
 
 ••John Broome, merchant, member 
 of the New York Constitutional Con- 
 vention, 1777 ; Lieut. Governor of New 
 York, 1804, died Aug. 1810, aged 72." 
 In Allen' s Biographical Dictionary , p. 
 144, it is further stated : " He was many \ 
 years at the head (^'i various commer- 
 cial, charitable and religious institu- 
 tions, died at the age of 82." There 
 is a county in the State of New York, 
 and a street in the city of New York, 
 both called Broome, in honor, I pre- 
 sume, of the old Lieut. Governor. 
 The Broome's of Delaware, New York, 
 Pennsylvania and Washington, are all 
 relatives, and are a very handsome race. 
 I have a copy of a miniature of "Aunt 
 Sally Broome," as she is spoken of by 
 the older members of the family, taken 
 when she was about 18 years of age, 
 just after her first marriage, in which 
 she has on one of those tall white caps, 
 that all married women wore in her 
 days ; and despite this disfigurement, 
 there is presented to the view, one of 
 the most charming and piquant faces 
 it is possible for a man of taste to im- 
 agine. 
 
 'Abraham Broome, the brother of Ja- 
 cob Broome, of Delaware, was a Major 
 in the Regular Army of the United 
 States, and lived in Washington. His 
 eldest son, James M. Broome, was shot 
 on board the "Chesapeake," about 
 the same moment that Capt. Lawrence 
 was carried below mortally wounded. 
 Charles and Thomas Broome, two other 
 sons of Abraham, were officers in the 
 U. S. Marine Corps ; Major John L. 
 Broome, of the Marine Corj)s at this 
 time, (see Naval Register of 1874,) is 
 a son of Charles, just mentioned. He 
 was born in and ajjpointcd from the 
 
 State of New York. The late Hon. Ja- 
 cob Broom, M. C, from Pennsylvania, 
 admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, Apl. 
 30, 1832, W.Cornelia Chamberlain, and 
 had nine children, viz. : i. James M., 
 Captain U. S. Army during the Rebel- 
 lion ; 2. Virgilia, w. Dr. Marcellus ; 
 3. Elizabeth; 4. Louisa; 5. Helen; 
 6. Cornelia; 7. Caroline ; S.Clara, and 
 9. Annie. 
 
 The Brooms of America, allege that 
 they are descended from the old En- 
 glish family of the same name, and 
 there is no doubt of the fact, although 
 I am unable to connect them with any 
 particular branch of that family in En- 
 gland, with the very meagre informa- 
 tion I have on the subject. Burke, in 
 his " General Armory, ''' says: Broome, 
 (Herefordshire,) had Arms granted in 
 1670 : " sable, on a chevron or, three 
 slips of Broom ew/. Crest, a demi- 
 eagle or, wings sable, in the beak a slip 
 of broom vert.'" Motto, ^'Domini 
 Dirige Nos. ' ' 
 
 There are other families of Brome, 
 Broom, and Broome, in England, with 
 arms and crests all having in one or 
 the other, some reference to the family 
 name. In " Loiver' s English Sur- 
 names, 2d vol. p. 5 and 6, it is stated : 
 
 " The tlirice illustrious name of Plantagenet, 
 borne by ei^lit successive kings of England, 
 originated with Fouhiucs or Fulke, count of 
 Anjou, who nourished in the twelfth century. 
 This personage, to expiate some enormous 
 crimes of which he had been guilty, went on 
 a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and wore in his 
 caji as a Vwdge of humility", a Plantagenista, or 
 broom plant (which was sometimes used by 
 his descendants as a crest), and on that account 
 was surnamed Plantagenet. The ancient En- 
 glish family of Broome, are said to be descend- 
 ants of this nobleman. 
 
 " S(mie authorities deny this, and allege that 
 these sovereigns never used it. True ; but this 
 does not prove that Plantagenet, was not their 
 rcnl family name. Ilcr majesty Queen ^'ic- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 285 
 
 toria, has no occasion whatever for a surname, 
 (the design of which is to distinguish one 
 family from another,) and therefore it might 
 with equal force be argued, that her family 
 name was not Guelph. Non-use does not im- 
 ply non-possession." (juelph, means wolf, in 
 English. 
 
 Henry II., appears to have been the 
 first King of England, who used a 
 badge or crest. He adopted the Car- 
 binicle, the cognisance of the House of 
 x\njou, he being the son of the Empress 
 Maud, daughter of Henry I. and of 
 Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou. His other 
 cognisance, (see Clark! s Introduction 
 to Heraldry, 83,) was a " Gennet pas- 
 sant, between two sprigs of broom." 
 x\ gennet, is a small animal of the fox 
 species, but not larger than a weasel. 
 
 All English writers seem to be igno- 
 rant of the fact that FulkeV., Comte 
 d' Anjou, became, despite his humility, 
 King of Jerusalem, in 1131, during his 
 pilgrimage to the Holy Land. See 
 Galaries Historiqucs Du Palais De 
 Versailles, 6 vol. part i, p. 30, in which 
 the arms on the shield of Foulques V., 
 Comte d'Anjou, Roi de Jerusalem, 
 1 131, son of Foulques le Richim, are 
 thus depicted — " Gules, two Leopards 
 or, that is to say, on a red shield there 
 are painted two golden leopards. 
 
 " The first of the royal name of Plantagenet, 
 who ascended the throne of England was Henry 
 1 1 . That name, one of the proudest in English 
 history, was adopted to mark the humiliation 
 of the noble who first bore it. This was Fulkc, 
 Count of Anjou, in the loth century, who, for 
 the murder of his nephew, Drogo, Count of 
 Brittany, was enjoined by his confessor, by the 
 way of penance, to proceed to Jerusalem, and 
 to submit to a severe castigation. Dressing 
 himself in mean attire he set out, attended 
 only by two servants, one to lead him liy a 
 halter to the Holy Sepulchre, the other to strip 
 and whip him. The Plantagenista, or broom 
 plant, being the only tough pliable shrub in 
 Palestine, was chosen for his chastisement, and 
 he afterwards wore it in his cap as abadge of his 
 
 humility, thus taking his name from the switch 
 with which he was scourged." " Genealogy 
 and Sui-nanies,'' by IVni. Anderson. 
 
 " Fulke was the father of Godfrey 
 Plantagenet, who married Matilda, 
 the daughter of Henry I., and widow 
 of Henry V., Emperor of Germany. 
 
 Fulke of Anjou, was the son of Azzo 
 of Este by his second wife, Garsenda, 
 daughter of Baldwin II., who died 
 Aug. 1 131, when Fulke succeeded him 
 as King of Jerusalem. 
 
 Through an intermarriage with the 
 Denney's, the Broome's of England, 
 derive a direct descent from Edward 
 I . , Ki ng of England . ' ' Burke' s Her- 
 aldry. 
 
 I give the above extracts for what 
 they are worth ; at all events they are 
 pleasing and interesting, and show that 
 the romance and prestige of a royal 
 line of descent still cling around the 
 narne and history of the Broomes. 
 
 Robert Peirce, of Delaware, was a 
 tanner, and probably a descendant of 
 Edward Peirce, (leather seller,) of 
 London, who was one of the associ- 
 ation called the "Free Society of 
 Traders, founded in London, April 
 3, 1682, under a grant from William 
 Penn to them of 20,000 acres of land, 
 under the title of the 'Manor of 
 Frank.' " See Westcotf s History of 
 Philadelphia, chap. 18. 
 
 In olden times every Englishman of 
 any note, had his coat of arms, crest 
 and motto. The chief use to which 
 they were applied, was to mark their 
 service of silver plate, use as a book- 
 mark, paint on their coach panels, or 
 display, cut in stone, on their resi- 
 dences, generally over the principal 
 entrance ; and even in this country, 
 in many old volumes of our grand- 
 fathers' days, that were owned by 
 American gentlemen of English de- 
 
286 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 scent, will he found its ancient owner's 
 book-mark. Henry Hale Graham's, 
 has been referred to heretofore. 
 
 The arms of the family of Peirce, of 
 London, were " Argent, a fesse humity 
 giiks, between three ravens rising sable, 
 Crest, a parrot, in its beak an Annu- 
 let." 
 
 Watson, in his '■'■Historic Talcs of 
 Olden Titnes," 308, says : " In the year 
 1788, the bosom of the Delaware was 
 first ruffled by a steamboat. The pro- 
 prietor, at that early day, was John 
 Fitch, watch and clock maker by pro- 
 fession." The facts are — The first 
 ve.ssel ever moved by steam in the world, 
 was a small skiff built by John Fitch, 
 and made her first trip on the Dela- 
 ware, July 20, 1786, and was propelled 
 by paddles. Speed attained was seven 
 miles an hour. Engine, three inch 
 cylinder. Second boat was 45 ft. long, 
 12 ft. beam, 12 inch cylinder; worked 
 by paddles. First trial on Aug. 27, 
 1787. The third steamboat was built 
 by James Rumsey ; tried Dec. 3, 1787, 
 at Sheppardstown, Virginia; this boat 
 was propelled by sucking water in at 
 the bow and ejecting it at the stern ; 
 speed, four miles an hour. The fourth 
 boat, by Fitch, ran on the Delaware to 
 Burlington, 4 miles an hour; propelled 
 by paddles at the stern, in July, 1788 ; 
 the boat was 60 ft. long, 8 ft. beam, 
 engine, 12 inch cylinder. It was not 
 until 1807, that Robert Fulton, built 
 the '•Clermont,'' and ran heron the 
 Hudson River, at a speed of five miles 
 an hour. 
 
 During the months of June, July, 
 August and September, 1 790, the first 
 steamboat successfully navigated in the 
 world, for the carriage of freight and 
 passengers, ran on the river Delaware, 
 between Philadelphia, Burlington, Bris- 
 tol. Chester and Wilmington, adver- 
 
 tising her trips regularly in the news- 
 papers, and passing over 3000 miles 
 that summer. This was 1 7 years be- 
 fore the "Clermont," Robert Fulton's 
 first boat, navigated the Hudson. This 
 steamboat had no name, as will ap- 
 pear from the numerous advertisements 
 of her trips collected in Thompson, 
 ^'JVestcott's Life of John Fitch,'' one 
 of which I give, from the Federal 
 Gazette of July 30, 1790. 
 
 ''The Steamboat sets out from 
 Arch Street wharf, on Sunday morn- 
 ing at 8 o'clock for Chester, to return 
 the same day ; and on Thursday fol- 
 lowing, at 7 o'clock, for Wilmington 
 and Christeen bridge." 
 
 In the New York Magazine for 1 790, 
 is an extract from a letter, dated Phil- 
 adelphia, Aug. 13th, saying: 
 
 " Fitch's steamboat really performs to a 
 charm. It is apleasure while one is on board 
 of her in a contrary wind, to observe her supe- 
 riority over shallops, sloops, ships, &c., who, 
 to gain anything, must take a zigzag course, 
 while this, our new invented vessel, proceeds 
 in a direct line. On Saturday morning she 
 sets off for Chester, and engages to return in 
 the evening — -40 miles. God willing I intend 
 to be one of the passengers, were it only to 
 encourage American ingenuity, and the fine 
 arts. Fitch is certainly one of the most in'ge- 
 nius creatures alive, and will certainly make 
 his fortune. I am told he is now in contem- 
 plation to build a steam vessel on a larger 
 scale, which may be capable of carrying 
 freights and passengers to the West Indies, 
 and even to Europe. One great advantage I 
 can see in these voyages, which is, the steam- 
 ship can make progress in a calm when other 
 vessels must lie motionless. How she would 
 behave in a gale of wind must be left to ex- 
 perience to determine. Having no sails, masts 
 or top-hamper to lay to, or scud under, it is 
 probable she might at such a lime be in great 
 jeopardy." 
 
 I can recall of the steamboats that 
 navigated the Delaware in the past : The 
 "Robert Mc)rris," a fine, large boat. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 287 
 
 running on the line to Washington, 
 via New-Castle and Frenchtown, with 
 two smoke-stacks; also, her compan- 
 ion, the "Ohio," Capt. Davis, which 
 was deemed a very large steamer in 
 her day. She had two smoke-stacks, 
 two boilers and two vertical walking- 
 beams ; for I was aboard of her when 
 one boiler became disabled, and we 
 got to Chester by the aid of one boiler 
 and one paddle. It is hardly neces- 
 sary to say that all our river passenger 
 steamboats are propelled by side- 
 wheels, while most of the freight boats 
 are propellers, or are driven by stern - 
 screws. 
 
 The old Ohio, is now a tow-boat in 
 New York harbor, and looks small 
 alongside of the floating palaces that 
 run up the Hudson, or the huge steam- 
 ers that traverse Long Island Sound, 
 on the Boston line. Steamboats, like 
 individuals, grow old, and their for- 
 tunes change. First, they are splendid 
 fast passen ger boats ; as they grow older , 
 they carry freight, and in time grow 
 dirty and disreputable-looking ; their 
 machinery grows stiff and they degen- 
 erate into tow-boats, and go up and 
 down the river shorn of their deck- 
 cabins and gilding, towing dirty coal 
 or lime barges. 
 
 At a later day, I recall the "Bal- 
 loon," Captain Wilmon Whildin, a 
 swift and beautiful boat — her captain 
 a handsome and intelligent gentleman. 
 One of my friends, William M. Farr, 
 married his daughter. The " Pioneer" 
 was also a handsome boat, very fast, 
 but very crank ; she rolled heavily if 
 there was only a slight sea. 
 
 The " Rip Van Winkle," a splendid 
 steamboat, ran on the Delaware about 
 1847-48. She was one of the Hudson 
 River floating palaces, and attracted 
 many visitors during her stops at Ches- 
 
 ter, from whence she made excursion 
 trips to Cape Island. 
 
 I have a picture of one of the earlier 
 steamboats that ran on the river. On 
 her wheel-houses and sides was painted 
 in large letters, "Marcus Hook, Ches- 
 ter, Lazaretto, Wilmington and Phila- 
 delphia ; ' ' below these words and above 
 her guards, in immense letters, was her 
 name, '' jBrandyimne Springs.'''' She 
 had two smoke-stacks, and one upright 
 walking beam. 
 
 There died at Chester, Feb. 9, 1874, 
 Captain Richard Ross, aged 89 years. 
 He was the oldest steamboat captain 
 on the Delaware, having been in that 
 business for 50 years and more. He 
 commanded at different times the Wil- 
 liam Penn, the Robert Morris and the 
 Ohio. 
 
 In the Uplaiid Union, for Dec. 15, 
 1829, there appeared this notice : 
 
 " Attention I Pennsylvania Artillerists ! — 
 Excursion to the Lazaretto. The corps will 
 meet in full uniform, (blue pantaloons,) on 
 Thursday, the 24th day of December, inst., at 
 7 o'clock, A. M., at Mrs. .Sarah Piper's, Chester, 
 to repair on board the steamboat Wilmington, 
 Capt. H. Read, who has kindly offered his 
 boat for the accommodation of the corps, for 
 the purpose of a visit to our esteemed fellow- 
 citizen and soldier, George W. Bartram, Esq., 
 at the Lazaretto. By order of Capt. William 
 Martin. John L. Crosby, O. S. The com- 
 pany will hold their stated meeting for drill 
 on Saturday evening, the 19th inst., at Mrs. 
 Piper's. John K. Zeilin, iVc'/r." 
 
 I cannot state when the above com- 
 pany was first formed, nor can I give 
 a roll of the members. I have the first 
 commission of William Martin, my 
 father, as 2d lieutenant of a volunteer 
 company, called the " Pennsylvania 
 Artillerists," dated Aug. 23, 1821, 
 signed by Gov. Joseph Hiester. Also 
 his commission as Captain of the same 
 company, signed by Governor Andrew^ 
 Shultze, May 28, 1825 ; and a second 
 
288 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 commission as Captain of the same, 
 dated Aug. 3, 1828. I have been in- 
 formed by my aunt, Mrs. Ann C. Smith, 
 that the company was organized about 
 1 82 1, and that John James Richards, 
 son of Colonel Jacob Richards, was 
 its first Captain. John K. Zeilin 
 .says, that Captain Richards was suc- 
 ceeded in the command of the com- 
 pany by Joseph Weaver, Jr. , and af- 
 terwards William Martin and John 
 K. Zeilin, were in order as Captains. 
 The company paraded at the reception 
 of Lafayette, in Chester, and was a 
 well drilled and efficient company, and 
 disbanded about 1833 or '34. While 
 my father was in command, one of his 
 lieutenants was Thomas Dodd, who 
 now lives in Philadelphia. 
 
 Col. Jacob Richards, father of the 
 above-named Captain J. J. Richards, 
 was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, 
 Feb. 18, 1795, and was a member of 
 Congress and Colonel of militia in 
 Delaware County. He was a brother- 
 in-law of the late Peirce Crosby of 
 Cro-sby's Mills, who married Christi- 
 ana, a daughter of Jacob Richards, 
 the elder. Mrs. Crosby was very proud 
 of the handsome race into which she 
 had married. She said, " The Cros- 
 by's were like the oaks of the forest, 
 tall and stately." All the men of the 
 family in her day wer^e about six feet 
 in height, with blue eyes and light 
 brown hair. The second wife of Peirce 
 Crosby was Rachel, a daughter of 
 Major John James, and cousin of his 
 first wife. Col. Jacob Richards, mar- 
 ried Elizabeth James, also a daughter 
 of Major James, of the State of Dela- 
 ware. Mrs. Rachel Crosby, in her 
 youth was a famous beauty, and called 
 "the belle of Delaware;" another sis- 
 ter, Leah, married Jacob Reese, late 
 of Phiia(lel].hi;i. I remcmlK-r well, 
 
 Samuel, Ferdinand and George B. 
 Reese, their sons. Col. Richards had 
 four sons by his marriage ; Jacob, John 
 James, William and Edward. Captain 
 John James Richards, was admitted to 
 the Philadeli)hia Bar, May 25, 1821, 
 having been previously, Jan. 19, 1819, 
 admitted to the Delaware County Bar. 
 He married, 6 mo. 13, 1821, Eliza, 
 the daughter of Major William Ander- 
 son, and she still resides in Chester. 
 He died 6 mo. 27, 1822. Edward 
 Richards was admitted to the Dela- 
 ware County Bar, July 28, 1823. Their 
 cousin, George Richards Grantham, 
 was also a member of the Delaware 
 County Bar, but I have not the date 
 of his admission. 
 
 Dr. Caleb Smith Sayres, a well- 
 known physician of Marcus Hook, 
 where he settled about 1789, married 
 Susan Richards, a daughter of Jacob 
 Richards, the elder. Matthias Rich- 
 ards Sayres, his son, studied law with 
 the Hon. John Sergeant, and w'as ad- 
 mitted to the Delaware County Bar, 
 July 22, 1 81 6, having been previously 
 admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, 
 June 6, 1816. He was well known in 
 Chester, where he was a great favorite 
 with every one, and I have heard la- 
 dies of his day speak of him familiarly 
 as "Dick Sayres;" a sure evidence of 
 his popularity. He lived in Chester, 
 practised law there and died there, 
 unmarried, 4 mo. 18, 1826, and was 
 buried in the old graveyard of St. 
 Paul's, although no stone marks the 
 spot where his remains repose ; but 
 they are no doubt near those of his 
 kindred, many of whom were buried 
 there also. Mr. Sayres was the writer of 
 some excellent pieces of poetry, which 
 are in possession of the Bartrams. 
 
 His only other son, Edward Smith 
 Sayres, P'.sq., is the present Consul for 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEH. 
 
 289 
 
 Brazil, and Vice-Consul for Norway, 
 Sweden, Denmark and Portugal, for 
 the Port of Philadelphia. He married 
 Jane, daughter of John Humes of 
 Philadelphia, and has issue: i. Em- 
 ma Stalker, and 2. Caroline Augusta, 
 both of whom died, unmarried ; also, 
 3. Harry ; 4. Edward Stalker Sayres, 
 who studied law in the office of John 
 Hill Martin, and was admitted to the 
 Bar of Philadelphia, Dec. 27, 1873 J 5- 
 Horace, and 6. Jennie Humes Sayres. 
 
 Ed. S. Sayres, Jr., as he is com- 
 monly styled at the Bar, was, while a 
 student, the Recorder of the Law 
 Academy of Philadelphia, during the 
 session of 1872-3 ; and as has been 
 shown, belongs to a family of lawyers. 
 
 Dr. Caleb Smith Sayres, who settled 
 as a practitioner of medicine at Marcus 
 Hook, came from the vicinity of Eli- 
 zabeth, N. J., w^here his ancestors re- 
 sided, and where many of their de- 
 scendants still live. This family of 
 Sayres came from the vicinity of Bos- 
 ton, Mass., with the " Elizabethtown 
 Associates." The family in Boston 
 spell their name Sears, and are the 
 descendants of Richard, who came to 
 Plymouth, Mass., landing there May 
 8, 1630. He came from Amsterdam, 
 his ancestors having left England in 
 the reign of Henry VIII. on account 
 of religious persecutions, leaving a 
 large estate in Colchester County, Es- 
 sex, which passed through the female 
 branch of the family to Sir John Mar- 
 sham, only son of Sir John and Esther, 
 the daughter of George Sayre. This 
 name has been written at different 
 times Sarre, Serre, Syer, Sayre, &c. 
 The name is of Norman origin. See 
 ^^ Burke' s Visitation of Arms,'" Lon- 
 don, 1853. The family bear for their 
 Arms, Gu. a chev. ar. betw. three 
 peewits, ppr. garnished, or. Crest, A 
 
 dexter arm, in armor, embowed,^r., 
 garnished or, the hand grasping a 
 griffin's head (erased) gold. The house 
 occupied by the Doctor in Marcus 
 Hook, is still standing on Water Street, 
 east of Church Street, fronting the 
 river, and has a porch running along 
 its front. Dr. Sayres was a pew- 
 holder, and a generous subscriber to 
 the Church Fund of St. Martin's 
 Church, at Hook, from the year 1793 
 to 1799; the next year Mrs. Susan 
 Richards Sayres' name is on the pew- 
 list. The tomb of the doctor now 
 appears on the floor of the new church 
 of St. Martin's, at Marcus Hook, as 
 the extension of the old church en- 
 closed his place of burial. Engraven 
 on his memorial stone are the words : 
 " In memory of Caleb S. Sayres, 
 Doctor of Physic, who departed this 
 life, December 3d, in the year of our 
 Lord, 1799, in the 32nd year of his 
 age." Besides the two sons mention- 
 ed, the doctor had a daughter, Caro- 
 line Augusta, who died unmarried. 
 After the doctor's death, his widow 
 married John Galvin, an officer in the 
 navy, by whom she had a daughter, 
 Caroline, who married Eleazer Twin- 
 ing McDowell, Esq., a prominent mem- 
 ber of the Bucks County Bar; they had 
 issue, Georgine, who died unmarried ; 
 Aletta, m. John H. Fine ; Fannie, m. 
 Harry F. West ; and Edward Sayres 
 McDowell, Lt. of Co. K, 104 Penna. 
 Volunteers, who was killed at the battle 
 of "Fair Oaks, Va." 
 
 The family of Richards appear in 
 the records of St. Martin's Church, as 
 vestrymen and pewholders from a re- 
 mote period, but for some reason they 
 buried their dead in the old grave- 
 yard of St. Paul's Church, Chester. I 
 found the following inscriptions there: 
 I "Edward Richards, Esq., died April 
 
'J9U 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 13, 1794, aged S3 yt'^^rs, 5 months, 3 
 days. Susanna, wife of Jacob Rich- 
 ards, Esq., died August loth, 1794, 
 aged 58 years, i month. Elizabeth 
 Richards, wife of Jacob Richards, Esq., 
 died July 15, 1807, aged 34 years, 3 
 months and 15 days. Jacob Richards, 
 died July 20, 181 6, aged 43 years." 
 
 Jacob Richards, the elder, and Su- 
 sanna his wife, had two sons and five 
 daughters. The sons were, Col. Jacob 
 Richards, M. C, above mentioned, and 
 Edward, who died unmarried. The 
 daughters were ; Ann, who married, 
 first, Samuel Price, and secondly, 
 "Squire Marshall." 2. Betsy (Eli- 
 zabeths who married Charles Gran- 
 tham. 4. Kitty (Christiana), who 
 married Peirce Crosby. 4. Sarah, who 
 married Dr. Samuel Anderson ; and 
 5. Susan, who married Dr. Caleb 
 Smith Sayres. 
 
 Among the arrivals in the " Vine," 
 on the 17th of the 7th mo., 1684, is 
 John Richards and Susan his wife, and 
 daughters Hannah and Bridget, and 
 one servant, Susan Griffeth, for 8 
 years. 
 
 Joseph Richards, with his wife Jane, 
 and family, settled in Chichester, as 
 early as 1685. He was a Friend. His 
 daughter Ann ?;/. Humphrey Scarlet, 
 and Susanna ;;/. James Lownes, of 
 Springfield. His sons, Joseph and 
 Nathaniel, lived in the lower part of 
 Aston. They were from Oxfordshire. 
 Joseph Richards died in 1710. His 
 son Nathaniel died in 1700, leaving 
 William, Nathaniel, Elizabeth and 
 Mary. 
 
 I think it jjrobable that Matthias and 
 John Richards were cousins of the 
 children of Col. Jacob. Dr. Sayres 
 named one of his boys, Matthias Rich- 
 ards Sayres. Matthias Richards, was 
 born 1757; Judge of Bucks County, 
 
 Pa., 1788 to 1797; Representative in 
 Congress from 1807 to 181 1 ; died in 
 1830. John Richards, was a Repre- 
 sentative in Congress from 1795 to 
 1 797 ; whether he represented Delaware 
 and Chester, I cannot determine au- 
 thoritatively. He may have represent- 
 ed Bucks. Lauman's Congressional 
 Directory says, Richard Thof?ias, an 
 old Revolutionary soldier, was in Con- 
 gress from 1795 to 1801, and Dr. Dar- 
 lington says, he represented the dis- 
 trict composed of Delaware and Ches- 
 ter Counties. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 The following sketch of the Gran- 
 tham ^mily, was furnished me by Ed- 
 ward Stalker Sayres, Esq., of the Phil- 
 adelphia Bar. 
 
 " Charles Grantham* owned a farm 
 of 128 acres adjoining the old Eftin- 
 ger property. The estate extended 
 from the Delaware River to the Ches- 
 ter road. He married Elizabeth Rich- 
 ards, daughter of Jacob Richards, 
 the elder, and had three sons, Isaac, 
 George Richards, Charles E., and 
 one daughter, Susan. None of them 
 ever married. Isaac attended to his 
 father's estate. George Richards Gran- 
 tham studied law with Samuel Ed- 
 
 ■•■■' Charles (Irautuin, (as the name is j,eiie- 
 rally given,) was commissioned a Justice of 
 the Peace as early as 1741. He married 
 (tirst) Catharine, daughter uf Andrew (?) and 
 Margaret Morton, of Ridley, who left three 
 sons, George, Jacob and Charles Grantum. 
 He was in the Commission of the Peace for 
 the county of Chester, in 174 1, 1745, 1749 
 and 1752. The name is given in the Col. 
 Rec. as Charles Grant, but in the Minutes of 
 the Orphans' Court from 1752 to 1757, Charles 
 Grantum's name frequently appears among 
 those of the Justices holding the Court, but no 
 name of Grant. Charles Grantum attended 
 Dec. 21, 1756. A new Commission of the 
 Peace was issued Feb. 22, 1757, in which he 
 was not included. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 291 
 
 wards, Esq., and was admitted to 
 practice. Charles was engaged in 
 business in Philadelphia, and died in 
 that city. The Granthams got into 
 pecuniary difificulties about 45 years 
 ago, and were compelled to dispose of 
 their farm ; they then all removed to 
 Doylestown, and from thence to Illi- 
 nois, where they all died, as I have 
 said, unmarried. Isaac, was the sur- 
 vivor; he died in the year 1858, and 
 left his estate to Mrs. Dr. Samuel An- 
 derson, of Chester. Charles E. Gran- 
 tham, died August 20, 1 81 5, aged 17 
 years and 6 month, and is buried in 
 old Chester church-yard. 
 
 In company with my father, Edward 
 Smith Sayres, I visited the old Gran- 
 tham property on Oct. 26, 1873. We 
 had quite a chat with the person who 
 lives in the old Grantham house, which 
 is situated about 200 yards from the 
 river. The walls are two feet six 
 inches in thickness, and the whole 
 building is in excellent condition. 
 The late owner, a Mr. Dennis, plaster- 
 ed the whole of the edifice fronting 
 the railroad, and the two ends. I 
 cannot imagine what it was done for, 
 as the house was built of cut stone, 
 and the side fronting the river still re- 
 mains in its original state, looking far 
 prettier than the portions covered with 
 the showy white plaster. The Effin- 
 ger farm adjoined the Grantham pro- 
 perty, and the old Effinger house was 
 separated from the Granthams by but 
 one field. The Effinger house was 
 standing until within a few years ; 
 latterly it was used as a fish-house. 
 The Efifingers have lived for a good 
 many years back in the old yellow 
 house, adjoining the beautiful and ad- 
 mired collection of forest trees, known 
 as ' ' Effinger' s Woods. ' ' The remains 
 of the old lane which ran down from 
 
 88 
 
 the Chester road, are still to be seen. 
 It ran alongside of Efifinger's Woods, 
 and was used by the Granthams and- 
 Effingers jointly, as it divided their pro- 
 perties. The Granthams were known 
 through the country as Grants, antl the 
 rocks in the river opposite their house 
 were called "Grant's Rocks." Our 
 informant told us, that they are to this 
 day called by the same name, and are a 
 resort for persons fishing for perch, as 
 that fish is plenty in their vicinity. 
 These very rocks, my father tells me, 
 prevented the Granthams from obtain- 
 ing, in olden times, as high a price 
 for their shad-fishery as their neigh- 
 bors, the Efifingers, who got, I believe, 
 ^800 per annum, while they could 
 only get $300. My father says that he 
 recollects the Granthams living in their 
 new house on Chester road, in a direct 
 line back from the old one that still 
 stands by the river-side and before de- 
 scribed. The site is now occupied by 
 the house of the late owner, Mr. N. F. 
 H. Dennis, who has ingeniously turn- 
 ed the old Grantham quarry, which is 
 situated near the house, into a fish- 
 pond. This quarry produced a stone 
 from which Mr. Grantham manufac- 
 tured scythe stones. They were ex- 
 tensively sold in Philadelphia, and 
 branded as " Crum Creek Scythe 
 Stones." Mr. G. employed quite a 
 number of men in quarrying and dress- 
 ing these stones. 
 
 I cannot find who bought the pro- 
 perty from the Granthams. I was told 
 that the Bank of Delaware County, sold 
 it about 16 years ago, to Mr. Dennis, 
 of Philadelphia, a Frenchman, and an 
 extensive manufacturer of quinine. 
 This Mr. D. also bought the adjoining 
 property, — I think, the old Trimble 
 property, which joined Grantham's 
 property on the east. I do not know 
 
292 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 \vh()thcGi"antliamsl)C)iight the property 
 from. My father thinks it had been 
 in the family for a long time. I believe 
 the (Iranthanis were originall) of Kng- 
 lish descent, from tjie name, whit h is 
 purely English. Mr. N. F. H. Dennis 
 died at his residence in Ridley, Sept. 
 5, 1872, aged 73 years." 
 
 The old Trimble i)roperty, as Mr. 1 
 Sayres calls it, was occupied by Abra- 
 ham Trimble. The mansion of that 
 estate is on the west side of Ridley creek. 
 
 Lewis Trimble purchased the Gran- 
 tham property I suppose, as he lived in 
 the old Grantham residence mention- 
 ed, which was situated near the quarry. 
 He built the new mansion now occu- 
 pied by Mrs. Dennis, and tore down the 
 house formerly standing between the 
 quarry and the road. Lewis Trimble 
 disposed of the property to the mother- 
 in-law of Richard C. Risley, the well- 
 known acrobat, who, with his two 
 sons, gave very entertaining exhibitions 
 about 20 years ago, in Philadelphia and 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Richard Risley Carlisle, better known 
 as " Professor Risley," who about 15 or 
 20 years ago, occupied the place now 
 in the tenure of Mrs. Dennis, in Rid- 
 ley, near to Leiperville, died at Phila- 
 delphia, May 25, 1874, aged 60 years. 
 He was born near Tuckerton, New Jer- 
 sey, and went to Philadelphia when 
 (piite a young man, and engaged in the 
 business of glass cutting and dealing in 
 glass, having his warehouse and factory 
 in Third Street near Arch. He failed 
 in busine.ss, and being a proficient in 
 athletic sports and a man of great per- 
 sonal strength and endurance, he went 
 upon the stage as an Acrobat and Gym- 
 nastic performer, and was very succe.ss- 
 ful in the exhibitions he gave, assisted 
 by his two little sons, handsome lads 
 of 5 and 6 years of age, whom he threw 
 
 about in a graceful manner. With his 
 sons, John and Harry, he travelled 
 over all the United States and Europe, 
 and made money. His first ai)pearancc 
 was at Welsh' s Circus, in 1838. In 
 Eurojjc he performed before many of 
 the crowned heads and nobility, and 
 engaged in contests with local athletes. 
 He was a heavy-built man of medium 
 height, and to the last, presented the 
 appearance of a man of great bodily 
 strength; he was a fine wrestler, skater 
 and swimmer, with a fine musical voice, 
 and performed with taste upon the flute. 
 Hissonsgrowingto manhood, Mr. Ris- 
 ley visited Japan in 1848, and brought 
 out to this country the first troupe of 
 'R.oydX Acrobats diWd Wrestlers, an enter- 
 prise which cost him much money but 
 brought him no profit. At one time 
 he exhibited a Panorama of the Mis- 
 sissippi River at the Masonic Hall at 
 Philadelphia, and rapidly made money. 
 Later in life he appears to have been 
 very unfortunate in his undertakings, 
 and his sons, to whom the estate de- 
 scended through their mother, sold the 
 farm at Ridley, and removed to Phila- 
 delphia, where he died, poor, deserted 
 and deprived of reason, so say the 
 daily journals; yet I saw him in the 
 month of March last, (1874,), and al- 
 though he looked his age, and walked 
 as if stiff in the joints, he was well 
 dressed and had a handsome travelling 
 bag in his hand. 
 
 I went to school at Ridley school house 
 with Lewis Trimble's son Henry, and 
 also with Abraham Trimble's children, 
 Abraham Jr., and Mary Trimble, who 
 was one of the prettiest girls I ever saw. 
 All of the surviving members of the 
 Trimble family reside, I believe, in 
 Philadelphia. I frequently meet Hen- 
 ry on the street. I can remember see- 
 ing scythe-stones tpiarried from the 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 293 
 
 quarry back of Lewis Trimble's house, 
 when I was a boy. I think there was 
 also a whetstone quarry on Abraham 
 Trimble's place. At that time the best 
 whetstones were made by old Robert 
 Blythe, who lived on the land of the 
 late William Hill, just west of the Hill's 
 dam, on little Crum creek, in Ridley. 
 At one time the four brothers Hill, 
 Peter, George W., William and John 
 F. , owned adjoining farms in the vicini- 
 ty of the dam referred to, which was 
 then, I believe, the only dam on little 
 Crum creek. There are evidences of 
 a dam and race on that stream, below 
 the old Queen's road, and on the "Is- 
 land Field' ' place, lately owned by John 
 F. Hill, now the property, I am inform- 
 ed, of John O. Deshong. 
 
 In the old graveyard of St. Paul's 
 Church, Chester, is a tombstone, among 
 the memorial stones of the Richards' 
 family, with the following inscription 
 cut upon it : "Charles E.Grantham, son 
 of Charles and Elizabeth Grantham, 
 born Feb. i8, 1798, died, Aug. 20, 
 1815, aged seventeen years and six 
 months." 
 
 Among the papers of Dr. Caleb Smith 
 Sayres, of Marcus Hook, who, it is well 
 to note, fell a victim to over exertion 
 in his practice during the prevalence 
 of the yellow fever, was found a doc- 
 ument in the following words : 
 
 " T9 Doc'r Sayres, Sir ! Reposing Especial 
 Trust and confidence in your Patriotism, Skill 
 and abilities, I do by these presents Constitute 
 and appoint You to be Surgeon of the Eight 
 Battalion of Militia, formerly in the County 
 of Chester, but now in the County of Delaware. 
 Given under my hand and seal at Chester, in 
 the County of Delaware aforesaid, the eighth 
 day of April, in the Year one thousand and 
 seven hundred and ninety. 
 
 Edw'd Vernon, Lt. Col." 
 
 Edward Vernon m. Hannah James, 
 (his second wife), she was the widow of 
 
 David Cowpland. In Friends' records 
 it appears that Hannah Vernon, widow 
 of David Cowpland, was disowned 
 9, 22, 1786, for marriage by a hire- 
 ling minister, to Edward Vernon. And 
 again; Edward Vernon, (of Provi- 
 dence Meeting,) was disowned 3, 22, 
 1 771, for marriage by a priest, (a 
 minister.) Probably this was his first 
 marriage. David Cowpland m. 6 mo. 
 II, 1772, Hannah James, dau. of Saml. 
 dec'd, and Joanna. Jemima Dazey 
 Vernon, dau. of Edward and Hannah, 
 ;;/. Chester Clarke; their son Edward 
 Vernon Clarke, resides in New York 
 City. Edward and Hannah Vernon 
 lived near Marcus Hook, where he died , 
 about 1794 or 95. Ed. Vernon's first 
 wife was Mary Mather, dau. of James, 
 who in his will appears to have been 
 desirous to entail his estate on the 
 male line of his grand-son, Peter Ma- 
 ther Vernon, who, however, died in 
 infancy. (See.^;//^, p. 130.) He also 
 mentions his daughter Rebecca Van- 
 leer, but no son or grand-child of the 
 name of Mather. 
 
 The three brothers, Vernon, came 
 from England to Pennsylvania, about 
 the period of Penn's first arrival in his 
 Province. Thomas came from Stan- 
 thorne, in Cheshire, and served as a 
 juror at the first Court held in Chester 
 County. Court first met Feb. 14, 1682, 
 "& adjourned unto y* 27th of y^same 
 month;" the minutes state: "At the 
 same cort by Adjournment until y^ 
 afores'^2 7thffeb'" 1682," after four cases 
 being attended to, that of John Mar- 
 tin, Plaint, and Rich" Dymon,* Deft. 
 was Trycd, the Jurors were William 
 Rawson, James Browne, William 
 Hewes, Walter Martin, Nath. Evans, 
 
 * Richard Dymond was master of the Amity, 
 and the suit was for some goods shipped on 
 that ve-ssel, but not delivered to Martin. 
 
294 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Joshua Hastings, Will"" Woodmanson, 
 Tho. Colboiirne (properly Coebourne) 
 Albert Hendrickson, Joseph Richards, 
 Edward Carter and Tho: Vcrjion. 
 He was a Friend, and died in 1698. 
 Randall Vernon, the second brother, 
 emigrant, came from "Sandy way," 
 Cheshire. He served in the Assembly, 
 1 687, was an active member of Friends, 
 and died in 1725, aged 85 yrs. ; his 
 wife's name was Sarah, she died 1719. 
 The three brothers settled in Nether 
 Providence, their lands adjoining each 
 other. Robert came from Sioakc, in 
 Cheshire ; he was a Friend, and Month- 
 ly Meetings were sometimes held at his 
 house. In 1 710 he conveyed his brick 
 messuage and 330 acres of land, where 
 he resided, to his son Jacob; his wife 
 Eleanor, came to America with him; 
 she died in 1720, the date of his death 
 is unknown. 
 
 This family of Sayres are intermar- 
 ried with the family of David Hume, 
 the English historian, and author of 
 Hume' s History of England. Samuel 
 Humes, the original emigrant to Ameri- 
 ca, came from near Ballimony, county 
 Antrim, Ireland, and .settled at Lan- 
 caster, in this State. He was a maker 
 of the old fashioned spinning wheels, 
 so common in the days of our grand- 
 mothers. He became quite rich, and 
 has many descendants living in this 
 State and Maryland at the present time. 
 He was the grandfather of Jane, the 
 wife of Edward Smith Sayres. Mr. 
 Hume, the original settler here, added 
 the final s to his name, for fear that he 
 jnight be taken for a descendant of the 
 historian, who was an infidel, he being 
 a strict Presbyterian. What he con- 
 sidered a reproach, was not the descent, 
 which is a matter of pride, but the 
 opinions of his relative. John Humes, 
 the son of Samuel, was formerly Regis- 
 
 ter of Wills of Philadelphia from 1830 
 to 1836. Dr. Samuel Humes, the 
 youngest son of Samuel, was an emi- 
 nent physician of Lancaster. He 
 graduated at the University of Penn- 
 sylvania, in 1808. He was Treasurer 
 of Lancaster County in 1816. John 
 Humes, as the eldest son of Samuel, 
 became heir to the ancestral estate 
 in Ireland, but refused to avail himself 
 of his right, as he would have had to 
 reside in Ireland to get and keep pos- 
 session. The holders of estates in Ire- 
 land are compelled by law to reside 
 there a portion of the time. In con- 
 sequence of his refusal the Hume estate 
 there passed to an officer of the English 
 army, bearing the family name, so says 
 tradition. Be that as it may, there 
 were lately living near Ballimony, a Dr. 
 George Hume, adistinguished surgeon, 
 and the Rev. Lawrence Hume Fenner, 
 near Carrigallen. 
 
 Sarah Humes, a daughter of Samuel, 
 the emigrant, married George Bryan 
 Porter, late Governor of the State of 
 Michigan, one of whose sons was the 
 late Gen. Andrew Porter, of the Regu- 
 lar Army of the United States. David 
 R. Porter, who was Governor of this 
 State from 1839 to 1845, ^^'^s a brother 
 of Gov. Porter of Michigan, and father 
 of Gen. Horace Porter, late of the 
 Army. William A. Porter, Esq., of 
 the Philadelphia Bar, and sometime an 
 associate Justice of the Supreme Court 
 of this Commonwealth, is a son of the 
 late Gov. David R. Porter; and James 
 Madison Porter, Esq., of the Easton 
 Bar, is a son of James Madison Porter, a 
 brother of our late Governor. The late 
 Judge, George Porter of Reading, was 
 an uncle of the two Governors; his 
 daughter married Robert Dechert, 
 Esq., of the Reading Bar, and their two 
 sons, Henrv M. and Col. Robert P. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 295 
 
 Dechert, are members of the Philadel- 
 phia Bar. This family of Porters are of 
 Irish descent. The grandfather of the 
 two Governors, Robert Porter, emigrat- 
 ed early in the last century to this coun- 
 try from the North of Ireland, near 
 Londonderry. Their father's name 
 was Andrew Porter, born in 1 743. He 
 was the Colonel of the 4th Regiment 
 of Artillery in the Revolutionary Army. 
 For further particulars, see Armor's 
 Lives of the Governot-s of Pennsylvania. 
 Humes Porter, who used to be a fre- 
 quent visitor to Chester, is of this fami- 
 ly, and resides in Lancaster. 
 
 Samuel Humes, the settler in this 
 State, married Mary Hamilton of Lan- 
 caster Co. ; they had issue : John, a mer- 
 chant of Philadelphia, at one time sen- 
 ior member of the firm of Humes & Et- 
 ting, flour and commission merchants. 
 He was the Register, and successor to 
 the Irish estate. James Humes, a manu- 
 facturer, he had extensive woolen mills 
 at Humesville, Lancaster County, Pa. , 
 in 1 81 2. He organized a company of 
 militia and marched with his command 
 toElkton, Md.,duringthe war of 1812. 
 One of his sons, Samuel Crane Humes, 
 now resides at Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. 
 Samuel Humes. Sarah, who mar- 
 ried George B. Porter of Michigan. 
 William Humes, a merchant of Phila- 
 delphia. He was a private in Hartman 
 Kuhn's company, ist Regt., Pa. vol- 
 unteer Infantry in the war of 181 2-14, 
 and Mary Humes who died unmar- 
 ried. 
 
 The Home or Hume family were at 
 one time, one of the most powerful of 
 the Scottish nobility. Hume Castle, 
 in Berwickshire, the old seat of this 
 family, occupied a commanding posi- 
 tion at the western extremity of the 
 great plain of the Merse ; it was held 
 against Cromwell's forces for a long pe- 
 
 riod ; the Governor of it on being sum- 
 moned to surrender replied, "That he 
 knew not Cromwell, and for his castle, 
 it was built upon a rock." Four days 
 later, it having been reported that the 
 castle had surrendered, it is said the 
 Governor sent the following curious 
 letter: 
 
 " I, William of the Wastle, 
 Am now in my castle, 
 And awe the dogs in the town 
 Shand garre me gang down." 
 
 David Hume, the Historian, was the 
 son of the Laird of Ninewells, in Ber- 
 wickshire, near the Scottish border, and 
 the nephew of a Scotch peer, the Earl 
 of Home. A curious codicil to David's 
 will was one leaving to his friend, John 
 Home of Kildufif, (the author of Doug- 
 las), six dozen of port wine, provided 
 that he attested under his hand, signed 
 John Hume, that he had finished a bot- 
 tle at two sittings ; the philosopher and 
 his friend John, had many disputes as 
 to the proper way of spelling their com- 
 mon family name, and that was the in- 
 tent of the codicil. 
 
 The armorial crest of the Humes fami- 
 ly is a lion's head, erased, or, Motto, 
 True to the end. 
 
 I have spoken several times of the 
 Field family of Philadelphia, as having 
 been former residents of Delaware 
 County. My friend Samuel Field, was, 
 until very lately, for many years a resi- 
 dent of the neighborhood of Walling- 
 ford station, on the line of the West 
 Chester and Philadelphia Railroad, 
 and Frank Field, who married Sallie, 
 the daughter of Rev. Anson B. Hard, 
 of Chester, and makes his summer resi- 
 dence at that place, thus keeping up 
 the family-liking for their old home. 
 As one of these, my boyhood's friend, 
 says : ' ' The very sound of the name of 
 Delaware County has a charm to my 
 
296 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 ear. What a host of endearing recol- 
 lections crowd the mind connected with 
 it! The old Ridley place, 'Grand- 
 father Hill's,' the marshes along the 
 Delaware; oh, those boyhood days ! O, 
 would I were a boy again !" and I can 
 add, the pleasant memories of the happy 
 days we have passed together along the 
 shores of the Delaware, where we fished, 
 gunned, sailed, and enjoyed the sum- 
 mer days of our boyhood, will not be 
 forgotten, while memory remains, nor 
 the unalloyed friendship, began at 
 Chester, which has lasted over thirty- 
 five eventful years. 
 
 In the Report of Benjamin Pearson, 
 made in 1826, the old mill property 
 occupied by the father of my friends, 
 is thus described : "No. 7. On Ridley 
 creek, in Lower Providence, an old 
 snuff mill, lately employed in pulveriz- 
 ing medicines; head and fall about nine 
 feet ; owned and occupied by Park Shee, 
 Esq." 
 
 While Charles Field occupied the 
 above property, he employed the mill j 
 for grinding bark, used as a medicine for 
 fevers, but the business was destroyed 
 by the introduction of quinine. The 
 bark ground was, I presume, Peruvian 
 bark. Mr. Field, after the destruction 
 of his business, sold the property to 
 Park Shee, (it is now owned by Antrim 
 Osborne, 1 and removed to Philadel- 
 phia, where he soon became a leading 
 merchandise broker, for the sale of 
 sugar, molasses and coffee by the cargo, 
 in which he was succeeded by Field & 
 Keehmle, and upon the retirement of 
 Mr. Wm. Keehmle, in 1872, the firm 
 became Samuel and Frank Field. 
 
 Charles Field was a son of Nathan 
 and Sarah. He married Catharine, a 
 daughter of Dr. John White of Phila- 
 delphia, and they had a numerous fami- 
 ly, vi/: I. John W. Field, who m. 
 
 Eliza, daughter of the late Richard 
 Peters, Jr., who edited the U. S. Su- 
 preme Court Reports for many years. 
 2. Charles Field, Jr., who in. Mary 
 B. Berry, and d. leaving a widow and 
 three children, Kate, Eleanor and 
 Charles. "Nellie," in. Aug. i, 1876, 
 Edwin A. Pue. 3. Wm. Yardley Field, 
 in. Eliza, dau. of James Bell, dec'd. He 
 died, Jan'y 8, 1861, without issue. 4. 
 Elizabeth Stanley, and 5, Susan W., 
 both of whom died single. 6. Samuel 
 Field, in. to Mary, daughter of Dr. 
 Robert M. Patterson, and have one 
 son, Robert, and one daughter, Mary 
 Stanley. 7. Thomas Yardley Field, a 
 Lt. Col. in the United States Marine 
 Corps, in. to Margaret, a daughter of 
 Hugh Elliott, a Scotchman, now de- 
 ceased, a member of the once well known 
 book house of Gregg & Elliott. They 
 have Thomas Y., Jr., and Elliott Field. 
 8. Sarah, unmarried. 9. Frank Field, 
 who ///. Sallie Hard of Chester. They 
 have issue, Frank H. and Susan W. 10. 
 Catharine W. Field, m. to the Rev. 
 James B. Crane, of Elizabeth, New 
 Jersey. He was a chaplain in the U. 
 S. Volunteers during the Rebellion, 
 and died leaving her a widow with one 
 son, Burnet Crane. She married, 2nd, 
 Louis Charles Carra, of Parma, Italy, 
 June 14, 1874. II, Edward Field, 
 who died unmarried. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Field had several other children who 
 died in infancy. Susan, Samuel and 
 Thomas Y., were born at the old mill 
 in Delaware County. 
 
 The Rev. Anson B. Hard had seve- 
 ral children, viz: Mary, Laura W., 
 Sallie, who ;//. Frank Field ; Louisa, 
 wife of Henry K. Kelly, who have 
 issue, Howard A., Louisa W., Nettie, 
 Maggie and Dora. Hr. Hard's only 
 son, Anson W. Hard, resides in New 
 York, where he married Sallie, daugh- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 297 
 
 ter of James Brown, and has one son, 
 John B. Hard. 
 
 The following interesting proceed- 
 ings of a public meeting are given for 
 the purpose of showing who were en- 
 gaged in the business of furnishing 
 stone for the erection of the Delaware 
 Breakwater, the price of stone, &c., 
 and as it is a part of the history of that 
 great enterprise: 
 
 " At a meeting of a number of gentlemen, 
 interested and engaged in quarrying stone on 
 the Delaware River, held in the Borough of 
 Chester, on Wednesday, the nth of Jan., 
 1832, John F. Hill, was called to the chair, 
 and Albei-t Eobinson, of Delaware, and Wil- 
 liam Martin, of Pennsylvania, were appointed 
 Secretaries, when the following preamble and 
 resolutions were unanimously adopted : 
 
 Whereas, We deem the encouragement of 
 monopolies to be inconsistent with the rights 
 of freemen, and dangerous and oppressive in 
 their tendency ; and being more fully con- 
 vinced of this fact from past experience, the 
 dread of further oppression has induced us to 
 attempt an exposition of our grievances, for 
 the purpose of obtaining redress. In attempting 
 this, it is not our intention to say anything dis- 
 respectful of the government, but to prevent, 
 if possible, the effects of unfair representations. 
 
 In the year 1830, the United States con- 
 tracted with several individuals for the de- 
 livery of stone, at the Capes of the river Dela- 
 ware, for the purpose of constructing a Break- 
 water at that point. Owing to the competition 
 that year, between the contractors, a fair price 
 was obtained for our stone, and most of us, as 
 sub-contractors, sent stone to that work in 
 Messrs. Leipers & Co.'s contract ; but the last 
 year, the contract for the whole of the stone 
 wanted, of the description sent in 1830, was 
 given to two companies, Messrs. Leipers & 
 Co. on the Delaware, and White & Co. on the 
 North River. White & Co. being unable to 
 furnish stone at the contract price (2.20 per 
 perch,) from the North River, or for some 
 other reason, transferred their contract to 
 Leipers & Co. in preference to others who 
 offered them their own terms. Thus, every 
 opportunity of sending stone to the Break- 
 water, but through Leipers & Co., was closed. 
 
 Leipers & Co. obtained their contract, with- 
 
 out our having the slightest knowledge that 
 the Government was prepared to make any. 
 Immediately on learning that Congress was 
 about to make an appropriation for continuing 
 the work at the Breakwater, we appointed a 
 committee to enquire of the government 
 whether proposals for supplying stone would 
 be received, when, for the first time, to our 
 astonishment, we learned that Leipers & Co. 
 had obtained the whole contract for the Dela- 
 ware. 
 
 The effect of this monopoly has been to 
 paralyze the exertions of all — to prevent some 
 from sending any stone, and others to abandon 
 the business as soon as possible ; and those 
 that did send were compelled to pay Leipers 
 & Co. a Bounty of 20 cents a perch for the 
 privilege. Thus they realize from otir lalior 
 about $15,000, without leaving us one cent of 
 profit, and, in some instances, a suiificiency to 
 meet the cost and expenses of quarrying. The 
 total quantity of stone sent to the Breakwater 
 the last year being about one hundred thousand 
 perch, Leipers & Co. not supplying more than 
 fifteen thousand perch from their quarries. 
 
 We were, in a measure, compelled to sub- 
 mit to the payment of this bounty, as many of 
 us were at that time extensively engaged, and 
 at great expense, in getting out stone for the 
 Breakwater, and having large quantities on 
 hand, which were suitable for no other pur- 
 pose, we had no alttrnative left us but to sell 
 upon their own terms, or abantlon the business 
 at a great loss. 
 
 If Leipers & Co. could have supplied, from 
 their own quarries, a majority of the stone, 
 there might have been a shadow of justice in 
 the measure ; and this, we presume, the gov- 
 ernment supposed, from the quantity which 
 appeared as sent in their names in 1S30; but 
 the fact is, that many of us can send as many 
 as any of the concern ; and some of us can 
 send more than the combined quarries of the 
 Leipers & Co. 
 
 We have felt it our duty as citizens, and 
 our right as freemen, freely to assert our opin- 
 ions. We cannot, and, if in our power, will 
 not, suffer influences to be exerted and advan 
 tages to be taken which we conceive alike in- 
 jurious to ourselves and to the public. And, 
 
 Whereas, From circumstances too evident 
 to be mistaken, we are persuaded that exer- 
 tions are now making by the same concern to 
 obtain the whole contract for the ensuing sea- 
 
21)8 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 son, iiolwitlistamliiii^ proposals liave been 
 made, on the pan of the L'niled States, l)y 
 Major Bender, to w it : 
 
 ' That proposals will be received until the 
 14th inst., for stone, to be delivered at the 
 Breakwater, from every responsible person, 
 who will contract to deliver 5,000 tons, at 
 $1.80 per ton, for stone weighing from a quar- 
 ter to two and a (piarlcr tons, and $2.50 per 
 ton for those of twi) and a half to five tons, 
 between the ist of April and the 1st of Nov. 
 next.' Therefore, 
 
 Jiesok'et/, That we approve of the plan and 
 terms proposed by Major Bender, on the part 
 of the United States — that we will hold our- 
 selves severally and individually responsible 
 for the delivery, at the Breakwater, of 120,000 
 tons of stone, or more if wanted — provided that 
 the proposals already made by us, agreeable 
 to Major Bender's terms, be confirmed by 
 government. 
 
 /iesoh'fd. That should Leipers & Co., again 
 obtain the contract for supplying the United 
 States with Breakwater stone, we will not as 
 sub-contractors, supply them with any for that 
 work. 
 
 Resolved, That Dr. Gideon Jacques, of Dela- 
 ware, R. Churchman, and S. M'llvain, of 
 Pennsylvania, be a committee to submit these 
 proceedings to the proper departments of gov- 
 ernment, and make such explanations relative 
 to the contract, as may be most conducive to 
 the views of this meeting. 
 
 Resolved, That the proceedings of this meet- 
 ing be signed by the Chairman and Secretai-v, 
 together with the gentlemen present, and 
 those engaged in the quarrying business, 
 friendly to these measures, with the names of 
 their cpiarries. 
 
 John F. IIii.i., Chairman, 
 
 Crum Creek Quarries. 
 
 Al.liKKT R(JHINSON, ) .• 
 
 Wii.Li.v.M Martin, | Secretaries. 
 
 Robinson, Carr & Co., Quarry vilie. 
 Thomas Clyde, Ridley Creek Quarry. 
 Robert Churchman, Ridley Creek. 
 Spencer M'Hvaine, Ridley Creek. 
 Jonathan Roberts, Christiana Creek. 
 William D. Shoemaker, Ridley Creek. 
 ^'oung & Murray, Chester. 
 John Hawkins, Ridley Creek. 
 Ranibo & I'erry, I )elaware near Quarryville. 
 Isaac Henvis, Chester Creek. 
 
 William Hill, Crum Creek. 
 Thomas B. Shoemaker, Ridley Creek, 
 tiewes iS: Harrison, Naaman's Creek. 
 John Burk, Ridley Creek. 
 Jonathan I'. Worral, Chester Creek. 
 A. M. W^right & Co., Crum Creek. 
 Samuel Lytle, Chester Creek. 
 
 A short description of the " Dela- 
 ware Breakwater," located near Cape 
 Henlopen, and the mouth of the Dela- 
 ware Bay, may add interest to the 
 foregoing proceedings. From my old 
 friend and class-mate, Lt. Col. John 
 D. Kurtz, of the U. S. Corps of En- 
 gineers, who is now in charge of the 
 Government works and improvements 
 on the river Delaware, I obtained most 
 of the following information — premis- 
 ing however, that from earliest youth, 
 I have been familiar Avith this great 
 national work, having lived at the 
 quarries in Delaware County, that fur- 
 nished a great part of the stone with 
 which it is constructed, and that many 
 of my relatives were contractors for 
 supplying the same. I remember vi- 
 vidly the process of quarrying the 
 large masses of material necessary, 
 the huge stones, varying in size, and 
 weighing from two to seven tons ; the 
 immense excavations made in the earth 
 in the process of quarrying out the 
 rock. Many of these are still to be 
 seen filled with water, which is clear 
 and cold, and most of them are full of 
 cat-fish, sun-fish and roach. In the 
 quarries, great numbers of Irishmen 
 were employed in drilling deep holes 
 in the rocks, for the reception of the 
 blasting powder, to break the stone as 
 it lay in the original mass. I can recall 
 the thunderous roar of the "blasts," 
 like unto the sound of the explosion 
 of a heavy piece of ordnance, or the 
 heavy, deep thud of a "sand-blast," 
 accompanied b}- a tremble of the earth 
 — a small earthcjuake ! The large jjairs 
 
II 1 S T ( ) Ji Y (J F il E S T E li . 
 
 ^99 
 
 of wheels that carried the broken rock 
 to the shallops, on Crum or Ridley 
 Creeks, were drawn by oxen ; six or 
 eight pairs being necessary to draw the 
 larger sized stones. Large cranes were 
 erected at the landing places on the 
 banks of the creeks, by the use of which 
 the stone was swung on board the sloops 
 or schooners that carried it to the 
 Breakwater, near Cape Henlopen. 
 Weigh-masters appointed by the Unit- 
 ed States, marked on each stone its 
 weight, before it was shipped on board 
 the vessels. Each quarry had its black- 
 smith shop, wheelwright shop, its 
 boarding houses, its powder house, its 
 store, &c. ; and its owner, bosses, 
 weigh-masters, laborers, ox-drivers, 
 and other employees and their families, 
 formed quite a little community. The 
 store was the centre of attraction for 
 all hands when the work of the day 
 was over. On a fine evening nearly 
 all the principal men of each com- 
 munity gathered around its doors. 
 " The Boss," (the owner of the quarry,) 
 the bosses of the different gangs of 
 workmen, and those pompous Gov- 
 ernment officials, the weigh-masters, 
 the remembrance of whose official dig- 
 nity oppresses me yet. I thought then 
 that Major Richard Delafield, the en- 
 gineer officer in charge of the work, 
 was the great man of his day. Lieut. 
 Carlos A. Waite, his assistant, was in 
 fny eyes, a very dignified person, he 
 came next, and then the weigh-masters. 
 Lieut. Waite, had his office in Ches- 
 ter, in the small square building still 
 standing at the N. E. corner of Gra- 
 ham street and Edgmont avenue, op- 
 posite the site of the first Meeting 
 House of Friends. It was then, in 
 1833, surrounded by fine large trees, 
 in the midst of a neatly kept yard, and 
 
 was an attractive spot. 
 39 
 
 The necessity of forming an arti- 
 ficial harbor of refuge for vessels in the 
 Delaware Bay, was first agitated about 
 the year 1822, perhaps earlier. In 
 1823, Commissioners appointed by the 
 Department of War, examined the 
 Bay and recommended the construc- 
 tion of a Breakwater near Cape Hen- 
 lopen. The necessity of some such 
 place of refuge for vessels in cases 
 of approaching heavy weather having 
 become apparent ; the loss of shipping 
 in consequence of the want of such a 
 natural harbor being so serious as to 
 attract the attention of the whole mer- 
 cantile community. 
 
 By statistics afterwards compiled by 
 the Philadelphia Chamber of Com- 
 merce, it appeared that between Jan., 
 1807, and Aug., 1826, 20 ships, 57 
 brigs, 48 schooners, 43 sloops, and 25 
 other craft — a total of 193 vessels — 
 had been driven on shore in the neigh- 
 borhood of the Capes, blown out to 
 sea, wrecked, sunk or damaged. Be- 
 tween the 28th of December, 1826, 
 and the 15 th of Jan., 1827 — a period of 
 only 18 days — 62 vessels of all kinds, 
 having cargoes valued in the aggregate 
 at more than ^2,000,000 had been 
 driven to sea, injured by storms and 
 ice, or compelled to seek a precarious 
 anchorage in the bay ; the crews being 
 much injured and frost-bitten. 
 
 I have in my possession a lithograph 
 of one of the earliest plans of the 
 "Delaware Breakwater," drawn by 
 Lieut. Farley,* U. S. Army, no date 
 given. On it the Breakwater, is 
 stated as intended, 1200 yards long, and 
 the ice-breaker, (which does not ac- 
 complish its intended purpose,) as 500 
 
 * John Farley, graduated at the U. S. 
 Military Academy, 2d Lieut, ist Artilleiy, 
 July I, 1823; 1st Lieut. Aug. ist, 1832; re- 
 signed Feb. 29, 1836; Assistant on the Coast 
 Survey, April i, 1837. 
 
300 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 yards in length. The distance between 
 the nearest point of the two parts of 
 the work is given as 550 yards. Some 
 years ago — about 1857 — when Edward 
 Joy Morris, late U. S. Minister to Tur- 
 key, and myself were associated in the 
 practice of law, he was elected to Con- 
 gress, and I prepared some evidence 
 for him, showing the necessity of clos- 
 ing the gap between the Breakwater 
 proper and the Ice-breaker, at the re- 
 (piest of John C. Leijjer, of Ridley, 
 and Henry L. Powell, of Chester. 
 This data Mr. Morris gave to Senator 
 Pearce, of Maryland, who used it in a 
 speech in the U. S. Senate on the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 Col. Kurtz in his report of Sept. 8, 
 1 87 1, to the Chief Engineer, says 
 among other things in regard to the 
 Delaware Breakwater : 
 
 "The completion of this harl)or, according 
 to the original inojcct was reported in last 
 year's annual report. This project was devised 
 more than forty years ago. 
 
 This harbor is quite too small for the ac- 
 commodation of the vessels which now resort 
 to it. Its position on the coast line is admira- 
 ble for the use it was designed to subserve, 
 that of a harbor of refuge for vessels plying 
 north and south along the Atlantic sea-board. 
 It is situated just half way from Sandy Hook 
 Bay to the mouth of the Chesapeake, and ves- 
 sels can enter it with very little deviation from 
 their routes, and resume their voyages again, 
 with minimum loss of time. 
 
 I.ast year's report shows that 15,000 vessels 
 were recorded as visiting this harbor. Add- 
 ing those entering and leaving without Ijeing 
 noted, 20,000 or 25,000 may be taken as the 
 number that used the harlior during the year. 
 Its present capacity is determined by the space 
 that is sheltered by the Breakwater ])roper. 
 This is a straight line nearly half a mile long, 
 and it may l)e taken as the diameter of the 
 half circle behind it, the area of which will 
 represent approximately the sheltered harbor. 
 Northeastwardly of the Breakwater is the Ice- 
 breaker structure, a tpiarter of a mile in length, 
 ])ut sejwrated from the Breakwater proper by 
 
 a gap of nearly ecjual extent, through which 
 the sea rolls in during northeastwardly weather 
 without hindrance. If the sea which now 
 rolls through this gap were excluded, the 
 diameter of the sheltered area would be about 
 doubled, and that area would be increased to 
 between three and four-fold its present extent. 
 The three practicable methods of enlarging the 
 harbor are as follows : 
 
 ' First. Fill the gap between the Breakwater 
 and Ice-breaker with stone, uniting the two 
 structures, and making the whole a continuous 
 barrier to the sea. The first project will re- 
 (juire 301,600 tons of stone, and cost $1,314,- 
 200. 
 
 Second. Prolong the Ice-breaker to the 
 eastward till it laps the Breakwater sufficiently 
 to exclude the sea. The second project will 
 require 443,300 tons of stone, and cost $1,- 
 944,950. 
 
 Third. Construct a detached work in ad- 
 vance of the gap of sufficient length to cover 
 it at both ends. This will require 519,200 
 tons of stone, and cost $2,278,000. 
 
 The first method is the cheapest, but it pre- 
 vents all access to the harbor by the gap, and 
 requires vessels coming down the Bay, as well 
 as those going up, to pass to the southern end, 
 and enter between Cape Henlopen and the 
 Breakwater. 
 
 The third method allows access by the gap 
 to vessels entering from either direction. 
 Moreover, it interferes in the least degree 
 with the currents and tides of the harbor, and 
 so best avoids the risk of injuring the depth 
 of water and disturbing the shore lines." 
 
 A Board of Engineer officers con- 
 stituted in Oct., 1871, to examine the 
 condition of the harbor and report a 
 plan to meet the growing Avants of 
 maritime commerce, and a methoQ^ 
 necessary to increase the area of shelter 
 for vessels at the Breakwater, adopted 
 the first proposition of Col. Kurtz, al- 
 though he ])referred the latter. 
 
 The Delaware Breakwater as it now 
 stands, was completed in 1869, having 
 been commenced in 1829. The amount 
 of stone used in both structures was 
 892,528 tons, and the entire cost was 
 ^2,123,505.33. Tlie length of the 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 301 
 
 Breakwater proper, at the plane of high 
 water, is 2,589 feet, and it rises from 
 1 1.3 to 14.89 feet above this plane. 
 The depth of water at low tide was then 
 about 30 feet. 
 
 The number of vessels recorded as 
 having been sheltered at the Break- 
 water from 1833 to 1 87 1, inclusive, is 
 246,011. During 1873, it afforded re- 
 fuge for 17,474 vessels, of which 192 
 were ships, 844 steamers, 877 barks, 
 867 brigs, 13,960 schooners and 735 
 sloops. 
 
 The Delaware Pilots recommended 
 that the Breakwater be erected on 
 Shears Shoal, but the Government 
 officers said that in time of war, an 
 enemy could come in and take pos- 
 session. We had no heavy guns then. 
 Had the Breakwater been built at the 
 Shears, we would have had a magnifi- 
 cient harbor, where the largest Ships 
 in the World could have entered at 
 any time. The same quantity of stone 
 used on the Shears, would have made 
 a Breakwater a mile long. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 I HAVE the copy of a proclamation 
 against allowing swine to run at large 
 within the limits of Chester Borough, 
 dated Jan. 7, 1832, signed " William 
 Martin, Chief Burgess. ' ' To that date 
 I haye found mention of the following 
 persons, only, as Chief Burgess, viz. : 
 Jasper Yeates, 1703; Joseph Hoskins, 
 in 1758; Paul Jackson, from 1762 to 
 1767, and David Cowpland, 1779. 
 
 It is to be regretted that the old 
 minute books and records of the 
 Borough have been lost. I am in- 
 formed none exist back of 1861, so I 
 am unable to give a list of the Chief 
 Burgesses and other Borough officers. 
 
 In 1859, the Borough officers of 
 
 Chester were: Robert Gartside, Chief 
 Burgess; John Brooks, Treasurer; 
 James Riddle, Town Clerk; James 
 Campbell, Joseph Ladomus, James 
 Bell, John Larkin, Jr., Abraham 
 Blakeley, Dr. William Young, Ben- 
 jamin Gartside, William Lear and Ro- 
 bert R. Dutton, Town Council; Job 
 Rulon, Auditor ; Jos. Taylor, yudge 
 of Elections ; Amos Gartside, Inspector ; 
 Isaiah H. Mirkil, Assessor ; Charles 
 Williams, Constable. 
 
 Since its incorporation as a City, 
 on Feb. 14, 1866, the officers of the 
 municipality have been as follows : 
 
 Mayors. 
 
 John Larkin, Jr., 1866101872. 
 
 Dr. J. L. Forwood, .... 1872 to . 
 
 City Council. 
 
 Presidents. 
 
 William Ward, Esq., . . . • 1866 to 1869. 
 
 William A. Todd, .... 1869 to 1873. 
 
 Young S. Walter, .... 1873 to . 
 
 Members of Council. 
 William Ward, Perciphor Baker, 
 
 Wm. B. Reaney, Edmund Esrey, 
 
 James Stephens, William Appleby, 
 
 Samuel A. Dyer, David W. Morrison, 
 
 Chas. F. Kenworthy, David S. Bunting, 
 
 Ellis Smedley, James Ledward, 
 
 William A. Todd, Jas. A. Williamson, 
 
 John Hinkson, George Robinson, 
 
 George Flood, Henry Hinkson, 
 
 N. Walter Fairlamb, Gideon Speakman, 
 
 Chas. A. Weidner, Wm. B. Broomall, 
 
 James Scott, William Hinkson, 
 
 Crosby P. Morton, George Weigand, 
 
 Stephen Cloud, Jr., Fred J. Hinkson, Jr., 
 
 Amos Gartside, Jos. R. T. Coates, 
 
 J. Wesley Ottey, J. Frank Black, 
 
 William C. Gray, Jonathan Kershaw, 
 
 Dr. J. L. Forwood, George Goeltz, 
 
 William G. Price, Charles Roberts, 
 
 George Derbyshire, Thomas I. Leiper, 
 
 J. Engle Hinkson, Jonathan Pennell, 
 
 Y. S. Walter, William Armstrong, 
 
 Jno. O. Deshong, Jr., Humphrey Fairlamb. 
 
 Clerks. 
 Henry L. Donaldson, .... 1866 to 1868. 
 
 Dr. J. M. Allen, 1868 to 1873. 
 
 C. H. Allen, 1873 to . 
 
 Among the retailers of foreign mer- 
 chandize returned by the Constables 
 of the different townships to the Court 
 at January sessions, 1833, I find the 
 following in Chester, viz. ; Joshua P. 
 
:;02 
 
 IIISTOIIY OF CHESTER. 
 
 fLyre, Jesse M. Justice, John O. De- 
 shong, Jonathan P. Newlin, George 
 Sneath and Samuel Slawter, who were 
 required to take out licenses. 
 
 From the Upland Union of March 
 15, 1833, I copy the following notice: 
 " Dancing School. F. C. Labbe, 
 of Philadelphia, takes the liberty of 
 informing the inhabitants of the Bo- 
 rough of Chester and its vicinity, that 
 he contemplates opening a Dancing 
 School at the house of Mr. John J. 
 Thurlow, in this Borough, on the loth 
 or 1 6th of May next, for the reception 
 of pupils. F. C. L. begs leave to as- 
 sure the public, that the strictest at- 
 tention will be bestowed, as well as 
 every effort within his power, which 
 an experience of twenty years has 
 given him, to teach those the art of 
 dancing who may form his class." 
 
 Chester at that time had a very 
 pleasant circle of society. In winter 
 a series of cotillon parties were given, 
 in the large east room, in the second 
 story, over the dining room of Mr. 
 Thurlow's hotel, the " National ;" and 
 sometimes select Invitation Balls were 
 held in the same room, at which the 
 elite of the town and county were pre- 
 sent. I have the invitation printed on 
 green paper, which led to my going to 
 my first ball. It is as follows : "Birth 
 Night Ball. The pleasure of Mr. 
 and Mrs. William Martin's Company 
 is requested at a ball on Wednesday, 
 the 22nd day of February, inst., at 
 John J. Thurlow's National Hotel, 
 Chester. 
 
 Managers. 
 
 Levi Reynolds, Samuel Edwards, 
 
 Caleb H. Booth, Samuel M. Leiper, 
 
 Samuel H. Kneass, John K. Zeilin, 
 
 Theodoric H. Porter, William A. Engle, 
 
 Thomas M. Smith, William Gray, 
 
 Charles D. Manley, John G. Johnson. 
 Fibruary loth, 1837." 
 
 This was an annual celebration of 
 
 Washington's Birthday, and was con- 
 tinued for many years. When first 
 instituted I cannot say; but I have a 
 similar invitation to the above, on 
 yellow paper, for Feb. 22, 1830, for a 
 ball given at the same place, addressed 
 to Mrs. William Martin, and signed 
 by "Robert P. Crosby, Samuel M. 
 Leiper, John K. Zeilin, John L. Cros- 
 by, Dr. William Gray, Archibald T. 
 Dick, Wm. J. Leiper, Joseph Neide 
 and Samuel Edwards, managers." 
 
 From Gordon' s Gazetteer, 1832, p. 
 103, (Sic, I extract the following. 
 
 " Chester, Post-town, Borough and seat of 
 justice of Delaware County, 121 miles N. of 
 Washington City, and 96 miles S. E. of Harris- 
 burg, on the river Delaware, 15 miles S. W. 
 of Philadelphia. This is the most ancient 
 town of Pennsylvania. There were several 
 dwellings and a Quaker meeting here, before 
 the grant to William Penn of 1681. It was 
 then known as 'Upland;' but the name of 
 Chester was substituted by the Proprietary at, 
 and before the granting of the Borough char- 
 ter, on the 31st of Oct., 1701. The first ad- 
 venturers under Penn, landed here on the nth 
 of Dec, 1 681, and were compelled to remain 
 the winter, the river having been frozen over 
 the night of their arrival. On the 4th of Dec, 
 1682, the first Provincial Assembly was holden 
 here, memorable for having enacted, in a ses- 
 sion of three days, seventy laws, comprising 
 an efficient code for the government of a po- 
 litical society. There are still standing in this 
 ancient town, some old houses, among which 
 is the Church. Perhaps few places in the 
 country have improved less. There is a water 
 power near it, but it is not great, and the 
 l)usiness of the surrounding country lies in 
 Philadelphia. It may contain at present about 
 134 dwellings, chiefly of stone and brick. A 
 substantial and neat Court House of stone, sur- 
 mounted l>y a cupola and bell, brick offices, 
 and a stone prison, 5 taverns, 4 stores, an 
 AtheuKum, the Delaware County Bank, a 
 Church, and Quaker meeting house. A 
 manufactory of straw paper has lately been 
 established near the town. For the accom- 
 modation of the trade of the Delaware, there 
 arc s<ime ]>iers sunk in the river opposite the 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 303 
 
 tcnvn, which have been lately repaired by the 
 U. S. Population in 1830, only 848. There 
 are here six practicing Attorneys and two 
 Physicians." 
 
 The Directory of 1859-60, states that 
 "Chester, from its earliest settlement, 
 grew at a very slow pace. Holm says 
 of it in 1702: ' Macoponaca, which is 
 called Chester, was a bare place, with- 
 out a Fort, but there were some stone 
 houses built there.' Oldmixon says of 
 it in 1 70S, that it had 'One hundred 
 houses. ' This would give a population 
 of probably 500 persons." Acrelius, 
 writing about 1754, says Chester has 
 120 houses ; yet by the census of 1820, 
 a population of only 657 is given it, 
 and in 1850, it had increased to no 
 more than 1667, making an increase of 
 about 1000 persons in thirty years, 
 averaging about thirty-four per annum, 
 and in 142 years, but about eight per- 
 sons per annum. In Hazard'' s Register, 
 13 vol., 9, (1834,) it is stated that 
 "Chester contains about 150 houses 
 and 1000 inhabitants." 
 
 Chester's po]nilation in 1820, was 
 657; in 1830, 848. In 1840, Chester 
 Borough and township had a popula- 
 tion of 1790. In 1850, the Borough 
 had 1667. The census of Chester for 
 1859, taken expressly for the Directory, 
 was, white males, 1865 ; white females, j 
 1927 ; colored males, .142 ; females, 
 173 — total, 4107. In i860, the records 
 of the Prothonotary's office of the 
 County Courts fixes the population at 
 463 1 , while the U.S. census report gives 
 it as: males, 2,055; females, 2,159, ^ 
 total of 4,214. In 1870, the census 
 gives 9,500 souls. Delaware County 
 contains 113,289 acres and has a popu- 
 lation of 39,451. The census of 1790, 
 gives, white males of 16 yrs. and up- 
 wards 2,536; females over 16 yrs., 
 2,113; white males and females, in- 
 
 cluding heads of families, 4,495 J ^^^ 
 other free persons, 289; slaves, 50. 
 Total, 9,483. The census of 1800 
 give a total population in the county 
 of 12,809. And that of 1810, of 14,- 
 734. The following table is of great 
 interest, as showing the increase of 
 population in the County and in the 
 townships, from 1820 to 1870. 
 
 1820 1830 1840 1850 i86o 1870 
 
 Aston .... 753 1070 1469 1558 1671 1870 
 
 Bethel ... 324 367 386 426 511 554 
 
 Birmingham . 515 584 605 566 621 765 
 
 Concord . . . 1032 iod2 1357 1049 1229 1257 
 
 Chester Boro' . 657 2481/1667 4631 9500 
 
 Chester To wn'p 63S 672 J (.1553*2026*1468 
 
 Darby Borot.gh) < 780 1200 
 
 Darby fown'p J ' = \ ^^^ ^^^ 
 
 Upper Darby . 692 1325 1489 2044 2571 3133 
 
 Edgmont ... 640 758 713 621 647 678 
 
 Haverford . . 786 980 1139 1401 1350 1360 
 
 U. Chichester . 413 431 475 531 555 541 
 
 L. Chichester ] ^^^ ,_ „, f 422 ) 
 
 Mar.HookBor.l ^"^ ''= ''M 492/ ''' "'^ 
 
 INIarple . . . 700 793 759 876 916 883 
 
 Middletown . . 994 1188 1451 1972 2397 2559 
 
 U.Providence 1 , 780 1 778 884 760 
 
 Media Borough i ^ '^ I 285 900 1080 
 
 N. Providence 566 747 1025 1457 1497 1480 
 
 Newtown . . 611 667 752 824 830 760 
 
 Radnor . . . 1059 1097 1205 1335 1230 1440 
 
 Ridley ... 893 1058 1075 1389 1324 1140 
 
 Springfield . . 576 700 860 1033 1109 1245 
 
 Thornbury . . 537 610 675 873 1017 1007 
 
 Tinicum . . . 182 166 153 178 193 147 
 
 Upland 1345 
 
 South Chester 1163 
 
 14810 17361 19791 24640 30597 39451 
 
 * Village of Upland included, which in 1850 contained 
 436 inhabitants. 
 
 The Directory of 1859 says that : — 
 " Until the year 1849, hemmed in by farms, 
 which the possessors did not seem willing to 
 relinquish, but few improvements wei-e made 
 beyond the seeming exigencies of the small 
 population. Though enterprise wished for an 
 outlet upon which to exercise its energies, the 
 surrounding land-owners did not recognize its 
 claim to a wider scope. From 1839 to 1848, 
 but very few houses were erected. Towards 
 the last of February of the latter year, the store 
 and dwelling of Preston Eyre, comprising all 
 the N. W. corner of Market Square, was 
 burnt; and under the ownership of John M. 
 Broomall, the site was embellished with fine 
 stores, of ample dimensions. From this date 
 others multiplied, and a stimulus seemed to 
 
304 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 have been ijiveii Id Ijiiiklinj^ ami trade. This 
 was increasetl by some fortunate eirciimstances, 
 the most prominent of which was the l^ringing 
 into market of some of the farms that had 
 been a barrier to the growtli of tliis ancient 
 Borough. 
 
 One of these farms was ]iart of tiie old 
 Wade property, which with some additional 
 land, comprised 64 acres along the Delaware, 
 southwest of Chester Creek. Mr. Broomall's 
 enterprise, in conjunction with that of John P. 
 Crozer, induced the purchase of this tract in 
 
 1849. Streets of ample width were laid out, 
 and lii>eral inducements given to all who 
 needed improved dwellings. By building and 
 selling at cost, and in many instances ad- 
 vancing to those without capital three-fourths 
 of the means necessary to build a dwelling, 
 these gentlemen soon dotted the new pur- 
 chase over with modernized habitations. In 
 1855 Mr. Broomall bought out the interest of 
 Mr. Crozer, and has since pursued the same 
 liberal policy to those in need of a home. 
 Upon this purchase there have been built 
 forty-four brick dwellings, two cotton facto- 
 ries, five cotton and M'oolen factories, one 
 bleaching and finishing factory, one dying 
 factory, one oil mill, one steam saw and plan- 
 ing mill, one sash and door factory, one large 
 seminary, numerous shops, coal and lumber 
 yards, three ship yards, and six hundred and 
 ten feet of wharfing, besides other imiM'ove- 
 ments. 
 
 One year subsequent to this purchase, in 
 
 1850, John Larkin, Jr., bought part of the 
 Cochran estate, lying towards the northeastern 
 part of the Borough, and with a laudable 
 spirit of improvement, vigorously addressed 
 himself to the task of making a new and regu- 
 larly built town. His policy, likewise, has 
 been of a highly liberal character, by placing 
 the price of lots on a scale so low as at once 
 to enable those in moderate circumstances to 
 buy, and induce the capitalist to seek liberal 
 investments. The old race course which was 
 upon the property, where feats of agile horse- 
 manship prevailed, and time, money and rough 
 jests were freely expended, is now the scene 
 of the steady march of improvement. The 
 hum of industry is heard instead of the 
 sportsman's halloo, and the racer and his 
 jockey are supplanted by the steam engine 
 and the swiftly revolving machinery. When 
 Mr. I.arkin purchased the property it was one 
 
 enclosure, with one small stone house and 
 stable upon it. At this date it contains two 
 hundred and sixty dwellings, four cotton 
 mills, one machine shop and foundry, two 
 brick yards, one steam sash door and furni- 
 ture factory, one market house, one boarding 
 school, one coach maker and smith shoj), two 
 public schools, one bakery, ten stores, and an 
 Odd Fellow's Hall. 
 
 In 1852, F. & A. Wiggins, of New York, 
 purchased the balance of the Cochran estate, 
 lying to the north of Mr. Larkin's improve- 
 ments, and having opened streets through the 
 new purchase, facilities are afforded to those 
 who wish to purchase eligible sites for home- 
 steads. Of this the Right Reverend Alonzo 
 Potter, Bishop of Pennsylvania, purchased 
 seveenteen acres, upon which is the old man- 
 sion house of the Cochran's, where occasional 
 hours are spent from the arduous field of 
 ministerial labor. 
 
 The manufacturing interests of Chester, 
 have received their greatest impulse since 
 1848. In that year, Mr. James Campbell, the 
 most extensive manufacturer of cottons in the 
 Borough, led the way. His mill was the old 
 jail at the N. W. corner of Work and Market 
 streets, to which additions were built to some 
 extent along the former street, to accommodate 
 the various machinery. The same building 
 is at present occupied by the enterprising Mr. 
 Stephens, Mr. Campbell having removed to 
 a more extensive site upon a fine avenue, 
 Broad street, laid out by Mr. John Larkin. 
 Mr. Campbell has been followed by Messrs. 
 Stephens, Blakeley, Green, Eccles, Knowles, 
 Leiper and Irving, and the Gartsides, all of 
 whom, by their industry and perseverance, 
 bid fair to make Chester eminent in the in- 
 terests in which they are engaged. So far as 
 we have been able to approximate the real 
 condition of the cotton and woolen manufac- 
 tures, they may be condensed as follows : 
 Number of operatives, 5110 ; number of looms, 
 518; spindles, 16,260; yards of fabric manu- 
 factured per annum, 4,000,000. Investments, 
 $362,000; sales per annum, $529,000. 
 
 The oldest foundry in Delaware County is 
 located in Chester, having been established 
 by Mr. Kitls, in 1836; ills now owned by 
 Charles A. W^eidner, and worked by W'eidner 
 & Co., who are at present putting the works 
 in thorough repair, preparatory to extensive 
 business. In the same business, Lewis Mil- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 305 
 
 ler, on Broad street, and John Haycock, on 
 Filbert street, are building up the same in- 
 terest by the conquering power of steam, and 
 human skill and industry." 
 
 The Delaware County Democrat, a 
 weekly paper established in Chester, in 
 1835, edited by Caleb Pierce,* publish- 
 ed in its columns during its brief ex- 
 istence, an article headed, ^'- First settle- 
 ment of America — Original Reminis- 
 cences of Chester, and of St. Pauf s Epis- 
 copal Church,'''' written by the late Rev. 
 Richard D. Hall, then Rector of St. 
 Paul's. It is often referred to by his- 
 torical writers and others, and portions 
 thereof quoted, so that it has become 
 a part of the history of Chester, and 
 although containing may errors that I 
 have before alluded to and corrected, is 
 very interesting. Mr. Hall, says: 
 
 "Although the English had very 
 early made the discovery of North 
 America, a considerable time elapsed 
 before any advantages accrued, and to 
 Sir Armigal Wadd, an Englishman of 
 Yorkshire, clerk of the Council to Hen- 
 ry VIII. and Edward VI., belongs the 
 honor, as the first of his countrymen, 
 of making discoveries in America. 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1584, was the 
 first Englishman who attempted to 
 plant a regular colony under grants in 
 it. In this year he obtained a patent 
 from Queen Elizabeth, for him and his 
 heirs, to discover and possess forever, 
 under the crown of England, all such 
 countries and lands as were not then 
 possessed by any Christian prince, or 
 inhabited by Christian people. En- 
 couraged by this grant, Raleigh and 
 other partners, at divers times fitted out 
 
 * On March 22, 1737-8, the Council order- 
 ed Caleb Pierce, Samuel Levis, Aaron James, 
 Moses Key, Thomas Gilpin and Samuel Bunt- 
 ing, to review a certain road in the county of 
 Chester. Familiar names, these, at the pres- 
 ent day. 
 
 ships, and settled a colony at Roanor, 
 in Virginia, now Roanoke, in North 
 Carolina; but notwithstanding various 
 attempts, they met with such discour- 
 agements, that no great improvements 
 were made until some time after- 
 wards. 
 
 In the year 1606 King James, with- 
 out any regard to Raleigh's rights, 
 granted a new patent to Virginia, in 
 which was included New England, New 
 Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland ; 
 from Queen Elizabeth's time to the 
 time of this patent, the whole country 
 bearing that name, which was given it 
 by Raleigh, in honor of his virgin 
 mistress, as some say ; others have it, 
 that it took its rise from the country 
 not being settled before. The extent 
 of the land granted, was from thirty- 
 four to forty-five degrees of north lati- 
 tude, with all the islands lying within 
 one hundred miles of the coast. By 
 virtue of this patent, two distinct colo- 
 nies were to be planted. The London 
 Company fitted out several ships with 
 artificers of every kind, and all things 
 requisite for a new settlement, which 
 sailed for America, and planted a colo- 
 ny there; but in the year 1623. there 
 were so many complaints made of bad 
 management, that the patent, after a 
 trial in the King's Bench, was declared 
 forfeited. 
 
 In the same year the patent was grant- 
 ed, the Plymouth Company also at- 
 tempted to make a settlement, but with 
 no great success, until about the year 
 1620, when they sent a fresh recruit 
 from England, under the command of 
 Captain Standish, who arrived at Cape 
 Cod, in the latitude of forty-two de- 
 grees, and having turned the Cape, 
 found a commodious harbor opposite 
 the point, at the mouth of the Bay, at 
 the entry of which were two islands 
 
oOO 
 
 mSTOKV OF CHESTEK. 
 
 well storked with wood. Here they 
 built a town whi( h they called New 
 Plymouth. 
 
 From what appears, it is evident that 
 the Colonies, New York, New Jersey, 
 Pennsylvania and Maryland, were in- 
 cluded in the great patent last mention- 
 ed, but that becoming void, the crown 
 was at liberty to re-grant the same to 
 others ; but it does not appear that any 
 part of tho.se Provinces was settled by 
 virtue thereof; nor indeed was any dis- 
 tinct discovery of them made until 
 many years afterwards. New Jersey, 
 Pennsylvania, and other lands adjacent, 
 notwithstanding the ancient right of the 
 crown of England, deduced as afore- 
 said, had two pretenders to them — the 
 Dutch and the Swedes. The claim 
 the former set up, was under color of 
 a discovery made in the year 1509, by 
 Henry Hudson, an Englishman, com- 
 mander of a ship called the Half Moon, 
 fitted out from Holland by the East In- 
 dia Company, to discover by a North- 
 west passage, a nearer way to China. In 
 this voyage, he sailed up to the i)lace 
 now New York, and up the river from 
 him called Hudson's river. Returning 
 some time after to Amsterdam, the 
 Dutch pretended to have purchased the 
 chart he made of the American coast ; 
 and having obtained a patent from the 
 State in 1614, to tradetoNew England, 
 they settled New York, which they 
 called New Netherlands, and kept pos- 
 session until Sir Sam. Argole, Gover- 
 nor of Virginia, disputed their title, 
 alleging that the country having been 
 discovered by an Englishman, in right 
 of his master, he could not suffer it to 
 be alienated from the crown, without 
 the King's consent. He therefore com- 
 pelled the Dutch colony to submit to 
 him, and to hold it under the English. 
 Some time after, a new Governor 
 
 coming from Amsterdam, they not only 
 neglected to pay their usual acknowl- 
 edgment to tlie Governor of Virginia; 
 but in the year 1623, they fortified their 
 colony by building several forts; one 
 on the Delaware, ( by them called South 
 river,) near Gloucester in New Jersey, 
 which they named Nassau; a second 
 on Hudson's, (the North River,) in the 
 Province of New York, which they 
 named Fort Orange, now Albany; 
 and a third on Connecticut river, (by 
 them called the Fresh river,) which they 
 named the House of Good Hope. 
 Hudson's river lying near the sea, and 
 the navigation esteemed less difficult 
 than the other, their settlements were 
 chiefly on both sides of that river; at 
 the entrance of which the town by them 
 also called New Amsterdam, was built. 
 So that by the time the Swedes came in- 
 to America, which was a few years after, 
 the Dutch had wholly quitted the land 
 adjacent to the river Delaware. 
 
 The proceedings of the Dutch in 
 building the forts, and in a manner 
 taking possession of the country, having 
 been represented to King Charles the 
 First, his ambassadors at the Hague, 
 made such pressing instances to the 
 States, that they disowned having given 
 any commission for what the Dutch 
 had done, and laid the blame on their 
 East India Comj)any. Upon this 
 King Charles gave a commission to Sir 
 George Calvert, afterwards Lord Bal- 
 timore, to possess and plant that part 
 of America now called Maryland, (from 
 his Queen Henrietta Maria,) and to Sir 
 Edward Ployden to ])lant the Northern 
 parts towards New England. The 
 Dutch, afraid of the power of the Eng- 
 lish, were willing to compound matters 
 a second time, offering to leave their 
 plantations in consideration of two 
 tliousand five hundred jjounds sterling, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 :;()7 
 
 to be paid them for the charges they 
 had been at. Soon after King Charles 
 being involved in his troubles, was 
 hindered from supporting his colonies ; 
 they therefore not only fell from their 
 first proposals, but as was reported, fur- 
 nished the natives with arms and taught 
 them the use of them, that by their as- 
 sistance they might dispossess the Eng- 
 lish all around them. 
 
 We shall now turn our attention to 
 the Swedes, whose first settlement in 
 America, according to their own ac- 
 count, was thus occasioned. In the 
 reign of Gustavus Adolphus, and in 
 the year 1626, an eminent merchant, 
 named William Useling, gave a great 
 character of this country, applauding 
 it for fruitful, fertile land, abounding 
 with all the necessaries of life, and used 
 many inducements to persuade the 
 Swedes to settle a colony here. Gus- 
 tavus issued a proclamation at Stock- 
 holm, exhorting his subjects to con- 
 tribute to a company associated for 
 the purpose aforesaid, which was called 
 the West India Company, confirmed 
 by that Prince. In a General Assem- 
 bly, the year following, sums of money 
 were raised to carry on the intended 
 settlement, to which the King, Lords 
 of the Council, the Chief of his Ba- 
 rons, Knights, Counts, principal of- 
 ficers in his army, Bishops, Clergy, 
 and divers of the common people of 
 Sweden, Finland and Lapland con- 
 tributed ; and responsible persons were 
 chosen to see what was proposed put 
 in execution, consisting of an Admi- 
 ral, Vice-Admiral, merchants, factors, 
 commissaries, and it was concluded to 
 procure as many as they thought fit, 
 of those who would voluntarily ship 
 themselves to America, to settle and 
 cultivate a colony. } 
 
 In 1627, the Swedes and Finns ac- \ 
 
 cordingly came over thither. Their 
 first landing was at Cape Inlopen, now 
 Henlopen. The sight created a plea- 
 sure, and they named it Paradise Point. 
 Some time after, they purchased of 
 some Indians, the land from Cape 
 Inlopen to the Falls of Delaware, on 
 both sides of the river, which they 
 called New Swedeland Stream, and 
 made presents to the Indian chiefs to 
 obtain peaceful possession of the lands 
 purchased. The Dutch, however, con- 
 tinuing their pretensions, in 1630, one 
 j David Pieterszen de Vries, their coun- 
 tryman, built a fort within the Capes of 
 the Delaware on the west, about two 
 leagues from Cape Cornelius, at the 
 place now called Lewis Town, then and 
 after called by the name of Hoarkill. 
 
 In 1 63 1, the Swedes also built a fort 
 on the west side of the Delaware, to 
 which they gave the name of Chris- 
 teen, which was destroyed by the 
 Dutch from New Amsterdam, or New 
 York, in 1655; and being upon a 
 water-course falling into the Delaware, 
 it gave rise to the name which it bears 
 to the present day, with some little 
 variation, namely, — the Christiana. 
 Here a small town (near the pre- 
 sent venerable building called Trinity 
 church, which bears date 1698, and 
 was erected in the place of a log edi- 
 fice of many years standing,) was laid 
 out by Peter Lindstnim, their engi- 
 neer, and here they first settled, but 
 this settlement was afterwards demo- 
 lished by the Dutch. It is a tradition 
 handed down by the first Swedish set- 
 tlers, that their fathers were obliged 
 to keep sentinels during their public 
 worship in their log church, for fear 
 of an attack from the Indians. 
 
 On the island called Tennicum, now 
 the site of the Lazaretto, the Swedes 
 erected another fort, which they nam- 
 
:5o^ 
 
 IIISTORV OF CllESTEK. 
 
 ed New Gottenhurg ; this fort was 
 also destroyed by the Dutch from New 
 Amsterdam, or New York, in 1655. 
 A church was consecrated in 1646,* 
 and John Printz, then (Governor, built 
 a fine house, and other suitable accom- 
 modations, planted an orchard, and 
 called his settlement Printz's Hall. 
 The principal freemen had also their 
 plantations on this island. About this 
 time the Swedes also built forts at 
 Upland, and other places. As this 
 is the first mention made of Chester, 
 in any document or history extant, at 
 least to our knowledge, we must take 
 it for granted that in this year the pre- 
 sent town of Chester was settled, and 
 settled as we have already seen by the 
 Swedes and Finns. On the old maps 
 of Campanius, the Swedish historian, 
 and Lindstrbm, among other places 
 named or held by the Swedes, we find 
 the present Chester, called Manaiung. 
 
 * 111 the " History of Ne7i> Sweden,"' l)y 
 Israel Acrelius, a translation of which was 
 lately published by the Historical Societies of 
 Pennsylvania and Delaware, there is a state- 
 ment concerning the ancient bell on the old 
 Swedes' church at Tinicum (Tenacon), Dela- 
 ware County. The document is in the form 
 of a certificate of transfer from a daughter of 
 (iov. Printz, one of the early Swedisli ruler-, 
 on the Delaware. It reads thus: 
 
 "l.Ais 1)1:0, May, 24, 1673. 
 I , the undersigned, Armegot Printz, acknow- 
 ledge to have transferred to the congregation 
 of the Adherents of the Augsburg Confession 
 in this place the hell that has been on Tcnna- 
 kong, that they may do therewith what pleases 
 them, and promise to keep them free from all 
 claims that may be made, &c., &c., &c. 
 
 .'Vrmec.ot Printz." 
 
 There was great complaint about this among 
 the Swedish congregation of the Tenacon 
 church, and they bought their bell back again 
 by two years' reai)ing in harvest time. (Jov. 
 Printz, who arrived there in 1643, ''"''t a 
 church in 1646, which was consecrated on the 
 4th of September in that year, and elsewhere 
 in the history said to be the'lirst Swedes' church 
 built in America. It was on this church that 
 the bell was, that was sold by his daughter, 
 Armegot, in 1673. 
 
 In 1675, ^oiiie Friends settled at 
 Chester, probably from the Jersey col- 
 ony; and this is here noted to correct 
 an- error, that they, as the companions 
 of William Penn, were the first settlers 
 of Chester. One of the original names 
 of the town was Upland. By this 
 name also, it is recognized by William 
 Penn, in giving his directions for set- 
 tling his colony, in 1681, and locat- 
 ing a "great towne." In an account 
 of Philadelphia, and the Province of 
 Pennsylvania, down to the year 1696, 
 Chester is mentioned as one of the four 
 great market towns, and as " mightily 
 enlarged in this latter improvement." 
 
 There are several facts of interest 
 connected with the ancient town of 
 Chester — the foundation of the vener- 
 able church edifice and congregation 
 of the Episcopal Church, known by 
 the name of St. Paul's — and also the 
 landing of William Penn, in 1682, and 
 the hospitable reception himself and 
 friends received at the "Essex-house," 
 then the residence of Robert Wade. 
 His house, at which the scene of the 
 landing is laid, stood about 200 yards 
 from Chester Creek, near the margin 
 of the Delaware, and on a plain of 
 about 15 feet above tide water. Near 
 the house, by the river side, stood 
 several lofty yellow pines, two of which 
 remain at the present day, and thence 
 ranging down the Delaware, stood a 
 large row of lofty walnut trees, of which 
 none survive. 
 
 As a striking relic of ancient times, 
 the brick building is still standing, now 
 in the occupancy of Samuel Long, as 
 a cooper's shop, in which, it is said, 
 was held the first Assembly of Penn- 
 sylvania. It is a storied and a half 
 structure, of moderate dimensions, 
 bearing many of the features of the 
 ancient architecture of this country, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 309 
 
 located close by the side of the creek. 
 Attached, there stands a stone house 
 which bears the marks of great age, said 
 to have been erected in 1690, and used 
 for a Friends' meeting house. It is now 
 occupied by Mr. Long's family. About 
 seventeen years after Penn's landing, 
 in 1699, the first mill in the county 
 was erected one mile from the town, 
 and now owned by Richard Flower. 
 
 The Yeates' house, now in the Lo- 
 gan family, and doubtless considered 
 in its time the largest and most splen- 
 did, built about the year 1700, was 
 made remarkable in the years 1 740-1, 
 the "cold winter," for having been 
 visited in the night by a large black 
 bear, which came into the yard and 
 quarrelled with the dog. It was killed 
 next day, near the town. 
 
 The original expectations of Ches- 
 ter, at one time, were great. It was 
 once thought it might grow into a 
 shipping port. In an original petition 
 of the inhabitants of Chester, of the 
 year 1700, they pray, that 'Whereas, 
 Chester is daily improving, and in time 
 may be a good place, that the Queen's 
 road, (the road below Chester was call- 
 ed the King's road,) may be laid out 
 as direct as possible from Darby to the 
 bridge on Chester Creek. ' This paper 
 was signed by ninety inhabitants, all 
 writing good and fair. Besides this, 
 Jasper Yeates, an ancestor of the pre- 
 sent family in Lancaster County, and 
 who married a daughter of one of the 
 early settlers of Chester, James Sandi- 
 lands, erected, about the year 1700, 
 the present extensive building now in 
 the tenure of Samuel Smith, Esq., and 
 repaired and refitted completely for 
 dwellings, and commonly known by 
 the name of the " Granary." It was 
 built as a repository for grain, and the 
 basement story for an extensive biscuit 
 
 bakery. For some time it had an ex- 
 tensive business, by having much of 
 the grain from the fruitful fields of 
 Lancaster and Chester Counties. 
 
 When the first colonists, who arriv- 
 ed by the ship Factor in i68i, under 
 Penn, were frozen up at Chester, and 
 these being followed by several ships 
 in the spring of 1682, before the plot 
 of the city of Philadelphia was chosen 
 and located, they must have given an 
 air of city life to the Upland Village, 
 which may have well excited an ori- 
 ginal expectation and wish of locating 
 here, " the city of brotherly love." It 
 was all in unison with the generous 
 hospitality afforded at Wade's house, 
 and among all the families of Friends 
 previously settled there from Jersey — 
 but Chester Creek could not compete 
 with the Schuylkill River, and Chester 
 was rivalled by Philadelphia — 'so that 
 it seemed appointed by its two rivers 
 and other conveniences, for a town.' 
 
 The concluding remarks of the au- 
 thor of the Annals of PJuladelphia, to 
 whom the present writer is indebted 
 for much of the foregoing matter, are 
 very striking : 
 
 'At this late day, it is grateful to 
 look back with 'recollected tender- 
 ness,' on the state of society once pos- 
 sessing Chester. My friend, Mrs. Lo- 
 gan,* who once lived there, thus ex- 
 pressed it to me : ' She had pleasure 
 in her older age of contemplating its 
 society as pictured to her by her hon- 
 ored mother, a native of the place. 
 Most of the inhabitants, being descen- 
 dants of the English, spoke with the 
 broad dialect of the North. They were 
 a simple-hearted, affectionate people, 
 always appearing such in the visits she 
 
 * Relict of the late Dr. Logan, several years 
 engaged in public life. Mrs. L. and the Dr. 
 were lineal descendants of the Penn colonists. 
 
:}10 
 
 HISTORY OK CHESTEK. 
 
 miulc witli Ikt niothcr to that place. 
 Little distinction of rank was known, 
 but all were honest and kind, and all 
 entitled to and received the friendly 
 attentions and tenderness of their 
 neighbors in cases of sickness and dis- 
 tress. Scandal and detraction, usual 
 village pests, were to them unknown. 
 Their principles and feelings were too 
 good and simple, and the state of the 
 whole was at least a silver age." 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 From the Life of jFohii P. Crozcr, 
 written by J. Wheaton Smith, D. D., 
 of Philadelphia, 1868, pp. 128-9, I 
 make the following extracts, premising 
 that the reverend author might haVe 
 made a much more interesting work 
 out of his subject : 
 
 " Upland is beautifully situated upon 
 Chester Creek, about two miles from 
 its entrance into the Delaware. It is 
 within the limits of the ancient town 
 of Chester. Chester was settled by 
 the Swedes in 1643, and has the dis- 
 tinction of being the oldest town in 
 the State of Pennsylvania. English 
 settlers had found their way among the 
 Swedes before the arrival of William 
 Penn, and landings by the English 
 had also been effected on the Dela- 
 ware, above and below the original 
 site of Chester. Indeed as early as 
 1640, Puritans from Connecticut, de- 
 sirous ' of planting Churches of a God- 
 ly sort,' and to trade and traffic with 
 the Indians along the Delaware Bay,' 
 made a purchase of land for ;,^30 ster- 
 ling, transported thither about fifty 
 families, and erected trading houses. 
 This curious connection between piety 
 and trade, illustrates a trait not yet 
 wholly eradicated from Connecticut 
 ( haracter. It is much in the vein of 
 
 a letter to Secretary Wallingford, from 
 the good old navigator, Capt. Davis, 
 who, with a simplicity that is quite re- 
 freshing, says : ' If these people (the 
 Indians of America) were once brought 
 over to Christian faith, they might soon 
 be brought to relish a more civilized 
 kind of life, and be thereby induced 
 to take off great quantities of our coarser 
 woolen manufactures. ' It was probably 
 this party of New Englanders, whose 
 progress awakened the attention of 
 William Kieft, the Dutch Governor 
 of New Amsterdam, who, in 1642, 
 fitted out two sloops to drive the En- 
 glish from the mouth of the Schuyl- 
 kill." 
 
 The present Upland is near the site 
 of the famous "Chester Mills," which 
 were framed in England, and brought 
 to this country in the "Welcome," 
 and erected in 1683. Traces of the 
 old mill dam are still visible, and the 
 old log platform under water, still re- 
 mains, or at least did some years ago, 
 at the ford where the King's road to 
 Philadelphia once passed the creek. 
 The old dwelling of Caleb Pusey, who 
 erected the mill, is still preserved on 
 the estate. The old mill that was 
 burned down about twelve years ago, 
 was built in 1745, by Samuel Shaw. I 
 remember visiting "Flower's Mills" 
 when I was a lad, and being attracted 
 by a curious old iron weather vane on 
 the saw-mill. That relic of the olden 
 time is now doing duty on the building 
 of the Historical Society of Penna. , No. 
 820 Spruce Street, Philadelphia. It 
 had no pointer to it when I first saw 
 it on the mill. Now the old tail-piece 
 has become the pointer, and a large 
 feather-end or tail-piece has been add- 
 ed, and the whole gilded, and our 
 old country friend is no longer to be 
 recognized. The change is as great 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 311 
 
 as when the country lad becomes a city 
 dandy, and my old friend Reece Wall 
 Flower, would be astonished if he 
 could see how the old relic he presented 
 to the Society has been preserved. The 
 original Vane was made of wrought 
 iron, very roughly. In a frame.are the 
 letters S. C. C. P., and under these a 
 band, and resting on a lower band, 
 the figures 1699 ; resting on a top band, 
 over the above letters, are two others, 
 W. P. The letters indicate the names 
 of the then owners of the old mill 
 — William Penn, Samuel Carpenter 
 and Caleb Pusey, and the date 1699, 
 of the erection of the vane. There 
 were other partners it is stated, who 
 agreed to erect one or more water- 
 mills. Richard Townsend says, (i 
 Proud, 229) : "After some time I set 
 up a mill on Chester Creek, which I 
 brought ready framed from London, 
 which served for grinding of corn and 
 sawing of boards, and was of great use 
 to us." 
 
 In Day s Hisiorical Collections, \'&\t^, 
 303, and Watson' s Annals, i vol., 128, 
 the old dwelling with a hipped roof 
 addition added by Samuel Shaw% is 
 spoken of (a picture of it given,) as 
 the residence of Richard Townsend. 
 Dr. Smith, 147, says, Townsend was 
 only one of the partners ; the others 
 were, Philip Ford, John Bellars, David 
 Worley, Daniel Quare, John Barker, 
 John Bickley and Thomas Burberry. 
 These parties agreed that Caleb Pusey 
 should be the Agent and Manager. 
 Warrants for two parcels of land, one 
 on each side of Chester Creek, were 
 surveyed for the use of the mills, each 
 containing twenty acres. Upon this 
 land Caleb Pusey erected the mills 
 above spoken of, by order of the Pro- 
 prietary and his partners. Samuel 
 Carpenter was not one of the original 
 
 partners. The circumstances of his 
 ownership are set forth in Dr. Smith's 
 History of the County, pp. 563-4, and 
 are thus explained by Henry G. Ash- 
 mead, Esq., of Chester, who says: — 
 "I have in my possession a deed, bear- 
 ing date Dec. 19, 1705, which sets 
 forth, Samuel Carpenter, a merchant, 
 of Philadelphia, by this instrument 
 conveys his interest in the Chester 
 Mills to Caleb Pusey. 
 
 This old deed relates that William 
 Penn, Proprietary and Governor of 
 the said Province, together with Philip 
 Ford, John Bellars, Daniel Worley, 
 Daniel Quare, John Barker, Richard 
 Townsend, John Bickley, Thomas 
 Burberry and Caleb Pusey, ' Did ver- 
 bally agree upon a Co-partnership, in 
 one or more Water Mills by them in- 
 tended to be built and Erected in the 
 said Province ; and in Geer, Utensills 
 and Implements proper for such an 
 undertaking and in such Lands, Build- 
 ings and Conveniences as might be 
 necessary to accomplish the same.' 
 The property was divided into shares, 
 and each party received that propor- 
 tion of shares that his interest entitled 
 him to, and Caleb Pusey was appoint- 
 ed agent and manager of the ' said 
 joint concern.' In 1683, Caleb Pu- 
 sey, ' with the advice of the s* Pro- 
 prietary and such others of the said 
 Partners as then were in the Province,' 
 erected ' a corn-mill ' upon Chester 
 Creek, ' near his new dwelling house. 
 Which Mill, with the Dam belonging 
 to it, were soon Carried away by a 
 flood. And the said Caleb Pusey after- 
 wards by the advice of the said Pro- 
 prietary and y'' other partner, that was 
 here, Did upon y* said Joynt Account 
 Build another Corn Mill and a Saw 
 Mill upon the part of the said Twenty 
 acres of Land, and Made a Dam over 
 
312 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 the said Creek, a little above where 
 the first Mill stood. But the floods 
 carried away that Dam, whereupon the 
 said Partners then present, Consider- 
 ing the Violence of the said Creek in 
 Times of Land Floods, found it most 
 advissable to Take the Water out of 
 the Creek about a Mile above the said 
 Mill, and for that purpose the said 
 Caleb Pusey, purchased of one Thomas 
 Breassey a slip of land of about four 
 perches in bredth adjoining upon y* 
 said creek containing about Two Acres 
 where he Digged and made a mill-race 
 or Water Course down to the s*^ mill.' 
 The charge of making this mill-race, 
 and the necessary repairs to the mill 
 building, absorbed all the earnings of 
 the mill, and Caleb Pusey borrowed 
 from time to time, money from Robert 
 Turner to pay for the improvements. 
 All the partners but Penn and Pusey — 
 Richard Townsend had transferred his 
 interest before that to Pusey — refused 
 to pay the amount assessed to each 
 share, and were thereupon sued by 
 Turner for ^390 8^. id. half-penny. 
 Judgment was entered in his favor on 
 the 14th of June, 1692, and the Cor- 
 oner, Jacob Simcock, — Pusey was at 
 that time Sheriff of the county, and 
 interested in the suit, — instructed to 
 collect that amount by sale of the pro- 
 perty. Twelve men, summoned for 
 that purpose, assessed the property at 
 ^S^o. It was then offered at public 
 sale, but ' found no buyers,' where- 
 upon, on the 13th day of September, 
 1692, 'f»suant to the Laws of this 
 Provence in such case provided,' the 
 Coroner sold the interests of the de- 
 linquent parties to Robert Turner, at 
 the appraisement ; and he the same 
 day transferred the property to Sam- 
 uel Carpenter, who, until the date of 
 this flced, thirteen vears afterwards, 
 
 acted as a partner with Penn and Pusey. 
 
 It is an interesting fact, not men- 
 tioned in the old deed, that William 
 Penn was present and saw the first log 
 laid in the first dam, that was swept 
 away by the flood. 
 
 The old deed is written on two sheets 
 of parchment, fastened together at the 
 bottom by catgut, so that they fold 
 one into the other. In the center of 
 this lap at the bottom, a tongue or tag 
 of parchment has been inserted through 
 both sheets, and then sewed down. On 
 the lap at the bottom of the deed is 
 the signature, in a bold round hand, 
 ' Sam : Carpenter. ' The letters ' ter,' 
 are made to run over on the tag or 
 tongue. Below the signature, on the 
 tag, is Carpenter's seal. It looks as 
 though it was an impression made by 
 a ring, and shows a heart pierced di- 
 agonally by two arrows. Carpenter 
 at that time was a single man, as he 
 alone is mentioned as grantor. It is 
 witnessed by Robert Burrow, Thomas 
 England and David Lloyd. The ac- 
 knowledgment was made before Jasper 
 Yeates, and is certified as being re- 
 corded Feb. 4, 1 706, by Peter Evans, 
 Recorder. The seal of Justice Yeates 
 is so defaced that I cannot decipher it. 
 That of the Recorder bears a shield, 
 divided transversely by a broad bar. 
 The figure in the upper divisions I 
 cannot make out; that in the lower is 
 a partly opened scroll, rolled at each 
 end. Circling the seal is 'Chester 
 Covnty. Inrolmt. Office.' 
 
 It will be noticed, that this old deed 
 uses the words, 'Said joint concern.' 
 Recently the London publication, iV^^/^j- 
 and Queries, stated that 'concern,' 
 when applied to a business, or used 
 with a like meaning, was an American- 
 ism. Yet this old indenture, over 
 171 years of age, shows that the term, 
 
HISTORY OF GUESTEK. 
 
 313 
 
 as we now apply it was in common use 
 then, and that too among educated 
 people who had but recently come 
 from England. Like many other so- 
 called Americanisms, the origin of 
 ' concern' might, without much diffi- 
 culty, be traced back to the mother 
 country." 
 
 The '^ Fenn Papers,'' consisting of 
 original letters, MSS., documents, 
 charters, grants, printed papers, rare 
 books and pamphlets, relating to Wil- 
 liam Penn, the early history of Pennsyl- 
 vania and of this country, passed into 
 the hands of a dependent or relative of 
 the Penn family, after the death of 
 Thomas Gordon Penn, in 1869, the 
 last surviving descendant of the name, 
 who sold these invaluable papers to a 
 rag-dealer in London, for a mere trifle. 
 He, discovering their value, sold them 
 to Edward G. Allen, a dealer in old 
 manuscripts, I believe, who sold them, 
 in 1873, to the Historical Society of 
 Pennsylvania, for about $4000. Their 
 historical value cannot be estimated, 
 but some idea may be formed of the 
 quantity when it is known, that when 
 arranged, it is expected they will make 
 over 100 volumes of matter. 
 
 The following "History of Chester, 
 Fa., by the Hon. John M. Broomall," 
 is taken from tht Delaware Fiver and 
 West Jersey Failroad Commercial Di- 
 rectory, for 1872, pp. 93, 94, 95, 96, 
 and is in these words : 
 
 " The cily of Chester, is situated on the 
 west bank of the Delaware River, below Phil- 
 adelphia. Its distance from Market Street 
 wharf, measured on the river, is about twenty 
 miles, while that from Market Street bridge, 
 on the Schuylkill, by the Philadelphia and 
 Baltimore post-road, is but thirteen. This 
 difference is mainly owing to the great l)end 
 in the Delaware, about the mouth of the 
 Schuylkill, known as the Horse-shoe. 
 
 The line of highland on which the higher 
 
 portion of West Philadelphia is located, re- 
 cedes from the shore line, and running nearly 
 straight along the island limits of the Tinicum 
 meadows, approaches the river about a mile 
 above Chester. At this point the meadow 
 land narrows to a mere strip, and gradually 
 disappears altogether on the approach to the 
 town. The site of Chester is as high above 
 tide-water as that of West Philadelphia. 
 
 While Chester is twenty miles nearer the 
 Capes by water than Philadelphia, the dis- 
 tance between the limits of the two cities by 
 land, is but about eight miles, and the actual 
 distance between the built-up portions of each 
 is rapidly diminishing. The two cities will be 
 united along the highlands long before any 
 great improvement will be made along the 
 river line between them. 
 
 Chester is the oldest town in Pennsylvania. 
 The titles of its town lots extend back through 
 the ownership of Europeans and their descend- 
 ants to 1645. A village of considerable size 
 existed there in 1682, at the time of the found- 
 ing of Philadelphia, containing a market house, 
 court house, schools, places of public worship, 
 a flour mill and several taverns. It is well 
 known that Penn intended locating his city 
 there, but was prevented mainly by the fear 
 that it might prove to be within the limits 
 of Lord Baltimore's domain. There is good 
 reason to suppose that this fear was not with- 
 out foundation, and more than that, that the 
 removal to the mouth of the .Schuylkill did 
 not mend the matter. It is shrewdly suspect- 
 ed that nothing but Penn's influence at Court 
 saved him from holding his grant under Lord 
 Baltimore, if at all, up to a line considerably 
 north of Philadelphia. 
 
 Chester was the seat of Government cjf the 
 Colony of Pennsylvania for several years. It 
 continued to be the seat of justice of Chester 
 County until 1788, when West' Chester de- 
 prived it of that honor. This event was im- 
 mediately followed by a division of the county, 
 when Chester became the seat of justice of the 
 new county of Delaware, and remained so until 
 1850. At that period, the courts and records 
 were removed to Media, a point five miles in- 
 land, about the middle of the county, the pre- 
 sent seat of justice. 
 
 After the establishment of Philadelphia, 
 Chester gradually declined in importance, if 
 not in population and extent. For a century 
 and a half nothing but its Court house distin- 
 
:U4 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 guished il from Mucus Hook, its neighboring 
 fishin;T town. Long since the comm encement 
 of the present century, its inhabitants consisted 
 of throe or four tavern iceepers, a doctor, a 
 few dozen fishermen, two country storekeepers 
 and a custom house-oflicer, whose arduous 
 duties consisted of signing a receipt for his 
 small salary four times a year. 
 
 About 1840, however, a spirit of innovation 
 began to exhibit itself, a little to the alarm and 
 discomfort of the old inhabitants. Delaware 
 County had always contained much of the 
 elements of progress, and the county town 
 could not always escape the contamination. 
 Manufactures of paper, cottons, woolens, iron, 
 &c., had sprung up in various parts of the 
 county, and it began to be perceived that steam 
 upon tidewater is better than water power a 
 few miles off. The advantages of Chester as 
 a seat for manufacturing establishments soon 
 became manifest, and from that lime onward, 
 its progress in material wealth and population 
 has surprised even the most far-seeing. 
 
 In 1840, the popahtion was 700 ; in 1 850, 
 1600; in 1860,6400; and in 1870, including 
 the suburbs, about 14,000. Not many towns 
 in Pennsylvania, or anywhere east of it, can 
 show a corresponding increase. With equal 
 advantages of location, Marcus Hook and New 
 Castle have remained nearly stationary during 
 that period of thirty years. j. 
 
 In 1827, the first stationary steam engine was 
 started in Chester, and its advent produced 
 more sensation among the simple villagers 
 than did the downfall of the French monar 
 chy. Now the number in operation is about 
 sixty. These engines operate 28 cotton and 
 woolen mills, 8 machine shops, and some 18 
 or 2<3 other manufacturing establishments. 
 
 The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Balti- 
 more Railroad passes through the town with 
 23 trains daily, including six from the Ralti- 
 more Central road, and the new route along 
 the highlands, which will soon be opened, 
 will render Chester accessible to Philadelphia 
 every half hour in llie day without crossing 
 the Schuylkill and Tinicum meadows, which 
 constitutes so uninviting a feature of the pre- 
 sent road, with its ditches, swamps and draw- 
 bridges. This new route is already attracting 
 the attention it deserves, pa.ssing as it does, 
 through a country beautifully midulating and 
 rich as a garden, with streams of pure spring 
 water coursing every ravine. Already streets 
 
 are being laid out and buildings erected upon 
 them, promising a continuous town, so that 
 the southern traveller, in a few years, w ill not 
 suppose he is outside of Philadel])hia, until he 
 reaches the Delaware State line. 
 
 The southern terminus of the Chester Creek 
 Railroad, is at Chester. This road is leased 
 and operated by the Haltiniore Central Rail- 
 road Company, and it forms the connecting 
 link between the two Baltimore and Phila- 
 delphia railroads. Connecting at Lenni with 
 the Westchester railroad, and at Chadd's Ford 
 with the Wilmington and Reading Railroad, 
 the Baltimore Central and Chester Creek roads 
 open out to Chester the rich agricultural and 
 mining districts of Chester County and the en- 
 tire country traversed by those roads. 
 
 The Media and Chester Narrow Gauge Rail- 
 road Company has been chartered and organ- 
 ized ; and its road is now being located along 
 the valley of Ridley Creek. This, when com- 
 pleted, will bring Chester within twenty min- 
 utes ride of the seat of justice. The scenery 
 along the route of this road is not excelled 
 anywhere within the same distance of Phila- 
 del]5hia. In places it approaches the moun- 
 tainous, and all along the valley are hill sides 
 teeming with agricultural wealth, and manu- 
 facturing villages swarming with a busy pop- 
 ulation. It is in contemplation to construct 
 an 80 feet carriage-way along the bed of the 
 railroad, so as to afford the citizens of Chester 
 an opportunity to reside upon the highlands 
 of the county and be within a few minutes 
 ride of their places of business. 
 
 With all the railroad, facilities, and with a 
 river not obstructed by ice up to that point 
 once in twenty years, few localities offer the 
 inducements to manufacturers which Chester 
 does : and this, with the energy and enterpri.se 
 of those who have made it their home, is the 
 sufficient explanation of the fact, that in thirty 
 years the population has increased t%venty-fold. 
 
 The width of the Delaware at Chester, is 
 about a mile and a half. The channel is near 
 the town, and is deep and wide enough for 
 vessels of ordinary draft of water to tack and 
 manoeuvre in, so as to avoid the necessity of 
 being towed. Few vessels that enter the port 
 of Philadelphia recpiire towing, except from 
 Chester upwards. In 1856 and 1857, two 
 winters in succession, the river was frozen 
 over at Chester so as to bear loaded wagons, 
 and for a few weeks, much hauling of wood 
 
HISTORY UF CHESTER. 
 
 815 
 
 nnd other commodities was done to and from 
 the ojjposite shore. No such occurrence had 
 taken place for years before, nor has the 
 river there been frozen over since. On both 
 those occasions, it was open opposite the pre- 
 sent extension of the town southward, and at 
 that point and below, the river has probably 
 never been fast during the memory of the oldest 
 inhabitant. 
 
 Among the public institutions of the town, 
 may he mentioned the Delaware County Na- 
 tional Bank, founded as a State Bank in i8i6, 
 and for many years so ably conducted as to 
 merit and enjoy a high degree of juiblic con- 
 fidence. It became a national bank in 1865, 
 with a capital of three hundred thousand dol- 
 lars. The First National Bank of Chester, 
 established in 1865, with a capital of one hun- 
 dred thousand dollars. This institution ranks 
 among the best in the country. The Chester 
 Gas Company, founded about 1856, well man- 
 aged and exceedingly profitable to the stock- 
 holders. The South Ward Water Works, 
 supplying a large portion of the city with water 
 from the Delaware. The Crozer Theological 
 Institute, a college founded. by the late John 
 P. Crozer, and managed by the religious de- 
 nomination of Baptists. The Chester Militaiy 
 Academy, under the charge of Col. Theodore 
 Hyatt, as principal. Thirteen public schools 
 and five private academies. 
 
 There are also 19 places of public worship ; 
 2 Episcopal, 6 Methodist, 3 Baptist, 2 Presby- 
 terian, I Catholic, and 2 of the demomination 
 of Friends. 
 
 There are also 7 hotels, and more drinking 
 houses than the Court of Quarter Sessions of 
 the county is probably aware of. 
 
 There are 5 shipyards in Chester, one of 
 which, then operated by Messrs. Reany, Son 
 & Archibold, was extensively engaged during 
 the recent war, in making iron vessels of war 
 for the Government. Though the business of 
 ship-building has been unprosperous in this 
 country for the past few years, yet the facilities 
 afforded at Chester have been such that these 
 yards continue in operation, and are now do- 
 ing a good paying business. These facilities 
 consist of cheapness of the river front for loca- 
 tions, as well as of living for the workmen, 
 and the opportunity of obtaining materials by 
 water and by railroad at less cost than in the 
 larger cities. 
 
 The town was erected into a Borough by 
 
 Penn's government in 1682. Its charter was 
 reconstructed and amended on several occa- 
 sions by the State Legislature, and in 1866, it 
 was constituted a city. The old town occu- 
 pied a part of what is now the Middle Ward. 
 The North Ward was laid out and to a large 
 extent built up liy John Larkin, Jr., the first 
 and present Mayor of the city, having been 
 commenced in 1850. John P. Crozer and 
 John M. Broomall laid out and began to build 
 up the South Ward, in the same year. The 
 three wards constitute the city proper. But 
 the town has extended beyond the city limits 
 in almost all directions. One of these exten- 
 sions is the Borough of Upland, founded by 
 John P. Crozer, about 1847, and still owned 
 almost wholly by his heirs. It contains two 
 large cotton mills, a church, several school 
 buildings, and the theological college already 
 mentioned. Another is the Borough of South 
 Chester, laid out by John M. Broomall and 
 William Ward, in 1863. This contains two 
 shipyards, a brass foundry and machine shop, 
 foin- cotton and woolen factories, three places 
 of worship, and three school houses. The 
 other extensions are embraced within the 
 township of Chester, and contain factories 
 and schools, and other establishments. 
 
 In giving the population and business of 
 Chester, these extensions are necessarily in- 
 cluded. Except in the case of Upland, they 
 are mere extensions of the same streets, with 
 nothing to mark where the city proper ends, 
 and doubtless liefore long, they will be in- 
 corporated with the City, under the same gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 Among the curiosities of Chester and its 
 • vicinity, are several old buildings erected dur- 
 ing the early importance of the place, and 
 still in good condition. Among these may 
 be mentioned the dwelling house of David 
 Lloyd, an important personage in the early 
 colonial history. It was built by Lloyd, in 
 1721, and is beautifully located on the banks 
 of the Delaware. Though suffered to fall 
 into decay within a few years, it still bears 
 marks of its ancient grandeur. Many years 
 ago, it became the property of the late Com- 
 modore David Porter, and it is still held by 
 his heirs. The Logan house, built by Jasper 
 Yates, about 1700, is still standing, though 
 altered into two dwellings, and all marks of 
 its antiquity effaced. This building is situated 
 upon Filbert street. Until desecrated by mod- 
 
:UG 
 
 ISTORY OF CIIKSTEK. 
 
 cni utilitarian liaiuls it was a grand specimen 
 of the mansion house architecture of that day. 
 
 The City llali, once the Court house of 
 Chester County, and afterwards of Delaware, 
 wasliuilt in 1724; it is still one of the best huild- 
 in.!,'s of the place, and will outlast most of 
 those now in process of erection, if spared by 
 Vandal hands. The residence of Caleb Pusey, 
 still standing on the banks of Chester Creek, 
 in Upland, is older than any of these. It was 
 built about 1683. It is a one-story building 
 with a Mansard roof, better proportioned than 
 roofs of that kind now being constructed. It 
 was, however, the style of that day, and the 
 change may justify the charge made against 
 our age, that we take up what was really good 
 of centuries ago and spoil it. This building 
 has been carefully preserved in its original 
 style by the late John P. Crozer and his heirs, 
 who still own it. 
 
 IJut the present work has more to do with 
 the town of our day than the past, and we 
 conclude our observations of both by the re- 
 mark, that from present appearances, Ijefore 
 many years have passed by, Chester will be in 
 fact, if not in name, a p.irt of the city of Phila- 
 delphia." 
 
 The Directory toiitaining the above 
 account, was published by my old 
 friend William Moran, whom I knew 
 well formerly when I took part in po- 
 litics, and was a member of the Whig 
 Executive Committee of Philadelphia, 
 previous to General Taylor's election 
 as President. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Between the property of the late 
 John Cochran, deceased, and the lands 
 late of Spencer Mcllvain, now of Wil- 
 liam Simpson, on Ridley Creek, there 
 is a small run, now almost dry, called 
 " Munday's Run," perhaps after Henry 
 Munday, who married Prudence, the 
 widow of James Sandilands, the young- 
 er. When I was quite young, my nurse, 
 Hannah Allen, a very pretty, sweet 
 and intelligent girl, who afterwards 
 
 married Robert Blythe, and curious to 
 relate, went to live in the little frame 
 house still standing on the left hand 
 side of the old Post road, now Morton 
 Avenue, just east of Munday's Run, 
 used to repeat very freqtiently some 
 lines, about an occurrence that hap- 
 pened in the latter part of the last 
 century, beginning as follows : 
 
 " At Munday's Run near Chester town. 
 Old Siddons knocked the pcdler down. 
 And robiied him of his golden store. 
 And left him weltering in his gore," &c. 
 
 1 have forgotten the rest, but the 
 above tells the whole story. It was a 
 delectable piece of home-made poetry, 
 describing how Siddons did it — was 
 caught — taken to Chester and tried. 
 He was acquitted, however, and died 
 in 1824, aged about 76 years. His 
 remains lie buried in the old grave 
 yard of St. Paul's, near the street, 
 opposite the entrance door of the pre- 
 sent church across the street. It was 
 said that the pedler's ghost was often 
 seen in the dusk of early twilight walk- 
 ing about the " widow Mcllvain's 
 meadow;" and I have not forgotten 
 how I used to run, as fast as my little 
 legs could carry me, along the high- 
 road, and over the little bridge across 
 Munday's Run, in the glooiTi of the 
 evening, when going home from school 
 at Chester to my, father's house, Crosby 
 place ; or how I used to look at the 
 meadow, with mingled feelings of cu- 
 riosity and dread, to see whether I 
 could discover Siddons digging up the 
 pedler's pack, from the .spot where 
 he had hid it after his murderous deed. 
 This was his spirit's regular nightly 
 job ; a kind of a purgatorial punish- 
 ment inflicted after death. Once or 
 twice I thought I saw him at his even- 
 ing task ; but as I had staid after 
 school to play, and forgotten all about 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTP]R. 
 
 317 
 
 the ghost until it was nearly dark, it 
 ma}^ have been a cow or a horse I saw ; 
 however, I \yas just as much scared as 
 if it had been the ghost of the pedler 
 or the spirit of Siddons ; the effect was 
 the same. Even now the recollection 
 of what I suffered in crossing Mun- 
 day's Run late in the evenings, sends 
 a cold shiver down my back. 
 
 The " Widow Mcllvain," mention- 
 ed above, was Elizabeth, dau. of John 
 and Elizabeth Spencer, h. 9 mo. 30, 
 1770, d. 3 mo. 12, 1842. She m. 
 II mo. I, 1792, Jeremiah, son of 
 John Mcllvain and Lydia Barnard, 
 his second wife ; he was b. 6 mo. 29, 
 1767; d. 2 mo. 19, 1827. They had 
 issue: Sarah, /;. 10 mo. 27, 1793, and 
 John, both died in infancy. Lydia, 
 b. 10 mo. 4, 1795, m. Edward H. Bon- 
 sall, conveyancer, of Philadelphia, and 
 d. in 1854, leaving Spencer, in. to Ellen 
 C. Martin, and have one son, William 
 Martin Bonsall, (see Martin family.) 
 Jeremiah, m. to Margaret Hutcliinson, 
 dau. of Robert and Elizabeth, of Phila- 
 delphia, and had Robert, Edward, 
 Henry and Lydia, c/^rV/, ?i\\di Joseph, 
 City Surveyor of Denver, Colorado, who 
 died in 1876, unmarried. Elizabeth 
 ;//. Jacob Hewes, of Ridley. Spencer 
 Mcllvain, b. 3 mo. 27, 1803, ;//. Sarah 
 L. Crosby, a sweet and lovely woman, 
 {Ante, 211 & 212.) John Spencer^ 
 b. 9 mo. 24, 1805, m. Susan Morton, 
 who was b. April 27, 1809. {Ante^ 
 144.) Jeremiah, /;. 2 mo. i, 1808, 
 m. Ann Crosby Morton. {Ante, 143.) 
 Ann Mcllvain ;//. Levis Miller, of 
 Delaware County, and had issue : Liz- 
 zie, Mary, Edgav, George, Levis, 
 dec' d, Annie and Ellen, that I can re- 
 call, and Samuel Mcllvain, b. 12 mo. 
 6, 1813, d. 1834, unmarried. 
 
 The Mcllvain's, of Delaware Co., are 
 descendants of James and Jane Mc- 
 
 llvain, of Ridley, who came to Ameri- 
 ca, from County Antrim, Ireland, in 
 1740, and settled on Crum Creek, in 
 Chester, now Delaware Co.* The old 
 family mansion, a fine large stone 
 structure is still standing, in excellent 
 repair, a short distance back or north 
 of the village of Ridley, now Leiper- 
 ville, and to the east of the creek and 
 the Leiper canal. 
 
 The maiden name of Jane Mcllvain 
 is supposed to have been Heaney. 
 Hugh Heaney, of East Fallowfield, 
 Chester County, in his will, dated 
 Jan'y 11, 1764, and proven Mar. 30, 
 1767, mentions his wife Margaret, son 
 Hugh, and daughters Isabella Cum- 
 mings, Jane Mcllvaine and Margaret 
 Heaney. He was a resident of the 
 township in 1754. 
 
 John Mcllvain, a son of James and 
 Jane, married Mary Roman who was 
 his first wife, and their son, Isaac Mc- 
 llvain, married Susan Crossley, (not 
 Crosby, as stated on p. 209, so says 
 Ann Mcllvain, who luarried Levis 
 Miller,) by whom he had two children, 
 one of whom was called Thomas. 
 
 I cut from an old number of the 
 Delaware County Republican, the fol- 
 lowing interesting account of the death 
 of two old horses: "A horse owned 
 by Robert Playford, who resides near 
 Media, died recently, aged t^t^ years 
 and 10 months. 'Jack' was raised 
 by Mr. Playford, and served the family 
 faithfully for the long period above 
 stated. A sorrel mare, named ' Peg,' 
 
 * The Mcllvain's are not, however, Ii'ish, 
 but Scotch. This year, (1874,) Charles Mc- 
 llvain, of Philadelphia, visited the ancient 
 castle and estates of the family in Scotland, 
 and met many of the name. He was told that 
 some of the clan went to Ireland, but only re- 
 mained there a year or so. A portion of the 
 old estate in Scotland is without an owner. 
 Castle Mcllvain is occupied by the Mcllvain's 
 yet, and they received their American relative 
 with great cordiality. 
 
318 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 owned by Spencer Mcllvain, of this 
 Borough, died about the same time at 
 the advanced age of 36 years. She 
 was purchased by Mr. Mcllvain at the 
 age of 6 years, and has been in his 
 possession ever since. These animals 
 were, perhaps, the oldest in the county, 
 and having been well used, their lives 
 were greatly prolonged. It is seldom, 
 however, a horse lives beyond 30 years. 
 Mr. Percival gives an account of a 
 barge-horse that died in his sixty- 
 second year ; and Mr. Youatt quotes 
 the record of another horse that re- 
 ceived a ball in his neck at the battle 
 of Preston, in 1715, and which was 
 extracted at his death in 1758. These 
 are rare instances of old age in the 
 horse, and have been deemed worthy 
 of especial record." 
 
 When I was a l)oy, all country 
 residences had near the front of the 
 house a "horse block," or "mounting 
 block ;" a set of steps, generally made 
 of stone, raised three or four steps 
 above the ground for the convenience 
 of the family in mounting and dis- 
 mounting from their horses, with a 
 l)ost alongside of the block to take 
 hold of and to assist them, and to 
 hitch their horses to. Riding on 
 horseback by women was much more 
 common a few years ago than now. 
 
 It is interesting to recall anything 
 relating to old times in the county; 
 and the manners and customs of the 
 people. I noticed it stated recently, 
 that John Pyle, of Thornbury Town- 
 ship, is the owner of .some table knives 
 and forks, whose age is over a century 
 and a half, (1873) — they have been in 
 the family that time. The knives are 
 curved like a cimeter, and a knife and 
 fork weigh a pound, which shows that 
 handling a knife and fork with our 
 ancestors was a weighty operation. In 
 
 old wills, the gift of a pewter dish was 
 deemed worthy of mention. They 
 were in common use about 30 years 
 ago, as also sets of Britannia ware, and 
 may be yet, in the country. At the 
 time of the settlement of this country 
 by the English, wooden dishes and 
 spoons were used. 
 
 The comforts of living in the coun- 
 try and our country towns, and even 
 cities, is very different from what it 
 was even less than one hundred years 
 ago. Then the people had no illumi- 
 nating gas in the towns, no oil or cam- 
 phene in the country, nothing but the 
 light of pine knots, the fire or tallow 
 candles after dark ; people went to bed 
 early, in cold rooms; no fires were kept 
 in country houses except in the large 
 open fire places in the kitchen, where 
 the chimney was so large and open, 
 you could see the stars when you look- 
 ed up them, and where the rain and 
 snow at times fell down on the fire; 
 except, perhaps, in very wealthy famil- 
 ies, who had a fire in the sitting or 
 dining rooms, all the rest of the house 
 was, in winter, as cold as out of doors. 
 No carpets were on the floors, except, 
 perhaps in the best room. No pumps 
 to draw water from ; the drinking wa- 
 ter was carried from the nearest spring, 
 that for washing from the nearest creek, 
 or drawn from a well by a sweep or 
 pole, and the "old oaken bucket." 
 All cooking was done in the open fire 
 places; for baking, each house had, 
 beside the fire place, an o\en built, 
 generally of brick. How dreary it 
 was to get up before light on a win- 
 ter's morningand find the fire had gone 
 entirely out, and then struggle over 
 the flint, steel and tinder, to try and 
 get a light, and often not succeed 
 until every finger was numb with cold 
 and bruised with blows from the flint. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 319 
 
 There were no friction matches then. 
 When I was a boy, comforts had begun 
 to come to country life. We had in 
 tiie kitchen an immense, ten-plate 
 iron stove ; in the parlor and in the 
 sitting room one of Franklin's iron 
 open fire places, with brass headed 
 Andirons, shovel and tongs ; now all 
 the fashion again. Wood was plenty, 
 and the fires were large ; we roasted in 
 front, when sitting before a fire, while 
 cold chills crept down the back. No 
 wonder men stood with their backs 
 to the fire in those days. We had 
 no heaters to warm the houses. No 
 contrivances were arranged for saving 
 the heat, consequently most of it es- 
 caped up the chimneys. The Ger- 
 mans, with their large tiled stoves, 
 standing in the middle of the room, 
 were far in advance of us. 
 
 When I was quite young, the old 
 frame house east of Robert Blythe's resi- 
 dence, spoken of as at Munday's Run, 
 was occupied by Thomas and Esther 
 Ottey, and a large family of children. 
 I can recall Hetty, Hannah, Amanda, 
 John, Thomas, Sarah and Maria Ottey ; 
 after the death of her husband, Mrs. 
 Ottey became dairy-woman for my 
 step-grandfather, John F. Hill, and 
 lived in the large stone spring-house 
 near his residence in Ridley, distin- 
 guished by a large pine tree, which grew 
 on the Springfield road, now called 
 Swarthmore Avenue, running through 
 Ridley Park. One of Mrs. Ottey' s 
 daughters, Hetty, married John De 
 Camp, who was then in the employ of 
 Mr. Hill; another, Hannah, married 
 James Burke, of Ridley ; and a third, 
 Amanda, married Peter Stewart, who 
 leased the old West farm, at Westdale, 
 the birth-place of the celebrated painter 
 Benjamin West. Sarah and Maria are 
 also married and reside in Philadel- 
 
 phia, I believe, but I do not know 
 their husbands' names. The name of 
 Ottey is an old Delaware County one. 
 Old Thomas Ottey and John F. Hill, 
 were both bitten by mad dogs in their 
 youth, and both were subject to vio- 
 lent outbursts of passion during the 
 full of the moon. The two houses 
 mentioned, Ottey's and Blythe's, and 
 another near Chester, also frame, were 
 then the only houses between the old 
 school house at Chester and the houses 
 at Ridley Creek bridge, that were 
 situated on the post road. 
 
 Although there are several families 
 of Cochrans dwelling in Delaware and 
 Chester Counties, they are not known 
 to be related, even remotely, to those 
 so long domiciled in and near Chester, 
 and who comprise a portion of the 
 descendants of Alexander Cochran, 
 who came to America from Scotland 
 very early in the present century. 
 
 In Scotland, the Cochrans dwelt for 
 many years on the banks of the Po- 
 million, in Strathaven, Lanarkshire ; 
 and an old family Bible, printed in 
 Edinburgh, in 1712, informs us, that 
 the father of Alexander was John Coch- 
 ran, whose name has been made very 
 familiar in southeastern Pennsylvania 
 by its possessors in subsequent gene- 
 rations. This John Cochran had nine 
 children : Alexander, Helen, Eliza- 
 beth, Hugh, Scotty, (girl,) John, 
 Marie, Janet, and Thomas, two of 
 whom, Alexander, born May 12, 1768, 
 and John, born Sept. 21, 1779, sought 
 homes and fortunes in the New World, 
 and from thence sprung two large 
 families. 
 
 John came first ; landed in New 
 York in 1801 ; and lived in Philadel- 
 phia until 1835, when, lured by in- 
 ducements in the southwest, he moved 
 to Louisville, Kentuckv, where, bv 
 
820 
 
 inSTOKV OF CHESTER. 
 
 integrity and diligenre he acquired a 
 handsome fortune, and died greatly 
 respected Nov. 27, 1864, aged 84 
 years. In 1810 or 11, he espoused 
 Helen Prentice, daughter of Archi- 
 bald Prentice, also of Lanarkshire, and 
 by her had seven children : Helen, 
 Jane Leiper, Mary, Margaret, John, 
 Archibald P., and Gavin Hamilton, 
 all born in Philadelphia, and all living 
 except John and Mary. John, (third 
 in this line) died in 1856, leaving an 
 infimt daughter, Jessie, possessed of 
 great musical talent, and at this time, 
 (1874) considered the finest amateur 
 pianist in Louisville. Jane L. became 
 the wife of James Speed, a lawyer, of 
 Kentucky, who was Attorney-General 
 of the L^nited States during portions 
 of the administration of Abraham Lin- 
 coln and Andrew Johnson, and had 
 seven children, all sons. The others, 
 excepting Helen, also married and 
 have had issue, all residing in Louis- 
 ville. John Cochran was elected a 
 member of the St. Andrew's Society, 
 Philadelphia, 1813, and later of the 
 Scots Thistle Society. He retained to 
 the last, in a marked degree, his Scot- 
 tish brogue and clannishness, and was 
 interred in Cave Hill Cemetery by the 
 side of his wife, who died in Phila- 
 delphia, but was removed to Louis- 
 ville. His descendants at this time, 
 (1874) number thirty-one. 
 
 Alexander Cochran followed his 
 brother John to America a few years 
 later ; sailing from Ivinick and landing 
 in Philadelphia, he proceeded to Dela- 
 ware Co., and, through a relationship 
 with the Leiper family, settled near 
 them at Avondale, in Nether Provi- 
 dence Township, about 1804. With 
 him came his wife {nee Sarah Morri.son) 
 and four children : John, Matthew, 
 Alexander, and Sarah. 'I o these were 
 
 afterward added four others : George, 
 James (second), Thomas, and Janet. 
 One child, James, (first) died in Scot- 
 land, and Janet died in America when 
 eight years old. Alexander Cochran 
 continued to live in or near Chester 
 until the 3d of Feb. 1842, when he 
 died at his residence on what is now 
 known as Fifth street. 
 
 He was nearly seventy-five years old, 
 and his wife, who followed him to the 
 grave Sept. 30, 1851, reached eighty. 
 Both were zealous in religion, and 
 now sleep in the old cemetery at Mid- 
 dletown, within a few feet of the corner- 
 stone of the church. 
 
 The eldest of their children was the 
 late well-known John Cochran, (born 
 Mar. 12, 1792,) upon whose former 
 farm a large portion of the present 
 City of Chester stands. Mr. Cochran, 
 like his father, was a farmer, and al- 
 though a heavy, robust man, was ex- 
 ceedingly fond of field sports, and was 
 famous as a good horseman, and a 
 graceful dancer. He married first, 
 Elizabeth Engle, of Delaware County, 
 daughter of Isaac and Abigail Engle, 
 connections of the Engle and Edwards 
 families of Chester, by whom he had 
 two children : Sarah and Isaac En- 
 gle. May 2, 1844, Sarah became the 
 wife of Herman J. Lombaert, sub- 
 sequently Vice President of the Penn- 
 sylvania Railroad Company, and first 
 President of the American Steamship 
 Company, and they have issue : Charles, 
 Sallie, Bessie and Emma Lombaert. 
 The father of Mr. L., Charles J. Lom- 
 baert, died recently in Philadelphia, 
 at an extremely old age. Isaac Engle 
 married Jo.sephine M., daughter of 
 Mark Pennell, and resides in Chester. 
 
 Elizabeth Engle Cochran died May 
 25, 1822, and the following year Mr. 
 Cochran married her sister, Abigail, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 321 
 
 who bore him four children : Eliza- 
 beth, John, Margaret E., and one who 
 died in infancy. Abigail died Jan. 
 23, 1839, and her husband Oct. 31, 
 1843. -^1^ were buried at Middletown. 
 
 John Cochran, (third in this line,) 
 son of John and Abigail, and one of 
 the most active and influential citi- 
 zens of Chester, was born Oct. 24, 1825, 
 in what is now North Ward. June 6, 
 1849, ^^^ married Catharine, a dau. of 
 Samuel and Kitty Johnson, of Mar- 
 pie Township, and by her had ten 
 children : Isaac Engle, Samuel J., 
 Herman Lombaert, Helen, Kate, 
 Mary, Anna, John Howard, Archi- 
 bald, and Meta Winifred. Of these, 
 Kate and Meta died in infancy ; and 
 Herman, an unusually promising lad, 
 met a tragic end by being accidentally 
 drowned in company with a lovely 
 girl, a daughter of James Irving, of 
 North Chester, while skating on the 
 lake in Chester Rural Cemetery, Dec. 
 II, 1869. Both of the young people 
 were of the same age — the i6th year. 
 
 Mr. Cochran was engaged in farm- 
 ing in early life, and for a time lived 
 near Marcus Hook. Later, he was 
 associated with R. Morgan Johnson, as 
 Johnson & Cochran,general merchants, 
 Chester; and in 1858, established the 
 first real estate and insurance agency 
 in Chester. This business from in- 
 significant proportions grew with the 
 town, until now, under the title of 
 John Cochran & Sons, it is one of the 
 leading and most successful interests. 
 The sons are Isaac E. and Samuel 
 Johnson. The former, I. Engle Coc/i- 
 ra// married June 10, 1875, Adele D., 
 daughter of Lewis Ladomus, of Ches- 
 ter. 
 
 I used to be well acquainted with 
 James Cochran, a brother of John, the 
 elder, who was born in Nether Provi- 
 
 dence Township, Sept. 8, 1813. He 
 lived on Fourth street, and in 1841, 
 (July 15,) was married by the Rev. 
 Wm. Suddards, D. D. in Grace Church, 
 Philadelphia, to Sarah J. Gillespie, 
 eldest daughter of Thomas and Ann 
 Gillespie, (nee Gamble,) and sister 
 of an old friend of mine, Thomas L. 
 Gillespie, of the firm of Gillespie, 
 Zeller & Co., Philadelphia. This 
 marriage resulted in six children : 
 Henry Clay, Thos. Gillespie, Edmund 
 Pennell, Mary A., Harriet Spencer, 
 and James Alexander. Edmund and 
 Harriet died when quite young, and 
 Thomas G., a very popular and suc- 
 cessful young merchant, died suddenly 
 at his father's, Aug. 15, 1870, in his 
 27th year. The press of the day, in 
 recording his death, said: "He was 
 a young man of most exemplary habits, 
 of cheerful and obliging disposition, 
 and open, frank, and upright in his 
 intercourse with his fellow men." 
 
 Mr. Cochran did not long survive 
 his son, dying, strange to say, in al- 
 most exactly the same way, Oct. 11, 
 1871. He was a man of heavy build, 
 great business activity, wonderful en- 
 durance, and remarkably abstemious 
 habits. During the famous "shower 
 of meteors," in 1833, ^""^ ^^"^'^^ riding 
 through a forest in Ohio, in the pur- 
 suit of his vocation, which led him to 
 make long journeys on horseback, be- 
 fore the era of railroads, and to be 
 known at every town and stopping 
 place between Chester and the Ohio 
 river. 
 
 The war history of this family is 
 illustrative of the dark and anxious 
 days of the Rebellion, when so many 
 Delaware County homes were repre- 
 sented "at the front." Mr. Coch- 
 ran, originally a Whig, then a Repub- 
 lican, and always a strong anti-slavery 
 
IIISTOIIY OF CHESTER. 
 
 partisan, was one of those devoted and 
 enthusiastic Union men who could 
 not control their grief when the memo- 
 rable news reached Chester that the 
 old flag had been fired on at Fort 
 Sumter. It is related of him and his 
 neighbors, the Rev. John Ruth, Mr. 
 Joseph H. Hinkson and others, that they 
 cried like children. Later, when in 
 1863, Philadelphia was threatened, he 
 abandoned his business, and, although 
 then fifty years of age, shouldered a 
 musket, and was conspicuous among 
 the first exempt* men of Chester who 
 volunteered in the 37th Regt. P. V. M., 
 and marched to the Cumberland Val- 
 ley, to repel the Lee invasion. His 
 eldest son, Henry, had preceded him 
 in the good cause, and the second, 
 Thomas Gillespie,, soon followed, leav- 
 ing only two infants at home. 
 
 Henry Clay Cochrane first served as 
 a Corporal of Militia in guarding the 
 railroad communication between Phila- 
 delphia and Baltimore. Through the 
 influence of the late Hon. John Hick- 
 man, Rt. Rev. iVlonzo Potter, and 
 other friends, he was appointed by 
 President I,incoln, a Second Lieu- 
 tenant in the Marine Corps, and passed 
 his entering examination Aug. 29, 
 1 861. Owing to his youth, he could 
 not then be commissioned, and served 
 as a Master's Mate in the Navy until 
 Mar. 10, 1863, when having attained 
 his 20th year, he was regularly con- 
 firmed by the Senate. Aug. 20, 1865, 
 he was promoted to First Lieutenant. 
 He served throughout the war under Ad- 
 niirals Goldsborough, Dupont, Farra- 
 gut, Porter, and Lee, in the North 
 and South Atlantic, Gulf, and Missis- 
 sippi Squadrons, receiving his "bap- 
 tism of fire" at the bombardment of 
 
 * Men over forly-five years were not linl.lc 
 to conscription. 
 
 Port Royal, S. C, Nov. 7, 1861, being 
 then a division officer of the gunboat 
 Pembina. He is a young man of edu- 
 cation and niucli intelligence, and 
 since his last cruise in the sloops-of- 
 war Saranac and Jamestown, in the 
 Pacific Ocean, has delivered several 
 interesting lectures at Chester, and in 
 New York before the American Geo- 
 graphical Society, of which he is a 
 Fellow. He is also a companion of 
 the military order of the Loyal Legion 
 of the United States, and is now on 
 duty at the Naval Academy at Anna- 
 polis. Thomas G., better known as 
 Gillie, was also in the Navy and served 
 as Captain's clerk on the U. S. steamer 
 Alabama, Act. Vol. Lt. Frank Smith, 
 of Delaware Co., commanding, princi- 
 pally on the blockade of Wilmington, 
 N. C. Before this, he had served as a 
 private in the militia with his brother. 
 
 Matthew and George Cochran, broth- 
 ers of John and James, removed to 
 Mount Vernon, Knox Co., Ohio, many 
 years ago, and still reside there, engaged 
 in farming. Matthew was one of the 
 pioneers of that State, having taken up 
 land in 181 6, when he could sit in his 
 cabin door and shoot deer at the oat- 
 stack. He married Ann Clements of 
 Butler Co., Penna., Christmas, 181 8, 
 and had three children, Alexander, 
 John and James, the second still living. 
 George Cochran married Martha Shaw, 
 of Darby, and had a large family of sons 
 and daughters. Several of the former 
 were either killed or wounded in the 
 Union Army. 
 
 Alexander Cochran, Jr., married 
 Beulah Gray, and was killed by a rail- 
 road accident, Sept. II, 1840. peleft 
 four children, Thomas, James, Sarah 
 and Mary, who married and have issue. 
 Thomas fought with distinction during 
 the Rebellion of 1861-65; was twice 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 328 
 
 captured, and twice promoted as an 
 officer in a Pennsylvania regiment. 
 
 Thomas Cochran, brother of James 
 and Matthew, died a bachelor in Ches- 
 ter, July, 23, 1846, in his 32d year. 
 Sarah, a sister, is yet living in Phila- 
 delphia. She married George Valen- 
 tine, farmer, and brother of the late 
 John Valentine, of Chichester, in 1826, 
 and spent much of her life in Brandy- 
 wine Hundred, Delaware. They had 
 eight children, Alexander, John, Wil- 
 liam, Thomas, James, Sarah, Elizabeth 
 and Engle, all living except James. 
 
 The descendants of Alexander num- 
 ber about fifty. 
 
 Cochran street, Chester, is named 
 in honor of the Cochran family. 
 
 During the Revolutionary war, there 
 was a John Cochran, who was made 
 chief Physician and Surgeon of the 
 army, Oct. 19, 1780, by Congress. 
 He was born in Chester County, Pa., 
 Sept., 1730, and entered the Provin- 
 cial army as Assistant Surgeon, in 
 1755, where he became intimate with 
 Captain (afterwards General) Philip 
 Schuyler, whilst on duty in northern 
 New York. After the war he settled 
 in Albany as a physician; and there 
 married Schuyler's sister, Gertrude. 
 He then settled at New Brunswick, N. 
 J. In 1776, he entered the hospital 
 service of the army. In 1777, he was 
 Surgeon of the Middle Department ; 
 in 1780, Director General of Hospi- 
 tals. After the Revolution, he set- 
 tled in New York, and Washington 
 made him Commissioner of Loans. 
 He died at Palatine, N. Y., April, 
 1807. Atncf'ican Hist. lie cord, 3 vol . , 
 173, note. Dr. Cochran was not, I 
 imagine, any relative of the present 
 family residing in Chester. 
 
 The Cochranes are an old family in 
 
 Scotland. They rose to distinction in 
 4':2 
 
 the 15 th century, and have always been 
 remarkable for courage and ingenuity. 
 Sir William Cochrane was elevated to 
 the peerage as Baron Cochrane in 1 647, 
 and advanced to the dignity of Earl of 
 Dundonald in 1669. • His grand-son 
 was Sir John Cochrane, of Ochiltree, 
 who, along with Sir Patrick Hume, of 
 Polwarth, was concerned in the poli- 
 tical troubles which, in the reign of 
 James II., brought ruin on the Stuart 
 dynasty. While Hume was so fortu- 
 nate as to escape abroad, Cochrane 
 was taken prisoner in the rising under 
 the Earl of Argyle, and being con- 
 ducted to Edinburgh, was ignomin- 
 iously lodged in the Tolbooth, on the 
 3d of July, 1685, there to await his 
 trial as a traitor. The day of trial 
 came, and, as a matter of course, he 
 was condemned to death. 
 
 Sir John Cochrane was married and 
 had a family of several sons, and at 
 least one daughter, Grisell, about 18 
 years of age, who frequently visited 
 her father, whose friends were inter- 
 ceding for his pardon, although he was 
 daily expecting the arrival of his death 
 warrant from London. Grisell, deter- 
 mined, if possible, to prevent the de- 
 livery of the warrant, and assisted by her 
 nurse, disguised herself in male attire 
 and set off and waylaid the post carrier 
 beyond the Scottish borders, and com- 
 pelled him to deliver his charge ; then 
 taking from the mail-bags her father's 
 death-warrant, she destroyed it and 
 made her way home without discovery. 
 The time thus gained was well em- 
 ployed ; one of the King's favorite 
 counsellors for a bribe of ;^5ooo, in- 
 duced the King to pardon Sir John, 
 who afterwards succeeded as the se- 
 cond Earl of Dundonald. Those of 
 the Cochranes who claim noble de- 
 scent, add the final e to their names. 
 
'J4 
 
 ISTORY OF CPIESTER. 
 
 To the north-west ofthe " Pine'I'ree 
 Ph\ce," the former residence of John 
 F. Hill, in Ridley, which he inherited 
 from his father, and near West Dale 
 lived, when I went to school to Ed- 
 ward 'I'lionipson, at Springfield school 
 house, ail old Mrs. Worrall anil her 
 son Abraham, and two of mv school- 
 mates were Isaac D. Worrall and his 
 sister. Dr. Smith, in his biographical 
 sketches, has notices of four persons 
 of the name, viz. : Richard, who, he 
 says, emigrated from Oare, Berkshire, 
 England, in 1682. He was a Friend, 
 and served as a juror in the last Court 
 held at Upland, but does not api)ear 
 to have settled in the county. 
 
 2. John, a Friend, who came from the 
 same place as Richard. Both presented 
 their certificates at the same time and 
 to the same Meeting in Philadelphia. 
 John removed to the neighborhood of 
 Chester, where, in 1683, he married 
 Frances, the widow of Thomas Taylor. 
 She died in 1712. In 1714, he mar- 
 ried Sarah, the daughter of Thomas 
 Goodwin, of Edgmont, and died there 
 in 1 742, aged 84 years. By his second 
 wife he had seven children, Elizabeth, 
 Mary, John, Peter, Sarah, Thomas and 
 Mary. By his first marriage he had 
 but one son, who died young. 
 
 3. John Worrall and Mary his wife, 
 a sister of Henry Lewis, of Radnor, 
 settled early in Marple. He is sup- 
 jjosed to have been a son of Richard, 
 the settler. He died in 1716, leav- 
 ing six children, John, Peter, Joshua, 
 Henry, Mary and Hannah. His wi- 
 dow married John Ikomfield. of White- 
 land. 
 
 4. Dr. Thcjinas Worrell, a physician 
 of considerable reputation about 1800, 
 born in Upper Providence, in 1732, 
 was a son of Dr. John Worrell, who 
 also practiced in the county ; he grad- 
 
 uated at an European college and 
 died young. Dr. Thomas Worrell, 
 married Lydia Vernon, cousin of Major 
 Frederick Vernon and Captain Job 
 Vernon of Revolutionary fame, and 
 of Cideon, who took sides w^ith the 
 British, and whose property was con- 
 fiscatetl as a traitor. Dr. Worrell, 
 the younger, and the two doctors Bern- 
 hard Van l^eer, were reputed quite 
 skilled in native herbs. He died in 
 1818, aged 86 years. He was a Friend, 
 and his descendants, the Cassins, set- 
 tled in the county, and others settled 
 near Zanesville, Ohio. 
 
 Dr. Smith says: " It is supposed that 
 the name of Worrall, or Worrell, was 
 originally Warel, and that those bear- 
 ing it are descended from a Sir Hu- 
 bert de Warel, who lost three sons at 
 the battle of Hastings." 
 
 I have made the above brief extracts 
 from Dr. Smith's sketches, which are 
 much more minute, for the purpose of 
 calling attention to two other settlers 
 in Chester, now Delaware County, of 
 the name of Worrall. I have before 
 me a deed from the Proprietary, dat- 
 ed the 2 2d of March, A. D. 1681, to 
 Peter Worrall, of Crudt-lanes, in the 
 county Palatine of Chester, tanner, 
 and Joshua Worrall, of Newtown, in 
 the same county, tanner, for 500 acres 
 of land within the limits of his grant 
 from Charles II., called Pennsylvania, 
 to be entered and enrolled within the 
 space of six months after such time as 
 a public Register shall be appointed 
 and settled within the said Province. 
 This old deed is now in possession of 
 Thos. J. Worrall, Esq., a member of 
 the Bar, and late City Solicitor of Phil- 
 
 i adelphia, a descendant of Peter Wor- 
 rall, one of the grantees named in said 
 
 I deed, who settled in Chester, now De- 
 laware Countv. He was admitted to 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 325 
 
 the Philadelphia Bar, November 29, 
 1862. He married, C2ndly,) Eliza- 
 beth, dau. of the late William B. Wood. 
 
 The tract of land located by Peter 
 Worrall, the original settler, was situ- 
 ate in Marple, lying between "Crook- 
 ed kill," or Crum Creek, and the road 
 from Radnor to Chester, laid out in 
 1 69 1. See D}'. Smith and Holmes' 
 Maps. No mention is made of Joshua ; 
 so I presume the whole 500 acres were 
 located in Peter's name. It is proba- 
 ble that Joshua did not come to Ame- 
 rica, as I do not find his name on the 
 records of Chester or Concord Month- 
 ly Meetings. John Worrall, son of 
 Peter, of Marple, married in 1723, 4 
 mo. 20th, Hannah Taylor, of Marple. 
 James, son of Peter, married in 1735, 
 5 mo. 24, Margaret Calvert of Upper 
 Providence. Benjamin, son of Peter, 
 married, 1743, 4 mo. 23d, Phoebe Ed- 
 wards, of Middletown. 
 
 Among the deaths in records of Ches- 
 ter Monthly Meeting, I find, Frances 
 Worrall, d. 1712, 10 mo. 13, wife of 
 John, of Edgmont ; John, d. 1742, 
 2 mo. 4, in his 85th year; Peter, d. 
 1722, 5 mo. 7, of Middletown ; Mary, 
 d. 1806, 7 mo. I, widow of Thomas ; 
 William, of Ridley, d. 1826, 12 mo. 
 23, aged 96 yrs. ; Mary, widow of Na- 
 thaniel, of Ridley, d. 1839, i mo. 8, 
 aged 67 yrs. ; Eliza, widow of John, of 
 Springfield, d. 1857, i mo. 22, aged 88 
 yrs. William Worrall above-mention- 
 ed, was son of Jonathan, his wife's 
 name was Phoebe ; they had issue, 
 Mary, b. 1766, 10 mo. 17, m. Nathan- 
 iel Newlin, 1789, 11 mo. 4; Ann, b. 
 1 771, II mo. 17, ;//. Joseph Downing, 
 1 79 1, 5 mo. 4 ; and Nathaniel, b. 8 
 mo. 14, 1769. 
 
 The following, extracted from the 
 Upland Unio7i, of Dec. 3, 1833, is very 
 interesting : 
 
 " Hon. Henry Clay. — At a meeting of the 
 friends of Mr. Clay, on Monday, the 25th ult., 
 at Chester, Thomas Smith, Esq., was called to 
 preside, and Robert Churchman, appointed 
 Secretary. It being understood that Mr. Clay 
 was in the city of Philadelphia, and that he 
 intended to remain there but a short time, they 
 resolved to appoint a Committee to wait on 
 him, and request him to visit the Borough of 
 Chester, on his way to the seat of Government, 
 to afford themselves and their fellow-citizens 
 of Delaware County, an opportunity of person- 
 ally paying their respects to him, as a testi- 
 mony of their sense of his private worth and 
 public usefulness, — when the following gen- 
 tlemen were appointed ; Thomas Smith, Esq., 
 Capt. Thomas Robinson, Samuel Smith, Esq., 
 Joseph Walker, Samuel A. Price, Robert 
 Churchman, Wm. Eyre, Jr., Edward R. Cros- 
 by, John F. Hill, and William Martin. 
 
 They also appointed Dr. Samuel Anderson, 
 John Edwards, Jas. M. Willcox, Dennis Kelly, 
 J. P. Crozer, J. Bancroft, Daniel Lamott, Parke 
 Shee, Pierce Crosby, Capt. Jas. Serrill, Oborn 
 Levis, J. P. Eyre, Wm. Trainer, John Kerlin, 
 Samuel Hannum, John Wells, Charles D. 
 Manley, Wm. Eyre, Isaiah Fawkes, Hugh P_ 
 Lloyd, J. S. Phillips, John Cochran, John 
 King, Nicholas Fairlamb, Y. S. Walter, Thos. 
 Hemphill, George Serrill, Thomas M. Smith, 
 John Larkin, Rev. J. B. Clemson and Job 
 H. Terrill, a committee to make suitable ar- 
 rangements to receive Mr. Clay. 
 
 The Hon. Henry Clay arrived at this Bo- 
 rough in the steamboat Emerald, on Wednes- 
 day last. He was received by a large assem- 
 blage of the citizens of this county, without 
 distinction of party. A very handsome enter- 
 tainment had been provided by the Committee 
 of Arrangement, at the public house of Mr. 
 Henry Reese. After Mr! Clay had been ad- 
 dressed by Dr. Anderson, and given a cordial 
 shake of the hand to all who were present, he 
 with a numljer of others partook of the refresh- 
 ments. 
 
 Mr. Clay's reception, considering the siiort 
 space of time allotted the Committee, to make 
 the necessary preparations, must have been 
 flattering to his feelings. We have been po- 
 litely favored by one of the gentlemen who was 
 present, with the whole of the proceedings, 
 which will be found in to-day's paper. 
 
 I never saw Henry Clay but once. 
 
'S2Q 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 and the following occurrence will show 
 under what circumstances. On Aug. 
 15, 1847, (Sunday,) I wrote a friend 
 as follows, from Philadeli)hia : " Henry 
 Clay, arrived here yesterday afternoon 
 very unexpectedly. He was met at 
 the cars by a few friends, and escort- 
 ed quietly to the residence of his friend 
 Henry White, in Walnut, west of 
 Schuylkill 8th Street, but he was seen 
 and recognized, and with flushed faces 
 and hurried steps you might have seen 
 the Whigs gathering together and has- 
 tening to their reading room ; for at 
 the name of Henry Clay, what Ameri- 
 can does not feel his heart bound? 
 the Statesman ! the Patriot ! and the 
 Leader of the great Whig party. At 
 II o'clock, P. M., a crowd of over 
 1000 persons had assembled, in perfect 
 silence, in front of the residence of 
 Mr. White ; and in a few moments 
 after, Capuani's Band in the distance, 
 rang out a quick-step, and marched up 
 with several thousand more warm- 
 hearted Whigs, and as they halted, 
 ' thirteen cheers for Harry of the 
 West,' rolled like distant thunder 
 over the quiet city, waking sleeping 
 thousands, and telling them in cheer 
 after cheer, that the Whig defeated 
 ( andidate for the Presidency was re- 
 ceiving his friends. Then silence 
 reigned once more, and from Capu- 
 ani's silver bugle, there was breathed 
 a strain, low, sweet and mournful, 
 such as should awaken the grief-stricken 
 Patriot and Father. A few moments 
 more and he stood before us at an open 
 window reaching to the floor, a flood 
 of light behind him ; cheer after cheer 
 was given, which told of the admira- 
 tion all of us felt for the man before 
 us, who had given to his country his 
 talents, and to her flag and service the 
 life-blood of a dear son. Then, amid 
 
 a deep silence, that clear and flute- 
 like voice, which had welcomed La- 
 fayette to America for the people of 
 his country, fell upon our ears, saying: 
 Fellow citizens ! I left my home to 
 escape from the scene of thoughts and 
 recollections, arising from one of the 
 severest afflictions of human life, with 
 which it pleased Providence to visit 
 me. I made my journey through the 
 mountainous parts of Virginia, wish- 
 ing to avoid all public demonstrations 
 such as this, intending only to seek 
 some relief and consolation in the so- 
 ciety of my friends. And to-day, 
 when I entered, and took as it were by 
 surprise your beautiful city, I was not 
 prepared for such a scene as this — and 
 I should be deficient in gratitude, and 
 destitute of all the finer feelings of fhe 
 human heart, if I failed to feel deeply 
 the kindness you manifest. To Phila- 
 delphia, in all the troubles and vicissi- 
 tudes of this life, I have always looked 
 for sympathy and support, and I have 
 always received it. The feelings under 
 which I labor, the time itself and the 
 occasion, are all unfitting to make a 
 set address, and as it is now drawing 
 near that day we all must respect, I 
 will only add in conclusion, that under 
 w^hatever circumstances, in Peace or 
 in War, under a good government or 
 a bad one, right or wrong, our coun- 
 try is always entitled to our support." 
 On my return home the night be- 
 fore, I wrote out the above remarks in 
 my Journal, to preserve a touching in- 
 cident in history. The allusion to his 
 affliction arose from the death of his 
 son, Lieut. Col. Henry Clay, Jr., of 
 the first regiment of Kentucky volun- 
 teers, who fell mortally wounded, and 
 died at the battle of Buena Vista, 
 "while leading his regiment with gal- 
 lant daring against the enemv." T-t. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 327 
 
 Col. Clay, was a graduate of West 
 Point, as were also nearly every officer 
 commanding volunteer regiments dur- 
 ing the Mexican war. 
 
 I copy from the Upland Union of 
 Oct. 8, 1834, the following notice: — 
 '^Married in Philadelphia, on Wed- 
 nesday evening last, by Alderman 
 Hooten, Mr. Robert Churchman, of 
 Chester, to Miss Martha Jane, daugh- 
 ter of Alexander W. Reed, of the for- 
 mer place." Mr. Churchman died at 
 a good old age, during the fall of 
 1873. His ^^^y child, Albert, died 
 a year or so ago in a decline ; after 
 his death, Mr. C. failed in health ra- 
 pidly. His widow and 2nd wife, Julia 
 Cauffman, survives him. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 It may be interesting at this day, to 
 recall the contents of a copy of the old 
 Upland Union or Delaware County, 
 Kingsesmig and Blockley Advertiser, 
 one of which I have before me, dated 
 Octobe 28, 1834, consisting of four 
 pages of five columns each, published 
 every Tuesday morning, by Joseph 
 M. G. Lescure, opposite the Prothono- 
 tary's office, at two dollars per annum. 
 The first page contains several pieces 
 of poetry, some anecdotes and short 
 tales, &c. The second page has. an 
 advertisement of a change of hours 
 of the steamboat "Wilmington," Capt. 
 H. Read — fare to Lazaretto, Chester, 
 or Marcus Hook, 50 cents, and others; 
 a piece of doggerel poetry, entitled 
 "Biddle let the Bank alone;" a list 
 of the Legislature of 1834-5, in which 
 Chester and Delaware's Senators are 
 given as George Smith and Francis 
 James, and Delaware's Representative 
 as Samuel Anderson ; a notice of the 
 burning of the Hermitage, Gen. Jack- 
 
 son's residence, in Tennessee. The 
 third page, Ohio election returns; the 
 opening of the Columbia and Phila- 
 delphia Railway, by Locomotives draw- 
 ing the cars ; saying "the sceptics — the 
 opponents of the improvement system 
 — are convinced by the evidence of 
 their own senses — are struck dumb by 
 the completion of a work which the 
 one believed impracticable — the other 
 pretended would be ruinous to the 
 State; ' ' the official returns for Congress, 
 4th dis., the candidates being Archi- 
 bald T. Dick, Benjamin Champneys, 
 John Morgan, Edward Darlington, 
 David Potts, Jr., and William Heister. 
 The 4th district, consisted of Delaware, 
 Chester and Lancaster Counties. The 
 three last had a majority of 1867 votes. 
 The Chester advertisements are Dan- 
 iel Broomall's hat store, next door to 
 Charles Justis' store ; estate of John 
 Irwin, by Jane Irwin, Executrix; no- 
 tice of an election of thirteen Direc- 
 tors of the Bank of Delaware County, 
 by Preston Eyre, Cashier ; and the 
 fourth page has a large displayed notice 
 of "Purdy, Welch & Co.'s Grand 
 Mammoth Zoological Exhibition," to 
 be given in Chester, near J. Thurlow's 
 National Hotel, Oct. 29, from i until 
 4 p. M. There is a picture of the Gnu 
 or Horned Horse, &c. Admittance, 
 25 cents. I remember, that I went to 
 see the horned horse> but my recollec- 
 tion is, that the menagerie tents were 
 back of the Court House and public 
 offices. There was a clown, or some 
 other performer, who sung a song, 
 which I have forgotten. The chorus 
 was : 
 
 "The Elephant now goes round, 
 And the Band begins to play, 
 The boys around the monkeys' cage, 
 Had better stay away."' 
 
 Charles Justis, advertises that he has 
 
328 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 taken the store lately occupied by Pri( e 
 ^- Cowgill, and "invites the public in 
 general and his friends, to call and see 
 his goods, which he promises to sell 
 cheap." David Abbot, removes his 
 Saddle and Harness manufactory to 
 Main Street, three doors above the 
 hotel of John Thurlow. ' ' Joseph Tay- 
 lor, Coach and Harness maker, calls 
 attention to his business. Samuel A. 
 Price, sells Hats and Caps. W. H. 
 Chapman, shaves his friends and scours 
 their clothing. J. P. & W. Eyre, sell 
 lumber and shingles. The steamboat 
 "New Jersey," leaves Marcus Hook 
 and Chester every Thursday for Phil- 
 adelphia, returning on Friday ; fare, 
 37)4 cents; Charles Bilderback, Cap- 
 tain : and the sloop " Jonas Preston," 
 will continue making regular trips, leav- 
 ing Chester on Mondays and Thursdays 
 for Philadelphia, and returning on 
 Wednesdays and Saturdays. 
 
 In writing of the steamboats that 
 plied the Delaware, I neglected to 
 mention one of the finest boats that 
 formerly traversed the river, the " Wil- 
 liam Penn." She was a large and 
 noble craft, and after many years 
 doing good service to the public, was 
 destroyed by fire on the 4th of March, 
 1834, when just above the Point House, 
 near Philadelphia. There were many 
 passengers on board when the fire was 
 discovered, and great dismay and con- 
 sternation took place, particularly 
 among the ladies. She was at once 
 run aground on the flats, and the pas- 
 sengers, by jumi)ing from the burning 
 boat into the shallow water and wad- 
 ing through the mud foi' some distance, 
 were all saved, except seven persons, 
 who were drowned by reason of their 
 fright, and not taking the advice of the 
 others. Henry Reece, landlord of the 
 then Steamboat Hotel at Chester, Col. 
 
 John K. Zeilin, with his wife, child and 
 servant, and having under his charge 
 Mrs. William Neal, Miss Newlin, and 
 another young lady^ were on board of 
 the unfortunate craft. Through the 
 activity, coolness and good judgment 
 of Captain Jeffries, Mr. Reese and Col. 
 Zeilin, who were the last to leave the 
 burning vessel, order was preserved 
 and most of the lives saved. The boat 
 was, however, a total loss, being burn- 
 ed to the water's edge. 
 
 From some old papers of my grand- 
 father, I extract the following, as giv- 
 ing the names of some residents in the 
 vicinity of Chester: On the ist of 
 Feb., 1798, proceedings to recover 
 possession of certain devised premises 
 in Aston, were commenced before 
 William Martin and Samuel C. Price, 
 Esqs. , Justices of the Peace, by George 
 Peirce vs. Peter Stimmell ; and the 
 Sheriff, Abraham Dicks, summoned 
 the following Jury : Raper Hoskins, 
 William Anderson, James Withy, Jo- 
 nas Eyre, Thomas Pedrick, Tristram 
 Smith, Jonathan Pennell, James Shaw, 
 Edward Engle, Nathan Sharpless, Wil- 
 liam Evans and James Mcllvain. 
 
 MARTIN, THE MAN AT ARMS. 
 
 A Soiiff hy Bellamy— Music by Lodor. 
 Printed in London. 
 Martin the Man at Arms, stalwart and stronij, 
 Keeps watch on turret high — 
 Now humming the snatch of a rude border song. 
 Gazing now at the star-lit sky. 
 lie listens to windward ; he looks o'er the lea ; 
 All around is calm and still, 
 Save the kine in the fold, lowing lazily — 
 And the tinkle of the rill. 
 
 While full and low 
 
 Floats down below 
 
 The sentinel's dee]), Good night I 
 
 The sentinel's deep, Clood night! 
 
 The name of Martin, is from the 
 Latin word Martins, i. c, warlike, 
 from Mars, the god of war. In the 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 129 
 
 Gallic, Mor, is great, diiin, a man ; 
 Alordiiin, a chief, a warrior. See Ar- 
 thur' s Etymological Dictionary, 191. 
 The Martin's of England, claim their 
 descent from two illustrious sources — 
 some from " Martin of Tours," a gen- 
 eral in the army of William the Con- 
 t]ueror ; others, more ambitious, from 
 Martins, a Pro-Consul of Rome under 
 the Emperor Tiberius. A singular in- 
 cident gives color to the latter boast : 
 "In digging the foundation at the 
 back of the London Coffee House, 
 adjoining the Church of St. Martin's 
 (Ludgate), by the remains of London 
 wall, a stone in the form of a Hexagon, 
 was discovered in Sept., 1806, with an 
 inscription cut on it in Roman letters, 
 of which the following is a translation : 
 " To the all-glorious Deity Anonclitus, 
 in the eleventh year of his provincial 
 government, Has most piously erected 
 this monument. To the memory of his 
 wife Claudia Martina. ' ' See Hiighson' s 
 History of London, 3 vol., 619. 
 
 The ancestor of the General, in the 
 army of the Conqueror, was St. Mar- 
 tin, a Bishop of Tours, who suffered 
 many persecutions for his liberal opin- 
 ions. Many churches in London and 
 elsewhere, are named in his honor. In 
 France, the season we call " Indian 
 Summer," is denominated "■ L' Ete de 
 St. Mai-tin,'" that is, the short summer 
 of St. Martin. In Mexico, it is called 
 " Veramillo de San Martin.'''' This 
 delightful season of the year commen- 
 ces in Pennsylvania on St. Ma?'tin''s 
 Day, Nov. nth, generally, but some- 
 times earlier. 
 
 " A smoke as from a thousand wigwams tells 
 The Indian Summer, soft and calm the air 
 Swings like a heavy curtain, in the glare 
 Of the new risen sun, whose fervor quells 
 The frost of Autumn ; by those wondrous spells 
 Green woods have been transmuted into red, 
 lirown, golden tints, — as beautiful as shells 
 
 Stolen from Ocean's silver stranded bed. 
 A languid, dreamy, deep, delicious haze. 
 Through which the nearest objects mellowed 
 
 seem, 
 Hides the blue distance, whilst the meadows 
 
 gleam 
 As if with harvests of the yellow maize; 
 'Tis the return of summer, brief and bright, 
 His last warm sigh ; last smile of love and light." 
 
 My family claim descent neither 
 from the soldier, consul, nor saint; 
 but we believe ourselves to be, on the 
 female side, descended from Walter 
 Martin, of Marcus Hook, he being the 
 father of myg. g. grandmother; and on 
 the male side, descendants of John Mar- 
 tin, who settled in Chester, now Dela- 
 ware Co., under William Penn, in 1682; 
 having a grant of 500 acres of land, lo- 
 cated next to that of Richard Crosby, 
 in Middletown . But this latter is mere 
 guess. The first of the family of whom 
 we have any reliable information, is 
 my g. grandfather, who lived in Phil- 
 adelphia, and whose signature is at- 
 tached to the marriage certificate of 
 my grand-parents, which is in the 
 words following : 
 
 "This is to certify, that Dr. William 
 Martin and Miss Eleanor Crosby, were 
 joined together in the Holy Estate of 
 Matrimony, on Thursday, the 8th day 
 of December, 1796, by me, Levi Heath, 
 Rector of Pequia and Bangor churches, 
 Pennsyl*. Witnesses, Sally Broom, 
 Ann Crosby, Elizabeth Crosby, John 
 Martin, John Crosby, and Richard 
 Crosby." 
 
 There is a tradition in the family 
 that the name of the father of John, 
 my g. grandfather, was William, and 
 that he was a man of means, doing busi- 
 ness in Philadelphia, and was drowned 
 in Neshaminy Creek, in his carriage, 
 on the night of the great storm in the 
 summer of 1795, while on his way to 
 visit his daughter, Mrs. Jane Bartram. 
 
83(1 
 
 II ] STORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 who lived at Newtown, Bucks County. 
 My aunt, Ann C Smith, says her re- 
 collection of this tradition is, that the 
 William Martin referred to, was a bro- 
 ther of John ; that the night being dark 
 and he not knowing that the Neshaminy 
 was swollen by the heavy rain, drove his 
 horse into the stream and was drown- 
 ed. The Button record mentions a 
 great flood of 1795. The father of 
 Mrs. Bartram must have been a man 
 of some means, because after her hus- 
 band Avas declared a traitor, and all 
 his large property sold, she retired 
 to Newtown in comfortable circum- 
 stances. On Holmes' map, a John 
 Martin is given as one of the owners 
 of land in Southampton township, 
 Bucks County. 
 
 My g. grandfather, John, died in 
 1805, about 70 years of age, at the 
 residence of his sister in Newtown, 
 and is buried there ; no doubt his ex- 
 act age is on his tombstone; but sin- 
 gular to say, notwithstanding the in- 
 terest I take in such matters, I have 
 never visited the spot where his re- 
 mains lie. He w^as married twice; 
 by his second wife, he had a son and 
 daughter, John and Sarah, who were 
 living in Newtown, in August, 1817, in 
 the former residence of their aunt, but 
 they afterwards removed to the West, 
 and their whereabouts is unknown to 
 us. My grandfather, Dr. William 
 Martin, was the only issue of John, by 
 his first wife. The maiden name of 
 his mother is unknown. In a book 
 called " The History of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ," printed in 1717, 
 once ow^ned by the Doctor, on a fly- 
 leaf are the following words : "The 
 gift of Mrs. Mary Martin to William 
 Martin, A. D. 1785," evidently a 
 death -bed gift, because on page 136 
 there is this entry, under a prayer for 
 
 the glorification of the body after 
 death: "Mrs. Mary Martin, departed 
 this life December nth, A. D. 1785, 
 at 3 o'clock A. M., aged 53 years." 
 Both entries being in the Doctor's 
 bold familiar hand, of whicli 1 have 
 so many specimens. 
 
 As the will of Mrs. Jane Bartram, 
 contains the best account we have of 
 the family on my father's side, I will 
 give the most material parts : " Be it 
 remembered that I, Jane Bartram, of 
 Newtown, in the county of Bucks, 
 widow, do make and publish this my 
 last will and testament in manner and 
 form following, viz. * * * w\ 
 the residue of my estate I order and 
 direct to be divided into five equal 
 parts or shares. One equal fifth part 
 thereof I give and bequeath to Alex- 
 ander James Bartram, son of Ann 
 Bartram, late Ann Nicholson, of the 
 city of Philadelphia ; one other equal 
 fifth part thereof, I give and bequeath 
 to be equally divided between William 
 and Ann Martin, son and daughter of 
 my nephew, Dr. William Martin ; one 
 equal fifth part thereof, I give and be- 
 queath to my nephew^ John Martin, 
 son of my brother, John Martin, de- 
 ceased ; one other equal fifth part 
 thereof, I give and bequeath to my 
 niece, Sarah Martin, daughter of my 
 said brother John Martin, deceased ; 
 and the other equal part thereof, I 
 give and bequeath to be equally divid- 
 ed among all the children of my niece, 
 Deborah Davis, wife of David Davis, 
 immediately upon the death of her the 
 said Deborah ; and during her natural 
 life, I order and direct that she shall 
 receive the interest thereof annually," 
 &c. The will is dated the 13th of the 
 II mo., 1813, and duly proved and re- 
 gistered in Bucks County. 
 
 Mrs. Bartram was the widow of Al- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 331 
 
 exander Bartram, of Scotland, and a 
 merchant of Philadelphia, who took 
 sides with the British during the Re- 
 volution, and was declared a traitor, 
 &c., all the incidents concerning him 
 and his family have been hereinbefore 
 related. She was a Friend, belonging 
 to Arch Street Monthly Meeting, and 
 was disowned for having been married 
 by a priest, and refusing to make ac- 
 knowledgment ; see entries 7 mo. 31, 
 1767, and 8 mo. 28, 1767. The Mar- 
 tin's from whom I am descended, were 
 therefore originally Friends. The min- 
 utes of the Arch Street Monthly Meet- 
 ing of Friends will, no doubt, show 
 where the Martins came from ; but I 
 have been unable to obtain access to 
 them. 
 
 My grandfather. Dr. William Mar- 
 tin, was born in Philadelphia, Sept. 
 2nd, 1765. He studied medicine, and 
 graduated at the University of Phila- 
 deli)hia, now the University of Penn- 
 sylvania, in the year 1786, as a Bachelor 
 of Medicine, the old University not 
 then giving the degree of M. D. 
 Shortly after his graduation, he went 
 to Georgetown, Virginia, to practic:e 
 his profession, and whilst there became 
 Worshipful Master of the Georgetown 
 Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. 
 After a residence of a few years there, 
 he settled at Chester, Pa., where he 
 practiced medicine, and studied law 
 with William Graham, Esq., and was 
 admitted to practice in 1794. I have 
 the certificate of his admission to the 
 Philadelphia Bar, dated March 24, 
 1794. His diploma, the only one in 
 existence, of the University of Phila- 
 delphia, I have ; as also his certificate 
 of membership in the American Med- 
 ical Society. He was appointed a Jus- 
 tice of the Peace, on the 9th day of 
 Aug., A. D. 1797. He appears, from 
 
 his papers, to have been the captain 
 of a military company, at Chester. He 
 was also the first W. M. of the Chester 
 Lodge, No. 69, A. Y. M. ; and was 
 evidently a prominent man in his day. 
 
 Dr. Martin, married Eleanor, daugh- 
 ter of John Crosby (the Judge) and 
 Ann Peirce his wife, of Ridley, Dec. 
 8, 1796 ; they had only two children, 
 William, born Sunday, Sept. 17, 1797, 
 and Ann Crosby, born at Ridley, April 
 II, 1799, still living; she married Jo- 
 seph Welsh Smith, son of William 
 Smith, Jr., and Margaret Welsh his 
 wife, of Philadelphia, April 15, 1824; 
 he died Dec. 22, 1842, aged 48 years, 
 buried in Ronaldson's Cemetery ; they 
 had issue a daughter and son. The 
 daughter, Ellen Crosby, born April 3, 
 1S32, died in a decline, March 22, 
 1857, unmarried, and was buried in 
 Woodlands. The son, William Mar- 
 tin Smith, now Vice-President of the 
 Anthracite Insurance Company of Phil- 
 adelphia, married Elizabeth Westray 
 Way, a grand-daughter of the late dis- 
 tinguished actor, William B. Wood — 
 author of "Personal Recollections of 
 the Stage," published, Philadelphia, 
 1855, by Henry Carey Baird, one of 
 my old friends. They have had issue, 
 Julia Way, William Wood, Eleanor 
 Crosby and Elizabeth Worrall, the lat- 
 ter dying in infancy. 
 
 Dr. William Martin died at Chester 
 Sept. 28, 1798, and his widow mar- 
 ried, secondly, Jan. 10, 1804, John 
 Fairlamb Hill, of Ridley, son of Peter ; 
 they had an only son, John Crosby 
 Hill, who died May 14, 1819, aged 13 
 years. He fell from a log laid over a 
 creek, on his way to school, and caught 
 a severe cold, which settled on his lungs 
 and caused his death, and did not die 
 as has been stated from injuries re- 
 ceived by being run over by a roller 
 
132 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 on his father's farm. Large heavy roll- 
 ers were formerly much used by farmers, 
 made out of the trunks of large trees and 
 drawn by horses over the fields after 
 harrowing, particularly over wheat- 
 lields after the grain was sown. My 
 grandmother Hill, died Jan. i6, 1837, 
 at Crosby Place, in the same room in 
 which she was born, aged 59 years, 8 
 months and 23 days. Dr. Martin was 
 a very prolific writer, chiefly on medi- 
 cal topics. I presented to the Histo- 
 rical Society of Pa., three volumes of 
 his MS. writings, and many old and 
 rare books from his library ; also, 
 books, letters, old deeds, &c., from 
 my father's library, my own and of my 
 brother. Dr. Ernest D. Martin's. 
 
 William Martin, my father, a sketch 
 of whose life will be hereafter given, 
 was born in Chester, and married Sarah 
 Ann, a sister of Joseph W. Smith, who 
 married my father's sister, Ann Cros- 
 by. They were married at St. Peter's 
 Church, Philadelphia, by the Rev. 
 James Abercrombie, D. D., in 1821. 
 
 The following editorial remarks ap- 
 peared in the Delaware Coi/nfy Repuh- 
 lican, of Oct. 24, 1862: 
 
 Death of a Good Man. — An oljituary in 
 our columns this week, records the death 
 of William Martin, Esq., a gentleman well 
 and favorably known to most of the citizens 
 of this county, in which he spent many of his 
 early years. Few men have passed away 
 whose loss will be more deeply regretted, and 
 none who have left a brighter record of a use- 
 ful life. In all the various positions M'hich 
 the deceased was called to fill, by the parti- 
 ality of his fellow-citizens, he discharged his 
 whole duty faithfully and efficiently, and more 
 than one benevolent institution in the city of 
 his adoption, owes its success, in a great mea- 
 sure, to the ability and integrity which he in- 
 fused intt) the management of its affairs. 
 
 The Board of Directors of the Delaware 
 Mutual Safety Insurance Company, of which 
 the deceased had been President for many 
 years, assembled at the office of the institution 
 
 on Saturday last, and organized by appoint- 
 ing Thomas C. Hand, Chairman, and James 
 B. McFarland, Secretary, when the following 
 preamble and resolutions were unanimously 
 adopted : 
 
 WllKRKAs, wilh saddened hearts, we are 
 assembled together upon the melancholy occa 
 sion of the death of our beloved fellow-mem- 
 ber and President, William Martin, Esq., who 
 from the origin of this Company, embracing a 
 period of 27 years, so ably and satisfactorily 
 discharged the duties devolving upon him, for 
 a portion of the time as Secretary of the Com- 
 pany, but for the last 18 years as its Executive 
 officer ; and whereas, it is fitting and proper 
 that suitable expressions of the feelings of the 
 members of this Board, induced by the sad 
 event, be entered on the records of the Com- 
 pany. Therefore, 
 
 Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Martin, 
 we mourn the loss of a wise counsellor and 
 faithful officer, one whose entire official course 
 extending over a period of more than a quar- 
 ter of a century, has been eminently charac- 
 terized by high-toned probity, discriminating 
 judgment, ability and fidelity to the welfare 
 and prosperity of this corporation. 
 
 Resolved, That we cherish the' memory of 
 Mr. Martin, as a friend endeared to us by so 
 many fond recollections and happy associa- 
 tions, ever evincing as he did kindness of dis- 
 position, urbanity of manners, nobleness of 
 heart, and purity of purpose. 
 
 Resoh'ed, That we tender to the family of 
 our deceased friend our warmest sympathies 
 in their affliction, and the assurance of our 
 earnest prayers, that He who hath declared 
 that He doth not willingly afflict the children 
 of men, will vouchsafe to them that consola- 
 tion which He has promised to those who put 
 their trust in Him. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of the proceedings 
 of this meeting, attested by the Chairman and 
 Secretary, be conveyed to the family of the 
 deceased. 
 
 Resolved, That this Board will attend the 
 funeral of our deceased memi>er in a body. 
 
 Resolved, That these proceedings be entered 
 upon the minutes of the Board, and be pub- 
 lished. 
 
 The obituary referred to by Mr. Wal- 
 ter in his editorial, was in words fol- 
 lowing, written by John P. Crozer, of 
 
HISTORY or CHESTER. 
 
 333 
 
 Upland, the life-long friend of my 
 father : 
 
 Died — At his residence in the city of Phil- 
 adelphia, on the evening of the i6th instai^t, 
 William Martin, Esq., President of the Dela- 
 ware Mutual Safety Insurance Company, in 
 the 66th year of his age. 
 
 The halo that encircles military renown, and 
 men occupying high places in the arena of 
 political life, seems, in the present state of our 
 country, to cast into the shade much of the 
 distinction and notice due to private worth, 
 and to citizens of high local position. Yet, 
 while we may properly feel emotions of pain 
 and regret when heroes and military chief- 
 tains, and men in high places are stricken 
 down by death — while the chronicles of these 
 fill so largely the columns of our periodicals, 
 we ought not, we must not withhold a passing 
 notice of the departure from among us of men 
 of high, though unobtrusive excellence of 
 character, like him whose name appears at the 
 head of this communication. 
 
 William Martin was no common man, and 
 the simple enumeration of the many and varied 
 places of honor and trust he had, through life, 
 been selected to occupy, and which he, in every 
 instance filled with efficiency and high satis- 
 faction to those immediately interested, and to 
 the public, is, of itself, amply sufficient to mark 
 his character as of great value. 
 
 Mr. Martin was born in Chester, Pennsyl- 
 vania, in 1797. His residence was partly in 
 his native County of Delaware, where a nu- 
 merous and highly respectable maternal an- 
 cestry had long resided, and partly in Phila- 
 delphia, and his active life is equally identified 
 with both these places. 
 
 After his school education, at the instance 
 of his grandfather. Judge John Crosby, he read 
 law under William Graham, Esq., of Chester, 
 and was admitted to practice in 1821. But 
 other pursuits were more congenial to his taste, 
 and he engaged in business life, first as a Com- 
 mission Merchant in Philadelphia, and then 
 as a cotton manufacturer, in Aston, Delaware 
 County. In 1826-7, he represented the county 
 in the .State Legislature. The two leading 
 questions of these sessions of the Legislature, 
 were the State internal improvement by canal^ 
 and a system of common schools for the Com- 
 monwealth, in both of which Mr. M. took an 
 active interest. Soon after he relinquished 
 
 manufacturing, and became a resident of his 
 native Borough of Chester, filling there the 
 ofiice of Justice of the Peace, and also Clerk 
 to the Commissioners, to whom he rendered 
 essential service in originating a complete 
 system of book-keeping for the accounts of 
 the county, a degree of looseness in these ac- 
 counts having previously existed. 
 
 About the year 1834, he was elected Secre- 
 tary and responsible officer to the newly char- 
 tered Delaware County Insurance Company, 
 now the Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance 
 Company, of Philadelphia. Upon the removal 
 of the office of this company to Philadelphia, 
 Mr. M. was transferred with it, and as its 
 chief officer, first as Secretary, and for the last 
 18 years as President, he presided over that 
 institution, with what degree of success its 
 present prosperous condition can best testify. 
 
 Mr. M.'s position as chief officer of a com- 
 pany doing a very large Fire and Marine busi- 
 ness, brought him into contact with a great 
 variety of men, and his easy affability of man- 
 ner, natural kindness, and prompt decision, 
 won for him a standing and popularity in his 
 vocation excelled, perhaps, by no underwriter 
 in Philadelphia, or elsewhere. 
 
 Amidst the duties of his office, Mr. M. lent 
 his judicious aid and services to many public 
 institutions, and also to several benevolent 
 societies. Of the public institutions may be 
 named : Director of the Pennsylvania Rail- 
 road, Director of West Philadelphia Railroad, 
 Director of the Ocean Telegraph Company, 
 President of the Pennsylvania Steamship Com- 
 pany, President of the Philadelphia Steam Tug 
 Company, President of the Board of Fire Un- 
 derwriters of Philadelphia, and a Director, 
 from its origin, of the Penn Mutual Life In- 
 surance Company. C)f benevolent societies, 
 he was a Manager of the Deaf and Dumb 
 Asylum, a Director and Controller of Public 
 Schools, and President of the Board of Direc- 
 tors of the Public Schools of the old City of 
 Philadelphia, Director of Girard College, 
 Manager of the House of Refuge, and Direc- 
 tor of the Seaman's Friend Society. 
 
 Mr. Martin was for many years a consistent 
 memlier of the Episcopal Church, and a Ves- 
 tryman, first of St. Paul's, Chester, and then 
 in Philadel]5hia, of the Church of the Ascen- 
 sion, and of St. Luke's, in that city. 
 
 After this enumeration of the many places 
 of confidence and trust filled by the deceased. 
 
384 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 it w.nil.l l)e needless panejryric to say more. 
 This brief obituary would, however, be in- 
 complete if it were not added that these nu- 
 merous apjwintments were seldom — never, in- 
 deed, in later life— of his own seeking. His 
 life was ever characterized by unassuming 
 modesty and refinement — never intentionally 
 wounding the feelings of any, and his inter- 
 course with all, \\as marked by courtesy and 
 kindness. 
 
 The writer of this notice will not invade 
 the d(mucile of his home life, other than to 
 remark that it comported well with what 
 might be inferred from his more public char- 
 acter. ^■ 
 
 William and Sarah Ann Martin, had 
 the following issue: William, (born at 
 Green Bank, Oct. 12, 1821, died in 
 infancy,) John Hill, William, Junior, 
 Ellen Crosby, Mary Welsh, Luther, 
 Georgiana, Mortimer Richmond Tal- 
 bot, Sarah Ann and Ernest Dudley 
 Martin. 
 
 2. John Hill Martin, the Author of 
 this '■^History of Chester and its vieini- 
 t}>," was born in Philadelphia, Jan. 
 13, 1823, at No. 48 South Front street, 
 first door below Chestnut street, west 
 side, my father's residence and place 
 of business. The house had been previ- 
 ously the residence and place of busi- 
 ness of my mother's father. After his 
 death, the family removed to "Green 
 Bank," at Chester, and lived there a 
 year or so, during which time Father 
 and Mother were married. After prac- 
 ticing law at Chester for a few years, 
 father went into business as a com- 
 mission merchant with Peter Hill, 
 and it was then he removed to Phila- 
 delphia. Soon after my birth, father 
 removed to Aston, (Lenni Mills,) Dela- 
 ware County, and began there the man- 
 ufacture of cotton goods. In this he 
 became embarrassed and lost all his 
 means, and returned to Chester and to 
 the practice of the law about 1827. At 
 an early age, before I can remember, I 
 
 was taken by grandmother Hill to live 
 with her at the "Pine Tree Place," in 
 Ridley, and remained there until about 
 my thirteenth year, after which I passed 
 most of my time with my parents in 
 Chester, for the purpose of attending 
 school. My first teacher in Chester 
 was a Mr. Boyle, a short stout Irish- 
 man, who taught "a select school," in 
 the second story of the old red brick 
 school house on Welsh street. My next 
 teacher was Caleb Pierce, who died 
 Jan'y 13, 1877, in his 78th year, and 
 who taught in the same school house, 
 down stairs. He used to flog the boys 
 frequently, but his whippings did not 
 amount to much. My third and last 
 preceptor, was William P. Saunders of 
 Virginia, a tall, handsome man, with 
 long flowing hair, a great beau and a 
 favorite with the Chester ladies. He 
 induced my father to send me to West 
 Point Military Acadamy. Accordingly 
 proper application was made, and on 
 the 19th of February, 1838, 1 received 
 from the President the appointment of 
 a cadet, and passed at West Point, three 
 of the happiest years of my life, delight- 
 ed with air the surroundings of every 
 kind, and leaving that noble institution 
 with sorrow, yet having no cause to 
 regret my resignation ; which took place 
 July 10, 1841. I immediately there- 
 after commenced the study of the law 
 with George L. Ashmead, Esq., of the 
 Philadelphia Bar, a most estimable gen- 
 tleman, and was admitted to practice, 
 Nov. 13, 1844. During the time I 
 studied law, I became a member of the 
 Law Acadamy, and was for two years 
 the Treasurer. I compiled while a 
 student "A Digest of study," consist- 
 ing of about sixty pages of foolscap, 
 which has been of great use to myself 
 and others ; several copies are in exist- 
 ence in manuscript. In Jimc, 1857, I 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 335 
 
 became the Legal Editor of the Phila- 
 delphia Intelligencer, an Insurance 
 Journal. 
 
 Fond of scribbling, I kept a journal 
 until ,i86i, also a family record, and 
 made a collection and copy of all old 
 family papers, with sketches of the 
 lives, and anecdotes of members of the 
 family, and finally, having many years 
 ago visited Bethlehem, Pa., and be- 
 come attached to its Moravian people 
 and that charming spot, which I have 
 ever since made my summer home, I 
 wrote and published in the Intelligen- 
 cer, a History of ^^ Bethlehem a?id the 
 Moravians,'''' which was put in book 
 form in 1872, and a second edition 
 issued in 1873. I ^^so wrote a series, 
 ' ' Sketches in the lehigh Valley, ' ' which 
 were published in the Bethlehem Daily 
 Times, in 1872. 
 
 In 1873, I edited and published 
 "Historical Notes on Music in Beth- 
 lehem," Pennsylvania, by Rufus A. 
 Grider, a pamphlet of 41 pages, a 
 very interesting work, and in Decem- 
 ber, 1876, I began the publication in 
 the Intelligencer, of "The Bench and 
 Bar," being lists of all persons Avho 
 have held Judicial ofifice in Philadel- 
 phia, with a list of the members of 
 the Bar, &c. I have made in manu- 
 script, a collection of opinions on 
 questions of Marine Insurance, written 
 by the ablest mercantile lawyers of 
 Philadelphia and elsewhere, forming a 
 large volume of 423 pages and consist- 
 ing of 185 opinions, properly indexed 
 for reference. I have also a volume 
 of Admiralty Reports, and two vols, of 
 Insurance Reports, formed of cuttings 
 from the Intelligencer, of reports from 
 that Journal, of which I have been 
 Legal Editor now for nearly 20 years, 
 my only duties being to furnish the re- 
 ports of Insurance and Admiralty De- 
 
 cisions in England and the United 
 States. 
 
 After leaving the Military Acadamy, I 
 took no interest in military matters un- 
 til the spring of 186 1, when I was elect- 
 ed Captain of an Independent Artillery 
 company, which drilled at the Acadamy 
 of Music, and was composed of some of 
 the best citizens of Philadelphia, most 
 of whom were stockholders of the 
 Acadamy. Some of the members after- 
 wards entered the service. Col. Henry 
 Coppee, LL.D., drilled the company 
 previous to my election as its Captain. 
 
 The following is a Muster Roll of 
 the "Independent Artillery Com- 
 pany" of Philadelphia, 1861-2. 
 
 John Hill Martin, Captain. 
 Strickland Kneass, -ist Lieut. 
 Samuel C. Robe, Esq., ■2d Lieut. 
 James B. Weaver, Ord. Serg't.* 
 Seth H. Butler, 2i/5^rf 7. 
 Wm. F. Weaver, Q. M. Serg't. 
 Charles O. Abbey, i,th Serg't. 
 
 Priv 
 Thomas E. Ashmead, 
 Henry J. Boiler, 
 Prof. J. C. Booth, 
 John Biddle, 
 Lucius Burrows, 
 Gustavus S. Benson, 
 William P. Cresson, 
 Geo. W. Carryl, 
 E. W. Carryl, 
 Ephriam Clark, Jr., 
 Jacob Dock, 
 Gerald F. Dale, 
 William R. Dunton, 
 John Embley, 
 J. E. Emanuel, 
 Penrose Fell, 
 Thomas Fobes, 
 J. M. Gillilan, 
 James E. Gould, 
 Charles H. Grant, 
 Benjamin F. Huddy, 
 Prof. Jno. S. Hart, 
 Samuel Hart, 
 Rev. Dr. Kirk, 
 Prof. B. Kendall, 
 A. Kirkpatrick, 
 R. M. Lewis, 
 Dr. Francis W. Lewis, 
 
 F. A. Lewis, 
 
 J. W. Leigh, 
 
 Dr. James A. McCrea, 
 
 H. U. Messchert, Esq., 
 
 John Mc Arthur, Jr., 
 
 John Mc Arthur, Sr., 
 
 Alexander McElroy, 
 
 Caleb J. Milne, 
 
 F. F. Milne, 
 
 Wm. A. Newbold, Esq., 
 
 Henry Perkins, 
 
 Dr. Henry A. Paul, 
 
 J. Altemont Phillips, Esq. 
 
 Wm. Martin Smith, 
 
 Dr. Geo. R. Starkey, 
 
 Henry D. Sherrerd, 
 
 Charles Short, 
 
 J. E. Stevens, 
 
 J. P. Steiner, 
 
 Enoch Thorn, Jr. , 
 
 D. B. Taylor, 
 
 Capt. James West, 
 
 Dr. Francis West, 
 
 J. H. Welsh, 
 
 Dr. HiUborn West, 
 
 Stephen Williams, 
 
 Charles S. Williams, 
 
 Caleb S. Wright. 
 
 Chaplain, 
 Rev. Dr. William Kirk, of Boston, Mass. 
 
 * Orderly Sergeant Weaver resigned to enter the U. 
 S. Naval Academy, from which he graduated, and S. 
 H. Butler became Orderly Sergeant. 
 
336 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 3. William Martin, Jr., born Nov. 
 10, 1824, at Lenni Mills, married Eliz- 
 abeth Bankson, daughter of Walter 
 and Sarah Montgmery Thompson of 
 Philadelphia, by whom he had issue, 
 Walter T., who died July 22, 1876, 
 aged 27 years, and Sarah Ann Martin. 
 He was Secretary of the Columbia In- 
 surance Company, and afterwards of 
 the Philadelphia Ins. Co., and then 
 Secretary of the Mutual Deposite In- 
 surance Association, and finally Secre- 
 tary and Treasurer of the West Phila- 
 delphia Passenger Railway Co. ; but 
 several years ago retired from active 
 business pursuits. 
 
 William Martin, Jr., is a good ama- 
 teur artist, both with brush and pencil ; 
 in his younger days he was given to 
 versification. The following effusion, 
 of which I can remember only one 
 verse, will serve to perpetuate the re- 
 collection of a Philadelphia fashion 
 that has existed for over thirty years 
 to my knowledge. After church ser- 
 vice, in the mornings and afternoons, 
 crowds of young people promenade 
 Walnut Street, on the south or shady 
 side. Originally the walk extended 
 from Tenth to Broad Streets, at a la- 
 ter day, from Eighth Street to the 
 Schuylkill River. Now the promenade 
 is entirely west of Broad Street. 
 " Out Walnut Street, upon the shady side, 
 Walked a dandy, sweetly smiling ; 
 Oft I marked him with the human tide, 
 On Sunday evenings, gently gliding, 
 
 Oracefully he hied ! 
 Out Walnut Street, upon the shady side." 
 
 4. Ellen Crosby Martin, born at 
 Lenni Mills, married Spencer Bon- 
 sall, son of Edward H. and Lydia, 
 of Philadelphia. At the time of his 
 marriage, Mr. Bonsall was Surveyor- 
 in-Chief of the city of Philadelphia, 
 and held that jiosition until the con- 
 
 solidation in 1854, when the office be- 
 came elective. They have but one 
 child, a son, William Martin Bonsall. 
 
 5 . Mary Welsh , born at Chester, Jan . 
 5, 1832, died in a decline in Philadel- 
 phia, Nov. 8, 1 85 1, and was buried at 
 Woodlands, in a lot of ground belong- 
 ing to her father. 
 
 6. LutherMartin,bornFeb.i5, 1834, 
 at "Crosby Place," Ridley Creek 
 quarries, married Anne, daughter of 
 Lewis C. and Jane A. Wells of Phila- 
 delphia, and had issue John Hill, Jr., 
 and William Welsh Martin. Has been 
 a clerk in the office of the Delaware Mu- 
 tual Safety Insurance Co.,. since Oct. 
 16, 1853. 
 
 7. Georgiana Martin, born at Ches- 
 ter, uninarried. 
 
 8. Mortimer Richmond Talbot Mar- 
 tin, born at Chester, June 21, 1838, 
 married Harriet, daughter of George 
 and Elizabeth {nee Mulford,) Arm- 
 strong of Philadelphia, and has issue, 
 W^illiam, Sarah Ann, Frank B. and 
 Ernest Dudley Martin. 
 
 9. Sarah Ann, born in Philadelphia, 
 married Henry G. Thayer, son of the 
 late Edward N. and Agnes. Mr. Thayer 
 served during the Rebellion as an As- 
 sistant Paymaster in the U. S. navy. 
 His father was a midshipman on board 
 the U. S. ship "Chesapeake" at the 
 time of her capture by H. B. M. ship 
 " Shannon," off the port of Gloucester, 
 Mass., and his grandfather Thayer was 
 a merchant in Boston, where he has 
 relatives occupying prominent posi- 
 tions in mercantile life. 
 
 ID. Ernest Dudley Martin, yoimgest 
 son of William and Sarah Ann, born 
 July I, 1843, in Philadelphia, educated 
 at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. ; 
 graduated at the University of Penn- 
 sylvania as a Doctor of Medicine, Mar. 
 II, 1865. His Thesis upon "The 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 337 
 
 Health of Philadelphia," founded on 
 the yearly reports of the Board of 
 Health, was pronounced an excellent 
 paper. He was appointed before grad- 
 uation, Mar. 3, 1865, an acting assistant 
 Surgeon in the U.S. navy ; was honora- 
 bly mustered out at the end of the Re- 
 bellion, Oct. 9, 1865, and on Mar. 30, 
 1866, appointed an Assistant Surgeon 
 in the navy, passing his examination 
 second in a class of eighty applicants. 
 He died at sea, in the Pacific ocean, 
 on board the U. S. steamer "Pow- 
 hatan," at midnight, July 16, 1868, of 
 the yellow fever, and was buried at 
 noon with naval honors. He was a 
 young gentleman of more than usual 
 promise in his profession. 
 
 My sweet and gentle Mother, depart- 
 ed this life, Mar. 20, 1876, aged 75 
 years, one month and 16 days. Her 
 dear remains repose in our burial lot 
 in Woodlands, Philadelphia. On the 
 memorial stone is engraven : 
 
 Burial Lot 
 
 of 
 
 WiLLiA.M Martin, 
 
 Born Sept. 17, 1797, 
 
 Died Oct. 16, 1862. 
 
 His remains lie in the Fanaily 
 
 Vault in St. Paul's old churchyard, 
 
 Chester, Pa. 
 
 In Memor)' of 
 
 His Wife 
 
 Sarah Ann Martin, 
 
 Born Feb. 4, 1801, 
 Died March 20, 1876. 
 
 And of their daughter 
 
 Mary Welsh, 
 
 Born Jany. 5, 1832, 
 
 Died Nov. 8, 1851. 
 
 And of their son 
 
 Ernest Dudley Martin, M. D. 
 
 Asst. Surgeon, U. S. Navy, 
 
 Died at sea, July 16, 1868, 
 
 Aged 25 yrs. & 15 dys. 
 
 The following inscriptions are cut 
 on the tombstone covering our family 
 vault in the old graveyard of St. Paul's, 
 Chester : 
 
 " Dedicated to the memory of 
 
 William Martin, M. D. 
 
 Born in Philadelphia, September 2d, 1765; 
 
 Died at Chester, September 28th, 1798. 
 
 son of John and Mary Martin. 
 
 and Eleanor Crosby, his wife, 
 
 Born April 24th, 1777, 
 
 Died January 1 6th, 1837, 
 
 Daughter of 
 
 John and Ann Crosby, of Ridley. 
 
 Also of 
 
 William Martin, Esquire, 
 
 Son of William and Eleanor Martin, 
 
 Born September 17th, 1797, 
 
 Died Octoberi 6th, 1862. 
 
 And his wife 
 
 Sarah Ann Martin, 
 
 Born February 4, 1801, 
 
 Died March 20, 1876. 
 
 BiD'ied at ]VoodlanJs. 
 
 On the north side of the tombstone, 
 is cut: 
 
 William, son of William and Sarah Ann 
 Martin, liorn October 12, 1821 ; died Septem- 
 ber 7, 1823. 
 
 XXXA^ 
 
 The Philadelphia, Wilmington and 
 Baltimore Railroad, running as its title 
 indicates, from Philadelphia to Balti- 
 more, and passing throughWilmington, 
 Delaware, passes also through the city of 
 Chester. The road was located and sur- 
 veyed during the year 1836. Matthew 
 Newkirk being the President of the 
 corporation, Samuel H. Kneass, the 
 Chief Engineer, Henry G. Swift and 
 Herman J. Lombsert, late Second Vice 
 President of the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 Company, were the Assistant Engi- 
 neers, and Strickland Kneass, now As- 
 sistant President of the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad Company, was Rod-man. 
 
338 
 
 HISTUKY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 The road was first opened for travel 
 in the year 1838, with Charles Lom- 
 b?ert (the father of Herman) as Super- 
 intendent. The contractors for the 
 division in Delaware County, were 
 Cochran, Eves, and Thurlow ; two of 
 them well-known residents of the vicini- 
 ty of Chester, viz: John Cochran, now 
 deceased, and John J. Thurlow, still liv- 
 ing (1877.) The track of the Railroad 
 was originally laid with flat-bar, call- 
 ed strap-rail, weighing about fifteen 
 pounds per yard, fastened upon a con- 
 tinuous stringer, with cross-ties and 
 mud-sills, and with a gauge of four feet, 
 eight and a half inches. The track is 
 now laid with T-rail, upon cross-ties. 
 Several years ago the Company erected 
 a handsome Passenger Depot at Ches- 
 ter, and now 14 trains run daily, con- 
 necting Chester with Philadelphia; and 
 the track which formerly crossed the 
 meadows between the two cities, and 
 over the creeks by drawbridges, has 
 been removed back from the river front 
 to the line of the highlands, opening 
 up a beautiful and healthy section of the 
 County of Delaware, which is already 
 being built up by wealthy citizens of 
 the larger city, with handsome houses 
 for summer residences. 
 
 A handsome marble monument, near 
 "Gray's Ferry," which was erected j 
 about 1838, to commemorate this en- 
 terprise, gives the name of the Directo- 
 ry and those engaged in this successful 
 undertaking. . Since the opening of 
 their new tracks, called "The Darby 
 Improvement, " the Company have sold 
 or leased their old tracks, through the 
 marshes, to the Reading Railroad Com- 
 pany, for the use of its coal trade ; and 
 the Reading have laid tracks froni 
 Ridley Creek to and through Ches- 
 ter, along Front street, which, al- 
 though it will increase the commercial 
 
 prosperity of the city, will prove a 
 great nuisance in time, by passing 
 trains during the day, and ear-splitting 
 whistles during the night. 
 
 On Edgmont Avenue, just north of 
 Providence road, there still stands in 
 an altered condition, the old Caldwell 
 mansion. When I was a boy, ' ' Squire 
 Caldwell" lived there, having quite a 
 large farm. The property passed out 
 of the hands of the family lately. The 
 sons removed to Philadelphia many 
 years ago. One of them, William G. 
 Caldwell, now deceased, married Maria 
 De Young of Southwark. 
 
 In the olden times, before the com- 
 mon school system of education of the 
 present day went into operation, the 
 County School-master, or the School- 
 mistress, were indispensable person- 
 ages. Everybody knew the schoolmas- 
 ter in his vicinity ; and the "Old School - 
 master" was pointed out with pride, 
 and often-times with affection. I often 
 recall with pleasure the days when I 
 went to school to Edward Thomas, in 
 the old Springfield School house, with 
 my cousins, Crosby P. and Ellen E. 
 Morton, Sarah and Hannah Lownes; 
 for boys and girls in those days attend- 
 ed the same school, the boys sitting 
 on one side of the house, and the girls 
 upon the other. At a later day I went 
 to school to Christopher W. Steele, at 
 the old Ridley school-house, on the 
 "Big Road," just above Little Crum 
 Creek, now called Crum Lynne, on the 
 confines of Ridley Park. I remember 
 that we did not like our schoolmaster. 
 He was severe, and flogged his scholars 
 without discretion. He married a 
 daughter of William and Nancy Hill 
 of Ridley, and lived at Leiperville in 
 the stone dwelling yet standing, nearly 
 opposite the tavern, on the Stille farm. 
 Of those who attended Ridley school 
 
IT J ST O II Y OF ClIKSTKIJ 
 
 with me, I can recall Robert P. and 
 Nathaniel D. Crosby, my cousins; Re- 
 becca and Sadie Worrall, William and 
 Thomas H. Maddock, Abraham, Hen- 
 ry and Mary Trimble, Ebenezer Ers- 
 kine, Lewis Garrett, Engle Smith, 
 Robert Henderson, Marshall Attmore 
 Jones, Thomas, Sarah and Maria Ottey, 
 Charles J. Morton, David Jordan,. 
 Elisha and Edward Horn, Jac ol) Kri- 
 der, Philip Morris and liis sister, of 
 Morris' Ferry. 
 
 These schools were called "Charity 
 Schools," yet they were not so in the 
 strict acceptation of the term. For 
 some remarks in reference thereto, see 
 Martin vs. McCord, 5 Watts, 492. 
 And for a better understanding of the 
 formation of these schools, and the 
 manner in which they were conducted, 
 1 insert here an account of Ridley 
 school and school-house, compiled 
 from the minutes. 
 
 On the 1 2th of 2 mo., 1800, the fol- 
 lowing inhabitants of Ridley, met at 
 the house of Jacob Painter to take action 
 on the erection of a school house in 
 that township, viz : 
 
 William Paul, Caleb Davis, Jeremiah Mc- 
 Ihaiii, Peter Hill, James McIIvain, Nathaniel 
 Worrall, Jacob Painter, William Beatty, Jon- 
 athan Smith, Thomas Price, Daniel Morton, 
 and Aaron Morton. William Paul was cho- 
 sen Chairman and Aaron Morton, Secretary. 
 
 ' Resoh'ed, That after having taken into con- 
 sideration the propriety of building a school, 
 house on the lot of ground granted by Isaac 
 Culin, they consider it unfit for that purpose.' 
 Whereupon Caleb Davis proposed to give 42 
 perches of ground on the north side of the great 
 road, adjoining the lot now occupied by Peter 
 Norburg, which was unanimously accepted. 
 
 ' Resolved, That in order that there may be 
 a full meeting of the subscribers and others, to 
 determine on so important an object, Nathan- 
 iel Worrall, William Beatty and James Mc- 
 IIvain, be appointed for the purpose of notify- 
 ing the following persons, viz. : John Crosby, 
 
 Esq., John Crosby, Jr., John McIIvain, Abra- 
 ham Trimble, Isaac Culin, James Maddock, 
 Jesse Worrall, Isaac McIIvain, George Jordan, 
 William Hill, Joseph Pearson, John Culin, 
 John Hoff, Augustus Legrand, Andrew Tong- 
 acre, William Price, Jacob W'crrall, William 
 W^orrall, William Shoemaker, Thomas Hall, 
 Lewis Mowry, Thomas Blithe, John Irwin, 
 William Boon, John Smith, Ann Smith, Ra- 
 chael Effinger, Lewis Trimble, Jr., Isaac 
 Morton, Israel Morton, Robert Colvin, Henry 
 Trimble, Mary Pywell, Peter Revel, Anlhony 
 (Juyre, Samuel Hoff, William Tritcs, Hcnja- 
 min Miller, Rebecca Miller, James Miller, 
 Michael KiUs, John Kitts, Daniel Lampley, 
 Isaac Hance and Peter Welch, of our next 
 meeting.' 
 
 Resolved, TX-yzX Fifth-day next, the 17th of 
 this instant, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, at 
 the house of Jacob Painter, be the time and 
 place of our next meeting.' 
 
 At the adjourned meeting there were present, 
 William Paul, Caleb Davis, Jacob Painter, 
 Jeremiah McIIvain, John McIIvain, Abraham 
 Trimble, Nathaniel Worrall, Aaron Morton, 
 James Maddock, William Beatty, Henry Trim- 
 ble, Thomas Price, Hugh McIIvain and James 
 McIIvain. Wm. Paul in the Chair, and James 
 McIIvain, Secretary. The question was taken 
 on building a school-house on the land offc7-ed 
 by Calel) Davis, and carried ; said land to be 
 conveyed to Abraham Trimble, Jeremiah Mc- 
 IIvain and Nathaniel Worrall, for the use of 
 a school ; and the Secretary was directed to 
 draw a subscription paper, to be offered to the 
 members of the meeting and inhabitants, for 
 their sul)Scriptions for building the school- 
 house. James Maddock, Aaron Morton and 
 James McIIvain, were appointed and directed 
 to draw a draft of a school-house and make 
 an estimate of the expense of building, and 
 produce it to the next meeting. Adjourned, to 
 meet at the same place, on Fifth-day, the 25th 
 of this month, at 3 o'clock, and that the per- 
 sons to whom the deed is to be made produce 
 it to said meeting. 
 
 At the adjourned meeting there were pre- 
 sent, William Paul, Caleb Davis, Peter Hill, 
 Abraham Trimble, John McIIvain, Jeremiah 
 McIIvain, James Maddock, Jacob Painter, 
 William Hill, George Jordan, William Beatty, 
 Nathaniel Worrall, Isaac McIIvain, Isaac 
 Worrall, Peter Revel, Michael Roe, Henry 
 Trimble and James McIIvain. The Deed for 
 
840 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 the land conveyed by Caleb Davis and wile, 
 being produced was read, as follows : 
 
 'This Indenture, made the 25th of July, 
 A. I). 1800, between Caleb Davis, of Dela- 
 ware County, in Pennsylvania, and Lydia, his 
 wife, of the one part, and Abraham Trimble, 
 Jeremiah Mcllvain and Nathaniel Worrall of 
 the other part, Witnessetli, that the said Calel) 
 Davis and I,ydia his wife, as well for and in 
 consideration of the sum of live shillings, law- 
 ful money, &c. •■-' ■••• "•■" "•■" Have given, 
 granted, bargained and sold, aliened, enfeoffed 
 and confirmed and by these presents do give, 
 grant, bargain and sell, alien, enfeoff and con- 
 firm unto the said Abraham Trimble, Jeremiah 
 Mcllvain and Nathaniel Worrall, their heirs 
 and assigns, all that lot or piece of ground, 
 situate, lying and being in the township of 
 Ridley, in the County aforesaid : Beginning 
 at a stone in the side of the post-road leading 
 from PhiladeljAia to Chester and at the north- 
 east corner of the garden miw in the tenure of 
 Peter Norburg; thence north thirty-four degrees 
 west seven perches to a stone ; thence north 
 fifty-eight degrees, east six perches to another 
 stone ; thence south thirty-four degrees seven 
 perches to a stone; thence south fifty-eight 
 degrees, west six perches, to the place of be- 
 ginning, containing forty-two perches, more 
 or less, &c. "■■' "■■■ "■'" ••' In Trust 
 
 nevertheless, and to the uses, interests and 
 purposes hereafter mentioned and no other ; 
 that is to say, that they the said Abraham 
 Trimble, Jeremiah Mcllvain and Nathaniel 
 Worrall, and the survivors and survivor of 
 them and the heirs, executors and administra- 
 tors of such survivors should stand and be seiz- 
 ed of the lot of ground and all other the here- 
 ditaments and premises hereby given, granted, 
 bargained and sold, or intended so to be, for 
 the use of all such inhabitants of the township 
 of Ridley and its vicinity, whose names are 
 indorsed on the back of this indenture, to 
 erect and build a school-house or other neces- 
 sary buildings thereon, for the education of 
 youth therein ; which said school-house and 
 all other buildings to be erected thereon, shall 
 be deemed, construed and understood to be, 
 antl they are hereby declared to be free only 
 for the use, education and instruction of the 
 youth resident in and belonging to the said 
 inhabitants of Ridley and its vicinity whose 
 names are indorsed on this indenture, and their 
 representatives forc\cr,' ivc. 
 
 The names of subscribers indorsed 
 
 William Paul, 
 Jeremiah Mcllvain, 
 Abraham Worrall, 
 John Mcllvain, 
 James Mcllvain, 
 Aaron Morton, 
 Jacob Painter, 
 James Maddock, 
 Nathaniel Worrall, 
 Hugh Mcllvain, 
 Henry Trimble, 
 Isaac Mcllvain, 
 Caleb Davis, 
 
 Thomas Price, 
 William Beaty, 
 Michael Rowe, 
 Rachel Effinger, 
 Isaac Worrall, 
 George Jordan, 
 Peter Hill, 
 William Hill, 
 Mary Pyvveil, 
 Peter Revel, 
 Daniel Lampleigh, 
 William Devanport, 
 fesse Worrall. 
 
 Leiperville is the new name for the 
 old village of Ridley. Abotit the year 
 1835, George G., William J. and Sam- 
 uel M. Leiper purchased of the Mcll- 
 vains their estate at Ridley, and re- 
 named the village Leiperville. The 
 township was doubtless named from 
 Ridley in Cheshire, Eng., whence 
 came John Simcock, the owner of a 
 large quantity of land therein. 
 
 The Managers during lothmo., 1800, 
 reported to the trustees that the build- 
 ing wouki shortly be ready for the re- 
 i ception and accommodation of the 
 school, whereupoii the trustees adver- 
 tised for a tutor, and selected for that 
 office Jacob Fenton. a graduate of 
 Dartmouth College. 
 
 The agreement made the 15 th of 
 loth mo., 1800, with Jacob Fenton, 
 was that he should ' ' teach a regular 
 Day School, subject to the direction of 
 the Trustees, in the rudiments of the 
 English language: Reading, writing, 
 arithmetic, bookkeeping, geography, 
 and either or every branch of the mathe- 
 matics, at the rate of two dollars a quar- 
 ter for every scholar, subscribed for the 
 term of three months, to commence the 
 20th day of loth mo., 1800. And the 
 subscribers to said school, agree to pay 
 the said Fenton, or order, two dollars 
 for every scholar stibscribed, together 
 with a reasonable charge for wood and 
 ink." 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 341 
 
 Before the quarter was up, Fenton got 
 himself in trouble. He sent his bills 
 before they were due, refused to allow 
 for time lost by absence, and at the end 
 of his term bid the trustees defiance, 
 and kept possession of the school . The 
 trustees resolved to eject him. The 
 entry is brief : (Jan.,' i8oi,l "on the 
 morning of the 23rd the foregoing reso- 
 lution of the trustees was carried into 
 effect." 
 
 "2 mo. 2, 1801, William Fairlamb 
 commenced teaching in Ridley school, 
 at the rate of eight dollars a year, fire- 
 wood and ink allowed." Ink came in 
 paper packages in those days. The 
 preparation was put into a bottle, a 
 certain quantity of water poured upon 
 it, then it was shaken up, and after 
 standing a while, was ready for use. 
 
 4 mo. 6, 1801, Samuel Lytle com- 
 menced teaching at $2 a quarter, and 
 fire-wood and ink. The Trustees 
 "agreed to meet in future on the first 
 2nd day of each month, at 2 o'clock, 
 in the afternoon," or to pay fifty cents 
 for every such neglect ; which money 
 was to be laid out in books for the use 
 of the poor of the school. 
 
 10 mo. 5, it was agreed "to give 
 premiums at the next examination to 
 those scholars who should make the 
 greatest improvement or excel in any 
 particular branch of education, and for 
 the second and next best." 
 
 Feb. 6, 1804. Meeting of the sub- I 
 scribers to inquire into the decorum of ' 
 the school, the conduct of the master, j 
 and the neglect of the trustees to at- 
 tend to their duties for two years. The 
 old board of tru-stees were removed and ! 
 a new board appointed. 
 
 Feb. 20, 1804, a meeting of trustees 
 report that there were "45 scholars," 
 and that the master's conduct was not 
 approved. On Mar. 5, there Avere 37 
 
 scholars. Trustees unanimously agreed 
 not to employ Mr. Lytle, the present 
 master, any longer than his present en- 
 gagement ; and on April 2, the trus- 
 tees found the school-house locked, 
 "neither teacher nor scholars" being 
 in attendance. 
 
 May 3, 1804, Archibald McKinny 
 became teacher, preparing the articles 
 of agreement, and then refused to fur- 
 nish the trustees with a copy, so "no 
 record could be made." The conse- 
 quence was, the school fell off to 15 
 pupils, and the master was discharged. 
 
 12 mo., 1804, Joseph Barrows be- 
 came the teacher. In April 1805, he 
 had 43 scholars, and was much praised 
 for his capacity. In June there were 68 
 scholars in attendance, and in August 
 the master absconded in debt to seve- 
 ral persons. 
 
 Sept. 9, 1805, Jonas P. Fairlamb 
 agreed to teach . Caleb Davis, however, 
 took his stove away, and James Mad- 
 dock undertook to procure another, 
 "to remain forever for the use of the 
 school." 
 
 Oct. 28, 1805, the Committee set- 
 tled, allowed and approved the account 
 for building the school, of $502.19, 
 being $121.19 i" excess of the contri- 
 butions. 
 
 On Dec. 12, 1805, Jonathan Dutton 
 became schoolmaster, the terms still 
 being the same, $2 per scholar. In 
 Jan. i8o6,'he had 26 scholars, but had 
 no authority over them, and the school 
 soon fell to 14 scholars. 
 
 April 28, 1806, James Townsend be- 
 came master, at $2.50 for subscribers' 
 children, and 20 per cent, more for 
 non-subscribers. In May 23, there 
 were 40 pupils. 
 
 About the year 1812, Thomas Kitts 
 was teacher, with 39 scholars in attend- 
 ance. 
 
:J42 
 
 HISTORY OF ClIESTEH. 
 
 Ill 1816, Jan. 15. Jesse Broomall was 
 thesclioolmaster, at $2.50 per scholar, 
 and here on the records the dollar 
 mark is first used. April 18, 181 6, he 
 agrees to teach six months, for $160. 
 
 June, 181 7, Michael Burke was mas- 
 ter for three months at $3. Then he was 
 engaged another quarter^ "at which 
 time Jesse Broomall has engaged to re- 
 turn : and on Dec. 29, he resumed his 
 position as teacher." 
 
 Mar. 27, 1819, Samuel Lytic com- 
 menced teaching at ^3 per ipiartcr. In 
 August there were 60 scholars. The 
 trustees thought this too man\', and 
 notified the subscribers that only 50 
 would be received per day. 
 
 Feb. 5, 1820, the trustees on account 
 of the teacher's extreme youth and in- 
 experience, &c., (his name is not given), 
 advertised for another teacher in the 
 Village Record and Post Boy. Samuel 
 Lytle and Nathaniel Vernon applied. 
 The latter was chosen. Terms, ^2 a 
 quarter; $3 if mathematics was taught. 
 
 After 1820 the Meeting of the sub- 
 scribers became very irregular. On Jan. 
 30, 1830, the School had 35 scholars. 
 7 Mar. 1 83 1, subscribers' meeting; new 
 names, Joseph Garrett and Joseph Law 
 son. Trustees elected were James Mad- 
 dock, Josei)h Garrett and Edward 
 Home. 
 
 Mar. 15, 1834, meeting of subscri- 
 bers or their legal representatives ; pre- 
 sent, Joseph Garrett, William Hill and 
 George (t. Leiper. 
 
 The next meeting was held on Jan. 
 20, 1855, by the heirs and representa- 
 tives of the original subscribers to the 
 lower (or old) Ridley school-house; 
 present George Jordan, Jacob Hewes, 
 Jonathan P. Newlin, Jacob Worrall, 
 Abraham F. Patterson, William Mad- 
 dock, amd William Worrall. On 
 motion. George Jonlaii. Jacob Hcwcs 
 
 and Jacob Parry were elected Trustees 
 lor three years. 
 
 Jan. 18, 1862, meeting of the heirs, 
 &c. Jacob Parry, chairman, Wm. 
 Worrall, Junr., Sec. The following 
 persons were nominated for Trustees, 
 Jona. P. Newlin, Jacob Worrall, Jacob 
 PaJ-ry) Spencer Mcllvain and Israel 
 Maddock. Mcllvain, Worrall and 
 Maddock were elected for three years. 
 
 Since the last date there has been no 
 entry in the minutes. I am under the 
 impression that after Christopher W. 
 Steel ceased to be the schoohnaster, 
 Alexander M. Wright, John Stille, 
 David Jordan, Edward Home, Thom- 
 as H. Maddock, Esq., and»Ebenezer 
 Erskine, were schoolmasters. The old 
 school house is built of pointed stone. 
 The minute book is in possession of 
 Jacob Hewes of Eeiperville, and the 
 property is in possession of the heirs of 
 Caleb Davis, who claim that it has re- 
 verted to them from non use for the 
 purposes for which it was donated; 
 a new school house having been lately 
 erected (1873), ^^^^i" Leiperville. The 
 old school house has not been used as 
 a school since about 1862. 
 
 A good anecdote is related of the 
 Baron de Steuben. After the Revolu- 
 tion he settled in Oneida County, New 
 York, and the inhabitants of the vicini- 
 ty met to establish a school, and the 
 Baron offered to donate a lot near his 
 residence, on which to erect the school 
 house. He was asked whether the noise 
 of the children would not annoy him, 
 and he replied, " Oil I 1 dont care for 
 that; I want to see the little devils 
 fighty Frederick William Augustus 
 Baron de Steuben, was Aid de Camp 
 to Frederick the Great, and In.spector 
 General of the Continental Army, after 
 the Revolution. New York presented 
 him with 16,000 acres of land in 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 343 
 
 Oneida County, on which he erected j 
 a log-house; the tenth part of the lands j 
 he gave to his aids North, Popham and 
 Walker. On Jan. 30, 1778, the Baron 
 visited Bethlehem, Pa., and was enter- 
 tained by the Moravian brethren, and 
 there his descendants still live; viz., Au- 
 gustus Steuben, a farmer, one of whose j 
 daughters married Theodore T. Lev- 
 ers ; another married Frank Windt ; and 
 yet another is the widow of George 
 Reich, late of Bethlehem. The Baron 
 died on his estate near Utica, N. Y., 
 in 1794. He was born in Madgeburg 
 in Prussia, A. D., 1730, and came to 
 America in 1777. Congress voted 
 him an annuity of $2500, in 1790. 
 
 When I went to reside with my pa- 
 rents, in Chester, about 1835, I went 
 to school to Caleb Pierce, in the old 
 brick school-house erected in 1770; 
 the date can be seen on its southern 
 gable, formed with black glazed bricks. 
 William P. Saunders afterwards taught 
 school in the same building and was 
 my last school teacher. This old 
 school-house was torn down in July, 
 1875, ^^ niake room for a large addi- 
 tion to the public school-house at 
 the corner of Fifth and Welsh Streets. 
 The walls were much thicker than 
 are now generally laid, and every 
 course was tied, so that the workmen 
 had great difficulty in taking it down. 
 The bricks, which were as sound as 
 they were on the day they were first 
 laid in headers and stretchers, are 
 said to have been made in England, 
 but there is no evidence to support 
 this story, while all the probabilities 
 are against it, since at the time of its 
 erection, importing brick from Eu- 
 rope had been discontinued by the 
 colonies. The ground on which the 
 school-house stood belonged to Joseph 
 Hoskins, who, in his will, ])roved July 
 
 21, 1773, devised to his friends Henry 
 Hale Graham and William Swaffer, a 
 lot 100 feet square at the intersection 
 of Welsh or Back Street and the King's 
 Road, in trust for the use of the in- 
 habitants of the Borough and town- 
 ship, " for the Building and Erecting 
 thereon a School House or School 
 Houses or other Edifices for Teaching, 
 Instructing and Educating of Youth 
 therein." His project as to the build- 
 ing appears to have been carried out 
 before he died. In the year 1842, the 
 addition to the old school-house was 
 made, and in 1857, the large building 
 on the corner of Fifth and Welsh was 
 erected. Within its low -ceiled room, 
 many of the old people of this vicin- 
 ity received their early education, 
 and many yet remain with us who 
 recall their school days passed in that 
 building more than half a century ago, 
 when ''Billy Neal," whose acts with 
 the ferule were terrible, was the pre- 
 siding potentate within those ancient 
 walls, and who made a fortune in Mul- 
 ticaulis ; and people yet speak in Ches- 
 ter of "old Samey Lytle," an ancient 
 schoolmaster, in terms of the utmost 
 affection and respect. A short sketch 
 of the family of this old favorite and 
 his descendants may not be without 
 interest, so I give it. 
 
 Samuel Lytle, an Irishman, came to 
 this country before the Revolution, and 
 lived on theTarm now owned by Graham 
 Flower, son of William G. Flower, and 
 situated about two miles from Chester. 
 He also owned three old log houses, 
 which formerly stood where the ' ' Up- 
 land Building" now stands, and the 
 house now kept by Mr. Morris as a 
 restaurant. He sawed ship-plank for 
 the Government during the Revolu- 
 tion, and got paid in Continental mo- 
 nev. His wife was an Irishwoman, 
 
:\U 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 anil came to America with him ; they 
 were Presbyterians, and had the fol- 
 lowing children, viz. : Samuel Lytle, 
 the well-knowr schoolmaster, John, 
 Ellen, Betsey and William Lytle. 
 
 Samuel Lytle married Mary Coffin, 
 of Nantucket, Mass. ; they had issue, 
 I . Sarah, who married Abraliam Strick- 
 ler; 2. Ellen, married Samuel Urian ; 
 3. Walter C, unmarried, and living at 
 Chester; 4. Elizabeth, married to Al- 
 exander M. Wright, late of Ridley, 
 deceased, who had two girls, Anna 
 Eliza and Mary. Mr. Wright was at 
 one time the schoolmaster, at Ridley. 
 5. Samuel, deceased; 6. Margaret, 
 who married Edward L. Thomas; 7. 
 Franklin, wounded at the battle of 
 Petersburg, Va., died afterwards of 
 his injuries ; 8. Frederick Plummer 
 Lytle, who died young. He was nam- 
 ed after elder Frederick Plummer, who 
 used to preach in the stone meeting- 
 house in Leiperville ; the congrega- 
 tion that worshipjied there were called 
 Plummerites. 
 
 About 1836, an Irishman by the 
 name of Boyle, an excellent teacher, 
 taught a select school in the second 
 story of the old brick school, then the 
 only school-house in Chester. When 
 I was a boy, Miss Eliza Finch taught 
 very youngchildrenofboth sexes, at her 
 residence, the " Logan House. ' ' Miss 
 Eliza Finch's mother and herself came 
 to Chester from Philadelphia, where 
 they used to reside with her grand- 
 mother, Mrs. Stout, at the N. E. cor. 
 of Third and Spruce Sts. My grand- 
 mother Smith, then lived in Third St., 
 west side, second door north of Spruce 
 St. . Among those who went to school 
 with me in the old brick school-house 
 at Chester, I (an recall Hamilton, 
 Henry O. and Evelina Porter; Samuel, 
 Harry and Mary Edwards; J. Edward, 
 
 and Arabella Clyde ; Edward, Isaac and 
 Lewis Eyre ; David Jordan, of Ridley ; 
 Franklin and Emma Dick ; Thomas 
 T. and EmelineThurlow; Engle, John, 
 Maggie and Elizabeth Cochran; Sam'l 
 Long ; Amanda Bidgood, daughter of 
 Capt. B. ; Jackson Gibson and a twin 
 brother; John Booth; James G.Shaw; 
 Peirce Crosby ; James Burk, of Shoe- 
 makerville ; John, Samuel, Ellen and 
 Libbie Irwin ; Samuel, Bickham, Sarah 
 and Annie Price; Mary Barnard ; Po- 
 cahontas Bartram ; Asbury Kelly; Ed- 
 ward and Hannah Lear ; Samuel N. 
 Smith ; George Kerlin,son of " Squire 
 Kerlin;" William Kerlin ; Hannah 
 Rulon ; Thaddeus K. Martin, and his 
 sister ; Edward and Emma Spear ; and 
 Susan Clark, a daughter of Captain 
 Clark. 
 
 XXXVL 
 
 The old brick school-house was, I 
 have no doubt, erected in 1770, in the 
 same way, and the school conducted in 
 the same manner as Ridley school was, 
 as is shown by its minutes. I regret 
 exceedingly, that the records of Ches- 
 ter school cannot be found. I have 
 been fortunate enough, however, to find 
 among some old papers of my grand- 
 father, Dr. William Martin, and in his 
 hand-writing, the following '' Rules 
 and Regulations agreed upon by the 
 Trustees of Chester School, at a meet- 
 ing held January 9th, 1796 : 
 
 1st. That one of the Trustees shall 
 be annually chosen President, whose 
 duty it shall be to act as Chairman at 
 every general meeting of the Trustees. 
 And who shall subscribe all drafts 
 upon the Treasurer for money direct- 
 ed by the Board to be paid. He shall 
 attend at each and every quarterly 
 examination of the school : and call 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 o4{3 
 
 special meetings of the Trustees when 
 he shall deem the same to be necessary 
 — or upon the application of any two 
 Trustees, according to the former rules. 
 
 2d. That the remaining Trustees be 
 divided into three classes, who shall 
 by turns visit the school, one in each 
 month ; that is, the ist class the first 
 month, the 2nd the second mo., &c. 
 
 3. That the President, Trustees and 
 Treasurer shall visit and examine the 
 school quarter-yearly, and for neglect 
 of attendance, shall pay the sum of ^ 
 of Dol. to the Treasurer, to be appro- 
 priated as the charity fund of the said 
 school. 
 
 4th. That no tutor shall have charge 
 of the school but such as shall be ac- 
 cepted by the Trustees, who shall be 
 called together at reasonable notice, 
 when such an occurrence shall make 
 the same necessary. And on the mis- 
 behavior or misconduct of any such 
 tutor, it shall be the duty of the Trus- 
 tees to remove him, by giving him 
 reasonable notice to depart. 
 
 5th. That the tutor of said school 
 (or the first tutor, if the number should 
 increase) for the time being, shall be 
 Secretary to the Board of Trustees ; 
 whose duty it shall be to keep a fair 
 record of their proceedings, and sub- 
 scribe the same, and to sign all notices 
 of general or special meetings of the 
 Trustees, and cause each one to be 
 served with the same, a reasonable 
 time before every such meeting. 
 
 6th. That the Trustees, at the be- 
 ginning of each and every year, shall 
 advertise for applications to be made 
 to them for educating such children or 
 other persons gratis, as shall be proper 
 objects of the charity fund of the in- 
 stitution, and which shall embrace the 
 greatest number of persons that the said 
 fund will admit of, or an agreement 
 
 with the tutor of the said school, enable 
 them to give assistance to. 
 
 7th. That as exciting in the minds 
 of children and youth laudable emu- 
 lation, and a desire to improve, is of 
 beneficial consequence in conducting 
 their education, the Trustees shall, at 
 their quarterly examinations, propose 
 little premiums of books, papers, quills, 
 &:c., to those who excel in reading, 
 writing, speaking, arithmetic, &c. ; 
 the expense to be defrayed out of the 
 charity fund of the school. 
 
 8th. It shall be the duty of the Trus- 
 tees to see )' no books containing the 
 tenets or doctrines of any sect in re- 
 ligion be taught in the school, or any 
 that may convey improper political 
 principles to the children of Republi- 
 cans ; since no others ought to be ad- 
 mitted, but .such as teach the pure 
 principles of religion as contained in 
 the Holy writings of the Prophets and 
 Evangelists — of morality and love of 
 virtue — such as teach us the love of 
 liberty and our country — obedience to 
 her laws — detestation of tyranny an^l 
 oppression, and hatred of anarchy and 
 licentiousness. 
 
 9th. That the quarterly visitations 
 to the school shall be the third Mon- 
 days in the months called February, 
 May, August and November. The 
 premiums shall be proposed at one of 
 the meetings, and given at the imme- 
 diate subsequent one. And it is also 
 agreed, that one subject of a premium 
 shall be the following : At each quar- 
 terly examination the master shall be 
 requested to report to the Trustees 
 which of his pupils has been the most 
 distinguished for his or her moral and 
 orderly and decent behavior, upon 
 which such pupils so reported, shall be 
 entitled to the premium to be named 
 by the Trustees." 
 
■]4G 
 
 HISTORY OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 For the following exceedingly valua- 
 ble and interesting sketch of the old 
 brick school-house at Chester, and the 
 public schools instituted in that dis- 
 trict, under the provisions of the 
 amended Constitution of the Com- 
 monwealth of 1838, and the Acts of 
 June 13, 1836, and May 8, 1854, I am 
 indebted to William B. Broomall, Esq., 
 a member of the Ear of Delaware 
 County, and one of the School Direc- 
 tors. Mr. Broomall says : 
 
 "The rapid strides which Chester has made 
 in her material advancement during the past 
 twenty-five years, are recorded in the progress 
 made Ijy her public schools. The considera- 
 tion of the rise and progress of our public 
 schools presents an interesting subject to the 
 antiquary. Did any of our citizens ever have 
 tile curiosity to examine the date upon the old 
 school building on Welsh Street ? If so, they 
 will have seen in large black figures upon 
 the gable end, 1 770. The building has under- 
 gone many changes and repairs, but the date 
 of its erection still remains recorded in figures 
 manufactured in England. The bricks out of 
 which the old building is constructed are the 
 English brick, laid, in bricklayers' parlance, 
 in headers and stretchers, the ends of the 
 lieaders being burnt black, so as to present a 
 checkered appearance. It is witli the Ijlack 
 ends of the headers that the large figures 1770 
 were constructed. Think of it! over a hun- 
 dred years old, and six years l^efore the Decla- 
 ration of Independence ! Built out of old Eng- 
 land's soil, dried by an English sun, the first 
 six yeai-s of its existence was devoted to in- 
 culcating in the young minds of those days, 
 the divine right of his royal highness George 
 III. The King can do no wrong, was then 
 orthodoxy, however heterodoxical the saying 
 is now. 
 
 What a curious subject for contemplation is 
 , presented to the imagination, by thin]<ing of 
 the long procession of boys and girls who 
 have gone to school in this old building dur- 
 ing the past hundred years. What oddities 
 in customs and dress would l)e exhibited by 
 such an array. 
 
 This building was enlarged by the addition 
 of another to it of almost tlie same size on the 
 
 north side, probably about thirty or forty years 
 ago.* But down to that time the old building 
 afforded accommodations amply sufficient. 
 
 The public records of the county would in- 
 dicate that the old building was built on the 
 ground at Fifth and Welsh Streets, on the 
 sufferance of the owner, who at that time was 
 Grace Lloyd, widow of David Lloyd.f Prior 
 to 1808, the school lot is included with the 
 adjoining lands, in the conveyances of the sur 
 rounding property. The first mention of it 
 as a separate lot is in a deed of Daniel Ilitner 
 to Phcebe Pemberton Un- the adjoining lands, 
 in that year. 
 
 The old rooms, with low ceilings and an- 
 cient architecture, take one back into the musty 
 memories of his boyhood, and the school-room 
 odors which still cling to the rooms, associate 
 themselves with many memories of boyhood 
 recollections. How well we remember a boy- 
 ish superstition which found ready believers 
 among the youth of twenty years ago, that the 
 cellar was inhabited by an evil spirit, a kaka- 
 demon, with whom the teacher held daily 
 conference, and from whom he drew the re- 
 sources of terror, with which he was invested 
 by their boyish eyes. No punishment had 
 more influence to deter evil doers than an im- 
 prisonment in the cellar, and a journey there 
 for coal was invested with all the difficulties 
 of an Argonautic expedition. 
 
 Priov to the enactment of the public school 
 law, the duties of administering education 
 was entrusted to a committee of the town, 
 who had charge of the school teachers, and 
 who were the nominal supervisors of the sub- 
 jects to be taught, the method of teaching, and 
 the charges to be exacted from the parents of 
 the pupils, for the compensation of the Domi- 
 nie. All other expenses were defrayed liy 
 
 * Rev. John Thompson and Thomas M. 
 Peirce, (son of Caleb,) the late candidate for 
 City Treasurer of Philadelphia, both Chester 
 boys once, agree in fixing the date of the ad- 
 dition to the old brick school-house, as having 
 been made in the year 1842. There is no 
 foundation for the tradition that imported 
 bricks wei^e used to build the old school- 
 house, or any other building in Chester in the 
 18th century. 
 
 J Mr. Broomall, must mean the executors 
 of Grace Lloyd, for that lady at the date of 
 the erection of the old school-house, had been 
 dead ten years ; however, we have seen that 
 this is an error. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 847 
 
 public subscription. All prior to about 1853, 
 belongs to the prehistoric times. It is only 
 since that time that any records were found 
 to exist. 
 
 In 1853, the Directors, who were Davis B. 
 Stacey, George W. Moore, Robert R. Dutton, 
 Jas. Campbell, Robert E. Hannum and Isaac 
 E. Cochran, began to make provision for in- 
 creased accommodations, and purchased from 
 Martha Smith for $900, a lot between Frank- 
 lin Street and Concord Avenue, in South 
 Ward, north of Third Street. They imme- 
 diately set about the erection of a building 
 thereon, containing four rooms and accommo- 
 dation for about 200 pupils. This building 
 was subsequently enlarged by the erection of 
 a contiguous back building, containing three 
 rooms, now reduced to two, and accommodat- 
 ing about 100 scholars. In 1858, a lot on 
 'Eleventh Street, at the corner of Madison 
 Street, was purchased of John Larkin, Jr., at 
 a cost of $565, and a one-story brick building 
 erected thereon, accommodating about 200 
 pupils. 
 
 In i860, the number of schools in Chester 
 were ten, employing four male teachers and 
 seven female teachers, at an average salary 
 for the former of ^36.25, and for the latter of 
 $27.14. The Directors then were Frederick 
 J. Hinkson, Stephen Cloud, Alexander M. 
 Wright, Dr. Charles J. Morton, Samuel Shaw, 
 and William Hinkson. 
 
 The value of the real estate belonging to 
 the District, was estimated at )<5 12,000. 
 
 In 1865, the School Directors were John O. 
 Deshong, Charles W. Deans, Elwood Harvey, 
 M. D., Caleb Emlen, Frederick J. Hinkson, 
 and Alexander M. Wright. 
 
 The number of schools fifteen. The amount 
 of money raised for school purposes, about 
 $10,000. In 1866, the Board was changed 
 by the withdrawal of Davis, Hinkson and 
 Wright, and their places were filled by Abra- 
 ham R. Perkins, Samuel Eccles, Jr., and 
 Henry L. Donaldson. The amount of money 
 raised this year, was about $11,000. 
 
 The school accommodations having become 
 deficient, additional rooms were rented in 
 Southward. In 1867, the places of Deshong 
 and Perkins were filled by Stephen C. Hall 
 and Alfred Taylor, and the new school build- 
 ing at the south-east corner of Fifth and Welsh 
 Streets was commenced, which was finished in 
 the following year, at a cost of about $8,500. 
 
 I In 1868, Thomas Appleby and John H. Bar- 
 i ton filled the places of Taylor and Harvey. 
 The number of schools was seventeen, and 
 ; the average salaries paid to teachers $40 per 
 month. Amount of money raised about $14,- 
 000. On Oct. 2, 1868, the number of scholars 
 was 956. In 1869, the Chester schools were 
 organized into a separate District, independent 
 of the county. A. A. Meader, was elected 
 Superintendent, at a salary of $300 per annum. 
 In this year the place of Eccles was filled by 
 William B. Broomall, and three additional 
 Directors were elected, Simeon Cotton, Joseph 
 Kenworlhy and John C. Price. The moneys 
 raised this year were about $23,000. The 
 new school building on Morton Avenue, in 
 North Ward, was built, containing accommo- 
 dations for about 200 pupils, and the Academy 
 building in South Ward was purchased, con- 
 taining about the same accommodations. 
 
 In 1870, Hall and Barton having retired, 
 Samuel H. Seeds and Dr. Elwood Harvey 
 filled their places. Moneys raised this year 
 were about $18,000. A new building for 
 colored scholars was built in South Ward, 
 containing accommodations for aljout 200 
 pupils. 
 
 In 1 87 1, the school district became involved 
 with the corporate authorities of the city, in a 
 lawsuit, to determine the liability of the School 
 Boards to pay municipal liens for paving the 
 roadways in front of the school property. The 
 decision of the Court was against the liability. 
 John C. Price withdrew from the Board and 
 John Fountain filled his place. The amount 
 of money raised was $18,000. The Superin- 
 tendent's salary was increased to $500 per 
 annum. In 1872, a High School department 
 was established." 
 
 The friends and descendants of many 
 of our legislators and others have, time 
 and again, claimed for their respective 
 friends, relatives or ancestors, the title 
 of the " Father of our Public School 
 System." I am inclined to believe 
 that the honor belongs to the late 
 Thaddeus Stevens, and for this rea- 
 son : In an obituary of the death of 
 my father in the Republican, of Oct. 
 24, 1862, "J. P. C." /. e., John P. 
 Crozer, states that, "in i826-'27, 
 
348 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Mr. Martin represented Delaware coun- 
 ty in the State Legislature. The two 
 leading questions of these sessions 
 were, the State internal improvement 
 by canal, and a system of common 
 schools for the Commonwealth, in 
 both of which he took an active in- 
 terest." 
 
 My father told me that he drew a 
 bill while in the Legislature, to intro- 
 duce the public school system into this 
 State, at the request of Mr. Stevens, 
 who presented it, and it finally after- 
 wards became a law through Mr. Ste- 
 vens' exertions, and to Mr. Stevens he 
 often gave, in speaking of the public 
 schools, the honor of being the origi- 
 nator in Pennsylvania. No doubt the 
 records of our Legislature will show 
 that Mr. Stevens moved in the matter 
 l)ri()r to 1826; I have no doubt he 
 did. Dr. George Smith and Dr. Sam- 
 uel Anderson, were both very active 
 in the matter in the Legislature prior 
 to 1 833-' 34, which is the date fixed to 
 give the credit of our common school 
 system to the late Samuel Breck. 
 
 It must not be understood that Mr. 
 Stevens was the originator of the sys- 
 tem of the public schools ; the project 
 was mooted before his day. By the 
 Constitution of 1776, chapter 2, .sec- 
 tion 44, it is declared, that "a school 
 or schools shall be established in each 
 county by the Legislature, for the con- 
 venient instruction of youth, with such 
 salaries to the masters, paid by the 
 publick, as may enable them to in- 
 struct youth at low prices, and all 
 useful learning shall be duly encour- 
 aged and promoted in one or more 
 universities." And by the first sec- 
 tion of the seventh article of the Con- 
 stitution of 1789, it is directed that 
 " the legislature shall, as soon as con- 
 veniently may be, provide by law for 
 
 j the establishment of schools through- 
 out the State, in such manner that the 
 poor may be taught gratis." In the 
 Aurora, of Dec. 31, 1794, there is a 
 long article urging the establishment 
 of public seminaries of learning, sign- 
 ed " Delaware County," written by 
 Dr. William Martin, whose manuscripts 
 on the subject are before me. 
 
 In making searches among the re- 
 cords at West Chester, for the purpose 
 of endeavoring to trace the title of the 
 lot at the south-east corner of Fifth 
 and Welsh Streets, on which the an- 
 cient school-house of Chester stands, 
 my friend, Franklin A. Dick, who 
 kindly undertook to look up the title, 
 found two ancient deeds of trust on 
 record, but none other. By the deeds 
 it will appear, that previous to the erec- 
 tion of the school-house on Welsh 
 Street, two lots were donated on Front 
 Street, now Edgmont Avenue, south 
 of Fourth Street, on the east side 
 of the avenue, for school purposes, but 
 as the schools located thereon were 
 to be under the direction of trustees, 
 wlio should be in unity with the Qua- 
 kers, or for some other reason unknown, 
 no school-houses were ever erected on 
 the lots. The southern lot is now oc- 
 cupied by the dwelling of Mr. Gceltz, 
 the northern one by a carpenter shop. 
 Some years ago, upon the separation 
 of the Orthodox and Hicksite Friends 
 of Chester, these lots passed into the 
 control of the latter branch, who find- 
 ing that there was no necessity for the 
 erection of a school-house on the lots 
 under the conditions of the trusts, now 
 that the public school system was in 
 operation, they decided to sell them 
 and apply the proceeds to Swarthmore 
 College for educational purposes. An 
 Act of Assembly was accordingly ob- 
 tained, authorizing the sale of the lots, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 349 
 
 and they were afterwards disposed of 
 to Frederick J. Hinkson. 
 
 The first of t-he two deeds above re- 
 ferred to, will be found in Deed Book 
 L, P- 370, proved May 18, 1758, be- 
 fore Joseph Hoskins, Esq., Chief Bur- 
 gess of Chester, one of his Majesty's 
 Justices of the Peace, by Aubrey Se- 
 van, inn-holder, John Salkeld, of the 
 township of Chester, maltster, Jacob 
 Howel, of the Borough of Chester, 
 tanner, Thomas Cummings, cord- 
 wainer, and Thomas Morgan, tailor ;' 
 and recites conveyance to them by 
 John Baldwin, of Chester, merchant, 
 of August 25th and 26th, of "a cer- 
 tain lott or parcell of land situate in 
 the said Borough of Chester, con- 
 taining in breadth forty feet and in 
 length one hundred and twenty feet, 
 bounded Westward with Front street, 
 Northward with another lott of the 
 said John Baldwin, Eastward with the 
 lotts late of John Minshall, but now 
 of Stephen Cole, and Southward with 
 the lotts late of William Pickle, but 
 now of William Preston," &c. * * 
 "with the intent that a school-house 
 should be erected and built upon the 
 said lott in the said township of Ches- 
 ter, * * with all convenient speed 
 at the public charge of the people 
 called Quakers, in Chester, who shaH 
 cause a fair well built school-house 
 to be erected upon the said lott * * 
 which shall be for the use and service 
 of the people called Quakers in Ches- 
 ter, and others in the said township 
 forever, and in case of the removal out 
 of the township, or decease of any of 
 the said parties, the survivors shall, at 
 the request of the Members of the Pre- 
 parative Meeting for the time being at 
 Chester, make such Deed as may be 
 needful for the further Declaration of 
 the Uses, in such manner as the Mem- 
 
 bers of said Preparative Meeting or so 
 many of them as shall be approved of 
 and allowed to be employed and con- 
 cerned in the Discipline and affairs 
 of the said Meeting, may request." 
 Me77iorandmn before delivering by 
 appointment of John Baldwin. ' ' The 
 nomination of a Schoolmaster, from 
 time to time, and at all times hereafter, 
 is to be in the Members of the Prepa- 
 parative Meeting at Chester, and that 
 no other person presume to teach in 
 said school-house without such nomi- 
 nation and appointment. ' ' Date, Au- 
 gust 6, 1 73 1. Witnesses to deed, 
 Richard Barry and Aubrey Bevan. 
 
 The other deed, recorded in Deed 
 Book M, p. 13; dated Dec. 29, 1759, 
 proved 20 Jan., 1761. Witnesses, Jo- 
 seph Parker and Henry Hale Graham. 
 Before Joseph Parker one of the Jus- 
 tices of the Peace, came Henry Hale 
 Graham & Elisha Price ; Declaration 
 of Trust by Joseph Hoskins, yeoman ; 
 Daniel Sharpless, yeoman ; Joseph Ash- 
 bridge, j^eoman; Caleb Harrison, Jr., 
 yeoman; William Swaffer, saddletree 
 maker; and John Salkeld, Jr., yeo- 
 man ; and recites conveyance to them 
 by Jacob Howell and Thomas Cum- 
 mings, dated the 26th of this Dec'r, of 
 a lot in the Borough of Chester, con- 
 taining in breadth 40 feet, in length 
 1 20 feet, bounded West hy Front %\.xtQX, 
 Northward with a lot of John Baldwin, 
 but now of David Cowpland, Eastward 
 with the lots formerly of John Minshall, 
 but now of the Heirs of Stephen Cole, 
 and Southward with the lots formerly 
 of William Pickle, lately of Wm. Pres- 
 ton, but now of Dennis McLochlin. 
 * * "In trust for the inhabitants 
 of the Township of Chester, by the 
 special nomination and appointment 
 of the Preparative Meeting of the peo- 
 ple called Quakers in said township. 
 
;;5i) 
 
 iiisTOKY OF ciij:stek. 
 
 to erect a school hoiihc thcreoiT at the 
 public charge of the Quakers, for the 
 use of the Quakers and others, the in- 
 habitants of said Township, * * 
 provided always, that no School- 
 master or Tutor shall at any time here- 
 after presume to teach or instruct in 
 the said school-house, unless such Mas- 
 ter or Tutor be first allowed and ad- 
 mitted so to do, by the Members of 
 the Preparative Meeting of the said 
 people called Quakers at Chester. 
 * * * provided that neither we 
 nor any other, or our successors as 
 Trustees, who shall be declared by 
 the Members of the Monthly Meeting 
 of Chester, held at Providence Meet- 
 ing House for the time being, to be 
 out of unity with them, shall be capa- 
 ble to execute this Trust." 
 
 At the N. E. cor. of Graham Street 
 and Edgmont Avenue, stands a small 
 brick building before referred to, as 
 having been formerly the office of 
 Lieut. Waite. Nathaniel Rulon, says 
 that a Miss Palmer formerly taught an 
 " Infant School " therein, and that he 
 went to school there when quite young. 
 
 Old Front Street, now called Edg- 
 mont Avenue, is .undoubtedly the most 
 ancient thoroughfare in Chester. The 
 water courses were the highways before 
 roads were common, and this street 
 fronting the creek, was very naturally 
 called Front Street. A few years ago 
 many more old buildings stood in this 
 street than at present. The first meet- 
 ing-house of Friends, called errone- 
 ously, the "Assembly House," has 
 been torn down ; to the south of its 
 site on the west side, are still remain- 
 ing several old structures, no doubt 
 over 150 years old. Opposite them, 
 the former residence of Captain Thom- 
 as Robinson and William Graham's old 
 flwelling at theS. E. cor. of From and 
 
 Graham Sts. 'I'he old " Bake House" 
 and " (iranaries," stood on the west 
 side of old Front St., at the S. W. cor. 
 of Front and Filbert Sts., and facing 
 the creek and P>ont St. ; both these 
 buildings were erected by Jasper Yeates 
 previous to 1700. Opposite the site 
 of these old structures which have dis- 
 appeared, and on the east side of Front 
 Street, there are some houses that look 
 very antique, no doubt they were among 
 the first brick erections in Chester. 
 
 The Directory, p. 35 , says : " Fi Ibert 
 Street, and the one between it and the 
 riv-er, were laid out previous to 1690. 
 The now unknown street was eaten 
 away by the tides of the river, and 
 its site is covered by reeds and mud." 
 The deed of David Lloyd to Jasper 
 Yeates for the "Green," dated Sept. 
 22d, 1703, speaks of the unknown 
 street of the Directory as New Street, 
 which must have - occupied about the 
 position of the present Front Street. 
 Formerly all along the Pennsylvania 
 shore the land was being washed away, 
 especially at the Lazaretto ; at Tinicum 
 this is very apparent, as a stone wall 
 has been erected to protect the en- 
 croachments of the river. The Swedes' 
 Church and graveyard formerly there 
 and mentioned by Acrelius, have long 
 ago disappeared ; it is said, washed 
 away. See Ante, p. 89. 
 
 Since writing the above I came across 
 a copy of the Tnwcllers' Directory, 
 Philadelphia, 1802, p. 37, which says 
 
 " Chester, the county town, is 15 miles frohi 
 Philadelphia, and situated between two creeks, 
 Chester and Ridley, on the west side of the 
 Delaware. It was incorporated in Dec, 1795, 
 and is governed by two burgessess, one high 
 constable, one town clerk and three assistants. 
 The limits of this Borough extend two miles 
 from the shore westward. It contains a Court 
 House, a Jail, an Episcopal church, a Friends' 
 mooting house, a market house and a loni:; 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 351 
 
 brick school-house. The first dwelling house 
 in Pennsylvania was built on the site of this 
 town ; and the first Colonial Assembly for the 
 Province was convened at this place, on the 
 4th day of December, 1 682. A part of the 
 old wall of the room remains. The bed of 
 the river has been evidently diminished by 
 the marshy lands having been banked and 
 dykes cut, which have converted them into 
 rich and valuable meadows. This town is 
 much resorted to by companies from Phila- 
 delphia, in the spring and summer seasons." 
 
 All along the banks of the Delaware 
 we find large tracts of land gained from 
 the tipper cotmtry by the action of the 
 rains and the river's tide, nowhere any 
 lost ; and all as a natural consequence 
 of clearing the land of trees, which 
 has decreased the volume of water in 
 all our large streams, and by the cul- 
 tivation of the soil, large quantities of 
 which is washed by every heavy rain 
 into the streams and the river, increas- 
 ing everyday the size of the islands and 
 mud flats outside of the meadow lands 
 along the Delaware. Having passed 
 many summers in the Lehigh Valley, 
 where the hills are mostly covered with 
 forest trees, I have noticed more than 
 I would otherwise have done the ab- 
 sence of trees in the vicinity of Ches- 
 ter. It is a great mistake to keep even 
 cultivated fields so bare of shade. It 
 lets the sun bake the soil dry and hard ; 
 but worse than that, it dries up the 
 springs of water, and the small streams 
 that ought to moisten the ground and 
 quench the thirst of cattle, disappear 
 altogether. Plant trees around your 
 spring-houses. 
 
 The width of the river Delaware at 
 Chester, has been differently given by 
 several authors, whose statements have 
 been copied herein, so it may be as 
 well to state, that by McClure's sur- 
 vey, the width of the river at Chester 
 is 6,600 feet, and the mean depth is 
 
 seventeen feet six inches. Hazard'' s 
 Register, i vol. 286. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 One of the most destructive freshets 
 or floods that ever occurred in the 
 streams of Delaware County, took place 
 on the 5th of August, 1843, ^^^ "^^^^ 
 called the "Lammas Flood." It did 
 immense damage. At Chester at 
 about half-past five o'clock, P. M., it 
 rained very hard for about half an hour ; 
 but the most remarkable circumstance 
 connected with the storm, was the sud- 
 den and unexpected rise of the water 
 in all of the streams ; people said it 
 came down the creek in a wave several 
 feet high ; some said there was a suc- 
 cession of waves. At Chester the creek 
 rose a foot a minute ; some .say six feet 
 in five minutes. Its greatest height at 
 Chester was 23 feet above the usual 
 high water mark. The railroad bridge, 
 and the Chester Creek chain suspen- 
 sion bridge at Third street, were both 
 swept away.* The loss to the county 
 in bridges was about $25,000, and the 
 damage to the mills and other property 
 was estimated at $190,000, and count- 
 ing the loss to orchards, trees, &c., by 
 the wind, the total private and public 
 loss was about $250,000. See p. 38 of 
 a Pamphlet with a Map, printed in 
 1844, being a "Report of the Delaware 
 County Institute of Science on the great 
 rain storm and flood of Aug. 5, 1843." 
 There had been previous destructive 
 floods in 1795, 1822 and 1839, but 
 
 *It will be observed that I was in error at 
 page 58, in presuming that perhaps the present 
 bridge was an alteration of the bridge erected 
 in pursuance of the act of 1788. The present 
 structure was built in the fall of 1843, to take 
 the place of the one swept away by the flood, 
 causing a loss to the county of ^2,150; and it 
 has been altered from time to time to meet the 
 requirements of the growing City of Chester. 
 
352 
 
 UISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 none so severe as the one of 1843. ^^^^^ 
 pamphlet referred to was presented to 
 nie by my old friend Mark Warne of 
 Chester, who was killed by the bow- 
 sprit of a vessel coming in collision with 
 a steamboat in which he was a passen- 
 ger. At the time of the accident he 
 was standing in the steamboat's barber- 
 shop, where he was killed by the col- 
 lision. He was the brother-in-law of 
 Y. S. Walter of T/ie Delaware County 
 Republican, and was a compositor on 
 that paper. He was a Philadelphian 
 by birth, his parents then residing at 
 the N. E. cor. of 4th and Spruce Sts. 
 From the pamphlet p. 31, 1 copy the 
 account of the damage done to private 
 property by the flood, in the Borough 
 of Chester, which was considerable : 
 
 " Samuel Lytle had a fine row of Ijaskct wil- 
 lows uprooted and carried away, also his crane 
 for loading large stone from his quarries. Cap- 
 tain Pearson's wharf was partly carried away, 
 as was also that belonging to the estate of Cap' 
 tain John Hart. J. P. & W. Eyre had their 
 storehouse injured, their crane carried away, 
 and about 200 tons of coal swept from their 
 wharf. William Eyre, Jr., had his stock of 
 lumber floated off, and his new wharf greatly- 
 injured. The store of Jesse M. Eyre was badly 
 flooded. William Kerlin had his stone kitchen 
 and several out-buildings, with their contents, 
 carried away, the main building injured, and 
 the furniture in the basement destroyed. Wil- 
 liam Kerlin, Jr., had a frame house carried off 
 and entirely destroyed, as was also the slaugh- 
 ter house of William McCaffery, deceased. 
 William Brobson's tan-yard was much injured, 
 his lime house was carried off, and his loss in 
 hides and bark was veiy considerable. Wil- 
 liam Benton, who occupied the house of Wil- 
 liam Kerlin, Jr., had all his household goods, 
 dearborn, cart, &c., carried off. Mrs. Mary 
 Engle's sheds and stables, occupied by Maurice 
 W. Deshong, were much damaged. The pat- 
 tern house connected with the foundry of Jacob 
 G. Kitts, was carried away, together with nearly 
 all his whole stock of valuable patterns." 
 
 On pp. 37 and 38, is a table of indi- 
 
 vidual losses on Chester Creek and its 
 
 branches as follows: 
 
 John Edwards' estate, 
 
 James M. Willcox, . 
 
 Thomas Thatcher, . 
 
 David Green, 
 
 Humphrey Yearsley, 
 
 Joseph Pennell, 
 
 Daniel Lamott & Son, 
 
 Hannah S. Hill, . 
 
 Caleb Brinton, 
 
 Matthew Ash, 
 
 C. W. Sharpless, Esq., 
 
 Joseph M. Trimble, 
 
 Samuel F. Peters, . 
 
 James S. Tyson, . 
 
 John P. Crozer, 
 
 Samuel Riddle, 
 
 Richard S. Smith, . 
 
 George Peterson, . 
 
 John Rhoads, 
 
 James Dixon, 
 
 J. & I. P. Dutton, 
 
 Richard Flower, 
 
 William G. Flower, 
 
 Samuel Lytle, 
 
 Capt. Pearson, 
 
 William McCafferty, 
 
 Capt. John Hart, . 
 
 J. P. & W. Eyre, . 
 
 William Eyre, Jr., 
 
 Jesse M. Eyre, 
 
 William Kerlin, 
 
 William Kerlin, Jr., 
 
 Mary Engle, . 
 
 William Brobson, . 
 
 William Benton, . 
 
 Jacob G. Kitts, 
 
 Other persons. 
 
 Crops, fences, &c., 
 
 Total loss on Chester Cr., $104,775 
 
 On the 20th of July, 1824, there was 
 a violent storm of rain and hail at Ches- 
 ter ; see Hazard's Register, 1 1 vol. 
 386, and on Sunday, May 8, 1870, one 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 353 
 
 of the most destructive and violent hail 
 storms, preceded by vivid lightning 
 and heavy thunder, occurred that ever 
 visited this section of the country. It 
 took place at i^ o'clock, P. M., and 
 lasted with one slight intermission of 
 a few minutes, until after 2 o'clock. 
 Two storms, one from the southeast and 
 the other from the northwest, met each 
 other near Woodbury, in New Jersey, 
 and crossed the river in the form of a 
 whirlwind, tearing up trees, and de- 
 stroying houses and barns. It was 
 about half a mile wide, going towards 
 the northeast, crossing the City of 
 Philadelphia, from whence I observed 
 it, diagonally. In its course the storm 
 was frightful ; immense quantities of 
 hail stones fell, covering the ground ; 
 some of the largest measured six inches 
 in circumference ; I neglected to weigh 
 any of them, but my neighbors said some 
 weighed 3 and 4 ounces: the largest 
 were shaped precisely like a tomato, a 
 piece of transparent ice in the centre 
 surrounded by white balls of hail; in 
 innumerable numbers were solid white 
 balls of hail the size of boys' marbles, 
 called " white alleys. " All exposed 
 glass windows to the north and west 
 were utterly destroyed. The course of 
 the storm was not with the wind appar- 
 ently. About an hour and a half after 
 it had passed over, it returned in its 
 course, going back to the southwest, 
 accompanied with rain, but its force 
 was materially lessened. The day had 
 been' quite warm before the storm, but 
 pleasant, but no reason for such a freak 
 in the weather was apparent. The 
 damage done must have reached several 
 hundred thousand dollars. The trees 
 were stripped of their leaves and the 
 ground was covered with hail, leaves 
 and branches. No such hail storm was 
 ever experienced before in this section 
 
 of the country, within the memory of 
 any living person. On the nth of Au- 
 gust, of the same year, 1870, a heavy rain 
 storm occurred in the vicinity of Ches- 
 ter, nearly approaching in violence the 
 storm of Aug. 5, 1843. The damage 
 on the creeks of Delaware County, ex- 
 ceeded ^250,000. 
 
 From an old record book belonging 
 to Hannah Button, of Sugartown, I 
 extract the following items, viz: "A 
 curyous observation appeared of the 
 stars from about 3 to 6 o'clock in 
 the morning, 11, 13, 1833. The river 
 Delaware frozen over at Chester, with- 
 out having snow, 1, 19, 1827, and broke 
 up I, 28, 1827; broke up at Philadel- 
 phia, 2 mo. 15th. Great snow storm 
 I mo. 15 & 16, 1831. Great sleet 
 2d mo. 16 & 17, 1835. High freshet 
 in Chester Creek which took away part 
 of the bridge over the creek, 3, 5, 1838. 
 I mo. 26, 1839, the highest flood 
 in Chester Creek that we ever knew, 
 about I foot 9 inches higher than the 
 one in 1795, taking away the bridge. 
 8, 5,1843, great flood in Chester Creek ; 
 it has taken away six houses, and drown- 
 ed six people from Rockdale, taking 
 away the mill, saw-mill and barn from 
 Dutton's." 
 
 On Nov. 22, 1845, the first decisive 
 step was taken towards removing the 
 Seat of Justice from Chester to a more 
 central position in the county ; a public 
 meeting of the citizens of the county 
 being held that day, at the "Black 
 Horse" tavern, in Middletown, in pur- 
 suance of public notice, which adopted 
 a preamble and resolutions favorable 
 to the removal of the public buildings. 
 The movement was opposed by the in- 
 habitants of Chester, but it resulted in 
 the passage of an act of assembly, ap- 
 proved Mar. 3, 1847, authorizing the 
 removal, if a majority of the people of 
 
854 
 
 HISTORY OF.CHESTEK. 
 
 the count}- should approve thereof by 
 their votes at the next general election. 
 Committees were formed on both sides, 
 one to effect, the other to oppose the 
 transfer. The Committee in opposi- 
 tion were chiefly residents of Chester. 
 It was composed of John M. Broom- 
 all, Esq., John P. Crozer, Frederick 
 J. Hinkson, George W. Bartram, Jesse 
 Young, Hon. George G. Leiper, Joshua 
 P. Eyre, John K. Zeilin, Esq., John 
 Larkin, Jr., Edward Darlington, Esq., 
 Samuel Edwards, Esq., and George 
 Serrill of Darby, who issued an address 
 pointing out the disadvantages of the 
 removal, but without any effect ; for at 
 the election held Oct. 12, 1847, ^ i^"*^- 
 jority of 752 votes, decided the trans- 
 fer of the Seat of Justice, which, after 
 much opposition by injunction, &c., 
 was at last effected, and Media was 
 located and named as the new county 
 seat. Chester has grown rapidly since, 
 and has become a large and is a grow- 
 ing city. 
 
 It was alleged, feared and believed, 
 at the time of the removal of the Seat 
 of Justice to Media, that it would ruin 
 the trade, growth and prosperity of 
 Chester entirely, and that real estate 
 would become reduced to a mere nomi- 
 nal value ; but the results have not justi- 
 fied the fears of the inhabitants of the 
 town. The old jail was purchased and 
 turned into a cotton factory, under the 
 name of the "Henry Clay Mills." 
 This enterprise brought new people in- 
 to the town, and an increase of life and 
 trade. Other manufactories soon fol- 
 lowed the lead thus taken, and by a 
 series of rapid strides, Chester has be- 
 come a ])rosperous city, and is still in- 
 creasing in size and importance; and 
 as shijj building, to a great extent, has 
 become added to its other industries, it 
 bids fair to become a great manufactur- 
 
 ing town. It would be curious to know 
 the increased valueof property in Ches- 
 ter from the time of the removal of the 
 county seat, from the assessment list, 
 but I have not the material to give the 
 information. 
 
 The following sketch of an old Ches- 
 ter family of a by-gone generation, 
 some of whose descendants still cling 
 to the home of their ancestors, was fur- 
 nished me by a descendant. 
 
 "John Odenheimer, a former resi- 
 dent of ' Old Chester,' came from May- 
 ence on the Rhine to Philadelphia, prior 
 to the middle of the last century. He 
 became a dealer in flour, and lived at the 
 corner of Fifth and Market Sts., in the 
 latter city, with open grounds around 
 his house, planted with trees and shrub- 
 bery. He married Mary, daughter of 
 John Henry Keppele. On Sept. 28, 
 1 771, he bought from Joseph Mather, 
 177 acres of land in Chester, lying 
 along Ridley Creek. The deed recites 
 one of the boundaries as 'The King's 
 Highway.' Here he opened stone 
 quarries within easy reach of tidewater. 
 After the first visit of the yellow-fever to 
 Philadelphia, he became a permanent 
 resident of CHiester. His son John was 
 Sheriff of Delaware County from 1798 
 to 1801, and again from 1804 to 1807, 
 and died in 181 6. His son Henry 
 married a daughter of William Kerlin, 
 of Revolutionary note. His daughter 
 Mary married Peter Deshong, of Ches- 
 ter, and his daughter Catharine mar- 
 ried Thomas H. Brinton of Thornbury. 
 Keppele often visited his son-in-law 
 Odenheimer and his large family, at 
 Chester. The customs of their native 
 country were kept up. Hock wines 
 sent them from the Rhine, were in 
 daily use ; while a large silver punch- 
 bowl filled to the brim, with goblets 
 and ladle, stood on a table for visitors 
 
HISTORY or CII?]STEK. 
 
 355 
 
 making morning calls. Gen. Washing- 
 ton during his Presidential term, 1789 
 to 1 79 7 , was accustomed to pass through 
 Chester on his way to Congress. His 
 journeys were recollected and spoken 
 of by some of the Odenheimer family 
 up to a recent period. They were at- 
 tended with some state. A carriage 
 with four horses and outriders contain- 
 ed his family, the general followed, 
 mounted on a fine horse. He was a 
 large man, with a grave, manly counte- 
 nance, and was treated by the crowd 
 collected to see him, with almost rever- 
 ential respect. Odenheimer died in 
 Chester in 1807, above the age of four- 
 score. His wife died in 1793. Both 
 were buried in the grounds of the old 
 Lutheran church of St. Michael's, cor- 
 ner of Fifth and Cherry streets, Phila- 
 delphia. Most of his descendants be- 
 came Episcopalians. His son Henry, 
 in. Sarah, dau. of William Kerlin, and 
 died at Chester in 1794, leaving two 
 children, John W. and William Henry 
 Odenheimer. The first becaiiie a mer- 
 chant in Philadelphia, and after re- 
 tiring from business, lived at Burling- 
 ton, N. J., where he died July 4, 1876, 
 in his 87th year. He was the father 
 of the Right Reverend William H. 
 Odenheimer, Bishop of New Jersey. 
 Keppele was born near Heilbronn, 
 in Wurtemberg, in 1716. He was a 
 wine merchant in Philadelphia, and 
 lived on the south side of Market be- 
 low Third street. He had open grounds 
 around his house, planted with plum 
 and pear trees. These kinds of fruit 
 trees were very plentiful in his native 
 country. He was one of the founders 
 of St. Michael's, the mother of the 
 Lutheran Churches in Philadelphia. 
 This Church, built in 1743, was hip- 
 roofed, ornamented with glazed bricks, 
 with large doors and windows. Its 
 
 46 
 
 records reach back to 1733- The 
 Rev. Dr. Helmuth, one of its pas- 
 tors, was also a son-in-law of Keppele. 
 His other sons-in-law were Steinmetz, 
 Kuhn and Zantzinger. His grand- 
 son, Michael Keppele, became Mayor 
 of Philadelphia in 181 1. One of his 
 daughters married James C. Biddle, 
 a member of the State Constitutional 
 Convention of 1837 ; another married 
 the late Hon. William M. Meredith, 
 the distinguished lawyer, and late 
 Secretary of the U. S. Treasury, who 
 died in 1873, while presiding over the 
 Constitutional Convention. 
 
 Mary Deshong died at Chester, Dec. 
 29, 1869, in the 90th year of her age, 
 preceding by a year her friends Mrs. 
 Anderson and Mrs. Engle, who at- 
 tained a still greater age. These three 
 ladies were born in Chester, or near it, 
 and became its "oldest inhabitants," 
 and were the links between the present 
 and a remote Chester generation, noted 
 for its amiable manners and warm- 
 hearted hospitality. 
 
 The present representative of John 
 Odenheimer at Chester, is John Oden- 
 heimer Deshong, whose ample domain 
 includes his grandfather's quarries. 
 Twenty acres of the old Odenheimer 
 farm are the site of Col. Hyatt's Mili- 
 tary Acadamy. " 
 
 John O. Deshong does not own any 
 part of the old Odenheimer farm, call- 
 ed "Ridley," late the property of 
 Spencer Mcllvain, that I am aware of. 
 His quarries are on Crum Creek, called 
 " The Island Field," late the property 
 of John F. Hill, deceased. It will be 
 noticed that in old times nearly each 
 plantation had its distinctive name. I 
 like the idea very much ; it is an old 
 English custom. The property which 
 Mr. Odenheimer purchased of Joseph 
 Mather, is thus described in an adver- 
 
356 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 tist'iiiciit which will ])e found in the 
 Piiinsylvania Gazetteer of Sept. 7, 
 1769, as follows: "To be Lett or 
 Sold. — A valuable Plantation, well- 
 known by the name of Ridley, being 
 so called from its situation on Ridley 
 Creek, a mile distant from the town of 
 Chester, and divided by the public road 
 leading from thence to Philadelphia. 
 The western part or division contains 
 1 30 acres, one half cleared, and the other 
 half well timbered. Eastward of the 
 public road aforesaid, there are about 
 50 acres of extraordinary upland and 
 marsh meadow, w'hereon are erected a 
 dwelling house, spring-house, barn and 
 stable." 
 
 The improvements mentioned are 
 not there now. They were small affairs. 
 The spring-house and barn were de- 
 molished by falling stones from heavy 
 blasts. The old quarry hole first work- 
 ed by Odenheimer, is now full of water, 
 and excellent cat-fish, sun-fish and eels 
 can be caught there. The piece of 
 ' 'extraordinary upland" was celebrated 
 once for the immense quantities of 
 mushrooms that grew there. It was 
 then, say 25 years ago, used as a pastur- 
 age for cattle, and still retains evidences 
 of its being all Mr. Mather claims for 
 it, as good land. After the death of 
 John Odenheimer, (the younger), the 
 Sheriff, his heirs sold the estate called 
 "Ridley," to Jeremiah Mcllvain. 
 
 The following is an extract of the 
 brief of title made on the occasion of 
 the recent sale of the property called 
 by Mr. Mather, " Ridley," by Spencer 
 Mcllvain to William Simpson of Mana- 
 yunk : 
 
 "1771, Sept. 28, Deed of Joseph 
 Mather in fee for 177 acres, situate in 
 the Borough of Chester, &c., called 
 'Messuage, Tenement, Plantation & 
 Tract of Land,' ack'd Oct. i, 1771, 
 
 recorded June 9, 1868, deed book W, 
 No. 2, page 27, &c. 
 
 "Recited in next Deed Poll, John 
 Odenheimer, Sr., lately died intestate, 
 seized of same, leaving issue seven chil- 
 dren to survive him. 
 
 "1808, Mar. 7, deed, Margaretta 
 Kerlin, Thomas H. Brinton, Catharine 
 G., his wife, Keppele Odenheimer, 
 Peter Deshong, Mary his wife, and Wil- 
 liam Odenheimer, to their brother John 
 Odenheimer in fee for same. 
 
 "Recited— The said John Oden- 
 heimer, (the younger), died intestate, 
 and the same descended and vested 
 equally among his legal representatives 
 to wit : His brother William Oden- 
 heimer, his nephew John Odenheimer, 
 and his three sisters, Margaret Kerlin, 
 Catharine G. Brinton and Mary De- 
 shong. 
 
 " 181 7, May 8, deed, William Oden- 
 heimer, John Odenheimer, and Hen- 
 rietta his wife; Margaretta Kerlin, 
 widows Thomas H. Brinton, Catharine 
 G. his wife, Peter Deshong and Mary 
 his wnfe, to Jeremiah Mcllvain for 
 the same; recorded in deed book M, 
 page 712, &c. 
 
 "As to the Bull-Cod, 1844, June 8, 
 deed Robert P. Crosby, Charles W. 
 Raborg and Catharine his wife, Isaac 
 E. Engle and Sarah Ann his wife, and 
 Mary Crosby to Spencer Mcllvain, re- 
 corded in deed book N, p. 306." 
 
 The above was kindly furnished me 
 by Edw. C. Diehl, Esq., son-in-law of 
 Spencer Mcllvain. Mr. Diehl is the 
 descendant of a former well-known 
 resident of Tinicum, an active and 
 intelligent man of business in his day, 
 Nicholas Diehl, a German, the owner 
 of a considerable tract of land in the 
 vicinity of the Lazaretto. He was the 
 g. grandfather of Thomas J. and Ed- 
 ward C. Diehl, Escjs., both members 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 357 
 
 of the Philadelphia Bar. Nicholas 
 Diehl lived in the fine old country man- 
 sion adjacent to the Lazaretto station, 
 on the west side of the old line of the 
 Philadelphia, Wilmington and Balti- 
 more Railroad. His son Thomas Diehl, 
 was a tea merchant at Front and Chest- 
 nut streets, Philadelphia, and his son 
 William J. Diehl, was the father of Ed- 
 ward C. and Thomas J. Nicholas 
 Diehl died in 1828, at an extreme old 
 age. 
 
 In this connection, Aubrey H. Smith, 
 Esq., says: His grandfather William, 
 lived near the Lazaretto, in a big house 
 built of white cedar or cypress logs, 
 but removed to the present stone 
 mansion-house before the Revolution, 
 where the family were much annoyed 
 by foraging parties from the British 
 men-of-war lying in the river ; and that 
 Gov. Printz's house, the Swedish 
 church and grave-yard, were just east 
 of the old tavern that stands on the 
 bluff below the Lazaretto. Mr. Mil- 
 ler's house is given as the former site 
 of Printz Hall. The grave-yard has 
 undoubtedly been washed away by the 
 encroachments of the river. When 
 his father, Thos. Smith, late member 
 of Congress, was a boy, he and his lit- 
 tle sister were wandering along the 
 beach in front of the bluff, which was 
 then sandy, and seeing an old piece of 
 decayed wood sticking out of the bluff, 
 he, child-like, drew it out of the soft 
 soil, when down at their feet rolled a 
 scull, scaring them so that they did not 
 stop running until safe at home. Al- 
 though tradition fixes the site of Printz 
 Hall on the bluff yet remaining, Mr. 
 Smith thinks its site and the church's 
 also, have been washed away. The 
 bluff is now protected by a stone wall. 
 
 In front of the old log house where 
 liis grandfather resided, there was a 
 
 wharf for boats. One night a boat's 
 crew from a British ship landed there, 
 and leaving a soldier to stand guard 
 over the boat, the rest went out on a 
 marauding expedition into the coun- 
 try, but were chased back to their boat 
 by the country people, and the sentinel 
 was shot. His ghost on the night of 
 the anniversary of his being killed, yet 
 walks post over an imaginary boat at the 
 landing dressed in Hessian uniform as 
 of old, with his musket at a carry. If 
 I knew the precise date of this annual 
 visitation, I would give it, so my readers 
 could go and see him at his next ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 Peter and Mary O. Deshong, of 
 Chester, had issue, John O., Maurice 
 W. and Louisa only, I believe. John 
 O. Deshong, married Emeline, daugh- 
 ter of Dr. Job H. Terrill, and has the 
 following children : Albert, John O., 
 Jr., Clarence, Mary and Louisa. John 
 O. Deshong purchased the place on 
 Chester Creek, on Edgmont Avenue, 
 formerly owned by Dr. William Gray, 
 and erected upon it the fine residence 
 in which he now lives. The house is 
 hidden from view by a heavy grove 
 of trees planted around it. Maurice 
 W. Deshong married, and had issue, 
 Maurice W., Jr., Rachel, Emma and 
 Henry O. Deshong. The Deshong' s 
 are of French descent, and the proper 
 name of Peter, the grandfather, of Re- 
 volutionary note in Philadelphia, was 
 Pierre Deshong. There are descen- 
 dants of Peter living in Wilkes-Barre, 
 although they do not bear the name. 
 
 The writer of the sketch of the Oden- 
 heimer family says further: "My au- 
 thority for saying there were plum trees 
 on old Mr. Keppele's ground, was 
 Major Westcott, of Philadelphia, who 
 was old enough to recollect when Con- 
 gress sat in that city, and saw Washing- 
 
358 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 ton, Franklin, Jefferson and others 
 there. Westcott was a captain in the 
 French war, as it was termed, during 
 the administration of the first Adams, 
 in 1798. He was complicated with 
 the Burr movement to conquer Mexico 
 and detach a part of the Union, and 
 set up a new Empire. He has been 
 dead many years. He told me he clam- 
 bered over a brick wall to get at the 
 old German's plums, when he was a 
 boy. He never admitted that Aaron 
 Burr's projectshad any treason in them, 
 or anything wrong." 
 
 The following interesting sketch is 
 from the pen of a former lady resident 
 of Chester : " The Washington Hotel 
 was owned and kept by William Ker- 
 lin, and was one of the most prominent 
 stage houses between Philadelphia and 
 Baltimore. William Kerlin and his 
 brother Matthias, were the sole pro- 
 prietors and owners of the hotel pro- 
 perty, and the property upon which 
 the Court House stood, and the whole 
 block around it, and which was sold to 
 the county for a small sum to secure 
 the Court House or Seat of Justice 
 against removal, the proviso or con- 
 ditions being, that should the seat of 
 justice be removed from Chester, the 
 property was to revert to the heirs, but 
 by some error this condition was omit- 
 ted in the deed, and the family have 
 been deprived of their just rights. The 
 Messrs. Kerlin were among the most 
 wealthy citizens. The Washington 
 Hotel and the Columbia Hotel owned 
 by Capt. Wm. iVnderson, the successor 
 to Mrs. Withey, had the largest share 
 of custom, especially on Sundays, they 
 being the resort of the most fashiona- 
 ble people from Philadelphia, when 
 hundreds of carriages filled every ave- 
 nue about the two hotels. General 
 Washington made his home at Mr. 
 
 Kerlin's in i)assing through Chester, 
 and the mahogany chairs used by him 
 and always kept in his room, are in the 
 family and kept as sacred relics. Mr. 
 Kerlin's g. grand-son, Bishop Oden- 
 heimer of New Jersey, son of John W. 
 Odenheimer, has one of the arm chairs. 
 John K. Zeilin and his son J. Henry 
 Zeilin, another g. grand-son, each have 
 one.* 
 
 Mr. Kerlin's daughter Sarah's first 
 husband was Henry Odenheimer. Her 
 brother George, married Margaretta 
 Odenheimer, her husband's sister. 
 Mrs. Sarah Odenheimer, daughter of 
 William Kerlin, had two sons, John 
 W. Odenheimer, before referred to, 
 and William Henry Odenheimer, ap- 
 pointed a midshipman in the U. S. 
 Navy through Commodore Truxton's 
 influence, a very intimate friend of 
 his parents. He was with Commo- 
 dore David Porter on board the Essex, 
 in the war of 181 2, at the battle of 
 Valparaiso, and for his bravery and 
 heroic conduct was promoted to a Lieu- 
 tenancy. He was stationed on board 
 the Franklin, seventy-four gun ship, 
 after the war, and lost his life in 1815, 
 being but 23 years old, from a severe 
 cold caught by jumping overboard to 
 save the life of the steward who was 
 near drowning. He was buried at 
 St. Michael's with military honors. 
 He narrowly escaped being taken 
 prisoner by the English, when they 
 boarded the Essex, being one of the 
 last of the officers to leave the ship, 
 and did so by jumping overboard and 
 swimming to shore, having been fired 
 at several times whilst in the water. 
 His mother married Mr. Joseph Pi- 
 
 * Mr. Matthias Kerlin's son John, was in 
 the Senate of Pennsylvania for eight years. 
 The handsome property, afterwards sold to 
 John O. Deshong, was left to his son, Abra- 
 ham Kerlin, hv his father, William Kerlin. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 359 
 
 per, an ofificer in the Customs for some 
 years in Philadelphia, under General 
 Steele. She was remarkable for her 
 fine form and elegant horsemanship. 
 Mr. Piper seeing her on horseback fell 
 in love with her. By Mr. Piper she 
 had three sons, George W., Augustus 
 and Ferdinand, and two daughters, 
 Caroline and Louisa. See Ante, 269. 
 Joseph Piper resigned his office in the 
 customs, to take possession of the Wash- 
 ington Hotel, in which he continued 
 until his death. Isaac Darlington, Pre- 
 sident Judge of the District, made his 
 home at the Washington Hotel during 
 the sitting of the Court, every three 
 months. He was a cousin of Mrs. Pi^ 
 per. The widow continued the busi- 
 ness for some years ; then rented the 
 tavern to Evans S. Way, and afterwards 
 to Samuel A. Price, who continued to 
 keep the house until after her death. 
 It was then sold by her executors at a 
 great sacrifice, to the temperance peo- 
 ple, and afterwards to Thomas Clyde, 
 and to several others since. But little 
 trace of the old mansion as it was, is 
 seen — it is greatly changed." 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 In the winter of 1834-5, a few gen- 
 tlemen of Delaware County met in a 
 small frame store, on the old post-road 
 leading to Chester, situated on the 
 west side of Ridley Creek, north of the 
 road and on the banks of the creek, 
 which Avas then occupied by Jonathan 
 P. Newlin as a country store, and 
 owned by Spencer Mcllvain. The 
 company consisted of William Martin, 
 Spencer Mcllvain, John L. Crosby 
 and Mr. Newlin — and there they dis- 
 cussed the necessity for, and agreed 
 to form an Insurance Company, and 
 Mr. Martin, who was a lawyer, drew 
 
 up a charter, which was by an Act of 
 Assembly of the Commonwealth of 
 Pennsylvania, approved Apl. 10, 1835, 
 and the following gentlemen named 
 therein as commissioners for receiving 
 subscriptions to the stock of the Com- 
 pany^ to be called "The Delaware 
 County Insurance Company," viz. : 
 
 Joseph Engle, 
 William Martin, 
 Spencer Mcllvaii 
 John P. Crozier, 
 
 George F. Lehman, 
 Samuel T. Walker, 
 Samuel A. Price, 
 Archibald T. Dick, 
 
 Joseph Ml G. Lescure, Joshua P. Eyre, 
 
 George Serrill, George Miller, 
 
 Oborn Levis, Enos Painter, 
 
 James ISL Willcox, John Lindsay, 
 
 John L. Crosby, Henry Myers, 
 
 Peirce Crosby, Jonathan P. Worrall, 
 
 George G. Leiper, John O. Deshong, 
 
 Thomas Smith, Esq., John Sellers, Jr., 
 
 Joseph Gibbons, John P. James, 
 
 H. Jones Brooke, Thomas Clyde, 
 
 Edward Siter, Jonathan P. Newlin, 
 
 John Richards, Charles D. Manley, 
 
 William Amies, James Sill, 
 
 John P. Griffith, Preston Eyre, 
 
 Dennis Kelly, John G. Johnson, 
 
 George W. Hill, William Vanleer, 
 
 Joseph W. Smith, John K. Zeilin, 
 
 John L. Pearson, John Aitken, 
 
 Daniel Lamott, Robert E. Hannum, 
 
 John Afflick, Esq., Edward Garrett, 
 
 John Bancroft, Isaac Trimble, 
 
 Caleb Churchman, Nathaniel W. Cowgill, 
 
 John Edwards, Henry Lawrence. 
 
 Subscriptions to the stock were taken 
 at the public house of Isaac Hall, in 
 Nether Providence. Mr. Thomas E. 
 Ashmead says, that so sanguine were 
 the citizens of Delaware County of the 
 success of the new company, that on 
 the day of taking the subscriptions to 
 the stock, a large crowd of gentlemen 
 assembled and absolutely fought their 
 way into the Commissioners' room, in 
 their anxiety to obtain the stock ; and 
 that he was one of the number. 
 
 From the first minute book of the 
 Company I extract the following infor- 
 mation : The first Board of Directors of 
 the Company (who were elected at a 
 meeting of. the stockholders on July 
 23, 1835,) met at the house of John 
 J. Thurlow, in Chester, on the 27th of 
 
;6o 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 the same month, all the Directors be- 
 ing present, viz. : John P. Crozier, 
 Joshua P. Eyre, John L. Crosby, 
 Archibald T. Dick, Samuel M. Lei- 
 per, Charles Kelly, David Trainer, 
 George Serrill and John Bancroft. 
 The meeting having been called to 
 order, George Serrill was called to the 
 chair, and Joshua P. Eyre appointed 
 Secretary. After reading the charter, 
 and the other usual formalities, the 
 Company was duly organized by the 
 election of George Serrill as President, 
 and William Martin as Secretary. 
 
 The first office occupied for the busi- 
 ness of the Company at Chester, was 
 the double dwelling at the N. E. cor- 
 ner of Market and Third Streets, the 
 office being in the northern room of 
 the first floor, and the Secretary's fam- 
 ily occupying the rest of the building. 
 The office was a year or so afterwards 
 removed to the " Stacey Mansion," 
 on Main Street. From there the office 
 was removed to Walnut Street, east of 
 Second Street, Philadelphia, afterwards 
 to the S. E. corner of Third and Dock 
 Streets, then to the N. W. corner room 
 of the Merchants' Exchange, where it 
 remained until the completion of the 
 Company's handsome four-storied red 
 sand-stone building, at the S. E. cor- 
 ner of Third and Walnut Streets, in 
 which they commenced business on 
 April 12, 1855. 
 
 The Company went into operation 
 in the fall of 1835, as will appear by 
 the following copy of an advertisement 
 taken from the files of the Upland 
 Union ^ viz. : 
 
 "Thk Delaware County Insurance 
 Company. Capital authorized by law $100,- 
 000, with the privilege of increasing the same 
 to S250,CK)0. Charter perpetual. The pub- 
 lic are respectfully informed, that the 'Dela- 
 ware County Insurance Comjiany' are now 
 
 prepared to make Insurance, either perma- 
 nent or limited, on houses, barns and produce 
 therein, stores, mills, buildings, factories, ma- 
 chinery, goods, wares and merchandize, and 
 on property generally of every description, 
 against damage or loss by Firk, on terms as 
 favorable to the assured as any similar insti- 
 tution. 
 
 Persons wishing to insure their property, or 
 wanting information on the subject of insur- 
 ance, will apply to the following agents of the 
 Company, who are authorized to survey pro- 
 perty intended to be insured : Henry Myers, 
 Esq., Concord; John Aitken, Esq.,Edgmont; 
 William Eves, Providence; John Richards, 
 Upper Darby ; Peter A. Gamble, Chichester, 
 or to the Secretary, at the office of the Com- 
 pany, in the Borough of Chester. 
 
 William Martin, Secretary. 
 George Serrill, President. 
 Chester, Sept. 24, 1835." 
 
 In 1838, the Directors and Stock- 
 holders of the Company resolved to 
 remove the principal office for busi- 
 ness, to Philadelphia, leaving only an 
 agency at Chester. Having but a 
 limited capital, it was resolved upon, 
 soon after the removal, to adopt the 
 mutual plan of doing business, with a 
 guaranteed capital. Accordingly an 
 Act of Assembly was sought for and 
 obtained, March 17, 1843, with the 
 desired privileges, and changing the 
 name of the corporation to that of the 
 "Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance 
 Company," under which name it has 
 been eminently successful, and is now 
 among the most prosperous institutions 
 of the kind in the United States. 
 
 The officers of the institution since 
 its inception have been as follows : 
 
 Name. 
 
 George Serrill, 
 William Eyre, Jr., 
 William Martin, 
 Thomas C. Hand, 
 
 Date of Election. 
 
 July 27, 1835. 
 Sept. 5, 1842. 
 Jan. 3, 1844. 
 Oct. 30, 1862. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 561 
 
 VICE-PRESIDENTS. 
 
 William Eyre, Jr., 
 George Serrill, 
 Thoma.s C. Hand, 
 John C. Davis, 
 
 SECRETARIES. 
 
 William Martin, 
 William D. Sherrerd, 
 Richard S. Newbold, 
 Joseph W. Cowan, 
 Henry Lylburn, 
 
 Sept. 3, 1844. 
 Jan. 7, 1846. 
 Oct. g, 1850. 
 Oct. 30, 1862. 
 
 July 27, 1835, 
 Jan. 3, 1844, 
 Feb. 5, 1846, 
 Oct. 9, 1850 
 Jan. 7, 1854, 
 
 ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 
 
 Henry Ball, Mar. 13, 1867. 
 
 I give here a list of the names of all 
 gentlemen who have served as Direc- 
 tors of the Company since its organ- 
 ization; among them will be found 
 many Delaware County men of note 
 and standing in their day and genera- 
 tion. 
 
 Directors. 
 
 Natne. Date of election. Expiration term, 
 
 John P. Crozier, July 23, 1835. Sept. 7, 1840 
 
 Joshua P. Eyre, " " d. April i, 1872 
 
 John L. Crosby, " " Sept. 2, 1839 
 
 Sept. 5, 1837 
 
 Sept. 7, 1840. 
 
 d. Mar. 27, 1864 
 
 Sept. 6, 1836 
 
 Sept. 30, 1850 
 
 Sept. 6. 1836 
 
 Sept. 5, 1837 
 
 Sept. 3, 1838 
 
 Archibald T. Dick, 
 
 Samuel M. Leiper, " 
 
 Charles Kelly, 
 
 David Trainer, " 
 
 George Serrill, " 
 
 John Bancroft, " 
 
 Stephen Baldwin, Sept. 6, 
 
 John Knox, " 
 
 John Kerlin, Sept. 5, 1837. Sept. 3, 1838 
 
 Davis B. Stacey, " " Feb'y 7, 1849 
 
 Samuel Edwards, Sept. 3, 1838. Jan'y 5, 1861, 
 
 Sampson Tarns, " " Sept. 2, 1839 
 
 John H. Deihl, 
 
 Henry Lawrence, Sept. 2, 1839. J^'i'v 5, 1848, 
 
 William Folwell, " " Jan'y 3, 1853 
 
 Joseph H. Seal, " " </. Mayig, 1875, 
 
 George G. Leiper, Sept. 7, 1840. (/. Nov. 17, i868 
 
 William Eyre, Jr., " " d. March, i863 
 
 John Cochran, " " Jan'y i, 1844 
 
 John S. Newlin, Sept. 5, 1842. d. May — , 1852 
 
 Edward Darlington, " " Present inevi 
 
 John Hinkson, " " d. August, 1844 
 
 Jonathan Thomas, " " Jan'y 5, 1846 
 
 J. Gifford Johnson, Apl. 29, 1843. Jan'y 4, 1B58 
 
 William Hay, " " Jan'y 7, 1850, 
 
 John Garrett, " " Jan'y i, 1849, 
 
 Edmund A. Souder, " " d. , 1873. 
 
 Theophilus Paulding, " " d. Jan. 25, 18)0 
 
 Hugh Craig, " " Presetit mem. 
 
 John C. Davis, " " d. Nov. 26, 1873 
 
 Thomas Cave, " " Jan'y 5, 1846 
 
 James C. Hand, " " Present mem 
 
 Peter A. Keyser, Ap'l 29, 1843. Jan'y 7, 1843. 
 
 Dr. Robt. M. Huston, " " <•/. Aug. 3, 1864. 
 
 John McKeever, Jr., " " Jan'y i, 1844- 
 
 Dr. George Smith, June 7, 1843. July 5, 1843. 
 
 John H. Andrews, " " Jan'y i, 1844. 
 
 John R. Penrose, Jan. i, 1844. rf. Sept. 11, 1869. 
 
 Robert Burton, '• " d. ,1854. 
 
 H. Jones Brooke, " " d. Dec. 19, 1876. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Thomas, Sept. 4, 1844, Jan'y i, 1849. 
 
 John Sellers, Jr., Jan. 5, 1846. Jan'y 7,1850. 
 
 Spencer INIcIlvain, " " Present incm. 
 
 Isaac R. Davis, " " Jan'y 2, 1854. 
 
 Henry Sloan, Jan. i, 1849. rf. Oct. 19, 1872. 
 
 D. T. Morgan,* June 6, 1849. Present mem. 
 
 J. T. Logan,* " " Jan'y 2, i860. 
 
 William Bagaley,* " " Jan'y 6, 1851. 
 
 Samuel E. Stokes, Jan. 7, 1850. Present mem. 
 
 James Traquair, " " " " 
 
 William Martin, " " rf. Oct. 16,1862. 
 
 Joshua L. Price, Jan. 5, 1851. Jan'y 4, 1858. 
 
 James Tennant, " " " " 
 
 Joseph S. Burnett, " " Jan'y 2, 1854. 
 
 James B. McFarland, Jan. 3, 1853. Present mem. 
 William C. Ludwig, 
 
 James B. Semple,* Jan. 11, 1854. d. Mar. 24, 1873. 
 
 Charles Schaffer, " " Jan'y 7,1856. 
 
 Robert Burton, Jr., Jan. i, 1855. d. Apl. 11, 1866. 
 
 Thomas C. Hand, Jan. 7, 1856. Present mem. 
 
 John F. Peniston, Jan. 4, 1858. d. Sept. 21,1866. 
 
 Jacob P. Jones, " " Present inem. 
 
 A. B. Berger,* Jan. 2, i860, " 
 WiUiam G. Boulton, Jan. 5, 1863. 
 
 Henry C. Dallet, Jr., " " Jan'y 6, 1873. 
 
 John D. Taylor, Jan. 5, 1865. Present mem. 
 
 Ed. Lafourcade, Jan. 2, 1865. " " 
 
 Jacob Riegel, Jan. 7, 1867. " " 
 
 Geo. W. Bernadou, " " " " 
 
 Wm. C. Houston, Jan. 4, 1869. " " 
 
 H. Frank Robinson, Jan. 3, 1870. " " 
 
 Thos. P. Stotesbury, Jan. 2,1871. " " 
 
 Henry P. Sloan, Jan. 6, 1873. " " 
 
 Jno. H. Michener, " " " " 
 
 Jno. H. Catherwood, " " " " 
 
 Andrew Wheeler, Jan. 5, 1874. " " 
 William S. Bissell,* 
 
 N. Parker Shortridge, << << << << 
 
 Thomas Clyde, Dec. 8, 1875. " " 
 
 The long period of service which 
 many gentlemen have given, of time 
 valuable to active business men, led the 
 Board of Directors some years since to 
 institute as commemorative of twenty- 
 five years service, 2^ Resolution, that af- 
 ter a Director had served for a period 
 of twenty-five consecutive years, his 
 portrait should be painted and hung 
 in the Directors' room of the Com- 
 pany ; and in pursuance thereof, por- 
 traits of several gentlemen who have 
 served the allotted term, painted by 
 
 * Residents nf Pittshura;. Pa. 
 
:ui: 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 theeminciu Artist, ^VAU(;n, now grace 
 the walls of the institution. 
 
 Edward Darlington, Esq., was coun- 
 sel of the Company before its removal 
 from Chester. Since my admission to 
 the Bar in 1844, I (the Author) have 
 been Solicitor for the Company, at first 
 as junior, to the late distinguished ad- 
 vocate, Ferdinand W. Hubbell, Esq., 
 the great maritime lawyer of his day in 
 Philadelphia, a worthy successor of the 
 venerable Horace Binney, who became 
 so celebrated as an adviser in mercan- 
 tile and insurance matters. 
 
 After Mr. Hubbell's death, the Di- 
 rectors associated Mr. George M. 
 Wharton, an amiable gentleman and 
 an able advocate with me as senior 
 counsel ; and since Mr. Wharton's 
 death, the President and Directors of 
 the Company have retained me as their 
 advising counsel, a mark of confidence 
 of w^hich I feel justly proud. 
 
 This Company does a fire, marine 
 and inland business of insurance, at 
 rates of premium fixed by the Boards 
 of Fire and Marine Underwriters ; in 
 this respect not differing from other 
 companies in its mode of transacting 
 business. Its peculiar features exist 
 in its method of dividing its yearly 
 profits, if any. Although it has a stock 
 capital of $360,000, the stockholders 
 do not receive all the profits made, 
 but a large proportion thereof goes to 
 its customers, who are styled in the 
 charter insured members. 
 
 The yearly profit is thus divided : — 
 After paying the stockholders eight 
 per cent, out of the profit, the remain- 
 der is divided //v rata among the in- 
 sured members, in the proportion that 
 the premiums paid by each on risks 
 determined during the year, bears to 
 the i)r()fit to be divided. That is, if 
 so much total jiremiums make a jjrofit 
 
 of a given sinii, what will eacli insured 
 members' premium receive? But when 
 these amounts are arrived at, no insur- 
 ed member receives a profit, unless his 
 proportion reaches the sum of $25 ; all 
 sums less than that amount go into the 
 surplus fund of the Company to meet 
 losses, &c. The amounts due to in- 
 sured members are not paid in cash, 
 but in certificates, called scrip certi- 
 ficates, which bear six per cent, inter- 
 est per annum, and may be redeemed 
 by the Company at any time w^hen the 
 net profitsexceed the sum of $250,000. 
 By a provision in the charter, it is 
 agreed, that when the business of the 
 Company gives the insured members 
 a profit of twenty-five per cent, or 
 over, the stockholders may receive ten 
 per cent, dividend. 
 
 The scrip certificates issued to the 
 insured members, therefore represent 
 a reserved fund of the corporation, 
 formed out of its yearly profits ; and 
 at any time before its redemption, is 
 liable for any losses that the Company 
 might sustain, that would impair that 
 scrip fund ; and for this purpose the 
 Directors are authorized by the charter 
 to call in the scrip certificates and re- 
 duce the same to an amount sufficient 
 to cover its losses, if they cannot be 
 paid out of the profits of the Company, 
 an event which has never yet occurred 
 in the history of the Company. It 
 will be observed from the above state- 
 ment, that each year's business stands 
 alone, else the interest of the insured 
 members could not be properly pro- 
 tected. 
 
 By this mode of doing business, the 
 capital of the Company is always held 
 as a reserved fimd, to be used only in 
 payment of losses, after all other means 
 (including the scrip fund) are exhaust- 
 ed, and the more scrip the corporation 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 )ion 
 
 has out in the hands of her insured 
 members, the larger is the protection 
 offered to customers and stockholders. 
 
 The Fire business is cash. The Ma- 
 rine transactions are principally upon 
 open policies of insurance upon vessels 
 and cargoes, and is a credit business, 
 payable by note, or if in cash, with a 
 legal discount for pre-payment. 
 
 The "Delaware Mutual," as the 
 Company is familiarly called by those 
 doing business with it ; has passed with 
 safety through vicissitudes of an exten- 
 sive fire, marine and inland business, 
 and several great fires, in which it 
 covered large risks. In the great fire 
 in Pittsburg in 1845, ^^^ Company 
 had heavy insurances, and the prompt 
 payment of all its losses there, gained 
 for it a reputation in the West, that 
 finally led to the establishment of a 
 branch ofifice in that city, at which 
 Mr. Peter A. Madeira, has represented 
 theCompanyas their Agent since 1849. 
 Three Directors reside in Pittsburg, 
 and the Company own their office 
 building. No. 68 Fourth Avenue, the 
 business centre of that city. 
 
 The Delaware, unlike most other in- 
 surance companies, has very few agen- 
 cies, and those they have are in charge 
 of careful and experienced men, tho- 
 roughly conversant with their business. 
 At Cincinnati, Mr. Charles Bonsall, 
 the descendant of a Delaware County 
 family, is the agent. At Boston, Col. 
 William Vincent Hatchings, who serv- 
 ed in the Federal Union army during 
 the late war, has been for over twenty 
 years the agent of the Company in that 
 ancient city. 
 
 Col. Hutchings is a native of Glou- 
 cester city, the great fishing port of 
 Massachusetts, off which the celebrat- 
 ed sea-fight between H. B. M. ship 
 "Shannon," and the American ship 
 
 "Chesapeake," Capt. Lawrence, took 
 place. The scene of the fight is call- 
 ed "Dead Man's Shoals," I believe. 
 I passed a pleasant day there once with 
 Mr. Hand, Mr. Hutchings, and some 
 other gentlemen, cod fishing. 
 
 After the death of my father, Wil- 
 liam Martin, the late President of the 
 Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance 
 Companv, gratifying resolutions of 
 esteem and respect were passed by 
 the Board of Directors, which appear- 
 ed in the local journals of the day, 
 and are inserted in the family history, 
 at page 332. These resolutions were 
 prepared by his associate, Mr. Thomas 
 C. Hand, the then Vice-President of 
 the Company. 
 
 As William Martin was born in the 
 town of Chester, and passed over forty 
 years of his life either there or in its 
 vicinity, and his remains lie with those 
 of his parents and ancestors in the old 
 graveyard of St. Paul's, it may be in- 
 teresting to his friends and relatives 
 to know in what estimation he was 
 held in the city, in which his business 
 led him to reside during the latter 
 years of his life ; for this purpose I 
 insert here an obituary from the F/uV- 
 adelphia Commercial List, no doubt 
 written by its able editor, Stephen N. 
 Winslow, (premising it with the re- 
 mark, that Mr. Martin during his city 
 life, had always an intense longing 
 and desire for the country life of his 
 younger days. ) 
 
 " It is with extreme regret that we announce 
 the decease of William Martin, Esq., the Pre- 
 sident of the Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance 
 Company. It took place on Thursday even- 
 ing, Oct. 16, 1862. He was in the sixty-sixth 
 year of a life which had been marked through- 
 out its entire length, by honors won by his own 
 steadfast integrity, by his zeal and energy, and 
 by the bright and honorable confidence yield- 
 ed him by the public and by those whose dis- 
 
aG4 
 
 IlISTOllY OF CHESTER. 
 
 tiiKliiin il was to l)e his friciuls. Siicli a life 
 JLavo, at its scttiiiij, a ])atli\vay of radiance 
 and beauty, siicli as the sun's decline throws 
 forth on these mellow anil lieautiful evenings 
 of autumn, and we wish we could impress 
 upon every one our feelings of the nobility of 
 just such a career as that now ended. The 
 business life of William Martin l)egan amid 
 ilifficulties and uncertainties such as beset the 
 wisest, greatest and best of men ; but his abil- 
 ities soon made their mark, and at his dealh 
 all that is good and generous centres around 
 his grave. To prove the truthfulness of our 
 eulogy, let us give a sketch of his career, with 
 a brief notice of the principal positions of 
 honor and trust which he enjoyed. 
 
 "William Martin, Esq., was the son of Dr. 
 Wm. Martin and Eleanor Crosby his wife. 
 He was born at Chester, Pa., Sept. 17, 1797, 
 and admitted to the Bar of Delaware County 
 in 1821. He married, at St. Peter's Church, 
 Jan. 4, 1821, Miss Sarah Ann Smith, youngest 
 daughter of Wm. Smith, Jr., merchant of Phil- 
 adelphia. In a record left by himself he says : 
 ' At the request of my grandfather, Judge John 
 Crosby, I commenced the study of law with 
 Wm. Graham, at Chester, May 5, 1819, and 
 was admitted to practice at the July term, 
 1 82 1.' He was also Captain of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Artillerists of Chester. His commission 
 is dated May 28, 1825, and the document is 
 now in the possession of the family. He was 
 elected a member of the Legislature of the 
 State in 1827 and 1828. He was a Vestry- 
 man of St. Paul's Church, Chester. He was 
 appointed a Director of the Public Schools of 
 Delaware County, and a Justice of the Peace 
 of that county, and his commission by (iov. 
 Ritner, is dated June 10, 1836. 
 
 " In 1835, he was elected the Secretary of 
 the Delaware County Insurance Coinpany, and 
 removed to Philadelphia with the office of the 
 Company in the fall of 1838. In 1844, he 
 became the President of the Company, the 
 name of which was changed to that of the 
 Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance Company. 
 He was a Vestryman and Warden o( the 
 Churcli of the Ascension, and a Vestryman of 
 St. Luke's Church, Philadelphia. He was a 
 Director and Controller of the Public Schools 
 of the old City of Philadelphia, President of 
 the Board of Directorsof the first School Dis- 
 trict of Pennsylvania, and also President of 
 the Pennsylvania Steamship Company, and of 
 
 the l'iiihulelj)liia Steam Tug Company. He 
 was also President of the Board of Fire Un- 
 derwriters of Philadelphia, and a Manager of 
 the Deaf and Dumb Asylum from 1858 till his 
 death. He was elected by the Councils of 
 Philadelphia, and acted as a Directorof Girard 
 College from 1853 to i860. In the Girard 
 College Board he was Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee on Accounts. In addition, he held the 
 place of a Director of the Pennsylvania Rail- 
 road for the last four years, and was a Direc- 
 tor of the West Philadelphia Passenger Rail- 
 I way Company, from its origin. He was one 
 1 of the Directors and one of the originators of 
 the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, 
 and was a Manager of the House of Refuge 
 for the years 1854, 1855 ^^^ 1856. His 
 father. Dr. Wm. Martin, was the first Wor- 
 shipful Master of Masonic Lodge No. 69, of 
 Chester, Pennsylvania, and the deceased was 
 the last one. He was appointed Chief Bur- 
 gess of the town of Chester in the year 1832. 
 " Such is an enumeration of the main posi- 
 tions of responsibility held by William Martin. 
 A truthful as well as full account would show 
 how he brought the old Delaware County 
 Insurance Company up from a position of 
 comparative insignificaiice, to be one of the 
 most stable and prosperous companies in the 
 United States. During his presidency of near 
 a score of years, his exertions were incessant, 
 and, under the title of ' The Delaware Mutual 
 Safety Insurance Company,' he has left that 
 institution as a fitting monument to his memory. 
 " We may add, that this prosperous insur- 
 ance company gives, in our advertising col- 
 umns, the warmest testimonial any man could 
 wish, a special meeting having adopted reso- 
 lutions full of generous appreciation of his 
 wortii, and replete with sadness at their loss- 
 This Company possesses all the qualifications 
 for permanence and perpetuity which are pos- 
 sible. In addition to their late President, its 
 Board of Directors were men of the same high 
 class of character, and from year to year they 
 have retained their posts with honor and abil- 
 ity. Of twenty-eight directors, all well known 
 in the business world, the following gentlemen _ 
 have been connected with the Company in 
 their present position, more than a round 
 score of years : Edmund A. Souder, James C. 
 Hand, Hugh Craig, Joseph H. Seal, John R. 
 Penrose, John C. Davis, George G. Leiper, 
 Edward Darlington, Dr. Robert M. Huston, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 365 
 
 Spencer Mcllvain, Charles Kelly, H. Jones 
 Hrooke, Theophilus Paulding, William Eyre, 
 Jr., Samuel E. Stokes, Henry Sloan and J. T. 
 Logan. The Company is fortunate in the pos- 
 session of such a Board of Directors, and espe- 
 cially fortunate in having had for so long a 
 period at his post Thomas C. Hand, Esq., as 
 its Vice-President, under whose fostering care 
 the interests of the concern will continue to 
 prosper as they have done in the past. 
 
 " But, in speaking of the institutions with 
 which William Martin was identified for so 
 many years, we had digressed. We return to 
 make a record of the last honors paid to the 
 deceased. On Monday last his remains were 
 interred at Chester, in the presence of a large 
 concourse of those who had known, loved and 
 trusted him in life, and who no\\' honor his 
 memory in death. Fruitful in beautiful ex- 
 ample is such a life, and doubly honored is 
 such a death as that of William Martin." 
 
 It is not my place to speak in com- 
 mendation of the living, but I may 
 justly say that the Delaware Mutual 
 owes its present prosperity and high 
 standing, at home and abroad, to the 
 undoubted business qualifications of 
 its President, Mr. Thomas C. Hand, 
 who is perfectly and thoroughly at 
 home in all questions that arise in un- 
 derwriting. 
 
 The " Penn Mutual Life Insurance 
 Company," of Philadelphia, owes its 
 existence to the officers and directors 
 of the " Delaware Mutual," who being 
 anxious to protect their families in the 
 future and insure their lives, decided 
 to get up a Life Insurance Company. 
 Accordingly my father, William Mar- 
 tin, and myself, drew up a charter, and 
 it was passed by the Legislature, and 
 approved 24th of February, 1847, ^rid 
 Mr. John W. Horner, was made Secre- 
 tary and chief Manager of the institu- 
 tion, and remained connected with 
 the Company until he died, late in 
 1873. The forms, prospectus and the 
 tables of rates, which I made for the 
 company, are still in use unaltered. 
 
 In 1869, an attempt was made in 
 Chester to form another insurance 
 company for local business; and the 
 following notice appeared in the Re- 
 publican, of June 4th, of that year. 
 " The books for subscriptions to the 
 stock of the ' Chester Fire Insurance 
 Company,' will be opened at the bank- 
 ing house of Broomall, Ward & Baker, 
 in Chester, on Thursday, July i, 1869. 
 Subscriptions will be received until the 
 stock shall be taken. William Ward, 
 George Baker, Amos Gartside, Samuel 
 Montgomery, William J. Sharpless, 
 Perciphor Baker, George M. Pardoe, 
 Y. S. Walter, William N. Wilson, 
 Commissioners. ' ' 
 
 And on the 9th of July, 1869, the 
 editor of the Republican, referring to 
 this Company in his paper, stated edi- 
 torially : 
 
 " That this Company will become a fixed and 
 
 successful enterprise among us, is now settled 
 
 beyond doubt. The field in this vicinity is 
 
 a broad one, and our citizens are only anxious 
 
 for the opportunity to drive out the foreign 
 
 corporations that are absorbing their means, 
 
 and about the security of which they must 
 
 necessarily be left in doubt, while large ex- 
 
 I penses and heavy salaried officers keep up the 
 
 j rates of insurance. There is but one native 
 
 company now located among us — the Dela- 
 
 ! ware County Mutual, at Media — and none 
 
 j better was ever organized ; but it finds itself 
 
 unable to meet the growing demands of the 
 
 city and county, and keep within the safe and 
 
 sure limits that have always marked its policy." 
 
 By an Act of Assembly of April 6, 
 id>']o, Pamphlet Laws, 1870, p. 994, 
 the Court of Common Pleas of Dela- 
 ware County, was authorized to issue 
 a certificate of incorporation to the 
 " Chester Fire Insurance Company, 
 as soon as ten per cent, of the amount 
 of the stock was fully paid in cash," 
 &c. The Company was never organ- 
 ized, and the hopes of its success were 
 therefore never fulfilled. This work 
 
;66 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 would be incomplete without yne pro- 
 verb, so here I give one : " Don't 
 count your chickens before they are 
 hatched." 
 
 The Delmoare County Republican, 
 of March 13, 1874, announces: 
 
 " A new Insurance Comjjany — an institu- 
 tion long wanted in our midst — was organ- 
 ized in this city, last week. It will be known 
 as tlie Chester Mutual Insurance Company. 
 Heretofore, all our insurances, which ought 
 to have been efifected at home, have gone 
 abroad. The new company will begin with 
 the issuing of policies to the amount of nearly 
 $150,000, that sum having been subscribed 
 before the adjournment of the meeting for or- 
 ganization. We predict its full and complete 
 success from the start. It will be represented 
 by men of capital, who understand the im- 
 portance of having an institution of the kind 
 here. Following is a list of the officers : 
 
 President — John Larkiii, Jr. 
 
 Vice President— Vi. H. Bickley. 
 
 Secretary and Treasurer — Geo. M. Booth. 
 
 Directors — Wm. Ward, J. Newlin Trainer, 
 Benjamin Gartside, William Booth, George 
 M. Pardee, Perciphor Baker, John Larkin, Jr., 
 George Broomall, James Irving, M. H. Bick- 
 ley, Wm. I). H. Serrill and Wm. B. Broomall." 
 
 The gentlemen connected with the 
 company are all enterprising men of 
 business, and it is to their exertions 
 Chester owes so much of its pros- 
 perity ; but from long experience in 
 Insurance matters, I doubt very much 
 whether a Mutual Insurance Company 
 can be successfully conducted in a 
 closely built up city ; yet I trust the 
 new institution may prove me to be as 
 bad a prophet as my old friend, Wal- 
 ter, of the Republican. 
 
 The officers of the Dklawake Co. 
 Mutual Ins. Co., mentioned above, 
 as located at Media, are : 
 
 President — Sketchley Morton. 
 
 Sec')' and Treas'r — Edward A. Price. 
 
 Z>/;r^/(j;-j— Sketchley Morton, Thomas Pratt, 
 Nathan Larkin, Levis Miller, Nathan Garrett, 
 Henry L. Paschall, C. R. Williamson, Wil- 
 liam Eves, Sr., Henrv Mendenhall. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 The Military Record of Chester 
 and of Delaware County during the 
 late Rebellion of 1861-65, is a very 
 creditable one to the patriotism of its 
 citizens. I will endeavor to give as 
 brief an account as possible of all the 
 most interesting incidents of the war, 
 connected with the county, of those 
 resulting from it, and of the persons 
 connected therewith. 
 
 A Government Hospital was located 
 near Chester, in what is now the Cro- 
 zer Theological Seminary, for the re- 
 ception of the sick and wounded Union 
 soldiers, but as I had not intended to 
 touch upon this part of the history of 
 the town, I have no information further 
 on this subject ; except that my cousins, 
 Dr. Charles J. Morton, of Chester, 
 and Dr. Brinton Stone, then an As- 
 sistant Surgeon in the regular Army, 
 were stationed there for some time 
 during the war. 
 
 Among the companies raised for the 
 three months' service, under the first 
 call of the General Government for 
 troops, under tlTe erroneous impression 
 that the Southern rebellion was not 
 going to be very formidable, was one 
 raised in Chester, and organized at 
 Harrisburg, April 23, 1861, called 
 " The Union Blues," attached to the 
 9th Regiment of Infantry, Pennsyl- 
 vania Volunteers. 
 
 MUSTER ROLL OF THK INION BLIKS. 
 Henry B. Edwards, Captain. 
 James G. Stagey, \st Lieut. 
 William Blakeley, 2rf Z/Vk^ 
 
 Sergeants . 
 
 1. William B. Stevenson, 3. James Williams, 
 
 2. John Beck, 4. William Eves. 
 
 Corporals. 
 
 1. Isaac Weaver, 3. Charles Story, 
 
 2. William R. Thatcher, 4. Jesse Cummlngs. 
 
 Fi/er, Drtatntier , 
 
 Alexander King. Ezra Dansfield. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 367 
 
 John Booth, 
 Joseph Barker, 
 Joseph Brewster, 
 Lewis Benner, 
 John Barrowclough, 
 Thomas Blythe, 
 Isaac Badden, 
 William H. Brown, 
 David Biirk, 
 George Booth, 
 Thomas W. Bruner 
 Edward Crowther, 
 Joseph CoUison, 
 Samuel Cross, 
 Daniel Crowther, 
 James Cliff, 
 Allen Carr, 
 Frederick Cutler, 
 "Frederick Crider, 
 Simeon Davis, 
 John Doyle, 
 William Elliott, 
 Joseph Ettienne, 
 Robert Fogg, 
 John Farraday, 
 Joseph Grooves, 
 William P. Huff, 
 James Hewes, 
 George Helms, 
 William F. Jester, 
 Tames P. Kelly, 
 Edward Kay, 
 
 Privates. 
 
 Jonathan Kershaw, 
 Edward Lilly, 
 Edward Lyons, 
 Thomas McNamee, 
 William McNeil, 
 John Marshall, 
 William Marlor, 
 Samuel McDaniel, 
 George McAffee, 
 John C. Morton, 
 John Philips, 
 Daniel Pithie, 
 Thomas F. Pierce, 
 Anthony Quinn, 
 Francis Rodrigos, 
 Robert Raney, 
 Samuel Shepherd, 
 Francis Scott, 
 Edgar Stephenson, 
 William V. Shellinger 
 John Smith, 
 Samuel Smith, 
 Thomas Toy, 
 Joseph Taylor, 
 Richard Turner, 
 George W. Wilson, 
 Joshua L. Wilson, 
 John Wagner, 
 Robert Wright, 
 Alfred Woodhead, 
 George Weigan, 
 Reed L. Weaver. 
 
 The Republican, of June 21, 1861, 
 after giving the above roll, says ; 
 
 " We have before us a letter from an officer 
 attached to Captain Edwards' ' Union Blues,' 
 dated on the 17th inst., at Camp Brady, 
 Williamsport, Maryland. The regiment left 
 Chambersburg on the 15th inst., and, after 
 marching ten miles, encamped. On Sunday 
 at nine o'clock, orders were given to march, 
 and accompanied by the different regiments 
 under General Patterson, including several 
 companies of regulars, the party arrived, early 
 in the day, on the banks of the Potomac, which 
 was forded, the water being some three or 
 four feet deep, and the stream at that point, 
 between four and five hundred yards wide. 
 The Blues ' went in' with a shout and a hur- 
 rah, singing, as they waded through, 
 
 ' We are crossing the river Jordan.' 
 
 The Ninth Regiment, to which the Blues 
 are attached, followed the United States In- 
 fantry, and were the second company to cross 
 the Potomac. Captain Edwards led his men, 
 and was the first in the water. 
 
 The sight of the army crossing the Potomac 
 was very grand and impressive, as well the 
 
 scene itself, as for the great occasion, so re- 
 markable and memorable in its character. 
 The Captains led their companies, and the 
 men took to the water like spaniels. They 
 dashed in with a whoop, and as the head of 
 each regiment struck the bank on 'Old Vir- 
 ginia's shore,' they raised a rousing cheer 
 which made the welkin ring. The bugles and 
 fifes played, and the men sang ' Dixie,' as 
 they went in. 
 
 Arrived on the soil of Virginia, the regi- 
 ments formed into line to await the arrival of 
 their baggage. Two miles from the river 
 they again encamped, having passed on their 
 march the spot which but a few days before, 
 was occupied by the secession army. The 
 writer states that the Blues are all well, con- 
 tented and happy, and ready to execute any 
 order that may be communicated to them by 
 their officers." 
 
 I append the Muster Roll of Com- 
 pany K. 26th Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
 Col. Wm. F. Small, one of the first 
 regiments raised in Pennsylvania for 
 the three years' service. The Adjutant 
 General's Report, in reference to this 
 Company is very imperfect. The 
 name of its first commanding officer, 
 Capt. Grubb, not being mentioned. 
 
 This company of volunteers from 
 the vicinity of Chester, was mustered 
 into the three years' service May 27, 
 1861 ; mustered out (veterans and re- 
 cruits excepted,) June 18, 1864. At 
 the time of its entry into service, it 
 consisted of: 
 
 William L. Grubb, Captain. 
 William F. Robinson, ist Lieut. 
 Peter Penn-Gaskill Hall, id Lieut. 
 John F. Meekins, Orderly Serg't. 
 
 rge, 
 
 ints 
 
 Jacob Culin, 
 William Clark, 
 
 3. James F. Seary, 
 
 4. Samuel P. Morris. 
 
 1. James Grubb, 
 
 2. George W. Rosevelt, 
 
 3. William Grounsell, 
 
 4. Thomas M. Allen, 
 
 Corporals. 
 
 5. William H. Phillips 
 
 6. Isaac Brown, 
 
 7. Chris. Beatty, 
 
 8. Nathan Larkin. 
 
 Fi/er, 
 Alexander Grayson. 
 ll'agoner- 
 
 Drmnmer 
 Andrew Sample, 
 than Coleman. 
 
t68 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Privates. 
 
 Henry Abbott, Levi Hill, 
 
 William Agnew, Burd Hergesheiraer, 
 
 Lewis Bail, John S. Hunter, 
 
 Mark Bail, James Higgins, 
 
 William Barger, Henry Johnson, 
 
 George Branner, Matthew Kersey, 
 
 James T. Bell, Charles Krewson, 
 
 Isaac Bird, Samuel Latch, 
 
 Thomas Blizzard, Morton Lindsay, 
 
 John Boyle, John Long, 
 
 Thomas Brown, Archibald McNeal, 
 
 Joseph Boudet, William H. McGinnes, 
 
 James Burns, Robert McGrath, 
 
 Eliakin Brown, William B. Michael, 
 
 James Cloud, James Morris, 
 
 Joseph Conner, Edward McGrogen, 
 
 John Detweiler, William H. Miller, 
 
 Henry Dickson, John M'Clearn, 
 
 Isaac Dugan, David S. Moore, 
 
 Joseph Dicks, Andrew J. Marshall, 
 
 John Devlin, John O'Neil, 
 
 William Dick, Samuel PuUen, 
 
 John O. Drain, Andrew Phillips, 
 
 Horatio Edmonson, William Phillips, 
 
 Jacob Evans, Benjamin Pyne, 
 
 Alfred Free, William Porter, 
 William H. Ferguson, William Rambo, 
 
 Isaac Force, George W. Robb, 
 
 Daniel C. Ford, Andrew Rodgers, 
 
 John Freeman, Benjamin F. Robb, 
 
 James Ford, James Starr, 
 
 Constantine Frigger, Edward Shields, 
 
 Philip Feaster, James Schofield, 
 
 Henry Goodman, Thomas Senior, 
 
 John Grubb, Benjamin F. Sutch, 
 
 Joseph Grubb, George Turner, 
 
 James Grubb, Nathan Vanhorn, 
 
 James L. Giltson, James Welsh, 
 
 William Hayes, Samuel West, 
 
 Thomas Haslem, James O. Winner, 
 
 George Helms, Seth Yett. 
 
 The " Archy Dick Guards," another 
 company of vohinteers recruited from 
 the vicinity of Chester, was organized 
 at " Camp Wayne," near West Ches- 
 ter, June 9, 1 86 1, as Co. F, 30th Regi- 
 ment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. It 
 was called by the above name in honor 
 of the memory of the late Archibald 
 T. Dick, Esq., once a prominent and 
 popular citizen of Chester, and a mem- 
 ber of the Delaware County Bar. The 
 following is a muster roll of the com- 
 pany : 
 
 William Coopek Tallev, Captain. 
 
 Henry Huddleson, \st Lieut. 
 
 James S. I'kters, 20' Z/Vk/. 
 Se7-geants. 
 I.J. Wesley Cook, 3. Joseph P. Drew, 
 
 i. Jacob C. Bcrstler, 4. Samuel Batty. 
 
 1. John McDaniel; 
 
 2. John P. Fryer, 
 
 Corporals. 
 
 3. Alexander Matthews, 
 
 4. James Lewis. 
 
 Drummer, 
 William B. Drake. 
 
 Fi/er, 
 Hayes P. Griffith. 
 
 Privates. 
 
 John Alcott, Henry Haycock, 
 
 Squire Booth, James W. Jones, 
 
 Joseph Bradley, George Jones, 
 
 Edmund Bradley, John Kilroy, 
 
 William Burk, John Kelley, 
 
 Isaiah Budd, George Laird, 
 
 Henry Bailey, Michael Macklam, 
 
 Pratt Baldwin, Joseph S. Mott, 
 
 John Baker, Wesley McBride, 
 
 Levi Carr, Thomas Mills, 
 
 John Cardell, James Makeson, 
 
 James Cohen, John McCracken, 
 
 Arthur Carrell, Michael Nolan, 
 
 James Deans, Edward O'Neal, 
 
 Patrick Doyle, Adam Pilkington, 
 
 John Ferguson, George W. Parker, 
 
 John Fitzgerald, Samuel Parker, 
 
 William Gray, John Roberts, 
 
 Samuel Gray, William Richardson, 
 
 James Glass, William Rowe, 
 
 Thomas Glass, Moses Scott, 
 
 George Griffith, Thomas Smith, 
 
 Harrison Green, Edward Smith, 
 
 Dennis Green, George W. Simmington, 
 
 John Gamble, William Stacey, 
 
 William Guilford, Edward Townsend, 
 
 Henry Gilkin, James W. Turner, 
 
 James Gorman, George W. Timbler, 
 
 John Hardy, Joseph Whiteman, 
 
 Isaac Healey, James Wilson, 
 
 Joseph S. M. Houpt, Frazer Walter, 
 
 Thomas Horner, John Wilde, 
 
 John Howard, James M. Willis. 
 
 From the report of the Adjutant 
 General of the State, and from Bates' 
 History of the Pennsylvania A'olun- 
 teers, 1870, a splendid work in five 
 large volumes, presented to me by Mr. 
 Tryon Lewis, of Radnor, late a mem- 
 ber of Assembly from Delaware Co., 
 I have extracted the following informa- 
 tion in regard to those gentlemen who 
 served in the volunteer forces of the 
 United States during the late Rebel- 
 lion, who hailed from Chester, and 
 from the County of Delaware, viz. : 
 
 Dr. John M. Allen, entered the 
 volunteer service, Oct. 15, 1861, as 
 Surgeon of the 54th Regiment of Pa. 
 Vols. ; mustered out of service, Nov. 
 4, 1864; now residing at Chester. 
 
 Henry B. Edwards, O'aptain of 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 3(59 
 
 Co. I, 9th Regiment of Pa. Vols., or- 
 ganized at Harrisburg, April 24, 1861, 
 for three months' service ; mustered 
 out of service, July 29,1861 ; Coun- 
 sellor-at-Law, now residing at Chester. 
 
 James G. Stagey, ist Lieut, of the 
 same, with a like record, (see sketch of 
 the Stacey family, p. 46,) now de- 
 ceased. 
 
 William Blakeley, 2d Lieut, of 
 the same, with a like record ; plum- 
 ber and gas fitter, now residing at 
 Chester. 
 
 William Cooper Talley, entered 
 the service May i, 1861, as Captain 
 of Co. F, 30th Pa. Vols. ; Colonel, 
 Nov. 2, 1862 ; mustered out of service, 
 June 13, 1864; Brigadier General of 
 Volunteers by Brevet, for distinguished 
 services ; now editor of the De/atcare 
 County Democrat, at Chester, and late 
 a member of the Assembly. 
 
 Samuel A. Dyer, Captain Co. C, 
 30th Pa. Vols., May i, 1861 ; resigned, 
 Nov. II, 1862; re-entered service, 
 Nov. 12, 1862, as I^ieut. Col., 175th 
 Pa. Vols. ; Colonel, Nov. 22, 1862; 
 honorably discharged, Aug. i, 1863; 
 now residing at Chester. 
 
 Dr. Joshua Owen, Surgeon, 25th 
 Pa. Vols., April 18, 1861 ; mustered 
 out of service, Aug. i, 1861 ; now 
 practicing physician at Chester. 
 
 Charles L. Leiper, ist Lieut, of 
 Co. C, 70th Pa. Vols., being the 6th 
 Cavalry, Sept. i, 1861 ; Captain, Nov. 
 2, 1862 ; Major, July 14, 1864; Lieut. 
 Col., Jan. 2, 1865 ; Colonel, March 
 2, 1865 ; mustered out with 2d Pro- 
 visional Cavalry, Aug. 7, 1865. 
 
 George W. Hawkins, Captain of 
 Co. I, 97th Pa. Vols., Oct. 29, 1861; 
 Lieut. Col., Sept. 18, 1864; died of 
 wounds received in battle, Oct. 8, 1864. 
 
 Benjamin Brooke, 2d Lieut, of 
 Co. T, 29th Emergency Pa. Vols., 
 
 June 23, 1863 \ mustered out, Aug. i, 
 1 863 ; Captain of Co. B, 203d Pa. Vols., 
 Sept. 12, 1864; Lieut. Col., May 3, 
 1865 ; mustered out, June 22, 1865 ; 
 now living at Saxton, Bedford Co., Pa. 
 
 Dr. G. B. HoTCHKiN, Surgeon, 
 44th Pa. Vols., Nov. 12, 1862 ; mus- 
 tered out with regiment, Sept. 9, 1864. 
 
 Dr. Isaac T. Coates, Assistant 
 Surgeon, 77th Regiment, Sept. 19, 
 1865 ; mustered out, Dec. 6, 1865. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Gracey, Chaplain of 
 the 6th Pa. Cavalry, 70th Regiment, 
 Pa. Vols., Nov. 24, 1862 ; mustered 
 out, Aug. 7, 1865. 
 
 Dr. S. Chase King, Assistant Sur- 
 geon of the 5 th Cavalry, Dec. 31, 
 1861 ; transferred to the 4th, March 
 20, 1862; resigned, Dec. 5, 1862. 
 
 J. Edgar Engle, entered the ser- 
 vice as a private in the 97th Pa. Vols., 
 Nov. 27, 1 861 ; severely wounded in 
 the throat, and lost his left arm (taken 
 out at the socket, after submitting to 
 three previous amputations,) at the 
 battle of Green Plains, Bermuda Hun- 
 dred, Virginia, May 16, 1864; pro- 
 moted to 2d Lieut, of the Veteran 
 Reserve Corps ; now clerk in the Gov- 
 ernment employ at Washington, D. C. ; 
 son of the late Captain Isaac Engle, 
 of Chester. 
 
 Thomas I. Leiper, ist Lieut. Sept. 
 
 13, 1861 ; Adjutant 58th Pa. Vols., 
 May I, 1862; Captain, Co. A, June 
 
 14, 1863 ; honorably discharged at 
 the expiration of his term of service, 
 Oct 24, 1864; son of the late Samuel 
 M. and Mary B. Leiper, of Ridley ; 
 manufacturer, now residing at Chester. 
 
 Theodore Blakeley, 2d Lieut, of 
 Co. B, 58th Pa. Vols., Sept. 15, 1861 ; 
 ist Lieut. Jan 31, 1863; Captain, 
 May 23, 1863; killed at the storming 
 of Fort Harrison, Va., Sept. 29, 1864. 
 
 Lucius Trueman, ist Lieut, of Co. 
 
;^70 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 E, 42d Pa. Vols., May 20, 1861 ; 
 Quartermaster 190th, June 6, 1864; 
 mustered out with his regiment, June 
 28, 1865. 
 
 Joshua E. Dver, 2(1 Lieut, of Co. 
 D, 65th Pa. Vols., Dec. 8, 1864 ; died 
 in service, date unknown. 
 
 Edwin Mattson, 2d Lieut, of Co, 
 A, 59th Pa. Vols., Oct. I, 1852; ist 
 Lieut, May i, 1863; mustered out 
 with his company, Nov. i, 1864; now 
 residing at Birmingham. 
 
 Joseph R. T. Coaxes, ist Lieut, of 
 Co. C, 30th Pa. Vols., May 31, 1861; 
 Captain of Co. C, Nov. 14, 1862; 
 Major by brevet, and mustered out, 
 June 13, 1864. 
 
 Edward Larkin, ist Lieut, of Co. 
 C, 30th Pa. Vols., Nov. 14, 1862 ; 
 mustered out, June 13, 1864. 
 
 John H. Taylor, 2d Lieut, of Co. 
 C, 30th Pa. Vols., May 31, 1861 ; 
 killed at South Mountain, Sept. 14, 
 1862. 
 
 John M. Thompson, 2d Lieut, of 
 Co. C, 30th Pa. Vols., Nov. 13, 1862 ; 
 mustered out Avith his regiment. 
 
 Joseph P. Drew, ist Lieut, of Co. 
 
 F, 30th Pa. Vols., Nov. i, 1862; 
 Captain, Oct. i, 1863 ; mustered out 
 with his company. 
 
 Henry Huddleson, ist Lieut, of 
 Co. F, 30th Pa. Vols., May 30, 1861 ; 
 resigned, Aug. 16, 1861. 
 
 John F. Gorman, 2d Lieut, of Co. 
 F, 30th Pa. Vols., Nov. i, 1862; ist 
 Lieut. Oct. I, 1863; mustered out 
 with his company. 
 
 James S. Peters, 2d Lieut. May 
 30, 1 861, Co. F, 30th Pa. Vols. ; hon- 
 orably discharged June 2, 1862. 
 
 John McDaniels, promoted to 2d 
 Lieut, of Co. F, 30th Pa. Vols., from 
 ist Sergeant, Oct. 1,1863; missing 
 in action. May 30, 1864. 
 
 Samuel Williamson, ist Lieut, of 
 
 Co. H, 65th Pa. Vols., Oct. 14, 1862 ; 
 killed in action at Williamsburg Road, 
 Jan. 15, 1863. 
 
 William Lewis, Lieut. Col. of the 
 65th Pa. Vols., Nov. I, 1862; dis- 
 charged April 29, 1864. 
 
 Allsha Stetson, Captain of Co. 
 C, 65th Pa. Vols., Jan 26, 1862 ; 
 mustered out Oct. 10, 1864. 
 
 William R. Thatcher, ist Lieut, 
 of Co. I, 77th Vols., March 30, 1862; 
 no company records ; regiment or- 
 ganized at Pittsburg, Oct. 15, 1861, 
 for three years service ; mustered out 
 at Victoria, Texas, Oct. 6, 1865. 
 
 Dr. Joseph F. Shoemaker, As- 
 sistant Surgeon of the 88th Vols., 
 Aug. 15, 1862; Surgeon of the 56th, 
 March 25, 1865 ; mustered out July 
 I, 1865. 
 
 J. B. W. Aydelott, ist Lieut, of 
 Co. H, 95th Vols., Oct. I, 1861 ; 
 Captain, Sept. 24, 1862 ; mustered 
 out for promotion, July 3, 1863. 
 
 Sketchley Morton, Jr., ist Lieut, 
 of Co. I, 97th Pa. Vols., Nov. 19, 
 1861, Colonel Guss, commanding, 
 died in the hospital at Hilton Head, 
 S. C, Nov. 12, 1862, of yellow fever, 
 aged 21 years. From among the 
 several obituaries written upon the 
 death of this young officer, son of 
 Judge Sketchley Morton, of Spring- 
 field, and extolling his patriotism and 
 devotion to the cause of the Federal 
 Union, I copy a poetical one, which 
 I deem worthy of insertion here. It 
 is, I believe, from the scholarly pen of 
 the Rev. John Pleasonton Du Hamel, 
 Rector of the Church of the Redemp- 
 tion, Philadelphia : 
 
 " On the Death of 
 T.iEUT. Sketchley Morton, Jr. 
 A iiol)le youth, of noble lineage, 
 Descended of the man whose patriot deed, 
 Oave independence to our glorious Union ; 
 
11IST(JKY OF GlIESTEK. 
 
 :]7l 
 
 Aye, set his Stale, tlie Keystone, in the arch 
 
 ( )f this loved Temple of our Liberty. 
 
 The name of Morton — when the nation's fate, 
 
 Poised in the dubious scales of destiny, 
 
 ( JV/io doubts may read,) the balance shook, 
 
 and to 
 The side of Freedom, sent the quivering beam. 
 
 Nor yet unworthy such ancestry he. 
 
 For whose death, untimely, many true hearts 
 
 Are bleeding secretly and unconsoled. 
 
 Sad and inauspicious was the morn. 
 
 He quit the paternal roof, to join him to 
 
 The adventurous course of war. Departing 
 
 thence, 
 Three times he turned, while still remotely near, 
 To look as often on his dear old home. 
 The superstitious said 'twas omen fraught 
 With ill — the wiser thought not so. Sad is 
 The sequel. Weary wore away the days — 
 Weeks lengthening months, that brought no 
 
 tidings 
 Of him absent. Long were the intervals, 
 Keen the suspense, through periods infinite 
 They seemed, that fond hearts ^^•alched and 
 
 waited oft ; 
 And oft were cheered by warm assurance. 
 That all went prosperously — delusive hope ! 
 Of orange groves — of gardens beautiful 
 He wrote — of flow ers such as grow not in his 
 Northern home, of vast estates and mansions 
 Of grey mem'ry. Seldom and modestly 
 Of deeds himself had done. How when it 
 
 chanced 
 The wearied sentinel slept on his post. 
 He loving discipline, but mercy more. 
 His kind entreaties interposed, and saved 
 Him from inglorious death, for nolder end. 
 And the bi'ave generous hearts that mourn 
 
 him dead. 
 Loved him in life, fought by his side, and would 
 Have died forhim. Others have had ambitions, 
 He but one — to serve his country. 'Twas for 
 This, we all foi"sook, home, business, pleasure, 
 All ; life's many golden dreams ; loves, filial 
 And fraternal ; the love of sisters. Aye, 
 Her to whom he e'en from boyish days 
 Affianced, he resigned. No party flame, 
 The rancor of no sect, his zeal inspired ; 
 These were strange fires— \\\'i was a fervid, pure. 
 And self-consuming love of country. 'Twas 
 For this he died— bless'd martyryouth ! Happy ! 
 If in that fatal fever land, where so 
 Rankly grows the Upas tree of Treason, 
 
 From his sacred dust may spring tlie nobler 
 
 Tree of Liberty — though in ungenial 
 
 Soil. Thrice happy 1 if his spirit lingering 
 
 There, may win unloyal hearts to love 
 
 A Government that never wronged them, 
 
 would 
 Have cherished them as children erring oft, 
 Weeps o'er their woes, and pities -while it 
 
 strikes:^ 
 
 George W. Duffee, 2d Lieut, of 
 Co. I, 97th Pa. Vols., Feb. 5, 1864; 
 ist Lieut. Feb. 6, 1864; Captain, 
 Dec. 2, 1864; mustered out with his 
 company, Dec. 28, 1864. 
 
 Annesley Newlin Morton, en = 
 tered the service as 2d Lieut, of Co. 
 I, 97th Pa. Vols., Nov. 19, 1861 ; re- 
 signed, April 16, 1862, (^by the medi- 
 cal advice of one of my best and oldest 
 friends. Dr. George Edward Cooper, 
 Surgeon of the U. S. Army.) He re- 
 entered the service as a private in the 
 Anderson Cavalry, (15th Pa. Cavalry,) 
 1 60th Pa. Vols., Oct. 1862 ; pro- 
 moted to ist Lieut, of Co. I, April 3, 
 1863 ; mustered out of service at Nash- 
 ville, Tenn., June 21, 1865; now 
 conveyancer in Philadelphia, of the 
 firm of Elsasser &: Morton. The Lieut. 
 Col., of the 97th Pa. Vols., was my 
 old friend at West Point, Augustus P, 
 DuER, now a resident of West Chester. 
 We passed three years very pleasantly 
 together at the Military Academy, 
 from 1838 to 1841 ; he entered the 
 institution one year before I did ; 
 served during the Mexican war, in the 
 army, and with the 97th from its 
 formation, Oct. 7, 1861, until April 
 8, 1864, when he was honorably dis- 
 charged from the service. 
 
 James Williams, 2d Lieut. Co. I, 
 97th Pa. Vols., April 16, 1862; re- 
 signed commission, Sept. i, 1862. 
 
 W. H. H. Gibson, 2d Lieut. Co. I, 
 97th Pa. Vols., Feb. 6, 1862 ; ist Lt. 
 Dec. 2, 1864; mustered out with co. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Geokce W. MiDDi.Eiox, 2(1 Lieut. 
 Co. I, 97th Pa. Vols., Dec. 2, 1864; 
 mustered out with company. 
 
 William S. Mendenhall, Captain 
 Co. D, 97th Pa. Vols., Sept. 20, 1861 ; 
 honorably discharged at the expiration 
 of his term of service, Oct. 4, 1864. 
 
 Capt. W. S. Mendenhall, dealer in 
 ladies' furnishinggoods, on Market St., 
 Wilmington, Delaware, died on Dec. 
 4, 1875, '" ^""'^ forty-sixth year. He 
 was born near Chadd's Ford, Delaware 
 County, Oct. 13, 1830, and learned the 
 printing trade at West Chester. When 
 the Mexican War broke out, though only 
 sixteen years old, he volunteered in 
 Capt. Charles J. Biddle's company, of 
 Philadelphia, which became part of the 
 ist regiment U. S. Voltigeurs, and 
 served throughout that war, being twice 
 wounded. Upon his return home in 
 the winter of 1848, he joined a party for 
 California, and went around Cape Horn 
 in a sailing vessel, making a voyage of 
 eight months and fourteen days to San 
 Francisco. After indifferent success 
 in gold hunting, he joined one of Col. 
 Fremont's exploring parties in South- 
 ern California, and subsequently for 
 ten years, led an adventurous life, en- 
 gaged in mining, i^rospecting, explor- 
 ing, and campaigning against the In- 
 dian. Returning East in 1858, he 
 spent two years in the South, and saw 
 liie preparations which were in progress 
 there for war. Escaping to the North, 
 he reached this city in time to join the 
 1st Delaware Regt. (three months), 
 which was just then organizing, under 
 Col. Lockwood, and served with it until 
 it was mustered out. He then raised a 
 company in Delaware County for Col. 
 Guss's 97th Penn. Vol., and served 
 with it for three years, being twice 
 wounded, and finally mustered out on 
 account of his injuries. 
 
 Henry Odiorne, ist Lieut. Co. D, 
 97th Pa. Vols., June i, 1864 ; Captain, 
 Dec. 3, 1864; died of wounds received 
 in battle, Jan. 15, 1865. Captain 
 Odiorne was a relative of the Willcox 
 family of "Ivy Mills." 
 
 Isaac B. Taylor, 2d Lieut Co. D, 
 97th Pa. Vols., June 1, 1864: istl>ieut. 
 Dec. 3, 1864; Captain, Feb. 15, 1865, 
 mustered out with command. 
 
 George W. Williams, ist Lieut. 
 Co. D, 97th Pa. Vols., Sept. 9, 1861 ; 
 honorably discharged, July 29, 1863. 
 Re-entered service for 100 days, Emer- 
 gency Vols, as Captain Co. D, 197th. 
 
 David W. Odiorne, 2d Lieut. Co. 
 D, 97th Pa. Vols., Dec. 5, 1864; ist 
 Lieut. Feb. 15, 1865 ; out of service with 
 his company, Aug. 28, 1865. 
 
 Jesse L. Cummings, Captain Co. 
 G, 97th Pa. Vols., Oct. 15, 1861 ; re- 
 signed May 5, 1862. 
 
 Caleb Hoopes, ist Lieut. Co. G, 
 of the 97th Pa. Vols., Oct. 15, 1861; 
 Captain Oct. 23, 1862; honorably dis- 
 charged Oct. 17, 1864. 
 
 Washington W. James, Captain 
 Co. G, of the 97th Pa. Vols., May i, 
 1865 ; mustered out with command. 
 
 Gasow.ay O. Yarnall, ist Lieut. 
 Co. G. 97th Pa. Vols., Oct. 23, 1862 ; 
 honorably discharged Jan. 27, 1865. 
 
 JosiAH Bird, ist Lieut, of same, May 
 I, 1865 ; mustered out with company. 
 
 Joseph M. Borrell, 2d Lieut, of 
 same, Oct. 15, 1861 ; resigned com- 
 mission Nov. 13, 1863. 
 
 William H. Eves, 2d Lieut, of same, 
 Nov. 13, 1863; honorably discharged 
 from the service, Oct. 22, 1864. 
 
 Jeremiah Yoast, 2d Lieut, of same. 
 May I, 1865; mustered out of service 
 with his company. 
 
 Wm. H. Hughes, 2d Lieut. Co. I, 
 io6th Pa. Vols., Mar. i, 1863; mus- 
 tered out Sept. 10, 1S64. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 OT'Q 
 
 Marion Litzenberg, 2d Lieut. Co. 
 I, 2d Pa. Artillery, 112th Pa. Vols., 
 three years service, Mar. 8, 1S65 ; ist 
 Lieut. Nov. 30, 1864, retained in the 
 service with "Freedmen's Bureau;" 
 after the discharge of his regiment. 
 
 Robert McCourt, 2d Lieut. Co. 
 A, 113th Pa. Vols., 1 2th cavalry, 3 
 years service, April 9, 1864; honora- 
 bly discharged, Dec. 8, 1864. 
 
 James Cliff, ist Lieut. Co. E, 119th 
 Pa. Vols., Nov. 9, 1862 ; Captain, May 
 12, 1864; out with CO., June 19, 1865. 
 
 William C. Gray, Captain Co. E, 
 1 19th Pa. Vols., Sept. i, 1862: Major, 
 May 13, 1864; Lieut. Col., April 6, 
 1865 ; mustered out with the regiment 
 June 19, 1865. 
 
 Simon Litzenburg, Captain Co. B, 
 124th Pa. Vols., Aug. 6, 1862 ; Lieut. 
 Col., Aug. 16, 1862; out with regt. 
 May 16, 1863. 
 
 John Woodcock, ist Lieut. Co. B, 
 124th Pa. Vols., Aug. 9, 1862; Cap- 
 tain, Aug. 16, 1862; out of service 
 with his company May 16, 1863 ; Cap- 
 tain of Co. F, 29th Emergency Vols., 
 June 20, 1863; out with company, 
 Aug. I, 1863. 
 
 Howard McIlvain, y/zw^r i.<-/ Lt. 
 of Durrell's Battery, 104th Pa. Vols., 
 born Oct. 26, 1834, mortally wounded 
 at Warrington, Va., and died Nov. 15, 
 1862, son of William and Sarah (Mor- 
 ton) Mcllvain, of Reading, and grand- 
 son of the late Aaron and Ann Crosby 
 Morton of Ridley. 
 
 I copy from the New York Tribune. 
 — "From Gen. Burnside's Army, on 
 the Front near Warrington Junction, 
 Nov. 16, 1862. 
 
 An attack of the enemy upon the 
 baggage train of the ist and 2d brigades 
 (Gens. Naglee and Ferrero)of Sturgis's 
 yesterday forenoon, which resulted in 
 the death of Lieut. Howard Mcllvain, 
 
 of Durell's Battery, and which came 
 very near resulting in the destruction 
 or capture of a portion of the train. 
 
 Capt. Durell's Battery, occupyingan 
 exceedingly exposed position, with- 
 stood for something like an hour the fire 
 from the heavy twenty-pounds guns. 
 Early in the fight Lieut. Howard Mc- 
 llvain was struck by a shell, which 
 carried away his arm, side, thigh, and 
 hip, laying open his entrails and caus- 
 ing one of the most fearful wounds ever 
 recorded. 
 
 The brave and unfortunate young 
 man lay in most horrible agony, raving 
 from pain a great portion of the time, 
 from the moment ofreceiving his wound 
 till eight o'clock this morning, when 
 he was relieved from his sufferings by 
 death. He said to a friend, as he lay 
 writing in agony, that he was not afraid 
 to die ; he only wished that death might 
 come soon to rid him of the dreadful 
 pain he suffered. 
 
 The deceased was from Reading, 
 Pennsylvania, and had been in the ser- 
 vice since the opening of the war, hav- 
 ing served with Capt Durell in the three 
 months volunteers. In September, 
 1861, the present Durell's Battery was 
 sworn into the service of the United 
 States, and has since lieen constantly 
 employed. All who have come in con- 
 tact with Lieut. Mcllvain pronounced 
 him a young man of remarkable promise 
 and most excellent qualities, social and 
 otherwise, and one who would have 
 made a noteworthy mark in the world 
 had he been spared. He is universal- 
 ly lamented in this corps, with which 
 he had been connected since the nth 
 of last August, and Capt. Durell mourns 
 in him his best and most trustworthy 
 officer, which is saying nothing deroga- 
 tory to the other brave men in his com- 
 mand." 
 
374 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Rai.i'H HrcKi.KY, 211(1 Licui. C\). B, 
 124th Pa. Vols., Aug. 9, 1862; ist 
 Lieut. Aug. 16, 1862; discharged with 
 company. Captain Co. I, 197th Pa. 
 Vols., July 23, 1864; mustered out 
 with his company, Nov. 11, 1864. 
 
 W. H. LnzENBERG, 2d Ivieut. Co. 
 B, 124th Pa. Vols., Aug. 16, 1862; 
 mustered out with company. 
 
 NoRKis L. Yarnall, Captain Co. 
 D, 124th Pa. Vols., Aug. II, 1862; 
 mustered out May 16, 1863. Lieut. 
 Col. 29th Emergency Regt., June 23, 
 1863 to Aug. 3, 1863. 
 
 Joseph Pratt, ist Lieut. Co. D, 
 124th Pa. Vols., Aug. II, 1862 ; mus- 
 tered out with his company. 
 
 L Lawrence Haldeman, 2d Lieut. 
 Co. D, 1 24th Pa. Vols. , Aug. 1 1 , 1 862 ; 
 Major, Aug. 18, 1862; nuistered out of ; 
 service with regiment. j 
 
 Joseph G. Cummings, 2d Lieut. Co. | 
 D, 124th Pa. Vols., Aug. 16, 1862 ; I 
 served till expiration of term. 1 
 
 James Barton, Jr., Captain Co. H, | 
 124th Pa. Vols., Aug. 15, 1862 ; mus- 
 tered out of service with company. May 
 16, 1863. Captain Co. A, 197th Pa. 
 Vols., July 16, 186410 Nov. II, 1864. 
 
 Phh.ip D. Haines, ist Lieut. Co. 
 G, 124th Pa. Vols., Aug. 15, 1862; 
 mustered out with command. 
 
 William S. Abel, 2d Lieut, of same, 
 same record. 
 
 H. McAlllster, Jr., ist Lieut. Co. 
 G, 1 60th Pa. Vols., 15th cavalry. Mar. 
 I, 1863 ; Captain, May 8, 1863; Major, 
 June I, 1865 ; mustered out as Cai)tain, 
 June 21, 1865. 
 
 Edwin Middleton, Jr., 2d Lt. Co. 
 G, 1 60th Pa. Vols., May 29, 1865 ; 
 mustered out as ist Sergeant. 
 
 Archer Nevins Martin, of Lenni 
 Mills, 2d Lieut, of Co. I, i6ist Pa. 
 Vols., i6th cavalry, Sept. 23, 1862; 
 ist Lieut. May 21, 1863: Ca])tain. 
 
 June 4, 1863; Brevet Major, Mar. 13, 
 1865 ; honorably discharged May 26, 
 1865 ; son of Robert L. and Adelaide 
 Nevins Martin, of Lenni. 
 
 George W. Eachus, Quartermaster 
 20th Pa. Cavalry, i8ist Vols., April 
 1,1865; three years' service; mustered 
 out June 23, 1865. 
 
 E. E. Bartleson, 2d Lieut. Co. F, 
 i8ist Pa. Vols., April i, 1865 ; ist 
 Lieut. April 23, 1865 ;. mustered out 
 with ist Provisional Cavalry, Co. i, 
 July 13, 1865. 
 
 James C. Hinkson, ist Lieut. Co. 
 A, 197th Pa. Vols., July 15, 1864; 
 mustered out Nov. 11, 1864. 
 
 Thomas H. Berry, 2d Lieut, of 
 same ; record same. 
 
 R. T. Williams, ist Lieut. Co. I, 
 same regt. and record. 
 
 James Carrick, 2d Lieut, of same, 
 and same record. 
 
 R. G. Vanzant, 2d Lieut. Co. B, 
 202d Pa. Vols., Sept. 12, 1864; out 
 with company, June 22, 1865. 
 
 Thomas M. Allen, promoted to 2d 
 Lieut. Co. E, 26th Vols., Feb. 22, 
 1862 ; out June 18, 1864. 
 
 William L. Grubb, Captain Co. K, 
 26th Pa. Vols., May 27, 1861 ; resign- 
 ed from ill health. 
 
 John F. Meekins, Orderly Sergeant, 
 Co. K, May 26, 1861 ; elected ist 
 Lieut. Jan. 7, 1862 ; Captain, July 15, 
 1862; killed at the second battle of 
 Bull Run, Aug, 29, 1862. 
 
 James F. Searv, entered the service 
 as 4th Sergeant of Co. K, 26th Pa. 
 Vols., May 1861 ; 2d Lieut. July 15, 
 1862; ist Lieut. April i, 1863; Caj)- 
 tain, Feb. 4, 1864; mustered out of 
 the service, June 18, 1864. 
 
 From Price's History of the ()']th 
 Fa. Vols., (1875) I add: 
 
 Charles H. Hannum, 2d Lieut-, 
 age 24, a carpenter, Concordvillc, mus- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 75 
 
 tered Sept. 6, 1861, for 3 years; pro- 
 moted to ist Sergeant, July 30, 1863, 
 promoted to 2d Lieut., June 1, 1864, 
 but was not mustered. 
 
 John W. Brooks, 2d Lieut., age 20, 
 blacksmith, Concordville, mustered as 
 private, Sept. 6, 1861, for 3 years; pro- 
 moted to Corporal for faithful service 
 Oct. 2, 1862, was re-mustered Mar. 15, 
 1864; wounded in action at Foster's 
 Place, Va., May 18, 1864; promoted 
 to 2d Lieut., Feb. 15, 1865, for gallant 
 service at Fort Fisher. 
 
 Philip E. Hannum, ist Sergeant, 
 age 21, farmer, Concord, mustered as 
 private Sept. 6, 1861, for 3 years; 
 wounded in action at Foster's Place, 
 Va., promoted to Sergeant, Dec. 5, 
 1864; again wounded in action at Fort 
 Fisher, Jan. 15, 1865, promoted to ist 
 Sergeant, Feb. 15, 1865 ; mustered out 
 with Company, Aug. 28, 1865. Served 
 continuously with Company in all en- 
 gagements. 
 
 XL. 
 
 A FEW items from the newspapers of 
 the day may be deemed interesting. In 
 the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin of 
 Oct. 15, 1861, it is reported that "Com- 
 pany I, Captain George W. Hawkins, 
 from Delaware County, was mustered 
 into Col. Guss's regiment, now in camp 
 at West Chester, on the 7th inst. ; ist 
 Lieutenant, Sketchley Morton, Jun'r; 
 2d Lieutenant, Annesley N. Morton. 
 It is composed mostly of Delaware 
 County men, and is a very fine com- 
 pany. Some of the very best (young) 
 men in that county being enrolled in 
 it." 
 
 In The Delaware County Repiiblica7i 
 of Feb. 14, 1862, isthisnotice: "Vol- 
 unteers Wanted. Recruits by ex- 
 pressing their preference, can be mus- 
 
 tered into Col. H. R. Guss's Rifle Regi- 
 ment, (97th Pennsylvania Volunteers) 
 now stationed at Port Royal, South 
 Carolina, or any other regiment now 
 organizing, or organized in the Union 
 Army. Minors must bring the written 
 consent of their parents or guardians. 
 Lieutenant Sketchley Morton, Jr. ; Ser- 
 geant John C. Brubaker of the 97th 
 regiment Pa. Vols., recruiting at the 
 Town Hall, Chester." 
 
 From the Republican, of Chester, 
 Feb. II, 1862, I copy the following, 
 as it supplies an omission in the records 
 of the company mentioned: "We 
 notice the election of 2d Lieut. Robert 
 L. Bodine, which took place a few 
 weeks since, to the captaincy of Com- 
 pany K, 26th regiment, Pa. Vols., now 
 at Port Tobacco, in place of Captain 
 William L. Grubb, who resigned his 
 position on account of ill-health. Capt. 
 Bodine was elected over Lieut. Robin- 
 son by a large majority. Robinson has 
 since resigned and returned to his home, 
 and Orderly Sergeant Meekins has been 
 elected to fill the vacancy." 
 
 From the Adjutant General's Report 
 for 1866, I have compiled a list of the 
 officers in the Emergency Volunteers 
 of 1862 and '63, and of the Militia of 
 Delaware County, as follows: 
 
 The 1 6th Regiment of Pennsylvania 
 Militiawas formed but not mustered in- 
 to service, yet were in active duty in the 
 field for about ten days previous to, and 
 during the battle of Antietam, the regi- 
 ment having been sent to Hagerstown, 
 Md. , to support McClellan, but after the 
 defeat of the enemy their services were 
 not needed. The regiment was form- 
 ed Sept. II, 1862. The list of the 
 officers from Delaware County is as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 Cc/o«<?/— Joseph M. Willcox, Delaware County. 
 U. Co/.— William H. Eagle, Lancaster. 
 i1/<i;/<)r— Charles A. Litzenberg, Darby. 
 
376 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Adjutant — JosiAH Jackson, Kennett Square. 
 Quartcymastcr—lowti J. Rowland, Media. 
 
 Company B. 
 |i 'NATHAN Kershaw, Captain. 
 .•\iiKAM LowRY, i.r^ Lieut. 
 John W. Beck, id Lieut. 
 
 Company C. 
 J. .M. Broomall, Captain. 
 William Ormsby, \st Lieut. 
 John C. Price, id Lieut. 
 
 Company D. 
 John H. Barton, Captain. 
 \\'iLLiAM Walter, ist Lieut. 
 E. S. Leedom, 20? Lieut. 
 
 Company E. 
 Amos Bonsall, Captain. 
 James Shillingford, ist Lieut. 
 Levi Lukens, id Lieut. 
 
 Company F. 
 JosHi'H WiLLcox, Captain. 
 Wm. H. ]\Iiller, I j/ /,?>«/. 
 (Ieorc.e W. Eachvs, id Lieut. 
 
 Company H. 
 John C. Andrews, Captain. 
 George S. Patchell, \st Lieut. 
 Joseph L. Lewis, id Lieut. 
 
 In the 24th regiment of Militia, form- 
 ed at the same time, there was a com- 
 pany from Delaware Co. , — Co. I, James 
 Kirkman, Captain; John Britton, ist 
 Lieut, and Nathan Van Horn, 2d Lieut. 
 
 Bknj. N. Brooke, Captain of Co. 
 G, 28th Emergency Vols., June 23, 
 1 863 ; absent sick when his company 
 was mustered out of service. 
 
 Frank Fennimore, ist Lieut, of Co. 
 G, 28th Emergency Vols., June 23, 
 1863 ; mustered out with his company, 
 July 27, 1863. 
 
 Samuel L. Craig, 2d Lieut, of Co. 
 G, Emergency Vols. ; same record. 
 
 The 29th Emergency Volunteers had 
 from the county, the following officers 
 of companies and regiments in service 
 from June 19, 1863 to Aug. i, 1863. 
 John M. Broomall, Capt. Co. C. 
 
 William Ormsby, istLt. Co. C. 
 
 Thomas F. Beatty, 2d Lt. Co. C. 
 
 Ralph Buckley, istLt. Co. F. 
 
 H. G. Hotchkin, 2d Lt. Co. F. 
 
 Alfred Bunting, Capt. Co. G. 
 
 W.H.Thatcher, istT,t. Co.G. 
 
 Ilenrv B. 'I avlor, 2d Lt. Co. G. 
 
 J. C. Andrews, Capt. Co. H. 
 
 George P. Patchell, istLt. Co. H. 
 
 Joseph L. Lewis, 2d Lt. Co. H. 
 
 Joseph Pratt, Capt. Co. L 
 
 C. D. M. Broomall, istLt. Co. L 
 
 The 37th regiment, 90 days militia, 
 mustered in July i, 1863, and out in 
 Aug. 2, 1863, had: 
 William Frick, Capt. Co. A. 
 
 Edward M. Lyons, ist Lt. Co. A. 
 
 William G. Price, 2d Lt. Co. A. 
 
 Harry Huddleson, Capt. Co. F. 
 
 Joseph McCoy, ist Lt. Co. F. 
 
 Samuel Bowker, 2d Ix. Co. F. 
 
 The total expense incurred by the 
 State of Pennsylvania, in raising volun- 
 teer forces from 1861 to 1871, was^3,- 
 138,480. This does not, however, in- 
 clude the expenses of the Militiamen, 
 called in the report of the Adjutant 
 General the Emergency Volunteers 
 and Militia, the amount of which is 
 not given separately in the statement 
 published by the United States authori- 
 ties. 
 
 I give here muster-roll of two Emer- 
 gency Companies from Chester in 1 862. 
 
 Company K, \oth Pa. Militia. 
 
 CHKSTER CCARDS. 
 William R. Thatcher, Captain. 
 Lewis M. Larkin, \st Lieut. 
 William G. Vv.\z^, id Lieut. 
 Sergeants. 
 
 1. Henry Mcllvaine, 3. Wm. G. Evans, 
 
 2. J. H. Omensetter, 4. William C. Diibrec, 
 
 5. Joseph H. Hinksoii. 
 Cotporah. 
 
 1. William D. Penncll, 5. George E. Darlington, 
 
 2. James Morgan, 6. John W. Ottey, 
 
 3. Joel Lane, 7. Richard F. Flickwir, 
 
 4. David M. Johnson, 8. Frank R. Shoemaker. 
 
 Drummer — Charles Dickerson. 
 Privates. 
 David Appleby, Theodore Bell, 
 
 William Appleby, George Bottomly; 
 
 Walter J. Arnold, Nathan Berry, 
 
 Benj'n F. Biichu, James F. Brcckenridge, 
 
 J. EUwood Black, I. Engle Cochran, 
 
 Joseph Blakeley, John Cunliff, 
 
 William Blakeley, Archibald Clark, 
 
 Joseph Brewster, John Clark, 
 
 John Bowers, George Cadnian, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 77 
 
 Allen Carr, 
 James Dunkerly, 
 Julius A. Dutton, 
 Alfred O. Deshong, 
 Joshua P. Eyre, Jr., 
 Martin Farraday, 
 James Glennin, 
 Henry Greenwood, 
 Henry C. Grubb, 
 William Harvey, 
 Henry M. Hinkson, 
 Charles Hinkson, 
 Edwin Hewitt, 
 Amos Holt, 
 David Holstein, 
 John Hinkson, 
 Henry Hinkson, 
 Joseph Holt, 
 John Holt, 
 Francis llorricks, 
 Samuel Haigh, 
 J. Washington Irving, 
 Benjamin Irving, 
 John Israel, 
 R. Morgan Johnson, 
 Ben. D. Johnson, 
 Mordecai Larkin, 
 Samuel W. Loveland, 
 
 Henry Lukens, 
 Theodore Lukens, 
 James McClymont, 
 John F. McFall, 
 John S. McFadden, 
 Benjamin Mason, 
 William McConnell, 
 Daniel McCoUum, 
 Hampden Morris, 
 William Mackey, 
 Isaac Newton, Jr., 
 Wm. H. Neuer. 
 David T. Newlin, 
 Wm. J. Ogleby, 
 Charles D. Pennell, 
 Samuel C. Price, 
 William Patterson, 
 John F. Robinson, 
 Samuel H. Stevenson, 
 Charles A. Story, Jr., 
 George St. Ledger, 
 John Eyre Shaw, 
 Arnold Shaw, 
 Henry B. Taylor, 
 William Vernon, 
 Lewis D. Wheaton, 
 Hiram Williams, 
 Preston E. Wilson. 
 
 Co. B, \bth Pa. Militia; organized Sept. 17, 
 1862; discharged Sept. 25,1862,- called 
 
 "THK. MECHANIC RIFLES OF CHESTER." 
 Jonathan Kersh.-\w, Captain. 
 Abram Lovvry, ist Lieut. 
 John W. Buck, id Lieut. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 
 1. George W. Wilson, 3. Charles R. Sweeney, 
 
 2. George Smith, 4. Hugh Hatton, 
 
 S. William D. PuUen. 
 Corporals. 
 
 1. Richard Turner, 5. Nath'l P. Chadwick, 
 
 2. Thomas H. Berry, 6. Peter Goff, 
 
 3. Harry A. Hopple, 7. Charles Stringfellow, 
 
 4. Thomas H. Thompson, 8. William Schofield. 
 
 Musicians. 
 JohnCnlin, James G. Hunter. 
 
 I''ri7'ates. 
 
 William Latch, 
 
 John Booth, 
 Charles Barger, 
 Thomas Berry, 
 John Brankin, 
 Edward Briley, 
 Angelo D. Boiga, 
 Enos F. Cloud, 
 Edward E. Culin, 
 John Culin, 
 John J. Clark, 
 George Clouser, 
 William H. Dickinson, 
 John Dunkerley, 
 Jesse Galligher, 
 Jacob Grider, Jr., 
 James Haws, 
 
 Charles Martien, 
 James Morris, 
 Theo. V. Rosevelt, 
 Joseph Rein, 
 John Russell, 
 Charles Roberts, 
 William Sweeney, 
 William Schofield, 
 William Smith, 
 Robert Smith, Jr., 
 John Sykes, 
 Richard Turner, 
 E. F. Taylor, 
 Richard T. Tin-ner, 
 John W. Warren. 
 
 Having copies of the muster rolls 
 of the " Darby Rangers," Captain 
 
 Charles A. Litzenberger, 69 men ; of 
 " The Delaware County Guards," 
 Capt. John H. Barton, 69 men, from 
 Concord and Aston ; of Capt. Joseph 
 Willcox's company of 69 men, from 
 Thornbury and Edgmont Townships ; 
 of "Gideon's Band," Capt. Norris 
 L. Yarnall, then Sheriff of the County, 
 which consisted of 99 men ; of the 
 " Delaware County Fusileers," Capt. 
 Simon Litzenberg, 84 men ; of Capt. 
 James Barton, Jr 's company, con- 
 sisting of 93 men, all told, in the ser- 
 vice during the year 1862; of the 
 " Upland Volunteers," Capt. Geo. K. 
 Crozer, in service, July, 1863; and 
 Capt. James Barton, Jr.'s 100 days 
 men, in 1864, I give the lists inser- 
 tion here, because, although not of 
 great moment at present, they will be, 
 in the future, matters exceedingly in- 
 teresting to the descendants of those 
 who served, or were ready to serve 
 their country in the hour of her direst 
 need. These companies were com- 
 posed of young men, many of them of 
 wealth, standing and influence — the 
 best material of the county. 
 
 Company B, \i/^th Penna. ]'olitiitcers. 
 
 MISTER ROLL OF THE UEL.WVARE COUNTY 
 Fl'SILEERS. 
 Simon Litzenberg, Captain. 
 John Woodcock, ist Lieut. 
 Ralph Buckley, 2it Lieut. 
 Sergeants. 
 
 1. W. H. Litzenberg, 3. Roswell T. Williams, 
 
 2. James Carrick, 4. Thomas Pilling, 
 
 5. John Shaw. 
 Corporats. 
 
 5. Edward Boden, 
 
 6. Lewis P. Watkin, 
 zer, 7. John B. Trainer, 
 
 8. Thomas H. Kay. 
 Musicians. 
 
 Albert M. Neill. 
 Wagoner — John Beggs. 
 Prizatcs. 
 
 Jerome Byre, 
 Joseph H. Brensinger, 
 Charles W. Broadbent, 
 Peter Barands, 
 William Brewster, 
 Abraham Brewster, 
 
 . John B. Silby, 
 
 . Israel Thomas, 
 
 . Alexander E. Cr 
 
 . William Baggs, 
 
 George Heath, 
 
 John Ashworth, 
 George W. Ayres, 
 James R. Abernethy, 
 Joseph Barlow, 
 Jacob Barlow, 
 Edwin Blakeley, 
 
IIISTOKY OF CJIESTEH, 
 
 Edward Cooper, 
 Thomas Chambers, 
 Charles Creamer, 
 Daniel Crowder, 
 John M. T. Doran, 
 William Dobbins, 
 Thomas H. Diitton, 
 William E. Daniels, 
 Elmer Edwards, 
 John Fildes, 
 George Fildes, 
 Michael Fitzgerald, 
 William B. Farra, 
 John Fryer, 
 Alorris Green, 
 Samuel Greenwood, 
 Thomas Hill, 
 Thomas J. Heron, 
 William Henry, 
 Hiram Hyzer, 
 William Hyzer, 
 William H. Henderson, 
 John L. Henderson, 
 Cieorge Hormatt, 
 John Hoofstitler, 
 William H. Haas, 
 Henry Hackman, 
 Abram Hunter, 
 Joseph S. Johnson, 
 William H. Johnson, 
 Edward Kay, 
 Thomas W. Kent, 
 Andrew Kinkaid, 
 Gardiner Kelly, 
 Crawford Kugler, 
 Thomas Lomax, 
 
 -M^mhcw Lnniax, 
 William Lamey, 
 James Logan, 
 John A. Leib, 
 Rufus K. Lear, 
 Arthur McConville, 
 Joseph McCoy, 
 John Major, 
 William Major, 
 Chandler Marshman, 
 Minshall Martin, 
 James Makin, 
 Jonas McUor, 
 William Nicholson, 
 Jesse W. Paist, 
 John Patterson, 
 Richard Pyott, 
 George Robinson, 
 Alfred Roebuck, 
 Edward D. Sipler, 
 George H. Shillingford, 
 John Schofield, 
 Henry Shaw, 
 Samuel Stirk, 
 Samuel Squibb, 
 George Shermik, 
 William Taylor, 
 James Toomes, 
 Richard Toomes, 
 James Trainor, 
 John S. Wilkinson, 
 Benjamin Walraven, 
 Edward Worrell, 
 Joseph Waddle, 
 Frederick Young, 
 Enos Yates. 
 
 [1-- 
 
 the Delaware County Republican.] 
 
 Gideon's Band. — The Sheriff of 
 Delaware County, Norris L. Yar- 
 XALL, is now at the head of over one 
 hundred young men who have vohin- 
 teered at the call of their country to 
 go fortli to endure the privations of 
 camp-life, the toils of the march, and 
 the perils of the battle field, to protect 
 u.s in our property and our homes. In 
 the roll which we annex, our readers 
 will recognize the names of the sons 
 of our best citizens, who have left the 
 comforts of easy homes, and the career 
 of prosperous business for the duty to 
 which their country calls them, and to 
 which their manly patriotism so gen- 
 erously and freely responds. We con- 
 gratulate them and their friends on hav- 
 ing a gentleman so capable as Sheriff 
 
 Varnall for their Captain, one whose 
 military knowledge peculiarly fits him 
 for the position he has assumed. We 
 predict for him entire success in his 
 patriotic efforts to serve his country. 
 The following is a copy of the mus- 
 ter roll of the Company referred to, 
 known as Co. D, 124th Pa. Vols., 
 mustered into service Aug. 11, 1862; 
 and out, May 15, 1863. 
 
 NoKKis L. Vaknall, Captain, 
 \. Law. Haldrman, \st Lieut, 
 Joseph Pkatt, 2d Lieut. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 James B. Aitkin, 
 J, Frank Black, 
 Benjamin Brooke, 
 Henry Black, 
 Samuel Boker, 
 William L. Bittle, 
 William B. Broomall, 
 William H. Beatty, 
 Hunter Brooke, 
 David Bradbury, 
 Chas. D, M. Broomhall, 
 Davis Broomall, 
 William Batting, 
 Silas Baker, 
 Daniel B. Baker, 
 Stephen I\L Blazier, 
 Richard R. Cummins, 
 J. Roland Cochran, 
 Michael Crouse, 
 Joseph G. Cummins, 
 James Cheetham, 
 James Crozer, 
 Jesse Darlington, 
 William G. Davidson, 
 Lorenzo F. Davis, 
 James Dougherty, 
 Henry Deny, 
 Elias Eckfeldt, 
 George Eplee, 
 Charles j. Esry, 
 Frederick Eckfeldt, 
 William Y. Esbin, 
 Anderson Fielding, 
 Jabez F. Fryer, 
 Thomas Fields, 
 Milton Ford, 
 Larkin Fairlamb, 
 Thomas Fleming, 
 George Gardner, 
 William Gamble, 
 John L. Grim, 
 Benjamin T. Green, 
 Edward B. Green, 
 William H. Garrett, 
 John H. Henderson, 
 Canada Humes, 
 William Howarlh, 
 William Heyburn, 
 
 Edward P. Hickman, 
 Andrew J. Haws, 
 Thomas Hance, Jr., 
 Joseph J. Hall, 
 Joel Hollingsworth, 
 William Howard, 
 Alfred Hannum, 
 William H. Hoopes, 
 John D. Howard, 
 Brinton J. Hej'burn, 
 James H. Haycock, 
 William T.' Innes, 
 Philip Johnson, 
 Edward Jackson, 
 Rufus King, 
 N. C. Longmirc, 
 Edward W. Lewis, 
 W. J. McPherson, 
 George D. Mdler, 
 James Moore, 
 James Newsome, 
 Casper Pike, 
 John Pugh, 
 Aaron Perry, 
 John Millson, 
 Wm. L. Martin, 
 Caleb T. Price, 
 Samuel H. Palmer, 
 Richard A. Passmore, 
 John Palmer, 
 John M. Pyle, 
 James C. Sorber, 
 George F. Springer, 
 Benj. Frank Thomas, 
 Jacob B. Richards, 
 Menanda Slack, 
 Miftlin W. Smith, 
 Pennell Stackhouse, 
 Edward W. Torbert, 
 William P. Worrall, Jr 
 Harry Williamson, 
 Henry Warburton, 
 Joel E. Watson, 
 W. Wayne Vodges, 
 Christian Wall, 
 Walker Y. Wells, 
 James Waters, 
 William Yarnall, 
 
IIISTOKV OF CHESTER. 
 
 379 
 
 Companv II, i2^th Fa. Volunteers. 
 
 DELAWARE COUNTY VOLUNTEERS. 
 Muster Roll of Capt. Barton's Company. 
 
 James Barton, Jr., Captain. 
 
 Frank M. Naglee, i.st Lieut. 
 
 William H. H. Clayton, z^/ Zz«<;. 
 Sergeants. 
 
 1. John M. Clayton, 3. William Pusey West, 
 
 2. James JNIcDade, 4. William Knovvles, 
 
 5. Robert J. Hanby. 
 Corporals. 
 
 1. William T. Shoemaker, 5. John B. McCay, Jr., 
 
 2. Samuel K. Crozer, 6. Simon B. West, 
 
 3. Lewis McGonegal, 7. John Peteis, 
 
 4. Charles B. Roberts, 8. Clayton J. Rodeback. 
 
 Musicians. 
 J. P. Evans, George B. Hinkson. 
 
 Wagoner — Ralph Welsh. 
 Privates. 
 
 Joseph A. Aimen, 
 Joseph L. Arment, 
 Ellis S. Baker, 
 George S. Benson, 
 Joseph H. Bonsall, 
 Thomas Burk, 
 William Burns, 
 John W. Carr, 
 Robert Casey, 
 Joseph Cathcart, 
 Thomas J. Carman, 
 James P. Chadwick, 
 William T. Chandler, 
 Enos W. Clair, 
 William T. Clayton, 
 John B. Congleton, 
 George K. Cross, 
 William J. Crowther, 
 Joseph Drake, 
 John P. Duffy, 
 Elias Eves, 
 John Files, 
 Ezekiel Ford, 
 Robert M. Green, 
 Alex. R. Gutterson, 
 Frederick Hartley, 
 William D. Howard, 
 James C. Hinkson, 
 Charles Hanthorn, 
 Jonathan Heacock, 
 Edward H. Hickman, 
 Benjamin Hirst, 
 Charles Jackson, 
 John Jackson, 
 Thomas H. Jackson, 
 David Jones, 
 
 Company D, i6th Pa. Militia. 
 
 DELAWARE COUNTY GUARDS, 
 
 0/ Concord and Aston. 
 
 John H. Barton, Captain. 
 
 William H. Walter, i.?^ Z^V?^/. 
 
 Isaac H. Derrick, 2d Lieut. 
 
 Zaddock Speakman, Ord'y Sergt. 
 Privates. 
 Elijah Bardsley, Edward Barton, 
 
 John Baker, George E. Barnes 
 
 49 
 
 J. Ephraim Lobb, 
 Robert McCall, 
 Daniel McCue, 
 Jesse D. Minshall, 
 J. Wesley Miles, 
 George Mills, 
 John Mott, 
 Philip Nawn, 
 Samuel W. Neeld, 
 Jesse Owen, 
 George W. Poole, 
 John W. Phillips, 
 Harvey E. Pierce, 
 Horatio N. Piatt, 
 James Pyle, 
 Owen Z. Pyle, 
 John Palmer, 
 James J. Piard, 
 Isaac E. Price, 
 M.aurice Ragan, 
 Thomas Ryan, 
 Cheyney H. Smith, 
 Albert Smith, 
 John Stadring, 
 Joseph Taylor, 
 Livingston Talley, 
 John M. Temple, 
 William Trainer, 
 Daniel Trainer, 
 William S. Vanhorn, 
 Nehemiah Vansant, 
 Simon H. White, 
 John Whittington, 
 Moses Williams, 
 Thomas Wildes, 
 Samuel R. Zebley. 
 
 Thomas Bullock, 
 E. E. Bartleson, 
 Osburn Booth, 
 Joseph Buckley, 
 Jesse Booker, 
 Alfred Broadbent, 
 Wesley Clayton, 
 Reuben Crowther, 
 W. S. Congleton, 
 Harry Cheetham, 
 William Chandler, 
 George Dutton, 
 George Derrick, 
 Jared Darlington, 
 Albert Darlington, 
 William Davis, 
 Shelly Ford, 
 James H. Finney, 
 Robert A. Fulton, 
 John Greenlee, 
 Joseph Griffith, 
 Isaac B. Gilpin, 
 Patrick Gallagher, 
 William Gartside, 
 Samuel E. Hannum, 
 George W. Hall, 
 William Hannum, 
 Joseph E. Hannum, 
 Samuel N. Hill. 
 Jesse K. Jester, 
 Samuel Lenderman, 
 Emmor S. Leedom, 
 
 William 
 
 Mordecai Lewis, 
 George Lancaster, 
 John Lamey, 
 Thomas Mayguckin, 
 James iMcMullin, 
 Thomas McCall, Jr., 
 Geo. W. McCrackin, 
 Chas. G. McGinnes, 
 Joseph Osbom, 
 Joseph Paschall, 
 Charles P. Peters, 
 William R. Peters, 
 Charles V. Peters, 
 Eli Pyle, Jr., 
 Vernon T. Pyle, 
 William H. Porter, 
 William T. Palmer, 
 Michael Rhail, 
 William H. Rigby, 
 Jesse Scott, 
 Aaron Swayne, 
 R. G. Smith, 
 Samuel Sweeten, 
 John M. Smith, 
 Robert L. Taylor, 
 George Taylor, 
 James S. Todd, 
 Aaron Tyson, 
 Joseph M. Wells, 
 J. L. Weeden, 
 John S. Wells, 
 Charles P. Walter, 
 P. Yarnall. 
 
 Company F, l6ih Fa. Militia, in seii'ice 
 Sept. II, \%(i2, for ten days. 
 
 COMPANY FROM THORNBURY AND EDGMONT. 
 
 Joseph Willcox, Captain. 
 William Miller, i.r/ Lieut. 
 George Eachus, 2d Lieut. 
 
 Pri 
 Albin W. Baker, 
 Daniel Baker, 
 Robert M. Burnett, 
 Edwin M. Bittle, 
 James Broomall, 
 John J. Baker, 
 William Broomall, 
 Lewis Baker, 
 Robert D. Baker, 
 T. J. Baker, Jr., 
 Davis Broomall, 
 Mark Broomall, 
 Hugh R. Cheyney, 
 Charles M. Cheyney, 
 George S. Cheyney, 
 Timothy Donavan, 
 William Eachus, 
 Alfred B. Entriken, 
 Evan Eachus, 
 John W. Fryer, 
 Edward P. Fryer, 
 George L. Green, 
 Abel Green, 
 George S. Green, 
 Smedley Green, 
 Edmund Green, 
 
 z'ates. 
 
 Robert Gamble, 
 George W. Hall, 
 John T. Huddleson, 
 Passmore Howard, 
 Wm. H. Huddleson, 
 Pierce Hemphill, 
 William Hall, 
 William Hines, 
 Thomas W. Hemphill 
 Edward P. Hickman, 
 EUwood H. James, 
 Bishop King, 
 Henry Lodge, 
 Nelson Lamb," 
 Wm. H. Malin, 
 Jos. R. Menough, 
 John H. Menough, 
 William Miles, Jr., 
 William Niles, 
 Curtis P. Pyle, 
 Richard T. Plummer, 
 EUwood Pyle, 
 John S. Pyle, 
 Humphrey Pyle, 
 Friend W. Russell, 
 Jos. W. Register, 
 
180 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 John D. Roi.ey, 
 John W. Steele, 
 Amos C. Sharpless, 
 Jos M. Stackhouse, 
 Robert Sill, 
 Enos P. Sharpless, 
 
 Smith Sharpless, 
 Thomas J. Sharpless, 
 Edward 13. Stanley, 
 John B. Taylor, 
 Albiu Yarnall, 
 Walker Yarnall, 
 
 Meredith Stackhouse, John P. Varnall. 
 
 Conipauy II, i6th Jicgi/iirnf I'd. Militia. 
 
 THK DARBY RANGERS. 
 
 Charles A. Litzenburg, Captain. 
 J. Charles Andrews, z.si Lieut. 
 George S. Patchell, 2^/ /-zVwi. 
 
 George Ash, Jr., 
 Jas D. Byerly, 
 George Bonsall, 
 Henry Bonsall, 
 William C. Bonsall, 
 Wm. H. Bunting, 
 Jacob S. Bunting, 
 Henry Burgoine, 
 John Bunting, 
 Jos. M. Bunting, Jr., 
 Hamilton A. Burk, 
 B. Warner Bonsall, 
 Reece Bonsall, 
 Moses Bonsall, 
 Joseph C. Bonsall, 
 Andrew Colday, 
 G. Swayne Collier, 
 James Carr, 
 Horatio P. Connell, 
 James Colflcsh, 
 D. Colflesh, 
 George Davis, 
 William Doles, 
 John Davis, 
 Samuel Edner, 
 Edward Earle, 
 William H. Ferris, 
 John Gorton, 
 R. Graham, 
 James Hughes, 
 N. Hatch, 
 John J. Hoopes, 
 Isaac H. Hibbert, 
 Henry Hoppin, 
 
 MUSTER ROL 
 
 yivates. 
 
 John S. Hansen, 
 J. Robert Howell, 
 George Hebon, 
 John A. Hall, 
 Alonzo A. Heap, 
 Walker Y. Hoopes, 
 Edward Kaine, 
 Hugh Lloyd, 
 Jos. L. Lewis, 
 Abel Lodge, Jr., 
 Isaac R. Lincoln, 
 T. M. McLaughlin, 
 Wm. H. Norris, 
 John P. Ottey, 
 George Plumley, 
 Thomas Palmer, 
 Josiah Preston, 
 Henry Palmer, 
 Henry H. Ru.ssell, 
 Jacob S. Serrill, 
 Joseph L. Sager, 
 James P. Serrill, 
 George Serrill, 
 James S. Swayne, 
 Samuel W. Shaw, 
 J. R. Suplee, 
 William H. Sheller, 
 Valerius Sheller, 
 Mordecai JSL Shaw, 
 Richard Thatcher, 
 Edward Thatcher, 
 Albert G. Thatcher, 
 John Verlenden, 
 Charles Willis. 
 
 THE UPLAND VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 George K. Crozek, Captain. 
 John Graff, \st Lieut. 
 Thomas Stewart, id Lieut. 
 
 S. Bentley, 
 R. Vanzant, 
 
 Sergeants. 
 
 3. John Geltson, 
 
 4. W. McNamee, 
 
 Andrew I.ampert. 
 Privates. 
 
 W. Anderson, 
 James Allen, 
 Mark Allen, 
 Jas. Brackenridge, Jr 
 James Buckley, 
 Ratcliffc Bridge, 
 Matson Baile, 
 
 George Bleakley, 
 W. Birley, 
 John Ronnor, 
 Edwin Blakely, 
 W. Chalfant, 
 Tho. dough, 
 Ayur Castle, 
 
 Robert Cardwell, 
 James Cauliff, 
 John Cardwell, 
 Richard Crowther, 
 Robert Cornog, 
 John Conovan, 
 W. Chadwick, 
 James Daniels, 
 W. Dalton, 
 Ezra Dransfield, 
 Isaac Dalton, 
 Wm. Dean, 
 Wm. Dawson, 
 Robert Elliott, 
 George Elliott, 
 William Finley, 
 Henry Foster, 
 Charles Firth, 
 Andrew Finton, 
 Allen Garside, 
 Robert Garside, 
 Luke Hepworth, 
 Richard Hepworth, 
 Ale.\. Hopkins, 
 Wm. Henderson, 
 Edward Howarth, 
 
 Thomas Kay, 
 John Lavery, 
 George Loveland, 
 David Minster, 
 Arthur Martin, 
 John McGovern, 
 W. McClelland, 
 James Mills, 
 Joseph McBride, 
 George Mousley, 
 Charles McBride, 
 Samuel Montgomery, 
 Samuel Pretty, 
 David Pretty, 
 
 Alex. Struthers, 
 Samuel Saxon, 
 W. Struthers, 
 Joseph Scott, 
 James Smith, 
 Edward Taylor, 
 John Thompson, 
 Robert West, 
 Joseph Wyatt, 
 W. Ward, 
 John Wyatt. 
 
 The Republican, from which I have 
 copied most of the lists, making some 
 corrections, says in reference to the 
 last named. 
 
 " We have not been able to procure 
 all the names of the Company, which 
 numbers ninety men. They are en- 
 camped, for the present, on the Wis- 
 sahickon. The people of Upland de- 
 serve all praise for raising this fine 
 Company. We understand the Messrs. 
 Crozers have set apart a sum of money 
 for the families of volunteers." 
 
 The Slifer Phalanx^so named 
 in honor of Hon. Eli Slifer, then Sec- 
 retary of the Commonwealth under 
 Governor Curtin — was recruited in 
 Chester, and was, for a time, quar- 
 tered in City Hall, during the month 
 of May, 1861. The following is the 
 roll of the company, which was mus- 
 tered into service as Company C, ist 
 Pennsylvania Reserves, or 30th of the 
 line. 
 
 Samuel A. Dyer, Ca/>tain. 
 Joseph R. T. Coates, ist Lieut. 
 John H. Taylok, Jr., 2ii Lieut. 
 Sergeants. 
 
 1. Jacob Keen Vaughan, Jr., 3. Wm. Olden Ridgway, 
 
 2. Edward Larkin, 4. John M. Thompson. 
 
HISTOKY OF CHESTER. 
 
 381 
 
 Corporals. 
 
 1. John McDonald, 3. Edwin E. Flavill, 
 
 2. Edward R. Ross, 4. John H. Williams. 
 
 Privates. 
 
 Samuel Ardes, Edward McCabe, 
 
 Oliver C. Armstrong, Henry McCloskey, 
 
 James S. Ashbridge, William McCay, 
 
 Edward Butler, Thomas McGarvey, 
 
 John Brophy, James Pollock, 
 
 William Bradford, John Porter, 
 
 William Cunliff, William C. Paist, 
 
 William W. Button, Henry Rocth, 
 
 John Devlin, WilHam Rider, 
 
 Charles Dougherty, Thomas Rice, 
 
 James Dougherty, James Riley, 
 
 David Donaldson, John Roebuck, 
 
 Thomas S. Everhart, Matthew Roach, 
 
 Edward Elliott, James-Stewart, 
 
 George Fildes, William Smith, 
 
 Edward Farren, Lane Schofield, 
 
 Michael Grady, Jesse Supplee, 
 
 Harry Hobaugh, Andrew Shaw, 
 
 John Huff, John E. Smith, 
 
 Edward Hickman, James Sanders, 
 
 Isaac Helms, William StiUwell, 
 
 Samuel Hinds, John T. Schofield, 
 
 Horace Hill, James Stevenson, 
 
 Archy Hamilton, Joseph Turner, 
 
 Robert Henderson, Thomas Vanzant, 
 
 John Johnson, Abram R. Vanzant, 
 
 William Lamey, Alfred G. Webb, 
 
 Samuel Lord, George Warsley, 
 
 James Lusby, Thomas Wilkinson, 
 
 Peter Miller, Samuel Williams, 
 
 Robert Mills, R. H. Welsh, 
 
 Thomas Mills, Collins D. Walker, 
 William Wood. 
 
 In the early part of July, 1861, Cap- 
 tain Wm. L. Laws recruited a cavalry 
 company in Chester. Afterwards the 
 Company was removed to Philadelphia, 
 and Captain William K. Grant was 
 substituted in place of Laws. The 
 Company was mustered into service as 
 Co. I, 60th Regiment, 3d Pennsyl- 
 vania Cavalry. The following per- 
 sons were from Chester and its vicinity : 
 Matthias Cooper, William Hadfield, 
 George Phillips and Edward Crowther, 
 Sefgca?ifs. John Oaks, Saddler. 
 
 Privates — James Ardis, William 
 Brown, John Byram, James W. Car- 
 roll, William Campbell, Michael Cur- 
 ran, Joseph Cook, Joseph Dalton, 
 Henry C. Fuller, Eli Hamilton, Wil- 
 liam H. Martin, William Moore, 
 James McGahey, William McGinness, 
 
 William Quinn, John Ramsay, Thos. 
 Schofield, Isaac West, William T. 
 W>st. 
 
 Other officers and men who had 
 been recruited at Chester were dis- 
 tributed through the different com- 
 panies of the 60th Regiment, thus : 
 In Co. K, there were privates, John 
 A. Devers, Patrick Ford, John Arm- 
 strong, Thomas Dyson ; Co. C, there 
 was Thomas Riley ; in Co. E, George 
 W. Rocas; in Co. F, there were Alex- 
 ander King, Oram Gregg, James A. 
 Parcels, James Rusk, George Birth, 
 David A. Brown, Charles Dewight, 
 William Mason, John O'Brien, John 
 Phillips, Joseph L. Pedrick, William 
 Ramsey, Samuel Shepherd, George 
 Weigand. 
 
 Co. M, Abel Wright, \st Lieut.; 
 John W. Ford, 2d Lieut. ; Albert 
 Bradbury, Sergeant; Benjamin Mc- 
 Donald, Joseph A. Ford, Abel Ford, 
 Corporals; Robert Coppock, Farrier. 
 Thomas Broomall, William Crozer, 
 Nehemiah Ford, Samuel Grey, James 
 McFaddon, William McDonald, Jas. 
 Willis, Privates. 
 
 Co. A, y]th Regt. Pa. Militia ; musiered in 
 July 1-15, 1863; discharged Aug. 'i,2„it, 1863. 
 
 William Frick, Captain. 
 Edward M. Lyons, ist Lieut. 
 William G. Price, ■zd Lietit. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 
 1. John Eyre Shaw, Esq., 3. Chas. D. Pennell, 
 
 2. Thos. Donechy, 4. Wm. C. Dubree, 
 
 5. George Baker. 
 Corporals. 
 
 1. Chas. A. Story, 5. Henry Hinkson, 
 
 2. John McFall, 6. Robt. M. Green, 
 
 3. John Atkinson, 7. Charles Hinkson, 
 
 4. David M. Johnson, 8. Frederick Engle. 
 
 Musicians. 
 Hamilton Sample, James Rawncliffe. 
 
 Privates. 
 
 Aaron Allen, John Birtwell, 
 
 David Appeleliy, Chris. Blakeley, 
 
 James R. Abernethy, Joseph Blakeley, 
 
 Thomas Berry, William Blakeley, 
 
 Abram Blakeley, Thomas W. Boker, 
 
 Abram Birtwell, Jacob Boon, 
 
882 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 John Jiouii, 
 Peter Hoon, 
 Henry Bradley, 
 Geo. F. Brinton, 
 Thomas Chambers, 
 James Cochran, 
 Geo. P. Dale, 
 Wm. P. Derr, 
 Alfred O. Deshong, 
 James Dunkcrley, 
 Julius A. Dutton, 
 Joseph Eckersley, 
 Peter H. Engle, 
 Samuel Etchclls, 
 William Ewing, 
 Edwin E. Flavin, 
 J. Marshall Garrett, 
 James Gartside, 
 John Gart-'side, 
 Wm. H. Geary, 
 Thomas Gibbs, 
 Peter Goff, 
 George Gorby, 
 Robert C. Gorby, 
 Jonathan Grant, 
 Charles L. Grubb, 
 James Haiise, 
 William Harrison, 
 Joshua Hibbard, 
 Jesse Hicken, 
 Henry M. Hinkson, 
 John Holt, 
 Alfred HooflT, 
 J. Wash. Irving, 
 John P. Jones, 
 Company A, \C)']th Pa 
 
 Jacob B. Kitts, 
 Joseph Ladomus, 
 Henry Larkin, 
 Thomas Lee, 
 Benjamin Mason, 
 Joseph Miller, 
 William Mills, 
 Robert Mirt, 
 William Moore, 
 James Morgan, 
 David W. Morrison, 
 Wm. P. Morrison, 
 James Montgomery, 
 Daniel ^rcKinney, 
 Wm. J. Ogleby, 
 Wm. Patterson, 
 Andrew Phillips, 
 Wm. R. Rice, 
 Geo. H. Ridgeway, 
 Wm. Schoficid, 
 Arnold Shaw, 
 John Slawter, 
 Robert Smith, Jr., 
 Thos. O. Stephenson, 
 Jacob B. Stewart, 
 Henry SutliflF, 
 Charles Sweeney, 
 Wm. H. H. Taylor, 
 George Turner, 
 Richard E. Turner, 
 Rich'd T. Turner, 
 Joseph Weaver, 
 Thomas Wilkinson, 
 Thomas Wood, 
 Jacob B. Yates. 
 Vols., July 16, 1864. 
 
 CAPT. 15ARTON S CO., lOO DAY.S MEN. 
 
 James Barton, Jr., Captain. 
 
 James C. Hinkson, ist Lieut. 
 
 Thomas H. Berry, ■zd Lieut. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 
 1. John M. Clayton, 3. Jesse D. Minshall, 
 
 2. Ambrose McDade, 4. Wm. F. Shoemaker, 
 
 5. William Trainer. 
 Corporals. 
 
 1. Cheyney H. Smith, 5. Preston E. Wilson, 
 
 2. Robert J. Eagleson, 6. Henry C. Hinkson, 
 
 3. Joseph L. Armcnt, 7. Benjamin Crowther, 
 
 4. Henry Larkin, 8. George S. Dutton. 
 
 Musician — George W. Schofield. 
 ■ Privates. 
 
 John 15. Allen, 
 Theodore J. Bell, 
 Samuel A. Benson, 
 Abram W. Birlwell, 
 Frank Blagg, 
 Hamilton Burk, 
 Milton Bowers, 
 James Braceland, 
 Peter Boon, 
 John Birtwell, 
 Mark Brewster, 
 Samuel Burk, 
 James B. Berry, 
 Edward W. Casey, 
 John Cannavan, 
 
 Samuel W. Chadwick, 
 Samuel R. Chambers, 
 Albert Dutton, 
 George H. Derrick, 
 James Dougherty, 
 Alfred B. Kntriken, 
 David Foster, 
 Theodore J. Gleason, 
 Nelson C. Green, 
 John M. Hinkson, 
 Clayton P. Hannaway, 
 Thomas Hance, 
 Charles J. Hewes, 
 George Horning, 
 Jo.scph P. Hindsley. 
 
 Harrison Hoffman, 
 William Hill, 
 William Hepworth, 
 Spencer Howard, 
 Lewis P. Hendrickson, 
 Isaac Jones, 
 Martin Kelly, 
 John H. Kerlin, 
 James D. Knight, 
 Samuel W. Loveland, 
 Benjamin H. Mason, 
 John S. McDade, 
 William McDonald, 
 Henry D. McNeild, 
 Flemming Maloney, 
 Daniel McKinney, 
 Vincent Nichols, 
 Samuel Nuttall, 
 
 Joseph Osborne, 
 Gibbons L. Pharoah, 
 Emmor W. Porter, 
 Edwin L. Powell, 
 John H. Pretty, 
 Samuel C. Price, 
 Silas L. Sample, 
 Joseph B. Sample, 
 Lewis J. Smith, 
 Nelson S. Talley, 
 William E. Trainer, 
 George W. Turner, 
 J. Terrill Ulrich, 
 Theodore A. Vansant, 
 John W. Warren, 
 William H. Williams, 
 William H. Weir, 
 William W. Young. 
 
 Of course it must be understood that 
 the muster rolls of volunteer compa- 
 nies, herein given, contain only the 
 names of the members of the com- 
 panies when they were first organized. 
 Those who desire further information 
 as to those who joined the companies 
 afterwards, are referred to Bates' His- 
 tory of the Fe?insylvama Volunteers, 
 and the report of the Adjutant General 
 of Pennsylvania for 1866, in which full 
 histories of the services of each regi- 
 ment, names of ofiicers, privates, and 
 recruits from time to time and the pro- 
 motions made during the war, are given 
 in full. 
 
 Of the officers in the regular service 
 during the rebellion, the old town of 
 Chester has no need to feel ashamed ; 
 in fact, I believe her people are just a 
 little proud of them. Their names 
 will justify all their fellow-townsmen 
 can .say in their favor. The list is as 
 follows : 
 
 David D. Porter, Admiral, U. S. 
 Navy ; Frederick Engle, Rear Ad- 
 miral, U. S. Navy ; William D. Por- 
 ter, Commander, U. S. Navy ; Pierce 
 Crosby, Commodore, U. S. Navy ; Ma- 
 jor David Porter Heap, Paymaster, 
 U. S. Army; May Humphreys Stacey, 
 Captain and Brev. Lieut. Col., U. S. 
 Army; Henry Ogden Porter, Lieut., 
 U. S. Revenue Marine, acting Lieut. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 383 
 
 of the U. S. Navy ; David Porter Heap, 
 (the younger,) Captain, U. S. Engin- 
 eers ; Henry DeHaven Manley, Lieut. 
 Commander, U. S. Navy ; Henry Clay 
 Cochrane, ist Lieut.- U. S. Marine 
 Corps. 
 
 Chester has also the right to claim 
 as an adopted son another hero, who 
 should rank next at least, to the elder 
 Porter, — I mean David Glasgow Farra- 
 gut, the brave old Admiral, who was 
 born July 5, 1801, at Campbell Station, 
 East Tennessee. At the early age of 
 nine years he was appointed a Mid- 
 shipman in the U. S. Navy, and served 
 under David Porter in the Essex. 
 In the engagement with the Phcebe 
 and Cherub, hereinbefore fully de- 
 scribed ; the young middy was knocked 
 down a hatchway by a falling man, 
 and severely bruised, but was able to 
 do duty at his gun till the Essex was 
 surrendered. This was the only occa- 
 sion in which Farragut ever received 
 a hurt while in the service. He was 
 then 12 years old. On his return to 
 the United States, after peace was de- 
 clared, Farragut went to school at 
 Chester, to an old French officer who 
 had served under the great Napoleon, 
 with whom he studied military and 
 naval science for two years, and at the 
 expiration of that time returned to duty 
 as a midshipman. He was not com- 
 missioned as a Lieutenant until 1825. 
 Commodore Porter made special and 
 honorable mention of Farragut's gal- 
 lantry in the fight at Valparaiso, but 
 said with appropriate regret that "the 
 boy was too young for promotion." 
 My recollection is, that the late Cap- 
 tain Henry Ogden, also of Chester, 
 was on board the Essex, in the same 
 engagement, being at that time about 
 the same age as Farragut, and that 
 Porter in his report regretted that 
 
 ' ' the boys were both too young for 
 promotion." My late old school- 
 mate at Chester, Henry Ogden Porter, 
 was so named after Captain Ogden, 
 who was a distinguished officer in the 
 navy. Li '' The Delaware County 
 Paper a7id Mail,'' of Jan. 2, 1877, 
 will be found the following: 
 
 " Some of our older readers will recall the 
 time when Commodore David Porter resided 
 at the Greenbank Mansion, in this city, and 
 distinctly remember David G. Farragut, a mid- 
 shipman, who was then a member of the Com- 
 modore's family, and quite a beau among the 
 ladies of Chester of that day. The future 
 Admiral they recall as an agreeable fellow, 
 short in stature and far from comely in fea- 
 tures. Commodore David Porter, it will be 
 remembered, to make the following extract 
 intelligible to our readers, was the son of 
 David, who was a Captain in the Continental 
 Navy. The Springfield Republican of a re- 
 cent date, tells us 'that David Porter, Sr., 
 (the Revolutionary officer,) was once fishing 
 on Lake Pontchartrain, when he was pros- 
 trated by a sunstroke. A man named Farra- 
 gut kindly cared for him, and the son of Por- 
 ter, subsequently known as Commodore David 
 Porter, finding that Farragut was in moderate 
 circumstances, with several children to sup- 
 port, adopted David when he was but seven 
 years old, obtained him an appointment as 
 midshipman, and kept him with him until 
 after the capture of the Essex.' 
 
 This historical scrap will be new to many 
 of the old people of the vicinity, who knew 
 the old Commodore and his protege, but never 
 heard before' that Farragut was the adopted 
 son of the former. In 1863, when we were 
 in New Orleans, and Farragut in the Hart- 
 ford, lay opposite Jackson Square, we were 
 told by a lady of that city, a confirmed rebel, 
 that the Admiral's mother was then living in 
 that city, and that she had refused to receive 
 him when he called upon her in his uniform. 
 The old lady was in destitute circumstances, 
 by reason of the war ; her son furnished her 
 every thing she desired, and yet she refused 
 to recognize him unless he was in citizens' 
 dress. We do not know whether this state- 
 ment is correct; it was told us just before 
 Farragut ascended the river to make his daring 
 
384 
 
 ISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 run l)y tlie liattcries i)f Port Hudson, on the 
 14th of March, nearly 14 years ago." 
 
 General Robert Patterson lias been 
 so long engaged in manufacturing 
 business in Delaware County, and is 
 so well known there, he is for that and 
 other reasons deemed one of its peo- 
 ple. His father, Francis Patterson, 
 was a Presbyterian, and a respectable 
 farmer in County Tyrone, Ireland, 
 who after the rebellion of 1798, in 
 which he took part with his native 
 countrymen, emigrated to this coun- 
 try, and settled in Delaware County, 
 Pa. Robert was then a boy of six 
 years of age. As soon as he was old 
 enough he entered the counting house 
 of Ed. Thompson, a prominent Phila- 
 delphia merchant. Fond of military 
 affairs, he entered the U. S. service 
 during the War of 181 2, as a Lieut, of 
 Infantry, at the age of 19 years. He 
 rose to the rank of Captain, in 1815 
 resigned and returned to mercantile 
 life ; but became an active participant 
 in Militia affairs at Philadelphia, and 
 finally Major General of Division in 
 1824. In 1838, he and his Division 
 were on duty at Harrisburg; again in 
 1844, aided in suppressing the riots in 
 Philadelphia. In 1846, during the 
 Mexican War, Mr. Patterson entered 
 active service again as Major General 
 of Volunteers in the U. S. Army, and 
 served through the entire campaign. 
 In 1 861, he ag^in entered the service 
 with his old rank and took active part in 
 defence of the Government during the 
 civil war. With the Penna. Reserves 
 and other troops, including the famous 
 " First City Troop," of Philadelphia, 
 he occupied Harpers Ferry, Va., and 
 was censured for not marching on 
 Winchester, and thus holding in check 
 the Rebel forces which advanced 
 against the Union Army, and aided 
 
 in its defeat at the battle of Bull Run. 
 Lossing, in his Civil War, gives a full 
 narrative of this campaign ; and the 
 General issued his vindication in 1865, 
 entitled "A Narrative of the Cam- 
 paign in the Valley of the Shenandoah, 
 in 1 86 1," a copy of which he sent me, 
 as an acquaintance of his son, the late 
 Major General Francis Patterson, U. S. 
 Volunteers. The Comte de Paris, in 
 a letter dated Oct. 8, 1876, to a gen- 
 tleman of Philadelphia, exonerates the 
 General from all blame, and says, if 
 his work on the war reaches another 
 edition, the errors in the first edition 
 in reference to this affair, shall be cor- 
 rected. "Frank Patterson," as he 
 was called by his Army friends, had, 
 previous to the breaking out of the 
 Rebellion of 1861, been a Captain of 
 the Regular Army. He died shortly 
 after the battle of Malvern Hill. His 
 brother, Robert Emmett Patterson, 
 was Colonel of the Regiment formed 
 by the old company of Hibernia 
 Greens, of Philadelphia, and in ser- 
 vice during the War of 1 861-5. 
 
 Gen. Patterson says: "I remember 
 the Hill family well, the old gentlemen 
 and the old lady, and all the sons and 
 daughters. I went to school with the 
 Juniors. William was the eldest, mar- 
 ried and farming, when Peter and 
 George W. were at school ; John F. 
 was the second, Peter, the third, and 
 George, the youngest. I knew Judge 
 Crosby well, he was a warm friend of 
 my father's — Pierce, Robert and John 
 Crosby also. Judge Crosby was one 
 of the best and most respected men 
 of Delaware County. The school we 
 went to was not near ridley Park, it 
 was on a small piece of land in the 
 road leading from Gibbon's tavern to 
 the Ferry on Darby Creek, hading to 
 the Lazaretto, where the Townsliipsof 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 385 
 
 Ridley and Springfield met. It was 
 given by William Pennock for school 
 purposes. Mr. Pennock was then in 
 the Legislature. The house is there 
 yet, I go every summer to see it. My 
 father's farm, and where he lived when I 
 was a boy, was in Ridley, lining Pen- 
 nock's farm from the school house re- 
 ferred to, back to the road leading from 
 Gibbon's tavern to the Leiper road, 
 the largest farm there. House and barn 
 are still there, occupied by a very 
 nice family named Worrell. My fa- 
 ther's farm, has, I think, been di- 
 vided up into 3 or 4 farms. Delaware 
 sent Isaac D. Barnard and myself to 
 the Army in the War of 1812. A 
 better soldier than Barnard was not in 
 the Army. I knew the Crosby's, Mor- 
 ton's and Mcllvain's well, none more 
 reputable." 
 
 The General ends his note by writ- 
 ing : "I am going this afternoon, 
 (April 22, 1876,) to pay my respects 
 to an old school-mate, and I believe 
 the only one alive. She was Miss 
 Mary Gardner, daughter of Captain 
 Edward Gardner, now Mrs. Mary 
 Crowell, mother of the Rev. Mr. 
 Crowell, a respected Presbyterian min- 
 ister, and in her eighty-fourth year. 
 I am in my eighty-fifth." 
 
 Thomas Home lived on William 
 Pennock' s place when I went to the 
 old school mentioned, about 1832, 
 then kept by Edward Thomas ; and 
 Abraham Worrell lived on the old 
 Patterson farm. Captain Edw. Gard- 
 ner lived somewhere near the White 
 Horse Tavern. 
 
 The General will never see the old 
 school house again ; it has been torn 
 down to make ■ room for a dwelling, 
 now building on its site, by William 
 Home, a son of George, and a grand- 
 son of Thomas. The school house not 
 
 having been used for many years for the 
 purposes for which it was donated, re- 
 verted to the assigns of Mr. Pennock. 
 Davis Shillingford now resides in 
 the old red brick Pennock Mansion, 
 and occupies a part of their original 
 estate. 
 
 XLI. 
 
 An obituary on the death of Harry, 
 or " Budd" Porter, as he was called 
 at school, in the Chester Republican, 
 of May 31, 1872, says : 
 
 " His life was an eventful one. Fond of 
 adventure, he joined Walker in his expedi- 
 tion to Central America, and while on that 
 expedition was cut up with bullet wounds, 
 which much impaired his activity for the re- 
 mainder of his life. When the war of the 
 Rebellion broke out, Lieut. Porter was in 
 South Carolina on board a Revenue Cutter 
 that was seized by the rebels. He managed 
 to escape, came north, volunteered for the 
 navy, in which he served during the whole 
 war, returning to the Revenue Marine at its 
 close. He was First Lieutenant of the U. S. 
 steamer Hatteras, when that vessel was sunk 
 by the Alabama, commanded by Captain 
 Semmes, and stood at his guns until the ship 
 went down. (His Captain refusing to sur- 
 render, fought his vessel until she sunk be- 
 neath his feet in the waters of the Gulf of 
 Mexico.) As soon as he regained his liberty 
 he returned to active duty in the navy, and 
 served on board the Susquehatuia, com- 
 manded by Gordon, in the two battles at Fort 
 Fisher, where he displayed his usual bravery." 
 
 I knew Theodoric, Hamilton, and 
 Harry quite well. Harry and m3'self 
 were schoolmates. As a boy, he was 
 full of fun and mischief, as were also 
 his elder brothers. I remember quite 
 distinctly, that during the winter 1833- 
 34, when the Delaware River had been 
 frozen up for some time from Chester 
 to Philadelphia, Theodoric and Hamil- 
 ton started to drive two horses, har- 
 nessed to a sleigh, to the city, not- 
 
:;80 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 withstaiuling the fact that the weather 
 was moderating, a heavy fog prevail- 
 ing, and the ice melting in the stream 
 and showing signs of breaking up. The 
 persuasions of their friends to try and 
 induce them to abandon their mad 
 project was in vain, as they usually 
 were on such occasions, and they 
 started off and made the trip in safe- 
 ty, reaching Pine street wharf just as 
 the ice in the river began to move, 
 and the horses were with difficulty 
 saved from being drowned. They con- 
 sidered this adventure excellent fun. 
 Since writing the above, the incident 
 has become the subject of a news- 
 paper article, in which David is sub- 
 stituted for Hamilton, which I think is 
 a mistake. Still I was very young, and 
 although the story differs from my boy- 
 ish recollections, it may be correct for 
 all that. It is thus related by the 
 Delaware County Republican : 
 
 " The thrilling account of ' A Winter's 
 Night on Lake Winnebago,' printed in the 
 last number of this paper, recalls to mind a 
 feat performed nearly forty years ago, by David 
 D. (now Admiral) Porter, and his brother 
 Theodoric, then residents of this place. The 
 love of adventure, added to the cool and de- 
 termined bravery which the sons of Commo- 
 dore Porter were always known to possess, 
 and which never forsook them in any emer- 
 gency, prompted them to determine to reach 
 Philadelphia, by way of the Delaware, in a 
 sleigh. The winter was unusually severe, and 
 the river had been filled, for several weeks, 
 with large masses of floating ice. The night 
 previous to their adventure was intensely cold, 
 and on the following morning the ice had 
 ceased to run — the river was frozen over from 
 Pennsylvania to New Jersey, and a light snow 
 covered the ground. The proposition to visit 
 J'hiladelphia leaked out, and shortly there- 
 after many of the older people of the town 
 visited ' Greenbank'— then the residence of 
 the parents of the young men — to endeavor to 
 dissuade them from so perilous an under- 
 taking. The various obstacles that would 
 present themselves during the passage; the 
 
 almost certainty that the horse and sleigh 
 would get into an air-hole, and that the youths 
 would be beyond help and get lost, were re- 
 presented to them by matter-of-fact men, who 
 knew the river, and the numerous dangers to be 
 surmounted before the city could be reached, 
 if, indeed, the feat could be accomplished at 
 all. All this was heard by the young men, 
 but not heeded, and at nine o'clock in the 
 morning the horse and sleigh was brought 
 to the foot of W^elsh street, and the Porter 
 boys entered the sledge. The ' ribbons' were 
 entrusted to David, the elder, and the two set 
 out on their trip. The mouths of the different 
 streams that enter into the Delaware — Ridley, 
 Crum, and Darby Creeks — were closed with 
 ice piled several feet high, and a detour, far 
 into the river, had to be made to avoid these 
 obstructions, \\hich neither man nor beast 
 could overcome. The inside channel, known 
 as the ' Lazaretto Channel,' was taken, and 
 the sleigh and its occupants passed Martin's 
 Bar, the mouth of the Schuylkill and the 
 Horse Shoe, without accident of any kind. 
 On approaching the city, they found that the 
 ice was detached from the shore for some dis- 
 tance, and it became necessary for safety to 
 keep well off the land. At noon they arrived 
 at their destination, and tied their horse 
 alongside the' old Sea Gtill, then a receiving 
 ship, anchored off the Navy Yard. The navy 
 officers, friends and shipmates of the old Com- 
 modore, their father, received the young men 
 with open arms, congratulated them on the 
 performance of their dangerous feat, and en- 
 tertained them handsomely. At three o'clock 
 they returned to the sleigh, and made prepara- 
 tions to leave for home by the same route they 
 had reached the city. The cold had by this 
 lime become more intense, and friends advised 
 them to abandon their purpose. On they 
 went, however, and after an hour's ride they 
 became benumbed, and, halting their vehicle, 
 they built a fire upon the ice to warm them- 
 selves. Li the course of half an hour the 
 journey was resumed, and Chester was reached 
 without mishap, at nine o'clock at night, the 
 whole distance, thirty-two miles, having been 
 performed over the frozen surface of a river 
 in many places thirty feet deep. No one has 
 tried the experiment since, nor is it in the re- 
 collection of any of our oldest citizens that it 
 was e\er previously performed. We have not 
 attempted to relate the incidents of this perilous 
 
IIISTOUY UF CHESTER. 
 
 887 
 
 ride, all of which were at one lime familiar to 
 the residents of this to\\n, many of whom 
 have passed away — not, however, without re- 
 counting to their descendants the trip of David 
 D. Porter and his brother Theodoric, over the 
 ice, from Chester to Philadelphia, in a sleigh." 
 
 Just above where the tracks of the 
 P. W. & B. Railroad cross Chester 
 Creek, there are two large flat rocks, 
 resting on a much larger one, which 
 projects into the stream somewhat. In 
 old times "The Rocks" were quite 
 out of town, and there was nothing 
 near them but an enclosed field for 
 sheep and cattle, called "The Sheep 
 Pen. ' ' The rocks were then a famous 
 swimming place, to which all the Ches- 
 ter boys resorted, after school was out, 
 to bathe. Most of the .school boys of 
 my time could swim like ducks, even 
 the very small ones, who were taught 
 by the larger boys throwing them in 
 the creek from these rocks. I remem- 
 ber throwing James, or May Stacey in ; 
 I forget which one it was. He was 
 about nine years old, but he swam ; 
 and I nearly drowned David Quinn, 
 by pushing him off the rocks, thinking 
 he could swim. About 1834 or '35, 
 Theodoric Porter swam from Green- 
 wich Point to Chester, about 15 miles. 
 In emulation of this feat, all the Ches- 
 ter boys undertook to swim from the 
 rocks to Ship Creek woods, over half 
 a mile, and back again. Some got to 
 the woods, but none got back without 
 touching with the foot, for a kind of 
 a rest. 
 
 A brief sketch of the life and ser- 
 vices of Frederick Engle, will be found 
 in an obituary, which I copy from 
 7he RepubUca7i of Feb. 21st, 1868: 
 
 " Frederick Engle, Rear Admiral on 
 the retired list of the United States 
 Navy, died at his residence in Phila- 
 delphia, on Wednesday of last week, 
 
 of disease of the heart, aged sixty-nine 
 years. He was born in Chester, and 
 entered the navy in 1814, when he was 
 but fifteen years of age. The ocean, 
 at that time, swarmed with pirates, and 
 Commodore Porter was sent in search of 
 them . Young Engle accompanied him 
 in his various cruises, performing his 
 duty faithfully, and receiving the com- 
 mendations of his superior officer. He 
 commanded the steamship Princeton 
 during the Mexican war, and in the 
 attack upon Vera Cruz, a shot from 
 his vessel made the first breach in its 
 walls. He was afterwards sent to the 
 Mediterranean and Black Seas, and 
 visited the Crimea. When the rebel- 
 lion broke out, he was sent to relieve 
 Commodore Stribling, then in com- 
 mand of the flagship Hartford, and 
 brought that vessel home. He also 
 commanded the frigate Wabash. Sub- 
 sequently he was stationed at the Phila- 
 delphia Navy Yard, after which he was 
 appointed Governor of the Naval Asy- 
 lum. He was President of one or 
 more Boards of Inquiry and Exami- 
 nation, a position for which he was 
 admirably fitted. For the last two 
 or three years he suffered from an ap- 
 parent dropsical affection. He was 
 made Commodore on the retired list, 
 July 10, 1862, having been retired as 
 Captain, Dec. 11, 1871. His last 
 grade was given him in 1867. He 
 had seen twenty-five years of sea ser- 
 vice and eight years of shore duty, in 
 fifty-three years' connection with the 
 navy. Admiral Engle's kindness was 
 proverbial. He always evinced a warm 
 attachment for the place of his birth, 
 and no one from that place, who was 
 worthy, ever applied to him without 
 receiving assistance. His remains were 
 interred at Burlington, New Jersey." 
 Delaware County claims also some 
 
:J88 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEH. 
 
 interest in another distinguished officer, 
 viz. : Gen. Andrew A. Hunijjhreys, 
 Chief of the Engineer Cori)s, and 
 Brigadier-General of the United States 
 Army, and Major-General of Volun- 
 teers, who graduated at the U. S. Mil- 
 itar\- Academy, June 30, 1S31, num- 
 ber 13 in his class, and entered the 
 service as Bvt. 2d I>ieut. of the 2d 
 Artillery, Jul\- i, 1831. He was a 
 classmate of Lt. Col. Henry Clay, Jr., 
 who graduated second, and was mor- 
 tally wounded at the battle of Buena 
 Vista, Feb. 23, 1847. Gen. Hum- 
 phreys is also a graduate of the Mora- 
 vian Seminary for boys, at Nazareth. 
 Pa., called "Nazareth Hall," and that 
 venerable institution is very proud of 
 her .son. Many gallant boys graduated 
 at the same school, and a handsome 
 monument has been erected on the 
 green in front of the hall, to perpetu- 
 ate the memory of those who fell in 
 battle or died in the service of their 
 country. The General is a grand-son 
 of Joshua Humphreys, the first naval 
 constructor under General Washing- 
 ton. His ancestors settled in Dela- 
 ware County, where some of his des- 
 cendants still reside on a portion of 
 the patrimonial estate. The father of 
 the General was Samuel Humphreys, 
 who inherited his father's i)eculiar 
 talent, and was appointed Chief Naval 
 Constructor during the administration 
 of Mr. Monroe, and was distinguished 
 alike for his talents and gentlemanly 
 deportment. General Humphreys was 
 Chief of Staff under General Meade, 
 Commander of the Army of the Poto- 
 mac. A war correspondent of the 
 New York Tribune thus describes him : 
 "A small, middle aged man, close 
 shaved, excejit a short trimmed mos- 
 tache, which is slightly grizzled, as is 
 also his hair; with a large nose, bridg- 
 
 ed with spectacles, good complexion, 
 quiet, unassuming demeanor, smile 
 sweet as a woman's, and a voice im- 
 pressively low. This man, who gives 
 you the idea of tremendous power in 
 reserve, is General Humphreys, made 
 Major General for distinguished ser- 
 vices at Gettysburg." 
 
 I cannot drop this portion of my 
 history without recording my tribute 
 of respect for an old Chester school- 
 mate, now dead ; and I cannot do it 
 better, than by inserting here, a truth- 
 ful obituary notice of him, copied from 
 The Rep ltd lie an of March 27, 1861, as 
 follows : 
 
 '' Died at Erie, Pa., on Saturday last, 
 the 22nd inst., Lieut. Samuel Edwards, 
 of the U. S. Navy, aged 39 years. It 
 is with deep regret that we announce 
 the death of Lieut. EdAvards. We have 
 known him long, intimately, and al- 
 ways favorably. He was born in this 
 county, and on the death of his parents 
 came to reside with his uncle, the late 
 Samuel Edwards, Esq., when but a few 
 years old,, under whose care and pro- 
 tection he remained till 1838, when a 
 warrant was obtained for him as a mid- 
 shipman in the navy, and he entered 
 the service of his country at an early 
 age. He passed a most creditable ex- 
 amination, and obtained the rank of 
 Passed-midshipman, and in his turn 
 was promoted to a Lieutenancy. He 
 spent most of his time in active duty, 
 and during the Mexican war, was at 
 the bombardment of Vera Cruz, and 
 was attached to the battery which first 
 made a breach in its walls. He was 
 skilled in his profession, and was most 
 gallant and brave in the performance 
 of all his duties. He removed to Erie 
 a few years ago, where he married an 
 estimable lady with whom he lived 
 most happily till his death. His friends 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 389 
 
 and acquaintances here, will learn with 
 sorrow his early departure from the 
 scenes of his usefulness." 
 
 Since the close of the Rebellion, 
 the officers and soldiers of the U. S. 
 Army and Volunteers ha\e formed 
 themselves into Societies, to perpetu- 
 ate the remembrance of their former 
 military organizations and service, and 
 to protect and care for their sick and 
 disabled comrades and their families; 
 and are fulfilling their self-imposed du- 
 ties in the most honorable and praise- 
 worthy manner. The honorably dis- 
 charged Volunteers have instituted a 
 military order, extending throughout 
 the United States, and denominated 
 "The Grand Army of the Republic." 
 Each separate locality or division, has 
 its subordinate organization, which is 
 called a "Post," and is named in 
 honor of some deceased comrade, who 
 once resided in the vicinity or depart- 
 ment of the Post. 
 
 Post Wilde, No. 25, G. A. R., is 
 located at Chester, and was organized 
 July 27, 1867. The Post was so nam- 
 ed, in honor of the memory of Isaac 
 Edward Wilde, son of John and Helen, 
 born May 30, 1842, at Knowlton, Del- 
 aware County, Pa. At the age of 1 7 
 years he enlisted as a private in Com- 
 pany B, 20th Regt. Pa. Vols. (Scott 
 Legion), was mustered out with his 
 company, and immediately re-enlisted 
 in the 3d Penna. Cavalry, in which he 
 served until just before the battle of 
 Fredericksburg, Va., when he "was dis- 
 charged for promotion," and returned 
 home, but becoming impatient he re- 
 enlisted in the 3d Regt. of Heavy Ar- 
 tillery, and was stationed at Fortress 
 Monroe until March, 1864, when he 
 was mustered into the i88th Penna. 
 Volunteers, formed from the extra men 
 of the 3d Heavy iVrtillery, and was 
 
 made 2d Lieutenant of one of the com- 
 panies, and served with his new regi- 
 ment under Gen. Butler. At the bat- 
 tle of " Chapin's Farm," his regiment 
 was nearly cut to pieces, and he was 
 placed in command of two companies, 
 being the only officer left. Soon after 
 his health gave way, and he was placed 
 in the army hospital near City Point, 
 Va., where he died, July 26, 1864, of 
 chronic diarrhoea. 
 
 The Post is in a flourishing condi- 
 tion, has a large membership, and a 
 pleasant meeting-room, with a small 
 library of 300 volumes. The organi- 
 zation is beneficial, paying $4 a week 
 sick benefits, $50 upon the death of a 
 comrade, and $30 upon the death of 
 a comrade's wife. It is the only soci- 
 ety representing the veteran soldiers 
 of Delaware County. 
 
 PAST COMMANDKRi 
 
 William H. Martin, 
 James McDade, 
 William C. Paist, 
 Thomas Lees, 
 
 OK THE POST. 
 
 Joseph F. Brewster, 
 George S. Buck, 
 Edward Blains, 
 Joseph P. Chadwick. 
 
 Marshall Miller. 
 
 List of, 
 Henry Abljott, 
 Humphrey Y. Arnold, 
 William Armstrong, 
 William Band, 
 Levis Booth, 
 Thomas Blythe, 
 John Barrowclough, 
 Tho. Bruner, 
 Jacob C. Berstler, 
 Theodore J. Bell, 
 Thomas Blizard, 
 Joseph F. Bell, 
 William Blakfley, 
 Ebenezer Birtwell, 
 William B. Broomall, 
 Joseph P. Chadwick, 
 Edward Crowther, 
 Theodore S. Christ, 
 Robert Chadwick, 
 William H. Cowden, 
 Joseph R. T. Coates, 
 Daniel Crowther, 
 Fred. R. Cutler, 
 Joseph C. Carter, 
 Isaac L. Craft, 
 James Christie, 
 Theodore Dransfield, 
 
 Mevil'crs. 
 
 Charles Dickerson, 
 John F. Danaker, 
 John Diress, 
 Patrick Doyle, 
 Elias Eves, 
 William Eves, 
 Able Ford, 
 Jacob Freshley, 
 Albin P. Gettey, 
 William C. Gray, 
 William Gray, 
 Jesse Griswold, 
 Joel Hollingsworth, 
 Moses Hewitt, 
 G. C. Healy, 
 William G. Howarth, 
 Thomas G. Hutchinson, 
 Isaac Helraes, 
 William J. Harvey, 
 Lewis Holden, 
 Joseph N. James, 
 Isaac Johnson, 
 David M. Johnson, 
 Joseph Kestner, 
 Alc.x.inder King, 
 Samuel Kay, 
 Jonathan Kershaw, 
 
;'J0 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Edward Lillcy, 
 Richard Leggett, 
 Thomas Lccs, 
 John Lilley, Jr., 
 Thomas I. Leiper, 
 Arthur Martin, 
 William H. Martin, 
 Edward T. Mason, 
 James McDade, 
 Thomas H. Mirkil, 
 Samuel Montgomery, 
 James Morris, 
 G. Mills, 
 
 William P. Morrison, 
 Charles McBridc, 
 Marshall Miller, 
 William Miller, 
 James H. McKinley, 
 John McDaniels, 
 John McFeeters, 
 Lacy H. Nicholson, 
 William C. Paist, 
 Jesse W. Paist, 
 Caleb N, Pierce, 
 Geo. A. Pearce, 
 William W. Pearce, 
 Gasow: 
 
 William D. Piatt, 
 George M. Pardoe, 
 William G. Price, 
 Horatio N. Piatt, 
 William Pilger, 
 William Rambo, 
 Lewis J. Smith, 
 Alexander Stokes, 
 Edward C. Smith, 
 J. M. Stocver, 
 William Stanton, 
 Fred. P. Taylor, 
 Domingo C. Thomson, 
 William L. Tomlinson, 
 William A. 'J-odd, 
 Edward Townsend, 
 Chas. Thompson, 
 William Cooper Talley, 
 Theo. H. Vansant, 
 Joshua M. Wilson, 
 George W. Wilson, 
 John Wohnus, 
 Hiram Williams, 
 William Waite, 
 Jonathan Wilson, 
 Joseph O. Wilson, 
 y O. Yarnall. 
 
 It is the custom of the G. A. R., to 
 decorate annually, on the 30th of May, 
 the graves of their decea.sed comrades, 
 accompanied by a grand parade and 
 an address suitable to so laudable an 
 occasion. An account and programme 
 of the proceedings of one such day, will 
 be an example for all. From the J^e- 
 publican of Chester, May 27, 1870, I 
 copy a notice of 
 
 " Decoration D.\y. — The iiieinl)crs of Post 
 Wilde, G. A. R., have made extensive prepa- 
 rations for the observance of Memorial Day, 
 which occurs on Monday next. Many of the 
 civic associations have signified their willing- 
 ness to be present, and the different fire com- 
 panies of our city will make a display. Alto- 
 gether the occasion promises to be one of a 
 highly interesting character, and is hopeil will 
 be paiticipated in by a large majority of our 
 citizens. The procession will be under the 
 direction of Dr. Theo. S. Christ, Chief Mar- 
 shal, and the address will be delivered by Capt. 
 James Barton, Jr. The ladies who wish to 
 prepare wreaths and bouquets for the ceremony, 
 can leave them at the various places desig- 
 nated in this paper. The programme will give 
 all the particulars of the order of proceeding, 
 and is as follows : 
 
 "ORDI'-.R Ui- CKRI-.MONIKS I'OR Dkcok.vt- 
 
 iNc THE Graves of the Soldiers, on Mon- 
 day, the 30th inst. 
 
 The line will form at 1.45 i'. m., o\\ Market 
 Street, right resting on Market Stiuare. 
 
 The procession will be formed in the follow- 
 ing order : 
 
 Chief Marshal and Aids. 
 Band. 
 
 FIRST DIVISION. 
 
 Post Wilde, No. 25, G. A. R., followed l)y 
 liearses bearing flowers. 
 
 SECOND DIVISION. 
 
 Chester and Upland Lodges of I. O. of ( ). F. 
 and Independent Order of Red Men. 
 
 THIRD DIVISION. 
 
 Larkin and Chester Lodges, K. of Pylhias. 
 
 FOURTH DIVISION. 
 
 Senior and Junior Councils of American Me- 
 chanics, Protestant Association and 
 Good Fellows. 
 
 FIFTH DIVISION. 
 
 Fire Department — Franklin Engine Company, 
 
 Moyamensing Hook and Ladder Co., 
 
 and Hanley Hose. 
 
 SIXTH DIVISION. 
 
 Carriages containing Mayor, City Councils, 
 Clergymen and Citizens. 
 
 Associations will take post as follows : 
 
 Chester and Upland Lodges I. O. of (). F., 
 on east Fourth .Street, right resting on Market 
 Street. 
 
 Independent Order of Red Men, on West 
 Fourth .Street, right resting on Market Street. 
 
 Larkin and Chester Lodges, Knights of Py- 
 thias, on K. Fifth St., right resting on Market. 
 
 .Senior and Junior Councils United .\niori- 
 can Mechanics, Protestant Association and 
 Order of Good Fellows, on West Fifth Street, 
 right resting on Market. 
 
 Fire Department — Franklin Engine Com- 
 l^any, Moyamensing Hook and Ladder Com- 
 pany and Hanley Hose Company, on Edgmcmt 
 Street, right resting on railroad. 
 
 The line will move promptly at 2 o'clock. 
 
 Associations are earnestly requested to be 
 prompt in taking position, that no delay may 
 ])e caused. 
 
 Details will Ijc made from the Post to de- 
 corate the graves of the soldiers in the Episco- 
 pal and Union graveyards before 2 o'clock. 
 Details will also be made in the forenoon of 
 Monday, and iirocecd to the Friends', Catho- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 391 
 
 lie and Powell's graveyards in the city of 
 Chester, and Friends' gi'aveyard at Shoemaker- 
 ville, and decorate the graves therein, and re- 
 turn in time to take part in the procession. 
 
 The line will countermarch at Second and 
 Market Streets^ and proceed to the cemetery 
 at Upland, decorate the graves therein, rest 
 half an hour, will then return to Chester Rural 
 Cemetery, form in front of the stand, remain 
 until after the address, which will be delivered 
 by comrade Captain Jas. Barton, Jr., after 
 which the members of the Post will decorate 
 llie graves of the soldiers in the cemeteiy. 
 The line will then re-form, march to Market 
 Square, and there dismiss. 
 
 Theodore S. Christ, Chief Marshal." 
 
 Since the termination of the Rebel- 
 lion and the emancipation of the slaves 
 of the Southern States, Chester has be- 
 come the residence of a very large 
 number of the colored race. On the 
 ist of July, 1870, a number of the co- 
 lored citizens held a meeting and effect- 
 ed a military organization, to which 
 they gave the name of " Chester City 
 Safeguards. ' ' The following have been 
 the Commissioned officers of the com- 
 pany since its formation, viz. : 
 
 Captains. 
 Andrew Johnson, July 22, 1870. 
 
 Isaac B. Colwell, July 11, 1871. 
 
 Isaac Emory, May 15, 1872. 
 
 First Lieutenants. 
 Isaac B. Colwell, July 22, 1870. 
 
 David Hull, Mar. 16, 187 1. 
 
 Sec( )NU Lieutenants. 
 David Hull, July 22, 1870. 
 
 Benjamin Reed, Mar. 16, 1871. 
 
 The company consists of 84 non- 
 commissioned officers and privates. 
 
 There are also two other military 
 organizations composed of white male 
 citizens of Chester, viz. : Company A, 
 formed Sept. 12, 1872, and Company 
 B, of the Gartside Rifle Battalion. 
 Company A, is commanded by Capt. 
 George F. Springer; ist Lieut. Charles 
 A. Story, promoted from 2d vice John 
 
 H. Kerlin, who resigned in Sept., 1872 ; 
 2d Lieut. James Fryer ; together with 
 5 sergeants, 8 corporals and 48 pri- 
 vates. Company B, was organized 
 March 12, 1873, with David S. Gwynne 
 as Captain, (resigned March 26, 1873.) 
 John J. Morgan, ist Lieut, (resigned 
 March 19, 1873.) Simon Lazar, 2d 
 Lieut. William A. Todd, was elected 
 Captain, April 16, 1872, at which date 
 the command consisted of 5 sergeants, 
 8 corporals and 53 privates. William 
 McClelland, was commissioned 2nd 
 Lieut., vice Morgan resigned. The 
 battalion is commanded by Maj. Dan- 
 iel Brown, formerly Captain of the first 
 company. 
 
 In July, 1875, ^ military company, 
 named "The Morton Rifles," was 
 formed by Charles A. Story, Jr., and 
 so called in honor of John Morton, 
 the signer of the Declaration. The 
 company was organized by the election 
 of James Barton, Jr., as Captain; Chas. 
 A. Story, ist Lieut., and John M. 
 Householder, as 2d Lieut., and mus- 
 tered into the nth Regt. of National 
 Guards of Pa., in Aug., 1875. Sub- 
 sequently Capt. Barton was promoted 
 Aid to Gen. Dobson, and on Sept. 
 3d, 1876, Story was elected Captain; 
 Householder, ist Lt. ; John P. Gregg, 
 2d Lt. ; and John McFeeters, ist ; Wm. 
 Williams, 2d; John Thompson, 3d, 
 and Robert McGinty, 4th Sergeants. 
 The Coinpany number 50 uniformed 
 members : and on account of their 
 efficient drill, were armed by the State 
 with the Remington breech-loading 
 rifles ; only one other company in the 
 regiment being thus armed, namely, 
 "The Oxford Guards." 
 
 ' ' The Hartranft Rifles, ' ' were or- 
 ganized in Jan., 1876, by Capt. Perry 
 M. Washabaugh, and on Apl. 20, 1876, 
 were mustered into service as Co. B. 
 
892 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 iith Regt., loth Division of the Na- 
 tional Guards of Penna. ; and was so 
 named in honor of the present Gov- 
 ernor of the State, under whom many 
 of the Company served during the late 
 war. It has 90 members on the muster 
 roll. At the first meeting, the officers 
 elected were, Perry M. Washabaugh, 
 Captain; Robert H. Wood, \st Lieut. ; 
 Joseph T. Wilde, 2d Lieut. Their 
 armory is on Market Square, being 
 in the building lately occupied by the 
 ' ' Delaware County Republican. ' ' The 
 Company meet for drill every Thursday 
 evening. 
 
 On Sept. 17, 1873, the Soldiers' 
 Monument, erected in Chester Rural 
 Cemetery, was dedicated to the me- 
 mory of the soldiers and sailors of 
 Delaware County, who fell in the Great 
 Rebellion, in the presence of a large 
 concourse of citizens, numbering about 
 8,000 persons, under the auspices of 
 Post Wilde, No. 25, of the Grand Army 
 of the Republic. The procession was 
 composed of the members of Post Wilde^ 
 of Posts No. 2 and No. 5, G. A. R., 
 from Philadelphia, of Hyatt's corps of 
 Cadets and Artillery, the Gartside Ri- 
 fles, the 1 6th Regiment of National 
 Guards, Montgomery Grays, St. Mi- 
 chael's Beneficial Society, the Cadets 
 of Temperance, Franklin Fire Com- 
 pany, Hanley Hose Company, Moya- 
 mensing Hook and Ladder Company, 
 and the Chester City Cornet Band. 
 Marshal — Gen. Charles L. Leiper. 
 Aids — Humphrey Y. Arnold, Edward 
 C. Smith, W. Irving Leiper, Col. Wm. 
 Cooper Talley, Capt. James Barton, 
 John C. Price, Humphrey Ash, Lieut. 
 Commander Henry De Haven Manley, 
 U. S. Navy, and Henry Clay Cochrane, 
 ist Lieut. U. S. Marine Corps. At 4 
 o'clock P. M., the i)arade reached the 
 Cemetery. Y. S. Walter tailed the 
 
 large assembly to order, and on mo- 
 tion, George K. Crozer, of Upland, 
 was unanimously chosen President of 
 the day. The Rev. Dr. Pendleton, of 
 the Baptist Chur«h, made .the dedica- 
 tory prayer; and Col. William C. Gray, 
 read the history of the monument, 
 erected by the liberality of the citizens 
 of the county. 
 
 The movement for the erection of 
 the Monument, was inaugurated by the 
 members of Post Wilde who desirous 
 of obtaining the aid of the citizens, 
 called a meeting on June 9, 1868, at 
 National Hall, Chester. The Mayor 
 of the city, John Larkin, Jr., presided. 
 An organization to carry out the pur- 
 poses of the meeting was effected by 
 the election of Col. Wm. C. Gray, as 
 permanent President, and a Board of 
 Managers, consisting of Dr. Theodore 
 S. Christ, Samuel Eccles, Jr., James Ir- 
 ving, Perciphor Baker, William H.Mar- 
 tin, Col. Wm. Cooper Talley, William 
 Ward, Esq., and Charles J. Andrews. 
 The ladies also lent their aid under 
 the leadership of Mrs. Mary B. Leiper, 
 and the purpose progressing favorably, 
 the lot offered by the managers of the 
 Chester Rural Cemetery was accepted ; 
 and at a meeting held Aug. 5, 1870, a 
 new Board of Managers was elected, 
 viz.: Dr. Theo. S. Christ, Adam C. 
 Eckfeldt, William H. Martin, James 
 Irving, William Ward, Esq., Hon. 
 Sketchley Morton, Amos Gartside, 
 Perciphor Baker and Y. S. Walter, 
 who appointed a committee consisting 
 of Messrs. Walter, Eckfeldt and Ir- 
 ving, to select a design for the Monu- 
 ment, and an artist. The committee 
 selected as the artist Martin Millmore, 
 of- Boston, and the result of his labors, 
 as directed by the committee, was a 
 handsome work of Aft — a private sol- 
 dier standing at rest. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 
 Col. John W. Forney, the author 
 and editor, was the orator of the day 
 on the occasion of the dedication, and 
 at the conclusion of his address, the 
 statue was unveiled* in the presence 
 of the assembled multitude. Among 
 those on the speakers' stand were Bvt. 
 Major General Galusha Pennypacker, 
 Colonel loth Regt. U. S. Infantry, Re- 
 gulars, who rose from a private in the 
 97th Penna. Vols. ; Col. Guss, his old 
 commander, stood by his side ; also, 
 Hon. Washington Townsend, M. C. ; 
 Hon. Sketchley Morton ; J. L. For- 
 wood, the Mayor of Chester ; Col. 
 Thomas Irvine Leiper ; Lieut. Col. 
 May Humphreys Stacey, U. S. Army ; 
 Dr. R. Shelton Mackenzie ; the writer, 
 and the members of the Board of Man- 
 agers. And among the ladies were. 
 Miss Mary E. Beale, Miss Annie Ba- 
 ker, Miss Mary Gray, and last though 
 not least, Mrs. Mary B. Leiper, who 
 is so well known for her patriotism and 
 kindness to the sick and wounded 
 soldiers during the late rebellion of 
 1861-65. Mrs. Leiper is the descen- 
 dant of a line of soldiers, as will be 
 seen in my sketch of the Leiper and 
 Irvine families. Her brother Callen- 
 der Irvine Lewis, was one of my boy- 
 hood companions, with John C. Lei- 
 per, Dr. George L. Taylor, Dr. Eli- 
 sha K. Kane, and others around Lei- 
 perville ; and his relative, Lieut. Col. 
 Frank D. Callender, U. S. Army, was 
 an ' ' old Cadet, ' ' when I was a ' ' Plebe' ' 
 at West Point. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 In giving an account of the ' • Archy 
 Dick Guards," William Cooper Tal- 
 ley. Captain, I referred to the fact that 
 the company was named after the late 
 Archibald T. Dick, Esq., of Chester. 
 
 Mr. Dick was the descendant of an old 
 Delaware County family. His father 
 was Thomas B. Dick, son of Archibald 
 Dick and Mary his wife, (widow of 
 John Hewes, and daughter of Thos. 
 Barnard, of Aston, whose wife's name 
 was Sarah Carter.) He was admit- 
 ted to the Delaware County Bar, Feb. 
 9, 1790. After his admission as an 
 Attorney, he went to Easton, in this 
 State, and practiced there for several 
 years. I have been shown his docket, 
 kept in his own handwriting, as is 
 customary with the legal profession, 
 and am surprised at the large practice 
 he obtained. He seemed to have had 
 about seventy cases a term, a heavy 
 business for that day. In fact it would 
 be in this. As the cases are entered 
 in detail, there is no mistaking that 
 they were matters of importance. He 
 is said, by some who remember him, 
 to have been an elotjuent pleader, and 
 giving high promise of a life of useful- 
 ness ; but he was drowned in the Del- 
 aware, while out gunning or fishing in 
 a row-boat, on April 21, 181 1, in a 
 snow-storm, but how the event occurr- 
 ed, nobody knows, as he was alone. His 
 body was not recovered until the 29th 
 of the month. Mr. Ziba Darlington, 
 of West Chester, says he remembers 
 well the excitement in regard to his 
 death. Mr. Dick was born March 12, 
 1766, so he was only just past his 45 th 
 year at the date of his untimely death. 
 He was admitted to the Bar under the 
 name of Thomas Dick. In his docket 
 he enters his name in that manner until 
 1793, after which he writes his name 
 Thomas B. Dick. The introduction 
 of a middle name or letter, made by 
 persons to distinguish them from peo-- 
 pie of the same name, is quite common 
 in this country. Mr. Dick used the B, 
 Barnard being his mother's name, and 
 
894 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 liis grandfather being Thomas Barnard 
 of Aston ; its introduction was therefore 
 very appropriate. He married Phoebe 
 Hart, a widow. Her maiden name was 
 Brinton, of Chester County, Pa. ; she 
 survived him many years, and died 
 Dec. 30, 1840, aged 77 years, and was 
 buried in Friends' burying grounds, 
 Chester. Her age as given in records 
 of Chester Monthly Meeting, 74 yrs., 
 is said to be an error.* They had 
 four children, Archibald, Brinton, 
 Mary and Phoebe Dick. 
 
 In the beginning of Thomas B. 
 Dick's docket, is the following entry 
 in his own hand: "On the 17th of 
 April, 1788, commenced the study of 
 the law, with Thomas Ross, Esq. ; on 
 the 9th of Feb. 1790, was admitted 
 at Chester, in Delaware County, having 
 been previously examined by Jacob 
 Bankson, William Bradford and Ed- 
 ward Tilghman, Esqrs." He was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar at New Castle, on 
 Feb. 18,1790, on motion of Mr. Tilgh- 
 man, on Feb. 23, 1790, at West Ches- 
 ter, on motion of Mr. Rcss, his pre- 
 ceptor, and at Philadelphia, Oct. 25, 
 1 790. His docket entries begin with 
 Nov. Term, 1789, with one case; at 
 Feb. Term, 1790, he had two cases; 
 in May Term, eight ; at Aug. Term, 
 1790, eleven cases, «S:c. 'I'his docket 
 runs up to Oct. Term, 1794, and is 
 the record of his cases in Delaware 
 County. It then begins in North- 
 ampton County, Nov. Term, 1794. 
 Here Mr. Dick appears to have en- 
 tered, at once, into a very large prac- 
 tice, as he had fifty cases on his docket 
 for 1795, and his business went on in- 
 creasing rapidly. In Aug. Term, 1 796, 
 he had seventy-six cases. He appears 
 
 * In records of Kennet Monthly Meetins^ 
 it is stated tiiat Phebe, dau. of James and 
 Mary Krinton, was born in 1766, which Mould 
 make her 74 in 1840. 
 
 to have continued at Easlon till Nov. 
 Term, 1 798, when he returned to Dela- 
 ware Comity to reside, where his 
 docket recommences. He had as his 
 law-partner at one time, his cousin, 
 Isaac D. Barnard, Ksq. 
 
 His son, Archibald T. Dick, was 
 born Dec. 21, 1794. He married, 
 Sept. 3, 1816, Hannah, daughter of 
 William and Mary Rogers, of Ches- 
 ter County, born Dec. 2, 1796 ; died 
 Dec. 31, 1856. He was admitted to 
 the Delaware County Bar, June 16, 
 1816; and lived at Chester until his 
 death, Aug. 13, 1837. He had a large 
 practice, and was an estimable and 
 popular citizen. His residence at 
 Chester, which he erected, was lately 
 owned and occupied by William and 
 Joshua P. Eyre, deceased, on Edg- 
 mont Avenue, facing the west end of 
 Fifth street. At his death he left his 
 widow, and the following children sur- 
 viving him, viz. : Marv £., who mar- 
 ried the late Peter Hill Engle, Esq. 
 He died 2 mo. 17, 1844. Some years 
 after his death, she married Lewis 
 Lewis, of Philadelphia. They are both 
 now dead. Phxbe Ann Dick, mar- 
 ried Janies H. Castle, Esq., of the 
 Philadelphia Bar. Their son, Dr. 
 Franklin D. Castle, is a )oung prac- 
 ticing physician in his native cit\-. and 
 another son, Horace, is a member of 
 the Philadelphia Bar. Emma L. Dick 
 married Professor E. Otis Kendall, of 
 Philadelphia. Mr. A. T. Dick's only 
 son, Franklin A. Dick, Esq. , is a mem- 
 ber of the St. Louis Bar, but now a resi- 
 dent of Philadelphia. 
 
 Archibald Dick, of Chichester, was 
 the great-grandfather of the present 
 generation. He was, I find from the 
 records at West Chester, the purchaser 
 of the estate upon which he resided, 
 near Marcus Hook, of Marv Norris of 
 
HlSTOllY OF CllESTEK. 
 
 895 
 
 the city uf Philadelphia, by deed 
 dated, Aug. 3, 1771, for ^£45^ '> ^"^i 
 from a letter in the Penna. Packet, of 
 July I, 1779, it appears that he was an 
 Assistant Deputy Quartermaster Gene- 
 ral in the army of the Revolution. 
 He dates his letter, June 28, 1779, 
 from " Liberty Hall," Chester. And 
 in 1 2th Colonial Records, p. 306, I 
 find it noted, that Perciphor Frazier, 
 Esq., (afterwards a Brigadier General;, 
 is spoken of as the Commissioner of 
 Purchases for the army, (April 5 , 1 780), 
 and Reading Howell and Archibald 
 Dick, Esqs. , as Assistants. On April 5 , 
 1780, he was appointed Assistant For- 
 age Master for Chester County, 3 Pa. 
 Archives, 701, 2d Series. His Will is 
 on record at West Chester, dated Feb. 
 9, 1782, and proven, April 23, 1782. 
 . The following interesting and ap- 
 propriate letter is copied from the 
 original, in the autograph collection 
 of Ferdinand J. Dreer, of Philadel- 
 phia : "Chester, 19th June, 1779. 
 Sir: By Lieut. McMickell, I send 
 fifty-one prisoners, which are said to 
 have been taken in the vessels lately 
 captured by Captains Tucker and 
 Harding. They came to this place 
 last evening under a militia guard, 
 from Wilmington, and were delivered 
 to Captain Vaughan, sub-Sherifi', by 
 the otificer, who immediately went off 
 without leaving any account of them, 
 more than a list of names which you 
 have inclosed. You will please pay 
 to expense, or refer it, if in the regu- 
 lar line, to sir, your most obedient and 
 humble servant, A. Dick, A. D., Q. 
 M. G." Addressed, "On Publick 
 Service, to Col. Bradford, Esq., Phila- 
 delphia, and Pr. Lieut. McMickell." 
 The letter is signed and addressed by 
 Archibald Dick, the rest evidently 
 written by his clerk. 
 
 At the southwest corner of Marc us 
 Hook Cross Roads, there stands a large, 
 quaint-looking old frame house, no 
 doubt, once considered quite a grand 
 mansion. Here, if my recollection 
 serves me right, my father told me 
 Archibald T. Dick's grandfather once 
 lived. Archibald Dick lived in muck 
 of the style that was common in Ches- 
 ter County in those days. He drove, 
 when visiting Philadelphia, in a ba- 
 rouche with four splendid horses, with 
 his negro driver and servants, ^^■e 
 speak of the luxury in which our peo- 
 ple of wealtli live at this day, but 
 there was something grand in the 
 generous hospitality and the unaffected 
 style and dignity with which they did 
 everything in the days of our grand- 
 fathers and great-grandfathers. 
 
 The Dutton record, MS., has among 
 the deaths, Archibald Dick, 3, 9, 1 782. 
 Meaning, of course, that he died Mar. 
 9, 1782. He appears to have had but 
 the two children mentioned in his 
 will. Dr. Elishaand Thomas (B.) Dick. 
 
 Dr. Elisha Dick, who resided at 
 Alexandria, Virginia, where he prac- 
 ticed medicine, is mentioned in all of 
 our histories as one of the physicians 
 who attended General Washington in 
 his last illness. He was a physician 
 of skill and high standing, and a per- 
 sonal friend of President Monroe. An 
 excellent portrait of Dr. Dick, in pro- 
 file, engraved by St. Memin, has been 
 preserved, and a copy can be seen in 
 the American Historical Record, \o\. 
 2, p. 507, and it will be found there 
 stated, what is not generally known, 
 that Washington died of membranous 
 croup, and not oi quinsy. I afterwards 
 corrected the statement made in the 
 same article, that Dr. Dick was a na- 
 tive of Scotland, 3 lb. 130. His only 
 child, Julia, married James A. Pearce, 
 
;;i)(i 
 
 HISTOUV OF CHKSTEK. 
 
 who was United States Senator from 
 Maryland from 1843 ^^ '62, and who 
 lived at Chestertown, in that State, 
 where his descendants now reside. 
 
 Archibald Dick divided his estate 
 about equally between his two sons. 
 Dr. Dick sold his one undivided half 
 .of the Marcus Hook ])roperty. April 
 29, 1783. to Isaa( Dulton, for ^^985, 
 in gold and silver. i'liomas ( B. ) 
 Dick made i)artition with Dutton, 
 March 23, 1787. and sold out in par^ 
 eels, and about 1789 he removed to 
 West Chester, near which town his 
 grand-son, rny friend and old school- 
 fellow at Chester, has now his country 
 summer residence. Archibald Dick, 
 in hLswill, emancipated his slaves and 
 gave each one a legacy in money. 
 One, who seems to have been a fa- 
 vorite and was called "Cuff," was 
 made a charge upon his estate, and 
 lived to see at an extreme old age the 
 g. grand-children of his "Old Massa!" 
 the children of the late Archibald T. 
 Dick, of Chester. 
 
 The family tradition that Archibald 
 Dick was the owner of fine stock, I 
 find to be well sustained by the notices 
 in the newspapers of his day. In the 
 Pennsylvania Gazetteer, of Oct. 5, 
 1769, it is stated that " Mr. Di( k en- 
 tered his Grey Horse for a race at 
 Centre Course;" in the J\-nnsylvania 
 Packet, May 4, 1772, he advertises 
 that he has purchased the " noted 
 horse, Dove, imported from England 
 by Dr. Hamilton," and on May 17, 
 1773, a similar notice sets forth that 
 he has at " Marcus Hook, the horse 
 Pennsylvania Farmer, without excep- 
 tion the greatest beauty in America, 
 under the care of David Miller." 
 
 Dr. Smith, in his history of the 
 County, Appendix L, p. 556, gives 
 the following interesting sketch of a 
 
 case tried at Chester, March 2, 1764, 
 before John Hannum and John Mor- 
 ton, two of his Majesty's Justices of 
 the Peace, iS:c., (A '^ The King\%. Negro 
 Phche, the slave of Joseph Richard- 
 son," under an "Act for the tryal 
 of Negroes," with the assistance of 
 Jonas Preston, Elisha Price, David 
 Cowjjland, John Salkeld, Geo. Grant- 
 ham and William Swaffer, six of the 
 most substantial freeholders of the 
 neighborhood. Witnesses, Thomas 
 Barnard, Christopher Dingee, Joseph 
 Dutton and Archibald Dick. On an 
 information exhibited by Benjamin 
 Chew, Attorney General for our Lord 
 the King, for Feloniously and Bur- 
 glariously breaking and entering the 
 mansion house of Thomas Barnard 
 and stealing therefrom divers goods 
 and chattels, and after hearing, the 
 Court adjudged the negro Phebe, 
 guilty, and further, that the said 
 "Negro Phebe l)e led to prison irom 
 whence she came, and from thence to 
 the place of execution, and there be 
 hanged by the neck till she be dead." 
 
 Among the names of the contribu- 
 tors to the Pennsylvania Hospital, in 
 1770, will l)e found that of Archibald 
 Dick ; and in " Tlie Republican Court,''' 
 ( Grisu'old, N. Y., 1855,) p. 13, there 
 is a copy of the original subscription 
 list to the first city Dancing Assembly 
 held in Philadelphia, in the year 1748, 
 in which is the name of " Miss Molly 
 Dick," perhapsa relative of Archibald. 
 
 The late Archibald T. Dick, of 
 Chester, was a prominent lawyer, but 
 like his father, died in middle age, on 
 Aug. 13, 1837, not having reached 
 his 43d year. During the war of 
 1 81 2, he was a private in the 2d Com- 
 pany of the Washington Guards, of 
 which the late venerable Ex-Mayor, 
 lohn Swift, of Philadelphia, was Ca])- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 397 
 
 tain. The Company was attached to 
 the ist Regiment of Pennsylvania 
 Volunteer Infantry, commanded by 
 Col. Clement C. Biddle, 4th Com- 
 pany. The Regiment arrived at Camp 
 Du Pont, Sept. 17, 1814. On Nov. 
 30, the entire force broke cam]) and 
 marched into Wilmington, Delaware, 
 and thence via Chester to Philadel- 
 phia, entering that city on Dec. 2. 
 " Such a sight as the march of a body 
 of three thousand well-disciplined and 
 uniformed soldiers, with all their bag- 
 gage and munitions of war, had not 
 been witnessed since the period of the 
 Revolution, and it may be safely said, 
 a more proud and joyous day was never 
 before experienced by the inhabitants 
 of Philadelphia. " See ^ Brief Sketch 
 of the Military Operations on the Dela- 
 ware, printed in 1820. 
 
 In 1834, Archibald T. Dick was the 
 candidate of the Democratic Anti- 
 Bank Party for Congress, but was de- 
 feated. Immediately above the ticket, 
 as printed in the Upland Union, of 
 Oct. I, 1834, is this notice: 
 
 " The Anti-Masons are particularly so- 
 licited not to vote for Masons. They should 
 be cautious, therefore, how they swallow the 
 Bank ticket, as it is said to contain a number 
 of the adhering brethren." 
 
 This caution is particularly amusing, 
 when it is known that Mr. Dick joined 
 the Chester Lodge in 1820, and in 
 1825 was its Worshipful Master. 
 
 Mr. A. T. Dick, was a fine looking, 
 light haired man, with blue eyes and 
 rosy cheeks, about six feet in height, 
 and in person looked very much like 
 my father. They were about the same 
 age, and great friends, as are their 
 sons. Among my first recollections 
 there, is a visit to see Frank Dick, and 
 playing in their barn at Chester, and 
 at a later period trotting a race with 
 
 him, and Nat. Crosby, my cousin. 
 The following is an instance of Mr. 
 Archibald T. Dick's courage and pres- 
 ence of mind, as I have heard it re- 
 lated in Chester. A child having 
 fallen into the river Delaware from one 
 of the Government piers that projec' 
 into the stream, he sprang into the wa- 
 ter, with all his clothing on, caught the 
 child, and brought it safely to the shore. 
 A friend of mine once said : " It is 
 only by knowing what a man does, 
 and has done, that you can form a 
 correct idea of him. ' ' I will give him 
 the full benefit of his remark, because 
 it introduces an unwritten page in our 
 history. Franklin A. Dick, son of 
 the late Archibald T. Dick, Esq., of 
 Chester, was born there in the year 
 1823. He graduated at the University 
 of Pennsylvania in 1842, studied law, 
 and commenced practice in St. Louis, 
 Mo., in 1844, and continued in prac- 
 tice there until 1861, when the active 
 part he took on the side of the Union 
 in the Rebellion, for a time interrupted 
 his civil ]nirsuits. His practice was 
 large, and he was very successful. 
 When the Rebellion was lirewnng he 
 exercised his pen in opposition to it, 
 and for a time, actively assisted in 
 editing the Missouri Democrat, a St. 
 Louis paper, which was near being de- 
 stroyed by the pro-slavery mob on ac- 
 count of its extreme denunciation of 
 the active Secession i.sts of the South. 
 During the winter of 1860-61, after the 
 election, and before the inauguration 
 of Mr. Lincoln as President, there 
 was great activity throughout the slave- 
 holding States in making preparation 
 to commence the war for the dissolu- 
 tion of the Union. Claiborne F. Jack- 
 son, a violent rebel, was Governor of 
 Missouri, and the South expected of 
 him that he wuukl get jjossession of 
 
398 
 
 ISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 the St. Louis Arsenal, in which was i 
 storeci about 50,000 stand of arms, 
 and an immense supply of ammuni- | 
 tion, also many batteries of Artillery, ' 
 and a full suj)i)ly of ordnance equip- | 
 ments. This would have enabled i 
 Jackson to arm all his disloyal ad- | 
 herents, and given him the control of 
 the wealthy city of St. Louis, whose 
 wharves were thronged with Missis- 
 sippi river steamers, and whose ware- 
 houses were stocked with every kind 
 of wares and merchandize. During 
 that winter, St. Louis was like a rebel 
 camp. The nucleus of two Confederate 
 regiments were being formed, and they 
 were furnished with arms supplied by 
 the State, and openly drilled and 
 paraded in the streets of the city with 
 drums beating and followed by crowds 
 shouting for Southern rights and down 
 with the Union. Mr. Buchanan sat 
 cowering in Washington, and while 
 Southern leaders proclaimed the com- 
 ing dissolution of the Union on the 4th 
 of March ensuing, he declared that the 
 Federal Government had no power to 
 save itself. As a consequence of this 
 condition of things, and under a strong 
 l)elief that the Union was gone and 
 the Federal Government in effect de- 
 stroyed, a large portion of the men of 
 business and of means in St. I-ouis, 
 gave in advance their adhesion to the 
 Southern cause. There was, however, 
 a small number of active, unflinching 
 Union men, whose hearts and minds 
 remained steady and unshaken in those 
 days of trial, and who set to work to 
 gather together and unite the sup- 
 porters of the Union. It was neces- 
 sary for these men to work secretly, 
 for so bold and extreme were the Se- 
 cessionists that they denounced all 
 (ombinations to support the Union as 
 unlawful and revolutionary, bet ause in 
 
 opposition to the sacredness of State 
 rights. During that winter the loyal 
 men were formed into companies of 
 Home Guards, and money was raised 
 and arms secretly procured for them, 
 and when the spring came a formida- 
 ble body of men were combined to- 
 gether to resist the approaching rebel- 
 lion for the overthrow of Government. 
 It was found that most of the officers 
 of the Regular Army who were sta- 
 tioned at the Arsenal in St. Louis 
 were disloyal, and in answer to appeals 
 from Union men. Gen. Scott, then 
 commander of the military forces, or- 
 dered Nathaniel Lyon, a Captain in 
 the 2d Infantry of U. S. Regulars, to 
 take command at the Arsenal. Lyon 
 at once became acquainted with the 
 prominent Union men of the city, and 
 amongst others with Mr. Dick, and 
 learned from them the civil and mili- 
 tary condition of affairs, and became 
 satisfied that it was necessary to take 
 into the service of the Government the 
 loyal men of the city, in order to pro- 
 tect the Arsenal. Gov. Jackson had 
 appointed for St. Louis disloyal Police 
 Commissioners, one of whom was Basil 
 Duke, who afterwards distinguished 
 himself in the great raids made by John 
 Morgan's mounted men during the war. 
 These Commissioners appointed a body 
 of disloyal policemen for the city, and 
 used them in their efforts to secure the 
 Arsenal. Jackson also, in April, 1861, 
 assembled in camps at leading places 
 in the State, the Militia ; and at St. 
 Louis he established Camp Jackson, 
 for the purpose of seizing the Arsenal. 
 The active part taken by Mr. Dick 
 amongst those who were standing up 
 for the Union, may be seen from the 
 following letters, selected from a num- 
 ber of others written him. and now 
 first made piiblii . 
 
HISTOllY OF CHESTER. 
 
 899 
 
 "■St. Louis Arsenal, April 13M, 1861. 
 F. A. Dick, Esq., Dear Sir: I ascertained 
 last night that policemen have been stationed 
 for the night at the gates of this Post, and 
 seem to be watching eagerly the movements 
 inside. This I regard as having reference to 
 the arms which have been placed subject to 
 my orders, with a view to see that they are not 
 distributed at night, and doubtless, with a de- 
 termination to resist their distribution at any 
 time. I write to you in order that some de- 
 termination should be come to on the subject. 
 What should be done, I hardly know. If the 
 arms are kept in store till an attack is made 
 upon the Arsenal, it will ]>e the policy of the 
 attacking party to keep out a supporting party 
 to us. The distribution before an attack, with 
 a view to have our friends in readiness to 
 assist us, can hardly be made secretly, and 
 if made openly, it is likely, I think, to be op- 
 posed by the traitors, and it would be neces- 
 sary to meet the issue. I am disposed to 
 think this is the better course. If the sugges- 
 tion of Mr. Farrar, that our friends should be 
 brought inside, quartered, supplied and pro- 
 perly organized here, could be carried out, it 
 might work well — perhaps Gen. Harney would 
 sanction this course ; but he should lie cau- 
 tiously approached on this subject. I should 
 like to see the General on this subject, and 
 will try to do so this morning. Yours truly, 
 N. Lyon." 
 
 Mr. Farrar here spoken of, was Ben- 
 jamin G. Farrar, then U. S. Assistant 
 Treasurer of St. Louis, under Mr. Lin- 
 coln. By the following note written 
 three days later, it will be seen that the 
 rebels Avere intent on securing their 
 grand prize. Lieut. Saxton there men- 
 tioned, was Rufus Saxton of the Regu- 
 lar Army, who served during the war 
 on the Union side. General Frost 
 was a graduate of West Point, who had 
 formerly served in the U. S. Army, 
 and had resigned years before, and 
 who on the approach of the Rebellion 
 became an active rebel, and on ac- 
 count of his military education, was 
 placed by Gov. Jackson in that im- 
 ])ortant conmiand. He afterwards 
 
 figured largely on the rebel side. 
 Frost, Saxton and Lyon, were com- 
 rades of the writer at West Point. 
 The note is as follows : 
 
 ''St. Louis Arsenal, April i6t/i, 1861. 
 F. A. Dick, Esq., Dear Sir: Gen. Frost 
 stated to Lieut. Saxton that he expected orders 
 from Gov. Jackson, to plant batteries on the 
 hills around us, and that under such orders 
 he would do it. No addition to troops here. 
 Yours, &c., N. Lyox." 
 
 At this time General William S. 
 Harney, of the U. S. Army, was in 
 command of the Department embrac- 
 ing St. Louis. Although he was loyal 
 to the Government, he was in part 
 blinded and embarrassed by the State- 
 rights principles which had prevailed 
 at Washington, and his incompetency 
 to understand and meet the revolu- 
 tionary schemes of the rebels, reduced 
 him to such a state of inaction, that 
 practically he was of as much service 
 to the rebels as though he had been in 
 sympathy with them. Naturally he 
 fell under suspicion, and it was ne- 
 cessary that he should be removed 
 from command ; so he was ordered to 
 Washington, and during his absence 
 Lyon, being next in command, was 
 free to prepare for the defence of the 
 Arsenal. Mr. Dick had written to the 
 Attorney General, Edward Bates, with 
 whom for years he had been practic- 
 ing at the St. Louis Bar, explaining 
 the necessity there was for a change in 
 the command of the Department, and 
 in reply received the following letter, 
 which by its date will be seen to have 
 been written immediately after the 
 first attack on the Union troops in 
 Baltimore, and when Washington was 
 actually cut off from the North. 
 
 Confidential, Washington, April 20, 1861. 
 
 F. ;\. Dick, St. Louis, Dear Sir : Vouvs of 
 tlic i6tli at liand, I have acted iiroin].lly uj-on 
 
400 
 
 HISTOKV OF CHESTER. 
 
 it. Gen. 11. will be relieved by order, per- 
 haps already gone. Major Hagner will be 
 cared for. Keep up the Union spirit to the 
 highest point; tell the true men they shall 
 have arms. Make sure of St. Louis for a little 
 while, and we will make sure of Cairo, as soon 
 as we gather a little more strength. Those 
 two points safe we can command the valley. 
 The mob in Baltimore has done some mis- 
 chief, made a terrible noise, but we will soon 
 be able to manage them ; and not only so, 
 but taking care of Fort Monroe to command 
 the Chesapeake. The enemy beat us terribly 
 in lying. They make facts at pleasure, and 
 magnify and distort the true facts; to this 
 time that has been their main strength. I 
 am tired and sick of being always on the de- 
 fensive, and always backing down. If I am 
 not greatly mistaken, you will see a new phase 
 of things very soon. I am pressed for time 
 to the uttermost. \'ours truly, 
 
 Ed. Batks." 
 
 Major Hagner here spoken of, was 
 an ordnance officer, who while he 
 clamed to be loyal, yet did all he 
 could to oppose Lyon's preparations 
 for defence. Hagner was soon or- 
 dered away, and Major Frank D. Cal- 
 lender, (a cousin of Mrs. Mary B. 
 Trainer, late Leiper,) one of the most 
 loyal and efficient officers in the Ord- 
 nance Department of the Amy, succeed- 
 ed him, and continued in command of 
 that important post throughout the 
 war, to his great honor and the public 
 benefit. Lyon now pushed forward 
 his preparations. After much entreaty 
 the Union men of St. Louis had ob- 
 tained from Mr. Lincoln an order to 
 admit loyal men into the Arsenal,. and 
 lo arrn them in its defence. Lieut. 
 j. M. Schofield, of the U. S. Army, 
 who at the outl)reak of the war was on 
 leave, acting as Assistant Professor 
 in the Washington University at St. 
 Louis, was detailed to deliver arms 
 from the supply at the Arsenal to these 
 men, and enroll them in the service of 
 the United States ; for no steps had 
 
 been taken to enlist these men in the 
 three months' service, under the call 
 of the President for 75,000 three 
 months' men. These new irregular 
 volunteers made a brigade of four regi- 
 ments, and elected Captain Lyon their 
 Brigadier General ; all this was merely 
 for the purpose of remaining within 
 the Arsenal and defending ^t. Lyon 
 and his St. Louis supporters soon came 
 to the belief that if they remained in- 
 active, Gen. Frost would move upon 
 the Arsenal from his camp on the 
 western edge of the city, where he 
 had two regiments and two batteries 
 of artillery, all State militia, besides a 
 considerable irregular force of disloyal 
 citizens, which gave it the violent and 
 dangerous element of a mob, as an at- 
 tachment to the armed militia. On 
 the night of the loth of May, 1861, 
 Gen. Lyon called into conference with 
 him. Gen. Frank P. Blair, command- 
 ing the I St Regiment, Missouri Union 
 Volunteers, Mr. Oliver D. Filley, who 
 had been lately the Mayor of St. 
 Louis, and Mr. Franklin A. Dick, 
 who was acting as volunteer assistant 
 Adjutant General to Lyon, that they 
 should decide whether or not to take 
 the aggressive, and make an attack 
 upon Gen. Frost and his camp. They 
 at once decided that the attack should 
 be made, and that night orders were 
 secretly issued to the commanders of 
 the various regiments to be ready to 
 move early ne.xt morning, and on the 
 nth of May, 1861, Lyon, with his four 
 regiments, two of which were com- 
 manded by Col. F. P. Blair and Col. 
 Franz Sigel, both of whom afterwards 
 became distinguished as Major Gene- 
 rals in the war, and with four com- 
 panies of Regulars, commanded by 
 Rufus Saxton, Totton, Sweeny, and 
 another officer, marched from the Ar- 
 
HISTuliY OF CHESTER. 
 
 401 
 
 seiial, on the south edge of the city, 
 to Camp Jackson, just west of the 
 city. Lyon's staff consisted of F. A. 
 Dick, A. A. G. ; Samuel Simmons, 
 A. C. S. ; Bernard G. Farrar, A. D. 
 C., and Gary Gratz, A. Q. M., who 
 was killed at the battle of Wilson's 
 Creek. He was a brother of the pres- 
 ent wife of Commodore Pierce Crosby, 
 of the United States Navy. 
 
 Before the attack was resolved upon, 
 Lyon received the following note : 
 
 " Headquarters, Missouri Militia, 
 Camp Jackson, May lo, 1861. 
 Capt. N. Lyon, commanding U. S. Troops, 
 in and about St. Louis Arsenal, Sir : I am 
 constantly in receipt of information that you 
 contemplate an attack upon my camp. Whilst 
 I understand you are impressed with the idea 
 that an attack upon the Arsenal and United 
 .States troops, is intended on the part of the 
 militia of Missouri, I am greatly at a loss to 
 know what could justify you in attacking citi- 
 zens of the United .States, who are in the law- 
 ful performance of duties devolving upon them 
 under the Constitution, in organizing and in- 
 structing the militia of the State in obedience 
 to her laws, and thei-efore, have been disposed 
 to doubt the correctness of the information I 
 have received. I would be glad to know from 
 you personally, whether there is any truth in 
 the statements that are constantly poured into 
 my ears. .So far as any hostility being in- 
 tended towards the United .States or its pro- 
 perty or representatives, by any portion of my 
 command, or as far as I can learn — and I 
 think 1 am fully informed — of any other part 
 of the .State forces, I can say positively, that 
 the idea has never been entertained. On the 
 contrary, prior to your taking command of the 
 Arsenal, I proffered to Major Bell, then in 
 command of the very few troops constituting 
 its guard, the services of myself and all my 
 command, and, if necessary, the_whole power 
 of the State, to protect the United States in 
 the full possession of her property. Upon 
 (jeneral Harney's taking command of this de- 
 partment, I made the same proffer of services 
 to him, and authorized his Adjutant-General, 
 Capt. Williams, to communicate the fact that 
 such had been done, to the War Dejiartment. 
 
 I have had no occasion since to change any of 
 the views I entertained at that time, neither of 
 my own volition nor through orders of my 
 constitutional commander. 
 
 I trust that after this explicit statement, we 
 may be able by fully understanding each other, 
 to keep far from our borders the misfortunes 
 which so unhappily afiflict our common coun- 
 try. This communication will be handed to 
 you by Col. Bo wen, my chief of staff, who 
 may be able to explain anything not fully set 
 forth in the foregoing. I am sir, very respect- 
 fully, your obedient servant, 
 
 D. M. Frost, 
 
 Brigadier-* Jeneral Commanding, 
 Camp Jackson, M. V. M. 
 
 This letter shows how, by lies and 
 fraud, the rebels endeavored to obtain 
 possession of the U. S. military posts, 
 and to deceive officers loyal to the 
 Government. Lyon and his friends 
 in St. Louis, were not misled by such 
 tricks of the enemy. 
 
 To the above, the following reply 
 was sent by Gen. Lyon, on reaching 
 the rebel camp, on the nth, by his 
 aid. Major B. G. Farrar. 
 
 " Head-quarters U. S. troops, St. Louis, Mo., 
 May 10, 1861, Gen. D. M. Frost, command- 
 ing Camp Jackson, .Sir: — Your command is 
 regarded as evidently hostile to the govern- 
 ment of the United States. It is for the most 
 part made up of those .Secessioni.sts who have 
 openly avowed their hostility to the general 
 government, and have been plotting the sei- 
 zure of its property and the overthrow of its 
 authority. \'ou are upenly in ci.nnnunication 
 with the so-called Southern Confederacy, 
 which is now at war with the United .States; 
 and you are receiving at your camp, from said 
 Confederacy and under its Hag, large supplies 
 of material of war, most of which is known 
 to be the property of the United .States. These 
 extraordinary preparations plainly indicate 
 none other than the well known purpose of 
 the Governor of this State, under whose orders 
 you are acting, and whose purpose recently 
 communicated to the Legislature, has just been 
 responded to in the most unparalleled legisla- 
 tion, and having in direct view hostilities to 
 the General Govennnent and co-operation with 
 
O'J 
 
 INSTOJiV OF CJIESTKIJ. 
 
 its eiiciuio. In \ic\\ of iIu'mj cnll^i(lL■l■atillll^, 
 and of your failure to disperse in oijedienee to 
 the proclamation of the President, and of the 
 eminent necessities of State policy and welfare, 
 and the obligations imposed upon me by in- 
 structions from Washington, it is my duty to 
 demand, and I do hereby demand of you an 
 immediate surrender of your command, with 
 no other conditions than that all persons sur- 
 rendering under this demand shall be humane- 
 ly and kindly Ireiated. Believing myself pre- 
 pared to enforce this demand, one-half hour's 
 time before so doing will be allowed for your 
 compliance therewith. Very respectfully, your 
 obedient servant, 
 
 Nathaniel Lyon, 
 Cajitain 2d U. S. Infantry commanding." 
 
 On receiving this letter, Gen. Frost 
 called a council of his officers, and 
 after a violent opposition from a por- 
 tion of them, who preferred fighting, 
 he sent an answer that he would sur- 
 render. The mob element attached 
 to Frost's camp, who were an irrespon- 
 sible and desperate set, at this time 
 fired some shots, one of which mor- 
 tally wounded Captain Blandowski, a 
 Union officer, and the fire was return- 
 ed by two or three volleys, from a por- 
 tion of the Union forces, which killed 
 a number of persons in the crowd who 
 had collected in the Rebel camp. 
 
 This stroke of Lyon's in capturing 
 the Rebel camp, was denounced by a 
 large portion of the people of St. Uouis, 
 as an unwarranted aggression upon 
 State rights, and a deputation of quasi 
 Union men was sent to Washington to 
 a.sk that he might be relieved and dis- 
 placed from all command, and no less 
 a person than H. R. Gamble, after- 
 wards Provisional Governor of the 
 State, was their chief spokesman. 
 
 To oppose this movement, Gen. 
 Lyon sent Mr. Dick, under instruc- 
 tions, as follows : 
 
 " Head-quarters, St. Louis Arsenal, May 12, 
 i86i'. Col. F. A. Dick, Acting Adjt. (ieneral. 
 Sir: — With a \icw to put the War Depart- 
 
 ment into jjossessiun uf the impoitant facts 
 which have recently transpired at St. Louis, 
 and in which you have taken an active part, 
 and upon the solicitations of the citizens of 
 this city, that some suitable messenger be sent 
 to Washington to represent their interests there, 
 you will for these purposes, as also to bear 
 with you good dispatches, proceed with as 
 little delay as practicable to Washington and 
 report to the War Department. Very respect- 
 fully your obedient servant, 
 
 N. Lyon, 
 Capt. 2d Infantry, Com'g." 
 
 When Mr. Dick arrived at Wash- 
 ington, he found that Lyon's enemies 
 had already demanded of the President 
 his removal from the command of the 
 military forces in St. Louis. Mr. Dick 
 appeared before President Lincoln and 
 his Cabinet, and explained the necessi- 
 ty that had been for the course taken, 
 and showed that had Lyon waited for 
 orders from Washington to take the 
 initiative, it would have been probably 
 too late, and that Gov. Jackson would 
 have seized the Arsenal, and thus jjos- 
 sessed himself of the immense supply 
 of arms accumulated there, and also of 
 the city of St. Louis. Had the rebels 
 been allowed to get this start at that 
 critical time, it would have precipitated 
 the entire State of Missouri into the 
 rebellion, which would have had an 
 immense influence upon Kentucky and 
 southern Illinois. Mr. Lincoln, after 
 hearing both sides, approved of the 
 course taken by Captain Lyon, and 
 appointed him Brigadier General of 
 volunteers. He was killed soon after 
 at the battle of Wilson's Creek. 
 
 NoTK. — James Alfred Pearce, LL. D., f>. 
 Alexandria, Va., Dec. 4, 1805, </. Chestertown, 
 Md., Dec. 24, 1862. He was a lawyer. A 
 member of the Maryland Legislature in 1831. 
 Member of Congress from 1835 to '39 and 1841 
 to '43. Senator of the U. S. from 1843 to '62. 
 In the Senate he was an earnest advocate of 
 Harbor improvements, and though a Democrat, 
 ardently devoted to the l^nion. .See A)ifi\ 300 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 4o: 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 In 1862, Mr. F. A. Dick was com- 
 missioned by Gov. Gamble, of Mis- 
 souri, to be Aid-de-Camp, with the 
 rank of Lieut. Colonel, on the staff of 
 Major General Samuel R. Curtis, who 
 was in command of the Department of 
 Missouri. General Curtis assigned 
 Col. Dick to duty as Provost Marshal 
 General of the Department, embracing 
 the States of Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, 
 Kansas, and parts of Illinois and Ten- 
 nessee, and he continued so employed 
 during 1862 and 1863. 
 
 At the close of the Rebellion, Mr. 
 Dick removed from St. Louis to Wash- 
 ington, where, in partnership with 
 Montgomery Blair, who had been Post- 
 master General under Mr. Lincoln, he 
 resumed the practice of his profession 
 in the Supreme Court of the United 
 States. An examination of the official 
 reports of that high tribunal will show 
 that he was engaged in many large and 
 important cases ; and although he has 
 lately removed to Philadelphia, he 
 still continues his partnership with Mr. 
 Blair, and his practice in the Supreme 
 Court. Mr. Dick has a sincere and 
 ardent love for his profession, and 
 thinks no time or labor wasted which 
 he devotes to the preparation of his 
 cases. At the time of his removal 
 from St. Louis, he purchased the com- 
 fortable summer residence called "Hill- 
 side," in the immediate vicinity of the 
 beautiful town of West Chester, Pa., 
 and spends his summers there. 
 
 In the year 1849, ^^^ ^^^t move- 
 ment was made in Missouri for the 
 formation of a party to rid the State 
 of slavery, and Mr. Dick, then in his 
 early manhood, was an active suppor- 
 ter of that movement, and continuously 
 down to the outbreak of the rebellion, 
 
 5 '2 
 
 he was active and prominent as a 
 member of the Free Soil Party in that 
 State; and as such in 1857, he was 
 elected to the Legislature, and there 
 voted for the extinction of slavery in 
 Missouri. He has, from its organiza- 
 tion, been a member of the Republican 
 party, and has been true to the anti- 
 slavery principles of his great-grand- 
 father, Archibald Dick, in 1782. Mr. 
 Dick had been personally acquainted 
 with General Grant when both were 
 young men in St. Louis, aiTd on his 
 removal to Washington in 1866, Gen. 
 Grant, then being Commander-in- 
 Chief of the army, and residing there, 
 employed Mr. Dick in his personal 
 legal business, and visited socially at 
 his house, as was the General's custom 
 with those he knew, in a friendly way. 
 When the well-known case of Dent vs. 
 Emmenger, reported in 14 Wallace, 
 308, was in contemplation, which was 
 after the first nomination of General 
 Grant as candidate for the Presidency, 
 he employed Mr. Dick as his counsel, 
 to investigate the title under which 
 the Dent family claimed the land in 
 controversy, with a view of determin- 
 ing whether or not the suit should be 
 brought, which was for a large and 
 valuable tract of land in St. Louis 
 County, adjacent to the stock farm 
 now owned by the President. Mr. 
 Dick gave General Grant his written 
 opinion against the validity of the 
 Dent title, and advised him against 
 the suit, upon which the General de- 
 clared to the other members of the 
 family of his wife, that he would have 
 nothing to do with prosecuting the 
 case. The suit was brought by the 
 other members of the family, and the 
 wisdom of Gen. Grant's course was 
 shown by the result, for the case- was 
 decided against the plaintiffs by the 
 
104 
 
 HISTORY OF CIIESTKIJ. 
 
 U. S. Circuit Court, and on ap))eal, by 
 the unanimous decision of all the 
 Judges of the U. S. Supreme Court. 
 
 Among other cases argued by Mr. 
 Dick in the U. S. Supreme Court, 
 were the IJank Tax Cases, involving 
 the ijower of the State of Missouri to 
 tax National Banks. See 9 Wallace, 
 46S. The case of the State of Mis- 
 souri rs. the State of Kentucky, re- 
 ported in II Wallace, 395, to deter- 
 mine which State possessed the sover- 
 eignty ov*r Wolf Island, in the Mis- 
 sissippi River. The case of the Wash- 
 ington University vs. Rouse, 8 Wal- 
 lace, 439, and the Home of the Friend- 
 less 7's. Rouse, 8 ib. 430, on the power 
 of the State Legislature to tax Corpo- 
 rations which had been exempted by 
 a previous Legislature ; and the c:ase 
 of the Wiggin's Ferry Company zx 
 The City of St. Louis, 1 1 Wallace, 423, 
 on the power of the city to tax the 
 company ; also the late cases decided 
 last winter of the Pacific Railroad Co. 
 7's. Maguire, and the North Missouri 
 Railroad Co. vs. the same, as to the 
 power of the Missouri Legislature to 
 tax those railroad companies ; and also 
 the late case of the City of St. Louis 
 7'S. the United States, in the Court of 
 Claims, involving the title of nearly 
 2000 acres of land on which Jefferson 
 Barracks is located, 'i'hese were all 
 jKiblic cases, involving political as well 
 as legal questions, and in all of which 
 Mr. Dick appeared for the State of 
 Missouri, in which he had lived for so 
 many years, excepting only the Wig- 
 gin's Ferry Company case, in which 
 he appeared against the City of St. 
 Louis, and gained his case. Mr. Dick 
 also continues to carry on a large legal 
 business in St. Louis. His familiarity 
 with Missouri land titles cau.sed him 
 to be emj)loyed, after his removal to I 
 
 Washington, in a large number of Cali- 
 fornia Land cases, which were carried to 
 the U. S. Supreme Court. Amongst 
 these cases, which were of great magni- 
 tude, as appears by the U. S. Supreme 
 Court Reports, were those of De Haro 
 7'S. United States, sWallace, 599 ; Kirk- 
 patrick vs. O'Neill, ib. 591 ; Starr 7's. 
 Stark, 6 ib. 402 ; Frisbie vs. Whitney, 
 
 9 ib. 187 ; Hornsby ?'.>•. United States, 
 
 10 il). 224; Roderigues 7's. Villa, 12 
 ib. 323. The similarity between the 
 land title system in Missouri and Cali- 
 fornia lies in this : Both were originally 
 colonies under the Dominion of Spain 
 or France. Those governments grant- 
 ed their lands to early settlers in large 
 tracts, and before the titles to the lands 
 were finally perfected, they ceded the 
 country to the United States, which 
 undertook to finally confirm and per- 
 fect these inchoate titles. These titles 
 were made up of an origin under the 
 civil law which at first prevailed in 
 those Colonies, along with colonial 
 customs, and to these added the early 
 laws of the territorial legislatures, and 
 of Congress. This made an intricate 
 system, and but few of the lawyers in 
 St. Louis mastered it. At the com- 
 mencement of his practice, Mr. Dick 
 devoted himself to that branch of his 
 profession, and on his removal to Wash- 
 ington he was one of a limited number 
 who were experienced in that system 
 of law j hence his retention as counsel 
 in the causes mentioned. 
 
 Franklin A. Dick married, some 
 years since, Myra M. Alexander, of 
 Woodford County, Kentucky, daugh- 
 ter of Andrew J. and Myra Madison. 
 They have issue three sons, William 
 Alexander, Evans Rogers and Frank- 
 lin M. Dick. 
 
 From the "Bench and Bar," vol. 
 I, No. 3, Oct., 1869, I abbreviate the 
 
HISTORY OF GHESTEK. 
 
 405 
 
 following pleasantry in which two of | 
 my friends, Franklin A. Dick and 1 
 George Harding, figured. 
 
 " It arose on a motion in the U. S. Supreme 
 Court, in the great patent case, known as the 
 ' Car-Brake Case,' a cause involving the merits 
 of the brake now universally used on railroad 
 cars, a case, however, not reported — the Court 
 being equally divided, no opinion was given. 
 George Harding, of Philadelphia, eminent as 
 a patent lawyer, and whose success in patent 
 cases is due, partially, to the fact of his in- 
 variably putting models of a very large size 
 before the Court, so- that every member of the 
 Bench can see from his seat the whole mechan- 
 ism as it works, was in this case counsel for 
 the patentee. Acting on his usual plan, so 
 much complimented by the reporter in the 
 ' Hat-Body Case,' (Burr 7/s. Duryee, I Wal- 
 lace, 532,) where a complete hat was manu- 
 factured under the eyes of the Judges from a 
 beaver-skin, George on this occasion resolved 
 to show his Car-brake, as large as life. So as 
 soon as the Court adjourned, he had construct- 
 ed during the night a railroad car, with all 
 the gearings, with the brakes, Sec, so that the 
 Court could see and understand the motion 
 about to be made, and the operation of the 
 brake. Now it so happens that among the 
 present leading practitioners of the .Supreme j 
 Court Bar, is Mr. (Franklin A.) Dick, and | 
 also Mr. Dickey, (O. J. Dickey, Esq., mem- 
 ber of Congress,) gentlemen both, so honora- 
 bly and widely known through the United 
 States. In the morning these gentlemen hap- 
 pened to arrive in Court a few minutes before 
 the members of the Bar generally. They were 
 naturally rather surprised to see the Court 
 room looking so much like a railroad depot ; 
 while standing in meditation as to the cause, 
 a third gentleman came in, and seeing his two 
 resjiected l)rethren in an attitude of contem- 
 plation and inquiry, put in an instant, to their 
 amusement, this dialogue into their mouth : 
 
 Says Dick, here's surely something new I 
 With cars and wagons of this sort ; 
 
 What does George Harding mean to do ? 
 Quoth Dickey : he will move the Court." 
 
 Jacob Hewes, of Leiperville, says, 
 among other things: "My grand- 
 mother, Mary Hewes, who afterwards 
 
 intermarried with Archibald Dick, had 
 two children, Jacob, and Christianna, 
 who married Elisha Dick, by whom 
 she had Jacob, Mary, Rachel and Han- 
 nah Dick. I don' t know what became 
 of them. Jacob lived at one time in 
 Philadelphia; Mary married a man 
 named Marshall ; Rachel, a man nam- 
 ed Anderson, and died in New Jersey. 
 William Hewes, my g. grandfather, 
 tradition says, came from Wales. The 
 name was Hughes, afterwards changed 
 to Hewes. He first took up land in 
 New Jersey, near Salem, but abandon- 
 ed it and took up a part of 1000 acres 
 in Lower Chichester, and built a brick 
 house on his purchase. On the sill of 
 the front door the letters W. H. are 
 cut. In this house my father, Jacob 
 Hewes, and myself, were born. My 
 father's first wife was Rachel, daughter 
 of Thomas and Hannah Perkins They 
 had but one child, Mary. His second 
 wife, Esther, was the daughter of Isaac 
 and Jane Pyle. They had issue, John, 
 Jane, Isaac and Jacob. My father 
 was married at Chichester meeting 
 house. My g. grandfather, William 
 Hewes, was, so says tradition, one of 
 the founders of that meeting, and lays 
 in the graveyard there, and my grand- 
 father John, and my own father Jacob 
 as well. My father was born 2 mo. 7, 
 1752, died 4 mo. 29, 1795. ^7 ""^O" 
 ther died 9 mo. 9, 1839, aged 76 yrs. 
 3 months and 24 days. Father's first 
 wife, Rachel, died 3 mo. 31, 1781. 
 Jacob Hewes, of Leiperville, was born 
 April 5, 1795, and married Eliza 
 Mcllvain, daughter of Jeremiah and 
 Elizabeth (Spencer) of Ridley. See 
 Mcllvain's record, p. 317. They had 
 issue, Spencer and Charles. Mrs. Eliza 
 Hewes died 7 mo. 19, 1874, aged 80 
 years. 
 
 Gilbert Cope, the well-known Anti- 
 
406 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 iiuarian and Historical writer of West 
 Chester, Pa., says : — 
 
 "In regard to the Hewes family, 
 Dr. Smith says it is supposed that 
 William Hewes came over with Fen- 
 wick, in 1675, but settled at Chiches- 
 ter, about 1 6 78-' 9. I presume the 
 name of his wife was Deborah, and 
 they were both active members of 
 Chichester Meeting, at the time of its- 
 establishment. He died about 1698. 
 William Hewes, Jr., was married in 
 1689 to Sarah, the daughter of Edward 
 and Ann Bezer. The proceedings of 
 the meeting in regard to this marriage 
 are given by Dr. Smith, omitting 
 names ; but they must possess addi- 
 tional interest when we know to whom 
 they refer. ' The friends ordered to 
 inquire of their clearness, life, & con- 
 versation, report to this meeting they 
 find nothing to obstruct : And whereas 
 the young man heretofore has been 
 given to be something wild, he of late 
 years was become more sober, — it was 
 proposed by friends to the young man 
 and woman, 
 
 I St. Whether he did beleeve y' was 
 the Truth which wee proffesed «&: walk- 
 ed in according to our measure — fur- 
 ther shewing that if wee did not walk 
 in the truth according to our measure 
 given us, wee were but a Comunity of 
 men and women, and not a Church of 
 Christ : And then marriage would be 
 as well by the Law of the Province as 
 among us: And your comeing to us to 
 propose your intention of marriage, 
 and desireing our consent, is as wee are 
 a Church of Christ, which we cannot be 
 without we walke in Truth : Therefore 
 whether thou dost beleeve That is the 
 Truth we profes & walke in : His answer 
 was Yes, He did beleeve it is. Also 
 the young woman was asked the same. 
 She answered, Yes, I doe l)eleevc it is. 
 
 2dly. Whether you do beleeve that 
 this way of marriage Among friends is 
 According to the order of Truth : 
 
 ^dly. Whether you doe beleeve it 
 is your duty thus to proceed : they, 
 both Answer, Yes. ffriends said, as 
 Paul to the Church of the Romans, 
 chap. 14. I, Him y' is weake in the 
 faith receive you, but not to doubtful 
 disputations. Whereupon friends left 
 them to proceed According to the good 
 order of Truth, They both haveing 
 their parents' Consent Thereunto. 
 
 Dr. Smith supposed that the reason 
 of this unusual catechism was owing to 
 the parties not being members, but as 
 their parents were, so would they be 
 considered, in this Society. 
 
 The bride's mother manifested so 
 much dissatisfaction with the proceed- 
 ings, that her case was referred to the 
 Quarterly Meeting, which ' findes that 
 the said monthly meeting did beare a 
 little too hard upon the young couple.' 
 
 William Hewes, a son (I presume) 
 of this couple, was married 9 mo. 12, 
 1 713, at Chichester Meeting, to Mary, 
 the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth 
 Withers, and grand -daughter of Jere- 
 miah Collett, of Chichester, who was, 
 T believe, the same who married Jane, 
 eldest daughter of Joan May, of Devi- 
 zes in Wilts, ' a first purchaser. ' He is 
 styled a mason in some old writings, 
 but probably followed farming to some 
 extent. His wife survived him and 
 died about 1 750. Their children were 
 William, John, Samuel, Isaac, Caleb, 
 Sarah, Lydia, Rebecca and Hannah. 
 William married ( ist) Lydia Dutton 
 and (2d) Rebecca Gregory, and died 
 in 1753, leaving but one child, Aaron, 
 to survive him. John married Mary, 
 the daughter of Thomas Barnard, and 
 grand-daughter of Richard and Frances 
 Harnanl of Aston. He died in 1759, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 407 
 
 leaving two children, Christian and 
 Jacob. His widow soon afterward mar- 
 ried Archibald Dick, and her daughter 
 married about 1764, Elisha Dick, who 
 was probably a brother to Archibald. 
 John Hewes, of Chichester, Tanner, 
 in his will, dated Feb. 2, 1759, proven 
 Mar. 2, 1759, gave to his wife Mary 
 the Homestead for life, and afterwards 
 to his children Christianna and Jacob. 
 Also to his wife 200 acres in Douglass 
 Township, Berks Co., purchased of 
 Thomas Barnard, until the children 
 became of age or married. Some other 
 land in Chichester and Berks Co. to 
 be sold by executors, his wife and 
 Richard Dutton, of Aston. In case 
 the children did not live to inherit, 
 the property to go to ' Aaron Hewes, 
 son of brother William, and to such 
 sons of brother Samuel Hewes as should 
 be living at the time.' Jacob Hewes 
 was the father of the present Jacob 
 Hewes, of Ridley. Samuel Hewes, 
 above, married and settled in Jersey. 
 Isaac married Lydia Weldon, and left 
 a daughter. Sarah married Robert ?) 
 Moulder and left a daughter Sarah, who 
 married Nathaniel Falconer. Lydia 
 married Wm. Grubb; Rebecca, Sam- 
 uel Grubb; and Hannah, William 
 Vaughan. Thomas Barnard above 
 mentioned, married in 1715, Elizabeth 
 Swayne, and i mo. 14, 1722-3, Sarah, 
 the daughter of Jeremiah and Mary 
 Carter, of Chester Township. It is be- 
 lieved that the last wife was the mother 
 of his children — Jacob, Isaac, Thomas 
 
 and Mary. Isaac married Isabell , 
 
 and I presume was the grandfather of 
 Major Isaac D. Barnard. 
 
 Thomas Barnard lived for a few 
 years, in Berks County, where he mar- 
 ried Sarah, dau. of Thomas Walker, 
 but returned about 1759 to Chester 
 County, bringing a little daughter. It 
 
 seems that he married twice afterwards, 
 and the last time was to his first cousin, 
 for which he was disowned by meeting 
 in 1766. Isaac, made acknowledg- 
 ment in 1753, for marrying one not a 
 member of meeting, by a Priest, but 
 he was afterwards disowned in 1761. 
 Hannah Barnard, daughter of Isaac, 
 born II mo. 21, 1760, (died 4 mo., 
 1826,) was received into membership 
 by Friends, 3 mo. 5, 1783, and married 
 6 mo. 12, 1783, Jacob Brown of West 
 Nottingham. I suppose that James, 
 father of Isaac D. Barnard, was a son 
 of Isaac, as James signs the marriage 
 certificate of Jacob Brown and Han- 
 nah, as a near relation. Thomas Dick, 
 also signs as a witness. 
 
 In Deed Book X, p. 447, April 3, 
 1773, is recorded a deed from Archi- 
 bald Dick of Lower Chichester, and his 
 wife Mary, to Samuel Walker of Lower 
 Chichester, Yeoman, for 5^ acres of 
 land, from John Morton, Sheriff, Mar. 
 17, 1767. In Book V, p. 418, July 5, 
 1776, Archibald Dick, Yeoman, and 
 Mary, to John Power, of Lower Chi- 
 chester, scrivener, for a piece of ground 
 in Chichester, which Samuel Howell 
 and John Power, executors of William 
 Howell of Chichester, (Marcus Hook,) 
 had conveyed to Archibald Dick, June 
 8, 1776, also a deed of Thomas Dick 
 to Jacob Hewes, 4 mo. 13, 1787, for 
 31^ acres of land, part of estate of 
 Archibald Dick, for ^,^238. 
 
 I insert here an old Avriting called 
 " The Barnard Record, ' ' made in 1 841 , 
 by William Barnard now deceased, and 
 supposed to have been copied by him 
 from an older writing of his uncle 
 Joseph, (with some additions,) which 
 was found among his papers: "I am 
 told that my g. g. grandfather came from 
 Sheffield, in old England, when a young 
 man, inrompany with William Pcnn, in 
 
408 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 1682, and settled in Middletown. His 
 name was Richard Barnard. His son 
 Richard, my g. grandfather, was born 
 in this country about the year 1684, 
 and had one brother whose name was 
 Thomas, and five sisters, Sarah who 
 married Joseph* Cobourn, Mary mar- 
 ried Jacob Roman, Lucy married 
 Thomas Button, Lydia married Daniel 
 Walker, and Rebecca married Enoch 
 Flower. Thomas had three sons and 
 one daughter (Mary) who married a 
 Hugh, (John Hewes,) and Archibald 
 Dick, and lived near Chichester. Tho- 
 mas lived in Aston, on lands purchased 
 by his father. 
 
 "Great-grandfather (Richard Bar- 
 nard), settled in Marlborough Town- 
 ship, and married Ann, daughter of 
 Abiah and Deborah Taylor, who also' 
 came from old England, said g. grandr 
 father had three sons and four daugh- 
 ters, namely Jeremiah, Richard, Tho- 
 mas, Sarah, Deborah, Sarah and Lydia. 
 Jacob Roman's sons were Jacob, Isaac, 
 Abraham and Philip. Lucy Dutton's 
 children were Richard, John, David, 
 Thomas and one daughter. Lydia 
 Walker's children were Jacob, Daniel; 
 and Rebecca who married Jacob Tho- 
 mas ; Deborah who married a Thomas ; 
 Zillah, who married Thomas Maule 
 and Joshua Brown ; Beulah who mar- 
 ried Samuel Richards, and Mary who 
 married and died young. Rebecca 
 Flower, had Elizabeth, married Sam- 
 uel Oaks, Rebecca married a Lincoln, 
 Mary married Richard Anderson. 
 
 " My g. g. grandparents, (Abiah and 
 
 *This should l)c William Coeboiinie, to 
 whom she was married in 1721, beinjr then the 
 widow of William Flower. 
 
 In Hotten's lists of Emigrants to America, 
 mention is made of a Richard Barnard, aged 
 23, who went from England to Barbadoes in 
 1634, and it is thought by some that he may- 
 have been the ancestor of the Chester County 
 family. 
 
 Deborah) Taylor, had children, Ann, 
 Deborah, Alice and Samuel. Ann m. 
 Richard Barnard, Deborah vi. Jona- 
 than Parke, Alice m. Daniel Hoopes. 
 Deborah's (Parke) children were, Jo- 
 seph; Deborah, who married Samuel 
 Cope ; Rebecca in. James Webb ; Alice 
 m. Col. John Hannum. Alice Hoopes' 
 children were, Joshua; Deborah, who 
 married James Gibbons ; Samuel and 
 Benjamin. Samuel Taylor's children 
 were, Abiah, Abraham, John, Isaac ; 
 Mary, 711. Samuel Sellers ; and Debo- 
 rah 7)1. Jonathan Sellers. 
 
 " My g. g. grandfather Taylor's 
 brother Joseph, settled in Kennett, 
 (now Pennsbury,) had children, Jere- 
 miah, Joseph, Richard, Benjamin ; 
 Hannah, who married William Tem- 
 ple, and Sarah, married to John 
 Jones. Richard's (Taylor) children 
 were, John, Joseph, and one daugh- 
 ter (Hannah), who married Richard 
 Woodward. Benjamin (Taylor) had 
 Isaac (Esquire) ; Benjamin, the father 
 of Joseph, who lived where Stephen 
 Darlington now does ; Elizabeth, who 
 married Emmor Jeffries; Hannah, ///. 
 Samuel Morton ; Ann married Joseph 
 Cope. 
 
 "My grandmother's g. grandfathers 
 were Joseph Baker and Robert Cham- 
 berlin. Her grandparents, Joseph Ba- 
 ker and John Chamberlin. Her grand- 
 mothers' names before their marriage 
 were, Mary Worrildw and Lettice Key. 
 Her parents, Joseph Baker and Mary 
 Chamberlin. My grandmother's name 
 before marriage was Lettice Baker. 
 Great-grandfather Baker had two sis- 
 ters, Sarah and Hannah. Sarah mar- 
 ried Isaac Strode, Hannah, Josei^li 
 Talbert or Talbot. Sarah's children 
 were, Joseph, Thomas, James, George 
 and Elizabeth ; Hannah's were, Jo- 
 seph, John, Jacob, Margaret, Mary, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 409 
 
 Martha, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth 
 and Susannah. Margaret in. Thomas 
 Grizel ; Mary m. ist Robert Rogers, 
 and 2dly, John Brinton ; Martha in. 
 Daniel Broomall ; Rachel in. Francis 
 Townsend ; Hannah in. Francis But- 
 ton ; Elizabeth in. ist Isaac Sharpless 
 and 2dly, Reese Cadwallader ; Susan- 
 nah m. Nathan Pennell. 
 
 ''Great-grandfather's mother mar- 
 ried Dr. John Taylor, and had John, 
 Philip, Isaac, Jacob, Martha and Mary. 
 John left three children, Mary, Isaac 
 and Sarah ; the first, Mary, in. Per- 
 siferFrazer; Martha w. William Emp- 
 son, and left one daughter. 
 
 " Great -grandmother Baker's bro- 
 thers and sisters were, William, John, 
 Isaac, Elizabeth and Ann Chamber- 
 lin. Elizabeth ///. William Hughs, 
 (Hewes?) Ann in. Charles Ryan. 
 Grandmother's uncle, John Chamber- 
 lin's sons lived in Maryland ; their 
 names were Abner and Hoopes Cham- 
 berlin. Grandmother's grandfather 
 Baker's sister, Sarah, married Thomas 
 Smedley. Richard Barnard, my grand- 
 father, married Susannah Eckhoff ; 
 they had two children, Jeremiah and 
 •Rachel ; Jeremiah m. Elizabeth Pass- 
 more ; Rachel in. Joseph Reynolds, 
 who moved to Ohio. Richard mar- 
 ried again Lettice Baker, who died 8 
 mo. 17, 1821, in her Both year. Rich- 
 ard died 4 mo. 6, 1813, in his 90th 
 year. Their children were, Joseph, 
 who married Mary Meredith ; Mary 
 in. William Thompson ; Richard in. 
 Sarah Chambers ; Lydia ;//. George 
 Darlington; Amos, died 12 mo. 18, 
 1809, in his 3 2d year; Judith in. Moses 
 Baily ; Cyrus in. Rachel Wilson ; Let- 
 tice, Abiah and Elizabeth, died i mo. 
 31, 1821." 
 
 Richard Barnard, died 6 mo. 21, 
 1 841, his wife Sarah, died 3 mo. 29, 
 
 1837, aged 68 years, 9 months and 27 
 days. Their children were, Joseph C. 
 in. Phoebe Williams, and had a son, 
 John ; Amos in. Ann Wilson ; Elihu 
 in. Mary Williams ; William in. Ruth 
 Stubbs ; Eusebius in. Sarah Painter; 
 Cyrus died 9 mo. 19, 1808 ; Ezra T., 
 died 6 mo. 7, 1808; Cyrus T. ;//. Jane 
 Humes; Elizabeth and Philena, died 
 I mo. 15, 1813. 
 
 "John and Lettice Chamberlin's 
 children were, Mary, in. ist, Joseph 
 Baker and 2dly, Andrew McCoy ; Wil- 
 liam married, and lived near Westtown 
 School ; John married, and his sons 
 lived in Maryland ; Elizabeth married 
 a Hughs ; Ann married Charles Ryan. 
 
 "Joseph and Mary Baker's children ; 
 John, who lives on Prince Edward's 
 Island ; Lettice, who married Richard 
 Barnard; Mary, unmarried; Elizabeth 
 married Thomas Brown. The children 
 of Andrew and Mary McCoy ; Robert, 
 William, Andrew, Isaac, Joseph and 
 Martha, who all lived in Maryland. 
 The children of William Chamberlin ; 
 Moses, John, married and lived near 
 Strode's mill, and had children; Isaac 
 married and lived in Marlborough, 
 had no children; Hannah; Martha; 
 Lettice, Avho married James Wood- 
 ward, and moved to Nottingham ; 
 Mary and Elizabeth." 
 
 I had a client, a Richard Barnard, 
 of Doe Run, Chester County, born 
 Nov. 3, 1789, and went to California, 
 in April, 1849, although near 60 years 
 of age, taking with him several work- 
 men, and some mining apparatus, and 
 died there Jan. 13, 1850. He married 
 Sarah, a daughter of William McNeil, 
 and had three children. Priscilla, 
 married to Enos Pennock ; Richard ; 
 and Jemima, who married Dr. Charles 
 T. Carpenter, of Massachusetts, but 
 whose jiarents, Thomas and Haiir.ali, 
 
IIU 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 now reside in Marshaltun, Chester 
 County, Dr. C. was a man of con- 
 siderable ability, but failed to agree 
 with his wife, and I obtained her a 
 divorce from him, Oct. 29, 1859. She 
 was a very pretty little woman, and 
 afterwards married John A. Tyler, of 
 California, where she died. 
 
 Dr. Smith, p. 443, says, among other 
 things concerning Major Isaac D. Bar- 
 nard,, who was the most distinguished 
 of his family in this county as a soldier 
 and a lawyer, that he was the son of 
 James and Susanna, of Aston, born in 
 I 79 1 . His father being elected Sheriff 
 in 1792, purchased a farm near Ches- 
 ter. In 1800, being appointed Regis- 
 ter, Recorder and Clerk of the Courts 
 of the county, he removed into the 
 town ; he died in 1806. Isaac became 
 his father's clerk at the early age of 
 thirteen, and Thomas B, Dick, who 
 succeeded his father in office, retained 
 him in his employ. In 181 1, he com- 
 menced the study of the law, with 
 William Graham, Esq. While a stu- 
 dent he was appointed a Captain in the 
 regular army, and during the War of 
 181 2, was promoted to a Majorship for 
 bravery at the capture of Fort George. 
 He was also in the battle of Plattsburg, 
 and at Lyon Creek. After the war he 
 resumed his studies, and was admit- 
 ted to the Bar of Delaware County, 
 June 16, 1 816, on the same day that 
 his cousin, Archibald T. Dick, was 
 admitted. He was previously admit- 
 ted to practice at West Chester, on 
 May 7th,, and settled in that town, 
 and was appointed Deputy Attorney 
 General soon after. In 1820, he was 
 elected to the State Senate. In 1826, 
 he was appointed Secretary of the 
 Commonwealth by Gov. Shultz, and 
 about a year afterwards elected to the 
 U. S. Senate, but resigned in 1831, 
 
 on account of ill health. About 1817, 
 he married Henrietta, the eldest daugh- 
 ter of Isaac Darlington, Esq., after- 
 wards President Judge of the Courts of 
 Delaware and Chester Counties, and 
 died in 1834, at the early age of 43 
 years. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 Until very recently, the only reli- 
 gious sects who had places of worship 
 in Chester, were the Episcopalians and 
 Friends, both of whom now have two. 
 The Friends — Hicksite, worship in 
 the fine large meeting-house on Mar- 
 ket Street, south of Third. The Or- 
 thodox meeting-house is at Sharpless' 
 woods, Shcemakerville. The Episco- 
 palians have two churches — St. Paul's 
 and a new church called St. Luke's, 
 lately erected, and which was first open- 
 ed for Divine service on Sunday, May 
 8, 1870. The church is situated on 
 ground given by Mr. Ward, on the 
 corner of Broomall and Third Streets, 
 South Ward, and the Rev. F. R. List 
 is the minister. In the Republican of 
 June 27, 1873, it is stated that the 
 Rev. Mr. List, pastor of St. Luke's* 
 Church of this place, has been pre- 
 sented by some of his friends and fel- 
 low-students with a solid silver com- 
 munion set for the sick. 
 
 The Delaware County Pafer and 
 7l/rt// for Feb. 13, 1877, states: 
 
 A Move in the Right Direction. — On Sun- 
 day last the congregation of St. Luke's Epis- 
 copal Church in this city, voted upon the 
 question whether or not the church should 
 adopt the free pew and envelope contribution, 
 and it was carried in the affirmative l)y an 
 unanimous vote. The Rector, Rev. Mr. 
 Moore, announced that on the first Sunday in 
 Lent the pews would be free to all. We look 
 upon this movement as one eminently proper 
 to be made, and believe the congregation will 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 411 
 
 never regret having adopted the system of 
 voluntary contributions for the support of the 
 church. 
 
 In 1832, the Methodists made their 
 first efforts towards collecting a con- 
 gregation in Chester, and met occa- 
 sionally in the old Court House. I 
 am under the impression that their 
 first place of worship was a frame 
 building on the east side of Market 
 Street, between Second and Third 
 Streets, standing back from the street, 
 nearly opposite the Friends' meeting- 
 house ; and I believe that frame struc- 
 ture is still standing in the rear of 
 " Asbury Chapel," its rear facing 
 the new street that runs to the east of 
 the chapel. In 1834, their increase 
 of membership justified them in erect- 
 ing a small place of worship, which is 
 the stone structure on Filbert (now 
 Second) Street, east of Market Street, 
 on the north side. It was erected 
 about 1836 or '37. The late David 
 Abbott was one of the principal ex- 
 horters at the prayer meetings, which at 
 times became very enthusiastic. The 
 building was sold some time since 
 to the African Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and is called now " Asbury 
 Chapel," and the edifice was re-built 
 in 1867. The old Asbury Chapel, 
 erected about 1833 or '34, was a frame 
 structure, still standing on Welsh St., 
 south of Third Street, west side, and is 
 at present unoccupied. The Rev. Mr. 
 Smith was the preacher at Asbury 
 Chapel about 30 years ago. Near, 
 and south of the old Asbury Chapel 
 on Welsh Street, stands a plastered 
 brick or stone church, called " Ches- 
 ter Union Methodist Church," built 
 in i860, opposite the present City Gas 
 Works. This building, like Asbury 
 Chapel, belongs to the colored Me- 
 thodists. 
 
 The second Methodist meeting-house 
 or church of the (white) Methodists, 
 was erected about 1840, on the north 
 side of Fifth Street, west of Market ; 
 the Rev. Newton Heston was the first 
 minister, I believe. The building is 
 now used and occupied by Tuscarora 
 Tribe of Red Men, and has on its front 
 the following : "Tuscarora Hall, insti- 
 tuted Nov. 8th, 1872." Job Wheaton 
 is the Superintendent. 
 
 The third church is located in South 
 Ward, at the corner of Third and Par- 
 ker Streets, and was built about six 
 years ago. The pastor is the Rev. 
 Samuel Pancoast. 
 
 The fourth church, just completed, 
 (1873), is situated at the northeast 
 corner of Seventh and Madison Streets. 
 It is built of Delaware County green 
 stone, and is decidedly the handsom- 
 est church in Chester. The pastor is 
 the Rev. J. B. Maddux. The corner 
 stone of this church was laid on Wed- 
 nesday evening, July 17, 1872, with 
 appropriate ceremonies. The Rev. 
 Henry Brown, of St. Paul's, read a 
 psalm ; the Rev. Mr. Sproull, the late 
 minister of the Presbyterian Church, 
 read a chapter from the New Testa- 
 ment, and the sermon was delivered 
 by the Rev. Mr. Cunningham, the 
 late pastor of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church on Fifth Street. At the close 
 of this address, he gave an interesting 
 history of the Church, in Chester, for 
 the past 40 years. The names of the 
 preachers since the first organization 
 in 1845, to that time, he gave as 
 Messrs. Merrill, Storks, Shields, Hes- 
 ton, Hare, Maddux, Mullin, Arthur, 
 Johns, Ruth, Urie, Meredith, Gilroy, 
 Cunningham and Maddux. On Sun- 
 day, May 3, 1874, the church was 
 dedicated with appropriate ceremo- 
 nies and opened for Divine service. 
 
412 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 The South Cliester M. E. Church 
 was erected in 1S71. It then had 16 
 members and probationers. It now 
 has 179 total membership, 52 of whom 
 are probationers. During the i)ast 
 thirteen months, 187 persons have 
 professed conversion. The Confer- 
 ence on March 24, 1875, named the 
 Rev. Joseph Welsh, pastor of the 
 Madison Street Church ; the Rev. S. 
 W. Kurtz, pastor of Trinity Church; 
 and Rev. David McKee, pastor of the 
 church in South Chester. 
 
 The corner stone of St. Daniel's 
 African Methodist Episcopal Church 
 of South Chester, was laid on Sunday, 
 Oct. 12, 1873. 
 
 The Catholic Church of "St. Mi- 
 chael the Archangel," at Chester, owes 
 its foundation to a number of Irish 
 Catholics employed in Judge Leiper's 
 quarries, who having no place of wor- 
 ship nearer than the church on Dennis 
 Kelley's property at Cobbs Creek, 
 or James Willcox's Chapel at "Ivy 
 Mills," about nine miles distant, 
 agreed among themselves to contri- 
 bute towards the erection of a church 
 building more convenient ; and for 
 the purpose of obtaining the aid of 
 a Catholic Priest to organize a con- 
 gregation among them, they applied 
 to the Rt. Rev. Bishop Kendrick of 
 Philadelphia, who appointed the Rev. 
 Father Sheriden, now the venerable 
 pastor of St. Paul's Church in that 
 city, to attend them. Under his di- 
 rection and guidance, a lot was pur- 
 cha.sed in Chester for the purpose of 
 erecting thereon a new church for 
 their accommodation. The corner 
 stone was laid Sept. 29, 1842, and on 
 June 25, 1843, the church was dedi- 
 cated to Almighty God, under the 
 patronage of St. Michael the Arch- 
 angel, in the ])resence of a very large 
 
 assembly from Philadelphia and the 
 surrounding country. This structure 
 is of stone from Leiper's quarries on 
 Crum Creek, of the Gothic style of 
 architecture, 42 by 72 feet, with a 
 square tower, and spire 100 feet high, 
 surmounted by a gilt cross. In the 
 tower is hung a fine toned bell, 1000 
 pounds in weight, which is rung twice 
 a day. A sacristy, 12 by 22 feet, has 
 been erected adjoining the church on 
 the south side. 
 
 A parsonage, 34 feet square and 
 three stories high, was erected on the 
 church lot by the present pastor, the 
 Rev. Arthur Peter Haviland, who, 
 with his assistant, the Rev. Hugh Mc- 
 Glinn, reside therein. An additional 
 lot adjoining the church property, was 
 purchased in 1866, and on it in 1871, 
 was erected a parochial school -house, 
 60 by 24 feet, and two stories high, 
 capable of accommodating 500 chil- 
 dren. It is used for a Sunday-School, 
 with about 300 scholars in attend- 
 ance, and as a day school for male 
 and female children on separate floors, 
 under the care of two teachers. The 
 average attendance is 180 scholars. 
 The expense of supporting both schools 
 is defrayed by the congregation. 
 
 The congregation of St. Michael's, 
 when its first resident pastor, the Rev. 
 Arthur P. Haviland, was appointed, 
 July 12, 1850, numbered about 250; 
 now, owing to the rapid increase of 
 the population of Chester, it is some- 
 what more than 2000, for whose ac- 
 commodation there are four services 
 on Sunday, to be continued until a 
 large church will be erected, for which 
 arrangements are already made. 
 
 Since writing the above, the old 
 church edifice, so long a marked fea- 
 ture of Chester, has been torn down, 
 and a more im])osing, spacious and 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 413 
 
 commodious building is in the course | 
 of erection on the site of the old struc- 
 ture, and is rapidly approaching com- 
 pletion. The corner stone of the new 
 church was laid on Nov. i, 1874, by 
 the Rt. Rev. Bishop Wood, with ap- 
 propriate ceremonies. The cost of 
 the new church will be about $70,000. 
 The height of the tower from the ground , 
 of stone, will be 96 ft., upon this there 
 will be a wooden spire of 84 ft., mak- 
 ing a total height of 180 feet. The 
 length of the building will be 167 ft., 
 breadth 67 ft. The basement has been 
 finished and occupied for about two 
 years (1877). The masonry and stone- 
 cutting of the new church are being 
 done by Ramsden Rawnsley. The 
 erection being made under the direc- 
 tion of the Rev. Mr. Haviland, the 
 pastor. 
 
 A Cemetery, seven acres in extent, 
 was purchased in 1864, a short mile 
 out of Chester, which has been pro- 
 perly fenced in, and is used for the 
 interment of deceased members of the 
 congregation. Previous to the instal- 
 lation of the resident pastor, clergymen 
 from Philadelphia officiated as tem- 
 porary Missionaries at St. Michael's, 
 among whom may be mentioned Rev. 
 Thaddeus Amat, the Principal of the 
 Theological Seminary of St. Charles 
 Borromeo, Philadelphia, now Bishop 
 of Monterey, California; also, Rev. 
 Dr. O'Hara, now Bishop of Scranton, 
 Pa. , the congregation being small and 
 not able to support a resident pastor. 
 
 Last year the residents of South 
 Ward, who worshipped at St. Michael's, 
 conceived the idea of erecting a new 
 church for the accommodation of those 
 who objected to the distance to the old 
 church. Bishop Wood lent his sanc- 
 tion to the erection of a new parish, 
 and the work of collecting subscrip- 
 
 tions was commenced. The success 
 of the enterprise has been so great as 
 to warrant the building of a temporary 
 structure for the new congregation, un- 
 til a permanent edifice can be erected, 
 which has been finished and is now 
 used for worship. And on Sept. 20, 
 1874, the corner stone of the new 
 church was laid by the Rt. Rev. Bi- 
 shop Wood, of Philadelphia, assisted 
 by the Rev. I. J. Horstman, and other 
 clergy, with appropriate ceremonies, 
 in the presence of a large assemblage. 
 The new church will be called " The 
 ChiD'ch of the Immaculate Heart of 
 Maty.'' 
 
 In Heckewelder' s Diary of a Journey 
 to Pet(]uotting, about 1 790, it is said : 
 ' ' Five miles from Carlisle we came upon 
 a Presbyterian pulpit, of which we saw 
 several on the journey. They were 
 built against a tree, around which the 
 people encamped. A stairway of three 
 or four steps led up to the pulpit, over 
 which a small roof was built." Al- 
 though the Presbyterians were thus 
 early spreading the tenets of their sect 
 abroad in this State, it was not until 
 1850, they made their first efforts at 
 Chester, under the auspices of the Rev. 
 James W. Dale. He preached in the 
 Court House for over a year. In 1852, 
 the First Presbyterian Church, a fine 
 brick building, mastic on the outside, 
 situated at the S. E. corner of Fourth 
 and Welsh Streets, was erected. Mr. 
 Dale was succeeded by the Rev. J. O. 
 Steadman, for two years. His suc- 
 cessor for two years more, was Rev. 
 George Van Wyck, and in 1856, the 
 Rev. Alexander W. Sproull became 
 the first regular pastor. The present 
 incumbent, the Rev. Philip H. Mowry, 
 was installed Dec. 11, 1873. 
 
 The Second Presbyterian Church is 
 in South Ward, west of Chester Creek, 
 
414 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 situated on the corner of Third and 
 Ulrich Streets, and was erected in 1867. 
 The Rev. A. T. Dobson is the minister. 
 
 The Third Presbyterian Church is 
 situated at the S. E. corner of Twelfth 
 and Upland Streets. . The lot was 
 purchased in 1871, and the walls of 
 a memorial Sunday-School Chapel 
 were built, partially (in commemora- 
 tion of the union of the churches of 
 the old and new school) on the lot, 
 by the residents of the neighborhood, 
 connected at that time with the first 
 church, of which the Rev. A. W. 
 SprouU was pastor. In Oct., 1872, 
 sixty-two members of the first church 
 took letters of dismission, and were 
 organized Oct. 16, 1872, into the 
 " Third Presbyterian Church of Ches- 
 ter." The building upon the lot was 
 immediately finished, and served as a 
 chapel until July, 1873, when proving 
 too small, one end was removed and 
 25 feet added to it. The Rev. Dr. 
 Edwin W. Bowers, of Lincoln Uni- 
 versity, was temporary minister of the 
 church, as stated supply, until Feb. 13, 
 1873, when the present pastor, the 
 Rev. Charles F. Thomas, was called, 
 and installed May 6, 1873. 
 
 The lot upon which the chapel is built 
 is 146 feet square, and cost ^^3000, 
 while the total cost of the present brick 
 edifice was about ^8000. The church 
 commenced its first year with 62 mem- 
 bers, and 40 scholars in the Sabbath 
 School. The total • membenship in 
 Jan., 1874, was 81, the congregation 
 400, and in the Sabbath School 350 
 scholars. 
 
 The Baptists, in the- fall of 1854, 
 began a series of monthly religious 
 services in Chester, which were held 
 in the old Court House for four years. 
 Rev. Wm. Wilder officiating. Early 
 in the spring of 1858, John P. Crozer, 
 
 Esq., donated a lot of ground on the 
 corner of Penn and Second Streets, 
 on which, during the summer of the 
 same year, Benjamin Gartside erected 
 a chapel for the use of the Baptists, at 
 a cost of $1100, which building, in 
 the rear of the present church edifice, 
 is now occupied as an infant Sunday- 
 School. This chapel was formally 
 opened for religious services in August, 
 1858, and from that time preaching 
 was regularly held every Sabbath after- 
 noon by Rev. W. Wilder, of Upland, 
 and Rev. Miller Jones, of Marcus 
 Hook. Here the infant congregation 
 worshipped until the 24th of Septem- 
 ber, 1863, when the chapel was recog- 
 nized as the First Baptist Churcli of 
 Chester. The membership at that 
 date consisted of 21 persons, who had 
 been mostly dismissed by letters from 
 the Upland Baptist Church. Imme- 
 diately after the recognition, an effort 
 was made to secure a permanent pas- 
 tor, and in Jan., 1865, Rev. J. Newton 
 Brown, D. D., was called to su])ply 
 the pulpit for three months, and con- 
 tinued to preach for fivemonths, when, 
 on the I St of June, Rev. Levis G. Beck 
 became the first regular pastor of the 
 church and continued in that capacity 
 for nearly two years, when he resigned 
 his charge to accept the appointment 
 of Secretary of the Pennsylvania Bap- 
 tist General Association. It was dur- 
 ing this time that the present church 
 edifice was completed, at a cost of 
 $16,000. It is a brick structure, 90 
 by 46 feet. On the lower floor, above 
 the level of the street, is the lecture 
 room and Sunday-School, and in the 
 rear, the pastor's study and a Bible 
 class room. The auditorium is in the 
 second story, and is beautifully fur- 
 nished. The wall and ceiling are 
 tastefully painted in oil colors, and a 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 415 
 
 fine organ placed in the gallery at a 
 cost of $2,000. This church is claim- 
 ed, in its ventilating facilities, to be 
 superior to all other public buildings 
 in Chester, and will seat comfortably 
 600 persons. After the resignation of 
 Mr. Beck, the church was dependent 
 on supplies for the pulpit until Nov., 
 1866, when the Rev. A. F. Shanafelt, 
 the present pastor, was called. In 
 March following he entered upon his 
 pastoral duties. A number of promi- 
 nent Baptists immediately purchased 
 a lot of ground adjoining the church, 
 and a parsonage was erected thereon 
 by the liberality of Benjamin Gartside, 
 Esq., at a cost of over $4,000, which 
 was occupied by the pastor in De- 
 cember, 1867. The church is in a 
 flourishing condition, and has now 
 over 250 members. 
 
 In 1870, James Irving, Esq., erected 
 a handsome brick chapel, which he 
 dedicated to the Baptist Society at 
 Shoemakerville, North Chester, now 
 in charge of Rev. E. Wells. In 1871, 
 Samuel A. Crozer, Esq. , erected a Bap- 
 tist Chapel in South Chester, which is 
 now in charge of Rev. R. McNeil. 
 Both of these edifices are the result of 
 munificent benevolence on the part of 
 these two well-known members of the 
 Baptist Church. 
 
 The First Baptist Church in Chester 
 has in active working a Congregational 
 Relief Association, with a member- 
 ship of over 80 members. The object 
 of the Society, as its name imports, is 
 the relief of the families or nearest re- 
 latives of deceased members. The 
 funeral benefits payable on the decease 
 of a member of the Association at this 
 time, (1874), is $40, and the amount 
 is constantly increasing with the mem- 
 bership. The Society is in the fourth 
 year of its usefulness, and the progress 
 
 it has made should recommend the 
 plan to other religious bodies. With 
 the First Baptist Church the idea ori- 
 ginated, and it is the only church in 
 the country, of which we have any 
 knowledge, that has made an experi- 
 ment of this kind a success. 
 
 Camp Meetings, so-called, are meet- 
 ings held by some religious societies, 
 generally by the Methodists, during 
 the summer season, in some pleasant, 
 shady spot in the country, and last 
 for a week or more. These meetings 
 are partially of a social character, 
 although chiefly held for religious ser- 
 vices, consisting of prayer meetings 
 in the tents erected for the visitors 
 on the camping ground. Morning 
 and evening services, consisting of 
 out-door sermons and singing under 
 the trees are held two or three times 
 during the day. At such places there 
 are of course many visitors who are 
 merely lookers on in Vienna. Fre- 
 quently the exciting prayers of the 
 preachers get up a kind of revival in 
 the tents, especially among the women, 
 who pray, scream, faint, tear their 
 hair, and sometimes go into ecstatic 
 convulsions ; especially is this the case 
 at the Camp Meetings of the negroes, 
 who are a more excitable race than the 
 whites. Booths are erected around 
 the camps for the sale of provisions, 
 and despite the attempts of those who 
 are really in earnest in doing good, 
 there are sometimes scenes of disturb- 
 ance at the camps; but generally those 
 who go to look on are content to en- 
 joy "the fun," as they call it, in a 
 quiet way, finding pleasure in the dis- 
 play of an excess of religious feeling 
 in others. The Methodists hold that 
 these meetings do much good, and I 
 also think they do. I have been to 
 many a one to see the fun when I was 
 
416 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 a boy, and when order was not so well 
 preserved as now, and I never heard 
 that the effect of a camp meeting on 
 a neighborhood was injurious, although 
 it gives chances for many kinds of 
 indulgences not usual. 
 
 The matter is now reduced to a sys- 
 tem. At a meeting of several Camp 
 Meeting Associations, held in Phila- 
 delphia, Jan. 14, 1874, the following 
 was recommended as the time for 
 holding the various camp meetings in 
 this vicinity during the coming sum- 
 mer, viz : 
 
 Ocean Grove, Union Convention, 
 July 9, 1874. 
 
 Rehoboth Camp Meeting, July 14. 
 
 Chester Heights Camp, July 21st. 
 
 Pitman's Grove Camp, August 4th. 
 
 Landisville Camp, August 4th. 
 
 Ocean .Grove Camp, August 14th. 
 
 The following was also unanimously 
 passed by the meeting : 
 
 '■^Resolved, By this conference of re- 
 presentatives of several Camp Meet- 
 ing associations. That we heartily in- 
 dorse and commend that section in 
 the late pastoral address of our bishops 
 which calls attention to the subject of 
 Camp Meetings, and recommend sim- 
 plicity and spirituality in worship and 
 a strict regard to the sanctity of the 
 holy Sabbath, and we will discourage 
 the running of excursion trains and all 
 other travel on that day, except such 
 as is usual in worshippers attending 
 church service, as well as all Sabbath 
 traffic on and about our respective 
 grounds." 
 
 During the year 1872, an association 
 of Methodists purchased a farm in x-Xs- 
 ton Township, Delaware County, and 
 had the association incorporated under 
 the name of the "Chester Heights 
 Camp Meeting Association." 
 
 The grounds belonging to the Asso- 
 
 ciation embrace 162 acres, and are 
 located immediately on the line of the 
 Baltimore Central Railroad, and about 
 twenty miles from Philadelphia. The 
 place has been named Chester Heights. 
 About 60 acres of the purchase is fine 
 woodland, divided into two groves, 
 both of which are to be fitted up as 
 excursion grounds, the Association 
 expecting to realize a good dividend 
 on their investment outside of the 
 Camp Meetings. The improvements 
 so far made consist of an Excursion 
 House, 70 by 120 feet, a portion of 
 it being two stories high, to be used 
 as lodging rooms during the camp. 
 In the rear, the building is one story 
 and open at the sides, and is designed 
 for use in rainy weather. The preachers' 
 stand is formed by a wide hall running 
 through the front building. From 
 this sfand, the tents, principally can- 
 vas, extend for some distance up, the 
 ground having a considerable rise, af- 
 fording the audience a fine view of the 
 speakers. Three hundred iron settees, 
 capable of seating about 3,000 per- ' 
 sons, afford accommodations to those 
 Avho attend the religious services. The 
 water supply is furnished from a neigh- 
 boring stream, being forced up to the 
 grounds by means of a steam pump. 
 
 The act incorporating the Associa- 
 tion provides that the grounds shall 
 not be used for any purposes in opposi- 
 tion to the Discipline of the Methodist 
 Church, therefore, no excursions are 
 allowed where dancing is permitted. 
 The grounds are almost daily occupied 
 bySunday-.schools, Churches, &c., and 
 therefore, the speculation promises to 
 be all right. The sixty acres used for 
 the camp are enclosed with a close 
 fence, seven feet high, with gates for 
 the admission of those attending the 
 meetings. As the Camp Meeting is 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 417 
 
 gotten up by the Association, they 
 expect to derive their revenue from 
 the rent obtained from tents, one hun- 
 dred having been erected by the Asso- 
 ciation ; from per centage from board- 
 ing tents, restaurant and other tents hav- 
 ing articles for sale. The charge for a 
 canvas tent, 7x7 feet, without a floor, 
 is ^3 for ten days, and $4 with floor. 
 Family tents, 14X 14 feet, with floors, 
 $12. Persons putting up their own 
 tents pay one cent per square foot for 
 the use of the ground, on the main 
 circle. 
 
 The Association furnishes to minis- 
 ters free railroad tickets to the grounds, 
 and lodgings while at the camp, but 
 not meals, though they are allowed a 
 discount of twenty per cent, on the 
 charge. The expenses of lighting, 
 police, water supply, &c. , is of course, 
 met by the Association. The religious 
 services each day will be as follows : 
 Early meeting, 5 A. M., consisting of 
 prayer and experience ; preaching. 
 10 A. M., 3, 6.30 and 7.30 P. M. ; 
 children's meeting, 1.30 P. M. The 
 hour of each meeting will be announc- 
 ed not by the primitive horn, but by 
 the ringing of a fine-toned bell. 
 
 The following account of Camp 
 Meetings in the West, 50 years ago, 
 will remind many persons of such 
 meetings in Delaware County not so 
 long ago. T copy from Lippincott' s 
 Magazine for August, 1873 : 
 
 "The order of the day Mould be ahnost 
 uniformly this : The horn (which was a long 
 tin one, hung in the preaching stand), was 
 sounded at sunrise, when it was expected that 
 all persons in the tents would rise. Half an 
 hour later it was blown again for family wor- 
 ship, which must be observed in every tent, 
 after which breakfast was prepared and eaten. 
 At eight or nine, according to the season, the 
 horn announced prayer meeting in the tents; 
 at ten, it proclaimed preaching; after that 
 
 followed prayers at the stand and a call for 
 mourners, or, as it was more correctly and 
 elegantly expressed, ' an invitation to such as 
 desired an interest in the prayers of those pre- 
 sent, from a conviction that they were sin- 
 ners.' Then came a recess for the mid-day 
 meal, and after this there was preaching 
 again at 2 P. M. There were prayers at the 
 stand and mourners called forward again, 
 after which there was usually an adjournment 
 to the open part of the ground, and a grand 
 prayer-meeting organized in ' the ring.' The 
 ring-meeting was formed in this way : If there 
 were many inourners at the altar, as it was 
 called — that is, two or three designated benches 
 in front of the pulpit — some in authority would 
 order a removal, on which some active fellow 
 would shoulder a few benches and carry them 
 to the square, and have them placed in a con- 
 venient manner and ready for the mourners to 
 kneel by or sit upon. Before these were re- 
 moved, but in an incredible short time, enough 
 stout young men would join hands around 
 the benches to form a compact enclosure. 
 These again were enclosed by an outer ring 
 of those who were the first to spring to the 
 place, that they might have a full view of the 
 proceedings ; for it was understood that this 
 circle was not to be entered except by the 
 mourners and those who were to talk and 
 pray with them. The young people of the 
 country were generally good singers, and knew 
 the hymns and tunes mostly in use, and the 
 numbers who would join in the singing would 
 now be surprising. Two resolute ones of the 
 living wall of this ring would be designated 
 as at once door-posts and door-keepers, who 
 at their discretion, admitted persons within 
 the enclosure. The mourners were then 
 brought on, and entering, kneeled at the 
 benches, while a brother of leading voice 
 would start, ' Come, ye sinners, poor and 
 needy,' or some similar hymn, in which every 
 available voice would join, not a brick of the 
 wall of this tabernacle keeping silence. Then 
 followed a prayer, then a hymn, and then a 
 prayer, and at last a steady stream of song 
 and supplication, running together like the 
 parts of a fttgue, harmonizing in sjiite of all 
 discord." 
 
 In the year 1856, Gas was first in- 
 troduced into Chester for lighting pur- 
 poses, and is now in common use. In 
 
41cS 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 1858-59, about 1,483,000 cuh'w feet 
 of gas was manufactured, and suiJi)lied 
 to 220 customers. The ofiftcers for 
 that year were Frederick Fairlamb, 
 President) John O. Deshong, Samuel 
 A. Crozer, John H. Barton, and Rob- 
 ert Button, Managers. The City Gas 
 Works are situated on the east side of 
 Welsh street, south of Third street. 
 
 From a work entitled ' ' Historic 
 Tales of Olden Times, ^^ by J. T. Wat- 
 son, Philadelphia, 1833, I extract the 
 following : 
 
 " There was many years ago, considerable 
 indications and promise of a valuable copper 
 mine up ihe Chester Creek. There is still 
 visible remains of two shafts now filled with 
 water. They were said to contain about fifty 
 pounds of copper, and about fifty ounces of 
 silver in the one hundred pounds. At some 
 future day they will probably be worked with 
 more success and profit." 
 
 In Hazard' s Register, for May, 1832, 
 9 vol. 334, is the following article in 
 which this old mine is referred to. 
 
 "A Day in Chester. — We ventured to re- 
 commend the village of Chester to our read- 
 ers a few weeks ago, since which we have 
 again passed a day very pleasantly in the 
 neighborhood. Leaving the city at seven in 
 the morning, you land at the pier at Chester 
 in less than two hours after breakfast on board 
 the floating palace William Penn. Besides 
 the charm of cultivated society to be met with 
 in the village, the ground is rendered doubly 
 interesting by the historical associations which 
 connect themselves with it. 
 
 At the distance of about a mile above Ches- 
 ter, immediately upon the banks of the creek, 
 are extensive quarries where large tpiantities 
 of stone are procured and sent down the 
 river in boats. Here they are shipped in 
 larger vessels and conveyed principally to the 
 Breakwater, now constructing near the en- 
 trance of the Delaware Bay. The stone is 
 obtained in large irregular masses, and is a 
 rough granite, consisting of an aggregation of 
 quartz, feldspar and hornblende, irregularly 
 combined. We observed traversing the quar- 
 ries an occasional vein of suiphuret of iron or 
 
 pyrites, of a fine gf)]d lustre, l)ut imperfect in 
 its crystalization, and some tolerably good 
 specimens of tourmalin, though the crystals 
 are not large. A fine lamellated feldspar of 
 a pale red color is abundant, and in .some 
 places it is found of a green tinge. At this 
 place we meet Mr. Walter C. Lyttle, the son 
 of the proprietor of the quarries, to whose 
 polite attention we are indebted for much of 
 the satisfaction resulting from our excursion. 
 I>eaving the quarries, he conducted us by a 
 wild romantic path about half a mile further 
 up the creek, where near an old deserted saw 
 mill, we found the traces of an ancient mine. 
 Two shafts appear to be sunk here which are 
 yet visible, but filled with water and over- 
 grown with bushes and vines. A consitkia- 
 ble quantity of the rubbish drawn from the 
 mine is yet laying about the place, from an 
 examination of which it is apparent that the 
 shafts were sunk chiefly through a clear white 
 quartz containing veins of copper and mo- 
 lybdena. The ore of the copper which we 
 observed here in the greatest quantity is the 
 yellow ferruginous suiphuret, though the green 
 carbonate and several other varieties may also 
 be found. The suiphuret of molybdena is 
 abundant, and so nearly resembles graphite or 
 plumbago, (vulgarly called black lead,) as not 
 to be easily distinguished from it by mere ex- 
 ternal characteristics. The two minerals, are, 
 however, essentially distinct in chemical com- 
 position, the plumbago being a carburet of- 
 iron ; i. e. iron combined with a large propor- 
 tion of carbon, while the other is a metal called 
 molybdena combined with sulphur. It is a 
 rare metal, and we are not aware that it has 
 been applied to any use. Those persons who 
 may desire specimens to add to their cabinet 
 collection of minerals, may obtain them witli- 
 out difficulty at this place. 
 
 We were informed by Mr. Edward Jack- 
 son, an intelligent old gentleman \vht)m we 
 met at the mine, that about thirty years ago, 
 three assays were made of the copper ore ob- 
 tained here, the average result of which was 
 53 per cent, of copper, with 48 ounces of silver 
 in every one hundred pounds, and as he says, 
 one grain of gold in every ounce of the ore. 
 Before any great depth had been obtained, 
 the progress of the work was suspended owing 
 to the want of funds, and it ever since has 
 been neglected. But from the awakened at- 
 tention manifested at present to the mineral 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 419 
 
 treasures of our country, we venture to pre- 
 dict that the work at this place will be re- 
 sumed at no very distant day. The strong 
 probabilities of obtaining large quantities of 
 rich ore by sinking the shaft to a greater depth, 
 may induce some of our enterprising capitalists 
 to make an attempt to render this mine pro- 
 ductive." 
 
 Mr. Watson was a frequent visitor 
 to Chester, and admired its home-like 
 scenes and old-fashioned hospitalities. 
 Much of the information concerning 
 the place and its vicinity contained in 
 his well-known Annals, were obtained 
 from the late Richard Flower, of La- 
 mokin, whose guest he generally was 
 while in the neighborhood. Mr. 
 Flower was, in his younger days, a 
 very handsome man, so some of the 
 old ladies of niy family tell me, of fine 
 conversational powers, and having 
 antiquarian tastes, he was frequently 
 applied to for information about things 
 and times that were olden. 
 
 Mr. Watson, in his work above 
 referred to, page 20, writing of the 
 early days of the English settlement, 
 says : "In those times the Indians and 
 Swedes were kind and active to bring 
 in and vend at moderate prices, pro- 
 per articles of subsistence. Provisions 
 (says Penn) were good, and in vast 
 quantities. Wild fowls were in abun- 
 dance, and wild pigeons, .says another, 
 were like clouds, and often flew so low 
 as to be knocked down with sticks. 
 Wild turkeys were sometinies so im- 
 moderately fat and large as to weigh 
 forty-six pounds; some of thirty pounds 
 sold for one shilling; deer at two shil- 
 lings apiece. The waters abounded 
 with fish ; six alloes, or rock, were 
 sold for one shilling, and salt fish at 
 three farthings a pound. Oysters were 
 abundant and excellent, six inches 
 long. Peaches could be had by the 
 
 'cart load." 
 54 
 
 XLV. 
 
 THE OYSTER SUPPER. 
 
 By William Martin, Jr. 
 
 " Gently stir and rake the fire, 
 Put the oysters on to roast, 
 ' Duck Creek planted,' I desire. 
 
 They 're the kind that please me most. 
 As the odor strikes my nose. 
 
 My appetite much keener grows. 
 
 On the plate now see them lie. 
 
 In the gravy plump and fat. 
 Finer ' fish' ne'er met my eye, 
 
 Nor ' An opening rich as that ;' 
 Let me season to the taste, 
 
 With pepper, salt, etc., — haste. 
 
 The cloth upon the table spread, 
 Now" knife and fork as ciuickly get, 
 
 With butter fresh and toasted bread 
 ril have a feast unheard of yet, 
 
 While po/uj brandy and segars 
 W' ill set me up beyond the stars." 
 
 In Proiicf s Pennsylvania, vol. i, 
 p. 153, will be found copied, a letter 
 from Mahlon Stacey to a friend in 
 England, from which I make some ex- 
 tracts, and which in view of the high 
 prices of provisions, and the scarcity of 
 game at the present day, (Dec. 20, 
 1 87 1,) will be found quite refreshing, 
 when considered in connection with 
 the prices just above given by Watson. 
 I priced to-day, butter, 75c. ; beef, 
 roasting pieces, 23c. ; turkey and 
 chickens, 23c.; mutton i8c. ; each 
 per pound. Canvas-back ducks, $3.50 
 per pair; red heads, $1.75 per pair ; 
 partridges, $3 per dozen. The date 
 of Mr. Stacey's letter is 1680. He 
 says : "I have seen orchards laden 
 with fruit to admiration ; their very 
 limbs torn to pieces with the weight, 
 and most delicious to the taste and 
 lovely to behold. I have seen an apple 
 tree from a pippin kind, yield a barrel 
 of curious cyder, and peaches in such 
 plenty, that some people took their 
 
420 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 carts a peach-gathering. I could not 
 but smile at the conceit of it. They 
 are a very delicate fruit, and hang al- 
 most like our onions that are tied on 
 ropes. I have seen and known this 
 summer forty bushels of wild wheat 
 of one bushel sown ; and many more 
 such instances T could bring, which 
 would be tedious here to mention. 
 We have, from the time called May 
 until Michaelmas, a good store of 
 very good wild fruits — as strawberries, 
 cranberries and huckleberries, which 
 are like our bilberries in England, but 
 far sweeter. They are very wholesome 
 fruit. The cranberries are much like 
 cherries, for color and bigness, which 
 may be kept till fruit comes again; 
 and an excellent sauce is made of them 
 for venison, turkeys and other great 
 fowl. They are better to make tarts 
 than either gooseberries or cherries. 
 We have them brought to our houses 
 by the Indians, in great plenty. My 
 brother Robert had as many cherries 
 this year as would have loaded many 
 carts. It is my judgment by what I 
 have observed, that fruit trees in this 
 country destroy themselves by the very 
 weight of their fruit. 
 
 As for venison and fowl, we have 
 great plenty. We have brought home 
 to our houses by the Indians, seven or 
 eight fat bucks in a day, and some- 
 times put by as many, having no occa- 
 sion for them ; and fish in their sea- 
 son very plentiful. * * * And as 
 to beef and pork, here is great plenty 
 of it and cheap, and also good sheep. 
 The common grass of this country 
 feeds very fat. * * * We have a 
 great plenty of most sorts of fish that 
 I ever saw in England, besides several 
 other sorts that are not known there, 
 as rock, catfish, shad, sheep-heads, 
 sturgeons; and fowls in plenty, as 
 
 ducks, geese, turkeys, pheasants, par- 
 tridges and many other sorts. * * * 
 Indeed, the country, take it as a wil- 
 derness, is a brave country." 
 
 Richard Townsend, writing about 
 the same time, 1682, states {Proud, 
 I vol., 229) : "After some time I set 
 up a mill at Chester Creek, which I 
 brought ready framed from London, 
 which served for grinding corn and 
 sawing of boards, and was of great use 
 to us. Besides I, with Joshua Tittery, 
 made a net and caught great quanti- 
 ties of fish, which supplied ourselves 
 and many others; so that, notwith- 
 standing, it was thought near 3000 
 persons came in the first year, we 
 were so providentially provided for, 
 that we could buy a deer for about two 
 shillings, and a large turkey for about 
 one shilling, and Indian corn for about 
 two shillings and six pence per bushel." 
 
 Chester for many years has been a 
 profitable market for fish. In the 
 spring of the year the shad and herring 
 fisheries yield their annual tribute, and 
 the fish are brought up Chester Creek 
 in boats, to supply the town and sur- 
 rounding country. In 1683, it is 
 stated that they were "exceedingly 
 plentiful/' and the early fishermen 
 could take 600 at a draught. They 
 were proportionately cheap. Six rock- 
 fish could be bought for a shilling ; 
 six shad for the same ; and oysters for 
 two shillings a bushels. Hazard'' s 
 Register iox April 12, 1825, i vol., 
 240, says : " Shad— the average num- 
 ber caught last week at Marcus Hook, 
 amounts to 2000 a day." 
 
 At the "Fish House," at Glouces- 
 ter Point, New Jersey, on or about 
 May 13, 1873, there was taken at one 
 haul of the net, over 60,000 herring, 
 the greatest draught of fish ever had 
 in the river Delaware. A day or so 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 421 
 
 previously there was caught, at the 
 same fishing grounds, 1,200 shad at 
 one haul. The herring sold at 15 
 cents per hundred. I forgot to ask 
 the price of the shad by the hundred, 
 but they retailed in Philadelphia at 
 50 cents each. 
 
 The arrival of shad and the com- 
 mencement of fishing in our local 
 waters, render their nature and habits 
 a subject of interest. The shad, Thad- 
 deus Norris says, belongs to the her- 
 ring family. Its geographical range, 
 on the Atlantic coast, is from Florida 
 to the Bay of Fundy. The shad al- 
 ways returns to its native river to re- 
 produce its kind. Those hatched in 
 the Delaware never enter the mouths 
 of the Hudson or Potomac. Each 
 river has its own peculiar race of shad, 
 those of the Delaware bdng of larger 
 size than the general average. It is 
 believed that the shad does not wander 
 very far into the ocean. Their ascent 
 to the spawning grounds, in the spring, 
 is slow and gradual. If there is a 
 freshet, or they encounter a taint of 
 snow water, they remain stationary. 
 They enter the fresh running water 
 very tardily. They cannot ascend 
 strong rapids or falls, like the salmon, 
 and are sometimes checked or scared 
 by seeing the shadow of a bridge across 
 the water. They do not feed while in 
 the fresh water, and no food is found 
 in their stomachs after they have en- 
 tered. The roe of a good sized shad 
 contains about 100,000 eggs, and will 
 weigh 12 ounces. If these were all 
 hatched and reared, they would weigh 
 200 tons. But this immense fecundity 
 is necessary to meet the many dangers 
 that surround the fish. Myriads of 
 eggs are at once destroyed or washed 
 away, while the young fry are devoured 
 as they emerge by the wholesale by 
 
 catfish, chubs, sunfish and minnows. 
 Thirty young shad have been taken 
 from the stomach of a roach four. in- 
 ches long. Seth Green says, that only 
 three eggs out of a hundred spawned 
 in the Connecticut river are hatched. 
 In spawning, the shad seeks a brisk 
 current or gently whirling eddy, and 
 the eggs are deposited generally at 
 night. They are at once fertilized by 
 her male companion, who moves by 
 her side during the operation. An 
 experienced observer says, that the 
 actual results obtained by artificial cul- 
 ture of shad are as 2000 to i as com- 
 pared with those of nature. This fact 
 illustrates the great importance of the 
 steps recently taken by the State gov- 
 ernments for the protection and pro- 
 pagation of shad in the rivers along 
 the Atlantic coast. 
 
 It has been frequently remarked by 
 many experienced fishermen, that the 
 Delaware shad are gradually decreas- 
 ing in size, and that they are not near 
 so large as they were a few years ago. 
 The shad fisheries of the Delaware are 
 quite an extensive branch of busi- 
 ness, and give employment to a large 
 number of men. During the season, 
 which extends from the ist of April 
 to the ist of June, over two million of 
 fish are usually caught. The fishing 
 begins below Marcus Hook" and ex- 
 
 "-The Sunday Dispatch of M;ir. iS, 1S77, 
 states that " A week or so ago Salem County 
 (New Jersey) tishermen scooped up a shad now 
 and then in their nets down in Delaware Bay, 
 and their brothers (of the fishermen, not of the 
 shad) further up the river began to drop their 
 drift-nets with the hope of depleting the schools 
 on their way up the Delaware; but a heavy 
 freshet (jccurred away up toward the headwaters 
 of the noble river, and the rise loosened up a 
 large quantity of reserve ice spread along the 
 shores of the tributary streams, which came 
 drifting down, and meeting the shad in their 
 upward course, the piscine luxuries incontinent- 
 ly turned tail and retreated to the deep waters 
 of the bav, where they will stay until old Sol 
 
422 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 tends to Trenton, Shore nets are gene- 
 rally used by the Delaware fishermen, 
 although drift net fishing is quite com- 
 mon. On the Hudson drift and stake 
 nets only are used, owing to the high 
 shores of that river. The shore net is 
 about one hundred and fifty fathoms 
 in length, and requires fifteen or twenty 
 men to handle it, who are paid at the 
 rate of ^lo to $15 a week. 
 
 In January, shad begin to run up the 
 rivers to spawn, as far south as Charles- 
 ton. Thence gradually they work 
 northward. They reach Norfolk in 
 February, the Delaware about the mid- 
 dle of March, New York about the ist 
 of April, Boston the last of April, and 
 the Bay of Fundy by the middle of 
 May. The time of the appearance of 
 shad depends a great deal upon the 
 weather. Old fishermen predict that 
 if light winds and sunshine prevail the 
 supply will be large. Shad seldom 
 sell at retail on the Delaware for more 
 than 75 cents, even at the beginning 
 of the season. Southern shad are sell- 1 
 ing now, March 16, 1877, in Phila- 
 delphia, at retail for 75 cents. The 
 first shad caught this season, was taken 
 near Marcus Hook, in a gill-net owned 
 by John Morris, on March 6, and 
 weighed 3)^ pounds. 
 
 In 1835, we used to get fine large 
 shad for 12^ cents a piece, herring 
 were $2 a hundred, shad from ^9 to ^12 
 per hundred. I remember going with 
 my step-grandfather, John F. Hill, to 
 Effinger's fishery, at the mouth of Rid- 
 ley Creek, to buy shad and herring to 
 salt down for winter use. 
 
 warms up the water to a temjierature agreeable 
 to their sensitive bodies. A week of warm 
 sunshine will fill the river with shad. In this 
 connection it may be stated that within a week 
 other fish have been caught in nets in the lower 
 part of the river so much affected by the cold- 
 ness of the water as to be almost torpid." 
 
 The fact that during the last twenty 
 years shad have been rapidly disappear- 
 ing from Northern waters, has led those 
 interested in fish culture to pay much 
 attention to their artificial breeding. 
 The project has been very successful, 
 and many of the States have enacted 
 laws for the propagation and pro- 
 tecting of several kinds of fish, and 
 appointed Commissioners of Fish- 
 eries, to see that the laws on the subject 
 are fully carried out. The Commis- 
 sioners of Fisheries for Pennsylvania, 
 appointed by the Governor under the 
 Act of April 28, 1873, ^re : — Howard 
 J. Reeder, of Northampton, Benjamin 
 H. Hewitt, of Blair, and James Duffy, 
 of Lanca.ster County. 
 
 The matter received early attention 
 in Pennsylvania. By Act of 14th Mar. 
 1784, Commissiofiers were appointed 
 for making the Schuylkill navigable, 
 and protecting the fish therein. And 
 under the Act of March 31, 1785, 
 (14 Col. Records, 484,) Commission- 
 ers were appointed for improving the 
 navigation of the Susquehanna and all 
 its branches. In the list of Commis- 
 sioners will be found the names of 
 Thomas Turbutt and John Churchman, 
 for Chester County. 
 
 In this connection, the following 
 article from the Republican of July 15, 
 1870, will be interesting. Whether 
 the present Club is a continuation of 
 the one mentioned by John K. Zeilin, 
 Esq. , as existing in Chester about 1 830, 
 I do not know. 
 
 " Chester Fishing Chih. — This Club cele- 
 l)rated its thirtieth anniversary on Friday 
 last, by a visit to its grounds in New Jersey. 
 Twenty-four active members of the Club 
 were in attendance, a portion of whom spent 
 the day in fishing, and others in exercises and 
 amusemonls as pleased their fancy. A bounti- 
 ful lunch was set out during the day, and at 
 four o'clock dinner was ainiounced. The 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 423 
 
 taljle was graced by large quantities of well- 
 cooked fish — perch, halibut, black-fish, cat- 
 ties and eels being among the varieties. To 
 this course was added all the vegetables of 
 the season, and the sauces and condiments of 
 this and other lands, were spread out in pro- 
 fusion, to tempt the appetite and give zest to 
 the occasion. Such a table as the caterers 
 presented, is not often found at the best hotels 
 in city or country. After the gastronomical 
 exercises were over, the President gave notice 
 that the time had arrived when the party 
 should proceed to business. The annual elec- 
 tion for officers of the Club for the ensuing 
 year then took place, with the following re- 
 sult: President, Y. S. Walter; Secretary, 
 Col. William C. Gray ; Treasurer, Amos 
 Gartside. A vote of thanks was proposed and 
 unanimously given to R. W. Flickwir, the re- 
 tiring President, for the manner in which he 
 had discharged his duty, and the interest he 
 had always exhibited in the welfare of the 
 Club, during his continuance as its principal 
 officer. Short speeches, full of wit and senti- 
 ment, w-ere then indulged in by Dr. Ulrich, 
 Forwood and Mackenzie, Mr. Bowen of New 
 Jersey, H. B. Taylor and Y. S. Walter. The 
 catering committee, to whose labors the Club 
 owed much for the capital dinner which they 
 provided, were not forgotten ; the thanks of 
 all present were given to them for the ad- 
 mirable manner in which they had performed 
 their duty. At a seasonable hour the mem- 
 bers entered their boats, and with a fine sail- 
 ing breeze they soon reached their homes, 
 gratified with the manner in which the day 
 was spent, and refreshed and invigorated with 
 the exercises in which they had participated." 
 
 A new source of industry has lately 
 (1873) been started in the vicinity of 
 Chester, the catching of sturgeons. As 
 far as I can learn, the first effort in 
 this enterprise was made by Henry 
 Schacht, who some time ago, with 
 scant means and but one boat, lo- 
 cated himself on Ridley Creek, from 
 which place he removed to Chester 
 Creek, and afterwards, with wise fore- 
 thought, when more prosperous, pur- 
 chased Monas Island, opposite Ches- 
 ter ; there, by means of piles, &c., he 
 
 erected a pen in which to retain the 
 fish alive for the most profitable mar- 
 ket. Mr. Schacht was drowned on a 
 dark and dismal night last spring, and 
 a relative, Henry Henry, succeeded to 
 the business, which had greatly in- 
 creased. 
 
 At the foot of Edgmont Street is 
 moored a large scow, well arranged 
 for the comfort of those employed. 
 There are bunks for their sleeping ar- 
 rangements, and a cook to provide 
 their meals. Here the fish are brought, 
 the meat sent to New York, where it 
 commands a ready sale at about seven 
 cents per pound, and is known as 
 "Albany beef," the head, skin and 
 back-bone being rendered into oil, 
 passing through a boiling process. Of 
 this, on an average, six barrels per 
 week are produced during the season, 
 netting 60 cents per gallon. Of the 
 roes, caviare is made. It is prepared 
 in this way : The roes are taken from 
 the dead fish and run through several 
 sieves of graduated fineness, and then 
 treated with the finest of German salt, 
 an indispensable article in its prepara- 
 tion ; it is then packed in oaken kegs 
 and placed in a cool position until the 
 season of shipment — the fall — when it 
 is transported to Germany, where it 
 commands, on an average, one dollar 
 per pound. 
 
 Mr. Henry has six boats engaged, 
 which are substantially built, averag- 
 ing 25 feet in length. They are, in 
 regular parlance, "cat-rigged." The 
 fishermen are paid $1.75 apiece for 
 the sturgeons they capture; they some- 
 times realize from ^20 to $30 per day. 
 
 The sturgeons are taken in long drift 
 nets, made of heavy twine, and man- 
 aged usually by two persons to a boat. 
 These fish weigh from 50 to 100 lbs. 
 each. The flesh which is shipped to 
 
424 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 New York daily, is packed in ice, and 
 is served at some of the hotels in that 
 city, in the form of steaks. Large 
 quantities of it is smoked, and in some 
 cases is sold as smoked salmon. The 
 roe or eggs, after having been sent to 
 Germany and converted into caviare, 
 is often re-shipped to this country and 
 is consumed, generally by our German 
 population. 
 
 In the early days of the settlements 
 on the Delaware, it is said swans abound- 
 ed. That wild water-fowl is now very 
 seldom seen or shot in these waters, 
 although I have seen some. At page 
 54 of the Directory, after referring to 
 the wild game in old times, it is stated : 
 ^' We do not hear of the more modern 
 rail and reed-birds which now afford 
 profit and pleasure to the sportsman 
 in the fall season. These birds come 
 in the early part of autumn, in large 
 numbers, to feed upon the seeds of the 
 thickly growing reeds of the low shore 
 and half formed islands of the Dela- 
 ware. The seed in its milky state is 
 very nutritive, and the birds fatten 
 upon it in a few days, affording a 
 highly palatable food." 
 
 The following I copied from some, 
 now forgotten, source : 
 
 " Among sportsmen, the Delaware 
 River has become renowned as being 
 the best ground for rail shooting. From 
 Bordentown southward to Port Penn, 
 the shores are overgrown at intervals 
 with a dense growth of reeds or wild 
 oats, Lizani Clavulosa, the favorite 
 food of this bird, countless numbers 
 of which take jKJSsession of the flats 
 and bars, early in August, long before 
 the seed ripens. 
 
 Sept. ist, ushers in rail shooting, and 
 there are few sportsmen in Philadelphia 
 and its surrounding towns that do not 
 enter into the sport with more or less 
 
 zest. By far the most numerous spe- 
 cies oi rallidce or rail, frequenting the 
 Delaware, is the sora, Raliiis Caro- 
 iiftus. The Virginia or red rail, Rallus 
 Virginianus, is by no means rare, and 
 can be seen in every bag oi soras ; the 
 great or king rail, Rallus elgans, is 
 occasionally shot, and always consid- 
 ered a prize when secured ; they are 
 comparatively scarce, however. 
 
 The salt water mud hen, Rallus 
 crepitajis, is often boated farther down 
 the river, nearer the bay, and seldom 
 wanders to the regions of fresh water. 
 One was killed a year or two since on 
 Chester Island, in the Delaware, and 
 numbers have been shot near Wilming- 
 ton. Of the other branch of the rail 
 family, the common coot or hen bill, 
 Tulica nigra, is often met with, and 
 the common gallinule, Galli?rula ga- 
 leata, has been shot as far north as 
 Pennsylvania, and it is on record that 
 in 1848, the purple gallinule, Galli- 
 nula marlinica, was killed on League 
 Island, at the mouth of the Schuylkill, 
 by Mr. John Krider, of Philadelphia. 
 
 The favorite points from which the 
 sportsman sallies forth in quest of the 
 rail are Bridgeport, Port Penn, Mar- 
 cus Hook, Chester and the Lazaretto, 
 and at all these places, pushers or pole- 
 men can be secured at a price ranging 
 from three to five dollars a tide, and 
 ascore of boats start from these stations 
 during the season. Thirty or fort;' 
 rail to a boat is considered an average 
 bag, but seventy-five to one hundred 
 are often boated ; and last September, 
 at Port Penn, during a heavy tide, Mr. 
 Kerlin, of Chester, shot two hundred 
 and twenty-six, the largest number ever 
 known to have been bagged by a single 
 sportsman in a day. 
 
 The boats used by the rail-shooters 
 are of a l)uil(l i)eculiar to the Dela- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 425 
 
 ware, and are made very light, and 
 often weigh but 60 or 70 pounds ; 
 they are modeled sharp at both bow 
 and stern, 'clinker built,' and are 
 partly decked over at the end where 
 the pusher stands while propelling the 
 skiff through the reeds. In front of 
 the shooter a square receptacle is con- 
 structed where he can lay his amuni- 
 tion box or cartridges, and reach them 
 readily for rapid loading and firing. 
 
 By the 20th of October, at which 
 time we generally have a sharp frost, 
 the rail all move southward, and the 
 shooting ceases. 
 
 Myriads of reed-birds claim the same 
 feeding grounds during September, 
 but while in pursuit of rail, they are 
 seldom disturbed, for each boat is 
 striving to bag the greatest number of 
 rail, to be displayed on the return, 
 and a grjsat honor is attached to the 
 'high boat.' 
 
 Mallard, summer duck, green and 
 blue winged teal, are often met with 
 in the reeds, and it is advisable always 
 to be provided with some cartridges 
 loaded with larger shot than No. 10. 
 
 About the ist of April, the gunning 
 season ends along our bay and the 
 Chesapeake. Sportsmen then stow 
 away their apparatus. Canvas-back, 
 red-head and bald-pate ducks take 
 their departure from the tributaries of 
 the Delaware Bay." 
 
 An article in the FhiladelpJiia In- 
 quirer of April 16, 1873, 01"^ t^^^ 
 subject says: "On Thursday and Fri- 
 day of last week, (and now only a 
 few black-heads and coots remain,) 
 the air was filled with an immense 
 number of ducks, geese and swans, 
 winging their way to their breeding 
 places, where they will remain until 
 October next, when they will return 
 to their old feeding grounds in the 
 
 waters of Maryland." The same pa- 
 perunderdate of April 8, 1874, states: 
 " The season for wild goose shooting 
 on Long Island has commenced. As 
 the birds are very shy, it requires a 
 good deal of skill on the part of the 
 sportsman to come near enough for a 
 shot. The method generally employ- 
 ed is to obtain from 15 to 25 wild 
 geese, by 'winging' them, on their 
 passage north or south — the old-fash- 
 ioned wooden 'stoolers' being re- 
 garded as entirely behind the age. 
 These are tamed so that they can be 
 'lined' to stakes, when they are taken 
 to the bars where the wild geese usu- 
 ally stop to feed, and fastened to stakes 
 put down in the sand out of sight, 
 while the gunner conceals himself in 
 a box sunk in the sand, and partially 
 covered by sea-weed or meadow-grass. 
 When flocks of wild geese are passing, 
 these partially tamed ones will call 
 them, and usually they will fly near by 
 or light, when the gunner rises and 
 shoots. Experts have killed as many 
 as 25 at a shot. The flocks of tamed 
 geese are regarded as very valuable." 
 On Sunday, Jan. 7, 1866, a cold 
 spell of weather set in, and by Mon- 
 day morning the thermometer had 
 fallen to 10 degrees below zero ; for 
 thirty years nothing approaching this 
 degree of cold had been felt at Ches- 
 ter, and the day is yet referred to as 
 " the cold Monday." The winter of 
 1874, was very cold; on Feb. loth, 
 the river was frozen solid, and people 
 crossed to the bar ; on the 9th, the 
 thermometer was 2 degrees below zero. 
 In the interior of the State, the con- 
 tinued cold froze the smaller streams 
 solid, depriving the cattle of water. 
 
 The winter of 1872-73, which was 
 cold, as that of 1873-74 was mild, ex- 
 cited a great deal of comment ; and 
 
420 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 M-hile every one was speaking of the 
 season as being remarkable in its char- 
 acteristics, I gathered some reliable 
 facts concerning the year 1816, which 
 was known as "the year without a 
 summer." Few persons now living 
 can recollect it ; but it was said to have 
 been the coldest summer ever known in 
 Europe or America. The winter was 
 mild. Frost and ice were common in 
 every month of the year. Very little 
 vegetation matured in the Eastern and 
 Middle States. The sun's rays seemed 
 to be destitute of heat through the sum- 
 mer ; all nature seemed to be clad in a 
 sable hue, and men exhibited no little 
 anxiety concerning the future of this life. 
 Mrs. Acelie T. Whelen, (now de- 
 ceased, wife of Edward S. W., Jr.,) an 
 accomplished scholar and a graceful 
 writer, daughter of the late Dr. Joseph 
 and Rosalie Acelie Togno, and niece 
 of one of the most charming of my 
 former young lady friends, of Phila- 
 delphia, Lizzie Guillou, who became 
 the wife of John Thibault, and died-in 
 Texas — was kind enough to write for 
 me in 1874, a description of the then 
 fashion of dress, for gentlemen and 
 ladies, both in full dress and in prom- 
 enade costume ; in the words following : 
 
 In full dress there is no apparent difference 
 in the " ijet up" of the fashionable diner- jut, 
 and the man behind liis chair. Both are 
 habited in swallow-tailed coat, pants and vest 
 of sombre black broad-cloth ; both wear the 
 same style of white muslin neck-tie, not an 
 inch wide ; only by the exquisite quality of his 
 gloves and lingerie, and by the cut of his 
 clothes, can the man of fashion hope to be 
 distinguished uutwardly, from a buller dc boinic 
 maison. Recently an effort has been made to 
 introduce the English style of light pants, and 
 walking coats for ceremonious visits and small 
 social entertainments ; but the innovation met 
 with no favor, the pure bred American cling- 
 ing fondly to his funereal " claw hammer" 
 coat. 
 
 I have often been asked why men's coats 
 have two buttons on the back at the waist, and 
 no one seems to know the very evident reason 
 they were placed in such a position of seem- 
 ing uselessness. Well, they were originally 
 put there to prevent the sword from slipping 
 down on the waist, and looking unseemly and 
 ungraceful ; for when the present style of coats 
 came into fashion, every gentleman when in 
 full dress, wore a dress sword, and as a na- 
 tural consequence duelling became fashion- 
 able. Men's hats are generally the stiff, high 
 stove-pipe shape, of silk. A fine opera hat is 
 made in the same shape, but of a fine twilled 
 silk cashmere. The frame is made of springs, 
 so that it can be closed and lie flat, to carry 
 either in the hand or the pocket. Those who 
 desire comfort, wear the soft felt hat which 
 was made fashionable by Kossuth when he 
 visited this country. This style of hat was in- 
 troduced into the United States immediately 
 after the Mexican war, in this way: During 
 the war, a gray felt hat with a very broad brim, 
 something in the shape of the present uniform 
 felt hat of the army, was made a part of the 
 uniform of the "Army of Invasion." The 
 one worn by General Taylor, is now in the 
 fire-proof of the Historical Society of Penn- 
 sylvania. On the return of the troops to the 
 United States, this kind of hat became fash- 
 ionable. Kossuth on his visit wore a low- 
 crowned black felt, with a black plume. The 
 hat became the rage without the plume, and 
 is the most comfortable part of a man's dress. 
 Half boots are worn by the majority of men, 
 but gentlemen usually prefer the high boots, 
 and in summer or for full dress occasions, pumps 
 and silk stockings. The every day dress of 
 an American citizen is generally a loose sack 
 coat, vest and pants, of invisible blue, or 
 tweeds, or mixed cloth. 
 
 Of the dress of the period for women, it 
 may be said : This is eminently an age of re- 
 vivals. The greatest possible latitude being 
 conceded individual fancy and caprice. The 
 toilets of this year (1874) have much charac- 
 ter. Fashion has been ingenious enough to 
 borrow all that is most effective from each 
 epoch, in order to build up a costume of the 
 period. Among the most prominent revivals 
 we observe the rather stiff, severe splendor ot 
 the Medician period; the mediseval garb of 
 the hapless Marguerite ; the coquettish fash- 
 ions of the reigns of Louis XV. and Louis 
 
IIISTOUV OF CllESTKK. 
 
 427 
 
 W'l., aiul tlie \ery trying modes peculiar to 
 the Ijcauties of the Directory and the First 
 Empire. 
 
 As we write presumably for posterity, how- 
 ever, we will deal only with the average wo- 
 man of the period, who, while she cannot 
 afford the extravagant inventions of Worth and 
 his peers, still manages, aided by taste and an 
 innate artistic sense, to be becomingly and 
 effectively dressed. Black, and myriad shades 
 of grays, browns, invisible blues and greens, 
 are preferred for street suits in winter. Vel- 
 vet, silk, camel's hair, poplin, cashmere, or 
 merino, may be worn. P\)r women of ex- 
 tremely moderate means, there are many pretty 
 and inexpensive mixed fabrics. 
 
 In summer there is a great variety of gren- 
 adines, from the fine hernani, or gaze de cham- 
 ber!, to the coarse canvas barege. A black 
 suit is considered stylish, but those who like 
 to look cool, prefer the ecni, linens, flax, ba- 
 reges, and the soft, creamy India silks. In 
 frosty weather, a sacque, cap, and muff of seal 
 skin, over the ordinary street dress, is as be- 
 coming as it is handsome. Many superb India 
 shawls are imported, but are left chiefly to 
 dowagers, from the fashion to display rather 
 than conceal all the outlines of the figure. 
 For ordinary wear, the redingote and polo- 
 naise are most popular. The redingote, if of 
 soft, cheap material, or of thin goods, is often 
 made loose, belted in to the form, and with 
 little trimming save large buttons and a roll- 
 ing collar and deep cuffs, and pockets of some 
 darker or contrasting color in silk or velvet. 
 The usual style, are in preference, fittecl tightly, 
 and buttoned the entire length of the front 
 which sets flat and close to the figure. The 
 entire fulness of the garment is placed in the 
 back breadths, which are very long and ample, 
 to admit of graceful looping. The redingote 
 is drawn high on each side, falling long in 
 front, while the back is looped up slightly so 
 as to form full and graceful drapery. 
 
 The same description may serve for the 
 polonaise, which is, however, more ornate 
 generally, and admits of rich and more elab- 
 orate trimmings. Both redingote and polo- 
 naise are usually finished at the throat by 
 either a high quilted ruff, or else a flat rolling 
 collar with reverse and deep cufis upon the 
 sleeves. The skirts worn in the street with 
 these over-dresses, are rather short, just touch- 
 ing the ground and very scant, covered either 
 
 with ruffles, flounces, ur tieep kilted plaiting. 
 Boots, kid, or lasting faced with kid, buttoned 
 and made rather high, to cover and support 
 the ankle. Gloves, which are of smooth or 
 undressed kid, must invariably match the cos- 
 tume perfectly. The aumoniere is a strik- 
 ing feature of some handsome street suits. It 
 is a small bag of Russia leather, velvet, silk, 
 or satin, richly embroidered in gold, silver, 
 jet or floss, often with a monogram. It is 
 suspended from the waist by straps of ribbon 
 or velvet. In summer, a long chain is often 
 worn at the waistband, on which hangs a fan, 
 a vinaigrette, or purse, and often a variety of 
 pretty and useful trifles. In rainy or threatening 
 weather a small silk umbrella is hooked l)y a 
 chain to the belt and hangs on the right side. 
 Veils are of Ijlack lace, plain or dotted with 
 jet, only large enough to cover the face like a 
 mask. 
 
 It is hardly possible to fix the epoch of hats; 
 indeed it is hard for the uninitiated to distin- 
 guish them from bonnets, as the latter are not 
 worn with strings except by elderly ladies. 
 Many are modeled on the Directoire, with a 
 stiff diadem brim, while others are of the 
 graceful Cavalier shape, and others again re- 
 call the toque of the old Huguenots. The 
 favorite shapes are the Directoire, garlanded 
 with flowers, the Corday, with a high, soft 
 crown of velvet or silk trimmed with the same 
 materials and lace — one large rose placed co- 
 quettishly on the left, resting on the hair. 
 There is a very graceful Bolero hat made 
 either of felt, straw or velvet, the rather wide 
 brim, faced with velvet, and turned up on the 
 left side by a handsome jet, silver or steel or- 
 nament, which fastens a long ostrich feather. 
 This encircles all the crown, droo])ing grace- 
 fully behind. 
 
 In the way of coiftures we have returned to 
 the mode of half a century ago. The hair 
 raised straight up from the roots and disposed 
 in large finger pufts on top of the head, while 
 the forehead is partially concealed by light 
 frizzes, or ripling waves of hair. With this 
 style of coiffure, one flower or a small tuft of 
 feathers or a handsome jewelled aigrette, is an 
 all-sufficient ornament. Silks have never 
 been richer in texture or more varied and 
 exquisite in hue. F"or evening dresses, we 
 have greens, from the intense glaring arsen- 
 ical dyes, to the dull yellowish Nile-water, or 
 the soft sheen of sea water on soundings. 
 
428 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 Tlioii the ricli gentian, and tlic pale silvery 
 glacier blue. Exquisite jjinkish mauve like 
 lilacs in spring, myriad shades of violet, deep- 
 ening to imperial i)urple. Faint delicious 
 blush rose, ranging over every variety of pink, 
 to richest ghjwing crimson. Then the soft, 
 rem colors, the chestnut and chocolate browns, 
 the slate, and mignonette, and lichen greys." 
 
 About 45 years ago, when fashion- 
 able ladies in our larger cities wore very 
 short dresses with pantalets, like coun- 
 try girls of eight or ten years do now, a 
 Chester lady attempted to introduce 
 the fashion there, and while walking 
 the streets thus attired, was mobbed 
 by the school-boys, and had to be 
 taken to Mrs. Preston Eyre's resi- 
 dence, in the dwelling part of the 
 Delaware County Bank building. 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 Some idea of the growth of Chester 
 may be obtained from contrasting the 
 number of the wholesale and retail 
 dealers of foreign and domestic mer- 
 chandise of 1853, with that of 1873. 
 The number assessed for the payment 
 of mercantile taxes in 1873, ^^^5 i^ 
 Chester proper, 248; in South Ches- 
 ter, 19. Total, 267. The list in 1853, 
 contains only 46, as follows : 
 
 D. R. Esrcy, 
 Shoemaker & Brother, 
 Thomas Liversidge, 
 Edward Minshall, 
 Broomall & Stevenson, 
 Eliza Finch, 
 jarman & Di.\on, 
 William Lear, 
 I^vi Kline, 
 George Baker, 
 Elijah S. Howes, 
 James Fawley, 
 Gibson & Gray, 
 James G. Shaw, 
 Charles McDevitt, 
 Joseph Ladomus, 
 Henry C. Price, 
 Thomas T. Thurlow, 
 Jacob Tuch, 
 Joshua Beaumont, 
 James Hampson, 
 Samuel Ulrich, 
 William Borden, 
 
 H. J. Gibson, 
 William Booth, 
 Hinkson & Baker, 
 R. R. Dutton, 
 Lewis & Campbell, 
 Thomas M. Smith, 
 Jonathan Dutton, 
 Joseph Entwisle, 
 Dennis Clark, 
 Samuel Starr, 
 Kaufman & Goodman, 
 Abraham Goldsmith, 
 Johnson & Cochran, 
 John IVI. Allen, 
 Charles W. Raborg, 
 L R. Gibbs, 
 William B. Kerlin, 
 William Reeves, 
 William Vi. Schiireman 
 John Goff, 
 Stephen Cloud, 
 Osgood R. Webster, 
 Joseph McNamcc. 
 
 During October, 1865, there appear- 
 ed a couple of articles in The Press, 
 of Philadelphia, entitled "The Rise 
 AND Progress of Chester, her Ship- 
 yards AND Machine Shops." These 
 articles were reproduced in The Dela- 
 ware County Republican, with edito- 
 rial comments. These I give in .sub- 
 stance, omitting some minor details. 
 The first article says : 
 
 "Among the many towns within 50 
 miles of Philadelphia, there is no single 
 one, probably, of which less is known 
 than Chester. The old residents of 
 our city remember it only as a small 
 settlement, noted for its antiquity, and 
 the excellent qualities of its people; 
 and the citizens of later birth know it 
 only as a station on the road to Wil- 
 mington and Baltimore, where, as the 
 train tarries for a moment, he sees a 
 small crowd of sturdy-looking males 
 and pretty featured lasses gazing at 
 the passengers. To the visitor alone 
 — he who spends a few hours in walk- 
 ing through its ship and boat yards, 
 its machine shops and factories, can 
 Chester appear in that creditable as- 
 pect which every thriving, flourishing 
 town presents. 
 
 Sixteen years have accomplished 
 more for Chester than a previous cen- 
 tury did. It was generally conceded 
 in the year 1849, that Chester had 
 attained that rank among towns which 
 gave its citizens the right to believe 
 that it was finished, and ready to be 
 surrounded by a fence ; but in that 
 year John Larkin, Jr., commenced to 
 improve the north end of the Borough, 
 and John M. Broomall and John P. 
 Crozer, having purchased one or more 
 farms at the lower end, had the land 
 laid out into town lots, and offered li- 
 beral inducements for persons to build. 
 The poi)ulation then numbered only 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEK. 
 
 429 
 
 700, and the l)uilt-up portion was con- 
 fined to the space between the Phila- 
 delphia, Wilmington and Baltimore 
 Railroad and the Delaware River east 
 of Chester Creek ; but so eagerly were 
 the offers of the capitalists accepted, 
 that in four years the town had ex- 
 tended north and south, and 2,000 
 persons claimed it as their home. 
 Seven years later (i860) the popula- 
 tion had increased to 6,000, and at 
 the present time it is estimated at be- 
 tween eight and nine thousand, with 
 a lack of dwellings, which the erec- 
 tion of three or four hundred cannot 
 supply. 
 
 Prior to i860, there were in Ches- 
 ter eleven cotton and woolen mills, 
 three shipyards and one machine shop, 
 employing in all about seven or eight 
 hundred hands. Now, there are six- 
 teen mills, six shipyards and five ma- 
 chine shops. In i860, the Messrs. 
 Reaney, William Frick, and other 
 wealthy and influential men, removed 
 to Chester, and invested a large amount 
 of money in land, which they imme- 
 diately commenced to improve, and 
 the results of which are now apparent, 
 not only in the great number of build- 
 ings which have been erected during 
 the last five years, but in the vast in- 
 crease in the value of the property, 
 much of which could have been pur- 
 chased, even two years ago, for $500 
 an acre, but which cannot now be 
 bought for six times that sum. In 
 1863, Mr. Broomall, William Ward, 
 Thomas Reany and others, purchased 
 about $175,000 worth of land, and, 
 under the title of the Lamokin Im- 
 provement Company, built and sold 
 to their present occupants a number 
 of comfortable dwellings. Other pur- 
 chasers soon perceived the advantages 
 of Chester, and among them may be 
 
 noted : The Chester Manufacturing 
 Company, builders of locomotives and 
 cars ; Messrs. Williamson and Wilson, 
 wholesale iron, coal and lumber deal- 
 ers ; Stevenson, the ship-builder ; and 
 Green, whose brass foundry looms up 
 in the distance, half a mile below the 
 borough line. The Lamokin Improve- 
 ment Co., have recently presented five 
 acres of land to the Philadelphia, Wil- 
 mington and Baltimore Railroad Co., 
 on which is to be erected a passenger 
 and freight depot and a large hotel. 
 
 A short distance below the mouth 
 of Chester Creek is located the canal- 
 boat and coal-boat establishment of 
 William Frick & Co., late of the firm 
 of Frick, Slifer & Co., of Lewisburg, 
 in this State. Coming to this section 
 in the spring of i860, they located on 
 the southern outskirts of Chester, and 
 by the proper application of labor and 
 means, soon converted nine or ten 
 acres of pasture land into a flourishing 
 business site. Piers were erected run- 
 ning some seven hundred feet into the 
 Delaware River; thousands of dollars 
 wefe expended in filling up low and 
 marshy ground ; and all the buildings 
 and machinery necessary to carry on 
 theif works were erected. , Although 
 theif specialties are the building of 
 canal boats and coal cars, there are fa- 
 cilities in the yard for the building of 
 any and every kind of craft, from a 
 small row-boat to a ship of three thou- 
 sand tons. 
 
 The lumber that is used — and Mr. 
 Frick informs Us that they consume as 
 much or more than any ship-yard in 
 the countr)', and more than any twen- 
 ty boat-yards in the State — is brought 
 down from the upper Susquehanna, 
 and sawed at the yard into the various 
 straight and crooked forms which are 
 to fit it for the interior and exterior of 
 
430 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 boats and cars. The boats arc of four 
 or five different patterns, framed to suit 
 the width and depth of the canals. We 
 noticed them in all stages of building, 
 some with the keel only laid, others 
 ready for planking, and others again 
 receiving the last touches from the 
 painter's brush ; but all exhibiting that 
 outward appearance of strength and 
 durability which always pleases a coal 
 company. Those intended for the 
 Morris Canal, of New Jersey, carry 
 about seventy tons; those of Lehigh, 
 eighty or ninety tons; those of the 
 Pennsylvania Coal Company, opera- 
 ting on the Delaware and Hudson Ca- 
 nal, one hundred and twenty tons, and 
 those for the Schuylkill navigation as 
 high as from one hundred and eighty 
 to two hundred tons. About one hun- 
 dred and fifty hands are employed by 
 Messrs. Frick & Co., and if necessary, 
 one boat a day can be turned out. 
 Everything is done at this establish- 
 ment by contract. The moulding of 
 the boat frame is accomplished by the 
 "gang" employed by one contractor. 
 The frame is run through the jig-saw 
 by another gang; a third puts it to- 
 gether, and places it on the keel; a 
 fourth planks it to the bilge; a fifth 
 planks the bilge and bottom ; a sixth at- 
 tends to the clamps, kelsons, knees, 
 ceiling and other inside work ; a seventh 
 puts on the deck ; an eighth makes the 
 cabin and hatches; the caulkers then 
 attend to their duties; the painters fol- 
 low, and when ready for the water, 
 another gang attends to the launching. 
 In the making of cars the same sys- 
 tem is adopted, and while one i)arty 
 frames them another sets them up, an- 
 other does the painting, and a fourth 
 has charge of all the forging. About 
 $ 1 75 ,000 have been invested by Messrs. 
 Frick i\: Co.. and not less than half a 
 
 million a year is the value of the busi- 
 ness at this one yard. The saw mill 
 has a capacity of about five million feet 
 a year. 
 
 Below this yard, Wilson & Morris 
 have nine acres enclosed, and prosecute 
 the boat and car business, but on a 
 more extensive scale than at the upper 
 establishment. Although they only 
 l)roke ground last May, and have not 
 yet completed their buildings, forty 
 canal-boats have been already built. 
 About $150,000 have been, or will 
 be expended in all in fitting up this 
 yard, and when completed the cai)acity 
 will be about one boat and from two 
 to four cars a day. In a large build- 
 ing, 156 feet by 60 feet wide, will not 
 only be placed all the machinery, ex- 
 cept that which is to be found in the 
 saw-mill, but all that will be necessary 
 to keep a sash and door manufactory, 
 capable of doing $100,000 worth of 
 work per annum, in operation. A saw- 
 mill, capable of turning out eighty 
 thousand feet of lumber a week, is be- 
 ing erected, a large blacksmith shoj) is 
 already in operation, lengthy piers are 
 being extended into the river, and at 
 the opening of the spring of i866, not 
 less than four hundred hands will be 
 employed. 
 
 Adjoining the upper yard of Frick 
 & Co., to the south, is the immense 
 establishment of Reaney, Son &: Arch- 
 bold, probably the largest and most 
 complete of the kind in the country. 
 There, within an area of twenty-three 
 acres, eight or. nine hundred men — 
 carpenters, blacksmiths, coppersmiths 
 and others — daily i)ly their respective 
 avocations, earning for themselves a 
 comfortable remuneration, and giving 
 to their employers a reputation and a 
 fortune. Along twelve hundred feet 
 of tlie ri\er front, and extendin'; back 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 431 
 
 to Front street, may be seen the build- 
 ings of this noted firm, and not the 
 least of the facilities offered to ship- 
 owners, is the marine railway, capable 
 of holding a vessel of seven hundred 
 tons burden. Orders for work are re- 
 ceived from all parts of the country, 
 and not only are iron and wooden crafts 
 of all sizes and forms constructed at this 
 yard, but also all kinds of machinery 
 for use upon the land and upon the sea, 
 and huge locomotives, which would be a 
 credit to Baldwin or Norris, of our own 
 city. About three-fourths of the work 
 performed is marine, and with an in- 
 vestment of about three-fourths of a 
 million of dollars, the business has 
 averaged about one millions of dollars 
 a year during the last five years. 
 
 To enumerate all the brick and frame 
 structures within the enclosure of the 
 Pennsylvania Iron Works, for such they 
 are termed, would occupy more space 
 than we have at our command ; but to 
 convey an idea of the immensity of the 
 establishment, we give a brief descrip- 
 tion of a few: The erecting-shop, in 
 which all kinds of machinery is erected, 
 is i6o feet long, 60 feet wide, and 34 
 feet high, and has within itswalls three 
 cranes, each of which is capable of 
 raising thirty tons. The machine shop 
 is two stories high, 150 feet long, and 
 60 feet wide, the upper floor being used 
 for the making and storing of patterns. 
 The blacksmith shop is 130 feet long, 
 60 feet wide, and 30 feet high, and has 
 within it a one ton steam hammer, and a 
 Nasymth double-acting steam hammer 
 recently imported from England, at a 
 cost of fifteen hundred dollars, and 
 which can strike a blow equal to the 
 force of 4500 pounds; a boiler shop 
 150 feet long by 60 feet wide, with 
 wing attached, 80 feet long and 50 feet 
 wide; a foundry 160 feet long, 60 feet 
 
 wide, and 32 feet high, in which are 
 two cranes, each capable of lifting 
 thirty tons, and with cupolas capable 
 of making a casting of thirty-five tons 
 weight ; a car shop 200 feet long by 50 
 feet wide, with a wing attached of 80 
 feet in length ; a coppersmith-shop and 
 brass-foundry and numerous buildings 
 connected with the boat-yard in which 
 are kept punches, shears, rollers, presses 
 and furnaces, capable of doing the 
 heaviest work in the iron ship-building 
 line. To the uninitiated, the ease with 
 which one of the punches, weighing 
 some twelve tons, can force a three inch 
 hole through a two inch plate of iron, is 
 astonishing, a huge pair of shears, near 
 by, clips without difficulty, a piece of 
 inch-and-a-half iron. About 25000 
 tons of coal and 3000 tons of iron are 
 used in the course of a year. During 
 the war, Reaney, Son & Archbold, did 
 avast deal of work for the Government, 
 and hundreds of thousands of dollars 
 were added to their receipts from this 
 source in the single item of repairs. 
 They built and fitted out three monitors 
 — the Sanga?}ion, Lehigh and Tunxis, 
 one gunboat — the Tahoma ; four dou- 
 ble-enders — the Paul Jones, Wateree, 
 Suwanee and Shamokin ; and two tugs 
 — the Pinta and Nina. During the 
 same period they have built and launch- 
 ed fifty merchant vessels, in size from 
 a tug-boat to a steamer of nearly fifteen 
 hundred tons; but by far the finest in 
 every respect which has yet been launch- 
 ed from their ways is the Thomas Kelso, 
 a steamer intended for the Chesapeake 
 Bay route. Reaney & Archbold have 
 purchased a large quantity of land just 
 outside their business establishments, 
 upon a portion of which they have 
 erected fifty or sixty houses for the ac- 
 commodation of their workmen, and 
 are now building at their own expense, 
 
432 
 
 HISTORY OF CUESTEK. 
 
 a hamlsoiiK' brick Presbyterian church, 
 which will seat about seven hundred 
 persons." 
 
 The editor of the Republican in com- 
 menting on the above article says, 
 among- other things: 
 
 " \ single ward only in our Borough has been 
 described. We have now in operation forty 
 steam engines, nineteen of which are in the 
 undescribed portion. Three additional facto- 
 ries are in process of erection ; and then we 
 have the flourishing villages of Upland, Leiper- 
 ville, Shoemakerville, Waterville, and Lin- 
 wood. The first named has a population of 
 over looo. These villages are near enough to 
 us to be counted suburbs of our town. We 
 estimate our population at looo more than 
 the credit given. Our facilities for communica- 
 tion with the outside world are unsurpassed. 
 We have thirty-four arrivals and departures^ 
 daily, of passenger and freight trains, three or 
 four steamers daily, one steam freight boat and 
 two sailing packets. There is a projected rail- 
 road of about eight miles from the terminus of 
 the Baltimore Central road, down the valley of 
 Chester Creek, which will connect us with this 
 road and the Philadelphia and West Chester 
 railroad, with the two sections of our rich sis- 
 ter county of Chester, with the prosperous 
 counties in Maryland through which the Cen- 
 tral road passes, and with the great Pennsyl- 
 vania road, by which we can be supplied with 
 lime, timber, iron and bituminous coal, and 
 send in return our manufactured lumber, Jer- 
 sey produce, fish, and the products of our manu- 
 factories and workshops. 
 
 In addition to our river front, where land has 
 advanced to the fabulous prices stated, we have 
 a fine tide-water, navigable stream, running 
 through the centre of our town, and another 
 along its northern boundary, upon both of which 
 are eligible sites for manufacturing purposes, 
 and on which land can be purchased at less 
 than one-half, and some at less than one-third 
 the price named on the Delaware. The ex- 
 tensive works, and the improvements now be- 
 ing made by Crosby P. Morton, Miller & Al- 
 len, the Messrs. Spencer and Henry MTlvain 
 and other citizens are worthy of notice." 
 
 A second article in the Press says: 
 "The income derived from ('iiester by 
 
 the Government in 1864 was about 
 ;^5o,ooo; and among the wealthiest citi- 
 zens may be named the Crozer family, 
 who had in the aggregate last year an 
 income of about ^225,000. Samuel 
 M. Felton, the late estimable President 
 of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & 
 Baltimore Railroad Co., about S26,- 
 000 ; Abraham R. Perkins, one of the 
 oldest dry-goods merchants of Phila- 
 deli)hia, about $18,000 ; Thomas Rea- 
 ney & Son, about ^28,000 ; R. N. 
 Thompson, about $11,000, and L. T. 
 Rutter about $8,000. Samuel Eccles 
 paid a tax for 1864 of $1,034, and the 
 Gartside family more than $2,000. 
 Probably no town in the State has 
 grown with the same rapidity as Ches- 
 ter. 
 
 In the North Ward we find two cot- 
 ton and three woolen mills in opera- 
 tion, and three woolen and one cotton 
 mill building. One of the first belongs 
 to Gen. Robert Patterson, of this city, 
 and is operated under the supervision 
 of James Stevens. It is known as the 
 'Broadstreet Mill,' has 6000 spindles, 
 and employs 200 hands. The fabrics 
 made are shirting stripes, table cloths, 
 ticking and denims, about 5000 yards 
 of which are turned out every day, re- 
 quiring in the course of a week some 
 8000 pounds of raw material. The 
 other cotton factory belongs to Abra- 
 ham Blakely, and employs about 100 
 males and females, who, with 3000 spin- 
 dles and about 4000 pounds of raw ma- 
 terial a week, tin-n out over 21,000 
 yards of fabric. In the Middle Ward 
 are two cotton factories, one belonging 
 to Gen. Patterson, and operated by 
 Stephens, and the other owned by Wil- 
 liam Lewis. The former, known as 
 the 'Henry Clay,' is situated in the 
 centre of the borough, in the old build- 
 ing familiarly known as the 'old Jail.' 
 
HISTORY OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 433 
 
 This antiquated structure has been I 
 greatly enlarged, and throughout its 1 
 length, breadth and height, we find ex- 
 pensive machinery in operation. About 
 125 persons are employed, and during 
 working hours, 3500 spindles are kept 
 continually revolving. 5000 pounds 
 of raw material are used each week, 
 and from 3500 to 4000 yards of shirt- 
 ing stripes, ticks and denims manu- 
 factured each day. Mr. Lewis's mill, 
 the ' Chester Dock,' is about the same 
 capacity as the 'Henry Clay.' 
 
 In the South Ward there are one cot- 
 ton and six woolen mills, the former 
 belonging to Irving & Leiper, and em- 
 ploying about 60 hands. It has 2000 
 spindles, and turns out about 3000 
 pounds of yarn per week. It is esti- 
 mated that in the two mills belonging 
 to Gen. Patterson, no less than $325,- 
 000 have been invested, and that the 
 sales during the present year will amount 
 to ^700,000, or nearly ^200,000 more 
 than the combined sales of the cotton 
 and woolen mills in 1859. The princi- 
 pal manufacturers of woolen goods in 
 Chester are the Gartside family. The 
 father and two sons have one mill in 
 the South Ward, and another son, John, 
 has one in the same locality. The first 
 is situate near the river bank, and is 
 confined exclusively to the manufac- 
 ture of Kentucky jeans, although dur- 
 ing the war an immense quantity of 
 army goods were made there. It con- 
 tains three sets of machinery, 52 looms, 
 and with 75 employees turns out about 
 7000 yards a week, the quantity of raw 
 material required during the six days 
 being about 3600 pounds. John Gart- 
 side' s mill is much smaller, but con- 
 tains the same number of sets of ma- 
 chinery, and manufactures flannels of 
 different colors, of which 5000 yards 
 a week are made, requiring 400 jiounds 
 
 a day of raw material. Samuel Eccles, 
 Jr., who removed to Chester about 
 six years ago and engaged in the wool- 
 en business, has a mill on James Street, 
 which contains two sets of machinery 
 and 38 looms, and employs about 40 
 persons. About 2500 pounds of mate- 
 rial is used, and about 5000 yards of 
 Kentucky jeans are manufactured per 
 week. 
 
 The other woolen mills in the South 
 Ward are the Lamokin, in which cas- 
 simeres are manufactured; Lilley & 
 Yarnall's jean mill ; and Hall & Long- 
 botham's, in which jeans are made, and 
 cotton goods finished and bleached, 
 and each has about the same capacity 
 as Mr. Eccles'. Mr. Green's mill, and 
 that of Mr. Lownes, and the others, 
 situated in North Ward, manufacture 
 woolen goods. 
 
 Chester has but one newspaper, con- 
 ducted by Y. S. Walter, the present 
 proprietor, who is also the editor and 
 local reporter. He issued the first num- 
 ber of the Delaware County Republi- 
 can in the year 1833, ^^^ t)y the ju- 
 dicious use of his pen and by patient 
 industry, has made his journal one of 
 the most successful, and certainly the 
 neatest in appearance, of the inland 
 Pennsylvania press. 
 
 The property of Gen. Edward F. 
 Beale the accomplished traveller, and 
 who, of late, has become noted as an elo- 
 quent Union orator, comprising about 
 twenty-six acres, situated in the centre 
 of the town and watered by Chester 
 Creek, has been divided into town lots, 
 and will be placed in the market. He 
 owns the attractive spot adjoining the 
 railroad depot, which, from the sum- 
 mer beauty of its forest and deciduous 
 trees, adds so much to the appearance 
 of Chester. 
 
 Crosbv P. Morton, wlio had done 
 
l:il 
 
 ISTOHV OK CHESTER. 
 
 so inucli for C'hestcr, has lately pur- 
 chased a large number of acres in Mid- 
 dle Ward, which, having been divided 
 into town lots, many have already found 
 purchasers. The extensive factory of 
 John J. Green, and that of Mr. Lewis, 
 are erected upon this new purchase. 
 Mr. Morton has erected a large num- 
 ber of dwelling houses for the opera- 
 tives of these factories. He has also 
 built a dockj into which the tide of 
 the Delaware ebbs and flows, and at 
 which lumber and coal can be landed. 
 
 Accommodations for the shipping of 
 the town have not been overlooked. 
 Mr. Baker, who recently purchased the 
 wharf property owned by Thomas I. 
 Leiper, is engaged in building a wharf 
 of over one hundred yards in length, 
 which will secure to vessels arriving 
 from foreign ports a safe anchorage. 
 
 Lewis Ladomus and Wm. H. Flavill 
 have purchased a tract of land in North 
 Ward, overlooking the Borough pro- 
 per, which they have laid out into build- 
 ing lots." 
 
 During the winter of 1871-2, the 
 second Japanese Embassy visited the 
 United States. The Philadelphia In- 
 ijuirer, of Apl. 8, 1872, says : " Yester- 
 day was the last day of the sojourn of 
 the Japanese Embassy in our city. The 
 committee of escort determined to af- 
 ford them a pleasant trip down the river 
 as far as Chester, as a fitting termination 
 of their visit, and this came off on Sat- 
 urday, (April 6, 1872,) on board the 
 U. S. Revenue Marine Steamer Colfax, 
 just returned from a three months' 
 cruise off Cape Henry and Henlopen, 
 where she has been assisting vessels in 
 distress. She is a new craft, having 
 been, built last year at Kaighn's Point. 
 The day was a remarkably fine one, 
 and the trip was enjoyed by all on 
 board. The numerous vessels whose 
 
 white sails studded the river, and tlie 
 different descriptions of river craft, 
 and ships and schooners, added great- 
 ly to the beauty of the scene. The 
 vessel ran close to League Island so as 
 to afford the embassy a good view of 
 the Monitors stationed there, and the 
 preparations being made for tlie re- 
 moval of the Navy Yard to the island. 
 About half past three o'clock the ves- 
 sel hove to at the landing at Chester. 
 The party landed and commenced an 
 inspection of the extensive establish- 
 ment of the Delaware River Iron Shij)- 
 building and Engine Works. These 
 are the largest in the country, and give 
 employment to one thousand men. A 
 revenue cutter, called the Mistletoe, has 
 just been completed for the United 
 States. She is a beautiful craft, and 
 elicited much admiration from the com- 
 pany. Upon the stocks in progress of 
 construction is an iron steamship for 
 the Pacific Mail Steamship Co., 301 
 feet in length, and to-day the keel of 
 another vessel, twelve feet longer, for 
 the same company, will be laid. Also, 
 a steamship for the Galveston and New 
 York line, 232 feet long ; a steamer for 
 a private individual, and an iron ferry- 
 boat for the Hunter's Point and New 
 York Ferry Company, besides several 
 steam tugs. The entire establishment, 
 which resembles a huge hive of indus- 
 try, was thoroughly inspected. The 
 machine shop, which is said to be one 
 of the most complete in the world, 
 received many favorable comments 
 from Hidi. An hour was passed in 
 this most interesting place, after which 
 the party re-embarked, and the Colfax 
 started on her return to the city. When 
 off Fort Mifflin a salute of twenty-one 
 guns was fired in honor of the distin- 
 guished guests. After the salute. 
 Tommy proposed three cheers for the 
 
IIISTOKY OF CHESTER. 
 
 4-55 
 
 Co/fax, whicli were given with a will. 
 From the mainmast of the vessel the 
 flag of Japan proudly fluttered. The 
 Japanese before leaving the boat, regis- 
 tered their names on the " log" of the 
 vessel. Tommy, was one of the suite 
 of the Embassy on this occasion and 
 in the former one, which was the first 
 embassy ever sent out by Japan to a 
 Christian nation. Tommy was jolly 
 and full of fun, a favorite with every 
 one." 
 
 The following remarks of Hon. 
 Washington Townsend, the Represen- 
 tative in the United States Congress 
 from Chester and Delaware Counties, 
 made on Dec. 4, 1873, ^^^ '^'^''7 ''^P' 
 propriate in this connection. 
 
 Mr. Townsend, (Pa.) said: " I take issue 
 with the gentleman from Maine, (Mr. Lynch), 
 when he tells the House that there are no 
 private ship-yards in the country that are capa- 
 ble of building vessels of war. I want to say 
 to him, that of my own knowledge there are 
 ship-yards to-day that are executing contracts 
 for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and 
 for other companies, and are building ships 
 under the i-equirements of the acts of Con- 
 gress, that are suitable for vessels of war. A 
 ship-yard at Chester, Pa., has just launched 
 one of the most magnificent iron vessels that 
 the merchant service of this country ever pos- 
 sessed ; a vessel of about two thousand tons 
 burden, made of iron, and so made that at 
 any time it can l)e turned into a vessel of war 
 at very little exjiensc. l,<i\ver down the rixer 
 Delaware, at Wilmington, in the State of 
 Delaware, a shipbuilding company has also 
 just launched a similar vessel, and the .ship- 
 yards of both of these places have now on the 
 stocks magnificent vessels, equal in size with 
 those already launched, and which will be 
 sent forth upon the ocean in a very short time 
 to compete with other nations for the com- 
 merce of the world. So, too, further up, at a 
 ship-yard in the city of Philadelphia, last sum- 
 mer were built and launched two vessels for 
 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, as strong 
 and well l)uilt, as capable of ocean naviga- 
 tion, and as easily turned into war vessels as 
 
 5<; 
 
 any that were ever built in this c(junlry. It is 
 a mistake of the gentleman from Maine (Mr. 
 Lynch) to suppose that the ship-yards of any 
 one of these three places are not now fully 
 equipped to build these vessels at the shortest 
 notice. I know, because I have gone through 
 them all, that they have all the means and 
 appliances necessary for the purpose ; that 
 they have skilled workmen ; that they have 
 admirable machinery; and that the country 
 close around them furnishes them the very 
 best iron in the world, having the greatest 
 tensile strength, and is in every way adapted 
 for any vessels that can be set afloat on the 
 ocean for commerce or for war." 
 
 In the Washington Congressional 
 correspondence of the Inquirer, of 
 x\pril 14, 1874, will be found the fol- 
 lowing statement, viz. : 
 
 " John Roach of the Chester ship-yards, was 
 before the House Postal Committee to-day for 
 over two hours, upon the merits of continuing 
 the subsidy to the China Mail Line. He re- 
 viewed the ocean mail service of the world, 
 and maintained that, without subsidy, the 
 American line could not hold the commerce 
 of the Pacific against the subsidized lines of 
 the English and French Governments, now 
 running semi-monthly lines to Japan. 
 
 He claimed that within the last year, iron 
 ships had been built as cheap on the Dela- 
 ware as upon the Clyde ; of better material, 
 and of equal workmanship to any in the 
 world, and without a difference of five pev 
 cent, in cost from those built by the poorly 
 paid labor of Europe. In his own yard he 
 had last year built at an average of a ship a 
 month, averaging three thousand tons burden ; 
 had consumed 25,000,000 pounds of American 
 iron, and paid every week, $30,000 out to his 
 mechanics. 
 
 He made quite an impression upon the 
 Committee by his thorough knowledge of his 
 business, and its bearings upon the trade and 
 wealth of nations. To a question, he replied 
 that for thirty years it had been the aim of his 
 life to see a steamship yard on the Delaware 
 which would be superior to any in the world. 
 He thought he had succeeded, and never felt 
 prouder than he did all last winter when he 
 saw his two thousand five hundred mechanics 
 go home on Saturday night with their money 
 
48G 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 all in tlitir ])<)ckcts, and fell that hut for the 
 aid ihc (u)veinmeiit liad given to secure the 
 coinnierce of the Pacihc, he would have been 
 compelled to iiavc locked up his yard, and 
 that the same work would have been done on 
 the Clyde, and the money paid to England, 
 which he had secured for American mechan- 
 ics." 
 
 The Evening News, of May 9, 1876, 
 says, from data recently collected, the 
 following statistics may be given as 
 applicable to Chester, and her suburb, 
 South Chester, viz. : 
 
 Population, 13,000 Sugar refineries, i 
 
 Dwelling Houses 2,500 Brass foundries, i 
 
 Cottonand woolen fac, 25 Carriage factories, 3 
 
 Shipyards, 6 Axe factories,- i 
 
 Machine shops, 6 Banks, 4 
 
 Rolling mills, i Newspapers, 8 
 
 Planing mills, 4 Churches, 15 
 
 Car shops, i Building Associations, 14 
 
 XLVll. 
 
 The Flower family of Chester, 
 Pennsylvania, dates its origin from the 
 Norman conquest. Hugh, one of those 
 adventurers that gathered under the 
 standard of the Duke of Normandy, 
 when he announced his intention of 
 invading England, from his remarka- 
 ble beauty, says Playfair, in his Noble 
 Families of England, and his valorous 
 conduct on the field of battle, re- 
 ceived the name of La Fleuj-, which, 
 in the course of time became trans- 
 lated into the corresponding English 
 term of Flower. Manning, in the 
 Lives of Speakers of the House of Com- 
 nwns, in the article on Sir Roger 
 Flower, (Speaker, in 1416-17-19 in 
 the reign of Henry V.,) brings down 
 in a short form, an account of the 
 family in Great Britain to within a 
 period of thirty years of tlu- ])ublica- 
 tion of his work. 
 
 In 1683, Knoch Flower was appoint- 
 ed schoolmaster by Coimcil. d Col. 
 Rcc, 91.) Tlie will of I'jioch Flower, 
 
 dated and proven in 1684, mentions 
 his mother, Susanna Flower, brother 
 Seth and nephews John and Henry 
 Flower, sons of Seth, but no children 
 of his own. 
 
 An early mention of the name of 
 Flower in this country is found in 
 Shourd's History of Salem County, New 
 yersey, published in the Salem Stand- 
 ard, in which it is stated that on the i6th 
 of 7th mo., 1686, " A warrant to Rich- 
 ard Tindall, Surveyor General, to lay 
 out no acres of fast land and marsh 
 on Oldman's Creek to Wm. Flower, 
 as a part of Wm. Fleetwood's 500 
 acres, granted by Gov. Penn. ' ' About 
 the year 1692, Wm. Flower settled 
 near Marcus Hook. At that date he 
 was in membership with Friends, and 
 was that year married to Elizabeth 
 Morris, a member of Concord Meet- 
 ing. No doubt he was related to Enoch 
 Flower, who was a purchaser of 2000 
 acres of land from William Penn, for 
 he had a son named Enoch, and a 
 daughter Mary. He died in 171 7, 
 leaving a widow, Sarah, which shows 
 that he had lost his first wife and mar- 
 ried again. 
 
 Enoch Flower, married Rebecca, 
 daughter of Richard Barnard, in 1713, 
 and had three daughters ; Elizabeth, m. 
 Samuel Oaks; Rebecca,?/;, a Lincoln; 
 Mary, m. Richard Anderson. 
 
 William Flower, in his will, devises 
 all his real estate to Mary, who had 
 married John Flower, then residing in 
 Chichester. This John, so family tradi- 
 tion states, was a son or grand-son of 
 Sir Charles Flower, at one time. Lord 
 Mayor of London, and who was highly 
 offended by the predilection the young 
 man showed for the religion of Friends.* 
 
 * Neither John nor Mary Flower, nor any 
 of their children, were in membership with 
 Friends. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 437 
 
 John died in 1738, leaving six chil- 
 dren, (when Mary died is not known,) 
 Richard, John, Thomas, William, 
 Mary and Margaret. Margaret Flower 
 married Joseph Moulder ; they had 
 two children, one of whom, Mary 
 Moulder, died in 1862, aged 105 
 years; my aunt, Mrs. Ann C. Smith, 
 remembers her very well, and says : 
 "She was a remarkably young looking 
 woman for her age, with a neat, youth- 
 ful figure, and must have been very 
 handsome in her youth." She was 
 buried in St. Martin's churchyard, at 
 Marcus Hook. 
 
 Mary, daughter of John and Mary, 
 married Richard Riley, Esq., of Mar- 
 cus Hook, Attorney at Law, and a 
 Justice of the Peace and of the Courts 
 of Chester County, commissioned in 
 1764. 
 
 Of the sons, John, Thomas and 
 William, little is now known. Some 
 of them married and had issue. The 
 Harrison family, of Richmond, Vir- 
 ginia, are descended from Sarah Flow- 
 er, who was a daughter of one of the 
 three brothers ; and through the same 
 source the family are said to be con- 
 nected with the Lea's of Wilmington, 
 Delaware, to which family Bishop Lea 
 belongs. Some years since, there was 
 in New Orleans, William and Richard 
 Flower, said to be descendants of one 
 of the three brothers of Delaware Co. 
 The Rev. Ethan Allen, D. D., of 
 Baltimore, says : " My wife's two sis- 
 ters, Lucy and Ann Griffeth, some- 
 what before 1820, married brothers, 
 James and William Flower, of New 
 Orleans. They each left two sons ; 
 one of James' named James, is a mer- 
 chant in New Orleans ; one of Wil- 
 liams' named Samuel, I have heard, is 
 a planter near St. Francisville." The 
 other two are dead. 
 
 Richard Flower, who was born in 
 Chichester in 1724, was the eldest son 
 of John and Mary Flower, and became 
 a man of influence in the county. In 
 1746, he married Hannah, grand- 
 daughter of Emanuel Grubb, of Brandy- 
 wine Hundred, an earnest Episcopa- 
 lian. He died Jan. 25, 1752, aged 38 
 years. His wife, Hannah, was born 
 in 1728. After his death she married 
 John Wall, a merchant of Philadelphia, 
 and had one son, Reese Wall, who 
 was drowned towards the end of the 
 eighteenth century in the Delaware 
 Bay. Mrs. Wall survived her husband 
 and died Feb. 24, 1810, aged 82 years. 
 Her remains are interred in the same 
 grave with her first husband in St. 
 Martin's Churchyard. 
 
 Richard and Hannah Flower left 
 five children ; Mary, John, Rachel, 
 Jemima Edwards and Richard Flower. 
 Mary married Joseph Gamble ; they 
 had two children, Joseph and Hannah ; 
 Joseph married Mary Thompson, and 
 their only daughter, Mary, became 
 the wife of Commodore Isaac Mc- 
 Keever, U. S. Navy, and was the 
 mother of the present Major and Bv't 
 Brig. Gen. Chauncey McKeever, Ad- 
 jutant General's Dep't, U. S. Army ; 
 of Lawrence McKeever, coffee mer- 
 chant, New York City ; of Marion 
 Speedon, and Caroline Rosenplanther, 
 of Germany. 
 
 John Flower, son of Richard and 
 Hannah, became a very successful flour 
 merchant of Philadelphia ; married 
 Elizabeth Beetham, of English birth. 
 They were married in Chester Meet- 
 ing, and lived in the house at the 
 S. E. cor. of Second and Edgmont, 
 afterwards known as the " Siddon's 
 House." John Hanley kept a res- 
 taurant there before his death, a few 
 years ago. Mrs. Flower died without 
 
438 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 issue, many years before her lnisl)and. 
 He died Oct. ii, 1825, aged 75, leav- 
 ing a large estate, which was divided 
 between his heirs-at-law. His remains 
 lie in the churchyard of St. Martin's. 
 
 Rachel Flower, daughter of Richard 
 and Hannah, married Samuel Sanders; 
 they had two sons, John and Samuel, 
 and a daughter Hannah. 
 
 Jemima Edwards Flower married 
 Capt. John McKeever ; they had four 
 sons, John, James, Richard and Reese. 
 
 Richard Flower, of Lamokin, son 
 of Richard and Hannah, was born in 
 1759. In 1786, he married Henrietta, 
 daughter of Henry Hale Graham, who 
 purchased for the newly wedded pair 
 the property on Ridley Creek known 
 as Leiper's Mills. Reese W. Flower 
 says they went there to live with Rich- 
 ard's step-father, John Wall, who owned 
 the property, from which place they 
 removed to " Chester Mills," at Up- 
 land. Mr. Flower, his brother John, 
 his half-brother Reese Wall, and his 
 brother-in-law, Capt. John McKeever, 
 became connected together in the 
 ownership of vessels, and were heavy 
 shippers of grain to Europe, and in 
 the disturbed condition in which our 
 affairs were with the Republic of France 
 during the last decade of the last cen- 
 tury, three of their vessels and cargoes 
 were seized, condemned, and sold by 
 the French. The proofs of these 
 claims are now on file in the State de- 
 partment of our Government, and 
 their heirs are living in false hopes of 
 getting paid some day. During the 
 war of 181 2, the American troops im- 
 pressed flour from the Chester mills, 
 for which, however, the Government 
 afterwards paid full value. In 1824, 
 Mr. Flower moved to Ridley again, 
 and in 1825 to T^amokin, (where 
 Abraham R. Perkins now resides,) and 
 
 died there July 24, 1843, in his 84th 
 year, and was buried at St. Martin's. 
 His wife, Henrietta, who died Oct. 6, 
 1 841, was buried in Friends' grave 
 yard, at Chester. They left issue, 
 Zedekiah Wyatt, William G., Mary 
 Ann, Jeremiah E., Reese Wall and 
 Henrietta G. Flower. 
 
 Zedekiah W. Flower, 2nd son of 
 Richard and Henrietta, born in Rid- 
 ley, Nov. 28, 1788, and married, Oct. 
 24, 1 81 2, Mary Brinton, eldest daughter 
 of Thomas B. and Phoebe Dick, born 
 in Chester Township, Feb. 3, 1791 ; 
 issue, Thomas B. , Henrietta G. , who 
 died in 1816, /o/i//, Richard, Haiinah 
 G., Archibald T. £>., and Mary B. 
 Mrs. Flower died, June 19, 1832, and 
 her husband, Feb. 14, 1846. 
 
 Rev. Thomas B. Flower, -^ovl of Z. 
 W. and Mary B., married Rebecca T. 
 Brown, of Chestertown, Md., where 
 he had charge of a church for several 
 years; and^/. July, 1863, leaving James 
 F., Archibald T., Mary B. D., and 
 Joseph S. Flower. James and Mary 
 died without issue. 
 
 John Flower married Mary A. Gra- 
 ham, of Chester. They had issue, Reese 
 W., Hannah G., Gilbert E., Archibald 
 T. D., Margaret R., Richard H. and 
 Thomas B. Reese W. tn. Annie E^llis, 
 of Williamsport ; issue, Henry E. and 
 Marion E. Hannah G. t)i. Henry C. 
 Carr, of Petersburg, Va. ; have Henry 
 C, Mary F. and an infant. Margaret 
 R. m. Benjamin Shipley, Carrol Co., 
 Md. ; have one child, Henry. The 
 other children of John and Mary G. 
 Flower are single. When the late war 
 of the Rebellion broke out, John 
 Flower, (son of Zedekiah W. and 
 Mary B.,) was living on a farm in Din- 
 widdle County, Va., three miles from 
 Petersburg. He wa,s the only ]XTson 
 in the county who voted for Virginia's 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 439 
 
 remaining in the Union. His vote 
 was recorded, and he was requested to 
 leave the State at once, but before he 
 could do so, he was seized and kept 
 in prison for five months and seven 
 days. He was then released on bail 
 and made his escape to the North, and 
 a few years afterwards removed to 
 Howard County, Md., where he died, 
 July I, 1873, ^T^om the effects of his 
 imprisonment, having been a sufferer 
 and in feeble health ever after his re^ 
 lease. 
 
 Richard, 4th child of Z. W. and 
 Mary B. Flower, married Eleanor 
 Graham, of Chester, and had Zede- 
 kiah W., William E., Edward G., 
 Reese W., Richard, Archibald T. D., 
 and Mary B. Z. W., Jr., married 
 Margaret A. Kensil, of Montgomery 
 County; had Cora M., and Eleanor 
 G. William E., married Margaret H. 
 Sheperdson, of Germantown ; have 
 issue, Richard and David B. Reese 
 W., married Helen Brouse, of Chelten- 
 ham; had one child, Jeanette. Zede- 
 kiah W., entered " CoUis' Zouaves," 
 Aug. 14, 1862, and on Nov. 15, en- 
 listed in the 5th Regular Cavalry'; 
 discharged, Nov. 15, 1865. William 
 E., went in the army as a substitute 
 for his father, who was drafted in the 
 State draft for 9 months, Oct. 17, 
 1862 ; discharged, July 26, 1863. 
 The other children are single, and 
 reside with their parents in Mont- 
 gomery County. 
 
 Hannah G., 5th child of Z. W. and 
 Mary B. Flower, married Samuel 
 B. Thomas, Esq., of West Chester. 
 They afterwards removed to Media. 
 They have Griffith, Mary B. D., George 
 B. , Archibald D. , and Christopher F. 
 Hannah G. Thomas, died Jan. 20, 
 1870. Her brother, Archibald T. D. 
 Flower, died Oct. 1837. 
 
 Mary B. Flower, dau. of Z. W. and 
 Mary B., married John C. Knowles, 
 of Darby Township. They have one 
 daughter, Fanny M. N., and a son, 
 Henry B. Knowles. 
 
 William G. Flower, son of Rich- 
 ard and Henrietta, of Lamokin, was 
 born Nov. 27, 1794. He was a very 
 active business man all his days. In 
 1824 he rented the Chester Mills, and 
 operated them until after the death of 
 his father, when they were sold to divide 
 his estate. During the great freshet of 
 August 1843, when the creeks became 
 so swollen, William G. Flower being in 
 the meadow, near his mill, when the 
 flood came down in great waves, which 
 spectators stated were from three to 
 four feet in height, it swept him before 
 it. He was carried into the old mill 
 race, where, catching hold of a grape- 
 vine, he drew himself into a tree, but 
 no sooner had he clasped the trunk, 
 than the tree was torn from the earth 
 and borne rapidly down the creek. 
 After some moments of peril, during 
 which his life was in great danger from 
 the floating timber, trees and other 
 debris whirled down the stream by the 
 flood, he succeeded in grasping the 
 branches of another tree, still stand- 
 ing, and drew himself to a place of 
 safety. 
 
 William G. Flower married Susan, 
 dau. of William and Sarah S(mith) 
 Bratton, and died Aug. 21, 1865, 
 leaving surviving him his widow and 
 five children ; Marietta, Anna Maria, 
 (now deceased,) Willi am G., Charles, 
 and John Reese Flower. 
 
 Mary Ann, daughter of Richard 
 and Henrietta Flower, of Lamokin, 
 was born in 1800, and married Tru- 
 man M. Hubbell. Their son, Wm. 
 Wheeler Hubbell, Esq., a member 
 of the Philadeli)hia Bar, was the in- 
 
440 
 
 HISTORY OF CHP]STEK. 
 
 ventor of the '' 'I'huiulerbolt Shell," 
 used by the Government of the United 
 States during the late " unpleasantness" 
 with the South, and lately, by Act of 
 Congress, received a handsome re- 
 muneration, to which he was justly 
 entitled. 
 
 Jemima E., daughter of Richard 
 and Henrietta Flower, born June 30, 
 1804, married Nov. 8, 1827, Jeremiah 
 Williamson Flickwir, born in Phila- 
 delphia, July 4, 1802 ; son of David 
 and Rebecca W. ; apprenticed when 
 12 years old, to his cousin, Peter Wil- 
 liamson, a druggist, at 2d and Almond 
 streets. He commenced business on 
 his own account when 20 years old, 
 at 2d and Mead, where he resided un- 
 til 1839, when he moved to Chester, 
 to Fairview Farm, which he purchased 
 of Stephen Madgin. In 1844, he re- 
 turned to his native city, and became 
 connected with the drug house of J. 
 P. & William Wetherill. Upon the 
 death of John Price Wetherill, he re- 
 turned to his farm and remained there 
 until February, 1861, when he sold it to 
 James Garland, and removed to Ches- 
 ter, and was Deputy Collector of U. S. 
 Internal Revenue until his death, Oct. 
 27, 1866. In Dec. 1864, he opened 
 a drug store in National Hall, where 
 he soon built up a large business. He 
 was buried in Chester Rural Cemetery, 
 leaving issue; Henrietta G., David 
 Henry, Richard F., Mary Gardiner, 
 Josephine W., (died in 1863,) Anna 
 Sophia, Helen G. , and Sallie Flickwir. 
 
 Anna S. Flickwir, married John 
 Warrington Caldwell, son of John, 
 Nov. II, 1869, they have John Alfred, 
 and Mary, an infant. 
 
 David H. Flickwir, Ijorn in Phila- 
 delphia, removed to Illinois, mar- 
 ried Rebecca C, daughter of C. J. 
 and Kli/.ai)eth Norbury, formerly of 
 
 Phila{leli)hia, Oct. 22, 1861, and has 
 issue ; Jeremiah W., Elizabeth Spence, 
 Charles N., David H., Jr., and Joseph 
 W. Flickwir. 
 
 Richard F. Flickwir, born in Phila- 
 delphia, entered the dry goods house 
 of Taylor & Paulding; and when they 
 retired from business in 1856, he re- 
 moved to Illinois, where he engaged 
 in business with his brother Z^aw'^ for 
 eight years. In Oct. 1864, he re- 
 moved to Chester, and entered busi- 
 ness with his father, and sold out his 
 drug store in 1869, to Dr. William B. 
 Ulrich, and is now assistant Postmaster 
 at Chester. 
 
 Reese Wall Flower, son of Rich- 
 ard and Henrietta of Lamokin, was 
 a lumber merchant in Philadelphia. 
 After retiring from business he resided 
 for many years upon his plantation in 
 Upper Darby ; finally he removed to 
 West Philadelphia, where he died, un- 
 married, June 27, 1875, aged 69 years, 
 leaving nearly all his large estate to the 
 University of Pennsylvania to found 
 an Astronomical Observatory. 
 
 Henrietta G., daughter of Rich- 
 ard and Henrietta Flower, born at 
 Chester Mills, Upland, June 20, 1809, 
 married John Wayne Ashmead, Esq., 
 of the Philadelphia Bar, Nov. 27, 
 1S29. Mr. A.'s family were among 
 the earliest settlers in that city; John 
 Ashmead, from England, having come 
 to America in 1682. He was a son of 
 William and Margaret (McKinley) 
 Ashmearl, and a grand-son of Capt. 
 John A., the fourth John in direct de- 
 scent from John the first settler at 
 Cheltenham, Bucks, and was born in 
 Philadelphia, May 16, 1806. Having 
 lost his parents in infancy, he was 
 brought up by three maternal aunts. 
 At 15 years of age, he wasaj^prenticed 
 to Isaac Ashmead to learn printing, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 441 
 
 and in 1824, began to read law with 
 the late Judge of Admiralty, Archibald 
 Randall, now deceased, working at 
 his trade by day and studying law by 
 night. At that time the rules of Court 
 required that the last year of a student 
 reading law should be actually passed 
 in the office of a practicing" attorney. 
 It was therefore necessary for Mr. 
 Ashmead, in order to obtain that year, 
 to purchase his time of his master. 
 To make the sum requisite — $150, 
 he worked over time, collecting and 
 printing the popular songs of the day 
 in pamphlet form, setting up all the 
 matter and doing all the press-work 
 himself. This exciting life of work 
 and hard study nearly killed our am- 
 bitious youth ; bringing on an attack 
 of brain fever. Previous to his sick- 
 ness, he got only three or four hours 
 sleep at nights. The song books he sold 
 at wholesale to stationers, and made 
 enough to pay for his time. May 5, 
 1827, he was called to the Bar. His 
 brother, the Rev. William Ashmead, 
 who had attained a prominent posi- 
 tion in the Presbyterian Church, a 
 short sketch of whose life may be seen 
 in ' ' Spragtie' s Annals of the American 
 Church,'''' loaned him enough to fur- 
 nish his office. From this time he had 
 a successful life as a barrister. In 
 1832, he was elected a member of the 
 Legislature, and shortly afterwards, 
 during the attorney generalship of 
 George M. Dallas and Ellis Lewis, he 
 was deputy Attorney General for Phila- 
 delphia. In 1838, he purchased Kenil- 
 worth, a farm adjoining Lamokin, and 
 erected a handsome country residence 
 there, which he occupied during the 
 summer seasons with his family. In 
 1843, be was one of the original orga- 
 nizers of the " Native American Party," 
 and was its candidate for Congress in 
 
 the First District, but was defeated. 
 In 1849, ^""^ ^^'^^ appointed by General 
 Taylor, U. S. District Attorney for the 
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and 
 was accounted one of the most able re- 
 presentatives the Government ever had 
 in that position. He held that office 
 during Mr. Fillmore's term, and for a 
 year under General Peirce. Before 
 consolidation of the outlying districts 
 with the city of Philadelphia, he was 
 attorney for several of them, and had 
 a large practice besides. His former 
 office and residence in the city is now 
 owned and occupied by Samuel C. 
 Perkins, Esq., P. G. M. of the Grand 
 Lodge of Pa., A. Y. M. 
 
 In 1856, Mr. Ashmead removed to 
 New York city, where he soon gathered 
 an extensive practice, and was en- 
 gaged in the celebrated Cancemi case, 
 who, after having been convicted and 
 sentenced to death for the murder of a 
 policeman, Mr. A. obtained for him 
 a succession of new trials, and finally 
 saved his life. Cancemi was sen- 
 tenced to death three times ; on the 
 fourth trial he was convicted of man- 
 slaughter. On April 7, 1868, John 
 W. Ashmead died at his country seat, 
 Clinton Place, near Newark, N. J., 
 in his 6 2d year. Mr. A. was the 
 author of '^^ Ashmead'' s IieJ>orts,'' a 
 series of articles on Chatterton, in 
 the Casket, a volume of " Speeches 
 delivered at the Bar,''' and a number 
 of political pamphlets in manuscript, 
 now in possession of his widow. 
 
 Kenilworth, the house erected by 
 Mr. Ashmead, in South Ward, of the 
 present city of Chester, and lately 
 known as "The Reaney Mansion," 
 was built in 1838, and finished in 
 1840, from designs furnished by Mr. 
 Strickland, the leading architect of the 
 country at that day, at a cost of <ii3,- 
 
442 
 
 ISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 ooo. It was remarkable as the first 
 square roofed house in Delaware Co. 
 The bricks used in the construction of 
 the building were brought on the old ' 
 sloop yoiias Preston, from Philadel- 
 phia, there were no brick-yards near 
 Chester at that time, and were landed at | 
 Eyre's wharf, on the creek. The car- | 
 penter work was under the super in- [ 
 tendence of Isaac Shubert, and so 
 thorough a workman was he, that after 
 its completion he was employed by the 
 United States, at the Pea Patch, or 
 Fort Delaware, and continued in the 
 Government employment until his 
 death. In the summer of 1844, the 
 Sunday School of the First Presby- 
 terian Church of Philadelphia, held 
 its annual pic-nic, in the woods to the 
 northwest of the present Lamokin sta- 
 tion, and over eight hundred children 
 were on the grounds. Frank John- 
 son's colored band, a celebrated Phila- 
 delphia organization of that time, ac- 
 companied them. During the after- 
 noon, a terrific thunder-storm forced 
 the entire assemblage to take refuge in 
 the dwelling house, where the Rev. 
 Albert Barnes entertained the children 
 with one of those instructive and in- 
 teresting addresses for which he was 
 so conspicuous, and which is still re- 
 collected with pleasure by all who 
 were present on that occassion. Later 
 in the afternoon the sun burst forth in 
 splendor, and Frank Johnson ascended 
 to the roof, from which, observing the 
 smoke of the special train, then near 
 Lin wood, he performed on his silver 
 bugle ' ' The Last Rose of Summer, ' ' 
 in a style, such as those who heard 
 him, thought had never been equalled. 
 This was the last time but one that 
 Frank played in public, previous to 
 his death. From the roof of this 
 house, during the Native American ex- 
 
 citement of 1844, when Mr. Asli- 
 mead stumped Delaware County in 
 favor of that party, a large Ameri- 
 can flag floated continually. Mr. Ash- 
 mead also employed constantly a band 
 of music, consisting of four pieces, to 
 play at these political meetings, and 
 the files of the Republican of that date, 
 will show how often "that dreadful 
 drum' ' was heard in the county. In Sep- 
 tember, 1849, Mr, John Sartain came 
 to Chester on a visit to Mr. Ashmead, 
 and made a spirited water-colored 
 sketch of the house, for publication in 
 Sartain' s Magazine. That sketch is 
 now in the possession of Mr. Ash- 
 mead's widow, and is highly prized as 
 the work of the greatest mezzotint en- 
 graver the world has ever known. It 
 never appeared, however, in the Maga- 
 zine, for the reason that Dr. William 
 Young purchased the farm, compris- 
 ing one hundred and twenty-five acres, 
 in October, 1849. 
 
 The original name of the estate was 
 "Landsdown," but it was changed to 
 " Ken il worth," to gratify a young 
 lady friend, who was infatuated with 
 Sir Walter Scott's novel of that name. 
 The following are the children of 
 John W., and Henrietta G. Ashmead : 
 Henrietta F., married in 1852, Joshua 
 Alder Ellis, son of William Cox Ellis, 
 of this State. He now resides in Chi- 
 cago. She died in 1854, leaving one 
 child, John A. Ellis. Lavinia L., 
 married John E. Dyer, son of John 
 G., and Arabella, of Che.ster, and 
 they have a son, William Ashmead 
 Dyer. Amia Francis, died unmarried , 
 Dec. I, 1874. William Ashmead, the 
 eldest son, born in Philadelphia, Feb. 
 12, 1835, died July 2, 1872, was (I 
 gather from an obituary, written by the 
 hand of a loving friend,) a young man 
 of much ])romise, and of loving and 
 
HISTORY OF GHESTE]{. 
 
 443 
 
 domestic habits. In enrly life he stu- 
 died medicine, but never applied for 
 admission to the profession. Decid- 
 ing upon mercantile life, he emigrated 
 to Madison, Wisconsin ; but the panic 
 of 1856, destroying his hopes of suc- 
 cess, he returned home and took charge 
 for several years of the conveyancing 
 department of his father's business, in 
 New York ; and assisted him in the 
 preparation of important claims before 
 the various departments of the Gov- 
 ernment of the United States. He 
 was also a successful play-writer, many 
 of his dramas having been introduced 
 on the stage ; he left besides, several MS. 
 dramas never acted or printed. Henry 
 Graham Ashmeaii, born June 30, 1838, 
 was admitted to the Bar of the Su- 
 preme Court of New York, Nov. 29, 
 1859, practiced until 1867, when, on 
 account of ill-health, he retired from 
 the profession. On Sept. 2, 1872, he 
 married Rebecca Francis, daughter of 
 Capt. Richard N., and Anna R. War- 
 ner, of Baltimore, Md., and has a son, 
 John Wayne Ashmead. Mr. Ash- 
 mead, since 1867, has been a frequent 
 contributor to the press, and a writer 
 of historical sketches. He has anti- 
 quarian tastes, and a genuine liking 
 for the literary occupation he has cho- 
 sen, which peculiarly fits him for its 
 duties. He was admitted to the Bar 
 (jf Delaware County on Feb. 23, 1875, 
 and is now the editor of the Dclaivare 
 County Paper and Mail ; and is a 
 resident of Chester, as are all the liv- 
 ing members of his father's family, 
 excepting his two younger brothers, 
 both of whom, Edward King Ash- 
 mead, born Aug. 14, 1840, and George 
 Rundle Ashmead, born Sept. 12, 1842, 
 are engaged in the office of the Union 
 Transfer Company, in the city of New 
 York. 
 
 Lamokin, repeatedly referred to, 
 was, as I have said, the residence of 
 the late Richard Flower.- The place 
 has borne that old Indian name for 
 over two hundred years. The pro- 
 perty passed into the ownership of 
 Abraham R. Perkins, nearly thirty 
 years ago, and the old homestead, 
 with its low porch and hipped roof, 
 which faces the road to Marcus Hook, 
 and the river, stands unaltered by its 
 present owner, who preserves it in re- 
 pair as originally built nearly a century 
 ago. 
 
 The following interesting memento 
 was found among the old papers of 
 Richard Flower. 
 
 " To all 7vhom these presetits shall 
 come — Oliver Evans, of New Cas- 
 ile County, Delaware State, scndeth 
 greeting. 
 
 Know ye, that Richard Flower, of 
 Delaware County, Pennsylvania, hath 
 paid to the said Oliver Evans, the 
 sum of sixty-six Spanish milled dol- 
 lars, in consideration of which, the 
 said Richard Flower, his Heirs, Ex- 
 ecutors, Administrators, and Assigns, 
 are hereby permitted to construct, 
 make use of, and enjoy all the ma- 
 chines necessary to produce the said 
 Oliver Evans's improvements on the 
 art of manufacturing grain into flour 
 or meal, viz. for elevating grain and 
 meal from the lower to the upper 
 stories, and conveying the same from 
 one part of the Mill to another, and 
 for cooling the meal, and attending 
 the Bolting Hoppers, for the use of 
 his Mill, consisting of two Water- 
 wheels situate on Chester Creek, in 
 the County of Delaware, Pennsylvania, 
 called Chester Mills. For and during 
 all the term of years, unexpired, for 
 which the exclusive privilege of mak- 
 I ing, constructing, using, and vending 
 
444 
 
 IIISTOKY OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 to others to be used, the said improve- 
 ments, was granted unto the said Oliver 
 Evans, his Executors, Administrators, 
 and Assigns, by the authority of the 
 United States, by letters patent, bear- 
 ing date, January 7th, 1791, and for 
 such term of years as the same may 
 hereafter be granted by the said au- 
 thority. In witness whereof the said 
 Oliver Evans hath hereunto set his 
 hand and seal, this fourteenth day of 
 November, in the Year of Our Lord, 
 One Thousand Seven Hundred and 
 Ninety-Three. 
 
 Oi,ivEK Evans, [l. s.] 
 
 Sealed and delivered in the presence 
 of us, John Flower, Jos. Hoskins." 
 
 Mary Ann Flowf:r, dau. of Richard 
 and Henrietta (Graham), b. April 
 19, 1800, at Chester Mills; d. June 
 30, 1876; in. Truman Mallory Hub- 
 bell, Sept. 14, 181 7, had issue: Wil- 
 liam Wheeler, Jii chard Henry, Emma 
 Louisa, Mary Ann Matilda and Helen 
 Francis, all living, and Henrietta, 
 Marietta, Samuel Moore and Clara, 
 deceased. EmmaL., m. Gen. George 
 W. Baldy, of New Orleans, a General of 
 Volunteers, in the U. S. Army during 
 the Rebellion. He served during the 
 Mexican war, and was in the battle of 
 Buena Vista. Mary Ann M. , m. John 
 W. Templin, of the Iowa City Bar. 
 Truman M. Hubbell, b. Sept. 19, 1788, 
 in Massachusetts, and still living, is 
 the son of Silas, a soldier in the Re- 
 volution, who was in five battles under 
 Wa.shington, and one of the party who 
 threw the Tea overboard in Boston 
 Harbor; he was at Bunker Hill, and 
 helped load the cannon with log- 
 chains ; after firing on the British, 
 they spiked their cannon and retreated. 
 This old patriot sold his mill property, 
 and invested the ])roceeds in shoes 
 
 and blankets for liis comrades. The 
 Hubbell's came from England in 1649, 
 and settled in Connecticut. Truman 
 M., carried on the Lumber business at 
 Chester Mills, in 1812. Between 1 806 
 and 1812, he, and a half-brother, Wil- 
 liam Wheeler, were famous rifle shots 
 and hunters of wild game in Delaware 
 County, New York, where they were 
 in the Lumber and Rafting business. 
 The game was Deer, Bear, Panther and 
 Wolves, with which they had many 
 desperate encounters, some of which 
 have been given to the public in Sport- 
 ing Magazines. 
 
 William Wlieeler Hubbell, the eldest 
 son of Truman, spent much of boyhood 
 at Chester Mills and Lamokin with 
 his grand-parents, and went first to 
 school to Miss Eliza Finch in Chester, 
 and afterwards to William Neal and 
 Charles D. Manley, in the old school- 
 house on Welsh Street. He studied 
 law with John W. Ashmead, and was 
 admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, 
 March 5, 1845, ^"<^ practiced with 
 great success in the U. S. Courts in 
 Patent cases. Having an inventive 
 talent, his scientific ability has been 
 recognized by the grant to him of 
 many important Patents, and fully es- 
 tablished by his' invention of the ex- 
 plosive shell Fuses used in the army 
 and navy of the United States, weapons 
 which have made the navies of the 
 world abandon wooden ships of war 
 and build iron-clads; which blew up 
 the Bogue Forts of China, and the 
 Forts and vessels of Japan, and com- 
 pelled those nations to sue for peace, 
 and open their countries to commerce 
 and Christian civilization. Hubbell 
 having patents, claimed of Congress, 
 in 1862, compensation. In 1864, it 
 referred the matter to the Court of 
 Claims, and the IT. S. Sujjreme Court. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTP:K. 
 
 445 
 
 The Courts sustained two of his inven- 
 tions, which had proved of the great- 
 est vahie to the Government. The 
 following remarks are quoted from the 
 decision of the Court of Claims, in 
 Hubbell 7>s. U. S., 1864, No. 2124, 
 on Jan. 24, 1S70. 
 
 " For years, private parties, as well as 
 various officers of the Army and Navy, had 
 been directing their thoughts and inventive 
 powers to the production of a Fuse that should 
 be both certain and exact in the explosion of 
 shells. Among these, as the evidence de- 
 monstrates, there was no more intelligent, 
 scientific, and persistent worker than the 
 claimant. It is fully sustained by the evi- 
 dence, that he has contributed, in an important 
 degree, by his inventions, to the present im- 
 proved and efficient projectiles in use in our 
 Army and Navy. 
 
 We further find, that Hubbell was the first 
 and original inventor of the time and impact 
 Fuse, as claimed by him in his patent of Jan. 
 7, 1862. And, that such Fuse has been largely 
 and extensively used by the United States, in 
 violation of his rights as patentee. And, that 
 he is justly and equitably entitled to com- 
 pensation therefor, under the joint resolution 
 of Congress. 
 
 We further find, that Hubbell, the claim- 
 ant, is the first and original inventor of the 
 percussion Fuse, as claimed in his patent of 
 Jan. 24, i860. It is proved that these fuses 
 have been used in great numbers by the United 
 States, in derogation of claimant's rights, scr 
 cured by his patents. 
 
 That these inventions have lieen and are of 
 great importance to the Government is appar- 
 ent. Several millions of these fuses were 
 used during the war of the Rebellion. 
 
 His right in every respect to compensation 
 is complete and perfect, and nothing has been 
 shown from which we can infer that he had 
 relinquished or released that right, that he has 
 donated its use to the United States, or in 
 anywise abandoned his invention." 
 
 Under this decision, Mr. Hubbell 
 was awarded and received a handsome 
 sum from the Government ; but Con- 
 gress having limited the power of the 
 
 Court, lie did not receive his entire 
 claim. 
 
 These inventions sunk the Alabama 
 in the British Channel ; her English 
 shells failed ; but Hubbell's, fired by 
 the Kearsarge, exploded in the sides of 
 the Alabama, and sent her to the bot- 
 tom. 
 
 He claims ^200,000 from Congress, 
 before which the claim is pending, 
 with Reports in both Houses in his 
 favor. The Union owes him a debt 
 of gratitude for these inventions. 
 
 William Wheeler Hubbell, m. Eliza- 
 beth Catharine Ramillie, of Charleston, 
 S. C, dau. of Paul and Mary (Whit- 
 ley,) Dec. 14, 1848, and has issue liv- 
 ing : Walter, Lawrence, Eleanor, Al- 
 bert, lilizabeth, and Paul R. Paul 
 Ramillie was the son of Paul, the 
 son of Christopher. The family was 
 amongst the earliest settlers of South 
 Carolina. The aged grand-parents 
 live with them in Philadelphia. 
 
 Richard Henry Hubbell, his bro- 
 ther, now Superintendent of the Jack- 
 son Steel Casting Works, at Allegheny 
 City, Pa., residence, Chester,;;/. Char- 
 lotte Morton, dau. of Aaron and Eliza- 
 beth (Coburn, ) of Lower Chichester, 
 and have issue: Marietta, Truman, 
 Ida Francis, William, Samuel, Mor- 
 ton, and Lottie. 
 
 United States Patents were recently 
 granted to William Wheeler and Rich- 
 ard Henry Hubbell, for Improvements 
 in Refining Cast Iron, which iron, 
 tested at the Navy Yard, Washington, 
 gave the unparalleled tensile strength 
 of 60,958 pounds to the square inch. 
 
 XLVIII. 
 
 The following old certificate and re- 
 turn of election of members of the As- 
 sembly, is copied from Document No. 
 
440 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 27, of the Logan Papers, \ol. V, en- 
 dorsed J^oads, in the Historical So- 
 ciety of Pennsylvania, \iz: 
 
 This Indenture made the fust day of Oeto- 
 ber in the seventh year of the Reign of Queen 
 Annie over England &c Anno Domi 1708, Be- 
 tween John Iloskins Sheriff of the County of 
 Chester of the one ^te and Caleb Pusey, Na- 
 thaniel Newland, Nicholas Pyle, Jacob Sim- 
 cock, Randall Varnam, Aaron James of the 
 other ^te witnesseth that whereas by virtue of 
 a Charter of Priviledge to the Inhabitants and 
 fifreeholders of the Province of Pennsilvania 
 Granted by the Monble William Penn, Esq"", 
 Propty &c Goven'' of the same. The fifree- 
 holders and Inhabitants of the borough & Coun- 
 ty of Chester on the first day of this instant 
 October did meet at the usual place of meeting 
 at Chester in this county afores<i and there by a 
 free Poll Did Elect & choose Danll Williamson, 
 Samuel Levis, Henry lewis, Richard Hayes, 
 John Hood, Thomas Pearson, Will Bartram, 
 Daniel Hoopes x x x x to be their Representa- 
 tives in Genii Assembly and at the s'J election 
 they the s^ Representatives had notice to at- 
 tend the Govern'' at Philadelphia on the four- 
 teenth instant. In witnesse whereof as well 
 the Sheriff as the aforesaid to these present In- 
 dentures have Interchangably sett their hands 
 & seals the day and year first above written. 
 Caleb Pusey, [l. s.] 
 
 Natha. Newlin, [l. s.] 
 Nicholas Pyle, [l. s.] 
 
 Jacob Simcock, [l. S.] 
 
 Randall Varnon, [l. s.] 
 Aaron James, [l. s.] 
 
 John Iloskins, Sheriff, [l. s.] 
 
 The following is a list of the mem- 
 bers of the Legislature of Pennsylvania 
 who have represented Delaware Coun- 
 ty since i860, and the publication of 
 Dr. Smith's Histo7-y\ 
 
 SUNATU. 
 
 Jacob S. Scrrill, i860 to 1864 
 
 Dr. Wilmer Worthington, . . . 1864 " 1869 
 
 H. Jones Brooke, 1869 " 1873 
 
 William B. Waddell, .... 1863 " 1874 
 
 Thomas V. Cooper, .... 1874 " 1879 
 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 William Gamble, 1861 " 1862 
 
 Chalkley Harvey, 1863 
 
 Edward A. Price, Esq., . . 1864 
 
 Elwood Tyson, 1S65 " 1S6C 
 
 John H. Barton, 1867 
 
 Aiigiislus H. Lccdom, , 
 
 . 1868 to 1869 
 
 Thomas V. Cooper, 
 
 . 1870 
 
 Tryon Lewis, . . . . 
 
 . — 1871 
 
 Thomas V. Cooper, 
 
 . 1872 
 
 Orson Flagg Bullard, . 
 
 . 1S73 
 
 Col. William Cooper Talley, 
 
 . 1874 " 1877 
 
 William Worrall, . . . . 
 
 . 1875 " 1877 
 
 Orson Flagg Bullard, 
 
 • 1877 •' 1879 
 
 Young S. Walter, . . . . 
 
 . 1877 " 1879 
 
 In Dr. Smith' s History, John Ed- 
 wards, Esq., is given as a member of 
 the House in i837-'8, instead of John 
 K. Zeilin, Esq. John Edwards was a 
 member of Congress. 
 
 The Representatives in Congress, by 
 the adoption of the Constitution of the 
 United States of 1 788, are chosen every 
 second year by the.people, in the man- 
 ner to be determined by the Legisla- 
 ture of the States. The number of 
 members being fixed every ten years by 
 Congress. 
 
 The Representatives of the first Con- 
 gress were elected on a general ticket. 
 For those of the second, the State was 
 divided into Districts ; Delaware Coun- 
 ty being in the first with Philadelphia 
 City. See Act 16 March, 1 791. The 
 members of the third Congress were 
 elected on a general ticket. In 1794, 
 Act of April II, the State was again 
 districted, Chester and Delaware con- 
 stituting the third, with one member. 
 By Act of April 2, 1802, another di- 
 vision was made, Delaware and Phila- 
 delphia forming the first district, with 
 three members. The Act of Mar. 12, 
 1 81 2, gave the same district with four 
 members. The Act of April 22, 1822, 
 formed Delaware, Chester and Lancas- 
 ter into a (fourth) district, with three 
 members. The Act of June 9, 1832, 
 made no change in the district. Act 
 of 1842, formed Delaware and Mont- 
 gomery into a Congressional district, 
 the sixth. Act of 1852, made Chester 
 and Delaware the sixth district, with 
 one member ; since then there has been 
 no change. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 447 
 
 The following is a list of the Repre- 
 sentatives in Congress who have repre- 
 sented the county. 
 
 Navies of members. Term of service. 
 
 First Congress — General ticket, . - 1789 to 1791 
 
 Thomas Fitzsimmohs, .... 1791 " 1793 
 
 General ticket, from .... 1793 " 1795 
 
 John Richards, 1795 " 1797 
 
 Richard Thomas,* .... 1797 " 1801 
 
 Joseph Hemphill, • . . . . . 1801 " 1803 
 
 Jacob Richards, ..... 1803 " 1809 
 
 William Anderson, .... 1809 " 1815 
 
 Thomas Smith, 1815 " 1817 
 
 William Anderson, .... 1817 " 1819 
 
 Samuel Edwards, ..... 1819 " 1827 
 
 Dr. Samuel Anderson, .... 1827 " 1829 
 
 George Gray Leiper, .... 1829 " 1831 
 
 Joshua Evans,t "k 
 
 David Potts, Jr.,t V . . . . 1831 " 1833 
 
 William Heister, i 
 
 Edward Darlington, .... 1833 " 1839 
 
 John Edwards, 1839 •' 1843 
 
 Francis James,t 1843 " 1^45 
 
 Jacob S. Yost:!:, 1845 " 1847 
 
 John Friedleyf, ..... 1847 " '851 
 
 John McNair:!:, 1851 " 1853 
 
 William Everhart,t .... 1853 " 1855 
 
 John Hickman,! 1855 " 1863 
 
 John M. Broomall, .... 1863 " 1869 
 
 Washington Townsend,t . . . 1869 " 1877 
 
 William Ward, 1877 ' 
 
 Joseph Hemphill, member from iSoi 
 to 1 803 , was a native of Delaware Coun- 
 ty. He was President Judge of the 
 District Court of Philadelphia, from 
 May6, 1811, toOct. I, 1818. Repre- 
 sentative in Congress from Philadel- 
 phia, from 1819 to 1827 and from 1829 
 to- 1 83 1, and died in that city May 29, 
 1842, aged 72 years. 
 
 At the election in 1 830, for the XXH. 
 Congress, there were seven candidates ; 
 three to be elected from Delaware, 
 Chester and Lancaster. It was during 
 this time that the excitement about 
 Masonry ran so high in Philadelphia. 
 
 *The Congressional Directory '^■^\-i Richard 
 Thomas was Representative from 1795 to 1801. 
 If not an error, then probably John Richards 
 represented Bucks, where the family had a 
 large estate. 
 
 f Elected from Chester County. 
 
 \ From Montgomery County. Heister \\as 
 from Lancaster County, and Fitzsimmonsa dis- 
 tinguished member of the Philadelphia Bar, 
 from that city. 
 
 None of the Delaware County men 
 were elected. The names of the candi- 
 dates and the votes received by each at 
 that contest are : Joshua Evans, 8150; 
 William Heister, 8471; David Potts, 
 Jr., 7930 ; Samuel Boyd, 7643; Archi- 
 bald T. Dick, 5994; Edward Darling- 
 ton, 7918; John Edwards, 2403. The 
 three latter were Delaware County law- 
 yers. It will be observed that Potts 
 led Darlington only 12 votes. 
 
 Coroners of Chester County. 
 
 James Kennedy, 1685 
 
 Jacob Symcock, 1691 
 
 Jonas Sandilands, .... i7i7toi72i 
 
 Robert Barber, ..... 1721 
 
 John-Mendenhall, i726toi728 
 
 Robert Parke, 1728 
 
 Abraham Darlington, .... 1729 
 
 John Wharton, 1730101732 
 
 Anthony Shaw, ..... 1732 to 1734 
 
 John Wharton, ..... 1734101737 
 
 Stephen Hoskins, ..... 1737 
 
 Aubrey Bevan, 1738 to 1743 
 
 Thomas Morgan, ..... i743toi746 
 
 Isaac Lea, ...... i746toi75i 
 
 Joshua Thomson, 1751 
 
 John Kerlin, ...... 1752 
 
 Joshua Thomson, 1753101762 
 
 Phillip Ford, 1762 
 
 Davis Bevan, 1763, 1764 
 
 Abel Janney, 1765 
 
 John Trapnall, ..... 1766, 1767 
 
 Joseph Gibbons, ..... 1768 
 
 Joseph Gibbons, Jr., .... 1769, 1770 
 
 John Crosby, Jr., ..... 1771, 1772 
 
 John Bryan, 1773101776 
 
 David Denny, 1778, 1779 
 
 Allen Cunningham, .... 1780, 1781 
 
 Benjamin Rue, ..... 1782 
 
 John Harper, 1783, 1784 
 
 Isaac Thomas, 1785 
 
 John Harper, 1786 
 
 John Underwood, .... 1787, 1788 
 
 Nathan Schofield, 1789 
 
 Delaware County. 
 
 Jonathan Vernon, ..... 1789 
 
 Caleb Bennett, 1790 
 
 Seth Thomas, ..... 1S51 
 
 Washington B. Levis, . . in office, 1863 
 
 Wm. Anderson Minshall, . in office, 1876 
 
 The history of the efforts made to 
 furnish Chester with water is eventful 
 and interesting. Before the commence- 
 ment of operations by the present Cor- 
 poration, the sole dependence of the 
 people for water was in wells, and 
 in rain cisterns and barrels, except in 
 
448 
 
 UISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 cases where it was procured l)y the la- 
 borious process of carrying it from the 
 river or creek. The water obtained 
 by the first mentioned means was to 
 most persons distasteful, and deemed 
 unfit for culinary, cleaning and me- 
 chanical purposes. For twelve or fif- 
 teen years prior to the incorporation 
 of Chester as a city, the increase in its 
 population, number of dwellings and 
 business establishments had been such 
 as to place her in the front rank of 
 thriving towns; and yet there was no 
 place, it may be confidently asserted, 
 that was in a worse condition in regard 
 to the essential of water for household 
 and manufacturing purposes. That 
 this was felt to be so, is evidenced by 
 the attempt made about 1853, to estab- 
 lish a private Water Company, which 
 failed, however, but a meager subscrip- 
 tion of a few thousand dollars to the 
 capital stock being made. 
 
 The question of a proper water sup- 
 ply was, therefore, one that rose above 
 mere considerations of revenue, or 
 private profit to stockholders in cor- 
 porations, and that appealed to the 
 public authorities as a sanitary and 
 police regulation that should be inau- 
 gurated and conducted for the health 
 and convenience of the people, and 
 the protection of their property in times 
 of fire, without regard to the question 
 of profit or loss ; that the safety and 
 comfort of the community, rich and 
 poor, were considerations superior to 
 the matter of pecuniary returns. In 
 this view, an Act of Assembly was, in 
 April, 1866, obtained, which gave the 
 city power to establish Water Works, 
 provided an assessed majority of the 
 jjroperty holders voted in favor of rati- 
 fying the i)rovisions of the Act. A 
 sj)ecial election was held for the purpose 
 of ascertuinini,^ the views of those quali- 
 
 fied by the Act to vote, which resulted 
 in two of the three Wards of the City 
 deciding adversely to the measure, and 
 the law, of course, became inoperative. 
 
 But the want still existed; and as 
 the city extended, and was being more 
 compactly built, the danger from fire 
 increased, and rendered it imperative 
 that some action should be taken at 
 once that should secure the great de- 
 sideratum. On the 2d of March, 1867, 
 the Legislature passed an Act giving 
 the " Councilmen of the South Ward of 
 the City of Chester, and their successors 
 i n office, ' ' power to erect Water Works, 
 under which the present works were con- 
 structed. The original Water Board, 
 as organized thereunder, consisted of 
 the following members of the Council 
 of the city of Chester, representing the 
 South Ward, namely : Amos Gartside, 
 President; William Ward, Treasurer ; 
 William A. Todd, Secretary; William 
 B. Reaney, George Derbyshire and 
 William G. Price. The acceptance of 
 the Act and formal organization of the 
 Board took place April 15, 1867, and 
 immediate steps were taken to furnish 
 the city with water. 
 
 After careful investigation, and the 
 examination of many suggested sources 
 of supply, it was decided to use the 
 water of the river Delaware, it being 
 deemed as beyond doubt, the purest, 
 most abundant, as well as the surest 
 source from which to furnish the people 
 of Chester. On this subject as well as 
 on all others relating to the enterprise, 
 the Board availed themselves of the 
 eminent ability and advice of Chief 
 Engineer Frederick Graeff, and Isaac 
 S. Cassin, late Chief Engineer of Phila- 
 delphia. The last named was selected 
 to prepare plans and specifications, and 
 to supervise the construction of the 
 works. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 449 
 
 On Aug. I, 1867, in response to ad- 
 vertisements of the Board, proposals 
 for the construction of the Works were 
 received from five different firms ; the 
 lowest bidders, Armstrong, Gartside & 
 Co. , received the contract. The water 
 was pumped into the basin of the Re- 
 servoir for the first time on the evening 
 of July I, 1868. The cofitract of the 
 above firm was completed in the month 
 of October following, and the works, 
 after a professional inspection by Chief 
 Engineer Graeff, accepted by the Board. 
 See Introduction to the Reports of the 
 Secretary and Ti-easurer of the Chester 
 Water Works ,\r\\\\.^^ in 1872. 
 
 The Reservoir of the Water Works 
 is situated on what was formerly a por- 
 tion of the farm of Walter C. Lytle, 
 on Concord Avenue, about one mile 
 from the pumping machinery, at the 
 foot of Fulton Street. It stands at an 
 altitude of something over 100 feet 
 above high water mark of the Dela- 
 ware. The organization of the Board 
 of Managers at present (1872), is Amos 
 Gartside, President; William A. Todd, 
 Secretary; Henry C. Eyre, Superin- 
 tendent; William G. Price, George 
 Derbyshire, Geo. Robinson. 
 
 On June 6, 1869, a shower of shells 
 fell at Chester during a rain storm, the 
 following account of which was given 
 at a meeting of the Acadamy of Natu- 
 ral Sciences, held at Philadelphia, Oct. 
 7, 1869. American Journal of Con- 
 chology, (new series) vol. 5, p. 118. 
 
 " Mr. John Ford exhibited specimens of a 
 Getnma-gemma, Totten, remarkable for having 
 fallen during a storm which occurred at Ches- 
 ter, Pa., June 6, 1869. These specimens were 
 apparently adult, though very minute, measur- 
 ing i^ of an inch in length, 3-i6ths of an inch 
 in breadth. Mr. F. stated, that he had made 
 inquiry of several gentlemen who had wit- 
 nessed the storm on the occasion referred to, 
 and that the answers of each of them had so 
 
 corroborated those of the others, as to leave no 
 doubt on his mind as to their having fallen in 
 immense numbers. Though most of them 
 were in a broken condition, large numbers of 
 perfect ones were collected in various places 
 sheltered from the heavy rain which followed 
 their descent. One of the gentlemen referred 
 to, Y. S. Walter, Esq., editor of The Delaware 
 County Republican, published at Chester, as- 
 sured Mr. F. that he noticed the singular charac- 
 ter of the storm at its very commencement, 
 'and,' to use his own words, 'it appeared like 
 a storm within a storm, a very tine rain falling 
 rapidly, veiled by the shells, which fell slower 
 and with a whirling motion.' Judging from 
 the remains of animal matter attached to some 
 of the specimens, together with the fresh ap- 
 pearance of the epidermis, it is highly probable 
 that many of them were living at the moment 
 of transition." 
 
 The Chester Library Company, was 
 established Feb. 14, 1769, when ac- 
 cording to the records of the Company, 
 "A number of the most considerable 
 inhabitants of the Borough of Chester, 
 having from time to time had in con- 
 sideration the good consequences that 
 would result from the erection of a 
 Public Library in said Borough, for the 
 promotion of useful knowledge, did at 
 length proceed to enter into articles for 
 the forming themselves into a com- 
 mittee for that purpose ; agreeable to 
 which article they met on the loth of 
 May, A. D., 1769, in order to pay in 
 the sum of money proposed to be ad- 
 vanced by each member, and to elect 
 and choose proper officers for the more 
 effectual carrying their designs into ex- 
 ecution, at which time were chosen: 
 Directors, Henry Hale Graham, Elisha 
 Price, David Jackson, Thomas Moore ; 
 Treasurer, Thomas Sharpless; Secre- 
 tary, Peter Steel. The Company com- 
 menced with 163 volumes. The num- 
 ber of books at present in the Library 
 is about 2000. Nearly all the standard 
 works of the day are purchased annual- 
 ly, and the collection is perhaps equal 
 
450 
 
 HISTORY UF ClIESTEH. 
 
 to tliat of aii\- otlKT lilirar)- outside of 
 large cities. The present officers are: 
 President, Joshua P. Eyre. Directors, 
 Alexander M. Wright, John O. De- 
 shong, James Cochran, Frederick J. 
 Hinkson, John H. Baker. Treasurer, 
 Job Rulon. Secretary, Y . S. Walter." 
 Directory, iS^g-'6o, p. 47. 
 
 The above account is somewhat rose- 
 colored. When I resided in Chester, 
 very little interest was taken in the Li- 
 brary by the grown up people of the 
 town. The books were deposited in a 
 room over the. old Market House, now 
 torn down, which was built for the pur- 
 pose of a Town Hall, in 1830. My father 
 was the Secretary or Librarian, at least 
 he had charge of the room and the books, 
 and when any one came for a volume, 
 I was sent over with the keys to attend 
 to them. It thus became my playroom, 
 and it was there I learned first to take 
 an interest in old books. The boys 
 used the place for a meeting room, and 
 we formed an institution called "The 
 Chester Lyceum," and got together a 
 collection of coins, minerals, old In- 
 dian arrow heads, stone axes, stone pots, 
 stone skinners, corn grinders or pestles, 
 &c. Capt. Isaac E. Engle, gave us 
 some Chinese and other East India 
 curiosities. John K. Zeilin, says he 
 deposited the gold, silver and copper 
 coins. The gold and silver coins were 
 stolen; the copper coins Mr. Zeilin has 
 in his possession. What became of the 
 rest of the curiosities I do not know. 
 We had quite a respectable museum. I 
 remember that Lewis Ladomus, Henry 
 and Samuel Edwards, Harry Porter, 
 Edward Eyre, and my brother Wil- 
 liam, were members of the Society. My 
 friend Joseph M. Cardeza, the ticket 
 agent of the Philadelphia, Wilmington 
 (S: Baltimore Railroad Co., at Philadel- 
 phia, who is so well known to alt the 
 
 travelling community of Delaware 
 County, has a splendid collection of 
 the implements of the stone age of the 
 United States. 
 
 The Library, notwithstanding its 
 venerable age, does not seem to im- 
 prove in usefulness, nor in the num- 
 ber of its collection of books, nor is 
 much interest taken in its affairs even 
 yet; if I may judge from the follow- 
 ing notice in X\\q Republican of Friday, 
 Jan. 20, 1871 : 
 
 " A meeting of a number of the stocklioklcrs 
 of the Chester Library Company — one of Ihe 
 oldest in the State — was held on Tuesday even- 
 ing last. Measures were taken to have the 
 Library permanently located, and otherwise to 
 improve its condition.; and committees ap- 
 pointed to inquire into financial affairs, to select 
 a Librarian, and to adopt means for its future 
 efticiency. These committees will report to 
 an adjourned meeting, to be held at the office 
 of the Managers of the Farmers' Market Co., 
 on Tuesday evening next, at 7 o'clock, at which 
 it is earnestly desired that the stockholders 
 should all be present." 
 
 This action was taken in consequence 
 of a paragraph in a former number of 
 the Republican calling attention to the 
 condition of the Library, and the dan- 
 ger in which the books were of being 
 lost in an insecure and neglected situa- 
 tion. 
 
 In the same Journal of Jan. 27, 1871, 
 will be found the following further in- 
 teresting information concerning the 
 Library Company of Chester : 
 
 "On the 14th of Feb. 1769, a number of the 
 citizens of Chester assembled together, and 
 formed a Library Company. They set forth 
 in the preamble to the articles liy which they 
 were to be governed, that 'being truly sensible 
 of the advantage that may arise to the people 
 of the County of Chester from the erection of 
 a Lil)rary for the advancement of knowledge 
 and literature, we do hereby agree to jilace to- 
 gether, each one of us; the sum of thirty shill- 
 ings, wherewith to form a joint slock for the 
 ]nirchnsing niid collecting of useful books to 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 451 
 
 cuiiipose a library in tlie Borough of Chester, 
 in the County of Chester;' and in article XI 
 of the Constitution or rules, they resolve ' to 
 continue in partnership and hold the Library 
 of books and effects, tme /uiudred years' The 
 men who first established the Libraiy, have, 
 of course, all passed away, and their successors 
 from time to time, have endeavored to carry 
 out the object of the original projectors. Dur- 
 ing the war of the Revolution, the company 
 held no meeting for several years, and while 
 the war of 1812 was progressing, a hiatus also 
 occurs in the minutes of the Secretary. The 
 stockholders of the present company, in 1840, 
 applied for an act of incorporation, and in 
 March of that year, an act was obtained, chang- 
 ing the title from the Library Company of Ches- 
 ter, to that of ' The Chester Library Company.' 
 The charter conferred a few powers not set forth 
 in the original 'rules' of the old organization. 
 At that time the Library contained seven hun- 
 dred and thirteen volumes. From 1840 until 
 1 86 1, the company kept up its organization, 
 and added yearly quite a number of volumes 
 to its collection. During the e.xciting times 
 consequent upon the Slaveholders' Rebellion, 
 and, until within a short time, the meetings 
 of the stockholders have been irregular and 
 sparsely attended, and many of the books have 
 become scattered. A united effort is now be- 
 ing made by the remaining stockholders to 
 place the company once more upon its original 
 footing, and to collect the books and property, 
 and deposit them in a convenient and secure 
 place. Through the courtesy of the Managers 
 of the Farmers' Market Company, a convenient 
 room has been rented, a Librarian selected, and 
 in the course of a few days, the Librai-y will 
 be removed thereto, and the room opened to 
 the shareholders. 
 
 At a meeting held on Tuesday evening last, 
 the stockholders agreed, that upon the pay- 
 ment by any member, on or before the first 
 day of May next, of the sum of three dollars, 
 all back dues and forfeitures on each share of 
 stock for arrearages, shall be remitted. And 
 in order to collect the works which have been 
 taken without permission from the Library, 
 the oflficers were instructed to institute legal 
 proceedings without delay, against the seve- 
 ral persons who have in their possession books 
 belonging to the company, unless they are re- 
 turned, within one month from the present 
 
 time, to Mr. Levis, Librarian, at the Farmers' 
 Market, in Fourth street. 
 
 The effort now being made to resuscitate 
 the Library, seems to be an earnest one : and 
 it remains for the stockholders to prove, by 
 their efforts to obtain additional members, and 
 thus increase and extend its usefulness, whether 
 it will be successful." 
 
 I have a reverence for ancient things, 
 and regret e.xtremely the change made 
 by the act of March, 1840, in the 
 name of the old Library Company of 
 Chester. It is a pity that those en- 
 gaged in that change did not expend 
 their energies in a way more beneficial 
 to the interests of the Library. 
 
 At an annual meeting of the mem- 
 bers of the Library Company on the 
 evening of May 10, 1871, an election 
 was held for officers for the following 
 year, which resulted in the choice 
 of Joshua P. Eyre, for President; 
 Caleb Emlen, for Secretary; Walter C. 
 Lytle, for Treasurer; and Y. S. Wal- 
 ter, James Barton, Jr., John O. De- 
 shong, William Hinkson and Thomas 
 Moore, Directors. 
 
 The Treasurers of the Library Com- 
 pany since its formation have been : 
 
 1769, Thomas Sharpless. 
 Isaac Eyre. 
 Henry Hale Graliam. 
 Davis Bevan. 
 William Pennell. 
 
 1799, James Withey. 
 
 1809, Williani Graham. 
 
 1822, Preston Eyre. 
 
 1836, Samuel Lytle. 
 
 1857, Job Rulon. 
 
 i860, Walter C. Lytle. 
 
 At the annual meeting. May 27, 
 1873, Y. S. Walter was elected Presi- 
 dent; Caleb Emlen, &(:;r/«rj'/ Walter 
 C. Lytle, Treasurer; John O. De- 
 shong, James Barton, Jr., Thomas 
 Moore, Henry B. Edwards, Esq., and 
 
 1773. 
 1774, 
 1789, 
 
 1797. 
 
452 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Calel) luiilcn. Directors. I regret that 
 I ha\c no list of the successive Presi- 
 dents and Secretaries. 
 
 This is not the oldest library com- 
 pany in Delaware County. The Darby 
 Library Company was founded in 1 743, 
 and in 1871, the company was in a 
 sufficiently prosperous condition to 
 erect a very neat and handsome build- 
 ing for the accommodation of its lib- 
 rary, to which is added a Hall, in which 
 to give lectures and other refined en- 
 tertainments. It is to be hoped that 
 the Chester Library Co. will soon fol- 
 low this good example. 
 
 There is in Chester an association 
 composed of the young men of the 
 place, called the Pacific Dramatic 
 Association. For what especial pur- 
 pose they are organized I do not know, 
 but they give each year a series of en- 
 tertainments, at the Tuscarora and 
 National Halls, which are well at- 
 tended by the citizens. I copy from 
 the Republican, two notices which 
 will give an idea of the purposes of 
 the Pacific Literary Association, for it 
 is called by both names, in the paper 
 referred to so often in these sketches, 
 and which is really the historical re- 
 cord of Delaware County. The first 
 notice, on May 20, 1870, says: 
 
 The meml)crs of this Association have given 
 the public, during the present week, a sjDeci- 
 men of their dramatic talent by the perform- 
 ance of Uncle TonCs Cabin. The entertain- 
 ment, was in every respect, far superior to 
 anything of the kind ever before attempted by 
 an amateur company in this city. On Tues- 
 day and Wednesday evenings, every seat in 
 National Hall was taken at an early hour, the 
 audience l)eing largely composed of the first 
 citizens of this place and its vicinity. The 
 piece was well cast, and the performers all 
 accjuitted themselves in the best possible man- 
 ner. Uncle Tom, rendered by Mr. Powell; 
 St. Clair, by Mr. (iovett; T.egrec, liy Mr. 
 Miller; an.l (k-orge Harris, by Mr. 1 Iar|iur, 
 
 merited and received a full share of apiilause. 
 The part of Eva, as performed by little Miss 
 Carter, was admirably sustained, and won for 
 her high encomiums of praise from all. Eliza 
 and 0])helia — the former represented by Miss 
 Claire, and the latter by Miss Seymour, were 
 capital, while Topsy, in the hands of Miss 
 Courtney, was a specimen of excellent acting. 
 All connected with the representation of this 
 beautiful piece did well, and deserve credit 
 for furnishing our citizens with an entertain- 
 ment worthy of their support." 
 
 The other, on Feb. 24, 1871, says 
 of the Pacific Dramatic Association : 
 
 " The members of this excellent Association 
 have been giving a series of entertainments at 
 National Hall, during the present ^\•eek. The 
 plays enacted have been the comic drama of 
 Handy Andy, and the comedy of Toodlcs. 
 The leading character in the former was ably 
 personated by G. M. Foster, while Squire 
 Egan was personified by Mr. Govett, whose 
 idea of an Irish gentleman was well conceived 
 and capitally expressed. The other charac- 
 ters in the piece were represented by E. L. 
 Powell, W. S. Miller, Wm. P. Ladomus, \Vm. 
 W. Ross, J. H. Ladomus, E. C. Starr, Miss 
 Lizzie Conaway, Miss Lizzie Gilbert, and Miss 
 Fitzgerald, all of whom were well versed in 
 their parts, and performed with good taste 
 and judgment. To-night the moral drama of 
 the Ticket-of- Leave-Man will be performed, 
 and we are informed by those who have at- 
 tended the rehearsals of the Association, that 
 something excellent may be expected. We 
 congratulate the members on the success of 
 their efforts, and hope they may reap a rich 
 harvest to-night, and continue to give our citi- 
 zens, from time to time, such entertainments 
 as those which have afforded them so much 
 satisfaction during the present week." 
 
 There is also another kindred asso- 
 ciation in Chester, formed from a 
 division among the members of the 
 Pacific, called the " Shakespeare Dra- 
 matic Association," whose members 
 boast, that it was the first Company 
 who ever produced at a public enter- 
 tainment the plays of the immortal 
 bard, in tlie town. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 453 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 l-ii \.\\e J^cpiib/ican, of Jan. 20, 1871, 
 the editor says, under the heading of 
 A Day Home for Children : 
 
 " In our two previous issues we referred to 
 the need for a Day Home for the children of 
 such poor people as are obliged to leave their 
 offspring with incompetent persons, or wholly 
 alone, while they go to their day's toil. We 
 have before stated their cause, and we now 
 plead for the little ones. There are many 
 mothers compelled to work all day to get bread 
 for themselves and their families — compelled 
 to leave their children, sometimes two or three 
 mere infants, to care, as best as they can, for 
 each other. We plead for them, that infancy 
 and childhood may not be exposed to such 
 suffering and death. We plead for them in 
 the name of humanity and mercy. Will not 
 those whom God has blessed and put beyond 
 the necessities and deprivations of the poor, 
 lend a helping hand, and thereby earn the 
 blessing of Him 'that considereth the poor?' 
 It is a small draft upon our benefactions that 
 is demanded. Wilmington supports y^^r kin- 
 dred institutions ; and shall we refuse one ? 
 Who will lead off in this blessed work, and 
 thus secure the noble offering already pledged 
 for it ? Could we have the ear of wealthy 
 and influential ladies, we would plead with 
 them by every motive of humanity and reli- 
 gion, to enter at once upon this work, and 
 rear an institution, lasting as our pity for the 
 sufferings of humanity." 
 
 On the 26th, a meeting of the ladies 
 of Chester was held in the lecture room 
 of St. Paul's Church, for the purpose 
 of forming a Nursery, or Infants' 
 Home, as suggested, and an organiza- 
 tion was effected by the election of 
 the following officers: President, Mrs. 
 Joseph H. Hinkson ; Vice- President, 
 Miss Elizabeth Kerlin, (daughter of 
 the late William Kerlin ;) Secretary, 
 Mrs. George Hood ; Treasurer, Mrs. 
 Job Rulon. A committee was ap- 
 pointed to solicit contributions, con- 
 sisting of Mrs. Joseph Ladomus, Mrs. 
 Ale.xander Worrall, Mrs. John Coch- 
 
 ran, Mrs. Joseph Engle, Mrs. James 
 Stephens, Mrs. James Barton, and 
 Miss Mary Rice. Miss Kerlin and 
 Mrs. Reece, were appointed a com- 
 mittee on room, matron, &c. Sub- 
 sequently a Home was located at the 
 corner of Third and Edgmont Avenue, 
 with ample room in the house where the 
 little ones could be made comfortable, 
 and on February 13, the Institution 
 was opened, and children were to be 
 received under the following rules: 
 " Children can be left at the Home at 
 any time after 6^ o'clock, A. M., 
 and will be taken care of by a capa- 
 ble and responsible matron. At noon, 
 a wholesome meal will be given. The 
 charge for each child will be five cents 
 per day, to be paid by the parents on 
 taking them again at night, after work- 
 ing hours." I am informed that the 
 poor were too independent to avail 
 themselves of the kindness of the ladies, 
 and the project had to be abandoned. 
 The idea of such a Home is not, 
 however, by any means a new one in 
 this country. From my History of 
 ''Bethlehem a?id the Moravians," I 
 copy the following article in reference 
 to the 'Nursery," that existed in that 
 town, in the early days of its settle- 
 ment, about 1755. Mrs. Friday says : 
 "The Nursery was an institution which 
 was formed by the necessity of circum- 
 stances. The great amount of labor 
 to be done in the building of houses, 
 clearing the lands, farming, procuring 
 building materials, &c., besides keep- 
 ing constant watch day and night, (on 
 account of the Indians,) made it ne- 
 cessary that every means should be 
 taken to bring all the resources of the 
 inhabitants to bear. The females could 
 assist in farming, such as rake hay, 
 spread grass, plant and hoe potatoes 
 and corn, load hay, husk corn, &:c.. 
 
454 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 but motliers were prevented by their 
 children. A Nursery was thereupon 
 institutetl, where children two years of 
 age were taken and raised under the 
 supervision of the church. To this in- 
 stitution many objections were found; 
 it did not work as w-ell as desired, and 
 as soon as the -.'Economy was abolish- 
 ed (having things in common), the 
 institution was discontinued. It must 
 be said, however, that although the 
 children so raised had not the mater- 
 nal affections, as those raised by the 
 mother, yet some of the best citizens 
 Bethlehem ever had were so brought 
 up." 
 
 The Directory of Chester, 1859-60, 
 says of the Normal School : 
 
 " From the town may be seen this institu- 
 tion upon a commanding eminence, and it 
 seems to be so identified with the interests of 
 the place, though Init a short distance from 
 the borough line, as to demand noti ce. From 
 a distance the beholder can readily recognize 
 its noble front looming upon his sight, 200 
 feet in length and 100 feet deep upon the 
 wings. Upon each story a broad hall runs 
 the entire length of the building; and its re- 
 citation rooms, library, lecture rooms, parlors, 
 dormitories and eating-room, denote the most 
 complete and ample accommodations for 200 
 students. It is built of the gneis rock of the 
 vicinity, and is at once a fine architectural pile 
 w ith artistic proportions, and strong massive 
 appearance. The .shrubbery and trees on the 
 lawn around it are not yet full grown, but the 
 observant eye can at once perceive, that it must 
 become one of the most beautiful and delight- 
 ful spots that could attract the footsteps of the 
 student, or challenge his veneration and re- 
 gard. From the observatory on the central 
 building, the far distant hills of New Jersey 
 can be viewed, rounded into the dark blue hazy 
 outline, so charming to the eye of the artist, 
 whilst within a nearer view the broad Dela- 
 ware sweeps its gleaming current until lost to 
 the vision : its bosom fanned by many a flow- 
 ing sail, [the wind is more apt to do that, 
 however.] The entire scene is instinct with 
 life and grandeur, and beams w ith all the fit- 
 ful feelings of a poetic life. 
 
 This massive structure was erected a few 
 years since at a cost of $50,000, by John V. 
 Crozer, and it must ever be an honoraliie 
 monument, far above heraldic blazonry, or the 
 renown of battle fields, to the memory of its 
 founder, not only by its power to defy for 
 centuries the destructive hands of time, but in 
 sending forth to the world those who shall 
 mould the human mind for all the best pur- 
 poses of life. Such a memorial of true use- 
 fulness will endure when all other renown will 
 have outlived human applause, and the name 
 of Crozer deservedly live as long as its stately 
 walls endure. This was the second institution 
 built by Mr. Crozer ; the Academy upon Se- 
 cond Street, a very finely proportioned building 
 of brick, capable of accommodating a large 
 number of students, and being an embellish- 
 ment to that quarter of the town, was erected 
 by him several years previous to the Normal 
 School. Mr. Crozer has done well for pos- 
 terity." 
 
 Gen. Davis, in \\\s History of Bucks 
 County, p. 109, says: The Croziers are 
 descended from Huguenot ancestors, 
 reared in the Presbyterian faith. They 
 emigrated from France to Scotland 
 about 1700, thence to county Antrim, 
 Ireland, and about 1723, five brothers, 
 Andrew, Robert, James, John and Sam- 
 uel came to America ; Andrew settled 
 in New Jersey, but removed to Bucks 
 County, Pa., in 1758, &:c. * * Of the 
 other brothers who came to America, 
 Robert settled in Philadelphia, James, 
 John and Samuel in Delaware County, 
 wdiere John P., a grandson of James, 
 lately deceased, at the age of 75 years. 
 
 John P. Crozer was born at West- 
 dale, the birth-place of Benjamin West, 
 the celebrated painter, Jan. 13, 1793, 
 and married Sallie L. Knowles, March 
 12, 1825, and died at his residence at 
 Upland, March 11, 1866. Mr. Cro- 
 zer laid the foundation of his fortune, 
 as a cotton manufacturer, near Lenni \ 
 but removed to (Richard) Flower's 
 Mills many years ago, erected there a 
 superb mansion, splendid cotton fac- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 455 
 
 tories, and a town for his employees, 
 and died the possessor of large means. 
 He was a short, well-built man, re- 
 served in manner, and reticent in 
 speech; his face was full of firmness 
 and determination. My father and 
 he were life-long and warm friends ; 
 but he was a modest man, and I will 
 not write the many kind things about 
 him I would like to, because others 
 have been free in their praises of a 
 good and useful citizen. Mr. Crozer 
 left a large and estimable family of 
 sons and daughters. 
 
 By the records of Chester Monthly 
 Meeting we learn that Esther Gleave, 
 (born lo mo. lo, 1712,) daughter of 
 John and Elizabeth, was married as 
 early as 1730 to John Crosier, and 
 joined the Presbyterians. Her sister 
 Rachel, (born 8 mo. 8, 1715,) made 
 acknowledgment, i mo. 27, 1738, for 
 marriage " by a priest" to James Cro- 
 sier, and retained her membership. In 
 1773 and '4 her daughters, Sarah, 
 Elizabeth, Rachel, Martha, Esther and 
 Rebecca were received into member- 
 ship by Friends. Susanna Woodward, 
 of Springfield Meeting, was disowned 
 in 1737, for her marriage to Robert 
 Crosier. 
 
 On 4 mo. 15, 1773, Sarah Crozier, 
 daughter of James, of Springfield, 
 married JohnOgden of the same place. 
 Elizabeth Crozier, dau. of James and 
 Rachel, ;//. John Birchall, 9 mo. 13, 
 1792, and Martha, another daughter 
 of James and Rachel Crozier, deceas- 
 ed, married Rumford Dawes. 6 mo. 2, 
 1814, all of Springfield. 
 
 The building denominated the Nor- 
 mal School, is now known as "Cro- 
 zer Theological Seminary," and is 
 under the charge~of the Baptists, in 
 accordance with the terms of Mr. Cro- 
 zer's will, I believe. 
 
 It is pleasant to go back to old times ! 
 Conversing recently with Mr. Richard 
 S. Smith, President of the Union Mu- 
 tual Insurance Co., of Philadelphia, 
 whose country seat is at Lenni, in 
 Delaware County, with which he has 
 been identified since 1833, he related 
 the following incident in his life that 
 has many points of interest in it, ap- 
 plicable to this work. He said : "In 
 the year 1808, when I was 19 years of 
 age, I was a clerk in a well-known 
 'China House.' At that time it was 
 customary, as soon as a ship was load- 
 ed, to dispatch her at once down the 
 rivqr to New Castle. Her stores and 
 clearance papers were sent to her then 
 by a sailing packet. The ship Tigress, 
 for China, had dropped down to New 
 Castle, having her supercargo on board, 
 and the Packet Avith her stores had just 
 sailed, when it was discovered that her 
 supercargo had left his bills of lading 
 and letter of instructions at the count- 
 ing-house. Mr. McKean said to me : 
 ' Richard, go hire a horse and take 
 these papers down to the supercargo 
 of the Tigress. He would be much 
 embarrassed if he should get to sea 
 without them. You will get to New 
 Castle as soon as the Packet, if you 
 ride sharp. ' I was not much of a rider, 
 but I went to a livery stable on my 
 father's property, in Lombard St., near 
 4th, and got a horse, a sorry stumbling 
 brute. He kept on the sidewalk near- 
 ly all the way out Lombard St. ; how- 
 ever, I managed to get to Chester about 
 one o'clock, P. M., and stopped at the 
 tavern kept^3y Major Anderson, and 
 got my horse fed. The hotel dinner 
 was over, but the Major asked me to 
 dine with his family. At the table I no- 
 ticed qui tea handsome young lady, who 
 read a novel all the time we were at 
 dinner. She was the Major's daugh- 
 
456 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 tcr, and afterwards became the wife of 
 the celebrated Commodore David Por- 
 ter. Soon after dinner I left Chester 
 for Wilmington. On my way I grew 
 careless and neglected to keep a taut 
 rein on my horse, so he stumbled and 
 fell on his knees, throwing me over 
 his head into the road. The shock was 
 so severe that the money in my waist- 
 coat pocket was scattered over the 
 road, and I was so stunned, that when I 
 get on the animal again, and had ridden 
 some distance and had time to recover 
 my wits, I found I was going back to 
 Chester; however, I turned about and 
 was soon at Christiana Ferry, and 
 crossed over on a horse-boat ; there 
 was no bridge over that river then. 
 I arrived at New Castle just as the 
 Packet reached the ship, and met the 
 supercargo coming on shore to hire a 
 horse to return to the city for his pa- 
 pers. He was delighted to see me. 
 I put up at a hotel there kept by a 
 Major Bennett, who, like Major An- 
 derson of Chester, had been an offi- 
 cer in the Revolutionary army. He 
 waited on me at the table himself. He 
 afterwards became the Governor of the 
 State of Delaware." 
 
 The following old time letter of in- 
 structions to the master of a ship, will 
 serve to elucidate a part of the fore- 
 going, and it is of interest here, as 
 many of the descendants of the writer 
 are living now in Delaware County : 
 
 " riiiLAUELPiiiA, y^si, 5th mo., 1721. — 
 Warner Holt : — The ship True Hope, of which 
 thou art master, is now imder thy care, and 
 thou art ordered to make the best of thy way 
 to sea, and when at sea to keep a good look- 
 out, and speak with no vessels thou can avoid. 
 Oljserve all the acts of trade and navigation, 
 and l)e sure to make what despatch thou can, 
 and use all the frugality possilile, because our 
 vessel is l)ut small. Frugality and industry 
 are the true way, with honesty, to prefer and 
 
 ])rom<)te and enrich both (nvners and master; 
 whereas the contrary is ruinous to all. 
 
 If, please God, thou gets safe to Barbadoes, 
 there I hope thou will meet with Joseph French, 
 our other owner, under whose care and orders 
 thou art to be, in conjunction with my good 
 friend, George Howes, merchant there, who 
 will give her despatch for London, unless 
 they see meet to send her to Jamaica, where 
 I hear there is a good crop, but that is left 
 to their discretion. This, with hearty desires 
 for thy welfare, and wishing thee a good voy- 
 age, are the orders of thy real friend and part 
 owner of said shiji, 
 
 Thomas Chalkley.-- 
 
 I promise to obey the above orders as near 
 as possible. 
 
 Warner Holt. 
 
 Mr. Richard S. Smith says further: 
 "I became a resident of Delaware 
 County in this way : When Joshua 
 Haven and myself were in business 
 in Philadelphia, as Commission Mer- 
 chants, Captain Henry Moore, (who 
 married Ann Odiorne, an aunt of Mrs. 
 James M. and John Willcox, of Ivy 
 Mills,) who owned the Rockdale fac- 
 tories — two cotton factories and a nail 
 factory — applied to us to act as his 
 agents for the sale of his nails. After 
 Mr. Haven's death, I found that Cap- 
 tain Moore was largely indebted to 
 our firm, and he made a bill of sale 
 to us of his property, with the condi- 
 tion that we should re-convey the pro- 
 perty to him when his indebtedness 
 should be liquidated, giving us the 
 right of absolute possession if the debt 
 was not paid by a time fixed. In 1833, 
 he failed in business, and we took pos- 
 session of the Rockdale factories and 
 other property, and the same year the 
 property became mine, and I removed 
 with my family to Delaware County, 
 
 •■■' Thomas Chalkley was born in Southwark, 
 near London, in 1675, came to Philadelphia 
 in 1697, and died in 1741. He was a pro- 
 minent member and preacher in the Society 
 I of Friends. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 457 
 
 and took up my residence in the man- 
 sion near the mills, and resided there 
 imtjl 1845, when I sold the property to 
 Bernard McCready. In 1830, I was 
 elected a Director of the Union Mu- 
 tual Insurance Co., and in June, 1837, 
 when Lewis Clappier died, I was elect- 
 ed President of the Company, having 
 thus been connected with the Com- 
 pany now 47 years, and its President 
 nearly 40 years. After selling the 
 property at Rockdale, I found my 
 wife and daughters so deeply interest- 
 ed in the affairs of Calvary Church, 
 built on the property I had sold, I was 
 induced to purchase, in connection 
 with my friends Bishop (Alonzo) Pot- 
 ter and William Martin, [my father,] 
 the property at Lenni station, formerly 
 belonging to Jesse Taylor, and soon 
 afterwards the property near by, on ac- 
 count of its having a dwelling upon it, 
 and in which I now reside perma- 
 nently." 
 
 Mr. Smith is now (1877) ^ h^le, 
 hearty gentleman, in his 88th year, 
 actively engaged every day in his du- 
 ties as President of the "Union Mu- 
 tual," having been born, Aug. 16, 1789, 
 and never having had three consecu- 
 tive days of sickness during his life. 
 He belongs to a family noted for their 
 longevity. The following interesting 
 incident in the life of Mr. Smith, 
 which occurred when he was U. S. 
 Vice-Consul at Gottenberg, Sweden, 
 in the year 181 2, is of historical inter- 
 est to all Americans, and has never 
 before appeared in print. I condense 
 the account from the MS. of Mr. 
 Smith, entitled a "-^ Remmisceiice of 
 Seven Yeai's of Early Life,'''' being a 
 very interesting sketch of his life in 
 the counting-house of Pratt & Kint- 
 zing, of Philadelphia, his voyage to 
 Sweden as the supercargo of a ship, 
 
 and his residence in that country for 
 several years. It appears that on the 
 morning of July 23, 1812, Mr. Smith 
 received information through the Cap- 
 tain of the pilot-boat Champlain, an- 
 chored in Quarantine harbor fourteen 
 miles from Gottenberg, that war had 
 been declared by the Congress of 
 the United States against England on 
 June 17, 1 81 2. He at once called a 
 meeting of the American Captains and 
 others at his office, and astonished 
 them by a recital of the news. There 
 were at that time some forty American 
 merchantmen lying in Wingo Road ; 
 notice was immediately sent to all the 
 Captains, and before next morning all 
 the vessels had run up the river and 
 were anchored under the j^rotection of 
 the Swedish batteries, "to the great 
 surprise of the British officers, who won- 
 dered what had got into the Yankees, 
 that they had all gone up the river. ' ' 
 The letters brought by the Cham- 
 plain, were delivered the next day, 
 and the English firm to whom they 
 were addressed, were indignant at Mr. 
 Smith, (of course they were,) but all 
 American property was placed in secu- 
 rity ; and the young American had 
 the gratification of knowing that by 
 his promptness in boarding the Cham- 
 plain, he was the first person in Europe 
 to obtain the news of the declaration of 
 the war of 181 2, and thus saved 32 fine 
 vessels belonging to his countrymen 
 and their valuable cargoes from easy 
 capture by British cruisers. Mr. Smith 
 next day started on a weary journey 
 of 300 miles, and endeavored to save 
 the American vessels loading in the 
 Baltic, but the Captains of the ships 
 disregarding his news and warnings, 
 put to sea, and ten of the vessels were 
 captured. The recital of Mr. Smith's 
 troubles with the discharged sailors of 
 
458 
 
 IIIST()]?rY OF CHESTER. 
 
 the blockaded shijjs, and tlic descrip- i 
 tion of the sailing of the large fleet of 
 the released vessels after the war, are 
 very interesting, and the whole work 
 should be printed for preservation. 
 
 Richard S. Smith is one of six sons 
 of Daniel and Klizal)eth Shute Smith. 
 The Shutes are an old Swedish family 
 among the earliest .settlers on the Dela- 
 ware. Daniel Smith's father was Rich- 
 ard Smith of Cape May, N. J., who, 
 with the view of educating his children, 
 purchased a farm at Gloucester Point, 
 N. J. Daniel Smith, father of Rich- 
 ard, of Rockdale, entered at an early 
 age the counting house of Francis 
 Gurney, in Philadelphia, who was en- 
 gaged in the West India trade, and 
 remained with him until he was of age, 
 about 1776. Upon the Declaration 
 of Independence, a friend of his ob- 
 tained command of a sloop-of-war, 
 fitted out in South Carolina; Daniel 
 obtained the appointment. of Lieuten- 
 ant of Marines, and was ordered to his 
 friend's vessel. On their first cruise 
 they captured a British transport with 
 300 troops on board. Lieut. Smith 
 was sent on board to take possession 
 of the prize, and received from the 
 officer commanding the troops the 
 surrender of his sword, which is now 
 a treasured family relic. On her se- 
 cond cruise, the sloop was captured by 
 a British frigate and taken into Provi- 
 dence, Rhode Island, and her officers 
 and crew closely confined in the hold of 
 an old hulk or prison-ship, where they 
 were rarely allowed even to go on deck 
 to breathe the air. Here they were 
 confined for months, the scurvy broke 
 out among them and nearly half of the 
 prisoners died. Lieut. Smith bore to 
 his grave the marks the disease left 
 upon his person, which consisted of 
 deeji seams in his k^s. After his re- 
 
 lease he \isited Ills family, who had 
 returned to Cape May, his father be- 
 ing dead. As soon as he had recover- 
 ed his health he went to Philadelphia, 
 and joined a regiment commanded by 
 his old friend and employer Col. Gur- 
 ney, and remained in the service two 
 years more, after which he married 
 Elizabeth, the daughter of William 
 Shute, brother of Atwood Shute, who 
 was Mayor of Philadelphia from 1755 
 to 1757.* After the adoption of the 
 Constitution of the United States, 
 Daniel Smith and Col. Gurney enter- 
 ed into business together, and were 
 connected for 30 years, during a part 
 of which time they were the Naval 
 Agents of the United States, and sup- 
 erintended the building of the frigates 
 United States and the Philadelphia. 
 The distinguished Stephen Decatur 
 was a lad in their counting-house, and 
 after the frigate United States was 
 launched, he entered the Navy as a 
 midshipman, and made his first cruise 
 in that frigate; afterwards, in 1812, 
 he commanded her, and captured 
 the British frigate Macedonian, and 
 placed his name on the roll of fame 
 of his country's naval heroes. I used 
 
 "'■■ Mr. Smith's eldest son is named Atwood 
 Smith, in recollection of the old Mayor. Wil- 
 liam Atwood was Mayor of Philadelphia in 
 1746-7; it is quite prol)al)le that Al\V(,i>d 
 Shute was a relative. 
 
 Sven Shute, the S^oetie, came to America 
 in 1648, or previously. He was a lieutenant 
 in the Swedish service, and as Captain, was 
 in command of Fort Cassimer when ft was 
 surrendered l^y him to the Dutch, in 1655, 
 and for which he was unjustly censured. He 
 took the oath of allegiance to the Dutch gov- 
 ernment and remained in this country. See 
 Vincent's History of Delaware, i vol. 207, 
 241 to 245. See also an interesting little 
 work called Two hundred years ago, or Life 
 in N'c^v Sweden, printed in 1876, by the Am- 
 erican Sunday School Union, Philadelphia. 
 
 It is proper to state, however, that it is 
 said, Atwood S/itite, the Mayor, was of Eng- 
 lish descent. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 459 
 
 to be intimate with "Jack" (John P.) 
 and Jackson Decatur. They lived in 
 Spruce Street, north side, above Third 
 Street, Philadelphia, at that time. 
 Their elder brother, Stephen Decatur, 
 is a Commodore in the United States 
 Navy, but has been an invalid for 
 many years from the effects of the 
 Coast Fever of Africa. Jack fell dead 
 giving an order on board of his ship, of 
 which he was ist Lieutenant, in New 
 York Harbor. He was an officer in 
 the U. S. Navy. I have a punch-ket- 
 tle of bell metal or German silver, for- 
 merly used by old Commodore De- 
 catur, on board the United States. 
 It is very handsome, and I prize it 
 highly. 
 
 Elizabeth Shute, the wife of Daniel 
 Smith, died in 1798, in her 39th year, 
 having borne her husband thirteen 
 chridren, not in this case an unlucky 
 number, except for the mother; al- 
 though six of them died before their 
 mother, the rest lived to a good old 
 age. Juliana, a daughter, wife of John 
 Poulson, the editor of Poulson's Ad- 
 vertiser, died at the age of 76; James, 
 died in 1861, aged 80; Francis Gur- 
 ney, in 1873, ^g^cl 89 ; and William, in 
 1872, aged 80; Richard S. Smith is 
 87 ; Daniel Smith, 86 ; and Colonel 
 Charles S. Smith, 78. The six bro- 
 thers have all celebrated their golden 
 weddings ; all have lived in Philadel- 
 phia from their youth, and all have 
 occupied prominent positions in busi- 
 ness and social circles. Richard S., 
 married Eliza, daughter of John Beach, 
 of Gloucester city, Mass., in the year 
 1813. They had issue, Atwood and 
 Horace (deceased), and two daughters 
 living. 
 
 The following account of Calvary 
 Episcopal Church, at Rockdale, which 
 I persuaded Mr. Smith to relate to me. 
 
 for it should not be lost, will show 
 what good one man and three women 
 can accomplish in a country neighbor- 
 hood, when their hearts are in their 
 work. He said: "When I went to 
 live at Rockdale, there being no Epis- 
 copal church within five miles of the 
 place, we determined to make an effort 
 to establish one, and at once founded 
 a Sunday-School in a vacant room in 
 one of the mills, my wife and daugh- 
 ters, who were qualified by previous 
 experience, taking charge of the classes 
 while I acted as superintendent. This 
 was in 1834, and the project was at- 
 tended with so much success, that it 
 led to the forming of a congregation, 
 and the Bishop authorized Mr. King- 
 ston Goddard, then a student of Di- 
 vinity, to officiate as Lay reader. Sub- 
 sequently the Advancement Society 
 sent the Rev. Marmaduke Hurst as 
 a missionary. The parish was then 
 named by Bishop Onderdonk, Calvary 
 Church and admitted to the conven- 
 tion. By great exertion we succeeded 
 with the liberal aid of friends, in rais- 
 ing a fund for the erection of a church 
 building, and the corner-stone was laid 
 by Bishop Onderdonk, Aug. 18, 1836. 
 The walls were put up and covered with 
 a roof, the floor was laid, the base- 
 ment, which was appropriated for the 
 Sunday-School, was plastered, and the 
 first service was held therein on Christ- 
 mas Eve, 1836, the Rev. Richard D. 
 Hall, of Chester, officiating. The ser- 
 vices of the church and Sunday-School 
 was thereafter regularly continued in 
 the edifice ; the Sunday-School hav- 
 ing about 100 scholars. \\\ October, 
 1838, Mr. Hurst, the missionary, re- 
 signed, and the Rev. Alfred Lee was, 
 upon my nomination, appointed Rec- 
 tor, and agreed to serve for a very small 
 salary, if a dwelling could l)e obtained 
 
4()() 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 for his family near the church ; there 
 being none, I invited him to live with 
 us, which he did for three years, to 
 our mutual happiness. During the 
 time Mr. Lee had charge, we raised 
 sufficient means to finish the church, 
 putting in the pews and furnishing it 
 simply but approi)riately. The com- 
 municants increased to 120, and the 
 Sunday-School scholars to 300. Our 
 proximity to the State of Delaware, 
 brought Mr. Lee to the notice of that 
 diocese, which was then in charge of the 
 Bishop of Pennsylvania. In 1841, Mr. 
 Lee was unanimously elected Bishop 
 of Delaware, and while we could not 
 but mourn his separation from us, we 
 were proud of the providential intro- 
 duction through our humble parish, of 
 so a])le a Bisliop into our beloved 
 church. In 1845, ^ disposed of the 
 Rockdale property to* Mr. McCready, 
 reserving one acre for a burial ground 
 adjoining the church. So my wife and 
 daughters still kept up their labors in 
 the Bible class with unabated interest 
 and energy. I rented a house of Mr. 
 John P. Crozer, about lialf a mile from 
 the church, which I occupied till 1852, 
 during the summer season; living in 
 Philadelphia in the winter, in the house 
 I had purchased there in Clinton Street, 
 in 1838. In 1852, 1 purchased a small 
 farm of 17 acres near Lenni station, in 
 the immediate vicinity of the church, 
 having on it a plain country farm house, 
 which I somewhat enlarged, and in 
 which I now(_i876) reside permanently; 
 my daughters still laboring in the Bible 
 classes and Sunday-School of Calvary 
 Church, to which a chapel has been add- 
 ed, as well as a handsome stone parson- 
 age, a double building erected on three 
 acres of the property purchased by the 
 Rt. Rev. Bishop Potter, Mr. William 
 Martin and myself, which we donated 
 
 to the church for that purpose. The 
 parsonage cost $ 7000 to erect it. Since 
 the resignation of Bishop Lee, the 
 Rectors of Calvary Church have been, 
 Rev. Charles Breck, six years ; Rev. 
 John K. Murphy, fifteen years, suc- 
 ceeded by Rev. William Ely, who en- 
 tered on the charge in 1862. During 
 this time the church has been enlarged 
 and handsomely furnished, at a cost 
 of ^4,500. The communicants num- 
 ber over 80 ; the Bible classes and 
 Sunday-School scholars, over 200. 
 Three young men from the classes are 
 now ministers of the church, and a 
 fourth is studying for the ministry in 
 the divinity school of the Episcopal 
 Church. In 1874, the Rev. James 
 Walker succeeded Mr. Ely as Rector. 
 
 L. 
 
 Sei'cn /lours to laio, to soothing shtntbcr seven. 
 Ten to the 'coorld allot, and all to Heaven. 
 Sir William Jones. 
 
 The history of the Bench and Bar 
 of Chester and Delaware Counties, 
 commences in the early days of the 
 settlement of the Swedes on the river, 
 and it is peculiarly interesting to the 
 members of the legal profession. Courts 
 of Justice, it is presumed, were first 
 established on the banks of the Dela- 
 ware by the Swedish Governor Printz, 
 who was instructed "to decide all con- 
 troversies according to the laws, cus- 
 toms and usages of Sweden." What 
 Courts he established, and what was 
 the mode of procedure therein, is, I 
 believe, unknown. For Edward Arm- 
 strong, Esq., in his introduction to the 
 ^'Records of Upland Court,'' in vol. 7, 
 p. 29, of the Memoirs of the Histori- 
 cal Society of Pennsylvania, after giv- 
 ing an interesting sketch of all that is 
 known in reference to the rise, ])ro- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 461 
 
 gress and changes made in the adminis- 
 tration of justice by the Swedes, Dutch 
 and English, previous to the beginning 
 of the Record on Nov. 14, 1676, says: 
 *'If so little is known of the Dutch 
 Courts, less is know of the Swedish." 
 Printz fixed the seat of government 
 in New Gottenburg on Tinicum, and 
 there the principal persons among the 
 Swedes, took up their residence, and 
 there undoubtedly the first Courts of 
 Justice were regularly established in 
 what is now the Commonwealth of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 It is not positively known whether 
 either the Swedes or Dutch ever held 
 a Court at Chester, previous to the 
 time of the conquest of the country 
 by the English, in 1664, and the pre- 
 cise time at which it became a seat of 
 Justice under the latter, cannot now be 
 definitely determined. The Swedes, 
 after their conquest by the Dutch, 
 were still permitted to govern them- 
 selves by their own magistrates, who 
 were continued in office. They w«re 
 directed to concentrate themselves in 
 villages, (which they never did, how- 
 ever) ; and among the places named 
 for that purpose was Upland, now 
 Chester. This conciliatory policy of 
 the Dutch, was followed by the Eng- 
 lish, who continued the Swedish magis- 
 trates in authority with titles and pow- 
 ers unknown to the English law. The 
 probabilities are, therefore, that the 
 Swedes established the first Court at 
 Chester, which was recognized by the 
 Dutch and again by the English, when 
 they came into power. On Aug. 18, 
 1672, the "Court at Upland" was 
 directed by the Court at New York, 
 to try a case involving a title to land, 
 which is proof positive, that previous 
 to that time a Court was in existence 
 at Chester, and that the first Courts, 
 
 under English authority in Pennsyl- 
 vania, held their sittings in that an- 
 cient town. At a session of the Up- 
 land Court, held June 13, 1677, it was 
 ordered, " that no person. bee admit- 
 ted to plead for any other person as 
 an Attorney in Court, without he first 
 have his admittance of the Court, or 
 have a Warrant of Attorney for his so 
 doing from his clyant." And at the 
 November Court the same year, an 
 order of the Governor, and the whole 
 Council, was promulgated for the se- 
 cond time, bearing date in May, 1677, 
 as follows: -'Resolved and ordered 
 that pleading Attorneys bee no longer 
 allowed to practize in y^ Government 
 but for y° depending causes. ' ' No rea- 
 son is given for this order, and yet on 
 the 1 6th of June of the same year, 
 John Matthews was admitted as an 
 Attorney, and took an oath "not to 
 exact unallowed fees, not to take fees 
 from both plaintiff and defendant, and 
 that he will not take any apparent un- 
 just cause in hand, but to behave as 
 all Attorneys ought to do." Hazard's 
 Annals, 439. The jurisdiction of the 
 Upland Court extended from Christi- 
 ana Creek to the head waters of the 
 Delaware. I have made a list of the 
 Justices of the Peace of the Upland 
 Court, and of the Courts of Chester 
 County, appointed and commissioned 
 by William Penn and his Lieutenant 
 Governors and Council, prior to the 
 Revolution. It is compiled from the 
 Colonial Records, the Minutes of the 
 Court of Chester County, and other 
 sources, and is as near complete as 
 possible in regard to the names. Some 
 few may be omitted, however, as in 
 some cases the names of those ap- 
 pointed are not given. Many were 
 frequently re-appointed and held office 
 I for a long series of years; for in- 
 
462 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 stance, John Crosby was appointed 
 in 1724, and re-appointed on each 
 occasion that a new commission for 
 Justices was issued, until his death, 
 in 1750. It would be useless to make 
 a list with the repetition of the names, 
 unless it could be made perfect, which 
 I have found to be impossible. My 
 object is only to give a list of the 
 names of those who were Justices of 
 the Courts, and have sat at Chester, as 
 far as known. I know of no similar 
 list. Members of Council were ex 
 officio qualified to sit as Justices in any 
 Court of the Province. 
 
 The Court of Nov. 30th, 1681, was 
 held before Wm. Markham, Esqr., 
 " Governor & President," and ten Jus- 
 tices. March 14th, 1681 (2), he was 
 also President. June 13th, 1682, Wil- 
 liam Clayton was so styled. Markham 
 again Sept. 12, 1682. John Simcock, 
 Feb. 14, 1682 (3), and Wm. Penn was 
 "present" at Court, June 27, 1683. 
 Christopher Taylor is spoken of by Dr. 
 Smith as Presiding Justice in 1684. 
 Peter Baynton was President of the 
 Court on June 22, 1693, and George 
 Foreman was present on the Bench 
 as a member of the Council. In the 
 minutes of the Courts the names of the 
 Justices in attendance are given, and 
 the first named is styled President; but 
 even where the same Justices were pre- 
 sent at different times, they were not 
 presided over by the same one. In 
 1684, Taylor, Blunston, Wade and 
 Wood are styled President at different 
 times; in 1685, Blunston, Wood and 
 Simcock; in 1686, Simcock, Bluns- 
 ton and Maris; in 1687, Blunston and 
 Bristow. It is probable that the oldest 
 Justice, by commission, present at any 
 session of the Court, presided ; if more 
 than one, they took turns. In the 
 proceedings of Council. 3 mo. 23, 
 
 1683, attested copies of all laws were 
 directed to be sent to the President 
 or Clerk of each County Court. The 
 Chief Burgess of Chester, for the time 
 being, was always included in each 
 commission or set of Justices, but with- 
 out the name being given. Thomas 
 Cummings was Chief Burgess of Ches- 
 ter in 1 731, and perhaps earlier. He 
 sat at Court, 1732; Thomas Morgan 
 appeared at Court, 1753-4-5-6 ; Sam- 
 uel Howell in 1752; Joseph Hoskins 
 in 1 757-8 ; Jonathan Cowpland, 1 759- 
 61 ; Paul Jackson, 1762, <S:c., no doubt 
 all Chief Burgesses. These Justices 
 were not only Justices of the Courts, 
 but of the Peace also ; and they were 
 gentlemen of larger intelligence, and 
 of more weight and influence in the 
 community, and of more dignity of 
 character, than the majority of men 
 who are now elected Justices of the 
 Peace in the country, and Aldermen 
 in our cities. In fact, they were like 
 the "Squires" of England, where to 
 be included in the Commission of the 
 Peace, is an endorsement to a gentle- 
 man that he is considered one of the 
 leading men in the county. The names 
 of the Justices are as follows : 
 1674. 1681. 
 
 Peter Cock,* William Clayton, 
 
 Peter Rambo, William Warner, 
 
 Israel Helm, Robert Wade, 
 
 Lace Andries, William Byles, 
 
 OeleSwenseii. Robert Lucas, 
 
 1676. Thomas Fairman, 
 
 John Moll, James Sandelands, 
 
 Otto Ernest Cock. Swen Swenson, 
 
 1680. Andreas Bankson. 
 Henry Jones, 1683. 
 
 George Browne, John Simcock, 
 
 Lawrence Cock. Thomas Brasey, 
 
 * The present family of Cox (Cock) liave in 
 their possession a manuscript relating to the 
 early settlement on the Delaware by the Swedes, 
 which dates back to 1657, about 15 years 
 after the landing of Gov. Printz ; also, tax re- 
 ceipts and quit-rent receipts from that date to 
 1 700. Deeds for property on the banks of the 
 Delaware, dated 1672, and a power of attor- 
 ney, granted by Jeuffro Armgard Printz, alias 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 463 
 
 John Bezer, 
 Ralph Withers. 
 
 1684. 
 Christopher Taylor, 
 William Wood, 
 Nicholas Newlin, 
 George Maris, 
 Thomas Usher, 
 Robert Pyle, 
 John Blunston, 
 John Harding. 
 1686. 
 Bartholomew Coppock, 
 Samuel Levis, 
 Francis Harrison. 
 
 1637. 
 John Bristow, 
 Edward Bezer. 
 
 1688. 
 Barth. Coppock, Jr. 
 
 1689. 
 John Bevan, 
 William Howell, 
 Joshua Fearne, 
 James Sandelands. 
 
 1691. 
 William Jenkins. 
 
 1693. 
 George Foreman, 
 Jeremiah CoUett, 
 Thomas Smith, 
 Thomas Withers, 
 
 Peter Baynton, 
 Jonathan Hayes. 
 
 1694. 
 Jasper Yeates. 
 1698. 
 Philip Roman, 
 Caleb Pusey. 
 1700. 
 Ralph Fishbourn. 
 
 1702. 
 Walter Martin. 
 
 1703- 
 John Guest. 
 
 1709. 
 Thomas Powell, 
 Henry Pierce, 
 Nicholas Pyle. 
 
 1712. 
 William Davis. 
 
 1715- 
 Richard Webb, 
 Henry Nayle, 
 Nicholas Fairlamb, 
 John Blunston, Jr., 
 Richard Hayes. 
 
 1717. 
 John Wright, 
 David Harry, 
 Joseph Coebourn, 
 Henry Hayes. 
 1718. 
 Nathaniel Newlin, 
 
 Papagoya, daughter of the Swedish Governor, 
 to Otto Ernest Cock, dated 1675. These 
 ancient manuscripts trace the lineage of the 
 Swedish family of Cock, from the landing of 
 Peter Kock with Printz, one of whose soldiers 
 he was, in 1642, down to the present family 
 of Cox, of whom there is a large number liv- 
 ing in the vicinity of Philadelphia ; the oldest 
 member of the family living, being Justice 
 Cox, of Buckingham, Bucks County, Pa. In 
 the family history, the most remarkable occur- 
 rence, and one which indicates the descent of 
 the family, and its connection with the Swed- 
 ish soldier, is the fact,. that the tract of land, 
 purchased of the Indians by Peter Kock, the 
 first settler, and occupied by him in 1658, 
 when the Swedes surrendered to the Dutch, 
 and which was confirmed to him by Patent, 
 recorded in the Secretary of State's office at 
 Albany, N. Y., 2 vol., 630, c. I, 1669, remains 
 at the present time in the family, and is owned 
 by its head, Justice Cox. The patent says : 
 To Peter Kock, " to confirm to him, a certain 
 island in the Delaware River, now in his oc- 
 cupation, lying in a kill which runs into the 
 Schuylkill, and by tides with the main river, 
 containing, by estimation, 20 morgen or fifty 
 acres of unimproved land, besides broken 
 lands, &c., formerly granted by Gov. Stuyve- 
 sant to the said Peter Cock." This land is 
 no longer an island, but is fast land at the 
 junction of the two rivers, on the southern side 
 of the Schuylkill. 
 
 Andrew Job, 
 Elisha Gatchell, 
 John Cartledge, 
 Francis Worley, 
 James Gibbons. 
 
 1722. 
 James Mitchell, 
 Isaac Taylor. 
 1724. 
 John Wood, 
 Samuel Nutt, 
 John Crosby, 
 Abraham Emmett, Jr., 
 Thomas Reid, 
 George Aston, 
 Tobias Hendricks, 
 Andrew Cornish, 
 Mercer Brown, 
 
 Evan Lewis, 
 
 William Pyle. 
 1729-30. 
 
 James James, 
 
 John Parry, 
 
 Joseph Pennock, 
 
 Samuel Hollingsworth, 
 
 Joseph Brinton. 
 1731- 
 
 John Karnaughan. 
 1733- 
 
 Caleb Cowpland. 
 1737- 
 
 John Evans. 
 1738- 
 
 Joseph Brinton, 
 
 Joseph Haines, 
 
 William Pirn, 
 
 Joseph Bonsall, 
 
 Joseph Parker. 
 1741. 
 
 William Moore, 
 
 William Webb, 
 
 John Mather, 
 
 Ralph Pile, 
 
 John Taylor, 
 
 Job Ruston, 
 
 Charles Grantum. 
 1745- 
 
 Thomas Cummings, 
 
 Col. Andrew McDowell, 
 
 Samuel Flower. 
 
 P.J. 
 
 1749. 
 Thomas Worth, 
 Richard Richison, 
 John Miller, 
 Aaron Ashbridge, 
 William Read, 
 John Scot, 
 Isaac Davis, 
 John Churchman. 
 
 1751- 
 Joshua Pusey, 
 Samuel Lightfoot. 
 
 1752. 
 Edward Brinton, 
 Mordecai Moore, 
 Mordecai James. 
 
 1757- 
 Alexander Johnson, 
 John Morton,! 
 John Culbertson, 
 William Clingan, 
 John Paschal, 
 William Parker, 
 Timothy Kirk. 
 
 1761. 
 John Hannum, 
 John Price, 
 Roger Hunt, 
 John Fairlamb, 
 George Currie, 
 Henry Hale Graham. 
 
 1762. 
 Dr. Paul Jackson. 
 
 1764. 
 William Boyd, 
 Richard Riley, 
 James Hunter, 
 James Evans. 
 1770. 
 Charles Cruikshanks, 
 Richard Baker, 
 James Moore, 
 William SwafFer, 
 Evan Evans, 
 Thomas Hockley, 
 Joseph Pyle, 
 Thomas Temple, 
 Warwick Miller. 
 
 1772. 
 Joshua Cowpland. 
 
 * William Moore, is called President Judge 
 of the Courts of Common Pleas of Chester 
 County, Feb. 5,1758- See Dr. Perry's Papers 
 relating to the History of the Church in Penn- 
 sylvania, pp. 264, 270. 
 
 f Gov. Denny, during his administration, 
 in 1759, issued commissions to Samuel Light- 
 foot, Edward Brinton, Thomas Worth and 
 John Morton, as Judges of the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas of Chester County ; writs of super- 
 sedeas were issued Feb. 23, 1761 ; the Act 
 under which they were appointed having been 
 repealed by the Privy Council, Sept. 2, 1760. 
 
 John Morton and William Parker were com- 
 missioned on Dec. 24, 1770, to hold Courts 
 in Chester, for the tryal of negroes. 
 
464 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 The following Justices were appoint- 
 ed by the Convention for the State of 
 Pennsylvania, by an ordinance, passed 
 Sept. 3, 1776. 
 
 Alexander Johnst 
 John Wilson, 
 William Clingan, 
 William Haslet, 
 Evan Evans, 
 Israel Whelan, 
 
 Richard Kaker, 
 William Denny, 
 John Sellers, 
 Samuel Bond, 
 Nicholas p'airlamh, 
 John Jones, 
 
 Robert Mendenhall. 
 
 The new names mentioned are only 
 given ; re-appointments are not notic- 
 ed. They do not appear, however, 
 to have been commissioned. 
 
 Caleb Davis, in a letter to Council, 
 dated Chester County, May 28, 1779, 
 gives a list of the names of all the per- 
 sons mentioned in the several Com- 
 missions of the Peace issued "since 
 the Revolution. ' ' See 7 Pa. Archives, 
 444. It is as follows: omitting the 
 remarks. 
 
 Isaac Davis, Robert Smith, 
 
 Evan Evans, Philip Scott, 
 
 James Moore, Thomas Taylor, 
 
 Benj. Bartholomew, Thomas Cheyney, 
 
 John Mackey, 'J'homas Levis, 
 
 William Gibbons, Thomas Boyd, 
 
 Joshua Evans, Robert Ralston, 
 
 Isaac Pearson, John Hart, 
 
 Dan. Griffith, Richard Reyley, 
 
 Patterson Bell, William Evans, 
 
 John Hannum, William Clingan. 
 
 After the formation of the Common- 
 wealth, the Justices of the Peace and 
 of the Courts, were made elective (by 
 the freeholders) for a term of seven 
 years ; and the Supreme Executive 
 Council gave notice by an advertise- 
 ment, dated July 5, 1777, of an Act 
 and supplement thereto, in reference 
 to the election of Justices, and direct- 
 ed elections to be held in all places 
 where it had been neglected on ac- 
 count of the disturbed state of the 
 country. On July 25, 1777, (11 Col. 
 lice, 251,) the Council commissioned 
 Thomas Levis, Thomas Boyd, Robert 
 Ralston, John Hart, and Richard Rei- 
 ley. Justices of the Peace and of the 
 
 Courts of Chester County; they hav- 
 ing been returned as elected. These 
 gentlemen are, I imagine, the Justices 
 mentioned as holding the Courts dur- 
 ing the Revolution. On Nov. 18, 1780, 
 the Supreme Executive Council, in ac- 
 cordance with the requirements of an 
 Act of Assembly of the State, authoriz- 
 ing it to appoint one of the Justices of 
 each county to preside in the respec- 
 tive Courts of Common Pleas, Quarter 
 Sessions and Orphans' Courts, ap- 
 pointed William Clingan, Esq., Pre- 
 sident Judge of Chester County. The 
 Seat of Justice was removed to West 
 Chester, and the first Court was held 
 there, Nov. 28, 1786, by William Clin- 
 gan, President Judge, and the following 
 Justices and Associates : William Has- 
 let, John Bartholomew, Philip Scott, 
 Isaac Taylor, John Ralston, Joseph 
 Luckey, Thomas Cheyney, Thomas 
 Levis and Richard Hill Morris. The 
 following is a list of the Justices until 
 the division of the County in 1789, 
 with the year of election and commis- 
 sion of each : 
 
 Thomas Taylor, 
 Thos. Cheyney, 
 Wm. Clingan. 
 1780. 
 William Clingan, P. J. 
 David McKinney, 
 John Pearson, 
 Isaac Pearson, 
 Benj. Bartholomew, 
 Joshua Evans, 
 Daniel Griffiths, 
 Patterson Bell, 
 Robert Smith, 
 
 1777. 
 
 Thomas Levis, 
 
 Thomas Boyd, 
 
 Robert Ralston, 
 
 John Hart, 
 
 Richard Reiley, 
 
 Caleb Davis, 
 
 John Mackey, 
 
 William Gibbons. 
 1778. 
 
 William Evans, 
 1779. 
 
 David Cowpland, 
 
 Chief Burgess of Chester. Phillip Scott. 
 
 Isaac Davis, 1781. 
 
 James Moore, William Heslit. 
 
 Alexander Johnston, 1782. 
 
 David Mackey, Capt. Joseph Luckey, 
 
 John Hannum, Major Isaac Taylor, 
 
 "William Clingan, Esq., was a Justice of 
 the Peace from 1757 to 1786, and for the last 
 six years of that ])eriod, was President Judge 
 of the Courts of Chester County. From 1777 
 to 1779, he was a member of the Continental 
 Congress. He left no descendants. See y. 
 Smith FittJuy s History of the Upper Octorara 
 Church. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 465 
 
 John Beaton. Persifer Frazer, 
 
 1783. John Culbertson, 
 John Bartholomew. John Worth, 
 
 1784. Adam Grubb, 
 George Pierce, Richard Hill iSIorris. 
 Thomas Levis, 1788. 
 
 John Ralston. Charles Dilworth. 
 
 1786 1729- 
 
 William Clingan, P. J., Walter Finney. 
 
 In tlic Bulletin of the Histoiical 
 Society of Femisylvania, i vol., 32, in 
 an account of the battle of Brandywine, 
 Thomas Cheyney is- mentioned as a 
 Justice of the Peace, before, during, 
 and after the Revolution, and as a 
 staunch patriot. Walter Finney, elect- 
 ed in 1789, was a Captain in the 3d 
 Regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry. 
 1 3 Colonial Rec. , 717. 
 
 On Sept. 26, 1789, an Act of As- 
 sembly was passed, dividing Chester 
 County, and forming Delaware County 
 out of that portion on the banks of the 
 river Delaware, with the town of Ches- 
 ter as the Seat of Justice ; and in that 
 year the following persons were ap- 
 pointed by the President and Supreme 
 Executive Council of Pennsylvania, 
 Justices of the Peace and of the Courts 
 of the new County, under the opinion 
 of William Bradford, Jr., Esq., of Oct. 
 9, 1789, (16 C. R., 187,) that the 
 former Justices in that part of the old 
 County of Chester, which, by the di- 
 vision, became Delaware County, re- 
 tained their offices of Justices of the 
 Peace for the districts in which they 
 were elected, but could not sit as 
 Justices of the Courts without being 
 appointed and commissioned by the 
 Council. In accordance therewith, 
 the President and Council, made the 
 following appointments : (It will be 
 observed, that previous to the above 
 date the Council had already, Sept. 
 28, 1789, appointed William Richard- 
 son Atlee, Esq., Clerk of the Courts 
 of Delaware County, and a Justice 
 
 also. 16 C. R., 172. Atlee married 
 Miss Wayne, and settled at Chester. ) 
 
 Henry Hale Graham, President, Nov. 7, 1789 
 
 Wm. Richardson Atlee, Justice, . Sept. 28, " 
 
 John Pearson, Esq., " . . Oct. 12, " 
 
 Thomas Levis, " . . " " " 
 
 Richard Hill Morris, " . . " " " 
 
 George Peirce, " . . " " " 
 
 Adam Grubb, (resigned) " . . Nov. 28, " 
 
 Elisha Price, " . . Mar. 16, 1790 
 
 Joel Willis, vice Grubb resigned, . July 15, " 
 
 On Nov. 10, 1789, the Council dis- 
 covered that the appointment of Henry 
 Hale Graham was void, as he was not 
 a Justice of the Peace when he was 
 commissioned. So his appointment 
 and commission were revoked, and 
 he was re-appointed and commissioned 
 "Justice of the Court of Common 
 Pleas and President of said Court." 
 Mr. Graham died Jan. 23, 1790, be- 
 fore taking his seat on the Bench. 
 
 On Sept. 2, 1790, a new Constitu- 
 tion for the Commonwealth of Penn- 
 sylvania was adopted, and from its 
 provisions, Justices of the Peace ceas- 
 ed to be Judges of the Courts ; (they 
 sat for the last time at West Chester, 
 in August term, 1790 ;) and the Courts 
 were re-organized by dividing the State 
 into Circuits or Districts, including not 
 less than three, nor more than six 
 counties, with a President Judge learn- 
 ed in the law, appointed by the Gov- 
 ernor, and Associate Judges laymen, 
 for each county, not fewer than three, 
 or more than four. From the above 
 it will be seen, that until the adop- 
 tion of the Constitution of 1790, the 
 Courts of Chester County had been 
 held from 1674, seven years before the 
 acquisition of the Province by Penn, 
 a period of 1 1 6 years and over, by Jus- 
 tices of the Peace. 
 
 In the division of the Common- 
 wealth into districts in accordance 
 with the new Constitution ; the first 
 I district was composed of the counties 
 
460 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 of IMiiladclphia, Jkicks, Montgomery, 
 and Delaware, so that the President 
 Judges of the Common Pleas and Quar- 
 ter Sessions of Philadelphia, presided 
 in Delaware County Courts until the 
 Act of Feb. 24, 1806, placed Delaware 
 in the seventh district, with Chester 
 and Montgomery Counties. In 1821, 
 Chester and Delaware were formed 
 into the fifteenth judicial district, with 
 a President Judge, learned in the law, 
 and two Associates, laymen, irrever- 
 ently called "Flower-pot Judges." 
 In 1 85 1, the offices became elective. 
 
 By the passage of the Act of Assem- 
 bly of April 9, 1874, passed in accord- 
 ance with the requirements of the new 
 Constitution of 1872-73, the county of 
 Delaware became the thirty-second Ju- 
 dicial District. The Judges of the 
 Courts of Delaware County since its 
 formation, have been, 
 
 Henry Hale Graham, appointed 
 
 Nov. 7 
 
 1789 
 
 John Venrson, ad 2n(e>!)», 
 
 
 1790 
 
 James Biddle, appointed by Constitution 
 
 of 
 
 1790 
 
 John D. Coxe, appointed . 
 
 April 6 
 
 1797 
 
 William Tilghman, appointed . 
 
 July 31 
 
 1805 
 
 Bird Wilson, 
 
 April, 
 
 1806 
 
 John Ross, 
 
 Feb'y 
 
 1818 
 
 Isaac Darlington, " 
 
 May, 
 
 1821 
 
 Thomas S. Bell, 
 
 " 
 
 1839 
 
 John M. Foster, " 
 
 Dec. 
 
 1846 
 
 James Nill, 
 
 Mar. 
 
 1847 
 
 Henry Chapman, " 
 
 
 1848 
 
 Townsend Haines, elected, 
 
 Oct., 
 
 1851 
 
 William Butler, 
 
 " 
 
 1861 
 
 John M. Broomall, appointed . 
 
 April, 
 
 1874 
 
 Thomas J. CKiyton, elected 
 
 Nov. 2 
 
 ,1874 
 
 Associate Judges. 
 
 
 
 Thomas Lewis and George Pearce, . 
 
 
 1790 
 
 Elisha Price and Joseph Hibberd, . 
 
 
 1791 
 
 Hugh Lloyd, Mark Willcox, Richard Ril 
 
 ;yand 
 
 
 John Pearce, 
 
 
 1792 
 
 John Crosby and Hvigh Lloyd, 
 
 
 1799 
 
 Hugh Lloyd and Mark Willcox, . 
 
 
 1821 
 
 Hugh Lloyd and John Pearce, 
 
 
 1824 
 
 John Pearce and William Anderson, 
 
 
 1826 
 
 John Pearce and Joseph Engle, 
 
 
 1827 
 
 Joseph Engle and Henry Myers, 
 
 
 1834 
 
 Joseph Engle and Dr. George Smith, 
 
 
 1837 
 
 Joseph Engle and George G. Leiper, 
 
 
 1842 
 
 Sketchley Morton and James Andrews, 
 
 
 1852 
 
 Frederick J. Hinkson and James Andrews, 
 
 1857 
 
 Charles Williamson and James Andrews, 
 
 1 861 
 
 James Andrews and Dr. George Smith, 
 
 
 1862 
 
 Bartine Smith and Thomas Recce, . 
 
 
 1867 
 
 In January, 1877, the commissions 
 of these Associate Lay Judges expired, 
 in accordance with the provisions of 
 the Constitution of 1873. 
 
 The following Biographical Sketches 
 are taken from the Historical Collec- 
 tions of Chester County, in which I have 
 made some alterations and additions: 
 
 By an Act of Asseml^ly, passed Feb. 24, 
 1806, the State was re-districted. Philadel- 
 phia was con.stituted the ist district, and the 
 counties of Chester, Delaware, Montgomery 
 and Bucks, the 7th district. Soon after the 
 passage of this act, Bird Wilson was appointed 
 by Gov. McKean, President Judge of the /'th 
 district, and presided until February, 1817, 
 when he laid aside the ermine, and became a 
 clergyman of the Episcopal Church. Judge 
 Wilson was a man of talent, learning and re- 
 markable mildness of manner and amiability 
 of character, united with inflexible firmness 
 and decision. He was distinguished for the 
 soundness of his decisions, and it is said that 
 only one was ever reversed in the Supreme 
 Court. He was held in high respect and es- 
 teem for his virtues as a man, and his integrity, 
 uprightness and ability as a presiding officer 
 in the Judiciary. In 1813, he edited an edi- 
 tion of Bacon's Abridgment of the Laws, a 
 standard English work ; M'hen he presided 
 over the Courts of the 7th district, he resided 
 at Norristown. After he left the bench, he 
 was the pastor of the Episcopal Church at 
 Norristown, until i82i,when he was appoint- 
 ed a professor in the Theological Seminary of 
 the Episcopal Church in the city of New York. 
 In that position he continued until June 24, 
 1850, a period of 29 years, when he resigned. 
 As a token of respect the Seminary appointed 
 him Evierittis Professor in his department. 
 He died in New York, April 14, 1857, aged 
 82 years. 
 
 John Ross, was appointed by Gov. Findley 
 in 1818. He presided over the Courts of the 
 four counties — Chester, Delaware, Montgo- 
 mery and Bucks — composing the 7th district, 
 from February, 181 8, to May, 1821. The 
 district was then divided, and a new district 
 formed — called the 15th Judicial District — 
 composed of the counties of Chester and Dela- 
 ware. Judge Ross remained the President 
 Judge (if the 7th district, composed after the 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 467 
 
 ilivi.sioii ol' the cuLintics of Bucks and Mont- 
 i,fomery. He resided, while presiding over 
 the Courts of Chester County, at Doylestown, 
 Bucks County. 
 
 Isaac Darlington, was appointed l>y Gov. 
 Heister, President Judge of the new judicial 
 district, composed of Chester and Delaware 
 Counties, on the 22d of May, 1 82 1, and held 
 the office until his death, on the 27th of April, 
 
 1839- 
 
 Judge Darlington was a man of remarkably 
 strong intellect, and of excellent attainments 
 in the law. He was eminently prompt and 
 sagacious in perceiving the strong points of the 
 causes before him, and his adjudications were 
 ever highly respected by the supreme tribunal 
 of the State. By the people, his opinions 
 were treated with profound respect, and so 
 implicit was their confidence in his judgment, 
 that it was enough that Judge Darlington de- 
 cided a matter; they never dissented from, or 
 doubted the correctness of the decision. 
 
 On the death of Judge Darlington, Gov. Por- 
 ter appointed Thomas S. Bell his successor. He 
 was commissioned May 16, 1839, and presided 
 over the Courts of the district from that time 
 until his appointment by Gov. Shunk to a seat 
 on the bench of the Supreme Court, the i8th 
 of November, 1846. 
 
 In his intercourse with the Bench and the 
 Bar, Judge Bell was uniformly courteous and 
 honorable. To the younger members of the 
 Bar he always evinced great kindness. He 
 had a mind remarkably quick of comprehen- 
 sion, mastering his subject almost by intuition, 
 and there were few men more ready in debate. 
 He was a very fluent speaker, and a clear and 
 forcible writer, and as a Judge, gave great 
 satisfaction to the Bar and the people of the 
 district. He died June 6, i86i,in the 6ist 
 year of his age. 
 
 The vacancy created by the translation of 
 Judge Bell to the bench of the Supreme Court, 
 was filled by Gov. Shunk, by the appointment 
 of John M. Forster, of Harrisburg. Judge 
 Forster presided from December, 1846, until 
 March 1847 — about three months, — when his 
 nomination was rejected by the Senate. He 
 was a very courteous gentleman, but did not 
 seem suited to the wants of so important a 
 district. When his nomination was first made 
 to the Senate, it was confirmed, but afterwards 
 re-considered and rejected. 
 
 On the i-ejection of Judge Forster, James 
 
 Nill, of Chambcrshurg, was appointed and 
 presided over the Courts from March 23, 1847, 
 until March, 1848, when his nomination was 
 also rejected by the Senate. 
 
 Judge Nill possessed a fair knowledge of the 
 law, and was especially well read in Penn.syl- 
 vania decisions, and much interest and a good 
 deal of feeling were excited when his nomi- 
 nation was before the Senate. The Bar was 
 divided, — some maintaining that he was not 
 suited in all respects to fill the position satis- 
 factorily, and that a more acceptable nomination 
 should be made; and others, that he would in 
 time make a good Judge, and that those who 
 were against his confirmation were captious 
 and hard to please. Those opposed to him, 
 however, succeeded in procuring his rejection 
 by a tie vote in the Senate. 
 
 Gov. Shunk then, at the solicitation of mem- 
 bers of the Bar of the 15th district, appointed 
 his son-in-law Henry Chapman, of Doyles- 
 town, Presiding Judge, on March 18, 1848, 
 and he was forthwith unanimously confirmed 
 by the Senate. Judge Chapman presided 
 over the Courts of the district, with great ac- 
 ceptance and to the entire satisfaction of the 
 Bar and the people, until the expiration of his 
 term of office under the provisions of the 
 Amendment to the Constitution, which made 
 the office elective. His Presidency extended 
 from March 1 8, 1 848, to December, 1 85 1 . He 
 was solicited by members of both jDolitical 
 parties to become a candidate for the office 
 under the elective system, with the assurance 
 that it was not likely any candidate would be 
 placed in the field against him, but he de- 
 clined, — it not being convenient for him to 
 reside in the district, agreeably to the require- 
 ments of the amended Constitution. 
 
 Townsend Flaines, was elected President 
 Judge at the genei-al election in October, 1851 
 — the opposing candidate being Hon. Thomas 
 
 5. Bell — commissioned by Gov. Johnson, Nov. 
 
 6, 1851, and presided during the constitutional 
 term of ten years, from the first Monday of 
 December, 185 1, to the first Monday of De- 
 cember, 1861. Judge Haines was a man of 
 conceded strong intellect, an excellent writer, 
 a poet of no mean pretensions, an able and 
 eloquent speaker, courteous in manners and 
 popular with the people. 
 
 He was succeeded by William Butler, the 
 present incumbent, who was elected at the 
 general election, Oct. 8, 1861, — the opposing 
 
408 
 
 J STORY OF ClIESTKH. 
 
 candidato being Josej)!! Ilciniihill. Judge 
 Butler was commissioned by Gov. Curtin, 
 Nov. 20, 1861, entered upon his duties Dec. 
 2, 1861, and was re-elected in October, 1871, 
 and has continued to preside to the present 
 time, to the entire satisfaction of the Bar, and 
 of the peojiie of the district. 
 
 Judge liutler is tlic thirteenth Judge who ha^ 
 presided over the Courts of Chester County, 
 but four of whom have resided within its bor- 
 ders, viz.. Judges Darlington, Hell, Haines and 
 r.utler. 
 
 By the new Constitution, tlie term 
 of Judge Butler expired on the first 
 Monday in December, 1874, as re- 
 gards Delaware County, which became 
 the 3d Judicial District. Gov. Hart- 
 ranft nominated the Hon. John M. 
 Broomall, for the Presiding Judge, 
 and he was duly confirmed. 
 
 John M. Broomall, the fourteenth 
 Presiding Judge of the Courts of Dela- 
 ware County, is a native of the county, 
 having been born in Upper Chichester, 
 and is the son of John and Sarah (Mar- 
 tinj Broomall. His ancestors were 
 English Quakers, and he was educated 
 in the Friends' schools, studied law 
 with Judge Bouvier, of Philadelphia, 
 and was admitted to the Bar of Dela- 
 ware County, Aug. 24, 1840. He was 
 elected a Representative to the Assem- 
 bly, 1851, '52; a Representative in 
 Congress, from 1862 to 1868. In 
 1872, he was elected a member of the 
 Constitutional Convention, and under 
 the Constitution then adopted, ap- 
 pointed Presiding Judge of the 3 2d 
 Judicial District by the Governor, 
 being a Republican in politics. He 
 married in 1841, Elizabeth Booth, 
 daughter of Joseph and Martha, who 
 died 1848, leaving two children, one 
 a son, William D., a lawyer, practicing 
 in Chester, and a daughter, who gradu- 
 ated at "The Women's Medical Col- 
 lege." in I'hihvdL-lpliia. and now ])nr- 
 
 suing her studies in A'ienna. In 1853, 
 he married Caroline, daughter of John 
 Jr., and Charlotte Larkin, of Chester, 
 Pa. Judge Broomall, is a gentleman 
 of large wealth, and an accomplished 
 lawyer. He was a candidate for re- 
 election in the fall of 1874, but was 
 defeated by the Independent Republi- 
 can candidate, who was supported by 
 
 I the Democratic party. 
 
 1 Thomas J. Clayton, the successor 
 of Judge Broomall, is also a native of 
 Delaware County, born in Bethel, Jan. 
 20, 1826, son of John, deceased; and 
 entered upon the duties of his posi- 
 tion, Jan. 4, 1875. J'-idge Clayton, 
 was admitted to the Bar of his na- 
 tive county, Nov. 24, 1851, but Avon 
 his legal laurels at the Philadelphia 
 Bar, where he practiced from 1852 
 until his advancement to the Bench, 
 with great success, being distinguished 
 for his forensic abilities, which were 
 all-powerful with Juries. His resi- 
 dence is beautifully located on the 
 ridge in South Chester, command- 
 ing an extensive view of the river 
 Delaware and adjoining country. The 
 Clayton's were among the earliest set- 
 tlers at Marcus Hook, and William 
 Clayton, the ancestor, was an exten- 
 sive land-holder in the vicinity, under 
 Penn. 
 
 Judge Clayton is the eldest of four 
 brothers, one of whom, Powell Clay- 
 ton, served in the Federal Cavalry, in 
 the War of 186 1-5, and rose to the 
 rank of Brigadier General ; after the 
 War, he was elected Governor of Ar- 
 kansas, and in 1871, U. S. Senator from 
 that State. William Clayton was Judge 
 of the 9th District of Arkansas, but 
 resigned to accept the position of U. 
 S. Attorney for that State. He is now 
 an extensive Cotton Planter, cultivat- 
 ing 5000 acres of land. 
 
IIISTOKY OF CHESTER. 
 
 409 
 
 Hugh Lloyd, one of the Associate 
 Judges of Delaware County, father of 
 the present Hugh P. Lloyd of Darby, 
 who was commissioned by Governor 
 Mifflin, in 1792, held his office for 
 thirty-three years, and then handed in 
 his resignation written in these words : 
 
 " I, the within named Associate Judge of 
 Delaware County, aged 83 years, 10 months 
 and 9 days, by attending every Court for 33 
 years — one Orphans' Court only, excepted — 
 having performed the duties of the within 
 commission to the best of my judgment and 
 al)ility, do by these presents resign and sur- 
 render up my said commission to his Excel- 
 lency, the Governor, with the hope that a suc- 
 cessor may be appointed to the satisfaction of 
 the majority of said county. In testimony 
 whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 31st 
 day of December, A. D., 1825. With senti- 
 ments of regard, &c., Hugh Lloyd." 
 
 During my researches, I have been 
 enabled to make nearly a complete 
 list of the Justices of the Supreme Pro- 
 vincial Court of the Province of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 16S4. 
 
 Dr. Nicholas Moore, C.J. 
 William Welch, 
 William Wood, 
 Rubert Turner, 
 John Eckley. 
 
 1685. 
 James Harrison, C. J., 
 John Claypoole, 
 Arthur Cooke, 
 John Eckley, 
 William Clark.t 
 
 1686. 
 Arthur Cook, C. J., 
 William Clark, 
 John Symcock, 
 John Cann, 
 James Harrison. 
 
 303- 
 
 1690. 
 ■ Arthur Cook, C. J 
 William Clark, 
 Joseph Growden. 
 
 1690. 
 5th 7 mi. I C. R 
 Arthur Cook, 
 John Symcock, 
 Joseph Growden, 
 Peter Alrichs, 
 Thomas Wynn. 
 
 1690. 
 Reorganized. 
 John Symcock, C. J., 
 William Clark, 
 Arthur Cooke, 
 GrifTith Jones, 
 Edward Blake. 
 
 «■ Nicholas Moore, first Chief Justice of 
 Pennsylvania, was a Doctor of Medicine, and 
 is so called in old deeds, so says Wm. J. 
 Buck, although in his History of More/and, 
 p. 189, he gives a sketch of" the Chief Justice, 
 vol. 6, Colh'cfioiis of the Historical Society of 
 J\-niisy/va)iia,M\d calls him an Attorney; he 
 has since discovered that he was in error. 
 
 f Wm. Clark, in 1684, had a commission as 
 (ieneral Justice, i F. R., 60; sat in the .Su- 
 preme Provincial Court, in 1685, i /'./'., 95 ; 
 (}eneral Justice till 1702, i P. A', 120, 142. 
 
 1718. 
 David Lloyd, C. J.,"— ^ 
 William Trent, 
 Richard Hill. 
 
 1722. 
 David Lloyd, C. J., 
 Richard Hill, 
 Robert Asheton. 
 
 1724. 
 David Lloyd, C. J., 
 William Trent, 
 Richard Hill, 
 Robert Asheton. 
 
 1726. 
 David Lloyd, C. J., 
 Richard Hill, 
 Jeremiah Langhorne. 
 
 1731- 
 Isaac Norris, C. J., decV d , 
 James Logan, C. J., 
 Jeremiah Langhorne, 
 Dr. Thomas Graeme. 
 
 1739- 
 Jer. Langhorne, C. J., 
 Dr. Thomas Graeme, 
 Thomas Griffiths. 
 
 1743- 
 John Kinsey, C. J., 
 Dr. Thomas Graeme, 
 William Till. 
 
 1750. 
 William Allen, C. J., 
 Lawrence Growden, 
 Caleb Cowpland, (i^/i?(/i758. 
 
 1758. 
 William Coleman. 
 
 1764. 
 William Allen, C.J. , 
 William Coleman. 
 Alexander Stedman. 
 
 1767. 
 William Allen, C. J., 
 William Coleman, 
 John Lawrence, 
 Thomas Willing. 
 
 1693. 
 Andrew Robson, C. J. 
 William Salway, 
 John Cann, 
 Edward Blake, 
 Anthony Morris.* 
 
 1698. 
 Joseph Growden, 
 Cornelius Empson. 
 
 1699. 
 Edward Shippen, C J., 
 Cornelius Empson, 
 William Biles, 
 John Guest. 
 
 1 701. 
 John Guest, C. J., 
 Joseph Growden, declined, 
 Caleb Pusey, declined, 
 Thomas Masters. 
 
 1702. 
 John Guest, C.J., 
 
 William Clark, 
 
 Capt. Samuel Finney. 
 1703- 
 
 William Clark, C. J., 
 
 John Guest, 
 
 Edward Shippen, 
 
 Thomas Masters, 
 
 Samuel Finney. 
 1705- 
 
 John Guest, C. J., 
 
 Joseph Growden, 
 
 Jasper Yeates, 
 
 Samuel Finney, 
 
 William Trent. 
 17.6. 
 
 Roger Mompesson, C J., 
 
 Joseph Growdon, 
 
 Jasper Yeates, 
 
 Samuel Finney, 
 
 William Trent. 
 1711. 
 
 Roger Mompesson, C. J., 
 
 George Roche, 
 
 Anthony Palmer. 
 1715. 
 
 Joseph Growdon, C. J., 
 
 William Trent, 
 
 Jonathan Dickinson, 
 
 George Roche, resigned, 
 
 Robert Asheton. 
 
 My authority for the above lists are : 
 The Colonial Records ; Votes of As- 
 sembly ; Penn and Logan Correspon- 
 dence ; Mc Call's List, and Westcott's 
 Phi lade If hia. 
 
 Li. 
 
 The following is a list of some old 
 
 lawyers of the Province of Pennsyl- 
 
 * Anthony Morris, appointed in place of 
 Cann, -Vug. m, 1694. 
 
 1774. 
 Benjamin Chew, C. J., 
 John Law-rence, 
 Thomas Willing, 
 John Morton. 
 
470 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 vania, whose names are not in any 
 printed record that I am aware of. 
 The dates are those occurring when 
 I first found the names mentioned : 
 
 Dr. Tliomas Spry, who has the 
 honor of being our oldest lawyer, was 
 compelled by the rule of 1677, for- 
 bidding Attorneys to practice in the 
 Courts, to resort to the practice of 
 medicine, while waiting for brighter 
 days. 
 
 1675. 
 
 1726. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Spry. 
 
 Robert Assheton. 
 
 1677. 
 
 1731- 
 
 John Matthews, 
 
 Samuel Hasel, 
 
 Henry Jones, 
 
 Jer. Langhorne, 
 
 Abraham Man. 
 
 James Logan. 
 
 1683. 
 
 1734- 
 
 John White. 
 
 John Ross. 
 
 1684. 
 
 1735. 
 
 John Moore. 
 
 . Richard Peters, 
 / Thomas Lawrence, 
 
 1685. 
 
 Samuel Hersent, 
 
 Lawyer Riddleson, 
 
 Patrick Robinson. 
 
 John Remington. 
 
 1686. 
 
 1738. 
 
 David Lloyd, 
 
 ^ohn Kinsey. 
 
 Samuel Jennings. 
 
 1746 
 
 1693. 
 
 James Read. 
 
 George Foreman. 
 
 1749- 
 
 1697. 
 
 James Delaplaine. 
 
 Jasper Yeates. 
 
 1750. 
 
 1700. 
 
 Ed. Shippen, Jr., 
 
 William Assheton. 
 
 William Allen. 
 
 John Guest, 
 
 1752. 
 
 Thomas Story. 
 
 James Galloway, 
 
 1705- 
 
 Louis Gordon, 
 
 J. Reignier. 
 
 William Coleman. 
 
 1706. 
 
 1753- 
 
 Charles Pickering, 
 
 George Reed. 
 
 Roger Mompesson, 
 
 1754- 
 
 George Lowthcr, 
 
 Abm. Poole. 
 
 Thomas Clarke. 
 
 1755- 
 
 1708. 
 
 Julm Dickinson. 
 
 Thomas McNeniara 
 
 1763. 
 
 1713- 
 
 Nicholas Wain, 
 
 Charles Brockden. 
 
 Richard Riley. 
 
 1717. 
 
 1767. 
 
 Andrew Hamilton. 
 
 'Ihomas Willing. 
 
 1720. 
 
 1769. 
 
 James Alexander, 
 
 Andrew Allen, 
 
 James Parnell. 
 
 Isaac Hunt. 
 
 1723- 
 
 '785. 
 
 William Assheton. 
 
 Edward Allen, 
 
 1725. 
 
 William Anderson, 
 
 James Graeme. 
 
 John Bartram, 
 
 
 John Barker. 
 
 ■ If 1 understand the minutes of the 
 Upland Record \)Xo^Qx\y , the following 
 persons practiced as Attorneys of that 
 ('ourt, though not learned in theT.aw. 
 
 1677. 
 
 Robberd Hutchinson, 
 Lasse Cock, 
 John Moll, 
 John Shackerly, 
 James Sandilands, 
 Edmund Cantwell. 
 
 1679. 
 Eph. Herman. 
 
 Will W^irner. 
 
 John Champion. 
 
 The following list of Attorneys of 
 Chester County, since 1750, is taken 
 from the records at West Chester. See 
 also, the Historical Collectio?is of Ches- 
 ter County, by J. Smith Futhey, Esq., 
 who was the last Deputy Attorney 
 General, of Chester County, in 1850: 
 
 1752. 
 
 Stephen Watts. 
 
 David Furry. 
 
 1770. 
 
 1753- 
 
 Abel Evans, 
 
 Thomas Otway, 
 
 Thomas Hood, 
 
 John Price, 
 
 James Lukins. 
 
 George Read. 
 
 1 771. 
 
 1754. 
 
 Joseph Read, 
 
 William Morris, 
 
 George Noarth, 
 
 Benjamin Chew. 
 
 Jacob Bankson, 
 
 1755- 
 
 Francis Johnson, 
 
 Samuel Johnson, 
 
 Asheton Humphreys. 
 
 ,Thomas M'Kean, 
 
 1772. 
 
 David Henderson, 
 
 Richard Tilghman, 
 
 WiUiam Whitebread, Jr. 
 
 John Lawrence, 
 
 1756. 
 
 P. Zachery Lloyd. 
 
 George Ross, 
 
 1773- 
 
 John Osmond. 
 
 Christian Hook, 
 
 1760. 
 
 Wm. Lawrence Blair, 
 
 John Morris. 
 
 Phineas Bond, 
 
 1763. 
 
 John Stedman, 
 
 John Mather, Jr., 
 
 John McPherson, 
 
 James Tilghman. 
 
 William Lewis. 
 
 1764. 
 
 1774- 
 
 Hugh Hughes, 
 
 Ed. Tilghman, 
 
 John Currie, 
 
 William Bradford, Jr. 
 
 Elisha Price, 
 
 Gunning Bedford. 
 
 Lindsay Coates. 
 
 I77S. 
 
 1765- 
 
 Andrew Robeson, 
 
 Alex. Porter, 
 
 lohn Vancoast. 
 
 Nich. Vandyke, 
 
 1776. 
 
 Alex'r Wilcocks, 
 
 William Prince Gibbs 
 
 Joshua Yeates, 
 
 Collisou Read. 
 
 Stephen Porter, 
 
 1778. 
 
 Richard Peters, Jr., 
 
 J. Dickinson Sergeant 
 
 James Biddle, 
 
 John Pancoast. 
 
 James Allen, 
 
 1779. 
 
 Henry Elwes, 
 
 Edward Bird, 
 
 James Loyre, 
 
 Henry Osborne, 
 
 James Hunt, 
 
 George Campbell, 
 
 David Thomi)son, 
 
 Jared Ins^ersoU. 
 
 James Vandyke. 
 
 17S0. 
 
 1767. 
 
 Moses Levy. 
 
 William Hicks, 
 
 1 781. 
 
 James Wilson. 
 
 John Co.ve, 
 
 1769. 
 
 Wm. Moore Smith, 
 
 Jacob Rush, 
 
 Nathaniel Potts. 
 
 Miers Fisher, 
 
 1782. 
 
 Daniel Clymer, 
 
 Joseph Reed, 
 
 John Kalcy, 
 
 JohnF.I\Iifnin, 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 471 
 
 John Viiiing. 
 
 John Craig Wells, 
 
 1783. 
 
 John Cadwalader, 
 
 J. Wilks Kittera, 
 
 John Moore. 
 
 Hem-y Hale Graham, 
 
 1790. 
 
 William Rawle. 
 
 Thomas B. Dick, 
 
 1784. 
 
 Abm. Chapman, 
 
 William Ewing. 
 
 John Thompson, 
 
 1785. 
 
 Marks John Biddle, 
 
 Jacob R. Howell, 
 
 Isaac Telfair. 
 
 John Ross, 
 
 1791. 
 
 John A. Hanna, 
 
 Ro. Henry Dunkin, 
 
 Joseph B. McKean, 
 
 Seth Chapman. 
 
 John Todd. 
 
 1792. 
 
 17S6. 
 
 Miles Merwin, 
 
 Robert Hudson, 
 
 Robert Frazer, 
 
 Charles Smith, 
 
 John Price. 
 
 John Young, 
 
 1793- 
 
 Ben. Chew, Jr., 
 
 Tho. W. Tallman, 
 
 Ben. R. Morgan, Jr., 
 
 John H. Brintoii, 
 
 Richard Wharton, 
 
 Evan Rice Evans, 
 
 Thomas Memminger. 
 
 Joseph Hemphill, 
 
 1787. 
 
 Michael Keppele, 
 
 David Smith, 
 
 John Shippen, 
 
 James Wade, 
 
 Hen. K. Kilmuth, 
 
 John Joseph Henry, 
 
 Alex. W. Foster. 
 
 William Atlee, 
 
 1794- 
 
 William Montgomery, 
 
 Jacob Richards, 
 
 Sampson Levy, 
 
 Joseph Hopkinson, 
 
 James Hopkins, 
 
 Wm, Martin, M. D. 
 
 Samuel Roberts, 
 
 1795- 
 
 Matthew Baldwin, 
 
 Jona. Harvey Hurst, 
 
 James A. Bayard. 
 
 James Hunter, Jr., ">>- 
 
 1788. 
 
 James Milner, 
 
 Thomas Armstrong, 
 
 James Latimer, 
 
 Peter S. Du Ponceau, 
 
 John Cloyd, 
 
 Jasper Yeates, 
 
 Joseph Reid, 
 
 Peter Hoofnagle, 
 
 Isaac Wayne.; 
 
 Joseph Hubley, 
 
 1797. 
 
 William Graham. 
 
 Wash. Lee Hannum. 
 
 1789. 
 
 1798. 
 
 John Hallowell, 
 
 Charles Chauncey, Jr., 
 
 Joseph Thomas, 
 
 1799- 
 
 Robert Porter, 
 
 Jona. T. Haight, 
 
 Charles Heatley, 
 
 John Taylor, 
 
 Anthony Morris, 
 
 Wm. Hemphill. 
 
 J. vSmith Futhey, Esq., of the Ches- 
 ter County Bar, writes to me, that the 
 above list embraces all the members 
 of the Chester County Bar from 1750 
 to 1800 ; that many of them were re- 
 presentatives of Philadelphia and other 
 counties, and only practiced occasion- 
 ally in Chester County. In 'the last 
 century, a great deal of the law busi- 
 ness of the county was transacted by 
 Philadelphia lawyers. After the De- 
 claration of Independence, all Attor- 
 neys who desired to continue in prac- 
 tice, were required to take the "Test 
 Oath," to support the Colonics in their 
 
 struggle for national existence. I 
 omit the names of those repeated in 
 Mr. Futhey's list, as it proves nothing ; 
 for the "Black List" gives the names 
 of traitors. The list embraces the 
 names of many who rose to distinc- 
 tion, but I will only mention Chester 
 County men, or those connected with 
 its affairs, making one exception in 
 favor of Joseph Hopkinson, Esq., born 
 Nov. 12, 1770, the author of Hail 
 Columbia ! Thomas McKean was a 
 n ative of the cou irty, one of the sign- 
 ers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, Chief Justice of the Supreme 
 Court, and finally, Governor of the 
 State. His son, Joseph B. McKean, 
 succeeded Jared Ingersoll as Attorney 
 General, and was afterwards President 
 Judge of the District Court of Phila- 
 delphia. James Wilson was a great 
 lawyer and a great orator ; he became 
 a Ju.stice of the Supreme Court of the 
 United States ; was the father of Bird 
 Wilson, and one of the Presiding 
 Judges of the county Courts. Jasper 
 Yeates became one of the Associate 
 Justices of the Supreme Court of the 
 State. Joseph Hemphill was born in 
 Thornbury, He was the first President 
 Judge of the District Court of Phila- 
 delphia, appointed in 181 1 ; resigned 
 in 181 8. John Joseph Henry, Esq., 
 was President Judge of the Courts of 
 Chester County, from Feb., 1794, to 
 May, 1800, after the formation of 
 Delaware County. 
 
 In the Historical Collections of Clies- 
 tcr County, Mr. Futhey says : 
 
 " Trom the estalilishmcnt of the Colonial 
 Coveinment, in 1683, to the year 1793, a period 
 of 1 10 years, the criminal business of Chester 
 County was conducted on the part of the pro- 
 secutions by the Attorney General in person ; 
 in the latter year the first Deputy Attorney 
 General was appointed, and from thence to 
 the year 1S50, the pleas of the Commonwealth 
 
172 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 were proscciUed by Deputies appointed hy 
 ihc AtlDiiiey General, with the exception of a 
 brief period which will be noticed hereafter. 
 In 1850, an Act of Assembly was passed creat- 
 ing the office of District Attorney, and since 
 then, officers elected in pursuance of this Act, 
 have conducted the prosecutions. The Attor- 
 neys General of the Province who conducted 
 the criminal business of Chester Co.-, were : 
 
 John White, appointed, 
 
 Oct 25, 
 
 1683 
 
 Samuel Hersent, " 
 
 Jan. 16, 
 
 1686 
 
 D.-ivid Lloyd, 
 
 April 24, 
 
 1686 
 
 John Moore, 
 
 May 19, 
 
 1698 
 
 William Assheton, " 
 
 
 1700 
 
 Par. Parmyter, " 
 
 — , 
 
 1 701 
 
 (jcorge Lowther, " 
 
 . April 5, 
 
 1705 
 
 Thomas Clarke, " 
 
 June 24, 
 
 1708 
 
 .Andrew Hamilton, " 
 
 Sept. 7, 
 
 1717 
 
 los. Growdcn, Jr., " 
 
 June s, 
 
 1725 
 
 John Kinsey, 
 
 • July 6, 
 
 1738 
 
 Tench Francis, " 
 
 
 1741 
 
 ISenjamin Chew, " 
 
 . Jan. 14, 
 
 1755 
 
 Andrew Allen. 
 
 Nov. 4, 
 
 1769 
 
 I have added to Mr. Futhey's list 
 the names of John Moore, Par. Par- 
 myter, Wm. Assheton and Thomas 
 Clarke, whom he overlooked. Of the 
 latter, Dr. Smith says, \). 217: "At 
 the May term, (1709,) Thomas Clark 
 appeared in open Court and was quali- 
 fied Attorney General for the County 
 of Chester, according to law. This is 
 the first ai)pearance of such an officer, 
 though, occasionally, an Attorney 
 has represented the Crown in a par- 
 ticular case." The Doctor was mis- 
 taken, of course ; the above list dis- 
 clcses the fact that there were prose- 
 cuting officers in the Crown for over 
 ^4 years before Clarke's appointment 
 as Attorney General. There may 
 have been a little delay in the full or- 
 ganization of the Courts after Penn 
 took possession, but evidently the 
 I'vUglish system was in full operation 
 at the time of Hersent's appointment, 
 which was, 1 have no doubt, the first 
 regular one, but Jolin White was ap- 
 pointed by the Council to prosecute' 
 offenders, again and again, in the 
 different ( ourts. u]) to 1685. 
 
 Mr. Futhey says : 
 
 "Andrew Hamilton, liie fifth (9th ) .Vttor- 
 ney General, appointed in 1717, was one of 
 the most extraordinary men who lived during 
 the early Provincial History of Pennsylvania. 
 He was probably the greatest lawyer of his 
 time in this country, and a man of irrepressi- 
 ble energy of character. Besides being At- 
 torney General, he became President of the 
 Executive Council, vSpeaker of the House of 
 Assembly, and filled several other stations 
 with integrity and ability. ' Bush Hill,' where 
 he resided, he received with other lands, for 
 his services to the Penn family. His son, 
 James Hamilton, was repeatedly Governor of 
 Pennsylvania, between the years 1748 and 
 1771. 
 
 Joseph Growden, Jr., Attorney General 
 from 1725 to 1738, was a Judge of the Su- 
 preme Court from 1 705 to 17 15, and Chief 
 Justice from 17 15 to 17 18, and was a man of 
 some legal and literary distinction. He in- 
 volved himself in a conflict with the Provin- 
 cial government, by publishing comments on 
 the character of William Penn. The Grow- 
 den's came to the Province at a very early 
 date, and for nearly a century, seem to have 
 been connected in different ways with its 
 Courts and Bar. William Rawle, is said to 
 have been a descendant." 
 
 I feel almost positively certain that 
 Mr. Futhey has confounded the father 
 with the son in the above sketch. 
 The Joseph Growden, who was Speaker 
 of the Assembly in 1700, see i J^ro- 
 vincial Records, 602, and Judge of 
 the Supreme Provincial Court in 1698, 
 (he sat at Chester 8 mo. 3, 1698,) 
 was evidently the elder Growden, who 
 for several years had been in the Coun- 
 cil from Bucks ; no doubt he was after- 
 wards the Chief Justice, and his son 
 Joseph, who was called Junior, to dis- 
 tinguish him from his father, was tlic 
 Attorney General. Wescotf, in Jiis 
 Philadelphia, says, the Chief Justice 
 died in 1736. Lawrence Growden, 
 was an Associate Judge of the Supreme 
 Conrl in 1750; whether lie was a son 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 478 
 
 or brother of the Attorney General, 
 I do not know ; most Hkely a brother, 
 for it is only men of matnre age that 
 reach that position. 
 
 "John Kinsey was Attorney General from 
 1738 to 1 74 1, became Chief Justice in 1743, 
 prior to \\hich, he had been in extensive prac- 
 tice. He was undoubtedly an educated law- 
 yer, as well as a man of fine natural parts. 
 
 'I'ench Francis, Attorney Ciencral, from 
 1741 lo 1755; ^\■as one of the most eminent 
 lawyers of the Province. He was a relative 
 of Sir Philip Francis, one of the reputed au- 
 thors of the celebrated letters of Junius, and 
 was the maternal grandfather of Chief Justice 
 William Tilghman. 
 
 Benjamin Chew, the ninth (13th) Attor- 
 ney General, received his professional educa- 
 tion at the Temple, in London. He was At- 
 torney General from 1755 to 1769, and was 
 President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas 
 of Philadelphia. In 1774, he was appointed 
 Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, but being op- 
 posed to the Revolution, he retired from the 
 Bench, in 1776, the last Chief Justice of the 
 Crown. In 1 79 1 he became President Judge 
 of the High Court of Errors and Appeals of 
 Pennsylvania, and continued in that relation 
 until the abolition of that Court in 1806. He 
 was for a long time at the head of his profes- 
 sion, and died in 1810, at the age of 87 years." 
 
 I do not think, nor can I find, that 
 Benjamin Chew was ever President 
 Judge of the Common Pleas, so called. 
 He was Recorder of Philadelphia from 
 1755 to 1774, and in that capacity 
 was Presiding Judge of the City Court 
 which was established by the City 
 Charter granted by William Pcnn, 
 in 1 701. The County Court having 
 all the power of our Common Pleas, 
 Quarter Sessions and Orphans' Courts, 
 was established by the Royal Charter 
 to Pennsylvania. The first President 
 Judge of that Court that I have been 
 able to find, was Alexander Stedman, 
 who occupied that position on June 
 2, 1759, and there is no record of 
 any change until Nov. 18, 1780. when 
 
 Plunkett Fleeson was appointed under 
 the act of 1780, Presiding Judge. It 
 is hardly probable, therefore, that Ben- 
 jamin Chew was ever President of the 
 County Court of Common Pleas of 
 Philadelphia. David Paul Brown, in 
 his Forum, 2 vol., p. 69, says : "Ben- 
 jamin Chew was admitted to the Bar 
 in 1746; was appointed President of 
 the Court of Common Pleas, and was 
 succeeded by John Coxe ; Mr. Coxe 
 was admitted in 1 780. ' ' He does not 
 appear even to have known that Judge 
 Coxe's name was John D. Coxe. He 
 was the President Judge of the Com- 
 mon Pleas, and succeeded James Bid- 
 die in 1797, and was succeeded by 
 William Tilghman, in 1805, and not 
 by Jacob Rush as he has it ; so Mr. 
 Brown is no authority. 
 
 " Andrew Allen was the last Attorney-Gene- 
 ral under the King. He was also a member 
 of Congress, and of the Committee of Safety. 
 On the breaking out of the Revolution, to 
 which he was opposed, he put himself under 
 the protection of General Howe at Trenton. 
 He was faithful to his Master, and his estate 
 was confiscated by the new government to 
 whose sovereignty he refused to submit. He 
 went to England where he died in 1825, at the 
 age of 80 years. He is said to have been a 
 very accomplished man. He was a grand-son 
 of Andrew Hamilton, already noticed. 
 
 In 1777, the bills of indictment on file in the 
 clerk's office (of Chester County) are signed 
 by John Morris, Jr., as the Attorney for the 
 Commonwealth, from 1778 to 1793. The At- 
 torneys-General, who signed the bills, were, 
 Jonathan Dickinson, Sergeant, from 1778 to 
 1 780, William Bradford, Jr., from 1 780 lo 1 79 1 , 
 and Jared Ingersoll, from August 1791 to Feb- 
 ruary 1793. At May sessions 1793, the first 
 Deputy Attorney-General officiated in our 
 courts." 
 
 Among the Deputy Attorneys for 
 prosecuting the Pleas of the Common- 
 wealth, previous to the removal of the 
 Courts from Chester, were Samuel Ed- 
 wards, Archibald T. Dick. Edward 
 
474 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Darlington, John K. Zcilin and Robert 
 E. Hannum, Esquires^ 
 
 By Act of Assembly of May i, 1850, 
 P. L., 654, the ofifice of Deputy At- 
 torney General ceased to exist, and in- 
 stead thereof, District Attorneys were 
 to be elected on the second Tuesdays 
 of October for three years, from per- 
 sons learned in the law. Since that 
 time the Pleas of the Commonwealth 
 in Delaware County have been prose- 
 cuted by: 
 
 Thomas H. Speak man, -i . . 1850 
 
 Robert McCay, Jr., . . 1851 
 
 Edward Darlington, . 1851 
 
 Jesse Bishop, . . . 1854 
 
 Edward A. Price, . . 1857 
 
 John Hibberd, . . . i860 
 
 Francis F. Brooke, . . 1863 
 
 C. D. M. Broomhall, . . 1866 
 
 George E. Darlington, . . 1869 
 
 David Morgan Johnson, . 1872 
 
 Vincent Gilpin Robinson, . 1876 
 
 The Clerks of the Court of Dela- 
 ware County, previous to the removal 
 of the seat of Justice to Media, as far 
 as I have been able to ascertain were, 
 William Richardson Atlee, appointed 
 Sept. 28, 1789; James Barnard, 1800; 
 Thomas B. Dick, 1806 ; Benjamin 
 Pearson, Captain Thomas Robinson, 
 Henry Meyers, John Richards, James 
 Huston, John K. Zeilin, and Samuel 
 Weaver. 
 
 The following is a list of the mem- 
 bers of the Delaware County Bar, from 
 the formation of the County to the pre- 
 sent date : 
 
 Names. IVhen admitted. 
 
 ■ , 1783 
 
 Nov. 9, 1789 
 Feb. 9, 1790 
 July 30, 1792 
 
 — . 1794 
 
 Nov. — , 1794 
 April 30, 1806 
 April 19, 1807 
 Jan. 20, 1812 
 April 13, " 
 July 30, 1814 
 
 Henry Hale Graham, 
 William Graham, 
 Thomas B. Dick, 
 Robert Frazer, 
 Jacob Richards, 
 Dr. William Martin, 
 Samuel Edward, 
 John Edwards, Jr., . 
 Thom.is D. Andci^on, 
 Charles Harland, 
 John Kerlin, 
 
 * Declared inelij^ible becau.se of residing 
 out of the f'ountv, nnd tlio T'oiirt appointed 
 McCav. 
 
 Isaac D. Barnard, . 
 Archibald T. Dick, . 
 Samuel J. Withy, 
 Matthias Richards Sayres, 
 Geo. Richards Grantham, 
 Jo'hn James Richards, 
 Robert Beale, 
 Edward Darlington, 
 William Martin, 
 Edward Richards, . 
 Nathaniel Vernon, . 
 John P. Griffiths, . 
 Mordecai Taylor, 
 John K. Zeilin, 
 Robert E. Hannum, 
 Peter Hill Engle, 
 Joseph Williams, 
 John D. Pearcc, 
 John M. Broomall, . 
 Paul Beck Carter, . 
 Jesse M. Griffiths, . 
 Samuel B. Thomas, 
 Robert McCay, 
 George Palmer, 
 Henry B. Edwards, 
 George W. Ormsby, 
 Joseph R. Morris, . 
 Enoch Taylor, 
 Harlan Ingram, 
 Thomas H. Maddock, 
 Charles D. Manley, 
 Ezra Levis, . 
 Jesse Bishop, 
 Thomas Leiper, 
 Thomas J. Clayton, . 
 A. Lewis Smith, 
 John Hibberd, 
 George E. Darlington, 
 Edward A. Price, 
 William Ward, 
 Joseph R. T. Coates, 
 Orson Flagg Bullard, 
 John Eyre Shaw, 
 David M. Johnson, 
 John B. Hinkson, 
 James Barton, Jr., 
 William B. Broomall, 
 C. D. H. Broomhall, 
 George M. Pardoe, . 
 Alexander Reed, 
 Orlando Harvey, 
 William H. Dickinson, 
 Perry M. Wa.shabaugh, 
 Henry C. Howard, . 
 William J. Harvey, 
 Samuel Emlen, 
 V. Gilpin Robinson, 
 William L Patterson, 
 C. Rush Barr, 
 David Rose, 
 John v. Rice, 
 Edw. H. Hall, 
 James V. Maginn, . 
 W. Vance Harpur, 
 George M. Booth, 
 George B. Lindsay, 
 Henry Graham Ashmead, 
 
 Wheu admitted . 
 
 June 16, 
 
 1816 
 
 April 8 
 
 .. 
 
 July 22 
 
 " 
 
 date unknown 
 
 Jan. .9, 
 
 1819 
 
 Oct. 16, 
 
 1820 
 
 April 9, 
 
 1821 
 
 July 23, 
 
 " 
 
 July 28, 
 
 1823 
 
 April 13, 
 
 1824 
 
 
 1825 
 
 July 27, 
 
 " 
 
 April 10, 
 
 1827 
 
 July 27, 
 
 1829 
 
 April 13, 
 
 1830 
 
 April 27, 
 
 1836 
 
 Nov. 27, 
 
 1838 
 
 Aug. 24, 
 
 1840 
 
 May 23, 
 
 1842 
 
 Nov. 25, 
 
 1844 
 
 Feb. 26, 
 
 1846 
 
 Feb. 22, 
 
 1847 
 
 Nov. 22, 
 
 
 Feb. 28, 
 
 1848 
 
 Aug. " 
 
 " 
 
 Nov. 27, 
 
 1848 
 
 Feb. 26, 
 
 1849 
 
 May 28, 
 
 
 May 27, 
 
 1850 
 
 May 27, 
 
 1851 
 
 Nov. 24, 
 
 1851 
 
 Nov. 28, 
 
 1853 
 
 Aug. -, 
 
 1855 
 
 May 26, 
 
 1856 
 
 Feb. 25, 
 
 1856 
 
 Aug. 27, 
 
 1859 
 
 Feb. 25, 
 
 1861 
 
 May 15, 
 
 1862 
 
 Aug. 24, 
 
 1863 
 
 Nov. 23, 
 
 " 
 
 Dec. 28, 
 
 ■' 
 
 Nov. 29, 
 
 1864 
 
 Mar. 23, 
 
 1868 
 
 Sept. 28, 
 
 1868 
 
 Nov. 25, 
 
 1868 
 
 " 28, 
 Nov. 23, 
 
 1869 
 
 Nov. 23, 
 
 1869 
 
 Sept. 27, 
 
 
 Nov. 29, 
 
 1870 
 
 Aug. 29, 
 
 1872 
 
 date unknown 
 
 Aug. 25, 
 
 ^873 
 
 Nov. 24, 
 
 1873 
 
 date unkr 
 
 own 
 
 Nov. 24, 
 
 1873 
 
 Sep. 23, 
 
 1373 
 
 Dec. I, 
 
 " 
 
 Feb. 26, 
 
 1874 
 
 Feb. 23, 
 
 1875 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 475 
 
 IVhen admitted. 
 
 Sept. 23, 1875 
 
 Jan. 17, 1876 
 
 Oct. 9, 1876 
 
 Nov. 6, 1876 
 
 Jan. 3, 1876 
 
 Sept. 2o, 1876 
 
 Feb. 5, 1877 
 
 Names. 
 John T. Reynolds, 
 H. M. Fussell, 
 John F. Young, 
 William B. Heyburn, 
 Wm. M. Thompson, 
 Alfred Tyson, 
 George W. Bliss, 
 John B. Hannum, 
 William B. Huston, 
 Geo. B. F. Fisher, . 
 Albert T. Goldbeck, 
 
 A good anecdote is related about 
 Robert Frazer, E.sq. , an old- time mem- 
 ber of the Delaware County Bar., A 
 client, a well-known close-fisted old 
 miller, called on him one day for some 
 advice in reference to a difficulty about 
 his mill-dam and water-power privi- 
 leges. He found Mr. Frazer in his of- 
 fice, legs in comfortable position, high- 
 er than his head, taking his ease and 
 smoking. The miller taking a seat, 
 proceeded to relate his grievance at 
 length, and then asked what he should 
 do. Frazer still leaning back and puffing 
 his segar paid no attention to the ques- 
 tion. At last the impatient client burst 
 
 out with: "D n it, Mr. Frazer! 
 
 Did you hear what I said?" With a 
 humorous twinkle of his eye Frazer re- 
 plied, "Oh, yes, but do you expect a 
 mill to run without water?" 
 
 I have endeavored to make a list of 
 the Registers of Wills and Recorders 
 of Deeds of Chester County. From 
 all I could gather, Jacob Symcock was 
 Deputy Register General under James 
 Claypole in 1686, and his brother John 
 Symcock, Jr., was Deputy Recorder 
 under Thomas Story, about 1700. 
 David Lloyd held those offices for some- 
 time previous to 1724, when Joseph 
 Parker was appointed ; he died in 1 766, 
 and no doubt Henry Hale Graham held 
 the office from 1766 to 1777. He was 
 in office Jan. 30, 1775. Thomas Tay- 
 lor was appointed by Act of Mar. 14, 
 1777- John Beaton appointed Ajjril 
 
 8, 1782. Persifer Frazer, April 8, 1786. 
 The following is a list of Recorders 
 of Deeds and Registers of Wills of 
 Delaware County. 
 
 1789 James Huston, 
 
 1796 Joseph Taylor, 
 
 1800 James Sill, Jr., 
 
 iSio Nich. F. Walter, 
 
 [819 Thomas Forsythe, 
 
 [821 Fred. Fairlamb, 
 
 1826 Nich. F. Walter, 
 
 1833 Fred. R. Cutler, 
 
 1834 Canby S. Smith,* 
 
 1836 Jacob C. Berstler, 
 
 1837 Charles P. Walter, 
 
 1843 
 1845 
 1849 
 1856 
 
 1864 
 1868 
 1873 
 1873 
 1875 
 
 William R. Atlee, 
 Davis Bevan, 
 James Barnard, 
 Joseph Engle, 
 Benj. Pearson, 
 Thomas Robinson, 
 Henry Myers, 
 John K. Zeilin, 
 John Hinkson, 
 John Richards, 
 Saimrel Weaver, 
 Joseph Weaver, Jr 
 
 The following have been elected 
 since the publication of Dr. Geori^c 
 Smith'' s History. 
 
 Sheriffs of Delaware County. 
 AbrahamR. Vanzant, 1863 Evan W. Bartleson, 1869 
 Caleb Hoopes, 1866 Joseph Webster, 1872 
 
 Charles W. Mathues, 1876 
 
 Register of Wills and Clerk 
 
 OF the Orphans' Court. 
 
 Thomas Lees, . . 1875 
 
 The first sheriff under the English 
 rule on the Delaware, was Edmund 
 Cantwell, in 1672. Smith, p. 96. 
 
 The first Convention to revise the 
 Constitution of Pennsylvania, met July 
 15, 1776, and was continued by ad- 
 journment until September 28th of the 
 same year. Benjamin Franklin was 
 the President, and the members from 
 Chester County were, Benjamin Bar- 
 tholomew, John Jacobs, Robert Smith, 
 Thomas Strawbridge, Samuel Cunning- 
 ham, John Hart, John Mackey and 
 John Fleming. The Convention au- 
 thorized the election of a Council of 
 Censors in October, 1783, who first 
 met on November i6th of that year, 
 and continued their sittings until Sept. 
 25, 1784. They issued an address re- 
 
 * He was appointed to fill the vacancy caused 
 by the death of Cutler. At October election 
 1873, Jacob C. Berstler was elected Recorder 
 and Register, but died November 28tli ; so Mr. 
 Smith retained the office until next election. 
 
476 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 commending various reforms, but ad- 
 vised against calling a convention to 
 revise the Constitution. The Censors 
 from Chester County were Gen. An- 
 thony Wayne and John Evans ; the lat- 
 ter died, and James Moore was elected 
 in his stead, and took his seat Dec. 30, 
 1783. 
 
 The Constitutional Convention of 
 
 1 789, was called in pursuance of a reso- 
 lution of the General Assembly of 
 Pennsylvania, and held their first meet- 
 ing Nov. 24, 1789, and elected Thomas 
 Mifflin, President; Joseph Redman, 
 Secretary. The members from Ches- 
 ter County, were William Gibbons, 
 Thomas Bull, Thomas Ross and James 
 Boyd. For Delaware County, Henry 
 Hale Graham and John Sellers. Judge 
 Graham died during the sitting of the 
 Convention, at Philadelphia, Jan. 23, 
 
 1 790, and Nathaniel Newlin was elect- 
 ed to fill the vacancy. 
 
 The New Constitution was adopted 
 September 2, 1790. 
 
 The Convention of 1836, called by 
 Actof Assembly of Mar. 29, 1836, con- 
 sisted of 133 members, and met at 
 Harrisburg, May 2, 1837, and elected 
 the Hon. John Sergeant, President. 
 The Senatorial delegates representing 
 Delaware, Chester and Montgomery 
 Counties, were Thomas S. Bell, David 
 Lyons and Henry Sheetz. The rep- 
 resentative delegate from Delaware 
 County was George Serrill, of Darby. 
 
 The Constitutional Convention of 
 1872, held in accordance with the Act 
 of Assembly of April 21, 1872, met at 
 Harrisburg, Nov. 12, 1872, and ad- 
 journed to meet in Philadelphia, Jan. 
 7, 1873, ^'""^^ \^^\^ its meetings in the 
 Church in Spruce Street, east of Sixth 
 Street, north side. Now called "The 
 
 HoRACK BiNNEV PUP.LIC ScHOOL. " 
 
 The H')n. William M. Meredith, the 
 
 greatest lawyer of the day, and late 
 Secretary of the U. S. Treasury, was 
 cho.sen President, and died during the 
 sitting of the Convention. John H. 
 Walker, Esq., was elected to fill the 
 vacancy. The delegates to the Con- 
 vention from Delaware and Chester 
 Counties were John M. Broomall, 
 William Darlington and Jos. Hemp- 
 hill. The Convention completed its 
 labors on Nov. 3, 1873, ^"^^ the New 
 Constitution was submitted to the peo- 
 ple on Dec. 16, 1873, for ratification, 
 and adopted that day, by a majority 
 of 145,150 votes. 
 
 I add here a List of the Members of 
 the Chester County Bar, from the 
 division of the County to the present time. 
 J. Smith Futhey kindly made this list 
 for me, he says: "This list embraces 
 strictly Chester County men, most of 
 them born and reared in the County. 
 There are some names of Chester Coun- 
 ty men who read law here, for a time 
 practiced here and then removed else- 
 where ; and there are names of others ad- 
 mitted elsewhere, and who afterwards 
 came here to reside and practice." 
 
 Joseph Hemphill, . 
 
 Aug. — , 
 
 1793 
 
 Alexander M. Foster, 
 
 Nov. — 
 
 " 
 
 Isaac Wayne, 
 
 . Aug. - 
 
 1795 
 
 Washington Lee Hannum, 
 
 Feb. - 
 
 1797 
 
 John Taylor, 
 
 May - 
 
 1799 
 
 William Hemphill, 
 
 " " 
 
 
 William Dewecs, 
 
 Aug 20, 
 
 1800 
 
 Isaac Darlington, 
 
 Nov. 3, 
 
 1801 
 
 Samuel Jacobs, 
 
 About 
 
 1803 
 
 John Duer, 
 
 " 
 
 1804 
 
 Charles Worth Humphrey, 
 
 " 
 
 1806 
 
 Reuben Eachus, 
 
 . Nov. 14, 
 
 1807 
 
 Ziba Pyle, . 
 
 About 
 
 1808 
 
 JeflFries Moore, 
 
 Aug. I, 
 
 1809 
 
 Clement B. Buckley, 
 
 " 2, 
 
 i8i4 
 
 Wm. H. Dillingham, 
 
 May 7, 
 
 1816 
 
 Isaac D. Bernard, . 
 
 " " 
 
 " 
 
 Townsend Haines, 
 
 . Feb. 3, 
 
 1818 
 
 Jesse Conrad, 
 
 . Aug. 2, 
 
 1819 
 
 Wm. Williamson, . 
 
 . July 31, 
 
 1820 
 
 Wm. S. Haines, 
 
 . Jan. 31, 
 
 1821 
 
 Thomas S. Bell, 
 
 May I, 
 
 
 Henry H. Van Amringe, 
 
 " " 
 
 " 
 
 Samuel Parke, 
 
 Aug. 9, 
 
 " 
 
 Abraham Marshall, 
 
 . July 31, 
 
 1822 
 
 Daniel Buckwalter, 
 
 Auj;. 3. 
 
 1824 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 477 
 
 John D. Pettit, 
 
 Nov. I, 1824 
 
 Matthias Pennypacker, 
 
 Jan. 31, 1825 
 
 B'rancis James, 
 
 May 2, " 
 
 Joseph J. Lewis, 
 
 May " " 
 
 Lewis G. Pearce, . 
 
 " " " 
 
 Owen Stover, 
 
 Aug. I, " 
 
 Ben. Bartholomew, 
 
 Jan. 31, 1826 
 
 William Darlington, 
 
 " " " 
 
 James M. Kinnard, 
 
 May I, " 
 
 Davis H. lloopes. . 
 
 " " " 
 
 Wm. McK. Ball, . 
 
 May 5, 1828 
 
 John H. Bradley, . 
 
 June g, " 
 
 Robert B. Dodson, 
 
 Aug. 4, " 
 
 James A. Hemphill, 
 
 Nov. 4, " 
 
 Mark Denny, 
 
 Feb. 13, 1829 
 
 Joseph Hemphill, . 
 
 Aug. 3, " 
 
 Richard Baily, 
 
 Nov. 3, " 
 
 Persifor Frazer Smith, 
 
 " " " 
 
 Lea Bennett, 
 
 Mar. 9, 1830 
 
 John Rutter, 
 
 Nov. 2, " 
 
 Uriah V. Pennypacker, 
 
 Dec. 13, 1831 
 
 John Hill Brinton, 
 
 Oct. 6, 1832 
 
 John Hickman, 
 
 April 9, 1833 
 
 Horatio G. Worrall, 
 
 Aug. 4, 1834 
 
 Addison May, 
 
 Sept. 15, 1835 
 
 William Wheeler, . 
 
 M^r. 16, 1836 
 
 Ferdinand E. Hayes, 
 
 May II, 1839 
 
 Wm. Penn Miner, . 
 
 Feb. 4, 1840 
 
 James H. Bull, 
 
 Sept. 15, " 
 
 B. Franklin Pyle, . 
 
 Nov. 3, " 
 
 John S. Bowen, 
 
 May 15, 1842 
 
 George W. Pearce, 
 
 Aug. 2, " 
 
 George W. Miles, . 
 
 Nov. 8, " 
 
 Matthew A. Stanley, 
 
 Nov. 10, " 
 
 J. Smith Futhey, 
 
 Feb. 7, 1843 
 
 James Davis, 
 
 Mar. 16, " 
 
 Joseph B. Townsend, 
 
 May 13, " 
 
 William M. Bull, . 
 
 June 12, " 
 
 Howard Darlington, 
 
 Nov. 7, " 
 
 Isaac D. Pyle, 
 
 Mar. 12, 1844 
 
 Washington Townsend, 
 
 May 7, " 
 
 John P. Baily, 
 
 May 8, " 
 
 Edward H. Williamson, 
 
 May 8, " 
 
 Samuel B. Thomas, 
 
 . June II, " 
 
 James B. Everhart, . 
 
 Feb. 4, 1845 
 
 Joseph P. Wilson, . 
 
 June 10, " 
 
 James A. Gilmore, . 
 
 " " " 
 
 William Butler, 
 
 Dec. 8, " 
 
 William E. Barber, 
 
 . Jan. 30, 1846 
 
 W. Ross Cunningham, 
 
 April 28, " 
 
 Henry C. Townsend, 
 
 . July 27, " 
 
 Jas. Patterson Fleming, 
 
 Aug. 5, 1847 
 
 Paschall Woodward, 
 
 Nov. 4, " 
 
 Robert E. Monaghan, 
 
 April 20, 1848 
 
 Samuel Rush, 
 
 June 14, " 
 
 James M. Meredith, 
 
 Sept. 13, " 
 
 James L. Jones, 
 
 Dec. 12, " 
 
 John F. Roberts, 
 
 Nov. 12, 1849 
 
 Franklin Pennington, 
 
 Jan. 31, 1850 
 
 Clinton Auge, 
 
 Oct. 30, " 
 
 Francis Darlington, 
 
 Dec. 8, 1851 
 
 Wm. B. Waddell, . 
 
 Mar. 8, 1852 
 
 Wm. L. Marshall, 
 
 June 14, " 
 
 Levi Kimes, 
 
 . Sept. 15, " 
 
 Edward J. Lewis, . 
 
 Jan, 31, 1853 
 
 Wm. H. Darlington, 
 
 . July 31, " 
 
 Wayne McVeagh, 
 
 April 28, 1856 
 
 James J. Creigh, . 
 
 Mar. 9, 1857 
 
 Francis C. Hooten, . 
 Cheyney W. Neilds, 
 George W. Roberts, 
 Henry M. Mclntire, 
 Thomas S. Bell, Jr., 
 George M. Rupert, 
 Wm. L Haines, 
 Henry W. Carruthers, 
 John J. Pinkerton, 
 W. M. Hinkson, 
 William T. Fulton, 
 Oliver Sidwell, 
 Abraham Wanger, 
 Elbridge Meconkey, 
 David Ruth, 
 Reese Davis, 
 Joseph Hemphill, Jr., 
 George F. Smith, 
 William M. Hayes, 
 J. Alfred McCaughey, 
 Joseph Beale, 
 Wm. H. Whitehead, 
 Nimrod Strickland, Jr., 
 Alfred P. Reid, 
 Robert T. Corn well, 
 Alfred P. Carey, 
 Joseph W. Barnard, 
 Chas. H. Pennypacker, 
 Joseph F. Perdue, 
 D. Smith Talbot, 
 Abner Pyle, 
 Thomas W. Pearce, 
 Samuel D. Ramsey, 
 Wm. S. Windle, . 
 Andrew C. Fulton, 
 William B. Reid, . 
 Henry H. Gilkyson, 
 Chas. Wesley Talbot, 
 Francis Windle, 
 Benjamin F. McAtee, 
 George L. Maris, 
 Robert Jones Monaghan, 
 Isaac Newton Wynn, 
 Frederick S. Dickson, 
 John E. Kinnard, 
 William E. Dingee, 
 Curtis H. Hannum, 
 Theodore K. Stubbs, 
 Thomas B. Taylor, 
 Ezra Evans, . 
 John A. GroflF, 
 William T. Barber, 
 Thomas S. Butler, . 
 
 The following gentlemen were, at 
 the dates set opposite their respective 
 names, appointed 
 
 Prothonotaries of Chester County. 
 
 
 Oct. 3°, 1857 
 
 
 Mar. II, 1858 
 
 
 June 8, 1858 
 
 
 Sept. 15, " 
 
 , 
 
 April 4, 1859 
 
 
 Oct. 20, " 
 
 
 Jan. 30, i860 
 
 
 Feb. I, " 
 
 
 April 30, " 
 
 
 May 13, 1861 
 
 
 Aug. I, 1862 
 
 
 Mar. 16, 1863 
 
 
 Aug. 10, " 
 
 
 Dec. 15, " 
 
 
 June 3, 1864 
 
 
 Oct. 31, " 
 
 
 Nov. 19, " 
 
 
 Dec. 12, " 
 
 
 Aug. IS. 1865 
 
 
 Oct. 30, " 
 
 
 June II, 1866 
 
 
 Aug. 14, " 
 
 
 Dec. 10, " 
 
 
 Jan. 28, 1867 
 
 . 
 
 Aug. 13, " 
 
 
 . '• 9, 1869 
 
 
 Feb. 19, 1870 
 
 
 . April 28, " 
 
 
 . Feb. 14, 1871 
 
 
 Mar. 13, " 
 
 
 . April 24, " 
 
 
 Sept. II, " 
 
 
 Mar. II, 1872 
 
 
 . May 6, " 
 
 
 Sept. 9, " 
 
 
 Oct. 28, " 
 
 
 Dec. 31, " 
 
 
 Mar. 12, 1^73 
 
 
 • ■^:f^ ?; .',' 
 
 
 Aug. II, " 
 
 
 Dec. 9. " 
 
 
 June IS, 1874 
 
 
 Oct. 16. " 
 
 
 Feb. I, 1875 
 
 
 Aug. 9, 187s 
 
 
 Feb. 7, 1876 
 
 
 . June 5, 1876 
 
 
 Dec. 12, 1876 
 
 
 Jan. 29, 1877 
 
 Thomas Revell, 
 
 in office 
 
 in 
 
 - i68x 
 
 Robert Eyre, 
 
 " 
 
 
 8 mo. 17, 1683 
 
 Joshua Fearne, 
 
 " 
 
 
 1690 
 
 John Childe, 
 
 " 
 
 
 May 13, 1693 
 
 Henry Hollingsw 
 
 n-th, " 
 
 
 — 1700 
 
 David Lloyd, 
 
 /•ye7>wus 
 
 to 
 
 
 
 Joseph Parker, 
 
 appoinh 
 
 d 
 
 Dec. 24, 1724 
 
 Henry Hale Grab 
 
 am, " 
 
 
 -,1766 
 
478 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Benj. Jacobs,* aJ>poiuied, Mar. 22, 1777 
 
 Caleb Davis, " June 16, 1777 
 
 The following is a list of the Pro- 
 thonotaries continued to the present 
 time. From/. Smith Futhef s His- 
 torical Collections of Chester County. 
 
 William Gibbons, appointed 
 Daniel Hiester, " 
 
 Jesse John, 
 John G. Wersler, 
 Thomas Davis, 
 Wm. Williamson, 
 David Townsend, 
 Dr. Wm. Darlington, 
 John W. Cunningham, 
 Benjamin I. Miller, 
 Samuel Pinkerton, 
 
 -■ — — 1791 
 
 Jan. 6, 1800 
 
 Feb. I, 1809 
 
 Mar. 25, 1818 
 
 Feb. 29, 1821 
 
 Jan. 17, 1824 
 
 Aug. 3, 1827 
 
 Aug. 17, 1827 
 
 Feb. 15, 1830 
 
 Jan. 26, 1836 
 
 Feb. 2, 1839 
 " elected under the Constitution of 
 
 1838, and re-commissioned Nov. 14, 1839 
 
 Abner N. Chamberlain, commis'd Nov. 12, 1842 
 
 James Davis, " . Nov. 17, 1845 
 
 Samuel B. Thomas, " . Nov. 25, 1848 
 
 William Wollerton, " . Nov. 22, 1851 
 
 Jas. Bayard Jefferis, " . Nov. 10, 1854 
 
 Jacob Gilbough, " . Nov. 10, 1857 
 
 Nov. 19, i86o 
 
 Nov. 16, 1863 
 
 Nov. 16, 1866 
 
 Nov. 20, 1869 
 
 Nov. 19, 1872 
 
 Dec. 28, 1875 
 
 Emmor B. Lamborn, 
 Franklin Haines, 
 Alfred Rupert, 
 Seneca G. Willauer, 
 John A. Rupert, 
 Hannum Baldwin, 
 
 I give here an imperfect list of the 
 Treasurers of Chester County, previ- 
 ous to the formation of Delaware 
 County, viz. : 
 
 Robert Miller, . . . 1750 
 
 Humphrey Marshall, . . . 1762 
 
 Lewis Davis, .... j^gg 
 
 James Gibbons, . . . 1770 
 
 Philip Taylor, . . . 1775 
 
 David Cloyd, in office,\ . 1781 
 
 Persifer Frazer, iate Treasurer,^ . i-jZ-j 
 
 Thomas Levis, late Treasurer,^ . 1788 
 
 The Treasurers of Delaware County, 
 as far as I have been able to collect 
 the names, have been, 
 
 Obom Levis, 1834 William Eves, 1867 
 
 Samuel Dutton, 1851 John J. Hoopes, 1869 
 
 David K. Ralston, 1863 Henry B. Taylor, 1876 
 
 *In II C. A\, 188, Mar. 22, 1777, in the 
 proceedings of Council, it was : " Ordered, 
 That Benjamin Jacobs, son of the Speaker, be 
 appointed Prothonotary of Chester County, and 
 tiiat he Ije commissioned accordingly." And 
 on April 4, 1777, it apearsitwas "agreed, that 
 
 Prothonotary for the County of Chester be 
 chosen by ballot; and Benjamin Tacobs was 
 elected and ap])i)inted." 
 
 tSee 15 C. A\, 179,227,392. 
 
 LII. 
 
 I HAVE in my possession certain Arti- 
 cles of Agreement, made Jan. 15, 1807, 
 between Nathaniel Davis of the one 
 part, and Thomas Armstrong of the 
 other, both of Philadelphia, whereby 
 Davis, for the sum of ;^8oo, agrees to 
 sell Armstrong: "That messuage or 
 Tenement, commonly known by the 
 name of the 'Seven Starrs', with 
 the Plantation and Tract or Piece of 
 Land thereunto belonging, containing 
 about 100 acres, * * situate in the 
 township of Aston," &c. 
 
 Nathaniel Davis, and after his de- 
 cease, his widow Catharine, kept a tav- 
 ern in Letitia Court. I had a license in 
 her name, but accidentally destroyed it 
 with some worthless old papers. They 
 had two sons, John C. and Nathaniel. 
 The former died recently, Nov. 6, 
 1873; born Feb. 22, 1796, leaving a 
 large estate, and being unmarried, he 
 left a large portion of his wealth to chari- 
 table institutions, and after making 
 some legacies to his relatives, left the 
 residue to his niece, Sarah Jane (Sim- 
 mons), wife of Dr. John W. Lodge, of 
 Lower Merion, Montgomery County, 
 Pa. Nathaniel Davis, the other son, 
 married Elizabeth, daughter of Pierce 
 and Christiana Crosby, of "Crosby's 
 Mills." See/. 211, ante. 
 
 The Chester Park Association was 
 organized at Chester, May 16, 1871, 
 and the following officers elected to 
 serve for one year: President, Dr. 
 Ellwood Harvey; Directors, J. How- 
 ard Lewis, Joseph Huddell, J. Lewis 
 Garrett, George Baker, Dr. William 
 B. Ulrich, Dr. Ellwood Harvey, Frank 
 Field, Charles Hinkson, Thomas Ap- 
 pleby and Col. Samuel A. Dyer. The 
 object of the Association being to pro- 
 mote and encourage the improvement 
 of the breed of horses ; and for the 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 479 
 
 purpose of carrying out its objects, the 
 Society agreed to rent of J . Engle Coch- 
 ran, the tract of land on which there 
 is already a fine course for the trial of 
 speed of horses, which has for some- 
 time been used by the members of the 
 Association for testing the speed and 
 endurance of their favorite nags. 
 
 In the list of the old inhabitants of 
 Chester heretofore given, will be found 
 the three Baldwins. Dr. Smith states 
 that Thomas Baldwin settled on the 
 southwest side of Chester Creek, above 
 Chester Mills, about 1697, but after- 
 wards removed to Chester, where he 
 died in 1731. His children were 
 Thomas, Joseph, William, Anthony, 
 Mary, Martha and Elizabeth, and that 
 his brother, John Baldwin, was an early 
 settler in Aston. In 1689, he married, 
 according to usage of Friends, Katha- 
 rine Turner, a widow, and had two 
 children, Ruth and John. In this 
 family there were "three brothers," 
 Thomas, John and Francis, original 
 settlers ; John after some time came to 
 reside in Chester, where he died in 
 1732, having considerable property. 
 He was a blacksmith. Francis Bald- 
 win, was also a settler in the neighbor- 
 hood of Chester as early as 1686. 
 
 I am indebted to Gilbert Cope, of 
 West Chester, for the following ad- 
 ditional information regarding this old 
 Chester family: "John Baldwin be- 
 came possessed of considerable pro- 
 perty in Chester, and it might be pro- 
 per to notice the family in local histo- 
 ry. Thomas Baldwin's marriage certi- 
 ficate, dated 1684, is the first in the 
 old record, possessed by the Historical 
 Society, by which it appears that he 
 was married ' at the house where 
 Michall Izard lately dwelt,' on the 
 7th day of the week, but the exact 
 date cannot be made out. His wife, 
 
 Mary, was the widow of Richard Lin- 
 vill, of the county of Sussex, England, 
 and her sons, John and Thomas Lin- 
 vill, were among our early settlers. 
 Francis Baldwin, a miller, died in New 
 Castle County, in 1702, though he was 
 a juror at Chester Court not long be- 
 fore. In 1 69 1, his father-in-law, Tho- 
 mas Coebourne, conveyed to him one 
 hundred acres of land on Chester Creek 
 in Chester township. His widow's 
 name was Cicely. John Baldwin mar- 
 ried Katharine Turner, widow, 4 mo. 
 4, 1689, and in the certificate is styled 
 'of Aston, Carpenter.' One Edward 
 Turner in 1687, married Katharine 
 Carter, and the above named was his 
 widow. Both marriages took place in 
 Philadelphia. John Baldwin obtained 
 awarrantdated4mo. 30, 1702, for 100 
 acres of land, ' fifty thereof in right of 
 his own service to Joshua Hastings, 
 and fifty in right of his wife Katharine, 
 servant to John Blunston.' 
 
 The following notes were taken in 
 the office of Register of Wills for Ches- 
 ter County. 
 
 "Joseph Baldwin of Chester Town- 
 ship, died intestate, and letters of ad- 
 ministration were granted to Elizabeth 
 Baldwin, Mar. ^9, 1715. William 
 Baldwin, of Chester, mayson, in his 
 will, dated July 20, 1722, 'being sick,' 
 gives to brother Anthony Baldwin, 10 
 shillings, and to wife Mary remainder 
 of estate. Will proved 6 mo. 2, 1732, 
 by Thomas Baldwin and Edward Car- 
 ter, two of the witnesses thereto. John 
 Baldwin, Jr., intestate; letters to John 
 Baldwin, (his father,) Nov. 12, 1728, 
 in whose favor the widow, Hannah, re- 
 nounces. John, Jr., was a saddler in 
 Chester. The administration accounts 
 contain the vendue sales. Will of 
 John Baldwin, of the Borough of Ches- 
 ter, merchant, book A, p. 352: To 
 
480 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 grand-son, John l)al(lwin, 'the house, 
 lott, wharfs, store, houses, with y" ap- 
 purtenances where I now dwell, situate 
 in Chester, afores*:' To grand-son, 
 Joshua Baldwin, ' the house and lott, 
 situate on the easterly end of Chester 
 bridge:' To grand-sons, John and 
 Joshua, 'all that fifive acres and a half 
 of land I lately purchased of John 
 Wade, situate along y* Kings Road, 
 leading to New Castle, and adjoyning 
 to the lott of land late of Jonathan 
 Ogdon:' To grand-son, John Bald- 
 win, 'the house and lots where one 
 Richard Marsden lately dwelt, situate 
 in Chester, afores** : ' To grand-son, 
 Joshua Baldwin, ' y° house, lotts which 
 I lately purchased of one John Reming- 
 ton, situate in Chester:' To grand- 
 sons, John and Joshua, 'all that my 
 six hundred acres of land, situate in 
 the township of Cain, in y" said county, 
 to be equally divided between them ; ' 
 also, ' all that my twenty acres of land 
 I lately purchased of James Barber, 
 situate in Chester, upon the road lead- 
 ing to Springfield, and adjoyning to 
 y' lott of land late of Robert Barber : ' 
 To brother Thomas Baldwin, 'five 
 pounds p"" year, currant mony of pen- 
 silvania, during his naturall life, to be 
 paid by my executors, hereinafter 
 named, on the twenty-ninth day of the 
 seventh month, yearly: ' To grand-son, 
 John Baldwin, ' that corner lott of land, 
 situate in Chester, which I lately pur- 
 chased of the heirs of Robert ffrench, 
 fronting Middle street and front street:: ' 
 To children of brother Thomas and 
 brother Francis, five shillings each : To 
 grand-sons, John and Joshua, remainder 
 of estate. Executors, Mercer Brown, 
 of Nottingham, Peter Dicks, of Ridley, 
 and Joseph Parker, of Chester, ffriend 
 Joshua Johnson, of Philadelphia, and 
 John Salkeld of Chester, overseers or 
 
 trustees, to have £^$ each at the ex- 
 piration of 4 years after my decease : 
 dated 2 mo. 2, 1731. 'My two grand- 
 sons, John Baldwin and Joshua Bald- 
 win, shall be kept to school till they be 
 fitt to go to trades, and then put to 
 such good trades as my Executors may 
 think most fitt for them, and that the 
 whole expense thereof shall be defrayed 
 out of the profits and issues arising out 
 of the aforesaid estate." Witnesses, 
 Thomas Cummings, Step. Hoskins, 
 Benja. Kendall. Codicil, 9 mo. 6, 1731 : 
 To Thomas Baldwin, son of brother 
 Thomas, ;^2o : To Anthony, son of 
 brother Thomas, and to Thomas and 
 John, sons of brother Francis, ^10 
 each: My negroe servant woman, 
 named Hagr, to be sett free from her 
 servitude by my Executors afore named 
 at the expiration of one year after my 
 decease : Witnesses, Rich'd Barry, 
 Robt. Wilson, Thomas Cummings. 
 Codicil, Nov. 11, 1 731, app'ts 'Thomas 
 Cummings one of my Executors, and I 
 hereby bequeath fifive pounds to be paid 
 by my Executors for and towaj-ds the 
 building of a school house upon the lott 
 I lately conveyed for that purpose,' and 
 ' to Martha Thomas ;^5, and I give to 
 the use of Chester Meeting the sum of 
 ffive pounds for and towards y*" repair- 
 ing of Meeting House or building a new 
 one as they may think fitt, and I give fifive 
 pounds to Chichester Meeting : Wit- 
 nesses, Jno. Tomkins, Ric'd Barry, 
 Benja. Kendall ; proven Mar. 7,1731-2; 
 letters granted to Peter Dick & Thos. 
 Cummings ; Mercer Brown being de- 
 ceased, and Joseph Parker renouncing. 
 The Executors' accounts are very long. 
 Thos. Cummings accounts for ^871, 
 8j. <)d. & Peter Dicks for ;^268,3i-. 
 od. For schooling Joshua 2 quarters, 
 Rich'd Backhouse was ])* 19 shillings. 
 The real estate not included in the ac- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 481 
 
 counts. The grandsons, John & Joshua, 
 afterwards settled in Cahi, and a grand- 
 son of the former, Jonathan C. Bald- 
 win, born in i792,diedin 1874, owned 
 a part of the land bequeathed as above. 
 He was President of Chester Co. Hor- 
 ticultural Society some years ago, and 
 somewhat noted as a fruit-grower. 
 Spencer Bonsall, of the Historical So- 
 ciety, is descended from Joshua. 
 
 Will of Thomas Baldwin of Chester 
 Township, blacksmith, dated Mar. 17, 
 1 730- 1, A, p. 334, gives to his son 
 Thomas, ('my well beloved son') is; 
 to the rightfull heir of my son Joseph 
 Baldwin, deceased, is. ; to the right- 
 full heir of my son William, deceas- 
 ed, IS. ; to son Anthony, i^-. ; to 
 daughter Mary Baldwin, i^-. ; to daugh- 
 ter Martha Grice, [wife of John Griest,] 
 IS. ; to daughter Elizabeth Baldwin, 
 now Weaver, li-. ; Wife Mary, all per- 
 sonal property. Executrix. Witnesses, 
 Wm. Rattew, Goldsmith Edward ffal- 
 well, John Pyle : Proven, July 2, 1731, 
 by all these on affirmation, & letters 
 granted to Mary Baldwin." 
 
 The widow of Joseph Baldwin mar- 
 ried Joseph Bond, as stated at p. 106. 
 Anthony Baldwin married, in 1712, 
 Hannah, daughter of William and 
 Mary Coebourne, and afterward a sec- 
 ond wife, Margery, daughter of John 
 Hannum, of Concord. He finally 
 settled in Newlin township, Chester 
 County, where he left a numerous off- 
 spring. 
 
 As it is one of the objects of this his- 
 tory to preserve the memory of all good 
 and true sons of the county, whose re- 
 cord is creditable to themselves, their 
 friends, relatives and fellow citizens, I 
 insert here the following Biographical 
 notice of the late George Miller, one 
 of the early founders of the Delaware 
 County Institute of Science, who died 
 
 Dec. 31, 1869, taken from a paper read 
 before the Institute: 
 
 " George Miller, tlie son of George and Mary 
 Miller, was born in Upper Providence. His 
 parents were both members of the Society of 
 Friends, as their ancestors had been from their 
 first settlement in this country. Inheriting a 
 birth-right with this society, he had the advan- 
 tages of a careful early training, but his oppor- 
 tunities for obtaining a school education while 
 young, differed but little from that of the sons 
 of other farmers of the neighborhood, if we 
 except some little instruction in Latin and 
 French. 
 
 While quite young he gave some attention 
 to scientific studies, and took some interest in 
 the collection of botanical specimens, and those 
 of mineralogy and geology. In early life he 
 manifested a fondness for reading, of a practi- 
 cal and instructive character. 
 
 In 1820, he made a tour, mostly on foot, to 
 the Falls of Niagara, by the way of New York 
 city, the Hudson River and the central parts 
 of the State of New York. After reaching 
 Black Rock, on the Niagara River, he took 
 passage on board of a steamboat and proceed- 
 ed to the town of Erie. This was the first 
 steamboat that ever floated on Lake Erie. 
 From Erie he proceeded on foot to the Hock- 
 ing, or Hockhocking River, near the present 
 town of Logan, in Ohio. From this point he 
 walked to his home in Delaware County, the 
 whole distance being more than 600 miles. 
 
 About the period of the return of our youth- 
 ful traveller, there sprung up in this county a 
 taste for the study of the natural sciences, 
 which was stimulated by the publication of the 
 first localj^ora of the late Dr. Wm. Darlington. 
 George Miller, by his studies, his travels and 
 observations of nature in its varied forms, was 
 well fitted to join in any movement in that di- 
 rection, and hence we find him among those 
 young men who engaged more enthusiastically 
 in the study of the natural sciences, as the 
 means of investigation increased. W'ith him 
 this was particularly the case, in respect to 
 botany. 
 
 But co-operative study has its advantages as 
 well as co-operative labor. Our Institute has 
 its conveniences of this "kind, and George 
 Miller was among the first to foresee the use- 
 fulness of such an institution. With the view 
 to bring al)out its establi>hment, several meet- 
 
482 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER, 
 
 ings were held nt cliffereiU jilaccs during the 
 early part of the year 1S33, but it was not till 
 Sept. 2 1st that year, that an organization was 
 effected. George Miller being the oldest of 
 the five young men present at the meeting 
 held that day, his name was first signed to the 
 constitution then adopted. 
 
 While he continued to be a resident of Del- 
 aware County, he cordially co-operated with 
 his fellow members in securing the perma- 
 nency of the Institute, and increasing its useful- 
 ness, by his presence at its meetings and his 
 contributions to its museum. But his stay with 
 us was brief. His love of travel, and his great 
 admiration for the West, induced him to leave 
 his home again in April, 1835. After travel- 
 ling on horseback through Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
 Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, (stopping 
 occasionally in the Miami country with old 
 friends of his family,) he settled for a short 
 time in Illinois, on the Vermillion River. 
 From this place he made another extensive 
 tour, passing through northern Illinois as far as 
 Prairie-du-Chien, on the Mississippi, making 
 an extensive reconnoisance of the country on 
 both sides of the river as he progressed. He 
 eventually purchased an extensive tract of land 
 in what is now Henry County, in the State of 
 Iowa. Here he made his final settlement, 
 and this was his home for more than thirty- 
 three years, and until the time of his death. 
 
 When George Miller made his purchase the 
 Territory of Iowa was not organized. The 
 country thereabouts was almost in a state of 
 nature. The Indian and buffalo roamed freely 
 over its vast prairies and limited timber lands. 
 At the point on the Mississippi where he crossed 
 that river there was then but a single log cabin. 
 Now the site is occupied by the populous city 
 of Burlington, and the river -is spanned by an 
 iron railroad bridge. 
 
 Though engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
 George Miller never lost his interest in science. 
 As an evidence of this, he erected during the 
 last year of his life and at his own cost, a build- 
 ing containing a lecture room and apartments 
 for a museum and library. This edifice, called 
 " The Henry County Institute of Science," is 
 located on his own lands, near the thriving 
 village of Trenton. 
 
 While this building was in progress, he was 
 in declining health, and died at midnight of 
 the last day of the year 1869, at the age of 72 
 years and two months, unmarried. 
 
 He was a man of a retiring disposition, of 
 the strictest integrity, but very firm in all his 
 purposes. His aim was to do good to his 
 fellow-man; and as to the kind of good that 
 was uppermost in his mind towards the close 
 of his life, no sculptured monument could 
 more forciljly attest than 'flic Henry County 
 Institute of Science.'" 
 
 When my father lived at "Crosby 
 Place," Ridley Creek quarries, about 
 1833, a large colony of the Hiriindo 
 purpurea, early every spring took pos- 
 session of a long row of boxes placed 
 under the eaves of the roof of the 
 house, on the north-western side, and 
 were as noisy, at times, outside of the 
 building as the little Martins were in- 
 side. I remember the martens, and 
 the boxes being there when I was quite 
 young, and used to go on long visits 
 to my cousins, Robert P., Nathaniel 
 D., Catharine and Sarah Ann Crosby. 
 The birds were a continual source of 
 pleasure and interest to us children, 
 and we would watch them for hours. 
 Every one reading this, will recall the 
 beautiful song : " When the Swallows 
 homeward fly." 
 
 On Aug. 21, 1874, The Republican 
 of Chester, had the following on this 
 subject : 
 
 "A Marten Roost. — During the 
 past week, thousands of martens have 
 made their resting place on the trees, 
 in the deeply-shaded lawn of our neigh- 
 bor, John O. Deshong. These birds 
 are doubtless migrating south, and are 
 evidently resting preparatory to a long 
 flight in the direction of their winter 
 home. It is very unusual to see them 
 here in such vast numbers. Last fall 
 we noticed their arrival in large flocks 
 at Elkton, Md., where they remained 
 but a day or two. The martens that 
 hatch with us, usually arrive from the 
 4th to the loth of April, and after 
 raising two broods, dei)art in the early 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 483 
 
 part of August, often, if not always, 
 making their stay just four months — 
 sometimes to a day. ' ' 
 
 In the American Mi(seiim, 3 vol. 
 452, there is an amusing communica- 
 tion from Josiah Blakely, of Baltimore, 
 dated July 14, 1788, in reference to 
 swallows, in which he says he has been 
 informed, " that they are not birds of 
 passage ; but that the cause of their 
 sudden disappearance and irregular re- 
 turn was that they had a fixed day for 
 immersing into the water, but none 
 for emerging from it," &c. 
 
 In Hazaj'd's Register, 12 vol., 192, 
 the date of the departure of the mar- 
 tens from Lancaster, is given in the 
 following years: — In 1824, they left 
 on September 15th; in 1825, on the 
 loth; in 1826, on the 13th; 1827, 
 on the 17th; 1828, on the 15th ; 1829, 
 on the 13th; 1830, on the nth; 1831, 
 on the 15th ; 1832, on the 15th ; 1833, 
 on the 4th. The greatest variation in 
 seven years not exceeding 13 days. 
 
 The winter of 1833-4, was a very 
 severe one ; the snow, in Delaware 
 County covering the tops of the fences ; 
 then a mild spell came, and it rained 
 on top of the snow and froze as it fell, 
 forming a thick, hard crust, sufficiently 
 strong to bear the weight of a man, and 
 remained so for a couple of weeks or 
 more. I remember skating to school 
 on the crust, and in places where the 
 snow had drifted over the tops of the 
 fences. No doubt the early departure 
 of the martens in the fall of 1833, gave 
 occasion to the weather-wise to pro- 
 phecy a hard winter, and for once they 
 were right. 
 
 There was an interesting essay en- 
 titled ''Notes on some of our Winter 
 Birds,'' read before a meeting of the 
 Delaware County Institute of Science, 
 in 1873, by Charles G. Ogden, of 
 
 Springfield; from a report of which, 
 I made the following extracts at the 
 time. I regret not having kept the 
 whole paper ; what I have preserved is 
 thus abbreviated : 
 
 "The Crow we always have with 
 us, and notwithstanding the ravages 
 he sometimes commits in early sum- 
 mer upon our young poultry and ten- 
 der sprouts of corn, one cannot witness 
 his distress during such long continued 
 snows as we have had the present win- 
 ter, without a feeling akin to pity. 
 
 By far the most numerous of all our 
 winter birds, is the little slate-colored 
 Snow-bird. Everybody knows this 
 hardy little stranger and nearly all are 
 somewhat familiar with its habits. I be- 
 lieve it has never been known to breed in 
 this part of Pennsylvania. In the sum- 
 mer it proceeds very far to the north, 
 and is known to breed in large numbers 
 within the Arctic circle. The snow- 
 bird arrives in this locality about the 
 middle of the Tenth month, and until 
 cold weather, confines itself to the old 
 fields and about the borders of the 
 woods. At the first snow or very cold 
 weather, it approaches the house and 
 barn, where it is generally a regular 
 visitant until mild weather, when it 
 returns to its haunts of the previous au- 
 tumn. At this time it may often be heard 
 warbling its low but very sweet notes. 
 It leaves here for its summer residence 
 towards the last of the Fourth month. 
 
 In winter the snow-birds have been 
 almost constantly associated with two 
 other species of Fingilla, — the Song 
 Sparrow and the Tree Sparrow; the 
 former of which remains with us the 
 entire year, and is one of our earliest 
 and best singers ; the latter, which is a 
 regular visitant from the north, though 
 regularly associating with the others, is 
 more shy. 
 
484 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Aiiotlier most interesting little bird 
 is the Wliitrr JHr//, which is coni- 
 parati\ely rare, but has so much in- 
 dividuality as to be always noticed. 
 It is sometimes mistaken for the com- 
 mon House IVre/i of summer, and often 
 by residents near tide water, for the 
 Marsh IVrc?!, which it very much re- 
 sembles. It is, however, entirely dis- 
 tinct from either, and is only seen here 
 during the winter, while the others retire 
 to the south early in the autumn. It fre- 
 quents out-houses, and is fond of creep- 
 ing through the interstices of the wood- 
 pile like some little quadruped, owing 
 to' which propensity, it often falls a 
 victim to the cat, which may account 
 in some measure for its gradual disap- 
 pearance from our homesteads. It is 
 one of the few birds which often sings 
 with animation during the cold weath- 
 er, and it is much to be regretted that 
 it is not more common. 
 
 Braving .the intense severity of the 
 present winter, the Blue Bird\\zs, been 
 a constant resident of our locality. 
 His food at this season, I think, con- 
 sists entirely of cedar-berries, a plenti- 
 ful supi)ly of which may account for 
 his remaining constantly with us. In 
 very cold or cloudy weather he is silent, 
 and often not noticed by an inattentive 
 observer ; he ha.s, however, been seen 
 nearly every day, although we have 
 been unable to offer him any induce- 
 ments in the way of food. 
 
 Several times during the winter, I 
 came upon flocks of the Yellow Bird, 
 or Avierican Goldfijieh, feeding upon 
 the dried seeds of the rag-weed, Atn- 
 brosia artemisicpfolia, which protruded 
 above the snow. They were full of 
 life and animation, flitting from plant 
 to plant with the greatest vivacity. 
 The male of this bird lo.ses his bright 
 colors at the aj^proach f)f winter, and 
 
 assumes the [jlain olive-colored garb 
 of his mate. 
 
 I have looked in vain for the Snow 
 Buiiting^^' which during severe winters 
 sometimes visits this locality. It is 
 known as the White Snow-bird, and is 
 a most interesting little stranger. 
 
 A number of Cardinal Grosbeaks 
 have been observed, and I know of 
 two instances where, having been fed 
 on broken grains of corn, they have 
 lost much of their natural shyness. I 
 have several times surprised them along 
 the public roads, feeding with the snow- 
 birds and sparrows. 
 
 At the commencement of the cold 
 weather the Meadotu Larks were very 
 numerous, but the season has been too 
 severef for them, they have nearly all 
 disappeared — many, it is feared, per- 
 ishing with cold and hunger, a number 
 having been found frozen. This bird 
 usually winters with us, but always 
 seems to suffer much during long con- 
 tinued snows. The Carolina Pigeon, 
 or turtle dove, a few of which nearly 
 always pass the winter here, seems 
 better able to take care of itself. On 
 several of the coldest days, I found 
 them gleaning in the barn-yard among 
 the cattle. 
 
 A piece of fat pork attached to the 
 limb of a tree near my window, has, 
 during the cold weather, been almost 
 constantly frequented by a variety of 
 birds, among which have been noticed 
 the Downey Wood-pecker, the black 
 capped Nuthatch, the crested Titmouse, 
 
 * These birds are considerably larger than 
 the common snow-bird, and their feathers are 
 white, sprinkled with brown; they arc com- 
 mon in New Jersey, and are called by the 
 people there " Calico Birds'' 
 
 f The winter of 1872-3, was noted for its 
 heavy and frequent falls of snow, and the 
 thermometer often fell to about zero; it was 
 the severest winter in this latitude for a long 
 series f)f years. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 485 
 
 the black capped Titmouse, and most 
 amusing of all, the Blue Jay. The 
 Downey Woodpecker is the smallest of 
 its tribe, and probably the most numer- 
 ous, though it does not attract so much 
 attention as its more showy relative, the 
 red-headed woodpecker. It is an ac- 
 tive hardy little being, and doubtless 
 destroys immense quantities of insects 
 and their eggs. All who have apple 
 trees must often have noticed a regular 
 series of holes around the body of the 
 trees ; this little bird has been the 
 operator, and insects lurking there 
 have been his victims. Trees thus 
 operated upon, nearly always remain 
 healthy and productive. The black- 
 capped Nuthatch, is another most val- 
 uable auxiliary in the destruction of 
 insects ; instead of perforating the 
 bark, he creeps around the trunk and 
 larger branches of the tree, probing 
 behind loose pieces and often detach- 
 ing them entirely, of course securing 
 all he may find suitable for his pur- 
 pose. He seems to have a great pro- 
 pensity for working with his head 
 downwards ; in summer they retire 
 from about our habitations and are 
 not often seen. The crested Titmouse 
 is not very common, though it is more 
 frequently seen in winter than sum- 
 mer ; when it retires to the woods to 
 rear its young. It has a loud clear 
 whistle, which from the fancied re- 
 semblance of the notes to the words 
 "take care," coupled with the fact 
 that it whistles most lively before a 
 storm, it is sometimes called the 
 " Take-care Bird." I 
 
 Contrary to their custom, a number [ 
 oi Blue Jays have wintered in our lo- | 
 cality. Soon after the first fall of snow, 
 I noticed them hovering over the pig- 
 pen, and upon watching them more 
 closely, they were found to be feeding 
 
 upon the corn left by the pigs ; when 
 a jay-bird had secured a grain, he 
 would fly with it to the limb of a tree, 
 and then placing it under his toe, 
 would hammer at it, much in the 
 manner of a woodpecker, until he had 
 broken the kernel, when he would swal- 
 low the pieces. The Jay belongs to the 
 magpie family, and has much of the 
 cunning of that bird. Though noisy 
 enough at other times, in cold weather, 
 like most of other birds, they are gen- 
 erally silent." 
 
 The writer says, there are a number 
 of other winter birds he has not men- 
 tioned ; we can but regret that such 
 an attentive observer did not write of 
 all, their habits, &c. I noticed on 
 Oct. II, 1873, i^^^r Marcus Hook, the 
 swallows congregating in a field, upon 
 the trees and fences, in a large flock, 
 as if preparing to emigrate. It ap- 
 peared to me that they had remained 
 later than usual in our latitude. The 
 weather had, however, been charming, 
 no rain having fallen for 30 days, and 
 the woods had only just begun to put 
 on their vivid autumnal colors. The 
 month of October is almost always the 
 loveliest of the year, in the country 
 especially, for then the leaves of the 
 trees are ripening and changing their 
 colors; the wild flowers of the fields, 
 are then in full bloom, and a thin haze 
 lends enchantment to the distant view, 
 perchance across the glistening river 
 into the far distant hills of Jersey, as 
 I saw it on that day^ on the highlands 
 back of Marcus Hook, near the hand- 
 some residences of David Trainer and 
 his sons. The sun shone with a mel- 
 low golden light, the air was still and 
 balmy, while on the glistening waters of 
 the Delaware, there steamed by a mag- 
 nificent ship of war with our country's 
 colors at her gaft", her ports open, and 
 
486 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 lier deck crowded with men, " Home- 
 ward bound. " It was a day that made 
 me think of Park Benjamin's beauti- 
 ful lines : 
 
 "A sliimmering liaze upon the landscape rests, 
 The sky has on its softest robe of blue, 
 And the slant sunbeams glisten thro' 
 Slow floating clouds, that lift their snow-white 
 
 crests, 
 'Mid the pure currents of the u])per air. 
 The fields are dressed in autumn's faded green, 
 And tre^s no more their clustering foliage wear : 
 Vet nature smiles — how lovely and serene, 
 How sweetly breathes this life-inspiring gale, 
 Stirring yon silver lake's transparent wave ! 
 Could we but dream that winter, sternly pale. 
 Would never o'er this scene of beauty rave." 
 
 In the Republican of April 24, 1874) 
 the following occurs under the head of 
 improvements: "The piles are noW 
 being driven on Lewis Ladomus' pro- 
 perty in this city, at the east side of 
 the bridge on Third Street, prepara^ 
 tory to erecting two new store build- 
 ings. This improvement when finished 
 will bring 'Ladomus Block' flush to 
 the bridge, and complete that portion 
 of one of our busiest thoroughfares. 
 Few among our wealthy citizens have 
 devoted so largely of their means in 
 building up the city as Mr. Lado- 
 mus has done, and the public spirit 
 he thus displays is highly commend- 
 able. We hope he may be amply re- 
 warded for his liberality and enter- 
 prise." 
 
 The older inhabitants of Chester 
 will recall the father of my friend 
 Lewis, Charles A. Ladomus, who was 
 quite a small man, who carried on the 
 business of a jeweller and watchmaker, 
 at the S. E. corner of Third and Edg- 
 mont Avenue, and who died at Ches- 
 ter, Dec. 30, 1857, in his 76th year, 
 having been born on the Rhine in 
 France, in 1782. At the time of the 
 French Revolution, his mother being 
 
 of nol)le blood, had to flee at night, 
 with her children, (Charles Alexander 
 being then an infant in arms,) into 
 Germany, where the family afterwards 
 remained; Charles A. being the only 
 one who emigrated to America. Ja- 
 cob, his elder brother, founded a Poly- 
 technic College at Carlsruhe, and was for 
 many years the Gehime Hoffardt, i. e., 
 the Mayor or cJiief judicial officer of 
 that city. Lewis, his second brother, 
 was an officer in Napoleon's army, and 
 was with him at the battle of Waterloo ; 
 his sword is now in possession of his 
 nephew, Joseph, of Chester. Charles 
 A. was in Berlin at the time of the 
 battle of Jena, when the German troops 
 retreated through the city, and acted 
 as interpreter to Napoleon. He after- 
 wards made a tour of Europe on foot, 
 which occupied 12 years. He then 
 came to the United States, and mar- 
 ried Catharine Schey, a widow, by 
 whom he had seven children, of whom 
 two died in infancy. She died April 
 io, 1874, in the 85th year of her 
 good old age, at the residence of her 
 son, Jacob, in Philadelphia. Their 
 eldest son, Jacob, married Adele, 
 daughter of Henry Ducommun, jew- 
 eller, of Philadelphia, by whom he had 
 only one son, who died in infancy. 
 Sometime after the death of his first 
 wife, Jacob married again, Caroline 
 Atherton, daughter of Nathaniel, also 
 of Philadelphia, where he resides and 
 carries on the business of jeweller and 
 watchmaker, in ^Market Street. By 
 his second marriage he has issue, Em- 
 ily, Adele, Ellie and Henry. 
 
 Lewis, the second son, resides in 
 Chester, where he has erected a hand- 
 some private residence, situated on 
 14th Street, near the Pennsylvania 
 Military Academy. He is the owner 
 of nuich valuable real estate and is 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 487 
 
 largely interested in the prosperity of 
 his native town. He married Mary, 
 a daughter of John McCloud, of Phil- 
 adelphia, and they have born to them, 
 Catharine, Lewis, Adele Ducommun, 
 (who married, June lo, 1875, J- Engle 
 Cochran, Jr., of Chester,) Clara V., 
 and John Alexander. Although Lewis 
 resides in Chester, his business is car- 
 ried on in Philadelphia; like all the 
 rest of his family he is a jeweller and 
 watchmaker, and his extensive estab- 
 lishment is at No. 1 01 6 Chestnut St. 
 
 Joseph Ladomus, the third surviving 
 son, succeeded his father in the busi- 
 ness of a jeweller and watchmaker, in 
 his native town of Chester. His store 
 is in a portion of the old White Swan 
 Tavern, kept in Revolutionary times 
 by Cowpland, and in later days by 
 Jane Irwin. He married Henrietta, 
 daughter of Henry L. Powell, by whom 
 he has issue, Charles H., who is a civil 
 engineer; Williani P., Joseph H. and 
 Bonsall Grey. 
 
 Rosanna, one of the daughters of 
 Charles A. and Catharine Ladomus, 
 married Charles Burkheimer, and went 
 to Wilmington, North Carolina, to re- 
 side, and died there leaving one child, 
 a son, called Charles. Charlotte, the 
 other daughter, married Cadwallader 
 Evans, of Chester, and died in child- 
 birth with her infant. 
 
 Charles A. Ladomus, was a small, 
 bright, active little man, and seemed 
 always full of business and life. Al- 
 though Chester was then a sleepy old 
 town, he built up a good business, but it 
 was difficult to understand him when he 
 tried to talk English ; it was too much 
 for him to the end of his days. 
 
 From the Republican of Jan. 17, 
 1873, my store-house of local history, 
 I cut the following account of the 
 "Mechanics' Reading Room. — The 
 
 capital suit of rooms in the brick build- 
 ing on Third St., below Market, were 
 formally dedicated to the uses of a 
 Library and Reading-room, for the 
 mechanics and workingmen of this 
 city, on Saturday evening last. The 
 rooms are handsomely carpeted, and 
 well furnished for the purposes for 
 which they are intended. The hand- 
 some Brussels carpet that covers the 
 floor of the front room in the second 
 story, and a large chair, were the gift 
 of William Bucknell, Esq., of Phila- 
 delphia, and the carpet in the third 
 story was donated by Mrs. Lewis Cro- 
 zer. The pitchers, window hangings, 
 and quite a number of volumes were 
 the gifts of friends of the undertaking. 
 To Miss Laura Hard is the credit 
 due for this great addition to the com- 
 fort and convenience of our intelligent 
 mechanics, and it is to be hoped they 
 will take advantage of the opportunity 
 thus offered for mental improvement, 
 and add to and support the library 
 which has been opened for them. 
 The dedicatory ceremonies were of 
 deep interest to all present, and con- 
 sisted of a prayer by the Rev. Mr. 
 Shanafelt, and speeches of encourage- 
 ment by Rev. Mr. Brown and William 
 Ward, Esq. The attendance on Mon- 
 day night was large, and the indica- 
 tions are, that the project will be 
 entirely successful, and reflect credit 
 upon those who have its management." 
 The out-door exercise and muscular 
 development, as tending to increase 
 health and strength, has in this coun- 
 try, the last few years, obtained a pro- 
 minence among the young men, and 
 it is fashionable now to belong to some 
 kind of a Club of Athletes. Such an 
 association has now fine grounds in 
 Delaware County, consisting of five 
 acres, on which there is to be erected 
 
488 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 a handsonic club house. Tinicmn has 
 its Sportsman's Chib ; Chester, its 
 Fishing Chib; Base Ball Clubs are 
 all over the county, and now Haver- 
 ford has her Cricket Club, as the fol- 
 lowing circular shows: 
 
 "The Merion Cricket Club after 
 several years of unwearied persever- 
 ance, has at length succeeded in leasing 
 a field suitable for a Cricket-ground. 
 It- is situated about half a mile from 
 Ardmore station, on the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad, seven miles from the city 
 depot. 
 
 The field is capable of being made 
 not only an excellent Cricket-ground, 
 but, it is hoped and intended, will be 
 the most elegible and well-arranged 
 ground in the neighborhood for match- 
 es at archery, croquet and kindred 
 games. Funds are being raised among 
 members and friends of the Club, for 
 the purpose of erecting a suitable club 
 house, for implements, dress, &c., which 
 will be built with porch and balcony 
 for the accommodation of spectators. 
 
 To put it in proper order will require 
 a large outlay of money and high rental. 
 The cost of keeping the ground in or- 
 der, with the other regular expenses, 
 will require a much larger revenue than 
 has heretofore been realized, and this 
 can only be supplied by an increase of 
 membership. 
 
 The Merion Cricket Club, represents 
 particularly the line of the Pennsylva- 
 nia R. R., and its grounds are in the 
 midst of one of the most beautiful and 
 rapidly improving sections in the vi- 
 cinity of Philadelphia. This gives it 
 a peculiar claim to local support ; and 
 we hope that its friends in general, and 
 all who are intere.sted in the advance- 
 ment of the game of Cricket, or desir- 
 ous of seeing the establishment of a 
 good play-ground, will aid in this ef- 
 
 fort to make the Merion Cricket Club 
 an institution and a credit to the neigh- 
 borhood." 
 
 The Merion Cricket Club, was 
 organized, 1865, incorporated, 1874. 
 
 President — J. Hunter Ewing, of 
 Radnor, Delaware County. 
 
 Vice-President — Harry Sayres, of the 
 city of Philadelphia. 
 
 Secretary — Edward S. Sayres, Jr., 
 Esq., of the Philadelphia Bar. 
 
 Treasurer — William W. Montgom- 
 ery, Esq., of the Philadelphia Bar. 
 
 Gj'oiind Committee — Rowland Ev- 
 ans, Samuel M. Garrigues, George 
 Ashbridge, James P. Townsend, and 
 Joseph M. Fox. 
 
 LIII. 
 
 There was issued by the American 
 Sunday-School Union, in 1876, a 
 charming little story called, " Two 
 Hundred Years ago, or Life in New 
 Sweden,^'' which purports to be the 
 Diary of a young girl who came over 
 in the Swa?i, in 1647, and is continued 
 until the arrival of Penn, giving a faith- 
 ful historical view of life and events on 
 the Delaware for thirty-five years ; it is 
 exceedingly interesting, and the names 
 of the people mentioned not being fic- 
 titious, adds to the interest. 
 
 From Lippincotf s Magazine for Sep- 
 tember, 1872, I copy a part of the 
 article entitled, ''Through William 
 Penn's Low Counties," premising, 
 however, that the author has fallen 
 into the error of saying, that the old 
 cooper shop, formerly occupied by 
 Samuel Long, was the building in 
 which the first Assembly of Pennsyl- 
 vania met ; when in fact it was the 
 first Meeting-House of Friends, and 
 was not erected until 1693, eleven 
 years after the first Assembly was held ; 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 489 
 
 no doubt in the Court House, i. e., 
 the House of Defence. Another error 
 occurs. He calls Delaware County, 
 "Penn's Low Counties." The lower 
 counties are situated wholly within the 
 State of Delaware ; otherwise the arti- 
 cle is of sufficient interest to be pre- 
 served in this work; except perhaps 
 some flights of fancy, and scraps of 
 poetry, which I have omitted. With 
 these omissions made, the article, 
 which is written in a jocular vein, 
 reads as follows : 
 
 We started from Chester. Had it been the 
 Chester of Old England, what a comely and 
 creditable point of departure ! Chester on the 
 Dee is the neatest, most finical and most care- 
 fully kept bit of show antiquity in Europe. 
 The riantagenet houses are there intact, their 
 upper stories horsed upon the lower, and form- 
 ing long promenades hung in mid-air^the 
 famous Rows of Chester — Their carved beams 
 show upon the surface, and their interiors 
 prove their mummied antiquity by an inde- 
 scribable, individual, characteristic, not the 
 newest — smell. You can run all around the 
 town on the top of the city wall, which the 
 Romans founded : we knov>' it, for we did so 
 once, the controlling cause of our velocity be- 
 ing a spring storm driving straight and cold 
 upon us from the mountains of Wales. There 
 is a cathedral, but not so fine a one as to take 
 away from the effect of the old houses. Here- 
 in Chester differs from Rouen, which also has 
 fine old Norman mansions, but which fronts 
 up everyM'here into such a champagne of florid 
 church-Gothic that the imagination is intoxi- 
 cated, Chester is a good old homely English 
 mulled wine. The American tourist usually 
 takes it as a stirrup-cup at the outset of his 
 journey, for Chester is the first city he sips 
 after landing at Liverpool, and its wholesome, 
 crusty, blithe flavor lasts him a long way. 
 Chester is an heirloom, a quaint and precious 
 toy, for ever being polished and cleansed like 
 a grandfather's watch. When a house decays 
 they build another of mediseval pattern. The 
 old defensive towers at the angles of the walls 
 are now beautiful little make-believe curiosity- 
 shops, buried in gilliflowers and roses. The 
 new inn, the Crosvenor, built to resemlile a 
 
 hostlery at which King Harry might have 
 lodged, is one of the most comfortable in Eng- 
 land, the sham-antiquity not penetrating be- 
 yond the externals. In a fair meadow out- 
 side, like the print of a Roman amphitheatre 
 on the grass, is the race-track where they run 
 for the Chester Cup. 
 
 We started, however, from Chester-on-Del- 
 aware, not Chester-on-Dee. And the colonial 
 Chester, if not a finished, coaxed, flattered and 
 perfected type like the gi-and-motherly old 
 English town, had an import peculiar to itself. 
 So far from being a show-pattern city, it has 
 the more pathetic interest attached to a jilted 
 city, a ville juanquee, an unachieved capital. 
 Chester, with reason expected, as we may 
 express it,' to be Philadelphia. The oldest 
 city in Pennsylvania, its town-lots showing 
 European titles back to 1645, it was an empo- 
 rium and a seat of justice while the future 
 capital was a mere coronet of pines upon the 
 bluff above the junction of the Delaware and 
 Schuylkill. 
 
 There appears to be conclusive proof that 
 Penn's first notion was to make Chester his 
 capital city. A journal of Henry Hollings- 
 worth, assistant to Penn's Surveyor-General, 
 has been quoted, to the effect that the Governor 
 caused his first observations to be taken at 
 Chester, with the intention of fixing his city 
 there, but afterwards finding that it was not 
 far enough north from the fortieth degree, 
 the boundary-line of Lord Baltimore, he 
 changed his mind, and chose his site at the 
 confluence of the two rivers. Yet this was a 
 disappointment to some of his colonists. The 
 Governor got his province in January, 1681 ; 
 sevens months after, in three ships, he sent 
 out an instalment of his persecuted, scourged, 
 prison-freed Quakers ; but the three ships were 
 not equally good sailers, for one of them was 
 blown to the West Indies, and rolled in its 
 cargo of sore Englishmen among the orange 
 groves ; and another, the Factor, never found 
 the Delaware until December, when it got 
 packed in the ice here at Chester, and went 
 no farther, while its placid passengei^s, content 
 to be ice-bound, settled tranquilly upon the 
 shore. They were well received, for a well- 
 to-do Quaker, Robert Wade, with others of 
 the sect, had lived here among the Swedes 
 some half a dozen years. 
 
 The site of Philadelphia was not fixed until 
 the best part of a year after this icy reception. 
 
490 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 That decision was late in 1682, a year in wliich 
 twenty-three ship-loads of Penn's placid avant- 
 guard set sail for Pennsylvania, (a child born 
 on the voyage was named Sea-Mercy,) many 
 of them adhering at Chester; and in which, in 
 August, the happy Founder himself embarked 
 for his new world. 
 
 On Sunday, Oct. 29, 1682, the miUl Ches 
 trians were treated to a fete, an occasion of 
 solemn gladness which must have caused even 
 their well-schooled spirits to exult a little. The 
 Welcome hove-to near the shore, and the Well- 
 Desired, the beloved, the chief and leader, the 
 young enthusiast who was to give them an 
 Eden, was among them. He had paused for 
 forty-eight hours at Newcastle, where the 
 Dutch and Swedes, yielding at once to his 
 youth, comeliness and sunny looks, had be- 
 sought him to add them to his colony ; and 
 had passed without unnecessary delay to Ches- 
 ter as his proper court. Penn was then thirty- 
 eight — a young man, with fine dark eyes, too 
 merry, the elders said, for a Quaker preacher, 
 and very light and vigorous. Shortly after 
 this, while eating roast acorns with the Indian 
 braves and watching their Olympic games on 
 the site of Philadelphia, he yielded to the spirit 
 of the scene, jumped with the best of the red 
 leapers, and out-jumped them all. We are 
 apt to base our idea of his appearance upon 
 the engraving of "Penn's Treaty," but this 
 popular print is a mass of mis-statement, and 
 gives no idea of the youthful good-looks or 
 the easy urbanity of the Founder. 
 
 The Governor then, cutting with hasty prow 
 the fresh river that formed his boundary-line, 
 passed between the crimson woods, so new a 
 sight to him, and made for Chester. We can 
 fancy the scene of his progress, attended by 
 the canoes of the naked and anointed savages, 
 and by the boats of the Swedes, who vol- 
 untarily used the river and stream for their 
 streets in preference to the vine-entangled 
 laurel chapparal of the shore. Landing at 
 Wade's mansion for prayers and thanksgiving, 
 he found himself, with exquisite emotions, 
 among the old comrades he had known in 
 England, now living, like ancient hermits of 
 Syria, in caves of the earth and dens. The 
 Quakers were fraternal ; the Indians were 
 "very loving;" the Swedes, the ancestors of 
 such stately Philadelphia families as the Swan- 
 sons and Stilles, were a kind of mild satyrs 
 in their leather jerkins and moccasons, their 
 
 leather jiettic(jats and jackets for the females : 
 they assimilated with the new chief with all 
 the enthusiasm of Calibans. The Essex House, 
 Wade's handsome mansion (built in 1675), was 
 open to all \\ho would feast. The Indian 
 hunters, their l)odics smeared with black earth 
 from the sea-side against the heat, staggered in 
 with fat bucks, sold at two shillings ; wild 
 pigeons were like clouds ; swans were abund- 
 ant, and thirty-pound turkeys sold for a shil- 
 ling ; the Delaware was alive with fish, the 
 sturgeons vaulting into the air several at once, 
 and sometimes leaping into the canoes and 
 oversetting them ; while .shad {a/Zoes I'enn 
 calls them) sold for twopence. 
 
 The historical painter might find a theme 
 again in a solemnity which took place the .same 
 year — the yielding up to Penn, by the Duke 
 of York's agents, of Newcastle, and the Lower 
 Counties, with formal tangibility, by the de- 
 livei-y of luf/ and water. As for the famous 
 Treaty under the Tree, although it needs one 
 more representation for the sake of recording 
 the facts truly as they occurred, yet it is of less 
 consequence than is generally supposed, hav- 
 ing been not a treaty for the land of Pennsyl- 
 vania, but a mere sentimental arrangement, or 
 " chain of friendship." 
 
 The charmed idyl of these settlers' lives con- 
 tinued for years ; it is hard for the imagination 
 to get quit of so delicious a vision. The sons 
 of peace lived among the wild things like St. 
 Francis, of Assisi. The lions of the forest, 
 the red-skins, became tame and brought them 
 food. The Swedes' block-houses, their church- 
 es pierced with loop-holes for Indian warfare, 
 became useless. In a cave under the Phila- 
 delphia cliff, little Rebecca Coleman was found 
 feeding a snake from her porridge-bowl, tap- 
 ping its head with a spoon and saying, " Keep 
 to thy part." In another such cave the Mor- 
 ris family were fed by their cat, who brought 
 in a fat hare when provisions were failing. 
 The jolly Governor, riding to meeting, caught 
 up little Rebecca Jones barefoot, pillioned her 
 behind him, and introduced her in that state 
 to the grave sanhedrim. At Germantown, 
 while Richard Townsend was mowing, a 
 young deer came curiously up to him, ad- 
 vanced and retreated, coquetted for a long 
 time, and at last struck against a tree and fell : 
 we wish we could say that Townsend tamed 
 the deer as St. Giles tamed the holy child ; 
 but meat was scanty, and he ate it. 
 
IIISTOIIY OF CHESTEH. 
 
 41) I 
 
 Among such cliaraclcrs Penn introduced 
 himself as a lawgiver. In a one-and-a-half 
 story brick house on Chester Creek, he held 
 the first Assembly of Pennsylvania, opening the 
 session (as was habitually done for some years 
 afterward in the Legislature of this State) with 
 a season of silent worship. The oaken chair 
 in which Penn presided was long kept, and 
 the house itself survived within the present 
 generation. Here, in three days, were passed 
 the sixty-one articles of the Great Law of 
 Pennsylvania — revolutionary laws, trivial laws, 
 grand and petty matters arranged together in 
 that absence of perspective which character- 
 izes great moral revolutions. Some of them, 
 recognizing the " consent of the governed" as 
 a necessary element in the State, prepared in 
 the most outspoken way for 1776 : others were 
 against scolding or against health-drinking. 
 Here in Chester, fresh from the presence of 
 the King, he planted the idea that was to cul- 
 minate in American independence. Ilis doc- 
 trines were the terror of the very monarch from 
 whom he received his charter; their practical 
 enforcement had dethroned and slain that 
 monarch's father, they were imbibed from 
 Locke, and from Algernon Sidney, who in a 
 year or two died for them on the scaffold. They 
 were to blossom into the American Revolution. 
 " Obedience without liberty is slavery," said 
 Penn ; linking with this axiom another Carly- 
 lean doctrine, to which we Americans are even 
 yet but slowly awakening, that " liberty with- 
 out obedience is confusion." 
 
 And the Chester that we left— the Chester 
 that was neither the beautiful walled town of 
 England, nor the block-house-and-cave city 
 of 1682— what was it like? What progress 
 has it made ? 
 
 Long after that date the inhabitants, unwil- 
 ling to accept the situation, and Ijlind to the 
 fact that Chester Creek could never compete 
 with the Schuylkill as a feeder for Delaware 
 navigation, were determined to improve it as a 
 shipping port. In 1700, ninety of them peti- 
 tioned the Assembly that, " Whereas Chester 
 is daily improving, and in time may be a good 
 place, the Queen's Road be laid out as direct 
 as possible from Darby to the bridge on Ches- 
 ter Creek." The road below Chester was 
 called the King's Road ; the " Queen's Road," 
 extending upwards to Philadelphia, and for a 
 long time showed milestones sculptured with 
 (^ueen Anne's arms. As a shipping-])cirt it 
 03 
 
 has had no importance, nor ever will have; 
 but as a shipping-dock, for the construction 
 of ^•cssels to be used elsewhere, it has risen to 
 a reputation that gives it the most of its present 
 consequence. The river here, a mile and a 
 half broad, is not impeded by ice once in 
 twenty years. Two years ago, Mr. John 
 Roach, proprietor of the Morgan Iron Works, 
 and of other great establishments in New York, 
 bought a large extent of river frontage at 
 Chester, for the establishment of a great iron 
 and ship-building and engine works. Thus 
 it happened that, going down through the box- 
 like houses and warm gardens of Chester, to 
 view the fresh Delaware, as it rolled its ame- 
 thystine and cccan-like waves upon the peb- 
 bles, we found the air in that region clamorous 
 with the sound of hammers on iron, and al- 
 ready upon the stocks a iiowd df hw^c levia- 
 thans, two iron Pacific mail stL-anu is, a ferry- 
 boat, a Texas ship, and a " Dickerson ship," 
 to run from New ^'ork to New Orleans. The 
 business of the place, long dormant, has grown 
 wonderfully since the introduction of steam for 
 manufactures, some thirty years baek. The 
 population has doubled in ten years, and now 
 reaches near fourteen thousand. Living is 
 fine and cheap, oysters and fish are a drug, 
 and you drink the cool water of the Delaware, 
 pumped up by steam into the city reservoir. 
 The development of the place is no longer left, 
 as in the good old days, to accident or the 
 natural growth of the limbs beyond the gar- 
 ment. The modern screw is applied — the 
 "Improvement Company." A year back an 
 association of this kind was formed, with Wil- 
 liam Ward, a self-made man, and Girard- 
 CoUege orphan, at the head of it. Tracts of 
 river-land were Ijought with good wharfage, 
 close to the line of the P. W. & 15. railroad , lands 
 graded, railway liranches grafted on the main 
 stem, Idiots laid out, three grand manufactories 
 started. When natural advantages are irre- 
 sistible, and then superadded forces of this 
 kind are applied by intelligent speculators, a 
 city can sleep no longer : she ;;/;«/ be great. 
 
 An antiquarian might strike a line of inves- 
 tigation by taking hold of the times before the 
 application of steam to manufacturing, and 
 tracing up the industries fed by the water- 
 powers which concentrate at Chester. Four 
 streams (called in Southern dialect "creeks") 
 enter the Delaware within two miles of each 
 other in the neiiililiorhood of the town — Ches- 
 
I!)2 
 
 IIISTOKY OF CIIESTEK. 
 
 UT Creek, Ridley Creek, Cruin Creek, Darby 
 Creek. Not only do the harvests they traverse, 
 
 Send down the air a greeting to the mills 
 Oil the tlidl thunder of alternate ilails, 
 
 l.iil ihc oilt.iii and lll.res from half the Stales 
 in the Union are woven into tissues by mills 
 upon their banks. Some are very ancient, and 
 yield curious histories. Up on Chester Creek 
 the "Ivy Mills'' iDaper-mill, which was the 
 pioneer of this species of manufactures on the 
 American continent, still stands ; it was already 
 .'.ncicnl when Benjamin Franklin's prinling- 
 liaper and the sheets for the Continental Cur- 
 rency were made there. The " I\y Mills'' 
 was the very last hand-mill in the United Slates 
 to succumb to machinery. A mile off is 
 "(lien Mills," where the peculiar paper now 
 used by the Treasury Department for the 
 L'nitctl States Currency is made — an agent of 
 the Dei)arlment residing near the mill, with a 
 force to guard it from violation. In one of 
 the buildings the Messrs. Willcox manufacture 
 most of the music-paper used in the United 
 States, and a grade, celebrated in the trade 
 of collar-paper. Near Glen Riddle, on Ches- 
 ter .Creek, at Crozerville, John I'. Crozer 
 established his colossal fortune by the altera- 
 tion of old historic paper and grist-mills into 
 woolen and cotton-factories, and died full of 
 honors. On Crum Creek, the Wallingford 
 cotton-mills have been owned in the family 
 of the present proprietor, Mr. Lew is, for more 
 than a hundred years. In this locality again, 
 was the first railroad ever built in the United 
 States. It was a gravity road, like the cele- 
 brated switchback at Mauch Chunk, and was 
 made in 1809, by Thomas Leiper, to connect 
 his granite cpiarries with his landing on Crum 
 Creek. 
 
 In 1850, Chester gave uj) to Media (five 
 miles northward) its dignity as seat of justice 
 for. Delaware County. Media is famed for its 
 excellent Training-School for Feeble-minded 
 Children ; the best of its kind in America, 
 under the care of Dr. J. N. Kerlin ; also for 
 its Inebriate Asylum, (kept by Dr. Joseph 
 Parrish,) wittily .styled "an Aquarium," by 
 one of its brilliant inmates in a paper contri- 
 bution to this Magazine, Sept., 1866." 
 
 I have a long list of marriages and 
 deaths of old residents of Chester, 
 wliiclt it is iin])nssi])k' to get into the 
 
 cohnnns of a ne\vsi)ai)er in neat read- 
 able form, and in many cases there 
 would be a useless repetition of names 
 and dates already given in family 
 sketches. I liave also long lists of tlie 
 same kind called the " Dtitton Re- 
 cord," loaned me by Mr. Gilbert 
 Cope, of West Chester. Those curious 
 or interested in such matters will find 
 these MSS. hereafter, deposited with 
 the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 
 
 1 have not been able to obtain any 
 information concerning the fire de- 
 partment of Chester, except the fol- 
 lowing : When I was a boy in Ches- 
 ter, there was only an old hand fire 
 engine. The engine house was situ- 
 ated at the southwest corner of 5 th 
 and Market streets, alongside of the 
 old county buildings. There are seve- 
 ral fire companies now in the town, 
 one of which is called the Moyair.en- 
 sing Hook and Ladder Company, lo- 
 cated in an old frame building at the 
 southeast corner of 9th and Mechanic 
 Streets;* another, the Hanley Hose 
 Company, which was incorporated 
 Feb. 22, 1863, and whose hose house, 
 a handsome three-story brick building, 
 is situated on the north side of 5th 
 Street, east of Welsh Street. The com- 
 pany was named in honor of John 
 Hanley, who died a few years since. 
 
 My Aunt Smith says, that the dog- 
 gerel lines given at pj). 277 and '78, 
 are a modern version of more ancient 
 ones written about 1795, iii which her 
 
 *On July 26, 1875, the coiner stone of the 
 new building of the Moyamensing Hook and 
 Ladder Company, in Broad Street, near Up- 
 land, was laid with appropriate ceremonies. 
 The building is to be of brick, 60 feet in length 
 by 20 in width, and two stories high. This 
 company was formed in 1869, and was named 
 after the Moyamensing Hose of Philadelphia, 
 the Truck and Hose Carriage being the gift 
 of the latter. At the present time there arc 
 42 active members on the roll of the cumiianv. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 493 
 
 father's name (Dr. Martin's) was men- 
 tioned, beginning thus : 
 
 F'ire! Fire! cried Anthony Guyer, 
 Where? Where? said Squire Eyre, 
 It's up street, said Parson Heath, 
 It's down town, said Dr. Brown, 
 It's here ! It's here ! cried Charley Lear, 
 It's in Anderson's Hall, said Captain Paul, 
 You all are wrong ! said Peter Deshong, 
 It's up in the shed, said Morris' Deb, 
 You lie ! You lie ! cried Kerlin Sie, 
 I'll go to it, said Mrs. Hewitt, 
 You sha'nt, you sha'nt, said John Denant, 
 It's time you're startin', said Dr. Martin, 
 You'd better be quick, said Thomas Dick, 
 I'll be there in an hour, said Richard Flower, 
 Here's my oucket, said Jonathan Duckett, 
 Put on tbi^ water, said Martin Carter, 
 They're all too lazy, said Mrs. Daisy, 
 The roof is rotten, said Johnny Shotten,' 
 Keep off my toes, said Odenheimer's Rose, 
 I'll make them whiz, said Odenheimer's Liz. 
 
 The Pennsylvania Military Acade- 
 my, one of the institutions of which 
 Chester people are justly proud, is lo- 
 cated on a portion of the old Mcllvain 
 estate, in the immediate vicinity of 
 Chester, and its splendid pile of col- 
 legiate buildings is a striking object 
 in an approaching view of the town, 
 either by railroad or the river. The 
 institution was originally incorporated 
 by act of Assembly of April 8, 1862, 
 P. L., p. 336 ; under the name of the 
 " Chester County Military Academy," 
 with twenty-five trustees, and located 
 at West Chester, Chester County, Pa. 
 By a supplement to the Act of incor- 
 poration passed Feb. 21, 1868, the 
 location was transferred to Chester, 
 and its name altered to its present 
 more appropriate one. The Principal 
 of the Academy and its originator, is 
 Col. Theodore Hyatt, who is assisted 
 by a corps of competent instructors, 
 two of whom are graduates of the 
 United States Military Academy at 
 West Point, one of them having been 
 
 assigned as a military instructor under 
 a late Act of Congress. The course 
 of study pursued in the College, em- 
 braces civil and military engineering, 
 the practical sciences generally, Latin, 
 Greek, French and German languages, 
 togetherwith military instruction, both 
 practical and theoretical. The insti- 
 tution has the 'power to confer di- 
 plomas, degrees, honors and licenses. 
 The institution is in a Nourishing 
 condition, having, during the academic 
 year of 1870-71, four classes contain- 
 ing a total of 139 students; who dress 
 in a uniform of cadet gray, and are 
 furnished with arms by the United 
 States Government, viz. : 150 breech- 
 loading cadet muskets of the Reming- 
 ton pattern. This school is particu- 
 larly deserving of success ; its disci- 
 pline in study, in the barracks, and in 
 the streets is excellent. To youth, 
 the pomp, parade and circumstance 
 of military life are ever fascinating; 
 and in a college, the military disci- 
 pline thus introduced is of inestimable 
 advantage to the teacher, as well as of 
 lasting benefit during life to the stu- 
 dent. The want of the restraints that 
 only military discipline can give, has 
 made the majority of our colleges the 
 worst possible places to send young 
 men to be educated at. There is many 
 a family that has had a son, a brother, 
 or a young relative educated at col- 
 lege, that has cause in after years to 
 regret conduct caused by the unre- 
 strained liberty allowed to the students 
 while receiving their education at such 
 institutions. I speak advisedly, not 
 carelessly. 
 
 The Delaware County Paper and 
 Mail of March 27, 1877, says : ' ' The - 
 second number of the Pennsylvania 
 Military Academy journal. The Re- 
 veille, has appeared. It gives a lengthy 
 
494 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 report of the lioliilay exercises at the 
 Academy, on Washington's birthday; 
 an account of the management of the 
 military department of the institution, 
 and the regulations in force respect- 
 ing the uniforms worn by the cadets; 
 a notice of Capt, Hyatt's lecture ; per- 
 sonal notices of the whereabouts and 
 movements of former cadets ; a histo- 
 ry of the bayonet, and otlier interest- 
 ing matter." 
 
 Among the original purchasers of 
 land in England who settled in Ches- 
 ter, and some of whose descendants 
 are now residents there, will be found 
 the name of Jane Lownds, now Lownes, 
 of whom Dr. Smith says, p. 480, she 
 " came from Cheshire, where she had 
 suffered persecutions in the distraint 
 of her goods, in 1678, for attending 
 Friends' meeting at Newton and Selsby. 
 She was the widow of Hugh Lownes, 
 and was accompanied to this country 
 by three sons, Jaiiies, George and 
 Joseph. James married Susannah 
 Richards in 1692, and George, Mary 
 Bowers, a woman from New England, 
 in 1 701. Jane, on her first arrival, 
 located iier pinxhased land in Spring- 
 field Township, upon which a cave 
 was built that for some time accom- 
 modated the family as a dwelling. 
 The site of this cave is marked by a 
 stone planted by her descendants in 
 1799, which bears the date of the 
 l)atent for the land ( 1 685 . ) The meet- 
 ing, records show the presence of 
 Jane I>ownes here in May, 1684, and 
 she probably had arrived here a year 
 earlier. It was usual to occupy lands 
 a long time before they were patented." 
 [ remember well in my boyhood visit- 
 ing cousin Rebecca Crosby Lownes, 
 who lived in Springfield on part of the 
 above mentioned tract, and her daugh- 
 ters, my cousins, Sarah Crosby, and 
 
 Hannali Lane Lownes, were my school- 
 mates, both at Springfield and Ridley 
 schools. 
 
 James and Susanna Lownes had four 
 children, Joseph, b. 1693; Hannah, b. 
 1695 ; James, b. 1697, and Susanna. 
 The family removed to Philadelphia in 
 1 7 1 1 . Mary Lownes, wife of George, 
 was, perhaps, a daughter of Benanuel 
 Bowers, who suffered persecution in 
 New England. Her children were, 
 Jane, Esther, Ann, George, Mary and 
 Benanuel. George, Jr., married in 
 1734, Elizabeth, daughter of Morde- 
 cai Maddock, of Springfield ; and his 
 brother, Benanuel, married in 1774, 
 Alice Williamson, daughter of John 
 and Sarah, of Newtown. 
 
 In the account of the Cowpland 
 family given hereinbefore, (p. 273,) it 
 is stated that John Lownes, son of Jo- 
 seph and Sarah, of Philadelphia, mar- 
 ried Agnes Cowpland, a daughter of 
 Caleb and Sarah, of Chester, on the 
 27th of the 8th mo., 1753 ; their chil- 
 dren, Caleb, Sarah, Joseph, David, 
 Grace, who married Curtis Lownes ; 
 Agnes, who died in infancy ; and 
 Agnes (2nd,) who died in 1793, aged 
 16 or 17 years (reorge Lownes, and 
 Elizabeth, his wife had three sons, 
 Boulton, Joseph and Curtis. Boultoii 
 married Hannah Lawrence, a Quaker 
 lady. He died without issue. He 
 gave one of his farms to Isaac New- 
 ton, afterwards U. S. Commissioner 
 of Agriculture. Joseph was for some 
 time a Jeweller, in Chestnut east of 4th 
 Street, Philadelphia. Curtis married 
 his distant relative, Grace Lownes, as 
 above. John Lownes was born in 
 1723, and his wife, Agnes, Aug. 4, 
 1727. His mother was, probably, a 
 sister to her father's first wife, and a 
 daughter of William Tidmarsh. To 
 this record I add the following from 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 495 
 
 the family bible : Agnes Lownes, d. 
 May 2, 1775 ^ ^''^'" hi^isband, John 
 Lownes, d. Aug. 13, 1807. George 
 Lownes, d. 1 793 ; his son Curtis, d. 
 Oct. 23, 1810. Grace Lownes, the wife 
 of Curtis, d. Oct. 5, 1813. Emily 
 Lownes, a dau. of Curtis and Grace, 
 was /a Sept. 19, 1803; d. Jan. 1804. 
 Margaret, b. Feb. 17, 1805; d. Oct. 
 21, 1 810. Curtis, /'. Sept. 19, 1803 ; 
 a twin brother of Emily, d. April 2, 
 1821. 
 
 John Lownes, son of Curtis and 
 Grace, born March 10, 1796, was 
 a farmer, of Springfield. He married 
 Rebecca, daughter of John and Sarah 
 Lane Crosby, of Ridley, Jan. 13, 1820, 
 and died July 8, 1829, leaving sur- 
 viving, his widow and two daughters, 
 Sarah Crosby, who ni. Crosby P. Mor- 
 ton, Sept. 19, 1839, and had one child, 
 Susannah Crosby, Avho m. J. Frank 
 Black, of Chester, Feb. 16, 1865 ; see 
 ante, p. 145.) The other daughter, 
 Hannah Lane, m. William W. Mad- 
 dock, of Ridley, March 10, 1843, ^"^ 
 their son Lownes, m. Elizabeth Wor- 
 rall, of Ridley, Jan. 22, 1872; they 
 have a son, Willie. William and Han- 
 nah had one other child, Willie, who 
 died in infancy. John and Rebecca 
 had a son, Curtis, who died at the age 
 of 3 years, July 18, 1829. 
 
 Agnes Lownes, daughter of Curtis 
 and Grace, who were marrjed Dec. 21, 
 1794', became the wife of Edward Le- 
 vis. She was b. May 13, 1797 ; date 
 of marriage is not given, only 181- ; 
 she d. May 19, 1871. Elizabeth 
 Lownes, dau. of Curtis and Grace, b. 
 Dei. 19, 1798; /;/. Samuel Huggins, 
 May 4, 1820; she is now dead. Es- 
 ther, another dau. of Curtis and Grace, 
 was born Oct. 12, 1810. Nothing 
 further is said regarding her in the 
 Bible. 
 
 Hugh Lownes, son of Benanuel and 
 Alice, of Springfield, was married in 
 1784, to Rebecca, daughter of James 
 Rhoads, of Marple. Their son, Jo- 
 seph, born I mo. 17, 1 787, died 4 mo. 
 8, 1872, was twice married ; and had 
 children, Rebecca, Hugh, William, 
 Phineas, Massey, Geo. Bolton, Joseph 
 and Elizabeth, born in Springfield. 
 
 LIV. 
 
 The following is as perfect a list of 
 the Doctors of Chester as I have been 
 able to compile : 
 
 John Goodson, 
 Joseph Richards,* 
 Paul Jackson, 
 David Jackson, 
 Jacob Tobin, 
 Richard Tidmarsh, 
 William Martin, 
 George W. Bartram, 
 Job. H. TerriU, 
 Dr. Brown, 
 William Gray, 
 Samuel Anderson, 
 Charles P. Fairlamb, 
 Ellis C. Harlan, 
 James J. Porter, 
 Jesse Kersey Bonsall, 
 John M. Allen, 
 Joshua Owen, 
 Charles J. Morton, 
 William J. Urie, 
 
 Dr 
 
 William B. Ulrich, 
 J. Larkin Forwood, 
 Isaac R. T. Coates, 
 E. Ridgely Graham, 
 William T. Bladen, 
 Coates Preston, 
 Theodore S. Christ, 
 Robert P. Mercer, 
 William W. Johnson, 
 T. E. Heenan, 
 Henry M. Lewis, \/ 
 EUwood Harvey, 
 John F. M. Forwood, 
 Thomas J. Mullin, 
 Joseph B. Dillworth, 
 Charles G. M. Griffiths, 
 A. P. Fields, 
 William S. Ridgely, 
 Samuel Starr, 
 Eugene K. Mott, 
 Dare. 
 
 Dr. John Goodson, who practiced 
 medicine in Chester as early as 1681, 
 was afterwards Deputy Governor of 
 the Province, under Gov. William 
 Markham, by a commission from Penn, 
 bearing date 9th mo. 24, 1694. See 
 I C. jR., 429. Dr. Paul Jackson died 
 in 1767, and Dr. David Jackson grad- 
 uated in 1768." He was Quarter-Mas- 
 ter General of Pennsylvanifi during 
 the Revolution. Dr. William Martin 
 graduated in 1786. Dr. Porter lived 
 in the old Porter mansion, but was no 
 relation to the Commodore. Dr. Dare 
 
 ■^"Joseph Richards is mentioned .is a physi- 
 sian, owning properly in Clicsler, i)rior to 1 700. 
 
496 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 was a HoiiKt'opathic Physician in Ches- 
 ter about 1861-2. In earlier days there 
 must have been, of course, other phy- 
 sicians practicing in Upland and Ches- 
 ter, whose names are now unknown. 
 
 The following is a brief account of 
 the Delaware Co. Medical Society. 
 
 In the spring of 1850, Dr. George 
 Martin of Concord Township, and 
 Dr. Ellwood Harvey of Birmingham 
 Township, resolved to attempt the or- 
 ganization of a County Society to co- 
 operate with other county medical 
 societies, and to become a part of the 
 State and National associations then 
 recently established. The first meet- 
 ing was held in the law-ofifice of John 
 M. Broomall, in Chester, on the second 
 day of May, 1850. 
 
 On motion of Dr. Harvey, Dr. 
 Joshua Owen, of Chester, was called 
 to the chair, and Dr. Martin appointed 
 Secretary. A preamble and resolutions 
 setting forth the necessity for organiza- 
 tion, were offered by Dr. Martin, and 
 were adopted. 
 
 On motion of Dr. Harvey, a Com- 
 mittee of three was appointed to draft 
 a Constitution, which was adopted at 
 a subsequent meeting, held in Chester, 
 on May 30, 1850, when the Society 
 had its birth, with the following mem- 
 bers : Drs. Jesse Young, Joshua Owen, 
 George Martin, Charles S. Heysham, 
 Manly Emanuel, Charles J. Morton, 
 Ellwood Harvey and Robert K. Smith. 
 
 Dr. Jesse Young was the first Presi- 
 dent ; Dr. Joshua Owen, Vice Presi- 
 dent ; Dr. R. K. Smith, Secretary ; 
 and Dr. E. Harvey, Treasurer. 
 
 A committee appointed to ol)tain 
 the names of all the physicians in the 
 county, reported as follows : Isaac 
 Anderson, Benjamin Anderson, Caleb 
 Ash, J. M. Allen, Dr. Atkins, Joseph 
 Black fan, \\. Rush Black fan, Samuel 
 
 A. Barton, Jesse K. Bonsall, Manly 
 Emanuel,WilliamGrey, J. N. Griffiths, 
 Charles S. Heysham, John T. Hud- 
 dleson, Dr. Hutton, Dr. Gregg, Dr. 
 Lewis, Charles J. Morton, Geo. Mar- 
 tin, Rolph C. Marsh, J. M. Moore, 
 Joshua Owen, J. J. Porter, C. W. 
 Pennock, Joseph Rowland, Dr. Rose, 
 Geo. Smith, Robert K. Smith, Thomas 
 Turner, Joseph Wilson, Jesse Young, 
 and Ellwood Harvey. The Society 
 retained vitality and was useful until 
 Feb. 24, 1857, when the attendance 
 at meetings having greatly fallen off, 
 it was unanimously resolved to dissolve 
 the Society. 
 
 A new organization of the same 
 name, and with the same purposes, 
 was organized on March 3, 1857. A 
 new Constitution was adopted and new 
 officers elected. Dr. Hillborn Dar- 
 lington was President; Dr. Manly 
 Emanuel, Vice President ; Dr. G. B. 
 Hotchkin, Secretary ; and Dr. Chas. 
 N. Budd, Treasurer. This organiza- 
 tion lasted until May 26, 1857 — a 
 little more than two months — and ac- 
 complished nothing. 
 
 On April 19, 1861, by invitation of 
 Dr. Joseph Parrish, Superintendent of 
 the Pennsylvania Training School for 
 Feeble Minded Children, near Media, 
 a number of physicians from various 
 parts of the county met to witness an 
 exhibition of the pupils of that institu- 
 tion. It was stated that invitations 
 had been sent to every physician in the 
 county that was known to Dr. Par- 
 rish, but a heavy storm and the mili- 
 tary excitement then prevailing, had 
 deterred many from attending. Those 
 present were : Drs. C. S. Heysham, 
 H. Darlington, S. A. Barton, C. Ash, 
 H. Pleasants, J. S. Parke, A. W. 
 Mathues, James W. Hoey, G. B. 
 Hotchkin, J. M. Allen, J. L. For- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTP:R. 
 
 497 
 
 wood, W. H. Forwood, Joseph Par- 
 rish, and Isaac N. Kerlin. It was 
 then unanimously resolved, that the 
 Delaware County Medical Society 
 should be revived. In accordance 
 with that resolution another meeting 
 was held at the same place on May lo, 
 1 86 1. The Constitution formed in 
 1 85 7 was adopted. The officers were : 
 Emanuel, President ; Parrish, Viee 
 President ; (i. B. Hotchkin, Secre- 
 tary; and Joseph Rowland, Treas- 
 urer. Meetings continued to be held 
 occasionally for two or three years, 
 but were very small and not of much 
 interest. The army drew so many phy- 
 sicians out of the county, that those 
 who remained were too busy to attend 
 Society meetings. 
 
 On May 16, 1865, a meeting was 
 held in the office of Dr. J. L'. For- 
 wood, and on his motion it was re- 
 solved, that "In consequence of the 
 long interruption to the meetings occa- 
 sioned by the general unsettlement of 
 the country; the Constitution be for- 
 mally re-adopted; the signatures of 
 those present be affixed as active mem- 
 bers ; and that other members be here- 
 after balloted for as required by the 
 Constitution." 
 
 Dr. Emanuel was elected President; 
 Dr. J. L. Forwood, Vice President ; 
 Dr. I. N. Kerlin, Secretary ; and Dr. 
 Charles J. Morton, Treasurer. The 
 meeting transacted some further busi- 
 ness, and there were no meetings for 
 nearly four years. 
 
 On March 16, 1869, a meeting was 
 held at Dr. Parrish's Sanitarium, Media, 
 and the following officers were elected : 
 President, Dr. Emanuel ; Vice Pre- 
 sident, J. L. Forwood ; Sec?-etary, 
 Isaac N. Kerlin ; Treasurer, Theodore 
 Christ. This was the first meeting of 
 a continuous series down to the present 
 
 day. The meetings are now held 
 monthly at houses of the different mem - 
 bers, special notice being sent by mail 
 to every member. 
 
 The present organization is as fol- 
 lows : President, Edwin Fussell ; Vice 
 Pre St., M. Fisher Longstreth; Treas- 
 urer, Theodore S. Christ; Secretary, 
 Linnaeus Fussell ; CcJisors, Theodore S. 
 Christ, Hillborn Darlington and Ell- 
 wood Harvey. 
 
 The following named physicians of 
 the county have been, and still are, 
 members of the Society. 
 
 George Martin, 
 Ellwood Harvey, 
 Manly Emanuel, 
 Charles T. Heysham, 
 Robert K. Smith, 
 Joshua Owen, 
 Jesse Young, 
 C. W. Pennock, 
 Charles J. Morton, 
 Caleb Ash, 
 Joseph Wilson, 
 Samuel A. Barton, 
 Thomas Turner, 
 Ruben H. Smith, 
 J. C. Hutton, 
 Joseph Rowland, 
 A. W. Mathues, 
 George Smith, 
 J. Howard Taylor, 
 Jesse W. Griffith, 
 Joseph NVilson, 
 J. P. Mcllvain, 
 J. T. Huddlesoli, 
 J. Morris Moore, 
 Hillborn Darlington, 
 James T. Hill, 
 J. Siter Parke, 
 Edward Young, 
 John A Thompson, 
 G. B. Hotchkin, 
 Edward Maris, 
 John M. Allen, 
 Jonathan L. Forwood, 
 Joseph Parrish, 
 Isaac N. Kerlin, 
 Joseph Rowland, 
 James J. McGee, 
 W. H. Forwood, 
 
 Charles D. Meigs, 
 H. Pleasants, 
 Henry M. Kirk, 
 H. T. W. Dickeson, 
 Isaac Taylor Coates, 
 T. L. Leavitt, 
 F. Ridgeley Graham, 
 Theodore S. Christ, 
 J. Pyle Worrall, 
 Lewis M. Emanuel, 
 
 C. C. V. Crawford, 
 Orrin Cooley, 
 
 T. E. Henan, 
 S. P. Bardeson, 
 William B. Ulrich, 
 James E. Garretson, 
 M. Fisher Longstreth, 
 W. C. Bacon, 
 John F. M. Forwood, 
 J. M. Rose, 
 Henry Pennypacker, 
 Henry M. Lyons, 
 John G. Thomas, 
 Jacob Boon, 
 M. Matthias, 
 
 D. Francis Condie, 
 Henry M. Carse, 
 Edwin Fussell, 
 Linnaeus Fussell, 
 
 E. T. Gammage, 
 John W. Eckfeldt, 
 Dillwyn Green, 
 Frank Rowland, 
 Rebecca L. Fussell, 
 D. W. Jefferies, 
 W. W. Johnson, 
 Samuel Trimble, 
 Wm. S. Ridgely. 
 
 In naming the officers who were first 
 chosen, and those who were elected 
 at each re-organization, it should not 
 be understood that they are the only 
 members who have been complimented 
 
49,8 
 
 lUSTOin' OF CHESTEK. 
 
 by such distinction. In tact, new 
 officers are elected yearly, or the old 
 ones re-elected, and it has thus hap- 
 pened that either as officers of the So- 
 ciety or as delegates to the State Con- 
 vention, and to the National Associa- 
 tion, nearly every member has received 
 all the honor that such ajjpointments 
 can confer. 
 
 The objects of the Society have been 
 pretty fully attained, notwithstand- 
 ing its frequent interruptions, and has 
 served to keep up a good feeling among 
 its members to effect their mutual im- 
 provement ; to establish and preserve a 
 just code of professional ethics ; to 
 maintain official relations of its mem- 
 bers with the State and National Asso- 
 ciations ; and in various other ways 
 to increase the usefulness of the pro- 
 fession and advance the interests of 
 the members. Every kind of vain 
 pretension to unusual skill, or to the 
 possession of valuable secret remedies 
 is forbidden by the Code of Ethics 
 adopted by all the medical societies in 
 the United States, and in accordance 
 with that code the Delaware County 
 Medical Society expelled one member 
 for advertising a secret remedy for sale. 
 In accordance with this action was the 
 appointment of a committee by the 
 same meeting, May 26, 1853, ''to 
 draft resolutions expressing the appro- 
 bation of this Society in relation to 
 Y. S. Walter's constant refusal to pub- 
 lish quack advertisements in the Dela- 
 ware County Republican^ 
 
 As showing the liberal .sentiments of 
 Delaware County Physicians, it may 
 be mentioned, that an attempt was 
 made by one me mber to cast reproach 
 upon another for having accepted a 
 professorship in the Female Medical 
 College of Pennsylvania, but the effort 
 was not only unsustained, but was dis- 
 
 api)roved by every other member of 
 the Society. It may also be mentioned 
 in this connection, that three ex-pro- 
 fessors of that college, and one lady 
 graduate of it, are now members of the 
 Society. In 1851, Drs. Harvey, R. 
 K. Smith, and Martin, were appointed 
 to make a sanitary report to the State 
 Medical Society, which they did ; and 
 Drs. Martin and Harvey, assisted by 
 Dr. Samuel Trimble of Concord Town- 
 ship, an expert mineralogist, made a 
 pretty thorough geological survey of 
 the County and a chart, which was 
 published in the transactions of the 
 State Society. This was the first geo- 
 logical chart of the County ever made, 
 and is the basis of all subsequent pub- 
 lications. In 1853, the Society united 
 with the Chester County Medical So- 
 ciety in the publication of a Medical 
 Journal intended chiefly to contain re- 
 ports of the transactions of the two 
 societies, but it was not long con- 
 tinued. • In conclusion it may be said 
 that the organization was never so 
 thoroughly vital as now, the meetings 
 being well attended by most of the 
 more prominent physicians of the 
 county. The lectures, essays, reports 
 of cases, discussions, &c., are highly 
 interesting and instructive, and the 
 good feeling that pervades every meet- 
 ing makes them .social events of more 
 than ordinary interest to all who are 
 so fortunate as to attend. 
 
 I give here an account of the pro- 
 ceedings of one such meeting of the 
 Society held recently, (1874.) 
 
 " A stated meeting of the Delaware County 
 Medical Society was held on Thursday after- 
 noon at the residence of Dr. Christ, in Ches- 
 ter, Dr. Fussel, President, in the chair. Mem- 
 bers present, Drs. Ilarvcy, Ulrich, Christ, 
 Green, Kerlin, Jefferics and Allen. In the 
 absence of the Seeretary, Dr. Allen was a))- 
 jjointcd Sciriiary pro triii. 
 
HlSTOllY OF CHE8TKH. 
 
 409 
 
 rrofessor Addiiiell llewson, of Philadel- 
 phia, was present by invitation of the Society, 
 and delivered an interesting and instructive 
 lecture on the use of Earth Dressing in differ- 
 ent varieties of wounds, ulcers, and other in- 
 juries and diseases requiring a local applica- 
 tion. The lecture was followed by a general 
 discussion, participated in by the several mem- 
 bers of the Society, upon the subject. On 
 motion of Dr. Allen, a vote of thanks was 
 tendered Dr. Hewson for his very able and 
 entertaining discourse. 
 
 The Training School, at Media, was se- 
 lected as the ne.xt place of meeting; lecturer, 
 Dr. Harvey. 
 
 After the adjournment of the Society the 
 members were invited into the dining room, 
 where an elegant and substantial entertain- 
 ment had been prepared by Mrs. Christ, to 
 which full justice was done. 
 
 With many thanks to Dr. C. and lady for 
 their h^pitality, the Society adjourned." 
 
 The following sketch will recall an 
 eminent Physician of Chester. 
 
 William Gray, son of George and 
 Martha, 7n. Rachel Hill in 1791, dau. 
 of John and Mary, h. in 1770. Wil- 
 liam, their son, b. 1795, was the well- 
 known Doctor William Gray, who 
 lived at the N. W. cor. of 5 th and 
 Market Streets. His father died in 
 1795, and his mother Rachel married 
 Nathan Sharpies in 1804, and died in 
 1808. 
 
 Martha Gray, dau. of William and 
 Rachel, /'. 1793, m. William Palmer 
 in 1822, and had a son William Gray 
 Palmer, b. 1824, and Moses Palmer, b. 
 1825. 
 
 Dr. William Gray, had an uncle 
 Thomas Steel, a miller in Darby, and 
 commenced to learn the business, but 
 becoming disgusted with it, studied 
 medicine under Doctor Warfield of 
 Maryland, a relation of his, and a 
 cousin of the Leipers. The Doctor 
 married Martha Bonsall, a daughter of 
 Edward and Hannah. Mrs. Bonsall 
 (i » 
 
 was a daughter of John and Martha 
 Gibbons of Chester. 
 
 Dr. Smith says, p. 491: "Thomas 
 Pearson, freqtiently called Thomas Per- 
 son, with his wife Margery, came from 
 England with W^illiam Penn when on 
 his first visit to Pennsylvania. If any 
 reliance can be placed on tradition, it 
 was upon his suggestion that the name 
 of Upland was changed to Chester," 
 &c. Tradition is probably at fault in 
 this case, as the subject of Dr. Smith's 
 notice arrived the next year after Penn. 
 Beside this person there was another 
 Thomas Pierson, who says himself 
 that he arrived in Upland, Sept. 28, 
 1683, as will more fully appear by the 
 following paper and remarks thereon, 
 in the handwriting of Thomas Pierson, 
 himself. The paper is endorsed " Cer- 
 tificate, Joseph Kippen in Bristol," 
 and is as follows : 
 
 "Bristoll, the 24th of 8'"' 1675. 
 
 To all people to whom these presents 
 shall come this I signifie & certyfie 
 that The Bearer hereof: Tho : Peirson : 
 hath served me the ffuU terme of seven 
 years according to his Indenture Re- 
 corded in the * * * of this * * * in 
 witness whereof I have hereunto set my 
 hand the day and year above written. 
 Joseph Kippin." 
 
 The remarks of Pierson are in the 
 following words: "On.y'' 12th day of 
 y' 8th month in y^ yeare 1675, I had 
 sj^rved my Apprenticeship. On y'' 2d 
 day of y® 1 2th month in y" yeare Afores'^ 
 I went from Bristoll for London. On 
 y* 14th day of y^ 7th month in y" yeare 
 1676 I sailed from the Downes intend- 
 ing for Maryland in company w**" Wm. 
 Dixson. On y*" 9th day ofthe 9th month 
 in y*" yeare 1676, I Arrived in Great 
 Wicka Comma Coe River in Maryland 
 in y° Ship Called the 'Joseph & Ben- 
 
-■)()() 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 janiiii.' Matthew I'ain Conimandcr of 
 )'■ same. 'V. P. On y"-' 14th day of 
 y'' 12th month in y" yeare 1681-2, I 
 sailed from without y"' Capes of Cheseo- 
 l)eak bay in Maryland for England 
 in the Ship Called the ' Comfort' of 
 Bristol!. Thomas Whitop master. On 
 or about y'' 20th day of March 1682, I 
 arrived in Kingroad. On y° 25th day 
 of July in y'-'year 1683, I set saile from 
 Kingroad in y" 'Comfort,' John Reed 
 master, and arrived at Vpland in Penn- 
 silvania y'' 28th of September 1683." 
 It will be noticed that Pierson calls 
 Chester Vpland in 1683. He was no 
 insignificant person, or I could not so 
 easily identify his handwriting, which 
 is very neat and distinct. Soon after 
 his arrival here he was appointed by 
 Thomas Holme, the Surveyor General 
 of the Province, a Deputy Surveyor, 
 and his Warrant is in possession of the 
 Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 
 together with the paper copied above, 
 Thomas Peirson, Surveyor of New Cas- 
 tle County, and Isaac Taylor, Surveyor 
 of Chester County, were the persons 
 appointed by William Penn, in the 
 year 1701, to run the circular line of 
 twelve miles around New Castle, here- 
 in before fully referred to. 
 
 There is a letter in the Historical So- 
 ciety, written by William Penn, com- 
 mencing as follows: "Upland, Oct. 
 29, 1682," addressed to some gentle- 
 men not Friends, requesting them to 
 meet him on Thursday next, (so called) 
 Nov. 2, 1682. I think these things 
 show conclusively that the traditional 
 .story of Penn and Pierson, and the 
 change of name of Upland to Chester, 
 on the arrival oi the ' ' Welcome' ' there, 
 is all bosh. 
 
 The instructions to Thomas Pierson, 
 Deputy Surveyor for the county of New 
 Castle, are very full and interesting. 
 
 and never ha\ing yet appeared in j^rint 
 they are here given as follows : 
 
 " First. Thou art to repair to ye said county 
 and there take the charge & care upon thee, 
 as being chosen by the President & Council 
 for ye employ, to serve under me as my De- 
 puty & to Survey & set out Lands liy war- 
 rants from ye Proprietary & Govern' r & form- 
 erly Directed to William Welch, & not yet exe- 
 cuted, as also all war'ts formerly or hereafter 
 directed to thee from myself by virtue of War'ts 
 from ye Com'rs for granting War'ts to persons 
 in that County for Lands there, the same to be 
 laid out if possible & convenient in the way 
 of Townshipps, consisting of Five thousand 
 acres if there be convenient room for ye same, 
 allowing a street of fifty foot in the middle of 
 every Townshipp, as also a Street of forty foot 
 between Townshipp & Townshipp, as a regular 
 access from one Townshipp to another. 
 
 2dly. In all thy tield works take^care to 
 set do\\n in the Margent all immovable mat- 
 ters, as Rivers, Rivelletts, Lakes, Meadows, 
 Swamps, Rocks, Mountains, Mines, Quarrys, 
 sorts of earth, more than ordinary sorts of 
 Wood, leaving not out any quantity of Land 
 for Waste or unprotitable, without Special 
 order from ye Proprietary & Govern'r. 
 
 3dly. In all thy Protractions of ye quantities 
 of Lands, lay down the Draughts or figures 
 thereof on a Scale of fourty perch in an inch 
 & not to give out unto any ^son whatsoever 
 the figure or drauglit of any Land by thee 
 surveyed without special order from me, upon 
 penalty of paying me double the value of the 
 Survey money for ye Same. 
 
 4thly. Thou art to demand & require of 
 all "^sons concerned, for ye survey of Lands 
 sufficient conveyance to & from ye .said Sur- 
 veyed Lands with hands necessary (yt may 
 be unconcerned, or otherwise attested if possi- 
 ble) for carrying ye Chain, marking ye Trees 
 & bounds & necessary provisions the while, 
 as being so ordered by the Govern'r over and 
 above the Stablishment, allowed by the Gov- 
 ern'r for ye Survey of Lands in yl County, and 
 as oft as is necessary send me an account of 
 thy Proceedings and Passages yt I may give 
 account thereof to the Govern'r. 
 
 Lastly. I hereiw empower thee to demand 
 & receive the .Survey money allowed by ye 
 Governr for all Lands by thee Surveyed, the 
 one niovctv whereof tlu)u art to take & recci\e 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER 
 
 mi 
 
 for thy own use, as compensation for ye art & 
 Labor of Survey, the other moyety to secure 
 & detaine in thy hands till further orders from 
 the President & Council or myself & and to 
 observe and follow such other & further orders, 
 as may hereafter be sent thee from the Gov- 
 ern'r or myself. Given under my hand & Seal 
 at Philadelphia, the 24th of the 7th mo. 1684. 
 Tho : Holme, Surv'r Gen'rl, [ls.] 
 And further if any persons have war't for 
 Lands in their own hands, & not yet given 
 in to the former office then in such cases thou 
 art to take the sdwar'ts without further orders 
 from me and to execute them & carefully trans- 
 mitt them to me. 
 
 Tho: Holme, Surv'r Gen'rl. 
 ffurther the first work thou art to do, when 
 thou comes to New Castle, thou art carefully 
 to admeasure & survey from ye hither bounds 
 of Newcastle Town, as near the River as con- 
 veniently may be until thou come to the lower 
 part of the further side of Concord Town- 
 shipp, & to hire men to assist thee & carry the 
 Chaine, at as reasonable rates as thou canst & 
 when done to finde thereby the true distance 
 from ye bounds of Newcastle Town to ye lower 
 end of ye said Townshipp of Concord, yt so I 
 may know how many miles that distance is & 
 where ye Twelve miles in a straight line from 
 Newcastle terminates, that I may be able to 
 give an account to ye President & Provincial 
 Council thereof, and when thou hast found 
 the said distance, thou art at ye sd Twelve 
 miles end in a straight Line set some Posts, 
 or some other visible mark ; yt may be found 
 out, and from thence run a line of the same 
 Twelve miles distance down to ye River Dela- 
 ware, & there make the like visible mark, yt so 
 I may know where the twelve miles from New- 
 castle, in a straight line ends upon ye sd River 
 & when thou art satisfied of the truth of thy 
 work & where the twelve miles ends upon ye 
 River, then run from ye River side backwards 
 in the woods, as fane as will paralell the upper 
 line of Concord & run yt distance to ye sd 
 upper line of Concord & either come or send 
 me a true account hereof. And call to Henry 
 ■ Hollingsworth for what war'ts & returns he 
 hath in his hands, or any other thing relating 
 to survey. 
 
 Tho: Hulmk, Surv'r (Jen'rI." 
 
 The Deputy Surveyor, Thomas Pier- 
 son, probably never lived at Chester. 
 
 He belonged to Newark Monthly Meet- 
 ing, and married Rachel Sharpley at 
 that meeting in 1686; she died 7 mo. 
 2, 1687, and Avas buried at Newark. 
 Thomas produced his certificate from 
 Newark Monthly Meeting to Concord 
 Monthly Meeting, 7 mo. 12, 1709. 
 Gilbert Cope, the Historian, says: 
 
 " Thomas Pierson, the Surveyor of New 
 Castle County, was not the person mentioned 
 by Dr. Smith as a settler in Marple, and the 
 grandfather of Benjamin West. The foiTner 
 appears to have resided in New Castle County 
 for many years, yet he frequently made sur- 
 veys in Chester County, and there is evidence 
 that he was considered a careful surveyor. 
 
 In 1686 he married Rachel Sharpley, but 
 she died the next year and was buried at New- 
 ark Meeting, which was on the east side of 
 Bi^andywine. Early in 1690, he married a 
 second wife. Rose Dixson, probably the daugh- 
 ter of Henry Dixson, of New Castle. About 
 the year 1 709, he became a member of Concord 
 Meeting, and in that year his daughter Susanna 
 was married to John Mendenhall, who settled 
 in Cain Township. It may be here stated 
 that Susanna was also the name of his mother, 
 whose death occurred during his first visit to 
 America. In 17 15, his daughter Rose, mar- 
 ried Aaron Mendenhall, a brother of John, 
 and they also settled in Cain Township. In 
 the genealogy of the Mendenhall family, pub- 
 lished at Cincinnati, in 1864, this Thomas 
 Pierson is confounded with the grandfather of 
 Benjamin West, but beyond these two daugh- 
 ters I have met with no account of any chil- 
 dren, and he doubtless made his home with 
 one of them toward the close of his life. I 
 believe the minutes of Concord Monthly Meet- 
 ing from 1709 to 1716, are in his handwriting. 
 In the latter year he was appointed an ' over^ 
 seer' of Cain Meeting, in which station he 
 continued until his death, which occurred 
 Sept. (7 mo.) 29, 1722. 
 
 In a registry of arrivals in possession of the 
 Historical Society, it is stated that 'Thomas 
 Pierson, mason, Margaret, his wife, John, his 
 brother, and Mary Smith, his sister, came from 
 Pownall-fee, in Cheshire, in the Endeavour o{ 
 London, and arrived here 29th of 7 mo., 1683. 
 This was but a day later than the Surveyor 
 has recordeil his arrival at Upland, and the 
 
502 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 fact alniDSt made me doii!)! tlieir heiiii,' distinct 
 pcrstms. However, we fiiul in the records of 
 Cliester Monthly Meeting; that Thomas Pear- 
 son or Peirson, and McVi^eiy, his wife, lived 
 in Marple, and the births of their ten children 
 are also given. The maiden name of Mar- 
 gery, was Smith, and her sister Mary became 
 the wife of Daniel Williamson, the ancestor of 
 the family of that name in this county. Of 
 course this Thomas Pearson could not have 
 suggested the name of Chester for Upland, 
 unless he had made a voyage to this country 
 prior to his final settlement. His will is dated 
 Oct. 1 6, 1730, and proven March 25, 1734, 
 and in it he mentions his wit'e, Margery, sons 
 Robert, Lawrence, Enoch, John and Abel, 
 and daughters, .Sarah, wife of John West, 
 Mary, wife of Nicholas Rogers, and Margery, 
 wife of Peter Thompson. 
 
 Lawrence Pearson had a large family who 
 settled in Berks County, and I have under- 
 stood that Judge Pearson \\'as a descendant of 
 this branch. 
 
 Thomas PierNon, the Surveyor, always, I 
 believe, spelled his name as here given. I 
 have seen many of his surveys, and have felt 
 almost an affectionate interest in his history." 
 
 In boyhood I was very fond of horses, 
 and am yet. I think there is no more 
 beautiftil or graceful animal in the 
 world than a fine full-blooded horse; 
 my favorite color is a bay, then a dap- 
 pled gray. My step-grandfather, John 
 F. Hill, was passionately fond of fine 
 liorses, and always had half a dozen or 
 more choice animals among the numer- 
 ous horses he once kept at his place in 
 Ridley, just north of Ridley Park. 
 Two fine teams were used there, of six 
 horses each, in hauling building stone 
 from the first quarry he opened on his 
 place, to his landings on Crum Creek. 
 (Jne fine animal called Dread, he 
 won at a race near Baltimore; another 
 a l)eautiful gentle bay mare called 
 Kate, a fast trotter, was stolen by 
 one of his men, and taken to Long Is- 
 land, and entered for a race at the 
 coiu'se there. 'I'his led lo the detec- 
 
 tion of the thief, and grandfather drove 
 to Long Island in his gig, and brought 
 the mare back and the thief also, the 
 latter in his gig with him, handcuffed. 
 He had also several race-horses ; one, 
 Buzzard, was a dapple-gray, gentle 
 as a lamb, and I used to ride him every- 
 where when I was about ten years old ; 
 another, a dark brown horse, called 
 Knddy, ran several scrub-races at 
 Chester, from the old brick school 
 house on Welsh Street, to the Poplar 
 trees, on the old Queen's road, now 
 called Morton Avenue. This was the 
 favorite racing grounds, after Coch- 
 ran's Race Course was discontinued. 
 Crossman Lyons used to ride in these 
 scrub-races an old horse called Bttf- 
 fer; he was seldom beaten; Buffer 
 was a sorrel horse, with a white face 
 and legs. He belonged to Mr. John 
 Irwin of the " White Swan Hotel." 
 
 Cochran's Race Course was on the 
 property of the late John Cochran, now 
 North Ward, Chester. The Judge's 
 stand stood opposite where John O. 
 Deshong's residence now is, on the 
 east side of Edgmont Avenue. The 
 track was a mile in length and a very 
 good one, with the exception of one 
 place which had a slight rise, and to 
 make it easy the ground had to be filled 
 in, and consequently after a rain the 
 track was heavy at that place, and tried 
 the bottom and strength of the horses ; 
 it was at the back part of the track over 
 towards the poplar trees on the Phila- 
 delphia road. 
 
 John Irwin was the owner of two 
 horses. Admiral Wilson, a dark bay 
 stallion, and Tatififfy, a grey geld- 
 ing. Mr. Greene from the upper part 
 of the county, whose christian name I 
 have forgotten, had a very fast bay 
 mare. John Cochran had three horses, 
 one a stallion. Samuel M. Leiper had 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 503 
 
 two horses; Dennis Kelly, of Kelly- 
 ville, had two horses; these animals 
 were all fine running stock. The races 
 were the "Chester Spring Races," 
 and the "Chester Fall Races," each 
 continuing two days. Cochran's or 
 Greene's horses generally won the 
 races, and were the favorites in the 
 betting. The Tantiffy horse it was 
 thought could beat any of the others, 
 if he would not bolt from the track ; 
 he was a hard one to ride, and fre- 
 quently threw his rider, consequently 
 he could not win. I think Thomas 
 Clyde afterwards owned this horse, 
 having bought him of Irwin. At the 
 last races on Cochran's Course there 
 was trouble with the Irish quarrymen, 
 and a fight, in consequence of which 
 the Course was closed by order of Court. 
 The Course was laid out about 1832 
 or '3, and abandoned about 1836. I 
 am not certain about those dates as I do 
 not remember much about the Chester 
 races. I recall, however, being at one 
 and going home, grandfather driving 
 out the Philadelphia road in a carriage, 
 in the midst of other carriages, gigs, 
 sulkys, men on horseback, clouds of 
 dust, the yells of excited men, the 
 shrieks of frightened women, horses 
 going at the top of their speed, grand- 
 mother holding me on her lap, and 
 John F. Hill with his fast bays, laughing 
 at the crazy crowd that came yelling 
 after him. 
 
 I remember that there were in those 
 days some fast trotting horses in the 
 vicinity of Chester. We had not got 
 to 2.40 then, 3 minutes was considered 
 fast. Robert P. Crosby had a bay nag, 
 named Towstring, called a 3-minute 
 mare. John F. Hill's Dread, was a 
 3-minute horse. Edward R. Crosby 
 had a grey horse called Jim Crow, 
 which I think he entered for a race 
 
 on Cochran's course, and came to 
 grief. 
 
 The first cattle show in Delaware 
 County, was held at Chester, on the lot 
 on the left hand side of Edgmont 
 Avenue, between the former residences 
 of Joshua P. Eyre, dec'd, and Samuel 
 Edwards, Esq., dec'd. The greater 
 number of the cattle exhibited were 
 owned by Mr. Penn Gaskill, living at 
 that time near Philadelphia. 
 
 A friend to whom I am indebted for 
 much of the foregoing information, 
 adds: "The first vessel (of any size) 
 built in Chester, since my recollection, 
 was the packet sloop Jonas Preston, 
 built by Andrew Wheaton for J. P. & 
 W. Eyre. She was constructed on 
 Jonas Eyre's property, about one mile 
 up Chester Creek, above its mouth, and 
 was superceded by a steam barge, the 
 Chester, built by P. Baker & Co., 
 which was sold to Capt. Taggart and 
 others, and another built by J. & C. 
 D. Pennell, and called the Lamokin, 
 She runs from Avhat was formerly called 
 Grubb's or Pierson's wharf, now called 
 Pennell 's wharf, on Chester Creek. In 
 1 87 1, a company incorporated as the 
 Merchants and Manufacturers' Steam 
 Freight Line, built a freight steamer, 
 called the City of Chester. She now 
 runs from Bradley's wharf, on the west 
 side of the creek. 
 
 Prior to the Jonas Preston was the 
 packet John Wall, a very fast sailing 
 vessel, commanded by John Hart, who 
 was a relative of Archibald T. Dick. 
 He died in the old house adjoining 
 Chester Bridge, now kept as an oyster 
 saloon. William Grubb had charge 
 of the packet storehouse, afterwards 
 Samuel Long took charge, and Grubb 
 moved down to a house on the lower 
 pier. 
 
 Previous to the John Wall, Richard 
 
504 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Flower of Chester mills, owned a sloop, 
 the Chester Planter, which he used 
 to carry flour from the mill to Phila- 
 delphia, about the beginning of the 
 ]>resent century, almost sixty years ago. 
 She \vas run aground at Mount Melech, 
 opposite No. I mill at Upland, and 
 there remained until she went to pieces 
 by decay and the action of the water." 
 During the first week in March 1874, 
 an old schooner with a cargo of oysters 
 was lying at Muir's wharf on Chester 
 C'reek. Nearly thirty years ago this 
 same craft was launched on the creek 
 at a point now occupied by Bunting's 
 lumber yard, having been built for 
 Aaron Buck, by Archibald McArthur, 
 a shipwright, well known to the older 
 residents of Chester. She was chris- 
 tened Richard Powell, which name 
 she still bears. The timbers are of 
 Delaware County Oak, and are as solid 
 and sound as the day they were when 
 first put in the frame. The vessel would 
 evidently be improved by a coat of 
 paint, and a general overhauling, al- 
 though she has every indication of be- 
 ing still a staunch craft. The Po7vell 
 is sixty feet in length, eighteen feet 
 l)eam, and will carry two thousand 
 1 )askets of oysters. The original anchor 
 chain, now reduced by wear to about 
 one third of its former thickness, is 
 liciit upon the second anchor. The 
 \cssel is owned and commanded by 
 ("apt. Leeds, of Gloucester, N. J. 
 
 LV. 
 
 The Republican of Dec. 10, 1852, 
 says: "A schooner, rating 250 tons, 
 was launched on Wednesday last from 
 the ship-yard of Mr. Sinex, in this 
 Borough. She wa.s christened the 
 Maria Pickup, that being the name of 
 the wife of one f)f the owners. She 
 
 is much the largest vessel ever built 
 here," t^cc. I do not propose, in this 
 work, to enter into a description of the 
 several ship-yards of Chester, suffice it 
 to say, that "The Delaware River Iron 
 Ship Building and Engine Works," of 
 which John Roach is the President, 
 are the most extensive. I wish, how- 
 ever, to contrast the present with the 
 past. In 1852, a schooner of 250 tons 
 was the largest vessel ever launched in 
 Chester. On (this day) Mar. 18, 1874, 
 one of the largest iron vessels ever built 
 in the world, was launched at Chester, in 
 the presence of many members of Con- 
 gress, a large number of invited guests, 
 and over 5000 spectators. This new 
 steamer is of iron, built to run between 
 San Francisco, Japan and China. She 
 is called The City of Peking, and 
 her consort. The City of Tokio, which 
 is to be launched in about a month, 
 were both built for the Pacific Mail 
 Company, and each will cost one mil- 
 lion of dollars. They are both of the 
 same size. The City of Pekittg is 
 in length over all, 420 feet ; length on 
 load line, 396 feet 6 inches ; length of 
 beam moulded, 47 feet 4 inches ; depth 
 of hold, 38 feet 6 inches ; tonnage, 
 5 , 200 tons. The iron used in plating her 
 sides ranges in thickness from ii-i6ths 
 to I inch in diameter, and five million 
 pounds of iron were used in the hull. 
 As the vessel stands on the stocks at 
 present the estimated weight is seven 
 millions of pounds. When loaded to 
 the full carrying capacity there will be 
 about 1 7 feet of clear above the water- 
 line. She will be supplied with two 
 pair of high pressure, compound en- 
 gines ; high pressure cylinders, 51 
 inches in diameter ; low pressure cylin- 
 ders, 88 inches diameter; stroke of 
 pistons, 54 inches ; horse-power, 4,500. 
 There are two bilge-pumps and one in- 
 
HISTORY OP^ CHESTER. 
 
 505 
 
 dependent circulating pump to each 
 pair of engines. 
 
 The screw will be 20 feet 3 inches 
 in diameter, and 30 feet mean pitch, 
 with 5 4 average revolutions per minute, 
 and a maximum of 60 revolutions in 
 the same time. The propeller-wheel 
 of Hirsch's patent, with four blades, 
 diameter 20 feet 3 inches ; mean pitch 
 of blades, 30 feet. The boilers, ten in 
 number, each 10 feet 6 inches long, 
 and will be 13 feet in diameter ; mean 
 pressure 60 pounds to the square inch. 
 Three furnaces will be provided to each 
 boiler, and these will consume between 
 50 and 60 tons of coal per day of 24 
 hours. The estimated speed of the ship 
 is 153^ knots per hour, or 17 statute 
 miles. 
 
 The vessel has four decks, with 
 hatches to each. The first or lower 
 deck will be for the storage of gene- 
 ral freight and the coal bunkers, the 
 second deck for freight, and the aft 
 end for carrying immigrating Chinese. 
 The third deck is the most important. 
 In the forward part are the quarters 
 for steerage passengers. In cosy state 
 rooms, on each side, are arranged 
 bunks painted neatly, and these will 
 receive the addition of bedding of a 
 good quality. Accommodations will 
 be provided here for about 250 per- 
 sons as second-class passengers, and 
 1,000 third-class. Leading from this 
 portion of the vessel towards the sa- 
 loon, on the port-side, are the officers' 
 quarters, pantry, dispensary and bath- 
 rooms, and on the starboard side, 
 the purser's room, fitted up with wal- 
 nut desks, bunks and sofas. There 
 are also more quarters for officers, 
 and w^ater-closets. Amidships is the 
 kitchen, with a skylight ventilation 
 and light. This apartment is fitted up 
 with the most approved cooking ap- 
 
 paratus, and will be lined with sheet 
 iron. Still further on, on either side 
 of a large entry, are the quarters de- 
 signed for the male passengers, and 
 are fitted up handsomely. The doors 
 and sides of the walls are built of oak, 
 with satin wood. French walnut, 
 ebony, and bird's eye maple carvings 
 and mouldings, with ventilators of 
 walnut in the upper portions. At 
 the end of this passage-way is the grand 
 dining saloon, 34 by 47 feet, with four 
 tables running the entire length, and 
 capable of accommodating 200 per- 
 sons at once. Immediately in the 
 rear of this, and with a passage-way 
 about eight feet in width separating 
 them, are the ladies' cjuarters, fitted 
 up in exquisite style, with bath rooms 
 attached. This portion of the vessel 
 will be upholstered in the finest man- 
 ner with plush velvet, and the floors 
 covered with silk velvet carpets, and 
 the passage-ways with oil-cloths. The 
 cabins will be fitted up to accommo- 
 date about 200 persons, thus making 
 her capacity for passengers of all classes 
 about 2,000. 
 
 The aft steering apparatus can be 
 operated by either hand or steam pow- 
 er. There are three hatches leading 
 to the hold upon this deck. There 
 will be placed in her four masts, three 
 iron and one wooden. The iron masts 
 will be used as ventilators, and will 
 have patent tops. Amidship is a ladies 
 sitting-room, and further on a smoking- 
 room, designed for the use of gentle- 
 men. Forward is the pilot-house, 
 and an apparatus for steering in calm 
 weather. Adjoining this is the Cap- 
 tain's room, and immediately in the 
 rear the first and second officers' quar- 
 ters. The windlass for raising the 
 anchor is so arranged that it can be 
 operated either by steam power, from 
 
5()G 
 
 I STORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 a small engine untlerneath, or by hand | 
 power. The anchors weigh fifty-six 1 
 hundred weight each, and are attached 
 to 27 fathoms of 2)^ inch chain. 
 
 She will carry 33,000 square feet of 
 canvas, and her masts will be 138 feet 
 in length. There will be two smoke- 
 stacks painted black, 90 feet long, and 
 8 feet in diameter. Distilling appa- 
 ratus for converting the sea water 
 into a fit condition for use will be pro- 
 vided, and to each engine will be a 
 surface condenser, and there will be 
 tanks erected for keeping the distilled 
 water, capable of storing 25,000 gal- 
 lons at a time. 
 
 It was stated by Senator Cameron, 
 at the launch of the City of Peking, 
 that the first iron steamboat was built 
 in Pittsburg many years ago. This is 
 a mistake. The first vessel of this 
 kind was built in the town of York, 
 Pa. I cannot recall the precise year, 
 but it is stated that it was taken from 
 that town to the Susquehanna on 
 wheels. This may sound strangely 
 but is nevertheless true. It was built 
 by a very ingenious Quaker named 
 Phineas Davis, and for many years after 
 it was launched was used as a ferry and 
 tow boat at some point on the river 
 between Columbia and its mouth. 
 
 The following interesting sketch of 
 the family and descendants of an old- 
 time honored resident of Chester, has 
 been furnished me from a reliable 
 source. To it 1 have added my re- 
 collections. 
 
 John J. Thurlow was born Feb. i, 
 1795, '"^ the County of Essex, Eng- 
 land. He married Mary, the oldest 
 (laughter of Richard and Mary Shep- 
 herdson, of East Riding, in Yorkshire, 
 where she was born, A. D. 1 796. They 
 emigrated to America in the winter 
 of 1818-19, and settled at Newport, 
 
 Delaware; antl tluring the latter part 
 of 1819, Mr. Thurlow rented the Stage 
 House there and kept it for two years, 
 when, at the solicitation of Major An- 
 derson, he moved to Chester, some- 
 time in 1 82 1, to take charge of the 
 hotel then owned by the Major, and 
 formerly kept by him. While there 
 he prepared and furnished the supper 
 given to General Lafayette, in the old 
 Court House, on his visit to Chester. 
 After keeping the "Old Engle Hotel," 
 near Chester bridge, known as the 
 "National," Maurice W. Deshong 
 succeeded him as the landlord. Major 
 Price was Deshong' s successor. After 
 Mr. Thurlow left the "National," he 
 retired to his farm below Chester, 
 where he built a commodious house, 
 which he named "Sporting Hall," 
 a well-known place in its day, 
 
 " Whose roof once rang with harmless mirth, 
 Where every passing stranger was a guest, 
 And every guest a friend." 
 
 The scene of much gayety and revelry 
 indulged in there by the young and 
 the old folks of the county ; for there 
 was held every year the " Harvest 
 Home," and on the barn floor the 
 beaus and belles, for miles around, 
 gathered and tripped on the light fan- 
 tastic toe. In summer, the Hall was 
 filled with city boarders from Phila- 
 delphia, and evening dances and par- 
 ties of pleasure were alwa3's in order. 
 Mrs. Mary Thurlow died Atig, i, 1861, 
 regretted by all who knew her. I re- 
 call with pleasure her handsome, beam- 
 ing face, as she greeted her friends, 
 and her kind and cordial manners, 
 that made her house feel like home. 
 Some years after her death, June 15, 
 1867, Mr. Thurlow married Rachel, 
 daughter of Captain William Krewton, 
 of Philadelphia, Avho was lost at sea, 
 with his vessel and all the rrew. The 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTEK 
 
 507 
 
 old mansion, "Sporting Hall," was 
 recently torn down, being in the way 
 of the extension of Third Street of the 
 City of Chester. 
 
 John J. and Mary Thurlow had two 
 children — a son and daughter. The 
 latter, Emmeline, born at Chester, 
 April 12, 1823, married first. May 
 24, 1844, John A. McMullin, a mer- 
 chant of Philadelphia. He accom- 
 panied General Walker in his expedi- 
 tion to Nicarauga, about 1854, and 
 died there. They had issue\- Thurlow 
 and Mary W. The daughter is married 
 to Ex-Senator Milton S. Latham, of 
 California, and the son, Thurlow Mc- 
 Mullin, is in business in the " Golden 
 Stated After the death of her first 
 husband, Emmeline married again, 
 Dec. 22, 1S59, George O. McMullin, 
 of California, a first cousin of her 
 former husband, by whom she had 
 two children, Georgie Hammond, and 
 Emmadonna. She was a very beauti- 
 ful woman, a brunette, with a sweet, 
 amiable disposition and fascinating 
 manners. Her fate was a sad one ; 
 she and her two young children were 
 lost in the Pacific Ocean. The steamer 
 Golden Gate, on which they were 
 passengers, returning to her father's 
 home, near Chester, took fire at sea 
 and was beached July 27, 1861, upon 
 the coast of Mexico, about 15 miles 
 from Manzan ilia, and they were drown- 
 ed in the attempt to reach shore. 
 
 Thomas T. Thurlow, son of John J. 
 and Mary, was born in Delaware, Dec. 
 30, 1819, before his parents removed 
 to Chester. He married June 20, 1 844, 
 Susan M., daughter of John Serrill, of 
 Darby, and a grand-daughter of the 
 late well known old sea captain, James 
 Serrill, who was for years master of 
 the good old ship Tuscarora, one of 
 Cope's line of packet ships to Eng- 
 
 65 
 
 land. Thomas T. Thurlow early took 
 a fancy to military life, and was a cap- 
 tain of militia in Col. John K. Zeilin's 
 regiment. After his removal to Dela- 
 ware, he was appointed by Governor 
 Cannon of that State, Major of the 
 6th Delaware Volunteers, and served 
 with the Union Army until the regi- 
 ment was mustered out of service in 
 1864, when he was appointed Deputy 
 Provost Marshal of the State of Dela- 
 ware, which position he held until the 
 termination of the Rebellion. He 
 then removed to Washington City, D. 
 
 C, and was appointed a clerk in the 
 U. S. Hydrographic office. Bureau of 
 Navigation, Navy Department. He 
 has issue five children, viz. : Mary S., 
 John J. and Thomas E., dead and 
 buried in Chester Rural Cemetery ; 
 Fannie S., wife of Augustus S. Lane, 
 of Wilmington, Delaware, and Ella 
 Beale, who married. Mar. 21, 1877, 
 Joseph C. Addison, of Washington, 
 
 D. C. Soon after his removal to Del- 
 aware, Major Thurlow became an offi- 
 cer of the First City Troop of Dela- 
 ware. In 1845, upon the breaking out 
 of the Mexican War, the whole Troop, 
 numbering 70 men, tendered their 
 services, with their horses and equip- 
 ments, to the Government. 
 
 I have before me a card for a " Har- 
 vest Honied which says, "Admit the 
 Bearer to Sporting Hall, near Chester, 
 on Saturday, Oct. 2, 1852," and among 
 a long list of " Managers," including 
 gentlemen from New York, Philadel- 
 phia, &c. , I find the names of the fol- 
 lowing citizens of Delaware County : 
 
 Hon. Geo. G. Leiper, 
 Major Levi Reynolds, 
 John C. Leiper, 
 Samjiel A. Crozer, 
 Wm. Truxton, U. S.N., 
 Wm. P. Beatty, 
 Daniel Lammot, Jr., 
 John I. Thurlow. 
 
 Joseph R. Morris, 
 John L. Passmore, 
 Mark Willcox, 
 James G. Shaw, 
 William Lincoln, 
 William McCall, 
 Y. S. Walter, 
 Mark Warne. 
 
508 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 The al)ovc Harvest Home, was the 
 last of six annual festivals held at Sport- 
 inu Hall. 
 
 The name of Truxton is so well 
 known in Chester, that the following 
 short sketch of the family will not be 
 out of |)lac e. The Truxton's are re- 
 lated to the lieale's. Capt. William 
 T. I'ruxton, mentioned as one of 
 the Managers at " Thurlow Harvest 
 Home," entered the U. S. Navy, Feb. 
 9, 1 841, and has served with distinc- 
 tion ever since. He was lately tried 
 by a Court Martial for suffering his 
 ship, the U. S. steam-frigate i?r<?^/('/)'«, 
 to run ashore off Key West, Sept. 22, 
 1874, and honorably acquitted: 
 
 " The evidence established the fact, 
 that Captain Truxton was a most vigi- 
 lant officer j that his uniform practice 
 was personally to superintend the navi- 
 gation of the ship, even while a pilot 
 was on board ; that on the night in 
 question he never left the deck or re- 
 laxed his energies for a moment ; that 
 the accident was due to a miscalcula- 
 tion made by one or more of the pilots 
 in the fleet, and that he displayed ad- 
 mirable aplomb and other high quali- 
 ties when the ship grounded." 
 
 The mention of the court-martial of 
 Captain Truxton, revives memories of 
 names not forgotten, but long covered 
 with the dust of the past. Captain 
 Truxton is a survivor of the unfortu- 
 nate Strain's Darien Expedition, and is 
 a grand-son of old Commodore Trux- 
 ton, the real father of the American 
 Navy. One of our wars, that with 
 France, was, in its day, known as 
 ''Truxton's War." Com. Truxton 
 was Lieutenant of the Congress — the 
 first armed vessel fitted out by the 
 Colonies. In 1777, he commanded 
 the Imicpendence in some severe fights. 
 He then owned and commanded the 
 
 Mars, of twenty guns, fighting her 
 along the shores of the English Chan- 
 nel. Afterwards he commanded the 
 St. Javies, taking in her our Consul- 
 General, Mr. Barclay, to France, and 
 whipping on the way a British ship of 
 twice his force. At the close of the 
 Revolution, Truxton was first Captain 
 in our Navy appointed by Washington. 
 He then superintended the building of 
 and commanded the Constellation, of 
 thirty-eight guns, in which he cap- 
 tured the French frigate La Vengeance, 
 of fifty-four guns. For this achieve- 
 ment the American Congress voted 
 him thanks and a gold medal, and 
 Lloyd's underwriters presented him 
 with a service of silver, valued at six 
 hundred guineas. In this action. Com- 
 modore David Porter, the father of the 
 present Admiral Porter, was one of 
 Truxton's midshipmen, and Commo- 
 dore Rodgers, the elder, was a Lieu- 
 tenant. In 1799, Commodore Stephen 
 Decatur was Truxton's First Lieuten- 
 ant on the United States brig Noifolk. 
 On the St. James, Truxton's Third 
 Lieutenant was William Jones, after- 
 wards Secretary of the Navy. The 
 '^ Life of Decatur,'' published 1821, 
 says: "When Truxton maintained 
 a contest with a line-of-battle ship 
 through a long night's battle and com- 
 pelled her to seek safety in flight, her 
 commander, not then knowing his an- 
 tagonist, declared he must have been 
 American, for no other people on 
 earth could load so rapidly, fire so ac- 
 curately, and fight so desperately." 
 " During the whole Revolutionary 
 war, Truxton used every means in his 
 power to harass the enemy, constantly 
 evincing the most undaunted courage 
 and consummate skill, and likewise 
 twice distinguishing himself on land." 
 When Col. Aaron Burr killed Alex- 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 509 
 
 ander Hamilton he appealed to Trux- 
 ton for shelter and assistance, which 
 Truxton gave, though no friend of 
 Burr's. 
 
 Commodore Truxton met with re- 
 verses at the end of his career, retiring 
 from the service in consequence of a 
 bitter personal quarrel with the Sec- 
 retary of the Navy. He died in Phila- 
 delphia, in 1822, at the age of sixty- 
 seven, after having been High Sheriff 
 of that city and county, a much higher 
 office in those days than now. The 
 mother of the late Rev. M. R. Talbot, 
 late Rector of St. Paul's Church, 
 Chester, was a Miss Truxton, a daugh- 
 ter of the old Commodore, and the 
 mother of Gen. Edward Forbes Beale, 
 now U. S. Minister to Austria, was 
 her sister. 
 
 About two and a half miles east of 
 Chester, on the new line of the Phila- 
 delphia, Wilmington and Baltimore 
 Railroad, is situated that recent and 
 splendid improvement called Ridley 
 Park, projected in 1870, under the su- 
 pervision of Robert Morris Copeland, 
 (a native of Roxbury, Mass., now de- 
 ceased, 1874,) as a place of summer 
 residence for Philadelphians. It was 
 incorporated under the name of the 
 "Ridley Park Association," by Act of 
 Assembly of May 26, 1870, and is 
 beautifully laid out into streets and 
 avenues, with little Crum Creek, newly 
 named Crum Lynne, running through 
 it. It is to be regretted that in desig- 
 nating the avenues, &c., the names of 
 old resident families of the vicinity, 
 have not been more generally used, 
 •such as Painter, Stille, Davis, Hill, 
 Home, Morton, Henderson, Crosby, 
 Erskine, Worrall, Harper, Blythe, 
 Attmore, Carr, Tyrrell, Leiper, Mad- 
 dock, &c., names more appropriate to 
 the locality than Water Street, Swarth- 
 
 more Avenue, &c. The latter by all 
 means should have been called Pain- 
 ter's Avenue. 
 
 A handsome hotel has been erected 
 at the 1 2th mile-stone from Philadel- 
 phia, "on the old Queen's Road to 
 Chester." Formerly there was a pri- 
 vate graveyard at the intersection of 
 this road at that point, with Swarth- 
 more Avenue. The name of the fam- 
 ily whose private burial place it once 
 was, and whose names were engraven 
 on the memorial stones that stood there 
 in my boyhood, was Painter; they were 
 wealthy people, who owned the pro- 
 perty that is now Ridley Park. The 
 little "God's Acre," was surrounded 
 then by a high, thick-set thorn hedge; 
 I remember peeping through the hedge 
 and reading the names of several little 
 ones buried there, as I went to and 
 returned from Ridley school. At the 
 northeast corner of the lot, stood the 
 12th mile stone, and near by to the 
 west, stood '-Home's Tavern," for- 
 merly the private residence of the 
 Painter's. Thomas Horne turned the 
 old Painter mansion into a tavern, and 
 kept it as a public house, until the 
 stage-coaches ceased to run on the old 
 Queen's road. The situation of the 
 Park is generally high, and commands a 
 splendid view of the Delaware for many 
 miles; no more beautiful site could 
 have been chosen for a summer resort. 
 
 During 1873, ^ handsome Baptist 
 church was erected at Ridley Park, 
 just north of the railroad depot at that 
 place. J. Ward & Co., generously 
 contributed the stone to build it from 
 their quarries on Crum Creek. The 
 church was dedicated and opened for 
 Divine worship, on May 7, 1874, and 
 a handsome collection taken up, which 
 freed the congregation from all debt. 
 The Rev. John R. Downer, is the 
 
510 
 
 IllSTOUV OF CHESTER. 
 
 Pastor. There is also a Presbyterian 
 church at Ridley Park, of which the 
 Rev. Dr. Grier, editor of the F/rs/>y- 
 terian, is the Pastor. 
 
 Just one mile so^ithwest of the above 
 church, near the 13th mile stone from 
 Philadelphia, on the south side of the 
 old Queen's road, in the ancient town 
 of Ridley, now called Leiperville, 
 stands an old, unused, dilapidated 
 structure, known as the " Plummer 
 Meeting House. ' ' It was erected prin- 
 cipally through the exertions and with 
 funds supplied by John S. Morton, of 
 Springfield. Joseph Weaver, the elder, 
 Joseph Tribbets, Jonathan Vaughan, 
 William Weaver, Abraham Ward, Sam- 
 uel Barton, (all deceased,) and others, 
 were interested with Mr. Morton in 
 building the meeting house. They 
 called themselves "The Free Chris- 
 tians." The church was erected for 
 the elder Frederick Plummer, the min- 
 ister of a free church in Philadelphia, 
 and for a time he was a great favorite 
 with his congregation. His followers 
 were called generally " Plummerites." 
 He Avas an Englishman, I believe, and 
 in appearance was a heavy built, hand- 
 some, red-faced man, with light hair, 
 easy and winning manners. Franklin 
 Parsons is one of the present trustees 
 of the property. 
 
 The new Ridley Public School House 
 stands on the next lot but one, west of 
 the old Plummer Meeting House, and 
 opposite the properties of William W. 
 Maddock and Miles M. Stille.* The 
 latter is the descendant of an old Swed- 
 ish family, who were among the earli- 
 estsettlersin this vicinity. Olof Stille, 
 whose passport or certificate of charac- 
 ter bears date Dec. 2, 1634, came from 
 
 * DiEO, at the residence of her son, Miles 
 Stille, at Leiperville, Nov. i, 1866, Martraret 
 Stille. .T'lJ rihoiit 9^ years. 
 
 the lordshi]) of Penningby and Nyanes, 
 in the Duchy of Lodermania, about 
 30 miles south of Stockholm, in Swe- 
 den ; he resided on and owned the 
 land between Ridley and Crum Creeks. 
 On Lwdsfrom's MS. Map, this tract 
 is designated as '' Stilleu's Land, le 
 pays dc Stillen,'' and Ridley Creek is 
 called, '' Oele Stillen' s Kilir The 
 Indians called it Techorassi or Tegui- 
 rasi. Olof Stille was one of the prin- 
 cipal men in the Swedish Colony, 
 having been deputed by Gov. Printz, 
 as the bearer of the official ])rotest 
 made by the Swedes to the Dutch 
 Governor, against the encroachments 
 of the West India Company on the 
 rights of the Swedish Crown on the 
 Delaware. In 1658, after the Dutch 
 took possession of the country, he was 
 one of the four commissioners or ma- 
 gistrates appointed to administer jus- 
 tice among the inhabitants, and thus 
 became a Judge of the first Court of 
 which history gives us any informa- 
 tion, held among the Europeans on 
 the banks of the Delaware. He was 
 also employed in various negotiations 
 with the neighboring colonists and 
 with the Indians, by whom he was 
 styled, " The man with the black 
 beard." He died about the year 
 1666. His son, John Stille, was born 
 near Tinicum, in the year 1646, and 
 died April 24, 1722, aged about 76 
 years, and was buried in the grave- 
 yard of the Swedes' Church at Wica- 
 coa, where his tombstone still remains. 
 He was one of the original trustees of 
 that church, and the pastor, in record- 
 ing his death, adds: "He lived a 
 goodly life in this world." 'Sit& Notes 
 to Upla7id Recoi'd. 
 
 Among the queer characters of Ches- 
 ter, when I was a school-boy, was one 
 whose i)eculiaritics will liear notice ; 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 .11 
 
 and as he had no relatives that I am 
 aware of, nobody's feelings will be 
 hurt by the recital of his sayings and 
 doings. "Tom White," was a kind 
 of house servant of the Hon. Edward 
 Darlington, when he resided in Third 
 Streetj Chester. My recollection of 
 him is, that he was half-witted and 
 fond of " fire water;" on one occasion 
 as some school girls were buying horse- 
 ginger-bread in a candy store, under 
 David Abbott's saddlery shop, opposite 
 Mr. Darlington's, Tom was to be seen 
 gazing intently at the little sweet- 
 toothed Misses; at last, slapping his 
 leg with his open hand, he said, "Oh 
 good Lord ! there's six cents gone slap- 
 dab for ginger-bread, and they would 
 have bought a quart of whiskey." Tom 
 was fond of quoting scripture ; one 
 day being busy in the stable-loft he 
 slipped and fell through the hay-well, 
 and as he came down, he was heard to 
 cry aloud, " Lo, here I come," and 
 when he heard of a death, he always 
 said, " We grow up like a hollyhock, 
 and are cut down like a rose." The 
 boys used to tease him until he got 
 frantic with rage. 
 
 On All Hallow-E'en, we boys used 
 to have great fun ; I remember on one 
 such evening we hooked a large num- 
 ber of pumpkins, on purpose to annoy 
 "old Scott," who kept a Beer House 
 opposite Mr. Darlington's, in the cel- 
 lar of a three-story old-fashioned brick, 
 afterwards burned down. During the 
 evening we threw down a large pump- 
 kin, which, bursting open his saloon 
 door, partly glass with a red curtain 
 before the lights, rolled into the mid- 
 dle of the cellar ; but to our disgust, 
 old Scotty rushed to the door and sung 
 out, "more pumpkins! boys, more 
 pumpkins." He saw visions of cheap 
 pumpkin pies. 
 
 It has been only within the last ten 
 years that wandering companies of 
 Gypsies have made their appearance 
 in the United States, travelling around 
 the country with their families in large 
 covered wagons, constituting a small 
 house on wheels. Their ostensible 
 business is trading in horses, by the 
 men, and fortune-telling by the wo- 
 men. All I have seen were stout and 
 and hearty to be sure; but the women 
 were not handsome or the men very 
 clean. They remind us Americans of 
 the Indians. Several families have 
 encamped now for the last five or six 
 years, on the " Sand Island," at Beth- 
 lehem, Pa., and from the Delaware 
 County Advocate, of Chester, Pa., 
 March 13, 1875, ^ (^opy the following 
 item: '■^Rather Cool. — A company 
 of Gypsies have been spending the 
 past winter .in a sail-cloth tent near by 
 Morton Station. During the coldest 
 of the cold term, a little snow-bird, 
 after the fashion of a brown -faced 
 gypsy baby, came, and there remains, 
 happy as if its home were a palace." 
 
 My old friend John F. Gilpin, says 
 that about 181 3, there stood on the 
 present site of the Arch Street Thea- 
 tre, in Philadelphia, an old fashioned 
 Tavern, with a large swinging sign, 
 on which was represented a Hunting 
 Scene, that is. Hounds chasing a Deer, 
 with Huntsmen on horseback; beneath 
 the picture was printed 
 
 " Our Hounds are good and Horses too, 
 The Buck is near run down. 
 Call off the hounds and let him blow, 
 While we regale with Brown." 
 
 Twenty-five or thirty years ago, 
 nearly every gentleman and farmer 
 in Delaware and Chester Counties, 
 had two or three useless fox-hounds 
 running at large about his place. 
 They were a great nuisance ; for on 
 
612 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 moonlight nights, they would gather 
 in packs and chase rabbits or sheep 
 all night, in full cry, making a fearful 
 noise. There was very little fox-hunt- 
 ing in those days, it was a thing of the 
 past; lately, the sport seems to have 
 been revived, and the cry of Tally 
 ho! is again to be heard in Delaware 
 County. 
 
 A representative of the i^e;^;//;/^ Tel- 
 egraph, who was present at the fox- 
 hunt, near Media, on Wednesday, 
 March 21, 1877, furnished that paper 
 the following full and detailed report 
 of the occurrence, which I copy, be- 
 lieving it will be of interest to many 
 readers who have never followed the 
 hounds in a wild scamper across the 
 country. The writer says : 
 
 "Wishing to get an insight into the 
 manner of conducting a hunt, our re- 
 I)orter took a trip to Delaware County 
 to the 'meet' of the 'Germantown,' 
 and the 'Rose Tree Clubs,' at the 
 stables of Mr. Howard Lewis, in 
 Springfield township, Delaware Coun- 
 ty, about three miles east of Media. 
 The road from the latter place winds 
 through a rolling and picturesque 
 country. At times the road winds 
 along the hill-sides, while scores of 
 feet below we can see the low flats 
 and the creek flowing. The whole 
 face of the country seems as if it were 
 formed by a series of upheavals, the 
 rock outcropping here and there on 
 the hillsides, and some of the latter 
 well covered with thickets and scrub 
 growth and brush. The place where 
 the ' meet ' was held, was one of the 
 most commanding of all the country, 
 and an observer could see for several 
 miles about, except at one point, where 
 a ridge of almost equal height, and 
 covered from base to summit with 
 small growth intervened. There were 
 
 assembled about 35 hunters who intend- 
 ed to take part in the chase, including 
 two ladies, Mrs. S. W , from Ger- 
 mantown, and Miss Morris, of the Rose 
 Tree Club. Even to one who took no 
 pleasure in the hunt, it was a pleasant 
 sight to see the horses grouped around, 
 some of them very handsome animals, 
 whose points as good runners and 
 jumpers were fully discussed by the 
 several knots of hunting men and cri- 
 tics who thronged the well-filled stable, 
 comparing notes between the Rose 
 Tree Club and their guests. ' Have 
 you seen the kennel and the fox ?' in- 
 quires the proprietor. ' Well, come 
 along, I'll show you some beauties. 
 There isn't many of them, only two 
 and a half dozen, as the English would 
 say, for they can' t say twenty-five to save 
 'em.' Their kennel was a moderate- 
 size barn, and as the door was shoved 
 along to permit a view, there was a 
 rush of many feet, and such a concert 
 of yells as the master struck at them 
 and forced them back, so eager were 
 they for the field. Their eagerness 
 illustrates the force of the hunter's 
 answer to the sentimental old lady 
 who was taking him to task for in- 
 dulging in the cruel amusement of fox- 
 hunting. He listened patiently, and 
 then said, ' Ah ! madam, ye canna 
 deny that the hunters like it; I'm sure 
 the horses like it, and I'm certain the 
 dogs enjoy it, and there's no one knows 
 that the fox don' t like it. ' There were 
 25 of these hounds, nearly all of them 
 thoroughbreds, and some valued at 
 ^30 to $50 each. The fox was then 
 inspected. He was kept in a box, the 
 top of which had slats nailed on it to 
 prevent his escape. He was caught in 
 Germantown and sent to the ' Rose 
 Tree," a couple of months ago, and he 
 was thought to be rather tame, so much 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 513 
 
 so that one of the ladies incautiously 
 put her finger inside and he did not 
 offer to bite it. 
 
 At about lo^ o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, the last straggler had come into 
 the 'meet,' and a few minutes before 
 II o'clock, the fox was taken out in 
 his box and carried to a good distance, 
 and to such a position that none of 
 the company could tell where it was 
 taken to. 
 
 The appearance of the riders dressed 
 in their hunting costume, is exceeding- 
 ly suggestive. Some wore short jack- 
 ets, ordinary trowsers tucked into their 
 riding-boots, and carrying short riding- 
 sticks with a loop at the end, and all 
 kinds of hats from the silk to the little 
 jockey skull-cap. One old hunter 
 tucked up the tails of his coat and 
 made a jacket of it, another came out 
 in a white flannel jacket, and still 
 another wore a costume somewhat like 
 a London old clo' man, one short 
 overcoat with another shorter one over 
 it, and white corduroy trowsers were 
 plenty. One of the ladies, Miss Mor- 
 ris, was dressed in a blue water-proof 
 riding habit, rather long, and the other, 
 
 Mrs. W , in a short, well-fitting one 
 
 of black, and both wore regular jockey 
 caps. 
 
 ' Give him a start of fifteen minutes !' 
 says the master of the hunt. It was an 
 impatient time, and was spent in talk- 
 ing probabilities, ' horse' and looking 
 after the straps and saddles. ' Time's 
 up ! mount ! mount !' and in less than 
 a minute all were in the saddle, the 
 pack of hounds slipped, and dashing 
 up the road with tails erect and nose 
 in air, and such a chorus of hoarse 
 bavinii- .nnd sharn vplnc i-Viat m'i'-<' Im/e 
 
 ■■d 
 
 -ail) aacl .sv..|'>ai-;-Lci 
 
 ■ie 
 :oi!ig one 
 
 direction and some another, depend- 
 ing on judgment as to the direction 
 to be taken. "The wind's from the 
 south, and it will be a .short hunt,' 
 says a looker-on, ' for then it's always 
 so. ' The hounds could be heard for 
 a few minutes, and then the sound was 
 lost behind the hills. The two la- 
 dies rode splendidly and followed the 
 hounds, taking fences, ditches and 
 every-thing with the nerve of veterans. 
 From the browof the hill where the spec- 
 tators stood the fox was easily seen from 
 the time it was let out of the trap until 
 the first quarter of a mile had been run. 
 As the hounds struck this point there 
 was a temporary hush, then a deep 
 chorus and they rushed in a solid body 
 along the trail. In less than half a 
 minute the horsemen and the two 
 ladies could be seen following over 
 the rough rocky ground covered with 
 underbrush and some dashing reck- 
 lessly through the bushes and across 
 the creek, that flowed through the 
 low bottom land, and then the whole 
 passed from view over the brow of 
 the hill. What followed is told by 
 the hunters on their return, which was 
 about noon, the hunt having lasted 
 three-quarters of an hour. ' It was a 
 short and sharp one,' said the Secre- 
 tary of the Rose Tree Club, as he came 
 in. The first indication was the stray- 
 ing in of a solitary hunter with horse 
 and self well splashed, then a limping 
 hound, and then the hounds and the 
 hunters themselves. The latter were 
 well splashed from toe to hat, and 
 seemed to pride themselves upon the 
 amount of real estate in a semi-liquid 
 state that each could carry. The la- 
 dies came in bearir"^«-i^° "tj^r-i '»"'-'-" — 
 of 'rarn .'. -' -< . 
 there was a perfei I 
 The fox had leti them . 
 
514 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 six miles around and about, and when 
 run down by the hounds the first one 
 in at the death was Mr. Ed. Wath, 
 Mr. Wm. Leiper, Mr. George Lewis, 
 Miss Morris, and within half a minute 
 
 Mrs. W . As the young lady was in 
 
 almost the first, it was decided to give 
 her the brush, or tail, of the fox, that 
 being the greatest trophy of the hunt. 
 Each of the ladies had a foot, and the 
 gory head was secured by Mr. Howard 
 T>ewis, and came in hanging from his 
 saddle. It was a very handsome head, 
 and the face unmutilated, with the 
 clear, beautiful eyes as bright as if it 
 were alive. It will be stuffed and 
 adorn the hunter's box, a room fitted 
 up in the stable, adorned with hunting 
 pictures, foxes' heads, stuffed brashes, 
 horns of deer, and similar trophies, 
 and in which they have the re-union 
 after the hunt to satisfy their keen ap- 
 petites, and tell the story of the day, 
 and other days. The club consists of 
 60 members, thirty of w^hom are active. 
 All of them own their own mounts, 
 and many of the horses have consider- 
 able celebrity as hard goers and fine 
 jumpers. On this occasion, there Avere 
 aboutadozen of the GermantownClub 
 present, and around the board the 
 assembled hunters sang ' Auld Lang 
 Syne,' and told some remarkable sto- 
 ries of foxes who had been run hard, 
 but like the asymptote of a parabola, 
 were continually approached but ne- 
 ver reached. There was one fellow 
 who jumped right over a fence on to 
 a hound's back, gave it a vicious snap, 
 then leaped right between two large 
 pa(ks of hounds, looked at them one in- 
 stant, and was aw^ay like a flash of red 
 lightning, followed bv the whole field. 
 
 5 o'clock the meeting broke ujj, and 
 the visitors came riding into town 
 spattered with mud as they were. 
 There is no question that, followed 
 in the manner it is, fox-hunting is 
 most excellent exercise, and calculated 
 to make splendid riders. As to its 
 safety, there is very seldom an acci- 
 dent. There are numbers of ladies 
 who enter into it with zest, as many 
 as half a dozen riding in a single hunt. 
 This hunt will be about the last of the 
 season. In a week or two the ground 
 will be broken for the spring crops, 
 and the horses will be patiently at 
 work, dreaming, ])erhaps, of the next 
 season." 
 
 The following is a continuation of 
 Mr. Broomall's sketch of the Public 
 Schools of Chester. See pp. 346, 347, 
 taken from the Chester Evening News, 
 of March 29, 1877. 
 
 "In the year ending June, 1872, 
 the amount of money raised by the 
 School Board, was $21,322.67. The 
 expenses, were ^21,700.02. The mem- 
 bers of the Board at the beginning of 
 the school year of 1872, were Caleb 
 Emlen, Pi-esident ; H. L. Donaldson, 
 Treasurer ; Dr. E. Harvey, Simeon 
 Cotton, William B. Broomall, J. W. 
 Kenworthy, John Fountain, S. H. 
 Seeds; Thomas Appleby, Secretary. 
 The number of teachers employed was 
 24 besides the superintendent. In 
 July, Miss Emma Hahn, was unani- 
 mously elected to the position of As- 
 sistant in the High School. In De- 
 cember, Wm. B. Broom.all and Joseph 
 Kenworthy withdrew. Dr. F. R. Gra- 
 ham and Jonathan Grant, were elected 
 to fill the vacancies. 
 
 In June, 1873. Dr. Wm. B. I'lrich 
 
ISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 515 
 
 Emlen was elected President ; Thos. 
 Appleby, Secretary, and John Foun- 
 tain, Treasurer. The revenue this 
 year, -was ^ 2 2 , 45 5 . 5 5 . The expenses, 
 were 122,170.65. Water was intro- 
 duced into the school buildings. In 
 July another room was added to the 
 Academy building on Second Street. 
 In September, the first resolution look- 
 ing to the organization of a night 
 school in South Ward was passed. 
 At a special meeting, held Sept. i6th, 
 the first proposal was made to book 
 dealers to furnish supplies for the 
 schools. Jan. 7, 1874, a night school 
 was opened in the Mechanics' Read- 
 ing Room, with Miss Susan Fenton in 
 charge and Alfred Taylor, assistant. 
 May 6, 1874, President Emlen resign- 
 ed as a member of the Board. Charles 
 Roberts was elected to fill the vacancy. 
 Dr. Ulrich was elected President. 
 
 On June 3, 1874, the following new 
 members presented their credentials; 
 Mrs. S. M. Springer and W. J. Har- 
 vey. John Fountain was re-elected. 
 W, J. Harvey was elected President, 
 S. H. Seeds, Secretary, and John 
 Fountain, Treastirer. At this time the 
 system of appointing Standing Com- 
 mittees was inaugurated. The revenues 
 this year, were ^22,668.08. The ex- 
 penses, $21,668.81. 
 
 July 3, 1874, A. Robinettewas elect- 
 ed Principal of the High School, de- 
 feating A. A. Meader, who had been 
 Principal since the establishment of 
 the school. [Mr. Meader, however, 
 was not ousted from his position as 
 Superintendent.] The number of 
 teachers this year was 31, including 
 the Superintendent. 
 
 Jan. I, 1875, ^^ School Board is- 
 sued bonds for $4,500, for the purpose 
 of assisting in paying for the altera- 
 tions of the Eleventh St. school house, 
 
 made in 1875. i'he money raised this 
 year, was $40,221.20. Expenditures, 
 $39,916.87. On June 4, 1875, the 
 permanent indebtedness was $27,600. 
 June 9th, W. H. Dickinson, Charles 
 Roberts, S. H. Seeds and Jonathan 
 Grant, presented their credentials as 
 members of the School Board, all of 
 the above being re-elected except Mr. 
 Dickinson. The officers of the Board 
 remained the same as the previous year. 
 The school tax for the ensuing year was 
 laid at 5 mills, 3.^ for school purposes 
 and i^ for building. The teachers 
 employed this year 38. July 16, 1875, 
 the contract for the erection of a 
 new school building on Welsh Street, 
 below Fifth, was awarded to J. W. 
 Barnes & Co., at $6,148. Sept. 17th, 
 A. Robinette was elected Superinten- 
 dent of schools. The salary was fixed 
 at $500 per annum. At a meeting of 
 the Board, held Oct. i, 1875, the fol- 
 lowing motion was made by Dr. Har- 
 vey: Resolved, That the Bible shall 
 not be read in the Public Schools. 
 
 The question was taken up at a spe- 
 cial meeting, Oct. 22nd. The yeas 
 were. Dr. Harvey. Nays, Dickinson, 
 Grant, Fountain, Roberts, Seeds and 
 Ulrich. S. M. Springer and W. J. 
 Harvey were absent. Gas was intro- 
 duced in the Middle Ward school 
 building, for the use of night schools, 
 Dec. 3, 1875. At that time there was 
 an attendance of 135 scholars in this 
 school. In Jan., 1876, a night school 
 for colored children was opened in 
 South Ward. The average attend- 
 ance was 35, and there were 50 names 
 on the roll. 
 
 Feb. 4, 1876. Industrial drawingwas 
 introduced as a branch of study in the 
 Public Schools, and Miss Mary E. 
 Bradley was employed as teacher and 
 superintendent of the said branch. 
 
516 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 Ajiril 7. The ]5oanl voted S25 as a 
 quota for educational display at the 
 Centennial Exhibition. The money 
 raised this year was 153,279.54, and 
 the expenditures were the same. 
 
 June 8. John C. Price succeeded Dr. 
 Harvey. Dr. F. R. Graham was re- 
 elected. The officers were, W. J. 
 Harvey, President; Mrs. Springer, 
 Secretary, and John Fountain, Trea- 
 surer. The tax rate was fixed at 3 
 mills on the dollar for school pur- 
 poses, and for building purposes i mill. 
 Alfred Taylor, Collector of School Tax. 
 Dec. I. A committee was appointed 
 by the School Board, to inquire into 
 the discrepancy between the vote cast 
 at city elections and the number of 
 taxables on the list of the County Com- 
 missioners. This committee reported 
 that considerable error existed in the 
 registered taxables, and that the school 
 fund had been greatly depleted thereby. 
 This report occasioned a memorial on 
 the subject to Council. The Committee 
 on Discrepancies in the matter of taxa- 
 bles and votes, reported that the number 
 of taxables as per duplicate was 1 738 ; 
 number of taxables not voting, 890 ; 
 number of taxables from duplicate who 
 voted, 848; number of voters not on 
 duplicate, 1,413; total number liable 
 to tax, 3,151, showing a loss since the 
 triennial assessment of 1874 to the 
 School District from State appropria- 
 tions and personal tax of $8,549. 
 
 In June, 1877, H. L. Donaldson 
 succeeded W. J. Harvey in the School 
 Board. Wm. Hinkson succeeds Mrs. 
 Springer, and W. H. Thompson will 
 succeed John Fountain. The indebt- 
 edness of the School Board at present, 
 is $33,050. The value of 
 estate owned by the Sckool 
 is §93,110. The furniture. 
 Total, 5j!ioo,45t. 
 
 The following interesting Petition 
 will show tliat by an ancient custom 
 the office of Constable was appurte- 
 nant to the land, and the different 
 " places" took their turns. Thus, if 
 a man owned a farm he must serve a 
 year in his turn, and if he bought 
 another place, would have to serve 
 again when its tm-n came. 
 
 To the Honorable Jiisliccs of the Court of 
 
 Private Sess/o/is, hcU at Chester of the 26th 
 
 day of March, 1764. 
 
 The Petition of Samuel Shaw of Chester 
 Township, Miller, Humbly Showeth, — That 
 your Petitioner understands that he is on the 
 return for the office of Constable of the said 
 Township for the ensuing year : That your peti- 
 tioner has foi-merly served thatotHce, and there 
 are several other places that have never served ; 
 and it being a custom that all the places in the 
 s"! Township should serve in thejr turns before 
 any should be obliged to serve again, Your 
 Petitioner apprehends it will not fall to his turn 
 to serve for several years yet to come ; and for 
 your Honors' better information your Petitioner 
 has annexed a list of some persons' names who 
 are Inhabitants of the said Township and have 
 never yet served, as your Petitioner stands in- 
 structed. 
 
 That your Petitioner hath lived but a few 
 years in the said Township and now hath a 
 very large Family, and is also involved in such 
 a multiplicity of Business at present, that he 
 cannot serve the said office at this time, with- 
 out greatly prejudicing his own private Affairs ; 
 That when your Petitioner dwelt in the County 
 of Philadelphia, he was Commissionated by the 
 Ciov"" as a Major & Captain of a Company, and 
 being an old regular soldier, did discipline 
 several other companies as well as his own, 
 without any reward from the Government, 
 which proved a Considerable Expense to him 
 as well as a hindrance to his own private con- 
 cerns. 
 I Your Petitioner therefore most humbly Prays 
 that your Honors will be pleased to take the 
 premises into Consideration, and Excuse him 
 sent from the said Office of Constable, 
 ppoinl some other person to that office 
 ^tead. 
 • I your said Petitioner shall ever pray, &c. 
 Samei- Shaw. 
 
HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 517 
 
 A List of Persons who have not 
 served as Constable. 
 
 Jacob Howell, Jr. ^ 
 John Eyre, 
 George Spear, 
 David Jackson, 
 Henry Piatt, 
 
 Thomas Sharplcss 
 Thomas Roman, 
 Philip Roman, 
 Jacob Ridgeway, 
 Valentine Weaver 
 
 John Salkeld, (part of a year formerly.) 
 
 I extract from The Philadelphia 
 Inquirer o{ K^xW. i6, 1873, the follow- 
 ing account of a Trip to Chester : 
 
 " People who have not seen Chester, our 
 neighboring sister city in this State, for two or 
 three years, would be well repaid the trouble of 
 visiting that flourishing place during this spring 
 or in the coming summer. The growth of 
 the place has been almost marvellous during 
 the past three or four years, and it is expected 
 that the coming season will witness an un- 
 precedented activity in building operations, 
 owing to the scarcity of suitable dwellings for 
 operatives in the shipyards nnd factories. A 
 walk through the city will show this. In all 
 directions cellars are being dug and walls built 
 already, and the middle of April barely at hand. 
 In the North Ward, Mr. Abram Blakely, cot- 
 ton manufacturer, is putting an addition, 100 
 feet long, to his mill, and Mr. James Ledward 
 is adding 120 feet to his, and making other 
 changes. This establishment recently suffer- 
 ed serious damage from fire. The very hand- 
 some i-esidence of Spencer Mcllvain, Esq., 
 has been finished, and is a great improvement 
 to its section of the city. Mr. Henry R. Cou- 
 lomb, a Philadelphia builder, is erecting a 
 block of twelve houses, on Edgmont Avenue, 
 which are likely to be followed by twelve more 
 later in the season. 
 
 Besides these there are about twenty other 
 dwellings contracted for in this Ward. In the 
 Middle Ward, the old part of Chester, John 
 .Spencer, proprietor of the Advocate, is enlarg- 
 ing his flourishing printing establishment ; 
 George and Morgan Baker, arc building five 
 residences, and- houses built last fall are being 
 completed, the old dials of the clock on the 
 City Hall have been removed and new iliu^ 
 minated dials are being substituted. i\ new 
 luck-up for the accommodation of "tramps" 
 from Wilmington and other places is talked 
 of, but meets with much opposition. 
 
 In the South Ward things are progressing, 
 and people of this city, who have not been in 
 
 Chester for several years, will find old land- 
 marks gone, and the city streets extended 
 nearly to Marcus Hook. New boroughs have 
 been incorporated, and now, after the New 
 England style, there is North Chester on one 
 side and South Chester on another. West 
 Chester is a suburb 18 miles distant, and East 
 Chester is to be the future home of the Amer- 
 ican Print Works of the Messrs. Simpson of 
 this city. Several hundred acres of ground 
 have been purchased by them, and stone and 
 brick are being gotten together for future use. 
 
 They have in Chester but one regularly or- 
 ganized Bacchanalian revel annually, and that 
 is by the ex- and in-city functionaries, under the 
 guise of a municipal supper. They invite some 
 jolly, good fellows from the city and from ad- 
 joining towns, and gather to hurrah for Chester, 
 tell stories, sing songs and make Innicombe 
 speeches. 
 
 At the last supper, which came on last Friday 
 night. Mayor Forward presided at one end of 
 the table, and Y. S. Walter, editor of the Dela- 
 ware County Republicati, at the other. 
 
 " The old members of Council," " The new 
 members of Council," "Our schools," "Our 
 railroad interests," and our everything, were 
 conscientiously toasted and properly felicitated. 
 Thomas V. Cooper, of the Media Auicrican, 
 was the wonderful mirror of the occasion. 
 He sees Chester from a point five miles distant, 
 .and replied to the toast, "As others see us." 
 Wm. A. Todd, editor of the Evening A^ews, 
 made a model speech, chalking out a Utopian 
 sphere and functions for " the Press" of Ameri- 
 ca, which was very nice, but difficult of execu- 
 tion. Lots of other speeches were made, and 
 songs sung. 
 
 On Sunday St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 
 which had been closed, undergoing repair.s for 
 ten months, was re-opened. It is now one of 
 the handsomest churches inside to be found in 
 the country. Great credit is due the ladies of 
 the congregation, who labored assiduously and 
 raised ^9000 of the ^15,000 required for the 
 work. The church was crowded, the music 
 was good, and the sermon was excellent. Bap- 
 tisms of twelve or fifteen infants preceded, and 
 communion followed the services. Rev. Hen- 
 ry Brown, the Rector for the past eleven year.s, 
 and the last of a long line of twenty four rectors 
 of this parish, preached. In his review of the 
 •hit=tory of the church he stated that it was more 
 two hundred years old — that is, the con- 
 
518 
 
 HISTORY OF CHESTER. 
 
 yi'ci;alii(n. The incnil)ci>Iii|), now ahmit two 
 luindrcd, at one time numbered only three. 
 The old church, completed in 1702, was torn 
 down in 1850, and the present one built. I'hila- 
 delphians spending the summer in the vicinity 
 of Chester, will find at St. Paul's quite a curi- 
 osity in the shape of a tombstone cut in 1682. 
 
 The lecture season in Chester closed last 
 night with a lecture by Lieut. lie -,rv (^lay 
 Cochrane, U. S. M. C, before the '. > 1. ;its' 
 Union, upon "The West Coast o ^outh 
 America." Hamlet, by an amateur company, 
 assisted by J. B. Roberts, of this city, is'i \be 
 l)roduced at Tuscarora Hall this week. " 
 
 Oil the 4th of July, 1876, in ac' 
 cordance with a Proclamation of tht 
 President of the United States, re- 
 commending the preparation and pre^ 
 servation of Town, County and State 
 Histories, Centennial meetings were 
 held for that purpose throughout the" 
 Union. At Chester, the Centennial 
 Oration was delivered by Isaac T. 
 Coates, M. D., on the National Sta- 
 tistics, from 1790 to 1876, and i.-, a 
 mint of useful knowledge, compiled 
 with infinite pains, and has been pre- 
 served in book form. William Ward, 
 Esq., wrote and read a sketch of the 
 History of Chester, from its earliest 
 settlement. Hon. John M. Broomall, 
 read before the Delaware County In- 
 stitute of Science, the County History 
 for the last century, which has been 
 filed with the Librarian of Congress; 
 and Henry Graham Ashmead, Esq., 
 wrote a sketch of the History of Ches- 
 ter and Delaware Counties, which is 
 printed in Dr. Egle's Illustrated His- 
 tory of Pennsylvania. These able, 
 instructive and interesting papers, were 
 
 all printed in the Delaware County 
 Republican. 
 
 Here ends the History of Chester 
 and its vicinity. It may be said that 
 tliis work is very imperfect ; I admit 
 that it is, but I have done the best I 
 could with the materials I had, which 
 were collected more for my own per- 
 sonal amusement than with the design 
 oi fever publishing them, which was 
 j the thought of a later day ; and I now 
 I give the result of my researches to the 
 ! public, thinking thereby to preserve 
 I many things that would be otherwise 
 lost. Many pleasant and many leisure 
 ' hours, making up in time a space of 
 '^'veral years, have been passed over 
 i work, and if any one thmks such 
 I. .>clf-imposed task easy, let him write 
 a hisf.r)fy of New Castle, or Salem, or 
 some other old town on the Delaware, 
 or elsewhere, then give an opinion on 
 my production. I read on an old iron 
 stove plate, that had on it a picture of 
 a marriage ceremony, cast in 1756, by 
 John Pott, from whom the town of 
 Pottsville, in this State, takes its name, 
 the following inscription : 
 
 " WAR DAR IBER NUR WIL LACHEN, 
 DER MAG ES BESSER MACHEN, TATELEN 
 KENEN lA SER VIL, ABER BESSER MA- 
 CHEN 1ST DAS RECHTE SPIL." 
 
 That is to say — "Whoever chooses 
 to laugh over this picture, he sliall 
 make a better one ; anybody can make 
 fun of a thing, but let him do better, 
 that is the right way ;" and thus I end 
 one of the most agreeable occupations 
 of my life. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abbott, David, 245. 
 
 Abolition of slavery, 189. 
 
 Act against Horse-racing, 228. 
 
 A Day in Chester, 122. 
 
 Advertisements, old, 327. 328. 
 
 Addresses of soldiers, 194. 202. 
 
 Advertiser, The Chester, 226. j 
 
 Advocate, The Chester, 226. 
 
 Aged people, list of, 244 to 253. 
 
 Albany beef, 423. 
 
 Allen, Andrew, 473. 
 
 Ammasland, 135. 136. 137. 142. 148 to 153. 
 
 Ancient Punch Bowl and Pitcher, 200. Preface. 
 
 Anderson, 123. 127. 128. 213. 219. 246. 261. 
 
 267. 290. 455. 456. 
 Anderson family, 244. 253 to 255. 
 Andrew's neglect, 107. 
 Animals, wild, 61. 
 Ancient spelling, 56. 
 Anecdotes, 195. 475. 
 Anthony, 256. 
 Appleby, 261. 
 Apprentices, 74. 75. 
 A perilous ride, 386. 
 Arrivals, 5. 23. 25. 64. 69, 70. 
 Artillerists, The Penna., 221. 222. 287. 
 Archy Dick Guards, 368. 
 Art, Capt. James, 103. 104. 
 Armitt family, 141. 
 -Armor family, 103. 104. 106. 
 Armstrong, i. 6. 19. 
 
 Armstrong's list of arrivals, 63. 64. 65. ,^ 
 
 Arms of Broom, 284. 285. 
 
 Crosby, 218. 
 
 Delawarr, Preface. 
 
 West, Preface. 
 Arlemus Ward, 280. 
 Asbury Chapel, 411. 
 Assembly, first, 66. 67. 
 
 Members of, 446. 
 
 Old house of, 66. 163. _ 
 
 .Vshmcad, 267. 268. 
 
 family, 4401.. 444. 
 
 [ A> :ociators, 174. 175. 
 I .wood, 458. 
 
 Vtlee, 176. 180. 252. 
 
 A trip to Chester, 516. 
 
 Attempt to capture Arsenal, 397 10402. 
 
 Attorney not to plead, 461. 
 
 Attorneys, Lists of, 470 to 477. 
 
 Attorneys-General, 472. 473. 
 
 Bachelors' Club, 227. 
 
 Back street, 55. 
 
 Baggs family, 278. 279. 
 
 Bake-house, 90. 350. 
 
 Baldwin family, 106. 479 to 481. Preface. 
 
 Balls, birth night, 302. 
 
 Bank, Delaware County, 122. 222. Preface. 
 
 1st National, 222. 
 Bankspn family, 30. 31. 32. 106. 
 
 name, 17. 18. 103. 
 Baptist churches, 414. 415. 509. 
 Bartram family, 188. 189. 247 to 250. Preface 
 Barnard, 128. 317^ 407. 
 
 family record, 407 to 410. 
 Bartholomew, 273. 
 Barrows, 335. Preface. 
 Bar of Delaware Co., 474. 475. 
 
 Chester County, 470. 471. 476. 477. 
 Bathing place, 387. 
 Battle of Brandy wine, 255. 258. 
 
 Long Island, 177. 
 Beale family, 15. 213. 264. 265. Preface. 
 
 Dr. Joseph, 15. 
 Belfry of St. Paul's, 13. 123. 126. 
 Bell of St. Paul's, 13. 14. 122. 126. 
 
 towers, 123. 
 Bell, Thomas S., 467. 
 Bench and Bar, 460 to 478. 
 Berry, 211. 
 
 Besk, Deed to Capt., 7. 155. 
 Bethlehem and the Moravians, 453. 
 Bevan, Davis, 223. 267. 271. 
 
 family, 41- 42.44- Ijl- 273- 
 
 i;iiis..rcrcdii. 140. 
 
520 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Kible Society, 235. 236. 237. 
 Bird, 96. Prcjacc. 
 Black Bear Inn, 278. 
 Block-House, 4. 
 Blue Anchor Tavern, 261. 
 Blue-Ball Inn, 266. 
 Blythe, 293. 316. 319. 
 Bonsall, 243. 336. ' 
 
 family, 317. 499. 
 Bond family, 30. 34. I03. 106. 107. 4S1. 
 
 Island, 106. 107. 
 Boon family', 19. 
 Boone, Daniel, 19. 
 Bradford, William, 64. 
 
 Breakwater, Delaware, 62. 221. 297 to 301. 
 Brooke, II. Jones, Preface. 
 Broom, 276. 
 
 family, 281 to 285. Preface. 
 Broomall, 8. 313. 346. 466. 468. 
 Broomall's descr-^ ion of Chester, 313 to 316. 
 Brohson, 245. 261. 
 Brinton, 354. 
 Bridges, 56. 57. 58. 59. 
 Brown family, 145. 
 Buck, Wm. J., 4. 
 Buffington, 25. 26. 
 Ikitler, William, 466. 467. 468. 
 Ikickley family, 102. 
 
 Burying Grounds, 55. 78. 79. 80. 155. 158. 
 Burgesses, (Chief), 1S8. 221. 301. 364. 462. 
 jjushall family, 102. 
 Burns family, 261. 
 Bustles, 164. 
 
 Chester, Ancient, 65. 66. 489. 
 Assembly 'at, 66. 67. 
 Advocate, 226. 
 Advertiser, 226. 
 Bridges at, 57. 58. 59. 
 Balls and dancing, 302. 
 Burgesses, 188. 221. 301. 364. 462. 
 Borough Charter, III. 201. 
 Census, 303. 
 City charter, 113. 
 City Mayors, 301. 
 Churches, 113. 122. 410 to 415. 
 Courts removed from, 353. 354. 
 City Council, 301. 
 City safeguards, 391. 
 Date of settlement, 3. 
 Draft of land at, 9. 10. 
 Descriptions of, 165. 302 to 310. 313 
 
 to 316. 488 to 492. 516. 517. 
 Ivu-ly scllk-r>, 7. 8. 9. 10. 259. 
 
 Chester Evening News, 226. 
 
 Election scenes at, 196. 
 Fort at, 4. 
 
 Fishing Club, 222, 422. 423. 
 Fire Insurance Co., 365. 
 First mentioned, 4. 
 From 1849 to 1865, 428 to 434. 
 Gas introduced, 417. 418. 
 Guards, 376. 
 Herald, 225. 
 Health of, 244. 
 Heights, 416. 417. 
 Incorporated, in. 201. 
 Island, 196. 
 Lament, 192. 193. 
 •Lodges, Masonic, 196 to 200. 
 Library Company, 91. 449 to 452. 
 Lyceum, 450. 
 " Mills, 10. 310. 311. 438. 
 Meeting of Friends, 24. 67. %t,. 163. 
 Mutual Ins. Co., 366. ~ 
 Municipal offices of the City, 301. 
 Newspapers, 224 to 226. 
 Names of, 3. 
 
 Names of streets, 21. 22. -87. 88. 
 Name changed, 63. 64. 499. 500. 
 Owners of land at, 9. 
 Penn's arrival at, 24. 62. 63. 
 Petition of Inhabitants, 89. 90. 159. 
 Pilot, 226. 
 
 Plan or Model of, 88. 89. 90. 
 Population of, 303. 
 Piers, 222 to 224. 
 Park Association, 478. 479. 
 Prisoners of War at, 2S0. 281. 
 Race Course at, 502. 503. 
 Removal of Seat of Justice from, 191 
 
 192. 193. 
 Rise and progress of, 428 to 434. 
 Retailers, 301. 302. 
 Titles of land at, 6. 29. 
 Town of, laid out, 88. "89. 90. 
 Troops at, 176. 177. 188. 
 Seal of County, 66. 
 Schools, 346 to 350. 514 to 516. 
 Streets of, 21. 22. 87. 89. 
 Ship-yards, 428 to 436. 504 to 506. 
 Vessels built at, 503 to 506. 
 Water-works, 447 to 449. 
 Chester County Bar, 470. 471. 476. 477. 
 
 Divided, 193. 
 
 First Court of, 70. 
 ^^ Records of, i6. 48. 49. ^ 
 
 Seal, 66. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 521 
 
 Chester County, Trefisurers of, 47S. 
 Cabins of Logs, 38. 39. 40. 
 Caldwell, 338. 
 Calvary Church, 459. 460. 
 Camp Meetings, 415. 416. 417. 
 Canal, Leipers, 237 to 242. 
 Canals in the U. S., 239. 242. 243. 
 Capture of Cornwallis, 195. 
 Carolus, Dr. Lars, 8. 9. 10. 11. 
 Carter, name, 105. 
 Cattle show, 503. 
 Centennial Histories, 518. 
 Census, 303. 
 
 Changes in names, 18. 19. 
 Chapman, Henry, 466. 467. 
 Chalkley, Thomas, 456. 
 Chariot, The, 225. 
 Charlier, 46. Preface. 
 Chichester, 83. 
 Chew, Benjamin, 473. 
 Children's Home, 453. 
 Church of St. Luke's, 410. 411. 
 
 of St. Paul's, 13. 113 to 134. 158. 517. 
 of St. Martin's, 95 to loi. 
 of St. Michael's, 412. 
 of Immaculate Heart, 413. 
 Churches at Chester, 410 to 415. 
 Baptist, 414. 415. 509. 
 Catholic, 412. 413. 
 Metiiodist, 411. 412. 
 Presbyterian, 413. 414. 510. 
 Churchman, 327. 
 Circus at Chester, 327. 
 Clark, 106. 
 Clarke, 293. 
 Clay, Henry, 325. 326. 
 Clayton, 102. 105. 107. Preface. 
 
 Thomas J., 466. 468. 
 Clement, 31. 
 Clemson, 151. 
 Clerks of the Court, 474. 
 Clingan, William, 465. 466. 
 Cloak, 269. 
 
 Clyde family, 267. 268. Preface. 
 Coates, 79. 
 • Cock, (Cox) family, 462. 463. 
 - Cochran family, 319 to 323. 
 
 name of, 316. 517. 
 ,^ Cochran's Race Course, 502. 503. 
 Columbia Hotel, 260. 261. 
 Cold weather, 23. 425. 426. 
 Collectors of Excise, 179. 
 
 of Continental loan, 182. 
 of clothincr, 182. 
 
 Colored soldiers, 220. 391. 
 Commissioners of Fisheries, 181. 
 of Purchases, 181. 
 of Forfeited Estates, 180 to 183. 
 Committee of 1774, 174. 175. 
 Communion service, St. Paul's, 13. 14. 
 Constitutional Conventions, 475. 476. 
 Continental money, 140. 
 Congress, Members of, 327. 
 Cope, Gilbert, 190. 248. 405. 479. 492. 
 Copper mine, 418. 419. 
 Cornbury, Lord, 41. 
 Coroners, List of, 447. 
 Court at Upland, 15. 16. 26. 29. 
 Clei\ks, 474. 
 at Chesfer, 70. 
 of Equity, 77. 
 
 Houses, 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 122. 193. 
 House Bell, 122. 
 Courts, Justices of the, 26. 195. 462 to 465. 
 Officers of the, 48. 47'4;'477. 488. 
 Proceedings of, 23. 29. 71 to 78. 83. 91. 
 
 460 to 462. 
 Records of the, 16. 48. "49. 
 Justices of Provincial, 73. 74. 469. 
 Petty Sessions, 74. 
 County divided, 193. 
 
 Lieutenants, 181. 
 Sub-Lieutenants, 181. 
 Cowen, 361. 
 Cowpland, 188. 293. 
 
 family, 175. 271 to 273. 
 David, 273. 301. Preface. 
 Certificate, 272. 
 Craig, Rev. George, 99. 128. 
 Cripple, Meaning of, 135. 
 Crosby, The name of, 8. 9. 40. 48. 68. 71. 127- 
 128. 143- 173- 243- 287. 316. 317. 
 384. 401. Preface. 
 David, Capt., 204. ' 
 family, 203 to 218. 
 Judge, 207. 208. 
 House, 277. 
 Mills, 57. 205. 
 
 Pierce, 57. 210. 214. 215. 216. 243. 
 Place, 8. 217. 
 Robert P., 214. 
 Quarries, 62. 
 
 Residences, 40. 204. 208. 210. 
 Sir John, 217. 218. 
 Slaves of, 213. 
 Crossley, 317. 
 
 Crozier, 10. 128. 205. 229. 310. 492. 
 Crozer family. 454. 455. 
 
522 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Crozcr Theological Seminary, 454. 455. 
 Cranston family, 103. 106. 108. 109. 1 10. 
 Crime, Punishment of, 54. 183 to 1S7. 228. 
 Culin, 127. 128. 153. 154. 204. 210. y/r/f/fA 
 
 Damages by the British, 17S. 179. 
 Dancing school, 302. 
 Darby Library Co., 452. 
 
 Rangers, 380. 
 Darlington, Thomas, 259. 260. 
 
 Edward, 362. 447. 474. 
 
 Judge, 466. 467. 
 Davis, name of, 250. 251. 478. 
 
 family, 145 to 148. 
 Dealers in Merchandize, 428. 
 Death-warrant, 174. 
 Death from joy, 195. 
 Deaths, List of, 244 to 253. 
 Decatur, Stephen, 214. 458. 459. 508. 
 Decoration Day, 390. 
 Dechert, 294. 295. 
 Deed to Besk, 7. 
 Deeds, Acknowledged, 71. 
 
 Indian, 67. 
 Deihl family, 212. 356. 357. 
 Dclafield, 299. 
 Delaware Breakwater, 62. 221, 297 to 301. 
 
 Bay, 5. 
 Delaware County Bar, 474. 475. 
 
 Advocate, 226. 
 
 Bank, 122. 222. Preface. 
 
 Bible Society, 235. 236, 237. 
 
 Census, 30^. 
 
 Democrat, 225. 226. 
 
 Formed, 193. 
 
 Fencibles, 219. 220. 
 
 Fusileers, 377. 
 
 Guards, 379. 
 
 Insurance Co., 359 to 365. 
 
 Medical Society, 496 to 499. 
 
 Mutual Insurance Co. 365. 366. 
 
 Paper and Mail, 226. 
 
 Republican, 225. 
 
 Troop, 220. 221. 
 
 Volunteers, 379. 
 Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance Co., 359 
 
 to 365- 
 Delaware River, 5. 27. 350. 351. 
 Delaware's title to the river, 27. 2S. 
 Democratic Pilot, 226. 
 Democrat and Pilot, 226. 
 Dennis, 291. 292. 
 
 Dejiuty Attorneys-General, 473. 474. 
 I)esauf|ue family, 21 1. 
 
 Descriptions of Chester, 165. 302 to 310. 
 
 to 316. 488 to 492. 516. 517. 
 Description of a Fox hunt, 511 to 514. 
 De.shong, 245. 271. 293. 
 
 family, 246. 354 to 359. 
 Dial, Public, 91. 
 Dick, Archy, Guards, 368. 393. 
 
 family, 393 to 405. 
 
 name of, 53. 407. 410. 
 District Attorneys, 474. 
 Doctors, List of, 495. 497. 
 Doorkeeper of Congress, 195. 
 Downing, Col., 53. 
 Dress, Style of, 164. 426. 427. 
 
 of early settlers, 39. 40. 
 Du Puy, 32. 
 Du Pont, 257. 279. 
 Du Hamel, 144. 
 Dutton, 247. 251. 
 
 Record, 492. 
 Dyall Post, 91. 125. 
 Dyer family, 267. 
 
 Early settlers, 7. 8. 9. 10. 37 to 41. 
 
 Earthquakes, 163. 
 
 Ear-marks, 47. 48. 
 
 Edwards family, 264. 265. 
 
 Edwards, Lt. Samuel, 388. 
 
 Edgmont Avenue, 22. 350. 
 
 Effinger, name of, 204. 
 
 Effinger's fishery, 291. 422. 
 
 Elections, 193. 196. 
 
 Election certificate, 446. 
 
 Engle, name of, 245. 256. 257. 320. 
 
 family, 212. 261 to 266. 
 
 Frederick, 387. 
 Essex Plouse, 24. 25. 
 Estates in England, 217. 
 
 of Traitors, 188. 
 Evans account, 62:^" 
 
 ^Oliver, 433. 
 Evening Star, 226. 
 
 News, 226. 
 Execution of criminals, 183 to 187. 22S. 
 Excise, List of payers of, 179. 180. 
 Eyre family, 49 to 54. 267. 268. 
 
 name of, 12. 47. 49. 246. Preface. 
 
 Joshua P., 52. 246. 
 
 William, 52. 246. 
 
 ]'"arr, 287. 
 
 Farrer, 399. 401. ' 
 
 Farley, 299. 
 
 I'uirlandi, 131. 205. 206. 266. 
 
IN I) EX. 
 
 Fashions, 164. 426. 427. 
 Fayssoux, 243. 
 F'encibles, 219. 220. 
 Fenn, Jane, 82. 
 Field, 196. 241. 
 
 family, 295. 296. • 
 
 Fifth Street, 22. 
 
 Pa. Vols., (1776), 177. 
 Filbert Street, 21. 
 Finland, 67. 
 Finch, 344. 
 Fire buckets, 92. 277. 
 
 Engines, 492. 
 
 Protection from, 92. 
 Fire ! F'ire ! says John Dyer, 277. 27S. 
 Anthony Guyer, 493. 
 F'irst Book printed, 229. 
 
 Canals, 237 to 243. 
 
 National Bank, 222. 
 
 Railroads, 237 to 243. 
 
 Settlers, 7. 8. 9. 10. 
 
 Vessels built at, 503 to 506. 
 Fisheries, 420 to 424. / 
 
 Fishing Club, 422. 423. 
 Fish, Prices of, 419. 421. 422. 
 , Fitzpatrick, 183. 184. 
 F'lavill, 267. 
 Flickwir, 440. Preface. 
 Floating bridge, 121. 
 Floods, 351, 352. 
 F'lower family, 436 to 445. Preface. 
 
 name of, 229. 419. 
 Flour Mills, 231. 310 to 313. 
 Foreign estates, 217. 
 F"oreman, George, 12. 
 F'orfeited estates, 180. 
 Forge in Ridley, 207. 208. 
 F'ort at Chester, 4. 
 F'orster, John M., 466. 46/. 
 F'ourth Street, 22. 
 Fox Chase, 172. 51 1 to 514. 
 F"rancis, Tench, 473. 
 FVazier, Robert, 275. 475. 
 Free Street, 22. 
 F'rench claims, 33. 438. 
 Friends, Burying grounds, 55. 78. 79. 80. 
 
 Courtship, 83. 
 
 First meeting house, 66. 82. 
 
 First meeting of, 24. 67. S3. 163. 
 
 Marriage ), 83- 
 
 Meeting-houses, 82. 83. 410. 
 
 Meetings, 64. 83. 92. 
 I'roi. Street, 22. 350. 
 
 Futhev, J. Smith. 48. 180. 471. 
 07 
 
 Futliey. Preface. 
 
 Galvin, 289. 
 
 Game, Wild, 61. 419. 420. 424. 425. 
 
 Gardiner, 385. Preface. 
 
 Gartside rifles, 391. 
 
 Gerhard, 279. 
 
 Ga,skill family, 79. 
 
 Gas-works, 418. 
 
 Gill's tavern, 261. 
 
 Gideon's Band, 378. 
 
 Gilpin, 283. 511. 
 
 Glen Mills, 232. 
 
 Globe Inn, 277. 
 
 Goodson, 495. 
 
 Golden wedding, 259. 260. 
 
 Graham family, 56. 166 to 171. 
 
 name of, 36. 55. 193. 277. 465. 466. 
 Grand Army of the Republic, 389. 390. 
 
 Jury, 48, 49. 
 Granary, The old, 90. 
 Grant's rocks, 291. 
 
 Granthum family, 290 to 293. Preface. 
 Grantum, Charles, 290, tiofe. 
 Gratz, 401. 
 Gray, 357. 
 
 family, 499. 
 Gray's ferry, 121. 
 Graveyards, 55. 78. 79. 80. 
 Gravestones, 78. 79. 
 Green, The, 35. 88. 89. 157. 
 Green-bank, 34. 87. 
 Griffin, The ship, 25. 
 Growdon, Joseph, 73. 74. 
 
 Joseph, Jr., 472. 
 Growden, 81. 82, 
 j Grubb, 23. 99. loi. 375. ^ 
 I Guards, The Delaware County, 379. 
 Gunning on the Delaware, 424. 425. 
 Gypsies, 511. 
 
 Hand, 360. 
 
 Hail-storms, 352. 353. 
 
 Haines, Townsend, 4' . 447. 466. 467. 
 
 Hall, Peter Penn-Gaskill, 79. 
 
 Rev. RichardD.,66. 114. 115. 128. 305. 
 Hall's description of Chester, 305 to 310. 
 Hallow E'en, 511. 
 Hamilton, Andrew, 472. 
 Hannmii, 118. 125. 126. 183. 192. 212. 
 Hanley Hose Co., 492. 
 Hard family, 296. 297. 
 Harlan, 143, 187. 
 Harding, Cieorge, 405. 
 
521 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Harrison family, 211. 
 Hailranft Rifles, 391. 
 Harvest-homes, 506 to 508. 
 Hawes family, 173. 212. 213. 
 Heckeweider, 413. 
 Heckewelder's Indian names, 3. 
 Health of Chester, 244. 
 Heap family, 86. 87. 
 
 name of, 382. 383. 
 Hemphill family, 211. 
 Henderson, 152. 
 Henry Clay, 325. 326. 
 Herald, The Chester, 225. 
 Hewes, 213. 
 
 family, 317. 405 to 407. 
 Hewlings family, 18. 
 Hicl-'man, 41. 
 Hill family, 131. 173. 213. 384. 499. 
 
 John F.,38. 61. 246.293. 297. 298. 319. 
 324. 502. 
 
 Peter, 141. 146. 293. 
 Hinkson, 222. 253. 
 Historic Tales, 418. 419. 
 Historical Collections of Chester County, 190. 
 
 191.470. 471.478. 
 Holcomb, 31. 
 
 Hollingsworth, 489. 501. Preface. 
 Holme's Map, q. 
 Holme, 501. 
 Holmes, 211. 
 Hoops, 164. 
 
 Hope's Anchor Tavern, 273. 
 Horses, 317. 318. 
 Horse-blocks, 318. 
 Hoskins family, 54 to 56. 
 
 name, 82. 267. 279. 
 Home, 385. 509. 
 Hotels, 260 to 280.- 
 House of Defence, 15. 19. 67. 82. 114. 
 Houses of early settlers, 38. 39. 40. 41. 
 Howard family, 30. ' 
 
 Howell, name, 102. 103. 
 Howes family, 261. 
 Hubbell family, 444. 445. 
 Huddell family, 32. 
 Humphreys, 249. 
 Humphrey's family, 388. 
 Humes family, 294. 295. 
 Hunters, The Jolly, 172. 
 Hutchinson, 317. 
 Hyatt's Military Academy, 493. 
 
 Independence, Declaration of, 138 to 140. 
 Preface. 
 
 Independent Artillery Co., 335. 
 Independent, The, 226. 
 Indian Deeds, 6. 
 
 Names, 3. 5. 
 
 Settlement, 5. 
 
 Treaties, 6. 53. 
 
 Summer, 329. 485. 486. 
 Indians, 5. 41. 
 Inscriptions on Tombs, 13. 98. loi. 122. 
 
 130. 131. 273. 293. 337. 
 Iron forge on Crum Creek, 207. 208. 
 Irwin family, 271 to 276. 
 Irwin's Tavern, 271 to 276. 
 Irvine family, 243. 
 Irvine, 274. 275. 393. 
 Island, Chester, 196. 
 Ivy Mills, 231. 
 
 Jacques' Quany, 268. 
 Jackson family, 130. 
 
 name, 127. 129. 495. 
 James' first attempt, 107. 
 James, 271. 288. 
 
 Street, 22. 
 
 Rev. Isaac, 251. 252. 
 Jansen, 155. 156. 
 Japanese Embassy, 434. 435. 
 Jenks, 250. 
 
 Johnson family, 155 to 157. 
 Johnson, 321. 
 Jolly Hunters, 172. 
 Jordan burial ground, 79. 
 Judges, County Court, 465. 466. 
 
 Provincial Court, 73. 74. 469. 
 ■Judicial joke, 195. 
 Jury, Grand, 48. 49. 
 
 of wt)men, 54. 
 Juries, 16. 29. 54. 71. 
 Justices, 15. 29. 54. 195. 462 to 465. 
 Justis family, 145. 146. Preface. 
 
 name of, 257. 260. 327. 
 
 Kalm, Peter, 165. 207. 
 Kane family, 240. 241. 243. 
 
 John K., 238. 
 Keepers of Taverns, 121. 165. 166. 
 Keppele family, 354. 355. 357. 
 Kerlin family, 266. 
 
 name of, 121. 267. 356. 358. 
 Keith, Rev. George, 116. 117. 
 King of Jerusalem, 285. 
 King's highway, 91. 
 
 loatl, 55- 57- 50- 91- 491- 
 Kinsey, John. 473. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 525 
 
 Kneass, Strickland, 335. 337. 
 Kurtz, Col. John I)., 300. 
 
 Lists of aged people, 244 to 253. 
 
 Arrivals, 23. 25. 68. 69. 70. 81. 
 Associators, 164. 165. 
 Attorneys-General, 472. 
 Collectors of Excise, 179. 181. 
 
 Loan, 182. 
 Committee (1774), 174. 175. 
 Coroners, 447. 
 Doctors, 495. 497. 
 Dealers in merchandize, 428. 
 Delegate to Convention of 1776. 182. 
 Directors of Del. M. S. Ins. Co., 361. 
 Deputy Attorneys- General, 475. 
 Deaths, 244 to 253. 
 Judges, 465. 466. 469. 
 Justices, 15. 29. 54. 195. 462 to 465. 
 Members of Assembly, 446. 
 Council, 301. 
 Congress, 447. 
 the Bar, 470 to 477. 
 Ministers, 95, 96. 128. 
 Members of the Bible Society, 236. 237. 
 Members No. 69, A. Y. M., 197. 198. 
 236, F. & A. M., 199. 
 352, F. & A. M., 200. 
 of Supreme Council, 180. 
 Officers of Banks, 222. 
 Old Lawyers, 470. 
 residents, 259. 
 Paymasters, 181. 
 
 Persons paying Excise, 179. l8o. 
 Provincial Conference, 182. 
 Delegates, 182. 
 Deputies, 182. 
 Recorders of Deeds, 475. 
 Registers of Wills, 475. 
 Regular Officers, 382. 383. 
 Revolutionary soldiers, 177. 
 
 County officials, 179 to 183. 
 Sherifis, 475. 
 
 Soldiers, 219, 220. Preface. 
 Swedish settlers, 17. 18. 
 Swedes to Oath, 14. 
 Tavern-keepers, 121. 165. 166. 
 Taxables, 15. 95. 159. 
 Treasurers of Library Co. ,451. 
 Vestrymen, loi. 124 to 127. 
 \'olunteers, 367 to 393. 
 Labbe, 302. 
 
 Ladies' fashions, 426. 427. 428. 
 Ladomus family, 486. 487. 
 
 Ladomus, name, 246. 256. 262. 321. 
 La Fayette at Brandywme, 255. 
 
 at Bethlehem, 255. 
 
 at Chester, 254 to 259. -''" ^ 
 
 at New Castle, 257. 
 
 Resolution of Congress, 258. 259. 
 
 Supper to, 506. 
 
 Watch, 258. 
 
 at Wilmington, 257. 
 Lament of Chester, 192. 
 Lamokin, 25. 438. 443. 
 Lammas flood, 351. 352. 
 Lane, name of, 39. 
 Land titles, 6, 29. 
 Landing place of Penn, 24. 25. 
 Larkin, name of, 151. 278. 301. 
 Lawler, 43. 
 Laws, 271. 
 
 Lawyers, list of, 470 to 477. 
 Lazaretto, 154. 
 Learson, 15. 17. Preface. 
 Leiper family, 240 to 244. 
 
 Canal, 237 to 242. 
 
 name, 211. 216. 229. 235. 237. 251. 
 270. 392. 393. 400. 499. 
 
 Quarries, 297. 298. 
 
 Railroad, 237 to 243. 
 Leiperville, 213. 239. 
 Lenni Mills, 41. 234. 235. 
 Letts. 252. 
 
 Letter of Mahlon Stacey, 419. 420. 
 Lewis' account, 40. 
 
 History, 114. 190. 
 
 Mills, 492. 
 Libraries, 91. 449 to 452. 
 Life in New Sweden, 488. 
 Lines of Stages, 194. 266. 
 Lodge, Dr. John W., 256. 478. 
 Lodges, 196 to 201. 
 Logan, 35. 
 
 papers, 59. 80. 
 Log Cabins, 38. 39. 
 Lloyd, 48. 81. 82. 88. 89. 158. 
 
 David, death, 82. 
 
 Grace, her Will, 80. 81. 
 
 Hugh, 469. 
 
 Mansion, 34. 81. 83. 
 Lombaert, 320. 321. 337. 338. 
 Long Island, battle of, 177. 
 Lotteries, 100. 104. 
 Love Lane, 22. 
 Lownes, 212. Preface. 
 
 family, 494. 495. 
 Ludwick, 210. 
 
■32(i 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Lyon, Gen. Nathaniel, 398 lu 40J. 
 Lytle family. 343- 344- 
 
 .M.ickensie, 274. 275. 27O. 
 Miuldnck, 145. 211. 495. 510. 
 Ma.o;aw. 177. 
 
 McDowell, 30. 2S9. Prefao:. 
 Mcllvaine family, 143. 144, 264. 316 to 31S. 
 Caslle, 317. 
 Howard, 143. 373. 
 Mills, 239. 240. 
 name, 209. 211. 405, 517. 
 McKcevei, 31. 
 Mcl.ane, Col., 257. 25cS, 
 McMullin family, 507. 
 McWilliams, 31'. 
 
 Mahlon Stacey's letter, 419. 420.. 
 Main Street, 22. 
 Malin, 266. 
 
 Manufactories, 228 to 235. 
 ■Marcus Hook, 7. 8. 67. 83. 92 to no. 165. 175. 
 name changed, 95. 
 Original owners of land, 7. 8. 
 Origin of name of, 67. 
 Piers, 94. 
 Petition, 93. 
 Plan of, 107. 
 Taxahles, 95. 
 Troojih at, 175. 
 Market House, 91. 
 
 Street, 22. 91. 
 Markliam, Gov., 23. 26. 
 Marshall, loi. 103. 104. 105. 141. 151. 
 Marriages, 83. 492. 
 Mari.i, 162. 248. 260. 
 Marston, 231. 
 
 Marten Birds and roost, 4S2. 4S3. 
 Martin, 9. 41. 48. 68. 70. 82. 250. 316. 317. 
 
 482. 496. Preface. 
 Martin family, 328 to 337. 363 to 365. 
 
 J)r. William, 62. 127. 158. 194. 195. 
 
 196. 198. 200. 202. 203. 249. 495. 
 Dr. Ernest D., 216. 336. 337. 
 Jane, 188, 189. Preface. 
 Waller, 68. 70. 96 to 108. Preface. 
 Waller, Jr., io2. 103. 
 William, 92. 169. 222. 229. 234. 235. 
 287. 297. 298. 359. 
 Masscy, 249. 
 Masonic Lodges, 196 to 200. 
 
 Punch Bowl, 200. Preface. 
 Mason and Dixon's Line, 32. 
 Mather lOml), 130. 
 
 Mather, 120. 127. 171. 267. 293. 355. 35O. 
 
 Maxwell family, 260. 261. 
 
 Mayors of Chester, 301. 
 
 Mayne family, 274 to 276. 
 
 Mechanic Rifles, 377. 
 
 Mechanics' Reading Room, 487. 
 
 Medical Society, 496 to 499. 
 
 Media, 160. 161. 
 
 Meetings of Friends, 24. 64. 67. 83. 92. 
 
 Members of Assembly, 446. 
 
 Congress, 446. 447. 
 
 Supreme Executive Council, 180. 181. 
 
 the Bar, 470 to 477. 
 Mendenhall family, 70. 247. 248. 372. 
 Merchandize, Dealers in, 428. 
 Merion Cricket Club, 487. 488. 
 Methodist Churches, 411. 412. 
 Mifflin Guards, 218. 219. 
 Miles, Col. Samuel, 176. 177. 180. 
 Militia, 218 to 222. 375 to 382. 391. 392. 
 Military Academy, 493. 
 
 Records, 175 to 188, 218 to 222. 366 
 
 to 393- 
 Miller, George, 4S1. 482. 
 Miller, 30. 213. 
 
 Mill-Seats, 149. 150. 152. 228 to 235. 
 Ministers, lists of, 95. 96. 128. 129. 
 Minshall, 45. Preface. 
 Moore, Wm., 463. 
 
 Dr. Nicholas, 469. 
 Moran, 316. 
 
 Morgan's Battalion, 177. 
 Morton family, 134 to 153. 
 
 Anneslev, t, 
 
 Erasmus, 151. 
 Gun, 87. 
 Monument, 134. 
 Morton Rifle, Co., 3^ 
 Mortcnson, 18. 135. 
 
 Name, 8. 18. 87. 127 
 375. 463. 495. Preface. 
 
 Sketchley, Jr., 144. 370. 
 Moravians at Marcus Hook, 119. 
 Moravian grave-stones, 79. 
 Morris, 252. Preface. 
 Morris' Ferry, 39. 
 Mounting Ijlocks, 318. 
 Moyamensing Hook and Ladder ( 
 Munday, name of, 12. 
 Munday's Run, 316. 
 Mural Tablet, (Sandelands,) 13. 
 Music in Bethlehem, 335. 
 Myers, 275. 270. 
 
 5. 137. 14S to 
 78. 212. 317. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 527 
 
 Naaman's Creek, b/. 
 Names of Streets, 21. 22. 
 National Hotel, 261 to 264. 
 
 Banks, 122. 222. 
 Nayle, 126. 
 Nazareth Hall, 388. 
 Negro, name of, 81. 
 Negroes' burial place, 80. 
 Negro Soldiers, 220. 391. 
 Negi-oland, 81. 
 
 Neidermarke, 141. 143. 154. Preface. 
 New Castle, 27. 
 
 La Fayette at, 257. 
 •Newlin, 549. 
 Newspapers, 224 to 227. 
 Nill, James, 466. 467. 
 Noblit family, 249. 
 ■Normal School, 454. 
 Norris family, 36. 37. 
 Nursery at Bethlehem, 453. 454, 
 
 Oath of Swedes, 14. 
 Odenheimer, 128. 269. 
 
 family, 354 to 359. 
 Officers, Revolutionary, 175 to 1 82, 
 
 Volunteers, 368 to 375. 
 
 Regulars, 382. 383. 
 Ogden, 483. 
 Old Advertisements, 189. 194. 
 
 Assembly House, 66. 163. 
 
 Bell of St. Pauls, 13. 14. 122. 
 
 Front Street, 350. 
 
 Horses, 317. 318. 
 
 Inhabitants, 244 to 253. 
 
 Jail, 432. 
 
 Newspapers, 224 to 227. 
 
 Schoolmasters, 338. 340 to 344. 
 
 .Scott's Fire, 277. 511. 
 
 Times, 318. 319. 
 
 Vane, Chester Mill, 91. 
 
 Vessels, 503. 504. 
 
 York Pateats, 8. 9. 
 ( )perationi5, British, 175 to 179. 181. 
 Ottey family, 319. 
 ()ur Winter Birds, 483. 484. 485. 
 Owen, name, 213. 
 
 Dr. Joshua, 213. 244. 246. 
 Owl, The, 225. 
 Oxford Guards, 391. 
 Oyster Supper, 419. 
 
 Pacific Dramatic Association, 452. 
 Painter family, 509. 
 Paper Mills. 230 to 235. 
 
 Paper for use of Government, 233. 234. 
 Pappegoya, Mrs., 24. 259. 463. Preface. 
 Park, Chester, Association, 478. 479. 
 
 Ridley, 509. 
 Parker family, 34. 35. 
 Parry, 180. 
 Paschal 1, 141. 
 Patterson family, 241. 243. ' 
 
 Gen. Robert, 235. 384. 432. 433. 
 Paymasters, 181. 
 Pearson family, 132. 
 
 name, 62. 63. 224. 
 Pea Patch case, 27. 
 Peacemakers, 71. 
 Pearce family, 144. 
 
 James A., 300. 395. 396. 402. 
 Peirce, 150. 305. 346. 
 
 family, 281. 282. 285. 286. 
 Pent House, 277. 
 Penn, Arrival of, 24. 62. 63. no. in. 
 
 Attends Court at Chester, 49. 
 
 at New Castle, 27. 
 
 John, arrival of, 159. 
 
 Landing of, 25. 63. 
 
 Letter of, 67. 
 
 Mutual Life Ins. Co., 365. 
 
 Papers, 313. 
 
 Thomas, 159. 
 
 Treaty Tree, 53. 
 Penn-Gaskill, 79. 503. 
 Pennock, 385. 
 Peiin's Division of the Province, 66. 
 
 First Assembly, 66.67. 
 
 Great Code of Laws, 66. 
 
 Manor, 54. 
 
 Personal appearance, in. 
 
 Partners, 311. 312. 
 
 Picture of, 267. 
 
 Place of burial, 79. 
 
 Treaty with Indians, 54. 250. 
 
 Style of Dress, in. 
 
 Weather Vane, 91. 310. 311. 
 
 William, Low Counties, 488 to 492. 
 Pennsylvania Arms Hotel, 56. 267. 
 
 Artillerists, 221. 222. 287. 
 
 Iron Works, 431. 
 
 Military Academy, 493. 
 
 Journal, 493. 494. 
 
 Volunteers, 366 to 382. 
 Pennell, 205. 261. 
 Pennell's Tavern, 271. 
 Petitions, 59. 60. 61. 88. 89. 90. 93. 266. 
 Philadelphia, B. & W. Railroad, 337. 33S. 
 Phipps, 149. 150. 209. 210. 
 
528 
 
 NDEX. 
 
 I'liysicians, list of, 495. 497. 
 Piers at Chester, 45. 222. 223. 
 Pierson, 499 to 502. 
 
 Marcus Hook, 94. 
 Pile, name of, 54, 102. 
 Pillory at Chester, 78. 
 Pilot, The Democratic, 226. 
 Piper family, 267. 269. 358. 359. 
 Plan of Marcus Hook, 107. 
 Plupimer Meeting House, 510. 
 Population of Chester, 303. 
 Porter family, 85. 86. 87. 
 
 mansion, 123. 
 
 name, 246. 294. 295. 382. 383. 385. 386. 
 387. 456. 495. 508. 
 Post Boy, 224. 
 
 Dial, 91. 125. 
 
 The Whipping, 21. 83. 84. 
 
 Wilde, 389. 390. 
 Pottsville, origin of name of, 518. 
 Presbyterian Churches, 413.414. 510. 
 Price family, 263. 
 
 name, 84. 142. 150. 267. 277. 
 Prices of Game and Fish, 419. 422. 
 I'rinl/',, 4. 24. 308. 461 to 463. Preface. 
 
 Hall, 154. 
 Printzdorp, 24. 
 Prisscr's kill, 88. 
 
 Proceedings of Court, 23. 29. 71 to 78. 83. 91. 
 Provincial Court, 73. 74. 469. 
 
 Conferees, 182. 
 
 Deputies, 182. 
 
 Delegates, 182. 
 
 Fleet, 175. 181. 
 
 Lawyers, 470. 
 Provisions, 419 to 425. 
 
 Prothonotaries of Chester County, 477. 478. 
 Public Dial, 91. 
 
 Pound, 158. 
 
 Press, 227. 
 
 Schools, 338 to 350. 514 to 516. 
 Origin of, 347. 348. 
 Punishments, 54. 78. 83. 84. 
 Purchasers of land, 68. 
 
 ''"^^y>5- 53- 55- 246. 311- 
 I'yle, 5, 54. 102. 141. 
 
 ijuaker ]5urial grounds, 55. 78. 79. 80. 
 
 -Meeting Houses, 66. 82. 83. 
 
 Meetings, 24. 64. 67. 83. 92. 
 
 Origin of name, 83. 
 <^)uarries, 62. 221. 297 to 301. 
 ( hieeu .\nnie, 13. 14. 
 
 <'liristina, 7. 
 
 Queen, Walter, 213. 
 Queen's Road, 59. 491. 509. 
 Quinn, David, 387. 
 
 Race-course, 502. 
 
 Horses, 502. 503. 
 Races at Chester, 228. 502. 
 Raborg, 212. 213. 
 Railroad, P. B. & W.,337. 
 Rail Shooting, 424. 
 Raine, Preface. 
 Read, Wm. T., 257. 25S. 
 Rebellion, attempt to capture Arsenal at St. 
 
 Louis, 397 to 402. 
 Recorders of Deeds, 475. 
 Records of Upland Court, 154. 460. 461. 
 
 Military, 177. 180. 181. 182.21810222. 
 366 to 393. 
 Redemptioners, 190. 191. 
 Registers of Wills, 475. 
 Registry of Arrivals, 68. 69. 70. 81. 
 Reilly family, 50. 
 
 Removal of Courts, 191. 192. 193. 353. 354. 
 Report on Mill- seats, 228 to 234. 
 Representatives in Congress, 446. 447. 
 Residents, old, 259. 
 Retailers of Mdze., 302. 310. 428. 
 Revolutionary Committee, 174. 175. 
 
 Damages, 178. 179. 
 
 Officers, 164. 165. 175. 176. 177. 180. 
 181. 182. 188. 
 Richards family, 288 to 290. 
 
 name, 68. 70. 211. 
 Richardson, 213. 
 
 family, 172. 173. 
 I'lide, A perilous, 386. 
 Riddle, 246. 
 
 Ridgely, 96. 128. 495. 497. 
 Ridley, name changed, 213. 
 
 Park, 509. 
 
 Public School, 510. 
 
 School, 338 to 342. 
 Riots, 221. 222. 
 Risley, 292. 
 
 Rise and Progress of Chester, 428 to 434. 
 Roach, John, 435. 436. 
 Roads, 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 72. 266. 
 Roberts family, 282. 
 
 Robinson, 170. 171. 173. 213. 214. 246. 
 Roebuck, British frigate, 175. 
 Ross, John, 466. 467. 
 
 Saint A.sbury's Chapel, 411. 
 
 Luke's Church, 410. 411. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 529 
 
 Saint Martin's Church, 95 to loi. 
 summer, 329. 
 
 Michael's, church, 412. 
 
 Paul's, church, 113 to 134. 158. 
 Graveyard, 133. 155. 158. 
 List of interments, 131. 
 Old plan of, 133. 
 Vestrymen, 123. 124. 125. 127. 
 Salkeld, 35. 45- 
 Sandilands, 9. 12. 13. 15. 
 Sayres family, 288. 290:" 294. Preface. 
 
 name, 12. 204, 211. 291. 293. 488. 
 Seals of Counties, 66. 
 Sergeant, 27. 279. 
 Serrill, 360. 361. 507. 
 Settlers at Chester, 7. 8. 9. 10. 
 Seven Stars, 478. 
 School Houses, 54. 55. 
 Scott's Oyster Saloon, 277. 
 Scrub-races, 502. 
 Shad Fishing, 420. 421. 422. 
 Shakespeare Dramatic Association, 452. 
 Sharpless, 131. 
 
 family, 43. 65. 
 vShaw, 311. 
 
 family, 43. 131. 132. 
 Shells, a shower of, 449. 
 Sheriffs of Delaware Co., 475. 
 Ship-yards, 428 to 436. 
 Shrigley, 258. 
 Shute, 458. Foot note, 459. 
 Silk Culture, 171. 172. 
 Simmons, 256. 478. 
 Sketches of Lehigh Valley, 243. 
 Sketchley, 126. 138. 152. 
 Slaves, 189, 190. 
 Sleigh ride on ice, 386. 
 Slifer Phalan.\-, 380. 
 Smedley, 253. 
 Smith, Aubrey H., 154. 
 
 Capt. Frank, 95. 96. 
 
 families, 33. 34. 154. 
 
 Joseph W., 234. 235. 331. 
 
 Richard S., 455 to 460. 
 Soldiers, 177. 219. 220. 335. 366 to 382. 
 Soldiers' Monument, 392. 
 Soul Drivers, 190. 
 Speakman, 269. 
 Sporting Hall, 507. 508. 
 Stacey family, 41 to 47. 
 
 Mahlon's letter, 419. 420. 
 Stage Lines, 194. 266. 
 Steamboat Hotel, 276. 277. 
 Steamboats on the Delaware, 286. 287. 328. 
 
 Steele, 282. 338. 
 
 Steuben, Baron de, 342. 343. 
 
 Stille family, 510. 
 
 Stillen's Land, 510. 
 
 Street washed away, 350. 
 
 Streets of Chester, 21. 22. 87. 88. 91. 350. 
 
 Stone family, 282. 283. 
 
 quarries, 62. 
 Sturgeon catching, 423. 424. 
 Supreme Provincial Court, 73. 74. 469. 
 Swans, 424. 
 Swedes, Dress, 39. 40. 
 
 First arrivals, 5. 
 
 Houses, 38. 40. 
 Swedish Mill, 150. 
 
 Settlers, 37. 
 Swimming place, 387. 
 
 Talbot, Rev. M. R., 128. 129. 509. 
 
 Tate, Preface. 
 
 Tavern-keepers, 165. 166. 280. 
 
 Taverns, 56. 260 to 280. 
 
 Taxables, 15. 95. 159, 
 
 Taylor, 69. 141. 150. 243. 246. Preface 
 
 family, 30. 31. 154. 159 to 163. 
 The Chester rocks, 387. 
 
 Daily Times, 227. 
 
 Granary, 90. 
 
 Green, 35. 88. 89. 
 
 Passing Bell, 123. 
 
 Public Press, 227. 
 Terrance, 213. 
 Terril, 128. 152. 357. 
 Test, 7. 
 Thomas, 243. 290.. 
 
 family, 247. 248. ~ " 
 Thomson, Preface. 
 Thompson, 177. 275. 
 Thurlow, 245. 267. 
 
 family, 506. 507. 
 
 Tavern, 261. 262. 263. . 
 Tiers, Rosalie, 53. 
 Tinicum, 154. 
 Titles to land, 6. 29. 
 Tomb of Judge Cowpland, 273. 
 Tombstone inscriptions, 13.98. loi. 122. 129. 
 
 130. 131. 273. 293. 337. 
 Town Hall, 21. 22. 91. 92. 
 Townsend's letter, 420. 
 Trainer, 485. 
 Treasurers of Library Co., 451. 
 
 of Chester County, 478. 
 
 of Delaware County, 478. 
 Treaty Tree, Penn's, 53. 
 
:',{) 
 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Tiimljlo launly, 292. 
 Truxton, 264. 
 
 family, 508. 509. 
 Tyler family, 173. 174. 
 
 Ulvich family, 278. 279. 
 
 J)r. William, 495, 497. 498. 
 
 Samuel, 279. 
 Upland, 3. 4. 26. 
 
 change of name, 63. 64. 499. 500. 
 
 New, 310. 
 
 Record, 154. 
 
 Union, 224. 327. 328. 
 
 Volunteers, 380. 
 L'nion l>lues, 366. 367. 
 
 Vandyke, 257. 
 
 Vane of Chester Mills, 92. 310. 311. 
 
 Van Leer, 252. 324. 
 
 Van Luveney, Preface. 
 
 V'ernon, 54. 127. 130. 163. 250. Preface. 
 
 family, 293. 294. 
 A'estrymen of St. Paul's, 124 to 127. 
 Visit of La Fayette to Chester, 255 to 257. 
 Volunteers, 177. 219. 220. 235. 366 to 392. 
 Vote on tiie Declaration, 138 to 140. Preface. 
 
 Wade, 24. 25. 64. 67. 
 Wagon -masters, 181. 182. 
 Waite, 299. 
 Wales, 283. 
 
 Wallingford Mills, 492. 
 Walking-purchase, 6. 
 Walter, Capt. P. P., 220. 
 
 Y. S., 244. 446. 
 Ward, Artemus, 280. 
 
 William, 279. 447. 491. 
 Washington, 194. 228. 395. 
 
 Addresses to, 194. 202. 
 
 at Chester, 178. 255. 
 
 Grays, 256. 
 
 House, 267. 
 Washington's death, 395. 
 Water Works, 447 to 449. 
 Watson's Historic Tales, 418. 419. 
 
 Way, 221. 267. 
 
 Weekly Visitor, 225. 
 
 Welcome's arrival, 62. 
 
 Welcome, Errors in .list, 63. 
 
 Welsh family, 32. 33. 34. loi. 102. 105. 
 
 Street, 22. 55. 
 West, 5. 131. 251. 267. 289. 
 Weyman, 45. 
 Whelen, 211. 426. 
 Whildin, 287. 
 WhippingPost, 21. 83. 84. 
 White Swan Lin, 273. 
 
 Tom, 511. 
 Wild Game, 61. 419 to 425. 
 Wilde, Post, 389. 390. 391. 
 Width of the Delaware, 351. 
 Williams, Joseph, 224. 225. 
 Williamson, 102. 103. Preface. 
 Willcox family, 229. 231. 232. 
 
 name, 375. 376. 456. Preface. 
 
 Paper Mill, 231 to 234. 492. 
 Wilmington, 5. 
 Wilson, 31. 185 to 187. 
 
 Judge Bird, 466. 
 
 Elizabeth, 185. 
 Winter Birds, 483 to 485. 
 j Winters, Cold, 425. 426. 483. 484. 
 Withey, 127. 260. 
 Woman's Dress, 426. 427. 
 
 Hoops, 163. 164. 
 Women, Jury of, 54. 
 Work Street, 22. 
 Worley, 159. 
 Worrall family, 324. 325. 
 Worth, 141. 
 Wright family, 144. 
 
 Yarnall, 378. 
 
 Yeates, Jasper, 12. 89. 90. 
 YelloM' Fever, 158. 
 York Patents, 8. 9. 
 
 Zeilin family, 269 to 271. 
 
 name, 221. 222. 287. 288. 32S. 
 (ienerai, 269. 
 

y^^n??^^. ^ 
 
 , u ■• V ^ .^ _ -v , I ' • .